Link awoke to the sight of Zelda sleeping next to him in his chambers once again. He just watched her serene face as the sun flowed into the room and bathed the two in warm light. The prince brushed her bangs out of her eyes, feeling the soft strands tease the pads of his fingers.

A glance down and Link saw her in what he assumed was her summer nightie. It was made of a sheer cloth, held up by some lacy straps across her shoulders. His eyes roamed down till he saw that he, himself was completely bare under the blankets. The young prince's breath escaped as he choked.

Did… did we really just…?!

He noticed he had no control over his body when he reached down and felt the strange ache. He'd felt it before when he saw her in clothes that left little to the imagination. It was as if all of his blood rushed down from his brain, making his heart flutter and his mind felt pleasantly dizzy.

She awoke and murmured words that he couldn't make out as he leaned closer to figure out what she wanted from him. Suddenly he was taken for surprise when she pulled him by the sideburns into a searing kiss.

The prince tried to make some noise in protest, but not a sound was made, and his will was fading fast as he melted to her mischief. Her hands were playing with his cheeks, pressing and squishing them under her palms. Sure, it weirded him out a little, but this was Zelda. Zelda was the one that was daring enough to try something different.

But when did they get this far in their relationship?

Link was soon relenting to her as she had pinned him to the bed in the blink of an eye. Seeing her eyes traverse down his bare torso till she saw her prize sent shivers of excitement and thrill through his spine. He was ready and certain about this. He took a deep breath and-

"Yeowch!"

Link was thrown awake when a fist made clean contact with his jaw. Opening his eyes, he saw Cass thrashing around in his sleep right next to prince sighed, seeing not his chambers nor the knight's dormitory, but a shabby room after remembering their trip from the day prior.

Gee thanks Cass, right when it got good...

Getting up after feeling he would be unable to fall back asleep due to the annoying sensation low in his stomach, the half asleep prince meandered down to the dining room.

He saw that Mickey was up already and helping Cass' family prepare brunch for everyone. She turned around and immediately noticed the sleepy prince, giggling at his unkempt appearance, "Morning, Prince. Did you sleep well?"

Link nodded as a long deserved yawn escaped him, "Mhmm… Thanks," He paused as he smelled the food cooking on the woodstove, "What's for breakfast?"

"Bacon and fresh eggs from the coop. How'd you liiii-" Mickey stopped suddenly as her eyes caught a glimpse of something she shouldn't have seen, making her screech and hide her face along with her spreading blush from Link.

The prince quirked a brow, chancing a look at his body to ease his growing curiosity.

Link saw something had pitched a tent in his pajama bottoms. Quickly, he rubbed his eyes to do a second take and he knew immediately.

"Oh shit, shit, shit…!" Link cursed under his breath before speaking up a little more, "I...I…I-I… I'm sorry! I'm gonna go to the bathroom! Save some food for me!"

Now that he was certainly awake and alert, the prince made for a mad dash to the bathroom, drawing up a cold bath and sat down to clean up in utter embarrassment as he waited for it to subside.

"Hylia, smite me now…" The young prince muttered to his lonesome as he saw the mast fall limp against him, "Even Zelda hasn't seen that…"

Link quietly murmured a few other things to himself as he scrubbed himself clean. Once he was done, he dressed down, wrapping his birthmark up before returning back down to the dining table for breakfast.

Cass sat next to the Prince and gave him a nudge in his side with a wily grin, "Heard ya were bein' a lady killer this mornin', chief."

"Wh-what?! No! Why'd you say that?!" Link hissed out under his breath.

Cass sneered at him with a glint in his eye, "Y'got Mick into a tizzy, said she saw somethin' embarrassin' on ya…Wonder what it could've been..."

"Not. Another. Word. Cass." He growled, punctuating his point.

Cass snorted, knowing he got a rise out of the young prince, "Fine. I'll just ask Mick for the details." He turned to Mick, who kept her eyes glued to her plate the entire time, "Hey Mick! What did ya see this morning again?"

She gasped in surprise. Then suddenly the air was charged with static electricity, evident by how everyone's hair was standing on end.

"Cass. Stop. Do you want to get zapped again? Cause I sure don't. I'll tell you what you want to know. Later. Now," Link glanced over to the shell shocked Mickey, "We need to calm her down," He nodded his head to the sight of Cass' frizzy black hair.

Cass looked up and saw Link's long caramel hair was going in every which direction but flat, "Oh, right…" Turning back to Mick he put on an awkward smile, "Sorry 'bout that Mick, forget about it."

She finally relaxed with a sigh, and the static dissipated. After they combed out the charge out of their hair did the two boys finally relax and finish their breakfast.

Everyone excused themselves and went outside to get some fresh air. This was something new for the young prince, so he spent some time just meandering the ranch, looking at all the steeds they had boarded there. He wandered over to the small barn to look at the other farm animals that were housed inside- chickens and other fowl, pigs, goats, sheep, a few milking cows along with a few barn cats and a litter of young kittens.

While the hay made his nose itch and his eyes water a little, it didn't deter him from playing with the kittens, who were wound up with energy.

After having his fill of sniffles and itching, he left the barn and continued his exploration. Link noticed the kittens following him around as he ventured, but he didn't mind. Rather, he enjoyed the company. He stopped and saw a small hut built next to the farmhouse and over the entrance was a nameplate.

Link read the carving muttering out loud, "Lady…?"

A four-legged shadow emerged from inside and pounced on the prince, greeting him with a slobbery tongue. Luckily the kittens were out of the way when Link fell to the ground.

It took him a second to figure out who or what it was that took him for surprise. A fairly large dog with black and white markings came out and was licking him, its tail was wagging to and fro at a fast pace, panting and let out a "boof" when they made eye contact.

"Oh! It's a Hylian Collie!" He gushed, "I've only seen them down in Castle Town before. And your fur- it's sooo soft and silky!"

Link pet the dog and buried his face in the soft coat. The dog seemed to enjoy the attention immensely. The kittens weren't afraid of the large dog and came up to tug on Link's hair and nip his ears.

He sneezed between giggles as the dog's tongue tickled his skin, "Alright, alright. I'm happy to meet you too Lady…"

He got back up onto his feet, and the animals continued to follow him.

Link ducked back inside the house to grab a bottle of cold milk from their icebox and came back out, leaning on the hitching post as he watched Cass and Mickey spar. The kittens rubbed up against his leg and mewled for attention and the dog was content to lay down in the grass at his feet.

It was something else to see, Cass, who favored dual wielding two short swords, against Mickey, who was a formidable lancer.

As he could see, it took every ounce of stamina to dodge and parry Mickey's heavy thrusts and swings. But in the same sense, Mickey was swiftly deflecting every swipe of Cass' twin blades, her deft fingers twirling her lance into a protective shield.

"Hmm… Looks like they're pretty well matched…" Link murmured from his vantage point, taking a sip from the bottle in his hand.

"I wouldn't count yer chickens, Prince."

Link turned to see who it was. To his surprise, it was Roland who snuck up behind him to observe.

The prince quickly snapped his head back to the duel. Suddenly there was that feeling from breakfast that morning, where everything felt charged. He quietly mouthed "Oh,no" and kept his eyes glued to the action unfolding before him.

Mickey was surrounded with sparks, and she leapt up into the skies- far more than the average person could. Her foot balanced on her lance for a brief moment and the electricity cloaked the lance. Gravity soon came back into reality as she drove the tip of her lance to the ground like a ton of steel as lightning rained down and spread out a decent radius around her causing the ground to tremble even from the Prince's safe distance away.

Link held onto the post to balance himself as he watched with eyes wide open at what he just witnessed. Cass was a smart enough fellow to make a break for it when it seemed that he noticed the static building in the air.

As they waited for the smoke and dust to clear, they saw a circle around her razed to the ground. Some of the patches of longer grass was still lit aflame, and Mickey quickly rushed over to stamp it out before anything else caught fire.

"Whoaa…." The prince saw the destruction and was awestruck from the beauty of it.

Mickey quickly ran over to give Cass a hand up before they turned back to the homestead, catching a glance of their spectators in the distance.

Link gave a wild wave when they came his way with a big smile on his face.

"Whatcha think 'bout our fine performance, chief?" Cass spoke and pulled the Prince into a sweaty headlock.

Link tried his hardest to squirm out of it, "Looks… to me like you got your ass handed to you… by a girl nonetheless."

"Aw, shut yer trap." Cass groaned and drilled a knuckle into Link's scalp, making the prince squirm away more so till he broke free from the hold.

Suddenly, there was a few farmhands that rushed over to the group, "Boss!"

Roland turned around, "What happened?"

"One of the mares! She… she got spooked! And we can't seem to get her to calm down!" they somehow managed to get out their words between their panting.

Link, being the only one that wasn't spent, bolted over to the horse pen as fast as his legs could carry him. Cass soon followed behind him after catching his second wind.

Quickly, the Prince leapt over the fence to the scene in the center of the pen. A chocolate brown horse was thrashing about, surrounded by the other farmhands trying to soothe the beast. He took a chance as he weaved through the others and jumped up on to the horse, barebacked. He did his best to use his soothing tones as he rode through every attempt to buck him off.

On and on, he went up and down as it threw up a stomping tantrum. Strangely, there was an odd sense of nostalgia for this. He never rode a horse before, let alone been in close contact with one like this. Something about this feeling bothered him because he couldn't put his finger on it.

Something finally gave, and the horse calmed down to his antics. And like a natural, Link tugged on it's mane letting it clop around the pen till he hopped off, his legs sore from never using them in such a manner before.

Cass stood there at the other side of the fence with a stunned look, like there was something wrong with his face.

"Mission Accomplished." Link mumbled to himself, dusting off his hands as he wobbled over to the fence, till he saw Cass' face and asked him with a puzzling look in response, "Hmm? Something wrong Cass?"

"That was….amazin'! Yer a natural!" Cass shouted as he bounced up and down excitedly, "The way ya just jumped on! Either yer crazy or brave, cause ya coulda been kicked right in the face, chief!"

The prince shrugged awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck, "I was doing what I felt was the right thing to do, even overlooking the consequences for being so foolish."

"But that's the one we could never tame, even as a foal, she was feisty." Cass clapped his hands on Link's shoulders, shaking his gently to emphasize his point, "That's not all-! Look behind ya!"

Link felt a wet muzzle nudge his back and he turned around to see that the mare had followed from where he hopped off moments earlier, "You must like me huh?"

"Well… it's like the sayin' goes, the master doesn't pick the steed, but the other way 'round."

"Pops!" Cass turned around to see that Roland caught up with them and saw the scene unfold.

"Wait...! Are you?" Link spun around when the words sunk in, leaving a dumbfounded look upon his face with his mouth hanging open, "No, I can't possibly…!"

"It's the first time I've seen that horse approached anyone, let alone let anyone ride on her back. Let's face it- youse be doin' me a favor, along with that kitten following ya…" Roland spoke before pointing down at a grey tabby kitten with a crimson nose and green eyes, "Looks like ya gotta penchant for animals, Prince. Go ahead and keep him too, think of it as a gift in celebration for yer engagement."

The prince picked up the kitten and cradled it in his arms, excitement and gratefulness bubbling up within him, making him tear up from the overwhelming emotions. He nodded to Roland and spoke with a happy yet broken voice, "Thanks, I appreciate it."

"C'mon chief! No need to get emotional from it! Pop's raises the best horses for the kingdom!" Cass puffed out his chest with a big smile as he clapped a hand on Link's shoulder.

"From what Cass has told me, you haven't received a steed of yer own like the other recruits. 'Nd sides, ya'll take this rascal off my hands. E'rybody wins." Roland thought about it for a moment.

"Well… if you're sure about it, I'll accept." The Prince said bashfully, his free hand nervously fidgeting with the bottom hem of his tunic as the kitten played with one of his long sideburns.

Cass turned west and noticed the afternoon sun hanging lower and lower in the sky, "Hey chief, we probably should head back to the castle before Cap notices we're late."

Link's eyes followed Cass' and he noticed too, "Right, I want to take my steed out for a preliminary run. But first-" He bolted to the farmhouse in a full sprint. The kitten still in his arms, clinging to his tunic with it's claws dug into the fabric, "Race you there Cass!"

"Aww, f-" Cass stopped before he let the wrong word slip and started chasing him, "Frick! Link that's cheap!"

All Link could do at that point was laugh between his panting as he barreled through the front door and dashed up the stairs, only catching his breath when he sat down to gather his things. Cass soon came up and was worse for wear, collapsing onto his bed to take a quick rest.

Once everyone was packed and the horses were readied to go, they grabbed a quick dinner before heading northbound to the castle. Mickey heard the news about Link's new steed. The kitten took a ride in Link's tunic while they rode, fearing that it could slip out of the saddlebags and fall out.

They arrived sometime later at the outskirts of Castle Town, just before the sun set completely behind the silhouette of the castle. The trio of horses cantered over to the knight's stables where the stable boys took them under their wing.

Mickey parted from Link and Cass, heading towards the dragoon's wing of the barracks after bidding the two boys a good night.

The boys quietly crept to their dorm room as to not wake anyone.

But their efforts were in vain. Cap was wide awake and standing before their dorm room, arms crossed and glaring hotly at the two boys, who were cowering from the sight.

"Do ya have any idea what time it is?!" Cap hissed through his teeth in a low voice.

"No sir, sorry sir." was all the boys could respond with.

Cap let out a heavy sigh as the tension in his posture released, "It's fine. I'm glad ya made it back safely. Go on and get some rest. Training resumes tomorrow, bright and early. Clear?"

"Crystal. G'night sir." the boys mumbled as relief washed over them. Cass pulled the dorm key from his pocket and turned the lock to open the door. Luckily the room was unchanged from which they left it when they left. Link let the kitten out from under his shirt to explore the area of it's new home.

They threw their bags to a corner of their room,collapsed into their bunk beds, and fell asleep for the night, completely spent from the days activities.

Link was awoke the next morning with something cool but fuzzy pawing at his face, and a weight sitting heavy on his chest, making it harder to breathe.

Cracking open his eyes, he saw the kitten sitting on his chest with it's green eyes staring down at Link, trying to wake him up.

"Guess you're hungry, eh?" Link spoke softly, scratching the kitten under the chin as it purred from the attention.

He quickly glanced around the room, and saw that he woke up before Cass for once, and morning roll-call wasn't going to be for at least another hour if not two. So he slipped out of the room and headed for the bathhouse in the wing and scrubbed himself clean for the day, even if he might need to wash up once again once training was done for the day. The Prince snuck to the mess hall for a quick bite to eat and picked up something for his new pet.

He waltzed out to the grounds after making himself proper and gazed at the clouds in the sky, and soon turned back towards the dorms to drop off breakfast for both Cass and the kitten.

Looks like rain is coming in… *sigh* Definitely going to need another bath tonight… Now, what do I call you?

He looked at the kitten and pondered for a minute before a name popped up in his head, "Cloud."

That reminds me, I wonder how that mare survived the night in the stables? I haven't named them either…

He left the room, quietly closing the door behind him and turned down towards the stables.

The horse was where he left it the night before, quietly nibbling away at the manger full of hay that was left by the stable boys.

"Hey girl. How are you doing?" He spoke up as he approached the pen.

Link clicked his tongue a few times to get it's attention, and the mare turned it's head and trotted over to her new master. It let out a few soft knickers as it's muzzle nuzzled his chest, making him giggle.

The prince found a horse brush and jumped the fence of the pen, brushing it's coat and mane in nice, long strokes.

"I could get used to doing this, it's very relaxing…" He hummed as he groomed his steed, "Now what do I call you…"

He thought, and thought about it for several minutes, till out of nowhere, he blurted out to his surprise:

"Epona?"