"Oh, you have Gaebora," Ruto's father said with a nod. "Great man, really. Does his best for his clients, I assure you. Honestly, you should talk to him about working everything out."
Ruto leaned in towards him. "But Dad, don't you think you can maybe talk to the judge? Tell him you can vouch for Link's character as a one time offense or something?"
Zora looked over his glasses at his daughter, shaking his head. "My dear girl, the most he can do is hang onto some sort of temporary insanity defense. I suppose I could mention something to the judge, but only if Gaebora is there and brings up the case first. I shouldn't even be discussing this now on a professional level."
He patted Link's shoulder. "Trust me. Call Gaebora, take his advice. You'll be fine."
Link nodded. "Thank you."
Ruto rolled her shoulders back. "So, who wants lunch?"
The three of them (Ruto's father stayed behind, claiming he had a lot of work to accomplish) went to a sushi restaurant, and Link stared at the menu helplessly. He enjoyed fish a great deal, and he was rather hungry.
"You still enjoy the JabuJabu roll, right?" Ruto asked him, smiling. Link had no idea what she was talking about, but he nodded all the same. Link looked away from his menu from time to time, looking around at the restaurant, at the items on the table. He could and couldn't remember the place; something had happened here, they'd been here before.
"I haven't been here since…" he started, thinking, "since… Zelda's birthday. Her twenty-second." It clicked then, and he remembered the waitress bringing out an extra tuna roll on the house. Denno and Ruto dominated the karaoke space in the bar, and it was the first time that he and Zelda…
"Oh, I'd forgotten about that," Ruto said in surprise. "Is it too uncomfortable for you?" Her voice quavered, torn between apology and anger, and Link thought he could see her watching him out of the corner of his eye. If he said it was no big deal, perhaps she would think he cared nothing for Zelda. If he said it was a problem, it meant finding another restaurant and Ruto feeling either guilty or annoyed.
Instead, he shrugged. "I think I can handle it for one day."
This seemed to be the best answer, and Ruto nodded once, and went back to her menu.
The waitress brought over their meals, and Link leaned towards Saria a little ways.
"I think they forgot to cook mine," he muttered in as low a tone as he could manage.
"That's how sushi is… what do you eat in your world, anyway?" Saria asked, a little mockingly. Ruto was occupying herself with pouring out little dishes of sauce, and splitting a pair of sticks apart, handing them round. When she went to break Link's apart though, they broke wrong, leaving one stick with a tapered top edge.
"Whoa," she exclaimed, raising her eyebrows. "I'm such a pro at this usually."
Saria laughed and waved her hand. "It's just one pair, Ru, not everyone's perfect."
Ruto handed the sticks over, looking at Link carefully, but not answering his curious look. After a few minutes of fumbling, Link realized how to handle the utensils, and ate the first piece.
He was flooded with memories connected to the flavor; Zelda's birthday again, a few other occasions; just nights out, from what he could tell, with the whole crowd seated together and laughing. Their first date was here, their one year anniversary was here, and later—
Link coughed once, his hand over his mouth. There was an awful burning sensation in his throat that he did not like, and he felt the muscles cramp and tense around the weird, sharp flavor.
Ruto stopped and looked at Link directly, her chewing slowing down as he picked up his glass of water and cleared half of it in an instant.
"Ah, a little spicier than I remember," he offered. Ruto was frowning, her eyes narrowed, and she swung her gaze around to Saria. Saria glanced up nervously and back down to her veggie rolls.
"Who the fuck is this?" Ruto snapped. "The guy on the 20 Hot Wing Challenge hall of fame at Fyrus's can't handle a little fuckin' wasabi? Did you guys hire some sort of look-alike or something to fuck with Zelda's head? I'm not her biggest fan but that's messed up, Saria."
Saria raised one hand slightly; Ruto's tone had elevated and a few people had glanced over. "We will tell you everything when we're done, okay?"
Ruto shrugged. "Okay then, we're done." She flapped one hand in the air, and a waitress who'd been trying to stare surreptitiously from the bar came hustling over.
"Everything okay?" she offered.
"We need the bill and boxes, please."
"Uh, of course." The waitress was back quickly, perhaps hoping to find out more of what they were talking about, but Ruto threw down several bills in silence, piling all the sushi pieces into her box. She stood up quickly, and Link and Saria jumped to follow her.
They climbed into the waiting limo, and Ruto put the sushi in one of the ice chests, then rolled up the divider window between them and the driver and made sure the intercom was off. She settled into place, folding her arms and throwing one leg over the other, and stared across the car at them, waiting.
Awkward silence took hold in the car, and finally Saria cleared her throat.
"He's not Link."
"I fuckin' knew it! He looks damn close though, I was almost fooled for a bit there."
"And yet, he is Link."
Ruto tilted her head and frowned. "Saria, don't fuck with me now."
Saria shook her head. "This is going to sound insane, so just listen, okay?"
They gave Ruto the basic rundown, and once again it was the same questions, the same denials, and then,
"Well, if you're not Link, then, prove it." Ruto resumed her original posture and waited.
Link and Saria looked at each other; how could he do that? Reluctantly, he turned his gaze back to Ruto.
"Ruto, hasn't something always… seemed off, about me? Since I came back?"
She sucked on her teeth, eyeing him.
"I can't handle the drugs we took at that.. place. I don't have a um…" he snapped his fingers.
"Car?" Saria supplied.
"Yes, that—uh, the fact I just came out of nowhere dressed oddly? Come on, Ruto. You remember the first time you saw me. Would your Link have dressed like that out of the blue?"
Ruto nodded a little bit. "You really believe this, don't you?"
"It's the truth, Ruto. I swear it."
"Ruto, didn't it seem suspicious when Zelda came back? She's probably the most level-headed person we know, and she was having a meltdown." Saria ran her fingers through her hair. "She didn't recognize her own father, Ruto. She didn't even go to his house; she found Dr. Ivanova first. Don't you think she would have gone home?"
Ruto's face changed in a subtle way, and she looked at Link dead on. "You guys really mean it, don't you? This whole thing is real."
"Every word," he replied in a low voice.
"This is crazy… I mean, I knew you were kinda acting strange but I figured it was just like, because you'd been gone so friggin' long, you know?" She leaned forward, excited and curious. "So what am I like in your world? Am I married? Am I the same?"
"Well… mostly, yes. Except…"
"Except?" she tilted her head.
"You're a Zora. A… fish person."
Ruto frowned. "What is that, like a mermaid?"
Link nodded, though he had no clue what a mermaid was. "I guess?"
"And what about Saria?" she asked, gesturing to the mentioned.
Link looked at her. "She's… we call them Kokiri. They live in the forest."
"So like, fairies or something."
"Well, no, not really. They're like…" Link faltered; he couldn't think of the words to explain the difference to Ruto. He didn't know if it was an actual struggle to accurately convey the idea, or… if he was getting worse. "I can't describe it. But they're not."
"Do you think there's a way to cure Zelda? Or, to find ours?" Saria asked suddenly. Link had been so focused on just finding her, he hadn't thought about whether the memory loss was permanent.
"I don't know," he admitted.
Ruto was messing with a small device that fit in her hand, with a bright screen. "Awesome, I kept it," she muttered. She pressed a button on the side, and a funny ring sounded from the phone.
It rang once, twice, thrice, and then…
"Hello?"
"What the hell sort of device is that?" Link asked sharply.
"It's a phone, I'll explain later," Saria whispered. Everyone had gone very still in the car.
"Hello? Ruto?" the voice on the other end sounded again. Then, fainter, in the background, "Link? Who is it?"
"It's Ruto, but she hasn't…" the voice trailed off as the person turned their head away from the mouthpiece.
Ruto hung up abruptly. "Hoooly shit," she breathed. "See, I almost deleted yours—well, our your's phone number cus I was like so pissed after Zelda came back freaking out, but…"
"That was them, wasn't it?" Link asked. "The ones of this world."
"We've got to get you home," Saria murmured.
Ruto hardly gave them a good bye when they hopped out of her car at Saria's apartment; she still seemed to be in shock after their brief phone call.
Link and Saria dawdled outside of her apartment for a bit, but she appeared too jumpy to head back up to it. So instead, they climbed in her car and drove to the arboretum where she worked and studied.
Saria visibly relaxed when they stepped into the park proper; she paused on the worn path and looked around, then started walking, her steps slow and dreamy.
"When I was a kid, I would go on long walks with my grandpa. He and I would set out into the woods, or go to the park, or any old thing, and we would wander around, just looking at trees and plants and bugs.
One day, he showed me two clusters of mushrooms. They looked exactly the same, but he took his knife and cut one from each cluster in half, showing me that one was hollow, and one was not. 'You don't eat the full ones,' he warned me. He went on and continued pointing out dangerous and safe things to eat, to use for wounds and the like. 'It's easier to tell what is a dangerous animal, compared to what is a dangerous plant. They don't have claws, they don't roar, and they can't chase you down. All they can do is wait for your own foolishness.' Grandpa made it sound like this was very important to know. I think that is what led me to study plants so obsessively."
They stopped in front of a few small shrubs, many of the leaves from the plant torn off. Saria bent down and plucked a few of the smallest leaves from the back half of the least ravaged plant.
"Unfortunately, I am one of the few bio students who prefers to study rather than partake," she muttered under her breath to Link. The leaves were long and thin, and of a pale green, with a fuzzy texture and even paler veins running down the center. She handed them over to Link, who held them carefully in his palm. "This plant is known to have some psychoactive effects, and people claim they have 'visions' when they smoke or chew it. I recommend chewing, personally; it doesn't destroy the natural chemicals that trigger the hallucinations, and it's easier on the lungs."
"What kind of visions?" Link asked.
Saria shrugged. "Some people, from what my classmates have said, just see weird things; their hands melting, walls growing and shrinking, stuff like that. Others claim to be able to see secrets about other people, and still others say they see the future. But not one of those bastards has come up with the winning lottery numbers, so I'm sure they're just full of it and projecting or something."
"Why are you giving me this?" he asked, still cupping them gently in one hand.
"It's not just for you, it's for Zelda too. My thought is, since you both seemed to react to each other even under the influence of cheap ecstacy, maybe something like this can inspire a stronger reaction, where she'll see the truth? I mean, it's worth a try."
He closed his fist carefully around the fragrant leaves. "Thanks, Saria."
They wandered through the arboretum for a few more hours, Saria rambling on and on about the various plants. They plucked a couple mint leaves and chewed thoughtfully on them as they walked the beaten path. When even the nibbles of mint couldn't keep their stomachs sated, Saria led them back to her car, warm from sitting in direct sun, and they went to a cheap restaurant where food was prepared quickly, and served on plastic trays.
"You'll want to take it in a calm space, somewhere you both feel safe. I'm not sure if there's anywhere that feels safe for you here. Keep things neutral though, like, make sure both of you are on good ground with each other, you didn't just have an argument, because it could skew the results."
Link glanced at Saria over his fries. "You say you don't take the stuff, but you talk like you do," he pointed out.
Saria shrugged. "Just because I don't take it doesn't mean I wouldn't know the effects. Plus I've done a lot of babysitting for you guys over the years. I know what can make the best experience." She took a drink of her shake before continuing. "Invite her to it, and be honest with her about what it is and stuff. No one likes to be thrown into a drug unknowingly."
"I could certainly believe that," Link replied with a bit of ice to his voice.
She sighed. "Look, they didn't know you weren't you at that point. They assumed you knew what you were taking."
"Well don't worry yourself about this, I will be informing Zelda of what my intentions are with this leaf exactly."
Saria smiled faintly at him. "Good."
They stepped outside again, walking to Saria's car. About midway there, Link stopped, holding his arms out slightly, feeling off-balance and nauseous.
"Whoa—hold on—"
Saria stopped and turned, looking at him with wide eyes. "Link? Is everything okay?"
He shook his head, as if trying to shake off a bug, and slowly lowered his arms again, the ground steadying underneath him. "I… yes, I'm alright." He relaxed, but still frowned, and stepped forward. "It felt like the ground was shaking; did you feel it?"
"No, I didn't feel a thing." Saria bit her lower lip and looked him over, then at the ground, but she couldn't see any signs of what could have happened. "Maybe it's because of the stress," she offered, but she wasn't so sure.
They climbed back in the car. "Should I call Zelda first?" Saria offered. "Make sure she's home?"
Link looked at her in surprise. "Are you sure that's best? I don't know how much she trusts me yet, if at all."
Saria shrugged. "It's worth a try, isn't it? Those leaves work best when they're fresh, anyway." Without another word, she picked up her cell phone and dialed.
"Hey, what's up? … ah, nothin' much. Link and I were just wondering if you were around tonight, he wanted to talk to you? … uhhh, well I guess about why he's here. … have you heard him out? At all? … uh huh… he's not! He's not, I know it sounds like it but he's not crazy. … look, can we please come over? I think it'll be best to talk face t… well where are you going? … Where, Ikana or something? … Zelda, please! We just want—"
Saria pulled the phone away and frowned at it. "She hung up."
"She's going out somewhere?" Link asked.
"She wouldn't say where, though. So we can't track her down."
"Does she have a pattern, does she go to certain clubs on certain nights? Does she have favorites?"
Saria shrugged. "I don't really know. She might be heading to Ikana, she might go to Lon Lon Café… that actually sounds like our best bet." Saria started the car, and they rumbled down the street towards the coffee shop.
They sat at the coffee shop until it was nearly 10, near the back in a dark corner, constantly watching and talking little. Finally, after realizing the proprietor had been glowering at them for some time (only one coffee each!), Saria murmured an apology.
"I was wrong, she's not coming here tonight." She slapped down a generous tip, pinning it with her drained mug, and they headed together towards the door.
A small tinkly tune that Link knew he recognized sounded from Saria's phone. She answered it quickly.
"Hello?" A beat, and her eyes widened. "What? Why?" Saria covered her free ear with her hand to better hear the person on the other end, stopping cold. A few people, trying to enter through the door, had to sidle around her. Link pulled Saria to one side.
"Well where are you guys now? … her place? … yeah he's with me. … We'll be over shortly."
She snapped the phone closed. Before Link could even ask, she snapped, "Ruto went over there and told Zelda about the phone call. We have to get over there now."
Despite her usual stance of obeying the speed limit, Saria broke that all over the place. She took quick and unexpected turns, muttering to herself about Ruto's foolishness—"she could have at least WAITED" was grumbled at one point. She never even bothered to snap up her restraints, and so it was that when they did pull in front of the antique building, she was able to scramble out of the car mere moments ahead of Link, making a mad dash for the door. This was repaired at the elevator, where she was slapping the 'up' button with her palm, only to finally give up and run for the stairs.
Zelda's apartment was on the eighth floor, the top floor of the building. Even in what he considered fairly peak physical condition, Link was starting to pant by the third. Saria was breathing harder, but she kept a steely grip on the railing and thundered her way up each flight.
They reached the door to Zelda's apartment and Saria took a few deep breaths before knocking sharply. Link stood close behind her, tense and trying to get his breathing under control.
Their waiting wasn't long; Ruto practically ripped the door open, her dark eyes huge. Zelda stood up from her couch, looking oddly… calm. She greeted them in a neutral tone, and invited them to sit down.
"Ruto told me that you and her had an interesting phone conversation earlier, but that it wasn't with you," she said, directing her gaze to Link. "She then proceeded to call you, claiming it was you on the other side of the country." Zelda held out one hand, and Link stared at it.
"Hand me your phone, so I can check that Ruto hasn't called it."
"I don't even know what that is," Link replied, but looking at the small device Ruto had been clutching in one hand helped him make the connection.
"Of course you don't," Zelda replied, rolling her eyes. She glanced at Ruto, sitting near her and looking at Link, and quickly snatched the phone from Ruto's hands.
Ruto shouted in alarm as Zelda stepped rapidly back from the couch, holding her free hand out to stop Ruto from coming after her.
"If you guys are screwing with me in some elaborate prank, I will tell you right now that this is NOT funny, and I will NOT deal with ANY of you in the future," Zelda said, in a level tone. But her face was thunderous, and there was an edge of hysteria and anger riding that line of calm in her tone that froze everyone where they were.
Zelda studied the phone, quickly figuring it out, and dialed Link's number. She stared at Link as it rang.
The room was silent, and they could all hear, very faintly, the receiver pick up on the other end, and Link's voice. "Hey Ruto, lost you earlier. Is everything okay? … Ruto?"
Zelda's arm, still raised, slumped slightly. She looked at Ruto, then at Saria, and finally, at Link, who stared at her helplessly.
"When was our anniversary?" she spoke into the receiver. Silence. Faintly, "… who is this? Ruto? Anniversary…?"
"It's Zelda, damn it! When was our anniversary?"
"… is this a prank?" Noises too quiet for the others to hear, but they could tell by the way her eyes widened that she had heard something she wasn't expecting. Maybe herself. Slowly, she hung up the phone and handed it back.
It started ringing two seconds later, and Ruto quickly answered, her face pale.
"Hey L—Zelda?" As the one standing in the room with them looked ready to faint, Link found to his great relief that he had not lost all of himself. He jumped up from his chair, putting one hand at the small of Zelda's back and taking her left hand with his to lead her to a seat. She gasped and looked at him, and in those few fragile seconds where they held hands, she could see him, really see him, and he could really see her.
"Link?" she whispered hoarsely, tears in her eyes.
"My lady," he murmured, guiding her back to the couch with decorum and taking a respectful step back, dropping her hand.
Zelda still looked terrified but hopeful, as if someone she did not think she would see again had come home. But after a few minutes, she shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair, blinking hard, and he could see that strange 'fit' of her being in this reality snapping back into place.
"Did she buy it?" Saria asked suddenly, looking at Ruto.
Ruto stared at her phone. "For now, I think. I told her I spilled iced tea on my phone this morning and it's been randomly dialing people all day," she explained to the dazed outliers in the room.
Zelda rubbed her eyes. "I need to eat something," she mumbled. "I'm feeling nauseous."
"Are you alright?" Saria asked, half-standing.
Ruto nodded. "She's fine, just a little…" she surreptitiously glanced towards the ashtray on the table.
"Oh COME ON!" shouted Saria. "Are you telling me she's been high this whole time?"
"She was freaking out and I had an old birthday gift laying around in my purse I had to use up!"
Link rubbed his forehead. "Does any of what happened count?" he snapped. "Will she think it's all a hallucination?"
"I'm right here still," Zelda grumbled from behind her hand. "Weirder stuff has happened while I've been under the influence."
"I mean, what sort of world is this? You sit around abusing illicit herbs half the day, eating raw fish and cold coffee the other half!"
"Hey!" all three girls shouted at once, in unison, and their voices layered over each other as they started yelling.
"I bailed you out of jail—"
"—given you guys rides all over, including free lunch and legal advice—"
"—half-carried your ass home and helped you when you were under a drug you didn't understand even though I have every right to hate you—"
"You're the one who came here and threw everything off balance, not us, so why don't you just leave?" Ruto finished. The echo of their voices left a faint ringing in the room as they stared Link down.
"… I don't know how to get back," he muttered, feeling a brief, hot trickle of embarrassment.
They stood around in Zelda's apartment for a few minutes, stewing in their own anger and bewilderment and frustration, letting it temper and cool in a corner where it would eventually fade.
"… can we go somewhere please?" Zelda asked softly, her hand still over her eyes. "To eat and maybe to… not think?"
The group looked around at each other and nodded.
So, they bundled up in Saria's shitty car and headed out.
They stopped at a late-night restaurant that served breakfast all the time. Intrigued, Link ordered the Labrynnyn toast, which turned out to be stacked bread soaked in egg, milk, and cinnamon and drizzled with maple syrup and confectionary sugar. It was quite good, and he would have to remember this recipe to take back with him, if he figured how to do that.
Perhaps food was what he needed. It had been hours since he had tried the sad little sandwich ("a burger," Saria had called it) at the falsely cheery restaurant; this new food made him feel better, and once again determined to bring Zelda's memory back and get them both home. And how long had he been gone, anyway? He hated that he had no way to tell. It shrank his appetite.
"So where should we go?" mused Ruto over her fried fish.
"… go?" Link had lost his train of thought from the conversation.
"Actually, I'm kinda tired," mumbled Saria. "I think I might drop you guys off and head home."
"Aww, seriously?" Ruto frowned. "Spoilsport."
"Link, do you have a key for my place?" Saria asked.
"Uhhh, yeah. I think so. But how will I get back?"
"We'll figure something out, we can share a cab or something," Ruto answered, shrugging. "Do you still want to go with us, Zel?"
"Ah, yeah," she replied. "Dancing sounds good."
Ruto directed Saria to a club she called "Grotto", which was a tall, skinny building sort of haphazardly stuck between two others.
They climbed out in a procession, and though he held out a hand to assist her, Zelda shook her head. "I'm feeling much better," she murmured, looking into his face briefly. For one very brief second, he considered leaning in and—
"Hey, come on," Ruto called out. She headed for the front door, despite the short line of people, who muttered in jealousy. The bouncer at the doorway smiled at Ruto and stepped back for her.
"They're with me," she said, gesturing to the two stragglers behind her. He nodded and waved Link and Zelda through, and they pressed close together as they wound through the tiny main hall.
After ten or twenty paces, it opened up into a large room, with strobing multicolored lights. It felt a great deal like the first club, but the music was louder and deeper, and the dancing people were interacting, some a little too closely. Ruto immediately went forward into the throng, and Link turned to Zelda. She smiled sympathetically at him, but not for long.
"I'm not quite ready yet. Let's find a place to sit."
They looked around the perimeter of the club, finding a freshly abandoned booth. Link was strongly reminded of the first time they met, but there was something wrong with the memory; it wasn't from when he first fell into this realm, it was earlier. It wasn't a memory he should know. Saria had introduced them; at a similar club. He groaned and put one hand to his head; a powerful headache rolled over him and he felt curiously thin, as if he had slipped out from his body. The instant was over shortly, and his forehead was damp with cold sweat.
Zelda was staring at him, and she looked genuinely alarmed, and reached out to touch his arm. "Are you okay?" she called out over the din.
Link shook his head, shaking off the dizziness and the fading headache. "Yeah, I'm okay," he called out in response. Her arm was warm on his, and he realized his whole body had a thin layer of the damp sweat.
"No no no," Ruto shouted at them from the other side of the cramped table. They hadn't realized she was there; she was panting and her skin glittered. "You can't have every single Link to yourself, Zel!"
Zelda tried to laugh, let it die, then replied, "Bite me!" in a falsely cheerful tone.
"You're dancing with me tonight!" Ruto went to Link's side of the booth and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards her and out on the dance floor. He followed her into the crowd, not that he had much choice, and when they found a space just big enough for their bodies, she pulled him in close. The bass in the music pulsed through his feet from the floor, and Ruto gripped him tighter, pulling his hips in against her own. She began… well it certainly wasn't dancing as far as he knew. Ruto moved her body with the beat against his. Reluctantly, Link started moving with her, nodding his head a little along with the beat. He put his hands on Ruto's sides, his touch light and unsure.
"You guys are such prudes in your world!" Ruto shouted, laughing. She grabbed his hands with hers and put them lower, on her hips, and she put her hands up on his back.
"I wouldn't say that, we just… uh… respect…boundaries!" Ruto had leaned up, her cheek against his, so that she could hear him talking.
"Do you like Zelda?" she asked.
"Well… I don't really know her, I guess? Like, I knew her back in our realm, but I don't know her here. She's different."
"What is she like over there?"
Link shook his head. "This conversation is getting sort of personal, I think."
"What am I like?" Ruto was trying another tact.
"I've told you, you're a… what was it."
"But how do I act?"
"Mostly the same," he answered, shrugging.
"What are we like?"
He was confused, and figured he didn't hear the question. "I'm sorry?"
"Us? What are we like?"
Link felt very uncomfortable, and not because Ruto's knee…
"We're friends. We're good friends."
"Just friends?"
"Um…"
She turned her head and kissed him. Link stumbled back a little bit, caught completely off guard. But her mouth was warm and soft, and he could remember when they'd dated
what? We never
before he met Zelda. Link broke off the kiss and cleared his throat nervously, not that it could be heard.
"Ruto, what was that for?"
She shrugged. "I just wanted to know what kind of relationship we have in your world, is all."
"We're friends. Just friends."
She nodded and scooted closer to him again, but she did not kiss him again.
Eventually, they did break apart to dance, and Link turned to see that Zelda had joined them on the dance floor. Her eyes were closed, and her arms were in the air. He watched her dancing, trying to mimic her movements and feeling that he was doing a poor job of it. But there was something relaxing about it, moving in the crowd and knowing that all people cared about was keeping in rhythm to the music. And when he felt he could no longer go on, that he needed water and sleep, he was relieved to see the girls felt the same way.
Zelda hailed a cab, and they checked their wallets for fare. Link stared into his empty pocket; how had his stores depleted so suddenly? Ruto looked at him surreptitiously, and looked at Zelda meaningfully over Link's shoulder. Zelda shook her head.
Ruto's apartment was first, as it was closest. She kissed Link's cheek and hugged him. "Take care of her, make sure she takes care of you," she murmured in his ear. She slipped out with a wave to them, and went inside as the cab pulled away into the thin traffic.
"And then there were two," Zelda said cryptically. Link looked at her, but she stared ahead, through the window over the driver's shoulder.
They didn't speak for the rest of the drive. When they stopped at Zelda's apartment, Link hopped out after her. He couldn't pay for the ride; he would walk.
Zelda paid the driver, and looked at Link. "You're not going to Saria's?"
"I feel like a walk would be beneficial," he answered.
Zelda looked into his face and faintly smiled. "Link, Saria lives in a terrible neighborhood. Even a brawler like you could get hurt." She turned away, finding her house key, which was actually a thin plastic card. Link hesitated, staring after her. She looked back once the main entrance door was unlocked.
"Come on. You can stay on the couch again." They took the elevator this time, which fascinated him; at the same fair he'd seen the horseless carriages, he had seen a similar device.
They went into her apartment and Zelda locked the door behind him. She went first to the kitchen and poured them both tall glasses of water, and they drank greedily. Zelda watched him over the edge of her glass.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, once she was done with her drink.
"Quite well, just tired," he said in reply, putting one hand in his pocket. It crinkled on something, and he realized it was the leaves that Saria had plucked for him.
"Let's sit down, I want to talk a little bit. Just us." Zelda gestured to the couch and she sat on the far end, her legs stretched out. Link sat at the other end and stared at his glass. Zelda swirled the ice around in the bottom of hers before talking.
"I want to apologize to you, for not believing you. I've had some… nasty shocks in the past several months. I didn't want to believe this was you. Until today, I still believed you were trying some elaborate prank to win me over." She swirled the ice again.
"Even with Ruto's phone call, I couldn't quite believe it. She could have been talking to someone else, or a prank call; anything. Like, maybe she was still a little angry at me for stealing you from her. But… then I called, and, I heard you talking, but not you."
Shakily, Zelda took a deep breath. "And in the background, I heard myself."
It was confirmed. Link stared at Zelda, rooted, feeling as if his very nerves were on edge.
"Then, at the club. You felt sick."
Link nodded. "It's been happening since I arrived here. It's been getting worse."
Zelda held up a hand to stop him, not done. She swallowed hard. "For a second, just a second, you disappeared before my eyes."