Chapter Text
Thank you to my most lovely of BETAs: mndrakon , morkie, and traveling-with-thedoctor, for your help, insights, and commentaries.
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Songs for Chapter: (dream), Constellation, Six Weeks
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Many things about living changed forever for Link, after that final night with the Blight.
First and foremost, there was what he could safely eat. Link would find that his body could no longer stomach certain foods, much to his dismay. Anything too spicy, particularly dishes using the hot red peppers he enjoyed so much, would lay him up in bed for days at a time, his stomach twisting in painful, terrible knots. He could handle the smallest amounts of Goron Spice and voltfruit, but never found himself interested in pushing his luck, lest he suffer similar consequences to eating peppers.
Dubious and rock-hard meals were just completely out, point blank.
Foods heavily seasoned with leafy herbs, especially those that tasted too similar to the bitter aftertaste of the Silent Sleep elixir, nauseated him instantly and left a sour flavor in his mouth for hours after. If he wasn't mindful to flush the taste from his palate quickly enough, he had a tendency to get sick to his stomach.
Lower quality cuts of meat became a roulette for him where he either found himself perfectly fine or again laid up for days with his guts cramping painfully. He found that he could still eat fish and poultry with little issue; it was the red meats that bothered his body the most.
Secondly, there was the exhaustion that never really left him. In the days following that first morning spent talking in bed with Zelda, Link found himself aching, asleep or some combination of both most of the time. With his body no longer fighting against itself, with no voices to wake him or nightmares to disturb him, he slept peacefully and deeply. As his body grew to feel less and less like a living bruise with each passing day, with each time he slept, the less he needed to ask for the pain tincture. Even still, he never found it easy to rise from bed in the morning again. He could accidentally fall asleep anywhere, if he wasn't careful.
While the quick work of Madame Meeda and her fellow healers was critical in saving Link’s life, he was still left permanently changed from his injuries. Both from the weeks of strain with the Blight and the elixir that had been given ample time to work through him. He would come to find this most evident and, to him, annoying with his stunted stamina. No matter what he did, how hard he trained his body, he could not reclaim the same physical prowess he had when he beat the Calamity.
Thirdly, there were the scars.
Link had never been particularly shy about the fact that his body bore proof that he was a fighter. But this…this was different.
During his first wash while in the Domain’s infirmary was when he got to see for himself the full extent of the Blight’s influence. He found that he was completely covered in lightning shaped scars. From head to toe, they wrapped around him in every way possible. He lightly traced his fingers along them, following them up his throat, his chin, his cheeks, even his ears, their color sticking out against the tone of his unmarred skin.
They weren’t something that would be hidden under clothing; they were on display, at all times, irregular and curious in their design. These weren't battle won things with an interesting story behind them, not exactly. True, it would be simple to offer a white lie to any stranger brave enough to ask him how he became as he was. A lightning strike, a tussle with an electric chuchu or wizzrobe, a wayward shock arrow, any number of things could easily take the blame.
But Link would know.
Every time he saw his reflection, he would see the lovely token of his second near death experience staring right back at him. Even if not in the mirror, the physical reminder that Malice had dug into the deepest parts of him and nearly won was written all over his skin. Every time he looked at his hands, it was there. Every time he cooked, wrote, climbed, swam, pointed skyward, it was there. His first death he’d been allowed to forget; this time he would not be afforded such a luxury in the slightest, it seemed.
As with many, many things in his life, Link tried his best to accept what he had no way of changing and chose to continue forward as best as he could.
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During his first week awake and lucid, Link was quick to notice that Madame Meeda personally stopped in to see him twice a day. While thankful for her company and the vigilant attitude she took in regards to his recovery, in his heart of hearts, Link felt there was another reason for the elderly Zora's constant visits.
His suspicion was confirmed during the end of that first lucid week within the Domain.
As she had every day, she was checking on his progress, assessing his pain, noting any progression or change she saw. Meeda was part way through checking the range of motion in his arms and the reflexes of his joints, when she made her worries known to him.
“I need you to know how sorry I am, Link. For not...for not offering you more options than the one I did.”
He lowered his arms, waiting for her to continue. When she did not continue after several long beats of silence, he spoke, his voice still weak, despite the weeks of rest,
“You did what you knew to do for me. I don’t think you have anything you need to apologize for."
She shook her head slowly as he spoke, her eyes not meeting his.
“I feel that I gave up on you, that I didn’t see this through the way I should have. I should have been able to do more than to bottle death for you and send you on your way with it, no follow up or anything.”
Link did not miss the contempt in her voice as the last few words left her mouth. Slowly, he took her hands where they sat in her lap into his own, squeezing them gently as he did so.
“You said it yourself, Meeda. Before me, there was no one who had survived the Blight. How could you have foreseen my fate being any different, with that sort of information. You did what you could with the tools and knowledge you had.”
It was then that she met his eyes, a smile on her face as she squeezed his hands back.
“You really are kind, you know that? And still a man of your word too. Didn’t you tell me that you’d be the first to survive? Look at you now, Mr. Keeps-His-Promises.”
They chuckled together at the moniker; from that day forward, Meeda made a point of limiting her visits to once a day, as she would with all her other patients.
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As Link healed and grew stronger with each day, an increasing number of people came to visit him.
The first, outside of Zelda, the infirmary staff, and Prince Sidon, were Lady Impa and Dorian.
Link came to learn, after some coaxing on his part, that Sidon had sent word of Zelda’s and his arrival to Kakariko only an hour after he had carried the Princess to the healers himself.
Upon seeing him, Dorian immediately approached where Link was sitting up in bed and pulled the Hylian into a tight hug. The gesture was a welcomed surprise, Link found. As he slowly wrapped his arms around his once guard, something in the back of his mind scratched at and reminded him about a desire that had helped propel him through liquid light.
“I’m sorry, Dorian.” His voice was muffled into the other man’s shoulder as he said this, “You did a lot to help me when I needed it and I repaid you with grief. You didn't deserve that.”
The Sheikah’s grip tightened ever so slightly around Link’s shoulders. After a beat, Dorian pulled back from the hug, his hands still on Link’s shoulders as he said,
“Link, bud, I’m just happy to see you alive. You weren’t causing me any grief, you were sick.”
Link’s memories of what he thought would be his last weeks were clouded by sleeplessness. By buzzing, ugly voices in his head, twisted nightmares, and rotting hallucinations.
But, through all of the awfulness, he remembers Dorian’s help clear as day.
He remembers being taught how to make the proper folds for paper frogs, dogs, boxes and more. He remembers the older man staying up at night to talk with him, recalls him taking meticulous notes about the elixirs he was meant to take, and knows he played an intrinsic role in making Link’s last living requests a reality. He even appreciates that Dorian stopped him from gouging out the back of his own neck, even as he screamed and fought to do so.
Link smiled at Dorian and said,
“All the same, I’m sorry. And thank you, for everything.”
He didn't know how he could ever return the support and love Kakariko Village had shown him.
Now he had the rest of his life to figure it out, at least.
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Link is sound asleep when Impa finds Zelda, the young woman sat next him in the too large bed that the infirmary staff had given up on moving her from at the end of each day. She was supported by pillows, reading a book lent to her by Sidon, when a very soft knock on the door of the room sounds before it opened, revealing one of her oldest friends.
“Hello Impa. Did the meeting with the Prince go well?”
“Yes, it did. We were able to fill gaps in each other’s versions of events from the last Blood Moon. I know it will be a while still before both you and Link will be up for trying to help with any remaining information holes, but it still does my soul some good, better understanding what happened that night.”
Zelda nodded and turned her attention back to her book, tracing the words with her eyes, trying to find where she had left off.
“I should apologize.”
It's a few beats before Zelda realizes the Sheikah is speaking to her. Attention flicking back to Impa, she says,
“...what, to me ?”
“Yes, to you." She says as she takes a seat in the chair the infirmary staff used to move Zelda around safely.
“I allowed fear to guide my words on the night of the Blood Moon, most prominently. You needed a level headed advisor from me; what you got instead was an old woman who was too afraid of the past repeating itself to be of real use to you.”
Closing her book with a little too much force, Zelda shakes her head as she says,
“Impa, you're being quite harsh on yourself.”
“Possibly. But I have also had a century to do what was needed to make sure you would have the sort of advisor to navigate a Hyrule made unknown to you by time. I tried to ensure that I or my descendants could be here to support you, when the time came. And yet, the first moment you needed that kind of guidance, fear was the foremost emotion I let lead my words when advising you. That wasn’t right nor fair.”
A pause in which Impa licks her lips and bows her head before continuing,
“It’s the emotion that most guided your father’s choices, in the years leading to the Calamity. I did not want to repeat the mistakes he made for the sake of duty, yet I did. I did not want more fear laid at your feet to bear, yet I did exactly that. You’ve shouldered enough of others' fears for several lifetimes, Zelda. I hate that I inadvertently added to that burden. That's why you deserve an apology. Please, if you can, forgive me.”
Zelda stared at her friend, heart hammering behind her ribs. She looked so small, sitting before her without the ornate hat that denoted her status as chief making gentle noises. She looked so sad, with her brows furrowed in what was possibly grief. She looked so old, her wrinkled hands clutching at the fabric of her kimono covered lap. Zelda stared at Impa. She stared and saw what she had never seen from her father in all the years she had spent throwing herself at the brick wall that was unlocking her sacred powers: genuine remorse.
“Impa, unbow your head please.”
Her friend obliged, eyes wet with unshed tears when she met Zelda’s gaze.
“Thank you. For not wanting to cause the same pain my father did. I will accept your apology for that. But I don’t think I can accept an apology for you being afraid or for not wanting the past to repeat itself. I didn’t live through the devastation that Calamity Ganon sowed, not really. I understand the vileness of the thing, but I didn’t have to survive in the world it's awakening left behind. You did, though."
At some point, Impa’s face breaks into a small smile, her unshed tears cutting paths down the apples of her cheeks.
“I don’t quite understand how you have such a kind heart still, Zelda. After everything, most in your place would have grown bitter and cruel.”
Zelda hums softly as she considers the sheikah’s words. She remembers a time when she had almost tuned bitter and cruel, when something in her shifted from genuine hope of awakening the power in her bloodline to angry pessimism at her constant failure. Like a heavy anchor pulling on her soul, it tugged at her for years, the weight only growing worse when Link pulled the Master Sword. It was like a red hot poker pierced her soul the morning her father informed her the same knight would be her personal guard, as if being near Link would somehow motivate her to try harder to fulfill her divine responsibilities.
It didn't. It just made her angry. Angry and mean and petty to anyone who dared get too close in a way that might hurt her already raw heart.
In the wild, away from disappointed glances and irritated sighs, she’d been given the chance to see that life wasn’t just black and white. Success or failure. Life or death. The wilds taught her that, yes, of course life could be brutal. But it was also infinitely beautiful and fascinating too. That there was kindness to be found in the places you might least expect it. The time she had traveling with Link, precious little that it was, showed her that there was more to life than just being afraid of failing those she cared about. More to existence than feeling like a burden.
That, Zelda thinks, is what made all the difference. Not some innate goodness that let her rise above; she was only mortal, after all.
She does not utter any of this to Impa. Instead, she offers her a gentle smile and simply says,
“I just try the best I can every day, Impa. I hear that’s all anyone can do.”
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When he grew strong enough to walk unassisted, Link insisted on trying to take a short lap around the walkway that lay just outside the infirmary.
“My friend, you may not realize this, but my people have become…let's use the phrase lovingly invested in you and your recovery.” Sidon warned him as he led the way down the infirmary halls, mindful of his speed.
Though Link was capable of movement, both the Blight and the extended bed rest had atrophied much of his remaining muscle mass, leaving him to tire easily and sometimes suddenly.
“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Sidon. It's just a small loop for fresh air.” He said, mindful to keep the pace slow and his breathing even, carefully pacing himself like his physical therapist had told him to.
If the Prince had eyebrows, Link felt that one would have raised at him in a questioning manner.
“It’ll be fine .” Link said again with a dismissive wave of a hand, now trying to convince himself more so than Sidon.
For the most part, he was correct.
It was still early in the morning when they made their way outside, the brisk air sending a slight chill down Link’s spine. They walked slowly, deliberately, Link being mindful of his footing.
The first time he had stood up from his sick bed, he hadn’t been prepared for the wave of dizziness nor sudden weakness in his knees. He was lucky that he fell backwards onto the bed and not forward to the floor, the last thing he needed while already recovering was an additional head injury.
They were about halfway around the walkway when Link became aware that things were, in fact, not going to be OK. A young Zora, perhaps out on some early morning errand, had spotted them. As soon as they had, they let out an excited yell and waved at them.
“Whoa! Hey! Mr. Hero, Mr. Hero, Liiinnnkkk! Hey, over here!”
Link waved back slowly, suddenly unsure of himself and the decision to take the walk in the first place.
It wasn’t before long that the walkway, once so empty and quiet, was bustling with Zoras of all ages and sizes. They wanted to see him, to shake his hand, to congratulate him on his continued recovery, to offer advice on how one should recuperate best. He knew they all meant well, he did.
But Link couldn’t get a word in edgewise, couldn’t move forward, couldn't step back, couldn't explain that he really needed to return to his room. He began to silently worry as his legs grew weaker by the moment that he wouldn’t even be able to stand up for much longer.
Wouldn't that be a fantastic first impression back into the public eye on any regard, get swarmed by well wishers only to fall flat on his ass-
As if Sidon could read his thoughts, Link found two large hands under his armpits suddenly pulling him up and away from the crowd. He was carefully seated on Sidon’s left shoulder, his hands instinctively going to the fin on the top of the Zora’s head, steadying himself with it.
“I do apologize everyone, but we really must be getting on our way. Thank you so much for your kind words and well wishes.”
Without another word, Sidon’s large form gently but assuredly cut a path through the crowd of smiling faces and made short work of reentering the infirmary, mindful of Link’s added height at the doorways.
“Thank you, Sidon. For your help and for being my friend.” Was what Link could offer, body weak and mind tired from the well wishers excitement.
“Always, Link.”
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“Now, do you have the physical therapy exercises Specialist Burbot taught you written down?”
Link nodded, definitely.
“Yes Meeda, I do.”
“Same with the pain relieving elixir I taught you?”
Another nod.
“Yep, written in the same section as Specialist Burbot's stuff.”
“...what about the fish stew recipe you asked Lundie about?”
Link let slip a small laugh at the question.
“Got it in an entire section now dedicated to food recipes in my journal. I was surprised by how many folks wanted to tell me how their family makes a fish stew. Once word got out I was asking after one, they just kept coming.”
“Yeah, that happens around here.”
Link put his hands on his hips, looking around the room that had housed him and Zelda as they had healed, making sure nothing of his was missed. His Claree crafted clothes were accounted for. So was his journal, the get well cards from the Big Bad Bazz Brigade and Sidon, and the origami animals he and Zelda had made together to pass the time. He nodded with a sense of finality and closed his bag, throwing it over his shoulder.
In tandem strides, he and Meeda walked from the room he had spent the last several months recovering in. As they made their way down the hallway, Link asked,
“So, what are you going to do now without me around to worry about, Meeda?”
She hummed for a moment before offering,
“Lose all sense of purpose and cohesion, probably become a puddle of viscera somewhere.”
Link shot her a raised eyebrow.
“A joke, Link, just one of my dumb dry jokes. In all seriousness though, I’ll probably go back into research. What I've seen these last few months with you and your recovery has to be studied to some degree. With me being the foremost expert on the illness that should have killed you, there really isn't anyone better suited.”
“So happy I can be an anomaly worth studying for you, Meeda.”
She let out a bark of laughter at the snark.
“See, things like that make me wonder if you don't understand some of my humor better than you let on.”
“You deliver things with such a straight face, I can only tell like, half the time when you're joking.”
“Ah, well, that’s fair I suppose…”
They fall into a comfortable silence as they walk and soon find themselves at the mouth of the infirmary, the morning sun already peeking over the threshold to the promenade. Tilting his head back and forth once to gently stretch his joints there, Link turned his attention to his healer, asking,
“If you find anything interesting with that research of yours, you'll let me know?”
Meeda nodded.
“ Of course…and tell me, what do you do if anything odd happens with yourself?”
“Send you a note immediately so you have time to send advice.”
“That’s a good kid.”
Link let out a small snort of laughter at that.
“I'm technically well into adulthood by both Hylian and Zora standards, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah but I'm the one with wrinkles, Link. Everyone else is a kid when you start looking like me. Now, get going before the sun gets too high.”
He nodded and stepped out into the daylight, ready to begin the journey back to Kakariko.
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The village that had brought him under their proverbial wing was a sight for sore eyes by the time it came into view.
To both his and Zelda’s joyous surprise, their horses were waiting to say hello to them at Kakariko’s mini stable when they made it back to the village proper several days after leaving Zora’s Domain.
When asked, all Cado offered as an answer for the animal’s appearance was,
“Prince Sidon asked us to gather the Princess’ horse a while back. We thought you might like having yours in the village too, Link. I was able to gather her from the Dueling Peaks Stable on your behalf about a week or so ago.”
Link wept, laughter in his voice when he scratched the animal’s chin just how she liked and asked her,
“Were you good while I was gone? Or did you make mischief?”
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Koko and Cottla laid on their stomachs in the tall grass along the path leading to the Great Fairy Fountain. Their targets lay not all that far ahead, both Link and Zelda distracted by the Sheikah Slate held between them. Silently, Koko motioned for Cottla to stop and wait, the younger of the two dropping to lay flat in the grass, quiet and still.
Koko continued to slowly shimmy her way forward, motioning for Cottla to follow her the path she cut. As they carefully approached their targets, the sound of voices became clearer.
“...’m honest I think we ought to try climbing Satori Mountain first before any of the other strenuous locations. I know we’re both stronger than when we left Zora’s Domain months ago, but a trek up to the Shrine of Resurrection or to the top of Lake Floria might be a bit much still. You mentioned wildlife trails that we can use while climbing Satori, anyways.”
“Yeah, but Lake Floria looks so pretty this time of year.”
“Then why don't we just plan to go next year?”
“...ok fine . But do you think Purah will be in the mood to let us borrow the Slate by then?”
“Hopefully she’ll have that prototype she was talking about made, that should make it so she won’t even notice if the Slate’s gone.”
“Sounds about right for her.”
“So, my dear Link, what say you to trying to make it to Satori Mountain this year?”
“I’ll give it some very serious thought…but only if Cottla and Koko try to hide better!”
The two young girls burst up from where they lay in the grass as Link turned his attention to them from where he lay in the grass with Zelda, peals of laughter trailing after them as they scampered back down the hill.
Zelda let a gentle laugh fall from her lips as she said,
“I think that's the closest they've gotten to you so far.”
Link settled next to her once more, his arm cushioning the back of her head.
“Yeah, well, I was distracted by someone .”
Mock hurt fell over Zelda’s features as she dramatically rolled over in the grass, flinging an arm over her eyes.
“Oh to be accused of such treacherousness, you wound me good sir.”
“...you’re such a goof.”
Zelda pulled her arm off of her face, fixing her eyes onto Link’s as she said,
“Yes, but you love and adore this goof.”
Link held her gaze, a small, tender smile on his face as he said,
“Yeah…yeah I do.”
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It was nearly nine months to the day of Link and Zelda’s abrupt arrival into Zora’s Domain that Link received a letter. It was from Hudson, much to his surprise.
He was further surprised by the news the letter brought with it. Hudson and his lovely Gerudo wife, Rhondson, had welcomed their first child into the world.
A little boy, with flaming red hair and dark skin like his mother, and a unique birthmark on the back of one of his hands.
The letter invited him to visit Tarrey Town in a few weeks time to celebrate the birth. He had immediately penned back, assuring Hudson that he would be there and, if it would be ok, could he bring a few others with him?
Hudson’s next letter was a series of exclamations and assurances that, yes, of course he could bring more people to celebrate the birth of his child. The more the merrier, even.
So, with two weeks until the party, Link, Zelda, Dorian and Paya set out to Tarrey Town. Though, Link and Zelda all but demanded that they make a small detour along the way.
They reached Satori Mountain in good time. In knowing that this place must be important to Link and Zelda when they asked to traverse the mountain unaccompanied, Dorian and Paya gladly stayed at the base to set up camp for the night.
Climbing up the last bit of the cliff side, Link let himself lay on the ground, arms over his head, breathing heavy.
“I told you we could have rested at the last ledge a little longer.” Zelda said, crouching over him.
“…I’m…too…impatient…” He huffed, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
While now so much stronger than he had been months ago, Link wasn't sure he would ever have the stamina he once did.
The Blight had stolen it from him and the Silent Sleep elixir had damaged his body enough that he didn't know if he was still even capable of what he once was. But, as he did with many things, he would adjust.
Zelda snorted and shook her head at him, playfully tickling his nose with the ends of her hair.
Link weakly batted the locks away, his face pulled into an exaggerated frown.
“Quit it!”
“As you wish, my liege.” She joked as she stood, bowing her head to him playfully.
He took one, final deep breath of air and slowly got to his feet, rejoining Zelda.
“So, where’s this spring I saw in your pic-”
She need not finish the sentence as the very top of a pink blossoming tree came into view. Walking closer the full tree came into view and, with it, the spring that lay at its feet. Just as he had remembered, the spring was still edged with clusters of long grass and Silent Princess. Fallen pink flower petals clung to the surface of the water, floating peacefully.
This spot really did have the best view in Hyrule, no doubt about it.
“It’s beautiful.” Zelda said, voice hushed and happy.
Link turned his attention to her, taking in how the sunset framed her face just so, watched as her mouth curled into a smile. The same smile he had fought so hard all those months ago to see again.
He let his own features upturn into a grin as he took her hand into his own, lacing their fingers together in a smooth motion that had become second nature.
“It's nicer in person, wouldn't you say?” He asked, squeezing her hand.
Her smile widened as she squeezed back.
“Yes, it is. Your photo simply didn’t do this place justice.”
They may not be exactly as they once were. Not compared to a century ago, not even to a year ago. But they were alive, enjoying a view they had not expected to see together. They stood as Zelda and Link, hand in hand.
Hyrule was safe and so were they.
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The Blessed Spring
As told by King Sidon
To try and put into exact words the events that blessed the waters of the Domain’s Palace Promenade is a feat in and of itself. Still, I will do what I can so that this piece of history does not become legend.
A day, just like any other, was starting in Zora’s Domain when a crack of lightning shattered the morning peace. Rumbled the very foundations of the Palace and Promenade.
The source?
Goddess Farore herself, delivering two souls in desperate need of healing hands.
Since that day, the waters of the promenade have a healing quality to them, the effect growing more potent the closer to the spot in which the Goddess first arrived upon. Those who wade into the heart of the Blessed Spring find themselves alleviated of any pain or injury their body might have.
The alcove once held a shrine but, in the many years since, the space has been altered to accommodate medicinal application and usage of the blessed waters.
We found ourselves very fortunate to have such a spring in the heart of our Domain come the time of the Upheaval Events. The sludge from the monster tainted Water Temple was an especially heavy burden on the very young, elderly and injured of the community.
The Blessed Spring offered a respite from the sludge with its healing and purifying nature. Without these properties, I am worried to think what the casualties from this era might have looked like instead. I deeply hope that this spot will remain a treasure of Zora’s Domain for many generations to come.