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Chapter Text

The cold stung her nose as she galloped across the desert on horseback. She clung to her horse’s mane as his neck bobbed up and down, sending sand trailing out behind the two as they escaped all that was behind them. 

By her side was the queen of her kingdom, her beautiful white mare’s nose blowing hot steam into the night air. If Mira was cold, she could only imagine how cold and exhausted her and the queen’s horses were.

“We’re almost there.” The queen assured. “It won’t be long before we get to the colossus.”

So they trudged on.

When Kotake found the two Hylian women in the middle of the Haunted Wasteland with only their horses, she couldn’t help but take pity on them. The horses were strong enough to stand, but Kotake assumed their lungs must be filled with the blistering hot sand. 

A horrible sandstorm had kicked up the night before, and had probably blinded the two Hyruleans and their horses. If they hadn’t been suffocated, they would have frozen to death. Kotake was only out here hunting for a medicinal cure for pox that could only be found in here, that being the horn of a Leever. Otherwise, she would have never ventured out into the wasteland in the first place.

Kotake nudged one of the women with her foot, assuming them for dead, as they would have probably been buried in sand if not for the fact that the winds were so strong. But, when the woman sputtered sand, she knew this was a desperate situation. She checked the other woman, who was also still alive, but also coughing up sand. 

The Gerudo and the Hyruleans had a strange alliance. They were both currently fighting in a war against the Zora, over who had control of the Lake Hylia territory. Hyruleans and Zora had lived in peace over it for a while, but now, the Zora were demanding control. Which, fine, they could have the lake. Hylians had little use for it anyways, they couldn’t swim as fast or as gracefully as the Zora. But the issue has started when they wanted a section of Hyrule Field near the lake too, which was under Hyrulean jurisdiction as a protected area for wildlife. The Zora planned on expanding their housing. The Hylians hadn’t liked that, and they’d gone to war. The Zora were threatening to secede from Hyrule, and so were the Gorons, who decided that they wanted the Kakariko territory back from Hylians as well. But that territory hadn’t belonged to Hylians in the first place, it’d belonged to the Sheikah. Who the Hylians had all murdered. But that was a different conflict. 

The Gerudo had only joined the Hylian side of things because they controlled the river that lead into the lake. They didn’t want to lose their territory to the Zora. If it weren’t for that, they would have remained neutral. The only tribe that had remained neutral were the Kokiri, the tribe of literal children. Kotake though it said a lot that children were the only ones who had the sense to remain neutral. Perhaps they had greater wisdom than the rest.

Regardless, this alliance meant that Kotake couldn’t just leave the Hylians for dead, or it was likely they’d be accused of killing them, potentially opening the possibility of a Hylian attack. So, Kotake loaded them up onto their horses, and did not remount her own horse, leading all three home. 

The women were extremely grateful for their rescue, drinking down their potions provided by Kotake’s sister, Koume. 

“Thank you so much for that,” one woman thanked. “We would have died out there if not for you. We got caught up in that horrible sandstorm!”

“It’s quite all right,” Koume promised. “Drink up, though. The potions will help to clear your lungs.”

“Don’t pull that nondense again,” Kotake huffed. “You really would have gotten yourself killed.”

“Well, we had to go to the Spirit Temple.”

“Why?” Koume questioned.

“Safety. Hyrule Castle got attacked last night, and we wanted to take shelter somewhere where we wouldn’t be found. We figured no one would come looking for us in the desert.”

“That was foolish,” Kotake said bluntly. “Of course no one would come looking for you in the desert. It’s a death trap.”

“We thought we’d be able to get to the Spirit Temple and remain there until conflict settled,” one of the women argued. “But you’re right. We were not correct in our assumption that we’d be safe. Mira, my knight, can fight against the strongest foes, but nature is not a force to be messed with.”

“You’re a knight?” Koume looked at the woman wiping her lips after drinking more of the deep navy blue potion.

“Yeah. My husband died a while ago fighting, so accompanying Petara here wasn’t a difficult decision.”

“Hah!” Kotake exclaimed. “You must get mistaken for the queen of Hyrule a lot, sharing her name.” She looked at Petara.

“The only difference between us is that I have short hair, whereas hers was longer.” Petara smiled. “Let’s just say, the death of the queen and her knight were greatly exaggerated.”

“The news that they ‘died’ hasn’t even reached the desert yet, so I’ll just pretend you’re crazy and that I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Kotake smirked. “So, why did the other Petara and her personal knight escape to the desert?”

“We both got pregnant at the worst time,” Mira laughed. “In the middle of a war. So, we figured that with my husband dead, and the Hyrulean royal family being at risk of being assasinated, we’d just fake our deaths.”

“Why not bring the king?” Koume asked.

“Well, someone has to run the kingdom.” Petara shrugged. “So we left him there. He’s the only one we told of our departure, and we plan to keep it a secret.”

“We do as well, we don’t need the Zora or the Gorons deciding it’s a good idea to attack here because we’re harboring the dead queen.” Kotake said, somewhat harshly. But Petara, at least, could tell that she was all bark and no bite. 

“You mentioned being pregnant,” Koume recalled. “When are you due?”

“Not for another few months, for both of us. We’re due around spring,” Mira explained.

“Oh, so you’ll give birth at the same time as the horses.” Kotake grinned. “It’s Gerudo tradition to give a child a horse when they’re born. Which will be perfect for inducting you into the tribe.”

“Let’s just hope they’re not boys,” Koume joked. “A Gerudo boy is only born into the tribe once every hundred years, and that hundred year mark is coming up. Imagine that, Kotake! Raising two or three boys at once? How terrible!”

“Don’t scare the poor women,” Kotake scolded. “Regardless of your children’s genders, you’re more than welcome to stay with us. Just don’t reveal your true identities.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem.” Mira smiled. “After all, it’s not traditional for Hyrulean royal family members or their knights to have hair that looks like it was cut with a dull blade. No one will suspect a thing.”

And they were right. Their hair was choppy, shorter in some places than in others. While it might have not been an affective disguise under normal circumstances, Kotake and Koume knew they could make it work.

Before Mira and Petara gave birth, another Gerudo woman did first. 

Being the rulers of the tribe, and also being quite knowledgeable in medicine, Kotake and Koume took care of all medical affairs within the village. When they’d announced they’d found ill, pregnant Hylians stranded in the desert, no one objected to bringing them into the tribe and caring for them until they could safely return to their homes in Castle Town, being assumed to be normal townsfolk. But, this also meant that they had to pull their own weight around the settlement, but they had no issue with this. They would help Kotake and Koume mix medicine while they were out hunting for ingredients.

Regardless, this meant that when Kirika, a young Gerudo woman, went into labor, Mira and Petara tried to help in any way they could. 

“Too many cooks spoil the soup,” Kotake said to the two Hylians, trying to calm Kirika. “Stay out of this.”

Kotake usually wasn’t so crabby, so Mira knew something must be wrong with Kirika. And something was. Her child wanted to come out, in Kotake’s words, “ass-end first.”

Mira and Petara tried not to fret, and let Kotake and Koume do what they had to. But, when Koume came into the Hylians’ room, looking distraught, Mira couldn’t take it anymore.

“Is she going to die?” She asked, panicking.

“Honey, she’s already dead.” Koume stared deep into Mira’s soul. “And her child’s a boy.”

Chapter Text

Mason and Farley wouldn’t leave Link alone.

“Can we please try to ride Epona?” Mason asked, frothing at the opportunity to share Link’s prized possession. 

“I don't know why you two are so obsessed with my horse when you have your own,” Link rolled his eyes. 

“Carina is too old to ride!” Farley whined. 

“Which is perfect for green riders like yourselves. She’s not too old, she’s just well experienced and good with young kids,” Link explained. “Epona isn’t green, but she’s definitely less… beginner friendly.” 

The chestnut horse snorted.

“She’s Mom’s horse’s foal, which means we should get to share her,” Mason debated. 

“First of all, she’s Zelda’s mom’s horse’s foal. And she was gifted specifically to me after my horse passed. So, my horse.”

Link constantly had to get his little brothers off of his tail, but he didn’t really mind it. As they were four years younger than him, he knew it was because they looked up to him. His main concern was them getting hurt trying to ride Epona, who wasn’t too fond of being ridden by anyone but Link. She wouldn’t buck them off, but she might try and bolt, especially with a greener rider.

“Why don’t you go play with Dad?” Link recommended. “I heard he needed help down at the range.”

“Oh, really? Do you think he’ll let me shoot?” Farley exclaimed. 

“Maybe a slingshot. Even he won’t let me have my own bow yet.”

Mason and Farley ran to the shooting range, leaving Link alone with Epona by the stables. The younger boys had brushed her half to death, and Link had shown them how to pick her feet, so he just had to tack her up if he wanted to go for a ride to Hyrule Field. He stroked her nose.

“I’ll be right back, girl,” he promised, running into the house that his family shared with their close family friends.

“Hi, Link,” Zelda’s mother greeted. “Are you looking for Zelda?”

“Yeah, I wanted to know if we could ride over to LonLon together.”

Her mother raised an eyebrow. 

“C’mon, the war is over! We’re not gonna get attacked or anything.”

“Ask your mother. I’m fine with it.”

Link’s mother, who was beside Zelda’s, was deep in thought. “You can go if you bring Ganondorf. I don’t want him feeling left out.”

Link knew that wasn’t the real reason. Both women most likely didn’t want him and Zelda to get hurt riding alone, but Link didn’t mind taking his other friend riding too.

“All right. Do you know where Zelda is?”

“She’s by the canyon drawing, I think,” her mother responded. “If she’s not there, she’s probably by the stables.”

Link returned to the stables to grab Epona, where he found Zelda brushing her horse.

“Hey, wanna go for a ride over to the ranch?” Link asked. “We gotta bring Ganondorf, though.”

“That’s fine! We haven’t seen him yet today anyways,” Zelda said. “But, yeah, I’ll go with you. Let me just finish brushing Heather.”

“I’ll go grab Ganondorf, then. If you finish brushing Heather, start brushing Crescendo.”

“Are you guys going for a ride?” 

Ganondorf had peeped his head in shyly. 

“Oh, yeah! We were just going to get you so you could come with us. We’re going to LonLon.”

“I have a little pocket money,” Ganondorf said. “Maybe we can buy a cucco or something.”

“I’m sure our parents would appreciate that, since the eggs keep breaking when our cuccos lay,” Zelda told him. “Mom says they need more calcium in their diets. She’s probably right, but Shell Blades are so expensive now! So it’s hard to get their shells, which provide the calcium.”

“Don’t Octoroks also have, like, a bone in them the cuccos can eat for calcium?” Link asked.

“Octoroks are even more expensive, though! During the war, Zora troops ate basically nothing but takoyaki, endangering the Octoroks as a species. So, now if you want an Octorok bone, you have to smuggle it.”

“You’re so smart,” Link said. “How do you remember all this stuff?”

“I just love animals,” Zelda responded.

After all their horses were brushed and tacked up, the three left for the ranch.

“What we’re you up to today, Ganondorf?” Zelda asked. “Why weren’t you at school?” 

“Aunt Koume wasn’t feeling very well, so I stayed behind and helped Aunt Kotake mix potions while she recovered. Did I miss anything?”

“Not much,” Link told him. “Just, like, practicing our Gerudo. You already speak fluently.”

“I think it’s weird that they teach Hylian before Gerudo in a Gerudo school.” Ganondorf patted his horse, Crescendo’s, neck. 

“It’s probably because so many Hylians live in Gerudo territory now,” Zelda rationalized. “With the war being over, don’t you think they’d move back?”

“Well, most people had no family to return to,” Link argued. “Like us.”

“Yeah, but we were born in Gerudo territory. We’ve lived there for ten years. I don’t see why someone who moved there a year ago wouldn’t want to return to Hyrule, considering that the war ended six months into their evacuation.” Zelda held her head high.

“It’s because the desert is beautiful,” Ganondorf explained. “I can’t imagine ever leaving and living elsewhere.”

“That’s true,” Zelda agreed. “It is beautiful.”

The three continued on, only stopping when they had reached their destination. There, they hung the horses’ bridles and tied them with lead ropes to the barn.

“I hope Malon isn’t too busy,” Zelda wished. 

A young girl, just about the age of the three, lived at the ranch, which was their main motivation for visiting. They went into the barn to look for her.

Zelda greeted each of the animals individually, stroking the cows’ faces and letting the pigs sniff her hand.

“Hi, Zelda!” Malon popped out from a stall, which made Ganondorf jump. “I was just milking the cows! You guys wanna help?”

Link and Ganondorf were more than happy to help, and Zelda basically jumped on the opportunity. Gerudo desert wasn’t the best place for dairy cows, as there was little grass to graze on, so their families mainly kept pigs and chickens. That didn’t make them strangers to milking, though. 

“How have things been over in the desert?” Malon asked. “I haven’t seen you guys in weeks!”

“It’s been all right!” Link smiled. “Lots of school and stuff. But, hey, summer’s coming up! It’ll be even hotter than usual, but we don’t have to go to school!”

“Awesome!” Malon grinned. “You guys should just be thankful you’re not homeschooled. Dad makes me do schoolwork whenever we can fit it in.”

“I don’t mind school,” Ganondorf said shyly. “It takes my mind off of things for a while. It’s like exercise, but for your brain.”

“You’re also super smart,” Link huffed. “You and Zelda always get way better grades than I do!”

“But you’re the history whiz,” Ganondorf pointed out. “I’m just good at studying, so I get good grades. I’m not actually smart. ”

“All three of you are smart!” Malon protested. “Now shut up and milk the cows.”

“We already finished,” Ganondorf told her.

“I know, I was just kidding.” Malon smiled. “Let’s go see my dad in the chicken coop. Maybe he’ll give you some eggs.”

So they all followed Malon from the barn to the coop, which was also the lower floor of the house. Malon’s father was asleep, leaning against the wall and sitting in a pile of hay.

“Dad! Wake up!” Malon yelled, which woke him.

“What’s wrong?” He yawned. 

“Nothing!” She smiled innocently. “Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf are here.”

“Oh,” he sighed. “You guys want something?”

“No, we just wanted to say hi,” Ganondorf said. 

“You want dinner? It’s getting late, and it’s a long ride over here. I’ll cook you something. Bacon good?”

“Really, Talon, you don’t have to make us anything,” Zelda insisted. 

“I’ll send you home with full bellies if it’s the last thing I do.” He dusted the hay off his overalls. “I’ll go upstairs and cook ya something. You guys play with the cucco chicks or something.” Malon’s father trudged upstairs. 

“He’s not very good at cooking anything,” Malon warned. “I mean, it tastes good, but it’s swimming in grease.”

“Bacon typically is.” Ganondorf shrugged. 

“Do you want to hold a chick?” Malon asked Ganondorf. “Here, I’ll catch one for you.”

“It’s okay,” Ganondorf insisted. “I’d be worried about hurting it.”

“You won’t, as long as you don’t hold it too tightly. Just don’t squeeze it,” Malon instructed, chasing down a chick for him. She scooped up the little fuzzball, and gave it to Ganondorf. After placing it in his hands, he wrapped his fingers around it, gently securing the chick’s body as it poked its head out. 

“It’s cute.” He seemed hesitant. “Are you sure I won’t hurt it?”

“You’re doing great!” Malon assured. “It likes you.”

Link and Zelda tried to get the older cuccos to hold, but they didn’t seem too amused by that. So, they just watched Ganondorf hold the chick.

Ganondorf eventually put the chick down when it began to peep, but it decided to sit on his boot and fall asleep. 

“I think it likes you!” Zelda said.

“Yeah!” Link smiled. “Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl, Malon?”

“Oh, I’m not good at sexing chicks. It’ll be a surprise, I guess.”

Talon came down from upstairs, and saw the chick asleep on Ganondorf’s foot.

“That one likes you,” Talon pointed out.

“So I’ve noticed,” Ganondorf grinned.

“Do you want to take that one home with you?” Talon offered. “ This chick has actually been being picked on by the others, it’ll be good if you give it hand to hand care. I’d do it myself, but I don’t have enough time to give one-on-one care to a sick chick.”

“You’re serious?” Ganondorf seemed to be in awe.

“Entirely.”

“Of course I’ll take it home!” He grinned. “How will I get it home, though? I can’t just put it in my pocket.”

“‘Course you can, as long as you give it air and don’t mind it crapping in your pocket.”

“My aunts might… but I don’t care.”

“Atta boy. Now, who wants bacon?” 

The kids all scrambled upstairs, and feasted on greasy bacon. After, Malon bid her farewells to the desert dwellers, and they went home, with a chick in Ganondorf’s pocket.

Chapter Text

“Now, what the hell are we going to do with that thing?” Kotake asked Ganondorf as the little cucco chick peeped. 

“I dunno, but Talon said I could keep it!” He grinned. “Can we keep it, please?”

“I don’t see why not,” Koume said. “But you know we don’t have a coop. You’d have to keep it with Link’s cuccos.”

“That’s fine!” Ganondorf exclaimed happily. “I’ll visit it every day.”

Ganondorf brought the chick over to Link’s coop, which was just across from Ganondorf’s house. He put the little chick into the nesting box, hoping that one of the mothers would take it under her wing, so it didn’t freeze during the cold, desert nights.

Link was more than happy to have a new chick in his flock, and his mother was able to correctly sex it. 

“It’s a male,” she told the kids. “Which is good, we need a good rooster from a different bloodline. Of course, he’s your chick, Ganondorf, but he is living here, so we’re going to breed him with our hens, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t!” he assured.

Link’s family had always been farmers, and Ganondorf adored them, so he was happy to let his chick help their flock.

School was out, and the desert grew even more blistering hot. Luckily Ganondorf got to spend most of his time indoors, brewing heat resistance potions for the farmers and other workers outside. Kotake and Koume would also occasionally go to Castle Town and sell their potions, but he’d never been allowed to come. 

Ganon was in charge of delivering potions to the families around Gerudo Town. In Castle Town, they would have called him a milkman. 

Ganondorf stopped by Link’s house last, since he wanted to spend some time with his family. 

“Thanks, Ganondorf,” Link’s mother smiled, drinking the potion. “How is Thomas doing?” Thomas was Link’s father, and his mother’s husband, who ran the town’s shooting range.

“He’s doing all right. Not many people are shooting today, though,” he informed. 

“Not surprised.” She shrugged. “It’s hotter than Death Mountain today.”

“Where’s Link?” 

“He’s trying to catch hogs to go to market. Tom’s going later today.” 

“I can help, if you want,” the boy offered. 

“Go right ahead!” Link’s mother seemed pleased.

“He could use the help.”

When Ganondorf found Link, he was wrestling with a particularly large gilt, who didn’t seem too happy that Link was attempting to shove her into a crate.

“Do you want help?” Ganondorf asked. 

With one final push, the gilt was in the crate, and Link closed the door behind her.

“Nah, Dad said I only need to catch a few of the bigger ones to be sold, since the piglets are still nursing. He’ll pick them later. You wanna go check on the cuccos?”

“Yeah!” Ganondorf followed Link to the cucco’s pen, where he pointed to a black cockerel.

“There’s Carlos,” Link told Ganondorf. “He won’t let anyone touch him now.”

“He lets me touch him,” Ganondorf told him, walking inside the mesh-topped pen and grabbing the cucco, who did not protest.

“See? He likes me.” Ganondorf smiled.

“Well, you must be the exception.” Link shrugged. “Mason tried to catch him the other day and Carlos nearly mauled him.”

“He weighs half a pound, how could he have nearly mauled Mason?” Ganondorf stroked the bird’s head.

“I don’t know, but that’s what Mason said.”

“He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body,” Ganondorf assured. “He just likes his personal space.”

“All right,” Link said hesitantly. “Just be careful.”

Link and Ganondorf were talking about what they planned to do over the summer- Ganondorf would be working with his aunts, and Link would be helping around the farm- when Link’s father approached. 

“Have either of you seen Zelda today?” He asked.

“No, we haven’t,” Link told him.

“Well, her mother is looking for her. She left for the river this morning, but she hasn’t been able to find her.”

“We’ll help look!” Ganondorf exclaimed. 

“All right. Grab your horses, boys, we’ll cover more land on horseback. Ganondorf, you come with me. Link, you can go with your mother.”

Link ran to grab Epona, to see his mother already tacked up and mounted. “We’ll search the fields. Your father is going to search the lake, in case she washed up there,” she said.

“What about Zelda’s Mom?”

“You know she’s ill. She can’t search.”

“I hope she’s okay,” Link mused, the panic the adults were feeling not quite setting in yet.

“She’ll be fine. Let’s go, we can’t be wasting time.”

By the time night fell, Zelda still hadn’t returned, even with all the Gerudo Town guards searching for her. 

“We’ll search for the rest of the night,” a guard told the frenzied Petara. “We’ll make sure she comes home safely.”

Ganondorf ran to give Zelda’s mother a hug, only to be stopped by Kotake. 

“You’ll just make it worse.”

Then, suddenly, a strong wind began to bellow, stirring up dirt, and sending loose sand blasting from the Haunted Wasteland.

“Quick! Everyone inside!” The head guard called. “Sandstorm!”

“What about Zelda?” Link protested. 

“There’s nothing we can do!” Link’s mother took his hand. “Inside, now!”

It was days before the storm settled, and by then the mourning had already begun. Petara was sobbing uncontrollably, babbling about her deceased husband and daughter. Link and Ganondorf had cried, too, but were now more uneasy than anything. The silence indoors was deafening, with the only sounds being Petara’s crying, the wind roaring outside, and debris hitting the fortress where everyone had taken shelter. 

When the storm cleared and everyone dashed outside, it was Ganondorf that had stopped to look at the wreckage. Luckily most houses and livestock were safe, but there was sand everywhere, and the sun was ruthlessly beating down on a small body atop a dune.

Ganondorf rushed over, the town following. Petara shoved to the front, and took Zelda’s body in her arms. 

Then, Zelda opened her eyes.

Chapter Text

Of course, Zelda was immediately taken into the care of Kotake and Koume, who wouldn’t allow anyone but Petara to visit her.

“Why can’t I visit Zelda?” Ganondorf asked his aunts, prodding at his food with his fork. Despite his hunger, he couldn’t bear the thought of taking a single bite. 

“The only reason we’re even letting Petara see her is because Petara herself would keel over if we didn’t,” Kotake stated. “She’s already so ill, not being able to see her daughter would probably do her in.”

“Will Zelda be all right?” Ganondorf fretted. He knew that Petara was sick - she had been for years now - but his aunts would refuse to tell him why. He just hoped that whatever Petara had, that Zelda wasn’t catching it.

“She should be fine, dear,” Koume assured. “We’re just trying to figure out what happened, that’s all.”

Zelda woke up, bleary-eyed, with Ganondorf’s aunts at her side. She was still here. They still wouldn’t let her leave.

“Zelda, dearest,” Koume took her hand. “Why won’t you speak?”

Zelda remained silent, looking to her mother, who was still slumbering beside her. Even if she wanted to speak, what would she say? They wouldn’t understand, no one would. What had happened didn’t even make sense to her. But the guilt and fear still surrounded her, consumed her. It was best to stay silent, for now.

Zelda stayed awake, completely silent and still, until her mother awoke. This had been how the past three days had been. Zelda would wake up, be interrogated and investigated by Kotake and Koume, and lie in bed, not saying a word, until her mother awoke. Only then could she relax. She knew her mother wouldn’t be angry at her. 

“Zelda, darling,” her mother stood up, leaned over her bedside, and brushed her cheek. “Please, please. Just tell me what you need. Just tell me what I can do.”

Zelda sat up, sighing.

“Zelda,” her mother started. “Please. I need to know what happened. I will not tell a soul. I won’t tell Kotake, I won’t tell Koume. Please, just tell me.” Her voice was cracking - she seemed upset. “Did someone hurt you?”

“No.” Zelda sighed again. Her mother didn’t seem to derive much relief from Zelda deciding to speak again.

“Then tell me why you were outside in the middle of a violent sandstorm for two days ! Tell me why you went silent!”

“I had to, okay?” Zelda snapped. “I had to. I can’t tell you why. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Zelda, honey,” her mother begged. “There is so much you do not know about. So much. I might understand.” She shuddered. “Please. Trust me.”

Zelda’s veins felt as if they were filled with ice. “I don’t remember being out in the sandstorm at all,” she told her mother. “I was somewhere else… just not physically.”

“What did this place look like?” She asked. 

“It was like a dream. I don’t remember exactly,” Zelda admitted. “But something terrible happened there - and I know it will happen here, too. I don’t know why or how. But it will. And I’m scared.”

“What happened?” Her mother questioned.

I don’t remember,” Zelda fretted. “I just know that it was my fault for not stopping it.”

“It’s not your fault, love.” Zelda’s mother promised. 

“You don’t understand - it is,” Zelda assured. “Hyrule was consumed by this - this great darkness, and it was all my fault!”

Zelda had raised her voice more than she meant to. Her mother seemed to be taken aback.

“Zelda,” her mother said softly. “I understand. It’s okay. I believe you - I believe that you’ve seen this, and that you know it will happen. For now, I just want you to focus on living your life. Things will make sense when you get older.” She sighed heavily. “Everything is going to be all right. No harm will come to you.”

Suddenly, Kotake and Koume came into the room, and began fussing over Zelda’s health again. 

“I feel better,” Zelda told them, which was a half-truth. She was no longer physically ill, and was speaking, but she still felt a pit of dread in her stomach. “Can I go home now?”

Petara looked over to Kotake and Koume knowingly.

“You may,” Koume nodded

“Aren’t you coming, Mom?” Zelda asked.

“I’m going to stay a little while longer - I’m not feeling well.” Her mother didn’t meet her gaze. “Just stay safe, dear. And say hello to Link’s mother for me.”

Chapter Text

Zelda came to Link’s house, and Link immediately embraced her in a hug. 

“Are you all right?” He asked. “I missed you so much.”

“I’m all right,” she sighed. “Has everything been okay while I was gone?”

“Yeah, Ganondorf and I just really missed you, and we were really worried.” He looked to the side. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Did something happen?” Zelda’s voice wavered.

“No, no, we just…” Link shuddered. “I thought you might not make it.”

“I’m all right,” she promised again. “Ganondorf wasn’t home when I left, do you know where he is? I don’t want him being worried.”

Link shuffled anxiously. “He’s been really upset lately, so he’s probably with the cuccos.”

Zelda peeked out the window that overlooked the cucco run - surely enough, Ganondorf was half-heartedly throwing cracked corn to the hungry flock.

“Ganondorf!” Zelda had opened the window, and called to him. “Do you wanna come in?”

“Oh Goddess! You’re better!” Ganondorf quickly dumped out the rest of the cracked corn in his bucket, and ran inside. He hugged Zelda, perhaps a little tighter than she had been expecting. She took a deep breath, and then let out a little giggle when he released her. “Are you okay?” Ganondorf started. “I’m so sorry, my aunts wouldn’t let me see you! I missed you so much! I was so worried that you weren’t going to get better.”

“Well, I’m okay now, I think,” she assured. “I’m sorry for worrying you both.”

“Don’t be sorry!” Ganondorf exclaimed. “I’m just so happy you’re better. I was so scared.”

“It’s okay,” Link promised. “Mason and Farley and my parents will be happy to see you when they get home.”

“Where are they?” Zelda asked, hoping they hadn’t gotten into trouble on her behalf.

“They went to LonLon - Talon was gonna give them a medicine that he said would ‘pep you up’, so they went to get it,” Link explained. “And they didn’t wanna leave me alone with Mason and Farley, but wanted me to stay in case something happened.”

“I hope I don’t have to take whatever medicine Talon is giving them,” Zelda teased. “Remember when he gave you that cough syrup?”

“Don’t remind me,” Link joked.

Ganondorf was wiping his eyes. “Did my aunts tell you what was wrong?” Ganondorf asked Zelda. “They wouldn’t tell me.”

Zelda felt her blood go cold again. “I don’t know. I inhaled a ton of sand, but they were able to get it out of my lungs, of course. But…” She fidgeted with her hands. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

“What were you doing out in the Haunted Wasteland, anyways?” Link questioned. “You know you’re not supposed to go there without an adult.”

“That’s the thing - I don’t know how I ended up there.” Zelda began to bite her nails, knowing her mother would notice, and chastise her for it later. “I was drawing by the canyon, and then I blacked out and ended up in the desert. And I had a horrible nightmare during my blackout.” 

“Maybe you ate something funny,” Ganondorf suggested.

“No, this isn’t like that. This was something else ,” Zelda explained. “It’s like I was transported into another world, another time… I don’t know. I told my mom about it, and she told me that everything would be okay, but I don’t know. I still don’t feel good about this.”

“What was the nightmare about?” Link wondered. 

“There was a great darkness covering Hyrule. Everything was black, and it felt like it was my fault. It must have been, and I’m worried it’ll happen for real if I don’t do something to stop it. But I don’t know what I did wrong to cause it in the first place!” Zelda started combing her fingers through her hair. Her mother hated it when she would fidget - it really stressed her out. She supposed it was a good thing her mother wasn’t here.

“You haven’t done anything wrong, though,” Link noted. “And even if you did, I don’t think you could cause a worldwide disaster.”

“Yes, but what if I do ?” 

Zelda felt arms wrap around her once again. “Even if you do, we’ll still be your friends,” Ganondorf promised, hugging Zelda as tight as he could.

“Ganondorf,” Link nudged him. “You’re squishing her.”

“Oh!” Ganondorf quickly released Zelda. “Sorry, I’m sorry, I’m still getting used to being so tall…” It was no secret to anyone that Ganondorf had started going through a bit of a growth spurt - Link had finally caught up to him and Zelda in height, only for Ganondorf to begin growing taller than the both of them. 

Zelda hugged him back, albeit a little softer. “It’s okay.” She promised him. “You just don’t know your own strength yet.”

“It’s not that I don’t know my own strength - it’s that I’ve grown two inches in two months!” Ganondorf reminded her, gently hugging her back. 

“I can’t wait ‘till I grow,” Link smiled. “Hopefully I‘ll be tall...”

“I’ll be taller,” Ganondorf teased. 

“But Malon will still be stronger than the three of us, probably combined, so don’t get your hopes up on that front,” Zelda teased. “Thank you both, for being here for me.” She paused. “And you’re sure that you don’t think I’ve done anything wrong?”

‘“No!” Ganondorf and Link exclaimed, nearly at the same time. 

“You would know if you had,” Ganondorf promised. “Um, at least you would know if you had done something that could cause a big problem.”

“And, like I said, what kind of big problem could you even cause?” Link reasoned.

“I don’t know,” Zelda wrought her hands. “I guess you’re right - maybe it was just a bad dream.” She sighed. 

“That’s probably it,” Link assured. “I have nightmares about things I don’t understand all the time… especially recently.”

Ganondorf nodded. “Aunt Koume says that growing can make your dreams weird, so we’re probably just growing up, that’s all.”

“Yeah,” Link agreed. “You two are almost twelve, after all.” 

“I still have a few months to go,” Zelda noted. “And Ganondorf won’t be twelve for another month, still.”

Link snapped his fingers, as if he’d realized something. “You should talk to Malon, Zel! She’ll probably know what’s going on.”

“Why would Malon know?” Zelda asked, confused.

The tips of Link’s ears pinkened. “Ah, you know…”

“I think he’s trying to say that you’re both girls, and because Malon’s already thirteen, she probably has gone through something similar,” Ganondorf explained, causing Link to turn bright pink.

“That’s a good idea,” Zelda noted. “Yes, I’ll ask my mother if I can visit Malon, and if she says yes, I’ll write to Malon and ask her if I can stay the night or something.” She took a deep breath. “Thanks. Even though it was probably just a weird dream, I’ll feel better if I ask her. She’ll know.”