Disclaimer: I don't own the Legend of Zelda series but I DO own a fair amount of the games
Ilia sat on the lookout platform searching for any sign of Link. Malo, Talo, Colin, and Beth all stood at the bottom of the platform ladder looking up at her. "She's been up there since morning," Beth sighed. It had only been a few days since they returned to Ordon Village and there was still no sign of Link. "She can't keep sitting up there waiting for him to come back," she commented.
"Yeah, he might not be coming back," Talo mused.
"Of course he is!" Ilia screeched from the platform.
Talo jumped and glanced up at where he assumed she was. "I'm just saying no one knows what happens to the Hero of Time after he defeats the evil that invades Hyrule!" He called up.
"He's coming back!" She yelled and pulled her knees to her chest. "He promised," she muttered. The other children sighed and left.
Later on Mayor Bo climbed up the ladder and sat beside his daughter. He pulled out a piece of fruit from the sack he had brought with him. "You have to eat something," he urged.
Ilia took a bite of the apple he offered. "I'm not coming down," she huffed.
"Never said you were," her father answered. He leaned back on the palms of his hands and stared up at the sky. "We're all worried about him, Ilia, but we can't put our lives on hold to wait to see if he comes back," he started.
"WHEN he comes back," she growled.
"Of course, when," he corrected. He turned to look at his daughter. "Instead of waiting up here for him, why don't you do something to show him your faith he would come back for when he does?" He offered.
"Like what?" She asked.
"Well…" he thought, "why don't you go air out his home for him? He hasn't been back there in months and I'm sure it's starting to smell pretty bad."
"Yeah!" She grinned, "I could dust too. Link will be happy to come back to a house he doesn't have to clean. I can get the others to help too." Ilia stood up and hugged her father, "thanks!" She climbed down and ran off to look for the others.
"Why are we in front of Link's place?" Talo questioned.
"We're going to clean it for Link for when he gets back," Ilia answered.
"What?! Why?!" Talo complained.
"Because no one's been in there for months, stupid, it's going to be dusty," Beth huffed.
"I'm not stupid," Talo grumbled under his breath.
"Won't it stink because it's been closed up too?" Colin asked.
Ilia nodded, "it will but do we really want Link to come back only to discover he had to clean his house before he can live in it again?" The others hemmed and hawed but ultimately agreed, Link had saved their lives, it was the least they could do.
They climbed up the ladder and opened the door only to be greeted with a blast of air that was stale and stunk of rotten food. "Ugh, it stinks," Malo pulled his shirt up over his nose to block out the smell.
"Quick, let's get all the windows open," Ilia commanded. The five quickly rushed in to open all the windows and sat outside to form a plan while the place aired out. "Okay, so we start by getting all his clothes out to wash," Ilia offered.
"How are we going to get all his clothes out of there?" Colin asked.
"Why don't we use the sheets to pile clothes on and then drag those down to the river to wash?" Beth offered.
"But it still stinks in there," Talo reminded, "how are we going to get rid of all that rotten food?"
"Why don't we ask Fado(i) if we can borrow some sacks from him and give him the food for his compost?" Malo proposed, "he's got to have some bags meant for things he adds to his compost."
Ilia nodded, "Talo and Colin will go get them since they're the fastest."
"Yeah! No stinky house for us!" Talo cheered.
"Just stinky bags," Beth reminded him.
"Oh yeah…" Talo pouted.
"Get going!" Ilia ordered and the two boys ran off. "Now, let's get started on the clothes."
Talo and Colin ran over to Fado who was tending his goats. He looked over at them, "hey there, you two, what brings you up here?"
"Do you have any bags we can borrow to move rotten food?" Talo asked.
Fado gave a confused stare at the two of them. "We're cleaning Link's house for him and there's rotten food, "Colin explained, "we were going to put it in your compost."
The rancher nodded and walked over to the barn and gave the boys a handful of smelly sacks. "Here you are, I don't know how many you need so here are all of them," he explained. Talo scrunched his nose up at the smell. Fado laughed at his expression, "I'll stop by after I finish with the goats to collect the food."
"Thank, Fado," Colin thanked and the two boys ran off.
By the time the two returned, five sheets had been spread out and held down with rocks. Beth had tossed some clothes down. "Talo and Colin are back," she informed and the others walked out and climbed down the ladder.
"Fado said he'd stop by to fill the bags after he finishes with the goats," Talo notified.
"Good, you two can help us with the clothes," Ilia smiled and Talo groaned.
True to his word, Fado stopped by after he finished with the goats to collect the rotting food out of Link's house. By the time he got there, the children were arguing over how they were going to wash and dry all of Link's clothes. "Why don't you ask Uli on how she would do it? She washes most of the laundry in the village," Fado suggested, "and I'll stay here and clean out the food." The group nodded and headed off to find Uli.
Uli was sitting in front of her house with her newborn daughter when she saw Ilia and the rest running up to her. "Is there something wrong?" She asked.
Colin shook his head, "not really, mom. We were wondering how you would wash and dry a lot of clothes."
"We're cleaning Link's house." Ilia explained.
"I see, that would be a lot of linen," Uli nodded and thought, "we'll you would need to set up a large clothesline somewhere where the clothes will stay dry if it rains. I'll talk to Rusl and get him and Jaggle(ii) to put something together. You all start bringing the clothes to the river and I'll join you after I find someone to watch Cal(iii)."
"We're going to have everyone in the village helping us, aren't we?" Beth asked, amused while she dragged a sheet filled with Link's linens with Colin; they had managed to fit everything on three sheets. At the river Uli was waiting for them while Rusl, Jaggle, and Bo were setting up a temporary shelter for Link's clothes in case it rained. "We have all of the clothes!" She called out.
Uli looked over at them and smiled, "excellent, I'll show you how to wash."
"Ugh, how much washing is there?!" Talo complained as he hung another on the rope Rusl, Jaggle, and Bo set up.
"Quit complaining," Malo bickered, "at least you're not washing."
"Yeah, you want to trade, Talo? I could use a break from scrubbing," Beth joined in, annoyed that Talo was complaining when he wasn't even one who was bent over clothing. Talo wisely took the hint and returned to hanging without making any more fuss.
Uli glanced over at the pile they had left, "not much is left. We should be done soon."
"Can we take a break after we finish the laundry?" Colin asked, "I'm getting hungry."
Ilia nodded, "yeah, when we finish we'll stop for something to eat."
"There isn't much left, why don't you five take a break now. I can finish up," Uli offered.
"You sure, mom?" Colin asked.
Uli nodded, "I am, go on now." Needing no more convincing, the group disappeared to feed themselves.
After they left, Hanch(iv) spotted Uli and walked over. "That's a lot of laundry," he commented and hung the sheet she had just finished washing.
"The kids are cleaning Link's house for him and I offered to help," Uli replied and handed him a pair of pants.
"Where are they now?" He asked.
"I'm not sure. They left to get something to eat," she answered.
"Hmm, well, maybe I'll go over and see if there's something I can do to help," Hanch spotted Pergie(v) carrying Cali over to Uli and left to inspect Link's house.
"Is everything alright?" Uli asked, worried that something was wrong with Cali.
"Everything is fine. Cali is sleeping so I decided to see if you needed any help," she answered and gently set the basket down nearby and hung the clothes as Uli finished washing them.
It had taken a few more days for the smell to fully go away and for the laundry to dry completely. Jaggle and Fado had even fixed up Epona's stable and put in fresh hay for the horse. "Won't Link be surprised," Beth giggled and clapped her hands at the sight of the clean home.
"Just hope he gets back before we have to do it again," Bo grunted.
"It's already been a week, I don't see him being away much longer," Pergie commented.
"Nothing to do now but wait," Rusl sighed and the group dissipated.
It was the next morning when Jaggle started howling something about the pumpkins. Mayor Bo walked out and growled. "What are you going on about, Jaggle?" He demanded.
"It's the pumpkins! Some animal trampled through them!" Jaggle growled.
Ilia and her father walked over to investigate; Bo studied the hoof prints. "They're hoof prints. A wild horse must have wandered in and eaten some of the leaves," Bo sighed.
"Hoof prints?" Ilia perked up, "there aren't any wild horses in this area." She took off running towards Link's before her father could stop her.
Talo and Beth saw her running and decided to join in. "Why are we running?" Talo asked.
"Link's back!" Ilia yelled out.
Colin and Malo heard her and rushed to join them. "Really? How do you know?" Malo inquired.
"Epona was in the pumpkin patch last night!" She answered.
They stopped in the clearing where Link's house was to see Epona laying in her stable, her saddle and reins tossed carelessly over a training dummy. "He is back!" Beth squealed.
"Link! Hey, Link!" Talo called up but there was no response.
"I'll go check," Ilia volunteered and scaled up the ladder and opened the door. She walked inside to see a partly eaten pumpkin on the table. She strode in further and almost tripped over Link's boots. We worked hard to clean this place up! She fumed and set them aside. Draped across the back of the chair was his tunic and Ilia picked it up to put it away properly. She picked up the pack Link had gotten from a great fairy that held all his gear and never got larger, intending to put that away as well. She climbed up the ladder to see Link fast sleep in nothing but his pants and white bandages wrapped tightly around his torso, he hadn't even bothered to get under the covers. Off beside the bed was his shield leaning carefully on the nearest wall. Where is the Master Sword? She wondered and walked closer to inspect his bandages. Is that what kept you? Ilia set her bundle aside and cast a sympathetic glance at her friend. Now that she was closer, she could see more bandages wrapped around his forehead and his right arm was in a splint. "Oh Link," Ilia whispered and brushed her fingertips lightly on his bangs to move them out of his face. Though her touch was barely there, it was enough to wake the normally heavy sleeper. Suddenly Link's eyes snapped open and the distinct sound of a sword being drawn was her only warning as Ilia stumbled back and threw her hands up to protect her head. Ilia caught the unfocused look in his eyes and knew her friend was reacting before he was even awake. "Link, it's Ilia!" She called out and squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for the blow.
A blow that never came; after a moment, Ilia cracked open one eye to peek at the sword. The sword had stopped millimeters from her head and Link was wide eyed at what he had nearly done. "Ilia, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?!" He asked and sheathed the blade. She looked at the weapon and realized that the sword wasn't the Master Sword but the Ordon Sword he was supposed to deliver to Hyrule Castle before all this happened. Why does he still have that? She wondered and dropped her hands. Ilia studied the face of her friend that she hadn't seen in so long; his hair was longer and his eyes held an age in them that he hadn't had before he had left to fight an ancient evil. "Ilia?" He questioned.
Ilia blinked and blushed when she realized she had been staring at him. "Me?! What about you?!" She scolded.
The Hero of Time jumped at her sudden outburst and his sword hand reflexively clenched his sword's hilt again. He let go of the weapon and looked down at the bandages on his chest and let out a small nervous laugh. "It's not actually that bad," he shrugged, "Ganondorf broke a couple of ribs when he was in beast form and hit me. It sounds worse than it is."
"He broke ribs?!" She screeched, "and what about that?!" Ilia threw her finger at his bound right arm.
Link pulled the sheet over his arm to try and hide it but Ilia just glared at him. "The sword he used, the Execution Sword(vi), was a little heavier than I thought it was," he answered vaguely.
"And what does THAT mean?" She demanded.
The Hero of Time inched away from her but stopped when she put a hand on his knee and stared at him with eyes filled with worry. "I tried to block his attacks with my shield one too many times and it broke under the strain," he sighed and touched the wrapped hand.
"Why didn't you get a fairy to heal you?" She asked, "or a potion?"
Link shook his head, "because the damage was done by a piece of the Triforce, all the fairies and potions could do was make it so I could still use my shield arm until I beat Ganondorf; same with my ribs."
She lightly touched the bandages and tears filled her eyes. "Oh, Link, I'm so sorry," she cried and gripped his good arm tight.
The hero sighed and lightly laid his right hand on her thigh. "Don't be. I'm not. If I had to, I would do it all again," he smiled and brought her head up so she was looking at him.
Ilia stared into the eyes of her best friend and despite the new tired age he now possessed, she could still see the kindness and courage that he had had since they were young. She suddenly wasn't looking at the injured hero but at her best friend who loved this world so much he was willing to risk his life for it. She smiled and hugged him lightly, mindful of his injuries. "I know you would," she replied and pulled back to wipe her eyes. They sat in silence for a moment when Link suddenly yawned and slumped a bit, he was still tired from his trip and his body mending itself. "You should go back to sleep," she stated and stood up to pull his legs back on the bed.
"But-" he started to protest but she pushed him into the cushion.
"No buts. You go back to sleep. If you want, I'll come back later to wake you," Ilia folded her arms across her chest to show she wasn't budging.
Link sighed and shifted so he was a little more comfy. "Alright, Ilia, don't forget to wake me later," his eyes were already half shut.
"I won't," she promised and placed the sword next to the shield, "and Link-" she turned to see her friend already asleep without any covers. Ilia smiled and pulled the blanket over him, "welcome home."
i Goat rancher in Ordon Village
ii Talo and Malo's fatherWhat I decided to name Uli's baby
iii
iv Beth's father
v Talo and Malo's mother
vi The actual name of the sword Ganondorf uses
Big thanks to my beta reader! It's been a while since I've played Twilight Princess so bear with me if the characters are a little ooc. Depending on the reviews I may change this from a one-shot to a full story.