A/N:
Sorry for the delay. Writer's block. >.
Disclaimer: If I owned Zelda, I'd probably just end up burning it down anyway. (don't ask…) How, might you ask? Hell if I know. [rotten vegetables are thrown] Oh, for crying out LOUD!
The Carnival
A Picnic at Great Bay
Finally, after Zelda aided Link in cleaning himself up after being pummeled, she was able to go to the tailors and be fitted for a gown. She made Link stay outside, although she would have preferred to have gone alone anyhow. Unfortunately, a promise was a promise: she had agreed to not go off again alone. She consoled her pride by telling herself that Link had made the same promise, too.
After handing the tailor a few extra rupees for the quick production of her gown and the inquiry of a possible men's tailor (for Zelda actually wanted to surprise Link with a new set of dress clothes), she and Link left Clocktown and headed for Great Bay. They were to have a picnic today and possibly go swimming. It was mid-afternoon when they arrived at their destination to find that few people traversed the coast. They were to have it all to themselves.
Zelda simply stood for a moment admiring the beauty of the bay. It was, indeed, great. The water was a crystalline blue; the sun reflected brightly off its surface. Waves lapped gently onto the sandy shore. It was beautiful.
Settling the blanket they had brought onto the white sand, Zelda watched Link silently. His unexpected concern for her safety earlier in the day had unnerved her. She wasn't certain as how to react. It somehow surprised her that he would openly show his anxiety over her well-being – could that possibly denote that he possessed feelings for her? She blushed at the thought.
Link eventually plopped down beside her, a grin plastered on his face while his right eye was a surrounded by the infamous purple bruise. He was completely oblivious to Zelda's odd mood, as always. "So, what did Anju give us to eat?" he asked, already beginning to rummage through the picnic basket. Anju had packed the food for them and sent them off to enjoy themselves today; she had been quite worried about Link's encounter and subsequent brawl. She had said they deserved it.
"Link!" Zelda cried, grabbing the basket out of his hands, "be careful! You'll ruin the food." She set it gently beside her, making certain Link didn't end up smashing or crushing any of the more perishable items. Carefully taking out the food, Zelda found slabs of cheese, warm bread, dried sausages and other meats, grapes and apples, and to her surprise, wine. Thankfully, there was also a fresh canteen of water.
Link burst into laughter. "Anju sent us wine!" he snorted, "as if we were going on some romantic romp here." He took the bottle from Zelda and shook it slightly. "This is grand! Did she send us any glasses?" Peering into the basket, he noticed two glasses wrapped carefully in cloth at the bottom – Zelda must have missed them. Link took them out and unwrapped them while continuing to laugh.
Zelda laughed a little, too, but she soon came to find Link's cynicism on them "going on a romantic romp" hurtful. Placing a careful mask on her emotions, Zelda snatched the wine bottle out of Link's hands. "Maybe we'll open it later. It is still the afternoon, you know; a bit early to be drinking."
Link rolled his eyes. "I think I know when and when not I can hold my liquor, thank you very much," he replied in an annoyed tone. When Zelda simply glared at him, hurt, he sighed. "Sorry. I'm going to go for a swim, alright? Then I'll eat."
Right then, to Zelda's embarrassment, he stripped off his tunic, boots, and stockings, to be only clad in a pair of breeches. He threw his customary cap to Zelda with a grin while she only stared at him. His injury upon his back had stopped bleeding, but it was appeared to still be sore. "Link," Zelda said hurriedly, "are you certain you want to go swimming now? The salt water will hurt something awful on your cut."
He shrugged unconcernedly. "Naw, it's healing. It won't bother me." With that, he was off into the ocean. Zelda sighed, her feelings completely muddled. What was the matter with her?
She had known of the existence of her feelings for Link for a while, but she had never actually admitted them to herself. Logically, she reminded herself, it was in all likelihood infatuation. But her romantic side argued: it was love! It was love that caused her to think of Link every morning and every night, love that caused her to blush when he touched her, love that caused her to stutter when he said something that pulled her heartstrings, it argued. Did that fact that she would do anything upon this Earth for him make any difference? When Link was hurt, she felt his pain. When he was happy, she felt her heart soar to the metaphorical clouds.
Watching him now, Zelda suddenly and utterly instantaneously had a stark realization: she was in love with Link.
She was in love with his smile, his voice, his deep blue eyes, his personality, his intelligence, his talent, his stupid jokes…she was in love with him. It was shocking to her for some reason, and it completely changed the way she looked at him. She soaked him in as he stood in the ocean, pathetically happy.
Princess Zelda of Hyrule was deeply in love with Link, the Hero of Time.
Zelda looked away from the view of him for a moment and stared at the white sand. What was she to do now? Should she tell him? No, no that would simply complicate their relationship. Should she say nothing, act natural, as if every grin of his didn't cause her heart to pound furiously? Unfortunately, she was trapped in an impasse.
She looked up once more to see Link grinning in her direction; she waved, smiling. As he was about to do the same in return, a wave came from behind and splashed his injured back.
"YEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW! DEAR GODDESSES! OOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW! OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW!!!" Link jumped at least three feet in the air and came sprinting from the ocean, seemingly on fire. "Owowowowowowowowowowow!!!" he cried over and over again. He quickly snatched the canteen full of water from the ground and began pouring it onto his back. Unfortunately, his aim was off, and he only ended up making his butt even wetter.
Zelda stood up and took it from him. "You idiot!" she yelled, snorting with laughter. "I told you that would happen!" She then began pouring the water onto his cut, and he eventually stopped swearing profanities and saying "OW!" Wiping his back off gently with one of the cloths used for wrapping the wine glasses, Link sat down and shook his wet hair like a dog.
"Dear Goddesses, that was one of the most painful experiences of my entire life!" he exclaimed, wiping his face with his hand.
"I warned you!" Zelda reprimanded while simultaneously cackling with glee. "You should heed me more often, Link. I do know what I'm talking about in most cases."
He shook his wet hair in her direction, making her get slightly wet. He laughed at her scowl. "That's what you get for laughing at me."
Zelda rolled up one of the cloths and smacked him upside the head. He yelped in surprise. "And that's what you get for getting me wet!" she replied, trying not to laugh at Link's look of mock hurt.
"That hurt," he said, wide-eyed.
"Liar. Did not. I should have hit you on the back."
With a grin, Link suddenly grabbed Zelda and threw her over his shoulder, her upper torso and head dangling over his back. She kicked furiously while laughing, but to no avail. She soon found herself in the cold ocean, now completely wet. Sputtering, she glared at him. "I'm going to get you back so badly, Link," Zelda muttered, rubbing her arms.
"Just try it," he replied, grinning like a fool. Zelda soon left the ocean and went back to their picnic, thoroughly soaked. Although the sun was warm, the combination of the water and breeze were not. Soon, she was shivering with cold. Link wrapped his tunic around her shoulders with a smile. She blushed, again.
"Thanks," Zelda murmured. He could be so caring at times…
"No problem," he replied, currently cutting up the bread and cheese. "Want some?"
"Sure."
Although they had planned on leaving earlier, Zelda and Link ended up staying until the sun went down. They took a walk along the beach; Zelda attempted to build a sand castle, until Link stomped on it and ran away laughing. He eventually found a crab in his pants put there via Zelda. It was certainly a sight to see, a grown man screaming like a girl when his derrière was pinched by an unknown organism. Zelda laughed until her side was splitting.
After that, they sat on the beach and watched the sun go down while drinking the wine. Although they had been sitting apart at first, Link soon wrapped an arm around Zelda and pulled her close. She turned a bright red as a result, but quickly adapted to her situation. Eventually, she laid her head on his shoulder and watched the sun go below the horizon. The colors were magnificent, especially when the sun hit the ocean and made the sky an emerald color. When it was twilight, they packed up the blanket and remaining food. Zelda insisted that Link put his tunic back on; it took the threat of her throwing salt water on his cut again to make him do it. He glared at her some time after.
They returned to Clocktown exhausted. Parting ways for the day, Zelda went to her own room and attempted to get some sleep. Unfortunately, she couldn't stop thinking about Link. Since she had accepted her feelings for what they were, she couldn't get him out of her mind. Especially since she desperately hoped he would return those feelings. Would he? Would he ever say those three coveted words and hold her in his arms and give her sweet kisses? Was it just a fantasy? Zelda wanted his love so badly it hurt – she almost felt the need to cry. With a sigh, she eventually fell into a deep sleep, one she hoped would be full of wonderful dreams of her beloved.
How was that? Fluffy enough for ya? I'm not sure how much longer this'll be, but I'll try to make it go on for a little while longer. K? Great! Now I hope I get loads o reviews! ^^ And I'll try and update my one shot collection soon. And to the people who have given me requests: I have not fogotten about you! I just need some time to think about how to write your ideas. ^____^
To the reviewers from last chappie:
SoulessCalibur: Truthfully, I think my own mind could be considered a muse. [sigh] But I wouldn't be particularly fond of living in a light bulb. Maybe a vacuum. Has more room.
Midnight*Starfire: Alas, I did make Link get the crap beaten out of him. Well, sort of. Anyway, I'm so glad you like this story! But you know what…? [looks around suspiciously] You have 86 reviews on your story, while I have 100; but you have 4 chapters and I have 5. That means…[yanks out calculator] You average 21.5 reviews (although how you can have 1/2 of a review is beyond me) a chapter while I only have 20!!!!!!!!! WHAT???!!! NOOOOOOOOO! I won't stand for this!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOO! (j/k) ^^
linka: Thanks! I will!
blood red stain: [sigh] Yeah, I need to work on that area. [bangs head against wall] That never helps, either. I'm glad you still like the plotlessness!!!!!
sawyerzelda: Well, even though I seem to always have loads o time on my hands, I like to update once a week. Can't update too quickly, or then people might stop reviewing and then that would make me sad and… What???????? Yes, I am manipulative!!! MWHAHAHAHA!!!! [keels over]
PIRO: Ah, yes, Mastercard and Zelda. Brilliant!!!!!! Thanks for the compliment!!
ElvenGoddess: I'm glad you thought it was funny. I'm really enjoying writing Linky and Zelda fighting and yelling at each and stuff like that. It's fun. XD
Story Weaver1: Wow, thanks for reviewing all of my chapters. Might I ask what ROFL means? I can't figure it out…
Demonangel739: Yes, the plotlessness seems to be very popular. Whooda thunk it, I tell ya.
KazeShinai: Yeah, I'm a big time sucker for a good romance. OOH, and I appreciate the cookies. I LOVE COOKIES! And what does "owari" mean, again? I know it's Japanese (duh) but I can only speak a little Spanish…^^
anyone: I can't believe anyone would consider this amazing. [blushes] Thank you so much! ^^
Berlin'sBrownEyes: Ah, yes, the cheesiness is overflowing. And alas, Midnight*Starfire does currently surpass us review-wise. [glares] I'M JUST KIDDING! XD Maybe, someday, hopefully, when I get something published (maybe, hopefully…) I will remember ALL OF YOU! LOL. I feel special. ^^
LauraCeleste: Thanks so much! I'm glad you've enjoyed it thus far. It's been fun writing it. ^__~
Lost Soul 01: [feels all warm and fuzzy inside] You guys are way too nice for your own good, you know that? These reviews always make me feel all special and all that cheesy stuff. Thank you sooooooo much for your superb, incredible, excellent, groovy (^^), terrific, marvelous, magnificent, wonderful, fabulous and super review! ^____^ And I hope you overcome your writer's block. EVILNESS!!
Cat of Darkness: Aw, I love you too. [gives hug] But this isn't your FAVE story anymore??? :( That makes me sad. :( [tear] Maybe I can change that! YES!!
sayinjinj7: Yeah, Linky and Zelda are definitely falling into something… mwahahaha. WAHOOOOOO!
ayachan21: Thanks so much! ^^
yugioh warrior: Well, it can't just be OK if you want the next to chapter to come out so badly. Lol
LostReyn: Thank you so much! I blame my verbal skills on going to a private school for 6 yrs. and reading CONSTANTLY! It really makes a difference. And I'm glad I make 15 yr olds proud. We need all the help we can get… lol PS: what does "Tanoshimi ni shite imasu kara hayaku motto kaite kudasai" mean? Unfortunately, I only know some Spanish. XD
silent-angel510: I wish there was something more creative than "thank you", but that's all I can up with. So, thank you! ^^
TenTen Hyuga: Don't hurt yourself. Lol I'm glad it's bloody freaking awesome. ^^
Cucco Lady: Wouldn't be cruel if I decided not to finish it? Lol, that would be so MEAN! But I'm too nice and I would never do that. ^^
cailtin: Naw, you wouldn't want to meet me. I'm a rather boring person. ^^ But I've never actually inspired anyone before. Wow. I'm glad you've starting writing, now. I sure love doing it! ^_____^
LaAriella: Thanks so much! I really love your Ruto story too. ^^
Keiko Matsumori: Yey, more romance! ^____~
Silver Nitemare: I'm so glad I'm not alone in liking fluffy goodness! Lol, I'm obsessed. I need a life! Thanx for reviewing!
im feeling empty: Yey! 100 reviews! It must be a record! Lol
