Here guys! Like I promised, two chapters in one week! This one isn't rushed, so I think it's pretty good. Tomorrow morning I'll be leaving in a short, two days trip, so I'll reply to your reviews when I get home!

-Guest Reviews

Zelink005:Why are you saying it's bad ? It's pretty good !
-Thank you dear ;w; you are too kind!

So some warnings only: badly written action scenes (I have yet to learn how to write these) and a little bit of violence; maybe there's a part that's a little dark - to me anyways. And there's a small note at the end.
Enjoy everyone! And tell me what you think!

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Chapter Eleven

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Link was glad that Midna could teleport to wherever she pleased at her own will. He was glad that she was able to warp him and his loyal steed to the borders of Termina, where he bid her a quick farewell, hopped on his horse and galloped towards the Duke's palace. It was early in the morning, the sun had yet to rise, and the streets were deadly quiet save for Epona's hooves hitting the cobblestone pavement.

Finally, he reached his destination. After hiding his horse among trees and bushes that surrounded the area outside the stone walls, Link jumped over the gate and smoothly landed on his feet, sword in hand and bow at reach. Oddly enough, the yards were as silent as the streets, and breaking in inside the house was easier than he expected; the doors were unlocked and all of the windows were opened. He frowned, the unexpected gust of wind tossing the hem of his long hooded cloak around before he finally decided to enter the door he had just opened.

Alarms went off in his head; it was a trap, it had to be. In the absence of light, his eyes easily adjusted to the darkness, already used to many missions in the dark. It would be easier to spot any object that came flying towards his head, he concluded, but nothing compared to fighting in a well illuminated space. Silence greeted his ears in every room he entered, the only sounds he heard were his own footsteps and the buzz in his ears.

He wondered if he was the only living soul in the palace, for he didn't feel another presence anywhere. No servants, no butlers, no Duke and no Zelda. Was he fooled and sent to this place while the Duke fled with her? Or worse; maybe the Duke wasn't responsible for her disappearance, but someone else they didn't know. If that was the case, finding her would take a lot more than expected; after all, the kidnapper didn't leave any clues behind.

Pushing the door to the pantry open, Link hastily closed it again, turned and covered his mouth and nose with his hand. Yes, now he knew why the place was so quiet and so dead, just like its occupants. And judging by the strong odor, the servants stopped breathing a long time ago. A bunch of innocent people, all dead. The murderer? Hopefully not the Duke; one mistake was already enough and maybe after Link rescued Zelda, there would still be salvation to the Terminan's soul.

Link decided to leave the kitchen and moved on to the next part of the first floor that he had yet to check. And to his surprise, and maybe relief, there was a dim light seeping through the base of the door and a sound – chuckles, he guessed – coming from elegantly carved double doors.

Holding his breath and quietly laying his head on the door to listen more closely, he expected to hear chuckles, but he heard something else entirely. "How nice of you to join us, Assassin." Yes, it was definitely Duke.

Narrowing his yes, Link pushed the door open and glanced around quickly. The room was spacious and dimly lit by a few candles; the long dining table in the middle had space for ten chairs on each side plus one at each end. Dishes were placed for every seat; the plates, every type of cutlery and glasses, everything was arranged as if he was waiting for more guests. Except that there was no food. Seated with his back turned to the door was the Duke and before him, at the other end of the table, was Zelda.

Breath caught in his throat, Link refrained a sigh of relief from escaping him. She was unharmed, by what it seemed. Her skin was slightly pale and gray, but he figured that the lack of proper illumination in the whole palace would cause it; and her eyes, once lovable and blue, were cold and distant, and reflected the flames of the candles placed before her as if her own irises were of a yellowish orange. Her eyes focused on the space above his shoulder and Link wondered if she was mad at him, wondered if she had agreed to come to this place.

The Duke intervened with a chuckle as he pushed his chair back and stood, "You arrived sooner than I expected." Walking over to Zelda at a lazy pace, he stopped beside her and caressed her cheek with one finger, "My Lady, I'll be waiting for you in the quarters," he trailed his fingers down her neck before dropping his hand and leaving through the door to their right, never once turning around to look at the assassin.

Link stared at the door for a while, waiting for him to return, but he didn't. Once he turned back to look at Zelda he was lucky enough that his reflexes were good, for he barely had time to evade from the plate that came flying in his direction. "Zelda!" He called and ducked left to avoid another plate, "I know you're mad, but do we really need to resort to violence!?"

Another blink of his eyes and the princess was nearing him fast, a sword in her delicate hands. Link placed his before his body, their swords clashed loudly; how odd was it to see her with a regular sword in hand, not her rapier. He analyzed her face, shocked to see that her skin was slightly gray and that her eyes were indeed yellow instead of blue. Her hair was darker, her flesh marked by odd symbols. Just what had he done to her?

Grimacing, the assassin forced her back, deciding to evade her attacks instead of countering. "Zelda, you are not yourself!"She paid no heed to his words and merely advanced forward, swinging her sword diagonally. Link stepped back, eyes darting about as he tried to form a plan.

At long last, he decided to deflect her attack, sending the sword flying in another direction. Link grabbed her wrists and pushed her backwards until her back slammed on the wall; he flinched, whispering an apology, but she didn't react to it in anyway. Instead, she kneed him hard on the stomach, causing him to released her and double over in pain. Meanwhile, she ran towards her sword and Link tried to reach his and deal with the pain at the same time.

By the time he reached it, it was already too late; he turned around to face her and the tip of her sword cut through his flesh, carving it deep into his stomach.

His fingers uncurled, letting go of the hilt and releasing the sword. Zelda blinked for the first time in hours (days even, she couldn't tell) seconds before the blade hit the polished marble floor. She took one step back; Link grabbed the hilt of her sword and forced it out of his body, later falling to his knees as he clutched the wound. He heard her gasp and he looked up, smiling slightly at the sight of her normal self.

Zelda kneeled beside him and helped him lie down on his back. She caressed his cheeks, chocked on a sob and placed her hand on his. "Princess," Zelda met his eyes and she truly, truly didn't deserve the smile that he was giving her, "I know you don't trust the Assassin, but... Does Zelda still trust Link?"

Thoughts run around wildly in her head, but even through the haze of a million images and words blurring her mind she understood what he meant. Link wasn't talking about an assassin and a princess; he wasn't talking about those two identities. He was talking about Link and Zelda, two people like everyone else.

Do you still trust me?

Do you still love me?

A quick and breathy laugh left her mouth, her lips pulled into a smile and she lowered her forehead to his, "I've never stopped trusting you," she whispered.

Link smiled, closed his eyes and didn't fight her hands as she put his away and placed her own on his wound, her magic seeping through her pores and closing the gash, healing the damaged skin superficially. "Then leave," he moved his head and she pulled away, "Zelda," peering at her, he added slowly, "You must live."

Her magic stopped flowing; her hands trailed up his body and gently cradled his face, "Do you still trust me?"

"I've never stopped trusting you," he repeated her words, a tired smile on his lips.

She smiled sadly, "Then don't stop now, Link," she kissed his forehead and immediately felt his body relax completely, "It ends today."

The princess watched the slow rhythm of his chest as he breathed sound asleep on the dining room floor. Then she reached for his hidden blades and put them on, and took his pouches that had throwing knives or smoke bombs, or any other weapon she could use against the Duke. Content with what she found, she stood and walked to the table, grabbing a few regular knives and put them away in the empty pouches wrapped around her hips under the coat she had been wearing since Midna's party. Lastly, she returned to his side and retrieved his sword, that was much lighter than the one she used to fight him, but still heavier than her rapier – it also would induce the Duke into thinking that Link was defeated. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she moved towards the other door and pushed it open.

She didn't know exactly where she was going, Zelda was just following her instincts that would hopefully lead her to the Duke. The spell she cast on Link covered his body and soul, and the Terminan, and the stupid mask too, wouldn't feel his presence, assuming he was dead. And Zelda, who was also under a spell, had to get to him quickly before he found out that she, somehow, freed herself.

Her hearing was sharp, which helped her detect the sound of logs burning in a fireplace, and she followed it. Only when she was nearing the doors did she realize that she didn't have a plan; the only thing she knew was that she needed to kill the Duke (as Link once said, 'he cannot breathe for much longer anymore, his time is coming') and destroy the cursed mask. She would figure something out, or so she hoped, as she opened the doors to the chamber and prayed to the Goddesses that they would bless her with courage that dawn.

And inside she spotted the Duke – or the mask, she couldn't tell – staring intently at the flames. Stepping in and closing the door, Zelda remained rooted to the spot and silent, waiting for him to initiate a conversation or tell her what to do. While she waited, she calculated and planned, and observed everything in the room that could be used against him.

"So he's truly dead." He commented absentmindedly, "Impressive, My Lady." The Terminan turned, leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, and the eyes of the mask stared into hers; she fought a shudder and remained still. "They say the puppets, if may I use this term, free themselves from the spell after killing their loved ones, but you," he chuckled, "You don't love him, do you? If you did, you'd be far away now."

Zelda said nothing; that was the answer he expected from her, absolute silence. He seemed oblivious to the strange volume around her hips underneath the fabric of her clothing or the sword clean of blood, though. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Extending his arm and beckoning with his hand, she walked towards him without hesitation, letting him wrap his arm around her. Chuckling, he said, "Well, well, well," he nuzzled his nose on her cheek tenderly, "Did you really think I'd fall for that?"

Eyes widening, Zelda whirled around and raised her sword in time to prevent getting a limb chopped off. "I'm not stupid, Princess!" He hissed, pulling his sword back and trying to strike her again.

Who would have guessed that taking swordplay lessons against her father's wishes would be handy in almost every day of her life? She smirked slightly, aimed the sword to his shoulder and swung it, barely missing the target. The Duke grabbed a jar of water on the table nearby and splashed its contents in her direction; Zelda turned her head away, managing to keep her face dry, and crouched down to avoid his blade. Stretching her leg and sweeping it in a large circle, the man fell on his back when her feet hit his legs, but he was quick enough to kick her own legs when she was standing up.

Falling to the floor and gasping in pain, the princess rolled out of the way when he tried to pierce Link's sword through her skull. Great, she quickly staggered to her feet and kicked his ribs, sending him crashing on the table. She took out a couple of throwing knives and threw them in his direction while she quickly made her way to the sword that was carved on the floor. The Duke still stood as if the needles were nothing and lunged forward, grabbing her wrist and twisting her arm with one hand, while the other he closed into a fist and punched her cheek.

She barely had time to process what had just happened, for the next thing she knew was that she was roughly slammed into a wall, his hand closed around her throat as he hissed in her face, "Such a pretty face. Why must you defy men?"

"I only defy those who need to be defied," she spat back, blood trailing down her chin.

Zelda was slammed on the wall again before she was thrown on his bed. He straddled her by sitting on her stomach and grabbed a pillow, later holding it against her face. "Women weren't created to raise their voices, let alone their hands! Women are supposed to be delicate!"

The princess tried to remain calm as she clawed at his arms and hands to no avail. Before her head could get any heavier and before she could pass out, Zelda reached out and grabbed his vest, letting the hidden blades sink into his flesh. His grip on the pillow visibly slackened; Zelda threw it away, took in a large gulp of air and aimed a punch to his jaw. The Duke fell off the bed and tried to stand again, but her foot connected to his ribs, this time cracking some of them.

He barely had time to hiss in pain. Another hidden blade was shoved into his stomach, her other hand grabbed the mask as her magic worked to get it off his face. Her chanting voice got louder and louder, as if to cover up his screams of pain and agony; she imagined that the feeling of having the mask removed against the person's wishes would be similar to getting your skin ripped out. Pulling the artifact back in a strong grip, the mask was eventually removed and Zelda quickly pinned it to the ground with one knife so it would not get out of her sight.

She stood, retrieved Link's sword and looked at the face of the unconscious Terminan, debating whether or not to keep him alive. She would, truly, let him live if she had to choose, but she remembered the words Link said a long time ago on her birthday. Crouching down, she took his hands and placed her fingers on the veins of his wrist, closing her eyes as she used one spell she never thought she'd use. If Zelda was going to kill someone, she'd do it in the gentlest way possible.

His pulse stopped and the princess returned her attention to the mask. Pulling the knife and pocketing it, she took the artifact and walked over to the fireplace, examining the fire burning the logs before throwing the mask in it. Zelda remained rooted to the spot, watching intently as the mask was slowly burned and turned into ashes.

Putting more logs in the fireplace to make sure the mask would be completely destroyed, Zelda said to the flames after she finished her task, "I'm no ordinary woman."

Note: the reason why I didn't give the Duke a real face (like Vaati, as suggested by IDon'tWantAUsername) is because since the beginning he was like an OC to me. I was originally going to stick with the Happy Mask Salesman, but I decided otherwise. So, think of the Duke as an OC and mroe explanations are coming.