A matted length of dirty blonde hair was held tightly in Eric's hand, as the shorter doubled over and emptied the contents of his stomach. Link coughed and sputtered as he returned to his height, a flighty glaze covering his eyes, and fell back on the taller. The red head supported the boy as his energy was wasted, and dragged him back to the bed. Link was not in enough of stable condition to follow through with Zelda's plans. Eric had become the boy's aid, he watched him rise and fall. He noted the slight weight gain, and the return to a twig; he noted the day's Link could eat, the others were he lost it; the days were the boy could stand and walk, and the days where he could barely move. His recovery was slow, but he was getting better, slightly.
Eric sighed, confirming Link was safe while sprawled across the bed, and went to dump the newly filled vomit bucket. He sneered as he lifted the rancid tub, but his eyes widened when he remarked something offbeat: there was blood. Shaking, Eric returned the bucket to the ground and directed his head towards Link – he was asleep. Cursing, he stomped his foot on the floor, and hurried himself out of the boy's room. He ran down the halls, sprinted up the stairs, but was halted in front of Zelda's door.
The guard stuck his thin blade out at Eric, standing between him and the door. "You cannot pass." The man mumbled, his jaw tight and words acrid towards Eric. Placing his weak sword back in its scabbard, the man reopened his mouth. "All you're going to say is something along the lines of 'It's about Link!', but I do not care. Everything you say to her anymore is about that weak brat." The man scoffed and grunted, awkwardly grinding the ball of his foot against the floor. "Zelda needs to focus on the success of Hyrule, not that unstable freak. We need to regain our economy, and the princess has to choose her suitor, to claim her title as queen and to create an alliance with a neighboring nation."
The man paused and glared Eric straight in the eye. "That boy doesn't matter right now – he is only a spec in a pile of dust. There are more important matters than him."
Eric scowled, a livid flame growing in his chest, and took a step forward. "No." The guard was taken back and raised a brow. "He is important." Raising a finger, Eric jabbed it at the chest of the guard. "I used to be a pitiful guard like you. Instead of being such a grump, though, I gained the trust of the princess herself. She trusted me with the care of Link, who she highly cares about. She specifically told me to get her if anything goes wrong." Taking a breath, he pulled himself away from the guard – his face inched closer and closer as he had spoken.
"And something has gone terribly wrong. I must tell her immediately." He stood taller and reached his fists toward the ground, perfecting his posture. Eric towered over the cowering guard. "I suggest you change your unsympathetic ways and let me through. I used to hold the same position as you, but attitude makes all the difference." And with his final words he strutted right by the guard and into Zelda's chamber.
He entered to find the princess pacing the floor, her hair tied up like it was the day she had scared Link. Another woman was in the room, her skin was dark and her hair was platinum. She looked all too familiar to Eric. He knew her, from somewhere, but he didn't know where. Zelda continued to pace and rant as the other listened – neither of them had noticed Eric enter.
"Three noble princes had proposed marriage, and all three of their homelands are quite economically stable. But they would each have to travel vast distances to reach Hyrule. I don't want to risk their lives, but I need to be crowned queen to be able to rule my country properly." Zelda grabbed the sides of her head and pushed on her temples – a little habit Eric had picked up on, she did it either when she was stressed or had a migraine. "Impa, I do not know what to do. I have to continue to aid Hyrule, but on the other hand, we have Link!"
"He hasn't recovered much, as I hear." Her paces picked up speed, as well as her speech. "He is still quite sickly. It has been four months of waiting – waiting for him to recover. When he recovers we can take him to the mirror and make his life better again and… and…" Zelda stopped in her tracks, her voiced faded to nothing. Gradually, she lifted her head and faced Impa with sullen eyes. "I just want him to be happy and alive. We owe him that, at the least, for all he did." Then she turned to the door, to make eyes with Eric.
Zelda's face blushed and eyes widened and lips parted. "Eric."
The red head nodded to the princess, taking a slight bow. Facing Impa, his voice was monotone. "You're the woman who helped me find Link, correct?" She nodded. Eric sighed of relief, but his voice returned to his grave tone as Zelda took steps forward toward him. "It's Link." He watched the princess' eyes turn stone cold. "He got worse." Her lips quivered and began to creep down. "There was blood in his vomit." She stopped moving altogether, and Impa appeared behind her, placing a hand on the princess' shoulder.
Eric had never seen Zelda's eyes so wide, even of all the years he worked alongside her. The olive green globes that floated in the whites of her eye were almost invisible underneath blackness. Words were gibberish flowing from her lips, but few were made out. "Get Borville…. Now."
The red head took a deep breath and nodded, turning on his heel and quickly exiting her office. He ran through the castle – he knew the halls and the infrastructure of the castle in his sleep. In only minutes he was outside the castle walls, and nearing the stables. Eric fastened up Epona, and hoped for the best when he placed himself on her back – luckily, she accepted him. The duo took off cantering down the castle streets. Eric assumed the friendly beast below him sense the grave feelings in the atmosphere, the feelings for her master.
Pulling the mare to a quick halt, Eric dismounted to his left and didn't bother to tie Epona down before running into Borville's office. There were several patients. Cursing, Eric balled his hand into a fist. Borville emerged from behind a curtain to greet what he thought was an ordinary customer, but then his face dropped.
"Eric," the older man whispered. "What are you doing here?"
The red head heaved to catch his breath, his face still a pungent red. He took a step forward before opening his mouth to speak. "It's Link. Blood came up."
Borville's eyes widened, his jaw falling open. He gestured Eric out the door, but showed that he would quickly follow. The older man faced the two remaining patients and explained the urgency of the situation, compared to their colds. Luckily, they didn't argue with the man, allowing him to hurry along with Eric. And despite having both of them on her back, Epona showed no struggled in racing them back to the castle.
In the nick of time, too: Link was waking up as the old man and Eric entered his room. The blonde boy grabbed his head and stared at the doctor, his head cocked, as the man began a thorough examination. Borville's face cringed slightly when he placed the cold stethoscope on the boy's chest – something was wrong. Then there was a knock at the door: Zelda and Impa.
Borville slightly jumped when Zelda rushed passed him to Link, who was buried under blankets and sheets. His eyes fluttered to stay open as time had gone on. Eric grabbed the princess' attention by a slight tap on her shoulder. Turning her head slightly, she then twisted herself completely around to face all three: Impa, Borville and Eric.
Borville sighed, but stepped forward. "You need to take him to the mirror."
Zelda gasped, and scrunched her brows at the short man. "How do you know of that?"
The older man rolled his eyes and nudged over at Eric and Impa, who were sheepishly staring at the floor. "Told me you were going to take him there after he was well again, to regain his spirits. Am I correct?" Zelda nodded. "Well you need to take him there now, or he may never get better."
Zelda raised a brow, and opened her mouth to reveal an inquisitive tone. "Why?" She paused. "I don't want to take him while he's ill, just in case something goes wrong in the Twilight Realm."
Borville shoved his face in his hands and grumbled, "He isn't going to get any better unless his mood is better than it is! If he continues to feel as hopeless as he is, he's just going to rot away in this bed and die."
Zelda couldn't speak. The words were caught in her throat as she stared down at the man. His face was stern but his eyes were flooded with all the concern. Borville truly cared for the wellbeing of Link, and he knew what exactly they would have to do to save the boy. He wouldn't be of any use if Zelda was too afraid to do what he said, though. Eric trusted the old man, so did Impa. Zelda should, too.
The old man turned to leave, facing Eric one last time. "Make sure he is taken to the mirror in the next few days, or else he may die." Eric gulped and nodded.
The princess still stood speechless as Borville left. She stared at Link. She traced the outline of his cheeks to his collarbones, visible through the thin shirt Eric had lent him. Her eyes welled up with salty teardrops, and released them when Impa tried to approach her.
"I don't want to fail him."
Telma harnessed the two beasts and buckled them to the wagon: Epona and Zelda's horse seemed to get along easy, thankfully. Zelda was inside the back, cleaning off any extra straw and suiting up a clean area. Standing from her knees, the princess climbed out the back of the cart, landing on her two feet and brushing off the dust from her clothes. Telma smiled at Zelda and led her to the two horses.
Rubbing the muzzle of her horse, her slight grin diminished, leaving a blank tone in her lips. Turning to Telma, her gaze flickered. "Do you think he'll be alright?" Zelda sighed, turning her eyes to the horse's hooves. "What if the Twili think of him as an intruder when he enters, and hurt him? What if he is too weak to actually go through the portal? What if –"
Telma shut Zelda's mouth by placing her fingers over the other's lips. "No 'what if's. We know we need to do it. So we will." The princess's gaze with Telma faltered and flooded with a cold dread, but even Telma herself showed slight discomfort. "I feel guilty for allowing such events to go down that night. I feel guilty that I left him alone when I knew he was down. I shouldn't have been so stupid, if I hadn't had left him, he wouldn't be in this sickly state."
The plump woman pulled her hand from Zelda's lips and let it fall to her side. Zelda responded by placing a hand on her shoulder, trying to grin to lighten the mood. "You know, we all have things we regret. But life goes on, and we should stop with the 'if's and 'what if's, right?" Telma raised a brow, hearing Zelda herself somewhat quote her. The woman raised her lips and nodded.
"That is true." Turning her head toward the horizon, she saw the sun starting to rise over the hills of the Snowpeak Mountains. She turned to face Zelda directly and grinned. "Today, we are going to save the boy." And to that Zelda shook her head firmly. And the two women waited for Eric and Impa to bring Link from the castle.
"Link, you need to get up," Eric begged by the boy's bed, stroking a hand through his matted hair. He was only granted a groan as a reply. Huffing, the red head pulled at Link's shoulder and sat him up. "C'mon, we need to go. You're going to have a really good day today."
The half-asleep boy raised a brow at Eric, presuming his words were sarcastic, as his recent days had been utterly miserable. "You ought to be crazy." The words fell from his lips, quietly and lifeless.
"I'm actually being quite serious, for once." Eric shook his head, lifting the boy's arms and pulled his musty and feeble, stained shirt overtop his head. Before slipping on the new shirt, the red head took note of Link's frame: he saw each and every rib. His collarbones stuck out like a neglected animal's and the skin that wrapped over him was a pale and sallow shade. Ripping the sight from his mind, Eric slipped the boy in a nicer, button down shirt, which used to be his from when he was Link's age. Yes, it was big on him – Eric was a lot taller – but it thoroughly hid the boy's thinning frame.
The red head then dragged the boy out from under the blankets and handed him a pair of slacks. Link was confused, but shrugged, slipped off his current pair and replaced it with the new pair. The whole outfit was big on the boy, but Eric had taken his belt around Link's waist and then tucked the shirt in so it wouldn't look as bad.
"I look stupid," Link coughed, frowning at his appearance in the mirror.
Eric shook his head. "Nonsense, you look dashing." The red head smirked and raised a brow. Wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulder, directing him towards the door, Eric laughed. "And we're off."
"Where?" the smaller questioned, perking a brow.
The red head smirked, poking the younger's nose, causing his eyes to widen and jump slightly. "Now that's a surprise." Link sneered at the older, who simply smirked. "Trust me, you'll like it."
The duo then reached the stairwell, where Link halted. He felt his knees crumbled and weaken, causing him to lean on Eric. He looked up at the red head with wide eyes and gritted teeth, to which Eric smiled. He slipped an arm around the younger's shoulder, and another under his knees, and lifted him off the ground. "I carried you in here, and now I'm carrying you out." Link smirked as Eric began to take him down the stairs.
The two reached the bottom of the stairwell, where Eric returned Link to standing on his feet. The boy's face was bright red. "Thank you, Eric."
The red head grinned, closing his eyes and patting the boy's back. "It's nothing. Just doing deeds for a friend." The blonde's face darkened the crimson shade to Eric's words.
Impa then walked up to their side from an empty castle in the hallway. She grinned slightly at the two and gestured to the carefully wrapped cloth in her hands. "Shall we go now?"
Eric nodded and opened the door for the blonde, who dragged his feet right on through. The three were greeted by Zelda and Telma rested up against the wagon. The red head aided Link to the wagon and in it, and then helped Zelda step up into it. Eric took the shards from Impa and passed them on to Zelda before climbing in the wagon. The tan woman nodded and seated herself in the driver's bench alongside Telma.
"To Arbiter's Grounds?" Telma asked the woman beside her.
Impa nodded. Telma then whipped the horses into motion, and they began to smoothly canter from the castle grounds and out past the town into Hyrule field. Link sat next to Eric in the back of the wagon, his arms crossed and his lips pursed. Neither Zelda nor Eric could get words out of him. He only turned his face away from theirs when they wanted a response from him.
Zelda reached across the wagon to place a hand on the blonde's shoulders: his lip twitched but he refused to look at her. "Why won't you talk to us?"
Eric nudged the boy in the side, as well, and added, "Yeah, you were in such a good mood earlier."
Link rolled his eyes and whirled his head to face Zelda's. His jaw was crooked and his teeth her were tight. His eyelids half covered his eyes, and he had a perked brow. An obvious tone of vexation lingered in his voice. "Why am I going to Aribiter's Grounds? I've told you countless times that I do not want to go back there, so why are you guys taking me? I heard Telma yell it to the Sheikah woman up front." He sarcastically laughed and turned his gaze away from Zelda's. "I told you that I didn't want to go back, and you know why." His lighthearted expression then returned to his irritated state. "And especially on the day which I turn nineteen – the anniversary of that… of… that…" His voice trailed off into nothing. Link couldn't finish his sentence.
Zelda's lips formed a small frown while parted, her eyes wide and eyebrows hanging low. "I hadn't realized that it's been a year, nor did I know that it was your birthday."
"To hell with both of those meaningless celebrations – I couldn't care anymore." The boy shrugged and scooted himself away from Zelda and Eric and looked out the small opening down at Lake Hylia.
The princess looked up at Eric, who was in as much shock as she was. Link had hit his breaking point and he was making it obvious. Zelda grinned, thankful that today was the day they went – after what she had planned, Link would no longer have a dearth for Midna. He would, if this worked out as planned, see her again.
It was nearing sunset when Telma slowed the horses to a halt. Eric exited the back of the wagon first, aiding Zelda and Link with hopping out. The young boy was still in a bitter mood, and so Eric sighed and threw him over his shoulder as they began to trek up to the mirror chamber. Impa had volunteered to stay back with the horses. And so Zelda led the way, carefully handling the cloth in her hands, as Eric and Telma followed.
Link fidgeted in Eric's grip. "I can walk, you know," a stinging taint to his words.
The red head gave a haughty laugh. "No you can't. I know you've been here several times, but you nearly died and you are no better off than before. I'm carrying you up."
Link huffed and crossed his arms, refusing to give words. He wasn't in a good mood, but it was to be expected. Such a tragic day for the boy, and they had brought him back to the root of it.
Zelda took each step carefully, she remembered the last time she and Link exited the grounds, he had to show her where each of the little traps were. Remembering them now was a pain, but she trusted in the gift of wisdom that the goddesses' had granted her with the triforce and began to lead her small group to the top of the tower – where the mirror had found home.
After a good hour, Zelda had retraced her steps almost perfectly and guided the group to the safety of the chamber. Eric plopped Link on his feet, to which the shorter grumbled and crossed his arms.
"I don't want to be here," his tone was bitter, yet it shook tremendously. The emotional attachment he had to this area just caused him enough pain to think about it. Now he stood in it once again, and all hell was breaking loose in his head.
"I know you don't," Zelda whispered to him in the most placid tone possible. "This place is saddening to me, as well." She sighed and stared the blonde in the eye. "But I brought you here for your wellbeing. And so –"
"Wait, hold on a sec," Link interrupted, waving his arms around in a baffled manner. "How is bringing me here doing me any good?" His voice shook as tears formed in his eyes. "All I feel right now is hurt, the pain and memories of that day." He erupted in tears and his voice cracked several times. "I don't want to be here, Zelda!"
Zelda wanted to remain stolid, but the sight before her cracked through her hard shell. She sighed and went up the boy and hugged him. Holding his head in the crook of her neck, she whispered in his ear. "I know you don't want to be here, I know. But I brought you here for a good reason, and I swear you'll like it." She pulled away the sniffling mess and dried his eyes, looking him in the eye. "Trust me on this."
Link sighed and nodded, taking his sleeves to his eyes. He watched the small cloth in Zelda's hands. She passed it to Eric, who held it as she unfolded it, revealing two mirror shards: his and hers. The brunette took the shard which she had taken and approached the mirror, which to Link's surprise, was almost put back together except for two center pieces. The boy's mouth gaped wide open as Zelda pushed in her shard in the mirror, leaving only one space left: his shard.
Zelda turned back to Link and grinned. "You see what I'm saying?"
The blonde boy nodded and reached over to Eric, snatching up his piece. He held it so dearly and he smiled slightly. "This was my last remnant of her, the last remnant of my friend." He looked up at Zelda who was returning from the mirror's pedestal. She only nudged her shoulder toward the mirror and Link gulped, determination flooding his face.
Eric took a step forward to Link, prepared to help him, before Zelda stuck her arm out at his chest. The red head look at her with a raised brow and the quintessence of puzzlement flooding his face. "Shouldn't I help him walk up to the pedestal?"
Zelda shook her head. "No." Her gaze returned to the boy standing at the foot of stairs leading to the mirror. "He wants to do it on his own – I can see it in his eyes."
And then Link took a step up – not gracefully, more wobbly than anything, followed by another, and another, and many more. Each step uneasy in his balance, with some stumbled along the way. By the time he reached the height of the small incline, he was doubled over panting: his ailments had done him in with his health, as he could barely walk over a flight of stairs that was quite short.
Zelda and Eric watched carefully as Link stood and regained his composure. He held the fragment of the mirror tight in his hand; his knuckles were white under such pressure. Taking a step forward, he approached the mirror.
Link stared at the mirror for several minutes. He took in its extravagant details, the artistry of the design, and the eloquence of it all. Grinning up at the Mirror of Twilight, Link raised the shard in his hand and looked at it. He grinned and tears flowed down his cheeks. He was laughing hysterically, too. It was obvious he couldn't believe what was happening before him.
Just as he was about to place the remnant in its place, Link turned to Zelda, Eric, and Telma. His smile held such unfeigned happiness, elated joy: each of them grinned at him with the same ferocity. Tears streamed down his face as his smile took over most of the space of his cheeks. "T-thank you so much… I have no words to explain how excited I am." He could barely handle his happiness, as unevenly jumped on the balls of his feet. "I get to see Midna again!"
Telma nodded and giggled. "We know. That was the plan all along. Now go – go see your girlfriend!" Both Eric and Zelda stared wide-eyed at Telma – as far as they knew, the duo had never been an item.
Link turned back to the mirror and gulped, placing his shard in the last empty space, filling the mirror. And then the Mirror of Twilight shone bright, each crack that had been once there disappeared, revealing the mirror whole again. The boy's eyes were bright and wide as the light shone off the mirror and onto the opposing rock. The portal began to form and Link began to approach it.
The mirror had been activated and Zelda's plan had worked.
A/N: I would just like to give a big thank you to all those who have stuck with me so far! I'm going back and correcting all my grammatical errors of the previous chapters slowly ^^ And I hope you enjoyed all the development in this chapter, it was so much fun to write this one. The next few will be even better! It puts me in such a good mood to write about Link getting better after all I put him through - I hope it makes you guys happy to read it! Read and review, as always? Thanks guys!