PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
South of Clock Town
Day 1 – 5:45 PM
The rest of the afternoon was mostly spent finding a few things to broaden Link's abilities a little. Now, as the sun was setting, the trio found themselves in a branching grassy path south of Clock Town. One branch of the path – the one that, according to a sign, led to "Romani Ranch" – was blocked off by a gigantic boulder.
"Think there's anything useful or interesting on the other side?" Tatl said.
"Probably, knowing how things usually go" Link replied. "But… I think we'll have to wait until I get stronger explosives; my bombs won't even faze that thing. I guess we should just turn around and call it a day."
"That won't be necessary" Homura said, stepping forward and readying her Time Buckler. "You three, please get back."
Miyako, Link, and Tatl got some distance, and watched in surprise as Homura 'flickered' and appeared closer to them while at the same time a multitude of explosive ordnance appeared between her and the boulder, all flying at and impacting the giant rock at the same time in a massive compound explosion. When the smoke and dust cleared, the boulder had been blown to bits and the path was clear.
"Wow…" Link stared in awe.
"What the hell kinda weapons do that?" Tatl whispered, awed and a little frightened.
"T-This is why I'm glad Homura-senpai doesn't get really angry too easily…" Miyako murmured, feeling a twinge of fear.
"Shall we?" Homura said, gesturing to the cleared path to the ranch.
The group moved down the path, and after several minutes came upon a spacious open field, with a house, barn, and stable at one end. There were two people outside; a young woman with long, chestnut-colored hair, pointed ears, fair skin, blue eyes, and wearing a white & pink dress (which looked to hold a fairly sizable chest) sat on the ground near the house's front door, watching a little girl around Link's age, with the same long chestnut hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, wearing a white and blue dress, run around the yard, her little feet pattering along. The two girls looked up at the approaching group, but Link's eyes were on something else. Indeed, his little eyes widened in surprise and joy as he spotted a young horse whinnying at him from the pen.
"Epona!" he cried.
Link ran up to the young horse, who licked him affectionately as he embraced her.
"Oh, I was so worried about you!" he said.
"You know this little girl?" the young woman asked as she and the little one came up. "We found her wandering around yesterday."
"She's Epona; she's my friend" Link said. "When the Skull Kid attacked me and rode off with her, he said he'd 'gotten rid' of her. I feared the worst!"
"The Skull Kid… That little imp has been causing all sorts of trouble lately."
"You don't know the half of it, lady" Tatl replied.
"Who are you people?" the little girl asked.
"My name is Link" the boy smiled and bowed in greeting. "Pleased to meet you, and thank you for taking care of Epona."
"I'm Tatl!" the fairy chimed.
"I am Homura."
"A-And I'm Miyako."
The young woman smiled. "My name is Cremia. This is my little sister Romani."
"Hi~" little Romani said. She looked at Link, letting out a little giggle as she blushed lightly. "You're cute."
Link's cheeks went red; no-one had ever called him 'cute' before.
"So what brings you folks here?" Cremia asked.
"It's a bit of a long story, ma'am" Homura replied.
"Please don't call me 'ma'am'; I'm only 19. …Are you okay, dear? You seem kind of… numb."
Homura's expression fell a little. "I spent several months having to suppress my emotions, lest the ever-growing accumulated sorrow consume me. Now I no longer have to hold my emotions in, but I've been doing it for so long that it's very hard not to; the few times I manage to release my feelings, such as when I'm alone with the people I love, they come out too strong, leaving me… well, as a bit of a wreck, really. It will probably take years before my emotional state returns to what can be called a 'normal' balance."
"And from what we can tell," Tatl said, "Miyako doesn't have any huge issues like that, but she is pretty socially awkward and bad with crowds & new people, though she's a lot better with people she knows."
Miyako blushed and fidgeted.
"And as for lil' green here? …Hoo, boy. He's been through wayyy too much sh…" Tatl stopped herself, reminding herself that innocent little Romani was listening in "too much bad stuff in his life for someone his age. He's a pretty skilled little warrior, though, and stupidly brave and selfless, too. …And yeah, I… guess all the stuff he's been through hasn't gotten rid of that cute innocence he's got."
"So you're a fighter?" Romani asked Link.
"Well, I've fought a handful of monsters…" Link admitted.
"More than a handful" Homura chimed in, bringing up her Time Buckler and "magically" (actually via her presently-invisible Omnitool) projecting a screen that showed Link's fight against Odolwa.
"Goodness…" Cremia murmured. Romani, meanwhile, looked at Link in a new light, a spark of hope and an idea forming in her cute little head.
"Link apparently h-had another big adventure before this one" Miyako said. "And that one, h-he did almost all on his own, except for a different fairy companion. F-From what I understand, he wound up here in Termina while looking for her, the Skull Kid ambushed him, and things developed from there."
"…Well, why don't you kids come inside and I'll see if I have a snack to spare for you. Come along, now; don't be shy!"
As Cremia led the girls in, Romani pulled Link aside and whispered in his ear.
"If you're as good with a bow-and-arrow as I think you are," she said, "meet me in the barn in 20 minutes, after our snack."
-Break-
"You came. Good."
Link walked into the ranch's barn, finding Romani waiting there. He had convinced Homura and Miyako that he and Tatl would be alright spending the night here (which Cremia had all but insisted on) while they stayed at Clock Town in case anything happened there, and they would meet up in the morning. Now he was face-to-face with the normally-cheerful girl, who had a serious and focused expression on her face.
"They're coming tonight" she said.
"Who're 'they'?" Link asked.
"I don't really know what they are. Ghosts, or aliens from another world; I don't know. They come at night… every year, when the carnival approaches… They come riding in a bright, shining ball. A whole lot of them come down… They come here, to the barn… and they try to take our cows. I've been able to fight them off by myself the past couple times with my bow, but more and more come each time; I don't think I can do it by myself this time. And… besides the cows… I think they're after me now, too. Big sister won't believe me when I try to tell her about 'them'… We have to protect our ranch! Link… please, will you help me?"
"…Of course I will" the boy replied, as serious as he could be.
Romani's smile lit up the room. "Great!" she chirped. "If it's anything like the last few times, they'll start showing up at 2:30 in the morning, and they'll flee when the sun comes up. We just have to hold out for that long. Think you can do it?"
He nodded.
"Okay. Meet me outside the barn at 2:20. We'll work together to protect my home…"
-SCENE BREAK-
Romani Ranch – Day 2, 2:29 AM
The two little kids waited anxiously, bows in hand and quivers full of arrows slung over their back, along with Link's sword and shield; a few boxes of extra arrows were right behind them. Cremia was asleep inside, blissfully unaware of the danger that her baby sister would soon be in.
"There!"
Romani pointed to a large glowing golden spark of light flying down from the starry sky, soon hovering over the field. In the field around and beneath it, several strange beings began to warp in – floating above the ground, with huge purple-and-black 'heads' with grayish featureless faces and gold eyes that shone like headlights, along with vaguely-conical bodies with purple and black plaid-like coloring & pattern, and two long, thin arms tipped with bright orange two-fingered hands with sharp claws. As one, they began to slowly drift in the direction of the ranch.
"Here they come!" Romani readied her bow. "We can't let any of them get past us, Link!"
"Right" the boy readied his own weapon.
As two of the beings got close, one of them spotted Romani and rushed at her with claws bared, its speed almost tripling. She coolly fired an arrow that struck right between its brightly-glowing eyes; it fell backward and vanished in what looked like a burst of orange flame. The second one rushed in, only for Link's arrow to dispatch it as well. The rest of the ghosts/aliens/whatever-they-were all started heading toward the two prepubescent obstacles to their goals, while more began beaming in to join the advance.
The next several minutes were quite hectic, as the 'beings' began to attack from multiple directions, and Link & Romani split to cover the two main approaches at once. Their arrows flew, striking down one 'being' after another, but the entities kept coming. Romani spun to avoid one ghost/alien's claw-swipe, putting an arrow between its eyes, and then fired a distance shot at another trying to circle around the house. Suddenly, she squealed as one being's hand grabbed her wrist, immediately pulling her close and covering her mouth with its other hand, making her drop her bow. She tried to scream out for Link, but he couldn't hear her. The being began to drag her away, and she saw the golden light flying closer. The girl's imagination filled her head with horrible possibilities, of her being strapped to a cold metal table while the creatures cut her open and rummaged through her organs while she was conscious, or a wicked machine violating every one of her orifices at once. Tears of terror came to her eyes as the light drew closer.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!-!-!"
The alien turned just in time to take a downward-stabbing sword in the face, Link's enraged tackle driving his blade through its skull and knocking Romani out of its grasp. He picked her up and carried her as he made an adrenaline- and magic-fueled dash back toward the house; as he carried her, Romani caught sight of the determined look on Link's young face, highlighted by the starlight, and she felt her cheeks heat up and her heart pound with something other than fear as she let out a quiet gasp. He came to a stop outside the barn, gently setting her down next to her bow.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Y… Y-Yeah" she nodded. "Link, I…"
They were interrupted as another of the creatures rushed at them, and Link fired an arrow into its face at close range, dispelling it. Romani shook the cobwebs out of her mind and retrieved her weapon, joining her little savior in continuing to defend her home. Unfortunately, the aliens/ghosts now seemed rather angry, and started to come in greater numbers. Three of them charged at the two kids, and Link fumbled an arrow. As he tried to properly realign it, Romani shot one of the aliens, but the other two kept coming before she or Link could prepare another shot. They drew near… when suddenly, a larger, heavier arrow went into and partially through the head of one of the beings, knocking it back into the other one. Link and Romani turned to look where the shot had come from, and Romani gasped as the person responsible loaded another round into her heavy crossbow as she stepped out from the house.
"Get away from my baby sister!-!" Cremia roared.
She fired another arrow into the cranium of the third ghost/alien, and then hurried over to Romani and Link.
"I'm assuming these are the 'fairy tale boogeymen', as I called them before?" she asked.
"Yes" Romani replied, sounding rather annoyed. "Now do you believe me?"
"Argue later, you two" Link said, interrupting Cremia's apology before it could start. "There's more coming!"
Indeed, the enemy had regrouped and was now attacking again. Link and Romani readied their bows, while Cremia loaded another arrow into her crossbow. Aliens attacked, arrows flew, and aliens (maybe) died. Cremia showed that she knew full well how to use her crossbow, sometimes scoring two kills with one bolt, while Link's shield and sword saw use alongside his bow, and Romani displayed her surprising-for-her-age accuracy.
The enemy started coming in even larger waves closer together, though, and the trio were soon being pushed back toward the barn. Cremia fired a bolt through the heart of one of the beings, but then another one silently hovered down from the roof behind her. She turned in surprise, feeling a sudden chill and seeing the creature's claw coming at her…
And the chill rapidly grew as what looked like a mirror made of ice rapidly formed off to her left. From it shot a blur of motion, which resolved into Miyako blocking the creature's attack. The purple-haired Puella Magi formed a hand-seal, and then thrusted the hand at the being, forming and firing a spear of ice through its chest. She then turned to an approaching pack of the things and formed another hand-seal sequence:
"Hyōton: Sensatsu Hyōsho!"
Dozens of small ice needles formed around her and fired at the approaching beings, skewering them and knocking them back. Then, Homura leapt from the roof, taking a deep breath as she formed a seal sequence:
"Katon: Hōsenka!"
She launched a barrage of little fireballs from her mouth, striking down at least five of the ghosts/aliens, and landed amongst the others.
"What's the situation?" she asked.
"We have to hold out until sunrise" Link replied as he fired an arrow at another 'being'.
Homura looked to the east, where the purplish-orange glow of pre-dawn was already visible. She then nodded, drawing a plasma sword in one hand and a Sangheili plasma pistol in the other, while Miyako readied her hammer. The ghosts/aliens charged, and the team rose to meet them.
As the early morning wore on, it became clear that the ghosts/aliens just couldn't overcome all five of them (well, six if you count the little bit of help Tatl was able to provide). In a last-ditch effort, a massive horde of them materialized and rushed the ranch all at once. But then, just as they drew near, the Sun crested the hills. Its rays of light seemed to burn the invaders, who teleported out en masse. The glowing ball of light then shot upward into the heavens, disappearing. Romani and Link let out twin sighs of relief, the tension visibly leaving their bodies.
"…We did it" Romani said softly… before then cheering and making a jump for joy. "We did it!"
Link tiredly stowed away his bow, and then felt as Homura's hand was placed on his head in a friendly gesture.
"I'm so sorry" Cremia said as she embraced her little sister. "All this time I thought you were confusing a bad dream for reality, or pulling a prank on me… But you've been defending our ranch – our home – all by yourself for so long against those… things… I'm so sorry I doubted you, Romani."
"…It's okay" the little girl replied as she hugged her big sis back. "You know now, and we won. Heck, maybe they won't even come back next year now that they know what we can do. …How did you know to come help us?"
"I heard Link's shout; it woke me up, and I looked out my bedroom window to see you two fighting those monsters all by yourselves. I couldn't let you two be out there against all that alone…"
"M-Miss Cremia?" Link said. "How about we head inside and I'll tell you all about what we're involved in? I think you've earned the right to know the whole story."
"…Alright. I'll make us all breakfast and then we'll sit down and talk while we eat. Come long now."
The young woman led the way and the others followed, Link blushing lightly as Romani led him by the hand.
-Break-
"…And that's where we stand" Link concluded. "We're going to be jumping back to yesterday 6AM as many times as it takes, anchoring events in time as we go, until we can stop the Skull Kid's mad plan of destruction."
"…Goodness…" Cremia breathed out. "Saving our world, right after you got done saving yours… And you've been more or less alone until Homura & Miyako met you?"
"Well, Zelda helped me whenever she could, but… she was in hiding a lot, or busy saving other people as Shiek, so… There was Navi, but she disappeared; as I said, looking for her was how I got caught up in this mess."
"We will anchor the events that have taken place here, from our arrival to this conversation and beyond, in time" Homura said. "That way, saving this ranch from 'Them' will not be undone when we go back to the beginning of yesterday. And you will both remember all of this."
"That's good" Romani replied. "I really, really don't wanna forget. …Or would the proper phrasing be, I don't want to have never known it in the first place? Um…"
Cremia let out a soft giggle as she tousled her baby sister's hair, making the little girl let out a cute little annoyed groan at the childish gesture (at least part of her annoyance being at the fact that, despite her desire to seem grown up, that gesture from Cremia still made part of her feel happy and safe and smiley just as it had done since she was a toddler). Cremia then turned to Link, who was seated beside her. She looked down at his innocent blue eyes, feeling sadness and pity.
"You poor little thing…" she said softly, reaching out to gently caress his cheek. "I just realized… Your mother died when you were an infant. You grew up in a village of perpetual children, as an outcast through no fault of your own, and then you got thrown into a dangerous battle to save Hyrule, being hurt and frightened and exposed to all sorts of terrible things. And the few friendships you made along the way were lifted clear out of the timestream, and were distant even before that. Link… you've never been given the basic affection and love all children should have. You've never even been hugged, have you?"
"Uh…" the little boy thought long and hard on his life. "N-No" he admitted. "Is… Is it really that big a deal?"
Cremia didn't say anything. She removed Link's pointy green hat, setting it aside, and then reached out and gently pulled him into an embrace. She held him close, his head to her soft chest, one hand slowly rubbing his back while the other stroked his hair. Link let out a quiet gasp, eyes going wide, as the warmth and softness of this gesture stirred up emotions within his heart, ones he didn't really know how to handle. His body, normally in a state of constant battle-ready tension, relaxed in Cremia's arms, his eyes growing misty as he felt sadness, confusion, and – more and more by the second – comfort, joy, safety and security, and the like. Cremia very slowly, almost imperceptibly rocked him back and forth, and he let out the tiniest of whimpers as he squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the sudden urge to cry.
"It's okay, honey" she whispered to him. "You spend today and tomorrow here, with us, and when you reset time you spend whatever free time you have here if you want to, as well. I'll take care of you, I promise. Does that sound good, sweetie?"
Link nodded, letting out a quiet sniffle. Cremia's gentle hand turned his head up to look at her, and he let out a slightly ragged breath as he looked at her warm, comforting smile. "Thank you…" he murmured. "I… I don't know what's wrong with me…"
"You're being given something you've missed and needed all these years without even knowing you needed it. Little boys shouldn't spend their first 10 years without hugs, without someone to take care of them." She pulled his face back into the hug, and looked at Miyako and Homura while still hugging him. "You two girls are welcome to stay here whenever you like as well" she said. "You've earned it. I'm afraid we only have one guest bed, though, but it's big enough to fit the both of you, no problem."
"T-Thank you" Miyako gave a little bow of gratitude, which Homura mirrored.
Slowly, reluctantly, Cremia let go of Link, who was still looking at her with his big blue eyes. She giggled. "I've got to go check something, Link" she said. "I'll be right back; I promise."
The little boy nodded as his self-appointed caretaker stood up and left the room.
"We'll go check the perimeter" Homura said. "Maybe there'll be something left behind that can tell us what those… things were."
She and Miyako left too, leaving Link alone with Romani.
"You'll be okay, Link" Romani said with a little smile. "Big sis will make up your hug deficit, with interest. While you're here with us, you can sleep in my bed."
"But… Where will you sleep?" Link asked.
Romani's smile grew as she blushed. "In my bed" she replied softly.
After a few seconds, Link blushed as well. "U-Uh…"
Romani giggled, before she then scooted closer to him. "Link… You saved our ranch… You…" her little hands grabbed his. "You saved me… I don't wanna think about what those things would've done to me if you hadn't stopped them. You're a little hero…"
And then she leaned closer to him, half-closing her eyes, and kissed him. Link's face went bright red as he realized he was being given his first kiss, but after a few seconds he kissed back as best he could. It was nothing heavy or particularly passionate, just a closed-mouth kiss, but all the same it had his and her little hearts thumping. After several seconds Romani pulled away.
"Soft…" Link whispered, barely audible.
Romani let out an adorable little giggle that, combined with her blushing smile, made Link's heart flutter.
"Yours too…" she whispered.
The two slowly broke apart just as Cremia returned.
"Okay…" the young woman said. "I can see the girls starting a patrol along the ranch's borders… Come with me, Link."
"What for?" the boy asked, even as he took her offered hand and allowed her to pull him to his feet.
"Well… You're tense, and you're a little dirty, and I can tell you're also sleepy… as is Romani; you two didn't sleep a wink last night, understandably. So~… First, you're gonna come with me, and I'm gonna give you a nice, relaxing bath. After I've bathed you and brushed your hair, I'll put you and Romani down for a nice nap; while you're napping, I'll wash those clothes of yours. While they're being washed, I'm afraid you'll have to wear one of Romani's nightgowns to bed for your nap; you're the same size as her, so it'll fit, though her nightgowns are all pinks and whites with frills. *Giggle* You'll look so cute~. Once you've woken up, I'm going to take a look at those scratches you've earned in your little adventure so far, make sure they're healing properly, and then…
Romani giggled as she watched her nurturing big sis lead Link away, his little hand held in hers, as Cremia found a new 'target' for her mothering. As he walked and half-listened, Link's cheeks were pink as all this 'nurturing' worked past his defenses (and at the knowledge that the pretty mama-like lady was gonna bathe him), but at the same time he felt happiness and a sense of security and comfort in his little heart.
Maybe this whole 'saving Termina' thing wouldn't be so bad, after all…
-CHAPTER END-
For you Link/Zelda fans worried about the Link/Romani in this chapter: Look at my works. Look at Negi. Look at Teana. Look at Theta Team. Polyamorous relationships are not exactly unheard of in the Teana's Travels 'verse. Besides, little Link's got a big enough heart for more than one girl, wouldn't you say?
Anyway, next time is the happenings in Snowfall and the Goron Village, and Snowhead Temple. It may take a little while before the chapter's up, but rest assured it will come, likely (though not 100% definitely) before New Year's, and MAYBE (no promises) before Christmas.