Impossible Love

Wahgaghahgahaaa! It's been so long! I'm sorry, I'm such a horrible procrastinator. I haven't abandoned this though, I'm just very slow. ; ;

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Part One: Summer Festival
The Craving

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Upon arriving back at the castle walls, Zelda was puzzled by how she was going to get back onto the royal property (since the trellis was only on the inside). But she soon found a tall tree whose branches hung over the wall, and she shimmied her way upwards and hopped over. When she was a little girl, she often climbed trees-- much to the chagrin of Madame Loraine. She hadn't done it lately, but it was fairly simple.

Now she was in her room, door closed, and sprawled on her bed. What a day! She hadn't really accomplished her task: sneak out and spend a day as a commoner; but she was definitely satisfied. Granted, she wasn't conscious for the majority of the adventure, but it was still exciting. She reached a hand up and touched the tender spot on her head. The pain had subsided, but she was sure she'd have a horrid headache tomorrow.

She sat up on her bed, and walked to her wardrobe. She slipped off her orange dress and placed it inside. She pulled out a more 'princess-like' dress. The last thing she wanted was to raise suspicions with Blessy's outfit. If anybody found out what she'd done, she'd be in trouble for sure.

The golden haired princess went to open her window. Whenever it was nice out, she liked the windows open. Her room would often get stuffy, and the fresh air was nice. She stood a moment, enjoying the sunshine. The clouds had departed, and the sun was bright and warm. The balmy breeze soothed her and made her groggy. Despite having spent most of the day in bed, it wasn't a very revitalizing rest (no doubt thanks to the knot on her head).

She didn't know for certain how long she was unconscious (Blessy wasn't very helpful in that regard), but Zelda knew it was probably only mid-afternoon. Five o'clock at the latest. She didn't care, however, and walked over to her bed. She snuggled into the covers and listened to the familiar sounds of birds wafting through her window.

She was in a deep sleep in a matter of minutes, not to awaken until early the next morning.

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The Next Day...

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"Wake up! Wake up! It's time to wake up!"

Bounce, bounce, thud!

Link groaned, squinting one eye open to see his little sister, Aryll, sitting on top of him and yanking the covers away from his face. The bright light invading his senses was hardly better than the little girl pouncing on him.

"Good morning, sunshine!" the miniature blonde said with a clap. "You slept in!"

"Arylllllllll!" Link exclaimed, swatting his hand at the girl. "Let me sleep, I've got the day off." He grabbed his pillow and covered his face.

"No, no, no!" Aryll grabbed the pillow and tried tearing it away from her brother. A tug-of-war match ensued. "I want to play!"

"Let go, Aryll! By Din, let me sleep! Goddesses!"

All at once the little canary let go of the pillow and covered her mouth with her hands. "Oooh! You said a bad oath! I'm telling mom!" She jumped off the bed, taking Link's blanket with her. "Mooooom!" she shouted, running into the hallway.

"Aryll! I did not!" Link yelled after her, fumbling out of bed and landing sprawled onto the floor. "I was—I was praying! Aryll! Urrrgh!" He sighed heavily, laying for a moment on the hardwood floors. There was no getting back to bed now.

Scarcely fifteen minutes later, Link was trudging down the Tavern stairs, washed and dressed for the new day.

"Good morning, Link," Blessy said with a smirk from her position behind the counter. "You have a fight with your sister?"

"She started it," Link stated, scrunching his nose up at Aryll, sitting on a padded stool.

"Did not!" Aryll yawped, sticking her tongue out. But a sharp glance from Blessy made the tongue retreat back inside her mouth.

"Play nice, children," Blessy reprimanded, aiming the 'children' remark at her oldest. "Or I might just have to take back your day off."

"Sorry, mum," both son and daughter sighed simultaneously.

Suddenly, Aryll's sky blue eyes brightened and she swiveled in the stool to face Link. "Ohh, I forgot! Malon came in earlier and wants to seeeeee you!" She made multiple kissing noises. Blessy giggled, and Link's face took on a darker hue.

"Deary, Malon is such a sweet girl," Blessy remarked, leaning her elbows on the bar. "I think she's taken a fancy to you, Link."

Aryll laughed in delight, beginning a familiar rhyme. "Link and Malon, sitting in a tree!"

"It's nothing big," Link told his mom, tuning out his sister's mischief. "We're just comfortable around each other." Blessy just smiled knowingly. There was a pause, with only Aryll's off-tune singing to fill the air. "Well..." Link began. "I guess I'll go now." He smiled nervously and headed out of the Tavern before any more teasing could commence. Sometimes his family could be so irritating!

He took a deep breath of the fresh air before heading down the cobblestone path. Other villagers were milling about, but most were out in the fields, tending to the crops. The harvest was soon. Link crossed the large town square, moving in the direction of the blacksmith's shop. Talon was outside, fixing the wooden sign out front.

"Hey-ho!" Talon declared, catching sight of Link. "How are you, young man?"

"I'm well, thanks. And you?"

"Never better," Talon smiled. "Malon's inside." Link thanked the man and made his way into the shop where he founded the redhead sitting in a chair by the forge. Once she saw Link, she stood up with a big smile.

"Hi, Link," she said happily. She brushed her strawberry locks away from her face and extended her hand to him.

"Hey," he replied, shaking her hand . "Aryll said you wanted to see me?"

Malon blushed, focusing her periwinkle eyes on the floor in front of her. "Oh, it's nothing really, we just haven't seen each other in a while so I wanted to catch up. If you're busy, it's fine—"

"No, I'm free all day," Link reassured her. "I'd love to chat."

Malon smiled brightly, looking up at him. "Okay!" She smoothed out her crème dress. "Let's go for a walk." Link smiled, and the two made their way into the sunshine.

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Zelda looked out the window longingly. She was, at the moment, cooped up in a large room with various other ladies. Embroidering. The worst part of the day, next to etiquette lessons. She would so often get her yarn knotted or tangled because her mind would wander. The monotonous in and out motions of the needle were enough to put her to sleep! When would she ever actually use embroidery, anyway? Zelda didn't seen anything important about it. It was boring to do and it was boring to look at.

"Ouch!" she jumped, pulling her hand to her face. "Pricked myself again." She stuck her injured finger into her mouth. She got looks from the servant girls, but nobody said anything until Madame Loraine looked up from her embroidered kitchen towels.

"Princess! Stop sucking on your finger," she hissed.

Zelda immediately pulled the finger from her mouth, and a servant moved to wrap the afflicted appendage. It was scarcely in need of any medical attention, but Zelda was used to the overreactions (such as bandaging non-bleeding wounds, and entire days of bed rest for mere coughs).

Zelda wiggled in her chair as she stared at her unfinished table napkin. The giant white unembroidered area stared back at her menacingly. There was no way she'd get this done. She glanced around the room at the other ladies' half-finished and some nearly completed tapestries. Their excellence in the art only made her feel inadequate, and the inadequacy made her itch for some fresh air. But of course, she wouldn't have any free time until later in the day.

Earlier this morning, she had had an alarming conversation with Madame Loraine.

"Princess Zelda," the robust woman had started at 7am, when Zelda awoke. "I hear that you skipped your Conversation class yesterday." She stared at her evenly. "When I told you Etiquette lessons were canceled, I didn't mean that all your lessons would be. What is your excuse?"

Zelda stared at her with wide eyes. "I'm sorry, Madame," she had stuttered back. "Something came up and I just couldn't make it."

"Something came up?" Madame stared at the honey-haired girl suspiciously. "I find it hard to imagine. I heard a servant say you were found asleep in your room when you were also absent for dinner."

Zelda was relieved by this, and grabbed onto the story. "Yes, yes, I was sleeping! All day. Horrid headache, you see. Maybe it's because I was outside to see Mom and Dad off?"

Madame Loraine had seemed satisfied with this answer at the time, and went into a long discussion on how that was exactly why she shouldn't spend long periods of time outdoors when the weather was dreary (although the correlation between the weather and headaches was lost on Zelda).

Zelda glanced up at Madame Loraine from across the room. She'd have to be more careful next time—not be gone for so long and not cast suspicions. Yesterday was Saturday, and she didn't have too many afternoon obligations, but every day at 2pm was her conversation lesson. She should make sure not to miss it again. Every day had a slightly different schedule (such as today, Sunday, was the only day with a Religion class at 7pm), and she would have to time everything right the next time she snuck out.

'Wait...' Zelda thought. 'What am I thinking about? Will there be a next time?' She hadn't thought about it. At first she had only planned on spending the one day away. But now...for some reason, she was impatient to get out again. 'I wonder why that is?' She glanced out the window, past the castle garden.

Madame Loraine looked up in time to catch Zelda efficiently ignoring her needlework. "Princess Zelda," she began in a warning tone.

Zelda turned to look Madame Loraine square in the eye and ask, "When will mom and dad be back from Polis?"

Madame Loraine hesitated, then sighed, focusing her attention back on the in and out motions of her needle. "Princess, the trip to Polis will take a few days, and the negotiations may take even longer. I expect them to be gone for at least a week." She glanced up. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason," Zelda said quietly, looking down and attempting to further her stitching. But already in her mind she was calculating for how much longer she would be able to successfully sneak out. She donned an impish smirk and hummed lightly as she worked until the embroidery time was over.

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"I love flowers," Malon said dreamily, looking out across the landscape. She and Link were sitting in the grass, and the flower patches on the hills looked like paint splashed across a green canvas. "Spring is my favorite season."

"It is pretty," Link commented, glancing at the redhead sitting beside him. "It's getting hotter, though. Summer's just around the corner."

Malon sighed. "Yes, I know." She looked at Link with a blank expression. "I hope it's not too hot. I get sweaty enough helping Dad and Ingo at the forge." She took a deep breath, then lay down staring up at the cloudless sky. Link remained sitting up, playing with the grass. "I'm excited for summer to start, though," Malon continued slowly. She studied Link. "Are you?"

The blonde glanced back at her. "Yes." He paused a moment, then lay down beside her, gazing up at the endless blue. "Yes, I am."

Malon fiddled with the hem of her dress. "Because, that means the Summer Festival will start soon," she hinted. "I want to go to the Stargazing Dance this year. Wouldn't it be fun?"

Link hesitated. He knew Malon was looking forward to it, and he had planned on asking her to it. But...something held him back. Perhaps the timing wasn't right. "It would be fun, wouldn't it?" he echoed. There was a break in conversation, then Malon turned on her side to face Link. He tensed a bit, feeling her breath on his cheek, but he didn't move. Just continually stared at the sky.

"Yes..." Malon edged. Link knew they could play this game forever, Malon continually hinting at the dance, and him twisting his way around the issue. He really did plan on asking her, but just not yet. He closed his eyes, and pretended to relax, enjoying the sunshine.

"It's a beautiful day," he murmured, signaling the end of that conversation and the beginning of another. "I'm glad the rain's passed."

The strawberry-haired maiden rolled back onto her side, and stretched her arms up above her head. "Yeah, it was very gloomy the past two days," she commented, essentially giving up the Stargazing Dance for the day. "And yesterday's storm was terrible."

Link opened his eyes. "The storm..." He turned his head to view the blacksmith daughter's profile. "I met a girl in the storm yesterday."

Malon peered at him nervously. "Oh?" She sat up, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Yeah," Link went on. "I was just watching the rain through the Tavern window, and I saw a girl on the street. She fell, so I ran out to bring her in from the storm..." He sat up as well, leaning on his hands positioned behind him. "She was unconscious, so we took care of her until she woke up..." He trailed off.

"Was she pretty?" Malon asked, eyeing Link. Her tone was expressionless.

Link shifted and smiled lightly at her. He wanted to say, 'Yes, she was beautiful!', but he couldn't do that to Malon. The girl was insecure as it was, and he knew she had an infatuation with him. And to be honest, he liked her too. He didn't even know why he had brought up the subject. The golden haired stranger was fascinating, but Malon had always been there for him.

"You're the pretty one," Link assured Malon. He smiled warmly and brushed his lips against her forehead. Malon's cheeks turned pink, and she looked down at her lap with a grin. "Now, come on," he said, standing up and extending his hand to her. "It's nearly lunchtime. I could smell my mom's Creamy Wild Rice soup cooking this morning. I'm sure it's ready by now, do you want to come over and have a bowl?"

"Oh, please and thank you," Malon said with a smile, taking his hand and standing up. She was going to let go once she got up, but Link held her hand firm, causing her cheeks to gain the deep pink color again. The pair walked hand in hand back into town. They made their way back to the Tavern, already beginning to fill up with the lunch crowd. Blessy saw them and waved cheerily. The two grabbed a corner table and sat down, while Blessy came and placed two glasses of water before them.

"Hi, you two," she bubbled. "What have you been up to?"

"We talked," Malon said plainly, but with a polite smile. "Link said you made some of your Creamy Wild Rice soup."

"He's right," Blessy replied. "Two bowls?"

"Yes, mom, thank you," Link stated. Blessy nodded and winked at him before heading off to the kitchen to retrieve the two orders of the soup. She came back within minutes and the two youths ate the hearty lunch. They talked about nothing in particular until Malon glanced out the window. From her vantage point, she could see straight to the clock tower in the town square.

"Oh! It's one o'clock already," she said. "I've got to go, Link. Tell Aryll I said hi." She smiled, then stood up to leave.

"I'll see you later," Link told her, and she nodded before hurrying back to the smithy. Now alone, Link looked down at his empty bowl. He sat in thought for a moment, until a male voice spoke.

"This seat taken?"

Link looked up to see Kafei grinning back at him. "No, go ahead," he said. Kafei nodded and sat down across the table from Link.

"I noticed you were with Malon," Kafei started. Link just nodded. "You two getting cozier?"

Link sighed, then shrugged. "I was trying to be more affectionate today. Malon's a sweet girl."

Kafei nodded slowly. "She is...but it seems like something's bugging you. Want to talk?" He smiled. "Maybe I can help out. I'm quite happy now that I've settled down with Anju. Though she has been a bit moody lately..." He paused, then shrugged.

Link hesitated, tracing the rim of his empty bowl with his finger. "I...just felt guilty. That's why I tried being more sweet to her today. But now I'm feeling guilty all over again, because isn't that a bad reason to be close to a girl?"

Kafei frowned. "Wait, back up. Why were you feeling guilty?"

Link pursed his lips, leaning back in his chair. "I suppose just because I know she likes me so much. But I keep thinking about Zelda—"

"What, Queen Zelda?" Kafei raised an eyebrow.

The blonde shook his head. "No, no, a royal cook. I saw her yesterday in the rain..." He waved his hand. "Long story, but anyways, she was intriguing. And she's been in my thoughts since then, and I don't even know why. I barely know her, and I'm much closer to Malon... I just feel bad."

Kafei snorted. "That's not a good reason to feel bad. So you like another girl!" He placed his hand over his chest. "The heart's a fickle thing, Link. Crushes come and go, but friendships should last you forever. Don't get caught up in trying to prove your love for Malon if your eyes lay elsewhere... Just nurse your friendship, and see how it develops." He looked solemn. "The last thing you need is to break that girl's heart by building up her hopes for nothing."

Link nodded slowly. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Kafei."

The violet-haired male smiled. "No problem!"

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To Be Continued...

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Ta-da! This chapter didn't really take 8 months to write. It just took me 8 months to sit down and write it. Like, 3 days to write it. TT guhhhh. Oh well.

Next Chapter: The Royal Cook