The Night of Fire - Part II

It was as if the world had darkened and I was the only one who could see it.

The barbarians were still drinking, shouting, bursting into laughter that sounded grotesque in my head. There were dirty children fighting on the ground pretending to joust like adults. Adults were having sex outside their tents, without any shame, as if a blind disease had taken hold of them. A child threw something at me as I walked disoriented amidst the chaos. It was "Father's" head, dirty and leaky. I walked on ignoring it all. It didn't hurt. It hadn't hurt as much as I had expected, not even when I saw those puppets of my family in the dartboard, not even when the laughter rang out around me, like an explosion. The only thing that stuck in my chest was Link's "I don't need you". That pain was a surprise to me. It brought tears to my face. And I know... I know he was drunk, maybe confused. But drunks tell the truth, that's what Kahen always says.

I'd hidden under my hood and no one knew I was me anymore. The drunk and unbridled atmosphere didn't make me visible either, so I let myself crawl into that tide of vomit, screaming, sex, beer and bonfire ash. I've never felt so alone since all this started.

It would have been easy to take refuge in my tent, snuggle, close my eyes and stay there until my husband decided to show up, or decided we had to go back to his fortress. But the darkness had become visible, like a second smoke that engulfed the smoke of fire, it was a substance, and it was there. It circled the tents, drained between the legs of the children who played outside, got into the cauldrons of dinners. No one could see it, just me, and that was the only thing that kept me whole in the mist of the chaos.

My steps led me to something I'd seen before.

The central bonfire burned like a giant fist of fire pointing to the sky. There, the barbarians were respectful, or rather fearful. There were several bare-chested young men, and girls dressed in white, their hair matted and flowing. A tall, hairy man was playing a leather drum, which made the ground vibrate. The barbarians began to gather around the bonfire. Several priestesses and priests appeared with paintings similar to Link's, and the helmet of Or on their heads: a ram's skull with horns.

Blood soon spilled the air. I've never seen an animal bleed to death. It was horrible. The squeals were drowned out by the lack of oxygen, by the bubbling of red blood sprouting from the throat. The smell was also creepy. Blood spilled around the embers of the bonfires, giving off the smell of flesh, of death.

I was hoping to see the spirit of my dream. Nothing happened. But one of the priestesses stared at me, her eyes pierced by the empty basins of her helmet's skull. She pointed a finger at the mountain. I remembered my dream, the smoke rising to a cave.

I lit a torch and wandered off into the mountains with the chants of the barbarians in the background, honouring their god Or. "Or, give strength to my arm. Put my enemies to death." And other similar war chants. I noticed the cold as soon as I left the camps behind. The cave was not far, I knew from my dream. I hesitated for a moment. I don't know why I had gone there, and so far I was very sure of what I was doing, but at the moment I had doubts.

"Come on, I need your light," I whispered to my torch. The flame was getting weaker and weaker.

I took a breath and went into the cave. It was clogged with bushes and brambles that I had to push aside using a branch I saw on the ground. It was not deep, just a small storm shelter. I explored it with the last of my torch and then I saw it. A chest glowing with a strange bluish light, what was it doing there, why had no one seen it before? As soon as I touched it, it burst open. Inside was a canvas with strange writings on it. Some of it looked familiar, with daylight and patience I could translate it. It was an incredible discovery, the runes were very similar to those that had been found in the excavations of Hyrule.

I had been distracted looking at the contents of the chest when there was a tremor, and like a roar, I swear by the goddesses, and the roof of the cave started to come off. I was clumsy and very slow, I ducked down to protect my head and even then the cave-in caused some rocks to hit me. I tried to run to the bottom of the cave, but it was shallow and it felt like a claw grabbed my ankle. There was a taste of iron in my mouth and everything went dark.

When I opened my eyes there was a horrible silence. There was no more chanting or music. I was alone, trapped. My head ached so much. I tried to move and I couldn't, a stone had trapped part of my leg. It didn't hurt, the pain in my head blocked out all the other pains.

"Help...," I whispered, "help!"

I started screaming it. It was useless, no one was going to hear me, I was far from everything, from everyone. I'd been stupid, an idiot. First I cried out of anger, then out of self-pity. Somebody help me please, I thought, with all my might. I imagined Link waking up on the edge of the forest, his blue eyes searching for me in the dark. "Link". I wanted him to find his way to the cave. "Help me, please, Link." I fell asleep again.

Zelda!

No, it's not possible. It's my imagination again.

"Zelda! Are you there?"

Dear Hylia, I could hear it for real, more and more clearly.

"Link..."

"I can hear you! Are you okay?"

"Help," I whispered as best I could, barely able to get my voice out. Tears came to my eyes, it wasn't a dream, he was really there.

"I'm going to remove these rocks, get out of the way."

"I can't, I can't move my leg!"

"Alright, let me think…"

I could hear him snorting on the other side, and some rocks were falling out. It was an eternity before I could see his blue eyes peering through the gaps he carefully opened. I must look like an idiot, but I couldn't help crying again. I had gone from believing I would never scape from there to seeing the light coming from outside.

"Don't worry, it won't be long now, I promise, you're almost out."

I don't know how, but he managed to get me out of there by knocking down only half a stone wall, and in one agile movement he released the stone that had trapped my foot. I clung to him like a castaway clinging to a plank in the sea.

"I'm so sorry, Link."

"Hey no, don't say that" he held my face with his hands to inspect me, but this time I didn't mind being under that look of him, "there's blood on your face."

"It's in my head," I pointed out, "it's okay, but it hurts a little bit."

He tore a piece of his cloak and opened the canteen. I snatched it from his hands before he came up with the sacrilege of pouring the water into the cloth. I drank it, quenching an infinite thirst I didn't even know was there.

"Gods, I'm an idiot, I should have guessed you'd be cold and thirsty."

"I'm not cold, the cave has kept the temperature well."

He went outside and melted some snow to clean the wound in my head.

"I'm really sorry I came all this way, Link, I don't know what the hell I was thinking."

"What about the foot?"

"It hurts, but I can move it, there's nothing crooked or broken."

"Come on, get on my back. Let's get away from here."

"Wait a minute," I checked that I had all the contents of the chest well tied in my belt.

He lifted me off the ground as usual, as if I weighed nothing at all, and walked with me on his back down the hill. Link looked a lot less than he was, I didn't know anyone with that strength, none of my brothers had a back as firm as his.

"I'm so sorry, Link," I reiterated, as we undone the road to the camp, "how did you find me?"

"I heard your voice calling me."

"That's impossible, I was too far away."

He didn't say anything else, but I knew it was impossible, even if I had lost my voice screaming he could never have heard me.

We walked in a camp that was dawning with a hangover and sluggishness. The barbarians looked at us as if we were two spectres from beyond the grave. Link walked without looking at anyone, he had a firm and determined step.

"Link! Where did you go last night? Are you guys okay?" Aldry walked past us. He behaved as if he didn't see her either, he ignored her on purpose.

When we got to our tent he put me down carefully.

"Don't worry, you'll be all right," he inspected me again, holding my face like he had done in the cave, "I'm going to get some more water."

And he went to get some water and some snow for my foot inflammation. He also heated water to boil tea. While I was drinking it, he started to undo our camp and put everything in the wagon. It was clear that we were going to get out of there and I didn't even ask him or say anything, he had my full support. An icy, determined look had settled in his eyes that only softened when he turned to me.

"Link, what the hell is all this?" Chief Grenmak appeared closely followed by Aldry.

"This is a half-disassembled camp, as you can see," he replied. Grenmak looked at me and I looked away, as I took another sip of my tea.

"You're being very... stubborn about all this. Yesterday you disappeared without saying anything and now this, we were worried about you."

"My wife and I are going back home."

"Link, the archery trial was just a joke, Kruu apologized," Aldry said.

He looked at her with such fury that she stepped back and never opened her mouth again.

"When we get to the Nest, I'll send a message to Fort Hawk so you know we've arrived safely."

"All right, son. All I can say is that I'm so sorry that everything came out this way. I wish I could have done something to stop it."

"Yes. Your wishes fix everything."

"I tried to-

"You tried nothing, you just…" Link interrupted, avoiding looking at his father "anyway. We are leaving now."

"I see I can't do anything to change your mind..." Grenmak really seemed desolate, but Link was a long way from there, I'm pretty sure he barely processed his father's words.

"Say goodbye to the twins for me."

Chief Grenmak nodded and walked away with Aldry, who shielded herself behind him and dared not say anything else. None of them asked me why I had blood on my face, where I'd been, or what I had done after the archery trial offense. Nothing.

Before noon we were just moving away from the barbarian camp. It was a shame, an immense pity that everything had developed like this. Bad for Link, bad for me, bad for both of us.

"Does your head hurt?" he asked me, after several hours in which we had both sunk into our thoughts. The cave, the nightmare night, him appearing out of nowhere.

"It's much better. How are you?"

"With every step I get away from that stupid festival, I'm better off."

The weather turned cold and snowed as it got darker and colder. I don't know exactly where we've stopped, it wasn't at the same point the other time, I suspect we were closer to home. Link lit a bonfire and we got something to eat. We had food for a week that we hadn't spent at the Or Festival, so he decided to cook a good feast.

"All was very good," I said, when I finished my food. He was still starting to eat a sausage string that he'd roasted whole. "Link, I'm so sorry. Especially for your family, and that archery trial, and the whole public exhibition. I'm a little used to that level of exposition, but I realise it's not the same for you."

"I don't want you to apologise. None of this has been your fault. It was them, and it was largely me." he sighed, " I should never have drunk like that, nor left you alone that night, never. Forgive me, please. And forgive me for what I said to you, I don't remember it, but I can't get it out of my head because I know it was wrong."

"You… Well. You asked me to get out of there. And…" he stared at me wanting to know, so I just let it go, "that you didn't need me."

I don't know why, but it hurt again as much as the first time I heard it, it was stupid and there were thousands of things to feel worse about, of course.

"I didn't mean it. I said it because I was mad at the world, but I didn't mean that. My anger had nothing to do with you, I was a moron."

"It's okay, let's forget it."

"You don't know what a shock it was when I woke up and saw that you weren't there, I imagined the worst."

"You came to get me out of that cave where I thought I wasn't going to scape, so it's all forgiven, really."

"Nothing has gone right, has it? Since all this started."

"Not much," I admitted, "but not everything has gone wrong. You and I are friends, aren't we?"

"Of course," he smiled halfway.

"Even if I look for trouble for you."

"You don't look for any trouble, it's not your fault. But, Zelda, what were you doing in that cave?"

"It's complicated," I recognised, and I hid a little inside my hood, "I've never told this to anyone."

"Okay."

I was silent, thinking about it. I didn't know what opinion he would have of me, it was strange enough that I had run away to go to the cave and all the rest of it.

"Sometimes I have weird dreams," I confessed, "you're going to think I'm crazy."

"No, I don't think so."

"I dreamed of the bonfire of the Night of Fire, although there were no people. There was a... creature."

"A creature? What did you see?"

"I don't know. It gave me the creeps. But the smoke... it was the smoke from the bonfire that indicated the direction of the cave, as if it wanted me to go there before what is underground awakens."

"What's underground?"

"I don't know what it is, but it's not good. It doesn't have to mean anything." I shrugged. Maybe I shouldn't have told him anything.

I expected him to laugh or let go of any of his funny comments, but he was serious, pondering my words.

"Mopai, the woman who saved you from the poison of mushrooms... she thinks you have some kind of power."

"Me? Which power?"

"You may be a seer, like her. That's why you have those dreams. What did you find in the cave?"

"I don't know yet," I pulled out the canvas with the inscriptions, "the surprising thing is that there are many like this in Hyrule. I was researching these discoveries with the sheikah before I met you."

He grabbed the canvas and walked it with his eyes end to end.

"What is this?" he pointed to a spot on the sheet.

"I don't know. But it's not the first time I see it in one inscription. We think it could be a magic weapon from the past."

"Damn it all.."

"What's the matter, Link?"

"No, nothing. I'm baffled by all this."

"I know. There was a civilization more advanced than ours and they wanted us to know some important things about their history. The reasons? I try to be optimistic, I've always thought they wanted to share their wisdom with future generations. The sheikah think differently. They see all this as a warning. Anyway, all these discoveries are an incredible window to the past," I said, winding the canvas carefully.

"Do you think you can decipher that writing?"

"It's very possible," I smiled, "I've done it before. But it takes time and... I would need to check some books that are in Hyrule Castle, so..."

"We can ask the sheikah to bring those books to you, the next time they get in touch."

"Do you think so?"

"Of course."

He seemed rather sleepless, and I was no different. It had stopped snowing, and a clearing opened up in the clouds above our heads. It was like a circle to look at the stars.

"Link. I've been going around a lot to what Aldry told me."

"What did she tell you?"

"About the baby."

He sighed. I didn't want to upset him like the night he drank, but if I didn't let go of all my worries, they'd torment me for the rest of the night. And I was really afraid about our near future.

"Aldry only thinks and lives for one thing, Zelda, your father's gold. She thinks if we have a child, that means more gold to us. She'll want to put her paw in there."

"Yes, I don't deny it, but… Link, she said something that scared me. She said that without heirs the Eagle's Nest could be soon taken by another lord."

"How dare she say that?"

"Maybe she just said it to push to get more gold as you said, but… what if it's a new conspiracy against your family? All those mountain leaders seem so determined to take power. They have an excuse to start a war, it seems now it's a good chance for them to do it, no matter if it makes sense or not."

He stood there mumbling my words, and that made me think I was right. What if my marriage to Link had been nothing more than an excuse to try to rebel? It hurt me that someone wanted to rip Link's Eagle's Nest off as much as if the barbarians were at the gates of Hyrule Castle with fire and battering rams. The Nest was much loved for him, it was what little he had left of his childhood, and of his mother. It was very unfair, but he had learned a valuable lesson: parents don't hesitate when it comes to their possessions or their kingdom. Link's father could well disinherit him in favour of one of the lords of the mountains to avoid a new war, since without heirs, our marriage was almost reduced to a simple contract.

"Dad also insisted too much on that" he reasoned, "the first thing he asked me when we arrived there was if you were pregnant."

"So maybe he's trying to warn us about that danger."

"Do you think a heir would protect us from all that?"

"I don't know," I acknowledged, "but I do know what it would mean for the King of Hyrule to have a new member of his family. He wouldn't leave us to our fate."

Well... that at least if Father was the Father I knew. The current one was more clueless with his daughter, although inside my heart I still believed that if someone did anything wrong to me, Father would react violently against the people of the West.

"You're right." Link determined.

"Well, I guess-

"You are right, Zelda. We need a heir to be protected and shut their mouths for once. As long as you're willing, we might try it once again, you're the one who has to say the most in all this."

"We both have to say in all this."

"Well, we'll try. Maybe this time there's luck. I'm not sure that's going to get us out of the conspiracies at all, but it's going to make us a lot stronger than we are now."

Actually, I thought he was going to say no, that I'd better delay it further, so his answer got me worried. I was almost certain that my trauma with the wedding night was completely overcome and now I felt confident with Link, I felt we had a friendship, as I'd told him. But again, things sounded better in my head than in reality. Solving a territorial or inheritance problem seemed to have an easy exit, but the way to achieve this wasn't that simple.

Link closed his eyes and relaxed. He wasn't disturbed in the slightest, it seemed as if he didn't care. If he saw it as normal, as a kind of formality, it wouldn't have to affect me in the slightest. At some point it would have to happen, about getting pregnant and all that, so, why not now? In fact, it could already be happening, only by chance it wasn't.

Neither of us mentioned anything about it again for the rest of the trip.

When I saw the tall tower of the Eagle's Nest looming over the treetops, I felt a warm sensation, an unexpected relief. I jumped off the reins of the wagon and ran towards the gates, calling for Manroy. I could hear Link grunting and grumbling behind me, telling me not to run so fast, that I was going to hurt my foot again or something, but I pretended not to hear him grumbling. I was so happy to be back home, away from all the hatred against us.

Frea organized an exorbitant feast with the leftovers we brought back, and she kept ranting against Kruu and the mountain clans.

"I've always said, those mountain men have brains full of sawdust. And it's always been Nightfall and Fort Hawk who have protected them, and the Nest, of course. Remember the battle of Hebra, Manroy?"

"Yes, I remember that-

"If it weren't for our parents fighting to help the northern tribes, Ikana would have devoured them like a wolf devouring a herd of helpless sheep," she interrupted, still hot, "and look how they thank all that... by humiliating their most powerful allies."

"In any case, it's dangerous to get into the north or the mountains," Link said, "things haven't calmed down yet. We'd better trade only with Nightfall. In Nightfall there are plenty of supplies for the Nest, and I can go hunting more if needed. I can take care of everything."

"Do you think the Nest is in danger?" Frea asked, fear floating in every word.

"We will be well defended," Link said, "they can't take anything from us, it's in writing that we own the Eagle's Nest. They could never kick us out, and Zelda's father has a lot to say about all this."

"Of course, Frea, don't worry, the kingdom of Hyrule is with us," I said. But I wasn't even sure about that myself. Should I inform Father or was it too early to do so? What if they took it the wrong way and Kahen took the opportunity to meddle again with the peoples of the west? Link's father hadn't defended us either, he had done nothing but stay in a remote, neutral stance during the conflict in the Or Games. What if we were really alone in all this? My response satisfied Frea, who never mentioned anything else during the dinner, but I felt the insecurity floating in my stomach.

Luckily, the healing routine came back into my life.

A week passed when we were able to enjoy our quiet life again. Tending the orchard, walking in the forest, helping Frea or Manroy... We got some news about the Or Festival, Link's father had left for Fort Hawk as soon as it was officially over, though the custom was to spend a few more days resting and using up all the supplies. He mentioned nothing about Kruu or what our sudden departure had meant. Link's men had left the festival right after us. Ardren sent a missive from Nightfall saying that he and Fridd had left when they heard of our decision, and that they were close by if we needed their help. I soon forgot about the festival, I was no longer interested in it in the slightest, not even for research or cultural learning. I just wanted to put it out of my mind.

I spent the days here or there, working, learning new things, and enduring the coldest days. I booked the nights for my studies. I'd retire early to my quarters and find myself engaged in the translation of the canvas. It was a map, there were indications of steps, distances... it looked like a kind of gibberish, but I was almost certain that with a little more effort I'd manage to join the pieces together so they'd make sense. That night I was so engrossed in my research that I was startled when Link knocked on my door.

"Are you here to talk about things that don't matter?" I asked him.

"Not really."

"Come on, don't just stand there, get in."

For a while I was telling him about my advances, that the magic weapon was a sword, it was hiding at the end of the gibberish on the map. Everything seemed to indicate that it was located in an ancestral place of Hyrule, but of course... the maps of that time did not coincide at all with the current ones and making the interpretation of the place today was a very complex task.

"Don't you say anything?" I waited for him, seeing that he was staring at me in silence, while I kept talking and spinning excited around the room.

"I think all what you found looks great, but... it doesn't matter, you're too busy anyway."

"What?"

"You've forgotten, I've come at a bad time," he got up to go to the door, but I stood in his way to stop him.

"Wait. You're right, I've forgotten whatever it is," I acknowledged, "it's that... I've been absorbed with this, sometimes when I work on what I like I lose track of time."

"I'll come any other day when you remember, it doesn't matter. And besides, I've interrupted you."

I didn't understand, why the hell didn't he tell me directly what...? Oh, oh. Sure, Zelda, you little idiot.

"You were coming for the... heir. Yes, right, I told you to look for me someday this week or next because the moon… Yes, it's a good time for that."

I got terribly nervous. Our fear of losing the Nest had pushed us to decide to have a baby together, it wasn't a forgettable decision, but we hadn't agreed to see each other on a specific night either. I didn't really say anything clear to him because of my multiple attempts to bury it so it wouldn't torment me. That's why I was so non-specific, in case he thought about it or... I don't know. Goddesses, we could no longer avoid such a day, if not that night it would be another, and we would both be prolonging the terrible uncertainty that this encounter was causing us.

"Okay, I'm available now," I closed my notebooks and annotations. He made a surprised face, I think he was convinced that I would delay it once again.

I closed the lock on my room, we used to be all alone in the fortress, but it was better to be sure.

The wedding night came to my mind, with Impa and Grimla witnessing everything. I remembered when he unbuttoned my corset. Link had nice hands, not only did he prove it that day, but I guess… his hands had always pleased me. When he pulled me out of the cave, the time he took care of me when I was poisoned. I surprised myself thinking I didn't mind his hands touching me because... because I might have liked it. I had liked it in other circumstances, why not now? Link had rough but warm hands, and he was very strong, sometimes I felt like a jolt just because he was close to me and... and he was very handsome, he wasn't a dirty hairy barbarian.

"Luckily this time we're alone, aren't we?" I said. I had to say something, the silence only served to make me feel even more nervous and he was muted, silent as a grave, "okay, let's finish with this at once..."

I began to undress and the same as on our wedding night, he stopped me by putting his hand on mine. My heart was going to burst out of my throat at any moment.

"I don't want this to be like… that day" he said, twisting his face at the thought "we're friends, we're no longer strangers."

Dear gods, I was so nervous. I didn't know what to do now that we were friends. Perhaps he wanted me to do something, but I had no clue about it. Impa didn't teach me anything else. Should I behave the same than in our wedding night?

"You're the only one with experience here. I... hadn't even kissed anyone before our wedding day.", I confessed, embarrassed.

"And after?"

"Neither!" I hit his shoulder as he let out a laugh.

"I don't have much experience either," he grinned, rubbing the back of his head "actually just you."

"Liar, I don't believe you, and what about Eve?"

"We kissed sometimes, that's all."

"Still... you know infinitely more than I do. I only kissed once."

Before I continued chattering absurdly, he cupped my face with both hands and kissed me, just once, very slowly.

"So… second kiss. How was it?"

"It rather, I..."

It was sweet. My heart was pounding harder than I'd like to but… before I could reply I let him kiss me again. And once again. I guess he decided that the conversation was over. I held onto his shoulders (I didn't know where to put my hands) and he ran his hand in my hair, his fingers on my head made me feel a very pleasant tingling. I was immersed in that sensation when another much stronger arrived, Link slipped his tongue into my mouth to caress my lips from the inside. A wave of heat ran through my whole body. Was kissing like this? I never imagined the tongue had something to do with it, but he kept insisting on that, and I decided to try it too. I didn't quite know what to do, the warmth made me feel dizzy, so I decided to touch his tongue with mine. It was weird and overwhelming. This time it was him who reacted, I noticed how the muscles in his shoulders tightened under my hands. I liked his lips. He had a cute smile, but I never noticed his lips like this before. His lips were firm and thick and I liked squeezing mine against his. His hand caressed my arm and it made my skin crawl, why? It was as if my whole body had become more sensitive.

"Do we go there?" He asked, pointing to the bed. His ears were red, and he looked dazed. So… I wasn't the only one.

Goddesses, going to bed was much worse. My head was spinning as I approached the edge and lay down and he would come up to me. He kissed me again with his tongue, but now he was so close… It had nothing to do with how I felt on our wedding day, I noticed that he was trying to lean carefully and what I wanted was to feel all his weight on my body. The idea troubled me a lot. I think he also began to give in to that need and let himself be carried away when I pulled him closer. He tightened and pushed on top of me (goddesses), and I remembered the muscles in his back, as tight as a rock, and I felt the stupid urge to touch them as he bit my lips (no words for that), so I put my hands under his shirt. He whispered something (I don't know what) and buried his head on my shoulder to kiss my neck. He kind of kissed, bit and sucked it. That... that did have an effect on me. Still… I noticed he was moving in a calculated way, while I was quite out of control, touching him under his shirt was… he was… I moved my hands from his chest to his back, pressing sometimes, but he kept his shirt on. As we kissed again, he stroked my side over my clothes and stopped just below my chest, avoiding touching it on purpose. Nor did he dare to touch my legs, who were screaming eagerly to feel his hands on, it was very frustrating. I wanted him to touch me like I touched him. I grabbed his hand to guide him, it was embarrassing but I needed to show him where to touch, and then he met my eyes and I met his and… something strange happened to us.

"I can't do it," he said, leaning aside abruptly.

"O-okay," I couldn't even look at him. He may not have been able to do it, but his whole body was screaming otherwise, it was obvious. It was so obvious that he turned to cover himself.

"Forgive me."

"No... there's nothing to forgive."

What the hell was going on?

"M-maybe... another day, " he murmured, looking for his boots. When did he got barefoot?

"Yes, another day" I was blocked too, and I couldn't believe what happened.

"You... I'll leave you to continue with your maps."

"Good idea."

Maps? What maps?

"Don't be mad at me, we're still friends."

"Of course, this is not an obligation, Link, we have already talked about it."

"Alright."

He looked at me for an instant and I felt the absurd urge to kiss him one last time. I held on. That would have been out of context, he had come to do something agreed with me and I couldn't kiss him again.

He left full of doubts and left me with many more. Dear Hylia.

I started to walk around the room, nervous. I was so unexperienced, maybe I'd done something wrong. Gods, what had just happened to me? I… I really wanted him to touch me and kiss me. It was his fault, he'd made me that, he made me need him almost desperately, I was quite out of control. There was nothing rational about it except the fact that maybe… maybe I liked him.

I sat on the bed and covered my face with my hands, my cheeks still burning.

I liked Link, that's what happened to me, nothing else. True, he was my friend now, apart from being my husband, he was so kind and nice and… I didn't realise it before, for the Goddesses' sake. How was I so blinded?

I was younger than him, and by far much more inexperienced, so maybe he knew I had a kind of crush on him, in the same way I noticed Mabet's crush on me. Dear gods, it was so embarrassing… Perhaps that's why he was gone, for him this was totally different. For him it wasn't easy to get carried away, Link still had feelings for that girl and my behaviour made him feel uncomfortable, since he can't correspond me.

My chest hurt with the idea, I didn't want to lose Link now that we were friends. That horrified me. I wanted everything to be back to normal, so I'd do anything needed to make it happen.