"And this will be your room!" Elinor said with a flourish, throwing open the door and striding animatedly inside. Zelda followed her groggily, wanting nothing more than to toss herself upon her bed and sleep for a day. "Mother had the most beautiful things brought to brighten up the room we prepared for you. This bedspread is one of her favorites, and that china pitcher and washbasin set you see there was a wedding gift long ago, and so were the silver hairbrushes. The dressing table was imported from somewhere or other."

"It's all very beautiful, I assure you. Thank you, and be sure to thank her for me. Or I shall do so myself, at breakfast," Zelda yawned.

"I can see you're exhausted! Oh, I'm too excited to be exhausted!" Elinor clasped her cousin's hands. "We shall have such fun, the three of us! Such a busy time we shall have these next four months!"

"I'm sure we shall," Zelda smiled, and her cousin released her hands.

"But let me take leave of you, so you may get some sleep! Good night." Elinor turned and vanished quickly.

"Goodness, that girl is a bundle of energy!" Zelda smiled to herself. She began to unpack, but knew that she was far too tired to do so. Instead, she removed her topcoat and traveling dress and hopped onto the bed.

Thoughts of home filled her mind as she lay staring at the ceiling. She forced the thoughts away, determined to conquer them. "No!" She exclaimed. "I shall not think of home so soon! I must enjoy myself. Tomorrow I shall think of home. But not tonight."

She got out of bed, threw back the covers, and crawled back in beneath them. Her quick puff blew out the bedside candle, and she closed her eyes to the darkness.

Moments later, they sprang back open.

She smiled at the last line of the letter. After cleaning the tip of the quill and putting the stopper in her inkwell she sat them neatly on the desk.

Zelda stood and stretched her arms over her head, yawning heavily. "Ok. This time they're staying closed," she murmured, crawling beneath her covers.

This time she was right.

"Well, good morning! Welcome to our table!"

Zelda blushed as she found the others in the dining room already seated, apparently waiting for her. "I must ask you to forgive me, I was awake later and slept later than I had intended." She took a seat and waited for the meal to be served.

"There is no need for bestowing forgiveness, my dear! Take a seat! We have quite a day planned." Henerik spoke from the head of the table as the kitchen ladies spooned poached eggs on their plates. Another kitchen maid was placing bread in the center of the table in a basket, and a third was placing bowls of butter and preserves nearby. "As a bit of a welcoming celebration, we've planned an intimate gathering
of some of our closest friends from town, so that you may become better acquainted with them. There are many young men among them who love to dance, so you'll never want for a partner."

"It sounds wonderful, uncle. I should enjoy a good dance." She smiled brightly, leaning slightly to one side so a servant could fill her glass with juice. Once the kitchen staff had placed all the food on the table, they retired and left the family alone to their meal.

"How was your first night in Ellefson Manor, Zelda?" Her aunt said, sipping her juice.

"Wonderful! Though I confess I had a bit of trouble getting to sleep initially. But it was to be expected, I suppose. I assure you it had nothing to do with my spectacular quarters. Thank you very much for going to such great lengths to make me feel welcome."

"You are welcome, of course. Perhaps you shall sleep easier tonight."

"Perhaps I shall."

"Well, of course you shall! There's to be a ball tonight!" Elinor said with mock earnest, clasping her hands together. Zelda could not help but laugh.

"Balls and socials... is that all you girls think about?" Her father's voice was steady, but his smile proved he was teasing.

"Oh, no! We think about many other things, Papa. Like what to wear to them!" Elinor's solemn face could not hide her humor. Soon all five were laughing merrily.

Once breakfast was over, her uncle retreated to his library and the twins offered to take Zelda on a tour of the grounds. Her aunt, she learned, planned on going into town to pick up some things for the ball. Before she left, Zelda caught her and gave her the letter from the night before. She begged her to mail it for her while in town, and her aunt said she would. Relieved, she gave it into her care and left to enjoy the day with her cousins.

The gardens outside the home were as resplendent as the one in the courtyard of the manor. Roses tangled and stretched up the trunks of tall, hardy trees, and bushy flowers were planted along the cobblestoned paths leading to the center, where a fountain stood. From the fountain they could travel many paths, each different and filled with new varieties of blooming flora.

Elinor had been picking flowers all along their route, and finally she begged to be excused so that she may find a vase to put them all in. Once she was out of earshot, her sister spoke.

"I've a question, Zelda." Elise whispered. "Before we left Hyrule Castle, I saw you bidding farewell to a young man. Who is he?"

Zelda paused a moment. "My dear friend, Link. He's like family, really. He protected our kingdom in the dark years, and now he lives at the castle as my personal guard."

"He seemed sad, when we were leaving. That is why I asked. I did not want to bring it up around Elinor, for though she means well, it would have been the source of endless teasing."

"I understand." Zelda whispered. "I miss him, not as much as I will miss him in later weeks, but more than I have ever had to miss him before. We've become rather close, he and I. Always doing something together, whether it was me teaching him to read, or him teaching me to fish."

"You've fished?" Elise asked incredulously. Zelda chuckled.

"Yes! And became rather good at it, if I do say so myself! But I always return the fish I catch to the water, for I have no pleasure in killing them."

"I've always wondered what it would be like to fish. Papa always said fishing is a sport best left to the menfolk, but it looks simple enough."

"It's a bit messy, but as long as you don't wear your best clothes, you're fine! And sometimes after we were finished fishing, we'd go for a quick swim."

"Oh, I yearn to swim..."

"You've never...?"

"Oh, certainly. But not recently. The weather is too cold up here."

Zelda sighed. "Someday, my dear, you shall visit the castle again and we shall go swimming in Lake Hylia." The two girls shared a smile.

"What are you girls gossiping about?" Elinor returned, falling in step beside Zelda.

"Oh, nothing... swimming and fishing." Zelda winked at Elise. Elinor gasped.

"Swimming! Oh, I loved to swim, when we lived in Hyrule proper! Such a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. Why, I remember...."

Link sat propped against a tree in the courtyard, sketching on a piece of scrap paper he'd procured with a piece of charcoal he'd pulled from the fireplace. Boredom had driven him to pick up drawing - a pastime Zelda sometimes enjoyed, but that he had never tried. It was painfully obvious, as he examined the result, that his hands were more comfortable wrapped around a sword or bow than gripping a tiny sliver of burnt wood.

He crumpled the paper and tossed it aside.

Link had every intention of going fishing that morning, but when he had begun the walk to his favorite fishing hole, he began to realize just how odd it was not having Zelda to chat with. Sure, she sometimes outperformed him at the sport. But it was the company he valued, not the outcome of the day... no matter how bitter it made him, or how much she gloated.

"How am I to survive four months?" He grimaced.

"The same way we all shall, my boy." The voice of the king startled him.

"Your highness! I didn't hear you coming."

"I suppose I was rather quiet. But 'tis no matter. You aren't taking my daughter's absence very well, I take it?"

"I wouldn't necessarily say..."

"It's only been four days, my boy. Surely you don't miss her that terribly...." The king crossed his arms and stared expectantly at Link, who suddenly could not think of a thing to say. "...Or perhaps you do."

"I enjoy her company very much," Link stated. "So it makes sense that I miss her very much."

"I suppose it is." The king fingered his beard thoughtfully. "Well, once her first letter comes, perhaps you can return the favor and write one of your own. Can you write?"

"Only what she taught me."

The king nodded thoughtfully. "Enough to compose a letter?"

"Enough to try, at least."

"Can you read well enough?"

"I think."

The king placed his hands on his hips. "I'll have an attendant find an old schoolbook of writing and reading and a dictionary or two. They should help you. Thames!" He turned on his heel and strode across the courtyard, calling for his manservant. "Thames! Oh, where are you when I need you?"

He watched the majesty stride away, and felt relief. Though Link was confused about why he seemed so eager to help him, he understood that the king was probably missing his daughter about as much as he was.

Link rose from his seat on the ground and dusted himself off, planning to make the best of his free time. The promise of a letter from Zelda reinvigorated and inspired him. The library was in the east tower of the castle; in that direction he went, hoping to read a book or two for practice.

It was there, settled into an armchair with a book by the roaring fireplace that evening, that Link received his first letter.

"What a long and... ar.. du.. us.. arduous... journey...," Link read the letter to himself, going over each word carefully. His lips moved as his eyes took in each finely scripted word. When he got to the part about the library he began to laugh, and then read the portion aloud. "My thoughts are more agg... no, uh... gree... uh... bl.... agreeably! Agreeably enter... entertained. I am thinking of my favorite spot in the library at home and how nice it would be if I were sitting there right now, enjoying a fine cup of tea and reading one of my favorite stories. Or maybe you are there, and
I am helping you read it."

A sudden beam of light shattered his emotion. He turned toward the unwelcome disturbance and saw the king walk in.

"I hear you've received a letter from my daughter!" He said cheerfully. "Once you're finished with... are you alright?"

Link quickly wiped the tearstain away, embarrassed.

"Yes, sir. Fine. I was just..."

"No, that's alright. When you're done, come find me and tell me what she has to say." With that, the king nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him and restoring the solitude.

A log crackled suddenly, startling Link. Shaking his head, he reread the last line before he had been interrupted.

"Or maybe you are there...," he paused, tilting his head back and closing his eyes. A moment passed, and then he finished. "...and I am helping you read it."

He silently finished the rest of the letter, then read aloud the final line: "Please keep me in your thoughts; my home, and you, will be in mine."

He swiped at his eyes with one hand and laughed at himself.

"And you in mine." He whispered, refolding the letter.

"Uh... Your highness?"

Link felt bad for interrupting the king's study, but once his voice was heard the king sprang from his seat and strode to him. "Well, my boy, how is she?"

Link smiled. "They were not yet to Gennasea. The letter was dated two days ago; it would be the day after she left."

"Well, did she say anything?"

"Nothing, really. She was nervous, but excited. And that her home remains in her thoughts." He kept her mention of the library to himself.

"Well then. You want to write her back, I think?"

"Yes, definitely." Link said. "But I need some paper and a pen."

"They are already in your room, along with the books Thames retrieved."

Link was rather taken aback. "Th..thank you, sir." He bowed respectfully.

"If you need any help, come to me straight away."

Link assured him that he would, and once he was away from the king's door he sprinted for his own, eager to begin writing his first letter.

Zelda,

I am not very good at writing letters yet so please bare

"No, that's not right." Link scratched out the word and continued.

please bear with me. Thank you for the letter, I was very happy to read that your

Link consulted his dictionary.

journey has been safe so far. By now you should be already at

He picked up the letter and scoured it for mention of the place.

Ellefson Manor. Life has been very boring since you left. I
tried to go fishing today but when I started walking there
I thought of you and I turned back. So I got a piece of
charcoal from the fire and tried to draw but I was not cut
out to be an artist. The rest of the day I have been reading
hard in the library, just like you said in your letter, except
you are not here to read with me.

He paused for a moment, considering what to write next.

I hope that you are having a very exciting time. I don't mind
if you forget about me because of the great new things
you're doing. I can't help but have you in my thoughts since
everything I try to do has a memory of you attached.
Please write again soon.

With a flourish he signed his name at the end of the letter, then sat back to read it over. Five minutes later, he crumpled it up and threw it into the fireplace.

Four hours later, this is the letter he sent: