Authors Note: This is a fanfiction and fanimation story collab with Dream Wick, check out their channel on YouTube!
The boy without a fairy, who had once waged a lone war to save a doomed kingdom, now stood as a man before the twisted, deformed tree. He bowed in silence, respectful for the soul that had been lost over half a decade ago. The lost soul had been a child just as he had been when he'd left the kingdom he'd saved in search of his lost friend.
The boy's souls had been merged by an unholy, chaotic mask and together, with two other cursed souls of the dead, the boy saved the world from the impending moon fall, a world that was a mirror of his own.
Now, seven years later, the boy was a man grown and his time in Termina was nearing its end.
The deku child's grave was the last of three that the hero visited, leaving the death masks he had been given seven years prior.
This was his last personal quest for the final day he had decided to spend in Termina, having resolved to finally return to his true world.
"Link."
The man straightened and turned towards the small, female voice, floating above the head of Skullkid, his dear friend. She hovered with her brother as Skullkid stood in the dark of the doorway.
"Y-you're leaving, aren't you?" The skullkid asked as he stared at his old friend.
Link hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"You're going back- to Hyrule?" Tael, the plum hued fairy asked as he floated near his sister.
"When were you going to tell us?!" Tatl demanded, a pale glowing dot as she floated closer to Link.
Link looked downward, guilt in his eyes.
Then he sighed.
"I… hoped the news would be easier if… I told you guys last minute."
"So- you were just going to tell us as you left!?" Tatl demanded.
Skullkid glared at Link with tears in his glowing eyes.
"We- we're supposed to be friends!" He shuffled closer to Link, his head angled so he could glare at Link. "Why are you leaving!?"
"... Because it's time."
"But- why?"
Link looked down at his left hand, his triforce dully glowing. Everyday the glow had become more faint, the call from Hyrule became louder and louder. Every night when he closed his eyes, he could hear the Goddess of Time's voice faintly calling, 'come home.'
"When?" Tatl finally asked at length.
"Dawn."
"So soon." Tael whispered.
"Have you told anyone?!" Tatl demanded.
Link had the grace to look abashed, he'd spent three days traveling all over Termina, visiting as many people as he could, and taking in the sights one last time. He had planned on leaving as he had come, quiet and unexpected.
He didn't belong here, it was a truth that had hurt but he couldn't deny it any longer.
Link would always love the people of Termina, and he would always love the land but he had felt he had long overstayed his welcome and it was time to go home.
Not that he had a home.
Link couldn't deny that he had zero idea of the current state of Hyrule, if he even still had a house in the Kokiri forest, if he would even be welcome to it now that he was an adult.
But he could feel the pull from Hyrule, it was time to go home.
Silently, he shook his head no.
"You can't be serious. You at least have to tell Anju and Kafei!"
A moment passed.
"I planned to."
"Really? When? As you left through the clock tower doors?!"
"... Over dinner."
"Wow. Lovely, Link, real lovely."
Tatl floated closer to Link, staring into his eyes.
"I know you're not a very verbal man, but you gotta do better!"
"You've had a large impact here, Link. You'll be missed." Tael added from above Skullkid's head.
"I'll miss you." Skullkid finally added, heartbreak in his voice.
Link felt a pain in his own chest. He would miss them too.
He would miss everyone.
But he had to leave.
There just wasn't any other option anymore.
"I'm sorry."
Reluctant, Link turned and left them, climbing the stairs in the clock tower back to town.
The giant clock on the wall of the Stock pot Inn chimed the hour as Link passed on his way to join Anju and Kafei for their evening meal. The inn had been Link's home for the past seven years, he'd lived with Skullkid in the room at the end of the hall, both of them having become kin to the family that ran the inn. The boys had fond memories of playing together in the halls, of listening to Granny's stories and playing pranks. Vaguely, Link remembered Skullkid crying on his shoulder, demanding that he play the song of time when Granny had passed on in her sleep one night. He'd gently explained that the song wouldn't stop Granny from dying a natural death, but would only make everyone relive her last days indefinitely.
A faint smile ghosted his lips as he remembered the good memories, as well as the bad.
Deep in thought, Link took his seat at the table.
Vaguely aware of Anju setting the table as Kafei joined them, having finished his council duties for the day, Link barely noticed the concerned looks on the faces of the couple who had been like parents to him.
Finally at length, Anju broke Link's reverie.
"How… are you doing lately, Link?"
Link broke from his trance and looked up towards Anju curiously.
"It's just… that you seem distant as of late."
"You've been even quieter than normal, if that's even possible." Kafei added over his bowl of Anju's pungent stew.
"Is there something on your mind?" Anju asked as she spooned a ladle of steaming, odourful stew into a bowl and placed it in front of Link, who managed to keep an emotionless expression, he'd become used to Anju's attempts at cooking.
"His frown lines are becoming even more substantial, what's grieving you?" Kafie asked him.
Link sighed and looked downwards at the table. This was going to be the most painful part of leaving.
"It's… been seven years." He finally said at length. "I think it's time for me to return to Hyrule."
Anju and Kafei exchanged a look of pain, but not of surprise.
"We figured as much." Kafei finally said. Anju busied herself with her apron, trying to fight back her tears.
"It's just- you've been here so long. We had hoped… that this had become your home." Anju whispered, barely audible, a quiet plea in her voice.
"Are you sure about this, Link?" Kafei asked as he fought back his own grief. "We still don't know how you were able to travel to Termina in the first place, you may not be able to return."
Link paused for a moment, remembering the words of a very strange -but wise- man he'd heard years past.
"'Whenever there is a meeting, a parting shall surely follow. But that parting need not last forever. Whether that parting be forever or merely a short while… that is up to you.'"
Anju and Kafei stared in shock, it was the longest sentence either of them had ever heard him say.
"You… won't forget us, right?" Anju finally asked, her heart in tatters at the thought of losing the boy she and Kafei had raised as a son.
"Of course he won't, and we won't ever forget him either." Kafei answered her.
Skullkid came bustling into the dining room, getting the attention of the three at the table.
"You're late." Kafei stated. "Come sit before your food gets cold." He began to pour a glass of milk for Skullkid.
But Skullkid remained standing.
"I- I've thought about it- and…" He shuffled over to Link. "I wanna go back, too!"
Anju and Kafei turned to each other, horrified. Both of their sons were leaving, as worried as they were over Link, they were double so over Skullkid. Link had shown from a young age that he was a strong, tenacious young man. He was a survivor, but Skullkid was an eternal child, he would never grow up, never mature into adulthood. The boys had told them quite a bit about Hyrule, the land that paralleled theirs, and the intolerance and cruelty that Skullkid had faced there.
"No." They both said in unison.
"B-but-!"
"Absolutely not, you have a home here, Skullkid. You have friends." Anju argued back, eyeing Link as she did so. "It's dangerous, much too dangerous for a kid!" She added as she turned her gaze back to Skullkid.
"You're not stopping him!"
"He's an adult now!"
"But I never will be!"
"Exactly!"
"Darling." Kafei calmly interrupted.
Everyone turned towards him.
"He's made his decision. They both have."
Anju dropped her hands in defeat, having finished nervously wringing the life out of her apron cloth.
"What if he wants to come home but can't- what if they both can't ever return?"
"They'll find a way back, if they decide to do so. We'll always be here, waiting for them."
Kafei turned towards Link.
"We're proud of you, both of you. And you'll always have a home here, we'll always be your family."
Anju wiped away a few fallen tears.
"Eat your dinner, you'll both have a long day tomorrow."
Anju turned and quietly left the dining room, her footsteps gently echoing on the creaky floor boards as she made a dignified retreat to her room.
Later that night, as Skullkid lay gently snoring in this bunk and Link sat staring at the moon in the starlit sky out of their window, he heard a faint knock on the door.
He turned towards the sound as the door creaked open to reveal Anju, her face tear streaked, her eyes puffy.
"Can I come in?"
Link nodded.
Anju sauntered over to join him at the table, trying to be as quiet as she could to avoid waking up Skullkid.
"I figured you'd still be awake, you never were much of a sleeper." She looked down as she folded her hands in her lap. "You used to have such terrible nightmares…."
Link watched her silently, patiently waiting for her to say out loud what was on her mind.
"I-" She stopped and sighed. "You've been through so much, Link. At such a young age. You've done so much for so many people… for us. I- I don't think I've ever properly thanked you for any of it."
Anju kept her eyes trained on her hands as Link sat next to her in his usual silence. He never talked much, but Anju never doubted that he listened.
"I just- I want you to live a normal life, you've earned it. This Hyrule- I don't want you to go back, but… Kafei's right, it's your decision."
A moment passed as Anju and Link sat in almost near silence, the only sounds being the night crickets and Skullkid's light snoring.
Anju lifted a familiar necklace from her head, then held it out to Link.
It was the pendant of memories, the necklace had belonged to Kafei, but years ago he had asked Link to deliver it to Anju to signify a promise between them. A promise to meet the dawn together as the moon hung heavy, ready to crash overhead.
Link looked up towards Anju in surprise.
"Promise you'll come back, even if it's years from now. Promise you'll meet another dawn with us."
Fresh tears welled in her eyes, and for the small instant Link felt the threat of those tears himself.
Finally, heartfelt, he nodded and accepted the pendant.
"I know I don't have to say it, but take care of Skullkid. Don't let him be lonely."
Quietly Link nodded again.
"Good, now try to get at least a little sleep. You of all people know how fast the dawn can come."
Dawn did come fast, it came early, it came almost unwanted.
Link stood next to Epona in Termina field, just outside of the southern gate as he finished packing on her saddle and the few possessions he owned.
His golden gilded sword clung to his back in its sheath along with his mirrored shield, which most people very vocally complained was the creepiest shield ever forged. He'd strapped on the sheath that held his vibrant colored broadsword, given to him by a grateful Great Fairy years before. A satchel or two more and he would be finished.
The early dawn light barely glimmered in the distance as a groggy, still very much asleep Skullkid watched from the shadows, swaddled in a small blanket.
"Why do we have to leave so early?" He complained as he stiffened a yawn.
Link quietly glanced over his shoulder, offering him a carefree smile.
"Hey! You tagged onto his adventure, remember?"
Link and Skullkid turned towards the familiar, tiny fairy voice to find Tatl and Tael floating closer to them.
"Well, he could still be more courteous!" Skullkid complained. "The Banker was furious with his wake up call today."
"Eh, probably just upset that he was making such a big withdrawal." Tael teased.
"At least you two got to sleep in!" Skullkid pouted. "You're both late!"
Tatl and Tael stopped and hovered where they were, both glowing orbs turning to each other.
"... About that." Tael began.
"We… we're not leaving." Tatl finished.
"W-what?" Skullkid exclaimed. "What do you mean? Of course you are! You're from Hyrule too!"
Tatl and Tael were unique compared to the fae of Termina, the differences between them and the others were uncanny and their similarities were sparse. The two fairies had first found Skullkid cold and alone hiding from the freezing torrent outside of the walls of Clock Town. Since then they had traveled between the parallel lands alongside Skullkid many years past, even long before Skullkid had first encountered the cursed mask that no one ever talked about. They didn't know how they'd managed to do so, neither could even remember the first time they'd done so, it had just been a matter of finding the seemingly random engraved stone doors in a long forgotten forest, and passing through them as they desired. However, years had passed since any of them had so much as approached the doors, much less passed through them. The last person to have 'done so' had been the very strange man who had originally owned that cursed mask, and he had simply vanished before Link's eyes, advising him to leave soon as well, something Link had never spoken of to anyone else. No one knew the effects of Hylians staying in Termina for as long as they had.
"B-but! Don't you miss your old fairy fountain? The Kokiri forest?!" Skullkid demanded.
"Sometimes… but…" Tatl began.
"We've really made a lot of friends here." Tael gently finished for him. "Fairies have a lot more… well… fun here."
"And with the Great Deku tree gone… we don't know what fate we'll meet if we go back now."
"So… we're staying. We just wanted to come see you both off."
Skullkid looked down, fresh tears collecting in the corners of his glowing eyes. He'd been friends with the fairies for over a century, he didn't want that friendship to end.
"We- We'll still be friends, though… right?"
"Always-" Tatl began.
"And if you both survive leaving you can probably visit us again!" Tael added.
Tatl rammed her glowing body into his, knocking him back a bit.
"Tael! How can you say that?! Of course they'll be fine!"
Tatle floated over to hover in front of Link's face.
"Hey, listen… we've kind of… been a team for a long time now… had some pretty epic adventures and all…."
"Sis is trying to say she'll miss you, Link!" Tael translated.
"Tael! Knock it off! You're making this goodbye harder-" Tatl paused then immediately corrected herself. "Not that I care- or anything- really!"
Link smiled at her, then raised and waved his hand in goodbye.
He had met Tatl years before when he'd left Hyrule on a personal journey to find a friend he'd lost, and had dearly missed. He never found Navi, had finally accepted that he never would.
He'd found a similar fondness in Tatl, and knew he would miss her just as much.
They had been through so much together, had saved a world together, had stopped a moon together.
He had hoped the fairies would leave with them.
But… knowing they were alive, somewhere, happy even… it didn't hurt like losing Navi had.
Some would call it closure.
Link decided to call it a blessing.
Link turned to face the early dawn light of the land of Termina one final time before kneeling down to hoist Skullkid onto the back of this trusty steed.