A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.
-Act V-
Restoration
4
Kate saw them coming and waved, smiling brightly as she stood and pulled John to his own feet. The pair had been married a mere month before Zelda's coronation, and now seemed to be on cloud nine. They'd become fast friends with the Princess - no, Queen, Kate reminded herself - of Hyrule, and of course Link as well. A crisis had a way of binding people together.
"Oh, don't get up," Zelda said. She never had been good at the whole sovereign respect thing, and it made her uncomfortable when people bowed or got up when she came in the room. She hated it and was seriously considering imposing a law banishing such treatment. But, as Kiron and Akana had reminded her repeatedly, if she did that, people might lose respect for the crown. And Zelda didn't want that. Not after everything that the land had suffered to keep the crown in the right hands. "Sit back down. We're friends, remember?"
John chuckled. "You still happen to be a Queen, you know," he reminded in amusement. "That title lends itself to certain occurrences when you walk in a room. Or out of a room, anyway," he said, peering up at the sky.
"The stars are bright, tonight," Zelda replied, by way of a change of topic. "It's almost like they were waiting for us to bring him down."
"Something tells me we may have had a little holy encouragement," Link said, cracking a bemused grin. "The Goddesses didn't like him anymore than we did." He rubbed the back of his neck as he sat down. "That's why they threw me in the middle of all of this."
Kate smiled. She had her own suspicions. And they were on a track that was miles from Link's.
"So you're like…go-for to the Gods," John teased.
Link nodded. "Sometimes it's a pain in the ass," he growled. "Getting killed is not one of my favorite hobbies."
"If it makes you feel any better," Kate chimed in, "we didn't like watching you get killed either."
"Thanks so much," Link muttered wryly.
Zelda slapped his arm. 'Be nice."
Link stared at her. "In case you forgot, they were the ones mocking me."
She nodded, an enigmatic smile on her face. "I know."
Something tiny and red glowed in the air like a firefly bobbing on the evening breeze. Kate blinked. "Anybody else see that?"
Zelda nearly went cross-eyed when a smiliar blue light bobbed up into her face. "Apparently." She swatted at it, shaking her head to clear her vision.
Link blurted out a startled curse when a green light singed his ear. "Ow!" he took a swing at it.
Similar tiny lights were flaring up all around them, little balls of red, blue, and green light were dancing on the gentle wind, swirling around the quartet as they gathered in number and size. The wind kicked up, creating a miniature, multi-hued cyclone, the eye of which protected the four Hylians - for that was how John and Kate saw themselves now - from the swirling wind and light.
Just when it seemed that the wind could grow no stronger, when the lights were no longer little glowing beads of color but merely streaks of ruby and emerald and sapphire, the lights began seeking out others of their color. They combined to create three glowing orbs of light: One red, one green, one blue. The lights formed themselves, then, into three figures, all female.
"Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" Link said as they all got slowly to their feet.
"If it's what I think I'm seeing, then yes," Zelda replied.
"Oh, good lord, girl," the figure in red snapped irritably. "Don't get all google-eyed."
"Anybody feel like explaining?" John asked curiously.
Link glanced sideways at him. "Be nice, Johnny-boy," he quipped, using one of Kate's nicknames for him, "you're in the presence of deity."
"Well, deities," the figure in green corrected. "There are three of us, after all."
"I think they can see that, Sister," the one in blue said gently.
"I am Din," said the one in red. She was average height, and wore a simple gown of flowing crimson, her hair tied back and flowing down her shoulders in vibrant red waves. Her ruby gaze was penetrating, carrying strength untold behind it. "Goddess of Power."
"I am Farore," said the one in green. She was very tall, and wore a simple swordsman's garb; flowing shirt of palest green, with dark brown doeskin trousers and leather boots. Her hair was long and straight, and hung unfettered down her back nearly to her waist. Her emerald eyes, though somewhat less challenging than those of her sister, carried their own hint of power, along with a certain cosmic amusement and hint of mischief. They sparkled as she smiled and cast a polite bow to Link and Zelda. "Goddess of Courage."
"And I am Nayru," said the third, the one in blue. She was a tiny figure, seeming barely five feet tall, and wore a loose, flowing gown of bluish white, something more fitting to a scholar in Greece than a Hylian goddess. Her curling hair was bound atop her head with a simple cord, strands of it hanging curled in her young-looking face, and her wide, bright blue eyes were set deep and apart, giving her the appearance of youth, though her eyes spoke knowledge beyond her apparent years. "Goddess of Wisdom."
Link dropped to one knee, yanking John with him when he didn't move right away. He knew Din's temper, for it had come down on his head a number of times in his life, and he hoped to spare his friend the migraine.
Kate had better sense, and curtsied elegantly in unison with Hyrule's Queen.
"What brings you to our plane, Holy Ones?" Zelda asked curiously. "If I may ask."
Farore smiled, albeit somewhat wickedly. "We wanted to visit. Oh, and congratulations, you two," she said, giving Kate and John a grin. "'Bout time you two got hitched."
Nayru sighed. "Oh, Farore, don't tease them so," she said, at seeing how red John's face got.
The Goddess of Courage merely laughed musically.
"Nice use of the fire, boy," Din said to Link. "I must admit, when I sent that gift to the Great Faerie for you, I wasn't sure how much help it would actually be. But you put it to good use." She smiled somewhat viciously. "Went right through the tendons, didn't it?"
His answering grin was just as evil. "Butter," he growled, eyes gleaming.
"Oh, lord," Farore sighed. "Don't get her started, she's been bragging about that fire of hers for a bloomin' year."
Kate stifled a giggle.
Nayru shook her head. "I had hoped my dear sisters would actually get to the point of our visit, but it looks as though they might be here all day if I let them keep going, and we have matters that we must attend to." She turned her gaze to Zelda. "We have come to bestow a gift upon our champions," she said, smiling when the Queen nearly fell over. "Whatever you request, we will give. We know that you would never ask for anything that wasn't right."
Zelda thought about it. "The one thing I want more than anything…is to have my father back."
Farore sighed, stepping forward to lay a green-glowing hand on Zelda's shoulder. "Unfortunately, we aren't allowed to change the laws of nature. As vile and evil as it was, Jiro died by man's hands, not by Fate. And even that is the natural order of the universe."
Zelda had held a suspicion. "I understand. I had to try, though," she said, smiling falteringly.
Farore nodded, pulling her in for an embrace. "I know. We will, of course, send your love."
"Thank you." Zelda thought on it. "Other than that…I have my kingdom back…my people are happy and rebuilding their lives…and I'm surrounded by my friends and comrades. What more could I ask for?"
Nayru smiled gently. "Our trust ever remains with you, Princess of Destiny…it's good to see you prove us right." That compliment of such high regard from a deity made Zelda blush and curtsey again.
Once Zelda had straightened, the Goddess of Courage turned to Link. "I knew I was right when I had my eye on you," she said, and bent to place a kiss on his forehead, much to his embarrassment. Link rubbed the back of his neck, the tips of his tapered ears turning as red as Din's hair. Farore laughed. "I think I know what you'd ask me for…well, one of the things." She arched a brow and Link knew, without knowing how he did, that she was thinking of Zelda. He coughed.
Nayru laughed.
"But since this is supposed to be his request," Din said, stepping in, "I'm assuming my sister will decide not to embarrass you."
"Of course, of course," Farore said, holding up her hands in defeat. "Ask away, kid."
Link looked at the ground, his blue eyes deeply thoughtful while he considered it. "I know…you can't bring people back…cosmic laws and all…but…can I see my parents? I want to meet them, talk to them…I never got to in this life…can they be brought back for just a few minutes?" he asked, a light of hope barely visible on his face.
Nayru smiled. "I think that can be arranged, Hero," she murmured softly, and stepped back. She turned, walking away from the small grouping, flickering and vanishing completely.
Silence descended, long moments passing before Nayru returned. When she did, there were two figures, a man and woman, walking alongside her, their forms slightly transparent and surrounded by soft golden light. As they came into the light cast by Hyrule's trinity, they seemed to solidify, as if becoming real.
Link stared.
There was no question but that these were the two who had brought him into the world. And Link was every inch his father's son. The same angular, deep blue eyes, same stern cut of jaw, it was all there. It was clear, however, that he had inherited some of the softness from his mother as well, for his face was not as seemingly chiseled from stone as that of his father.
"Look at that, Meri," the man boomed in a voice much like Link's own. "When she said we were coming to see our boy, I thought she was kidding. But…"
Link stared some more. One hand went out. "F-Father?" he whispered, voice choked off.
"Lucas, he's grown so quickly," Meri murmured back. "So straight and tall…"
The Hero of Time's hands were shaking as he reached out toward his mother.
"Come here, my boy," she said softly, her own eyes shining, and reached out, taking his hands in her own very real ones, and pulled him in for a tight hug.
Kate and Zelda took turns sniffing quietly as Link's mother stood and held him in the tight embrace, though he stood taller than she by a good six inches. There wasn't a dry eye in the small courtyard as this went on, and even nature's sounds of night seemed muted in respect for the reunion.
Finally, Link pulled away, smiling down at his mother with shining eyes.
"Don't just stand there, boy," his father grumbled, and yanked him over by one arm to throw him into a huge bear hug and pound his back while Link laughed. He hugged his son and laughed right along with him, finally pushing him back to give him a once-over.
Link suddenly felt very self-conscious.
He was, at least, clad in something more comfortable than the rich velvet he'd worn at the coronation. He wore a tunic much like his old green one - which had been shredded in the battles with his darker half and Ganondorf - but in spotless white. The leather band was still at his brow; he'd opted to leave the hat behind.
Lucas looked him over and then smiled. "You've done us proud, son."
"I knew there was something special about you the first time I held you," Meri said then, coming to stand beside her husband. "A sense of destiny, somehow…you would do great things."
"I didn't know you'd save the world," his father muttered, turning to give the Goddess of Courage a sour look, "because someone didn't give us all the details."
Meri slapped his arm. "Let it be, Lucas, you've given the poor girl nothing but grief for the past five years."
He laughed, and then looked around. "Introduce us to your friends, son," he instructed.
The Hero of Time blinked and slapped his forehead with one open palm. "Of course," he said, making a face. "Smooth one. This is John and Kate Callahan. They…didn't used to be from around here."
"Another world," Kate explained. "Portal. Boobytrap. Ganondorf."
"Ah," Meri said, heading over to give Kate a hug, and John one afterward, while Lucas stayed back, shaking hands the entire way.
"They saved my life a couple years ago," he told his parents. "Ganondorf had set a trap for me that shot me into their world. They risked everything to get me back here in one piece."
Meri gave them another hug, causing Kate to laugh a little. "You kept my son alive? Thank you both."
Kate smiled. "We were physicians on our world," she explained. "It's what we do."
"This place needs more such as you."
Link, however, had turned to face Zelda. "This, I'm sure you've guessed, is Zelda, Queen of Hyrule."
Zelda curtsied politely. "Your son is one of the greatest this land or any other has ever seen," she reported, tossing Link a gaze that was filled with admiration, honor, even…love.
And, of course, being who he was, Link missed it completely.
Meri smiled and turned, curtsying politely to Zelda before sweeping her up in a hug as she had done with the others. "He thinks of you all the time," she whispered in the girl's ear. Zelda turned bright red, and Link was beginning to suspect that he was glad he hadn't been able to hear what his mother said.
Lucas bowed deeply to the Queen. And then he turned back to Link. "Come here, boy," he said, pulling him away from Zelda and his own wife by one arm. "She's cute. What's taking you so damn long, boy? You talk about her non-stop."
Even as his ears began to turn red again and he fought to ignore the sniggers from his friends, Link glared at his father. "Did we have a title or a kingdom or a duchy somewhere no one has told me about?" he asked acidly.
Lucas shook his head, staring at his son. "What the hell has that got to do with anything?" he asked blankly.
Link scowled. "I can't ask her. I'm a nobody."
"Have you lost your mind, boy?" Lucas hissed, dragging his son father away from the circle. "What the hell does title have to do with anything?! Do you love the girl?"
Link stuttered, his ears turning red for the third time that night.
"Well?" Lucas prompted stubbornly.
Link stared at his feet. "More than anything," he finally admitted.
"Then get your ass back over there and tell her. And make sure you ask the right question."
"I can't…she's a Queen, Father. How could it work? What could I possibly give her?"
"You know, I asked that same thing of myself when I met your mother," Lucas replied, his eyes going thoughtful as he stared into the night.
"And?"
"My father had this exact same talk with me," he said, cracking a grin. "And you know what he told me?"
Link was wary, and his eyes narrowed suspiciously as he waited to be cuffed again. "What?" He finally bit the hook with some trepidation.
His father smiled, and this time it was sincere; not the teasing grin of earlier as he laid one hand on his son's shoulder. "He told me that the best gift you can ever offer to the woman you love is your heart. No jewel, no throne, no crown, no title can compare to the thought that you've given her your heart."
Link sighed, ears red. "That's great…but mother wasn't royalty."
Lucas smiled fondly. "Maybe not technically…but she's always been my Princess."
Link glanced up at his father. "You really think it would work?"
"Are you blind, boy? Can you not see how she looks at you?"
Link gave him a blank look.
It was Lucas's turn to slap his forehead with one palm. "Please tell me my wife didn't give birth to an idiot," he growled, much to Link's embarrassment and once-again red ears. "Link, she adores you…and I'm almost sad that I'm dead and I can see it easier than the one who it's right in front of every day."
Link stared at his feet again. "I'd always hoped…but I convinced myself that I was always reading too much into it.
"Not even close," Lucas confirmed. "You're not just a guardian to her, you know. You stopped being just a guardian a long time ago, from the looks of things." He sighed. "So I'm going to ask you to do something for me."
"What is it?"
"Go into town tomorrow, to the jeweler's Ol' Breggan still working in that shop?"
Link nodded, smiling. "He'll never die, at this rate."
"Good. Tell him you want the pendant made like the one he made for Lucas thirty-two years ago."
"I'll just tell him I want the one he made for my father," Link said, grinning now.
Lucas smiled and threw his son into a huge bear hug. "That's the spirit…looks like it's time," he said quietly. "Come on," he put an arm around his son's shoulders and together they ambled back into the circle.
There was a questioning look on many faces. "Man to man talk," Lucas said sagely, and as his wife muttered a few choice words under her breath - for she knew exactly what they'd spoken of - the others laughed and put it from their minds.
Meri made her way over and wrapped her arms around her son in one last, heartfelt embrace. "You've made me proud, my boy," she murmured.
"Meri," Nayru said softly, "It's time to go."
"I know." She pulled back and laid one hand against Link's cheek. "I love you, my son," she told him.
"As do I, boy," Lucas said in his gruff voice.
Link nodded. "I love you both," he called after them as Nayru walked them out of the circle and they vanished. He wanted to shout after them…something…but there was nothing else left he could say.
He watched them go, in the slience that followed their departure, an odd mixture of sadness and elation hitting him squarely in the heart.
"I would say that was an adequate visit?" Farore asked.
Link nodded, his throat tight. "Thank you," he murmured.
"We must depart," Din interrupted. "We'll be keeping our eyes on you children, though. So behave."
Farore laughed, and together the two of them walked away.
The quartet of Hylians watched after the departing deities until they had vanished once more, and then Zelda turned to Link. "Are you all right?" she asked, resting one hand on his shoulder. Sometimes a gift could be more taxing than one knew.
He nodded, turning to face her, and covered her hand with his. "Yeah," he replied, a reassuring smile on his face. "Everything's fine."
-Act V-
Restoration
4
Kate saw them coming and waved, smiling brightly as she stood and pulled John to his own feet. The pair had been married a mere month before Zelda's coronation, and now seemed to be on cloud nine. They'd become fast friends with the Princess - no, Queen, Kate reminded herself - of Hyrule, and of course Link as well. A crisis had a way of binding people together.
"Oh, don't get up," Zelda said. She never had been good at the whole sovereign respect thing, and it made her uncomfortable when people bowed or got up when she came in the room. She hated it and was seriously considering imposing a law banishing such treatment. But, as Kiron and Akana had reminded her repeatedly, if she did that, people might lose respect for the crown. And Zelda didn't want that. Not after everything that the land had suffered to keep the crown in the right hands. "Sit back down. We're friends, remember?"
John chuckled. "You still happen to be a Queen, you know," he reminded in amusement. "That title lends itself to certain occurrences when you walk in a room. Or out of a room, anyway," he said, peering up at the sky.
"The stars are bright, tonight," Zelda replied, by way of a change of topic. "It's almost like they were waiting for us to bring him down."
"Something tells me we may have had a little holy encouragement," Link said, cracking a bemused grin. "The Goddesses didn't like him anymore than we did." He rubbed the back of his neck as he sat down. "That's why they threw me in the middle of all of this."
Kate smiled. She had her own suspicions. And they were on a track that was miles from Link's.
"So you're like…go-for to the Gods," John teased.
Link nodded. "Sometimes it's a pain in the ass," he growled. "Getting killed is not one of my favorite hobbies."
"If it makes you feel any better," Kate chimed in, "we didn't like watching you get killed either."
"Thanks so much," Link muttered wryly.
Zelda slapped his arm. 'Be nice."
Link stared at her. "In case you forgot, they were the ones mocking me."
She nodded, an enigmatic smile on her face. "I know."
Something tiny and red glowed in the air like a firefly bobbing on the evening breeze. Kate blinked. "Anybody else see that?"
Zelda nearly went cross-eyed when a smiliar blue light bobbed up into her face. "Apparently." She swatted at it, shaking her head to clear her vision.
Link blurted out a startled curse when a green light singed his ear. "Ow!" he took a swing at it.
Similar tiny lights were flaring up all around them, little balls of red, blue, and green light were dancing on the gentle wind, swirling around the quartet as they gathered in number and size. The wind kicked up, creating a miniature, multi-hued cyclone, the eye of which protected the four Hylians - for that was how John and Kate saw themselves now - from the swirling wind and light.
Just when it seemed that the wind could grow no stronger, when the lights were no longer little glowing beads of color but merely streaks of ruby and emerald and sapphire, the lights began seeking out others of their color. They combined to create three glowing orbs of light: One red, one green, one blue. The lights formed themselves, then, into three figures, all female.
"Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" Link said as they all got slowly to their feet.
"If it's what I think I'm seeing, then yes," Zelda replied.
"Oh, good lord, girl," the figure in red snapped irritably. "Don't get all google-eyed."
"Anybody feel like explaining?" John asked curiously.
Link glanced sideways at him. "Be nice, Johnny-boy," he quipped, using one of Kate's nicknames for him, "you're in the presence of deity."
"Well, deities," the figure in green corrected. "There are three of us, after all."
"I think they can see that, Sister," the one in blue said gently.
"I am Din," said the one in red. She was average height, and wore a simple gown of flowing crimson, her hair tied back and flowing down her shoulders in vibrant red waves. Her ruby gaze was penetrating, carrying strength untold behind it. "Goddess of Power."
"I am Farore," said the one in green. She was very tall, and wore a simple swordsman's garb; flowing shirt of palest green, with dark brown doeskin trousers and leather boots. Her hair was long and straight, and hung unfettered down her back nearly to her waist. Her emerald eyes, though somewhat less challenging than those of her sister, carried their own hint of power, along with a certain cosmic amusement and hint of mischief. They sparkled as she smiled and cast a polite bow to Link and Zelda. "Goddess of Courage."
"And I am Nayru," said the third, the one in blue. She was a tiny figure, seeming barely five feet tall, and wore a loose, flowing gown of bluish white, something more fitting to a scholar in Greece than a Hylian goddess. Her curling hair was bound atop her head with a simple cord, strands of it hanging curled in her young-looking face, and her wide, bright blue eyes were set deep and apart, giving her the appearance of youth, though her eyes spoke knowledge beyond her apparent years. "Goddess of Wisdom."
Link dropped to one knee, yanking John with him when he didn't move right away. He knew Din's temper, for it had come down on his head a number of times in his life, and he hoped to spare his friend the migraine.
Kate had better sense, and curtsied elegantly in unison with Hyrule's Queen.
"What brings you to our plane, Holy Ones?" Zelda asked curiously. "If I may ask."
Farore smiled, albeit somewhat wickedly. "We wanted to visit. Oh, and congratulations, you two," she said, giving Kate and John a grin. "'Bout time you two got hitched."
Nayru sighed. "Oh, Farore, don't tease them so," she said, at seeing how red John's face got.
The Goddess of Courage merely laughed musically.
"Nice use of the fire, boy," Din said to Link. "I must admit, when I sent that gift to the Great Faerie for you, I wasn't sure how much help it would actually be. But you put it to good use." She smiled somewhat viciously. "Went right through the tendons, didn't it?"
His answering grin was just as evil. "Butter," he growled, eyes gleaming.
"Oh, lord," Farore sighed. "Don't get her started, she's been bragging about that fire of hers for a bloomin' year."
Kate stifled a giggle.
Nayru shook her head. "I had hoped my dear sisters would actually get to the point of our visit, but it looks as though they might be here all day if I let them keep going, and we have matters that we must attend to." She turned her gaze to Zelda. "We have come to bestow a gift upon our champions," she said, smiling when the Queen nearly fell over. "Whatever you request, we will give. We know that you would never ask for anything that wasn't right."
Zelda thought about it. "The one thing I want more than anything…is to have my father back."
Farore sighed, stepping forward to lay a green-glowing hand on Zelda's shoulder. "Unfortunately, we aren't allowed to change the laws of nature. As vile and evil as it was, Jiro died by man's hands, not by Fate. And even that is the natural order of the universe."
Zelda had held a suspicion. "I understand. I had to try, though," she said, smiling falteringly.
Farore nodded, pulling her in for an embrace. "I know. We will, of course, send your love."
"Thank you." Zelda thought on it. "Other than that…I have my kingdom back…my people are happy and rebuilding their lives…and I'm surrounded by my friends and comrades. What more could I ask for?"
Nayru smiled gently. "Our trust ever remains with you, Princess of Destiny…it's good to see you prove us right." That compliment of such high regard from a deity made Zelda blush and curtsey again.
Once Zelda had straightened, the Goddess of Courage turned to Link. "I knew I was right when I had my eye on you," she said, and bent to place a kiss on his forehead, much to his embarrassment. Link rubbed the back of his neck, the tips of his tapered ears turning as red as Din's hair. Farore laughed. "I think I know what you'd ask me for…well, one of the things." She arched a brow and Link knew, without knowing how he did, that she was thinking of Zelda. He coughed.
Nayru laughed.
"But since this is supposed to be his request," Din said, stepping in, "I'm assuming my sister will decide not to embarrass you."
"Of course, of course," Farore said, holding up her hands in defeat. "Ask away, kid."
Link looked at the ground, his blue eyes deeply thoughtful while he considered it. "I know…you can't bring people back…cosmic laws and all…but…can I see my parents? I want to meet them, talk to them…I never got to in this life…can they be brought back for just a few minutes?" he asked, a light of hope barely visible on his face.
Nayru smiled. "I think that can be arranged, Hero," she murmured softly, and stepped back. She turned, walking away from the small grouping, flickering and vanishing completely.
Silence descended, long moments passing before Nayru returned. When she did, there were two figures, a man and woman, walking alongside her, their forms slightly transparent and surrounded by soft golden light. As they came into the light cast by Hyrule's trinity, they seemed to solidify, as if becoming real.
Link stared.
There was no question but that these were the two who had brought him into the world. And Link was every inch his father's son. The same angular, deep blue eyes, same stern cut of jaw, it was all there. It was clear, however, that he had inherited some of the softness from his mother as well, for his face was not as seemingly chiseled from stone as that of his father.
"Look at that, Meri," the man boomed in a voice much like Link's own. "When she said we were coming to see our boy, I thought she was kidding. But…"
Link stared some more. One hand went out. "F-Father?" he whispered, voice choked off.
"Lucas, he's grown so quickly," Meri murmured back. "So straight and tall…"
The Hero of Time's hands were shaking as he reached out toward his mother.
"Come here, my boy," she said softly, her own eyes shining, and reached out, taking his hands in her own very real ones, and pulled him in for a tight hug.
Kate and Zelda took turns sniffing quietly as Link's mother stood and held him in the tight embrace, though he stood taller than she by a good six inches. There wasn't a dry eye in the small courtyard as this went on, and even nature's sounds of night seemed muted in respect for the reunion.
Finally, Link pulled away, smiling down at his mother with shining eyes.
"Don't just stand there, boy," his father grumbled, and yanked him over by one arm to throw him into a huge bear hug and pound his back while Link laughed. He hugged his son and laughed right along with him, finally pushing him back to give him a once-over.
Link suddenly felt very self-conscious.
He was, at least, clad in something more comfortable than the rich velvet he'd worn at the coronation. He wore a tunic much like his old green one - which had been shredded in the battles with his darker half and Ganondorf - but in spotless white. The leather band was still at his brow; he'd opted to leave the hat behind.
Lucas looked him over and then smiled. "You've done us proud, son."
"I knew there was something special about you the first time I held you," Meri said then, coming to stand beside her husband. "A sense of destiny, somehow…you would do great things."
"I didn't know you'd save the world," his father muttered, turning to give the Goddess of Courage a sour look, "because someone didn't give us all the details."
Meri slapped his arm. "Let it be, Lucas, you've given the poor girl nothing but grief for the past five years."
He laughed, and then looked around. "Introduce us to your friends, son," he instructed.
The Hero of Time blinked and slapped his forehead with one open palm. "Of course," he said, making a face. "Smooth one. This is John and Kate Callahan. They…didn't used to be from around here."
"Another world," Kate explained. "Portal. Boobytrap. Ganondorf."
"Ah," Meri said, heading over to give Kate a hug, and John one afterward, while Lucas stayed back, shaking hands the entire way.
"They saved my life a couple years ago," he told his parents. "Ganondorf had set a trap for me that shot me into their world. They risked everything to get me back here in one piece."
Meri gave them another hug, causing Kate to laugh a little. "You kept my son alive? Thank you both."
Kate smiled. "We were physicians on our world," she explained. "It's what we do."
"This place needs more such as you."
Link, however, had turned to face Zelda. "This, I'm sure you've guessed, is Zelda, Queen of Hyrule."
Zelda curtsied politely. "Your son is one of the greatest this land or any other has ever seen," she reported, tossing Link a gaze that was filled with admiration, honor, even…love.
And, of course, being who he was, Link missed it completely.
Meri smiled and turned, curtsying politely to Zelda before sweeping her up in a hug as she had done with the others. "He thinks of you all the time," she whispered in the girl's ear. Zelda turned bright red, and Link was beginning to suspect that he was glad he hadn't been able to hear what his mother said.
Lucas bowed deeply to the Queen. And then he turned back to Link. "Come here, boy," he said, pulling him away from Zelda and his own wife by one arm. "She's cute. What's taking you so damn long, boy? You talk about her non-stop."
Even as his ears began to turn red again and he fought to ignore the sniggers from his friends, Link glared at his father. "Did we have a title or a kingdom or a duchy somewhere no one has told me about?" he asked acidly.
Lucas shook his head, staring at his son. "What the hell has that got to do with anything?" he asked blankly.
Link scowled. "I can't ask her. I'm a nobody."
"Have you lost your mind, boy?" Lucas hissed, dragging his son father away from the circle. "What the hell does title have to do with anything?! Do you love the girl?"
Link stuttered, his ears turning red for the third time that night.
"Well?" Lucas prompted stubbornly.
Link stared at his feet. "More than anything," he finally admitted.
"Then get your ass back over there and tell her. And make sure you ask the right question."
"I can't…she's a Queen, Father. How could it work? What could I possibly give her?"
"You know, I asked that same thing of myself when I met your mother," Lucas replied, his eyes going thoughtful as he stared into the night.
"And?"
"My father had this exact same talk with me," he said, cracking a grin. "And you know what he told me?"
Link was wary, and his eyes narrowed suspiciously as he waited to be cuffed again. "What?" He finally bit the hook with some trepidation.
His father smiled, and this time it was sincere; not the teasing grin of earlier as he laid one hand on his son's shoulder. "He told me that the best gift you can ever offer to the woman you love is your heart. No jewel, no throne, no crown, no title can compare to the thought that you've given her your heart."
Link sighed, ears red. "That's great…but mother wasn't royalty."
Lucas smiled fondly. "Maybe not technically…but she's always been my Princess."
Link glanced up at his father. "You really think it would work?"
"Are you blind, boy? Can you not see how she looks at you?"
Link gave him a blank look.
It was Lucas's turn to slap his forehead with one palm. "Please tell me my wife didn't give birth to an idiot," he growled, much to Link's embarrassment and once-again red ears. "Link, she adores you…and I'm almost sad that I'm dead and I can see it easier than the one who it's right in front of every day."
Link stared at his feet again. "I'd always hoped…but I convinced myself that I was always reading too much into it.
"Not even close," Lucas confirmed. "You're not just a guardian to her, you know. You stopped being just a guardian a long time ago, from the looks of things." He sighed. "So I'm going to ask you to do something for me."
"What is it?"
"Go into town tomorrow, to the jeweler's Ol' Breggan still working in that shop?"
Link nodded, smiling. "He'll never die, at this rate."
"Good. Tell him you want the pendant made like the one he made for Lucas thirty-two years ago."
"I'll just tell him I want the one he made for my father," Link said, grinning now.
Lucas smiled and threw his son into a huge bear hug. "That's the spirit…looks like it's time," he said quietly. "Come on," he put an arm around his son's shoulders and together they ambled back into the circle.
There was a questioning look on many faces. "Man to man talk," Lucas said sagely, and as his wife muttered a few choice words under her breath - for she knew exactly what they'd spoken of - the others laughed and put it from their minds.
Meri made her way over and wrapped her arms around her son in one last, heartfelt embrace. "You've made me proud, my boy," she murmured.
"Meri," Nayru said softly, "It's time to go."
"I know." She pulled back and laid one hand against Link's cheek. "I love you, my son," she told him.
"As do I, boy," Lucas said in his gruff voice.
Link nodded. "I love you both," he called after them as Nayru walked them out of the circle and they vanished. He wanted to shout after them…something…but there was nothing else left he could say.
He watched them go, in the slience that followed their departure, an odd mixture of sadness and elation hitting him squarely in the heart.
"I would say that was an adequate visit?" Farore asked.
Link nodded, his throat tight. "Thank you," he murmured.
"We must depart," Din interrupted. "We'll be keeping our eyes on you children, though. So behave."
Farore laughed, and together the two of them walked away.
The quartet of Hylians watched after the departing deities until they had vanished once more, and then Zelda turned to Link. "Are you all right?" she asked, resting one hand on his shoulder. Sometimes a gift could be more taxing than one knew.
He nodded, turning to face her, and covered her hand with his. "Yeah," he replied, a reassuring smile on his face. "Everything's fine."