A/N-Thanks for the reviews The-Saiyan-From-Hyrule, maximushyrule, and darthritter86.I'm sorry I haven't updated! I lost any inspiration for this story for an instant. But now I've got some, so we're all good.

Disclaimer- I don't own Zelda

"There are no cats in all of the WaterPlace!" The robin exclaimed. "In the ForestPlace, yes, but there are no cats here. That's why I like to be here. And also, the WaterPeople are so much more kind to us than the ForestPeople. It's warm here, too. I love this place so much that my mate and I are considering living here forever. Wouldn't that be nice? I haven't had a permanent home in all of my entire life! Flying from place to place. It can be really tiring, you know? In fact-"

"Stop talking to the bird, Malina." Riste said, annoyance firm in his voice. Malina looked up, blinking. A week ago, he had begun to teach her how to speak to animals and how to transform into other creatures. The young girl loved talking to birds because they always had so much to say. Especially robins.

"Good bye, Redchest. Tell your mate that there will be a storm tonight, as my master has predicted." Malina whistled softly to the bird, who quickly dipped his head before answering.

"May the winds carry you where you need to go." Redchest said as a parting word. However, he hesitated and said, "Another storm is coming, but not one from the sky. A storm that comes from the ground and makes fire. A storm that will make you take the eternal sleep if you are not careful. The fire that will come from the storm can wipe us all out, even the one who makes the storm. I warn you of this now. Be careful."

The robin quickly flew away, forcing Malina to watch it go in slight confusion. A storm? That comes from the ground and makes fire? A storm that could... kill her? That didn't make any sense. What did Redchest mean by that?

"Do not listen to it, Malina. Robins are notorious for spreading rumors like that." Riste snorted. "Little snipers. Come, show me your wolf form. It will most likely still need work, yes? I wouldn't expect anything less from you..."

"And masters are notorious for ruining fun..." Malina grumbled, standing up. She closed her eyes, and Wisdom began to speak with her.

You know, we're nearly at the half-way point in your training.

Shut up, I need to do this.

Fine, fine.

Malina took in a deep breath and felt the magic flush through her. She hesitated for less than a second and was immediately called off by Riste. "You'll never be good if you keep this up." He growled. "Stop hesitating. You have the power to do this, but you are so unsure of yourself. Let's go inside if we have nothing else. We won't make any more progress today, anyway. You're nearly impossible to work with, you know that?"

Malina almost wanted to whine that it wasn't her fault, that he was the one that was impossible, but... she knew that nothing would help her. That was the problem with Riste. He had a tendency not to listen to anyone.

A light touch on Malina's hand brought her out of her thoughts. She glanced over and saw Ceris. His face was flat, showing no emotion, but his eyes showed something different. His eyes were warm and soft, sympathetic. Malina felt her face heat up and she looked down, quickly trying to distract herself from his deep brown eyes.

What about Redchest? Was what the robin said just a rumor? Was it merely gossip? Even as she thought this, anger returned to her. After all, Riste never believed her. The bird was probably more right than he ever was. After Malina thought this, she felt guilty. After all, he was her master.

She pulled her mind away from this subject as well. Another subject she had been avoiding floated into her mind. The little group that consisted of her friends. Were they all right? What had happened to them? There was no way of communicating with them, really, so what could she do to help them? Or even just know what happened to them. To be honest, to know what happened to them would quench her thirst for all of this knowledge that she did not posses.

You could just ask me. I know everything.

You're not helping, and bragging is bad. You should know that.

I do. I just don't happen to use everything that I know. You don't either, you know.

What do you mean?

If you remembered the Book of Wisdom, then this training would go by much faster.

What do you- oh, whatever. I'll figure it out eventually.

Good girl.

Malina began the long walk down the hall to her room with Ceris in silence. Both of their footsteps echoed, but it seemed to be nothing compared to the beating of her heart. It was bad enough that she liked him more than a friend, but... these few days that they had spent together, just them were maddening. Malina swore that she wanted to scream with all of her might, no matter what anyone said.

Even so, Ceris seemed to be totally unaware of her feelings toward him. His job was, after all, to protect her. Nothing else. She could tell that the days that they spent together were torturing him too, but in a different way. Malina wasn't sure quite why, though.

She paused in front of her large, stone door. For some reason, sleep didn't seem as wonderful as it usually would. Something about it was bothering the girl, and apparently Ceris seemed to notice this as well.

"What's wrong?" He murmured, lightly touching the hilt of his sword. Malina blinked at this, knowing that it wasn't something that a sword could touch.

"I don't know." She answered. "I think that there's something wrong, though. I'm getting an ominous feeling about my room, as though there's something waiting for me there. Like a nightmare or something. Perhaps a spirit...?"

"No." He said flatly, flicking his dirty-blond hair out of his eyes. "It's something else... I know I don't have magic or anything, but this person isn't doing a very good job at hiding their presence. Unless, of course, they want us to know that they're there. You better let me go in first."

Malina nodded, biting her bottom lip. In all honesty, what could he do in a match against magic? His sword might deflect it for the moment, but it could easily be shattered. Then again... he was supposed to be her bodyguard. If he was going to be a good one, he probably thought he would fight before she ever would or could. For some reason, that hurt.

As they opened the door, fear took hold of Malina. Haunting pictures filled her mind as she remembered him. Vaati, standing there, holding the staff, trying to kill her. Vaati saving her life. Vaati talking to Zelda. Vaati hugging her. Vaati telling her stories. Vaati teaching her. Vaati being there. Most of all, Malina remembered that painful love. She loved Vaati, and there was never going to be a change to that. She loved him more than she could ever remember anything.

"Vaati..." Malina hissed, falling to her knees. The man in all of her memories... it was Vaati. Her mind was overloading, more pain than she could even imagine was flowing into her body, and she didn't want to feel it any more. So, she passed out, leaving Ceris standing there in shock.

When Malina opened her eyes again, she felt small. She looked up and saw her mother holding her, gently stroking her hair. Another odd thing about this dream was that her hair was the same color as her mother's, not mousy brown as it was now.

"Mama..." She whispered, hugging her mother. "Mama... where did he go? Why did he do that bad thing?"

"I don't know, honey." Zelda murmured, gently squeezing her. "He had to go, though. If he stayed, he would have hurt you. He would have hurt me, too. He would have hurt everyone. It's better this way. Maybe we can have peace now. I... I hope that everything will turn all right for us."

"I didn't want him to go..." Malina whimpered. "Why couldn't he have just been nice, mommy?" Zelda hesitated before answering.

"I'm not sure."

The moment that she said this, she faded away into the darkness that had been creeping up on Malina. The darkness she had not noticed. She was alone, alone. A frightening prospect, but it was true. Even now, in this darkness, she remained a mere child.

After spending what felt like an eternity in the darkness, despair, and pain, it ended. A light shone upon Malina's eyes, causing her to awaken and know what was going on around her.

Malina was in a field that was made of purple flowers, the kind of field that only appears in your dreams. A blue, blue sky hung over her head, and much to her dismay, Malina was still a child. As she gazed around the field, there seemed to be two spots that were different. Curiously, Malina walked over to one of them.

It was a spot where no flowers lay, just soil. As she took a closer look, there appeared to be one flower. A yellow flower, dried and barely alive. When Malina usually saw a flower as such, she wished to give it water. However, she felt no such wish with this flower. It had a slightly ominous feeling about it, as though this flower could suddenly spring out and kill someone. A silly thought, but it still never left the Princess's mind as she walked away, to the other spot.

The flowers were red, and in the middle of the circle sat Vaati, his eyes slightly glowing. Upon seeing her, he looked straight into her eyes. For quite a while, they merely held each others gazes. Finally, Vaati spoke.

"Please sit down." He indicated to the purple flowers, and Malina did as he asked without even thinking. He remained silent for a moment longer, and she was bursting with questions. So, she asked a few.

"Where am I?" At this question, Vaati stared at her with some slight anger in his eyes. However, he quickly brushed it away and answered.

"This is the place that you made up." He murmured. "When you were unhappy for some reason or other, you asked me to take you here. I put you to sleep and took you here. You always called it 'Sanctuary.' It always made you feel better."

"Does that mean you remember everything, too?"

"Oh, yes. Our souls, for but a moment, touched when you entered that room of yours. It forced old feelings out of us, and it also happened to force out old memories. In my original plan, I was going to take you here and talk to you about how I was going to kill you. Now I'm not sure."

"Why is it that you're on red flowers?"

"Because. I cannot step into your world without tainting it. This is the only part that I am willing to taint."

"Oh. Then why is there a yellow flower over there? It felt kind of scary for some reason..."

"A man named Ganondorf found his way here, once. That was the area that he stood in, always watching you. He had plans for you that no one was able to understand. Alas, he was trapped. He could no longer do anything."

"Do you know who my daddy is? I can't remember that."

"That's because no one ever told you. Your parents were careful, because your mother had an affair." At this, shock eclipsed Malina's face.

"What?!"

"The man that Princess Zelda was married to was a man of high nobility. He was, unfortunately, very sick most of his life. Some of the diseases were inherited. Your mother was fearful that you might gain many of these diseases. She wanted you to be a healthy, good child. You could not be this child if this man were to be your father."

He paused for a moment, then continued. "She turned to her best friend, a man she knew was in love with her. He was strong, brave, a bearer of the Triforce, and kind. She knew that she would have a good child if you were borne unto him. She begged him, and he agreed that it was for the best that you were not the other man's child. This man's name, by the way, was Link. A rather curious name, don't you think?"

Link. The word floated about in Malina's mind. This was the name of her father. "So? What happened then?" She pressed, and Vaati sighed before nodding.

"Your father... a year or so after you were born, the man that was supposadly your father passed away, but not before he passed on a disease to Link. He fought hard for many months, and finally died. That same night, your mother commited suicide because she missed her family. She knew that Impa would take care of you. Just before she died, the same night but before either of your parents died, she changed your hair color. Before it was a bright yellow, and then she changed it to the brown it is now."

Malina closed her eyes, feeling sadness. Her parents had a dark history, apparently, and she felt even more sad that they had come to such a horrible demise. Why couldn't they all have lived happily together? Her, Zelda, Link, Impa, and even Vaati. Wait a moment. What did happen with Vaati?

"Vaati..." Malina said slowly. "What happened all those years ago? The reason why we're separate now. What did you do that was so horrible?"

"I... suppose I couldn't avoid this story forever. I'd like to say that I'm not proud of what I did. Right now, anyway. By the end of the night, I don't think that I will care anymore." Vaati sighed and began his story.

The violet haired boy stood up, yawning. The Princess opened one eye and looked up at him, pouting slightly. He gave her a quick smile and she closed her eyes again, going back to sleep. Vaati left, feeling slightly happy for some odd reason.

He thought about, for a moment, going to see Riste. After all, he had not been to practice his magic for quite a while. However, he felt like doing something more productive, such as exploring the castle. All in all, he still got lost in the giant palace. Sometimes it threw him off that people actually lived here and it wasn't just a big thing of stone.

Vaati began walking down the halls, his eyes interested in every little thing that they saw. Unlike what most people thought, he was a rather cheerful boy. It was hard not to be when you were a grand guest in the castle.

The boy stopped at one of the paintings, staring up at it. It showed the Princess and the Queen. The Princess was sitting upon the Queen's throne, a gentle smile on the woman's face. He wondered if anyone was actually able to keep smiling that long, or if it was just the painter's doing. He could always ask, but with Vaati's scattered thoughts, he probably would never end up remembering.

He turned a corner and found a staircase. It was one that he had passed often enough, but never really thought about or climbed. They seemed to go up quite a ways, and he was rather unsure if he was willing to walk all of that way.

Go. A voice sounded in Vaati's mind and he took a step back, surprised. What was that? Was it a good thing to hear voices within one's mind? Should he listen? Should he not? What was so important about these stairs?

And yet, as though on their own, his feet moved him up the stairs. Vaati found himself walking up them, with curiosity having taken hold of him. He would find out what was on top of these stairs and find out about his voice. Perhaps he should talk to it? Even so, he did not.

The stairs stretched on for quite a while, but he eventually made it to the top. On top there was a wooden door. The old, brass door nob was rusted with age and Vaati was surprised that it didn't fall off when he turned it to open the door.

Inside, it appeared to be that none had entered it for years because it was very dusty. Upon entering, Vaati fell into a fit of coughing. When the dust finally cleared, he got a better look around the room he had just entered.

It was a storage room of some sort. You would think that Vaati might be disappointed, but he wasn't. He understood the fact that there was more to these old rooms than meets the eye. Perhaps he could find something of interest and show it to the Princess.

No. The voice echoed within the vaults of Vaati's mind. Now, look for a book. It will be red and look slightly like it is made from fine leather.

Who are you? Vaati asked, bewildered.

All will become clear soon. All I ask of you for now is to find this book and open it.

Vaati silently began searching for the book, wondering what was going on. After a while, he found a large book case. He began studying it, looking for the book. He touched each one while walking by slowly. One felt different, somehow. He picked it up off the shelf and examined it slowly. It was red and looked like it was made from leather.

Vaati opened it.

All at once, a great power flowed through him, causing a smile to be placed on his face. Suddenly, things became more clear. He was to be the ruler of Hyrule, and that was it. He wanted to be ruler and have all of the power in the world, making sure that it was his. His eyes turned a deep, blood red quite suddenly.

"It will be mine." Vaati murmured, and began to read the book.

I have done my job, the voice thought with a hint of satisfaction in it's tone. Let the games begin.

"...And that is what happened." Vaati whispered. Malina watched him, confusion deep in her purple eyes.

"I don't understand. How did the book make you evil? And what happened next?" She asked, her brow scrunching together. Vaati laughed softly at this.

"I don't know what that book did to me, but it made me so much more insightful. After that, I plotted the killing of Queen Zelda's father. Less than a week later, he had left this world. However, Zelda somehow found out that it was me and forced me into a sleep that I could only wake up from if someone with magic knew how. My cousin, Daysin, did so."

"Oh." Malina said blankly.

"After that, I couldn't remember anything about our relationship. All I could remember was that I needed to kill the heir to the throne to become the king. I still want to be king more than anything, more than I love you. I will not let you get in the way." Vaati said the last part harshly. "Now, I want this meeting to be over."

A bright flash came in her eyes before Malina could even ask another question, leaving her wondering what was going to happen next.

Malina opened her eyes slightly and saw Riste and Ceris standing above her, talking about something. "Stop worrying..." Riste crisply said. "She should wake up any moment. Vaati's magic is gone, now. Honestly."

"Are you sure?" Ceris sounded very worried. "Every little piece of his magic is gone, right? Nothing's here, right?"

"Yes, now be quiet. I am sick of your constant chatter. Good night... or should I say good morning? Either way, I am going to bed." Riste gave a small, annoyed wave before leaving the room. Ceris sighed and sat down on a chair that had not been in the room before Malina had fainted. His eyes were on her, and she hoped that she wasn't blushing.

Was he really worried about her? Did he care that much? She had always hoped that he liked her more than just a friend, but it seemed like a far off dream. Perhaps it wasn't. Maybe he actually liked her back. These peaceful thoughts followed her to her sleep...

A/N- Wow, that actually wasn't short. And don't worry Malina, you won't be peaceful forever... BWA HA HA! ... R&R.