TRUTH.

The sword in her hand scraped against Vaati's. She was no swordswoman, but she could get by from what Link had taught her over the years. It had been enough before, but now it didn't seem to be. Vaati was winning, and she knew it, but for the sake of her stubborn hope, she wouldn't admit it.

Monsters clamored around Link's cage. Some tried to crawl in, but failed. When Vaati knocked Zelda to the ground, he spelled the cage to allow things to come in but nothing to come out. Zelda swiped her sword at Vaati. He dodged.

She could barely get back on her feet. At that moment she knew something was very wrong. Something was keeping her from killing him, from using her full strength. It seemed that every attempt to attack him made her weaker, and the sword in her hand now had to be clasped with two; it was becoming heavier on her arms. But what was it? What was holding her back? She attempted a magic attack, but it only depleted her energy more. Vaati took this opportunity to grab her by the collar, knock the sword out of her hand and punch her three times across the face. He let her go. Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground.

Rain began to pour steadily.

"You're going to die, Zelda," said Vaati coolly, pointing his sword, which crackled with black lightning, at her. "Link's going to die, too. Just look at him. He's got no weapon and none of those monsters can leave the cage once they go in."

Link could not be seen, but the hoards of monsters piling into his cage sure could be.

He kneeled down and lifted her chin off the roof floor and turned her face up to his. She looked him in the eye. "You could've lived, you know. I would've spared your life. I married you, Zelda, and as my wife, I need to respect and honor you." His smile melted away and his face was dark. "But you did not show any respect to me. You yearned for Link, and when you found him, you couldn't keep away. And what was that whole show that you two lovebirds put on earlier? How dare he tells you he loves you. Whatever honor you had was stripped away the moment you let him kiss you. You, a married woman! For all I know, you could've ended up sleeping with him had I been gone long enough!"

Zelda stiffened and her face turned a bright crimson, but she said nothing.

"You blush, and yet you don't speak. You don't refute my words. Tell me, Zelda — my darling, sweet Zelda — why do you do this to me? You don't love me. And don't deny you're love for that lowly commoner. It's as plain as the nose on your face."

Finally, words came to her mouth. She spoke them automatically and without a thought as to what she was saying. "You're right, Vaati. I don't love you. I love Link. And he loves me, too. It's high time you quit your flirting and sweet-talking. You don't love me, either. You're evil. You can't love. You just say these things to get what you want. Well, you know something? I'm tired of it. It's old, and I'm tired of it. You disgust me, and I'm going to kill you!"

Wobbly-kneed, she managed to stand. The sword seemed so far away. Vaati stood and let her hobble over to get it. He smirked when she couldn't lift it off the ground.

"Feeling a bit light-headed, are we?" he asked, hovering several inches above the ground. He flew over to her. "What's the matter, Zelda? Is that sword feeling a little bit heavy?"

"Shut up," she snarled. "You're at fault for this, aren't you?"

"I wonder… darling, how come you didn't get the whole 'Sage' thing earlier? You defeated Ganondorf, and yet here you are, unable to defeat me. I don't even have that damned Triforce. Not that I want it, or anything.

"You grieved for Link when you thought he was dead. That's normal. You mourned for him longer than most because he was your friend and you loved him, though you didn't know it at the time. And being forced to marry me didn't help much, did it?"

He flew over to Link's cage and closed it off. It was getting crowded in there. In the blink of an eye, he was back at Zelda's side, muttering to her, "But then, how come, after we wed, you suddenly brought on a total character conversion. Even after I wiped your memories of Link, you remained in your grief-stricken paralysis. Pray tell, do you know why that is? Because I do. I know exactly why."

"You're just going to tell me?" Zelda barked.

"Yes, ma'am," he said. "Because, you're going to die anyway. Why die ignorant to the truth?" He faced her. "Look at your left hand, my darling."

She did. At first, she didn't notice anything abnormal, but then — she gasped.

"The… ring?"

"See this baby?" Vaati tapped it with a finger. "That there ring has changed your personality completely to the way I chose it to change. It made you feel weak and insecure for reasons you didn't know or remember. You're a smart young woman, Zelda. Intelligence couldn't be blocked off even when I made it seem like the ring meant nothing, really. A change in attitude right when it comes on… Fortunately, your new attitude kept you from thinking straight. And now it's weakening you. I could very easily kill you right now." He, behind her, put his hands on her shoulders and held his face next to hers, so he could whisper in her ear, "Face it Zelda, you're at my mercy. That ring could boil your blood or melt your innards or keep your heart from beating, all with a mental command from yours truly."

Beads of sweat rolled down Zelda's face. She looked at the ring on her finger and tried to pull it off, but to no avail. Vaati laughed.

"It won't come off for you, sweets," he said. "That ring will never leave your finger. You're being utterly foolish."

But, as it turns out, the one being utterly foolish was Vaati. For Zelda could think fast, and think fast she did. That ring will never leave your finger... The words echoed in her head as she eyed the small weapon that a monster had dropped.

Vaati should've killed her then and there, but delay was his downfall. He should've killed her when she dropped Link's sword and limped away from him. He really should've killed her when she bent down to pick up the small dagger that a monster had dropped. But he didn't kill her. He laughed instead.

"You can pick it up, sure, but you can't kill me with it."

She turned around slowly, facing him, but kept her eyes on the dagger in her hands. It was not a debatable issue at all. It was her and Link's life or this. She chose the latter, and in one swing, she sliced off her finger and Vaati's laughter died away.