the bond

Whether or not one supports the Lilia romance, it is indeed canon that the two were childhood friends. The two grew close over the years, and their difference in personality is what may have helped the bond grow in the first place. Link, while a hard worker, is still young and gets carried away with work and play. He sometimes pushes Epona a little, and in once instance, he is scolded by Ilia for it. Though Ilia is overprotective of a horse that does not belong to her, it is her compassion for animals that leads her to be assertive. She even goes so far as to wash Epona for Link, which shows that not only does she care for the horse, she tries to do right by her best friend.

Whether or not Link and Ilia share a romantic relationship or just a platonic one, it is quite obvious that Link cares deeply for her and is very protective of her. Saving Ilia is Link's initiative for starting his quest in the first place, and that is enough to prove that he does indeed care. Even Midna pointed out the noticeable affection between the two (SOURCE). It was also quite obvious that Nintendo was pushing the importance of Ilia by inserting numerous slow-motion scenes between her and Link.

After Link helps Ilia regain her memory, it could be said that their bond was strengthened. Ilia had grown from her trial into somebody who was much more calm and understanding than before. Her belief in Link and support of his quest is enough to show that she was not afraid of losing him- she trusted that he would return. After TP, we see that Link leaves Ilia and Ordon behind, which is typical of the hero archetype. Still, Ilia (and fans) can hold out hope that one day he will return. Perhaps he went looking for adventure, or most likely, to find himself. Whatever his reason for leaving was, it is undeniable that his return to Ilia is possible. Take Link and Zelda from Ocarina of Time for instance: After being returned to his childhood, Link went back to see Princess Zelda. After rebuilding their relationship, he left her and went to Termina as we can see in Majora's Mask. Even still, OoT!Link eventually returned to OoT!Zelda (as we know from the text, "a story held dearly by the Royal Family). If it was possible in OoT, then it is without a shadow of a doubt possible that TP's Link and Ilia reunite.

In any case, Ilia herself reveals some feelings when she let's Link know she'll be his "lady in waiting":

fandom

So, why do people love LiLia so much? One reason is because that, like MaLink, Marink, and other non-royal pairings, the characters are relatable. Many people support the common girl and guy because they themselves are common people. The simplicity is appealing to gamers because it is attainable. Here in our common times, nobody is going to wed a princess- it just isn't seen that often in our time. People want the hero to sweep the common girl off her feet, because most of the time that is what they themselves wish for. Another reason is because people like variety. More and more, Link (the gamer) is given a variety of characters to choose from, and sometimes people want something new. It has also been said that the bittersweet romance is appealing. The common girl awaiting her hero's return has appealed to the masses in various forms of media. One more reason is that it seemed that Link and Ilia shared what is called "puppy love". They are both young, and their relationship had only started to blossom into romance before the events of TP. If they had not happened, it is a strong possibility that the two would have married.

Have your own reason? Share with us in the forum!