I tapped my foot impatiently as I glared at the clock. "Where is he?!" I demanded. The clock only ticked in answer and I felt a growl building in the bottom of my throat. "He had better have a good explanation this time."

The door was suddenly thrown open and Dark Link - who I affectionately call, Shadow - stepped into the room, throwing his hat to the side lazily. He lifted his hand for a moment in greeting and to completely brush off my glare as he fell onto the couch. "You're still up?" he asked with a glare.

"Where have you been?! You promised me we'd go somewhere and enjoy ourselves for once. You even said you wouldn't kill anyone. What is so important that you can just shove me to the side like some broken toy?" I stomped angrily over to him and gave him a good shove. "If you're going to laze about, at least have the decency to crash in your bed. I don't want to see you for the rest of the morning. I'll bet anything you were going after Link again weren't you?"

"It's my job. And when did you get to be such a nag anyway?!" He finally got up and stormed out of the room with me following behind.

"A nag? Is that all I am to you? I stay here all day, taking the heat from Ganondorf for everything you do and you honestly think you have the right to insult me? Just who do you think you are?" I snapped in annoyance.

"I think I'm Dark Link. I don't know anymore though. The Dark Link everyone knows is a strong, independent warrior, not some deadbeat who has to put up with someone like you all day!" He threw his sword, still in its scabbard, to the side and leaned against the wall. "Look, I've had a hard day. Just let me get some sleep."

"That's just the problem, Shadow." I shook my head. "You don't leave for just a few hours. You go for days on end and it worries me. It's nearly six thirty, the sun's almost up and I was starting to think you wouldn't come home. You left at two thirty in the morning…yesterday." I walked back into the living room and found Dark Link close behind.

"If it helps, I was just on a killing spree. I needed to settle my blood lust. I could have just as easily stayed here and killed you, but I didn't. I chose to take out my issues on someone else for a change. Any better?" he asked with an expression that clearly showed he only wanted to get out of another argument.

"You went off on another massacre after you swore you would never do it again, and you want to know if that's any better?" I asked incredulously only to receive a nod in return. "I can't handle this right now. Just go to bed; you look awful. We'll talk after you've gotten some sleep."

The next morning Dark Link came out, not bothering to do anything about his mess of hair or bloody tunic. He glared at me and asked, "How can you be such a morning person?" He groggily grabbed his sword and fastened it to the belt stretching across his chest so that it hung neatly on his back. I tossed him his hat after he eyed it wearily for a moment. "Worthless woman. You can't throw to save even a worm's useless life." Despite his continuous complaints, he pulled the hat over the unruly mass of inky black and I noticed a small tear near the tip. "Where's my breakfast?!"

"It's three in the afternoon and you're demanding breakfast?" I went to start cooking anyway, because I knew he'd do something stupid and violent if I didn't. I really couldn't afford any more broken dishes at the moment. "I stitched up your spare tunics and even your hat. At the very least change before you go."

"You don't want me to stay here?" he asked with a smirk.

"You say that like you actually would. I wish you'd spend one day, just one day here. We don't even have to stay here. We'll go wherever you want. I don't care. I'll even let you fight Link. I'll have to hold Zelda off, but I'd do it." I said exasperated.

"Alright. Put those dishes away. I'll go change and we'll go somewhere. Just you and me. I won't cause trouble today, and I'll even pretend I can tolerate the people we pass. I promise." He smiled slightly and I called after him as he walked silently to his room, telling him to do something about his hair too. He glared at me and said, "You're pushing it, woman!"

"Men," I said, rolling my eyes. I put away the dishes as I was instructed and tried to remember why I allowed him to stay with me in the first place. It might be worth it though, to have just one day of peace with him. "Let me know when you're ready."

He emerged some time later, looking somewhat presentable in his clean clothes. He still wore his sword though, causing me to mumble a few incoherent words regarding his paranoia. I handed him his shield before he had the chance to start yelling for it. We made it out the door without any problems. This changed immediately however when a familiar voice filled the air.

"Hey!" The ball of blue light darted back and forth and I could see what was coming next. "Look!" Navi turned yellow and circled us, waiting to catch Link's attention. I silently prayed that he would just ignore her as he often did these days. He looked over when he caught up and waved cheerfully.

"Hi, Link," I called as I waved back. I glared at Dark Link when he raised his hand to the hilt of his black replica of the Master Sword. "No problems, Shadow. You promised." Things were fine for a few minutes, but a caravan passed by and I could see that murderous look in his eyes. "No!" I tried in vain to pull his hand from his sword, but he drew it from its sheath. "You promised," I said in a warning tone. He glanced at me with an evil smirk that widened into a broad and much more sinister smile before charging off. I saw Link shake his head as he drew his own sword. That jerk promised.

Link and his darker half clashed swords in a deadly dance that I had seen multiple times. The hero never lost. His darkness never died. I would have to take care of all the repairs, console the families of the people he slaughtered, and hold off Ganondorf when he began threatening to banish Dark Link to the shadowy realm from which he originally came. I looked to Navi who was shouting cheers to the undefeated Hero of Time and shook my head. What was I thinking? When did I make the horrible mistake of trading my happiness for this? Blood, suffering, and a satanic blood lusting creation who would likely grow bored of me and decapitate me for the fun of it. Was it really worth it? Shaking my head and knowing that I was crazy, I simply smiled with a light laugh and admitted, "He may be more trouble than he's worth, but I suppose I still love him."