Author's Note:

Hello to all. This is a romantic Link/Zelda fic that I've decided to write. It's a romance/drama/smidgen of comedy. It takes place in the Ocarina of Time setting, after Zelda sent Link back and they grew up to be 18. There personalities are a little unlikable in the beginning but that's only because I wanted to make believable strife between them. There wouldn't be much conflict if they were both wonderfully pleasant and perfect people, now would there? No adult themes or swearing in this story.

Please read ~ review ~ and enjoy!


It's Love; Now Or Never


By *Jasmine*

Part Six: The Goddesses' Plan
(1/2)


Columns of high solid oak shelves rose all along the four walls, lined to the brim with heavy leather bound books all grown tarnished with age and turning the air to a thick lustrous musk. Gaelith sat alone at a small polished wooden table and a china cup was in his hand. He gazed out at the window pane as small drops of rain rapped against it, making a soft pinging noise, and some catching on the glass to bead along its surface and blur his view.

Gaelith stared entranced for a few moments until padded foot steps perked his attention to the doorway. Zelda entered then looking radiant in her morning's utter dishevelment; she wore a nightgown of soft white cotton over her small frame and her long blonde hair lay bouncing against her shoulders, small waves pressed into each strand from were it was clasped up last night. Her feet were bare against the wooden floor and only a small gold necklace in the shape of the Triforce lay against her breast bone, which she wore at all times.

The Prince smiled up at her from his seat and greeted warmly, "Good morning, my Zelda." His brown hair was already combed back and he wore a simple tan tunic with white hose over his lanky form. Even though it was morning he already wore expensive dress shoes on his feet.

"Morning, Gaelith," the young woman replied and moved towards the empty study chair, sitting upon its soft, worn cushion.

Gaelith beamed at her smugly and gushing with pride. "The party went nicely last night, don't you think? Our engagement went over well with everyone. Did you have a fun time?" he asked.

Zelda nodded falsely and said, "Yes" even though last night was one of the worst of her life. Not only did she feel like an outsider among the Prince's friends, because she no longer found the spring's fashion or this winter's fox hunts as interesting as she once did, but also she had managed to completely drive away Link from ever having feelings for her.

The Prince went on as if he did not hear her reply, "O I thought maybe you felt otherwise because I could not find you after I made the announcement…"

The young woman gave a hollow smile and rubbed at her smooth temples. "I had such a dreadful headache that I could barely stand," she offered up weakly as an excuse.

Gaelith met her eyes with a concerned look, a knowing gaze, and he accused bitterly and softly, "You certainly were fine when you were dancing with that Hero of yours…"

Zelda looked a little surprised at his words even though she could not deny there merit and stammered in response, "I… He asked me to… I thought it would be rude if I declined. After all he did save my life."

The russet colored haired young man took it all in and his pale face showed his astute knowing beyond her lies. "O I see," was all that he said before turning back to the window and taking a short dainty sip of hot morning tea.

A long pregnant minute passed between them, dividing them apart until they felt like mere strangers sitting next to one another, and finally Gaelith was the first to break the silence like a stone shattering a placid lake surface. With a wrinkle of his pale nose, one no doubt that had never felt the sting of a summer's sun burn nor the flicking of a hay grass as someone teasingly tickles you under the nostrils, and he moaned miserably, "O what a terrible, dreadful rain we are getting! Now my whole day seems ruined."

The young Princess gazed out beyond the raindrop plastered glass and was lost in her own thoughts and inner confusions. She murmured softly, partly to herself, "… Some days are made for rain."

Gaelith looked to her, a condescending raise of his thick eyebrow, and he remarked snidely, "What is that suppose to mean?"

Zelda snapped out of her mind and replied quickly, "O nothing, I'm sorry."

The Prince went back to staring out the window though he shook his head and grumbled to himself, "'Some days are made for rain'? What nonsense is that? Imagine, an entire day made just for a dreadful downpour. Utterly silly…"

The young woman watched him and saw then all her mistakes, all that she had made wrong. Zelda suddenly and abruptly stated, "I can't do this, Gaelith."

The Prince of Fawaee once again turned to her and his face was contorted in puzzlement and a bit of annoyance. "What…. What are you talking about?" he asked in confusion.

"I can't marry you," she starkly said, her face marked with a sudden clarity.

Gaelith scanned her eyes and released a short, swift burst of forced hoarse laughter that was meant to be arrogant and confident but sounded hollow and sad instead. "Of course you can! I've already told the news to my entire kingdom and the plans have been made, we are getting married," he said and tried to believe in his denial.

Yet Zelda gave him a sympathetic look and replied, "No. I'm sorry Gaelith… But we can't; you know that as well as I do. Marrying because someone tells us we must is not right and I cannot possibly go through with it any longer."

"But…. It's because of Link isn't it? I knew you two had something going on all along," he growled angrily.

Zelda replied with silence and it only furthered his rage. He spat loudly, "You have to be kidding me! That...that Hero of yours is no more then a commoner dressed up in a fancy title! He could never give you all that I could..."

The Princess met his gaze and said, in a voice straining to remain civil, "Sometimes all that just doesn't matter in love."

Gaelith sneered in a biting sarcasm, "Love? Cling to those sweet notions when you find yourself living in your Hero's horse stable, shivering from the cold with only your dreams to keep you warm. Ha, just the idea of a Princess and a commoner makes me laugh!"

Zelda had had enough of his snide banter. She stood and struck him across the side of his face with the flat of her hand in one fluid movement. A stinging slap crossed over his cheek and burned red. He clung to it with a hand and looked up at her with shock.

She gave him a dry look in response and said without rage, "That was to shut you up and give me at least a minute to speak."

Gaelith, still in disbelief of her actions, said, "Fine. Go ahead, you certainly have my attention now."

The young woman remained calm as she said, "Even if I do have feelings for Link, he is not the reason I am doing this. I finally see that we both deserve to share in a marriage with someone we love and nothing can make us do otherwise…"

Gaelith still looked aghast by the whole thing and he spluttered, "But… What of your father? … And our responsibilities? This union was meant to strengthen a political alliance between Fawaee and Hyrule…"

"I can deal with my father," she said with a soft, somber smile and went on, "And as for our responsibilities, when was marriage supposed to be used like some treaty to further a country's gain? I will not enter a sham of a union for that or any other reason."

The Prince looked at her and then out the window. His voice came out uncertain and sad, "… I knew deep down you could never love me. I'm not a hero, nor will I ever be… But I thought maybe with time we could at least tolerate one another… I would care for you Zelda and treat you well…"

Zelda realized then that all along maybe Gaelith was not as haughty nor arrogant as he portrayed himself to be; just a victim of his title, as she was. "I know, Gaelith, but it isn't meant to be this way. I have no idea what our destinies are to be… But somehow, I know this isn't it. I'm sorry," she said and apologized again, not really for her actions but just for their shared circumstances.

Finally he relinquished, not removing his gaze from the window, "I understand… I'm not happy of course… But – I understand…"

The Princess nodded then and moved towards the door. As she reached the door frame, Gaelith spoke up once more.

"You'd better hurry."

Zelda turned her head slightly to look at him and questioned, "For what?"

The Prince cleared his throat and met her gaze then with his brown eyes. "Link - even though you still are unsure of your feeling towards him, I thought I should tell you he is out getting his horse ready, I saw him this morning… A told him a forsaken fool would only leave in this rain but I suppose he's in a rush for some reason."

The Princess took it all in and then said truthfully, "Thank you, Gaelith."

The young man with the brunette hair smiled slightly and soberly in response and turned back to the window, swilling his tea in its porcelain cup. Alone again with only the lingering pain of the slap on his face, he thought to himself that though their sword fight had been a draw of sorts, in the end the Hero had truly won.

~*~

Zelda came to the main doorway that poured out into the front yard and gave way to a drawbridge and beyond that all of Fawaee. The rain was falling down in a veil of damp white droplets and bouncing off the grass. The Princess peered out to see Link far off by the stables, fitting Epona with a pack and preparing to leave. The rain fell onto his cloak and seeped through the fabric yet he looked as if he cared very little.

The Princess's mind raced as her feet began to propel her foreword from out of the Castle covering and into a showering of chilled water. The rain hit her shoulders and soaked into her white nightgown, ruining the fine silk. The drops pounded down on her head relentlessly as her mind throbbed with all the possibilities and consequences that might befall her if her feet were to fail her and he were to ride out of her life.

Finally she was close enough to see the frigidness of his back, the betrayal in his posture. Every movement he made radiated sadness and regret. She still called out to him breathlessly though as she neared, "Link, wait! Please wait!"

The man hesitated, his body instantly stopping and cringing at her angelic voice. He turned around then slowly and his face was dark and somber. The usually lighthearted young man now looked not so naïve of the pains of love. Was this all because of Zelda? It hurt her so to see she might be the cause of the ache that flashed across his deep blue eyes along with the anger and regret.

The water dripped off his nose and down the strands of his wet head. "What do you want Zelda? Come back to dance a little more on my already trampled heart?" Link asked bitterly and his words were not angry but defeated. He no longer felt enough to hold hostility towards her; he knew she would never allow herself to love him so why waste emotions on her?

She bit her pink tinted lip, wondering if maybe she had ruined everything far too much for it ever to be mended. Rain ran down her creamy face and drenched her nightgown, sticking to her body like plaster. "I... I ended my engagement to Gaelith," she finally said and felt her words sound so inadequate in reply.

His face fell into a lopsided grin that was wretched in its attempt at joy and his voice was sarcastic yet broken. "Well bravo, Princess. Would you like an applause or just a simple pat on the back will do?"

Her heart sank with the haunting pain in his eyes and she gazed away, unable to bare his grievous looks anymore. "I deserve that," she sighed and the rain dripped from the ends of her long golden hair. Then after a long swollen moment of just the sound of the rain in their pointed ears, Zelda finally looked up and her clear pale blue eyes were pooling in salty tears. "I know it's not enough... But I'm truly sorry Link. I was... horrible to you."

Link shook his head, spraying water, and drops bounced off his lips as he spoke. "Don't you dare say you're sorry Zelda. You're right; it's not enough, it won't ever be enough..."

She murmured, looking down at her naked cold feet as they sank into the wet earth, "... I know..."

"No, you're going to hear this. For once you're going to hear what I have to say," he snapped and suddenly there was a flare of anger in his expression, "I came back to you so many times, thinking maybe that you might finally look in your heart to see you and I were meant for one another... But you never did. You crushed me each time... Well I'm through trying to persuade you to love me; I'm through pleading for you to care. If I'm not good enough for you then, fine, I will eventually deal. You are not the end of me."

Her eyes grew flooded with tears that fell down her face, mixing with cold rain. "Link, please," she began in a quivering voice, "Just listen to me one more time. Even if you don't owe it to me, please will you?"

Link gazed at her and for a minute she was certain he was going to refuse just then and turn and ride away. But instead he replied with a voice of stone, "Fine."

There was a light of hope somewhere deep inside her that flickered once with his words. Zelda took her time of contemplating what to say, making sure it might come out as she wanted. Then blinking back the tears and tiny droplets that clung to the ends of her long fringing blonde eyelashes, she said, "First off, there is no way to justify what I did. I played with your heart too many times in my naiveness of love and other people's emotions... But you have to understand, I was afraid. Afraid to let myself fall in love with you... I hurt you so because I wanted to make it easier for us both to let go... Or else I knew it would kill me to marry Gaelith... I didn't mean though to harm you as much as I have. I see now that the games I played were wrong and fatal. I'm sorry."

The young Hero digested her words without saying a word. He looked at her then and said straight into her gaze, "You did hurt me, whether you meant to or not mattters little." Then he went on in a more even tone, "But it was not all your fault. We were both naïve, I thought then that merely our love might bond us together... Now I see though that it takes much more. You made me realize not just dreams and hope can make a future. I was a silly young man, but now I know not to believe in these things..."

Zelda shook her head and the word came flooding to her mouth softly, "No..."

Yet Link went on, "I don't know if marrying Gaelith was right for you but you need someone better than me, Zelda. You desire someone who can provide for you and offer you all the lavishes that I cannot... We were too different for this to ever work; I see this now as you had so many days ago..."

The Princess' lips trembled with stammered words and her heart's pulse climbed. "W-What? But... Can't we at least give it one more try? I-I was wrong when I said that."

Link shook his head at her and without saying a word, turned and swung his leg over Epona, mounting her rain-slick saddle. His voice was heavy as he said, looking down with regret filled eyes, "Good bye."

As he patted the rain out of his horse's long eye lashes and prepared to leave, bringing her hooves to a slow pace, Zelda's thoughts raced. This couldn't happen. How would she live without him, would she be destined to travel the kingdoms searching for him? "B-But," she mumbled softly and then with the clarity finally forming in her mind she said loudly, shouting almost, "You once asked me a question that still stays with me even now. Do you remember that question?"

He halted his horse abruptly with a soft yanking of the reins and she snorted between the cold metallic bit. Link looked over to her, the distance swelling between them until they felt oceans apart. His words came out in a surprised, soft tone, "Of course I do... I asked if you could honestly throw away all we have or may have and never look back or question what might have been."

She looked at him and her voice, though trembling slightly, was somehow clear and defiant as she had always been, "Well you know my answer now is no. At this moment I ask you the same? If the answer is yes then I want you to ride off and don't spare me any glances or bittersweet 'Good byes' for I'm afraid they would kill me..."

Her heartbeat climbed and she allowed the tears in her voice to finally be heard. Sobs came now unwillingly, "... But if the answer... is no... Then I beg of you... Please don't leave and make us both regret this moment here in time... for the rest of our lives...."

Link gazed at her, his hardened eyes focusing on her and she could see his thoughts running wild behind the orbs of blue. Should he risk his love once more and just put it all out there for her to decide to crush at will, would he allow himself to be vulnerable to her once more? Finally he quieted his mind swiftly and followed his heart. He dismounted his mare and crossed over the distance that separated them.

Now they were only a few feet away, his gaze piercing hers. The rain fell on in an onslaught of cold drops, hitting their shoulders and the tops of their heads. He found himself wishing to take her into his arms and comfort her rain slick lips with his own. Yet he held back still and inquired quietly, "What about your obligations?" Link was referring to the law and the King, who had both pushed her into marriage with Gaelith.

She met his stare and she seemed a bit more wiser and confident then he had ever known her to be. "I can handle them," she said. "The law isn't set in stone, it can be rewritten by the monarchy... And as for my father... After my mother died, all he ever wanted was the best for me. I think I can make him see that by allowing me to marry whom I chose that is making me the happiest I could ever be."

Link nodded softly and then he asked, "How do I know you won't change your mind and decide that this was all a mistake again?"

Zelda digested his words thoughtfully and tears sprang to her eyes once again. When she finally spoke, it was as if the sound of the rain suddenly lulled to allow for her soft voice to float clearly through the chilled morning air. "Because how could a kiss between two people who love each other, truly love each other, ever be a mistake."

The young man stood there for a moment with the rain pouring down on him and stared at her. The way her glossy pale cerulean eyes glistened like the lapping waves of an ocean, the way the moisture clung to her lush pink tinted lips, her golden hair plastered to her forehead in long flowing locks. Then a soft bittersweet lopsided smile finally broke through his icy expression and he took her cheek in his hand, feeling her wet smooth skin under his palm. He claimed her lips gently with his own, feeling the warmth he had missed for so long. Their psychic bond was so strong that he felt as if he could almost sense her passion and inner thoughts crying out in joy. He kissed her then as the rain fell on.

When they finally pulled away from each other's lips, Zelda's small arms were linked around his neck and she was looking up into his face. The rain was spilling down her hair and her nightgown clung scandalously close to her well-shaped body. "Does this mean you're willing to give it another chance?" she whispered, hope in her tone.

The man looked down into her large eyes and the droplets that clung to her long golden lashes and chuckled, "Heck no! I was just getting that raincheck you owed me from back on Death Mountain!"

The Princess sighed in annoyance even though a smile played across her warm lips and she said, "Link..."

Link pulled the young woman closer to him and touched her smile with his calloused thumb, wanting forever to see that pretty smile as it was just then. His face grew more serious and he responded, "Yes. I don't think I could ever live without you now that I have you back."

Her smile grew brighter and she whispered, "Me too." His body felt warm against hers even though they were both drenched in icy rain. She ran a free hand through his soaking mane of shaggy hair and then rested it on his tunic. "What are we going to do now?" Zelda finally asked.

A lopsided mischievous grin fell over his slick handsome face and he began to unfasten his cloak from around his neck. "I don't know," he said and then removed his warm woolen cloak and placed it over Zelda's small shoulder. "But lets find out together." He met her gaze and gave her a look as if to say he would never want to be with anyone but her, she was his contentment.

Then he turned and mounted Epona, her saddle a bit slippery with rain. He offered down a hand to her and the Princess took it, she looking odd in his oversized man's cloak yet not caring a wit. She sat behind him on the horse and wrapped her arms around his waste. Link started his mare into a nice pace and they rode out of Fawaee Castle together, in the rain.

~*~


Closing Note: Wait, there's more! I promise!