Zelda exhaled, running her fingers down an illustration in The Hero of the Winds of a green-clad hero and a young girl standing beside each other on the deck of a large ship, their gazes locked on the distant horizon. "And all of these Links had a Zelda that helped them defeat the Malice Reincarnation?"

Aryll made a face. "Essentially. Zelda isn't present in all of the stories of the Master Sword, though."

"And Link is?"

Aryll nodded. "The Hero of the Triforce of Courage is always led to the Master Sword, or he already has it. What he does with the Sword is another story."

Zelda pursed her lips and closed the heavy book with a thud, sliding it across the table toward Aryll. "Yes, you mentioned that some people have misused the Master Sword?"

"Some of the Links weren't nearly as careful about keeping the Sword from the influence of the Malice. Without the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, the Sword has no protection against it and has become...possessed."

Zelda shivered. "Possessed? What do you mean?"

Aryll stood and grabbed another book off her shelf. Then she settled into her place across the table from Zelda and flipped open to an image near the middle in her newest book. There was a picture of a Link holding a Master Sword tinted black and shadows wafting away from the blade, his own body black like night and his eyes glowing red. "The Sword and its wielder are linked through magic. If the Sword becomes possessed, then Link will be following and listening to darkness instead of light."

"You make it sound like the Sword is a person."

Aryll beamed and nodded, snapped the book closed and slid another across the table toward her companion. "Yes! That's the coolest part, the Sword has a spirit that's said to guide Link and connect with Zelda through her magic." She let the book fall open to another image of a humanoid figure clothed in a blue and purple cloak rising above the sheathed Master Sword. The image was faded, and the book was still settled open to the page of the Master Sword's spirit. Zelda wondered how much time Aryll had spent looking at this picture in particular. "That's what makes the Sword so powerful."

Zelda felt the sudden urge to shove the book aside and bury her face in her hands. All the hints the Sheikah left, all the comments that the Prince had made...it all clicked into place, coupled with the expectations the Kingdom placed on her to protect them from the malice. Zelda felt a heavy burden of responsibility settle on her shoulders, and she realized it would be there for the rest of her life. "Th-that makes sense, I suppose."

Aryll looked up in surprise at Zelda's tone. "A-are you okay, hero?"

"Fine." Zelda gathered her fear and anxiety and shoved it deep into her heart. Time enough for that later, she told herself. She leaned back in her chair and forced a smile. "Thank you for telling me all this, Princess. It helps to clarify what I'm supposed to do."

"Of course." Aryll grinned. "I love studying these legends."

Zelda took a deep breath, sending a quick probing thought to her magic core. Her supply was still there, and Zelda saw with surprise that she still had a full supply of magic, despite the fact that she hadn't gathered since tampering with Aryll's books earlier. "Are you ready to talk about Foraging Magic then?"

"Oh, right." Aryll's grin faded slightly. "You're sure I'm a Forager Mage?"

Zelda felt her heart soften a little as she saw Aryll's own anxiety. "Yes, your highness. I can feel it myself." She sat back in her chair and laced her fingers in her lap. "The most important part of Foraging is the Gathering. Foraging relies on sensing and Gathering energy into your magic core, which you can then release to do other things."

"What about the books, though? You said that just got soaked up in my skin."

Zelda nodded. "Right, the energy from the books can't be released, so you just store it in your magic core indefinitely. That's why it affected you the way it did. We're just a little more sensitive generally, which means we have to be more careful."

Aryll nodded slowly, her eyes still slightly frantic. "Okay, that makes sense."

Zelda smiled encouragingly. "Good. Let's start with Gathering then. Close your eyes and feel around the room with your senses. The elements will be easiest to sense, so try looking for fire or air."

Aryll's eyes closed immediately, and Zelda watched her as she began to reach out with her senses. Aryll had left all the books sitting on the table, and Zelda's hand brushed one as she leaned closer to Aryll. Surprised, Zelda glanced down and saw the image of the two heroes of Hyrule facing down a huge demon on the cover. Zelda felt her stomach drop with fear once again, and she felt a vague sense of panic enter her mind.

Stop it, she chided herself. Everything will be fine. Don't think about it.

But try as she might to distract herself, Zelda's mind was filled with images of the Dark Link and the darkened Master Sword, and her thoughts circled around the pressure concerning her new duties and responsibilities. She forced herself to take a deep breath and focus on the girl sitting across from her, but her mind refused to cooperate.

"Okay," Aryll said suddenly, and Zelda started. "I-I think I feel the fire by the window."

Zelda glanced over to the window and saw a candle that was flickering merrily on the corner of the desk which was pressed up against the window sill. "Good. Now focus on the sensation and the energy of that heat, and Gather it into yourself."

Aryll's face tightened, and her brow knit in concentration.

"Relax," Zelda said softly. "Imagine like you're drinking it in, like water. Let it flow towards you."

"I-I don't understand." Aryll's eyes flew open in confusion. "Can you show me?"

Zelda smiled shakily as she tried to get her heart rate under control. "Of course. But you'll have to watch with your senses and not your eyes."

Aryll nodded dubiously, and Zelda gazed over at the candle. Easily, she reached out with her senses and gathered the heat from the candle into herself...but the energy dissipated as soon as it reached her core. Frowning, Zelda tried again to gently guide the energy toward her, but it didn't stay inside her.
"I-I don't feel anything," Aryll confessed. "Am I doing something wrong?"

"No, something's wrong with my core," Zelda said, trying to quell the anxiety she felt pounding in her chest. "Let me try a Releasing..."

Zelda extended a hand and tried to summon a little flame of fire in her hand, but nothing happened.

" Is something happening? Did I miss it?"

"No," Zelda felt the first twinges of panic enter her mind. "Something's wrong."

Zelda knocked three times on Kinetic Venna's large wooden door, trying to contain the pounding of fear she felt in her chest. Trying to teach Aryll about Forager Magic for several hours had led Zelda to one conclusion-her magic wasn't working the way it should. After several failed attempts for Zelda to produce or gather anything, Aryll nervously suggested she go visit the castle's Royal Mage, Kinetic Venna. Following all she had learned that afternoon about the Master Sword and her responsibility to the Kingdom, the anxiety had become too much for Zelda, and she had fled from Aryll's room in tears, the pressure and fear nearly crushing her as she wondered what was wrong with her. It hadn't taken her too long to locate the mage's study, thanks to Aryll's instructions, and the energy Zelda felt from behind the door was as good an indicator as any.

"Come in," rang a voice from within, and Zelda quickly grasped the metal latch and shoved her way inside.

The chamber within reminded Zelda of a library. The walls were lined with bookshelves stuffed with books and scrolls alike, and there was a table in the center of the room with a padded straight-backed chair that looked surprisingly comfortable. There was a grey sheepskin pelt beneath the table and a stack of books on the top. The room itself was void of other decoration, save for a vase of fresh wildflowers on a bureau tucked away in the corner. There was a large opening in the stone walls that was framed by pale blue curtains that were the same shade of the sky outside.

Zelda pushed the door closed behind her with a click and braced herself up against it, still trying to get a deep breath. Soft footsteps sounded against the stone floor, and Zelda looked up to see an older woman enter from an adjacent room. She had long, curly dark hair that tumbled in masses across her shoulders and face, and piercing amber eyes that seemed to assess Zelda in an instant. Then she smiled, and her eyes crinkled, her face softening immediately. Zelda felt a sudden surge of relief.

"Hello, Zelda. I thought you'd be coming to visit soon."

Zelda resisted the urge to fist her hands in her skirt. "Are you Kinetic Venna?"

The woman nodded, and lifted a hand, gesturing toward the adjacent room that she'd entered from. "Please, come into my study. Let's discuss your situation, shall we?"

The adjacent room was significantly more cluttered and disorganized than the main room in the chamber. There was a scattered pile of books and a single flickering candle on a simple wooden desk placed up against one wall, and two padded wooden chairs were placed in the front and back of the desk. Dried flowers tied with bright red string hung different parts of the ceiling, musking the small room with a rosy, floral scent. But the thing that caught Zelda's attention the most was that there were several small, commonplace items like candles, quills, parchment, and bits of charcoal that were suspended in the air all over the room. Most notably, an open scroll was unrolled and floated in the space in front of the window, and a quill was scribbling hurriedly across the parchment, forming letters and words much faster than Zelda could follow.

"Welcome to Hyrule Castle, Zelda." The woman sat in the chair behind the desk and gestured to the adjacent seat. "Have a seat, it's lovely to meet you."

Zelda tore her gaze away from the floating scroll and still scribbling quill, sank into the chair across from the older woman, and forced a smile. "Thank you."

Kinetic Venna shuffled some of the scattered books on her desk to one side. "Forgive the mess, it's easy to get distracted."

Zelda laughed a little nervously. "It's-it's fine." Her gaze wandered to the row of three lit candles that floated just above the Kinetic's head, their little flames quivering.

"So how can I..." Kinetic Venna trailed off and followed Zelda's gaze, laughing softly. "Sorry, am I distracting you? It's just easier to put things where I can find them." The candles dropped suddenly, and the flames flickered out. A handkerchief darted up from the corner of the desk and gathered the candles before dropping back into a basket on the floor.

Zelda felt her heart skitter as she watched the handkerchief disappear.

Kinetic Venna chuckled and laced her fingers on the desk in front of her. "I'm guessing you haven't met many Kinetic Mages?"

Zelda shook her head mutely.

"And now you are one." Venna smiled gently. "I imagine it's been a bit of a shock."

Zelda exhaled slowly, trying to get her heart rate back to normal. "Yes. I was wondering if you could help me understand more of my magic. It-it's changed since the triforce appeared on my hand."

Venna smiled faintly. "Yes, I imagine it would. Hyrulean Magic can be quite a handful when taken all together. Have you been able to use all three magics yet?"

"I-I don't know." Zelda squirmed in her chair slightly. "I just...my Forager Magic is different now, it's almost like I can't control it."

"What do you mean? What happened when you tried to use it?"

"I couldn't Gather," Zelda blurted out, the panic she had felt in Aryll's room suddenly rushing back. "And my Releasings weren't right."

"Have you tried any Kinetic Magic?" Venna questioned.

Zelda was stunned at the question. "No, of course not, I don't know anything about it."

"What about your teleportation? You used Kinetic Magic then."

"But I didn't know what I was doing, the Deku Tree told me what to do," Zelda explained.

Kinetic Venna smiled ruefully. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised he explained how to do it without explaining what it is." The older woman leaned forward. "So what do you know about the three magics of Hyrule, Zelda?"

"Well..." Zelda casted back on her early lessons when she first began to study magic. "I know a lot about Forager Magic. I know that Kinetic Mages employ telekinesis at the expense of their own physical energy, and I know that Summoner Mages can communicate with Spirits in the Spiritual Realm."

Kinetic Venna nodded, pleased. "What else?"

Zelda shrugged helplessly. "I'm afraid I know very little about Kinesthetics and Summoning. My mentor was a Forager Mage, and he died when I was still young. I mostly taught myself some of the finer points of Foraging after he passed on."

"Well," Venna gestured encouragingly, "Let's see where you're at then. Show me what you can do with your basic elementals."

Zelda's anxiety spiked, and she fidgeted slightly. "I'll try, Kinetic, but my Foraging magic hasn't really been working. I couldn't even do elementals for the Princess."

"Have a go," Venna urged, "We won't know what's wrong if we don't try to figure it out."

Zelda inhaled deeply through her nose, trying to gather in the air as her heart continued to pound. Once again, however, the energy from the air seemed to hit a wall just before she gathered it into herself, and the wind energy just dissipated.

"I-I couldn't get anything," Zelda admitted. "My well of magic rejected it again."

Kinetic Venna raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead and try a release, dear."

Anxiety clenched itself around Zelda's heart, and she lifted a hand, trying to release air energy to snuff out the remaining candle on the desk in the corner. There was a peculiar tugging at her Magic Core, but nothing happened.

Zelda bit her lip, her heart sinking dangerously fast. "Nothing."

Venna knit her brow and leaned forward. "All right, let's try something else." She glanced at a pen that floated above the desk in the corner, and it zoomed toward her to land in her outstretched palm. "I want you to try to lift this pen out of my hand. Imagine reaching your hand out and just taking it, but don't move."

Zelda frowned nervously. "Is this Kinetic Magic?"

Venna smiled, seemingly alerted to Zelda's anxiety. "Yes, indeed. But if you teleported, you can certainly manage to pick up a pen from my hand."

Zelda took a shaky breath. When she'd sought out Kinetic Venna, she hadn't expected to be asked to use her new powers. She just wanted her old ones back. "Are you sure this is a good idea? How will this help with my Foraging Magic?"

"I have a theory," Kinetic Venna said vaguely. "You can do this, dear."

Zelda rubbed her fingertips along the pads of her thumbs, a nervous habit she did without thinking.

"Relax, Zelda. Picture a ribbon or a string reaching out from your mind toward the pen." Kinetic Venna was watching her carefully, her eyes trained on Zelda's face.

Zelda steeled herself and stared at the pen in Venna's pale, long-fingered palm. Then she did as the mage instructed, imagining a thin, red string like the ones wrapped around the flowers above her coiling away from her head.

This is ridiculous, the thought struck her, but Zelda pushed it aside and stretched out further. The red string touched the pen, and it quivered slightly. Zelda let out a small gasp, and Kinetic Venna smiled encouragingly, as if she saw the thread herself.

"Good, it's moving. Now thicken your strand, it's too weak to lift the pen right now. Wrap it around the pen and pull it back towards you."

Zelda furrowed her brow, trying to beef up her little thread. She imagined a thicker red ribbon, and the string seemed to broaden slightly before curling tightly around the pen. To Zelda's amazement, the pen lifted out of Venna's palm and floated gently across the table toward Zelda.

"Wow," Zelda breathed, her heart lifting. Then, she froze as the image of the charcoal-colored Master Sword slipped into her thoughts, and the same panic she had felt earlier clenched itself in her chest. The memory of the Prince wielding the Master Sword in front of her dropped itself into her thoughts, and then she felt her panic quickly morph to anger and resentment as she remembered the Prince's accusing words. Why was it her fault that he couldn't wield the Sword as he was supposed to?

Spoiled little Prince, she thought angrily.

The pen suddenly shot up away from the table, speeding point first toward the window. Zelda cried out as she felt the ribbon she'd wrapped around the pen snap away from her.

Kinetic Venna breathed out a surprised curse before jumping to her feet and holding a hand out toward the pen like a claw. The pen froze, turning so the point was once again facing toward the ground.

Zelda let out a pent-up breath and tried to drive the Prince's face from her mind. "What happened? What did I do wrong?"

Venna walked slowly to the place where the pen stood floating and took it from its position just above the windowsill into her hand. After a moment, Zelda wondered why she didn't just move it back to the desk with her mind.

"I'm not sure." Venna walked back to the desk and sat in her chair, her eyes ponderous and her lips pursed."But tell me, how do you feel right now, physically?"

Zelda frowned at the question, scanning her body mentally and tried to ignore the frantic beating of her heart. "Fine."

"What about your Magic Core?"

Zelda tapped into her well of magic and reached around. It seemed to be normal, but the edges were a little fuzzy. "It seems to be fine. Just a little lower than normal."

Venna nodded in satisfaction. "As I expected. Because you have both Foraging Magic and Kinetic Magic, your Magic Core will likely be a little larger, and you may not need to gather as much as you needed to in the past. Your Kinetic Magic might also draw directly from your Magic Core rather than your physical energy starting out."

Zelda's eyes widened in understanding. "So I just won't need to Gather to make a Release?"

Kinetic Venna nodded slowly. "It would appear that way, for the time being. I suspect it will not last, however. It may be a temporary adjustment to the different sources of magic your body can now use."

Zelda felt strangely relieved but also a little sad. Even after she got new magic, her old magic still wouldn't be the same. Then a thought struck her. "But then, why couldn't I Release air earlier?"

Venna stroked her chin thoughtfully. "That I'm not sure of. Can you tell me what you were feeling in that moment?"

Zelda frowned at the question and tried to remember her thoughts and feelings when she'd tried to let a gust of air flow out of her Magic Core. Suddenly there were three thunderous knocks at the door in the other room, and her thoughts cut off.

Venna sighed. "It's the King. Excuse me, hero."

Zelda opened her mouth to ask how the mage knew it was the King, but Venna had already risen and moved quickly into the adjacent room. Zelda rose from her own chair, unsure if she should follow. She heard the heavy oak door creak open, and King Rhoam's deep voice carried into the study.

"Kinetic. Are you training the Hero?"

"Yes, your majesty." Kinetic Venna's tone was rich and firm.

"Please instruct her to locate Prince Lincoln. I have not the time or energy to find him, and I'm fairly positive he's lurking about the castle instead of attending his lessons."

"I'll alert her at once, your majesty."

The wooden door swung closed, and Zelda's heart sank. Just when she finally had a moment to study and prepare, those same crushing responsibilities came hurtling back at her.

Kinetic Venna's face was pained as she re-entered the study, her amber eyes sympathetic. "Zelda, I'm sorry, but the King has asked you to-"

"Yes, I know, go find the Prince," Zelda said dully, rising to her feet. "Please excuse me, Kinetic."

"Zelda, dear," Kinetic Venna strode forward and grasped Zelda's hands in hers, and Zelda looked up at the castle's Royal Mage in surprise. "Be patient with yourself and everything you're learning. This is a big responsibility, of course, but the goddesses have given you everything you need to succeed. We will discover what's going on with your magic, I promise you."

Zelda felt a deep surge of affection for Kinetic Venna, and she smiled weakly.

"Thank you, Kinetic Venna."

Link didn't realize how long he'd been practicing until he felt a hand grasp his shoulder and spin him around. Startled, he stumbled and lost his grip on the Master Sword.

"Someone's distracted." A quiet voice commented as Link stooped to retrieve his weapon.

"Lots of practice," Link replied, careful to mask his accent as he glanced up at the person behind him.

It was Kamalk, one of the Sheikah that was recently posted on Link's personal night watch. His pale white hair was caught back in a cream-colored leather strip that matched the pale leather of his wrappings, and he had a single spike piercing through one of his ears. "Are you Sheik?"

"Yes," Link said quickly. "Is something wrong?"

Kamalk ignored the question, eyeing Link curiously. His eyes lingered on the Master Sword in Link's grip. Hastily, Link resheathed his sword and bowed quickly, touching his forefinger to his forehead.

"How long have you been here at the castle? I've never seen you here before."

"Only a few weeks," Link replied. "I'm a new recruit from Kakariko."

Kamalk raised an eyebrow. "I thought I knew most of the Sheikah in Kakariko. I'm from there too, actually."

"I lived outside of town," Link invented. "Impa knew my Father, and she brought me here after he died. She's training me personally."

Always leave a lie simple, Impa's instructions rang in his mind, Let it stand. There's no need to ramble and contradict yourself later on.

Kamalk still looked suspicious, but he let it drop. "She sent me to find you. Said you'd be here training. Apparently the Prince has disappeared again, she said the King ordered her to assemble the Prince's day mage Zelda was summoned as well, as I understand."

Link's stomach dropped like stone. "The mage is looking for him too?"

Kamalk nodded mutely. "King's orders."

Link bit back a growl. "All right. I'll report to Impa straight away."

Kamalk watched as Link gathered up his belongings and hurried away from the training grounds, and Link could feel the other Sheikah's penetrating gaze on his back before Link could disappear into the stone hallways of the castle.

Usually Link would stash his green tunic and hose in the barracks; people would see him enter the barracks and assume the Prince was just getting some practice in. He could easily slip into a bunk room, change his clothes, and re-emerge as Sheik. Unfortunately, Link had changed personas in his own room and clambered down from his balcony into a tree in the courtyard before skirting off to the training grounds, and now Sheik had to make his way back to Link's rooms without drawing suspicion.

Link gritted his teeth and moved quickly through the hallway, nodding at other Sheikah he passed and ignoring everyone else. How was he going to explain to his father that he had just been in his room the whole time?

"Sheik." Suddenly Impa was there, shoving a sack into his chest and pushing him up against a wall. "The King is waiting for the Prince in his rooms. I suggest you hurry there and speak to him yourself."

"Impa, I can't-"

"I suspect you'll find what you need in that sack." Impa glared at him, and opened her mouth to speak once more, but she was cut off by another voice.

"It's you!"

Link felt his stomach clench as he recognized the voice, and Impa turned around in surprise. The Mage Zelda was running through the hall towards them, her eyes frantic.

"S-sorry. It's just so good to see a familiar face."

Good? Link exchanged a helpless glance with Impa, and he was grateful when his Sheikah friend spoke up.

"I wasn't aware that you knew Sheik, Mage Zelda."

Link's stomach jolted as he remembered that he was still under the guise of the Sheikah warrior; he'd almost forgotten his disguise at the sight of the Mage.

"Oh. He-he helped me through the Lost Woods when I was trying to find the Deku Tree." Zelda wiped at her eyes hurriedly, her gaze falling to the floor.

Both of Link's eyebrows went up, and he shook his head frantically. Impa frowned.

"That's impossible, hero. Sheik has been here at the castle on Prince Lincoln's personal guard."

Zelda looked up, bewildered. "What? No, it was him! I-I even recognize the sword." She reached up toward the carefully disguised Master Sword on Link's shoulder, but Link stepped out of her grasp and shook his head darkly.

"I'm sorry, Zelda," Impa said hurriedly, grasping Link's arm and pulling him aside. "But we must resume our search for the Prince. Sheik has just seen him and has come to report."

"Oh!" Zelda looked at Link, her eyes suddenly hopeful. "The King has sent me to locate the Prince as well! Where did you see him?"

Link glanced at Impa, not trusting himself to speak.

"I believe Sheik said he was just entering the Royal Gardens," Impa said smartly. "He should be almost to the armory by now."

Zelda's expression grew even more nervous. "Um, where exactly would that be?" She looked up at Link. "Show me the way?"

Link shook his head furiously before shoving past Zelda and moving back up the hallway toward the armory.

"Sheik has to report to the King," Link heard Impa say. "But let me tell you the way to the armory. Prince Lincoln should be switching out his weapons right now."

Link could hardly hear the Mage's reply before he rounded the corner and took off, veering into a side courtyard. He knew that Impa would direct Zelda to the armory, but there was a wall of vines in his mother's gardens that hung down from the armory that could give him the opportunity he needed to beat his so-called bodyguard before there.

Link hesitated as he reached the gardens, his mind racing from the hero's words. She must have been lying; it was some trick to make him open up to her. She must've known it was him underneath. Come to think of it, why did he even need to catch up with Zelda? He could just report to the King on his own without involving the air-headed Mage. Then he pictured his Father's face and scolding if the King found out he had given Zelda the slip, and he winced, heading for the vines by the window. He swarmed up the wall quickly, the vines thick and easy to grab.

Link dropped to the floor of the armory, leaning forward to catch his balance. Working quickly, he slipped out of his Sheikah attire and pulled on the loose pair of trousers from Impa's sack over Sheik's tights, and it was even simpler to yank the green tunic over his head and let it settle over the long-sleeved undershirt Link always wore. He shoved Sheik's attire back into the sack Impa had given him and kicked it back into a corner of the armory behind a large metal shield.

A few seconds after Link had brushed his hair out of his eyes and strapped the sword back on his back, the door to the armory flew open. Zelda stood in the doorway, her violet eyes tight and her auburn braid in slight disarray. For a moment, the two of them stared at each other, Zelda's expression morphing between relief and panic continuously. Then her face went slack, and she bowed quickly.

"Your highness," she said, one hand on the doorframe, "the King requests your presence in your chambers."

Link strode across the room, determined not to make further eye contact. Zelda stumbled to one side of the door as Link moved closer, but she tripped over a pile of spears and tumbled right toward a line of swords, their edges pointing downwards. Moving automatically, Link dashed forward and gripped her about the waist, steadying her as he dragged her away from the swords.

"Don't touch me!" She gasped, and yanked herself out of Link's grip, collapsing in a pile on the floor of the armory. "I don't need your help!" Link came to himself and realized that he had just dived to save the Mage of the Prophecy, and he felt a flash of revulsion. Quickly, he withdrew his arms and took a step back.

"My mistake," he said through gritted teeth, mirroring her scowl. Zelda took a single shuddering breath and clambered to her feet. Without saying another word, she brushed off her skirts, shoved her braid over her shoulder, and bowed again to Link.

"Forgive me, your highness," she muttered, "The King is expecting you. We should go."

Link could see the glittering of tear tracks on her cheeks and determinedly turned his back on the Chosen One of the Prophecy, striding out the door of the armory.

The walk to his quarters felt longer than normal. At every step, Link could hear the rustle and soft foot-falls of his assigned escort, and Link felt his temper gradually rising. He didn't need an escort, much less a self-righteous girl who didn't even understand her power.

Finally they arrived at Link's room, and Link burst through the door, only to stop short at the sight of his father staring up at the torn tapestry from his seat by the fireplace. King Rhoam turned to stare at his son as Link entered the room, and Link nodded his head once at his father, his heart sinking. He heard Zelda slip into the room behind him and close the door, but he kept his eyes on the King.

"Lincoln. I don't suppose it's worth anything to you to tell you I've been waiting for you for at least half an hour?"

"I'm sorry, father." Link lowered his eyes to stare down at his boots.

"Would you care to tell me where you were?"

"I was training, father."

"Hmph," King Rhoam snorted, his mustache fluttering. Then he looked past his son at Zelda. "And Forager Zelda, how is it that you lose track of my son after not even a day has gone by?"

"Forgive me, your majesty." Zelda's voice was quiet and meek, and Link resisted the urge to snarl and turn on her. "The Prince disappeared while I was instructing Princess Aryll, and then I was with Kinetic Venna and became distracted."

The King nodded briefly before returning his gaze to the torn tapestry on the wall. He sighed.

"Forager Zelda, I understand this is all very new to you, but I must impress upon you the gravity of this threat. Your arrival here at the castle signifies the arrival of the Malice and the beginning of the fulfillment of prophecy. I need to be able to rely on you to protect Prince Lincoln and the Master Sword."

"Of course, your majesty," Zelda said. "You have my word."

"And Prince Lincoln," The King locked eyes with his son once more, his eyes blazing. "Now is not the time for childish escapes. It is your responsibility to protect the Master Sword, which means you must remain with the Chosen One. Only she can protect you from-"

"How is she supposed to protect me when she can't even use her magic to protect herself?" Link burst out. "I'm the bearer of the Master Sword, I should be protecting her!"

Link heard Zelda inhale sharply at his words, and the King looked furious.

"You forget yourself, Lincoln," he warned, but Link pressed on.

"You all made such a big fuss about her doing her job, but I'm still stuck on babysitting duty with the Sword. You won't even let me fight with it! All this danger approaching, and it still just stays on my back."

"Be quiet!" King Rhoam roared, jumping to his feet. There was a fire and anger in his eyes that Link had never seen before, and he heard Zelda shrinking back to the door behind him. "You don't have any idea what you're talking about!"

Link glared up at his father but clamped his mouth closed.

King Rhoam regained his composure with some difficulty. "I can see you have yet to understand your role in all this. I shall send Master Mahko to discuss it with you. You are not to leave your chambers." And with that, Link's father brushed past him and exited Link's room, the door creaking closed behind him.

Link let out a growl and yanked the sword off his back, flinging it on the bed. Then he sank to his knees and tore off the green cap on his head. He heard a shuffle of movement behind him, and he whipped around to see Zelda standing in the corner of the room, staring at him with a troubled look. The tear tracks on her cheeks shimmered as she moved, and she had her arms wrapped tight around her figure. All the anger and frustration he felt at his father writhed inside him, and he pointed a finger at the door.

"Get out."

"B-but your father-"

"I don't care. Leave me alone."

Zelda let her arms fall, and she cast one more anxious look at Link before moving quickly to the door and leaving the room, the door clicking closed behind her.

oooh the angst. Thanks for the favorites, follows, and reviews! I'll try to be better about posting what I write. Stay tuned!