Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda Series or its characters. I also do not own "Beauty and the Beast", "Les Miserables", or any other musical or piece of music mentioned in this story. This story is purely for entertainment purposes only.

Hello, everyone! Thank you for your continued support! Please review and spread the word! I'd love to hear from you! Enjoy Chapter 7! ~Opal

Chapter 7: Almost Adventuring

Sally and Marcus were both very quiet when we walked out of Telma's Bar. Sally walked to the left of me, and Marcus walked to the right of me. When we had gone past the fountain and were headed out the west entrance Sally finally broke the silence. "What would you say to me coming on the mission with you and the hero, Marcus?"

He looked sternly at her. "Are you nuts!? It would be way too dangerous!"

"It would give me an opportunity to get away from my stepmother and stepsister…" She looked down as we walked.

"Only to get killed!" He shouted, making her jerk her face up in reaction. "I don't support that idea at all!"

She began to get ornery, her lips turning up into a smile as she walked ahead of the two of us. "What would happen if I decided to completely ignore your wishes and follow you?" She didn't face us.

"Well…" He paused to think of what to say next. "Then I would…I…"

She whirled around and stood in front of him, her face only inches from his. "What would you do?" She smiled.

His face was bright red. He tried to walk backward to stand a little further away from her, but she kept walking forward to stay near him. It was a pretty comical sight! "…T-that's beside the point. I'm j-just saying that I don't want you to follow us."

"Why?" Sally questioned, stopping instead of walking forward.

He sighed when he was finally a decent distance away from her. "Because it is dangerous. Do I have to repeat myself? That and you don't have any weapons to fight with!"

She crossed her arms. "My father has weapons. He's taught me how to use a bow and arrow and a dagger!"

"That's only for defense if someone threatens you, though! Not for combat!" He shouted. "You wouldn't be able to handle the combat!"

"You wanna bet?" She got in his face again.

"Yes! Because I know that you wouldn't be able to, and it's stupid for you to even consider it!" He frowned and walked past her. I continued to walk next to Sally.

"I'm going follow you and the hero just to piss you off. That's what I've decided." She smiled conceitedly as he turned around to face her, pure rage on his face.

She continued to smile unyieldingly as he screamed, "You'd better not! You'd get into so much trouble! You don't want to risk your life!"

"I'm fine with it!" She grinned. "I want to help you two find the missing shards." She looked at me and then back at Marcus. "And it would make my life more interesting for once! I don't want to be like some women, thinking that adventuring is meant for men and men only!"

He huffed. "You don't get it."

She huffed in mockery. "Yes, I do; you're just worried about me. There is nothing to worry about!"

"I say no and that's final! You can't come!"

"Alright…" She rolled her eyes. "You're so sexist."

His eyes widened. "I AM NOT!"

"Au contraire…" She giggled.

We unhitched the two horses and headed back to Eldinaire Village. It was dark by the time we arrived in the village, the lamps attached to the two horses being the only sources of light to guide us. When we came up to Marcus' house we said our good-byes for the night and then Sally and I headed back to her house. It was about 9pm when we arrived inside. Sally's father was the first person that we saw. "Hi there, you two." He smiled. "How was rehearsal, Sally?"

"Good." Sally said.

"I have some tea for you." He said as he set two mugs on a table.

"Thanks." She said with a nod.

"Anything interesting happen?" He asked as the two of them sat down at the table. I sat down on the floor near the table.

"Yes, actually…" She replied. "…I got one of the lead roles."

"You did now?" He grinned as he pat her on the back. "Good for you, sweetie!"

"Thanks papa." She beamed. "I'm glad that I've gotten the part, but really nervous too."

He looked puzzled. "Why's that?"

She scooted the mug around out of nervousness. "Marcus got the other leading role…" She took the mug in both hands and slowly sipped from it.

"Really?" He said with a grin. "The play that you're doing is 'Beauty and the Beast' right?"

"Yes." She answered. He nodded while humming. She looked confused. "Your point is?"

"It's a love story." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"So what?" She blushed.

He wiggled his eyebrows again. "You know…maybe…" He chuckled as he took a large drink from his mug.

"That doesn't mean Marcus and I will start dating or anything!" She blurted. She covered her mouth and said in a muffled voice "Let's just get off this subject and pretend I didn't say that…"

"My lips are sealed." He used his hand to 'zip' his mouth shut.

After some more chatting Sally and her father went to their rooms to sleep. Sally had set up a pile of blankets by the fireplace for me to use as a bed. I curled up on the blankets and closed my eyes to sleep. Thankfully I fell asleep quickly, because Marcus and I would be likely leaving bright and early to try and find the shards of the shadow crystal.

That night I had the strangest dream. I was a human again. I was walking all alone in Hyrule Field; Epona wasn't even with me. It was a beautifully sunny day, the sun seeming to kiss the landscape with light. I continued to walk alone until I heard a voice. I turned around and saw Sally in the distance. She ran up to me and we started talking. All of a sudden the weather turned, dark grey clouds shrouding the sun's lovely beams. I looked behind me and saw Ganon, and then I turned back towards Sally as I drew out my sword to protect her, but she was gone. It was as if she had vanished out of thin air. I turned back around in time to see Ganon getting ready to blast me with magic from his hand. I sliced at him with my sword, but he disappeared into a cloud of black smoke and reappeared behind me; his sword at my neck while he had me in an arm lock. I tried to break free, but something made me unable to move. He sliced at my arm and laughed evilly as I winced in pain. I gulped out of terror as he aimed for my neck again. He cackled wickedly once again, but before anything else could happen I heard Sally's voice.

Groaning, I woke up in the living room of the farmhouse. Sally was indeed by my side, kneeling down and trying to speak to me. "I'm sorry to wake you. I'm going to change your bandages now because you and Marcus will have to leave soon." She smiled as I looked up at her. "Were you having a dream?" I nodded. She stood up. "That would explain why your legs were moving so restlessly!" She laughed quietly as she went into the kitchen and grabbed some pork. "Would you like this for breakfast?" I nodded. She began to cook it. While the pork was simmering on the stove she changed my bandages and then went back to finish cooking it. She set the plate of meaty goodness down in front of me. I didn't hesitate to eat the portion, salivating at the taste with each bite I took. I looked at the time on the wooden clock hanging against the wall. It was 5:30am, Marcus and I would be leaving very soon. I finished eating while she cooked herself up some breakfast.

A few minutes later Marcus was knocking at the door and Sally went to answer it. He walked in quietly and sat down at the table to chat with her while she ate breakfast. "You know…" He said. "Just because you're up doesn't mean I'm going to change my mind about you coming with us."

"I know." She said as she took a bite of egg from her fork. "I just wanted to see the two of you off." She took another bite.

"Alright. Fair enough." He said.

A few minutes later Sally had finished eating and Marcus started to pack some things for me. I didn't need much, but he packed some extra blankets, some extra food that Sally kindly provided, things like that. A few minutes later he and I prepared to leave. Marcus was definitely ready to go, stepping towards the door without even saying another word to Sally. Sally looked offended. "Marcus…" She said. He stopped in his tracks. "…Aren't you going to say goodbye?" He turned around to look at her. She frowned slightly.

He went up to her and gave her a hug. "We'll be back soon." He grinned.

She smiled back at him and then her expression turned serious again. "Be safe." She looked at me and then back at him. "Both of you." We both nodded to reassure her. Sally patted me on the head and after that Marcus and I mounted Marcus' horse and were just about to leave, but Sally came outside of the house, standing there looking like she had no clue what to do. "M-Marcus…" She said timidly.

He turned the horse to face her. "Yeah?"

"Can I talk to you alone for a minute?" She questioned while she shuffled her feet nervously.

He gulped. "S-sure…" He dismounted his horse and went on a walk with her. I followed the two of them in secret to see what would happen. Yep, I love to eavesdrop on them! It's too entertaining! They walked into the forest, whose trees were just beginning to be adorned with sunlight. He looked at her. "W-what's up?" He asked her.

She looked like she was struggling to find the words to say, tears welling up in her eyes. "M-Marcus…" She choked on his name. The tears began to flow down her cheeks.

"What's wrong with you?" He looked at her with worry. "Are you broken?"

She slowly shook her head. "I…just…" She looked around her surroundings as she bit her lip. Despite her efforts to stop her own tears they continued to flow, this time with more intensity. The drops fell to the ground in multitudes as she wrapped her arms around herself and began to sob.

"Why are you crying?" He asked as he wrapped his arms around her.

She wrapped her arms around him and cried into his shoulder. "I'm really worried about you. I don't want you to get hurt." Her words sounded muffled in his shoulder.

He rubbed her back. "Don't worry."

She stopped crying into his shoulder and looked into his eyes. "Do you know how much I care about you?"

He blushed. "Well, yes…you're my best friend…so obviously you care about me very much."

She shook her head, making him dumbfounded. "You may think I'm crazy after I say this, but I…" She trailed off.

"But you what?" He said quizzically.

She took a deep breath, her face a bright crimson hue. "I want us to be more than friends." She slapped herself. "Not the way I wanted to say it…but there you have it…" She muttered under her breath.

This is getting good! I chuckled to myself from behind a tree. Dang it! I forgot the popcorn again!

He didn't say anything in response. He was absolutely blown-away, rendered speechless by her statement. She looked at him. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have been so forward…You probably don't want us to be in a relationship…and I'm probably making things even more complicated between the two of us…" She kept rambling. "And maybe I should just quit talking because I'm starting to sound stupid. Or maybe—"

"Shut up." He cut her off. Her eyes widened as he caressed her cheek and kissed her slowly. They probably kissed for a good two minutes! I mean sheesh! When were they going to come up for air? He wiped the tears from her face with his thumbs. "Do you know how much I care about you?"

"Well…" She thought about it for a minute. "No…I don't…"

He chortled. "I want us to be more than friends, too." He looked intently at her. "I've wanted that for a long time, actually…"

She laughed. "Then I guess we're a couple?" She blushed again.

He kissed her again. "Yes. That is, if you don't mind."

She laughed again. "I don't mind at all."

They came out of their embrace. "The hero and I should get to leaving now." He looked more hesitant to leave now. I felt bad for separating the two of them.

"Be safe." She said as she pecked him on the cheek.

"I will." He pecked her on the cheek in return.

With that Marcus and I mounted onto his horse and we were finally off on our adventure.