Don't Leave

Hallo, everybody, this is a birthday present for my friend Nightcharm (happy birthday banana girl!). Hope you enjoy!

By the way, I can't tell if Ilia's hair is blonde or brown, so I'm just going to go with what I see, which is blonde.

Link woke up to the sound of someone knocking on his door. He slowly got up from his bed, groaning when he felt the stiff bones crack. He made his way to the door, yawning as he pulled the door open. The brunette blinked as he realized who was standing there.

"Good morning Rusl. What brings you here today?" asked Link.

The middle-aged man spoke. "Actually, I was wondering if you'd be up for a short trip."

"Sure," said Link. "Where to?"

"Well, seeing as the sword I made for the royal family mysteriously went missing," Link bowed his head and nervously bit his lip, "I've made another one. And I want you to deliver to the castle."

"Alright, I'll do it. When should I set out?" asked Link.

"The trip shouldn't take too long, so I'd say…early afternoon," said Rusl.

"Fine with me," said Link. As Rusl turned to leave, Link said, "Thanks for letting me go. I really didn't get much time to enjoy the scenery the last time I…went out."

"Hey, it's no problem. Besides, we all owe you thanks for getting rid of those monsters," said Rusl.

Link smiled. He wondered what would happen if he told Rusl that he was a "monster" at one time.

"So," said Rusl, snapping Link out of his thoughts, "I'll drop off the sword at around midday. That alright with you, Link?"

"Yeah, that's fine," said Link. "I'll be here, waiting."

"Good, good. I'll be putting some finishing touches on the sword if you need anything," said Rusl. "I'll see you later."

Link closed the door as Rusl climbed down the ladder. Unbeknownst to either of them though, there had been a figure in the shadows who had heard every word of their conversation.

Link walked towards the spring, looking for any sign of his childhood friend…or his horse. He had found her missing from her usual spot next to his house, so he knew that Epona was with Ilia. She usually was.

When Link got to the gate of the spring though, he found it to be tightly shut. He reached out and grabbed the wooden poles, giving them a good shake. They hardly budged.

Looking farther out into the spring, he saw Ilia brushing his horse's mane. He shouted out to her, "Ilia? Ilia!"

The blonde turned towards Link. "What is it?"

The ranch hand turned hero thought he detected a hint of hostility in his friend's voice. Shaking it off as a figment of his imagination, he said, "Could you let me in? Please?"

Ilia kept her eyes on Link for a second before she turned back towards Epona and shouted back at him, "You got in here once before, you can do it again!"

Frowning at Ilia's sudden change in behaviour, Link asked, concerned, "Ilia? Is something wrong?"

"Get in here and then I'll consider talking to you!"

Sighing, Link backtracked to find the secret passage into the spring. There was just no arguing with Ilia when she was like that.

"Ilia?" Link called out to his friend once he got through the opening.

She sighed. "I can't believe you found it this time. I thought I hid it really well, too."

Link laughed. "It was in the exact same place as last time, and it looked exactly the same, save for a few leaves and branches in front of it. Is that what you call hiding, Ilia?"

The blonde girl glared at Link. "It's not funny!" she snapped. "You know I'm bad at hiding things!"

Link frowned at Ilia's tone of voice. "Is there something wrong?" he asked her. "You're usually not like this."

"I'm fine."

"Did I do something wrong?" asked Link, concern evident in his voice.

"No, you didn't do anything. I'm fine," said Ilia.

"I did do something didn't I?" said Link. He walked closer to Ilia and grabbed her by the shoulders. "What did I do to make you so angry at me?"

Ilia jerked out of Link's grasp. "I'm not mad at you! I just need some alone time. Now go away! And take Epona with you," she thrust the reins into Link's hands, "I'm finished washing her."

Link was speechless. "Ilia, what – "

"I said go away!" she shouted. She proceeded to push Link away from her and turned to face away from him.

Link, still confused, started to walk away from Ilia, taking his horse with him. He had to stop, though, when he felt a warm pair of arms wrap themselves around him and a head rest itself on the back of his shoulder.

"Having second thoughts?" asked Link. He felt Ilia rapidly nod her head.

"Please don't go to the castle, Link," she said.

Link spun around to get a better look at Ilia. "How did you – "

"I overheard you and Rusl talking," she said sheepishly.

Link just stared at her.

"What? I was coming to wake you up, but then I saw Rusl at your door so I decided to wait for him to finish what he was there for before I went up there," explained Ilia.

"But then you heard that I was going away again and decided to take Epona so that I couldn't leave?" asked Link pointedly.

"No!" Ilia objected. "Well, it didn't start out that way. I was just going to wash Epona for your trip, but then I figured I could keep you from going if you didn't have her, so I hid the passage and locked the gate."

"Why didn't you want me to go?" asked Link curiously.

"Don't you remember what happened the last time you had to leave the village?"

Link's mind wandered off into dreamland as he brought up the memory of that fateful day. The rumbling, the sound of the flowery gate crashing open, the feeling of being knocked out cold. Link shuddered. Oh yes, he remembered that day very clearly.

Link was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of Ilia talking. "– happen again."

"Wait, what did you just say?"

"That I don't want what happened that day to happen again," said Ilia.

Link smiled. "Don't worry, it won't happen again."

Ilia looked up at Link. "How do you know?"

"I just know. Don't you trust my judgment?" asked Link.

Ilia slowly embraced him in another hug. "You know I do."

Link paused before he pulled away from Ilia. "Good. Now, I'm going to take Epona and saddle her up for the ride."

Link led Epona to the gate but was forced to stop when Ilia called out his name. He turned back towards her and said, "Yes?"

Ilia crossed her arms across her chest before saying, "You better come back. I'll never forgive you if you don't!"

Link chuckled to himself. "No need to worry about me, Ilia. I'll be back. I promise." He unlocked the gate and led Epona out, leaving Ilia alone in the spring to smile to herself.

And I am done! Yay! I hope you liked it, and please leave a review. Those are very helpful, and one of the things I live off of (not that I have a lot of them).

- Nectarine Nightshine