Link trudged back up to the door, a pleasant façade surrounding him; he opened it, and immediately looked around the small house for Zelda. He smiled as he saw her lying on the floor, her dress spanned out around her, a book open, and her head nestled within the pages; her chest rose and fell against the floor as she took calm steady breaths, her face tranquil as she slept. He walked up to her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, the other under her knees, then he gathered her dress under one arm, feeling the small mound of bandages - which were barley recognisable - under the scarlet cloth, as he lifted her and - after adjusting to the weight – carried her easily over to the small bed. He pulled a quilt over her once she had settled into a comfy position and tucked it up to under her chin. He whispered a quiet goodnight, then moved away from the bedside and over to where the book lay forgotten.
He flipped the colouring pages over and looked at the wrinkling front cover, “A History of Hyrule.” He muttered to himself, remembering when Rusl, Uli’s husband, had given it to him so that he might read some more ‘historical facts’ instead of ‘unbelievable stories’.
He wedged the book in the space on the shelf it had inhabited before, and then moved on to preparing himself for a warm supper and bed.

Zelda awoke the next morning surrounded by a cosy blanket, and for a minute she panicked as to where she was, the usual lace curtains that hung on the walls of her room were absent from the scene, and this bed she lay in was pushed against a wooden wall, but she soon remembered. She raised herself up into a sitting position, the blanket falling to ruffle about her waist, and paused for a second to look at the young man who lay on a pile of blankets, on the wooden ground, by her bedside. She reached a hand down to muss his hair, playing with the dirty blonde locks, as she did so he shifted in his sleep, groaning softly in the back of his throat, Zelda lay back down into the beds warmth, tugging the sheets up around her again– keeping her hand resting on his forehead – and smoothed her fingers through his hair when she felt him shuffle every so often.

Sun light flooded over Links face as he emerged from sleep, twisting around to stretch stiff muscles, he felt something cool brush along his forehead and raised his hand to meet whatever it happened to be. Cool fingertips touched his own, and he smiled before he hoisted himself up, the hand drawing itself back under blankets, only to see the half asleep lady who looked down at him from the bed he had stayed beside that night, in-case she happened to catch fright from nightmares, he smiled at her and was returned with one himself.
“Morning.” He said softly.
She removed her hand from his forehead, and used it instead to push back stray hairs that had fallen in front of her eyes, “Hello.”
“Are you ready to get up, or do you want to sleep some more?”
“Hmm, I’ll get up; I’ve been up longer then you anyway.”
“you should have woken me!”
She smiled contentedly, “You looked so peaceful, truly, mother’s would coo over you.”
Link chuckled as they smiled teasingly at each other, “Come on then,” He paused, “We should get you some more dresses soon.”
“You said something about a trip yesterday?”
“Yes, we can do that as well.”
Zelda smiled impishly, blushing, “I can wash the dress anyway.”
“True.” Link conceded, trying to put the implications of the statement to a locked corner in his mind.

An hour later Link saddled Epona; Zelda sat amidst the long grass, running her long fingers through the golden waves. Every now and again, Link would glance at the girl, smiling jollily, and talking to her about riding together later.
“I suppose so.” Zelda flopped back so that she was completely obscured by the grass.
Link rustled the waves with his hands and listened to her laugh, the ends of the long stems tickling her cheeks. “Aye.”
A hand stuck itself out and patted the air absentmindedly, “How’s Noir?”
Link frowned, “Noir?”
“My horse, I haven’t seen him, someone’s been looking after him right?”
“Eh, well Fado was…”
She giggled, “I trust him. Just as long as Noir’s well I don’t mind who cares for him, really, I should do it myself.”
“Well, I will not let you.” He said teasingly.
Zelda laughed at this and Link smiled, then he stepped into the grass to pull her up, his hands folding over hers. He lifted her onto the horse, and then grabbed hold of the reigns, feeling the familiar dents in the material from the many times they had been used, and tugged himself up. Epona neighed, the sound vibrating through her body, then once Link had clicked his tongue she went into a trot, and as he urged her on more she brought herself into a fast canter.

Zelda wrapped her arms around Links waist, then pulled his shot bow from his pocket, he could feeling her shift behind him, as she fiddled with the small toy, he could feel her press herself against him tightly, her warmth spreading through him, so that she could balance on the horse’s back. Link had decided on taking her to the spring, and then walking with her through trails in the woods – they could pick up mushrooms if she wanted to – following paths that had been worn into the ground by other villagers. He heard Zelda twang the string on the bow, fiddling with it, twisting the toy around in her fingers, and wondered if she knew how to use one. He doubted she had, they weren’t as common as they once had been. He steered Epona around a corner, then eased her into a walk as they neared where he wanted to stop.

She was amazed by the beauty of the place. The water flowed down the small ramps in cascades, and pooled at the base in a circle, there were dainty flowers and intertwining roots which surrounded it, and overall there was a general peace about the place. She swished her feet about in the shallow water, enjoying the cool touch it left on her skin, the base of her dress submerged in the pool, casting reflections of red about it.