After Twilight Princess -7

After Twilight Princess

Chapter 7:
Arriving


***

Link and Zelda mounted their horses and looked back to make sure the children were all safe inside the carriage. They were all in and Renado started to close the door and pulled Luda away from the carriage.

Luda had a few tears in her eyes, as the carriage pulled away and she waved back to her Ordon friends.

Zelda and Link quickly passed by the Spring and disappeared through the pathway ahead.

"I feel sorry for Luda." Zelda said, making sure that the carriage was securely hooked onto the horse. "I mean, we're taking her friends from her."

"Yeah…" Link sighed, yawning just a bit. "But they have to go home."

Zelda nodded and looked to Link. "You know…." She sighed. "Ilia really seems to like you…."

Link laughed. "I've noticed."

Zelda gave a giggle. "Yeah…. But I sensed you…. Don't really have feelings for me……. And you know who is gone……. Then maybe you should…. You know….."

Link looked down and back up to her. "I-" He suddenly stopped himself. "I……. I'll think about it."

Zelda nodded. "I mean, It's just a suggestion." She added. "You don't have to listen to me…."

Link nodded again. "I know…… And I said I'd think about it."

Zelda laughed and looked up in the sky. Instantly, something hit her. "Hey Link…" She called. "What did you say about Midna warping you around Hyrule?

Link looked over at her curiously. "I said that the only places she could warp me where through portals I created by killing the Shadow Beasts scattered across Hyrule. Why?"

Zelda widened her eyes and looked into Link's a second. "Were they black, blue and oddly shaped?"

Link looked at her, confused. "How did you know?"

"Did you open one in Kakariko?" She whispered, looked straight ahead and slowing down.

"Yeah, Why?!" Link asked, getting worried.

Zelda's mouth turned into a big smile and she stopped her horse and the carriage. "She's still here…."

Link looked at her strange and stopped also. "What?!"

"She's STILL here!" Zelda repeated. "I saw it back in Kakariko! Link, I saw one on our way to castle town, heck, I saw TWO in the dessert! She's still HERE!" She shouted, jumping off of Rien.

Link jumped off of Epona, smiling bigger than ever. "She… She's still here!"

Zelda ran up and hugged Link. "I can't believe it…"

Link started too laughed. "Neither can I, I thought I would have noticed it already…"

Zelda then broke the hug and stared into his eyes. "So I guess you two are gonna… Go out?"

Link's smile got bigger. "Why do you ask?"

Zelda looked down then back up. "J-Just curious…"

"Well…" Link sighed. "To tell you the truth… I don't know."

Zelda nodded but looked straight up at him, not expecting that response. "Wait, but I thought you really loved her?"

Link smiled and looked straight into her eyes. "But that doesn't mean I couldn't have fallen in love with someone else since then."



Zelda blushed and she lean in closer. 'What are you doing!?' She thought in her mind. 'Why are you about to kiss him? Stop! You're engaged and you don't want to get caught up in-'

"Why did we…?!"

Link and Zelda didn't stop leaning forward gradually, until they heard the door to the carriage opened.

Ilia jumped out and saw the two close to a first kiss and her eyes got wide. She tried to hold back her tears and just turn around like it was nothing, but she couldn't take it. "Never mind."

Zelda and Link looked straight in her eyes and saw her tears. Zelda, for once in her life, didn't care, until she saw that she was on the verge of busting into tears.

Link quickly ran up to her. "Ilia… Just get back in the carriage. There's nothing to see here. We need to-"

"I….. I know." She sniffed, turning around to hide her tears. "I-I just wanted to know what was-"

Link started to push her to the carriage and he helped her in and smiled to her. "What's wrong?"

Ilia kept her eyes glued to the floor. "N-Nothing… I'm fine."

Link nodded and closed the door and headed to Epona. We need to hurry. We've lost some time now. We need to get moving."

Zelda nodded and climbed onto Rien. "Why…" Zelda gulped. "Why was she upset?"

Link sighed and smiled. "It was nothing. Let's just go on."

Zelda nodded and continued riding forward.

***

"And this, is Faron Woods." Link presented in a funny announcer voice.

Zelda giggled and looked around. "I would have NEVER guessed."

"I know." Link smirked, rolling his head in her direction and looked at her. "That's what I'm here for."

Zelda's giggles continued as they proceeded through the forest.

Link straightened up and occasionally looked at her, not moving his head, just to make sure she didn't know he was looking at her.

Zelda sighed and hung her head to the side, thinking. 'What if the village doesn't like me?' She asked herself. 'What if Link gets tired of me?'

Link noticed her look of thought and finally looked completely over at her, "Something wrong?"

Zelda was shaken out of dream land and looked over to Link. "Wha- Oh. No, nothing's wrong."

Link looked at her and gave her an unsure look. "You sure don't seem like it."

"I-" Zelda stopped herself, 'Why would I say that!?' She thought. 'He would ask me why I was upset about it. But he did ask me what's wrong and I hate lying to people and- UGH! Just don't say anything….'

Link kept looking at Zelda and finally turned to yell back at the kids. "Hey! Guys! We are about to cross the bridge so be still so we don't fall!"

"Okay!"

"Got it!"

"Beth! You heard him! Stop kissing Colin!"

"What are you talking about Talo?!"

"Well, I saw you two kissing!"

"When!?"

"Just now."

"Liar…"

"What?!"

"Would you two stop?!"

"No!" Beth and Talo said in unison.

Zelda sighed, trying to calm herself. She was getting really agitated with the kids.

"Alright…" Link grumbled. "Guys! Could you stop fighting for three seconds so we can go on this bridge?"

The kids then started to get quiet.

"Thank you." Link whispered, which made a smile appear on Zelda's face.

She thought it was funny that the "Hero of Twilight" was pretty impatient when it came to people. Other than that, he was as patient as possible for a man his age.

The group slowly crossed the bridge as the sun was nearly starting to set. All was quiet but the sound of the hooves hitting the bridge.

They finally got all the way across and Link turned to yell again. "Okay! We're across, but no fighting! I'm gonna go tell your parents you're coming home so be good for the Princess."

"Okay!"

"Fine…"

"Okey-Dokey!"

"What?!"

Zelda looked at him wide eyed. "You're just leaving me here with them?!"

Link nodded and started to gallop faster. "And kids, get your stuff together. We are almost there!"

And with that, he disappeared behind the twisty walls.

"Hey! Princess?!" Talo called.

Zelda looked back and saw a little brown headed boy poking his head out of the cloth.

"Can we stop by the Spring to freshen up!? We all need to smell like Ordon when we meet our parents." Talo suggested.

"Yeah!" All the kids said in unison.

Zelda sighed and looked around and spotted the opening to the Spring. "Okay… Since we have some extra time."

"Yay!!!!"

Zelda laughed and helped each one out of the carriage safely and all of them started towards the spring.




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