A/N
The story includes some passionate scenes, but without inappropriate language or violence.
It is rated M and should be read by readers at least 16 years old.
I hope you enjoy my story, and I welcome positive and/or constructive reviews.
Chapter 1
1
She was dreaming.
She was quite sure of that because several things spoke in favor. The garden looked different from what she remembered. The bush with the yellow roses had died last year, she knew that for sure. A rare pest had befallen it and the gardener hadn't found a cure. And the bench she was sitting on... it stood now on the other side of the fountain, under the lime tree that provided shade in the summer.
She gazed to the sky. The clouds looked like soft feather cushions that silhouetted gray before the blueness. In one of them there was a round hole, through which the sun shone. When she watched this cloud, the others seemed to move fast. But when she looked at the others, they stood still.
She examined her hand.
How many fingers do I have?
She struggled to count them, but she could not manage. Was it five? Or perhaps six? There seemed to be more than five, but she could not recognize exactly how many.
She decided to perform one last test. Slowly she rose from the bench and spread her wings. With a powerful flap she lifted up into the air. Another flap brought her high up, above the top of the lime tree. When she gazed down she saw herself sitting there on the bench. She was not alone.
This finally confirmed her assumption. She knew she was dreaming because the woman who sat on the bench beside her was long dead. But then why was she here?
And why am I here in the first place?
She was sitting on the bench again and turned to the woman beside her. Blood-red eyes greeted her in a beautiful, friendly face. The face of her mother.
"Impa, my dear," she said smiling as she swept a white strand of hair from Impa's face. "Don't be afraid."
"You are in my dream," said Impa.
"Yes, I am."
"But why? Something happened, right?"
"No, not yet."
"Then... something will happen?" Impa asked anxiously. "Something bad?"
"Yes, my darling," her mother said, "but not yet. And maybe it will not happen at all, if we can take the right precaution measures."
"But why did they send you? It was always Ranalla, the First of the Sheikah. She always gave me the instructions..."
"Ah, my darling," her mother said, and her face grew more grave. "You know that actually nobody really sent me. My image is enclosed in you, in your heritage. But the task that awaits you is of a very private nature, and your subconsciousness chose this way to remind you."
Impa nodded.
"What must I do?" she asked.
"We are the guardians of the future and the past, my daughter. You know, that both influence each other, and sometimes we must do things that will only have their effect in the far future. It was your task to close the timeline of the Daemon and to protect the Treasure in the new timeline. You fulfilled it very well and accomplished that the next phase of the menace will only arrive around a thousand years from now. For this phase new guardians are needed, and therefore we must act now. As you are the last of us, it is your task to propagate our tribe."
Impa's eyes widened from amazement.
"Me? But how can I alone... My Companion..."
Her mother shook her head. "Don't worry, my dear. You are a Sheikah. Your heritage allows you to build a new tribe of the Sheikah, even without a Companion. I am here to prepare you for your new task and to give you the information you need."
Thousands of questions crowded Impa's mind, and she wanted to speak, but she didn't know where to begin. Her mother gently stroked her cheek and smiled again.
"I know that you have many questions," she said. "I will answer them. But first, listen to me."
Impa nodded and took a deep breath, ready to receive the knowledge.
"We Sheikah," her mother began, "are a special tribe. We are humans like the Hylians, but by means of specific breeding and selection our race has gained certain abilities, that other human races have not. They allow us to always build a new population from one single individual.
"Our heritage always propagates predominantly in our descendants. There may occur generations where the attributes are not visible, but they are present and perpetuate."
"But," her mother continued, "there is another attribute I must tell you about. Every woman of the Sheikah has the ability to mature several of her ovules at once, if she wishes. If she allows all her matured cells to be fertilized within a short time, she can bear several children at once, although few of our women have born more than two children at the same time. We can even determine whether the children that grow from the fertilized ovules shall be male or female."
Her mother made a pause to give Impa a moment to absorb this information. Then she continued:
"As you see, with the help of these abilities it should not be a problem to grow a new population."
Impa considered what this would mean for her.
"You mean..."
"Yes, my daughter," her mother nodded. "You will be a mother yourself."
2
Impa examined her hands. She was used to repeatedly check whether she was in the reality, but the number of her fingers was still not recognizable. This time it seemed to be less than five. Her mind struggled to count them...
Two more hands came to hers and took them. They were warm, slender hands and their familiar touch comforted her.
"In know that this is a great task, my darling. But I am sure that you will fulfill it well."
Impa took a deep breath. Her mother gently squeezed her hands.
"Finally, my darling, I want to give you the most important information of all."
Impa looked up. What she had heard up to now was already overwhelming. What more could come?
"We are a very long-lived race. You yourself are already older than any other being in the world, and you will live several more centuries. But your children must live even longer than you. To guarantee this it is important that I tell you the greatest secret of the Sheikah: the secret of our long life."
A soft smile entered the face of her mother as her eyes floated to the distance for a moment, as if lost in a long past memory. Then they came back to Impa.
"As you know, when two Sheikah Companions find each other, their magic merges and creates a loving bond between them, that lasts their whole lives."
Impa nodded and her mother spoke on.
"Thus the circumstances are created that guarantee a long life to the children of this couple. Since you have lost your mate," she continued, "and there are no other Sheikah, we must try to create these circumstances in other ways. To provide a log life for your children a certain requirement must be fulfilled upon their conception..."
Her mother looked at her with a loving smile.
"The fathers of your children must be in love with you. They must fulfill your wish unsolicited, gladly and consciously. Otherwise it will not work."
Impa gave her mother a dry look. "But..."
But her mother raised a finger to silence her.
"Much more important is, however, that you yourself are in love with the fathers of your children. The more you are attracted to them in the moment of conception, the more love you feel for them, the more lifetime you will provide to your children. Because... it is like this..."
At this words a tear emerged from her eyes, that glinted in the surreal light of the dreamed sun.
"Nothing in the Universe can bind and propagate as much life energy as can Love between to beings. Her force of attraction holds everything together, She is life itself."
Impa's heart pounded as the thoughts swirled in her head. A pained expression filled her face.
"But how... who... I don't know anybody..."
"Oh, but that is not a problem, my little one," her mother smiling waved her concerns aside.
Impa became curious. "Not a problem? What do you mean? I have never..." Even in her dream she felt the blush reaching her face and warming it. A strange draft flowed through her hands as she excitedly considered her mother's words.
Is there somebody?
"Two men live in this castle who worship you. Although both are somewhat older they are much younger than you. They are of honorable character, have a strong body and good health. You must find them."
Impa wanted to object but again her mother asked for her patience with a raised finger.
"Don't worry, the two of them are no strangers to you. I know that, because your subconsciousness knows it already. You will approach them and ask them to give you a child. Then you will remove the memory of this event from their mind.
"Nobody must know of your pregnancy. A plan is included in your heritage which you will follow to give birth to the children and send them to their training."
Impa felt a certain portion of her mind open and release the information.
"But that means that I must leave the castle. Zelda... I cannot leave her just like that..."
"The menace has passed. The Treasure is safe, and they have their son. You may leave them alone for some time, to settle everything."
Impa nodded slowly and gazed to the distance lost in her thoughts.
Her mother's soft hand on her shoulder brought her back to the situation.
"As this task now has begun, you may call me in your dreams whenever you need me. I wish you good luck, my dear."
Impa let her mother embrace her, and then watched as she spread her wings and flew up to the strange hole in the clouds.
3
The morning dawned when Impa opened her eyes. She remembered every detail of her dream. Instinctively she spread her hands before her and counted her fingers.
Ten fingers, no doubt. She could count them exactly, from the first to the last.
She rose from her bed, put on her combat suit and stepped into the corridor to leave the castle. Some servants were already on their business and greeted her politely.
"Good morning, Madam Impa."
Impa nodded to them and swiftly walked through the corridors, through the entrance doors of the castle and down the great stairway. The guards also greeted her, and then she was already running through the gates of the castle grounds on her way to Castletown. She ran through the market square, where some merchants were building their stands. She saw from afar how the drawbridge was lowered and reached it just when it touched the ground. The guard in front of the gate saluted and greeted her with a smile.
"Good Morning, Mistress Impa," he called.
Impa nodded again and ran on towards the river. It was a smooth path without any obstacles and she started a loose trot as she breathed the fresh, cool air. She had chosen the easier way because she wanted to think and plan the next steps of her task.
For fifteen years she had guarded and protected the Treasure in the new timeline of peace, had trained him and given him everything he needed to go on his way. She had made sure that he could enjoy his childhood and adolescence together with Zelda and nobody bothered their love. He was happily married to the Princess of Hyrule, he had a son and good friends, he had become a wise and patient king, and Impa had considered her task fulfilled. And now her mother had appeared and had given Impa her next task.
Two men... Whom did she mean? I never noticed anything... Or did I become blind with the years?
Impa knew that all inhabitants of the castle respected her. Not everybody liked her, but all showed the respect which her position as longtime consultant of the royal family and member of the High Council of Hyrule demanded. She was used to her orders being executed without objection. Never had she asked anybody for anything. And now she had to find two men, two fathers for her children...
How can I find them? They are all afraid of me...