Two more months would pass since the night that they shared the same bed together. Oddly enough, Zelda found that she was able to get Link to join her every time she asked. She didn't want to push her luck and ask every night, but that wouldn't stop her from asking at least once a week, maybe twice... okay at most three times. Sometimes it just got really cold, and Link was the only blanket that could sufficiently keep her warm.

This type of sleeping arrangement wouldn't last though, the thing about winters in Hyrule, was that they started early and ended early. Spring was upon them now, the nights were warm and the snow was gone, as well as Zelda's excuse. She used the excuse that she was too cold to get Link to join her every time, but what excuse could she use now?

That I'm lonely? No, I don't want to fall that far down the path of morality. I could just be honest and tell him that it's just something that I want. But... I just don't have the heart to ask him such a bold request. It's just easier to mask my true intentions under a half-truth, than to blatantly ask.

Though she couldn't muster enough courage to ask him to continue sleeping with her, this didn't waver Zelda from her "stress relieving". In fact, since that night, it became more of a routine if anything. On those nights, she was able to feel him, see him half-naked, and commit every little imperfection and definition of his legs and upper body to memory. Perfect material for a... different version of sleeping together.

As the time went on for those two months, things were equally as frustrating for Zelda as they were amazing. Yes, things were heading in the right direction. Yes, she could confidently say that she could read every expression and subtlety that Link gave her. Yes, they were the best of friends and were able to speak openly to each other. But that was where the problem lied, they were still just friends. Zelda wanted... needed more. Was it wrong of her to want such a thing, love? And a romantic relationship with her best friend no less? There were so many opportunities where she could've pushed for it, asked for more... but whatever avenue was presented in front of her, she caved, like she always did. The thing was, that Zelda was afraid, afraid of losing what she already had with him, afraid of the unknown. What if things didn't work out? What if he told her that he wasn't interested? What if they actually did turn out to be everything she dreamed of? No matter how many times she tried to rationalize it, she couldn't, because it wasn't something that could be rationalized. As good as she was at reading his expressions, and at the way he'd speak without speaking, she could never tell if he reciprocated what she felt for him. She never wanted to assume anything, because the last time she assumed something about Link, it was one of the biggest mistakes she ever made. Zelda never was very good at being patient, but she knew that for her relationship with Link to grow to where she needed it, that she would need to gradually work for it a little longer.

It's gotten me this far. I can only pray that Link wants the same thing. But maybe, I can be a little more aggressive. This trip could be the key to that!

Impa had gotten word that there was a small platoon of powerful monsters near Death Mountain and wanted Link to investigate. Zelda insisted that she tag along with him, arguing that she could also help deduce if these monsters were related in any way to Calamity Ganon's return.

It wouldn't take them long to get there, a day and a half. Two days if Zelda played her cards right. However, there was a place she wanted to show him after their business concluded in the Eldin territory. She didn't get a chance to take him earlier, because of the snow. Now, with everything unthawing and coming back to life, it would be the perfect place.

Maybe there I'll gain the courage to tell him, or at least show how deeply I care about him.

It was a special place to her. One she found herself going to a lot after her mother passed or when she got sick of it all. Sometimes the hiding places in the castle weren't enough, so this place would act like a getaway. It was always particularly beautiful in the Spring when everything was as green as can be, and it was secluded, away from all the noise the world loved to create.

I'm sure he wouldn't mind the detour. It'll be nice to get away from the castle for an extended period anyways. Six months of this torture. Well... maybe it wasn't all bad.

She smiled at the latter thought.

A knock on the door broke her out of her thoughts.

"Who is it?" she asked from across the room.

The lack of response brought a smile to her face. Opening the door she was greeted with a most welcome sight.

"Link, I've told you countless times that you don't have to knock to your own room."

The playful scolding seemed to work, as Link smiled back. "Just didn't want to catch you at an inopportune time."

Her cheeks flushed slightly at the implicit statement, especially since she had been doing a number of things that would be likely cause her to die of embarrassment if Link caught her.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, do you mind if we walk? The winter has left me rather stiff I'm afraid, and I feel like the horses would only make it worse."

Link shrugged, "Don't see why not."

Putting on her travel pack, Zelda and Link left the castle, Link remaining three paces behind. Even after the additional two months, Zelda and Link kept their physical intimacy private. It wasn't out of embarrassment or shame, but the repercussions that would occur if the general populous found out. Word would eventually get back to her father, and then, it wouldn't matter if Calamity Ganon came or not, because all hell would break loose from her father's wrath. The line of Hyrule had to be maintained, and her father firmly believed in finding her a suitor from one of the great families of the five provinces. If he were to suspect that her and Link were having sex and a secret relationship, he'd lose it; likely exiling Link, and that was the last thing she wanted. Link wasn't a noble, despite the respect his family name earned, and her father was a believer of the old ways; where the goddess Hylia bestowed blessings on one of the five great families spread throughout the five provinces. Her father was the son of a Duke from Eldin that the family had been blessed; or so he claimed. If it was her own opinion, Zelda thought the whole thing was a load of garbage. She had been on many dates that were not out of her own free will, and if not for her being a tsundere, the more aggressive suitors would have likely gotten their way with her. Some of them tried regardless, but Zelda could be feisty when she wanted to be. If there were two things that she wouldn't let her father take, it would be her first time and who she decided to be with. She wanted her virginity; something precious and sacred to her to be cherished as she gave it to the one she loved and wanted to spend her life with, she didn't want to simply hand it over to some horny adolescent. She believed the bond that would form between them would bind them for all eternity when she gave up her most sacred possession. While sex was something she was always interested in, Zelda wasn't going to lower herself to fulfill that urge, call her old fashioned. She promised herself to wait for the right one, and to use other remedies to satisfy herself if the urges became too much. However, now finding that right one, Link... proved that resisting these urges for an extended period was rather difficult. There were so many things she wanted to try with Link, and for him to do to her. Just thinking about those things were turning her on!

"You alright?" Link asked as he now stood beside her. They were past the castle grounds now on the road, so the need to be discreet wasn't required anymore.

The dirt road they were walking on was incredibly enticing as her eyes shot downwards as the heat rose to her cheeks. "Oh I was just thinking..."

"About?"

Maybe now was the time to die of embarrassment, "Umm... er... I-I don't know if y-you want to know."

That caused Link to lift an eyebrow in question, confused as to what could possibly have her so worked up.

"Sex!" she blurted out, then covered her mouth at the sudden outburst.

Goddesses, Zelda! Why do you do this to yourself!?

"Sex, huh? Interesting topic to be thinking about..."

"Quiet, you!" she waggled a finger at him to no avail. Zelda sighed in defeat.

"The land of Hyrule is interesting..." Link began to say, which caused Zelda to look up at him in surprise to which he simply shrugged.

"In respect to that all of the species of the land can essentially procreate amongst each other. Meaning that Gorons and Gerudo can have offspring together, Rito and Zora, even Monsters and Hylians could essentially procreate..."

The thought of her having sex with a Bokoblin caused her to nearly throw up her breakfast.

"You know how it works?"

She nodded, "Yes, I did find myself enjoying the reads about how the breeding and passing of genes works. I was taught the minimum a few years ago just before I went on my first wave of dates so that I was... aware of what to expect. While the concept was something I resonated with, the actuality of it made me cringe. I've got the basic concept of how... everything works."

"Basically how it works, is that the child will look like the female regardless of the male, unless it's a monster."

"The books I read from never said anything about monsters."

"I imagine the reason was that your father wasn't expecting the next king of Hyrule to be a Moblin."

"Oh... right." Zelda inwardly smacked her head at her clueless remark.

"If it's a monster that's the father, the child is automatically a monster. The genes assimilate whoever it's impregnating and force it to take the form of whatever the monster is. Whether it's a; Bokoblin, Octorock, Lizalfos, etc. The only other fact worth mentioning is the pregnancy itself, while there are small discrepancies amongst the different types of monsters, they all take less than a day."

"Less than a day?!"

"It's how they can maintain their numbers. There are no female monsters, so they have to procreate with another species. As I'm sure you're aware of, not very many people are willing to bear the children of a monster, so they forcefully take weary female travellers or women from village raids and use them to procreate."

"You mean... there are women out there right now who are-"

"Yes... there is."

"That's awful..." she shuddered.

"Everyone is very good at protecting their own, there are barely any that are taken, and monsters can usually live for centuries, so they tend to only pull off those kind of stunts every so often. But when we do find them, we do what we can. It's all anyone can do."

"You mean, you've encountered them before?"

"Yes, a few times long ago. They are in very secluded areas and are protected with such an urgency and ferocity... The horrors I've witnessed and things I had to do... I'd rather not discuss. There's a reason why you were never taught about such a thing."

"I understand, thank you, Link."

"For what?"

"Well for one, educating me on something that was intentionally left out in my own teachings. And two..." she gripped his hand tight. "For sharing something difficult about your past, I had no idea. If I had known-"

Link squeezed her hand once before letting it fall, "Don't worry, if I wasn't comfortable with it, I wouldn't have shared."

She smiled, "So, my expert on how life is created, what else can you tell me?"

"Well, if we pick up where we left off... I mentioned how the child takes on the race of whoever the mother is correct? To elaborate, if it was a male Rito and female Hylian, the child would appear Hylian. What makes it different from the others is the traits that get passed on from the male. Rito are especially known for their ability to fly and their outstanding agility. So, while the child wouldn't be able to grow wings, they'd naturally be faster, physically and mentally, and less inclined to fear heights. They could run faster, jump higher, and be better at reacting than your average Hylian."

"Faster thinkers?"

"Their reaction time would be faster. An example of this could be, if an object was flying at the back of their head... say an apple. They would be able to react to the apple faster than your average Hylian. With enough practice, the Hylian can match and even surpass the Rito-Hylian mix. But put the two side by side who each had the exact same training, the Rito-Hylian would be the natural favourite."

Zelda hummed in assent, "Sounds pretty useful as far as traits go. What about gender? I read that gender is based off of probability."

"You'd be correct, gender is applied in the same way, except for the Gerudo. Among, the other races it's essentially at random or probability, however, if it's a Gerudo it's nearly a guaranteed female and will look like a Gerudo; similar to the monsters if you think about it, but instead of assimilating the females genes, it's a genetic mutation. On the rare chance, there could be a mutation and the child would actually look like the male, but there have only ever been a few recorded in the past millennia. As for the Gerudo it's even more rare, if there was a mutation, the child would simply be a Gerudo male instead of whatever race the father is."

"Sounds like having kids with another race could be beneficial."

"It can, some people do it for the reasons I said before. A Gerudo woman wants her child with the strength of a Goron. The exchange of traits leads to a beautiful, Gerudo woman with purple eyes and the strength of ten men."

"Purple eyes? Aren't Gerudo's generally green?"

"Throw another mutation into the mix, one very subtle but adds to her features. While the chances of said mutation are less than 5%... That's the wonders of doing it... that way. It happens all the time with people procreating from their own race. Say someone with green eyes and blue eyes have a child, and their eyes turn out to be hazel, that would be an easy example. It's just more profound and rare when it happens among other races than your own. Some people do it for traditional purposes, others because they have a particular attraction to that race... You, yourself have been put in the position to at least entertain the thought of potential suitors of different races for political purposes. Everyone has their own preference or reason for choosing one particular race over another."

While everyone has their own preference and sexual orientation, which Zelda respected. She preferred her own race, Hylians; while admitting that she did think some of the Gerudo women were attractive. Link was right in respect that, her father didn't care about her preference, only "what was good for the land". What he didn't get, was that type of philosophy was exactly what wasn't good for the land. Forcing her to have sex and bear children with someone she didn't love or respect wasn't the best recipe for her people, even if it did look good on paper. She believed that she needed to see with her own eyes who was best to help her lead the kingdom, not someone she didn't know picked by her father. Zelda wanted someone she loved and respected. Someone she wanted to have children with. Someone she knew could lead the kingdom as her king.

And she was looking right at him...

"Do people usually... have kids with their own race?"

"It's not as common as you might think. There's a big attraction to bearing strong children and taking traits from other races. When two people of the same race procreate, they aren't gaining anything 'special' out of it. When it comes down to a choice... Either have a child with a different race and gain this, over have one with someone you have stronger feelings for but of the same race... more often than not studies indicate people are choosing the former, across all races."

"Really? That's just wrong! How can someone throw away something good like that for 'better' traits?"

"Then you'd be one of the few. The world is changing, everyone is looking for an edge in status or success, strong blood-lines, healthy children, etc. And with the return of Ganon fresh in everyone's mind, most people just want to ensure that their blood-line will be strong enough to survive what's to come. While it may sound like a silly belief, what it comes down to is our primal instinct to pass on our genes. We look for partners that will best ensure the survival of our genes. It's coded into our DNA, it's the very existence of who we are. So much so, that people have turned away a life of happiness for a life that will increase the chances of survival of their genes."

"What about you, Link? What's your take on it?"

"Well, I guess neither."

"Neither? What do you mean?"

"I've never entertained the idea, because I feel that I've been void of a choice."

Her heart clenched at those words.

He feels like he's no longer allowed to love, because of the weight on his shoulders. He doesn't want to burden the one he'd want to be with.

"You're allowed to love." her voice was barely audible.

Link didn't respond, which caused Zelda to stop. When Link turned around she wrapped her arms tightly around him.

"Zelda, wh-"

"You're allowed to love, Link. Don't think that there aren't people who want to be with you and share your burden. I'll ask again, what is your take?"

"Well, if I had a choice... I'd choose the latter. I'd rather be with someone that makes me happy over just ensuring the survival of my blood-line. If it dies with me, then it's my time, I can accept that. At least I'll die with a smile on my face."

Zelda was overfilled with joy at this revelation, her heart soared that Link felt the same way.

If he did decide to be with me, it would be on his own accord. I'd know that his feelings are genuine, and he's not doing it because someone forced him to.

Releasing him from her death grip she looked up at him with fluttering eyes, "I had a feeling you'd say that. Glad to know your opinion on the subject. It's getting late, why don't we set camp for the night?"

Link nodded and the pair soon set up camp at the Rauru Settlement Ruins.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Hard to believe this once used to be a thriving trading post for the castle."

Link finished his Hyrule Bass skewer before answering, "Yeah, apparently they got attacked by bandits and they burned everything to the ground to send a message to king at the time."

"What was it about?"

"Who knows, that was half a century ago. The texts are long gone, and hearing it orally is left suspect."

Zelda finished her meal, and began preparing for bed, "We'll make it to Eldin Canyon tomorrow?"

"Around noon, it'll give us plenty of time to do our assignment."

"Just be careful, Link. No crazy stunts like last time, please."

He smirked, "This time, I'll have the drop on them."

Settling into her makeshift bed she pouted, "I'm serious, Link. I don't want you getting hurt."

"I won't do anything to put your life in danger."

She rolled her eyes and smiled, "I guess that'll have to do, goodnight, Link."

Link nodded as he left Zelda to her slumber. He ruminated on the day's events as he tended to the Master Sword.

I wonder what had her so worked up today? It's unlike her to become so flustered over trivial information. She asks me questions all the time about stuff I've read, I wonder what makes today different? In fact the more I think about it, she's disappeared a lot more often since that night she made me sleep with her. And she's always giving me quick glances when she thinks I'm not looking, letting her hands linger on me when we talk, always spending her free time with me. Whether I'm reading in the library, training, or even just minding my own business, she's always there. Why?

It was a simple three letter word that plagued Link's mind. Why? Why was she so insistent on spending time with him? Why was she so determined to sit with him in silence for hours while he read? Why did she find it so interesting to watch him train and spar with the other members of the Royal Guard? He didn't want to believe that she was actually in to him. Sure they were friends, but she had her own path. Link was there to make sure she could reach the destination at the end. There was no room for him by her side, as much as he wished there was. Although he questioned why the princess would waste her time with him, it didn't mean that he was complaining. It was... refreshing for him to have someone to talk to, to open up to.

Link recalled sharing many of his adventures and his experiences with Venus to her. He remembered how she listened intently, always offering support and saying how sorry she was. Not like it could change anything, but the gesture was enough for him. She always tried to go above and beyond for him, but the humbleness of Link couldn't allow for it. He felt that he didn't deserve it, that she shouldn't waste her efforts on someone who couldn't pay her back.

"Nonsense, you're a thousand times worth it." was the response he'd normally get.

He found it interesting, how defensive she was of him. There was a time when he was sparring in a tournament; one that happened once a year where all the best swordsman, marksman, knights, and so on would fight for a prestigious prize at the end. One of the nobles spoke ill of him, accusing Link of cheating. Zelda caught wind of this, since she was sitting in the front row to watch her illustrious appointed knight, and he two rows above her. Needless to say, no one heard from the noble for the rest of the tournament; or ever for that matter. When he'd accompany her to the market, she almost always made a way of showing him off. It was embarrassing and highly unwarranted, but who was he to tell the princess, and future queen of Hyrule to stop? If it made her happy, then the embarrassment was an okay trade off in his books.

She's something else, that's for sure. I can't quite explain it, but I'm glad I've made a friend; and a true one at that. She's been there for me in more ways than one, and I'll do what I can to try and repay her. It's the least I can do. She's given my life... more purpose than what I originally thought possible.

Link decided that it was time to put his rumbling thoughts to rest. Pulling out a book that explained theories on how the sacred dragons travelled between dimensions, Link read while keeping an ever vigilant eye over Zelda as she slept through the night...