Author's Ramblings and Useless Comments: Hearty apologies that I did not get this out sooner. Don't know how much time I sat staring at the screen drawing a complete, total blank. Hopefully I will get the next chapter out faster. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy.

****
Present
Zelda awoke from her light sleep from where she lay on the ground next to the dying embers of the campfire. Link was stretched out to her right at a respectful distance away. His brown hair was lightly tousled from rolling from one side to the other on the earth. Impa lay to her right, her hand lightly clenching the handle of her knife as she lay sleeping.

A small melody reached her ears, it was simple, a pattern of three notes being repeated with some variation. It was hauntingly simple yet beautiful at the same time. Glancing a slight distance away from the campfire in front of her she could make out Link the Hero of Time resting his back against a tree, playing a small instrument as he sat up on watch. He had claimed this was a special ocarnia, one that the Royal Family of Hyrule held in its possession and enabled him to travel through time itself. Unable to fall back asleep, she quietly got up and made her way to where he was sitting. Dropping down next to him, she curled up with her chin on her knees and sat and listened to him play.

He stopped playing, staring into the campfire as if mesmerized by red glowing of the coals. "It is called Zelda's Lullaby."

"After your wife?"

He chuckled slightly. "I suppose so, though I never stopped to ask. She had it taught to me on my first quest to save Hyrule." He looked down almost reverently at the ocarnia in his hands. "It has the power to open many doorways otherwise locked, but on nights like these I find its main use is to soothe the soul."

"You miss her, don't you."

"More than I would miss my arm if it were gone from my body."

They both sat in silence for a while, staring at the remains of the fire.

"So you are a noble, back in your time?"

He looked at her surprised. "No. In fact quite the opposite. I was orphaned, before I can remember. I actually grew up in the forest, and did not know I was Hylian until Ganondorf threatened the land."

"Then how did you and your Princess.I mean."

"She is stubborn. Even more so than I am at times." He laughed, shaking his head and looking at the ground, remembering. "You should have seen the council the day she announced to them that we were engaged. I have never seen so many obstinate people in one room. They started yelling and screaming about how she was going to destroy the monarchy." He looked back up at her. "You see she is the sole heir to the throne. They had a neighboring King all set for her to marry. They saw me as merely some dirty, uncivilized forest dweller Zelda felt sorry for. One of the consequences of traveling through time, I suppose. No one remembers that you once saved Hyrule."

"So how did you get them to relent?"

He scratched his head. "Well, I guess you could say we ignored them. Zelda and I decided to elope. She snuck out of the castle and we made our way to the Temple of Time to have Raru marry us."

"Who is Raru?"

He paused for a moment, thinking. "I guess you would compare him to a wise man here, classified somewhere between a mage and a minister."

"So.. what then?" Zelda was leaning forward, eagerly engrossed in the tale.

"Well, her father got wind of what we were up to, and marched with the entire palace guard to stop us. I thought for a moment that I was going to spend the rest of my life either at that alter, or rotting in a dungeon with no light. But Zelda, she stood between him and me, her face right in his, and said that she would rather give up her throne and live in squalor than give up her love. It rendered that entire chamber speechless, including me. Luckily, the King finally shook his head and agreed. But he insisted on a waiting period, for him to get to know me and for me to prove to him I was worth her."

****
Past
The ranks of soldiers were training in front of me. They looked so young. And so untrained. Many of them were young lads just recently off of their parents' farm, looking for a career or a way to make a decent living. For those with no money and no learning soldiering was a tempting option. As Princess of Hyrule, it was my duty each morning to review the troops and offer any words of encouragement I could.

Link used to do this with me. My father had placed him in charge of the army shortly after our attempted elopement. He had been uncomfortable with the duty at first, having no formal military training or experience leading people. I can remember the hours he spent with the senior staff pouring over military manuals and arguing tactics. But more importantly to the men whom he commanded, I can remember the hours he spent among them, getting to know them. I was always amazed that he seemed to know everyone by name, and even remembered little minute details about their lives. And his men loved him for it. I could see it in their eyes as they would watch him walk past. They knew that he genuinely cared about their well being over the simpering politics of the land.

I missed him especially at times like this. We needed him to defend this kingdom. We needed him to give us the hope that we would need to fight off this foreign invader.

I rubbed my stomach unconsciously. "Unfortunately for us, little one, he is not here." I looked up, suddenly realizing that I had spoken out loud, and glad that no one was in my near vicinity to hear it. "But you know, with you here, I feel like he is."

Suddenly, I knew what I should do. A group of men sat nearby, playing cards after being released from the rigors of morning drill practice. I drew up a stool and sat next to the three, which had stopped their chatter and were staring at me with mouths slightly agape.

"Looks like you could use a fourth player."
*****
Present
Link stretched out his long legs as the four companions sat next to a modest fire. "Ugh," he groaned, "I am never taking Epona for granted again."

The other three chuckled lightly and Zelda asked, "Who is Epona?"

"My horse." Link began to remove his boots as he grinned sheepishly. "Guess I have spent to much time at the castle lately, me feet are even going soft." He wiggled his toes to emphasize his point.

Impa smiled, and went back to stirring the pot that contained their supper. She had come to enjoy the young man's company over the past few days as they traveled from Lyrian to Hyrule. The endless hours walking provided ample opportunity to talk, and talk they did. Link had attempted to warp them with his ocarnia, but either due to the distance from the Temple of Time, or the condition of the building itself, it had not worked. They had instead relied on the knowledge Link had gained in his travels before he had been assigned as the Princess' guard. The Hero of Time had not been able to provide any technical help on the layout of the land; but had provided Link with an extra pair of eyes and experience of wilderness living as they made their way cautiously back to Hyrule.

They ate their dinner in relative silence, pausing their eating from time to time for a bit of idle chitchat. Zelda broached the subject first; it had been eating at her the entire distance they had traveled from Lyrian. "So what do we do when we reach Hyrule?"
Silence prevailed. The camp was so silent that they could hear the wind gently rustling the leaves of the trees and the chirp of the nighttime insects as they went about their revels. Everyone knew exactly what, or rather whom she was referring to. Taryn would no doubt be furious that his marriage plans for his sister had fallen through, and they could only guess what kind of revenge he would extract. Zelda had visions of being shipped off to marry a man in the farthest kingdom from Link that her brother could manage, while her knight rotted in a dungeon deep inside the castle.

Impa finally was the one who spoke. "Why go back. I mean, we have to in order for the Hero to get back to his home and time period, but that does not mean we have to stay. I have always dreamed of living in a small house by the ocean somewhere. As long as you two don't mind putting up with an old woman like me."

Link scoffed. "Old. Yeah right. This coming from the only person in the entire castle who has made me cry for mercy in more than one fencing match." He turned to the Hero of Time, laughing. "And I mean crying literally. I thought she had taken my ear off the first time."

Zelda had gotten up and hugged her oldest friend and companion. "Impa, I would be lost without you. And besides, someone has to keep Link's ego from running rampant."

Link looked shocked and offended. "Hey, I heard that."

Suddenly, the Hero's long ears twitched. "Quiet. I hear someone approaching."

A man stumbled into the small clearing. He appeared to be dirty and unkept, but closer inspection reveled signs that the man had been fighting, and his uniform showed the crest of the Army of Hyrule.

"Link! Man, where have you been?"

"Exeter? What are you doing so far from home?"

"Hyrule is under attack. I am headed out to find my family. They fled when the castle fell, and I have not heard a word since."

The man told over dinner of how Ahenous invaded Hyrule, and was presently killing its citizens and taking over the castle. "He has already killed half the ministers. He says he will not leave until he is given the Princess."

Link looked at Zelda, who was pale and shaking at the news of her country's imminent defeat. "Never." He spat.

Zelda looked back at him. "We have to go back. We can't let our people suffer. Even if that means risking everything we've found." She took his hand in hers and held it to her cheek. "But don't worry. I know we will find a way to be together."

Link nodded, his throat too choked up to risk speaking.

*****
Past
I stood along the ramparts of the castle watching, with Impa, as the sun sank down below the horizon. There had been fierce fighting near this spot, and I could still see the enemy dead that had been left behind after the retreat. The council's voice had been steadily calling for me to marry this invading Prince and end the siege. The Prince had added his own voice, sending minstrels and pages just beyond the fighting lines to sing songs to persuade me to have him. Their voices had become an irritating whine that melded into the backdrop of the castle noise.

My hand unthinkingly went to the spot where a swelling would grow noticeable in a few short weeks. Impa, the doctor, and I were the only ones to know of the coming child. We had laid out plans for me to flee if the siege and war turned against us. Saria and the Kokiri would take me in, out of respect and memory of Link I hoped. Yet another singer started in on a poem lauding my beauty and virtue. I snorted. This Prince had never even seen me face to face, and I would show him how ladylike I was should I ever meet him in person.

A hand on my shoulder caused me to turn, and I saw my father standing behind me. I had not told him yet of the baby, something inside me wanted Link to know first. Though if my husband did not return shortly, I feared my body would betray my secret.

"How much longer can we hold out?" I asked, noticing how the past few weeks' strain had drawn fine lines across his forehead and blackened the area under his eyes.

He sighed, dropping his hand. "A week. Two at the most. Then I will be forced to surrender to them." He looked contemptuously at the musicians. "We just do not have enough supplies to withstand this siege for much longer."

I had never seen him this helpless before. I searched about for something to say, but found nothing. And how could I depress him further by telling him I would be gone by the end of the week.