Author's note: Bwahahaha!! Now if this chapter title doesn't give away the fact that there's a romantic subplot being revealed in this chapter, then I deserve to be shot. It's not as gory as the previous chapters have been, but hey. Who cares? Enjoy…

Scroll XI:

You Should Have Never Said "I Love You"

"Princess… Princess Zelda!!"

Zelda opened her eyes wearily. The first thing she saw was Impa's worried face hovering over her.

"Thank the Goddesses… you're all right!" she said, relieved.

Zelda sat up. She was back in her bedroom. The other Sages were there with her.

"No… please tell me I was dreaming…" Zelda clenched her blankets. Small teardrops made wet marks on the blanket. "Tell me… it's not true… Link…"

She began to cry. "Somebody say something!! Tell me Link's still all right!!" She looked at them. "Please!!" she screamed.

Saria sniffed, her eyes red and puffy. Nabooru was sitting on a couch, her hand over her eyes. Ruto was hugging herself, trying not to cry. Darunia was avoiding looking at Zelda. Impa just sat there. Rauru was looking down at the ground, his eyes closed. Farore was missing.

Impa put her arm around Zelda, and Zelda sobbed into her shoulder.

'No… Link…'

~~~

"Hey."

Both of them broke apart, and stared at Link with wide eyes.

"Link!!" Nayru cried. "You're alive!!"

The Skull Kid smiled. "Link!!" he ran forward and hugged Link. Din came up to, as did Navi, Tatl, and Tael, who hugged him as best as they could. Ralph just stood there, looking like he was about to cry.

"Link…" he said. "I'm… I'm so sorry, Link…"

"It's all right…" Link scratched his head. "But what happened?

"……….Oh…" Link looked at Ralph and Nayru, who were avoiding looking at each other. "And… he hasn't given his response yet?"

"No…" Din sighed. "But no use waiting… He'll tell her…"

"Oh…?" Link turned around. "Why do you say that?"

"He's Ralph, remember? He'll tell her soon.

~~~

Later in the evening…

"OWWWWW!!!" Din wailed as Nayru spread some salve on her cut. "That stings!!"

Nayru smiled and turned to Link, who was edging away from Nayru like she was a wild animal.

"You're pathetic!" Nayru stood up and put her hands on her hips. "The Hero of Time's scared of a few seconds of pain?"

"N-No… but…"

"Oh, come on…" Nayru chuckled. "It'll hurt more if your wounds get infected."

Link sighed and nodded.

"That's better…" Nayru smiled and attended to Link.

Din watched with some amusement, then turned to Ralph, who was lying on the grass.

"Don't you want to…" Din asked.

"Don't need it." Ralph responded.

Din huffed. "You got hurt, didn't you?"

"Just a scratch," he responded.

Din stood up. "Are you going to spend the rest of your life moping about because of something you didn't do!?"

"Hmph."

"What a waste." Din thought, then added. "You know, this would be a great time to tell Nayru-"

"Shut up!" Ralph snapped.

"…You're sorry…" Din looked offended, then went off across the camp.

"…" Ralph lifted his head, watching Nayru silently.

~~~

Even Zelda was amazed at how long she could cry before she didn't have a single tear left. Hours had passed, and nobody in the room had left. Everyone was just in too much shock to believe this was all real.

"…Where's Farore?" Zelda asked, lifting her head.

"She said something inside her started hurting, so she stayed downstairs," Impa responded.

"Princess, are you going to be all right?" Rauru asked.

"Yes…" Zelda looked down. "I… I can't believe he's actually gone… Link…!"

Ruto nodded. "Zelda…" she said quietly.

~~~

Ralph sat, stooped in silence, still in denial about what he had done. As he got up, planning to go off somewhere, he saw someone sitting on top of a hill, on a log, watching the last rays of the sun die. It was Nayru. She had her back turned to the campfire. Seeing her like that brought back the memories of what had happened.

~~~

"Ralph, I love you, dammit! I LOVE YOU!!"

N… Nay…ru……?"

~~~

"Did you mean it… what you said?"

"Every word!"

~~~

'We didn't speak much after that…' Ralph looked down. 'I guess… I guess I should apologize to her...'

He climbed up the hill, approaching her from behind. She heard his footsteps, though, or knew he was there, and turned around. Ralph stopped. It struck him just then how amazingly blue her eyes were.

"Nayru?" Ralph asked, and sat down next to her. "Are you… are you all right?"

Nayru blushed and turned away. "Yes…"

"Nayru…" Ralph looked at her softly, and put a hand on her shoulder "I'm sorry…"

"For what? Nayru asked. "It wasn't your fault."

Ralph closed his eyes and leaned back slightly. "Yes it was… I shouldn't have been so easily fooled. It's just…"

Nayru closed her eyes. "I never thought you were so weak, Ralph."

"Nayru…?" Ralph asked.

"You've always seemed so strong," Nayru said, "And you let yourself be possessed…"

"Nayru, I…"

Nayru chuckled. She was just teasing him, as he did when Veran took her, but she didn't know…

Ralph stood up, getting angry. "She seduced me!" he exploded. "I had no choice!!" He stopped short, realizing what he had said. "Nayru…"

Nayru looked up, tears forming in her eyes. Ralph mentally cursed himself. He loved her, he loved her so much, and this was the second-no, third-time today that he had made her cry.

"I never knew…" Nayru sobbed. "Ralph, I was just joking. I'm so… I'm so… I'm so sorry… It must have been terrible…"

Ralph looked down at his feet. "I didn't know…" he moved behind the log, looking over the campfire. So much passed through his mind: Nayru's being possessed by Veran… nearly sacrificing himself to kill Ambi and save Nayru… and his being possessed by that demon… and Link…

All the time, though, no matter what, Nayru's voice kept playing in his head over and over. "I LOVE YOU!!"

"'I love you…' you shouldn't have said it."

"Huh?" Nayru looked up.

"You should have never said 'I love you'."

"What?!" Nayru turned around. "I had to say something."

"Yes… now they know I have a weakness. If they try to hurt me again, they may come after you…" Ralph closed his eyes and smiled.

"Ralph… are you saying…?"

"Yes, Nayru…" Ralph opened his eyes and turned to her. Nayru's heart beat a little faster, a little louder. "You know what I'm about to say, don't you? I love you, Nayru. Why do you think I was so mad when you were possessed by Veran? I wanted to do everything alone, because…I couldn't bear to lose you before I told you this. And I've always loved you, even when we were little kids…."

And before he knew what he was doing, before Nayru could react, he walked around the log up to her, took her by the shoulders, and gently kissed her. It was a gentle, soft kiss, but it held behind it a flood of emotions that had been kept there forever. And with each passing moment, a little of the feelings drained through the dam, and what remained was intense relief.

Nayru's heart stopped. When it began beating again, she could hear it in her ears. Her stomach flipped over. Her knees went weak. Her eyes welled up.

'Ralph…' Nayru blinked, tears falling down her face. 'I… I… I never knew… In all the years I've known you, I never… thought…'

She closed her eyes and put her arms around Ralph's neck. Ralph slowly slid his hands down her side, wrapping them around her waist. Their kiss deepened. They were conscious of nothing and no one but each other. Across the sky, a shooting star cut a pathway through the night.

Back at the camp, Din and Navi were still awake, and were watching this scene unfold silently.

"Aaah…" Navi sighed. "How romantic."

"Yes…" Din blinked. "But y'know what? Somehow I feel sad that this has nothing to do with us."

After a few moments, they broke apart. Ralph cursed himself again and turned around.

"I'm sorry…" Ralph said quietly. "I shouldn't have forced that on you…"

He began to walk away, but stopped. Nayru had stepped forward and was hugging him from behind.

"No…" she whispered, "It's all right… Please don't go…"

"Nayru…"

~~~

The black light slowly took the form of the demon as she flew into the fortress. She ran into the Angel's room and stopped. The Angel of Death was once again standing at the altar with her back turned to the door.

"So…" the Angel said, her voice filled with ice and anger, "You have failed me again."

"M-My lady… please…" the demon trembled, kneeling. "Please…"

"You failed to bring me the Triforce of Wisdom and you failed to bring me the Triforce of Courage…" The Angel continued, "I have no need for a minion who fails me twice."

"B-But my… my l-lady…" the demon continued to shake. "I brought you the Triforce of Power…"

"That does not matter to me. I asked you to bring me the other two. And you failed."

With that, the Angel of Death reached out from behind her towards the demon. The demon, sensing what was about to happen, wailed.

"No! No, my la-ady!!!"

Instantly, a long bolt of dark purple lightning shot from the Angel's fingers and struck the demon. Pain filled her body like nothing had ever done before. But she managed to cry out:

"My lady!! It was not my fault!!"

"Then whose fault was it?!" the Angel roared over the noise. The demon cried out, then screamed.

"The Goddesses!! It was the Goddesses who stopped me, and they will jeopardize the Apocalypse!!!"

"What?!" The Angel was shocked. But she received no answer.

The lightning stopped, and the demon collapsed. Carrion crows flew from the windows to tear at her dead flesh.

'The… Goddesses…?!'

AAH!!! Another cliffhanger!! And this time, it's a not-so-scary one!! :D. Well, the end of the first book is coming… this is the third to last chapter. And, seriously, who DIDN'T see THAT thing coming? ::looks around audience, nobody raises hands:: Wow, am I that predictable? Lol.

Take care, and expect the next chapter up in a week. I'll be seeing ya!! ;)

~ Megun-chan