Chapter 3: Revelation

Zabrina struggled against the ropes that bound her wrists in front of her, earning a warning glare from the blonde young man in front of her. They were riding back to Hyrule Castle. Zabrina and the man were riding on a horse called Epona, while the Princess was riding a different horse called Silver. The young man was riding bareback in front of Zabrina, and she was sitting behind him, unable to hold onto anything. The ride from the Gerudo's Fortress so far had been silent, with only a few words spoken between her two captors. The young man occasionally glanced back at Zabrina. She pretended not to notice, but she knew he was curious about her.

The sun was getting low over the horizon, casting shadows on Hyrule Field. The man picked a small glen of trees, then stopped the horses and twisted in his seat to look at Zabrina and Zelda.

"We'll stop here for the night," he said. Zelda nodded and dismounted. The young man slid off, then Zabrina. He guided Zabrina over to a small tree.

"Kneel," the man whispered fiercely. Zabrina refused. The man forced her to her knees, then took a length of rope and tied her wrists to the slim tree trunk. Not uncomfortable just yet, Zabrina's gold eyes followed every move the man made. Together, he and the Princess made a fire. Once it was blazing to satisfaction, the man sat cross-legged across from Zabrina, then leaned his back against a tree. Zelda followed suit, sitting next to him.

"Link, do you have any food?" She asked the man. 'Link?' Zabrina wondered. 'What kind of name is that?' The man—no, Link—nodded toward Zelda's horse.

"In the saddle bags," he directed. Zelda walked over and opened the flap of one, then took out a loaf of bread, some dried meat and some cheese. She broke off a section of each and handed it to Link, then broke off a section for herself. They proceeded to eat, and Zabrina was forced to watch. She hadn't eaten in many hours, and much to her embarrassment, her stomach let loose a huge growl. She blushed, hoping the dim firelight hid her red face. Link's cerulean eyes met her gold ones. Suddenly, with a subtle flick of his wrist, he tossed Zabrina a section of dried meat. Zabrina caught it deftly, then set it aside.

"I don't need anything," she said stubbornly. Link rolled his eyes.

"Suit yourself," he said. Zabrina turned sideways and curled against the tree. She closed her eyes and fell into a fitful, troubled sleep.

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The sun crested over Hyrule Field, awakening Link. He body was stiff and sore, and he was freezing. He pushed himself up on his elbow and looked around. Princess Zelda was curled up under her cape, visibly shivering. The Desert Queen was still sleeping against the tree. Shrugging, Link got up, rolled up his cape and stuffed it into a saddlebag attached to Silver's saddle. Then he crouched by Zelda's shoulder and shook her gently.

"What time is it? I'm freezing," Zelda groaned, pushing herself up.

"Time to get going," Link said, then walked over to the Desert Queen. He stood over her with his hands on his hips and cleared his throat loudly. She opened one gold eye to look at him.

"I'm up, I'm up," she said, pushing herself to her feet. Her black hair had been knocked out of its ponytail and fell around her face in silky waves. Link found his gaze wandering over her face and body. 'She is very beautiful,' he found himself thinking, then mentally slapped himself. 'Snap out of it, Link!' He scolded himself. 'She tried to kidnap your Princess! You can't think about her like that!' Scowling, he unfastened her wrists from the tree, then helped her up onto Epona. Link helped Zelda up on Silver, then climbed up behind his prisoner. He positioned his arms so that he wasn't making contact with the woman's soft skin in any way, then collected the reins in his hands about began the last stretch of the ride back to the castle.

About an hour later, Link found himself easing Epona across the drawbridge that led into Hyrule Castle Town. Epona hated water, and would balk the moment her hoof came in contact with the bridge. She'd only made it across once, but Link was determined to get her over again. He nudged her forward then stopped her when her hoof hit the bridge. They stood like that for a few seconds, then Link made Epona place her other front hoof on the bridge. In this manner, they slowly made it into the town. Faces turned and whispers flitted through the crowd as Link ride in with the Desert Queen as his prisoner. The Princess received bows and curtsies as she rode in in front of Link. Her regal head was held up in a dignified manner, and her delicate gloved hand waved occasionally at someone she deemed worthy of her thanks. Link felt his prisoner stiffen as they got nearer to the castle.

Zelda dismounted in front of the gates, handing her horse off to a stable boy. Link dismounted, helping the Desert Queen down as well. She was promptly lead away by a guard. Link felt himself watching her retreating back, noticing the way her shoulders slumped ever so slightly in defeat. Then he followed the Princess inside the castle. As she lead the way to the throne room, Zelda kept looking over her shoulder at Link. He was not paying the least bit of attention, his mind always wandering to the nameless, dark-skinned, black-haired woman. Zelda suddenly stopped, and it was everything Link could do to not run into her. She glared at him over her shoulder. Link smiled apologetically and followed her into the throne room. As they neared the king, who was standing in front of his throne staring wide-eyed at his daughter, Zelda dropped into a small curtsy and Link bowed. The King rushed forward and enveloped his daughter in a hug, then realized what he was doing and released the stunned Zelda.

"Princess Zelda. Master Link," he greeted, walking back to his throne and reclining in it.

"My dear," he began, addressing the Princess. "I trust you were not hurt?"

"No, Father. I am fine," Zelda said, smiling. The King nodded, then addressed Link, "And I hope you brought the criminal in custody?"

"Yes, my lord. She is being escorted to the dungeons now, my lord," Link said, then paused. The king tilted his head at Link.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Well, I would like to know... What will happen to her?" Link asked uncertainly. The King and Zelda exchanged a look.

"My young Link," the king started, almost apologetically. "As you know, crime cannot go unpunished in Hyrule…" He trailed off. Zelda sauntered over to Link, smiling sweetly. Link almost gagged at the predatory smile she was giving him.

"She will be executed," Zelda whispered, circling Link, who shuddered as her breath tickled his pointed ear. Then he stiffened as the significance of her words settled. Something didn't feel right about executing her. He didn't know why, because he hated criminals like nothing else; he simply despised them. Denying fiercely that it was maybe because she had gotten to him, Link stormed out of the throne room. Suddenly, as he imagined her death, half-relishing the idea, half hating it, a sharp tingling grew in the back of his right hand. He lifted it in front of his face and saw his Triforce was glowing. Zelda appeared in the doorway of the throne room, eyes wide. Her Triforce was glowing too. And somehow, Link suspected that deep down in the dungeons, a similar thing was happening to a certain woman.

A/N: Yay! Chapter three! Kinda left you with a cliffhanger there, didn't I? Mwuhahahaha! I love cliffhangers. And yes, I did kind of twist Zelda's personality a bit. I don't really like her at all. Anyway, this book will now be updated monthly, as I am working on two other books: At Your Mercy and Silent Pleas. Check them out!

Please, please, review! It would mean so much to me!