"Goddesses, Link, where are you taking me? What is all of this secrecy for?" she giggled. Link didn't say anything, continuing to gently guide her through the gardens with one hand holding hers and the other resting on her back. Zelda had been blind since they left her rooms inside the castle, her vision clouded by his hat tied over her eyes. He had taken her down several flights of stairs, through a few halls, and now somewhere outside in the castle's courtyard. Which courtyard, the princess was unsure. Link's roundabout meandering through the halls had left her with a sneaking suspicion that he was trying to disorient her, and she had let it happen.

"Stop here." He lifted his hands away from her, leaving her totally stranded in darkness. "Wait one second." She could hear him step away and adjust a few things in front of her. Then his hands were back on her.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Of course I'm ready!" Zelda cried, reaching up to the knot behind her head and starting to pick at it. "This is torture." Link smiled and batted her hand away from the knot to untie it himself. Even then he went slowly, both trying to avoid pulling her hair and teasing her more.

When he finally pulled the green cloth away with a grin, Zelda didn't react. Link's expectant face fell—didn't she like it? But as he watched her more, her scrunched-up face relaxed more and more until her eyes adjusted and she could see the spread in front of her. Her anticipatory smile grew into a full-blown expression of delight. The picnic on the grass wasn't big or fancy. Link might have saved Hyrule, but odd jobs didn't pay much and he was saving up his rupees for a rainy day. But with the little money he had, he'd prepared one of the most wonderful-looking meals the Princess had ever seen.

There was a pitcher of water with a slice of a lemon in it and two mismatched glasses, a little bowl of strawberries and a plate with some tiny, sloppy sandwiches. It looked like he'd home-baked the muffins, and the flower-like shape they were arranged in was littered with crumbs. Best of all, right in the middle of the patchwork blanket was a tin pail—probably a feeding bucket—filled to the brim with wildflowers.

Zelda laughed in delight and grabbed the boy next to her in a hug, turning her head to kiss him on the cheek.

"It's wonderful, Link!" He smiled.

"I was worried it wouldn't be enough. I know I'm pulling you away from your normal lunch with the food made from your cooks and stuff, but I tried to make it worth it." She shook her head.

"Trust me, this is way better than that." She took a few steps closer so that they were standing on the blanket and pulled Link down beside her.

"So you forgive me after all?" He sounded so happy about it, and Zelda felt a pang of guilt.

The previous morning he had walked in on a meeting between the Princess and one of the many men that came to court her. This man, Prince Vandel, was one of her favorites at the moment. Honestly, he was the only one she could stand to be around. Link had come in just as Vandel touched his lips to Zelda's. He was normally a quiet guy, not only in his reluctance to speak but in the way he moved, and he easily could have slipped out without either of the royals knowing he had been there. But instead of shaking off his shock and respectfully giving them privacy, he had only managed to stand in the doorframe with a stricken expression on his face. And instead of maintaining his usual silence, he had made a little choking sound. Vandel and Zelda had pulled back from one another abruptly and snapped their heads toward the door in unison with identical expressions of worry. The Princess was not supposed to be kissing one of her courters, and if it was a maid or a guard they would be in trouble. Instead, there was only Link. Vandel had relaxed immediately, but to Zelda, seeing Link there had been worse than seeing a maid.

The Hero had mouthed Zelda's name as she slowly rose from her chair. He could hardly process what he'd seen… Zelda, his childhood friend, doing that? That was for grown-ups! Though, she had sort of become a grown-up since his adventure. She was taller now, and her chest had filled out. A few years ago she had started wearing a proper corset, and she had all the curves. Her hair wasn't as fluffy any more, instead more silky, and her ruddy freckled face had smoothed into a creamy complexion. He hadn't really noticed until then; he had never thought of her as being a woman. As being more than just his Zelda.

As she had stalked toward him, though, he was noticing. He was suddenly realizing that she wasn't a little girl any more, and that she wouldn't be his Zelda any more unless he did something about it. But he couldn't say anything. He could only make another noise.

"Link," she had growled, "what are you doing here? This is a private room for the royal family and their guests."

He had always been allowed up here before! The king had known him since he was four, he was practically a member of the royal family! "I—I—" he stammered.

"Leave." He didn't move. What was she saying? Did she want him to leave the room or leave the floor or leave the castle? "Get out, Link." She glowered, her face turning a little pink, and Link stepped back out of the door. He knew that expression all too well. It meant 'get out of my way.'

And then she had slammed the door in his face, almost clipping his nose and leaving him out there alone. He heard her apologize softly as she returned to Vandel and ask where they had been when he interrupted.

He assumed that they'd kissed.

"Oh, Link, of course I do!" Zelda cried in the present. She drummed her fingers a little on her jam jar water glass. "I could never stay mad at you for very long. You're one of my only friends, and easily my best friend."

Link nodded and licked his lips. He wanted... he wanted to… to try… what they had done.

"I am only sorry that I was so rude to you. There was no way you could have known we were in there," she continued. Link scooched a little closer to her.

"Maybe I could ask my father for some funding to make signs. They could read 'Do Not Disturb' and we could place them on all of the doors in the castle." He closed the gap between them even more, only leaving a couple inches. She seemed oblivious.

"What do you think, Link? I can't see it being much of an—" She turned her head to look at him and was interrupted by Link's lips on hers. They had been nose to nose, and he had taken the opportunity. He could feel a rush of air past his skin as Zelda breathed in sharply, but he didn't release her. Not until he had engraved every part of this into his memories.

She still looked a little stunned when he let her go. "Link," she breathed, her face and voice unreadable. Link ducked his head in guilt and shame and started to pack up the picnic. It was supposed to have been a show of friendship, not a chance to show her why he'd reacted the way he did to her and Vandel.

"Don't hate me for saying no…"