Lear awoke the next morning with the sun shining on her face. Her first impulse was to draw the covers back over her eyes, but she groaned lazily and pulled herself out of bed. She threw on her robe and glanced at the still-sleeping form of Link. 'I'll let him sleep a while more...' she thought as she shut the door behind her and walked to the next room to check on Aidyn. She, too, was still asleep, and Lear headed to the kitchen to begin to make breakfast. She walked quietly down the chilly stone hallways until she reached the kitchen, then set herself to work by lighting a small fire and getting out all that was needed to make a breakfast large enough for her family. She thought she heard somebody walking in the hallway outside the kitchen and walked over to the doorway to investigate.

"Link? I thought you were sleeping…" The shadow turned around and found Link's wife standing in the doorway, walking slowly to her as he contemplated what his move was going to be.

"I decided to wake-up. Is that a problem?" he stopped in front of her.

"No, that's fine-mmph!" Dark Link suddenly kissed her roughly, but didn't taste anything. He could sense her presence, but the sensory of taste and smell doesn't exist within a shadow. He let Lear free from his grasp, and before she could respond to his sudden embrace, he was already gone.

Lear stood in a state of confusion and blinked several times before she finally walked back into the kitchen and resumed making breakfast. Her mind was completely occupied by what had happened, and she was puzzled by how he'd acted, not to mention a little peeved. He seemed the same, but there was something different about him. Was he acting so strangely because of the nightmares that he'd been having? By the time breakfast was ready, Lear still couldn't figure out why he had acted in such a way. Raiquen was the first to show up as he stumbled through the kitchen door and nearly tripped on a nearby stool. He ran his hand over his face in an effort to wake himself up and walked over to Lear.

"'Morning. What's for breakfast?"

She broke her train of thought and turned to her nephew. "Hm? Oh, just the usual. You know, bacon and eggs...stuff like that." She handed him a plate and he departed for a table to scarf it all down like the early-bird and its worm. Lear however, returned to her thoughts, completely oblivious as to what's really going on.

Outside the castle, Dark Link was exploring his new surroundings; he was beginning to experience the daily hustle and bustle of the morning market, and he didn't like it much. First of all, the sun was a bit bright for his liking, and second, some child just ran into him.

"Get off of me, brat!" he scowled, shoving the kid aside as he barged through the crowds.

A frightened young Aidyn looked confused as she rushed out of the crowds and stared after the figure that she thought had been her father. He'd never said anything like that to her before, even at his angriest. Feeling suddenly alone in the hot market, she kept to the shadows as she dashed back to the castle grounds. She ran through the courtyard, her mind still confused at what had happened, when she ran into yet another person and fell hard to the ground. Raiquen turned around with a look of surprise and picked her up in a hurry.

"Aidyn! You've really have to look where you're going when you're running that fast. I swear, you'll-what's wrong?" He said as he saw her face. She looked completely bewildered and was twiddling with her fingers, although she was completely quiet and seemed to be lost in thought.

"Rai-Rai...is Daddy mad?" the girl asked, her bottom lip beginning to quiver.

"Nah, he's just a little sleepy. So much that he's still asleep!" Aidyn looked up at this, even more confused than before. She, however kept quiet and nodded her head in reply. The older cousin kissed her forehead and carried her inside.

An orange flew through the air, landing in Dark Link's hand. He had easily stolen it from the fruit stand in the market, and he stood in the shadows, tossing his round prize in the air. Truthfully though, he was actually taking a break from being in the harsh light. The light punctures his persona, gradually causing him pain the longer he's exposed to it.

"Strange thing." He muttered. "I don't see the value in this...'orange'" He looked around at the crowded market again and glared. "I don't see the value in any of this, either." He considered a moment, then chucked the orange as hard as he could and laughed from the shadows as it hit an unfortunate merchant down the alley on the head, causing the poor man to yell with pain.

"Having fun?" An icy voice suddenly spoke next to him. He turned around with a slight flinch, but stood his ground as Vaati glowered at him from beneath his hood.

"What do you want? I've been wandering this market all day long in this hideous daylight with nothing to do." Vaati's eyes suddenly flashed with anger, but he remained ominously cool.

"I've given you your assignment. Head back to the castle and kill the Hero of Time."

"I'll kill him when I feel like it." The shadow folded his arms and resumed his leaning against the wall. Vaati continued his icy stare, holding in his desire to rid of his creation right that moment.

"You are not capable of feeling. As was proven this morning when you locked lips with that woman..." Vaati grinned and disappeared, just as Dark Link threw a punch his way. How dare he? He just ruined his mood.

He turned with scowl and headed towards the castle. He had feeling enough to hate his living counterpart and want to cause him as much misery as possible. The sun was sinking fast now, and the oncoming darkness was like a breath of fresh air as it revived him and gave him the energy he needed to quicken his pace towards the castle grounds. A guard standing near the entrance nodded his head to him with a friendly smile.

"'Evening, Link! I believe the boy Raiquen was looking for you. Would you like me to-"

"Got it. Get back to your post." The shadow growled. Dark Link didn't look back as he walked quickly towards the castle, thinking of how best he could carry out his job.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

I am SO SORRY for not uploading any new chapters! Clairictures and I had both become very busy within the last year and neglected writing more of the story. We've begun writing again though, so we'll get more chapters up more often. You can expect another chapter within the next few days. We actually have a few chapters finished, but I'm reviewing them for mistakes first. :)