A/N: Though it is just a reference, Sheik is real Sheikah in this fanfic, not Zelda in disguise. Also Sheik is a "he" not a "she". Now, please enjoy this revised second chapter, and I do not own Zelda.
Chapter 2
Birth-Zelda; Malon's Family
She was going to stay silent; no matter what, no one was going to hear her scream. The pain of birth shot through her and for the countless time Zelda bit on her lower lip as she clutched the sheets around her. When, when would it be over? She just wanted her baby, be it girl or boy, in her arms and the Sheikah women assisting her to disappear, especially Konna, the elder woman in charge who was still fixing her queen with a venomous glare.
"Push girl; stop making the king wait," she growled. Instantly Zelda's eyes narrowed. Why, why did the remainder of the Sheikah have to be like her husband and why did all of the good, noble ones like Shiek and Impa have to die?
"Lady Konna," Zelda finally returned dryly, despite her pain, "if it is so important to you, why don't you give birth to the king's next child?"
Eraya, the youngest Sheikah in the room gasped and Konna's nostrils flared at the insult; the three other Sheikah remained still and silent; idle unless needed. Zelda did not care. They were loyal to her husband, not her, and they never tired of reminding her of that. In return, Zelda never tired of messing with any of them, expect for Eraya, somewhat, as she was slowly starting to get more friendly to Zelda.
"Why you..." Konna's voice trailed away as she struggled to keep her temper in check.
For a moment Zelda smiled; then as suddenly as the smiled appeared it vanished as it was replaced with lips twisted in pain. Zelda gasped and then screamed louder than she had in her whole life as she collapsed back onto the pillows. This was it. With what felt to be the last of her energy Zelda pushed once more, and then after a moment the pain subsided considerably.
She had done it, she was a mother. She looked at Konna, a smile on her lips; she was so happy. Almost instantly it left as Zelda saw the look of disgust and anger on the older woman's face. In silence Zelda noticed the other three women looked disgusted and enraged as well, Eraya just cast her a pitied glance.
Instantly Zelda knew the cause. He was not going to be happy. Zelda however, was ecstatic with happiness. She didn't care; to her, her child was a precious gift.
Let that snake be upset for all I care, Zelda thought as she sat up. At that moment the child's cries reached her ears and Zelda became her old self. "Konna leave; the rest of you leave as well. Eraya, stay and clean the baby, and then you may leave. Be quick about it too. I want to see my...my daughter."
White light illuminated the dark throne room, spilling in freely from the opened windows. A gentle night breezed blew through the room as well, thus keeping it pleasurably cool. Not that he cared or even noticed. He could have been in the hottest, darkest pit of Death Mountain and he would not have noticed.
Vaati was far past the point of being calm; his patience was dry and dead. He was even at the point of pacing; a practice he did not encourage for himself as it did nothing but make him more restless than when he began.
"What is taking so long?" he muttered stopping near a window and gazing out at the moon as if it had the answer. Vaati shook his head, his long lavender hair falling over his eye once again as for a moment he had brushed it aside. After a moment of more pointless gazing he turned away.
He wanted his son, his heir, his ultimate prize; the one thing the pig would always want but never have.
"And at this rate," Vaati mused to himself as he sank into the soft seat of his throne, "I'll have two or three sons before Ganondorf's little sow gives him one runty, weak girl." Again Vaati laughed at the fact that Ganondorf, in all his strength and power, would always be reduced to siring girls and never sons to carry on his name.
"As opposed to me," Vaati praised himself darkly, a sinister smile twisting his lips. "For I'm better, stronger, and one day I w-." At that moment the throne room door opened, silencing Vaati's speech of self-adoration.
"Your Majesty." Suddenly two red eyes locked with Vaati's Out of the shadows Konna emerged, the moonlight softly illuminating her pale skin and making her few gray streaks through her otherwise raven black hair more prominent.
"Yes?" Vaati demanded softly, rising. Konna bowed and turned away slightly. "Her Grace," she began, the words leaving her mouth like a sneer, "is ready to see you." Then she was gone. Vaati took a deep breath, and then at a quick pace left the throne room.
Finally, his time had come; he was going to meet his son.
"His Majesty will not be pleased," Eraya muttered again, knowing her queen was oblivious to her words-or so she thought.
"Let him be disappointed. I learned, and accepted the fact long ago, that I don't always get what I want. Now it's his turn to learn that," Zelda replied, eyes on her daughter who was awake and snuggled safely in her arms. Zelda couldn't help but smile at her child, despite the shocking resemblance she had to her father. The pale skin, the silvery hair with only a few strands of Zelda's soft blond, even the shape of the eyes; there was no denying who her father was.
"Your Grace⦠Zelda, I-"
"Eraya," Zelda cut off gently, "I'll be fine, and I know how to deal with Vaati. You can leave now." Without a word Eraya left, allowing the room to finally be filled with contented silence.
Zelda knew Vaati would be up soon, but she wanted to act as if he didn't even exist. This was her moment; her time. "I love you," she whispered; kissing her daughter's head, loosing herself in the moment. A moment that was soon interrupted by the door opening and a slight wind filling the room, briefly making Zelda shiver.
Zelda kept her eyes down as she heard the door close and as she heard him come closer. Only when he stopped near the foot of the bed did Zelda look up, locking eyes with Vaati. Much to her surprise, he looked quite pleased.
"Go on; tell me. I already know, but I'll let you tell me," Vaati whispered his eyes calmly closing. Zelda sighed and readied herself for the rage that was going to come.
"Vaati...it's a...girl."
"Oh, how w-WHAT?" Vaati suddenly exploded, his eyes flying open and setting into a glare. "What did you say?"
"Vaati...it's a girl. I'm sorry you're disappointed, but it is what it is. You have a daughter," Zelda said as boldly as she could. For many moments Vaati just stared, and then after a scream of rage left his lips he turned away.
"A girl, a girl- NO!" Vaati yelled, a sharp gust of strong air going through the room as he hit his fist on the wall.
"Vaati I-"
"We're trying again," he snarled as he turned back to Zelda. "And we aren't stopping until I have at least one proper heir."
"No more Vaati. I don't want to have more children. Just be thankful she's strong and healthy-she looks like you." The last part Zelda said without her realizing she said it.
It seemed to soften him somewhat however and Zelda sighed thankfully.
"Really?" Vaati questioned.
"Yes," Zelda said quickly wanting to keep him in a good mood. "And just think, though it is a girl, at least it can be said you were the first to be-." Zelda never finished her thought for off in the distance, though faint, as sound could be heard.
Boom!
"It can't be," Vaati muttered as he rushed out onto the open balcony.
Oh Nabooru...Zelda thought feeling both happy and sad for her old friend. After a moment Vaati entered. In his mind, this was not a good night.
"You can outdo him. You have a daughter far better than...the pig's," Zelda whispered, disgusted at her words. No doubt Nabooru's daughter is wonderful, she thought.
"Quite right and one day we will not have to settle with merely outdoing each other, and when that day comes, I will crush that pig and his family under my heel just like that pathetic Hero of Time!"
Zelda, to keep from saying anything, bit down on her tongue; hard. Vaati strolled to the door, but stopped as he reached it. "By the way," he questioned, "what is her name?"
"Luna," Zelda finally said flatly, gazing out the balcony at the moon as Luna was now asleep. Vaati nodded once and left, leaving Zelda alone to deal with a pain worse than any physical wound.
Boom! Boom! BOOM!
Malon's eyes flew open as she bolted upright in bed. For a moment all was silent, and then suddenly more loud booms thundered in the sky and the nighttime world beyond her window was lit with a pink light.
"What in Hyrule?" she muttered as she ran out of her room, down the stairs and out of the house. For a moment the night was still, and then fireworks lit the sky, exploding into pink and white flowers over Hyrule Castle, which though a distance away, was still close enough for Malon to see the display easily.
It was not a display she was happy to see; in fact, the sight caused the opposite effect. "Now what will happen?" she whispered fearfully. Her life had more or less be perfect for the past year; given all the tragic events and wonderful blessings that had befallen her the previous year, but was all that to now change?
"Now that Vaati and Zelda have an heir..." Malon let her voice trail away, unable to finish her thoughts as dark, despairing visions filled her head.
Could this night get worse? Unexpectedly, her question was answered as far, far off in the distance faint booms sounded making Malon's heart stop.
So, he had an heir as well. It was no question. Suddenly, she fell to her knees, tears biting her eyes. "No," Malon chocked out. "This can't be. They can't have heirs; not now, not both of them, not-"
"Malon." The voice cut through her frenzied ranting and a gentle hand on her shoulder brought her back to the realm of sanity.
"Father," Malon whispered rising to her feet and turning to him. She was met with a familiar gaze; a gaze that was both warm and concerned.
"Malon, what's wrong?" Talon, her father, questioned gazing at her steadily. Malon lost it and started crying.
"They have heirs. They'll start getting more aggressive with each other, and, and...I can't lose them." For a moment Talon was silent, and then he hugged his daughter.
"We'll be fine. Just keep serving King Vaati and Queen Zelda like you always have and act as if nothing is wrong. By the way, they want you. The fireworks woke them up." Malon pulled back, wiped her tears away, and then went back inside. As she walked back up to her room she tried to calm herself down, already hearing the cries of her twin sons that were almost a year and a half old.
"Ma! Ma!" The cries reached her ears as she entered her room and Malon couldn't help but smile. She walked to the other end of the small room and sure enough, both were sitting up in the cribs they were growing too big for, their arms reaching up to her.
"Come here," she said, picking up Aieden, her eldest, and carrying him over to her bed and setting him down.
"Ma!" he cried holding his arms out, tears still falling.
"Stay here, I'll be back," she whispered, crossing the room and taking Aaron, the younger, into her arms. She went back to her bed, lied down, and instantly the boys were crowding her, Aieden on her left, and Aaron on her right.
At the same moment the boys laid their heads on her chest, no longer crying as hard as they had been, though each time a firework went off, they whimpered and tried to snuggle closer.
"It's all right," Malon said soothingly, wishing so desperately her husband was with her instead of in a six-foot hole. I miss him so much. He didn't even get to see our sons. I didn't even get to say good-bye. These thoughts and others danced around Malon's head until her eyes grew heavy and sleep consumed her.
Several hours later Malon bolted up suddenly in bed, looking around her room in confusion. What had happened? Where were the monsters? What happened to the dark sky? What...? Malon groaned and laid back down, her hand going to her eyes.
"A nightmare," she muttered. "That blasted nightmare again!" she added in a dark hiss. For a moment, she was still, and then she bolted up again, realizing what had felt wrong when she awoke.
The twins were gone. She jumped out of bed and ran to the cribs, panic rising in her; panic that was replaced by relief when she saw the boys asleep.
Father must have put them back sometime in the night, Malon thought as she quietly left her room. She went downstairs, but instead of starting breakfast like normal she went outside.
There was something she had to do first. First stopping at her flower garden by the house she picked two bouquets and quickly walked to the far isolated side of Lon Lon Ranch where two stones stuck out of the ground.
In sad silence Malon knelt and gazed at the first stone; the mark that proclaimed to all that this was where her mother forever rested in peace. "Mother, I love you," Malon whispered as she placed her first bouquet down. Fighting back tears she stood and went to the other grave, slowly she knelt and as she stared at the grave marker's words she felt the tears she had been holding back fall.
After lying her bouquet down and whispering words of love to her deceased husband she turned away. As she began to head back to the house however it seemed the gravestone's words were seared into her mind, soul, and heart.
Here lies a true
Friend,
Hero,
Husband,
Lover.
May your soul rest forever,
Link-Mighty Hero of Time.
A/N: Well, there you go the next revised chapter. Just to for warn, I'm starting college in about two weeks, so updates may be slow. I'll try to update as much stuff as I can before then. Also, if anyone could check out my new Zelda fic, Beautiful Monster, and leave some feedback, I'd really appreciate it; if you like Fate, than I think you'll like Beautiful Monster. Until next time.
~Moon White Rose
