Saved

He was running. His blonde hair whipping around his eyes in the wind as he ran. He turned to look over his shoulder, and tripped on a tree root protruding from the ground. He hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of him. The sound of men shouting was getting closer. Scrambling to his feet, he took off again.

The young man ducked behind a tree with his back pressed against the trunk. His shoulders slouched as he tried to catch his breath. He pushed the strands of gold hair from his eyes and cautiously peered around the tree. Staring down the path he had traveled, he could hear the men yelling as the plowed through the underbrush.

The young man heard a man's voice call above the commotion. "We seem to have lost him, sir," he called.

"That is not acceptable! Get out there and find that boy!" another voice called.

"Yes, sir," the first man replied, "We'll find Link."

Link pulled his head back behind the tree, trying to calm his breathing. His sensitive ears picked up a sound. It sounded like a twig snapping, but it came from above him. His head shot up; staring up the tree he was standing under. He gasped in surprise. Directly above him in the tree was a man smiling at him menacingly. He leapt from the tree, yelling as he fell.

"Gotcha now, Hero!" he yelled, reaching his arms out to grab him. Link jumped out of his way and watched him hit the ground where he had been standing moments before. Afterward, he sprinted off into the darkness of the forest, leaving the fallen man's painful cries behind him.

Ike was riding on his horse through one of the many vast fields of Crimea. His eyes were glued to a map that he was holding in front of him. His horse made a sound that sounded like his version of a sigh. Ike mimicked him and folded the map back up, putting it back in his saddlebag.

"I know, I know. You don't want to stand here any longer, do you boy?" the blue-haired warrior asked his steed. He pulled the reigns into his lap and kicked his horse gently in the sides. They trotted along for about a half hour when Ike spotted someone running toward him. He pulled on the reigns and turned to face the approaching person.

It was his advisor, Titania. She pulled up to him and looked him in the eye. The way she spoke make Ike think that something was wrong.

"Hello, Ike," she said.

"Hello, Titania. Do you have any news for me?" Ike asked.

"Yes, I do, Ike," she began, "Our scouts have reported that some of the citizens have been complaining about strange noises coming from the forest on the far side of the river. They say it sounds like someone is running around in the forest looking for something. And they are looking very loudly."

"Hmm…Well I guess we will have to do something about that. I will head over to the forest and take a look around. I'll see what I can find," Ike replied.

"Do you want someone to go with you?"

"No, I think I should go alone. I don't want to make this look like a big deal and it end up just being a group of animals passing through."

"Alright, but please promise to send for help if things get out of hand," Titania pleaded.

"I will, but I'm leaving you in charge until I get back. Do you think that you can handle things around here until then?" Ike asked her.

"Surely you must have more faith in me than that? But yes, I can keep an eye on things."

"Good. I should be back before nightfall. However, if I'm not back by noon tomorrow, you may send out a search party. Fair enough?"

"Yes, sir," Titania saluted.

Ike smiled and turned his horse to the west. He spurred his steed into the now setting sun, kicking up a cloud of dust as they ran.

"Hurry back!" Titania called after him. Ike grinned. He would be back. As soon as he had satisfied his call for adventure.

Link stopped running. He had finally come out of the forest and was now standing on the side of a large field. The men in the forest were coming at him, fast. They were screaming shouts of triumph as they thundered through the forest.

Link looked around. It was going to be harder to hide from these men out here in the open. Running from them was beginning to look like it wasn't an option anymore. He took off into the field to try and draw them out of the forest so he could see for once exactly how many there were. He turned to see about 20 to 30 men racing for him. Swords were drawn and bows were ready to fire. Upon seeing this, Link knew he had only one choice. He had to fight.

He pulled his sword from the scabbard with his left hand and pulled out three bombs with his right. When the men were about 30 feet from him, he threw the bombs. They exploded on contact, sending many of the men flying backwards and killing the men on the front lines. Painful shouts came from the men injured by the blast. Some of the men were helping the wounded while others continued to run toward Link. Link smiled, pulled out his shield, and waited for the running men to reach him.

The first man, a tall, dark haired man, was yelling as he leaped in the air. He brought his sword down onto Link's with a clang. Link smirked and pushed him back. He slashed at the man, cutting through the fabric of his clothes and leaving a long gash across his torso. The man howled in pain, blood spilling from the cut. Link forgot about him and focused his attention on the hoards of new enemies coming at him.

Link ran at the small army before him, his sword poised to kill. Jumping in the air, he came down on his opponents, screaming all the way.

Ike stopped his horse. He heard a noise. It sounded like an explosion. He turned to his right and saw smoke rising in the distance. Turning his horse, Ike took off in the direction of the smoke.

He rode for about ten minutes before something came into view. It looked like a huge fight was taking place in the middle of a field. At first Ike thought that it was just a group of bandits that had gotten into a pointless fight, when suddenly, he heard another explosion. Several men screamed and flew up into air.

Ike smirked. Nice hang time, he thought, but where did bandits get bombs?

After the smoke cleared, he saw a young man in green in the middle of the chaos. He was wielding a mighty looking sword in one hand and several bombs in the other. Ike watched him for a minute. His sword movements were skillful and swift. He clearly could handle himself, but were there any others that were fighting alongside him? It didn't look like he had anyone helping him. He'd fix that. Ike spurred his horse forward.

Ike was about 100 feet from the green-clad man by the time that he looked over at him. He was watching him come closer with wary eyes. Ike's face contorted in horror. He watched as a man crept up behind the young man. The other man had his sword poised to strike.

"Look out!" Ike yelled, "What are you doing?! Don't look at me! Turn around!!"

The young man finally turned around, catching the other man's sword just as it neared his neck. Ike drew his sword and rode to the right, striking down the people standing in his path. Turning around for another pass, Ike could see that the man in green had killed the man that had been behind him. He turned and looked at Ike. He had another bomb in his hand and a smile on his face. Ike took that as a hint to stay out of the way for a minute. Ike smiled and nodded.

The young man nodded back and tossed the bomb over his shoulder. The bomb exploded and filled the air with ebony smoke. Ike took off again. The smoke provided a cover so that he could strike without being seen. As he came out of the smoke, he looked around again for the warrior in green. He was nowhere to be seen.

Ike panicked. His eyes were traveling franticly over the corpse strewn battlefield. The smoke cleared and he saw two men standing in the middle of the field, holding the young man in green in their arms. One man had the boy's arms tied behind his back and was holding one of his hands over the boy's mouth. The other man had his sword aimed at the boy's chest. There were three other men standing behind the second man, one of them holding a bow with an arrow already in position to shoot.

The man with the sword was speaking to him. Ike was too far away to hear what it was, but he assumed that it was something that the man in green didn't like. The man holding him removed his hand and began shaking it as if he had been stung by a bee. As soon as his mouth was free, the young man in his arms spat in the face of the man in front of him. The young man followed that up with a stream of yelling and profanities.

The large man with the sword wiped the spit off of his face and glared at the boy with hatred in his eyes. He lowered his sword and took a step forward, standing directly in front of the boy. He pulled back his hand and struck the boy across the face. The boy stared at the ground, not saying anything. The man who slapped him grabbed his chin and forced him to look up. He spoke to him again, bringing his sword up the boy's neck.

The young man's eyes widened as the blade neared his throat. He listened as the man holding his chin said one last thing before removing the blade from his neck and bringing the hilt down on his head, knocking him out. The man holding him picked him up and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Ike spurred his horse forward, taking off in the direction of the five men and their unconscious hostage. The men turned to him, looking horrorstruck. Ike killed two of the men that had been standing behind the man that had knocked out the warrior in green. Coming back around, he killed the man that was holding onto the unconscious warrior, swiping him off the man's shoulder as he fell.

Ike left the other two men behind and rode away, clinging to the green-clad man. As he rode, Ike slit the ropes binding the young man's wrists. No sooner had Ike cut the ropes, a searing pain erupted in his left shoulder. Ike fell off the horse, dragging his unconscious passenger with him. The two of them hit the ground hard. Ike reached his right hand behind him, grasping the shaft of an arrow. He yanked it out with a grunt and threw it behind him.

Ike glanced around looking for the man in green. He was lying a couple feet away from him, still unconscious. Ike crawled over to him, turning him onto his back. Ike checked his pulse. He was still breathing and didn't appear to be hurt. Ike let out a sigh of relief.

"Stand up!" someone commanded. Ike glanced behind him. The man with the sword was standing behind him, once again with his sword poised for the kill. Ike stood.

"Back away from him," the man commanded. Ike took a step back. The man with the sword nodded to the archer next to him. The archer moved forward and began to tie the boy's hands again, when the swordsman stopped him.

"No need to bind his hands. He's not going anywhere," he said. The archer obliged, releasing the boy's hands. Instead, he picked him up and brought him behind the swordsman so Ike couldn't get to him.

"Thank you for following orders for once instead of giving them, General. You may leave now," the swordsman said.

"What are you going to do with him?" Ike asked, pointing to the green-clad warrior. The archer laughed and the swordsman smirked.

"I don't really see how that is any of your business, but if you must know, we are going to bring him to a person who is offering a large amount of money for his capture," the swordsman said coolly.

"So you two are bounty hunters? I should have seen that coming. Only slime like you would sink so low as to attack someone like him when he's all alone," Ike retorted.

"Believe me, General, if you knew the amount of money our employer is offering, you would have followed us in an attempt to get your hands on this boy too," the man said, "Take the young hero to the horses. I'll meet you there once I take care of our good friend the General here."

The archer nodded. He picked up the boy and started walking in the direction of the bandits' horses. Once the archer had passed behind a rock and was out of sight, the swordsman turned back to Ike. He was about to speak when a scream echoed across the field. The swordsman didn't hesitate. He ran in the direction of the scream.

Ike grabbed the swordsman by the collar of his shirt and threw him on the ground, also running toward the source of the sound. Coming around the corner, Ike saw the archer dead on the ground and the man in green was nowhere to be seen. Ike was about to go off looking for him when he was tackled from behind. Something sharp was shoved into his side. He screamed in pain and holding his side, rolled over onto his back to see his attacker. The swordsman was on his knees on top of him. There was a bloody dagger in his hand and a cynical grin on his face.

The man thrust the knife forward toward Ike's face. Ike moved his head to the side, the knife plowing into the ground inches from the side of his face. The man pulled the knife out and positioned himself to strike again.

Before striking, he laughed and spoke, "What an honor this is. I get to have the privilege of killing the almighty General of the Crimean army. I wonder if I could get paid for this as well."

He laughed again. "Prepare to die, Ike!" Ike closed his eyes and waited. Nothing happened. There was no pain, no agony. Nothing. Ike opened one eye and looked at the face of the man on top of him. His eyes were blank and distant. Ike opened both eyes and gasped. A long silver blade was protruding from the center of his chest.

Ike watched in awe as the man fell to the side, dead. As he fell, the green-clad warrior was revealed. For the first time, Ike was able to get a good look at him. He had blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He also had two hoop earrings and matched the color of his eyes. He smiled at Ike and offered him his hand. Ike took it and tried to stand up, but as soon as he tried to move, his side erupted with pain. He fell back down onto the ground. The green-clad man knelt down next to him and tried to look at the wound.

"Ouch. Looks like he got you good," the man said.

"Yeah, he tackled me from behind and stabbed me. Sneaky son of a – OUCH!"

"Careful! You're going to hurt yourself if you keep moving," the young man told him, "I've got just the thing for this."

"It doesn't involve needles, does it?" Ike asked nervously.

The young man laughed. "No, I don't normally carry around needles." He laughed again.

"Good. I don't like them," Ike told him.

"Are you afraid of them?"

"No. I just don't like them."

"Good to know. I owe you my life. My name is Link, by the way."

"Nice to meet you. My name is Ike, and I kinda owe you my life too."

"I guess we're even," Link laughed. "Here, drink this," Link told him. He was holding out a bottle with a blue liquid inside. Ike took it from him and took one sip. He gagged and made a disgusted sound.

Link laughed. "I know it doesn't taste the greatest but you can't find a better fast-acting medicine anywhere else." Ike sighed and gulped down the rest of the bitter tasting potion. He handed the empty bottle back to Link and took his hand away from his side. Looking inside the gash in his clothes, he could see the perfect skin beneath. There wasn't even a scar. He looked up at Link in shock. He was smiling at him and offering Ike his hand again. Ike took it and stood up, feeling better than ever.

"Thank you so much, Link," Ike said.

"Think nothing of it. I'm just glad that I could help," Link replied. He turned away from Ike and pulled his sword out of the dead man at Ike's side. Using the man's cape to clean it, Link sheathed his sword and pulled out a small horseshoe shaped charm. He blew into it, producing a calming melody. Ike heard a horse whinny in the distance. He turned to see a chestnut colored mare come running out of the forest.

She stopped next to Link and nuzzled him with her nose. Link smiled and stroked her face gently. Suddenly, Ike's horse came galloping up behind Link as well. Link looked confused for a moment, but laughed afterward.

"Sorry Ike, this is Epona. The song I just played is something that helps her find me no matter where I am. I guess that your horse likes the song too," Link explained, still laughing. Ike laughed too, mounting his horse.

"Link would you like to come back with me to the castle? I'm sure that there would be plenty of people that would like to meet you. And I would like to give you a proper thanks for saving my life," Ike suggested.

"Sure I'd like to go with you," Link said.

"Good. Then follow me, my friend," Ike said pointing off into the distance. Spurring his horse, Ike took off in the direction of the castle. He glanced behind him to look at Link following after him. Ike smiled. He had just made a friend that he literally could trust with his life.

Back at the castle, Titania was staring out the window at the setting sun. Ike had been gone for hours and she was starting to get worried. She shook the thoughts away. Ike could handle himself. He would be fine.

Titania turned away from the window and exited the room. Heading down the corridor, she thought about the report that she had given Ike earlier. What she had told him was true, but she forgot to mention the letter that the princess, Elincia, had received earlier that week. She would just have to tell him when he got back. She had asked some of the military leaders to meet with her and discuss what they were going to do in case Ike didn't come back by the time that he said he would. She had even decided to include some of the Laguz nobility to help, since some of them could move faster than humans could. Anything to keep Ike out of danger.

Titania came to the conference room and opened the doors. The human representatives were seated on one side of the table while the Laguz representatives sat on the other. Normally, humans and Laguz didn't even get along well at all. However, in this case, they were acting quite civil. With a silent sigh of relief, Titania took her place at the head of the table.

"Thank you all for coming," she began. "As I'm sure you all know, Ike has left to investigate something abnormal near the edges of out borders. He told me that if he was not back by noon tomorrow, then I could send out a search party for him."

"Why are you telling us this now? He said noon tomorrow, didn't he? Why should we worry now when the sun hasn't even set on today?" one of the Laguz asked.

"Because I said so. I wish to plan for the worst. That means that it may not happen, but if it does happen, we won't be running around without a plan. So here is what I propose…" Titania began. Suddenly the door of the conference room swung open. Everyone turned to see a soldier come running in. He was smiling as he spoke to Titania.

"Sorry to interrupt, but one of our watchers spotted Ike in the distance. He's coming back, and there is somebody with him," he said.

Titania was dumbstruck. She glanced at the others in the room, who were sharing the same expression. Without a second thought, she took off running for the nearest balcony. Gazing out over the landscape, she could just see two figures approaching from the West. Filled with relief, she ran for the front gates, planning to greet Ike and his guest when they arrived.

The castle had finally come into view on the horizon. Ike and Link were coming up fast, and Ike honestly wished that his horse could have gone faster. He was sore from riding so long and was excited that it was almost over. Glancing to his left, Link looked just as tired and ready to stop.

When they finally reached the gates, Titania was standing outside to meet them. Ike smiled and dismounted. He walked up to Titania and hugged her as a son would hug his mother. She returned the hug and smiled at him.

"Hello Titania. I hope I didn't scare anyone with my little detour," said Ike.

"No, not at all," replied Titania with a hint of sarcasm. "I'm just glad that you made it back safely. Who's your friend?" She gestured to Link who had been standing silently behind Ike.

Ike told Link to come forward and casually placed a hand on his back. "This is Link. I ran into him on the plains while he was under attack by bandits. He saved my life," Ike told her.

"Oh, really?" Titania asked questioningly. She walked up to Link and examined him from head to toe. She looked like she was unconvinced that a boy like him could even hold a sword. She began pacing around him in a circle, still examining. Link looked like he was starting to get nervous and glanced at Ike for help. Ike just smirked and let Titania continue her little inspection.

Link was really beginning to feel uncomfortable. He felt like this woman was looking at him like a piece of meat she was considering purchasing. His attention spiked when he heard the sound of a blade being pulled from the scabbard. Link felt cold steel on the side of his neck. He didn't flinch against the touch at first, then pulled to the side and spun around, drawing his sword in the process.

Titania had a long thin blade in her hand and a smile on her face. She was now looking at him as if she was pleased. She placed the blade back in the sheathe and faced Link, taking a step forward.

"Impressive. Your swift movements tell me that you are quite the fighter. I would like to see you fight sometime. My name is Titania. I am Ike's second in command over the Greil Mercenaries. It is nice to meet you, Link," she said, holding out her hand for him to shake.

"Likewise," Link replied, shaking her hand.

Ike smiled, happy that Titania and Link were getting along just fine. He was about to speak when he heard someone scream his name. He turned to Elincia running toward him. She embraced him around the waist, crying and sobbing with joy and mumbling that she was glad he was alright. Ike hugged her back before pulling back to look at her.

"It's nice to see you too, Elincia," Ike told her.

"Don't kid with me, Ike! I was worried sick about you. When I heard that you had gone off on your own, my instant fear is that you wouldn't come back. And I can't afford to lose my best general, can I?" Elincia retorted. Link chuckled and Elincia noticed him for the first time.

"And who is this?" she asked.

"This is Link. I met him out on my little trip. He saved my life," Ike told her.

Elincia looked fascinated. She approached Link and studied him similar to the way Titania had. Link sighed as the strange new woman looked him over. She raked her eyes over his clothing, his weapons, and his face. She tilted her head to the side, confused. Taking another step toward him, she brought her hand up to the side of his head, gently running a finger over his pointed ear.

"Are you a member of a Laguz tribe?" she asked.

"Huh? No, I'm Hylian. I come from the country across the sea. I have no idea what a Laguz is," Link replied.

"Interesting, because you have the ears of a Laguz. Very interesting…" she trailed off. She looked him over for a moment more, and then smiled.

Elincia stood close to him and looked Link in the eyes. Placing one hand on his chest, she used the other to rub one of his muscular arms. Link looked confused and glanced over at Ike. Ike had the same shocked look on his face. Link was feeling very uncomfortable at this point. He placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back. Elincia looked offended at first, but smiled again afterward.

"Guards, see to it that our guest has a nice room to stay in and that he has everything that he needs," Elincia commanded.

The guards nodded, and then led Link out of the courtyard and into the castle. Ike stood perplexed. Elincia had never really shown any other guest that kind of behavior. Grabbing the reigns of the two horses, Ike started off toward the stables, confused.

Link was led to a large room in one of the towers of the castle. One of the guards had dropped off the supplies from his saddle bag, such as clothing and his medical supplies in the room and had left. He walked around the room, taking in the new atmosphere, when he heard someone at the door. He turned to see Elincia standing in the door with an old man in a red and purple robe at her side.

"That would be him, Artemis," Elincia said calmly. The old man smiled and took a couple steps toward Link.

Link took a step back, fearing that his welcome had just run out. The old man, Artemis, began to move his hands and created a glowing ball of energy in the palm of his hand. He smirked at Link and hurled the ball in his direction. Link tried to dodge, but wasn't fast enough. The ball hit him square in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. Pain surged though his body and he fell to his knees, his breathing ragged.

Artemis backed away and exited the room. Once he was gone, Elincia came forward. Kneeling down in front of him, she smiled as she spoke.

"That was a silence charm, in case you didn't know," she said, "Can't have you using magic to get out of here, now can we?"

"W-why?" Link asked, coughing weakly.

"You'll find that out soon enough, but for now I think that it would be best to wait. Dinner is in a couple hours and I expect to see you there."

Elincia stood and exited the room, locking the door behind her. Link sat there on the floor, trying to control his breathing. What did Elincia want with him anyway? He never got the chance to think about it much. The world blacked out around him and he passed out in the middle of the floor.

Ike had been wandering around the castle for what felt like hours. He was trying to find the room where they had taken Link and so far was unsuccessful in his search. No one was willing to tell him anything and he was starting to get frustrated. Walking down one of the larger corridors, he spotted Elincia walking toward him.

"Have you seen Link anywhere?" Ike asked.

"No, I haven't. I told the guards to get him a room and get him situated but I never found out where they took him. Why?" Elincia lied.

"Well I've been looking for him for hours and no one seems to know where he is. Either that or they know and they just don't want to tell me."

"Oh, well let me know if you find him. I have something that I want to talk to him about."

"I will. I will see you at dinner tonight."

"Will do. I'll see you tonight," said Elincia. She bid him farewell and headed down the corridor, smiling as she went.

Ike continued down the hall, looking in every door that he came to. Finally, he came to a door that wouldn't open. He tugged on the knob again trying to pry it open. Ike eventually gave up and pulled out a master key. He inserted the key in the hole and unlocked the door with a click. He pushed the door open and gasped.

Link was lying on his side on the floor, unconscious. Ike ran to him, flipped him over and put an ear to Link's chest. He was still breathing and his pulse was still regular. Ike picked him up off the floor and brought him to the bed. He set him down and covered him up. He stared at Link for a moment, then, turning on his heel, headed out the door, relocking it behind him.

He was walking rather briskly down the hall. His mind was going in 100 different places at once. Ike hardly noticed when he turned the corner and hit someone. His attention snapped back and he saw Titania in front of him, adjusting a headband she happened to be wearing.

"You really should learn to watch where you are going, Ike," she scolded, "You could end up running into so many people that they will have to give you your own hallway just to keep from bumping into you."

"That's really funny, Titania. Listen, you haven't seen Elincia have you?" Ike asked.

"I last saw her heading down to the dinner hall. Why?"

"Because I think that there may be someone in the castle out to get Link. I found him in a locked room unconscious on the floor."

Titania's eyes widened. "That's terrible! He hasn't even been here for a half hour and he's already had someone attack him. That is not good on our record of hospitality."

"I know. First, those stupid bandits gang up on him, and now this. I thought it was just some idiot trying to make some money off of foreign slave trade, but something's up," Ike mumbled.

"Wait. You said bandits were cornering him. Did you find out what they wanted with him or did they refuse to tell?"

"They told me that someone was offering a large amount of money for his capture, but they never told me who or why."

"Interesting…" Titania trailed off. She put a hand to her chin as she always did when she was thinking. She stared blankly at the floor as she tried to piece the puzzle together. Ike began to think as well, trying to fill in the blanks in the story. The two of them stood in the hall for several minutes until someone else came around the corner. It was Marcia, one of the princess's knights.

"Good evening Ike. Titania," she said in her bubbly voice.

"Hello, Marcia," Titania acknowledged her. Marcia noticed the puzzled looks on their faces and couldn't help but become curious.

"What are you guys up to? You look as if you're trying to solve a riddle or something," she said.

"We kind of are," Ike told her. "You haven't seen or heard anything unusual today have you?"

"No. The weirdest thing that happened today was you coming back from some mission that nobody knew about with a random, but very handsome stranger," Marcia said bluntly.

"Good to know," Ike said flatly. "Well, if you see Elincia, tell her that I need to talk to her, alright?"

"You got it," Marcia replied.

"I'll see you guys at dinner then," said Ike, turning around.

"Where are you going?" Titania asked.

"I'm gonna see if I can get Link to wake up. I'll see you soon," he said as he walked. Ike rounded the corner and was out of sight.

Marcia turned to Titania with a confused look on her face. "Why does Link need waking up? It hasn't even been an hour," Marcia asked.

"We think that someone is out to get him. He was unconscious when Ike found him," Titania replied.

"Well, that's not good."

"No it isn't but we'll just have to keep our eyes open for anything odd. But for now, how about we go get ready for dinner?" Titania turned around and walked off in the direction of her room, Marcia following a few steps behind.

Ike was back at the door to the room that he had left Link in. Pulling out his master key, he tried to open the door. The door wouldn't budge.

Ike began to panic. He tried pushing the door with all his weight. He pounded on the door with his fist, creating a loud booming sound.

"Link, are you in there?!" he called urgently. He didn't receive a reply. He pounded on the door again, silently hoping that someone would answer.

He called again, "Link, can you hear me?!" Again, no reply. Ike was loosing it. In a last resort, he kicked the door.

The door swung wide open, sending a chair that head been placed against the door flying into a wall. The chair hit the wall and shattered with a crash. Link, who was standing in the middle of the room, jumped when Ike kicked the door in.

Link had all of his gear on the floor in front of him. He had been strapping his weapons on when Ike had begun pounding on the door. Ike approached him slowly, trying not to scare his new blonde friend. Link didn't seem to like that Ike was coming closer to him. He drew a dagger out of his boot, holding it ready to strike.

"Link, what are you doing?" Ike asked surprised.

"I'm leaving. And don't you try to stop me!" Link replied.

"But I thought you were going to stay for a while. Why are you leaving?"

"Because I don't want to be attacked again. I can't believe that I didn't see it when your Princess was acting so strange," Link hissed.

"What are you talking about?" Ike asked, taking another step toward Link.

"Don't pretend like you don't know!" Link yelled, "Your Princess was the one who attacked me the second time. She put a Silence charm on me. I can't use magic to get away, but that's the least of my problems."

"Elincia attacked you?" Ike was shocked.

"Yeah, I don't know why she wants me here, but I'm not going to stick around long enough to find out."

"Link, I had no idea…"

"I'm not falling for it, Ike. I trusted you. I've had people break my trust before and dealing with it never gets any easier. I don't want to put up with it this time," Link said, quieting down.

"I'm sorry, Link," Ike began, "If you want to leave, then I won't stop you, but I was hoping that you would stick around to give me some information."

"I don't know if I can trust you or anyone from this strange country," Link said, lowering his dagger slightly.

"I promise I won't hurt you. And I will do everything I can to help you, you have my word," Ike promised raising his right hand.

Link smiled. He put his dagger back in his boot and approached Ike. He stuck his hand out and waited. Ike smiled back, grasping Link's hand.

"Thank you," Link said quietly.

Ike and Link walked to the dinner hall in silence, Link dreading the thought of being stuck in a room filled with unusual people. Ike had reassured him that he wouldn't let Elincia get too close to him, making Link relax just a bit more.

The two of them had changed into something a little more appropriate for a formal dinner. Ike had traded out his mercenary uniform for a navy blue tunic with white trimming. He had removed his cape and replaced it with a silver sash that wrapped around his waist. He had also donned a pair of white pants and black boots. He was still wearing his headband, but had changed the color to a darker blue to match.

Link had changed out of his green hero's tunic and had replaced it with another softer green dress shirt. He was still wearing his white pants with brown boots, but had added a brown belt with a gold buckle. He had left his blue earrings in, making them stand out against the color scheme of his outfit.

Ike opened the door to the dining hall and led Link to their places just to the right of Titania. A hawk laguz took the place next to Link. He introduced himself as Shinon, the Hawk King's archer. Intrigued, Link began asking the strange laguz questions about his heritage, and homeland. They even got around to exchanging archery tips.

Finally, Elincia stood, banging a spoon on the side of her glass. After grabbing the attention of everyone in the room, she began to speak.

"I would like to thank everyone for coming tonight. You may all be wondering why I have called a formal dinner tonight. Well, I was just trying to make our new guest, Link, feel welcome. I would like it if you all got around to saying hello to him once you got the chance," she called to those in the room.

Make me feel welcome? If anything, she's trying to embarrass me, Link thought. Link could feel the tips of his pointed ears going red as she continued to address him. Link felt all eyes in the room turn to him as she spoke, but he kept his eyes fixed on her, trying to block out the prying eyes of those around him.

"Now, I would like to introduce you all to someone who has made a very big influence in my life…" Elincia continued. She turned to the double doors behind her, and waited.

Link felt the air in the room suddenly get cold. The torches placed around the room flickered and went out, sending the room into near total darkness. The doors slowly swung open, creaking softly. Black fog crept in from the open doors, hovering idly around Link's ankles. He stood up, his eyes still fixed on the door. Soon, everyone in the room was standing and following Link's gaze to the open doors.

Out of the darkness, a shadow could be seen coming through the doors. The figure was tall and was wearing a black cloak. The hood on the cloak hid his eyes, but the hard line that was his mouth could just barely be seen through the shadows.

"Thank you for the introduction, Elincia. I am honored to be addressed as such," he said calmly. He pulled the hood to his cloak down, revealing cold black eyes. His skin was pasty white and smooth as marble. His dark eyes raked over the tense crowd, examining each and every face. Finally, he smiled, showing off pearly white teeth.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Shade. And I'm sorry to say that I'm not going to be here for long," he began.

"Too bad. I was kinda hoping to get to know this guy," Shinon whispered sarcastically next to Link. Link chuckled at his comment as Shade continued.

"Some of you may be wondering why I'm even doing dropping by here if I'm not going to hang around for long. Well, all I'm doing is dropping by to pick up some things. And they're in this room…"

"Unless he wants some food, he really has no business here," Shinon whispered.

"If you were wise, you might not want to piss me off, you half-hawk freak," Shade snapped, glaring at Shinon.

Shinon looked taken aback by the newcomer's brash comment, but didn't reply. Link turned to face the strange man in black again.

"You have no right to mock Shinon! Insult one, and you insult all!!" the Hawk King yelled from the other end of the table. The other hawk laguz yelled in agreement, thrusting their fists in the air.

"Oh, dear…" Shade said, unconcerned. He turned to Elincia, "It seems that I have made a bad impression on your subjects. I guess I'll just grab my things and go."

"Yeah, you'd better if you want to live to see next week!" a random laguz called from down the table.

Shade chuckled deep in his throat. Link shivered, the sound of the man's deep laugh sending chills down his spine.

"Alright then," Shade continued, "I'll just take my things and leave."

Shade raised his pale hands, holding them out in front of him with the palms facing down. The table, which stretched about 90 feet, lifted off the ground and floated above all the heads in the room. Suddenly, Shade jerked his hands to the side, flinging the table across the room and through the enormous windows lining the east wall. The glass shattered, creating a gaping hole in the wall.

Link's mouth dropped open. This man had lifted and hurled a solid wood table through a window. He doubted that even Ganondorf had the control to accomplish that.

People were screaming. Maids and servants were fleeing in terror while the mercenaries prepared for battle. Not many of the mercenaries had come ready for battle. At the best, about half of them had small knifes hidden on their person. Link was among those few.

The young Hylian drew the dagger he had pulled on Ike out of his boot. He slipped silently into the darkness surrounding the mayhem, moving swiftly around the room to stand behind Shade.

The dark man didn't seem to notice the young man standing behind him. Link prepared himself to thrust the dagger into the man's heart, when Shade glanced over his shoulder. His dark eyes pierced into Link's, making the blonde freeze up. Shade brought a hand up to the side of Link's face, stroking it.

Link shivered. Shade's touch was as cold as his eyes.

Elincia came into view beside the dark man. She was smiling. Bringing his hand away from Link's face, Shade smacked the dagger from Link's hand, and turned to Elincia. He looked at her with a look that was probably as close to 'loving' as this horrible creature could muster.

"You were right. I'm so very proud of you," he said softly, his voice somehow carrying over all the noise in the room.

Elincia blushed. "I knew you would be pleased."

"I am. You must have gone through a lot of trouble to get him here."

"Actually, no. But how about I go with you and I can tell you the whole story? Seeing as everybody knows that I'm with you now, I can't really stay here."

"Of course. I would love to have the pleasure of your company for a while."

Elincia looked beyond happy. She couldn't stop smiling even when Shade turned away from her and back to the confused Hylian hero. Shade brought his hand up to Link's forehead. The tips of his finger hovered about an inch from Link's face. A bright light flashed from Shade's palm, blinding Link.

Link began to feel dizzy. The sensation grew worse with each passing minute. Eventually, it grew to be too much and Link passed out on the floor. The noise and color faded from around him as the world sank into a soundless, black void. Link felt arms under him, picking him up, just before he lost consciousness.

Here's Chapter 1!!! Depending on any responses I get will determine if I continue this or not. So if you liked it, or hated it, comment on it so I can adjust accordingly. (For all you stupid people out there, that last sentence means "Comment on the story!! NOW!!)