A/N: Notice for followers of this story: In less than two weeks, I'll be going on vacation for a little while. Hopefully, I'll be able to post the next chapter on time, but I'm not certain so… if I don't, then… I apologize in advance. However, I'm currently writing the next chapter and I'm hoping that I get to post it on time, so it should be just fine. Anyway, I hope that you guys enjoy, and thank you for all of your continued support! :D

Chapter 7

The young queen's eyes focused on the ground as she sat on a small loveseat in her chamber. The young hero sat next to her, tiredly leaning his head on her shoulder. His eyelids drooped as he frowned slightly, hoping that Zelda was okay.

"We have nothing to worry about, Zelda," he assured her, rubbing her shoulder lightly. "It doesn't matter what anybody else says about us. We'll be fine, so long as we stick together."

Zelda nodded slightly, though she still felt apprehensive about the situation. "I suppose you're right, Link," she replied hesitantly, twiddling her thumbs. "They have no right to tell me who I can and cannot be with…"

"Exactly," Link smiled at her sweetly, leaning his head on her shoulder once again. She smiled, glad that Link was always there for her when she needed him. Before Link came along, Zelda had nobody but Impa to turn to for help. Unfortunately, Impa was usually busy running errands around Castle Town. Having Link there with her at that moment eased Zelda's nerves, washing her troubles away like a wave. Even the sound of his voice soothed her.

The young man opened his eyes wider, biting his cheek pensively. He thought back to a conversation that he had with Zelda the day before. "Hey, Zelda?" he asked, sitting up straight.

She turned her head to face him, raising an eyebrow. "Yes?" she replied, tilting her head slightly. "Is something the matter, Link?"

He shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck. "I… had a question for you," he told her, his cheeks turning beet red.

"Oh?" she answered, sitting up straight. She cleared her throat, wondering what it could be. "What is it?"

"It's just that…" he started, averting her gaze. "I've been thinking about it, and… a-are you… are you my… girlfriend?"

Zelda blushed as she smiled at him, giggling slightly. She was giggling at how uneasy he had seemed, though it was ironic, because she felt similar. "Well…" she started, biting her cheek, "I suppose I am, Link… and you're my inamorato."

Link cocked his head slightly at her word choice, not quite knowing what she was saying. He bit his lip. "I'm your… what?" he asked, slightly embarrassed for not being able to understand her.

The young woman grinned at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She brought her face close to his, her deep blue eyes piercing his. "Boyfriend," she specified, giggling as he held her close.

The young hero's face lit up as the word came out of her mouth, his joy warming his entire body. Or perhaps he was just sweaty again.

He bit his cheek, beaming at her. "That's… that's great!" he replied, laughing and pressing his warm lips up to hers. Zelda smiled into the kiss, resting her hands on the nape of Link's neck. She giggled as he pulled her onto his lap, craning his neck and kissing her cheek.

She tangled her fingers in his hair, staring into his sharp, light blue eyes. She couldn't help but notice how handsome he looked, especially now that he was dressed up for the ceremony. Zelda smiled at him. "It's none of their concern," she remarked, gazing into his stunning eyes. "We can do whatever we desire to."

Link grinned slightly, suddenly remembering something. "About this morning," he started, staring at Zelda, "what was it, exactly, that Impa was implying about our night together?"

Her cheeks turned bright red as she averted his gaze. "Oh, you know…" she coughed, biting her cheek. She had the feeling that he knew exactly what Impa had implied.

"Do I?" he asked innocently, cocking his head. Link leaned his face in closer to hers, causing her to blush even more. "If I didn't know better, I would say that she thought that we've been doing, well… more than has actually been going on…"

"Well, we have been spending quite a bit of time together…" she muttered, biting her cheek. "But… but Impa's being ridiculous! She believes such silly things, sometimes…"

The young man twirled a piece of Zelda's hair around his finger as she looked up at him. "Well, it's not THAT farfetched…" he remarked.

She chuckled nervously, shaking her head. "I… suppose it isn't, really," she agreed with him, holding onto his hand. Her heart raced as he leaned forward, connecting his lips to hers fervently. Zelda moaned quietly, her eyes fluttering closed as she held onto him tightly.

"What isn't that farfetched?" a voice asked from across the room.

Zelda's eyes flew open as Link let go of her, causing her to lose her balance and fall backwards onto the floor. She sat up quickly as she turned her head towards the doorway, only to find Impa crossing her arms and staring at the two of them impatiently.

"Impa!" Zelda shrieked, standing up. "W-where did you come from?"

"The two of you were supposed to be downstairs for the banquet 5 minutes ago!" she replied shortly, tapping her foot.

"Right," Zelda nodded, hoping that Impa wouldn't ask what was going on. Link stood up, averting Impa's gaze as his cheeks flushed. He followed Zelda as she and Impa exited the room in silence. The older woman closed the door behind them. "You'd both best get those guilty looks off of your faces first," she advised them, leading the two adolescents down the large flight of stairs. They looked at each other, smiling awkwardly and turning away.

When the three arrived, Impa escorted them to their seats. Impa sat between Link and Zelda. How convenient.

Link could barely believe the ludicrous amount of food that was set on the table. It was enough to feed an entire kingdom! They was only 100 other people there, at the most! Still, it all looked delicious…

"My dear Zelda," slurred a stout old man sitting across the table, holding a glass of wine. "What's it like, being the new Queen of Hyrule?"

She cleared her throat, sitting up tall. "It's an honor to serve my people," she replied, nodding curtly.

"You want a drink?" he asked, swishing around his glass.

"No thank you," she responded politely, shaking her head. "I don't plan on being intoxicated-"

"Aw, c'mon," he hiccupped, chuckling as he leaned forward. "No one really has to know, you know. Don't be so prudish…"

"She said no," Link interjected tersely, narrowing his eyes at the man.

The old man raised an eyebrow, tossing his wine glass over his shoulder. Impa gasped, glaring at the man as she stood up, running to the other side of the table to clean it up. "A bit protective, aren't you? Standing up for Zelda like that?"

Link scowled at him, clenching his fists. "You're just a drunk fool. You have no right to treat her like that."

Zelda glanced back and forth between the two of them as Impa cleaned up the glass on the floor, oblivious to the situation. "Gentlemen," she started calmly, trying not to make things worse, "I advise that you both calm yourselves…"

"I'm no fool," the man barked, ignoring the young queen as he leaned forward. "You'd do best to respect your elders, boy!"

"Why should I respect someone who treats me as inferior?" Link snapped back, gritting his teeth. "Only a fool would find that sensible, and I'm not the fool here!"

"Stop this nonsense!" Zelda shouted, gritting her teeth as the two men fell silent. She pointed at the door. "I will not tolerate this sort of foolishness! If you are both going to act so childishly, you can take it somewhere else!"

The room fell silent as Zelda glared daggers at the two of them. Impa looked over at the young girl, raising an eyebrow. "Is this man giving you trouble, Link?" Impa asked, clearing her throat and sitting up.

The young man scowled at the older man for a moment, his eyes burning with anger. He sighed in exasperation, knowing that he shouldn't make things worse. "No," he replied, leaning back into his seat and crossing his arms. "There's no problem."

Impa glanced between the two men suspiciously. "Whatever you say, Link. Just let me know if anything is wrong…"

The young queen sat up straight, shaking her head. "I can assure you that nobody will be giving anybody trouble." Zelda narrowed her eyes slightly, shifting her gaze towards the two men. The older man cleared his throat as Link stared at his lap, biting his cheek.

A younger man with dark hair who was sitting next to Link spoke up, smirking. "The last thing that our new queen needs is more of a hard time. She's already getting plenty of that from Link…"

Link, Zelda and Impa's eyes all went wide as they sharply turned their heads towards the young man. "What are you implying, sir?" Link asked brusquely, gritting his teeth at the man beside him.

The other young man rolled his eyes tiredly, yawning and leaning his head onto his hand. "Oh, don't act so innocent," he replied, still smirking at Link. "I think we all know exactly why our dear Queen Zelda has taken such a liking to you."

The young hero scoffed as Zelda locked eyes with Impa, their expressions full of unease. Link glared at the young man beside him, clenching his fists and leaning forward aggressively. The other boy put his hands into the air defensively, chuckling. "There's no need to be so upset, my fine sir," he laughed, shaking his head. "If anything, we should all be calling you an idol."

"Why is that?" Link asked, not daring to lower his gaze.

"You're the one who managed to get a beautiful girl such as Zelda to put out," he answered, smiling deviously at Link.

The tension in the room grew even stronger as the boys words echoed in the air. The young hero could barely believe it. He had never done anything of the sort with Zelda! "I did not!" was all that Link could say as his cheeks burned as hot as fire. Zelda closed her eyes, sighing in exasperation as Impa stood up in her defense, walking over to the foolish boy.

Link clenched his fists at his sides, pivoting on his heel and marching off towards the door. Zelda hurried after Link as Impa scolded the young man for being so impolite.

"Link, stop!" Zelda urged the furious young man as he stomped down the hallway. She closed the door behind her as he continued on, grumbling to himself. Where was he going? He didn't even know his way around the castle! "Please stop, Link!" she told him worriedly, running after him as he climbed up a flight of stairs. She finally managed to catch up to him once they reached the top of the steps.

Zelda grabbed onto his shoulder, turning him around to face her. "You must ignore them, Link," she advised him, frowning with wide eyes. "That young man is a fool. He knows nothing about us."

His nostrils flared as he scowled at the floor. "Y-you shouldn't let people treat you like that, Zelda!" he shook his head frowning. "They treat you like you're just some girl, but you're not! You deserve so much more than this!"

She smiled sadly at him, putting a cold hand on his cheek. "My job is simply to protect my people, Link," she told him. He looked into her eyes, frowning. "I cannot control them, nor do I wish to. I can only control my own life. I have no right to punish them for such trivial reasons."

"You do so much for everyone, Zelda…" he shook his head, holding her hand in his. "They have no right to treat you like this…"

"Link," she started, closing her eyes as she shook her head. "They treat me just as they would treat anyone else. I expect nothing more from them, as it is my job to take care of them. Just as a parent does not expect thanks for raising their child, I expect nothing more from my subjects. It is my duty to do take care of them, and I need no thanks."

Link sighed as he wrapped his arms around Zelda's waist, pulling her close to him. She rested her chin on his shoulder, exhaling slowly. His eyes softened slightly as he thought to himself quietly. "You don't owe them anything, Zelda…" he said to her, shaking his head.

Zelda pursed her lips slightly, leaning her head back and looking at him for a moment. "Link…" she started, resting her hands on his shoulders as she bit her lip pensively. "My family owes much more to the people of Hyrule than you may believe."

He cocked his head slightly, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. "Why would your family owe anything to them?"

Her eyes softened as she thought back to the story that Impa had told her years ago. She exhaled through her nose. "As you may or may not know, I am not the first princess in the royal family to be named Zelda. It is by tradition of the Royal Family of Hyrule that every female descendant of royal blood is to be given the name Zelda. It is an age old tradition, dating back long before the Era of the Hero of Time. While those ancestors lived in times much different from the one that we are currently living in, it seems that so many have been forced to deal with evil beings similar to those that we have recently faced. Despite the continued effort given from my family, despite how much we must go through in an attempt to cease that evil, it seems that, without further help, we are nearly useless in that respect. Without a courageous hero on our side who will fight for us, we have an almost insignificant impact. My family has always been quite aware of this. In penance for our inability to control the evil that never ceases to make its way into our kingdom, the least that we can do is protect our citizens to our best ability."

"You've made a much bigger impact than you may believe, Zelda," he told her matter-of-factly, biting his cheek. "I couldn't have brought down Ganondorf without your help." Before Zelda could protest, Link pulled her closer to him, enveloping her in his arms and vehemently pressing his lips against hers.

She melted into the kiss, the muscles in her face softening as she cradled his face in her hands. The feeling of being held so closely to Link made Zelda feel secure, which was a feeling that didn't seem to cross her mind very often. Her previous worries seemed to vanish as she felt her lips grow warm, her entire body energized.

His fingertips caressed the soft fabric of her gown, Zelda's lips sending shivers down his spine. He pulled away, leaning his forehead against hers. He smiled, closing his eyes. "Nobody is going to tell us what to do," he assured her. "I won't let them. You… you mean the world to me, Zelda. I wouldn't ever let anything happen to you."

The young queen's eyes were pricked with tears as she lowered her head slightly, smiling to herself. "Thank you, Link…" she whispered, closing her eyes in an attempt to prevent herself from crying. She rested her chin on Link's shoulder, pursing her lips as she stared at the wall behind him. "Thank you so much…"

The young man leaned back, lightly cupping her chin in his hand. A tear slowly rolled down her cheek as she stared at the ground. Link frowned, gently wiping the tear away with his thumb. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

She shook her head, chuckling to herself as she lifted her gaze. "Nothing, Link. Nothing at all…" Zelda threw her arms around his neck, startling the boy as she feverishly pressed her lips against his. After a moment, he placed his hands on her waist, humming contentedly.

They both heard the door from down the stairs open loudly. They pulled their lips away from each other, though they didn't notice that they were still holding on to the other. The two of them both gazed down the stairway, wondering if they were being pursued.

Impa suddenly came into view as she hurried up the stairs, a worried expression on her face. She pivoted on her heel, turning to face the two teenagers. "Are you two all right?" she asked worriedly, frowning.

Link nodded, smiling cheekily. "We're great," he assured her.

"I… see that now," Impa remarked, rubbing the back of her neck as she stared at them. They suddenly realized why she was staring and quickly pulled away from each other, blushing. Impa smirked slightly before clearing her throat, composing herself. "I had a stern conversation with that boy about manners and, well… common decency. He won't be bothering you anymore, but… if the news is out about the two of you, there will undoubtedly be pandemonium, and the news will spread rapidly. I suggest that you both return to Ordon for a bit longer, just long enough for things to calm down."

Zelda and Link looked at each other, contemplating the situation. The young woman cleared her throat, nodding her head. "I suppose that it would indeed be the wisest choice if we were to let things calm down for a little while…" she agreed, her eyes deep in thought.

Link felt slightly queasy at the thought of everybody knowing about him and Zelda, not to mention the fact that the others likely believed that he and Zelda had done more than had actually happened between them…

"You two had better get going," Impa advised them, pursing her lips.

"What are we to do if we're followed?" Zelda asked her, glancing at Link.

The older woman shook her head slightly, clasping her hands together. "I'll make sure that nobody sees you leave. I'll distract them."

"What are you supposed to tell them?" Link questioned, raising an eyebrow. "What if they ask where we are?"

Impa shook her head hastily. "Don't worry about it, boy," she answered, grabbing Zelda and Link by their shoulders and pushing them towards another door. "I'll figure it out. Now, get going! Link, you can call your horse using that whistle of yours. Run along, now!" She turned away, running down the staircase as quickly as she could.

Zelda grabbed onto Link's hand, leading him to a door at the end of the corridor. She pushed the door open, revealing another narrow hallway with two staircases at the end of it. She hurried forward, closing the door behind them. Zelda led Link down one of the staircases, taking them to yet another hallway. She pressed on through the confusing layout of the castle as Link followed along, dumbfounded.

"You sure know your way around the castle," he remarked, chuckling to himself.

She smiled, running her hand along the cold stone wall as they walked along. "The castle is my home," she reminded him, "of course I'm able to navigate it. You can navigate your house, can't you?"

"I think we can both agree that my house is much, much different from yours," he joked, shaking his head.

Zelda laughed, opening another door. "Spending their entire life in one place causes one to become accustomed to that environment," she told him, nodding her head slightly. The bitter wind blew through the door and into the hallway, the ice cold rain stinging their faces. "This way will take us back to Hyrule Field," she explained to him, trying her best to ignore the stormy weather.

He nodded, frowning slightly as they stepped out into the rain. Link bit his cheek as Zelda tried to conceal her shivering as she closed the door behind them. "O-okay, Link," she told him, her teeth chattering, "you should call for Epona, now…"

Link reached for the pouch on his belt, only to find that it wasn't there. His eyes went wide as he realized that he didn't have the same clothes that he had before. The Hero's Clothes were still in the castle! Zelda realized their predicament just as Link did. They stared at each other for a moment, not knowing what to do.

The young woman bit her lip pensively. "The rain should cease fairly soon," she remarked, looking up at the sky. "Surely we could travel without Epona…"

"Are you sure?" Link asked worriedly, noticing how drenched Zelda's beautiful gown already was.

She sighed, crossing her arms. "We don't seem to have much of a choice, Link," she pointed out, frowning.

Link furrowed his brow as he frowned, nodding. He and Zelda turned around towards the vast field, sighing at how far away the forest seemed. They began to venture towards the faraway province, shivering as the rain poured down on them.

"So… how did Impa know about the whistle that I use to call Epona?" he asked, gazing over at her.

"Oh…" she said, blushing slightly as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Well… when she first took me to the dress fitting, she asked about you and I. She was concerned, since she didn't know you personally. So… I told her all about you."

He smiled slightly, raising an eyebrow at her. "What did you tell her?"

I told her that you're the sweetest man I've ever met," she beamed at him, gazing into his eyes.

Link chuckled nervously, holding onto her hand as they continued along on their journey back to Ordon Village. "I'm glad you think so," he laughed breathily as the rain finally came to a stop. The sun shined down on the two adolescents as they held each other's hands, knowing that they were going to stay together, no matter what happened.