Thanks, Mimi and Birdie! I'm glad you both enjoyed it, especially that all the emotions came across well! I always really thought there was so much that could have been done in that scene (and why does an outgoing, forward child like Kukiel not at least make a noise when you charge her friend with sword raised?) and I'm super happy that it worked. Even Fi, who, indeed, was created to destroy exactly this sort of monster, however kindly it might act.

And Mimi, I see you've read Hunger! Thank you so much for all the reviews there as well; I'm very glad you liked it. Once I got that origin story in my head, I found Demise and Ghirahim both so much more interesting. (You know, my very first concept of Reforged was going to all but erase Demise, as in the game I find him… kind of unnecessary and uninteresting? But, that ended up changing as I wrote these interconnected stories.)

Chapter 21: Gratitude

Link had half escorted, half shepherded Kukiel back from the strange hovel beneath the island, climbing below her on the long ladder that she shot up without any apparent concern. She watched to make sure he shut the trapdoor before the two of them scrambled over the coffins, Kukiel slipping through the narrow space atop the stack easily, waiting at the doorway of the shed for him to join her.

Link peered out into the graveyard, seeing nothing but the pale and ghostly outlines of the gravestones, faintly reflecting moonlight, starlight, and his own light back to him in the dark of the night.

"Stay close, Kukiel," he told her softly, offering his right hand to her as he stepped out of the shed. Kukiel took it, her fingers small in his, and Link shut the door quietly behind them before drawing the Goddess Sword. If something attacked while he was protecting her, he couldn't afford to spend even a moment snatching it from its sheath.

The little girl was uncharacteristically quiet as they stepped out under the spreading branches of the graveyard tree. Link glanced around again, his eyes flitting across the silent and still expanse of memorials.

"It looks safe," he murmured, turning to lead her towards the path. Kukiel took two steps, then halted, tugging on his hand. Link looked back at her sharply, surprised, concerned, but nothing seemed obviously wrong.

"Is your sword still listening?" Kukiel asked. Link nodded.

"She's always listening, I think," he told her, and Kukiel looked at the sword, thinking for a moment.

"Sword-lady," she asked, "Did you come from under the statue of the goddess?"

Link felt the faintest flicker of Fi's attention.

"She did," he said aloud. "Can we talk about it while we walk?"

Kukiel looked back over her shoulder at the base of the old tree. "But I want to ask her if she knows who that is." She pointed with her free hand at an indistinct shape. "Not even Father Kaeber knew who it was. He just said he thought they must have been a servant of the goddess."

"Wh-what?" Link's heart seemed to skip a beat, and he came unresistingly as Kukiel pulled him towards a shape beneath the tree, near to its trunk, that didn't match any of the others: a simple wooden marker like those Link had seen before when the burial had been carried out but a headstone not yet carved. As the light from his lantern fell upon it, it picked out a simple inscription, etched vertically into the wood: "An Unknown Servant of the Goddess". A chill ran through him; he felt transfixed, unable to look away.

Kukiel, still looking at the grave marker, didn't notice. "Headmaster Gaepora from the Academy found them under the statue. Father Kaeber said they were probably a warrior who served the goddess long ago. Knight Commander Eagus gave a speech about it."

"That's… that's probably true…" Link struggled to sort through his feelings, his chest inexplicably tight. It was almost as if something was diverting his thoughts from the memory, refusing to touch on it directly. Here and now, in the eerie darkness of the night with a demon, however kind, lurking beneath Skyloft, with Kukiel to look after…

"Are you all right?"

Kukiel had turned to look up at him, her little face bright in the lantern's glow, all the innocent confidence of childhood in her expression.

"I… yes, I'm fine, Kukiel." Link managed a smile for her. "I'll ask Fi about it later, okay? Let's get you home first. We shouldn't distract her while we might still have to fight. She's got to watch out for us, after all."

Kukiel considered that, and nodded. "Okay. But you have to promise to tell me what she says." After a moment, she added, "And Father Kaeber, so he can get their name put on properly. Otherwise the real gravestone won't have a name either, and that'd be sad. Everyone should have their name on their gravestone."

"Everyone should," Link agreed, ignoring the strange hollow sensation like a kick in the ribs. "I promise I'll ask, and I'll tell you and Father Kaeber what she says. But for now, let's get you home." He turned, and this time Kukiel didn't resist as he led her away.

. . .

As they stepped down from the bridge and turned to the right, towards Kukiel's home, light still shining behind its windows, Link breathed a sigh of relief. There had been no more keese, at least, but he'd swept Kukiel up in his arms and run from a scurry of evid rats, and taken several scratches from someone's madly growling, hissing remlit as he grabbed the writhing animal, somehow managing to transfer one hand to the scruff of its neck and – feeling rather bad about it – to drop it over the side of the bridge steps to the riverbank below so that it would have to come around the long way to reach him again as he recaptured Kukiel's hand and bolted with her across the bridge before it could.

As they passed the jetty and finally drew near her front door, Kukiel stuck close, her previous boldness about being out at night rather shaken by the reality of it. Link knocked twice, rapidly, before lifting the latch and ushering Kukiel in ahead of him as he stepped into the welcome light and warmth. Both Jakamar and Wryna froze for a moment, relief and joy filling their faces.

"Kukiel!" Wryna was the first to move, almost flinging herself across the room and to her knees to hug her daughter. Kukiel squeaked in surprise as she was caught up and squeezed, and Jakamar joined them a moment later, dropping to one knee to put one hand on Wryna's shoulders and ruffle Kukiel's up-tied hair with the other. Link shut the door quietly behind himself, careful to lower the latch into place gently, letting the family have their reunion.

"Mum…" Kukiel managed. "You're squishing me!"

Wryna's arms loosened a little, but she didn't let go. "I'm sorry, my dear. Oh, I was so worried!" She looked up over her daughter's shoulder, tears of joy sparkling in her eyes. "Oh, Link, thank you! Thank you ever so much! I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am to see her back safely. I can finally smile and laugh again!" She squeezed Kukiel tighter again, sitting back to scoop her onto her knee. "Thank you!"

"I'm glad I could help," Link said, the family's uncomplicated joy bringing a real smile to his face.

"And she was all right, just like I said she would be. Aren't you, my girl?" Jakamar's voice was flooded with relief, but Kukiel just nodded enthusiastically.

"Yep! I was playing with Mister Bats, and it got dark really fast and we didn't realise, and he said I had to stay inside at night just like you do so I was going to stay with him, but then Link turned up and he was mad at poor Mister Bats but then he realised that everything was okay, but he said I had to come home anyway because you were worried and he brought me all the way back here even when we nearly got attacked by rats and a remlit bit him on the arm." She paused, twisting to look up at her parents' faces. "I… didn't mean to make you sad."

Jakamar and Wryna both paused for a moment, trying to parse their daughter's rapid and rambling explanation, shorn of half its context.

"We're just happy to know you're safe," Jakamar told her, and Wryna nodded. "But what's this about a remlit, lad?"

"It's nothing…" Link glanced at his bloodied left arm, bringing it out from behind his back. The scratches stung, but he knew they were shallow. "I just got scratched."

"Nonsense!" Wryna said firmly. "You Knights are just like my sister, calling everything 'nothing' even when you're sick as death. Now sit yourself down and let my husband take a look at you."

Quietly appreciating their concern, Link looked about and found himself a chair, sitting down with a soft sigh. Jakamar stood to fetch a jug of water and a satchel that seemed to mostly contain bandages and a small jar of pinkish ointment, while Wryna bundled Kukiel off to a seat at the table, asking her whether she had eaten, if she was thirsty…

"I keep this on hand for when we're on the job," Jakamar explained, voluble in his relief as he pushed Link's sleeve up, dampening a cloth and wiping the blood from his arm, exposing jagged parallel scratches and a somewhat deeper bite mark. "Can't forget how easy it is to hurt yourself with so much loose wood and stone and hammers and nails just lying around. If you can at least wrap someone up before you send them off to the doctor, it helps set them right. But it doesn't look like this is anything serious, like you said. Well, this should help speed it on a little, anyway. I'm sorry you got hurt looking out for our little girl."

Link twitched slightly as the ointment went on, stinging at first, then thankfully fading. A few weeks ago, he might have said so, but compared to what Ghirahim or the stalfos had done to him, the little pain seemed barely worth his notice.

"That's all right," he said. "I'm just glad I could bring her back safely. Like she said, she'd been playing, and hadn't noticed the time until it got dark."

"And, er… who was it she said she was staying with? A Mr… Bats?"

"Batreaux," Link told him as Jakamar wound a bandage around his arm, more to keep it clean than anything else. "He's, uh… He's a bit odd, but he seems like a good person." The sword at his back seemed to pulse faintly with silent disagreement, and Link ignored it. Not now, Fi. He doesn't mean any harm. We'll talk about it later. "He asked me to send you his regards, and his apologies. He'd have sent her home if he'd realised it was starting to get dark."

"Well, I can hardly fault him for wanting to keep our girl safe," Jakamar allowed, and across the room Wryna turned to them and nodded.

"Yes, I'm very grateful! I'll have to be sure to find and thank him for looking after her. Tell me, what does he do?"

"Uh… well, he paints. But he…"

"He looks scary!" Kukiel chimed in helpfully, having eaten most of the end of a loaf of bread. "But he's really nice. He plays with me whenever I want! He doesn't have many friends because everyone is too scared of him, but I'm his friend!"

Her parents looked slightly bemused, and Link forged onward.

"Batreaux used to be a sky spirit, but, uh, right now he… Well, he wants to be friends with people, but he's sort of messed up. He looks like a monster, but as far as I can tell, he's a good person despite it."

"Oh my…" Wryna raised a hand to her lips. Kukiel watched her expectantly, and the air of the room seemed balanced on a fine edge. "…Well," she went on firmly, after a long moment. "Like a monster or not, I will just have to meet him. Looks aren't everything, after all. And I'm sure the goddess would never allow a spirit who meant us harm to reside here."

"Yaaaay!" Kukiel cheered, grinning broadly. "I promised I'd see him again tomorrow, so you can come too! We can all play Screams!"

"Oh, no, no, we are not playing Screams. I can't believe anyone puts up with you making that racket," Wryna sighed, fondly.

"Mister Bats does! Mister Bats thinks it's adorable, and he can even beat me at it! Nobody beats me at Screams except Mister Bats!"

"Does he now," Wryna said, smiling, amused and resigned at once. "Oh dear. Well, anyone who would let you stay in their home after you've been shrieking your head off all day simply must be a good person."

Kukiel giggled.

"That's right," Jakamar chipped in, coming up behind her, his satchel stowed away again. "Why, I'd stuff you in a building site, that's what I'd do." He ruffled his daughter's hair, and she laughed again, the whole family smiling, and their warmth seemed to fill the room.

Well, I've taken another load off the poor overworked headmaster's shoulders by adding to Skyloft, as well as a capable mayor, an actual priesthood of the goddess! Not that they have anyone to pray to, but who's telling? Kaeber is Gaepora's cousin, and yes, I used the same source for his name to remain in keeping with the game. Both are very probably descendants of Edmer, who some of you will remember from Out of Time.

Patch Notes:
- Returning Kukiel to her parents now occurs.
- Unresolved issue of how Wryna will thank Batreaux without freaking out that he's a demon now resolved.
- Skyloft priesthood introduced.
- Consequences of the past continue for all concerned.

In other news, over this week the Floor Owl wrote me a short little dark AU, which was awesome, and one thing led to another, and thus I posted a small set of fics yesterday. If you have ever wished for a brief and horrifying dark AU that explores "What if Hylia Fell and became a demon?" then look no more: you can find out in Kingdom of the Fallen! (storyid 14162800)