PREVIOUSLY: Upon visiting the Spring of Power and visiting the corresponding memory, Link and Zelda were informed that they had both already proven their worth, and the Triforce of Power was split between them. In Tarrey Town, they were wed in a private ceremony with only them, the Zora Kapson, and the ghosts of her father and Urbosa.

SPOILER WARNING: This chapter contains references to Memory 14 "To Mount Lanayru" / Photo 10.

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Title: It All Must Start With Us
Chapter 17: How Is This Possible?
Author: Sailor Song
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The Foothills Stable owner Ozunda was overjoyed to see Link upon his and Zelda's return from Akkala Region. With a less than subtle motion, he managed to pull Link away from his bride.

"Your special request has arrived," he informed Link gleefully as he led him around to the back of the stable.

With a smile, Link thanked the man and took the reins to lead the creature around to surprise Zelda. At first he had considered using the large horse he had caught in Taobab Grasslands, that way they could ride together and continue their *ahem* growing closeness and explorations. Ultimately though, the more practical choice was for each of them to ride separately, so he decided their secret wedding was the perfect time to surprise her with a different find from his travels.

"Link! How did you, how is he…"

At seeing the white stallion, the descendant of her own mount of the past, his princess was at a loss for words. Any time that happened, he found the best remedy to her stammering speech was a kiss on the lips.

"Better?"

"Much," she replied. "How is this possible?"

Link told her about the old man who sent him on a quest to find the stallion, finishing by telling her, "He's as wild as his ancestor. I don't know how many times I got thrown before I finally convinced him to trust me."

"Link, the great equestrian, unable to tame a wild horse?" she asked with exaggerated shock in her voice. He shrugged and feigned a look of hurt. She gave a soft laugh, seeing through it, and with her arms around his neck, kissed him. "Thank you."

As he returned the kiss and embrace, he felt a rush of blood and it definitely wasn't rising to his head. And he definitely wasn't the only one who noticed, for as Zelda pressed her body against his, and leaned into his ear, she whispered, "We should really take care of that."

He groaned as she pulled away, especially when she ran her hand along his waistband to remove the Sheikah Slate from him hip. His breaths were shallow and he felt like he was about to explode.

While she was busy with the slate, he slipped away, heading up to the shrine where there would be some privacy to relieve himself. Goddess, he wanted nothing more than to take her and explore every inch of her body, and the pent up desire was beginning to mess with his ability to function. Case in point, he was caught off guard by an Ice Wizzrobe, who got really close to freezing Link with its ice rod. Instead of one perfect shot, Link's arrows missed a first and second try. The third hit, but had no effect, and he realized he had been firing ice arrows all along. Finally, his fourth shot, a fire arrow, found its target, and the creature vanished in a poof of fog.

"That isn't like you," Zelda said from behind him.

"It's the real me," he retorted. "It was all an act before. I hate to tell you this, but it appears you're stuck with me."

"Pity," she mumbled, playing along. "Well, at least you're funny."

He chuckled and put his arm around her. The pair leaned in for a kiss, and in the back of Link's head, he had to ignore his urgings once more. The Ice Wizzrobe had cooled him off once, but as he held his wife in his arms, he began to feel himself warming again.

"Mr. Link?" he heard Ozunda call.

He let a growl escape his throat as he pulled away, causing Zelda to let out a little laugh. As he listened to the man's request to eliminate some troublesome Bokoblins, he decided it might be better to wait. Here on the rough, dirty ground, it would be hard and uncomfortable for his princess. With the stable nearby, there would also be a chance of someone happening upon them. He wanted more for her, but without access to his Hateno home, waiting seemed to be his only option.

After a quick side quest to vanquish the monster threat, they headed on towards the Lanayru Wetlands. Neither of them made mention of the Zoras. Aside from the Hylians, it was the final race they still needed support from if Zelda was to claim to the throne.

Link wasn't sure if she was ready for that, so he decided to let her choose. "Where should we go next?"

She looked back in the direction of the hidden Zora's Domain. "It's our honeymoon, right? Maybe we should take a break and enjoy being together. Just us."

He had suspected for a while that she was nervous about visiting Zora's Domain, not that he could blame her. When he'd first visited them, not knowing he would encounter many who would remember him from one hundred years before, he'd been greeted with a mixture of warmth and disdain. He had been able to repair his image with them by freeing Vah Ruta from Ganon, but Zelda did not have much of a past relationship with them nor did she have an easy way of proving her role in freeing Hyrule from the Calamity.

However, she was right. They should celebrate their marriage, especially because If she was successful in becoming Queen of Hyrule, having time to themselves would be a rarity.

He looked around, but nothing extraordinary caught his eye, but the thought of something rare and magical gave him an idea. If he was lucky, really lucky, it just might work.

… … …

Their tour of Hyrule Field hadn't produced the results he'd hoped for, but he was optimistic that luck would be on his side. In the meantime, they had ended up at the ruins of Sanidin Park so that Link could show her where he'd found her stallion.

"I suppose that makes sense," Zelda said as he helped her down.

Link just looked at her in confusion and she let out a giggle.

"You don't remem…" She cut herself off and became very serious. "I'm sorry, of course you don't."

"No reason to apologize," Link said as he gave her a half smile. "Maybe it will show up in the memory," he added, indicating the golden light waiting for them by the statue.

That made her smile in return. "Maybe."

The first thing they saw when they stepped into the memory was Zelda walking through the castle's corridors. In her fine clothes, she stood out down in the soldier's quarters. The area was not refined or elaborately decorated, but Link recognized the simplicity as home. While a few with families had homes in the town, most soldiers lived in the barracks within the castle or stationed outposts. Link was a rare exception; as Princess Zelda's protector and wielder of the Sword That Seals the Darkness, he was given a room of his own.

As she neared his room, a voice that was not Link's could be heard coming from inside. It caused her to pause outside, listening in to what was being said.

"...weak and incompetent. How such a stupid boy could rise to such a position of power is beyond me. You are going to fail and cause this country to fall into ruin."

Angrily, she threw open his door, seemingly ready to speak her mind to whomever was verbally assaulting her knight, but inside the chamber, she only found Link lying in his bed, curled up in a ball. She looked around, but all she could see was darkness.

"Link?"

She felt around at the nightstand beside his bed, and upon successfully locating a match, she lit the candle to bring some light into the room. Looking back to the knight, she found him shivering, but when she touched his skin, he was burning up. It was then she finally noticed with a gasp:

The only thing he was wearing was his underpants.

His eyes opened, and once it registered that he was nearly naked and that the Princess of Hyrule was in his room, he flung himself backwards off the bed and emerged wrapped up in a sheet.

"Princess, I… what?" His face was red as he stuttered and tried desperately to shroud himself in the thin layer of fabric.

Zelda too was completely in shock at what she had seen. "I'm so sorry, Link. I heard voices, and…"

Her sentence was never completed, and both stood wordless and unmoving for longer than was comfortable. It was Link who finally broke the silence by asking, "Voices?"

She seemed utterly confused and at a loss. "In your room, I thought I heard someone speaking to you in a most uncivil manner. I only came in to… but I shouldn't have. I'm sorry."

Link sat down on his bed, still wrapped up cocoon-like in his sheet, and began rummaging around. "Castles are funny," he said. "Voices can travel from the strangest places." He stood and dropped the sheet, revealing he had put on his trousers. As he reached for his undershirt, Zelda caught a glimpse of his lean, sculpted torso and blushed as she turned away again. When she didn't say anything, he asked, "Your highness, was there something you needed?"

"I...I…" She looked as though she wanted to floor to swallow her whole.

He looked confused, maybe a little amused as well, as he pulled on his blue Champion's tunic. Peering out the small window to see the pre-dawn darkness, he turned back. "Would you care to join me for a morning ride?"

As she gave a nod, the memory shifted to locate the pair on horseback as they road towards Sanidin Park.

This part played out as usual. Zelda both praised her horse and thanked Link for his advice, then she told him of Mt. Lanayru and how she would be heading up the mountain the next day. But instead of coming to a close, the memory continued on.

"I'm going with you," Link told her confidently. When she looked like she was about to protest, he argued, "I promised to stay by your side, Zelda. You shouldn't be alone up there."

"Link, it's not that simple. There are...rules."

He moved closer to her. "Rules? I thought we weren't playing by the rules anymore."

For a moment, as the wind blew, they stood in complete silence as they stared at one another. It was clear in that moment that something was stirring inside them, though it went unspoken, and it almost went on for too long until chaos broke loose. More accurately, chaos in the form of the princess's horse, who suddenly took off in a run towards Nima Plain.

"Link, Storm!"

Link turned and began running after him, but was halted when a pair of Chuchus appeared. After taking them out quickly and mounting his horse, he looked back to Zelda. Realizing he could not leave her, he lead his horse to her and held out his hand to help her up. In the urgency of the situation, neither of them considered the intimacy of riding so close together, and as she pressed against him in the saddle, both of them flushed red. Link recovered first though as he snapped the reins and they charged off in the direction her stallion had taken.

They didn't have far to travel before finding Storm in a team of horses and he was...

"What is he doing?" Zelda asked with a confused look.

As he pulled on the reins to slow his horse, Link only replied with a hearty laugh.

"What?"

"It's… he's…" He was completely beyond stringing together a coherent sentence, and it was causing Zelda concern.

"Why are you laughing? You never laugh. It's scaring me!"

He calmed himself, and finally replied by asking her, "What do you know about… animal husbandry?"

"What do I know about what?" She looked confused from her knight over to her white horse. He was up on his back two legs and in front of him was a caramel-colored mare, and they were... "Oh… OH!"

As the memory faded, the Link of the present day couldn't hide his own amusement. At the same time, he was a little jealous that a horse had managed to accomplish something that he and Zelda had struggled to do. Face red, she couldn't look at him, instead, she engrossed herself in the Sheikah Slate. He looked over her shoulder, looking carefully for another update like the previous one.

** Mysterious Voice - Sacred Grounds **

A strange yet familiar voice has tasked you and Princess Zelda with reliving memories of your past. Visit in chronological order. By figuring out the mistakes you both made before the Calamity occurred, you can create a record to guide Hyrule in the future.

An encounter with the princess who faced Ganon 10,000 years ago has led you to seek out the ancient hero to see if he knows a way to save Zelda from the strange affliction caused by the Triforce. Having visited with the Champions of old, you should both pay a visit to the three springs. By splitting the power between you both, it will force it to rest until it is needed once more by future generations.

** Memories revisited: 15/19 **

** Tests completed: 2/3 **

Nothing new and the previous message of congratulations was now gone. Whomever had communicated with them previously was only selectively making his or her presence known. Disappointed, he looked up and all of that melted away when he saw what he had been hoping to see.

"Come on," he said. "I have something to show you."

… … …

A top Sartori Mountain, in the pale green glow as they crouched out of sight, Link watched Zelda as she stared in awe at the magical creatures before them. Before he could stop her, she stood and walked, almost mesmerized, towards the Lord of the Mountain. Unlike Link's previous interactions where the beast would vanish, Satori stayed, and actually moved towards Zelda. When he allowed her to pet his mane, Link stood and walked over to join her.

The creature did not run away, instead, he nudged Zelda and with its muzzle, touched her cheek as though giving her a kiss. With a nod to Link, he and the Blupees began to vanish.

For a long time after, Link and Zelda sat together under the cherry blossom tree in awed silence of what they had just witnessed. With their fingers entwined, he lifted her hand to give it a gentle kiss. In turn, she touched his jaw and pulled him towards her. He had to flail slightly to catch himself before falling, steadying himself on one of the tree's large sturdy roots. He was afraid to put it anywhere else, concerned of what it might lead to.

Zelda had no such fear as both of her hands began to roam. When he made no such motions, she took him by the wrist and placed it on her breast, making it very clear what she wanted to have happen.

"Here?" he asked looking around. Sure, the scenery was beautiful and it was isolated, but it wasn't what he imagined for their first time together. "You deserve a soft bed, flowers-"

"None of that matters," she told him, her voice so sensual it was causing a tremble of excitement to course through him. "The dirt, the moonlight, the wild… this is more like us. This is exactly us."

And so, as the moon lit up the cherry blossom tree petals that occasionally fell around them, the hero and his princess became one.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I mean… it's still Sunday, right? Haha this nice weather is getting to me, and writing is hard to balance with all of my yard projects.

Thank you to the many generous reviews I recently received. Wow, you all are just blowing me away! :)