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

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After another hiatus (-_-), here is chapter 25! ENJOY!

Chapter 25: Secrecy

We parted a couple of hours later so as to keep our meeting a secret...and it broke my heart, but I knew I'd see her again. We planned to meet at least once a week at midnight, hopefully more often depending on how often she can get out of the house at night without being noticed. When we were apart I often thought of her...I just...I couldn't get her out of my mind, no matter how hard I tried. Occasionally she'd send me a letter, addressed to a fake girl in Castle Town. Thankfully it didn't take long for the postman to understand that this was how Sally and I could further communicate secretly. I have cherished every single one she's sent me, and I've written a response to each under the fake girl's name and address. We've been continuing this for a few months, and our relationship is really strong. I honestly couldn't live life without her! Everything about her makes me happy and dizzy, but in a good way! Everyone believes that it's over between the two of us, but what they don't know won't hurt them, right?!

Midna meanwhile is still concerned about the situation with the monsters, as I have been as well. She has been staying in Ordon Village and aiding me on missions throughout the past few months. She insists that she won't leave until after she has helped me with everything that she can, it's just a shame that all the leads have run dry. We haven't heard or seen anything significant. I wonder, could the answer be under our noses? Is Sally's stepmother lying about possible involvement? I think that may very well be the case.

This morning I woke up and helped Fado herd the goats. After that I got ready to head into town to get food for the house. Outside of Ordon Village I saw the postman, holding another letter in front of me. He put one had up to his cheek to muffle some of the sound from his voice. "Ya got another letter from your lady." He smiled as he handed it to me.

"Thank you." I said. He saluted me and was on his way. I opened the letter excitedly and began to read it:

Dear Link,

I hope you are doing well, Hero! I have some good news! The premiere Les Miserables show the other night was a success! It was fun, but I wished that you were Marius instead of the man who was. As I've told you, he's still very arrogant and rude. I promise you, you'll always be my Marius and I'll always be your Cosette!

Enough of that, I have better news! Next weekend my father and mother are going on a trip together. Eleanor will be staying home to keep watch, but I know she'll be out mingling in town or shopping most of the time; she's too into herself to watch me too closely. So I am very hopeful that we will be able to spend more time together!

I will have to wrap this up because my mother and sister are giving me demands from the living room as I'm writing this in my bedroom. Duty calls...

I love you very much, and I can't wait to be in your arms again!

With love,

Sally

I remember the first time I heard her tell me that she loved me...We were at Lake Hylia on the Great Bridge. I was sitting down and she was sitting in my lap as I held onto her, gently running my fingers through her hair and kissing her head. She turned her head and torso slightly towards me, and we both leaned and kissed. She turned so she was facing me and sat back in my lap, kissing me passionately as she wrapped her arms around my neck. The night was nearing its end, and she frowned after kissing me. "What's wrong?" I rubbed her shoulder.

"I wish we didn't have to be so secretive about our relationship..." Her eyes cast down to the side. "If only my father would realize that you're not the enemy..."

"I know, it's frustrating..." I kissed her cheek. "But don't think about that."

She gave me a hug and kissed me on the lips again. Placing her head on my shoulder, she whispered into my ear "...I love you, Link."

"I love you too, Sally." I whispered back, kissing her again.

I meant those words, and I still mean them. She is the world to me! I can see us continuing our relationship and maybe even getting married...I'd love that! But first, I'd have to take care of the issues I'm having with her family...

That Friday I met up with her at the entrance to Ordon village at around 11am. Eleanor had left for Castle Town at around 10am and told Sally she would be back around dinnertime...so that gave us a good span of time together. She gave me a hug and a kiss, and I held hands with her as we walked out of the woods and into Hyrule Field. "So, what do you want to do?" She asked.

"I don't know. What do you want to do?" I smiled as I looked her way.

"Anything. I'm just glad to be with you." She gave my hand a squeeze.

"I'm glad to be with you too." I squeezed her hand in return.

We continued walking and then Sally stopped. I looked at her and let go of her hand. "...I know we've gone to Lake Hylia a lot, but would you like to go there again?"

"Sure. I don't mind." I grinned.

"That's good." She beamed. "Ever since first learning about Lake Hylia I think it's my favorite place in Hyrule."

I think it's my favorite too." I said as I took out my horse call. I blew into the reed and called Epona. She galloped over to us and we both climbed on. She held onto me as we rode to Lake Hylia. When we arrived there we sat in the grass and had a bit of lunch and talked.

When we finished eating Sally grabbed her knapsack and took out a small wooden container. "I made us a little dessert."

"Oh." I looked at it, curious as to what it was.

"It's vanilla pudding." She took out a couple of wooden spoons and handed me one of them.

"Looks good!" I exclaimed. "Thanks for making it, Sally."

"You're welcome!" She handed it to me. "You get the first bite."

"You sure? I think you should. After all, you made it." I tried to hand it back to her. She took it and put her spoon in and took a bite. I looked over towards the water as I held my spoon in my hand, watching it sparkle in the early afternoon sun. She put her spoon into the bowl again and got another spoonful of pudding. "Is it good?" I turned towards her as she held her spoonful in front of me. I blushed. "Um, that's your spoon..."

She giggled and sat closer to me, putting the spoon up to my face. "What? You scared of sharing?"

"Well, no...I..." I struggled to find the words. "It's just that I-" She put the spoon in my mouth and fed me. I blushed even more now. I swallowed the pudding. "That pudding's delicious!" I laughed, taking the spoon from her.

"Hey!" She shouted playfully. I fed her a spoonful and kissed her on the cheek. She put the pudding and spoon down on the ground and leaned to kiss me on the lips. She kissed me and knocked me over, lying on top of me and continuing to kiss me as I kissed her in return, both of our faces red as roses. I wrapped my arms around her and rolled over so I was on top of her, kissing her passionately as she held onto me. She rolled us over, laid her head on my chest and sighed. "I don't want to move. Let's just stay here."

"Okay." I whispered. "...I'll have to take you home eventually though."

"Shut up." She mumbled. "Who says you have to?"

I laughed. "We don't have to rush." I rubbed noses with her and kissed her again. Later we went swimming in the lake and flew with the chickens. We both had a lot of fun, but as the late afternoon sun shined brightly over the horizon, I knew that it was time for us to separate once again. We packed our things and I took her back to the woods. We rode on Epona to the entrance to Eldinaire Village and dismounted. Sally looked so forlorn after I kissed her goodbye...it made my heart break.

As I regrettably pulled away from her she grabbed my hand. "Someday...I hope...I hope we don't have to keep our relationship a secret."

"Me too." I smiled.

Her eyes casted to the side, fixated on the ground as she frowned. She shut her eyes as a couple of tears fell. "If only my father would realize that you're not the enemy."

"I wish for the same thing." I replied, using my other hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "But...I don't know how to change his mind..."

"I don't trust my stepmother." She said bluntly. "Promise me...that you'll find out the truth?"

"I promise." I vowed.

"I will help you in any way that I can." She smiled, letting go of my hand. "I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too." I whispered back, getting onto Epona as she went into the village.

I began to ride Epona towards Ordon Village, but I was stopped in the woods by a white horse and a man in a brown cape. I couldn't tell who he was or what he looked like, but he had a sword and shield over his back, so he obviously didn't seem like one to take lightly. "Dismount your horse." He demanded.

I glared at him. "What for?"

He drew out his sword and yelled, "I said dismount your horse! Now, Hero!"

I dismounted my horse and he dismounted his. I drew out my sword and looked at him. "What do you want from me?"

"You thought you could keep it a secret, didn't you?" He chuckled softly.

"What are you talking about?" I started to get irritated.

"That you're still in a relationship with Sally, despite being forbidden from seeing her ever again?" He laughed again.

"How did you know we weren't allowed to see each other again? That wasn't mentioned to the public!" I gritted my teeth.

"I know more than you think, boy!" He took out a canteen and unscrewed the cap, taking a gulp from it while still being careful not to show his face. All I could see was a faint view of his tongue licking his lips. "Ahhh!" He moaned happily. "Tell me, Hero...do you like alcohol?"

"No." I replied. "I do not...but why are you changing the subject?!"

"I love alcohol!" He laughed again and hiccupped. "The way it numbs the mind and body puts a man such as me at ease!" He took another large drink from it and screwed back on the cap. He exhaled loudly and quickly. "Whiskey is my favorite!" He licked his lips again.

"Who are you?!" I hollered.

"Hmph! Enough conversation!" He said. "Who I am does not matter, all that you need to know is that I will be the one to take your life!" He cackled evilly.

Oh no! What will happen to Link?! Who is this strange man who wants to kill Link?! Stay tuned to find out! Thanks again! More to come soon! :)