Okay, to answer some of your questions: No, there will not be a long, drawn-out catfight. Yes, there's definitely going to be more plot as we go along. And to Da Gang, only two of the three people you mentioned will be possibilities for Link. And finally, if you haven't already noticed, all the girls like Link is subtly different ways...for example, Nabooru just wants a guy around. She doesn't care if it's not Link, she just happens to think he's extra cute...



Chapter 2: Seductress

"Damn it! It's getting dark, Saria. We're not going to make it to Hyrule Castle Town before the sunset." Link's face was full of worry as the two of them walked quickly along the dirt path.

Saria shivered. "Are the Stalchildren going to come out soon?" Link nodded, then quickly added, "But don't worry, Saria. We'll just spend the night at Lon Lon Ranch. I do it all the time. Malon and her father won't mind."

Saria stared at the ranch, taller than almost any building she'd seen before, except the Forest Temple. She had no doubt in her mind that there wouldn't be enough room in this huge place for her and Link, but what she was really worried about was whether there would be any private place for them to stay. If they got their own room, her plan would work, but if they had to share a room with Malon or something, she would have to wait until they were in Hyrule Castle Town...

"Hurry up, Saria. I know you're little, but you gotta walk faster, all right?" Nodding, Saria hurried to catch up with Link as they entered the ranch.

As soon as she had a clear view of the whole thing, Saria's breath caught in her throat. Wild horses ran everywhere, and a cow was grazing not ten feet from her. "Link, do you mind if I go look at all the animals?" she asked hurriedly, then ran off without waiting for his answer.

Link opened the door to the house and smiled at Talon, asleep on the ground as always. He crept over to Talon, then pinched one of the chickens.

"COCKAROO!" The chicken yelled so loudly that Link had to plug his ears, but it had worked. Talon sat bolt upright and gave a yelp. He grinned when he saw Link.

"Don't...do that...to me..." he said, slapping Link on the back. "So, what's up, Linky boy? Need to stay the night?"

"Yeah, if it's okay with you and Malon," said Link, smiling. "I've got Saria with me, so we'll just stay in the stable..."

Talon grinned as though he had been expecting Link to say that. "Naw, you ain't gonna stay there tonight! I got a little surprise for ya! Remember how you used to sleep in that little cubbyhole full of hay on the far side of the ranch?"

"Yeah..." said Link slowly, remembering it fondly.

"Well, I fixed it up for you and cut the hole a little bigger so you can fit through it again! It'll be just like ol' times!" He beamed at Link, and Link knew how much this must have meant to Talon. He wasn't exactly the sort of person who loved to work on things, after all...

"Talon...thanks," said Link, unable to express his gratitude properly. Talon nodded, then sat back down and drifted off as though Link wasn't there at all. Link turned and went outside, only to find Saria on top of a horse with no saddle, riding wildly around the yard.

"Saria!" he called, laughing, "I know you love animals, but those things are twice as big as you are!" Saria turned, her green hair flying out behind her, and shrugged, smiling. But she slowed the horse down and dismounted anyway.

"Where are we sleeping?" Saria asked as soon as she was in hearing range of Link. Link grinned at her.

"Talon fixed up this old place I used to sleep in...it's in that tall stable over there," he said, nodding toward the other side of the ranch. Saria's eyes lit up.

"Perfect," she said, smiling in a way Link had never seen her smile before. He shrugged it off, though, and began to walk toward the far stable when he noticed a very familiar horse...

"Epona!" he yelled, running toward the horse. He had been wondering where she was for days now. She hadn't answered when he'd played her song, and here she was now...Link stopped abruptly when he got closer to her. Something was wrong with her right forward leg. It was broken or something, because Epona limped when she walked on it. That's odd, he thought. Malon would never let anything like that happen to Epona...

That's when it hit him. Where was Malon? He hadn't seen her anywhere yet. He turned and ran back to the house. "Talon, where's Malon? I can't find her anywhere!" Talon blinked sleepily, and said, "Oh, she's delivering the milk to the castle for me. She'll be back soon, I expect. You just go to sleep, now. She'll be here in the morning and you can say hi to her then." Link nodded and went back outside.

"C'mon, Saria, let's go to sleep now. It's really dark." But before Link went to the stable with her, he petted Epona and fed her a carrot he had with him. "Don't worry, Epona," he said softly. "You'll be all right. I'll tell Malon about you..." Then he went into the stable with Saria.

His little niche was exactly as he remembered it. Saria crawled in first, and then Link followed her, but not before moving a box fairly close to the entrance so no one could see in. It just felt more secure that way. Then he lied down in the soft hay and attempted to go to sleep.

Saria's mind was on other things besides sleep, however. It was time to put her plan into action. She tapped Link gently on the shoulder and said, "Link? Remember how I was saying I feel like a woman in a kid's body?"

Link stared at her, puzzled. "Yeah..."

"Well, I know a way you could make me feel more grown up. I mean, besides taking me to Hyrule Castle Town and all that." Link looked at her curiously, and said, "How?"

Saria smiled at him. "Like this," she said, leaning forward and kissing him. To her dismay, Link immediately pulled away from her.

"Saria," he said, looking shocked, "I know you want to feel more grown up and everything, but you're...I'm..." His voice trailed off slowly.

"Please," said Saria, trying to make herself look more mature, "I'm not like the other Kokiri. I know you're older than me age-wise, but other than that, I'm actually older than you. I was five when you came to the forest."

"Saria, I know all that, but I can't possibly do anything with you. You're too young."

"Link, if you were with me, you'd never have to have children or anything...I can't get pregnant, after all..."

Now Link sat bolt upright, wide-eyed and staring. "Saria, where did you learn all this?! You've lived in the forest your entire life!" Saria shrugged. "I've been a few places. I heard stuff from Nabooru...and I don't know where else."

"Well, I'm not doing anything with you, Saria. I'm sorry, but it's just wrong." And he turned over, away from her, and closed his eyes. Sighing, Saria lay down to sleep. I'll get him to like me, she thought angrily. There's got to be a way...
~~~

"Dad, we've got to talk." Malon burst into her house with fresh determination. She was never going to deliver the milk to the castle again unless her father was on his death bed! To her dismay, however, her father didn't even acknowledge her prescence. He was still asleep.

"Dad!" yelled Malon, kicking him gently, "I need to talk to you!" Yawning, Talon opened his eyes slowly and smiled at his daughter.

"How'd the trip go today, Malon?" he asked, smiling. Malon frowned.

"Horrible." Talon sighed, annoyed. "What went wrong today, Malon?"

"Everything! Those guards are so annoying..." Malon debated on whether or not she should tell her father about what had happened and decided not to. She would tell Link, and that would be enough. She continued quietly. "Plus, it's a long walk, those milk cartons are heavy, and the guards hold me up so much I have to walk through Hyrule Field in the dark! Stalchildren aren't pleasant, I can tell you."

Talon sighed. "Malon, I need to stay here to watch the Cuccos and milk the cows."

"I could watch the Cuccos! And I'm great at milking cows! But the most important thing on this ranch is the horses, and you never let me stay with them anymore because I'm so busy! Why can't you take the milk to town? Why can't you hire a stable hand to do it?"

"Malon, we can't afford a stable hand right now. Ingo worked for a very small amount of money, and no one else is willing to accept that little. I'm sorry, but you're getting older and you're going to have to take on more responsibility. And you're no good with the Cuccos..."

Malon threw her hands up in the air. "You don't even watch the Cuccos! You sleep all day and drink all night, and I'm sick and tired of being the only one who does work around here!"

Talon stared at Malon in shock. More calmly, Malon said, "I'm sorry, Dad. But it's true. I never complain, not ever. But those guards are horrible, and I never get a chance to rest anymore, and I'm just...tired." Malon smiled. "I'm just rambling on, Dad. I'm sorry. I'll get to bed..."

But Talon had a feeling that for once this might be more than just rambling.
~~~

Ruto smiled to herself as she swam luxuriously in Zora River, basking in the moonlight. When night came, everyone in Zora's Domain slept in the water, as it wasn't good for Zoras to be out of the water for too long a time (they could go out of the water as long as they wanted to, but they just felt better if they didn't), and there was no room for her to swim. She sometimes went into the area where Lord Jabu-Jabu had once occupied (he had been frozen in the icy water and died, like many of the Zoras), but the memories of him and her mother were too painful, and the water there wasn't as fun as the river's raging current.

Yes, Ruto still missed her mother. She had only faint memories of her from her childhood, but she remembered how her mother had been the one person who understood her, who she could talk to about everything. Now Ruto was horribly lonely. All the Zoras treated her like she was the queen of the world (she was the queen of their world in a way, but still), and her father didn't understand her at all.

Ruto's mother had been killed in such a pathetic way that it wasn't even really tragic. More like comical, if it was made into a movie. Her mother had been sitting in the throne room when her father came in and, not noticing her slender mother, sat on her, crushing her to death almost instantly. Ruto was surprised her father hadn't been the laughingstock of all of Zora's Domain...then it hit her. He probably was, or at least had been. She could just see it now, all the Zoras talking about how fat old King Zora sat on his wife.

Maybe that's part of the reason I love Link so much, thought Ruto. I'm so lonely, and he's the only person I can talk to.

If only she could be like Nabooru. Nabooru, who seduced men almost every day. But then, I have it harder than her, Ruto thought. Father doesn't like me leaving Zora's Domain, and I can't exactly seduce my own subjects...Nabooru doesn't have to worry about that, her people are all women. And Nabooru is older, and more humanlike, and attractive...Ruto stopped herself before she became too depressed. She was just making excuses for herself, anyway. The real reason she didn't want to do anything like that was because she, unlike Nabooru, was a virgin, and she wanted her first time to be with someone she truly loved, not just a one-night stand.

In other words, she wanted her first time to be with Link.
~~~

"-and don't forget to check on the snakes who live on the fourth floor, they become very tempermental if they're not fed-"

"Nabooru, I know." The woman who was second-in-command to Nabooru had pretty much memorized everything Nabooru told her because she never got a chance to be in charge, and she desperately wanted to prove herself to Nabooru. "Don't worry! I'll be fine, just fine. The Gerudos know they have to listen to me, and I have an excellent memory."

Sighing, Nabooru nodded, smiling. "Yes, yes, I know. I just hate having to leave you...I've never left for very long before, you know?"

The second-in-command now looked puzzled. "My ladyship, I don't understand. I thought you never left the temple."

Nabooru grinned. "Remember how I told you I have special powers as a Sage?" The woman nodded, still puzzled. "Well, one of them is the ability to transform into a group of orange light molecules, thereby enabling me to travel at the speed of light, and going wherever I want in this form." The woman nodded, now even more puzzled. Nabooru laughed. "Forget it. Take care of everyone for me, all right?" And then Nabooru was gone, and there was nothing but a flicker of orange light that dissipitated almost instantly.
~~~

Impa crept quietly into Princess Zelda's bedroom, smiling to herself. Very soon the little Princess Zelda who she knew so well would be Queen Zelda, and the Hero of Time, otherwise known as Link, would be Prince Link until Zelda's father, the King, died.

Zelda stirred, restless, as the light fell on her face, and immediately Impa put her fingers to her lips, whistling the familiar lullaby to Zelda that still worked wonders. Almost instantly, Zelda's face grew calm, and she lay still.

I hope she doesn't get her hopes up too high, Impa thought. She had noticed how Link looked at Zelda in comparison to how Zelda looked at Link, and there was a very large difference between the two. Still, how could Link say no to ruling all of Hyrule? How could anyone, for that matter?
~~~



Less talking and more action next chapter, I promise. Just a little bit of a preview: Saria's persistance increases as Link's resistance decreases; Malon delivers milk once again, but she has Link with her this time; Ruto and Brandon have a picnic at Lake Hylia; Nabooru attempts to seduce a most fascinating person (whoever guesses who gets something, I don't know what); and Zelda tells Link the good news, but he doesn't seem to think it's all that great...and don't worry. Everyone who was a virgin in this chapter stays a virgin in the next chapter, although that might not be so in chapter 4...please review this chapter even if you reviewed the other one!

I'll try to update every day or at least every other day.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter one: Da Gang, Darkiegal, Jskater, Kirbypwr, Mokono no miko, and that anonymous person.