"KIYA!" Link's yell reverberated across the courtyard as he landed his sword against the scarecrow's head. Zelda and Malon gave supportive claps as straw filled the air. Link put one hand on his hip and the blunt edge of his sword on his shoulder and grinned at Malon. "Still got it, honey!"

A red-headed boy about ten jumped into the air. "Yay, go papa!"

A girl a few years older groaned loudly and covered her ears. "Not so LOUD, Russ! WE'RE RIGHT HERE!"

"Come on, Melody, I want papa to hear!"

"Papa smash the care crow," a toddler responded politely next to them, pointing at Link. She then stared gloomily at the scarecrow's remains. "Poor care crow."

Another toddler took her hand gently. "Want make all better, Tatl? Come wif Tael. Tael help." He led her across the yard, and they began gathering up the straw.

"Saria!" Melody yelled. "Stop playing that stupid thing and get over here!"

Saria ignored her older sister, continuing to play on the old ocarina her father had given her. "Tu tu tu! Tu tu tu!" she played the ocarina. Supposedly it was a gift from her namesake. You'd think something from the sages would be easier to play and sound a LOT better.

Saria flipped her hair over her shoulder and stuck her nose in the air. Saria was the only one with blond hair like her father, and she flaunted it on every occasion. Melody got her hair from her mother, and flaunted it as well. As for Zelly, she stood and stared long and hard at Melody's long, thick, wavy red hair, and kept hopping to try to catch some and rub it with her fingers. Russ' hair also took after his mother's. Tatl and Tael got their dark brown hair from their grandpa Talon.

"Hey! Kids, get along now or Mama's gonna have a cow!" Malon yelled, and Zelda tried not to laugh as she covered her own ears.

"That okay," Tael said excitedly, "Always want baby sister cow!" No matter what you did, Tael was on your side. He ran up to his mother. "You have baby cow, mama?"

Malon sniggered, but tried to hide it. "Maybe when we get home, Tael."

The joy in Tael's eyes was a sight to behold.

New voices reached Zelda's ears, and she turned to find Shad and her husband walking into the courtyard from the castle, speaking animatedly together.

"There you are, Dark!" Link exclaimed. "What took you so long? Our kids are already playing together!"

"Link!" Shadow said, walking up to the Hero quickly. "Did you know, Shad's got some fascinating theories on shadow melding!"

"Shadow melding?" Link asked.

"Oh, you know, that thing where I zip from one shadow to another miles away?"

Link slowly nodded as the scholar joined them. Then he felt a tiny tug on his left boot. He looked down into the pearly eyes of Tatl. "Well hello, little princess, what's on your mind?"

Tatl held the tattered remains of the scarecrow's head, and some straw. "Papa fix the care crow," she said in a very upset voice.

"You want me to fix the scarecrow? Did hitting the scarecrow make you sad?"

Tatl gave him the poutiest of faces, the scrunchiest of eyebrows, the glassiest of eyeballs. "YES."

Link picked her up. "Oh, alright. Papa will not hit the scarecrow again. Okay?"

She held out the scarecrow's massacred face. "Care crow?"

"I'll fix him a bit later, don't worry. He's just taking a nice nap and won't feel a thing."

Tatl grinned, and Link set her down and the little girl went running to her mother.

"She's talking a lot more," Shadow noted.

"Yeah, she's gotten very good at expressing her feelings," Link emphasized the word, showing on his face he wasn't sure what to do with them. "You keep thinking you'll get better at this parenting thing . . ."

"It's all fun and games until daddy hits a scarecrow," Shad said teasingly.

"You're one to talk," Link commented. "Colin told me you rode all the way to Ordon—"

"Oh for goodness sake, I did not! I met her halfway there!"

"But you WOULD have gone all the way to Ordon?" Link raised an eyebrow.

The Hero antagonized the poor scholar with a devilishly amused face. Shadow himself was confused at the speech. Shad and Link spoke to each other like they'd known each other for a long time, and considered each other equals. Shadow would have happily gone "all the way to Ordon" for Zelda. "Why don't you just tell Ilia you love her already?" He interrupted bluntly.

Shad turned a bright shade of red, and Link burst out laughing. "What?" Shadow asked, confused. "Is it really that complicated?"

"Your majesty!" Shad complained. He removed his spectacles and began cleaning them furiously with a handkerchief. "There are rules of courtship, and certainly it is too early for me to be saying anything that drastic!"

Shadow shook his head. "Link," he said, with sudden purpose. "I've been meaning to ask. It's been a while since we sparred. Could we have a go?"

Link wiped the laughter tears out of his eyes, glancing up in surprise. "Well, sure! But I won't go easy on you just because you're the king now."

"CONSORT!" Zelda shouted.

Shadow grinned, then waved his sword at Link pointedly. "If you go easy on me . . . I'll kill you."

Link smiled back wryly. "Well, then, have at thee!"

The children were seated carefully out of reach of the fence surrounding the sparring square. They sat eating Deku seeds, and Malon was sitting with her back to the castle wall, stealing a nap. Shad kept the princess company while they watched Link and Shadow circle each other, swords drawn.

Shadow feinted first, and Link fell for it, as usual. But also as usual, Link recovered easily, having put enough momentum into his swing to carry him into a block as Shadow rolled and came from behind.

Zelda fanned herself. Watching the boys fight was tiresome since they were so equally matched. It was like watching a chess game where all that were left were the two king pieces in a unending stalemate. But she knew eventually Link would win, as he always did against Shadow. It was destiny showing itself. The Hero was never meant to be defeated by the sword.

This didn't seem to make Shadow stop trying, and his swings became faster, fiercer, and soon, rash. Zelda only watched vaguely until Shad suddenly shouted, "Easy, your majesty! It's just a play match, not an actual battle!"

Shadow was frustrated. Why did Link look so calm?! Already Shadow could feel his own limbs shaking from exertion, his lungs unable to get enough air, his throat hoarse. And yet Link stood there calmly, with that determined look on his face, barely even breaking a sweat. That confident, holier-than-thou look that Shadow had long ago learned to fear—and hate. He had no reason to feel those things now, since they were allies, but feel them he did. Link was so . . . pompous, Shadow thought, wondering darkly if Link was holding back. The thought made Shadow's skin itch and burn. He was the Hero's shadow, why couldn't he be an equal, GREATER?!

Again, he charged at Link, this time fueled with anger. He heard Shad call out to him, but he ignored it, casting blow after blow at the Hero of Time, and was blocked every time. Finally, and Shadow saw it as it happened, Link exploited an opening, tangling his sword in Shadow's, twisting, and ripping the tool out of Shadow's grip and making him stumble and fall to his knees in the dust. His sword landed dully on the ground next to him.

"Whoo! Go papa!" Russ yelled, and Shad whistled loudly. Melody looked bored, and Saria wasn't watching.

"Yaaay papa win!" Tatl clapped her hands, and Tael spun in joyous circles.

Zelda could feel the dark spirit emanating from Shadow, and she stood as quickly as she could and began walking toward the combatants. "Shad!"

Link had sheathed his sword. "Good match, Shadow. Let's do it again soon, eh?"

Shad stared at his hands, shaking. Zelda's dress came into his vision, and soon the princess had knelt in front of him and took his hands. "Shadow, are you alright?"

"I . . ." Shadow began. "I can't beat him."

"Well of course not, no one can."

"But I'm his shadow. The hero's shadow. Oughtn't I be able to be as . . . good as him?"

"What do you mean?"

"If I can't beat him, then . . ." he pulled his hands from Zelda's grip suddenly, "I really am just a shadow."

"Oh, no, no, darling . . ." Zelda reached out to him again.

"Shadow," Link called, who had walked up when Shadow remained kneeling. "Are you al-"

"GRAAAAAAAAAGH!" Shadow threw himself at Link, knocking the wind out of him and sending them both to the ground. They scuffled, Link trying to push Shadow off of him, but Shadow grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the earth. "WHY CAN'T YOU JUST SHUT UP?!"

"Shadow, get off me!"

"WHO ARE YOU TO BE BETTER THAN ME?"

"Calm down!"

"SHADOW!" Zelda's voice was rough, frightened. Shadow, still gripping Link, spun and turned his angry gaze on Zelda, who raised a trembling finger. "Shadow," she said, "Look at yourself."

Anger turning to chilling uncertainty, Shadow dropped his gaze to his clenched fists.

They were shapeless, black. He stood and stumbled backwards away from Link, looking over himself in shock. He resembled a shadow again, and not just a little. There was no color, no lines or even fingernails, just a smooth black surface. Fear overtook him. He tried to grab his arms, his stomach, his head. Nothing. No feeling. No touch. No taste. No smell. His fingers clutched at the nothingness of his hair and his ghostly frame crumbled as he screamed. His entire form melted into tendrils of shadow, which fled to the dark corners of the courtyard and disappeared.

Zelda watched him go in some shock. Link got up and dusted himself off. The spectacle had caused much confusion in the watchers.

"Where Daddy go?!" a panicked Zelly was screaming over and over. Russ seemed to think it was a cool prank. The others were just confused. Thankfully, it didn't take long to calm the children down. For several minutes Zelly wouldn't let her mother go anywhere without her, in case she disappeared, but finally she let Malon take her to the nursery so Zelda could go find Shadow.

Link stopped her by taking her arm before she could go. "Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?"

"Please, Link," Zelda said for the fifth time in the last ten minutes, "He's my husband. I haven't seen him this way in years . . . I know where he's gone, and we need to be alone."

Link nodded reluctantly and let go. Shad, who stood nearby, seemed equally reluctant, and asked,"Are you sure?"

Zelda sighed. "Yes. And before you get any ideas . . ." A flash of magic appeared in her hand, and she flourished it in an infinity symbol about her, and she was gone.