A/N: What's this? A chapter that's not a month and a half after my last update, and there's art over on my Twitter to go with it?
Aeris stood frozen as she stared at the man. He was older but then again so was she, what had once been a small goatee had grown into a short beard and there were lines around his eyes she didn't recall being there.
Her mouth was as dry as the sand beneath her feet as she parted her lips trying to find the words she needed.
His amber eyes were wide with either horror or awe, she couldn't tell, either way he looked as if he had seen a ghost.
In some ways he had.
"Papa?"
The word felt strange on her tongue, foreign and unused for so long. She reached up and lowered the child on her shoulders to the ground. He looked from her to his father, their father, as she brought a hand to her face.
His eyes widened further as she took a step toward him. "Aeris?" Her name was like a whisper as he rushed forward and wrapped her in a tight embrace. She rested her head against his chest as the realness of the situation washed over her. He smelled just as she remembered, like warm hay and animals.
He pulled away and cupped her face gently between his worn hands. "I thought you were dead,"
"I thought you were dead," She felt the familiar burn of tears in her eyes.
This wasn't some dream that her parents were alive and well, this was real. Her father was standing before her in the market that she had worked so hard to build.
"Look at you, all grown up," He sounded wistful as he looked down at her. "The spitting image of your mother,"
She smiled through the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. "I've missed you Papa,"
"And I you," He wrapped his arms back around her and held her close to his chest.
"Now, let's get you home,"
She was snapped from her dreamlike stupor as he clapped his hands on her shoulders. "And into some proper clothes,"
She blinked slowly as she tried to decipher what he had said. A nervous laugh bubbled from her chest, and he arched one of his brows. "Papa this is my home now,"
"For Hylia's sake child, no it's not," She blinked again as his grip on her shoulders tightened. "You belong at home with me,"
"This," She stepped back from him unsure of what was happening. "Is my home,"
"For the love of Hylia, Aeris will you stop with that ridiculous accent," With every word more and more bitterness crept into his voice and the facade she had built around him began to melt.
"You're coming home with me whether you like it or not, your obsession with the Gerudo was cute when you were a child, but it's just ridiculous now. You're too old for this,"
"No, I'm not," She took another step back. "I've spent half my life here, my life is here,"
"Aeris," Her name was a growl now, his patience was wearing thin. "This is no time for games,"
"I'm not playing," Her perception of him was rapidly warping as their conversation continued.
There was a beat of silence and a realization hit her like a ton of bricks.
"Did you even look for me?"
His brow twitched. "Aeris of course I did,"
"No, you didn't," She took another step back as horror washed over her. "It wouldn't have been hard to find me, a lone Hylian child in the desert,"
"As if they would have let me take you back,"
Her heartbeat was thundering in her ears as she continued. "The guards would have brought me to you if you asked," People around them were beginning to take notice of her distress.
"But instead you chose, to what?" A tear slid down her cheek leaving a white-hot trail in its wake. "Bury an empty casket?"
His silence told her everything she needed to know.
"You chose to mourn both your wife and child instead of looking for me?"
"Aeris, I," He stepped toward her, and she quickly retreated.
"You don't get to make that decision and then try to act like nothing happened," A woman stepped out of the crowd and quickly rushed to his side.
She was pretty with mousy brown hair and green eyes. The boy at Aeris's side rushed to her and gripped her skirts tightly in his tiny fists. "Jorri, what's going on? Who is this woman?"
The pain in Aeris's chest spiked as the woman looked at her with disdain. "Almost a decade papa," The woman's eyes flicked to her husband's face, and she knew. "She has no idea does she?"
"I see you are still a petulant child, one would think that a race of all women would be better mothers," The venom in his voice burned as Aeris lifted her chin.
She set her shoulders and hardened her gaze. "This 'child' is a queen, and you will address her as such,"
"Oh, good heavens you're delusional," Her father raked his hands through his hair and stepped toward her only to be blocked by two spears crossing in front of her shielding her from him.
"Is this man bothering you my queen?" One of the guards that had stepped in turned to look at her with hardened kohl lined eyes.
"No," She made sure to be looking directly into his eyes as the Gerudo word left her mouth.
She watched as he connected the pieces in his head. "You married that boy?"
He shook his head in disbelief. "Did he force you?" His hands raked through his hair again. "Surely you wouldn't have willingly,"
His face fell as he met her gaze. "You did, didn't you?"
"You gave up the right to judge my actions a long time ago," A gentle hand was placed on her shoulder and she looked up to see Nabooru at her side.
She gave the man before them one last look before sighing. "I suggest you leave this place,"
The guards in front of her turned their spears toward the man. "You heard her,"
She watched as he turned, defeated with his tail between his legs. The woman and child, her stepmother and half brother she would never know gave her one last confused look before turning and following him.
She stood there with every eye in the crowd turned on her, lost in her own mind until Nabooru shook her gently. "Aeris are you alright?"
She turned toward her sister, the one who had always been there for her and gave her a dazed smile as something warm dripped onto her lip. "I'm fine,"
Nabooru's golden eyes widened as Aeris wobbled slightly. " Aeris your nose,"
Confused, she lifted her fingers to the spot of warmth on her face and laughed nervously as she pulled them away to see bright crimson smeared across her fingertips. "Huh, that's new,"
The crowd gave a surprised gasp as she crumpled into Nabooru's arms.
- - ┈┈∘┈༒┈∘┈┈ - -
"Ganon you need to calm down," Nabooru stepped away from the wall she had been leaning against in an attempt to stop the worried man's pacing.
"Calm down?" He did stop pacing, if only to turn and look at her with a baffled expression. "Nabooru she collapsed how am I supposed to be calm about this?"
"I'm worried too, but Amearu says that she'll be fine once she wakes up," Ganondorf sighed heavily and sank to the floor using the wall as support.
"And if she doesn't wake up?'
"Oh now you're just overthinking things," Nabooru settled next to her cousin and leaned her shoulder against him as he raked his fingers through his hair. "Aeris is strong, and she was dealing with a lot before it happened. Anyone would be a bit faint after learning that their father who they thought was dead for a decade was really alive and well and a raging jackass,"
"Well," The man beside her chuckled and leaned some of his weight back against her. "When you put it that way,"
He sighed again and rested his head back against the stone wall. "But the nose bleed concerns me more than anything,"
"Me too," They sat in relative silence staring at the closed door of Amearu's home waiting for the healer or Aeris to emerge.
Rapid footsteps drew their attention away and Nabooru leapt to her feet as Urora rounded the corner looking flustered and frantic. "Mom!"
"I came as soon as I heard," Urora rushed to her daughter's side and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Is she alright?"
"She's still with Amearu," Ganondorf rose to his feet and gave Urora a gentle smile. "It is good to see you Urora, if under the wrong circumstances,"
The older Gerudo shook her head and reached for her son-in-law. "Come here," Her voice was swimming with emotion as he stepped into her embrace.
Physical touch had been something he had been unfamiliar with until Aeris had come along, and being embraced by a mother's love was something else new all together. He didn't pull away until Urora did, the woman let out an exasperated sigh as she stepped away and her face turned suddenly stern. "How dare you let her go so long without seeing me?"
"Urora, we've both been so busy,"
"I don't care, I raised the girl the least she could do is stop by for tea now and then," Seeing Urora's concern made him realize how cold his mother's had truly been to him in his youth.
The door to Amearu's home opened and the elder healer stepped out into the hall. "She's awake, and alright,"
"Thank the sands," Ganondorf saw Urora grab Nabooru's hand out of the corner of his eye and smiled softly. He would have to make sure that Aeris visited her adoptive mother more often.
"What happened?" He tucked his hands into his sleeves and held his breath as he looked down at the healer.
"Something about the tea seems to have disagreed with her," The elder sighed and wrung her hands in her apron. "That paired with a bout of heightened emotions was simply overwhelming for her and her body reacted accordingly,"
The three of them let out a collective sigh of relief. "I want her to stop taking the tea, until I can consult with a Hylian midwife about other options for the..." Amearu paused as she tried to find the right way to proceed. "Issue she's been having,"
"Have you told her that?" The healer nodded softly. "Is there anything else you recommend?" The relief he felt was overshadowed by the numerous questions that kept popping into his mind.
"Plenty of rest and as little stress as possible," Amearu sighed. "That means no working, no training, and no late nights," She gave Ganondorf a pointed glare that caused Nabooru to chuckle resulting in Urora kicking her in the shin.
Nabooru hissed lightly under her breath and elbowed her mother in the ribs. Ganondorf glared at them from the corners of his eyes but ended up chuckling as the two women glared intently at each other, challenging the other to make another move.
The door in front of them opened again and a woozy looking Aeris stepped out and froze as she saw the spectacle before her. She had discarded the leather breastplate in favor of the simple linen undershirt she wore beneath it, the breastplate itself was thrown haphazardly over her shoulder. "Is everything alright?"
"Everything is fine," Ganondorf stepped toward her and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine," She smiled softly before looking around him and nodding toward Urora. "I'm starving though,"
"I can fix that," Urora extended her hand to her other daughter and Aeris took it. "Come, all of you, it's about time we had a family dinner,"
Nabooru and Ganondorf shared a concerned look, the four of them had never shared a meal together outside a banquet or festival.
"Hey come on!" Aeris's voice echoed down the hall toward the two of them, and they began following behind the pair toward what was either going to be a disaster or the best night of their lives.
A/N: SO that happened...
Anyway I don't know how much more drama these poor people can handle, so things will be calming down for a bit maybe some filler chapters and some tooth rotting fluff. I also have a bit of a surprise in the works but there will be more on that later.
Anyway stay safe out there guys, especially my fellow Americans
I'll see you guys next time
Dovah out ✌️
