Chapter 5

The walk from the castle to Lon Lon Ranch, as Zelda thought, would be awkward. She had started out walking ahead of the two men accompanying her, thinking of ways to ditch the prince who had tagged along. But, speak of the devil; he had quickened his pace to walk alongside her. Link stayed behind the couple with a look of pure hatred on his face. His teeth nearly ground down to the gums.

She decided to ignore him still and reflected on the wonderful night she had spent with the man currently walking behind her. A brief smile flashed across her face in remembrance of it but she quickly made it disappear before Garin could ask her what had brought it about.

That morning she had been awakened by Link gently nudging her awake, telling her that the sun had risen and they should get up and get dressed. He had made no move to get up and so neither had she. They had instead made love again before having a glass of wine each to the excuse that they would need it for an afternoon with the prince. They drank to life long happiness and to each other, breaking the rules and switching back and forth to finish off the bottle.

From what she could tell Garin had won over her father. The two had been laughing and joking as she reentered the castle that morning with Link casually showing up not long after. The two tried to act platonic but he had ended up taking hold of her hand behind their backs. This brought smiles to both their faces and King Harkanian had asked them why they were in such good moods.

It was nearing noon and the three were nearly to Lon Lon Ranch. The day was just as beautiful as it had been the day before, sure signs of a lovely summer. And Zelda would be eighteen soon.

"Garin," she said suddenly as she remembered that little detail, "how old are you?"

"I reached nineteen last month Princess." He said proudly, holding his head high.

"Splendid." She said through her teeth, marching forward as they came to their destination. She reached the inside of the rock walls first and was surprised when she didn't see Malon, Talon, or Ingo anywhere. The redhead was usually up and around by now.

She went to inspect this further and found a note scrawled in Malon's handwriting tacked to the door leading into the stables.

Hey Link and Zelda! My dad and I went to Termina this morning to check up on the relatives (Cremia and Romani) and won't be back until tomorrow sometime. Ingo was here in the morning but won't be back again until later. Feel free to ride without us. Have fun! Malon

Zelda sighed heavily. She didn't have Malon to buffer her from Garin. Link could only go so far before things got suspicious. She also looked forward to spending time with her friend. They would ride together and talk about their relationships (Malon was the only other person besides the Sages who knew about Link and Zelda) and other girl stuff.

"Something wrong?" Garin asked from behind her.

"No. Not a thing." She turned and handed the note to Link who read it over and nodded, crumpling it up into a ball and smiling crookedly. She wondered why in the world he was smiling.

"Malon and her family have gone. They asked us not to ride the horses because Ingo will be by cleaning and working and she doesn't want us to bother him." He lied, shoving the trash into his tunic.

Zelda nearly laughed aloud. Instead she nodded in agreement.

"What a shame. Perhaps another day? In the meantime, why don't we return to the castle for lunch and find something else to entertain us?" Garin suggested. He wouldn't be brushed off so easily. With a grim nod, she followed after him.

The next two weeks passed and Garin continued to try and wiggle himself between Link and Zelda. He often went along with them to wherever they decided to go, only staying away when the two had work to do with any trouble (there had been a problem with Moblins in the Lost Forest and an odd tentacle in the Zora's Domain.)

However that morning Zelda was pacing her room back and forth, her heart pounding so fast that it dizzied her and she fell unsteadily onto the bed. She tried desperately to calm herself down, taking deep breaths and thinking of a way to break the news to Link.

She placed her face in her hands and nearly screamed. In the back of her head all this time she knew something like this might happen but had been stupid enough to think it couldn't ever happen to her. Not like this.

Before she could throw herself out the window as she had been thinking about doing for the past hour or so, she ran to her desk and pulled out a piece of parchment with shaky hands. Dipping her quill into the ink she began her note to her love.

My dearest Link I ask that you come to my room tonight. There is a possibility that I am with child. Your child. All the love in my heart, Zelda

She couldn't bear to say those words to him herself. Writing it down was a lot easier to do at the moment. She quickly folded up the paper and sealed it closed with the Royal Seal before stuffing it into the pocket of her dress.

She did not stop running even when Garin asked where the hurry was as she passed him. She went to the gate and commanded the guard to open it after collecting her breath, rushing out before it was even fully open.

When she reached Lon Lon Ranch she was very tired and red faced but she didn't care. All that mattered was getting that message to Malon to give to Link when he came in like he usually did every afternoon.

Malon was singing as she helped Ingo tidy up the stables, pausing only to talk a little with the cows as they chomped away on the grass they were fed. When her big eyes fell upon Zelda she smiled and rushed to her friend.

"Why Princess Zelda don't you look tired?" The smile dripped off of her face when her friend did not return it. She knew then that something was wrong.

"What is it?"

"Malon I need you to give this to Link as soon as you see him." She roughly pulled the note from her pocket and placed it in her friend's outstretched hand, clamping it tightly into her palm and refusing to let go.

"This must be read by no other. Please promise me that." Zelda stared at Malon with pleading eyes.

"Of course Zelda." Malon whispered, putting the note into her own pocket. Zelda breathed a sigh of relief and allowed her friend to sit her in a chair to rest a moment.

All the while Zelda wondered how Link would react to the news. She prayed that he wouldn't be angry with her or that he would be ashamed. But in her heart she knew that was impossible. He would accept her and, if indeed she was with child, the baby.

When a half hour had passed Malon escorted Zelda back to the castle on horseback, assuring her that all would turn out no matter what happened.

The night was a bit cool. Breezes drifted in through the open window and whistled through the air. Zelda was standing with her back to the window awaiting her love to arrive so that they could discuss the situation at hand.

She had tied her long hair back in a ponytail and so it wasn't warming her shoulders or back against the chill. She rubbed her arms in an attempt to shield them from the wind but found that it didn't help in the slightest. Giving up she looked up from the floor and immediately saw the shadow of a man reflected on the wall. He had come.

"Link…" For a moment she didn't have the courage to turn around and face him. She feared what his face would look like. She feared what he would say. But after remembering what Malon had said she slowly turned to face him.

Surprisingly his eyes were not on hers – but looking intently at her stomach. Wrinkles creased her eyebrows as she wondered what he was thinking. She was about to ask him when a smile spread across his face.

"Our baby is in there Zel." He said in an awestruck voice. After he said this his eyes flickered up to meet hers and she saw nothing but love and happiness shining in his blue eyes. He wasn't angry. He was happy.

"Well," her voice sounded shaky and she realized that she hadn't breathed since he had come, "I'm not positive yet."

He surprised her by suddenly moving forward and separating the few feet between them. He held her face in his hands and placed kiss after kiss on her forehead, speaking after each one.

"I'm so sorry. That I wasn't here sooner. I can't imagine. How you've felt all. Alone today." He then pulled back to look into her eyes, caressing beneath them with the pads of his thumbs.

"Link, I'm scared." She admitted to him, placing her hands on his chest.

"If there is a baby then my father will surely have you banished and I couldn't bear that. What will we do?" She sounded frantic but surprisingly no tears filled her eyes. Link admired her for that. Surely any other woman would be crying their eyes out if they had been in this predicament.

"Nothing will ever keep us apart." He promised her softly. He pulled the afghan from over the rocking chair and placed it around her shoulders.

"But if you are carrying my child then I don't want you getting sick." He told her, referring to the blanket.

"I'm two weeks late. I don't know if I'm just irregular this time or if…" She bit her lip and averted her eyes.

"Zel," he sat her down on the edge of the bed and sat beside her, "I don't know what's been going through your mind today but I love you. I want to marry you and have a family with you someday."

She glanced sideways at him.

"Does this mean that you aren't angry?" He chuckled at her words and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. His chin dug comfortably into her golden hair.

"Angry? Why would I be angry? How many times have I told you how badly I want to marry you and how many more times have we talked about having kids one day?" He kissed her before continuing.

"I'm not angry."

"How will we tell my father? There is no way that I am allowing him to banish you. If he dares to do that then I will come with you-"

"Shh. I love the enthusiasm and it makes me happy to know that you would follow me but let's not get ahead of ourselves. We have time to discuss this but we should rest. It has been a long day for you and a long night for us."

They got to their feet and pulled back the covers, both undressing on opposite sides of the bed. Zelda changed into a sheer nightgown while Link stripped down to his white leggings before they slipped under the blankets. Her skin was cold but nestled up to Link's warm chest banished the chill quickly and she was warm again.

"Good night Zelda. Sleep well and let your mind rest."

"Good night Link." She whispered before curling up to him closer and letting her eyes close, falling asleep with her head rising and falling on his chest.

The sun hadn't risen yet when Link opened his eyes. He nearly groaned when he realized that he would have to leave soon but didn't want to risk waking the woman sleeping with him in her comfy bed. He liked to watch her sleeping just before he left.

He looked down at her, her hair falling out of the ponytail. She had nestled further into his chest as if it were her pillow and clutched him around the waist as he was doing to her. She was sleeping peacefully with a stoic look on her face. She looked beautiful, she always did.

He thought about the news he had read in the message the day before. When he had read it his heart had stopped and then picked up in double time. He hadn't at all been angry or upset about it but had wanted to see his angel right away. He wanted to know that she was alright and that she wasn't angry with him.

Truthfully, Link had been excited about the news. The thought of having a baby with Zelda elated him in a way that most people only dreamed about. A smile warmed his face when he thought of being called a daddy. Goddesses was he happy.

He watched her for a few more moments before gently freeing himself from beneath her. She grabbed onto the blankets and whimpered, tugging them close. He laughed as he dressed in his undershirt and tunic. As he put his leather gloves back on he stepped into his boots. As he was tightening his belt he heard the angel awaken and turned to see her stretching.

"It can't be time already." She insisted sleepily, sitting up. She yawned cutely and moved out from underneath the covers, letting her hair out as she walked around the bed towards him. He put on his cap.

"I wish it weren't." He said sincerely, pulling her into a hug. He buried his face into her shoulder and brushed his lips over the skin exposed. It was like silk under his mouth.

"You'll come today?" She asked anxiously as she let go of him. He kept his arms around her still and nodded.

"Why wouldn't I? I'm still your mentor eh?" He leaned in and kissed her for as long as he could. It quickly became heated and she tangled her fingers in his messy hair while he pulled her against his body.

"You've taught me well." She breathed into his face when they separated. He laughed again and slid his hands down onto her hips as he bent down and looked at her stomach through the thin nightgown with the same expression as before. He leaned in and kissed it tenderly before straightening up.

"I will see you soon." He promised, brushing her cheek with the backs of his fingers. She nodded, touched by the sweetness of his reaction to all of this, and watched him leave through the window. As she gazed down at him she wondered if this would be such a bad thing after all.