MARRIAGE.

"So you are turning down my request." Vaati shrugged. "Ah. I should have expected nothing less from a girl as stubborn as you. No matter. You will be my queen by midnight tonight, like it or not." He stroked her hair. "You and I can and will rule this world together. It's what I want and what I'll get."

"I will never be your queen, Vaati," Zelda snapped. "I will be dead before that happens."

"You will not. As King of the world and your future husband, I forbid it."

Zelda shook her head and took a step backward, toward the edge of the roof. "You have no control over that. Something could happen. One of your minions could mistake me for an enemy they must destroy and start attacking me. Or I could eat or drink something deadly, like poison. Or"—she took another step backward, the heel of her left foot slightly over the edge— "I could fall off a high roof, such as this one."

Vaati's eyes narrowed into slits. "You wouldn't dare."

"You don't know that for sure." Zelda didn't take her eyes off the dark sorcerer. She was unafraid of him. She felt no fear of 'accidentally' falling off the rooftop of the castle to her death. She didn't care. She felt she had no reason to live now that the world was under Vaati's control and her only true friend was dead.

"I forbid you."

"You can't forbid me," said Zelda. "It's my life on the line, not yours. I can and will fall off this roof if I have to."

"But you won't."

"You're wrong. You killed many people, including my best friend. You destroyed villages and towns. You gained power through fear and hate. You are a sick minded fiend who's given me as well as many others no reason to continue living. People like you don't deserve a seat of power. What people like you deserve is the death penalty."

Vaati said nothing. He felt like killing Zelda right then and there but he knew that would not be a very smart thing to do.

The princess turned her back to him and looked down at the ground five stories below. Normally she would be terrified of even the thought of jumping off, but things weren't normal anymore. Nothing would ever be normal again. She felt Vaati's eyes burning into her. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she took another step and felt her body plunge over the edge of the roof. She saw her life flash before her eyes as she opened them.

Then she saw Link. Link as a child, and then Link as a young man. Shame and guilt crept into her mind along with realization. Link never would have wanted this from her. She saw his face, filled with sheer disappointment, and felt her heart tearing into even tinier shreds than they had been when she heard of his death. She closed her eyes again and felt tears leave them.

Zelda had two stories left to fall by this time, and yet she felt something wrap around her, something that felt like chilled arms. They slowed her down, and then left her as she felt herself fall into a warm pair. They whipped her across something sharp and hard and she blacked out.

xXx

"She's still sleeping?"

"Well, sir, you hit her pretty hard on the head… I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if she died…"

"Shut up, fool! She's not that weak!"

"Sir—sir, there's no need to throw things—"

Zelda opened her eyes and saw Vaati pick up a chair and throw it at the man he was talking to. She sat up and didn't notice for a few seconds that she was lying on a bench in a prison cell down in the dungeons of the castle, wearing iron shackles on her wrists and ankles.

Vaati looked over at her. His angry expression vanished and was replaced with a phony smile. "Ah, my dear Princess Zelda! You've awakened! How do you feel?" Zelda didn't reply. Vaati came inside the cell and walked toward her. He kneeled down and was eye level with her. "I am deeply sorry for what happened before. You obviously were upset about losing your friend that you couldn't make a solid decision and decided to kill yourself. I hear grieving does that to you, but I wouldn't know, as I have never and won't ever grieve for anyone."

Zelda looked away. He took her hands in his and a chill ran up her spine. His face grew close to hers, much too close for comfort, but she was unable to push him away. Her head was throbbing in pain and her voice seemed lost and her body felt like it was filled with many stones, but it could have just been the shackles.

"My poor, dear Zelda…" said Vaati, shaking his head slightly. "Why do you continue to deny me? If you became my queen, you could have anything you wanted." He let go of her hands and used one of his to gently turn her face toward his. He caressed her cheek. "I need you. You need me. We both need each other to survive in this world. I will not have any further delays. Zelda, marry me. Together, there is nothing we can't do. Together, we shall rule this world the way it is meant to be ruled. Together, Zelda, is you and I."

She tried to protest, to tell him to get out of her sight and leave her be, but was unable to release the words from her lips as Vaati had closed his mouth on them. A mass of emotions—anger, disturbance, frustration, impatience, and even fear—involuntarily shot through her body. She had never been kissed before by anyone, not even a family relative, and was enraged that Vaati had just thought it appropriate to take that from her. Yet something didn't feel right. Her heart was drained of all hate toward the dark ruler but the emptied space was only slightly filled with other emotions. Zelda ended up closing her eyes and kissing him back, as she could not hear the part of her that was screaming at her to stop this immediately and kill Vaati.

When they broke the kiss, Zelda felt a sudden longing. Something convinced her that it was toward Vaati and when he asked her to marry him once again, she whispered the word, "Yes."

A smile curled onto his face, but it was a smile that was unreadable. If one saw the smile on his face at that moment, they would not know if it was a wicked or happy smile. Zelda didn't notice it. Vaati was the only one with knowledge of whether or not it was wicked or happy. "Then we shall wed tonight. At midnight." He left the cell and closed it. "Iskot will be here in an hour or two to bring you up to the rooftop for the wedding. I will see you then, my dear…" He locked the cell door and walked away.

xXx

An hour and a half later, Zelda's cell was opened again by the same man who had brought her to the castle hours ago, named Iskot. He walked inside and took off Zelda's shackles. Once they were off, she stood. "You, uh… all ready to go?" he asked, looking her over. She was wearing her normal dress but it had been torn over the past few days. Blood from the gash in her head was streaked down her blonde hair and stained some of the dress, plus her hands as she had tried to stop the flow by pressing on the wound. She nodded and followed him out of the cell.

Iskot held up a torch to light the passageway but it didn't help much. They'd walked up many stairs without speaking by the time they reached the door out of the dungeons and onto the ground level. Monsters guarded every door and prowled the hallways as they made their way up to the roof. A Moblin attacked Zelda, who dodged, and then Iskot commanded it to stop, which it didn't. Eventually Iskot grabbed a double-sided ax and sliced off the Moblin's head. None of the other monsters attacked after that.

Finally they reached the roof. Iskot mumbled, "She's here," to Vaati and then left.

Zelda walked hesitantly over to Vaati. The feelings she'd felt during the kiss had vanished and was replaced with fear instead of confidence and hate. Vaati smiled at her and she smiled back shyly. He took her hand and said, "My dear Zelda, you were given the opportunity to wed the Grand Ruler of the world and you accepted my proposal after a little convincing. In doing so, you agreed to rule by my side as Queen, with much power and reign over the world, though, of course, not as much as I have." He pulled a black ring with a white skull on it out of his pocket and slid it onto the ring finger on Zelda's left hand. "We are now King and Queen." He kissed her again and she felt the same longing she felt earlier after they broke apart.

"Come," he said. "Our thrones awaits." He walked away and down the stairs, leaving Zelda behind. She felt sadder, angrier, and more emotional than ever. But as she examined her ring, she suppressed her tears and emotions inside her and followed Vaati down the stairs.