Title: Broken Promises
Game: Zelda
Rating: G
Genre: Romance
Summary: As peace and order returned to Hyrule, he left. But a certain princess has sworn to herself that she will find her best friend and bring him back.
Warning: none
Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time belongs to Nintendo.
A/N: Yeesh, this is going to be weird, seeing how many different perspectives I have to write from this time. There's Sheik, Link, Zelda and Romani… XP
But look how quickly I updated!
Chapter 15
Going to the town was a good distraction from the anxiety and impatience I had been feeling earlier regarding the approach of tomorrow. I had never been to town before in Termina and I could tell as soon as I approached the Eastern Gate- which was the closest to the Milk Bar I was supposed to be delivering the milk to- that this town was nothing like Hyrule's. It was bigger, and I guess for that reason, seemed less packed. The people here also seemed a lot nicer… if you passed someone in Hyrule Marketplace, they'd most probably push you aside to get to the bargain you were blocking them from at a stall a metre away. Here one would give an friendly smile to a passer-by. Especially one transporting what seemed to be the most consumed beverage in the land. It was evident from the moment that I arrived at the Milk Bar, run by Romani's sister and uncle, who seemed to enjoy constantly bickering, that this delivery would take a while. I didn't exactly mind, though, seeing that I had nothing better to do and this would most probably help pass the time.
Romani stood at the mirror in her room, pulling roughly at her wet hair with a brush. Her skin was red from the hot water and intense scrubbing she had forced herself to undergo when she took her bath. The last of the tangles finally fell apart and Romani's red hair now hung straight down. With a small noise of satisfaction, she began to dry it and dressed herself. With one final glance at the mirror, she deemed it satisfactory for her to go out and meet Link now… only realising with a pang of dread as she made her way down the stairs, that there was another woman with Link.
Zelda was getting tired of waiting. This girl had already taken fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes were wasted while she could have been out there searching for Sheik. She looked at Link, who didn't seem to mind the wait and was stroking Epona and was humming Epona's Song, looking rather distant and hoped that this wait was going to be worth it.
Link gazed off into the vast blue expanse of sky with a small smile touching his lips, wondering how things had changed with Romani in the last seven years. She had looked rather messy when they had briefly met before but looking past that, Link could tell that she had developed into a woman of considerable beauty. From the small glance he had received of her eyes, he could tell that they were wide open to her soul, her every emotion clear in those crystal blue pools, such a contrast to her bright fiery red hair. His smile spread and he snapped out of his reverie and shook his head.
What was he thinking?
He glanced over to Zelda and smiled slightly, noticing that she looked impatient.
'Love is…' Link thought to himself, trying to find the correct word and then grinned, '…like insanity.'
He had harboured feelings for Zelda before deep within his heart, but now they had almost completely faded away as he realised her love for Sheik and also had realised that the feelings he had for Zelda were never love… he doubted they were even close to the emotion. He had never felt love for a woman so he couldn't tell what Sheik must have been feeling or thinking when he ran from Zelda, and he couldn't understand how much it must have hurt Zelda, and though this awareness of his not knowing things aroused his curiousity, he was undoubtedly glad that he hadn't been forced to have the feelings himself.
His thoughts went back to Romani and he grinned again, wondering if she would still call him his old nickname of-
"GRASSHOPPER!"
Link let out an audible laugh as he heard her voice, carrying the familiarity of an old friend, touched up with the sweet sound of womanhood and carrying with it her emotions, of joy intermingled with fear. A curious combination, Link noted as he stood and spread out his arms, motioning for a hug.
Romani's blue eyes brightened up even more as she let out a small laugh and ran into his arms, "Hey!"
"How've you been?" Link asked, squeezing her before letting go.
"Lonely!" Romani mock-whined, "You shouldn't have left me all alone like that! I had no friends after Cremia went to work with Uncle."
Link grinned, "Oh sorry! I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive me."
The two burst out laughing and seemed to not notice Zelda, standing there looking pretty annoyed at the fact that they were acting like long lost buddies (disregarding the fact that they were) and also noting with intense disapproval, that Link still had his arm around Romani's waist.
Clearing her throat, she smiled at Romani and introduced herself, "My name is Zelda. I am the Queen of Hyrule and am Link's close friend. Pleased to meet you."
Romani gave Zelda the biggest smile that she was able to, with a small wave, "I'm Romani. Named after this ranch. Also Link's close friend."
She didn't know what, but inside Zelda, something cracked at Romani's last sentence. Her eyes darkened, though she remained with her sugary smile, "Named after a ranch? That's rather odd, isn't it Link, darling?"
Both Link and Romani started as Zelda wrapped her arm around Link's and pulled him close.
"What are you-" Link began to ask but Romani's eyes had already welled up with tears and she had run away.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" he barked, pushing Zelda away from him.
Zelda looked confused, "What do you mean?"
"This!" he yelled, "You constantly telling others that we're a couple! We're not, Zelda, get it? I don't love you… and I never will! So deal with it!"
To this, Zelda's eyes had begun to water, "Link… I thought-"
"Well you obviously thought wrong, didn't you?" he shouted, "Do you have any idea of how much you may have just hurt Romani just now?"
"Link, I just… don't want you to be with someone who doesn't deserve you! You're… a close friend to me… maybe even like a brother to me… this is what I have learned… I love you, but only as a brother. I just don't want to see you waste your affections on someone not worthy! There are many women out there who would kill for your affections! I just…" Zelda cried earnestly
Link's frown eased slowly and he looked at Zelda and said, "Zelda… you don't need to choose who's worthy and who's not. I'm fully able to decide this on my own. Please, leave this to me."
Zelda began to cry again, "I'm so sorry Link…"
Waving the apology aside, Link ran towards the house to find Romani, leaving Zelda to her guilt.
Romani was washing the dishes inside, with tears streaming down her cheeks. When she was upset, she sought to distract herself and doing housework was a rather effective way of doing so. She… she had loved Link for so long. How long had it been? Only eight years? It seemed like an eternity ago that an innocent boy had wandered into the ranch, and had found his horse, Epona, who she had found wandering around Termina Field and decided to take in until the owner was found.
Lifting the bucket of soapy water, she heaved it outside to the back of the house to pour it out, not noticing Link who had seen her and was running towards her.
"Romani!"
The soapy water slopped onto her skirt as she stopped halfway through pouring it out onto the ground. She slowly turned her head towards him and he flinched slightly in reaction to her tear stained face.
"What do you want? Why did you come here Link? To flaunt your girlfriend to me? Have you been showing her off to everyone in Termina?" she asked quietly, though despite the low volume she spoke at, her words were filled with anger and hurt.
"Romani…" he whispered, walking closer to her, "She's not my girlfriend."
"Then why did she…" she cried and then trailed off as she began crying.
"She's like a sister to me," he assured her, holding her shoulder gently, "and I'm nothing more than a brother to her. She was just unsure whether or not you…"
Romani looked up and Link looked away.
"I spoke to Cremia the other day…"
Romani's eyes widened with horror, "She… didn't…"
Link's eyes found their way back to hers, "I don't want you to think my reason for coming here was as inane as showing off some girlfriend that never mattered to anyone in Termina…"
"Then…why…" Romani whispered, caught in Link's unbreakable stare.
Link's hand went to Romani's cheek, "These tears… what do they run for?"
"My heart, Link…" she whispered, "I thought you broke it."
He gave her a small smile, "How can I break something that doesn't belong to me?"
She laughed, though the stream of tears seemed to thicken and gave Link a small push, "You idiot. I've loved you all along, don't you know?"
He pulled her close and held her gently and whispered into her ear, "All along."
Romani laughed again, "You are cruel. Why didn't you come back?"
Link caressed her, "Why didn't you come to Hyrule to find me? I told you all about my home land."
"I was too scared," Romani confessed, "Who knows how you felt about me… you mask your emotions so well."
"I was a coward," he said with a small grin, "You hide your emotions as well as I do."
He regarded her appearance and added, "Most of the time, anyways. There's only one place people can't hide what they feel."
"Where would that be?" Romani asked, smiling.
Pointing at his eyes, Link smiled, "I remember when I was last in Termina, every time you looked at me, your eyes would brighten up. It's really obvious what someone's feeling, as long as you know the right place to look."
"I love you Link," Romani whispered, tears of happiness shining in her eyes.
Link only smiled and kissed her, gently at first and then with increasing passion as their lips poured out what was almost an entire decade of restrained love.
"I love you too."
Zelda wandered aimlessly through the field of the ranch. What had she done? Impa had always taught her to not allow her emotions to cloud her judgement, but that was exactly what she had gone and done.
Perhaps it was the fact that Link so close a friend to her that she wasn't used to seeing him display any affection for other females, with the sole exception of Saria, but the two truly had been best friends for their entire lives. Link was certainly not bold around women, he would hardly speak to any so the emotions he had shown when meeting Romani must have been geniune… and Zelda should never have doubted that, she should never have done what she did. By hurting Romani's feelings, she could tell that she had also hurt Link's and she was afraid to even think about Link being angry with her. She could only hope that Link would forgive her quickly… and the same with Romani.
She noticed that due to her incessant walking, she had found a dog racing area. She raised an eyebrow. The ranch was definitely large and diverse… Well, she liked dogs, and figured that they may be able to cheer her up and walked in.
Sheik was amazed that between the three arguments that had broken out between Cremia and Galon (A/N: which I have decided to name their uncle XD) none of the milk bottles had been broken. In any case, he was just glad to be out of there. Climbing onto the empty cart, he began the journey back to the ranch, which was definitely shorter than the one to town.
Sighing, he wondered what the time was. Perhaps it was already late into the night and he wouldn't have to wait long until the next day…
No such luck. The sun hadn't even set yet.
Entering the ranch, he stopped the cart at the cow shed, where Romani had told him to leave it for her to take care of and went into the house.
"You could've warned me how violently your sister fought with your-" he stopped talking as he noticed Romani wasn't there.
"Romani?" he called, poking his head into the cow shed, but she wasn't there either.
"Odd…" he puzzled over where she could be and heard something that could be her voice coming from behind the house.
"We there?" he asked, looking around the corner.
His eyes widened as he saw Romani in Link's arms, kissing passionately. Romani pulled away while giggling and looked at him, "Oh, hi Sheik. Sorry."
Link, who was admiring Romani when she spoke, abruptly turned his head to the Sheikah.
"Sheik!"
Sheik's eyes widened and he stumbled backwards, "Link."
Link immediately stood and walked towards him, "Is this where you've been all along?"
"Where is she?" the Sheikah asked, impatience written clearly in his eyes.
"I don't know… isn't she out there in the field? That's where I left her…" Link replied.
Romani looked confused, "Could someone please tell me what's going on?"
Link looked at her and took her hands, "The reason we're in Termina is because Zelda is looking for her best friend. This guy."
Romani's eyes widened as Link pointed at Sheik, "Really? How come you've never told me you knew Link?"
Sheik shrugged, "You never asked, I guess… and I'm not exactly one to speak about myself much either."
"He loves her," Link said, looking at her meaningfully.
"And she?" Romani asked with some skepticism.
Link could feel Sheik's eyes on him too, also waiting for the answer. He sighed, "She won't admit it, but I know she does."
Sheik shook his head, "No. See? She doesn't love me. I knew it."
Link turned to Sheik, "How can you let yourself believe that? You have no idea how badly she broke down when you left. She's just as afraid as you are."
Sheik sighed and hung his head while he thought, his hair falling in his face.
"Go for it, Sheik," Romani said, smiling, "Believe in yourself."
Running his hand through his blonde hair, he sighed, "What have I got to lose."
Walking out into the field, followed by Link and Romani, who held hands, Sheik looked around and then let out a small sigh in disappointment, "Where is she?"
Link looked around and frowned, "She was over there when I last saw her."
The three looked in the direction that was pointed in and each felt their own disappointment at not finding the Hylian Queen there. Sheik felt it the worst. A hand went into his hair again and he let out a low growl. He needed to find Zelda! He had run away from her for long and now, he could feel his desire to see her, to admit everything to her was now rising inside of him and he couldn't supress it for longer.
"Maybe she's gone for a walk somewhere?" Romani suggested.
"Well she could've gone either further down the field or back towards Termina, and remembering how bad our encounter was with that gods forsaken vulture that attacked us on the way here, I doubt she would've gone that way," Link said.
With that, Sheik ran towards the end of the ranch, looking around frantically. He then remembered about the dog race area at the end of the ranch and remembered how much Zelda liked dogs. There was a chance she was there. He had to find her. Running towards the area, he called out her name.
Zelda was getting more and more desolate by the minute. The kind lady who owned the dogs offered help if she could, but Zelda turned down with thanks and told her that not much would help her. The lady was now surrounded by her dogs, feeding them as the day's races were at an end.
Suddenly, she heard something. She didn't know if it was real or a figment of her imagination, but it was Sheik's voice, calling her name. Her head snapped up and she looked around.
"Oh, it's that blonde boy again," the lady acknowledged the voice, meaning that Zelda hadn't imagined it.
"Sheik! You know him?" Zelda cried.
"Well, I never knew his name, but I've met him. The crimson eyes one, aye?"
"SHEIK!" Zelda cried, running out into the field.
Surely enough there was the Sheikah running towards her, desperation clear in his eyes. He stopped and stood there, grinning at her, despite his longing to take her into his arms and hug her tightly.
"Don't tell me…" she began, returning the grin.
"…I was here all along," Sheik finished and they ran to each other, hugging with intense emotion.
"Tell me why before I kill you," Zelda said, laughing while she cried.
Sheik's eyes were also watering from the intense relief he felt as all the tightness in his chest just washed away in their hug, in her presence. He shook his head and laughed, "It's stupid."
"Leaving me was stupid, you fool," Zelda said, pushing at him playfully.
"I love you," he whispered, holding her wrist, "I love you so much it drives me crazy."
Her eyes locked with his as he pulled her into a tight embrace, her mouth slightly open in surprise, her eyes betraying the muddled rush of emotions inside her.
"That's why I left. I don't deserve you."
"Idiot," she whispered, putting her slender fingers to his cheek, coming in contact with the hot salty tears he had allowed to stream down his face, "Don't ever let yourself believe that. I love you more than even I can comprehend."
Their lips met with such force that they both slightly staggered, and Zelda wrapped her arms around Sheik's neck, pulling him closer and he held her waist, as if both were afraid this were a dream and the next second they would be alone and empty once again.
"I love you, I love you," Sheik murmured repeatedly, stroking Zelda's tear stained face, entangling his hands in her hair, everything he could to assure himself that what was happening was real.
By this time Link and Romani had caught up to Sheik and were standing there smiling as they witnessed the declarations of love between the two. Link grinned and wrapped his arm around Romani's waist, resting his head against hers.
"I love you."
"Love you too."
There was a short pause and then Link kissed Romani's forhead, "Come with me to Hyrule."
"Of course. I'll give the ranch to Cremia and she can do whatever she wants about the management."
"You'll be living in a castle with me and those lovebirds. Do you think you could handle that?"
Romani smiled, "A castle? I think I'll manage."
"And we'll have a double wedding," Link said, grinning.
Romani laughed, "That will have to depend on how long those two take."
"If they're as crazy about each other as I am about you, we'll all be married as soon as we return to Hyrule."
"That's fine with me. I love you so much Link."
Link pulled Romani into his arms and hugged her tightly before kissing her, "I love you too."
End-
Yay! It's over! I might write an epilogue to this, but… ehh, you guys can tell me if you want one or not.
Sorry for such a crappy ending! ;
