Link opened his eyes, letting his vision adjust to the bright dawn light streaming in through the window of his treehouse. He got up from his bed, stretched, went out the door and stood for a moment outside the treehouse, looking out at Fallhollow Village. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and below him the children were playing tag. Link watched for a moment as Tam chased Lia round a tree, only to be ambushed from above by Voxa. Jorin emerged from her treehouse and called to the girls, who ignored her.
Mara trotted through the village gates on Macha, Faru following on his own horse. Link was surprised at how quickly his friend had taken to horse-riding, but he supposed that the desire to impress Mara was an excellent incentive. Link looked down as he heard laughter, and saw Quin and Cariad walking arm in arm through the village. Everything was back to normal, and the village was a place of perfect peace. Link sighed.
It had been a little over a month since he had defeated Demise, and the combined effects of the demon king's death and his own wish for peace and prosperity had returned Hyrule to its normal, tranquil state. But while everyone else celebrated, he stayed in the shadows, excluding himself from their joy. Even now, he still felt numb and hollow inside. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Zelda's face as she died. Every day, he felt the pain of losing her all over again.
'Hey, bud! Mara and I are going riding! Want to come?' Faru shouted. Ever since he had returned to the village, his friends had been trying everything to console him, to get him to start living his life again. He wished he could make them understand how pointless their efforts were.
'No thanks. Maybe some other time,' Link told Faru, his reply well-rehearsed. He said the same thing every time they asked. He climbed slowly down the ladder by his tree, wondering what he should do that day. Now he had no more temples to find, no more monsters to defeat, no more legendary relics to claim, Link's life had lost its purpose. All his energy had been directed towards defeating Demise, and now that he had done it, Link had nothing left to do.
After he had returned from the Sacred Realm, he had wandered aimlessly around Hyrule for a while before gravitating naturally back to Fallhollow Village, without quite knowing why. Now he spent his days lying in his treehouse, or walking in the forest, achieving no purpose whatsoever. While he was still on his quest, he had looked forward to the halcyon days after beating Demise. But back then, he had assumed he would be able to share those days with Zelda.
Well, that didn't work out, did it? he thought harshly. She died to save your life. And now you're wasting it. Link knew he should do something with the time Zelda's life had bought him, instead of spending his days mourning her loss. But logic never can triumph over the heart, and every day Link found himself grieving instead of living.
'Link, Cariad and I are going up to Hyrule Town to see her mother tomorrow,' Quin said, coming over to him. 'You should come. Charenn asks about you every time we go, and it might do you good to have a change of scene.'
'I'm fine,' he replied, sitting down with his back resting against the tree. 'You two enjoy yourselves.' The two girls shared a look, and were joined by Faru and Mara.
'Link, we're all worried about you, bud,' Faru said.
'Don't be,' Link reassured them. 'I'm fine, really. Couldn't be better.' Faru frowned at him, and Quin folded her arms. The two of them had known Link the longest, his entire life, and they knew when he was lying.
'You need to snap out of this,' Quin told him. 'You lost your friend, and I know that hurts, but as long as you stay here, thinking about what happened over and over again and never moving on, you won't get better. Please, just try to think of something else.' Link looked up at her, his cold blue eyes hardening.
'"Try to think of something else"? Quin, do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds? The girl I love, the girl I care about more than anyone else in this world, is dead because of me. How do you expect me to snap out of this?' Quin and Faru exchanged a look, and the redhead tried one last time.
'Link, I'm sure Zelda wouldn't want you to spend your life grieving for her.' There was silence.
'Zelda wouldn't want to be dead,' Link said simply.
-o-
Epona trotted along the forest trail, completely undirected by her master. Eventually Link had announced that he was going for a ride, to get away from his friends' pestering. He knew they were just trying to help, but it only made him feel worse. He stared at the ground as Epona slowed to a walk, tossing her head and whinnying. He patted her absentmindedly, not focussing on where they were going. So when Epona finally stopped and he looked at his surroundings properly, he was surprised to see how far from the village he had come.
He was at a fork in the trail, one path leading north out of Faron Woods, the other leading deeper into the forest. He suddenly remembered being here before. It was the day he set out on his adventure, when he had tried to leave Faron Woods, only to find Zelda. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the painful memories. But despite himself, he nudged Epona into a walk, following the path he had taken through the trees that day. Eventually the forest opened up into the tranquil glade where he had first met Zelda. He dismounted, and walked slowly over to the single tree in the clearing. He placed his hand against it for a moment, eyes closed, and let the memories flood back.
When I fought Zelda, and she beat me easily. When we beat those Bokoblins, and I finally got her to help me. When we found the village burnt to the ground, and she comforted me. When she came with me to Hyrule Castle, and stood up for me when I couldn't stand up for myself. When we explored temples together, and she had my back, always. When we kissed… and when we fought. When she told me she loved me, and I didn't say it back. His free hand clenched into a fist as he tried to hold the tears back.
'I miss you so much,' he whispered. 'But you're gone. And all the grief in the world won't bring you back.' He stepped back from the tree, then reached behind him and drew his sword. He looked at it for a moment, the silver blade shining in the sun. He didn't need it anymore, but something had stopped him from returning it to its pedestal in the Sealed Temple. Maybe because he knew he would always associate that place with Zelda.
He took a deep breath, then drove the blade into the ground by the tree. As he straightened up, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He was leaving his old life, the life of adventure and danger, the life of a Hero, behind. He had to move on, he knew that. And moving on started with relinquishing the Master Sword. He turned to leave, but stopped dead when he heard a silvery noise behind him. He turned, and gasped.
A blue figure floated above the Master Sword.
-o-
Link stared at the figure, open-mouthed. She looked female, but definitely not Hylian. As Link looked at her, something stirred in his memory.
'…I know you,' he said at last. 'You were in my dream. You met my ancestor. You're the spirit of the Master Sword, aren't you? You're… Fi.' The figure inclined her head.
'Master Link. It is good to see you after all these years.' Link was speechless, and Fi realised that her master was confused by her reappearance. 'When the Hero replaced the Master Sword in the Sealed Temple, I entered a deep sleep,' she explained. 'It was supposed to last for eternity. But while I slept, I shared the sword with the remnant of Demise's soul, and when he burst free I was awoken.'
'Oh,' Link said at last. 'Um… sorry.'
'Do not apologise, Master. If you had not awakened me, I would never have been conscious of your presence. But now you have kept the promise your ancestor made to me all those years ago. Thank you for coming back for me, Link.' Link smiled, touched by the sword spirit's words, even if he didn't entirely understand them. He guessed that the relationship between Fi and his ancestor had been a close one, and he was glad that Fi had seen her former master again, even if Link was only a descendant of the Hero of the Skies. But something still bothered him about Fi's sudden appearance.
'Fi, I don't want to sound ungrateful, but why are you here? The whole time I carried the Master Sword with me, I had no idea you were in there. So why are you speaking to me now?'
'Before, I was supressed by the remains of Demise's power. I was not strong enough to appear before you. But once you defeated the demon, I was freed.' Link frowned.
'But it's been over a month. Why didn't you appear earlier?' Fi hesitated for a moment before answering.
'I have little knowledge of what it feels like to experience emotion, Link. But through my travels with your ancestor, I was able to collect an abundance of data pertaining to others who experience it. I am incapable of feeling grief, but when I saw you after I was freed, I surmised that you were feeling this emotion strongly. I felt that it was not the right time. But when you returned the Master Sword to the earth, I knew that I would not get another chance to speak with you. That is why I appeared now.' Link looked at the ground as the sword spirit spoke. In truth, he wasn't sure if he would have wanted to meet Fi any earlier.
'Master. Link.' The Hylian looked up at the blue figure still hovering over the sword. 'Even as I speak I can feel my consciousness fading. I cannot stay for long. But before I leave, I wish to know something.'
'Ask away,' Link said, disappointed that Fi would be leaving so soon. But he supposed that if he was going to abandon the Master Sword, he wouldn't have spent time with Fi even if she had stayed.
'Master, for whom are you grieving?' Link stared, unable to utter a word. Fi waited politely, and eventually Link realised that he had to say something.
'It's… Zelda. She died, saving me from Demise.' Fi put her head on one side, confused.
'But you had the power of the Triforce, did you not? If Zelda's loss caused you such pain, why did you not wish for her rebirth?' Link felt the old wounds in his heart reopening.
Why didn't you? he asked himself. He knew why, of course. He couldn't. There was no way to bring Zelda back. But the memory was too painful. Instead of telling Fi outright, he tried to deflect the question.
'How do you know that I wished on the Triforce?'
'I am a servant of the Goddess,' Fi replied. 'My eternal sleep takes place in the realm of the gods, the Sacred Realm. My consciousness remained there while I was trapped in the sword, and it will return there once I leave you. I am aware of all that happens in that realm. I watched you and Zelda claiming parts of the Triforce, and I watched Demise claim the third piece. I saw you wish on the Triforce. So why did you wish to heal Hyrule's wounds, rather than to heal your own?' Link looked up at the sword spirit.
'I've been told I'm very similar to my ancestor. If you knew him, then you know me. Do you really think I would use that power for my own gain, instead of using it to help those who need it more than me?' Fi studied Link for a long moment.
'I believe you would choose to help others,' she said finally. 'But I also believe that you would be tempted to help yourself. I believe that you love Zelda, and you want more than anything to have her back.' Link hung his head.
'I do, Fi,' he whispered. 'I really do. I think about her every day. I've tried to move on, but I can't. I just know that nothing is ever going to be the same without her around.' Fi's face was expressionless, and Link reminded himself that she couldn't feel emotion. He took a few breaths to calm himself, before looking back at her. 'But I know there's no way to bring her back. The Triforce can't resurrect a mortal. I know that.' Fi looked puzzled.
'But if my calculations are correct, Zelda is not a mortal.' Link frowned at her.
'What do you mean?'
'The Zelda of your ancestor's time was a reincarnation of the Goddess Hylia. Although she had a mortal form, she had the soul of a goddess. And the Zelda you know is a descendant of that Zelda. Although her immortal blood has weakened over the centuries, as long as even one drop remains, Zelda is still not entirely mortal.' Link gasped, and his eyes widened. He couldn't believe what Fi was telling him.
'You mean… if Zelda isn't completely mortal… the power of the Triforce could still work on her. I could still use it to bring her back to life?' His voice rose as he spoke, hope filling his heart for the first time since Zelda's death. But Fi shook her head.
'Master, each person gets one wish, and one wish only. You have used your wish.' The hope in Link's heart turned to the crushing weight of regret.
'But… no, that can't be right! There has to be a way, what if I somehow make it back to the Sacred Realm?'
'You would not, Master Link. You used your wish for a higher purpose than fulfilling your own desires. Hyrule thanks you for it. Zelda would have wanted it to be this way.' Tears pricked at the corners of Link's eyes again.
You could have saved Zelda. If you were smarter, if you'd listened and paid attention, you could have saved her. But Hyrule would have suffered for it… He shook his head, not wanting to think about it anymore. What's done is done, he told himself firmly. You made the right decision. Like Fi said, Hyrule thanks you for doing what you did. He tried to convince himself of the truth of this. Fi watched her former master as his emotional battle raged.
'Master?' she asked eventually. Link turned back to her. 'Do you regret the wish you made?' Link thought for a while, then shook his head slowly.
'No. The fate of Hyrule is more important than my happiness. Zelda would have understood that.' He closed his eyes for a moment. 'But just because I don't regret my wish, it doesn't mean I don't want to make another one. But I guess the world doesn't work like that.' He sighed deeply.
'You are very much like your ancestor,' Fi said, surprising Link. 'He would be proud of you.' Link smiled despite his misery.
'Thank you, Fi,' he said. 'I'm glad I got to meet you, before you return to the Sacred Realm.' Fi nodded.
'I am also glad.' The sword spirit hesitated for a moment, and seemed to be thinking. 'Link. During my eternal sleep, I ran through my memories of my time with the Hero, over and over again. They are the most treasured ones I possess. And I have long wished to thank him somehow, for giving me those memories.' Link smiled ruefully.
'I'm sure he doesn't need to be thanked.' But Fi continued.
'No. For the suffering he endured, and the suffering you have endured, I wish to make reparation.' Link frowned, wondering what this meant.
'Fi, really. You don't owe either of us anything.' Fi bowed her head.
'Master Link. If a being has a pure heart, then whoever that being is, mortal or immortal, they may make a wish and use the power of the Triforce. I must return now to the Sacred Realm. But I thank you, Link.' With these final words the sword spirit vanished back into the Master Sword. The blade glowed for a brief moment, then Fi was gone.
-o-
Under the twilight skies of the Sacred Realm, the blue figure floated towards the Triforce. The wish formed in Fi's mind as she reached out one of her wings towards it.
'I will happily use my wish for you, Link,' she said to the empty air. 'Thank you, for everything.' Then she said her wish aloud, and touched the Triforce.
A wave of golden light filled the Sacred Realm, and for the briefest of moments Fi's emotionless features twitched into a smile, before she returned to her eternal sleep.
-o-
Link stayed for a while, standing in front of the Master Sword and turning Fi's words over in his mind. Strangely, they comforted him in a way that his friends could not. He smiled to himself, but the smile faded as the dark hole inside him opened up again. He rested his hand briefly on the hilt of the Master Sword, but sighed.
I have to leave it, he told himself. I have to move on. I can't keep reliving what happened. I have to do this. He blinked back fresh tears as Zelda's face rose in his mind once more. I miss you, Zelda, he thought sadly. I wish you were here with me. With a wrench, he turned away from the sword and back the way he had come. But as he took a step forward he stopped, the hairs on the back of his neck rising. Instinctively he reached for his sword, but his hand grasped empty air. But this didn't feel like an enemy approaching. Something was about to happen, Link knew it, but it didn't feel dangerous.
Suddenly a tiny pinprick of golden light appeared in the air, right in front of Link. He frowned, but it just hovered there, unmoving. As he watched, more pinpricks appeared around him, until the air was thick with golden light. He reached out tentatively to touch the first one, but before he could it suddenly flew away from him, and all the points of light focused into one shape, which grew brighter and brighter, before the light vanished in a flash.
Link blinked a few times to clear the afterimages, then blinked a few more times as he saw what the light had left behind. Standing in front of him was the golden-haired figure he knew so well, the one he had thought about every moment of every day for the last month. Zelda opened her azure eyes, looking around in confusion. She caught sight of Link, and gasped.
'…Link?' she said eventually. 'Is that… really you?' Link's face broke into a smile as he nodded, amazed.
'It's really me. Zelda, are you really here? I keep thinking that this has to be an illusion.' Zelda looked down at herself, then gently pinched her arm.
'I think I'm real. I know I am.' She looked up and met Link's eyes, and they suddenly rushed towards each other. Link held Zelda in a tight hug as they sank to their knees, each unable to believe that the other one was truly there. As they finally separated, Zelda looked down shyly.
'Link, before I- before I died, I told you something. Do you remember?' Link smiled, and kissed Zelda in response. When he broke away, he answered her.
'Yes. I love you too.'
-o-
A/N: YAAAAAAAAAY! Zelda's alive again! And they finally got together!
Also a surprise visit from Fi. I knew right from the start I wanted her in here somewhere, but I didn't know where until I wrote this.
Final chapter tomorrow!
