"Little Surprise" (Part 1)
Author's Note: Wey hey hey! My first fic here on A 'humble-beginnings' fluffy one-shot, just to get the ball rolling. It's based after OoT+ MM and is about Link and Zelda's first daughter (and my new OC character), Melody- Rose Akina Hyrule, Princess of Hyrule. Her parents have some important news for her (you get a cookie if you can guess what it is before the end)
'Akina'- 'Spring Flower' (Japanese)
OK, Link's surname is unlikely to be 'Hyrule', but I've decided that before he married Zelda and became King, Zelda's father made Link a prince of one of the main aristocratic houses or courts in the country, the House of Hyrule. He had to change his last name to 'Hyrule'. Link proposes to Zelda, they marry when they're 19, I've settled with, Zelda changes her second name from 'Harkinian' to 'Hyrule' at marriage, Zellie's papa hands over the throne to his heiress and her new husband, they become King and Queen, they both turn twenty, bam! Zelda's pregnant with their first child, a little girl they name Melody-Rose, her middle name Akina after Zelda's late mother (yes, I did name Zelda's mama) and of course her last name being the family name, Hyrule.
Half- based on the OoT manga and half-based on the games. Potata, Potato, as far as I'm concerned.
British spelling. And seriously, if you don't like a bit of LxZ fluff, this probably isn't the story for you!
Rated T (13+) for some references of a… Ahem… sexual nature and one (one I think?) use of strong language. So don't look younger kiddies!
ENOUGH! On with the show!
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The morning rays of a weak spring sun shone through the gap of the velvet curtains covering the large glass double-doors that led out on to the stone balcony of the Lavender Tower, one of the tallest towers in Hyrule Castle. The rays shone through the gossamer curtains of a large bed and onto a bundle of silk pillows and thick duvet, placed bang in the middle of the bed. This 'bundle' suddenly twitched and rolled over, revealing a delicate head of a very pretty little girl, with her thick, shiny, tremendously long locks spread out across the bed. The rays were now directly in the line of her eyes, making them flutter open elegantly, revealing two large, glossy, aquamarine orbs. She furrowed her brow and squinted, as the light was getting in her eyes.
"Ugh… Damn angel rays…" she muttered, untangling herself from the web of duvet and pillows. 'Angel rays' was the term her and her daddy used to describe rays of sunshine seeping through gaps. Rays from the Heavens.
She swung her little legs over the side of the bed, stretching her skinny arms as far as she could, her neck and shoulders clicking as she let out a loud yawn. She then slid her tiny feet into the little white slippers waiting for her, grabbed the wooden brush with two scarlet ribbons tied on to the handle by her bedside table, and slipped off the side of the bed, proceeding over to the double-doors, dragging her brush through her waterfall of dark, dirty-blonde hair hanging around her shoulders and waist as she did so. She opened the doors and let the soft breeze blow her hair and her long white nightgown back. She finished scooping up the rest of her hair on her left side, having already tied up the hair on her right side, and tied it up with the remaining red ribbon on her brush handle, showing her trademark pigtails, and ran a slender hand through her thick, sweeping fringe. She leant on the barrier, looking out across the beautiful Market town and out onto the green planes of Hyrule Field. She took a deep breath in and smiled.
Another prettyful day, she said to herself, eyes scanning over her kingdom.
She was Melody-Rose Akina Hyrule, the young Princess and the first daughter of King Link and Queen Zelda of Hyrule. She was a four-year-old beauty; she was small and a tiny bit underweight for her age, like her mama was when she was Melody's age, but still healthy. She had a delicate heart-shaped face, with flawless snow-white skin, defined cheekbones, rosy cheeks, soft pink lips, fair eyebrows and long, thick, black eyelashes, all like Zelda's. But her hair was a dirty-blonde colour with a large sweeping fringe; she had a set of perfectly straight, white teeth and a cheeky grin that could melt hearts… And she had piercing, icy-blue eyes, the eyes that could stop someone in their tracks; they were that stunning- all just like her daddy's.
She turned to go back inside, leaving the doors slightly open to let in some air, and looks around the large tower room. It was gorgeous- and now Melody understood why it was called the 'Lavender Tower'- firstly because when Zelda was a little girl, she used to live in that tower, and called it after her favourite flower, but most importantly, it smelt distinctly of lavender flowers. Melody liked that. She'd only just been moved to this room, about a month ago. She used to be situated next to the Master room, her parent's chamber. While she did love that room- it was huge and there was plenty of space for all her toys- every so often she'd hear weird things from her parent's room- giggling from her mummy, what sounded low purring from her daddy… She was also convinced there was a ghost in that room, as she often heard quiet little moans, and even bumps against the wall sometimes. Not like it bothered her or anything- she knew that her parents could handle anything, including petty little ghosts. She knew she was definitely dreaming when she once heard her mother cry, "Oh, Link!! Please, more, again!" Through the wall, but it was definitely one of her weirder, more realistic dreams.
It was kind of sudden, her parents asking her if she would like to move up to the Tower Room, but she never looked back after moving up there.
She caught sight of what she was looking for in the corner of her room; she wandered over and picked up Alfie, her favourite cuddly toy, a soft rabbit with goofy eyes, floppy eyes and a big white bow around its neck. She then proceeded down the marble spiral staircase, dragging Alfie by his left ear, and so making him thud-thud-thud on down the stairs after her. She wandered down the various halls, stairs and corridors until she reached the breakfast room, a room much smaller than the special banquet dining hall next to it, with a small round mahogany table in the middle. She heard her parents talking happily as usual before opening the squeaky door.
Both her parents looked around and smiled when they saw who it was.
"Good morning, sunshine," Link said.
"Morning mummy and daddy," she said, beaming at both of them before hopping up onto the empty seat, placing Alfie on her lap. She felt something soft and furry move round her ankles, and bent down to stroke India, her black pet cat, behind her ears
"How're you feeling today?" Zelda asked her.
"Tired…" she replied flatly, reaching for a nearby piece of toast and starting to butter it, "…But good, thank you. You guys?"
"Never better," Link said, stifling a yawn. He must've been up late last night, Melody thought, judging by the fact that he was generally a lot more active than this in the mornings. Mummy looks tired as well. What were they doing?
"Any plans for today, then?" Link asked her, dragging her out of her thoughts.
"Err… Well, I think I'm going to see some of my friends down in the Market," she said. She had a lot of friends. When she was younger, she was a fiend for sneaking out of the castle against her parent's will and going around the town, meeting and befriending lots of children around her age. It didn't matter whether you were royalty or paupers, rich or ragged in Hyrule- their society wasn't so picky about what social class you were when it came to relations and friendships (generally). Melody kind of had a magnetic charm, with her great sense of humour, her upbeat attitude, her kind heart and her generally playful, good nature. She was rarely caught sneaking out and in, but the one time she was, Link gave her an earful of a lecture.
"What were you thinking, wandering around the town on your own like that? What if something awful happened to you? We would have no idea!" Link hissed, pacing up and down, Zelda standing still, hands on her small hips of her slender form, watching Link go up and down with a frown.
"But, daddy, I'm fine! Not a scratch or bump to be seen!" Melody protested tearfully.
"Oh, really? And if you were kidnapped? For fuck's sake, Melody- Rose, there'd be no princess to be seen then!"
"Link!" Zelda said sharply. "I'd appreciate it very much if you didn't swear in front of our child, let alone to her!"
Link looked over at his wife, and bent his head down. He was the most powerful man in all of Hyrule, but when his little woman spoke like that, as far as he was concerned, that was that- no arguments or else there would be no action that night if things got really bad.
"Sorry," he said quietly.
Seeing him with his 'puppy that's just done something bad' look always melted her heart.
"That's quite alright. And- but don't think you're out of the dog house when I say this, little miss!" Zelda shot at Melody, who looked down in shame, "-don't you remember when we were children… How we first met?"
"Yeah…" Link said, reminiscing over the memory… How he first laid eyes on that beautiful girl who turned into a beautiful woman… More importantly his beautiful woman…who dished out money he just didn't have so he could pay off the damage he'd done in the Market 15 years ago… It was the first time he'd been out of the forest… Or set eyes on an angel…Link shook his head, snapping back into reality.
"It's not the same, Zel! We were very young, but we were still older. And if you would remember that little incident with the Gerudo warriors…"
"That's unlikely to happen now, after his fall from grace," Zelda pointed out.
"OK, point taken, but that doesn't make Melody any less of a soft target!"
He turned back to his daughter, who had tears rolling down her face.
"Right, young lady, you are grounded… For disobeying your parents and for not even telling us where you went."
"No! Daddy, please! This is unfair! If I told you--"
"I wouldn't have let you go? Hit the nail on the head there, my darling."
Melody looked up at him, her puffy, tearful eyes looking at him like he'd just eaten a puppy in front of her. He turned away from her.
"You'd better go to your room and get some rest, now. Your punishment starts tomorrow," Zelda sighed, pointing at the door. Melody nodded, slipped off the chair, and dragging her feet and with her head drooped, she slowly exited the room.
"I wouldn't have grounded her if I didn't care about her… I worry about her so much though… I never worry about anything else, though, nothing more than yours and Melody's welfare, at least." Link said sadly.
"I know, honey, I know," Zelda said, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him gently. "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself- you are a dad, after all. It comes in the contract that you have to tell them off once in a while," she joked. He nodded and, suddenly, gently picked her up and carried her slowly up to their room.
Melody was grounded for a week. It didn't stop her sneaking out to see her friends- it just taught her to be much more artful about the way she exited and returned to the castle. Then, on her fourth birthday, 3 months ago, her and her parents made a deal; she was aloud to go to the Market and town AS LONG AS she didn't leave the town walls and she was back well before sunset. Any breach of these rules would result in her being totally banned from exiting the castle until she was old enough to start school (education traditionally started at the age of 6 in Hyrule). She had enjoyed her new-found freedom ever since.
(Misti: Right, I kind of got carried away for the last 8 or so paragraphs. My bad. Enough flashbacks for the moment- back to the breakfast table!)
"That sounds like a lovely idea," Zelda said, running her hand through Melody's hair. "Just don't get back too late, OK? And don't forget that you have magic tutoring this morning, with your granddad."
Melody let out a small groan of frustration.
"Do I have to? Granddad- I mean, magic, is so boooooooooooooooooooring."
Link let out a laugh, but Zelda scolded them both. Eventually Link sighed and turned to Melody.
"Your mother is right. You are lucky to learn magic so early. I wish I had," he said, in a tone that suggested that he didn't agree with 99.9 percent of what he was dishing out.
Suddenly, Zelda stood up for (what she said) 'no reason.'
"I'm going to the physician- see if he's got any results yet," Zelda sighed. Both her and Link froze and looked at Melody, who blinked back up at them, her face blank. It was obvious she hadn't a clue what they were on about, so Zelda shook her head and put her hand on the doorknob- and stopped again. Her eyes widened, her face went a deathly pale, and her stomach gave a nasty, low gurgle.
"Zelda? Are you OK?" Link asked, a major look of concern on his face
Before Zelda could answer, she clamped her hand around her mouth and flew out of the room.
"Mama?!"
"Hold on here," Link said to her, before running after Zelda himself.
What in the world--? Melody thought to herself. Her mum had been acting strangely for the past 2 or 3 weeks- at first, she looked a little sluggish, as if a little under the weather. Then she started getting moody, one minute, looking far away and dazed, the next ready to bite someone's head off. And now she was being sick all over the place! Daddy simply told her that it was probably a little virus going round, and while Melody hoped Zelda would get better soon, she just hoped she wouldn't catch it off her mum.
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Meanwhile, up in Link and Zelda's room, in their private bathroom, Zelda was emptying the contents of her small stomach into the toilet, tears running down her cheeks, while Link was holding back her waist-length golden hair, rubbing his hand up and down her back soothingly. Once she had finished, she wiped her mouth and slumped. Link put his arm around her and brought her into his muscular, powerful arms.
After a minute or two's silence, she smiled and gently whispered, "I think we did it."
"Eh?"
"I think we did it. It's all the same symptoms as I had before. Plus, if I remember correctly, I think I've missed a period."
Link blinked. She was definitely being more blunt than usual.
"But last time… Remember how many times we had to--?"
"Yes."
"But we've only started trying to make another one- what? A month ago?"
"Your point, honey?"
"So if you are… We did it the first time round this time?" Link said, an air of pride in his voice.
"Well, we don't know yet, do we?"
Link smiled his lovable grin before taking her cheek in the palm of his hand and planting kisses on her delicate face.
"Want to find out, then?"
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Melody had returned to her room and dressed herself that morning before trudging off to magic lessons. Zelda or Impa usually would help her, but as much as she loved her mother helping her dress, Melody wanted her to rest and make up some energy she was probably losing being sick. And she just could not be bothered to search around the whole castle, looking for Impa. And, as expected, Melody had to keep herself awake throughout her grandfather's long lecture about the history of Zora magic, smiling and nodding like any of his information would come in handy, say, if she was attacked by a gang of poes. Could probably bore them to death, if I wanted, Melody thought in the back of her mind. Finally, the lesson ended and she picked up her various books and exited the library. Thank the Goddesses I'm going to see my friends soon, she said to herself, closing the library door with a loud click!
Her parent's room was just down the corridor from the library. Suddenly she heard her father's voice call out of the room.
"Melody- Rose? Is that you? Can you just come in here, please? Mummy and daddy just want to talk to you."
Melody's eyes widened, her heart dropping like a stone to somewhere around her navel. Both of them were in there?! She tried to think of anything, anything, she had done that could've possibly made them so angry that both of them had to be present.
Link and Zelda were kissing in their room before they heard a little knock on the door. It was slightly ajar anyway, but they had taught Melody that unless the door was wide open or it was an emergency, she should knock.
"Come in, darling," Zelda said happily.
Melody slowly slid the door open, with the look like a rabbit trapped between the headlights on her face, and when she saw both of them, she suddenly blurted out, "I didn't do it!"
"No! You're not in trouble," Link said, laughing. He picked her up and sat her down in the soft armchair to his right. He bent on his hunches, down to her eye level on her left-hand side while Zelda sat down on the right-hand side armrest. "We just want to tell you something."
Melody looked at them suspiciously. Why were they being so smiley and sweet, especially after this morning's gruesome events? Something triggered in her mind. One of her best friends, Rei, told her this was what her parents did to her- when they split up.
Melody's stomach flipped.
"No," Melody said, just before Link started to speak. "No, you can't. You can't! Please don't split up! Is it something I did? I'll be better, I promise. You can't do this to me!" Her voice crackled and she felt warm tears coming to her eyes.
Both Link and Zelda looked at each other and burst out laughing. Hearing this, Melody opened one eye.
"Nope, we aren't splitting, either, little miss. And, just for the track record, I don't think we will. OK?" Link said, reaching over to his wife's slender hand and giving it a quick, tight squeeze, making Zelda beam at him.
"Well, now we've cleared the tragedies to one side…" Zelda said, laughing a little, "We know you have lots of friends outside the castle, but… How would you like a little person to play with and look after who's actually in the castle all the time?"
"What? Like me becoming a babysitter? Or a permanent playmate? Hmm… That would be fun. Why?"
"Well…" Zelda said excitedly, smiling at Link again, "Your daddy and I got the results from Dr. Kranita, the medical physician here, today and… We can now tell you that in nine month's time, you will be getting a baby brother or sister!"
"Huh?" Melody sat up excitedly.
"Melody, mummy's going to have a baby," Link said, standing up and walking around to Zelda, wrapping his arms around her.
Fireworks exploded inside Melody. Her eyes ignited with joy and shock, and her face lit up. She was at a total loss for words. All she could muster was a face of pure happiness and excitement, like someone had told her Christmas had come early.
"Really?! No kidding? Oh, mama, daddy, that's great news!" She cooed, before jumping up to give them both kisses on the cheek and jumping off the chair and out the door.
"Wow. She took that a lot better than I thought she would, personally," Zelda said. Link smiled down at her and gave her another gentle kiss for the millionth time that day.
Melody meanwhile was skipping along the corridors, humming a little song, genuinely happy. She couldn't wait to tell her friends...
THE END-THE END-THE END
(TO BE CONTINUED)
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Well, there you go. My first story. Fluff galore.
Phew! That took way too long for me to do in the precious few hours I had. Right! Onto Part 2! I decided to call it 'The Birth of Melody (Part 2)'. Wow- original, I know. It's about Melody being told about her mother giving birth to her and how she was given such a weird name, in the light of their announcement. I'm also working on another LoZ: TP romantic one-shot- 'I'm Not… That Girl', based off the song from 'Wicked- The Musical'. It'll come in time! Be decent- nice, well-rounded, constructive reviews very much appreciated:) :)