DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS.

I do, however, own the plot to this fanfiction.

Before I start, I have a brief question to ask. I have two different endings in mind. When I'm finished with this story should I just post my preferred ending, or would you guys like for me to post the preferred ending and the alternate ending afterwards and label it as an alternate? The alt ending is going to be sad, but the idea is just too gorgeous for me to resist.

Welcome to Ordon

Zelda looked around in awe as they passed through Faron Woods. She rode in the back of Telma's cart, sitting on Link's bag while she loosely held her own. The bags held nothing more than a few sets of spare clothes and a small mirror that Impa had given to her as gift right before they left. Zelda let loose a tiny sigh as she wished the silver haired woman had come with them.

"You're going to like it," Link told her as he smiled up at the sky peeking through the thick branches overhead, "Fresh air, beautiful scenery, goats-"

"What's so special about goats? Plus, there are plenty of goats in Castle Town," Zelda mumbled.

"They're nothing like the goats in Ordon. They're fatter and a million times more social," he grinned.

"We're almost there," Telma happily announced as the crossed the massive rope bridge. Zelda blanched as she peeked over the edge and saw nothing but a black abyss. They passed by the spirit's spring and stopped in front of Link's house. Zelda looked around confusedly as she carefully climbed out of the cart.

"Why did we stop in front of a tree?" She asked, earning a smile from Link.

"It's not a tree, Zel. It's my house," He laughed, "We should leave our, or should I your, because over half of my bag is filled with your things, here. That is unless you want to carry your stuff around with you."

"No, I'm fine with leaving it here," She replied as she gave the tree another look. Sure enough there was a house built into it. "Only you would live in a tree, but I do have to admit that it's kinda cool."

Link grinned as he climbed up the ladder and motioned for her to hand him the bags. He unlocked the door and placed them inside before relocking it and hopping down. He then started to unsaddle Epona who was happily munching on some grass.

"I'm going to go ahead and find Rusl so that he'll know not to bow down and blow her majesty's cover the second he sees her," Telma informed them as she made her way down to the village, "Don't take too long, Link. I'm sure those children are dying to see you."

"Okay. We'll be there in a moment," Link called as he rolled up his sleeves and tossed the saddle over a fence he had built for the very purpose of keeping his stuff off the ground. He turned around to find Zelda kicking a rock. He watched as it darted across the dirt and bounced off the gate.

"I think... I think this is going to be hard to get used to," she murmured. She had been so angry and startled when they had fled the castle that she didn't realize how devastated she was about losing her home. All the quiet she had experienced on the way to Ordon gave the sadness in her heart more than enough time to wiggle it's way into her thoughts and destroy her composure. She didn't even try to stop the tears that started to pour down her face. She jumped when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her protectively.

"It's okay, Zel. We'll get your castle back. I swear it."

"Am I that easy to read?" she sniffed, wiping her cheeks with her palms.

"How mad would you get if I told you yes?" he half joked in a desperate attempt to cheer her up.

"Link!" She scolded, a whisper of a smile playing across her lips.

"There's the Zelda I know," he smiled, gently pulling her by the arm, "Come on, let's head on down and get you introduced to everyone."

"Link!" The children hollered as they ran towards and mobbed the blond.

"You kill any monsters recently?" Talo excitedly asked as he swung a wooden sword that closely resembled Link's old one.

"Of course he has," Malo mumbled as he gave his brother a look that made it obvious that he thought he was a moron.

"L~ink, did you bring me a souvenir?" Beth asked, drawing out his name in a way that would be considered seductive if she wasn't a child.

"Sorry, Beth. Not this time. I left sooner than I thought, so I didn't have a chance to you guys anything," Link replied, feeling a little guilty because he had promised to get each of them a little something while he was in the city.

"Meh. It's okay," she smiled.

"I'm glad you're back," Colin said. After what had happened in Kakariko, the boy had grown a backbone and was no longer harassed by Talo and Malo. He was carrying Mable, his little sister, piggy back.

"Link," Mable called as she jumped off her brother and held her arms up towards Link.

"Maybie, you're getting so big," Link grinned as he hoisted the little girl up.

"Who's she?" She asked, pointing to Zelda. "She has pointy ears like you. Does that mean she's your girlfriend?"

The children all stared at Zelda in surprise. In their excitement, not one of them had noticed her despite the fact that she was standing right next to him the entire time.

"I'm Tetra," she responded as if she had been saying it her whole life. "It's nice to met you all. And to answer your question, uh..."

"Her name's Mable," Link whispered, a slight blush on his cheeks from the little girl's earlier question.

"Mable," Zelda continued, "I am not Link's girlfriend. We're just really close friends."

"Sure you are," Beth snickered, a tinge of jealousy in her voice.

"I thought I recognized that voice," A girl said as she waltzed over.

"Oh, hey, Ilia," Link said, waving with his free hand.

"Who's your friend?" She asked, smiling at Zelda.

"Ilia, this is Tetra. Tetra, this is Ilia," He introduced, motioning between the two with his hand.

The more Ilia looked at the hylian woman, the more uneasy she felt. She wasn't going to lie, she thought Zelda was gorgeous and that combined with the fact that she obviously close with Link made her feel an emotion she'd never felt before. She was jealous. She quickly shook the foreign emotion away and extended her hand in a friendly manner.

"It's a pleasure to met you, Tetra."

"Same," Zelda replied, accepting the handshake.

The remainder of the evening followed in a similar manner. Zelda would introduce herself as Tetra and whomever she was being introduced to would comment on how pretty or polite she was before stating how happy they were that Link had got himself such a nice girl. Link, obviously, would deny that they were a couple and Zelda would laugh at how flustered he'd get each and every time.

"So you're Telma's niece?" Bo asked, curiosity shining in his eyes. "I didn't know she had a niece, but then again, she's not exactly the type to spurt her personal business unless she finds it necessary. You know, I would've thought you'd be a little less... Dainty," He laughed. Link shook his head and Zelda smiled politely at the burly man.

"Stop pestering her. Did it ever occur to you that your nosiness and weird humor is why hardly anyone visits us?" Ilia scolded as she sat a basket of cucco eggs on the table. She took some out and frowned. "Damn. Half of them are busted."

"Probably happened when you tripped over that frog and face planted," Link laughed.

"WHAT?! Y-YOU SAW THAT?!"

"Everyone did."

"Tetra?"

"I am ashamed to say that I laughed very hard."

"Oooooh!"

"It's okay, Ilia. I've done worse," Colin smiled before looking up at the ceiling in thought, "Well, I think I have. I may have come close?"

"That doesn't help," Ilia pouted, sighing, "But dwelling on it isn't going to make it go away, so I'd better go ahead and get over it."

"Link, Tetra, you two should come over to my house for dinner. Mama's making stew beef tonight," Colin said, hopeful.

"Uli's three star cooking? Count me in!" Link cheered.(1)

"If you tell her that she'll be really happy."

"You think?"

"That reminds me," Ilia said half to herself as she opened the cupboard. "Uli asked me to loan her some carrots. Make sure she gets them, Colin."

"Will do," he answered, taking the basket into his arms. "We'll save some stew for you as fair trade."

"Yay."

Link, Zelda and Colin told Ilia and Bo goodbye and headed over to Colin's house. Link happily sniffed the air as they walked in, enjoying the sent of the stew. Colin handed his mother the carrots and she grinned.

"She remembered the carrots," she smiled, seeming slightly surprised. "I was sure she had forgotten."

"I promised her and the mayor some stew," Colin told her.

"That's fine."

"Carrots are so yucky. The stew would taste better if you didn't taint the whole pot with their nastiness," Mable mumbled, making a face that was mix between anger, disgust and disappointment.

"But stewed carrots are so delicious," Zelda told her as she crouched down next the little girl.

Mable was sprawled across the floor and was coloring a picture her brother had drawn for her earlier in the day. She finished coloring a goat, sat up and gave Zelda a stern look.

"No they ain't. They're disgusting."

"They're good for your eyes. If you eat lots of them you'll be able to see things really far away," Zelda chimed in a feeble attempt to con the little girl into trying some once the stew was finished.

"Try all you want, but I'm gonna go ahead and warn you that she's a tough nut to crack," Rusl joked as he unlaced his boots and tossed them by the door.

"Yeah, Tetra. I'm a tough knot to crack!"

"Nut," Colin corrected, "A tough nut."

"A quick heads up," Link warned, "The stew beef we cook in Ordon tastes nothing like the kind they cook in
Castle Town. First off, we use goat instead of beef. Second, there's a lot of pumpkin involved."

"I personally think the pumpkin gives it a delightful aftertaste," Uli argued, frowning slightly.

"I didn't say I didn't like it. I was just saying that it's different," Link told her before grinning, " In fact, I don't think there's a single chef in all of Hyrule that can out cook you, Uli!"

Uli blinked surprisedly before giving him a heartwarming smile. "That's sweet and all, but I'm sure the Queen's chefs are much more talented than I am."

"Their cucco is always too dry," Link joked.

Everyone conversed and laughed while they waited for the stew to finish. Colin told Zelda about the time Link had saved him from King Bulblin. She let out a gasp of surprise when Link not so humbly butted in and bragged about how he'd flung him off of Eldin bridge, swinging his sword arm for emphasis. He then sighed as he he mentioned how he must be some sort of masochist, because he kept challenging him over and over just to get the crap beat out of him again and again.

"As much as I hate to interrupt this oh so very interesting story that I've only heard half a million times, I feel the need to tell you that the stew is done," Uli interrupted, smiling playfully.

Everyone fixed themselves a bowl and stared at Zelda as she cautiously sniffed her food before sticking the spoon in her mouth. The Hero of Twilight was sure he saw fireworks flashing behind her eyes and it took all of his effort not to laugh at her expression.

"This is amazing..."

"I told you so."

"Uli, would you mind giving me the recipe for this?"

"No offense, but you don't know how to cook," Link spoke up, eyeing her.

"I can learn," Zelda argued, determination in her eyes.

"Oh boy."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. I said nothing."

"Yes you did. You most definitely said something."

"'Oh boy,'" Mable said, doing her best to mimic Link's voice.

"Gah-!"

"Eh? Nothing, huh?" Zelda asked, her expression briefly reminding him of a fox.

Link frowned and looked at Mable, feigning hurt, "You're supposed to be on my side, Maybie."

"She's prettier than you," Mable announced, causing everyone to laugh.

"What kind of logic is that?" Link frowned.

"No one understands the working of Mable other than Mable," Rusl laughed, petting the little girl on her head, "Besides, you of all people should know that Mable doesn't keep secrets."

Dinner continued in a similar fashion. Link ate four bowls of stew, earning him a bewildered look from Mable, who told him he was going to get fat from eating so much. After they all finished eating he and Zelda stayed for a while longer before heading home themselves, backtracking a bit to give Ilia and her father their promised stew.

"That was fun," Zelda smiled as she followed Link up the ladder.

"Yeah, it was, wasn't it? It's been way too long since I goofed off like that."

"Are the people of Ordon always so happy?" She asked as Link fiddled with the lock.

"Pretty much," He answered before giving the door an annoyed look. "I need to replace this damn lock, it's too old and touchy. If the key isn't placed just right, it won't open. Ah-Ha!"

The duo stepped into the dark house and Link lit a couple of lanterns and hug them in seemingly random places. Zelda took the opportunity to be nosy. She chuckled upon discovering a bundle of photos that consisted almost entirely of goats. She did a three-sixty and frowned when she couldn't locate the bed.

"Where do you sleep?"

"I have a bed up in the loft. Well, it's technically bed. It's more or less a dozen blankets piled on top of each other with eight or nine pillows scattered across it," He sheepishly answered, "But I assure you it's better than it sounds. In fact, I think it's way more comfy than any bed could ever hope to be."

"Every time I doubt you I quickly regret it, so I'm going take your word on this one," she stated before going over to her suitcase and opening it. After digging around for a moment she was able to locate the night gown Telma had gotten her.

Link instantly understood what she was doing and turned away from her. "Go ahead and change. I won't look."

Zelda quickly stripped and slid the nightgown over her head, pulling her ash blond hair out of the collar, and folded her dressings before placing them on a nearby table.

"I'm finished."

She turned to face Link and blinked in surprise upon finding him hopping on one foot wearing nothing but his underwear as he desperately tried to pull his pajama bottoms on. He jerked his head in her direction and lost his balance. He crashed to the floor and, unsure of what else to do in his moment of great embarrassment, just lied there and watched as her feet walked over to him and stopped three inches away from his nose.

"Moments like these make it hard for me to believe that you're the same man who killed Ganondorf."

"Shuddup..."

Link sat up and jerked his pants on before pulling on a baggy shirt. Her let loose his hair and ran his fingers through his long locks to rid them of the many knots he had acquired throughout the day.

"So, do you want to sleep with me or would you prefer that one of us sleeps on the couch?" He asked, despite already knowing what her answer would be.

"You've made me too spoiled. I couldn't sleep by myself if I tried," she replied, giving him a soft smile. A single lock of hair hung between her eyes and she swept it back just for it to fall back into place.

"And who's fault is that?"

"Yours. If you hadn't started napping in my room, the habit wouldn't have ever started. I got so used to you being there, even though you were always in wolf form, that I found myself unable to get a wink of sleep without you. Then you got brave one day and did it as a hylian, which only made it worse," she half scolded.

"What does my form have to do with it?" he asked slightly intrigued as to what her answer would be.

"Both nothing and everything," she replied as she walked past him and ascended the ladder leading up to the loft, practically flopping onto the pallet. "You were right. This is comfy." She sighed in content as Link lied down next her, pulling a thin blanket over them.

"I told you so," he chuckled.

"I never doubted you," she told him, closing her eyes, "Goodnight, Link."

"Goodnight, Zel."

(1) This is a reference to the official TP manga. Rusl invites Link over for dinner and he gets happy over her "3 star cooking" Rusl then tells him that Uli would be happy if she heard him say that.

Okay, so there's something about Link appearance in this story that I'd like to go ahead and point out because I haven't had an opportunity to bring it up in the story itself.

Link wear three pair of earrings (six total) and they all serve a purpose:

The lowest ones are blue: they increase the effectiveness of defensive/healing magic.

The middle pair are green: they drastically increase his magic capacity.

The highest pair are red: they increase the effectiveness of offensive spells (Ex:Din's Fire)

Anyhoo, I was shocked at how fast I wrote this! I managed to all of it typed while my son took his nap XD

(YaY for naptime!)

REVIEW!