Link's POV

I put on my helmet and get on my motorcycle. It's a 30 minute drive to the prison which means I'll be gone for at least an hour. I better hurry. I don't want Malice staying here if it turns out that Ganon is actually hunting her down. She'd be better protected by the police at that point.

When I reach the gates of Zelda's driveway, they're already open and a car is about to enter the property. I'm guessing it's Dr. Hyrule. He must have come home early and now we're all busted.

On second thought, the car is too shabby to be his. Wary of who it might be, I block the path so the car can't pass by me. It stops right next to me and lowers the window. I'm expecting Ganon or his father, or even Karusa, but no, it's Kiroh.

"Yo," Kiroh says casually when I glare at him.

"Hey Link," Impa waves at me from the passenger seat. "Just dropping off Zelda's phone."

My eyes stay on Kiroh. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh..." he looks at Impa, then back at me. "Dropping off Zelda's phone?"

"No, what are you doing here?" I ask him.

Kiroh looks confused. "What do you mean? We're just here to drop off the phone. Like we told you last night."

There's literally no point in talking to him. Asking him questions is as much of a waste of time as asking that prison employee on the phone. I turn to Impa instead.

"Why'd you bring him?" I ask her.

She dips her eyebrows and squints at me. "Do we have a problem, Link?"

"Yes." I'm not gonna beat around the bush when Zelda's life is on the line. With Malice all drugged up and Ganon possibly on the loose, I can't risk one of Ganondorf's pigs just walking into the house like that. I will give him the benefit of the doubt once all of this is over and we know we're safe. Until then he's guilty until proven innocent.

"Judgemental much?" Impa snaps at me. I'm glad my bike is in the way of Kiroh's car. He'll have to run me over to get to Malice and Zelda. "We're literally just dropping off her phone. Don't be such a dick."

I stretch out my arm and open my palm. "I'll give her the phone."

"You're being an ass," Impa says but places the phone in my hand.

I agree with her, but I have priorities and protecting Zelda will always come first. I'd rather be an asshole than a gullible idiot who's girlfriend gets hurt because he was trying to be the nice guy. I was stupid enough to let Malice in who tried to stab Zelda this morning. I'm not making the same mistake with Kiroh.

I offer Impa a compromise. "You can go in but Kiroh has to wait outside." Or I'll have to pat him down or something but that will only make them more angry.

"Bro, it's not even your house!" Impa huffs. "Zelda doesn't have a problem with Kiroh. She already met him."

Wish Zelda would've told me about that but I'm not gonna focus on that right now.

I lean closer to the car, closer to Kiroh. "I have no problem with him. I have a problem with his friends."

I look directly at him to see his reaction. Even though he's been quiet, he looks like he wants to say something. But he chooses not to. Wise choice.

"You wouldn't happen to know if Ganon got released from prison, would you?" I ask him but he shakes his head. "Do you know if he got out any other way? Maybe he broke out or something?" Kiroh shakes his head again. "So to your knowledge, Ganon is still in prison?"

Kiroh doesn't break eye contact. He's controlling his anger and replies slowly. "I don't know anything about that, Link." The way he says my name bugs the hell out of me but I don't show it. "I have no business with Ganon," he adds.

I hold his stare for a few seconds to decide if he's lying or not. It's hard to tell though. He looks kinda pissed but he doesn't look dangerous.

"Well, as long as I don't know if Ganon is still locked up, nobody is getting in or out of the house."

"Why?" Impa is on alert now. "What's going on, Link? Is Zelda okay?"

I don't think it's a good idea to tell Impa that Malice is staying at the house. They hate each other, and knowing Impa's temper she'd be the one who ends up running me over with the car to get into the house. If there is a person out there who's more protective of Zelda than me, it's Impa for sure.

It's best if she doesn't know. At least for now. The only reason I even considered telling her is because Kiroh might be a threat to her.

"Link!" Impa snaps me out of my thoughts. I know she won't leave without an answer. Not only is she as overprotective as me, but she's also as stubborn as Zelda.

"It's the lawsuit, Impa," I say. "We shouldn't even be discussing it in front of Kiroh, but him being here could really affect how it all goes down." That's not even a lie. I think that any relationship between the Hyrule's and Lorule's could be bad for the case.

"What? For real?" Impa asks. I think she's considering leaving now.

"Yeah." I look at Kiroh. "I don't have a problem with you, Kiroh. You just can't be here right now because you are associated with Lorule. Got it?"

"Shit, sorry man." He lowers his head, ashamed for being associated with that school.

"It's best if you guys leave before Cado gets suspicious," I say.

"Cado is the one who opened the gate for me," Impa says.

"Yeah and I bet you didn't tell him you're bringing a Boar with you."

"Don't call him that."

"I'm just saying. You're gonna affect the lawsuit if you don't leave right now."

Impa doesn't take time to think this over and I'm glad she doesn't. Not only is she overprotective and stubborn, but she's also impulsive.

She sighs, falls back in her seat, sighs again, and tells Kiroh to back up the car.

I take a breath of relief. I don't stick around for long after they drive off. After the gate is closed behind me and Kiroh's car is out of sight, I start driving down the hill.

Time to pay Ganon a visit.

Zelda's POV

I've been watching Malice as if we were in a staring contest, though her eyes are still shut. I feel like I haven't blinked since I sat down next to the bed.

I left the door open–wide open. It's my escape route if things go south again.

Malice hasn't moved in the past hour and something tells me she isn't going to for the next couple of hours. Still, I won't take my eyes off of her. I won't take any chances. I won't let anyone else get hurt again.

Link's POV

I park my bike but I don't get off yet. I take a moment to look at the prison from the outside. It's a weird feeling being so close to a building full of the worst people. And somewhere in those walls is the person I hate more than anyone else. At least I hope he's somewhere in there.

Even though I feel kinda strange about doing this, I can't sit here and waste time. I can't overthink. I want to get back to Zelda's house and help her with the whole Malice situation. I hate that we had to get Mipha involved, and I'll try my best not to get anyone else involved. Impa is lucky that I pushed her away from all this. Especially with her already having a record, she really shouldn't be involved in anything illegal.

As soon as I step through the iron gates of the prison, I focus on the mission, and not the clang of metal when the gates close behind me or the fact that I'm now in a cold, gray concrete cube, sealed off from the outside world.

I head toward the reception area. It smells like disinfectant in here, and other than the echoing footsteps of guards, it's pretty quiet too.

The officer behind the desk looks stern and sort of bored and even though he clearly heard me come in, he hasn't looked up from his computer screen.

"Excuse me," I clear my throat and he very slowly starts looking up at me through the glass window. "I'm here to visit an inmate." I already know they won't let me visit Ganon just like that but maybe they'll confirm that he's here without me having to ask.

The officer is already looking at me suspiciously and hesitates to give me any information. "Alright, let me check the visitor list. What's the inmate's name?"

"Ganon. We go way back," I say, which isn't a lie, so it's not my fault when the officer completely misunderstands what I mean by that.

"You're a friend of his?"

I almost want to gag when I say, "Yeah, we used to be tight." I'll do anything to keep Zelda safe, even if it means I have to pretend to be Ganon's bro.

For the first time, the man takes an actual look at me. I hope he doesn't recognize me from the news... "What's your name, kid?"

"Karusa Valley," I say. It's the only name I know for sure will be on the visitor list.

He stops typing. He moves the mouse left and right, clicks around a couple of times, starts typing again, hits enter, and looks back at me. "May I see an ID?"

"Uh..." I pretend to search my pockets. "Shoot."

"A driver's license will do."

"I must have left it at home." The guy doesn't show a reaction. "Is it absolutely necessary?"

He sighs and leans on the desk. "I'm sorry, Mr. Valley, but it is. Prison regulations require all visitors to present a valid ID for security purposes."

I sigh. "Okay, I understand." But I need to be sure. "If I come back with my ID, I can visit Ganon, right? He'll still be here later today?" I ask and he looks at me like I'm crazy.

"What do you mean?" He asks. I must be the first person to come in here and ask if a prisoner will still be here in a few hours. I can't blame him for eying me suspiciously.

"I mean... He's currently in custody, correct?"

Now the man just looks at me like I'm wasting his time. "I can't give out that information," he says firmly. "If you want to visit an inmate, you'll need to go through the proper channels and follow the visitor registration process."

I'm getting PTSD from that phone call earlier. It's the same goddamn line. But I stay calm and friendly. "Noted. But he's definitely still an inmate here, right?"

"Without an ID, I can't confirm or deny that information."

"I just need to know if he's here."

"As I said. Without an ID, I can't give out any information."

"Okay but... I don't want to waste my time, you know? I don't want to go all the way home, grab my ID, and come back for nothing. You know?" But he doesn't know. He doesn't care. So here goes Plan B. "What about new visitors? How long does it take to get on the list?" I don't think I'd get approved but it's worth a shot I guess.

He sighs annoyed. "The process of getting on an inmate's visitor list can take a few days to several weeks. The person would need to go through an application, background check and approval review by the prison staff. Once approved, the visitor will be notified and can schedule a visit within the designated visitation hours and days."

A few weeks? Jeez, I just need to know if he's here or not!

"Okay, can you just confirm whether or not I am on the visitor list?"

A few more clicks on his mouse before he looks at me again and nods. "Yes, Mr. Valley, looks like you were approved yesterday. So go home, check the visitation schedule, make an appointment, and come back with a valid ID."

I clench my jaw but force a smile. "Alright, thank you."

Looks like I'm gonna have to go with Plan C.

Shit. I really wish I didn't have to go with Plan C...