Hello readers! This week Zelda takes Link to learn about his parents, and in the process learns so much more...
Zelda and Impa led Link and Nabooru to a study room of Hyrule Castle where the princess and her nanny had prepared a few of books on a desk. Zelda sat down at a chair where Link and Nabooru both stood on either side of her.
"Are you sure this information you found is about my family?" Link asked with growing interest.
"Yes, it took some time it track down the names since you were missing for so long..." Zelda said flipping through pages, and showing them various names and information, as well as drawings of crests that were either colored blue, red and gold, "This is an archive of some of the greatest knights in Hyrule's history. Each crest is a unique symbol of that knight, rewarded only to those who have reached a high ranking and prestige in the Hylian royal army."
Link stared down in awe, impressed by what he read, wondering if Ashe might be part of this book someday.
"So Link's father was a royal knight then?" Nabooru asked.
"That's right," Zelda said, finally getting to a page with a green crest on it, "Here it is, his name was Sir Warrick; a highly talented knight of his time. He served for just eight years, but wtook part in many great missions on behalf of the Royal Family."
"Hold on a sec, most of those crests I saw were red, blue and gold. So why is Sir Warrick's crest green?" Nabooru asked.
"You caught that, huh?" Zelda spoke, "The truth is, as valiant as a knight as he was, he refused to ever let himself get promoted to General or higher. But his work was so renowned that he was documented in the archives anyway."
"Hm, why do you suppose that is?" Link asked curiously.
"No one really knew for sure, though some say he didn't want to be treated any differently than a private." Zelda said, she flipped a page, "Despite his low rank he always went out of his way to do the work of higher ranks despite his commanding officers demands not t, which got him in trouble a lot."
"Heh, that sounds a lot like you Link." snickered Nabooru.
"Ah heh heh..." Link chuckled lightly.
Zelda grinned and continued, "One of his greatest exploits was gathering a team of knights to defeat and capture the magma dragon Barbadon. That dragon's now sealed away deep in Arbiter's Grounds."
"I've heard of that monster myself," Nabooru commented, "Decades ago it used to terrorize the high eastern plains of Hyrule. It's pretty impressive your father took it down."
"Woah..." Link said.
Zelda got up from the chair and offered it to Link to sit down, which he accepted. He started flipping through the pages about his father with great interest. The princess smiled lightly seeing the brightness in Link's eyes.
"Now when did Link come into the picture then?" Nabooru asked.
Zelda spoke, "Well just around the time my father was about to make Sir Warrick accept a higher ranking, he had fallen into a relationship with a woman who went by the name of Aleena, she worked as an educational instructor at the market town academy."
"That must have been my mother..." Link whispered.
"A knight for a father and a teacher for a mother, I see where you get your skills from." Nabooru grinned to Link.
Impa said, "From what I was told, Sir Warrick left the knighthood after their marriage and settled down into a quiet life with Aleena out in a far off village. From what I've heard, he had no desire to use his blade ever again."
"So, then what happened to them...?" Link spoke softly.
"Well according to the report..." Impa took a deep, sad breath, "Shortly after you were born, powerful monsters suddenly attacked their home. Sir Warrick did everything he could to protect the village from them while they waited for backup from the knights, but he was overwhelmed and eventually struck down... No one knows what happened to you or your mother after that."
"I see..." Link whispered, "According to the Great Deku Sprout in the dark future, an injured woman brought me to Kokiri Forest to leave me in the care of the original Great Deku Tree..."
"Did the Deku Sprout mention at all what became of her?" Zelda asked.
"I don't really remember, I was pretty shaken at the time, especially since I had just lost Saria to being a sage." Link grimaced, "And then finding out Kokiri Forest wasn't actually my home..."
"Whatever injuries she had probably took her life..." Nabooru spoke sadly, she put a hand on Link's shoulder, "But I'm certain she's resting peacefully with your father in the world of spirits now."
"Yeah..." Link said with a sad smile, as he continued to read through the book with Nabooru, Zelda and Impa.
"Well, thanks for everything Princess." Link said to Zelda as they all left the study, "It must have taken some time to track down that information."
"I-It was no trouble at all." Zelda said, seeming to be a bit shaken herself.
"Ah, there you are my princess!" called out a voice, it was Prince Darius walking down the hall with his Counselor Xebes.
"Were you able to find the information on that man you were searching for princess?" Xebes asked.
"Indeed, thank you again for helping me Counselor Xebes." Zelda bowed, "And King Link was quite appreciative of it too."
"So you helped her find out about my father?" Link asked, "Suppose I should thank you myself, Counselor."
"Hohoho, well I've been around for quite a long while, I'd be embarrassed if I couldn't help with a little history lesson." Xebes chuckled, running a finger through his beard.
"Well now that you've fed your minds, I think it's high time you feed your stomachs!" Prince Darius performed a majestic poise while holding out an eating fork, "The chefs have just finished preparing our luncheon for today; fine grilled fish with rotten potatoes!"
"Rotten potatoes...?" Nabooru asked in confusion.
"He means 'au gratin' style potatoes." Zelda said rolling her eyes with a lightened smile.
"Good thing it's fish today, I think the prince could use a bit more brain food..." Impa muttered.
"King Link, Lady Nabooru, how would you like to join us all for lunch?" Darius suggested.
"The haddock are quite mature this time of year, so I'm certain it'll be delicious." Xebes nodded.
"Fine by me, food always sounds good!" Link said with a big grin.
Soon the six of them were at the dining hall, enjoying a fine lunch of fish and potatoes. Between times when his mouth was full, Link would tell Darius about what he had learned about his father Warrick.
"Ah, so he was the one who led the attack on Barbadon? Quite an accomplishment." Darius said proudly, "He truly was an awesome hero of his time!"
"Yeah, he certainly was." Link nodded, taking a bite of fish.
"And you yourself have built up a great heroic legacy of your own." Darius said, "I'm sure your father would be proud of you."
"..." Zelda glanced to Link, as she was picking at her food.
"You really think so?" Link asked, he grinned a little sheepishly, "I don't know about that, especially now that I'm the desert king and have a harem of wives. He'd probably think I've become a total degenerate!" he laughed.
"You may be a degenerate, but you're our degenerate!" snickered Nabooru, poking him in the side, earning a laugh from the group.
Just then servants came in with another entree for the lunch that day, a carrot cake with vanilla frosting. Link was given a slice and he went right to town on it.
"This is great, you'd think a pastry made with a vegetable wouldn't taste this good!" Link said as he ate his slice.
"You've never been fond of carrots, have you?" Nabooru pointed out with a grin.
"I'm okay with them raw, but cooked just grosses me out. I've been like that since I was a kid." Link said sticking out his tongue. He looked over at Zelda and Impa, "How about the two of you? You going to have some cake?"
"Well..." Zelda looked from her lunch which still had a few potatoes and vegetables, over to the carrot cake with a long stare, but she glanced at Darius and looked away, "N-No... thank you... I don't have that big of an appetite today, and I shouldn't try to have this if I couldn't finish my lunch..."
"I think I'll pass myself as well." Impa said looking away, "I'm... trying to cut back on sweets, it was a pain losing all that weight from having Shikki."
"Oh I'm sure Link wouldn't mind." grinned Nabooru, cutting a slice of it for herself, "I know he'd be happy to give you another child no matter what size you are."
Impa faulted over as Link almost spit out his drink, Darius burst out laughing while Zelda looked embarrassed.
"C-Come on Nabooru, she said she's not ready to have another kid yet!" Link protested. After a moment of thought he looked Impa over with a small suggestive smile, "Though I'll admit she's not wrong, Impa. Go ahead and eat up if you want."
"..." Impa glanced away with a heavy blush, before she took a slice of carrot cake for herself after all.
"If I may say," Xebes said, "I've heard much about the Sheikah's legacy, and was saddened to find out they were going extinct..." he ran his finger through his beard in thought, "It makes this old man happy to know the two of you are working to restore the Sheikah bloodline once again."
"If you don't mind my asking, what happened to the Sheikah anyway?" Nabooru asked Impa, "Was there a reason your people were on the verge of dying out?"
"It's... a long story." Impa said, casting her gaze away, "I'll tell you when the time comes..."
"So what about the two of you?" Nabooru turned to Darius and Zelda, "Have you two thought about when you're going to start having a child together?"
The two of them looked a little startled by Nabooru's question.
"You really are shameless!" Impa exclaimed.
"Ha-haha-ha!" Darius laughed out, "No matter, I can understand why she'd be curious. Honestly we both have our reasons. The Parliament's been giving us a hard time about it, but we just have no desire to start a family right yet."
"It's understandable what with everything going on at the moment." Link nodded, "I've already had some kids with my child-bearers, but since that's their main job they're in a more comfortable position to be doing that."
"Just wait until you start having heirs with Aviel, Nemisa, Sarami and the others, "I bet you're going to have your hands full dealing with all of them." Nabooru smirked.
"Heh... I'm sure he will be treating you quite well yourself 'Grand Queen' Nabooru." Impa winked.
"I...!" Nabooru turned her head away awkwardly, as the Sheikah ninja was well-aware of how she wasn't actually Link's fiance, and muttered under her breath, "Well played Lady Impa..."
"..." Zelda meanwhile was poking at what remained of her food, she accidentally flicked at a piece of broccoli, causing it to go flying across the table and smacked Link in the forehead.
"Oops! I'm sorry L- I mean, Gerudo King!" Zelda said frantically as Darius laughed out.
"No big deal." Link said. As the broccoli piece fell from his forehead he stuck out his tongue and caught it in his mouth, as he chewed he asked, "Is something the matter, Princess?"
"N-No, I'm quite fine!" Zelda said, clearly forcing a smile, "I... uh, forgot I have something to do right now. Have a good day!"
With that, Zelda got herself up and left the dining hall without so much as waiting for a reply from anyone else.
"Looks like it's still bothering her after all this time..." Darius said sadly, "Perhaps I should go console her."
"Sorry my prince, but you have other work to do right now." Xebes said, "Don't forget your lessons."
"Ha-haha-ha!" laughed out Darius, slapping his hand against his forehead, "I had nearly forgotten! I'll have to talk to her later then!" he stood up and bowed, "I hope you all have a fine meal, my friends! Now lead the way my Counselor!"
Bidding Link and the others goodbye Darius and Xebes both left as well, leaving Link, Nabooru and Impa alone.
"Soooo if you don't mind me asking, what's wrong with the princess?" Link asked Impa.
"You'll have to forgive her, this is normal around this time of year." Impa spoke, taking a bite of cake with a solemn look in her eyes, "You see, this is the anniversary of her own mother's death."
"O-Oh..." Link's eyes widened, "I... I'm sorry."
"No, it's fine. You couldn't have known." Impa assured him as she finished cake and stood up, "Come along, both of you."
Impa led Link and Nabooru into her personal quarters, where there was some servants watching over her son Shikki. She allowed them to leave and took the child in her arms.
"Hey Shikki, how're you doing?" Link asked with a big smile, tickling his son's stomach.
"Ah-goo!" Shikki giggled out, quickly grabbing at Link's finger and squeezing at it.
"What a strong little one he is." Nabooru chuckled, "He's certainly got a great future ahead of him."
"Indeed, I wish to someday train him to be the caretaker of Zelda's future children." Impa said.
As Impa took Shikki to change his diaper, Link paused on Impa's words as he thought about the beautiful portrait of Zelda's mother in the palace hallway he saw shortly after coming to the castle.
"Tell me something Impa." Link spoke, "How exactly did Princess Zelda's mother die?"
"..." Impa stopped in the middle of changing Shikki and looked away with a pained stare.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." Link said startled at Impa's reaction.
"No... no it's okay." Impa shook her head, "I think you should know about it for yourself. The reason the queen died you see..."
Impa clenched the new diaper in her hand as tears started to form in her eyes.
"...was due to her pregnancy with the princess."
"W-What?" Link and Nabooru exclaimed.
"Everything was going fine for her at first, but about six months in, the doctors discovered an abnormality in her body, and they traced it directly to her pregnancy with Zelda." Impa spoke, "It was a point of conflict with her and the king... as he...
The nanny hung her head down as Shikki looked up at his mother curiously.
"...was even suggesting the termination of the fetus..."
"O-Oh..." Nabooru gasped.
'Sarami went through a similar ordeal with one of her expectant patients last year.' Link thought to himself, recalling Gonaeti and the lung tumor she had from carrying her daughter Rimel.
Impa continued, "There was quite a rift between the king and queen back then. I don't want to think the stress contributed to the queen's condition but..."
The Sheikah shook her head and took a deep breath,
"The queen went through with the remainder of the pregnancy regardless of what anyone recommended though. She had told me how important Zelda was to the future of Hyrule, and was prepared for whatever consequences may arise."
"..." Nabooru stared downcast as Impa continued,
"Thankfully the birth was successful; Zelda was born happy and healthy, and even the queen seemed just fine for the next year or so. I was keeping an eye on Her Majesty during that time to make sure she was going to be okay..." Impa gazed upwards, "I wish you could have met her for yourself Link. She was so beautiful; practically glowing with motherhood as she cared for her daughter."
"If she was as stunning as her daughter I wish I could have." Link nodded, "So then what happened to her?"
"One day the two of us where walking along chatting together, it was like any other day... when the queen just collapsed all of a sudden. She was taken into immediate treatment, but didn't make it..." Impa spoke as tears started spilling down her tears, "Zelda was barely a year old when that happened..."
"By the goddess Aifet, I'm so sorry Impa..." Nabooru spoke, "Did they find out what it was from?"
"The doctors couldn't perform a full autopsy due to the law prohibiting the desecration of a Royal Family member's deceased body, but they were able to determine from past medical records that she likely suffered a postpartum cardiovascular disease," Impa said.
"A what?" Link asked, he had learned from medical terminology from Sarami, but didn't understand all the details.
"She suffered from a severe heart condition." Nabooru explained.
"Her death was difficult for us all..." Impa shook her head and went back to changing Shikki's diaper, "Especially King Reinald, he changed greatly after that, with a surly disposition towards everyone. At times I wondered if he resented Zelda for inadvertently causing her mother's death..."
Link frowned, he was starting to get an idea of why the king used to be so uptight when he first met him ten years ago...
"I suppose that attitude is partially to blame for the distrust the people had with him just before Ganondorf's betrayal." Nabooru pointed out.
"Indeed." Impa nodded, "Ironically it was Ganondorf's attempted attack on the throne that helped the king see things in a new light. After Zelda convinced him of what Ganondorf had planned to do, he started to respect Zelda's wishes much more..."
Impa's mood lifted a little as she finished changing Shikki, and held him up with a small smile as the baby giggled,
"I think it was due to him seeing more of the queen in Zelda that day. She truly is her mother's daughter..."
"I think I understand why she was so assertive about getting information on my own parents then." Link realized, "She must have felt bad for me since I didn't even know who they were."
"Maybe you should try to do something for her in exchange then?" Nabooru proposed.
"...yeah..." Link said with a growing smile, "In fact, I think I know exactly what to do!"
"Just to warn you, Darius will destroy you if you try to give her a baby." Impa joked.
Link practically faulted over as Nabooru burst out laughing, even Shikki giggled despite not knowing what they were talking about.
"I... had something way different in mind..." Link said going out the door, he stopped for a moment,
"Actually first. could you do something for me Impa...?"
Link walked through the castle searching for where Zelda had gone off to, he asked a knight where the princess might be, but while she had stopped at her bedroom for a moment, he said she wasn't there anymore. After a moment of thought, Link went off on his way, having an idea of where she could be.
After making a quick stop at the royal kitchen, he came out to a secluded area of the castle courtyard, a very familiar place to him and Zelda, as this was the very place where he first met her ten years ago. Sure enough, sitting beside a tree in the little garden area was Zelda, looking down at a picture. He also noticed that she had a certain item on the ground by her side.
When she heard footsteps she looked up to see Link walking up to her holding a small wrapped up package. She looked a bit startled, quickly tucking away the picture she had.
"L- I mean," she cleared her throat, "Gerudo King, is something the matter?"
"Hey Princess, I figured you might be here." Link grinned, "I wanted to thank you again for helping me learn a little about my parentage. It's was fascinating to hear about my dad's exploits, and learning my mother was a teacher was real surprising "
"It... was honestly nothing..." Zelda said with a small, somewhat sad smile, "It was the least I could do for you."
"It means a lot to me really. It tells me a lot about myself what I've been able to accomplish." Link nodded and knelt down to her.
"You took it all very well. I admit there was a part of me that worried it would hurt you to find out what happened to them." Zelda said.
"Well, I guess cause I never really knew them personally." Link said folding his arms behind his head and looking up into the sky, "Don't get me wrong, I have a deep respect for them for bringing me into this world and protecting me, but I guess I just didn't have enough of an attachment."
"...I wish I had your strength, Gerudo King." Zelda sighed, "I lost my mother around the same time as you did, but it still' affects me to this day... especially after I came to learn the truth about how she died..."
Link's eyes widened, looking down at Zelda with a bit of alarm, "Huh?"
"Minister Odleh just casually slipped it into a conversation she had with my father while I was younger..." Zelda's eyes teared up, "...that my mother died because she gave birth to me..."
'So she did know... that damn minister...' Link scowled in thought, 'I knew the Hylian Parliament could be dismissive of Zelda in general, but how could she do something as heartless as that?'
Link stared down at Zelda, whose head was hung down sadly He thought deeply before nodding to himself, and spoke up to the princess,
"Listen Princess, I was wondering if there was something I could do for you." he spoke.
"Huh? Like what...?" Zelda asked curious.
"Like perhaps... you and I could have another duel?" Link suggested, gesturing to his side and showing he had his knight's sword equipped.
"A duel?" Zelda exclaimed.
"Jjust like old times." Link nodded. He looked up at the sky turning orange and stroked his chin with a fond smile, "Remember back when we'd do that sort of thing as kids? We'd play sword duels with sticks, while Impa would watch and make sure no one saw us?"
"Y-Yes... I remember." Zelda spoke, "But that was long ago... besides, I doubt Darius would approve of it... He gets really upset when I hold anything he sees as dangerous."
"Is that why you have a sword with you right now?" Link pointed out with a cheeky grin.
Zelda gasped out, realizing Link recognized the sheathed blade she had laid by her side. She had almost forgotten about it do to her looking at the picture she had. She stared down at the sword lost in thought, as she could feel her right arm was tingling again like earlier that day when she saw Link and Darius were dueling each other...
"I... no... I couldn't possibly do that." Zelda said shaking her head, "Anyway, if I get injured in the duel you could be in a great deal of trouble!"
"Not if you two sign this." spoke a voice, as the two looked up at the castle wall to see Impa standing on it with her ninja technique. She leaped down to the grass holding a familiar paper that had a red ribbon attached to it.
"An 'Accordance to a Royal Duel' contract?" Zelda spoke looking down at the document, recalling back when Darius had Link sign one of these for the duel they had in the outer courtyard, "I'm... not sure..." she said hesitantly.
"What's the matter? As long as we sign this, neither of us will get in trouble." Link pointed out.
"W-Would... you really wish to fight me that badly?" Zelda spoke with uncertainty, "I'm certain I'm not anywhere near your level of strength..."
"Even if you think that's true, we don't have to take it too seriously." Link said, "Come on, it'll be fun!"
"I'm with Link on this." Impa nodded, "After all the training you've done with me over the years, I think you're fit to have a friendly duel with King Link. And I'll take any responsibility for this if your father somehow finds out."
"I..." Zelda hesitated for a moment, before nodding as she signed the contract, "Very well."
Once everything was prepared, Link and Zelda both stood on opposite sides of the courtyard. Impa stood guard at the exit to the small area, while the curtains of the nearby windows had been pulled shut to prevent anyone from ease-dropping on them.
The young king readied his knight's sword while the princess unsheathed her own weapon, which was sure enough a rapier. Link took a moment to observe the weapon she held; the handle was plated in gold and with a shining blade that had marks of repeated usage, but it was still in a well-kept condition. The way she held the blade, it reminded him somewhat of Captain Zelda from the Era of Warriors.
He also noted that chained to the end of the rapier's handle was a small locket that was blue on one side and green on the other, with gold bindings and a lock holding it together, while the lock itself was in the shape of an insect cocoon.
"Wait, that's..." Link paused, then smiled lightly as he rose up his sword, "So you all set, princess?"
"Yes, I'm ready." Zelda nodded, bringing up her rapier and swinging it out to her side, "If you will, face me Gerudo King!"
With that the two came at each other with their blades. Link started with an overhead swing, while Zelda swung her rapier at the sword to counter it, before thrusting forward with a quick jab. Link stepped out of the way and went in for another swipe, to which Zelda spun out of the way gracefully before swinging her blade back upwards for a counter attack.
'She's really gotten good.' Link thought, quickly dodging another swipe and using his sword in an overhead downward stance to block another thrust, but the rapier deflected the sword away and she did another quick thrust that he stepped away from, 'A rapier lacks power, but it focuses on accuracy and grace to land quick attacks. In away, it's kind of the perfect weapon for Zelda...'
Link went on the offense and did few swipes, and while Zelda managed to dodge the first two, Link's last swing was a sudden horizontal swipe that cut across her, making her yelp out lightly.
"Are you okay?" Link asked, stopping his attacks with an alarmed expression. He worired he may have been too rough with her, only for Zelda to nick his arm when she suddenly did a powerful forward thrust. He looke dto the blade then to Zelda's face.
"I'm just getting started." Zelda said with a smile of growing confidence, making Link grin in return as the two went right back into battle.
Link evaded another thrust and went in with a downward horizontal swipe, but this time Zelda did a leap into the air and swung her rapier which forced him to block again. In midair Zelda suddenly did a repeated barrage of thrusts which he had a hard time blocking off. He took a few sharp hits, until Zelda landed down and did a downward swipe, which he back-flipped away from. When he landed to his feet he took that chance to run at Zelda with an overhead swing which she quickly blocked in a kneeling stance with her rapier at it's side.
"That rapier of yours is strong stuff!" Link commented.
"It was a gift from Impa after she recognized my ability in swordsmanship." Zelda said, she slid it against Link's sword slowly before suddenly swinging it up to knock away his sword and thrust it forward, forcing him to dodge to the side, "I've trained with it whenever I've had the chance!"
"A gift, huh...?" Link spoke, glancing at his own knight's sword, and the two went right back to combat.
Link swung two powerful swipes that Zelda blocked off, then when Link did a horizontal swipe Zelda leaped high over his head with a flip, astonishing him. As soon as she landed she tried to get a shoulder attack but Link quickly spun around and blocked off the attack, then quickly parried for another hit on Zelda. She did another thrust that he blocked, but the force of the stab caused him to stagger back a bit.
Zelda took that chance for a forward thrust, shouting out as she did, while Link quickly took his own sword and thrust it forward as well with a shout. The tips of their blades struck with such force they were both repelled away, and the two came to a standstill for a moment.
Link stood motionless, before he chuckled a little, and burst out laughing, confusing Zelda.
"You know what? I think I get it now." laughed Link, "You're a real big, fat liar Princess!"
"Eh? What do you mean?" Zelda asked.
"I took you at your word and was holding back at first, but then you started really getting into the match, and I had to start taking it serious." Link grinned, "You're a lot better than you give yourself credit for!"
"Well... th-thank you." Zelda said, with a light smile, "Your strength is just as amazing as I've heard."
The two then heard a clapping noise, as they both turned to see Nabooru walking past Impa into the courtyard area with a prideful smile.
"Well, well, looks like you two had fun." the Gerudo leader said with a smirk.
"N-Nabooru?" Link spoke, "Uh, how long have you been watching?"
"I showed up just as you two started to really go at each other." Nabooru chuckled. She looked to Zelda's nanny, "Thanks for staying silent about me Impa."
"It was a fine duel, seemed like a waste to not have at least one spectator." Impa chuckled as Link and Zelda looked to each other sheepishly. Nabooru strolled up and took them both by their shoulders.
"Now how about the two of you have a rest and we'll talk a bit?" she proposed, "In fact, I brought a little something for the princess."
Link and Zelda nodded and sat down on a bench with Nabooru, as Impa handed them both some bottles of water to quench their thirst.
"Good work Link. Even dueling against the princess you displayed your full strength, that alone shows much you respect her." Nabooru then glanced over at Zelda as she drank from the water bottle, "And I was especially impressed with your ability Princess. Impa told us before in the past about how you've been practicing in the way of the sword, but I wasn't expecting you to be that good."
"Ah ha ha... it's nothing that big a deal." Zelda laughed, scratching her cheek with a small smile, "Father and Darius both disapprove of me being in combat, so I've been training with Impa these past years in secret as a sort of... side hobby. "
"Some side hobby, you were giving Link a real run for his rupees!" smirked Nabooru, "You even got me wanting to duel you!"
"After what Link's told me about you Lady Nabooru, I know you're someone I doubt I would stand any chance against!" Zelda giggled with a light blush.
"Why do I feel like I just got insulted just now?" Link asked, making the two women burst out laughing, "Well either way, I had a lot of fun dueling with you today Princess."
He looked down to his knight's sword fondly, before speaking,
"...or should I say, Sir Lackey?"
"Eeehhh?" Zelda yelped out loudly, '"I... I don't know what you're talking about! Sir Lackey is out on official business in... uh..." she saw the unflinching smile Link bore, while Nabooru nodded at her, and she sighed in defeat, "When did you figure it out...?"
"I admit you had me fooled for a while." Link nodded, "There was always something about Sir Lackey that threw me off when I met him in Kakariko Village, and again during the alliance meeting, but I started picking up on some things you said after I arrived at the castle. And I think that duel we had just now helped in that regard."
"Ah heh heh... I suppose I should have been more careful..." Zelda admitted, blushing a little as she twiddled with her fingers in a way Link found adorable.
"Well with that in mind... I wanted to apologize to you." Link said sporting a serious expression, "Back at the alliance meeting, I went and told you everything about what happened in the dark future way sooner than I had intended to. It must have been a lot to take in."
"It... certainly was..." Zelda admitted, "To know my plan to stop Ganondorf backfired so badly, and resulted in that horrible future..."
"Hey come on Princess, you couldn't have known what would happen." Nabooru assured her.
"But it still happened regardless... my plan had doomed Hyrule for seven long years..." Zelda whispered, squeezing at her knees, "I used you to fix the mistake I made... and so many of your wonderful friends had to carry the burden for it..." the princess looked to the gerudo woman, "Including you Lady Nabooru..."
"Well..." Nabooru glanced away a bit awkwardly.
"It makes me wonder about the choices I've made as princess... if I truly am fit to rule Hyrule someday..." Zelda whispered, she looked up,
"I wonder... if my mother had to die, just for a daughter who would sooner doom Hyrule than save it."
There was a long, silent pause as Link, Nabooru and even Impa looked to Zelda in shock at her words. No one even knew what to say in response right away.
"..." Link turned his head away and broke the silence, "Hey Impa. Is that duel contract still intact?"
"Indeed it is, why?" Impa asked.
Link then brought up his hand, and bopped Zelda lightly upside the head.
"Ack, huh?" Zelda exclaimed.
"Link?!" Nabooru exclaimed.
"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" shouted Impa, about to pull out her kunai to teach Link a lesson.
"Sorry Princess, but I can't stand hearing you talking like that about yourself." Link said, "I don't blame you for anything that happened in that future. You're a wonderful and thoughtful person who only wants what's best for Hyrule. You're not perfect, and I don't think anyone should ever expect you to be."
"Heh... he's really grown a lot..." Nabooru whispered, recalling back when she comforted him the day he arrived at Gerudo Town and found out about the war.
"But I..." Zelda spoke.
"I mean honestly, if I had been in the same shoes as your father back then, I wouldn't have wanted your mother to risk her life either." Link said, finding himself thinking about Gonaeti and Rimel again, "...but your mother went through with the pregnancy anyway, because she thought the world of you before you were even born. She knew you'd be the one to lead Hyrule and make it prosper someday."
"He's right you know." Nabooru smiled, "We all make mistakes in our lives, but it's through enduring those mistakes we can have a better understanding of the world and grow from it..." she glanced away, "It can just take longer for some than others..."
"I remember not too long ago when I made a massive mistake that almost resulted in me attacking a bunch of knights and throwing this land into another war between the Hylians and Gerudo..." Link said, "But when the Fierce Deity was trying to take total control of me... you risked yourself to distract me and buy time for Nabooru to pull off her plan..."
Zelda recalled when she pretended to be the man that killed Esolu in order to stop him.
"I... suppose..."
Link then held up his weapon, "Then after I lost Kaira's sword to Imono's power, you gave me this one to use in it's place, and it's served me well all this time to protect my loved ones..."
He turned to Zelda and smiled softly, placing a hand on her knee.
"If now more than anything, I can't thank you enough for saving me, Princess Zelda."
Nabooru and Impa both looked to each other and chuckled lightly as Zelda was taken aback by Link's words,
"King Link... I..." Zelda whispered.
"In fact, there's something else I wanted to give you, I was saving it for after the duel." Link said, he pulled out the tied up package he had earlier and handed it to Zelda, "I got it from the kitchen before I came here."
Curious, she unwrapped it and saw in astonishment that it was a carrot cake with vanilla frosting.
"This is...!" Zelda gasped out, "But I couldn't... I..." she trailed off.
"Come on, you worked hard enough today, why don't you have a little something to treat yourself for once?" he suggested.
"..." Zelda stared down at the cake, and Link could see she was almost close to salivating from the sight of it, "I don't think... Darius would approve of me having this."
"Well he's not here right now." Nabooru spoke, putting a hand on her shoulder with a smile, "We won't tell if you don't."
The princess stared at Nabooru, "...o-okay, thank you!" Zelda nodded, as she took a fork and started eating.
Link smiled lightly as he saw the bright smile on her face as she ate it. She always loved carrot cake when they were kids, and even after all these years she still hadn't changed in that regard.
The four of them continued to relax as Zelda enjoyed her cake, and they all watched the evening shift to nighttime. After finishing her dessert, Zelda wiped her mouth of crumbs and gazed up at the moon for a moment.
"So Lady Nabooru, since we've all been speaking of our families today..." Zelda spoke up, "You have to tell us, what was yours like?"
"Eh, now this is about me?" Nabooru asked, she rubbed the back of her neck, "Jees, way to put me on the spot..."
"Come on Nabooru, I've been wanting to hear about this too!" Link said eagerly.
"As would I." Impa spoke standing closer to the three from the underside of a tree branch.
"Heh... okay, okay, you all twisted my arm." Nabooru chuckled a little, "Well... to be honest I never knew who my father was. I think he was just some random guy my mother slept with to have a kid. Never really thought too much about him."
Nabooru looked up into the night sky, "As for my mother... she's actually a researcher. She's spent years looking into the history of our people, and the grand stories of our ancient deities like our grand goddess Aifet. She's even the one who helped compose the latest version of the Book of Mudora."
"Oh yeah, the ancient Gerudo translation book." Link nodded, "So is your mother doing alright? I haven't even met her yet."
"She's very much alive, I can assure you that. She's just..." Nabooru paused, "...a very aloof person as far as family and acquaintances go. She's very passionate about her work... maybe a little too much." Nabooru chuckled a little as she recalled back when she'd drown herself in paperwork before Link introduced Halei as her new assistant, "I suppose I take after her in that way."
"Well either way, I'd love to meet her someday." Link said, laying back and grinning, "I especially want to thank her for bringing you into this world Nabooru."
"Heh..." Nabooru smiled weakly, looking back to into the sky, thinking to herself, 'Though I wonder if she'd even consider that a complement...'
"Well it was great talking with you girls." Link grinned, bringing up his fist at Zelda, "How about we have another day like this when we got the chance?"
"..." Zelda stared at Link's fist and the bright smile on his face, for a brief second, she recall back when she and Link were still children, and he had held up his fist to her bearing the same gesture.
Zelda smiled lightly and bumped her own fist into his, "Of course King Link, I'd be honored!"
"Glad to hear." Link nodded, then glanced down at Zelda's rapier and the small locket hanging off of it, "Before we go Princess one more thing, I was just wondering... is that the same-?"
"Princess!" exclaimed a voice, as they all turned to see Darius standing at the entrance to the courtyard with his jaw dropped, "I can't believe you went through with that!"
'Uh oh.' Link thought, looking up at the windows, 'He didn't see the duel did he...?!'
Before they could even say anything in their defense, Darius came running up to Zelda and taking her by her hands.
"I saw that fist bump! Are your delicate fingers okay?!" the prince asked desperately, causing Link and Nabooru to fault over.
"That's what he's panicking over?" Nabooru asked herself.
"Not to worry Darius, I'm just fine." Zelda smiled.
"Ah... yes... I suppose so." Darius sighed, he got up holding her hand, "Come, it's getting late. I think it's time to turn in."
Everyone nodded and got up, dusting themselves off and started to leave. Impa, Zelda and Nabooru all went on ahead. But as Link was beginning to leave, he stopped and noticed Darius was standing still, looking up into the night sky.
"Prince Darius?" Link asked.
"Tell me something Gerudo King, do you know that it's the anniversary of that day?" spoke Darius softly, "When Princess Zelda's mother left this world?"
"Yeah, I do..." Link nodded, "Me and Nabooru heard all about it from Impa."
"I suppose now then, you understand why it's so hard for me to even consider having children with her...?" Darius said.
After a moment of thought, Link's eyes widened as he realized what Darius meant,
"You're afraid that her mother's health condition might have been passed down to Zelda..."
"I haven't had the will to talk to her about this yet, given the timing and circumstances..." Darius spoke, "The Parliament has been putting a lot more pressure on the two of us to have an heir to the throne soon, but given their horrible attitude with her, I doubt they would even care about this possibility."
"From what I've seen of them, that's not too far off." Link said.
"And you know Princess Zelda by now, she'd be the type who would throw away her life for the good of the kingdom." Darius took a breath, "I've grown so attached to her over the time we've been together, and honestly it terrifies me to think of her going through with something like what her mother did..."
"Darius..." Link whispered, recalling their conversation from the washroom earlier that day.
Darius wiped a tear from his duct, "Ha-haha... don't mind me Link. It's not exactly an easy thing to talk about."
"No, it's fine." Link nodded, walking up and putting a hand on his shoulder, "Just knowing that you truly care so much for the princess' life to think that way, it makes me respect you now more than ever."
"...I appreciate that, my friend." Darius nodded.
The two went off on their way to turn in for the night, but Link took one last stop to look back up at the star-simmering sky.
In that moment, he saw one shooting star pass by, and for some reason he suddenly thought about Zelda's mother...
"Hey Link, get a move on or I'm making you sleep on the floor tonight!" Nabooru called out half-jokingly.
"Oh sure, coming!" Link said, running off to join his friends.
And that ends this chapter, and with it I have a few announcements.
First thing is I'm going to be going on hiatus for a while. I need to have some more 'me' time in light of some events in my personal life. It's nothing bad, just need to take some time off of writing.
Another announcement I wish to make is at the end of the hiatus, I'll be releasing an entirely new one-shot story!
It's called "My True Purpose", and is going to be based on the recently released Pokemon Scarlet. It takes place after the ending where the new champion trainer and their friends stumble upon a very shocking new secret hidden away, and one of them will learn what family truly is...
As always, thank you all so much for your support over the years! Please leave a like, follow, comment or just send a private message at your leisure! Your feedback is always encouraged!