"So when's she showing up here?" Khai asked.
Link stepped a little higher up on the partially thatched roof to see the dark-eyed boy on the other side.
"She didn't exactly give me a time. She'll be here today at some point though." He said.
Khai nodded packing down another bundle of reeds. He looked up at Link with a smirk.
"You excited?" He asked.
Link smiled as he worked the fixing into the thatch.
"Of course I am. I haven't seen her in over a month." He said.
It was fall in the forest. The day was warm with crispness on the wind, the trees ablaze red and gold in the sun. The two boys had been at been at this task for the better part of the week, and Khai's roof was nearly finished. Now as the sun lit the village in the amber light of the afternoon, they sat down together on a bare beam. Khai still wore his smirk.
"I saw your little goodbye. It was pretty cute." He said.
Link rolled his eyes and took a long drink of water from the canteen beside. He looked out past the edge of the village, to the path that led to the fields beyond. He had been waiting for this day since he had received a letter from the princess a week prior. She was home from visiting the port cities and holding court with the lords of the outlying lands. All in Hyrule now knew that the immediate threat had passed and that Zelda was the acting monarch. She was planning to make her way to him as soon as she was settled. The last time he had seen her had been in the light of dawn, standing barefoot in the grass outside of the stables as he and his family had left for Faron. She had kissed him when she thought no one was watching. Reluctantly, he had pulled himself away and into the saddle. He left her in the sun soaked field to return home, and tend to the forest village. He had replayed that moment in his mind for all that had remained of the summer.
"Don't tease her about it, Khai, she might stab you." Said link.
Khai laughed softly, the breeze throwing his now long, dark curls about his face.
"I can't tease her, she's about to be the queen. I'm just going to make fun of you about it." He said, roughly tousling the boy's hair.
Link slapped his hand away and shook his shaggy hair back around his ears. The boy took a deep breath as he turned his eyes to the rustling trees. The air smelled of moss, fallen leaves and fire, and he was grateful. The thought of seeing the princess again took his stomach and quickened his pulse. It wouldn't be long now. He had been a combination of thrilled and anxious for days. He had been restless, needing always something to do with his hands. Link thought on his time at the castle now, it seemed almost like the memory of a dream as he sat atop the roof.
The day that Link had awakened in the throne room after his brush with death had been a surreal one. The boy had walked through a scorched field, still smoking in the morning light. All who were able had spent the better part of the day looking for survivors among the debris and the piles of bones that had once been the army of corpses. Zelda and Eolan had ridden into the destroyed castle town to assess the damage and look for any who may have been hiding in the ravaged structures. Khai and Link had gone about the fields, finding the injured and riding them back to what was left of the army camp. The old knight and the princess had returned later with the news that the castle was mostly intact, and it seemed that what was left of the hordes has retreated completely back into the shadows. That night, the bodies of Ganondorf and Tairyn were carried from the destroyed throne room and laid in the square as a pyre was built on the cobble stone thoroughfare. It took four men to hoist the Thief King atop the pyre. A crowd had gathered as Eolan stood beside the princess, still in her mother's blood splattered wedding gown. Zelda said a short prayer before she nodded to the old knight and he lit the pyre ablaze. Link had felt the heat from the flames envelope him as Zelda's hand found his. Impa had quietly wrapped Tairyn's body in a sheet and with the help of one of the young knights, took him back that night to Kakariko, to bury him with his family; the Shadow Book cradled in his arms. It was after midnight when the boy finally found himself in the upper halls of the palace. Zelda had shown him to a room adjacent to hers. She had requested a bath drawn for him and Eolan had provided him with clean clothes. As he stood silently in the strange, lavish room he caught sight of himself in the mirror that stood on gilded feet in the corner. He was absolutely filthy; his face smeared with dirt and blood, the green tunic no longer recognizable and instead a deep maroon-brown. He pulled the bloody tunic over his head and removed the chainmail, feeling incredibly light as the mail shirt hit the floor with a metallic jingle. He caught sight of himself in the mirror again, glancing to the gaping hole in the breast of his undershirt before he peeled the blood soaked linen off of his back. He finished undressing and sank into the hot water, submerging himself for a time. When he surfaced, the water was already a muddy pink. Some time after he had dried off and dressed, he heard a soft knock on the door. He opened the door and the princess stood outside, her hair still damp and an ivory nightdress draped around her form.
"May I come in?" She asked, her voice soft and sleepy.
The boy stood aside and Zelda entered, her nightdress trailing gracefully behind her. She sat on the edge of the mattress. Link had settled down beside her, unsure of what to say and too tired to think. She handed him a small loaf of slightly stale bread that had been scavenged for her and the two ate in silence side by side. When they had finished, Zelda looked up at him and laughed softly as she smoothed her fingers through his hair.
"You look like you haven't slept in years." She said
The boy closed his eyes, nodding off for a second as he lost himself to her soft hands in his hair. He caught himself, shaking his head a slight as he brought heavy-lidded eyes back to Zelda. She smiled.
"I can go. You are obviously very tired...as am I." She said
Link shook his head, suppressing a yawn.
"No, I'm fine, really... stay, please?" He said and Zelda looked up at him skeptically though she smiled.
"You can hardly hold yourself up, boy." She said.
Link said nothing, he only smiled and continued to nearly doze at her side. The princess laughed again, and lightly shoved the boy over. He let himself flop backward, the mattress catching him with a feathery thud and cradling him in its softness. He stretched his back and opened his eyes again, looking up at the golden haired girl beside. He had never felt this sort of serenity. It felt almost as if the were suspended in this moment as he looked on at the beautiful face above him, the face of the girl he loved beyond words.
"We're free...aren't we?" He said, his voice nearly a whisper.
Zelda smiled.
"We are. For now... We must part soon though...for a time... I have a lot of cleaning up to do." She said, running her hand over his head.
Link closed his eyes for a moment. Opening them again as Zelda stretched herself out, propping herself on her elbow beside him. He rolled his head toward her.
"How did you do it, Zelda?" He asked
Zelda's brows furrowed.
"Do what?" She replied.
"How did you bring me back? I know I didn't survive that... I knew I was dead the second I felt the blade hit me... Pretty sure he had the tip of the sword in my heart." He said.
The princess blinked down into the blankets for a moment. She gently laid a hand against the boy's chest, where the fatal wound had been only hours before.
"It wasn't me... The old Gods spoke to me, Link... I think for the first time in thousands of years." She said.
Link looked down at her tiny, white hand for a moment before layering it with his own and bringing his eyes back to hers.
"What did they say?"He asked.
Zelda sighed.
"They want me to create a new Sacred Realm...they gave you back to me so that we could lay the Triforce to rest." She said
The boy nodded, looking up at her for a moment more before his eyes finally became too difficult to keep open. The softness of a bed was a sensation he had not felt in so long and he found himself quickly drifting out of consciousness as he lay there on his back. A moment later, he felt the petite frame of the princess press against his own as she slid her arms around him. She rested her head on his chest as he smoothed her hair back against her temple and his arms settled around her. He felt her breathe a long, deep sigh before they each began to drift into the velvet blackness of unconsciousness. They slept in each other's arms that night, a peace neither had ever known before reigning in her soft breathing and the calm rythm of his heart beneath her head.
Khai slapped Link in the arm, the sting pulling him from his thoughts. Reflexively, Link slapped Khai back. The black-eyed boy squawked before he laughed and rubbed his arm.
"Quit spacing out." He said.
Link rubbed his own arm.
"I'm not... I'm thinking." He replied.
"Yeah, I bet." Khai retorted with a short chuckle.
He looked again at the blue-eyed boy and then back out across the village.
"I hope they're hungry. Yolandae's been in the kitchen all day."
As Khai spoke, both young men caught sight of Rue quickly making her way toward them, her arm still in a sling. They waved as she approached and she called out to them as she came to a stop beside the ladder.
"She's here."Said Rue, smiling.
Link and Khai made their way across the village in the afternoon light. Coming up the hilly path now, they could see the three figures who stood waiting before the wide porch of their childhood home. Impa and Yolandae chatted easily and Khai called out to Eolan as he stood with his and Impa's horses. Link slowed his pace as he came upon the familiar figure of the princess. She stood beside a white stallion, her golden hair looped into lavish braids and gathered in a pin behind her head, falling in ringlets down her back. She wore a sapphire blue, silk dress. He stopped, nearly overcome at the sight of her. Zelda turned to him, her delicate crown sitting proudly above her brow. They looked on at each other for a minute before she came to him. She looked up at him, her eyes finding his. She took his hands.
"It is so good to see you, Link." Zelda said softly.
He felt his cheeks redden as his name passed her lips. They embraced, and the boy held the princess tightly as he laid his cheek against her head.
"I've missed you... " He said.
They gently pulled away, lingering for a moment with their hands together as they each looked affectionately upon the other's face. The boy gestured to the house.
"Come on, there's a lot of food." He said.
After dinner, Link, Khai, Zelda and Impa departed for the deep woods. Attached to Impa's and Eolan's horse was a small cart. Within it lay the pedestal that housed the holy sword. The sun sank lower now as the boy and the princess trotted ahead. Impa and Khai smiled knowingly at each other as she watched them ride abreast against the scarlet leaves. Link looked aside to Zelda
"How was the travel?" He asked and the princess sighed loudly.
"Exhausting, I am more than happy to be home. " She said.
Link laughed.
"I can imagine. I haven't left the woods since I've been back." He said.
Zelda looked over at the boy.
"The fall is just as gorgeous as you promised..."She said
"Told you." The boy returned.
Zelda smiled, and they rode quietly together for a time. As they rode deeper into the forest, the princess looked aside to the boy as they rode.
"So…Do you feel them, The Three? Is it speaking to you at all?" She asked, curiosity in her voice.
Link drew a deep breath and shook his head.
"It feels like they're asleep... that was part of the wish., for them to go dormant." He said.
Zelda looked back to the path as she considered his words.
"I suppose that is good… The worst is over now… there is nothing left to do but rebuild and put right the mistakes of the past… " She said, looking back into the eyes of the boy beside her.
He blinked a few times before he looked ahead to the path.
"Yeah... that's why they brought me back this time, right?" Link asked.
"Yes… We must finish this." Said Zelda.
As the trail grew rocky and the mountains came into view Link directed Impa, Zelda, and Khai to fallow the narrow river that flowed from one of the many springs that spilled from the mountain upstream. They came to a place where the grass became long and wispy, the sound of rushing water louder now as the canopy opened up and gave way to a thicket of wild apple trees. Zelda slowed her horse, looking about her. Apples of every color hung fat and ripe on the branches. The rocky face of the surrounding mountains rose before them as spring water plummeted over the rock and into the river below. Link pulled Epona to a stop beside the princess.
"This is it." He said.
Zelda looked to him and then back to her surroundings.
"It's beautiful… " She said.
They dismounted and Link lead them to a shelf of rock beside the little waterfall that poured from the mountain. Link, Impa and Khai with moderate effort lifted the pedestal and carried it up the slope of stone to the flat top of the shelf. The mist of the falls cooling their skin as they positioned it on the ground beside the vertical stone of the rising mountains, Zelda made her way up behind, delicately holding her dress in her hands as she climbed the slope. Link watched her as she came to stand beside him. Never had she looked so regal, this girl who could hit a Bulblin in the eye with an arrow from a few hundred paces away. The princess looked up at him, her palm upturned. From the pouch on his belt, Link pulled a piece of chalk and laid it in her hand. On the wall of stone before them, Zelda traced the shape of a door. She turned back to them, the hem of her dress rustling in the chilly breeze.
"Impa, Khai, you will each be a witness to this event. The creation of a new Sacred Realm... the Triforce has been made whole and will go back to Hyrule at last." She said, turning back to the stone wall.
Slowly, focusing intently, Zelda laid her hand to the rock. Instantly, the doorway to the void opened again as Zelda turned to Link. She smiled as the boy stepped up beside her. They stood before the gate, the vast emptiness of the place between worlds stretching out before them. Zelda concentrated on the blackness, willing a stairway into being. As Link watched in wonder, an ascending stairway formed in the darkness. The two looked at each other before they laced their fingers together and stepped through the doorway as Impa and an astonished Khai looked on.
The spirit world is vast and silent as Link and the princess follow the stairway up into the darkness. Looking back, it looks as if they have stepped through water as the light bends and ripples around the door to their world. Finally, they pass the final step and stand now on a platform that seems to be made of solid, blue light. The princess turns to him. She takes his hands and looks up at him.
"Here, Link. Release them here." Zelda says.
The boy nods, gathering his thoughts for a moment. He takes a breath before he focuses. He feels the relic rip free and he nearly collapses as the glow of it fills the emptiness, illuminating Zelda's face. She looks to him as he gets his bearings. He steadies himself, staring in wonder at the glowing triangle; its aura almost flaming in the phantom winds of the spirit world. Link looks to the princess, gesturing with a twitch of his head to the relic. Zelda turns, carefully she reaches out delicate fingers to bush the surface of the Triforce. A warm, golden light surges forth. It fills the emptiness, and radiates across time and space.
In Eldin, an old man traveled across the field in the dying light. He was making his way back to Kakariko after his long absence. Wearily, he approached the ruined bridge in consternation. He had not known the bridge out of Lanayru had been destroyed and he balked now at the thought of camping in the fields. Suddenly, feeling a rather forceful gust from the canyon, he turned to see the bridge reform itself brick by brick as it glowed brighter than the sun. The old man shielded his eyes. When he opened them again, the Bridge of Eldin spanned the canyon again as if it had never fallen.
In Lanayru, the last of the ice in the Zora court melted with a steaming hiss and Queen Rutolla awoke on her hands and knees on the tiled floor. She looked up, as the others who had been frozen beside her gradually awoke and the water flowed free once more. In Castle Town, the guards and carpenters watched in awe as the filth and destruction dissipated into the air, restoring the town to as it was.
In Ofaria, the destroyed crop yards bloomed forth, suddenly rich with grain and vegetables in a flash of golden light. The houses destroyed recombined themselves as the villagers watched with hanging jaws.
Impa and Khai waited anxiously, watching for the two youths to return through the gate as the sky turned orange and lavender through the trees. Suddenly, both Impa and Khai felt something like a sonic blast through the air, the sky flashed intense yellow as Zelda and Link reappeared. The doorway now glowed with immense energy as a new world forged itself behind it. The boy and the princess looked back to the doorway. She turned to him now.
"Lay the sword to rest and close the door, Link." Said Zelda.
The boy drew the sword, looking to the princess as he positioned himself to drive it back into the stone. Zelda stepped up beside him. Gently, she laid her hands on top of Link's as he clutched the hilt. The sword began to glow as she guided his hands downward. He pushed the blade into the pedestal as the door to the Scared Realm closed and sealed the Triforce inside. Link let go of the hilt and stepped back. A moment of silence passed as he and Zelda stood together, the crisp fall wind ruffling their hair. From the mist of the deep forest, the four of them could see now that figures had begun to approach. Link's eyes widened as he beheld the fruition of Zelda's wish. The once dead now walked sleepy and confused out of the trees, stumbling forward as though just waking from a deep sleep. Rubbing their eyes, the few forest dwellers Link had recognized waved lazily at him and Khai as they passed. Khai's mouth hung open as he watched figure after figure wander out from the trees. Among them, the boys could now make out the familiar forms of a red head and a swordsman. Khai stepped forward, his eyes glistening as he stared into the distance. When he was sure that what he saw was real he shot off in a run toward the trees. In the evening light, the boy and the princess watched as the dark-haired boy scooped a confused, sleepy Mariana into his arms and sank with her to the forest floor as a puzzled Roland shuffled up behind. Link turned, wide-eyed and breathless to Zelda who smiled sweetly at him. They embraced, holding each other close in the waning light. They kissed then, passionately before the princess pulled back to look up into the boy's eyes.
"Thank you, Link..." She said as he cupped her face in his hands.
He smiled, kissing her again in answer before he took her hand in his. Their lives, at least the rest of this one, were their own now. Link led his princess toward the horses and the smiling Impa, to follow the procession of all who had been lost out of the forest, as the harvest moon rose pink and full behind them.
There is a legend told in these lands… a legend, they say, that is even older than Hyrule itself. It is always the story of a boy with the unbreakable soul of a hero, and a princess with the blood of a Goddess in her veins and the evil they must face. It spans eons and connects the centuries together as the years pass into memory. It is a tale told beneath vast seas of emerald leaves, on the tops of mountains, beside glassy lakes and atop hills of sand. Sometimes it is told as a simple love story, other times a tragedy. Though the details are lost to time, two remain the same. There is always a boy; selfless and pure of heart, his courage dauntless...and there is always a princess; her wisdom far surpassing her years, her will unwavering. The two follow one another through time, stitched to the others side and woven forever into the tapestry of this rich and beautiful world.
XxX The End XxX