Sorry if it seems I forgot about this story, but I was just having a writer's block. I'd run out of ideas, but now I'm on a roll and my creative juices are kicking back in!
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Three days later…
I sat on the fence behind the cottage, watching Link's two horses graze in the pasture. I learned from Rose their names were Epona and Roy.
I whistled softly, and the two horses lifted their heads to look at me for a second before turning back to their grazing.
I sighed happily, sliding off the side of the fence and dusting off my apron. I walked slowly back to the cottage, looking back once to see the horses watching me. I giggled and skipped to the cottage, closing the door behind me. Rose greeted me in the kitchen, leaning over a large pot.
"Hello Zelda, you look cheerful this morning." I smiled and leaned against the counter next to her.
"I was just out by the pasture." I said, and Rose smiled knowingly. "Beautiful, aren't they? Link's cared for them well." I nodded, leaning over to look in the pot.
"What are you making?" I asked.
"Gravy, we're having potatoes and gravy for dinner." She turned to me.
"You know, you should ask Link to take you riding sometime. I'm sure he'd take you." I sighed,
"Maybe." Rose threw something in the pot. "You know, your wedding is in three days." I sighed again, she seemed determined not to let the subject of Link and I drop.
"Yeah, I know." I said glumly. Rose turned to stare at me.
"What's the matter? Aren't you happy about your wedding day?" I sighed, sitting at the table and propping my face on my hands.
"I don't think he likes me very much. He's barely said anything to me since I got here." Rose sat in the chair next to me.
"Oh Zel, he doesn't hate you. He's just not used to having you here. Give him some time." I sighed. "Alright." Rose placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Zelda, how long have you know about this marriage?" I glanced up at her.
"I just learned about it." Rose nodded.
"You see Zel, Link has known about this marriage since he was a boy." I stared at her, shocked.
" Before he died, his father was always telling him about his beautiful fiancé Zelda and how she'd come here someday to marry him. He always thought it was just a story, until his father died and he found out the story was real." My mouth was hanging open.
"He's known about this all along? No wonder he's been so distant. How does he feel about it?" I asked hesitantly.
"He's accepted it. But I think he's more concerned about how you feel about it." I blinked, glancing down at my feet.
"I wasn't to thrilled about it at first." I explained, "but it was something my father really wanted, and he wanted me to be happy." Rose nodded.
"You must love your father very much." I nodded, pictures of my father running through my head.
"Very much. My mother died when I was a baby, so he's all I had. Besides my nanny that is." Rose was about to speak, but Link walked in the room.
"Rose? The wagon will be ready in a minute." She nodded at him, "thank you Link." He nodded, then glanced at me and nodded once at me before disappearing back through the door.
Rose turned to me. "I asked Link to get the wagon ready so we could run to town. I figured you didn't have a lot of clothes, so I thought you and I could get some fabric." I blushed lightly.
"You don't have to do that. I have some clothes." Rose rolled her eyes. "Get your cloak, we're leaving in a few minutes." I sighed mentally and nodded.
"Alright alright…"
-0-
Within 20 minutes we were riding into town, Rose and I sitting in the seat with Link on Rose's left and me on her right. Link pulled Epona and Roy up to one of the stores and jumped out, tying them to the post before moving to help Rose and myself out of the carriage.
"Rose," Link said, offering his hand. "Thank you Link." Rose said as he helped her down. Link nodded and turned to help me down, offering his hand.
I took it and climbed down, smiling softly at him.
"Zelda." he said, I smiled a little brighter. "Thank you Link." He just nodded and turned away.
"Zelda! Let's go." Rose said, nodded and let go of Link's hand before following her towards the store. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Link watch us go before turning and jogging across the street towards another shop.
As I followed Rose in, I noticed a man standing next to the door, watching me. I swallowed and stepped inside, feeling his eyes on me as the door closed behind me.
-0-
"Alright Zel, how about this one?" Rose held up a light yellow fabric. It was very soft and gentle looking. I liked it.
"I like it Rose. It's a very warm color." Rose nodded, setting the bolt on the counter next to two others she had picked.
"Alright Zel, now we need is fabric for a dress outfit. How about this?" she held up a soft brown fabric with little flowers on it. I shook my head, she picked up warm red fabric with a lacy design on it. I shook my head again. I really didn't want to look like an apple.
"A little too red for me." I said, she laughed a little and put it back, pulling out a different one.
"How about this one?" I glanced at it, and my breath caught in my throat.
The fabric was a soft white, a very pure and creamy color of white. I reached out and touched the fabric. Rose was smiling at the look on my face.
"We'll be getting some of this." She set the fabric on the counter, and then spotted some beautiful pink fabric sitting on the shelf.
"That would look great with the white…" she reached for it, but it was too high. She groaned.
"Ugh, where's Link when you need him?" I giggled.
"Let me try." I suggested, I spotted a small stool next to the counter and picked it up, setting it next to the shelf.
"I should be able to reach it now." I said, I stood on the stool and reached up, standing on my toes. But the fabric was just out of my reach.
"Ugh," I groaned, trying to stand higher. I didn't notice the stool start to slip, but Rose did.
"Zelda look out!" She called just as the stool slid out from under me. I started to fall.
"Watch out!" I heard another voice shout, along with a heavy thudding noise.
I closed my eyes, waiting to hit the floor, but felt something grab onto me and lift me up instead of hitting the floor.
"Huh?" I cracked open my eyes. Rose was staring at me, eyes wide
"Zelda, are you ok?" A voice asked, but it wasn't Rose. It was then that I realized I was being held. I glanced over, and saw Link staring down at me. Then I realized he was the one that caught me, and I was still in his arms. My cheeks turned a little pink.
"I-I'm fine. Thank you for saving me." Link gently set me down. "You're welcome." I saw Rose beaming at us from the corner of my eye. I rolled my eyes mentally. Rose glanced up towards the pink cloth.
"Link, can you get that pink cloth for us? Neither of us can reach it." Link nodded and reached up, grabbing it with ease. I felt a bit jealous. Rose held the pink up next to the white, nodding.
"Yes, this will match nicely." She held the two fabrics up to my body, studying them.
"This will look lovely on you, what do you think Link?" Link looked surprised. He scratched the back of his neck with his hand. "Uh, it looks nice." He said; I smiled. He liked it! Rose looked pleased with his answer. She set the two fabrics on the counter next to the others.
"We'll take six yards of these, and two yards of this." She said, pointing to the fabrics. The clerk nodded and began cutting the fabric to the length Rose wanted, ringing up the price for each one as she did so. The total came to 300 rupees. My eyes widened as I heard the price.
"Rose-!" I started to protest, but she held up her hand. "Don't worry about it Zelda. You're family now, and family buys each other gifts." I blushed lightly.
"Thank you Rose." She smiled knowingly.
"Why don't you and Link go wait by the wagon while I finish this? I'll just be a minute." I glanced at Link before nodding, and he followed me out to the wagon.
Once we were outside, I leaned against the post and stroked the horses, talking in a low voice to them. Link sat up in the wagon.
I didn't notice the man that was staring at me from earlier until he came up behind me.
"Hey," he said, and I wheeled around, surprised. He held up his hands. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." I shook my head.
"It's alright." He lowered his hands. "You new in town?" he asked. I nodded.
"I just got here a few days ago."
"You live around here?" I hesitated before answering. "I live with my fiancée and his cook. I'm getting married in a few days." I explained.
"Oh," the man's face fell a bit. I felt bad; so I tried to cheer him up a bit. "It was nice meeting you…?"
"Zant." He said, "My name's Zant." I heard a thud behind me.
"Morning Zant." Link's low voice came from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder at him. His face looked a bit guarded.
"Link." Zant said, and I saw his jaw tighten. "What are you doin' here?"
"Rose and my fiancée Zelda and I are here getting some things. What are you doing here?" My eyes widened, this was the first time Link had actually mentioned my becoming his wife. Zant's eyes flickered towards me for a second.
"Just welcoming the newcomer." He said, Link nodded.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce my fiancée." He placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Zant, this is my fiancée, Zelda." Was it just me, or was he showing off a bit? Zant looked a bit taken back.
"This is your fiancée?" He nodded towards me. Link nodded. Zant's jaw clenched a bit.
"Congratulations." He said. But to me, it sounded forced. He turned around and quickly ran away. Link smirked as soon as he was gone.
"Sorry about that Zelda. Zant's a bit of a rowdy guy, and he and I don't exactly get along so well."
I opened my mouth to reply, but Rose came out of the store that second.
"Ok, all set." I saw her eyes widen as she saw Link's hand on my shoulder. Link quickly removed it and walked over to the wagon, offering Rose his hand. She took it and stepped up in into the wagon, setting her packages in the backseat. I could tell I had some explaining to do when we got back by the look on her face. I ignored it for now and took the hand Link offered me, smiling at him as I stepped up into the wagon. Link leaped up, taking the seat next to me and squishing me in between Rose and himself. The ride home was quiet, but I knew Rose would demand an explanation as soon as we got home.
-0-
I was right. The minute we got home, Rose all but dragged me into the house, leaving a very confused Link outside, and confronted me about what happened. When I told her, she squealed so loud I swear the plants started wilting.
Eventually she calmed down and started fussing over the fabric.
"I'll have to get started on this right away…" she muttered, pulling the fabrics out of the bag. I was standing in the kitchen, making lunch for the three of us. Chicken salad had sounded good today, so that and warm bread and cold milk was what I was making today.
I heard the door open and close, and Link stepped into the kitchen.
"Hello Link." Rose said, not looking up from her fabrics. Link smiled.
"Hello Rose," he turned to me. "Hello Zelda." I smiled. "Hi Link." He glanced towards the food I was making.
"What's for lunch?" I smiled. "Chicken salad with bread and milk." His nose wrinkled a bit at salad, but he looked ok with it otherwise.
"Sounds pretty good." He complemented. I felt a light blush come to my cheeks, so I quickly turned away and busied myself with pouring three glasses of milk. I heard Rose snort, and I turned my head to glare at her. She stifled back another laugh and quickly took a seat at the table. A confused Link sat next to her.
I carefully picked up the glasses of milk and set them on the table, returning to the counter to grab the bowl of salad and the bread before setting them also on the table and taking a seat opposite of Link.
"Bon Appetite." Rose said, and we immediately began politely passing the plates of food to one another. Well, Rose and I did. Link practically inhaled whatever was on his plate and was done and out the door before Rose and I had hardly started eating.
"Glad you liked it." I said absentmindedly after him. Rose covered her hand over her mouth to stop from laughing.
I glared at her. "Oh stick a thorn in it."
--
Hehe, Zant was so much fun to shoot down. He and Link childhood rivals, that's why they dislike each other so much.
By the way, I saw the X-files movie the other day. If you don't like gore, Don't go see it! I'm surprised it isn't rated R. Chaosmaiden calls the Horrible Icky Nasty movie. Haha, I've been teasing her about it all week. On the way home from the movie, she was completely freaked about the movie, then I turn to her and go, "I'm hungry." she stares at me and says, "How can you be hungry after watching that movie?!" I just shrugged and said, "It doesn't bother me." My cousin stared at me funny for a while after that.
Anyway, now that my creative juices are flowing I'm off to work on some more chapters before my dad gets home and kicks me off the computer. (He thinks I spend way too much time on the internet)