A/N: This chapter is a bit tense. No, really. Well... okay, compared to the last chapter, it's tense. But I do tend to add in quite a bit of tension throughout all of my chapters. Of course, Talo seems to always break the ice... But, you know... he's just cool like that. OKAY, enough small talk- I'm getting off track. Please make sure to review if you have the time; I LOVE reading reviews, and I always take suggestions into careful consideration. Anyway, please enjoy ^.^ And have an awesome day!

Chapter 14

Link finally awoke as the carriage hit a bump on the road. He rubbed his eyes tiredly with one hand, his opposite arm wrapped around Zelda. He glanced down at her, only to find that she was still sleeping soundly.

After a quick look around, he realized that mostly everyone was asleep. He almost jumped when he noticed Shad move his hand to turn the page of his book, hunched over in his chair. Had he been awake this whole time...?

The young hero pulled his arm away from Zelda, pecking her on the cheek as he stood up. The young woman stirred slightly, resting her head on her arm as he took a few steps away.

Link quietly walked over to the scholar, crossing his arms. He cleared his throat quietly, causing Shad to nearly drop his book as he jumped.

"L-Link!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide as he shook. "Y-you can't sneak up on me like that!"

The young man grinned slightly, sitting down in the empty seat beside him. "What are you looking at?" he asked quietly, leaning back in his chair.

"A history of our kingdom," Shad replied, clearing his throat. "I find it all very fascinating, actually. Why do you ask?"

He shrugged, closing his eyes. "Just curious..." he answered, frowning.

Shad paused for a moment, trying to read his facial expression. Link usually seemed more energetic, more enthusiastic... "Is something troubling you?" he asked, tilting his head.

Link opened his eyes slightly, biting his cheek. It seemed to have slipped his mind, really, but he did have a big problem. Zelda seemed to always make him forget about his problems...

"You... you can keep a secret, right?" he asked, staring down at the floor.

Shad closed his book, pushing his glasses up slightly. "Uh, y-yeah," he nodded, his voice wavering slightly as he sat up. "Of course."

Link took a deep breath, biting his lip as he closed his eyes. "Earlier, when we were at the castle... I heard Zelda and Impa talking about... marriage."

Shad raised an eyebrow. "Marriage?"

He nodded. "Impa was talking to her about the future, and... and she asked Zelda if she was planning on marrying me," he explained in a hushed tone.

"W-what?" Shad asked, raising his volume slightly. "You're... serious?"

Link nodded curtly, crossing his arms. "I'm dead serious, Shad."

The scholar set his book down on his lap, his mind racing with questions. "Why... why have you decided to tell me this?"

"I don't know," he frowned, biting his cheek. "I just... I-I needed to tell someone. I don't know what I'm supposed to do." Link shook his head, slouching forward as he gazed at his feet. "I mean... what would YOU do?"

Shad shook his head slowly. Of course he was unsure of what Link should do; it wasn't as if either of them had been in this situation before. "Well... what did Zelda say? Did she..."

"All she said was... something about how if I ever asked her, then she would make up her mind at that time." He paused, exhaling through his nose as he ran his fingers through his bangs. "And Impa said something about how she thinks that Zelda would marry me if I asked her."

"Did Zelda reply?" Shad asked curiously, trying to gather as much information as he possibly could.

Link shook his head. "No, she just let Impa walk away. She didn't really agree or disagree with it..."

"So... theoretically, if Zelda were to be open to the idea of marriage, would you be willing to marry her?" Shad asked, sitting up tall.

The young hero's throat suddenly went dry as he kept his gaze on the floor, not daring to look back at Shad. "I mean... I-I love her," Link whispered, closing his eyes.

"But are you willing to marry her?" Shad asked, crossing his arms.

Link glanced over at the sleeping young woman who was still lying down on her side. She seemed so content in her sleep, so carefree. In Link's eyes, she was a vision of pure beauty. There was no denying his love for her.

But how could he possibly answer the question? Just as Zelda had pointed out to Impa, they were still so young. There was so much time to be considering these things... But he certainly couldn't push the idea away.

If Zelda were to suddenly tell him that she were open to marrying him, what would he do? What would marriage change, anyway? Very little, as he imagined. So... what was the big deal, then?

"Link?" Shad asked, cocking his head. "What do you think?"

There was a long pause as Link sat in silence, lost in his own thoughts.

"I..." he started hesitantly, biting his lip. "I guess that-"

He stopped himself short as the carriage hit a sudden bump in the road, violently shaking the group. The sleeping were all rudely awakened, except for Ashei, who continued to sleep peacefully.

"W-what was that?" Talo asked, standing up quickly.

Zelda rubbed her eyes, staring at Link who sat next to an apprehensive Shad. "Have you two been awake?" she asked, stretching her arms.

"Uh, y-yes, Your Majesty," Shad answered quickly, wringing his hands. "Link and I were just talking."

"Is that so?" she asked, smiling warmly. "What were you talking about?"

The young men looked at each other, their eyes slightly widened. "Uh, we were..." Shad started, staring at the ceiling.

"Talking about the history of Hyrule!" Link interjected quickly, nodding. "Shad has this really interesting book that he brought with him about the history of Hyrule."

"I see," she nodded, slightly suspicious of their odd behavior. "Well, I've been very well educated on the history of our kingdom, and you can feel free to ask me any questions that you may have on the subject."

"Certainly!" the scholar nodded curtly, sitting up tall. "I'll keep that in mind.

"Guys, seriously!" Talo shouted, shaking. "W-what was that big bump?"

Ilia shrugged, leaning back. "I'm sure that it was just some rocks, or something..."

They could hear Epona let out a loud neigh as the carriage suddenly stopped, forcefully throwing Talo to the floor. Zelda gasped, hurriedly standing up and rushing over to the boy's side.

"Are you all right, Talo?" she asked worriedly, helping him up as she knelt down to his level.

He nodded slowly, slightly dizzy from being thrown off balance so suddenly. "Uh-huh..."

Malo rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "If you would learn how to sit still for more than five minutes, then perhaps these things wouldn't happen!"

Talo frowned, rubbing his sore arm. "Whatever," he retorted, gritting his teeth.

Zelda grinned as she made her way back over to her chair, taking a seat. Link clenched his fists at his sides, standing up and walking over to sit beside her.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. "Zelda, I think that you and I have something that we need to talk about," he told her in a low voice, biting his cheek.

The young woman frowned, apprehensive about the serious tone of voice that he was using. "What is it?" she asked, gently resting a hand on his thigh as she gazed into his eyes.

The carriage entrance suddenly bursted open, revealing an aggravated Telma. "I'm gonna need some help out here, kids," she proclaimed, obviously unhappy.

"I'd be glad to help you, Miss Telma!" Ashei suddenly spoke up, startling the rest of the group. Hadn't she been asleep just a moment ago...?

"Lovely," the woman nodded, exhaling through her nose. She headed back outside, Ashei following closely behind her.

"We... we should talk later," Link nodded to Zelda sitting up tall. "When we have some privacy."

She nodded understandingly, still slightly nervous. What could he possibly want to talk to her about? And why was he acting so stern? Wasn't everything all right?

Zelda hastily leaned forward, planting a quick kiss on his cheek. He smiled slightly, pushing himself onto his feet. He offered the girl a hand, pulling her to her feet.

The two made their way outside. Link jumped off the still carriage onto the ground, helping the young woman down after him. The two teenagers headed around the side of the large carriage, only to find Telma and Ashei staring at one of the wheels.

"Is there something wrong?" Zelda asked, biting her lip.

"One of the spokes is broken," Ashei nodded slightly, nudging the large wheel with her foot. "It's too risky to ride in the carriage without repairing it first."

"Is there anything we can do about it?" Link asked kindly, cocking his head.

Telma frowned. "Thanks for the offer, honey, but I think that Ash and I can handle it," she replied, nodding slightly. "You, Zelda, Shad and Ilia... you all watch the little ones for now."

"We'd be glad to," Zelda smiled sweetly, nodding in agreement.

The two adolescents turned away from Ashei and Telma, making their way back to the entrance of the carriage. Just as they were about to climb the steps, Shad bolted out of the carriage, causing them to jump in surprise. He stopped when he saw them, his eyes wide in panic.

"What happened?" Zelda asked, her voice full of concern.

"Louise ran off after you guys left, a-and Talo followed him. We told him to come back, but he didn't hear us, so Ilia went after him!" he tried to explain, stumbling over his words.

"Which way did they go?" Link asked, his voice harsh and stern.

"To the woods," Shad nodded, biting his lip.

Before anybody could say anything more, Link suddenly pivoted on his heel, bolting towards Faron Woods at full speed. Zelda jolted back in surprise before turning to Shad, gazing into his eyes. "Stay here with Malo," she nearly ordered him, nodding.

"Yes, Your Majesty," he answered, putting his hands on his hips.

The young queen nodded graciously, turning away from the young man as she ran after Link, trying to catch up to him.

By the time that they had made their way to the center of the woods, the sun had long since disappeared over the horizon, leaving nothing but a bitter wind and a bright moon. They both shivered as they sprinted through the forest, panting.

"Talo?!" Link called out loudly, not seeing any sign of them. "Ilia?!"

They slowed themselves down, finally coming to a complete stop. They stared at each other for a moment, their eyes illuminated by the moonlight.

"They must be nearby," Zelda assured him, shivering. "They couldn't have gone far in the short time that we were away..."

Link nodded curtly, his thoughts overrun with apprehension. "I know..." he replied slowly, frowning.

They both froze as they heard the crackling of leaves just off of the path, in the darkness of the forest. Link's hand immediately gripped onto the hilt of his sword as he sidestepped closer to Zelda, peering into the shadows. She grabbed onto his arm, pulling him closer as she attentively watched the bushes.

They heard a loud meow from the bush as the leaves crackled again.

Link sighed in relief as Zelda let go of his arm. He quickly walked over to the bush, grabbing onto the large cat and picking him up. Louise meowed, purring as he rubbed up against Link.

"It's good to see you," Link grinned at the feline, petting him on the head.

There was a short moment of silence as Zelda stepped over to Link, grinning. She looked up into the forest, the smile quickly fading from her lips as she immediately turned pale. She froze as she gazed into the shadows, a glowing pair of eyes staring back at her.

"Link..." she managed to choke out, her voice barely audible. "Link, grab your sword."

The young man's eyes darted up to meet hers, which were frozen in fear. He slowly turned his head to face the forest, reaching for the sheathed sword on his back. Zelda took the cat from his arms, holding it close as a low growl emitted from the darkness, causing her breath to hitch slightly.

"Go, Zelda," he told her, holding his sword up in front of him defensively.

She shook her head, not taking her eyes off of the unknown creature. "I'm not leaving you here," she replied sternly.

"I don't want you to get hurt again, Zelda," he said to her, scowling. "Just get back to Telma before anything bad happens..."

The young woman shook her head curtly, refusing to leave his side. Louise wrestled himself out of the girl's grasp, quickly running away from the two teenagers as the creature growled at the sudden movement. Link readied his sword and shield as the monster bolted towards them. He stepped in front of Zelda, lunging towards the creature with a sharp yell.

Link's eyes adjusted to the darkness as his sword came into contact with the creature, penetrating it through the abdomen. It was nothing more than a common Green Bokoblin. The monster let out a loud shriek as it crumpled to the ground. Zelda quickly ran over to Link, her eyes full of worry. "Are you okay?" she asked, biting her lip.

The young hero nodded, pulling his sword out of the creature with one swift tug. "We need to find Ilia and Talo," he stated, his voice lower than usual as he locked eyes with her.

She nodded in agreement, shivering as the wind blew against them. "We must hurry..." she told him, frowning. The forest was still littered with monsters, and it was far too dangerous for them to be out there alone.

Link put an arm around Zelda's waist as he held his sword in the other hand, leading them both deeper into the woods. Zelda focused for a moment closing her eyes as she extended her arm forward, her palm facing upwards. Link stopped for a moment as a dull, orange light began to emit from her palm. The light grew brighter and brighter as Zelda focused all of her attention, still shivering. The light soon resembled a small flame, resting in Zelda's palm.

The young man gazed at the fire, mesmerized. "How did you... doesn't that hurt at all?" he asked, dumbfounded.

She shook her head. "Not really. However, it... tends to be a bit draining," she admitted, frowning as they pressed on into the forest. "All magic that I perform takes a bit out of me, especially when it's a more powerful spell."

"So it... wears you out?" he asked, turning his head to look at her.

She nodded slowly, thinking to herself. "Yes, however... there's a limit."

Link bit his lip in thought, staring at his feet. "And... what if you cross the limit?" he questioned.

She frowned slightly. "It... only happened once, when I was very young," she explained, closing her eyes in thought. "I was still learning simple spells; I hadn't realized what would happen if I pushed myself too hard..."

"Did you faint?" he asked, his tone full of concern.

Zelda shook her head. "I would have. I was so eager to master the spells that, no matter how exhausted I became, I kept practicing. Something within my brain gave me the drive to keep going. Impa hadn't told me that the spells fed off of the energy of its caster. If the caster had little energy to provide the spell, then it would instead feed off of whatever it could find; it would feed off of health."

The young man thought to himself for a minute, comprehending her words. "You mean that... eventually, it could kill you?"

She bit her cheek, nodding slowly. "Incidentally... yes," she replied. "The pain from the spells caused me to stop. I couldn't handle it, and only then did I realize how awful I had been feeling. Impa felt so guilty after that for not educating me on how potentially dangerous the spells could be, but it was no one's fault beside my own. I should have known better..."

He frowned, holding her hand. "Promise you'll never let that happen again?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Of course not..." the girl replied, her eyes drooping slightly.

"Good," he replied, smiling sweetly as he pecked her on the cheek.

The two paused when they heard a groan from just a few feet away. Zelda's eyes widened as Link let go of her. She darted forward towards the noise, only to find a figure slumped over on the ground before her.

Zelda knelt down to the small figure, bringing the light from the spell closer to it. The color of her face drained away instantly when she realized who it was.

Link ran forward to the girl's side, dropping his sword to the ground when he made out the face of the young boy at Zelda's feet. "Talo..." he whispered, dropping to his knees as he gazed at the face of the young boy.

"Can you hear me, Talo?" Zelda asked the child, her voice wavering.

Talo lied there on the ground, his eyes closed as his chest heaved. He managed to bob his head slightly, muttering something almost inaudibly.

Zelda felt herself tear up as she rested a hand on the young boy's cheek, careful to avoid his wounds. He was bleeding badly. It must have been the creature that they had seen earlier that did this...

"I-I can heal him," she stammered, turning to Link.

"You can't... what if you hurt yourself?" the young man asked, his eyes sharp.

"I'm not going to hurt myself! We can't leave him like this, Link!" she barked, her voice cracking as she wiped her eyes. "He's not okay! Something has to be done, and if I can help him, then... then I'm going to do it!"

There was a long moment of silence as Link shook his head, resting his head in his hands. "Be careful..." he answered, running his fingers through his hair.

Without a second of hesitation, the young woman put a hand against the young boy's chest. She would need the spell to be stronger this time, stronger than the one she used on Link. She would need to focus harder...

Zelda nodded as the flame disappeared from her palm, placing both hands on Talo's chest. She closed her eyes tightly as she grit her teeth, her arms nearly shaking as she tried desperately to focus her power on the boy.

In the bit of moonlight that shone down on the three youngsters, Link could just barely make out the bruised figure of the young boy. Only a monster could do something so cruel to a person, let alone someone so young... But that's exactly what Bokoblins were- cold blooded beasts.

Link watched in awe as the wounds slowly faded from the boy's body. Zelda began to break a sweat as she felt her body growing limp, barely able to sit up. She felt as Talo's heart began to beat faster than before, his bruises having completely disappeared.

The boy let out a loud gasp, sitting up straight. "W-what's going on?" he asked, panting. He looked up at Zelda, whose hands were still resting against his chest. He raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

The young woman pulled her hands away, weakly throwing her arms around the boy and pulling him close.

Link nearly fell forward as he wrapped his arms around Talo and Zelda, shaking his head. "You're all right..." he whispered to the boy, holding onto him tightly.

"I guess so..." Talo chuckled softly. He pulled away from the two teenagers, turning his attention back towards Zelda. "You... saved me?"

The girl tried to balance herself, nearly falling over from exhaustion. Link rested a hand on her lower back, supporting her as she attempted to keep her head off the ground.

"She did," Link nodded as she rested her head on his shoulder.

Talo stared at the young woman in disbelief. "Wow..." he managed to tell her, his mouth completely agape. "You... you really saved me... thanks for everything, Zel. You're so awesome..."

She lifted her chin slightly to look at him, the smallest of smiles growing on her lips. "It's... good to have you back," she replied, closing her eyes.

The young boy shrugged, smiling crookedly. "Aw, don't worry about me- I was never gone in the first place."

Link grinned, messing up Talo's hair. "You're a tough kid, you know," he told him, chuckling to himself.

The little boy's face suddenly went pale as he slouched forward, shaking his head. "Oh God, Link... I don't know where Ilia is," he muttered, holding his head in his hands. "Last time I saw her was... a few minutes before that thing attacked me. I guess I outran her."

There was a long silence as Link tensed up, still holding onto Zelda. His mind began to wander, wondering what could have possibly happened to Ilia. What if she had been placed under the same circumstances as Talo? Or perhaps even worse...

Link shook his head curtly. He couldn't think like that. He was going to find Ilia; she couldn't be too far away...

"Don't worry, Talo," Link assured the boy, pulling Zelda and himself their feet. He lent the child a hand, pulling him up. "We're going to find her, no matter what. I'll bet you that she's still out here looking for you."

Talo smiled as Link picked up his sword from the ground, wiping a bead if sweat from his forehead.

"Let's go," the boy declared, stepping in front of the two teenagers as he began to march off into the forest.

The young woman shook her head, trying to keep her focus as the three walked deeper into the forest. "Let's go," Zelda echoed, grabbing onto Talo's hand.