A/N: YESSSS! I'm finally back! I know that I said that I can post regularly from now on. And now I look like an even bigger douche than Groose because I haven't updated in forever, but now I'm back. Oh, and my laptop crashed and burned, so I'm on my iPod. Hopefully I'll get a new computer soon, but until then... bear with me, guys. I'm so happy that I can post this because I've been having so many issues lately, and... I guess I finally caught a break. ANYWAY, make sure you rate and review if you have time, and I hope you all enjoy :D
Chapter 10
Zelda held onto Link's waist tightly as they rode on Epona towards the entrance to Castle Town. He pulled on the reins, slowing the horse down as they eventually came to a complete stop. Link stroked Epona's mane as Zelda gracefully leaped off of the horse and into the tall grass. Link followed closely behind the young woman as she exhaled through her nose, nodding curtly.
The two slowly made their way towards the main gate, trying to calm themselves. Zelda placed a hand on the tall gate, sighing as she gently pushed it open.
When the two adolescents were immediately recognized by the citizens of Castle Town, the crowd was in full pandemonium. Zelda quickly grabbed onto the boy's hand as the people swarmed around them, as if they were a pack of wolves surrounding their prey. The young queen smiled nervously, waving to the eager crowd as she tugged on Link's arm, leading him towards the castle. The young man tried his best to ignore the citizens, wondering how Zelda could possibly handle this on a daily basis.
Finally, the two had made their way through the crowd and gate, leading them towards the enormous castle. Zelda noticed Impa standing near the doorway of the castle and smiled widely, letting go of Link's hand and running towards her.
"It's so good to see you..." Zelda smiled sadly, embracing the woman. She let go after a moment, relieved to see a familiar face.
Impa frowned, sensing that something was bothering the young lady. "Did things not go well in Ordon?" she asked, cocking her head as she rested a hand on the girl's shoulder.
Link and Zelda glanced at each other, wondering if they would be better off not telling Impa all of the details.
"Not exactly..." Link replied, clearing his throat quietly.
Impa took her hand off of Zelda's shoulder, frowning. "I had the feeling that you two would be back soon..." she remarked. "The news about you two has spread like wildfire..."
The older woman paused pushing a piece of hair out of Zelda's face. She gasped when she saw the nasty bruise, covering her mouth with one of her hands. "What happened to you?!" she exclaimed, her eyes full of panic. Before Zelda could explain, Impa marched over to Link, glaring daggers at him. "You... what did you do to her?!" she snapped, clenching her fists as she leaned her face in close to his.
"Impa, please..." Zelda cried, taking a step forward.
The woman ignored her, scowling at Link. "I told you to protect her! You promised me that you would! You were supposed to take care of her!"
Link frowned, ashamed. He stared at his feet, pursing his lips' "I promise that I didn't hurt her..." he told her, shaking his head.
"Impa, it's not his fault!" Zelda defended him, stepping forward. She grabbed onto his hand, interlocking her fingers with his. "If it weren't for Link, I would have been killed!"
He grimaced at Zelda's words, not wanting to think about what she was saying. He didn't think that he would ever be able to live with himself, had he been too late to save her...
Impa grit her teeth at the boy, crossing her arms. "That's not the point, Zelda," she remarked, shaking her head. "It was his responsibility to protect you, and he failed."
"But he would have, had he some way to protect himself!" Zelda retorted. "And why should he burdened with the responsibility of protecting me, any way?"
Impa raised an eyebrow. "He's your boyfriend, isn't he?" she asked, tilting her head.
The young woman pursed her lips, blushing slightly. She nodded slowly, a small smile creeping onto her lips. The thought of Link being her boyfriend warmed Zelda, giving her butterflies in her stomach. "Yes," she answered, "of course he is..."
"And as Zelda's boyfriend you wish to protect her, correct?" the older woman asked Link.
He smiled warmly, gazing down at his hand which was still interlocked with Zelda's. "Of course I do..." he replied without hesitation. "I... I would do anything for her."
Impa nodded curtly, glancing between the two teenagers. She sighed, lowering her gaze. Perhaps she shouldn't have been so harsh to them. "I trust you boy," she told Link truthfully, locking eyes with him. "I know that you truly do care for Zelda. I'm imploring you... you must take care of her."
He nodded, us eyes drooping slightly. "I promise..." he replied, nodding slowly.
"You both look exhausted," Impa frowned, crossing her arms and shaking her head. "Haven't either of you gotten any sleep at all? And what happened to your cheek, Link?"
Link frowned, putting his fingers against the bruise on his cheek that Ilia had left. "It's a... long story, Impa."
The woman bit her cheek. "You two should head upstairs and get some rest," she advised them, opening the castle door.
"Where are the guards?" Zelda asked, noticing the absence of the two guards who usually opened the door.
"With the recent news about you and Link being leaked to the public, I have ordered the guards to patrol the outer perimeter of the castle to be certain that nobody... sneaks in," Impa explained.
"I understand..." Zelda frowned, nodding slightly.
Impa cleared her throat quietly, nodding. "Why don't you two go rest for a while? There's no rush for anything..."
They all nodded as Zelda let go of Link's hand. She lead Link through the foyer of the castle and towards one of the several staircases. "Would you mind if we shared a bed?" she asked, looking back at him and smiling as they walked upstairs.
He smiled back at her. "I don't see why not..." he remarked as they reached the top of the staircase. She led him down one of the narrow hallways and up a few more sets of stairs before finally arriving at a large door.
Zelda nodded as she pushed the door open, motioning for Link to come in. He followed her into the room, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he looked around. He recognized the room as the one they had sat in just days before, on the night of Zelda's coronation.
Link sighed in relief, finally realizing how exhausted he was. He walked over to her enormous bed, exhaling through his nose as he fell backwards onto the soft surface.
"You aren't going to take your shoes off first?" Zelda asked, giggling. He mumbled something as he rolled onto his stomach, burying his face into one of the plush pillows.
She smiled slightly, kicking off her shoes and walking over to the opposite side of the bed. She sat down, yawning loudly as she lied down. She glanced over at Link, who was as still as a statue. "Are you still awake?" she asked, her eyes halfway closed.
Link nodded slowly, lifting his head to look at her. He crawled over to her, throwing an arm around her waist and pecking her on the cheek.
Zelda smiled warmly, closing her eyes. She moaned as he pulled her close, his lips forming into a grin as he kissed her neck.
"I thought that you were tired," she remarked, opening her eyes and smirking at him.
"I am..." he replied, placing his hands on her lower back.
She smiled, cradling his face in her hands and pecking him on the lips.
Link suddenly remembered the events that had taken place early that morning. His stomach churned as he realized that he had never told Zelda everything that had happened.
"Are you feeling alright, Link?" she asked, frowning. "You seem very pale..."
He sat straight up, holding onto his stomach as he began to feel nauseated. He couldn't tell her about the kiss... there was no way that he could tell her!
"Link?" she asked, sitting up as she frowned worriedly and resting her hand on his back. "What's wrong?"
Perhaps she wouldn't react so badly. After all, it was Ilia who had kissed Link, not the other way around. It wasn't his fault; he didn't even kiss her back!
"Please tell me what's wrong..." Zelda implored, resting a hand on his leg.
Link shook his head, staring at his lap. She would be absolutely livid if she knew what had happened. Only... he couldn't keep it from her forever. She was going to find out eventually, and he couldn't lie to her...
Zelda bit her lip, leaning her head onto his shoulder. "I can't help you if you won't tell me what's wro-"
"Ilia and I kissed," Link blurted out before he could stop himself.
Her hand froze at his words. She slowly sat up straight, taking her hand off of his thigh. "You... y-you kissed?" she asked, staring at him with an unreadable expression.
He nodded. There was no going back now... "Yeah," he confirmed, sitting up tall. He paused as Zelda closed her eyes, pursing her lips. "A-are you upset?"
She lied down on the bed, turning her back to him. "Let's just... get some sleep. We can talk later, and I'm just so tired..." she explained to him hurriedly, shaking her head.
"Oh..." Link replied, surprised that she had taken the news so lightly. He cleared his throat, lying down on his back. "Okay, then..."
He rested his head on one of the fluffy pillows, glad to think that he had done the right thing. He closed his eyes as Zelda covered her mouth with her hands, shutting her eyes tightly. She swallowed hard as Link rolled onto his stomach, drifting off.
The young woman stood up, clenching her fists at her sides as she made her way towards the door, a lump caught in her throat. Link stirred as he heard the door clock shut. He looked to his side, only to find that she was gone.
"Zelda?" he called out to the empty room, his voice echoing slightly in the silence. After a moment of silence he stood up, hurrying over to the door and opening it. "Zelda!?" he shouted, glancing around the empty hallway.
Link ran down the corridor as quickly as he could, trying his best to remember which way he and Zelda had come from. Everything seemed to look the same... He turned around the sharp corner at full speed, only to run smack into Impa.
The two both fell down with a loud thud, groaning as they held onto their heads in pain. The young man clenched his fists at his sides in an attempt to ignore his pain, standing up. He lent Impa a hand, pulling her to her feet.
"Have you seen Zelda?" he asked worriedly as his head throbbed.
Impa nodded curtly. "I saw her not 10 seconds ago. She told me that she wanted some privacy, but she seemed... very upset, to say the least," she explained, crossing her arms. Impa cleared her throat. "I was on my way to find you to see if you knew what the problem was..."
The young man stared at his feet, averting her gaze. "She seemed... okay before she left..." he murmured, frowning as he crossed his arms.
Impa raised an eyebrow, gritting her teeth. "Link..." she started, her tone full of frustration, "what did you do?"
"I..." he started, trying his best to prepare himself for the backlash that he was anticipating. "I told Zelda that my friend Ilia and I kissed."
Impa glared daggers at the boy, clenching her fists at her sides. "You did WHAT?!" she nearly screamed, furious.
"I wasn't the one who-" he tried to defend himself.
"Listen, kid!" she barked, pointing her finger at him accusingly. "As Zelda's guardian, my sole job is to protect her. As her boyfriend, it is YOUR job to keep her happy and to be faithful to her! In case you can't get it through your thick skull, I guess I'll let you know that kissing other girls is NOT either of those things!"
"B-but I didn't-" Link stuttered, trying desperately to explain things to her.
Impa put a hand up, silencing him. She grit her teeth, shaking her head. "She... she's never acted this way towards anyone else. She loves you far more than she's ever loved anyone else, and I love her as if she were my own daughter. I won't stand idly by and allow you to... to break her heart like this."
Link was silent for a moment as he bit his lip, staring at his feet in guilt. "I... I didn't... I wasn't the one who started it..."
Impa lowered her guard for a moment, exhaling through her nose. "I know that she loves you, Link. I don't care if you were the one who kissed the girl or not; if you want to keep Zelda, then you need to go apologize to her right now."
He nodded slowly, understanding what Impa meant. He had to make things right and tell Zelda exactly what had happened between him and Ilia. Link nodded one again, curtly. "Did you see where she went?"
"I saw her heading towards the spiral staircase. It leads to the highest floor... she must really want to get away from you..." she explained, nodding over to the staircase at the end of the hallway.
"I'll go find her," he told her, nodding as he turned on his heel. Before Impa could say anything, he sprinted off towards the staircase.
Link stopped himself when he reached the first step. Looking up, he realized just how many stairs there were to climb. There were far too many to count. He cursed under his breath, realizing that he could have caught up to Zelda if he hasn't stopped to talk to Impa.
He shook it off, beginning to climb the stairs. Of course, if he hadn't stopped to talk to Impa, he wouldn't have known which way Zelda went in the first place. But he couldn't have-
"GAH!" Link shouted, tripping over one of the steps and falling forward onto the solid surface of the stone staircase. He groaned for a minute, shaking his pain away and standing up. He pressed on, regaining his train of thought.
How could Zelda have possibly gotten up the entire spiral staircase so quickly? In sandals, no less. She must have used magic. It seems that the royal family uses magic for everything. Wait, but... Zelda was the only living member of the Royal Family of Hyrule, wasn't she? Impa did say something about Zelda being the only heir to the throne, didn't she?
Link frowned, feeling sorry for the girl. It must have been so lonely for her up in the castle all day. If her parents had passed away a few years ago and she never had any siblings, then... besides Impa, who did Zelda even talk to? What had she even been doing for the past few years? Oh, right. She had been working relentlessly ever since the king and queen had died.
Link was shaken from his thoughts once again when he realized that he had reached the top of the stairs. He gazed around the narrow corridor, unsure of where to go. He noticed a rather elegant-looking silver door at the end of the hallway and ran over as quickly as he could, hurriedly opening it. On the other side was a large, beautiful white balcony, but it was empty. Just as he was about to head back inside he thought that he'd heard something. Link looked over his shoulder and noticed another balcony a bit off in the distance. Zelda stood at the edge, peering off into the distance as she clasped her hands together.
The young man quickly ran back inside, dashing down the hallway as he tried to figure out which door would lead him to the balcony that Zelda was on. If the door that took him to the other balcony was silver, perhaps the one he was looking for was similar...
He perked his head up when he noticed another silver door to his side. Link stopped himself quickly, silently grabbing onto the handle and twisting the door open. Sure enough, Zelda stood at the edge of the balcony before him, gazing down at the floor.
Link slowly approached the young woman, worried that he might startle her. He paused for a moment, sure that he had heard something. It was a bit high-pitched, melancholy... was somebody crying?
He took another step forward, only to realize that the sound was coming from directly in front of him. But the only person there was Zelda... Was Zelda... crying?
The girl buried her face into her hands, her cheat heaving as she leaned her elbows onto the railing of the balcony. Zelda was crying. No, Zelda was sobbing.
Link frowned, taking another step forward. He couldn't stand to see her so distraught... "Z-Zelda?" he said quietly, crossing his arms.
She stopped abruptly, pulling her hands away from her face, dampened with tears. Her hands shook as she wiped her eyes in an attempt to erase her tears, but to little avail. She knew who it was already, just by the sound of his voice.
"Zelda, are you okay?" he asked, biting his lip as he approached her slowly.
Her lip quivered as she rested her hands on the guardrail. She wasn't going to lie to him and tell him that she was okay, because she wasn't. Nothing was okay, and nothing had been okay in years. She was never okay.
"Please talk to me..." he begged her, reaching for her hand. She pulled it away hastily, wiping her tears that continued to roll down her cheeks.
"What do you want?" she managed to choke out, turning away from him. She stepped away, refusing to look at him.
"Zelda, I'm so sorry..." he apologized, grabbing onto her hand.
The young woman pulled away from him again, turning to face him with a red face. "If you're so sorry, then why would you do it in the first place?!" she snapped, stepping away from him.
"I didn't kiss her, Zelda," he tried to explain, stepping forward.
"Yes, you did!" she retorted, her voice cracking in frustration. "You told me not 10 minutes ago!"
He shook his head, frowning. " I-I meant that... that Ilia kissed ME!" he tried to convince her. "I didn't kiss her back, I promise!"
Zelda paused, gritting her teeth. How was she to know what really happened between the Link and Ilia? "Why should I believe you?" she shook her head coldly, glaring into his eyes.
"Because I love you, that's why!" he nearly shouted, frustrated that she didn't believe him. "I love you and you're my girlfriend and... and I wouldn't lie to you, and you know that!"
The girl lowered her gaze, her eyes tearing up again. She frowned, shaking her head. "I'm... I'm so sorry, Link..." she croaked, exhaling as she wiped her eyes. "You're right... I shouldn't have..."
The young man wrapped his arms around her waist as she practically fell onto him. He shushed her as she began to weep into his shoulder, her hands shaking as she clutched onto his shirt.
"I love you, Link..." she told him, her voice wavering.
"I love you, too," he replied, his voice full of warmth.
The two adolescents held onto each other as the sun beamed down on them. The clouds began to roll closer and closer to the castle, the sky darkening. Link pulled away from Zelda, giving her a long kiss on the lips.
"Let's go back inside," he told her, holding onto her hand.
She nodded, exhaling through her nose as they walked back towards the door. Link smiled slightly, glad to have her back.