Sorry guys! No new chapter! But after a month I kind of noticed the paragraphs were off so I have just fixed this quickly! - 11.11.2013
Whoho! I am back!
Again I am totally sorry for the super late update. However, this time I had to play Skyward Sword! I hope you forgive me for my obsession... Also I had to watch a very awesome anime (Beelzebub) to widen my horizon on the topic of cute babies!
Chapter ... Iforgotwhichnumberweareatand toolazytocheck!
It was yet another typical morning in Ordon village. The sun not yet at her highest peeked through the fluttering leaves there were some clouds in the horizon but they weren't threatening the perfect late summer day which was to come.
When Link awoke from his deep sleep, he was at first still sleepy and didn't register his surroundings or notice he was lying on the floor for some reason. He could have been in Gerudo desert and he wouldn't have been the wiser.
However after rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and yawning widely, he began to recognize his surroundings: the little window through which the early morning sun caressed his skin, the rather messy kitchen with the little stove and some chairs, his bed with his little Sephiria on it.
Which answered the question why he had slept on the floor: when he had come home yesterday he noticed there wasn't a spare bed where Sephiria could sleep on. There was only one bed they could share. Link however had been afraid he would push Sephiria off the bed due to his rather restless way of sleeping. So he had ended up sleeping on the floor.
He was home. Back in Ordon. Back in his treehouse which wasn't lonely anymore.
Now this wasn't the home of one lone hero or the home of one lone hero and some undesired guests anymore. Now it was the home of a hero and his daughter!
Said daughter was still sleeping peacefully. Link, however, knew it wouldn't be like this forever. His little sunshine was bound to wake soon and would demand some food.
So Link being the responsible parent he was, began to prepare some breakfast. In the cupboard he found some bread which may have been a little hard but was far from being bad nonetheless. he also found some cheese but after smelling it he thought it would be better to eat his bread without the cheese.
Then he went over to the little basket of baby necessaries he had gotten from Uli yesterday, whining silently due to the memory.
Flashback
After tending to Epona by making sure she had enough water and unsaddling her, Link had to figure out how he could climb the ladder. His first attempts were horrible. There were variations from balancing Sephiria on his head, which was way to risky, to pressing Sephiria tightly to his torso, which made her very uncomfortable leading to Sephiria crying. Link decided that Sephiria's sobs were the most terrifying sounds he has ever heard.
Which resulted in Link's new resolution: never make Sephiria cry again.
In the end the solution to his problem was quite simple. He cradled Sephiria with his dominant hand and climbed with his dominant left hand as support.
Unfortunately, the process of getting into his house had taken so much time that he hadn't had the time to prepare himself mentally for Uli who was his mother figure and who wasn't nervous of telling his mother he had a kid.
So you would understand the nervous sweat that had begun to form on Link's forehead when he heard Uli climbing up the ladder and knocking loudly on his door.
"Link? Are you there? Colin told me to come here and that you had a baby with you."
Carefully Link peeked out of his door fully prepared to face an enraged Uli, however he where he expected to find a fearful reincarnation of Ganondorf he only saw Uli with a concerned expression on her face.
"Is everything alright?" she asked seeing his anxious expression.
Flabbergasted Link just nodded and opened the door for Uli.
"My, my Link you look good. I'm relieved there is life again in your eyes."
Link just blinked and blushed at the unexpected compliment.
"So where is this child you found?" Uli asked looking around the room.
Link pointed towards the table. Uli's face lit up and she went over to the table. Still perplexed Link followed her.
"Oh how adorable. Link you are really a kind soul, taking care of a lost baby. But worry no more. I shall take care of her until you found the child's parents." Uli said and reached to take Sephiria.
Link froze at these words. Uli was going to take Sephiria away? In a flash his hand shot forward to stop Uli. "Err... There seems to be a misunderstanding."
Uli just looked at him quizzical waiting for him to elaborate.
"Well... You see..." Link chuckled uneasily and scratched his head sheepishly. "Sephiria here. Well, she isn't just anyone's daughter... and I didn't find her by coincidence... Well, because... Ah, how should I put this." Link paused and blushed slightly. "She is my daughter."
Then there was silence. Link had closed one eye and with the other he regarded Uli who was blinking uncomprehensively.
"Link, dear. I think I have just misheard what you just said... This child isn't your daughter, right?" Laughing uneasily she turned towards Sephiria who watched her curiously. "These eyes... It can't be..."
Then she turned towards Link again and began rambling. "You better have a good explanation, young man! What were you thinking? A father... You are still so young and not even married! Or have you kept your marriage from us just as you have your daughter until now? Here in Ordon we don't keep secrets from each other since we are all family. Have you forgotten about this when you were out in Hyrule? Have you forgotten that we would be there for you when you needed us?"
Link just waved his hands around defensively. "Wait, Uli. I can explain. I only found out about Sephiria on my last trip. I haven't been keeping her a secret."
This seemed to appease Uli a little. "Okay, Link. However this still is quite the predicament you are in. You are a father now and you have to support your family. You are still so young. Are you ready to settle down now that you have a daughter and her mother to take care of. Speaking of the mother, where is she?"
Link froze, pain was evident in his eyes. "She..." he whispered hoarsely. Uli's eyes widened because of Link's pain. "...is not in this world anymore."
Then it was silent again.
"Oh, Link. I'm so sorry." Uli whispered thinking that the child's mother had died in child-birth and hugged Link.
Link was not realizing what he had implicated with "she is not in this world anymore", however he returned the hug anyway, he needed the comfort: his girlfriend was one world away and now he had to look after their child. Not that he minded Sephiria was his little darling, but he could not help but think his already complicated life had become more complicated once again. How much he missed the days that only consisted of getting up, looking after goats and sleeping again. Those simple days he couldn't return to anymore. He had experienced too much to sit idle for all his life.
"I miss her, Uli." Link whispered and Uli looked at him with compassion and was surprised when she saw a glimmer of hope in Link's eyes. "But. She got Sephiria here. Zelda told me there had to be a link between our worlds still. She is looking into this right now, I feel there is still hope for me and Sephiria to see Midna!"
"Link? Isn't this Midna already dead?" Uli asked uneasily not wanting to crush Link's hope.
"Who told you that?" Link asked frowning.
"Why, you of course. You said she wasn't in this world anymore!"
Link blinked. "Ah. Well I didn't mean it that way. You see Midna is the Princess of another world. I helped her to regain her throne and well we kind of fell in love. Then just before she went back and cut the connection to Hyrule for our safety... I got her pregnant."
Uli was silent and sat down on a nearby chair coming to terms that her little Link impregnated the princess of another world which was inaccessible and that the product of their love was laying on the table, sleeping. "Why is your daughter here then?"
"Her people had bad history with Hyrulains and won't accept half a Hyrulian as their throne heir. Midna was afraid they would kill Sephiria. So she somehow send her here."
Uli was silent again and Link shifted uneasily from foot to foot. After some time Sephiria began to stir and open her eyes. This caught Uli's attention again. "She has your eyes."
Link nodded proudly. His grin, however slipped, when he heard Sephiria crying. "What is it? Is something wrong?" Link asked in panic and picked her up. "Shhh. Everything is okay." Unfortunately this didn't calm her down, Sephiria's crying only got louder.
Link unable to cope with this situation turned to Uli helplessly. "Uli! Do something!"
Uli giggled at this sight after some time her giggles became a lighthearted laughter.
"This isn't the time be laugh!" Link shouted worried. "Perhaps she became ill on the trip. Or she had a terrible nightmare. She must miss Midna!"
"Oh, Link. Calm down." Uli told him after her laughter had subsided. "When a baby cries there are only some things that could be wrong. One: you need to change the diaper. Two: it wants attention. And three: it's hungry. Sephiria clearly doesn't want attention and she doesn't stink. So consequently she must be hungry."
Uli smiled and put her basket on the table. "Here is a bottle and some milk. First you need to heat the milk and then you need to wait for it to cool down to body temperature. I'll show you."
Then Uli began to prepare Sephiria's milk while Link watched her and tried to calm Sephiria somewhat.
Finally she finished and gave Link the bottle and instructed him how to feed Sephiria. Link happily noted that Sephiria calmed down as he fed her.
When Sephiria was satisfied Uli requested to hold her "first grandchild", Link nodded and gave Sephiria to Uli. Sephiria regarded her uncertainly at first, but when she saw Uli's happy smile, she reached out and traced Uli mouth who smiled even wider.
Link also smiled at this moment between his mother—figure and daughter.
Then he looked through the contents of the basket Uli had brought to him. He found some more milk,a spare bottle, some wide cloth he presumed were used as diapers and a little blanket.
"She'll need some clothes, too. Autumn is approaching. I'll go look for some clothes which don't fit Ruth anymore."
Link nodded and put everything on a shelf, then he sat down next to Uli who gave him some pointers. They talked until Sephiria fell asleep again. They quietly said good-bye, Uli left and Link was challenged to find a good place to sleep for Sephiria and him.
Monster Flashback End
Humming softly to himself he heated the milk a little just like Uli had shown him and filled a bottle with it. Holding the bottle to his face he waited until the milk had the right temperature and put the bottle on the table. Then climbed the ladders to the sleeping form of Sephiria who had begun to stir.
Yawning adorably Sephiria opened her eyes. Then she blinked several times and once she saw Link's familiar figure smiling happily, she coed and made a grabbing motion towards his face. "Daah."
"Good morning to you, too. Did you have a pleasant night, my princess?" Link picked Sephiria up and rocked her gently back and forth.
Sephiria seemed to enjoy this treatment very much since she giggled which made Link chuckle, too.
"Let's go downstairs for breakfast. I bet you are hungry." Carefully Link shifted Sephiria on his right arm and climbed down the ladders slowly. Meanwhile Sephiria took in her surroundings with big eyes.
Breakfast was rather uneventful. Link somehow managed to feed Sephiria while he ate his bread.
When they had finished Link washed the dishes while telling Sephiria of today's plans.
"Today will be a big day, Sephiria." Link said seriously and Sephiria answered with a cute. "Aaah?"
Link nodded. "Yes, yes. Today you will meet your grandpa and see grandma and your big brother again. You can also make friends with Ruth. She is a little older than you, but she is a very sweet girl."
With that said Link put the dishes away and took Sephiria into his arms, who gurgled happily. "Then let's go."
It was another beautiful late summer day. Although there was a chilly breeze now and then, it was still pleasantly warm as Link made his way to the house of Rusl, Uli, Colin and little Ruth.
On the other side of the little stream, he saw Chiara, the mother of Ezio, sitting in front of her house. She enjoyed the warmth of the sun, cradled Ricardo and hummed a song. When she saw Link she waved.
"Hello, Link. You are back. How was your trip?"
"Very eventful. How are you and the child?" Link asked politely.
She smiled. "Very well. He isn't crying as much as before when I'm not with him." He paused a little as if remembering something. "Oh yes. Ezio wanted to talk to you. But he is out fishing with his dad right now. I'll tell him you are back in Ordon."
He just nodded and knocked on Rusl's door. Thinking about Ezio made him scowl. "What does the snobby—hunting—club—kid want now?" Link grumbled to himself. Just leave it to Ezio to sour Link's mood.
When the door opened, Link forced his bad mood away.
Colin had opened the door yawning, but when he saw it was Link, he was widely awake. "It's Link!" he shouted.
Link heard somebody coughing from the inside. "Why didn't anyone tell me he was back?" asked Rusl who came into sight behind Rusl. "Come in."
Link did so with a smile. "Good morning." He greeted everyone and took in his surroundings. Uli was busy in the kitchen putting away used dishes. Ruth was lying on a blanket playing with a wooden goat. She smiled and coed in delight when she saw Link. "Wliing."
"Hello, Ruth. I brought you a playmate." Link smiled.
"Aw, you brought Sephiria!" Colin ran up to Link and stood on tiptoes to greet Sephiria.
Uli also came over to greet the newest addition to the family. "Link has fed you properly, right?"
"Aaa." Sephiria made happy noises due to all the attention she was receiving.
Rusl, however, didn't have a clue what was going on and stood next to the door with an open mouth. While everyone was fussing over Sephiria, he tried to put the clues together in his head: Link... Away... Baby...
This could only mean one thing! While Link was away he had gotten a baby!
"Dad! Come here and meet Sephiria!" Colin shouted releasing his father from of his stupor.
Blinking quickly he focused on the task on hand. Approaching his wife, son, godson and the baby, he asked. "Is it yours?"
Link nodded proudly and motioned to him to carry Sephiria. Not very sure of the situation Rusl took Sephiria in his arms carefully. Said girl regarded the new person with her big, round, blue eyes. Rusl looked at Link and noted. "She has your eyes."
Link smiled happily and added. "Yeah, but I she has her nose."
Rusl just nodded silently, still thinking about the new member of the family. "I... I don't really know what to say." He whispered and looked at Link's face which has changed drastically since he last saw it. He has been worried for quite some time, when he saw how much Link's quest to save Hyule had changed him. Link had become much more secluded and didn't smile as often as he used to. However now he saw Link was nearly his old self again. He came visiting, he smiled again and the air around him seemed slightly lighter.
Rusl smiled at this development. "I don't know what to say but I am glad we have gotten our beloved Link back."
Link was a little puzzled at this, but smiled nonetheless. Sephiria picked up the good mood and uttered a gleeful sound "Dah!"
Rusl now turned his attention to the girl in his arms. "Of course, I'm glad to have you here as well."
"Abuu." Sephiria responded and continued to blabber more unrecognizable words. Soon Ruth joined the baby talk with her own more understandable words. "Hu dad? Rud swee twou."
Rusl smiled at his own daughter. "This is Sephiria, Ruth. She is Link's baby."
"Rud playw 'ria?"
"Yes Ruth you can play with Sephiria. That is okay, right Link." Rusl asked.
Link nodded. "Of course." Then he turned to Ruth. "But be careful Ruth Sephiria is still very little."
"I will look after them. I don't want to listen to adult—stuff" Colin volunteered and took Sephiria from Rusl's arms and sat down next to Ruth.
Link regarded his daughter closely looking for any evidence that she was uneasy, but seeing only curiosity and happiness in Sephiria's eyes, he concluded she would be fine. "Okay" He said and went after Uli and Rusl towards the kitchen—table and sat down.
Ilia had a bad day, to be exact a bad week. To begin with she had to go on a trip with her father to Kakariko (which wasn't that bad, because she could see all the people again who housed the children during the Twilight invasion), however there she met a girl she couldn't possibly get along with.
She was brash, violent, had an annoying smile and on top of that she had no sense of direction so that Ilia had to find her in the end. And she never gave a word of thanks in return, just a obnoxious laugh. This girl, Rian, was so nerve—wrecking, that she was growling under her breath every time when she came into sight. And Rian wouldn't take a hint. No! She had taken a linking to Ilia and talked to her the whole time!
As the time of their departure drew nearer, Ilia was very delighted to leave the super annoying girl behind, but it was just her luck that Ordon was Rian's destination, too. Due to her non—existant sense of direction she had suggested to travel together.
Of course, her helpful father had agreed thinking it would benefit the blossoming friendship between her and Ilia. When her beloved father had said that, Ilia was ready to become a murderer.
However Ilia had always been a peaceful soul and accepted her destiny to be annoyed to death by Rian. So in the end no one was murdered by Ilia.
The journey back to Ordon was nerve—wrecking as Ilia expected. She had lost count of all the times Rian had asked her something totally pointless. On top of that Rian had wandered off countless times and had gotten lost, so that Ilia had to look for her again and again and again. It drove Ilia to insanity!
Considering this the joy Ilia felt as the bridge to Ordon came into view, was quite understandable.
Usually he creaking sounds of the ropes and the wood of the not very safe-looking bridge swaying over an endless black abyss made her nervous, but today she welcomed these sounds.
At first Ilia had thought nothing could top the joy and relief she felt upon stepping on Ordonian ground again and the prospect of getting rid of annoying Rian but as she saw Epona grazing next to Link's tree house her good mood knew no limits. It has been a long time since she had been this happy.
"Epona! I'm so happy to see you!" Ilia greeted the horse with a bright smile. "Is Link here, too?" Epona neighed in response when she saw her good friend Ilia. Skipping happily to the horse Ilia was looking forward to their reunion.
However this joy was short-lived. Upon closer inspection the trained eye of Ilia detected some shortcomings in the way Epona had been taken care of. Epona hadn't been washed properly after what seemed like a long ride and even worse one horseshoe was slightly off.
The previous felt joy melted into blind rage. Probably Link was still dancing with unicorns in wonderland and drooling over his pillow instead of taking care of his horse. That sleepy head is going to wish he had never been born in the first place when I'm through with him! Ilia thought.
"Link! Get your horse-abusing-butt down here! PRONTO!" Ilia screeched.
Now dear reader I would like to present you with a simple equation:
Enraged and nearly insane Ilia + a not-properly-taken-care-of Epona + Link who has vanished without a trace equals?
Well, find out next time! I hope you enjoyed it!
And do not expect another chapter soon. Assassin's Creed 3 is going to be released soon and the prospect of it makes me already drool!
But don't forget to review it makes the next chapter come faster!