He was the town's personal hero since he called Ordon his home. The children all ran up to him, each demanding his attention.

"Your finally back Link!" Colin said, brandishing a wooden sword.

"At last! I thought you'd never come back!" Talo said, stamping his feet.

"You look as good as ever Link!" Beth said with her hands behind her back.

Malo, Talo's younger brother, simply nodded and returned to the newest building in town, his latest Malo Mart. Seriously, that kid may become richer than the princess, Link thought. Malo was only 7 years old but already ran the most successful chain of stores in Hyrule.

Link finally shook the kids off and he and Ilia headed toward the mayor's house. He knocked on the door while Ilia waited by the cart. Mayor Bo answered and stopped in his tracks, hardly daring to believe his eyes. Then he lunged forward and swept Link into a big bear-hug before he could react.

"Link my boy!" Bo shouted, "Good to have ya back."

He set Link down and the hero staggered back against the cart. Ilia giggled as Link caught his breath.

"Thanks Mayor Bo," Link said. "I brought some things back with me from Hyrule."

"Oh?"

Bo walked up to the cart and saw what was inside. All kinds of precious and useful gifts filled the cart. Each item was designed for certain members of the village to aid in their daily life. Link was very grateful to the Gorons, Zoras, and Hylians who had put all this stuff together. He even was grateful to Yeto and Yeta, the two snow creatures of the mountains, for their gift, though it hadn't arrived yet.

"My my," Bo said, lifting and examining some of the items. "Some of these things will definitely help the villagers."

"That's the intention," Link explained. "They're all labeled. Shall I leave the cart here?"

"Hmm? Oh yes of course. I'll make sure all this makes its way to the right people."

Link and Ilia walked back to the main part of the small village. They ran into Rusl and Uli and exchanged a warm greeting with them. Rusl was Link's closest friend and mentor. He had also been a resistance fighter during the Twilight War. They also saw Jaggle, who was mindlessly throwing stones at a wasp's nest. Link and Ilia headed for the fields as fast as they could, for fear of an attack from the wasps.

Out in the fields, Link could see the season's crop was coming along very well, and there was much more of it.

Twilight was descending once again, and Link couldn't help thinking about his friend and partner who'd journeyed around Hyrule with him. Midna had been annoying at times, but she had become a very good friend near the end of the war. Without her, Link would probably still be imprisoned in the Twilight version of Hyrule Castle in the likeness of a wolf. It was hard to believe he'd never see her again.

Link sat on the grass and watched the sunset. Ilia sat next to him. It was only then that Link noticed that she had said very little during the whole day, allowing him to meet up with everyone in town. Then he remembered the box in his pouch. Should he give it to her now?

"Link?"

Link looked at Ilia, who was watching the sunset.

"Did you ever… think about me… on your journey?"

Kind of a stupid question, Link thought with a grin. "Of course Ilia. Every day."

Her face flushed. "Really? Even while you were fighting?"

"Yes, even while I was fighting, especially while I was fighting. Actually… you were what was driving me."

"How was that?"

"Well, mostly because I wanted to do something to get your memory back after you'd lost it, but also because…"

He hesitated, unsure of how to express his feelings. She looked at him with her jade colored eyes, she was smiling slightly.

"… er, well," Link continued, feeling himself blush, "also because… I really care about you. I nearly died when I found out you couldn't remember me."

Ilia's smile had vanished, replaced with a look of shock and relief.

"You… care about me?"

"Yeah. A lot. After you were taken from the spring, I ran after you. I just had to make sure you were safe. I was beginning to lose hope until I found you at Telma's bar."

"Link… I…"

Ilia's entire face was red. Obviously, she hadn't expected to hear this, although she had wanted to. She turned to Link, pulling herself closer to him.

"Link, you have no idea… how much I wanted to hear that…"

Link looked surprised. "Ilia?"

"The truth is… I care about you a lot too. I always have."

Link turned towards Ilia, his face brimming with happiness. "I want you to know Ilia, that I love you."

Ilia's face lit up so much, Link could have sworn she was glowing. He reached into his bag and retrieved the box, handing it to Ilia. She looked a little puzzled as she took it. She hesitated a moment before opening it, then felt her jaw drop. Inside, lying on a bed of soft velvet, was a beautiful necklace.

Wrought of solid gold, the necklace bore a pendant shaped like a five petal flower. Each of the petals held a different gem. A ruby, an emerald, a sapphire, a topaz, and an amethyst. Each gem was shaped to fit inside the petal perfectly. In the center was a perfectly circular diamond. The pendant caught the light of the setting sun and almost glowed as it reflected the light in a hundred directions.

"Where in Hyrule did you get this?" Ilia asked softly.

"I asked the Gorons to make it for me," Link replied. "Took a week. That's one of the reasons I came back a little late."

Ilia looked up into his blue eyes. She couldn't believe that he would do something like this for her. It must have cost a fortune. Of course, Link never told her that the Gorons had made it for him free of charge, seeing as he had saved their race.

"Link… thank you. I love it… and I love you too."

They stayed in the field the rest of the evening. When they finally returned, Ilia's necklace drew quite a crowd. Her father, Bo, looked a little suspicious of it until Ilia told him it was from Link. He then raised his arms and thanked the goddesses. Ilia gave him a stern look that silenced him, and kept her from seeing Link blush. Rusl and Uli were both surprised that Link had actually confessed his feelings to Ilia. They knew Ilia had always had a thing for Link, they just never knew that the feeling was mutual.

By this time, Link was starting to feel his red potion wear off. He knew he needed to get to bed or risk collapsing again. He and Ilia walked back to his clearing and shared a tender moment in each others arms. Then Ilia said good night, and Link climbed up the ladder to his house. He went up another ladder and removed his Hero's Tunic and his boots. Then he fell on the bed and went to sleep.

He never noticed the pair of reddish eyes watching him from the shadows.