Here's a story for the holidays, this time with our lovable friends from Vacation For Two! Chronologically, I suppose this would take place after Vacation Four, for those who are curious. Nothing terribly special (or even original, but that's tough to do in this day), but Christmas always gets me feeling festive, so I wanted to do something! I tried to match all the feelings in here that come from a Christmas party; both family AND friend ones. And since I didn't do a story last year (oops), expect another one in the next few days! I already know the setting, but I'm not going to say anything. Still, keep an eye out if you're interested. But for now, enjoy this story; I hope it gets you feeling festive and in the holiday spirit! Merry Christmas everyone!

Holiday Festivities

Link hummed to himself happily as he set about the room, hanging decorations wherever he could. It wasn't the easiest task, considering the enormous size of the room, but he didn't mind the challenge. Besides, it was Christmas Eve; this only happened once a year, so he was happy to assist with the party preparations. And right now that was putting up tinsel and ornaments wherever he could along the walls. As he gently hung the last ball on a strand of garland, he stepped back and admired his work.

The castle's throne room was covered in splashes of red and green; wreathes adorned every window and a huge carpet had been rolled onto the floor to match the festive decorations. Now, the walls were covered as well to give the entire room a real exciting feel upon entering. Link grinned before looking around to see what else he could use. Lying at the bottom of a nearby box, he noticed a small bough of mistletoe. The boy flashed a smile as he picked it up and began looking for a place from which to hang it. He wasn't even sure where that tradition came from, but he wasn't complaining. He'd try and get the Princess under it later on.

Finding a suitable place for it, he wiped his hands together in satisfaction as he heard one of the great doors slowly open behind him. He glanced around to see Teacher enter the chamber with yet another box of decorations. The man set the box at Link's feet before stretching his back.

"Whoo, I'm getting a little old to be carrying boxes across the castle," he chuckled to himself. As he stretched towards the ceiling he took notice of the small branch that was near his head. He slowly turned to look back at the boy, raising a brow. "Mistletoe?"

Link shrugged, failing to contain a smile. "I found it in a box, so I figured, 'why not'. No big."

Teacher glanced up again, before looking back at the hero. "So you hung it in the middle of the room?"

Link shrugged again. "Bad place?"

"I suppose not, just… Odd place."

"Well, there's only one chandelier in this room," Link replied defensively. "There was nowhere else to put it."

Teacher looked up for a third time and sighed, shaking his head amusedly. "As long as one of the candles don't light it. How did you get it up there though? That's a very high chandelier."

Link said nothing as he tucked his whip deeper into his pocket, glancing away. Teacher simply grabbed the bridge of his nose as the second door behind them swung open to create more room. The two turned around as a loud voice rang out, "We're back!"

Russell and Alfonzo carried in a huge pine tree over their shoulders, trying not to get hit in the face by a branch. "Biggest one we could find, took us almost an hour to come across it and cut it down," the captain continued. "Couldn't have done it without your train, Link."

Seeing the boy open his mouth to object, Russell quickly added, "Well, yours is the only one with a freight car! How else were we going to bring a tree from the Snow Realm?" Link found no argument as they made their way to a corner. Deciding to put it to the left of the throne, they gently set it down and stood it up. The tip measured about the same height as where the mistletoe hung; a fact that Alfonzo quickly noticed.

"Who…?" he asked, only to have his answer as Teacher gestured to Link. The boy gave a small shrug before Russell barked a laugh.

"Thinking you're going to get lucky tonight? Or are you just going to try?" he asked, winking at his student. Link turned a slight red and occupied himself with the box that Teacher had carried in. Deciding that the ornaments would be great on the tree, he carried the box over and began to decorate.

The other three wandered over to help him to get the job done faster. "Lots of red and green in here," Alfonzo noted as he grabbed a colourful stream of tinsel. "But I suppose that's appropriate."

Link glanced at his mentor questioningly. "Do these colours actually mean something?" Alfonzo simply nodded as Russell chuckled to himself.

"Well," Teacher began, "you know the story behind the holiday, right? About the day the Spirits of Good sealed away the Demon King?" The hero nodded as he opened a package of balls and began hanging them. "Christmas came as a result of celebrating that day when it came every year. The colours were chosen long ago as festive colours because they represented both sides of the war: green for the Spirits; red for the Demon King."

"But Malladus was blue," Link replied as he thought back to his confrontation. Teacher shrugged. "I don't know, I wasn't around back then."

The project seemed to be taking longer than any of them had anticipated, owing largely to the fact that it was a very big tree. After ten minutes of a little progress though, they all heard a throat clearing behind them. Link was still in the midst of wrapping tinsel around a high branch when he heard Alfonzo say, "Well, if it isn't the owner and president of New Hyrule's biggest trading company."

"That's New Hyrule's best trading company. Not to mention the only one," a cheeky voice replied, and Link finally turned around. Linebeck III stood there proudly, with a smirk on his lips and a box under one arm. Small amounts of snow had collected on his hat, which slowly flew off as he walked forward. "I come bearing my latest creation," he added, holding out the box.

Alfonzo took it and opened it up to find several colourful crystalline tubes inside. Russell walked forward and picked up one of the tubes gently. "They're pretty and all, but what are they?"

"Well, technically they're rupees," the man replied. Everyone looked at him in disbelief. "Okay, let me explain," he added quickly. "I was studying a rupee one day, and noticed that a candle's light splashed everywhere through it. So I got an idea and melted a few of them down to make them thinner. Then I shaped them into tubes like this until they hardened. And voila, my newest idea!"

He looked around with his arms held wide, expecting praise. However, everyone simply stared at him. "Okay, that's cool and everything, but what is it that they do?" Russell asked slowly. Linebeck looked around at the blank faces and realized he had missed a point in his story. Grabbing a red tube, he strolled over to a candle bracket on the wall. He carefully placed the tube over a candle and instantly the light became red as it illuminated the wall around it.

"Okay, now voila," he said proudly as everyone awed. The man grabbed two green tubes and placed them on either side of the red one, giving the entire bracket a Christmas glow. The other three men quickly grabbed armfuls of tubes to set around the room, leaving Link alone to finish the tree.

Seeing this, Linebeck wandered over to the boy and began grabbing ornaments. "So kid, how've you been?"

"Oh, you know, keeping busy with all of my studies and jobs," Link replied casually. "Pretty cool invention you've got there though. I'm just surprised you actually melted rupees. I thought that would a sin for you or something."

The trading president flashed a smile. "All in the spirit of Christmas, my friend. Speaking of spirit, where's the lovely Princess at? I don't think I've even seen her since your whole 'the princess is a ghost and an evil demon is possessing her body and it's the end of the world as we know it' story."

Link laughed. Linebeck was a sassy, sarcastic individual, but he could make anyone smile with little effort. "She's around, I'm sure. I think she mentioned wrapping she had to do. I'm pretty sure she got gifts for everyone who's coming tonight."

Linebeck whistled. "Only a princess could afford that. Well, I'll catch her later, I'm not going anywhere." With that, they managed to finish the tree. Linebeck grabbed a large star and flicked his wrist, sending the ornament up to the top of the tree where it balanced carefully on the tip. Link's jaw dropped and Linebeck clapped him on the shoulder. "I'm just that awesome," he said with a grin.

He wandered away to study his handiwork placed around the room, casting the chamber into a red-and-green glow. Link stepped back and admired what they had done to the throne room with a smile. It seemed ready for a party now; with no time to spare, too. Link glanced out a window and noticed the sun disappear behind the horizon; guests were going to begin appearing anytime now.

Glancing down at his messy tunic, he figured that he should go get changed before anyone came and saw him. He ducked out a rear door towards his temporary room. I can't wait to see everyone again, he thought happily as he wandered down the hall. He really loved Christmas.

Within an hour, the throne room was filled with guests that had come from all corners of the land to Princess Zelda's party. Link wandered into the chamber, looking much cleaner than he previously had. He now sported a dark green sweater with black pants, and what was most unusual, no hat of any kind. His blonde bangs hung just past his eyebrows as he brushed the back of his head with his hand. It had taken over half an hour and lots of water for him to finally work the bed-head look he usually hid into something that actually looked decent. Since he spent most of his life either in a conductor's uniform or a tunic, dressing up like this was sort of a foreign feeling to him. And he almost never removed his hat, which seemed to give his head a phantom feeling of coolness.

Link left his hair alone and wandered into the crowd of people that were socializing around him. He knew almost everyone, and many he stopped and chatted with briefly as he passed by. He saw Honcho, the Anouki elder, deep in discussion with the Goron elder about a momentous matter that seemed to predate his life. Elsewhere, the Postman and Beedle were conversing casually about methods of quick travel. The latter seemed convinced that a balloon could not be beat as the Postman jotted down notes about how to go about constructing one.

Not too far beyond them, Link found Niko and Teacher sitting at one of the tables that had been set up, sipping coffee and discussing how castle security had changed over the years. Niko noticed him and waved him over, pulling out a chair for the boy to join them.

"There you are, Link! I was wondering where you were at," Niko laughed as he leaned on his cane. "Did you know that when New Hyrule was first formed, there were only six guards to watch the castle? And they were Miss Tetra's pirate crew! That's right, I was technically a palace guard at one point!" He laughed again and looked at Teacher. "If I remember correctly, that changed right around the time you came here. Am I right about that?"

"You are indeed," Teacher nodded as he took a sip of his coffee. "In fact, it was I who suggested to Queen Zelda that we form an actual guard to protect her. Not that you weren't doing a fine job, but you were all starting to get on in years."

Niko laughed loudly. "That we were! I remember Nudge complaining about his hip every day!" He paused to drink before turning to Link. "That was after Miss Tetra had 'retired', so to speak, and given her title to her daughter. Miss Tetra was raised as a pirate; I'm not sure she really enjoyed ruling over an entire country and looking out for her peoples' needs. Personally, I think the happiest day of her life was when she crowned young Zelda as her successor. She spent a lot of time on the sea after that," Niko sighed, reminiscing. "But I'm sure you have lots of visiting to do, so we won't keep you with stories of the past. We'll catch up with you later!"

Link smiled and nodded in understanding. As he stood up, he noticed Russell chatting with the Bridge Worker. He headed over to them while overhearing Teacher pick up their conversation. "Now, that isn't to say that Queen Tetra wasn't good at what she did. Her subjects loved her greatly…"

"…don't understand the difference between a bridge and a fence! I mean, the fundamental structure alone is an entirely different work! They just can't understand that it takes time!" Link heard the Bridge Worker gripe as he walked by. Russell shrugged and replied, "I would just ignore them. They'll get their fence when it's finished. Let them build it themselves if that can't appreciate the effort that goes into it."

"They don't even have fingers!" the Bridge Worker yelled, shaking his head. "It's a mystery to me how they even survive!" Link grinned to himself as he walked on. Anouki were odd creatures, but they were quite amusing as well. The hero wandered through the crowd some more, nodding at familiar faces that turned to him. He heard his mentor's voice coming from somewhere near, and glanced around to try and spot him. He finally spotted him through a throng of people and slowly made his way there. When he approached, he saw that Alfonzo was speaking with the old fortune teller of Papuchia Village, known only as the Wise One. Upon further inspection, he spotted Ferrus fawning over Alfonzo while the man tried desperately to keep his focus on the old woman.

"…even wearing a dress, I could've sworn that it was a girl," Link overheard the woman say. For a being as old as she was, she was quite spry. "But she insisted that she was actually male, so I took her word for it. But the hat she wore… And the tights, too! I don't know any boy that would wear a get-up like that!"

Link quickly paled as he realized that the Wise One was referring to her first meeting with him. Alfonzo glanced up at Link, finally noticing that he was here, and seemed to come to the same conclusion. The Wise One followed the man's gaze and turned to see Link behind her. "Oh, hello young Link! I was just speaking about you!" She glanced up and down at his clothing and shook her head. "Dear me, it seems you were being honest. I suppose you simply enjoy wearing dresses. Well, that's not unheard of…"

Seeing Link was turning red, Alfonzo quickly turned to the boy that was admiring him. "Uh, Ferrus, why don't you help this lady over to the refreshment table?"

"Oh, yes, that would be lovely," the Wise One replied as Ferrus took her arm and guided her into the crowd, eyes still on his idol. "I simply could not find my way through all of these people alone."

Alfonzo breathed a sigh of relief as he turned to face his pupil. "He wouldn't stop staring at me, and wanted me to prove my abilities with a train! Why doesn't he understand that I was a swordsman back in my day?"

Link shrugged. "Not sure. Thanks for getting rid of the lady though. I don't need her telling everyone I'm a crossdresser."

Alfonzo waved his hand as he glanced at the pair that were disappearing behind the groups of people. "Two birds, one stone," he answered. "Now then, I'm going to go find someone who doesn't stare at me creepily. I'll talk to you later."

The man headed off in a direction far from the one where his fan had just gone, and Link watched him go before turning back to the crowd. Deciding to just wander once more, he picked a direction and started walking. He passed the Whittleton chief and his new wife, who were talking with the Rabbitland owner and his wife about an apparent rabbit infestation breaking out in the village. The big man seemed concerned about his peoples' homes and gardens, while the thinner man was more preoccupied with the safety of all of the bunnies that were running loose.

After a few minutes of random mingling, Link was beginning to wonder if the Princess was ever going to turn up at her own party. As he rounded a loud group of men, he noticed Linebeck III and the woman he knew as the Proprietor of the Take 'Em All On game in Castle Town, talking quickly about something that was clearly humorous.

The hero decided to go say hello and headed in their direction. Before he arrived though, the woman disappeared to go visit with someone else. Linebeck turned to see the boy approaching, who simply said, "Trying and failing to hit on her?"

"Who, Janelle?" Linebeck asked in a confused tone, jerking a thumb towards the woman. He then burst out laughing and ruffled the boy's hair. "Not quite. She's my cousin, kiddo."

"Wait, what? Cousin?" Link asked, bewildered. Linebeck nodded with an amused smirk. Link shook his head. "You're related? But you look nothing like each other!"

"Neither did our grandparents, obviously. It just so happened that I turned out to look just like our grandfather, the original Captain Linebeck. Likewise, Janelle is practically the spitting image of our grandmother, Captain Jolene." He shrugged, not knowing what else to say. "Genetics are weird kid. But enough of that; where's the Princess hiding? I haven't seen her once all night."

Link frowned and crossed his arms. "Actually, now that you mention it, neither have I. I'm starting to wonder what's taking her so long."

At that moment though, everyone turned to face one of the rear doors and began applauding. The two turned in the direction of the rest of the crowd, but Link was too short to see past anyone. Linebeck craned his head to see above the tide of people. "Ah, there she is," he said with a grin, and Link sighed. It was unusual behaviour for her; she was generally one for punctuality.

Princess Zelda entered the room with a large bag that she set by the tree. She proceeded to walk around to all of her guests, to thank them for coming and to apologize for her lateness. Link and Linebeck remained where they were and chatted briefly as they waited for the Princess to make her way around to them.

Even so, it took a good ten minutes before Zelda could reach them, and she sighed tiredly when she finally did so. She reached for a nearby chair and collapsed into it, trying to rest as she panted slightly. The two gave her a moment while she kicked off her shoes and rubbed her feet gently.

"I'm really sorry you two, I know I'm about an hour and a half late. And to my own party, too! What sort of hostess am I?" she complained as she continued to massage her feet. Link kneeled down and took over, to which a wave of relief washed over the Princess' face. "I was just so busy trying to wrap everything, I've been doing it since about noon. My fingers are so sore from folding and wrapping and cutting and everything else I've had to do."

Link waved a hand casually. "Don't worry, everybody understands that the Princess is never really relaxing or taking things slow and easy."

"Not to mention that everyone loves and respects you. As well as that little tidbit of info that you were late because of gifts for everyone here. I really don't think they'll mind too terribly," Linebeck added with a chuckle.

The Princess gave a small smile and placed her shoes back on. As she did, she finally looked Link up and down before commenting, "Well, don't you look nice? And no hat? I don't think I've ever seen you without one, except for that day at the beach."

Link shrugged anxiously and thanked the girl. He quickly added, "And you look really stunning too, I really like your dress." Zelda had traded her traditional pink dress for a red one that ended just past her knees, with matching red shoes. The girl smiled and gave a small twirl before turning to the older man.

"Linebeck, Teacher told me about your most recent 'idea', and I have to say that they're simply beautiful," she complimented with one of her full smiles as she looked around the glowing room. Linebeck waved a hand not-so-modestly and gave a small bow.

"Anything to aid in the young Princess' duties of entertaining her people," he replied with a wink. "Now then, Janelle was supposed to get me some punch, but it appears she got sidetracked. Women…" He grinned playfully at Zelda before continuing. "I'm sure you have others to speak with, or you just want some alone time with your nice hatless boy here. Either way, I'll catch you later tonight," he said with a smirk and a wave as he headed towards his chatty cousin.

"Okay, talk to you later Linebeck!" Zelda called and waved before turning to Link. Without a word she dropped her head onto his shoulder and sighed. "Truth be told, I'm so tired right now. I just want to curl up and take a nap…" She trailed off as she pulled the boy into a hug. Link glanced around quickly as she did so; even though it was pretty common knowledge that they were now dating, they were still discreet about any public displays.

Or at least Link was. Zelda didn't seem to care one way or the other; she did what was on her mind, whether Link had a say in it or not. The Princess turned to look at Link and said, "It's getting a little loud in here. Do you want to go for a small walk?"

The hero nodded, and they interlaced their hands as they headed for the great doors. They were about halfway across the room however, when a loud whistle came out of nowhere. "Mistletoe!" a voice cried out, and quickly everyone's attention was drawn to the two. Link immediately turned a shade redder; he didn't care for being the centre of attention, and this was probably the worst reason for it. He hadn't intended for this to happen in front of the entire party, either. Zelda, on the other hand, simply glanced up at the branch above them in confusion. Obviously she hadn't noticed until now, when it was too late to avoid it.

Link swallowed nervously as everyone began to chant 'kiss'. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Russell, Teacher, Linebeck and Alfonzo standing together, a huge smile on each of their faces. Linebeck raised a brow expectantly, and the boy turned to his girlfriend, unsure of what to do.

Zelda eliminated the need for him to decide though as she simply stepped forward and kissed him full on, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Everyone clapped and cheered as they shared a moment before pulling away. The Princess, a bit pink in the face, giggled a bit as she took Link's hand and led him out of the chamber.

"That was fun," she said as they wandered down the corridor. Link finally let a grin onto his lips and nodded. As they rounded a corner, Zelda continued, "I wonder who put it up though? Probably Teacher, just for that to happen."

Link rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Actually," he said with a small laugh, "I was the one who found it and put it up." Zelda's eyes widened as she looked at him.

"Wait, you did?" she asked, surprised. "Am I to assume for that very reason?"

"…Maybe."

They stared at each other before bursting into laughter. "I've actually wanted to do that for a while now," Zelda commented idly as they climbed a set of stairs. When Link looked at her with a confused expression, she elaborated, "Kiss you in front of a big group of people. I wanted them to see that we're together, and that's generally what couples do, so…"

She trailed off with a shrug. Link nodded in understanding, thinking that it was a fair fantasy. At the top of the stairs they rounded a corner and opened a door. Walking through it, they found themselves outside on one of the castle's towers. It was one of the highest places to be in New Hyrule, and offered a beautiful view of the land that surrounded it.

Snow fell gently from the sky, and the Princess let a couple of flakes drift into her open palm. "I love how it snows everywhere in the winter," she commented with a smile. "Even just a bit."

For whatever reason, though it was hypothesized that it had something to do with the Spirits of Good, it always snowed across all of New Hyrule on Christmas. It wasn't necessarily cold; it just fell in what seemed like a magical way. It was always gone by the next day, but it helped to add a wondrous feeling to the holiday. Link walked over to the edge of the tower and stared out at Aboda Village in the distance. The little town would be pretty empty right now, but it was still aglow with the faint lights of candles in every home.

Zelda came up beside him and wrapped her arms around his, hugging it tightly. "It's a very lovely sight," she breathed as they stared out at the ocean on the horizon. Link nodded and they stood motionless for a moment, before the boy remembered the object in his pocket. With his free arm he pulled out a small wrapped box and presented it to Zelda. "Merry Christmas," he whispered, and Zelda looked at him.

"Oh! You didn't have to get me anything," the Princess said softly, but Link shook his head.

"Of course I did, I'd be sort of a bad boyfriend if I didn't. It isn't too much, but I've sort of been making a fair bit of money with everything that I'm doing, and I thought you'd might like it."

Zelda hesitated before slowly removing the paper. A small box lay in her hands, and she gently opened the top. Her eyes widened and she was at a loss for words. It was a small gold necklace that had a simple heart surrounded by small diamonds. On the top curves of the heart, a thin engraving could be made out: 'Z + L'. Zelda took it out of the box and carefully handed it to Link, who without a word placed it around her neck. Somehow it seemed to complete the girl's outfit; she looked perfect in Link's eyes.

Zelda pulled Link into a tight hug as she tried not to let any tears fall. "Thank you, it's gorgeous. I'll wear it every day, I promise."

Link smiled in return. "I'm glad you like it. I did the engraving myself; it took me about an hour because I wanted it to be perfect and was afraid of messing up. I think I did alright considering though."

Zelda nodded quickly. "Yes, you did, it's so beautiful." She leaned in and expressed her thanks in the form of a kiss, which Link was quick to return. They held each other in a tender moment before they parted and stared into each other's eyes. The hero held the Princess as they stared back out at New Hyrule, both quite content. After a while, Zelda glanced at her boyfriend and said, "You know, your gift is under the tree down below us. I want to give it to you now, but at the same time…"

"You don't want to leave just yet?" Link finished, and the girl shook her head. "That's fine. Honestly, I'm cool with waiting just a bit longer before we go back." Zelda smiled and leaned her head against the boy's. They stood there, her in his arms, as they watched the snow fall gently across the Forest Realm, the moon's light illuminating every snowflake.

"Link?"

"Hmm?"

Zelda smiled softly as she tightened her hold on him. "Merry Christmas."