GOD DAMN I WANT MY DIET COKE. EFFYOUALLARRGH! I'm sorry... the lack of soda has me all... tense. Good Lord I'm addicted...

Also, it's been very rainy and nasty, and my internet is being a pain in the ass... I don't like it. I don't like it at all. D:

Legend of Zelda 4 life: vega is a real star's name too, actually. But yes, I decided to be TOTALLY CREATIVE and take names from the sky. XD And don't worry, you're not the only one with a sick mind. To say that thought didn't cross my mind either would be lying. But they're not; don't worry about that.

Sere: I actually never cared too much for Nabooru. I insert her into the stories but... yeah, never saw her as much more than a character. i mean, I suppose now that I've used her in stories more often, yeah she's cool. But before... didn't really care... And the necromancers are my favorite! But of course I like them, they are my OCs...

"I'm going to make sure I have heard everything you said very clearly…" Ganondorf said, pacing back and forth in the deep and dank dungeons of the castle. Zant was standing in the shadows, standing erectly and nervously. "The star was right in the town… and you let him slip away?"

"W-well, I d-didn't mean t-to, Master…" Stuttered Zant. While the Gerudo was speaking quietly, the blue man knew there was an intense amount of rage hidden within the voice.

With a seemingly tired sigh, the dark man stopped his pacing and faced his servant. He lifted a hand, a slight glow came and went, and on his had was a beating lump of blush flesh. Giving his servant a pitying look, Ganondorf asked, "Do you know what this is, Zant?"

The blue man gulped and nodded shakily. "Y-yes…"

"No. You don't." Said the Gerudo firmly. "Because if you did know what this is, you wouldn't have failed so miserably."

Zant wanted to flinch, but he couldn't. His eyes were glued to the lump of flesh in Ganon's hand.

Ganondorf finally snarled "This is your heart, Zant." And then he squeezed the pulsating blue lump. Zant cried out in pain and grabbed at the left side of his chest, falling to his knees. The dark man squeezed the heart tightly again, but not so tight that it would have caused death. While the blue idiot's failure was probably worthy of death, the creature still had his uses. Only when he was satisfied that the Twili creature had suffered enough did he let go.

The blue man shivered at the loss of the sudden pain. Panting, he managed to stand himself up again, if a little weakly.

The heart had left Ganon's hand and the dark man stared angrily at his servant. "Go find Nabooru. She should be on her way out of the town. Tell her to keep a lookout for a white haired ranger with a young face." He then started on his way out of the dark dungeon but paused, as if he almost forgot something. "Try not to mess up."

The Twili man cursed as soon as his master cleared the room. He kicked at a puddle and cursed again. Not that he hadn't always regretted, but now more than ever did he regret. Decades ago he was cast from his own realm in his attempt to usurp the throne… Leaving himself with no choice he went to the castle, offering his services as a spy to any of the higher politicians. Sure, it was chaotic, and he was the reason for a whole lot of issues within the very political structure of Hyrule… But never this. He had always dabbed a bit in every single politician, but this one… Ganondorf… He had no idea how it happened, but this Gerudo man managed to control every single thing about him… all because he somehow had taken control of his heart…

But if he kept feeling sorry for himself, his heart would stop beating so… back to work.

The blue man fell into the shadows and wandered the darkness. Through and out the castle, into the town where the shadows were still abundant since it was only dawn. The town still gave him trouble, though, because there were a couple of people running around about a stolen horse. He weaved carefully past the people and into the fields that led to the desert. He found Nabooru with no problems, but was a bit puzzled to see that she was traveling with a man.

He jumped into Nabooru's shadow and felt the shadow contort as the woman wriggled in discomfort.

"Excuse me, Rigel. I need to… take care of something." She said to the man on the horse beside her.

The man merely nodded and looked to be paying attention to a stain in his uniform. Nabooru rode off a few yards, hoping she was out of earshot of the man. Then she turned the horse a bit to keep the shadow hidden. Zant jumped halfway out of the shadow.

"What now?" Nabooru snapped. She didn't like dealing with Zant. He was way too creepy.

"I… I made the mistake of losing track of the star… Master Ganondorf wants you to keep an open eye for a white haired ranger with a young face." Said the blue man quietly.

The Gerudo woman glanced back a bit at the ranger she was traveling with and then back at the Twili. "I have a young ranger with me. His hair is the furthest thing from white, though." She told him with a shrug.

The half-shadowed Twili also took a glance behind Nabooru. "Why are you taking him with you?"

"Whether Koume and Kotake would like to admit or not, we do have hard labor that needs to be taken care of back at the fortress. Having a man's strength would be very helpful." Said the woman simply.

Zant had heard everything but he still couldn't help but stare at the ranger. Something about that man seemed eerily familiar but he couldn't place it. Even the way the man was picking his nose and flicking off whatever he had picked seemed strangely familiar. He was still pretty sure he had never met the man, though, so he disregarded it. He gave Nabooru a cordial nod and then went back into the shadows, back to the castle.

Nabooru shuddered at the sight of Zant just disappearing into the darkness and wandering off unseen. She urged the horse back towards the ranger.

"Sorry about that." She said.

The disguised star shrugged and they continued up the woman gestured a stop and dismounted. She stomped around the floor and smirked as the floor made a different sound. "Help me with this."

Vega dismounted and then grabbed the ground where Nabooru was grabbing. They pushed it and the ground shifted back, revealing a hidden chamber into the ground.

"We can stay here for the day." Nabooru said. "It's just big enough for the horses so once we get the torches lit we can blindfold them and lead them in."

She walked down the slope of the ground and then pulled on a rope from the bottom, pulling the plank that hid the chamber further back. She gestured for the star to follow and he did – carefully. As they went further down, she took down the torches and lit them each with a flint before replacing them.

"Do you Gerudo have hiding places like this all over Hyrule?" Asked Vega.

"Yes. They're very useful since we can't really be seen here, not to mention it makes spying a lot easier." She answered.

The star forked a blackened eyebrow. "Why show me, then? Surely you don't know if I'm loyal to Hyrule or not?"

The bronzed woman chuckled. "I don't trust you but at the same time I know that you have no loyalty to Hyrule. Rangers aren't the type that belong to any one nation, much like necromancers and mercenaries. Plus, if you were really loyal to Hyrule, I can't imagine you'd be trading it for the desert."

"Don't care much for the desert?"

She shrugged. "Not really. It's my home; I was born and raised there… But it's barren and desolate. I know it's hard for everyone to survive but in the desert… At least people in Hyrule can find the necessities more easily than us." Nabooru explained. After a moment, she remembered Zant. "Oh, not to sound so nosy, but do you know any other rangers your age with white hair?"

The star kept his composure. "Not at all."

It obviously wasn't a good thing she was asking such things, but as long as he kept his hair stained it wouldn't be a problem. Vega wondered if it had anything to do with the evil magical residue on her. He noted that some of it seemed to have come back stronger recently… Probably when she was having that conversation with that blue man. Naturally he wasn't going to be telling her he could sense that thing, but whoever it worked for she was working for to… Who was it again? He'd heard Zelda and Link mention it before… Trying not to appear like he was thinking too hard, he eventually came to the conclusion that whoever it was Gerudo and no doubt held Din's Power.

In his mind, he cursed.

That meant that the Power holder was looking for him. Vega didn't understand why he would be needed but it obviously wasn't good…

"Hey stranger," Nabooru said. "Get some sleep. You look tired. I'll take care of the horses."

Zelda and Link had come upon the strangest sight in their search for Vega. When they had wandered into the graveyard, because Zelda sensed a good mass of magic there, they had encountered two men in sandy cloaks. They were making tea apparently and one of them asked if they would like to stay and join them.

They declined and left.

What kind of people would have a tea party in a graveyard?!

Leaving that disturbing thought behind, the witch tried to trace the star again only to meet with bad news.

"What's wrong?" The collared page asked.

The young witch grimaced and looked to the northwest, still dark in the dawn because the sun was just rising. "He's northwest now. I don't think he's even in town anymore."

The page scowled. "By the time we get to him it might be too late!"

"But how else could we help the king? I'm sure those at the castle have tried everything they can…" Zelda said, sounding a bit depressed.

Growling under his breath, an idea finally came to Link. "I'm going to the castle."

"Huh?" It took a moment for the girl to register it. "Wait, what about me?!"

"Go back to the inn for now; I can't have you seen with me." He said, already starting his way to the castle.

Insulted, she blurted out, "And why not?!"

"Because people will get the wrong idea!" He snapped.

Zelda just froze at the comment and blushed. She supposed she could understand that…

Link, although slightly frustrated from Zelda, managed to calm himself down. Naturally, it wouldn't be a good idea to go into the castle angry, especially when he had been gone a few weeks. Odran would most likely kick the ever loving crap out of him and then send him off to do kitchen duty for the barracks or something like that… if not worse. If he went in in a huff, it wouldn't help the situation any. It wouldn't be too much of a problem, though, because he would be leaving soon after he got the information he needed.

He was let in the castle without any problems, though his gnarly looking collar did gain him a few stairs. It was at that time the page really wished he was wearing a scarf or something like that, even if it was out of season. Some of the other pages came up to him and asked where he was, if he was okay, what was up with the weird collar. For the most part, he ignored them or gave them monosyllabic answers. Link just did his best to rush inside of the castle and avoid Odran for as long as he possibly could. It would be even better if he didn't encounter the captain of the guard at all, actually.

When in the castle, Link tried to be as stealthy as he could. He thought he was doing pretty well for a guy wearing a sword and shield, but apparently he wasn't.

"Hello Link! Nice collar!"

It was Eugen, holder of the Faron province.

Grudgingly, the page mumbled, "Hello, uncle…"

The child-like province holder gave Link a big grin as he looked up at him. The man had to be at least a foot shorter than Link. "I'm glad to see you haven't forgotten family!" He said cheerfully.

"How could I possibly forget, uncle?" You're so freaking annoying!

"Well, you never write…" said the small blond, a little dismayed, "I mean, I know I wasn't there when your mother died but she didn't want you leaving Castle Town. She was always adamant about that."

The page sighed and then said, "Listen, uncle, right now isn't really the best time I need to find-"

"Oooh!" Eugen said, excitedly jumping up and down, "What are you looking for, perhaps I can help?"

The collared blond was about to roll his eyes when he realized that his uncle could help him. "Ah, do you know where that wizard is? I forget his name…"

"Quinn? Sure do! I'll take you to him, nephew!" Replied his uncle happily. And then Eugen began to skip happily.

Grimacing at the sight, Link could only think, I can't believe I'm related to that… Still, he was surprised to see that he wasn't that far away from the Royal Wizard's study.

The Faron province holder stopped before the door and then knocked, while saying in a sing-song voice, "Quinn, oh Quinn! There's someone here to see you!"

The page heard something from behind the door like someone falling off of a chair, and then a grumbled, "Come in." Sure enough, when they entered, the Royal Wizard was straightening and pulling his chair right-side up. Even though the curtains were all drawn Link could still see the dark shadows under the feminine looking man's eyes. Link had no questions that the wizard was stressed.

"Quinn, this is my nephew, Link. He wanted to see you." Said the child-like figure. "I'll be off now - keep Odran off the nephew's back, you know." And with another big grin, the province holder was off.

"Please," Quinn gestured to the chair in front of the desk as he sat, "Take a seat."

Link sat.

"So, you wanted to see me… Link, was it?"

The page nodded. "I just have a question about the condition of the king."

The redhead's eyes narrowed. "Ask."

"Is the king cursed?"

That answer seemed to take the young wizard by surprise. He looked over Link and then finally said, "I believe so. Why?"

Wondering whether it was really wise to tell this person, the page finally decided the only one he would have to worry about finding out about this was Dragmire. "Because if it is the case, I'm begging you to hold it off for as long is possible. There's a way I can help but I need to find it first…"

The redhead's green eyes gleamed. "Why should I trust you?"

"Because we both know Dragmire's trying to pull something." Link snapped.

Once again, the redhead's eyes narrowed but nodded. In barely a whisper he said, "Be careful… I have no doubts he's watching…"

That was a disturbing thought to Link… That Ganondorf could be watching them at that very moment. Also in a whisper, Link said, "Just try to keep the king as well as possible. I'm tracking a star-being right now."

Quinn's eyes widened. "Did you come from the forest?"

Puzzled, Link answered, "I just came out of it yesterday."

The wizard nodded. "Very well then. Find the star; get back here as soon as possible."

The page nodded back and then stood. He was about to turn and leave when he paused. He pointed to the collar. "Is there any way you can get rid of this?"

The feminine redhead looked at the collar with something that wasn't his eyes and then shook his head. "I think only the one who put that on you can take it back."

Link frowned, but nodded. Then he left.

He gritted his teeth. As long as Quinn attempted to hold the curse off as long as he possibly could, they might stand a chance of getting Vega back in time…

If they could find him.

... I think I'm going to go have a tea party in a graveyard now. XD