(Art by lundeanette - sorry I have no idea wha5 your Wattpad @ is ^^;)

As to why this chapter was so late... I'll explain at the end of it. I haven't been slacking off, so don't worry, but I still think you all deserve an explanation on what's been going on with me. But until then, please enjoy.

The mountain stilled itself after the Divine Beast ceased its racket. Like Ruta and Medoh, its cry shook me to the core, but I tried my best to stay brave despite it. At least this time it wasn't thousands of feet above ground, right? Continuously telling myself that, I turned to Link to ask him if he was ready to head into the City. However... When I saw his deep, almost sad frown as he gazed upon the volcanic mountain, I opted to ask a different question instead.

"Link?" I rested a gentle hand on his shoulder "Are you alright?"

He blinked himself out of his daze and looked down at my hand, his lips curling upwards when his eyes trailed up my arm to meet my gaze. He nodded slightly, "Yeah, I'm okay... I just had a feeling..."

"A feeling?"

"Yup..." He glanced back up at the volcano "Well, it was more deja vu... but it felt almost as if somebody really important is waiting for me up there..."

"Somebody important?" I echoed "Do you think it's the next Champion?"

Link shrugged "Could be. I guess we can't be sure if we stand around here, can we?"

"Nope, and we also run the risk of our fire protection running out." I motioned to our limited bottles of protective goop, my nose scrunched to further express my distaste for the stuff "I really hope we can find an alternative while we're here..."

"Ditto. When we're done here, I'd like to live life without seeing one of these potions ever again." An overly exaggerated groan was shared between us, when Link pointed ahead to the entrance of Goron City, which a not so heavily armed Goron guarded with some sort of heavy mining tool. "In the meantime though, we should do what we always do, and talk to the people to get a better idea of what that... Beast has been doing."

His hesitation to mention the mechanical creature did concern me, but I think I had a small theory of what was going on. Each Champion we saved earned a different reaction from him, once he remembered his relationship with them in the past. So... Whoever this Champion was, they almost definitely had a considerably large impact on this boy, for him to already be feeling connections to them... I really hope he'll be okay after we save them.

I wanted to make sure he knew he didn't have to do this alone.

Biting my lip, I reached down to lightly wrap my index finger around his while trying to tame my fast coming thoughts, hoping it was enough to show he wasn't going to be alone. Link looked down in surprise, and I turned my head further away to hide my glowing face and worried that I'd taken the wrong action. What if this hurt his—

His hand pulled away from mine, which made my chest lurch with guilt and sting with rejection. However, I wasn't left in that state for long, as soon my entire hand was encased by his.

"You don't mind, do you?" He asked quietly, not really looking at me, rather just past my face "I prefer it this way..."

Internally screaming!

"It's fine with me..." I muttered shyly, only just peering at him through my hair. He smiled softly and gave my hand a small squeeze.

"Would it be too much of an insult if I called you nice?"

"Yes." This time I looked at him directly, face morphing into a sarcastic deadpan "How dare you."

He let out a surprised but amused snort "Okay then! Not doing that."

Not bothering to prevent his contagious smile from infecting me, my lips quirked upwards at his mood improvement. Helping him keep his cool seemed like the least I could do; if this champion was important to him, he'll most definitely need someone to keep him on his feet. I owe that to him, after he helped me through Medoh when my acrophobia started kicking in.

They technically aren't the same thing, but still. I could at least try and lend a shoulder to lean on.

"Well then, me being 'nice' aside...." I coughed, still painfully aware of our connected hands "I think we should get a move on."

Link nodded and began to move towards the city, lightly tugging my hand as he did so. I followed closely behind and hoped to Hyrule's goddess he wouldn't turn around, as my face really wasn't all that calm right now. I hated how he made me feel, but... I also didn't.

Link probably has no idea I'm having a mental conflict about him right behind his back... My emotional suffering is probably unknown too.

Ughhhhhhhhhh, why do humans have to have feelings?!?!

While this was happening, Link had waltzed up to the nearby Goron guard, and coughed to get his attention. He turned around, eyes widening when seeing us standing in front of him.

"Whoa! Well lookie here..." he studied us while stroking his chin, before showing us a toothy grin "Welcome, Master Link!"

Our jaws dropped almost instantly. He knew Link?! Just how old was this guy?!!!

"H-How did you know?!" Link yelled out, which made the Goron frown for some reason.

"Uhhhh, what? What do ya mean?"

Wait. Huh?

"But..." I tilted my head "You just said—,"

"Actually, nevermind that!" He cut me off with a booming voice "What's important is that you guys made it here safely! You didn't get hit by those Magma bombs did ya??"

Link and I shared a confused glance. What exactly was going on here? He called Link by name, but he's acting like he's an absolute stranger now... did he know him or not?!

"U-Um, no." Link muttered "We managed to avoid them..."

The Goron grinned "Well that's good! To be honest, I'm kinda surprised to see two... Hylians? As small as you two, make it all the way up here..." He began to stare at me intensely "Umm... your..."

Here it comes.

Is what I thought, but suddenly Link's free hand reached over to cover my exposed ear "We don't talk about the ears, 'kay buddy?"

My cheeks heated up slightly. He was so quick to swoop in...

"R-Right! Sorry about that, little lady..." The Goron coughed, apologising for prying into things that weren't his business. "A-Anyway, let me explain myself. We haven't had many visitors since them magma bombs started raining from the sky. I'd be bored to tears if I didn't pass the time pretending to greet the Hylian Champion. Hehe..."

My face immediately fell into a deadpan, as did Link's. So that's what he was doing... he didn't even know he greeted the right person.

The Goron studied us again "You two seem lost. If ya didn't know, Link is the little Hylian that fought alongside the Goron Champion Daruk."

Link's interest seemed to pipe up at that, by quite a lot actually. His grip on my hand did tighten quite a bit, too. "Can... can you tell us more about the Champion? More specifically, about Daruk?"

My eyes travelled over to glance at the side of his face. Had that name sparked something inside his clouded mind? The Goron blinked, his large hand reaching up to scratch the top of his head "Uhh, gee, I personally don't know much about the guy, brother... but the boss definitely does!" He extended the same hand to point down the path into Goron City "Talk to him if you wanna hear more about the champions, he lives further in town. Can't miss 'im!"

We followed his finger, before nodding pretty much at the same time. It's funny that from the beginning we've been pretty much synchronised when it came to talking to others. However when it's just us two, we're as different as night and day. 

"Thank you, sir." I bowed my head slightly, which had him turning slightly red in embarrassment.

"N-No need, li'l missy!" He spoke dismissively "But I will say this, I recommend buying some flame resistant armour, if you're wanting to explore around here. It's only gonna get hotter."

"Noted." Link nodded, once again pulling me along by the hand as he waved back at the Goron in parting. "Heh, he got us good, huh? 'Welcome master Link'."

"Hehe, yeah," I smirked "Your jaw dropped so damn fast."

"Yours did too, y'know."

"You imagined it."

"Uh huh, sure I did."

I poked my tongue out at him, but said nothing else to argue about it. Instead, I decided to address his sudden act to defend my... honour? Yeah, we'll go with that. It did bother me slightly, anyway, and I did want to be more open about my feelings.

"Are they really that weird looking?"

"Are what weird looking?"

I pointed to my ear "These round boys."

"Not at all." He replied immediately. He was looking directly at me now, reaching up to push my hair away, exposing my hidden ear "I'll admit, they are different, but that's certainly not a bad thing. Besides," he pulled away to point at his own ear "I'll bet not many people have ears like these where you're from, right?"

I nodded.

"Exactly; we're as different to you, as you are to us. So who am I to judge?" He finished with a shrug "If you don't want people asking about your appearance, let them know, but don't get discouraged about it. I think you look just fine."

Uh oh. Stampede... right in the chest. This boy didn't come with a sweetness switch, did he?

"A simple 'no' would have sufficed, ya know..." I murmured, cheeks puffed "You didn't need to go into motivational speech mode."

Link rolled his eyes, but he was smirking "Yeah yeah, you loved it really."

"I did not!" I retorted, the pitch in my voice peaking with every word. At this rate, dogs would be able to understand me! In my flustered state, I changed my pace, so now it was me dragging Link through the city "You know what, whatever! The sooner we find this boss guy, the sooner we can— oof!"

Y'see, the thing about not looking where you're going is... you run the risk of walking right into angry rock people. Luckily for us - or, well, me... he was yelling to himself too much to actually realise what had occurred.

"THAT BLASTED RUDANIA!!"

I shrunk back nervously; I hated it when people yelled, even if it wasn't at me. Link noticed when my grip on his hand grew tighter, and he began to rub soft circles over the back of mine with his thumb. Though nervous himself, he bravely cleared his throat to get the angry Goron's attention. He turned to face us with a scowl, but Link stood tall before him.

"Is everything alright, sir?" He asked, making sure he was standing between me and the elderly Goron at least a little bit. The large man scanned us over with his one eye, as the other was hidden behind a rusty metal eyepatch, his large lips puckered in suspicion. After a minute, he pointed a large finger up to the volcano.

"Do ya see that nuisance up there, stompin' around? That hotheaded lizard is Vah Rudania. It's been stirrin' up trouble more than usual recently, and cuz of it, eruptions have gotten real bad!" His fists clenched at his sides "They say that 100 years ago, it protected us Gorons from harm... but that was then and this is now! Now it's just waltzin' around, messin' up our work! It's stoppin' us from mining and doing our damn jobs!"

Link turned to me with a wince, and I didn't blame him. This guy had it rough...

"I can't tell ya how many times we've had to use the cannon on that thing, to chase it off." He threw his hands up in frustration "But it always comes back, no matter what we do!!"

Crack.

The Goron's face twisted in pain when a loud crack emitted from his pack, forcing his movements to slow as he retracted his arms to nurse his sudden injury "Ugh... owowowow..."

"Ummm..." I peered out from behind Link "Are you okay?"

"Hmph... nothin to worry about, just some back pain..." he muttered grumpily as he turned to us again. Now that his anger had subsided, he seemed to have properly noticed our presence. "Wait a sec... who are you guys?"

Oh so now he acknowledges us.

"We're travelers." Link answered for both of us, as the Goron scratched his head.

"Travelers, eh?" We nodded "I see... so you came all this way to pay your respects to me? Hehe, I like you already, brothers!"

My eyes widened slightly. I've never been called a brother before.

"Well, my name's Bludo!" The Goron yelled out, now grinning "I'm the great Goron boss who's fearsome enough to silence a child's crying... or to make a silenced child cry. I guess it works either way. Yes! That's me!"

Link and I smiled awkwardly. Bludo seemed to take pride in his fearsome demeanour, which I suppose is admirable in its own way.

"So who exactly are you two?"

Link cleared his throat after realising an introduction goes both ways "Oh right, I'm Link!"

"Y/N." I joined, giving Bludo a sort of greeting salute. I was becoming less nervous around him now.

"Nice to meet ya!" Bludo exclaimed, holding a hand out to us. Link smiled obliviously and took it, only to have his tiny hand swallowed by the Goron's. And, by the way his eyes grew in size, and his lips pressed together to maintain a smile, I assumed the guy had a very strong grip. Eventually he let go and turned to me, obviously wanting to perform the same gesture. I looked over at Link; the poor boy was trying his best not to show pain... he was opening and closing his hand, probably to bring feeling back to it. Oh my god, are those tears?

No thank you.

"Uhhhh..." I raised my fist "how about a fistbump instead?" I questioned hopefully, leaving the man confused. However, he shrugged to himself and clenched his fist, bumping it against my own... hard.

Bad idea! Very bad idea!!

I bit down on my lip to hold back the high pitched shriek rising from my throat. It was like he shattered every bone in my hand from a single touch. Lowering my hand, I showed him a strained, teary eyed smile.

"So, uhhh..." Bludo, unaffected by either gestures, stroked his white beard "Where was I?"

Link momentarily looked up from his limp hand "You... were talking about Rudania and cannons..."

"Oh right!!!" He snapped his fingers "Yeah, uhh, ya kinda caught me during a tantrum... y'see, I was plannin' to drive Rudania away like I always do, but then my back started flairin' up outta nowhere... it's killin' me, I tell ya! I'm gonna pummel that Yunobo if he doesn't get here soon!!!"

"Who's Yunobo?" Link questioned.

"Eh? Oh, he's a young Goron that helps me with the cannons that drive of Rudania... he left some time ago to grab some painkillers, but he hasn't come back yet. I bet he's slackin' off somewhere..." he complained.

I subtly glanced over at my companion. I know where this is going. I sighed, which got Bludo's attention. Staring straight at him, I lifted up three fingers and began to mouth counting down 'Three... two... one...'

"We could help look for him." Link offered.

"There it is," I smirked semi-victoriously. I know Link; he's always willing to jump in and help others. Suppose that's what comes with the hero's spirit. Bludo frowned and looked between the two of us.

"Ya sure about that, brother?" He questioned "I mean, is your girlfriend okay with that?"

"We aren't a couple." Was our immediate, harmonious response. Shutting down assumptions of us dating was basically second nature by now...

"Oh, my bad." The Goron rubbed the back of his head "I kinda assumed, because... well, your hands..."

Confused, we looked down. What was wrong with our—

Oh crap, we've been holding hands this entire time!

We pulled away immediately, and acted like it never happened in the first place... well, we tried to. Our red faces just didn't seem to agree with us. I cleared my throat, which was kinda closed up due to embarrassment.

"I'm fine with it, sir. He- we like to help people when we're travelling." It wasn't exactly a lie; I had grown pretty accustomed to helping people with tasks, even though I tended to mind my own business in my world.

Bludo hummed in understanding. "Well, if ya do go lookin' for him, he'll likely be in the Abandoned mine up north. If you find him, let him know his boss is dyin' to see him back with those painkillers!!!" Just as he strained, another crack emitted from his back, making him groan in pain.

Link and I nodded, before turning to each other to discuss the plan "Do you think we have enough elixir time for this?" I questioned.

"I don't see why not," the boy answered with a shrug "One was enough to get us all the way up here, and we still have two left each, so we'll be fine."

"And if we aren't?"

"What do we usually do in a sticky situation?"

"Teleport— ohhhh, okay."

Link smirked, and beckoned me to follow him with his head as he began walking up the path north of Goron City. I did so, waving to Bludo as we walked on by. The pathway winded around the rocky cliffs that surrounded the city, and soon we found ourselves looking over it. It looked rather pretty from up here, with the gentle glow of the lava lighting it up. Course that stuff could still kill us, but still...

Speaking of things that could kill us.

"Octorok!" I yelled as soon as I noticed the octopus-like creature, who had seen us a few seconds before, and was currently sucking up air for an attack. Link and I jumped out of the way and pressed our backs against the stony cliff, just as the boulder it spat out exploded against the ground. Great, more magma bombs. Link tried to take action by grabbing his bow, but he was obviously forcing himself to draw an arrow, by the way his hands shook in their position, and how his lips stretched out into a grimace. The arrow was released, but just as the Octorok was about to be hit, it sunk back into the ground. This repeated a few times, however Link was still very much in pain. I lowered his hand, "Okay big guy, that's enough. This is my job for now, remember?"

He pouted "I know, I just don't like, ya know, not fighting."

"Hey, you can still help. Just not physically."

"That's basically doing nothing!!"

"Oh no!" I gasped, feigning a sympathetic frown for a moment, but then allowed it to fall into a deadpan "Cry about it." 

"Y/N!"

"Shush!" I pressed my index to his now pursed lips, and tapped my head with my other "I'm thinking..."

"That's dangerous." Link gently pushed my hand away with an eye roll, and I slapped him on the arm.

"Listen, we can't get close to that thing, can we?" He shook his head "And clearly it's a pro at dodging,"

"Unfortunately," he grumbled.

"So we need another way to attack it from afar, maybe something it can suck up..." I trailed off my words in thought.

"What if we—,"

"No, I am not yeeting you into its open mouth. You're small, but you're not that small."

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with my height!"

"Well apparently you have an explosive temper when it's mentioned—," I paused, "Wait, I got it!"

Link raised an eyebrow "Got what?""

I grinned "Explosions! We can make him suck up one of those Sheikah slate bombs!"

.

.

.

"You're crazy."

"No no no," I wagged a finger "I'm a genius. Slate, please."

Link rolled his eyes, but unclipped the Sheikah technology from his belt and placed it on my outstretched hand. Thanking him, I selected the bomb option and watched as the blue object materialised in my palm. Taking a breath, I jumped out of hiding, whistling to get the Octorok's attention. Almost immediately it began sucking in air, which gave me the chance to throw the bomb at it. Like expected, it swallowed it right up, and I quickly detonated it with the slate. And just like that, the thing was gone. Link came out of hiding soon after.

"You actually are a genius." He sounded surprised, but impressed as he walked over and kicked the burning Octorok remains off the path. I pouted, looking back at him.

"What, did you think I wasn't before?" He didn't answer, just looked away awkwardly which was answer enough for me. I scoffed "Nice to know you have faith in me."

"What? No that's not it at all," he was quick to rush to my side "It was just that particular idea was strange, I mean... blowing something up from the inside? I didn't even know if my bombs would dematerialise when that happened."

"It didn't though."

"I know, so that's why I'm now admitting you were right."

"You didn't need to think about it," I crossed my arms, turning my chin up "I'm always right."

Link's face fell into a deadpan "Okay, you know that's a lie."

"I can dream, Mr. Hero!"

A snort of amusement came from the boy, and I pocketed my hands in annoyance. Link and I followed the path in silence soon after, occasionally finding interest in rocks or a puddle of solidified lava. I'd say it was about five minutes until we came across the mine and another life form. A Goron in a yellow hard hat noticed our footsteps, turning towards us with a raised eyebrow.

"Whaaaat the?" He groaned "Yeesh! What's goin' on today?! So many peeeople out and about... Hylians no less."

I leaned back slightly in surprise. This guy had a slur that didn't sound like intoxication... but it was still highly noticeable. The Goron stared at us for a moment.

"You look kiiiiiinda bare there... you should know it only gets hotter past here, and there are looooots of monsters. It's reaaaaally dangerous."

"We... um..." I cleared my throat "We have elixirs, for now. We just came here to look for some kid called Yunobo. You know him?"

He raised an eyebrow "Why's a stranger like youuuuuuu askin' about Yunobo?"

"The big Boss man wanted him to come back."

"WHAAAAAAAT?! BOSS DOES?!"

Ow. Volume.

"Yes, boss does— why am I the only one talking right now—," I spun around to face Link, only to freeze when seeing his wide eyed expression. I knew what that meant, and therefore turned back to the Goron "Umm, okay he's gonna be like that for awhile, so can we hold this conversation for five minutes? He's probably gonna want to hear what you have to say about Yunobo."

"Uhhhhhh—,"

"Great, thanks!"

—-

"Ugh!"

Two groans of disgust came from behind the hero, as he effortlessly swung a sledgehammer into a sparkling ore. He looked over his shoulder at Utall and Y/N, who had taken yet another fireproof elixir each.

"Why didn't we get the armour??" Utall complained, leaning back against the rock he sat on. Azal, who had been stuffing their discovered gems into bags after studying them for value, turned to the younger knight with a small frown.

"It restricts movement, Utall," he told him, handing him a rag to wipe his sweat "It would make mining more difficult for you."

"Why are we mining in the first place?" Y/N spoke up as she stood, and stretched her arms over her head "I know this isn't for the princess, she hates people getting expensive gifts for her. And gems are definitely expensive."

Utall paused his conversation with Azal to send her a look of confusion "How do you know that?"

She smiled awkwardly "I... kinda heard it in passing conversation? She was ranting to her maids... again."

"That... actually does sound like the princess. She does rant to the captain a lot, and in return he tells her about his—,"

"Assuming you don't want to run three laps around the castle," Link cut him off, straightening and leaning on the handle of his hammer "You would refrain from finishing that sentence."

"Y-Yes sir!"

Y/N looked between the castle guard and Hylian champion, eyebrows raised. However she only shrugged it off and leaned against the wall next to Link "Well anyway, how is protecting the princess going? I mean, is she any closer to unlocking her sacred powers - or whatever they are?"

Link pursed his lips together. Zelda had only recently travelled to the spring of courage to pray, and had left it practically in tears... he wished he could offer her advice, or at least a little bit of closure that her powers would find her. When voicing his concerns, the girl frowned.

"...Link, what did you think about when you ventured to find that sword on your back?"

The boy was genuinely taken aback "What... Do you mean?"

"As in what were your motives? Did you think that you yourself could lift the sword, or did you only do it because it was expected of you?" She asked, confusing him further. Even Azal and Utall seemed confused by her sudden questions.

"I... I guess I've always wanted to protect the kingdom any way I can, even when I was just a boy," Link spoke softly, even slightly bashfully as he stared at the ground "I never knew the reason, but I always felt like I could do more than protect the castle as a knight. I wanted to protect everyone, and if becoming the hero was the way to do that, I wanted to at least try." He looked back at his sword "I don't know why, but I wouldn't let myself doubt it either... I truly believed I could lift the sword. And I did..."

Y/N smiled and nodded. She looked away from him momentarily, and instead stared up at the volcano above them "Just as I thought..."

"Why do you ask, anyway?"

"It's just a thought, but... the princess goes to the goddess a lot, seeking help from her and praying for guidance, because she believes that's how she'll get answers."

"What's your point?"

"My point is, she believes in Hylia, but she's not believing in herself." Everyone went silent after she said that "She has a lot of pressure put on her by those with high expectations. It's only natural, she is a princess after all. But really, she tends to forget herself in all her frustration, and she seems to forget where her powers will come from too. How can a Goddess thrive if she isn't believed in, especially by herself." The girl glanced back at the three boys with her, only to see them staring at her, as if she had said something extremely motivational.

"If that was true," Azal spoke up, probably on behalf of everyone listening "How do we help her believe?"

Y/N sighed and scratched her head "Y'see, I'm good at picking up on problems, but I'm not as good at solving them..." Utall's ears noticeably drooped at that, but she continued "However... hypothetically speaking... I doubt she's able to believe in herself if she feels like the entire kingdom is against her..."

Link frowned at that. 'The entire kingdom is against her'... that sounded familiar. Like it was from another conversation, a conversation about... a little thief.

"If I'm honest, I think people around the princess just need to show that she's more than just a necessity. She's under a lot of pressure, so support and reassurance might actually go a long way... words might not even be needed, an ear to rant into might be enough. Of course, I don't know princess Zelda well, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but... she's trying the best she can, and she should be made aware that it's appreciated. It might not help her with her powers, but it might help her believe in herself, so she can explore other ways to unlock them- other than turning to the goddess." She explained calmly, arms folded.

Treat her... like she's more than a necessity...

All of a sudden, Link dropped his sledgehammer and grabbed Y/N's shoulders.

"You are a genius!" He exclaimed, a rare, beaming smile stretched across his face, shocking the girl it was aimed at. The Hylian champion of the sword was smiling. She was only more shocked when he leaned forward and practically slapped his lips onto her cheek, only to bolt in the other direction, leaving the others. Y/N stood frozen for a moment, a hand pressed against her kissed cheek.

"Umm," she turned to her two guards. "That was very un-Link of him, right? It's not just m—,"

She stopped when noticing their mischievous smirks.

"Ohhh, things are getting steamy..." Utall chortled, empathising his statement by licking his finger and pressing it against a warm rock, causing it to sizzle and emit steam. Y/N forgot to hide her blush, and out of embarrassment she almost chucked her spear at him. However Azal was quick to step in and grab hold of the shaft.

"Calm down there, tomato face," he was still smirking despite his act as peacekeeper. The girl huffed and pushed away from him and pivoted to walk away.

"Whatever..."

"Oh and by the way," the knight called out to her, "The gems are for you, from the captain, just so you know. You can give them to your family during our next visit."

She was glad she had turned away before the boys could see how red she'd become, and therefore laugh at her.

'He... does know I hate gifts too, right?'

She didn't know whether she hated Link, or loved him at that moment for making her feel this way.

In the meantime Link was already speeding down the mountain, Y/N's words dancing through his mind. It was strange; she was the only voice he could here clearly behind he screaming concerns and responsibilities... It was like she could solve any problem he had...

Except one, for he didn't quite know what problem it was...

But it definitely had something to do with his heart.

—-

Link gasped awake, but as soon as he did, his face exploded with colour. His hand was over his mouth, and he was muttering things inaudible for me as I just stared at him. The Goron turned to me for enlightenment, but I honestly could not give any at this time. Cautiously I approached, and lay a hand on his arm.

"Link? You okay buddy?"

"I think my past self was extremely oblivious to non-fighting interactions..." he spoke flatly.

"Uhhhhh, what?"

The boy sighed and waved a dismissive hand "Nevermind, what were you guys saying?"

"Ummm..." The Goron pursed his lips together as he studied Link. Of course, it was odd to see someone just stand frozen in front of you for a long period of time, but honestly. Did he not know staring is rude? He cleared his throat "O-Oh right! Weeeeeell, if boss is lookin' for him, I guess I better tell you wheeeeeere he is."

"I mean," I turned back to him with my arms folded, ignoring Link's odd reaction for now "That's the information we said we needed."

He rolled his eyes and pointed over his shoulder with his thumb "Yeaaaaaaaah yeah, no need to get impatient... the kid went to the vault, but now that I think about it, I suppooooooose he never came back... this place gets reaaaaaaally dangerous at night too... even though it's already dangerous in the day! I'd be careful if I were youuuuuu."

Link was quick to turn to me, concern evident on his face. I knew what he was thinking, it was possible Yunobo was in some sort of danger right now, we had no time to stay and chat.

Link and I made our decision quickly, and therefore dashed past the Goron towards the mine "We'll be fine, but thanks!"

We heard him yell after us, but wouldn't stop for it "W-Waiiiiiiiit, if you're going out there, don't you daaaaaaaare touch Boss's cannons, they're daaaaaaangerous!!!"

"Cannons?' Link glanced over his shoulder momentarily "Why would we even want to use cannons?"

I shrugged "Dunno, but, we can't worry about that now. We got a rock child to save."

"Right!"

Okay, so, explanation time.

You know how I've been saying college work had been getting in the way of me writing this book? Well, that's only part of what's been going on, and it's a little more serious than just overdue coursework.

And to clarify, this IS a very serious topic.

Now, before any of you get worried or upset, right now I'm completely fine, and it's being made sure that I stay okay and secure until this situation blows over.

Also no, I do not have the coronavirus.

So, how do I say this.... well. You know how in the chapter 'without your influence', Kory appeared all of a sudden, and charmed the reader with kindness and gifts in the form of knowledge, and as soon as he had her right where he wanted her he showed his true colours?

Yeah, I've been in a similar situation. For the past two years in fact.

Now, this person is no killer, or kidnapper, and he's caused no physical harm to anyone. But he is a manipulator and mental abuser. Just after my parents split, He entered the lives of me, my sister, and my mother, and earned our trust. When he had it, he slowly changed from someone I could trust, to a control freak who basically dominated and changed my entire lifestyle to fit his liking. Let's just say after awhile he has complete control over the house, and we couldn't do anything about it because if we tried to stand up to him, he would throw a fit, and would somehow find anything to use against us and ultimately force us to back down. We were basically trapped mice. We couldn't win against him and his mind games, and we couldn't escape him. And this went on and on, without anyone knowing.

However, the evening of Thursday 12th of March, my sister and I finally snapped. We realised we couldn't live like this anymore. So we told our dad everything, and he told our stepmom, who decided it would be unwise and unsafe for us to stay in this condition any longer. I am only 18, and my sister is 15, and the fact we've been exposed to this kind of treatment is kinda scary to think about, to be honest.

I'm now permanently living with my dad, as is my sister. And my mum has been doing her best to protect us from afar, by making sure he doesn't know where we are. Honestly so much has happened in the past couple of days, and things are still happening.

So.... yeahhhhh. I'm kinda in a hectic situation right now.

I'm not saying this because i want pity, nor do I plan to use these events as a 'get out free' card. I just wanted you all to be aware of what's been going on. I trust you guys.

I love writing this book more than anything, and the fact that this has gotten in the way of that really upsets me, because they made me feel disheartened. But now that's over, and he's gone - hopefully for good. So hopefully after this blows over completely, and when I stop feeling guilty about something that wasn't my fault - yes I'm feeling guilty about all this... don't know why, can continue doing what I love so much. All I ask is that you be patient with me for the time being, and in return I'll try 10% harder to make this book happen. If this experience has told me anything, it's to not give up.

Well anyway I do have to get some rest now, so I hope this explanation isn't too vague for you. I thank you all for being the amazing people are, and for getting this story to 100k READS WTH!!!

Ahem.

Yeah, I'm kinda over the moon about that, and I do plan to do something special for it, but that's for another time.

But for now, stay safe you there everybody, and I'll see you all next time.

Bye!!!