Well, just saying, I don't really think this chapter is very good. But, it's all right. Just get ready for the next one! It's a juicer! ;) And, by the way, I don't own Legend of Zelda. Nintendo does... I COULD own a character... if Nintendo would just hire me as a character designer! If only... :D

The interrogation went on long into the night. The king was getting fed up. His voice was now scratchy, his face red, his hair ruffled. He was out of ideas. Impa stayed calm and cool as the night went on, her tone never wavering, her temper never rising. Zelda sat in a corner, on the edge of tears.

"What is your name again?" mumbled Nohas, deep bags under his eyes.

"Link," uttered the man. "Link Longrey."

Nohas stood up in a flash, realization in his eyes. "Longrey! I know that name! Phineaus and Umbre!"

"My parents, yes." Link looked up at his questioner with a bored expression.

"Yes! They said they name their child Link! It's all coming back to me now!"

"Is it?" The boy raised an uninterested, disbelieving eyebrow.

"I remember seeing her flee to the forest, just moments after the King of Evil took her husband's life!" The king suddenly became very puzzled, "But... they said... I never saw, I just assumed." With a blank glance at Link, he said, "I thought you were dead! No infant could have survived! Umbre was severely injured, from what I saw, and the closest civilization was the Kokiri Forest, which is forbidden to all!"

"The Great Deku Tree said that my mother pleaded with him to take me," spoke Link.

"But, how did you get out? Why did you leave?"

"I had things to take care of. The Deku tree was cursed, I tried to save him, but he died shortly after presenting me with the Kokiri's Emerald, the Spiritual Stone of the Forest." Link explained simply.

"But, they just... let you out?" Nohas shook his head wildly, "This is impossible! You are lying!"

"I beg to differ," came Impa. "Either he's delusional, or I'm losing my touch. Besides, one day, the stones were in the temple, the next day, they appeared like magic!"

"I put them there... the Spiritual Stone of Fire, Water... I put them there," the boy laughed once, "I even got engaged on the way. Of course, that fell apart seven years later, when my bride-to-be became a Sage, and she couldn't marry. She still knows me, though, and still wishes to marry me. After all, I did save her from being eaten by a giant fish. This time, however, there weren't bari and octoroks trying to kill us."

Zelda held her breath, Engaged? She thought in worry. It took her a great deal of time to process the rest of his words. Her respiration returned to normal as she heard the words, "fell apart". She still felt a pang of worry as she heard him speak about the girl's desire still to marry him.

"Preposterous!" boomed the king. "How could you know of the Sages?"

"I know all of them, all of them, I knew personally. Once, anyhow..." Link drifted off, then took in a sharp breath and continued, "There's the Sage of the Forest, Saria. She's short, a Kokiri... she has green hair. She was, and probably still is, my only and truest friend. There's the Sage of Fire, Darunia. I became his sworn brother after rescuing his tribe's food supply from dodongos. There's the Sage of Water, Ruto... she's the princess of the Zora, you know. She's the one who wants to marry me, and to my intense relief, she is a Sage. There's the Sage of the Shadow, Impa. Yes, I know you," he eyed the Sheikah, "You're the one who taught me that song, all those years ago. Lastly, there's the Sage of Spirit, Nabooru. She's a Gerudo, and tried to defy her leader, Lord Ganondorf as he took over the land. Sadly, she was taken away by Koume and Kotake... that is, until I saved her."

The three castle-dwellers stared at him in awe and confusion.

"How could you possibly know all this?" snapped the king, his exhaustion taking over.

Link's jaw set. He thought the answer would be quite obvious. Zelda expected his response to be low and calm, just like his speech, but what came out of his mouth shocked her. "Because I'm the damn Hero of Time! I'm sitting here like a prisoner for doing good things, for saving people!"

Nohas laughed, "Have you any proof?"

In a quick swipe, the bandage that covered Link's left hand were torn off, revealing a black triangle branded on his skin. "Is that enough proof?"

Instinctively, Zelda touched her own Triforce. "But..." she murmured, "After we banished Ganondorf, the Triforce was said to have lost its power. They need to all three work together to be used properly."

"That's funny, because mine seems to be working just fine. I'm still a whiz at a sword, I can still shoot an arrow into a bull's eye on a two inch wide pole from a hundred yards away. I'm still as quick on my feet as I was years ago. I'm courageous enough to sit here, talking to you. Hell, I'm courageous enough to swear in front of the King and the Princess of Hyrule." Each word stung Zelda, "So don't try to tell me that the Triforce doesn't work."

There was a long silence. Link put his head down on the table. Zelda muffled tears. Impa sat in a chair, blinking back sleep. Everyone awaited the king's orders.

"Let him go," he whispered.

"What? Sire, did you not just hear--" spoke Impa.

"Just let the boy go, Impa! The mystery is solved! So let the boy go!"

"Of course. Come along, now." They walked in silence until they were well away from the small room they had just spent so many hours in. "That was brave, you know. What you just did. Any other man would have cracked under the pressure even before the king arrived. Even as you lost yourself, you still knew what you were doing." They approached the castle doors. "I commend you on that, and I apologize for attacking you at your job. I can only imagine the life of a person forgotten."

The duo got closer to the gate, and saw that Brutus still stood there, leaning against the wall.

"Brutus!" yelled Impa, "What in the world are you doing out here still?"

"Um, Nicoli couldn't come today, he was in the infirmary. He attacked yesterday, and I guess he got hit pretty badly in the eye. We couldn't find anyone to fill in on such short notice, so I just..."

"Brutus..." Impa shot him a knowing glance.

"Fine... I just... I just wanted to see him out. I knew Phineaus, you know? We were great friends. We went to the knight's academy together. Of course, he excelled, seeing as he became a Hylian Knight... I just wanted to make sure his son was okay. I knew that's what he would have wanted," Brutus looked at Link as if he was looking at his friend.

"I'm sure he can handle things by himself," Impa smiled, "Now, will you open the gate? I'm sure he was to go home. Right?"

"Yeah," muttered the boy, "Wherever home is." His voice was not sorrowful or angry. He was simply stating a fact.

"Home's where the heart his, kid," said Brutus before calling up to the gate controllers to open it. The words rang in Link's ears. Where did his heart lay, anyway? He couldn't even think of one place that seemed logical. He threw a longing look over to the castle before leaving.

That night, as Zelda laid in bed, she couldn't sleep. She kept seeing his face each time she closed her eyes. She wanted to know him even more, now that she knew he was a Triforce bearer. It was destiny, she told herself. Despite his harsh words, she knew that he was good inside. She had to know him.

"Impa..." she whispered through a crack in her wall. Her and Impa's rooms were connected for maximum safety.

"What is it, Princess?" mumbled Impa, her voice sleepy.

"Is it bad to be thinking about him?"

"Who?"

"Link... I can't stop thinking about him."

"I don't know, Zelda. Sheikah women don't take formal partners."

"Well, what would my father think?"

"I don't know. The Hero of Time, he's quite respectable."

"I want to know him so badly, Impa..."

"Maybe if you go to sleep, the feeling will pass."

"I don't want it to pass!"

"Well, I don't know what to tell you, then."

"It's like I'm yearning for him. Is this normal?"

"For someone in love, of course. I've seen many a couple fall in love, Zelda. Each one of them could barely go on without the other if one was off on a trip."

"Is that what I am? In love? I barely know him..."

"You were set on him before you even knew this little that you do know. You were set on him the very first time you saw him, way back at that school."

"But..."

"Go to sleep, Zelda."

"I can't! Impa, I simply cannot go to sleep!"

"Well, why not?"

"Because each time I close my eyes, I see his face! I want, no I need to know him, to see him..."

"Well, maybe I can persuade your father to let us out tomorrow to go shopping or something."

"I don't know if I can make it to morning, Impa. And if I do, I know I won't have slept a wink. If my father sees that, he'll have my head, and there's no way he'll let me out!"

"Well, what do you want to do, then?"

Zelda thought about her answer. "Let's go now."

"Zelda! Are you insane!?"

"No! I just want to see his face!"

"Zelda, listen to me. We don't know where he lives, we don't know he's awake, and we just left him an hour ago. He needs some time alone."

"Fine."

"Good."

"Goodnight, Impa."

"Goodnight, Zelda."

The next morning dawned bright and early. It was a beautiful summer morning. Zelda pulled herself out of her bed and allowed herself to be dressed by her lady's maids. She met Impa at her door. The deep, purple-y bags under her eyes were masked with many layers of makeup.

"Good morning, Impa."

"Good morning, Zelda."

The two hurried off to breakfast.

"Well, hello there, Zelda," Annabellin smooched her daughter's forehead. "Did you sleep well?"

The princess and her nursemaid shared a quick glance. "Once I fell asleep, I slept like a baby."

"Good, good. Your father informed me of last night's happenings. Quite shocking, I do say, quite shocking."

"Yes," Zelda ate her breakfast quickly, then nodded at Impa. They got up and went searching for Nohas. They found him in his study, immersed in history books. "Father?"

"Hm?" he glanced up to see who was inquiring.

"May Impa and I go out shopping?"

"Oh, sure! I'm sure Anna would love to go out on a mother-daughter shopping trip!"

The princess panicked. "No! I mean, I want to go looking for a present for her, to thank her for throwing such a magnificent party. It was simply divine."

"Oh! Okay! Well, take care of her, Impa," Nohas seemed in a much lighter mood, if he was just letting his daughter, the newly adult princess, out without much forethought. Perhaps knowing the Hero of Time truly existed and lived within the city walls put his worries to rest.

"That was a smooth move, Zelda," Impa laughed. Zelda stared at her. Long ago, her caretaker had explained to her that she was the only one of her kind that ever showed expression. Impa had said that in order to take care of a child properly, she would have to relinquish some of her teachings to keep from frightening the girls she was sent to protect.

"Thank you, Impa. Can we hurry?"

"Seems odd for you to be asking to hurry. I'm sure your exhausted. Are you completely sure we should be doing this?"

"Of course. Let's go."

They hastened their pace, and arrived at the castle gate.

"BRUTUS?!" Impa explained, "What in the world are you still doing out here? I say, go inside and send Nicoli out! He can finish today and tonight. He owes you that much for taking his shift last night. You can't be of much help if your eyes won't stay open!"

The guard lumbered towards the castle without responding, almost falling over many times. Zelda giggled.

"I'm not behaving in such manner, am I?"

"No, of course not. If you were, I'd dip you in a barrel of brine! That would surely wake you up!"

The two laughed as they left.

At the school on the far side of town, Link entered the classroom.

"Nice of you to join us today, Mr. Longrey," teased his teacher.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I had some important business to take care of yesterday. I apologize for missing yesterday's afternoon lessons," Each lie was smooth and very believable.

"Where were you?"

"I was--"

"Princess Zelda!" called a boy at the back of the room, standing and pointing through the window.

"Hello, Professor," said Zelda, "I wanted to say I'm sorry for taking Link out of class yesterday. Or, well, for my caretaker, Impa, here, for taking him out. I'm deeply sorry for whatever trouble I caused."

"Oh, no, no! It's completely fine, your highness, no trouble at all!" The professor, as well as the rest of the class gawked at Link. The princess smiled and left. She stood outside the school.

"What did you do?!" yelled a boy.

Link scowled, "Nothing. It was nothing. I did absolutely nothing wrong."

"Then what did you do at the castle?!"

"I was pulled in to be interrogated," Link was so incredibly blasé about the entire situation.

"INTERROGATED!?" The professor burst out.

"Like I said, I did nothing wrong. I even had proof for having done nothing wrong. I'm sure that's all I can say about it. So, now, what did I miss yesterday?"

Zelda was shocked at his coolness. He was able to get off the subject in seconds. He did not dwell or go into detail, nor was he embarrassed or annoyed. Zelda waited, hidden by Impa, until the boys were released. It was the last day of classes before a weekend, meaning that there were no afternoon classes that day. Finally, the students filed out, saying their goodbyes to their teacher and muttering about their plans for the day. Link was the last to get out.

"Hey," said Zelda quietly.

He turned slowly, "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to apologize. That sorry I said in there... it was for you."

"Hm. Okay then. So, you wait outside my school just to tell me that?"

"No..." Zelda thought about her next words carefully, "I wanted to see you." Hopefully her interest was not too obvious.

"Okay, well, you see me... Now what?"

"I wanted to talk to you, as a person. I just want to see the person I saw at the dance a couple of days ago."

Link sighed. "Fine. Come with me. Can't have a princess bumbling around Hyrule Castle Town, especially not on a Friday." He took her hand and led her along the road. Impa slyly followed, keeping a short distance away from them.

On the way to wherever Link was taking her, Zelda saw parts of Hyrule Castle Town that she had never experienced before. She saw the people that laid on the streets with no money. She saw the skeevy shops and booths with games of chance. She saw prostitutes and drunks, and men with long rusty swords. Then, she saw Link's house.

It was tiny and flimsy from the looks of it. The walls were wood and the glass was filthy. As they approached, though, she saw that the door had many substantial locks, and was probably the most secure place to be in the entire area.

Link yelled at someone next door before unlocking his own house. He spoke in some language she had never heard before, but she did not care to ask. The interior of the shack held a thin bed, a small dresser, and a table with one chair. She saw another wardrobe that was covered in chains.

"Um, you can sit, if you'd like." Link pulled out the chair from the table and dusted it off.

"Er, thank you."

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"I..." Zelda became suddenly perplexed, "I can't remember. Odd, isn't it? I can't quite seem to remember anything at all."

"Oh! I know!" Link began removing the chains from the wardrobe at a breakneck speed. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the glittering chains were on the floor and the boy was rummaging through a closet of stuff. He emerged holding an unidentifiable object.

"What is it?"

Link removed the cloth covering it, revealing a sparkling blue ocarina. "It's yours."