Chapter XVIII – Winter Dream ("The Adventure" – Angels and Airwaves)

~Five months later—November~

"OK, so tell me if this isn't the best idea ever." She stripped off her cami with her back to him and slipped on a bra and her shirt. She turned to face him, where he was sitting on the end of her bed.

"What is?"

"I had a dream last night…that also involved Frisbees and science experiments…but anyway, we were all on the field after we got married. We should get married on Hyrule Field!"

"I thought we were doing it in the throne room."

"So you don't like my idea?" she asked, squinting her eyes jokingly at him.

"No, I think it's a great idea, but we're changing it again? Won't it be very cold?"

"The throne room was never really our idea anyway. It was just sorta like whatever. It's not like we're royal or anything. We don't need to get married in the castle. And the field is so, so, so much more symbolic. And who cares about cold? I won't complain. And I'll be the one wearing the dress."

"It's not just royalty that gets married there. Everyone does."

"I know, Sheftali got married in the throne room!"

"And I don't want you to be cold! What if it snows?"

"Snow would look beautiful!"

"Are you sure? The field? In the snow? Really?"

"Yeah! Can't you imagine how gorgeous it will be? I mean, it might be harder work setting up outside, but I'll do it if I have to! I swear!" She pulled off the pajama shorts. "Gosh, when are you guys going to invent cameras?" She really wished she could have a record that her wedding happened. Some impossible, deep thought was telling her she needed to have evidence of it, in case she ever had the chance to show her parents…but her rational mind knew it would never happen.

He laughed, standing and stretching. Pretending he wasn't really watching her pull off her clothes. Suave. "No, you don't have to do it. I think it's really a great idea, if it wasn't winter and cold. Not standard, but—"

"You said yourself that you were never one to follow traditions!"

"Exactly, but still, the weather…"

"Yay!" she squeaked, ignoring his concerns, running to him and hugging his bare chest. He was acutely aware of her lack of pants and the distinct presence of frilly white underwear. Ever since the day she found out she still bled, months ago, they'd been so much more comfortable with each other. And now, with their wedding little more than three weeks away, it seemed natural as ever. Though it still broke the rules of Hylian Decency. O, how decency crumbles!

The wedding was set for November 27th, two weeks after Link's nineteenth birthday. It was the fifth of November that day, and the preparations were speeding up. They were spending more and more of their days apart, which was sort of ironic since they were preparing to be together (officially and decently?) forever.

"What's on the agenda for today?" she inquired. She picked up her pants from the bed beside him and tugged them on.

"You know, wedding stuff." He grinned.

"Specifically?"

"I have a meeting with the dress maker today. I spoke to her yesterday and it is finished, but I have to look at it to see if any modifications need to be made."

She laughed. It was still slightly ridiculously hilarious to her that he was in charge of her dress—her wedding dress. And he seemed so into it. She walked over to get her brush from on top of her dresser and regarded him carefully through the mirror.

"You should probably try it on while you're there. You know, just to see if it suits you, too." She smirked.

He scowled playfully at her through the mirror and rushed forward to grab her around the waist energetically. She laughed, flailing her arms. "I didn't make up the rules!" he protested into her hair.

"I know!"

Link released her and stole the brush from her hand. He began to pull it through her hair, which was virtually tangle-free, but still had a few small knots. She closed her eyes as she felt the rhythmic tug against her hair. She loved when he touched her hair. He soon stopped, and she opened her eyes. They looked at each other through the mirror.

"What time do you have to be there?"

"Eleven," he responded.

They both glanced at the clock on the wall beside the mirror.

"You'd better go get dressed, my dear!"

It was slightly past ten.

"I know, I'm going."

He went to get his clothes from the dressing room through her bathroom. She sat on a chair as she waited for him, wondering what to do with herself today. She didn't think she had anything to do. Link's clothes were already ready and everything. She guessed she should tell everyone involved that they were changing the location. Again. Originally, they had very tentative plans to hold it in the Temple of Time, but that seemed too solemn and important to hold their joyous wedding, even if it was a gorgeous location. As a fall back, they were going to wed in the throne room, where so many people had gotten married, but it never felt right to Meghan.

"Do you have anything to do today?" he asked, coming into view in the doorway of the bathroom with only pants on.

"Not really," she said.

He pulled on a white shirt. "Well, as soon as I'm done, I'll find you." He pulled on a blue tunic. "We'll go somewhere."

Meghan smiled. "Oh, like a date?" she teased.

"Yes? Am I not allowed to go to lunch with my betrothed?"

"Um…I don't know, you'd better ask whoever's marrying us."

"I believe Rauru has that express power." Rauru was the closest thing they had to a holy man. He would make an appearance for the Hero of Time. He wanted to.

"I guess I'll see you then," she murmured, playing with her hair, daydreaming.

"Good!" he said, walking over to take her hand.

"I have to get Liam some food," she said, looking at her huge dog lying near the door with his head on his paws. His eyes perked up to them at the mention of his name, but otherwise, he didn't move.

"OK," Link said.

"Come on, Limie! Come on, boy!" she said enthusiastically at him, patting her thigh with her free hand and bending her knees slightly to be more level with Liam. Liam's head lifted, but he just stared at her.

"I swear, he's getting lazier every day!" she laughed. Link chuckled. So much for guard dog! "Come on!"

Liam finally got out of the way of the door, and Meghan crouched down to get his food bowl. Liam followed at Meghan's side out the door, stopping to stretch for a moment. They took a quick trip to the kitchen and got Liam's food.

Granice cooed at Liam; she loved the dog. She was worried, however, because Meghan and Link hadn't yet eaten but insisted they didn't have time to. She forced rolls of bread smeared with berry preserves into their hands and they thanked her and left.

Meghan took a bite on the short walk back to her room, and was super glad that Granice had forced it upon them—the fresh-baked bread was absolutely delicious and the berries sweet and divine. It was weird to think that she might not be living here anymore soon. She'd love to live alone with Link, but she'd definitely grown attached to her lovely castle suite and the ever-available food supply.

They deposited Liam and his food in her room. Liam ate quickly, finishing nearly all of his food before he decided he was done. Meghan hooked his leash on his collar and they left again, headed for the enigmatic dressmaker's shop, where Meghan was never allowed past the small front room, and even when she had to try on an example dress for size, she wasn't allowed to even go near the back room, where the seamstresses' workroom and creations were.

She stopped at the door and squeezed Link's hand tight. He leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek, and then he smiled and opened the door. The stout, middle-aged seamstress puckered her lips at Meghan when she saw them in the doorway and shooed her away. They laughed and he shut the door quietly, gently leaving her alone in the central square of Hyrule Castle Town.

She sighed, staring at the bright sign that said "Anais's Tailoring and Dressmaking" in foreign Hylian characters. Meghan led Liam out to Hyrule Field, where she unleashed him. He bounced away from her, suddenly full of energy.

They went straight to Lon Lon and Meghan took Galaxy out of the paddock. She secured his tack on and mounted him.

She had nothing to do then but ride. She tried to think of anything she could do without Link, or that she absolutely had to do without him. But she could think of nothing. Except…she had to find him a birthday gift. But she didn't know what, yet, so she couldn't do anything about it. She'd always been terrible at thinking of gifts for people…which made her feel bad because she'd gotten her crazy share of fantastic gifts.

Eventually she dismounted, not far from the stone wall, because her face was growing cold and she was sniffling. She let Galaxy and Liam go freely and sat down in the soft grass, atop the gentle hill. She could see most of Hyrule Field in the direction she faced because of her elevation.

Liam came and stuck his face in hers. When she sat down, he was taller than she was. She laughed and pushed him away, forcing his butt down so he would sit by her on the grass. He settled down, his head alert. Galaxy grazed nearby. Meghan threw her arms around Liam for warmth.

The ground was cold, since it was November, but it hadn't yet snowed this year and her cloak gracefully shielded her bottom from the cold. Meghan understood that this was strange. It nearly always started snowing by the end of October, just as the weather was typically warmer earlier than it was on Earth. May in Hyrule was considered summer, just as November in Hyrule was considered winter.

As she carefully stroked Liam's fur, she became lost in her ponderings. She began to imagine her wedding, right near where she sat. She imagined being beautiful in her dress, however it looked. Link stood before her, beside her in white, his beautiful face content and excited as they exchanged words of promise and eternity.

Eternity.

It was a twist on what had once been her favorite word, her favorite concept. And also the daunting concept of what pain and suffering she once believed she was going through, and going to go through her entire life. But now it was taking on such a different meaning, one of eternal love, not pain. It brought hope now. Link had even engraved the words "eternal love" on her sword, something that meant more to her than he probably realized. The concept of pain was a million miles behind her.

She saw a flicker of movement from the corner of her eye. She looked towards the drawbridge leading into town. A man on a horse was coming out. But he didn't go in any direction she expected. He was not leading his horse to Lon Lon, nor going to Kakariko, or even to Lake Hylia. He was moving to her left, towards the woods and the direction of the Unicorn Fountain. She squinted, trying to see if she knew the person. She was fairly certain it was one of the carpenters.

Maybe he's getting wood…or building something in the woods, she thought. She didn't pay him much attention. She turned around, looking in the other direction. Liam suddenly stood up, reaching his nose out to sniff something in the air. Meghan turned to see.

She recognized him even from her brief glance at the great distance. He was on Epona, going the same direction as the carpenter had been going, very fast. She stood up, wondering if he noticed her.

He kept going for a couple of seconds, but then he turned his head. She knew he saw her then.

He turned Epona and headed her way. Liam ran to greet him, running alongside Epona. He was smiling as he approached, looking breathtaking and valiant atop his steed (as always). She noticed the carpenter pause and turn around, as if looking for someone. He settled on Link's direction, then started moving away again.

"So this is where you were," he said nonchalantly, dismounting when he was near her.

"Yup. Where were you going?"

"I was looking for you."

"Over there?" She looked in the direction he'd originally been going and raised an eyebrow.

"No, I just thought I saw someone over there, and then I saw you here."

"Oh, yeah, it was one of the carpenters. I don't know which one, I never remember who's who."

"Oh, really?" he asked, his voice higher than it should have been. "I wonder what he was doing over there."

"Maybe he's building something over there."

"Maybe, I don't know," he said loudly. "I don't think he'd be building anything that way. It's all woods and trees."

"Maybe someone wants to live in the trees, ever think of that?" she said with a smile.

"Maybe," he said, looking away. He glanced sideways at her. "I used to live in a tree. Would you ever want to live in the trees?" He laughed.

"It's not a bad idea, away from everything. Being secluded and stuff might be nice. I wouldn't have minded living in the Kokiri Forest. That reminds me…you haven't heard anything from the family selling their house in town? I want to see it, if it's an option for somewhere to live!" She took Galaxy's reigns and Link took Epona's. They started walking towards Kakariko.

"Oh, no, I haven't. I'm sure they'll say something soon. I'm sure there are other options as well."

"Oh, OK. Well, can we just go see the outside?"

"I don't exactly know where it is…" he said feebly. "I just heard them speak about it."

"Oh," she said, not entirely believing him.

They walked in silence for a bit.

"So what's the place where our honeymoon is like?"

He laughed. "Don't even try, Megs. I told you that it's a secret. I'm not going to tell you where it is."

"Oh, come on! I'm so excited!"

"I hope you'll like it. Please don't think about it now."

"Fine." She sighed. "Then what do you want for your birthday?"

"Oh! I totally forgot. Time has been passing so quickly, it seems."

"Stop evading the question. What do you want?"

"I haven't thought about it! Honestly!"

"OK, please start thinking."

He smirked. "For you, I'd think about anything."

"I'm sure you would," she joked. They laughed.

He brought her to a tiny restaurant in the Kakariko, next to the inn. It was cute and they ate a good, perfectly sized meal.

"Hey Link, if we ever get our own house, we're going to have to actually like cook, and clean, and everything." She set down her fork; suddenly the prospect of living alone, with him, became extremely daunting. They'd have to actually take care of buying food, take care of the house…

"I know. But don't worry, I always had to clean my own house as a kid, so I've got that covered." He was joking.

She laughed. "You know, Link, I had to clean my room too when I lived with my parents. I can clean, honestly. I know how to cook. I wasn't a spoiled brat until I moved here."

"You're still not a spoiled brat!"

She grimaced. The way they always got food from Granice? The castle laundry service? If that wasn't spoiled as hell, she didn't know what was. "Yeah, I am."

The next morning, Link had another appointment for something to do with the wedding. Today, it was her bouquet arrangement.

"Seriously?" she asked when he woke up and got out of bed.

"Yeah," he said, stretching in the cold air. She fell back down on the bed, the covers tight around her.

"You really have to go back like three times to get a bunch of flowers together?"

"The first time I had to tell them what I wanted. Last time it wasn't quite what I wanted, so they said they'd try a new thing."

"You know, I like all flowers. It's not a big deal. Really." She couldn't imagine him turning someone's creation down, anyway. It wasn't like him…unless he was becoming the Fabulous Wedding Planner Extraordinaire…which it seemed like he was becoming…which was slightly scary.

"It is to me."

"Are you, like, making me into your perfect vision?" She squinted her eyes as she traced the figure of a girl in the air with her hands.

"No, I'm making sure you stay who you are."

"OK," she said flippantly, closing her eyes and turning on her side. He laughed and left to change. She didn't know what time it was, but soon she was drifting between consciousness and dreams.

A few minutes later, he came back to her, fully dressed. He leaned over her and pushed her hair back from her face, stroking her cheek.

"I'll be back soon," he said softly, bending to kiss her forehead.

"No," she said groggily. "Don't leave me." She frowned.

He sighed. He lay down facing her, atop the blanket, his hand still on her face. "I have to go, love. I promise, when all this is done then we'll have every moment to ourselves. And you'll thank me for making this perfect. I want it to be perfect."

"You don't have to try so hard. The fact that you're going to be there makes it perfect. But when you leave, life gains a…palpable mediocrity."

"I know, believe me, I know. But if you let me go, I swear you'll not regret it. You'll love it. I promise. It's worth it."

"But they're just flowers, Link! I love flowers and all, but seriously, are you really going there again?"

"Yes, I am. Do you want to come with me? I'll wait for you to get dressed."

There was a sort of nervous look about him.

"No…I don't want to get up," she said lazily.

He looked relieved. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." She scrunched her face at him.

"Don't be angry, Meghan!"

"I'm not angry! Well, not at you, anyway. I'm just angry with the process, you know? So go, and I'll see you later."

"All right…"

He hesitated, and then moved forward to kiss her. Then he got up and eventually left, after turning back to her a million times.

Just as she heard him shut the door, Liam jumped onto her empty bed, his drooling mouth resting on Link's pillow. She laughed, patting him.

"Yeah, that's right, you drool all you want on that liar's pillow. I know he's up to something, and I'll probably love it, but…ugh. He's a horrible liar."

She fell back asleep and had a very abstract dream about wearing a constricting, hideous and poorly tailored white dress in an endless sandy room.

When she woke up, she had an idea. She pushed off the covers unwillingly and faced the cold, wintry room, quickly changing into pants and a sweater. She seated herself at her piano, determined to write a song about him. It'd been a while since she'd written any songs, but she always found it easy to write when she was experiencing intense emotions. And when she stopped thinking about how alone she felt when he was off wedding planning, all she could think about was how much she loved him and how perfect everything was turning out.

It would be perfect as soon as he was all hers again.

The piano part was simple at first, sweet and endearing, but soon it turned into a monstrosity of chords and arpeggios. A good monstrosity. Very clever. And she was sure he'd like it. Now all she needed were words.

She opened her mouth to sing, her voice crackly in the morning. She let the words flow out, committing them to memory as best she could. There was an idea for a chorus, and she got up to write it down before she forgot. Then she sat at her desk, letting words flow from her hand in no order whatsoever. She'd organize it later. Right now, she needed raw emotion.

Soon the piece had structure, and Meghan was happy with what she'd done so far. She decided to put it away before it started sounding forced and work on it again later. She hid the lyrics and notes in an English book of essays about the relationship between the society and economics of Hyrule.

The next few days passed with much the same procedure. He would go somewhere in the morning, she would dwell by herself and ponder a gift to get him for his nineteenth birthday while practicing and honing her song at the piano, then he'd come back and they'd have the rest of the day together. She started thinking of only three things every day: what she'd get him for his birthday, what she imagined her dress would look like, and what would happen after they were finally married. She found it impossible to think of much else.

The Wednesday before his birthday, Link and Meghan were talking to Zelda and Luke in between their daily meetings with Hylians.

"Meghan, you do realize it's really cold outside, right? A wedding dress can't be that warm," Luke said.

"I really, really had this vision of having it outside!" She giggled. "It would be even nicer if it snowed! Don't you guys think it'd be pretty?"

Her young age was showing…

"Of course it's 'pretty,' Giggles, but not practical." Luke's newest nickname for Meghan was Giggles because she seemed to giggle about everything lately.

"Luke, for the last time, you're not her father. The only reason I'm letting you give her away is because you're the closest thing she has to a brother. Not a father. If she wants it in the field, then she'll have it there." He shielded Meghan from Luke playfully.

"I get it, Link! But why so serious? I might have to rethink it, truly, giving her away to you…" He pulled Meghan behind himself and pretended to be shielding her from Link.

Meghan and Zelda giggled at the two. It was always comical to see the contrast between Link and Luke, the difference between serious and hilarious. Link was typically a hilarious person, but next to Luke, he always assumed the role of a more serious person for comedic reasons. And Luke also did irritate him most days. In a friendly, brotherly way.

"Link? Meghan? Zelda and Luke? You appear to have a visitor, from Orda village," said a guard who approached them. Link's face lit up immediately, knowing who it was.

"She's here!" Meghan said, smiling and excited as well.

"She waits in the throne room," he said.

"Thank you, sir," Zelda said, and they all raced down the halls until they reached the throne room, which Zelda had transformed into a sitting room for everyone, not just for royalty.

Link pushed open the door, trying to find her in the huge room. She was in the corner, looking about nervously, wringing her hands together in front of her.

"Sierace!" Link called, going to her.

"Oh, Link!" she laughed, the nerves leaving her face. She ran to them and embraced Link, Meghan, and Zelda in turn.

"Sierace, this is my husband Luke," Zelda said, introducing the two. "Luke, this is Sierace, and as you know, she's a very old friend of mine."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, and you are very welcome to…the mainland, if you will." He took her hand in both of his. She looked away shyly.

"It's an honor," she said in her trilling voice. She smiled at Link. "I still can't believe you! How can you be getting married so soon? You're six years younger than I! And you," she said, turning to Meghan. "I will be so happy to have you as part of our tiny family! If nothing else, we are certainly close-knit!"

Meghan giggled, unsure of what to say. Herself included, the family of Navies/Quinoas would grow to the astonishing number of three members. Still, it felt like such an honor.

"Sierace, I'm really glad you came. I know it was difficult for you," Link said.

She still had a slightly nervous look about her. "It's hard for me," she whispered, looking at Zelda. "But I wouldn't miss this for anything!"

By then, all four of them knew the injustice that Sierace has been served. Her family had been accused of being traitors in the Great War just before Link and Zelda's births. But it'd been an outrageously untrue accusation for which most of Sierace's family paid the ultimate price. Even more unjust, years later, after Sierace escaped her family's fate, she was discovered and captured even at the tiny age of eleven. Zelda found her then, and along with Impa, saved her by sending her off to the tiny village way outside of Hyrule with another family (the Masitimas, who were young then) and there she remained her whole life. Until today.

"Don't worry, Sierace. The horrors of the past have been buried and forgotten. No one and nothing will harm you now."

"Thank you, Zelda," Sierace said, lowering her head in gratitude. "I owe you everything."

"Come," said Zelda with a smile, taking one of Sierace's bags from the corner. "We will show you to your rooms!"

They all smiled and Link and Luke picked up the other two bags, and Luke stole the one from Zelda's capable arms. She scowled playfully at him, then turned and started walking. Link walked alongside Sierace, asking her questions about the village and the people there. They looked like siblings and it nearly brought tears to Meghan's eyes seeing them together again.

"Sierace, is Erol and his family in Kakariko now?" Meghan asked. "I want to see them!"

"Yes, and they said they would arrive here in a matter of hours. They were visiting old friends."

"I can't wait!"

Later, Meghan finally had the chance to meet the entire family. She'd only met Erol and his mother, but now his ten-year-old twin sisters, Celia and Lacie, and his father stood before her. She hugged Erol tightly, asking him how he was.

When Ganon had been changing him into a human as well, it hadn't worked as well or as fast, so his changes weren't as extreme as Meghan's. If he was wounded, the seluric material would clot, but not as quickly as anyone else's, creating a pinkish tint in his cuts that would eventually heal over perfectly like any other Hylian's.

He'd grown slightly since she saw him last. He was definitely taller by an inch or two, and slightly more muscular. His skin was tanned by the sun, giving him a warm color and making him look slightly older.

He introduced them politely to his family, especially his sisters. They smiled and giggled to each other when Meghan greeted them. When the group went to eat dinner, the girls trailed behind everyone else, talking to each other quietly and holding hands, awed by the giant castle, which they'd never seen. They'd never seen anything close to it, even, and just little old Kakariko had amazed them.

Meghan hadn't been listening to exactly what they were saying, but she overheard a small bit, "She's getting married! That's so sweet…I want to get married!"

"I wonder what her dress looks like! I want to get married!"

"I'm going to get married first!"

"No! I am!"

Meghan laughed, not knowing how Link's sentence had finished. She gave him a meaningful glance to see if he'd heard them too. He had, and he chuckled quietly.

"Mr. Masitima, how has your farm been? Have you rebuilt well?" Link asked in Hylian.

"Yes, we cultivated our land once again, just in time for the autumn harvest to be grown. Erol and I finished up everything about a week ago."

"How has the town been? Has everything been rebuilt?"

"The majority, yes. Many houses were salvageable, so many could just fix up what they had. Unfortunately, ours wasn't so intact, but we've done the best we can."

"Everything is fine, Papa! We love our new house!" one of the twins said. Meghan smiled.

"As always, you know that if anyone from the village needs anything, all you need to do is ask. We will provide anything," Zelda told them.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. We appreciate everything that has been done for our village."

"Please, if you wish, I insist that you call us by our names…" Zelda said sweetly.

"They like to be called 'Zelda ' and 'Luke,'" Erol told his parents matter-of-factly.

Meghan tried not to burst into laughter. If only she had a dollar for every time Zelda had insisted the very same thing…well, she'd be able to buy a lot of chocolate. And for every time whoever she was speaking with looked confused and embarrassed to do so for the first time.

"If you wish…" he said hesitantly.

"Thank you!" Zelda said emphatically.

"Are you happy to have Sierace here?" Meghan asked as she climbed into her bed. They'd just left her company for the night.

"Of course I am," Link said, sitting on the other side, smiling. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I'm happy too. For you. I mean…I guess, when we met, you'd never known what it's like to have family too much, right? But then you found Sierace and you finally did. And then there's me—"

"You're the most important family I have, Megs."

"—and now it's like, family galore! OK, not really, but…"

"Are you trying to say something?"

"Yeah." She stopped.

"What is it?" he questioned after a second.

She looked at him, taking a breath, her lips parted. "I wish my parents could be here. I wish I could see them for even a second. Goddesses know I've taken them for granted, my entire life, and when it really matters, I can't have them." Tears glistened in her eyes and she remembered her parents. Sure, they had their quirks and flaws, but she'd prefer that to never having them. "And then I think about you and…and…well, I don't want to make you sad."

"No, continue what you were saying. I'm fine."

"I think I've always been selfish. Because even if they won't always be in my life, I at least knew what it was like to have them, and I just feel so selfish because I wish you could know how it feels too! I want to share them with you, but they're not even here to do that! So I'm sorry..."

"Meghan, don't feel sorry for me. I can't miss what I never had. Of course I wish things were different, but it doesn't bother me as much as you seem to think it does. I also wish your parents were here. I wish I could ask them rightfully to give you to me. But we can't regret what we can't change, right?"

She nodded. "I know…"

He looked straight into her eyes and placed his hand over hers on the bed. "You miss them?" he asked, his voice loving.

She nodded, biting her lip. "Every day," she murmured as her voice cracked. She had a few tears in her eyes. Her mouth opened, as though she was going to say something, then closed again. Then opened. "But that's OK," she spoke more strongly, though her voice was a bit high. "Because every day I can't be with them, I'm with you, and I can't live without you. It's a well tested law of my life."

He smiled and reached out to touch her face, his fingers moving down her smooth skin.

"I know," he said in a low voice. "They'll be with us in spirit. Assuming, of course, their spirits like me."

"Link, they'd love you."

"I don't know; I can be scary."

She wasn't sure if he was joking or not. His face was neutral. Maybe it was a bit of both. "No! Not at all! You're everything a parent would want for their girl! Smart, strong, protecting, caring, servile, slightly sycophantic…" She giggled.

"Slightly sycophantic?" He smiled widely.

"Yeah, you know…you know?"

"I know what it means, Megs, but do you really think of me that way?" he asked, moving mischievously closer to her.

"I was kidding!" she yelled, giggling.

"Tell me to do something," he murmured, his fingers tracing down her arm.

"Ahhh…uh, I dunno, stand up! Do ten push-ups."

He smiled, even more roguishly, wrapping his arms around her. He brought his face to hers and whispered in her ear, "No."

"Aw, come on!" she laughed, secretly wanting to watch those ripples of muscle do some work. Her stomach flipped when she thought about how close he was to her, protecting her body with his capable, powerful one. He was silent, relaxing while half on top of her, smiling. Not letting her go. She sighed, putting her arms around him.

Bliss.

As I was reading this over, I thought I realized an inconsistency between LWSD and ASW. In the rewrite of ASW, it is mentioned that Meghan tells Link that she can tan in the sun, but Hylians are not capable of this. But in this chapter, it is mentioned that Erol tans. So then I freaked out and thought I had to decide-take out the "Hylians don't tan" or the "Erol got tan?"And then I realized it actually works this way. Because Erol is part human now, so he can tan! I just wanted to point that out...not that I think anyone is crazy like me and noticed. XD

Thanks for reading!