I do not own the Legend of Zelda. It belongs to Nintendo.

So, I want to apologize for the ENORMOUS wait. I'd written the first half of this chapter in present tense when it's supposed to be written in past tense. Frustration ensued, and I left this alone for about eight months or so. I've also discovered that I write my best when I'm sleep deprived or sick. Great.

Anyway, a few people have reviewed lately, and I thought I'd take a crack at it again. Though I can't figure out one thing: HOW WAS THE FIRST CHAPTER SO LONG? I can't write more than three pages before I explode. Interesting.

Anyway, without further ado, I present to you, Chapter Seven of Finding You:

The sound of clinking greeted the ears of a sharp-sensed Hylian. Two blue crystals, worth five rupees apiece, found their way into the hands of a hairy man wearing nothing but pants and a small vest. He smiled, baring yellow teeth, and showed his customer the way to the game. "Shoot all ten rupees that come your way and I'll give you a quite sizable prize," explained the proprietor.

Taking bow and arrow in hand, the customer readied to aim. A snap was heard, and a red rupee began the contest, moving from one side of the room to the other via a string. The customer, a blond man, shot off his first arrow, hitting the jewel with excellence. A green one jumped from a box, only to be missed by the man. Now frustrated, he missed the next two, but hits the three after that. It became a game of hit-then-miss, with him finishing the game poorly.

"Care to try again?" asked the hairy shop owner, smacking his lips. The customer shook his head fiercely, and stormed out.

"I'd like a go," calls Link, pulling two blue rupees from his satchel and took his bow in hand.

…

Two guards clad in shiny silver armor awaited Malon. She saw them through her window and bit her lip.

"They may ask you if you've seen me, and if they do, you have no idea who I am."

Quickly, she composed herself, trying her hardest to look aloof and unassuming.

"Hello, sirs. Have you come to purchase some milk?" she asked, smiling at them. The redhead frowned a bit when she noticed one of them staring at her chest. She felt a chastising coming on. No, Malon, you have to keep calm! That's how you deal with men like this. They aren't like Link... no, they aren't nearly as cute as he is... they don't have sapphire eyes... perfectly mussed hair... and the body...

"No, lass, we're unfortunately here for information regarding the disappearance of our fine princess Zelda," answered one guard while at the same time elbowing his companion in the side for staring.

"Oh!" piped Malon, putting on her best surprised face. "She's gone missing?"

"Yes, and we believe this man may have something to do with it," responded the guard while simultaneously holding up a pictograph of Link. "He was taken to the castle for question some days ago. He also attended Princess Zelda's 16th Birthday Ball, which leads us to believe he may want something with the princess. He was also seen just outside of the castle walls on the day of the princess's disappearance helping a strange looking fellow out of the moat."

"Interesting..." mumbled the girl, genuinely looking puzzled. What was he doing at that ball? He couldn't have been trying to court the princess! He's obviously mine! I'll have to remember to ask him about this... "Well, I haven't seen him before. I'm sorry I couldn't be of much assistance."

The guard who had been speaking frowned at her news, but the other went back to staring at her chest.

"Perfect score!" exclaimed the other men watching the game. The proprietor's jaw hung slack.

"Is that even possible?"

"Rigged!"

"I call a fix! It's a set up!"

"My fifty rupees, please," requested Link politely. The hairy man at the counter nodded incredulously and dropped the purple crystal in his hand. "Thank you." He gave a smile and walked out, leaving the others in disbelief.

He met Sheik around the corner of the game, holding out his winnings. "I told you I could get us some cash."

"So where do we go from now?"

"I suppose we shouldn't stick around here too long. It's unlikely the men from the shooting gallery will forget my face anytime soon. I suggest we move on after buying some supplies."

"All right. Well, I'll see you in the shadows," said the Sheikah before melding in with the blackness under the overhang of the roof.

"You know, we can't keep running forever," declared Zelda.

"True," agreed Link. "But we should be fine for a few more days. I mean, we've only been on the move for a day."

"Still, it is imperative we find somewhere semipermament."

"Yes, but Zelda, darling, we still have a larger predicament: the guards will never go away," Link stopped walking, looking at the girl deeply. He started to move again as he continued, "We'll always have to live in hiding because you'll always be a princess that went missing. We're going to have to come up with a long term solution to that problem. Sooner or later, you're going to have to go back. Hyrule, as of now, no longer has a next-in-line for the throne. Once your father ceases to rule, anyone could be chosen to take his place!" He'd stopped again.

"True enough, but I don't know if I want to rule a country that knows not of your accomplishments and thinks of you as a criminal," she decided.

"Yes, but Hyrule will be nothing without you. You're brilliant. You're able to navigate an entire country for years without attracting the attention of a killer who's after you! It's that kind of intelligence that this country needs!" He took a step closer to her. "Don't worry yourself about what will become of me," his eyes flashed as he smirked, "as queen, you can pardon my crimes."

She giggled, "I find it highly unlikely that parliament will approve of the pardoning of my kidnapper."

"Oh, well when has anyone ever cared what parliament's had to say about things? Do you think that parliament approved of skeletal warriors crashing through the ceiling of their meeting room and coming at them with swords?" argued Link.

"Well, parliament has a very big job to do, regulating this country. They do a lot of work to keep my father from going completely mad."

"Yes, well, there are far better things than a room full of stuffy men in powdered wigs to keep somebody sane."

"Like what, exactly?" Zelda smiled at him.

"Oh, maybe actually taking some time off of work to have a little fun," suggested Link. "It seems to me as if that man is always on duty. He seems sad."

"Yes, well, he was once a joyful man, but my stepmother has an iron grip on his emotions."

"Stepmother?"

"Of course. My real mother died when I was just a child. He remarried just a few years later; it's customary to always have a spouse," explained the girl, looking at her companion as if he was an imbecile. "Though of course," she continued, "when a spouse dies, there is a certain period of mourning time allotted. I don't much care for my stepmother, I'm not entirely sure why, but there's something incredibly insufferable about her."

"Yes, I could imagine how that could be, to live with someone who masquerades as if she is your real mother," agreed Link, looking suddenly melancholy. "However, it has to be better than having no mother at all."

Zelda frowned. "That's right. You've no parents of your own. I can't even think of how I could survive!"

"Yes, well, I lived happily under the Great Deku Tree's guidance, but ever since he died and I had to leave... well, I just became a little to old to continue pretending to be a Kokiri."

"Where did you go? You know, when you left with the ocarina."

"Termina, the neighboring land. That's where I met Anju and Kafei and Mayor Dotour and his wife. All of the people of Termina are great." Zelda seemed a little surprised that he'd been so close. Still, though, it was a treacherous journey between the lands, one not taken by those who didn't need to. "I was looking for..." he paused, grasping for the correct term, "a friend of mine who disappeared and was ambushed in my search by a skull kid who was possessed by a mask. The ocarina was stolen and Epona was taken. Then there was this crazy chain of events that had me reliving the same three days over and over until I won back the ocarina, gained the mask, and stopped the skull kid. Funny enough, we turned out to be friends and life when on.

"I stayed there for a couple of years with friends I'd made, but I began to feel a little homesick. So, I gathered up all of my spoils and returned to Hyrule. At first I lived with Malon, her father, and Ingo. Too soon did I realize that I couldn't stay there. With Ingo becoming increasingly underhanded in his ways (he was always plotting to steal Epona) and Talon becoming ever more drunk, I had to leave. I went to the city, found myself a house, and then enrolled in school. Thought I might as well learn something about the country I call home, right?" He looked at Zelda, who'd removed her mask, and was still disturbed by the ruby eyes that filled her sockets.

"Why the city? I always took you for someone who enjoyed traveling... I would have thought you would become nomadic."

"The city has always intrigued me a bit, I suppose. I like to keep an eye on things."

"Or keep an eye on me?" Zelda smirked as she said it.

"Well..." Link blushed. "I guess that had something to do with it. It just was very unfair. To have you know... and then forget. It simply wasn't fair."

"I agree," she purred, leaning in the kiss him.

"Romani," stated Gasto.

"Yes, that is my name," uttered the girl irritatedly.

"Okay, well then, Romani, tell us what you know."

She looked about the cafe and pursed her lips. Raising her voice she called out, "I'd much prefer it if all those who have anything bad to say about Link to please exit the premises." Nobody stood up. She raised an eyebrow. "Nobody?"

"We all know the guy. Been comin' here everyday since he started workin'. We just want him back," yelled a voice in the back.

"Good," said Romani, "then I'll get started. First, a little background. I've known him since I was eleven, when he so graciously helped rid my own farm (not this Lon Lon Ranch you keep talking about, the Romani Ranch. And yes, I was named for it.) of some very unsettling creatures that came to steal our cows. We became good friends and he continued to aide me and my sister with our troubles, such as fending off thieves.

"Though we were friends, he still had to go back to his land, this land. We continued to exchange letters. He told me of his girl he'd known well back before he'd come to Termina, and said that she'd all but forgotten his entire existence. Then, his last letter said that he was in the running to journey to the palace to vie for the princess's hand in marriage, who I found out was actually the girl he'd known. I did not receive a letter after that.

"You see, I've done a lot of research on Hyrule since learning of its existence. I read about the royal family, and they seem kind enough, but this Impa woman seriously throws me off. Now, mind you, I'm regularly a very upbeat happy girl, but I know when business needs to get done. This is one of those times. We need to find out more about Impa and her motives before she makes her next move. So, do we have any more connections besides Kafei?"

The men in the cafe looked at one another. Gasto grinned, "Me and an inner gate guard, Brutus, went to school together."

Romani smiled. "Perfect."

So, how was it? PLEASE review! :3 It's what keeps me going, really. Otherwise I lose interest and it'll be ANOTHER eight months. Hopefully I'll stop having computer troubles (I had a lot of those, too... .) and can keep the momentum up on this story!

Scrapped Ideas for this Chapter:

Romani and Malon meet.

Link rants.

Emo angst.

All good stuff that shouldn't have been in there.

YAY! :D