I'm soooo sorry for how long this took! It's been exactly one month. ;_; I'm going to give you a million excuses now. Not only have I been beyond busy lately, but this chapter is also almost the longest one in the whole story, and is also maybe the most boring. Part of me really wanted to take it out in the rewrite, but doing so would erase the start of the birthday tradition in the series…which I can't really part with. :) Alsoooo, because I'm been so busy, I've been working on this less obviously, and it's a positive feedback loop because the less I work on it, the less I generally want to. The converse is true (the more I work on it, the more obsessed I become) and neither side is good, cause I don't want to lose interest again, and I also don't want to be obsessed with this as I was over winter break, so I don't know. Lolz. OK. I'm done. Now for this awful, stupid chapter. XD (but I do think the ending is cute :D)


Meghan let Link into her room.

"It's over here!" She walked over to the desk, pulling out one of the drawers and opening the false bottom. She pulled out the diary and letters.

"What is this?"

"I don't know. I think there's something in that book that can tell us. There's a girl. She wrote letters to Impa." She handed the book to Link, who walked over to the couch and sat down, opening the book.

He observed the first page. It was dated, back to almost exactly eight years ago. As he read the contents, his expression turned very serious.

"What does it say?" she questioned, sitting at the chair of the desk. It wasn't a roll-y or swirly chair so she had to turn it around.

Prisoner of war. Distrusted. Family lost. The depressing words that started the journal grabbed his attention immediately, sparking in him his innate savior-mode. He read a few pages quickly in silence, Meghan eager to know what was going on.

He knew at that point what it was, shock bursting from his insides as he read. He didn't want to worry Meghan about it now. Perhaps tomorrow he would tell her. "It's not important right now," he declared, giving her a small smile and closing the book firmly.

"No! Come on! Tell me! Ugh, I hate when you don't tell me what things mean!" Not that he was required to or anything.

"I-" But then they heard a small knock at the door. Very quiet. It was persistent. Link got up and opened the door, knowing exactly what to do.

"Mister Link! My brother and some boys are in a fight and they need you to stop them and please come because they're hurting each other!" The child who was at the door started to cry. Meghan saw it was Dia, that little girl they'd played with in Hyrule Castle Town yesterday.

Yesterday…had it been only yesterday that she'd thought her world was going to end?

"Meghan, I'll be right back. You stay here. It'll only take a few minutes."

"I'll come," she said as though it was a no brainer.

"No, stay here with Dia." He rushed out, looking like he was on a mission.

"OK…" That was one of the few times he had been so assertive with her. And she wondered how Dia was here and how she knew where Meghan lived...odd. And where was Link going? Dia hadn't even said where they were!

Meghan held her hand out to the girl standing in the doorway. "Dia, come sit with me, OK?" Dia took her hand. Meghan put her hand on the door, about to close it, unaware that, waiting just around the corner, were Zelda, the other girls, Luke, and now Link.

"She's yours," Link said.

"All right. Come on," Saria said. Malon was holding something long carefully, while Nabooru had a small, wooden box. They went to the door and just before Meghan closed it. Link, Zelda, and Luke went the opposite way down the hallway.

"Meghan! Darling, happy birthday!" Nabooru said, pushing her way into the room. Meghan nodded, staring in disbelief.

"You didn't tell me it was going to be your birthday when I saw you on Friday!" Narma accused.

There are two Gerudos in the room. That is not good. What…? I don't even wanna know. She saw Saria and Malon in the bunch.

"Meghan, we have something for you to try on," Malon said, holding the wrapped thing she was holding slightly out. Meghan stared at it.

Girls + trying on clothes + Meghan (shopaphobic) + Gerudos = Meghan runs away forever.

"Um…" They were all smiling at her expectantly. Even Dia was looking at her. "Why?" she finally said.

"Well, you need to try it on in case you ever need to wear it," Malon said. Meghan wasn't convinced.

"O…K…and may I ask what it is?"

"So you're agreeing to try it on?" Nabooru asked.

"I just want to know what it is that I'm trying on," she said skeptically. She had noticed the box in Nabooru's hands as well as what Malon held.

"You must agree first." Nabooru was looking at her with hard, don't-take-no-bullcrap eyes.

"You gotta tell me what it is first."

"Agree?"

"Uh, no. Tell me. Please?" She was smiling a nervous smile.

"No." No smile back. Meghan was slightly scared. But the others were laughing.

"Tell me?" she begged. She stood up. Dia scrambled to Saria. "Or I'll find out by myself?" Meghan stared into Nabooru's eyes, not afraid.

"No."

Meghan was beaten. There were many girls surrounding her. She sighed.

"Fine."

"Good. Follow us." Nabooru started walking, confidently, towards Meghan's bedroom.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, I don't think you're going to change out here, in the open." She was right. There were large windows beside her desk, and a door to the balcony in the room.

"Fine." She walked after Nabooru, followed by the others. "But I hope you realize I'm also not getting changed in front of you, for whatever it is." She would feel too self conscious! Especially in front of all these beautiful, thin, and (in Nabooru and Narma's case) buxom beauties.

"Why not? We're all girls here."

"But I'm…a human." Someone behind her wiggled her ear. Oops, she actually wasn't. She forgot. She couldn't use that as an excuse anymore...

"Not anymore," Narma said. "I don't know how this happened, but it's a little sad that you grew out of short ears…"

Nabooru's malicious yellow eyes stared at her, smiling. She knew Meghan was losing rapidly.

Meghan begrudgingly stepped into her own room, practically held captive.

Meghan was stuck with two Gerudos, who may as well could have been foaming at the mouth, a shy Hylian animal lover, who could be strict as anything in a second, and a short little kid who was really not a kid and mature for her "age."

"This better be good," Meghan said, trying her best to sound uncompromising and firm. She crossed her arms. They just kinda laughed at her. She guessed she didn't seem so firm.

"Yes, it is!" Saria said. "It's beautiful!" Narma took the thing from Malon's hands. She took the protective bag-covering cloth thing from around it and held it so Meghan could see. Meghan stepped back into the corner, trying to emphasize her despise.

"No. Way. No fricken way. No."

"Aw, come on!" Saria pleaded. "You'll look lovely!"

…The thing they had uncovered was a gown, even worse than the dress she had to wear the other day to dinner with Zelda and Luke. It was black, silky, but slightly poofy on the bottom and all around just waaaay toooooo girrllyyy ohmuhgaawwddd.

She covered her face, shielding her eyes from its horror.

"Get it away!" she hissed. She felt two strong hands grab her arms and pull her away from the wall. She opened her eyes to see Narma and Nabooru, each tugging at an arm and bringing her to Malon, who was holding the dress again, a sweet smile on her face. "Tell me why I have to withstand this torture on my birthday."

"You'll see."

"What are you doing? It's kinda scary when you plan things, Nabooru."

"But I didn't plan it. Zelda did."

Those words made Meghan slightly less resistant. "Really?"

"Yes," Saria confirmed. Malon nodded and Narma muttered, "mm-hmm."

"OK…"

"Great! She'll cooperate! Amazing how she listens to Zelda but not us," Nabooru said. "Well, take those clothes off."

"In front of you?"

"Why not? We need to help you put it on anyway. It's a real pain, do you know what I mean?"

She crossed her arms. "No. Either you leave, or I'm not getting dressed."

"Oh, yes, we should probably throw you in the bath too…"

"No!" Her eyes opened wide. Nooo, not naked.

"It wouldn't be a bad idea. In fact, yes…yes…"

"Yes ma'am!" Saria, Narma and Malon said, taking Meghan by her arms.

"Resistance is futile," Narma whispered playfully in her ear. Meghan shivered at her cold, harsh voice. They passed by Dia in the main room on their way to the bathroom. Meghan wondered why the bathroom wasn't attached to her room. Now, when she needed it to be.

Nabooru left the dress on her bed and grabbed some things from her drawers, helping herself to everything. Saria stayed behind to sit with Dia.

They got the water running and the bath filled. Now was the hard part. Getting Meghan in.

"Come on, Meghan. It's your birthday. Don't wanna waste it."

"Why are you torturing me like this?" She backed into the corner, slowly being followed by the others. She hit the wall and had nowhere left to run.

"There. Now, take off any things you wouldn't want to get wet," Nabooru demanded.

"No!" She felt like crying. "I'll take the bath by myself! I promise!"

"Please!" Malon cried. It was only because she had no contempt for Malon and didn't want to disappoint her, that she considered obliging.

"…Eeruuuh…" she moaned. They nodded in approval. She bent down, still watching everyone, and undid her boots, easing them off and pushing them to the side.

"Now what?" she asked.

"Put these on," Nabooru said while holding out some clothes. She snatched them from her and examined them. Her eyes narrowed in disgust. She wondered where the heck Nabooru had found them. She was holding a frilly white undershirt and frilly white underwear. "Go ahead."

"Can you at least turn around, please?" she said, pointing to the opposite wall. Malon was the first to turn, and soon after, Narma. Nabooru looked scathingly at her, then turned.

Meghan almost didn't do it. Whatever this is, Zelda planned it, so I know it's not their fault. Still, I wish they would tell me. Are we, like, going to go somewhere? Why do I have to wear that hideous gown thing? Darn them. I know it's my birthday, but I'd rather just spend it quietly...and where did Link even go? Why isn't he rescuing me? Is he in on this? He must be!He wouldn't let this happen…unless he was in on it!

She slowly slid off her shirt, trying to make as little noise as possible. She kept her eyes on them as much as possible, making sure they didn't turn.

She could sneak over to the bathtub. The way it was designed, she could sneak past Nabooru if she was quiet, jump in, and when they heard the splash; they would never have to see her. Perfect.

She snuck over to the bath. Nabooru caught her just before she hopped in, but the others didn't. She still got in safely.

"Meghan!"

"Leave me alone! Can't I take a bath by myself? I just turned sixteen!" She was smiling, but she still felt uncomfortable. Bah, and she did need to take a bath, but she could do it herself. Srsly.

"Nope," Malon said, grinning. Nabooru was checking out her collection of shampoos and things. She found some things she liked and brought them over to Meghan.

"I'll wash the unruly hair of yours. First you'll need to get it wet." Only the bottom half of her hair had gotten wet enough. "Put your head under the water."

She obliged.

Nabooru grabbed Meghan's head and pulled back her hair. Meghan cringed. She felt Nabooru scrubbing her head. Scary. Can you imagine the torture? She pushed her hair back from her face, blowing water away from her mouth.

"All finished." Malon stepped up to her with a bathrobe.

"Everybody turn around!"

"Why? You have clothes on."

"Please." Malon handed it to her and they turned Meghan stood up and wrapped it around herself, still dripping wet. She stepped out of the bathtub, squeezing her hair so the water came out. She was dragged back into the main sitting area.

"Sit in the chair." Nabooru said, pulling the chair from the desk to her.

"Gee, you'd think there'd be a whole room in this castle for doing hair…and another for makeup…" Meghan joked, almost sitting.

"There is one, for both though. We just thought you'd be most comfortable here."

Meghan's jaw dropped.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh…"

"Do you want to go there?"

"How come I don't know about it?"

"You only just moved here."

"And you know better than me?"

"Naturally, Zelda told us about it."

Meghan nodded. "OK. I'll cooperate." She had no idea why she just did that, but somehow…it seemed fun.

"Come this way." Nabooru didn't walk to the door. She walked towards the bathroom.

"It's in here?"

"Where else?" Nabooru stepped inside the bathroom, then over to the side. It was a big room, and Meghan had to admit she didn't look through the whole thing. There was a corner, where she had backed into earlier.

Beside it, sure enough, a door was there. Inside, there were things you might find in an outdated beauty salon. A large mirror, a tall chair, and a vanity. She sat in the chair.

"Weird."

She closed her eyes.

Someone started combing her hair. Another took one of her hands and did something to her nails. Another she felt breathing in her face, putting makeup on her. Somebody took her other hand.

It felt better than she ever expected. She opened her eyes for a second when whoever was doing her makeup stepped away for a second. She saw Saria at her right hand and Malon at her left. Narma seemed to be doing her makeup. She was getting a new mixture of colors of makeup at the table. She couldn't tell, but she assumed Nabooru was doing her hair. Dia stared at her with big, wide little child eyes. Meghan smiled at her. Dia smiled back.

She observed Dia's dirty blonde and slightly curly hair which flowed down to her shoulers. It wasn't over-thick, just little girl hair curly. She had brown eyes and cute, small, pointy ears. Meghan wondered why she was here. Maybe she was to child of one of Zelda's ladies-in-waiting? She was very pretty.

Just then, Nabooru flopped a large piece of hair into her face. Narma whined, complaining that her makeup was ruined. Nabooru ignored her, obviously used to it, and continued to do her hair. Meghan wondered what she was doing to it. Malon and Saria chatted very sweetly to each other, and Meghan wondered if they were already friends.

She looked to the side at her hand. Saria was shaping her fingernails. Malon was done with that part and started putting on polish.

"I didn't know that you have nail polish," she said, thinking it was a more modern thing.

"Nail polish? What's that?" Malon asked.

"Um…never mind. It's basically the same as that." But what Malon was putting on was not in a bottle. It was in a circular, pot-like thing. The brush was thin, but long. She looked away, and then felt the cold sensation of polish being applied.

Nabooru pulled the big piece of hair from her face, but then Narma told her to close her eyes, so she did. Soon she felt the other hand getting nail polish, then the two left her hands and told her not to move them for a while. She let her arms drape over the arms of the chair.

Before she knew it, they said they were all done. She opened her eyes as they stepped back and admired their work. Meghan didn't really like them looking at her.

"Come on, now! It's time to put-I mean, try that pretty gown of yours on!" Saria said cheerfully.

"It's not that bad!" Malon said, laughing gently.

"Yeah! It's really pretty!" Saria said.

"I think you'll look beautiful in it," Dia said in a shy, tiny voice.

"Thank you, Dia. You're so courageous. Now I have the strength I need to do it. Come on, then." She really felt better after hearing the girl say that. She didn't want to let Dia down.

They walked back to her bedroom, the gown waiting expectantly on the bed. Meghan abhorred the sight of it, but walked toward it.

"Do your worst," she muttered, closing her eyes and waiting for the horde to overtake her. She did not struggle.

~Halfway Through Getting Changed…~

"We need to take these off." Nabooru put her hands on the back of Meghan's neck, where her necklaces' clasps were.

"Don't even think about it!" Meghan said, turning so quickly, she knocked Nabooru's hand off. "Oops, sorry!"

Nabooru put her hands on her hips and stared at Meghan disapprovingly.

~A Few Minutes Later~

"There!" Nabooru said, once again taking a step back to admire her. Meghan looked at Saria. She smiled and winked. Malon smiled and tilted her head to one side cutely. Narma nodded her head in approval. Dia looked up, wide-eyed, and had a little smile on her face.

"Perfect. Now, Zelda wanted us to try things on too, so we'll take a quick stop in our rooms and dress quickly. Don't touch anything as we walk through the hall-don't touch yourself." Meghan nearly laughed at the remark. Sure, I won't touch myself.

"Hurry! We can't let anybody see you in the halls! We promised Zelda…uh…she would be the first to see you!" Malon said. Saria and Malon gingerly took her hands and led her out to the hall, checking to be sure that no one was coming.

"But I haven't even seen myself! You didn't even let me look to see if I like anything!"

They raced down the hallway, ignoring her, but making sure Meghan didn't trip on her gown, and then forced her into another room.

It wasn't as big as hers, but basically had the same layout. The group, except Meghan, rushed into the doors in the room. There were many different doors. Saria and Dia went into the same one, though, as Nabooru and Narma did.

In a few minutes, they came out one by one. Narma and Nabooru first. They were dressed in similar outfits. Both had cream-colored, puffy pants and creamy slipper-like shoes. Nabooru had a red-orange halter top, intricately designed, and very low-cut. A large red jewel adorned her neck and came down to about her collarbone, along with multiple rings on her fingers. Narma wore a purple halter-top, though the pattern was a bit different and not so low-cut. She had a smaller purple jewel around her neck.

Next came Malon. She was blushing slightly, making her even more pretty.

"I'm not used to wearing such beautiful gowns," she said practically to herself as she hesitantly stepped out of the room. Meghan smiled at her. The gown brought out her beauty even more than the house dresses she wore around the horses. It was a light red, and had white lace accenting it in different spots, like on the sleeves, which came halfway down her arms, and in the front of the dress. It had a round cut-off on the top near her neck.

Then came Saria and Dia. Dia had a little pink dress on, with short, puffy sleeves. Lace lined the bottom of it, and Meghan could see little pink shoes underneath. She looked so cute! Saria had a beautiful green gown on. The front had two lines of lace running down, opening on the bottom to form a whole layer of lace before a satiny layer underneath. The color of the green perfectly matched her hair. She held onto Dia's little hand (though not much smaller than her own) and Meghan observed a green ring on her finger. Though Saria was young, she looked older beside Dia.

As though her whole observation of their clothes had been in slow motion, they all rushed to each other and started talking. Nabooru brought out makeup and other things, and they all picked partners and started putting makeup on.

Meghan was left out, as none of them would let her get near to the makeup in fear of staining the gown. Meghan inwardly laughed at this. The dress, except for a few parts, was black. But they still wouldn't let her. And they wouldn't even let her look at herself. When Meghan tried to sneak to look in a mirror Narma held, she snatched it from view and changed her position on the couch she was sitting on.

Meghan sighed and sat in the corner of the room.

She had long forgotten the feeling of being left out. Link always made sure she had a place. But she was still herself, no matter what transformations her body had undergone. She felt some forgotten shyness come creeping up into her core.

Finally, when she was just getting very bored, they stood up and went to her.

"So why are we all dressing up?"

"Like I said, Zelda wanted to see us all. There's something…in a few days…" Saria stopped talking.

"Yeah?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Whatever." Meghan hung her head and followed them out the door. Did they think she was that stupid? Dia came to her side and pulled at her hand. Meghan looked down and smiled.

"So Dia, can you tell me where we're going?" She hoped that she would be able to get it out of her. Dia nodded. "Where?"

"It's a secret."

"Can I know the secret? I'm very good at keeping them."

"No. Princess Zelda said no."

"I see." Meghan bit her lip. This was going to stink. She was stuck with a whole bunch of people, in a long gown. She couldn't even see her feet. She was saved by the fact that it was black, but it still really stunk and she still had no idea what was exactly going on.

Considering it was her birthday, she could kinda guess, but she didn't want to sound…I don't know, self centered if she guessed that and was wrong.

They came before a room with huge door. The doors reached all the way to the ceiling, which was about twelve feet tall. Two guards stood before the door. Meghan could have sworn she heard voices inside, and even, if she listened closely, music.

"We're here to see Princess Zelda," Nabooru said.

"Of course, she's been expecting you," the guard on the right said with a smirk. "Let me just…warn her of your arrival." Nabooru nodded and waited patiently as the guard slipped in the door. Meghan tried to see in, to see what room it was, but it was closed before she could move over. He had opened it very easily, so he was either very strong or the door was very light.

"Why can't we go in?" Meghan was angry that Nabooru didn't even protest to not being able to go in. Then again, why would she?

"Zelda may be in the middle of something important. We can't bother her if she is."

"But there are people talking and stuff in there. Why? And what is this room?" She put her hand, covered in a silky black glove, on the door. Nabooru jumped forward, afraid she was going to open it, but she didn't. Instead, she let go of Dia's hand and turned away. She walked a few steps. "I guess if you're not going to tell me, I'll just run back to my room. I'll find my sword and cut this gown to pieces. Then I'll run away. How about that?"

Narma and Nabooru took her hands. "Fine! He's coming back anyway. You'll see."

The soldier came back to the door, opening it. She couldn't see in from her angle, still, but He stood just inside the door where she could see and spoke.

"Announcing Miss Meghan Black, Sage of Earth."

At that point, Meghan broke free of their grasps, sputtering, "Damn you, Zelda…!" What the hell? She wasn't a sage! She tried to run the other way, but the Gerudo girls grabbed her again.

"Meghan! Wait!"

MEANWHILE…

"Announcing Miss Meghan Black, Sage of Earth." Link's ears perked up at the sound of her name. He excused his way through the crowd, trying to get to the doors to see her come in clearly. People let him pass, and soon he was at the beginning of the crowd. There was a marble staircase before the door. The doors were opened, but no one came out.

Then, he heard footsteps. Rushing footsteps, as though someone was running. He wasn't sure if anyone else heard, but after a few seconds of waiting, the people started whispering.

"Where is she?"

"I heard that she might not come."

Link sighed. Of course she's coming, this is her party. I knew she would hate it. I tried to tell Zelda…Meghan, don't this. Come on. He put his head in his hand. Then, out of the corner of his eye he saw something. She was there, outside the door! But she wasn't coming in. She was being so stealthy that no one else seemed to notice she was even there, but he did. Lifting his head slightly, he smiled. She smiled too, looking nervous. He beckoned her forward by nodding his head slightly.

Suddenly she appeared in the doorway. They all looked up and became silent. She walked forward hesitantly, grasping Malon and Saria tightly beside her as though shy. Then, as if on cue, everyone shouted, "Happy birthday!"

She covered her mouth, as if surprised. But really, she was smiling underneath.

She began to descend the staircase, looking down and away from the crowd, still clutching Saria and Malon for dear life, as Link absorbed every detail of her. First he noticed the dress. It was black. It covered her feet, but as she took a step down, he noticed dainty, black slippers. He looked up the dress and realized it was strapless. He never knew Meghan would wear such a thing. She must have given them a hard time. He was very happy when he noticed the necklace he had given her was still on her neck. Her chokers accompanied it. Some things never did change about her, he guessed.

On her arms were elbow-length black gloves. As she came closer, he noticed her hair was tucked into a neat style on the top of her head. Not a strand was out of place. Black lined her eyes, and her lips were luscious red. Her cheeks were slightly red (embarrassment or makeup?), her complexion perfect.

As she reached the last step, she ran forward to him and hug basically hug tackled him. (Even though he didn't fall over.)

"You knew about this?" she whispered to him.

"Of course," he said back.

"Thanks," she said sarcastically, but she actually meant it.

"Oh, don't thank me, thank Zelda. She came up with the whole idea." Smirk.

"OK, where is she?" She still didn't let go of him.

"Over there." He pointed to the end of the room (which was, she had realized, something like a ball room) and there was Zelda, on a dais, looking like a goddess above the people.

"I need to see her!" She was somewhat aware of people watching her, but there was nothing she could do to stop them. And although she didn't like to admit it, she loved this. There was this feeling of…she didn't know. People wanted to be there for her? She didn't even recognize most of them, though.

They let her through, making a path. Meghan went straight to Zelda.

Zelda smiled down at her, and beckoned with her head for Meghan to join her. She went up the two steps to Zelda, meeting her face to face.

"Thank you…Zelda."

Zelda smiled warmly.

"But really…Sage of Earth? Who thought that one up?" She tried to pretend to be angry, but was failing. She was smirking. It was kinda ridiculous.

Zelda pointed at Link. He pretended not to notice, slowly walking the other way.

Meghan ran behind him and grabbed his arm. He turned around. "You're evil."

He flashed his pearly white teeth. "Not really," he responded. She smiled.

"I'm not a sage, you weirdo. I don't have super fancy powers."

"You act like one. And you'd deserve to be one. And a sage is not merely one with magic, a sage is someone wise, who speaks for something. You are wise and you speak for your world."

"Not really."

"Yes, really."

"But I don't think so," she said.

"Hey, don't yell at me. Zelda made me think of a title, and I'm not that creative."

Meghan smiled and turned back to Zelda. "Zellie! You're evil too!"

"No, I'm not." Zelda said with a straight face. "I'm malicious." She smiled. "But this is not important."

"We're going to teach you some Hylian traditions now that you're one of us," Link explained, "and one of those traditions is for a birthday."

"What is it?"

"You'll see as we go. It's complicated."

"I'm scared." Zelda turned her around to face the crowd of people before her.

To her surprise, a band started playing. Good music. It was like a medieval rock band. She found the source of the band and checked out their instruments. Two (acoustic) guitars, a piano, a stand-up bass, and percussion (almost a drum set). All they would have needed to turn to rock were amps and electric…

She was happy to see that two of the band members were Zoras. Mayo, playing one of the guitars, and a Zora girl on the drums. It was a stretch, but Meghan was willing to bet that it was Kazana!

"Now it's time to dance and have fun! The first stage in a Hylian birthday party! Note that the dancing is usually fast-paced."

"I hope you like the music. I remember you telling me something about bands with guitars and drums and stuff. Sounded like Zora music," Link said.

"OK, I like it a lot so far."

"Good!" They brought her down and to the dance floor, an area across from where she had entered and diagonal from the dais. It was large and cleared. Nobody was there. They walked through the crowd, Zelda holding Meghan's left hand and Link holding her right, guiding her as though she was blind.

"What's the name of this song?"

"Ode to Meghan," Link said, smiling.

"No, seriously."

"I'm serious!"

"Link, no you are not," Zelda interrupted. "Tell her the real name." She said something in Hylian.

"Fine. Soundless Lullaby. Happy?" He smiled.

After the introduction to the song, words came. The singer was female and had a silvery, smooth voice.

"Um…teach me how to dance to this kind of music?"

"Like this!" Saria came running by and bouncing about.

"Um…yeah…" Meghan scratched her head. How about no.

"Don't do that!" Nabooru's voice said, promptly followed by a slap to her hand. Meghan stopped scratching.

"Ow!"

"Nabooru!" Zelda said.

"Hey, Nabooru, if you keep doing that I'm going to scratch her head for her!" Link said, joking.

"No! I worked so hard on that!" Nabooru stormed off.

Malon was walking toward them. "What happened to her?" Malon asked.

"She's mad because Link threatened to mess up my hair."

They all laughed, feeling a bit bad but kind of confused at Nabooru's intense reaction to Link's joke.

"So Meghan," Link started, pulling her arm and twirling her to face him, "Do you like the music?"

"I love it! It reminds me of Evanescence!"

"Great, because there's more." God, was he like party planner extraordinaire underneath those muscles?

Meghan tried to look over the crowd to see who was singing. It didn't sound like the Gerudo singer at all, and she hadn't met any other singers here, so she was quite curious.

"Link, who's singing?"

"A young girl Zelda found. I can't remember her name."

Meghan looked to Zelda to ask her, but Zelda was chatting with a few ladies Meghan didn't know, and a few she had seen before. She didn't want to interrupt.

The song ended, leaving the words "soundless lullabies" echoing in her head. She wandered away from the crowd, determined to find the singer. She slipped away from Link, soon losing her group of friends.

She hoped that the music would start again so she could easily find her way, but just her luck, it didn't.

What's taking so long? She thought to herself. Suddenly, she felt scared, lost in a sea of people she didn't know, there for her but…did they even notice?

Once again we come to the fact that Meghan isn't really good in public.

She heard a voice behind her say, "Look! There's the birthday girl!" Meghan looked up. People had turned to look at her. They all stared. Meghan didn't feel comfortable around this bunch of people. Some looked slightly scared.

"Um, excuse me…" she said quietly, attempting to escape, but she couldn't find anywhere to move out the circle she was being surrounded in.

"It's her!" a wheezy voice said.

"Oh dear deities!" She heard whispering. Little bits stood out, louder than other words.

"…So…beautiful…I wonder…he was there…black on…he took it…Princess Zelda…" Fragments of whispered conversations, but no one was talking to her.

"Um, excuse me…" she walked forward, but no one moved, not really noticing her even though she thought they were talking about her. "Please, can I get through?"

The music had started in the background, but she barely noticed it. Her voice was quiet. She was ignored.

"Hey, Meghan, come with me." A strong hand grasped her arms and she was ready to scream. It pulled her away from the group of strange people as she came to realize who it was. She sighed with relief.

"Thank you Luke."

He didn't let her go, but led her away from people and they stayed inconspicuous.

"What is it?" His expression was serious.

"All right, this is going to sound a bit generic, but Meghan, I need you to always be with someone around here. This place is huge, and there are a lot of people. We didn't restrict anyone from coming. I don't believe anyone would hurt anyone, just…be safe, all right? Stay with Link."

"Yeah…but-"

"And don't think you're the only one who I want to keep an eye on. Everyone…I mean, Zelda, the sages, and others, these rules apply to."

Meghan nodded, a little freaked out now. Luke looked so serious.

"Let's get back."

On their way back to find the others, they came across Link.

"Link!'

He turned and seemed to sigh with relief, but he said jokingly, "Oh good! We thought we lost you."

"Mischievous one you have here, Link."

"I know. I guess I should…watch her more carefully…" He stared at her intently as a joke.

"Stop it!" she giggled.

Link looked up. "Thanks, Luke."

"It's what I do," Luke said with a grin. He walked away.

"Meg! You should have told us you were leaving. I had no idea where you were."

"I guess you panicked, didn't you?"

"Not…really…" He smiled and stepped closer to her, tapping her on the nose with an un-gauntleted finger. He had a familiar look in his eyes. She smiled and blushed, covering her nose with her hands.

She looked to the side, anything to get away from that feeling. The area she was in wasn't so crowded, but still people walked by every once in a while, and they were in clear site.

"Let's go back to the others." She looked back to him. The look was gone.

He nodded and they walked back. She started to notice the music again. Playing right now was a beautiful guitar solo in a minor key, with a bit of percussion in the background. She was sure it was Mayo.

"Darn, he's good!"

"Who is it?"

"Mayo! Remember? Oh…you met him, but you didn't see him playing guitar! I think that's him! And Kazana is playing drums. Yay!"

"Oh! OK." They rejoined the group they were in before, and she was happy.

She saw Darunia for the first time that day.

"Meghan!" he shouted, opening his arms for a hug. "Happy birthday!"

"Thanks…uhh…" She backed away. He put his arms down. "Care to dance?"

"I'd love to!" he said, dancing. And dancing. And dancing.

With that optimistic note, they joined the rest of their group, dancing, laughing, talking and having fun.

Meghan was so worn out, an hour later, and she decided she needed a break and a drink. Everyone had been pressuring her to join their activities, which meant a lot of exercise and action. She stopped dancing suddenly, causing Link to stop. She looked at him, and he looked at her. For the first time that night, she took in what he wore. The usual white pants, shirt, boots, tunic, and sword he had adorned, but the color of the tunic was a silvery color (much like the one on SSBM) and black boots.

They stared at each other, Meghan breathing hard, a bead of sweat rolling down her face. People danced and lived around them, but they didn't notice anything but each other. They took in all of each other's details, relishing every inch of each other's bodies, loving it.

"Hey guys! Come back to Hyrule!" Saria teased, seeing them staring at each other.

Meghan almost blushed. Again. "Um…I really need a break from dancing." She looked at Saria, who was smirking, eyes sparkling. Meghan smiled back and walked to Zelda. "Where can I get something to drink?" she asked Zelda.

"There are waiters walking around, as well as some positioned near the back doorway, and near the tables."

"Thanks, Zelda." She walked up to Link. "Will you come with me?"

"Of course." They told Saria and Zelda they were leaving, then set out.

The tables were on the other side of the room, set up for the dinner later on. The doors to the back exit were closer, so they decided to go there. It would be too hard to find one in the crowd, unless they came across one.

Near the door, there was a waiter standing in a waiter outfit. In his hand, or rather balancing on it, was a tray. When they walked up to him, Meghan asked, "Are you who I'm supposed to ask about drinks?"

"Yes, indeed, Miss Meghan!"

"Oh, ok...what do you have?" She smiled politely.

"Red wine, white wine, pink wine…"

"Oh, do you have anything that's…like…water, or juice?"

"Of course. Water, and any juice you can imagine, including our freshly made every day kamamelon juice, Lon Lon Ranch milk."

"Oo…what about kamamelon juice?"

"Of course."

"No! Meghan…I mean…maybe later…you'll be crazy. Please no."

The waiter raised his eyebrow. "Ah. He knows."

"It's not dangerous…is it?"

"No, it just makes you crazy," Link answered. "But they are extremely good tasting..."

"OK…then…can I have just water, please?"

"Of course. Right away." He walked away, to a door she assumed led to the kitchen. A few seconds later, he returned with a glass of water on his tray. It was frosted with cold. She downed the whole glass in a matter of seconds, to the astonishment of the waiter and Link, and breathed deeply.

"Thank you, where do I put this?"

"I shall take it for you."

"Thank you!"

The waiter walked back to the kitchen.

"Are you tired already? Because we're still only in the first phase of the party…" Link worried.

"No, just need a break." She flashed a thumbs up.

"OK."

"It's sorta hot in here."

"I guess, yeah," he agreed. "Of course, if I was wearing that outfit, I'd be hot too." LOLZ PUN. (I reference this line a lot in real life and my boyfriend is always like, "it's not funny." And I'm like "but it is…because Link doesn't realize what he's saying…;_;")

"Exactly. Can we get some air? Like go in the hall. I'm sure it's better there."

"Yeah." She took his hand and went out the door with him, immediately feeling the cold relief. It cleared her mind as they slowed walked down the dim corridor, and brought her to think about a few things. At that moment, she was glad he couldn't see into her thoughts or anything. She wanted to be able to say something without falter and distraction.

"Hey Link…about before…" She stopped, her voice starting to quiver.

"What? When?"

"Before…when we were in the field…and you…"

"I what? Did I do something?" He turned to her, worry clear on his face. She leaned against the wall, thinking what to say. She was too embarrassed to say it.

"You were going…to…um…sorta…like…you know…I mean…well…"

"OK, what is it? It's OK. Tell me." He moved closer.

"Um…you know…that thing…you did…but got stopped…because I was chicken and stupid and…"

His smile grew as he realized, while she was talking. "Oh! Hey, you mean this?" And at that second, once again his lips united with hers, and she could feel the smile on his. There was a moment when she felt something different on her mouth, something warm and uhhh…worm-like. Just when she was about to freak out, he pulled away, his eyes dancing and gorgeous as ever.

"What about it?" he asked, his face not too far from hers, smiling as she searched his eyes for answers to his question. She couldn't answer his question. She soon forgot she was supposed to be answering a question, and started to stammer, "Uh…um…uh…wh…eh…er…"

"Oh, I get it now," he said, putting his hand on the wall next to her. He was so close she could feel his breath on her face. "You…"

"Um…I…I what?"

"You like it!"

"What? Um, I mean-"

She stopped. She squished up against the wall as far as possible, unconsciously moving her body away from his, even though he still came closer. She finally accepted it, her arms halfway up, staying in midair, confused. She felt his hands lightly on her hips.


Malon was talking to Saria. They had decided to take a break from the activities, and sat at a table. Both were exhausted.

"I wonder where Meghan and Link went. I saw them go out the door, but I haven't seen them come back."

From where they sat, the lower floor doors were in plain view.

"They probably went outside. Meghan was getting worked to death. You know how Link would feel about that."

"How would he feel?"

Saria looked at her, not smiling but almost mischievous looking. "He would be so upset," she said as darkly as her childlike personality would allow.

"Well of course he'd be upset, wouldn't we all? The poor girl."

"Malon, didn't you realize?"

"Realize what?"

"Well, I guess you didn't see them together as much as I have, but you must have seen them dancing together here. And even you told me, he bought her a horse for her birthday! There's something between them."

"They're best friends, I know that. But I don't really think there's more. It just doesn't seem like it."

Saria didn't feel like explaining too much more, realizing Malon was not seeing it. "I dare you to go find them."

"Why?"

"Just look at them, if they're together. Just look to see if you can find that special thing between them."

"Fine, I will. I daresay, this is news to me." Was it because she didn't see….or because she didn't want to see?

"But you really have to look very close. They don't let people catch on too much." Except today.

"Fine!" Malon giggled and walked away, to the door.

"She'll see, blind ranch woman," Saria joked to herself.

Malon had walked out the door, then turned to the left, determined to find out what the "hay" Saria was seeing. It didn't take her long to find out.

She turned bright red, stiffly turning and going back into the ballroom, hoping to the goddesses she hadn't been seen. She walked back to Saria, thoughts racing through her mind. She only hoped they hadn't seen her, for their sake and hers…

"That quickly? I don't believe you saw them."

"Oh, believe me, I did…" Malon said in a small voice. Saria's face turned into a smile.

"They weren't…"

"Oh yes they were."

Saria's mouth opened wide, and then formed an "oo" mouth. "Ooo! Oo oo oo! Now it can't be denied! We have irrefutable evidence! Come on, Malon, let's go bust them!" Saria stood up and pulled Malon's arm.

"No, Saria! We can't!" Malon was still red, looking embarrassed.

"Why not?"

"They just seemed so happy. Can you imagine being in their position, then having people come and do that on them? I can't."

"Was it really…?"

"Look, Saria, I only glanced before I turned away. I don't know anything but that's what they were doing."

"Oh, fine. Can we at least spy?"

"No! Saria, you're not understanding! That's awful! They need to be left alone. "

"Well, at least you know now." Saria nodded, then sat back down. "How romantic!"

"Stop talking about it, Saria!" Malon said shyly as she sat.

"Fine!" she giggled.


After what seemed like an eternity, he finally moved away. Meghan hadn't been conscious, she thought, through it, but as soon as he broke contact, she breathed.

"People are going to wonder where you went…" Link said suddenly.

"Oh, yeah…"

"We should go." He tugged at her hand, but she held back. She turned a bright red.

"I…I-I-I can't just yet."

"Why not?"

"…Um…" She wondered if he even knew what he just did. Or they did…or something…. She turned a darker red. "Um…remember…two seconds ago…"

"Oh, stop blushing." He put his hand on her cheek and traced it with his thumb. "You shouldn't be ashamed or anything." He stared at her questioningly.

"I know, but I don't mean to…"

"Forget it. It's completely normal." It was lucky he understood her prudishness. But he did hope she'd grow out of it.

She found it strange that he was comforting her about these strange lovers' rituals. It was like he'd done these things a thousand times before. "Oh, yeah…I guess." She felt strange talking about it.

"What are you thinking about?" he laughed, "You keep turning darker and darker. I'm afraid you'll explode."

"No…no, I'm fine." She sighed and stared down for a few seconds, the color eventually fading. She took a walk to the end of the hall, where there were doors leading to an outside courtyard, familiar to Link. She stood in the doorway for a second, the chilly air cooling her off.

"Better. Come on." She tottered after him, admiring his courage to step into a group of people after something like that.

God, she must have been a terrible kisser…

They rejoined their group. Malon and Saria were still not there.

"Where were you? That was an awful long time to get a drink," Nabooru asked suspiciously.

Meghan turned around, pretending not to hear her.

Link answered. "It was getting hot in here, so we took a walk in the courtyard."

"Oh. That's nice…" It was obvious she had been pointing the question at Meghan.

"Meghan, Link, I just have to tell you, after this song is over, it's time for the supper," Zelda said, appearing from nowhere.

"Yeah? What are we having?" she asked excitedly. She had a feeling she was going to put on the "castle fifteen," like the freshman fifteen.

"Assorted things…I believe you'll like it."

"OK…cool."

"Yes, but you won't be happy with what happens after that," Link said.

"What is it?" she asked loudly.

"…Eh…um…"

"Yes?"

"You'll see," Link said.

Zelda took Meghan's arm, and Link followed close behind. They went to the dais. They waited until the song was over, then everyone quieted a bit.

"Thank you, everyone, for joining us tonight. Please take a seat at your reserved tables. Thank you."

The was a bit of commotion as everyone made their way through the crowd to the dining area, but once most people were seated, it calmed down a bit.

"Where do I sit?"

"Over there." Zelda pointed to a table that was longer than all the other rectangular, smaller tables. There were so many tables, Meghan found it hard to believe there was enough food in the castle to feed that many people. And this room was god damn huge.

"OK…who else sits with us?"

"The Sages, Luke, Link, me, you…Darunia's son, Nabooru's friend, and I believe that's all."

"What about…Dia, and Kazana and Mayo, and…"

"Meghan, we can't fit everyone at the table! Don't worry, they're all sitting close."

"OK…" They walked to their table, making Meghan sit in the direct center. On her left was Zelda, and her right, Link. To Link's right were Saria, Malon, Talon, Nabooru, and Narma. To Zelda's left were Luke, Impa, Darunia, Goron Link, and Ruto.

Meghan spotted a lot of her Hylian friends along the tables near by. Dia sat with whom she thought was her mom, and Devan. Kazana and Mayo sat at another table with a few Gorons, their mother Lima, and who she thought was their father, the Merchant person from Zora's domain. They were talking rapidly, or so it seemed.

Zelda started talking to her. "Meghan, I know you wished for a small celebration of your birthday, but I do hope you are having fun!"

Meghan nodded, smiling. She actually was. "I am," she said, trying to sound convincing.

"Fantastic! That makes me so happy. You see, Meghan, not only is this good for you, it is also a great stimulant for the Hylian economy. Our economy is not so strong right now, obviously, though the citizens did do their best to keep it as stable as possible. This party causes many people to buy things—clothes, jewelry, all those things, and I buy lots of food from the merchants. I also hire waiters, cooks, and others. When all these people are paid, they will in turn buy many things. It's a fantastic cycle, and I do hope it helps."

Wow, Zelda really was a good ruler. So this party wasn't just for her—it was for the whole country! Instead of feeling like her big day was being shared, she actually felt happy that the petty party was doing the country good as well.

She realized she had phased out for a second, and then suddenly realized something as many waiters came out of the kitchen doors with trays of hot something. A waiter came by and served their table. They set a bowl of hot, light soup in front of each of them, and filled their glasses with water. She stared down at it.

"What's this?"

"I don't know," Link replied. Meghan shrugged and picked up her spoon, stuffing the napkin on her lap and dunking the spoon into the liquid. "Careful, it's hot."

"Thank you, Mother."

He reached sideways and poked her on her head. Meghan turned her head slowly, while his finger still touched her.

"Thank you, Mother."

He grinned and tried not to laugh. "You're welcome."

"Whatever." Meghan smiled and tried not to laugh as well. She snorted into her soup as she swallowed some. It was very good. Not that she expected it to be bad. "Yummy."

"I'm glad you like it," Zelda replied, taking a sip herself. "But just you wait until the following courses!"

Zelda was right. By the time they were finished eating, everyone was way too full to do anything just yet.


"Gifts from the communities!" Zelda said jovially a few minutes later.

"Shut up. You're clearly lying."

"No, I swear."

"Please tell them I don't want anything!"

"Sorry, it's traditional, and I couldn't stop them even if I tried to."

She sighed.

Zelda, Luke, and Link all stood up. Link pulled Meghan's chair away from the table so she could stand, but she sat and crossed her arms. He rolled his eyes.

"Please get up." Meghan stuck her tongue out at him and stood. "Great!"

"Follow me, please," Zelda said, walking back to the dais. Meghan hung her head. "Don't be sad. This is happy!"

"OK, OK!" Meghan smiled a huge, completely fake smile.

They brought her to the middle of the stage, and a few people (or creatures) stood before them.

Darunia and Goron Link walked up to them, Darunia carrying a package. Darunia stopped halfway to Meghan, at the base of the stairs, and handed the package to Goron Link, who brought it the rest of the way to Meghan.

"This is a gift from the entire Goron community!"

Link came forward with a medium sized package, handing it to Meghan. She was surprised when he dropped it in her hands. It was so heavy she Link (Hylian) quickly helped her, putting his hands under it to support her.

"Thank you…" Meghan had a feeling she knew what it was. "So much…"

"Open it," Luke whispered. Meghan let him hold it as she carefully opened the package. Her suspicions were confirmed.

"Uh…thank you so much! It's…beautiful!"

"And also delicious! It's a prime-cut sirloin rock!"

"Mm…yummy." Meghan stared at the rock. "Looks great!"

"Glad you think so!" Darunia and Link turned around and went the other way. Ruto and Kazana were coming next. Ruto stopped where Darunia had, giving her package to Kazana, who brought it forward to Meghan. Meghan was glad it wasn't so heavy. In fact, it was extremely light.

"A gift from the Zora Tribe," Ruto said. She gently unwrapped it. Inside was something blue. "A lady sized Zora Tunic, so you can breathe underwater, like Link."

Meghan smiled. "Thank you! A lot! It's so nice! And very useful! Thanks." She gave Kazana a hug.

Kazana smiled and turned around. Next Meghan saw Saria, by herself. Of course, there were no other Kokiri who could come out of the forest.

"A gift from the Kokiri." Saria said, handing a large package to Meghan. It wasn't that heavy, though Link held it as she opened it. She pulled out a beautiful plant in a ceramic pot, with the reddest flower in full bloom in the direct center. "It will never die. It will always bloom in the same place. It closes at night, but the same flower will live as long as you allow it."

"Wow…" The petals were perfectly placed, and the leaves full and lusciously green. "Thank you so much, Saria! I'll always take care of it!"

"I hope you do. The Kokiri wanted to tell you happy birthday too."

"Aw, thank you, Kokiri…"

Saria grinned at her for a second before turning. Nabooru came next with Narma. Narma brought forward a small package that was very light. Meghan had a feeling she could guess what it was too. And where it came from.

She opened it, and took out a beautiful, and rather large stone. It was black and perfectly cut. She looked at it skeptically.

"I know what you're thinking, Meghan. But it's not the case. That stone came directly from the Goddess of the Sand statue in the Spirit Temple. We didn't steal it."

"Thank you…it's very beautiful."

Impa came next, by herself. "From the Sheikah. Me, in other words."

Meghan smiled. "Thank you." She gingerly took the package, a light square-ish gift.

She unwrapped it, and uncovered a book. The title was in Hylian, but a translation was below.

"In the Shadows…"Meghan whispered. "Thank you Impa. It looks great!"

"It's a novel about the Sheikah, by my great-grandmother. Perhaps it will help you in the future."

"I'm sure it will! And nice and long, too. I look forward to reading it. Thank you."

Impa smiled and went to stand next to the others. Meghan was relieved when she thought that was it, but then was disappointed. She saw Dia and Devan.

"Meghan, it's for you." Dia held out a package, slightly messily wrapped, but sweet all the while.

"Thank you, Dia!" Meghan said, kneeling down to her level. Dia smiled as she unwrapped it gently. Inside was a green ball, very similar to the one they'd been playing with yesterday.

"We thought you might want to play with Link sometimes if you were bored," Devan said.

"Thank you so much, Dia! It's beautiful! And you too, Devan! Come here." She squeezed both of them in a hug. She held the ball close, unsure of what to do next. She inched back next to Link, about to ask what was next.

Then Zelda started to speak. "Thank you everyone. Now, if you will kindly move to other parts of the ballroom so the waiters can fix the tables, we would be most thankful."

A mass of people started moving to the other side of the room.

"All right, Meghan. Next part."

"What's that?"

"Dancing again," Link said.

"But we were dancing for like an hour before!"

"This is a different kind of dancing."

"Uh…"

"Well this part is slow dancing."

"…Oh." She thought for a second. "OK."

"Cool. Let's go." Link held out his hand, and Meghan took it as they walked down to the dance floor area.

String instruments started to play nice dancey music. Meghan and Link smiled as Link asked the question while laughing, "Do you want to dance?"

"Oh, please. Do you have to ask?" She laughed.

"Sorry, standard procedure," he said with a smile.

"Right."

"Just do what everyone else is doing," he said coyly, looking around.

"What are they doing?"

"Apparently, the dance that you are supposed to do."

"How does it go?" she asked.

He laughed. "You're asking me that?"

"Ye-no." Meghan said.

"I was stuck in the Sacred Realm for seven years. I definitely don't know the latest dances."

"Well, you just know like everything else so I just assumed you'd know!"

"Not enough time to learn to dance," he joked.

"But I understand. Let's copy those people."

Meghan glanced at the other people. She wasn't sure she wanted to do that specific dance. It looked kinda intricate too, with stepping one way then another.

She noticed Zelda not too far away, and actually, Zelda didn't exactly seem to know what she was doing either. She even looked a bit awkward, which was bizarre, since she was always so graceful. Luke, however, was guiding her along, and there was a huge smile on her face. Aw, they're cute together.

"Ugh…let's do something completely different. Our own way."

"All right."

"Like…" She took his hands and positioned them on herself. "And…" She put her hands on him. "There."

"Interesting…"

"From my world."

"Great!" So they twirled around a few times, with Link's arms around her waist and her arms around his neck. She just led him in different ways, randomly spinning and stepping around.

"That's that." The song ended. The next song started in a few seconds. It was much slower and more…slow dance-y.

"Hmm…nice song."

"Yeah…let's dance more."

"Cool." So they once again took their positions and Link slowly danced with Meghan. She sighed, closing her eyes and letting him lead her. What a moment.

She was getting worn out, and maybe sleepy from being so full of yummy food, that she leaned on him, closing her eyes. He held her close, his arms around her back now.

During the song, and because there were fewer people dancing (just people who had partners) they had somehow gotten closer to where the instruments were. Meghan lifted herself from her position leaning on Link's shoulder, her eyes drooping.

"Are you sleeping?" Link asked jokingly, watching as she blinked, their faces close.

"No. But look at the instruments! They're so shiny…" She stared at the instruments strangely similar to violins, violas, cellos, and possible basses, but they were slightly differently shaped, thinner. Oh, yeah, and the piano was still there, since they didn't move it from before. "They have a piano."

"Yeah."

A final cadence sounded in the song, and they knew it was about to end.

"Do you want to play it?"

"I'd love to, but I can't. There are people here."

"Well then you can show them how you play!" He was so curious. He'd never even heard her. It was strange to think she still had this hidden talent.

"But I haven't played in more than a month. I'll mess up for sure. And I don't know what to play."

A violinist (or whatever it was in Hyrule) must have heard their conversation, because he stood up and asked Meghan, "Miss Meghan, would you care to grace us with a song?"

"Um…"

"Go ahead! No one minds," Link said.

"…Um…I guess…"

"Yes?" asked the violinist.

"Yeah..." she responded nervously, wondering what she'd even play. Was she supposed to play a classical piece? Something contemporary?

"Please, help yourself."

Meghan hesitantly walked over to the piano, pulling out the bench and positioning herself. She put her fingers in position, remembering the feel. The piano was almost exactly the same; it just seemed to have a few less keys than the standard eighty-eight keys, starting and ending on the same note.

"Um…" She took a deep breath, then slowly started to play a song she had composed.

Link stood in shock as he listened to her voice, but was more captivated by her playing. Even the simple piano part was beautiful. He felt proud of her. It was his girl—his girl, now—playing that. It seemed familiar, and again he was hit with confusion—did he know this piece? But soon he realized he did. This was what she'd sang for him.

Sing me to sleep

In that gently way

In my mind, in my soul

Put me to sleep

Link was thinking how lucky he was. How could he never have known? Her voice was a bit shaky, he had to admit, but he blamed that on her nerves. Somewhere else, Zelda listened carefully.

A piano instrumental started, showing off more playing. The string instrument players recognized the chord progression, so slowly, they incorporated their own thing into the song, enhancing it with crying string parts. Meghan beamed as the song took on more life, really getting into it. There was excitement in her core.

Oh goddesses…music.

The song ended on a single note, a perfect end to the song. Link swore he was about to cry. Meghan got up, and to her surprise, a lot of people clapped. Like, clapped. Whoa.

"Meghan, who knew you could play so lovely?" Zelda said as she greeted her, coming off the little platform.

"I messed up!" she whined, a disappointed expression on her face. They all looked at her strangely.

"We didn't hear any mistakes. It was perfect," Link comforted. Because they really hadn't.

"I did too mess up, and nothing is perfect."

"Relax, little whiner, it's fine. You have a two personalities! One second you'll be so calm and the next you're hyper and nervous. What am I supposed to do with you?"

"Call me by another name, give me amnesia, and cast me to the Gerudos," she joked.

He laughed heartily. "Let's just stick with the giving another name part. How about 'Musical?' Or 'Melody?' Or 'Medley?'"

"Eh…how about no..."

"Or Megs, because you have two personalities." What a perfect opportunity. He always called her that in her head, but never said it out loud in fear of offending her. He wasn't sure if she'd like it.

She smiled. "I like it! Done."

He laughed again. Another song started.

"OK…dance I guess…" So once again, they started another boring dance, for that was what was expected of them. Meghan and Link were just dancing along, probably talking too loudly, until someone came and interrupted them.

"Ahem…excuse me, Link, may I cut in?" Meghan looked at who was tapping Link on the shoulder, recognizing Luke.

Please no, don't let him, Link! She liked Luke and everything, of course, but she thought it'd be pretty strange to dance with him...

"All right," Link replied, hesitantly letting go. "If she doesn't mind, of course."

"No…not at all." Liiiiiaaaaarrrrrrr.

"I'll just go pick on Zelda now." Link sulked off to find the princess, who wasn't very far away. Both stared jealously at their partners, then turned to each other, smiling.

"Well, would you like to dance, Princess?" he held his hand out and bowed slightly. "And after that you can marry me. And then-"

"Link, you're crazy."

"I know. I am."

Zelda rolled her eyes. Link just looked blankly at her, holding his arm out for her to take and begin dancing.

Meanwhile, a few feet away, Meghan and Luke danced.

"Um…" she started, the silence kinda being killer awkward. "Um…so…how are you on this...fine...day..."

"Well, I'm doing great, thank you. I enjoyed your song quite a bit. Imaginative. It painted a beautiful picture in my mind…" he rambled.

"Thank you. Thanks for liking my song."

He spun her around. "No, thank you for the wonderful treat!"

"Yeah…"

"You broke the pattern," he said exasperatedly, mock angrily. "You were supposed to say thank you. Like we did the last few sentences." He smiled his boyish grin, and she laughed. Actually, it was quite easy to talk to Luke, but she felt rather self conscious dancing so closely to him.

The conversation grew easier and they chitchatted for the rest of the dance, until their partners came running back to them, unable to stand Luke and Meghan's joyful chatter any longer. Link made a memorable appearance, nearly slipping on something, but staying standing and stuff.

"Good job," Meghan praised as he smiled.

"It's what I do."


"Hey, Link! This Kamamelon juice stuff is pretty good!"

"I know, isn't it?"

"Yeah!"

"Hey, let's go have some more!"

"Yeah!"

"It's so delicious!"

"I just said that!"

"I'll race you!"

"I'm gonna win!"

"We'll see!"

"You are not racing anywhere." Nabooru had grabbed her by her necklace, choking her. She stopped short, just stopping herself from letting out dirty curse words at Nabooru.

"Sorry Link, Nabooru says I can't race!"

"Nabooru! We wanna race!"

"Tough."

"Nabooru!" Link whined. "Please?"

"No!"

"Fine then!" They walked quickly to the nearest waiter, who had it on his tray because it was, in fact, kamamelon juice hour. Meghan drank some, then nearly dropped the glass, then ran around in circles.

"Weeeee!"

"Meghan! You will ruin that gown!"

"Sorry, Nabooru!" Meghan slowed down then stopped. "So strict…"

"That's OK! We'll just…do something else!" Link said.

"YAY!" Meghan ran over and hugged Link, almost making him drop his glass. He smiled contentedly, his nose touching her hair.


Meghan sighed. A lot of people had left. They had moved from the ballroom to separate sitting rooms. Meghan and Link were with Saria, Dia and her family, Kazana and Malon. She had no idea where everyone else was. A quick glance around the room found her a clock, and it was 12:30. She yawned and leaned against Link on the couch she was sitting on. Everyone was talking except for her, she was just too tired. She couldn't wait until she could take the dress off and get into some comfortable clothes.

Actually, she was starting to like the dress. She liked its design and the way it flowed about her, but it was entirely annoying in its length and weight.

"Oh, yes. Of course. I always thought that…"

"But do you really…

"Blab blah blah…"

"Blah…"

Meghan didn't really pay attention to anything. She just drooped.

Saria sat on a chair by herself next to them, and Dia, her mom, and Devan were across from them on another couch. Kazana sat on a chair by herself, and Malon on another. There was one empty chair in the sitting room.

She noticed Dia, barely awake. Her eyes drooped and she laid her head in her mother's lap. Devan sat up straight, but she could tell that he too was struggling to stay awake.

She thought that it made sense—Dia was the youngest, then Devan, then herself, even though it was her birthday. Even Saria was probably older, just younger looking. So no wonder she was tired.

She barely realized that her eyes were closed, then the door opened and she opened her eyes as well.

Zelda and Luke walked into the room. Zelda was smiling and came to sit next to Meghan. Luke sat in the empty chair.

"Hello," Zelda said.

Meghan squeezed her eyes to stay awake, then muttered, "Hey, Zelda."

"So how is everyone?" Luke asked joyfully.

"You two are definitely on some kamamelon juice," Saria said with glee.

"Oh, yes," Zelda replied. "But do not worry, darling! It does not impair my judgment."

"Great," Meghan said. She yawned, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Meghan, you know it helps you stay awake! You should get some more!"

"No, no…I'd rather be sleepy than artificially awake…and then crash later…actually I'm crashing now."

"All right…"

"So what have you guys been doing?"

"Seeing a few people out. But we're back now. Does anyone mind our presence?"

"Not at all," Link said. Everyone agreed. (Everyone awake.) Meghan noticed the rising on falling of Devan and Dia's chests as they leaned against their mother.

"They're so adorable," Meghan told her.

"Yes. Quite a handful," their mother agreed. She smiled warmly. Their mother was beautiful. But then she was in a room full of beautiful girls. Excluding herself. lol

Meghan smiled. "I should follow their example and go to sleep."

"Meghan, do you want to go?" Link questioned. "I'll see you back."

"No, no, I'm fine."

"Hmm…just to make sure…you are all staying here in the castle tonight, right?" Zelda asked.

"I won't," Kazana said. "Unless I sleep in a bathtub," she joked. They all laughed.

"Except for me," Luke said.

"I wasn't talking about you, silly," Zelda played.

"Well, excuuuuse me, princess."

"Yes, I'm staying," said Saria. "It's quite late and I'm tired."

"Me as well," Malon said. "Sepira's probably sleeping anyway, and I don't want to walk. My feet ache!"

"Yes, we would love to if it's still all right…they're asleep…and they'd just love it if they could stay in a castle for a night…" the mother of the two said.

"You are always welcome here, Sheftali," said Zelda.

"Thank you, Zelda." She stroked Dia's hair. Meghan wondered where their father was. She hadn't seen him anywhere today, but she knew she wasn't a single mother from yesterday when she had called her kids home.

With those thoughts, she closed her eyes and phased out. She could feel Link talking through the buzz of his voice in his chest, even though she didn't pay attention to exactly what he said. Weird, dreamlike thoughts passed over her, her head buzzing.

She was on the brink of sleep, when someone touched her. Her eyes shot open. Saria was standing and smiled at her.

"All right, party girl, time for bed! Come with us, then you can sleep."

"Sure…sure…" She felt like she couldn't move, though. Link pushed her up, and she stood with her eyes drooping. She looked at the clock. It said 1:32. She walked to the door, noticing that only she, Malon, Link, and Saria were left.

"Where's everyone else?"

"Luke and Kazana went home, and Zelda showed Sheftali and her children to their room."

"K." They walked sleepily to Meghan's room. She opened it and immediately went to sit on the couch. Malon sat there too, and then told Meghan to sit so she could take her hair out of its style. Link sat on a chair, talking to Saria.

Meghan closed her eyes as Malon pulled out pins and such.

"Thank you, Malon."

Then they went into her room, closing the door, and helped Meghan out of her gown, hanging it carefully in the dress section of her ever growing wardrobe. She threw on a pair of pants and a tank top.

"Well, I guess we should get back to our rooms," Saria said as they left Meghan's bedroom. Malon nodded. They walked to the door.

"Good night, Meghan. And even though technically it's not your birthday anymore, happy birthday."

"Yeah, happy birthday-night thing," Saria agreed. "We're leaving now. Coming, Link?" she asked, seemingly innocently, but Malon realized her jesting tone.

Shit, she didn't want him to leave just yet. At the very least not without a moment alone with him to say goodnight.

"I'll just be a second more. Good night," said the almighty Link.

"Oh, all right," Saria said in a smirking tone. "Night, then."

They left the room. Meghan faced Link.

"I guess I should go, too," he said, a very gentle smile on his face. She still had the makeup on her face, but now her hair flowed about and she wore casual clothes, her bare feet poking out beneath her pants.

"Where are you going?" she asked tiredly, refraining from rubbing her eyes.

"I need to go home to sleep, too!" He was still smiling. "I'm tired."

"I know, but…all the way over there? You're going to fall asleep at the wheel and crash your horse. You can stay in the castle, too! Everyone else did."

"I never asked for a room to stay in," he said. "I don't know where Zelda went."

"This is my house! You can live here," she decreed with a flourish, pointing down into the floor emphatically. She smiled. "For tonight, if you want." Oops, she hadn't meant to say "live."

"Are you sure?"

"Why would I not be sure?"

"I don't know. I can go home, it's fine." But he said this statement weakly.

"Just stay. Whatever. I'm going to get dressed. You take that horribly heavy thing off." She pointed to his sword. "And sleep, like everyone else."

"All right…" He sat on the couch and took it off, and Meghan went to her room to change her clothes.

She found a pair of Bermuda-shorts-length white shorts and a white shirt in her closet that matched. She still wondered how Zelda got her these clothes…but still, she was having trouble keeping her eyes open even as she stood. She opened her door when she was finished, and…wow. She nearly stood there gaping, now wide eyed, at what she saw.

Holy crap.

Holy crap.

He's goddamn hot.

Something inside her stirred, and now she felt more awake. There were butterflies inside her. This was a first. A nice, hott first. He was standing there, setting something down next to his things on the coffee table, with no shirt on.Her breaths came out in slow stutters. All of these reactions happened in just a second, and she tried to pull herself together before it got too weird.

He had gorgeously toned muscles…beautiful abs…his arms…it was perfection. She really felt like she couldn't breathe.

This is…mine?

"Um…" She was shocked, and needless to say, at a loss for words. She forced herself to look up to his face. What a…bold thing to do…

"Yeah?" he asked as he fell back, sitting on the couch. Trying hard to keep the smirk from his face. The kid was far from conceited, but he himself had to admit he'd been handed a godlike body during his sleep in the Sacred Realm. He took in her clothes, too, having something of a similar reaction. He wasn't sure if he'd ever seen so much of her legs exposed, and they seemed smooth and long in the low light. He just wanted to feel them...

"Um…you...sleeping...there...?" She pointed to the couch he was standing next to.

"Yeah, why? Isn't that what you meant? I could sleep on the floor, if that's what you wanted…"

He grinned, far too beautifully, standing (and working those luscious muscles in the process). She thought she might fall over. What's going on? How can he just be so beautiful? This is crazy. No, I do not want you to sleep on the floor. Or the couch. But…I can't just tell him that. And I might die. If he. Came in there…

She opened her mouth, but just shook her head. She turned and went back to her bed, pulling off excess blankets and blankets and pillows. She brought him a pillow, a sheet to put beneath him, and a blanket for on top. She leaned down and tucked the sheet around the cushions, her face far too near to his body. She turned stiffly, going back to her room, her mouth open wide, and sat down on her own bed, not closing the door.

She saw Link from where she was in her bedroom. He sat with his hands behind his head, leaning against the back of the couch with a smirk on his face. Oh, god, the way his muscles flexed…she was not worthy!

"What are you looking at?" she asked, pulling a sheet up to her chest subconsciously to hide herself.

"Nothing," he replied snidely. "Just making sure you don't get into any trouble."

"So you're going to watch me the whole night?"

"Yeah." Still, that smile. It just couldn't leave his face.

"Won't that be hard?"

"Maybe…"

"OK, well, goodnight." She blew out her candles, pulled the blanket up and went under it, lying on her side. It was fairly dark now, in the room. She could feel him staring at her, as though his gaze went right through her. He put out his candles too. She closed her eyes right away, feeling tiredness sweep over her, despite everything.

She heard a sound, then a voice. "Maybe I can watch you better from here, though," he said, and she realized he was right next to her bed. Her eyes snapped open, and she could barely see him, sitting on the ground at the edge of the bed she was facing.

"I told you, I don't want you sleeping on the floor. Please," she whispered.

"Oh. Well, then I guess..." She felt him slide onto the bed, foreign warmth radiating to her body underneath the covers. She giggled, her heart beating wildly and he put his face near her ear. "Better?"

Oh god, he was so close. "Oh, of course."

"Oh, OK then. The princess is happy. Goodnight, sleepy." He kissed her cheek softly.

"Good night," she said, her insides exploding with the cuteness of it.

They lay a bit apart, but took each other's hands. She couldn't find boldness like his to get any closer to him.

She was asleep soon, in a comfortable position. He heard her deep breaths, and snuggled closer to her. She changed position and curled up so her back fit right up against his chest. He put his arm over her side, keeping her safe and close, and then took a deep breath.

"Good night, my love…"