It's time for chapter 57, and we're moving onto a new story arc. It shouldn't take long at all for you to know who it'll focus on this time! Enjoy!

"Saria, look at what we got!"

"Huh? Who's this, Rulie?"

"Isn't he cute? The Great Deku Tree said he just came here, and he's going to be the newest member of the village!"

"Yeah, he is cute... so what's his name?"

"The Great Deku Tree says it's Link, and he wants us to watch over him so he can grow big and strong!"

"I see..."

"Hey, you want to hold him Saria?"

"Ah, me? I don't know about that!"

"Come on, just take him, you're usually good with the newborn Kokiri!"

"Ah... um... okay..."

"Hee hee, you took to holding him great, in fact I think he already likes you Saria! I bet when he grows up that you two will be great friends!"

"You... think so?"

"Yep, I know so!"

"...that'd be nice. Okay then... Link, as of now, you and I are friends!"

Saria's eyes opened and she found herself on her bed in the palace of Gerudo Town. The sun was just beginning to rise outside, but she still felt a bit tired, so she laid back on her bed and thought about the dream she just had.

"I remember that... it was the day I met Link." Saria whispered.

Saria smiled warmly as she thought of the day Link came into her life, and how she took care for him for years as he grew up. She'd teach him about the wilderness of the forest around them, some basic self-defense maneuvers, and how to be kind and compassionate to others, including protecting him from bullies and wild animals, and the two overtime became best and nearly inseparable friends.

...then came the day Link left the forest to go avenge the Great Deku Tree's death, and Saria had wondered at the time if she'd ever see him again. It didn't help that her strange dreams had started around that time; dreams that were very unclear, but seemed to be trying to tell her something about Link and the Forest Temple, and the more times she had that dream, she started becoming more and more convinced it was trying to tell her something... that perhaps she and Link could never be together; as friends, or anything else...

But then Link finally returned one day, stating that the evil demon king that cursed the Great Deku Tree was caught thanks to Link and was soon defeated and captured by the Hylian royal family. There was much rejoicing and congratulations to Link for the part the young hero had done to stop him.

But it was then he confessed something he had come to learn while he was gone; that he wasn't a Kokiri, but a Hylian. Typically according to Kokiri laws imposed by the Great Deku Tree, outsiders weren't allowed in the forest, and Mido had tried to banish him with this news, but Saria was quick to come to Link's defense, and with support from the other kids, declared that Link was still their family despite his birth origins, and that he'd always have a home in Kokiri Forest.

Some time after that, Link said he had to go on a new journey to find someone important to him. He wasn't sure when he'd back, but promised Saria that he would return someday. Saria couldn't help but still feel sad to see him go despite the promise, but she bid him a heartfelt goodbye and prayed to the Great Deku Tree's spirit for his safe return. She spent the next seven years waiting for her prayers to come true.

Eventually he did return, only for her to see he had become a tall, strong Hylian man. As strange as it was to see how much he changed, she and the kids were all quick to welcome him back. Mido in particular was angry he had been gone for so long, but the kids presumed he was most likely just annoyed that Link had grown so much taller then him.

For Link and Saria to be reunited again was amazing, the two would spend their days hanging out in the forest and talking with each other, catching up on old times. Saria was in awe of how big and strong he had grown, yet despite how much he changed on the outside he remained as sweet and kind-hearted as ever to her and everyone else.

A few weeks after that, he had gone on a trip out to Gerudo Valley to fulfill another promise he had made to meet someone there, and much to her surprise, he had later called using her song to tell her that he wound up living with the people there. Link started sending her messages about how he was to become king of the Gerudo, and his relationships with the girls he had befriended and fallen in love with during his time at Gerudo Town, he had even become engaged to the zora princess Ruto.

As happy as Saria was for him, she still felt the fear of the idea that Link was gone yet again... only this time it was possibly for good, and started to believe more and more she had no real place in his life now, like those dreams were trying to tell her...

But it was then after the evil Straw Kid captured her and pulled her into the Forest Temple, Link ignored her attempts to keep him away and went in to save her, then shortly after that accepting her into his new family.

Saria just smiled warmly at those thoughts, it seemed no matter how far apart their lives got, they would eventually come right back together again, and each time even closer then before. Now she was seeing the world and befriending so many great people in it, such as Togau, Aviel, Nemisa and the others, and she and Link themselves were still growing closer together by the day...

She then found herself recalling that time they all went to the hot spring and she got to see his strong lean physique, made even more enticing by his newly tanned skin... She thought about the way he had massaged her back, how he touched her... firmly but gently, and how much she enjoyed it... Saria had felt something within her rise up at that time, a part of her that wanted Link to touch her in more places, for him to kiss her, to take her into his strong arms and make her feel pleasure in ways she thought she never could, like he has done for the women he had taken as his fiances and child-bearers...

"I wonder... if we could ever become..."

Saria blushed at that thought, but then remembered about something else that Dr. Sarami once told her when she went to the clinic for a physical examination, and frowned a little...

"But even if that would ever happen, I can never give him a..."

She sighed and got herself up, taking a moment to look at the calendar she had on her wall, upon realizing what day it was, she smiled brightly.

"It's finally time..."

"Link, it's time to get up already!"

"Mmh... don't wanna, still sleepy."

"What attitude is that Link? Get up and greet the day!" Saria stated firmly to her friend.

"The day was mean to me yesterday, and I'm petty." Link grumbled, turning and burying his face into his pillow.

Saria let out a sigh as she looked to her slumbering friend. This reminded her of the days when she'd have to drag him out of bed in the morning over at Kokiri Forest, so she knew what she had to do.

"Alright, you asked for it." Saria said, reaching up her hands and wiggling her fingers with a mischievous gleam in her eyes, "It's time for your awakening!"

"Oh no." Link said.

Before Link could do anything, Saria leaped onto Link's back and started tickling him all over his body.

"Hahaahaaha! Stop it! Ahahahaaha! Stop it Saria!" Link laughed out loud uncontrollably, squirming around trying to stop her, but he couldn't grab the Kokiri off of him in the position she was in. This is a tactic she used to do all the time back when he was too stubborn to get up as a kid.

"Surrender then!" Saria said firmly.

"You don't deserve this much power!" Link shouted, biting into his pillow to try and avoid laughing, but it came out as sputtering instead. The tickling continued until Link finally had enough.

"Alright! All right already!" Link shouted. Saria triumphantly got up, as Link forced himself up onto his feet.

"Hee hee, even as a king now, you haven't changed a bit, Link!" Saria giggled.

"Yeah, yeah..." grumbled Link, he slowly wandered over to his clothes he left on a chair to change into, but looked over his shoulder at her, "Aren't you going to leave so I can change?"

"Not going to risk you going back to sleep, you've done that before!" Saria pointed out.

"Well at least turn around so I don't give you a peep show." Link said, working to undo his sleepwear.

"Oh come on, I used to see you all the time like that as a kid." Saria giggled teasingly, "And then there was what happened at the hot spring..."

"Ah.. ha ha... yeah..." Link laughed nervously.

The two of them blushed heavily from that thought, as Saria decided to go ahead and spin around to avert her gaze and give him some privacy.

It had been a month since Link and his friends' trip to Goron City. After arriving back in town, Nabooru and her assistant Halei immediately got to work on sorting out all the matters involving trade with the Gorons, as well as providing them with advice on making the Happy Goron Hot Springs resort more enticing to tourists. Other then that, life continued as normal for everyone. Occasionally they'd have a rebel or two trying to attack the town, but they ended up quickly dealt with, resulting in the rebels either escaping or getting captured and imprisoned.

As Saria was looking away, she took a small breath, and slowly turned her head to see out of the corner of her eye Link sliding his royal garment pants up to his waist, and found herself getting a good look at his firm rear end. He turned a bit and started to put on the vest which gave her a good view of his tanned muscular chest and his toned arms. She fidgeted a bit as she watched him focusing on tying the belt sash onto his waist, while his bleach blonde hair locks fell over his eyes.

It was then Saria realized what she was doing and turned away again before Link could catch her in the act.

'Goddesses, what am I doing?' Saria thought to herself, putting her hands to her cheeks as she was blushing bright red.

"You ready Saria?" Link asked her.

"O-Okay, let's get going!" she said, turning back around and smiling pleasantly.

"So where exactly are we going?" Link asked.

"I just wanted to go check out a store Aviel mentioned." Saria said.

"If that's the case why'd you rush me out the door? I didn't even get to have breakfast yet." Link said, rubbing his empty stomach.

"I wanted to see about catching an early morning sale. Don't worry about it though, we can stop at Ms. Sovan's diner, I'll even treat you!" Saria said smiling.

"Alright, if you insist." Link said.

Link and Saria went walking down the street of Gerudo Town, and the young king took some time to look around at the bustling town and it's people doing their morning commute.

The Gerudo were happily going about their day; chatting with each other, carrying shopping bags, and a few sparring in combat as others cheered them on. Link smiled warmly, seeing how prosperous things were in the town as of late, despite the hardships they had all gone through. It felt like what he and everyone were doing was really making a difference in their lives.

He turned and looked to Saria, who was humming a happy tune as she walked alongside Link.

"So where's Aviel and Nemisa anyway?" Link asked, "I was hoping we could all do some training together this morning as well."

"Nemisa's practicing her dancing today and Aviel said she was working on crafting more Bombling arrows for the next rebel attack." Saria said, "They said they'll make it up to you later today."

"Oh hi King Liiiink!" called out a voice, as Link and Saria both looked to see a group of four young Gerudo ladies, all waving and sporting flirty smiles.

"Good morning girls!" Link waved back with a polite smile, while Saria rolled her eyes a bit.

The four girls all swooned out at his courtesy towards them, but it was then one of the four girls sported a mischievous grin and spoke out to her sisters...

"Okay girls, you know what to do! Three... two... one..."

"WHOOO!"

With that, all four girls lifted up their tops, showing off their bare chests of varying sizes to Link, his eyes turning to wide dinner plate size at the sight as blood leaked out from his nose. Saria gasped out and covered her mouth in shock.

"H-Hey, cover those up in public! There's little kids around here, you're going to teach them strange things!" Saria shouted in a fit.

"Hmm... good point." one of the flasher girls said looking to the others, who were in agreement as they lowered their tops back into place.

Saria nodded firmly, "Good, I'm glad you agree with-"

Then a second later, the woman cheerfully proclaimed, "So let's take King Link indoors to have some fun with him!"

With that, the four of them all swarmed around Link, knocking Saria out of the way, as they all lifted the young king into the air and started running towards their home.

"Hey, leggo of me!" Link exclaimed out, trying to squirm free.

"Don't kidnap Link!" Saria shouted in anger chasing after them all with her Deku Staff.

"Hmph, those girls had some nerve trying to kidnap you like that!" Saria spoke with puffed out cheeks, as she and Link headed down the street to the diner.

Saria had managed to chase down Link and the girls and make them give the king up by lassoing them to the ground using her Deku Staff's vines. Despite them apologizing for the attempted kidnapping though, they said immediately after that they would get back to him later for another attempt at their 'fun'.

"I admit I'm flattered by their affection for me, I just wish they wouldn't be so aggressive about it." sighed Link, rubbing his head.

"Well I-" Saria paused on that note. She thought about what she had admitted to Aviel back at the hot spring, how she was having a hard time working up the courage to tell Link her true feelings for him, "Aggressive, huh...?"

"Something the matter Saria?" Link asked.

"Oh nothing. Now let's get that breakfast!" Saria said cheerfully.

"Yeah, I'm starving." Link nodded.

The two of them eventually approached their destination, but just as the two were about to walk into the diner, Link bumped into someone coming out the door who had been distracted with some papers they was reading.

"Hey!"

"Ack, sorry about that, I-" Link stopped in his words when he saw the woman in front of him.

It was a tall Gerudo woman he had never met before. Her red hair was tied back into a small double bun, she had a small mole on the side of her cheek and she wore a pair of thin-rimmed glasses. Her outfit itself was rather unusual for a Gerudo; a white blouse with a dark purple vest over it, and a black skirt that showed off a pair of shapely legs, her legs for that matter were covered in gray stockings and she wore a pair of black high heeled shoes. Her expression was stern and angry, it felt like she was staring right through Link in that moment.

"You need to watch where you are going." the Gerudo said with a tone as sharp and stern as she looked.

"Now wait a minute, you're the one that ran into him!" Saria pointed out.

There was a brief pause, as the Gerudo continued to just look at Link.

"...so you are the new Gerudo King?" the woman asked, narrowing her eyes a bit more.

"Don't ignore me!" Saria shouted in protest, but was calmed down by Link patting her shoulder.

"Um... yes, I'm Link. Nice to meet you?" Link asked, somewhat unnerved by her stare.

"...I see." the Gerudo said, walking past the two and continuing on her way without so much as a word.

"Hmph... I don't like that woman." Saria said with an angry pout.

"Hey, chill out Saria, it's water under the bridge now." Link assured her, "Come on, let's go eat, then we can go check out that store you mentioned."

"Alright..." sighed Saria as they went into the diner together.

By the afternoon, Saria wanted the two of them to go back to the palace as soon as possible. Link had wanted to get lunch at one point but Saria insisted they wait until they came home, but wouldn't explain why, so he just decided to go with the flow.

"Well that was a fun day wasn't it?" Saria asked as they went up the stairs of the palace.

"Yeah, though I'm wondering what happened to Sovan at the diner. She normally works today, but we didn't see her at all." Link said.

"Hmm, maybe she's sick?" Saria wondered.

Maybe Link was just reading too much into it, but Saria sounded somewhat vague in her tone for some reason. As the two went into the palace and down the hallway towards the main dining room, Link then realized how dark that room was. He was confused as usually the torches were lit up and the curtains were open at this hour.

"Hey Saria, does something seem off about the palace to you...?" Link asked.

"Yeah... it does..." Saria whispered.

An uneasy feeling overcame Link, wishing he had thought to bring his sword and shield with him. He did have his Fairy Bow though, pulling it out and preparing an arrow.

"Saria, stay on guard." Link whispered quietly. The Kokiri nodded and pulled out her Deku Staff, but after a moment she then grinned a little and started to slowly back away from Link without him knowing...

'Everyone, please be safe...' Link thought to himself about Nabooru, Aviel, Nemisa and Halei, as he slowly went down the hall, closer and closer towards the dining room...

When he took a step in, it was then a blinding flash of light went off, obscuring Link's vision. It was then a massive amount of light poured into the room by the curtains opening, and when Link's eyes came into focus, he saw what was behind all of this...

"SURPRISE!"

Link blinked in confusion at what was before him; the entire dining room was filled with colorful balloons, streamers, and banners hung everywhere. There was a table covered in various foods and drinks, while another table was covered in brightly wrapped boxes of some kind.

But more importantly standing before him was a large group of familiar faces; the palace dwellers Lady Nabooru, his bodyguard/friend Aviel, his bodyguard/fiance Nemisa, and Nabooru's assistant Halei were all there.

There was also Togau, Dr. Sarami, Reirousa, Sovan and the four other members of the Sandstorm Viper gang, the mystic twins Kesuta and Korume as well as heir mother Koleima, and even a number of the guards that normally patrolled the palace.

His zora fiance Princess Ruto of the Zoras was also there smiling brightly, as well as Nemisa's friends Sumof, Otuko and Ifemi. Even Maifeki, the new mother from back at the medical clinic and even her baby daughter Salil were there.

"Happy birthday Link!" Nabooru said proudly with her arms crossed and a wide smile.

"Wha- birthday?" Link exclaimed as Ruto came right up and hugged him, giving him a big kiss on the cheek.

"I hope you didn't mind being surprised Link, but we couldn't resist!" Saria said, walking up to his side, as she clutched at a small gift box of her own.

"Yes, a happy birthday to you my dear husband!" giggled Ruto, "Oh, you should have seen the look on your face, it was priceless!"

"Well I can't say I was expecting this." Link said blankly.

"So how did you guys know when it was my birthday? I don't even know when it is." Link asked.

Everyone had gathered around the long dining room table to celebrate Link's birthday, partaking in the huge banquet of various foods, while Ruto herself was snuggling her husband-to-be.

"Well we don't your actual birthdate, but as me and Halei was filling out paperwork to get you officially recognized as the Gerudo King by the Hylian Parliament, Halei wondered what your age was, so I spoke with Saria about the day you were born. While she doesn't know your actual birthdate either since you were adopted by the Kokiri, she did say today was the anniversary that she first met you in the forest!" Nabooru explained.

"Oh right, I remember we used to celebrate that sort of thing back home..." Link realized.

"Yeah, so we all decided we should consider today your birthday and celebrate it like you and I used to in the forest!" Saria said.

"In fact, since you've been here well over a year, that means you should actually be nineteen by now." Nabooru said.

"Huh, I guess so. I never really kept track of my age." Link said.

"Oh my, you grow up so fast Link." giggled Sarami.

"So that means we gotta party twice as hard to make up for missin' yer eighteenth one then!" Togau declared, holding up a drinking cup, "Eat up everyone!"

"Woo-hoo!" many of the girls cheered out wildly.

Link smiled softly and chuckled, the girls always seemed to always have his best interests in mind, seeing not just to his safety, but his happiness as well, and seeing them all enjoying the celebration along with him made it feel even better.

"So that means you knew about this all along huh?" Link said to Saria with a grin, "You were keeping me outside so they could prepare for the party."

"Hee hee, yep." Saria giggled, "It was all worth it for that face you made!"

"No one told me about the party..." Aviel said with an annoyed pout, "I was put on rooftop guard duty all morning and was ordered to let everyone know when you two came back... Why didn't any of you tell me about it?"

"Probably because you would have gotten so excited that you'd blab it out to Link in five minutes." Korume said shrugging.

"Hey, I wouldn't do that, I can keep a secret! I still haven't told anyone else about how you used to be a bed wetter!" Aviel protested.

Everyone stopped talking in that moment and paused for a few seconds, before bursting out laughing their heads off. Kesuta in particular was laughing so hard she was clutching her sides and banging her hand on the table, and even Koleima giggled a little to herself.

"What... was that... little birdbrain...?" Korume said, standing over Aviel with her features darkened, her eyes a blood red, and her entire body coated in icy frost and mist, almost making the mystic look more like a demonic ice spirit.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Aviel pleaded with teary eyes, covering her head with her bird wings as the laughter from everyone continued.

"Your baby is so cute, Ms. Maifeki!" Saria said with wide eyes, looking to the Gerudo mother's daughter Selil. Maifeki smiled warmly and tickled the baby's stomach, making her giggle.

"Thank you Sister Saria, Selil has been wonderful for me to hold since the day she came into this world," Maifeki said, "Would you like to try holding her yourself?"

"Oh... uh, me?" blushed Saria, "I don't know if I could..."

"Come on." encouraged Maifeki, "You'll do fine."

She handed Selil over to Saria, who sat there in wonder as she held the child in her arms. The cooing laughing baby just lit up the room, and Saria couldn't stop staring at her with a soft smile on her lips. It reminded her of the days she'd help look after the other newborn children of Kokiri Forest, including Link himself back then.

"You really look happy holding Selil like that Saria." smirked Nemisa, "You remind me of the look Link made when he held her back when she was born."

"Heh, as I recall you were trying not to look Nemisa." snickered Nabooru.

"Yes, Link just so happened to be at Dr. Sarami's clinic when I was giving birth to her, and he did so much to comfort me during that time!" Maifeki said with a nostalgic smile, "He held my hand so strongly and his words were so soothing and compassionate..."

Saria blushed at hearing those worlds, while Link was on the other side of the dining table, just leaning forward on it with one elbow as he looked curiously to Saria cuddling the baby in her arms. Maifeki glanced to Link, then to Saria and chuckled knowingly.

"So tell me Saria, have you thought about having a child yourself? You seem so good with Selil!" Maifeki spoke out.

"I um..." Saria stammered, and lowered her head a little, "That's... not really possible for me..."

"Houh, why'sh thaht?" Kesuta asked with her mouth half-full of food, spitting a bit of it out in the process, which grossed out her sister Korume.

"We Kokiri aren't actually able to have children..." Saria explained.

"Wait, you're serious?" Korume asked as she used her hand to close Kesuta's mouth for her.

Sarami adjusted her glasses and spoke to everyone, "Allow me to explain, I gave Saria a full physical exam a while back after she arrived, and I learned much about her and her people's anatomy from it."

"A little too much examining..." Saria muttered with a pale face as she recalled that day.

Sarami continued, "You see, just as Chief Darunia and his Goron people originate from rock minerals, Saria and the Kokiri are more in line with the Plantae Kingdom; a subspecies of Spermatophytes to be more specific, so they don't have sexual reproductive systems like Gerudo or Hylains do. In addition, unlike actual plants, Kokiri have a limit to their physical growth, which is why they remain as cute little children their whole lives!"

"Ayayaya..." Aviel muttered with spiraling eyes, trying to absorb the knowledge of what Sarami said.

"I think Dr. Sarami broke Aviel again." Nemisa said.

"Wow, so Saria's basically a plant?" Reirousa asked, taking a hydromelon from her bowl and chomping into it, then spitting out the seeds into a smaller bowl, "Couldn't you just produce a seed like these and grow a kid then or somethin'?"

"Eh... it doesn't work like that." Saria said sweatdropping.

"So you can't have a kid yourself then? That really sucks." Kesuta frowned with a sympathetic look in her eyes, "You're such a sweet girl, and you're so good with the Gerudo kids here in town. We were hoping you'd be able to have one for yourself."

"Oh, no it's fine. I was never really interested in having one anyway." Saria laughed, waving her hand dismissively.

"If that's the case, how do your people reproduce then, if you don't mind me asking?" Nemisa asked curiously.

"One of the Great Deku Tree's tasks as the forest guardian was to bring new life into our forest when he choose to, and we Kokiri would take care of them until they grew up enough." Saria let out a sad sigh, "After Ganondorf took his life, we weren't sure what was going to happen with our people."

Link grimaced at that thought, recalling back when he tried to fight the curse on the Great Deku Tree as a child, but was unsuccessful in saving him... the Great Deku Tree could only give him the Kokiri Emerald in his last moments, which kick-started his quest to stop Ganondorf. He could never forgive the demon king for what he had done, but he couldn't forgive himself either for failing to be able to help the forest guardian...

"Thankfully, a little after Ganondorf was captured by Link and the royal family, the Great Deku Sprout grew out, and once he matures, he'll be able to start creating more of our kind." Saria said.

"Oh... that horrible king of ours... I never knew that." gasped Maifeki, "I'm sorry he did such a terrible thing to your people..."

"Hmph, I'm not surprised that accursed man would go that far. After all he was raised by those despicable witch ancestors of mine..." Koleima scowled, recalling what Twinrova had tricked her and her late sister into doing...

"Yes, he would stop at nothing to gain the power protected by the royal family, to meet his ends he blocked off the Goron's food supply..." Nabooru said.

"...and cursed our Lord Jabu Jabu with a similar fate to the Kokiri's guardian." Ruto added with her cheeks puffed out, "If it hadn't been for Link's help he might have met a similar fate to the Great Deku Tree."

"I apologize again on behalf of the Gerudo for that Sister Ruto..." Nabooru spoke with a sigh, "I can only hope your people will be comfortable meeting with us when we go to discuss the alliance."

"Ah, don't trouble yourself about it Lady Nabooru, it's not your fault." Ruto said smiling, "I'm sure things will go swimmingly for us all." she added with a small joke to lighten the mood.

"...y-yeah..." Nabooru said somewhat distantly, which confused the fish woman.

"Maybe we outta change the subject, we shouldn't be dwellin' on things like that during Link's birthday!" Togau brought up.

Everyone agreed on that, and the party continued as before.

"Um, so Ms. Maifeki, may I possibly hold little Selil...?" Ruto asked, sitting down beside her and Saria.

"Oh of course Princess Ruto! It'd be an honor!" Maifeki said happily, slowly taking Selil from Saria and handing her over to Ruto.

"Aw, she's such a little cutie!" giggled Ruto as she cuddled the child.

"Waaahhh!"

Everyone sat there and watched as Selil had burst out into tears almost immediately after being placed into Ruto's arms. The Zora Princess sweatdropped as she held the baby, then tried rocking her back and forth in an effort to comfort her.

"Um, it's okay, don't cry!" Ruto said frantically, but Selil just continued to wail out. "Maybe she's hungry?" Ruto asked, handing Selil back to her mother.

"Perhaps. Are you hungry again honey?" Maifeki asked her child. As soon as she took Selil though, the baby calmed down and stopped crying.

"Huh?" Ruto asked .

Maifeki then gave Selil back to Saria who held her, and the baby was right back to giggling and smiling.

"She seems okay now, why don't you try holding her again Ruto?" Saria suggested, handing her back over to the zora.

"Selil's gonna get dizzy being passed around like that." Link said sweatdropping.

"Okay then." Ruto nodded, taking Selil, only for her to start breaking out into wailing tears again, "Oh come on! What am I doing wrong, Maifeki?"

"I don't know, I've never seen her do this before!" Maifeki said in confusion.

"Maybe she doesn't like the smell of fish?" Kesuta suggested with a grin, only to be whacked upside the head by a flying bowl, "Gack!"

"Hmph, this is just weird..." Ruto muttered, looking somewhat worriedly over to Link, who was just watching.

Ruto paused, as she handed Selil over to him. Link took the baby in his arms she immediately stopped crying, going back to smiling and giggling like before. Link smiled warmly, recalling back when he held her shortly after her birth, and the wonderful feeling he had even back then.

"Alright, then it's my turn again! My darling husband and myself with a sweet little baby!" Ruto said cheerfully, taking Selil back and smiling beautifully at her, only for the baby to break out crying again.

'Poor Ruto.' Nabooru thought sweatdropping.

"Oh come ooon!" Ruto shouted in annoyance. It was then she had a disturbing thought in her mind, as she looked around frantically to try and find someone who could potentially disprove her theory.

Ruto then saw a servant place a bowl of more hydromelon slices beside Reirousa who politely thanked her for it, but the muscular woman was unwittingly giving the servant a sharp angry glare that spooked her away, and an idea occurred to the zora princess.

"Here Reirousa, why don't you hold her?" Ruto said smiling pleasantly, handing Selil over to her.

"Uh... I dunno about that..." muttered Reirousa, "It's crying too much and um..."

"Oh just take her!" Ruto said, practically shoving Selil into Reirousa's arms. The muscle-bound woman gulped as she nervously held the kid in her arms as gently as she could.

"It... it's not gonna drool or poop on me is it?" Reiorusa asked worriedly, looking down at the crying baby with her usual unintentionally intimidating stare, "Uh... there there, don't... cry?"

'There...' thought Ruto with a confident smirk, 'Now I have proof it isn't just m-!"

"Actually she's kinda cute now that she ain't cryin' anymore."

"HUH?" Ruto exclaimed with wide eyes.

Sure enough, despite Reirousa's unintentional glare she was known for making that could scare off even the mightiest foe, Selil had stopped crying and was back to laughing happily.

"Uh, she doesn't seem that weirded out by me... maybe I'm softening up too much? I gotta get back to training after the party..." Reirousa muttered, handing Selil back to her mother.

"Oh I wouldn't say that, I think she just likes you a lot!" Maifeki said, she then looked over to Ruto, "Oh wait, I didn't mean it like that-"

But Ruto stood there with her usual pale blue scaly skin now paled completely white, and a long, distant look in her eyes, as she collapsed beside Link and held him tightly around his chest.

"It's alright Ruto," Link sighed, trying to console his zora fiance by patting her head, "Maybe Selil's a little bit of a picky baby."

"Sure... that's what it is..." Ruto sniffled.

Link frowned as he held her closely, running his hand over her bulbous head to comfort her. It was clear this was bothering her for more reasons then just Selil not liking being held by her, and he knew he'd have to ask her about this some other time...

"Awww, they're so sweet together!" Nemisa's friend Ifemi said, looking to Link and Ruto, "I didn't think I'd see a Hylian and Zora as lovers like this, but there you go! Guess true love can even surpass the borders of species!"

"So what, you thinking of getting with a male Zora then?" Sumof asked Ifemi, "I heard they can't have kids with us."

"Eh, maybe. I've seen some pretty handsome Zora dudes, like Ruto's bodyguard. Maybe I don't really need a kid that much as long as we're in love!" Ifemi said with a nod.

As Saria was helping Maifeki play with Selil, the Kokiri's eyes it up upon hearing what Ifemi said. She paused on that note and started thinking deeply to herself.

"Well put Ifemi." Nabooru said with a nod. "If you'd like you can come with us to Zora Coast when we meet them for the alliance and you can go husband-hunting!"

Nabooru then took a gaze over at Saria and saw the look in her eyes as she watched Link and Ruto holding each other. She smirked lightly at the way Saria couldn't keep her eyes off them, and wondered if she'd take the words of Ifemi to heart...

And that ends the chapter, but the party is still going. Saria is starting to think more about her situation with Link, but little do they know a new problem is going to arise...

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