Princess Zelda was a mess.

As soon as Malon was gone, and the door was shut behind her, the young princess burst into tears. She felt as though a boulder rested on her shoulders. She had just broken another girl's heart, and, in a way, her heart was broken too, and she hated herself for it.

It had been going on for years. She'd always had that girlish crush on Link. He had agreed to help her save Hyrule so easily. He needed no convincing, he just did it. And that made her fall in love with him.

But as a princess, as future queen, her father and her family discouraged her interest in him. "He isn't of noble blood!" her father had said, shocked that his regal little daughter would ever even consider friendship with someone of lower status.

"But Daddy," Zelda said, barely twelve years old at the time. "He helped us. He saved Hyrule. I didn't, you didn't, Impa didn't. It was him, the whole time. I cannot ignore him merely because his mother isn't a duchess or a countess of some foreign land, or because our union wouldn't benefit Hyrule's economy in some way."

Zelda was strong-willed. She wasn't the common princess. She loved to go out into Hyrule, into town and into Kakariko Village. She had friends there. Although her father tried to keep her from those less fortunate, fearing she would start to develop an interest in a poor boy such as Link, Impa encouraged her, and that was all the approval Zelda needed.

As she entered puberty, Zelda felt herself beginning to like Link in a way her father wouldn't prefer. Fearing she would disappoint him, she hid her feelings. But as the king got to know the Hero of Time better, he grew very fond of him, and Link spent almost all his time at the castle. Zelda thought she would be ecstatic that her father and the boy she liked were friends, but instead, she felt increasingly nervous. She was too proud to admit to herself that she loved Link. And when, after so many years of friendship, he confessed his feelings to her, she panicked.

As a nearly grown woman now, Zelda had no idea why she felt the need to hide her feelings. Link loved her and she loved him. Why shouldn't they be together? She racked her brain, but she could not find an answer.

Instead, she had let him go. She let him go to Malon, and she was much too proud to ever admit she was wrong, or to tell her true feelings to him. Zelda liked Malon, and she had done enough damage.

Her heart was pounding, and saying to Impa that she wasn't feeling well, she went upstairs to her bedchamber. She needed to be alone, to think.

There was the possibility that Malon would leave Link. Malon was a smart girl, although a little timid, and who knew? Maybe this was the opportunity she needed to rise above her shattered heart and leave Link behind. He had hurt her so. Maybe the wedding would be called off. Zelda had to confess that she didn't mind the idea of them not getting married. And maybe if they didn't get married, she could find it in her to reveal her own true feelings to Link. Malon might be hurt if she found out about it later, but maybe by then she would have moved on.

Not to mention the fact that if Malon found out Zelda had lied, her reputation as a princess of honesty and virtue would be gone. She would be remembered as a harlot, as a husband stealer. For Link, Zelda thought, that was a sacrifice she would make.

On the other hand, they could still get married. And Zelda's chance to keep Link for her own would be gone, possibly forever.

She threw herself onto her bed and shut her eyes, forcing all throughts from her mind. She would have to wait until tomorrow.

Zelda slept so late the next morning that Impa had to come into her room to wake her up, something she hadn't done since Zelda's earliest teenage years. Gently, the Sheikah woman shook the small, sleeping girl's shoulder.

Still half in sleep, Zelda murmured, "Did Malon call off the wedding?"

Impa withdrew her hand from Zelda's shoulder. "No. Why would she?"

Zelda didn't answer. She rolled over. Impa, having been her caretaker practically since birth, knew that with was classic Zelda behavior when she was trying to avoid something.

"Zelda," Impa said sharply, "what's going on?"

"Nothing," replied the princess, grumbling.

Impa sat down on Zelda's cushiony bed. "I have known you your whole life, Your Majesty," she said. "I know when you lie. Tell me what is happening at once, or I shall take matters into my own hands. I know that girl wasn't here yesterday for no reason."

The princess forced herself to sit up and look her attendant in the eyes. "Link loves me," she said simply.

Impa barely blinked. "Is that what you told Malon yesterday? If so, I am appalled at your sudden forwardness, because you've been denying that fact for years."

Zelda closed her eyes. "I suppose I have," she said sadly, "and now it's too late."

Impa looked sympathetic for a moment, but the moment passed. "Yes, it is," she said.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm sorry the chapters have been so short, but I am trying to keep a good pace going, or I'll never finish the story. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed.