Aftermath

This is going to be a multi-chapter fic, but the chapters are going to be really short. If you didn't figure it out already, this is a Twilight Princess fic. I beat the game again the other day, and was inspired to write this. Hope you guys like it!

Disclaimer- I don't own The Legend of Zelda, and I'm glad I don't. The creators have done an amazing job, and I wouldn't want to ruin it. Though the graphics for Wind Waker made me want to punch myself in the face.

"He felt now that he was not simply close to her, but that he did not know where he ended and she began." ~ Leo Tolstoy

Link and Ilia were at the Ordona Spring when he asked her to become his wife.

They were sitting on the ground, just a few feet from the water's edge. Epona stood a short distance away, grazing contentedly. Her saddle had been temporarily removed, allowing her more freedom of movement.

Link still didn't let Ilia or the children wander too far outside of the village alone. He said it was because he had missed spending time with them during his adventures, but Ilia knew the truth. She had seen the slightest hint of fear in his eyes when the sun began to set, empasizing the shadows, and it resonated with the fear she still harbored in her soul. Even when he rough-house with Talo and Colin, he made sure he was alert to all of his surroundings, watching for the smallest sign of danger.

It wasn't just Link, though. It was the entire village, and probably the rest of Hyrule as well. The citizens of Ordon, at least, knew that there was no threat anymore. The day of his return, he had told them the details of what had transpired. He told them of the plight of the Twili, the inhabitants of the world that existed alongside their own. He told them of how the usually peaceful people had been enslaved and transformed by one of their own. He told them of how this false king had overthrown the true ruler, forcing her to take the form of a helpless imp while he used her people to wage war on the world of light. He even told them of his own tranformation, imprisonment, rescue, and his entire journey through both worlds, of the fierce battles against monsters, Zant, and even the wielder of the Triforce of Power, Lord Ganondorf. And, with a hint of sadness in his voice and gaze, he told them of how the last remaining pathway to the Twilight Realm had been destroyed after the master puppeteer of the entire hostile takeover had been vanquished, his darkness banished once and for all.

Their home was safe now. The Twilight Princess would never attack them, even if she could find the means to re-open the rift between worlds. But that didn't stop the inhabitants of the light from watching the shadows with guarded expressions.

"I realized a lot of things while I was gone," Link said suddenly, breaking the silence.

Ilia shook her head, bringing herself back to the present time and place. "Like what?"

Link plucked a long stem of grass from the ground the began twisting it between his fingers. "I realized that individual people are tiny compared to the entire world. I never realized how big of a place it is outside the village, until I went there. We're insignificant. Even if someone dies, and thousands of people mourn, time will still be passing. We mean nothing in the grand scheme of things."

"Your existence meant something," she argued. "Without you, we would have remained trapped in the twilight. I wouldn't have gotten my memories back, and, in the end, everyone probably would have been killed. You saved us."

"It was the godesses' will that Hyrule be saved," he replied stubbornly. "If they didn't care about this world's fate, my existence really would have been meaningless."

Ilia laughed. "You are probably the most humble hero in the history of time."

Link smiled back crookedly, before continuing. "I also realized how fragile we are. I saw trained men, experienced soldiers, lose their lives in an instant. It was like watching a lion kill a newborn; the monsters didn't even break a sweat. There were plenty of times when I thought I was going to die. We're so fragile. We can be killed before we really have a chance to live." He stood up, brushed himself off, and stretched. "So we have to take risks every once in a while. Sometimes, when we come to a crossroads in our lives, we have to take the path we usually wouldn't even think of taking."

Ilia felt the bottom of her stomach fall out as he spoke. Only a few days before, Link had received a letter from Princess Zelda, asking him to become the head of the Royal Guard. He hadn't seemed too interested at that moment, but now...

"Have you reached a crossroads, Link?"

He turned to look at her, piercing blue eyes staring directly into her soul. The eyes of a proud beast, as Telma had descibed them. They were hypnotizing, drawing Ilia in until she was sure she would drown. Link held out his hand, and she took it, searching for an anchor to weigh herself down. He pulled her to her feet, then took her other hand in his as well.

"Marry me."

Ilia fought valiantly against her suddenly buckling legs, mind reeling from the shock. "Wha....what?"

"Marry me," he repeated steadily. "I want to take this risk, and I want you to take it with me. I want to protect you, to know that no one will ever dare take you from me again. I want to wake up and see your face every morning, and fall asleep with you in my arms every night." He pulled her against her chest, embracing her tightly, and she was surprised to find that he was trembling. "Please. I don't want to lose you again. I love you, so much."

A lump rose in Ilia's throat as he poured his heart out to her, and she felt her own heart reaching out to it. Fighting back tears of joy, she wrapped her arms firmly around his neck, whispering "yes" over and over.

So, waddya think so far? I thought it was cute, and every true Zelda fangirl that under Link's quiet exterior, their beats the heart of a romantic XD