'Sheik?' I spin round, and suddenly fall to my knees as the adrenaline drains out of my system in relief.

'You're alright,' I gasp, tears gathering at the corners of my eyes.

'Sheik, what's the matter? Why are you crying? What happened?' Link kneels down beside me and hugs me as I sob into his shoulder. I feel stupid for acting like this when Link isn't hurt in the slightest, but I'm so happy and relieved to see him that I can't help it. 'What's going on? Did Zelda come back?' he asks, concerned, but I shake my head.

'N-no, but she c-came to the forest and sh-she was l-looking for you and I thought she w-was g-going to...' I trail off, sobbing.

'Don't worry, I'm fine,' Link reassures me, hugging me again. 'I haven't seen her once since the coronation. I've been in this meadow all day, and she hasn't come.'

'But she went into the woods hours ago. Where is she?' I ask, wiping away my tears. Link helps me up and we look back at the forest. The sun is setting now, and the dark trees cast long shadows.

'No...' I whisper, my heart suddenly feeling unbearably heavy. There's only one way Zelda could have vanished into the woods without a trace, but I don't want to think about it. Without warning I set off determinedly back through the forest, Link jogging to keep up.

'Where are you going?'

'I'm going to search the forest for her. She has to be here somewhere!' Link stays silent, but I know he's not happy about this.

I search every corner of every clearing, even straying from the path a few times, making sure that I don't miss anything. But there's no sign of my sister. Finally we've searched every inch of the woods, and we wind up back at the entrance in Kokiri Forest.

'There you two are!' Saria says, running up to us. 'It's getting late! We were worried!' I look back at the forest.

'I'm going to search again.' But before I can go in, Link grabs my hand.

'Sheik...' I can't look at him. I can feel the tears threatening to spill over again, but I hold them back with an effort.

'I'm going back! I have to find her!' I tell Link defiantly.

'She's been in there for hours. And she's not a child. You know what's happened. She must have not known the path as well as she thought she did.' Link speaks quietly, but it's enough to make my tears fall.

'She's my sister. She can't be gone...' Link pulls me towards him and hugs me again.

'I'm so sorry.'

'Even after everything she did, she's still my sister. I don't want to lose her,' I sob, leaning on Link for support. 'I don't want her to be gone.'

'I know,' Link says sadly, stroking my hair. 'I know.'

-o-

'Your Majesty?' one of the Council members asks.

'Sorry. Just thinking,' I tell him, bringing my attention back to the meeting. The men and women seated around the table share a look, and Impa clears her throat.

'Perhaps we should adjourn this meeting for now?' she suggests, and the room clears of people, leaving only her and me. 'You were thinking about Zelda again,' she states.

'Yes. I know it's been six months now since she... But I still think about her. Is that a bad thing? After all those things she did to me, all the times she tried to kill me and Link, is it bad that I grieve so much for her?'

'It is natural,' Impa says calmly. 'She was your sister, and you loved her. Perhaps she did not deserve that love; that is a matter for the Goddesses to decide. You cannot change how you feel.' I nod, rising.

'I think I'll go for a ride to clear my head,' I announce. Link was supposed to arrive back from the forest today, and I hope he'll be waiting for me outside. My prayers are answered when I see him and Epona waiting by the castle gate, my own horse next to them.

'I thought you could probably use a break,' he tells me, and I gratefully mount up. We trot through Castle Town together, breaking into a gallop when we're out in Hyrule Field. We eventually come to a stop at the top of a hill, looking down over the whole of Hyrule. We stay there for a while, each of us absorbed in our own thoughts. But then I turn to Link; there's something I've been meaning to ask him.

'Do you remember that first night when I returned from the castle, the night before the coronation? You said you had something to tell me afterwards. Do you remember what that was?' Link thinks for a moment, then laughs.

'You know, I'd completely forgotten about that. Ironic, huh? I was going to tell you the next day, but after the coronation everything happened so quickly, and then I went back to the forest, and... Well, I never really got around to telling you, did I?'

'So what was it?' I ask, curious.

'Actually, it's something you might remember. Or maybe you don't. It's back from when we were kids. You came to the Kokiri Forest once, with your father and Zelda. Do you remember that?' I nod slowly.

'Yes, and I explored the Lost Woods. That's when I learned the path through it, and then Zelda made me tell her.'

'Exactly. Only... do you remember who you explored those woods with?' I think back to that day, and in my mind's eye a small blond boy leads me through the woods, showing me the correct path and guiding me to the Sacred Forest Meadow. I gasp, looking back at Link.

'That was you? Wait, I remember now! You even told me your name! How could I forget that?'

'I'm not surprised. It was such a long time ago, and we only met once, and anyway you had amnesia when you met me again. By the time you got your memories back you were so used to seeing me that you didn't think about having met me first all those years ago.'

'But you remembered,' I say sadly, feeling once again as though I've let Link down.

'Don't feel bad,' he reassures me. 'I told you, it was the curse. And anyway, I didn't remember you at first. Even when we thought you were called Zelda, I didn't remember that name from the girl who came with you years ago. She was hardly friendly – she wouldn't even tell me her name, so I didn't recognise it when I heard it again.

But I remembered you – or at least, your name. It'd been so long and you'd changed so much that at first I didn't recognise you. But as soon as Impa told me your name I realised who you were. I remembered that day we spent exploring the woods. I guessed that you probably didn't remember, so I was planning to tell you after the coronation, but in all the excitement I forgot.'

'I really enjoyed that day we had together,' I tell him. 'And even though it took a while, I'm glad that we got to meet each other again.'

'Me too,' Link says with a smile.

-o-

We stay there, watching as the sun slowly sinks lower into the sky.

'How are you coping?' Link asks eventually, and I sigh.

'Alright. I still think about her every day.'

'You'll probably think about her for the rest of your life,' Link tells me. 'But I hope you don't feel guilty. Zelda's desire for revenge was what killed her. You know that.'

'I do,' I reply, staring out over the landscape. We stand there silently for a while longer, then I sigh.

'What's wrong?' Link asks, concerned.

'Nothing. I was just thinking.'

'Thinking what?'

'I... I hope Zelda's happy. People keep saying that she's dead, but she's not. She's a monster now, but even monsters have lives. They're born, they grow up, fall in love, have families just the same as humans do. True, it's not a life any human would choose, least of all her. But it's a life. And I hope she's learnt to be happy in it. Because I think that she was never happy in her human life. Too much greed, too much suspicion. Too much anger. But she doesn't have any of that now. She's free.' Link turns to me and smiles.

'I'm glad you've made peace with her. And I'm sure, wherever she is now, she's made peace with you.'

'I hope so,' I reply, smiling back at him. Then I look over at the setting sun, and sigh. 'We should be getting back.' But I keep smiling as we gallop back across Hyrule.

-o-

'Impa? Are you alright?' Impa turns round, smiling as she sees Ciela.

'Yes, I am perfectly fine. Just soaking up the last of the sun.' Ciela joins Impa at the window, watching the figures in the castle courtyard below. Two of them ride in through the gates, leading their horses to the stables. Ciela smiles as she sees the two deep in conversation about something, oblivious to the other people around them.

'Do you think those two are going to be alright together?' she asks.

Impa just smiles knowingly, and the two women turn away from the window as the figures below stroll back into the castle, hand in hand.

-o-

A/N: That's all folks! Hope you enjoyed. Leave a review and let me know what you thought!