A/N: This is the final chapter, I'm sad to say. It's been fun and I'm glad you all enjoyed the story.
Seven days later...
The sun slowly sank beneath the distant hills. The remaining rays played with the marble figures that stood in the middle of the Castle Town fountain. A Zora, Goron, Hylian, Twili and a man of unknown origin (representing the men from the distant lands) stood back to back, weapons ready as if expecting an enemy to attack. The Royal Family crest, the Triforce stood on a tall pole in the middle of the circle of warriors.
Castle Town had managed to get back on its feet in only a short period of time. The Gorons had been asked to make the statues. With a number of them working on a statue it took four days for the statues to be carved and another day and a half for them to transport the stone figures to Castle Town and to place them in the middle of the new fountain.
Link smiled as he gazed up at the monument to those who had helped in the last battle. Though they hadn't participated in the battle, the Gorons had supplied the materials for the weapons and the Zoras had supplied food and water for the army afterwards.
Luminita wiggled in her father's arms. Link patted her gently on the back. He felt his daughter play with the end of his hat. She gurgled and Link felt something wet crawl down the back of his neck.
Get used to it, Link told himself. You have a few more years to go of this.
"You've been staring at that thing every chance you get."
Link looked to the left and greeted Zelda with a warm smile. Zelda smiled back, then she laughed when she saw the situation Link was in.
"Get used to it," the Hylian queen said.
"Don't worry, I'm always telling myself that," Link replied.
He reached back and wiped the drool off his neck. Luminita began blowing bubbles with her saliva. Link moaned in disgust as more drool ran down his neck.
"You wanna take her for a bit?" he asked.
"Sure," Zelda chuckled.
"Come on. Go with auntie Zelda," Link cooed as he held out the drooling baby.
As soon as she was in Zelda's arms, Luminita went for Zelda's crown. Link took out a handkerchief and wiped his neck. Zelda gave Luminita a toy to play with. The infant grabbed it and instantly put it in her mouth.
"She's going to be a handful," Link predicted.
"We were all infants once," Zelda pointed out.
Luminita, still sucking on the toy, looked from Zelda to her father. Her sunset blue eyes seemed to shine brighter as it grew darker.
"She has unique eyes," Zelda noted.
"They shine in the dark," Link said. "They shine as bright as the Sols of the Twilight Realm."
Luminita cooed, then gurgled. She looked up at the statues. Her eyes fixed on the face of the Twili. Her eyes seemed to put a spotlight on the stone face. Link couldn't help but picture Itzal and then Zepher in the place of the stone Twili. Zelda placed a hand on his arm in an assuring manner.
"We'll find them," she whispered. "And, Itzal died protecting his king and queen. His death wasn't in vain."
"I know. But, I still miss him."
"We all have someone who we'll miss," Zelda answered. "But, life goes on. You have a daughter to worry about now. Zepher, Itzal and Shad would want you to focus on the things that are in front of you."
"That sounds like something Zepher would say," Link replied.
Luminita began to get fussy. She started to whine and leaned over to reach for her father. Link took her in his arms and she cuddled into his neck, the toy back in her mouth.
"We should head back to the castle," Zelda suggested.
Link only nodded. The two Hylians made their way back to the castle. Once inside, they parted ways and headed to their separate rooms. By the time Link got to his room, Luminita was fast asleep.
Midna, who was in bed reading, glanced up and watched Link redress their daughter for bed. She couldn't help but smile as she watched his slow, gentle movements. He redressed Luminita in a pink nightgown and carefully placed her into the crib on the other side of the room. He brushed the side of his finger over her cheek. A soft gurgle told him that she appreciated the attention, even though she was asleep.
Link turned away from the crib and pulled off his tunic. His undershirt was pulled up, revealing his scarred torso. He pulled the shirt down again. Midna kept her eyes on the book, but she didn't read any words. The mattress sank a bit when Link sat down to remove his boots. A heavy silence clothed the room. The only thing that broke it was Luminita's breathing.
"It isn't going to be the same," Midna finally spoke.
"What's never going to be same?" Link asked.
"Everything," Midna replied.
Link paused in getting ready for bed. He reached over and took Midna's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"It'll be tough," he admitted. "But, look at it as a chance at a new beginning. The birth of the Twilight Realm was fed by hatred. Its rebirth will be fed with the harmony of both the Light beings and the Twili."
Link looked over at the crib. Luminita shifted into a more comfortable position and went back to sleep.
"There will be no tolerance for dislike towards the Light beings. They've opened their arms and gave us shelter when we were stranded."
Midna grinned. "It's strange hearing you say, 'Light beings', when, technically, you are still half Light being yourself," she pointed out.
Link turned back to his wife and smiled. "In some way I was meant to be a Twili. Well...half Twili, anyway."
Midna closed the book, shifted to her knees and kissed Link on the lips.
"You just had to be poisoned in order for it to happen," she said.
Luminita bounced with excitement as a portal opened. The remaining Twili gathered in the courtyard and prepared to return to their home.
"Thank you, Zelda. For everything," Midna said as she gave Zelda a grateful hug.
Zelda returned to gesture. "It was the least I could do," she replied.
Link shifted Luminita to his other arm so that he could give Zelda a hug without squatting the baby.
"Take care," the Hylian queen whispered.
"May the goddesses bless your rule," Link whispered back.
"May they also bless yours," Zelda added.
Link stepped back and looked around at the group. Raban and Gavin were checking to see if everyone was there. Xerxes and Zane were trying to keep Sareal awake. First light was hours away and everyone was tired.
"We should go," Midna spoke up.
"If you need help with anything, just let me know," Zelda offered.
"We can take care of the rebuilding," Midna insisted.
"You have your hands full here," Link added.
Zelda sighed. "Yes. Once again the castle needs remodeling."
Luminita squeaked and squirmed in Link's arms. She put her arms around her father's neck and looked over his shoulder at Zelda.
"I think she wants to go home, as well," Midna said.
The Twili began walking through the portal. Midna and Link said their final good-byes and disappeared through the portal. The last thing Zelda saw before the portal closed was Luminita's bright, shining eyes and the golden glow of a very familiar triangle on the back of her hand.
End
That's all folks...or is it?
Let me know what you think