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fter the well-deserved night's sleep, Link visited the princess one last time before heading back to the forest. Zelda offered and nearly insisted that Link stay at the castle for a while until he was rested enough to return to the forest, and though the offer was tempting, Link was both eager and stubborn in his resolve to head to his home in the woods, promising that he would return often to see Zelda in the future.

Impa selected a horse from the stables, and together, she and Link rode back to the entrance of the Kokiri Village. Impa dropped him off at the entrance, and flashed Link a smile as he walked back through the log into the village. The Kokiri saw him enter in, and at once they gathered around him to prepare for him a celebration to commemorate his return home.

The party lasted into the night, and Link was the center of attention throughout it all. Never before had the Kokiri appreciated Link as much as now. During the evening hours, Link told many tales to his friends, some of which he had actually experienced on his adventures while some were more on the impromptu side of things. All of them were very exciting, and only one or two of the Kokiri even thought about nodding off to sleep. Finally, towards the end of the evening, Saria, his best friend, offered a toast of berry juice to Link, and the rest of the Kokiri cheerfully drunk to Link's health.

Link would live with the Kokiri for the next several years, enjoying the new period of peace within Hyrule. Several of the elders in Hyrule Castle Town had begun to call this the Second Golden Age of Hyrule, but many of the others were still very unsure, remembering the terror Ganondorf had inflicted merely years before. The bitter war was still on everyone's minds, but gradually, the fears of the people melted away, and the world returned to peace.

Hyrule Castle Town's marketplace eventually became quite full again, and trade once again flourished between the races. Kakariko's population began to recover from the losses it had received. The Gorons on Death Mountain continued boring new tunnels into the hillsides of their caves. The Zoras continued to swim happily through the Lake and their Domain, enjoying every day.

The Gerudo, however, had suffered a small setback, as their leader had disappeared during the battle against Hyrule Castle. Also, several Gerudo had been killed in their attempts to stand up to Ganondorf and call off the war. The Gerudo sent a party to Hyrule to represent them in giving an apology to the King. The King's advisors urged the King to place sanctions upon the Gerudo, but the King, being a generous man, accepted the apology willingly and reestablished a treaty of peace and noninvolvement with the Gerudo people.

Meanwhile, Link began to find his youthful spirit as a young boy and reinstated himself into the games, antics, and jokes of the Kokiri. Though Link was a different person after his two adventures, he decided that he wouldn't let his changes become him. Now, instead of being left out of all the enjoyment, the Kokiri would always ask Link first to be in on the fun, and Link would always join. Like before, he would still visit Zelda at Hyrule Castle as promised, and Link was delighted with the change of venue. However, Link always found himself well at home in the forest.

As Link neared the age of fourteen, he began to find that he was spending more time with one person above all others. She had always been his best friend, and was always a joy to be with her. They would take long walks in the forest together, play the ocarina with each other, and they would talk for hours at a time. Within a matter of weeks after his fourteenth birthday, Link and Saria were almost inseperable. Wherever one was, the other was almost always right behind. Of course, they became the target of gossip, gags, and jokes, but the two didn't mind. They knew together they were just friends.

It wasn't long before Link's feelings began to change a bit. Link looked at Saria, and within moments, he felt his heart accelerating. What had once been a friendship so dear and so sacred had become an innocent love of sorts. Link was very hesitant to tell her at first, because he didn't want to ruin his friendship with her, but as time went on, his feelings became stronger, and ultimately he revealed his secret to her. Saria wasn't disappointed or upset at all, though, for, to Link's surprise, Saria revealed to Link that she liked him too, and Link and Saria shared together their first kiss.

Though the couple had intended on keeping this a secret, it was only days later when one of the other Kokiri saw them alone in the forest together, and their friend forced the truth out of them. After that day, the truth could no longer be hidden, and Link and Saria shared their naïve romance with all the Kokiri. Link's visits outside of the forest became less frequent, and he saw Zelda less and less. Zelda didn't mind as well, for her days became busier, being required to learn a great deal from the Hylian scholars in the castle.

However, Link began growing older, and very quickly was almost one and a half times their height. Link grew to be nine hands tall, while the Kokiri ranged anywhere from five to seven. Adolescence took away his youthful desires and replaced them with facsimilies of them, only with more serious undertones. Link began to seriously practice swordplay and archery as a living, rather than mere hobbies. Gradually, he started to emotionally drift away from the Kokiri, and every single one of them felt the pain of slowly losing Link.

Saria felt it most of all. Though they had been together as a couple for well over 30 months, they came across a very difficult issue, one that neither one of them was really willing to compromise upon. Lacking the exhuberance he once held, Link desired to move away from the Lost Woods and into the city. However, Saria wished to remain with the Kokiri, for indeed, many of the Kokiri looked up to her as their mother, and Saria was too drawn to the forest to ever want to leave. Each day that passed on drew the two lovers further apart, and finally, they agreed together that they should split, remaining good friends of course. It caused them both pain at first, but in the end, they agreed they were better off, and soon afterwards, their friendship returned.

Link, still desiring to move out of the city, went to Hyrule Castle Town to seek a new residence. However, while he wandered through the streets, almost by strange coincidence, he felt an overwhelming presence of evil suddenly coming from the castle. He charged in through the castle gates, very surprised to see the guards around him dead. He charged into the throne room to see two Gerudo witches threatening the king, his daughter Zelda in tow.

Link unsheathed his sword and brought out his shield, prepared to do battle. The witches turned around, and before Link hovered none other than Koume and Kotake. Link jumped a bit to see them, thinking them dead, but remembered that their death had been erased by history. They cast their spells towards Link, but Link used his Mirror Shield to reflect the beams back at them, just as he had done years ago, or at least so it felt to Link. The witches ran out of vigor quickly, but they didn't have the courage to fight to the death. Fearing for their lives, they dropped Zelda and flew away to their hideout.

Link ran over to see if Zelda was injured, but aside from being badly bruised, she appeared to be alright. Link then ran to examine the King, but it appears as if he was only in a severe state of shock. Both were taken to their rooms, and Link went to check up on his friend Zelda. Zelda was overjoyed to see him and was very grateful for him saving her life. Link shrugged if off as nothing, solely the duty of a good friend, but Zelda promised Link that he would be rewarded.

Days later, the King called Link to appear before him, and Link came to the throne room as requested. Link was amazed to see the entire Hyrulian Guard present with the King and his entourage before him. As Link walked down the aisle, cornets blared regal melodies as the soldiers raised their swords above his head. Link stopped before the King to kneel. The King stood and came before him, taking out his own sword. He laid the flat of the blade on Link's left shoulder, followed by his right, and then finally upon his head. "Rise, Sir Link, Hero of Time" was all that was said before everyone began cheering. The title was surprising to many, but it was one that was heartfelt from the King's perspective. Link stood up to greet the King, and then looked over to Zelda. They both flashed each other warm smiles.

Link had become a knight.

But more importantly, Link had become an adult, and this time not only in body.