SORRY I'VE BEEN GONE A WHILE! This chapter has been sitting around, collecting dust, and I've brought it out of the cabinet to get some light. Hope you enjoy this extremely delayed chapter!
Chapter Seventeen: Great Fairy Mija
Zelda feeds her horse one more apple before continuing their journey on foot.
They've made it to the beautiful area of the Akkala Region. Trees of red and orange leaves dancing in the wind, with compliments of yellows and greens. The guards hold onto the reins of Zelda's and Link's horses as the two walk ahead of them all. Zelda has noticed a change in Link's behavior. He's not up for conversation, and only really mentions that they need to get to Mija as quickly as they can.
Zelda musters up some courage before tugging at Link's ripped tunic. "Link, mind if we talk for a moment?" He glances over at her, his pupils dilating before nodding. "Since last night, you haven't been… well. I'm worried that Ganon's words have bothered you a bit too much."
"'M okay," Link murmurs. His voice is deprived of the bit of happiness he's had since the day they learned that Ganon would be reincarnated soon. "Don't worry about me, Your Highness. Miss Mija deserves your concern more."
"Address me that way again, and I'll dismiss you as my knight," Zelda quietly threatens. Link freezes for a moment, holding a glance on her until she gives up. "...I'm not serious, but… it feels like since last night, you've been distant."
He looks back and continues walking, with Zelda quickly tailing behind him. "I just want to see Mija," Link hums hastily. He holds Piccolo tightly, making sure he doesn't slip as he rushes his way to the Great Fairy's forest. Piccolo lowers his ears in anxiety, unsure why the two weren't in their usual moods.
They make it to the entrance in silence, in which Link looks around to make sure no surprises or enemies are nearby. His blue eyes steadied on the trees, which he was pleasantly surprised to find that they weren't contaminated with Malice. Looking back at the guards, Link puts his hand in the air, with his index finger up and spins his wrist. The Hylian guards nod, quickly getting in their places to guard the perimeter as Link and Zelda check on Mija.
Link offers Zelda his hand, in which she takes happily as the forest was messied. Rocks and boulders look misplaced on the path, with many branches, too, scattered on the ground. Link notices how peculiarly quiet it was. There would always be birds chirping, or creatures rushing between bushes in fear. But he keeps moving forward, guiding Zelda while holding Piccolo tightly in one arm. He then freezes, his pupils enlarging from the sight.
The once graceful, and lively Great Fairy, whose voice charmed and her eyes swayed, is now completely made of stone. Link puts down Piccolo, and lets go of Zelda, forcing his legs to walk towards the now silent Great Fairy. He studies her face, seeing that she did cry before turning to stone. Malice still moves around her, but it stays only within the range of Mija's flower. Link fell to his knees, distraught at the sight of an ally who lost her fight.
"Why…" Link begins quietly, "why is she…"
Zelda joins him, getting on her knees while woefully studying the Great Fairy's frozen state. Tears begin to well up in her eyes. Zelda, though never meeting the Great Fairies, always held respect for them. Her mother always told her stories of the Great Fairies, how their beauty is unmatched and their powers beyond healing. She reaches out to touch at least a petal, only to be shocked by an invisible shield of Malice.
Link quickly grabs her hand and eyes it worriedly, but Zelda shakes him off, "I'm fine!" Her emerald eyes stare at Mija's eyes, who only had tears to shed before turning into stone. "Ganon… he didn't do this. He left Malice, but he wasn't the one who turned her into stone." Zelda quickly notices some discoloration of the grass before Mija's flower. "Mother used to tell me the stories of the Great Fairies. Rumor has it that the Great Fairies have a way of escaping without moving or dying when in the face of danger."
The Hero looks down at the grass, plucking a few strands of it. He notices the tips are becoming more of a light brown. "What does it mean?"
"It means that she might have destroyed a part of herself," Zelda explains quietly. At that thought, Piccolo ran around, sniffing the area in search of another soul. Then, a shrub shakes just a few inches from Link. Quickly, Link withdraws his sword and uses his body to cover Zelda, his blue eyes narrowing at the movement. Piccolo goes to investigate, its blue body crawling cautiously over. And, to its surprise, the head of another Blupee reveals itself.
Link and Zelda watch silently as Piccolo encourages the other Blupee to come out. The creature comes out carefully, with Piccolo looking away to allow its fellow kind to sniff it. After confirming Piccolo wasn't dangerous, the Blupee looks over at Link and Zelda. "What is it doing?" Link murmurs.
Piccolo crawls to Link slowly, encouraging the Blupee to do the same. The creature follows suit, immediately smelling the Hero. Link remains still, putting his trust in Piccolo as the Blupee investigates. "Why is it…?" Zelda begins before flinching when the Blupee begins to smell her. Its ears quickly rise and go stiff, looking up curiously at the Queen. "Wh-what is it?" She asks quietly.
The Blupee emits a sort of screech, looking around the forest as if to attract something. Immediately, the creatures of the forest reveal themselves from the bushes and trees. Other stray Blupees, deer, rabbits, and all that live harmoniously reveal themselves to the Hylians. Piccolo looks at them, beginning to talk with the language Link nor Zelda could understand. The leading Blupee nods before beckoning the other Blupee's to come over. They go back to the bush, moving it a bit before revealing something special: Mija's wing. More than 4 of the small creatures help in carrying it, presenting it before Hyrule's Hero.
Link bends down and gently takes it from them, giving them each a prompt head pat. He forces a smile, but he could feel a hitch in his throat. The urge to cry has been pushing forward more and more, but his eyes still haven't gone blurry. "Thank you," Link says in a raspy, weak voice. He forces himself not to clench his fist around the wing before passing it to Zelda.
Zelda holds the wing gently- it was light, as the others are. "She knew…" All the creatures around come out, and walk towards Mija. They collect themselves around her, laying down and resting their eyes. The Queen's eyes water, "she had to make a choice… between her and everyone else…"
Link feels something hitch in his throat as he looks at all the forest creatures surrounding poor Mija's stone body. He can't keep letting Ganon do this. Even after defeating him, Link understands that he will only come back around again and again, forever. There has to be something, he thinks. There has to be something to stop him for good.
"We should go," Link quickly tells Zelda, "we need to get to Death Mountain as soon as we can." The emerald-eyed beauty looks up at Link, seeing a new spark in his eyes. It was his usual determination, but there was a gloss of something else. Something she hasn't seen since before he almost left this world, 100 years ago. It was almost like there was a bit of struggle in those blue orbs of his.
Link bows before Mija, meeting eyes with many of the creatures before whistling over to Piccolo for it to hop on his back. Taking Zelda's hand, the three of them leave the forest, where Zelda quickly entrusts the soldiers with Mija's wing before everyone mounts their horses and sets off for Death Mountain.
Throughout the journey, Link couldn't help but think about Mija and her other sisters. They are fighting their own battles against Ganon, and there is nothing Link could do yet until he prepares himself once again. He realizes this burden that sits on his shoulders is being shared. Not just with Zelda, but with Impa, Purah, Robbie, Paya, the Great Fairies, and everyone who will do anything to protect the living things of Hyrule. And they're all working so hard just for Link to do the final step of sending that damnation back to where he belongs.
Night comes, and the gang has arrived at the South Akkala Stable. Link places a few berries before Piccolo, allowing the creature to rush up a tree to eat its dinner peacefully and away from the other Hyruleans. The visitors of the stable quickly rush to talk to the Queen, who happily smiles while speaking to her people. Link requests a few beds, in which the stable owner easily agrees and leaves his position to prepare the comfiest bed for 'Her Highness.'
Link puts down his armor, requesting the guards to keep an eye on it as he goes over to one of the entries of the stable to take a seat. With forearms on his knees, he flickers his eyes at Piccolo, who sleeps happily on a branch, and the moon that looms over the land of Hyrule. He's then startled when a small bread bun is dropped on his arms. Link looks up to see Zelda, who too has a bread bun as she takes a seat beside him.
"May I join you?" Zelda asks sweetly.
"Of course," Link murmurs. She takes a seat extremely close to Link, her leg very much touching his. His heart begins to speed up a bit, quickly trying to distract himself by taking the bread Zelda gave him, and taking a big bite. His taste buds explode happily, and he begins to take bigger, quicker bites.
Zelda laughs at him, "I'm glad to see you've still got an appetite!" Even with her cheerful voice, she knew Link wasn't doing well. He eats the bread eagerly, but his blue eyes look faded. "Link, are you still thinking about Lady Mija?"
Link stops eating, his arms slowly going back down to his legs. He chews the last bit of bread in his mouth, and swallows, feeling as though he's just swallowed hot lava. "I'm thinking about Cotera, too… they're all fighting against Ganon, waiting for me to end this nightmare…" His fingers begin to clench around the bread, denting its softness. "But going through this again, it… it…" Words leave him as he distantly watches the night.
A hand sits lightly on his forearm. Link looks over to see Zelda with a gentle, but broken smile on her face. "I know," she says quietly, "you are the Hero destined to wield the sword that seals the darkness, and that burden is something I will never, ever understand. Facing him once again will not at all be easy, even if doing it before. But I always feel comfort in knowing you are the chosen Hero of Hyrule…"
Link smiles weakly, but his eyes still hold that pain, "I just don't want to let you down."
"You will never let me down, Link," Zelda says in a shaky tone. Tears envelop in her eyes, threatening to slide down her cheeks. "You've never left me alone since we met, don't you know? After my mothers passing, the only times I've ever seen my father were to either be scolded or reminded of my duty… the only consistency that I have in my life is you, Link." The tears finally release themselves. "Even when I-I didn't want you around, y-you always showed up. You've always b-been there, even until your last breath… even when I ordered you t-to leave me…"
Link shuffles a bit, awkwardly meeting her eyes, but looking away again. He wasn't sure whether he should look at her when saying the words he's about to say. "You…," Link begins shyly, "are all that I have left."
Zelda feels her heart going all sorts of mad inside her chest. She knows that no matter what life could throw at her, Link would always be there, right behind her. But she doesn't want that anymore. "Link, I have a request," Zelda hums. "After all of this is over, I no longer want you to be my knight."
Link jumps, his eyes now wide open. "Why?" He asks frantically, his skin going pale.
"Because I'd like you to be my partner," Zelda begins warmly, "I'd like for us to marry when peace is brought back."
The Hero suddenly erupts in coughs, choking on absolutely nothing but air. He accidentally drops the rest of his bread, covering his mouth with the bend of his elbow while looking into Zelda's eyes. Those emerald eyes have never been more serious until now. Zelda worriedly looks at him, constantly asking if he's alright as she pats his back.
As he calms down, he finally keeps his eyes on hers. "I promised King Rhoam that I would be your knight, and protect you until I can't… I don't think he'd want me to m-marry you…"
"I think you're the only man he'd ever give my hand to," Zelda says confidently, "my father was very fond of you. He said the reason he trusted you so much was because you are so much like your father. And he trusted your father more than anyone."
Link blinks a few times before looking down at the ground. He weaves his fingers together and bounces one of his legs anxiously. Link never considered anything beyond his current relationship with Zelda. He knows how he feels about her, but crossing that line wasn't exactly something he's ever thought about before. He also knows he couldn't let just anyone have her, either. He's a selfish man, and only trusts himself with Zelda.
"Y-you don't have to give me an answer now!" Zelda nervously spews. She was now realizing how forward that request was, and was mentally slapping her forehead. She quickly gets on her feet, looking away shyly to hide how red her face has become. "We have a lot of time before that happens, s-so!" She then gives Link the rest of her bread. "I'm f-full! A-and I'm going to sleep. Goodnight!"
Link looks back as the Queen rushes back into the stable, pulls off her boots, and hides under the blanket, pretending to be in immediate slumber. He couldn't help but smile widely, but now he realizes more than ever that he needs to get rid of Ganon much faster. He needs to go to Korok Forest as soon as they're done at Death Mountain. He needs to restore peace as soon as he can if he wants to-
The Hero's expression suddenly goes blank, and his face is scorching hot. "Why didn't I just tell her?" Link whispers to himself as he takes a bite of Zelda's bread. Then, the realization that he's just bitten at where she has bitten causes him to choke, waking up Piccolo from its sleep to go and check on its new owner.