Disclaimer: I own Fado, Fare, Nexus and Amber. I own nothing else. I make no money.

Tales From Another Broken Home

A cucco crowed loudly, and then a dozen more followed it, the erratic clucking outside combined with the sun streaming in through the window caused the male occupant of the large bed to groan and sit up, running a hand through his messy blonde hair. He looked around in mild confusion before swinging his legs over the side of the bed and getting up. Fare must've been out with the cuccos and had decided to let him sleep in. Link glanced around the semi-circular room before grabbing his discarded cream leggings from the floor. Pulling them on he fished around under the bed for his trusty leather boots. He grinned at them. They had survived fire, flood, acid, ice, temporal distortion... and still Fare refused to have them on the rugs. He shoved his feet into them and deciding a shirt was not necessary, opened the door, only to stagger backwards as two blurs ran past the room, engaged in a pillow fight. He rolled his eyes at his two daughters as they continued their fight at the end of the small hallway. Fado, 14, named for Fare's old Kokiri friend looked strikingly like her namesake. Long blonde hair tied up in bunches and soft brown eyes. She was bashing her younger sister Aria, 12, named for the Forest Sage Saria. Aria was the spitting image of her mother; long mahogany hair and even her mother's bicolour eyes. Watching the whole spectacle was the eldest, Nexus, 16, who leaned against the wall outside his room. He had messy brunette hair and silvery blue eyes. He nodded to his father in greeting. Nexus had always been quiet, but maybe that was just compared to his sisters who both spoke a hundred words a minute.

Aforementioned sisters tumbled in a heap at the end of the hallway. Link strode over to his daughters and pulled the cucco-feather pillows from their hands. They glared at him.
"Your mother will have a fit if you ruin those pillows. She spent hours stitching them and even longer gathering up the feathers," he gave a disapproving glance to the white feathers strewn down the hallway. "Come on girls, tidy up and get dressed. As much as you like pyjama days," he gave another disapproving glance to their nightdresses "It's your turns to go foraging today, so come on," he walked away from them and they grumbled, picking up the feathers. Link pushed their bedroom door open and threw the pillows onto the girls' beds. He turned to Nexus, who was turning to go back into his room.
"Training today. Your Triforce should be coming soon," Link barely got the words out of his mouth before Nexus glared.
"I don't have it! Can't you see? You've been 'training' me since I was ten! I don't have your stupid triangle and I don't want to keep training! I don't want to learn to fight!" he walked back into his room and slammed the door behind him.

Link sighed. Nexus had to have the Triforce of Courage. Neither of the girls could possibly have it. He only got halfway down the stairs when his wife Fare came running in with a basket of cucco eggs. Her long mahogany hair was unkempt and a had a few feathers caught in it, while her dark green dress was covered in dirt.
"What on earth was that slamming noise? You haven't upset Nexy again have you?" Link looked guilty; Fare sighed, looking despondent. "Honey, you shouldn't keep pushing him so hard. Maybe he doesn't have the Triforce after all. And if he does, it'll appear when it wants to. You can't force the wishes of the Goddesses. Just give it a rest, Link, please?" Link frowned, coming all the way down the stairs and sitting down in a well worn chair on one side of the circular room.
"But Fare, he must have it, he's my firstborn and my son. It jus-" he was cut off by Fare
"But nothing. Leave the poor boy alone for today at least. Now go and make yourself useful. I think Epona's hurt herself." Fare turned back to her basket of eggs. Link's eyes widened and he darted outside.

Fare sighed to herself as she went over to strike up a small fire in the range, taking the glowing Din's Fire crystal from the shelf. Even after so long she still struggled to light the wood on fire. It still felt wrong and as if she was killing the forest. On the floor above, Nexus had left his room and made his way downstairs. He came behind his mother and bent over next to her.
"Should I do it for you, mum?" He said softly, taking the Din's Fire crystal from her hands and giving it a good whack against the side of the range. A shower of sparks flicked onto the wood inside and a fire sprung up. The both of them stepped back and Fare hugged her son despite him being much taller than her.
"Thank you, Nexy," she smiled, cracking some eggs into a bowl and setting it on top of the range to cook. She sat down at one of the chairs around a circular table, Nexus sitting next to her. He seemed troubled. "Your father doesn't mean to be so pushy, love," she said softly, hugging him again.
"I don't have the Triforce mum, I know I don't," He said quietly, almost shamefully.
"I'll talk to him later Nexus. To be honest, dear, I'm glad you don't. The Triforce brings nothing but trouble, I know that much," Nexus seemed a little cheered that his mother wasn't ashamed of him for not inheriting his father's Triforce. He'd always gotten along better with his mum. Pushing his chair back, he got up.
"Thanks mum. If you need anything else I'll be in my room" He said, darting back upstairs. The rare moments she and her son were alone were the only times he was remotely agreeable to talk with. Most of the time you got shouted at.

Link made his reappearance, except his bare chest and cream leggings were streaked with muddy, small hoofprints.
"She had a thorn in her hoof, that's all. Epona never hurts herself. I, er, had a run in with Amber. She's getting big now" He grinned in pride. Fare remembered the night the filly was born; Link had been beside himself with happiness and pride. Shame he'd never felt the same way about his own kids. Fare forced a small smile and returned to her cooking. Link's face fell at his wife's response, and headed upstairs to get cleaned up. Fare popped the bowl of fried cucco eggs in the middle of the table and set out three wooden plates. She put an egg on a fourth one and took it upstairs to Nexus, calling the girls down for breakfast while she did so. They burst from their room, clothes in identical pale blue dresses and much to their mother's distaste (purely because of her rugs) clunky leather boots. They scrambled downstairs squabbling while Link followed, in slightly cleaner leggings and a white shirt. Fare kept out of the way while they all thumped downstairs and then followed. She'd already had her breakfast, and so went to go continue sewing a blanket she'd been working on. She gave a small, pleased smile. Today, she would give Link the news.

Across the room Link, Fado and Aria had finished their breakfast and the girls were cleaning up. Fare motioned to Link to come over. He sat down in the chair next to her.
"You need to drop the whole training thing with Nexus. He doesn't have the Triforce, Link. Face it, none of your kids do. You need to stop obsessing over it, can't you see you're pushing your kids away?"
"It must've passed on! I'm not obsessing, I'm looking out for the future of Hyrule!"
"What about the future of our kids? Your family? You barely spend time with the girls, and you keep trying to put Nexus in your shoes! Hyrule is safe, it's peacetime, for Farore's sake stop acting like there's going to be a war!" At this point their voices were raised and they had forgotten entirely about the presence of Aria and Fado in the room
"How do you know there won't be? Ganon's not dead, Fare! He's locked up and could very well come back!"
"Stop this nonsense! Why are you always so convinced that he's going to return? The Sages locked him up, the Sages can deal with him! You're not the Hero any more Link! Give it a rest! For the sake of the kids!" Fare's eyes turned dark and her tone became almost poisonous. Fado and Aria looked fearfully over to their parents. Never had they seen their mother so furious, she never lost her temper like this.
"Or maybe that's it. Maybe you don't care about them. The only things you ever cared about was Hyrule and that stupid horse. Well tough, Link, because guess what! You're gonna have another kid! But oh, this one won't matter to you either unless it's got a that Goddessforsaken triangle on its hand!"

The room fell silent. Link was frozen. Fado and Aria looked on in horror; the latter began to cry. Nexus came down the stairs, fists balled up in fury. He hugged his sisters tightly, shooting a venomous look at his father.
"It was meant to be a happy day," Fare said softly, sinking down into her chair "I hoped so much that you'd be pleased, you wanted a fourth child for so long... and now I see why. All because of the Triforce. You never really cared about me or the kids, just the Triforce,"
"That's not true... I love you all, you're my family, my only family, of course I love you, and it's wonderful you're pregnant again love! Maybe it'll be a little brother for the girls!" He gave a weak smile and tried to hug his wife. Fare flinched away. Aria began to cry harder. Nexus took this moment to grab his sisters' hands. He lead them toward the front door. Giving his father one last glare, he spoke
"We know where we're not wanted," he growled, leading his tearful younger sisters out the door and into the forest.

"Nexus!" Fare cried, but her scream went unheard - or ignored - by her son. She turned back to her husband, bicolour eyes filled with angry tears. Fare looked down to her wedding ring, gold with a ruby, forged by Gorons in Death Mountain itself. But none of that mattered. It was worthless now. She ripped it off her finger and threw it at Link. "I love you! I have done since the day you whisked me off on that fateful quest to find the Kokiri. And for a while, it looked like you loved me back, but the moment Nexy was born you were so focused on him. I thought it was sweet, I thought you were bonding, but you just kept pushing him for that Triforce. And even when Fado, and then Aria were born, it was all about his nonexistent Triforce. He doesn't have it, he never will! Face it, you're not going to produce another Hero! When Hyrule needs one, the Goddesses will pick! Why couldn't you just be a father and a husband, instead of a hero..." Fare spun around and ran out of the house, pursuing her children.

"Where are we going, Nexy?" Aria asked, blinking up at him with teary eyes. He stopped a moment to brush her tears away and then took her hand again, looking at the tree on the skyline.
"To the Deku Tree. Mother took me there once when I was little. She said it was a safe place. We'll go there," he said decisively, heading towards a small, overgrown ditch-like passage to the tree. In the distance he could hear his mother and fought the urge to run and hug her tightly. A decision he'd later regret. They headed down the passage, reaching the large tree. It creaked as he approached, it's 'mouth' lowering and giving him entrance. Nexus ushered his sisters in, and sat on a ramp inside the tree, burying his head in his hands.

Fare ran down the path and out of the village toward the Deku Tree's meadow, stumbling in her impractical slippers. Nexus would've gone to Sprout. She knew he would. She turned down the overgrown path to the meadow but was quickly stopped. A pack of Wolfos were in the meadow, heading toward the tree. They had caught scent of Nexus and the girls. Fare broke into a run, gripping the Tear of Farore. It had protected her once, it would do again - sure enough as she came close to the Wolfos a green shield burst around her. Fare ran into the tree and grabbed Aria and Fado, hugging them tightly. Nexus came over and saw the Wolfos approaching, heart pounding in his chest. Fare let go of the girls and thrust them into Nexus's arms, standing in front of the three, shielding them. The Wolfos were relentless and Fare realized that her shield would not protect them if the Wolfos seperated her. Biting her lip, she tore off her necklace and hung it around Nexus's neck. She knew the price she would pay for protecting her children. And as she stared her fate in the face she was strangely calm.
"Protect your sisters," she whispered, turning back to face the Wolfos, who were coming closer. She threw her arms out in front of her children and waited. Aria screamed.

The screamed echoed through the woods and Link's long, pointed ears twitched. He grabbed his sword and shield from under the bed and ran downstairs and out of the house. Epona would've been a faster choice, but all that ran through Link's mind was that his wife and kids were in danger. He dashed through the village and down the overgrown path to see the Wolfos.
But Link, just like he had been to late to save the Kokiri, was too late to save his wife. He slashed his way through the Wolfos effortlessly; Biggoron's Sword hacking their tails off in a single blow. The Wolfos fell, but the alpha of the pack had already lunged at Fare. And despite the sword that ripped through its vulnerable tail, it sunk its teeth into Fare's throat as they both fell.
Both Aria and Fado screamed. Nexus shouted. Link was frozen in horror. Fare slumped to the floor. Nexus ran over, kicked the Wolfos's corpse out of the way and bent down, picking up and holding his mother in his arms. She blinked up at him, blue and brown eyes faded and dull, one last smile etched onto her face as she rose a shaking hand to touch her son's face
"Look after your sisters Nexus... be strong..." Fare rasped, emerald running freely from the wound upon her neck. She tried to speak once more but her words were lost as she choked on her own blood, spluttering green, and fell limp.
"No! NO! MUM!" Nexus shouted, tears brimming. He looked up at his father. "It's your fault!" he snarled "You drove us away and you couldn't even be bothered to come save her in time!" Link said nothing, but walked over to Fare and Nexus. "Get away from her! It's your fault! Murderer!" Nexus continued his screams of rage. Aria and Fado had broken down into sobs behind him. Link obediently stopped, falling to his knees and watching his son cradle Fare's lifeless body. He was numb.

"Nexus, my son, please let me hold Fare. Go comfort your sisters. Please," Link asked quietly. Nexus glared at him and very reluctantly handed his mother's corpse over before rushing to his sobbing sisters. Link hugged his wife's limp form, kissing her rapidly cooling lips. He brushed the strands of messy brunette hair from her face and stroked her cheek, pulling her face close to his.
"I'm so sorry Fare," he whispered "I could've saved you. Nexus is right. I drove you all away. I'm sorry. You weren't supposed to die. We were gonna be parents to another baby, Fare. It should've been a wonderful day, you were right... I love you. I was a crap father and a crap husband. You gave up so much for me, and I was so selfish... I hope you're with the other Kokiri now, my love... with Fado, and the Know-it-all brothers, the twins... even that scumbag Mido." he lowered his voice to a barely audible whisper "I'll be with you soon."

Nexus wrapped his cloak around him as he watched his father lay his mother's body into the crudely made coffin carved from log. He had dressed her in her favourite white dress and Kokiri headband, and placed the Tear of Farore around her neck. Alongside her was her old Kokiri tunic and cap. Link had cleaned her fatal neck wound and closed her eyes. She looked peaceful, but it was a sleep she'd never awaken from. Nexus held back tears as he hugged his sisters, both dressed in their cloaks. Fare had woven them all a cloak, even Link, but his had been made when Fare was still a Kokiri. Each was a different shade of green velvet, but they all had the Kokiri symbol embroidered into them and their names on the hoods.

They were in a clearing. A familiar one; Fare had brought them all here before to visit her friend Fado's - his sister's namesake - grave. He could see it now, a small headstone under the old copper birch tree. Next to it was a grave Nexus himself had dug as soon as they had returned home. A soft drizzle began to fall, as if the Goddesses too were grieving for the loss of his mother. Link motioned to him and they both picked up an end of Fare's wooden coffin, lifting it up and taking it over to the grave, gently lowering her inside. Bitter tears welled up in Nexus's eyes and he was forced to look away as his father covered his mother in mud, filling the grave. He couldn't watch. Instead he turned to his sisters. Fado was quiet, she'd not said a word since Nexus had lead her and Aria out the house that morning. Aria was still sniffling quietly.
"Fado?" he whispered softly, but got no response. Her expression was a mixture of sadness, bitterness and resentment. Out of all his children, she'd probably been the one her father had ignored most. And after Aria's birth, her mother had little time for her. She didn't know how to react to her mother's death. So she just stayed silent. Nexus sighed softly and hugged his little sister, turning back to the burial.

Link finished in filling in the grave and took a few steps back, looking at it. The soft drizzle kept falling over the broken family, and somewhere away from the clearing, Sprout closed his mouth, and his eyes closed into slits. There was no more magic in the forest. The last Kokiri was dead.

Author's Notes
This takes place 20 years after The Last Kokiri and details Fare's death.