A/n: I posted reviewer replies for last chapter through the homepage link on my profile page if anyone is interested, so feel free to check those out. I just prefer that system over this site's method…

Chapter 2
First Impression

"Marriage…now?" Zelda stood there staring at her father aghast.

"You're eighteen, dear, if you wait too long even inheriting the whole kingdom of Hyrule won't appeal to anyone," the king said with an irritated smile at his daughter's reaction.

"But…it just seems…so…soon…I haven't met anyone I'd have an inkling of interest in," she protested.

"This is why I've already arranged times for you to meet with suitors, some of Hyrule's nobility."

"B-but…"

"Now darling, you mustn't be so unreasonable. With you being the only heir while I'm in my older days, it is a dangerous time for there to be so little of the Royal Family left to hold onto the throne."

"But father…" This is too sudden…

"I don't want to hear anymore buts about it. A fine young man, Brayden Terrell, is coming this afternoon to court you and you are going to be cordial to him."

"Y-yes…Father," Zelda's face fell as she exited the room.

xxxxx

Brayden Terrell was a handsome young man, Zelda decided, but he was just a bit of a snob and completely self-centered. She knew immediately that she did not want anything do with him past this day.

They walked about the courtyard as she suffered under his stories of heroic exploits, some of which were obviously untrue. She could tell he was trying hard to impress her, but that only made it all the more pitiful. As her first suitor, and he obviously knew that, it seemed that he wanted to leave her with an experience none of the others could follow.

"And there I was, faced with an intruder skilled enough to escape the guards with naught but an unlit torch in my hands."

Zelda rolled her eyes, but Brayden did not see this and kept on talking. "Well, the man charged me. I just barely avoided the swing of his sword and managed a heavy strike to the back of his head. I knocked him out in one blow, I'd hit him so hard."

"Yes, well that's all very…" an edge seeped into her voice as she spoke her next words, "interesting and all, but let's do something fun."

"What do you suggest we do, my princess?" he asked, flashing a pearly smile.

"Let's go to the marketplace." There was an unnatural gleam to her eyes that went undetected by her companion.

"Didn't Impa say we had to…stay here?" Brayden's confusion was evident, but his desire to impress her kept him from shooting the idea down completely.

"Well, there's been a slight change in plans it seems then." She quickly ducked out of the sight of an oncoming guard and jerked him down with her into a set of bushes. The guard continued unperturbed without a single glance cast their way. "If we can make it around all of the guards, then we'll be clear. No one will come looking for me for another few hours."

"Princess, isn't this all a bit extreme? I think it wise to simply stay--…"

"Nonsense. Besides, where's that adventurous spirit of yours you've been telling me all about?"

He hesitated, but finally nodded his head in decision, "As you wish."

The two made good time as Zelda was well aware of the secret way into the castle. Although they ended up a bit soggy, they ran into no trouble and were already down the vines and on the main path headed away from the castle's main gates.

"Won't people recognize you, Princess?" Brayden asked, suddenly. "I don't think we'll need unwanted attention…"

"Good thinking. Give me your cloak," she said. He eagerly hung the dark material across her shoulders and she pulled the hood up herself. "All right, shall we?"

She hooked her arm in his and they strode into town under the pretense of an easygoing couple.

When they made it into town, however, Zelda froze. "Hmph, it would seem we have an unwelcome guest following us," Zelda muttered to Brayden, after casting a swift glance over her shoulder. Before Brayden could react, Zelda flung her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hard kiss.

He eagerly accepted the kiss and returned the favor, all thoughts of inappropriate behavior in a courtship banished from his mind.

A figure dropped from one of the central trees and obstructed their path. It was none other than Link. "Princess," he said seriously.

Zelda ended the kiss then and emitted a low gasp and tugged on Brayden's arm. "We should get away from this man. He's a well-known criminal to these parts."

Link raised an eyebrow at this, "What are you doing, Zelda?"

"How were you able to recognize her and just who do you think you are to be so frank with the princess?" Brayden snarled, taking a menacing step forward. There was a dazed expression engraved behind his features.

"And just what are you going to fight me with?" Link stated nonchalantly; not one emotion found its way across his face. "This is ridiculous and you are being duped into playing the part of a fool. I am no criminal and there is no reason for confrontation."

"Oh…" Brayden's eyes locked on the sword hilt poking over Link's shoulder, completely oblivious to Link's snide comment. "I-I…"

"What kind of man doesn't carry a weapon?" Zelda sneered from behind him.

By then a crowd was beginning to form as the exchange was whispered amongst the people. No one knew who Link was, but at the mention of the princess's name, they were all eager to see just what was about to go down.

"How am I t-to believe y-you?" Brayden stammered.

"Please, Brayden, don't let him hurt me," she had the damsel in distress act nailed perfectly in her voice, but because of the drawn hood no one could see the expression on her face.

"This is pointless. You are coming back to the castle with me, Princess. Now," Link made a move towards Zelda, but Brayden was not about to let him get any closer.

His intense desire to please Zelda overcame him and he swung his arm. Link, of course, easily caught his wrist and flipped him over onto his back. He then proceeded to step over the fallen form and tightly grab Zelda's arm. "You can bet Impa will be informed of this incident."

Zelda's hood fell from her face as he pulled her forward and the crowd immediately reacted. The townspeople closed in on Link in a surge of bodies as he made a futile effort to shove through them.

"Let go of our princess!" The woman that yelled this swiped at Link's head with a broomstick, but he dodged easily.

All the while this was going on, Brayden laid on the ground about to be trampled. Link had been forced back to his starting point and yanked the pathetic noble to his feet; his grip on Zelda never slackened.

"What's wrong with you Zelda? Do you not see what a mess you've made?" Link growled in her ear, frustrated by her suddenly passive behavior. She smiled malevolently at him and he stood perplexed for a moment.

There was a distinct chink of metal at the town's guardsmen finally took action and stepped into the fray. The crowd quickly dispersed themselves at their interference in order to allow the guards some room to work.

Link knew he would be seized first and asked questions after who knew how much later, so he did the only sensible thing he could think to do. He ran.

He jerked Zelda and Brayden so hard that they had no choice but to stumble after him. He was allotted precious time when the guards stood unmoving in surprise at this course of action, and Link made the most of it and sprinted to the castle's path with the two in tow. He ducked into the protective shadows of a nearby tree, and his fingers moved deftly to remove the dark cloak from Zelda's shoulders and throw it as a blanket over all three.

He finished this not an instant too soon because the guards wrapped around the corner a second later and charged on by thinking they were hot on the group's trail.

When silence descended after the guardsmen's noisy departure, Link pulled Zelda to a standing position and left Brayden to help himself.

Zelda, however, abruptly fell into Link's chest and started crying into his shirtfront. "I'm sorry Link…I didn't mean to…I just…I don't know what's happening to me!"

xxxxx

Their wrinkled green skin was aglow with blue and red light cast from the flame and ice that consisted of their hair. The sand goddess stood erect in the Spirit Temple as the two witches hovered about on similar broomsticks.

"That fool of a boy has returned to toy with our plans it seems," Koume cackled with a malevolent air about her.

"Yes, but soon, dear sister…the Royal Family won't know what hit them," Kotake answered in kind.

"I say we kill the boy first though, the king can wait! That Link has gotten in our hair before, we would be wise not to let it happen again."

"What's he to do when our slave is on the throne though? He wouldn't dare harm his precious Zelda, now would he?" Kotake voiced the twin's infamous shrieking laughter at this statement.

"Yes, but I've not seen one more determined than him. He'll find a way, sister; we must not let that happen," Koume stated reasonably.

"Fine then, we'll send a different minion to take care of him. The other must not be sidetracked from his quest. It is the only way to achieve our goal," she replied. The finality in this was indisputable.

"Very well, sister."

xxxxx

She was lost in a void, watching in utter mortification as her body acted and said things of its own accord. Link was right to wonder what was wrong with her; she was certainly beginning to think there was something.

She might have suffered memory loss before, but never anything such as the dreadful experience of having no control as some other presence replaced her. And now Zelda cried without thought into Link. He was solid under her and it comforted her to have him there, and though she could tell just how uneasy she was making him feel, she just could not seem to summon the will to care.

"She kissed me…" she heard Brayden repeatedly saying to himself in the background, and that only made matters worse.

"Yes, and as happy as I'm sure you are, there are more important matters at hand," Link snapped back at him.

Link's tone was enough to shut Brayden up for a minute, but only a minute. "I-I think there has been a terrible misunderstanding…"

"You've got that right. Zelda's got some explaining to do."

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Hmm…I seem at a loss for words right now, lol.

I'm setting a minimum word length limit for each chapter at 2,000 words, except…this chapter fell just short of that by 200 words…eh heh. Well, from now on I shouldn't have that problem because some of the future chapters are turning out pretty long...Well, long for me at least. I found this chapter to be kinda iffy when I reread it so hopefully it didn't turn out terribly…especially since Brayden earned himself a last minute name change, lol. Anyways, thank you reviewers and don't forget to check out replies if you have not done so already! I love feedback and always will. An update will be here for sure next Sunday night!

-blondie91