Remaining on the ground, cradling the girl in his arms, the hero of Hyrule could not bring himself to move from the spot. The unbearable grief had already come flooding through him and was causing a hysterical reaction. He didn't think that his eyes would ever dry up.

He could hear Midna calling his name, trying to bring him back down to earth but he was just too broken up to respond. After a moment he managed to gather enough strength to rise from the floor, bringing Ilia with him. He began walking back in the direction of Ordon Village, unable to to focus on anything other than taking the girl back where she belonged.

Once they reached the village, all of the familiar faces who were busy at work, stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the imp and the hero with the girl in his arms. Each of them with concerned and horrified expressions, came running towards him, talking over one another, desperately trying to find out what had happened.

"Master Link... what happened?" One yelled over the rest.

"Oh my... is that young Ilia?" Another asked, trying to see through the few that were up front.

"Everyone, please be calm! It is with great amounts of regret that I inform you of the passing of one of our own. Ilia, the girl who cared for both humans and horses, was attacked by Goblins on her way home from Kakariko Village. Unfortunately, I did not reach her in time." Link announced, sounding stronger than he actually felt.

The gasps, anguished cries and stunned silence of the crowd gave him time to calm himself down just as Bo, Ilia's father, came running to him looking more panicked than ever before.

"Dear God! My darling daughter.... Master Link, what happened to her?" Bo inquired.

"Goblin attack, while she was on her way back from Kakariko. I'm so sorry, I didn't find her in time." He apologised, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat.

"No! No! Noooo! Not my precious girl..." Bo cried out.

As he heard the distraught cries of the Mayor, a crushing weight that was guilt fell upon his shoulders. He couldn't bare the thought that he had failed one of his own people, and that he had not managed to save the girl.

"We should bury her in the Ordon Gardens. It was the place she loved most... I am so sorry Bo, I wish I had gotten to her sooner." Link made a weak attempt to comfort the Mayor.

"You're right.... it's what she would have wanted." Bo sighed, pulling himself together for the sake of his people.

"Thank you, Master Link, for bringing her back here to us." The Mayor said gratefully.

With that being said, Link nodded and began leading the way to the beautiful garden in which he and Ilia had spent many days together before the events that happened with the Twilight Realm.

Inside the garden was peaceful and tranquil, the perfect place for a girl like Ilia. As the goat farmer began to dig, he held onto her, getting ready for the moment when he would have to let her go. It was a moment that he would rather not have to live through.

Once the hole in the ground was finished, Bo gave Link a sad and desperate nod. With permission from the Mayor, he lowered the fallen girl's body gently into the ground, making sure that her arms nor legs were at a funny angle. As he rose to his feet, he remembered that the last time they had spoken, Ilia had gave him a pink rose that had not yet blossomed. He had held onto it throughout all his adventures and after months, it had finally began to open up. Without a second thought, he took it out of his pocket and dropped it in quickly before the farmer began to throw the dirt over.
He had already decided that the pretty little flower belonged with the girl that had spent her life caring for all living creatures.

It seemed like only a few minutes before her grave was finally complete and after paying their respects, everyone began to head back to their little homes and Bo went to take care of his distraught wife.

However, Link could not bring himself to leave the site just yet. He needed a moment of peace. Away from all the monsters and the duties he was supposed to deal with. A moment just for peace.

"Link..." He heard the imp, who wasn't giddy for once, call, but he wasn't in the mood to answer. He had already cried too much.

Seeing how much hurt her best friend was suffering through, Midna walked closer and placed her arms around him comforting him like he was a crying baby. Moments like these were never easy. She saw his pain, but also needed to figure out how to convince him to move forward with their quest without turning his grief into anger.

"We have to continue our quest ... If we dont everyone is gona suffer and more of your friends are gonna die..." She urged.

But he didn't stop crying. He couldnt accept it. He couldn't accept that she was gone. Nor that if he didn't do something, more people would follow. It was never easy to have so much responsibility at such a young age, and by now he ought to be used to it. With a deep sigh and a heavy heart, he got up from where he was sat and turned to Midna.

"I'm sick of this. Sick of watching my friends die and suffer. It's time that we put a stop to all of the attacks once and for all. Are you with me?" He stated determinedly.

If she agreed with him, then he would be relieved to have someone join him on his travels. But if not then he would go it alone.

"Link, of course I'm with you on this. But we don't really have the time to hunt down goblins, we are on a mission. Both the kingdom of Hyrule and Twilight are in danger..." She reminded him gently.

As harsh as it sounded, it was the truth.

He forgotten about Zelda. An absolutely awful thing to do, forgetting about his loved one, but during a time like this, it just couldn't be helped. He had been through a lot already and there was far too much on his mind, but he knew that Midna was right. Both kingdoms needed him. They were counting on him to save them all. Zelda's life was counting on him.

"Link,.we have to get going. What would Ilia tell you if she were alive now?" She questioned a bit more harsher than her last attempt to snap him out of his grief bubble.

"Go and get Epona." He answered dryly in a monotone voice.

"Exactly. So let's go find her!" Midna encouraged.

Without another word to her, Link's expression changed from broken and soft to tough and angry, then he began walking straight ahead. With each step, he walked faster and faster, not bothering to look behind or to the side and not stopping to allow time for his trusty companion to catch up.

He was hurt.

He was angry.

But he was also determined.

All he had to do was find Epona and continue with what they needed to do. And he would not stop until every last threat was vanquished. Every Goblin, every King of evil... they would all pay for what they had done to these kingdoms.

Heading for the farmer's barn, in which he had once rounded up goats, he stopped just outside when he saw the beautiful brown coated horse. For a moment, his pain vanished and his eyes softened when she sneezed, shook her head and turned her attention to him. With a small smile, he held out his hand to her and slowly placed it on her nose, giving her a friendly greeting.

It appeared that the farmer had already gotten her ready for their journey as her saddle was upon her back and the reigns resting on her mane.

"Well... It looks like Epona is happy to see you Link." The giddy imp smiled.

He gave a nod in agreement before turning his attention back to the horse.

"Get on her and let's go get those baby supplies from Kakariko." Midna instructed.

Placing his foot in one of the stirrups and hoisting his other leg over onto the other side of her, he picked up the reigns and guided her to turn around so that she was facing the way out of the goat farm. Giving a little kick to her side and using the reigns, he made her move forward at a steady pace - careful not to crash into anyone who may be around the corner.

"Hiiyyaa." He called out as they reached the beginning of the Faron Fairy Fountain for the third time that day.

Now that there was no children running around, he could get Epona to go just a little bit faster. They would be reaching Kakariko in absolutely no time at all, he was sure of that.