This is a romance set just as link returns to Hyrule after adventuring in Termina, and what he does (or more importantly who with) after that.

Email: (charleshillsw@hotmail.com) This is my first proper fanfic I reckon, I mean I have written stories before but never this long. In fact, this first chapter is longer than entire stories I have written before. Anyway, if you read this, please review. I won't beg but it's nice to know that work doesn't go un-noticed.

Disclaimer (what's the point): I don't own Zelda. I only own this story. You can be sure if The Legend Zelda were mine then not only would I be rich but also romance would feature much more heavily. I looove Zelda.

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Link came through the long trail leading from the Termina woods and breathed deeply. Epona, who trotted along beside him, whinnied and swatted at some flies with her tail. It was good to be returning to Hyrule after their adventures. He remembered fondly the large Clock town centred in the grassy fields with paths leading off to the homes of the small, leafy race of Deku, the tall, elegant and aquatic race of the Zora and the large, powerful race of the Gorons. He had kept 3 of the many masks he had collected on his travels and he was glad about it. They served as an everlasting memory of his time in Termina. They were the Deku, Zora and Goron masks, fused with incredible magic power that blessed the owner with the power to transform themselves into the race of the mask. They had been very useful in Termina, and Link had a strong feeling that he may need their power again. Another interesting trinket he had kept was the Moon's Tear. He had been disappointed when he had to sacrifice it to sell to the Deku in Clock town, but when he later realised that he could go back in time he made sure to collect another one of the bright drops. Link planned to give it to one of his friends in Hyrule. He just didn't know who.

A parting of the trees served to let him know that he had arrived at the portal between the two worlds, Hyrule and Termina. Unlike what Link had first expected when he passed through the portal into Termina on his search for Navi all that time ago, it did not actually have anything at all that let you know the portal even existed. No large shimmering energy wall. No decoration. All there was that let travellers know they were coming between the two worlds was a small wooden sign that read, "You are now passing between the lands of Hyrule and Termina". Link stepped past the sign and continued on, glad that he had finally returned to his homeland. However, Link was very startled when he looked down at himself and discovered that he was no longer the child that he had been when he left Hyrule and went in search of Navi, the child he had been just 5 minutes ago, but he was a fully grown adult! Epona looked just as shocked. She was now much taller and more developed. She had ideas of her own though, and galloped off to meet her old friends at Lon Lon Ranch. Link looked like he had when he travelled forwards seven years to wield the Master Sword and become the Hero of Time. Whatever the case, he needed some new equipment. His Hero's Bow was too small for his adult hands, but the Gilded Sword would not need replacing; it was still long enough for him to use. Link realised that he must have changed when he stepped through the unseen barrier connecting the two worlds… Perhaps the time system in Termina was different to that of Hyrule? Whatever the case, he had to find out how many years it had been since he left his homeland. He set off for the Kokiri village, knowing he could get himself a new bow there as well.

Malon was tending to the horses in the fields of the Ranch owned by her father, Talon, humming a tune her mother had taught her. It had been seven long years since Link had left and she was missing him desperately. Every day she thought about him and wished she had told him her feelings for him. She would probably never get another chance… "Snap yourself out of it, Malon," she thought aloud to herself. She heaved up two buckets of milk and started to wander back towards the stables. She heard a loud neigh. Malon, knowing each and every animal in the ranch intimately, knew that this cry was not from one of the creatures she cared for. The horse neighed again. Malon dropped the buckets, milk splashing around her feet. She didn't care.

"It can't be! It can't…" Malon stammered, holding her hands across her open mouth. "Epona!" She screamed, running towards the sound. Over the gates Epona leapt and soared majestically through the air, her landing as soft as a feather. Malon had tears streaming from her eyes now and was sprinting as fast as she could. When Epona came into view she was shocked to not see Link riding her, but she knew that if Epona was in Hyrule then so was Link. Epona wandered up and nuzzled Malon, who threw her arms around the horse's long neck.

Zelda was sitting on her large bed in her Royal Chambers in the restored Castle, clutching a small item in her hands. It was a glowing gemstone that Link had given her when they were much younger. He said he had found it in the grass when they were playing together. Back then she gave Link a hug. He had just ruffled her hair and pushed her into the soft grass saying, "Silly Zellie!" and carried on playing. She had thought nothing of it until his seven-year absence. She never knew how much she loved him until he left…

She was stirred out of her thoughts by a knock on the door. It was a messenger requesting her royal presence for a minor conflict between a Gerudo and one of her Hylian guards. She sat through the meeting not really paying attention, nodding at the appropriate times and answering questions with Yes and No. Before too long it was over and she was left to dream again. And dream she did…

          Nabooru was locked into her lavish quarters, not wanting to be disturbed. She was laid on her bed, her long red locks framing her face perfectly. Her heavily made up eyelids were closed. She was thinking. The Gerudo were a strange race of people, she mulled. She loved being a Gerudo. She was incredibly beautiful and oozed charm and charisma. When she wanted to. When she didn't she could be incredibly blunt and harsh, and she knew it. She could go out right now and pluck any man from the big wide world that she desired. Any man but one. And the one man that she couldn't have was the one that she most wanted.

She felt foolish, lusting after someone who she had only been in the company of for a few short hours. But the time she had with him was spent admiring him. This man was much more than any other that lived in Hyrule. She wouldn't allow herself to think that she loved him, but deep down, she knew she did. She wished he could have stayed longer with her instead of rushing off to adventure in new lands. Maybe then her charm would have put him under her spell… seven long years had passed, and still she hadn't forgotten about him. She wished she had, that she had never met him and she could carry on with her life… but just as she was thinking this, something came to her. A Sage of the Spirit can learn things that they hold strong to themselves. It came to her slowly… then she knew. Link was back.

Saria was sat on the stump next to the Forest Temple entrance, her eyelids closed. She had her fairy Ocarina placed to her lips and she was playing the soft melody that bore her namesake, Saria's song. Every morning she would run there to have some solace from the demands of her Kokiri friends. Opening her eyes, she removed the Ocarina from her mouth and sighed softly. As great as it was to be a Kokiri and live in the Forest, to live forever as a child was a heavy burden she was forced to carry. As a Sage she had sampled the delights of the world outside of the wood haven and she yearned for the delights that her people could not sample. For her people were cursed: they could never leave the Forest or they would live out the rest of their lives as skeleton children, harassing those unfortunate enough to be travelling in the Hylian fields at night. Her limited power as a Sage had allowed her to leave the forest for a short time but she did not dare to remain outside her home for long. That is why she was jealous of Link.

She shouldn't have thought that. His name brought back memories, which flooded over her and crushed her spirit. While Link could grow up and travel at will, she would forever live among the Kokiri. And travel Link did. She hardly ever saw him when he was in Hyrule and now she had not heard from him in seven painful years. He had left and may never return. Ignoring all that though, there was one odd new thought that was attacking her. She couldn't put a finger on it until… Being a Sage of the Earth allowed her to listen to the living creatures, and they were saying… no. It wasn't possible. Tears welled up in her eyes… Link was back.

Princess Ruto was sat high above the Zora's Domain on the lip of the falls, looking down over all that would be hers when her father died. Water rushed past the temporary barrier created by her body, gushing all over her long legs and fanning against her fins attached above her hips before finally roaring down the sheer drop to make the waterfall that so many Zora loved to dive from. She smiled. She loved the place where she lived, loved the cool waters bound up in the underground cavern and loved the many small caves she could swim to if she wanted to be alone. Then she frowned. She had been visiting those places more and more as of late, and there was only one thing she could think about while she was there. Link.

Link... The very thought of him sent a warm shiver up her spine and made her fins attached to her arms jump. The one thing that was missing from her life that would make it complete. Not thing. Person. Strong person. Handsome person. Intelligent person. She could go on and on, and she often did. Her greatest desire was to be cradled by him, his strong grip pulling her close. With a sigh she threw herself off the waterfall and glided into the water with ease. As soon as she slid into the water she felt something. Something strange. Surfacing, she floated there for a few minutes trying to find out what was bothering her. And then it hit her like a flash. Sages are blessed with great power and wisdom and Princess Ruto, the Sage of Water, was no exception. Water would feed her information. And this information was the greatest she had ever heard. He had returned.