Hi! I'm so sorry that this has taken so long! I'm writing three stories at once, plus a one-shot here and there. Yes, I know its stupid! I just can't seem to focus on one story for too long, otherwise I suffer severe Writer's block.

A Tale of Love

Chapter Two

Returning To Hyrule

Zelda sighed and turned back to the man standing in front of her. He was going on about some adventure or another that he had endured. Her father had been trying to convince her to wed one of the castle soldiers, considering she had no taste for the Princes of the neighbouring countries.

Zelda wished her father wasn't pushing her towards marriage. It wasn't nice for a girl to hear her father tell her that he wanted to see her married before he died, especially when he was in perfect health. If he hadn't been so uptight that the man she chose had to be a good leader, then she probably would have married last year, already. There were plenty of people that would suit her father's qualifications, but he didn't believe anyone would be good enough for his country.

Oh, no! Don't worry about who's good enough for Zelda! Just worry about the country. Don't worry if he's a murdering maniac or rapist who would kill her as soon as she had his son. Oh, no! None of that matters, as long as he looks good on the Throne! None of it matters at all!

Zelda silently prayed for anything to be rescued from her dank prison of a castle. Of course, it wasn't really dank. Zelda had just known another life. She craved adventure, and natural colours! All of the purples, blacks, reds, and whites had finally taken their toll, and Zelda was beginning to crack.

There was a scuffle somewhere on the other side of the grounds, and the gentleman excused himself. Zelda wasn't paying attention, though. She was craning her neck over his shoulder to see the guards were restraining the wild-looking man. Zelda furrowed her brow. She knew that man.

"Guards!" She called, "Let that man go!"

"But, Your Majesty!" one of the men protested.

"Are you questioning me?" Zelda disliked pulling rank over people, but sometimes it was necessary. The soldiers gave her a look, and let the disheveled man go.

"Why, thank you, Princess." Link muttered dryly, straightening up and then kneeling, "Not that I couldn't handle them myself."

"I have no doubt that you could, Link." Zelda laughed, "But I have no wish to see you slaughter my father's guards." She rounded on the soldiers, "You are never to obstruct this man's path again. He is a dear friend of mine, and has favour with the King. If I ever hear of you giving him a hard time, I will see to it, personally, that you are dismissed."

All of the soldiers kneeled before muttering "Yes, Your Majesty", in perfect unison. Zelda made a gesture with her hand, and they all walked back to their post, some muttering darkly that the Princess's judgement would be the end of her. Zelda scowled after them.

"I preferred the other guards, anyway." Link muttered, still kneeling on the ground, waiting for Zelda to begin walking, so he could stand. Zelda laughed.

"Come on, Link," Zelda patted the top of Link's head, "Stand up."

He snickered, and straightened up. For a moment, they locked eyes. Zelda nearly fainted at Link's nervous grin. She suddenly found herself tongue-tied. Why were these feelings coming back? She had stomped them out of her when he left two years ago.

"So… What's happened while I was gone?" He cocked his head. 'Figures,' Zelda thought. She was the one that had said to him, 'when in doubt, refer to the past'.

Zelda simply rolled her eyes, and told him about her father, and the soldiers that he had tried to set her up with. Link laughed at her poor story, but secretly felt a bit more sorry for himself.

Yes, it's short, I know. Read and Review, anyway!