The hero is here

Time ran fast and winter soon arrived in the Eagle's Nest, painting everything white and grey.

I hurried to get enough supplies for several weeks, just in case. The western land is bountiful in spring, sterile and wasteland in the long winters, so there is always plenty of trade in winter and it's also time to take advantage of the fruits and products stored up since late autumn. We had everything in the Nest, in fact we had more than usual, many wedding gifts were jams, salted meats and fish, and other delicacies typical of cold lands. Still, it was my first winter in the Nest since... anyway, I don't even know since when. And I couldn't let anything be missing, Dad always said that storms in this area could last for weeks, we could get caught for a long time and there could be no lack of food or firewood for the family.

The main trade route of the West was in Nightfall. It was the centre of everything, much more than Fort Hawk. It was the biggest western city and the trading relations with Hyrule were strong. And... Hyrule remained an important source of supplies for us, no matter how much the barbarians of the north were claiming they could live on meat and rhino fat throughout the winter. Without Hyrule there would be no cereal for bread, rice, or other products that disappeared or barely grew in the West.

It was weird for me to have to take care of all that stuff, that supply control, luckily Manroy helped a lot, and so did my trusted men. Fridd and Aldren helped me bring carts full of flour, lamp oil, apples, and other supplies to the Nest. We would leave the fortress early and return in the evening. Sometimes they stayed for dinner, even to sleep. I didn't want them to be exposed to a blizzard on the way home.

"Impossible to leave today, Captain," Manroy said. We both looked down the outer wall, there were several feet of snow covering it all.

"What a blizzard last night."

"It's definitely a day to stay close to a good fire," he said.

"Yes, no doubt."

"What about the boys?

"Luckily I sent them home yesterday, they hadn't rested for days, and I see that our pantries are overflowing. I didn't want to exhaust them if there was no real need."

"More firewood will be needed, just in case," Manroy growled, scratching his chin, "there's still an empty shed left, and we could fill it for safety."

"I'll cut more when the snow comes down, today it's going to be impossible at all."

I entered the Nest shaking the snow on my shoulders. It was a cold day, but inside all the fireplaces were burning and the feeling was warm. I went to the kitchen, there was a great smell of food coming from there.

"I'm going to tell Frea."

"What the-? You scared me, Zelda, what are you doing there?"

"Read for a while," she said. She was stood on the floor by the fire in the small living room, so I hadn't seen her, "no trip to Nightfall today?"

"No, I'm afraid we're trapped in the snow."

"Boring, isn't it?" She smiled. I shrugged. "Hey Link."

"What?"

"Nothing."

She nailed her green eyes on me and I had to run away with the excuse of taking off my wet clothes. Wasn't everything going to go back to normal? Any other day I wouldn't have minded sitting with her on that carpet and read too for a while… with the nice company of the cherry scent. But I've been unable to do anything like that since I wanted her. I wanted Zelda so badly.

I was doomed, it was like if her scent was everywhere, not just in her, and I slept every night thinking about the feeling of biting her lips, thick and firm, her body surrendered and her hands touching me. I've become a complete moron. I couldn't even talk to her without thinking of kisses. Her kisses blinded my mind and I've forgotten how to talk. I couldn't talk to her anymore, that's it.

So, to try to clear up my stupid moblin brain I had been travelling restlessly to Nightfall. The hard work had been good for me to disconnect a little because I was up to lose my mind, because we lived together and… I didn't want her to see me like a complete idiot.

But Zelda wasn't oblivious to my weird behaviour, and she knew that since what happened in her quarters I was avoiding her, though I hope she ignores the reasons. Besides, we'd put aside the "make an heir" thing, and I hadn't proposed it to her once again. I know this situation upsets her, she uses to smile to cover up her confusion, but I know she's disoriented by my attitude.

But I just couldn't. I couldn't. Not like this in this weird way. How could I pretend to call anything home by forcing things? It wasn't real. We had to find another way to save ourselves. Not like this. We'd already been through that and it wasn't good. After seeing myself in her eyes I realised it wasn't supposed to be like that, that's all, things would have to come naturally or never come at all, I was tired of obligations and Aldry's ideas creeping into my life. Inside my house there would be no obligations. And I couldn't use my wife to save the Nest. I would never forgive myself for that.

Manroy's horn made me react. Who could come to the Nest with such a storm? I got dressed and went out at full speed.

"Who is it, Link?" Zelda came up with me.

"I don't know, you wait here."

I found Manroy trying to unlock the gates. There was too much snow and it wasn't an easy task, so I helped him with a shovel.

"Who the hell is it?"

"You'll be surprised," Manroy said.

At the gates I found the red eyes of the sheikah woman. She barely wore a thin layer of skin, but it seemed as if the cold didn't matter to her in the slightest.

"Captain Link. I hope we'll be welcome in the Eagle's Nest, just as you promised."

I frowned without understanding, and then I saw that she was hiding a hooded man, waiting patiently behind her. It was the young Prince Gaepora.

When Zelda saw her brother, she clung to him and cried for a long time without letting him go. It made my heart sink, and I don't think I realised how much she missed her family until I saw her reaction.

"Why didn't you warn us?" She groaned, on his shoulder, "what an idiot... you had to warn that you were coming..."

"It wouldn't have been a surprise, but I'm already here, there's no need to keep mourning…" he teased, she laughed on his shoulder.

"You said spring...," she insisted, sipping tears through her nose.

"I know, I know. I managed to convince Father. Or rather I told Father I'd leave the castle forever if he wouldn't let me come to see you."

That reunion was going on for a while, so I offered Impa a tea in a different room to let them some privacy. I didn't expect her to accept it, but I was surprised by a "yes."

"The road must have been difficult," I said, serving her a cup.

"It has been. But the prince was well prepared. He's come a long way in his training."

"And... what does King Rhoam think of this?"

"I had the opportunity to have a talk with His Majesty," she sipped some tea, "he knows that the princess needs her family. And it's true that the prince insisted quite a lot."

I imagined Impa living in full resignation, if the prince was half as stubborn as his sister, he would have driven Impa, the king and the whole kingdom crazy.

"Thank you for coming, this has made her very happy." I smiled, just remembering Zelda's face some minutes ago.

"My Eyes say you and the princess were expelled from a barbarian festival in the north."

Damn it, I forgot that this woman never minced her words.

"It's inaccurate information. We didn't get expelled, we left on purpose. There are still many tensions in the West, barbarians don't forget offenses easily. What about those who attacked Zelda? Do you know anything new?"

"Not much, it's very frustrating," I saw her eyebrow trembling a little, a glimmer of emotion, "there are tensions in the kingdom as well, especially with the people of the desert. They round the castle more than usual."

"Gerudo desert? I thought they signed the peace with Hyrule years ago."

"A tense peace, hanging by a thread. The gerudo prince intended to solve that tension with a marriage."

"With Zelda?"

"The princess hand was hotly contested. There are few princesses, it's an unbalanced situation. Many volunteered to take your place, not just him."

I shrugged. I supposed it made sense that there would be a huge line of men aspiring to something like this, especially if they had any idea of what she's like. It's not just her irreal beauty, but everything else. I doubted any of them knew her true self. Surely they were only after her for political interests, for riches and other things that disgusted me. Unfortunately, I had been no different from them, without Zelda, there would be no peace between the West and Hyrule.

Later, once the guests were accommodated in their quarters, we ate in the large hall. Frea, Manroy and Mabet left us alone with the guests, although Zelda had insisted that they should stay. The prince and the princess seemed to have a lot to tell each other, a luminous verbiage that brought a stupid smile to my face, even though I didn't understand a fifth of what they were talking about. The sheikah woman and I kept in the background, in fact, in a few words we had already told each other everything.

"You're horribly tall and handsome," Zelda smiled, she'd barely tasted a bite with so much talk.

"I'm taller than you. Now I beat you in everything," the prince bragged, making Zelda laugh.

"How long are you going to stay? Impa?" she asked.

"As much as the prince wants. The king has given His Highness permission to take care of his sister."

"Well," the prince looked at me, "I'd actually stay a couple of weeks, if Captain Link is fine with it."

"Me? You don't have to ask me, Your Highness. I told you this is your home, you can stay as much as you want."

"Thank you," the prince smiled, "and please call me Gae."

I tried, I promise. But I often called him "Prince Gaepora," "Highness" or wrongly (as Zelda explained to me), "Majesty." Ever since our guests arrived the Nest seemed much more cheerful, it almost reminded me of the good times, when I was a child. Dad invited his friends and their families and they all stayed in the Nest for weeks. That used to happen in summer, so with the sheikah woman and the prince I had to think of some entertainment for the cold days we had to share.

The prince was crazy about our cellar, he promised to send a cart full of barrels of Necluda wine so we could "take away the cobwebs." Zelda dragged him through her favourite areas of the fortress. The cellar, aloft of the tower, the library, and the greenhouse. I didn't know that my wife had taken to growing rare plants, I found out the same day she showed the greenhouse to her brother. "These herbs are good for headaches", "this is for stomach aches". And there were other much weirder things that she classified as "it's an experiment". I don't know what to say when I discover such things from her, although she teases me and often whispers "surprising". Only she and I can understand what she means by that. The thing is, I don't know when the hell she planted so many herbs and experiments, but the greenhouse was clean and organised. It hadn't been like that since my mother was alive, she was the one who grew flowers and green plants that stretched crawling up to the ceiling. When Mom left, the greenhouse and the flowers had gone with her, but my wife had brought it all back.

The sheikah woman followed us everywhere with her mysterious silence and her fang-dagger to the belt. I soon realised that she preferred to follow me or... well, perhaps she just wanted to leave Zelda with her brother alone. I asked her about her mysterious weapon and she managed to give me an explanation beyond two words. She even became interested in the little forge we had in the Nest and I took her there to show her some of my projects.

"What is this?"

"Something I started recently, it's a sword."

Impa raised my (still rudimentary) blade and observed its profile. Did she recognise it? Impossible. I tried to imitate the blade that appeared on the canvas that Zelda found in the cave, which also... besides it looked quite like the sword that appeared in my dreams. But what if I was obsessing about all that dreams and visions? Actually, all the swords were similar.

"Show me what you can do with this when you're done," she smiled. Did she smile? I blinked twice and the smile was no longer there.

After three days since the arrival of the prince and the sheikah, the thick snow wall that was accumulated melted, and I thought I'd organize an excursion to Lake Gor. Zelda kept her brother more than entertained and the sheikah woman was quite autonomous, training, disappearing and appearing like a ghost. They didn't seem bored at all, but they were my guests and I was their host, I wanted to do something for them.

So, we'd go on horseback to the lake and come back before nightfall. Frea wanted to make a big bonfire in the courtyard and have us all roast something for dinner together, so poor Mabet put puppy-dog eyes when he found out that he had to stay to help preparing everything. I promised him we would go another day and he would come with us. He remembered Zelda's promise to teach him to swim and seemed to recover his spirits. I, really, couldn't imagine my wife in the water, for sure I would be tortured with the view and after that it would be impossible to take it out of my head. The idea was as disturbing to me as the night she wanted all of us to take an "all together" bath in the goron baths. Luckily Prince Gae convinced her it would be weird to be all in there. She reluctantly accepted but made Impa promise that she would share a bath with her. Thanks to goddesses sometimes (rarely) she gives in and does not carry out all her ideas.

"What are you thinking, Captain Link?"

Prince Gaepora pulled me out of my dangerous mental thread in time. Zelda and Impa rode ahead and he stood behind to ride near me.

"Nothing in particular," I said, "are you enjoying these days in the Nest? It's not bad at all, though."

"I'd have more fun if you left the formalities behind," he smiled. He had a smile that reminded a lot of my wife's smile, "Zelda says you're a lot of fun, a lot less serious than you look."

"I don't know, she laughs at very strange things," I shrugged, and the prince let out a laugh as weird as Zelda's.

"I think I understand what she means now. I wanted to thank you, Link."

"It's not necessary, I told you can come to the Nest anytime," I reiterated.

"That's not only the reason why I want to thank you. It's for taking care of my sister and making her happy."

"Making her happy? Me?" I felt a surge of heat, I hoped the prince would not notice anything strange, "if... if we've only had problems."

"I know, she's told me everything."

"Everything?" I arched an eyebrow. I hoped she didn't tell him everything.

"Yes, about the mushrooms, what happened at the Or Games. But you saved her, twice! And she's happy, really."

"Maybe she feels this way because you are here. She misses you very much. Now that you are here she smiles all the time. But when you're not here... it's not easy for her."

"I know her very well and I think she likes all this," he winked and grinned, "and I mean everything without exception."

"The truth is, I was surprised that she liked the Nest so much. And let's not talk about Manroy, Frea and Mabet. They feel Zelda like she's family."

"Link, I'd like to help you," the prince said, becoming serious, "so far I've only been a problem because I couldn't keep my promises to write more or visit my sister. But I want to make up for that."

"Well, we manage well, we are really good now Your Highness."

"Gae."

"Yes, Gae."

"Zelda told me there's a big winter banquet on Fort Hawk. I could extend my visit for a couple more weeks and join you. I don't have many virtues, you know, Kahen is the strongest, Zelda is by far the smartest and the one with the best intuition. I'm just the little one. But there's one thing I'm not bad at, and it's diplomacy. Maybe it's because others see me weak," the prince clenched a fist.

"You're still young, you still have to be a man at all. You'll be very strong, I'm sure," I said, encouraging him, even though I really thought about it. Zelda's same fire was burning in his eyes.

"Thank you, but that appearance of weakness allows me to be diplomatic. People don't feel threatened by me. I think that's my virtue. I could help you make things right with people, with other clans. If they see two representatives of Hyrule's crown at the banquet, I don't know... it will give a sense of unity between our houses."

"I really thank you very much, and of course you're welcomed at the banquet. But I don't want you exposing yourself to anything. We barbarians are weird people", I smiled, "and many only think about war and gold. It's in the blood."

"I don't mind exposing myself," he insisted, frowning, "I want to help. I... I couldn't help my sister when she got engaged to you. I haven't given her a wedding present, a real gift, anything that's only mine. Please let me do this."

"If it's that important to you, go ahead."

"Thank you," his smile came back, and he looked like a child again.

"What do you two conspire for?"

Zelda and Impa had waited for us when they saw that we were left behind.

"Nothing, Zel. I was telling Link the time you fell into that parade and stained your dress."

"Damn worm! Come here!"

They were chasing each other on horseback until Impa intervened to impose some sanity. She was too strict, but deep down I was glad she stopped them a bit, there was melted snow and ice on the way and it was easy to fall off the horse.

That evening we ate at the huge bonfire that Manroy had lit, Frea prepared her special sauce for the roast and we all ransacked the cellar. There were good wines there, better than some bottles that Zelda and I had uncorked. With a full belly and several glasses of wine in the throats there were stories, laughter and even music. Manroy had an old lute, a little out of tune, but he sang barbarian songs that made the princes of Hyrule die laughing. Needless to say, the sheikah woman sank into her shadowy side and barely wet her lips in alcohol.

"Ardren will kill us if he knows we're singing and celebrating without him," I said.

"Ah! That boy does have a beautiful voice," Frea said. Ardren flirted with her often, called her 'the beautiful flower of the Nest' and similar things to grab her attention and get her better dishes.

"Zelda also knows how to sing," Prince Gae said. His cheeks were red from the wine.

"Really?" I asked. I looked at Zelda and she blushed, avoiding my gaze.

"No, it's not true. You're drunk, Gae." She, protested.

"I'm not! I promise, Zelda can sing really well. She has a nice voice. She used to sing in the temple of light, in some ceremonies."

"How wonderful!" Frea exclaimed, "sing us a song from Hyrule, please!"

"No way, I can't sing. My brother is kidding you."

"Please, Zel, sing something to your friends to hear you, you must share that gift with them," the prince began to be hilarious with laughter as he watched her blushing and being embarrassed.

"Goddess, Gae, you're going to pay dearly for this one..."

"Come on, you're almost convinced, please little sister…" the prince said, pulling her sleeve, "everyone wants to hear you. Link, help me."

"Me?"

"Tell your wife to sing us something, she'll listen to you."

"That's it! Link, you convince her," Frea pleaded.

"I-I don't think..."

"Please, please, Link!" Frea approached to my side and started shaking me.

"Okay, let's see what I can think of," I actually accepted because the alcohol went to my head a little bit and that made me lose my shyness, "Alright, I know. Zelda, why not-

"No way," she anticipated.

"Zelda," I continued, ignoring her frown, "This is serious. We haven't given each other any wedding presents. Would you give me a song?"

"Oh! That's so nice!" Frea applauded.

"You can't say no to that," Prince Gae was still hilarious with laughter, then turned to me to whisper, "good idea, Link."

"I don't want any mockery about it, I haven't singed in a long time," she protested, folding her arms.

"Excuses and more excuses," the prince said, still teasing her.

"It's a song my mother sang. Or so I've been told."

Open your eyes, the hero is here.

The winds bring the warrior's heartbeat.

The voices whisper it among the trees.

It's the end of darkness, the seal of evil.

Be careful now, don't lose faith.

Hold on, the hero's here.

When darkness passes, the legend will grow.

The shadow recedes, courage will overcome.

Wake up, it's time, the hero is here.

"Wonderful! You're so beautiful my child!" Frea exclaimed, breaking to clap. We all applaud a lot, actually.

I didn't know how to feel, her voice had touched me to the extreme I wasn't able to explain. For a moment she stared only at me and like a coward I hid behind a long drink of wine.

"A toast to The Lady of the Nest!" The prince exclaimed, raising his glass.

"Gae... enough for today… Dear Hylia, this is so embarrassing." She said, blushing and covering her face with her hands.

"To the lady of the Nest!" We all toasted.

We extended the party until it started to get too cold and all the firewood we had prepared was nothing more than a mountain of embers that were gradually darkening. Impa was the first to get moving, and practically forced Prince Gaepora to do the same, she intended to resume his training with the first light of dawn (that woman was the devil). Mabet and I took Frea back to her hut, she was too happy because of the wine and Manroy couldn't pull her either.

I walked back alone towards the fortress with a stupid grin on my lips. This was the Nest I remembered, I would never have imagined that I could relive so many good things from my childhood. My head was in the clouds and I hardly noticed, but when I reached my quarters, I found my wife waiting at the door.

"What are you doing here?"

"Nothing, don't look like a fool!" She rebuked me. She was a bit wobbly, like her brother. And like me.

"Okay. So…" I arched an eyebrow. Okay. I've drunk, I wanted Zelda and we were alone. I would have to fight a bit with those 'needs' of mine.

"Since Impa and Gae arrived, I've been a little absent with you. I just came to tell you that," she speculated, almost like she was mad at me, "but you didn't even notice."

"I've noticed, but I understand you spend time with them."

"If you want to talk to me about things that don't matter, or there's something else you want to deal with, I hope you do, Link. It doesn't matter if my brother's here to visit."

"I will," I smiled at her frown. Her weird anger was funny.

"I also hope that what happened that night will not be an impediment to remaining friends. It's not for me, but I've noticed you differently with me. I hope I didn't do anything wrong. Good night."

It took me a few seconds to react, but I managed to stop her before she left me alone.

"Wait, wait. I'm so sorry if you thought so. And of course, we're still friends, don't worry. We are good, everything's fine."

It was just that I was a moron. She sighed and threw one of her suspicious glances at me.

"I'm glad to hear that. I wanted to clear it up, but I hadn't been able to do it before."

"And now after two glasses of wine you feel braver," I teased.

"Hey! I've had enough with Gae teasing me," she smiled and hit my shoulder, "now that I think of it... You owe me a wedding present. Oh, of course you do, you must give me a wedding present in return."

"You're kidding me..."

"Not at all. I've humiliated myself in front of everyone because of you, so I hope your wedding present will be original and above all very rare."

"You make it very easy for me, as usual."

She let out a laugh. Then she fell silent. I didn't know what was going through her head, only one thing happened in mine, but I was a coward. And I hadn't drank enough wine to do something stupid.

"Good night, Link. And thank you."

"Why?"

She shrugged and staggered out of there. I thought I'd follow her. I thought about what would happen if she lost her balance and had to lean on me. I thought I'd carry her in my arms and leave her in her bed. And I thought I'd bite her lips again while her soft hands were touching me.

I heard a crackle, it must have come from our guests' quarters.

I thought of Impa's fang. I thought she'd nail it without hesitation if she found out I was taking advantage of Zelda's innocence and our friendship to satisfy my own stupid needs. I thought I'd defend myself with the sword I had in the forge. I thought of the sword in the canvas. I thought that, in the shadows, something was still hiding.