Alright, here is the next set of chapters. I know it's been forever, but I worked really hard to get everything together. And it's done! YAY! Also… I moved back home from St. John's, Newfoundland to Ottawa area, Ontario. (Like I was going to actually say exactly where I moved back to hahaha.) but no seriously, it was extremely random and quick notice, I literally had like 2 weeks to move three years of stuff off an island, across an ocean, and several provinces over. Who would have thought that Canada was so freaking big? Yes, it was expensive and yes some things were left behind and things just blew up from there. But for the most part everything turned out alright. Anyway enough about my life, you guys have been waiting patiently for these next few chapters and I bring those to you on some shiny silver platers. The other half is up at the same time so feel free to read it. I'm not going to make my author's note different between the two since it is rather long and I don't have anything really to say differently between the two. So, if you plan to read its partner chapter, you can ignore the author note over there and just get to the chapter.

Oh, before I go. I just wanted to let you guys know that if you don't read my story Dark Side of a Writer (Fire Emblem Awakening fanfiction), you might not know of my new original series I'm starting to write and publish soon. It's called the Soul Series and you can check it out on my FictionPress site with my other two stories over there. Now it's not up yet, but it will be when I post the next set of chapters. Yes, I'm going to be posting four chapters at once. One for here, one for Yu-Gi-Oh!, one for The Dark Side of a Writer and the first chapter of the Soul Series Book One: Sacred Souls. I hope it makes up for my long absence. (I'll let you in a little secret, there might not be a coincidence that the title of my new book and the name of my ygo story are similar…)

I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 5
Why can't we be Friends?

Link sighed as Electra dragged Dark Link out of the bar. Another morning and he was still alive, somehow. He looked back at the door as Dark's glass came to a stop from its wobble. He wanted to sigh again. Electra wouldn't be in her position if he had protected her father. Maybe then she would have family left and maybe it would be a lot easier to deal with everything. He had heard about the incidents after that night and it stabbed him with guilt for not doing more. He was supposed to be this hero of the gods, but as far as he could tell, those days seemed like they had come and gone with everything turning on its head. Everything going wrong. Reacting instead of acting. If he had saved Don from Kalysta's attack, maybe the older man could have given them ideas on how to deal with the mess they were in. Any veteran generals or commanders Hyrule had were either too old to go onto a battlefield or dead. Jason was a great strategist, but between training the soldiers they had and some new recruits with Link and having to defend the walls of Castle Town, it was difficult for him to create ideas. That left Zelda and him to create defense plans, directing troops and train others who had a natural talent in the department; but they were few, young, and unfortunately a long way from being generals, commanders or even decent tacticians. If Don was here, maybe they would have a better chance.

"Well," Delilah said as she stood up. "Time for a morning patrol and some more knight practice."

"Oh, right..." Jason said coming out of his thoughts and stood up. "Will you be at the training session, Link?"

"I'm doing a patrol along Lake Hylia. After hearing about a possible sighting of Vaati and Dean, it's best to check up on the closest area before creating a common patrol route... Squad Eight is coming along nicely; you think they are ready for a patrol?"

"They might be a little jittery, but they are learning quickly. Ya, I think they are ready for the outside world."

"My thoughts exactly, can you tell them to prepare for a patrol for noon?"

"What are you planning to do now?"

"Sleep on this table for an hour."

Jason shrugged and Delilah and him left the building leaving Link and Zelda alone.

"Link," Zelda started. "You don't have to go, get some sleep."

"I need to at least go over the route with Squad Eight and make sure there isn't anything hiding up there." He replied taking off his hat, it was a little warm for it. "When I get back, then I'll rest."

"Then allow me to accompany you."

"You should be the one sleeping."

"How can a country depend on a queen that sleeps when her friend was also up all night and is not."

"They depend on a leader to lead their people, that's your job." Link responded. "I'm just a knight, your highest general, but a knight nonetheless. It's my job to keep the leader and her people safe. To do that, I have to go and establish a patrol route to keep the land safe. Even if that means not resting until later on in the day."

"More like evening." She scoffed. "I'm sure one of the other commanders that we have can take the squad."

"You know as well as I do that most of the commanders are good for only table top plans."

"What about our younger ones?"

"Michael and Esben and Isaac are training Squad Seven and Nine with undead raids today while Benedict and Cailean are celebrating their parents' anniversary."

"I see…"

"There was a reason why you didn't hear about them taking time off," Link chuckled lightly. "The twins won't be back until morning-"

"And the undead training lasts all day and an overnight." Zelda finished his thought as she looked like she had run out of options.

"Though," he pondered, he didn't want to make Zelda worry if she was trying her best for him to stay and sleep. "General Rupert has been looking for a patrol route. The route I was going to take has been quiet and easy to see danger from afar. He should enjoy it, he's not too old after all."

"Rupert has apparently healed completely from the Faron Wood Battle from what I heard."

"Alright, I'll go tell him about his new assignment."

Link was about to get up from the table when Telma's door smashed opened revealing an exhausted looking brown haired squire with watery grey eyes.

"Your Highness, General Link, I have terrible news."

"What is it Jerom?" Link asked. "And Sir or Link is fine…"

"My apologies, Sir Link, but General Rupert died of a heart attack this morning." The squire said clearly upset.

"Of course he did…" Link muttered to himself. The guy wasn't that old, but it was possible that the battles over the past few months have been hard been on him. It was hard on all of them. "We'll see him right away."

Jerom nodded as Zelda and Link stood up from the table. He could see how the day was going to go a mile away. It was one event after another and he wasn't going to be able to catch his hour nap that he really wanted. They had to prepare the late general's body for burial. He walked with Zelda to the door and the squire started up the stairs.

"You're the general's squire, right?" Zelda asked as they briskly walked through the road.

"I was, your highness." Jerom replied softly.

"For how long?"

"Since I first started right before the Twili Invasion."

"So you've been on several battles together," Link questioned. He only knew of his name and who he squired, but he hadn't had the chance to get the history of the man. He was trying, but even with a dwindling army, there was still a lot of people to get to know.

"Maybe, we kept each other alive through each one. I'm only here today because General Rupert saved me from a Shadow Beast back in the Faron Woods. He was injured then and today was supposed to be the day he was able to go back into the field officially." The squire responded. "He told me to sleep in today so I was well rested for his first day. If only I had got up instead of sleeping in like he asked me to, I could have been there to retrieve a doctor…"

"It's not your fault."

"But it's my job to be by his side-"

"No one could have known that he was going to get a heart attack." Link told the man. "You can't save everyone, including the people you are closest to, no matter how hard you try."

"…I guess so."

Jerom went silent as Zelda stepped closer to Link. "You should take your own advice."

"I know the lesson, but I could have done more then." He answered lowly.

"From my stand point, you did everything you could. It was Don's decision."

"Then why do I play the scene in my head counting the ways I could have saved everyone without Don's sacrifice?" he shook his head in frustration. "I messed up and because of my mistake, Don was killed and Electra is on the brink of losing her mind like her will to live… Dark Link might have died leaving the world a little less stressful."

"You did everything you could at the time, it's now that you see what you can do because you are more experienced."

"I should have been more experienced then-"

"Then use it so it doesn't happen a second time with someone else." She told him. "As for Electra and Dark, they made their own decisions, separate they are both ticking time bombs, but together, they hold each other's wounds closed."

"Which also doesn't make sense to me, I understand I may have been the cause to them partnering up, but they seem like they would of killed each other."

She shrugged. "Pain and suffering can bring people together. Like when riots happen, there is a common cause between them that they want to achieve. I don't trust Dark placing his life on the line, but there is a part of me that trusts that he will do what is right when the time comes."

"Why is that?"

"It's one of the things he has in common with you. That and being absolutely loyal to whoever he vows with."

"Him and loyalty, not something I'd put in the same sentence without a negative."

"It's there regardless, and he's got one person in mind for that loyalty."

"But for how long?" Zelda didn't have an answer and he sighed. "Sorry, you're right about everything else, he isn't a threat for Electra, yet, and thinking about what I couldn't do then is not going to help in saving Hyrule if I'm fighting internally. Thanks…"

"I'm not saying forget, I too, believe I could have done more back then. But picking the right time to fight the battle is important."

"Then how did you get passed it because I don't see any way how."

"I didn't." She answered and he looked at her genuinely surprised. She didn't often say her internal affairs as often as he would like her to. Now he was curious on how much she held on her shoulders. "I took the experience, the weight of what happen and use it to strengthen my drive to rid Hyrule of these fiends. Not to the extent Electra is envisioning in her mind. But enough to keep the people safe once again. To make them happy and feel comfortable about leaving these walls. To once again go back to their lives before if they wish to grow the food they grew, the animals they raised, the families they started or wanted to start. That's what I take from Don's death and my inability to save him. Seeing Electra change so much in the past few months is just one of many who are suffering and once Dean, Kalysta and Vaati are gone, they won't need to suffer no more."

"You are way stronger than I'll ever be, Zelda…" He looked ahead as Jerom turned the corner. "And maybe with your wisdom, I can be half as strong to fulfill your goal."

"You're too kind." She replied and he turned to her with a smile.

"You make it hard to be anything less."

Zelda smiled and he was glad that he managed to brighten her day. His day, even though he hadn't slept since yesterday, was basically a sucker punch to the face for no reason other than being him. So as long as she was generally happy, he'd gladly take another sucker punch just to keep it that way.

And here's the little ending author note: If you enjoyed this (or all of them after this if you decided to read all 11 000 ish words) let me know with a review and if you wish to read more and be notified, favorite and/or follow this story. My FictionPress page is under my name so you can just look up my name on the sister site. Anyway, I hope you had fun.