A/N: A big thank you to all who have/are reviewed/reviewing! This story was so fun to write; I'm not sure if I forgot any small details in wrapping up; if so, I'll eventually go back and find them, but hopefully I have remembered to resolve everything. If not, let me know, and I will fix it. If you're confused about anything, say so, and if it requires editing in the chapters, I will do my best to make it clearer.
Again, thank you all, and God bless you!
~Penenlope
Chapter Twenty:
Rejoice
"And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found." ~ Luke 15: 11-32
As they strode down the boardwalk, Link paused, took those wretched tags, and tore them into small pieces. Dropping them over the edge of the plank, he watched them flutter to the ocean water below, and a half smile crossed his face. If they're going to dethrone me, then let them. But I will not lose another son.
He looked up to find Caine staring at him inquisitively, blue eyes – Zelda had so often said they were uncannily similar to his – widened at the sight of the bits of paper being tossed on the breeze. The boy's expression was more lax than Link had seen it in years. It seemed that in a mere moment, with the forgiving words that had come from his mouth, he had lifted a tremendous burden from those young shoulders. A burden he should have never had to bear.
Caine's eyes darted from the paper to Link's face and then back again. Link could only smile, and walk down the rest of the plank to the swaying docks. He patted his son's shoulder as he passed, sending one last glance back at the ship's captain, who waved and gave a mischievous wink before putting a finger over his mouth.
A chuckle escaped his throat as he led the way back up to the shore. The crowd was murmuring, and the soldiers watched on with confusion. But Link had no desire to explain things to them. Whether the soldiers followed or not, he was going to ride back to Keskus with his son, and take him straight to Zelda. Oh, yes, the council would come after them after a while, but they wouldn't let that deter them. Caine was home – the real Caine, the son that the kingdom hadn't known for years before this war. And that was a cause worth celebrating.
The royal twosome bypassed the dumbfounded guards, who watched them go with blank expressions. Link went to Epona; the horse was almost smiling at him. He ruffled her forelock. "I know, I know, you told me so." The mare nickered, tossing her head, as he swung up into the saddle. He glanced over at Caine, who had mounted the small, lighter-boned horse that he had ridden here.
"Gentlemen," Link addressed the soldiers, head held high, "we are heading back to Keskus. I aim to reach the city before midnight. Any who wish to stay the night here and come back tomorrow are free to do so; those who come along will have to keep up. Any questions?"
Most of them just blinked in confusion. With the slightest of knowing smirks, he reined Epona around, and then glanced back at his son. Caine gave him a small nod, and without a second glance at the surrounding city, the Hylian king heeled his steed in the barrel and charged forward. Two sets of hoofbeats echoed over the city, and the two horses carried their respective charges out of the port and into the surrounding wilds.
They left their troubles behind.
For the moment, they were simply a father and son rejoicing in the return of one and the restoration of the other. They had not just finished a war. The Council was not waiting for them back in the capitol. And there were most certainly no more dragons in the land. All – at least, until they arrived outside the walls of Keskus – was well, and right.
Link glanced back, and his heart leapt at the sight of Caine looking like, well… Caine. It seemed like forever ago since the last time the boy had smiled, genuinely smiled. But now, as the full gallop became more and more a race, it seemed neither of them could keep the grins off their faces.
Caine's steed inched forward. Link cast him a wry look, and gave Epona more rein, and the mare responded by surging forward a length or two.
"Hey!" the prince called, then urged his own steed forward. But no horse was as fast as Epona, and once she picked up her speed, none had ever been able to catch her again.
Needless to say, Link won the race to Keskus. Of course, they had taken time to ride slower, but they had never gone below a trot; they had determined to reach the capitol by midnight, and as Link stared up at the full moon in the winter skies, he guessed it was just about that.
The gates opened as they arrived, and they were able to ride right through. They paid no heed to the people or buildings or constructions they passed. The king led them on a straight way toward the palace.
"You do realize the Council's going to pitch a royal fit, don't you?" Caine suddenly called over the loud thundering of the horses' hooves.
Link laughed. "Let them. Nothing they do or say can change my mind. We lost you once; we're never going to do it again."
He couldn't miss the grin that spread across the prince's face then.
"You know," the boy said after a pause, "if you can't stand them so, why haven't you disbanded them yet?"
A frown crossed the king's face. "Disbanded?"
"Yes… Didn't you know? The Assemblage of Hylian Law, chapter forty-seven Affairs of the Royal Council, subsection three, page three-hundred eighty-four. 'If said council be corrupted, the king and/or queen, or whatever leading monarch of the time, may disband the council under charge of no confidence in decisions made by the current council. A new council may then be elected, or previous council may reassemble only by order of the monarch and/or after thorough investigation.' Haven't you read the Assemblage?"
It took Link a moment to wrap his mind around what had just poured from his son's mouth. It was so obvious! Well… Obvious enough. How had he not remembered that? "Uh… Well, yes. Uh, once… Er, most of it. I was required to before I could marry your mother, but… I don't recall that part."
"Well… It's only a small subsection. Only one-hundred pages. But still… If you don't trust your own council, then what's the use of having them around?"
Link's gaze swiveled to his son in amazement. Perhaps all that extra study time in the library had done him good!
They came to the palace gates. After only minor hesitation upon seeing Caine, the sentries let them pass, for the most part only because Link ordered it. The horses' hooves clip-clopped on the stone courtyard until they came to a stop before the doors. Both simultaneously dismounted and, letting the reins drop to the ground – both steeds recognized ground-tying – headed straight up the steps, and through the mighty palace doors.
The hole in the ceiling above the great hall was almost complete. The broken pillars had been restored – though, Link wondered if Caine also felt a sharp pain in his heart when they passed the very same pillar that had brought young Abyll his death. Amazingly enough, though he shouldn't have been surprised, the king felt no bitterness for this. His youngest son's murderer was walking just beside him, but no blame was placed there. In fact, there was no blame at all. It was as if all of it had been simply washed away.
"Hurry, and we'll get to our chambers before the Council discovers you're here." Link led the way up the many staircases of the castle, toward the level where the royal chambers sat. Just as they were climbing the last steps, however, a soft gasp came from behind them. Both father and son turned toward the sound, to find mother staring up at them from the base of the stairs with wide eyes.
A smile spread across Link's face, and he descended the steps once more, Caine following close behind. At the bottom, he stopped, but the prince did not. Caine brushed right past and into Zelda's waiting embrace. It was an odd sight, to be true; if the prince had still been a bit smaller, it might not have looked so… different. But as it was, Link was reminded that his son, at fifteen years of age, was just about as tall as he was. Thus, he towered at least four inches over his mother, and while it looked like Zelda wanted to be the one cradling her boy, the days of her pulling a young prince into her lap and rocking him to sleep were long since past. Now, the queen nestled in her son's embrace, and he rested his cheek atop her auburn hair.
Link caught sight of his wife's intense blue eyes peering over Caine's shoulder. She lifted her head enough so that he could see her smiling face, and mouthed a thank you. The grin that had plagued his expression since Hyvä Vene grew all the wider, and he gave her a slow nod in return.
But of course, the moment of blissful reunion was doomed to end quickly. A roar of rage echoed through the hall, as clattering footsteps could be heard ascending the last staircase.
"Link Taurë, you dare deliberately disobey the blatant orders of this council and bring that dirty, no-good, blood-stained, rotten…" Thoron's grumblings drifted away, but his grizzled face was still the image of anger itself.
Zelda reluctantly broke the embrace with the prince, and Link stepped in front of both of them, shifting his expression, matching the intensity of the chancellor's gaze. "I brought my son home, not a murderer."
The quiet answer seemed to startle the older man, who blinked, and his bushy brows furrowed further. "What is this nonsense?"
"The murderer perished at the harbor. This boy," Link looked back to Caine, who regarded him with wonder, "is our son. And he's come home… at last." He swiveled his gaze back to Thoron, and found those ancient eyes blazing.
"This is insolence! We made an order, sealed it with our insignia. It cannot be so easily broken!"
"Those tags you created for my son are disintegrating somewhere at the bottom of the Great Sea, Thoron," said Link, letting his voice raise the slightest. He was tired of bowing to these pompous peacocks that dared call themselves the council. He was the king, after all! And, at least this time, he was going to use that to his advantage. "I am the Hylian king; you swore allegiance to me, not the other way 'round."
At the first statement, Thoron's grey eyes widened considerably, then narrowed at the latter one. "King Consort, and don't you forget it!"
That was a low blow, and it made Link flinch the slightest. Then his brows lowered in anger. For the longest time, he made no move – he simply stared the chancellor down. Many had often whispered of the power the Hero of Time held in his eyes, in his very gaze. Some said he could defeat foes with a mere glare if he wanted. This, of course, was an exaggeration. But this much was true: people had a tendency to fidget once that intense blue gaze fixated upon them. Chancellor Thoron was no exception. The old man, after a few moments of attempting to return the stare, began fumbling for words to break the tense silence.
"Caine." Link spoke first, without glancing back. "Kindly explain to these gentlemen what you explained to me earlier."
The prince blinked, then stepped forward. " 'If said council be corrupted, the king and/or queen, or whatever leading monarch of the time, may disband the council under charge of no confidence in decisions made by the current council. A new council may then be elected, or previous council may reassemble only by order of the monarch and/or after thorough investigation'."
Thoron sputtered. "Wh-What… How…"
"You counted since the start on me not knowing the depths of my own country's laws," Link continued, voice gaining confidence with each word. "Luckily for you in all these years, I was a bit lazy in my studies – at the time, I was in a rather large rush to marry a certain lovely lady." He cast Zelda a mischievous wink. Then his gaze, serious again, returned to the chancellor. "But my son is smarter than all of you give him credit for. He read every last page of that law book – laws this very council, and councils for generations past, have put into action."
The chancellor continued to stumble for words to counter theirs, but Link was on a roll, and he wasn't about to stop.
"As king, I hereby disband the current council. Investigation will not be needed; I believe that this country needs a new outlook on its affairs. Therefore, in a month's time, an entirely new council will be selected. As of now, you all live ordinary Hyrulian lives – go now, and enjoy them in what way you see fit. With the exception of Lady Impa, of course, who is to stay on as the queen's personal advisor."
The Sheikah gave a knowing smile from the back of the flabbergasted group, folding her arms over her chest.
"Well?" said the king after a rather long moment of bewildered silence. "What are you all still standing around here for? Go on!"
The Hylians blinked out of their stupors, and all backpedaled to the staircase. Most went as if in a trance, faces expressionless as they tried to process what had just happened. The ex-chancellor kept his glare on Link for a few moments longer before slowly following.
Caine gave a slight chuckle once they had all gone. "I think you just made nine new enemies."
"I'd say that's a new record, wouldn't you?" Impa closed the distance between them, smirking at them, her red eyes twinkling as they settled on the prince. "Welcome home, Prince Caine. Welcome home."
Home… Link smiled. As a servant emerged from a door down the hall, he suddenly had a thought. Now would be the perfect time to announce a celebration all across the city. The prodigal had returned, and that was a perfect occasion to rejoice.
~-LoZ-~
Fireworks exploded in bright arrays of colorful sparks that danced across the sky, competing with the stars for light and attention. Their loud booms and cracks echoed through the night air as the celebration continued on. Caine had long since retreated to his room, for once a bit shy of all the attention. He truly didn't deserve all of this… but his parents had given it to him any way. The very through made the smile return to his face again.
But he had spent enough time on his balcony. In fact, at the moment, the stone pinnacle was vacant of any occupant. Caine sat at his desk, watching out the window as more colored spots erupted in midair. His journal sat open in front of him, and he held his quill in hand, pausing briefly in his writing. Once the sparks fell away once more, he turned back to the page, and reviewed what he had written.
Amazing grace is falling
Upon my thirsty soul
It pours like rain
To sooth my pain
Amazing grace is falling
...
Amazing grace is pouring
Like salve upon a wound
It cools, and heals
New strength reveals
Amazing grace is pouring
...
Amazing grace is washing
Away all my filthy stains
With love like dew
Pure, and new
Amazing grace is washing
...
Amazing grace
Amazing grace
I don't deserve such lofty place
Wash over me
Wash over me
Cause my blind eyes to see
All is well
All is well
Love restored, evil quelled
Amazing Graze
Amazing Grace
Thank You for filling my heart's empty place
~ ©Penelope Jadewing, 2012
A/N: Short chapter, I know. But that's the end, and stay tuned for an epilogue, and a sneak preview of the sequel (which has yet to be titled)!
Yes, I wrote the poem. Copyrighted to me; my own creation! No touchy! ;)