Chapter 3: The Evacuation

Morning dawned in Ordon and everyone was preparing to leave for Middle-Earth. Rusl and Link armed themselves for whatever to road ahead offered. Even Talo armed himself with the Ordon sword that Link had given him and Colin was given a sword from his father. Ilia took just the essentials with her. But she also took a picture of her and Link from a few days before her capture. Théoden was placing all of his equipment back on Hasufel and preparing a horse and cart for the children and Ilia. Link went over to Ilia's house to make sure she was ready. He went upstairs to see her staring out the window.

"Ilia?" Link said softly. She turned around to see him standing there. "Ilia, it's time." Ilia nodded and gathered her belongings. The two headed down the stairs, out the door and to where everyone was waiting.

"Is that everyone?" Théoden said.

"Yep. That's it." Fado replied.

"Alright, let's head out."

Link and Théoden mounted their horses and the children climbed into the carriage. Ilia took the reins of the horse and directed it forward. The party moved out and the children looked what they thought their last on their home. Théoden informed them that they would be meeting several other refugees at Lake Hylia and that they would be escorted to Middle-Earth by a band of Rohirrim and Men of Gondor. Ilia stayed close to Link and Epona for quite some time. Luckily, there weren't as many evil creatures on Hyrule Field any longer so Link and Théoden didn't need to worry about the welfare of the caravan as much.

While they were journeying to Lake Hylia, Ilia kept thinking about whether or not to tell Link how she felt about him. If these creatures originated in Middle-Earth, there were sure to be more of them and Link was probably going to be pressed into a war against them. This might be the last time she would ever see him. But she didn't have the strength to tell him. 'Why would link ever fall for someone like me?' she thought. 'I always scold him and nag him for such trivial things. If anything, he tolerates me. Why would he ever love me?' Ilia couldn't stop scolding herself. Link looked over to where she was sitting at the head of the carriage and saw that she had a sad look on her face.

"You alright Ilia?" he asked.

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Is it about leaving? Listen, I know it's hard but I promise that we'll come back."

Ilia smiled at Link's reassurance. "It's not about leaving. It's about…nothing. It's nothing."

"Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything."

"It's nothing."

"Alright then."

Link rode ahead next to Théoden and Ilia began scolding herself again for not taking that opportunity to tell Link what she was really thinking. Meanwhile Link was talking to Théoden about the plan for relocation.

"Well, when we arrive at Lake Hylia, all refugees will be asked where they would like to be garrisoned. The choices are Minas Tirith, Osgiliath, Rohan and the House of Elrond in Rivendell."

"Alright. Knowing everyone, we're probably all gonna stick together."

"Very well."

It was reaching the point of high noon when the group reached Lake Hylia. There, they met several people from all parts of Hyrule, all waiting for their escort. Suddenly, a flash of sunlight bouncing off of a soldier's armor could be seen. The Escort had arrived. It was composed of several men from both Rohan and Gondor. They began to walk through the crowd and take down the names of the refugees and where they were to be headed. They finally came to the Ordon villagers and asked where they would be going.

"We're all going to Edoras, in Rohan." Rusl said to the soldier.

"Very well. We'll be heading through the desert in a few minutes. I suggest that you fill up your water sacks." All the refugees went over to the shore and filled up their containers with water as it would definitely be a long journey through both the Gerudo and Harad Deserts. As soon as everyone was ready, the refugees were lead through a hidden path that led into Gerudo Desert. The climate instantly changed as they reached to top of the bluff. The sun was scorching hot and heat waves could easily be seen on the horizon. Ilia looked over to the north to see a large coliseum-like structure with six pillars surrounding it.

"Link, what is that place?" she asked.

"That's Arbiter's Grounds, the prison I told you about." Link replied.

"Wow! It's enormous!"

"Yeah, and definitely not a place to go on vacation."

Ilia giggled at the remark as they continued toward the mountain range that was the border between Hyrule and Middle-Earth. The sun was beginning to sink as the refugee train crossed throught the mountains and into the Harad Desert. Soon the sun set and they were in the middle of Harad. They decided to camp for the night and the escort set a watch. It was a very cold night indeed and Ilia was glad that she brought extra blankets. She was very restless that night. She couldn't stop thinking of Link; how she felt about him. She went outside and sat by one of the still burning campfires and noticed Link sitting near her at a neighboring campfire. She wanted to tell him desperately how she felt as she thought that it could be the last time she saw him. She said a quick prayer before standing up. "Farore, goddess of courage, please give me the strength I need to tell Link that I love him." Farore must have heard her prayer, because Ilia felt a sudden sense of confidence flow over her. She stood up and sat down next to Link. He smiled at her and continued to warm himself.

"It's quite cold out here, isn't it?" he said.

"Yeah, I never thought it could get this cold out here in the desert." Ilia replied.

"Yep. It sure can."

"Anyway, Link, there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What's that?"

"You know earlier today, when I had that look on my face and you asked me what I was thinking about?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it was about you. I wanted to tell you this for a while now but I just didn't have the strength to tell you."

"What's that?"

"Well…there's no easy way to put this so I'll just say it. Link…I…I love you."

Link was silent for a moment and Ilia continued to speak. "We've been friends for a long time and you've done so much for me. I really don't know how you tolerate me nagging and scolding you all the time and I'm so sorry for that, for everything. I had just had to tell you how I felt about you. I can understand if you don't feel the same way about me, but I just had to tell you. I really do love you, Link." Ilia then stood up and walked away, admitting defeat, but as she walked off, she felt Link grab her shoulder and he spun her around, taking her into a tight embrace.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Ilia…and I love you too."

Ilia's eye lit up at those words. Link lifted her chin and brought his lips to hers. Suddenly, the cold of the desert vanished as the two of them stood there, locked in a passionate kiss. They parted lips and Ilia leaned her head on Link's shoulder.

"I still don't get how you tolerate me, Link. I'm always-"

"Looking out for me?"

Ilia looked at him again and Link had a tender smile on his face. They sat back down and Link held Ilia in his arms. They sat there for quite a long time, just enjoying one another's presence. Link finally broke the silence.

"Well, it's getting late. We should get some rest. We'll be arriving in Gondor tomorrow."

"Okay."

They stood up and Link led Ilia back to her tent. Before leaving, he gave her a tender kiss.

"Goodnight, Ilia. I love you."

"I love you too, Link."

Link walked back to his tent and Ilia fell into a peaceful sleep.

Dawn brought the desert heat back to the refugee caravan and no one had a problem waking up that morning. As soon as everyone was fed and packed up, the caravan continued. By late morning, they had exited the desert and entered the green fields of South Ithilien, owned by the Kingdom of Gondor. The refugees were informed that they would be reaching Minas Tirith and Osgiliath very soon. They continued to walk and by evening, the White Tower of Minas Tirith loomed in the distance. Everyone's eyes widened as they looked upon the city of seven levels. To the east of Minas Tirith was the city of Osgiliath. Many of the refugees split off from the main body and wished everyone else safe passage. The rest of the group moved on.

The next day, the rest of the refugees crossed the border into Rohan. Several others began to split off to other small villages on the way until it was just the members of Ordon. As they climbed to the top of a hill, a great city came into site. Théoden rode up next to Link and looked upon the city.

"Edoras, and the Golden Hall of Meduseld, the capital city of Rohan."