Hi there guys!

Long time no write… Like a really, really long time OwO Well over a year! 2015 has been a rough year for me… I basically had a mental breakdown end of last year which cost me a lot of energy and commitment to things, I left college as my attendance got so bad, I lost people I thought were best friends. I also gained an amazing boyf who helped me through everything and is so patient and loving and kind. I'm on the mend now guys, and I'm doing better than ever. Finally getting back into my old hobbies. Would you believe this is the first chapter of anything I've written since December last year? It's a little short but hey, cut me some slack :P

But anyway! Here is another chapter, finally. Hopefully I will be able to get a lot of chapters written and put up, as it's on my 2016 bucket list to finally finish this!

Enjoy, and don't forget to leave a review! It fuels me :D

Lots of Love,

Meiko :3

Chapter 5

Harley helped Zelda pick up her now-bruised and battered shopping, and ordered a trainee knight to make sure she got home safely. The trainee agreed quickly, taking the basket and asking Zelda to show him the way. The poor boy tried his hardest to make Zelda feel better on the way back by saying things like "Don't worry, he'll be back before you know it!" and "Harley's the best of the best! Well, second to Link. He'll get him back!". Zelda was ready to snatch her shopping back and tell him to shut up, but her body would do nothing but walk. The trainee knight was as good as his word to Harley, making sure Zelda was sat down with a hot sugary drink and that the shopping was put away before he took his leave.

Zelda just sat there in the living room, taking sips of her drink now and again, wondering when the steamy liquid had gone stone cold. Millions of horrible thoughts flew through her mind, yet she could not cry; all she could do was stare at the wall and raise the chilled cup to her lips.

The front door flew open, and three little bodies piled in, filling the sombre silence with squeals of delight. The twins and Lee. Zelda hadn't even realized that they weren't home. She had a vague recollection of Karane mentioning she would take the children out for some exercise. Karane came in last, looking flustered to say the least. She closed the door behind her, and looked hopelessly at the muddy tracks the children had brought in on the floor.

"Children!" she exclaimed, exasperated, "You've all been told to take your shoes off before going in the house time and time again! You should all know better!"

There was a mixed chorus of "Sowwy Mama" and "Sowwy Auntie Ka-Ka". Any other day Zelda would've laughed, then sighed, and then gone and filled a bucket up with hot water to scrub the mud. When she didn't react at all, Karane knew something was wrong immediately. One look at her friend confirmed it.

"Lee, Aria, Eric; why don't you three take your shoes off and go and play upstairs for a bit?" she ordered rather than asked. Lee and Aria had their shoes off in a heartbeat and were up the stairs like a shot. Eric, however, lingered.

"But…" He lisped "I want mama." He explained, pointed to where Zelda sat. Karane sighed deeply, and ruffled his overgrow mop of hair.

"I know, sweetie, but your mummy and I need to have a little talk, okay?" She leaned in a little, and dropped her voice. She put on a mock-serious tone. "It's a big girl talk. You're not a girl, are you?"

Eric stuck his tongue out. "I'm naa girl," he annouced, disgusted "They gaat cooties. Even Ari-ya."

"Exactly," Karane encouraged, knowing she'd pay for it later when Aria came running to her because Eric and Lee were being mean. "You can hug your mummy when we're done, okay?"

"'Kay!" Eric called, and bounded up the stairs. He remembered his shoes, and kicked them off down the stairs, trailing more mud. He looked at Karane, waiting for a telling-off, but Karane, resigned to it, just shooed him off up the stairs.

Karane made her way quickly to Zelda, taking the half-empty cup from the girl's hands, depositing it by the sink before sitting down in front of her on the adjacent chair.

"Zelda, what's wrong?" She asked, worried "How long have you been here? I took the children down to the river, they were running around the house and driving me nuts, and due a bit of outdoor exercise anyway, so I had to get them out to run off steam. I'm sorry if it scared you."

"He's gone," Zelda whispered, her voice hollow. Karane paused, blinking.

"What?" She asked.

"He's gone," Zelda repeated, "He's Gone. Karane, he's gone, he's missing, he's dead or worse!" Zelda's voice became more and more hysterical until she was crying her eyes out. The reality of what she had been told by Harley hit her like a tidal wave, crashing into the flood barrier of her heart and smashing it to pieces.

"Zelda!" Karane leapt up and put her hands on her friend's shoulders, gently shaking her "What is going on?" She paused, thinking. "Is this about Link?"

Upon hearing his name, her crying intensified. Karane had never seen Zelda get like this, to cry this hard: not when Aria had a life-threatening fever, not when Eric had wandered away from the back garden and hadn't been found till the next morning, not even when she was told that she would never be able to bear any more children as the goddess incarnate was supposed to be infertile.

Zelda had cried hard all those times. But not as hard as this.

Karane's mind raced. Was Link really dead? Or missing? Or whatever Zelda believed him to be? How did she know? Was it fact or fiction?

"Zelda," she soothed "Zel. Please, tell me what's happening."

Zelda panted, trying to calm her breathing. Finally, when she was calm enough, she explained.

"I was out shopping, then I went to go and see dad," she began, her words coloured darkly with sorrow, "I heard the horses come back. I was so excited, I though Link was home at last," she sniffed, "But Harley, you know; Link's second. He told me there had been an ambush. They took Link, Karane. No-one knows where he is, and no-one knows if he's dead or alive."

"Oh, Zel," Karane wrapped her arms around her best friend "It's going to be okay. It's going to be all okay."

Zelda burst into fresh tears, just as Eric came in. He frowned.

"I 'eard Mama cry," he sniffled, his own eyes welling up "don't like when mama cry."

Zelda looked at her child, taking in his bright blue eyes and messy flop of golden blonde hair. He was turning into a perfect miniature version of his father, a fact which struck Zelda right through the heart like an arrow. She opened her arms to him, and the little boy rushed towards his mother, climbing into her arms. Zelda clutched her son tight, and sobbed gently. Eric had always been the one to want cuddles, and was much more emotional than Aria. He was a real mummy's-boy. Right now, Zelda was glad for his little warm body to comfort her.

Later that evening, whilst Karane put the children to bed so Zelda could get some 'rest', Zelda put on her old tunic and leggings, grabbed her bag, and slipped out of the house. She made her way quickly to the area she knew had strong up currents, and whipped out her sail cloth. It wasn't the same one Link had used all those years ago, but a new one. They were the standard form of travel back to the surface now, unless you had a loftwing who was trained and trusting enough to come to the surface. In this case, Zelda was trying to be subtle, and a giant screaming bird was not exactly her idea of subtle.

Catching the current, the wind lifted her up, high above the ground and up past the few clouds that lingered. The huge barrier was gone, but a few of the soft, fluffy collections of rain still floated lazily in the sky. She carried on up, to Skyloft. Zelda landed herself near the graveyard.

Walking through the darkness, she found her mother's grave and crumpled down in front of it. She sighed, curling up into a ball and letting herself cry again.

"Hi, Mum," she sobbed. "It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry I haven't been up recently. I've been so busy with Aria and Eric… I bet you're looking down on them, huh?"

Zelda paused, letting a shaky smile appear on her face for a few seconds. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "All is not well," she continued, "Link is missing. He might be… he might be dead. They were out on a mission and he was ambushed… I don't know what to do. Please, Mum, please help me. You're the only person I know who will- no, who can help me right now. Please, you need to help me."

The words had no sooner left her mouth when a bright light engulfed her, forcing Zelda to close her eyes tight and recoil in surprise and fear. A soft humming calmed her fear immediately, and the light became bearable. Zelda opened her eyes slowly, finding a womanly figure stood in front of her, arms outstretched. Zelda's eyes went wide, and her memory kicked into action. The figure became clearer, and her memories all clicked into place.

This woman was her mother.

"Mum!" Zelda cried out, reaching out like she was three years old again. Her mother welcomed her, and they embraced.

"Zelda, my child," her mother sighed, her voice floaty and ethereal, "Oh, how I missed you."

"I missed you too, Mum," Zelda softly spoke. Her mother pulled away, leaving Zelda reaching for more with a confused, longing look on her face.

"Zelda, my dear, beautiful child. I'm afraid we do not have much time. You have asked for my help and I am here to give it to you," she paused. Zelda nodded her head, eager to hear what her mother had to say to her.

"Your beloved, Link, is still alive. He is being held captive by the people of the surface, those who once adored the Goddess Hylia. They are the descendants of the people left behind when the Goddess sent our people to the sky. Some of these people are good, but a few, they are confused. They have had their minds clouded by dark magic, magic that will make them do bad things. I fear for Link's safety in the hands of the confused ones, my child."

"How can I help?" Zelda implored "How can I get him back?"

"My dear child. You know how to help him. You've known all along," her mother moved her graceful finger to touch Zelda's chest, right over where her heart beat. "The answers all lie in here."

"That means nothing!" Zelda cried.

"It means a lot more than you think, my dear," her mother looked behind her, then back at Zelda with sad eyes. "Zelda, I must go now."

"But Mum! You haven't been here long! Please stay! I'm so lost and confused!"

"I can't, my dear child," Zelda's mother closed her eyes, and began to fade "I'll see you again one day. I pray for your success."

And with that, she was gone.

Zelda jolted awake, sitting up quickly. She looked around, and found herself to be in the graveyard up on Skyloft. It took her a second to remember how she had gotten here, and why. Thinking about her mother, a great sadness fell on her, but it was quickly waved away by a warmth in her heart. She placed a hand over it. The warmth grew and grew, filling Zelda first with cautious fear, and then with a new-found courage. The warmth grew into a tingly feeling, which shot down her legs, down her arms, and into her face. She stood up, all of a sudden knowing exactly what she had to do.

"I need to go find Link myself." She told herself quietly, smiling. She looked out onto the sunrise "I'm coming for you, my love. Please, wait for me."

Thank you for reading!