Chapter 10

A/N: Finished the next one! Sorry about the hold-up but now that I have school plus work at night it's hard to find the time to finish this. -But I am definitely not abandoning this fic. We're finally starting to get into the thick of things regarding Link and Zelda's relationship though.

It's not that she was ungrateful the sheikh had given her clean clothes that fit- it's just that they fit a little too well. The shirt she wore, though soft and comfortable, stretched taut over her rounded stomach. That accompanied by her new outie belly button made it blatantly obvious that she was pregnant- not something she really felt ready to share with the world just yet- especially given the circumstances.

She winced, recalling the tailor's shrill screams and coos of admiration as she fawned over Zelda's "cute baby bump". She was fairly certain everyone in the East wing of the mansion could hear her. . . On second thought, maybe she didn't want new clothes after all.

She was currently torn between wishing Impa would stop tip-toeing around and give her the complete story and wanting to sink into her king-sized bed and sleep her headache away. The only other alternative was letting herself think about the fact that she was growing children inside her and had no idea how it had happened. And she wasn't ready to face that just yet.

The master bedroom and adjoining bathroom the Sheikah put her in was very spacious but she almost wished she had something smaller and more cozy if only to keep her from feeling exposed.

She huffed, finally deciding she'd had enough of her cozy prison and rolled off the bed, quickly pulling on the strange tabi socks the Sheikah wore before peeking out the door. She looked both directions down the hallway and squinted at every dark patch of shadow in sight. Though she saw no one, she couldn't help but feel she was being watched as she stepped out of her room.

She made her way down the hall, determined. She would get the truth from Impa if she had to drag it out of her. She supposed it was partly her fault.

Finding out she was pregnant last week in the midst of everything else going on, combined with the fact she was already feeling dizzy caused her to faint. In front of Impa. And her bodyguards.

When she came to a moment later she decided to salvage her remaining dignity by pretending to be unconscious, Impa spoke directly to her.

"Right now you and the young buds growing inside you need to rest, we will speak when you are fully recuperated."

Well I'm "fully recuperated" now, Impa. She thought as she scoured the various hallways, looking for something that would lead her in Impa's direction. Quit hiding and face me like a woman so I can finally learn why a group of psychotic ninja are after me!

As if in response to her thoughts, she spotted Impa crossing the hall a little ways ahead of her, recognizing her imposing gait. Invigorated, Zelda hurried after her, only to turn the corner and find an empty hallway. She allowed herself to indulge in a silent scream of frustration before making her way down the hallway checking all the signs above the doors, thankful for the Sheikah language class she'd taken.

Training hall, sleeping quarters, restroom, tech labs. . . . It occurred to her that she had no idea where Impa was going and maybe getting herself hopelessly lost wasn't such a good idea. This is pointless. I'll try to pry it out of Hope later, but for now. . . .

She turned around and attempted to retrace her steps when a peculiar scent caught her attention. Due to her enhanced pregnancy senses, it was almost impossible for her not to notice it. It smelled metallic like iron or . . . Blood. She stiffened. Was someone hurt? Had there been an attack?

Following the smell of blood, with worry and fear coursing through her, she tried to reassure herself that it was probably an accident and it was highly unlikely the Yiga had found the Hidden city.

She slammed open the shoji door to be met with the sight of a figure sitting on the floor hunched over in the dark. She only let herself relax once she saw the Sheikah emblem on the back of the loosely fitting cream and red jacket they were wearing.

It was then that she noticed it. "Oh my gosh! You're hands! They're bleeding!"

She hurriedly headed over and kneeled in front of the figure, a man, she realized, and studied his bleeding hands, ignoring the way he flinched at her touch. His knuckles were raw and bloody as if he had been punching something hard. Repeatedly.

Though concerned, she couldn't help the stern tone that entered her voice. "You should get this disinfected and bandaged, moping in the dark won't help."

His head lifted slightly, as if he was surprised, though it was hard to tell as his face was still shrouded in darkness.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Yes I could tell you were moping." Back at Lorule Industries,she had often seen her young, fresh-out-of college employees sulk about their workloads, so she was familiar with the sight.

The man made no reply and continued to share at the floor as if he hadn't heard her. Growing rapidly frustrated, she yanked his shoulder in her direction to get him to face her (stupid pregnancy hormones making her do stupid things!)

"Don't you care about your own . . . ", She stopped, breathless.

It was him. His hair was longer and matted and his tired battered form was thinner than she recalled but . . .

"Link," she breathed.

His eyes finally met hers but they weren't the vibrant, mysteries blue orbs she remembered. They were empty, dull, as he gazed at her blankly

"I- I'm so glad you're here, I never thought that I would- I mean- you're alive- and after you left when the Yiga were chasing us I thought-"

"You shouldn't be here."

What? Her brow furrowed. "O-Of course I should, the Sheikah brought me here after you left me in that dingy shack."

"No,I mean-", he let out a frustrated sigh, "-you shouldn't be here- in this room- with me."

His rejection was like a slap in the face- and it hurt more than she thought it would. She was an idiot, she should've expected this. Of course he doesn't want you near him, her mind hissed at her, you had him arrested on mere suspicion and when he came to save you- you couldn't even muster up so much as 'thank you'!

It was true, she didn't deserve his loyalty or trust but . . . .

"I'm sorry, Link," she spoke fervently, "for shoving you way, for getting you arrested, for treating you so horribly, for not trusting you when all you were doing was protecting me- saving me,

"And I'm sorry for not being. . . . A better friend."

Finally a spark of emotion entered him,s hock registering in his eyes. His demeanor began to shift from hopelessness into something more familia, more Link.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it a moment later, frustration evident on his face.

Fear and anticipation started to run through Zelda at Link's lack of response. Was he trying to find the right words? Or was speaking to her too difficult after everything she'd done?

She heard it then, his voice barely above a whisper, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Zelda-"

"There you are!"

Zelda whirled around in fright at the sudden noise and was met with the sight of a frantic Hope, breathless and disheveled as though she'd gone for a run in a hurricane.

"You disappeared from your room nearly an hour ago! Lady Impa was ready too. . . ."

Hope trailed off at the sight of Link and for a single moment, Zelda could see countless emotions flit through her eyes as she stared at Link.

Link's face settled into an unreadable expression, and as he stared back at Hope, his hands began to shake. Suddenly, he turned away from them and fell down into a kneeling position, his face to the floor.

His knuckles were white as he clenched them tightly and blood began to run anew from his cut up hands.

"Link?" Zelda prompted, concerned, nervous and confused all at once.

Hope gently touched her shoulder. "Let's go, Miss Lorule, leave him be."

Giving him a last sparing glance, she begrudgingly allowed her bodyguard to pull her out of the small, dark room and lead her back to her own. Her mind still wrapped around what she'd seen, she was only half-listening to Hope's scolding.

". . . . You can't just go wandering around! Parts of the shiro are closed off for a reason! Some places aren't safe for you or the babies to be in. I'm sure Lady Impa told you about-"

"What was Link doing in that room?"

Hope gave her a sideways glance before looking away. ". . . . I will let Kai know you wish to speak with Lady Impa."

Zelda felt all of her frustration that had been building up finally boil over. "No! Don't do that! Don't dodge my questions! You're all the same, you keep me in the dark, you only let me have hints instead of the full picture!"

"Your safety, both mental and physical, is of the utmost importance to the Sheikah and comes before anything else." She could hear the silent plea in Hope's voice not to continue.

Well, too bad for her, because Zelda wasn't backing down. "Is a snake's venom any less harmful if you don't know what it is? No Hope, I'm done being left in the dark. Now why don't you start with why Link is sitting alone in a dark room looking like he's been tortured."

Hope bit her lip, indecision warring across her face before finally seeming to settle on something. "Link is. . . . On probation, you could say."

Zelda's brows furrowed, "On probation? For what? Doing his job?"

Hope sighed, "You don't understand, being a Sheikah agent means following a strict set of rules. It's the reason we're as good as we are, and Link broke a lot of them."

"Wasn't his job to be my bodyguard? Because if so, he definitely succeeded." She said, recalling their various escapes from the Yiga.

"No, his job was to be your Shadow and he failed spectacularly."

Seeing Zelda's confusion at the term, Hope elaborated. "A Shadow is meant to be just that: a shadow, unseen, unheard, but constantly watching over you."

"But . . . All those times he defended me from the Yiga-"

"-was never meant to be his job. He disobeyed direct orders from Lady Impa and lied to me, Kai, and Haru about being your bodyguard."

So. Link lied and manipulated his way into being her bodyguard. That was . . . . Stalkerish! Screamed the voice inside her head.

"Now I don't know what his motives were," Hope continued, "But to the rest of the Sheikah agency, he broke our rules and deserves to be punished."

A part of Zelda thought this was justified given the methods he'd used to become her bodyguard, but another part of her thought that it was unfair he was being tortured (from what she'd seen) when he hadn't even been given a chance to explain himself.

"But there is an upside to his punishment."

How could there possibly be an upside to all this?

"Because he has broken our laws he is no longer bound to oaths of silence about a certain . . . Subject someone one may want to hear about."

Zelda's breath caught. "Are you saying he can tell me about-"

"Link is forbidden from having contact with anyone during his probation." Hope said curtly. "But," she continued in a softer tone, "If you were to personally invite him to see you. . . ."

She nodded, finally understanding Hope's dilemma. She and the other agents were sworn to silence and their honor wouldn't let them break it for anything, not even her. She was grateful for the loophole Hope had given her, especially since she was likely under close scrutiny due to her position as Zelda's bodyguard.

Which, Zelda was starting to realize, was a very sought after position. She felt a resolve flood through her, finally, she thought as she entered her room, I'll get some answers.

Brace yourself, Link, because by the time I'm done with you, there won't be any more secrets or lies between us.