Before I really wanted to, we arrived at my doorstep.

"See ya, Ilia! Hope you feel better!" Link called as he walked in the direction of his own house.

I watched him all the way until I couldn't see him anymore.

Sighing like a love-sick teenager, I leaned against the door frame of my house.

"Hey there, Ilia!" my dad said. I hadn't even noticed that he had come outside.

"Hey, Dad," I said, still staring in the direction of where Link had disappeared.

"So, how did it go with Link?" my dad asked.

"It… uh… was very… interesting," I said smiling.

He gave me a whatever-you-say look in response.

"Okay, then. Well, I'll see you later," my dad said walking in the direction of Link's house.

"Where are you going?" I asked, catching up to him.

"Link has been chosen to make a trip to Hyrule Castle and make a very important delivery to Princess Zelda, so I'm going to give him the news," my dad said.

My face must have looked like I had seen a ghost.

"B-but he's only been here one day!" I said hastily.

"Yes, but he's the only one able. The rest of us are either too old or too young to make the trip," my dad said.

"B-but-"

"No more buts, Ilia! I need to get to his house to discuss this!" my dad said, interrupting me.

I stayed and watched on silently as he made his way through the trees to Link's house, threatening to end my happiness with a few simple words.

I thought about this trip that my new friend was destined to take as I stood alone in the dark.

Hyrule Castle was a VERY long distance from Ordon Village, so he would be gone for at least a week, even on horseback.

And what about this Princess Zelda? What if Link met her and it was like love at first sight?

No, that couldn't happen… right?

I hoped as hard as I could that it wouldn't.

Slowly and sadly, I walked up the incline to my house.

. . . . . . . . . .

I woke up the next morning feeling pretty sick. I don't know if it was from the thought of losing Link, or if it was truly an illness.

Whatever the cause, I hopped out of bed and headed to the bathroom to freshen up.

I fixed my hair in my normal fashion and put on clean clothes.

Buckling on my signature purse around my thigh, I walked out my bedroom door and down the stairs. I heard more talking in the living room, so I snuck around the corner to see if I could hear the conversation better.

I was surprised to hear the smooth voice of Link ringing throughout the small room.

"-Yeah, that postman is a disgrace to humanity. Anyway, do you have the package ready?" he asked.

"Yes'ir. Here you go, boy," my father said.

He handed Link the package that was neatly wrapped in brown paper.

"Wish me luck. And tell Ilia that I said goodbye," Link said.

"I will, boy, but are you sure that you don't want to wait for her to get up? I'm sure that she would be sad if you left without telling her goodbye face-to-face," my dad said.

"I wish I could, but I think it would be a good idea to go ahead and get an early start. The earlier I leave, the earlier I can get back," he said.

"You might not be so quick to make the decision about coming back, lad. I hear that Princess Zelda is looking for a new guard. The other ones are useless, and she could use a good, strong boy like you," my dad said.

"I might just have to take her up on that!" he said winking. Both of them laughed.

I could have died right there. I definitely wanted to.

I ran back up to my room, making a lot of noise doing so, and slammed down on my bed.

I cried as hard as I could into my pillow. My new friend was going to be gone forever.

I heard footsteps coming up the stairs to my room, so I figured my dad had heard my noisy retreat and come up to console me.

I didn't want to hear it. I couldn't be calmed down.

"Ilia?" a voice said in the thresh-hold. It wasn't my father's.

I looked up and saw Link standing in my doorway with a concern etched into every corner of his face. He was the last person I wanted to see.

"I don't want to talk right now, Link!" I yelled, burying my head back into my pillow.

"But you need to," he said, calmly walking over to my bed and sitting on the corner.

My crying let up a little bit.

"Ilia, what's wrong?" he asked. Things seemed to go right over his head. I didn't know if he was dense or just didn't understand at all how I felt about him.

"Nothing!" I yelled.

I gasped when he jerked up my shoulders and brought his face up to mine. His face was stern and his ocean blue eyes froze to ice.

"Ilia, please. What's wrong?" he said in an I won't-take-nothing-for-an-answer look.

I looked at his face, my face dusted pink, and searched for something that would tell me that he wasn't serious.

I couldn't believe that he didn't realize that I was in love with him.

"Link… I… I was just so lonely before you came here. Now that you're leaving… I'll go back to being alone…" I said, more tears streaming down my face.

He wiped some of them away and smiled.

"Ilia, I was just kidding about working for Zelda. Sure, it would be cool, but I moved here to escape the fast-paced life. I like the quietness of Ordon, and all of the people that live here. I'll be back in a week. I promise," he said.

My eyes sparkled with happiness and I smiled as he wiped away another tear that slid down my cheek.

"Thanks…" I whispered.

"No problem. Now, let's go down stairs and you can help me pack," he said smiling.

I smiled back and we began to head down stairs. My dad was sitting at the table with a worried look on his face.

"ILIA! Are you okay?" he asked running up to me.

"Yes, Dad, I'm fine," I said smiling.

He gave me a questioned look then turned to Link. Link smiled and continued to walk out the door.

On the way to his house, I was admiring the way his eyes shone in the moonlight. I loved those beautiful blue eyes. I was so lost in them that I didn't even realize that I was staring at him.

"Ilia?" he questioned. I blushed and turned away.

"You've been acting really weird ever since I met you. I've met a lot of people in my life, but none of them act the way that you do. Now, what is going on?" he asked stopping.

My heart nearly leaped out of my chest. I blushed deeper than I had the whole time I had been with him. What was I going to say? What was I going to do? I couldn't tell him that I was in love with him! No, that was way too awkward. So, I did what anyone would do. I lied.

"I… uh… just don't feel too well. I think I have a bit of a fever. But, I'm sure I'll feel better!" I said with a goofy grin spread across my face.

"O… kay?" he said, cocking an eyebrow. He then continued on down the path to his house.

I breathed a sigh of relief for his obliviousness and then caught up with him.

When we arrived at his door (after climbing the ladder), he opened it for me and I blushed again as I walked through. He was so perfect and well-mannered.

I walked in a looked around. It was a pretty simple place, but it felt very warm and inviting. There was a soft bed on the upper level, and a large black pot over the fire place in the living room. Books lined the walls and lie tossed aside on various areas of the floor. He also had a simple wooden sword hanging on the wall near the door. He must have caught me staring.

"I know, it's not a very good place to live, but this is just temporary until I can get a real home in the village," he said, pulling out a saddlebag from the basement.

"No! That wasn't it! I… was just surprised. Is that little wooden sword all your going to have to protect you?" I asked, embarrassed.

"Well… yeah. I don't think I'll be seeing anything along the way that would call for much defense," he said.

"Well you won't be much of a fight with that thing," I said laughing.

"Oh, so now you're insulting my sword?" he laughed as he put down his bag.

Seeing that he was joking and not truly insulted, I decided to play along.

"Yes. Do you have a problem?" I asked smiling.

"Why, yes," he said as he swung around and pinned my wrists to the wall, "I do."

I was shocked and overjoyed at the same time that we were so close.

He pulled me to the floor, obviously being careful not to hurt me. He pinned me down until I wiggled around enough to shake him off. We switched positions and I now had him pinned to the ground. I could tell that he was letting me do it on purpose, but at the moment, I didn't feel insulted in the least.

We wrestled on like this for what seemed like forever until I playfully punched him in the arm. He stopped and sat up with an equally playful smirk.

"ACK! I'm hit! I'm going down! You're… too… strong!" he said as he dramatically fell back to the floor.

"That'll teach you to mess with me!" I said through laughs.

"*Cough*… truce," he said extending a hand toward me.

"Truce," I said grabbing his hand and pulling him up.

"So, anyway, let's get packing. I'm already pretty late. I wouldn't want to keep Zelda waiting," he said, dusting off.

There's that name again.

"Yeah… Zelda," I said indignantly.

I don't know why, but I was extremely worried about this girl. I had heard that she was about Link's age and was very beautiful. One look at her, and Link would instantly fall in love. I knew it.

"So… uh… about this… 'Zelda'. You don't… like her… do you?" I asked, nonchalantly folding some of his clothes and tucking them carefully inside the bag.

He didn't answer right away, and when I looked at him, he was blushing.

He obviously did. He cleared his throat and finally responded.

"I… uh… don't really know how to answer that," he said, obviously trying to avoid looking me in the eyes.

"You could say 'yes'," I said a little more angrily than I probably should have.

"I've just been through so much with her… she was one of my best friends… but lately… I have different feelings towards her," he said.

"So you do know her," I said, finally turning to him.

"Yeah. You… could say that," he said.

I hesitated at his last sentence, trying to figure out exactly what he was implying.

"What do you mean?" I asked, thoroughly intrigued.

"Well… I knew her in a past life," he said.

"A… past life?" I asked. I was so lost.

"Yep. I'm a reincarnation of another Link," he said like it was no big deal.

"…"

"I know… it sounds weird, but that's the truth."

"Then how do YOU know her?"

"I'm not completely sure… it's just like… this special connection. She is also reincarnated, you know. My past life must have known her, and now… so do I."

He smiled as he thought about it.

"How?"

"Look at this," he said as he extended his hand out to me.

I looked on the back of it to see the faded insignia of the Triforce. I had read and heard stories about its incredible power and influence on the people who possessed it.

Zelda must have it, too.

"I have the Triforce of Courage, Zelda has the Triforce of Wisdom, and Ganondorf has the Triforce of Power," he said.

"Ganondorf?" I asked.

"He's just an evil, power-mad freak that constantly tries to take over the world. He always goes after me and tries to kill me," he said simply.

My eyes became wide with horror at the thought of anyone trying to hurt my… I mean… Link.

Looking at my horror-stricken face, he sweat-dropped.

"Oh, don't worry! He's been locked away by the six sages. He won't be a problem," Link said smiling. I loved that smile.

"Oh…ok," I said.

There was an awkward moment of silence as he finished packing his bag and threw it over his shoulder.

"Well, looks like I'm all packed. I… guess I'll be heading out now," he said as awkwardly as the silence before it.

"Oh… yeah. I… guess you better. Bye, Link," I said sadly.

"Bye, Ilia. I promise I'll be back soon," he said, giving me a half-hearted smile.

He opened the door, gave me a last good-bye smile, and walked out.

I stood alone in the now vacant house.

I felt more alone than I had in my entire time living in the village.

I can't believe how close I felt to him, even though I had only met him just this morning.

I can't believe how much I missed him, even though he had walked out only moments ago.

As much as I wanted to believe his promise that he would come back, I had serious doubts.

All I could think about was that he was gone, and probably would be…

Forever.