I'm going on a serious writing spree recently. O.o;; Surprising, huh, considering it's summer vacation. xD

Thanks so much my reviewers! :D

Marth: Even though you got less reviews this time?

Me: SHUDDAP SHUDDAP SHUDDAP! D:

Zelda ran down a hallway, her breath coming out as gasps every single time. She was panicking, running towards a certain destination … yet, she didn't know herself where her feet were leading her towards.

Once her feet took her to a door, she automatically started slowing down, seeing a young woman of around 16 eavesdropping on a conversation. Zelda made a futile attempt to find a hiding spot, but just when she thought she was about to be spotted, the girl only stared straight through her, giving no sign that she had seen her.

"Eh …?" Zelda whispered. She gulped, and then took a shuddering breath, gathering her confidence. She walked down the hallway towards the girl, when the door suddenly slammed open, and one of the big burly men that emerged grabbed the girl and ran.

"NO!" the princess cried, as she watched the girl struggle in vain. She made towards the girl – but something blocked her way. She looked up, and saw the familiar cerulean eyes of the Aritian prince.

"I'm sorry Zelda, but I'm afraid I can't let you pass," he said, smiling. Zelda shuddered – that smile didn't reach his eyes; the blue orbs were as cold as ever.

"Let me pass, dammit!" Zelda screamed, trying to push him away. Suddenly, in a flurry of movement, the prince had his sword to Zelda's neck, forcing her against a wall. The princess could feel the cold sharp blade cut into her skin –

"Zelda! Snap out of it!" the princess awoke suddenly, her eyes snapping open in fright. The princess was drenched in cold sweat, her heart still pounding unrelentingly. Hovering above her was Samus, the worry clearly etched on her face.

"Are you okay? You were muttering and you cried out like you were in pain …"

"I'm alright. Just a dream, I guess." Zelda gave an attempt for a smile.

"Alright then …" Samus frowned, clearly still not at ease.

"Really, Samus!" the elf chuckled nervously.

"If you say so!" the bounty hunter flicked her wrist and climbed back down the ladder. Zelda breathed a sigh of relief.

The princess glanced over at the digital clock and read 8:00 AM. She groaned, flipping over on her side. It's still so earlyyyyy … but I should get up.

With a sigh, Zelda pushed herself into a sitting position, rubbing her eyes. Time to wake everyone else up, then!

- - - -

After fifteen minutes of inconsistent banging of pans of shouting, several of the smaller smashers and all the females stood in the kitchen, ready to tackle the ingredients and stoves.

"Why am I here again?" Toon Link asked, his eyes only half open with sleep.

"To cook for everyone else, of course," Zelda replied, already busying herself by finding the appropriate recipes.

Peach raised an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't like to cook."

"I …er … well, I wanted to do something nice for once …" Zelda trailed off, more intent than ever on finding her precious cookbook. And also keep my mind off a certain book, she added silently.

Suddenly, there was a sucking sound behind Zelda. She whipped around, to see pink round blob sucking up pieces of paper, food, and kitchen utensils.

"KIRBY! GIVE 'EM UP!" Ness screamed, running after the said blob with a baseball bat, obviously glad to find something to do other than cook.

"Ness! NO!" And so, chaos ensued in the kitchen.

- - - -

Zelda stood in the middle of the kitchen, smiling proudly at the plates of soggy sausages in front of her.

"Okay! We're finally done!" she sang, putting the plates on the tables. Everyone else, now covered with water, flour, and other ingredients trudged out, mumbling grumpily.

Zelda whipped out a microphone (somehow) and screamed as loudly as she could into it, "BREAKFAST!"

As the smashers filed into the Dining Hall, many were rubbing their ears. "My eardrums …"

Samus stared at the food doubtfully. "Is it really edible?"

Zelda shook her finger in front of the bounty hunter's face a little too cheerfully. "Now now, Samus, do you have no faith in your fellow females? You were part of that group too, you know?"

"That's exactly why I'm scared," Samus muttered.

Suddenly, Zelda froze, staring at the door, her expression one of ice.

"Zelda?" Samus asked uncertainly.

Just as suddenly as when she froze, Zelda snapped her neck towards Samus and forced a smile. "I need to go, okay? See you later Samus!" With that, the elf ran off, brushing past the new arrival, Marth, coldly. The bounty hunter tilted her head in a puzzled fashion.

"What's wrong with her?" Samus muttered as she watched the prince turn around with a hurt expression on his face.

- - - -

Once Zelda was up the stairs, she rushed into her room, feeling puzzled. What was with me there? she wondered, burying her face into her pillow. Why'd I ignore him so coldly …?

Quite unexpectedly, her sensitive elfin ear twitched. She raised her head up cautiously, hearing a small voice, pitifully calling out to her.

'Zelda … Zelda, help me …'

"Eh?" the princess whispered, climbing down the ladder. She opened the door, taking a tentative look outside. She saw no one, not a single soul. Zelda crept down the hallway, her side pressed against the wall. The curtains were waving mysteriously, even though there was no sign of human life nearby.

The elf shivered, and ran back to her room, only to meet the green-clad hero on her way there.

"Zelda!" Link called, noticing her ashen-white face. "What's wrong?"

"Er, Link? Can we … talk?"

- - - -

Zelda was seated comfortably on a bed inside Link's room. The said hero was sitting next to her, waiting patiently for her to speak.

"Well … I found this book recently …" the Hyrulian princess murmured, being purposely vague. "It involved this girl … and just now, when I was at my room, I heard someone calling me, and asking me to help them, but when I checked the hallway, no one was there, but the curtains were moving for some reason… What do you think it was?"

Link pondered it, his brows furrowed in concentration. "It could be what it sounds like it is, or there could be a logical explanation for it," he said.

"I'm sure it wasn't my imagination, Link," Zelda said firmly, sounding more confident than she felt.

"It could be a ghost then …"

"Link …?"

"Mhm?"

"I'm scared," Zelda admitted, hugging herself. Link, surprised, looked at his friend, puzzled, but then he smiled and hugged her close to him.

"It's okay, Zel," he murmured, using her childhood nickname. "I'll protect you, no matter what."

Zelda was taken by surprise, but she made no movement to push him away. Instead, she pressed her face into his chest, finding great comfort, feeling his hand brushing her hair gently. She smiled, glad to have someone like Link close to her. "Thanks so much, Link."

"For what?" Link looked down at her, puzzled.

"For being here for me."

- - - -

For the next few days, Zelda trained determinedly, preparing for her brawl against Marth. She trained against anyone willing to fight her, her eyes always sparkling with an unfamiliar fire. And so, when the day came, she was as trained as could possibly be.

Zelda sat patiently in the room behind the stages, pointedly ignoring Marth, leaving the poor guy to wonder what he had done wrong.

Once the announcer called Zelda and Marth, the elf disappeared in a flash of light, not even giving Marth a chance to say a simple "good luck."

Once Zelda arrived at the stage, she glanced over at the opposite side, the Aritian had just gracefully landed and taken an attacking stance.

"Ready, set, GO!" the unseen person screamed into the microphone, make the walls shake.

The Hyrulian steadied herself, focusing her energy to her fingertips, making them crackle with energy while Marth rushed towards her. She sent a blast towards the prince once he was near enough, but to Zelda's surprise, he leapt over her easily and thrust his sword behind him, causing a pain in her back, subdued by the safety option.

Furious, Zelda unleashed Nayru's Love, but Marth countered it easily, sending her flying back.

Remember Zelda, a true warrior always keeps calm.

Remembering her old mentor's words, she closed her eyes, allowing her beating heart to slow, she opened her eyes again, the orbs seemingly more bright. Zelda let a faint smile touch her lips.

The elf sent a ball of fire towards Marth, and the prince rolled back, dodging it. Unfortunately for Marth, Zelda had taken the chance to come close to him and let out a wave of magic in his face. He was blasted off the edge, but he Dolphin Slashed upwards, holding onto the edge.

The prince did a series of graceful moves, but none of them hit, as Zelda used the usual transforming trick. Sheik, reappearing in Zelda's place, shot numerous needles in Marth's direction, making him step back, trying to block every one of them.

Under the cowl, Sheik smiled, hearing the crowd cheer her name, filling her with new determination.

"You've gotten a lot better, Zelda," Marth smiled. Sheik didn't answer, but instead pulled out a whip, sending it towards the Aritian, who dodged it easily. His eyes darkened.

"Princess Zelda …" he muttered, dodging another flurry of attacks. "Why are you ignoring me anyways?" he finally asked the one question that had been bothering him for days.

Suddenly, the ninja stopped. "I … I don't know, okay?!" she attacked with renewed vigour, sending needle after needle. Marth's lips set into a thin line, and he blocked them and jumped over Sheik, attacking her from above.

Once again, she transformed, avoiding the attack. As Zelda reappeared, Marth landed back on ground, ready to continue the fight.

The princess' eyes gave off a determined glint, and she disappeared, only to reappear behind Marth.

"It's time to end this," she said clearly as she blasted her magic into the prince, sending him off the stage.

The crowd went crazy, screaming out Zelda's name, cheering. The princess smiled and waved a gloved hand at them, cheery over her victory.

- - - -

Back in the living room, many of the smashers were still congratulating her on her victory.

"'Grats Zelda!"

"Why, thank you!"

"I can't believe it! You did incredibly well out there. I thought you weren't that strong …"

"… Thanks a lot Link, thanks a lot."

"Good job Zelda! Show them that the girls can play too!"

"Of course!"

"Wow! Zelda, that was so cool! You just went boom, bash, bang, and Marth went flying out the stage! That was awesome!"

Zelda chuckled lightly as she ruffled Lucas's hair. She was rather fond of the kid – he is very cute.

"Princess Zelda?" a tentative voice asked.

Zelda turned around, smiling. However, her smile disappeared once she saw who it was. "Yes, Marth?" she said, neglecting the use of 'prince.'

"Congratulations, princess. You did very well today," he looked at her hopefully.

The elf hesitated a little, but she let herself smile. "We were very evenly matched though. You might've won if I didn't use those cheap moves, as you say."

"Might've, hmmm?" Marth gave a broad grin, evidently pleased that they were at least on okay terms then.

"Only," Zelda teased. Marth bounced back over to his swordsmen friends while Zelda was bombarded with more congratulations.

- - - -

Upon entering her room after dinner, Zelda noticed a book lying on the table. She picked up, remembering the familiar cover and patterns. It was the book that she had neglected for several days. The book where she discovered the darkness of Marth's ancestors' past.

"GET AWAY FROM ME YOU BIG ARITIAN Censor!" Despite my predicament, I still laugh – Hiroshi never was one for courtesy.

December 3rd, 1856

The guards allow me and Hiroshi to meet for 15 minutes each day, with the condition that at least one guard will be there to overhear our conversation – they don't want us to think of a plan to break out.

They give us enough food each day to survive, and also a bed to sleep on. I suppose we aren't that badly treated, but I have a bad feeling that isn't going to last.

I have to go – I think I hear a guard coming down the hall.

December 4, 1856

It wasn't a guard coming down the hall – it was actually Hiroshi. He says he managed to picklock his own lock somehow – I think he isn't guarded as firmly as I – and he wanted to check if I was okay or not. I begged him to be careful – if he were to be discovered, I feared that we would be separated forever.

December 5, 1856

The guards have taken to beating me.

Whenever I disagree with one of them, he takes a horrible looking whip out, and lashes at me. Sometimes, they do it just because.

Hiroshi found out about it, because when he came over, I tried covering it, but I couldn't, with all the cuts and bruises I had. He became terribly furious, and says he will beat them the second he has a chance.

December 8, 1856

The past few days, everything was set into a schedule. Breakfast, beating, Lunch, beating, Dinner, beating, sleep, with some irregular visits from Hiroshi.

I fear for Hiroshi's safety. He keeps visiting me, even though it can be dangerous for him. However, he won't listen to my pleas. I just hope he won't get caught!

December 9, 1856

The beatings are getting worse. I'm bleeding more than ever now, but I'm sure I'll survive it. They'll still need me for the country.

December 10, 1856

I heard from the guards that our country has finally been overwhelmed and invaded. I hope Father is still alive and well. There is a chance that the Aritians kept their promise and gave my Father the position he was promised.

December 11, 1856

Dear God, can you not hear my pleas?

Hiroshi has been discovered sneaking into my cell.

He was taken away, probably to a distant place, or even lead to be killed. Oh, God, please, hear my prayers! Let Hiroshi be safe!

Zelda smiled sadly, her heart breaking for the princess. She could see the faint tear stains all over the page.

The princess let weariness take her, her eyelids closing, succumbing to sleep.

Yeaaaa!! Another chapter up! xD

Hmm … Now that I think about it, I don't think this fic will be THAT long. Probably under 10 chapters? I'm not sure … xD

Well, here you go, Duck. ZeLink. Happy? :D