Sorry it took so long! At first, I was stuck, then my AWESOME friend helped me figure out what to do next, then I got REALLY lazy and FORGOT what we talked about, and then she helped me remember yesterday! Anyway, now, I think I'll start giving the chapters names…but I'm not sure. Oh god, I should NOT be watching an Acme Iku video while writing fan fiction. It shall warp my mind! O-O
So anyway, I don't think I'm gonna give this fan fiction a theme song…I might do that later. So, onward!
Link felt fingers roughly comb through his bangs. He groaned with fatigue, and opened his eyes.
"Link, you're finally awake!" Alfonso sat on a small stool next to one of the beds in the castle infirmary.
"A-Alfonso…?" The boy asked with sleepy eyes.
The man smiled. "Heh, come on now, Link. Must I shake you again? Wake yourself up, boy!"
Link nodded, eyes heavy. He attempted to sit up, and with a little push, he managed. He looked down at himself, to find that his torso and shoulder had been bandaged up.
"O-oh, Teacher!" he realized clumsily. The elderly gentleman walked over to him from a desk near the other side of the room.
"My, I'm glad that you're awake. The princess was worried sick about you. I had a difficult time getting her to leave the room and let you rest. Tell me, how are you feeling?"
Link blushed a little at the story about Zelda, and quickly answered the question. "F-fine, I guess…"
Teacher nodded with a smile. "That's good, then. You should get some rest, and make no sudden or strenuous movements. It's almost inhuman for someone to survive wounds like those, never mind a child such as you. And you, Alfonso," He turned to the mentor. "You mustn't be rough with Link, you hear? His condition is critical. It's a miracle that he's even still alive, and it's unbelievable how he can still move like this,"
But I can only imagine the toll it's taken on his mind…
"Of course," Alfonso laughed.
"B-but Alfonso…! How did you come here?" Link asked.
The man sighed, and Teacher stepped out of the room to attend other matters.
"…I knew that you went on this quest. You, Zelda, all by yourselves. I…I was a fool…I never tried to help you. After the clouds in the west cleared, I knew everything was over. The train I started building out of the remnants of the other was finally finished, and I used it to come to Castle Town. I knew you'd bring Zelda back first thing,"
"Alfonso, I…I'm sorry I made you worry…" Link apologized, looking down at the bed sheets.
"Damn straight you should be! But I should be sorrier for not doing anything about it. So, can you forgive this old man?"
Link cocked his head and smiled lovingly. "Only if you can forgive me,"
Alfonso smiled. "Heh, sure thing," He held his hand out in a "high-five" gesture. Link returned the gesture by lightly tapping his palm to Alfonso's.
Suddenly, the doors burst open.
"Link!"
The two snapped their heads in the direction of the voice. Princess Zelda was standing there, panting, hair wind-blown, dress torn and blood-stained. She was a wreck, but still beautiful as ever.
Link stared for a moment, and then realized that his chest was mostly bare. He screeched, much to Alfonso's chagrin, and lifted the sheets in front of his bare skin.
Zelda realized her mistake, and blushed harshly. "Ah! I-I'm so sorry!" and she dashed out of the room, unintentionally slamming the door behind her.
Link and Alfonso were left to stare at the spot where Zelda had stood only a moment before. The young boy was blushing once again.
Alfonso was now absolutely certain of the attraction between the two children. "Ah, now I see, 'looks like you've got a thing for the Her Highness," He teased.
Link whipped around to face the man who he still liked to think of as his mentor. "N-no, not at all! She's…she's just my friend, nothing more!"
And he meant it…at first. Then he remembered their promise to each other…
"Then, let's get engaged!"
Alfonso wasn't fazed by the boy's blatant lie, as he thought of it as such because the child was blushing all the while. "Yeah, yeah, you can't fool me, Link. I know my apprentice!"
Link obviously knew he was defeated, as he drew back and sunk into the covers.
"Alfonso…you can go home." He muttered after a while.
"What's that? Oho, I get it, you're trying to get rid of me because you want some alone time with the princess," He said with a smile.
"Wha? No! I-I mean, it'll be boring sitting here watching me sleep all day, and I'll be fine on my own, so I thought you'd want to go back home, and at least tell Niko I'm alright…" Link answered and trailed off.
Alfonso looked at the boy-hero thoughtfully. Eventually, he stood up with a grunt. "…I see." He said with a smile. "That's just like you, always worrying about others. You're such a good kid, you know,"
Link blushed a little from the compliment.
"Alright, then. I'll go find Teacher and tell him that I'll be leaving," He started for the door.
Link was ready to tell him goodbye when Alfonso turned.
"Oh, and do me a favor? When you get better, come right home. Though he tries to hide it, Niko's worried himself sick over you. I think his hair's even whiter than before!" He laughed. "But seriously, just do us all a favor and don't die, okay?"
Link smiled and nodded, and Alfonso waved as he opened the door and exited.
When the door shut, Link put his head back onto the pillow. He stared at the ceiling and sighed. Eventually, he drifted off into a light sleep.
…
A few hours after the sun fell below the horizon, Zelda opened her eyes. She had remembered that she was supposed to sneak into the infirmary to check on Link, and she fell asleep in her bed.
The princess slipped out of her room in silence, making it past the occasional guard who was still on shift. She made her way to the first floor's infirmary, and went inside unnoticed.
Teacher was already asleep in his quarters, Zelda assumed, due to his expected absence. She spotted Link lying in an awkward position on his bed at the far side of the room. It looked as though he was trying not to lie on his right shoulder, and to put as little pressure on his back as possible. Though that would be expected, considering his wounds.
The young princess stepped over to the bed, and looked down at the little boy. She hadn't noticed earlier, but Link had exceptionally girly lips. Every curve made him more and more feminine.
Zelda blushed slightly, as she was at the age when she began to wonder about things like kissing and intimate contact. The princess blushed harder as her mind wandered into the gutter.
Forcing the thoughts to the back of her mind (as there was no possible way for her to get rid of them completely), Zelda observed the rest of Link's face. He looked…beautiful when as he slept. She had to fight the urge to reach out a hand and run her fingers through his fluffy-looking bangs.
Zelda eventually smiled and sighed. "…I'm glad you're okay…"
"Mm…"
The princess was caught off guard as Link opened his eyes lazily to look up at her.
She took a step back. "O-oh, I didn't know you were awake," She stuttered, embarrassed.
"It's okay," Link stated simply. "But what are you doing awake at this hour? It's almost moon high, isn't it?"
Zelda looked away, her right hand clutching her arm. "Well, I was wondering if, if you happened to be awake, you might want something. So, what can I get you? Anything you want?"
Link looked across from his bed and looked like he was thinking. "…If you don't mind…could you…just sit here, and talk with me for a while?"
Zelda paused and blinked. She was caught a bit off guard by Link's statement.
She struggled not to grin giddily, and sat down at the end of the bed, careful not to shake it too much.
"Alright."
After a long uncomfortable pause, Princess Zelda spoke up. "So…what…did you want to talk about?"
"Um…" Link blushed a little, thinking back to earlier that day when they'd made their promise to each other. "Can…we talk about…our engagement…?"
"O-oh, that…" Zelda paused, still feeling much too embarrassed to talk about it.
"Y-you said…that it could work…because you were the princess. What are you planning?" Link asked, more interested now.
"W-well…right now, the legal marriage age is 16 for girls, and 18 for boys. I was thinking I'd lower it…since we're both the same age. How about I make it 16 for you?" Zelda asked, apprehensive of Link's reaction.
After a long pause, Zelda decided to approach the situation a different way. "Ah! O-or, I could make it 15 for both…"
"Wh-wha? N-no way! That's way too early…16 is fine!" Link insisted.
"O-oh…" Zelda answered, afraid she made Link too embarrassed to continue discussing the topic. "So…it's agreed then?"
"Mm," Link nodded, and turned his head to look out the window next to his bed.
Zelda followed his gaze, but found the moon quite uninteresting, compared to staring at Link's face.
"…The night seems so calm…So it's really over…" Link muttered somberly.
"…You don't think so?" Zelda asked.
"I just…It'll be hard…re-adjusting to normal life…" Link answered, looking down.
He was hurt. He was hurt very badly. Zelda only wished she could help him, but being only ten years old, she had no idea what she could have done.
After a long pause, the princess let herself fall onto the edge of Link's pillow. Link blushed a bit, suspecting that she wasn't leaving anytime soon.
"…Hey, can I stay here with you tonight?" the princess asked with drooping eyes.
"Uh, yeah, sure," Link answered, not-too-embarrassed for some reason. He laid his head back down, facing Zelda, and closed his eyes.
…
Mm…I'm a little disappointed about how this turned out…or at least the second half of it. Sorry, I'm rotting my brains out listening to a reading of My Immortal by that infamous goffik emo retard Tara-something-or-other who enjoys cutting herself to Good Charlotte songs, and categorizes all human beings in the world as either goffiks(being the imaginary retards who actually like her) or preps(the rest of us who think that Tara needs to get run over by a road roller). Jeez…
Anyway, sorry again it took so long! Love you guys forever!And if you flame or something, just flame well!