Colin rushed forward.
"Link? Can you hear me?" Link sat up, suddenly lurching
forwards and clutching his stomach in pain. The others gasped,
running to him, asking him what was wrong. He just shook his head and
grimaced. Then he noticed Ilia, turning away, his cheeks turning
slightly red. Ilia pushed through the crowd to him.
"Link?"
she said hesitantly. He looked at her, confused.
"You
remember? Your memory has returned?"
"I
remember everything now," she sighed as all her memories of him
returned. She laughed and hugged him tightly. He smiled in return,
placing one arm round her and returning the gesture. Then he groaned
again. Ilia lept backwards, alarmed that she might have hurt
him.
"Sorry," he moaned. "It's not your
fault. I think I got injured in the Lakebed Temple. I'll heal."
"No
you will not!" Ilia snapped. "Too many times you've
suffered because you're afraid to admit you're hurt. Now follow me,
young man. You're coming with me," she grabbed his arm and
dragged him off to the Doctor's.
"What is
it?!" the old man yelled. Ilia bit back a sarcastic reply. That
man was too crabby for his own good. She opened the door and dragged
Link inside. The Doctor prodded Link's ribs and after deducting the
problem, he gave him some herbs to place on the sore patch and
fastened it on with a piece of cloth. "There," he said.
"Make sure you don't get hit again anytime soon!" The
Doctor ushered them out of the door. Ilia squinted against the
sunrise light. Link was beginning to scare her. He hadn't said
anything the entire time. She was afraid that she had offended him.
He was staring off into the distance. She glanced to the bar. The
others would be out in the town by now. She sighed.
"Want
to go for a walk? We can go to the café if you want," she
suggested. Link nodded, and the two set off in uncomfortable silence.
Now Ilia was really regretting her actions, but she couldn't bare to
see him in pain. They grabbed a table and ordered two glasses of
Moo-Moo milk. Now she was really nervous. Link was a brilliant
friend, and Ilia got the feeling that if he hated her, she would
never see the light of life again. As they drank, they sometimes saw
the villagers wandering around, looking and the stands being set up
for the festival. After they had finished, they went off around town
for a bit. Nothing seemed to draw Link out of his quiet self, and
Ilia nearly lost hope. However, just as they were about to head back
to the Inn, Link surprised her by asking her to follow him.
He led
her up into the Hyrule Field, helping her onto Epona and galloping
off into the distance. He took her to a slope on a hill on the far
side of the hill, and they sat down, looking out into the sunset.
They talked for a while, talking about the usual things - how the
other villagers were, etc.
Link sighed and took a deep
breath.
"Ilia..."
"Yes?"
"I've
been wanting to tell you something for a little while now.." he
seemed to choke on the sentence, so Ilia waited politely for him to
go on. "Well, the truth is... I... well..."
"Go
on."
"The truth is... I love you..."
And he took her head in his hands and kissed her. Ilia felt her
heart skip a beat. Deep down, she knew that this was what her heart
and soul had needed. The two sat in the sunlight, enjoying the moment
that they wished could last turned to him.
