Authors note: Short Chapter! Next one will be much larger. Hope you enjoy this tid-bit until the next one comes out. Probably by this upcoming weekend it will be on the site for you all to read. Also, if you haven't already, please drop a comment if you like or do not like where the story is heading, all feedback is appreciated and motivates me to continue! Thank you for all the support.

Chapter 8

Interruptions

Tired, out of breath and hungry, the three companions made it back to the safety of the Domain. Zelda most of all was having a hard time catching her breath. She even had to stop the others several times along the road, just for a breather as they made their trek down the mountainside.

*Huff, puff, wheeze. *

"Next time, we bring our horses," Zelda breathed heavily as she leaned over, hands on her knees facing the ground as she spoke to her two seasoned warriors. They had to hurry back to the Domain because dusk was setting in, and Link didn't want her to be out any longer than she needed to be. Especially now, that there was no doubt some malevolent force that was still out there, lurking in the darkness.

"Are you going to be alright?" Link asked her, after noticing her trouble to keep us as they ran.

"Yes…I think so. Sorry, I'm not as accustomed to running miles on end like you two. But don't worry, I'll get better at it," She smiled, lifting herself up as she was finally able to catch her breath. "Well, good thing is, I believe the worst is now behind us. We're back."

"Yeah, next time we definitely will bring the stallions," he confirmed.

Zelda's face then went elsewhere as Link spoke, distracted, she remembered the sight they witnessed up on the mountain. Flashed in her mind was the ripped core out of the divine beast, and even more so, the two innocent zora sentries' bodies. As much as she tried to tear herself away from thinking about the gruesome scene she beheld earlier, she couldn't, it was burned into her memory. A cold sadness filled her. She felt somehow responsible for all that has transpired lately.

"Sidon," Zelda turned to the zora prince who was just behind her and Link. The three just made it to one of the main bridges that led up into the northern east end of the Domain. "I'm sorry again for the loss of your friends. If there is anything I can do-"

Sidon then cut her off before she could finish. "Thank you, Princess of Hyrule, your words are kind, but it wasn't your fault that this happened. It was mine. I should have had more guards stationed-Actually…No, I should have been the one to protect Ruta. It should have been me. Those men didn't deserve to die," Sidon replied as he slowly paced behind them both. His spirits were down, and his voice trembled as he spoke.

She then turned to face him and rubbed a calm hand over his arm to comfort him. "There was no way you could have known that would happen. And besides, throwing your life away would not have accomplished anything. So, don't let it get to you as if you failed, because you didn't," she said as she smiled sweetly to him, placing a soft finger to lift his chin up.

"Thank you…Princess, I'm sorry you both had to see this…this momentary weakness on my part," Sidon said to both Link and Zelda. "I promise, when we continue our journey, I'll be stronger and won't hesitate again."

"You are strong Sidon. One of the strongest people I have ever known. And please, call me Zelda…no need for the formalities when it's just us three together, okay?" she smiled to him.

"Okay then, Zelda it is," he said. Sidon then took a few steps forward to follow after them but suddenly stopped mid walk. Zelda and Link then spun back around to see what may have caused him to do so.

"Are you certain…are you certain Ganon was destroyed?" Sidon asked them both, locked in contemplation as he gazed into the heavens above. The stars above them where they stood on the bridge were bright and twinkling as the night swallowed up the last of the evening twilight.

"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. Ganon was destroyed and banished," Link said back.

Zelda also shook her head with conviction at the sound of Link's words. "Most certainly. Ganon was annihilated, there is no doubt," she confirmed.

"Then? Then who could be behind this attack? Who has the strength to carry out such a terrible crime unnoticed?" Sidon asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," Link said.

"Yes, we will. And with these portraits I have now, I may be able to find a clue as to who they are or why they are after shaikah tech as well," Zelda added.

The tall prince then walked up closer alongside both of his hylian friends. "Well now that we are back at the Domain, I'll have to go speak to the families of the men that I lost. I hope I won't be burdening you too long while I take care of this matter," Sidon said to them both.

"Not at all, its already late, and I still have a lot of studying to do over the evidence I gathered today. Go...be with those families, we are going to need you fully rested for when the morning comes. Me and Link will be turning in for the night anyways. Kakariko awaits us tomorrow," Zelda said back.

"Then I bid you both good evening. If you need me for whatever reason, you know where to find me. After I've spoken with the families and have had the bridge closed off leading up to the mountain, I'll be in my chambers," Sidon said. He then tilted his head respectfully to both Link and Zelda and proceeded to walk slowly backwards. And after he made a short distance away from them, he spun around and ran.

Link and Zelda waited and watched as he left their presence and made his way to the other side of the Domain before they left for their quarters.

After returning to their residence wing of the Domain for some time, Zelda was sitting at a candle lit table, flipping through the images on the slate, studying them carefully whereas Link was packing their gear and belongings for the coming morning.

"I still don't understand why anyone would want the cores. The more I stare at these portraits, the more I hope an answer would jump out at me. But the more I look at these, the more questions I have than answers…maybe there is something I'm missing…Ugh! I can't make any sense of it!" she said, loud enough for Link to hear.

Frustrated, she slid back against her chair and tossed the slate across the table to the other end. As it thudded across the wood of the table, she then sprung up from where she sat and made her way behind her dressing curtain. There she washed up in a large tub which had some rags and warm water prepared for her.

As she was washing up behind the veil, she spoke to Link who was still in the room, also getting ready for his nights rest. "Perhaps, tomorrow when we see Impa, she might have a better idea as to what may be going on. Also, we need to ask the King before we leave if he knows anything about the Moon Pearl. Perhaps he can enlighten us why it is so important and why the assassin was after it. I forgot to ask him earlier, with all the excitement that has been happening lately. I believe these attacks on the divine beast and the Moon pearl are connected somehow, I just know it," she said to Link from behind her partition.

But her words fell on deaf ears. And after a minute passed of silence and no reply from her Knight. She became worried.

"Link? Are you there?" She asked, quickly sliding her curtain open. She was already dressed in her azure satin gown for bed. Alarmed that Link was nowhere to be found, she cautiously paced around in the room as she looked for him.

"Link!?" she called out as she made her way towards the balcony. And just as she looked over the railing, out splashing from the calm water came Link. Catching her by surprise, she screamed, unsure of what or who it was that sprang out from the lake.

"Link!" she shouted to him, almost tripping over on herself from the startle. "What are you…doing?" she asked, slightly shaken up from the sudden scare. "After all that has happened, you decide now would be the best time for a late night, pleasure swim?" she said, folding her arms, slightly annoyed.

"Well how else am I supposed to wash up?" he said back as he climbed out from water, swinging himself back over the railing towards her.

"Like a civilized person of course!" She said with a playful pout on her face, hands perched at her waist. But, just as she was about to scold him further, she peeked a glance at him as he slowly made his walk over to her. Unable to turn away, she studied him up and down. He was wearing nothing but some old worn trousers exposing his bare chest and torso.

Soaking wet, his hair and whatever clothes he had on left dripped as he made his way closer to her to gather his belongings. He had to walk past her to change.

She gulped. Her heart raced and breathing quickened at the sight of him. With her tongue tied, she couldn't think of anything else to say as every step brought him closer to her. Her gaze was trapped.

"Forgive me, I should have told you first," he apologized, closing the distance between them.

She must have blinked twenty times by the time he made his way up to where she was. With a pointed finger out in the air towards his chest to stop his approach, she continued to voice her concerns to him, in the hopes of distracting herself from his state of dress, or lack thereof.

"You know…what if an intruder came while you were busy off having a late-night dip? What then hmm?" she said as she tried to look away from him standing next to her, just a foot away. She felt him stop just as she pressed her finger against his firm chest. At the moment she touched him, her eyes met his again.

"Well, I would have stopped him of course," he said wearing a cool smile.

"Pfft, that easy huh? And if I'm supposed to believe that? That you would be able to come out from the water, get dressed for battle and have your sword at the ready?" she said, playfully chastising him.

"What other choice do you got?" he said back calmly, full of conviction. "You can either believe me…or not," he said as he slipped past her, back to where his travel sack was beside his bed.

Her mouth fell to the floor at his smug response. "You believe just because you have that sword on your back, somehow makes you invincible huh? Well, I hope for all our sakes you are right," she said as he was now changing behind the curtain. She then flipped around to face the balcony once again, arms crossed anxiously. "I don't know how you can be so relaxed, especially after what has happened lately. Are you not worried? Don't you care at all?" she breathed.

Then just as she was about turn around, he came up right behind her. Caught by his surprise, she slowly turned into him as he reached out his hands to hold her own. Then, with his genuine blue eyes staring deep into hers, he held her hands in the warmth of his as he spoke softly to her.

"Zelda…the only thing I care about in this world is-," and just as he was about to bare himself to her, the door to their room rang with the noise of fists pounding on it.

"That must be our supper!" her eyes lit up for him. "You hardly ate anything today, so I told them to bring us up something. I wonder what they could have brought?" she said sweetly to him, slightly pulling away. And with the mention of food, Link was torn from his thoughts from before. He would have to tell her how he felt another time, when the time was right. So, as she pulled her hands from him, she proceeded to the door. "Come in," she said to the person behind the door.

The door creaked open and in walked two royal zora attendants. Each of them carried a silver platter which had a covered meal. And as they placed both on the table Zelda just smiled to them while Link was almost drooling alongside her, waiting for the pair to make their exit. This was his first and last real meal of the day after all.

"We hope you enjoy. And if there is anything else you may require of us, Princess of Hyrule, let us know. We are at your service," one of the attendants said.

"I think we are going to be just fine. Thank you very much for bringing us our dinner," she replied. "Good evening to you both."

The two zora then bowed and left the room so that the two hylian visitors could have their privacy back as they ate their dinner.

With their bellies full, and plates empty, Link and Zelda were just about ready to go to bed.

"That was delicious, I can't decide whose food I love more, the zora or the sheikah?" Link said aloud, sitting back in his chair.

"Honestly Link, I think you would eat anything and call it fine cuisine. I mean, when I first met you, you would burn all of your own dishes to a cinder and eat them joyfully, as if they were made from finest castle kitchens," she replied as she rose up out of her chair, giggling just a bit.

He then lifted his hand to his chin in contemplation. "Now that you mentioned it, I have cooked in the castle kitchens before. So, in a way, my food is that of the finest castle kitchens, "he smirked.

"And how did you manage to get away with that may I ask?" she said with a single brow lifted as she was making her bed for the night, facing him.

"Well, as the princess's own chosen knight, you'd be surprise what you can get away with. So, sneaking into the kitchen once or twice, or even ten times for a good bite to eat wasn't that hard really," he said, making his way over to his bed as well.

"Well, I'm glad you found the perfect reason to want to be my knight. It's all starting to become clear now. You were just hungry. At least something was important to you back then…even if it was just your stomach," she scoffed as she rolled into bed.

Link, perhaps noticing his princess's mood, quietly made his way over and sat beside her as she lay in bed.

He then gently placed his hand cozily on her shoulder as she was already laying to her side, facing the other way. She was wearing a pout on her face, knees tucked into her night dress, held tightly to her chest, slightly annoyed by his attempt at witty comebacks.

"Zelda…" he breathed softly. "You are what is important to me."

It took a few seconds as she lay there for her to realized what he actually said. She couldn't be certain if her ears were deceiving her, or did he actually say what she thought he said. It was all she ever wanted to hear and more. She almost opened her mouth for him to repeat it, but she stopped herself from doing so.

And with some secrets of his heart finally revealed to her, he was about to slide off her bed and climb into his. But right as he was about to do so, she sat up from where she was laying and called out to him, just before he could leave her side.

"Link…I…wait," she said. With her face turned towards his, cheeks slightly red, her gorgeous green colored eyes were now wide and glistening. Unable to find the words, all she could do was scoot closer to him. He was on the ledge of her bed, now facing her.

The seconds felt like minutes and deep within her she felt a hunger growing, one of which that has never been satisfied. She craved his affection, now more than anything.

She knew what would happen, if she were to allow herself to fall completely. What the inevitable outcome would be by the time she had to turn eighteen. But it was too late, she'd already fallen. And none of that from before mattered to her now. She didn't care about any of it. All she cared about was how she felt at that instant, when Link said those wonderful words to her.

Secretly, she felt a guilt for thinking so selfishly, but she couldn't control her feelings anymore.

Her heart was beating like a drum rolling to a climax. And just as she was about to let it all go and take the leap, the door knocked again suddenly.

The distracting sound of loud thuds against the door ripped her from the moment once more. Link also turned towards the pounding sound at the door. He then rose up from the bed before she could, since he was more properly dressed to answer the door.

Upon opening the door standing before him was Sidon.

"Sorry to disturb your rest Link, but I think you should come quick. Both of you," he said as he peaked over Link's shoulder to Zelda. His eyes were filled with worry.

"What's happened?" Link asked Sidon.

"Better if you come see it with your own eyes," he replied.

Link then glanced over to an alarmed Zelda who was sitting in her bed, blanket still partially covering her.

"I think we need to go see what this is all about," he said to her. She just shook her head 'yes'. Link then turned back towards Sidon.

"Alright then, we will meet you at the main fountain in five minutes," he said.

"Sounds good, I'll wait for you both there," Sidon said as he left the room, bowed head towards them both.