A/N:

Guys, I am so sorry that it took so long to post this but I have rewrote this chapter SO many times. At first I was going to write about the Hudsons ascent but I thought that would bore you to death... so I decided to skip forward a bit... I hope you really DO enjoy this chapter because I worked hard to make it not so boring as the last few were.

Please, R&R. Propose some changes you would like to see, maybe?

Eyes of blue cobalt shot open and a scream was swallowed down where it became engulfed in the sea of emotions rolling about in the youngest Lord of White Tower's gut. His hands, scrapped and even slightly burnt, brushed through his hair as the ten year old sat up with a groan. His whole body hurt from the almost tortuous ascent up Death Mountain. Tektites were not an unusually dangerous foe as long as one knew to stay away from their bite... but when one is dealing with several at a time it can be hard to avoid all damage.

Luckily, Link had his brothers at his side. Thomas and Rowan had kept many of the creatures at bay while Navi helped Link find the weakest points on the ones he had to face... despite the protection the ten year old had somehow found himself with a bruised rib from a spill he took fighting. That, however, was the worse of his injuries.

Lincoln was indeed sore. That was all too apparent to him but he shoved the aching of his body away to think about his dream. It still persisted and even though he had so many other things to worry about... his nightmare was at the forefront.

Especially since he could now identify the girl on the horse.

Zelda.

"It's good that you are awake." Rowan's voice cut in and his green eyes caught the fire light outside the cracked door. His red hair was dark from the water dripping from it and clung to his cheeks as he dried it with a small towel. "Come down... The Gorons don't have much in the ways of food but they have hot springs..." He smirked. "The water will make you feel a lot better, Little Brother." He opened to door and allowed the light to spill into the room which caused the youth to cringe. "Besides, we are going to need your help convincing Darunia to open that door."

"I thought Thomas-"

"Thomas gave up nearly an hour ago..." A frown. "And now he is asleep by the door... I was on my way to throw this bucket of water at him." The wooden pail was given a small shake. "When Navi came to tell me you weren't waking up..." Concern filled those emerald orbs and Rowan sighed. "She... She said you were having another nightmare."

Link frowned, hand lingering on the scars on his neck from when he had first experienced his night terror. "This is the first time in a while..."

"You should take the draught th-"

"More draughts?" The boy threw his covers off himself, revealing the long night-shirt he wore, and hopped down from the bunk carved from stone. The Gorons slept, ate, and lived on rock... so the Hudsons had to make due. This had not helped the soreness or the lad's sleep and, at that moment, it did not help his temper either. "Rowan, I am tired of having to rely on those- those... damn potions."

The Knight rose a brow at his little brother's curse but made no remark instead he gave a sad sigh. "Then I cannot help you... You will have to fight them yourself..." A pregnant pause filled the space between their gazes until Rowan took a deep breath. "I have to go wake Thomas... we will make breakfast soon... go wash up and come find us. Navi will be along any minute."

"Where did she go?"

He chuckled. "She was trying to find a way into Darunia's room, of course." Green eyes gave a meaningful look. "Navi is going to come to you... please be careful if you happen to get lost. Goron City is safe for the most part but there are rooms that not even Thomas or I go into... understand?"

Link frowned. "In other words wait until Navi comes to get me then go straight to you. Yes, I understand."

"Good." The door creaked as the whoosh of air from Rowan's departure pushed it.

The ten-year old stared at the spot where his brother had stood with a contemplating expression. "Zelda... if I am on the road to stop that man... then why are you still running in my dreams?" Resigning to the knowledge that he may not know until he returns, Link managed to light a torch with his spark rocks before Navi flew into the room mumbling to herself. The Lordling crossed his arms over his chest and rose a brow. "A Rupee for your thoughts?"

The Fae paused and turned her head with slightly confused face. "You don't have to pay me..." Her eyes widened and her lips formed an 'o' of surprised. "OH, this is one of those weird Hylian sayings... isn't it?"

Link smirked. "You have lived with us how long now?"

"My brain is too fried at the moment to attempt any sort of calculating." Navi frowned, running her fingers through her hair so that it remained out of her face. "Two years or so..."

"Are you 100% sure of that?" Link laughed, watching his friend glare at him. "Any luck finding a way into Darunia's room?"

"Maybe?" Navi shrugged, fluttering with her grey eyes still half hazed in thought. She shook her head. "I'm not even sure it'll work but it won't hurt to try... so how about you get dressed and we'll go try it out, hm?"

He glanced down at his night shirt and laughed. "Not Lordly enough for you?"

"Get dressed, Your Lordship." Navi rolled her eyes and slipped outside to give the boy some privacy. While he was gone she thought on how she may approach him about his reoccurring nightmare but eventually she decided it was better if she waited until he brought the topic up.

To her surprise, he did so as she lead him to where she remembered the other Hudsons were cooking breakfast.

"When are you planning on questioning me? It's unlike you to go so long without speaking your mind."

The Fae glanced at him and stopped so that the two could let a happily, humming Goron pass. "I wanted you to bring it up..." She waved her hand to usher him forward. "I know that you don't like taking those potions Darion gave you-

"But?" He was already scowling.

"But, I think you should keep taking them."

Link's face contorted in an angry grimace and his blue eyes turned icy though Navi refused to allow it to intimidate her. "I am not going to continue to-"

She knew if she let him finish then he would win the argument... so with a harsh tone she cut him off. "Listen here, Lincoln Hudson, you need all the uninterrupted sleep that you can get. You are entirely too stressed out for a ten-year old and if I can't keep you smiling then you in a permanent state of pissed off or, worse, a nervous wreck. You are going to keep taking those draughts because you cannot afford to let those dreams drive you crazy. We'll worry about those dreams when we can do it together." Her voice broke. "I am so worried about you, Link. You are my partner. You are my world. I love you. You are my brother, my family. You hurt and I hurt. We live, we hurt, all together... Got me?"

Link snatched Navi out of the air and pressed her to his chest. Squeezing only as hard as she could handle. "I love you too, Navi... Calm down... I'll take the draughts... for now let's eat... okay?"

"Okay. It's settled then." She broke the embrace as best a Faerie could and smiled. "Follow me... if I remembered correctly then we are almost there!"

The Lordling followed, sighing and shaking his head as he did so. He knew this day was not going to be ordinary.

The Gorons they passed were chatty, happy, bright kind of people but there was a nagging sense of sadness that seemed to lurk in the corners of the cheery halls decorated with murals of precious stones and paintings of what looked like self portraits. Link stopped at one and frowned. "This is missing stones..."

"A lot of them..."

A hiccup sounded and large brown eyes set in skin looking more akin to Baltic brown granite than the flesh pink set on Link's own bones. Those brown eyes, speckled with spots of green, were tears threatened to brim. The face disappeared as quickly as it was seen and it left the two companions confused.

Navi rose a brow. "You don't think...?"

"This may have something to do with Darunia... we need to get there fast."

"Not before you eat." Navi warned while shaking one fist before pushing him forward as best she could. "So let's go, yeah?"

Thomas was the first to noticed them as they looked up. His brown hair was dripping and his dark chocolate-colored tunic was thrown over a rack set up crudely by a "fireplace" which was nothing more than a hole cut straight down into the volcano. The thirty year old Knight was sitting, cross-legged, on the floor on what looked ato be folded blanket. "Sleep well, Little Link?"

The boy glared, knowing full well what his brother meant. "Perfectly fine." A little short of a speaking in a low growl, Link unclenched his teeth and sighed. "Don't worry about me." Navi's tiny weight on his shoulder was a comfort though her whispering about his bad temper annoyed him.

Rowan chuckled. "You do realized how hard you make that, don't you?" He sat across from Thomas, between them was a low table of carved from quartz, and was spooning in a stew that smelled odd to the ten-year old. "We have worried about you since you were born, Link, and if you think you bring engaged is going to change than..." Thomas smiled and they laughed before Rowan finished. "You are sorely mistaken."

"I hate you both. You're both too happy." Lincoln took his seat, ignoring the tongue that Thomas wagged at him. "What's in that...?" The Lordling finally asked as the two Knights feasted on their food.

"Meat... of some kind, beans, gravy, and what ever spice Rowan decided to threw into it." Thomas shrugged, taking another spoonful into his mouth and swallowing it. "This would be where I remind you, as the responsible Knight and adult that I am, that you need to eat... and that you cannot hate something if you do not try it."

Rowan rose a brow. "So, is that why you and Xav-"

"Shut up. Shut up, now." Thomas glared, stabbing his spoon into his brother's chest. "That was taken out of complete context. I am a Ladies man."

"Bu-"

"We are not talking about this in front of our little brother!" Thomas shoveled his stew into his mouth, glaring at the red-headed laughing Knight, and huffed.

Navi smirked, rolling her eyes. "Is it just me or do you both slowly become two-year olds the further you get away from the Castle?" Neither entertained her with an answer but she enjoyed the mixture of offended and angry looks she received. "Oh, my Goddess, you both are hopeless." The Faerie then turned to her best friend. "Anyway, Link, you do need to eat."

"I know." Though he did not have an appetite, Link managed to finish the plentiful portion that Rowan poured into his bowl. The three Hudsons cleaned up their messes, Thomas put his tunic back on, and soon all four where on their way to Darunia's room. "Have you two noticed anyone... eating the mosaics?"

Thomas rose a brow. "I have seen them missing stones but I haven't seen the Gorons actually eating them, no... although that is an interesting development."

"Speaking of an interesting development, I heard that Dodongo Cavern collapsed." Rowan's features were set in a serious way and his emerald eyes lost the mirth that had previously had.

Thomas rolled his eyes. "Collapsed? We would have been informed of that before we even arrived. That isn't women gossip, you know. That is a tragedy."

"But, that would explain Darunia locking himself up... wouldn't it?"

Link shook his head at Navi. "No, as far as I know the Royal Family has a good relationship with the Gorons... my Father is personal friends with Darunia... well, at least he was with Darunia's Father."

"Even still, we would have been informed." Rowan stopped at the doorway before the entrance to the lowest level. A curious spinning jar twirled in the center of the room before the only shop in the entire City and Link lost his train of thought as he watched the vase. "I am a Knight of the Realm,"

Rowan rolled his eyes at this but did not interrupt.

"It is my sworn duty to help all Peoples. Darunia would have asked mine and my fellow Brothers In Arms help... though I am sure the Gorons would be able to deal with rock all on their own since it is part of their diet." Rowan glanced down at Link and frowned. "However, the disappearing gems in the mosiacs are a curious clue."

"All the more reason for us to get an audience with the Big Man."

Link nodded and walked with his brothers toward the stone slab that served as the Goron Leader's door. The ten year old saw nothing that gave any hint of opening it and after a while he grew frustrated. "I am going to go ask a few Gorons-"

"We already have." Rowan sighed, both hands pressed against the only cold stone in the entire City.

Link scowled and walked away. "You probably did not ask the right questions."

Rowan raised a brow as the ten year old walked away then turned to Thomas who merely shrugged. "Navi, go with him, please."

"Already on it!" The Fae shouted, zipping off after the boy... It was then that she noticed something peculiar. Her grey eyes stared up at the ceiling where an odd platform suspended far above. "What... the- HEY!"

Link stopped and turned. "What?"

She pointed up. "Do you think...?"

Catching what she was hinting at, Link nodded. "Yeah, I do. Come on!" Together, they dodged Gorons as they raced up the spiraling pathways until they arrived breathless at their destination.

A lone Goron sat, looking quite pitiful, peering back at them. "Hello-Goro, what are you doing up here, Goro?"

Navi rose a brow. "Why does he-"

Link hushed her with a finger and smiled as friendly as he could. "Hello! My name is Lincoln Hudson. I am the Lord Raven's son... We are here on business with Darunia. Would you happen to know why he is not allowing visitors?"

The Goron, his round form looked like smooth brown limestone, did not hid the tears that suddenly shed. "Yes-Goro, I know, Goro... Our food supply has been cut off, Goro. We are hungry- Goro! Big Brother must have taken that delicious, red stone with me, Goro... all I wanted was a taste, Goro, a little bite!"

"You tried to eat the Spi-"

"Navi." Link frowned, "Hush." The boy sighed. "Thank you... I am sorry... don't worry. We here to help!" He smiled even as Navi glared at him. "Do you know the way into your, uh, Big Brother's room?"

"His room, Goro?" The tears were evaporated but the dark streaks on his stone face remained even as the Goron wiped at his cheeks. "He said he would only let the Royal Family's Messenger in, Goro... He sent a letter to the King, Goro, earlier yesterday."

Link smiled. "Thank you!" As he turned away he heard the Goron shout out.

"Please, hurry, we may starve... I am so hungry, Goro!"

The ten-year old did not know how long the Gorons had been without food but he did not care. They were suffering no matter how hard they tried to hide the fact.

Thomas had a busted lip when Link arrived, breathing hard and flushed, and both brothers made a face at the other before asking, simultaneously, "What happened to you?"

Link took a deep breath and told them of the Goron hanging far above their heads. "You?"

Rowan chuckled. "He slipped trying to push the door and collided with the wall."

Thomas scowled. "I can-"

"Be quiet for a moment." Link broke through earning himself dagger eyes from his brother. "The Royal Messenger... he plays a song to show he is-"

"Yes!" Thomas exclaimed, before wincing and pressing his tunic to his lip to catch the fresh droplets of blood bubbling from his wounded lip.

Link slipped his hand into the pocket sewn into his green tunic and retrieved the ocarina Saria had given him. He approached the door, pressed the instrument to his lips, and played a tune he had not known would be so important...

Zelda's Lullaby.

He pulled the ocarina from his mouth and waited. Navi perched herself atop his shoulder, resting a hand against his cheek, and whispered. "Do you think Impa sees the future? Because that is just weird."

The door opened before Link could respond and when he turned to his brothers they were smiling.

"Looks like we may not be as needed as we thought, eh, Thomas?"

Thomas smirked. "I make him laugh. You get to be his nanny."

The forty-year old smacked the back of the brown headed Knight then proceeded to walk forward, pulling Link along with him. "Put your Lord face on, Little Brother. Here is where your brains shall truly be tested..."

The shadows were dark when they first entered, leading Link to believe that Darunia had just been sitting in the dark. Torchlight soon spilled in and illuminated a cozy room with a thatch rug beneath their boots. The walls were decorated with various finger painted murals depicting a festival of some sort... it all seemed cheery in comparison to the grim look sitting upon the Goron Leader's face.

Darunia's skin was a hard brown, volcanic rock. He had the symbol of the Goron, a diamond with three triangles above like a crown, that were burned into his hard flesh. He had smokey quartz growing from his head that looked very much like a beard that matched the spikes ascending from the middle of his head. His eyes, like his People's, were glossy like smooth pebbles that shined blue. His mouth was set in a firm frown and he glared at the entering Hudsons. "You are Raven's boys, aren't you? Hmph, I was hoping you were the King's Messenger..."

Rowan took the lead as the eldest which Link was grateful for. "Yes, we are. We arrive-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. The little tyke is getting married to the King's little tyke for what ever purpose." Darunia's eyebrows, darker than his skin tone, furrowed down and his mouth twitch, angrily. "Hmph, as happy as I am that you Hylian's are rejoicing, we Goron have worse problems than-"

"What ever help you need than you shall have it." Thomas cut in and crossed his arms over his chest as if to protect his ribs from Darunia's clenched fists. "We came here to request your presence at the Royal Wedding to show unity amoung Hyrule bu-"

"No, HE came here to request it." Darunia thrust a finger at Link and glared deep into the boy's cobalt eyes. "If he is going to be King then I expect him to at least impress me."

Fighting the urge to run from this towering Rock-Man, Link stood firm and countered. "What will impress you then?"

"Nothing a shrimp like you could do."

Rowan opened his mouth to return the Goron's attention to him but Link held his hand up to silenced him. Darunia was doing this on purpose he was sure. "You have no idea what I am capable of." Link's pride swelled up and his temper hissed. He was not going to be made to look like a child. "Will it and it shall be done."

Thomas frowned and stepped between the two's intense gazes. "He's a brave boy, that is without a doubt, Darunia, but he is still a boy." The Knight did not acknowledge the growl he heard behind him from the boy. "We've heard a sinister rumor, friend. About your Caverns... is that what as you so... frustrated?"

"That is our business." Darunia's eyes narrowed. "I don't need another charmer."

"Charmer? What do you mean?" Rowan asked, eyes flashing to Link who shared his same look of worry.

"That Gerudo King, Ganondorf, was here to ask for the Spiritual Stone for the same reason you are here- Unity." Darunia's fist clenched, harder, and Link could swear he could see blood dripping from his hands. "When I refused, he caused a rock slide and covered our Cavern's entrance... Dark Magick, hmph, a coward only hides behind such power... and this would not be such a problem if he had not infected it." A large hand was banished out and he shoved his hand away. "He is a friend of the Throne and so the Throne shall not be a friend of mine until the Ganondorf is here to pay for his crimes! We cannot eat any Rocks on our Mount... that are poisoned and so we shall die unless the infection is cleared." His growled. "Edric shall do that himself. No other."

"Surely there is anothe-"

Darunia snarled. "Get out. You sweet words, sicken me!"

Rowan shoved his two Brothers out with a sore expression and as the door slammed behind them all released a breathe that had not know they were holding.

The next chapter will be much better... it gets a bloody. ;) I hope Darunia wasn't too OOC. I wanted him to be grumpy and angry... which would completely suit a leader in his predicament... he will show his jolly side though! See you next time!

Much love,

Queaky