I barely slept that night. In the end, I did close my eyes for a bit, but that only disoriented me even more when I woke up.

Was it a dream?

No, I remembered it too clearly.

The story made so much sense…

I winced as I thought about how Link looked so saddened by the story. Not just saddened… kind of angry. It was frightening.

He didn't come for weeks after that. I could understand why. Nobody else probably knew about the story.

I pitied him. He had never been appreciated for what he did for Hyrule, had he?

"Yer quiet today," Dad said gruffly. "Not my fault, is it?"

"No, Dad. See you later, Dad."

I went about my work for those few weeks, distracting myself. But all the while, at the back of my mind, I prepared myself.

He didn't come though, and I was gloomy.

"Malon," Dad said. "Yeh need to get out of the ranch. Why don't yeh come with me to deliver the milk to the market?"

"Uh, dad. We were there two days ago."

"Er, right. But it'll do you good to come out, won't it?"

"Uhm… I suppose…"

Well, at least the noise could distract me, I hoped.

Hyrule Town Market really is a noisy place. But I was wrong in thinking that it could completely distract me.

I moved around with my head down, deep in thought. Vendors called out to me, but I didn't hear them. At the corner of my eye, I glanced at the castle every now and then.

"Excuse me, Miss!" squeaked a little kid. I heard her a bit too late, and I accidentally kicked her toy ball away.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I snapped back into reality, because she looked like she was going to cry. "I'll go get it back for you. Wait right here."

I ran lightly toward where the ball rolled. I was keeping my eye on it, so I didn't notice that my surroundings changed. It got pretty quiet.

Finally, I picked up the ball and looked up. I was in some kind of alley. I turned to go when somebody caught my arm.

"Drink… wit me…"

"Drink wid us, too…"

"Wah… what a pretty gurl…"

I was frozen in fear. Three drunks. That was three grown men against one girl with a ball in her hands.

"Let me go!"

"Wo…wow…wowow…" one of them hiccupped as I shoved him back. "She has a temperrr…"

"It's 'cause of her hair… right? Right?"

"You speakish wrong… I like her hair…"

One of them lunged for me again. I kicked back. Finally I cried out in pain.

I couldn't see very well, but in a few moments their grips loosened.

"Leave her alone."

It was Link. And he had his sword drawn. My eyes widened.

"H-hey… it was just f-for fun…"

"Yeah… fer fun…"

"I know 'im! He's da time boy…"

"Da what? I can' hear er speakish…"

"Time-boy! Time-hero! Somethin' the princess said."

"Ah…gh… Princess speakish like he's a hero…"

"The Hero of Time--!"

Link had taken my hand, and led me out of there. I was shaking.

"Here…" I said to the little girl. She looked at me with concern, but she thanked me and ran away.

"So that's what you were doing," he said, quietly.

"Yeah. I kicked it by accident."

"Don't go back there again."

"I know. And… thank you."

"…Malon."

"Uhm… about the story…"

He looked away. "Let's go for a walk."

We went out of the market, towards the castle. I hesitated, but I guess I really did want to talk to him.

"Do you regret telling me?"

It was the question that plagued me for a while.

"Well… kind of," he said thoughtfully. "But I can trust you, can't I? So don't worry about it."

"Of course," I said with a small smile. "I'm sorry I made you tell me, though. It was none of my business."

"Well… it can't be helped."

"I won't ask you to tell me any more."

"…Do you want to know?"

"Huh?"

"I'm just asking. Do you want to know the rest?"

I looked at him uncertainly. "In total honesty, yes. But don't if you don't want to."

He nodded slowly. "All right…"

I suddenly realized that he hadn't let go of my hand yet. I gently pulled away.

"I'm fine, now," I said.

"Sorry," Link mumbled.

"No, don't apologize."

I found it sort of funny how he could apologize to me.

"Well. Take care, Malon," he said. I turned back to go to the market.

"Come visit anytime, 'kay?" I waved with a cheery smile.

"Aah… Sure…"

I went home with a lighter heart.

Even Dad noticed the mood I was in, and he took pride in the fact that he was the one who suggested the outing.

I don't know what came over me, but I guess I was just happy to learn that Link and I were on good terms again.

He continued his visits, too, though he didn't mention anything about the story for a while. I didn't pester him, although I paid more attention to rumors that went around. I couldn't help it; Link and the Princess were popular subjects.

"Did you hear? The Hero of Time…"

"Oh, he's so cute, don't you think…?"

"I heard he's taken…!"

"…the princess…"

"…saved Hyrule, my eye…"

"—I bet she just—"

"—yeah, I know, can you imagine—"

"—she doesn't deserve—"

"—he doesn't deserve—"

"—never getting married—"

I froze.

"What? Are you sure?"

"That's what my husband heard, and he's one of the inside guards, you know?"

"So the Princess never plans to marry? She'll rule as Queen on her own?"

"Shhh! Not so loud. Do you think it has something to do with him?"

I didn't want to hear any more. I went home biting my lip.

"You're quiet," Link noted, at his next visit. He didn't look like he didn't know why, either.

"How…" I stopped, cleared my throat, and tried again. "How is the Princess?"

"I haven't seen her."

"No?"

"No. I don't see her so often, actually. It's part of our agreement."

"Agreement?"

Link stopped what he was doing. He sighed, and faced me. "Well…"

I held up my hand. "You don't have to tell me."

"But you would listen if I did?"

"Yes." My answer was firm. I didn't want him to think that our friendship was a mistake.

"Then I'll tell you." He laughed softly, bitterly, and he got a look on his face that I had never seen before.

"Link…?"

"Have you ever loved anyone so much that it hurt?"

I was thrown. Had I?

Oh, the irony. Maybe I couldn't claim that my infatuation for him burned with the intensity of Din's fire, but I could certainly say that I loved him enough to get hurt.

"Kind of."

"No, you haven't. If you did, you would be very, very sure that you did."

"…Is this what happened between--?"

"It gets worse. It's much worse, actually, because I'm aware of the fact that she feels the same for me."

"Wha--?"

He was talking a bit fast now, as if he wasn't really talking to me.

"I loved her. I still do. Maybe she doesn't love me now, but she sure did before. And guess what? I couldn't lay a finger on her."

"Link! Link, Link. Slow down…"

"Do you know," he said a little hoarsely. "that her body was used as the gate?"

I said nothing. He didn't seem to hear me.

"Years ago I defeated Ganon. It was over. Zelda sent me to the past, because she said I shouldn't have had to sacrifice so much. And then I grow up, and I see her again. No evil threats, no nothing, so Hyrule is at peace. There was nothing that would have stopped our happiness. But we both didn't count for how we were supposed to keep Ganon sealed!"

He stopped for breath. I trembled as he dropped to his knees.

"They used her body, mind, soul. Spirit. Heart. They used her. She's the only way Ganon could escape the realm. It's her purity that keeps him sealed there."

It dawned on me. I opened my mouth to speak, but he beat me to it.

"So as much as I loved her, I couldn't touch her. As much as I loved her, it wasn't right for her to have me around. As much as I still love her, I can't go near her."

Link stopped then. The silence that followed wrenched an intense dose of pity out of me. Did he want pity? Sometimes pity was insulting.

But he looked at me, with an expression of anger, sadness, and complete despair. Pity won over, and I knelt down.

I wrapped my arms around him, and he didn't protest.

I'm so sorry I took so long! I'll try not to let it happen again…

As a type of apology, I'll reply to reviewers.

Berreta Pakin Mailman: Thank you for being the first to review! And thanks for putting this under your favorites.

Sapphira603: Well, I don't hate the idea of Zelda x Link, but sometimes I really prefer this pairing. I think many people like writing Zelda x Link because Malon is only from Ocarina of Time, whereas Zelda has been there for a while now. I mean… it's the name of the game. LOL.

Lizai: Here ya go. ;) And more coming, too.

Greki: Thanks!

Devila: Thanks for reviewing. Hope this answered your question.

Loki: Gosh, I'm sorry for blundering… Thanks a bunch for letting me know!

The Hylian: Thanks so much, I always appreciate suggestions. And yes, everybody's gotta have a little romance at some point. Thanks for the review. I'll try to swing by your stories, but don't count on it. I'm not very reliable.

IchigoTheStray: Come again? Something happened to your review, all I can see is "Yay! I—"

Lvmj: Oh, no no no. Don't feel stupid, I welcome reviews almost as much as I welcome candy. Thanks!

Gabrey: Thanks, I'll try my best.

Sirael Lythling: Sorry for the wait. And thank you! It's nice to know I'm not making a complete bother of things.

More questions and answers. Mwah.

Eh? I don't get it! What's going on?

Um… well, actually, you're not the first. Over the years, people have come to me saying that they just don't "get" my writing. It's an oddstyle, I suppose. No, I'm not changing the way I write… it's not very fair to me, because I have fun writing this way. Sorry.

I don't think it's because of your writing. Why are you so unclear?

My bad, then. But really, I think you just need to read things more carefully.

So… Zelda's a gate? What?

Well. This is something that rolled around my head for a while now. There had to be some catch for being able to seal off somebody as powerful as Ganon. He does hold the Triforce of Power, after all. So I put in that Zelda, as the seventh sage, still had a little duty: stay pure.

Of course the little problem of her love for Link would add some drama to the picture. Trust me to screw things up, I am such a dork.

That's all for now.