Chapter 8

Clock Town was just as Link remembered it to be as he walked into the South Clock Town entrance. He had left Epona with Cremia and Romani after visiting with them for awhile, promising to return and visit for a longer period of time before leaving to return to Hyrule. Romani seemed excited to practice archery while riding the full grown horse.

The carpenters, always busy, were working on rebuilding stands for the bazaar in the center of South Clock Town. The sounds of their nails being driven into the wood echoed along with their laugher and jesting. A small dog gamboled about them. The postman took the mail from the mailbox before heading towards West Clock Town.

Link made his way towards the steps leading up into East Clock Town. He saw the Bombers playing in the circle immediately. And they saw him as well. They all cheered his name, running to him and leaping on top of him. He landed on the ground with a thud.

"Hey kids." He laughed as they continued to climb on top of him.

"Why'd you take so long to come back?" Jim asked.

"Sorry I've been in Hyrule keeping it safe." Slowly the boys got off of him and he got to his feet, dusting off his tunic and looking down at the smiling faces. He returned their smiles with one of his own.

"Will you tell us a story Link? Will you?" One of them asked, tugging at his leggings.

"Yeah Link!" Soon they were all begging him for a story and grabbing onto him.

"I promise to tell you all a story when I come back with Zelda." When he said her name they all let go of him and stepped back, staring at him with wide eyes and gaping mouths.

"Zelda? The princess? She's coming?"

"Yes she's coming. Hopefully I can bring her here very soon. But now I have to go to the Stock Pot Inn." He nodded towards the building straight ahead. The Bombers reluctantly agreed to let him leave and continued their game though they were excited about the hero's return.

Inside the Stock Pot Inn, Anju stood behind the front desk in the lobby. Her three kids played on the floor. Her son, Lido, was commanding his sisters, Erika and Jana, as if they were his humble servants. They seemed to be having a great deal of fun.

"Link!" Anju spotted him and disappeared for a moment. At the sound of his name, the three kids looked up and tackled him the same way the Bombers had although he didn't fall to the ground. The little girls had both his legs while Lido grabbed his middle.

"Hey kids. How are you doing?" He asked, ruffling Lido's purple hair. He looked just like his father, Kafei.

"We were just playing a game." Lido stepped back and his sisters copied him. Now it was Anju's turn to hug Link as she reappeared.

"It's good to see you." She said as they broke apart.

"It's good to see you too. Where's Kafei?" Anju rolled her eyes and smiled.

"He's gone to try and fish again. That man couldn't catch one little tuna with three tons of bait." She shook her head.

"What brings you back here?"

"I was actually wondering if I could rent a room."

"Of course. For tonight or-"

"No…I need to make reservations…I was wondering if you could keep a room ready for me for about a week." She looked puzzled by his request and so he continued.

"I'm bringing Zelda to Termina and still haven't figured out when exactly we're going to be arriving. It should be within that time frame so if you could just-"

"The princess? Have you finally proposed to her?" Link blushed and scratched the back of his neck with a slight nod and a sheepish smile.

"So do you think…?"

"Of course. I can keep a room ready for you for about a week. Do you need somewhere to stay tonight?"

"No I'm heading back right away. I just needed to rent the room and I wanted to say hello."

"Well if you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask." Anju then turned her attention to the kids who were now begging her for something to eat. With a chuckle, Link left her to tend to her kids.

Cremia had dinner ready when Link returned near sunset. He had spent the rest of the afternoon visiting with others around Clock Town and walking back to Romani Ranch. By the time he reached the house he was starving.

"Do you plan to leave tonight?" She asked, loading up Link's plate with a generous amount of food after seeing the hungry expression on his face. She set it in front of him and watched as he tried very hard not to attack everything at once.

"I was hoping to." He answered, already nearly finished with the Cuckoo leg he had been served. He paused only to take a long drink of milk. Romani giggled at him.

The little girl was a spitting image of Malon as a kid. Romani was now fifteen years old and was the same playful girl she had been the day Link met her. Link smiled at her.

"Grasshopper you must have been working a lot today."

"I'll bet you did too. How was Epona for you?"

"I hit all twenty targets on the first try! Aren't I getting better?" She beamed, looking quite proud of herself.

"Congratulations." He ruffled her hair playfully to which she responded by throwing his hand away, moving her fingers through the mess to fix it.

The rest of dinner was spent catching up and telling stories. When the sun began to set, Link loaded up Epona and said his goodbyes so that he could return to Hyrule. He was ready to return to Zelda's side and rescue her from Garin.

That day was truly a summer day. The scorching sun beat down on Link and Epona as he rode through the fields. Epona was beginning to grow restless for she knew that they were nearly to their destination. She rode faster.

Link lifted the back of his hand and wiped the sweat beading on his forehead. He had the bright idea to hurl himself into Lake Hylia to relieve himself of this heat. But he had something more important on his mind. He wanted to see her. He wanted to see her wearing that necklace around her pale neck. He shivered when he thought of that, despite it being so hot.

Seeing everyone in Termina being so excited about seeing her made him even more excited. He and Zelda would be together in their little house on the beach. She would help him tell the kids stories and go along with him on his adventures. Together. He smiled.

Instead of stopping at Lon Lon Ranch to deposit Epona, he rode her over the draw bridge and through the market place. When he reached the main gate he dismounted and the guard had it opened for him.

"King Harkanian is in a meeting." He told Link.

"Where is the princess?" The guard thought for a moment before he remembered.

"I believe she is with Prince Garin in the courtyard." Link didn't like the sound of that. He wondered how many guards it had taken to get her to spend anytime with the prince. He knew she must've been miserable.

He wasted no time in rushing through the field and circling the castle, heading for the courtyard. When he reached it he stopped in the archway, unable to believe what he saw before him. Garin was seated beside Zelda on the steps, stroking her hair.

The dress she wore was unlike anything he had ever seen before. The color was an unimaginably bright red color through and through. Every inch of it was that color without a smudge or a stain to ruin it. The material was silk charmeuse and looked incredibly soft. Both the waist and neckline were drawstring, both playing off her curves with the help of the corset. The slashed shoulders showed a fair amount of her creamy skin and added a bit more sensuality to the already questionable dress.

"Zelda?" Link finally found his lips though his heart fell like it was going to pieces. He made his way into the courtyard as Garin stood to greet him. The way he smiled at Link made his skin crawl.

"Oh Link you've returned! Well isn't that swell."

"Get away from her Garin or I'll fulfill the promise I made to you the night you dared to touch her." Link threatened, grabbing the hilt of his sword with both hands. Garin seemed amused.

"Really? Well I'd wonder how the king would feel if you assassinated the future king of Hyrule. How would the princess feel?" He suddenly grabbed Zelda's forearm and jerked the woman to her feet.

"She doesn't love you." Link spat angrily.

"What makes you think that?"

Link finally turned his attention to his fiancée and saw something very wrong. Her face was blank, drained of all emotion. Her sea green eyes, usually filled with life and energy, were dull and glazed over as though she were a million miles away. She seemed to be staring past Link as he stood before her.

"Zel? Zel what's wrong?" He gripped her shoulders and stared into her dead eyes, growing fearful of what could have happened to her. She hardly seemed to blink.

"What did you do to her!" Link snarled, letting go of Zelda and turning his body towards Garin. He lunged for him and grabbed his throat.

"Answer me!"

"Guards!" The prince shouted, and Link released him instantly. But not before the guards who had heard the calls had seen him. They rushed in but Link took the princess by the shoulders again.

"What happened? Snap out of it Zel. It's me, it's Link." He spoke softly to her, pleading with his blue eyes for her to drag herself from this daze and answer him. He was drowning in fear for what the prince had done to her.

By this time the guards ceased Link and pulled him away from her. He struggled in their hold but to no avail. Garin put his arm around Zelda's shoulders and drew her close.

"This…madman tried to kill me and threatened the princess. He has been sneaking into her quarters for many nights now. Put him in the dungeon." Garin ordered. The guards went to take Link away but Garin stopped them.

"Wait just a moment." He waited until Link's menacing eyes were locked onto his. Then, slowly, the prince leaned in and kissed the princess's neck. Link growled ferociously and struggled once more as he watched the cruel display. Zelda's face was still stone.

"Take him away." Garin ordered with a chuckle, waving his hand at them. The guards hauled Link out of the courtyard while he continued to call out to his love and plead with her to snap out of it.

When the guards reached the dungeons, they opened up the rotting, wooden door and tossed him inside of the dim room. He landed hard on the stone floor.

"We've even got a little friend for you." One of the guards said from the open doorway. Link slowly lifted his head from the hard floor and his eyes widened as he saw who was huddled against the wall. Cuffs around her wrists were chained to the wall behind her while both her feet were wrapped in chains as well.

"Zelda?" He felt completely numb. Had he not just seen her outside in the courtyard with Garin? He was about to scream in frustration when he saw the familiar chain around her neck and realized that the princess outside hadn't been wearing one.

Crawling fast to her side he cupped both her cheeks in his rough hands. He nearly cried in relief when he saw her gorgeous eyes glinting with the same light he had grown to know and love. She seemed just as happy to see him and they kissed, her hands holding onto his face as well.

"Oh Zel what happened? What's going on?" He murmured after their lips parted. But before she could answer him he was suddenly tugged backwards, hands moving to lock him in chains too.

"Link!" She called out to him as the guards chained him up on the opposite side of the room.

"Shut your mouth imposter." One of the guards spit upon the princess's face and connected a hard slap with the side of her head. When Link saw this he lashed out at the guards trying to chain him down.

The last thing he remembered was seeing the hilt of a dagger being slammed into the side of his head while the princess helplessly screamed out to him.