Revali had to resist the urge to rub at his eyes as he stared at the back of the Link as he walked down the hallway.
What?
He turned back to the hallway behind him, where he could have sworn he had seen link walk into a room with the princess. Now the hallway was empty, but Revali knew for a fact that he had just seen Link and the princess disappear down that hallway.
What the actual fuck?
They had just finished a meeting between the six of them, the other quickly making their way back home to their domains, while Revali went to go and explore the castle (Because why not?) While the princess and knight retreated to the study to get some information.
Which was why it made no sense that he was seeing Link, walking down a different hallway, with no princess next to him.
Revali turned back to face the hallway, where Link was still walking to the very end of the hallway. He squinted at the retreating back. It was odd that Link didn't have the princess with him. Although it was rare to see the knight off duty for personal duties, he was sure that he was only allowed to go off and do such things at night. When the princess was safely tucked away in her bedroom. It was the middle of the day, so the princess should have been with him.
The more Revali stared at Links back, the more he noticed some discrepancies.
He doesn't remember Link's hair being quite so long.
If he remembered correctly, which he always did, Link's hair was just a small ponytail that was spiked at the back, since it was too short to lay properly. He remembered that particular detail since Daruk had taken up the habit of gently flicking it each chance he got, much to the amusement of everyone, Link and Revali included. And each time the lava-loving being did it, he took notice of the length of the knight's hair, it was hard not to.
But now, the hair was long enough to be shoulder length, the ponytail resting against the back of his neck and between his shoulder blades.
Huh?
Before he could call out to Link, to question what he was doing and why he wasn't with the princess, he disappeared behind the corner.
"Oh, Revali, "He whirled around. Only to see the princess.
And Link.
He was barely able to stop his beak from dropping open when he saw Link standing right behind her.
Link noticed his stare, his short hair framing his face as he tilted his face curiously.
He averted his eyes when he was caught staring, his eyes glancing over the Master Sword as he returned his attention to the princess that was right in front of him.
He froze.
He didn't remember if the Link that just turned the corner had the Master Sword on his back or not.
He was seriously starting to think that he was losing his mind.
Looking back between the door and the courtyard quickly, he was freaking out over the fact that even though he just saw Link departing with the princess to her study for the second time today.
He was watching Link as he groomed his horse. And it had to be Link since the knight's horse had a nasty habit of nipping at anyone else. Based on the way the horse was happily chewing on apples that Link kept on offering, it was the knight. Revali had yet to see anyone else that the mare liked.
Rubbing at his forehead, he kept on staring at the pair, struggling to cope with what he was seeing.
He could have sworn Link wasn't that tall. He should know, he used to poke fun at Link about his height, the only topic that he reacted to. Well, it may have been a twitch of an eye, but Revali was going to take advantage of it either way.
Back to the point.
Link was just tall enough that his eyes would peak over the back of his horse. He always looked like such a child when he would try to do that, he would even have to give a little jump to pull himself onto the saddle. Now, Link was a full head above the horse's back. He was able to see everything clearly with his new (?) vantage point.
He flinched back when Link noticed him with his light blue eyes, and tilted his head curiously.
Promptly turning around, he walked back into the castle.
Wait he didn't check for the Master Sword again.
Shit.
Alright, now someone had to be messing with him.
Either someone poisoned his food, tampered with his food, or he was going insane.
And he was going to hope that he was not going insane because it would not look good on anyone from his village for him to go insane now. Not to mention, it would be bad if he went insane with the divine beasts and all. He really hoped he wasn't going crazy.
Because now, he was watching Link as he helped a few maids carry the laundry down to their work area.
He indulged the urge to rub at his eyes, now Link was shorter than he remembered.
He could have sworn that Link was the same height as that maid in particular.
Now he was tall enough for his head to be right under the maid's ear.
Again, his staring got the attention of the knight himself. Link tilted his head as his short bangs covered one of his blueish-greenish eyes.
He averted his gaze again, but not without confirming that the Master Sword was there.
Then he started to really think he was going insane.
He told himself that Link had blue eyes. Then he really started to think.
Did Link really have blue eyes?
He could have sworn that Link had deep blue eyes.
But now he was doubting himself.
So far, he had seen Link having deep blue eyes, light blue eyes, and blue-green eyes.
Was he going insane?
Ok.
He was going crazy.
He had to be.
Because there would be no other explanation for this.
Last time he checked. Link had the features of a man, there was almost nothing feminine about the Hylian. Link was a soldier, and was one of the best ones.
So, why was he looking at a Link that looks an awful lot like a girl?
He stared with his beak hanging open as Link walked past him, his eyes only glancing at the Rito and raising a brow as he (she?) walked past.
WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON?!
Link was standing behind Zelda in the courtyard, they were patiently waiting for the other champions to arrive. He resisted the urge to roll his shoulders uncomfortably, the lack of weight on his shoulders almost unsettling him.
His younger brother had managed to annoy him to the point of just handing over the Master Sword and taking the replica his family had made. He didn't cave that often. But he was willing to do anything to make that god awful screeching stop. There was something about younger siblings that made them excessively skilled at annoying others, and like always, his own younger brother knew what buttons to push to drive him insane.
Hence him taking the replica for some peace and quiet.
The replica, although a sword, was lighter than the Master Sword. He was quite surprised when he noticed that the Master Sword didn't outright reject any of his siblings. They did get small shocks from time to time as if the sword took a while to realize that they weren't Link, but as long as they kept it in the hilt, it was safe for them to carry.
He quirked his head when he saw a slightly frazzled and dazed Revali walk into the courtyard, and he wasn't the only one who noticed his state. Link stayed silent as the other champions began to question the Rito, taking note of the way Revali paused in between answers and rubbed at his face tiredly.
That was weird.
It had to be the first time he'd seen the Rito in a slightly inattentive state.
Link frowned when he heard Revali mutter something about going insane and seeing duplicates around the castle.
What was that even supposed to mean?
The sound of the courtyard door opening made Link look at it.
He raised his brow when he saw his older brother, Abner, peeking his head out of the door. When the two of them made eye contact, Abner lit up with a smile and stood up to his full height before motioning for someone to follow him.
Abner was dressed exactly like he was. From to hair, to the shoes, and to the Master Sword on his back.
He frowned further when he saw Anouk, his second older brother, Ambrose, his younger sister, and Anwyll, his younger brother, following Abner out of the door.
All four of them had bright smiles on their faces, as they all walked out in the exact same garb as Link himself. All of them had empty harnesses, Abner was the only one who had a sword with him. Like him, all of Links siblings all had blond hair and blue eyes, all with varying shades that made it difficult for newcomers to easily differentiate them, the fact that they were all wearing the same clothes, would only make it harder.
Revali's words about going insane and duplicates suddenly clicked.
He couldn't stop the snort that escaped his mouth, even with his hand going up to cover his mouth, and promptly blushed when the others turned to look at them.
Then they saw his siblings approaching them, and he could hear mutters coming from them.
"Princess, "Abner greeted, the others following him in their bows. It must have been a sight for the others, to see four lookalikes of their knight as he stood with them. Zelda looked just as confused as the others but accepted their presence.
Link couldn't help the grin that was on his face as he asked, "This is why you had Anwyll cry 'til I caved?" He heard his slight country accent slipping out. He had tried to get rid of it for his move into the castle, but to no avail. Staying silent was an easier solution. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zelda and the Champions give him startled looks, but he ignored them in favor of concentrating on his siblings.
Abner grinned, "We just wanted ta cause some chaos. Here." His older brother, with his light blue eyes, scrunched up in amusement, held out the Master Sword, letting Link take it and give the replica back to him.
He could practically feel the disapproval coming from Zelda, but he didn't pay any attention to it.
She had never faced the wrath of Anwylls shrieking.
As soon as the Master Sword was on his back once again, he turned to Revali.
The Rito was staring at his siblings with wide eyes, his beak hanging open as he took all of them in.
Looks like his siblings accomplished their mission. Link barely restrained a grin at that.
"My apologies Revali, it seems as if my siblings decided to pull a practical joke on you."
Ambrose spoke up, "I thought he was gonna pass out when he saw me. Ya should have seen his face." Now Link was almost mourning the fact that he couldn't see it for himself.
Link just realized something and faced his siblings with a raised brow, "I trust you lot help 'round the castle?"
They all nodded.
Abner helped the stable hands.
Anouk, with his long hair, grinned as he signed that he had been helping the blacksmiths.
Ambrose said she had been helping out in the kitchen.
And Anwyll helped the maids with the laundry.
Well, at least they had kept their hands busy. And to make things better, they went with the jobs that they already knew, so they didn't make any trouble for the people they were helping.
It seems they traded off the sword each time after Revali saw them, perfecting the plan of making the Rito think he was going insane.
By the end of their short explanation, all of them were smiling, chuckling at the way Revali had let out a giant sigh of relief.
"I thought I was going insane…"
Link chuckled, "Well I just might go insane if you lot stay here. Hurry up 'n' go home to help mama. 'n' don't do this again."
"Oh, don't do this again, I implore you, "Revali said gratefully, "The four of you made me think I was losing my mind."
Anouk grinned, his deep voice surprising everyone as he said.
"No promises."
And the soul-heavy sigh that Revali let out.
It was priceless.