DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess or any of it's characters. The only thing I own is the plot to this story and the asshole that is Alfred XD

Enjoy

Scarfs

"Zel? Zel?! Zelda, wake up!"

Zelda jerked upwards, almost smashing her head against Link's. She was panting from the nightmare she'd just experienced and was breathing deeply in a desperate attempt to calm down. She looked at Link, whose hands were still on her shoulders, and he gave her a worried look.

"Another nightmare?" He tentatively asked, tucking a lock of hair behind one of her long pointed ears. She had once again forgotten to remove her earrings before going to sleep, resulting in the flesh around them throbbing painfully as his hand brushed against her ear.

"Yeah... Wait. How long have you been up?" She asked upon realizing her companion was fully dressed. Link's outfit was pretty much the same as the day before, except that he now wore a cream colored shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

"Just long enough for me to con Ilia into giving me some bacon and eggs," He grinned, "I'll go ahead and start cooking while you get dressed, bed head."

"Ak!" Zelda yelped as she frantically started to comb through her hair with her fingers.

"A comb would work so much better, you know," Link teased as he handed her said item. Zelda took it and stared at it for a good minute, admiring the detailed designs carved into the ivory comb.

"It's so pretty."

"It was my mother's," Link shrugged before hopping over the banister and landing in the kitchen. Zelda doubted it was his first time preforming said action, in fact she was sure he'd made a habit of it. She quickly combed her hair out and followed him down, via ladder, of course.

The blond hero started the fire and hung a fry pot over it before cracking four eggs and adding some bacon. Zelda took the opportunity to change into some clothes after informing Link of her actions so that he wouldn't turn around. Once she was dressed she watched in fascination as he nudged a piece of bacon with a fork before flipping it to cook the other side.

He swore under his breath when some grease splattered onto his hand, burning it. "Now I remember why I hate frying meat," he muttered, sucking on the burnt skin.

The eggs and bacon finished cooking without any further incidents and he dumped them onto two plates before placing them on the small table. He grabbed a loaf of bread and cut him a piece. He looked at Zelda and she shook her head no, so he set the bread and knife between their plates just in case she changed her mind.

Zelda cut into one of her eggs with her fork and smiled as she chewed. "I didn't know you could cook."

"Yeah, well, it was either learn how or starve. Common folk don't exactly have an army of servants to cook them food whenever they're hungry," he joked as he mashed his eggs with his fork and scooped them onto his bread.

"So your mother hasn't been around for a while, huh?" Zelda asked. She was aware that both of Link's parents had passed on, but she wasn't exactly sure as to how long it had been and could never bring herself to ask before now.

"Nope. She died when I was four. Well, died isn't really the right word. She was murdered, actually," Link explained as he examined a piece of bacon, "Some psycho killed her when her, my dad and I were walking down the street."

"W-why would someone do that?" Zelda asked, disturbed.

"She was a spell caster and that wasn't exactly something most were fond of back home," he explained, his eyes sullen. He looked at his female companion and smiled a sad smile. "As for my father, he died by the hands of the same person when I was eleven. I then wandered around for a couple of years before I found myself here in Ordon."

Zelda simply stared at him, unsure of what to say, her fork suspended halfway between her plated and mouth.

"I'm so sorry for saying anything," she apologized, her eyes downcast.

"Huh? Oh, no! It's fine! Really!" He shouted, frantically waving his hands here and there and everywhere. "Actually, I'm sorta glad you did. People tend to dance around that specific topic like it's a snake or something. It's nice to be able to finally talk to someone about it without them freaking out and going into the 'you poor little orphan' routine."

Zelda stared at him long and hard before her face relaxed into a faint smile. "You know, I actually understand where you're coming from with that. People do the same thing to me. Do you have any idea how many times I've heard people whispering things like 'that poor girl. It must be so hard growing up without a mother?' And the thing is, not having a mother never really bothered me that much. She died when I was a baby, so I never really had a chance to get attached to her. Plus, I had Impa," she finished before blushing. This wasn't something she'd ever shared with anyone and doing so made her feel weird.

Zelda suddenly found her feet to be very interesting as she noticed Link staring at her. His chin was resting in his hand and he was giving her the most sincere and serene smile she'd ever seen. Her blush deepened as she asked him what why he was looking at her like that.

"You're not normally so open. I'm starting to think being away from everything is doing you some good and that that tight crown of yours is what was keeping you so closed off from everybody," he answered, chuckling at her expression.

"Link, that's not funny."

"Who said I was trying to be funny?"

"Oooowwwh"

Link grinned at his companion as he shoved his last piece of bacon into his mouth and walked towards the door. Zelda followed after him after hastily eating her breakfast in way that she'd be scolded for if she were to do it in her castle. Link used his thumb to wipe a crumb off of her cheek before tossing his scarf around his neck and pulling his boots on. He smiled at her and for a good minute she found herself lost in his cerulean eyes.

"Are you gonna get your boots on or are you gonna spend the rest of the day in La La Land?," He asked, grinning mischievously. "You seem to go their quite often. You wouldn't happen to have a house there, would you?"

"Ah, wha- Link!"

"HEY! LINK! ARE YOU HOME?!" A child's voice called from outside, saving the mischievous youth from being properly scolded by his queen.

"Where else would he be, you moron," A feminine voice growled.

Link opened the door to find Talo and Beth having a glaring contest and from the looks of it Beth was winning.

"He's out," Malo mumbled, gaining the other children's attention.

"Hey, Tetra," Colin smiled. He was standing just below the ladder with Mable sitting on his shoulders.

"Hello," Zelda greeted as she climbed down the ladder and stood next to the blond siblings.

"You look pretty today," Mable commented, smiling big.

"Thank you, and might I add that that's the prettiest crown I've ever seen," Zelda replied as she motioned to the little girl's flower crown.

"I made it," Beth gloated, "And I can make you one too, if you want."

"That sounds wonderful."

"Mom is going to yell at you for taking your shoes off," Malo mumbled as he examined his brother's feet.

"I don't care. I hate shoes. It's not that cold anyways," Talo argued.

"Are you kidding?! It's, like, twenty degrees out here," Beth yelled, servery over exaggerating the temperature. In actuality it was about sixty five degrees, though it did get a tab bit chilly when the wind was blowing. "Speaking of it being cold, aren't you chilly, Tetra?"

"Not really," Zelda answered, though Link could tell she was lying.

"You should ask Uli to make you a scarf. It's only going to get colder," Link suggested.

"I don't want to burden her," she mumbled.

"Just offer to watch Colin and Mable in exchange, then," he told her.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot why we're here!" Talo exclaimed, "Fado need your help... Again."

"That's not surprising," Link sighed, taking Epona by the reigns. "Zzz-Tetra, are you going to be okay on your own for a few hours? I'm sure playing with the kids will be a hell of a lot funner than watching me chase goats."

"What was that noise about? Is he turning into a bee?" Malo asked, though his question went ignored.

"I'll be fine," Zelda assured him as Mable hopped off her brother's shoulders and grabbed her hand, dragging her towards the village.

"Yeah. She'll be fine because I'll be there to look after her," Mable stated matter-of-factly, causing the older children to laugh at her.

When they entered the village the children dragged Zelda towards the dock while Link headed towards the ranch to help the distressed ranch keeper. Turns out the main problem he was having was that the goats wanted to gnaw on the fence. The blond hylian dragged a bell of hay out into the middle of the field to deter them from the fence and after about an hour of coaching, it finally worked. Link stuck around for another hour and helped herd the goats back into the barn before heading back into the village.

After looking for about fifteen minutes, he found the hylian queen sitting in a pile of leaves wearing a mahogany scarf that was no doubt made by Uli.

"I take it you took my advice and talked to Uli?"

"Yeah. I wasn't going to, but the wind picked up and I broke down and asked her," Zelda informed him, chucking.

"Isn't it a pretty scarf?! Look! It has flowers sewn onto it!" Mable joyously yelled.

"You're the polar opposite of the rest of your family. They're so quiet while you're so loud," Link grumbled, holding his hands over his sensitive ears.

"Daddy says it's because everyone was so loud while I was in Mommy's tummy," the little girl responded, dead serious. All of the children laughed.

"What a shame," Bo muttered as he walked by. He went unnoticed by the children, who were too far away and too busy laughing to hear him, but the two hylians picked up on his melancholy tone.

Link hopped up to ask the mayor what he was talking about while Zelda stayed seated next the children.

"Hey, Bo. What's up?" Link asked as he fell into step with the larger man.

"Hmng? Oh, hey, Link," Bo greeted before holding his newspaper up for Link to see. The hylian took the paper and stopped walking so he could examine it better.

The cover page featured a blurry black and white photo of Hyrule Castle, or Zelda's room, to be exact, in flames. The article itself talked about how the queen had perished in the fire as she slept and how devastated Alfred was over the loss of his dear cousin. Link couldn't help but scoff. It also mentioned how Alfred had openly wept when the council suggested he take the throne in Zelda's place and how he kept saying he wished he could've become King under different circumstances.

'Openly wept, huh? More out of joy than sorrow, I'd bet,' Link thought as he glared at the newspaper.

"That's strange," Bo stated, gaining the blond's attention, "It says you were seen with her highness right before the fire started, but no one could locate you afterwards."

"That can't be right. Telma, Tetra and I left for Ordon before nightfall of that day," Link lied.

"Someone probably confused another lad for you," The hefty mayor suggested, "Though you might wanna head up there and clear things up before people start running around screaming about how you killed the queen."

"It's just a reporter trying to make the story more interesting. If it turns into trouble, I'll be sure to clear things up, but until then, there's no need for me charge in and make a ruckus," Link said as he contemplated ripping the newspaper to shreds and burning it with his magic.

"If that's what you think is best..."

"I agree in full," Zelda spoke up, scaring the crap out of the two men.

"If you don't stop sneaking up on me all the time, I'm gonna put a bell on you," Link told her, still looking rather startled. He stared at her for a minuted before tracing her eyes back to the newspaper. His eyes grew solemn as he stated matter-of-factly, "You read it, too."

"Mhm."

"It's okay, dear. We're all upset about it," Bo said, picking up on and misinterpreting her sorrow. He patted her on the shoulder before retrieving his paper from Link and heading towards his house.

"Zel?" Link whispered so that no one could overhear. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the queen replied, sniffing, "It stings, but I'll be fine."

Link started at her worriedly before glancing back toward the children.

Talo had accidentally knocked Mable over and him and Colin looked as if they we're about to come to blows. Beth hastily stood between the two, temporarily stopping the fight. Meanwhile, a tearful Mable ran to her mother, who was hanging laundry out to dry, and clung to her leg.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Uli asked, concerned over the usually cheerful child.

"I don't wanna play with Talo no more! He's mean!" Mable cried, burring her face in her mothers pants.

Link over heard this and looked at said brunette with a stern expression. "Talo!"

"Y-yeah?" Talo sheepishly responded, instantly knowing he was in trouble.

"Go apologize."

"But it was an accident!"

"Mable doesn't know that."

"But-"

"Apologize. Now," Link ordered.

Talo started at his bare feet for a good minute before he slowly made his way over to where Mable was. The little girl hid behind her mother at the sight of him.

"Go away," she yelled, still hiding behind Uli.

"Mable, be nice. He came to apologize," Uli told her.

She peeked around her mother's legs at the brunette and stared at him expectantly.

"I," Talo started, swallowing, "I'm sorry I knocked you over. I didn't mean to, though. I wasn't paying attention to where I was running and, well, you know..."

"I forgive you," Mable told him before holding out her hand. Talo took it and the two shock hands before running off to join the others.

"You're really good with kids," Zelda commented, smiling.

"Now," Link laughed, "When I first moved here I didn't know what to do when they'd break out in fights. In fact, I literally threw Talo and Malo on a few occasions. Though in my defense, they deserved it."

Zelda smiled at him, enjoying how happy he looked. Whenever Link was this happy, he'd close his eyes, causing his blond lashes to brush against his cheeks, an image that always made Zelda's heart race.

"Link keeps swearing up and down that they're not a couple, but he's obviously smitten with that Tetra girl," Pergie said as she stared out of the shop's window. She'd stopped by Sera's shop to pick up some milk, but her and the hefty woman ended up watching the two hylians through the window for a good ten minutes instead.

"Hanch used to give me that same look Link's giving her," Sera sighed wistfully, resting her head on her hands. "Though I can't help but feel sorry for Ilia. That girl is head over heels for that boy."

"I love the girl, but it's her own fault he slipped through her fingers. She should've said something to him instead of keeping her love to herself," Pergie stated as she handed Sera a couple of rupees. She then picked up a sling shot, gaining a quizzical look from her companion.

"You sure you wanna buy that? No offense, but your boys are bound to cause trouble with something like that," Sera informed her.

"Oh, there's no way I'm ever getting them one. Not after what they did to all of my pots when Link loaned them his. The poor boy felt so bad for letting them use it, even though I kept telling him that it was Talo and Malo's fault, that they were old enough to know better. But, Link was convinced that he needed to make amends, so he gave me basket filled with spices you can only find in Castle Town," Pergie explained, smiling at how much she enjoyed the exotic spices.

"He's a good kid," Sera smiled, "Though I suppose we should really stop calling him that. He'll be turning twenty one in a month. He's not exactly a kid anymore."

"Yeah... It feels like it was only yesterday he wandered in the village asking if he could live here. Anyhoo, I need to get home and start on dinner. I'll stop by and talk to you some more tomorrow, Sera," Pergie said as she picked up the bottle of milk and waved good bye to her friend.

"See you tomorrow," Sera echoed before glancing the calendar hung next to the tiny counter. "Only thirteen more days til the festival. I can't wait."

A/N: Oh my god! I am SOOO sorry for not updating in so long. I've had less free time lately to type, I'm afraid and so to make amends, I made this chapter longer than usual. I hope it doesn't take too long for me update again. Once more, so sorry ^-^"

On a side note, I finally completed Skyward Sword. I'm late, I know, but I didn't have a motion plus when it came out and then my wii broke, so I wasn't able to play until I got my Wii U, then I couldn't find a copy of the game until recently, so yeah

Anyhoo...

TALO: Review so she'll post more chapter!

A/N: *pats on head* Good job

TALO: Hehe