This chapter was so fun to write!

Chapter 21

Summer Fun

Zelda's PoV

I wake up bright and early like always, early bird and all. I struggle getting out of my hammock, sticking my legs out first, trying to push myself up. I end up falling out of it as it flips over when my weight becomes unbalanced. I topple on the ground on my back and hit my head hard as I land, letting out a cry of pain. I roll over and put my hand to the back of my head, pushing myself up on my feet. I hear Link's snoring behind me and I know that I did not have a witness to my clumsy morning accident. I'm glad that he isn't awake right now, as that was something that surely would have been entertaining to watch.

Next to our saddlebags I see my bow and pick it up with my quiver. Before I went to Hateno, I trained every morning, but I've been busy ever since I left with Link. Not one day has been boring and uneventful since. It's been almost a week since I last drew back the string of my brown bow. I see Link's golden feather bow and admire it like every time I see it. I know it's powerful too, as I once tried it without an arrow in The Rusty Horseshoe tavern in Hateno. I still wish that beautiful bow were my own.

I walk off through the forest we're in, listening to birds singing their morning song. I carve a circle into a wide tree with my dad's knife and stand fifty feet back. I take a deep breath before I raise my bow and nock an arrow. The feeling of drawing my bow string back brings me back to what I love about this. The power I can feel between my arms, the feeling of having control over something and knowing it's going to do what I tell it to. I let my arrow fly and it sails through the air with that satisfying whoosh and ends with a thunk in the middle of the circle I drew.

When I was a little girl, I told my dad I wanted to learn how to shoot a bow like he did. My mom had been against it, as I was only five years old, but my dad had luckily been able to convince her that there was no harm in teaching me. Little me had been so excited, and I loved it from the very first time I pulled that tiny bow string back. Everyone had been amazed with me as I quickly showed potential in the skill. I spent every single morning practicing from then on. My dad often told me how proud he was of me for showing such determination, patience, hard work, and love for archery. My dad took me to my first contest when I was eight years old. I didn't participate that year, but I knew I absolutely had to start competing after watching. I wanted everyone to see what I could do. I begged my dad for two years before he agreed, telling me that I was ready to go kick some butt. Luck and skill seemed to be something I was born with, as I won the first contest I ever entered and many after that. I became recognized for my skills at the contests I frequented by the time I was fourteen. Pride always swelled within my chest when I picked up a bow, and it still does.

Link's PoV

I go to stretch my arms above my head when I wake up, but my arms hit something before I open my eyes. I'm groggily confused for a couple of seconds at the tan fabric surrounding my body before I remember. I get out of the hammock, which is easier than I expect, but it still takes me a minute as I'm not familiar with it. I yawn and stretch out my back, looking around to find Zelda isn't there. I hear a faint repeating sound then, and I walk through the woods to my right and see Zelda standing about a hundred feet away with her bow in hand. I walk her direction, barefoot across the soft green grass, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and stop about twenty feet away. She doesn't notice me there and I watch her for a minute, looking over her perfect form with my eyes trained on the target she's carved into the tree. The scene is dé·jà vu, as I remember waking up and finding her doing the same exact thing behind Dueling Peaks' stable. I also clearly remember seeing her standing on the platform in Hateno then during the archery contest, when all I knew about Zelda was her name. It feels like it's been forever since then with everything that's happened.

As I watch Zelda shoot her bow, things start popping into my mind. Things I've been thinking for a while. I don't pour my heart out to just anyone, I'm usually reserved and don't care to tell anyone anything personal. It takes someone special for me to tell them all the things I ever have told her. When I first met Zelda, I'll be honest, I wanted to be near her just because she was gorgeous and talented. But sitting there in the tavern in Hateno, eating that dinner and the hours after, something changed.

I told her things I would never have shared with any other stranger even that first day. She's got something special about her, and that's only grown the more and more time that I've spent with her. I told her about my parents and how they died, which I never bring up, for instance. She had looked sad right after that, but she turned that conversation around to Aryll and her smile was back, and so was mine. Her positivity and ability to find the best in things even if what we are talking about is sad, to bring my mood up, it's a quality she shows a lot that I really enjoy.

I love how passionate she is about her family, the stories she tells me are full of warmth and she smiles so much talking about her sister. The first time she really caught me was when we were riding our horses on the beach. I'm glad I asked her if she wanted to go for a ride more than anything, because when she told me she felt at home by the ocean instead of feeling sad, she looked so purely happy, and it made my chest feel warm. I wondered how long it had been since she had smiled like that because she didn't smile when we first met, unless it was because of something I said. I was entranced by her that day, sitting on the boulders at the end of the beach and talking about her owl tattoo. I find myself more and more so as time goes on. All she needed to do was smile that morning and she had me. Her laugh and smile pulls on my heart every time. Zelda has something rare you can't find easily, maybe it's also because I find her so attractive that it shows more.

In Kakariko, Impa and my sisters liked Zelda within moments of knowing her, though that was probably due to the fact that I've never brought a girl home and Aryll seems to really like her. Purah had nothing bad to say about her in Hateno either. Usually, if she doesn't like the girls I'm near, she bluntly tells me, or she did when we lived with Impa. She's been cute with kids we've met: Koko, Cottla, and Romani, and I'm sure that that is genuine. When we went walking in the woods above Kakariko, and she took my hand and squeezed it when she was afraid, I liked that I could help her. In the cave on the Lanayru Promenade, she did the same thing until we walked into the cavern with the luminous stone. How she looks to me for comfort in the dark makes me feel special.

When I was deep down that dark place I fall into occasionally, standing in front of my dad's wolf statue in Robred Dropoff north of Rusl's Cabin, I felt better almost immediately when she hugged me tightly. She pulled me out of my depression with a simple hug and her words "you looked like you needed it", showed she's more observant than most people are. She wanted to make me feel better and that, as well as her body pressed up against mine, was beyond words. When she stuck her pointer finger at me when I called her "Zel", she was so cute as she thought about whether or not that nickname was okay. I forgot that I was ever sad sitting under that apple tree with her, telling her stories nobody else had ever heard. She's one of a kind, like I thought to my dad that day, but I didn't know just how true those words were. She finds the best in everything, and her attitude is almost always positive. It's refreshing and makes it enjoyable to be around her.

She blushes when I look at her sometimes. She always has, ever since we shook hands at the Hateno Village archery contest. I don't want to think I know how she feels, but I'm sure she probably feels something or why else would she be this shy with me when she isn't around anyone else we meet. I'm usually oblivious to things like that, especially when it comes to girls, but I'm not when it comes to Zelda. It doesn't happen as much as it did when I first met her, though I would often use the smile Purah named "lady killer" in those first couple of days, but she still gets red in the cheeks while we talk occasionally. Zelda is also adorable when she gets flustered; we haven't argued a lot, but it's hard to keep a straight and solid demeanor when I talk to her.

It's a bonus, but she has the voice of an angel. Like I've said before, listening to her sing is something I could hear every day and never get tired of her crystalline voice. I want her to sing all the time at any cost. There was nobody else in the Bearded Duck tavern that night when she opened her mouth on stage, and I laughed when she squeaked into the microphone. Just another little moment that caught me with her brillant smile that lit up the room, something I will never forget. She trusted me in our Cozy Cucco Inn room without hesitation when she was drunk, insisting I sleep next to her on the bed; We had barely known each other a week and I just didn't understand. Perhaps she wasn't completely in her right mind, but I appreciated that she had full, even drunken, confidence and trust in me all the same. I want her to always feel that comfortable around me. I got her the luminous necklace in Castle Town marketplace because she was so amazed by the stones in the cavern on the Lanayru Promenade, but also because they glow in the dark and I was sure she'd like that for her fear of it. I was surprised when she kissed my cheek when she said thank you. I was thinking of kissing her right then and there when Malon...walked out and ruined the moment.

I hated those moments in the stable and Castle Town square. I wanted to shove Agitha away the first time, and I really didn't want to kiss her the second time. It left me with dread. It also left me frozen when Zelda walked by us and I thought I saw something in her eyes even though she didn't look my way. But I could have misread her. She might have just been heading in for the night. But then, the girl behind the counter at the Cozy Cucco said Zelda looked mad when she got back, but she certainly didn't look it when I walked in the room. I hoped that she didn't see me kissing Agitha as I walked in our room, but she teased me about it. It threw me for a loop to say the least. I expected her to actually be mad or something; I would have been more at ease while we stood there. I had to subtly assure her that the kiss meant nothing to me, for myself, even if Zelda doesn't feel what I've started to feel for her. I hope that she got that, because there's nobody else but her who even remotely catches my eye.

I know we've only known each other two weeks, but I was being completely honest when I told her I was afraid of parting ways with her last night. That was an understatement, actually, which I didn't realize till she asked what I was afraid of. Everything I do now, she is part of and I don't want that to stop. The more I'm near Zelda, the more I know I never want to leave her side. Zelda's one of the kindest and sweetest girls I have ever met, she does things to me without trying. There's something real about her that you don't see with most people. She shows who she is with everything she does and she's not afraid to show how she's feeling. Zelda pours her heart out to me like I do to her with personal things and that makes me feel a lot better to know she trusts me like that as well.

She makes me happy in a way I can't even explain. It's just wonderful to be near her, talking and telling stories, adventuring to places I've been before but I see them in a whole new way with her by my side. She's beautiful in so many ways on the inside as well as the outside. I want her to know that. I want to tell her in all the cheesy words and phrases I can come up with as corny as it sounds. I need to stop being a coward. I'm not afraid to hunt bears even when my dad was killed by one, or to risk my life climbing mountains I could die scaling but...I am afraid of Zelda. She's the first woman I have ever been afraid of in this way. I care about what she thinks more than I ever thought I would. I've never fallen for someone so hard in such a short amount of time, which terrifies me, but thrills me at the same time.

I have no idea how long I've been standing there, thinking, as Zelda keeps sailing arrows into the tree, but I hope she hasn't minded me watching her, if she's noticed. I think back to the creeper status I was afraid of her seeing in me while we were riding our horses on Hateno Beach. Hylia, please don't let her be uncomfortable right now if she's noticed me.

"Morning, Zel ." I say.

Zelda looks over her shoulder and lowers her bow. "Morning Link. Did I wake you?"

"Nope, it takes a lot more than the sound of an arrowhead piercing the trunk of a tree to wake me. It's a bit early for target practice, isn't it?"

She shakes her head. "This is actually my normal morning thing. Before I went to Hateno, I trained like this almost every morning. It's actually something I've done since I was a five years old." I find that interesting and it makes sense to me now why she is so good: she's been an archer all her life. She's hardworking and has a lot of self control when it comes to training with weapons. Another thing that we seem to have in common is that type of patience and determination; It's possible to achieve anything. I admire her.

A while later we sit near the cooking pot, where I've made us breakfast. We agree that the hammocks were a good idea as both of us slept well. Zelda says she was glad I was not awake before she was, because she managed to fall out of hers when getting out and smack her head on the ground. She says she wasn't going to tell me that, but it was so funny to her that she needed to.

"I may have a small bump right here." She says. pointing to her head and laughing. "I'm glad you didn't see."

"Are you alright?" I say, laughing, but also sincere for her well being. She nods, taking the last bite of her breakfast. Once we've put the our small fire out and put our stuff away, the day is already starting to get hot and humid. We bring our horses to the nearby lake with lots of large trees for shade so they can drink, and Zelda brings some carrots from her things to feed them. We tie them up on the long ropes we did yesterday, which have plenty of lead for them to walk around and graze. There is no stable atop the Great Plateau, so it's the best we can do for them while we are off doing our own thing.

It's about ten when I look at my watch and I ask Zelda what she wants to do. We discuss a couple more places on the plateau we haven't been to, but I come up with something that sounds better than any of those ideas. I ask her if she wants to go swimming.

"I'd love to go swimming. I'm melting already even in the shade today." Zelda says.

We both grab our swimsuits from our stuff and Zelda walks off into the forest and into the hollow log we passed by yesterday. Since I can't see her, I just strip my clothes off and change right in the middle of our camp. Even if she did come back this way I've got nothing to hide. A couple of minutes later, we stand next to each other, me in my black swim trunks and a shirt and Zelda in her t-shirt and shorts over her swimsuit.

We decide to go to the large pond we passed by right below the Temple of Time, agreeing on it being the best spot we've seen to take a dip. We stand above the pond and I pull off my shirt and kick off my shoes next to where Zelda puts her sandals. When Zelda strips her t-shirt and shorts off and drops them, she's wearing a dark purple two piece bikini. She wraps her long ponytail into a bun and ties it up with the band around her left wrist. My heart rate speeds up as, whether or not I mean to, I get a good look at her, staring, but I can't help it. Her skin is pale except for the light tan of her shoulders, back, and upper chest. My eyes are drawn to her breasts and down her flat belly and over her curvaceous hips and thighs, all the way down her long legs to her toes. The words I was about to say are long forgotten as all I can think about is how beautiful Zelda is from head to toe.

Zel, you really are the most gorgeous woman I've ever met. I think, swallowing to clear my now dry throat.

I look back up to her eyes to see she's not looking at mine, but all over me as well. I see a blush on her cheeks in the sunlight before she looks up at me and gives me a smile.

I turn and walk back ten feet before I take a running jump and leap into the lake. The water is freezing as I break the surface and sink under, opening my eyes and swimming back to the surface. The coolness of the water just feels great then and I see Zelda standing on the shore ten feet above the water before looking down at me.

"Come on in. The water's perfect." I say.

Zelda grins and disappears for a minute before I see her run up and dive into the pond. She shrieks as her head comes up but then she lets out happy sigh.

"Great idea, Link. Today feels like the most boiling hot day of the summer we've had so far. We should have gone swimming before now."

"Agreed."

I float on my back staring at the white clouds above as we enjoy the refreshing water before I hear the warbled shouting of two voices, since my ears are underwater. Two figures suddenly appear at the top of the long ledge, right above the pond we are in, and leap off together right above me. The person on the right almost lands on me, and their body makes a huge splash that goes over my head. I sink and resurface coughing up water. When I catch sight of the first person, whose hair is brightest shade of red-orange I have ever seen, it's a girl with skin so pale it makes her fire colored hair stand out more. She laughs and splashes water toward the second person, a guy who, coincidentally, also has red hair, but his skin is a dark tan shade. He swims over to the multi layered rock structure in the middle of the pond that sits behind me, pulling himself up with ease, then getting to his feet. There's something off about this guy and it's not till I meet his intense yellow eyes a second later that I realize what it is.

He's Gerudo.

At least...I think so. Looking at him, he does look every bit Gerudo as it gets. He's got their tall, thick structure of pure muscle, dark skin, and intimidating presence. The thing is, I've never met a Gerudo man. I've got to be wrong, their entire race is supposed to be female, but then I think that logic is flawed. How could an entire race of people only have female children? Of course there are guys, I've just never met one.

"Dude, what are you staring at?" He says, crossing his thick arms over his chest.

"The person who almost landed their cannonball on my head." I say, not realizing I had been looking at him long enough to count as staring.

The girl that came with him swims up the shore, reaches her hand out, and he pulls her up with one arm as if she has the weight of a feather. She is quite small and thin, though about as tall as Zelda is, but even with her height her Gerudo friend still towers over her by a half a foot. She wears a stud in her nose and a silver ring in her left eyebrow as well as many piercings in her ears. The two of them are the oddest looking pair. I've never seen anyone who looks like her either. I look to Zelda and she shakes her head at me, a matching confused look on her face. I wonder if she's thinking the same things I am.

"Sorry, I didn't have time to notice there was someone in the lake before we jumped in. Name's Groose, and this is-"

The girl interrupts him then.

"I'm Midna. Just like Groose, almost drowning someone we haven't even met. You're lucky he didn't land on you. I'm sure you might have died." She says, sarcastically, then looks at Groose with a smirk.

"Hey. You jumped in at the same time. You couldn't have possibly noticed them till it was too late either."

"Of course I saw these two below us. I'm not blind!" She exclaims, before she turns to us and asks who we are.

Zelda introduces us, gesturing to me with her hand. She swims over and lifts herself up onto the large flat rock, across from one that the other two are standing on, and sits with her feet in the water. The water runs down her body in trails over her curves, and I try not to gawk at her again, as much as I'd like to just stare.

"It's nice to see there are people our age up on the plateau after all. We've just met a bunch of old geezers. I expected a lot more people to be up here, but we haven't ran into anyone exploring the plateau." Midna says, sitting next to Zelda.

"Y'all must have just gotten here, we just passed by here not ten minutes ago. Come to take over our spot?" Groose says.

"Your spot?" Zelda says, raising her eyebrows.

"Just kidding. We got here a couple of days ago, but this pond is the best place we've found to swim."

The four of us enjoy the water for a couple of hours, climbing up on to the tall rock in the center of the pond and doing tricks before Midna gets the idea to see who can do the best dive off the ledge and make the smallest splash, which already gives Groose a disadvantage. I act as the judge for the three of them and it's not even close: Midna is clearly the winner.

We all sit in the shade eventually and the two pairs of us get to know each other a little. Both of them are from Tanagar City in the Tabantha region, which rests deep in the famous canyon up there. I've heard of the place, but I have never been there. Groose is more than willing to tell us about it when Zelda wants to hear more. Homes are built into the walls of the mountains, with staircases built everywhere into the canyon walls for the people who don't live inside the ancient temple, which has been renovated as the city center. He says it's like living partially underground. Midna says that it was a relief when Groose agreed to leave with her to adventure; She always hated it there. Her opinion of it is: it's boring, ugly, and in order to leave, you have to hike to the top of the canyon wall through the maze of staircases, which she says sucks. There's also apparently nothing to do there. I think it sounds incredible and I'd love to see these underground tunnels and staircases. I mark it onto my mental bucket list of places to go.

At noon, we all leave the pond and head to our camp. Midna says she could go for a meal with some juicy meat for lunch, and when she sees our bows laying on the ground next to our saddlebags, she says one of us should go hunt something. Groose suggests fish and I agree with him, so we take a vote. Zelda sides with fish like I expect her to, since I know she loves seafood, and Midna has to give in. I get nominated to go fishing while they lounge in the shade, saying it's too hot to be walking around. Midna convinces Groose to find us some fresh firewood to start a fire for roasting them, however, so he gets up as I leave camp with Zelda's fishing net. I don't bother to change my clothes as it's hot enough they'll probably dry within the hour. After catching two hyrule bass and three staminoka, I also gather some mushrooms. When I get back, Zelda offers to help me cook, so I leave preparing the fish to her and have her cut the meat into chunks on a flat piece of wood that works as a cutting board. I cut up the mushrooms and we make skewers. We season them with Hyrule Herb and rock salt before we roast them over the fire.

"Zelda, you're so lucky you're traveling with a man who can cook this well. Groose has his moments, but I'm willing to bet you get to eat meals of this caliber a lot." Midna says.

I think it's a bit too much of a praise for simple mushroom-fish skewers, but I'll take the compliment anyway.

"The few meals we have shared have been great, but I haven't had the pleasure of tasting much else he can make. Link and I haven't been traveling together very long." Zelda answers.

Groose walks over and picks up Zelda's sword near our belongings, the one I continuously forget she has. He turns the blade over in his hands. "Which one of yours is this?"

"Mine." Zelda says, a look of annoyance on her face. "You shouldn't touch things that aren't yours." She tells him.

"Sorry. I know it's no excuse, but I was overwhelmed by its beauty. Are you any good at wielding it?"

Zelda grits her teeth and her eyebrows lower, getting mad, which is honestly something new. I've seen her annoyed, like yesterday when she told me off about climbing, but I haven't seen her get angry, now that I think of it. "Of course I am, why else would I have it?" She says, bitterly.

"I've never seen you use it before, Zel." I cut in.

She looks at me and asks me a question I am not expecting with a complete change in demeanor. She sounds excited. "Wanna duel?"

This sparks the attention of both Groose and Midna, the latter of which stops eating mid bite of her skewer. I stare at Zelda and she raises her eyebrows and tilts her head. "Well? Want to or not?" She says when I don't answer her.

"You sure?"

"Yes, I wouldn't have asked if I didn't mean it."

"Alright. First to disarm the other wins?"

"Fine by me." She says, standing up and holding her hand out to Groose, who hands her sword by the white hilt. I walk over and grab my dad's - my, since it now belongs to me, which I have trouble grasping the thought of for some reason - sword and we both walk to the clearest part of the forest, the other two following us.

We take stance ten feet from each other and I am surprised by the form Zelda holds her body in as she faces me. She stands light on her toes, ready, as we circle slowly. I remember randomly that Purah told me that Zelda saved her from a drunken idiot by challenging him to a sword duel, but this is different. Anyone could disarm a drunk person like Purah said she did, and I consider myself to be pretty skilled. I wonder how good she will actually do.

"On three?"I ask.

"Sure."

We count to three together, and then Zelda comes right for me without hesitation, but her swing is slow and I am able to easily block. We clang blades several more times and I have no trouble keeping stride; it's almost effortless. I could easily just disarm her like she is, but I don't, holding out and letting her have some fun. I'm about bored and ready to end it when her tactic changes completely and she actually starts showing something else with her swordplay; technique. I actually have to try a bit to match her, and then I feel the fun coming on as she's becoming a promising opponent.

"Were you playing around?" I say, as we dance in a circle, waiting for the next opportunity to strike.

"A little, but so are you. I can tell."

I nod and take the next opening I see in her defense and smash my blade into hers, thinking it will be enough to throw her off kilter at least, but Zelda holds strong to her sword and presses back before slipping away, light on her toes.

"Don't go easy on me, Link."

I wonder just how much she is holding back or not. Could she possibly be proficient with a sword like she is with a bow? I doubt it; most people are only excellent with one weapon, unless she has been training in both just as long, like I have. I smirk and then give it my all, determined to end this duel of ours quickly and show her that we are not evenly matched. Zelda holds out a bit longer, slipping from my second attempt to disarm her, and then she takes me by surprise and almost succeeds at doing so to me, before I catch her off guard and her sword flies safely from her grip, landing in the grass to her right. Groose lets out a whoop at my victory and I just then remember that he and Midna were even watching us in the first place.

Zelda's shoulders slump slightly as I give her a smug look, but then she smiles, stepping over to retrieve her weapon.

"That was refreshing. I haven't dueled anyone in forever. I guess I haven't totally lost skill with a sword yet." She says.

Midna walks over to her and clamps her hand on her shoulder. "Zelda, you are a badass. I mean, it was clear I think who was going to win there, no offense, but it was thrilling to watch. You have some skill." She says, smirking. Zelda says thanks, half dejected.

"Agreed. I wasn't expecting that from you." I say. She actually did almost get me that one time, but I don't go as far as to say I am impressed.

Zelda's PoV

A short while later I ask if anyone would like to get some spiced wine from Plateau Village, remembering randomly that Rauru mentioned it when he said we should visit there. Link and our two new friends say yes, and Link reminds me that we should bring some baked apples for the lady who makes it, as we'll get a half price deal. So Midna and I go searching for an apple tree.

"So..are you and Groose a couple?" I ask her. I get a loud, boisterous laugh in return.

"No." Midna answers at the end of her laugh. "Groose and I are just best friends. Really, always have been. We were the outcasts in Tanagar City, being the only Twili kid and male Gerudo."

I have no idea what she means by "Twili", so I ask. Midna explains it's the name of the race of people she's from. I tell her I've never heard of them, which she isn't surprised to hear. "There're not many of us in Hyrule. My parents and I, plus a couple of other family members who live in different parts of the world. There may be other Twili, but I haven't met them."

"Is that your natural hair color?"

"Yeah. Orange hair is in my blood." She says, her lips tilting downward.

"You don't like it?"

Midna shrugs. "I guess it's alright, but it gets me a lot of attention I'd rather not get. My super pale skin doesn't help either."

I can't imagine what it's like to be as different as she is from other people. I think of what she said about being an outcast, and I feel bad for her, but I also find her unique. I love meeting interesting people. I change the conversation to Groose, saying I've never met a Gerudo man and Midna says that there are few. It's just rare that a Gerudo woman has a male child, and when that happens, they can't grow up in Gerudo Town.

"Groose says that he isn't jealous of growing up in the desert however, even if Tanagar City is sort of like it, with no vegetation or anything, but I suppose not nearly as hot. Groose would have hated growing up in the desert anyway, and I don't blame him. That dry sand, the boiling heat, yeah...keep that away from me too."

When Midna and I get back with twenty apples, I dump them out of my backpack and the four of us end up eating most of them as they finish baking to sweet deliciousness, between the four of us, so Groose goes and gets more at Midna's demand since he ate at least six of them. He doesn't want to, but he does what she asks when she puts her hands on her hips and stares at him fiercely. Maybe it's not actually fierce and she just looks that way because of her dark red eyes, but she's a bit intimidating either way. When Groose walks away, Midna spins with the silver loop in her left eyebrow before catching me watching her.

"What?"

"He seems to be afraid of you."

"He should be." She says, smirking.

I laugh. I wasn't expecting that answer from her.

Plateau Village is a small place about the size of Kakariko Village, with only a few grass-covered streets, a shopping center in the west part of town, a restaurant, a few shops, a tavern, and some houses. Music plays from Sheikah radios on different stations, playing both instrumental pieces and today's most popular bands and solo singers from around Hyrule. A few kids run through the streets playing games. The smells of food come from open windows along with laughter and voices. In the middle of the village sits a small fountain with cushioned benches and tables for hanging out, the fountain giving a peaceful background noise.

We wander around asking people about the woman who makes the spiced wine until we find Henya's house, and the sweet lady greets us warmly. We introduce ourselves, which I realize we never did yesterday. Seriously, my manners are disintegrating.

"Ooh I know that smell, you've got some baked apples. I'm betting that old man told you about my wine, didn't he?"

"He sure did." I say.

"Rauru sends a lot of travelers my way. Come this way dear. I've got a whole shelf full."

We follow Henya into a dark room with several small lanterns hanging from the ceiling, two of them lit. I smell a bittersweet scent lingering in the air. She walks over to the shelves in the corner furthest from the door, pulls a bottle off the shelf and reads the label. Henya says this one is just ready to be enjoyed and we walk out of the dark room. I pay her fifteen rupees and the bag of baked apples before I thank her.

"Perfect. Thanks sweetheart. I use the apples to help create the sweet flavor. Apples that have been baked work so nicely to get just that right amount of sweetness along with my special blend. If you and your friends enjoy it, I've always got more." Henya says, smirking.

She insists we stay for a little while to enjoy her wildberry crepes, which she says will be done in a couple of minutes. The flaky treat nearly melts on my tongue and I let out a "mmm" at how delicious it is. I may even almost put Henya's wildberry crepes on the same par as Uli's apple pie; they are just so delicious that I eat two.

Instead of going back to our camp, Link and I follow Groose and Midna to theirs, which is farther back in the woods where the trees are a little more dense. We walk up a small hill and turn left where there is a little hidden cave with their belongings inside. Midna rummages through a backpack till she pulls out a strange shaped black and red thing, which I learn minute later is a bottle opener. The four of us sit in the shade of the only tree next to their cave before all trying a swig of the wine. It's sweet and delicious so we pass it around while we talk, telling stories of back home where we each live before the bottle is empty. Midna says she has something in her bag that we should try, and Groose says "Really Mid? Bringing out the hard stuff already?"

"Don't be boring, these two need to try it." She tells him. "And we both know you like to get messed up just as much as I do." She says, giving him a "You know I'm right" look.

Midna goes in the cave and comes back with a black bottle in one hand, and a white one in the other with two shot glasses pinched between her fingers. She's also got a little black radio with the handle hooked in her left elbow. "We'll have to share the shot glasses. I've only got two."

She sets everything down in the grass then switches on the radio and turns it up. Since I left Lurelin, I've actually wanted a Sheikah Radio, but I've never been able to find one. I wish I had looked for one when we were in Castle Town marketplace; I'm sure I could have found one there. Sheikah radios are solar powered and receive transmission from the Sheikah towers throughout Hyrule. They are certainly one of the best inventions ever. I really really want a radio now. Maybe Link knows where we can buy one. I wonder why he doesn't have one, actually.

Midna calls the liquor in the black bottle 'Not for cuccos,' but the label says 'Sweet Twilight.'

"Don't be fooled by the cute name. This shit's not for the faint of heart." She says, laughing, an evil sounding laugh that I've come to find is her normal one. I laugh too, asking her to give me a shot, which makes Link laugh and then I laugh harder. Groose asks me if I'm sure about this, and I say "Got to be a little insane to live life to the fullest."

Link looks over to me and raises an eyebrow as I quote what he said to me yesterday just before I banned him from cliff climbing. I grin at him. "You're right, you know. I need to loosen up."

"Cheers." Midna says, holding up the two shot glasses and I take one. I hold it up before Groose counts to three and we both gulp them down. The foul liquid feels like it literally burns my throat and my vocal cords feel like they've been set on fire. I cough and gag as Midna starts laughing like a manic and Groose hands me a bottle of something he has at his side.

"Shoulda warned ya about that, but I had to give you the full experience. Tip: It burns." He says, grinning. I take a swallow of some sort of delicious sweet tasting liquid, which cools my throat almost instantly, before I laugh and grin back. I ask him what I just drank and Groose tells me it's Honey Milk, which is non-alcoholic and is not really milk so it doesn't go bad. Midna pours two more shots and hands them to the guys.

"Okay. We did it, now let's see you if dudes got the balls." She says, smirking. Link and Groose tilt their chins back after Midna counts out loud. Link coughs as well before laughing and takes the bottle of sweetness right after Groose takes a swig to extinguish his own throat. Germs aren't a thing when it comes to liquor and your throat's on fire, after all. I notice that Midna hasn't washed hers down with the sweet drink and point that out.

"I've had enough of it, it hardly burns anymore. I'm used to it. Besides, y'all are just pansies. A real drinker doesn't need to wash it down."

Groose snickers. "It's a wonder an alcoholic like you can even still talk."

"Shut up." She says, punching him in the shoulder and grinning wickedly. Link and I stick around till the two of them start getting pretty hammered. I stay away from Midna's 'not for cuccos' since I don't feel like getting wrecked today, but I keep sipping the sweet Honey Milk because I like it. My time in the Bearded Duck with Malon was enough liquid courage fun for me this week. Besides, it's more fun to watch Midna and Groose become content with making fools of themselves running around their camp, laughing and talking loudly, drinking themselves into oblivion.

"Where to now?" Link asks as we walk to the pond we left our horses at to check on them.

I purse my lips as I think. It's late afternoon by now, and I look over to the Great Plateau Tower and decide I want to watch the sunset from up there. I ask Link if he has ever done that, and he says no but he has climbed the tower several times.

"Want to climb it now?"

He says sure, so we make our way over there and stand at the bottom, looking up. I smile and begin to climb the tower, which is easy because the metal grating is the perfect size for grabbing and sticking the toes of your shoes into, and Link follows behind me. After about every ten feet, there are platforms circling the tower that we can rest on before climbing up higher and higher. I have to remind myself that I'm fine a couple times; The height getting to me. Even if I did slip, I'd only fall a short distance to each platform below my feet.

At the top of the tower sits a large, L-shaped, full cushioned outdoor couch that looks big enough for about five people to sit comfortably. It sits under the roof part over the center. A railing about four and a half feet high surrounds the circular outer rim of the Great Plateau tower for safety. I walk over and look toward where the sun is just starting to lower behind the horizon. The breathtaking view we have in all directions leaves me speechless. I've seen it from this height, but I am no less impressed by the beauty of looking down on everything. Death Mountain even looks lower than where we stand, which I am sure can't possibly be true. Actually, I think out of anywhere, that's the one place I am not sure I want to go. Link comes over and stands next to me with his hands on the railing.

"I love it up here. The Great Plateau, but also high up on this tower. We'll have to climb the rest of them from here on out, too." I say.

"If we can. Not all of them have so many of these platforms. I mean, I'd be fine, but I don't know about you."

I don't know about me either. I stick my bottom lip out in a pout. "That sucks."

I stand with my hands on the railing and think of when we were swimming earlier. I picture Link pulling off his shirt again, exposing those abs and strong chest of his. His muscles weren't too prominent for me either, but just right. His skin is a lovely tan color that mine is not and probably never will be even if I were to get a good suntan. His shoulders are just as lovely as they were when I noticed through his shirt in the abandoned cabin near Hateno when I got distracted when I was supposed to be changing out of my wet clothes. Oh, goddess, that thought makes me remember what he looked like with the water trailing down his half naked body when he got out of the water earlier. I feel my cheeks warming and I put my elbows on the railing, putting my palms to them as not to make it obvious that I am trying to hide my blushing or cool them down. I felt my body get warm at the sight of him standing in the sunshine at the pond. I wanted to touch him. He was so beautiful, so sexy, hot. It's not enough for him to be this amazing guy, but he's got to have this drool-worthy body too? I bite the inside of my cheek; That same warm feeling enveloping me all over again.

Link stands next to me and I pray to Hylia that my face is not as red as I think it is. I keep my cheeks in my palms till they feel cooler, and I have to not look at Link to will that to happen. I put my left hand on the inside of my right elbow and continue to lean on the railing like that.

Link's PoV

We stare out over the breathtaking view of Hyrule. I love the country we live in; There's a never ending expanse of beauty to be found no matter where you look. I ask Zelda what she is thinking about.

"Death Mountain."

"What about it?"

"It looks terrible. I think I'll pass on going there."

I laugh. "I'm not sure the volcano is somewhere I'd like to venture either."

"Thank Hylia. Because I wouldn't let you."

"Wouldn't let me?" I say, resting my elbows on the railing like Zelda is. "Like how you won't let me climb a cliff?"

"More than that." She says, turning her head my way. "I wouldn't want you to die in any circumstance. I've heard that we Hylians catch fire on Death Mountain." She smirks and I smirk back before she goes back to gazing at the view below us.

I notice as her long golden hair sways in the evening breeze in its ponytail as she leans forward with her cheek in her right palm, her other arm laying flat and holding onto her bent elbow that is resting on top of the metal railing we stand behind. Zelda smiles softly as she looks across the northern part of Hyrule, when the orange, red, and yellow sunset illuminates the sky beyond the horizon. The view she gazes at might be breathtaking and maybe the best in the entire country, but it pales in comparison to how beautiful she looks right now.

"Zelda."

"Yes?" She says, turning her head. I step closer to her and she turns toward me.

As we stand there, I think of how perfect and soft her skin looks. How beautiful her clear blue-green eyes are with the shine of the fading sun. I follow her small narrow nose to her full, light pink lips, which are parted a centimeter. We're inches away and I can feel her breath, see the rise and fall of her chest with every breath Zelda takes. My heart thuds in my chest like it wants to get out. I lean forward with a smile before her eyes shut and press my lips to hers, closing my own. She trembles as I put my hands on her shoulders and I try not to shake myself. Our lips part for a second and our eyes meet before Zelda leans forward and kisses me. I can't stop the smile that comes to my lips as she does. I slowly move my hands down to her waist and slide my right hand around her back, pulling her gently toward me so she takes a step that makes our chests press together as she leans into me. I feel one of her hands on my neck and then in my hair, her other hand on my side. She tastes sweet like the honey milk she was drinking and feels so warm as I wrap my arms around her. Zelda wraps her arms around my neck while we share the most perfect kiss I've ever had.

Eventually, I run out of air to breathe and have to pull back. Zelda sucks in for air as well as our lips part and opens her eyes. I move one of my hands slowly to her face, brushing my thumb against her cheek to move her bangs away from her eye as my fingers move to the sides of her ear and into her hair. I gaze into her deep, viridian eyes.

"You're so beautiful, Zelda. You just become more and more beautiful the more I get to know you."

Zelda giggles before she leans forward and kisses me again.