Happy new year everyone! I apologize for the long wait, but I finally got these chapter finished last night at two in the morning.
PLEASE READ! Please go to my profile and vote in my poll. I set up a poll for all my next stories, and I would appreciate it if everyone would vote on which story of mine you'd like to see posted next. I have plenty to choose from, and you can vote for as many as you want.
Also, I regret to inform you, I'm thinking about discontinuing Thoughts of a hero. If anyone realllllly wants me to continue that, I'll think about.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Kari sat on a log next to the river, her head resting on her hand. It had been several months since Willie had met his mother and learned he was the prince of Hyrule. He'd also confessed his feelings to Kari, something that had completely shocked her system to the core.
Willie was 17 now, so were Jason and Piper. Kari would be turning 17 tomorrow. But right now, Kari's mind was not on her birthday, no matter how much she wanted it to be.
Willie Willie Willie. Ever since he had confessed his feelings, it was all Kari could think about.
"I'll do anything, just let her go." The king's eyes narrowed. "Why?" Willie glanced at Kari before turning back towards the king.
"Because I love her."
"Because I love her." Kari sighed, the words kept repeating in her head over and over, taunting her, pressuring her.
"I don't know, I don't know…" she repeated, her eyes closed. "I don't know if I love him, I don't know how I feel…"
"Kari?" Kari wheeled around to see Piper standing behind her, a concerned look on her face. She walked over and stood next to Kari.
"Are you ok Kari? Your mother's worried about you, and so is Willie." Kari's eyes widened and her heart beat faster. She groaned and sank her head between her legs.
"Why does this keep haunting me? Why can't I get it out of my head?!" Piper sat next to Kari a placed a soothing hand on her shoulder.
"Maybe you do love him. Does your heart beat faster when he's around? Does your head start spinning when you think about him?" Kari nodded. "Yes," Piper smiled.
"Then you must be in love with him. Your heart is trying to tell you, your just not listening properly." Kari frowned,
"I… love him?" She said aloud, biting her lip. Piper nodded. "We both know you do. Think about it, can you imagine yourself marrying him and spending the rest of your life with him?" Kari closed her eyes, images flashing through her mind.
Willie kneeling in front of her holding out a wedding ring.
Willie standing at the alter wearing a black tunic.
Willie holding hands with her and walking along the beach.
Willie standing with her holding a child with blue eyes and blonde hair.
Kari's eyes opened, and she smiled at Piper. "Yes, I can." Piper smiled.
"Then there's your answer." Kari smiled, Piper held out her hand. "Com on, your mom wants to talk to you about something." Kari smiled and took Piper's hand, pulling herself off the log.
The two girls link arms and made their way back to Kari's house.
"You know Kari, I bet yours and Willie's kids will be awfully cute."
"Shut up."
-0-
"Alright Kari, I was wondering if you would run to the store for me. I'm all out of flour, and I need some for breakfast tomorrow." Kari looked a bit confused, she was almost positive she had seen a bag of flour in the cupboard yesterday. She shook her head.
"Sure mom, I'll go now." Kendra beamed at her handed her some rupees.
"Take your time, I've got loads of stuff to do anyway." Kari shrugged, taking the rupees from her mother. "Alright, I'll run to the clothes store. I need to get some material anyway." Kari pulled her green and silver cloak and headed out, shaking her head and wondering why her mother was acting so strange.
Maybe it has something to do with my birthday tomorrow? She wondered. She made her way to the small store; easily purchasing a bag of flower with the rupees her mother gave her before heading down the street to the fabric store.
The person behind the counter was a short old woman, and her eyes lit up the minute she saw Kari walk in.
"Oh my goodness! What a gorgeous cloak! You certainly have an eye for fashion." Kari smiled, all the while mentally rolling her eyes.
"Thank you, my mother made it for me." The old woman smiled, leaning against the counter.
"So what can I help you with today miss?" She asked. Kari's eyes wondered over the shelves of fabric.
"I'm just looking for some material." She replied, "I was thinking something blue… or maybe silver…" the old woman smiled suggestively.
"Something to impress a young man perhaps? In that case I have just the thing." She disappeared into the back, ignoring Kari's protests against her statement.
She returned minutes later, holding in her hands the most beautiful fabric Kari had ever seen.
The fabric was a shimmering silver color; it looked almost magical. Kari was speechless; she reached out and touched the fabric, running her hand over it.
"It's…." she paused. "It's gorgeous." The old woman smiled, "I had a feeling you'd like this one. It's my special fabric. I only offer it to a select number of customers. Do you want it?" Kari nodded.
"My birthday's tomorrow. It'll be a little present to myself." The old woman laughed, pulling a box out from under the counter. Behind the Kari, the door opened, ringing the small bell above the door.
"There you are Kari, I was looking for you." Startled, Kari wheeled around, only to come face to face with Willie. He grinned down at her.
"Your mom said you said something about going the fabric store after you picked up some flour. Find what you were looking for?" Kari nodded speechlessly, turning back towards the counter to pay for the fabric.
"How much do you need honey?" the old woman asked, pulling out a pair of scissors.
"Five yards." Kari said, her hands on the counter. Willie leaned against the counter next to her, waiting. The old woman glanced up at Kari and winked at her, raising her eyebrows towards Willie. Kari blushed, her cheeks pink. She looked down, keeping her eyes on her feet in hopes that Willie wouldn't see her blush.
"Oh, Kari, by the way, Piper was looking for you. She wants us to meet her and Jason at that small café in south Hyrule Square. She sounded pretty impatient." Willie said, Kari nodded, turning back to the old woman.
"How much?" she asked, the old woman wrapped the fabric in soft paper and put it in a box. She set the box on the counter and turned to Kari. "Fifty rupees."
Kari reached into her pocket and pulled out a purple rupee, handing it to the woman.
"Thank you very much." She said, the old woman nodded, smiling brightly.
"You're welcome, come back and see me sometime!" Kari smiled and reached for her package, but Willie beat her to it, tucking it under his right arm and offering Kari his left. Kari smiled and took his arm, waving at the old woman, who winked at Kari before as they closed the door behind them.
"So where are we meeting Piper and Jason again?" Kari asked as she and Willie headed down the street. Willie grinned.
"At that small café down at South Hyrule Square, you know, the one with the best tasting smoothie mixes in Hyrule. Remember?" Kari nodded,
"I remember that place now. My mom took me and my sister there once. They make the best strawberry smoothies I've ever tasted!" Willie nodded.
"That's the one."
The two chatted the whole way to the café, as they got close, they saw Jason and Piper sitting at one of the outside tables, talking. Kari waved at them, and they waved back, beckoning the two over. Willie and Kari quickly joined them.
"So what's up? Something going on?" Willie asked as they took seats opposite of Piper and Jason. Piper and Jason beamed at each other, and Kari and Willie exchanged glances.
Piper placed her hand on Jason's, and Kari suddenly noticed the diamond ring on Piper's left hand. She gasped.
"Oh my goddesses." She glanced up at Piper, who was laughing. Kari squealed.
"Congratulations! I can't believe it!" Willie looked confused. "What?" Kari squealed again and grabbed Piper's hand, practically bouncing in her seat.
"They're getting married!" She squealed. Piper giggled and nodded
"Yes! I knew you would notice Kari! Jason and I are engaged!" Kari squealed again, and the two girls began talking excitedly. Willie shook his head at Jason.
"You sure didn't waste and time." He teased, Jason grinned and punched Willie lightly on the shoulder.
"Will my friend, you know I'm not a very patient person." Willie laughed and punched Jason back.
"Congrats J, I know how much this means to you." Jason nodded, glancing back at Kari and his fiancée, who were still chatting excitedly, their faces beaming. Jason glanced slyly at Willie.
"It's your turn next Will." He said, winking at Willie. Kari and Piper suddenly decided to drag Willie and Jason into the conversation.
"So when's the big day?" Kari asked, wiggling eagerly in her seat. Jason and Piper glanced at each other.
"Well… we're not exactly sure yet. We're thing sometime early summer, so about four months." Piper said, Kari was beaming.
"I'm so happy for you two! So Piper, what's it feel like to be engaged?" Piper smiled at Kari.
"You'll have to find out for yourself." She said, glancing at Willie. Kari blushed and ran her fingers through her hair.
"Stop teasing Piper… it's not like I'm getting married anytime soon. Besides, I want to be engaged at least six months before I get married." Piper laughed, taking a sip of her water in front of her.
"You always did like to take your time." She said. She and Kari glanced at the boys before returning to their excited talking. ("You will be my maid of honor Kari, won't you?") Willie and Jason rolled their eyes, leaning back in their chairs and waiting for the girls to finally stop talking. This was going to be a very long lunch.
-0-
"Bye Jason! Bye Piper!" Kari waved her hand in the air at the two forms going on the opposite direction. Piper turned back and waved before linking arms with her fiancée and disappearing around the corner.
Willie and Kari waited until they were out of sight before making their way back to Kari's house.
"Mom I'm home! Sorry I took so long, I ran to the fabric store, then ran into Willie and had lunch with Piper and Jason." Kendra's head appeared in the doorway leading to the kitchen.
"Hi Kari, hello Willie." Willie nodded politely and handed Kari her package.
"Don't forget this." He said with a grin. Kari took it from him. "Thank you," she said politely.
"Willie, could I talk to you for a second?" Kendra asked, appearing in the doorway. Willie nodded. Kendra turned to Kari.
"Why don't you take that upstairs while I talk to Willie for a second?" Kari shrugged and nodded, hopping up the steps to her room to put away her package.
When she came back down the steps, she saw her mother and Willie completely engrossed in their conversation. Willie nodded his head in agreement at something just as both caught sight of Kari. They immediately stopped talking. Willie waved at Kendra.
"See you later Kendra." Kendra waved and retreated back into her kitchen, leaving a slightly confused Kari to see Willie out.
Willie cleared his throat as Kari opened the door, rubbing the back of his neck nervously with his hands.
"Um… I was wondering…" He hesitated, Kari waited for him to continue. "I was wondering if tomorrow… you'd like to go out with me. On a date. Just the two of us." Kari was surprised; she defiantly wasn't expecting that. She nodded slowly.
"Ok, why not? It actually sounds like fun. What time?"
"I was thinking around noon. Sound good?" Willie was much more confident now that she had said yes. Kari nodded.
"See you at noon then." Willie nodded and stepped out the door, pausing as Kari closed the door behind him. As soon as Kari had closed the door, Willie pumped his fist in the air and let out a small "yes!"
---------------------------------------
Willie was up bright and early the next morning, much to Link's amusement. He spent hours getting ready, practically turning the entire house upside down in search for his favorite shirt.
"Looking for something?" Link asked as he watched Willie run ramped through the house for the umpteenth time. Willie paused long enough to answer Link's question.
"Favorite shirt. Can't find it." He said before taking off again. Link rolled his eyes, pulling out some bread from the cupboard in their kitchen.
"Your room, under the bed." Willie barely paused before racing up the steps, returning triumphantly a few minutes later with his favorite shirt in hand.
"Doing something special?" Link asked, noting the glow on Willie's face. Willie grinned at his father.
"I convinced Kari to go on a date with me. Today's her birthday, so I wanted to do something special for her." Link's mouth for an 'Oh' shape as he added some butter onto his bread.
"Did you get her something for her birthday?" he asked, taking a bite of his bread. Willie grinned and nodded, pulling out a small box from his pocket. Link raised his eyebrows, and Willie shook his head.
"It's not what you think it is. Here, look." Willie handed the box to Link, who opened it and nodded impressively. "I think she'll like it." Willie grinned again.
"I hope so, took forever to get made." Inside the box as a small, silver necklace with Kari's name written in fancy letters as a charm. It was gorgeous. Link closed the box and handed it back to Willie.
"You plan on giving it to her today?" Willie nodded, putting the box safely back in his pocket. He headed back up to his room slowly, pulling off his current tunic and replacing it with his favorite one.
"What time are you taking her?" Link called after Willie.
"12 O'clock!" Willie shouted back. Link glanced at the clock; it read 11:50.
"You do know that's in ten minutes?" He said up the stairs. A door slammed, and there was the sound of breaking wood.
"Aw d--- it!" Link heard Willie hiss. He shook his head and returned to the kitchen to finish his breakfast.
"Bye dad gotta go!" Willie suddenly raced down the steps and was out the door faster than Link could blink and eye. He rolled his eyes.
"Teens, always in a hurry.
-0-
Willie came to a halt right outside Kari's house, pausing to straighten his tunic and run his fingers through his hair before knocking on the door.
Seconds later, Kate opened the door, a grin on her face. She smiled at Willie.
"Come on in. Kari'll be down in a minute." She said, opening the door so he could step in. Sure enough, only a minute after Willie arrived, Kari came down the stairs, wearing a very beautiful white dress. Willie's jaw almost dropped to the floor. Kendra followed Kari down the steps and smiled at Willie's reaction.
"You think this dress is beautiful, wait until you see the one we're making her wear tonight." Kari blushed red as she said that, glaring at her mother.
"Stop it mom! You've already embarrassed me enough. I absolutely refuse to wear that dress. You know I hate dressing up." Kendra rolled her eyes.
"Just get going you two. You don't want to be late."
Luckily, Kari didn't say anything more, so the two headed out. Kendra winked at Willie when Kari wasn't looking.
The other day, while Kari had been upstairs, Kendra asked Willie to keep Kari busy for a few hours. Take her on a date; go shopping, whatever got her out of the house long enough for them to decorate the house for her surprise birthday party.
Willie shook his head and closed the door behind him, offering Kari his arm, which, to his surprise, she accepted.
"So where are we going?" she hinted curiously. Willie grinned.
"I'm not saying anything, it's all a surprise." He said, Kari pouted a bit, but didn't protest as he led to down the street. She did protest however, when he blindfolded her to surprise her.
"I feel completely ridiculous." Kari muttered as Willie led her down the street. Willie chuckled, carefully leading her to the entrance of a very nice restaurant in Hyrule marketplace.
"Are we there yet?" Kari asked, a childish scowl on her face. Willie laughed, untying the blindfold. "We're here."
Kari opened her eyes as gasped; she turned to Willie, her mouth hanging open.
"Silver sky?! How in the world did you get reservations to Silver sky?!" She gasped, her mouth still hanging open. Willie grinned.
"You will never know." He said, offering his arm. Kari took it, and the two headed in and were greeted by a hostess, who led them to their table.
"Oh Will, this place is beautiful! I can't believe you got reservations here." Kari was still awed as they took their seats. She couldn't keep her eyes in one spot for long.
"Thank you so much Willie." She said, and to Willie's surprise, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before returning to her gazing. It took her about five minutes to realize Willie was still in dream world, a grin on his face. She rolled her eyes and waved a hand in his face.
"Will… anyone home? Willie…. Do I have to say your full name?" Willie quickly snapped out of his trance at that, causing Kari to laugh. Willie pouted a bit.
"Just order," he said in a teasing voice.
-0-
The two spent over an hour at the restaurant, talking and spending time together. When they were done, Willie surprised Kari again. When they left the restaurant, Princess was waiting outside, her saddle and bridle covered in sparkles. Willie helped Kari up before mounting up behind her and heading Princess towards Lake Hylia. They reached the shore side a few minutes later, and Kari practically jumped off Princess in her rush to reach the water. She discarded her shoes, pulled her dress up, and walked into the cool lake water. Willie also took off his shoes and joined her.
"Thank you so much Willie. This is best birthday I've ever had." Kari said, looking up towards the bright blue sky.
Willie nodded wordlessly as he watched Kari, his blue eyes shining. Kari turned to smile at him before returning her gaze upwards, stretching her arms out and taking a deep breath as the wind blew in her red/brown hair. Willie reached into his pocket and clutched Kari's gift in his hand. He gently pulled it out.
"Hey, Kari." She turned to face him, a smile on her face. "Hmm?" Willie held out the box, and he saw Kari's eyes go wide. "You-?"
Willie handed her the box. "Open it." He whispered. Kari took the box in her hands, her deep blue eyes still wide, and opened it.
She gasped, pulling out the necklace. "Willie-" she broke off, her voice choking. She met his gaze, and Willie could see tears in her eyes. "It's beautiful, thank you so much." Willie grinned, blushing a little. "You're welcome."
"Put it on for me?" Kari asked, handing him the necklace. She turned around and pulled her hair over her shoulder, waiting. Willie took a deep breath and lifted the necklace around her head, clasping it closed. Kari turned back around and flipped her hair over her shoulder.
The necklace hung just below her throat, her name glowing in the sunlight. She looked up at Willie and smiled again.
"Thank you so much, I love it." Willie smiled, he was glad she like it. He glanced up, and noticed it was starting to get late.
"Come on, let's head back. We've been out here for a while." He helped Kari back on Princess, and then mounted up behind her. She leaned against his chest as he took the reins in his hands, and for a minute his heart beat faster. He sighed and turned Princess back towards Castle town, it was the perfect end to the perfect date.
--------------------------------------------
Sorry this chapter was so short, I was very anxious to get this chapter up and running. We're getting close to the ending, there's only about 4 chapters left. I'm aiming for 25 chapters, but their just might be 24. I also plan on adding an epilogue.
Also, would everyone like me to put Kari's surprise birthday party into the next chapter? Or should I just move on to what I have planned. If I don't put the party in, the next chapter will take place about 3 weeks later. Mm K?
Also, I need names! For this story and some of my other storied I've been working on. I need both male and female names. Sorry for this long authors note everyone. Have a great new year!
P.S. Exactly 28 days until my 17th birthday!