Against All Tides

Chapter 11: Desired

Once I had calmed down, I excused myself to take a walk outside alone. Kaelin was reluctant to let me go alone, but he realized I needed some time to myself. He let go of me with one last squeeze of my hand. I told them I wouldn't be long and headed over to the door. I opened the door to be greeted by the crisp night air. It took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, but the moonlight helped guide the way.

I headed for the corral and noticed the silence that hung in the air. It was usually filled with Malon's melodic voice singing her favorite tune. She once told me she came out almost every night and sing to the moon. The song was one her mother had taught her before she passed away. Every time she would hear the melody, it helped ease the aching in her heart.

When she told me all of this, I couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose my mother. Now I was beginning to understand what she meant. My heart began to ache as well. I shook my head violently to rid the grim thoughts from my mind. There was no need to dwell on such things when my parents were probably still alive.

Instead, I turned my attention to the glowing moon that hung in the starry night sky so elegantly. It was a beautiful sight that served as a great distraction from...well, everything. I fully immersed myself in the shimmering stars and failed to notice the footsteps that were approaching behind me.

I nearly screamed when something soft nuzzled my right arm. Abruptly turning around, I saw that my beloved stallion was standing there. My heart leapt with joy at the sight of him.

"Topaz!" I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. After a few seconds, I let go and led him into the barn to put him in a stall.

"Here we go, boy. Now let me get all of this heavy stuff off you." I quickly began removing all of my belongings and the saddle. Thankfully, all of my stuff was still there and in good condition.

After removing everything, I gave Topaz a quick check over to make sure he was okay. "Well you seem to be well, but I bet your hungry."

Topaz neighed loudly in adamant response, earning a light giggle from me. "I'll be right back with some yummy food."

I spotted the feed box on the far wall of the barn and headed toward it. Grabbing an empty bucket, I began to fill it with feed. The sound of grain hitting metal drowned out the sound of the closing door. Oblivious, I worked on my chore. Once there was enough feed, I lifted the bucket up as I stood and turned around.

My body stiffened as I saw a teenage boy who was about my age, petting Topaz affectionately. He wore a green tunic with white tights underneath and brown boots. Atop his head was a green cap that covered some of his golden blonde hair. He must have felt me staring because he turned to me and smiled. His eyes were as blue as the sky on a sunny day and sparkled with warmth. Speaking of warmth...my cheeks were beginning to burn.

"Uh, hi! I'm Link."he greeted almost shyly and noticed the heavy bucket in my hands. "Would you like some help with that?"

"Oh no, that's okay." I countered, but still shifted the buckets weight. "My name is Stella."

"Nice to meet you, Stella." He beamed a bright smile while he walked over to me. "Here let me take that. I don't mind helping."

I decided it was easier to agree with Link and handed the bucket to him. "Thank you, although, you don't have to do that."

"No problem at all." Link commented. He effortlessly carried the bucket over to the stall and dumped the grain into the trough.

A thought suddenly struck me as I watched him empty the grain from the bucket. His appearance resembled that of the 'fairy boy' that Malon spoke of often. To confirm my suspicions, a blue fairy popped out of his cap. The fairy fluttered around the stall before noticing me.

"Who are you?" She asked impolitely which earned a scolding from Link. "Oh, sorry. I'm Navi, nice to meet you..."

"Stella." I finished her sentence.

She turned away from me, as if she were bored by me, and turned to Link. "Remind me again why we're here. We should be headed to the Water Temple!"

"Well, I just thought...that..." Link stumbled over his words embarrassed.

I was about to leave, since this conversation didn't concern me, but stopped when Navi spoke, "Admit it. You just wanted to see Malon."

"W-what? N-no...I just thought we could rest here for the night." Link tried to reason with the fairy, but he failed to hide the blush on his cheeks.

I smirked at his obvious feelings for my best friend, when I remembered. "You can't see her."

"What do you mean?" Link asked curiously.

"I mean that...she's not here." I struggled to explain as the familiar burning sensation returned in my eyes.

Link studied me for a minute before asking, "Where is she?"

"I..I don't know. Talon said she disappeared." I managed to say.

Link's eyes darkened slightly and responded, "Some one must have taken her. She wouldn't just leave the ranch like that."

I nodded in agreement as I tried to fight the oncoming tears. Link noticed my distress and tried to comfort me, "Hey, don't cry! I'll find her, so don't worry."

He even tried giving me a comforting hug. It was sweet to watch him do this. He seemed so innocent, it was almost cute. But, my heart was already taken so I gently pried his hands off me. His hands rested on my shoulders to make sure I was alright. The door to the barn opened and we turned our heads to see Kaelin walk inside.

"There you...are...Stella." Kaelin's voice faltered when he saw Link's hands on my shoulders.

"Kaelin!" I exclaimed while Link quickly removed his hands. He must have sensed the tension among us, because he was rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "T-this is Link. Link this is Kaelin."

"Nice to meet you, Kaelin." Link offered his hand to shake with a sheepish smile.

Kaelin glanced at the two of us before shaking his hand and replied stiffly. "Yeah, same here."

"Don't forget about me!" Link's fairy companion complained. "I'm Navi!"

Honestly, I had forgotten about her, but I was more concerned with Kaelin at the moment. He seemed to lighten up as he introduced himself to Navi and talked to her. Link took this opportunity to speak with me

"Did I do something wrong?" Link asked worriedly. The poor guy seemed appalled that he might have upset someone.

"Well...Kaelin and I...we..." I tried my best to explain the situation. I settled on something else. "You know what? Don't worry about him. I'll talk to him later."

"Alright." Link replied defeated.

We then turned back to see Kaelin telling Navi about Elpis. Navi seemed excited to be able to meet another of her kind. Link walked over to join them and I didn't miss the way Kaelin slightly stiffened at his presence. I heaved a sigh and reminded myself to talk to Kaelin later. But right now, I decided to join their conversation.

OoTOoTOoTOoTOoT

Thanks to the stupid cuccoos, I awoke at sunrise the next morning. After a failed attempt to fall back asleep, I rolled out of bed and got dressed. Once I had tamed my bed head, I headed downstairs to the kitchen. My stomach gave a loud growl as I searched through the cabinets for food. Finally, I decided on a few ingredients to make pancakes. I picked up the bag of flour to start with.

"Morning, Stella." A groggy voice startled me.

I jumped slightly at the sudden noise and managed to get flour on my face. Link appeared beside me and chuckled. I sent him a playful glare which made him laugh harder.

"Sorry, Stella." he apologized before grabbing a towel and handing it to me.

"No worries." I muttered through the towel as I wiped my face off. "It was pretty funny."

"Yeah." Link nodded in agreement and pointed at a spot on my face. "You missed a spot."

"Oh. Here?" I asked and rubbed the spot clean.

"No, right here." he pointed again. I wiped my face again, but still failed. "Here, give me the towel. I'll get it."

I handed the towel to Link and he proceeded to wipe the spot clean. The sound of a door slamming startled us suddenly. We turned to the kitchen doorway and saw our fairy friends floating there.

"Oh, good morning, guys!" I greeted cheerfully. Navi greeted me back, but Elpis simply stared at me questioningly. "What's wrong?"

"Umm...well you see...Kaelin kind of saw you guys and stormed off." Elpis explained slowly, making my stomach churn. "I tried to tell him..."

But, her words were lost since I was already out the door. Once outside, I looked in every direction to see where Kaelin might have gone. It didn't take long to spot his silhouette on the horizon. He was standing near the corral, grasping the fence for dear life.

I slowly walked over to him and gently laid my hand on his shaking shoulder, "Kaelin, can we talk?"

He stiffened at my touch, but didn't respond immediately. I was about to speak when he answered. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Yes, Kaelin, there is." I replied softly. "It's about earlier."

"I don't want to hear it, Stella." he said...no, begged. He was still faced away from me and his shoulders were shaking more now.

"You need to hear it, Kaelin." I explained. "It'll clea-"

Finally, Kaelin spun around to face me. But, I wasn't ready for what I was about to see. He...was crying. His eyes held such devastation it broke my heart and his hands were clenched tightly into fists. He quickly looked away from me and at the ground in shame. I wanted to wrap my arms around him right then and protect him from the world.

"I don't think I could bear to hear it, so please don't talk about it." he begged. His face held such heartbreaking emotions that I wanted to cry. He turned away from me again and leaned his forehead against the fence post. "Go ahead. Go back to your prince charming. Your Hylian prince charming."

My heart nearly shattered into a million pieces once he was finished. His voice held such sorrow and he thought that I liked Link that way. My eyes burned from the unshed tears, but i desperately fought them back. I was determined to convince Kaelin that he was the only one I liked.

"Kaelin!" I exclaimed with loud determination. He started at my sudden outburst and faced me. Now that I had his full attention, I was nervous. But, I pushed through and continued. "I do not, nor will I ever like Link that way. He is my friend and nothing more. But, you mean so much more to me than just a friend. I like you just the way you are. You could be a Goron or a Deku scrub and it wouldn't mat-"

Suddenly my speech was interrupted by a pair of lips on mine. A pleasant and overwhelming sensation flooded every nerve in my body. I was too shocked to move as Kaelin wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. My body finally relaxed as I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his moist lips against mine. I slowly trailed my hands up his chest and to the back of his neck. Kaelin shuddered at this action, and he deepened the kiss by pulling me closer. I moaned into the kiss and tighten my grip.

"Ahem." a stern voice interrupted our blissful moment.

We pulled away from each other quickly to see Talon standing there with a raised eyebrow. Kaelin and I blushed furiously at being caught. I stuttered an apology before scurrying off, pulling Kaelin along with me. I looked back to see Talon shaking his head and going back to work. My eyes then drifted to Kaelin who was looking dreamily at me. I blushed scarlet, causing him to chuckle lightly. He matched my pace and intertwined our fingers as we walked toward the ranch house.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that." he whispered in my ear sweetly.

"Oh, but I do." I responded with a smirk.

Kaelin pulled me closer to him as we stopped in front of the door. "Then how about we finish what we started."

He leaned down to rest his forehead against mine and I reach up to close the gap between our lips. Our lips reunited once again and the sensation returned just as strong. His arms wrapped around me securely, like he was afraid I might run away. But that was never going to happen, because I was perfectly content right where I was.

The door burst open and a loud voice exploded, "It's about time! I thought you two were never going-"

"Elpis, we should give them some privacy." Link suggested with an apologetic look thrown our way. "Sorry, but I tried to stop her."

"It's okay, besides we need to eat breakfast anyway." I said with just a twinge of annoyance.

"Oh! I finished the pancakes while you were...out." Link explained with a smirk.

"Let's go eat. I'm starving." Navi prattled while Elpis agreed. They flew off into the kitchen with Link right behind them.

Kaelin smiled at me before taking my hand and leading me after them. He never once let go throughout breakfast. We all chatted happily about various things. But, my mind hardly focused on anything besides Kaelin's hand in mine. Right where it should be.

OoTOoTOoTOoTOoT

A sinister man stalked through the dark halls of Hyrule Castle. Irritation emitted from him as he made his way through the dimly lit hallways. The only light sources being torches that hung on the walls. Each flame extinguishing when he stormed by them.

"That stupid farmer girl is no use. I should just get rid of her now and save myself the trouble la-" the man stopped in his tracks and turned to face a Stalfos kneeling on the ground. "Well, what do you want?"

"Sir, we have found the girl." the Stalfos spoke proudly.

"Excellent." the man mulled over the information his soldier proceeded to tell him.

"Would you like a team of soldiers to be sent for her, sir?" the Stalfos questioned his master.

"No! She is mine and no one else will lay a finger on her!" the man fiercely ordered the now frightened soldier. "Is that understood?!"

"Yes, sir!" the Stalfos replied obediently.

"Good. Now get out of my sight." the man spat at his soldier.

The Stalfos disappeared in a cloud of green smoke, leaving his master to mull over the new information given to him. He continued down the hall once more before stopping in front of a huge door.

"You will be mine very soon, Stella." the man thought aloud with a lustful look in his eyes. It was soon replaced with distaste as the door before him opened. "But now, I have other things to deal with."


SailorSunstar: I'm so sorry for the long wait, but I hope this chapter makes up for it. I wanted to add some drama in this chapter and I think I accomplished that. A little jealousy, desire, and a confession make everything more interesting. But, I'll let you guys be the judges. What did you think of this chapter? Please leave a review and let me know, good or bad! You will even see your name under the special thanks section below.

Special Thanks to...

cookiebabe for leaving a review! I'm glad you like my story so much that your hooked on it. ) I hope you continue to enjoy it!