Link had often heard talk during his travels in Hyrule that 'having children changes your life'. He'd never given this much thought, not prior to defeating Calamity Ganon. And following the restoration of Hyrule under Fi's guidance, his focus was on Zelda and settling into their new respective roles. Then Zelda became pregnant, and his world changed. No longer was he able to think solely about his wife, his beloved Princess (as she would always be to him), but now they had a beautiful daughter consuming much of their time and energy. At almost three, she was bouncing and full of energy without ceasing, taking after her father. Her golden baby curls were starting to grow thicker and longer, leading Link to wonder if she was going to maintain that curl as she grew up.
And now that Zelda was pregnant a second time, the need for regular walks to burn energy for Zellie intensified. Link insisted all three of them take a break from their responsibilities in the late afternoon to spend time as a family. Zellie adored getting to run around the gardens, or take her daddy's hand and lead him onto Hyrule field to chase her in the deeper grass.
The further they got through Zelda's pregnancy, the less distance she was able to walk before growing tired. Link didn't mind too much. He just made sure to settle his pregnant wife in a comfortable shady spot while he and Zellie played. Their daughter's favorite game had become 'catcha fwog' as she eloquently dubbed it. The idea was to sneak up on the tireless frogs that called Hyrule Field home, and try to capture the slimy amphibians in one's hands. Zellie's ability to hold one was sorely lacking, but that didn't diminish the excitement she showed when her bright blue eyes spotted one.
"Daddy! Fwog!" she squealed, bouncing up and down like an amphibian hopping for cover.
"Remember what I said about jumping? It'll scare it away, Princess," Link chided with a soft chuckle.
"Wanna hop, hop like fwog!" Zellie sang, completely undeterred.
"Frogs can sit still on lily pads for a long time in the water," he explained, kneeling beside her. "They have to wait to catch the bugs they eat."
"Ewww! Yucky bugs!" she declared, stomping her foot as only a toddler could.
"Neither does your mommy," he pointed out.
"I heard that," Zelda called from her comfortable place in the shade nearby. The child she carried in her belly kicked strongly and shifted, earning a slight wince from the young queen. "I tolerate them for the sake of research, but I'm not keen on touching them otherwise."
"And what about frogs?" Link teased. "You didn't mind holding them before."
"Still not a fan. Certainly not since you served frog legs for that diplomatic dinner and chose not to let it slip what they were until the meal was nearly over." She lovingly shook her head at him. "At least Sidon was amused."
"What's that look for? How was I supposed to know they wouldn't consider it a delicacy?" he protested, throwing up his hands.
"Given what we know of the Gerudo culture, it was hardly a shock," Zelda pointed out.
"Daddy! Daddy! BIG FWOG!" Zellie shouted. She ran towards Link, tripped, and face-planted on the grass. The toddler laid still for a few seconds, then pushed to her feet, running until she collapsed in Link's lap.
"A big frog? Where was it?" he asked, brushing dirt off the skirt of her vibrant pink dress.
"Pink fwog!" Zellie said, pointing at a creature that was certainly not a frog.
Link couldn't help but stare. Whatever the creature was, it stood on two legs and was quite nearly his daughter's height. The face was green, with large frog-like eyes. The body was a pale pink with a long cat's tail. A frog's hood matched the pink of its body, though black spots decorated it, including between the two false eyes.
The creature cocked its head and spoke with a high, lilted voice. "Frosch found people! But Frosch still can't find the Sabertooth guild!"
Link studied it while Zellie giggled at the silly words. "Sabertooth? What in the name of Hyrule is 'Sabertooth?'"
"Link? What's going on?" Zelda pushed herself up to her knees, then used the tree she was leaning against as support while she stood, her free hand staying on her belly.
"Big fwog! Siwy big fwog!" Zellie threw her arms around it. "You're siwy!"
The creature danced with the little girl before losing its balance and falling into the grass with the blonde beside it. "Frosch likes to dance! Dancing is fun! Frosch wishes we danced more at Sabertooth."
Link eyed the self-proclaimed 'Frosch' curiously while he walked over and put an arm around Zelda's waist. "It's some sort of talking cat, I think. I've never seen anything like it."
"A talking cat? Let me have my notebook, please," Zelda requested.
Her husband assisted her to sit in the grass closer to their daughter and the creature, handing her the notebook and a charcoal pencil.
"What's your name?" the young queen asked, interrupting the giggling fit from Zellie.
"Frosch! Frosch is the best frog in ALL of Sabertooth!" the cat cried, springing to its feet. "But Frosch is lost. Have you seen Sting and Rogue?"
"I'm afraid not," Zelda said gently. "Where are you from?"
"Sabertooth, the strongest guild in Fiore!" Frosch puffed out its chest in pride. "But Frosch can't seem to find it anywhere."
Link and Zelda exchanged glances before Link hesitantly spoke. "I've never heard of those places before, and I've been all over Hyrule."
"Hyrule? Where's that?" Frosch asked, cocking its head.
"You're in Hyrule right now," Zelda explained. "The castle behind us is Hyrule Castle. That's where we live."
"You live in a castle?! Is it big and pretty? Frosch has been to Princess Hisui's castle in Fiore! She's really nice and pretty!"
"Mommy queen! Mommy is queen!" Zellie chimed in, running over and collapsing onto Frosch, knocking the cat off its feet again.
"Zellie! Be gentle. You don't want to hurt Frosch," Link admonished, plucking the little girl off the pink creature.
Zellie's bottom lip trembled and her face twisted as she went into full meltdown, screaming as tears ran down her face. Link sighed and took her a short ways away to calm down, leaving Zelda with Frosch who had covered its ears with pink paws.
"I'm sorry about that. She hasn't quite learned how to use gentle touches when she gets excited," Zelda explained with an apologetic smile.
"Frosch knows children often cry," the pink said soberly. "Frosch doesn't mind."
"Where are you from again? You said somewhere called 'Fiore', if I heard that correctly. How did you end up here?"
"Frosch isn't sure! Frosch lost Sting, Rogue, and Lector. Frosch wandered all through the streets and found no sign of them anywhere," it sighed. "I saw a glowy light in an archway, then found myself in front of a stone statue of a pretty lady. I walked and walked, til I found you!"
"Where was this statue? Was it like my size, or much larger?" Zelda asked, trying to make sense of what little information she'd been given.
"So big! Big as a house! Though Frosch doesn't know how a statue that big got inside a house."
Zelda paused in taking her notes, looking at the creature. "How did you get off the plateau?"
"Flying! Frosch has wings, though it makes Frosch very tired to use them," it explained as if it were common knowledge.
"Wings?"
Frosch turned and Zelda let out an involuntary gasp. As stated, a pair of white feathered wings poked through the back of… a full body pink fur costume? "You do have wings. That must be how you got off the Great Plateau."
Frosch cocked its head. "The huge cliff? Frosch fell because Frosch's magic doesn't work for flying here. But Frosch likes walking!"
Link returned then with a happier toddler in tow. "Did you figure out where it was from yet?"
"Fiore, which isn't in Hyrule. Frosch, as it calls itself, somehow ended up in the Temple of Time, in front of the Goddess Statue." Zelda's green eyes met Link's. "I think that taking Frosch back might be the only way to return it back to… wherever it came from."
"On the Great Plateau? Hmmm." Link studied the creature. "I'll take Frosch to the Temple, and I'll keep Zellie with me too, as long as you promise to go back to the castle and rest until we get back."
Zelda smiled softly and nodded, her hand resting on her heavily pregnant belly. "I promise. Thank you, Link."
He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Of course. Love you two."
"Love you two as well," she replied. She sat still for a moment before sheepishly looking up at him. "May I request a hand in getting up again before you leave, however?"
He grinned and bowed from the waist. "Your wish is my command." Strong arms supported her waist and elbow, easing her back to her feet.
"Thank you," she whispered, claiming his lips in a soft, chaste kiss. "Be careful. I'll see you later."
"Same to you, my princess." Link's attention was drawn away from his wife by their daughter's fit of giggles. Frosch was happily chasing frogs with Zellie hot on its heels.
Zelda laughed and shooed them away. "Keep them out of trouble."
"Fwogs! Fwogs!" Zellie chanted, pouncing after one that evaded her grip.
"Frosch doesn't know why we are hunting frogs, but Frosch thinks it's lots of fun!" the little pink creature exclaimed, staying close to the blonde toddler.
"Zellie, we need to get Frosch back to their home." Link said as gently as he could. "But you can play along the way. It's a bit of a hike to the Temple."
"Yay! Pway! Pway!" she crowed happily.
"This way." Link guided them down the path skirting the edge of Hyrule Field. He and the team of knights from the castle had taken great pains to ensure the remaining guardians and mobs that spawned on the open plains were removed in a timely fashion, leaving it safe for the people of Hyrule to travel without concern. Zellie was blissfully ignorant there was any possibility of danger, and her furry companion was little different.
Link couldn't help but smile watching the two chasing each other down the path. Zellie had no shortage of playmates in the castle while he and Zelda worked, but the only one close in age was Hudson and Rhondson's son, Maison. But more often than not, Zellie ended up in tears from the boy's brash, rough and tumble actions. There would be other children to play with over time, including the infant currently growing in Zelda's belly.
"Daddy! Daddy! Big waw!" Zellie pointed at the towering edge of the Great Plateau ahead.
"Frosch doesn't know how to climb," the creature said sadly. "Frosch doesn't like really high things."
"Not to worry. We won't be climbing." Link pulled his Sheikah Slate off his hip, easily pulling up the map and selecting the Shrine of Resurrection. "Zellie, hold hands with Frosch. We're going to fast travel to the top."
The blonde toddler giggled and grabbed Frosch's paw. "Yay! Let's go, Daddy!"
"Are you and Frosch ready?" Link asked, taking his daughter's free hand.
"Frosch is ready!"
"Hehe! Zewwie's ready, Daddy!" the little girl cried, jumping up and down.
Link activated the teleportation, the blue Sheikah runes engulfing the trio and transporting them to the darkened Shrine of Resurrection. Zellie clung to his leg, whimpering softly.
"Don't worry. We're going out to the sunlight again," he assured her, scooping her up to ride on his shoulders. "How about you, Frosch?"
The cat stumbled dizzily towards him. "Frosch had fun but Frosch's tummy feels weird."
"Give it a minute and you'll feel better. It's like that for everyone the first time they travel using the Sheikah Slate," Link explained. He led them outside, earning a happy sigh from his daughter. She flopped against his head, wrapping her arms tiredly around his neck.
"Are you sleepy, Zellie?" he asked, mirth filling his tone.
"No!" she said stubbornly. "Not sleepy."
"Just checking." He led them on the path down the hill towards the Temple of Time. Restoration progress had been steady, nearing completion.
"Frosch remembers this place! Frosch came out of that HUGE building and followed the wall to the big drop!" The cat bounced excitedly.
"Is Fwosch go bye-bye?" Zellie asked, her lower lip trembling.
"Yes, Frosch will have to leave soon. Hyrule isn't their home," Link explained gently.
"Frosch misses Rogue, Sting, and all of Sabertooth," the cat said, wiping away a tear that rolled down its face.
"But Zewwie don't want Fwosch go!" she wailed, clinging tights to wads of Link's hair.
"Frosch will miss Zellie too, but Frosch has to go home."
Zellie wailed and sobbed harder, throwing quite a tantrum. Link lifted her off his shoulders and held her against his chest. "Shhhh. We still get to give hugs and say 'see you next time', remember?"
She sniffled and hiccuped, tears staining both of her rosy cheeks. "Fwosch come back t'mowoh?"
"Maybe not tomorrow, but perhaps someday," Link said, looking down at the pink cat.
Frosch nodded. "Frosch will come back if Frosch gets lost again."
Link guided them through the open door of the temple. The floor of the temple had been cleared of rubble and grass, but the calm, welcoming aura that drew people in remained. The roof was nearly completed, leaving just the window and doors to be replaced and renewed to their former glory.
Zellie wriggled to be set down, immediately leaping onto Frosch, knocking them both into a giggling heap on the stone floor. "Zewwie sad Fwosch go bye-bye," she whimpered, tears threatening to fall again.
"Frosch will come back!" The pink-furred creature said with determination. "But Frosch has to go home first." Its eyes turned to Link. "Thank you Mr. Link for your help getting Frosch back. Frosch won't forget your kindness."
Link knelt down to shake Frosch's paw but wasn't surprised when the creature leaped into his arms for a hug. "It's my pleasure. Safe travels wherever the Goddess may lead you."
A bright glowing aura radiated in front of the statue of Hylia, silently beckoning to Frosch. Link picked up Zellie and soothed her while Frosch ran over to the spot. The cat turned and waved at the Hylian king and his daughter, then stepped into the light and vanished. Several seconds later, the aura vanished, the temple returning to a late afternoon glow from the sun.
"Fwosch gone," Zellie whimpered, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Daddy hold?"
Link picked up his daughter and held her tightly against his chest. "Did you have fun with Frosch?"
"Yeah! Fwosch is Zewwie's fwiend." She snuggled her head into the crook of his neck and sighed.
"Let's go home. Your mommy is waiting for us."
"Yay! Wanna see Mommy!"
Link left the temple, peeking back over his shoulder. He wasn't sure what purpose the visit from the strange creature served, but at the very least, it brought entertainment to his daughter's afternoon. And who knew if they would see Frosch again? After all, Hylia worked in mysterious ways.