Author's Note: Hey! I've got to feel like I'm making some progress when I take into consideration the fact that I've actually updated this story! I'm still hoping that, by writing this, I'll re-inspire myself to pick back up on a few of the other stories that I've made you all wait so long for! I really would appreciate some feedback because it will do wonders to help me rebuild my self-esteem as a writer. I'd like to know if I've still got it or not! Lol!


Chapter One

The morning breeze was cool as it ruffled his lush blonde locks. Link found it refreshing, the way it washed over him, bringing the fresh scent of spring to his nose. He closed his eyes for a moment, reveling in the feeling of victory.

The wind rippled through his dark maroon tunic and white underclothes. It wasn't quite enough to cut the ever present heat escaping from Death Mountain. But it didn't bother him; it was the furthest thing from his mind.

Instead, the young warrior looked out across the horizon at the sun that was beginning to spread its light across the magnificent land below. He was at the highest vantage point in all of Hyrule, on top of Death Mountain. Link lost his breath to the vastness of it all.

"Truly a beautiful view, is it not, Link?" the melodious voice from behind him whispered through the breeze.

"It is, Princess," he responded, sitting down to rest on a rock far enough away from her to give him some privacy yet not far enough away to truly hint that he wanted to be left alone.

"I've asked you countless times not to call me that, Link," she whispered, sitting down beside him and staring in the same direction as he was; towards Zora's Domain. She wrapped her arms around her knees, pulling them closer to her chest, and then she rested her chin on her knees. "You know well enough that you're a great friend to the Royal Family. You don't reserve the right to hold such formalities with me anymore."

Link blinked twice, sitting forward so that his weight was no longer supported by his arms outstretched behind him. He turned to look at the Princess for a moment before clearing his throat, "Then that means you, Princess, don't reserve the right to demand such behavior of me."

There was silence between them as they watched the sunrise fall across the sleep-shadowed land of Hyrule. Zelda gazed towards her home, Hyrule Castle, and she couldn't help but feel her heart drop as her Hero's gaze drifted back towards Zora's Domain.

She wondered what it was that attracted Link to her cousin, Princess Ruto. They were two completely different young women, Zelda realized. Their differences must have been what set Ruto apart.

Ruto wasn't nearly the beauty that Zelda was, though their difference in race made this assumption quite hard for either side to prove. As far as Zoran women went, Ruto was quite the beauty. She had the deepest sapphire eyes that one could imagine and the shade of her ice blue skin was quite rare among her people.

The Hylian Princess, on the other hand, wasn't necessarily regarded as the most beautiful young maiden in the land. The young Rancher's daughter, Malon, was well known throughout Hyrule as being quite the beautiful young prize. Her buttermilk skin and goldenrod hair, mixed with her gorgeous emerald eyes made her quite a sight to behold.

It was well known that the people of all races of Hyrule were waiting for their young Hero to pick his bride from among these women. Would he marry the Hylian Princess Zelda or settle for the Racher's Daughter Malon? There was the possibility that he would chose the Zoran Princess, though that thought was often regarded as a fictitious assumption passed around between those who sympathized with the Zoran people.

There was a rumor traveling through the land like wildfire that Link had already chosen Princess Zelda as his bride. Hadn't she been the one to nurse him back to health after his final battle with Gannondorf? Wasn't there something special in the way that he looked at her? And couldn't there be so much said for the fact that she accompanied him to nearly every portion of the vast land of Hyrule?

For Princess Zelda, however, these rumors couldn't bring her the sense of pride and reassurance that she might have hoped for. It was because she knew the truth. Zelda knew which woman he called for through his nightmares and she knew whom it was that he dreamt of each night.

Link was in love with her cousin, Princess Ruto.

"Princess," he finally broke the silence between them. "It's time for me to take you home, I'm afraid. Surely someone will worry after you if you're not safely nestled in your bed by the time Impa would come to wake you."

She nodded, accepting the hand that he offered her with a cautious smile. She jumped from the rock and into his waiting arms and couldn't help the feeling of her heart sinking even more as he placed her safely on the ground.

There was never more than a friendly touch between them. It was clear, to her at least, that Link didn't harbor romantic feelings towards her at all. Despite what it was that the rest of her people might have thought of the romance between the two of them, Zelda had about as much chance of marrying the Hero of Time as did any other maiden in Hyrule.

Link loved Ruto and Zelda knew that as soon as he found out she had disappeared; he would begin his search for her. There wasn't anything that she could do to stop him, of course. He'd already aided the Royal Family far too greatly for anyone to ask more of him.

He led the way to Epona and mounted her, offering the Princess his hand once more. There was a tense silence between them and it lingered uncomfortably overhead, thicker than the heat still emanating from the mouth of the cave leading inside of Death Mountain.

"Thank you," she spoke softly, letting him pull her onto the horse and letting herself fall into his lap. It was the most physical contact that she could hope to experience from him and, while it really meant nothing to him, to her it was everything.

Before she had the chance to say anything else, Epona was already on her way down the mountain and she was left to her thoughts once more. Link was concentrating on guiding Epona and keeping her in place and would hate to be disturbed with her petty attempt at conversation.

Zelda went back to her thoughts, remembering what it had been like to watch him struggle with his nightmares. She knew that he still had them, of course, though now he was able to take care of himself and she was no longer needed to watch over him each night.

He wasn't in love with her. Link didn't want to marry her, to become the King of Hyrule. He found something in her cousin that he didn't see in her.

And, try as she might, the Princess could come up with no valid reason for his affections to have drifted from her to any other woman. She'd admired him for so long and had always thought that her feelings were returned.

Link had stayed at the castle these past few months while he recovered. Zelda had thought for sure that he would stay there always; it would be his home, she had hoped.

But her Hero was restless inside of the palace walls. It was that restlessness that brought them on their excursions from the castle to other areas in the vast land of Hyrule, though he hadn't been exploring on his own, yet. Zelda had determined him too weak to be able to go alone and she insisted on going to all of the places that he desired as his companion.

They had been everywhere in Hyrule, it felt like. Everywhere except Zora's Domain. It was the once place that she tried so desperately to prevent him from visiting. And it wasn't just because she knew he loved Princess Ruto.

It would break his heart if she ever told him the truth of what had become of her. She hadn't returned from the Water Temple after Link had defeated Morpha. It hadn't been long ago that her people had given up hope of her ever returning to Zora's Domain.

Zelda's gaze drifted over Link's shoulder; towards Zora's Domain. She was unsure of what would become of the people with no heir to their thrown. Perhaps King Zora had an advisor that would take over the thrown after he stepped down.

Zelda blinked, shaking her head slightly. That was a Zoran problem. She certainly couldn't do anything to help matters. And even if she could, why would she bring back the woman that her Hero loved more than her?

Before she had time to answer that question for herself, however, they were at the gates to the castle. She hadn't noticed the trip through the town, nor had she even realized that they'd passed Kakariko Village.

Link dismounted Epona quickly, helping Zelda off of the horse. The sun had just risen in the field that stretched out in front of Hyrule Castle and the way that he was looking at her told Zelda that he needed to talk to her. He took both of her hands in one of his and reached into his pack without looking into her eyes.

"You and your family have done a lot for me, Princess," he began, feeling with his fingertips the object that he had saved for her throughout all of his travels.

"Link, don't talk like this!" she scolded him. "You know very well that it is we who are indebted to you!"

"Princess, please," he sounded only slightly annoyed, though the tone in his voice hadn't been picked up on by Zelda. "Wait until I have finished."

Lowering her gaze, Zelda simply nodded. She took a deep breath before whispering, "Continue, then."

Clearing his throat, Link pulled the Ocarina of time from his pack and placed it into her hands. He had polished it the night before and, while he had meant to give it back to her on Death Mountain, he couldn't bring himself to be so near to her just after saying goodbye; he would have had to return her home to the castle, after all.

Neither said anything for a moment as the realization of what he was about to do washed over Princess Zelda. Her lower lip trembled as her eyes glazed over just slightly. With her voice coated in anger, though still at a manageably soft volume, she spoke, "You're not leaving yet, Link! You aren't well enough to be on your own."

She should have known when he'd taken his entire pack with him this morning that something wasn't right. He never left the castle without his sword and shield, but never before had he taken the pack with him. Shaking her head in disbelief, the princess held onto his hands tightly.

"This is goodbye, Princess," he whispered, trying to gently pull himself from her grasp.

"No," she murmured, tears falling from her eyes. By saying goodbye, Link was admitting that he didn't love her. He was all but telling her that he was going to Zora's Domain to claim Princess Ruto as his bride. "She's not even there! Princess Ruto isn't even at Zora's Domain!"

She was full of rage, bordering on hysterics as she spat the last part at him. Her eyes stared into Link's with such a look of passion that it hardly surprised him when she threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips fiercely to his.

Quickly, Link pushed her away. The only thing he could remember feeling from the entire ordeal was the cool ceramic of the ocarina she still held in her hands brushing against the back of his neck.

"Tell me you don't feel anything for me!" she nearly screamed. "Tell me that you're not in love with me! Be a man and confess!"

Link placed his hands on either of her shoulders, trying his best to calm her down. She was making quite the spectacle of herself and that bothered him, even though it was only the guards to see her.

"Princess, please," he began. "Don't act like I was going to stay at the castle forever. You and I both know this isn't the place for me!"

Zelda's eyes narrowed as she freed herself from his grasp. Throwing the Ocarina of Time to the ground in a rage, she nearly growled, "Then run to her if that's what you want! But don't expect me to still be waiting for you when you realize that Princess Ruto isn't there!"

There was silence for a moment as Link listened to the ocarina shatter at his feet. He closed his eyes, flinching as Zelda slammed the gate in his face. Link watched her walk away, though not out of sadness.

He knew it would be the last time he would ever speak to her.