Stood at the entrance to the town, the pair wasted no time getting back to its heart - the fountain. Once there, Link stopped for a moment, unsure of where to look. For a split second he thought about asking around amongst the villagers, but quickly remembered that all of them had no recollection of any events from the past forty-eight hours. Finding the sword was a task that he and Midna would have to figure out for themselves. Staring down into the water at his reflection, he sighed. Since beginning this quest, there had been an unbearable ache in his heart. Every second that passed was a second he would never get back with the Princess. He missed her terribly and not even his best friend could ease that pain.

"Why'd we stop Link?" Midna asked impatiently.

Being so wrapped up in his thoughts, he almost didn't hear her speak. As much as he loved the giddy little imp, he couldn't help but wish that the voice belonged to Zelda. She had always been his voice of reason, the reason he braved the worst situations and fought for Hyrule. She was the one who gave him the strength to keep going, and now... when he needed her guidance and reassurance the most, she wasn't able to be there.

"Link?... Are.. are you okay?" Midna asked, the annoyance now completely gone from her voice.

With a sigh, he straightened his back up and turned around to face her. He avoided her eyes and stared only at his feet on the ground beneath him. These conversations were never really easy, and being known as the Silent Knight had only made people wonder about him, but never bring it up. Other than the Princess, Midna was the only person to ever ask him that question. It should have been simple to answer. A yes or a no. But for him it was far more difficult. He had always refused to open up to anyone besides Zelda, and baring his soul to another felt as though he was betraying her. She would not see it that way, but he would still feel incredibly guilty. The pain was not worth it at all.

"Yes. I am fine. Come on, we don't have much time. We should hurry." He answered, and took the first few steps in the direction towards the castle entrance.

Not wanting to push him, Midna dropped the topic and continued following his lead. The path was very straightforward and it did not take long for them to reach the doors after having done it so many times prior. The two guards that were stood either side of the doors took notice of their presence almost instantly. Not making a sound, Link gave them a reassuring nod to inform them that he had no ill intentions, and once he received their nod of approval he pulled on the handle to the left side door and ventured inside.

Laughter erupted from the Princess as he teasingly chased her through the Castle halls. He didn't have to put much effort into catching up to her as she seemed to feign running away; clearly a way of teasing him back. It was with only one swift swoop of his arm that he caught her around the waist and gripped onto her hip, pulling her close so that their noses were touching. Her dainty giggles were replaced by a meaningful smile as she locked her bluish green eyes on his with a look of adoration.

"Link..." She whispered his name softly.

"Yes, your Highness?" He questioned, lifting his calloused hand to caress her soft cheek.

"I know this is rather inappropriate of me and that I should think about the consequences of what I am about to say but I do not want to withhold the truth any longer." She began to confess.

"Well Princess, that depends on what kind of truth we are speaking of here." He inquired, curious to see where their conversation was headed.

"A rather personal truth... something that is so beautiful that it should not remain hidden but due to unfortunate laws that my father has set would be frowned upon by many others if they were to know." She continued, still not reaching the end of her point.

"You can trust me. As I always have, I will keep your truth confidential if you shall choose to confide in me." He assured her, growing more curious with each second that slipped by.

"Over the years you have always been known as the hero of Hyrule, and you have the respect of almost the entire kingdom... and with that, you have my respect also. You see, you're not just the hero of Hyrule to me but you are my own personal hero too... the one person whom I trust more than anyone else and I can rely on for complete disclosure of all my indiscretions. Throughout our time together it seems that I have grown rather fond of you, to the point where I am quite certain that I am in love with you." She admitted, concluding her point.

Link fell silent once more. The Princess was the only one who'd ever gotten him to speak, and the only one who he had ever poured his heart out too. Hearing her say that she harboured the same kind of love for him that he felt for her made his heart skip a beat and increase rapidly.

"I... I love you too Princess." He stammered, shell shocked by her confession.

"No! You're not understanding. I don't just love you and my protector... it is much more than that." She almost cried.

"I do understand your Highness, and I know what you meant. I was telling you that I requite those feelings that you harbor." He corrected her.

"Oh Link." She swooned feeling his arm tighten around her waist to stop her from hitting the floor.

He stared deep into her eyes for mere seconds before his own fluttered closed and he leaned in closer to her. He could feel the heat of her breath as her lips were only inches apart from his own and it made the temptation to kiss her irresistible. Without quite grasping what he was doing, his lips came crashing down onto hers in a powerful kiss that poured everything he was feeling out in the open between them.

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he remembered the day so vividly as if it were happening right at this moment. It was in this same hall that he and Zelda had shared their first kiss and confessed their undying love for one another. The memory increased both his pain and his eagerness to rescue his love from the clutches of evil. He wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms again and kiss her soft lips in an attempt to express his love to her once more. It was a life spent happily accompanied by the Princess that he yearned for.

Once they'd passed through that first hall and into the throne room, he spotted the King pacing back and forth in front of the gold plated royal chairs. He noticed even more distress of the man's face than the last time they'd spoken. As they approached him, Link's stomach dropped. The King no longer looked like a man of royal blood. Underneath his eyes were heaped up bags with black circles around them, and the whites of his eyes had cracked into red veins. He looked more monster than man.

"Your majesty." Link greeted solemnly with a bow of his head out of respect.

"Ah... young warrior. Please tell me that you have some good news?" The King pleaded.

"Unfortunately not. But I can say that we are getting closer to ridding the kingdom of this evil once and for all." He assured the royal.

"Very well... but erh... while you are here, could you take care of the goblin gang that have been so rudely using my dear daughter's bed chambers as a den?" The King requested.

"Of course your majesty. Leave it to us and rest assured, they will be gone before the next time you pass." Link swore, giving the gentle nod of his head to further strengthen the truth of his words.

Heading past the King, he signaled for Midna to follow him, which she obeyed instantly, and headed up the grand staircase of the castle. He dashed up the steps, his feet barely touching the surface, and then turned the corner towards Zelda's bed chambers. As they neared the door he swallowed down a lump that had formed in his throat as he began to remember what had happened the last time he'd been to this room. With a heavy sigh he twisted the door handle and entered the room.

"Your highness, I really think we ought to be more careful... if your father caught us, I would be stripped of my knighthood and unable to protect you." He queried as the Princess dragged him by the hand into her room and closed the door with a giggle.

"My brave Knight, I already told you my father is away on official royal business... he shall not be back until tomorrow afternoon so I think we should make the most of time that we have together, don't you?" She questioned, her eyes wide and bright.

"Indeed I do, Princess." He agreed, caving in as his eyes fell upon her joyful smile.

Happy with his choice to agree with her, she giggled and pulled him closer. Placing his hands on her hips and then snaking her arms up around his neck with her fingers entangled in his dirty blonde locks of hair, she closed her eyes and leaned in to him, planting a sweet kiss on his rough skinned lips. As he felt her lips against his own, his eyes fluttered closed and he began to return the action. After a minute spent with their lips locked together, his mouth began to tingle with both desire and numbness, but the feeling did not bother him. Rather than ending the kiss, he deepened it instead.

Ever since their first kiss, they had not had the chance to spend any proper time together without the risk of being caught. Although he had continued his duties of escorting the Princess everywhere, there had always been guards around or other Hylians roaming the grounds whether they were in Kakariko Village, Ordon Village or even Faron woods. Not one moment where it was safe for them to emphasise their love and make it grow had presented itself. So now that the opportunity has presented itself, the Princess was eager to take advantage of it as much as possible.

He could not blame her for this reaction, although he was better at hiding it, he felt the same too. If her father ever found out, he was certain that all Hell would break loose, but for this one night he wasn't going to worry himself with those thoughts. These precious moments with the Princess were going to be spent focusing solely on her.

Link was quickly snatched from the depths of his memory when one of the goblins that the king had mentioned barrelled into him, knocking him off of his feet. Rolling from his back onto his belly just in time to dodge a slam attack, he hastily unsheathed his sword and took a swing at the withered old monster. The force alone took the goblin's head clean off and sent it rolling down the hall towards the staircase. Using his elbows, he sprung up from his back and landed on his feet with his sword at the ready to slay the rest of the group of monsters. As they all came rushing towards him, he performed a series of attacks that he'd learned back in his training days and moved swiftly to vanquish each and every one of them.

It wasn't until they were all slaughtered that he heard Midna calling him from the inside of Zelda's bed chambers. Returning his sword to its sheath, he hurried inside to see what his loyal companion was calling him so urgently for.

"What is it?" He asked, his eyes frantically searching the room for any signs of trouble.

"I uh... I found something. I think you should see this." Midna stammered, holding up a brown leather bound book.

Reaching and taking it from her hands, Link examined it closely and came to the realisation that the book was in fact, her highnesses journal.

"Zelda's journal? Why should I be looking through this?" He questioned, just about ready to scold Midna for invading Zelda's privacy.

"Look... I didn't mean to, but one of those goblins had knocked it down from the nightstand and it was wide open, when I picked it up to return it to its rightful place, I couldn't help but notice what was written on it." Midna explained defensively.

With a sigh, Link rolled his eyes and glanced down at the little book that was still wide open in his hands. He had not been prepared for what he saw.

"Link?" Midna questioned, moving slowly towards him.

But the hero remained silent, his focus staying on the words scribbled across the page.