I know it's been a long time, but I hope you all haven't forgotten about me. Bear with me for a little while longer, my life seems to get more complicated every single month. Hopefully I'll be able to be a little more punctual with my updates.

Still don't own LoZ or Nintendo. Still DO own Alexander, Mina and Blood Crusade.

"This charm belonged to that sweet girl, Savior. Please see that she gets it back, and tell her that this old biddy was very grateful." The old woman, Impaz said as she opened the door back up. Alexander and Mina walked out of the hut.

"Sunrise is in 4 hours, Hero, let's go." Alexander began to head back to the tunnel, Mina in tow.

Link nodded and quickly turned, bumping into the wall. As he took a step back, something fell out of his pouch.

"Hey! That rod... Is that the Dominion Rod?" Impaz nearly shouted, more than likely due to being half-deaf. Link nodded as he put the Rod away. "Ahh... Could it really be? Are you the messenger to the heavens?!" The woman pulled out a dusty book that looked to be on the verge of falling apart. "This book was written in the language of the Oocca, Sky Writing. It is only supposed to be handed to the one who possesses the Dominion Rod, the Messenger to the Heavens. Meeting that girl must have been ordained by the Gods. Please take care of yourself." She handed Link the book and waved a farewell to him as he left.

Once they were out of earshot, Midna hopped out of Link's shadow and onto his shoulders. "She was an odd one, wasn't she? Babbling on and on like that."

"Well, if she's been stuck in there as long as one would think, Princess, I can imagine that she's been rather desperate for company for quite some time." Alexander sighed as they entered the cave. The woman, Impaz, had taken up nearly half of the night telling stories before she had gotten to the reason they were there in the first place. They had the charm now, and hopefully it would be the key to Ilia's memories.

"Still, I don't think we needed to know everything about the history of the Shiekah and how one of them helped this 'Hero of Time' so long ago." Midna crossed her arms over Link's head.

"I for one was quite fascinated. Your world has some very interesting lore, Hero, and I would be glad to learn more should there be time. Don't you agree, Mina?"

"Yes, Master. It sounds like there were lots of wars that would be fun to learn about." Mina swung her arms about, like a careless little girl on her way home from school.

Link stared at Mina incredulously. Such an innocent girl should not have so many thoughts of war in her head. Then again, there was a little bit of an allure to women that seemed more aggressive. Midna immediately came to mind. She had, within minutes of meeting him, taken complete charge of the situation and dragged him, more or less against his will, into a war that only seemed to be getting larger. Still, he was happy that he met her. He's gotten better at reading Midna's quirks, and in doing so, found out that she cares for him deeply, despite all of her scathing wit. If it weren't for Midna, he'd still be in Ordon, or worse yet, that cell in the Castle dungeon. Before Midna, the only girl he had ever spent this much time with was demure, shy, horse-obsessed Ilia. The image of Ilia suddenly snapped him from his thoughts, and he broke out into a run. Midna grabbed his hair before she fell off of his shoulders. "damn it, slow down, Link!" He ignored her, his childhood friend was waiting for him. He did, however, notice that Alexander and Mina had fallen into step next to him, effortlessly keeping up.

By the time they had reached Renado's hut, everyone was outside, despite the late hour.

Colin came running forward as soon as he saw the warriors, Midna barely having time to dive back into the shadows. "Link, you're back! How'd it go, did you kill a lot of those ugly green guys?" Link nodded with a smile as the other little ones surrounded him, wishing to hear all about the adventure. Link looked up to see Ilia standing next to Renado. He tried to move, but the children held fast.

Mina knelt down and beckoned everyone over. "Come on over here, guys, Link has to take care of Ilia, but Mister Alexander and I will tell you all about the fight. Does that sound good?" Colin and the others quickly sat down around Mina, freeing Link to the whole reason he began his journey. He slowly walked forward, eyes on Ilia the whole time. He hoped to the Goddesses this would work. She'd been his friend for as long as he could remember, and most of the village was certain that they would marry some day. Link tried not to think about marriage, though, there were more important things running through the young Hero's mind. He handed the charm to Ilia, recognition immediately shining in her eyes.

"I… I knew you once…" She started, slowly becoming more sure of herself, the fog lifting on a cold morning. "Yes… This feels so familiar… The scent of hay…" She looked up, meeting his gaze. "Long ago… When we were young, you and I… You were always there… You were always beside me… Link." She places the Horse Call back in his hands and held it there. "This gift was meant for you. It was something I wanted to give you before you went on your journey." Ilia wrapped her arms around Link's neck and hugged him as hard as she could. "Please, Link, take it. You don't need to worry about me any longer. Whenever you return…" She leaned up and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I'll be waiting for you." She let go and looked at her feet. Link could practically hear Midna cursing the farm girl. He put his hand gently on her shoulder before turning to his companions. Mina was regaling the children with a hand-puppet battle while dancing around Alexander. The kids cheered as Mina did a back-flip and landed on his shoulders, effectively ending the story. Link smiled once again, looking directly at Alexander, who nodded his understanding.

"Alright, little ones. Everyone has had a long night, and I'm sure your families wouldn't want to hear about how you stayed up all night long." There was a collective sigh from the group as Alexander ushered them toward the Shaman's hut. "Yes, yes, I know. Say your 'good nights' and be off." The children all ran up and gave Link quick hugs before gathering around Ilia.

Alexander, Link and Mina walked together to the inn. "So that charm did the trick? Really?" Mina scratched her head, not fully understanding what took place. Link just nodded and heaved a sigh of relief. One less thing to worry about, he thought. The three of them stepped into Link's room where Midna was angrily tapping her foot and staring out the window.

"What right does she have to do that? She gets her memory back and promptly tries to swallow his face. That dung-shoveling, goat-smelling huss-" Link cleared his throat, arms crossed in front of him. He knew she cared for him, but that kind of talk was unwarranted. Midna stopped dead. She could feel the cold stare coming from his typically warm, caring eyes. She didn't dare move, the things that must be running through his head, ready to burst out at her pierced her mind.

Alexander quickly cupped his hand over Mina's mouth. This battle did not need outside interference. He lightly patted Link's shoulder, signaling that he should go easy on the Twili Princess. Link calmly nodded as Alexander carried Mina out of the room and shut the door. Upon reaching their room, he set Mina on the bed.

"What was that for, Master? I wasn't going to say anything stupid."

"I was simply making sure that would be the case, my dear." Alexander hung his weapons on the wall by the bed and began to undress. "Let those two lovebirds work out their own issues, free from the prying eyes of a couple blood-suckers."

"I know, Master." Mina quickly changed into her night clothes and climbed back into the bed. "I'm really glad we got our little issues out of the way early on, aren't you?"

"What are you talking about?" Alexander, having changed, sat on the edge of the bed. "The only issue here is that I have an apprentice that can't seem to keep her hands to herself."

"What I mean, Master," Mina's voice took on a husky tone as she draped her arms over his shoulders. "is that you finally started paying some real attention to me." She nibbled lightly on the slight point his ears held. "Oh, and my hands aren't the only things I can't keep to myself around you, Master." Mina quickly pulled Alexander down, straddling his waist.

"You never give up, do you?" He asked, chuckling to himself.

"Nope!"

Midna's thoughts raced. Do I tell him how I feel, or should I just try to explain it away? What should I say? "Link?" She tried to summon the courage that she always had. "How could you let her kiss you like that?" She immediately kicked herself. Great idea, Princess, blame him for his friend's behavior. 'Cause it's definitely his fault that she loves him. "What I mean to say is," Midna heard his light footfalls on the wooden floor. "How come you-" Link placed his hands on her small shoulders and spun her around. His cerulean eyes told her that he was still upset, but his subtle grin told her that he understood why she was angry. He quickly pulled her impish frame into a warm hug before letting her go. Midna blushed when she saw the boyish fire return to his eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that? Its not like I wanted to be the one kissing you or anything, Hero!" Link's smile just widened as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. She was stunned. It wasn't like the kiss yesterday, sweet and innocent, it had purpose, meaning.

Unfortunately, the events of the last day had finally caught up to the little Twili, and she slipped into Link's strong arms and fell fast asleep. Link just sighed as he lay her on the bed and got himself ready for a night's sleep.

Yea, I know, no action this time around, just some citrus scented goodness. But we'll be getting to the next temple soon. If anyone noticed, yes, everything Ilia says is directly from the game, though I added my own subtexts. Hope you're all still enjoying it, please R&R.

Until next time, Kitties.