The monster's cry echoed into the aether, yet no longer could be heard by mortal ears.
They stood for a few moments, almost expecting the thing to climb back out jump at them. Though, no such thing came. It was done. The nightmare was over. The monster had been banished beyond the veil, and the threat of destruction lingered no more. It would be a while before the scars of a hundred years would heal. Even if he hardly remembered her, he still felt empathy towards his companion. The loss was far harder on her than himself.
On one hand, he supposed he was was glad for that. On the other hand, he envied such feelings of nostalgia, even if it meant great pain.
Unbeknownst to the pair they were not alone. Five spirits watched, and five spirits longed for time, yet none were given that wish. One by one, each disappeared from the mortal plain. Starting with the tallest woman, then the man of stone, followed by the girl in red...then last two were reluctant to go; the archer and the dead king. The king wore an unreadable expression as he looked to the other. He could not tell if the former king was disappointed in him, but he knew what he had done. Guilt grew in his heart, yet he could do nothing now...so slowly he turned, before finally fading away. Soon the king's spirit disappeared as well, leaving the survivors in peace.
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Little Bird
Chapter 1
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She'd been acting strange lately. Some days she would be sick, then she would be fine in an hour. Sometimes she'd get tired and fall sleep in the middle of something. He knew it wasn't normal yet she insisted that she was fine. He was supposed to be the stubborn one, and it was irritating to find the shoe on the other foot. His initial concern evolved into worry, and he finally convinced her that they needed to see a doctor.
The Rito Village was the closest, so they made their journey there. Zelda was given some food and rest, and in return, Link went around doing various tasks for the village residents. He fetched deliveries for various shops, gathered some more stock for the general clerk, and assisted the fletcher in making arrows and repairing bows.
Now as night fell Link took this time to relax by the lake. He sat near a crackling campfire, a juicy salmon roasting over the open flame. He caught it himself, the fish had beached itself when crossing shallow waters and Link dove right after it. It was hard to keep his grip on the fish, but the mouth-watering scent told him it was well-worth the struggle. He reflected on the previous weeks. They visited every corner of the map to reestablish political ties and work toward recovery. There wasn't much difficulty with it at all...in fact, everyone wanted to work together for a brighter future.
They weren't going to bother messing with the castle, it took far too many resources to be worth much. Perhaps later they could rebuild old castle town, when the country's populace desired it. For now, a growing port town along the Faron sea handled foreign shipments, and served as a trade hub. The castle was really only a meeting grounds for foreign and domestic powers alike, something to gather to and let other lords speak with the Queen.
Queen, how odd that she was rightfully the Queen now. It did make sense, it was just strange for him to see the girl he'd come to know as the young-hearted princess, become a strong-willed Queen. She's earned the right of wielding the triforce of wisdom. Even possessing very little in the eyes of other kingdoms, the personal blessing of the goddesses was well respected.
He removed the spit from the fire before taking a large bite into the plump critter. The smokey kick and fatty flavor was satisfying, especially after how much time he spent cooking the darn thing. He ended up scarfing it down, hours of work gone in a flash...not that he actually minded. A hungry man he was, a master of savor he was not. It was an eating habit that Zelda scolded him for in the past.
He stripped the fish down to the bones before picking his teeth with it idly, lazily watching the nighttime critters go about their lives. A few nocturnal fish leaped out of the water to snatch some of the gnats just above, which in turn were occasionally nabbed by a passing hawk. The cycle of nature he supposed.
He heard fluttering from above, the soft beating of feathered wings far larger than the small birds of prey he'd been watching. He looked up, the familiar pink hue clued him in on his visitor. He recalled Teba's wife, Saki, having that distinct coloration. He left Zelda within her care as apparently she took up the profession of village physician. She was the one with the most medical knowledge in the village, and it was hard to find a doctor that was well-versed in Rito anatomy.
She landed on the soft sand with ease, and Link stood upon her arrival. He assumed she was here to inform him of Zelda's condition. Her voice was hushed though not overly urgent, but it was still there. "I would like to speak with you as soon as possible, but not out here. Please, accompany me back to the clinic."
-0-
He was lead to an isolated cottage built on another rock formation. The wooden bridge, along with the clinic, was made sometime in the past couple months, and it was as sturdy as any of the other structures. The speed and grace of Rito construction was quite impressive.
Inside the small clinic was cozy, with smooth, wooden walls, a small window, and dim lights that hung from the ceiling. There were three beds, only one of which was currently occupied, and each was stuffed full of soft feathers.
Interestingly, while the rest of the village was very much open-air, the clinic was enclosed. Perhaps it was just easier to keep patients warm this way?
Saki motioned for him to take a seat, which he did. They weren't much more than pillows littered against the walls, but he didn't mind. On the bed lie a sleeping Zelda whom wasn't obviously ill, so what could have been the problem? Then again, that might have been the problem.
He looked to the Rito expectantly, who made sure to close the door before talking. "Are you two a couple?"
That question came out of nowhere. Regardless, he shook his head, seemingly used to the assumption.
"Well...She's pregnant."
His eyes widened at the news, and she continued "All the signs are there, so I used an incantation to confirm a few of my suspicions."
"You use sorcery?" The woman was full of surprises, it seemed.
"Ritual sorcery on occasion. I'm no master but I understand instructions, and I do not attempt intensive magics. I pair supernatural and traditional practices for the best results. Besides, arrows don't enchant themselves you know...but we're getting distracted."
"Yes, please - continue."
"Right...there is a simple ritual I can perform to peer though the aether. Using this, I was able to take a full glimpse at the child's soul. That soul is not a Hylian one, what I saw was a Rito's soul."
He sat forward, now clearly very, very interested.
"I'm just as surprised as you are, Ser. Typically in a hybrid relationship the child will take after the mother. There are no crossbreeds among the various peoples of the world, but there is a one-in-a-thousand chance they will take after the race of their father. This seems to be one such case, and even rarer since the royal bloodline is fickle compared to those who lack divine heritage."
"You seem to be well-informed about this subject."
Saki chuckled, "With the castle libraries no longer guarded by monsters, some of the prospectors brought back quite a trove. It's been very helpful in my pursuits, as you can see."
The knight raised a brow "...isn't that stealing?"
"How many years difference between archaeology and thievery?"
He opened his mouth to comment, but closed it again, deciding against further comment. He wanted to get back to the subject at hand "Does the Queen know about her condition?"
"Yes. She's known about it for a long time, as she's already informed me. Poor thing...she's under so much stress that I'm surprised her little one is as healthy as they are. Normally her condition would put a developing chick in peril, little guy must be really tough."
That could have been why Zelda was so stubborn...
"So will they come out as an egg?"
She shook her head "No, no...even if the chick takes after the father the pregnancy will not reflect that. She will carry and give birth as if he were Hylian. She is about three months along, her first trimester is at a close."
He nodded, stroking his chin thoughtfully. There was no one she had an affair with, not anyone he recalled anyways. They'd stuck side-by-side for the past two months...he hasn't seen-
Wait.
Saki said three months. Zelda was three months pregnant. They defeated the calamity only two months ago. Who on the goddess's grand green earth was the father? Link sighed, he knew he'd have to lay down some ground rules regarding the situation.
"Saki, you must swear secrecy about this, at least for now. We don't want to go causing a stir about it. Write nothing on record until given explicit permission. The last thing we need is any of the Yiga to get a hold of this information."
She nodded "I understand completely."
"Thank you...this means a lot to me, and I'm sure Zelda as well."
"It's no problem, please; my door is open to you and the Queen any time. Stay for the night if you wish, but for now I must be off, I get up early in the morning and I have much to do."
"Have a goodnight then, my friend."
"You as well Ser Knight."
After their brief goodbyes Saki left them alone entirely. Zelda shifted, and Link assumed she was probably awake for the entire conversation. He learned to read small tells, and he was noticing them ever since he entered the room.
He stood up before coming over to lean against the window. He was near the bed, but still kept himself at arms-distance. She didn't make a move to look at him, but her quiet sobs were all he needed to hear. She meekly shuffled further under the blankets, wanting to hide away from the world. He was surprised she said anything at all.
"It was Revali..."
He said nothing in reply. He was never very good at these things, never good at emotional support. He tried, but he wasn't a man of many words to begin with. Even before the days of his stoic muteness he was a man of more action than words. These days he was much more talkative. But he struggled...not in findings words, but finding the right words.
What should he say? What could he say? He didn't have anything good to say about Revali beyond the skills that made him a champion in the first place, and anyone could tell you about that.
Perhaps at times the archer would antagonize him, but in the end Link realized that there was a lot more to his story. He never got to truly know the other warrior as a person, which was something he was regretting...
"I'm sorry."
It was hard to tell if that was directed at her, or aimlessly at someone else, perhaps even both. Regardless of the case, she said nothing about it, letting the ambiance of the night swallow somber silence.
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A/N
Good gods finally.
Spent a while trimming the fat on this one...knowing me, I probably still missed something as I usually do. At least it probably has some level of vague quality, or maybe I'm just delusional as that is equally as likely.
Regardless of my crippling anxieties and insecurities about my existence as a human being, I hope you all enjoyed this...or maybe you didn't that's fine too.
(Please note that the self-deprecating banter is a joke.)
With that out of the way; Have a wonderful night/day dear reader, and remember that the world isn't as much of a scary place as some people make it out to be.
