Author's note: Guess what... There's fluff in this chapter! Fluff is starting to unfold... tee hee... I hope you enjoy this chapter! (Special thanks at the bottom)

Chapter 4: A Wish for Freedom

Link had noticed Zelda slightly squirming in his warm embrace and he had heard her groan. Zelda had at last come to and she had lifted her head and looked around hastily, as her hair flew back. Link pressed her against him to show that he knew she was awake. Zelda had looked back and saw Link glance down at her, but quickly looked up to the road. Zelda saw a slight hint of deep worry in his eyes and she had wondered what troubled him so. However, she did not bother to ask, in fear of deepening the worry and perhaps sorrow.

In the distance she saw before her a burning town with smoke rising into the gray sky. It took her a while to realize that that was the town which she had met Link. A feeling of worry pulled at her heart as well and she felt her heart pounding. They had reached the town almost a second too late, the guards had vanished and had left the townspeople in suffer. The men hurried in and intended to find any survivors that were left only in harm. Link jumped off Epona with Zelda following and quickly rushed to the house were the old man in the beginning lived. Link was terrified to see it burnt down to the state of rubble.

He had rushed over to the ruins and began searching through the rubble despite that part of the house was still on fire. Zelda stood behind him, watching in mere shock as Link threw the pieces of wood aside in different areas of the house. At last he had heard a cry call out his name and immediately reacting to it, Link raced to where it had emanated from. He threw the pieces of wood aside to find the old man there. He was bruised badly, and looked as if he had a few broken bones.

"Gramps..." Link said trying to remain calm and not burst out screaming.

"You are too late... the soldiers have already destroyed the town... Just leave before they might come back!" He had said weakly.

Link shook his head, putting the old man's arm around his neck and lifting him up from the ruins of the house, "No, I won't leave without you coming with me."

The old man sighed and mumbled to himself how young people can be so demanding sometimes, and finally gave in to Link's stubbornness. Several of the men had gotten survivors as well, including crying women and children. As they were picking them up and placing them on horses both their own and those who remained alive, Zelda had noticed someone calling out to her. She rushed over to the sound and found a boy that looked as if he was in his late teens. He had red hair that covered one eye and blue garb, which also looked different than the others.

"Dear lady... don't leave me..." He had spoken in a hoarse voice, which sounded very weak.

"Don't worry..." Zelda said helping him up, "We won't leave you..."

Just as they were about to leave, they had made just enough room for the teen boy to carry on. The rescuers had decided to take the townspeople to a place suitable for shelter. It had grieved them to see tears coming from women who had just become widows and men just in pure shock to have seen their whole families slain before them. It was like one horrendous nightmare, but reality kept its place, therefore making it worse for the troubled. It had taken hours before they had reached a large cave where they had dropped the townspeople off and there the healthy tended to their wounds.

As Zelda walked in after Link had rushed the old man into the caves along with others as well, she noticed some of the children crying and even infants over their loss. Zelda overheard a young boy crying over his mother.

"Where's mama!? Where's mama!?"

That brought her to tears as well. Somehow she felt that she had caused this in the past, and she thought that this was somehow all her fault. Zelda felt so guilty, suffering the near unbearable pain that the townspeople were going through at that moment. So this was the Age of Darkness, a terrible age where sorrow's hand smote the innocent and blood stained the fields. This was the Age of Darkness, ruled by a most evil man, bringing suffering and pain to those who did not deserve a taste of it.

Zelda had gone beside Link, almost nearly breaking out crying. Link was tending to the old man's wounds and ensuring that he would stay alive. Link was so relieved to find that the old man only had a broken arm and a sprained ankle with only a few cuts here and there, it was like a miracle to him. Zelda found Link now wrapping bandages around the wounds, which he had recently stopped the bleeding.

"Link, you stubborn boy... you should have left me, I'm only an old man and destined to die soon."

"Don't be ridiculous," Link replied tying the last knot on the last bandage, "I would regret it if I had left you there."

The old man noticed Zelda near Link and perked up, "Oh, it's you! Have you recovered from that little bump on your head?"

Zelda nodded solemnly, still suffering from what she had previously seen, "Yes... Mr... um..."

"Oh, sorry, after all the things I've done for you and I haven't even introduced myself... My name is Einan."

Zelda barely smiled before she noticed the teen boy in the corner of her eye. She turned her head to him and found that he was asleep. She had turned toward Link, who was wiping his hands with a damp cloth. Gently, she tugged at his shoulder to get his attention.

"Link... about that boy over there... how is he?"

"Oh, Ralph?" Link replied, "He's fine when it concerns his wounds, but he is not doing so well emotionally. It turns out his family was slain right before his eyes."

Zelda tried to ignore the last part, trying to keep herself from crying. She slouched over and gave out a heavy sigh. Zelda thought this would all just end up being a nightmare. However, no matter how many times she told herself to wake up, she would not. Reality was evil to her at those times, not only that, but the cloud of forget. She was torn between the worlds both of dark and unknown, not knowing where to turn to next, she just remains.

Later when it was night, Zelda lay on her blanket Link had laid out for her to sleep on. However, she could not fall asleep, only listen to the cave's voice as she just lay there with her eyes open. Zelda sat up, troubled and just observed her surroundings. It was far quieter than that afternoon, the only thing that could be heard was the wind of the cave, and the drops from the rocky roof falling to the ground and the occasional snore coming from people in the room, one of whom was Link. However, he was a little more quiet than some, it was just a mere breath not the loud and irritating thunder-like sound.

However, to her surprise, Link's snores had died out and he had awoken before he had shocked Zelda by speaking. The unexpected voice made her jump a little and she jolted her head to the side where she had heard it.

"What are you doing awake?" Link asked in a groggy voice.

"Oh..." Zelda said with her eyes slightly widened, "I can't sleep..."

Link sighed and sat up as well, "Well, now that I'm awake, I guess I can't fall asleep again, now can I?"

Zelda slightly chuckled. How strange Link could be, before they had left the hideout, he had seemed to be in a not so good mood. However, no he was trying to make her happy it seemed. Surprise met Zelda when she had shivered in the cold bitter air of the cave and Link took his arm around her to keep her warm. She was now stiff instead of cold, stiff out of shock. However Zelda could not deny that se was enjoying herself, in the warmth of her rescuer's embrace. Her ear pressed against his chest and he could hear his heart pounding, as if he was nervous. A strange feeling leaked through Zelda, one that she could not recognize. Link felt the same as well, except he could recognize the feeling, because he wasn't lost in confusion like Zelda was. Link couldn't believe it; he was developing feelings for his enemy, the one who had killed his parents and destroyed his town! He was feeling a bit silly now and loosened his grip around her, and then to make himself feel a little bit better he started another conversation.

"Zelda... this Age of Darkness must come to an end..." He said to her still sweating a little out of being nervous.

"End... the Age of Darkness?" Zelda replied with a bit of confusion, however those words did have a nice sound to them.

"I have long suffered the consequences of this era, and there is no doubt that I burn with resentment over what Ganondorf has done to me. So..."

Link turned his head toward Zelda as she looked up at him, "I want to set out, and hunt him down... I've never seen freedom in my life... and I want to before I die."

Zelda paused for a moment. That thought never reached her mind before. This Ganondorf, he was the one controlling her, the one who placed the necklace around her neck. Somehow she wanted revenge toward him as well and Zelda found herself speaking up to Link.

"I will go with you."

"And I too!" Another voice said.

Both jumped and looked over to where the voice had come from. It was Ralph, awake and well. He was right beside them and he had a sneer on his face.

"Ralph!" Link said, not expecting another person in their conversation.

"After what the Hyrulian soldiers did to my family, I cannot forgive their master, this 'Lord Ganondorf.'" Ralph started, "So I insist I go with you."

"But you're only a young boy..." Zelda said.

"What do I have to loose?" Ralph said lowering his head, "I lost my family, and it is only my right to avenge their deaths..."

Link and Zelda looked at each other as if parents discussing an issue with a child, and the child had given them a decision. Once again they turned to Ralph and nodded slowly. Ralph replied with a smile and lay down again, hearing a sigh come from Link. Zelda went away from Link's warm embrace and into the cold air once again. She felt much better in his arms, but she wanted to be freed of them for the moment. She laid down back on her blanket as Link sighed as well and did the same as she. Both of them had a very hard time falling to sleep, and even had a few more conversations before actually one of them drifted off to slumber, which was Zelda who had. Link had just about started another conversation when he had not heard her reply and looked at her to see that Zelda had closed her eyes and fell asleep as well.

The next morning the remaining townspeople and men from the hideout were bidding them farewell and good luck on their journey. They each had their own horses to ride on and as they pressed forward and gave their last waves. Zelda looked around and found herself doing what she thought she would never do.

Author's note: How was that? Tee hee... did you catch the fluff between Link and Zelda? Wooo it was fun writing that... so there's one more thing... REVIEW! By the way, Ralph is from Oracle of Ages if he sounded a bit familiar.

Special thanks:

Brownblade: Would you look at that, you're first on the list again! Thanks for reviewing! Short review, but thanks!

LadyofDemons45: If I EVER get an agent... you might see my novel in bookstores... so in the meantime of finding an agent, I'm writing all these fan fictions! Thanks for reviewing!

Kat-SageOfWisdom-princessZel: No abandoning fan fictions! I don't like it if people do that, it leaves people twitching with their eyes bloodshot and saying, "WHAT HAPPENS NEXT... WHAT HAPPENS NEXT... WHAT HAPPENS NEXT..." Especially if it's a good fan fiction. (Did you have a lot of sugar before reading this fan fiction? I guess screaming out the first sentence is a sign of being hyper.) Thanks for reviewing!

tani-chan: Yayy!!! Well, here is the long expected chapter you have been waiting for! I love writing this one... it's so fun... and it's going to be long too! Thanks for reviewing!

Crescent-Wish-Forever: Wee!!! Now you know what happens after the last chapter! But... I think now you want to know what happens next, don't you? Thanks for reviewing!

pen-gurl: No, I insist on thanking everyone, it's part of being polite and I'll do anything to make someone's day! Hope I've made your day today by updating! Thanks for the review!