So, here it is. The revision of Forever After. Now, I bet most of you are going, "But whyyy? Why not continue on with FAII? They were about to go into a brothel, for Pete's sake!" Yeah, yeah, I know. But I couldn't continue knowing that the first story was... very mediocre and amateurish. I have grown in maturity and as an author, and I feel that this new version will be a lot more pleasing, and entertaining, to read. And it will give me a peace of mind. So, if you choose not to read it, fine by me, since most of you know what's gonna happen anyway. I felt that I needed to do this.

Thanks for being patient with me.

Chapter 1

I need to find him… he has to know. No one else can know… She pulled her hood more around her face, hiding her appearance as she entered the courtyard, leading a magnificent horse. He has to know.

She mounted, keeping her face covered with the cloak hood. It had been almost a month since the army had left, and with it, its mercenaries.

Link… she had to see him. There was no other way.

She kicked the horse into a quick trot, clopping innocently over the bridge. Why it was down, she had no idea. But, she wasn't going to complain.

The night was deep, and an icy wind and rain pulled at her cloak, demanding her to take it off so the chill could creep onto her skin. She pulled her cloak tighter around her, and shivered.

The muddy road sucked at the horse's hooves. It made her nervous… like one mis-step could take them down beneath the wet and unrelenting surface.

As the night grew on, the wind and rain grew bitter. The water pelted her face, soaking her cloak and clothing. The wind made it even colder, threatening to freeze everything that was wet and already cold. It was unbearable… still, she rode on, determined.

She felt the horse beneath her grow jittery, and he snorted, breath swirling in the cold air. The princess patted the wet, white neck comfortingly, whispering words of encouragement.

And then there was a roar, and the horse screamed, bolting. She looked behind her, and cried out in fear as she saw through the rain a stalfos, chasing after them… and gaining ground.

The princess urged her horse on, digging her heels into the beast's heaving sides, desperate to get away from the monster chasing them.

The horse stumbled, and screamed as he fell into the muddy trap, throwing his rider out of the saddle. The princess cradled her head, splashing into the mud. She didn't look up as the sound of a sword entering flesh echoed around her, a squeal of pain from the horse and a snarl of triumph from the monster that killed him.

She quickly got to her feet, slipping and sloshing in the mud as she tried to run- hoping that the sounds of bone crunching meant that the stalfos was preoccupied.

But no sooner had she started running, the monster was after her, determined to not let this prey get away. With long, sweeping strides, the stalfos had run ahead of her, and turned, red eyes gleaming in the rain.

"Get away!" She screamed, sliding to a stop and turning to run the other way. However, she slipped, falling once more. In her frantic attempts to get up, her bracelet caught on a stray tree root. She could hear the thumping of the stalfos coming closer… her heart pounded in her ears.

The stalfos raised its sword, roared a maniacal cackle, and swung down. The princess shut her eyes, certain now that this would be the end…

There was a clang of metal, a grunt of surprise from the monster, and the princess opened her eyes.

Locked in a stalemate was a man, clothed in light armor and a heavy travel cloak. The princess could vaguely make out dark blonde hair plastered to the man's head from under the heavy hood. With a great heave, the swordsman pushed the stalfos out of the stalemate, making it stumble backwards in surprise. He did not turn to face the fallen princess, but kept his eyes locked on the red sockets of the beast.

The stalfos roared, and jumped at the swordsman. He blocked expertly, booted feet nimbly leaping to the left and he smashed the butt of the hilt into the monster's skull before jumping away. The monster swung its large sword, seemingly clumsy in its actions but accurate in its mark.

The man again jumped out of the way, escaping too late though, when the sword cut him high on his forearm. If it hurt, he let out no sound but quickly attacked the stalfos, swinging the long-sword with such ferocity and skill, the princess couldn't help but be reminded of a that person she had been looking for.

And then the hood fell back, revealing crystalline eyes, blue as the noonday sky. She drew in a gasp- she knew those eyes. Those eyes that always revealed emotions, sparkling during times of joy or crackling with dangerous anger. Those eyes that enraptured her, making it hard to breath or think as she looked, getting lost in the blue depths…

His battle cry brought the princess back to reality as the swordsman leapt, sword high above his head before bringing it down on the stalfos. He slammed the flat side of the blade against the monster's head, sending it off of the skeletal frame and rolling into the mud. The rest of the body stilled, and collapsed in a pile of bones.

The swordsman walked over to the head, which was still snarling incomprehensively, and brought his foot down on top of it, crushing it. He sheathed the sword, and walked over to the fallen princess, eyes calming until they were filled with compassion as his mouth slowly split into a smile. "Your Highness." He made a sweeping bow, however mocking it was.

The princess felt a sob rack at her body. She got to her feet, oblivious to her disheveled appearance. She took a shaky step towards the swordsman, before collapsing into his arms, letting out a sob.

"Oh, Zelda. What have you done now…?" he stroked her hair, smoothing out any mud that had collected there. "Sick of castle life and decided to try to get mauled by a stalfos?"

Zelda shivered, holding herself closer to him. "Link… I missed you. I..." she drew in a shuddering breath, "I have to tell you something."

"Later, Zelda love. Let's get you out of this rain and cleaned up, hm?" Link looked down into the princess's eyes, hands on both of her cheeks and thumbs brushing away stray strands of hair.

Hesitantly, she nodded, taking Link's gloved hand in her cold one. Link put his arm around her shoulder, draping his cloak over her as well as he led her over to the chestnut mare standing obediently near a tree.

"Hello, Epona." Zelda stroked the mare's nose, "Have you been good for your master?"

Link laughed as he adjusted the stirrups, "Stubborn as ever. Now, come here." He held out his hand, a calm expression on his face.

Zelda nodded, and allowed herself to be lifted into the saddle, only after Link stole a chaste kiss. Her heart skipped a beat.

"Put this on. You'll be warmer," Link unhooked the brooch at his throat, and handed her his travel cloak, exposing the light armor and tunic to the rain and cold.

She took it in her hands, wrapping the cloth around her shoulders. "But what about you?"

"I'll be fine. You need it more than I do." He smiled reassuringly, before taking Epona's bridle in hand, and began to lead her. The great warhorse's hooves made sucking noises as she pulled them out of the mud.

Zelda placed her hands on the horn of the saddle, turning to look over her shoulder at the pile of bones that was sinking in the mud. "…Thank you, Link."

Link gazed at her over his own shoulder, and smiled. "No need to thank me."

"But I'd be dead had you not come!" Zelda protested.

"Zelda," Link leveled his stare, "you don't have to thank me." He repeated.

She didn't say anything more on the subject, and wrapped the cloak tighter around her.

The rain didn't stop- it came down harder. There wasn't a single space where she could see starry skies; they were all covered with dark, ominous clouds.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Link gestured to a cave that dug into the mountainside.

"What're you doing in a cave?" Zelda dismounted, looking around.

Link took the bridle off of Epona's head, patting her on the neck before moving to remove her saddle, "I'm trying to catch up with the army. They sent me back with dispatches and I'm on my way back." He smacked Epona's wet rump after heaving the saddle onto his shoulder. The mare snorted and walked back out into the rain to graze on the soaking grass.

Zelda watched him as he dumped the horse tack onto the ground by a makeshift fire-pit, before he began smacking flint and stone together, trying to get a fire going. "If you had brought dispatches… why didn't you come by the castle?"

"They were dispatches to an officer who was to give them to the council. I wasn't anywhere near Castle Town." He looked up at her, almost regretfully before blowing on a small ember.

Soon, a fire was eating away at the wood, a pot of water sitting over the top of it, and Link had Du´lin unsheathed and on his lap, the firelight catching on the silver blade as he sharpened it. Zelda watched the flickering of the light… The slender blade was truly something magnificent, however paling in comparison to the legendary level of beauty that belonged to the Master Sword.

His master gave Link's current sword to him when he completed his apprenticeship from the greatest blacksmith in Hyrule. The hilt had gold plating wrapped around the bottom, cradling a gem that replicated the Kokiri emerald in the pommel. Dark leather had been wrapped delicately around the long grip; at the head of the grip, the cross-guard had intricate leaves carved into the gold.

The blade, slender and long, had Hylian characters carefully carved into the steel above the cross-guard, reading as thus, "Enforcer of Hyrule and Vanquisher of Darkness." From this phrase, the sword's name had been derived- Du´lin, meaning "Nightingale." Above the phrase there, there rested a small triforce, the symbol of Hyrule.

Lying next to Link was the scabbard, an equally magnificent piece of work. Gold nailing in dyed blue leather, long enough to fit the long blade. There was triforce embossed into the leather, as well.

Link sheathed the sword, and set it aside; he replaced the sword in hand with a cloth. He took the pan of steaming water off of the fire with the cloth, and set it on the ground. "You want to wash up?" He held the cloth out to Zelda.

She nodded, taking it from his hand and dipping it in the steaming water before rubbing it on her muddy face.

Link watched her carefully. "So, what's on your mind?"

"Oh," Zelda ran the wet cloth over her arms, scrubbing at the dried mud, "it's… it's nothing."

"Earlier you said you needed to tell me something." Link moved so that he was sitting next to her, and put his hand on hers, halting her movement, "What's wrong?"

"Just…" she started before her heart fluttered at the touch of his feather-light lips caressing her jaw-line, skin tingling from the contact. He put his arm around her waist, drawing her closer.

"Tell me, or I'll keep doing this until you faint. Because I know you will." He whispered tauntingly into her ear, before running his lips down her neck and to her shoulder.

Zelda could barely breathe… how she had missed him. She closed her eyes, and sighed out, "It can wait. I am tired. And you're bleeding."

"I'll be fine," Link chuckled, nuzzling the hollow of her shoulder gently, "you however, was attacked by a stalfos."

He pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her loosely, resting his head on her shoulder. Zelda turned her head so that her cheek was resting on his forehead; she placed her hand on the other side of his head, softly stroking his hair. She closed her eyes. "I missed you…" she whispered, kissing his temple.

Link hummed, and closed his eyes. Zelda shivered when his eyelashes tickled her skin. "Any suitors come by?" Link mumbled, good-humouredly.

Zelda groaned. "A few."

"And?" He laughed.

"Stuck up, self-absorbed, arrogant… the usual." She mumbled, opening her eyes the slightest, and flicking them to stare at the far cave wall.

Link kissed her neck. "You ready to tell me what's wrong?"

"…in the morning, Link." Zelda whispered.

He put his cheek against hers, and sighed. "Okay. I'm holding you to your word." He leaned back so that he was resting against the saddle, and hugging Zelda to him.

Zelda twisted around so that she was resting her head on Link's chest. Her eyes started to close as she listened his heart slowly and rhythmically beating… she'd tell him tomorrow.

Zelda pushed the heavy cloak off of her, and sat up, stretching. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes as the smell of a smoking fire reached her nose. Opening them slowly, she found that it was dawning outside, a picturesque sunrise with Epona standing to the left, grazing and swishing her tail peacefully. The mare raised her head, and looked down the hill, and nickered pleasantly, stamping her hoof.

Link trudged up the hill, fishing net in hand. He hadn't noticed that Zelda had yet awoken. It wasn't until he actually stepped into the cave that he saw her awake and watching. He smiled, and set the morning's catch down on a mat. "Good morning. Sleep well?"

Zelda looked at him, and then the sunrise. "How long ago did you wake up?"

He let out a barking laugh. "About two hours ago. Breakfast is easier to catch when they're still aimlessly swimming around in their sleep."

"Oh," Zelda pulled apart her hair that still had dried mud in it.

"So," Link poked the fire with a stick, "let us recap on the past events that has occupied the past twenty-four hours."

Zelda sighed, and pushed the dirt with her toe. "I ran away from the castle-"

"And there is where I interrupt." Link threw the stick into the fire, and peered at her with his blue eyes. "Why? It's the morning, you promised that you'd tell me what was wrong."

Zelda stared straight into his eyes—she couldn't keep it from him for long. With a deep, shuddering breath, she opened her mouth…