Gliss's Note: Chapter 7 everybody! And it's on Sunday! :D I've re-written this chapter enough times that it has practically driven me insane! Lol! I think I've finally found the chapter that works the best! Hopefully!

Twinxie's Note: Hey guys! I don't really have much to say this week. Just keepin' it cool and ignoring all the school supply ads that are coming out now. Have you seen them? I think it should be illegal, but that is just my opinion. XD Please enjoy the chapter and leave a review! Thank you! :D

"Death mountain keeps getting smokier," Link noted.

Sheloh nodded. "And the sun is setting quicker than I thought. It would be best if we could make it there before dark."

"Sheloh, do you think we can make it in time?" He asked his new found friend.

"You can just call me Loh," the girl answered. "And at the pace we're going...maybe not. How does a light jog sound to you?"

The Hylian sighed. "Sounds like my exercise for the day, but we do need to get there quickly. Regardless of whether or not Zelda is there, I have a feeling something's not right, and I want to check it out."

The two picked up the pace and as the sun continued to set, they raced up the steps to the mountain. Loh, as she insisted to be called, was in very good shape. Possibly even better than Link, and he was a swordsman.

"Do you work out often?" Link asked as he was jogging. "You have a really good endurance level."

"I don't usually exercise regularly," Loh answered. "It comes naturally, being an Imparian. What about you?"

"I certainly don't run!" Link said with a laugh. "I do train regularly with my sword and other weapons. I have to, in order to continue being Zelda's bodyguard."

"Bodyguard?" Loh questioned. "So you get to deal with the crazies?"

Link almost tripped but caught his balance at the last second. "That pretty much sums my job up. And apparently I have to find her if she runs away."

Loh had a hopeful expression on her face. "Don't worry. I'm sure we will find her somewhere, whether it's here or in another town."

"Thanks," Link told her. "It means a lot that you are willing to do this for a stranger."

"Like I said earlier, it's not like I have anything better to do," Loh answered with a smile. "Plus, she's the princess of Hyrule. Even though I am from I different kingdom where life can be very...different, I still can respect the people here. And these people need their princess."

"We haven't told the people," the Hylian said. "We're keeping it really low key for now. The castle is a mess though."

"Well," she said. "The castle needs her. That's good enough for me!"

Link smiled. "I just wish she could see how destroyed everyone is that she went missing. Especially me."

"Stay positive! You are her friend, and I know that we will find her, like I said earlier!" Loh tried to motivate him.

The race against the sun ended when they finally arrived at the summit. There were a bunch of freakish demons surrounding two people. A dark man and a blonde girl. That girl might actually be Zelda! The man was in the middle performing some sort of ceremony in a foreign language. The smoke was pouring out of whatever his central focus was. A crater maybe?

The demons whispered things in a foreign tongue as well. Every time they moved darkness seemed to ooze off of them. Link wondered if these creatures were necessary to complete whatever ceremony was going on. And what was going on?!

With a blindingly bright light that came out of no where, a portal opened up to what seemed to be another dimension. Link couldn't hear very well from where he was, but it sounded like the man was trying to coax the girl into going inside. When she continually refused, he began to shout at her.

"Go in there! Don't make me make you!" His voice rumbled throughout the mountain. He threw the girl over his shoulder.

"Stop it!" Link shouted, tearing through the demons. "Put her down immediately!"

The dark man turned around in surprise. "And who are you supposed to be?"

"Link!" The girl exclaimed. It was definitely Zelda.

"I am Link. Zelda's bodyguard. If you want to hurt her, you'll have to face me first!" He shouted.

"Well if we're going to introduce ourselves, I'm Varlorian!" He put on a sickly peppy facade. "Nice to meet you! Or is it? If you really want me to 'face you first,' I can! It just won't end too well on your part."

"Stop it, Var," Loh said from out of the blue.

Link turned toward the Imparian woman. "I take it you two know each other?"

Loh huffed out a breath. "As a matter of fact we do. We are the last two Imparians in existence. But we don't get along because of the...difference in our intentions." In a lighter tone she added, "I'm sure your master is proud of you now."

Var, or Varlorian, seemed a little taken aback by her tone too, but he continued to be angry man from earlier. "Well, I've always tried to make my master happy!" Link wasn't sure what their history was, but it was starting to sound like a stupid, childish argument.

"Whatever! The point is, is that we are taking Princess Zelda back!" Loh shouted, putting her game face back on.

"My demons are already entering this realm," he said. Link noticed that most of the demons were gone or were jumping through the portal. "All I need to do now is take the girl there."

Link didn't know what he was saying. "What do you mean? You opened a portal to another realm?"

The male Imparian nodded and smiled sadistically. "That's right. Once per summer solstice, a portal to the Sacred Realm can be opened."

"He's invading the Sacred Realm!" Link shouted at Loh. All the demons were on the other side at this point, so Link charged up to Var without any obstacles in his way.

"Too late!" Var told him. He slipped through the portal, still with Zelda slung over his shoulder, and immediately closed it behind him.

Link collapsed on the ground. He was just inches from where the portal had just been. "Loh, I don't know that man, but I know that he's evil. He's going to invade the Sacred Realm and for whatever reason, he's taking Zelda with him!" Even though he was practically an adult, he wanted to start crying. His life was not this complicated just a few hours ago.

"I'm sorry," Loh said, kneeling next to him. "We used to be really close, and I honestly didn't think he had it in him. He was always so...innocent. I'm surprised by his actions too."

The Hylian forgot about his manly image and started bawling. "But why did he have to take Zelda?! Why?!" His sobs got louder and he got angrier. "I don't even care if he invades the Sacred Realm! I JUST WANT MY ZELDA BACK!" He didn't even care that he said "my Zelda" even though there was no way Zelda would ever be his.

Sheloh put a hand on Link's shoulder. "Don't give up hope yet. I know of one other entrance to the Sacred Realm." Link immediately perked up.

"Wait, what?" Zelda asked Var. "I get that you are basically invading the Sacred Realm. I get that, for whatever reason, you need me to come along with you. But what I don't get, is that there is another entrance to the Sacred Realm at the Temple of Time!"

Zelda had never been to the Sacred Realm, and she wasn't really sure what she expected it to be. She kind of imagined it to be a fluffy cloud-like place, but that was not the case. It was just a very bright and happy looking area, filled with green trees and colorful flowers. After coming from Hyrule, this place seemed almost blinding. Hyrule never seemed dark to her, but compared to this, it really was.

Var put some cucco meat on two sandwiches. One for her and one for him. She was picnicking with an evil man in the Sacred Realm. No big deal. "I don't understand how you don't understand that. The Temple of Time can be used as an entrance to the Sacred Realm at any time. Death Mountain can only be used as an entrance once year on the summer solstice. Lettuce?"

Zelda nodded. "Yes please. But going to Death Mountain just seems so much more inconvenient! Why didn't we just go to the Temple of Time? I was already headed there anyway!"

"The Temple of Time is a very sacred site," Var began to answer as he finished making the sandwiches and handed one to Zelda. "Demons are not a sacred or clean animal, and they cannot go inside the temple. It would be highly inconvenient to try to invade the Sacred Realm without an army and with a stubborn, bratty girl at my side. Death Mountain is the only way I could get these filthy creatures into the Sacred Realm."

Zelda looked around at the monstrous creatures. They were play fighting and chasing each other around as if they were some sort of creepy, slimy dogs. She took a bite of her sandwich. To her amazement, it was actually very good. All things considered, this wasn't too bad of a way of getting kidnapped.

Var ate his sandwich too, and Zelda studied him. He was dark and looked evil, but he happily bit into his sandwich as if nothing was wrong. It was almost as of this was an ordinary picnic. Var looked over at her when he noticed that she was staring. "Is something wrong?"

She narrowed her eyes. "No. Nothing's wrong, and that's why it is wrong. I was just thinking how strange it was that you were feeding me such a good dinner instead of treating me like a slave."

Var laughed. "If I want to treat you like a slave, you need to be well nourished first. Plus, I was hungry. Don't worry! You will be mistreated later." Zelda sighed and continued eating her sandwich. That was just the news she was expecting to hear.

The blonde glanced at him once more. "I don't think you are as bad as you try to make yourself seem."

Var was taken aback by that accusation. "What do you mean, girl?" He put extra emphasis on "girl" almost as if that would make him seem more cruel.

"I think you're not this big, macho, evil man after all," she continued. "I have thought about your conversation with that other Imparian woman. She said you were making your master proud. You said that you always tried to do so, but nothing she said up to that point implied that you didn't. I think you are only really doing this to prove yourself to whatever 'master'. And I bet that other girl didn't want to follow this master because she also disagreed with his evil ways!"

The Imparian slapped her. Hard. "Quiet, you insolent girl! You know nothing about my relationships with anyone! I am as close as pure evil can get if it were made into a living form! I am the darkness on the other side of the moon! I follow the ways of my master because I do agree with what he believes! And the ways of my master do not concern you! I am your master! You obey what I say!"

"What about that girl?" Zelda asked. She probably shouldn't have said anything more, but she was feeling particularly bold today. This was a bad time to push her luck.

Var was furious and stood up. "The girl? Her intentions are none of your business either! You think that you are so clever and that you know everything, but you do not! Just know that I have the potential to kill you and beat you at any moment, but I need you strong and healthy now, so that you can endure the torment you will soon face!" He kicked her and Zelda collapsed onto the ground.

Just because they were having a nice picnic moment earlier, Zelda suddenly thought that maybe this was some sort of clue that he wasn't such a bad guy. Nope. He was as truly evil as there was pain truly throbbing throughout her body. He had kicked her hard. Still, Zelda sensed something about this guy that he wasn't letting on. Maybe it wasn't that he was not evil, but there was something different...

"Eat!" He commanded as she started to pick herself off the ground.

"I don't think I can. I'm in too much pain," she responded.

Var put his boot directly in front of her. "I'm not playing 'good cop' anymore. You will do as I say. I need you to be strong and healthy and alive..."

Zelda sighed. It was a nice picnic, but of course she had to say something and ruin it. "Yes master."

And that is all for chapter 7! Be sure to follow/favorite/review if you want to make us happy! :) For every review I (Gliss) will send you a virtual cookie! (::) (::) (::) (::) Those are some of the cookies I just pulled out of my virtual oven!