A gentle breeze passed through the leaves of the Great Deku tree, a few blowing off and landing scattered in the area. One in particular brushed across a hylian nose before coming to a rest between his eyes. The initial touched caused a small sneeze, waking him from his slumber. He gave a small yawn before brushing the greenery away and opening his eyes...just to find Zelda leaning over him. Although a bit surprised, he didn't react as such seeing as that would wake her up. He sat up, moving around her then stood, stretching out to the setting skies.

Then he remembered something about her wanting to go home. Quickest way would be back to the forest to the Goron's place and down from there... Seeing as she was already in a sitting position, he crouched down, shifting her unto his back, something not completely unfamiliar, and carried her through the village. He'd gathered their things quickly and was just about to leave when he was stopped by no other than the path-blocker Mido...

"Hey, Link!" the blond placed a quick finger to his own lips, shushing the kokiri. That doesn't mean he'd listen... "Are you leavin'? Y'know...without telling anyone?" all the boy got was a dead-panned stare."...everyone really does miss you...I...I mean..." it got quiet for a moment before he just blurted out "Come back again sometime!" Link couldn't resist a small smile at that but it was left a bit unattended as she shifted against him. He signaled the shush again. Mido, deciding to listen this time, closed his mouth quickly, glancing up at the girl on the others back. "...and if you can, bring her back too!" he added, whispering this time. The warrior shifted their belongs against his shoulder before leaving, giving his once bully a quick nod before heading into the Lost Woods...

.-+Z.e.L.d.A.+-.

Link couldn't ever remember a time he shushed people that much. Surprisingly, the goron city was quiet enough but once he got to Kakiriko...it seemed as if that place and Castle Town were made to wake people up. The builders in the side town were yelling and complaining. The cuccos kept crowing. Those two idiots at the front were laughing and crying. Then Castle Town...the only two people that weren't irking him was Darling and Honey, and that was only due to them occupying each other's mouths (which he cringed at. They barely seem to even split for air...). And although he would never do it, that dog made him want to kick it...it seemed to follow him while barking on purpose...

He finally got to the actual castle...just to have everyone salute them back... A quick glare shut everyone up until they realized why. A couple of the butlers came up to ask for the bags, which he decided he would rather die without at the moment because they'd been killing his shoulder for a while now. A maid decided to step in and show him to her room since it was dark out at this point. He followed, looking around as they made their way through corridors, halls and a flight of stairs until they got to their destination. She helped him place her back gently and once she was laid down, he ended up leaving the room.

He was tired of walking today but for some reason he couldn't sit still. For a couple hours he ended up just wandering around the castle grounds, just observing the nightlife of the place, which was actually still pretty busy. He ended up all the way down in the courtyard before long. Even though it was the technical center 'Courtyard' it seemed more like a secret hideout of sorts. It was surrounded in white wall and had a view of certain parts of the inside. Walking around the flowers and up the stairs, he just sat there staring up at the skies until he found himself dozing off not soon after.

.+Z.e.L.d.A+.

The girl on the other hand, woke up with a start. She didn't have a bad dream or anything but she ended up popping up quickly. She glanced out the window, noting that it had to have been way past midnight. Then something else struck her. She hopped out of bed quickly and went into the halls to get to the first person she could find. Coming across a maid, she stopped her.

"If you don't mind...could you answer a few things for me?"

"U-uh, sure your highness!" she quickly replied. Said princess sighed for a moment.

"Do you know of the time?"

"Uh...I believe it would be almost three in the morning." she sounded a bit unsure but was overall sure she was close.

"...how did I get here?"

"That swordsman."

"...what..." she wasn't literally asking that time but was more of thinking about it herself. 'Had I really been that tired that she hadn't noticed him carrying her? But...that's nearly a day's trip from there to here...I don't think I've been sleeping for that long...that can't be possible...'

"Well, when he arrived here, he had you on his back and the bags across the shoulder you weren't sleeping on. We didn't really understand why he brought you back though..."

"Really..." she agreed until it struck her. "Oh! Maybe to get my bow and quiver? I told him I wanted to come and get it but...the situation I said that in was ridiculous. I wouldn't have figured he remembered that..."

"Maybe he makes mental notes like you do?" the worker offered. The princess in turn shrugged.

"I dunno... Do you know where he is anyway?"

"He was said to disappear after leaving you in here. He's most likely around somewhere. Sorry I wasn't of help."

"But you were. Thank you. See you sometime." And with that, the princess was off. Doing eliminations in her head of where he wouldn't be likely, although she had the thought he could be in the library somewhere she basically concluded somewhere outside. Starting to run she crossed the stairs and headed past the dining hall and music hall. She rounded a few corners and was about go right into the meeting hall when a flash of yellow caught her attention. Skidding, albeit a bit clumsily, to a stop, she went back to the window and sighed. Yes. The thing she saw was in fact, blonde hair. 'Even at night he stands out...but it helps.' she mused in her head, now knowing exactly where to go.

Out the door and through the decorative shrubbery, she got to the inner garden quickly. Arriving under the arch, she slowed to a saunter, stepping around the garden to the small staircase. Now standing directly in front of him, she crouched down, staring at him a bit silently with a small thought along the lines of 'So this is what it takes to make him sleep in a shirt?' Her hand idly drifted to his cheek, brushing over it lightly. She retracted it once he flinched. Of course by law of gravity she nearly tumbled down the stairs...if it weren't for a certain someone catching her arm and yanking her back up.

At this point, she was freaking out. It wasn't the fact that he'd woken up suddenly. Not at all. It wasn't the fact that he'd grabbed her. Definitely not that either. Surely it wasn't the fact that he pulled her to safety. What was wrong with her? It was the fact that she was semi-cradled in his arms as he looked down at her, clearly sleepy through clouded over blue eyes yet focused enough to make her nervous. Her face reddened involuntarily, her line of sight stuck and just as straight as his was as she slightly tried to back out of his hold.

"U-uhm...s-sorry..." she mumbled as his gaze began to sharpen. He raised a brow at her, letting her go slowly to make sure she had a bearing on her balance. Standing up for a moment, she noticed a flustered bunch of maids staring at her from the window. She shooed them away, although she knew they weren't leaving, and she took a seat next to him, looking straight up at the sky. "I'm surprised you got in here..." a light smile briefly graced her features as she thought back. "This place was like my safe haven...it was my safe haven...still is." Pointing back towards the window she added: "And only those few knew where to find me. I often fell asleep out here like you did and woke up either with a blanket or back in my room. Depended on the time of day really..."

He looked to her during her remembrance, lacing his hands together behind his head and leaning back to stare at the moon. He couldn't help a small smile either while listening to her small talk. Although he was used to dead silence at all times, hearing her speak to him normally was kind of...nice. Usually everyone would figure he was either cold or rude and just not say anything but it seems like she wasn't the type to think that way. Since she was a bit cheery her voice had a bit of pep in it but not enough to be annoying since she was still a bit tired herself.

"Dear goddess...ever since earlier I feel like all my energy's gone..." she sighed, leaning back as he was, closing her eyes as well. Now that she'd stopped talking, she could hear the grass whistling against the wind and the sound of breezing leaves through the trees. She smiled, seeing as she loved things like this even if she didn't seem the type to people. However, she didn't note she had drifted off listening to the music of nature.

.+Z.e.L.d.A+.

There was a sound that kept going off. Seeing as it was as steady as a heartbeat but too loud, she reasoned they were footsteps. Turning around she saw the King of Yule, Daphnis Neasden, but something was a bit odd. Why was he so big?

"Ah, Zelda! There you are!" All but suddenly, she was up and in his arms. As he walked towards the mirror, she saw it. He wasn't big, she was just a child. "Look here! You are going to be this kingdom's finest ruler, just like your father."

"Just like father huh...?" she asked out of her control. She didn't like that. Why could she not control herself in this...apparition of some sort? But she seemed to be remembering things as they happened. Before that could even be answered, that was warped away and she was in the vast study hall of the castle, a person she recognized as her late tutor standing over her.

"Don't look at me, do your work correctly or you'll stay here until it is done properly!" she snapped. Zelda huffed, grumbling something under her breath. "What was that? Not only is that improper but it is extremely rude.

"It's only rude if you knew what I said..." she grumbled back. The girl herself nearly laughed until she remembered what happened next.

"Such a smart mouthed, unruly girl! You'll never be any type of proper princess...I don't know why I bother with you! If you weren't the King's daughter..." the little girl her ran from the room after that but as for her...it seemed as if some type of weight had been added to her as she slightly crouched. 'W...what?' Suddenly, the background warped again and she stood in the training grounds with a white haired woman who looked ready for combat. She wielded a wooden sword though, just as well as a preteen Zelda did. The attacks came quick and precise, knocking the girl a ways back with a cry.

"Princess...how do expect to protect your kingdom when you protect yourself?" she sighed. Her younger self was nearly in tears at this point.

"I'm not a fighter, Impa! This won't work so can we please stop?"

"Unfortunately, you will have to be so, no... Now stand your ground and keep your guard up. Let's go." the Shiekah woman answered back, traces of regret in her voice. Zelda grimaced, dropping to her knees. She felt so heavy it was ridiculous. All but suddenly, voices began to fill her head.

"Are they sure about her...?"

"Will she really be our next ruler?"

"What an odd girl..."

"Such a tomboy princess..."

"I doubt she could do it..."

"Such a nuisance..."

"Shut up!" she screamed in the darkness of her dream, tears cresting her eyes as she had to place her hands down to avoid hitting the floor with the mass she was feeling. Then she finally realized. It wasn't weight she was feeling. It was the pressure everyone had put on her. Wether on purpose or not, people placed her under it in droves. "Shut up, shut up, just shut up!" After she screamed those words, the voices hushed to a mere lull as a new sound was introduced. Footsteps. Steady and strong. She could barely look up at who it was. They seemed to be male with white pants and brown boots from what she could manage but that could be half the kingdom. At least she thought that until they came to a halt in front of her and knelt down. Green. That forest green she grew to recognize for the past week. It was Link. He just sat there, not doing a thing to the point where it unnervered her. "What? What do you want...with me like this? You gonna make fun of me now too?"

She felt a sharp tap against her brow as soon as it left her. He flicked her forehead again. She grasped it with one hand, finally able to look at him completely. He was frowning. She probably knew it had something to do with that comment but why would he frown about it? Now she was confused as his expression changed to a smile. Not a fake one or one of teasing but an actual smile similar to the one she'd seen on him before. Switching from crouching to a kneel he leaned closer to her, wrapping an arm around her and patting her head with his free hand.

"W...what? How did I do a good job? I didn't..." he shook his head, standing up in front of her. Slowly, he held his hand out to her. As she took it, she felt the weight ease off. She stared, highly confused at this. She felt nearly fine at the moment. As she turned around, behind her seemed dark where all the other voices were slightly trailing from and when she turned back, Link looked completely normal. He pulled her up and signaled for her to come with him. Then she understood it. He never pressured her into things, just a gesture she could choose to follow or go along with. She didn't have to be perfect. Then she stood there. "I don't have to be…" and with that, it all went white.

The girl herself popped up. Where had she fallen asleep? Well she was in her room now, somehow beyond her. She leaned out the window looking around at the kingdom then to the castle grounds and sighed. Even though he didn't really seem like it, Link was a busy body. If you don't see him he's off doing something.

"Maybe that's why he chose this type of job…" she thought aloud. The thought was humorable and it did make since. She'd just ask later. Just like the night before, that bold bright yellow stood out over in front of the stables and yet she couldn't really make out what he was doing. Shrugging, she headed out the room until she was stopped by:

"P-Princess! You have to dress yourself properly!" a maid squeaked out. Zelda sighed. It was just a sleeper, why so embarrassed? Shaking her head, she turned and walked back into her room just to come out a moment later in her tunic and pants. She didn't feel like putting her hair back into a ponytail at the moment so the maid would have to wait until later. Before she could be stopped again she made a quick trot down the stairs and a brisk run to the door, opening it and closing it as quickly as she could. Knowing the castle grounds was definitely a plus she decided as she cut through the bushes and ran along a hidden path in the decorative forestry. In a matter of minutes she emerged near the rear of the palace, right off her destination.

"Link!" He blinked and turned to look back at her as well as the man he was facing off against. But things in motion stay in motion which resulted in the man smacking the warrior in the back of the head square on with a wooden sword. He hissed, crouching down and covering his head in a futile attempt to stop his head from throbbing.

"Sorry man! Couldn't stop. You okay?" the man asked. He wanted to laugh though. He really, really wanted to laugh but since the man in front of him had the power and skill to kill him on the spot he decided against it. The princess however giggled her way over to them. Of course that earned her a glare from the swordsman on the ground.

"You okay?" now observing the angry look, she pulled off his hat and looked over it. "Not a scratch there. Stop seething." Turning to the other she simply asked: "You two were training?"

"Ah well…I was, he's not. I was training against the dummy until I saw him looking bored and walking around. I asked if he'd mind and he didn't so…"

"Huh…"

"He's way out of the league of knights. That, sadly, was the first hit I got on him this whole morning…" he rubbed his head sheepishly before offering Link a hand. With his help and the princess, he rose from the ground, dusting off his pants and picking up the semi-harmless weapon. "Shall we continue?"

"I'm afraid not." She cut in. Both males looked to her slightly confused. "Please excuse us but I have to steal him away from you. We have a previous agreement, arrangement and appointment, isn't that right?" she blinked up at him innocently enough but the way she decided to cling to his arm sent the man a slightly different message. His face pinkened lightly as he sighed and held the sword out to him. Taking it silently, he watched them walk off towards the castle in slight awe of the implied situation. Well, at least the one in his mind… "Wonder why he was staring like that…"

As a reaction, he shrugged, catching her attention more so than usual because she was actually connected to him at the moment. An urge to squeeze his arm came and she quickly shook it off. Sure she saw them before and were held by them but actually purposely touching them was a different thing…not to mention it would do nothing but promise a weird stare from him for sure. Of course whether she noticed it or not he was already staring at her strangely. She was asking for it after all. They made it up to her room in a matter of moments and began gathering their things when she walked past her vanity just to realize something.

"I forgot about my hair!" she dropped her bag in place and quickly dug out a brush. From this position, she could see the face of thee swordsman staring at her blankly. He didn't care if her hair was down or not, she rushed him away from something that was a decent time killer just to end up sitting down and doing her hair. "Stop giving me that look. I'll be done in a second." He held up one finger then raised a brow to her. "Not literally. Stop distracting me or I'll never finish." She teased. He scoffed before picking up the bags and stepping outside her door. "…why can he never sit still?"

Instead of a second, seven minutes later she'd joined him out at the castle gate, waiting for it to move out of their way so that they could continue the journey. Link, continuing with his apparent impatience streak, stepped through it when it was open enough and entered Hyrule field, hooking a quick left towards a bridge across the moat a little walk away. She followed him quickly, noticing that Death Mountain looked…strange. The sky above it looked dark as if it would erupt at any second. A quick trip through Kakiriko and jog up the trail got them back to the Goron City as planned but to their surprise the place was deserted. All except one lone goron rolling along the middle trail of the city. Before he even had the chance to do something reckless, Zelda grabbed the male by the arm and towards the stairs. Right as they exited the staircase the little boulder went bumbling past. They both huffed at that, seeing as either they chased him or they waited until he came back around again. Zelda surely was going to chase a rolling goron…being pulled by one is enough to let you know how fast they could go.

"H-hey!" she yelled as it past them up yet again. This happened twice more until the male hylian was satisfied. As it rolled around again he pulled up a bomb plant and rolled in towards the rock creature. Of course, the explosion startled it into stopping as it looked around for who attacked it. Looking up at them, he proclaimed:

"How could you do that to me? Are you trying to take me away too?" He suddenly stood up, putting on a brave face before shouting, "Tremble before me! I will take you down just as brother Link, Hero of Gorons would!" Link's expression took a mix of irritated, embarrassed and angry while Zelda couldn't hold back a smirk.

"You're a hero of gorons now, huh?" that earned her a glare. Suddenly the child stood, looking at him closely.

"What? You're brother Link? So you must be the Dodongo buster and hero! And you are sister Zelda!" he added, now smiling at the fact he wasn't in danger but actually around the people he needed.

"I'm an only child…" she answered, out of response of 'sister'. "Well…you know who we are but who are you?"

"My dad's name is Darunia. You remember him right?"

"How could we forget…" they both winced, remembering the oh-so-loving "hugs" they got the other day.

"But yeah! Dad told me I had to be brave like you! Even your names are cool, I love em! You're a hero to us gorons. I'm so glad I could meet you! Could you give me your autograph? Sign it: To my friend, prince of the gorons."

"Wai-wai-wait a minute here!" she interrupted quickly as the rock boy was going into a slight fangasm. "Where is Darunia anyway? We were supposed to meet him…"

"Oh…Right…this isn't a good time to ask for this… Link! Please help everyone!" As the goron continued he began to tear up, causing the two hylians to look to each other before sighing. "My dad went to the fire temple. There's a dragon inside there! If you don't hurry, even dad'll get eaten by the dragon!" Not being able to hold in anymore, he began crying profusely. They looked on for a moment to see if he'd stop, just to find out he wouldn't. Shifting his weight over, Link nudged the girl catching her attention. He forwarded toward the sobbing creature and she frowned.

"Why?" was all she asked. With a small smirk, he brushed his thumb and forefinger across his lips. "Your lips are sealed, huh?" a small nod. She sighed, crouching down a bit. "Hey, hey…why don't you tell us a little about this problem if you want us to help…we need to know about the dragon and the gorons…"

"W-Well…" he sniffled so that he could at least talk straight. "A long time ago there was an evil dragon named Volvagia living in this mountain. He was scary…he even…ate gorons… With a huge hammer the hero of gorons- the one before you- he beat the dragon! It's said that it was trapped in the lava, and I know it's a true story even though it's a legend! I know because me and dad are the descendants of that hero!" he started to hiccup before slightly crying again. She looked up to her partner, him shrugging in response. Although he grew up in a village of never-aging children, he was apparently no good with them. She reached out and touched his head, petting lightly at the stone-like surface.

"So why is everyone gone?"

"Everybody was taken to the fire temple. When dad went out, the first gorons that went there somehow freed the dragon and demanded they bring the rest of the village there as sacrifices to redeem his honor. All of them will be eaten. Dad was furious when he came back and told me to wait for you and give you these in case you came. Please help him! He's trying to save everyone by himself!" She looked to Link again just to find him staring at the goron as if that was the stupidest thing he'd heard. Well…considering it was the gorons that they met it might not have been that smart to try to save the others…

"But that's the problem! We don't know where that is and your father was supposed to tell us…"

"I know that. He said to move the statue in his room and what he told me to give you is also in there. Go change and hurry to save dad and the others!"

"…Change?"

"Yes! Hurry!" Tired of being rushed, they went into the chief's room to find…red clothes. "Those are Goron Tunics. Without them you'd burn inside the Fire Temple. I'll leave it to you brother and sister!" and with that, he left. The warrior scratched his head for a moment then sighed while looking the one that he guessed to be his. He shed his belt and lifted off his green shirt, replacing it with the red one, Zelda doing the same with her own purple hooded tunic.

"Oh wow, this one has a hood too…so that means…" taking off his hat and placing the red on his head, she giggled. "They had a hat for you too. Hmm…" He raised a brow at her. She seemed to be contemplating something. "Saria's right…you look funny in something other than green…" A scoff came from him as he strapped his weapon and shield back on. Laughing, she folded their clothes and sat them on the table next to their bags, waiting on whatever Link would do next. Flexing his fingers, he grabbed the statue and began pulling. It didn't budge at first until the sound of pebbles crumbling went off and it began to slide towards him. Immediate heat flooded out of the new opening, causing them to wince. "Well…let's just get this over with…"

A/N: lol would you call this filler? Gah…I just wanted to take a break from (attempting) to do my commissions…I got SA styles piled up and they're tedious as hell to do… anyway, anyone notice Zelda likes taking off Link's hat? XDD didn't notice that until a while ago but I find it funny I kept doing that by accident. But yeah, fire temple in the next chapter, be looking out!

~Ruru out