Love-Hate [COMPLETE]

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"That boy also looks like our old friend..." Malo muttered under his breath, staring at Link.

It seemed as if all four kids, along with Ilia, froze right where they stood.

"Isn't your name... Link?" Ilia asked.

Link nodded. "Uh, yeah."

Ilia covered her mouth with her hands, attempting to hide her gasps. "No way..."

"It can't be..." Malo whispered.

"You're not him... Are you?" Beth wondered.

"You numskull..." Talo growled. "You had us worried all this time..."

"Link..." Colin said with tears in his eyes.

I watched as Ilia ran towards Link with outstretched arms. She was crying.

I felt my face redden. There's that weird feeling, I noticed, covering my mouth with one hand. I've only ever felt this before, when Ilia looked at Link with compassion in her eyes... But what is this feeling?!

Link smiled. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around Ilia's back. "I, uh, don't think I'm the person you're talking about."

"Oh!" Ilia gasped, jumping away from Link. Her face flushed a pink color. She smiled, looking at the ground. "You just looked so much like our Link..."

Link laughed. "You do realize I was in Ordon with this one," Link pointed at me, smiling, "for a few days. Why are you remembering all of this now?"

Ilia shook her head, turning towards the kids. "Well, we all agreed that you looked a lot like him, so we went out searching for you again. My father wouldn't tell me where you went off too... Maybe he believed you were our Link as well..."

Link walked over to my side. "Well, would it be okay if we spent another night in Ordon? We need a place to stay."

Ilia nodded her head quickly. "Oh, of course!"

Link smiled. "Thank you."

"Follow me!" Beth proclaimed, waving her hands in the air. She, Talo, Malo and Colin bolted off in the opposite direction. I walked on Link's left side, while Ilia walked on his right.

Maybe this Ilia is different than the one in my time, I thought to myself hopefully. That would be nice, wouldn't it?

"Our Link has been gone for almost a year now..." Ilia began, sadness in her voice. "He lived in Ordon for about two years, when he suddenly disappeared. He told me he had something important to do... But he still hasn't returned."

"That's terrible," I spoke, turning towards Ilia. She nodded. "I'm sorry that you lost such a close friend."

Ilia rubbed her eyes. "You see, when I looked at Link's face, I thought for a moment, for a split moment, that our Link had finally returned..."

Link smiled. "I'm sorry I'm not who you thought I was."

Ilia shook her head. "It's alright. Maybe Link will come back some day?"

Link nodded. "I bet he will."

"You're right, he has to come back!" Ilia smiled, looking up at Link.

I clutched my shirt.

That feeling again...!

Link looked down at me. "Are you alright, Zel?"

Ilia looked at me. "And you're sure that you aren't Princess Zelda?"

I smiled. "I'm not."

Ilia nodded. "Okay."