A/N: Trying to get back into the fanfiction world. Been busy playing Black Ops.
Ghosts and Angels
Creak.
The boy sat up in his bed, startled. It was the noise again.
Not that it scared him. After hearing it for over a week now, he couldn't say it was frightening. Startling, yes, but certainly not frightening.
The boy looked around his room. Nothing was out of place. His crown on the table, the seal above his fireplace, no sheets falling off the four-post bed.
"It's the ghosts again." the prince said.
"Ghosts" was a relative term. Hyrule Castle was ancient, and many royals had peacefully passed in their sleep in these halls. Being haunted certainly wasn't beyond possibility.
But the boy had a feeling it wasn't a ghost. It seemed more like… a person.
Not an assassin, not someone who bring him harm. A calm person who he would watch him in his sleep.
The boy set his feet on the floor and walked towards his door. From the corner of his eye, he could swear he saw a figure jump past his window.
Creaking open his door, the boy stepped into the hallway. The door to his mother and father's room was just a few feet away.
As always, his mother was the door waiting for him. The Queen's enormous belly hung low on her body.
"Shika, what happened?" Zelda asked.
"It was the ghosts again, momma," the seven-year old replied.
Zelda rubbed her belly absentmindedly as a slight smile came over her face.
"Ghosts?" the Queen asked her son.
"It's nothing, momma. I hear it every night."
Zelda's opened widely. She didn't think Shika's "ghost" came every night.
"Are you scared?" Zelda asked, her back starting to ache.
"Not really. If it's a ghost, he's friendly. He's never hurt me or moved anything." Shika responded.
"That's my son. Just like your…" Zelda faltered.
She attempted to lean down and kiss him, but her belly got in the way. Instead, she lightly ruffled his hair.
"Do you want me to sleep with you?"
"I'm fine, momma. Night." Shika responded sleepily. Waking up in the middle of the night was starting to affect him.
Zelda stared at her son as he trudged back to his room.
His blond hair was received from both his parents. Shika's deep blue eyes and naturally wild hair, however, was all his father.
Zelda patted her belly. "And your father, too," she whispered.
She prayed to the goddesses her husband wouldn't find out.
A man dressed in dark blue crept among the castle garden, his arms covered in bruises and scratches. His last fall was a hard hit.
The man's pointy ears twitched as he pulled out a device from a bag. Aiming it a battlement, he fired, and was pulled along by the chain.
Deftly rolling to avoid making noise, the man stood up on the roof. His blue eyes sparkled as he searched for the right place.
It didn't take him long. Habit had taught him to find his spot right away.
The man stood on his spot and focused. The air shimmered slightly, and he disappeared.
The man reappeared in a bedroom. A familiar bedroom, at that.
What was not familiar was the terrified child staring at him with frightened eyes.
The man tried to make himself as least intimidating as possible.
"Shika…" he whispered in a loving tone. The boy in bed quivered.
"Ar-are you a g-ghost?" Shika asked, terrified. All his prior courage had vanished.
The man laughed quietly. "No, silly. But if you want, you can pretend I'm a ghost." He started to pretend to float around. Shika giggled.
"If you're not a ghost, then who are you?" the prince asked.
"I'm Link," the man replied simply.
"Wi-will you hurt me?" Shika asked, suddenly remembering the attempt on his mother's life.
"Link" sat down on the edge of his bed. "No, no! I would never hurt you! It's my job to make sure no one gets hurt."
"Your job?" the boy inquired.
"Yes, it's my job. You see, I'm your guardian angel." Link replied, thinking up a story on the draw.
Shika gasped and threw his arms around Link. "An angel? Are you from the Sacred Realm? Is my grandpa up there?"
Link smiled. "Yes, he's there. He's watching over you too. Just remember that when you're eating your vegetables."
The prince giggled again and climbed back into his bed. His angel was funny!
"Now, Shika, my job as your angel right now is to help you back to sleep. Do you want to here a story?" Shika shrugged in a 'sure, why not?' gesture.
"Not so long ago, there was a boy from a place called the 'Kokiri Forest'…"
Link took one last gaze at the sleeping Shika. Returning to the middle of the room, he focused again, and soon appeared back on the roof.
Zelda… he reached out with his mind.
Link? Good goddesses, you startled me!
I'm sorry, Zel.
No, no, it's alright. I couldn't sleep anyway. This baby really likes to kick when Mommy wants to sleep.
What can I say, Zel? Having boundless energy is in my blood.
Says the one who isn't pregnant…
A few moments of silence followed.
Zelda… I miss you.
Oh, Link…Zelda sighed, glancing over at her sleeping husband.
Why can't it be me next to you? Why can't I be the one who's there when our child has come into the world? Why couldn't I be the one up on the altar?
Link, I'm doing everything I can to help us. But the law-
You're the Queen, Zel! You can change it!
But I have to submit to a King…
More silence.
Aw, Zelda… I love you. I love you more than anything.
Fate is cruel, Link. It really is.
It won't stop me.
And it isn't stopping me. Goodnight, my love.
Goodnight, my Queen. Someday soon… oh, by the way, if Shika tells you tomorrow an angel visited him, don't be alarmed.
How do you come up with such good ways to be a father?
A/N: Ending kind of… strange? If yes, please tell me so I can take this story down and revamp it.
~Hydraya