Children of the Triforce: Retold

Chapter 4 – A Scare in the Night

Time continued to pass, and things remained peaceful for the growing family. Cecil learned how to talk, while Kristin began her own adventures after learning how to crawl. As always, their parents were very proud of them.

However, in spite of the peace, Zelda still experienced her nightmares from time to time. They varied in substance as well as detail, but Zelda still found them all to be quite terrifying. Some of them featured the demonic baby in her arms, while others showed images of the Triforce, as well as Ganon's beast-like form towering over her.

Whenever she experienced one of these dreams, Zelda would wake up in a sweat, and immediately check on her children. Fortunately, her kids were always found safely sleeping in their beds. Link would then drowsily coax his wife back into their own bed, assuring her that there was nothing to worry about.

Over time, Zelda began to believe this as well, and did her best to ignore the nightmares. It became easier with practice, and it helped to know that her family was safe and always by her side. Plus, Zelda truly believed in her heart that her nightmares had nothing to do with her two children. Call it a mother's instinct, but she just knew that she had nothing to worry about.

However, that all changed one night, when Zelda had another terrible nightmare. One more frightening than any that had come before it. It had happened when her children were still young; when Cecil was four and Kristin was two.

Zelda was standing before the Triforce, admiring its golden beauty. However, the menacing sound of thunder soon rumbled in the background, and the Triforce was split apart, its three golden triangles flying off in similar directions. Zelda became alarmed and immediately moved to chase them as they fell down to the dark landscape that surrounded her. She couldn't simply let the Triforce be split again! Not after everything that she and Link had done to reunite it for good!

However, as she approached the spot where the Triforce had fallen, she was met with a terrible sight. The golden triangles she had been chasing were not pieces of the Triforce at all. They were actually human bodies, bloodied and mangled as if attacked by some demonic creature.

With wide, tear-stained eyes, Zelda gazed upon the first body. It belonged to a man, dressed in a green tunic, a look of horror on his open eyes. It was Link, and he was dead.

Zelda soon glanced to the next body. It was a child. A boy, ripped apart limb from limb. With a gasp of horror, she recognized him as her son, Cecil.

Desperately, Zelda looked at the final body. It was a girl's, flattened by some great force. Her daughter, Kristin.

Zelda released a horrible, woeful shriek. As the tears flowed from her eyes, she desperately grasped at the mangled bodies of her family, trying to gather them up into the safety of her arms. What had happened to them? Who could have done such a horrible thing?

Suddenly, Zelda froze as she heard another loud, piercing cry come from behind her. She immediately recognized that this sound belonged to a baby. And it wasn't just any baby either. Instinctively, Zelda knew that it was her child that was crying out.

Wasting no time, Zelda rose to her feet and began sprinting towards the source of the cries. She had to save her child from the encroaching danger. No, she needed to!

But it was too late. By the time Zelda spotted the baby, it was already in the hands of a ferocious beast. Zelda couldn't see the figure clearly, as it was cloaked in shadow, but she already knew who it belonged to. It was her mortal enemy, Ganon himself. And in his arms, he held her tiny, defenseless infant. With a wicked laugh, the beast soon reached for his trident…

"No!" Zelda shrieked as she desperately ran forward. "Don't do it! Not my baby, please!"

The beast just grinned before laughing even harder. He soon raised his trident into the air.

"No, please no! Anything but my baby!"

The trident was soon thrust downwards, straight towards the infant's tiny frame.

"NOOOOOO!"

Zelda immediately opened her eyes and bolted awake, still screaming the final note of her dream. With a frenzied gaze, she soon glanced around her dark bedchamber, wondering where she was and what was going on.

Fortunately, Link was fast awake and sitting up next to her, gently grabbing her shoulder. "Zelda, it's okay. You're safe."

Zelda ceased her screams, if only so she could take a few deep breaths. She understood Link's words, but she was having a hard time believing them. Everything had just felt so real…

"Hey, look at me," Link said, still seeing her panicked expression. "It was just a nightmare, okay? You're safe. We all are."

Zelda just turned to him as her eyes slowly welled up with tears. She then leaned forward, wrapping her arms around him as she began to sob. "Oh, Link, it was so terrible…"

"I know," he said, wrapping his arms around her in return. He soon began running his fingers though her long hair as he comforted her. "It was only a bad dream. Just like the others."

"No, this one was worse," Zelda insisted between her sobs. "You were all dead. You and the kids…Oh, Link, I've never been so scared."

"It's okay, sweetie," he continued to soothe. "It's okay…"

Link held Zelda like that for a few minutes as she continued to cry. Eventually, Zelda did manage to compose herself a bit, although she was still rather shaken up. With a few shaky gasps, she started to wipe her remaining tears away. "I'm…I'm sorry, for scaring you like that…"

"Don't be," Link told her. "You can't help it if you have a nightmare."

Zelda nodded, but she still felt a terrible feeling in her stomach. In fact, Zelda even winced a bit as the feeling turned painful for a moment. She just ignored it though, still too distracted by what she had experienced.

"That nightmare was far worse than any that came before," Zelda explained solemnly. "They've never felt so real. So terrifying."

Link just rubbed his wife's shoulder, still trying to calm her. "But it wasn't real. We're still safe. You, me, and the kids."

"I know," Zelda said. "But I still can't help but worry. If everything is truly okay, then why do I keep having these dreams?"

"Do you think that they really are premonitions?" Link asked quietly.

"I don't know," Zelda replied. "I don't want to believe that they are, but why else would they be happening so often? Especially lately…"

Link just slowly nodded. He couldn't deny that the nightmares had definitely been happening more frequently than ever before. This was already the third one this month. "Maybe it's just part of being a mother. It's only natural to be worried sick about your kids."

"But you don't get any nightmares," Zelda pointed out. "At least not like this."

"That doesn't mean that I don't worry about them," Link replied with a soft smile.

Zelda soon found herself smiling back. "I know. I just…I wish I knew what was going on…"

"Maybe you could ask Zelda I if she knows anything?" Link suggested. "She's a Princess of Hyrule too, so maybe she's had these sorts of dreams before."

"Maybe," Zelda agreed with a shrug. "I suppose I could reach out to her and-"

Just then, Zelda paused, her face wincing as the pain in her stomach suddenly intensified again. She soon placed a hand over her midsection as she grunted. "Mmph…"

Link just blinked, immediately looking concerned. "What is it?"

"It's my stomach," Zelda mumbled, rubbing her belly a bit. "It doesn't feel good…"

Link just chuckled. "Hey, I warned you not to eat too much at that feast earlier."

Zelda just rolled her eyes. "Link, I'm being serious…" Just then, the pain in her stomach reared again, but this time it was intense. The pain was sharp, almost as if Zelda had just been stabbed right in the middle of her body.

"AH!" she cried, curling up into a ball.

Link's concern quickly intensified. "Whoa, Zelda, what's wrong?"

"My stomach," she breathed. "It…hurts so much…"

"Maybe we should get you to the physician," he said slowly. "We'll have him take a look."

Zelda weakly nodded. "Yeah, that would probably be best—AHH!" Zelda winced as another sharp pain shot through her. A few tears were soon forced from her eyes. She didn't know what this was, but clearly it wasn't normal.

"Come on," Link said, immediately jumping to his feet. "We need to go now. Can you walk?"

Zelda frowned, before slowly swinging her legs over the bed. Her stomach was still hurting so much, it honestly felt difficult to move at all. Still, she knew that she at least had to try. Link offered her a steady hand, and she slowly rose to her feet.

Just then, there was another sharp pain, and Zelda nearly felt her legs buckle beneath her. Fortunately, Link managed to catch her and make sure that she stayed on her feet.

Zelda just released a soft whimper as she continued to cry. "Link, I don't understand…What's going on?"

"I…I don't know," he replied, looking both terrified and confused. He had never seen anything like this before.

Suddenly, the two of them froze as they heard a faint dripping sound coming from below. Glancing down, they soon spotted a few drops of blood staining the floor. It didn't take long before they realized that something was seriously wrong here.

Zelda was bleeding.

The royal physician ended up being called to Link and Zelda's room instead of having the Princess make the journey to the infirmary. She was still in far too much pain to make any steady movements, and Link didn't want to risk it. Fortunately, the physician was able to do a full examination of Zelda's body, and as he did, she noticed that the pain began to lessen in intensity. It ended up leaving a dull pain in its wake, which Zelda still found uncomfortable, but she was at least happy to know that the worst of it was behind her.

After about an hour, the physician finished his examination, as well as his treatment. He then turned to the couple, giving them a mixed expression.

"Well?" Link asked, his arms crossed as he stood by the bedside.

The physician soon sighed. "Well…I'm afraid that I have good news and bad news."

Link and Zelda turned to each other, sharing looks of apprehension before facing the physician once more.

"What are they?" Zelda asked quietly.

The physician soon folded his arms, his posture mirroring Link's. "Well, the good news is that you're pregnant."

"Pregnant?" Link repeated, his eyes going wide.

"I am?" Zelda asked, immediately looking down to her stomach.

"Yes, about a month into it, I would say," the physician announced confidently.

Zelda just continued to eye her stomach, still feeling the dull pain from within. She had no idea that she was currently pregnant. She had to admit, this news initially filled her with joy, as it so often had before. Still, Zelda couldn't shake a lingering doubt that she held in her mind, especially when her nightmare from earlier was still fresh in her thoughts.

"And what's the bad news?" she asked quietly.

The physician just sighed again, his frown growing wider. "The bad news is that you were on the cusp of having a miscarriage. In fact, you still are. The baby is alive, of course, but I don't think it's in good shape, as evidenced by both the sharp pains and the bleeding."

Zelda frowned as well, her eyes threatening to tear up again. She had been worried that he would say something like this. She soon turned to Link with a lost expression, as if she didn't know what to say.

Link flashed his wife a look of sympathy before facing the physician once more. "What should we do?"

"Unfortunately, there's no easy solution for this," the medical man replied. "I suppose the thing that will help her the most now will be bedrest. Strict bedrest."

"So you want Zelda to just stay in bed the whole time?"

"For now, yes," he insisted. "It will do her body good, and it will guarantee that the baby won't be placed in any further danger. In the meantime, I'll be sure to monitor the Princess's health as things progress. If the situation starts to worsen, I'll know immediately."

Link just turned to his wife with a grave expression. She frowned as well, but soon nodded. "I understand. Thank you, doctor."

The physician nodded back and soon began packing his things. "I'll come back to check on you in the morning. For now, I suggest you both go back to bed and try to get some rest."

The man then took his leave, leaving the couple alone. With a defeated sigh, Link soon climbed back into bed, rejoining his wife. The two of them then sat in silence for a while. Neither one of them wanted to go to sleep. They both had too much on their mind.

"What are you thinking?" Link eventually asked.

Zelda took a deep breath before timidly reaching down and rubbing her sore stomach. "It's a lot to take in…"

"I know…" he agreed quietly.

"I mean, I'm happy, of course," she said, slowly starting to smile. "I love our kids so much, and I'd be more than happy to have another. But still…" Her smile slowly faded into a concerned frown. "The thought of having a miscarriage…"

"It's terrifying," Link finished for her.

"Right," she said sadly. "Especially after having those awful nightmares…The last thing I want is to lose a child. Just thinking about it fills me with dread."

"It'll be okay," Link assured her, reaching over to place a hand on her stomach as well. "We just need to follow the physician's advice and things will be fine."

Zelda slowly nodded. "I hope so…" She wanted to trust her husband's words. She wanted to believe that everything would be okay. But she still couldn't shake this awful feeling that she had. This terrifying feeling that things were not going to turn out well, no matter how hard the two of them tried…

I finally got around to watching some of the Zelda cartoon. It's been…interesting, to say the least. But hey, now I actually have a better understanding and appreciation for what I'm writing lol.