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Zelda, Impa, and Salvatore waited for news about Zale’s condition. Zelda sat in her chair with her legs crossed at the ankles. Even though she wore commoner garb, she looked regal. Impa was pacing the floor, hating the hopeless feeling that tied her stomach in knots. Salvatore held his head in his hands, his breathing shallow.

“Link and Lila have been gone for a long time,” Zelda said suddenly. Impa and Salvatore looked at her. “I hope everything’s okay.”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Salvatore asked.

“Those two get into fights easily,” Impa said.

“That’s right,” Zelda said. “There’s no telling what trouble they may have gotten into.” She stood up but Salvatore stopped her.

“There’s no point looking for them,” he said. “They didn’t say where they were going. They might come back before you find them.”

Zelda sat down again and sighed. “I suppose you’re right. But if they don’t come back soon, I will go looking for them.”

The silence dragged on again. Impa resumed her pacing, and Salvatore took up his position once more. Zelda began tapping her foot.

Finally, Link appeared. Alone. He had a strange smile on his face. Zelda shot out of her chair to greet him.

“Where have you been? Where’s Lila?” Zelda demanded.

Link’s features changed slightly and his hair grew to Lila’s length.

“I’m here,” said the voice of Lila.

Then she shifted back to Link.

“We’re both here,” Link’s voice said.

Zelda and the others gaped at the strange figure, not comprehending.

The form of Link spread his arms. “We are LiLink. Rova helped us reach our highest potential. Now we don’t have to fight over the Master Sword.”

Zelda grit her teeth. “No, you just have a body to fight over. How is this better?”

“Wo don’t fight over our body,” Lila said.

Link said, “As we said, Rova helped us. We know when it’s our turn to come out.”

Zelda’s fingers dug into her palms. “This isn’t right. You aren’t yourself.”

“Do you know that Rova is two beings in one?” Link revealed. “They can do it, so can we.”

Zelda shook her head. “Lila, what about your marriage to King Zale?”

“That’s not as important as protecting the kingdom.”

“Not as… now I know you’re not yourself. How could you possibly say that after all you’ve been through with him? You two were made for each other!”

“The kingdom comes first–”

“If you break the king’s heart, I’ll break you,” Impa said. Her stance was one of ready to fight. “Change yourselves back!”

“That can’t happen,” LiLink said. “We are as we are, and the kingdom will be better for it.”

“I’m going to talk to Rova,” Zelda said as she walked toward the door.

LiLink stopped her with a firm grip. “You can’t speak to her right now.”

“Why not?” Zelda huffed. She tried to break her arm free but LiLink only squeezed harder. “You’re hurting me, Link.”

“We told you, we are LiLink!” They shoved Zelda away from them. She looked at them with sorrowful, shocked eyes.

Just then, the nurse entered the room through the second doorway. Salvatore and Impa looked at him, but Zelda and LiLink continued staring at one another.

The nurse announced, “King Zale is stable. He will wake up soon.”

“That’s a relief,” Salvatore sighed.

“Can we see him?” Impa asked, relaxing.

“Yes, but please be quiet,” the nurse said. “He needs his rest.”

Salvatore followed the nurse. Impa touched Zelda on the arm and said, “Come on, he’ll want to see us.”

Zelda tore her eyes from LiLink and followed Impa. LiLink took up the rear. They took the form of Lila, a calm look on their face.

The nurse led them to a private room where Zale slept restfully. It was a bit crowded with all of them there, but they were given time to be with the king. The doctors and nurses left them alone. Salvatore sealed the room so they could talk privately.

Since no one else took up the position, Impa sat next to the bed and held Zale’s hand. She felt strange, knowing Lila should be there instead of her. But LiLink stood rigidly next to Salvatore, indifferent to the situation.

No one spoke. No one felt the need to break the stillness. All eyes were on Zale, although Zelda occasionally glanced at LiLink. The strange person seemed like a doll, a puppet. No emotions showed on their face. Even the eyes were dull, lifeless. Not at all like the Link or Lila she knew. She had to figure out a way to get them back to normal.

After a short while, Zale started to stir. He had large bandages covering his right arm and shoulder. There was no sign of blood. The nurses must have cleaned him up well. His face was a bit pale, though. He made noises in his throat as though trying to groan. Finally, his eyes flickered open. He didn’t register anything at first. Then he turned his head to see Impa.

“Impa?” Zale whispered. A surge of panic swept through him. “Where’s Lila?”

“Here,” LiLink said. They smiled but it didn’t reach their eyes.

Zale looked up with an effort, but his eyes were blurry. “Lila?” he puffed. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” He closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing.

Zelda turned to Salvatore and whispered, “He’s too weak to learn about Lila and Link. We should leave him.”

“What was that?” Zale asked weakly.

LiLink heard Zelda and cut her off. “We have exciting news. Link and I have joined forces. We are now one entity called LiLink.”

Zale scrunched his forehead. His wounds ached. “What do you mean? You’re a team?”

“No,” Zelda cried. “They have joined bodies! They are no longer themselves. I wanted to keep this from you until you recovered a little.”

Zale looked around the room, trying to understand. He saw Salvatore, Zelda, Lila, and Link–no, wait, There was just one of them. But which one?

LiLink said, “We have done this to better protect the kingdom. Rova can help you and Zelda do the same.”

“Never!” Zelda gasped.

“Let’s not discuss this now,” Impa said. She still held Zale’s left hand. She could see his breathing becoming more labored.

“No,” Zale said, “I need to understand. Rova merged Lila and Link into one body?”

“That is correct,” Zelda said haughtily.

“And you’re suggesting that Zelda and I do the same?”

“Of course,” LiLink said. “For the good of the kingdom.”

Zale felt lightheaded. He tried to grasp the implications of what they were telling him.

Zelda helped by saying, “They are not themselves. There is something wrong with them now that they’re joined.”

“We are better, more focused,” LiLink said. “We no longer fight over petty squabbles.”

Zelda brought out the biggest objection. “Lila doesn’t want to marry you anymore.”

Zale’s breath caught. He took a moment to process. He shuddered. “You-you can’t mean that,” he choked out.

“It’s for the good of the kingdom,” LiLink insisted.

The room was silent.

Tears formed in Zale’s eyes. He couldn’t breathe properly. His heart was breaking. His world was breaking.

“You need to leave!” Impa burst out.

“Lila… no…” Zale whimpered. He held out a hand for her, but she just stared back at him. All of the spark was gone from her eyes.

Impa stood up and shouted, “Leave, now!”

Salvatore opened the door and shoved LiLink out.

“I’ll go, too,” Zelda said quietly and left.

“I’ll guard the door,” Salvatore said.

And then it was just Impa and Zale, the latter of whom started weeping softly. Impa smoothed his hair and made shushing noises.

“Lila, my Lila. What has Rova done to you?”