The Legend of Link:

The Bastard Prince

14. Lake Hylia

The pair burst back into Hyrule with a leap onto the old platform of the Twilight Mirror. The sky above was almost as dark as the Twilight Realm had been, but it was dotted here and there with pockets of silvery stars and covered in a vaguely wine purple mist that showed Ganon's passing. The moon stood high, starting its cycle of waning again and Zoelda was a little surprised by how bright it was. Although, she suspected that a large part of that surprise came down to the fact that her eyes had become adjusted to the shadows of Twilight in her few hours there.

In fact, as she rebalanced herself and flicked her hair back from her face again, she felt the whole process of coming back to Hyrule was a lot like the feeling of coming up for air after a deep dive. The fact that it hadn't felt like that when they went into the Realm must have been a result of the difference in how Alarink had took them in and how Zoelda had taken them back out.

It was only then that she remembered she was still holding his wrist. A little surprised that he hadn't wormed it out of her grasp, she looked up at him just behind her and started a little.

The fact that he was topless under his robe didn't particularly surprise her since he had been in his realm, though the reveal of his bisecting scar of his Hylian skin was far more shocking than it had been on his Twili. Against the natural colouring of his Twili skin it hadn't stood out all too much, here it was an aggressive white line cutting clearly across his pale-tanned chest. The fact that he was still wearing his royal jewellery about his head and ankles also didn't surprise Zoelda, though seeing ginger hair against his somewhat more tanned face was certainly a little shock – but, as she thought about it, it really did make no sense for Alarink to be a brunet since his father was blond and his mother ginger.

No, the thing that – as always – shocked Zoelda was Alarink's expression,

There had been a certain twist of sadness and bitter acceptance in his expression just after he had pulled the Sword from Ganondorf's body, alongside that strange question that had been in his eyes all day, and the even stranger answer after he came out from speaking to his mother. And now, as the re-entered a world soon to be at the mercy of Ganondorf, a realm that the group of them was tasked with saving before the end of the week, his expression had completely changed.

It was just joy. Pure, unadulterated joy on his features as he looked out on Gerudo.

Whenever she remembered Alarink, it was how he looked in that moment that came to Zoelda first.

His profile framed by the walls of Arbiter's coliseum and illuminated by the strangely bright moon that seemed to wash that slight tan on his face out to a pallor that rivalled her own. His bright turquoise eyes looking unseeingly up the stairs that lead them back out of the grounds, mirroring the clusters of stars in their own, lighter galaxy. It was how his ginger bangs were tinged silver as they blew gently against his face, his lips slightly apart in a kind of wonder at the world and hood fallen back around his shoulders.

Most of all, what she remembered clearest about him in that moment was that final resolution to the question that had clearly plagued him all day. It was an acceptance, a shy grin at the world, as he felt some pure emotion for the first time, And, just as clearly as it was a new found emotion for life and the world itself, it was also clearly a new emotion that involved Zoelda.

For, whenever she remembered him, it was that profile look of his that reached her memories first, followed shortly after the look he directly entirely at her moments later.

It was a look that she'd seen on other people before, but certainly one she'd never had directed at her. A slightly under the eyelashes look that was for her and no one else to see, a surprise in his eyes that she doubted he even realised was there. It was a small but surprised smile on slightly ajar lips as though he was looking at, or rather seeing her for the first time. Ultimately, it was a look that made her think he was going to grab hold of her and never let go.

That was perhaps the first time that day that Zoelda realised that Alarink might holder her in higher regard than just a close friend. It was the first time that she realised that, while she cared for him as one of the most interesting people she'd met, she perhaps didn't hold such deep feelings as he did.

And it was with a kind of surprised hesitation that she let go of his wrist and turned away from a moment that had all the ear marks of being a first kiss.

She could feel his confusion and surprise as she turned away and took a few steps to get a little distance from the situation. Squeezing her eyes shut in a kind of embarrassment and anger, not at him for feeling that way about her, or at herself for turning away from something that some deep part of her clearly desired, but just because that's what her cringing body made her do in that moment as her mind raced, she shook her head and started down in the direction of the other two and the tents.

All the while, she could feel Alarink's confusion and ultimate frustration as he walked behind her, his anklets' jingling filling the silence of the desert.

The fact that the two of them walked into what had clearly been a hasty clean up of a passionate few hours only added more instinctive embarrassment to the situation. Zoelda internally cringed as the Princess and her knight walked over to join them, both of their hair mussed and their clothes clearly hastily put on.

"We saw Ganondorf's spirit come back into Hyrule." The Princess said seriously as the four of them met in front of the tents. "He's headed straight to my Castle."

"We saw as much ourselves, Princess," Alarink said, his voice slightly muffled as he pulled on one of Link's tunics, much to the blond's disgust. As he pulled the hole over his head, he grinned wickedly at the two of them. "We saw everything as his spirit reentred the world. Hope we're not keeping the two of you from anything?"

The Princess and Knight both flushed brightly, looking wildly uncomfortable. Again, Zoelda internally cringed as she sat down and took one of their flasks of water.

"Oh, this wasn't what you were wearing was it?" Alarink plucked the front of the tunic he was now wearing, it was noticeably too small and tight for him, even more so that Ilia's had been. Still flushed bright red, Link shook his head. "Oh good, wouldn't want to be wearing that. Oh, you don't mind me borrowing it, do you? Speak now or forever hold your peace!"

The glare the unwholesomely grinning Alarink received from Link could have killed Ganondorf.

"While this isn't wildly entertaining," Zoelda intercepted as she inspected the bite on her leg. "What's the plan from here? When do we need to start moving again?"

"Well, we've still got a few things left to do before we meet Ganodorf-"

"Such as?" Princess Zelda asked, her blush having receded somewhat and her chin held regally high as Alarink took off the rest of the clothes and jewellery that marked him as a prince and stowed them away.

"We've got to get this thing blessed in the Sacred Grove before we can use it." Alarink waved the Master Sword around in its sheath as he put his robe away, belting the weapon back across his torso as he carried on speaking. "Plus, I've got to visit two more springs to get myself blessed for the meeting and pick up my armour."

"You're so disorganised." Princess Zelda said with a flick of dishevelled hair.

"Not really, we're going back that way anyway. So, for once, I'm actually very organised."

"So, when do we start?" Zoelda asked as a way to head off any further discussion. She was far too tired to be dealing with another argument between the two of them.

Alarink squinted up at the sky for a moment, rubbing his stubbled chin as he did. "As soon as possible. It'll take us most of the day to leave the desert, but if we can get back to Lake Hylia by the middle of the afternoon, we can sleep until morning and be refreshed enough to head down to Faron the next day."

"Out of question." Zoelda said bluntly as the Princess and Link started packing their assorted stuff away.

"And why's that?" Alarink asked equally bluntly. In that little interaction a few moments ago, Zoelda had unwillingly created a weird gap in their relationship that she doubted she could explain rationally. It was likely to be a long few days if things remained like this.

"My leg is killing me, I'm barely going to be able to walk on it." Replied she as she started to bandage up her bite wound again.

"I'll support you if needs be. … I know it's not ideal, I'd much rather stop for the day and get some sleep, but the longer we wait, the longer Ganondorf has to take full control of the Castle. We need to power on." He spoke kindly enough, in fact even more kindly than usual for him, but there was still an undertone of ice to it that made Zoelda give up with a sigh. Every step she took on her injured leg was like walking on glass, though she suspected that the sooner they got back to Shad, the sooner he could have a proper look at it.

So, they packed up their bags and, rather begrudgingly on all sides, started up the innumerable stairs to the even more innumerable stairs back down the coliseum. Though a part of her shirked a little from his touch, Zoelda did allow – and even appreciate – Alarink's support in the climb up the stairs.

"Alright, what's wrong?" He finally asked when they were a few staris behind the others. "Have I done something to upset you since we got back?"

Zoelda looked at him, her arm draped over his shoulder as he helped her. There was sincere concern on his face as he asked, none of the same strange look that had come over him when they'd just come back into Hyrule. She was on the brink of telling him the truth when she looked back at him again and saw his hair, tied back with a ragged cloth once again. So, instead she pouted and glared in front of her, a look that she didn't realise came off as rather adorable to him. "You never told me you were naturally ginger."

There were a few moments of silence after that accusation before Alarink began to laugh uproariously. "No, I suppose I didn't, did I?"

As much as she didn't want to, as much as she wanted to tell him right there and then that she didn't have any kind of romantic feelings for him that he seemed to have for her, something held her tongue and she found herself, sheepishly at first, beginning to join in the laughing.

Sure, there was the chance that they were on the brink of messing up their budding friendship, but why shouldn't Zoelda pretend it's fine for a bit longer? It's not like she really had anyone else to rely on in Hyrule at that moment anyway.

So, she laughed and convinced herself that everything that had happened in that almost moment earlier had been a fluke of her imagination. Besides, there was no way that it could have actually been fuelled by Alarink having feelings for Zoelda.

The journey out of Arbiter's Grounds was somewhat longer than the journey into it.

Despite the fact that they were climbing down rather than up the stairs, it didn't make them move any faster, in fact it almost seemed to make them move slower so they wouldn't trip down the steep stairs. Plus, Zoelda was limping on her injured leg and they were all utterly exhausted by another night of no sleep. Alarink, seemingly inexhaustible despite the fact that he'd clearly had even less sleep over the last few days than the rest of them, was surprisingly quiet as he supported Zoelda's limp. The only time he really spoke was to remark about how glad he was that they'd left the rope ladder in place when they'd climbed up; apparently parkouring down was "just too dangerous" for him at this time of early morning.

It was beginning to heat up again as they got back on the sand in the middle of the morning. Much to the surprise of all of them, the Bulbos they'd left wondering when they'd climbed up were still loitering around as they climbed back down. No one saw fit to question why they were still about, and none of them were going to complain as it would make the ride back much quicker and more bearable. As they mounted and set off – the Zeldas steering as the Links shot any monsters from behind them – Zoelda noticed the significant advantage that Hylians had on Bulbos; due to them being a fair bit shorter than her and Alarink, they could ride comfortably with their legs down for one, and they looked far less awkward on them for sure.

Regardless of looks, the Bulbos proved useful in getting back to the Desert edge quickly. Judging from the heat, Zoelda estimated it to be early afternoon by the time they dismounted and headed to the lift contraption again. Certainly, the hottest part of the day had past, though it was by no means cool as they eyed up the lift.

"How do we let Shad know we're waiting?" The Princess asked as they noticed the lift was on the other side of the line. Princess Zelda was very clearly struggling under the heat, her blonde hair plastered to her head with sweat and every other breath a pant.

"Normally I get back at night and light a fire," Alarink said as he knelt down next to the track-line of the lift, clearly not as affected by the heat as the rest of them, a fact that still ticked Zoelda off.

"It's far too hot to light a fire now, Alarink." Said the Princess, glancing over the edge and back at the blazing sun. "Besides, with the glare right now, I'd seriously doubt Shad would see the fire anyway. He's probably not even looking for us, he has no way to know when we're going to be back."

"I know," Alarink dusted off the wire rope that the lift was connected to. Zoelda wasn't going to pretend she had any idea how lifts worked, much less how this one worked, but she suspected that rope was what the lift itself was pulled with. That suspicion was somewhat confirmed when Alarink tugged the rope tight a few times. "Shad saw Ganondorf return, so I'd imagine he's waiting for us, whether he knows what to look for or not. I hope he gets that signal…"

"Yes, because a pulling of a rope is a very clear and obvious signal." The Princess snapped. "Not like a Bulbo could do that at anytime-"

The Princess' angry tirade was cut short by the sight of the lift speeding up to them, spinning around at the last possible second to bare its latched door, which Alarink opened with an air of casualness designed to irritate everyone further.

"After you." He gestured, showing the blondes that they should get in first. Scowling a little, but eager to get back to Hyrule and cool land, they got in and closed the door behind them. A few seconds later, the lift juddered to a start and rolled back down the boarder.

"You had no idea if that would work or not, did you?" Zoelda asked as the lift sped away, her arms crossed over her chest as she shifted the weight off her injured leg.

"Of course I did," Alarink answered, his tone somewhat injured as he looked at her. "Shad is definitely waiting for us, so I knew he'd be watching for any kind of signal from us."

Zoelda looked up at him in silence with a disbelieving raised eyebrow, not believing the injured look on his features for a moment. Just as she was starting to believe him – as the lift started back towards them again a few minutes later – she let her eyebrow drop and he immediately winked at her with a grin.

"You're a complete pain in the arse."

"I've been told that a few times, more so in this context but-"

"Just open the hell-contraption, Alarink." Zoelda said exasperatedly as the lift swung around doorside for them.

"The logic was sound at least," he said as he held the door open for her. "And, hey, it worked, didn't it?"

Saying nothing as she climbed into the lift, Zoelda only shuddered as she remembered the circumstances of her last ride in it, of the malice that had been in her mind, of the horrid dizzying experience it and the lift had left her with.

"Close your eyes," Alarink said softly to her as he got in and latched the door behind him, leaning in the opposite corner with his arms crossed. "It'll help. And I'll catch you if you stumble."

"Okay…" Zoelda said dubiously, leaning back against the wall herself and closing her eyes as the juddering ride started, gripping her arms tightly.

"Hey, Zelda?" Alarink asked as she desperately tried to keep herself calm, having her eyes closed hardly helped distract from the speeding lurch the lift travelled at.

"What?"

"… You're not going to say anything about my sister to them, are you?" Alarink asked after a moment of hesitation.

Zoelda smiled, despite knowing he'd been planning to ask something else there; she decided wasn't going to ask about it, instead she answered, "No, I promised I wouldn't, so I won't."

"Thank you."

"Oh, I'm not doing it for you," she opened her eyes and grinned at him, a grin much like his, as the lift started to slow. "I'm doing it for her."

The lift did it's disorienting swing then, knocking Zoelda completely off balance and making her miss the answering sweet smile on Alarink's lips as she half fell into him. Righting her with his left hand, he opened the door with his right and hopped out, pulling her after him onto the far too level grass. She was used to the shifting sand beneath her feet and the rocking lift, even the Twilight's shadow hadn't been entirely solid; so being back on solid grass brought her to her knees in unbalance.

Shaking herself a little, though making no effort to move from the now kneeling/sitting position she was in, she looked out over Lake Hylia again, glad to be back in Hyrule and a land, perhaps not good under Ganon's new control, but one she found somewhat more familiar.

"I saw Ganondorf come back into Hyrule last night," Shad was saying to Alarink by the lift. The sight of the two of them together now made Zoelda realise how much lighter a shade of ginger Alarink was compared to the older man, another stark reminder to her that as the Twili Prince he hadn't been born brunet. "I presume that means it's all set into motion now?"

"I'm afraid so, my friend." Alarink said somewhat sadly, trying not to catch Shad's eye as he shifted the weight of the Master Sword on his back.

"Then goodbye, old boy." Shad said, embracing him with tears shining behind his glasses.

Zoelda looked away at that point, not watching long enough to see Alarink embrace him back, or to understand what the conversation had been about. Instead, she looked over to where the Princess and Link were checking the horses over, setting up tents and changing back into impractical heeled boots. Taking a moment to glance down at her sand coated Docs, Zoelda decided that she'd forgo the heeled boots the rest of the journey; yes, her feet might be more conspicuous this way, but at least she'd be comfortable.

Just as she started struggling to her feet, Shad was there to offer her a hand. "Link told me that you're injured, shall I look it over for you?"

"Oh. Um, thank you." Stammered she as she took his hand and got to her feet, vaguely watching as Alarink went over to help the Princess and Link set up tents for them to sleep in until morning.

"Nothing I can't treat," Shad was muttering as he looked the bite on her leg over. Suddenly, he grinned up at her, a tight grin with no real amusement. "Especially since we've got Lanyaru Spring right here."

"Thank you." She said simply again as Shad started to prepare an ointment for her.

"No problem, my girl." As he knelt down to administer the ointment, he whispered, "What happened to him in Twilight? He seems like a changed man now…"

"I, um, I honestly don't know." Zoelda looked over at where Alarink stood, teasing Zelda and Link mercilessly, it seemed. She rolled her eyes. "A changed man, are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure of it. He's never willingly given into his destiny in all this before, something changed him up there. Something in his home realm, I'd bet. I know him well enough to know what to look for, my girl, and there's something about him…" The older man suddenly squinted up at her. "And there's something different about you too, Zelda. A confidence you didn't have before…"

"Ah…" She ruffled her hair a bit as she turned back to Shad. "I suppose there is… I guess Twilight did have an effect on both of us. Alarink spoke to his mother for a long time while he was there, I'd bet that's what's changed him. And, I dunno, I guess I just kinda accepted this is what I have to do here if I ever want to get back home…"

"Do you want to get back home?" The sun glinted off of Shad's glasses, making Zoelda hesitate, not quite entirely sure what she would have said even if she hadn't hesitated.

Of course she wanted to go back home, there's nothing she wanted more than to see her dad and get back to some semblance of normal life. But then she also knew that her life would never be normal again when she got back home. She knew that that she'd never be entirely content with leaving Hyrule and Impax behind.

Plus, she couldn't even bare to think about how she'd feel if she left Alarink behind.

"I-"

"There you go." Shad said suddenly, tying a bandage around her leg as Alarink walked over to them. "That should start feeling better in no time, my girl."

"Oh, thank you…" Zoelda muttered as she felt Alarink stood next to her.

"We all sorted here then?" Alarink asked with a slight grin. "The royals set up the tents and a big lunch, so we can eat then sleep until morning and start to end this."

"That sounds like a good plan, my boy. I barely slept myself, so the Goddesses know I could use some sleep." Shad said, heading over to where a blanket of food had been set up in front of a group of tents.

"Shall we?" Alarink gestured to the food and the two of them headed over to eat their fill.

Zoelda's thoughts raced much over that lunch/dinner, thinking over everything that had happened and the importance of it all – of Ganon, the Twili and Alarink. As she started to feel full, her mind still raced but she no longer paid attention, instead starting to fall asleep where she sat. Noticing this, Alarink suggested they all retire to their tents and see each other again at the crack of dawn. No one bothered to complain or say anything at all really, no one even bothered to say anything as they saw Link and the Princess enter the same tent.

No, they all simply went their own way and did their own thing during those hours until next sunrise.

Zoelda was asleep almost before her head hit her balled up t-shirt pillow.

It was around midnight when she woke up again, though she couldn't be sure of the time. At first she simply thought she'd woken up due to a messed up body clock, so she shook her head and turned over, fully intending to go back to sleep. However, the sound of movement outside, the sound that had woken her up even if she didn't realise it, kept her awake. After a few moments of fear and anger at that noise, Zoelda pulled her blanket about her as a cloak, took up one of her swords and stealthily went to the door of her tent to see what was up.

By this point, though her body was a little shocked by it, her mind wasn't particularly surprised to see Alarink cloaked in his Twili robe and sneaking down to Lanayru spring in the middle of the night.

Knowing what had caused the noise now, Zoelda was tempted to shrug it all off and head back into her tent to sleep some more. Alarink was probably just going to purify himself at the spring like he said he needed to earlier. But a part of her was curious, so incredibly curious, as to what this purification involved and why it had to happen now.

There was an almost compulsion set on her to see what was going to happen in that Spring, and her feet began to move almost before she registered it. While Alarink had had no need to be particularly quiet on his walk down to the lake, Zoelda walked on silent feet behind him, desperate not to alert him to her presence.

It wasn't all that long of a walk down from the top almost island of the Lake to the Spring, but it certainly wasn't a short walk, and the necessity to sneak made things seem even longer to Zoelda. More than once she wondered if she should just shout to Alarink and tell him that she was there and following him, but everytime she straightened up to call him, something held her tongue. She couldn't exactly figure out why, but after a while she decided not to bother calling him, instead she would just watch him from a distance as he went to go purify his spirit.

The more she thought about it, the more Zoelda realised she didn't really know why Alarink needed to purify himself; gods, she didn't even know what his part in all this was! Everyone she'd spoken to who seemed to know what he was going to do had simply said it was odd to see him accept his destiny, a fate he had tried to avoid his entire life.

So, as she watched him enter the Spring from a few metres away, she finally asked herself: What is Alarink's part in all this?

She pointedly avoided looking at the possibility that everyone alluded to. There was no way his destiny in all this was to simply die. There'd be no point going through all this purification and whatnot if he was just going to die at the end of it all.

But the scar across his chest, the one that the Triforce of Courage was clearly embedded in, spoke otherwise.

Regardless of what she thought his destiny was in it all, at that point in time all she could do was think about was being silent as she snuck into the Spring behind him.

It was surprisingly light in the Spring for this time of night, lit by the glow of a bunch of fairies, it seemed. Though, as Zoelda leant back in the shadows of the corridor leading in, she noticed there was a certain amount of light coming from a glow above the Spring that had very little to do with fairies. The Spring itself was unchanged and likely unchangeable, teaming with rope like vines climbing the blue stone walls and a school of small fish swimming in the lake, an outcropping providing almost a natural diving board into the deep lake.

However, as Zoelda leant stealthily in the corridor in that night, she had to admit the scenery wasn't exactly what she was looking at.

Only a few metres ahead of her, at the head of the outcropping that jutted out over the lake, Alarink was kneeling in a suspiciously prayerlike pose, his Twili robes flared about his waist and hood turned up over his face. From her position, Zoelda couldn't hear anything that he was saying clearly, and she could only see his back, but she could definitely hear him mumbling some sort of prayer or invocation to the divine.

As perhaps one of the most depraved people she had ever met, it struck her as just a little funny to see him in such devout prayer, possibly asking for purification and forgiveness from the Goddesses. Of course, she couldn't laugh there though, it would give her away; so she twisted her lips inwards so as to not let the laughter out.

It turned out that lip sealing proved even more useful when, just seconds later, Alarink flung down his hood and removed his cloak in two swift motions of his marked left hand. Now, completely nude with his ginger hair loose about his shoulders, he rose to his feet, his left hand seemingly before his chest in a prayer pose from what Zoelda could tell from looking at his stance from behind – though her eyes did wonder a bit from the stance, her blush growing deeper and deeper each time they did.

And, quite suddenly, he walked off the edge of the outcropping, falling feet first into the lake with surprisingly little splash.

Still suppressing a gasp, and very much willing her blush to die, Zoelda wondered out from the shadows a bit to get a better view of the events unfolding in the Spring, stopping suddenly and leaning against a small waterfall on the corridor wall as that not-fairy glow above the Spring flared up with a humming note.

Now, in the air above the Spring, a huge serpent-like Spirit of light hovered, it's incandescent scales brushing against one another as it swished its tail back and forth a bit, making no sound other than that out-of-this-world hum.

"Vessel of the Hero's spirit," the serpent said in a strangely humane voice, a rather masculine one at that, without any of the dry hissing one might expect if a snake were to talk. "Welcome to My Spring."

"Light Spirit Lanayru," Zoelda heard Alarink say respectfully from within the lake. "Thank you for welcoming me to it."

"As both Faron and Eldin have already blessed you, it is only fair that I should welcome you into My Spring before I do the same." Lanayru said somewhat humorously, continuing his twisting in the air.

"And will you bless me like they did?" Alarink asked, his tone serious despite the Spirit's being light. "Will you purify me so that I may be ready when my fate comes?"

"I was expecting a bit more discussion beforehand, but very well." Lanayru seemed somewhat disappointed by Alarink's uncharacteristic seriousness, but closed his eyes all the same, drawing on his source of power. After a few seconds, the hum that had been hovering over him since he manifested grew deafening as a large ball of light appeared out of mid-air in his jaws. It pulsed for a few seconds with the hum, then flew down into the Spring, likely into Alarink if Zoelda was reading the situation right. The hum died into silence a few moments later, a silence that caused everything to fall still as Zoelda looked on in uncomprehending disbelief.

"Thank you, Lanayru." Alarink said, breaking the silence with a slight splash as he moved in the water. "I hope you don't mind me resting in your Spring for a bit longer as a way of meditation."

"No, you are welcome to meditate in my water." The serpent spirit turned around then, turning his ethereal though snake eyes to look at Zoelda, who was now leaning half in, half out of the shadows of the Spring entrance. "Shall I bless the Lost Goddess' blood while you do?"

"WHAT?" Alarink shouted, a large splash heard from where he must have been lying on the water's surface.

"Vessel of the Lost Twin's spirit, step forth so that I may purify you." Lanayru said, compelling Zoelda forward with the power in his voice. Somewhat reluctantly, she came to a stop at the edge of the outcropping, allowing her to see the whole of the body of water that was Lanayru's Spring. And allowing her to see the whole of Alarink in the middle of the Spring, treading water with his body completely vertical as though he was trying to hide his nudity – though from such a height above him, Zoelda could see everything whether he like it or not.

In an effort to keep herself from blushing yet again, Zoelda kept her eyes on the serpent spirit, desperately willing herself not to let them wonder without all that much luck.

"Why are you here, Zoelda?" Alarink asked in a strangled voice, his face flushed for what she suspected was one of the first times in his life.

"Shush, please," Lanayru said. "I am purifying this maiden's mind."

Moments passed in uncomfortable silence as the Spirit worked, the sound of the wall waterfalls being the only noise. Zoelda didn't exactly feel all that much purified by the Spirit, though she couldn't deny that there was a presence in her mind while the Spirit worked that had not been there before. Almost as soon as she noticed the presence, it was gone.

"Now you may speak." He said as the presence lifted off of Zoelda's mind, leaving her feeling almost strangely alone.

"What did you just do?" Zoelda asked the serpent, somewhat confused by it all.

"I purified your mind so that it might be clear when you are faced against Ganondorf."

"Thank you?" She replied to the spirit a little confusedly, pulling her blanket cloak a little closer. "What exactly is it I need to do when I meet Ganon?"

"That I am not permitted to tell you." The Spirit said after a moment of contemplation. The whole time they casually spoke, Alarink was getting more and more worked up in the lake below them. "You will know when the time comes."

"Oh good, I was expecting another helpfully vague answer." Zoelda muttered sarcastically before snapping. "How come I'm the only person who can't know what's going to happen? What's Alarink and the Princess' part in all this, huh? What are they going to do?"

"ZELDA!" Alarink shouted at her in uncharacteristic heat, grinding his teeth and stopping Lanayru from answering her. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here?"

"I was curious about what the noise was, and when I saw it was you, I decided to follow you to find out what was going on." She answered, looking down at him to start with before deciding it would be safer to let her eyes wonder the scenery instead.

"Why would you decide to follow me?" Alarink asked somewhat exasperatedly. "Why would you do that? Why can't you give me a moment's peace?"

"In the maiden's defence, Vessel of the Hero," Lanayru interrupted before Zoelda could snap a reply. "I compelled her to come. I needed to bless her and there would have been no time to do that later."

"Did you have to do it while I was here, though?" Alarink asked a little petulantly, also avoiding looking at Zoelda too closely as he spoke.

"It was the easiest time to do it, yes. I fail to see why this is making you uncomfortable, Hero." Lanayru asked curiously, though there was a hint of amusement in his voice that suggested he knew exactly why he was uncomfortable.

"Well, I'm…" Alarink trailed off as he looked down at himself in the water. "I'm naked, Lanayru."

"And? Your thoughts indicate that that is your more preferred state among the opposite and even same sex."

"Yeah, well…" Alarink looked up at Zoelda and flushed even brighter, turning away again after he did. "Seriously, Zelda, why can't you give me a moment's peace?"

"What do you mean?" She responded, angrily looking down at him. This was the man who hadn't given her a second of peace since she'd arrived, who had almost tried to kiss her earlier and had tried to pretend it didn't happen for the rest of the day. An almost rage built up in her as she looked down at him, not seeing his nudity but just seeing him, the Hylian-Twili who had barely left her alone all the time they'd known each other, who hadn't told her what he was and was still avoiding telling her what the two of them were meant to do in this destiny of theirs, who had the audacity to say she was the one who wasn't giving him peace.

If either one had stopped to think for a moment, they both could have realised that it was Lanayru manipulating them into a frenzy to make sure they said something that would help them win in the final fight with Ganondorf. But right now, they were just two stubborn teenagers about to have an argument.

"I've not given you a moment of peace?! Link, you've literally barely left me alone since I've gotten here and now you have the audacity to tell me that I'm the one being a pest?!" Zoelda's voice might have raised several octaves as she glared down at him.

"You've been on my mind ever since I met you, Zelda!" Alarink shouted back at her, his strange eyes flashing and glaring, though there was a kind of sadness and longing behind them as well, that damned question and answer still haunting them. "Since we met, my mind has not known peace, I've barely been able to enjoy myself and I've changed my whole opinion on my destiny since I met you, the one who is causing it! I practically told the whole of the Twilight Realm my intentions with you, and yet you still don't see what you're doing to me do you? For six days now, I've not known peace, and for as long as you continue to be in my life I doubt I will! So please, take a hint and don't make me say it."

"Say what?" Zoelda asked somewhat forcefully, not quite shouting though certainly not talking calmly. Something about the way he was speaking, a little vulnerably with the question in his eyes suddenly under the tone of his voice, caught her and she couldn't figure out what he was trying to tell her – despite how obvious he was being about it. It turned out, she was just a little dense at putting things together, and if she'd looked back at the events of the day, of the days even, she probably could have seen exactly where this line of conversation was going.

She might not have been able to believe that Alarink could hold romantic feelings for anyone, but she certainly could have noticed there was at least some sort of chemistry between them.

"How dense can you be, dear?" Alarink laughed darkly before looking up at her with tear studded eyes. "I am so hopelessly, irretrievably in love with you that I don't know what to do. You can see me - the real me, the man I've hidden from the world - at a glance and I can't quite believe that you can't see that that man loves you with everything he owns. More than anyone can ever know, that man is so deeply in love with you that he will die for you. Fuck, he nearly tried to kiss you earlier, he opened his heart to his mother over you, and you still don't see it, do you? I. Love. You. Zelda."

In that moment, Zoelda couldn't comprehend anything, all she could think was that the Spring's walls were closing in on her, that there wasn't enough air in this holy space. So, she turned around and started to walk away.

"Zelda!" Alarink called after, the sound of splashing accompanying his calls. But she didn't stop, instead she ran faster, holding her blanket tightly about her as she did.

She was at the mouth of the corridor leading out when she heard Lanayru drily say: "Smooth."

"Fuck off." Alarink snapped at the Spirit as Zoelda ran out of the cave and began to head back up to the camp, leaving Alarink standing naked at the edge of the lake looking after her in the dark.

This was just a dream.

A dream that she would wake up from and pretend never happened in the morning.

That was her story as her head hit the pillow again.

A story she was determined to stick to.

AN:

So, if you were looking for a typical act structure in this story (which you shouldn't be since there really isn't one, as much as I may have planned otherwise) this would be the end of act two, the break into three if you like.

In a typical story, this is the part where everything starts to come to a head and everyone's initial flaws start to be addressed. I'd like to think this story has that in these last few chapters.

As previously mentioned these chapters were all written in the week before this was first posted. So, in a way they are all an example of me trying to figure out what kind of writer I want to be. As a now aspiring script writer, I can appreciate the fact the 'show don't tell mantra' a little more. As such, these chapters attempt to show character development in actions and speech rather than anything else. Whether or not that worked is another matter, but I do like how they turned out.

Think of them as an experiment in writing emotions, character and (later) violence, if you like.

Anyway, I don't have as much to say about this (and really the next) chapter in terms of notes, so I'll leave it at this.

Have a nice week everyone, see you next time.

~WWQ