Thank you to Machina per Dei, BelieveInYourDreams4Life, whitworth5274, and Frozen789 for their reviews

whitworth5274: Zelda has no idea who Link is

Machina per Dei: As of yet, there is no plan for Link to spar with a family member, but there is still a chance in later parts of the story

Part I
A Hero's Second Chance
Years 504-505 FH

Chapter IV
Thy Name is Hylexia

A few days later, Link was cleaning up the remains of lunch with Bindle when Mr. Tapton returned from a very important errand with a large parcel wrapped in the parchment. It looked liked it was from the clothes shop where it was most common to purchase clothing fancy enough for temple. He had a huge grin on his face and handed the parcel to Link. Link had never unwrapped so many presents in such a short span of time.

"I got it," Mr. Tapton smiled. "Next week, Hyday the twenty-ninth, you're to meet with Lord Quan and Lady Ashyl, Lady Linandra's older sister, to confirm if our suspicions are true. Lady Ashyl traveled all the way from Eldin Province just to see you. I bought you some nicer cloths to meet them in."

Link unwrapped the parchment to find a very fine green tunic with a sharp, strong form, and it came with thick, soft breeches. Mr. Tapton even handed Link a pair of dress boots, finer than he had ever had the privilege of holding.

"But I…"

"You don't have to pay for these, they're a gift."

"Mom won't like that, Dad," Ema said, but she didn't seem to disapprove of the clothes herself. "You're acting like he's your third kid,"

"Well, someone has to."

"Thank you," Link felt like he was wearing those words out so much that eventually he'd say them and they'd burn a hole in his tongue. But he'd never had more reasons to use them. "If we're right, I will be able to repay you for this."

"It's a week from today, an hour after breakfast. I'm certain everything will work smoothly and you'll finally be back where you belong, in your real home."

(1)

The week went by so fast, Link could hardly believe he was going to meet his aunt and uncle for the first time in a few hours. Mr. Tapton, Ema, and Bindle took him to the Upper District, dressed up in the nice green temple clothes Mr. Tapton had bought him. Mrs. Tapton had actually cried at the thought that Link might leave them, even though she had been the one to like him the least. She gave him a hug and told him not to forget her, if this did work out, and that if it didn't, he would always have a home with them.

The Upper District felt like a world away from the Lower District. It had been quite the walk from the Gate District, through the Market District, all the way past the smaller houses in the Upper District, and up to the front gate of Hylexia Mansion. It really was surrounded by a huge garden.

The mansion's grounds were so large, Link almost couldn't believe they were still in the city and not in some country town at the local lord's manor. It was nestled behind a row of maple trees that still had a few orange leaves left. Link could see the distinct branches of a noble oak, the largest and strongest species of oak tree native to the Hyliana Province, spreading against the west side of the mansion.

The mansion itself was three stories high, though Link suspected there was a lower level dug underneath because there were a few windows hugging the ground. That was probably for the cellar and the servants.

The mansion was made of worn brick and marble and looked to be one of the oldest mansions still standing, though the west wing looked much newer than the rest. He could see some scorch marks peeking from behind some of the topiary that hugged parts of the mansion. And the plants on the western side of the yard were much younger than the plants on the east side. They must have been replanted.

The front doors were huge and grand, made from oak and engraved with the finest craftsmanship. The weathered ornamental marble framing it went all the way up to the second floor. The doors themselves were half a foot taller than the first floor. The whole thing was so intimidating. If Link hadn't have broken into the castle a few years ago to help Princess Zelda and Impa stop Ganondorf and save the King from his treachery, he would have never seen a building so grand and majestic this close.

"Do we knock?" Ema whispered. "Maybe we should go through the servants entrance. They did not teach this in temple school."

"This isn't something that's taught in temple school," Bindle said. "I don't know, but five hundred years ago, it was not polite for regular civilians to enter through the front door regardless of intention or invitation."

"Well, that was five hundred years ago, and we are invited. And in this day and age it's rude to not let invited guests through the front door," Mr. Tapton said. "I've been here before, I'm certain the front is acceptable this time."

"You went through the servant's entrance last time?" Ema was still whispering.

"It's around the back on the west side, yes," Mr. Tapton nodded.

"Maybe we should come back later," Link whispered even quieter than Ema, but they still heard him.

"Nonsense, Link," Mr. Tapton brought up the courage to knock on the doors. "Lady Ashyl traveled all the way here from Eldin just to see if you are her sister's son. There's no point in making such a long trip for nothing."

Just as he finished, the butler opened the door. He had a very serious face, but Link didn't think it was because he was cross at them for knocking, but because that was his occupational expression and to let his lip quiver even in the slightest would be very unprofessional.

"You must be here to see Lord Quan and Lady Ashyl," he said curtly, in a deep, authoritative, but respectful, voice. "I'll take you to them, sirs and madame."

If Link though the outside was grand, he wouldn't have a word for how to describe the inside. The entrance hall's ceiling was three floors up and had a beautiful mosaic of the mythical Skyloft, complete with Loftwings of every color, the legendary guardian birds of the people who are said to be their ancestors and the original children of Hylia. It was very colorful.

A set of stairs went up to a balcony, where the stairs branched off, one side leading to the second floor of the west wing and the other leading to the second floor of the east wing. Huge glass windows full of many different stain glass windowpanes filtered the early sunlight into the hall, lighting up the grand red ornamental carpets in an array of fractal colors. Huge pillars of noble oak wood held the roof of the entrance hall up.

A huge glass chandelier, unlit since it was day time, hung from the ceiling. Link felt the childish urge to swing from it, but it was looked so heavy and was held up by such a small, thin chain, that Link was certain if he even tried it, it would fall right from the ceiling and smash into a million pieces on the floor below. Link couldn't fathom how they lit the hundreds of candles when they were so far over their head.

"This way," the butler lead them out of the grand entrance hall and into a large sitting room, full of many different books of all different colors, red, brown, green, blue, even purple and yellow. The bookshelves were just and elegantly carved as all the other wooden things in the mansion. The furniture in this room was deep red and made of the finest velvets. Link could see a beautiful rose garden out the windows. It was nearly dormant by now, due to the cold, but he could tell it would be beautiful in spring and summer.

The whole place made Link feel small and out of place. Everything was so grande and beautiful but he was just… him.

"M'lord, m'lady, they's here."

"Thank you, Boggs," a man sitting near the fire place, stood from where he sat on one of the couches surround the rooms huge fireplace and turned to face them. He had to be Lord Quan. "Have some tea sent in…" He stopped mid sentence when his eyes fell upon Link and he faltered a bit. Catching his breath, he continued his previous thought, though it was certain he was thinking of something else. "Have some tea sent in, will you, Boggs."

"Yes, m'lord. Right away, sir."

"Oh my goddesses, he looks just like them," a woman said for where she was sitting on a lounge chair across from the man, no doubt Lady Ashyl. "Where did you find him?"

"On the streets, m'lady," Mr. Tapton answered. They stayed were they stood, for no one could move, they were so stunned. "He was half dead, but he's recovered quickly. Dr. Shikashi pointed us in your direction."

"Yes, he did deliver Nan's baby. He would have known what happened. Please, sit. There is much we must discuss if we are to find if these claims are true, though I have no doubts now that I have seen him."

"Should we leave him with you?" Ema asked. "I mean, we just brought him here. It's him you want to talk to, not us."

"Wait, I'd… I dunno," Link mumbled, his voice alluding him.

"That would be suitable," Lord Quan said with very little emotion. He looked a little pale and mildly distressed, but Link had never meet him before, so he could just look that way all the time. He had a thin face and light brown hair, short, combed back, and with a devil's peak. He had a well kept mustache that completely covered his upper lip. His was wearing a red morning suit with good and silver trim.

"We'll just be outside, Link," Mr. Tapton smiled at him like everything was going to be alright. Looking at Lady Ashyl's similar smile made Link feel like it really was finally going to be alright. The Taptons left just as a maid came in with a tray of tea. She placed it on a low table between the fireplace and the sitting area, taking three of the cups back with her when she saw three of the guests were leaving already.

"Sit," Lord Quan motioned to the place next to Lady Ashyl and took a seat himself. Link sat down next to Ashyl, bit he felt so nervous that his hands felt alien to him and were shaking a little. He hoped he wasn't sweating. The lit fireplace did make the room a little warm compared to the growing chill outside.

Link could tell Lord Quan was the kind of rich person who changed clothes five times a day and spent most of his time filling papers and talking with friends. Link had nothing against that type of noble, but he felt like he would end up being the other kind. The kind that had a more functioning job on the side of being a Duke. Those kind of nobles were more often than not high ranking officers the military.

"Quan, doesn't he look like your brother at his age?" Ashyl said. Her voice was light and distant. She was far away in some distant memory. "He look's just like my little Nani."

"I don't quite remember what Christofen looked like when he was nine."

"I'm twelve, sir," Link corrected him. He might not have grown much since leaving Kokiri Woods three years ago, but he didn't think he still looked nine. If he hadn't grown up much, despite what he'd seen and done, what was the point in never returning to the woods?

"Honestly, Quan, he can't possibly be nine. Nani and Chris disappeared twelve years ago. Nine. You seem distant today. Something bothering you?"

"Just thinking. There's a lot on my mind."

"Are you sure, ma'am? That I'm really… That I'm really you're nephew?"

"You're name is Link? And you're twelve years old, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am," Link nodded. "And my mother died from injuries she got from the Last Battle of Castle Town. I didn't know her name, though, or what she looked like. She lived just long enough after getting me to safety to tell the person who found us my name, but nothing else. And I know my father fought in the war, but not his name or rank."

"Nan wrote to me, during the attack. She told me she had a boy and named him Link. I heard from the other soldiers, at the funeral, that Chris couldn't stop talking about you, proclaiming you the last child of that damnable conflict. He hadn't said your name or your gender. Just that his little baby was the last baby, so I know you couldn't have heard the name of the child from anyone but me. Since you were just born and a child isn't properly named under the goddess until they're three weeks old, the grave marker just says baby and the date."

"So there's no doubt, at all? This is real? I have a home?" Link tried not to cry in front of them, but it was just so overwhelming. He knew he would cry for joy if he ever found his family, even if they were dead or lived in a hovel overflowing with children and extended family, with little to no room left for him. But this. This was unthinkable. It was a dream. But it wasn't. This house was his house. This family was his family. "I'm home?"

"Yes, Link, you're home," Ashyl took him in her arms so that he would have a shoulder to cry on. "You've come home, baby."

"Yes, this is all very touching, and I agree, he couldn't be anyone else but Christofen's boy, but we've still got some things to talk about before you two turn into a blubbering mess."

"Quan, you're just as stone cold as ever," Ashyl sighed. "What ever happened to you, to make you this bitter?"

"I was alone at the end of a war, the sole survivor of my family. Well, my father was alive, but he was bed ridden with grief after losing his wife and his son in the same conflict, one at the beginning and one at the end. I've had to make do and I like to think I'm very good at it."

Even though he was happy beyond belief, Link managed to stop crying, not wanting to seem childish in front of his uncle. "My birthday's on the Festival of Peace, right?" Link asked. "Because that was the date of the last battle and I was born that morning."

"Yes, it is," Ashyl said, her arm still around Link. She squeezed his shoulder and smiled.

"And I inherit everything from my father, because he was oldest?"

"Yes, you do," Quan answered this time, his voice sounding even colder than before.

"That's everything we thought went to you, Quan," Ashyl said. "The titles, the land, the trusts. Even the horses and the hunting dogs, though I suppose some of those will still belong to you."

"We've got horses and dogs?" Link asked. He was a big fan of horses and dogs.

"The Hylexia's own the deed to a ranch and a hunting manor near Lon Lon. It's called Lexdow, though it isn't as well known. And we own a good portion of the village surrounding the ranch and the manor," Quan explained. "Plus we are the minor rulers of Ordon Province and all the people in it and are in charge of the taxes, as long as it's the minimum set by the King. We get the excess. The minimum goes to the royal treasury and pays for the army and all other civil services, like the temples and the orphanages. You weren't in one of those, were you?"

"No, sir," Link said quietly. "There aren't any beds left."

"You lived with the Tapton's then?" Ashyl asked.

"No, ma'am. I lived on the streets. Before that, I wandered around, hunting and gathering, finding any work I could find. I came to Castle Town to find my family. To find you, I guess."

"That must have been so hard," Ashyl hugged him. "I'm so glad you're safe and we've got you back. I promise I won't let that happen to you again. You're my little sister's only child and you deserved her love. She would have loved you so much."

"Really?"

"Of course she would have. And Chris, too. They'd be so proud of how strong you've been."

"Do I have to become General since my father was General?"

"There hasn't been a General of the Hylian Army since Christofen disappeared after the Civil War ended. King Daphnes, both of them, first and second, have kept the position open in hopes he would show up but it's been years since he should have been officially declared deceased."

"If he's not officially dead, does he have a grave?"

"That's the worst part. I tried to get a grave stone for him in the Castle Grave yard, or even in Kakariko, but since the King refuses to declare him deceased, I haven't been able to. I think that's part of why Father went so mad before he died five years ago. He couldn't properly mourn without a grave. And I never officially inherited anything from Christofen because of it, and you won't either. Not until that fool of a man finds and identifies his body. Which will never happen because he's already buried at the mass grave in Kakariko for all the unidentified soldiers."

"Quan, you can't talk about the King like that."

"Bah, what does it mater. Now, even if we did find Christofen's body by some miracle, the boy inherits, not me."

"That isn't the point of this, Quan. We're happy we've got Link back and that's all that matters. That our nephew is safe and he's home."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Quan grumbled. "Will he go with you to Eldin City, or stay here with me? You've got three boys his age, right? I'm not planning on going back to Ordon for a while."

"My youngest is only four years older than Link. And Renel and Ash are both newly married to very good girls. Renel and Tella are expecting their first child."

"You're going to be a grandmother?" Link asked.

"I'm not old, you know," Ashyl laughed. "I think you should decide, Link. Who do you want to stay with, until you're of age, of course, and should take over as Duke of Ordon. Or, stand in Duke, as it is."

"He's not a Smithston, Ashyl. He's Hylexia. Linandra would have inherited nothing from your parents since she was well off with my brother and didn't need anything, but my brother was the head of the Hylexia family when Mother died and now, by default, that role goes to Link. To give him to someone else would be irresponsible of me."

"He's just as much my nephew and he is yours, Quan. And he doesn't belong to anyone. Link, what do you want?"

"I dunno," Link mumbled. "Can I think about it? Until now, my only worry was how to find food and how to find a warm, dry place to sleep. I feel so out of place here. It's so different than what I'm used to. I used to think I was lucky if I could find a barn to sleep in. This is all so much. It feels so sudden."

"Of course, Link," Ashyl smiled at him. He liked her smile a lot. It was warm and kind and loving. Mr. Tapton smiled at him similarly, and so did the rest of the Taptons, but it wasn't like this. This was real. This was meant to be. "You can take all the time you need. I won't be going anywhere until you make a decision."

"That's rather irresponsible of you, Ashyl," Quan said flatly. He looked right at Link, but Link couldn't tell was he was thinking. "Leaving your home, your family, and your duties to wait for a child. Wouldn't want anyone to think you're acting rashly."

"Quan, if he needs time, he needs time. We've lost so much of it that we at least owe him this. Twelve years we should have already had with him, but we lost that due to circumstances beyond our control. I stay until he decides."

Quan laughed at her and took a sip of his tea. Link had been so invested in being nervous around them that he had completely forgotten about the tea that had been brought in. It smelled sweet and was still warm, though it had been a few minutes since they had touched it and tea cooled quickly. Link wondered if it was alright that he have some. There were three cups. Maybe it wasn't right for him to ask. He didn't know what to do, so instead he asked something that had been on his mind since leaving the Kokiri Forest; since learning he was a hylian.

"What were they like?" Link whispered. "My parents. How did they meet?"

"You know, I'm not sure what happened. Quan, did they ever tell you? They stayed here more than they stayed anywhere else. The never got a chance to live together in peacetime and the fighting was here. Did they tell you how they met?"

"No, I mostly kept to myself. They were newly wed, the last thing they wanted was me tagging along. I know just as much as you."

"Hmm, well, then I guess we'll just have to say what we know, then. That's alright, Link?"

"It wouldn't matter if it wasn't, there's nothing more we can tell," Quan scoffed once more.

"Anything at all is better than nothing," Link agreed with Quan.

"Smart boy, of course he's my nephew."

"Well, it was fourteen years ago, I'd say," Ashyl started. "You were most likely conceived on their wedding night since you were born less than a year later.

Christofen was separated from a scouting trip he was leading in Eldin, about ten or twenty miles southeast of Death Mountain, in the pines. Linandra had run away from home. Father didn't want her to fight anymore since she had been hit in the shoulder pretty bad, but she was always so tough. Nothing could slow her down and nothing our father could have said would have kept her in that medical tent for longer than she thought she needed too. But she was never very good with directions, poor Nani. Always mixing left and right."

"I do that," Link whispered. "I've heard it's because I'm left handed and most people are right so we learn that right is our dominant side and that can confuse left handed people."

"Nani was left handed, as well. Wasn't Christofen also left handed?"

"He was. Perhaps that's why they felt like they were meant for each other."

"Well, they were both gone for over two months. Both sides feared the worst, but the King's forces were hit hardest by the loss since Christofen was the mastermind behind almost all their maneuvers. I've seen him strategize and he was no stranger to warfare. No wonder he was appointed General so young and so inexperienced. Pity I never got to play chess with him.

Despite that they were missing their General, King Daphnes I and King, then Prince, Daphnes II still managed to overwhelm Father's forces, Hylian and Goron alike. Neither Darunia nor my father were prepared to cease hostliest entirely, but they saw that it was Ganondorf who was the real culprit of the conflict. The two factions signed a peace treaty, and no sooner had King Hyrule, King Zora, Darunia, and my father signed the treaty to reabsorb Eldin and it's allied provinces than Chris and Nani returned.

King Daphnes II and I explained to them what had happened. We expected them to be a bit confused at first, but it was everyone else who was stunned for the moment they learned they weren't on opposite sides, they embraced passionately. It was not a very polite pubic affair, but it was obvious they had been dying to kiss each other for a while. They were wed two weeks later and you were born nine months after that, on the morning of the final battle."

"I wish we could have known what happened," Link sighed.

"I have no doubt, were they still alive, you'd have heard many stories of their disappearance more times than you can count," Quan practically scoffed. "You can count, can't you, boy?"

"Yes, sir, I can," Link felt embarrassed that Quan would think he was that uneducated. Counting was something everyone needed to know regardless of how much education they had.

"Quan, what was Christofen, like? Did he have any funny things he used to do? I'm certain Link would like to hear all about him."

"My brother and I were not as close as you and your sister. And you have the advantage of being older than Linandra by quite a lot. You remember watching her grow up. Christofen was five years older than me, so I don't remember much of him. He and the King were close, perhaps he could tell you more."

"Can I hear more about my mother, then?" Link asked.

He liked to listen to Ashyl talk about his parents. She remembered them so fondly and with a smile on her face. Quan didn't seem to smile much. They talked about Linandra for hours. Link learned her favorite color, periwinkle, which was a shade of blue that was almost a shade of purple, but not quite. She had had Link's nursery recolored periwinkle. And she had a bad sweet tooth, which was even more erratic than usual when she was pregnant with him. Her favorite food was chocolate eclairs. She had had a blue roan battle charger named Bluebird and she liked brushing him more than she liked riding him.

Ashyl told him all about the silly things Linandra used to do as a child, but Link found it harder to relate to his mother's experiences than he could to her smaller mannerisms. She had grown up in a big manor in the countryside and had the whole world at her finger tips since the moment she was born, while Link hadn't even known the world existed until he was nine and it paid a malevolent visit to his home, in the form of Ganondorf cursing the Deku Tree. Nonetheless, he soaked in every word Ashyl said, committing them to memory so he could think about them whenever he wanted. He regained a small bit of his mother.

After about an hour, Mr. Tapton, Ema, and Bindle came back into the room the check on Link and were overjoyed to see how happy he was. Ashyl asked Link if he wanted to go with the Taptons that night, to a familiar place, and then return the next day, but Link was afraid if he left, it would be gone by the time he got back, so he asked to stay in the mansion. The Taptons left, saying they'd bring what little Link had to the mansion first thing tomorrow morning.

Quan participated little in the sharing of memories, and stuck to sipping his tea and watching them from the corner of his eye. He stared into the fire for the most part, lost in thought. Link wondered what he was thinking about and if it was about Christofen, but he didn't look like he wanted to be disturbed, so Link didn't ask. He had eventually grown the courage to take his cup and some sugar, putting enough cubes in to make Ashyl laugh and call him truly his mother's son. It made him feel light, like he was on a cloud under a pink sun.

Their talk was interrupted by Mr. Boggs, the butler, announcing that lunch was to be served in the dining hall. Link was still unsure of the house and followed Ashyl closely as they moved from the library to the dining hall, which was through the big hall and parallel to the sitting room they had met in, but with a huge dining table with twelve chairs around it. Like the other room, this room had a good view of the garden behind the mansion. This one looked over a decently sized pond surrounded by cattails and a few birch and ash trees.

Link could barely believe such things could exist in Castle Town, where he had known only hunger, cold, and unforgiving stone. Castle Town had looked gray and bleak, especially during this time of year. The foliage of the mansion's grounds were just beginning to enter dormancy and were brown and wet from the sporadic light rain of fall. He was so conditioned to the grays of the city that the grounds looked like the greenest place Link had ever seen.

Link didn't know how to handle himself at the table. He rarely ate at a table, and, though he was embarrassed to admit it, hadn't often had the need or opportunity to familiarize himself with utensils or meals that required them. He had mostly eaten bread, berries, nuts, and raw vegetables, with the occasional cooked rabbit or fish. He could eat those right of the stick he cooked them on.

After the footmen had placed the first course of lunch in front of him, a creamy soup, Link watched Ashyl and Quan eat before eating himself. For each coarse, he watched them and did his best to imitate it. They continued to talk during the meal, but the subject had drifted towards more adult topics, like work and holidays and Link found himself drifting in thought as they talked. The walls were covered in paintings of all different sizes, most of people who looked like they lived and died long before Link was born, but some were of landscapes and animals.

"Is there a painting of them?" Link asked when there was a silence long enough that it wouldn't seem like he was interrupting their discussion.

"Of your parents?" Ashyl clarified. Link nodded. "Mother and Father have a good number of Linandra back in Eldin. There are quite a few portraits of Christofen at the Ordon Manor, aren't there?" She asked Quan. "I remember seeing quite a few of both of you in your mother's old study when we visited after the war. You were young in all of them."

"There's one of both of them in storage," Quan said absentmindedly. "Father insisted on it, despite how time consuming it was. It was what Mother would have done. I had it taken off the wall after Dead Fang burned down the west wing and they went missing."

"Could… Could I see it?" Link whispered. "If it's not too much trouble, I guess."

"Yes, that would be lovely," Ashyl smiled. "They're your parents, you should know what they looked like."

"We'll have it taken out tomorrow," Quan looked to Mr. Boggs, who had been standing next to the wine table, overseeing the footmen as they served the meal. Mr. Boggs nodded to Quan to show he understood and would have the painting brought out.

When lunch was done, Link didn't think he'd ever been that full. He hadn't eaten everything, though he wanted to badly. And after not knowing when he would next have food for so long, it was always hard for him to stop eating, even if he was full or it would make him sick. They returned to the lower floor of the east wing, but instead of going left into the study overlooking the north grounds, they went to a private one on the opposite side of the hall.

"Boggs, when you take the painting out, put it over there by the piano, it gets the best morning light," Quan waved to a large side table, currently adorned with a beautiful flower arrangement.

"I've never seen a piano before," Link said, enraptured by the huge mahogany instrument. The keys were made of birch wood and ebony and the framing was carved with roses and lilacs. The flowers were stained red for the roses and pink, white, or violet for the lilacs. Part of the frame was also made of birch, but was stained white to give the piano a mystic feel. It was beautiful. Not even the ocarina Saria had given him was as masterfully carved and she had been making them for longer than anyone could remember.

"Quan, you can play, right?" Ashyl said, putting a hand on his shoulder in a friendly gesture. Quan made a face like he had smelled something funny and couldn't find the source. "Oh, please. Just one song, Quan. For Link." Ashyl smiled at Link. She was not deterred by his grumpy discomfort.

"I haven't played it in years," Quan brushed her off. "Besides, it's not tuned. It would sound awful. I'll have it tuned some other time."

"You always avoid playing, Quan. Why is that?"

"Christofen was better. He was much more talented than me." Quan's voice was bitter again, and his face showed subtle signs of disgust.

Link wasn't good at reading people, but it certainly sounded like Quan was jealous of his older brother. But maybe Link was imagining it, or it was just Link's nerves that made it seem like Quan wasn't being as nice as he had hoped. Or maybe he had just woken up on the wrong side of the bed or he could have a small cold. He did sound a bit congested when Link thought about it. That must be it.

"Link, how about we give you a tour of the mansion?" Ashyl placed her hands around Link's shoulders in a sort of half hug. Link almost cringed, since she had come from behind and he wasn't used to being in a safe place with people who weren't potential threats. But when he felt how warm she was and how cold he'd been, he leaned into it and embraced how loved it made him feel and how it felt like he belonged there in her arms, in this home.

The tour of the mansion was fantastic. The did the first floor first. In the east wing there was the private and public sitting rooms that they had already been in and in the west wing was the big dinning room that overlooked the north grounds and south of that there was a private study that Quan said Link would take his classes if he stayed with him. It was were Quan and Christofen had taken their academic lessons as well. It had a writing desk in one corner and a small table with two chairs around it for a tutor and a student. Like all the other rooms, this one also had a fireplace that was crackling warmly, fighting off the chill of Departure.

Up the first set of big stairs in the entrance hall were the guest rooms for people who were just visiting. In total, there were six guest rooms, each with their own queen size beds, wardrobe, fireplaces, and vanity tables. How one house could support a fireplace in each room, Link did not understand, but it did make the whole place cozy and he definitely preferred it to outside in the cold, watching the smoke come from the chimneys with only an idea of what it meant to be warm.

On the third floor was the family rooms, though if necessity required, the family might overflow into the guest rooms, like if there were more than one adult child out of the nursery, which was in the east wing, to the north, next to Christofen and Linandra's old room, neither of which had been used since the battle and the fire. Even though Link wasn't thirteen, the usual age that a child leaves the nursery, Quan said that he would get one of the rooms across the balcony overlooking the entrance hall. There was no point in having him stay in the nursery for only three months. Link agreed, but was kind of sad he never got to use the nursery. They didn't go into any of the rooms, except his parents' room. He wanted to see it.

It looked just like the bedroom of the Lord and Lady of the mansion would look, with a big king sized bed decorated and covered in fine periwinkle fabrics, with white pillows and white silk under covers. There was a love seat underneath a window on the east wall and a tall white wardrobe nestled in a niche on the southeast corner. A white vanity was across the south wall from the wardrobe. The white and lilac curtains were drawn shut, but Ashyl opened them so they could better see the room. The fire wasn't lit and judging by how cold it was, it hadn't been lit in a long time. The bed also hadn't been slept in. It was so empty.

"You were born in this room," Quan said. "I was at the Ordon Manor at the time, away from the fighting where Christofen wouldn't have to worry about me. I told them that Linandra should go to either Eldin or Ordon to have the child, where Christofen wouldn't have to worry about her too, but she wouldn't have it. Christofen and I were also born in this room, as was our mother and her mother and every other head of the house and their children before. She didn't want to break tradition."

"Do you know what happened? When Dead Fang attacked?"

"All I know is she was seen by a few people, headed for the stables with a bundle in her arms and an arrow in her stomach," Quan answered. Ashyl didn't look like she was in the mood for talking about her little sister at the moment. She was running her fingers on the vanity table, deep in thought. "Where did you say you were found?"

"In the…" Link was about to say Kokiri Woods, but stopped himself. That was his secret, he couldn't let anyone know. "Faron Woods. Pretty far east."

"That's my Nani," Ashyl whispered. "She was so strong and determined."

"Why didn't she stop?" Link asked, looking down at the carpet. "Why did she leave Castle Town when she could have just gone to the Castle, where it was safe and they could have saved her? Why take me that far away?"

"I think that's a question only she could have answered," Ashyl said. "I'm certain she had a reason but it's lost to us now. How about we leave this room and go see the grounds. It may be almost winter, but the grounds are still beautiful." They closed the curtains and left the room back to its silent, empty mourning.

Outside may have been cold in the afternoon chill of late Departure, but Link had the new coat the Tapton's had given him so he wasn't cold. There was a huge cherry tree just east of the back entrance to the grounds and just east of that was a beautiful rose garden, nearly dormant now, but Link was certain it would bloom in a rainbow of colors in time for spring. To the west was a fish pond. There were flakes of ice starting to form, but Link could see the fish still actively swimming around, eating any remaining but that landed on the surface of the pond.

In the northeast corner of the grounds, there was a private graveyard. The most recent names were Thenton and Runnella Hylexia. They died years apart but were buried in the same plot. Runnella had died during the first year of the war and Thenton died six years ago. They were his grandparents. They only went close enough to the garden for Link to make out those two names, though, so he didn't say anything. He'd save that for later.

They walked through the rose garden for a while before resting on the stone bench under the cherry tree. The servants had placed a cover on it that they replaced daily to keep the chilling stone from seeping onto anyone who sat there. After only a few moments of sitting under the cherry tree, Link and Ashyl found themselves playing a game of tag under the branches. Link didn't know adults could play, and the sound of their laughter filled the north grounds until Mr. Boggs came out to tell them that dinner was ready to be served. The day went by so fast and it felt like a dream. Link had to convince himself it was real.

The next morning, Link woke up in his new room which was next to Quan's room in the east wing of the mansion. He was disoriented at first and was so comfortable and warm he thought he'd died and gone to be with the gods for a second before remembering everything that happened the day before. It was early when he first opened his eyes and the fire in the fireplace was still nothing but embers and the curtains were drawn shut.

All Link could tell about the time was that the valet hadn't woken him up yet. Lady Ashyl had told him about the valet, Ermin, who would wake him and help him in the mornings and evenings if he wanted. Since Ermin hadn't shown up yet, Link went back to sleep, curling up under the soft down quilt and hugging the pillow, happily content with his new life of comfort and security.

Link didn't know how long he had slept after waking up, but the sound of the curtains opening and a bright light shining on his face woke him, startling him. At first, he reached under his pillow where he used to keep his sword when he slept, but he didn't have one anymore and quickly readjusted with a small groan. He pulled the blanket over his head, blocking out the light. He hadn't slept this well in forever. Not even with the Taptons or in Kokiri Woods with Saria playing him to sleep with her ocarina, like she did when he was really little. He didn't want to get up just yet. He wanted to stay on that cloud of blissful rest forever.

"Now, now, young master," the valet, Ermin, said. He sounded about the same age as Bindle, maybe a little older, and his voice was warm. His accent was similar to Link's, so he assumed he had grown up somewhere farther south from the Hyliana Province. Kokiri had accents similar to the other forest regions like Faron and Ordon, which helped hide his past. "You don't want to miss breakfast, do you? It'd be a shame to have your aunt and uncle miss you on such a fine morning as this!"

"Five more minutes," Link groaned.

"You've said that before, young master," Ermin chuckled. "But I think you were half asleep."

"I'm still half asleep," Link complained.

"My job is to get you to breakfast on time, young master, and I won't have us set a bad first impression. Come on!" Ermin grabbed Link's blankets and pulled them off of him. Not too much, so that the maids wouldn't have a hard time making the bed after they'd left, but enough to hinder Link's comfort.

Link complained groggily while Ermin proceeded to remove the pillows, all three of them that Link had positioned around himself as a cushiony pillow fort. "No, five more minutes," Link mumbled, rolling over. Despite having no pillows or blankets, Link was still too comfortable and too warm to get up.

"Up!" Ermin this time started shaking Link's shoulders and he wouldn't stop until Link tiredly tried to push him away. When Link resisted, Ermin grabbed Link from under the armpits and lifted him off the bed, placing him, standing upright, near the wardrobe so he could change Link from his sleeping clothes and into the same clothes he had worn yesterday, since he didn't have anything better and nothing his parents had bought him fit him since they had been shopping for an infant, not a twelve-year-old.

"I can do it myself," Link mumbled, but they both knew that if Ermin left, Link would just get back in bed. Link did most of the dressing, but Ermin kept him moving until Link was awake enough to leave his room and go down the stairs without falling asleep and tripping on the way down. Link mumbled a quite 'thank you' to the valet, his valet, how alien that sounded, that he could be important enough to have a valet, and made his way to the dining hall for breakfast.

Link wasn't awake enough to really appreciate the breakfast, egg toast and sweet grain yogurt, something he'd never had before, but he was very happy to see Ashyl and Quan. Quan was going through books, Link assumed they had something to do with being Duke of Ordon. Link would take his place when he came of age. Such a daunting thought scared him. Ashyl was reading some letters that had been forwarded to her from Eldin via the very reliable and very speedy postal service.

Link would always be amazed at how such a vast country like Hyrule, hundreds of miles across, could have such fast postal services when the mail carriers ran on foot instead of horse back, but he assumed it had something to do with magic and Pegasus boots. Magic wasn't entirely common in Hyrule, but it wasn't uncommon either. Link himself could use a few spells he had been gifted on his journeys, but he wasn't certain if he could still use it since he hadn't had any practice in a little over a year.

When Link wandered into the dining hall and sat down across from Ashyl, sleep still prevalent on his face, Ashyl put down her letters and smiled at him. Quan looked up momentarily, huffed, and looked back down, but Link didn't think anything of it.

"Good morning, Link. Still tired?" Ashyl chuckled.

"Yes, ma'am," Link nodded groggily, rubbing some of the sleep from his eyes, trying to wake up enough to enjoy his first morning in a place that was truly his but failing miserably when all he could think of was how soft and warm and inviting the bed upstairs was.

"There's no need to be formal with us, you know," Ashyl smiled. "Please, address me as your aunt. It's only right."

"Okay," Link smiled slowly back at her. He might have seen Quan roll his eyes but he wasn't looking directly at his uncle and he wasn't able to pay attention completely yet, so he could have very easily imagined it.

They spent the rest of breakfast in silence. Ashyl and Quan didn't seem up for talking to each other and Link wasn't ready for anything more than small talk, which they had already gotten out of the way. And there wasn't much point in talking about the weather, which was bleary and bleak. Winter loomed on the horizon. It didn't seem like Link would find it difficult to get through this winter, or any after it. This sudden change in status came at the exact right time.

Link woke up almost completely after breakfast and he and Ashyl found themselves talking about the oak tree, whose branches spread rough outside Link's window.

"It was windy last night and I know how the branches can scrape against the walls and windows. You weren't frightened, were you?"

"No," Link shook his head. The branches had made scraping noises, but it took a great deal to really scare Link. "I know trees too well for them to frighten me. I grew up surrounded by them and I can tell the difference between a branch and anything else even in my sleep."

"Where did you end up after Linandra carried you all the way across the Hyliana Province, running from who knows what?" Quan imposed. That was just the question Link did not want to answer.

"Is the painting out?" Link changed the subject. Quan narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He could tell Link was avoiding the question, but Ashyl brushed it off and immediately stood from her chair, a warm, but sad, smile on her face.

"Yes, I should think it was brought out before we even woke. How about we go see it? I'd love to see a painting of them I haven't seen before and I'm certain you don't want to wait any longer, do you, Link?"

Link shook his head, following her out of the dinning room eagerly. He couldn't wait to see what his parents looked like. He had already been told he looked just like them, but he hadn't often seen his face. The last time it was in the Stone Tower Temple with all the mirrors in it, but it had been dark and most of the time he had been wearing one mask or another.

Link wondered if his mother was pretty or if his father looked like Quan. Did he have facial hair too? How long was his mother's hair and what color was it? He knew they were both light haired, but there were many different colors of light hair, and his was much more on the orange side. He wondered which side of the family he got that from, since Quan's hair was light brown and Ashyl's light blonde.

When they got to the more private study, there was the painting, placed on a decently sized table next to the piano. Both the painting and the table hadn't been there the day before, and Link realized how empty it had felt without it.

"That's them?" Link whispered, clasping onto his aunts hand and looking up at her with wide eyes. "My parents?"

"Yes, dear, that's them," Ashyl smiled down at him and squeezed his hand right back, twice in succession, like Mr. Tapton had with Link's shoulders the first day he had been well enough to go see Ella in Castle Town. Maybe it meant something. They both looked at the painting, studying every detail the artist had managed to capture with their brush. They found a certain sort of closeness to each other as they looked. Ashyl loved the couple in the picture as her little brother and sister, and Link knew he would have loved and respected them as his mother and father had he been given the chance.

His father stood next to the chair in which his mother sat, with his hand on her shoulder and her hand reaching up to hold his. Link didn't imagine she wanted to sit down while his father stood, but she was pregnant when the painting had been made, though the artist didn't paint the baby bump since it wouldn't capture what she would look like for most of her life, had she lived after the civil war.

The painting was very large, possibly half life size, so there was plenty of room to capture their faces and the small nuances of their expressions. They both had a warm smile and even though they weren't smiling at him, he felt like they were.

His mother's red-orange hair was pulled up in a braid that was wrapped around her head and then dropped over her shoulder. She had pale green eyes. Link wanted to imagine that the artist had captured their life and vitality very accurately. She had strong, narrowing eyebrows and long, pointed ears. Her eyes were narrow as well and held a gaze of conviction that reminded Link a little of Ella. Her chin, like much of the rest of her face, was narrow. She was very beautiful.

She was wearing a medium length, simple periwinkle dress with chain mail underneath with a white shirt and white riding breeches, she had been in the war herself, and she had a short silver sword in an ivory sheath resting on the chair, obviously hers.

His father's hair was golden blond, not as orange as Link's, but still not the same stark blonde as Ashyl's or Ella's. It was long and pulled back into a pony tail and parted similar to his, but on his right instead of in the middle. He had dark, deep blue eyes and the artist painted them as sparkling with the wisdom that was to be expected from a master tactician. Link vaguely remembered noting that his eyes were the same dark blue, but he didn't think he could ever hold that much cleverness. He was clean shaven and had a strong jaw and a thin, relatively long nose. He had soft, arcing eyebrows and his eyes were a similar shape as Link's.

He was wearing an embroidered blue and white tunic, similar to the guard's tunic, but without the royal crest and with less armor, but Link could see some bronze colored chain mail underneath, like his mother's. His father's sword was hanging on a sword belt and was similar to the ones Link had seen on the knights when they rode through the main road to go from Hyrule Castle to the rest of Hyrule.

Overall, Link could conclude that he did indeed look like both of his parents, with his father's nose and eyes with the rest taking after his mother. His hair was a color in between theirs and naturally fell like his father's, but he parted it slightly differently. He hoped his smile looked like theirs because he could look at that picture forever. It was the closest he'd ever get to seeing them.

Quan coughed discretely to get Link and Ashyl's attention. "Well, if you need me, I'll be in my study," Quan did not sound like he would be happy if they ended up needing him for something and disturbed him.

Before Link could worry about it, Ashyl looked at him with a big grin, a few tears in her eyes, but she wasn't thinking about Linandra anymore. Now she was thinking about her sister's son and how much he reminded her of Linandra. She wouldn't deny that Link was more like his father, but her Nani was still present in more than enough ways.

"Link, how about we go down to the Market District and get you some new clothes? You'll need more than just what you have now."

"Really?" Link looked down at his clothes. He thought they were nice enough, but maybe he was supposed to have more than one thing to wear since it might get dirty and just jumping in the nearest body of water with his clothes on wouldn't be acceptable anymore. "That's okay?"

"Of course," she patted him on the shoulder and smiled. He felt so wanted, it was so alien. No one had wanted him like this before. "The family that brought you here, the Taptons, right? They'll be bringing everything over soon, won't they? We'll thank them and then we can go and get you measured for fitting."

"Okay!" Link smiled. Ashyl held her hand out to him and he took it readily. Link and his aunt, his real aunt, left the private sitting room to go to the gardens while they waited for the Taptons. Link looked behind him at the painting as they left and took a deep breath of relief. He did it. He found what Zelda had sent him back for three years ago. He was where he was supposed to be and he was happy.

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