Chapter Three: Connection

Title: LoZ: The Time Keeper

Chapter: 3

Author: Hikari no Vikki

Genre: Romance

Parings: Link x Zelda / OC x Shadow

Disclaimer: If all this were mine, I would have made Kingdom Hearts use Hyrule as a world already and made me a character in the Yu-Gi-Oh series. I don't own Zelda, okay? The only things I own are Victoria and Peter.

Description: Previously known as Divine Impurity. Following the events of Ocarina of Time, a girl with a legacy she knows nothing about joins the fight against Ganon. She falls in love with the Hero's shadow, and finds herself caught up in a war that seems impossible to win.

EDIT: General editing. Been meaning to do this for ages.

"No!" Peter ran to catch her and managed to just before she hit the ground. "Are you alright?" No answer. "Victoria?" He shook her shoulders. Still no answer. He could see his house a little ways away. He had to get her there.

Gently, he scooped her into his arms – ignoring the pain lancing through them – and heaved her back up onto the horse. He strapped her against it and he climbed up behind her, holding her close as he coaxed the beast to a quick trot. His house was no more than a mile away, luckily enough, so he made good time getting there. He got off and unlatched her unconscious form, carrying her through the door and setting her down quickly.

A/N: It's a little like the cottage in Sleeping Beauty but it's a one story, slightly cramped, and has no waterwheel. I'm done, read on.

He took a towel off his towel rack in his tiny kitchen and soaked it hot water. He put the towel on her forehead, her eyes twitching as he did so.

Her forehead burned under his hand. Very, very hot. He jerked it back a little from the heat for fear of it burning. It actually simmered a little; for tiny wisps of smoke wafted from his stinging hand.

She tossed a little and turned, her expression indescribable. As for Victoria…

Shadows nipped at her heels as she ran, flames licking at her thighs. She ran this way and that way through the darkness, the shadows ever concealing. The only bit of light you could see other than the bright orange fire that was leaping at her heart like a dog would a bone was a small glint coming from the pendant around her neck. For a single second she thought the darkness would consume her, but then the light grew strong and released the shadows' hold over her consciousness.

In the real world, Victoria stilled from her nightmare, her breathing no longer labored.

She twitched a little and could feel herself awakening. She made an attempt to move but was being held down. She then tried to open her lips, but they were half cracked and felt dirty. Agitated, she tried to open her eyes. "Awake now, are you?"

At first, all she could see was blur. She blinked cautiously, wondering how she got here. She felt weak; drained of energy. But how? Slowly her eyes began to adjust.

She saw Peter on the foot of a bed beside her feet, his hand clutching one of hers. He had a relieved expression, but worry lines were still fresh on his brow. "I am now," she whispered hoarsely, her lips still reluctant to move. She licked them, as they were still very stiff and dry.

He smiled a little and became serious again. "What happened back there?" She remembered feeling hot and in pain for a few seconds, but after she muttered something she blacked out and started to fall. She shook her head saying she remembered none of it.

"I don't know what happened. Something caught fire and I fainted. I think…" She trailed off, thinking about what really happened. What HAD happened?

She remembered the searing pain, like fire going down her spine as a snake would someone's leg, She remembered saying something; a single word…. what word was it… She gasped a little, so he wouldn't hear. She said faeuire, the Hylian word for fire.

She wondered, for a fleeting second, if she had done magic. Magic was an uncommon gift blessed to those only in royalty, or obtained through a Great Fairy's blessing. Essentially everyone had the potential, but it wasn't a desired practice. So why did she have the gift? She shook her head, telling herself she would think about this later.

"How long have I been out?" She questioned wearily. Her head hurt terribly, each pulse of her lifeblood aching in her sinuses. "About half and hour, give or take five minutes." He answered, hesitant. "What I want to know," he asked her, "is if you're well enough to accompany me, provided that you don't faint again." He leaned in a little, smiling boyishly.

She looked up at him, her soft red eyes drowning in his midnight pools. They were so close to each other you could almost see static forming tiny electric links between wherever skin touched skin. She blushed a little as she positioned her free hand by her chin innocently, her eyes closing to hide her feelings.

"Of course," she whispered, "Provided you let me go without a blindfold."

"Touche," Peter chuckled. Then, without thinking, he kissed her on her cheek.

She gasped a little when he did it, the traces of saliva still burning from his peck. She opened her eyes again and was about to say something before Peter cut her off.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done it and–– " She put a finger to his lips as she swung her legs over the bedside. She winced inwardly, regretting the movement instantly, but pressed herself to continue. "No, it's all right. You don't have to say sorry this time." She smiled and slowly put her hand around the back of his neck and gave him a deep, chaste kiss. "Fair?" She was almost in awe of herself. Why was she kissing him? She barely knew him! It was only a little one, but still! A kiss! Was she really that desperate for company?

She blinked, as mental picture of something… dirtier than the word implied flashed through her mind. Damn hormones. She wasn't ready for this!

Peter blushed a bit, oblivious to her mental astonishment. "Now, what were you saying about going somewhere?" He stood up and held out his hand, his eyes twinkling slightly. He made her feel warm inside whenever they touched, and whenever she looked in his eyes, she was afraid she would drown in them. She really had to get a handle on her emotions. Forcing a smile to her lips, she pushed her thoughts away as she took his hand and stood up beside him.

Peter looked reluctant, and breathless, his dark eyes swimming with conflicting sensations. As promised, though, he left her without the blindfold, and the two of them walked together along the shore towards a small, uncomely looking cave.

It wasn't terribly far from Peter's cottage, but its small appearance from a distance made it look not worth exploring.

"I found it sometime after I built my cottage," he told her, his voice almost sad. "It brings me peace whenever I come here, if I can't go into the desert." She tilted her head, curious. "The desert? You've been there? But aren't the Gerudos, well… not hospitable to men?"

He hesitated and, frowning, bit the inside of his cheek. "Well, I… I'm very careful. It's one of the few places I can really think, you know?" He smiled, at her, showing his clean teeth. "Shall we?" He motioned to her with one hand and holding out another, silently asking her if she wanted in.

She gratefully took the offer and she linked arms with him unconsciously. Even though she'd asked not to have the blindfold, she closed her eyes anyway in anticipation. They walked along a small, dark path, going under the occasional hole, each shining a piercing ray of sunlight that warmed her to her very toes. Slowly, they made their way through a long stretch of tunnel until the silent sound of running water hit her ears.

She opened her eyes to see the roaring bottom of a waterfall, but instead of being in front of it, they were in the back of it. Surrounding the opening were many plants of various sizes and varieties that could cure almost any ailment for wounds and poisons.

"Oh, Peter… this is… this is amazing." She looked around in awe at the lighting of the tiny glen; Peter must have done them himself, because he was smiling at her bashfully. "I thought you'd say that," Peter said.

"Where are we?" She asked. Peter chuckled. "We're still at Lake Hylia. We're just… behind the waterfall that leads into the lake is all." He grinned and she smiled back at him.

She looked at the candles wistfully, getting that feeling again. "Did you… put these up yourself?" He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I did. What do you think? The guy I bought them from said they were enchanted, but I…" He drifted off.

"They are," she said suddenly. She slowly broke away from him as she put her palm up against the dirt wall. But this time it was different; it was as if the fire wanted to play with her.

Peter stared at her, raising an eyebrow again. "What?" Victoria cleared her throat and she looked back at him over her shoulder, directly in his eyes. "I said they are enchanted," she repeated. But it wasn't that he hadn't heard, but the look she had given the candles.

He shook it off and he smiled to cover up his suspicion. "Oh, sorry," she said, blushing, "It's just that the candles were so beautiful… I wanted to see the craftsmanship of them." She shrugged. "I have a thing for candles."

Peter looked at her again, her arm gracefully reaching up to touch the candle.

When she couldn't quite reach the candle, he walked over to her and her placed his hands on her waist. "Here," he said, "let me help you see."

She gasped a little at the contact, and he lifted her up a bit, just enough for her to reach the flames. Out of his sight, she slipped her fingers into the small blaze, muttering to it through her mind that she'd be careful.

Keeping her voice calm and soothing, she tentatively let her whole palm be immersed in the fire. The feeling that she got from it was so unnatural; it was almost shocking. Instead of burning, blazing heat, the flames channeled through her like an electric current. They were cool, not hot, friendly, not threatening. The energy was pulsing through her so quickly, she had to look into the blaze to feel its thoughts.

But Peter was lowering her down, so she coaxed the fire to let her go; that she would see it another time. A single flame licked sadly at the last slender finger to leave the blaze.

"Looked at it long enough, have you?' He wrapped his arms around her waist and then rested his head on her shoulder, his breath tickling the tiny hairs. Victoria giggled. "Stop that. It tickles." He raised a playful eyebrow.

"A weak spot… no?" "She turned around in his arms. "You're such a tease, Peter." He leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers. "Is that not why you're here? To have a good time, be teased, tickled…" He went off for a little as he mentally thought about kissing her, but he scolded himself. His eyes flickered as mental silence filled his brain. He couldn't let her know what he was, more so, who he was. She might not like him.

"Weren't we here to just enjoy the beauty of his wonderful night? I mean, we can't just waste it on frivolous flirting." She had realized by now that he was reciprocating her affections, but he was being very… reserved about it. Peter blinked, and wondered briefly if his flirting had been that obvious. Then he smiled, not showing his internal twinge of shock.

"Of course not. You know," he said, taking her small hand into his own rough ones, "There are better ways to watch the sunset." She blinked, and frowned softly. "Sunset? It's that late already?" Peter smiled. This was his chance.

"I'll take you home tomorrow if you'd like. You know how dangerous it's been since Gannondorf took over the castle." He grasped her hand firmly and then showed her an indented wall. "You may think that it's just a wall…" He said in a amusing way as he pulled a nearby, unlit candle, "But it's actually… stairs."

The "wall" slid open to reveal some twenty stone steps before the shadows swallowed them. He made the same motion as he had done before they had gone in. "Shall we, fair lady?" She almost laughed at how well he flattered her. She couldn't help but like him now. So much for controlling her emotions. Still, she wasn't ready for this. Her body might be seventeen, but she certainly wasn't, even though she made sure she knew what she needed to know about certain… things via the Kakariko library.

She'd practically had to lock Link inside to explain to him what the age changes meant physically as well as emotionally.

But she smiled and giggled lightly, hiding the longing glint in her eyes. If she could she'd have him in her arms right now, but she seemed to realize that just being in his presence was enough for her.

He took a torch from its holder as she followed him gracefully up the steps. Her dress flew behind her like a bewitched nightgown made to fly perfectly with one's movements. The locket around her neck settled on her breast as it reflected the torch's light around the stairway.

"Say, Peter? Did you make this?" Peter glanced behind him in her general direction, since the stairway was not wide enough for them to walk side by side. "No, actually. I did rig the illusion spell, and the candle switch, but other than that… this is exactly how I found it. Honest. It does make me wonder, though. The place up ahead, well, it's definitely not natural."

"Maybe it was made by someone before Ganondorf took over…"

"Maybe," Peter hummed in agreement.

He stopped at the exit, setting the torch he had been holding in a cone on the wall, and marveled at her beauty. His eyes were forlorn and darkened, and only by looking into her own eyes did the spell upon his eyes falter or sometimes break. He scolded himself again. What a hopeless romantic idiot he was. They could never be together.

Something pricked at his attention; a biting on one of his fingers. It was a shadow sprite, which he flicked off his hand as it tried to make him dance with it. He mentally told it he couldn't, and the little fairy flittered off into the red sunset; which seemed to promise peace that night. As his hand twitched, a ring slipped off his finger and landed at Victoria's feet.

She bent down to pick it up when he did, causing then to collide and their lips meet.

"Oh!" She gasped, "I- are you alright? Did I hurt you?" Peter shook his head. "No, but-" He stopped himself. He cursed quietly, mentally declaring himself a dim-witted imbecile. She was too innocent for someone like him to love her.

Victoria could sense his suffering as he picked up his ring. How she wanted to help, to lift all his troubles away. But she really did have to keep herself under control. Then he stood up and held out his left hand to her, showing her something she hadn't seen before. A faint black triangle, faded and worn, that seemed to hide under his palm's skin. Why hadn't she seen it before?

She frowned, but brushed the thought away as she took Peter's hand and they walked out to the middle of the balcony. "It is beautiful isn't it?" Peter asked her softly. She looked out across the lake. "Yes, very beautiful. I've never seen Lake Hylia from this far up before. It's… the most amazing thing I've even seen."

She broke away from him, her fingers lingering on his own. She sat down on a stone bench beside the railing, facing the sunset with her fingers on the bench.

She sighed, knowing that she didn't know him enough for him to give him even a mild secret like who he truly was. She had a feeling deep down that this was just a disguise, a disguise that had been falling apart ever since he'd met her. A disguise that was just a mask to the true Peter, beyond his outer shell, then something under that which masked the soft underside, his vulnerable side, the kind, caring side which only showed at brief moments.

It was at the very second when she looked up that this side came through. "Sorry, about the kiss, if you want to call it that." He weakly smiled, his voice half shaking and his eyes shifting nervously.

He sat down then, and after she hadn't replied, looked away. He looked like a small child lying to his parents that was afraid it would be beaten. She was frustrated. Why was he resisting? He obviously liked her. Maybe, just… one more kiss wouldn't hurt?

"Hey. Look at me."

She put one hand on his left leg, gently putting pressure on it. "You don't need to be afraid to like me, you know." Peter frowned. "I… Victoria, we really shouldn't get too close." She sighed. "And why not? I'm willing to just be your friend, Peter. I won't… kiss you anymore." He raised an eyebrow at the way she said 'kiss' like it was foreign to her.

He cursed himself again for feeling this way. He just couldn't do this!

"It's… it's not that, I…" He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead absently. "Peter, look. When you meet someone you know deep down is just like you, you don't just say 'it's nice to meet you, I'll see you around' and forget it." At this point, he snapped at her.

"I just don't want to see you hurt, Victoria! You don't know how dangerous it is to be me! So just back off!"

She winced, and shied away from him, wondering how she could have missed this sleeping animalistic side of him. Was she wrong to not have brought a weapon? Well, there was always magic, if she could call it again. Tears prickled in her eyes as her body reacted to his sharp command, and the pain of her throbbing head spiked once more.

Peter instantly regretted his stupid words. He'd meant what he said, but he hadn't meant to… oh, why did he always have to mess everything up?

"I'm… I'm so sorry, Victoria, I…" He slowly reached out to her and he winced as she did, again. "Please, I didn't mean to snap at you, really. I'm sorry." He said the words over and over and he gently wiped most of her tears away. Once she was calm again, he said quietly, "I did mean it, though. What I said. I don't want to see you hurt."

She looked up at him and shivered at the intensity with which his eyes blazed. "I can take care of myself," she muttered stubbornly. "I bet you can," he said through a sigh, "it's just not… safe for me right now."

He didn't notice that she'd moved a little closer to him when she spoke.

"But isn't this place supposed to make you feel safe? You told me it did. Just… let me in, Peter. Talk to me."

His eyes narrowed wearily. "I wish I could. I really, really do."

She pitied him then. She pitied him terribly. He was so sad and hurting, it throbbed and pulsed through her just as much as her blood did. He was so close; she could kiss him again if she really wanted it. Did she want it? Her body was screaming 'yes, yes, yes!' but she really had to stop and think about this. If she did this, it meant leaving any possibility of regaining her lost time behind her.

Leaving her innocence behind. Not the innocence left behind as a result of marriage, but the less substantial kind. She was going to have to grow up quicker than life had originally intended and commit herself to this new, intense existence. She thought of Link, and briefly thought of how much they looked alike, he and Peter. But she also thought of his lost time.

Would he be so willing as to leave those seven years? To continue, to not live them at all? She thought of his logical, tenderhearted mind, and knew that at least to a certain degree, he would. He'd had to shed blood with that sword, to drench himself in it, and wipe it away later.

No child should live with those memories.

And as a child again, she would long for the man that sat so very near to her, practically pressed against her. As a child, she would not be able to have his company, and she would be alone. Again. She smiled slightly, realizing she'd made her decision. In these few short moments, so much had crossed her mind. She knew what she needed. Wanted. So she tilted her head, closed her eyes, and leaned forward. Peter realized what she was about to do, but he was so tired, so desperate to love this lovely, gentle girl, he finally gave into the moment.

Peter closed his eyes. He leaned down while gently pulling her face up to his own, a hand pressing against the back of her neck. Victoria could feel fire searing down her spine again, but this time it was the good kind. The kind she felt when she touched the candle.

Peter felt like the shadows within him were waiting for a chance to mix with a strong oncoming element, one with untapped power. Under his own hands, which were at both her waist and neck, fire seemed to leap at them, hungrily biting at the door to his darkness.

Then their lips met in a passionate interlock as both fire and shadow leapt fiercely and crashed inside and then recognized the other. The world widened greatly, narrowed sharply, and exploded in an instant. Both elements danced, slowly at first, and then with a quickness that could hardly be matched.

Their tongues danced to their beat, never skipping or missing a single one. They were for a second, one person, one body, one connected element. Sweat beaded on their temples when they finally broke apart for air. Victoria realized then that the man before her was not Peter, but someone, perhaps even something else entirely.

For a long time they sat there, staring into the other's eyes. It was Victoria who broke the silence.

"Shadow… is that your true name?" He hugged her even tighter, pressing her hair to his face. Perhaps this girl to give him what he needed; the safety he no longer left when he was alone.

"Yes," he murmured, "it is. Peter was just something my father called me in front of his servants." He paused. He was already going against SO many of his instincts on this one. "May I ask you something?" She nodded, the flames inside of her anticipating the critical question she was hoping for. "Yes. Of course."

He sucked in a quiet breath of air. "Will you st- stay with me tonight? I r- really like you and I want to get to know more about you."

She smiled. She kissed him on his cheek once and she leaned his ear to her mouth and she whispered, "Yes, silly, but this isn't like… I'm pretty sure it's… love." The breath of air slowly seeped into him, making him realize that that they, like their elements, had connected.