Once upon a time there was a princess. She lived in a vast country by the name of Hyrule, and was the apple of her father's eye. When she was born, the princess was entrusted with a golden trinket. She kept it with her always, as it was very treasured to her, and it was something of her good luck charm. Frequently, Zelda would spend her days wandering at the edge of the woods, playing with the trinket as she wandered aimlessly.

One day as she was participating in such a task, her trinket slipped from her fingers and rolled away from her. Zelda cried out in shock and ran after it, watching as it rolled down into a muddy ditch, sinking beneath the water and mud with a plop. She gasped in horror and struggled to peel off her gloves, panicking as the mud she ran into sucked at her slipper shoes, staining the delicate embroidery and satin. "No, no no no," she whimpered, crouching down but unable to reach into the water without either staining her skirt with mud or wobbling uneasily, about to fall over. "Please, please," she whimpered uncontrollably, her heart pounding frantically.

"Lose somethin'?"

She looked up with wide eyes and stared at a … nymph around her own age. "Yes," she replied hesitantly, looking back down into the motionless sludge.

The nymph jumped down from the tree branch, landing with a heavy thud on his feet. He crouched down, his palms flat on the ground. His skin was a pale shade of green, and his eyes were like a cat's. He wore little besides rough shorts, dark with dirt. The nails on his hands and feet were long and pointed at the ends. Zelda started back and almost fell on her back into the mud, but the wood nymph reached over and grabbed her by the arms, holding her upright. "Thank you," she whispered. The nymph grinned and scratched his pointed nose with the tip of one nail. "So, whatcha lose?"

"A… gold trinket of mine. It's here in the mud somewhere."

The nymph nodded his head and rubbed his hands together. "Right bad place to lose it, too; this mud is stronger than a bear, and the ditch water can get deeper than Lake Hylia." Zelda doubted his claim, but it didn't ease her mind. The nymph studied her panicked expression and smiled. "I'll get it for ya, but I'll need something in return."

Zelda tensed and shook her head. "I'll get it myself!" Mud be damned, she didn't care about the consequences with that alternative. Zelda leaned forward and stuck her hand into the mud with a determined expression. The nymph watched her curiously. He hadn't been lying; while the water wasn't very deep, the mud had a tight hold on her trinket. She gripped and pulled, but it was so strong that it almost pulled her down in with it, and she wobbled uneasily until the nymph grabbed her shoulders again to hold her up.

"Look… I'll get it out for you, if you invite me to the castle for dinner, dancing, and… a warm bed for the night?" He chewed his lower lip and looked away.

Zelda sighed regretfully. "Very well."

The nymph brightened with a handsome smile, and he crawled forward, partially into the muddy ditch and burying both hands into the water, whispering words of nonsense to the water. He grunted and pulled with his arms, gritting his teeth and falling back with a plop into the mud, the golden item clenched tight in his hands.

Zelda gasped in amazement. "Thank you!"

The nymph grinned and polished off most of the mud on his clothes until it shown, handing it over. "You're welcome, princess."

She tensed and looked at him curiously. "How do you know me?"

He shrugged. "Fancy dress, clean skin, the…" he gestured in a circle around his head, and she realized he meant her circlet.

"Oh, yes, I guess it's not very … it's obvious." She smiled and straightened, holding the trinket again in her hands.

The nymph straightened it and looked it over, frowning a bit. "I think I've seen somethin' like that before… eh, it's nothing." He stuck out one still-muddy hand. "I'm Link."

Zelda hesitated, and realized how silly it would be to not do a small gesture to this kind creature. "It is an honor to meet you," she replied, taking his hand and shaking it. The cheeky nymph kissed her knuckles with a smile, straightening again.

"So, shall we go to the castle?"

Zelda stared in shock. "Wa- Tonight?" She was hoping to be able to head back, tell him she'd have to ask her father, and that eventually they would both forget.

The nymph nodded. "Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't want you to forget your promise." He studied her with his fierce eyes for a few minutes, and she blushed, stepping back.

"No, of course not…" She hesitated for a few minutes, turning around. "Come on." He followed her, a little hesitantly, but he creeped out into the sun, and it lent a golden glow to his hair. They walked back to the castle together, and the guards ran towards her, holding their spears out in an offensive pose. "Your majesty! Stand back!"

Zelda held out her hands defensively. "No! No! He's my guest!" They looked at her in confusion, and then at Link, who growled and crouched. "Please? He helped me out."

The guards slowly lowered their spears, and Zelda restarted her walking. Link followed hesitantly after a few minutes. The guards walked on either side of them, eyeing Link with suspicion the whole way.

Zelda's father was just as pleased with their surprise visitor. "You brought a nymph home?! Are you mad?!"

"Father, he… he helped me, and this was the condition of his assistance."

The king sighed. "And it's only this one night?"

"Yes, I swear."

"Very well."

Link insisted on sitting next to the princess at dinner. He crouched in his seat and watched everyone curiously as he tore apart slices of pork and ate with his bare hands, licking his fingers. Zelda averted her eyes from the horrible breach in etiquette, picking at her food with her fork. The guards and her father glowered at the nymph the entire time, and dinner was a rather morose affair.

There was no dancing, and at first Zelda worried that Link would consider their agreement void and take away her trinket, but he did not bring it up. Instead, she walked with him out into the massive gardens that surrounded the castle, watching as he prowled among the thorns and bushes. "Aren't you going to hurt yourself in those?" she called softly with worry as he crawled over the vines.

"Nah, I was built to handle this sorta thing."

Zelda settled onto a low, cement bench and watched him crawl through the vines, plucking an occasional leaf or flower and sniffing it deeply with a look of concentration. "Yer gardeners are overwatering these. They'd grow a lot bigger without."

"What is it like to be a nymph?"

He looked at her in surprise, settling down in the foliage. "Mm. It's… life, I guess? Not all castles 'n golden toys. Green air, th' sound of rain in the morning while its still grey out, warm spring when everything's comin' up."

Zelda smiled to herself. Link slunk over and sat next to her, folding his legs together. "So what's it like bein' royalty?" Zelda hesitated for a moment. "Well, it's not all roses and… and fancy dress, you know. There's etiquette and lessons to learn, books to read, dances to attend…"

Link stretched, his arms over his head. "I'm glad we didn't dance, I mean; I was only kidding about that part anyway, cus I don't know how."

Zelda laughed a bit, shaking her head. "So then why did you say you wanted to do it?"

"Sounded fancy," he admitted guiltily. She giggled again behind one hand, Link chuckling in turn.

They did, eventually, return inside. Zelda smoothed her skirts and stifled a yawn, smiling at Link. He really wasn't so bad, and now that she was over the markedly different appearance of his skin and eyes, he was almost sort of charming. "Well, I shall see you in the morning, Link. Goodn.. what?"

He looked confused. "Oh, I just thought we… well, that I was going to share your bed."

"What?! Certainly not! I'm a princess! I cannot share my bed until I'm married!"

Link nodded, looking rather embarrassed. "We… well, I'm not really tired. Let's sit up and talk awhile. Your life fascinates me."

Zelda was surprised at this confession, as she wasn't expecting it. "A…alright." They resumed walking to her chambers, Link quiet and studying the tapestries on the walls.

"Is this yer family history?" he asked, pointing to one.

Zelda slowed and looked at it. "Um, well, that's the story of how Hyrule was formed by the three goddesses."

Link studied the tapestry, nodding slowly. "I see." Zelda laced her fingers together and bowed her head as the guards pushed open her bedroom doors, letting them both in. They left the door open a crack, though, just in case. She settled on her bed, folding her legs underneath herself, and Link perched next to her, his legs folded again. "So… what are your princessly duties?" he asked with a nervous grin, smiling at her.

Zelda shrugged, smiling to herself. "Well, I have to take over the kingdom when my parents pass away, and I have to find a good king to help. My father might have to arrange a marriage for me though. That's how his marriage to mother was, and they got on rather well." Zelda flipped her hair back out of her face and smiled at her new companion. "What about you? What's… what do your people do for marriage?"

Link managed to look rather embarrassed. "We don't really, uh, marry? I mean… you just find someone you're attached to, and you stay with them."

"Oh."

They sat awkwardly for a few minutes. "Have you found someone?" Zelda asked, tilting her head.

"No, no, not yet. I don't really want to find anyone though, not yet."

They sat, staring in opposite directions. "Have you ever kissed anyone?" he asked daringly.

Zelda raised her eyebrows. "I… think that it is time for us to go to bed now."

Link's face fell, but he shrugged his shoulders. "Alright…"

He got up and left the room, Zelda shutting the doors firmly behind him. Cheeky! Should she have really invited him here? Zelda looked at her golden trinket that he'd rescued from the mud, resting in its original gift box as always when it wasn't in her hands. He was a bit awkward, but mostly harmless. She sighed and climbed into her bed, curling up under the covers and closing her eyes. Maybe, she even wondered to herself in a dreamlike state, they could be friends.

Zelda slept for a few hours without dreams. Some weight sank into the bed next to her, and her eyes shot open, and she stared in shock at the dark, barely visible figure crouched next to her face. Her entire room was pitch black, the full moon covered by heavy clouds. "Shh!" Link hissed, putting two of his fingers on her mouth. Zelda tensed; how did he get past the guards?!

"Zelda," he whispered loudly. She nodded; she was wide awake, though she could not see a thing. "I was wondering if you would kiss me," he added quickly.

"What?!" she replied back, keeping her voice down. Was this what he broke into her room for?!

Link glanced back at the fully-shut doors, then towards her. "Please?"

Zelda sighed in irritation and sat up, Link rising up with her. "Fine!" she whispered harshly, and swiftly kissed his cheek.

Link shook his head. "No, no- on the mouth!"

"What?!" Her voice was rapidly approaching a normal speaking tone, and Link put his hands on her shoulders, trying to keep her quiet.

"Please? I mean… I did help you out, and it's not like it'll hurt nothin'. Just a little one, okay?"

Zelda sighed in irritation. "Fine! If you'll tell me how you got in here!"

"Secret passageway," he replied softly.

Zelda didn't bother to ask him how he knew about the secret passageways. She huffed and leaned forward, kissing him lightly on the mouth. He kissed her back, leaning into it, his skin hot against hers, and getting hotter. At first, when Zelda tried to pull away, he moved with her. Well, it wasn't exactly awful kissing him, but she didn't want it to go on for too long, either. He finally let her pull away and she opened her eyes. "There! Now g-" She stared, awestruck.

The moon had revealed itself from the clouds, and the nymph had turned into a man around her own age. His hair was golden like her own, and his skin was tanned from the sun. His eyes were a human's, but they still retained some ferocious animal quality about them. Link climbed back off the bed and bowed to her formally. "Forgive me for the deception, your majesty. A man from the desert placed a terrible curse on me seven years ago. I could only break it if I could get into a castle and kiss the princess without being caught by guards."

"Fairly specific fix," Zelda muttered, raising an eyebrow.

Link laughed and touched her cheek with a grin. "Thanks."

"So the guards will be suspicious if you're suddenly a human; how do you plan on leaving?"

Link laughed and pushed open the double doors that led to her room's balcony. "I'll fly."

"What?!"

He jumped off the balcony and Zelda ran after him, leaning over to see Link dangling by a grappling hook and reeling himself down to the grass. He retracted the claws and ran out into the moonlit grass, pausing to look back and wave. Zelda waved back, shaking her head.

In the morning, in his room, they found nail clippings, rough towels covered in green makeup, and glass lenses that gave the look of cats' eyes.