UNCHAINED

They woke early. Kin was almost surprised to see the sun rise just as it always did. She might have expected a storm, for all that had led up to this day. The end was coming; one way or another, the dusk would see it done.

As she washed and dressed, Kin couldn't help but think back to what Link had said the night before. "He wants me with him?" she whispered into her washbasin. Her heart drummed wildly. Stupid man! Why did he have to go and say that? Clenching her teeth, she tried to get ahold of herself – tried to force the blood from her cheeks.

She dowsed her head with water twice for good measure. I'm no infatuated farmgirl! she chastised herself. In the end, though, her silent rants changed nothing, and when she finally opened the door to her room and saw Link waiting for her, her heart skipped a beat anyway.

Without a word, they set off for the castle. Kin's eyes wandered as Link led them down alley after alley of cobblestone streets. She watched how he walked – how his graceful, flowing gait reminded her of a cat just about to strike. She watched his hair, and fiercely blushed at the image of herself wrapping her fingers through his mane. I can't let this distract me! she wanted to scream. Not today! Goddesses, not today... But no matter how she pleaded, her gaze kept wandering back to her friend in green. Closing her eyes, she tried to focus on the task at hand.

They left most of their things at the inn: the Zora Cloaks, the Deku carvings, the last of their supplies. Today, they wouldn't need them. Kin did bring her harp, though, a choice that had surprised even herself. She just couldn't shake the feeling that, somehow, she might need it.

The streets were far from empty, even this early in the day. Here and there, the homeless simply slept on the ground, sometimes covered in no more than a light cloak. Hawkers were just beginning to set up their stalls, and occasionally they would pass a man on his way back home after a late night of drinking.

Navi kept to Link's hat. There was no need to give Vaati any more warning than needed, though Kin had the sinking feeling that the Picori already knew they were close. He could be be watching us right now, Kin realized, struggling not to look over her shoulder.

Even so, they reached the castle without incident. The gate was open. Walking through, they entered the wide castle gardens that stretched to cover the entire south bailey. In the center of the garden was a tall, winding statue; perched upon the top was the likeness of the Triforce. A few guards patrolled the lawn paths, but none paid the duo any attention. They were all new men, Kin realized; none had been around long enough to recognize the Hero of Time in his iconic green tunic.

Kin kept to Link's shadow. She knew she should be scared – terrified even, but somehow the man made her feel safe. No! Focus!

Link led them around the edge of the garden, away from the closed castle doors. "The servants' gate is rarely shut," he explained when he had the chance, gesturing to a pair of wooden doors neatly hidden behind an apple tree. Kin barely heard him, her heart hammered so loudly.

The swordsman stopped. Turning to Kin, he put his hands on her shoulders. "What's wrong?" he asked, affixing her with worried eyes that made her want to melt.

"It's nothing," she said, proud of how her voice nearly didn't waver at all.

He smiled. "It's alright to be scared," Link said. Kin would have rolled her eyes if they hadn't been so captured by his own. "But you can't let anything distract you here." She gasped as he pulled her into a warm embrace. Her heart raced. His scent filled her nose; he smelled like a field of wildflowers. She could feel his cheek against her neck – could feel his stubble scratch softly against her ear. She shivered as his strong arms held her. It was too much. She couldn't stop her hands as they found their way around his neck. "I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you," she heard him say.

"I love you."

The words escaped her lips before she could draw them back, hanging in the air like the last echoing note of a song she had been unwittingly composing since their adventure began.

Link stiffened. She could feel his breath catch, could feel his body as it turned to rock. She closed her eyes and willed the tears not to come.

Slowly, Link unwrapped her arms. She let him. She wanted to run away as fast as she could. She wanted to hide. Stepping back, Link studied her with a soft, but untidy stare.

"Kin..." he said. She knew she had made a mistake. She could hear the hesitation – the reservation in his voice. She didn't want to listen to what he was about to say. She shook her head, eyes still shut tight.

"I—I'm sorry," she said. This time, her words weren't steady. "I'm so sorry. I never wanted this – never wanted to feel..." she could feel the tears as they began to escape down her cheeks, and the words as they began to escape her tongue. The floodgates had opened, it seemed. "I really liked Malon, I mean, the Malon in your story. But—but when you spoke about bringing her back – Goddesses, it made me sad. I didn't know why, at first. I felt like a monster, I thought something was wrong with me but—but then I realized..." She struggled for breath. "I realized I was just jealous. I didn't want to be! But after—after that night, on Greatfish. I'd never been so close to anyone before! When you held me – I—I really liked it. I..." She wished she could be anywhere else. "I just wanted to stay like that. I—I didn't want—want to feel like this."

Link listened to what she said without a word, but he flinched as if struck by every tear that slid down her cheek. The corners of his eyes were pulled tight.

Kin tried to shut her eyes – tried to block him out.

"Kin...I'm—I'm so sorry," his voice trembled. "I—I can't. Please..."

Kin shook her head. It was too much. She turned away, but couldn't hide her pain. She had to go. Anywhere but here.

"No, please." Link caught her arm. She could feel his hands shake. "Please, don't go. I need you, Kin. I swear I do. I can't—I can't do this without you. But..."

The last thing Valoo had said to her flashed through her mind. 'He will need you before the end, little Rito. Only you can quiet his storm.' She blocked the words out. She didn't want to hear them. She couldn't hear them.

"But you don't need me, do you?" Kin could feel her words shoot though the swordsman, but she was in too much pain to care. His hand fell away from her arm.

"Please..." he pleaded.

"You're a cruel man, Hero of Time," she whispered, hiding behind those words. She couldn't take them back, and she couldn't hurt him any more if she tried. "Goodbye."

She walked away, tears falling freely from her cheeks. Behind her, Link screamed into the open air. She wept, and disappeared with the echoes of his anguish.