Author's note: Last chapter, everyone! Okay, this chapter probably has the biggest fluff in the whole story. (LOTS O' FLUFF...) It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside... well, enjoy! Oh, yeah! I baked my first batch of cookies all by myself! (I think it was a little late, I'm approaching my first days as a freshman... isn't that sad?) They're salty though. (DANG IT! I thought it was 1 ½ tsp of salt! I should have worn my reading glasses...) Well, enough of that... enjoy! (I'm just really proud of my stinky cookies...)

The Hero that Holds my Hope- ending

Everything was dark around Link, and he was lying on the ground. Eventually, he opened his eyes and saw a bright figure before him. Flinching, he slowly made out the image of a young woman. She wore a white gown so beautiful and she descended upon Link like a falling wind. She touched his cheek and lifted his head. Link stared, with his eyes half open, as he still remained scathed. He then heard her voice, and it sounded so familiar to him, it almost put him to sleep.

"Oh, how I have longed to touch you once more... Link."

Was this Link's mother? Her voice sounded so familiar to him, even though he could not recall the memories he had of it. He could not move, even though he wanted to, but he was comforted by his mother's touch. He quietly listened to her words.

"Your time of death has not come yet... your hope has pulled you through, and your love for her is proof enough for you to breathe once more..."

She kissed him on the forehead. It was a mother's kiss, so tender, and so sweet. Link was glad he even did have a mother, he looked at it as his own blessing to him, and that an angel that was sent to him as a gift so precious and pure. He shed a tear of joy, and said only one word to her. It was his first word Link's mother had ever heard from him.

"Mother..."

Link's eyes closed once again before she spoke her last words to him.

"I love you, Link... my precious son..."

Zelda was walking along the battlefield, filled with death and broken flags and shattered shields. Dust flew in the air and Zelda's nose felt so itchy and her throat dry. However, her strength was returning to her slowly now that Ganondorf was gone, but the void in her was not filled because of the absence of Link. She slowly walked to the ruins of Ganon's Tower. Somehow, Zelda knew that Link was alive, he was the hero that held her hope, her true love. Zelda looked in piles of rubble and ruined stone for her love, until she had seen a glimpse of his hand and she rushed to him and uncovered what lay above him.

Link was so weak he could barely open his eyes, even though he was awake. He felt the wind scrape the top of his head. He eventually opened his eyes and looked up to see Zelda there. She seemed like an angel to him, she was so beautiful, and she had seemed brighter in appearance at the time and her light drowned out the red and dusty sky. She had bent down and reached for him and she had brushed away the bangs covering his eyes. She then held Link close to her and wrapped her arms around him after stroking his cheek. Zelda was so happy to see him, and reality did not play the cruel role, but a sweet and comforting role. Link then weakly lifted his arms and placed his hands on her back, and shed another tear of joy, before falling asleep in her grasp. Her sweet voice had comforted him as she said to him,

"You're safe now..."

He woke up eventually, in a bed with a change of clothes and his hat off. Bandages were on his arms, legs, as well as his face. Link's eyes slowly opened, and he noticed a light shining down on him through a window. Link looked in front of him and noticed Zelda sitting in front of his bed. She slightly smiled before she began to chuckle slightly with joy. Link smiled as well, and began to chuckle along with her. Soon their giggles turned into laughs just as the ones at the beginning of the year.

Zelda leapt into Link's arms and let him hug her tightly. Saria and Mido came in as well, and were overjoyed to see Link awake. They rushed in and went beside the bed and had bright child-like looks on their faces. Link gave them a smile, which reflected the child in him. Malon came in as well, and Link gave her a smile of greeting too. However, he set his gaze to Zelda and smiled once more. Her face seemed to tell him, "welcome home" when their gazes met. Zelda buried her face into his chest as she felt his fingers running through her hair. Once again, they had each other...

A celebration was held to rejoice the freedom and liberation of Hyrule once again. It was out on Hyrule Field under the night's sky. The stars shone brightly as they glimmered in the deep blue sheet that engulfed them. Link sat under the moon alone looking out at the crowds. It was a lively place, and it lifted his spirits, but he still had a tug of regret pulling at his heart. Link's eyes began to scan the multitude slowly. In the midst of the crowds he noticed Zelda in her common maidens' dress. She stuck out like a white rose amongst red ones to him. He rose to his feet and approached her slowly; he had to tell her how he felt about her at that moment.

When he met up with her, Zelda turned around and noticed him as well. She smiled brightly and greeted him cheerfully.

"Hello, Link!"

Link smiled and bowed his head out of respect for the princess, he did not realize it, but he had not done that to her in a long time. Link was about to speak, before Zelda had interrupted him.

"Are you enjoying tonight?"

Link sighed deeply, then took a deep breath. He was more nervous than a paranoid cat and a warm feeling was in his stomach. He looked down at his hand and found it shaking. He couldn't think of anything to say to her, however, he decided to start by answering her question.

"Yes I am... but I will regret it if I do not say something tonight..."

Link was bright red when he spoke to her, and he tried to remain focused on her eyes, and not look down at his feet. Zelda cocked her head in confusion.

"What do you want to say?"

"On my journey... it was your words that pushed me through the hard times. Each day I thought of you, and dreamt of you..."

Zelda remained staring at him as her cheerful, bubbly gaze softened, and that brought Link to have sweat running down his face. He decided to take her hand. She looked down and found that Link was shaking horrendously. Zelda realized he was going to tell something to her that must be very, very important.

"Zelda... now I look at you not as a friend... but as my love... the gift I shall give you after my journey this time... shall be asking your hand in marriage for you to be this man's wife."

Zelda's smile widened. She knew he was too serious to be kidding around, she awaited his next words. So that she may respond to them. Link knelt on his knee, showing his humbleness to her, and still held her hand, and looked at her deeply in the eyes. He found the courage to say the words he had been meaning to say for so long, for each passing day.

"Zelda..." He had gulped, "will you marry me?"

Link could hardly breathe properly, he was so dead nervous awaiting her answer. Somehow he felt she would say no, but to his surprise she knelt too and hugged him tightly. She giggled as her embrace tightened even further around him.

"Why of course, Link... I would be so honored to be your wife..."

Link wrapped his arms around her as well, and they had not noticed, but a crowd gathered around them and clapped when Zelda had accepted. Even after the applause, they did not care whether they were being watched or not. It seemed at that moment just the two of them were alone.

So they were happily married shortly after. On their wedding day, Zelda appeared to Link as an angel again, as it seemed. Both of them sat on a bench together, and Link had his arm over Zelda's shoulder and held her close to him. Zelda felt safe in his embrace and as he leaned his head on hers. She had lifted her hand on his and rubbed her thumb against the back of his hand.

"Link..."

"Hm?" He replied to her, still calm as he could ever be.

Zelda had lifted her head to face him and almost got lost gazing into his deep azure blue eyes, which were like sapphires, "I'm so glad you're with me..." She said, "I've always loved you..."

"I've always loved you too..." Link had replied to her.

The air between them was getting thin until it had went into nothing. Link had gently set his lips against hers and lifted his hand slowly, stroking his hand upward against her back, to take hold of the back of her head. Zelda had taken both her arms and rested them on Link's shoulders. That day, so many things seemed to be resolved, it was the end of something, but the beginning of a whole other stage.

Link had promised Zelda he would never leave her alone again, and always remain by her side even unto death. Now, Link is seen walking down a path after a morning walk and a little boy running toward him and both of them laugh along with each other. Link picks him up and approaches Zelda, and draws from her lips a kiss between husband and wife.

No sword or any other weapon could break a bond of friendship. No force or power can crash it down or forsake them. It cannot break the thing that holds the bond together... love and hope. Just as Link and Zelda could never be separated, hope is what held them together, and their love would never break because of it.

The End...

of

The Hero that Holds my Hope

Author's note: THE END! Was that a good ending to the story, everyone? All you guys who reviewed are so-o-o-o-o GREAT!!! Thanks a lot!!! (I don't know if I will but I might add a poem after this that goes with the story... it's a possibility.)

Special thanks:

Janus Kamaren: Yes! Fight scenes are good! Well, I hope you liked the conclusion of my first fan fiction to put on a website! (Obviously this isn't my very first, knowing that I have had plenty of writing experience with Zelda fan fics... But I don't have that much experience in baking cookies...)

kat-SageOfWisdom-princessZel: I would NEVER kill off Link! He's too cool to be killed off in a fan fiction! The farthest I would go is kill him off and bring him to life. Actually, I have plenty of fan fiction ideas... I just need to develop them a little bit more. I'm not sharing any, though. I hoped you liked the conclusion! (In fact, I was thinking of a POTC kind of thing... but it isn't as good as another idea I have... heh, heh...)

Katana Midori-Fading Shadow: (Oo! I like pepperoni pizza hot pockets!) Don't try to confuse yourself, you'll only get even more confused... but if your already confused... (NOW I'M GETTING CONFUSED...) Sorry you came back so late! Well, I hope you enjoyed the conclusion!

BluSakura: Aw man! The soda's gone! Wait... hold on a minute... (inhales deeply) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Now that's out of my system... Anyway, I hoped you really liked the conclusion! At least Link didn't REALLY die... (only the soda did... sniff, sniff...)

LadyofDemons45: I don't really cry that much, either. Only if something REALLY major happens... like Link really dies or something... Okay, I'm not very good at giving advice, but here it goes... when I do fight scenes I try to explain every detail, like the sounds that the swords/weapons make. I have a tendency to put blood in everything, but don't put too much in because it gets kind of tacky then. I also, slip in a bit of the characters' emotions maybe, and I'm sure to make it a little fast paced so the reader could be engaged into the literature. That's the best I could do in advice, did it help any? Anyway, I hope you liked the conclusion!

VANHELSING66(6): I'm glad you like my stories! If you click on my profile you can see more. I hope you liked the conclusion to "The Hero that Holds my Hope"!