Link sat downstairs to the bedroom of the Gerudo chief and his wife Riju. Riju was currently in labour with their child and Link had been forbidden from being in the room with her. Although Riju had granted him a pass as the only male allowed within the walls of Gerudo City, Link had been forbidden from being a part of the delivery, despite his wife's protest. This was a sacred moment for the Gerudo as Riju was to give birth to the next chief of the Gerudo. As a male this was something Link was forbidden to be a part, of despite being the chief's husband and the baby's father. Riju had done her best to allow Link to be a part of this, but alas her people firmly refused. Even her personal body guard Buliara had stated, that this was the one time she would go against the chief's orders. She was even prepared to fight Link and have him imprisoned if he tried to enter Riju's room. Thankfully Link had no desire to fight and had agreed to their conditions.
He considered himself lucky to even be allowed to be a part of his wife's life. Although he was allowed in the city, his visits had once been sporadic and temporary. Once he and Riju married, he had moved to the city full time. The Gerudo were surprisingly ok with this. They knew how much Link meant to Riju, so they eventually came to terms with the fact that Riju's husband would be a permanent resident of Gerudo town. Most Gerudo could go and be with their husbands whenever they liked. Riju's situation was different. As chief she rarely left the city, only leaving for diplomatic missions with other areas of Hyrule.
There romance had been an odd one. When they first meant Riju was only a teenager, while Link had reached adulthood. Because of this Riju had only seen Link as an older brother figure and not a romantic parter. As she matured however she started to see Link in a different light. Once she reached adulthood, she started to see Link for the truly great man he was and with every visit he made to Gerudo town she found herself falling in love with him more and more. To her surprise, Link would eventually return these feelings and started opening up to her in ways he never opened up to others. This helped show people just how special Riju was to Link.
Why they announced their engagement, no one objected. Even Zelda, princess now Queen of Hyrule had given the engagement her blessing. Eventually they had gotten married forcing Link to move from Hyrule Castle to Gerudo town.
Despite his status as the Chief's husband, even earning himself the title of Cheiftan, Link had very little political power within Gerudo town. But this didn't matter much to himself or to Riju. They both knew he wasn't a ruler. He was a solider and someone who just wanted to help others. That ended up being their roles as husband and wife. Riju ruled over the town, while Link helped out in anyway he could, particularly when it came to the towns defence. He was always willing to jump in to defend the town whenever needed. With the hero of Hyrule always at the defence of the town the residence had never felt safer.
Despite all his efforts to keep the town safe, this was the one time he couldn't help the person he loved.
He sat in the throne room with Buliara, both hoping Riju was doing ok.
"She'll be fine, she has the best medical support this town has to offer," said Buliara breaking the silence that had been stirring for the last few hours.
Link said nothing, but merely looked at her.
"I'm sorry I couldn't let you be in there with hold, but there are some traditions we must uphold," added Buliara.
Link said nothing, he only nodded.
Despite seeing Link nearly every day, Buliara still rarely heard him speak. In fact, most of the town barley heard him speak. He spoke a little to those in town he helped, but it was still rare for Link to utter more then a few words. Buliara didn't question why Link was so silent to the world, but at the same time she didn't want to pry so she didn't push the topic.
She felt guilty that Link couldn't be in there with Riju when she needed him the most. Despite their traditions the last thing Buliara wanted was to upset her chief. Thankfully Riju also wanted to make sure her subjects were happy, so had agreed to continue the tradition despite not being happy about it. Buliara was also grateful that Link didn't retaliate when they had forbidden him from entering Riju's room. Buliara felt silly for threating to fight Link if he didn't comply. Everyone in town knew that Link's skills as a warrior exceeded that of everyone in Gerudo town, even though he was smaller and physically weaker than most of the town's residents. If Buliara had tried to fight Link, she knew it would've ended in her defeat. Some were actually amazed Link had been so compliant with their rules. Link was always the first to jump in when people needed help, so it surprised them when Link had agreed to stay outside when his wife was giving birth.
Link had pretty good reason for complying. Despite being the Chief's special Voe, Link knew he was lucky to even be allowed in the walls or Gerudo Town, let alone live there. As a man Link knew his presence in the town wouldn't sit well with the residents, so he did everything he could to stay on their good side, which meant respecting their traditions has much as he could, even if he didn't agree with them. This had been a particularly hard rule for Link to follow as he felt this was the time Riju needed him the most. Nevertheless, Link knew it was important to keep the peace, so when told he wasn't allowed in the delivery room, he merely took a deep breath, nodded and went to go wait in the thrown room.
Hours had passed and neither Link, nor Buliara had received any updates on Riju's condition.
Eventually, an older Gerudo came down to speak to Riju's husband and bodyguard.
"The Chief has given birth," she said.
Normally a man would rush to see his wife when this news was delivered. Link on the other hand remained seated and nodded. Just in case he still wasn't allowed to see Riju he didn't want to do anything that might upset the other Gerudo.
Seeing Link's hesitation the elder Gerudo spoke again.
"Sir Link, you may now see your wife if you wish."
Link nodded and stood. Before going up the stairs he looked at Buliara, silently asking her if she would like to come as well.
"I think you're the only person Lady Riju wishes to see right now. Please go up and see her, I have plenty of time to meet her child," answered Buliara.
Link nodded and headed up the stairs into Riju's room. Upon entering he found his wife lying under the covers of their bead, sweating from the ordeal she had just been through. It was rare to see a Gerudo sweat due to the heat resistance they had from living in the desert, but child birth was a difficult ordeal for anyone, so it came as no surprise that Riju was sweating a little.
"Link," she said weakly.
Link walked over and hugged his wife then kissed her on the forehead.
"Please, take it easy, you've been through a lot," Link spoke for the first time in hours while still hugging his wife.
Despite her husband's protests Riju continued.
"I'm sorry you couldn't be in here for the delivery. Thankfully I was able to power through it, because more than anything I wanted you to meet our daughter."
As Link had married a Gerudo, both he and Riju knew that their child would likely be a girl. Almost all Gerudo were born female, which was the biggest reason for why men weren't allowed in the town. A male Gerudo was only born once every one hundred years, so Link and Riju knew from the start they were going to have a girl and were happy that their daughter had arrived.
Little did Riju and Link know, they were in for a big surprise.
"Where is she?" asked Link looking around but seeing no one else in the room.
"Sorry Link, but they took her away immediately after she was born. It was odd though, they took off a lot quicker than I thought they would, it was almost like they felt something was wrong with our daughter. I'm no medical expert, but I'm guessing they wanted to make sure she was healthy before they handed her to me," answered Riju.
"That makes sense," said Link. "How are you doing?"
"Better now that you're here," answered Riju taking her husband's hand.
Link rested his head against hers not wanting to leave her side for a long time now that this ordeal was over.
Before long, another older Gerudo, came in carrying the child in the blanket.
"Is that our daughter?" asked Riju.
"Yes, this is your… child," the older Gerudo sounded a little uneasy.
"Is something wrong?" asked Riju.
The older Gerudo said nothing as she placed the child in Link's arms.
"I think the two of you need to be alone for a little bit. I recommend you examine your child closely, but I must warn you, what you see might be a little shocking," was all she said before leaving the room.
"What do you think she meant by that?" asked Link the moment the older Gerudo had left.
"I don't know," said Riju admiring the bundle in Link's arms. "May I hold her?"
"Yes, I think you deserve to hold her more then I do," said Link placing the child in Riju's arms.
Riju looked at her daughter and smiled. She was so beautiful, but at the same time there was something different about her. Riju had seen many Gerudo infants during her life and something about this one seemed different, but she didn't know how.
Link on the other hand thought about what the other Gerudo had said. 'I recommend you examine your child closely'.
Instinctively, Link reach forward and moved the blanket slightly, revealing more of the child's body. Link gasped upon doing so.
Without asking Riju examined their child closely and also gasped.
"It's a boy," said Link.
Link and Riju stared down in shock at their child for a full five minutes before Riju covered him up again. Their child was a boy. How was this possible? While they knew there could be male Gerudo, they were only born once every one hundred years, so the chances that their child would be the next male Gerudo was very low.
But that was the least of their worries. What did it mean for their child to be a rare male Gerudo. According to Gerudo tradition, because male Gerudo's were so rare when one was born, they were immediately next in line to become Gerudo chief. This didn't mean much to Link and Riju, as their child was going to be the next chief regardless of gender. What concerned them were the issues that may arise from their child being male. A few years ago they had defeated an evil Male Gerudo by the name of Ganondorf, who had been chief of the Gerudo many millennia ago. Not only that, through historical research by Zelda and local Gerudo scholars they learnt that the name Ganondorf had been given to many male Gerudo throughout history and all of them had ended up evil, due to being the reincarnation of demise.
Little was known about other male Gerudo, because few had made an impact to Hyrule as significant as Ganondorf.
Riju asked the question both feared to ask.
"Link, you don't think this is the reincarnation of…"
"Of course not," interrupted Link. "Even if he was it wouldn't matter. This is my son and I'll do everything I can to raise him right."
Riju was surprised by Link's reaction. While it was rare for Link to speak, it was even rarer for him to interrupt anyone.
"I think we can both agree though that we're not naming him Ganondorf," stated Link.
"No argument here," joked Riju. "But still, I fear for his future. Not because of who he might be, but how others will treat him for who he is."
"You think he'll be rejected by the town for being male?" asked Link.
"A little, but I'm hoping my people will come to accept him, because he is my son and I'll do everything I can to make sure he's loved. It's honestly the rest of Hyrule that I'm worried about. How do you think they'll react when they learn that another male Gerudo has been born?" asked Riju.
Link could see where she was coming from. After the horror that arose from the return of Ganondorf a few years ago, Link wouldn't be surprised if the birth of a male Gerudo put fear into the minds of some of Hyrule's residents.
"We'll worry about that if and when it happens. Should it happen it's not going to change how a feel about him. Like I said he is my son and I'll do whatever it takes to make sure he grows into a good and honest man," declared Link.
Riju smiled at her husbands remarks. Despite the complicated situation they were in, he remained optimistic.
"Besides I'm the reincarnation of the hero of legend. Do you really think Demise would want to reincarnate itself as my child?" asked Link.
"Honestly, I'm amazed if hasn't before. It sounds like the best way to hurt you," stated Riju.
Link brushed of Riju's comments and continued.
"I stand by what I say, regardless of what this child might be, I'm going to stand by and love him no matter what," declared Link.
"I will to but, Link can I confess something to you?" asked Riju.
"Sure, you can tell me anything," assured Link.
"I don't know how to raise a male child, because almost all Gerudo are born female, we're only really taught on how to raise girls. Because of this, I'm a little scared on how well I can raise a male child," confessed Riju.
Link put his arm around her.
"You don't have to worry about that, because I'll be with the both of you every step of the way. You have nothing to fear over raising him, because I'll be there to help you," declared Link.
"We still have to give him a name," stated Riju.
"Oh right. You have any ideas for names?" asked Link.
"Not really, like I said, I was expecting we would have a girl," confessed Riju. "I was originally going to name our child Urbosa, after the champion you fought alongside with during the age of calamity."
"That would've been a great way to honour her," smiled Link.
"Well, you've met a lot of men. What do you think we should name our child?" asked Riju.
Link was surprised by this. Because their child was going to be the next Gerudo chief, Link had agreed to leave the naming to Riju. As Riju said however, she wasn't prepared to name or raise a male child, so it made sense to give that she wanted to give that decision to Link. That left Link with a difficult question. What should he name his son?
Thanks for reading, please let me know what you think as I'm interested to know if this idea is worth following up on.
Before we go I have a request for the readers. What do you think I should name Link and Riju's child? I'm horrible at coming up with OP character names, particularly those from fantasy series, so I'm completely lost on what I should name the child. I was going to have Link suggest Link Jr in a way to ensure he's not the reincarnation of demise, but that just felt lazy. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.