Disclaimer: Things that are mine include Aidyn, Olaran, Ramone, Cordelia and Ariala. Everything else is Nintendo's. If Legend of Zelda belonged to me, just think of everything I could do... I could rule the world! Er, no.
A.N. How did I write 3 chapters in one day?! It was raining and there was nothing else to do, I have no exams to cram for and I just couldn't stop. These are the last 2 chapters of the story and the epilogue. Enjoy!
Chapter 10: The Whole Sordid Truth
Zelda quickly escaped the castle in hot pursuit of her friend and found him quickly preparing to mount Epona.
"Link? Where are you going?" She asked.
When Link turned to face her, she was shocked to see his face deathly pale and that he was looking at her almost disdainfully.
"What's the matter? Isn't Olaran your father?"
Link took a deep shuddering breath and stared Zelda in the eye.
"Oh he's my father alright, that's painfully obvious." He said, struggling to keep his voice calm. "But I don't know whether or not to say our father."
Zelda felt her jaw drop involuntarily.
"What are you saying?"
"Olaran was having an affair with your mother!" Link snapped. "It's their fault that my mother's dead!"
The princess stood very still for a while, looking straight at her friend with her beautiful blue eyes full of hurt.
"You can't be serious..." She whispered.
Link felt sorry for his outburst and hung his head.
"I'm sorry Zelda, I heard it with my own ears."
"But Link, " She began, looking at him earnestly. "That can't be true, about Olaran being my father. My mother had grey eyes and Olaran's are brown. Do my eyes look either of those colours to you?"
Link shook his head.
"No..."
"Exactly, so don't you dare accuse me of being a bastard ever again!" She snapped, her eyes narrowed into a glare.
"I'm sorry." He said with a shaky voice. "It's just that I... I don't know how to handle this right now..."
Zelda gave him a comforting hug, holding onto him tightly.
"Well it's kind of hard for me to accept it too." She replied. "Are you certain that it was my mother?"
Link nodded against her shoulder.
"Ramone said something about you being like her, and Olaran said that you were nothing like her and then Ramone said something about it not being Olaran's fault for falling in love with a manipulative..."
He checked himself, remembering whose daughter he was talking to.
"Link, maybe you should talk to your father about this." Zelda suggested softly.
Link drew back from the hug, his eyes murderous.
"He's not my father, I'll never accept that." He said, his voice shaking with anger again. "What kind of man has an affair with his best friend's wife and then lets his own die and not bother looking for his son? Not the kind of father I want to have."
"What are you going to do?" Zelda asked, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Are you going to confront him?"
Link shook his head.
"I dunno Zel, I really don't."
He sat down on a stone bollard and put his head in his hands.
"I've always wondered what my father was like." He said quietly. "I thought maybe I was the son of a great hero, or a rich nobleman or even a farmer. One day I was going to find him and he'd be so happy to have me back, because I was his son, and I'd be happy with my family until I was old enough to marry someone and have a family of my own. And you know what else? People were going to come up to him in the street and say 'Hey, aren't you Link's father?' and he'd be so proud of me, because his son was the Hero of Time."
Zelda was alarmed to see angry tears shining in her friend's eyes.
"Link, Olaran is a great man." She said softly. "He has been responsible for numerous victories for Hyrule's army, none of our enemies will even consider attacking because of Olaran. You should be proud of him, and I know that he'd be proud of you..."
"But I don't want him to be proud of me, I don't want to be related to him! How can I be proud of the man who let my mother die because he was with another woman?"
Zelda couldn't help but feel uncomfortable hearing him talk that way.
"I know this is hard for you, but you have to remember that the other woman was my mother, if all of this is true." She said quietly. "You have to ask Olaran, we need to know."
"Why do you need to know? You know who you are."
"Not if what you say is true." She replied. "I need to know just as much as you do..."
The sound of Impa's voice silenced the pair instantly as she walked out into the courtyard, calling them in for dinner.
"My, you two look serious. What's the matter?" She asked.
Zelda looked across at Link, who was looking at Impa questioningly.
"Impa, how long have you been at the castle for?" He asked.
Impa smiled and folded her arms.
"I have been here for twelve years. Why do you ask?"
"Did my mother ever indulge in a love affair with General Olaran?" Zelda blurted, unable to face the uncertainty any longer.
Impa looked startled at the princess' outburst and then she saw the look in Link's eyes and sighed.
"So Ariala's son has discovered the truth." She stated sadly. "I had hoped this day would not arise while you two were still so young."
"I still think the way I did when I was seventeen and so does Link." Zelda argued. "We're old enough to understand and we deserve the truth."
Impa sighed again and sat down on the bollard next to Link.
"I have no doubt that you two have the minds of adults, but you have no knowledge of matters of the heart. Yes Zelda, you mother did love Olaran once, I don't think she ever stopped loving him deep down, but she also loved your father very much."
Zelda stood rigid in the middle of the courtyard, disbelief written all over her face.
"I know the next question you are going to ask and the answer to that is no." Impa said swiftly. "You are not Olaran's daughter. Before you were born, Olaran came to the castle with his wife for a ball and left the following morning. Nine months later, Link was born."
"You knew who I was and you never told me?" Link asked, looking shocked. "How? Why didn't you tell me?"
Impa smiled fondly at the boy and pushed his hair away from his face.
"You are very dear to me Link, and I knew that if I were to tell you this then you would not understand. I was going to tell you when the time was right, but it seems that circumstances have lead to you finding out. I presume you found her ring?"
"How did you know about that?" He asked, getting more surprises than he had bargained for that evening.
"Because I saw that it was missing when he body was brought back to the castle. Olaran was too grief-stricken to notice, but I did. I knew your mother, and I knew the moment that Zelda sent you to me that you were Ariala's son. You have the same eyes and the same fire in your spirit. It was one of the things that endeared you to me as a baby. I knew that wherever you were, someone had taken her ring to entrust you when you sought the truth of your heritage. The Deku Tree must have taken it and then relinquished it accidentally, which is why you found it."
Link nodded.
"But what about my mother and Olaran?" Zelda persisted. "How serious were they?"
She took Zelda's hands and looked her straight in the eye.
"I was the queen's most devoted servant, and I know that she never betrayed your father in the way you are suggesting. She honoured her wedding vows until..."
"She couldn't resist herself and had an affair with my..." Link said, unable to bring himself to say the word 'father'.
"No." Impa said firmly. "They did not have an affair, not to my knowledge. Cordelia was severely depressed after she had Zelda, and it did not help when Ariala moved into the castle with Link and Aidyn during the war. When Olaran was brought home injured one day, that was the final straw for her and she..."
The Sheikah took a few deep breaths before continuing.
"She went mad with jealousy and somehow the King and Ariala walked in on her kissing him."
"I don't want to hear any more!" Zelda cried, closing her eyes and clenching her fists. "Please Impa, no more!"
She spun on her heel and feld while Link sat quietly absorbing all the information.
"It's alright Impa." He said. "I think I know what happened next. My mother ran away and took me with her. Ganondorf caught up with her and she ended up dying in the forest."
Impa nodded.
"I suppose that must have been what happened, although I did not know that Ganondorf was involved."
Link sighed.
"Nor did I, until that Moblin told me. It makes you wonder just how low that Gerudo scum is capable of going." He said grimly.
Impa put her hand on the boys shoulder.
"I've told you everything I know now, although there is something that I must tell you that Zelda does not know and I don't want you to tell her." She said seriously.
"Maybe you shouldn't be telling me this..."
"I feel that you should know. After your mother's body was found and brought back here, Queen Cordelia was filled with guilt and grief. She felt guilty for your mother's death and yours, as we thought at the time, but grief consumed her when she realised that Olaran now hated her and Harkinian, although he loved her more than life itself, could not bring himself to look or speak to her. He forgave Olaran but not Cordelia. She was miserable and the thing that worsened the situation was that she now hated Zelda."
"Why?"
"Because to Cordelia, Zelda had the two things that she didn't, the love of Olaran and Harkinian. She couldn't stay there anymore, and she was too afraid to kill herself, so she ran away. To this day, we don't know where she is, but the King still loves her and honours his wedding vows. That is why he will never remarry. Zelda thinks that her mother died of cancer, and we don't intend to tell her otherwise."
"But that isn't fair on her!" Link said indignantly. "She should know!"
"Please Link, you must promise me that you won't tell her. She must never know." Impa reiterated.
Link looked sombre for a few moments and then nodded reluctantly.
"I won't."
Impa smiled and patted him on the back.
"Good boy. Now I think you should go in and celebrate your victory."
He nodded again and got off his bollard, walking into the hall with his head held high. He was Link, the Hero of Time.
The son of Hyrule's greatest General.
