A Link to the Heart Chapter 36

*Six Months later*

It had been a bitter winter, an endless chill that numbed the bones and left icicles hanging from the bare trees. Howling winds had torn across the forest, thrashing the branches while snow had fallen thick and fast. It had been the kind of climate where people huddle around fires and cling to each other for warmth, praying for the bright sun to return. Yet at long last winter had broken. The air had lost its bitter chill, small shoots were starting to poke through the hardened earth and the trees were dappled with the tiny buds of new leaves.

In the awakening forest Link knelt and examines a pile of bones. He was wearing his Knight armour, replete with helm and he was poking the remains with his sword. Until a few moments ago it had been a Stalfos, wandering towards the village with murderous intent. Link had destroyed it, but not without taking a few hits. His fighting style still had to adjust for his lack of vision and he had learned to don his armour daily. Good job too, he hadn't come looking for a fight, he had been checking his snares when the Stalfos had lurched out of the shadows and attacked. Even after six months living in the Lost Woods the forest remained a dangerous and unpredictable place.

Link checked the corpse and muttered, "Sword's junk, the shield is decayed to the core. Boots… no, no-one could make use of those rotten things. What's this? A red rupee, very nice, I'll have that." Satisfied he had looted everything of value Link stood up and patted his hands clean, then stepped over the body. He wandered over to his snares and checked the traps. To his delight he found a dead hare in a snare, it's body cold and rigid from frost. He grinned as he collected it, meat was a rare prize these days and Malon would be happy for some to put into the cooking pot.

Suddenly there was a great fluttering noise behind him, like great wings being ruffled. Link paused for a moment then straightened up and asked, "Did you always like sneaking up on people?"

Rauru's voice only replied, "I believe you called me?"

Link pulled off his helm and turned, seeing the Sage of Light lurking among the trees. Rauru looked the same as ever, untroubled by the weather and seemingly never ageing. Given he was aeons old that was hardly surprising. Yet he looked curious, unsure as to why Link had called him. Link opened up, "I'm glad you heard my call, I wasn't sure if a hand-carved Ocarina would work."

"I heard," Rauru answered, "Thank you for the invitation. It was a lovely wedding."

Link snorted, "I thought I saw your feathers lurking in the treetops. But why didn't you come and join us?"

Rauru actually looked sheepish, "It's been literal ages since I received a wedding invitation. I don't know how the rituals go anymore. But I remember I'm supposed to say the bride looked lovely."

"Everybody pitched in," Link explained, "We've made a real community. We had to learn to work together to survive."

Rauru cocked his head and asked, "Hard winter?"

"The hardest," Link lamented, "Yet every time we thought we were doomed the Forest provided for us. Saria's influence I assume."

Rauru explained, "Each Sage has their own ways. The Sage of the Forest prefers subtler means than I."

"You could tell her she can come to talk to me," Link chided.

"I will," Rauru agreed, "But I sense you didn't call me merely to celebrate your nuptials. You have questions that need answering."

Link nodded in agreement as he inquired, "What of the war, we haven't seen another soul in six months."

Rauru sniffed, "King Delphna won a stunning series of victories in the autumn, before his spearmen had to return home to gather their harvests. The Gerudo are demoralised and starving, winter was as cruel for them as any. Their numbers dwindle, as tribes abandon the cause to slip back to their deserts. The Gerudo lose more swords to desertion than battle and the war splutters out. Twinrova calls for one last charge to glory, but they have nothing left save spite. I think in their hearts they are realising the Triforce is beyond their grasp. Soon they will slip away with their tail between their legs and trouble Hyrule no more."

"That's it?!" Link exclaimed in shock, "All that talk of destiny and the war just fizzles out, without an epic battle?"

Rauru shrugged, "Such is life."

But Link snorted, "So Hyrule never needed a hero at all."

"That was one possible future, but you turned from that path," Rauru explained, "I have lived through several ages of the world, seen wars come and go like passing breezes. Each one seems the end of the world, until it's over and then it turns out to be nothing but another footnote in history. You could have been hailed forevermore a hero, but now the war will be forgotten within two generations."

Link shook his head and snorted, "Zelda thought Hyrule was in peril. How is she by the way?"

"Confused," Rauru sighed, "She struggled with the news of your choice. The idea that destiny is not a fixed and unbending thing shocked her deeply. She retreated to Hyrule castle and spends her nights staring out her window, rethinking her many assumptions and lamenting her mistakes. She tries to build a new understanding of the future but it shifts and moves under her feet. So long as she has a foot in both worlds she cannot be true to either. I try to advise her that she can either live as a Sage or as a Princess, not both. She says she wants to be a Princess but letting go of foresight is not easy, it is a tempting snare."

Link slowly mused, "Do you think she'd take advice from an old friend?"

Rauru shrugged, "It's worth a try."

Link elaborated, "Tell her to get drunk, it usually helps with existential matters. Tell her to dance and laugh and sing, even marry one of her suitors, if he makes her happy. Tell her to live, simply live."

"Ha!" Rauru snorted, "It seems you are wiser than I. And yet… there is another matter you wish to discuss."

Link rubbed his ear as he confessed, "Something Zelda said gnaws at me: she foresaw Malon would marry a common deserter… and then die in childbirth."

Rauru shook his head and said, "You changed that future."

Link jabbed a finger at his lost eye and spat, "Not by much."

Rauru sighed, "All choices have consequences, some are common to all futures."

"Malon is with child!" Link snapped, "Is she going to die?!"

"All souls must die," the Sage deflected, "Even I, someday."

Link was pleading now, "Rauru, please tell me."

But the Sage shook his head and said, "Tempting isn't it; to look into the future. Always it is only one more glance, then another and another. But you chose to forsake the path of destiny and seek another way. Don't falter at the last hurdle."

But Link begged, "Rauru, is loving me going to kill my wife?!"

Rauru looked at him for a long moment then lowered his eyes and said, "For all you have done for the world I shall say this. I see another Hero arising in the centuries to come: a hero who walks in Twilight. He has your spirit and your blood, a direct descendant of your line."

Link started, "Then that means we do have a child! Malon will survive."

Rauru nodded, "At least the first one or two, enough to guarantee your line. Beyond that she has the same chance as any other woman does. Yet I caution I see tears in your future, but joy too. I would implore you to embrace every moment together, wrest every drop of happiness from life. Live as if each day was your last."

"Thank you," Link sighed in relief, "We shall. But I am sad to think this Twilight Hero won't remember me."

"He shall carry your everlasting spirit," Rauru explained, "But he is not you, his life will be his own. His choices shall be his to make, not yours or mine."

"Will he marry his Zelda?" Link asked.

"That will be his choice to make," Rauru stated, "Not every Chosen Hero marries their Zelda, the Princess was wrong about that too."

"I wish I could meet him," Link mused, "I wish I could teach him what it means to be a hero, and my best fighting moves. It would be nice to think someone will remember me in the ages to come."

Rauru pondered, "No one knows how reincarnation works, what shaded lands your spirit wanders through between incarnations. Perhaps you will meet him in your dreams, or in even stranger lands."

"Is that possible?" Link gasped.

"You bear the Triforce of Courage," Rauru informed him, "Many things are possible for you. As always the choice is up to you."

With that cryptic proclamation the Sage of Light turned and walked into the trees. Link watched him vanish then heard the fluttering of great wings and he knew the Sage was gone. He waited a moment then sighed and fitted his helm. He collected the hare and set off back to the village. It was only a short walk and soon he saw a collection of log-houses, steaming gently in the cold air. These rough dwellings had been their salvation in the winter, essential shelter against the frost and the snow. Link and Malon had a small one-room house to themselves, but it was enough for now. He steered for the door and ducked through a hanging fur hide to enter.

Within was a small space, furnished only with meagre possessions. An old mattress, a shelf for clothes, another for tools, knives and his gear and a stone fireplace, blazing merrily with a cheery blaze. Link smiled as he saw Malon tending to a cooking pot hanging over the flames, filling the air with the rich scents of vegetable soup. She was beautiful as the day he married her, her red hair cascading down her back and her smile as lovely as the summer sun. She wore a dark blue dress but that could not hide the swelling of her belly.

She looked up as Link entered and called, "Husband, where have you been?"

Link grinned as he held up his prize and explained, "Hunting."

Malon beamed, "A hare! That will cook up a lovely stew for tonight. Hand it over."

Link did as he was bid and began unbuckling his armour as he asked, "Any news?"

Malon laid out the hare as she informed him, "Helenna was over again, crying about her absent Knight. I think she's starting to realise he's not coming back. Oh! And the villagers have finally settled on a name for this settlement: Ordon village."

Link sniffed, "Ordon? It took them six months to come up with Ordon?"

"You don't like it?" Malon asked.

"It'll do," Link muttered as he struggled with a strap on his back.

"Oh, let me," Malon sighed as she stood up and began tugging on his strap.

Link let her work as he mused, "I was thinking when the roads are clear I may have to take a journey up to Death Mountain. We could do some trading with the Gorons."

"Oh no you don't," Malon laughed, "You're not going anywhere until this baby is born!"

Link felt the breastplate slide free. He smiled as he snaked about and put his arms around his wife asking, "How is little Talon today?"

"Navi is doing well," Malon corrected, "She's a lively one."

"It's a boy," Link argued as he nuzzled her hair, "A boy I can teach all my skills and pass my legacy to."

"It's a girl," Malon claimed, "And she'll have none of your racing off on mad adventures. She'll stay close to home, like a good girl."

"Of course, whatever makes you happy," Link whispered as his hands slid lower and tugged at her skirt.

He was rudely stopped by a shove to the belly and a cry of, "Geeeeoff, I've got soup on the fire!"

Link pouted as he muttered, "That was a short honeymoon."

Malon snorted, "My feet are swollen, my back aches and I have a headache."

Link sighed loudly, "Once I was your hero, today I'm as appealing as a lump of wood."

Malon grinned slightly, "If you rub my back and tell me a story I'll make it up to you tonight."

Link smiled as the couple settled into their mattress. Malon leant against him and they stared into the little fire. Wood popped merrily and the soup bubbled as Malon said, "Oh I forgot to say, Mrs Glinka said the basket weaving is almost done for the baby. And widow Trakey is knitting the cutest little shawl to wrap her up in."

"That's nice," Link replied absently.

Malon looked up at him and asked, "You're distracted. What's wrong?"

"Just thinking about the future," Link explained, "What sort of life are we bringing a baby into?"

"A happy one," Malon declared, "A life of love and smiles."

Link frowned as he muttered, "There will be tears too."

"Every life has tears," Malon agreed, "Which makes it all the more important we grab whatever happiness we can, while it's with us. I don't know what tomorrow will bring, a tree could fall on us both and end it, but right now I'm happy."

Link smiled, "Me too, I wouldn't be anywhere else."

"Good," Malon murmured, "Now tell me the story of the Four Giants and how you had three days to save a world from a falling moon."

"Again?" Link asked.

"It makes me giggle," Malon said as she snuggled into him.

Link put his arm and around his wife and looked around their humble home. He had no idea what tomorrow would bring but it no longer mattered. Destiny could go hang. The world would take care of itself and Hyrule no longer needed a Hero. He had nothing to do save choose the life he wanted. Link breathed deeply in contentment and said, "No matter what else, I'm happy right now. I choose this life, I choose you, my love."

The End.