Dreams, Monsters, and an Attractive Hero on a Horse

Disclaimer: I would love to claim all the characters for myself, but I don't think I could get away with it. Oh and the title….well I'm bad at titles. It fits, I guess.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1

I guess things were as normal as they could've been, given the circumstances. Hyrule wasn't exactly sure what to do with itself. When Ganondorf was destroyed, no one knew what to do. Sure, good was reigning once more, but how were things supposed to be rebuilt?

The King and Queen were dead, and had been since Ganondorf had killed them seven years ago. Zelda was the only royalty left, and she'd been in hiding so long that most believer her to be dead as well. Was she capable to rule? I didn't know. Maybe Link did. He knew her better than anyone else.

My life was rather unaffected by this whole mess. Ingo almost managed to steal our ranch, but Link quickly put an end to that. We deliver our milk to Kakariko Village now, rather than the Market, but that would be changing back to normal soon.

It'd only been a month since Ganon's defeat. The castle and market were slowly being rebuilt. Things in the market were…well, I was about to found out, as I had a delivery run there that afternoon, my first there since the fall of Ganon. Should be interesting.

I began preparing for my trip for to the market by hitching up my horse (Merel) to our cart, yelling a goodbye towards my father, and setting out into Hyrule field.

It wasn't a long trip - twenty minutes, tops. That's one advantage for delivering to the market - it's closer than Kakariko. I pulled (or rather, Merel pulled) the cart through the revamped street. Sure, the buildings weren't finished yet, but I was glad to see the bridge had been repaired, and the street was cleared from rubble.

"It's this way to the castle, Merel," I said softly. She understood (I do have a way with horses). We headed up the winding road towards our destination.

It was almost complete, but not quite. Directly after Ganon's fall, the castle had been the first building on which to begin construction. There was some rubble still surrounding it, though.

During my view of these newly renovated surroundings, I noticed a familiar face, connected to a familiar body, sitting against a rock that hadn't been moved yet.

"Link!" I exclaimed. He looked up at the sound of my voice, and smiled. I hopped off of Merel and ran up to hug him.

"How have you been?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I've been trying to help rebuild this city, but I'm not much of a carpenter."

I laughed. "Jeez I haven't seen you in…"

"A month," he finished. "Since - "

His voice trailed off, but I knew what he meant. Right after the fall of Ganon, Link came to Lon Lon Ranch for a week to rest, away from all of the people falling over themselves to congratulate him. We'd grown very close then, but he had to go back to the castle to help….

And so I didn't see him for the next four weeks.

Until now.

"I missed you," I said, "I don't have anyone to talk to around the ranch anymore."

"Other than Ingo," he grinned wickedly. Yes, Ingo had reformed his ways, but he still wasn't much for conversation.

"I'd rather talk to the cuccos."

At this point, I should mention something.

Since I first met Link when he was just a boy, clothed in a green tunic, trailed by a fairy, trying desperately to save the world…I've loved him. I don't know what it's like to love anyone else, and don't try to change my mind because it won't work. I knew he'd probably end up with Zelda (the rumors about them together were everywhere) but I still knew I could love no other.

Laugh. I dare you.

"So have you been staying here?" I asked.

"Not really…" his face grew distant. "I've been sleeping under the stars mostly, I don't want to go back to the forest, really…"

Why did I have to bring that up? Of course he didn't want to go back to the forest! Without Navi, Saria, or the Deku Tree, how could he stand it?

Maybe a different aspect of the question would work. "Have you thought about Kakariko Village, or the area just outside the market?"

"I'm not close with anyone there, though…"

Was he hinting at something? I was almost afraid to do what I did next, but I couldn't help it.

"You could stay at the ranch."

His face was pensive. "But what if anyone needs me at the castle?"

'Anyone.' I figured that meant Zelda. He had it bad for her, I could tell.

Maybe he can tell that I like him…

I quickly dismissed that line of thought. "You're only about twenty minutes away from the castle!" I tried to reason with him.

He shrugged. "But they still need me here…"

Rejection was never so bitter. I tried to hide it though. "Oh well, I can understand that." When you know, I didn't understand at all. Unless he had it as bad for her as I had it for him. "Well, I've got to make this delivery…"

"Can I ride with you?" he asked, suddenly seeming more interested.

Great, he was pitying me. "Sure."