AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the fifth story in my series, and it is a little different than the rest. First of all, you must have read "Origins" in order to understand this one. Also, please visit my site at www.kasuto.net or e-mail me at kasuto_of_kataan@hotmail.com
    Second of all, I will warn you right now, this story has a very controversial theme in it. I won't say what it is, you will discover it in the course of reading. The one thing I ask of you as the reader is to look beyond what's on the surface. You may be shocked by what you're going to read. But look past that shock, look into the feelings of the characters. Although this story is suitable for anyone (in my opinion), younger people may not fully grasp the idea of this story. You have to have a certain level of emotional maturity to understand the purpose of this writing. For the same reason little kids don't analyze Shakespeare, younger readers might not get the gist of this story. While my intent is to shock you with this, I also want you to look deeper than what you read. When you're done with this story, I want you to sit back and think about it. Don't think about the shocking revelation that you will discover, think about what's underneath that shocking revelation. Put aside the shock and look at how the characters feel. If you're mature enough, then your perceptions on the story will change. Perhaps you'll look deeper into people's feelings. Maybe next time you see something shocking that looks outrageous on the outside you'll look deeper to the beauty underneath. I'm trying to get you to read what's inside the book, not what's on the cover. If this story makes you think differently, even for a second, then I have done what I set out to do. Also, don't think that this will affect other stories I will write in the future. This is merely an interlude to explore the characters more in-depth, to analyze them. I have great plans for the future, and believe me, you will enjoy what I have planned.

      It's funny how things work out. Well, maybe not funny. I guess it's more like…disappointing. I always thought that I had all the time in the world. I always thought I'd be young forever, and be able to tell him whenever I wanted to. I suppose that I'm a victim of my own procrastination. I kept telling myself that I would confess my feelings later; that I would tell him tomorrow. But whenever tomorrow came, I put it off again. After a while, I just assumed that he knew. But of course, he didn't. He had no idea; and he still doesn't. Maybe it's better that he doesn't know, I don't want him to be upset. All I want is for him to be happy. Besides, it's my fault that I never said anything. Sure, we've always been friends, but I thought that it might become something more someday. Somehow, I always knew that it would. But, I guess I was wrong. Now it looks like it will never be anything more than a simple friendship. But maybe that's the way it was always supposed to be. I still blame myself for not telling him. After all, it is my fault. Now I have to live the rest of my life with this shadow hanging over my head. I could've told him, but I never did. Why? Why did I have to be so stupid? I should have just told him when I got the chance. But I put it off…again and again. There was always more time, more time for me to think it over. But now there is no more time…it's too late. He'll never know how I feel, and I'll never know how he feels. Maybe it's supposed to be this way, maybe I'm not meant to know. I'll just have to live not knowing, and regretting it for the rest of my life. I wonder why I have to live with this burden… with this pain. Sometimes I wonder why I have to live at all. The only thing that keeps me from crawling into some hole and wasting away in my own sorrow is him. I'm still here for him. It would make him sad if I was gone, and that's the last thing I want. All I want is for him to be happy, my feelings don't matter. At least I can get some comfort from his happiness. He already has the love of his life, and I can be happy through him. Even if he doesn't know how I feel, I can accept that. He is happy…what I want does not matter.
 
 

      Link opened his eyes and squinted at the bright sunlight streaming through the window and directly onto his face. He rolled over to get out of the sun's glare and sat up on his bed. It was his usual time to get up in the morning, and his stomach was already starting to rumble. It was time for breakfast. Yawning, he stood up and stretched his arms and legs. He bent over to the pile of clothes on the floor and picked out something that was decent enough to wear. Saria would have a fit if she saw this, thought Link with a smile. He looked over to the bed that was on the other side of the room, it still seemed so new; he'd only built it a few months ago. The blankets on the other bed moved up and down with the rhythmic motion of breathing, a slight snoring sound accompanying those movements. Solo was still asleep. She's worse than me, he thought.
      He walked over to the bed and stood over Solo. She was rolled on her side, her face partially obscured by her long, unruly hair. The golden strands of her bangs moved back and forth in the small breeze created by her breath. Link almost chuckled when he saw the tiny spot of drool on the pillow near her mouth. She was snoring and Link had to wake her up. "Solo, wake up," said Link, shaking her gently. She only turned her head and made an unenthusiastic groan. Link sighed. "Get up! It's time for breakfast!" he shouted. The same groan was his answer. Somehow, this was funny. It seemed as if they alternated roles each morning; sometimes Link would sleep in and Solo would wake him up and vice-versa. Today was Link's turn.
      Link walked back over to his own bed and grabbed the pillow. He grasped it tightly in his hand and heaved the pillow across the room, causing it to impact directly onto Solo's previously serene face. "What are you doing?!" she yelled, pulling the covers completely over her face.
      "I'm just trying to wake you up," replied Link, trying not to smirk; although she couldn't see his face anyway.
      "Well, I'm tired and I want to keep sleeping," she said from under the covers, the annoyance prominent in her voice. "Why can't you just let me sleep in for one day?"
      "Because it's your turn to get the fruit and stuff for breakfast. It's not nice to make Saria do it all the time."
      Solo pulled the covers off her face and stared at Link. Her eyes were tired and slightly bloodshot, now Link understood why she was so crabby. She didn't look like she had gotten much sleep. "Can you do it for me just this once?" she begged, showing Link the most pitiful expression she could muster.
      "What's wrong? Why don't you want to get up?" asked Link. "We all take turns."
      Solo moaned. "I just don't feel good today. My stomach hurts, and my head hurts, and I had really bad cramps all night. And I'm not really in a good mood."
      "You always say that," Link countered.
      "Well I'm serious this time!" she shouted, her frustration growing greater. She felt generally rotten today. Her whole body hurt and she felt sick. Solo also wasn't in a good mood, she felt mad and depressed at the same time. She just wanted to stay in bed for the rest of the day, where she wouldn't have to do anything. "Please, just leave me alone."
      "Fine," conceded Link. He didn't know what was bothering Solo, but he knew that he shouldn't be pestering her right now. She was in one of those moods today. It seemed as if she was becoming more and more moody everyday. One minute she was happy and the next minute she was angry or depressed. Link couldn't understand why, so he just tried to avoid her when she was in one of those moods. At least Saria wouldn't be moody, she was always calm and rational. "I'll do your stuff for you today," said Link. "But you owe me."
      "Thanks," said Solo.
      "Are you going to have breakfast later? Do you want me to come get you when it's done?"
      "Not really," replied Solo. "I'm not that hungry and I don't feel like eating. I just want to stay in bed for a while." She positioned herself under the blanket once more and struggled to get comfortable again.
      Link put on his boots and walked towards the door. Before he left, he looked at Solo again. "Are you sick?" he asked. "Because if there's anything I can do for you…"
      "No, I'm fine," Solo interrupted. "I don't think I'm sick. I just feel a little under the weather."
      "Well…okay. I hope you feel better." Link turned around and left his house. He was beginning to get tired of always having to bail Solo out. It seemed like she never wanted to do her chores and Link ended up doing them for her. At first, she did more than her fair share. But in the last few weeks, she hadn't done anything. She'd constantly give Link her puppy-dog face to guilt him into doing her chores. He didn't mind helping, but Solo had to do her work sometime.
      Link wondered if her melancholy attitude had anything to do with her new boyfriend. After she had finally settled in months ago, Solo thought it might be fun to try and have some kind of social life. She began to hang out with the kids in the castle village, already forgetting how jealous she had been of them in the past. She no longer watched them and wished to be one of them, she was one of them. After a while, she had developed an affinity for a boy her age who lived in the town. The boy, named Akuyo, also seemed to really like Solo. They became instant friends, but Solo never referred to him as her "boyfriend." They still teased her about him, even thought she insisted that Akuyo wasn't her boyfriend. Link thought it was cute that she finally had a boyfriend, and that gave him the opportunity to tease her about it. Gone was the time when Solo could relentlessly torment Link about his relationship with Zelda, now Link could finally bug Solo. Link hadn't met Akuyo, but he seemed to make Solo very happy. So far, Akuyo had treated Solo almost like a goddess. She would come home everyday raving about how he gave her such pretty flowers and how he was such a nice person. But since the last few days, she didn't seem to be as happy anymore. Link wondered if Solo and Akuyo had gotten in an argument, which could make anyone upset for a while. Link didn't want to pry into Solo's personal life.
      Link entered Saria's house to see if she had gotten up yet. He quickly scanned the house and noticed that she wasn't there. Where could she be? Link thought to himself. It's not her turn to pick the berries. Link wondered if Saria had just gone out on a walk, which she did from time to time. Link decided that maybe he should go and try to find her. Saria only went on walks when she was in a bad mood. He made his way across the Kokiri's tiny village and towards the entrance to the Lost Woods. None of the other children ever went here, for fear of disappearing or being cursed. Link and Saria both knew the tales of the Lost Woods were myths, so they never feared walking there. Link leisurely made his way towards the secret place where he and Saria had sat and talked so many times. If she was depressed, she would probably be there. As Link walked towards the Forest Meadow, memories of the things he'd done in the past–or the future–came back to him. The place seemed so strange now. There was nothing here but trees, shrubs, and the pleasant chirping of birds. All the evil forces that had once infected this world had disappeared. All of the strange creatures he had fought wee no longer here. It almost seemed as if those things had simply been a figment of his imagination; maybe all those supernatural beings never existed in the first place. He shook those thoughts out of his head, he didn't have to worry about that anymore. The world had returned to normal long ago. He no longer had to live as the Hero, he could live as a normal person.
      Link walked up a long stairway nestled in the trees, which led to the Sacred Forest Meadow. This had always been the special place where he and Saria would go if they wanted to get away from the rest of the Kokiri children. None of them ever came up here, fearing the legends of monsters. Link strode into the meadow to see Saria sitting in a large tree stump. Her back was to him, and her head was lowered so her couldn't see it. Link walked up to her, knowing that something was wrong. Saria would usually come here to play her ocarina, where she would be free from the criticism of others, no matter how badly she played. But Link could hear that she obviously wasn't playing her ocarina; she must have been really depressed. He could hear faint sobs coming from the girl ahead of him. As he came closer to Saria he stepped on a twig, causing her to turn around. Saria looked startled when she saw Link and quickly turned back around, trying to hide her face in her arms. The quick view Link had gotten of Saria's face disturbed him. It wasn't her usual, jovial expression. Saria looked sad and tired.
      Link keeled beside Saria and put his arm on her shoulder. "What's wrong?" asked Link in a soothing voice.
      Saria's face remained buried in her arms, slight sobs still coming from her. "Nothing, I'm fine," she mumbled. She lifted her head and sniffled, trying to wipe the tears from her face. She looked at Link, and he felt saddened by her reddened eyes and tear-streaked face. "I was just a little upset."
      "Why are you upset? I'm your friend, you can tell me anything." Saria knew that Link was genuinely concerned, but she couldn't tell him what was troubling her. She looked into Link's eyes, he didn't really want to know what was specifically bothering her, he only wanted her to feel better. Saria wondered what she should tell him. She couldn't lie to Link, she had never lied to him before. But she couldn't tell him the truth, either.
      "I…I…can't really say," stammered Saria. "I mean…I don't really know…" She sniffled again, trying not to cry. She didn't want to upset Link with her problem; all she wanted was for him to be happy. Bringing up her problems would only put a strain on their friendship.
      "It's okay, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," said Link. He hugged Saria. "You know you're my best friend–really my only friend–and I don't want you to be sad. I just want you to know that you can come to me about anything. I've always been there for you, and I always will." Saria looked into Link's caring blue eyes. He was such a wonderful person, and it was amazing that he didn't have a hundred girls chasing after him. Saria felt privileged to know him.
      "Well…I'm just upset about somebody…I thought I loved," said Saria, wiping another tear from her face. Link's face softened.
      "Oh, is it some boy you're crying about?" asked Link. Link never thought Saria to be someone with a love life, but she was just like any other person. "You can tell me about it, it's okay."
      "I didn't really love him at first…" mumbled Saria. "It took a while. But after I got to know him, I thought I might want to spend the rest of my life with him. But…but he didn't feel the same way. He found someone else and now he's in love with her."
      "Oh, I'm sorry. I never knew you had problems like that." Link wondered when Saria had ever managed to get a boyfriend. A lot of the Kokiri dated each other but most never married. Only those rare couples actually had a real marriage. People from the outside wouldn't understand why the Kokiri children got married, they looked too immature for that kind of commitment. But the Kokiri only looked childlike on the outside, their minds and souls were just as mature as other adults, if not more so. "Did you ever tell him how you felt?" asked Link.
      "No," sniffled Saria. "I always thought there would be more time, so I put it off. When I thought it was the right time, it was too late." Saria looked at Link's caring face again and looked away. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't burden you with my problems. I'm sure you have enough things to worry about."
      "Nonsense," replied Link. "That's what friends are for. Can I ask you something?" he whispered. Saria nodded. "Who is it? Who's the one you like? I promise I won't tell."
      Saria looked into Link's eyes; he was always curious and wanted to know things. Saria couldn't tell Link that he was the one she pined for. But if she didn't answer him, he might end up bugging her about it for weeks. Maybe she should give him some fake name, but she didn't like the idea of lying to him. "It's…his name…is not important. You really don't need to know who it is. It might upset you."
      "Oh…Is it somebody I know?" prodded Link. "Because it has to be somebody from the forest and I know everyone here. Can you give me a hint?"
      "Yes, it's somebody you know," replied Saria, rolling her eyes. She felt her mood improving; Link seemed to always give off an aura that brightened everyone's day. "I'm not like you, I don't go running off in the middle of the night looking for adventures. Obviously it's one of us. But no amount of prodding will get me to talk." Saria folded her arms and huffed.
      "Oh please," begged Link. "Just give me a little clue. It's not Mido, is it?"
      "Oh gods no! Why would I like Mido?" Link shrugged his shoulders and Saria giggled. "You know who he is, but you'll never guess." Saria was charmed by Link's naïveté; the answer was right in front of him, but he didn't see it. Link couldn't understand that he was the person Saria loved so much, but she knew that it was better for him not to know. Link could be so adorable when he was clueless. "Maybe you'll find out someday. But now's not the right time. Besides, I'm the one in pain here. You should be comforting me."
      "Oh, I'm sorry," said Link, realizing that he had been pestering Saria. "I'll comfort you." Link gave a big grin and had the I'm-gonna-hug-you look on his face. Saria prepared herself as Link leaned over and clutched her in a tight embrace. "See, I'm comforting you," he teased, purposely squeezing her, but trying not to be too rough.
      Saria smiled inwardly and wrapped her arms around Link. "Thank you," she said. To Saria, time seemed to stop. She was living entirely in this moment, and she didn't ever want to let go. Link hugged her as a friend, but she felt more. She wanted to hold him for the rest of her life, to tell him how much she loved him. She wanted Link to tell her that he loved her, and that he felt the same way. But she never heard those words. She reveled in the feeling of his strong arms surrounding her tiny body. He was so strong, yet he was so gentle with her. He was everything that any person could ever want, and she could not have him. That wonderful moment when Saria lived her fantasy finally ended. Link released his embrace and Saria came back to the real world. "Thank you for making me feel better," said Saria. "I'm really glad you were there for me."
      "That's what friends are for," said Link. "Do you want to get back to the house? It's almost breakfast time."
      "There you go with your stomach again," said Saria, giving Link a small poke in the belly. They both stood up and Link began to walk her back to her home.
      "I'm a growing boy," he replied.
      "Yeah, if you grow any more you won't fit in your house." Saria looked up towards Link's face. He was nearly a foot taller than she was, and he dwarfed the rest of the Kokiri. Link pulled a small pouch from his belt and began to fill it with berries he picked as he passed the many bushes. "I thought it was Solo's turn to get the berries today," said Saria.
      "It is her turn. But when I got up this morning she said she didn't feel like getting up. Once again she talked me into doing it for her."
      Saria took Link's hand and motioned for him to stop picking. "You don't have to take her turn. I've still got a whole bunch of apples left and we don't need any berries today. We'll just stick with what you've already gotten." Link nodded and tied up the bag. "Do you know why Solo didn't want to get up?"
      "I'm not really sure," replied Link. "She said that she felt sick to her stomach or something, and that her whole body hurt. I have no idea what's wrong with her, she won't tell me. She's been acting like this for the last week or so."
      "Maybe she's just in a bad mood," said Saria. "It could be her boyfriend…what's his name?"
      "Akuyo," replied Link.
      "Yeah, maybe she's upset about him or something. Has she said anything to you?"
      "No…All she does is rave about him. Solo seems to really like him. If she had problems, she would've told me. I'll ask her about it later."
      Link and Saria emerged from the Lost Woods and walked back to her house. When they entered, Saria put a half-full bushel of apples on the table and smiled at Link. "See, I told you we had plenty of apples," said Saria.
      "Geez…that is a lot," remarked Link. "I guess we can let Solo get away with this one."
      "Well, speak of the devil," said Saria, pointing towards the door. Link turned around to see Solo standing in the doorway, yawning. She walked over to the table and sat down.
      "Looks like you finally decided to get up," said Link.
      "Yeah," replied Solo unenthusiastically.
      "So what's wrong?" asked Saria. "Are you sick?"
      "I don't know," replied Solo. "I just had a headache and stuff when I woke up. But I feel a little better now."
      "Saria thought it was because of your boyfriend," said Link.
      Solo smirked and blushed slightly. "What, you mean Akuyo?" said Solo. "He's not really my boyfriend. He just, you know, a friend."
      Saria smirked. "Don't try to hide it, we can tell how much you like him," commented Saria. "You're always talking about him. Are you in love with him?" asked Saria in a dreamy voice while making kissing faces.
      "Stop that!" said Solo, trying not to let her embarrassment show. "I'm not in love with him. We're just…friends. Nothing more."
      "Well, if he's not the problem, then why have you been acting so moody lately?" asked Link.
      "I don't know. I guess I've just been in a bad mood. Of course, I don't know why…everything's been going pretty good lately." She shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe I'm just crazy or something."
      "You don't need to tell us that," said Link with a large sarcastic grin. "We already know you're crazy." Solo rolled her eyes at another one of Link's inane comments. She was beginning to wonder if having a brother was all it's cracked up to be.
      "You're the crazy one," said Solo, pointing to Link.
      "Well, what are you doing today?" asked Saria, trying to change the subject. "Don't you have a date or something?"
      "It's not a date," insisted Solo. "We're just going to go to the lake for a picnic."
      "Ooh, sounds romantic," teased Link. He was thrilled to be able to have someone to tease Solo about.
      "And then afterwards," continued Solo, giving Link a cock-eyed glance, "I'm gonna go over to Malon's house. She's teaching me how to ride a horse." Solo looked over to Link. "Epona misses you."
      Link sighed. "I go over there sometimes," said Link. "It's not like I'm abandoning her."
      "Epona is your horse, why don't you bring her to live over here?"
      "I don't exactly have the facilities to take care of a horse," replied Link. "Malon has stables and all sorts of stuff that I don't have. She's a lot better equipped for it than I am."
      "What kind of stuff do you need to take care of a horse?" asked Solo. "We've got grass, that's about all they need."
      "No, they need love and care, too. And I don't have time for that yet. Maybe later I'll build some kind of stable or something for her."
      "Whatever. Anyways, Malon thinks I'm a natural at horse-riding. She says she hasn't seen anyone learn so quickly. But I think it's just because she's a good teacher. But I'm going over there after I see Akuyo."
      "Sounds like you've got a pretty full day," said Saria.
      "Yeah, I like to keep busy."
      "What are you doing today, Link?" asked Saria. "Besides lying in bed all day."
      "Hey, I'm not that lazy," countered Link. "I'm gonna go over to Zelda's house today."
      "You mean the castle," said Solo. "It's a little bigger than a house. You should call it a castle 'cause that's what it is."
      "Fine miss smarty-pants," replied Link sarcastically. "I'm going over to the castle today. Zelda wants to…umm…to take me…" Link trailed off.
      "What? She wants to take you what?" prodded Solo.
      "She wants to take me shopping in the market with her," blurted out Link. "For clothes and stuff."
      "Ouch, sounds like a death sentence," winced Solo.
      "Yeah, you know how we girls are when it comes to clothes," added Saria.
      "What are you talking about?" asked Link. "You've worn the same thing every single day for your whole life. What would you know about clothes?"
      "Well…I…I mean, that's what I've heard…" mumbled Saria.
      "That's what I thought. But yes, I know it's pretty much the same thing as a death sentence. Last time she was looking through about a million carts for the whole day. And not to mention she has enough money to buy everything."
      "Why don't you try to talk her into something else?" suggested Solo. "Like a picnic or something, like me and Akuyo are doing."
      "No, she's too stubborn. Once Zelda has her mind set on something, it's really hard to get her to budge. But I guess I could try."
      "That's the spirit!" cheered Saria. "For once try to get her to do something that you want to do."
      "What Zelda wants is what I want," replied Link. "I only want her to be happy. Maybe I can get her to do something else today, along with the shopping."
      "Well, I hope you two have fun with your little love-muffins," commented Saria, garnering glares from Link and Solo.
      "I told you, he's not my love-muffin," protested Solo. "He's my friend, and I don't love him love him. I…well, you know what I mean."
      "Yeah, we know what you mean," said Saria in a half-sarcastic tone. "Just so I know, when do you guys plan on getting back?"
      "Geez, I don't know," replied Link. "Zelda will probably be shopping till the market closes at six, so expect me back after then."
      "I have no idea when I'll be back," replied Solo. "My picnic should only be a couple hours, but I'm going over to Malon's house afterwards. I might spend the night or something."
      "You spend more time at Malon's house than you do with your boyfriend," said Link.
      "What's the surprise in that?" replied Solo. "Malon's my best friend, and I like spending time with her. She's such a wonderful person, and always listens to me. Akuyo's fun to be with, but he gets a little annoying after a while."
      "Just like Link," said Saria with a smirk.
      "No, Akuyo is much worse. But he's a nice guy, he just talks too much. I think we'll have a good time today, he says he has a surprise for me at the picnic."
      "I hope you guys have fun today," said Saria, as she finished setting the table for everyone. Sometimes she wished she had a life outside the forest, wondering what it was like living outside. She had been outside the Kokiri Forest a few times, but those had only been for a short time. Saria realized then that she could actually leave the forest and not face certain death, as she had been told her whole life. Although she knew she could leave any time she wanted, Saria never did. She felt somehow discouraged from leaving the forest; not really afraid, but simply unsure. She didn't belong in the outside world. Saria hoped that Link and Solo could find happy lives outside the forest, knowing that they would eventually leave permanently. Saria tried to enjoy every moment she had with Link. He left much more frequently lately, leaving Saria alone for whole days. She realized that she had taken their close friendship for granted so many years ago, taking for granted the time they spent together. Someday in the near future, Saria would only see Link in regular visits instead of waking up to him everyday. At times, she hoped that they could spend their lives together as a couple, but now she knew that would never happen. Although she had the mind of a mature adult, she remained inside the body of a young child. No grown man, as Link would be soon, would want to spend his life with a child. Sometimes Saria wished she wasn't one of the Kokiri; she wished she was a Hylian like Link. Maybe if she grew up as he did, he might take more of an interest in her. Saria cursed her child-like appearance. But Link already had someone in his life, so Saria's hopes had already been crushed. Now she only hoped that Link would find happiness with Zelda. After all, Saria only cared about Link's happiness. Her own feelings did not matter.
 
 

      She's such a wonderful person. Being around her is like being in the presence of a goddess. I feel almost overwhelmed when I stand next to her. No other person in the world could compare to her beauty, to her personality, or to her loving heart. Sometimes I wonder if she's too good for me. It's not because she's royalty, but just because of the way she is. I could never even begin to compare to her. I just hope that she'll put up with me. Sometimes I wonder if she's an angel sent from heaven, or one of the goddesses themselves. I love her so much, for every possible reason under the sun. I couldn't begin to describe her with words. Her hair is like delicate strands of pure gold, that seem to glisten in the sunlight. Her eyes are beautiful blue gems that glow with life. It's as if I can see into her soul when I look into her eyes. They look so beautiful, the color of the ocean. She has the most beautiful smile that could melt anyone's heart. And she has such beautiful skin, it's so soft and smooth. It's like a baby. Her hands are so tiny and delicate, and I look at my own hands which are so big and covered in calluses. Her skin looks so beautiful, it almost glows. Wherever she goes, an aura of happiness follows her. She fills everyone she sees with love, especially me. She's so…perfect. That is the only word I can use to describe her: perfect. I know that people say that "nobody's perfect", but I think she comes pretty close. She is my definition of perfection.
 
 

      Link entered the familiar lobby of Hyrule Castle, still amazed by the multitude of crystal chandeliers and silk tapestries. Upon hearing footsteps clamoring from within, Link turned to see Zelda running down a hallway. She was wearing a dress that he had never seen before, it must have been new. He wondered why she wanted to go shopping if she was already wearing a new dress; women were such an enigma to him. The dress was a beautiful crimson color with gold thread interwoven throughout. The dress began from just below her shoulders and went to her knees. Link had never seen her wear anything like this before, it seemed much more revealing than other dresses she's worn. He'd never noticed this side of Zelda before, she was beautifully attractive. He had always loved her exuberant personality and loving heart, but now her physical appearance was added to the list of things he liked about her. He watched her run down the hall, and it almost seemed in slow motion. Her beautiful golden hair flowed with each bouncing step she took. Zelda was an angel coming down the hall; she was the most beautiful sight Link had ever seen. Just seeing Zelda made his palms sweat and his heart skip a beat.
      Zelda finally reached Link, nearly colliding with him. She clutched onto his arm and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "Oh, hi Linkie-pooh!" she said cheerily. She took a few steps back from Link and gave him a questioning look. "What do you think of my new dress?" She turned around to make sure Link saw every inch of her.
      Link felt suddenly speechless. He had no idea how to answer her question. There were really no words he could use to describe her. What could he say? That she was the most beautiful person she had ever seen? That all the angels in heaven couldn't even compare to her? He didn't want to sound like a total sap.
      "Well?" prodded Zelda, turning around once more.
      "I…you…" mumbled Link, receiving a playful glare from Zelda. "You look…fantastic." Finally, that was the only word he could think of.
      "Oh thank you, I knew you would like it."
      "Can I ask you something? How in the world did you get away with wearing that thing? I mean, it's a little…um…revealing. Impa or your dad would have a fit if they saw you in that."
      Zelda sidled up to Link and put her mouth to his ear. "They don't know about it," she whispered. She grabbed his arm and started to drag him outside. "Come on, let's get out of here before someone finds out." Link smiled to himself, that was another thing he liked about Zelda. She was always so rebellious, trying to find little ways she could get into trouble. Link never tried to stop her because he thought it was fun. It was always interesting to see what little schemes she could come up with next.
      "You look really nice in that," said Link as they walked down the path towards the market.
      "Thank you," replied Zelda, smiling. She knew that Link would really love her new dress. She could tell that he liked it even more than he was letting on.
      "If you already got a new dress, why are we going shopping now?"
      "Because it's fun!" cheered Zelda.
      Link frowned. "Well, I don't really like shopping that much. I just buy what I need and leave."
      Zelda grabbed Link's arm when they entered into the market and ran over to the first merchant's cart she saw. "Ooh! Look at this!" cried Zelda, picking up some random piece of clothing from the cart. Link looked at the cerulean blue dress and sighed.
      "Yeah, that looks nice," said Link unenthusiastically. He looked around to see if there was anything around that he do to entertain himself while Zelda dug through piles of clothes.
      "How 'bout this one?" asked Zelda, holding another dress up to her body.
      "Isn't that the same one?" This dress looked exactly the same as the one she showed him just a moment ago. He honestly couldn't tell the difference between most of these clothes; they all looked the same to him.
      "No, silly. This one is a different color." Zelda took the other dress and held it up next to the new one. Link squinted and tried to discern the difference in color.
      "They're both blue," he replied.
      Zelda sighed. "You obviously have no sense of color. This one is cerulean, and this one is aquamarine." She shoved the clothes in Link's face, trying to get him to see a difference.
      "I've never even heard of those colors before. They're both blue."
      "You're hopeless!" said Zelda, finally giving up on trying to get him to notice the difference. He must be color-blind, she thought. Zelda started digging through the pile again, making excited noises whenever she came across an article of clothing that she thought was cute. "Ooh! What do you think of this?" she asked, holding up a silk scarf with a tiger-stripe design.
      "That looks nice," commented Link.
      "Just nice? Is that all you can say, 'nice'?" Link shrugged his shoulders.
      "It's…friendly and casual, yet…forceful and dynamic," said Link, trying to come up with some phrase that would satisfy Zelda.
      "That was better, but you still need work."
      Link stood next to Zelda as she haggled with the dealers for better prices, trying to look like he was enjoying this. "Can't we do something else?" complained Link. He looked over at a cart across the town center that had loads of jewelry hanging from it. "How about I go over there?" he asked, pointing to the other cart. "I'll go buy you a present."
      Zelda looked at Link and smiled. "Oh, you don't have to buy me a present. Putting up with me is enough. If you want to go look around on your own, go ahead. I'll come find you when I'm done."
      Link breathed a sigh of relief and walked through the town center. He saw a merchant who was selling a whole variety of delicious-looking pastries and other baked goods. He approached the cart and his mouth watered at all the sweet desserts that lay before him. "These, look good, yes?" said the merchant in some weird, foreign accent.
      Link had his eye set on a chocolate pastry topped with an ungodly amount of frosting. "Ooh, how much is that one?" he asked the merchant, pointing to the pastry.
      "Oh yes, that is good one. It cost five rupee."
      Link dug into his pocket and pulled out a blue rupee. He handed it to the merchant, who in turn gave Link the pastry wrapped in wax paper. "Thank you, come again," said the merchant cheerily as Link walked off. He unwrapped the pastry and took a bite. It was so sweet and still felt warm from the bakery.
      Link approached Zelda, who had moved on to another cart. She had a handful of dresses, scarves, and other assorted items. Zelda turned around and giggled when Link approached. Link held out the half-eaten pastry and offered it to her. "Want some?" he asked. Zelda giggled again. "What?" he asked, feeling self-conscious.
      "You have frosting on your nose," said Zelda as she wiped the small blob of frosting from the tip of his nose. "You can go ahead and eat it, I don't really want any."
      "Go ahead, try it. It's really good," he insisted, patting his belly.
      "No, really. If I start eating too much of that, I'll start getting fat."
      Link looked down at his belly; it looked normal for a boy his age. "It's not making me fat," countered Link as he finished off the pastry.
      "That's 'cause you're a boy. Boys don't get fat from sweet stuff, but girls do."
      "So? I wouldn't care if you were fat. I'd love you no matter how you looked."
      "Oh, that's so sweet," said Zelda, kissing Link on the cheek. "But I'd like to stay normal weight for myself." She held up the multitude of dresses she'd purchased and showed them to Link.
      "Are you done now?"
      "No, there's a whole bunch more places to go. It'll probably be a couple hours before I'm done." Link sighed in frustration, having a girlfriend was a lot of work. More specifically, putting up with a girlfriend was a lot of work. "Tell me, what do you think of these?" she asked, holding up a pair of white tights.
      "Ooh, those would look nice on you," said Link, imagining Zelda in a pair of tights. That would definitely be a sight to behold.
      "No, silly. I was gonna get these for you." Link's face turned beet-red upon hearing that comment. Zelda looked Link up and down and smiled. "Your cute little legs would look perfect in these tights."
      "No way! I am not wearing those!" countered Link. He remembered being an adult during his time-travel adventure, and he remembered the tights he'd worn. He had no idea where his adult clothes had even come from, he just woke up one day wearing them. He had felt so effeminate in those things, and dreaded wearing them. Of course, his situation had never actually given him time to purchase new clothes. Those sages really had a sick sense of humor, thought Link. He wasn't going to make the mistake of wearing tights again; it was a good thing that Zelda didn't know about that. "There's nothing in the world you can do to get me into those tights."
      "But they would be so cute on you!" whined Zelda. "You have the perfect figure. Your legs are so cute, and you would look so darling in them."
      "No, I made a promise to myself that I would never let you dress me," said Link. Zelda frowned and gave a look of annoyance. "I mean, I love you and everything, but I don't want you to dress me. Besides…in my honest opinion…I think you would look better in those. Your legs are so soft and smooth…and they're just perfect…" Link trailed off as he stared at Zelda.
       Zelda tried to keep her face from turning red, but she didn't do a very good job. "Okay mister, you just quit looking down there. I don't want you turning into some kind of drooling maniac." Link broke his stare and returned to normal. Zelda would never say it, but she had worn this particular dress with the intent of making Link drool. She had always wondered if he found her truly attractive, and he obviously did. Now she had to be careful to create the right balance between physical beauty and inner beauty, but she knew Link would never like her only because of her physical appearance.
      "Sorry, I was just admiring you," apologized Link. He mentally scolded himself for drooling over her like that. He wasn't going to let himself turn into some kind of lusting pervert. "You're just so pretty, I never really tell you that enough."
      "The look on your face is just fine," said Zelda, pinching Link's cheeks. She turned around and put the tights back onto the merchant's cart. "You don't have to wear those if you don't want to. I want to browse for a while longer. You can just wander around while I keep shopping. Don't wander off too far, though," she teased.
      Link left Zelda to her shopping and went to sit in front of the fountain at the center of town. "Letting your woman tell you what to do, huh?" said a male voice from behind Link. He turned around to see a group of five teenage boys standing behind him. They looked about his age, maybe a slight bit older. Judging by the clothes they were wearing, they were probably members of some street gang. The leader wore unusual-looking black clothes with tiny silver skulls sewn into them. His hair was long and tied back into a ponytail, with a few streaks of green painted into it. The rest of the boys wore similar clothing and hairdos, each one looking more ridiculous than the last. Link also noticed their faces; many of them had multiple earrings and nose-rings, one even had a ring in his upper lip. Link almost felt sick to his stomach, he had never seen so many grotesque body-piercings in his life.
      "What do you mean by that?" asked Link, annoyed. The guys sat down next to Link, almost surrounding him. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
      "It just looks like you're letting your girlfriend control you," continued the boy, who seemed to be the leader of his clique.
      "She doesn't control me," defended Link.
      "Maybe not, but you should get a little more control over her. You shouldn't let your girl run around and do whatever she wants. She's you property, you need to let her know who's boss."
      Link was extremely angry now, but he tried not to let it show. "She's not my property. She's a person, nobody owns her."
      The leader let out a loud chuckle. "We got ourselves a nice little pretty-boy here," he said to the rest of his group. They responded with laughs of their own. Link wondered what the purpose of their taunting was.
      "Don't you guys have anything better to do?" asked Link, giving them all glares.
      "We just saw your girlfriend and wanted to compliment you on getting a nice catch," said the leader in a condescending tone. Link was growing increasingly angry as they talked about Zelda like that.
      "I don't want you talking about her like that. Just get out of my face."
      "Ooh, touchy, touchy," teased the boy. "You don't look like a man who can handle a woman like that. Why don't you let us take care of her for you? We know how to take care of a woman." The other guys made lewd noises to emphasize their point.
      "Get out of here!" Link shouted. "I'm getting sick of listening to you. Go bother someone else." Link stood up and prepared to walk away.
      "I guess you're right," said the punk. "I guess she wasn't as good as we thought. She does look a little skanky to me."
      "What did you say?" asked Link in a very slow, angered tone. No one talked about Zelda like that.
      "I said she looks a little skanky to me. You know, it looks like she's been 'around' if you know what I mean. It looks like she's already been taken for a few rides, you should dump her and find someone else."
      "Don't you ever talk about Zelda like that!" shouted Link right into the boy's face.
      "Oh, so that's her name. You're going out with the princess, no doubt. Looks like my little guess was right." Link gave a confused but still angry look. "Don't you know? Haven't you heard? Boy, that girl really has your mind warped. The princess is the biggest whore in the town."
      Link felt like his blood was boiling. If he'd had his sword with him, those kids would be dead. "You shut up!" he shouted, pushing the punk hard, causing him to tumble backwards. This only caused him to laugh louder.
      "She's the village horse, everyone's had a ride!" he shouted, laughing maniacally. "She's just like a doorknob, everybody's had a turn!" Link had had enough. He wasn't going to let some street punk slander Zelda like that. Link approached the punk and pushed him harder again. His laughing expression changed to anger. "You wanna fight me?" asked the punk in a threatening tone. "Well, you got a fight buddy." The gang's leader swung his fist at Link, but he effortlessly avoided it. With lightning speed, Link planted a kick into the his stomach, causing him to double over in pain. Link had been taking martial arts training for the last two years, and these punks were no match for him.
      The other gansters saw what Link had done and pulled small daggers from their belts. The four punks approached Link from all sides, two of them holding knives. The boy to his left lunged at Link with the knife, and Link stepped out of the way. He grabbed the kid's wrist and twisted it, causing him to scream in pain and drop the knife. The punk tried to punch Link with his free hand, but Link already slammed his own fist into his face, causing him to topple over. The other punk with the knife tried to lunge at Link from behind, but he sensed his presence. Link reached his arm behind him and grabbed the arm that the boy held the knife with. In one fluid motion, Link flipped the punk over his shoulder, slammed him into the ground, and kicked the knife from his hand. Link gave the boy a quick kick in the ribs to make sure he didn't get up. He turned around to see that the last two punks had stopped dead in their tracks. They only stared at Link with frightened faces. "You wanna piece of me?" asked Link in a menacing tone. The three guys who lay on the ground struggled to get up and quickly tried to scurry away. The two standing punks turn around and ran as fast as they could.
      Link watched the punks run off and noticed that a whole crowd had gathered around him. He felt extremely embarrassed and self-conscious to see all these people watching him. "Way to teach those delinquents a lesson!" shouted some bystander in the crowd. Link didn't feel proud of what he'd just done. He weaved his way through the crowd of people only to run directly into Zelda. She stood there, with a look of complete shock and horror on her face. She had dropped all the clothes she was carrying and now they lay scattered on the ground.
      "What…did you do?" asked Zelda, almost in disbelief of what happened.
      Link felt so ashamed that Zelda had seen that. "Those punks…" he mumbled, trying to think of a way to explain it. "They were talking about you, calling you names…really bad things. And they made me mad, and we got into a fight. I…I didn't want to…"
      "Why did you do that?" shouted Zelda. She felt completely overcome by anger and frustration. She was glad that Link had defended her, but she was angry that he had done something so drastic. She felt like hugging him and screaming at him at the same time.
      "I didn't mean to…the guy tried to punch me…"
      "Why didn't you just walk away? What possessed you to almost kill those boys? Don't you have any common sense? I would've expected you to act with a little more decency than that. You shouldn't go around picking fights!"
      "But Zelda, they called you a…"
      "I don't care what they called me! You should have more self-control! A sane person would have just walked away. I don't want you going around picking fights just 'cause someone talked about me behind my back." Zelda picked up the clothes she bought and began to walk back towards the castle.
      "Zelda, they had knives! They were trying to kill me! I had to defend myself."
      "They wouldn't have pulled knives if you hadn't started the fight in the first place!"
      "You're overreacting."
      "I'm not overreacting! Just stay away from me! I don't want to be with some boy who's gonna go around and pick fights with everyone he sees! I thought you were different, but I guess you're just like everyone else. Just some mindless ape who wants nothing but to show off his girl and pick fights."
      "Zelda please, you're taking this the wrong way. What's gotten in to you?" Link had never seen Zelda act like this, and it was beginning to scare him.
      "I said leave me alone. Stop following me!"
      Link stopped Zelda and gently took her arm. He looked into her face and saw pain and frustration. "Zelda please, just relax."
      Zelda glared and pulled her arm away from him. "I hate you! Go home and don't come back!" She turned around and stomped back to the castle. Link stood in the middle of the path, completely stunned. I hate you. Upon hearing those words, it felt like his heart had ripped in half. His whole world had come crashing down. Did Zelda really mean what she said? Link almost couldn't believe it. He turned around and began to walk back through the market. His face had turned to a pale, lifeless expression. Zelda said that she hated him. Link couldn't believe it. He prayed that Zelda was only mad and blowing off steam. Still, something inside him made him think she really meant it. Something made him think that maybe she had been lying to him all along. His soul felt completely empty now. All the life inside him had been sucked out by those three little words.
      Link looked in front of him to see that he had entered the Kokiri forest. He couldn't even remember walking there. His mind was completely blank, save for those three words being repeated in his head over and over: I hate you. Link didn't feel like living anymore, he didn't even feel alive. He wanted to just crawl into a hole and die. Link walked up to his house and climbed the ladder. He wondered for a moment is he should go talk to Saria; she always had something to say when he had a problem. But he didn't feel like talking to anyone. He didn't care if Saria wanted to help him with his problems, he didn't care about anything. Link walked over to his bed and collapsed onto it. He buried his face in the pillow and cried. He had never felt so empty in his entire life, everything he cared about was gone. The only person he ever loved said that she hated him. Link didn't care anymore. He cried and didn't care if he ever stopped.
 
 

      Malon hefted the bag of feed and dumped it into the trough in front of the cows. She loved the animals so much, but taking care of them was a little more than hard work. The cows gratefully mooed and began to devour the grain Malon had given them. "Oh, you guys like that, don't you?" said Malon, patting one of the cows' backs. Now she had to feed the chickens. Malon put the sack of feed back into the corner of the barn and picked up a bucket of corn kernels. She exited the barn and walked to a dry patch of ground where she always fed the chickens. She could see the many birds scattered throughout the ranch. Malon grabbed a handful of corn kernels and threw them onto the ground. Then, as if by magic, a huge flock of chickens came running towards her from all directions. Within seconds, dozens of clucking chickens were pecking at the ground. Malon dumped a few more handfuls of corn onto the dirt to make sure the chickens had enough to eat. She heard some more clucking behind her and turned to see if there were any chickens who were left out. She looked up to see that the source of the clucking was coming from the tree that grew right next to the feeding spot. She looked up at one of the lower branches to see three perfectly happy chickens staring down at her. "What are you guys doing up there?" shouted Malon to the oblivious chickens. "You know chickens aren't supposed to fly. Get down here this instant. It's supper time." Malon threw another handful of corn onto the ground, causing the chickens to flap their wings and float down from the low branch. The chickens happily pecked at the ground while Malon stared at them with disbelief. "How do you manage to get up into that tree?" Malon felt proud of her flying chickens. Everybody knew that chickens could fly a few feet, but no one knew of any that could fly into a tree. Of course, no one would ever believe her if she said that her chickens perched on tree branches.
      After feeding the chickens, Malon returned to the barn and put the corn back into the corner. It was time for her to take a break. She always liked getting her chores done early so she could relax for the rest of the day. She walked over to the corral to check on the horses. These were the animals she loved the most. The horses looked so graceful, galloping across the vast ranch. Malon approached her favorite horse, Epona. When Epona saw Malon, the horse happily trotted over to Malon and gently nuzzled her. "Oh, Malon loves you too," said Malon in a baby-voice. She lovingly patted Epona's head and fed her an apple she'd been holding. "How's my little baby doing?" The horse grunted happily. "You miss Link, don't you? Well, I'll make him come over later. But guess who's coming over today? That's right, Solo is coming over. You remember her. She loves you too." Malon climbed onto the horse's back and tried to get comfortable. Epona was nearly full-grown, but they still hadn't fitted a saddle for her. But Malon always like bare-back riding; it seemed like more fun. The only equipment on the horse were the reins that she held on to.
      Malon decided to take Epona for a couple laps around the ranch. She grabbed the reins and slapped Epona, causing her to begin running. Epona galloped across the ranch and Malon cheered as they completed the first lap. "Woo-hoo! It's a new world record, achieved by Malon the Magnificent! And the crowd goes wild!" Malon made fake cheering noises. She always had a knack for entertaining herself. Malon slowed the horse as she made it to the halfway point around the corral. The horse walked at a more leisurely pace and Malon simply enjoyed the beautiful day.
      Then, out of the corner of her eye, Malon noticed a figure walking near the entrance of the ranch. It couldn't be Ingo, he wasn't due back from his vacation yet. As she got closer, Malon saw that the person in question was wearing green clothes and had very long, blonde hair. "Oh, Epona, Solo is here. Giddyup!" The horse began to trot and they reached Solo in only a few seconds. Malon quickly dismounted Epona and ran up to Solo. As Malon approached Solo, she noticed that Solo was covering her right cheek with her hand. Upon closer inspection, Malon realized that Solo had been crying. She could see the small trails of tears flowing down her face. Malon ran up to Solo and put her hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?" asked Malon with great concern.
      Solo took a deep breath, and tried to gain control of herself. "I…I…" sniffled Solo. "Is there anywhere we could talk? Alone?" The serious tone in Solo's voice made her very concerned.
      "Sure, let's go in my house," replied Malon, leading Solo the short distance to the house. Malon noticed that Solo never took her hand off her cheek, which made her feel suspicious. They entered the house and Malon sat down in a chair at the table. She made sure that Solo sat right next to her.
      "Is…your…father home?" sniffled Solo, trying not to break into tears.
      "No, he's out," replied Malon. "He won't be back until late tonight. I'm here alone." Malon leaned over and put her hand on Solo's shoulder, looking deep into her eyes. "Solo, tell me. What's wrong?" Solo shook her head silently. "Please I'm your friend. What are you hiding?"
      "Do you promise…you won't tell anyone?" begged Solo.
      "Sure, you can tell me anything." Solo reluctantly removed her hand from her right cheek, causing Malon to gasp in horror. "Dear gods! What happened to you?" There was a small cut in the middle of Solo's face with a small amount of blood oozing from it. What horrified Malon the most was the large red mark that covered nearly the whole right side of Solo's face. A purple bruise was already starting to form in the middle of her cheek, and would only get bigger.
      "I…he…" mumbled Solo, attempting to answer. But she couldn't take it anymore. Solo burst into tears and collapsed into Malon's arms, who hugged her gently. Solo wailed and cried while Malon tried to comfort her.
      "Who did this to you?" asked Malon in a soothing, concerned voice.
      Solo continued crying, but made an attempt at calming down. She took a few deep breaths and tried to talk. "He…Akuyo…" mumbled Solo.
      "Your boyfriend did this?"
      "He's not my boyfriend! I hate him!" shouted Solo, who began crying again.
      "Did he hit you? 'Cause if he did I'll…"
      "Yes," interrupted Solo.
      "Why would he do such a thing?" Malon couldn't believe how anyone could want to hit Solo. She was so sweet and wonderful, and never did anything to hurt anyone.
      Solo wiped the tears from her face and looked into Malon's caring eyes. Seeing those beautiful blue eyes made her feel calm and soothed. "We were having a picnic at the lake, and everything was fine. But then he…he told me he loved me and tried to kiss me. And then…" Solo sniffled again, but regained control. "But I pushed him away and told him that I didn't want to kiss him. I said that I didn't love him and that I just wanted to be his friend. Then he…he…"
Solo started crying again.
      "He hit you," finished Malon. Solo nodded. Malon felt absolutely furious, but tried not to let it show. How could somebody hurt her little angel? She felt like finding this boy and wringing his neck until he turned purple.
      "He was wearing a ring and…it cut me." Solo touched the cut on the side of her face.
      "Stay there, let me help you with that," said Malon, standing up and walking over to the sink. She filled a bowl with water and took a clean cloth from the drawer. Malon walked back to the table and sat in front of Solo. She dipped the cloth in the cool water and gently cleaned the small wound on Solo's face. Solo winced as Malon touched the tender bruise on her cheek. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I'll try to be more careful." Malon gently blotted at the wound until it was clean. "There, I'm done."
      "Thank you."
      "You're welcome. I thought Akuyo was a nice boy, what possessed him to hit you?"
      Solo felt upset again, but didn't cry. Somehow, she felt secure talking to Malon. There was something about her voice that made Solo feel safe and calm. She felt like she could tell Malon anything. "When I told him I didn't love him," began Solo, "he call me a lying bitch. And then he backhanded me as hard as he could. He didn't even apologize, he just ran off. It's my fault. If I had just let him kiss me, none of this would've happened."
      "No, it's not your fault! Don't ever think that what he did to you was your fault. You had every right not to let him kiss you. You don't have to let him do anything you don't want him to do. Akuyo was the one who was wrong; he hit you and he's gonna pay for it."
      "No, please don't do anything," begged Solo. "I don't want to cause any more trouble. Besides, it's not like this hasn't happened before."
      "You mean this has happened before?" asked Malon, feeling furious. "He hit you before?"
      "No, not him," replied Solo. "But other people. Back when I was alone, I was always being kicked around. I remember a long time ago, it was after I first wandered into the castle village. I hid myself in the luggage of some carriage and I got out when we got to the village. It was a nice place, I spent most of my time in an alley. But then it started to get cold, and when winter came I always had to find a new place to hide so I could stay warm. Usually I could hide in a stable or something for most of the winter. That year I'd followed some guy home from the market, I knew that he owned a farm so I thought it would be a good idea. He lived on a huge farm outside Kakariko. I went inside his barn and stayed there for weeks. It was so much better than the alley I'd been sleeping in, and it was warm in there, too. He kept all the pigs in that barn, and I slept next to them to stay warm. The pigs were really nice, I think they liked me. And I had never had so much food in my whole life, at least while I was homeless. I actually had something to eat everyday. Every morning he'd bring in buckets full of the leftovers and scraps for the pigs. Sometimes it was spoiled food, but I really didn't care, considering I didn't have anything else to eat. Besides, you really can't taste the spoilage once you get used to it. It really was the best placed I'd ever stayed in. That was, until I got caught. He came in to move the pigs into another barn one day. And because the pigs were gone I had nowhere to hide. I remember the look on his face; I could tell he was a bad man. I tried hiding in the corner, but he walked up to me and grabbed me hard by the arm. He started yelling and cursing and asked me what I was doing in his barn. I told him I was cold and I needed somewhere to live because I had no home. I begged him to let me stay in his barn, but he just told me to shut up and punched me in the face. I remember how bad it hurt, I could barely open my mouth for days." Solo gently ran her fingers across the tender wound on her cheek. "This doesn't hurt at all."
      "That's so terrible," said Malon, feeling like crying. Malon wished she knew who this other person was who assaulted Solo so long ago, then she could teach him a lesson. "How did you even survive if it was winter?"
      "After he threw me out, I just went to the next farm over. The owner never found out I was there. But we don't need to talk about this now, that was all in the past. Please, don't do anything crazy to Akuyo. I don't want to cause any more trouble; I've been through enough."
      "Fine, I don't want to do anything that'll upset you further." Malon didn't like it, but she obeyed Solo's wishes. She didn't want to make her more upset, Solo had been through enough. "Have you told Link about this?"
      "No, I came straight here," replied Solo.
      "Why didn't you tell him first? He's your brother, he needs to know."
      "Because he would overreact. If Link found out, he would go and kill Akuyo. I came here because I knew I could trust you; I knew you wouldn't do anything crazy. Is it okay if I stay here for a while?"
      "Sure, you can stay here as long as you want, I'm happy to have you here."
      "You sure your father won't mind?"
      "He won't mind at all," replied Malon. "He likes it when my friends come over."
      "Malon…thank you for being there for me." Solo leaned over and hugged Malon. She felt so safe in her arms, and didn't want to let go. Malon just held Solo, and gently patted her on the back.
 
 

      What is wrong with me? He was trying to defend me and my honor. Why did I blow up at him like that? It was like I was being possessed by something. I told him I hated him. Why did I say that? I don't hate him, I love him more than anything else in the world. What has gotten into me? I didn't mean to say that, I was just mad. But I wasn't mad at him, I wasn't mad at anyone; I was just mad. Why am I feeling like this? I can't forget the look on his face when I said that, that look of heartbreak and agony. It's haunting me. I told him I hated him. I can never forgive myself now. I've ruined his whole life because I let my emotions take over. He probably hates me now. He probably won't ever want to see me again. I drove him away when I needed him the most. Why was I so moody? I can't understand. I want to go hug him and tell him I love him, but he won't want to hear it now. Now I'm responsible for his sadness, I can't forgive myself for that. I want him to come back, I want to tell him I love him. I want to tell him I didn't mean to say that, and that I would never hate him. But I know he's stubborn, he believes everything I say. Now if I tell him I really love him and that I don't hate him, he'll get confused. Now he won't know if I'm telling the truth or not. He'll think I'm just humoring him. I've lost his trust and confidence, and I don't know how to get it back.
 
 

      Impa was in her office completing another mountain of paperwork. Why did she have to have two jobs? She hated having to do paperwork and take care of the princess. She could make her secretary do all the work, but she didn't trust the secretary, who was a complete moron. Impa would have to find someone else. Impa let out a loud sigh of frustration. She wondered when Zelda would get back from her little shopping trip. Impa smiled to herself, amazed that Link could put up with Zelda. It was hard enough for Impa to raise her, and Link's life must be even harder. That girl always wanted new clothes, and she always insisted on dragging Link along with her.
      Impa's musings were interrupted when she heard the loud slamming of a door come from outside her room. It sounded like it was coming from down the hall, maybe Zelda's room. Impa opened her door and walked down the hallway to Zelda's bedroom. She put her ear to the door and heard quiet noises coming from within. She knocked on the door. "Zelda, are you in there, honey?" asked Impa. Her only response were a few muffled groans. Impa knew instinctively that something must be wrong. She opened the door to see Zelda lying on her bed with her face buried in a pillow. Impa approached Zelda, hearing muffled sobs coming from her. Impa sat down on the bed next to Zelda and put a comforting hand on her. "Zelda, what's wrong?" asked Impa in a soothing voice.
      The response was only more muffled crying and wailing. Zelda was completely ignoring her. Zelda only wanted to cry, she couldn't think of  anything else to do. She felt like her whole life had just collapsed. She could feel Impa's concern, but didn't care. She didn't want anyone's pity.
      "Sweetie, what's wrong?" asked Impa with growing concern. Zelda turned her head on the side to look at Impa. Zelda still sobbed, and Impa was heartbroken at the sight of Zelda's tear-streaked face. "Honey, please, what's bothering you. Is it Link?" That was the only thing Impa could think of. However, she couldn't imagine how Link could do anything that would drive Zelda to tears. The mention of Link's name only made Zelda cry harder.
      Zelda finally sat up and hugged Impa hard. She rested her head on Impa's shoulder and continued to cry. She had to get a grip on herself, she had to calm down so she could tell Impa what was wrong. Impa always knew how to solve her problems. "I…I…" choked Zelda, but she couldn't make any words come out. She felt so ashamed of herself. "I told Link…" she sobbed.
      "What honey? What did you tell Link?"
      "I told him…" Zelda let go of Impa and sat on her bed. Impa saw the look of pain and suffering in Zelda's face, and almost wanted to cry herself. "He…he got into a fight."
      "A fight?" asked Impa. That didn't sound like Link, he wasn't the type to be picking fights. "Some kids…were badmouthing me to him…and he got into a fight with them. And…he beat them up 'cause they pulled knives on him. And then I…I yelled at him. I yelled at him."
      "Honey, it's okay, you were just upset. And I'm sure whatever punks provoked Link deserved what they got."
      "I know…but I told him…I told him I hated him…" Zelda fell into another bout of crying upon remembering how Link looked when she told him those words. Zelda cried loudly and Impa embraced her again. Impa rubbed her hand along Zelda's back, trying to soothe her.
      "It's okay, honey," said Impa. "He knows you didn't mean it."
      "No he doesn't!" sobbed Zelda. "He believes everything I say. And now he thinks I hate him. And he'll never want to see me again. I totally ruined everything. I don't deserve to live after what I did to him." Zelda wailed and cried, not because of her own sadness, but because of what she did to Link.
      "Shh. Calm down, it's not as bad as you think. You might've upset him, but he's not gonna hate you because of it."
      "Are you…sure?" asked Zelda, looking at Impa with a tiny glimmer of hope in her eyes.
      "Yes, I'm sure. You need to understand how boys think. He's probably very upset, and he'll probably cry for a while. But after he regains his composure, he'll begin to think of ways to fix the problem. That's how boys are: they're problem-solvers. He's going to think that he did something wrong and he's going to try to find a way to fix it."
      "But he didn't do anything wrong, it was my fault."
      "I know that, but that's not how boys think. He's going to think he did something wrong, and he's going to try to find a way to apologize. He'll probably come back here later today or tomorrow on his hands and knees begging for your forgiveness."
      "But I don't want him to apologize, I should apologize."
      "When he comes, you can tell him that. Just tell him that you didn't mean it and that it wasn't his fault. You just blew up for no reason and you didn't mean to take it out on him. Tell him that and he'll accept it."
      "Can I go over there now?" asked Zelda. "I don't want him suffering, he's probably crying at home."
"He needs a little while to calm down," said Impa. "If he doesn't come to you tomorrow, then you can go to him. Just be patient, he'll be back."
      "Okay," replied Zelda, hugging Impa once again. "Thank you for helping me. You always know what to say to make me feel better."
      "It's my job, sweetie," said Impa, kissing Zelda on the forehead. "You look tired, why don't you rest for a while or take a nap?"
      "Okay, I feel a little worn out."
      Impa stood up and got Zelda's nightgown from atop her dresser and threw it on top of the bed. Impa looked over Zelda's dress and made a disappointed noise. "Where did you get that dress?" asked Impa, looking at Zelda's almost-skimpy red dress. Zelda shrugged her shoulders.
      "I bought it the other day. What do you think?" Zelda turned around gracefully and tried to show of the dress. She knew she was in trouble, but tried to act completely innocent.
      "That dress looks a little…small to me. What ever possessed you to wear something like that?"
      "I thought Link would like it."
      "I'm sure he did," said Impa, wide-eyed. "You know, of course, that your father wouldn't approve of that dress."
      "Yeah, I know. That was a big selling point," responded Zelda rebelliously.
      Impa leaned over to whisper Zelda's ear. "I don't mind you wearing that, but I recommend that you don't let your father see you in it." She sat back to a normal distance. "I was quite rebellious when I was a child, and I did things like that. I did some stuff you wouldn't believe."
      Zelda raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Like what?" Zelda never saw Impa as the rebellious type. She always imagined her as an authority figure who always enforced the rules. Zelda couldn't even imagine her as a child.
      "I'm not gonna tell you that any time soon. I don't want to give you any ideas." Zelda huffed. "Now you take a nap. We can straighten out your problems later." Zelda finally agreed and slipped into her nightgown. She got into bed and tried to relax. After giving Zelda a kiss on the forehead, Impa left the room. Impa was right, Zelda needed some sleep. The emotional turmoil left her feeling worn out and tired. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. She hoped Impa was right about Link.
 
 

      Saria made sure to wait a while before she carried out her plan. She would finish with her daily chores at home, and then she would do what she had been scheming all week. As much as she hated being alone, Saria had waited days for Link and Solo to both be gone at the same time. Saria took a bucket, sponge, some rags, and a feather duster from a cabinet in her house. Holding the cleaning utensils in her arms, Saria walked the short distance to Link's house. She was going to give his whole home a good scrubbing. It annoyed her so much that Link and Solo both left all of their clothes and possessions laying on the floor. They had a dresser and cabinets, why didn't they use them? Saria had been on Link's case for years to just tidy up once in a while, but he never listened. The only way Saria could satisfy her desire for neatness was to clean Link's house when he wasn't home. It always annoyed Link so much when she did that, and that was half the fun.
      Saria climbed the ladder and stood on the porch for a moment. She made sure she'd brought all the materials, and, when she was satisfied, Saria pushed through the curtain that covered the doorway and entered Link's house. Saria was startled to see that Link was home and sitting on his bed, causing Saria to drop the sponge and the duster. She carefully placed the water-filled bucket on the floor before she dropped that, too. "Link…" said Saria in a shaky, surprised voice. "I didn't know you were here. I thought you were out with Zelda." Link made no attempt at responding. He just sat silently on his bed, staring into space. He had his legs pulled up to his chest with his head resting on his knees. "Link, are you okay?" asked Saria, slightly concerned. Link was like a statue, he didn't move or make a sound. The only hint that he was alive was his slow breathing and the occasional blinking of his eyes. "If you're having a problem, you can tell me about it." Saria grabbed a chair and pulled it next to the bed. "Link, you're scaring me." Link turned his head to look into Saria's eyes. She was almost frightened by the expression on his face; one of anguish, sadness, and pain. His face was streaked with tears, and his eyes were red and bloodshot. His eyes looked so empty and lifeless, it was as if there was no soul behind them.
      Saria saw Link's lips move slightly, whispering something inaudible. Saria leaned closer to Link. "Talk louder, I can't hear you," said Saria in as calm a voice as she could.
      Link swallowed and tried to moisten his lips. His mouth and throat were so dry, and his voice was hoarse from crying. He didn't feel like talking, but he couldn't let Saria sit there. "She hates me…" whispered Link, Saria barely able to hear him.
      "What do you mean?" asked Saria.
      Link looked at her like the answer was totally obvious and she was missing the point. "She told me she hated me."
      "Who? Zelda?" That was the only person Saria could think of. Only Zelda saying something like that could make Link so utterly depressed and unresponsive. But that wasn't in Zelda's character; she loved Link more than life itself. She would never say that she hated Link, it had to be someone else.
      Link sniffled and nearly slipped back into his trance. "She hates me," he whispered again.
      "No, Zelda would never hate you. She loves you, you must've been mistaken."
      "She said it. She told me. She wouldn't lie. She hates me."
      "She doesn't hate you," insisted Saria. "Maybe she was just upset about something." Saria had no idea what had happened, but knew it had to be something bad for Zelda to say that. Still, she wondered if there was some other explanation.
      "Zelda said it. I must have done something wrong. I know I did. There were some guys at the market…they were making fun of her. I pushed the guy…he pushed me, and we got into a fight. I beat them all up, and Zelda got mad. She said she hated me." The tone of Link's voice and how he recalled the events gave Saria an eerie feeling. His voice was devoid of emotion, and he spoke only in a bland monotone.
      Now Saria wondered what had gotten into Link. He wasn't the type of person who would beat people up. The boys he talked about must have really said something bad about Zelda for him to start a fight about it. But that didn't explain why Zelda said she hated Link, he was defending her. She should have thanked him. "That doesn't make any sense," said Saria. "You were defending her. What did they say that drove you to fight with them?"
      "They…" Link closed his eyes, fighting back tears. "They called her a whore." Link cried for a moment, the first sign of emotion that Saria had seen thus far. "She's nothing like they said. I didn't want to fight them, but they pulled knives on me. I had no choice. What if they had gone after Zelda?"
      "I'm sure you did the right thing," comforted Saria. "You know those punks deserved it."
      "I did something wrong. I made Zelda mad, I was wrong. But what they said…the things the called her…I couldn't let that go. She's nothing like they said. She's so wonderful, so smart, so kind, so beautiful; nothing like they said. She's the most breathtaking person I've ever met. She's so…perfect. She's perfect. It must've been my fault, she wouldn't do anything wrong."
      "Link snap out of it," said Saria forcefully. "You have to get a grip on yourself. Zelda is not perfect, no one is."
      "But she's perfect to me," insisted Link. "That's all that matters."
      "Listen to me. You have to realize that Zelda is not perfect, and if you see her as that, you'll only end up crying. You can't see Zelda as perfect and infallible, because she isn't. She makes mistakes just like you and me."
      "But it was my fault," insisted Link. "I made her mad, and I have to apologize. But she said she hated me, and I don't know what to do."
      "Did you ever think that maybe she didn't mean what she said? People say things that they don't mean when they're mad. I'm sure she didn't mean it, she's probably more upset right now than you are."
      "No she's not. She's a perfect angel, and she meant what she said. I'm surprised I didn't see it earlier. I'm nothing compared to her. I don't know why I bothered in the first place. A person as good as her, a princess, would never love a worthless peasant like me. I don't deserve her, she deserves someone better than me. I can't even begin to compare to her."
      "What are you talking about?" asked Saria, almost shouting. She was fed up with Link's self-pity, she didn't want him destroying himself like this. "Don't talk like that! You know you're not nothing. If you think of Zelda as perfect, you're putting her on an unreachable pedestal. If you think of her as perfect, then you're bound to think less of yourself. You have to stop that. You have to see Zelda as what she is: a normal person. She is just like you and me, she makes mistakes and does stupid things. And you are not worthless compared to her. Everyone is just as good as everyone else, no one is better than anybody. Stop thinking that you're worthless. You are far from worthless. You're the kindest, most loving and sensitive boy I've ever met. Zelda is not perfect, and neither are you."
      "Maybe she's not perfect," conceded Link. "But she's still wonderful. And I know I did something wrong. I have to apologize."
      "Well, you do what you think is best. I'm sure that Zelda is feeling the same way. You have to go see her and things will work themselves out. You can't let one fight ruin your relationship. Just remember that sometimes people say things that they don't mean. Zelda was probably just in a bad mood, and she took it out on you."
      "Why would she take it out on me?"
      "Well, there's one reason I can think of," replied Saria. "She knows that you love her more than anything. Maybe she yelled at you because she knew you would love her no matter what she did. Listen to your feelings. You know how Zelda feels. Have you been paying attention to that, or have you just been wallowing in self-pity?"
      Link thought about that. He knew Zelda's feelings, he could feel her emotions. Sometimes it seemed like they knew what each other was thinking. Why hadn't he thought of that? Somehow, deep inside, he knew that Zelda didn't mean what she had said. He was so devastated by her words that he never even bothered to think of her true feelings. It seemed like it always took a third person to point out problems such as this. Link looked at Saria and smiled. "Thank you. You always make me feel better." Link leaned over and gave Saria a hug. Saria enjoyed the feeling that she had made Link feel better. There was nothing in the world that could make Saria happier than she was at this moment. Link released his embrace and looked towards the doorway where Saria had left her cleaning supplies. "What were you going to do with that stuff?" he asked, pointing to the bucket and rags.
      "I was…" mumbled Saria, blushing slightly. "I was going to clean your house. This place is a pig sty."
      "Do we have to argue about this again? You don't live here, so you shouldn't have to worry about our mess."
      "But it bugs me so much," whined Saria. She would have to secretly clean his house some other time. Link stood up and stretched, causing Saria to gasp. "What happened to your hands?" cried Saria, quickly taking hold of his hands. Both sides of each hand were raw and irritated. There were huge red streaks across his palms which were oozing blood. In between the large lacerations were dozens of tiny, pink scratches, a few dotted with blood. Link quickly pulled his hands away and closed his palms.
      "Nothing happened. I…" he trailed off.
      "You did what?" prodded Saria.
      "After I got back, I tried to think of the best way to apologize to Zelda. I thought she might like it if I picked her some flowers." He pointed to his desk. In the corner was a jar stuffed with over a dozen beautiful red roses. Next to the jar lay a sharp paring knife and hundreds of tiny plant scrapings and thorns. "I scraped my hands while I was picking them. I had to cut the thorns off to make sure Zelda wouldn't hurt herself." He looked down at his bloody hands. "It doesn't hurt. It's just a scratch."
      "It's far from a scratch. Your hands are all cut up. And don't try to be macho saying it doesn't hurt, because I know it does. Come here, let me help you." Saria took Link over to the bucket and sat him down in front of it. She took the sponge and dipped it in the warm water. She gently dabbed and cleaned Link's hands with the fresh water until all the blood had been washed away. She dried his hands with a clean rag and then released them. "There. At least your hands are clean."
      "Thank you," said Link. "Thank you for everything."
      "It's no problem. I can't stand seeing you upset, it hurts me. You put water in that jar, right?" Link nodded. "When are you going to give those to her?"
      "A little later. I thought I'd wait a while. I think I'll go over tonight. I need a little time to collect my thoughts."
      "That's fine, I'm sure everything will work out fine. I'll leave you alone for a while." Saria smiled and took her supplies, leaving Link's house. She felt proud of herself that she had the ability to bring Link out of such a deep depression. She was happy that he finally felt better. Hearing that Zelda had said she hated him broke her heart. But, for a moment, she wondered. She wondered if it was possible that maybe Zelda didn't like him, that maybe she herself would finally have a chance to confess her love to Link. But that thought had disappeared quickly. That was selfish, she didn't want Link to break up with Zelda. That would devastate him, and all Saria wanted was Link's happiness. She was glad he was happy again. She only needed to worry about his happiness, she again neglected her own feelings. She didn't care about them. Only Link mattered.
 
 

      Impa was sitting in her office once again, trying to finish the paperwork. She didn't even know what half the stuff was and how it even applied to her in any way. Sometimes she suspected that the lazy workers in the castle dumped their own work on her hoping that she wouldn't notice. If Impa ever found out that somebody was doing that, that person would have hell to pay. "Oh, forget this," said Impa in frustration, pushing the papers away from her. She leaned back in her chair and put her feet up on the desk. Life was too short for paperwork. Maybe I'll take a little nap, mused Impa to herself. She tried to relax and closed her eyes. It was so quiet up here, maybe she could just drift off to sleep. Zelda was taking a nap and that should keep her at bay for a couple hours.
      Impa's quiet relaxation was suddenly interrupted by a loud, shrill scream. Impa immediately shot out of her chair. She knew that the scream came from Zelda. Impa opened her door and ran down the hall to Zelda's room. She burst through Zelda's door and rushed inside to see Zelda sitting on her bed, crying and trembling. Impa quickly ran to Zelda's side and knelt next to her. "Honey, what's wrong?" asked Impa, taking Zelda's hand.
      Zelda sniffled and tried to talk. She felt scared and embarrassed, almost ashamed. "I…I…" choked Zelda, but she couldn't make any words come out.
      "Just calm down and tell me what's the matter," soothed Impa.
      "Help me. I'm bleeding."
      "Huh? Where? Did you cut yourself?" asked Impa, looking Zelda over, trying to see if she injured herself.
      "I…I…didn't hurt myself. My…I mean it's…" Zelda covered her hands with her face and cried again. She had no idea what was happening to her and was scared out of her mind. Impa was frantic, trying to figure out what was wrong. "I didn't mean to yell at Link…" cried Zelda. "Are the gods punishing me? I didn't mean to…" Zelda continued crying and couldn't bring herself to tell Impa what was wrong.
      Impa put her hands on Zelda's shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Why would you think the gods are punishing you? Just tell me what…" Impa trailed off when she discovered what the problem was. Impa sighed with relief and hugged Zelda, gently stroking her back. Zelda continued to cry, still unaware of what was going on.
      "Honey, honey, calm down," said Impa in a soothing voice. "Everything is fine. No one is punishing you. Nothing is wrong with you."
      Zelda gave Impa a look of disbelief and shook her head. "Of course there's something wrong with me! How would you know what I'm going through?" shouted Zelda.
      Impa knew this day would come eventually, but somehow she had always denied it. Sometime she wished she had explained this to Zelda earlier so she would be prepared, but she had always put it off. This would be the job for a mother, but Zelda didn't have one. And Impa was the closest thing Zelda had to a mother. Her father is going to freak when he finds out about this, thought Impa. "Honey, I know exactly what you're going through because the same thing happened to me. This explains why you got so mad at Link, and why you've been so…moody."
      "I haven't been moody," protested Zelda. But she thought for a moment, and realized that she had been experiencing mood swings lately. She thought that maybe she'd just been unusually emotional. Zelda patiently awaited Impa's explanation.
      "Sweetie," began Impa, "I should've explained this to you before it happened, but I just put it off too long. This isn't one of my lectures, so I want you to listen to everything I'm going to say. Do you promise you will?" Zelda nodded. Impa took a deep breath and began to explain everything to Zelda.
 
 

      It makes me so mad that somebody hurt my little angel. How could somebody even think of hitting her? She is such a kind and loving person, and never did anything to hurt anyone. She has only made my life better since I met her. I remember when Link first introduced me to her. The first thing that struck me was her smile, it was so happy and carefree. I've never seen a smile like that before; she seemed to radiate joy. Just being near her could make anyone happy. I also noticed how beautiful she was. Her hair is what struck me the most, it was so long and delicate. All those gorgeous golden strands that went all the way to her knees seemed to glow like the sun. I remember that day so well; the breeze gently blew at her hair and it looked like and angel had come down from heaven…just for me. That's why I call her an angel, at least I call her that to myself. I could never say that to her out loud, she would think I was weird. After I got to know her, I began to realize how I felt. Speaking to her, listening to her, and just standing next to her makes me feel so loved and so happy. I'm so honored that she chose someone like me to be her friend. I was worried that she wouldn't like me because…because I'm not really sure how to have a friend. I know some kids down by the market, but they're not my friends. I just say "hi" when I deliver the milk. I've never really talked to them. Until she came along, my only friends couldn't talk back; the cows, the horses, and the chickens. She's the only real friend I've ever had, and that means so much to me. I don't think she realizes that like I do. It's so wonderful to just listen to what she has to say, to have her tell me about her day. I could listen to her talk forever. And she listens to me, she cares about what I think. No one has ever cared about what I thought. She respects my feelings and she respects me. But I feel like she's more than a friend. I don't think she feels the same way, but it doesn't matter. I think I love her…no, I'm sure I do. I've never been more sure of anything. But I can't tell her how I feel. What if she rejects me? What if she stops being my friend? I couldn't live with that. If I told her that I loved her, she would probably shun me and tell me I was sick or disgusting. I don't want to disgust her, I want her to like me. I know I'm not supposed to feel this way, maybe there's something wrong with me. Most people I've met have told me I'm weird. Maybe I am sick and there is something wrong with me. But I can't deny my feelings. I know that I love her. I just wish that she would feel the same, but that would never happen.
 
 

      Malon and Solo sat inside the house and were just finishing lunch. Solo was glad that she came here first, she knew that Malon would make her feel better. Link would've overreacted, and that would have made everything worse. But Malon knew how to react, she knew what to say to make Solo feel better. "Thank you for everything," said Solo as Malon sat down in the living room. There were two soft, comfortable chairs in front of the fireplace. The fireplace wasn't going, but it was still nice to sit there.
      "You don't have to thank me," insisted Malon. "I enjoyed making lunch for you."
      "I never knew that you knew how to cook," said Solo, still able to taste the meal she had just finished. "I've never had cornbread before. It was really…interesting. You're a really good baker."
      "Thank you. I'm glad you liked it. I've never actually cooked for a guest before, usually it's just me and my father. How are you going to tell Link what happened? You know he's gonna be furious."
      "I know," replied Solo. Normally she would have felt upset upon being reminded of what happened, but talking to Malon was somehow different. She felt safe talking to Malon, she felt invincible, as if nothing in the world could hurt her. "I think I should just go and tell him–maybe tomorrow. I'm just afraid that he'll try and kill Akuyo, and I don't want that. I don't want revenge. I can forgive him for what he did, I just never want to see him again." Malon admired how noble Solo was. Even after she had been abused by Akuyo, she still wanted to forgive him and didn't seek vengeance. Malon wasn't sure if she could do the same thing. She wanted the boy who hurt Solo to feel her pain, she wanted to beat him so badly.
      "It's amazing how you can still forgive him after what he did. I envy your ability to do that. I don't think I could do the same. I'll tell you the truth, I want to go give that coward a piece of my mind. The only reason I don't go beat the life out of him right now is because you don't want that. I respect your wishes. I hope Link will do the same. But you can't this boy get away with that, he deserves some kind of punishment. What he did was criminal, and there's no justice in him getting away with it."
      "I know, I don't want him to get away with it either. I just don't know how to go about getting justice. Who should I tell? I doubt that he could be arrested or anything."
      "We can tell his parents," suggested Malon. "I'm sure they would punish him more than anyone. Have you met his parents? Are they the type that would disapprove of hitting a girl? 'Cause I know that some men beat their wives and children, and that they wouldn't find anything wrong with what Akuyo did."
      "I've met his parents. And they would definitely disapprove of hitting people. They're total pacifists and they abhor violence. They think that people who resort to violence are idiots. I think Akuyo will get in a lot of trouble. But I don't want to tell them now, I want to wait until tomorrow. Is it okay if I stay the night?"
      "Of course you can stay the night," said Malon. "Tomorrow I'll take you back home and I'll help you tell Link what happened. It might be easier for him to handle if there are more people there to calm him down. Then we can go to Akuyo's parents, he won't get away with this."
      "Thank you so much. I knew I made the right choice when I came here. You're my best friend. I knew that your would never judge me or make me feel bad. I remember what it was like living on the street. Nobody ever cared about me. They just pushed me around like a piece of trash. I never talked to anyone, no one ever talked to the dirty homeless girl. Most people didn't even know that I existed. There weren't even any other homeless people I could relate to. I was the only one. I was always alone and afraid. I never knew where my next meal would come from. Sometimes I didn't eat for days. I usually stole whatever I ate. Sometimes I had to dig in the garbage, but the dogs usually got to that before I did."
      Malon was heartbroken by this story. Solo had never been so open to her before. Hearing this almost made Malon want to cry. "I'm sorry, I never knew it was that bad for you. I mean, I knew you were homeless most of your life, but I never realized it was that bad. I feel so honored that you're willing to tell me this. And…thank you…for calling me your best friend. I've never really had a friend before, you're the first. I think of you as my best friend, too. I can't believe that I was able to live so long without meeting somebody like you. You make me feel so happy and needed. No one has ever needed me before. No one has ever cared about my opinions until you came along. Thank you for being my friend. I…I…" Malon trailed off.
      "You don't have to say any more," said Solo. She stood up out of her chair and gave Malon a loving hug. They both needed each other, and would never stop being friends. Solo and Malon released their embrace and sat back into their chairs. Solo chuckled slightly and Malon gave her a questioning look. "It's nothing," said Solo.
      "What? What's so funny? Tell me," insisted Malon.
      "Well, it's more ironic than it is funny. It was a long time ago, when I was still on the street. I lived in the castle village for a long time. I always had to steal from vendors and merchants so I could have something to eat. Most of them were totally clueless and never knew that I was even there. I have to say, I'm proud that I never got caught. But that's not the funny part. I remember that every now and then I would see a little girl delivering milk to the houses. Sometimes when she went inside, I would run and steal one of the bottles before she got back. I did that all the time."
      Malon smirked when she finally understood what Solo was getting at. "I remember. It seemed like every other day I would come up a bottle short. I always wondered what happened, but I never suspected a thief. Sometimes I just thought I was crazy and imagined it. So you're the one who stole my milk all those times." Malon pointed her finger and gave Solo a playful glare.
      "Guilty as charged!" shouted Solo, holding up her arms and plastering a big sarcastic smile on her face. "I just thought you should know that it was me all along."
      "Judging by my estimate…" said Malon, pausing to think for a moment. "You owe me fifteen hundred rupees. Pay up." Malon jokingly held out her hand.
      Solo turned her pockets inside out and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm a little short today. I'll pay you back later."
      "That's okay, I'll make you work it off. You can clean up after the horses for the next twelve years."
      "You're not serious, are you?" asked Solo, worrying that perhaps Malon wasn't joking.
      "Of course not. I wouldn't make you pay all that back. You stole because you had to. Besides, it's just milk. It's not like the cows are gonna run out of it any time soon. And you're my friend, so I forgive you. But I have to give you credit for being such a good thief. You know, the Gerudos would be proud of you."
      "Gerudos? Who are they?" asked Solo.
      "Their just some people that live out in the desert. They're a whole race of thieves. And they're all women. I think they would like you."
      "Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment. You know what? I was wondering about those riding lessons you've been giving me…"
      "Yes? You're a natural," complimented Malon. "I've never seen someone who had so much skill but knew nothing about horses."
      "Well, I think it's time for my next lesson," continued Solo. She stood up and slowly made her way towards the door, never looking away from Malon. "I bet I can beat you to the corral!" shouted Solo as quickly as she could, opening the door and running outside.
      "I'm gonna get you!" shouted Malon as she chased Solo out the door. She was carefree and having so much fun. Maybe this would turn out to be a good day after all.
 
 

      Zelda sat on her bed, almost amazed at what Impa had told her. She found it hard to believe that what was happening was a normal part of growing up. It all sounded like a giant ball of lies to her, maybe the grown-ups were just telling her this to calm her down. But Impa would never lie to Zelda, so she believed her. Impa told her stories about when she was the same age, and they sounded exactly like she was feeling right now.
      "Honey, do you understand everything I just told you?" asked Impa, hoping that she'd played the role of mother decently.
      "Yes," replied Zelda, folding her arms and huffing. "But I still don't like it. So basically, this will happen every month? I mean, once a year I can handle, but I don't think I can take once a month. How do I make it stop?"
      Impa chuckled. "There's nothing you can do to stop it. It just happens."
      "Well, maybe growing up isn't all it's cracked up to be. I don't wanna grow up, I want to be a kid forever."
      "I don't think you can do that."
      "But the Kokiri do it," whined Zelda. "They never grow up. Isn't there some kind of potion I can take to turn me into one of them?"
      Impa put her head on her hand and sighed. "It doesn't work that way. You just have to learn to live with it. I have, every other woman in the world has. It's just another part of growing up. I'm sure Link's had his own problems."
      "Not like this," muttered Zelda.
      "Boys have just as many problems growing up as girls do. If anything, they have it worse."
      "Like what?"
      "Well…" replied Impa, trying to think of a reply. "His voice."
      "What about it?" Zelda couldn't think of anything wrong with Link's voice.
      "He sounds normal now, but just wait a while. As he gets older, his voice will change and get deeper just like an adult. But that doesn't happen overnight. It'll take months. And while it does, he'll sound…squeaky."
      "Squeaky?" asked Zelda, trying to imagine Link sounding like that.
      "Yeah, squeaky. Like a mouse. Trust me, he'll sound really goofy. But don't make fun of him when it happens, his self-esteem will probably be low enough that he won't need any teasing from you."
      "Oh okay. But you still didn't tell me why this all made me mad at Link."
      "Oh, that. Well, most women tend to get a little moody when it's, um…that time of the month. That would explain why you blew up at Link. It wasn't his fault or your fault, it was just one of the facts of life. After a while, you'll be able to control your mood swings."
      "So it wasn't my fault that I got mad at Link?" asked Zelda. Impa shook her head. That was definitely a relief. Now if she could only find a way to explain this to Link, then everything would be okay. "I guess I'll have to warn him that I might have mood swings. But you could've warned me ahead of time. It would've been easier to handle if I had known what to expect."
      "Okay, why don't you quit whining and go get cleaned up? I have to go talk to your father." Zelda rolled her eyes and got up to leave. "And don't think that you can use mood swings as an excuse to get out of trouble!" shouted Impa as Zelda left the room, causing Zelda to silently curse. "I'm smarter than that, young lady."
      Impa walked out of Zelda's room and down the hallway, making her way downstairs and towards the king's office. I think I handled that pretty well, mused Impa to herself. I never had any "facts of life" talk when I was a kid. Stupid traumatic childhood. Impa made her way into the elaborately-decorated throne room. The king wasn't there, he never like sitting on a throne. He didn't like being elevated above the rest of the people, literally or figuratively. Impa turned and walked up to a door inside the throne room which led to the office where the king normally did his work. Impa knocked on the door and waited patiently. There was no response. She knocked again, saying, "Open up, it's me Impa." Still no response. Impa sighed and opened the door walking into the office. She folded her arms and put an annoyed look on her face. The great king of Hyrule was leaning back in his chair, causing it to tilt precariously, and his feet were outstretched and panted firmly on the desk in front of him. He was peacefully napping and barely audible snores emanated from his nose. Harikana the drowsy, mused Impa, That's what they'll be calling him a hundred years from now. Impa walked up to the king and shook him gently. The only response she got was a moan. "Hari, wake up!" said Impa, forcefully shaking him.
      The king awoke with a start, removed his feet from the desk, and attempted to look like he was really doing work. He shuffled through some papers and started stamping things. The king looked up to see Impa staring back at him and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, it's just you," said the king, the relief evident in his voice. "I thought for a second that you were another one of those damn bureaucrats with more paperwork. Do you know how many 'official documents' I've had to read and stamp with the seal today?" Impa shook her head. "One hundred and twelve! I'm a king, there should people groveling at my feet begging to do this work for me."
      "I think you're being a little overdramatic," said Impa.
      "Right." He picked up a stamp that was embossed with the official seal of the king of Hyrule and showed it to Impa. "Do you know how worn out this thing is? I swear, I've been stamping all day. I really need a vacation. A very long vacation."
      "Yeah, well I came here to talk to you about something serious if you can stop complaining for a second," said Impa, rolling her eyes.
      "I'm sorry, I got a little carried away. I just have a bad headache." He rubbed his temples and sighed. "What was it that you wanted to tell me?"
      "It's about Zelda," said Impa calmly.
      The king's eyes grew wide and he looked worried for a moment. "There's nothing wrong with her is there?" he asked worriedly.
      "No, Zelda's fine," replied Impa, making calming gestures. "It's just that…Well, I just got done having a very important talk with her. And I think you should probably do a follow-up later."
      "Oh? What kind of talk?"
      "You know, the important talk that a mother normally has with her daughter…when she reaches a certain…point in her life. You know, the talk."
      The king's eyes widened. "You mean? She…her…?" Impa nodded, knowing what the king was thinking. He buried his face in his hands, he wasn't expecting this to happen today. "My little baby is growing up, isn't she?"
      "She's thirteen. She's not a baby anymore," pointed out Impa. "Don't worry, I handled it. I explained everything and helped calm her down by telling her about my own experiences. She'll be fine. I think I handled it very well. You just need to go give her the whole reassurance thing; you know, tell her you love her and maybe shed a little tear because your little girl isn't a little girl anymore."
      "I guess I wasn't prepared for this. I remember when Mari and I got married, and we discussed every detail about having children. When we found out she was pregnant, we talked about what we would do when they…grew up. I guess we liked to plan ahead. But we agreed that if we had a son, I would give him the talk, and if we had a daughter, Mari would do it. But when Mari died having Zelda, I wondered who would be her mother. I'm glad that you took that job. You were always such a good friend to me, and you took the job upon yourself without me asking you. I've never really talked to you about that, but today I realized how much I appreciate it. Zelda never had a mother, and you were the closest thing she had to one. Of course, you know Zelda sees you as a mother figure. Sometimes, it surprises me that she has never called you 'mother.' But I think she realizes that you aren't her true mother, and she calls you by your name out of respect for you and…Marimeia. Thank you for being her mother when she didn't have one. I don't think I would've been able to handle the job of father and mother myself."
      "You don't have to thank me," said Impa, trying not to let her emotion show. "You were always my friend, and I always thought of you as a member of my family. You're like a brother to me. And when Mari died, I couldn't let Zelda grow up without having a mother. I grew up with no parents, and I didn't want that to happen to her. And…Zelda became the daughter that I always wanted."
      "Impa, can I ask you something? Why didn't you ever have a family of your own? I mean, I know you were married and he died, but why didn't you ever start a family?"
      "Well, I've never really told anyone this," began Impa, trying to fight back tears. These were bad memories, but it made her feel better to talk to her friend about them. "I remember when I married Darien so many years ago. We wanted to start the perfect Sheikah family, but things didn't quite work out."
      "You mean your marriage?" asked the king. "I was always in close contact with you and Darien, I never saw any sign of problems."
      "No, it wasn't like that. I loved him more than anything, and he loved me. We wanted to have children so bad. But…"
      "He died in the war. Did he die before you had the chance to start a family?"
      "No," replied Impa. "By then we'd realized what was wrong. We never started a family because we couldn't. More specifically, I couldn't." Impa choked back tears. "You see, I…I can't have children. That's why I never had a family. I'm totally sterile."
      "Oh, I'm sorry. I never knew. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories for you. I…"
      "It's okay," interrupted Impa, wiping a tear from her face. "I don't mind. I've just kept it bottled up inside me for so long. But Zelda was what saved me from insanity. When I took it upon myself to raise her with you, I began to see her as a daughter. Zelda took the place of the child that I could never have. I couldn't ask for anything more. I have an adopted daughter, who I love just as much as if she were my own flesh and blood. Zelda gave meaning to my life when I thought I'd lost it all."
      "I know what that's like," said the king. "She is the only reason I'm still alive today. If she had died along with Mari, I would've just withered away. But she was the person who gave me a reason to live. I guess we've both depended on her for that." The king sighed. "Now my little baby is growing up. She's not the little girl anymore who comes running up to me asking me to bounce her on my knee. She's her own person. You know, she reminds me so much of Marimeia. I never realized it before, but she's the spitting image of her. Zelda has Mari's eyes. And their personalities are exactly the same. Zelda definitely takes after her mother. She's so independent and rebellious, always trying to bend the rules and see what she could get away with. Do you remember when she put pink paint in her hair so she wouldn't have to wave to people in a parade? I couldn't bring myself to punish her because that would be exactly the kind of thing Marimeia would do."
      "Yeah, well, you weren't the one who had to wash that stuff out of her hair," said Impa in a purposely annoyed-sounding tone.
      "Well, being the mother figure has its responsibilities," said the king with a grin. "And one of them is washing pink finger paints out of your little girl's hair." He let out a small chuckle, lightening the mood. "Thank you for everything, I know I don't say that enough. I'm glad you handled the whole…situation. I don't think I would've been able to talk to her about that, seeing as I have absolutely no personal experience with that kind of thing."
      "Well, I just came in to tell you that. I didn't know it would turn into such an emotional trip down memory lane. There's one more thing you need to know. You know how women tend to get moody at that time?" The king nodded, he remembered when his wife got that way. "Well, earlier today, she took it out on Link without even knowing it. She told him she hated him, and both of them were completely devastated. Zelda was so upset, she thought that she drove Link away and he would never want to see her again. I'm sure Link was devastated, but Zelda was also so distraught. She was almost inconsolable. But now I know why she acted like that, I just hope Link can understand."
      "I'm sure he will," said the king. "What Zelda said will probably devastate him, but he'll get over it. I'm sure he's like most guys. He'll probably cry about it for a few hours, and then he'll think it was his fault even though it wasn't. Whenever a woman gets mad, the guy always thinks it was his fault even if it was the woman's fault. He'll probably come crawling on his hands and knees begging for forgiveness any minute now. I know, I've done that on more than one occasion. Link is such a nice boy, and I'd hate to see him upset. But he'll understand, I know he will."
 
 

      Link's mind raced with a thousand thoughts at once as he made his way to the castle. Somehow, he knew that Zelda didn't really hate him. But there were still the hundreds of what-if thoughts in the back of his mind that made him question that. He wondered if maybe Zelda really didn't like him, and that she had just been too afraid to say it. No, she wouldn't do that, thought Link. She loves me and I love her. I just made her mad. I know I did something wrong and I just have to apologize. Link tightly held the vase that contained the dozen roses he had picked. He looked at his bandaged hand and winced. All those cuts didn't hurt when he got them, but he hadn't exactly been in a very happy state of mind. Now he regretted neglecting himself. He'd sustained so many life-threatening injuries, but it seemed like it was always the little ones that bothered him the most. But he didn't really mind going through pain, it was a mere annoyance. It was worth it, he had picked such beautiful flowers for Zelda. He hoped she would like them. Link knew that girls liked getting things like flowers, they made apologies so much easier. He never understood why they liked flowers so much, but he didn't argue with that fact of life.
      Link took a deep breath as he walked through the threshold of the castle. He looked around and wondered if he should go find one of the servants to go get Zelda. After all, it wouldn't be right if he just went barging into to her room on his hands and knees, begging for forgiveness. Link breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Impa walking down the hallway. He ran towards her and Impa saw him coming. "Oh, hello Link," said Impa in a kind voice. She saw the flowers and the nervous look on his face. "Where did you get those roses? They're beautiful."
      "I…I picked them myself," replied Link. "I thought Zelda might like them, and maybe it would make it easier for me to apologize to her."
      "Honey, I need to talk to you about that. You don't need to apologize to Zelda for anything."
      "But I made her mad," said Link. "I got into a fight and I made her mad, and I don't want her to hate me."
      "Link, she doesn't hate you. She got mad because she's going through a lot of stress, and it had nothing to do with what you did. Believe me, she was just as upset as you after she said that. She wants to apologize more than you do."
      "She does?" asked Link. He wondered why Zelda would have to apologize, Link didn't think that she had done anything wrong. "Then why did she get mad?"
      "Zelda has been having…woman problems lately."
      "Woman problems?" asked Link. "I don't understand."
      "I'll explain it to you later. But all you need to know now is that she just had a little mood swing. Zelda doesn't hate you."
      "Mood swing? Well, can I see her?" asked Link anxiously.
      "Yes, I'll get her in just a minute. But I need to ask you something. Zelda said that you got into a fight because some street punks were making fun of her. What did they say?"
      "I…I don't want to talk about it," said Link, trying not to think about it.
      "I'm sure you don't want to bring it up, but I need to know. I know you're not the type of person who goes around picking fights. Those kids must've said something terrible for them to drive you to do that."
      "It wasn't just what they said. I fought them because they started it. Two of them pulled knives and I had to defend myself. And I was afraid that they might try to hurt Zelda, I wasn't thinking of myself. Do you really want to know what they said about her?" asked Link. Impa nodded. "They called her…they said she…they said she was the biggest whore in Hyrule. And I wanted to kill them after they said that."