A/N: Chapter Twenty-Six, the impeccably strange-written chapter that will have all readers making their trademark high pitched noises of joy! This chapter is the resolution of the Zelda/Link/Sarah problem. Read! Now! Why are you still reading this!

Chapter Twenty-Six - The Final Decision

'I fight to protect my friends, I fight to protect Hyrule, and most of all, and this is the main reason why you won't win, I fight to protect Zelda!'

Link's words echoed through Sarah's head. She had followed him just in case he needed help, but had chosen to stay outside.

"Could he... really still love Zelda even though she never said anything... and even though I'm back like this..? Maybe... maybe Zelda was right..."

She sighed and sat down on one of the many rolling hills. "But what if he just got caught up in the moment? I mean, if I was fighting to save someone, I'd probably say something like that. So does that really prove anything at all?"

Thinking, she fell back against the grass. "But then again, I saw what he did. He was mad, way worse than when Dark Link came after me. I didn't even know Link had it in him to get like that. Makes me glad I've never gotten on his bad side. And then when he turned back to her, it vanished. Gone in a flash."

She sat up. "Well, girl, you've got two choices: fight for him or let him go. If I fight for him, I'm gonna have to kick it up a notch, but then I risk our friendship if it doesn't work out because I'm gonna have to be blatantly obvious about it. However, if I let him go, then any chance at all is lost. You know what? I think I've decided. I've decided that men are very, very confusing."

Sarah stood and started walking to the castle. It was a short, boring walk, and she arrived quickly. She walked up the stairs silently and found Zelda's giant room. Knocking at the door, she opened it a bit.

"Oh, Sarah. Come in," Zelda said. Sarah did just that and walked up to Zelda. "Something wrong?"

"I'm... I'm sorry..." she replied.

"Come again?"

"I'm sorry. I've just realized that I was wrong. He loves you, and he always will. I realize now that I can't come between something that strong. I only tried because I thought he was about over you, where you hadn't told him how you felt. I was wrong, though. And for that, I'm sorry."

Zelda nodded. "Thank you. I had hoped that it could be settled peacefully, this fight over Link. I hope that it hasn't hurt our overall friendship."

"I'll get over it. I did once, and I can do it again. I'm gonna go on now, see what I can do with my life in my new body. I want you to go to him. Tell him how you feel. Don't let him hang for any longer."

Zelda nodded once again. "I will. And I won't, you have my word. I should have told him already, but that's behind me. I'll see you later, okay?"

Sarah watched Zelda leave, shutting the door behind her.

Zelda took a right and quickly found Link's door, painted with a vicious green that contrasted extremely bad with the surrounding wall. She eased the door open and walked in.

She found Link asleep on his bed, obviously worn out from Dark Link's 'event.' She decided that when he woke, she'd tell him.

>>

Link struggled to wake up, even though he could use a few hours more sleep. As he woke, he realized that something was off. Not bad off, just off. He rolled over slowly and came face to face with the beautiful Queen of Hyrule. He smiled, settling back in. He might have wanted to wake up, but he was way too comfortable.

>>

Zelda slowly slid back into the real world. Finding the Hero of Time's big, strong arms pulling her close to his sleeping form, she smiled. As she did so, he stirred, waking.

"Good evening," she said as he turned back to her.

"Well, hello there. You're really warm, you know."

She rewrapped her right arm around Link. "So are you."

"Well, I'm glad. I don't want you to get cold."

She ran her hand through his unkempt hair. "You're very handsome when you wake up."

"Well, you're beautiful all the time as it is, so I have to keep up appearances if I'm ever going to catch your eye."

"Speaking of catching my eye, I met this man earlier," Zelda started.

"Oh? Get another visit from a suitor?" Link asked, surprised at the contempt in his voice.

"He's tall, extremely handsome, and an excellent all-around guy."

"Really..?" Link asked, suddenly uninterested.

"Yeah. That and he has a habit of saving my life, you know? I think I've fallen for him, too."

"Oh, really? Tell me more about this man you saw earlier. Did he have a stunning personality? Was his chest rippling with muscles?"

Zelda laughed. "I don't know. He doesn't really take his shirt off too much."

"Well, maybe if you had just asked him, he might have complied."

"Link, you're getting too full of yourself, I think. Your ego's showing."

Link gasped and pulled the cover over his head. He heard Zelda laugh as he poked his head out.

"You're funny."

"Why thank you, milady." He crawled out from under the covers and sat back down.

"You know, Link, I meant what I said a minute ago. I've fallen under the spell of the Hero of Time." She sighed happily, leaning back. "I'm in love..."

"Is that so? Well, what are you going to do about it?" Link asked, but he knew the answer even before he asked. He watched as a mischievous smile popped into existence on Zelda's face. He leaned toward her and their lips touched, at first just a brush against each other, then he seemed to gain the courage that was his trait and he kissed her passionately.

Zelda would have melted in his arms instantly had she not wanted it to continue. It had been so long since that day after she recovered, and Link seemed to realize this, because had she been standing, she wouldn't have been for long. She felt him pull back.

"Wow..."

"You can say that again." Link decided to go for it and kissed her once more. There was just something...right about this feeling he had when he kissed her, and whatever that feeling was, he enjoyed it immensely.

She pulled back and stopped him from kissing her again.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked. "Did I-"

"No, you were wonderful. Trust me on that. It's just that we need to stop, for now, at least."

Link nodded. "Well, thanks. Thanks for telling me."

"Oh, no thanks necessary. I'm extremely glad I did." She stood and walked to the door. "It was nice, er, talking with you."

"The feeling's mutual," Link responded as she shut the door behind her.