"How did you know I was going to wake up?" Link asked Groose, wind whipping through their hair as they flew on their Loftwings.
Groose shrugged.
"I didn't," he said. "We kept you in the temple in case you needed to be close to the sword, it being the gateway after all. We usually took turns checking up on you every day, the four of us. Well, at first it was just me and Pipit but recently it's been Karane and Zelda too. Long story short, it was my turn."
The conversation lagged.
"She's probably in your house," Groose said as their Loftwings came up upon the patch of the Surface that Link remembered as home. "She doesn't really go out much."
Groose could see Link readying his Loftwing to dive.
"Wait," he cautioned, Link looking to the knight, still leaned forward.
"Before you go down there…" Groose started. "Skyloft has moved down to the Surface…to Hyrule. No one is on the island anymore."
Link only looked at Groose, waiting for him to continue. His expression was hesitant, so Link waited.
Groose released a sigh.
"You know you two have been in the public eye for a while," he said. "Word was already out about her being pregnant and when you fell asleep and people started to move down here…your absence was hard to hide. Before long, it slipped that you weren't around."
"What did they think?" Link asked.
"It got to the point where no mission would have meant your absence was that long," Groose explained. "Some say you left her alone and without her virtue, but most think you'd have rather died. I mean, you know the protocol for knights missing in action after a certain time. Of course we always knew the truth, but the rest of the citizens…"
"Think I'm dead," Link said as he leaned back so that his back was straight.
"Again, we knew the truth but even then…your funeral felt very real."
"It's not like you could tell them the truth," Link reasoned, trying to excuse the guilt he heard in Groose's voice.
"Zelda was adamant about that," Groose said in reply. "Not telling them the truth, saying that it was the whole point of the Sacred Realm, to keep it all secret."
Link nodded.
"For now, we just have to make sure no one sees you," Groose said. "Obviously Karane, Pipit, and Zelda know the truth, but everyone else…"
"What about her father?" Link asked.
Groose gave a small smile, the first one Link had seen since he woke up.
"Furious, at first," Groose said. "He finally heard that you were gone and came to your house to get an explanation from Zelda, or kill you if you were somehow there."
Link was at least glad he missed that, his expression fearful. That man was quite large and very strong. Link would die quickly.
"But, the complications with the pregnancy had started hours before that," Groose continued. "He walked into the chaos and soon forgot about killing you. We later told him everything, since he already knew about the Triforce. He's been waiting for you just like the rest of us."
"With a hatchet, I assume."
Groose let out a small laugh.
"I've missed your sarcasm," Groose said. "There haven't been many jokes around here recently."
Link gave a small smile.
"So basically keep hidden from everyone who doesn't know I'm not dead," Link reviewed.
"Yep," Groose said with a nod.
And with that, they both dove down to Hyrule, the settlement becoming much clearer.
There were tons of houses dotted among the Northern fields, an entire civilization bustling as Link got a better view. It was much bigger than Skyloft, more land allowing them to spread out, grow crops, explore their livelihood.
Scanning the town, Link soon spotted a familiar row of three houses near the Southern outskirts, aiming for the clearing before them that, luckily, seemed a good distance away from the main hub of Skyloft, or whatever this new town was called.
For all Link knew, its name could have been Groosetown.
He hoped not as he landed, him and Groose both sliding off their Loftwings and heading to Link and Zelda's house.
It seemed like he was just here a few hours ago as he approached the familiar wooden door.
Link placed a hand on the knob and froze.
"Whatever you're thinking, Link," Groose said. "You're wrong."
Link nodded.
It was for that very reason why he didn't say how scared he was, because Groose would tell him that he had no reason to be.
So, he opened the door, Groose following as he stepped in.
He was so excited and yet so nervous. A part of him still swimming with a kept denial and anger over their lost child and a familiar part of him just wanting to see Zelda.
The house was just like he'd left it, when he had given it one last over-dramatic look for posterity. There were some new shelves in the back corner, but really it was the same. The sunlight gave the living room a fair amount of light as he walked through slowly, eyeing nothing in particular. The couches and the chairs were all the same, the way they were placed. Link wondered at why he expected it to be any different.
Link stopped at a small, framed painting of the two of them, picking it up and studying it.
It was their wedding day, happy and hopeful. He remembered the person who painted it told them it had to be a position they could hold. Commonly, wedding portraits were done with straight faces for this very reason. That's why their large, natural smiles now warmed his heart as he looked upon the pair of them. Zelda hugged his waist and their heads were tipped inwards, towards each other. He remembered kissing her afterwards for surely the millionth time that day and he remembered that he held that smile for the rest of the night, as if forgetting that the concept of a frown existed at all.
He inwardly admitted his distraction with a shake of his head and attempted to place the small painting right where it was.
Link headed up the stairs slowly, Groose hanging back in wait with a bowed head.
He faced the door to their bedroom, left ajar. Link placed a hand on it and took a deep breath, telling himself that everything would be fine.
"Zelda," he said, quietly and cautiously pushing open the door.
His fearful eyes calmed in an instant. There was still a sadness to them, flakes of grief in the blue, yet he couldn't help a smile at the sight of her frame.
Zelda was sleeping on her side, knees tucked and head on the pillow. Her golden-yellow hair was splayed every which way behind her head and her arms rested carelessly near her chest.
Link started to tear up as he approached slowly.
Captivated by her outer beauty and harnessed by her inner pain, his fingers trailed the edge of the bed until he knelt before her face. His arms crossed on top of the mattress.
Link imagined unlocking her eyelids, releasing those blue gems, seeing them shine along with her smile. He imagined gently touching her shoulder, her cheek, coaxing her awake and prompting the brightness that always filled any room. Even in her darkened and saddened state, she was sure to bring him light. He wondered whether he would grant her the same pleasure as he looked at her with an unrelenting love.
He wanted to invite himself in, part her lips with his, caress and soothe every inch of her pained skin with his very own fingers. He wanted to hug her and cuddle her, swaddle her in his love and care until she woke up with a smile, laughing with the joy of a newlywed.
But he couldn't bring himself to wake her, no matter how much he wanted to, to interrupt her peaceful rest and replace it with a summoned sadness, an anger, a hatred.
So he didn't.
Link stood up and it felt as if his heart stayed with her down where she lay, pulling him closer in. He longed to be her light, but feared that his presence would yield resentment, a darkness that would only add to her pain.
He gave a sigh with closed eyes.
As they opened, Link couldn't help but drift them down to her stomach, how small it was.
Was she even eating?
With one last concerned gaze at her sleeping frame, he left quietly, making sure to make no noise as he descended down the stairs.
"Is she not there?" Groose asked with a popped up head.
"She's sleeping," Link said.
"So?" Groose asked, following Link with his eyes as he approached. "Wake her up."
Link shook his head.
"Couldn't."
"Link, I don't think you understand—"
Link suddenly shot Groose with a glare, those blue eyes like flames in their anguish.
"She's at peace in her dreams," Link said. "Reality will return soon enough. I can't assume it will be a happy reunion."
Groose sighed.
"Come on," he said as he made his way to the exit.
"I thought you said we couldn't go into town," Link said with a furrowed brow.
Groose had already opened the door. He looked back to Link.
"Zelda and I aren't the only people who missed you, Link."