Chapter 15
Talon breathed the sweet, fragrant air of the Sacred Grove deeply. This was his first act after stepping through the gateway from inside the Temple of Time. Beneath his boots, the hard, worn stones of the ruined crumbled a bit as he surveyed his surroundings. Overhead, the morning sun had risen to its full glory. Only a few clouds floated in the sky, and none of them sought to challenge its supremacy. Tears came to his eyes as he heard the song of the birds in woods surrounding the ancient ruins. "I'm free." He said. Then the tears began to fall freely as the emotion of the moment overwhelmed him. "At long last, I'm free."
Next to Talon stood the mouse who had fought at his side against the would be master of darkness. "It's a beautiful day." The mouse said in wonder at the sight.
"It most certainly is, friend." Talon said, trying to rein his tears back in. "It most certainly is."
A third figure passed through the blue energy field of the gateway to stand beside them. The Princess Zelda also took a breath of the fresh air. Her light had faded, but not been completely extinguished. The power still waited inside of her, urging her to unleash it again.
"It's done." She told the other two. Her voice had also returned to something a bit more normal for the young woman. "The Master Sword has been returned to her pedestal so that she may sleep once again."
"And the god-killer, my Lady?" Talon asked. It was the first time he had used the name for the blade that had snuffed out the evil old man, but it felt fitting.
"It has been deactivated, and it too sleeps in a vault deep within the Temple." Zelda replied. In truth she had buried it so deep within the recesses of the Temple it may never be found again.
"So what happens now?" He asked, feeling the warmth of the risen sun on his face.
"I meant what I said, nephew." Zelda told him, seeing no reason to maintain any pretense any long about who she was, or what she knew. "You are free. You may go anywhere, or do anything you wish." She then paused thoughtfully, "Only I ask that you consider one other task for me. A position I believe you to be uniquely qualified to fill."
"I am always, and forever, at your service, my Lady." Talon responded, wondering what this task might be, and waiting for his aunt and goddess to elaborate.
"I know, nephew. I know." She told him. She then turned to address the mouse who seemed enraptured by the sight of Hyrule's natural beauty. "I know you have already helped us so much, your majesty," she said, using the title she knew he had purposely avoided telling them, "but I would humbly ask something further from you as well."
"Sure, what?" Mickey replied.
"There are six other Sages still trapped within their own Temples, and I know there are other heartless monsters loose within the ancient structures. I would ask for your help in clearing them and freeing the Sages from their self-imprisonment. Without your mastery of your keyblade, I'm afraid the teams I send to release them won't be able to open the doors to free them." Zelda explained.
"Sure, but why can't you just go and free them? You've certainly got the power to do it." Mickey asked in confusion.
"It's because of the power I have assumed that I can go no further with it. Already there have been unintended consequences, and I must answer to the Others for what I have taken upon myself. I'm afraid by the time I do, I will be unable to assist you." She explained with a heaviness in her voice, like the weight of the world sat on her shoulders.
"Surely you aren't leaving us again, my Lady?" Talon asked, fearful of the thought. "Hyrule still needs you, and the Hero! Who will guide us?"
"I don't know." She answered both questions sadly.
Mickey turned this new information over in his mind and then said solemnly, "You can count on me, your highness."
"Thank you, your majesty." She replied. She then said, "Would you both accompany me back to the Castle? I'm afraid it will have to be the long way this time."
"Yes." Talon answered, realizing that for the first time in two hundred years he was going home. "Yes, of course I will go with you."
"And I will too!" Mickey joined in.
The three then set off on foot to find their way back to the top.
Link's eyes blinked slowly open. He was laying on a hospital bed, and his clothes had been replaced with a white hospital gown. His lower half had been covered over with a sheet and blanket. In his right arm had been inserted a needle connected to a long thin line which was full of a red fluid dripping from a bag which had been hung next to the bed.
"What happened?" He asked.
"Hey! You're awake!" Came a familiar voice as two men he recognized came over from where he had been sitting. "How're you feeling?" Bill Lee asked. Next to him stood the bespectacled, clean shaven face of Daniel Jackson. "Feeling better?" Jackson asked.
"Yeah," Link said, a little unsteadily. "Yeah, I think so. What happened?" He asked again, "I remember I was fighting Xehanort, and then I got hit in the stomach, and then..." His eyes went wide, "Oh no. I remember Zelda. Where is she? What did she do? Is she alright?" Panic came to his voice.
"Just calm down a minute," Daniel told him. "As far as we know she's fine." He said, not sure of how much to tell him. But at least that was the truth as much as he knew.
"She broke the rules." Link said gravely. "We weren't to interfere as anything other than ordinary mortals. That was the condition for our rebirth. We can't influence their beliefs, or rule them by force."
"I don't think either you or she have ever really been ordinary mortals, have you?" Daniel observed.
"We had to continue to be able to ascend. We couldn't take the chance of not being able to return again when Hyrule needed us. But the conditions of our rebirth were that we were not permitted to live as anything other than mortals, no matter what happened. And everyone saw her, didn't they?" Link asked, knowing the answer.
"Yeah, everyone saw her." Daniel said, knowing intimately why that was a cause for concern. "It was televised across the nation."
"Why did she do it?" Link asked.
"She watched her father be killed, and then Xehanort announced that he was going to take your body and send your soul into oblivion." Daniel answered. "I think that would be enough to send anyone over the edge. She reacted out of fear for you."
"It was her mama bear instincts." Bill added.
Link looked at him in confusion, not understanding the reference. Daniel also looked at him, waiting for an explanation.
"Don't you know?" Bill asked. "The most dangerous animal in a forest on Earth is a mother bear when something is threatening her cubs. The two people Zelda loved most in the world were being hurt and she reacted with a mother's instinct if you will."
"I can buy that logic." Daniel said in agreement.
"But it's going to cost her." Link said. "It's going to cost her so much."
"I know." Daniel said from experience. "No good deed goes unpunished by the Others."
When Zelda, Talon, and Mickey reached the top of the canyon a couple of hours later, they were met by Guardsmen still trying to assess the damage and what had happened. The minute they saw their Princess being escorted by the unknown, one handed man who resembled the Hero, and the four foot mouse, they immediately stopped what they were doing, and dropped to their knees in obeisance. It made Zelda increasingly uncomfortable and she tried to draw in the light which was emanating from her form even more.
"My Lady," The Guard Captain ran up to her, and knelt before her, "words cannot express our gratitude at what you have done for my men and I," he started to say, but she held up her hand, and he was silent. She then raised him to his feet, and said, "My companions and I need transportation to Castleton. Would you be so kind as to provide a vehicle with a driver?"
"Of course, my Lady, at once. I must stay here and oversee the post but I'm sure I can find a volunteer..." Captain Jovani told her, looking around at the available men.
Off to one side, on one knee with everyone else, was the group of cavalrymen who had come to their aid. Jovani had been amazed that it was the retired unit sent to them from Ordonville who had fought so valiantly and without thought for their own safety. They had earned their rest, he thought, and he began to look elsewhere, but he had caught the eye of their commanding officer, a lieutenant captain that he had just learned had been herding goats, and raising horses for the past twenty years.
"Captain?" The horseman called out, having overheard the conversation. "If the Lady needs a ride, I'll drive her. I need to go to Castleton anyway. One of your men just told me my boy was hurt, and I need to see to him."
Captain Jovani turned to the Princess and asked, "Will that be sufficient, my Lady?"
Zelda stiffened at his constant use of the deified title instead of "your highness." She answered, "yes, Captain, that will be more than sufficient." She then called the cavalryman over to her.
The lieutenant captain rose and moved to stand in front of her, "Lieutenant Captain Russel Swordsmith, your highness, at your disposal."
The Princess was shocked as she recognized the man's name, "So, your son who's been injured...?" She asked, not needing to finish her sentence as she knew to whom he referred.
"Yes, your highness. Unless I've read you completely wrong, I think we'll both be wanting to look in on him." Russel responded.
"Indeed we will, Captain. And please, call me Zelda." She said to the man who was, in some way she realized, family to her.
He seemed hesitant at this, but then nodded, "Link always called me Uncle Russel." He said.
"Then so will I, Uncle Russel." She told him. "Captain, my uncle and I need a vehicle." She said with authority.
"Uh... Of course. Right away, my Lady." Captain Jovani said, and then started barking orders to have an undamaged vehicle prepped and ready for them.
"Who're your friends, Zelda?" Russel asked, trying out the name.
"Uncle Russel, this is Mickey Mouse, a king from another world." She said gesturing to the mouse next to her. He extended his gloved hand to shake the horseman's, which Russel took willingly. And this, she turned to Talon, "Is Talon, the Sage of Time, my nephew."
"Your nephew?" Russel asked in confusion at the obviously older man and knowing the Princess was an only child, thrusting his own hand out."Has anyone told you you look a lot like my foster son?" He asked the Sage.
"Yeah," Talon responded, repressing a smile, "I used to get that a lot. I think we're going to have an interesting conversation on the way to Castleton."
"Something tells me you're right." Russel told him.
General Shepherd was overseeing the aftermath of the bombing and invasion in the war room. With the king dead, Link in the hospital, and Zelda who knows where, that left Shepherd to run the kingdom in their place until Zelda turned up again. He had been watching the radar screens and fielding reports, radio calls, and phone calls all that morning, and the reports he had been getting were, had he been anywhere else in any other position, unbelievable. As it was, he was still having a hard time believing what his own eyes had seen on the video monitors from earlier that morning, and he had personally known at least two ascended women on an, um, intimate basis.
"General, sir, we have another incoming call from the Sacred Grove," One of his underlings told him.
"What's the report?" He asked.
"The Princess is alive and well and is on her way to Castleton. She's being escorted by the Sage of Time, a retired cavalry Guardsman, and... uh... a four foot mouse, sir." He told him, not sure if he heard right.
Shepherd saw the look on the man's face and said, "That's okay, captain, I have a pretty good idea of who the mouse is. He's one of ours." Boy, that's a weird thought, Shepherd thought to himself.
"Yes, sir." The captain said uncertainly, looking at his General in a funny manner. "Their E.T.A. is around eleven o'clock or so."
"Understood." Shepherd said. "Any news from the hospital on the Hero's condition?" He asked. He hadn't had the chance to go and check on Link personally. It was one of the things he really hated about being the top guy in charge.
"Yes, sir. He's awake and responsive." The captain replied. His general had ordered him to have the hospital contact them directly with updates on Link's condition. "Dr. Lee and Dr. Jackson are with him now."
"Good." He said. "Any word from Dr. McKay?" He hadn't heard anything from Rodney since the blue energy shield had gone up and stayed up. With the bombers gone, and he confirmed they were off of the radar, it now needed to come down so life could somewhat return to normal in the capital.
"Not yet sir." The captain responded. "Should I try radioing for him again?"
"Yeah, go ahead." Shepherd said. Come on Rodney, I need the shield down now. He thought.
"Sir, satellites and radar confirm, all hostile aircraft have left our airspace. Eastern Field ground forces report that all enemy ground forces have surrendered and laid down their weapons." Another underling piped up.
"Good. Treat them as prisoners of war." Shepherd ordered. "Have them contained, but unmolested. Food, water, and appropriate housing until we can arrange for their return to their own government. They're just soldiers who were following orders." He told them.
"Right away, sir." The underling responded, and then started relaying the orders.
"Sir, I've just received a report from Dr. McKay." The previous captain told him.
"Go ahead." Shepherd said.
"He says everything's fine, they're just working on taking down the shield now. It's proving to be more energetic than they originally predicted." The captain relayed the message.
What's that supposed to mean? Shepherd wondered. "How long until it comes down?" He asked.
The captain asked over the radio and then received a response. "They don't know sir, they're working on cutting the power to it, but it's being fed by two hundred connections to the power grid. They're having to disable each one."
"Fair enough." Shepherd said. "Tell him to make sure that it's down before eleven. The Princess is going to need to be able to get into the palace."
"Yes, sir. I'll relay that." The captain said, and then held the head-phones away from his ears as Dr. McKay responded in a testy manner. "He says he'll do what he can, sir." The captain relayed.
"Good." Shepherd responded. "Very good."
The Princess and her escort saw the massive blue energy shield from a distance as they approached Castleton along the highway in their loaned gray steam powered R.H.M.G patrol truck. "What is that?" Russel asked.
"It looks like Nayru's love, but on a scale I've never seen before." Talon said in awe. "I hope it comes down before we get into the city, or else we're going to be left on the outside."
Just then the energy shield began to collapse downwards. "Ask and you will receive." Russel said.
Link was still in his hospital bed when he received the new visitors. He was sitting up talking with Daniel and Bill when Zelda and his Uncle Russel walked through the doorway.
His uncle Russel didn't say and word when he saw him, but the look on his face conveyed a hundred emotions that were running through him. He then went over to the side of the bed and embraced his foster son as tightly as he felt he could. "You okay, son?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay Uncle Russel." Link said in response, returning the embrace, glad for the older man's presence. "I'm okay."
"Why does it seem like I'm always picking you up from the hospital lately?" Russel joked with him.
Link had no answer except, "How should I know? I'm just a dumb high school kid."
Russel let the young man go, and then Link asked, "Are Colin and Aunt Tara okay?"
"They're fine. They're under good protection right now. Though your aunt has been worried sick about you, Colin too. They going to let you come home any time soon, son?" Russel asked, fearing what his answer might be, and not because of any obvious injury.
"The doctors want me in here for at least the next twenty four hours, and then I'm free to go. As for after that..." Link took a deep breath and let it out, "I need to see how things work out." He looked at Zelda when he said it.
"Well, if it's okay with the powers that be, I'll be in town until you know what you're doing. I'll be right here for you, son, whatever your decision." Russel told him.
"You are free to remain in Castleton as long as you wish." Zelda told him. "I'll have rooms prepared for you in the palace as a visiting member of the royal family. You won't need to worry about anything you need for as long as you're here. I'll see to it personally."
"That's very kind, Zelda." Russel said by way of gratitude.
"Uh, may I speak with her highness alone?" Link asked of the other men who were there.
"Of course." They all straightened up. "We'll be just outside." Russel said, and the three men left the hospital room, and closed the door behind them.
"You're still glowing." Link said to her sadly.
She blushed, and the shimmer which had been around her faded even more, but still wouldn't go out completely. "I'm sorry. I just... I just couldn't help it. I barely knew what I was doing until I let the first arrow fly. After that I tried to control it, but there was so much that needed to be set to right, and that man was going to do so much worse than kill you. I couldn't bear to lose you, not forever." Her voice pleaded with him for his understanding.
She looked into his eyes and found love there; love, compassion, and even understanding, but also sadness. He took her hands into his own. "I know. But we both know what this might mean. It changes everything for the both of us. It cannot continue in the same way. You know that. They won't let it. All of Hyrule saw it and put their faith in you. You know that."
"I know it." She said, feeling badly because of it. "I could feel it. I can still feel it. It's like a flood that I can't turn off. All those people looking to me to save them, to guide them. It was easier when I wasn't physically here among them."
"I know." He replied, knowing exactly what she meant. "You can't stay. We can't stay. Not in these roles at least. It's too much of a temptation."
"Where would we go?" She asked. "Where could we go?"
"We'll find somewhere. Somewhere far from Castleton. I promise. But there's one more thing." Link told her.
"What's that?" She asked, worried about what new trouble might have arisen.
"We can't leave Castleton until we do so properly, as man and wife once more. I won't lose you to anyone or anything ever again. We're both legally adults now in this life. No one can say no." He told her resolutely. "No matter what punishment the Others inflict on us. And it will be on us," he emphasized the word, "because whatever they do to you, they're going to have to do to me too. I love you."
"I love you, too." She returned, and leaned over to kiss her Hero.
After she left Link in the hospital, Zelda has been called down to view the body of her father in the hospital's morgue. It was almost more than she could bear. She knew she had the power to call him back from death, but she also knew that once she started down that road, there was no turning back. Once done, she fled the hospital and took solace in her beloved castle gardens. In her hands was an ancient harp which she strummed sadly, as heavy thoughts filled her heart. The melancholy tune which resulted sounded beautiful and dark through the multitude of beautiful trees, topiaries, and flowers.
"May I join you?" Asked an older woman's voice. Zelda stopped playing and looked up to see a middle aged reflection of her own features. Deep blue eyes, golden blond hair streaked with silver, high cheekbones; the lady was a handsome woman wrapped in a blue dress.
"Mother." Zelda said. "Of course." She recognized the older woman from eons past. "I was expecting you at some point."
The older woman sat down next to her on the bench. "It really is very lovely here." She said. "And peaceful." She looked down at the golden harp, "I'm glad it's still in good condition. It was my favorite instrument when I was your age, and you play so beautifully."
"Thank you, mother." Zelda said.
"You know why I've come?" Nayru asked. "Hylia my daughter, first, I could not be more proud of you, for everything you've done and sacrificed for this world; you and Copulus."
"Thank you, mother." Zelda answered, awaiting with fear what came next.
"But you must know that there are consequences for the actions you've taken. You've interfered in a way that will set these people back in their own spiritual development as they look to you and not their own practice of faith to deliver them from every bad circumstance which comes their way. There will always be some new evil to threaten them, and they must learn to counter it themselves, whether it be a person, some natural disaster, or a faulty idea like that racist nonsense." Nayru told her gravely. "They have to be allowed to make their own mistakes and learn from them or they will never grow and reach ascension on their own. Are you going to help every one of them join us? Every one of them that believes in you? We both know that you can't. It's not possible, and what happens if you make a mistake and allow another Demise or that Xehanort fellow?"
"He was going to destroy Link's soul." Zelda said weakly. "I was going to lose him forever."
"I know. Din, Farore, and I were discussing the situation, and your penance." Nayru told her.
"And what was your decision, mother?" Zelda asked.
Nayru looked at her with as much motherly compassion as she could muster as she said, "It was our decision that both you and Copulus should be made completely mortal. Your powers are stripped from you. You will be denied ascension again on your own. When the time comes, we will decide if the two of you shall rejoin us again or not, depending."
The light faded completely around Zelda, and within herself she could feel the energy and power which had been transferred to her bleeding away. She felt drained and exhausted. She then asked, "Depending on what?"
"Depending on how well you stay out of their affairs, and live your own lives in peace." Nayru told her. "Don't see this as a punishment, my daughter." She said. "See it as a chance for the life that neither of you have been able to have for eons."
Zelda considered this, and all the tension and stress she had been feeling finally broke within her. She started smiling, and then she started giggling, and then she started laughing uncontrollably.
"Oh, my dear, whatever are you laughing for?" Nayru asked her, worried.
"I don't know." Zelda responded between a fit of giggles. "I just... I just realized that it was the best punishment you've ever given me, mother." Tears flowed from her eyes, but they weren't tears of sadness. She then asked, "Will I see you again? Will Link see Farore?"
"We're always watching, my daughter. And who knows? Perhaps we may visit you from time to time, especially if you give us grandchildren again." Nayru answered.
"Oh," Zelda remembered, "Will you come to our wedding?"
"We will always be watching you, my daughter. We will always be watching you." The older woman said smiling. And then she was gone, dissolved into a blue mist of light.
It was later in the evening when Link received a knock at his hospital room door. He had been watching the news on the television, but it was full of constant replays of the day's events, especially the events which occurred around dawn. He had tried changing the channel, but it was no use. It was on every channel, being covered and commented on by a score of different opinions.
He watched his failure repeatedly, and Zelda's "divine manifestation," constantly wondering if there was something else he could have done to stop the evil man right then and there. Words couldn't describe his emotions watching the king lunge in front of him, taking the blade that was meant for his own heart. He had failed the king he was there to protect, needing protection himself. He had failed Zelda, and she had broken the rules to save his very soul, threatening her own eternal soul. He had failed Hyrule being unable to continue the fight.
He switched off the television with the remote control, and said, "Come in." He expected it to be General Shepherd, or perhaps his Uncle Russel again, but the face that greeted him was not who he expected at all. It had been two hundred years, and his other memory of the man was still as fresh as the day he had been imprisoned for his crimes. It made it no better to remember that he had been his own son. But, he remembered, that was then, in the past.
"I was told you were still awake. I wanted to see you. I hope that it wasn't inappropriate." Talon said awkwardly, not really knowing what to say to Link, but feeling like he needed to be there anyways.
"No, I was just... I wasn't doing anything important." He said in response. The man was physically eight years older than himself, but their connection ran deep as the memories of a little red haired boy came coursing through Link's mind. He remembered the first sword he had pressed into that little boy's left hand. The hand that this man no longer had.
"The doctors tell me that they're letting you go tomorrow." Talon said, not sure of what to say or how to say it. "They tell me you'll be able to return to the palace fully healed."
"Yeah," Link said, "They told me that too."
"Well, I just wanted to... I just wanted to... see how you were doing." Talon said, and then he made a move for the door.
"Talon." Link said, stopping him from leaving. "Zelda told me what you did in the Temple."
"She did?" Talon asked.
"She said you sacrificed yourself to destroy Xehanort, and would have died if she hadn't prevented it. I'm glad she did." Link told him.
"Thank you." Talon said, unsure of what else to say or how to feel.
"You redeemed yourself today, son." Link said, adopting a paternal tone of voice he hadn't used in a very long time. "You succeeded where I failed." He said with a hint of bitterness in his voice, but then he said sincerely, "I'm proud of the man you've become."
Centuries of pent up emotions overwhelmed Talon, and he began to weep, "Father..." He began to say, but couldn't finish. Link held out his arms while he sat on his hospital bed, and Talon knelt down and into his seventeen year old father's embrace. "I'm proud of you, my son." Link repeated. "Your brother and mother would be too."
Two days later, after Link had been discharged from the hospital, and things began to settle back down to normal, the Princess held a press conference at the entry to the palace, where she asked Talon and Link, who chose to wear his brown denim pants and green Ordonville High School pullover instead of the Hero's tunic, to attend. She had chosen to stay out of the public eye until that point in time until she was sure everything was in place.
Her light had completely faded, and she was once more just a teenage princess. She walked up to the podium filled with microphones and began to speak. She had struggled to find the right words, the right things to say to them, the right way to explain everything that had happened and that was going to happen, and then finally she settled on just one thing; the truth, whether they would accept it or not.
"Good afternoon," she began, "and thank you all for coming to hear what I have to say. Two days ago, all of you were witness to my..." she searched for the right word, "manifestation, as one reporter referred to it. It was not something I was meant to do. I broke rules among the gods and goddesses of our world in order to do what I felt needed to be done at the time, and there are always consequences to breaking rules. I am no different from anyone else in that regard. We established those rules millennia ago to guard the free will of the people of this world to be able to choose there own paths, right or wrong, and to not use divine might to enforce our will on anyone. This is why we fought against Demise and others like him for so long. As long that power was enabled by me and within me, I became a threat to this, and the temptation will always exist for me to try and set things right when sometimes, people do things that aren't always the best for themselves or other. People need to be left to make their own choices, and to reap the consequences of their own mistakes. This is how we all learn and grow, and we can't do so on our own without them.
"I have been disciplined by the goddesses for my actions, and I am now, and will be until the day I die, fully mortal. You will not see me act in that capacity again. But just being made mortal isn't enough. I know I will continue to interfere because I love all of you and want to keep guiding you even when you need to find your own way. With this in mind, I have several announcements. Talon, will you please come stand next to me?" She called for the one handed man behind her.
The crowd of reporters gasped at his resemblance to the Hero and the photographs of a long dead historic king. He wore the red robe of a sage, and the emblem of the goddess Hylia.
"This is Talon, son of Link, the Hero of Hyrule, and Queen Malon, born two hundred and twenty-five years ago. He has been my Sage for two hundred years, but he was born a prince here, in this very castle." She remembered the day very well. "Today, in front of all of the United Kingdom of Hyrule, I am restoring his birthright and naming him crown prince and my sole heir." She told the stunned audience.
Talon himself was stunned. She hadn't told him anything about this. "My Lady, I must protest..." He began.
"You said you were at my service." Zelda reminded him. "This is how I choose for you to serve."She then turned back to the cameras, and continued. "I do so because here in front of you all, I am renouncing my own claim to the throne, and abdicating as the rightful heir. Talon Linkson will take the crown as your rightful sovereign as he was meant to do from birth."
Talon looked horrified at the prospect, but Zelda held his gaze and he submitted to her.
Then all of the reporters jumped up protesting, shouting, "No! You can't!" And "No, Princess, don't, we need you!" Another reporter cried out, "Please princess, you are our kingdom's heart! Don't leave us!"
Their remarks gave her all the more resolution to continue along her chosen path. "This is why I must step down and allow you to find your paths without me. It was never our intention to rule you forever, only to guide and protect you until you could find your own way. My final announcement," she continued, "will be my marriage to my one and only love. My Hero, Link, with whom I have already shared eons together." She gestured to the more ordinary looking teenager behind her. "After our marriage, we will fade away and no longer be involved with the government of the kingdom or its military. You will need to find your own wisdom, power, and courage without us. This is all I have to say. I will not be taking any questions." She said, and then she, Link and Talon quickly turned around and returned to the safety of the palace.
After they had gone through the gates, Link turned to her, holding her around her waist and said, "You did well. Just as we discussed."
"You discussed this?" Talon asked in disbelief. "You knew?"
"Of course I knew." Link responded. "I encouraged it. It's time we lived our own lives again, as much as we can with the time we've got. And, it's time your life was given back to you, as much as we could do for you."
"Man, people are going to be upset at that." Bill observed, watching the press conference from a television in the castle apartment he shared with Daniel and Rodney.
"Well, looks like Hyrule's going to need to get along without them sooner or later." Rodney said.
"I was talking about all the Legend of Zelda fans on Earth. What's Nintendo going to do without Link and Zelda?" Bill said, feeling a bit depressed himself.
Daniel and Rodney both raised their eyebrows at the scientist, Daniel mouthing, "Oh...kay..."
"Wow." Rodney added.
"No, I'm serious," Bill went on, "Zelda's a big inspiration to people back on Earth. Imagine what it's going to mean to people here. That one lady was right, Zelda is the heart of this kingdom. From what I've heard from everyone since I got here, she and her father have been a moral compass, and that's not counting the religion built up around her. It's like telling the world that their god's going to retire and they're on their own now."
"I suppose that would make things a bit touchy for a while, wouldn't it?" Rodney said.
"Yes, it certainly would." Daniel agreed. "To every action there is a consequence, and this is one of the big consequences of the Ancients letting people believe that they are all powerful gods. Either they continue the masquerade forever, making the people forever dependent on them, or they give them tough love and force them to start making the right choices for themselves."
"So why the religion then?" Bill asked. "Why did they even start it at all?"
"They actually didn't," Daniel replied, "that was out of their control. They tried to keep it all from the general population as much as possible for thousands of years while protecting them at the same time. That's why the Legend of Zelda was known only to the royal family for so long and then kept close to the breast, so to speak. It was Malon who decided to make it public after Zelda and Link died the last time. She couldn't let go and move on. She wanted everyone to know all that they had done for them."
"So Zelda's trying to what? Fix the spiritual mess that was made?" Bill asked.
"Something like that." Daniel said, agreeing. "It's not going to be easy for anyone."
"No, I imagine not." Bill replied.
Epilogue
The stretch of field on Link's property outside of Ordonville was a vibrant green as he sat atop his mare Epona. His young wife Zelda, round with their first in this life rode side saddle next to him as the two horses walked casually back to their stables. Neither were in any hurry to be anywhere. It was the late summer, and it felt a hot, lazy day.
The small ranch property lay not far down the road from his uncle Russel's. After the small family wedding in the royal chapel, where Russel stood in a place of honor, resplendent in his full gray dress uniforms and all of his hard won medals displayed proudly, giving away the bride, his foster father had pulled him aside after they had exchanged vows in front of Talon, officiating his last act as the Sage of Time before taking the crown himself.
"So, are you coming home after this, or staying in Castleton?" Russel had asked him.
"We don't know where to go yet, Uncle Russel." The question had laid heavily on his mind. "And I don't think living in your attic for the rest of our lives would be the best for us either." He joked.
Russel laughed, "Well, no that's not what I had in mind." He said. "You know, when your mom died, the house you two were in was left open, but it was still in your mom's name. I spoke with the bank and the realtors years ago, and had them put it in your name, to be held in trust for you when you turned seventeen. It's not a big property, only about eighty acres or so, and the house needs some repair, but it might be enough to get the two of you started. Anyways, it's yours free and clear if you feel like you want to come home. It's also far enough away from the main road that I don't think too many people will come looking for you there."
Link had never been more grateful for the man the goddesses had given to raise him then he was at that moment. When he told Zelda, she agreed immediately. "It's not going to be the palace life by any means, he said, but it's big enough to keep our horses, and maybe add a few more."
"Can we start a flower garden?" She asked.
"Of course." Link said.
Talon had ordered a few Royal Family Protection Service Guards to keep uninvited guests off of Link's property, and hadn't given parliament the choice in letting them have a sizable stipend from the royal treasury to live off of, though Link didn't want to depend on that forever. He asked Zelda how she felt about raising goats for market. "As long as we're together, it sounds wonderful." Had been her response.
Their friends from Atlantis had only stayed long enough to ensure that Hyrule would transition peaceably and with stability after Zelda gave up the throne. They had also assisted their new friend Mickey Mouse and a team of Guardsmen to free the self-imprisoned Sages. Finally, General Shepherd stood for Link's best man at their wedding. Out of anyone else present, he had been one of the Hero's oldest, and best friends. Once all these things were done, the four men were returned to their own time and place by Talon, and the Sage of Time in the past, Impa.
His majesty, King Mickey, said his goodbyes as well to the couple after their wedding. "I hope we'll see each other again." He had told them. "And under better circumstances the next time!" And then he too returned to his own kingdom, family, and friends using his keyblade.
"Do you know one thing I will miss?" Link asked Zelda as they rode back to their farmhouse together.
"What is that?" She asked.
"Fencing with my teammates." He answered. "But I can't really go back, can I?"
"No." She answered. "We all have to move on and grow up at some point, whether we want to or not." She then asked, "If you could do it all over, knowing what you know now, would you have changed it?" She asked. "Would you have left me to my fate?"
He looked into her eyes, and then gestured to her swollen belly and the field and forest and house in the distance. "And give up all of this? This one perfect moment that we have now together? Never. It's time we all moved on, and right here and right now is exactly where I want to be, with you, my love."
And they walked their horses on side by side in the twilight of dusk towards the little run down farmhouse. And they lived, as much as they could, happily ever after.
THE END