Chapter Text
Link buried his head in his hands and sighed, feeling impossibly stressed with the forest of paper sprawled throughout his kitchen. Seceding had a lot of paperwork, especially when it was also nearly an act of war for Link to be sending letters to the family he’d traced through grandma Malon in Lorule. Great great grandmother Yan had apparently been the second of her name, according to one of the subsequent journals, born a few months after great great grandfather Kafei, daughter to the Yan mentioned in the journal he’d found in the chest.
Lorule had offered trade, unable to send soldiers since it’s borders only touched Hyrule’s beyond Death Mountain. Apparently they had a few distant cousins on the Royal Council who had vouched to help Ordon simply on the basis that it was what Grandmother Malon would’ve insisted on.
Cousins from Termina had already quietly come to Ordon, many with reddish hair and eyes somewhere between green and gold. They came as merchants, officially, and brought presents for Midna even though there was still another two weeks before she would be born. Ajax, Vin’ya, and the twins Maje and Kimmi Rhoav’ali. All related to Ordon through the younger granddaughter of grandmother Malon, Avalon, who had gone to Termina after falling in love with a Gerudo refugee.
They’d brought a children’s book depicting the story, written so simply Link had found himself reading it easily.
Great aunt Avalon had apparently had extremely curly, pale red hair, if Link tilted his head it was really more pink than anything else, that floated around her head and behind her like a strange cloud. Her eyes had been as blue as his, something that all of his new cousins commented on in what Ilia giggled was jealousy.
“You’ve got such pretty eyes,” she cooed, poking between them and laughing at his expression. “Dad’s got more paperwork from Shad, we should hurry up before we have a princess to take care of.”
Said poking menace was racing through her paperwork, reading through things written in the most ridiculously posh Hylian and taking notes for Shad without taking her eyes off the next sentence. Her half of the table was in slightly less neater stacks than Postman had delivered them in, while most of Link’s was still in the pristine piles Postman kept all his papers in.
“Can’t I make the cousin’s help?” The Hero of Twilight whined, letting his head thunk against the table and whimpering when the Shadow Crystal poked into his collarbone uncomfortably. Vin’ya had prodded it with her magic a few nights prior and accidentally shifted him into a wolf, leading to all four of them calling him their ‘puppy cousin’ and Ordon’s child population demanding to ride him sometime. “The twins both work in bureaucracy!”
“No, they’re helping Rusl remodel so Rosie can have her own room. Ajax and Vin’ya are helping plan out the storehouses with Sera. Sound out the letters and get through whatever you can before Dad comes over with lunch.” She didn’t even bother to look up.
Link whined, slouching against the back of his chair and staring up despondently. “I hate reading, it’s worse than Dad’s cheese soup.”
“Shh, I’m reading about the official laws regarding Gerudo and/Sheikah heritage.”
His wife, his beloved, gorgeous legal wife who had sworn to be by his side before all the goddesses in a ceremony officiated by Ordona, waved him off and all but buried her head into more papers.
*OoT*
Link thought Ordona was similar to the Great Fairies, in a way. Tied more to Hylia than they were, but a welcome presence at the edge of their new homestead. Saria had given them a small clearing sandwiched between the Kokiri Forest and the Lost Woods, a small river that did eventually connect to Lake Hylia, and cleared a path for them back to Hyrule Field. Ruto had swum up that small river to come and see their new home, claiming that it was her right as both the Zora Queen and new Sage of Water.
The Zora Sapphire had thumped against her chest as she’d spun around the clearing, proclaiming that their home was beautiful.
It had been little more than tents and rough fences, a well dug at the other end of what would be their village and plans for houses sketched into dirt. Yet, she’d gushed over everything, an endless font of compliments for both of ‘her dearest friends in all the reams’ and prodding the other three to agree to her compliments. Kash could be disturbingly saccharine when he wanted to be, all round eyes and sweet tones.
Lonlon’s horses came with the new hands, displeased with the lack of open pasture but calm with Ordona’s presence nearby and the new places to explore. Epona rolled her eyes when Link showed her the stable, the first building in what they decided to call Ordon, but accepted her treats just the same as always.
Their brief peace was broken when Postman arrived, looking sheepish and bedraggled from his jaunt along the still faint path. “Letter for Link from the Majesty herself, sorry, it was demanded to have precedence over my other letters.” He accepted the bottle of milk and slouched into himself, sat on a stump and close to what appeared to be tears.
The Postmen had always taken a strong pride in their work, no matter where Link ran into them. Every letter delivered on time, in the most sensible order to ensure everyone’s mail arrived to them before it was late. Link had seen him fight his way through waist deep snow, the hottest desert sands, and even swim the Great Bay when the ferry was taking too long.
That determined man was sipping at a cup of tea, exhausted beyond words and letting the Queen of the Zora look over his bleeding feet without protest.
For all her yelling and harsh words at times, Ruto had very gentle hands.
“She’s passed a law stating that every village containing more than a singular family must contain at least one person who is employed by the Crown.” Malon summarized, fingers crinkling into the paper. “She invites you to accept her proposition to become a Royal Knight so that your ‘quaint new home’ may remain as it is, in the good graces of the Crown.”
*TP*
Link sat in the water next to Epona, anxiously brushing her again and again as he waited. Uli and Renado were with Ilia, his cousins were playing the part of messenger for whatever was needed, and the kids were playing in the water. “And she burned the sword and broke the shards-” Beth sang, twirling in the water and elegantly splashing Luda in the face.
Renado’s daughter had come to Ordon gleefully, arms full of gifts for all of her friends and a broad smile pushing her dark eyes into glittering crescents. Looking at her, Link wondered if he could see a bit of Grandmother Malon’s Kash in her face, more so than he could in Renado’s. Kakariko was the only town within Hyrule proper to have a known Sheikah heritage, everywhere else had been razed when the Crown decided they were traitors.
“Banished her son to darken ice!” Luda finished, bowing to a clapping Talon and Colin. It was an old song, popularized by Hylia’s more devout followers and stemming from the time period when there had been civilizations in the sky according to Shad. To Link, it was an odd, dark tune. A powerful mother binding her son into a sword, shattering the sword, and trapping him within ice.
Before he could think about the tale more, Ajax was running up the path with a wide grin on her face. “Com’on! You’re a father now, little cousin!”
They’d dubbed him little cousin since all four of them were at least a head taller.
But the time between running from the spring to his home wasn’t enough time to bother with her teasing, not when Link had the ability to shift into a wolf to make it even shorter.
Did he knock Vin’ya over on purpose when she laughed at him on his way home?
Absolutely.
Bo was waiting for him at the base of the treehouse, a new path worn into the dirt from his pacing and a bright smile on his face. “Uli said you need to see them first, then the rest of us can after you’ve had a bit together.” Link’s father explained softly, helping Link stand as he shifted and boosting him up the ladder. “So hurry up!”
“I’m going!”
He flew up the ladder, bouncing off a smiling Renado in the kitchen and redirected by a proud Uli into the bedroom. Ilia, tired and hair slicked back with sweat, was beaming brighter than the golden goddesses themselves. Stepping into the room felt more holy than any of the temples, the small, pink skinned form on Ilia’s chest more precious than the Master Sword.
“Come here, Papa, it’s time for you to see the princess.”
The third pair of blue eyes slid open, a petal pink mouth dropped open, and Midna yawned.
Link burst into the happiest tears of his life.