Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda series or the characters.

Hello! :) Thanks for continuing to support my fanfictions, everybody! No, this isn't another post about hiatus, I actually have chapter 22 finished! :DDDDD Hooray! Praise the Goddesses!

Without further ado, here's chapter 22! Enjoy! :DDDD

Chapter 22: Anxiety

We landed safely back in Lake Hylia, unlatching our parachutes and putting them away. We mounted our horses and began heading back towards Eldinaire Village, unsure of what we were going to do about the supposed affiliation Sally's stepmother has with the recent monster epidemic plaguing Hyrule.

Sally was troubled; I could see it on her face. She wouldn't look directly at me, and knowing her, that indicates distress. I knew going that direction wouldn't be smart...I saw her staring silently towards the forest. "Let's go into Castle Town, Sally."

She looked at me with respite. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." I smiled sincerely. "Besides..." I blushed. "...We haven't gone on a...well...you know..."

"...A date?" she laughed.

"Yeah, that..." I rubbed the side of my neck nervously. "I'd like to take you to dinner."

She beamed. "I'd love that!"

We changed courses for Castle Town, the late afternoon sun beginning to sink in the sky. While we trotted, I kept on thinking of where to take her and what to do to make her feel special. She's just...she's such an amazingly admirable person; it's part of why I like her so much! I just, I didn't know what to do. We arrived at the entrance to Castle Town and dismounted our horses. We went up the steps to the bridge and stopped to look ahead of us. That's when she took hold of my hand, and my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest. I squeezed her hand gently and we began walking across the bridge together. We walked through the entrance and were noticed by some woman who screamed, "It's them!" and suddenly all attention was on us.

Sally tried letting go of my hand but I grabbed hers again. "It's okay." I whispered.

She nodded and we continued to hold hands while looking at the crowd gathering. "How precious!" One lady said.

"Good for you, Sir Link! You've found a lady!" A man smiled.

"Hooray for the Hero and Miss Sally!" A large crowd of people whooped and hollered.

Sally blushed. "They know my name?"

I smiled. "Yeah. They want to know everything about me, and since we're together, they wanted to know about you too."

"Let's see them kiss!" A young man shouted, which began the chanting. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" We both began to feel uncomfortable.

"Leave the two of them alone!" Telma shouted from the edge of the crowd. She grabbed the two of us by the hand. "Scram!" She shouted to the crowd, and they began to disperse. She took us into her bar and shut the door. "God!" She put her hands on her hips and looked at Link. "Do you get ANY privacy anymore, hun?"

"It's very seldom..." I replied with slight irritation.

"What a shame..." She shook her head. "...Why are you two in town, anyway?"

I reddened and rubbed the back of my neck. "I wanted...to take Sally on our first date..."

She smiled and clasped her hands together. "Well, isn't that sweet!" She grabbed a couple of menus and set them on a table along with a couple of candles.

"Aren't you closed tonight, Telma?" I asked, knowing that today's a day of the week where she closes early to do a thorough cleaning job of the bar.

"Not for my special customers!" She winked.

"Thanks, Telma." I said gratefully.

"No problem." She grinned, looking at us with peculiarity. "What are you waiting for? Sit, by all means! Sit!" She gestured towards the table set for two. We both sat down across from one another, unsure what to do. "For Pete's sake!" Telma grunted. "If I didn't know any better you two are allergic to one another!" She grabbed Sally's hand and pulled it, forcing her to stand up.

"Um...Tel-" I started.

"Nothing to worry about! That's why you have Telma to save the day!" She boasted, moving Sally's vacant chair to the left side of mine.

"What are you doing?" Sally asked timidly.

"Don't be shy, you two!" She teased. "This is a date, not an outing as friends!" With a firm grip on Sally's hand she moved Sally and had her sit in the chair. "There!" She said proudly. We both turned to look at her, all too eager to show our discomfort with her forwardness. She put a finger to her chin. "Wait a sec...something's missing..." She pondered for a minute, pacing back and forth. "Aha!" She grabbed my left hand and placed it on the table. I tried to move it, but she took Sally's right hand and put it on top of mine. We were both flushed. "Now it's perfect!" She sighed. "Oh, it's so cute! This would make a perfect pictograph!" She began to walk away. "Look at the menus and tell me what you'd like. No rush!" She sneaked into the kitchen.

I looked at Sally and moved my hand away from hers. She proceeded to grab my hand. "Who said you had to move your hand?" She smiled, giving my hand a squeeze.

"Well...um..." I struggled to come up with a response.

She kissed me on the cheek and laughed. "You're silly." We both looked at our menus.

A couple of minutes later Telma came out. She looked at me. "What would you like, hun?"

"I don't know yet." I replied.

She looked at Sally. "What would you like?"

I watched Sally as she looked at me and then back at her menu. "I think the roast sounds good. I'll have that."

"It does." I commented, looking at Telma. "I think I'll have that too."

A few minutes later the food came out, and boy, did it look good! We both started to eat and talk with each other. I insisted to Telma that Sally and I pay for her making us dinner, and she agreed to the deal, so after a while she dropped off the bill on a slip of paper. Sally was the first to take out her wallet for rupees. I looked at her with confusion as she undid the string to open it. I took her by surprise by taking her wallet and sitting on it. "I'm paying for dinner." I smirked.

"At least let me pay for my part, Link!" Sally protested.

"No." I said plainly.

"Please!"

"No. I've got it."

"But-"

"I said I've got it!" I huffed in jest, which made her laugh. "Besides, you can't get your wallet if I'm sitting on it!"

"True..." She beamed. "Fine! I'll let you pay for it!" She crossed her arms. "Just know I'm not happy about it!"

"Right..." I chuckled.

"So who's paying?" Telma tittered, coming out of the kitchen.

"Me." I laid the rupees on the bill and pointed at Sally. "Don't accept any payment from her!"

"Got it!" Telma winked.

Sally glared at me as we left the restaurant. "Did I do something wrong? I thought that was how a 'gentleman' was supposed to act?!" We walked for a moment and then she looked at me. "...Link?"

"Hmmm?" I hummed.

"Thank you...for paying for dinner..." She looked down and smiled, and then looked back up at me. "It was very sweet of you."

"You're welcome." I said with a grin. She hugged me and kissed me gently on the lips, which made me all the more bashful. I gave her a kiss and held her hand as we walked. As we walked and held hands she started to swing our arms. "Why are you doing that?" I chortled.

"Just having fun!" She answered cheerfully. I swung my arms along with her as we both laughed. "Now you're getting the hang of it, Hero!"

"I suppose I am!" I burst loudly. As we crossed the bridge I looked at the dark night sky ahead of us and turned on my lantern. Sally looked at the sky too, and we were suddenly both entranced by the stars.

"Oh...it's so pretty!" She said with awe, looking at them tenderly like you would a child.

"But nothing like you." I said. She looked at me and blushed. "Look back at the stars for a minute." She looked back up at the stars. "See how they twinkle with the moon? Shedding a little light to an otherwise dark world?"

"Yeah..." Sally sighed as she looked up.

"I love it when you get that twinkle in your eye. It shows how beautiful your eyes are...like emeralds." I reddened as she looked back at me.

She came closer to me, looking flattered. "You really think so?"

"Yes." I smiled. "It's one of the many things that makes you so amazing..."

"Thank you, Link..." She stepped closer to me and kissed me on the lips as I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her back. We stopped kissing and I lifted her up onto my back. She giggled. "What are you doing?!" I started to run while holding her legs and she held onto my shoulders with her hands. We both continued to laugh as I kept running. "I'm King of the world!" She screamed. "Woooo!"

"Does that make me Queen? That's a little backwards!" I shouted.

"Oh, just play along!" She yelled.

"Fine!"

"Fine!" She let her arms slip down from my shoulders and across my chest as she laced her hands together, resting her head on mine as I continued to carry her.

I came up to a grassy spot of the field by a tree and looked towards her, noticing how droopy her eyes were. "You tired?"

"Maybe just a little..." She yawned.

"I'll take that as a yes." I set her down against the tree and used my communication orb to get a blanket out of my pocket and enlarge it. I wrapped her in the blanket and sat next to her, turning the lantern off.

She rested her head on my shoulder and mumbled, "thanks for a great first date. You're so sweet to me..." She yawned again.

"You're welcome." I whispered. "Goodnight."

"G'night..." She shut her eyes and fell asleep. I quietly got another blanket out as to not disturb her and enlarged it so I could use it. I laid it on me and tried to shut my eyes, falling asleep shortly after.

?'s POV

"Somewhere within the darkest depths of Hyrule is where his lair resides. I strongly suggest you meet with him and become his aquaintance." He lifted his mason jar of whisky up to his beard, drinking slowly but happily from the potent substance. His adam's apple made it easy to see when he swallowed.

"Will he be able to help me with my dilemna?" I queried.

"It depends..." He chuckled. "What ails you, M'lady?"

I frowned and clenched my teeth. "The Hero." I finished the tea in front of me and then forced it back down onto the saucer in a quick motion. "He's been nothing but a thorn in my side!"

"The Hero, you say?" He smiled a crooked smile. "...Such an irksome issue as he would likely spark my lord's interests." He chugged his whiskey, licking it off his lips before setting the jar down. "You see, he has been looking for an opportunity to terminate the lad. You should certainly go see him. Surely he can help you!" He cackled.

"Good sir," I smiled, moving towards him and caressing his cheek. "Tell me EXACTLY where the lair is in Hyrule?"

He looked up at me and touched my lips with his finger. "That...would require more bribery...and more whiskey!" He sneered.

I drew out a dagger and held it to his throat. "I assure you, sir...I'm not in the mood for playing games!" I grabbed his arm and dug my fingernails into his flesh, which made him wince in pain. "If you don't want any more harm done to your person, I implore you to answer me fully and truthfully!"

I let go of his arm where I had left a mark. "Very well..." He spoke. "The lair..."

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