Have a nice, beefy chapter.

The hidden grotto of the Great Butterfly Fairy between the Minish Woods and Lake Hylia was just as deserted at the hidden cave of the Great Dragonfly Fairy in the Royal Valley. Link was more stressed out than he had been in years, now, with the knowledge that Hyrule was now truly unprotected from the grimy grasp of Moblins and other beasts. He'd heard tell lately, of Keaton returning to burglarize unsuspecting folks not clever enough to solve their riddles, and of Moblin archers wandering the Western Wood and scaring off townsfolk. As it was he had already pulled strings so that the Eastern Hills had extra protection so that Malon could still provide shipments of milk and meat to Hyrule Town without too much trouble. Brocco and Pina would no doubt throw all kinds of fits if they were to find that out – and they would, no doubt.

Link neared the pool in the cave anyways, just in case, some part of him hoping that this was all some cruel Fae joke. But it was just water. The prince-regent gritted his teeth, gripping the bridge of his nose and trying to think. Every time he had entered the grottos, there was no indication of what may have happened.

He doubled over at a pain in his stomach then, falling to his knees and gripping his abdomen tightly. It took him a few minutes of accommodating to the jabs of hurt that would spread to his chest before he could stumble back to standing. It was yet another one of the issues that had been plaguing him, getting progressively worse as Hyrule's situations worsened. Link always powered through it, as the pain would eventually subside. He'd been attributing the pains to stress, which he'd certainly been having and figured as soon as he could find the root of the issue he would get better…

But as he staggered out of the grotto, heading back to the encampment, his thoughts only seemed to get grimmer. There were no clues whatsoever as to why the Fairies were gone, and Hyrule was such a small kingdom – if the monsters cared to invade there would be no stopping them… Relations with both Holodrum and Labrynna would suffer, no doubt. Hyrule wouldn't be able to support itself much longer if this kept up, much less offer anything for trade. Help from allied countries, after all, was not offered without incentive.

The pain began to lessen as he kept walking, and the prince-regent began to relax more. Sort of. He still kept up his guard, carefully making sure his steps on the grass through the forest were not the bumbling steps of the more urban soldiers from the town. Yet, to him, his steps felt clunky. He was getting too old for traipsing about in the wilds, he knew, but he didn't know how else to convey what he wanted the military to do, nor, by pacts made with the Fairies, could he tell the military where the Fae folk kept their lairs. He had to do all of this, to keep Hyrule safe, to keep Ione safe.

Luckily, the Minish Woods seemed to fare much better than Lake Hylia as far as monsters went. The occasional octorok or rope crossed his path, but left him alone. There weren't any signs of any larger beasts wandering the woods, only his own tracks. And he was grateful for that for more than one reason.

He very nearly completely passed one of the reasons, but he made sure to pause at the fork in the paths of the forest. One way led to Deepwood Shrine. He went down the other path, something nostalgic in the squishing of damp grass beneath his feet, and in the sight of the old, gnarled stump with the star shaped indent in it. He paused when he reach a shallow pool, more of a puddle really, with leaves that floated idly on the surface of the water. So long ago, that puddle had been daunting to a boy who couldn't swim.

His destination was beyond the puddle though, so he easily stepped over it, put one foot in front of the other carefully over a fallen log, and to a large patch of clovers littered with pots, discarded shoes, and a barrel. To any other person, it just would have looked like a bunch of clovers filled with garbage. But Link knew what was really there. A small village teeming with little creatures seeking to improve the life of Hylians. But he couldn't see them anymore.

Even squatted down with squinted eyes scanning over every clover, he couldn't make out one little critter. It was sad to him. He knew they were there, that they existed. But somewhere along the way, Link couldn't see them anymore. Childhood was so far behind him now. Though in his heart, he'd been hoping he could see them. Perhaps they could tell him where the Great Butterfly Fairy had gone. Or maybe the elder of the village could have offered him guidance. He wondered if maybe even Ezlo was in the village, popping in to say hello to its denizens and now seeing the giant, looming face of the now grown up boy he'd once called an ally. But Link could see no movement aside from the occasional drip of moisture dropping down and letting a clover bounce softly.

"Sir?"

Link looked towards the path, seeing a couple of soldiers looking at him unsurely. He stood himself up with some effort from his aching knees, "Yes, I'm here. Lost in memories." He said tiredly as he began to make his way towards them.

The soldiers nodded, one of them saying, "There's been little activity in the forest, sir; does that mean the Great Fairy is all right?"

The prince-regent's expression darkened, and he shook his head. "I'll brief everyone on the situation as soon as we get back to ca-" The need to retch came over him suddenly. He stepped off to the side, keeling over a bush, heaving. The men, startled, rushed to him, but could do nothing but watch as Link continued to dry hack whatever it was his stomach wished to repel. Finally, a putrid, foul tasting yellow slime spattered into the grass, along with droplets of deep brown. Link finally stood, tired and aching, with the throbbing in stomach back in full force. He could taste the metallic tang in his mouth.

He looked to the soldiers and saw their worried, near panicked expressions. One of his fingers trailed to his lips, and he saw why the men seemed so wary to say anything. He had a hard time acknowledging to himself that he'd just vomited blood too.

Zelda tried to focus on scheduling with Cole. The little man was still a grumpy old sod as far as she was concerned, but he had come up with a perfect schedule of events. Both envoys from Holodrum and Labrynna would be arriving in about a two to three months (keeping in mind preparations and travel for both countries), probably within a few days of each other. So around that first week, it would be strictly business. Zelda, her father, and Cole would discuss the serious matters that needed to be addressed, as well as making sure that their guests weren't bored out of their skulls. Holodrum was easy enough to figure out, entertainment wise. General visitors from there rather enjoyed activities such as hunting and riding, leading Zelda to hope that the monster issue would be resolved by the time they arrived. Labrynna was more difficult, as the past few decades the country had been completely cut off from Hyrule via mountain and seas. Past records indicated that the visitors from Labrynna had been more studious, preferring to visit historical places and learning the local culture. They could only guess that in the present day, it would be the same.

As soon as the visitors from both countries arrived, the gala would take place. It would be held in Hyrule Castle, of course, in the ballroom that had seen little use since Zelda's grandfather's time. The princess felt it necessary that it be a grand affair, as they had to make an impression on their neighbors. It was more pressure on her, however, as she remembered the bad impression she'd made on Holodrum via her angry snaps at Ambassador Plen. She needed to make sure that this gala would be an event that neither country would forget.

It became very clear to her within the next few days, however, that the necessary arrangements for the envoys, as well as the gala, could not be made until the problem of the monsters roaming Hyrule were resolved. Even more monsters had begun to appear, some of the braver ones even wandering into Hyrule Field proper. Those from Holodrum could not go on hunts or fishing trips, nor could those from Labrynna visit historically significant places without access to Hyrule Field and other areas that seemed to be crowding with monsters as of late. Transport of lumber and stone for the gala decorations would no doubt be problematic as well. There was still time, that was true, but she still worried nonetheless. Because if these things weren't resolved soon, a problematic gala would be the best case scenario for Hyrule.

And the truth was, she knew that in the midst of all this growing chaos, planning a gala to save her reputation was trivial. But she didn't know what else she could do. She wasn't like her father, who could command military movements and go out into the fray. Yes, she had proven to herself that she was capable of surviving, but defending oneself and defending hundreds of other people were different. She didn't know how she could make a difference, aside from getting friendly with the neighboring nations in hopes of receiving more help from them… that is if they were willing to help if the monster problem was done by then – and it certainly didn't seem like it was going to be done anytime soon.

On one particularly stressful day, in which all the anxiety was catching up with her, she had retreated to the Castle garden by the normal fountain where she would play with the water. She loosened her bow and brushed her fingers through her strawberry blond locks and redid the bow using the water as a mirror. Even after her hair was perfectly in place, however, she still started into the reflection of the water, though not at herself. Rather, she remembered the last time she was there and the presence of what she had thought was a bat. She knew it was a Beholder now. To her relief, there were no fluttering bat like figures above her today, but her stomach did knot up at the associations she could now put to that memory.

She had been keeping distant from Poe, and the man seemed to make no effort to reach out to her. Zelda found it a smart move, as the she was thinking about whether she really wanted to continue her friendship with the man. Also, she saw nothing of Vaati, but the princess was sure that the monsters and the mage had to have had a connection, though she wasn't entirely sure how.

Zelda tried recalling the story of her father and his dealing with Vaati. She remembered in the story something similar had happened – Vaati had unlocked a chest that drew monsters back to Hyrule. She would have guessed that perhaps recent history was coming back to life, but if that was the case then monsters would have been popping up ten years ago and the remaining Light Force she inherited from her mother would be gone from her. Did Vaati really have anything to do with the creatures, she wondered? Or was she just so willing to jump to the conclusion that everything bad that was happening was automatically his fault?

She sighed when she realized that train of thought. Zelda, you can't possibly be giving him the benefit of the doubt?

But the kingdom was in trouble. Her father spent all his time out in the field, sometimes not even coming back to the castle. And she worried; even though she had distanced herself from her father in the last few weeks it certainly didn't mean she wished anything ill against him. The princess wanted her father to come back safe and sound; it frustrated her that he felt he needed to go out and handle everything by himself.

Irritated at the lack of solutions and her father's insistence on being a hero, she slapped the water of the fountain indignantly. When it began to settle, that's when she noticed a shadow fluttering overhead with a reflection to match. She looked up, her brow furrowing in uneasiness at the sight of a Beholder circling.

"Princess?" It was Poe's voice.

She looked over and saw the guard peeking out from behind the hedge maze. He seemed unsure as to whether or not he was allowed to approach further. The girl looked up, curiously, to the sky again at the Beholder, and then to Poe. No odd coincidence, she was sure, but she didn't think of it too much. Because Poe could help her… sort of. He could give her information. He had told her he would be truthful.

You know he won't. Vaati's watching him. The logical thoughts said to her forwardly. She could still recall Vaati saying how he would keep his lips sealed; no Poe was tied to that as well… Or was he? Zelda really didn't understand the nature of Poe's subservience to the mage. The guardsman practically said he was a willing slave, which seemed very contradictory. So she wondered if he still had any sort of free will. She supposed this would be as good a time as any…

And truthfully… she did miss him. No one had been willing to talk to her lately it seemed. Not even Mila or Agitha, her friends and second cousins. And poor Shiro, possibly the only other one she could guess would still be willing to talk to her even after all this, was dead. And even though she spoke with him repeatedly over the last few days, Cole was not counted amongst her "friends."

Poe patiently waited, his brows furrowed in anticipation for her answer. Finally, she decided. She needed a friend and an informant. So she smiled tiredly at him, "I'm sorry, Poe. I haven't gotten back to you. I've been busy with Cole making arrangements for the coming envoys… I haven't had much time to think." The guardsman seemed unsure of what to make of that response, but Zelda nodded and patted the space next to her by the fountain, "I need a friend now."

A small smile came upon his face and he shuffled forward, but rather than sit next to her, he sat on the grass before her. Perhaps, despite her outward friendliness, he could still sense there was some uneasiness in her. He didn't say anything, just sitting there, expectantly waiting for her to speak. She wondered how to broach all the questions she wanted to ask him or where to even begin regarding all her worries and stressors.

Finally, she sighed and said as she stared into one particular spot of the hedge maze, "Ignorance really is bliss." The guardsman did not say anything, but looked at her questioningly. She went on, "I used to plan all sorts of events without a single worry. But now that I know everything, about the murders, all the monsters trespassing into Hyrule… Now that I even know about you and Vaati… Planning a gala just seems so trivial."

Poe shrugged anxiously and mumbled, "It kind of is…"

A hollow chuckle escaped her lips, "Yes… But what can I do? I feel worthless, unable to do anything…" She didn't bother to try and hide the negativity in her voice, the sorrow and frustration. The princess's gaze went back to the soldier, and their eyes locked. She wondered if the soldier knew where she was getting at, where she was leading up to. If he didn't, he was going to find out. "Poe, where are these monsters coming from?"

Again he shrugged, "I dunno."

"Monsters encroached into Hyrule thirty years ago. Could there be a common factor between then and now?" She asked.

He squirmed in place and said unsurely, "I don't know."

"You have to know something!" Desperation and anger were in her voice.

"But I don't," Poe said, his brow furrowed but seemingly having taken no offense to her tone. "The Master tells me things on a need to know basis, Princess. And I don't need to know." Her mouth clamped shut, unable to think of a way to respond to her "friend's" answer. She didn't need to, however, as Poe went on to say, "But I don't think he has anything to do with them, if my guesses matter much. He's always busy, doesn't spend much time on the ground."

That answer puzzled her, and it likely showed from the incredulous expression she wore. It was a reminder that she really had no idea what the sorcerer was up to. "What is he doing?"

Poe glanced up at the still circling Beholder above them, and Zelda wondered what was going through his head. Was he indecisive as to how to answer? He'd been staring up so long at the Beholder that she thought he wouldn't respond. To her surprise, he did, and said to her, "I said I would tell you the truth, Princess. I'm keeping to that, even if I can't tell you everything."

Truthfully, that was more than she had expected. Despite his promise to be honest, she really hadn't put much stock in it. And he really was being dreadfully honest in saying that he could tell her things, but not everything. At least that would mean no more lies… right?

"That being said, though, I don't think he wants me to tell you anything about what he's doing." The guard confessed apologetically.

After a moment, the girl sighed and figured this was the best she was going to get. But she did manage to get something, though. Poe didn't think Vaati had anything to do with the monsters coming into Hyrule; and he was the closest, the only source, she had concerning Vaati and what he was up to aside from the infuriating mage himself – when he so cared to show himself to her, that was.

Yet this knowledge only confused her more than before. Because if Vaati had nothing to do with the monsters, why were they so active then?

To distract her from that train of thought, however, were the sounds of hushed voices and frantically paced footsteps along the stone floors right outside the hedge maze. Something was happening. She looked to Poe, who seemed just as confused as she was by the commotion. They both stood and made their way out of the hedge maze, a worried maid pacing the main entryway to the castle awaited them. As soon as she saw the Zelda, she gasped, "Princess, oh thank goodness, I was hoping you'd come out of there soon – I always get dreadfully lost in there."

The maid was looking for her? She looked to the doors of the castle, seeing a couple of other servants helping the spindly, old doctor up the last few steps. The princess's brow furrowed before she looked back to the maid with concern. "What's happening? Why is the physician here?"

The maid pursed her lips, "Ah… it's your father, Highness…"

Panic overwhelmed her. "My father? What happened?! When did he come back, is he all right?!"

"He came back not too long ago, Princess, but he retired to his room, the soldiers sent for the physician immediately. I've no idea what's the matter but- Oh, no, please wait, Highness!" The maid had cried out as Zelda picked up her skirts and ran inside to the castle, Poe following behind her.

So many things could have gone wrong when he was out there playing the hero, she should've told him not to! If only she gotten over her stupid pride and told him about her reservations! The physician had evidently made it to her father's room before her; a couple of guards stood by the door, and Cole was waiting expectantly outside. But the princess ignored the presence of all of them and headed right to the door. To her shock and anger, the guards crossed their spears in front of the door, barring her entry.

"Excuse me!" She demanded.

"The physician is checking your father right now, Princess. They need their privacy." Cole stated in his pompous tone.

Zelda gritted her teeth, grudgingly acknowledging that Cole was right. "But what's wrong with him?"

The little man rolled his eyes in irritation, "While your father was gallivanting about looking for monsters, soldiers reported he retched blood. Your father returned shortly afterwards in hopes of remedying whatever ailment he has."

Zelda backed away from the doors and put her back against the wall, sliding down until she was crouching down. Cole huffed his disapproval, but didn't demand she leave. Poe neared her and squatted down in front of her, "I'm sure he'll be all right," he tried to reassure. But the girl didn't respond.

Eventually, Poe was found by his brother. Gibdo seemed more adamant than usual that his little brother get back to his real work. Cole also claimed he had business to attend to and went off somewhere else. But Zelda waited patiently, and soon enough new company in the form of Malon arrived. The older woman didn't say anything, but her presence was somehow relaxing to the princess. Malon seemed the only one who hadn't really seemed to cause her any stress.

How much time had elapsed, she couldn't tell. But when the doctor finally came out, it had felt like a million years to her. Malon stepped forward as the doctor quietly closed the door behind him, and she asked, "Do we know what's wrong, doctor?"

The old doctor adjusted his glasses and sighed, "I can't say for sure what's happening, it's all internal. In order to know, I'd have to perform a surgery, but that's incredibly dangerous. My best guess is ulcers on his stomach. He's been having pains for weeks, apparently, never bothered to tell anyone. Foolish, really. Stress exacerbates ulcers something fierce."

As Malon and the doctor discussed treatments, like potential surgeries and whatnot, the princess's mind focused on that one word: stress. Zelda had no idea what an ulcer was, but it was painful, she knew that much. And it was made worse through stress. Her father was stressed. She knew that. She'd always known that. Heading a kingdom was difficult work. But with the tension between herself and him, and the murderer, and the monsters…

"… If he were to vomit up blood again, I'd have no choice but to perform surgery – and that's risky business even if he does survive the procedure itself." She became alert at the doctor's statement.

If this stress kept up, her father could die.

Again she picked up her skirts and ran. She heard Malon call to her, but she ignored the older woman. As Zelda rushed past windows, she looked out of them, hoping to see bat-like figures fluttering by. But there were none. She could never seem to find them when she wanted to, but she knew someone who always seemed to have one nearby. She had to find Poe. She paused in her running, trying to rack her brain as to the soldier's current location. Gibdo had said Poe was needed somewhere, but where?

Training grounds. He was at the training grounds.

She rushed through halls and out of the castle, ignoring the strange looks from servants and guards having no idea what the reason for her hurry was. She kept up the pace as she traversed the grass towards the training grounds, passing the archery range and the sounds of arrows thudding against targets. She was heading instead for the straw dummies where new recruits sloppily tried to manage their spears. The drill sergeant was yelling at the newbies for their terrible skills with the weapons. As she approached, the sergeant was yelling at the worst of the lot to get a hands on learning experience with the assistant of the day. The assistant of that day happened to be Poe.

"Sergeant, please, I need to speak with Poe!" Zelda said in between pants as she neared the officer.

The drill sergeant didn't look too pleased, "Princess, we're in the middle of training. I know you and Poe are-"

"Please," she begged, "It's an emergency."

The sergeant grunted something inaudible as he thought of it for a moment, and then called out for the newbies to take a break. "And Poe, you come over here! Princess wants to talk at you."

The sergeant went to mind the new recruits while Poe jogged up to the princess. "Is your dad all right?"

Zelda pursed her lips for a moment, looking back and forth hastily as if to make sure no one could hear her. In a hushed voice, she said, "Poe, I need to speak with Vaati."

The guard's eyes widened for a moment, and then he looked frantically back and forth in the same fashion she had earlier. "Just be to very clear," he whispered to her quietly, "You want to speak with the Master?"

"I need to as quickly as possible. Please, I know there's a Beholder around here somewhere." She was sure she sounded desperate, because she was. If she wasn't, she wouldn't even be asking Poe to contact the mage in the first place.

Poe scanned her face, as if trying to find some sort of fallacy in her expression. After a few seconds, he nodded and then hastily shuffled away towards the supply hut. She waited idly, awkwardly waving at the new recruits who were staring at her quizzically. When she saw Poe come from behind the hut, he gestured for her to come, and she hurriedly did.

When she turned the corner of the hut, Poe was waiting for her, and right next to him on a stack of broken shields was a little Beholder. "Now what business could the princess possibly have to discuss with me? I was under the impression you didn't like me very much." Came a self-satisfied voice from the Beholder. Evidently, the mage projecting himself through the little creature was all too pleased that she seemed to be a in a desperate enough situation to approach him. She dreaded what he'd sound like after he found out what she wanted from him exactly.

"I still don't," she replied quickly to his statement, "B-but… I… I need your help."

Both Beholder and Poe looked at each other in confusion. The Beholder faced her again, "Excuse me? Say that again, would you?" He was genuinely shocked, she could tell by his tone and the reaction both his vessel and Poe had taken. That didn't mean she wanted to repeat herself.

"I'm not saying it again!" Zelda snapped.

The Beholder shuffled its wings for a moment and then took off from its perch, flitting right in front of Zelda's face. She flinched at its close proximity, and she felt a shudder crawl up her spine as it circled her ominously. But as quickly as it flew around her, it perched back upon the broken shields, and Vaati projected, "You're perfectly serious, aren't you?" There was a sickening bit of delight in the tone. "Well now, Princess, if you want a favor from me, it'd be rude of me to hear you out through a grunt. I'd much rather prefer face to face."

"No, this needs to happen now!" The princess demanded indignantly.

"Good! I don't like to waste time either, so you best get moving." And with a puff of purple smoke, the Beholder vanished.

Zelda cried out angrily, her hands gripping her strawberry blond hair in frustration. Why did the mage have to be so… so infuriating! "He didn't even say where!"

Poe, however, just quietly mumbled, "Did he really need to?"

It had been the first time in a long while, it seemed, that she had ridden to the Four Sword Shrine alone. Poe could not come without getting in trouble, and she figured that when the mage made a fool of her she'd rather be alone anyways. Nonetheless, she'd never been so anxious in her life before. This was the first time that she was willingly and intentionally meeting Hyrule's greatest threat by herself.

As per usual, she left Epona where the stone floor began before she entered. And again, as usual, the place was eerily quiet. She held her own arms anxiously as she neared the center of the space, reasonable confused as to why she was the only one there. Vaati could fly, so surely he should have arrived first. Or perhaps he was making her wait? That would be something he'd do, making her wait when she was desperate to get something done immediately. Hah, look at me forming opinions on him as if I've known him forever… She thought to herself bitterly, unsure as to how she felt exactly about it.

"What kind of help does Hyrule's Princess need from the greatest sorcerer alive?"

The girl turned quickly on her heel, the mage wearing the same smug look he'd worn the first time he had revealed himself to her in his Hylian form. She stepped back; even though he was feet away from her, she'd felt that he was still too close for her own comfort. But even with the discomfort she'd felt, she put her arms at her sides, balled up her fists and with her chin held high she commanded, "You need to keep the monsters away from Hyrule."

His expression didn't change immediately, but it did change. Something in those red eyes of his flashed with animosity, but outwardly it didn't show. In fact, he seemed to be amused. "Oh? I need to keep them away? Why would I need to keep them away? I don't need to do any such thing – they're not bothering me."

"They're plaguing the country, attacking citizens and preventing trade!" She ranted, "If Labrynna and Holodrum arrive to such chaos-" The mage held up her hand and she lost her voice. Perhaps the worst of it was that she knew there was no magic involved in it. The princess kept quiet because despite her show of bravado, she was intimidated. She gritted her teeth at the thought, but the mage didn't rub her face in it.

"Keep the political chatter to yourself, such talk bores me," he drawled. "Besides, if it was just about politics I'd be the last person you'd approach. You could still ask those other countries for help – they'd want something in return, though, and that would take some time. But you wouldn't need me. No, something else has driven you to me. Tell me."

Her stony façade was breaking. Because, like all the other terrible times she'd spoken with him, he was right. If she was willing to wait, the situation of monsters could be grudgingly sorted. But she couldn't wait. If her father was stressed too much more… The mere thought of her father undergoing surgery broke her poker face. With a quivering lip, she answered truthfully, "The monsters… my father's been trying to drive them away, figure out why they've returned. And it's stressing him so much that he has a stomach disease. If the stress keeps building on him, he'll die."

Vaati seemed completely uncaring to the story at first, but at her last sentence, a malicious grin came upon him. "That's good news to me." Her face was horrified, even though she really knew that such an answer was to be expected. Her expression, however, was very entertaining to the sorcerer, whose smile only seemed grow. "I may have no issue with you, Princess, but that father of yours is another matter entirely. I'd happily dance on his grave."

Oh how she wanted to do something terrible to this man! But she kept her fists balled up and kept her rage in check, "Please, Vaati. He's my father."

"Yes, your liar father; and the man whom I hold quite the grudge against."

His words stung, but Zelda kept her head held high. "He's still my father. Please. If you really want to prove you're no threat to me then please, just… just do something, anything, about the monsters."

The mage considered her for a bit, and she could see those cogwheels in his head were turning with some sort of scheme or another. Zelda knew coming to the mage was a terrible idea, but this was all she could think of. Finally, after what seemed to be the longest deliberation she ever waited for, the mage said, "I hate your father." The princess closed her eyes, knowing it was over… yet the mage continued, "But I'll help you."

Her eyes shot open again, not at all expecting him to have said that. Before she could even dwell on her shock for longer, he stated quickly, "My help is conditional, though. You can't expect to get something for nothing, after all."

And at that, she frowned with worry.

But he rolled his wrist at her, as if trying to brush away her negative expression. "Please, I'm not asking for much. All I want from you is a guarantee that you will not be trying to reseal me in that." He pointed at the Four Sword, and his nonchalant demeanor had turned severe, "I want a swear from you that you will never attempt to seal me. I want you to swear on your very soul you will never attempt it. Do you understand that?"

Zelda froze. Of all things that he could have asked, he had to ask of her the one thing that she deeply did not wish to grant him. While it was true that the mage had seemingly been harmless for the past ten years, what was the guarantee that he would remain so? She was the only one not under his service that even knew he'd escaped his seal, therefore she was the only one that could seal him. And if he was trying to make a bargain like this with her, she was now convinced that he was up to something horrid.

My father's life is at stake here, she thought to herself. My father for my country, potentially… How could she choose between the two? She was the princess; she was in charge of her country's wellbeing. But her father… her father was her father, for goddesses' sake! She only had one father, and for all his faults, he was a great father! But what would she be doing if she agreed to this? She might be signing her father's death warrant anyways… But… not if he really wants to know me, as he claims he does…

"I'm not a patient man, Princess," Vaati said warningly, disrupting her thoughts.

She had to choose…

"I… I swear. I swear on my soul I will never try to seal you."

Vaati smiled triumphantly. But what was even more disgusting to Zelda was that he actually bowed to her, deeply and genuinely. "I'm glad we've come to this agreement, Princess." He stood up again, looking even prouder than he had just moments before. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to keep up my end of the bargain."

A strong gust of wind blew through the Four Sword Shrine, strong enough for Zelda to stagger a bit and to shut her eyes lest her hair get in her face. By the time the wind had died down and she opened her eyes, and looked around the Shrine. The mage was gone.

"I've made a deal with a demon…"

SO. NOW THAT THIS HAS BEEN DONE, the story can finally head into the direction you're all really here for. XD Anyways, I've been busy! Schoolwork! Lots of it! And moving house! Fun times! Not really. I've been dying to write but haven't really had the opportunity to do so. This was very refreshing. This also marks the first time in this story a chapter has followed my outline as I had planned it. Whoo! Also, a big thanks to the folks that manage ZeldaWiki, because I would be forgetting names and locations of places left and right if not for them. Also, when I did some research on ulcers, let me say I hav taken some creative liberties. If Link was throwing up blood, he should have been on a surgery table immediately. Then again, this is also a medieval-esque era, and surgery is dangerous. 'm going out on a limb here and saying if they did know about ulcers and the nature of them, they would likely perform surgery as a last resort.

Now excuse me, got a Vaati cosplay to FINALLY start sewing.

fleets, their parents, in my mind, were whacky occult scientists that were fascinated by undead critters. XD I think I'm willing to go with the latter, fond of her because Vaati is interested and their past interactions. Something about the former kind of... creeps me out, because that would imply Poe really, really, really likes Vaati, if you get my drift. Not that there would be anything wrong with that, it's just I've already established Poe has a thing for Great Fairies. XD But yeah, it is rather sad. D:

Dia Newman, oh my. XD

Grapefruit-seven, Oh, Poe is not a nice fellow at all. XD Though it didn't really come from nowhere. There were so many hints in the first chapter concerning what he was capable of, though, that was the first chapter, and given how sparsely I update, it isn't surprising people forgot. XD I am considering changing it from romance to drama, though, just because... well, when you hear romance, you think of certain things that I happen to think are not going to be reflected in this story. So yeah. XD As for Poe's ultimate fate? I dunno; I'm on the ropes as to whether or not disclosing his fate here would be a spoiler or not, so I don't know how to answer. D:

Hawkmask, whoa, whoa, whoa, take me out to dinner first before making proclamations like that. XD I actually have an OC that is particularly nasty and unpleasant - Poe times a bajillion - which is probably why I thought I was actually being mild. I've written worse. Hate you? Why would I hate you? For a double-post? It happens. For content? Everyone has their own opinion. I'm really chill, believe it or not, to each their own. Now if you went and flamed the crap out of me, I would have cried and gotten angry and probably been very passive aggressive, but you didn't. So no worries. XD Again, I must emphasize though, I'm not following the myth. There will be parallels, but there's no way I can possibly parallel the whole story. Aside from radically different character positions, I feel like that would be cheating. XD Again, Poe feels like a brother to Zelda and nothing more. I've come to the conclusion that he actually does like her, because Vaati is interested in her and because he does genuinely care for her given their past interactions. However, he may like her well enough, but he still works for Vaati first and foremost. So he's in a strange position. XD Well, I don;t exactly update often, so that may be why it flew over your head. No violence in this chapter, though I suppose there is a little bit of gore... Whatever, hug your dog anyways!

Sapphiet, hmmmm, maybe. Maybe not. Who can say?

Rose, Lol, honestly, sometimes I wish I was in Poe's position... And I'm glad you like this Zelda. I always make it a point to try and have strong, female leads. I'm not usually sure how good I am at them, so hearing things like this reassures me. XD