Disclaimer: GrimGrave does not own any of the characters or their respective franchise; Legend of Zelda and Metroid belongs to Nintendo, while Soul Calibur belongs to Namco Bandai. GrimGrave does not earn money for writing fiction.

Hello again! I'm back from my much needed vacation, finally! My apologies to have kept you all waiting, and for the short chapter - I promise the next ones will be longer. ^^

A Hylian's Harem

Chapter 7

Blood and Sweat, but No Tears

Aveil, Ivy, Sophitia and Samus had all been halted in their tracks as Veran's wicked sorcery manifested before their eyes, forming what looked exactly like Link! Multiple copies of the Hero, cloaked in the blackness that was shadows, and currently rushing towards them ready for battle.

It wasn't sure of just what had ceased their advance – was it the fact that Veran had such powerful magic at her disposal, which begged the question just who she truly was. Or was it because she could create what was now known as Shadow Links; dark images of their beloved Hero, for her disposal. Or perhaps it was a mixture of both, or maybe even just the simple fact that Veran was not what she seemed to be – Cunning, magically adept and backed up with strong power.

The Shadow Apparitions, five in total, ran towards the women with swords held high. The middle one, who also was the spearhead, had his eyes fixed on the closest woman that was Ivy and jumped into the air for the jump-strike.

The noblewoman evaded the strike narrowly, jumping backwards in time to have her opponent land right in front of her, its sword now stuck deep into the ground. Wasting no time, Ivy allowed her newfound vigour course through her – and quickly kicked the dark image in the face, sharply, with her heel to send the shadow Link rolling across the ground to the side.

By the time her heeled boot returned to the ground, the other Shadow Links had clashed with the other women, including Ivy; after all, they were four against five at the moment.

Seeing the second one charging at her Ivy flicked her wrist, slackening her sword into its whip-state and launched the extended weapon at the enemy. With a dark-pitched scream, the Shadow Link was swung through the air and landed into the river while the other women were occupied with their own battles, but not before Samus had fired away a second blast to obliterate her opponent.

But the battle was far from over.

Link ran as fast as he could to the other side of the river where they were, past the field of battle and towards Veran – the sorceress had already created two more to replace their fallen comrades and dispatched them with a smug grin.

"Veran!" Link yelled as he ran, earning the sorceress' attention. "Stop this right now! You've gone far enough!"

She merely shot him a stare, riddled with confusion. "Perhaps I have. But I do have a just cause for it Link, that scantily clad friend of yours got on my nerves. So I responded in kind, to which she decided to draw her weapon."

"That's hardly a justified course of action! Veran, stop this right NOW! I don't know what kind of magic you're wielding but you're scaring everyone! What's the deal -" He gestured wildly at the dark images. "with them?!"

Veran laughed softly, covering her mouth to stifle it with the backside of her hand. "Link, Link… I told you before. Is this still so surprising? Now, why don't you stay put and allow me to finish this? It should be over eventually…."

Link stared at her appalled. Veran appeared so casual about this; granted she had indeed told him of who she was, but she was so nonchalant about this that it baffled him. As his eyes looked back at his friends, he grew even more distressed; Ivy and Sophitia worked together to ward off their attackers, and Samus had an advantage with her agility and technology, but they all remained at the disadvantage when it came to numbers now.

More Shadow Links had been spawned, and even if Aveil and Impa now helped, the dark copies were slowly wearing them out. With each Shadow Link being slain and reduced to shadows, another one took its place. Blades clashed in the middle of the valley as Zelda watched with horror behind the alerted Sheik, with dark-pitched roars and various screams filled the air. One by one the Shadow Links fell, but they kept coming back without rest.

Aveil kept them skilfully at bay with her dual scimitars while Samus blasted them to nothingness one by one, but the constant attacks was taking its toll on them – Samus was barely able to evade the barrage of sword-strikes and ended up taking unnecessary hits while Aveil had ended up with a few cuts on her arms, all while Ivy and Sophitia stood back-to-back and fended off their attacks as best as they could.

Impa on the other hand had managed to slay her fair number of the dark beings, but cautious as she was, she remained on the side where she could keep an eye out for the princess.

The sight of it all made Link's stomach turn. Everything had been so well and almost perfect and now it looked like whatever fiendish underworld that existed had opened up.

His fists had balled up into trembling fists. Zelda had taken the trouble to prepare a simple tour for Link to see the changes that had happened while he was away, and she had even allowed him to bring his friends who had showed up unannounced. She had done all of this without the blink of an eye and this is what they decided to do? Link couldn't care any less of who had started it all; they had all participated in it one way or another.

Veran kept laughing behind him, most likely at the state that the other guests were in. Sorceress or not, Link felt that he had wasted enough time on words.

With a quick spin towards Veran, Link raised his open hand and let it sharply connect with the woman's cheek. It's equally sharp sound prompted the Princess to look over in disbelief as Link's right hand flew in a horizontal line, with Veran's head following the same direction.

The sorceress stumbled a few steps to the side, her turquoise cheek now slightly red on the left side. It stung as she reached up and barely grazed the skin. Her eyes, widened with astonishment, were locked with Link's sharply blue ones – his gaze was as piercing as an arrowhead and cold as the winter nights.

He was angry.

"Enough is enough Veran." He said sternly. "Stop this. Now."

His voice was rich with command, holding its weight in a tone that was hard to ignore. It was nearly menacing in a way to see this man act so cold, even though she hardly knew him. But without a second though, Veran snapped her fingers; the Shadow Links dispersed into shadowy matter which in turn dissolved into nothingness. The battle was over.

"You wait here." Link said sternly, keeping his eyes on Veran until he had turned completely around. As he walked, Veran remained in motionless in her disbelief. Her cheek still stung when she tried to touch it, but the pain went by unnoticed. She stared longingly at his back as he walked away, her face now glazed with a blushed lust as she licked the fingers that had touched her cheek.

´You dare to defy me and my right to cast judgement upon them… You're so wonderfully cruel, Link…´

The other women witnessed his new look in his eyes with mixed feelings of admiration and disarray as he walked over to the princess. His gaze softened upon meeting her equally blue eyes.

He let out a deep sigh. "Zelda… I… I can't find the right words to ever make up for my apology for this… Whatever I could call it." He said with his head lowered. "I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me for not foreseeing this… You'd planned this supposedly wonderful afternoon and yet –"

"Link please!" Zelda interrupted. "Don't blame yourself for this! You didn't know-"

"It shouldn't have happened either way." He replied. He raised his head, meeting the princess's eyes. "Zelda… I'm sorry to ask this selfish request, but… Could you have a word with the others? As the hostess, it would be better if you spoke with them regarding… well, anything that ensures this won't be repeated."

The princess didn't fully motion a reply; it was the stare that said neither yes nor no, but "perhaps". "… What do you intend to do then, Link?"

"I need to have a word with Veran." As he replied, Link's face grew stern and sharp again. It was obvious that he was angered. "Preferably alone."

Zelda nodded. "Very well. Tell you what, I'll walk back to the castle with everyone – if you wish, you can borrow one of the many rooms to talk with your guest. Otherwise, I'll see you later then I take it?" With Link just nodding, the two turned completely around and went their separate ways. Sheik and Impa both motioned for the other women to follow the princess, having overheard the conversation, while Link walked towards the still frozen in place sorceress. He noticed her flushed cheeks, but filed the question away for later – right now, he had to have a serious talk with her.

"Look, Veran…" Link began. "I'm not going to beat around the bush… So, what in the name of the Goddesses happened?! I turned my back for a second and the next thing I see, you and Ivy are fighting to the death!"

Snapping out of her light daze, the sorceress looked back at Link – His cold, yet heated gaze that was directed at her made her body grow warm, a constant reminder of his commanding attitude that served as a secret source of adulterous mirth for her. She tried to regain her composure as she straightened up and tried to meet his gaze.

"It… It wasn't simply like that, Link… That woman had the nerve to throw her remarks all around the place and-"

"I know Ivy, Veran." Link said, interrupting. "I know she can be… different, at times towards others. She has an unfortunate habit to get under peoples skin. However, I don't see how that could've led to the chaos that was on just minutes ago! Do you even realize what you've done?! You ruined a perfectly good even that Zelda had arranged, and you've even helped destroy a good portion of the valley!" Link pinched the bridge of his nose. "And don't even let me get started on those Shadow Images of me… Did you use those on… well, me from your time?"

"Call it a weakness." Veran said shyly. Her eyes averted from Link's completely as she spoke. "It was… a guilty pleasure of mine I guess. To have him… you…battle exact copies of him…or… you… the Hero nonetheless! And-"

"You do realize you scared me, and most of all Zelda with that trick, right? It's been a very long time…But the scars Ganondorf left behind after his attempt to usurp dominion over the entire world has not fully healed. Veran, your display right now will have dire consequences. If Zelda ever finds out that you are one of his servants, even if it's from another time, you'll be in trouble."

Veran grinned at the man. "So you're confronting me because you care about me? Good to know…"

"Enough Veran! I'm being serious here! What you did is inexcusable, and I don't want to see a repeat of it! You could've seriously harmed someone! I don't even know if you've already have! Damn it…"

"…Did all of this mean that much to you and the princess?"

"Of course it did! And I was hoping it would be significant to you as well! Seeing that you don't have a chance to go back to your own… lifestyle or whatever I could call it!"

Veran looked deeply back into his eyes at that moment. He was right; she couldn't go back to her own time, or pursue the same ambitions any more. The only thing that had allowed her to jump in time was the borrowed and manipulated powers of Nayru, the Oracle of Ages. And if the Hero in this time had already sealed Ganon away, then what hope was there to achieve the same goal? Besides, she couldn't deny the fact that this Hero was much more than meets the eye. For the better nonetheless.

"… Very well."

Link looked back at Veran. "Huh?"

"I like to see myself as the bigger woman. If this really meant that much to you… then I shall apologise to the princess. I can't promise that I'll be able to make up for it, but… It's a start right?"

Link didn't reply to her at first in his mild bafflement. But then it simply struck him to stifle laughter, his cool and soft features resurfacing again as he smiled. "I think an apology won't be enough for the others, but I suppose it's a first step. I just pray you didn't seriously injure anyone…"

Veran scoffed with a frown. "They didn't seem to be that bothered by my shadowy minions…"

"We'll see about that. Let's just get back to the castle. I don't want to keep them all waiting."

"If you say so." Veran replied. She hated this outcome – to actually apologise. She couldn't even remember the time she apologised sarcastically, even less seriously. Still, that's how it had to be. Hopefully the mental torture of having to do that would be over quite quickly.

But that was only an obstacle she could easily conquer. After all – in her own mind, she was a step closer to the man she had begun to adore and want. It was an unorthodox way to start a budding relationship, but this alone time was a small victory regardless. She was indeed closer to bagging Link, claiming him as her own.

Unfortunately, this event had most likely made the others aware of the true intentions of one another. Especially of Veran's.

Veran knew already. Things would definitely not be smooth sailing from here on.