Paradox @thezenithofjusticeandjudgment - Tumblr Blog

Apr 4

Grounded

Chapter 3: A Crash Course in Hyrulean History

A campfire is the perfect place to learn some important details about Hyrule’s royal family.

Author's Note: After all that action the boys deserve some downtime... and some answers, hehe [Linked Universe belongs to @jojo56830 / @linkeduniverse , and The Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo of course.] Happy Reading!

Masterlist | First | Chapter 2 | Chapter 4 (coming soon!)

(💚Please comment and like directly from the og post in case Tumblr does weird things again! Tumblr reblogs are ok but Never repost, thanks! <3)

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“Ok, that’s it! This is getting confusing!!!”

The sailor’s shout caught everyone off guard, and the camp immediately went silent.

The Hero of the Sky chuckled. This fledgling certainly had a set of lungs on him.

Once the boy knew everyone was looking, his face contorted into a comically serious expression. Like some old, seasoned storyteller, he scrunched up his nose and shut one eye. “All righty. Before I say anything else, I gotta address the whale in the room. First off, this,” he thrust a finger towards the ground, “is freakin’ awesome. Second, you two.” He pointed animatedly at the Skyloftian and Hero of Time. “I have a million and ten questions to ask you, and I totally will, but right now, we have a much, much bigger problem.”

“And what’s that, Sailor?” asked the black-caped hero, a twinkle in his eye.

“THAT!” the boy exclaimed. “Nicknames! I mean, ‘Sailor’s’ fine and all, but it’s so…” his arms fumbled as he searched for the word, “…vague! What if we end up by the docks one day and meet some sailors? How will you know when someone’s talking about me?”

“Oh, we’ll know,” the hero called Warriors smiled, earning a few laughs.

"No offense, but docks and sailors really aren’t all that common in most of the adventures I’ve heard tales of,” added the smithy. “’Sailor’ is still rather unique to me.”

“Ugh, fine,” groaned the sailor. “But what about this? ‘Rancher’. How many of you know a rancher or farmer or someone like that? C’mon! Show of hands!”

Reluctantly, most of the other Links raised their hands.

“Yeah,” murmured the champion, catching on. “And by that logic, ‘Traveler’ and ‘Veteran’ are even worse…”

“Exactly! Thank you!” The sailor clapped his hands. “They’re not consistent names, either. Some are professions, some are more personal—heck, I’m not even sure what naming scheme you four were using!” he gestured to the Chosen Hero, champion, traveler, and vet.

The veteran hero huffed. “It was spur of the moment.”

“But… I was just getting used to being called ‘Traveler,’” the humble hero murmured.

The champion rested a comforting hand on his back. “Nobody said we can’t still use what we’re using now, but he’s right. We could benefit from something different. Shorter. Unique. But it still needs to tie everyone together.”

“Wait, you’re renaming me again? I thought you said I was stuck with ‘Warriors,’” the knight raised a brow at the sailor.

The vet smirked. “Warrior-s? As in plural? What kind of dumb name is that?”

“Hey!” Warriors scoffed, looking quite affronted. “If you want to make fun, blame Mask—er, Time. He came up with it.”

“When I was a child,” Time countered.

“Even so, you butchered my hero title and then had the audacity to make the nickname stick,” Warriors elbowed him. “You’re exceedingly lucky I didn’t know you were the Hero of Time before ‘Mask’ stuck, you gremlin. I probably would have called you ‘Timmy’ in spite.”

“I would have punched you if you did.”

Warriors laughed. “Fair.”

“Wait… when you were a… what…?” the veteran mumbled, utter confusion overtaking him and his three companions.

“Time travel,” Warriors and Time said, as if that explained anything. Evidently, they thought it did, and went right back to bickering.

The Chosen Hero shook his head, feeling his brain getting fuzzy. Time travel. Another thing to add to the very small list of things I hate.

“Hold on, Captain, what was your hero title?” interrupted the rancher.

He sighed. “My princess appointed me the title: Link, Warrior of Hyrule. This one,” he shoved Time’s shoulder, “shortened it and made it all cutesy. On purpose.”

Time only shrugged, his grin betraying how utterly un-sorry he was.

The sailor flew off his seat. “That’s it!!!”

“Huh? What’s what?” Warriors jumped.

“Hero titles!!! We can use those for names!”

The champion’s eyes lit up. “Hey… hey! That’s perfect! And that way, you two don’t have to change your nicknames! You can keep being Time and Warriors if you want.”

“Hero titles, hmm?” asked Time. “And what would yours be, young sailor?”

The slow, methodical grin that crept up the boy’s face in response was enough to set everyone on edge. He didn’t utter a word. Squinting impishly at the others, he reached into one of his pouches and pulled out a long, elegant white baton, raising it with the upmost care above his head.

The veteran was not impressed. “So… what? You’re the Hero of the Stick?”

A quick wink was all the warning they received before what happened next.

The sailor flicked the baton three ways in quick succession: Up, Left, and Right. As soon as the last direction had been given, a symphony of winds flew through the trees around their camp, whistling and harmonizing like a choir of heavenly voices. The melody danced through the heroes’ hair and up their sleeves, and for a moment, the Chosen Hero felt like he was flying through the clouds of his homeland once more. He breathed in the clean, cool air without obstruction, and his heart soared.

“Ok, ok! Hero of the Wind, we get it!” laughed Warriors, desperately trying to save his hair.

The sailor lowered his hands, settling the airy melody into quiet whispers. He put away the baton, bowed, then plopped back down onto the log he’d been sitting on.

“Your turn, Champion!” he grinned.

The long-haired hero looked even wilder than usual as he shook his windswept bangs out of his eyes. “Hahaha, well, as impressive as that was, I think I’ll spare everyone the theatrics. I’m called the Hero of the Wild back home.”

“So, Wind and Wild, huh?” asked the rancher, a smile forming on his face. He studied the boys before him with a hand to his chin before nodding. “That fits.”

“What about you, farm boy?” prodded Warriors. “You’re the last of our motley trio to share his title, so how about it?”

The smile wavered on the rancher’s face, and his eyes trailed to the last bits of sunlight poking through the trees. He fingered his black cape subtly, but the Chosen Hero noticed. A wave of empathy washed over him, for he often did the exact same with his sailcloth when he felt uneasy… or when he missed Zelda.

“Ah… the Hero of… Twilight. I suppose,” murmured the rancher.

Wind didn’t pick up on his faraway gaze. “Whoa… that sounds cool!”

“And oddly timely,” Warriors folded his arms, trying to follow Twilight’s eyes through the dusk-laden trees. “I should like to hear the story behind that name, someday.”

Twilight’s grip tightened.

Time cleared his throat, drawing the attention away from the rancher. “Smithy, you mentioned your title to me before, but I’m afraid I can’t quite remember it. Could you repeat it?”

The smith cocked an eyebrow, but soon shrugged away his suspicion. “Eh, Hero of the Four Swords. Do with that what you will, you two. I’m afraid I haven’t made your task any easier.”

Wind and Wild hummed, picking at their lips and they tried to work with this new information.

“We’re not calling him Swords,” Wild said finally.

Wind nodded. “No, definitely not. So… Four?”

“Four… Four…” Wild tested the sound out.

The smithy began to squirm. “Wait, wait a moment, that’s a number! You can’t just—”

Wind grinned. “Nope! Too late! I like it. Next!”

“Wha-? Hold on!”

“Now you know how I feel,” Warriors smirked.

Across the circle, the traveler snapped his fingers. He looked at the veteran excitedly. “I know what you could be!”

“And why does that frighten me?” the vet scooted away.

“Legend!” the traveler happily ignored him. “Because you’re the Hero of Legend! At least you are in my time, anyway. How cool does that sound?”

“No.”

“Wha—It is! It’s really cool, like you! C’mon, isn’t it at least a little better than ‘Vet’?”

The veteran’s brow furrowed as he tried to fend off the traveler’s big, pleading hazel eyes.

It was only a few seconds until he gave in.

“UGH. Ok. Fine, I’ll be ‘Legend’ or whatever. But you’re next,” he poked the traveler in the chest.

The traveler suddenly paled. “I… o-oh. Um, you all could just… keep calling me Traveler.”

Legend gasped. “You little hypocrite! I’m not changing my nickname until you tell us your title!”

The traveler started fidgeting with his arm braces. “W-well! It’s really nothing special or fancy… nothing like all of yours…”

Four crossed his arms. “Traveler. I’ve been stuck with a literal number. Go on and tell us.”

“Well… it’s…” he murmured something unintelligible.

“Come again?” Legend flicked an ear.

“I’m…”

Time tried encouraging him, “Speak up, lad.”

“I’m called the Hero of Hyrule!?” he said a little louder than necessary, wincing and ducking his head.

“…Ah,” Warriors hummed. “I see. Not a lot to work with there.”

The traveler stuck his hands in his armpits. “Ugh… I know! But it’s fine, though. I told you I can just be Traveler… if that’s easier… I don’t know…”

“Rambling,” Legend poked him again.

“Hey… we’ll figure something out, don’t worry,” the Hero of the Sky spoke up, sending the traveler a soft, if a bit confused, smile.

The traveler shrugged, his returned smile not quite meeting his eyes.

“Ok. It’s ok. We can work with this, hmm…” Wind bounced his knee. “Well, we can’t call you Hero, that could mean all of us…”

Wild brightened all of a sudden, turning to grin in the traveler’s face. “Hyrule!”

The traveler blinked. “What about it?”

“Why not just call you Hyrule?”

The traveler cocked an eyebrow. “…Hyrule.”

Four raised his hand. “Still a number over here.”

Wild waved him off. “Sure! Why not? You’ve been really down to earth since we met, Traveler, and you said yourself you’ve been all over it. I think it fits!”

“Hmm…,” the traveler looked deep in thought, slowly bobbing his head as the name began to stick. “Maybe…”

The Chosen Hero found himself stuck in his own head for entirely different reasons. He raised a hand tentatively, still trying to piece the last bits of their conversation together.

“Um… sorry, but what’s ‘Hyrule’?” he asked.

The heroes turned to him in varying degrees of confusion and surprise.

Legend blinked. “Uh, the region? Hyrule?”

“Oh… Do you think it’s nearby, then? Maybe we could find some supplies there. What does it look like?”

Everyone stared blankly at the Skyloftian, making his skin prickle again. He shrank into his sailcloth and gripped its edges. “…Was that a foolish question?”

Time dragged a hand across his chin. “Dear goddesses, you really are the first…” he whispered, and gently explained, “No, no, it’s not foolish. It’s just… Hyrule is… home. It is a sprawling kingdom, the entire mainland, with a few exceptions on its outskirts. We’re likely sitting in it right now.”

The Skyloftian’s eyes went wide. Heart pumping a bit faster, he took in the golden forest around him with new respect. “You mean,” he breathed, “Hyrule is… the name of the Surface?”

“The ’Surface’…?” Hyrule’s brow creased.

Wind shot up again. “UGH ! A million questions! I wanna ask a million questions so bad right now, so answer mine first please? Are we calling you Chosen or what?”

The Skyloftian’s brain went blank as he processed everything at once. Chosen? Question? Oh! Right, nicknames. I guess that could work, but it doesn’t really feel right…

The glint of the Master Sword resting behind him gave him an idea.

“Well,” he steadied his breath, “Fi—my sword—called me the Hero of the Sky once. So did the smithy earlier. So I guess that makes me…”

“Sky,” Wild smiled. “I like that.”

“Yeah, and it’s a real name,” Four pointed out.

Twilight tilted his head. “Does your nickname really bother you that much, Smithy?”

“Hmm? Ah. No,” he waved. “Just being petty. ‘Sky’s’ a good name, it fits him!”

Before Twilight could press further, Wind began hopping in place. He was practically bursting at the seams.

“Yeah! It’s great!” the boy bounded up to Sky, promptly plopping himself down in the grass by his feet. “Now can you please explain what you’re talking about because I have no idea what you mean and it’s killing me please tell me everything—!"

“Whoa! Hey!” Warriors interrupted. “Slow down, soldier! We’re all curious, but can’t you see you’re stressing the man out?”

Poor Sky pried his fingers from his sailcloth, trying and failing to make his eyebrows come back down to their normal level.

“No! No, it’s ok,” he calmed himself. “He’s just eager to learn. I don’t blame him.”

“You might not, but I haven’t let him off the hook just yet.” Twilight strode over to Wind, ruffling the boy’s hair like he’d known him for years. “Respect your elders, boy!”

“Ugh! Hey, get off—!”

The heroes laughed as Twilight picked up the struggling boy with one arm and slung him over his fur-covered shoulder.

“You know, names aside, I think I know what we really need right now,” said Wild. “First, lemme pull up my recipes…”

Swiftly, he pulled an odd, book-sized tablet off a strap on his hip. On one side, a familiar etching of a Sheikah eye flickered to life with blue magic. Wild’s fingers danced across the other surface, and in a flash of light, what looked to be a menu of all sorts of meals appeared. In the same moment, his other hand reached into his pouch, a cooking pot and a pile of neatly chopped wood materializing in front of him once he’d fished them out.

“How does dinner sound to everyone?” the champion smiled.

“Whoa!” Wind squirmed as he tried to see past Twilight’s cape. “What is that thing? Twilight, lemme down! I wanna see!”

“Kinda weird shape for a magic mirror,” Legend frowned, curiosity shining in his eyes.

“It looks like Timeshift tech…” Sky whispered.

“It’s a Sheikah Slate,” answered Wild, waving the device in the air. “Kinda ground-breaking technology in my time. It can do all sorts of things!”

Wind skidded over to his side, having escaped the clutches of Twilight. Just as he did so, Wild flipped up the slate, tapping it with a flourish as a small clicking noise rattled inside it.

“See?” he said, flipping the slate around. There, much to everyone’s surprise, was a tiny painting of Wind. It was so lifelike and clear that it could have been a scene from a memory, etched forever on the surface of this strange little magic box.

Wind gasped, grasping one edge of the tablet. He stared at the image, then at Wild, in growing excitement. “It’s a pictobox!!!”

“Better,” Wild grinned, pulling some steel and flint out for the fire. “I can fight with it, too.”

“HUH?!?"

Time laughed. “Sheikah. Of course they would add that feature. What does it do? Not spew out a volley of swords, I hope.”

Wild stalled a bit as the legendary hero spoke to him. “O-oh! Uh. Not exactly, but it can be pretty destructive. As for the specifics…” his face winked into something more mischievous, “you’ll have to see it in action to really appreciate it.”

Time grinned. “Fair enough.”

“Ok, ok, but you can take pictures!” Wind cut in. “Do you have more saved? Can I look at them? Please? Or do they need to be developed first?”

The champion smiled, but Sky could see his eyes darting reluctantly between his slate and the very eager boy. Caution was written all over his face, but something in Wind’s big, pleading eyes must have swayed him, for he was soon sighing and handing the item over.

“Here. You can look. Just swipe left and be careful while I get dinner started,” Wild said, relaxing a bit as Wind cradled the slate like a newborn remlit. Satisfied that Wind could be trusted, he turned to the others and waved at the pot. “Anyone have any requests?”

"Can you make pumpkin soup?"

Sky, Twilight, and Time jumped, having all spoken at once. They looked at each other in surprise.

Wild laughed and started pouring a large flask of water into the cooking pot. "Sounds like we have a consensus, then. Any objections?"

"None from me," Warriors chuckled, and Legend seconded. Hyrule and Four politely shook their heads.

“I love soup—wait is that a Rito?” gasped Wind, still flipping through the slate.

Twilight walked up behind Wild, glancing at his recipes and tentatively scratching his head. “I know you just pulled up several of your own, but I also have a good home recipe on me, if you’d like it.”

“Oh! Sure,” Wild struck the steel and flint together. “One big pot of Twilight’s pumpkin soup, coming up!”

As Twilight sat himself next to the champion, listing ingredients over his shoulder, the attention on Sky and the Surface was briefly forgotten by the heroes and their rumbling stomachs. The general conversation shifted instead to the wonders of the Sheikah and the mysteries of the strange invention known as “photography.” Wind proudly displayed his “pictobox,” claiming it captured reality to nearly the same degree as Wild’s slate, though it looked completely different, and Wind claimed it worked completely without magic.

Sky shook his head, partially glad he didn’t have to answer any of the others’ questions about his era right now. His brain was too busy trying to wrap itself around other concepts. How do you capture time without magic? And so vividly? And how do you fight with a tiny slate? And come to think of it, where did the name Hyrule come from, anyway? When he and Zelda finally named the Surface back in their own time, would they only call it “Hyrule” because Sky had heard that here? Which would mean he would go on to pass down a name that his current self had heard passed down from his future self and where did it begin and nothing made sense anymore and time travel was the worst and—

A warm bowl was placed into his hands.

“Hey, are you ok?” Wild asked, tilting his head like a curious remlit.

Sky blinked himself back to the present. “Oh… yeah,” he took the wooden spoon from Wild’s hand and gave a shaky sigh. “Just… time travel.”

Wild gave him a sympathetic pat. “Yeah. Gets ya every time, huh?”

“Was that meant to be a pun, or…?”

Wild laughed, gently laying a handkerchief on the Chosen Hero’s knee and walking back to the pot. He handed a bowl to Twilight before filling another bowl for someone else.

“Hey, that was actually a really great recipe you gave me,” the champion thanked the rancher. “Sorry I didn’t have any dairy to add. I really need to stock up next time we hit a village.”

“Nah, nah! It’s really all right,” he waved him off. “I can’t even take credit for the recipe. Frankly, whatever vegetables you combined with mine well made up for it, from smell alone. No tellin’ what disaster I’d make if I tried experimenting like that. Probably wouldn’t feed it to the dogs."

“Remind me never to eat your cooking, then, as a favor to my health,” Legend snorted as he accepted the bowl Wild gave him. He dug in immediately, and his sour face flickered—for just a second—into something far softer. “…Huh.”

“And that right there is the mark of a good soup,” Time said, pointing his spoon at Legend.

“Oh, back off, Old Man,” Legend huffed, shoving another heaping spoonful into his mouth.

Meanwhile, Hyrule was scrutinizing his bowl as if there was a bee hidden inside it. Legend nudged him, mouthing something that looked suspiciously like, “It won’t kill you, Traveler,” before Hyrule took a tiny, tentative sip. Relief washed over him instantly, and his face turned rosy with a smile.

Sky, on the other hand, frowned as he looked around the camp. Nearly all of his companions had already jumped to enjoy their soup. Was this what people in the future did, or just a different culture? Maybe it was only because they were eating in the woods, but even still, weren't any of them going to say a group blessing over the meal? Sky briefly wondered if he should just mumble something small to himself before eating, as he’d seen some of the others do.

Just as that thought began to dishearten him, Twilight and Wild met his eyes. They smiled, and Sky sighed gratefully. At least there was a little taste of his homeland’s traditions still left in the future. Some unspoken agreement passed between the three of them, and as one, the young men dipped their heads in a quiet prayer of thanks.

Wind choked on his soup. “Oops!”

He then proceeded to mutter the fastest blessing Sky had ever heard.

The champion, rancher, and Sky fell into quiet laughter the moment they finished their prayer.

“Forgot something, Sailor?” Wild grinned.

“Ugh! Can you blame me? It smelled so amazing! I was just… sampling it.”

Twilight fought to keep his soup inside his mouth as he laughed.

Sky tried a sip, and instantly his body felt warm and cozy. The earthy vegetables and strong, rich pumpkin reminded him of Skyloft’s crops, and after a long, wild first day on a quest, it was the perfect way to satiate his hunger.

Sky hummed in delight. “Wow, Wild! This may be the best soup I’ve ever tasted!”

“No one makes soup better than my Grandma,” Wind corrected him, “…buuut this might be a pretty close second.”

“A grandmother?” Time asked. “You have family waiting for you back home?”

Wind’s face lit up like a sunrise. “Yeah! There’s me, Grandma, and my little sister, Aryll. They’re both super sweet! I don’t see them as much now because Tetra’s crew and I are busy charting seas most of the time, but we send a lot of letters. Hey! If we ever visit my era, I’ll introduce you!”

The warmth in Sky’s chest spread. “It’s wonderful that you’re so close with them.”

“Yeah, well,” Wind blushed, “family’s family. What about you guys?”

There was a noticeable pause in the group. Some looked away as if unsure how to answer. Others, like Time and Twilight, let their fond smiles grow.

“Let’s just say I have a warm home waiting,” the one-eyed hero said. Warriors brightened upon hearing it.

“Same here,” Twilight hummed. “Knights can have their castle towns, but the folks back in Ordon will always be home to me.”

“I hope you’re not implying that we knights have no life outside our work, Rancher,” Warriors smirked.

Twilight blinked. “Ah! No. Sorry. I didn’t mean to say… it’s just that the country’s—"

Time reached over to pat the rancher’s arm, freezing him in place. “He’s just joking, son.”

“Am I really, though?” Warriors leaned back on the stump he sat on.

“All right then, how is your life outside of work?” Time countered. “Two years since the war, hmm… I’m sure Zelda could tell us a thing or two about what you’ve been up to in that time. How is she, by the way?”

Warriors nearly fell off the stump. “Y-you have absolutely no right to ask that while looking so cheeky, Time!” he huffed, face heating up. “A-and yes. She’s fine. She’s the queen, now, actually.”

Time looked delighted by this news, and promptly asked Warriors to pass on his congratulations.

The rest of the camp looked like they’d just missed the last step in a staircase.

"Zelda?" Wind murmured.

Twilight looked just as bewildered. "Your queen's named Zelda, too?"

"Queen...?" asked poor Four, hundreds of questions shifting behind his eyes.

"Oh, duh!" Everyone jumped as Legend smacked his forehead. "Of course she is! We're idiots. That's a thing with the royal family, isn't it? Most of the girls are named Zelda?"

Hyrule chuckled. "Yeah. And it goes back a lot farther than I used to think. A Zelda I know told me that the tradition started way, way before her in ancient times, with the true first Zelda. Some even say she got her powers straight from a goddess, and those are the powers passed down to each generation."

"First Zelda, huh?" Warriors asked. "Hey Sky, do you know her?

Sky hadn’t really been listening. His brain was still stuck on the fact that there were queens and royalty in the future. As a child, he'd always loved the tales of the Era of the Goddess, where knights served kings in castles in times of peace and bounty, all before Skyloft had even been created. Could all those things really be real again? And why do so many have Zelda’s name…?

"Hey, featherhead!"

He only half-registered that Legend was talking to him. "Huh?"

"Captain asked you a question."

"O-oh! Sorry… what?"

"The first Zelda," Warriors pressed. "You know, Mother of the Royal Bloodline, her name and wisdom pass down through all its generations, etcetera and so forth? If you’re the first hero, is she from your time?"

It took a moment for that to sink in.

The royal family of Hyrule... mother of the bloodline… daughters of wisdom... first Zelda...

All the color drained from Sky’s face as the final puzzle piece clicked into place.

His Zelda was the start of this new royal family.

No. Forget the color draining. Sky’s face now flushed bright red, the cherry hues painting his cheeks and spreading warmth up to his ears.

But if she’s… then we… that means that I… Sky’s heart started fluttering in his chest like a wild, caged bird. Dear Hylia. Dear, sweet Hylia, have mercy.

"’Hoy, Sky? You in there?" Wind waved his hand by his face. "Do you know her or not?"

Utterly bewildered, Sky awkwardly stuttered out the reason for his blush.

"S-she's my fiancée."

Legend spat out his soup.

“WHAT?!?” Wind stumbled backwards.

“So it IS true!!!” Hyrule shouted, nearly knocking over his bowl.

“I-I… whah?” Warriors stammered. He and Wild had gone quite pale.

“The rumor!” Hyrule continued, not missing a beat. “The oldest rumor in the royal family: The first matriarch married her Chosen Hero and began the royal line with him! But the story was all word of mouth. Nobody had any proof, until… well, now! Haha. U-um, congrats, Sky?”

Legend, still freaking out, glared suspiciously at Hyrule. “Who made you expert on the royal family?”

The traveler flushed under the scrutiny. “H-hey, it’s just history! It’s like one giant story! Plus, I’ve… got some very knowledgeable teachers…”

“Oh, blessed be the three,” Four gasped. “That means that every princess we know, every Zelda… is related to Sky!”

“N-not just them,” Wild whispered. “Their mothers or fathers, too… anyone tied through blood is a direct descendant. M-meaning…”

“Kings and queens,” Wind finished in a daze. “Oh my gosh. The kings and queens of Hyrule all came from… Oh-ho my gosh…!” He started to giggle.

“Q-queens…?” Warriors squeaked quietly, a faint blush appearing on his cheek.

Time’s shocked eye suddenly began to sparkle. A massive grin spread across his face, and he turned excitedly to speak to Warriors.

The captain smacked a hand over Time’s mouth. “One word, and I will hurt you.”

Time laughed and knocked his hand away.

Meanwhile, Sky’s mind was reeling. He drew in a sharp breath and stared at his fellow heroes. “W-wait, our daught—descendants—you’ve met them?!? What are they…?”

“What are they like?” Twilight asked.

Sky nodded dazedly.

The rancher smiled, glancing up into the starry sky. “Well…”

Every hero had something to say about his Zelda. A childhood friend, a wise queen, a brilliant scientist, an elegant fighter… the descriptions were as varied as they were glowing. Patient and kind. Faithful and gentle. Calculating and selfless. Strong-willed and fiery—Ah. Wind’s friend was a pirate, a Tetra, not a Zelda, but to Sky, that was just as beautiful a name. And had Hyrule mentioned two? Were they sisters? Sky would have to ask again later. Right now, his mind was too wonderfully busy, imagining the beautiful smiling faces of his own flesh and blood.

He ran a hand across his face in awe. They all sound so wonderful, so accomplished, so much like her. His Zelda. His heart leapt within his chest at the implications of that.

Sky swallowed thickly, unable to stop himself from envisioning his dear Zelda, singing a lullaby as she stroked her swollen belly, or cradling a small child within her arms. His child. Their baby. They were going to have a baby together.

At some point, Twilight had moved to sit next to him. He nudged Sky gently with his fur-covered shoulder.

“Hey,” the rancher murmured. “All good?”

“I… sorry,” Sky smiled, scrubbing at his face in a desperate attempt to get a hold of himself. “We just, Zelda and I… we’ve known each other for so long. She’s my everything, and since we’ve been courting, especially after I proposed…” he puffed out a breath, “We like to joke about it but we’ve actually been really excited about starting a family. We were never sure, though… with all the stories of things going wrong. But after everything you’ve said…”

A relieved laugh caught in his throat. Utterly spent by the day’s excitement, he dipped his head to his knees and wove his fingers into his feathery hair. “Sounds like we’ll be more than ok.”

Something shifted in Time’s gaze. Like a switch had been flipped, his mischievous grin grew softer, settling into a look of deep empathy… and longing.

“It’s been hard for you two, hasn’t it?”

Sky looked up, blinking at the question.

“The waiting? Wondering what comes next and how you’re going to get there?” Time clarified. His features softened in the moonlight. “I’ve been there myself, many times.”

The older man’s eye studied Sky closely. Not for the first time did the Skyloftian wonder how Time could look so peaceful with all those odd, faded scars.

“Knowing our future does not always stop the worry. But,” Time’s eye grew warm, and suddenly something deep within Sky was reminded of his father’s proud gaze, “sometimes a little hope can mean a lot. I’m very happy for you and your Zelda, Sky. Many blessings to you both.”

Sky felt his heart fill with warmth. The air between him and the Hero of Time seemed to clear all at once, and Sky no longer felt like he was speaking to a consequence of his own mistake. Time was just a kind, older man giving sage advice to a younger generation. And the other heroes… they laughed and joked like any other young men at the knight’s academy. Curse or no, they really were just people. And more than that… they were becoming friends.

The Chosen Hero met Time’s eye and smiled graciously. “Thank you.”

Wind’s body chose that exact moment to let out a mighty yawn.

The heroes laughed.

“I’d like to second Wind’s motion to go to bed,” Four raised his hand.

Wind stuck his tongue at him. The rude gesture didn’t quite land, being overshadowed by the boy’s comically bleary eyelids.

“I hope everyone brought bedrolls,” Warriors said, ruffling Wind’s hair as he walked past.

“Who needs bedrolls with all this grass?” said Wild, plopping down fully clothed in a cool patch of clover.

Hyrule suddenly looked like he was debating getting out his mat.

Legend looked disgusted. “If you get mites down there, I’m not helping you.”

Wild grinned and waved his limbs, making an angel-shaped dent in the grass.

Legend scoffed.

Sky wondered if all the Zeldas had to put up with these shenanigans too. He hummed as he thought of them again. His descendants. Daughters of wisdom and his own blood. Eight or nine kind, mature, accomplished princesses and queens of… Hyrule.

Sky blinked. Wait a minute. The Surface was Hyrule. The entire land around him was Hyrule. The land that he and Zelda had settled was all Hyrule. And if that was true, that meant… all his descendants, throughout countless years, would govern over the entire population, the entire world of Hyrule. The Surface would be under their leadership. They’d oversee the building of castles and the expansion of lands. His blood. His and Zelda’s children… who were also kings and queens and princes and princesses—

“My descendants are high royalty…”

Sky only realized he’d whispered that aloud when the others laughed again.

“You only now caught on to that? We’ve mentioned it like a million times!” Wind grinned sleepily.

“I-In my defense, I’ve been having a pretty crazy day!” Sky stammered.

Twilight tipped Sky’s sailcloth over the Skyloftian’s head as he passed. “Leave the man alone, boys. We’ve all had a crazy day.”

“Here, here,” Hyrule yawned, settling down next to Wild in the grass.

“Hey Wars,” Time called from his place at the edge of the camp. “Care to help me with watch tonight?”

The captain smiled fondly as he shirked off the last of his armor. “Anything you say, Mask. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

And so, with soup warming their stomachs and wonders filling their brains, the nine heroes finally settled down together under the light of countless stars.

>>><<<

Masterlist | First | Chapter 2 | Chapter 4 (coming soon!)

Author's Note: Wind and Wild are a force to be reckoned with. You will be nicknamed and you will like it! At least they hope you will. Four’s still gonna need some convincing. =)

Also, say hello to history-buff Hyrule! He may still be learning how to read and write well, but oral tradition is strong with this one. Also his Zeldas are 100% tutoring him. Picked him right up out of the mud and brought him into their warm castle like he was a stray puppy. Also also, I adore the fact that Sky is the greatest grandfather of all the Zeldas. He’s already got a marriage to plan, and kids have up until now been just a fuzzy fantasy. This info sent him over the moon!

Hope you enjoyed the continuing story! Feel free to drop a comment if you did!

Extra Note: I am a children’s book/family friendly author, so please keep all comments Safe For Work (no swearing please!) I want to do my best to make this a place for everyone. Cheers!

(💚Please comment and like directly from the og post in case Tumblr does weird things again! Tumblr reblogs are ok but never repost, thanks! <3)

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