WARNING: i think you might hate me after this chapter.... waaaahhhh TT

well im going to answer some reviews now...

Nicole: well THANX . I'm glad i made you laugh.... i was thinking bout putting this in humor too, but i decided not to due to this chappie. Also i went back and reread the other chapters and i can't believe how much of a brat she is. wow you were right. hehe...sry

ComanderLink : lol... i don't think we're going to see Link go syco in this story. lol.... but i'm glad you like it anyway

And thanx all you other reveiwers!!

CHAPTER 7

The Rose

Zelda woke up to find herself in a large plaza. She held her throbbing head as she slowly sat up. In front of her lay a single, red rose. She picked up the rose to examine it. Then the realization hit her.

What happened last night? Her heart raced as she remembered what happened. She remembered the man that was chasing her, and her falling and losing consciousness.

She looked down to see her dress was torn above her knees. Horror raced through her as she realized what could have happened to her. She tried to think of anything else that could've happened, but the same thought kept coming up. She let tears flow freely down her face.

'it can't be…. It just can't…. things like this don't happen to people like me..', she thought nervously. Zelda started to sob now. She curled up into a small ball. Tears cascading down onto her torn dress. She hugged her knees tightly to her chest , and buried her head in her knees.

Zelda slowly inched her way to the corner of the plaza, and rested her body against the wall. Between weeps, she prayed to the goddess's that this was just a horrid dream that she would wake up, in her bed at the hotel.

She heard fast footsteps coming her way. Zelda tried to muffle her cries so she wouldn't be noticed by the passer by. Her breath came in quick gasps, though. Still having her head in her knees, she felt gentle hand take her shoulders.

"Zelda.", came a concerned voice. It was Link, no doubt. Link looked down at her torn clothing , and then he knew. Without another word, his arms surrounded her and carefully lifted her up. She felt him walking steadily towards the Stock Pot Inn.

At good pace, he carried her up the stairs, and into the room. Slowly, he let her down on the bed. Tears had dried and now her face was sticky. Zelda let her hand fall to the bed. Her hand opened up to let the rose free, onto the bed. It was bloody because she had been squeezing the thorns in the pain she felt emotionally. She looked up to see Link terrified.

"Zelda, tell me…. What happened.", he asked. She tried to speak, but only jumbles of words of confusion came out.

"I..I ..I don't…..", she struggled. Nothing she could say would make sense.

"Zel, I need to know. I need to help…. I need to get the person who did this to you… Please try..", he said upset.

Zelda took in a large breath and started again. "I… I was… walking. Then I heard something…. I walked faster. It ran after me and grabbed my arm." She looked down at her arm. There was a red mark in the shape of a hand.

"I..I broke away and…. ran some more… Then I tripped… over something. I don't know what it was…"

"That's not important, just go on.", he urged.

"I was on the ground…. It was so dark…. Then I fainted.", she finished. She looked up into his eyes. "That's it…."

"Who did this to you?", he asked.

Zelda shuddered. She had no idea. She knew no one in this town. Anybody could have done it. Then she remembered.

"Your fairy…", she said in monotone.

"What?", asked Link confused.

"Navi, she was there when I blacked out. I saw her.", answered Zelda.

"Are you sure?", he asked in disbelieve.

"Yes!", she snapped. " She even warned me."

"What are you talking about?"

"She told me that if I didn't stay away from you, I'd regret it."

"Why would she do that?"

"Because she loves you!", cried Zelda.

Link blinked, very confused and taken aback. His confusion quickly turned to anger. "So she goes and gets you rapped!!!", he yelled in vain. Zelda flinched at the word 'rape' .

He turned back to Zelda and took her into an embrace. "Oh, Zel, I'm so sorry. I should have never…" He couldn't finish the sentence.

"It's not your fault, Link", she said numbly. "It's mine. I should've took the threat seriously. I should've backed away from you before we got close."

"No…. Then I never would have fallen in love with you."

Zelda looked up into his eyes. He truly meant it. Her grew glassy. All these emotions were tearing her apart.

"Link, I love you too…", she cried. Resting her head on his shoulder, new tears came freshly down her face.

"Don't worry. We'll get over this together.", he whispered.

"I hope so….."

For the rest of the week, Zelda kept hidden inside of the room. Link had brought her food and such.

She felt like never leaving that room. She was too afraid she might find her attacker. Link was very understanding, even thought he really wished she'd get some fresh air.

Besides her depression, she couldn't bare to look Link in the eyes. She wouldn't even hug or kiss him. Sometimes she could feel his hurt that somehow radiated among the room. In her mind, it would be awkward to even talk.

She was deeply embarrassed. She could not express her feeling to the one person she cared for. Her life seemed ruined, just because of one person. One person could change their world forever.

But one day, Link had managed to make her smile.

Link walked in the room. A bundle a flowers with a card attached to it, was in his hand. Zelda took them gratefully and read the card. She could tell he wrote it due to the messiness.

Zelda

I love you so much

Words can't explain

If you ever left me

I would feel the deepest pain

I'll always stay with you

Till the very end

Be by your side

To broken hearts I'll tend

You belong to me

And I to you

We've only been a month

But so much we've been through

Zelda your all I need

Maybe your kisses too

To say these three words

I love you

Zelda looked up from the paper with a smile she hadn't shown in days. She couldn't believe Link, a guy, could write such a poem. Yes, it was a little.... different, and it wasn't the best poem she had read, but it came from his heart.

"That was beautiful, Link.", she said, giving him a hug. "Thank you."

He willingly welcomed the hug, for her had not gotten one in at least a week. Instead of breaking apart, they stood still for a moment, enjoying each other presence.

She closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeat. It seemed he was doing the same.

"I love you", she whispered softly in his ear.

"I love you too, Zel.", he said. Noticing it was late. "Zel, you tired. We can go to sleep if you want."

"Yeah…", she said lazily. Link guided her to her bed and laid her down gently. He kissed her forehead and got up to go to his bed.

"Wait.", she said faintly. "Please sleep beside me." With that, Link turned around and tucked himself under her covers.

Slowly, she turned herself around to face his back. She wrapped her arms around him. Together, they slowly feel into a deep sleep.

.

....do u hate me??? (ducks from flying knifes) I guess so.... TT plz don't flame me.... look shes okay.... she not dead...(ducks from more knifes) okay bad babydoll bad! Plz keep flames to yourself, if you don't like it then don't leave a reaview and i'll just know it was bad. Waaaahhh....um ok? Review...??