"May I ask, do you really remember me?"

Link stood staring at the goddess before him. In truth, he didn't remember her. He had seen glimpses into the past they had shared together, but truly she was still a stranger to him.

Albeit, a lovely stranger.

She stood in the tall grass waiting for his answer. Instead of responding verbally, he walked closer to her and looked into her sea green eyes. She was exhausted. He was surprised she was even able to stand upright. Without looking away he whistled for his horse, a huge black creature he had found in the northwestern section of the Faron Grasslands.

"Let's get you to someplace where you can rest, Princess."

Zelda's tired eyes crinkled at the corners and she managed a weak smile. For now, they both seemed to agree that the question about his memories, or lack there of, could wait. After all, they had both just survived the fight of their lives, and now they had all the time in the world to ask questions.

Link helped the princess up onto his steed, and then hoisted himself up behind her. He was also in need of sleep. Every muscle in his body ached, and he had a collection of mostly minor injuries from his battle with Ganon.

As soon as Zelda was sitting she swayed from side to side rather dangerously, and Link wrapped his arm around her waist to steady her.

"Princess, are you going to be all right?"

"Yes of course…just… tired." She shook herself "I'll be fine." She turned her head to smile at him, but immediately after, started to wilt like a parched flower.

"Don't bother princess, I'm fine. Lean back on me and rest your eyes." As he said this, he kicked his heels into to his horse to get him going. He had appropriately named him Demon because of his size and coloring. He wasn't fast but was very strong, and could easily carry them both.

She hesitated at this proposition "Well, if you are sure it's all right.." She allowed herself to fall back onto his chest and closed her eyes. Then suddenly her eyes snapped open again, "But you just fought Ganon! I should be letting you rest!" Link laughed out loud at this.

"And you kept him contained for one hundred years while I took a nice long nap in the resurrection chamber. Please, Princess, I'm fine, get some sleep." She seemed to consider this argument for a moment. Then without another word, she leaned back and closed her eyes again.

"Now where too…" The nearest place would be the Wetland Stable to the east, however, he didn't think that the best way to restore the people's hope in the kingdom would be to deliver their princess half asleep and battle worn to an inn. The people of Hyrule had been torn apart and were in desperate need of a strong leader. Zelda's first appearance before her people needed to be when she was well rested, put together, and thinking clearly. None of which, she was right now.

It was best to keep Zelda hidden from the public eye for the moment. He looked down at her soft expression. She couldn't be truly sleeping, with the way she was being jostled by the horse and his arms as he held the reins, but she was obviously dozing to some degree because her breathing had relaxed to a slow even pace. Any rest she could get was good in his book, even if it was likely to be interrupted by Demon stepping in holes in the road, or his need to turn and look about for potential dangers.

He directed the horse toward his house in Hateno Village. It was far enough on the outskirts that he wasn't ever bothered. Zelda could spend a few days there recuperating and getting a plan together.

He couldn't believe that it was really over. He felt very strange thinking about it. The part that he had been destined to play was complete and he felt… strangely empty for it. What was to come next? The legends never talked about what happened after the hero and the princess defeated the demon king.

"I suppose, I feel relieved to some degree," Link thought as the sky darkened further over head, "It just doesn't feel real."

And now, he had Princess Zelda to consider. He looked down at her again. She had her head thrown back on his shoulder, her hands were clasped on her lap. She was beautiful; there was no doubt about that. He had felt a close bond with her from the moment he had heard her voice calling him back to the land of the living after his time in the shrine of resurrection. He just wished he could remember more about her than the few scattered memories he had been able to rekindle by visiting places they had once been together.

…

Link decided to take the south roads then turn east to get to Hateno. It was a longer route, but the path was more clearly marked, and he didn't want to risk getting lost in the dark with a semi-conscious princess on his lap. If he traveled straight through the night it would be about a sixteen hour journey, but he felt he could manage it. Demon was good about keeping to the path and not wandering. Although he would have to keep a lookout, he might be able to rest his eyes during the long stretches when the road was straight.

He steered a wide path around the Riverside stable. Though it was very temping to make his way there and crash for the night, he resisted. Evening was falling, and he could see from a distance travelers sitting around a campfire sharing a meal. He had half a mind to go and tell them that the one hundred years of darkness was over, surely they would be overjoyed to hear the news. However… Link thought better of it. They would know soon enough. If he went to tell them now, they would want to hear how it was done, they would want to question them… and that was not something that either of them were up to at the moment.

…

Link rode on through the dark pushing not only himself but also Demon to stay awake. The horse had just been in battle too after all and kept slowing. After several hours they crossed Proxim Bridge and Link got a chance to shut his eyes for a few minutes. His head rested on the top of hers. The smell of her hair was intoxicating; it smelled like… the wind that came off of the ocean, and meadow grass.

"How is that possible after not bathing in one hundred years?" The thought almost made him burst into sleep deprived laughter, but he managed to keep it under control for fear that any movement would wake her. After everything that had happened to him and Zelda, he was questioning how her hair still smelled so good? He couldn't help but smile at how ridiculous that sounded. "I really do need some sleep," he thought to himself as he shut his eyes and allowed the slow plodding of the horse to lull him into a stupor.

…

He rested well enough that he nearly missed his left turn at Big Twin Bridge. After he crossed, he saw Dueling Peaks Stable on the right of the path in front of him, so he veered away from it and crossed the open field to avoid the prying eyes of the stable master. It was nearly morning and he could hear some activity inside.

Then he slowed. "This was where…" This was where he had died. The now inactive army of guardians lay dormant and unmoving, but the morning light made them look eerily alive. Out of all the things in his past that were now lost to him, this was something that he unfortunately remembered. At least, he remembered the pain, the determination, the knowing he was going to die, but still that drive to protect the princess; Zelda.

He gritted his teeth, and a single tear rolled down his cheek. He was shocked by it. Not once since his waking in the resurrection chamber had he felt the need to cry for or feel badly for what had happened. But now, now it was as if he was seeing it for the first time. Now it felt real to him, funnily enough, after it was all over. "That's probably a good thing." He thought to himself as he brushed the tear away with his thumb. "It's better that I didn't understand it fully until after the fact, or I may have been too afraid of failure to face Ganon and his army a second time." For that was exactly what this field was to him. This was where he had failed, this was his fault. He held tightly to the princess and covered her eyes as they weaved through the empty shells of the fallen guardians. He didn't want her waking up and remembering this day as well.

Now he began to connect all the memories he had seen as something that had happened to him, not just the dreams they had seemed to him before now. Princess Zelda had saved him that day, and that's not how it should have happened. He should have been stronger. He should have been able to protect her from anything. Suddenly a very strange feeling came over him. He held her more tightly still. She dozed on thankfully oblivious to both their surroundings and his internal turmoil. They cleared the field and passed through the gate on the other side. "Almost there, just a few more hours."

As they continued on down the road leading to Hateno, the field of fallen guardians drifted out of sight, but the memory of his failure still stung.

He would have gladly died for her on that battlefield if it had meant she would have been safe, but not just because he was assigned to protect her; not because he was chosen by the master sword to be the hero of time; but because; "I was in love with her." This revelation came to him suddenly, yet he accepted it in an instant as fact. The only question was, did he love her still?

…

About thirty minutes before they reached Hateno the rain started pouring down. This woke Zelda from her doze and she sat up and looked around. "Link, where are we?"

"We're almost there princess, just a little further."

She started to shiver so Link pulled a thick woolen blanket out of his saddlebags and wrapped it around her shoulders to keep her warm.

"Thank you." She turned and blinked at him, then offered him a section of the blanket. When he shook his head she asked, "Aren't you cold?"

He smiled at that, "Zelda, look what you're wearing." She looked down and examined her white dress which was now soaked through and… slightly see through. It was paper thin and offered her little to no protection from the cold rain at all. Truthfully he wasn't cold. His knight's uniform offered him more than sufficient warmth and protection from these elements.

Zelda turned bright red and wrapped the blanket around her more securely. "Thank you, Link." She turned around seeming embarrassed and kept her eyes straight ahead for the rest of the journey.

The rain was both a blessing and a curse. They reached the village around midday when it usually would have been bustling with activity, but the weather had everyone inside, so no one noticed when he turned right onto the path leading up to his house. When he finally got to the door, he carefully dismounted, keeping a hand on Zelda to steady her. Demon was anxious to get some rest and food and was not helping things by trying to walk to the stable of his own accord.

Zelda looked down at the long drop from Demon's back to the ground as Link held out his other arm. "Come on princess, slide down and I'll catch you, I wont let you fall."

Tentatively she started to swing her right leg over the side of the horse but stopped and gasped in pain. She was so saddle sore she couldn't move her legs.

"You don't have to do that, just lean to the left and I'll catch you." He was holding on to her already with his right hand and his left arm was outstretched in preparation to catch her. Meanwhile the rain continued to pour down. She reached out both her arms and gently he pulled her away from the horse, transferring her weight from Demon's back to his arms. As he did this, she wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself and the blanket slid off her shoulders and onto the saturated ground. When he tried to put her feet down, she whimpered in pain.

Without a word, Link secured his right arm around her back and brought his other arm under her knees. She opened her mouth like she was about to protest but no words came out. Even she realized it was useless. She couldn't stand let alone walk and made no objections as he carried her into his house, up the stairs, and set her down in a chair next to his bed.

This was where he hesitated. There was no way she could go to bed in those wet clothes. He had some cotton shirts she could wear but the question was could she undress and redress herself. She seemed to sense his quandary, and opened her mouth, then shut it again. Then again took a breath like she was about to speak but all that came out was "ahhh…hmm".

Then finally, "Why don't you take care of your horse then…." He nodded and went back downstairs. This time, he was the one blushing bright red.

As he exited the house he saw the blanket that had fallen off Zelda's shoulders and snatched it up to throw over Demon who had already retreated to the stable and was munching on hay. He removed the saddle and the bridle and even in his desperation to stall, brushed him out a bit. He wouldn't lie to himself, undressing Zelda greatly appealed to him, even if he was dog tired. But what if it became obvious that he was…. enjoying it?"

Images flashed through his mind of a sort that made his cheeks burn. He shook himself, then tried to think about Impa to get all thoughts of attractive woman out of his mind and far away. Bravely, he marched back into the house, took off his weapons, and went upstairs to the loft.

Zelda was shivering. She was still sitting in the same spot he had left her and he mentally kicked himself for his neglect. He had been outside stalling while she was in here cold and waiting for him. She, like him, was now a bright shade of red.

He stood there in silence for a moment, waiting for her to speak. Finally, her eyes lifted to meet his.

"Do you think you can… do this with your eyes closed?"

He nodded and knelt next to her. "Just tell me what to do." He shut his eyes tight.

"If you can get me something dry to wear, that would be helpful." Link opened his eyes again and looked bashful. Naturally if she was going to undress, she needed something else to change into.

He walked over to his dresser and pulled out a soft woven shirt and a pair of cotton shorts.

"Thank you, Link." She said as he handed her the clothing. He stepped back, unsure of what to do. She pointed her finger into the air and made a circular motion, indicating that she should turn around. He did so so fast that it almost made him dizzy, and tried not to think about what was going on behind him as the princess got out of her wet clothes.

After a few moments she made a coughing sound, and Link half turned and saw that she was dressed out of the corner of his eye, and was holding the covers tight around her chest. "If I could trouble you for just one more thing, I really need a little food and water before I can sleep."

"Of course princess, just a moment." He went downstairs and rifled through his saddlebags. He still had plenty of clean water in his canteens but the food situation was a little dire. He had a couple of apples that were slightly wrinkled, a jar of goat's milk that was fairly fresh, and a few pieces of smoked fish. He would have to go into town tomorrow, or whenever he woke up, to get some food.

He prepared what he had and put it on a tray. When he walked back upstairs she was wearing his shirt and sitting upright so he set the tray on her lap. He pulled the chair next to his bed, sat down, and took a big bite out of the other apple he had brought up for himself. She nibbled at the food but drank all the milk and water, then yawned spectacularly. He took this as his queue to remove the tray and set it on the bedside table.

"Thank you, Link, I… I can't believe your still standing after everything that's happened. How do you do it?"

He gave her a shy smile, "When you are taken care of, Princess, then I can rest."

She turned pink and let out a sigh, "All right, Mr. Hero, let's get some sleep." She slid down under the covers and let her head rest on the soft down pillow. The rain was letting up, and some shards of light were making their way through the clouds. He got up and closed the curtains.

"I'll be downstairs if you need anything." He started to proceed down the wooden steps with his own sleepwear in hand when Zelda sat back up in bed.

"Wait!" He looked back and saw she was biting her lip nervously. He took a few steps backward, his hand still resting on the rail waiting for her to speak.

"Hmm, Link. It's just that…" She folded her hands in her lap and glanced around the room. Links heart started to beat faster, though, he wasn't exactly sure why.

"What is it, Princess?"

She took a deep breath "Can you…" She stopped, but then seemed to brace herself and tried again. "Can you stay up here… with me?" She motioned to the spot next to her on the left side of the bed.

He froze. "Princess Zelda is actually asking me to bed?"

He tried to maintain a calm expression, but his heart had picked up the pace and was racing. He nodded once and she turned her body to face the wall as he got into dry clothes. Then, he slid under the covers and lay on his back beside her. He had no idea what to do then. Princess Zelda rolled over to face him and took his hand in hers. She let out a contented sigh, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

He rolled to face her as well, and he watched her sleeping form for several minutes. Her golden hair spilled out all over the pillow and her skin was so pale that you could see the faint blue lines of the veins that ran up her arm. When she had grabbed his hand it had given him a jolt of electricity. With his thumb he gently caressed the back of her hand and she let out another sigh in her sleep, a small smile forming on her lips. She looked just the same as she had looked in those glimpses of his past, those fragmented memories. He couldn't believe that had been one hundred years ago.

Finally, he shut his eyes and immediately sleep took him.

No, he didn't quite remember her; he didn't know her; but he was going to.