Disclaimer:The Legend of Zelda is property ofNintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto, all rights reserved. I am in no way affiliated with these companies, or any legal proceedings concerning The Legend of Zelda. This story has been written purely out of enjoyment, and is not intended to make a profit, steal ideas, or offend anybody. Any similarities between my work and anyone else's is purely coincidental.
- Y -
"Purhpciy fu hith Papuulcespi" — Chapter One: The Birth of a HeroBy The Last Princess of Hyrule
- Y -
"AARGH!"screamed a woman's voice in agony.
"Push!" another yelled. "Damn it, push!"
"Yaaahh! Goddesses!" wailed the first woman, hands clenched on her swollen belly.
"My lady, you have to push," a maid whispered tentatively in the first woman's ear. She wiped the lady's sweaty brow with a cold rag.
"Nayru, damn all of you for doing this to me!" the first woman yelled profanely. The maid shrunk away but the other woman, the midwife, was undaunted by the language.
"This child isn't going to birth itself," the midwife growled furiously to the first woman. "Now push!"
The woman clenched her fists and screamed. Oh, how she wished this child would just be born, or goddesses kill her now. Anything to put an end to the pain.
"Just a little more," the midwife yelled. "I can see the head!"
The woman drew in a deep breath and pushed with all her might. She gripped the sheets of the bed so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Then, at last, an earsplitting wail erupted from the room. Throughout the manor, servants and courtiers stopped their work to listen. Moments later, another cry was heard from their lady's room. Whispers began almost instantaneously. The maids in the kitchens, pouring over the night's meal, gossiped about it, while guards pacing the walls swapped stories as they rendezvoused with their fellows. The manor was all talk that day, for it appeared that their new master had at last come into the world.
In the lady's room, the open window let in a light, cool breeze, which was a welcome relief from the sweltering heat that was usual for Ionhj, the Hylian month of June. Turning away from the window, the midwife, Rosetta, wiped her hands on the towel handed to her by the attending maid. Rosetta gave the towel back and turned to the woman lying in the bed beside her.
The woman was pale and shaking, her body drenched in sweat and her beautiful, pale brown hair fell in stringy clumps across her face, which was magnificently smooth for a woman of twenty-four. The bedclothes around her lay heaped in irregular piles, waiting for whoever would try to remove the blood stains from them. Nevertheless, despite what pain the woman appeared to be in, there was a small smile on her face, for in her arms lay a minute bundle of blankets in which she cradled a newborn baby.
Rosetta smiled at her patient and turned back to the maid. "Tell them to allow Sir Garret in to see his new son."
"Yes, ma'am." The maid bobbed a curtsy and hurried out of the room.
Rosetta walked over to the bed, smiled at its occupant, and reached for the child. "May I . . . ?" she asked. The woman knew what the midwife planned to do and surrendered her baby without question. Rosetta looked down on the baby with a smile, her exquisite amber braid wrapped around her head like a circlet.
The midwife placed two fingers to the baby's head. "In these arms, the son of Lady Coquina and Master Sir Garret of Chastrion, born 5040 H.R., Ionhj 12 of our Golden Goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Farore." Rosetta gave the child her blessing, the one all Hylian children received at birth.
"Lady Coquina?" Rosetta regarded the woman lying in the bed. "How are you feeling?"
The woman's gaze shifted from her new son to the midwife. Her crystal blue eyes, though exhausted, glittered like sapphires. "I've been better . . . "
Rosetta stifled a laugh. "Don't expect to be feeling any improvement tomorrow. This is your firstborn, isn't it?"
Coquina nodded wearily.
"Then you'd better take it easy. I can guarantee you'll be sore for at least a week or so—" Her words cut off as the door to behind her slammed open and an armored man entered the room.
When he had heard his wife was in labor, Sir Garret came running all the way from the practice fields in the town surrounding Hyrule Castle, which, it must be known, were nearly a twenty minute ride from Chastrion Manor, where he lived.
The maids stopped him at the door to Coquina's chamber and refused to grant him entrance to see his wife, despite how he bellowed in rage. Instead, the knight slumped against the wall, listening to the tortured screams coming from the other side, head in his hands. But, at last, the maids allowed him to pass, and he bowled them over in his haste to reach Coquina's side.
Garret pulled off his helmet and laid it softly on the stone floor and pushed his long, blonde hair out of his eyes as he knelt by the bedside. Coquina turned her head to regard him with a drowsy smile. He reached one broad arm over the bed and caressed her cheek gently.
"It's a boy," she whispered to him. As she gazed into his face, Coquina saw tears well up in his emerald eyes. He was built strongly, a man of twenty-six years, but was gentle as a kitten when the occasion called for it. Garret blinked his tears away in haste as he beamed at his beloved wife.
"What shall we call him?" Garret asked quietly.
Coquina lay back and closed her eyes.
"Link," she finally decreed. "Link Erdrich."
"Link Erdrich of Chastrion." Garret tasted the words on his tongue. "It's perfect."
A noise from the baby drew their attention from each other. The child opened his eyes and stared at Garret with exceptional interest. Link's ocean blue eyes sparkled as his new father's widened. Link gurgled happily.
"Coquina," Garret said in amazement. "Coquina, he . . . he looked at me!"
Coquina chuckled softly. "He's happy to see you. He is finally getting to meet his father."
Their gazes shifted back to each other. Garret leaned into the bed ever so slightly and, careful to not hit the child with his armor, gave Coquina the sweetest kiss. As he drew back, she smiled at him, knowing that today was the most important day of their lives.
"All right, Sir Garret." A voice from behind startled them. The knight pushed himself to his feet and turned to face Rosetta. "You need to leave."
Rosetta grasped Garret's shoulder firmly and steered him toward the door. "We'll let you know when you can come back in." Garret tried to protest, but was pushed out and the door closed behind him.
It was a bright day in the middle of Ogaotse, the Hylian month of August. The sun was shining on the commoners' grain crops, turning them a brilliant gold. In the past two months, the little green sprouts had shot up amazingly fast. However, it was not just the grain that was growing rapidly, for Link too had matured greatly in such a short amount of time.
That day, Garret had saddled his horse and ridden around the grounds with Link, inspecting the crops. The people working tipped their hats as their lord and his son passed by on the back of a majestic chestnut mare. The two were regarded warmly by the folk, for Garret ruled over them justly, which was more than could be said about some lords in Hyrule.
Later in the day, the inspection, for Garret, who had never had much interest in agriculture, began to grow dull. He soon wandered away from the fields to play with Link.
It took Coquina a good hour of searching to find her husband and son. However, as she did, the lady refrained from making her presence known and watched the pair with interest. Garret laughed heartily as he lifted Link high in the air above his head. Rather than be afraid, Link let out a cry of pleasure. Garret lowered Link for a moment then, without warning, tossed the child into the air. Link squealed in delight as he fell back into his father's outstretched arms.
"All right now, you two." Garret whirled around as he heard Coquina's voice. She stepped out of the shadows of the copse of trees and walked over to the happy pair. "It's time for somebody to take a nap."
"Oh, wonderful." Garret covered his mouth in a mock yawn.
She took Link from her husband and cradled him in her arms. Garret lifted her onto the back of his horse and climbed into the saddle. The sun was just beginning to set when they reached the manor. That night gale winds tormented the trees outside her window and the branches were tossed about like ships caught in a raging tempest. Fortunately, the stone walls of the manor muffled somewhat the din. With a moan, Coquina turned over onto her bruised stomach. No sooner had she done so that she let out a cry of pain and immediately sat up.
"Coquina?" Garret's muffled voice sounded beside her. She saw him outlined in a flash of lightning through the cracks of the shudders over the window as he sat up and lit a candle. A shallow light flickered about the room as Garret held the candle in the air and looked over to her.
"What happened?"Worry lines creased his forehead. "Are you all right?"
Coquina nodded. "I'm fine. I just rolled onto my stomach."
"Still sore, are you?" he asked.
"Rosetta says it will be better in a few days." Coquina looked away. "I wasn't very well equipped for childbirth and having Link didn't help matters."
"Is this the reason you are unable to have any more children?"
Coquina looked up at her husband, wondering how he knew. She did not recall telling him she had been rendered sterile from Link's hard birth. "How . . . ?"
"I sat outside our room listening to you scream all night, and then all day, until Link was finally born," Garret explained with a small smile. "If his birth had been easy for you, it would have been neither as long nor as loud."
His manner surprised Coquina. She had expected him to be angry, like most men would be, when confronted at the knowledge that his wife could no longer bear children. "That doesn't bother you?" she asked warily.
Garret raised an eyebrow. "Should it?" His eyes were shining in their usual, jovial way. Coquina smiled and kissed his forehead.
"I must be the luckiest woman alive," Coquina laid her head against Garret's chest contentedly, "to have such a loving husband."
Garret stroked her hair. "I married you for you, not your children." He kissed her lips and lay back. "You and Link are all I need, all I could ever wish for. I love you, Coquina."
Coquina gazed up at him through her long, black lashes. "I love you, Garret." She nestled against the folds of his shirt and felt his arms encircle her. Before she knew it, they were both fast asleep.
- Y -
Several days later, Coquina burst into the kitchens, flushed from running all over the manor. Her sudden appearance startled the cook, who dropped his ladle into what was going to be that night's supper.
"Garret! Garret, are you here?" she called as she scanned the room.
Cursing, the cook reached for another spoon. He dipped it in the soup and tried in desperation to get the ladle out. When that failed, he yelled at one of the scullery maids to bring him a pair of tongs.
The maid bustled past Coquina in haste to do the cook's bidding. Coquina watched her hurry off before she turned back to the rest of the kitchen staff. "Have any of you seen Sir Garret?"
Most of them shook their heads and turned back to their work but one of the pages called out to her, "I saw him a while ago, my lady. He went out to the practice grounds."
Coquina nodded and hurried off, shifting Link to the other arm. She reached the stables minutes later and had one of the grooms saddle her favorite chestnut mustang. Putting Link in a basket carrier she had constructed and strapped near the saddle, she hefted herself onto the horse and led him out the doors.
The Lady of Chastrion galloped across the countryside to the square of the town of Hyrule. Slowing to a trot, Coquina wound her way through the streets, which were strangely empty. Where was everyone? Coquina pulled up in front of the bazaar and strained her ears to hear any sound. A dull roar was coming from the practice grounds just outside the western town walls. She turned her horse in that direction.
When she reached the grounds, Coquina gasped, finding it full of people. The entire town of Hyrule must be here, she thought. She dismounted, gave her horse to an attending groom, and lifted Link out of the basket. As she got closer, Coquina saw that many of the folk present were men with elegant swords. By the way they stood, Coquina could tell most of the men were knights.
Coquina remembered Garret saying something about a gathering of the knights of Hyrule sometime soon, but he had not been very specific. She sighed. If these were knights, then at least one of them was bound to know the whereabouts of the Master of the Knights.
Coquina walked forward and tapped the shoulder of the knight nearest her. "Excuse me?" she asked politely.
The knight turned around and bowed graciously. "Is there something I can do for you, milady?"
"Do you know where I can find Sir Garret of Chastrion?" she asked him politely.
The knight shook his head. "I'm sorry, milady, but I haven't seen him."
"Thank you," she said. As she turned away, Coquina heard a voice call out to her.
"Did you say you were looking for Sir Garret, milady?" A young man with unruly back hair smiled at her from a few paces away.
"Talmar!" She hurried over to him. The young knight reached out and embraced her. Sir Talmar was Garret's younger brother who lived and served at Chastrion Manor as a knight of Hylian realm. He was well known and well liked at Chastrion, considering his generally optimistic and rather playful manner. "Where is he?"
Talmar smiled warmly at her. "See for yourself." He raised his hand and pointed up at a small hill at which everyone was gazing. Coquina followed his arm and was surprised to see Garret, chatting with a pair of guards, on the hill. He looked handsome, Coquina thought, with his armor polished and gleaming.
Beside Garret stood the Crown Prince of Hyrule, James. Thirty-four years of age, James was as handsome and worthy a prince as ever hoped for. Standing over the crowd with his arm around his wife, the recently crowned Princess Liana, he looked as though he was quite enjoying himself. Within Liana's arms she held a bundle of rich azure cloths folded around a squirming baby.
Coquina smiled as she remembered that Liana had give birth to a healthy baby girl just two weeks before Coquina herself had had Link. The birth had at last soothed the pressure on James and Liana to provide an heir for when he ascended the throne. The gathering today must be in honor of the newborn princess, Coquina mused.
"What's going on?" she whispered to Talmar.
"It's the christening of the baby princess," he replied softly.
"What is Garret doing up there?" she asked.
Talmar shrugged. "Probably something important. Prince James must need a knight for the ceremony."
"You're a knight," Coquina remarked jokingly, knowing the answer to her question before she asked it. "Why aren't you up there instead?"
"Garret's the Master of the Knights of Hyrule." Talmar rolled his eyes and smiled. "Almost as significant as our dear prince. I can't claim such honor."
"I'll take your word for it." Coquina turned back to the hill. The prince was a strong man and had a heroic air about him. He was dressed in golden armor with a full-length red cloak sporting the Hylian crest, the great Triforce and the fire phoenix that protected it.
Prince James stepped forward and a silence fell over the assembled crowd. "I'd like to welcome you here today," he began, "for you are about to witness the christening of the new princess." The crowd cheered.
- Y -