After almost a year, here is the next chapter. Enjoy.
The days turn into weeks, the weeks meld into months, and the months add up slowly into seven long years. In the first month, Link waited anxiously and searched for a way to return home. The second month brought a little less enthusiasm, but for a whole year he held onto the slightest bit of hope. With no contact from home and no idea how to try, he let himself adapt and get comfortable on the ranch. Though he never consciously acknowledged that he let go of the wish to go back to Hyrule, he made Termina his home. Navi, he did realize, was lost to him the moment she flew out of the Temple of Time. He regretted not his quest to find her for it brought him new adventures and friends, but it did not make him miss her any less.
His friends from home he missed as well. He would not know this, but they tried very hard to find him and bring him home. All the while he was growing up into the fine young man he had been when he saved their land. It hurt when he thought of them, but slowly he got close to the ranch sisters, to their friends whom he had helped to reunite, and even to the Bomber Secret Society of Justice. Granted they were a couple of years younger, but they were the only kids besides Romani about his age. The young ranch hand even developed a friendship with her similar to his and Saria's. There was much teasing from almost everyone, but they maintained their accusations were not true. Cremia, who enjoyed teasing them just as much if not more, was probably the only one to take them seriously.
Aside from becoming part of the family, he took on his role as ranch hand with vigor and enthusiasm, even though he sometimes would get the not-so-fun jobs. He also really took to the land's tradition of the Carnival every year. Growing up isolated in a forest never afforded him the opportunity for any of Hyrule's festivals, and for that one day, he got to have more fun than he ever did at home without the responsibilities of the ranch. When he first landed in Termina, he never thought he would want to stay longer than necessary, but slowly he has let the place become his home. Besides, he reasoned, fighting against it would only make him and everyone around him unhappy. Life is too short, which he learned early on.
As it happens, exactly seven years later from when he saved this world, the ranch sisters and their permanent guest get ready for the carnival. The town has been buzzing the last week the same as the last six years because the moon is not threatening to end all life. Link finds it funny how they do not even know the truth, even his close friends, but oh well, he always tells himself. Besides, tonight will be the night he has been looking forward to for a while. Actually, though, to be completely honest, he his not getting ready to go quite yet. Instead, he decided it would be fun to tease Richard, Romani's dog. He has held onto his masks for all of these years and still enjoys pulling pranks when the mood strikes him.
"Come back here!" Romani shouts as she takes off after the laughing seventeen year old with the Goron mask. After seven years, he still wears his green tunic though he also adopted his former look of white tights. He continues to laugh even though the girl is giving good chase, especially in the dress her sister gave her. It is similar to the one she wore at Romani's age, which was a design their mother had created. The slight differences Cremia added as her touch are barely distinguishable, at least to Link. That comment also made the one now running after him angry. "I told you to stop chasing little Richard with those masks! He's not as young anymore, you know!" Also in the last seven years did the youngest sister stop referring to herself in the third person, much to Cremia's relief. She was afraid it was a quirk that would turn into something more serious. He never let onto the fact because he didn't want to alienate his friend, but he is glad she outgrew it, too.
The laughing and running soon catches up to him, and he holds his side and bends over, trying to recover though his laughter can still be heard. Romani stops and crosses her arms in front of him.
"I'm sorry," he gets out between breaths. "But you have to admit that was kind of funny."
"No, it wasn't. Now give me those masks so you'll knock it off!"
"No way!" He takes off again, but his energy is a little lower than the last chase. She is easily able to catch him and even tackle him to the ground, neverminding that she is wearing her new dress. Besides losing her penchant for referring to herself in the third person, she has become a lot spunkier, letting that side out often. Plus having him as a best friend has led her to develop a somewhat tomboyish side.
Just in time to see the brawl, Cremia steps out of the ranch house and takes only a few steps before stopping again. She was hoping the two teenagers would behave at least for today, but that was too much to ask. At first she decides to wait and see if they will stop on their own, but this does not last long as she realizes her little sis is wearing that dress she made specially for her and this occasion. This propels her forward toward the pair on the ground.
"Alright you two, break it up," she orders as she takes away his mask. Because he is preoccupied, she has no problems getting it. He rolls over and jumps up. For the one he was fighting with, this is a little bit harder because of her attire.
"Give it back, Cremia. I was just having some fun."
"Tonight is the carnival, and our two friends have something important they want to share with us. You can have fun tomorrow. Besides, the carnival should be fun enough for you two."
"Sorry, Sister," Romani says with her head down. Link apologizes also.
"I only ask that you act your age for one night, even though you two do need to grow up sometimes."
"Why the sudden change? You never minded our antics before," Link inquires with some suspicion.
"Because Kafei and Anju aren't the only ones to have an announcement." This piques both of their interest.
"And what would that be?" the hero arches an eyebrow. She only turns away toward the direction of the barn.
"You'll just have to wait and see. Now I'm going to get the horses ready to ride into town. We'll be taking some milk with us for the bar. You better hope I don't get dirty since I'm all ready to leave." With that, she walks away and into the barn. The two teens don't say anything more to each other and head toward the ranch house to follow her orders.
Luckily for the young pair Cremia is able to get everything ready without ruining her wardrobe. Romani has little problem cleaning off her garb, and Link practically sprints from the house feeling like a million rupees. The ride into town is made interesting by light conversation, mostly from the two who were squabbling not long ago. Cremia keeps her focus on the road since it is getting dark out already. The usual routine is to head into town after dusk, but since she is delivering extra Chateau Romani, she wanted to leave a little bit earlier. Hopefully the delivery she had Link make yesterday has lasted until now. Then again, it is really hard to predict the habits of people when it comes to drinking. She is only following Mr. Barten's directions.
The trio gets there in peace and unloads the four extra jugs they brought along with them. The Milk Bar seems busy so far, and they leave the barely grateful man to enjoy the festivities in the town square. The couple they are meeting said to be by the inn at six, which is just about to come up on them. So as not to be late, they head there and decide to just wait the ten or so minutes until the other two arrive. Most likely the two are just inside getting ready for the night and will be out shortly. This is best evidenced by the conversation they can hear. The voice of Anju's mother comes through the door, talking quite loudly to her daughter about this evening. It isn't perfectly clear, but they can tell the mother and daughter are disagreeing about something apparently big. The Anju Link first met seven years ago was quiet and well-mannered, but after her and Kafei's union, she started standing up more to her mom. The overbearing woman still tries, though, as heard from the outside.
Before the trio can get too nosy, the door opens to the small inn. Anju's mom gives in with just a word of farewell, and the couple comes out into the cool night air, the door shutting on their way. Kafei sees their friends there and smiles. Anju greets them hello also, not quite as happy. They all figure the altercation with her mom is to blame and take no offense.
"Hi, you two," Cremia starts off. Instead of bringing up what they just heard, she goes for normal catching-up conversation. "How have you two been? I haven't spoken with you in a week at least except about tonight."
"Aside from what you just heard in there, we've been good," he answers for them both. "But we have plenty of time to talk tonight. Why don't we head over to the Milk Bar from some pre-carnival drinks?" That sounding good to all there, the quintet heads the twenty or so feet to the hotspot of the night. For once the ranch sisters can enjoy the product of all their hard work. Usually the bar only allows those with a mask inside, but he makes an exception at the holidays purely for profit's sake. The youngest pair wonders silently to themselves if her sister will allow them to have any drinks since they aren't quite old enough yet, at least in her rulebook. No official guideline exists for the public, but generally the parent or person in charge of the younger generation is given leeway to judge for themselves. They both figure probably not because Cremia is strict in her treatment of them both, which she assures them is for their own good. Just as quickly they both also separately realize that it can be fun to watch drunk people, especially the ones you know.
The bar buzzes with laughter and chatter, and the staff Mr. Barten hired temporarily for the holiday runs around trying to keep up with orders. Upon seeing them, the bar's owner changes his demeanor and rushes over to get them a good place to sit. No doubt this treatment is because Kafei is the son of the town's mayor who was elected again just a few months ago by an overwhelming majority. None of them seem to mind, though. The group has a hard time getting a clear word to each other, but they try anyway. Link breaks the ice first.
"So how's business at the inn?"
"It's the same old thing- really slow during the year and too overcrowded during the carnival," the inn's keeper responds.
"And how are things with you, Kafei?" the older ranch sister inquires. He only sighs a bit.
"My father wanted me to run for mayor this last election as you all know. I finally told him and my mother that politics would never be for me, and she suggested I make a bid for headmaster of the postal service. I told her I wasn't interested in that either."
"So what do you for a living now then?" her little sister asks.
"I found a great opportunity offered to me by someone who had had it with this town and wanted to leave."
"What was it?"
"Well, it's a long and complicated story-"
"He owns his own shop," his wife interrupts his dramatic moment. He looks hurt.
"I wasn't done yet." She ignores him.
"How did you manage to take over a shop?" Link asks, now even more curious.
"Do you remember the Curiosity Shop?" They all nod. Anju goes on. "Well, he decided to give it up and live a life of peace with nature so he told Kafei he could take over ownership." Link kind of looks bummed at that. The place had so many cool things to check out, mostly because a lot of it was stolen goods. He doubts the upstanding citizen who is the son of the mayor would continue to buy from shady figures.
"You don't happen to buy from the same people he did, do you?"
"He's not supposed to," she starts somewhat disapprovingly. He finishes the thought.
"But I also realize that's what got most of his customers to come in."
"Cool. I'll check it out sometime. When are you open?"
"We're open from eight in the morning until six at night. I might be expanding the hours if I get more help. The place has only been mine for a month. Hey, if you're looking for a job outside of the ranch, I would love to hire you."
"Really?"
"Of course. As long as Cremia doesn't mind me stealing her best ranch hand and as long as Romani doesn't mind not spending time with you all day." Embarrassed at that, the youngest sister looks down and mumbles for Kafei to shut up. Link only tries to control the blush he hopes isn't too obvious. Kafei only smirks a bit.
The older trio continues on with their conversation about catching up, and Cremia briefly mentions she has someone she is meeting up with in a little while. This sparks their interest, but she says nothing further. Link and Romani avoid each other and just listen though they are both interested as well. It may explain where she has been disappearing to this past week. Then a sudden clamor followed by loud cursing interrupts everyone's conversations. Mr. Barten now rushes to that scene, finding his two quickest temps have collided with each other. Not only have they ruined many a glass of the good milk, but they have also apparently hurt themselves beyond the ability to continue working. Holding his head, he lets two of the other guys help the now fired young men out of the room to get cleaned up. There is milk to be wiped off and glass to be removed from places.
The hero normally in green can be heard lightly laughing at their clumsiness. His redheaded friend swats at him to shut up, but he only kicks her. She throws a balled up napkin at him, and Cremia glares at them to knock it off. The married pair isn't bothered by their behavior, remembering what it was like to be their age. Granted they along with Cremia were much less prone to acting out in this way, but they had their moments. Besides that, the announcement they have could pretty much eclipse anything else that happens, including the argument with her mother. Cremia, however, gets an evil little idea in her head. She can both punish them by making them take responsibility and assure that the precious liquid she is making a profit on reaches all who want some. Waving her hand and calling his name, she gets the attention of Barten. It works, and the now grumpier man comes over. Internally she smirks as the teens have no idea what is about to befall them.
"Is there a problem?" he asks in his annoyed tone.
"No, I was just thinking that Romani and Link here could help you out since they won't be having anything to drink anyway." The two teens' expressions drop as his lights up. He knows how quick Link is based on his unloading time for even the biggest deliveries.
"Yes, that sounds like a great idea. There are extra aprons in the back, and just grab the notebooks from the two I'm about to fire." Reluctantly, the twp stand up and trudge slowly into the back room.
Meanwhile, their friends watch in amusement. Suddenly, though, someone entering the fine establishment catches the attention of Cremia, who excuses herself quickly and goes to fetch the man. Kafei and Anju look at each other and then at their friend, who drags this new man over to the group's table. He looks vaguely familiar, but neither of the two can place where they have seen him before. Cremia, though, looks happy.
"Kafei, Anju, this is Yttriu," she introduces him. Suddenly it clicks with them both as they recall a little boy who went to school with them when they were children.
"I remember being in that awful kindergarten class with you now," he says aloud. He seems to have grown into a fine young man, the same as Kafei himself (or so everyone likes to remind him). His wife apparently thinks so too as he catches her stare. "Ahem." He nudges her, and she apologizes and looks down in embarrassment the same way the seventeen year olds did earlier. Yttriu only chuckles and takes a seat as Cremia does as well.
"So what are you doing back here in town?" Kafei asks.
"I was looking to escape the family business and go my own way so I decided to head back to my hometown."
"I can relate to that." This intrigues the newcomer. "My father is still the mayor here. He was understandably disappointed when I told him a few months ago I didn't want to follow in his footsteps."
"Well, it looks like we already have something in common."
"That it does." The initial barrier having been broken, the four of them begin to talk as if they hadn't been separated for the last decade and a half. The crowd continues to buzz around them.
Meanwhile, Link and Romani finish their five minute training and are shoved out into the midst of the chaos. Link, being the first to notice the new guy at their table, calls dibs and rushes over to take their order. Romani lightly glares before going to the nearest table that looks in need of service. Nearly skidding to a stop, their young friend arrives to take their first order for the night.
"Hello all. How are you enjoying your evening so far?" Rolling her eyes, Cremia answers him.
"Give it up, Grasshopper," she says, using her sis's nickname for him. "And this is Yttriu, a friend from when we were all younger. Yttriu, this is Link. As I told you before, he lives with us at the ranch."
"It's nice to meet you." He extends his hand, and Link hesitantly shakes it, getting a weird vibe from him. Quickly he pulls back and gets down to formalities.
"So what would you all like then?"
"It's my treat, so we'll each take a glass of Chateau Romani," Yttriu orders for them all.
"Actually, make that just three," Anju speaks up. Finding that odd, he scratches it off the list and replaces it with just the regular milk. After assuring them he'll be back as soon as possible, he walks away. He does so slowly, and when Roman comes around one of the tables, she walks next to him as he heads to the bar from the drinks.
"You need to be faster," she lightly admonishes him.
"Yeah, whatever."
"What's with you?"
"Nothing. I'm just wondering why Anju just wants a glass of the regular stuff."
"Didn't they have some announcement?"
"Yeah. I wonder what it is." He stops suddenly, causing her to run right into him and then get irritated.
Just as she is about to scold him again, he leaves her behind and goes back to the table. Ignoring her other duties just as he is apparently doing, she follows after him. Their four friends look up at the pair, ceasing their conversation to give them their full attention. The only one there who knows what's going through Link's head is himself, and he speaks quickly.
"So what was that announcement you guys had?" he asks bluntly. The newcomer and the ranch sisters all look confused, but the couple he is addressing just look at each other and then at Link again.
"Well, we were going to wait until later, but now is as good a time as any," he concedes. They wait anxiously, but Kafei doesn't continue as he is waiting for Anju to go on and say it. Kafei takes the lead when she stays as quiet as he. "We're having a baby."
"Really?" Cemia asks happily and rhetorically. No sooner is this confirmed as indeed the truth does she get up from her seat and drag her friend from hers for a hug. Link congratulates the dad-to-be, and the newcomer gives the same. Romani, not sure what to say besides the generic congrats the others are giving, just does that. Deciding to let her friend breathe again, Cremia releases her. "So this explains why you two have been acting a little odd lately."
"Yes, and we're sorry about that," he answers. "We just wanted to wait until we knew things were okay for sure." The ranch sisters and Link understand what they mean and feel stoic for a moment. Though the newcomer does not know specifically anything they are referring to, he can gather what it means. Just as quickly Cremia brightens up and smiles at her friends.
"Don't worry, you two. I'm sure everything will turn out fine." Hoping that she is indeed right, the pair smiles at her. Under the table, Kafei takes his wife's hand and gives it a gentle squeeze.
"Hey, you two slackers!" Mr. Barten's voice suddenly comes in. "Stop standing around, and get to work before I fire you, too!"
"But you're not paying us," Link protests. How could they be fired when they are not technically his employees? His eyes light up, flames practically flickering. Sensing what will happen if she doesn't intervene, Romani grabs his arm and drags him off. As the younger duo rushes from table to table yet again, their friends can only laugh, moving on to talk to about happier things.
Fortunately for the hero and the red head, their service to Mr. Barten only lasts until the crowds die down a bit. The rest of the staff, who have worked here in past years, can now keep their own against the onslaught of customers. Plus he was just waiting to get rid of his newest hires. When complaints outnumber tips, he has learned they have a problem. Not that the teens mind in the slightest since it means they are now free to spend time at the actual carnival. Yttriu pays for everyone's drinks, and the six of them exit the still-crowded room. Link cracks a joke about not getting a tip, but Romani shoves him, almost knocking him to the ground. Cremia shakes her head, wondering where her sister picked up this violent and immature thing from. The others don't seem to notice so she lets it go and tries to get in on the conversation.
Link rubs his shoulder, and she walks with her arms crossed and her stare straight ahead. He frowns, wishing she would have some fun. They were both looking so forward to tonight, but ever since he teased her this afternoon, she has stayed mad at him. He looks ahead at the adults, who are having a good time despite Romani's attitude. Cremia seems to really like this new guy, who she, Anju, and Kafei apparently knew back when they were kids. The married couple even makes the hero smile a bit when he thinks about how happy they looked. It has been no secret with the ones they are close to that they wanted to start a family, but nature doesn't always care about what someone wants. No matter now, he thinks happily.
Just then he gets a brilliant idea. Since the four ahead are having such a good time, they probably won't notice if he and Romani leave. At least, they won't see for a little bit, and when they do notice, he and Romani will be long gone. The one next to him may not realize it, but he was kind of wanting to talk to her about something tonight. Unfortunately she has decided to be a big pain in the butt, but he hopes he can convince her to ditch the "grown-ups" and come with him. He nudges her with his elbow lighter than she has nudged him this night.
"Hey," he whispers.
"What?" she whispers back.
"What do you say we ditch these guys? I'm not sure how much fun they'll be now, especially with Anju."
"Don't be such a jerk, Link." He ignores her apparently getting mad at him.
"So what do you say?"
"Where do you plan on going?"
"It's a surprise." For a few seconds, she doesn't answer. Unknown to him, she is fighting her rational sense that says Cremia will get mad at them, and Anju and Kafei will be disappointed they didn't all spend time together. Her other self says to go for it. She always listens to her sister, and she can hang out with the couple anytime. How often does Link have something apparently devious planned? Almost never despite what someone else may think.
"Alright." He grins then and slows his pace. She follows suit, and the four ahead don't even notice as planned. When they are far enough back, he grabs her arm and ducks between two stands. He peeks out to see if their absence is noticed, but as he suspected, they have no clue. With a smirk, he pulls out his Ocarina. She only makes a face at that, but he quickly begins playing a melody she has never heard. What ever it is it's pretty, and it reminds her of her parents for some reason. Before the "Song of Soaring" takes full effect, he pulls her to him again, a big grin on his face. Her confusion only deepens when something ethereal and wing-like surrounds them. Before she can demand from him what is going on, they disappear out of sight.