Hello guys! I'm sorry I'm posting this chapter a day later than usual, but last night I got into a sick fight with my bf and the typical teenage drama shit happened and I also caught a cold so I'm not going to write much today.

- Guest Reviews

Zelink005:What an interesting plot twist ! :D The woman is taking control for once. That was awesome ! Keep it up.

I love portraying Zelda as a badass character, you have no idea. Thanks!
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Recently, I started taking a few drabble requests on tumblr; if you'd like, you can send me a prompt and I'll write something out of it. Please, stick to TP tho, it needs more love! The links are in my profile page.

That's it guys! Hope you like it and forgive me for doing what I did to Ilia! (I feel really bad!)

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Chapter Twelve

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It was no surprise for her to see Rusl standing at the doors of the throne room, not since she and Link returned from Termina. To her relief, Link was almost fully healed. The cuts and gashes were gone, though the nurses reported he still felt some pain on his stomach where the sword cut through. She almost cringed at the thought, but kept her composure and nodded her head, signaling the man to enter the room.

She half expected to see the kids trailing after him, accompanied by a girl she had never seen before. Her eyes were rimmed red, unshed tears making her green orbs glow under the light; the princess could see the girl's struggle to not cry before her and Zelda wished she could tell her to let it out or to remain calm.

Rising from the throne, Zelda smiled at the visitors and lightly shook her head when Rusl bowed. "Please stand, Rusl." She said as she motioned for him with her hand, "We do not need formalities in a time like this."

"Hopefully your speech will change too, Your Highness." He smiled and approached her, and added in a quieter tone, "Especially now that Link told me everything."

It seemed like the girl heard everything, even though his voice was quieter than a whisper. She sobbed, and Zelda kept her eyes focused on his face. It would be better if she avoided talking about or even mentioning Link around her; he seemed to be important to her in a romantic level. Zelda could only imagine if she was his first kiss, or if he was hers.

Taking a step back and motioning for the door, she said, "I'll accompany you to the infirmary." Quietly greeting the kids and the girl, she led them through the hallways.

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Link sighed into his pillow, feeling bored out of his mind. He was confined in that room since he rescued Zelda, or since she rescued him. He couldn't tell who saved who, only that they were both alive when they arrived at Hyrule Castle.

The doctors, mages and nurses worked hard to heal his wounded stomach, using healing waters imported from Death Mountain and potions elaborated by the best magicians in town. His torso was bandaged and he hardly felt any pain, only when he tried to bend forward on the bed. Link didn't know what happened to Zelda after she knocked him out. He only heard the nurses talking once, quietly and among themselves, that the doctors were putting a lot of effort into healing her, for her appearance should never be tainted by any scars or marks.

And she never visited him; not when he was awake, that is. Link felt her presence around, even when he was sleeping. Zelda would quietly walk in, at any time of the day, stand beside his bed without uttering a word. Occasionally, she'd let her fingers brush the back of his hand, but she never held it. And of course, Link wasn't stupid in the least; he usually faked naps, only to have her standing beside him. Her silence was comforting, just like her touch and her presence.

He found it amusing, too how everyone kept his face covered by a new dark gray hood. 'Must've been Zelda's orders', he mused to himself as he picked at the item of clothing idly. Link was sure she was the one who took off his hood and replaced it with this one. He took it off some nights ago and examined it; he made a mental note to ask Zelda what the symbols in the back meant, specially the weird looking eye.

There was a quiet rap on the door, one that Link couldn't associate with any of the nurses that visited him. He sat up slowly, pulled the hood over his head and told the person to enter. The first things he saw after the door opened were the kids hurrying to get inside and claim seats on his bedside. The second thing was Ilia entering quietly, head slightly bowed, never looking up as she stopped at the end of his bed. The third thing was Rusl, who stopped by the door; then Zelda came into his line of vision. She seemed fine, he realized, relief washing over him. Dark circles under her eyes aside, she seemed as healthy as she had always been.

"Hey, Link! Stop checking her out and give us some attention!" Link whipped his head towards Talo, glad that this time the hood was covering his burning face. He stole a quick glance at Zelda and found that she had turned her head a little to the left, cheeks lightly tainted pink.

She brought her gloved hand to her lips and tapped them twice, "I am going to leave you alone for a moment of privacy," Zelda said after a while with a smile.

"I was merely seeing if she was whole, Talo." Link grumbled after the doors were closed behind her back, pulling his hood down.

Talo grinned, "She did better than you, you know!" Beth snickered along with him, hiding her smile behind her hands. Link said nothing, merely reclined on the pillows behind his back.

Rusl approached the bed, arms crossed over his chest, "Link still didn't have the chance to talk to her, kids." He nodded at Talo, as if to emphasize what he was going to say, "She has yet to explain to him what happened, and how they got back to Hyrule."

"How was she when we arrived?"

The elder man scratched his chin, "We only received news about your whereabouts two, three days later. By the time we got here, her skin was nearly back to its normal color." Link's face scrunched up at the thought of her fair skin ruined by dark purple marks. "And she was bedridden for five days."

His eyebrows shot up, "What happened to her?"

"Got into a fight. Also got a few broken ribs."

Link breathed out heavily, and then covered his nose and mouth with the palms of his hands touching each other. "And the Duke?" He asked after a few seconds passed.

Rusl didn't hesitate to answer, "Dead." The assassin regarded him with such an expression that Rusl wondered if he had grown another head.

"She's pretty strong," Colin commented.

"I thought princesses were supposed to wait to be rescued, not save their rescuer." Talo said, no ill will meant.

Beth and Colin nodded at this; Link gaped at him for a few seconds. "She's..." he closed his eyes briefly, choosing the right words, "She's one of a kind."

"She's the one who injured your shoulder months ago, isn't she?" Beth inquired, peering at him with curious eyes.

He just smiled. Link was glad they weren't making a fuss about it. His status as an assassin was kept a secret from them; they were too young, the less they knew the better. At least now, they wouldn't need to come up with excuses as to why Link was missing from the village for a week, or why he got wounded when the only thing he had to do was send a letter to someone somewhere. But now he'd have to hide his weapons in high places where they could not reach; not even Hylia would know what Talo would do with the hidden blades.

The hidden blades, his eyes widened and Link started looking around the room frantically for them.

Rusl chuckled, "Your weapons are with Zelda." Ilia's quiet murmur was only heard by both older men in the room; the oldest chuckled to hide his discomfort and moved towards the door. "Kids, remember that she told you that she'd get some snack prepared? So, I think this is a great time for you to go and eat it."

"Nice! I'm so hungry!" Talo exclaimed and jumped off the bed. The kids promised they would return later and left the room excitedly, eager to see more of the castle again.

Once they were gone, Link turned to stare at Ilia, waiting for her to raise her head and meet his gaze. She didn't. He shifted in his seat, longing for a good walk around the castle; heck, even around the room would help. "What is it that you said?" He asked quietly, friendly, "Such intimacy, yes?"

Ilia turned her head away, still not meeting his eyes. "You've changed... Everyone has changed..."

"It's only natural, Ilia."

"No, it's not!" She flinched; clearly that's not how she wanted to react, she didn't want to start a fight. Ilia turned around and recoiled her shoulders, "Even your speech has changed. You've been spending too much time in Castle Town. I can't say you're from Ordon anymore."

Link frowned at that, "Don't say that, my roots are there, I've grown up there."

She whirled around, voice getting higher, "Yes, but what will you do now? You clearly don't have plans on returning to Ordon!"

Pressing his lips together and exhaling through his nose, the assassin rubbed his temples. "Ilia, you can't deny the fact that Ordon's blood don't run in my veins, but it is my home." He shrugged his shoulders to release the tension in his muscles, "I will return."

Ilia wiped her face viciously, "You won't", and she said brokenly between sobs, "no one can keep you in a bed for two days straight, I can only imagine how you managed to stay quiet for two weeks..." Link didn't lower his head, but he averted his gaze, and she saw it. "Is it true what Rusl said?"

"I don't know," he started slowly. He didn't want to hurt her, he had an idea of what it could be, but Link wasn't completely sure. No one from Ordon knew of their kiss and the words they shared in secret; Talo joked and teased, which is normal for a kid. Rusl is usually very perceptive, but both Zelda and Link himself spent little time together in his presence. "What did he say?"

When she took longer than expected to answer, he decided to look at her, regretting it instantly. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, her green eyes were glossy and focused on his face, waiting for him to answer – preferably, waiting for him to deny it. With a defeated sigh he replied, "It's true." Link heard as she choked on a sob, "We're together."

"She... She doesn't even visit you, Link...!" She whispered meekly, sniffing every few words, "How... How is she good for you?"

Link reclined on the pillows again, "We're very secretive about this." He folded his hands together above his stomach, "Imagine how the people will react. The princess and an assassin. The very same assassin who killed her father."

Ilia closed her eyes and turned slightly away, hands caressing her brow. "I've never liked it..." She murmured, tilting her head in his direction, "I never wanted you to accept it... To be an assassin..."

He wanted to say something, anything. 'What's done is done', he thought bitterly; he wished to say that to her, and yet he couldn't, he wouldn't. That would only support her theories (that were actually facts) that he had changed from spending so much time around the Princess of Hyrule. But what could he do? He was trained for that! Link cleared his throat and said, "I'm sorry I can't fulfill your fantasies."

"No, Link," he braced himself for the words that were to come, for he knew they would be painful to hear, "I'm sorry I'm not good enough to be in yours."

With a sigh, he leaned forward again, brow furrowing as he met her eyes. "This is not about money. Titles, possessions, wealth, nothing of it matters."

"Do feelings matter?" Ilia countered, defiantly stepping forward, "Do they, Link?"

Link pressed his lips together and stared at her for a long moment in silence. "I'm not gonna discuss this with you."

"Running away?!" She accused, her little hands balling into fists.

"No, I am not running away!" His tone was firm, strong, Ilia felt like she could feel the vibration of his voice. She fell silent, eyes widening as he leaned even more forward, before he flinched and recoiled away, hands on his stomach. "You just can't seem to understand. Look, I'm sorry, but nothing's written on stone. I know you like me and I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life with you, but the winds have blown another way, my boat has sailed away and reached another land." Link took in a deep breath while he leaned back on the pillows again, pulling the hood over his head and hiding his face. "What's done is done." He finally said, already feeling bad for treating her in that way, but what else could he do? She didn't seem to understand that he never promised anything, he had never once shown anything more than friendly attraction towards her. "I can't go back now, I can't just forget I'm an assassin, I can't leave this life behind."

He turned his head away and tried to drown out the sound of her sobs. Going back wasn't an option, everyone knew it.