LILIA ALTERNATE ENDING
Arrows freshly crafted and Epona saddled, Link sat on a rock as he sharpened his blade. The rhythmic and rough chime that sounded each time whetstone and steel met numbed his senses, and he lost himself to his thoughts--trying to think of how to speak his heart to Ilia. His thoughts of her always confused him, but he was finally coming to understand what it was he truly felt for his childhood friend. Once finished, though, he still did not have his answer. He wiped down his blade with a cloth and returned his sword to its sheath as he walked over to Epona, who stood just outside his house. Link tucked away the whetstone and then lifted bundles and blankets, strapping them behind her saddle. Just as he tied his lantern to dangle from the side with his food pack and waterskin, he noticed movement and looked up.
There stood Ilia, hands clasped at her waist as her eyes held back tears and a breath escaped through her open jaw.
Link bit his lip. He looked from her moist eyes to his horse and realized what she must have thought in that moment. He looked away for a moment, to gather his nerve, trying to figure out how to explain everything. Seeing her stand there, so confused and tortured, it broke his heart, and he immediately wanted to tell her that there was nothing to worry over, that there was nothing for her to fear … but the words just would not come. That made it all the more difficult.
Ilia took slow steps toward him, and every footfall panged through Link like a fresh stab. Her eyes were watering with tears ready to fall when she at last stopped just a few feet away. She patted Epona’s mane, and it was as if it were many months ago as they stood in the spirit spring.
Link could not decide what to say; nothing seemed right. He wanted to make Ilia’s pain go away. That was all he had ever wanted, he realized.
“Ilia…” Link finally breathed, but the rest of his words escaped him, for with that single word he witnessed Ilia’s tears falling silently. Her lips quivered, and as her cheeks flushed and she swallowed a deep breath, he knew she was trying so hard not to fall to pieces in front of him.
“I thought…” she started, her tears strangling her voice. Her chin wavered under the quake of her lips, but she pressed on. “I thought we could settle back into our lives … start back where we’d left off.” She took a deep breath as she blinked and held her eyes closed for a moment. When she reopened them, fresh tears cascaded down her cheeks as she shook her head. “But we can’t … can we? Everything’s different now.” Finally, she looked at Link, looked at the boy she had known all her life and the man he had become. “You’re different.”
Link realized he had been clenching his jaw, perhaps in his attempt to hold back his own tears and swallow the emotions constricting his throat. He took a step forward as he said, “No. My name is Link. I am from Ordona.” He stepped closer with each sentence until he had closed the space between them. “And you, Ilia…. You are all I care about. No amount of time or distance could have ever changed that.”
She looked at him and she wanted to believe him, wanted to know he had always thought of her on his journey, but she could not be sure of anything anymore. Ilia collapsed into his arms, her grief overtaking her. “Please! Link, don’t leave! I don’t want to say goodbye,” she pleaded into his chest.
Slowly, Link wrapped his arms tightly around her, just as he had done the day she had finally remembered his face and apologized endlessly. He closed his eyes and rested his chin against her head. He listened to her cries as a tear trickled down his cheek. She smelled so wonderful and fit perfectly within his arms, and he hated that they had been apart for so long. He had not known how to tell her until now, had not understood the full extent of his heart until the moment she had crashed into him, her tears soaking into his tunic.
And he knew in that moment what she, too, felt, and he thought perhaps he had always clenched his jaw before uttering any mention of his feelings because of his apprehension that she would not feel the same.
“Ilia … I’m not going anywhere,” he promised, and he lowered his cheek to rest against the side of her head. He whispered into her hair, “I never plan to leave you again.” He pressed a light kiss into her hair and held her as she cried.
After a short while, Ilia sniffled and looked up at Link. “You’re … what?”
Link grinned down at her. He took her face in his hands and wiped away her tears with his thumbs. “I know where I belong. It’s here in Ordon.” --he looked around at the forest as he said this before he turned his gaze back to Ilia-- “It’s with … you.”
Ilia’s heart fluttered, and at first she did not know what to say. She clasped onto the back of his hands as he held her face. “You … want to be with … me?”
Link smoothed her hair with a gentle set of fingers. “I think I always have.”
His answer made Ilia cry again as she smiled, completely at peace with the world … until a thought came to her. “But I thought…. That woman, your friend, Midna…. I thought perhaps you and her were….” She could not bring herself to say it, did not want the image of another woman in Link’s embrace.
Link’s feelings for Midna were deep, that much was true, and it took a long moment for him to express what it was that connected him to the woman of Twilight so profoundly. “Midna and I … she was like the part of me that was missing, the part I had to find before I could truly understand who I was … and where I belonged. She’s the shadow to my light. She’s more than a friend.” Link stumbled when he saw Ilia’s expression darken, and he huffed a frustrated sigh, as his hands lowered to her shoulders. “I don’t know how to explain it. I feel … close to Midna, like even though she’s gone, she’ll be a part of me forever, but….”
He gazed tentatively into Ilia’s eyes. “I don’t love her.”
Ilia’s lips parted in a soft breath, slowly coming to understand what Link meant. She could only smile as he started rambling, taking her silence for continued anger or confusion.
“Everything just happened so fast,” he began. “You were kidnapped, and I just ran after you. All this started because I wanted to find you, bring you home, but along the way, I finally found out who I was. Had I not gone through all of that, I’d still be lost, and I never wanted to….” Link stumbled again, and he grabbed for Ilia’s hands as he tried to grasp the right words. “I couldn’t tell you how I felt about you because I thought you deserved someone … whole.”
Link had looked at their hands as he had said his last, and his eyes were still averted as Ilia looked at him. All this time, they had both neglected their feelings for different reasons. Ilia had wanted to tell him before he had left for his errand into Hyrule, but she did not want to complicate things and possibly make him reconsider leaving the woods. She knew he had always wanted a life of adventure, and she never wanted to get in the way of those dreams … because she loved him too much.
Ilia squeezed his fingers and Link looked up, hesitantly, but she was smiling through the dried tears cracking her skin. “Link, just because your past is missing doesn’t mean there’s no future for you. You’ve been my best friend for as long as I can remember, and I can’t imagine a world without you in it … no matter where you are.”
A tear pinched at Link’s eye, and he coughed out an uncomfortable breath. “Then I … want to be with you … if you’ll have me.”
“I thought you’d want to explore Hyrule? You’ve always wanted to have adventures like Rusl, haven’t you?” asked Ilia. “Isn’t that why you’ve saddled Epona?”
Link stammered for a moment, remembering the hurt, confused expression on Ilia’s face when he had first taken notice of her. He knew this had been her assumption, but the truth could never have been further. “Actually, I, uh--” Link swallowed the pit in his throat, knowing she would likely be very cross with him once she knew the truth. “I was just … going to go hunting.”
He stood there a moment, silently, without looking at Ilia. He felt her hands fall from his, but just as he looked up to face her wrath, her arms flew around his shoulder and something warm met his lips. Link stood there dumbfounded for a moment, before he realized what was happening. Ilia, the most beautiful woman in his life, fair Ilia, sweet and cross Ilia, his friend since his earliest memories … was kissing him.
When Link felt her lean into him, her arms closing the space between them, he melted into her embrace. He had never felt so happy … so warm in all his life. Link smiled underneath her kiss before instinct took over and he returned her loving embrace. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly so that nothing would ever take her from him again. His fingers played with the curl of her hair as he kissed her. Link never dreamed something could feel so perfect as holding and kissing Ilia.
Ilia parted from his lips and watched as his eyes slowly opened, drinking in her beauty. As he looked at her, Link knew without a doubt that this was right, that this was where he belonged. They still held each other close, and overwhelmed with emotion, Link leaned into her, resting his cheek against her temple. He hummed into her ear … a familiar tune that reminded her of their younger days. Ilia smiled as his song vibrated gently through her, and she laughed when Epona neighed beside them.
They stayed like that for a few very long minutes until Ilia raised her head to look into Link’s pure sapphire eyes. She smiled knowing that she would see the sparkle of his eyes for many more countless days to come. “You shouldn’t keep Epona waiting, I suppose.”
A smirk lit Link’s face for a quick moment before he fell into Ilia’s eyes once more, staring deeply into her. He had to remind himself to breathe lest he lose himself forever in her arms. Ilia’s arms fell gently to rest on his arms, and she smiled under his gaze, feeling reborn within his grasp. When he finally pulled away from her, her heart quickened, suddenly afraid, but when she saw him smile, she knew that he would always come back to her.
Link could barely take his eyes off Ilia as he mounted Epona, but after a long moment, he ripped his gaze from her frame and pulled on the reins. All at once he was in motion, his heart beating as quickly as Epona’s hooves. He knew Hyrule was at peace now, knew there was no lingering danger, but he hated being apart from Ilia. A part of him had been tearing away little by little during his journey for every day he had been separated from her, and only in her kiss had his hurt been healed at last.
He knew where he belonged now. It was as Ilia had said. The past did not define the future; he had said much the same when he and Ashei had spoken a few nights ago. Ilia and the people of Ordon were his future, the future he had fought for with Midna at his side. He had fought to be with Ilia … the woman he loved.
Ilia watched as Link receded into the forests of Faron, and a smile as bright as the sun glistened against her teeth. For the first time in her life, the fear of losing Link was nowhere to be found in her heart.
There stood Ilia, hands clasped at her waist as her eyes held back tears and a breath escaped through her open jaw.
Link bit his lip. He looked from her moist eyes to his horse and realized what she must have thought in that moment. He looked away for a moment, to gather his nerve, trying to figure out how to explain everything. Seeing her stand there, so confused and tortured, it broke his heart, and he immediately wanted to tell her that there was nothing to worry over, that there was nothing for her to fear … but the words just would not come. That made it all the more difficult.
Ilia took slow steps toward him, and every footfall panged through Link like a fresh stab. Her eyes were watering with tears ready to fall when she at last stopped just a few feet away. She patted Epona’s mane, and it was as if it were many months ago as they stood in the spirit spring.
Link could not decide what to say; nothing seemed right. He wanted to make Ilia’s pain go away. That was all he had ever wanted, he realized.
“Ilia…” Link finally breathed, but the rest of his words escaped him, for with that single word he witnessed Ilia’s tears falling silently. Her lips quivered, and as her cheeks flushed and she swallowed a deep breath, he knew she was trying so hard not to fall to pieces in front of him.
“I thought…” she started, her tears strangling her voice. Her chin wavered under the quake of her lips, but she pressed on. “I thought we could settle back into our lives … start back where we’d left off.” She took a deep breath as she blinked and held her eyes closed for a moment. When she reopened them, fresh tears cascaded down her cheeks as she shook her head. “But we can’t … can we? Everything’s different now.” Finally, she looked at Link, looked at the boy she had known all her life and the man he had become. “You’re different.”
Link realized he had been clenching his jaw, perhaps in his attempt to hold back his own tears and swallow the emotions constricting his throat. He took a step forward as he said, “No. My name is Link. I am from Ordona.” He stepped closer with each sentence until he had closed the space between them. “And you, Ilia…. You are all I care about. No amount of time or distance could have ever changed that.”
She looked at him and she wanted to believe him, wanted to know he had always thought of her on his journey, but she could not be sure of anything anymore. Ilia collapsed into his arms, her grief overtaking her. “Please! Link, don’t leave! I don’t want to say goodbye,” she pleaded into his chest.
Slowly, Link wrapped his arms tightly around her, just as he had done the day she had finally remembered his face and apologized endlessly. He closed his eyes and rested his chin against her head. He listened to her cries as a tear trickled down his cheek. She smelled so wonderful and fit perfectly within his arms, and he hated that they had been apart for so long. He had not known how to tell her until now, had not understood the full extent of his heart until the moment she had crashed into him, her tears soaking into his tunic.
And he knew in that moment what she, too, felt, and he thought perhaps he had always clenched his jaw before uttering any mention of his feelings because of his apprehension that she would not feel the same.
“Ilia … I’m not going anywhere,” he promised, and he lowered his cheek to rest against the side of her head. He whispered into her hair, “I never plan to leave you again.” He pressed a light kiss into her hair and held her as she cried.
After a short while, Ilia sniffled and looked up at Link. “You’re … what?”
Link grinned down at her. He took her face in his hands and wiped away her tears with his thumbs. “I know where I belong. It’s here in Ordon.” --he looked around at the forest as he said this before he turned his gaze back to Ilia-- “It’s with … you.”
Ilia’s heart fluttered, and at first she did not know what to say. She clasped onto the back of his hands as he held her face. “You … want to be with … me?”
Link smoothed her hair with a gentle set of fingers. “I think I always have.”
His answer made Ilia cry again as she smiled, completely at peace with the world … until a thought came to her. “But I thought…. That woman, your friend, Midna…. I thought perhaps you and her were….” She could not bring herself to say it, did not want the image of another woman in Link’s embrace.
Link’s feelings for Midna were deep, that much was true, and it took a long moment for him to express what it was that connected him to the woman of Twilight so profoundly. “Midna and I … she was like the part of me that was missing, the part I had to find before I could truly understand who I was … and where I belonged. She’s the shadow to my light. She’s more than a friend.” Link stumbled when he saw Ilia’s expression darken, and he huffed a frustrated sigh, as his hands lowered to her shoulders. “I don’t know how to explain it. I feel … close to Midna, like even though she’s gone, she’ll be a part of me forever, but….”
He gazed tentatively into Ilia’s eyes. “I don’t love her.”
Ilia’s lips parted in a soft breath, slowly coming to understand what Link meant. She could only smile as he started rambling, taking her silence for continued anger or confusion.
“Everything just happened so fast,” he began. “You were kidnapped, and I just ran after you. All this started because I wanted to find you, bring you home, but along the way, I finally found out who I was. Had I not gone through all of that, I’d still be lost, and I never wanted to….” Link stumbled again, and he grabbed for Ilia’s hands as he tried to grasp the right words. “I couldn’t tell you how I felt about you because I thought you deserved someone … whole.”
Link had looked at their hands as he had said his last, and his eyes were still averted as Ilia looked at him. All this time, they had both neglected their feelings for different reasons. Ilia had wanted to tell him before he had left for his errand into Hyrule, but she did not want to complicate things and possibly make him reconsider leaving the woods. She knew he had always wanted a life of adventure, and she never wanted to get in the way of those dreams … because she loved him too much.
Ilia squeezed his fingers and Link looked up, hesitantly, but she was smiling through the dried tears cracking her skin. “Link, just because your past is missing doesn’t mean there’s no future for you. You’ve been my best friend for as long as I can remember, and I can’t imagine a world without you in it … no matter where you are.”
A tear pinched at Link’s eye, and he coughed out an uncomfortable breath. “Then I … want to be with you … if you’ll have me.”
“I thought you’d want to explore Hyrule? You’ve always wanted to have adventures like Rusl, haven’t you?” asked Ilia. “Isn’t that why you’ve saddled Epona?”
Link stammered for a moment, remembering the hurt, confused expression on Ilia’s face when he had first taken notice of her. He knew this had been her assumption, but the truth could never have been further. “Actually, I, uh--” Link swallowed the pit in his throat, knowing she would likely be very cross with him once she knew the truth. “I was just … going to go hunting.”
He stood there a moment, silently, without looking at Ilia. He felt her hands fall from his, but just as he looked up to face her wrath, her arms flew around his shoulder and something warm met his lips. Link stood there dumbfounded for a moment, before he realized what was happening. Ilia, the most beautiful woman in his life, fair Ilia, sweet and cross Ilia, his friend since his earliest memories … was kissing him.
When Link felt her lean into him, her arms closing the space between them, he melted into her embrace. He had never felt so happy … so warm in all his life. Link smiled underneath her kiss before instinct took over and he returned her loving embrace. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly so that nothing would ever take her from him again. His fingers played with the curl of her hair as he kissed her. Link never dreamed something could feel so perfect as holding and kissing Ilia.
Ilia parted from his lips and watched as his eyes slowly opened, drinking in her beauty. As he looked at her, Link knew without a doubt that this was right, that this was where he belonged. They still held each other close, and overwhelmed with emotion, Link leaned into her, resting his cheek against her temple. He hummed into her ear … a familiar tune that reminded her of their younger days. Ilia smiled as his song vibrated gently through her, and she laughed when Epona neighed beside them.
They stayed like that for a few very long minutes until Ilia raised her head to look into Link’s pure sapphire eyes. She smiled knowing that she would see the sparkle of his eyes for many more countless days to come. “You shouldn’t keep Epona waiting, I suppose.”
A smirk lit Link’s face for a quick moment before he fell into Ilia’s eyes once more, staring deeply into her. He had to remind himself to breathe lest he lose himself forever in her arms. Ilia’s arms fell gently to rest on his arms, and she smiled under his gaze, feeling reborn within his grasp. When he finally pulled away from her, her heart quickened, suddenly afraid, but when she saw him smile, she knew that he would always come back to her.
Link could barely take his eyes off Ilia as he mounted Epona, but after a long moment, he ripped his gaze from her frame and pulled on the reins. All at once he was in motion, his heart beating as quickly as Epona’s hooves. He knew Hyrule was at peace now, knew there was no lingering danger, but he hated being apart from Ilia. A part of him had been tearing away little by little during his journey for every day he had been separated from her, and only in her kiss had his hurt been healed at last.
He knew where he belonged now. It was as Ilia had said. The past did not define the future; he had said much the same when he and Ashei had spoken a few nights ago. Ilia and the people of Ordon were his future, the future he had fought for with Midna at his side. He had fought to be with Ilia … the woman he loved.
Ilia watched as Link receded into the forests of Faron, and a smile as bright as the sun glistened against her teeth. For the first time in her life, the fear of losing Link was nowhere to be found in her heart.