Hey, I'm back!

Chapter Nine

Going Home

Zelda woke up to the sound of birds chirping and the wildlife scramling on the roof of the house. She smiled. It was one of those moments, when she was not confined to the Castle, that she loved.

Her smile faltered when she realised that, shortly, she would no longer be having these moments. Once she married Starger, she would have a role in her husband's court, and would not be allowed to leave his sight for even five seconds. It was a custom in Misina for wives to be with their husbands every waking hour, unless their husbands were at war.

Zelda sat bolt upright when she heard the clashing of metal on metal coming from outside. She hurriedly put on a dressing gown that had been laid out for her, and rushed outside.

"What are you doing?" She shreiked, causing Link and Dede to lose their conerntration. Link's gilded sword slipped from his hand, and embedded itself in the hard earth behind Dede, and her scythe almost slit Link's throat. It just missed by about a millimeter. Link had to throw himself on his side to avoid it, causing him to fall into Rore, who was watching nearby. The two of them toppled over, and fell into a ditch nearby, that contained the stacked firewood.

Unfortunately, the pile of firewood was not enough to stop them. The two of them rolled down the steep ridge, and crashed into a tree a little down the way. Groaning, Link stood up, and helped Rore up. She shook her head to clear it of the fog that had likely appeared upon impact. They began to trudge up to the house, leaning on each other for support.

Dede and Naz went down to help them. Zelda followed suit, but stopped.

"Is..." She faltered, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You can start by putting the kettle on." Dede spat curtly. Zelda wheeled around, and followed out the order without a word. Tears sprung in her eyes, and she made no effort to wipe them away. In the distance, Zelda could hear Link and Dede arguing outside.

"You had no right to say that to her, Din." Link said angrilly.

"I can say whatever I want." Dede replied, just as angrilly, "Her interference could have cost the three of us our lives."

"But it didn't." Link countered. He seemed to think that he wasn't going to get a reply.

"You are missing the point!" Dede cried shrilly, not bothering to hide her anger, "We all could have died!"

"Look, Din," Link murmered, as they got closer to the house, "I don't think it was the best thing to happen to us, either, but it was an accident. If there is one more outburst like that, then I'm taking her back to the castle. It is where she should be now, anyway."

"Fine!" Dede cried, her voice even more shrill than before, "Go! Get out of here! See if I care!"

Link burst into the house, stomped into the room that Trinity was sleeping, and brought her out. He held Trinity in one arm and took Zelda by the shoulder.

"If you wish for us to leave, then leave we shall." And he then gave Trinity to Zelda, and pushed her out of the house, and towards his horse.

He picked Zelda up by her waist with little apparent effort, and put her on Epona's back, and vaulted himself up behind her. Link sharply kicked Epona onward, and they made their way through the trees at a break-neck pace. Zelda held on to Trinity tightly with one hand, and held onto Epona's mane with the other. Link had one of his arms around her, to prevent her from falling, and controlled the horse with the other.

Zelda had to close her eyes to shield them from the onslaught of the wind. She would have yelled at Link, but her voice failed her. Even if her voice worked, he would not have been able to hear her over the roaring of the wind that was likely in his ears.

Zelda was beginning to feel a little afriad. By now, it was well into the afternoon, and Link had still not stopped. Epona was getting tired, and Zelda desperately wanted to stretch her legs.

"Link! She tried roaring over the wind, but she wasn't sure if he heard or not, "Stop the horse, now!" She demanded. To her surprise, Link pulled the horse to a stop.

"What is wrong, Princess?" Link asked, his voice very stiff with anger. Zelda recoiled at the sound, but stood her ground.

"My legs are aching, I need to walk around for a bit, I'm hungry," She listed off, "the baby needs to be fed, Epona's getting tired, and your scaring me!" Link looked at her in surprise.

"I'm scaring you?" He asked, humour in his voice, as if he didn't believe it, "Well, I apologise, Princess. That was never my intention." Zelda glared daggers at him, indicating that she was serious. Link sobered up immeadiately. Soon, he was back into his sour mood.

He jumped off Epona, and helped Zelda off. Zelda gave him one more dirty look, and walked around holding Trinity. She looked over her shoulders at Link, and saw him tending to his horse. Grimacing, she walked off into the trees a bit, until she came to a small lake.

Trinity whimpered a little, and Zelda bobbed her up and down. Soon, she stopped, and went to giggling and gurgling in her arms. Zelda gazed at the baby in wonder.

Trinity sported midnight black hair, deep, saphire blue eyes, and had the cutest little face you could ever imagine. Zelda instantly loved her, from the moment that she had set eyes on her. She was filled with a strong maternal instinct that she knew that, should it come down to it, she would protect the infant with her life. Zelda was really clucky when it came to babies.

Zelda stood there and sung to Trinity for several minutes. When the baby had begun to coo along with the melody, Zelda begun to think that this was not any ordinary child. She smiled at Trinity, and walked back to camp. Link was not pleased.

"I thought you would have had more sense than to run away like that-" He began, but Zelda put her hand up to stop him. She glared at him, and tried to stop her voice from shaking.

"You will take me home, now." She ordered. She made her way to Epona, and looked at Link, waiting. He seemed to get the message, and helped her mount her. Link made to mount behind her, but Zelda spoke up.

"No. You will walk." Zelda commanded, "I will not ride while you are in the saddle behind me. You will lead the horse back to the castle."

How did you like it? Please R&R! Questions and comments are welcome. I am flame proof.