Little Princess

Author's Note: Yes, Transcendence is over. But a little request out there from R H M M R H didn't go unnoticed, and neither did other reviewers' comments about wanting to know about the baby. So, as a dedication to my awesome readers, I decided to post a little one-shot. Consider this my last big thank you for all of your support. You guys were so great. OH! And also a fun fact that I forgot to include in my last note on the epilogue, I was originally going to have Link and Zelda take Aria back to their dimension and raise her as their daughter. But it just seemed like Link would be having his cake and eating it too. What do you guys think?

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Link walked through the tombstones, carrying brightly colored flowers in one hand and his ocarina in the other. He stared up at the mausoleum where his infant daughter rested. He had visited it every other day since returning with Zelda from the new land. He always brought her flowers.

When Link reached the mausoleum, he bent down and placed the bundle of flowers in front of it before taking his seat on the stone bench in front of it.

"I hope you like the flowers today little princess. There are all different kinds there: violets, daises, and…other ones. I'm sorry I don't know my flowers very well. All I know is that they were pretty…just like you were." Link said with a smile.

He fiddled with the ocarina in his lap.

"Things are getting better and better all the time. Your grandpa has been coming back and forth from the new land, still trying to make and keep peace with everyone. But I think that he's doing a good job. I wouldn't be surprised if my services as Hero of Time were no longer needed.

I don't know how I would feel about that. It's not that I like coming to the rescue. I guess it's that…I know that if I don't, then nobody else would. And so I fulfill the destines that the Goddesses' bestowed upon me.

But then again, I wouldn't mind being at home with your mom…and your brother or sister."

Link looked up from his lap and at the mausoleum.

"Your brother or sister should be coming any day now. And your mommy has been even more careful than before. She's been on bed rest for the past month. It's been difficult for her, but she…"

Link cleared his throat. He lifted the ocarina to his lips and began to play. He had been trying to come up with a tune to play for when the baby came. He had never written his own song before. He had been playing each one in the graveyard, trying to decide which of them he liked best.

When Link finished, he put his ocarina away.

"Marie…I have to tell you the main reason I came to see you today. I have to ask you something very important. I need you to watch over your mommy and your brother or sister. Please, watch over them…make sure…"

Link's voice trailed off.

"Watch over them little princess."

He sat in silence then. He watched the breeze flutter the flower petals. He prayed silently, and continued to ask for Marie's help.

The sound of hoof beats coming closer and closer interrupted Link's thoughts. At the sound of them, he could feel a tightness in the pit of his stomach. He slowly got to his feet as he heard the hoof beats stop behind him.

"Link! Link! It's Princess Zelda! She's in labor!" A voice called.

Link turned to face the two guards that had ridden there to tell him. He stood there for a moment more, just staring at them, before he snapped into action and ran towards them to swing himself up into one of the saddles.

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When Link reached the castle, he went directly to the bedroom. He could hear Zelda's pained moans from the stairs. His feet carried him quickly to the door. He paused outside it, and pressed his ear to the door. He listened to all of the voices and sounds on the other side.

Link stepped away from the door after a moment. He was afraid to be standing there. He wondered for a second if it had been a mistake to try for a baby again.

But then he remembered his own words to Zelda: "This is a new beginning for us."

It was that statement that gave Link the courage to open the door.

"Link." Zelda breathed, pushing herself up on her elbows.

"Zelda." Link went to her side, his hands finding her face and his lips finding her already damp forehead.

"What are you doing in here?" She asked, slowly laying back against the pillows.

"I want to be here with you…this time." Link sat in the chair that had been pulled over from the vanity by one of the midwives. He took one of Zelda's hands into his.

"Oh Link…I'm so scared." Zelda said suddenly, her voice thick with tears.

"Shh. Shh. Don't be afraid my love. I'm right here next to you…and Marie is watching over us." Link gently laid his free hand over Zelda's burgeoning belly. "All of us."

Zelda shut her eyes tight and her hold on Link's hand became much tighter. She pulled herself upright, bending over her belly. Her breathing became hard and short.

"Breathe my love. Remember how the midwives taught you." Link said gently, moving his hand to the small of her back. "Breathe."

Zelda laid back against the pillows after a moment. She released Link's hand and opened her eyes. When she did, tears trickled down her cheeks.

It went that way for hours. Every few minutes, Zelda would experience intense pain. Link would rub her back, get her water, and try to help her breathe correctly during those bursts of pain. He didn't leave her side at all.

It was well into the night when the midwives finally told Zelda that she was ready to push. Two of them spread her legs while a third positioned herself between them and coached Zelda.

"You can do it my love." Link encouraged Zelda, holding her upright.

Zelda began to scream as she pushed, tears streaming down her face. She clung to her husband as he held her. She could barely breathe through the screaming she was doing.

"You're doing great." Link said, but a few tears were also streaking his cheeks as he listened to his wife scream in pain. He pressed several kisses to her hair and temple.

"One more push Princess Zelda. Give me one more good push." The midwife instructed.

Link ripped his eyes from his wife to watch the midwives. He waited for the third to hold up his child. He was waiting to hear his child cry.

But as his wife became quite silent besides her ragged breathing, he heard nothing. His face went blank as he watched the midwife look down. The two other midwives looked solemnly at each other.

"No." Link said, shaking his head. He turned to see Zelda, who had looked to the midwives as well, was already beginning to sob. "No. No."

Link gently laid his wife back and went to the end of the bed. He could see he and Zelda's baby, tinted blue and covered in fluids, in the arms of the midwife. He tenderly, but quickly, took the baby from her.

"Cry." He murmured, holding his baby in his arms. He looked down to see that it was a boy. His son. "Cry my son. Cry."

"Link-"

"No." Link carried the baby away from the midwives. He looked down at his son. He was so beautiful, so perfect. His head was dusted with faint, blonde hair. "Cry for me. You aren't still and light in my arms. Cry."

Marie.

It was at that moment that a tiny, but very much audible, cry came from the baby boy in Link's arms. It grew a little louder after another second.

Link, tears flooding from his eyes, laughed out of relief. He looked down at his son. His eyes were clenched closed, and so were his little fists.

"Here." One of the midwives said, gently taking the baby from him.

Link went to his wife's side. She, too, was crying. He wrapped her carefully in his arms and planted kisses all over her. He brushed the tears from her face, and smiled when she began to do the same to him.

"You did so good Zelda." He pressed his lips to hers for a moment. "I love you. I love you so much."

"I love you too." She whispered, pressing her forehead to his.

"Princess Zelda." The midwife that had taken the baby and wrapped him up was at her side, slowly handing him over.

"Hi there. Hello my prince." Zelda said to her son, her voice still shaking from the tears that refused to quit. She kissed the tip of his nose. "No tears. No tears my precious baby."

Link sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at both his wife and son.

"Welcome to the world little Link." He murmured, reaching out and running his thumb over one of his tiny hands.

Thank you my little princess. Link thought with a smile.

His son felt his daddy's finger on his hand. He opened it up and enclosed it carefully around his finger. And he held onto it tightly.