Hello everyone, it's time for Chapter 90, and the finale of Aviel's story with the Roc and the Rito. With the storm dragon destroyed and the Order of Reyahm foiled, it's time for a celebration, some smiles, some tears and some new surprises!
Also, stay tuned until the end for a nice surprise for you all!
"And a one, two, a one two three go!"
Nemisa snapped her fingers over her head as she started performing a recreation of the Great Fairy's dance before the Rito people. She shook her hips left and right and moved her arms slowly gracefully as she moved around. The Rito people watched with awe as she danced before them all.
The fall of Geelorokhi had called for a great celebration of the whole town of Dhaijialoft, and the next morning after everyone rested and recovered, the people of the town scrounged up whatever wasn't destroyed in the chaos of the dragon's attack in order to start a party in honor of the Sky Guardian Roc, Aviel, Link and their friends.
There was much feasting, music and dancing all around, and the heroes were enjoying every bit of it. After all the bitter revelations that came about from their adventure, they were just happy everyone was safe and sound.
The Melody of Sky played through the town by the Rito musicians as well as Saria accompanying them with her ocarina and Pecoli playing her harp, it was a much more upbeat and energetic version of the melody that livened up everything even more.
Link and Volga themselves were currently busy stuffing their faces with whatever food the Rito chefs from the festival offered them.
"You sure we can eat all this?" Link asked with his mouth half-full of food.
"Go ahead and eat up! It's the least we can do after what you and your friends have done for us!" a Rito chef laughed out as he put down more plates.
Link swallowed his food and looked over to Volga who was slurping up a boiled Octorok tentacle and letting out a satisfied burp. The young Hylian stared down at him, recalling a distant memory from his past...
'I wonder...' Link thought to himself, "Hey Volga, that's your name now, right?"
"Yeah, guess so." nodded Volga, "My jerk parents gave me the name, but it does have a nice ring to it, so I'll keep it."
"What do you think you're going to do now that you've finally found out where you came form?" Link asked as he bit off a piece of fried cucco leg.
"Not sure really... after all I've done here maybe I should just go hide in a cave somewhere..." Volga sighed out, taking a look at the food still on his table and pushing it away, "I'm really ashamed of what I've done to everyone."
Link stared down at the young dragon child, before nodding to himself and patting Volga on the back.
"Hey, don't worry about it. We all screw up once in a while." Link spoke, "But the important thing is you helped fix it."
"Heh... Ms. Korume also said something like that to me..." Volga spoke with a small smile, "But what should I do now then?"
"If you ask me, I think you should find something that will give you a real sense of purpose." Link spoke, "Something that will make you feel like you have a place to belong to."
"Huh... okay..." Volga spoke, he looked back down at the food and smiled, pulling it back over to him so he could resume eating it, then called out to the Ritos, "Hey, do you guys have any of those orange fish from the festival? They were pretty good!"
"Those are my catching game goldfish you bastard!" Kappa-Mask shouted out in frustration.
"Come along, this way Pries- Ms. Aviel." Mayor Nymnalo corrected himself as he escorted Aviel down the street to a certain house.
"You said someone here wanted to talk to me?" Aviel asked curiously.
"Yes, they were very insistent on it." Nymnalo nodded, knocking on the door of the house, "We're here, piou."
"Come on in!" they heard a woman's voice shout.
"Pardon the intrusion!" Aviel called out as she and the mayor entered the estate.
"Ow... not so loud, will ya?" spoke up a voice, as Aviel saw a very familiar looking Rito laying back in his bed with a bandage around his upper chest area. He was rubbing his head as a female Rito was putting away a roll of medical gauze.
"Wha-what...?" Aviel spoke with wide eyes at seeing the Rito's feather color and design, recalling exactly who it was.
"Look honey!" the female Rito said with her eyes lit up, "The priestess is here to see you!"
"You're... you're the Rito I shot yesterday!" Aviel said with wide eyes at the sight of the male Rito.
"Yeah, it's me." sighed the man, rubbing the back of his head.
"Than that means..." Aviel started, before screaming out in horror, "...IT'S A GHOST!"
"I ain't a ghost!" the Rito shouted in frustration, "I'm alive!"
"But, I thought I shot you with my arrow..." Aviel said peeking out from behind Nymnalo while shivering.
"Don't worry, you didn't kill my husband," the female Rito said smiling, "He was taken in for medical treatment shortly after all that happened, and the doctors were able to remove the arrow. You just barely missed hitting any of his vital organs."
"Oh, what a relief..." Aviel sighed out.
"Anyway, my husband has something to tell you Priestess." the lady Rito said, nudging his arm a little, "Go on dear."
"Right..." the Rito sighed, sitting himself up, "Listen, Priestess... what I did back there the other day... I had no business attacking you, and I can't apologize enough for trying to hurt you or your friend." he bowed his head down, "I'm not going to ask for your forgiveness, but I just wanted you to know it."
Aviel was surprised enough that the Rito man was alive, but to hear him apologize so earnestly as well.
"N-No, it's fine, I understand! Everyone else in town has already apologized enough to me for everything as it is!" Aviel said frantically, waving both her hands dismissively, "I'm just glad you're okay!"
"We all put a great deal of pressure on you Ms. Aviel." Nymnalo said, "Our faith in the prophecy of the Great Fairy of Balance has perhaps made us too blind to the reality of what's around us, piou."
"Well to be fair..." Aviel spoke with a small smile, "I don't think a klutz like me is fit to be a priestess to the great fairy of balance anyway!"
The four of them all shared a humbled laugh from Aviel's little remark.
"Anyway, I'm glad we could make up for all this! How about a hug?" Aviel chirped happily, coming up and giving the Rito man a big hug with her wings.
"Gacck! Priestess, my arrow wound!" shouted the Rito who cringed in pain.
"Dear..." his wife commented, sporting an annoyed and jealous glare at the affectionate attention her husband was getting from the younger woman, "Perhaps I need to redress your bandages again?"
"GAAAAWK!"
"So where exactly did you get this thing anyway?" Link asked as he and Nemisa were speaking to a Rito who owned the grab bag festival stand game from two days ago.
Link was showing him the clothing buckle with the Quake Medallion attached in it. Nemisa had bought the bag that happened to contain the buckle and gave it to Link as a gift, not realizing it held the seismic earth-shaking power granted by the golden goddess Farore.
"Shoot, beats me." the Rito said rubbing the back of his head, "I bought a large box of junk from that one guy who left town a while back, went by the name of Rusosh. The stone had perfectly fit into the belt buckle that was in there and I couldn't remove it, so I just left it like that. I had no idea that piece of rock had that sort of power!"
"Rusosh, the Rito man we had assumed was Aviel's father..." Nemisa recalled.
"So this Rusosh guy has come back here to Dhaijialoft since he first left?" Link asked.
"That's right, occasionally he'd drop by to sell us whatever he found in the outside world." the Rito said, "Though we haven't seen him in a while now."
"Huh, I wonder where that Rusosh guy managed to find this medallion then...?" Link muttered, looking down at it as he recalled what the Order of Reyahm monk Omaldak told him before about searching for it during their battle.
"Well either way, it helped us greatly in our battles." Nemisa said, "You did well mastering it Link."
"Yeah thanks again Nemisa," Link grinned, giving his future wife a kiss, "Looks like it was a great present from you after all."
"Oh you..." Nemisa said with a light blush, looking away from her husband-to-be.
"Aaarrrghh! It's gone! All gone!" shouted out a voice that got everyone's attention. They all looked to see Barrank holding himself up with a stick as he staggered up to them all with a dazed look in his eyes.
"Hey Mr. Barrank, you should be resting! You still got that knife injury!" said a Rito.
"Kwaaaahh, I couldn't help myself! I went to go check on the remains of my poor mansion... and when I got down there I saw it was completely overrun with Migouis!" Barrank whined with tears streaming down his eyes, "Those damn dirty apes are all squatting in it, making a huge mess of everything and playing loud irritating music with my instruments!"
"Ouch, that sounds rough. Sorry about that..." Aviel said sweatdropping. She felt somewhat responsible for luring the dragon's heads in there.
"Well... it's not like I blame you for it or anything..." muttered Barrank, still feeling bad about turning the mob on her earlier, "You saved my life after all... I just don't know what I'm going to do now."
"Until you get settled into a new home, maybe there's someone here who can let you stay with them?" Saria proposed.
"Kwah... I don't know about that." muttered Barrank, "After all I've done to the people, I don't know if anyone would want me arou-"
"Nonsense!" said Crissile, scooping up the former nobleman and hugging him tightly, "You can stay with me for as long as your small heart desires!"
"Kwaaaaahhh! Someone help me!" shouted Barrank scrambling around in her arms.
"Aw, Ms. Crissile is so soft-hearted!" a Rito lady said happily, "The two of you make a good match!"
"WHAT?" Barrank shouted, trying to squirm out of Crissile's grip faster.
"Well good luck with that Mr. Barrank!" chuckled a Rito villager walking off.
"Congrats on finding your man after all!" Aviel said, making Barrank freak out even more.
"I could say the same to you, sweetie!" Crissile giggled, taking a glance over at Link, "I hope that fine young man makes you happy."
"Heh, thanks Ms. Crissile..." Aviel said with a heavy blush, looking back at Link.
"Excuse me everyone," spoke up one of the mayor's aides, bowing her head, "The Sky Guardian has asked for an audience with all of us, he has something important to say."
"Huh?" Aviel asked.
"Thank you all for coming. Sorry about this, as I know it's your time to celebrate..."
"Sky Guardian, why did you call all of us here, piou?" Mayor Nymnalo asked, standing among all the Rito, as well as Aviel, Link and their friends.
"Yeah, why don't you come out to party with us?" Aviel asked.
Roc was sitting outside of the Wind Temple where he had stayed since last night, none of the buildings were big enough to house him, and for some reason he didn't make any effort to fly anywhere else. The Sky Guardian had his body turned to the side while looking down at all of them.
"Well you see, I have... something to confess to you all." Roc spoke, getting the Rito all discussing among each other what it could be.
"Grandpa Roc..." Aviel spoke softly, Link put a hand on her shoulder and he nodded at her, wordlessly telling her to let him speak.
Roc took a breath and spoke up, "Ten years ago, I battled against Geelorokhi when he tried to go after the Great Fairy of Balance, I led him away from the town where I hoped to battle him without endangering any of you. It was there I ran into my little friend Aviel along with her parents. They had with them the Orb of Sealing, created by the dark Rito mage Thunderbird to contain him and his power."
"That's when I got separated from them..." Aviel said.
"I fought with everything I had against the Geelorokhi, but I ran into a new problem when the fire dragon of Death Mountain known as Volvagia attacked me as well. She was the mate of Geelorokhi and she aided him in fighting me." Roc spoke.
"Mother." muttered Volga.
Roc continued, "I tried fighting with all my strength, and Aviel even gave some support... but the truth was, I was just too weak to defeat both the dragons. In an act of desperation, I took the orb and used it to seal Geelorokhi away inside, and froze myself in the cavern nearby at that time so that neither he nor his power could escape."
"But wait, you contacted us that day through our priests in what you said was your last moments..." Nymnalo spoke, "You said you sacrificed your life to destroy Geelorokhi. Why didn't you just tell us you merely sealed him away instead, piou?"
"Because... I just wanted you all to feel safe and not worry about the monster." Roc spoke hanging his head down in guilt, "Even if it meant not knowing the whole truth."
Roc then turned his head over to look at the young Gerudo girl as he spoke,
"In fact, I did something similar to you as well Aviel."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Aviel aksd.
"Do you remember the words I told you once before, about your parents leaving you behind?" Roc asked, "The truth is, I have no idea what became of them. They had already disappeared by the time I regained consciousness, and after that I ran into you in the blizzard. I told you they had left you behind so that you wouldn't concern yourself with them any longer."
"But why would you do it like that?" Aviel spoke.
"Well you see, when baby birds are ready to learn to fly, the mother teaches down by tossing them out from their nest so that their instincts to fly kick in. If they fail to do it, the mother typically snatches them back up in midair back to the nest, and repeats it until they properly learn." Roc explained, "We Loftwings were trained in the same way."
"When I became of age to learn to fly, I did everything in my power to soar like my brothers and sisters... but no matter how hard I tried, I always got snatched back up by my mother and put back in the nest. One day, I think she finally got fed up with me, and she let me hit the ground..."
"Oh my, how could she?!" explained Crissile, hugging Barrank closely to her. The former nobleman grimaced at those words, thinking about his own inability to fly.
"I survived, but I felt abandoned by my mother, and thought that she didn't love me anymore. When I saw your parents had disappeared, I thought they had abandoned you as well. So I said that in order to make you hopefully forget about them..."
"So that's it..." Aviel said sadly, "You sound like you went through a lot of pain too, Grandpa."
"Yes... my lack of flying ability put me into some dangerous situations." Roc spoke, "One day I was almost killed by monsters, but then I was miraculously saved by the Fairy Goddess Venus. She had taken pity on me and nursed me back to health."
"You were helped and blessed by the Fairy Goddess herself?!" Nymnalo spoke.
"Yes, after being abandoned by my mother, I was indebted to Venus for what she did for me. I vowed to go by her wishes and make sure the Rito would remain safe and happy, so they would never have to feel afraid and alone like I once did."
Roc looked down at the Rito people with regret in his eyes, "I told you that I had destroyed Geelorokhi so you could all live peacefully without fear and focus on protecting the Great Fairy of Balance in my place. While I was able to take away most of his flight power from him, I never would had expected Geelorokhi to pull a trick like he did in separating his human self from his dragon self."
The Rito were all in shock at this news, and looked to each other wordlessly.
"Poor Grandpa... He wanted to do everything he could to protect the Rito..." Aviel spoke, feeling like she could relate to him as guard to Link. She now understood why he looked after her back in the ice cave despite his annoyance with her, it was just like when the Goddess Venus looked after him as a small helpless bird...
"Tell me something Sky Guardian," Nemisa spoke out, "When you gave Aviel the dragon's flight power and those wings of hers, did something happen to interfere with it?"
Roc looked a little surprised at the dancer's words, but nodded, "I believe so. Moments before I had gifted Aviel with the wings, Volvagia tried to attack me to save Geelorokhi. The sealing happened in that very moment, so I wasn't entirely sure what happened, but I had a feeling the process wasn't complete."
"That explains it then." Nemisa said, "We found a feather much like yours in Volvagia's old nest at Death Mountain where we met Volga. Before Aviel could only turn her arms into wings, it's very possible that feather contained the remaining power Aviel needed to take on her true bird form that you intended for her to have."
"So that's what it was doing there!" gasped Aviel.
"Huh, guess it got stuck to Mother's body after she left back to Death Mountain." Volga said.
"So that's why I had so much trouble flying with my bird form." Aviel said, "I always thought it was just cause I was a total klutz."
"Well you are a klutz," Korume chuckled, "But besides that you're a fine flier now."
"Indeed." nodded Roc, "Seeing the way you fly with the power I gave you... I'm not all that upset about what's happened to me."
"What do you mean, Sky Guardian?" Nymnalo asked.
"Unfortunately, while the Geelorokhi is gone for good, it seems he left this world with one minor victory." he flinched as he rose up what remained of his right wing, showing it was mostly gone.
"Woah, what happened to you?" Link exclaimed.
"During the battle with Geelorokhi, it managed to blast off one of my wings. I suppose I was truly too weak from containing the dragon's true form for the past ten years." Roc spoke.
"Wait, so you mean you can't fly anymore Grandpa Roc?" Aviel asked sadly, "Then... then take my wings!" she said, starting to pull off her Roc's Wings sleeves, "You can probably use them to get your wing back, so you can fly and protect the Rito again!"
"Ha ha ha, don't worry about it Aviel, I want you to keep them." Roc grinned, "For everything you did for me and the Rito people, that powers is yours to keep."
"Grandpa..." Aviel spoke, but Roc reached out with his good wing and rubbed his feather on her head.
"You're a strong woman now Aviel, and it seems you've found people that you've vowed to protect, and I want you to use those wings of yours to watch over them all."
"O-Okay Grandpa Roc." Aviel said with a nod.
Saria smiled somewhat sadly, recalling the day she had been given the Deku Staff. The Great Deku Sprout had told her that the deity before it wanted her to have it to protect the Kokiri, but she had long ago come to the conclusion that it was actually to allow her to protect Link and stay by his side. In that moment Saria felt more connected to Aviel then she ever had.
"Sky Guardian..." spoke Nymnalo, shuffling up to the last Loftwing, "Don't speak as if you let any of us down. Your selfless sacrifice truly kept us safe all this time. But I think now it's time we no longer be safe; but instead work to strengthen ourselves. We'll no longer have to relay on you to protect us, and instead you'll be considered a war veteran here at Dhaijialoft. I believe you've done more then enough to repay your debt to the Fairy Goddess Venus, and I say you're free to rest easy and peacefully from now on, piou."
"I... thank you." Roc said in astonishment of Mayor Nymnalo.
"Kwaaah... I admit I abused my position as the protector of the town to be treated above everyone else. I guess you can say all that's happened has brought me back down to earth." Barrank spoke with a chuckle, "I'll do whatever I need to in order to atone for everything."
"Nonsense Barrank, you may have made trouble for all of us..." Nymnalo said, "But we've been safe for the past ten years thanks to you, that's something we can never forget, piou."
"Yes, thank you Mr. Barrrank!" said a Rito, as the others all gathered around the former nobleman.
"Ah... you're welcome...?" Barrank asked rubbing his head with a light blush.
"Aww... you're so cute when you're humble Barranky!" Crissile giggled hugging Barrank close to her.
"You've already given me a pet name?" Barrank exclaimed.
The crowd all laughed out in unison, and even Roc found himself laughing as well.
"So what did you say this item is again, Ms. Aviel?"
"It's a crossbow, I bought it a long time ago from a merchant visiting my town, and I've been using it as a lookout for years!"
Aviel was showing of her signature weapon to some Rito craftsman, anxious to teach them how to wield stronger and more varied weapons. Link and Nemisa were also there to show off their own fighting abilities to the Rito, including Link's swordplay and Nemisa's martial arts. Nemisa blocked an attempted punch by a Rito, as she grabbed him by the arm and hurled him over his shoulder.
"Since your arms aren't really well built for normal bows and arrows, I thought you might appreciate using these for defending the village." Aviel explained, she brought up the crossbow and fired off a few shots, which went flying through the air and into the knotholes of a tree, astonishing the crowd.
"Impressive, once we get the design down we'll start building them and get everyone to learn how they work!" the craftsman nodded.
"Yes, we'll start having the guards be trained with these extensively." nodded a Rito law officer.
"Sir, we're ready to leave with the prisoner as soon as he speaks with his sister!" a guard said stepping up to him and saluting, as he gestured over to the Rito they had detained.
It was the former butler of Mr. Barrank and the older brother of Pecoli, Tonashi. Mayor Nymnalo had allowed him to meet with Pecoli before he was to be imprisoned for treason against Dhaijialoft in willingly aiding the Order of Reyahm and the attempted murder of Mr. Barrank.
"Big Bro, you really gotta go away?" Pecoli asked Tonashi with her eyes full of tears.
"I'm sorry Pecoli, but I have to pay my debt to society for what I've done here." Tonashi said in his typical calm butler tone, "Honestly I was a fool for what I did... I don't think I will never forgive the fairy goddess for allowing our parents to die, but I did it at the expense of your safety and happiness... I just hope you stay well while I'm gone..."
"Don't you worry none about her Mr. Tonashi!" Crissile said stepping up, "Me and Barranky here will watch over Pecoli ourselves until you get out of jail!"
"Really?" Pecoli asked with wide eyes.
"Of course you little sweetie!" Crissile said smiling, "The three of us will be like one big happy family!"
"Wait, I didn't want any part of-" Barrank protested, but then looked down at Pecoli who was staring up at him curiously, "Um, that is... would you be alright with that?"
"I... okay Mr. Balsac!" Pecoli gave a small nod and a smile, "We can all start over with a clean slate!"
"Kwaah... yeah..." Barrank spoke relieved, though a bit bothered by how Pecoli was picking up on Aviel's weird name for him. He looked up to his former butler and cleared his throat. "Tonashi, thank you for all the hard work you've done for me all these years. I hope you do well to reform yourself, so that you can come back for your sister."
Tonashi was astonished at how different his former master was now. He looked back down at his little sister in deep thought,
"Very well, I present much graduate to the two of you for looking after her." Tonashi said with a bow, "Pecoli, be good for Ms. Crissile and Mas- Mr. Barrank." he said to his sister, then turned to Link, Nemisa and Aviel, "And thank you all for what you've done for our town."
"Of course." Link nodded, "I just hope you work hard to reform and get out of jail soon."
"Believe me Gerudo King, I have every reason to." Tonsahi said, looking back down to Pecoli.
"Don't forget to keep up your strength as well Mr. Tonashi." Nemisa spoke, "You'll need it more then ever to protect Pecoli when you get out. When that time does come, I'd like to have a rematch with you to see just how strong you've become."
"Yes, I look forward to that." nodded Tonashi as the guards started to lead him off.
Pecoli trembled before she looked up to her brother and called out to him, "I still love you Big Bro! Do what you need to so you can be free and we can be a family again!"
"Haha, I'll be looking forward to it." Tonsahi smiled.
"And I'll make sure to find a nice, hot girl with big plumage who you can marry when you're free!" Pecoli added.
"T-That's uh, maybe you could wait on something like that..." Tonsahi said sweatdropping as Link and Nemisa both snickered to themselves.
"Do you really have to go now Aviel?" Pecoli asked with tears in her eyes.
It was the next day, as Link, Aviel, Nemisa, Saria and Korume were all standing at the gate that led out to the mountains of Snowpeak so they could travel back to Gerudo Town. Gathered there was the whole population of the Rito, including Roc himself.
Aviel smiled softly, kneeling down to Pecoli and putting a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry Pecoli, but this isn't where I'm meant to be. My place is with my people in Gerudo Town." Aviel said.
"But, I wanted you to be my big sis..." Pecoli pouted.
"Don't worry, even if we're separated, you and I can still be sisters, okay?" Aviel grinned, "I'll try to come by and visit whenever I can!"
"Okay... thank you for everything Aviel." Pecoli whispered, giving the Gerudo a warm hug, which she returned with her wings.
"So are you sure about doing this Volga?" Link asked the young dragon.
"Yeah." Volga nodded, "The Rito are going to start working to strengthen themselves so they can keep protecting the Great Fairy of Balance. But until then, I think I'm going to stay here help them out for a while. It's the least I can do after what I've done."
"Not bad." grinned Link rubbing the dragon's head, "I think you might have found the place you belong."
Link took a glance over to Korume, who had a sad smile of her own, knowing that she was allowing the little one she had fancied as an adopted son to instead stay here with the Rito. He put an arm around the ice mystic and held her close.
"It's okay." Link whispered softly, "When the time comes, I'll give you all the children you want Korume."
"Thank you my husband..." Korume spoke, leaning against him.
"I'll help him along as his mentor." Roc nodded, "It's rather ironic that the son of the fiend that tried to take the Great Fairy's power would end up helping to protect her instead."
"I am curious about something though." Saria spoke up, "Just who is the Great Fairy's true chosen one if it's not Aviel?"
"That..." Roc paused before speaking, "Honestly not even I know who it is. The Fairy Goddess Vensu always had a strange and cryptic way of doing things. That said, besides telling me the chosen was born from balance of earth and sky, the Fairy Goddess Venus also left me with a riddle."
"A riddle?" Aviel asked.
"Yes, I still don't actually understand what it means..." Roc pondered, "But she said the words..."
"To call the Great Fairy that will bring about prosperous times, seek out the divine maiden who sings in harmonious chimes. When the chosen one's voice reaches to that who she awaits inside, the Great Fairy will answer to the Melody of Sky."
"Sings in... chimes?" Nemisa spoke, "You mean like a bell?"
"Like I said, it's all I have," Roc shrugged, "I asked her a lot about it but she kept being vague."
"Ugh... just how long is this going to be for then?" a Ruto groaned.
"Sounds as if she's giving your people a test of patience." Saria said.
"Yes, it's safe to just say that the Great Fairy of Balance will awaken when the right time comes and the true priestess is found." nodded Nymnalo, "Until then we'll keep watching over her door."
"We'll see if we can do whatever we can to help you find the real chosen one," Aviel nodded, "If I can't be the priestess for everyone, the least I can do is be her messenger!"
"Thank you again Aviel, for everything you've done." Roc spoke. The two stood there for a second, before Aviel ran forward and hugged Roc as best as she could despite his size. The former sky guardian put his good wing around her and hugged her back, "You're just as strong as I had always thought, and I know some day you'll see your parents again."
"Thank you Grandpa Roc..." Aviel said happily.
It was a truly heartwarming scene for everyone there to see; the young Gerudo girl and the last of the Loftwings giving their goodbyes, almost like a young bird about to leave it's parent to fly off into the world.
Volga stared out at the two, then looked over to Pecoli, who still seemed to be kind of sad about Aviel leaving. He took a breath and walked up to her, poking the bird girl on the shoulder.
"Hey, did you want to go play later?" Volga asked.
"Play?" Pecoli asked.
"You know, go have some... I think, 'fun' together?" Volga shrugged, "Sorry, I'm still trying to figure out how to use the words right."
"No, that is what it means but, are you sure...?" Pecoli asked tilting her head.
"Yeah, I wanna get to know everyone here so I can protect them right." Volga nodded, "Besides, I wanna hear that harp you play more, it sounds really nice."
"Oh, okay! That sounds neat!" Pecoli nodded.
"No way, you're friends with him?!" asked a Rito child stepping up to them.
"Wow, you must be really brave Pecoli!" said another.
"Uh... um..." Pecoli stammered looking at the other kids gathering around the two.
"Yeah, we're friends." nodded Volga after a thought, "How about we all play together?"
Aviel beamed with happiness as she watched the kids all cheer out, seeing Pecoli for the first time feel like she was finally part of her people after being estranged for them for so long.
"Can you do that fire breathing thing again Mr. Dragon?!" exclaimed one child.
"Uh, that's a little dangerous..." Volga spoke, recalling back when he almost attacked Aviel and Saria during the snowball fight.
"You sure you still can't stay another day or two Ms. Aviel? We'd love to see you use your archery a little more." spoke a Rito citizen.
"Weeelll... maybeee..." Aviel pondered, then a thought occurred to her and she looked to her bodyguard partner and whispered to her, "Hey Nemisa, I just remembered something, can I have one of those black chu capsules Dr. Sarami makes?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Nemisa whispered back.
"You remember what I said before about how me and Link did... you know, things together while we were down in Snowpeak? I need to take one of those so I don't end up having a kid too soon!" Aviel explained.
"Um, Aviel... I don't have any. I wasn't intending on laying with Link during our trip." Nemisa said.
"Huh?" Aviel spoke with blank eyes, she turned to Korume, "What about you? You got one right?"
"Sorry, but I don't." Korume shook her head.
"Saria?" Aviel asked the Kokiri frantically.
"I can't have kids, remember?" Saria whispered to her.
Aviel stood there with a blank stare on her face, as a slight breeze went by. The Rito all stood in confusion of what they had all been talking about.
"Well what are we waiting for?! We gotta get back to Gerudo Town a-s-a-p! Lady Nabooru's waiting for us!" Aviel shouted, giving Pecoli a quick hug before running off towards the gate out of town, only to trip on a piece of uneven stone and fall, tumbling down the stairs before impacting into the snow.
"Owie..." they could hear Aviel's voice echo out.
Link paused, before looking to the others and grinning lightly, "Well I guess we're off. We promise we'll come back someday to see you all again!"
With that, Link, Nemisa, Korume and Saria all went down to get Aviel out from the snow and head back to Gerudo Town. The Rito people, including Mayor Nymnalo, Pecoli, Crissile, Barrank and their newest resident, the child dragon Volga, all waving to them and cheering out as they left. Roc also stood out, waving his good wing at Aviel until they all were out of sight.
"Well mayor, we better get started on setting things right then," spoke a Rito, "What do you propose we do first?"
The mayor just stood there, not saying a word. He just seemed to be staring out in the direction Link and the others left.
"Uh, Mr. Mayor?" spoke the Rito, nudging him.
It was then a bubble rose up from Nymnalo's beak, as a deep snoring sound could be heard from him.
"WAKE UP MAYOR!" shouted Roc, Volga and the whole town in frustration.
Later that afternoon, Link, Aviel, Nemisa, Saria and Korume had all arrived at Gerudo Town, immediately greeted happily by the town's people. After a quick stop at Kesuta and Korume's mystic tent to drop off Korume and get a black chu capsule for Aviel, they made it back to the palace and were all walking towards the meeting room to rest from their journey and discuss what happened with Nabooru.
"Well we finally made it back home, what an adventure." Aviel said.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but after spending so long in the cold mountains, I'm glad to be back in the hot desert." Saria sighed out.
"It's a shame we couldn't track down your parents Aviel..." Nemisa said sadly, "I know how much it meant to you."
"...eh, it's okay." Aviel grinned, "I know they're out there somewhere, and I just know I'll see them again soon enough."
"That's the Aviel we know!" Link said, giving her an affectionate rub on the head, making her giggle and lean against him.
"I'm happy to see you two have finally gotten together!" Saria giggled, "Kesuta was real happy, and I'm sure Togau, Sarami, Princess Ruto and Lady Nabooru will love to hear about it too!"
"Heh yeah, I just know they're going to want to have a party to celebrate." Link grinned.
"Still would had been nice to get some information about where her parents went though..." Nemisa muttered as Link reached out and opened the meeting room door...
…to see that Nabooru was sitting at the table speaking to two people; a Hylian male and a Gerudo woman. The three of them looked to see who had just came in, and Aviel's eyes widened at the sight of the two people in particular.
"Hey there everyone, glad to see you made it back in time!" Nabooru called out with a knowing smirk.
"Huh? Who are they...?" Saria asked curiously at the two people, especially the Hylian man, as she knew how they were typically not allowed in the town.
There was a loud audible thunk, as Aviel had spontaneously dropped her traveling bag, and was staring at the two new people sitting there with Nabooru.
"Aviel, c-could those possibly be...?" Nemisa trailed off at the realization.
"...Aviel...?" spoke the Gerudo woman, standing up with wide eyes, along with the Hylian man.
"Could it really be her?" spoke the man.
"... ...Momma... Papa..." Aviel whispered, her whole body was trembling as small tears were starting to form in her eyes, "MOMMA, PAPA!" she shouted, running forward at the two.
"Aviel!" shouted the couple, running at her themselves.
But before they could get close, the older Gerudo woman suddenly tripped over a seat cushion, and she went falling over on her face along with the Hylian man tumbling over on top of her. Aviel was in such a rush herself that she slipped on a puddle of water from a cup that had fallen off the table, causing her to fall forward and impact on top of the two herself.
Everyone stood there blankly at the sight of the three in a pile. All of them had spiraling eyes from the impact.
"Ugh, who threw a pillow in front of me...?" the older woman groaned.
After a brief moment; Aviel, the Gerudo woman, and the Hylian all sat up in a dazed state. They all stared at each other for a few seconds, until they realized who each other were, before the three of them embraced happily.
"Aviel, it really is you!" her mother Amala sobbed out, squeezing her daughter tightly.
"I can't believe it, our little baby girl is here safe, and all grown up!" sobbed her father Kozun, "You've made me the happiest dad in the world!"
Link, Nemisa and Saria just stood there, their jaws all collectively dropped at the sight of Aviel reuniting with her parents.
"Heh, nice little surprise huh?" Nabooru smirked.
"I heard about my people having a new king, but I would had never believed that you would become his royal bodyguard, Aviel!" Amala said proudly.
Everyone had gathered around the dining table to discuss what had happened over the time they were separated. Amala and Kozun naturally were sitting to the left and right of Aviel, smothering her with affection.
"Look at how strong you've gotten Aviel!" Kozun said, "And these feathers you're wearing look so cute on you!"
"Moooom, daaad, you're embarrassing meeee!" Aviel said with a red face as her parents were holding her.
"That's what fathers are supposed to do!" Kozun said with a triumphant pose, "Bringing their children the Noble Wrath of Smothering Dad Love!"
"Ayeyeyeye.." Aviel stammered with her eyes spiraling.
"Thank you Lady Nabooru, and all of you so much for looking after our daughter." Amala said bowing, "I didn't think I'd have a home to go to after I turned my back against King Ganondorf for the love of my husband, but then we heard about your prospering town here."
"It's been our pleasure Sister Amala." Nabooru nodded, "Your daughter has done so much for us, especially our king."
"Yeah, so what's your story then... King Link is it?" Kozun asked, "Never would had thought a Hylian would rule over the Gerudo."
"Honestly I didn't see it coming myself." Link grinned, "But I love being here and helping the Gerudo to fit in with the rest of Hyrule, and your daughter has been working hard to help us reach that goal."
"Nice." grinned Kozun, "You seem pretty tough too, I'd love to spar against you sometime."
"Sure, I'd look forward to it." Link nodded.
"Well then in that case, how about right now!" Kozun shouted, leaping onto the dining table, unsheathing his sword, and even ripping off his tunic, pointing his sword at Link, "Have at you!"
"What?!" Link asked sweatdropping.
"Not while we're all having a pleasant conversation, you idiot!" Amala shouted, bashing her husband upside the head and dragging him off the table.
"Ah, sorry..." Kozun muttered with bumps all over his head.
Nemisa meanwhile sat there with her arms crossed and an angry scowl on her face.
"Something wrong Nemisa?" Saria asked.
"There is something very wrong." Nemisa said, looking to Aviel's parents with a sharp glare, "I want to know why the two of you had deserted Aviel for so long. Surely you must have heard about Gerudo Town at some point, did you not even think to come here for ten years? Do you know how long Aviel has been looking for you?"
"Hey, don't you call me Shirley!" Kozun retorted.
"Hey, go easy on Momma and Papa, Nemisa!" Aviel said in defense of them.
"Yeah Nemisa, come on, this isn't the time for-" Link started, but Nemisa cut him off.
"No I'm serious!" Nemisa snapped, "Where the hell were the both of you while your daughter was alone and wondering what happened to you?!"
Amala and Kozun both looked to each other for a moment, before letting out a collective sad sigh, which surprised Nemisa.
"Well, the truth is..." Amala started to explain what had happened to them,
"Huh?! You both have had amnesia?!" Link exclaimed.
"Yep. After we both fell off that giant bird who helped us out from that dragon ten years ago, we woke up in the middle of the mountains, and we both couldn't remember who the other was or anything." Kozun shrugged, "I had hit my head on a rock, and Amala had hit her head on my head!"
"You've got to be kidding me..." Nemisa spoke with a slight twitch of her eye, "So you couldn't remember anything? Not even your kid?"
"Yes, we had a rough time to say the least." Amala sighed, "Since couldn't remember each other we thought we were enemies and battled for a while."
"I still remember when my wife impaled me with one of her arrows!" laughed Kozun, "Good times it was!"
"That was a GOOD memory?" Saria exclaimed with wide eyes.
"Anyway, after that we decided to work together for a while. We wandered around until we wound up at a place called New Vividel." Kozun explained.
"New... Vividel? Never heard of it." Link spoke.
"It's a small village in the grasslands beyond Snowpeak." Amala sad, "It's home to a number of people who survived a great catastrophe years ago in the Kingdom of Vividel. Coincedently we had been planning to find a home there for Aviel all that time ago but the place was uninhabitable."
"I've heard of that place, it was said to be a great kingdom that rivaled Hyrule in prosperity." said a servant setting down more drinks for everyone, "No one really knows how it was destroyed though."
"Yeah, not even the townsfolk know. But they were a great bunch of people, they treated me and Amala back to health, so the two of us put aside our differences and worked there to thank them for saving us." Kozun said grinning, "Overtime, me and Amala started to slowly remember who the other was and we got closer by the day. It was great, it was like I was falling in love with my beautiful wife all over again!"
"Heh, still the charmer like always..." Amala said with a light blush, "We both fully regained our memories just about six months ago after we helped one of the villagers give birth." she looked over at Aviel and smiled warmly, "I think being reminded of when I held my baby daughter in my arms for the first time jogged my memory."
"Momma..." Aviel said smiling softly.
"Then how did you get your memory back?" Saria asked Kozun.
"I simply hit him over the head with large objects until his memory was back to normal." Amala explained.
"It was just like back when we first met!" Kozun laughed.
"Their relationship certainly sounds interesting." Nabooru chuckled.
"And painful." Link said sweatdropping.
"So wait... if what all you've said true, then this all means that if we hadn't left to Snowpeak a week ago, then Aviel's parents would had just shown up here and she would had united with them anyway?!" Nemisa exclaimed.
"Looks like it!" Aviel grinned, causing Nemisa to face-plant on the table out of exhaustion and annoyance.
"You've got to be kidding me..." Nemisa muttered, "We went out there for nothing..."
"Hey, it turned out to be for the best. It's because of our quest that we were able to stop the Order of Reyahm!" Saria pointed out.
"The Order of... what?!" Kozun exclaimed.
"You mean the organization that assassinated Sister Ruto's mother?" Nabooru spoke curiously.
"...I think you all have a lot to tell us about what you were doing this past week." Amala said with increasing interest.
"Well, you see..." Aviel started.
"...unbelievable." Kozun spoke, sporting a grin on his face after having been told everything Link, Aviel and their friends had been through during their time in Snowpeak and Dhaijialoft, "To think you not only found the Rito's civilization that we were searching for, but you even saved them from the Geelorokhi that attacked and separated us!"
"I'm sorry we deserted you like we did, but it seems as though you've grown more then we could have ever imagined my daughter." Amala spoke, giving Aviel a hug, "We're both so proud of you."
"Thanks Momma, thanks Papa..." Aviel sighed out blissfully, feeling the loving embrace of her parents once again after so long.
"I hope that poor woman's soul can rest now." Kozun spoke, thinking about the one who handed the purple orb to him just before her death, "Still, I wonder what compelled her to do what she did..."
"Perhaps she was once part of the Order of Reyahm, but had a change of heart after seeing what they were trying to do." Nabooru suggested, "Believe me when I say I could understand her."
"So then Aviel, now that you found us, what do you plan to do now?" Kozun asked, "I can't stay here for very long because of the Gerudo law, so how'd you like to come with us on the road again? We'd love to have to join us on our adventures!"
Aviel simply shook her head and smiled somewhat sadly,
"Sounds really cool Papa, but I'm going to have to pass on that. Gerudo Town is my home, and I have too much here to leave behind."
"That's fine, we understand Aviel, it's great that you found your place in this world." Amala said.
"Y-Yeah... that's great of you..." Kozun said with large teary eyes. Amala tried to comfort her pouting husband by patting him on the shoulder.
"If you like, you can stay a little longer." Nabooru said reassuringly, "I sure Desert Goddess Aifet wouldn't mind since Aviel's protected the desert king for so long."
"Yeah about that..." Link spoke, before clearing his throat and speaking out to Kozun and Amala, "There is something important I need to tell the two of you."
"Here it comes..." Nabooru said with a knowing grin.
"I'd just like to say, that your daughter has been a close and dear friend to me since the day I met her. She's supported me throughout my time here in Gerudo Town and becoming the king, and the two of us have fallen in love. I wanted to get your blessing so that I can marry her and make her one of my future wives."
Amala sat there with widened eyes as she looked down to Aviel, "Is... is this true Aviel? Are you and the king really romantically entwined...?
"That's right Momma." Aviel nodded, "I love Link, and I plan to marry him after we settle things with the Hylian Parliament and get rid of the Gerudo Banishment Law!"
"Kozun, are you hearing this?" Amala asked turning to her husband.
Kozun meanwhile was just sitting there with a blank stare on his face, and his whole body turned white and motionless, as steam started to rise up from his head.
"My... daughter... in love..." Kozun stammered, "She... marry... become... wife..."
"Is he alright?" Saria asked.
"Oh yeah, no problem. I'll just push his face into my chest later and he'll snap right out of it." Amala said, before looking to Aviel, "Well Aviel I couldn't be more proud of you, it seems that you pierced through the sky in so many ways. Of course the two of you have our blessing."
"Thank you both so much for this." Link said bowing his head, "I promise I'll make Aviel happy."
"Very good my king," Amala nodded, she then turned and gave her daughter a wink, "Just don't go too fast, I'm not quite ready to become a grandmother just yet."
"Hee hee, okay Momma!" Aviel nodded.
They then heard a loud, audible crashing sound, and everyone looked to see Kozun was now laying face-first on the table, leaving a large indent in it.
"Grand... mother... I... grandpa..."
"Uh, Lady Nabooru, I think we'll have to take you up on that extended stay after all. I think my husband isn't going to recover for a while."
"Oh, sure." Nabooru said sweatdropping, "But your husband is paying to fix our table."
Later that night, with everyone else having gone to their rooms, Link and Aviel went into his own bedroom alone. It had been a long day for them, and the two of them were planning to end it on a very personal note together.
"You ready for this Aviel?" Link asked.
"Yep, I'm ready for this. I wanna feel as good as you made me back when we were alone in the ice cave!" Aviel nodded, "Only this time we won't be freezing our butts off!"
Link chuckled as he started removing his clothes, and he took a glance over at Aviel's own figure as she wiggled out of her top. Aviel's figure was always very small and slim compared to the curvier girls like Nemisa or Sarami, but she had a very generous chest size, and as she pulled off her top her breasts bounced a bit. She went over to the small fountain in the room to wash off her face and and wet down her hair, and he watched as her hair smoothed out and downwards. She turned to face him and he saw a trickle of water roll down her head and neck and fall in between her chest mounds. Despite her youthfulness, he found her quite sexy in her own special ways.
Aviel meanwhile was staring at Link's figure as he removed his pants. His body was getting more muscular due to his weight training with Reirousa, with more defined pecs and abs. His arms had biceps that turned the heads of many of the Gerudo girls as he went through town. His skin had a more defined tan to it due to how long he had spent out in the desert sun, and his hair was growing out longer and turning more bleached as well. Those urges deep within Aviel that she felt before were stronger now than ever, and she wanted to make up for all the time she took to realize her feelings for this man before her.
"Come on Link," grinned Aviel, "I'm ready!"
She ran right at Link, but not noticing a pillow that was on the ground. She managed to trip over it and fall forward. Link quickly caught her, but he slipped on another pillow in the process, causing the two to fall backwards and impact softly onto his bed. Aviel's head though managed to collide into Link's on impact, leaving the two in a daze.
"Ayeyeyeye..." Aviel groaned with her eyes spiraling, "Sorry Link, I did it again..."
Link shook off the impact and simply put both his strong arms around Aviel, holding her against him, causing her to squeak out.
"No problem Aviel, a lot of things between us may have changed, but some things will always stay the same." Link grinned, "But that's just fine with me, otherwise you wouldn't be the Aviel I know and love."
"Heeeeee..." Aviel grinned blissfully as she savored Link's embrace, "Then I promise I won't ever change!"
With that, the two long time friends shared a kiss. Link's hands caressed his newest lover's body, groping one of her round breasts, as Aviel ran her hands along his body...
And the two spent a wonderful night interlocked, enjoying the second time of their long and happy future together as lovers.
Meanwhile in a certain bedroom of Gerudo Palace, Nabooru was laying back against her bed. While everyone was either sleeping soundly or enjoying themselves, the Gerudo leader was having a bothersome sleepless night. She turned to her side and sighed out.
This was usually the kind of night where she would get hammered on booze to help her sleep, but she had been trying harder to cut back ever since her adventure with Link at the Hall of Knowledge. Making love with Link was also a good outlet for her when she was like this, but she was finding less and less time for that now that Link was taking so many fiances and child-bearers into bed as of late... While she felt she was in no position to hog Link up, there was a part of her that was starting to get bothered about it...
Nabooru got herself up and took a bottle of wine that Link had brought her as a gift from Dhaijialoft and poured herself a small glass. She took a slow sip of it as she gazed out at the night sky from her window, savoring the bitter taste.
The Gerudo leader had some long chats with Aviel's parents Kozun and Amala after they had arrived, curious about where they had been. As they did, they had mentioned their extended stay in New Vividel during the time they had amnesia.
"Vividel... that's a name I never thought I'd hear again..." Nabooru spoke softly.
She took another drink of wine and let out a deep breath, as she thought about a certain young man she had met so long ago and fallen in love with. The man she could never bring herself to let go of.
"I lost him all that time ago to the demon king Ganondorf..." Nabooru whispered, as she looked down to her drink, and thought about a certain blond Hylian man she had taken under her wing,
"The question is... will I someday have to feel that same pain again...?"
And FINALLY, this puts an end to Aviel's story arc! I apologize for taking so long to put this story out, there was a lot of things I was dissatisfied about with the was it was structured, and it felt like I was forcing myself every step of the way by the end. I'm much happier with the story as it is now!
I was also glad I was able to get out this entire story arc just before Christmas, I hope was a nice gift for you all, but I have something else in store for you with my announcement:
As thanks for the support of my fans, before I jump into the next major story arc, I've decided to take requests for new chapters that you all would like to see in this story! It's not going to be anything too overly long, but just some fun and wacky chapters to help wind down after this long arc. If you have a request for what you want to see Link, Nabooru and their friends get into, just post it in the comments or private message me!
Just a warning though, I won't be taking any requests relating to Malon, Impa and her child, or Princess Zelda, I'm sorry but I already have things planned soon with them.
As for the next chapter, it will be a simple one-shot when a familiar face returns to meet with Link and Nabooru, and they have business with the Gerudo king in particular!
As always, leave a like, follow or comment if you choose to, and let me hear what requests you have as well!