Sorry bout the delay. Writing this has taken a backseat to the rest of my life recently.

I took a while to post this because I had a family member's funeral to go to so I apologize for the wait. I've been so busy that I haven't been able write that much. If this chapter seems short it's because it is XD

But yeah, this one is short because I'm writing my original story, plus the next chapter is going to be everyone's favorite: the Water Temple! D

Songs: "Malaguena Salrosa" Chingon, "Johnny I hardly knew ya" Dropkick Murhpheys, and "Wizards in Winter" Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

See if you can spot the swashbucklin' reference in this chapter ;D

--

Link sighed, putting his shirt back on. The tunic came next, then his cap. He glanced over, laughing softly as he saw Navi dozing off inside the bottle. Malon shifted slightly in his lap. He smiled down at her as she laid her head on his shoulder. The night sky above them was full of beautiful stars once again.

Link sighed and stroked Malon's head, running his fingers through her hair. She shivered, moving closer to him. She wasn't cold she just moved closer to cover up the fact that she loved it when he did that. The sounds of the Town celebration were still going strong in the background.

"This is good… After everything that's happened the people need a reason to be happy" Link held her closer and smiled.

"That's right. And it was you who gave them this chance" she looked up at him with a smile on her face. "I'm proud of you. I knew you were a hero, but with this one thing you've given people a reason to be happy for years" she snuggled up against him.

"You think so…?" he leaned back and looked towards the stars. He was never really comfortable with getting praise for his acts. He preferred it when people knew it was him, but didn't show their appreciation openly. He grinned slightly when he realized if it was Malon showing her thanks, he wouldn't mind one bit.

"There they are!" some shouted happily.

Link's head shot up and looked towards the voice. Impa was standing there with a smile on her face, and there were some villagers behind her.

"C'mon now, or you're gonna miss the dance!" one of the men waved them over.

Link looked down at Malon. She seemed to have a light in her eyes that was shining as bright as Din's Fire. He stood up with her, nodding.

"I've always wanted to go to a big dance… You know, like the ones they had at the castle" Malon gushed. Her hands were at her cheeks, covering her red face. Link laughed at how she was behaving.

"To just dance? I've never been to a dance before" he admitted. He had danced with Saria in the woods before, but he had never been to an actual dance before. He felt kind of awkward now, with these people asking them to dance. He wouldn't say it, but he was kind of scared he was going to embarrass himself out there.

Malon's arm hooked in his and her warm smile made him forget about his worries. Sure, he was most likely going to go out there and look like an idiot, but at least he was going to do it with the woman he loved.

--

"What's wrong, Kail?" someone asked. His eyes slowly opened and he saw the owner of the voice.

"I'm just… bored" he sighed. The pale skinned Hylian girl blinked her big green eyes as he spoke.

"Why? Aren't you glad that you get to relax instead of always fighting?" the girl swept her long golden blond hair over the shoulder. She moved closer to him and sat down.

"No way" he grinned "I live to fight. I'm a warrior, Celia" he patted the small girl on her head.

"Really? That's cool!" she smiled big. She was shorter than him and he looked young, like a little girl really, even though she was only two years younger than him. She had a developed body, but she was still small. Kail remembered asking about it once.

"The doctors said that I suffered from a traumatizing event as a child, and the shock stopped my growth processes" she had told him. He recalled that she came from the land over the mountains. The strange sciences there were said to defy the gods and brought bad luck and fortune upon them.

She moved closer, cudling against her. If it had been just another little girl, Kail would have ignored it. But Celia was different. Although she stopped growing, her body didn't stop developing in certain… areas. Kail gulped, looking down at her.

She was smiling still, her ample bust pressed up against his arm and side.

"C'mon, Kail! Tell me stories like you said you would. About the fights you've been in!" she was getting really excited.

Kail sighed. She was one of the few people he couldn't say no to. He didn't know if it was because she had a similar misfortune in the fact that she looked younger than she was, or if he really felt something for her. He shook the thought from his head. He was just here to fight, not to get attached.

"Yeah, yeah. Alright, I'll tell you about the time I fought these pirates over by the ocean…"

--

"I didn't know you could dance so well, Link!" Malon whispered as she leaned close to him. Her arm was on his waist and her other in his hand. His hands were in the same places. They moved gracefully across the open village center. The people smiled as they watched them.

"Neither did I" Link admitted, laughing nervously. He felt uncomfortable with all the people just watching them dance. After a while, though, people started moving in and dancing as well. Link sighed in relief as the eyes were gradually taken off of them.

"Phew… I'm done" Malon took her hand off of his waist. She didn't notice how tired she was when they were dancing, but now that they stopped, she felt like she was going to fall over. Link supported her, leading her over to a small grassy hill.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, pointing over to a table they had out. It had all sorts of food and drinks on it. He was kind of hungry himself, fighting to suppress the growling of his stomach.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I am. Could you get me some meat like… I don't know. Just bring me something" she nodded "oh, and could you bring me some apple juice?" she licked her lips. Cold apple juice sounded great right now.

"Sure, no problem" Link smiled and walked over to the table. He got her drink first, then got some cow meat. He got a plate of crow meat for himself and some water. He carried the stuff back to her an set it down. "There you go" he smiled.

She looked over at his plate "What… is that?" she cocked her head to the side and stared at it.

"It's crow meat. It's my favorite" he nodded, smiling and handing her a fork. He licked his lips as he stared down at it and rubbed his hands together.

"Can I… try a bit?" she asked. She wasn't so sure if it was a good idea, but she was curious as to how it tasted.

"Here you go" Link smiled and speared a piece of the meat on his fork. She took it and put it in her mouth.

"Ooo! That's good!" she smiled, chewing the sweet, tender meat.

"I know" Link winked.

--

"… and while the cannons are blasting left and right, I'm there fighting with him, back and forth. He's fast, I'm fast, and we're both exhausted. While the little guys are down there fighting it out, we're up there on the canvas, slashing at each other. I cut off the tentacle of his that had the key, and it fell to the deck. I wanted to dive straight down so we could open the chest and stab the heart but-" Kail was telling Celia, but he was interrupted.

"Sir!" a Stalfos knight saluted him and grabbed a piece of paper from it's belt. The skeleton soldier stood in it's full battle armor and it's sword sheathed. It's round shield rested on it's back and it stood straight at attention as it spoke.

"What is it?" Kail sighed. He didn't feel like doing one of Ganondorf's errands right now.

"Lord Ganondorf has ordered me to inform you that a full mobilization of our forces may be necessary soon, sir!" the knight put it's message away.

"Full mobilization…?" Kail scratched his chin. That was odd.

--

"Phew… I'm stuffed…" Link sighed. Navi was sitting next to them, ravenously devouring the fruits and meat that they got for her. Her anger at being locked up in the bottle seemed to be forgotten now that she had food.

Malon was lying next to him as they stared up at the sky. The celebration was dying down now. It was just some slow dancing and food. Link's ears perked up as he heard the plucking of a harp. His eyes bolted up to a tree. Just as he thought, he saw Sheik standing there.

"What are you doing here, Sheik?" he asked, confused. The boy seemed to appear out of nowhere whenever he pleased. He leapt down from the tree, but as always, seemed to stay in the darkness.

"You ought to check on your friends the Zoras…. Try Lake Hylia" Sheik said, as he continued to pluck the harp. He pointed towards Lake Hylia and closed his eyes.

Link and Malon both turned to look in the lakes direction. "Thanks, Sheik. I-" Link turned around and the boy was gone.

"Does he always do that?" Malon asked as they looked around. Link shook his head.

"Yep. Every damn time… I need to learn how to do that…"