Sky Bound
A Legend of Zelda Fanfiction
By TwiliRupee
^
~Prologue~
v
The winter winds blew down hard on Hyrule Castle Town. Snow swirled through the air. A lone, young soldier, his cloak wrapped around his shoulders and a hood over his head, tromped through the empty streets.
It was the eve of the Carnival of Time, which celebrated the creation of the world. Families were gathered together, warm in their homes. Every now and then, laughter would ring from the houses the soldier passed. The man sighed, his breath coming in foggy puffs of air that shimmered in the torch light. He was cold, having spent the past few hours on duty by the castle. Now all he wanted was to follow the merry example of the occupied homes and cuddle next to the fire with his wife.
At the thought of her, he sped up, his booted feet kicking up swirls of snow in his wake as he turned onto the street where his humble house was. Within minutes, he was on his doorstep, fumbling for his key with frozen hands. He inserted the key into the lock, and opened the door, stepping into warmth, blessed warmth, which only increased as he shut and locked the door behind him. "Keith?" a weary voice called from the room that they used as both a kitchen and a sitting room. "That you?"
"Yeah," the soldier replied. He pulled his feet from his snow-crusted boots, and hung his drenched cloak on a peg by the door. He moved toward the kitchen, only to be greeted by the sight of his wife, who was lying on the couch near the fire, bundled in a blanket. Even so, it was evident that the young woman was with child, due any day. "How are you, my dear?" Keith asked, pausing in the doorway.
Candace, ever the dramatic one, sighed, holding back a smile while she rested the back of one hand on her forehead. "Oh, it's unbearable! I don't think I'll last the night." She broke down in giggles. Keith joined her, knowing that if his wife was able to joke, she was just fine. "Go change, dear," Candace continued. "You look cold and wet. I'll make you some tea."
"No, no. You just rest. I'll take care of it myself."
Candace sighed gratefully and sunk back down onto the couch as her husband left the room. Despite her joking, she truly didn't feel as well as she sounded.
Keith returned a few minutes later and bustled around the kitchen making tea. He poured two mugs of the steaming beverage and joined his wife by the fire. They sipped at the tea in silence until Keith broke the silence. "I spoke to my captain about tomorrow. He said that I could have the day off. I've been putting in a lot of time recently, so he wasn't too upset when I asked."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" Candace pushed herself up to hug her husband. "Oh, this will be the best Carnival we've had!"
And it was. They spent the day with each other, though Candace admitted her failing health, sending Keith into a panic. He worried over her every moment he could during the following days, but it wasn't enough.
Almost two weeks after the Carnival, she died giving birth to their only child, a son who Keith named Link, after the great and courageous Heroes of Hyrule. Of course, there hadn't been a Hero in hundreds of years. Still, it never hurt to hope.
Four years later, Keith, still coping with the loss of his dear Candace, was called to the borders of the kingdom to guard against bandits and strange monsters. He brought Link to a town in the Faron Woods, where Keith's brother, Rusl, lived. And there he left him as he marched off to battle.
He never came back.