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Somehow, Link managed to sleep through the night. It had been the first night in a while that he had not spent with Zelda, and somehow the night seemed so cold and miserable now. Outside, the sky was gray and featureless, and a pale mist hung over the landscape. Link hadn't felt such despair since Malon had perished, but he knew that Zelda was not dead. He could still feel her presence; could still feel the power of the Triforce within her.

His stomach ached and he felt nauseous. Link stumbled out of bed, feeling faint as he dressed himself. Winter was taking its icy grip on Hyrule, and Link's only wish was to have the princess by his side throughout that winter. Why did this have to happen? Hadn't he suffered enough? Her last kiss, it seemed so far away now. He remembered her pale lips, her warm embrace, and then his eyes began to tear up. Without her smile and soothing, melodic voice, how could he make it through the day?

"Link," a voice called from the door. He had left his door open before he gone to sleep, and now Impa stood there. It had been a while since he had seen the Sheikah, but the Sheikah were not supposed to be seen.

"How are you feeling" she asked. That wasn't a question typically asked by a Sheikah.

"Terrible, how do you think I feel?" he snapped at her. He didn't mean to sound angry, but he could not help it. "How is she?" he asked, calming his emotions.

Impa sighed. "I don't know, Link. You know more than we do."

Link turned away. "I was going to take her to the summit of Death Mountain yesterday, Impa. We were going to climb it all the way to the top, and as we were looking over the kingdom, I.I was going to." Link felt a lump rise in his throat and the tears flow down his face.

"You were going to do what, Link?" Impa asked innocently.

Link gulped, remembering what he was going to tell her. "I.I was going to ask her to marry me."

Impa did not say anything for several seconds. "Do not give up hope, Link. You will have another chance to ask her."

He closed his eyes as Impa shut the door behind her. It was true; he had considered proposing to her on the top of Death Mountain. Just days after meeting Zelda, he had known that he wanted to be with her forever. They had only been together for a relatively short time, but it was clear in his mind he would never meet another woman like Zelda. When they had been endowed with the power of the Triforce, it had been almost like a betrothal, as if the goddesses themselves had intended for them to be together.

For the remainder of the day, Link stayed by Zelda's bedside, hoping she would open her eyes and see him standing there. He would quietly talk to her, for in his mind he knew she could hear him. Life was so cruel to her, was so cruel to them, and yet they had found happiness in each other. If she were to pass away, at least he would remember the love and passion they had felt. He kissed her softly on her lips before leaving, perhaps in the hope it would wake her, as it always did in fairy tales. The hero would awake the sleeping beauty with a kiss, and then they would live "happily ever after." Zelda was truly a fairy tale princess, and he hoped their story would have a happy ending.

The day passed into the next, and still Zelda did not awake from her sleep. The other people around her began to lose hope, but Link remained optimistic; Zelda would never leave him all alone in this pitiless and uncaring world. Link would rather die with her than live without her. There were times he wanted to wish away his feelings for her so that he could be detached if she perished, but he could not do that. In his dreams, he could still see her and feel her touch, but then the dream would fade away and she would disappear like mist.

The King summoned him to his chambers, but Link was hesitant to go. He would rather wallow in his own misery than deal with the princess's estranged father, but there was nothing else to do. Inside his room, the King drank copiously from a bottle of wine, trying to deaden his mind to reality. The King seemed pale and sickly, more so than he usually did. He looked as if he had been a very handsome man in his youth, before time took its toll, before he grew old.

"You.wanted to see me, sir?"

"Link, I confess that I have not been a good father to my daughter. She resents me, sees me as overbearing and cold. Zelda was so unhappy and disconsolate before you came, Link. Now she has given her heart to you, and I do not want you to suffer as I once did."

"Sir?"

"When I was a young man, there was a maiden named Sirina. She came from a lower class, but when I saw her in my court, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes upon and I fell in love at that moment. I would walk with her through the courtyard, and she was so happy that the future King was interested in a countrywoman like her. But her father forbade her to see me; I was a prince and out of her sphere. When my father found out I was in love with a commoner, he was furious, and he had me punished. Our last night together was at Lake Hylia, where her family lived. We said our goodbyes, and I returned home. I had never wept as hard as did that night." The King let out a regretful sigh. "Our last kiss, it was so long ago, I do not remember it anymore. I do not want my daughter to suffer through that kind of heartache, so I did not protest her relationship with someone of.someone not of royal blood. All that I want is for her to be happy, to be happy before I die."

This was a side of the King Link had never seen before. A man was not supposed to talk about his feelings, was he? Link knew that it was hard for him to talk about his own feelings to Zelda, but this was a man-to-man talk. Link could sense the King's inner loneliness, living without a wife and with a daughter who deeply resented him. Perhaps that is why he imbibed so much drink, to combat his lonesomeness.

"Link, what I am about to tell I have not told anyone else. I know that you and Zelda love each other deeply, and that you will soon marry. However, there is something about my daughter you must know. Zelda cannot bear children, and if you marry her, you will never be a father."

Link was taken aback by this revelation. "How did." he asked, stunned.

"Seven years ago, there was a Gerudo king named Ganondorf who came to my castle on "diplomatic business." But I was suspicious of him, and he terrified my daughter, so I had my soldiers secretly follow him wherever he went. I discovered he was a power-hungry madman, who wanted to seize the crown. To do that, he would have to kill my family, but that would have been too overt. So one night he went to my daughter's bedroom and cast a warlock spell on her, a spell that would render her forever barren. If my daughter could not produce an heir to the throne, then once I passed on, Ganondorf could take the crown for himself. I ordered my men to have him arrested, but we could not find him. He had simply disappeared, and we never saw him again."

Link knew the princess had suffered abuse at Ganondorf's hands, but nothing this cruel. To deny a woman motherhood was to deny her the very essence of being a woman. Link had never cared much for ordinary children; he found them irritating and uninteresting, but what Ganondorf had done sent a chill up his spine. Before he had been sealed away, the King of Evil had vowed to "exterminate their descendants," and had done just that.

Link swallowed. "Sir, to tell you the truth, I never intended to father children. I.I'm not good with children. But I'm so sorry about what happened."

"Don't be, young man, there was nothing you could have done. I just had to tell you that. that the Royal Family of Hyrule ends with you."

Link wasn't too upset at this, but how had Zelda felt when she learned of this? Why was everyone and everything so damn cruel to her? Worse yet, she had done nothing, absolutely nothing, to deserve any of it.

"Link, I hope this will not make your wedding any less joyous."

"It will not, sir," he said before leaving."

Finally, it happened. Link was lying on his bed, his mind blank, when Impa came to his room and told him that Zelda had regained consciousness. His sadness vanishing, he rushed up to her room, nearly tripping over the stairs as he did. In her room Impa, the King, and other men he did not recognize crowded around her bed. Link pushed his way through the crowd, desperate to see his lover. Impa stood at her bedside talking with her as the King looked on, as if to acknowledge how distant he was with his daughter. The princess looked at Link, and when she did, her beautiful blue eyes lit up, and she smiled at him. Zelda tried to sit up, but that was too painful for her, so she lay back down.

The King ordered everyone except Link out of her room. As the visitors filed out, Link held her hand, looking deep inside her eyes. She was weak and in pain, but her spirit had not diminished in strength. Her pain was his pain, her love was his love, it seemed.

"Link," she whispered, her voice raspy.

"Hello, my love," he said, putting his other hand over hers and holding it tightly. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible. I hope," she stopped to take in deep breath, "I hope I haven't put you through too much pain."

"It's not your fault, princess. It made me realize how precious our time together is."

And then he kissed her, just for a moment. "I love you," he softly spoke before leaving her room, because the princess needed her rest. She had been in his position just weeks before, looking over him in his bed. If her wound were as deep as his, then she could be on her feet by tomorrow.

Link wondered had happened to Prince Henoch. He had escaped from Hyrule Castle and fled, to where, nobody knew for sure. Link still hungered for revenge, although his relief that the princess had survived had attenuated it somewhat. If the prince wanted to return to Siluria, then he would travel west, across the Gerudo Valley and into the desert. Of all the places Link had ever visited, he loathed the desert above all else. He hated the sand, the grittiness, the suffocating heat, the barrenness of it all. He had heard tales of men who became stranded or had gone astray in the desert and were never seen again. The thought of chasing the prince into the desert was not a very appealing decision.

If he were to encounter Prince Henoch, what would he do then? Would he kill him? Kill him and send his soul straight to hell? Eternal damnation seemed a fitting punishment for someone who would dare bring harm to an angel so pure and holy. But the question remained, how would he ever find him? Prince Henoch could be more than halfway back to Siluria already, where his crime would go unpunished. No matter where Henoch went, Link vowed to find him. He would find him and make him suffer. He would make him suffer dearly.

The following day, the weather was more pleasant. Link did not know why the weather always seemed to reflect his mood, but it just did. Instantly he thought of the princess, would she be well enough to go places with him today? But he would not ask her to marry him; it was too soon for that. Marriage was not something to be rushed into, it had to be carefully considered, thought over, the consequences analyzed. He was going to become a Royal Knight, a protector of the crown, among other things. There would be times during which he would be away from his love, although Zelda seemed like the kind of person who would want to accompany him wherever he went. Zelda could be a powerful warrior, both with a blade and her powers, a warrior princess. Warrior princess, that had a nice sound to it, he thought.

The sun was at its midday summit when he finally got out of bed. That was odd; he had never been a heavy sleeper. Then again, it was hard to sleep heavily in the bitter chill of the night. Outside his room, the halls were filled with the usual noonday traffic of people. Link didn't like crowds, didn't like the intrusiveness of them. If he had his way, Link would have run away with Zelda to a secret, private place where they could live together. It was a damn shame he knew of no place like that.

Instinctively, he found himself going upstairs to the princess's room. It was such a familiar route that it was almost automatic to him. He never thought of how few people ever saw the top floor of Hyrule Castle. Maybe a visiting noble had shared a drink with the King in his bedchamber, or perhaps some madman had tried to sneak his way in, but he was the only regular visitor to the Royal Family's floor, with the exception of the guards. Link thought about being a castle guard, thinking of what a dull life it must be. All they did was stand at their posts for hours at a time, the only action they ever saw was a guest who got lost or wandered somewhere he shouldn't have. Did they even have names? Link had just accepted their presence as part of life in the castle. But what were they really like? Surely they had wives and children whom they went home to every night, did they not? How did they answer when their children asked what father had done at work today? "Dutifully guarded the Royal Family for eight hours?" How could one bear to live such a dull life day after day? Link guessed that certain people just felt comfort in routine. Not him, of course. Link liked to do something different each day, something memorable.

As Link approached the door to her room, he could hear the King and Impa talking inside. Link decided to eavesdrop, for some reason or another.

".in the courtyard. I told her she should stay and rest but she would have none of it. Have.have you told him?"

"I have, Impa. I just hope they will be happy together."

"Of course they will, your Majesty. I have cared for Zelda since she was a baby, and I am certain they will have a good life together."

Link smiled at their conversation. They were talking about his "wedding" with such casualty, as if were certain. He didn't think himself ready for marriage; he was too young, wasn't he? Women rarely married in their teens anymore, and it would feel unusual to be marrying at such a young age.

So Zelda had gone to the courtyard. Why? Wouldn't she have waited in her room, where Link would have looked first? Well, he didn't completely understand her.

Link entered the courtyard, seeing no sign of the princess. This was such a beautiful place, it really was. Why didn't people come here more often? No, they were probably more interested in the castle gardens, he thought. He imagined that this was Zelda's private sanctuary; the place she ran to when sad or upset. Link didn't have such a place, not since he had left the Kokiri Forest.

He reached the end of the courtyard's trail, where he had first met her. She was not there, but he felt compelled to stay a while. Link walked slowly to there opening in the wall, to the exact spot where she had stood. He knew that Zelda had been here many times, the times where it was all too much. How many tears had fallen onto these cold stones? How many sobs had these walls heard? Did she long for him in her times of sadness? Did she long to be held, to be kissed, and to be loved? Until he had met her, she had experienced none of those things. Young girls always wanted to be princesses, but they had no conception of how lonely it was to be one. Throughout history, there many young princes and princesses who had tragically taken their own lives, unable to cope with the isolation their position forced on them. Zelda did not want to be a princess, he knew, but she would always be one.

"Link?" It was her voice, her comforting, angelic voice. Link spun around to see the princess standing there, dressed in a thin, white gown. Link hadn't expected her out of bed so soon, but the Triforce never ceased to amaze him.

Zelda ran towards Link and threw her arms around him. Link felt his emotions break loose as they stood there tightly in each other's arms. He had been so worried and distressed these last few days, but now she was with him again. Link felt tears run down his face, and he did not attempt to fight them back. He loved Zelda so much, he never wanted to be without her, never wanted to leave her warm embrace.

"My angel, you're all right.," he said through the tears. To feel her heart beat against his was joy, to feel her body so close was ecstasy.

And then she kissed him, a deep, passionate kiss into which she poured all her love and devotion. She tightened her hold, and Link became lost in the moment. All of his worries and anguish washed away as her kiss ran deeper, until he was in a state of pure bliss. Perhaps fate had been unkind to her, but not today. Link was so enraptured that he worried that he might be dreaming, but of course, he wasn't. For the next few minutes they simply stood there, holding one other, their eyes closed to shut out everything but each another. Link wanted to open up and tell her how much he had suffered in her absence, but it was not necessary.

"I love you, I love you," she repeated.

"I was so worried.," Link confessed. "I thought I had lost you."

Link suddenly felt it again, the desire to propose to her at that moment. He knew it was too early, but why did he keep feeling it? Age was something that had little meaning now because of they were the Holders of Triforce, because they were demigods. She was the Princess of Destiny, he was the Hero of Time, and they had some many things, seen so much evil and suffering. Their story would never be told, and they had sworn never to tell anyone of what happened. Only Zelda could understand, only she had fought beside him. How could he spend his life with anyone else?

"Marry me, Zelda." The words were so close to his tongue, yet he could not speak them. Not yet, not until it felt "right." He did not know what would be the "right time" but would know it when he felt it. But for now, he simply savored the moment and their embrace as she kissed him again.

Prince Henoch, in fact, had not returned to Siluria. In a cruel twist of fate, the only bridge across the Gerudo Valley had collapsed in the furious storm days before. In a panic, he had spent days searching for another way across and hiding from the occasional Hylian army patrols. He imagined the Hylian army thundering at his heels, ready to kill him for slaying their princess. He was not a murderer; he never meant to kill her. She was insolent, and had to be punished. It was not a woman's place to insult or disobey her future husband, and he was following his traditions. Princess Zelda had been a witch, a woman who practiced the dark arts, but he was willing to live with that. But she had gone too far by offending him.

Now, however, he needed to find a way to cross the Gerudo Valley. The gap was just small enough for his horse to jump, but if he should come up short, he would surely plummet to his death. He imagined that the Hylian army would be arriving at any moment, so he decided to risk it. Riding backwards, he threw his horse into a gallop, gaining speed before his horse leapt over the gap. Briefly, he looked down, and saw the river raging hundreds of feet below him. It was over in a second; his horse landed gracefully on the other side. Stopping to look back, Henoch rode through the small ravine ahead of him, confident he had outfoxed his pursuers.

Before he got much further, however, two Gerudos stopped him. Henoch knew of the women, who were mostly thieves or prostitutes. A vile race, he thought, why didn't the Hylians simply eradicate them? These two were dressed in their appallingly revealing clothes, each wielding a pair of scimitars. Henoch guessed that these primitive savages were going to rob him, seeing that he was conspicuously wealthy. What these whores didn't know was magic, something in which he himself was skilled.

"Halt! Who goes there?" One of them barked.

"Stand aside, you cursed harlots! I must pass!"

The Gerudos didn't take too kindly to this. "This is Gerudo territory! None shall pass!" The other shouted.

Henoch had no time for this. Summoning all his power, he shot forth a fan of electricity, enveloping the two Gerudos in a storm of dark lightning. They writhed and howled in agony as the bolts arced over their bodies until they collapsed to the sandy ground, the electricity still crackling over their bodies.

"Pitiful," he snorted. These Gerudos had not been worth the effort to kill them.

Riding onwards, more Gerudos came to challenge him. Using only the power of his mind, he flung them into the rocky walls, snapping their necks like twigs. Two more charged him, and this time he decided to fight with his sword while still on his horse. Their scimitars were useless against his blade and magical powers; its range was too short and themselves too inexperienced. One of the Gerudos attempted to hurl her scimitar at him, but with his power, he pushed it aside. Taking advantage of her momentary weakness he galloped towards her and with a mighty swing of his sword, he decapitated the Gerudo.

Rather than turning and fleeing which would have been the wise thing to do, the other woman continued to fight in vain. Henoch decided to have a little fun with this one, to show her the futility of challenging him. With his mind, he lifted her off the ground, and then gradually constricted his grasp around her neck. The hapless woman clutched her throat in a wasted effort to break his choke, flailing in mid-air. After a brief struggle, the Gerudo collapsed to the ground, dead.

Henoch ignored the other women that arrived in the place of their fallen comrades, slowing only to telekinetically push them to the ground and the trample them with his steed. Some of them wielded bows, but their aim was so poor their arrows missed by a wide a margin. The prince continued to ride on, confident he had left the Gerudos behind. Suddenly, his horse let out a whiney of pain before crumpling forward. This threw Henoch forward off the saddle for a distance of at least ten feet, his body landing painfully in the hot desert sand. Grimacing in pain, he got to his feet and saw that one of the Gerudos arrows had found its mark, landing in his horse's back leg. The beast continued to twitch in pain, but he wasn't going to help her. The Gerudos, seeing his fall, thundered towards him with a thirst for blood. Picking up his sword, he backed away from them, hurling bolts of dark lightning at the growing crowd. But in his haste, he failed to notice the sudden drop off behind him. Prince Henoch stumbled over backwards and fell at least twenty feet onto the sand. The blow knocked him unconscious, and the Gerudos looked down at his motionless body, examining their prize.