Chapter 1 - Legends

Late Winter had come and brought warmer weathers along with it. The trees were starting to become green again, and there was hustle along the roads of Hyrule's Square as hadn't been in quite a while now. The settlement - located to the direct east of the Palace on the same side of the Zora River separating it from the fields - was the largest town in the Kingdom, even after the destruction that had befallen the lands three months prior. Most of the town that had undergone that devastation during the incidents involving the former King of Evil had been rebuilt over the months. While not back to its former glory in entirety, it was definitely shaping up to that previous position of prestige.

The entire Kingdom itself was looking better and better as time went on, and word had been sent that villages - such as Engleton which had been completely destroyed at the hands of the Evil King, Ganondorf - were also beginning to show much improvement. The land being reshaped and its settlements repaired, would more than likely see a total recovery very soon, but even still, more effort was needed to accomplish this.

It had been three months total since Ganondorf was dethroned, but because of his long reign of tyranny which had started at the hands of his father, it felt like it might have only been a few days or weeks to most. The Lon Lon Herald, a newspaper sent out weekly from a writer who was named Ezim, claimed that reports from travelers throughout the Kingdom were all at ease, but at the same time, completely busy with their efforts of reconstruction. Still, they were relieved to know what they now worked so hard on would at least pay off in full, instead of becoming stolen from them as it would were Ganondorf still upon the throne.

The Hylian Knights were also very busy with work, both aiding in construction around the Palace, as well as traveling to offer aide and bring items and supplies to villages when such things could be spared. The King of Hyrule had declared a formal state of emergency, which said that those in the position to give were expected to do so, and that any village which had been left untouched was to house and shelter those without homes until more could be done for them in the means of relocating, either back to their home towns, or simply to a new home altogether.

It also wasn't uncommon for the King to arrive with men at a village when more needed to be done to restore what was there. Through his help and personal interest, everyone began to feel much better about their work and their futures, which in turn ensured that the standard of the Kingdom was definitely returning more and more to normal.

The Royal Family had it's fair share of tasks to tackle in order to see to this as well. Reforming the Court System was one of those. Not many members of the Court had survived the previous rule, and as a result, new prospects had to be sought out. In the meantime, the King and Queen's power was absolute, though they made most of their decisions through trusted advisors that their citizens approved of, and one of the first plans of action to get Hyrule back on its feet again was to have their appointment of those advisors.

Myriad was one of those people appointed once again to the same position she'd held before. Along with her was Impa and Tenio, both formerly involved in the revolt led against Ganondorf. Tenio, the silver haired Hylian whom had a predilection for archery over swordplay, achieved the record of the youngest advisor to ever sit on the council. For this, Hadinaru rewarded him with land on which he could build his own home. With all of this in place, Tenio had found himself in a very good position with a promising future in order to offer a certain young lady who had captured his heart a ring with which to wed her.

Aside from Tenio, most members of the revolt had returned home in order to rebuild. Dorrel, who'd been one of the key leaders of them all, promised to take care of Bettaro's daughter, Kiama, while her father returned to the destroyed Engleton with the town's Councilman Olnor in order to start rebuilding it. Dorrel and Kiama stayed in Hyrule Town, and Dorrel agreed to take up the role of Councilman for the town before he returned to his own home with his daughter Alia.

Sure progress had definitely been made, and it was during these three months in which the two responsible for the Kingdom's return to light found themselves the most busy. Link and Zelda were both swamped with projects and tasks to take care of. For the two, it definitely helped to have their parents with them, all of it becoming worthwhile in light of that fact, though they did find it a little strange to adapt to their new lifestyles with everything around them that had actually changed.

Zelda was usually busy helping her parents make decisions, learning how things worked as a member of the Royal Family, and in turn, had begun to train under Impa's care once again in order to further her skills in the magic arts. On the other hand, Link did a good deal of traveling, though not constantly. He both stuck close to the Palace with the Knights, as well as delivered aide and supplies to villages in need of them with the rest of his comrade's help.

Because of these busy schedules, Link and Zelda didn't often find time to spend alone with one another, but whenever they had a chance to be together, they usually stuck pretty close in order to make up for the time away. Zelda told Link that if absence truly did make the heart grow fonder, then she was as fond of him as she could ever get. Link had to agree with that.

But their work was enjoyable. Link's father Lyonel was head of the Hylian Knights, and in being such a Knight, not to mention what everyone knew of his son anyway, Link had gotten a good bit of favor amongst his comrades. He'd become much better friends with Tenio over the course of the three months that had passed, and in doing so, they were usually found working together, though not solely. But when their tasks did get hard, they usually had one another's backs.

Tenio was the one who came across the discovery about Epona due to this. It had been a cold, rainy evening when a carriage had become stuck in the mud and the only two about to help drag the carriage from where it had been trapped were Link and Tenio. In order to free it, Link had to cut vines from the tires that had been hidden beneath the surface of the muddy water and wrapped around the wheels, and then help the horses to drag it out finally.

Tenio had taken Epona's reigns for him while he did this and being closer to her, he gave Link the notification. Link was a bit shocked, and wondered why he hadn't noticed, even though it was still early on, but he knew who the culprit was. Frost. Link could only wonder at the oddity that his and Zelda's horses would become parents together as Epona was approximately three to four months along in a pregnancy.

Link began riding Frost instead of Epona due to that, and Zelda seemed excited over the prospect of having a foal. It was one of the things that came along which made her own long days brighter. Having so much to study and learn after all did become a bit grueling after a while, so she made plans to keep the foal and raise it to keep as their own.

But with their busy schedules, it was needless to say that when free time came, both of them took it without question. Such an instance occurred one rainy day in late Winter, and Link found himself with an entire afternoon on his hands. As soon as he did, he knew exactly what he wanted to do with that time. Giving his Father the word that he would see him later, Link headed to the Palace to find his fiancee.

It was evening time in the library which, at that hour, was fairly devoid of people, but that made it much easier for browsing. Amidst the aisles were two young Hylians looking over the shelves of books together, spending that free time in each other's company until dinner.

"Where did that stool go?"

Standing there in a blue gown with white lace trim, Zelda looked to the left and then to the right, lifting a brow after she'd asked the question. There had been a stepping stool there just a moment beforehand, or was that on the next row? She pursed her lips and as she reached up to scratch her temple while she wondered, she heard Link asking her a question from where he stood behind her.

"Not sure, did you find the right book?"

"Yes," she nodded, and decided to try to reach it from where she was, standing on her tip toes and lifting her arm. Sighing when she wasn't tall enough, so she pointed at it and glanced back at him. Link stepped forward and reached for it when she gave him that imploring look for assistance, finding that, while he was much closer, it was still just out of his fingertips.

The both of them stood back down on the heels of their feet and let a few soft snickers because they knew that, were they someone else watching themselves, they would have been heavily amused over the sight. With a shake of his head, Link stood back and put his hands on her waist.

"Hold on, I can fix this."

She blinked her eyes in curiosity, then gasped slightly when she felt her feet leaving the floor. Link lifted her up so that she could reach for it herself, and regaining her composure, Zelda looked toward the shelf the book was on and managed to reach the top of it now, tipping it down and plucking it from its resting spot. "Got it!," she informed him, smiling as he lowered her back down to the floor and let go of her. Turning around to face him with appreciation in her eyes, she said properly, "Thank you, sir. Now I have all of the books I was looking for."

Link, smiling at her, replied with the phrase, "You're welcome, Your Highness. So, what are they, anyway, Zelda? Stories, or something you wanted to study?"

"Both," she informed him, holding three books wrapped in her arms as she turned to head from between the shelves of books with him, and he placed an arm over her shoulders as they went. Leaving those rows of organized reading materials, Zelda further explained, "One is a story about a Dragon named Boemith."

Link listened to the name, and something seemed to click in his head. Zelda glanced up at him to spy the curious look on his face. They walked toward the doors and stopped before he looked down at her and asked, "Boemith? That sounds familiar."

She smiled up at him, seeming happy for some reason he was unaware of yet, and explained, "I'm glad, I was wondering if you would remember. Alma used to tell us stories when we were little about the Dragon who fought to save a Kingdom while everyone truly believed dragons only wanted to destroy them."

"Oh!," he drew out suddenly as if it had all just hit him at once. Seeming to reminisce for a moment, he looked off into space and nodded his head, "I remember those stories. I always tried to ask her what the Dragon looked like and get her to describe it to me as thoroughly as possible, but I think in the end, she just wasn't sure, and so she made something up to appease me."

Zelda gave him a grin and nodded. "I wanted to find the actual books about him and see what they had to say. The other two books," she shrugged, "are just information on history and the royal family I wanted to look up."

Giving her a smile, turning to pull the door open for her, he knew she was busy with many things revolving around Hyrule and both its past as well as the family she was a part of. But while he opened the door, he sighed when a thought struck him. Zelda had walked past, but she heard the sound, and glanced back to see a not so pleasant expression upon his handsome face. Becoming immediately curious and stopping in her steps as they began to traverse the hallway just long enough for him to catch up and walk next to her again, she asked why he suddenly looked the way he did.

"What's wrong? Did you think of something you forgot to do?"

"Well, not really," Link replied. "I was just remembering Alma, and something I didn't want to see."

She watched him while they headed toward a stairwell at the end of the hallway, turning to go up the steps with him once they reached it. She couldn't help but wonder what it was he might've seen, so she asked, "What was that?"

"Nothing," Link shook his head, not really wanting to tell her about the hauntings he'd witnessed in the Dark Palace that had led him to see exactly what had become of the woman who'd raised them both when they were so very young. Apparently Alma had been beheaded in the dungeons, and Link added, "Just remembering Alma and the last we saw of her."

"Oh," Zelda drew out in response, thought she knew he was hiding something from her about it. Reaching the top landing on the floor where her quarters were located, she stayed silent over it for the time being, deciding that if he was hiding something, there'd be no use to ask him more of what it was until they'd reached her chambers. Once they'd gotten to the double doors down the hallway, Link pushed those open for her as well, letting her in first before he followed her.

He'd thought she'd just let it go, had covered up the fact that it was anything significant at all, but he realized all too soon that he'd forgotten about the cat's curiosity she possessed when he heard the question once they were in the room, "Then what was it that you saw?"

She couldn't help but ask, ever so curious over it, and spotted a place to set her books while she waited on his answer.

"I...," he started, shutting the door behind himself, "would rather not say." What else could he tell her? She'd probably know he was lying if he came up with something that wasn't true, and so he'd just have to talk her out of knowing the old fashioned way.

Looking over at her as she set the books down on a table between two ornate chairs in her room that a vase stood upon, filled with a few white flowers which one of the chambermaids had put there that morning, he saw a concerned expression upon Zelda's face. Turning to face him, then walking toward him with a slow shake of her head, she put a hand on his upper arm and said softly, "It must not be very pleasant if you won't even tell me."

"It was just," he shook his head, then waved his hand, "an apparition, one that I could have done without seeing."

"Of Alma?"

"Yeah," he drew out the word slowly, looking back at her face. "I'm not going to tell you what I saw though, I don't want to sour your mood."

"Link, it's fine," she informed him, "all of it is in the past now, and if it bothers you, I'd rather you tell me."

She really wasn't giving up on this, he decided, stepping it up to the next level. "Well it doesn't bother me," he explained, "I just don't like it."

"Link, that means it bothers you."

Damned logic. "Not as much as you're implying," he returned with a slightly lifted brow.

She gave him a stubborn look that Link had come to realize more and more over time she'd inherited from her father, and crossed her arms over her chest. In the face of such an expression, he cringed and then cleared his throat. It looked as if talking her out of it the old fashioned way wasn't going to work, so now he had to try the method of distraction. "Can I have a kiss?"

The attempt to distract her made her lift a brow of her own, though she had to fight tooth and nail not to smirk or grin at him. Instead, the flat face remained, and seeing just how determined she was to find out what he had seen all those months ago, Link sighed and shook his head. She won this round. As if she ever lost these types of things.

"Fine. I saw her as a ghost, and her head fell off, suggesting she was taken to the guillotine."

His words had been slightly rushed, and he finally looked back at her to see what she would say or do. Zelda stared at him quietly, then she cringed. The expression made Link rub his eyes in frustration, telling her, "See, I told you it would sour your mood."

"No, it's not that, I just," she sighed, "I wish you hadn't seen that either. Rumor already had it she'd been taken to the dungeon, and I'd assumed she'd been executed, which was a fate I'd rather accept for her than to think she'd been a prisoner for all of those years when she never returned."

The topic of conversation had taken on a much sadder note, and this was yet another reason that Link hadn't wanted to mention it to her. So he reached for her arm and shook his head, tugging her to the table where she'd left the books. "Let's not think about it, Zelda. I'll start a fire and you can start reading. I would rather spend my free time with you doing that then spend it in remorse for things lost a long time ago."

He was right, she knew as much, sighing slowly as she let him pull her over to the chairs. With a nod, giving him a smile that said she was alright and she could definitely do that, Zelda reached for the books and turned to sit down in the chair. While Link headed toward the fire place, seeming to feel a bit better that she wasn't completely downtrodden like he'd been worried she would have become over the mention of the haunting he'd seen, Zelda looked the covers of the books over for the one she wanted.

The fire began to light in the hearth, and Link used a poker to get it to become larger and warm the room up a good bit more, before he heard Zelda's slippers clicking across the marble floor and then onto the carpet with her steps. Turning, he watched her heading to the bed and grabbing two large pillows and a quilted blanket that was laying there before she turned back to head toward him. She carried the items, including one of the books with her, over to where he was crouched on the floor, and he smirked with a hint in mind of what she wanted to do.

"What's this?," he asked, despite the hint he had.

"Well, it's still a bit chilly in here, so I'm making a pallet. It will be warmer near the fire instead of in those chairs."

Link smiled before turning to hang the poker back up again on the rack with the rest of the tools, then went toward the pillows. Sitting against them, watching her as she sat down next to him and pulled the blanket over. He knew, as well as she did, that the chairs simply didn't offer the closeness they both wanted, and so she'd used a clever, inconspicuous reason to get closer instead of simply flat out saying it. As she settled against him, he put his arm around her back and let his hand settle on her waist. Zelda leaned against him, seeing the knowing smile on his face, and she just continued to pretend she was completely innocent.

"So, which book are we reading?," he asked when she stilled against him comfortably, watching her lifting that particular item which had a dark blue cover that she opened in order to be read.

"The stories of Boemith," she told him. "Unless you'd rather me look at the other ones."

"No, Boemith is fine," he replied, "I still want to know what he actually looks like."

The words made her grin, and so she turned to the first page. On it was a drawing of a suit of arms, in one corner bearing the symbol of the Sheikah people, and one the opposite, one that had two swords crossed over a ship with lines shaped into waves beneath it. It was a mark that Zelda had yet to see, and she heard Link asking, "I wonder whose crest that is."

"I don't know yet," Zelda started, turning the pages further, "but I'll ask one of my parents. They should know." Once she'd reached the first page, she had a thought and smiled, asking, "Should I read aloud?," before turning her violet blue gaze up to his face.

With a tilted smile, Link nodded, "Go ahead, I don't mind being read to."

"Alright," she replied and looked back at the book, smiling brightly when he kissed her temple. With her right hand, she placed her index finger beneath the lines that started, "Long ago, three Goddesses created the world and all that resides within it. These sister Goddesses cultivated and nurtured their creations as any true parent would, until those creations were old enough to care for their own before leaving them with several gifts, the most renowned of which was a Triforce that symbolized each of their three persons - Power, Wisdom, and Courage."

With that paragraph read, Link interjected through her reading, "Why is Courage always listed last?"

Zelda snickered and told him sagely, "Because they save the best for last," and she looked up quickly to see his reaction. She began jubilantly laughing when he tilted his head back with a proud smile. It prompted her to ask him, "Satisfied?

"Very, so continue, my lady."

Grinning, she looked back at the book and continued on with the words in it once she'd stopped chuckling so much. "This gift, however, was but one of many, others being strewn about the lands and hidden in several places, or granted to singular races to hold for as long as time allowed. An example of such a gift was the telepathic powers of the Hylians, granted to them by Nayru, and said to be the first race of all that were created."

"Each gift was unique in its own way, but none ever became more obscure than the gift of the Dragons, created in finality of all races by Din, the Goddess of Power, and gifted with the strength to defend and protect all of the things that had been placed in the world. To them, Din gave her fond power of Fire, an element that both brings life, and takes that life away, a perfect symbol to represent a Goddess whom has both the whims and power to alternately grant life and take it away."

As she read, Zelda's voice had become much more narrative, and perhaps even serious in a way. It was after the final paragraph she'd read about Din and gifting the Dragons with her fire that she grew quiet as well, and Link looked down at her face to see her contemplation. As she silently sat, she glanced over at her gloved left hand.

Becoming curios, he asked as she sometimes did to him, "Rupee for your thoughts, love?"

"Oh," she looked up, having drifted off into a daydream of some type, "sorry. I was considering Din, and the Triforce of Power. I wonder if it pains her, what Ganondorf tried to do, or if she is neutral to all whims considering she too has that power to do which she pleases."

"Well," Link shook his head slowly in consideration, "I would think she still has to obide by the needs of her sisters, don't you?"

"Yes," Zelda nodded, then looked back at the book, turning the page since that was where the first one ended. "That's true. I guess I was just curious though." She then went wide eyed and looked up at him, pointing a finger, "No smart comments."

"I didn't say a word," Link grinned at her, remembering well some of the things they'd done together because of her curiosity. He decided not to embarrass her now however because he was actually interested to see where the story went. "Please go on."

Zelda knew not to look at his face, otherwise she'd see some type of smug smirk there on his lips, and she would be prompted to say something over it, furthering the interruption of their story. So instead, she focused on her reading, and started with the rest of the next page.

The most popular of these fire breathing giants was that of Boemith. Said to be a fierce looking creature with red scales and golden eyes, as well as golden webbing to his huge wings, he was not always such an imposing image to behold. Like other creatures, Boemith was once a child and a clumsy one at that. His tail often seemed to have a mind of its own, and as well, he was the last to leave his nest to flight, often sticking close to his mother's legs with adoration and love for the parent creature at heart.

Boemith was a character of vast changes throughout his lifetime however, and an example of this change would be the clumsiness he eventually lost. Still and yet, he had to prove himself to other dragons - as his reputation suffered due to both his ungraceful movements during his younger years, as well as his penchant for sticking close to his mother. Siblings and more distant relatives alike would tease him, though Boemith had an unshakeable patience. He was secure in his family's love for him, despite their amusement at his expense. He would simply wait for the opportunity to prove that he'd changed from the Drake he'd once been.

Distant clouds brought to him that chance he needed to prove himself. The races of the world were growing further apart from the memories of their Goddesses, and fact was turning to Legend, and some Legends were beginning to turn into nothing but myth spoken around a campfire for entertainment. The Dragons became such a myth, and the elaborations that came with telling tales eventually painted these once revered creatures into that of destructive and chaotic, bloodthirsty and malevolent.

Dragon-kind had to eventually seek refuge when their scales became valued more than their protective strength, their claws and fangs taken as trophies, and their rookeries raided, the young eggs found within them destroyed. Finding no reason to continue protecting races which would harm them so, the Dragons went into indefinite hiding.

Boemith was no different. He too was forced into hiding, surviving, and watched as many of his kind became embittered toward the races they had been created to protect. Boemith eventually found himself stuck between two lines. On the one hand, he remembered the reasonings for his existence, felt the need to hold close and protect all that stood within the world. But on the other, his own kind were forgetting reason as the ones who'd sought to destroy them had.

Eventually, myth was reborn as truth, and several Dragons became the villains they were lied into being.

Boemith tried to remind them all of the lies spun, tried to remind the people hunting them of what a Dragon truly was, but for many, it was too late for words alone. Boemith had to take action, and he surrendered himself to a Kingdom in the Valley's of his mountain home near the sea, where he came to be tormented - allowing his scales and fangs to be pulled to sell for valuables. At the same time, he watched as people fought for possession of him, and never once did he harm his captors.

There was a boy named Marum, however, whom took kindly to the imprisoned Dragon. The boy was but a servant to the Royals, an orphan, and he, after speaking on several occasions with the creature, attempted to free Boemith. However, the dragon would not leave, and even warned the young boy not to seek any of his kind to inform them that he was a captive now, for they were angry, and would try to kill him on sight. A strange friendship bloomed out of this encounter, and while cruelty and coldness had become all that the Dragon knew even before he'd become imprisoned, he'd finally found some form of comfort.

The Dragon race thought Boemith to be dead, and had no idea of his true location. It was one cold evening, however, that the truth was revealed. An elaborate plot formulated by enemies of the Kingdom he had surrendered himself to came into action. These men attempted to steal the Dragon, and in the process, were spotted by the eyes of a white Dragon named Effilius.

Effilius broke the binds that held Boemith captive, but Boemith had not the strength to fight - nor the wish - until Marum came to defend him, that was. Effilius was ready to take down all of the people that had dared to harm or imprison his Draconic brother, including the young servant boy Boemith considered a friend. Marum's risk to save Boemith from being stolen finally evoked a response in the red Dragon, and until that point, no Dragon had ever harmed another. It was then in which Boemith changed this story and attacked Effilus, to protect the boy whom had his love.

Effilius was so shocked by the turn of events - that Boemith would make such an attack upon him - he nearly could not act. When the white Dragon demanded from the red just why he'd chosen to defend his captors, Boemith looked to Marum, and told him his answer.

"I have suffered at the hands of these people, this is true, but I have also suffered at the hands of my own kind, for I was clumsy, and stuck too close to mother as a child. I always knew, when I was teased, that deep down, my kind still loved me. This is no different from the people who seek to harm us, and I know that even now, though they are afraid and confused, there are men whom have respect for us as well. We have simply forgotten our purpose, as they forgot the intentions of the Goddesses. But I cannot forsake that purpose, nor can I allow us to continue to become what they have lied of us."

It was from that day forth that Boemith was revered for his steadfast service to his Goddesses, as well as the people he'd protected. Even though eventually, the greed that men possessed caused some to continue their hunting, Boemith survived, and as legend has it - or perhaps even fact - became the last of his kind. These are the stories of his efforts to restore the Dragons to their previous prestige, and his accomplishments in his lifetime.

The introduction to the book having been finished, Zelda smiled and looked up at Link who had been listening to every word. The rest of the pages embellished on the concepts the introduction told of, and Zelda asked, "Should I continue?"

"It's definitely interesting," Link smiled, "So, he was red?"

The comment made her smile over his endless wondering of what the dragon might've looked like, prompting her to settle the book into her lap for a moment to thumb through the pages and see if she could find any pictures. When she came to a set of them that had drawings, she stopped. One of the pictures was of a large creature on all fours with a young boy sitting near him, in order to show the size differences. Looking it over, Link lifted his brows and heard Zelda speaking what he'd been thinking.

"He really was big, wasn't he?"

Nodding his head to Zelda's comment, Link looked over the picture closely and said, "I wish there actually were Dragons around. Well, not angry Dragon's," he chuckled out.

"I agree," Zelda grinned before turning the book back to the page she'd been at when she'd stopped reading, considering it would be wondrous to see something that big flying through the skies. Finding the first story as she thought about it, something popped into her head which she blinked over and looked up at Link in question.

"Oh, wait, before we go on, weren't we supposed to go down for dinner?"

"Oh, you're right," Link cringed, "I guess the stories will have to wait until later."

Nodding, Zelda closed the book without marking her place since they weren't too far into it, and she pushed the blankets off of them, stopping when she felt Link taking her upper arm and tugging her in closer. When she looked at him, he leaned up to kiss her, wanting to take just a moment before they left to do so.

Zelda settled down against him, closing her eyes and returning the kiss slowly while she wound her arms around his sides. It wasn't often that they got opportunities to enjoy such private time in recent months, and now was definitely a good chance. Zelda knew as much herself, and they both wanted to savor it.

Zelda had come to realize that it hadn't mattered how badly her day had gone, once she saw Link, and if she got the chance to be alone with him like this, she forgot about everything else and felt completely comfortable again. Link, in turn, had realized the same thing, especially when he returned from long rides offering aide to the villages in the Kingdom. As the kiss slowly grew more and more passionate, their tongues slowly rolling together, he felt everything melting away, nothing but the woman he was with left behind.

Taking in a deeper breath, realizing he was becoming more aroused than he should have in that moment, he gently, and slowly, tugged his lips away from hers. Zelda had felt the same responses to the kiss, and she inhaled deeply before lowering her head to his chest. They'd promised one another they would wait, now that they were engaged, to be married before they went any further into the intimate world they'd so lightly explored, and it was sometimes a difficult task to remember to perform.

"I love you."

Link buried his fingers in her hair when Zelda spoke that line, replying on a soft voice, "I love you too, and I miss you."

Not speaking of that promise now, just holding one another quietly with those words, they knew they would sit there for several moments before they finally left the room, desiring the peace and quiet together. In all, it had been a good day for them both, and just being in one another's company without someone else distracting them was just as good as the kiss they'd shared.

Dinner could wait just a few more minutes before they left.