We ran until the sun was setting, and the mountain was ahead of us, a dark smudge. We were only halfway past the castle. I exhaled, surprised because I didn't know I'd been holding my breath. Link squeezed me with his arms. "We're safe now." I shook my head. "No we're not. The hard part is just over."

"Ye think this is the hard part?" He chuckled in my ear. "We haven' faced 'im yet."

Our routine was getting tiresome. Link handed me the bow and arrow again. I tossed hair out of my eyes and looked at him. "I don't move like you. You've got… a way with animals. When you charm them, when you hunt them." Link raised his eyebrows. "You want to learn to hunt?"

"The way you do, yes."

He grinned, his hands on his hips. "You make your mark before you even see the animal." He handed me my sword. "You believe that you're going to catch something." I nodded. "I can't really teach you, but I can show you." He took the bow and arrow, and crouched low, notching it. "Watch." He pointed at a spot in the brush. "There will be a rabbit there." I knelt down, peering over his shoulder. Link crept forward, aiming at that spot, moving slowly. "Wait for it," he whispered. Again, a slow step forward, and then-

I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands. Link had fired his shot, and the rabbit was caught in the throat. I stared, and my stomach turned as the rabbit kicked pathetically in its death throes. Link stepped forward and pulled the arrow out, picking the poor animal up and snapping its neck. That was enough for me. I turned away and dry-heaved, sitting and putting my head between my knees with tears in my eyes. I hadn't snapped the squirrels' necks. I went up to them, and there was so little blood that it was easy to think of them as little dolls, childrens' toys with beady eyes.

Link set the rabbit next to a patch of dry ground. "Hey, are you alright?" I turned and looked at him. "Yes, I'm just feeling a little queasy." He sat down next to me. "Take a deep breath. It will be okay." I laughed, and looked back at the castle. "We're still kind of close to it, aren't we?" Link frowned. "Yeah, a little close for comfort. But we'll do okay." I turned and looked at him, thinking it over, seriously considering it. Just three words, that was all I needed. Link sighed and moved away, walking off to gather branches. I stood up, tears in my eyes, and walked in the other direction to help him. I was never going to be able to tell him the truth. We would just go on with our lives, and I would find someone else.

I gripped the dry branches tightly in my fingers, the rough bark digging in and keeping me from feeling the pain in my heart. He was relentless at tearing me open, just when I thought I was healed up. I bent down and picked up a branch, stopping when I felt a deadly silence surround me. That feeling of being monitored, studied. I felt it twice before, in the house. With my eyes wide open, I realized I felt it every time Link looked at me. Holding the branches to my chest, I whipped around.

Link grabbed me by the arms and pinned me up against a tree. I dropped my sticks with a gasp of surprise, and it was cut off when he kissed me. That first kiss was violent in its fury, in its hunger. "How long have you been waiting?" I asked with a gasp when he pulled back.

"Long enough," he growled, focusing his wild eyes on my face. His hands were on my face, a thumb on my lower lip. I closed my eyes, swallowing, able to feel his fingers on my throat. He leaned down slower now, kissing me again, taking his time. I opened my mouth to reciprocate, and his teeth nibbled my lip, testing their texture. He wrapped his hands around and ran his fingers through my hair, untangling the blond mess. I put my hands up on his shoulders, testing the muscles in his shoulders under the thin fabric. I wanted to know him, all of him. Link kissed me again and again, using his grip in my hair to turn my head to suit him. I grabbed his chest and pushed him back, panting. Link was grinning, his smile wide, his teeth showing. More than ever now, he looked feral. A wolf, moving in on the kill.

"You're very forward, aren't you?" I dared to ask.

Link chuckled. "Sorry about that, my lady." I pulled him in again by his shirt, kissing him back on my terms. He groaned and pressed up against me, and I licked lightly at his lips until he parted them, and we kissed deeper. This was the sort of thing that people, all people, just knew how to do. We broke our kiss again, and I smiled, sheepish and relieved. "I've been waiting to do this for a long time," he murmured, stroking my hair and kissing my forehead.

I shook my head, still smiling. "How long?" He smirked, pulling my shirt free from my pants and reaching up under to put his rough hand on one breast. I hadn't been wearing a corset since I put my dress away. I shivered and took a step back, intent on asking him what he was doing when I could think again. He followed, reaching down and taking one of my hands to put it at his waistline, encouraging me to do the same to him.

"I don't want to wait another moment to be with you," he whispered hoarsely as I pulled his shirt up and off. I wrapped my arms around his waist, kissing him once or twice before he had a chance to pull my shirt off, leaving me bare-chested. He chuckled and kneeled, bringing me down with him onto the ground. He kissed my mouth again, and moved on to my neck and then chest, running his hands up and down my bare sides. I clutched his shoulders, awe-struck with excitement. Link pulled me into his lap, straddling his waist, and undid my poor excuse for a belt.

"What are you doing?" I asked with a little smile.

Link put his hands up on my back, hugging me close before he kissed my collar bone and went back to undoing the rest of our clothes. "Something that's been on my mind for a while." As he eagerly tried to resume his task, I grabbed his hands and held them up. "Tell me. Why now?" Link was at a loss, staring into my face. "Because if something happens while we storm the castle, and I lose you, I will never forgive myself for not acting on this. And this might be our last night with peace." I stroked his hair. "Link, I have felt the same way for the longest time." He grinned. "I figured you did, seein' as you didn' push me away when I kissed you." I laughed and hugged him around the neck.