----------------Chapter 2--------------
Sunlight poured through Zelda's open windows and the curtains swayed in the breeze. The princess lay in her bed, sound asleep. Then her eyes fluttered open and she sat up, stretching. She sat on her bed for a minute, not thinking about anything in particular.
I wonder what I'll do today…It's so boring around here.
A mischievous grin split her face. She stepped out of bed and opened her door ever so quietly. Zelda tiptoed down the hall and stopped a few doors down. She had tried this procedure many times, and rarely was it successful. Her victim was extraordinarily alert to his surroundings, and usually planned a way to counter her attacks before she even carried them out. Zelda cracked open the door as quietly as possible, and was pleased to see her victim was still asleep in bed. Grinning madly, she tiptoed toward the bed, wincing at every creak the floor made.
Link, her victim, lay on his back with his golden bangs falling lazily onto the pillow and into his closed eyes. His handsome face looked so serene…Zelda wondered if he was really asleep. This thought made her pause for a moment. His breathing was the natural pace of someone in slumber, but Link was very good at fooling people. His hands lay sprawled beside him on the pillows. It was such an adorable pose that it almost looked phony.
Backing a little away from the bed, Zelda readied her attack. With a loud war cry, she ran and leaped onto Link's bed. Link immediately shot up when he heard her scream, only half awake. He let out a loud grunt when Zelda landed on top of him, and fell backwards onto the pillows.
"Oof!"
For a moment he lay there, taking in what had just happened. Zelda was still on top of him, giggling hysterically.
"Well…you got me this time," Link said with a smile.
"Oh yes," Zelda said between bursts of laughter. "That was good."
Link narrowed his eyes at her playfully. He sat up slowly, a daring expression on his face. Zelda smiled back stubbornly, eyes also narrowed. They sat there for a few seconds, just glaring at each other and grinning. Zelda squealed with surprise when Link grabbed her around her waist, slung her over his shoulder, and carried her over to the balcony. Squealing even louder, she pounded lightly against his back with her fists and kicked her legs.
"Princesses that disturb the Hero of Time's sleep must be thrown off the balcony," Link said mock-seriously.
"No, no!" Zelda laughed.
"Yes, yes!" Link walked onto the balcony and paused for a minute.
"Why dost thou hesitate?" Zelda asked him.
Link shook his head at her use of old language. "Tis too early. Alas, the day is not yet ripe." He turned and started for the door.
Zelda rolled her eyes at his back. Link walked down the hallway, back towards her room. Impa, who had been coming to wake the two up, saw the amusing sight. She folded her arms and leaned against the wall, shaking her head and grinning. Link gave her a friendly salute as he passed her by. He entered Zelda's room and threw her onto her bed, receiving more laughter from her.
"You highness's execution will have to be postponed until further notice," he said, trying to be serious but failing.
"Pah! I am the invincible!" Zelda retorted playfully.
Impa then entered the room; a feint smile still touched her lips.
"You two should get ready. Breakfast is served."
Link and Zelda usually ate breakfast with King Harkinan, Zelda's father. This morning he was there, and the three had casual conversation. Zelda had been silent as she listened to Link and Harkinan discuss their situation with the Gerudos, which remained fairly peaceful. Then she asked her father the question she had been meaning to ask since she woke this morning.
"Father?"
Link and Harkinan looked at Zelda.
"Yes, Zelda?" her father asked.
"Father…this castle is beautiful, and you'd think I would never run out of things to do, right?"
"I suppose…"
"But, it just so happens that I do get tired of being kept in the castle all the time. I long to get out and explore the world." Zelda spread her arms out wide.
"What are you trying to tell me, Zelda?"
Zelda sighed.
"Father, I want to go somewhere. Anywhere! I want to explore the lands away from the castle."
"Leave? But Zelda, what about protection? What about-"
"Your majesty," Link cut him off, "Zelda is quite capable of protecting herself."
"Yes, I suppose, but…"
"And I would go with her, of course." Link added.
"Oh, yes! Where would I be without my best friend?" Zelda beamed at Link, who winked back at her.
King Harkinan was now smiling.
"Very well. I will be much more comfortable if you go with her, being her protector and all."
"Of course."
"Excellent!" Zelda clapped her hands. "When should we leave, father?"
"You could leave this afternoon. That will give you time to get ready."
"Thank you, father!" Zelda stood, kissed him on the cheek, and ran up to her room.
Harkinan laughed.
"I trust you two will have a good time?"
"I'm sure we will," Link stood and pushed his chair in. "I think I will get ready too, you majesty."
"Go ahead."
As Link ran up the stairs to catch up to Zelda, Harkinan laughed lightly to himself. He had always thought of Link as the son he never had, and would very much like it if romance blossomed between Link and his daughter. He'd like it very much indeed.
Later that day, Link and Zelda were lying on the grass in the courtyard, waiting for noon to come.
"Oh, why can't we leave now?" Zelda whined.
"Can you think of anything we may have forgotten?" Link asked her.
"No, I checked everything at least three times."
Link laughed. Then he stood, took her hands, and pulled her up to stand beside him.
"Then there's only one thing we need to do before we leave."
Zelda watched him go over to the storage room and smiled slyly when he returned with two bows, two quivers with arrows, and a target.
"Ah, ah, ahhh, I'm going to beat you at that." She taunted.
"Prove it." Link tossed her a bow and quiver and set up the target. "After you milady," he said with a swift bow.
Zelda threw him a dirty look and readied her bow. Closing one eye, she aimed the arrow with careful accuracy. When she was satisfied, she pulled the arrow back as far as she could.
Her deep concentration broke when Link screamed on the top of his lungs.
"AH, IT'S KILLING ME!"
Zelda jerked and released her arrow, sending it way off target. It barely even made the target at all. She turned and glared at Link, who on his knees and shaking with laughter.
"Very funny. You just know you'll lose, so you cheat." She scolded him.
Link tried to be serious, but he started laughing again when he saw her face. Zelda waited, tapping her foot impatiently against the ground.
'Fine, fine, I won't do it anymore." Link grabbed his bow and took his place to shoot. He aimed his arrow and pulled, using his left hand. The arrow sprang forward and hit a direct bull's eye.
"Hah!" he said proudly. "Beat that!"
"With pleasure."
Zelda stepped forward and shot her arrow in turn. It landed right in the center of Link's arrow, which fell in two pieces from the target. Zelda stepped back and smirked at Link.
Link narrowed his eyes at her, stomped back off to the storage room, and brought out two more targets. He lined them up an even distance and stepped back, studying them. Zelda groaned.
"No, that's not fair, I can't do that yet" she complained.
Link shifted the middle target a little before he stepped back to shoot his arrows. He took three arrows from his bow and aimed them at the targets. Zelda watched as he parted the arrows a few inches apart with his fingers. Then, with each arrow propped between two fingers, he pulled back and let them fly. To Zelda's awe, they all landed in unison on the direct centers of the three targets. Link stepped back and smiled, but it wasn't his playful arrogant smile he usually gave Zelda; it was a true smile of pride.
"I've been practicing that ever since I was ten." He said happily.
"And you darn good at it too."
To Zelda's surprise, Link blushed when she said that.
"Well…now you show me something special."
Zelda looked at him for a moment and let her eyes drop to the ground.
"I…well…I don't really have anything special…" She rubbed her arm, embarrassed.
Link understood.
"Oh, don't be embarrassed. Here, I'll show you." Link walked over to Zelda and stood behind her. He took three arrows out of her quiver and gave them to her.
"Here, put these in between your fingers."
Zelda did as told.
"That's good. Now, you see the centers?"
Zelda nodded.
"See if you can get each arrow directly under each center, and release."
Zelda tried and, with some help from Link, she managed to get them aligned at an expectable distance.
"When you pull back," Link told her, "Try not to move the arrows out of place. You probably will, it being your first time, but let's see."
Zelda pulled back, slowly, and the arrows seemed to have stayed in place. She pulled them all the way back a little faster and released them. To her disappointment, they landed a fair distance away from the center. Link watched her shoulders slump in disappointment and laid a hand on her shoulder.
"That's alright, Zel, you're not expected to get it right away. Here, let's try again."
Zelda readied her bow the same way she had before. This time, Link held her hand and pulled with her.
"Like that, see?" Link said softly.
Zelda found herself blushing. Link was so close to her… and his warm breath on her neck made her feel…strange, yet, in a wonderful way.
"Ok," she whispered back.
Link slowly let go of her hand.
"Now, release!" he said.
The arrows flew and hit the targets just a little off the center, but Zelda was satisfied, and Link was pleased.
"Good, Zel! See, you can do it!"
Zelda shrugged, blushing.
"Now we must duel." Link ran back to the storage room.
Zelda groaned.
"Liiiink…how could I possibly defeat you in a duel?"
"You can't, but do it anyway." He tossed her a sword with a smile and she caught it by the hilt. "You're a challenge for me."
"Oh, I'm flattered."
"On guard." Link stood in his fencing stance, sword pointed at Zelda.
Zelda also stood in her stance.
The two circled each other for a few moments, swords pointed toward each other. Zelda jumped forward and her sword clashed against Link's, who threw her off gently with one arm. Then he attacked with sudden fierceness and Zelda had to dodge out of the way.
"C'mon, Zel!" Link said. "You're so hesitant! Afraid?"
His answer was a horizontal swing of Zelda's sword at his head that came so fast he had to duck.
"Not exactly, hero," she said determinedly.
Right, left, up, over, down, cross, slash. The fight went on and on. Link's sword flew up by Zelda's ear. She dodged in time to spare her ear, but a few strands of blonde hair fell to the ground.
"Hey, that's my hair!" Zelda shouted.
"It'll grow back, at least it wasn't your ear," Link answered innocently.
Zelda scowled. She ducked down and swung at his feet, causing him to jump. Zelda groaned in frustration and began to madly attack him, but he dodged every blow. Their swords rang loudly every time they met.
"Stop it!" Zelda shouted.
"What?" Link shouted back.
Zelda continued to swing her sword at him, but with more accuracy and strategy. She glanced ahead of her and saw a small cove where the small stream entered the courtyard. It was a perfect trap for Link. She smiled inwardly and continued to back Link towards the cove.
Sure enough, Link backed far enough so that his heels were not on solid ground.
"Wha-?"
Zelda laughed and pushed him backwards with the tip of her sword. His boots splashed into the shallow stream and his back hit a wall. It was a cove, so Link had nowhere to run. He looked calmly from the tip of her sword to her triumphant expression on her face.
"Now I have you, hero," she said proudly, putting a hand on her hip. "Do you yield?"
Link's eyes wandered above him and settled back on Zelda.
"I think not."
Link's hand that held his sword had been pressed against the wall beside him above his head, but now it swung down onto Zelda's sword with immense speed, forcing it downwards. Then he leaped upwards, did a flip in the air, and landed on his feet behind her.
Zelda spun around to face him.
"How…? You are truly amazing, Link."
Link grinned and swept her a bow. The duel raged on. Left, right, up, down. White sparks shone when the two swords scraped against each other. They fought across the courtyard and up the small steps onto the stone area. Link managed to get Zelda flat against the wall with a window on it. By now both were sweating a fair amount and catching their breath.
"Yield, princess," Link said breathlessly.
Zelda had other plans. Before Link knew it, she had forced herself backwards through the window and into the castle. A small thud told Link she had not landed on her feet. She popped back up, grinned at him, and started backing away.
Link rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated groan. Then he climbed through the window after her.
She stood in the center of the throne room, hand on her hip, and sword pointed lazily at the ground. For some reason, Link thought she looked rather pretty at that moment. Very pretty…
He approached her and they continued their duel yet some more. Soon Zelda had him pressed against the wall again, and they were both gasping for breath. For a minute, Link was just glad to lean against the wall. Zelda's face was proud, but she looked as if she just wanted to get the duel over with.
"Yield…hero…"
Link stared at her, still catching his breath. Her hair was wet with sweat and stuck to the side of her face. She leaned forward slightly, sword pointed at him, her mouth open to catch her breath.
Then he saw it.
The grip on her sword was loose, and that was her mistake. In a flash, he swung his sword in a circular motion, and jerked upwards violently. This caused her sword to roll off his and fly up into the air. Zelda stepped back in surprise, but Link stepped forward and caught her sword by the hilt without even looking up. With a proud smile, he pointed both her sword and his own at the shocked princess.
"Now, your highness, you must yield."
Zelda blinked.
"Fine, I yield!" She tried to avoid his eyes, but looked at him in surprise when he started laughing.
"Zelda, that was a very good fight! You certainly are a challenge for me." He handed her back her sword, and she took it. Then it was her turn to start laughing. They both laughed together until they heard clapping. They both turn to see who it was.
"I was watching you two the whole time, and I must say, that was amazing." Impa said rather proudly.
Link and Zelda beamed.
Impa saw that they were both sweating, and shook her head.
"It's about noon, you two. Maybe you should…bathe before you leave…hm?"