Sun
This is the end of the LinkedUniverse ( @linkeduniverse ) one-shots! I think. I might write another one, who knows? Anyways, thanks for reading!
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The Hero of Wind was young, courageous and was pretty sure cuccos couldn’t talk.
Then how in the world was Mrs. Malon talking to a big goldish cucco?
“I’m looking for someone.”
Ah, yes, the cucco not only talked like a normal Hylian—almost sounding like royalty, if you asked the Hero of Wind—, but also had the deep voice of a grown man. The little hero watched silently as Mrs. Malon stirred something in a pan, most likely that day’s lunch, while exchanging words with the bird.
“Hey, boat boy, what you looking at?”
“You can hear that cucco talking too, right?”
“Cucco?” Captain looked at Time’s wife and her company.
The cucco, noticing both blondes, nodded its head in recognition.
“Gentlemen.” It greeted.
“WHAT?!”
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“Soooooooooooo… You’re Link, Hero of Hyrule… Like us…?” Veteran asked, disbelief painted all over his face. “And you shifted into a cucco in hopes of having less trouble travelling?”
“No one suspects the cucco,” The cucco—the man—answered, voice filled with amusement, no doubt finding the doubting faces of his other incarnations funny.
Malon giggled at that and, even though he had a beak, the man seemed to smile.
“Well, technically, my full title would be King of Mandacaru, Prince of Hyrule, Knight of the Sun, Link. You can call me “Sun”, it’ll probably be much easier.”
“You’re royalty?” Wind’s eyes shined with amazement.
“You’re a knight?” Captain scrunched his nose.
“You’re a cucco.” Veteran deadpanned.
“Can’t say that’s something one sees everyday,” The Hero of Time chuckled, “You said you were looking for someone?”
“Ah, yes. My beloved wife. I’ve been searching for five years now.”
“Woah, that’s a long time,” The Chosen hero commented. It certainly was a long time to be searching for someone. It was admirable; to think that man had travelled for so long without losing hope or determination. The blonde himself was no stranger to going beyond to be with a loved one, and he could understand how it must’ve felt to be so alone.
“How does she look like? Maybe we can help?” The Minish Hero made sure his tone of voice would leave no space for refusal. He knew how stubborn a Link could be when it came to refusing people’s help, always selflessly trying to carry the world so others didn’t have to.
So it came as a surprise when the cucco—man—accepted his offer without thinking twice. He either was truly desperate or at least one Link had learned his lesson.
“She’s beautiful.”
“That doesn’t really help, birdman.”
The birdman simply laughed at Veteran’s quip.
“She’s beautiful. With her long white hair and smooth dark skin.”
It was like a boulder had hit all of the heroes at once. Beautiful lady with long white hair and smooth dark skin? That sounded a lot like the Mysterious Lady they had met in that forest. She did mention to have lost something, or to be lost, or somethings on those lines. Was Sun the one she was looking for? They were both looking for each other? For five years?
“Does she have silver eyes? And round ears? And an earring with a shiny rock and a sun on it?” The navigator asked, remembering his mysterious friend.
“Yes, yes!” The cucco—birdman… man. The man jumped a bit in his place on the table, wings flapping rapidly. “Have you seen her?! Where? Is she alright?”
“Yes, in the woods where night almost never ends.” The Hero of Twilight supplied, arms crossed, brows furrowed as if in deep thought, “She seemed fine last time we saw her.”
The bird suddenly got up and run to the end of the table, jumping without much care. The group of people watching immediately reacted, all read to catch him in case he fell. Cuccos weren’t known for their superb flying skills—unless they were attacking. But in the end it was all in vain, as in a flash the cucco was no more. In its place was a tall man with long blond hair in a braid. He ran to the nearest window and looked outside. The sun made his hair shimmer together with his coat, which was made of a beautiful light blue silk with light green lozenges, both fabrics separated by a thin line of gold. His pants were black and tight, his boots of the same color and going to his shins. The Master Sword hanging on his side from a belt, a pouch on the other side.
“She’s closer than I thought. Of course she is. My Moon is just incredible like that,” They thought he had completely forgotten about their presence, but suddenly the man turned around, showing off his open white shirt, the blue jewel hanging from his neck and his face. Electric blue eyes stared at them, shining as much as the earring near his cheek. It was a perfect replica of the Lady’s, except for the moon in the place of the sun.
“Well, you’re quite handsome.” Malon broke the silence, cheeky smile on her lips. The man threw his head back and laughed before bowing to her in thanks.
“You are just as beautiful as my soul remembers, my dear friend.” Sun smiled softly, going back to his full height. Then he turned to his incarnations. “Close your mouths, heroes, or fairies might go inside.”
The sound of teeth clicking was loud and made many of the people present grimace. Sun laughed again, a full body laugh. He had an air of lightheartedness around him, as if the mere idea of being there was satisfying. There were no worries bringing his shoulders down. His smile lacked any solemn feelings. His posture was relaxed even though he stood perfectly straight. The only thing that was familiar to the others were his eyes. They carried the haunted feelings the Hero of Hylia always had, that same old void, the same old trauma. It was all there, the tiredness, the fear, the hopelessness, the anger, the sadness, the resolve. He could act different, but he was still Link of Hyrule.
“Lunch’s ready!” The only woman in the room announced, Sun promptly offering to help settle the table.
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“So you married the Queen of the Human Kingdom, which happens to be the mysterious lady?” Ace raised a eyebrow, Wild tilting his head to the side like a puppy besides him.
“Technically, yes. We still have to marry officially in both Kingdoms, but that’s more of a tradition. An spectacle to show the people.”
The group noticed, the more they talked, how their first impression wasn’t really all that accurate. It was true Sun acted more laid back, but he was always sharply aware of what happened around him, intelligent eyes watching like a hawk. Also, he almost never fully answered the questions directed at him. He reminded them of the Hero of Time, they both had the same aura of hard earned wisdom. Except he seemed way easier to read, which was a lie, because they could tell he was hiding things behind his charming smiles. He didn’t even look bothered by them knowing it, as if he expected it from them.
He also had a bitter relationship with the Golden Goddesses. His voice became almost spiteful and his words were cutting. Sun talked about the Goddesses like someone talked of a hated cruel general, a general that disregarded his soldiers and focused solely on the mission, seeking personal glory for finishing yet another mission. Like they were the cause behind his suffering and an annoying torn in his side that had no poison, but insistently clinged to his flesh. He talked very little of them, and quickly changed the subject.
“So, tell me, that wife of yours…”
Sun immediately looked at Malon, eager to hear what she had to say about his wife. Her name was Alua, and he worshipped her like his own personal Goddess. There was only reverence in his words when talking about her and his whole being looked like he was glowing, like the mere memory of her brought him enough happiness for the world to seem like the most mundane hole.
“Is she that beautiful?” Needless to say, Malon had fallen in love with how Sun talked about Alua, smiling and giggling like she was back at being a teenager with a crush on the Hero of Time.
“Is she—are you kidding?” There it was, the glow and the enamoured smile. “She’s otherworldly. She’s got these big eyes of the purest silver and- and a long hair made of strands of moonlight and her smile is just—” here he sighed deeply, eyes closing and hands touching his heart, looking like a damsel praying for her lover— “There’s unimaginable beauty, then there’s my dear Moon, my beloved everything.”
“And is she cute?”
“The cutest! She loves animals, you know? Loves them, all of them, big, small, tame, dangerous, all of them. And she’ll approach any of them and try to befriend them, and she’s so determined! And if she fails, she’ll pout and look at me and what’s a man to do if not hug her and never let go?”
“She sounds like a great person.”
“She is. Selfless and kind and gentle and caring. She taught me many things. Thanks to her, I remembered that I am still just a man. Thanks to her, I learned to let others help me. Thanks to her, I can see beyond Demise’s curse and the Goddesses antics, and what I see is a future where I can finally be more than a vessel to protect Hyrule.” His voice was so soft, it was almost a murmur. “She is my everything, my Moon, my Night, my wife, my best friend, the one who freed me from my Fate, the one who taught me to me a person again.”
“I wish I could’ve met her.”
Sun’s eyes flashed in knowing sadness before he remarked how late it was and how they should finish their chores before it was time for dinner. Offering to help Malon with the dishes, he promptly got up, diligently pushing the chair back in its place.
Pops looked at Sky knowingly.
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“You’re going without saying goodbye?”
“Should I say goodbye?”
The Hero of Time sighed tiredly. Once a Link, forever a Link. He looked at the night sky, the full moon shining brightly, the starts danccing around it a waltz only them could understand. It was the middle of the night and the others were fast asleep. It was the perfect time to leave without beign noticed.
“Malon doesn’t remember, and even I almost forgot. Some of them have forgotten completely. Why’s that?” He had to ask before he lost his chance yet again.
“Divine interference. Long story, but the gist of it is that none of them were supposed to be part of our history. We were not supposed to meet, we weren’t supposed to be friends and we certainly weren’t supposed to love each other in any way.”
“But the Goddess of Free Will does whatever she wants, just like her followers, the humans.”
“Correct. So we forget the moment they die.”
It was certainly disturbing to remember how much the Goddesses disliked one person, but it couldn’t be helped. Livre, the Goddess of Freedom, Sister of Hylia, was despised by the Golden Goddesses for being wild and unpredictable. And what should one expect from the embodiment of Freedom? Her story was actually quite sad, being betrayed by her own sister’s subjects and later her first lover, falling in love with the Chosen only for it to be a doomed romance, being despised by her creator simply for being what she was, giving up her life to ensure her sister’s Kingdom could still live on while leaving her people to rebuilt their lives on a land the sun never touched.
“You’re wrong.” Pops looked back at Sun, who seemed to have read his mind. “They didn’t do it because they dislike her, it’s a lie Demise poisoned Hylian history with. They did it because she asked for it.”
“Why?”
Why would she ask such a thing? Why? Why would the Spirit of the Hero’s first love do such a thing? Why would she want him to forget? Why would she want everyone to forget? Forget about her and her singing? About her smiles? About that day she helped Malon gather the cuccos and ended up under a pile of fluffy white birds? About that day she and Zelda laughed so hard at his antics they both fell backwards? About that day she saved his life in that temple?
“That is something you’ll never know. Blame the Goddesses for your curse and that cruel entity you call Fate, but not for that.”
“... I feel like I’m losing my title of “mysterious old man”, not sure how I feel about it.”
“Tell them about Termina, I’m sure you’ll get the “cool old man” title instead.”
With a last laugh, Link, the King of Mandacaru, the Prince of Hyrule, the Knight of the Sun, bowed to his past life, turned around and walked away.