Hello, all! I decided to do a sequel to A Blossoming Love, so here it is. And although it is not necessary to read the first story to understand this one, I highly recommend it, so that I don't have to go into too much background in every chapter.

Anyway, without further ado, here is the sequel!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series, in whole or in part.

"See, Evelina, this is where Daddy lived when he was a kid," I told my three-month-old daughter. I certainly didn't expect her to pay any attention, much less answer. But she kept her bright blue eyes riveted on me as I spoke, and cooed and smiled once I finished.

I tickled her, eliciting a giggle. Then I set her down in the bassinet that had been specially made for her for when she travels with me. My husband and I had come to the Kokiri Forest to visit for awhile.

Link had been busy for the last several months as head commander of the knights, while I had been performing my diplomatic duties as Princess of Hyrule and taking care of our daughter, who has been an absolute blessing to us since I gave birth on our eight-month wedding anniversary. While I have to admit that sometimes she takes away from my personal time, I love and adore her very much, and I'm enjoying being a mother so much that right after she was born, I happily bid good-bye to my "old" life.

One thing I have been missing, however, is my alone time with my husband. We're often apart for days at a time, while he's out on some adventure, and I'm meeting with ambassadors from neighboring kingdoms. And even when someone else is caring for Evelina, Link and I are so exhausted from all our duties that much of the time when we're alone with each other, we just want to sleep.

As Evelina and I stayed in the treehouse, Link met with one of my fellow sages, Saria. He had said it was important business, and he'd be back by late afternoon. As the hours ticked away, with Evelina sleeping most of the time, I sat on the bed and stared out the window, wondering if our little "vacation" would prove to be more work than anything.

On a whim, I swaddled Evelina in blankets to protect her from the chill of the early Spring air, putting on a coat myself. I scooped her up and carried her out of the treehouse with me, carefully descending the ladder. I crossed the forest and rounded a bend, stopping before what was once the Great Deku Tree.

I sat down in the clearing, cradling a sleepy Evelina and humming a lullaby. After she fell asleep, I kissed her forehead. I remained sitting there for a little while, thinking about how much things had changed in the last year. I started out as a princess destined to rule a great kingdom, but weighed down by my royal duties and a secret love for my protector. Now, here I am, married to that secret love, and raising our child together. And I had succeeded in sealing away Ganon once again, hopefully for good this time.

I heard a twig snap behind me and turned to see who was there, instinctively clutching Evelina closer.

"Darn, I was hoping to surprise you," Link said.

I smiled warmly at him as he came over, sitting next to me and kissing me. I handed Evelina to him, and he kissed her forehead, then stared down at her.

"She's so beautiful, just like her mom," he sighed.

I blushed profusely as he continued to cradle her in his arms. He was such a wonderful father, and although his knighthood often means he doesn't get to spend much time with her, he loves and adores our daughter as much as I do. And if she's awake when he's around, she's often staring up at him, smiling, laughing, and cooing happily. In fact, she hardly cries at all when at least one of us is around.

I pulled my coat closer as a gentle breeze began to blow through the trees surrounding the clearing. As Link continued to hold Evelina, I watched them happily, but I could sense that Link felt something was missing.

Eleven months before, while Link and I were on our honeymoon in the Kokiri Forest, we were at this very spot when the spirit of his mother appeared before us, speaking to us temporarily. She had known I was pregnant with Evelina even before I told Link, and it was after she disappeared that I told him. So although he's happy to have learned that night that he would be a father, and we're both happy to have seen his deceased mother, I know he's still eclipsed with sadness. Especially now, because both of us are around for Evelina. And she's already a few months old, while Link was orphaned when he was only a few weeks old.

I reached over and squeezed Link's hand, and he looked at me, tears in his eyes. He handed Evelina back to me and excused himself for a moment. Even though he succeeded in distancing himself a bit, I could tell he was crying, and could feel my own eyes tearing up. As if sensing our sadness, Evelina woke up and started to cry, too.

"Oh, no, little one, don't cry," I soothed, rocking her. Ignoring his sadness, Link was at my side in a flash; he removed the Ocarina of Time from his pocket and began playing the lullaby I'd hummed earlier. It had been handed down through my family for generations.

Evelina immediately calmed down, staring up at me with her big blue eyes. I gave her a kiss, and she giggled, which immediately cheered up both Link and myself.

Coming to this place is always a bit depressing, particularly for Link. His father and mother were both killed during a great war, but his mother managed to bring him here before perishing from her injuries. Link doesn't know very much about either of them; he was raised as a Kokiri, and it wasn't until he had to take on the massive task of saving Hyrule from Ganondorf that he learned he's a Hylian. He always knew something was different about him, but when Saria was raising him, she worried that he was too young to understand.

My own mother died only a few days after my birth. I was a breech birth, and although my nursemaid and fellow sage, Impa, and the other midwives did what they could, they could not stop her hemorrhaging. She was comatose for two or three days before the blood loss became too great; despite a transfusion, she was too weak and lost the fight to live.

As a result, despite our very different childhoods, Link and I are forever bonded by the loss of our mothers soon after we were born. I think that, even though we've both come to accept that our mothers made the ultimate sacrifice to bring us into the world, we feel guilty for their deaths. I know that's a big reason why we agreed while I was carrying Evelina that both of us would be responsible for raising her, instead of relying on a nursemaid, as is the tradition in the royal family.

I looked down at Evelina, once again asleep in my arms. Link sat back down next to me and held me close.

"I love the two of you so much," he whispered. "I only wish that my mother and father could've met Evelina, and your mother, too."

"Well, I'm sure they're all smiling down on us right now, my love," I whispered back.

I could not ignore the sadness filling me at that moment. As I looked in Link's eyes, I could see and feel the pain in his heart. If only he had some family somewhere. Even a distant relative. Just someone. If only I could make a search...

Link gingerly squeezed my hand, snapping me out of my thoughts. It was getting chillier, so he insisted that the three of us make our way back to the treehouse. He stood up, and I passed him our daughter so I, too, could get up. We made our way back into the forest, but suddenly bypassed the treehouse and went in the direction of Saria's house.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see," was all Link would say.

We arrived at Saria's, and she welcomed us into her home, hugging us warmly. She then bent over and kissed our daughter's forehead, causing her to stir slightly, but without waking.

"Saria offered to watch Evelina for the night," Link explained.

"But her things-"

"I already brought them over," he added.

"But...I don't know if we should leave her here overnight."

"It's really no problem, Zelda," Saria insisted. "You know I love to take care of her."

"And it's only for one night," Link said. "We can come get her first thing in the morning, then head back to the castle."

"I suppose," I finally agreed.

Link and I thanked Saria. I offered to come back in a couple hours to put Evelina to bed, but Link and Saria would hear nothing of it.

When we got back to the treehouse, Link told me to wait outside before ascending the ladder. I stood there, admiring the beautiful colors of the evening sky as the Sun finally dipped below the horizon.

After several minutes, Link at last opened the door and called for me. I eagerly climbed up the ladder, wondering what he had up his sleeve. My answer came as soon as I got into the treehouse.

I looked around and marveled at the scene. There were fresh flowers and candles scattered about the room, just like on our honeymoon. But this time, the candles were lit, and there were rose petals on the floor, making a path to the bed, upon which Link was sitting.

"Come here, my love," he whispered.

I ignored the urge to run to him, making my way over slowly, my eyes locked on him the entire time. He grinned seductively, and I could see his eyes gleaming in the candlelight.

I sat on the bed next to him, and he immediately took me in his arms and laid me back on the bed. I became lost in his heated kisses and his warm embrace. He stopped for a moment to stare into my eyes.

"See why I asked Saria to watch Evelina?" he smiled.

"I'm glad you did," I smiled back.

Link removed my coat and tossed it aside, then began to kiss my neck. I giggled at the feeling of his lips, my hands removing his cap, allowing my fingers to tangle in his golden hair.

Link stopped to look at me again. "Promise me something," he said.

"What?"

"That tonight will be all about us, my beautiful wife. I want our worries to go away, if only until the sunrise. I want to take in all of you, to show you just how much I love you. For one night, I don't want us to be Sir Link and Princess Zelda, or Mommy and Daddy. I want us to be Link and Zelda, husband and wife."

"I promise," I readily agreed.

Link locked eyes with me as his hands flew to my dress, untying the laces on the bodice. As he worked on that, I eagerly slid my hands under his tunic, causing him to groan. He sat up, and I lifted his tunic over his head, throwing it onto a chair.

"I love you so much, Zelda," he murmured once we were completely revealed to each other.

We slid under the covers, and he took me in his arms. We spent the remainder of the night enjoying each other, sharing the most intimate of things and further sealing our already close bond.

Please review! Many thanks!