It was a bright, warm day when Ilia returned to Ordon for a visit. The goats were out eating grass, and children were out playing. They all ran up to her once they saw her ride up on Epona, their faces filled with joy.

"Ilia!" they cried. "We've missed you!"

"I missed you too," she said, ruffling the kids' hair. "I thought I'd drop by for a quick visit and see how everyone was doing." She had been avoiding it because she knew it'd hurt to return, but she knew she couldn't also keep blowing off coming to see her family. Princess Zelda had rewarded her hard work with a few days off, so she thought she'd spend the first of her four at Ordon Village, checking up on everyone.

"Ilia!" cried her father, who ran up to her like the children had, then hugged her tightly. "You finally got around to seeing your old man, didn't you? We've really missed you. So, did you come to steal the position as mayor from me? You're going to have to fight me for that!"

Ilia laughed, then shook her head. "No, that's the last thing I'd want to do. I just came to drop by and see how everyone was doing."

"We're doing great," her father said, releasing her. His eyes sparkled. "We just haven't been doing amazing since you left." Behind his happy voice he hid the fact that he was begging her to come back.

"No!" she desperately wanted to say, no, scream at the top of her lungs so everyone would be forced to hear her no matter how much they didn't want to. "There's nothing for me to come back to."

"You're just in time for lunch," said her father, who pulled her towards her former house. She shuddered, realizing that soon the real begging would start, and with Ilia's luck it'd end in full scale crying. The sight of her father crying like a baby would be both heartbreaking and pathetic, and she could already hear him yelling at her about how much he needed her to come back, how desperately she needed to come back for him.

And just as expected, it happened. There was no lunch in sight, and she clenched her fists tightly, realizing that had been one of his newest, and worst excuses.

"Ilia," her father said, motioning towards a chair. "How's Hyrule Castle Town?"

Ilia smiled. "It's quite nice, and even better than I expected."

"That's good," her father said, though he sounded as though he hadn't listened to a word she'd said. He put his hands together, took a deep breath, then exhaled. "I need you to come back to Ordon."

Ilia sighed mentally, but decided to see if he had the very shard of a good argument. "And the reason is?" She didn't hide the displeasure in her voice.

"Don't sound so angry," he said, then smiled weakly. "I just need you to come back because of important reasons."

"And those reasons are?"

The question hung unanswered in the air for a few seconds before her father answered, "I'm getting old and I need someone to stay with me."

"Then hire someone," Ilia said.

"I don't have the money."

Ilia laughed. "The economy's quite improved since Princess Zelda started fixing it up; we aren't the dirt poor people we used to be. You can afford a caregiver easily now."

Her father sighed. "I'm not the only person who needs you."

Ilia groaned mentally. My Farore, she thought. Now he's going to bring in the villagers to side with his lame excuse.

"The children miss you," he said. "And the farm owners have so much manure. . . that needs to be picked up."

"I love the kids and all," Ilia said, "but I know they've faced harder things. They can adjust to me being gone. Besides, Hyrule Castle Town has enough shit, excuse my language, that needs to be picked up. They might be in trouble if I were to just grab my bags and leave."

"But we were in trouble when you dropped your bags and left," her father defended.

"Two wrongs don't make a right," Ilia responded. "I'm happy in Hyrule Castle Town and I'm staying there!" She banged her fists against the table. "I know it's been hard on you since Mom died, but you can stop acting as though I have to make up for her death by acting like her, especially when I didn't even cause her death." Ilia was shaking in anger. "I'm happy in Hyrule Castle Town, finally my mind's off Link being gone, but you can't accept that, can you? No, I've got to come back to stupid Ordon so you can be happy! And do you know what will happen if I come back to Ordon? I'll lose contact with some of my closest friends and I'll be constantly reminded of one that I might never see again! But you'd be happy about that, wouldn't you? And all because you can't face the fact that there's more I want than living in this stupid place!"

She stormed out, got on Epona where her bags were still saddled onto, and rode away, her teeth clenched together. She didn't listen to her father's yells, the ones that were now growing fainter and fainter the farther she got away from him. She didn't care anymore about his excuses and she wasn't going to let him waste her precious time on his excuses any longer. She had time off from work and she actually wanted to enjoy it.

Vaati finished up his book on the subject of recent Hyrule, then pondered over it. He'd never heard of the twili, a people which now interested him greatly, but he knew that they'd likely been greatly weakened after the war. It would be no use trying to use them like Ganondorf had. Besides, he had other ways to get Hyrule.

He smirked, imagining the country his. He could almost taste the rich, five-course dinners he'd be eating every day, the wealth he'd be rolling in, and the beautiful princess Zelda, much prettier than the past few princesses named Zelda he'd also seen. who'd be his bride.

"If only I could invade now," he thought, thinking back to his fantasy. Still, he knew it was much wiser to wait and see if the hero somehow came back. Though he doubted it, he still knew that he'd have to wait for the perfect opportunity to invade. Getting forced back inside the sword again would be nothing short of a living nightmare, which it certainly had been.

"Hello," Ilia said. "I was told by Telma that I'd probably like to see you."

"Hello!" said the blond pig-tailed girl. She was dressed in a light blue dress, with pink butterfly wings on the back. "My name is Princess Agitha, but I'll let you call me Agitha. Telma is quite a loyal subject of mine." Agitha giggled, then curtsied. "Welcome to my kingdom. Have any bugs to show me?"

Ilia nodded, then pulled out a thin piece of paper, which covered a deceased butterfly she'd found on the way to Hyrule Castle Town, which had caused her to remember what Telma had said about the little girl.

When Agitha saw it, she beamed. "It certainly isn't the rarest, but it's still fine! Even if it isn't golden."

The butterfly's wings were a light blue color with dark purple spots on it. Agitha held it gently in her hand, then pulled an orange rupee out of her pocket, one Ilia hadn't noticed.

"Oh my," Ilia said. "I can't accept this, but thank you."

Agitha pouted. "I'm the princess, and I say my subject should take this gift from me. You definitely earned it."

Ilia took it, then bowed. "In that case, thank you very much, Your Highness."

Agitha laughed. "You may rise."

Ilia did, then put the rupee in her wallet. "I'm glad I saw that while I was riding through Hyrule Field."

"Me too," the princess said. "Now, would you like some tea? It's about time for it, and you seem like a person worth inviting."

Ilia nodded. "After the day I had, I think this would be perfect."

The two sat at a small, brown, round wooded table. The tea was rather sweet, and the cookies were also. Ilia liked the cookies more, and she helped herself to a few.

"Are you enjoying it?" Agitha asked.

Ilia nodded. "Of course." She wiped a few crumbs off of her lips with a pink cloth napkin, small butterflies embroidered on the side of it. "Thank you so much for inviting me."

"It was nothing," Agitha replied. "I hope you become a usual."

"I'll try, but I'm busy working for Princess Zelda most of the time."

"Who needs her? You can work for an even better princess, me!"

Ilia laughed. "I would, but she's depending on me. I promise I'll at least drop by regularly, alright?"

The girl beamed. "Thank you. I've just been so lonely since so few people actually come nowadays. I used to have this regular, a boy named Link, who always brought me bugs."

Ilia's stomach clenched. "I have to go."

"Why?" Agitha asked.

"Something important," was all Ilia said, then ran out, trying to forget the last thing she'd heard. Farore, Link was everywhere! Why was it so hard to go somewhere and not be reminded of her missing, and likely dead, friend?

Later that night, as Ilia tried to fall asleep, she heard a conversation between Telma and the familiar voice of Princess Agitha.

"She just ran out after I mentioned Link," Agitha said. "Do you know why?"

"She didn't do it to hurt you," Telma said, "but Link was one of her closest friends, and now he's disappeared. She's having a hard time coping with that fact."

"Oh," Agitha said. "I hope she understands that I'm very sorry for her."

"I'll tell her," Telma said. "As much as she tries to hide it, I can tell that this is really hard on her."

Ilia buried her head in her pillow, then wished that the walls weren't so thin. Even when she was trying to sleep she had to be reminded that Link existed.

Right now she just wished she'd never met him.