Author's Note: Hey! So this story just reached 50 reviews! Yay! That excites me A LOT.

Oh my gosh, I'm super sorry for the long delay. I feel so bad about it. There's really no excuse for how lazy I'm being about this. But I'll really try to update more. But this is long chapter, so I hope that makes up for the very long delay.

That's really all I have to say, so, enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda. If I did, you'd be sad, because I could never come up with the brilliant ideas that Nintendo has had over the years.

Zelda

I awoke with a start to the sound of metal clanking. I opened my eyes and looked around the room, my eyes straining to make out a figure in the darkness. I finally find Link's hunched over silhouette in the corner of the small tree house.

"Link?" I whispered quietly, afraid to even speak to him after what happened last night. There was no reply, but I knew he was listening, because he stopped whatever he was doing and was now just sitting still. "Link," I repeated. "What are you doing?"

"Packing more supplies. You should get up. We need to leave as soon as possible if we want to get to Castle Town before sundown," he replied. However, the warm tone that had always been in his voice was now gone.

"You don't want to check on Rusl before we go?" I asked.

"I don't see what difference it will make if we go there or not. He'll be just as sick either way," he replied matter-of-factly.

I said nothing more as I quickly got up from the bed and secured my sword in its scabbard and my whip in my belt.

After Link was done packing, we both silently ate breakfast and walked outside to board Epona. The moon was still high in the sky; it couldn't be later than five o'clock. Link kicked Epona into a trot and we began making our journey to Castle Town.

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As we rode toward the center of Hyrule Field, I couldn't take the silence any longer. I had to talk to Link.

"Link," I dared to say. He didn't respond in any way. "Link," I said again. "I know you're mad at me, but I would really like to talk to you."

He shrugged. "There's not really much to talk about."

"Yes, there is. I'm sorry. Is that what you wanted to hear? I am very sorry. It's just, when I saw the way you looked at me- well, actually Midna," he flinched at the mention of her, but I continued. "I just couldn't stand to tell you the truth."

He sighed. "So you just thought that you could pretend to be Midna for the rest of your life?" he asked in a slightly angry tone.

"No, of course not. Honestly, I wasn't even thinking about what was going to happen. I just couldn't tell you because I knew how you would act." I said.

"And how would I act?" he snapped.

"Just like you are now," I whispered.

He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "I guess I'm sorry, too. Can I be completely honest with you?"

My mood lightened a bit. "Of course. You can tell me anything."

He hesitated before talking again. "I didn't just love her. I was in love with her. And the fact that I'll never see her again is awful. But just seeing her at the Forest Temple, even if it was just you, it made me realize that I can get over her. I just need time." There was a bit of silence between us before he spoke again. "And can I tell you another secret?" He asked unsurely.

I nodded. "Yes."

He turned his torso around in the saddle to look me in the eyes. "I'm really glad to have you back."

I felt my cheeks get hot as we rode onward. "I'm glad to be back."

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It was around six o'clock in the afternoon when we entered Castle Town. And oh my, how a city can change in a matter of days.

The once crowded streets were now dead and lifeless. There was a horrible stench in the air, much different from the usual smell of fresh bread and fruit.

I turned to Link. "What do you think is going on?" I asked him.

He looked around the deserted pathways and shrugged. "I don't know. Let's go to Telma's. She usually knows what's happening around town."

We walked down the stairs just outside the bar and went inside. The bar perfectly matched the deserted streets of the town, save for the three figures sitting at a table in the back of the room.

There was a man with amber hair and glasses hunched over a book, flipping through the pages quickly. He looked to be about twenty years old. There was also a young woman with heavy armor on, carving shapes into the wood of the table with a dagger. She looked to be about twenty, also. Telma was sitting there, too, with her elbows on the table and her face in her hands.

They all looked up when they heard us approach. Their faces automatically lit up, except for the black-haired girl's.

"Link!" said the young man. He put a dagger in his book as a bookmark and walked over to shake Link's hand. He then turned his attention to me. "And who is this?"

"This," Link gestured towards me. "Is Princess Zelda." I gave him a glare. I hate that title.

The man instantly got on his knees, his eyes wide. He grabbed my hand and began kissing it repeatedly. I can't say that hadn't happened before, but I was still embarrassed.

"Please, just call me Zelda; I'm not really much of a Princess right now." I said, pulling my hand away gently. He rose to his feet.

"I am Shad, member of The Resistance," he said, bowing lowly. He turned to the black haired girl. "This is Ashei," she gave a curt nod but said nothing. "You'll have to forgive her," Shad continued. "She's not the most social person here."

"Hey," interrupted Link. "Where's Auru?"

Telma averted her eyes to the floor, as well as the other members of The Resistance. Telma was the first to speak up. "Auru and his family have come down with the sickness that is threatening Hyrule."

I gasped. I knew Auru. It was a faint memory from years ago that I had to fish out of the back of my mind, but I still remembered it. Auru was the general when I was about eight, and the bravest knight I ever knew. He was surprisingly one of my best friends, and I could tell him anything. Being a princess, you don't have many true friends, but Auru was one.

He taught me about life outside the Castle. He told me every adventure he had ever been on, from fighting a pack of wolfos to traveling across the Gerudo Dessert. He also taught me fencing and archery.

The day that Auru retired, things got bad for the Hylian army. Most of the soldiers started slacking off, and became less brave every day.

Link's voice brought me out of my thoughts. "Is that why there's no one outside? Has everyone become sick?" he asked.

"Most people," Shad replied. "There are at least twenty dead so far."

My head started spinning. Twenty people? How could this have happened so quickly?

"Everyone's too afraid to go outside." Telma said. "What's even worse is that they're blaming you two," She pointed at us. "They think that you didn't get rid of all the evil in Hyrule."

I sat down at the table holding my head in my hands to stop the spinning. "Well, they're right. We didn't," I said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Ashei.

And so Link and I started explaining everything to them. Right from the moment we defeated Ganondorf to right now. They remained silent the whole time, processing our words slowly.

"I think you should tell the people that," Shad suggested.

"What are we supposed to do?" asked Link. "Go around to every house in town and explain?"

"Maybe we can just get them all to come to the fountain and listen to the Princess," Shad said.

And that's exactly what we did. For the next hour, we went to every house in town and coaxed all the partially healthy people out of their homes. Most were unable to even move, and so we had to leave them be, and hope that the word would spread after my speech.

My speech. Another thing to worry about. As a princess, I was always the one giving people news about the current state of our country, and I was never one to have stage fright. But now, surrounded by the sick and dying, telling them that their lives could clearly be over at any moment, would I be able to do it?

I didn't really have much time to think about it, because before I knew it, Link was holding out his hand, helping me step onto the large central fountain. Hundreds of tired eyes staring directly at me, waiting for an answer all their questions.

"People of Hyrule," I begin. The place is so silent that you could hear a pin drop. What do I say? I thought to myself. "You are all dying because we failed to protect you"? That is the truth, but I'm afraid that would come off as a bit harsh. "I am sure you have noticed a disturbance in our country over the past few months. The truth is, we haven't been completely honest with all of you. And it's your right to know what is happening in your own home. Hundreds of years ago, a group of evil sorcerers called the Interlopers tried to take over the Scared Realm. They failed however, and the three Goddesses: Din, Nayru, and Farore sealed them away in a land known as the Twilight Realm. Later, an evil Gerudo man named Ganondorf tried to obtain the Triforce, but was defeated by the Hero of Time. Ganondorf was sentenced to execution, but because only the Master Sword can truly kill him, he too was banished to the Twilight Realm. For years, Ganondorf planned to cover this land with a cloud of twilight and rule all of Hyrule. He did this for a few months, but Link, the Hero of Twilight, returned light to this world and defeated him. But there is a new evil arising. One that threatens not to rule all Hylians, but to exterminate them. His name is Shadow, and he is the very embodiment of darkness and evil. Link and I are truly sorry for failing you. We were supposed to protect you, and now you are dying. I apologize wholeheartedly, and I pray to the Goddesses that we will find a way to fix all this. Thank you," I stepped of the fountain, tears slowly rolling down my cheeks.

And that's when I hear it, faint at first, but getting louder. Applause. But just from one pair of hands. And then a chuckle. Not a lighthearted and fun one, but a deep, dark chuckle. I search for who it could possibly come from, but I reach the conclusion just before I lay my eyes on a pair of crimson orbs.

The dark figure walks toward me, taking out his sword as he does.

"Great speech princess," he says. "It's a good thing these people got to know what was going on before they died!" He then plunges his sword into the midsection of an unsuspecting man, and he lands in a crumpled heap on the ground. Multiple gasps and screams come from the crowd.

Link quickly takes out his sword and lunges at him, but not before Shadow kills another two people. Link stabs him right in the heart; a fatal blow. But instead of puncturing Shadow's dark skin, the sword simply slips through, followed by Link.

"Stupid Hero, you can't kill me! I'm nothing more than a shadow! But I think I got the reaction I wanted, so I'll just be on my merry way!" And with that, he disappears, leaving nothing but three dead Hylians and terrified crowd in his path.

Author's Note: Annnnnd… DONE! Wow. This took long enough. Sorry again!

Thanks for reading! Please review!