Once again, I apologize for the delay in updating. The statistics class I'm taking is throwing me through a loop and has been taking more time than I anticipated. Thank you all for your patience!

Chapter Forty-Seven

They had both woken to the sound of Jakan's screams and cries. Zelda had moved faster, almost leaping from her and Link's bed to the bassinet where there son had been sleeping. Worriedly, Link watched her, and looked down at his son in her arms. "He's burning up," she spoke, her voice shaking, for once losing the calm, collected demeanor she always had, even in emergencies.

"What do we do?" Link asked. He did not trust Dr. Borville with the boy, and Renado was days away. He watched as Zelda held the boy close, rocking him, trying to soothe him, but still Jakan cried.

"I do not understand," Zelda shook her head. If Link had not known better, he would have said she was shaking. "He was fine when he went to sleep." Unsure of what else to do, Link wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hoping it would comfort her, if only a little. "We did everything right," she added in a small, almost broken voice.

"Children fall ill, Zelda," he spoke, trying to mask the worry that he felt. It was true, though. Children fell ill all of the time. Some recovered, some did not. But surely in the castle, of all places, Jakan would be fine. "I'll go get Itil," he added before leaving her.

He hated himself for leaving her alone with their son, but he knew the queen was in no fit state to do anything other than worry, and that was something that, for once, he could not blame her for. He headed for Itil's chambers, or at least the general direction of them. He had often seen the woman around, but only had a vague idea of where she lived within the walls. He doubted she could do much, but he would settle for anything, absolutely anything that could make a difference.

He knocked on door after door hoping to find her, and let out a sigh of relief when he heard Itil's voice mutter a sleepy "One moment." Anxiously he waited for her to open the door, an act that, thankfully, did not take too long. "Your majesty?" she frowned in confusion.

"We need your help," he spoke, not wanting to waste time, and led her to the chambers he shared with Zelda. She did not speak as they walked, something he was grateful for. He hated himself for the panic he felt. He had always prided himself in being calm in times of crisis, even in times where his own life was at stake. This was different, though. It was not his life on the line, or the survival of the entity of the light realm. No, his son's life was potentially in danger, and he could not allow himself to dwell on that thought.

He opened the doors, and Itil strode over to Zelda and the crying infant in her arms. "Hush, little one," she spoke softly, and Link watched as Zelda reluctantly let Jakan be taken from her. "Leave us," she spoke without turning to face Link or Zelda.

"I am not about to..." Zelda started to speak, outrage evident in her tone, but Link placed a hand on her shoulder. She sighed, took a deep breath, hesitated, but finally turned and followed him out of the rooms. "We should be in there with them," she shook her head. "He needs us."

"Right now he needs her more," Link sighed and leaned against the cold, stone wall behind him, facing the door to the rooms.

"We did everything right," she said once again, her voice soft, more vulnerable than Link had ever remembered hearing it, even when she had been telling him of Hyrule's fall to Zant and his shadow beings. "How could the goddesses do this to us?"

He said nothing in reply, not knowing what he could say. Instead, he held her, something he had never truly done. He felt her shoulders shake, and for the first time he could remember, he saw the Queen weep.