Chapter 27 - Surprise

For two days, things remained blissfully uneventful at the outpost, providing ample time for everyone to accomplish numerous chores—and there were several that required attention.

From gathering equipment to delegating scouts and overseeing construction efforts, no one could say they were bored. Perhaps the most treacherous part of their job was working around a snowstorm that covered River Town in a blanket of white, and the sudden drop in temperature accompanying it made insulating the rooms a necessity.

Olnor and Betarro oversaw the task with Cody's help, and they wanted to fix Zelda's quarters first. But she directed them to focus on the sick and the elderly, claiming she was fine despite the fact that her room could certainly use the warmth. Yet she refused to take precedence over anyone else, and even refused Dorrel's offer of installing a wood stove.

Instead, she had him put it in Link's quarters—not that he was spending his entire day there anymore. With his injuries doing so much better, he was getting out for longer periods and learning the outpost's layout for himself. Still, he quickly learned that it seemed as if no one in the revolt had anything for him to do that wouldn't bother his injuries, or his assistance was simply unnecessary.

Or so they said.

At first, Link wasn't bothered by their constant refusals to allow him to help. Yet everyone was so adamant about him getting rest that he started wondering if there wasn't some other reason for their denials. Maybe I just smell bad and everyone's too polite to tell me.

So he found himself spending some time in the mess hall just thinking things through, and it was there that he formed a surprising friendship with Cody—not that he'd ever disliked the carpenter. They'd simply hadn't met under the best of circumstances, and at present, they were both having trouble relating to women.

After Link's minor quarrel with Zelda, he'd been focused on the matter of how and when to tell her the truth—as well as the question of the best way to apologize for the way he'd acted. At the same time, Cody was experiencing a similar situation with Alia. Evidently, she was annoyed by his attitude, so he'd come in for a bite to eat, and soon enough, he and Link were complaining about how difficult it could sometimes be to relate to them.

Yet Link felt guilty for his own troubles, realizing his reluctance to tell Zelda the truth had caused their quarrel—not that she was being forthcoming either. Instead, she'd skirted her way around him, refused to answer questions in full detail, and made up excuses to dismiss herself from conversations altogether.

It all pointed to the fact that something was going on beyond routine operations, and whatever it was, he got the feeling everyone was in on it. No one would allow him to help, and sometimes they even barred his path, stopping him from entering a room entirely.

So Link finally returned to his quarters where, for the first time since he'd been injured, he picked up the Master Sword to test his mobility. Sadly, his room wasn't big enough to really get going, but it was enough for some basic movements, and after several swings and turns, he wasn't winded at all.

Still, his leg protested after only ten minutes, and as he glared at the wound causing his discomfort, an idea came to mind that had him adjourning to the conference chamber for a talk with his mother.

Because Ganondorf had wounded him using the Dark Powers of the Sacred Realm, he asked Myriad if using the power she'd given him might actually have some effect with healing them faster—and her response was positive. She related that she'd never regretted being locked away more than she did now because her own knowledge of using such power would've seen him healed as soon as he'd been pulled from the barbs.

Sadly, Link wasn't as practiced, nor did he possess as much power as his mother. But she instructed him to start with the most minor of his injuries, and even enlist Zelda's guidance if he became confused. Then, once he had a good grasp of the method, he could proceed to the larger wounds.

As a bonus, if he became proficient with it, he could even use the Light Power to heal common injuries with relative ease.

That was certainly incentive to give it a try, and he planned to get started that night. Also, because he had plenty of time to talk with his mother when no one seemed to need his help, he asked her about the matter of Zelda's parents, and as always, Myriad had a sensible answer.

She'd known for quite a while that Hadinaru and Nissandra were still alive—Ganondorf revealed the secret not long after Link roused her by drawing the Master Sword from its pedestal. Yet she hadn't been sure whether to believe his claim until Zelda mentioned her recurring dreams.

Afterward, Myriad knew Zelda was meant to learn the truth in her own time. So whether Link told her, or she discovered it through her own intuition, she was going to find out eventually, leaving a single question.

Would she be better off learning such news from her friend, or finding out in some arbitrary manner that could potentially devastate her?

The answer was easy, and Link finally made his decision. As soon as he could actually catch her alone, he was going to tell her everything—he simply didn't realize how difficult it was going to be with his surprise party taking place that evening.

Not that his birthday was that day specifically. Instead, it was tomorrow, and Alia had suggested throwing the party a night early so Link wouldn't miss his actual birthday and could still enjoy it.

Zelda thought it was a wonderful idea, and spent the day helping Alia, Kiama, Nissa, and Bessa decorate the main hall, which was the biggest room in the outpost and the best choice for a party. As they worked, Jada wrapped gifts while Lana attempted to blindly direct traffic. Because of her bad eyesight, the girls pretended to listen to her suggestions while doing things their own way, and when the end result still met with Lana's approval, they had to stifle their snickers.

They'd also assigned people to watch the doors at all times and claim official business was taking place inside to keep Link from stumbling across their activities too soon. Cody was the first the girls wrangled into standing watch, though he initially protested if only because he had no idea what to say if Link actually did come along, nor did he know how to stop the Hylian if he became pushy about going in.

So Alia sarcastically suggested he steal Link's shield just as he'd tried to steal Epona when they first met. When Cody retorted by asking just as sarcastically what to do if Link didn't have his shield on him, Alia responded sharply then steal his hat! with a roll of her eyes.

Eventually, they had him try to find someone to assist with the task, and the first person to walk by as Cody stood outside the door was Tenio, a tall Hylian with long silver hair pulled into a ponytail and stormy eyes. Cody didn't know him well, but had heard he was an excellent archer and practiced with stealth, making him a perfect candidate to keep his fellow Hylian out of the main hall.

Sadly, Tenio was too busy to help at present, and as he politely refused, a large shadow engulfed the young carpenter. Slowly turning around to look up—twice—Cody found himself staring at Arden's intimidating visage.

Spying the fear on his face through his shadow sight, the big berserker grinned and mentioned his intentions of helping keep watch as Impa strolled into the main hall behind him.

With no choice, Cody stammered incoherently before finally uttering an okay while squeezing himself into a corner near the door as tightly as he could. After all, Arden didn't look very friendly, and Cody had no intentions of unwittingly angering the big soldier.

Still, after a few hours passed, he slowly worked his way a little closer to Arden, grateful the big man wasn't too chatty—not that their job gave them all that much to talk about. He was even starting to think Link wasn't going to show up, but around early evening, they spotted the Hylian coming down the hallway.

And Cody panicked.

Leaning against the door next to him with his arms crossed over his chest, Arden regarded the fidgety carpenter with an arched brow, relating before Link was within earshot, "Whatever you do, shorty, don't go into stealth."

"Heh, no thanks," Cody replied, then cleared his throat. "Uh … I'll just go tell the girls so they'll know to stay quiet."

"You do that," Arden drew out plainly as the carpenter darted into the main hall before Link could spot him, and once the Hylian was close enough, he remarked, "I see you're getting about without a problem now."

Coming to a stop nearby, Link learned he was right about his first meeting with Arden—it seemed awkward. Not that he hadn't seen the soldier in passing, and the fact that they were former enemies had nothing to do with it. Link could accept that Arden was trying to atone, and wished him all the luck in the world.

He simply had no idea what to say to the guy.

Still, his greeting was casual enough, so Link returned the sentiment by stating, "Recovery's been slow, but sure. But what are you doing out here?"

"Waiting on Impa," Arden replied, nodding to the door of the main hall—and someone had set up a partition which blocked his view of the room's interior.

So he inquired, "What's she doing in there?"

"Just talking with the women hanging around. I didn't want it cramping my style, so I stayed out here."

Link nodded, not at all surprised to learn Arden wasn't keen on the thought of spending time with several chatty women. So he didn't comment on the matter, and asked instead, "Is Zelda with them?"

"Yeah, she's in there."

"Good, because I need to talk to her," he remarked, moving to the door only to find a large arm abruptly blocking his path.

Turning a questioning gaze up to Arden, the soldier related, "I don't think so, kid. It's girls only for now."

Girls only? As Link stared in confusion, Arden shrugged and expounded, "I'm just doing what I was told and keeping everyone out."

Hearing this, Link nearly parted his lips to ask why, but was interrupted by the sound of several women in the main hall yelling for someone to go back to the door seconds before Cody rushed out with the words, "Okay, okay!"

Coming to a stop before Link and Arden, he took a deep breath and glanced between them, drawing out a hesitant, "Oh, hi Link."

"Hi," Link returned in confusion, motioning at the door with the question, "What was that about?"

"They kicked me out again," Cody muttered, looking up when Arden chuckled softly.

"Of course they did, they're women."

At Arden's comment, Link inquired, "What are they doing exactly?"

"Being typical females."

When the generic answer had Link's eyes rolling, Cody rushed out, "It's nothing, seriously, and by the way, I wanted to ask you about … ."

Trailing with no idea of what to say that would've sounded feasible enough to be distracting, Cody regarded Link's hat with Alia's advice in mind, ready to snatch it and run. Link said his leg was still giving him trouble, so he wouldn't catch up too quickly, right?

During his hesitation, Link exhaled and announced, "I'm going in there anyway."

As he started for the door again, Arden snorted and told Cody, "Like I said, don't go into stealth operations, shorty," before turning his blindfolded face to Link, adding, "and you can go in there at your own risk, but don't be surprised when you're yelled at and kicked out by seven angry women and their feisty pet fairy like Cody was. Believe me, they won't be happy to see you."

Coming to a stop, Link rubbed his eyes and finally asked, "Just why can't I go in there then, Arden? Because you two have said some inane things, and honestly? I've been hearing the same thing from people all day. So what's going on?"

Half of Arden's lips raised in a smirk as he replied, "I can't speak for anyone else, but as for the girls, the truth is that we're not supposed to tell you. Still, what do I care?"

"Arden, don't!" Cody exclaimed. "They're almost–"

"Kiama got her first girl thing," Arden interrupted. "You know, that girl thing that happens every month?"

Instantly, Cody gave the soldier a disgusted look while Link just stared at him blankly. In response, Arden shrugged, qualifying, "Yeah, Impa went in to give her the birds and bees so to speak. She said Kiama's hurting, or … ," he trailed in consideration before adding, "was it heavy? I can't remember, but there was a big mess on the chair, and Kiama's mortified because she didn't know she had too–"

"Okay," Link interjected, holding up his hands with a quick shake of his head. "Girl thing, I got it. I lived with the Gerudo for a long time, so you don't need to explain."

Sighing, he gave up and turned to walk away with the words, "When they're done, just let Zelda know I need to talk to her about something important."

"Can do, kid," Arden responded, then looked down at Cody to see the carpenter staring uncertainly. "What's wrong, shorty?"

Glancing in the direction Link had gone to make certain the Hylian didn't overhear him, Cody asked, "How in the world did you come up with that? I wouldn't have thought of it in a million years."

Immediately, Arden scoffed. "For starters, I'm the oldest of five sisters, so I know a thing or two about how women react to it. Then I served Ganondorf for ten years, and you lie when you have to around him, otherwise he kills you."

With that grim explanation given, he concluded, "Trust me, it's not hard to do."

Cody stared at the man incredulously, unsure what to say, and when Arden grinned at him, he decided he was right from the beginning—Arden wasn't someone he ever wanted to tangle with.

With the thought in mind, Cody exhaled and shook his head, mentioning, "I'd go let them know, but you heard how they were shouting. Guess that was icing on the cake for the lie you told Link."

"Why do you think I used it? Nothing gets a woman more upset than having an unwanted man around when she's going through that."

"Geeze," Cody drew out, thoughtfully musing, "I wonder if that's been Alia's problem lately. She keeps snapping at me."

Snorting, Arden shook his head. Whatever regrets he had, and no matter how difficult it'd been to gain the people's trust thus far, the whole situation was still amusing as hell.

Everyone was daft.

Arden and Cody weren't the first people to give such strange answers concerning the activities within the outpost, and while their story was feasible enough to be possible, Link couldn't quite bring himself to believe it. Still, he was done trying to get a straight answer, and after an hour of asking various people and getting nowhere, he decided to return to his room before the frustration soured his mood.

As he walked down the corridor where it was located, he noticed Lyonel heading to his door from the opposite direction—and didn't think he'd ever be more grateful to have a father than he was in that moment.

Seeing the odd look on his son's face, Lyonel came to a stop and asked, "What's wrong, Link?"

"I'm not sure," Link muttered, stopping a few feet away from his father where he admitted, "but I think everyone's gone crazy."

"Oh? How is that?"

"Well, I've been looking for things to do, but it seems like there's some big secret going around because everyone keeps shooing me away, giving me funny looks, and coming up with questionable explanations over what they're doing, and it's giving me a headache. So I'm going to my room until everything calms down."

Lyonel couldn't help a soft chuckle over his son's confusion, realizing everyone was simply trying to keep him in the dark about his surprise party. Thankfully, his frustration was soon to end as well because Zelda had just finished with the decorations and sent him to escort Link to the main hall so the party could commence.

Still, with the way Link had spoken, he had to ask, "You're not in pain again are you?"

"No, just frustrated," he replied, shrugging before giving his father a curious look. "Why? Do you have something I can actually do?"

Nodding, Lyonel placed an arm over his shoulders to lead him away from his room and said, "If you're not too tired, then I do have a task you can help me with."

"Good," Link started as Lyonel led him away from his room, admitting, "I really just wanted to talk to Zelda, but she's busy with a few of the girls, and with the way everyone else treated me whenever I offered to help them with something, I was starting to think I might smell."

Smiling, Lyonel shook his head as they continued on toward the main hall, relating, "No one wants you overexerting yourself, but I've got an important task that won't be taxing."

"Oh? What's that?"

As they rounded the corner into the corridor leading to the entryway, Lyonel answered, "It's in here," while holding his hand out for Link to step inside.

The partition was still up, but Arden and Cody were no longer standing sentry and everything was quiet. So the girls had probably vacated the chamber some time ago, though there was a strangely thick scent of food coming from inside—and it made his stomach rumble.

Whatever the reason, Link walked through the doors expecting to find something that needed to be fixed, or maybe Lyonel had some equipment to be sorted for the revolt members. But none of the possibilities he entertained were remotely close to the truth.

"Surprise! Happy birthday!"

Everyone's shouts were given with such a force of jubilation as he rounded the corner of the partition they could've knocked him over. Coming to an abrupt halt, he found himself standing before a large crowd of smiling faces gathered in a chamber decorated with streamers and colorful paper lanterns. Nearby, a few musicians started playing a fun, upbeat melody while a moderate feast waited upon one table and on another was a large cake with several gifts.

And Link could only stare blankly. Birthday?

Leaning against the back corner of the room, Arden, who hadn't actually yelled with the others, remarked with a smirk, "I think you actually scared him."

A low wave of snickers passed through the crowd that grew stronger when Link corrected, "Startled me," then looked back at Lyonel and asked, "But … today's my birthday?"

"Actually, it's tomorrow," Lyonel answered, explaining, "and Zelda wanted to give you a party today so you could be surprised without missing anything."

Link stared at his father in genuine surprise, then turned his attention to Zelda and asked, "Is that what you've been hiding, and why everyone's been acting so crazy?"

Approaching him with a sheepish smile, Zelda nodded in confirmation. "Yes, and I'm sorry if it seemed like I was trying to keep you out of important matters. It was important, but you just couldn't know why."

Regarding the decorations, Link returned, "And this was all your idea?"

"Actually, Alia came up with the idea to have it tonight instead of tomorrow."

"I'm sorry if we had you suspicious," Alia qualified from the crowd, adding, "but happy birthday, Link!"

Smiling, Link thanked her before gazing about the people gathered. He'd never liked being the center of attention, but seeing so many of his friends ready to celebrate a birthday he hadn't even known was coming was touching.

He also couldn't dismiss the work they'd put into planning everything for him, relating, "Thanks so much guys, but I really don't know what to say … except I'm glad I don't actually stink like I was starting to think with everyone constantly shooing me away."

A low laugh rolled through the crowd as Kiama exclaimed, "Of course not! But look, you've got gifts and a cake! You just have to blow out the candles and—oh! There's only seven though, we couldn't find any more than that."

The cake she mentioned was centered on a table at the head of the room, covered in chocolate frosting with seven white candles circling the top, all lit. Settled around it on both sides were numerous gifts, and Link frowned, unable to help but feel undeserving of such attention.

"This is … really, it's too much. You guys didn't need to go to the trouble of getting this all prepared."

"Modest!" Nissa snickered out. "It's your eighteenth birthday, Link! After all you've been through, we had to do something nice for you!"

Impa, standing next to Zelda, added, "Also, even if you don't feel deserving, consider that it never hurts to stop and take a breath when the chance presents itself, Link. Everyone here could use the distraction to remind ourselves of what it is we're fighting for."

"She's right," Lyonel concurred. "This isn't too much, and in a way, it's for everyone."

As Zelda urged him toward the cake, Link couldn't help thinking they were right. Still, in stopping next to the table, he related, "Okay, but I have a request … actually, I have two."

"Name them," Zelda replied.

Pursing his lips, he started, "First … don't sing any birthday songs."

The sound of Arden's chuckling caught everyone's attention just as he related, "I like his style."

Link grinned, not at all surprised to hear Arden saying such a thing. It also wasn't surprising to hear Nissa returning, "Aw, but they're fun! We still have the music though, so what's the second request, Link?"

At her question, he regarded Zelda thoughtfully, finding it difficult not to get lost in the warmth of her smiling face as he answered, "The only birthdays I had when I was a kid were always celebrated with Mira, and we always blew the candles out together. So I don't feel right doing it without her now."

"Oh! That's a good idea!" Nissa announced, darting through the air to Zelda while waving her hands toward Link, urging, "Go help him!"

Simultaneously, Kiama and Alia exchanged a confused look.

"Mira?" Alia asked. "Who's Mira?"

"I am," Zelda answered as she joined Link at the table. "It was my name as a child, changed to protect my true identity."

In response, the cousins drew out an enlightened oh as Zelda smiled at Link, recalling the parties Alma had thrown for them every year. At one time, those memories had caused her pain, and even now they seemed bittersweet. Alma would've loved to see them now, celebrating their actual birthdays while at least one of their parents looked on.

Still, she'd learned to cherish those memories over time, believing they were all she'd had of both Link and Alma. So it was touching that he wanted to carry on their tradition of blowing out the candles together even though this was his day, and she could only hope that, in another three months, they would do the same for her own birthday.

With the thought in mind, she asked, "Are you ready?"

"Ready," he confirmed with a smile, and they looked down at the candles.

Sucking in their breaths, each began to blow out the flames, extinguishing them to the cheers of their friends. Only one of the candles stubbornly refused to go out despite their best efforts. So Link licked his fingers and pinched the wick as everyone chuckled, followed by opening his gifts.

From a few new weapons to tools and even some recreational items, Link wondered if the shops in River Town had anything left on the shelves. Everyone had given him something he could appreciate, though Alia and Kiama had the most difficult time finding something suitable, having spent an entire day the week before shopping through town when they stumbled across an item they thought he could use.

Alia didn't think he'd benefit from having it at first, but Kiama believed he could probably do anything with it, so they put their money together and got him a boomerang. It was an unconventional weapon to be sure, but Link liked the idea, agreeing that he'd probably find a number of uses for it.

After thanking them, he opened his father's gift which was possibly the most useful of all—a hammer bag. Enchanted by the Zora, it could be used to store numerous items despite its size, including those that looked too big to fit inside it. As an added benefit, it eliminated the weight of anything it contained.

Lyonel received the item years ago and had completely forgotten about it until he'd been forced to leave Roshala in a hurry. That's when he'd stumbled across it stored away in his home, and thought Link would get a lot more use out of it than he would considering the nature of his quest.

It was difficult not to be overwhelmed by emotion when thanking his father for the gift. Not only was he grateful for the consideration, he also never thought he'd spend his birthday with either of his parents, and his only regret was that Myriad couldn't be there to share in the festivities.

Still, his actual birthday wasn't until tomorrow—and he planned to spend a good chunk of it telling his mother all about his surprise party and the gifts he'd received.

With the thought in mind, Link continued to open the boxes, and saved Zelda's gift for last. It seemed strange opening so many presents without her, and if he recalled correctly, they exchanged gifts to each other on their seventh birthday which they'd both waited to open last.

Doing the same thing now, he found a very nice surprise, which was something she'd wanted to get him from the moment she'd arrived in River Town—a new fishing rod and a tackle box filled with lures his father had picked out.

Sadly, the weather was too cold for him to use it right away. His injuries would've protested too quickly to even get on a boat. But the next chance he got, he promised he'd enjoy it, and hoped both Zelda and his father might join him.

Once he was finished opening gifts, everyone commenced with eating, drinking, and dancing—an activity Link had to sit out of this time around. Still, he enjoyed watching the others while sorting his new lures and reminding Zelda of their dance in Kakariko.

He also found some of the dance partners to be a surprising combination. Alia dragged Cody out for a few rounds while Kiama danced with one of the boys from Engleton. Link didn't know his name, but was distracted from the matter when she stopped long enough to give Jada a boost of confidence in accepting Tenio's invitation onto the dance floor.

With so many people smiling and laughing, no one could say it wasn't an evening well spent.

Lyonel smiled as he took a position near the back of the chamber, watching as Link and Zelda interacted with several of the younger people. Like Link, he'd had trouble containing his emotions over the chance to finally celebrate his son's birthday after missing so many, and needed a moment to take it all in if only as a reminder of the blessings he still had.

"I have to admit, it's uncanny."

Arden's comment drew Lyonel's gaze left where he found the blinded soldier sitting at a table nearby with a mug of ale in his hand.

Curiously, he inquired, "What is?"

Swigging his ale, Arden placed the mug down again and answered, "Just how much Link looks like you."

Glancing back over at his son, Lyonel slowly nodded in agreement, admitting, "It is like looking into a timed mirror."

As he considered it, a thought came to mind that had him moving to the table where Arden was sitting and taking the chair across from him. In doing so, he mentioned, "Now that I think of it, there's something I've been meaning to ask you, old friend."

"What's that?"

Motioning in Link's direction, Lyonel started, "You knew Myriad and I had a child, and could've mentioned it to our enemies. So why didn't you?"

Lyonel had never told Arden directly that he had a son, and wasn't even certain if the soldier knew his child's gender. But Impa had admitted to relating the information to Arden after she'd taken Link from the palace because she was overwrought with sorrow and needed a shoulder to lean upon.

As if considering the same thing, Arden gazed in Impa's direction and answered, "Because of a promise I made."

The Sheikah was standing nearby, and as she spoke with Olnor and Dorrel, Arden continued, "One night, Impa came to me in tears. I'd never seen her like that before, and after some prodding, she finally admitted what she'd done, and how badly she felt for you both. She hated handing your only child away, and wished there was some other way to handle things.

"So I promised to keep her secret safe with the exception of telling you that I knew so she wouldn't have to bear the guilt of telling me your secret, and after seeing her so distraught, I couldn't speak another word of it. It was the one promise I decided to keep out of all of the others broken if only because I never wanted to see that kind of heartache on her face again."

Though Impa had been speaking with Olnor and Dorrel a moment before, she heard every word Arden said, and closed her eyes with a smile. Just as she'd always known, Arden was still a good man, he'd merely lost himself in a tangle of doubt and deceit—just as so many others had before him.

Lyonel knew the same, not that his old friend made it easy to see when he added on a more lighthearted note, "Besides, Ganondorf would've killed me if he learned I'd known Myriad had a child all along and never shared, so … you get the point."

Shrugging, he lifted his mug for a healthy swig of the contents as Lyonel let a laugh and gave his arm a friendly slap. Indeed, nothing more needed to be said, save one important thing.

"It's good to have you with us, Arden."

Pulling his mug from his lips, Arden concurred. "It's good to be here. At least the revolt knows where to get good ale."

As they continued to speak among themselves, Link took a seat after mingling with friends, and Zelda settled next to him, both watching everyone enjoying their dancing to the lively music. The only exception was Nissa, who was laying on a plate nearby grumbling over how she'd eaten too much cake.

As the fairy hiccuped, Zelda chuckled and turned her gaze to Link, asking, "So, even though you can't dance right now, are you enjoying yourself?"

Link nodded, answering in earnest, "I really am. It's nice to see everyone in high spirits despite what's going on. It makes me feel like everything we've been through so far has been worth it."

The sentiment curved her lips into a smile, and she couldn't agree more. Seeing everyone having so much fun was like applying a balm to a wound, especially knowing what some of them had been through. It was simply heartwarming to see Kiama dance with her father, or watch Tenio ease Jada's mortification after stumbling in her steps by laughing and offering a hand to try again.

Scanning the crowd, Zelda's gaze soon met the sight of Lyonel, Impa, and Arden all sitting together at the same table near the back of the chamber, enjoying each others' company. The mere notion of it was inspiring. Arden once served the very evil they fought, but had taken steps to rectify his mistakes, and those possibly harmed worst by his actions were now smiling and laughing with him.

It reminded Zelda of the question she'd asked herself for the past two weeks—was this the right time for a celebration? With things being as dire as they were, could they afford to focus on an affair someone might consider frivolous? People were still hurting and fearful, and a party would only distract from solving their problems.

Yet, seeing everyone now, the truth had never been more clear—this was the best time for a celebration as it proved to everyone present that not all was lost and there was, in fact, still hope.

Perhaps even for her parents.

Briefly, she recalled the last conversation—or quarrel—she'd had with Link, and her suspicion that he knew something regarding the fate of her parents that he hadn't revealed. So she'd done precisely as she'd intended and consulted Lyonel over the matter, but he had no idea how the King and Queen could've survived.

In fact, he was the one who'd checked them just after Dragmire's attack. They'd been sprawled out upon the floor, and showed no signs of life. There was no pulse, and if they continued to breathe, he certainly hadn't seen any signs of it.

So there was no way of knowing how they could've survived without asking Link—and despite Zelda's strong intuition, she'd been unable to bring herself to ask him about the matter again. Somehow, the notion that her parents were alive was too daunting to bring up in passing, and that aside, his reaction to answering her questions two days ago spoke volumes of the fact that he wasn't yet willing to divulge any information.

Because of that, she'd thrown herself into preparing for this party while clinging to the faith she had in her dearest friend to tell her when the time was right.

As she considered it, her hand slipped into Link's, their fingers threading together, and though she hadn't noticed it, he certainly did. Looking down at her small hand latched in his, he couldn't stop himself from giving it a gentle squeeze, even as guilt surfaced in his heart. He'd been upset with her for keeping secrets when all she wanted was to surprise him with a party, and he couldn't even take her onto the floor for a dance.

Still, there was something else he could do to make up for his suspicion, and it started with an apology.

"Zelda," he started softly, drawing her attention, and once their eyes met, he related, "I'm sorry for being so suspicious, and for snapping at you the other day. I was just worried, and thought you might've been trying to keep something from me. Still, I did hide something from you, but … I can't tell you what that is, not yet. I just need to figure out how to say it first."

As he spoke, Zelda felt as if her heart had leaped into her throat. Knowing his secret had to do with her parents, it was nearly impossible not to admit her awareness of the truth, and yet he was right to hesitate. Now wasn't the time to talk of such things, and for as much as she yearned to know beyond all doubt, she simply couldn't prod him in the middle of his birthday party.

That aside, she wanted him to consider the way he needed to tell her, particularly if the information was difficult to hear. So she squeezed his hand and nodded in agreement.

"I don't think I have to tell you that I'm aware you're keeping something from me, but you don't need to apologize. I trust you, and I know you're not keeping secrets because you want to. I just hope you're not angry with me for pushing you to answer, because I was honestly just trying to distract you from finding out about your party."

Somehow, hearing of her trust lifted a weight from Link's heart. He was truly grateful to know she didn't suspect him in return, and squeezed her hand with a smile to prove that he wasn't angry and had never been. He'd merely been uncertain of whether or not to tell her the truth, and now that his mother had given him some sensible advice, he hoped a chance would come soon.

For now, he enjoyed the rest of his party, or at least, as much as his healing injuries would allow. As everyone enjoyed food and drink while telling stories and sharing laughs, he could feel an ache setting in, and it wasn't all the activity causing it. It was also getting extremely cold as day turned to night, and so he eventually left the party before anyone else.

Still, no one truly complained, realizing the situation he was in, and after giving a final round of thanks for the gifts and the wonderful celebration, he retired for the evening.

All in all, he'd had a good time, and yet he couldn't ignore a sense of regret plaguing him after telling Zelda goodnight. On his way out, he realized why—they'd hardly spent any time alone together since coming to River Town, and had talked even less.

So in short, he missed her.

Watching Link depart to return to his room, Zelda had the same thought. She missed spending time with him if only to talk about casual affairs, making it seem like a good idea to go see him as soon as she could slip away.