A/N: Here we go! Another chapter down! I like this one better than the last one but I am still not happy with it... but if I had kept fiddling with it then it would have never been posted... and I might have been decapitated for that.

I am trying to crank these chapters out faster because I really want to get to the juicer parts of the story... like the boss battles annnnnd Ruto... just cause I have something really great planned for her. HAHA :P

Please review and tell me how you liked this chapter... Do you think it was sloppy or does it seem to have the same quality as previous ones?

:) Thanks, guys! Hope you enjoy!

The room of a Princess should be ornate, lavish, and fill to the brim with expense. Zelda's room was just that. A four post bed with a dark purple, heavy curtains, a steel vanity worked to look like streams of ribbon held a large mirror's weight, a small amythest chandelier was centered in the middle of a grand painting scheme of large birds in the sky with what looked to be riders upon them, and great fireplace large enough for Link to stand in.

The boy and his Faerie had arrived not long after Navi related her story of meeting Ganondorf in the hallway. Lincoln had wanted to tell the Princess about the encounter as well... though he did not know what could be done about it.

"A-And then he walked away." Navi took a deep breath and dropped back on a powder cushion that lay on Zelda's vanity. The Princess sat on the stool before her and had been watching the tiny girl, carefully, the whole time the story was recounted.

"He threatened him?" Zelda's voice was angry and her violet eyes grew cold but her fingers rose up to her hair which gave away the fear bubbling in her gut. Her lips tightened together and she forced herself to drop her hand into her lap.

"I'm sure of it." Navi growled. "He didn't say anything specifc-"

The wisdom in those young orbs lured Navi in and she felt as if she was in a trance as Zelda cut through. "But he was..." The ten year old, yanking up her dress with disdain, hopped off her seat and glanced, briefly, at Link who was collapsed on her bed. "That-That-That bastard threatened him with an accident!" She flung herself next to her bethrothed and growled. "You would think he would have more... tact than that."

Lincoln leaned up with a raised brow and sighed. "This is not a game of chess, Zelda."

"I know." The girl growled. "So, why is he-"

"He wants to garner a reaction from you." Impa cut in with her strong voice that Link had learned to love in the little time he had known her. "Which he has done. You are angry, offended, and scared." The Shiekah moved from where she had been standing at a nearby window and leaned against the bottom, right bedpost which was carved in the visage of the ascending Goddesses. "Ganondorf wants Lincoln to fear him-"

"I am not afraid of him." Link glared as if his piercing gaze would hinder the fact that Impa could see he was lying.

"You would be stupid if you did not." Impa clicked her tongue and continue with brief wave of her hand. "And you are not stupid, Lordling... Ganondorf wants your fear because fear is the greatest of deterents."

Zelda leaned up and nodded. "You are right, of course." She turned to Link and frowned, softly. "However, you showed great bravery requesting this journey to my father, a genius idea, but I fear it may backfire to some extent. Ganondorf knows the roads you will be taking... and... there are many things that can go wrong on the road." Her violet eyes wondered to her hands and Zelda paused for a moment. "We need him to underestimate you... to bid you time to retrieve the Stones."

Link frowned. "You do not think I could manage it?"

"I want you to come back as safe as possible." Violet eyes met cobalt and both children blushed. "I want to give this as much of a chance as I can."

Navi smirked, rolling her eyes at the sight of the two. "So, what's the plan, Princess?"

"Tell him that the idea originated from me. I told you that it was my greatest wish to have the Kingdom united under one roof for my wedding." Zelda's face grew paler by several shades and as she continued to speak her voice grew softer. "He-He already knows about me spying... and that I know the secrets of the Royal Family. He will suspect that I sent you on a quest you can never achieve and will, if we are lucky, be led to believe that I am the one he should be watching..." Zelda swallowed, fidgeting with her hands, and whispered. "He will turn his gaze toward me... and, if he is distracted, he will try to keep me from plotting against him here... and than he shall not be able to send anyone to harm you."

Link's eyes grew stormy and his Hudson frowned formed. "I will not let you put yourself in harm's way." He took up her hand and squeezed it. "I-"

"I have Impa." Zelda smiled, lacing her hand into his, and bit her lip. "Besides... I am not as helpless as I look."

"Magick?" Navi asked, fluttering above Lincoln's shoulder. "I thought you looked like you could wield it but I was not sure... so, can you?"

"Of course." Impa scoffed. "A Princess is not allowed to carry a sword. Do you think I would let her walk around completely defenseless?"

Link grinned at that. "I thought you were her sword."

Navi laughed. "She is. Zelda just has an invisible shield."

"This is nothing to joke about." Impa frowned, crossing her arms and giving the two a scorching look.

"What is it my Father always says?" Zelda beamed at her guardian as Link and Navi's sudden goofiness seeped into her. " 'If you can laugh at your opponent then you can defeat him.' or... something to that effect." She giggled and dropped back onto her mattress. "If anything is funny in all of this... it would be the size of Ganondorf's nose!"

Impa's lips tightened either from trying to keep a smile from emerging or because she was generally upset with their light heartedness... but that did not stop the children or Navi from laughing.

When they finally calmed down; everyone sat in comfortable silence. Link squeezed Zelda's hand and she squeezed his back which soon developed in a game where he would create a pattern and she would have to try to remember it. Needless to say, it resulted in a few more giggles that left Navi confused.

"I cannot believe we just got here and are leaving again." Navi sighed, shooting out puffs of what looked like glitter from her hands.

Zelda appeared crestfallen at that thought. "I will miss you both... I have not had anyone to play with in so long." She sat up, removing her hand from Link's, and that same hand soon found her hair.

Lincoln leaned up as well and bumped his shoulder into her, lightly. "We will be back soon... before you know it..." He smirked at her and his blue eyes lit up with mirth as she smiled back at him. "Besides, you would get tired of us after a week. We tend to be bad influences."

"Oh?" Zelda giggled. "How so? You have been nothing but a perfect gentleman to me."

Navi rolled her eyes and landed on her partner's shoulder. "Link? A gentleman? Princess, you are sorely confused. He is an absolute brat!"

Raven closed his eyes and drank in the smell of roses whisked about through a cold breeze. His joint ached and decade old war wounds began to sting though the scars had painted over the various lacerations that decorated his body. Raven was not the visage of a withered man and was still quite strong though he did not feel it at that moment. He had lived sixty years on the Goddesses' Earth and most of that had been spent as a father, warrior, and leader.

Raven, however, was not leading himself down a pleasent train of thought.

Guilt had been festering inside of him before the death of the Great Deku Tree and not all of it was due to the situation now dawning on him.

Though it all had to do with his son, Lincoln.

He forced his child to grow up quicker than any boy should and pushed expectations that the boy could have never dreamed of meeting... though Link had. Raven had vowed upon the bloodied head of his first born, Jason, that none of his children would ever be forced to live the childhood he did... though here he sat by and watched Lincoln walk a similar path.

Only grown men to keep him company, a sword in hand at a young age, war verging and very well on the way, and death...

That was not all Raven had on his mind regarding his boy... for there was the matter of Link's mysterious birth. Raven had not been a young man during the child's conception and, although the Lordling took some of his features, the Lord of White Tower had many doubts that the child was his. Evangeline was treated almost harshly by Raven during the months that Link grew in her womb and even a few years afterwards in which Raven had little to do with the toddler.

True, when the newborn Lincoln has been placed in his arms, Raven nearly cried with joy but he grew distant from the babe once he reached his first birthday... for he reasoned that Link was not his.

And so it was up to the men of the Hudson Households, Raven's other sons and grandchildren, to fill the void that Raven left. They all took Link under their wings and spent as much of their time with him as they could. They put a sword in the boy's hand and gave him the love that the Old Lord withheld in fear that Link was not his...

However, Link was not a child to be denied and it was a strange day that dawned that the ice Raven formed around his heart melted...

Thomas spun his blade in a clean circle and sliced the scarecrow his face in two without an ounce of effort. The brown haired, brown eyed, handsome twenty-three year old then burst out with a grin when the giggles of his three year old little brother met his pointed ears.

"Did you like that, Little Link?" Thomas approached the child and ruffled the boy's already mussy blonde hair. He kneeled down, putting his sword into the scabbard at his waist, and peered into the blue eyes that he so loved.

"Again, Tom! Again!" Link giggled, clapping hands dirtied from making mud pies that Evangeline was sure to enjoy throwing out. The boy's face and clothing was also covered in his 'pies' though Thomas was sure he could see bits of food somewhere underneath the layers of mud. "Peas!" Those eyes begged and the new Knight's heart melted.

"Well, you did say please." Thomas repeated the mispronounced word to, gently, correct his brother though the three year old did not notice. "One more, then, we have to deliver those... um, pies."

"Yay!" Lincoln jumped in excitment and jabbed his finger at sand bag hanging several feet away. "That one, go get that one! It's an ogre!"

The 'ogre' really was for practicing shield bashing the weight of a man but Thomas smirked and prepared to attack the 'monster' with his blade. "An ogre!" The young man screamed with exaggerated surprise. "Stand back, Little Brother!" He picked the boy up and tossed him into a nearby hay pile. "I shall protect ye!" Thomas lunged forward, racing toward the bag, but was met with a sword clashing into his own.

"Ahhhhh, another monster!" Lincoln half-laughed, half-shouted as Rowan's red headed figure slipped into the 'battle'. "Look out, Tom, Rowan is a monster!"

"He's ugly enough to be one!" Thomas laughed, dodging the swipe from the twenty-nine year old's fist. "Hello, Brother."

Rowan stabbed at the younger Knight and smirked. "Ugly is better than idiotic."

Thomas slashed the blade away, danced around another attempt, and met his brother's sword with a laugh. "How cruel you are!"

"Your footing is bad." Rowan hooked his foot around the back of Thomas' and pulled forward then lunged.

Thomas, heart dropping to the pit of his stomache, hit the earth and tucked his legs to his chest then kicked out. His boots made contact with Rowan's chest, the man stumbled back, and the twenty-three year old rolled to his feet with a stupid grin. "Who needs good footing when you ha-" Metal clanged in the air as Rowan's blade kissed Thomas'. "Mad about a little dirt, Brother?" The brown haired youth allowed his elder silbling to maintain the offence as he parried each attack. Their banter had died down and soon both were very serious in their practice.

Rowan slipped into defence easy with just a quick change of stance and a step back. His right hand cut under Thomas' sword arm and took hold of the wrist. "Want to learn a new trick?"

"Heh, not really." The Knight was breathing hard for it was hard for him to match Rowan's skill. But," Thomas attempted to jerk himself free but found he was stuck in a vice grip. "I suppose you will show me any-AH!" He felt his wrist crack, his nerves catch on fire, and watch with wide eyes as his blade hit the dirt.

The Knight of the Realm, Rowan, stepped back with a smirk. "Interesting, no?"

Thomas frowned, snatching up his weapon, and then proceeded to stab the sand sack just to the right of him. "Yes, not enjoyable though." From beyond their conversation, Link was heard screaming out in triumph that the ogre was dead... and something about how Thomas must now finish his fight with Rowan the Monster. "Would you let me defeat you, now?"

Green eyes glanced back toward the shrieking three year old and Rowan smiled. "For him. Not you." Catching Thomas' sword between his arm and side; the second of Raven's sons collapsed back onto the ground and went limp.

"The beast is felled!" Thomas exclaimed, stomping his foot down on his brother's chest and receiving a hateful glare.

Link sprang from the hay and dashed toward the two with a smile bright enough to light up a pitch black room. "You did it!" The child collapsed across Rowan's chest and lifted up one of the redhead's eyelids with a giggle. "You're not dead, Rowan."

The Knight popped an eye open, illicting a squeal, and caught the boy up in his arms. "Right you are, Little Link!" Rowan stood up, plopping the child down on his feet, and laughed. "Now, Little Brother, I am leaving to go visit Anju... so I must say good-bye."

Lincoln pouted. "Why? Can't I come with you?"

"No, you must stay here with Father and your Mother." Rowan ruffled the boy's hair, dropped down on a knee, and kissed his forehead. "Be good and I shall see you soon." He stood, clasped hands with Thomas, and smiled. "I shall see you upon the morrow. It will be interesting to see how you take to Castle life... I... am proud of you, Thomas."

Thomas beamed. "See you then... and thank you." When their brother had departed, the young Knight turned to the baby of the family and rose a brow at the frown on his face. "What is wrong?"

"You're leaving!" Tears were already welling up in those blue eyes. "And I will be all alone!"

"No, you will not." Thomas smirked, scooped the boy up, and smiled. "You have Father and your Mother... and Darion will play with you."

"I have Mother b-b-but Darion is boring... and Father HATES me." Tears wiped away the dirt that clung to that boy's face and his blue eyes surged with sadness. "He hates me, Tom!" Lincoln's voice cracked with emotion as his fingers wrapped themselves in the orange tunic Thomas wore. "Take me w-w-with you! P-Peas."

"Father does not hate you, Lincoln! And I wish I could, Little Link, but I cannot..."

Those eyes settled into Thomas' brown ones and, with every bit of seriouness that a three year old could summon, Link spoke. "Yes, yes he does, Tom. He hates me. You have to take me with you."

Thomas' jaw clenched and his free hand reached up and wiped away his brother's tears. "You cannot come." A lump settled in the twenty-three year old's throat and his heart sank. "I am sorry." He placed the child down and watched Lincoln take hold of the botoom of his tunic.

"Peas, Tom, Peas! Y-You can t-take me w-with you a-and I'll be g-good!" Link's knuckles grew white and his blue eyes squeezed shut while tears poured from them. "I c-can be your s-son! Y-You love me!"

The Knight listened to the three year old cry and cast his brown eyes around the top of the Training Grounds where the halls of White Tower opened up to allow the inhabitants to view it... and Raven Hudson met his son's angry eyes.

Thomas wrapped Link up in his arms and glared at Raven. "Listen, Sweet Brother, Father is an odd man... and he does odd things... and he never means them. He loves you, he does, Lincoln... he just does not know how to express it." The Knight carried away the boy and soon the sound of the child's cries were heard no longer.

It was not an hour later that Evangeline burst into Raven's study.

"I want you to go and took at OUR boy, Raven. I want you to go look at his face as hard as you can and tell me how you can deny him. How you can be so hateful to a child that has shown you nothing but love." Her own blue eyes raged and her pretty mouth snarled like a wolfos ready to attack. "You go and you take him in your arms and you tell him you love him because if you do not then I am leaving. I will go to Hyrule Castle and I will tell Edric what a fool you have been and he will come here and beat you within an inch of your life for this foolishness." Her hands grasped at Raven's collar and she pressed a harsh kiss to his lips. "And then I will marry that damned Reginald just to see you squirm." Evangeline released him and stormed through the door without even shutting it.

So, Raven traveled to Lincoln's room and peered down at the boy he was convinced was not his... and then cobalt blue eyes opened.

"Father?" He asked, sleepily. "What are you doing?" Those eyes peered into his with innocence and a craving for love...

And tears found Raven's eyes... guilt clawed at him as he stared into his son's eyes for the first time since he was one. "I-" His voice broke and Raven swore he would not be able to say the words simply because he meant them so much... "I just wanted to tell you, Sweetling, that I- I love you." Then he took Link into his arms and weeped.

At the memory, Raven dropped his head and sighed. If Link could remember any of that happening then he had never mentioned it before... though it was nearly impossible that the boy would.

Raven had made sure of that.

Link must never know of his Father's harboured hatred of him during that brief time... for if his son found out... then he would surely hate him.

"Navi told me about the state she found you in." It was Thomas. "She said you were rambling about how Link must never know about something or else he would hate you... in his room." The thirty year old Knight sighed and sat next to his Father. "He had enough worries on his shoulders... how about you stay away from the drink and his room for a while."

"Is that a threat?" Raven glanced over with a frown.

Thomas shrugged, clapping the old man on his back, and stood. "I would not threaten you... but I would be very angry with you... and so would the rest of the family, if, of course... you caused him anymore grief." The Knight gave a soft, kindly, smile. "But, for now, I would worry about how he is going to be gone from you for a week starting tomorrow... and, Father?"

Raven met his son's gaze.

"Ganondorf is returning to the Desert. Tonight." Those brown eyes darkened. "And he was not very happy about this little journey our Lincoln has planned. We will need to be ready for anything."