A/N: Sorry for such the short chapter D: School has been hectic and I have a lot on my shoulders right now. I wish you all the best, and I hope you enjoy this chapter (although it may seem like a lull). Once I get my life back in order things will come more smoothly! As always, R&R? Enjoy!
Eric groaned, being awoken by a pounding at his door. He yawned and stretched his arms, flattened the strands of unwashed hair that stuck up and out of place. He pushed himself to his feet and dragged his feet to his front door. Groggily, he pulled the door open and was surprised with an obviously sleep deprived Zelda; her eyes carried big swollen bags under them. Despite looking so run-down, she had a vociferous grin plastered on her face. She seemed jumpy, too – she kept bouncing up and down lightly on the balls of her feet. Eric only stood there and rubbed his eye, still half-asleep and unable to comprehend her gesticulations.
"Guess who woke up?" She asked, a taint of innocence lingering in her voice. Eric stopped opening his mouth to speak and straightened his posture, perking his ears up a little bit more than usual. He widened his eyes, finally waking up and paying attention to the situation.
"How is he?" The red head asked suddenly. He leaned forward close to Zelda, to hear every pinpoint detail. Eric, too, developed a slight smile on his lips.
The princess tilted her head and squinted her eyes in a cheerful context. "He's really out of it. Has a migraine, which I would have presumed would happen." She looked up, like there was anything to actually look at. She was just trying to remember the boy's symptoms. She poked her chin with her index finger. "I think besides that, he just cannot eat much. Doctor Borville confirmed his liver is severely damaged from that night: he doesn't have a fatty liver, like a long term alcoholic would. It's just the massive amount of liquor he drank that night shot it. Borville says it'll heal, though. It's just going to take some time."
Eric sighed and rubbed the nape of his neck. "Ah, well… well at least it's not too bad. At least he'll heal, and at least he's still alive." He was trying to stay optimistic in the actual depressing situation.
Zelda nodded to his response. "That's true!" She turned away from Eric, looking back and gesturing his arm for him to follow. "Would you like to visit? Borville says I can bring you and Telma to visit."
In that moment, Eric's face lit up drastically – his eyes widening and his smile growing. "Of course! Just hold on a moment and let me grab my coat." Zelda nodded and Eric scurried around his house, pulling a winter coat from his closet. The red head shoved his arms in the sleeves and ran out his door, closing and locking it behind him. He chivalrously took the arm of Zelda and began to stride down the street with her.
The autumn breeze kept knocking the woman's chestnut hair in her face. Frustrated, Zelda pulled her arm from Eric's and paused her walking – Eric did the same. The princess tied the main mass of her hair in a low ponytail. She left the strands that hung by her face where they were. Satisfied with her modification – she returned her arm into Eric's and carried on down the street.
As the wind continued to blow, Zelda's ponytail became kinky and curled – it was a frizzy mess. And the tips of the strands by her cheeks also slightly curled. The woman sighed, realizing there was no way she could control her hair. Eric took quick glances at the woman, recognizing somebody he was told of, but he couldn't recall the name of the person, or who told him. The man only shrugged it off as the two reached the doctor's. Eric stepped away from Zelda and opened the door for her, allowing her in first. The woman nodded to the man and walked right through, the red head following her in.
Link was sitting up in bed, a small plate with an array of fruits, including small pile of grapes and peach slices. He boy looked down at them, picking at them with his fingers, leaving them untouched and uneaten. The blonde boy didn't look up at Eric and Zelda – he didn't even notice that they came in. He just poked and prodded at the food on his plate. Borville made a diet for the boy, for when he woke up, that was easy enough for him to handle while his liver was healing; it consisted of simple sugars – no proteins, starches, complex carbohydrates.
Since the liquor-suicide incident, Link had been in a temporary coma for two and a half weeks. Telma, Eric, and Zelda each took turns in watching the boy, waiting for him to awaken. Renado, Rusl, and Ilia had come by and left small flowers and gifts. Now that the boy was awake, though, he didn't pay attention to a single thing left for him. He just looked miserable.
Eric sighed, taking off his coat. He walked over to the boy's bed and placed a hand on his shoulder. Link jumped, sending his small plate to the floor. The boy cursed before turning up to Eric. Eric just slightly grinned down at him. "How are you doing?" He asked, barely moving his lips.
The boy sneered up at the red head, giving an unwelcome frown. He crossed his bony arms across his chest. "Just fine. I'm alright. I don't need any of your help." Link quickly shot his head the opposite direction of Eric.
Eric was taken back; his expression paused as Link's words stung like salt in a wound. Pulling his hand away from the emaciated boy's shoulder, his grin turned to a lost frown. His voice grew deep and stern as his words began to speak for themselves. "I'm disappointed in you." He took a pause, emphasizing his pain, causing the boy to look back at him; a baffled parting of his lips was plastered on the blonde's face. Eric turned his head down at Link, starting him directly in the eye. "I saved you. You should be grateful you are still alive. If I hadn't found you in that alley, you wouldn't be lying here, nor would I be here, speaking with you. We would have attended your funeral already and buried you back in Ordon."
Link only rolled his eyes, turning his head away from Eric. "Well, I didn't want to be saved. Thanks for making my life ten times more miserable."
The red head sighed, and stepped away from the boy's bed. Zelda, who was partly livid, took her place at the front of the boy's bed. Link was taken back; her presence was unknown to him before. The boy's face immediately flooded an embarrassed red – a guilty red. Zelda looked down upon him, her arms on her hips and her face as solid as a rock. The boy in front of her swelled up with tears and his lips trembled.
"What the fucking hell," the words left his lips quickly and shook the air. He curled himself in a tight ball under the sheets, a horrified expression on his face. Zelda cocked her head and squinted her eyes. The boy pulled himself away from the princess when she took a step closer to him. "G-get away from me!" Link's eyes widened and he pulled himself tighter.
"Link, what are you doing?" She reached her down on the sheets and the boy pulled back even more. Zelda scrunched her brows, reaching her hand over to brush his arm. Link only frantically swatted her away. The woman slowly pulled her hand away from the shaking boy. His face was tight and strained – something had scared him. She had seen him scared only once or twice, this was definitely far more than a little fear. He was panicking.
Eric laid his hand on Zelda's shoulder, an intimation to leave Link alone. She did exactly so. Sighing, she stood herself from his bedside and stood adjacent to the red head. She turned her face to his ear. "Watch him; I'll be busy for a few hours." The man nodded to her orders.
The princess then began to head past Eric, turning her head one last time to take a glimpse of Link: he was still curled up tightly, shaking and staring at the ground. Zelda sighed, and reached her hand to open the door. But she found it was opened the second she placed her hand on the doorknob. Zelda took a breath, shocked. The visitor was a friendly face, though. He was as close to Link as a father: Rusl had finally come. To Zelda's surprise, though, the older man was taken back, stepping away from her.
Almost immediately, the man knelt in front of her, taking his hat from his head and bowing. "My dearest, Princess Zelda," Rusl spoke softly. The man noticed the shaking of the woman's head, and quickly stood, returning his hat to his head. He brushed the dust from his knees. "Sorry, your majesty." He paused and look at Zelda in the eyes, and then he looked around at her from almost every standing angle. "Sorry, you just look like somebody familiar. Anyways I ca-"
"Who?" Zelda cut the man off. "Who do I look like?" She gestured her hand to the boy in the bed. "Whoever I look like scared the living daylights out of the boy. Whoever I look like panicked him." The princess' stern expression dropped, however, when Rusl's face turned white as stone.
"Oh my goddesses," the man mumbled. His head turned to the floor and he brought his hand to his mouth. Zelda scrunched her brows at him, curious, yet scared at the same time. Rusl then shook his head. "No wonder he panicked." His gaze returned to meet with Zelda's. "Do you know how his mother looks like?" The princess shook her head, she was confused with the question. Rusl smirked and Zelda closed the door to the office, leaving the two outside to discuss. "She has the same hair color as you, and the shape of her face. About the same height, too." He took a pause. "And with your hair all frizzy like that, and in the ponytail that it's in, you look just like his mother." Rusl then folded his arms around his chest. "You look just like his mother, and with his sickly head, he probably confused you for her."
Zelda cocked her head and raised a brow. "But if he thought of me as his mother, why did he panic? Wouldn't he have been overjoyed to see her?" She folded her arms and shivered, regretting leaving her cloak inside.
Rusl took a sigh, and his small grin vanished. "Zelda, Link's mother died many, many years ago." He placed his hand on the princess' shoulder when her jaw dropped. "His father left Ordon when the woman told him of her pregnancy. As a village, we helped support her. When he was born, we all helped raise him. He still didn't know he was a little fatherless bastard. He didn't know he had a father at one point. His mother became the town's medical expert, she felt that she had to return all the good deeds we did her and her son. And at the time, Link had befriended my eldest, Seth. But it was only a few moons after Seth turned four when he fell ill. Fatally ill. He had died in the care of Link's mother. Sad part was, she contracted the same illness. Died only a few weeks later. The poor boy was traumatized – lost his friend and mother in a matter of a moon." Rusl took a sigh, facing the cobblestone ground, now. He took his hand from Zelda's shoulder. "I took the boy in. Gave him the keys to his mother's house when he turned fifteen. Over those many years, I had to learn not to mention his mother or Seth. They cause him too much trouble."
Zelda covered her gaping mouth with her hands. She had never known all the trauma the boy went through. She now understood what Impa had meant when she said Seth's name that one tragic night. She understood it now. Zelda then took her hands from her mouth and pulled all her hair back, removing the pony tail. She braided the brown hair down until it reached the small of her spine. Avoiding being mixed up with Link's mother would surely help the boy.
Rusl nodded in approval, and he reopened the door, and walked himself in. Zelda stood alone in the cold, and she began to walk down the streets. Her steps held a new will – a new meaning. Each stride on the street was forcefully put down with new determination, new reason to fight – new reason to save the boy. Zelda knew she needed to talk with Impa immediately – it needed to be done.
Eric jumped when the older man, known as Rusl, entered the room. The red head grinned and waved, and the older man returned it. But the blonde man walked over to the boy huddle in the bed. He knelt beside him and wrapped an arm around Link's shoulder. He held the boy tightly and whispered small phrases in his ears. Eric only watched as the boy's face relaxed and he unwound his tight position. It was a reassuring sight.
"Tell Zelda that I'm sorry," Link mumbled as Rusl stood from his side. The boy's face was hot and he couldn't look Eric in the eye. Rusl patted the boy's back, but his lip quivered and he only looked away from the men around him.
Eric sighed and picked up some of the fallen fruit on the floor. He rubbed an apple against his own shirt, then held it in front of Link's face. The boy widened his eyes and parted his lips, looking up at Eric with a baffled gaze. The red head's expression prevailed stolid and firm. "You need to eat."
Link opened his mouth as to protest, but gave a heated sigh and took the red fruit in his palm. He took a bit of it and cringed, but chewed and swallowed. Eric and Rusl remained in their spots, to confirm that he ate at least something. The red head then passed over a small glass of water. Link looked up at him, his brows furrowed and his lips peaked in annoyance. He grumbled but chugged the water in seconds, slamming the glass on his little nightstand.
"That's better." Eric gleamed down at the young man. The blonde's arms were crossed and he glared up at Eric, not even making notice of Rusl in the room. The man had taught the boy better manners when he was a child – he was practically the father figure of his life. Unknown to Link, Rusl stood beside him with an unhappy frown plastered on his lips.
"I didn't need to eat, Eric," the smaller grumbled. His voice faltered slightly, but only Eric had noticed. "I'm just fine. Didn't I tell you?" The skinny boy stuck his bottom lip out in a pout. His attitude was returning to the stubborn know-it-all again.
But then Rusl tapped the boy's shoulder, and the blonde boy jumped. "Link," the man shook his head and dropped his voice to a serious tone. "He and I, we're only here to help. You need to respect that better. But, you really need to respect yourself." Link whipped his head around and faced Rusl, who was sternly looking down at the boy. He grabbed the boy's arm and poked at the bones jutting out. "You're just skin and bone – you look like you're dying." The man had tears forming in his eyes. "You need to take care of yourself."
Link stared up at him with bitterness. "I am fine." His voiced echoed deeply. His lips were pursed into a tight frown. He waved his arms around in the air, acting as if he were offended. "How many times must I tell you?"
Eric then stepped forward, his teeth grit and visible, and eyes livid with the quintessence of vexation. His height towered over Link with upmost superiority, at this point in the boy's life he was ruled over by the posse of adults who committed themselves to his recovery. "You, my sir, are not fine." The red head huffed, crossing his arms and stamping a foot. "And since we all know you are unstable, you will be staying in the castle, with Zelda and I. Both she and I, along with Telma, Impa, and Rusl, will all be taking part in this expedition, also known as your recovery."
The blonde boy fumbled with the sheets that came up to his waist; he was speechless, without words to say to Eric, and did not want to meet him in the eye. The stare that burned into his skin forced him otherwise. "Fine," the mangled word fell from his lips as cold as ice.
Eric smirked, although he wasn't at all nearing satisfaction. He patted Link's head and ruffled his hear. "That's what I'd like to hear." The younger only groaned and rolled his head, and dropped his head down on his pillow.
Zelda entered her office to be met with the androgynous figure known to her as Impa. She nodded her head in recognition, and proceeded to stride to her mirror, removing the ponytails from her frizz filled hair. Impa watched each and every movement of the princess before daring to open her mouth. "It is almost complete." The words nagged Zelda by the ears, forcing all of her attention to go toward the tan woman. "We are only missing two shards, from the center."
The princess nodded her head. "I have them." She turned to face the woman, all senses of worry had faded away over the past few hours, but frustration and sorrow replaced them. Zelda turned to the floor, and then back up toward Impa. "How long can my crew guard the mirror – until Link is fit to activate it?"
Impa smirked and crossed her arms. "I am sure we can do as long as he will need." She stared out the window at the setting sun. The stars that began to align themselves in the sky formed a circular shape, as if to resemble the mirror. "If I mention his title, of course they would oblige." Zelda nodded to the woman, but Impa read through the mask of nonchalance, and questioned her feelings. "What is wrong, my grace?"
The princess sighed, sitting herself on the edge of her desk's chair. "Link." She faced the floor. "He woke up today. He's delirious, unable to really function. He doesn't want to believe a word anybody says." Tears formed along the princess' eyes, returning her resentful gaze to Impa. "He mistook me for his mother, who is long past. I think I gave him a panic attack." She sighed, rubbing her eyes dry. "I didn't mean to scare him at all."
Impa shrugged her shoulders, and rested a hand on Zelda's shoulder. "Maybe if you treated him like you were his mother, it would aid him more rather than seeming like the babysitter." And then Zelda gasped with realization – Impa was right.