I agonised over what the epilogue should be and even questioned if I should have one at all. There were a lot of tidbits I wanted to mention, but there wasn't a compelling way to tie them together.

First I envisioned a high school graduation ceremony with Zelda doing a speech that summed up the themes, followed by our main four talking about the future, and finishing with Ganondorf pulling a prank on Link (and Midna.)

Then I wondered about having a series of double drabbles about various characters' 'Where Are They Now?' but did you all really need to know that Solaria filed to divorce Tahk's ass the day after her kids ran away? (And no, that did not persuade Midna to reconnect with her.)

Ultimately I had to ask myself "What would these characters envision as their happy ending?" and that happened to be a flash forward to Link and Ganondorf exploring this new world, but now with extra company. And I believe there was a certain snowy camping trip mentioned back in Chapter 18 that I haven't yet delivered on...

So without further ado, please enjoy the final instalment of 'The Magic Awakens' :D

The Magic Awakens

Epilogue

Life at its Peak

The frigid cold of Snowpeak was but a friendly nip on Link's toasty fingertips. The newfound magical properties of spices banished the need for bulky layers. He was more than comfortable in his father's faded green shirt as his exposed tattoo sleeve reached for the next hold on the cliffside.

It was inspired by the mural of when the magic was sealed away, but between the Link and Zelda of old, Ganondorf's predecessor also held the hilt. Two years ago, when the Triforce Trio shared the truth with the world, not everyone believed that this was how the magic was really sealed away. Titles such as 'chosen hero', 'spirit maiden', and 'demon king' were useless to the trio now, but they never quite faded in the eyes of the public.

"Link," Midna wheezed a few metres below. "Can I please ride in your shadow?"

"No."

"But I'm tired," she whined.

"C'mon, this is good for you," he said. "When was the last time you got a good workout?"

Her belay creaked as she surrendered to it. Her limp body, dressed in a black sports bra and leggings, swayed. "I miss gymnastics," she muttered. She hadn't the time for it during law school.

"Hurry up, Mids!" Ganondorf called from the peak. "We gotta get up here before Naydra shows up." His sneakers dangled off the edge of the cliff and running past his right was Midna's belay.

With a groan, Midna collected herself with her orange lightning and was carried to the cliff face. "Hey, cheater!" Link exclaimed.

"If Zel gets to levitate, why can't I?"

"Because I needed to attach the belays," Zelda called from beside Ganon, clutching Link's rope. "And then did you notice me climb the proper way, or were you too distracted Link's new tattoo?"

Wow. Shots fired. But who could blame Midna? Mikau had a tattoo sleeve and he was her sexual awakening. Some fascinations never faded.

Link wasn't as fast a climber as he used to be, forced to slow at times lest he trigger his asthma, but he clambered onto the snow as his girlfriend still grumbled her way up. Zelda wasn't kidding about the sight up here. There was a deep and perfectly circular pool surrounded by criss-crossing pillars of glacier that sparkled in the golden sunrise. Cold darners hovered about as cool safflina swayed in the breeze. A few blue frogs breast-stroked just beneath the surface. Link's stomach lurched. Had Zelda spotted them?

Through great strain, stress, and strength, Midna heaved herself over the edge and rolled onto her back. The other three in the party jokingly clapped for her. She shot them an icy glare. Their magic peppers couldn't protect them from that.

"Now that we're up here, I have an announcement," she declared breathlessly. "I'm dropping out of law school."

Zelda gasped. "But you'd make a wonderful lawyer."

"Pfft! I don't care. It's demanding, it's draining, and I only wanted to be a public defendant to spite my dad, but now I can't give a shit about him even if I try. Where's the motivation?"

"I suppose that makes sense." Zelda offered a hand and hauled Midna upright. "I'm proud of you."

"Yeah! Fuck law school." Ganondorf got to his feet and gestured at the expansive view of Hyrule beneath the wash of clouds. "Tell the world."

Midna laughed, but as absurd as the suggestion was, she was dying for catharsis. So she stood up, cupped her hands, and shouted at the top of her lungs. "FUCK LAW SCHOOL!"

"FUCK IT! FUCK IT ALL!" Ganondorf yelled.

"GET FUCKED, PROFESSOR TINGLE! MY NAME'S NOT FUCKING MINDA!"

"YEAH, AND FUCK POLITICS TOO!"

"FUCK POLITICS!"

"WOOHOO!"

"I regret everything," Zelda muttered to Link.

He nudged her. "Aw, c'mon. They need this."

That they did. While Midna had been drowning under the workload of a future she did not want, Ganondorf had to watch on as Riju begin her mentorship with Urbosa to become the Gerudo's new council representative. Even though he had proved his innocence in court, his reputation had been irreversibly damaged. It was an agonising choice to hand the future leadership he coveted to Riju, but it was the right call. Unlike Demise, Ganondorf didn't want to hoard power that wasn't suited to him.

A flick of water caught Zelda's eye. She drew a sharp breath. "Is that a cold-footed frog?"

Link's eyes bulged. Nope nope not this again nope. "Zel." She was already splashing through the shallows. "Zel," Link tried again.

Zelda clapped around the target. "Aha!" She shimmied back on her knees and elbows with the prize wriggling in her hands. Her soaked form knelt before him with chattering teeth. "I-Isn't it such a f-fine specimen?" Zelda shoved the frog towards Link's scrunched face. "What a c-catch!" she chittered.

Link dodged the tongue and lowered Zelda's wrists. "I want to go on one trip, one trip, where I don't have to eat a frog."

"B-but scholars hyp-pothesise it makes the consumer s-stronger. Y-you could finally win an a-arm wrestling match with G-Ganon."

"No."

"Please? It w-will make my professor s-so happy."

"Why can't Ganon be your lab rat for once?"

"He's al-lergic."

"What?" Link turned to Ganondorf, who had ended his dirty declarations at the sound of his name.

"Yeah, mate," he confirmed.

"How do you even know you're allergic to frogs?" Link asked.

"How do you know you're not?"

"Ewww!" Midna shrieked, coiling into herself. "That it! I'll never kiss you again."

Link glowered at his sister. "Thanks, Zel. You just ruined my life."

"It was f-for science!" she said.

"And I suppose the brewing hypothermia is for science, too," Midna chastised. She had already called a shadow from one of the glaciers to dry Zelda off.

After it had pulled all the water from Zelda's activewear, the return of the magical warmth had her so relaxed that the frog wriggled from her grip. "Hey!" She scrambled after it. Link and Ganon seized a shoulder each and pulled her back, but she kept reaching towards that stupid pond. "But science!"

"Zel, you know I love you," Ganondorf began, "but a bloody dragon is about to show." He jabbed a finger at the glacial pillars; the rays of sunlight grazed where they met snow.

The water bubbled. The mountain rumbled. Silver jaws erupted from the pool, chased by a cluster of glacial cyan horns, a glistening serpentine body, and six birdlike legs with pearly claws. The benevolent dragon of ice, Naydra, swirled above them like a dancer's ribbon.

When magic returned for good, reports said that this dragon had awoken from their magical slumber as if it was a day like any other. People marvelled them, revered them, and feared them. There was so much to know about this magnificent creature, but few had the nerve to study it up close until now.

Midna kept the dragon centred in the camera of her slate as it snaked down the mountain. Zelda's future as a magi-biologist was assured, or so Midna thought until she heard the creak of a bow string.

The camera flicked to Zelda calibrating her aim with one eye open. "You're going to shoot it?" Midna shrieked.

"Of course." Zelda drew the string. "I wanted to bring a sample back to the university." The arrow flew. Link, Midna, and Ganondorf scrambled behind the glaciers. Zelda Harkinian, who used to hold rules in such high regard, had just provoked a dragon. Did they see the arrow pierce? No. Did they have to? Not at all. Zelda never missed.

A few years ago, Link might've pulled her from the perceived danger. Now, as she became more impassioned with age, he saw her as an adult capable of making her own crazy decisions with crazy consequences. He wasn't sure if that was less stress or more on his part.

Ganondorf leaned towards Link. "Remember when she was too scared to climb a tree?" he grumbled.

"Hardly."

Zelda's screech startled them. Did Naydra retaliate? Was Zelda, catalogue of her past lives and former bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, done in by her own stupidity? "Look look look!" she called.

Link peaked around the pillar first. Naydra was carrying on down the mountain as if nothing had disturbed them at all. Zelda's bouncing silhouette against the sun held her prize high above her head.

It was the size of a dinner plate. A silver scale with an iridescent blue sheen. When the party emerged to marvel it, Zelda hugged it to her chest and twirled in delight. "With this trophy, I declare myself a pioneer in the study of dragons. I shall host lectures, seminars, and documentaries," she whimsied. "Anything to show that I didn't peak in high school."

Link chuckled and spoke as if he was at a holiday dinner in Ordon. "Stop bringing up my chosen hero phase. I was 17."

Ganondorf snorted. "Ma'am, you don't need to beg the Goddesses to have mercy on you. I just want my coffee."

"It's always 'How dare you date my celebrity crush' and never 'How dare you be my celebrity crush,'" Midna tossed in.

Link draped an arm around her waist. "You're my celebrity crush."

"Shut up! I'm only famous for being your girlfriend. Actually, I'm infamous for it."

The banter, as golden as the sun, went on and on until they were in stitches, rolling in the snow. This moment was divine. This moment was a gift. This moment was life at its peak, because to have incredible company in the most isolated place in all of Hyrule was the greatest magic of all.

And there you have it! Our characters are happy and healthy and thriving. Looks like Zelda changed the most. Her BotW is showing XD

So now that we're at the end, please tell me your thoughts. When did you laugh? When did you cry? What's your favourite line? What's your favourite chapter? Tell me tell me tell me! Even if you're reading long after this story has ended, please please tell me! There's no such thing as a late comment, either.

Nintendo Direct Translator Voice: "Oh, and one more thing."

I have already released the first chapter of my next project. (Why yes I am foolish enough to launch a new story during NaNoWrIMo.) It's called 'The Light Invasion' and it's an epic-length, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, canon-divergent AU of Twilight Princess. Instead of the twilight invading the light realm, the light invades the twilight realm. There will be slowburn Midlink, there will be badass Zelda, there will be a ton of world-building for the twilight realm, and there will be more villainous OCs since you all loved to hate Tahk Ozul so much. Here's the summary:

The light spirits have abandoned Hyrule, plunging it into an ever-lasting night. Zelda's husband says that the light was stolen away. He says that the Twili are to blame. But Midna? She calls him a liar; she calls the missing daylight a burning apocalypse upon her realm; and she calls upon Link to betray his comrades, his prince, his queen, and his kingdom.

Seriously, I am sparing no effort. This baby has been in the works ever since I started drafting 'The Magic Awakens'. If you're reading this on AO3, there are BANNERS and even a PODFIC version!

Maybe I'll see you there, or maybe this is where we part ways. Either way, thank-you so much for reading :)