Legend Of Zelda Fan Fiction / Other Fan Fiction ❯ Back In Her Hands ❯ A Midnight Date ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Back In Her Hands
a Legend of Zelda romance fic
Chapter 7: A Midnight Date
10-9-2004
by Grey

Disclaimer: I don't own the Zelda series or any of its characters; Nintendo and the series' creator Shigeru Miyamoto do. So don't sue me or anything.

This fic is dedicated to CubedCinder128, for what I hope are obvious reasons.

******

"Uhhhh," muttered Zelda as she finally came to. Everything was a blur for her. Her head was aching and her body felt sore all over. *Ugh, where am I?* she thought as she sat up and looked around.

From the looks of things, she seemed to be inside a barn. A REALLY small barn, though. *I must be at Lon Lon Ranch, but how did I get here? The last thing I remember was fighting off all those monsters, and then...* Suddenly, it all came flooding back to her; how all those monsters were about to kill her friends and almost managed to kill her, and then... then she had had another growth spurt, growing to quadruple her normal size. *Oh no,* she thought as she looked down at herself. It was then she realized that the wounds she had suffered in that battle were no longer there, and also, the tears in her clothes were somehow gone as well. *Huh? How'd that happen? What's going on?*

"Zelda?! Zelda, oh, you're finally up!" she heard Link say. But his voice seemed so faint, so distant....

She looked around and saw that he was standing next to her. And he looked so small! Before, he looked child-sized to her, but now he was roughly the size of a baby to her. "Oh Link, y-you look even smaller now! I-I'm so big! I-I feel even more like an overgrown monster..." she cried sadly. Her booming voice was absolutely defeaning now, seeming to come from everywhere, and Link had to fight the instinct to cover his ears.

"Zelda, please don't think like that. It won't do you any good," said Link.

"B-but Link, I-I can't go on living like this, being over twenty feet tall!!" cried Zelda, who could feel tears welling up again. "Th-this is just so weird, being so huge! A-and how are we supposed to be together, when I'm so much bigger and stronger, and, and...."

Link stepped closer to Zelda, as if to show her that her size was meaningless to him. "I told you before that I didn't care if you grew bigger, and I meant it," said Link, cutting her off. "You could grow bigger than Hyrule Castle and I wouldn't care. I'll stay by your side no matter what."

Zelda had been on the verge of crying again, but Link's kind words made her feel a little bit better. "Thank you Link. Th-that means a whole lot to me," she said.

Link continued to stare up at Zelda, not really sure of what to say next. "And, um, Zelda, thanks for coming to save us. If it weren't for you, we'd probably all be dead." Then he let out a little chuckle. "You know, people always call me a hero, but this time, it was you who saved the day. You sure thought those monsters a lesson!" said Link praisingly.

"I did what I had to," said Zelda flatly, not wanting to be reminded of what she was capable of.

Link just continued to stare up at her. She was enormous, and looked incredibly strong and powerful. She had managed to effortlessly toss around all those monsters even BEFORE her second growth spurt. And now...

"Zelda, you-you were just incredible back there. Seriously, I've NEVER seen anyone cut loose like that, or fight like that. I bet if Ganondorf were to come back, you'd be able to waste him without any help from me," said Link.

Whereas before Link's words had calmed her, now he was making her want to cry again. "That's just the thing. I'm not like Ganondorf, I don't crave power! I don't want power like this! That's what makes me feel like a monster, having all this strength! I-I'm so afraid I'll hurt people if I'm not careful..."

"Zelda, I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean it like that!" spoke up Link, realizing his blunder. "I was just trying to make you feel better, a-and I thought that would..."

Zelda looked down at Link again and could see that he was being sincere. "It's OK, Link. I guess I overreacted, I'm sorry," she said apologetically.

"No, it's me who should be sorry. I should've known better than to say something like that," said Link.

"Forget about it, Link. No harm done," replied Zelda reassuringly. "I just wish I knew what it was that made me grow again."

Link thought about Zelda's question for a moment, trying to remember exactly what had happened during her fight with Ganondorf's forces. He could clearly recall how badly Zelda had been hurt, and how her face was twisted in anger. "Maybe... maybe it was because you were worked up into a frenzy during that fight," suggested Link. "My guess is that the mask's power kicks in whenever you're angry or hurt."

"So... if I get mad again, or get hurt, I might grow even larger?" Zelda asked fearfully.

Link just shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, I'm only guessing. There's a lot about the mask I don't know."

Zelda looked down at herself again, not sure of what to make of Link's theory. "Um, Link, after I passed out in that hideout, what happened? How did I get here? This looks like Lon Lon Ranch."

"It is," answered Link. "It's a good thing Malon and Talon decided to renovate the place and build an extra-big barn. Impa felt it was the best place for you to stay."

"Not to mention it's probably the only place in Hyrule I can fit inside now," said Zelda sorrowfully.

Link didn't know how to respond to that, and decided to just continue explaining things to Zelda. "OK, you were out cold and bleeding badly, and we didn't know how we could get you out of the hideout. You were way too heavy to carry out. Fortunately, the six Sages can perform a special teleportation spell when they're all together, so Impa went and brought back the other three Sages and they transported you here. Plus, Rauru had magic that healed your wounds, and..." Link's voice trailed off, as if he had just realized something. "Healing... wait a minute..." he muttered to himself.

"Link, what is it? What's wrong?" asked Zelda anxiously, wondering what Link was thinking.

"Argghh! I can't believe this, I'm such a @#%&ing idiot!! Why didn't I think of it before?!!" cried Link, clearly annoyed with himself about something.

"Uh, Link, you're losing me..."

"HEALING!" cried Link, as if that one word would explain everything. "I know this one song that can lift certain curses and enchantments: the Song of Healing! I can't believe I didn't think of this before now." Link then took out the Ocarina of Time and began to play the Song of Healing, certain that this would be the solution to Zelda's giantism. Zelda listened attentively to Link's song, hoping he was right about it lifting the mask's power.

After Link had finished playing the entire song, however, he opened his eyes to see that Zelda was still a hulking behemoth. The song had had absolutely no effect on her. She looked down at herself again, then back over to Link. "What?! I don't get it!! It always worked before!!" shouted Link angrily. "Grrr, stupid useless piece of..."

"HEY!!" snapped Zelda, her thunderous voice so loud it made Link wince in pain. "That's the Royal Family's treasure, remember?!"

"Heh heh, oh yeah," muttered Link sheepishly. "Sorry, but I was sure it would cure you!"

"Don't blame yourself, it was worth a try," said Zelda, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

She didn't fool Link at all. "Zelda, please, you can't let this get to you so much. OK, yeah, I'm sure this is all really weird for you, but it's not that bad."

Zelda turned away and let out a sigh. He simply couldn't understand how she felt. How she had this nagging fear that she would hurt people on accident. How being so big make her feel like a freak. How she had this nagging feeling that the people of Hyrule would be terrified of her.

"And don't forget, that I'll be here." Link stepped closer and reached out to grab hold of her arm. "I swear it, I'll stay with you no matter what."

Zelda looked down at him again. *I have to admit, he looks so cute!* she thought to herself, smiling. She reached over with her other arm and placed her hand on his back, rubbing against it gently. *Oh what am I doing! I can't take the risk of hurting him anymore. I'm way too strong now!!* she thought, mentally chiding herself as she took her hand away.

Link immediately realized what was going through Zelda's mind. "Zelda, we've been through this," he said disapprovingly. "I wasn't afraid before, and I'm not afraid now." Looking into Zelda's eyes, he could see that she was still hesitant. "Please Zelda, don't worry. And like I said before, when you hugged me, it felt nice."

Zelda then remembered how Link had said it felt good to be held by her. "You really meant it?"

"Uh-huh. I can't explain why, but it just did. In fact, I wouldn't mind if you held me again," said Link, looking up at her expectantly.

Zelda just stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to do. She was still deathly afraid of accidently hurting him, but eventually the desire to hold Link close got the better of her. Ever so slowly, she reached out and put her hands at his sides, and slowly lifted him up. *Oh, it feels like he weighs practically nothing!* she thought to herself as she set him down in front of her. Link was now standing on her lap. The she flung her arms around him, ensnaring him in a vicious bear hug.

Even though Zelda was trying to be gentle, Link found her hug to be a bit tight. It sort of felt as if he was being squeezed by an anaconda. Still, despite her hug being overly tight, it felt good, even better than before. *Hmmm, a guy could really get used to this,* he thought as he closed his eyes and surrendered to Zelda's strong embrace. She felt so warm and so soft...

A loud clicking sound brought him back to his senses. Link immediately recognized the sound: a pictobox being used to take a picture. Turning his head to look behind him, he saw Impa standing a few feet from Zelda, holding a pictobox and smiling wickedly. "Good thing I came prepared this time," she beamed at them.

Link just stared back at her, clearly annoyed and embarrassed. "You were hiding in the shadows waiting for an opportunity, weren't you?"

"Of course. And besides, you didn't think I'd leave the princess alone while she was out cold, did you?" replied Impa, her amusement still evident in her voice.

"She wasn't alone! I was here!" yelled Link indignantly.

"Uh, Impa?" spoke up Zelda, clearly nervous about something. "While I was out, s-some of the villagers saw me. Um, does..."

"The rest of Hyrule know?" Impa finished for her. "Unfortunately, yes. Word spread quickly after that. The people don't know you're staying here, however."

Zelda closed her eyes, on the verge of tears again. "My secret's out. Th-they all must be terrified, knowing there's a giant freak among them..."

"Quite the opposite, in fact," said Impa. "You see, we told the people of Hyrule everything. About how the remainder of Ganondorf's forces had resurfaced, and that you arrived to drive them away. That hideout we found is abandoned now; the monsters are scattered and on the run, the people of Hyrule are safer now, and they're are praising you for it."

Zelda couldn't believe what she was hearing. She opened her eyes and looked over to Impa, trying to tell from her face whether or not she was making all this up. "Are-are you serious?!" Zelda cried in disbelief. She had kept the truth from her before, and she might be doing it again.

Impa obvious caught on to what Zelda was thinking. "Princess, please believe me when I say I'm not lying. And you should also know this: because of you, it's unlikely those Moblins will ever attack our people again. The reason they kept quiet for so long is probably because they feared the power of us Sages, and only Link's return scared them into doing something. But as long as they think there's a giant, angry Sage with super-strong magic out there, they'll be too scared to rear their ugly heads again," explained Impa, clearly happy with the current turn of events.

"You hear that, Zelda?" spoke up Link, who was still securely cradled in Zelda's arms. "The people aren't afraid of you - they're less afraid BECAUSE of you. It's like I said before, this time YOU'RE the hero!"

Zelda didn't know what to make of all this. She was still distraught because of her giantism, yet after hearing Impa's news, she was beginning to feel a little better. At least now she knew that people wouldn't think her a freak and that they wouldn't be afraid. *Maybe Link was right about things not being so bad,* she thought happily. Then she felt Link's tiny hand rubbing against her cheek. She looked down and saw looking up at her, smiling. *And I still have you,* she thought as she bent down to kiss Link on the forehead.

******

Riding on Epona, Link hastily sped back to Lon Lon Ranch. It had been more than two days since Zelda had driven the Moblins out of their mountain hideout, and Link had volunteered to help with searching all around Hyrule for where the rest of them may be hiding. So far no one had found anything, and now Link was anxious to get back to Zelda. Even though he had only been out a few hours, he couldn't get back to her soon enough.

Link looked up into the midnight sky. The moon had been waning for days, but it still was giving off quite a bit of light, which made the trip back a bit easier.

Soon enough, Link and Epona made it back to Lon Lon Ranch. But to Link's surprise, Malon was standing in the entranceway, as if she had been waiting for him. "Hey there, Link," she called to him. "My, Epona's sure been happy since you came back."

"Well, the two of us went through a lot together," said Link, riding up to Malon.

"Anyway, Link, I've been waiting to give you a message," said Malon suddenly. "It's about Zelda."

"Huh? Is something wrong?! Where is she?!" asked Link nervously, worried that something bad had happened.

Malon shook her head violently. "No, no, nothing's wrong. She's just went somewhere and she's waiting for you."

"Huh? She left the ranch?" asked Link, now really confused. He thought that Zelda would have wanted to stay at the ranch and out of sight. What made her want to leave?

"Yeah, about an hour ago," said Malon. "She said she was going to Lake Hylia."

"Did she say why?" asked Link.

"No, just that she wanted you to go there as soon as possible," Malon explained. "And I think you should; she doesn't seem like the type you'd want to keep waiting," she added with a chuckle.

"Very funny," Link grumbled as he got off of Epona. He didn't take kindly to how Malon was willing to make fun of Zelda's predicament. But Link decided it was better to let it drop and go see what Zelda was up to. As Malon walked over to pet her beloved horse, Link took out the Ocarina of Time and played the Serenade of Water, warping himself to Lake Hylia.

Link looked all around Lake Hylia; it was as peaceful and serene as it was the day he returned to Hyrule. But just why had Zelda come here? And where was she?

"So Malon told you I was here," suddenly came a loud voice from behind him. Turning around, Link saw the princess standing by the tree, looking down at him.

This was the first time since the attack on the hideout that Link had seen her standing at her full height, and it was quite an intimidating sight. Link had been truthful when he said that he wasn't afraid of her, but he still couldn't quite get over how big and powerful she looked. She was almost twenty-two feet tall and weighed four tons, and then there was the fact that her magical power had greatly increased with her size as well.

"Um, yeah, she did," said Link. "Just got back from helping with the search effort. Didn't find anything though."

"Guess Impa was right then," Zelda admitted somberly. "If the Moblins are truly scared of me, they'd be miles away by now."

"Guess so," said Link, still staring up at Zelda. After her display of raw power back at their hideout, it was no surprise that all the monsters decided to go into hiding again. But when Link looked at her, he didn't feel scared; he only felt a surge of passion for her. She was still the beautiful princess he had come back to Hyrule for. She still looked incredibly graceful and elegant and, despite her size, gave off an air of loving gentleness. It was the ultimate oxymoron: here was this beautiful woman with a heart of gold that wouldn't want to hurt anyone, and yet at the same time she was a giantess with untold strength and destructive power.

"Um, Zelda, uh, why did you come here?" asked Link suddenly, wanting to know why they were there. "I figured you'd wanted to have stayed in the barn and not be seen. Why come out in the open like this?" For a few seconds Zelda just stood there looking down at him, her face expressionless. Then her mouth twisted into a devious smile, and she reached down and grabbed Link by his sides. "Hey! What are you..." he began, but he was cut off when Zelda brought his face up to hers and kissed him, her lips pretty much covering his entire face. Link decided then to stop struggling and just let Zelda have her way with him, especially since her kiss felt rather nice.

Zelda then sat down and leaned against the tree, sitting Link down in her lap. "You were right, Link. I can't just wallow in self-pity," she admitted to him, reaching out and gently petting Link on the head, and with her other hand she gently traced along his chest and sides with her finger. "I need to get on with my life. I'm still the princess, after all, and soon I better get back to my job. And then," she said, leaning down a little, "there's you. As long as we can be together, everything's OK."

"Oh. I-I see," said Link, glad to see that Zelda's depression was lifting. But for the most part, he was distracted by Zelda's gentle caresses. The feel of her soft, gentle hands was sending shivers of delight coursing through him.

Zelda noticed this and smiled broadly. "And I had you come here because, well, I wanted us to be someplace, I dunno, romantic. And Lake Hylia is quite beautiful at night, don't you think?"

"It sure is," admitted Link. The serene setting of Lake Hylia really did set the mood quite nicely.

"C'mere you," she said softly, pulling him toward her and hugging him tightly again. Once again her prodigious strength became apparent to Link, feeling her hard arm muscles squeeze against him tightly. But it wasn't so bad, since he was also being pressed tightly into her pillowy chest.

Then Zelda giggled, which lightly shook Link. "Y'know, this must be the most bizarre relationship ever," said Zelda, a hint of mischieviousness in her sonorous voice. "I mean, this must be the only instance where the girl has total power over her man."

"Uh, yeah, I guess so," said Link, not sure of what Zelda was getting at.

"So, whatever I say pretty much goes, huh?" she continued in a teasing manner.

"Um, I suppose," said Link, feeling a bit uncomfortable about where the conversion was going.

"So, if I decided to toss you in the lake, there's nothing you could do about it, am I right?" she went on.

"HUH?!" exclaimed Link.

The next thing Link knew, he was hurtling through the night air, and then he plummeted into the cold waters of Lake Hylia. The cold water immediately snapped Link out of his dreamy, relaxed state, and he quickly gathered his wits and resurfaced. As soon as he did, however, a tremendous splash right next to him caused him to become submerged again.

When he surfaced again, he could see that Zelda had jumped in the water with him. Her head and shoulders were above the water, and she was still smiling mischieviously at him. Link was amazed at how someone so large could manage to stay afloat.

"Geez, Zelda, why did you go and do that?!" demanded Link, a bit annoyed.

"Hey, like you said, I'm basically in charge now," replied Zelda, still smiling teasingly. "And I wanted to go for a swim."

"But what about your dress? That's the only set of clothes you have!" said Link, concerned.

"Hey, it needed to be washed anyway," said Zelda, smirking. "Come on, Link. The water's fine and it's a nice night for a swim." Then she used her arms to slowly propel herself backward. "Come on, Link, try and keep up with me," she called to him teasingly. Link decided to play along and took off after her. But even with swimming at top speed, he couldn't quite catch up to her; Zelda was able to stay ahead of him, and she was barely trying. It was perplexing how someone so big could move so quickly, especially in water.

Eventually though, Zelda grew bored of the chase after seeing that Link couldn't keep up with her, so she decided to do something else. In one swift motion, she went underwater, leaving a confused Link on the lake's surface, wondering what she was planning. He found out soon enough, though. An instant later, Zelda rose from the water right behind him, creating another tremendous rush of water that almost made him go under again. "Ack!! Zelda, enough already!!" cried Link as he coughed and sputtered.

"Oh, quit being such a baby," chided Zelda teasingly as she moved toward Link.

"OK OK, I'm sorry," said Link, still a little disoriented.

"Anyway, there's something else I want to try now," said Zelda, who still had a hint of playfulness in her voice. She then turned around, and with her hand beckoned Link to move closer to her. "Grab on to me, Link. I'll take you for a ride around Lake Hylia," she told him.

Shrugging his shoulders, Link decided to go ahead with what Zelda wanted. *That doesn't sound too bad, I suppose,* he thought to himself as he slowly swam toward Zelda. Link grabbed hold of her by wrapping his arms securely around her neck. He was now pressed against Zelda's long, blonde hair, and many wet clumps of her hair were draped over him.

"OK Link, hang on!" he heard her say in her booming voice. And then she took off, starting to swim around the outer edges of Lake Hylia. At first, she went relatively slowly, but after a while, she began to go faster. All the while, Link held on tightly, finding being taken for a ride by Zelda to be quite enjoyable. It was quite a fun ride, far more fun than swimming around as a Zora or riding atop the giant turtle in Termina.

"Hey Link, take a deep breath. I'm going under," Zelda called to him. Link took a deep breath just in time, for an instant later, Zelda dove underwater, taking Link down with her. Link looked all around him, taking in all the beautiful underwater scenery and watching all the marine life go by. At one point, he was able to make out the underwater entrance to the Water Temple. *I wonder if Ruto is there right now,* Link briefly wondered. *If she is, I hope she doesn't see us; she'd probably be insanely jealous.*

Thankfullly, before Link ran out of air, Zelda surfaced again. Link could see that she came up near the shores of Lake Hylia and was now walking out onto the land, both of them sopping wet. She squatted down so Link could safely jump down off of her. "Well, enjoy the ride?" she asked Link playfully.

"Yeah, that was kinda fun," said Link. "You know, you're a really good swimmer."

"Yeah well, Ruto was a good teacher. She gave me swimming lessons back when we were little kids," explained Zelda.

"Oh, I see," said Link.

"Speaking of Ruto, what's this I hear about you two being engaged?" she suddenly asked.

The mention of this sent Link into a panic as he remembered that bizarre turn of events years ago. "Z-Zelda, th-that was, uh uh, an accident!! We didn't, uh, I-I mean..." stammered Link nervously, his eyes wide with worry.

Zelda had to stifle another laugh. It sure didn't take much to needle him. "Oh Link, you're too easy to tease," she said mockingly. "Don't worry, Ruto told me all about it. I know you were probably too young at the time to understand, right?"

"Uh, yeah, you're right," said Link, still a little nervous.

"Yeah, I can tell. You're the type who was probably clueless about girls when you were younger," said Zelda, still smiling teasingly.

Link looked down at the ground, insanely embarrassed. "Do you have to put it like that?" he asked morosely. Zelda chuckled again; she got such a charge out of teasing Link like this.

But the conversation had brought up something that had been on Zelda's mind for a while. "Link, what about me? Would you be willing to, you know, marry me?" she asked suddenly, placing a hand at Link's side. The playful tone in her voice was gone now, replaced by a voice suddenly filled with expectation and longing.

Link picked his head up and looked into her big, beautiful blue eyes, not really sure how to answer her question. "Well, I, uh...." stammered Link, unsure of how to answer her. "Well, um, er, uh, I dunno, at least, not right away. It's kind of sudden, don't you think?"

Zelda's heart sank a little. But judging from Link's answer, it didn't sound like he flat-out said 'no', so she was still hopeful. "So, after some time passes, you'd be willing to?"

Link then took Zelda's huge hand in his. "After a while, yeah, I don't see why not. I mean, we've already admitted we love each other and all. And there's no rush, right?"

"Even-even if I can't get back to normal?" Zelda asked anxiously, finding Link's answer almost too good to be true. "You wouldn't mind having a giant girl for a wife?"

Link gently rubbed against her hand and smiled. "Hey, I think we've already established that size doesn't matter."

Zelda couldn't contain her happiness, knowing that Link was willing marry her one day, whether she returned to normal or not. She swiftly scooped Link up in her arms again and hugged him tightly. "Th-thank you Link," she said softly as she snuggled him close. As for Link, he simply kept quiet, once again reveling in the pleasant sensations of Zelda's loving embrace.

A loud chirping sound nearby interrupted them. Both Link and Zelda turned in the direction of the disturbance. It was a Blue Tectite, which was just standing there, as if waiting to pounce. "What an idiot," muttered Link, not quite believing how a Tectite would be stupid enough to try and attack something so much larger than it was.

"Allow me," said Zelda, forming a fist and bringing it crashing down on the creature, squashing it flat. "Now, where were we?" she asked, turning from the Tectite's remains. "Oh yes, I remember," she said, and hugged Link once more.

******

You know, this chapter was originally gonna be a bit more... I dunno, more steamy. I was gonna have Zelda wake up naked, with only a large tarp to cover her, and during the part at the lake I was gonna have her strip down to a black two-piece swimsuit. I'm serious. But I decided to nix all that, knowing that I'd be hit with accusations of fanservicing. Then again, this whole fic is one big exercise in fanservice in itself.

So long,
Grey