A/N: Getting on the ball again.
Emerging Shadows
"Link, come on, what are we going to do with Zelda and the rest of them? We can't just leave them down there," Silvia said.
Normally, as stated before, the castle had really only one dining room and that dining room had one grand, long oak table that was supposed to accommodate quite a few people. And normally, there would be so much food made just for a handful of people that there was hardly any choice except to let it spoil and ruin. But Link had handled that not too long after he had taken the crown for himself. While the dinner table was still there, and usually there was a nice dinner to be had, Link didn't allow for food to be wasted nor did he eat on that impersonal table. So he opted to set a new, smaller table in a more private room so that he and Silvia could actually have a conversation that wasn't muffled by the distance of a larger table. And that's where they were at, sitting at a small, circular table having dinner. Though it had gotten pretty late, Link managed to use that to his advantage as he had soft candles lit along with a delicate bouquet of flowers on the table.
But Link breathed in deep. He was beginning to wonder why Silvia began to push that subject at him more frequently ever since they had came out of the dungeons hours ago. And he had already answered her. So he took a bit from his meal before he set down his fork and stared across the table over to Silvia. "Silvia, we've been over this already," he said. "There's nothing more to discuss about it. They have to stay down there."
"You're not listening to anything else, Link. In all honesty, without the fact that, for the most part, they are people we know they shouldn't be left down there. It's not right. We can't keep people locked up in that place. You probably had seen how it must've been for them. Being in there for them must be horrible. And yes, they tried to stop you. But if we can treat them better, let them be captive somewhere else, that's fine. But not the dungeons, anywhere but there. That place was made for some of the worse enemies of Hyrule, not for people who seem to have a grudge against you."
"Silvia, it's not just that," Link said.
"Look, Link," Silvia started. "I've been real patient about it. You had me going when you said that we should let them sit it out, even though it was the dungeons, so they can hopefully see things our way. But they haven't and I really doubt that opinion is going to change. And I really don't like knowing that Zelda is stuck down there. She really doesn't deserve that. Neither does Vincent or Malon. I mean, Vincent's an idiot and Malon is blindly in love with him. They deserve to be treated a little better."
"Silvia, Silvia," Link said, raising his hand to calm her down a bit. He didn't like seeing Silvia so distressed about how he was handling things. He thought it was for the best. But as he let her words sink in, a strange yet logical reasoning began to bloom. It made some sense, and Link knew that his enemies were better off as allies. "If it really means so much to you to see them in a better condition than where they are at right now, then we can make it happen. We'll figure it out tomorrow, promise."
And Silvia looked at Link, staring into his eyes. There was something in his voice that wasn't there before. His eyes weren't the same cold, hard ones he had been keeping since he had taken the throne. For that moment, he was Link. He wasn't the Hero of Time and protector of Hyrule. He was the Link that had been hurt so deeply by Zelda that made him open his eyes and see the other, more amazing woman that was beside her. She didn't realize how much she missed that rare side of him. The one that came out just when Silvia had forgotten it existed. She smiled slightly as he said and meant those words.
"I think you two should kiss," piped up Drakeus as he swooped in and removed the flowers from the table.
Silvia laughed as Drakeus said that, no longer did she need to blush at that mention or suggestion Drakeus said. But she also never expects Link to actually go through with it. And that's what happened again as she felt his lips pressed against hers. And that caused her to blush. Her normally calm and stoic façade broke away as she returned his kiss. It wasn't the most passion-filled ones he had given her, but she knew that it had far more tender emotion than the one he had surprised her with earlier that day. And as he leaned back in his seat, a smile spread on his face. A little, innocent smile that Silvia remembered she loved to see. Very much unlike the experienced Vincent's smirk, Link boyish smile revealed that kisses meant everything they stood for and he was happy to kiss Silvia. And that made her smile and left a very deep blush on her face. She tried to cover her embarrassment but it didn't work out as well as she hoped for.
After all, Link was sitting right across from her.
Link looked away, away from Silvia's gaze and his own blush deepened. He cleared his throat and looked back to Silvia. He locked his eyes with hers, the ones that didn't like being right there for him to gaze at but loved to anyways. He leaned forward and took her free hand in his. He saw how their hands intertwined with another. And he loved that. He loved being with her. She made him feel special, made him feel important. She didn't cast him off for being himself. She was everything to him because she treated him like everything. "Silvia," he said softly, gently squeezing her hand. "I love you."
Silvia froze for a moment. The way those words escaped his lips… Silvia bit down on her lip. It made her heart jump and beat faster. And she knew he had said them before but that was when they were in the passion of battle. Now it was different. They were alone. They were with one another. They were enjoying each other's company. And in that moment of gentle emotions he reconfirmed what he feels for her. Even with all the drama between him and Zelda, with the matter of the Kingdom at hand, even with all of that he goes out of his way and he made them a nice dinner. Well, he set it up. And as dinner was dying down, he used the romantic ambiance and made sure that Silvia knew how he felt about her. She smiled at him once more and mouthed 'I love you too' to him as she took the time out to lean over the table and kiss him on the lips. A soft, gentle, quick kiss that lasted a quick moment on the outside, but it meant and lasted longer in their world. And Silvia knew, that even without Drakeus there to cause his little mischief, they would have ended up that way anyways.
But he did help speed things along.
But something Drakeus had no idea or intention of doing. And he didn't expect his mommy to take the reins and lean over the table to kiss Link. But he didn't mind. Mommy was happy in his eyes and that made it all worth it.
And Silvia was happy. And while she did break off the first kiss she gave to Link, that didn't stop her from going back in again and kissing him one more time. This time it didn't last just a quick moment and Silvia even wrapped her arms around Link's neck. They were just lucky that the table wasn't that big and it wasn't too much of a strain on either of them. Not that it would matter, Silvia was a Sheikah and Link was the Hero, so leaning over wouldn't have been a big deal anyways. But with the small table, it made things so much easier for either of them to kiss the other. Simple kisses that expressed their reserved emotions. That's how the both of them worked, and that's why their love seemed to know very little limits.
Silvia broke off the kiss and looked at Link before she got back in her chair. The table was already clean from their dirty plates and their filled glasses. Apparently Drakeus had been quicker than Silvia thought or Link put them away as she had gazed at her dragon when he had took the flowers. Before anything more escalated, Link stood up and walked over to Silvia's side. He helped her from her chair, taking it so she could get out easier. Silvia, not really accustomed to such attention stumbled a bit but Link caught her before she fell – as if she would anyways. But they stood there for a moment, lost in each other's eyes. Not much longer did Link lean down and gently kissed Silvia, combing back any stray strands of her hair and then cupping her cheek. She wrapped her arms around him in response and stayed that way for a while, basked in the soft moonlight that flooded in.
Link broke it off and then smiled down at her, "Let's get some sleep, okay Silvia?"
Silvia smiled at him again and nodded. Although Link did it for her, she combed back whatever strand fell into her eyes behind her ear, a way to hide her current embarrassed and flushed face.
Link took her hand. And then, together, they walked out of their dining room.
And morning came quick. And it was another scorcher of a day, with Hyrule's sun glaring down at the ground. And one thought through one Sheikah's mind was exactly how bad it would get down in the dungeons. After all, while they may be cool and damp during normal days, Goddesses and captives only knew how it would get when the days of Hyrule heated up. And while Silvia preferred to let Link handle things as they went along, she herself felt that he could handle the problems that kept arising, she was dead set on making sure that Zelda would be moved to another location. Yes, she wanted the same for the others, but the one person that she even began to consider it for was for the princess. And that was where Silvia was heading so early in the morning. She was going to get Link and make him put that thing as the first thing to do for that morning. She didn't usually make Link do thing but he did promise her and she was going to make him keep it. Not that there would be a time he wouldn't, but she wanted it to be resolved as quick as possible.
She quickly walked the halls of the castle and passed Zelda's room. And then a thought hit her. Link had mastered some form of shadow magic. And what better place did Zelda like to go and be at. Silvia figured that their respective bedrooms could be a great solution. She was sure Link could keep them in there with his powers. It could work. She was sure it would. But Silvia has a gnawing doubt and curiosity, Zelda kept her bedroom to herself most of the time. She was very personal about her things and Silvia gathered that Zelda might keep something in there that could help them. She knew it was wrong but Silvia decided to do a u-turn and stop at Zelda's door. She took a deep breath and reached for the knob and turned it. She walked in, the cool air that was kept inside hitting her face.
Zelda's room. Long before than she could remember, Zelda's room was enchanted with a low form of ice magic so it would remain cold during times when Hyrule's temperature rose to unsettling degrees. And it had been locked for quite a bit of time so the air just stayed in the room, leaving it a little chilly. Silvia made her way inside and looked around. It still looked and felt like Princess Zelda's room - decorated in pink lace, frill, and silk with touches of white and gold that screamed feminine. It made Silvia always raise an eyebrow. Zelda had become really girly since her tomboyish days. Silvia still didn't understand why she was in there. It was Zelda. And for the longest, Zelda only cared about herself and living up to the princess title. She wouldn't have anything in there that would give her any sort of help in escaping.
"Forget it," she muttered softly. She took one look around the room. She knew it was a pointless to try. Zelda was Zelda. She was a princess, through and through. But as Silvia thought that, her eyes settled on something that hung from one of the corners of Zelda's strangely designed vanity mirror. She recognized what it was; at least she thought she did. Silvia walked over to the mirror and raised her hand to lift up the small pendant that hung from the frayed lanyard. Silvia bit her lip. She did not expect Zelda to have kept such a trinket for such a long time. But Zelda did and Silvia wasn't quite sure what to say.
Zelda had made it. It was a little something on the end of the chorded lanyard. It was this small replica of the Sheikah eye, tear and all. But what made it more special than anything was that it was a part of something else. It was part of another piece Zelda made. A Triforce. A Triforce that when put together with the eye Zelda kept, made one single emblem. It was a union really, the Triforce protected by the Sheikah eye, much like how Zelda and Silvia were. And as Silvia looked at the small pendant, she remembered it being so much bigger while they were younger, a small smile crept onto her face. She began to think that she really had misjudged Zelda. Yes, she needed a slap in the face but deep down, maybe she really hadn't change all that much since they were younger.
Silvia looked at the setting sun, not bothering to actually appreciate its fiery beauty and elegance. Soon night time would descend upon her and she could forget about the day ever happening. She knew she was a fool for believing it but, she hoped that at least on her birthday someone would care enough about her to do something special. Though, she knew that her aunt wouldn't do anything. Nor would the King. And she had no one else to turn to either. And she couldn't ask anything from Zelda. That wasn't her duty to do so. Neither of them. Not for Silvia to ask and not for Zelda to act. But it didn't matter. It really didn't. There was hardly a point to it all anymore. She lost her father. She couldn't even remember her mother's face. So it was best if she was just left in the shadows.
"Silvia!" came a very loud princess, from below.
Silvia looked down from where she sat – atop one of the walls of the castle – to see the young Zelda looking up at her with a wide smile on her face. Not quite sure what to think about Zelda's surprising arrival from out of the blue, Silvia jumped down to join Zelda on the ground. And as she landed and stood up, she was again surprised by Zelda wrapping hers arms around Silvia and a bit of stumbling back at the force Zelda hugged her with. "What is it princess?" Silvia asked as Zelda released her.
"Oh, happy birthday!" Zelda said as she threw shredded blue paper up in the air. She then grabbed Silvia's hand and led her into the courtyard where a small table was set up. She then led Silvia to the table where she saw two pieces of cake on small plates.
Silvia wasn't quite sure what to say but she was forced into one of the chairs that was there and sat across from Zelda. She never really expected all of that from her yet there they were, about to share birthday cake. Silvia smiled and as she was going to start on her little dessert, a box was shoved in her face. She blinked a few times and looked above it to see Zelda smiling at her, that ear to ear smile. Silvia took the box in her hands and looked at it before she looked back up to Zelda. "What's this?" she asked.
"Open it Silly!" Zelda said. Silly, a way Zelda liked to cutify Silvia's name.
Silvia shrugged and opened it to find a handmade Triforce, complete with a string that she would clasp so it could fit around her neck. Silvia took it out of the box and looked to Zelda who came over and showed off her matching Sheikah eye.
"Look Silvia!" Zelda said as she took Silvia's present and locked it with hers. "The Sheikah eye protects the Triforce while the Triforce supports the Sheikah! Just like how we are!" She finished her explanation with another hug to Silvia and that was responded to with a hug to Zelda herself. Which may have been a bad idea as Zelda tightened her hug on Silvia.
"Zelda, come on, I need to breath," Silvia said in a fit of laughter.
The steel bars of the dungeon cell were blasted off their hinges, clanging with Vincent and Malon's cell violently before falling to the ground with a loud clang. Smoke that was a product of the violent blast began to settle and Zelda stepped out of her cell, waving her gloved hand around and coughing. She grabbed onto one of the steel bars that were left still attached to the wall and breathed heavily. Beads of sweat fell from her brow as she stumbled to regain her strength and balance. She looked up to see Vincent and Malon, the King and Impa standing up and near their bars as they tried to see how the princess was. She looked up, a small smile on her face as she managed to support herself.
"Maybe you should take a breather, Zellie," Vincent said as he leaned against the bars.
"You know me Vincent," Zelda said as she looked up to him. "I'm not resting now. So stand back you two, to the sides."
Zelda raised her hands and outstretched them, reaching for the bars. From the palm of her hands, a small fire started to form but it quickly died out. Zelda wearily put down her arms and looked down. The first time was hard enough but doing it two more times seemed like a great stretch. And Zelda wasn't quite sure she could work up the strength for another one. But she had to. She knew she had to or else she couldn't get the others out. And she had to. She looked back up and tried again, this time yielding the same results of the last one. Zelda took a deep breath, it was no wonder why she couldn't do the spell again, she hadn't practiced magic in so long.
"Oh your just, just move out of the way," said someone as she pushed Zelda out of the way.
Zelda, in surprise, stumbled back from the rude person. That and she had no strength to do anything else as well. She looked to see, well, in short, it did look like Silvia except it wasn't Silvia. Zelda wanted to shout out Silvia but Zelda knew better, seeing as how the newcomer wasn't her but more… Zelda couldn't put her finger on it. But Zelda knew it wasn't Silvia, and that made her spring into action. Zelda jumped back a bit and readied her needled that she borrowed from Impa, "Who are you?"
"Oh, Zelda, please," she said. She fiddled with a bundle of keys that she brought with her and tried it out on the doors. "You and I both know that those needles won't work on me. Even if you were a good shot, I doubt at your best you could hit Silvia, let alone me." She tried another key and managed to slide open the prison door. She then quickly went over to the King and Impa's cell to release them. She was quiet and smooth in her movements. The woman easily unlocked that one and then looked over to Zelda, "Oh come on Zelda, don't stare, it's rude."
"Is it just my imagination or does it look a lot like Silvia?" Vincent said as he stepped out of the cell. He helped Malon over the fallen cell door so she wouldn't get jammed in its bars and they both stared at the Silvia lookalike.
"Hey cutie," she said as she sauntered over to Vincent. "I brought something just for you." She reached inside her pocket and pulled out a nice-sized red apple that she tossed to Vincent. She then winked at him, "My name is Aivlis but, you can call me anytime you want cutie." She then gave a playful wink to Vincent. She then turned to Zelda, raising her hand so she could let Zelda know not to say anything. "I'm what can be easily explained as Silvia's shadow, although she and I are nothing alike, even though we care for the same things. I'm here to bust you out."
Malon narrowed her gaze at the back of Aivlis' head. She would do anything to have her swords in her hands so she could drive them into her skull.
"But how?" Impa asked. "How did she, how did you?"
"I'm not going to tell all the secrets Silvia keeps," Aivlis teased. "She'll just have to tell you yourself if you really want to know. But, first things first, we have to get you out of here."
"Why are you helping us?" Zelda asked. Even through her little free stage, Zelda always wanted to look at things logically. And she watched as Silvia decided to help Link and not Hyrule. She watched as she turned her back on so many years of them to only be with Link and helped him. Even though Zelda did the same thing, she always thought that Silvia would always be the smart one and never do anything stupid. So it didn't make sense that Silvia's shadow would be the one helping them. Not that much anyways. If Silvia kept her under wraps for so long, she easily could've kept Aivlis from doing something that Silvia wouldn't want.
"I just told you," Aivilis said, rolling her eyes. "Silvia and I may be opposites but we always care deeply for the people that were part of our lives. And that includes you Zelda. Silvia wasn't going to do it, she's in too deep for her to do anything, not that she would've cared. But I like seeing Silvia happy. Cause let's face it, she's happy, I'm happy. That's how it works and she doesn't like having someone she considered a sister locked up in this mangy place." She shrugged, "And everyone else counts as a set when it comes to you Zelda. Hey, it's a plus for me." Aivlis turned to Vincent and blew him a kiss and waved her finger at him, "Gotta love rescuing a cutie."
"That's it!" Malon said as she tore herself from Vincent's side and walked up to Aivlis. She leaned forward, "Vinnie is mine. Don't you dare try something."
"Don't worry," Aivlis said. "You guys really need to loosen up. Now come on!" Aivlis looked to Zelda, the King, and Impa and motioned for them to come along as she started out of the dungeons.
"Princess," Impa said as she walked to Zelda. "I think it's best if we follow this Aivlis for the time being. But I wouldn't trust her just yet, if she is what she is after all. But once we get the chance, we should try and escape. Then we can formulate a plan to come back and dethrone Link."
"Impa!" Zelda said in a low growl. "Don't you think this could be our one chance? What's going to happen when Link realizes that Silvia – or her shadow – let us out? He might do something to Silvia, no matter if he does claim to love her. Besides, do you think we can get another chance like this? Cause I severely doubt that. If I can just get into my room, then I can make way for Vincent and Malon to get at Link while… hopefully I can detain Silvia long enough. I know you think we have a better chance if we manage to escape the castle but that's not going to work. Just stick with Aivlis for now. I'm sure we'll end up where we want to soon enough."
"Princess," Impa said, trying to reason with her.
"I won't have any more of this," Zelda said as she began to walk away.
Impa sighed but as the King placed a hand on her shoulder, she realized that Zelda had began assuming the role she shunned for a while. They smiled at each other for a quick moment before they too began to follow Aivlis. It couldn't have been that bad of a decision. And their princess thought it was the best course of action to follow. And who was going to argue with her then? She was princess Zelda, through and through. And she would only continue to better herself as she was going to get older. And as they watched Zelda walk toward the awaiting Aivlis that was just outside, they couldn't help but smile in pride – surprisingly Impa did smile. After all, she was the one who had raised Zelda since she was young, right after the Queen had died. And she would become a queen herself one day, hopefully after all the turmoil was settled and Link returned to being the devout Hero and protector without a surge of zeal or treason.
Vincent bit into his apple as he stepped aside for the King and Impa. He waited until they were far enough for Vincent to talk, "Guess Impie and the King like how Zelda's finally taking charge." He smiled a bit and then looked over to Malon who was glaring up at him. He swallowed the bit of apple he had in his mouth and stared at her. "Is something wrong?"
"Why are you eating that?" Malon asked. She crossed her arms and kept her eyes fixated on Vincent. "Please tell me you're starving and that apple is the only thing saving you from collapsing on the floor and you absorbed those shameless flirts only to receive the apple." She had better receive that answer or else Vincent's honey moon with her was going to end up with him on the couch.
"Sweetie, Malon," Vincent said. He sighed and threw the apple into the cell they had just occupied. "I just wanted the apple. Flirting that was all her. But from now on, you're going to be the one who can give me apples, alright?" Vincent asked, not sure what else to do.
Malon sighed, "It had better stay that way, Vincent." She said before she walked away.
Vincent watched her walk away. He brushed back his hair and walked to catch up to her. He didn't try to make her feel comfortable, because he knew she was angry at him. But he knew they could talk about it later. It was going to be tough between them, that was for sure. But as he walked behind her, he stopped as he saw Malon stop abruptly and she turned around and gave him a kiss. A deep kiss.
"Your mine Vincent, don't forget that," she said with a smile before she walked away. "Only mine."
Vincent smiled a bit before he joined Malon with Zelda, the King, and Impa all following Aivlis who had somewhere very important for them to be. And while the King and Impa had their doubts about the shadow, Zelda remained certain that since it was Silvia's influence in Aivlis, she wouldn't lead them anywhere that could leave them in complete danger. Of course one must question where the influence stopped with Aivlis or how far would she take it. One thing remained certain other than everyone following Aivlis, and that was Link wouldn't like it when he would find out that his prisoners have escaped. He enjoyed keeping them under lock and key, keeping them under his ever watching eyes. The Hero of Time didn't like anyone who would pose a threat to his peace-filled future for Hyrule.
But what could happen when he found of Silvia had a hand in it?
A/N: Something is going to happen, that's for sure. And not even I know! O.o.
All right, I managed to format this chapter correctly. No more '??' to signify scene changes. Or however they showed up. But, review por favor.
