Chapter Text
The sun had finally set on the skies of Hyrule for the last night of winter. The town center of the humble Hateno Village echoed with the sounds of music and laughter as the villagers celebrated the closing of another year.
The house across the bridge over Firly Pond had always been rather quiet - the young Hylians who lived there had both seen enough in their years to last a lifetime, so a quiet life in the cottage seemed only fair. Tonight, however, the front yard was lively with an unexpected but warmly welcomed reunion.
Nine heroes were crowded at the base of the lonely tree out front, accompanied by the former princess of Hyrule, as the cooking pot simmered and popped with a delicious smell. At the center of the group, Wild stood over the pot occasionally stirring a steaming broth and adding a few more herbs for good measure. Most of the others sat comfortably in the grass, while a few sat on a variety of chairs and stools that Wild and his Zelda had brought outside.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the festival, Miss Zelda?” Wind asked sincerely from his spot closest to the cooking pot.
“No, it’s quite alright,” Zelda told him with a soft smile. “I’m not very fond of crowds these days - well, that’s not to say I ever was.” She turned to meet Wild’s eye and he gave her a knowing smile. “Regardless, it’s a rare occasion that all of you are in the same room at the same time, and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“We would offer to go with you,” Time said from beside Wind, “but Wild once mentioned how easily gossip gets around this town, and I imagine the last thing either of you need is more rumors that involve the two of you.”
“Not like we’re not used to it,” Wild mumbled as he gave the contents of the pot another good stir.
Zelda chuckled. “Besides, we have some things we’d like to share with you; a lot has changed since you all were last here.”
“Like what?” Hyrule asked from where leaned against the tree.
“You’ll see soon enough,” Zelda said.
“So,” Legend started as he sat in the grass beside Hyrule, “has this always been a thing in your era, celebrating the end of the year?”
Zelda nodded. “More so now than it used to be.” A hint of sadness crossed her eyes, but she didn’t elaborate.
“Before the Calamity, you mean?” Time asked her benignly.
“Yes.”
“People seem to like having a way to separate themselves from that time,” Wild continued for her. “Can’t blame ‘em; it’s a way to help them start fresh mentally, a way to acknowledge that the past is the past and it’s time to move forward. I dunno,” he shrugged, “that’s why we celebrate it, at least.”
Zelda hummed her agreement.
“I guess that’s kind of what we do, too,” Legend said, a bit quieter than before. “All the other holidays aren’t that great when you’re always on your own.”
“No kidding,” Hyrule said, “it’s hard being away from the people you care about on such special days like that. We’ve all experienced that, no doubt.” He and Legend shared a meaningful look before they both looked away.
“It’s interesting though,” Four spoke up from his place on Wind’s other side, “how we all possess the same spirit of the hero, living in the same kingdom, but our walks of life are so different and we all seem to celebrate things a lot differently.”
“The passage of time works in interesting ways,” Zelda said. “The world evolves, as do the people.”
“I don’t understand some of the things people celebrate in my time,” Wind chimed in. “Like the Great Flood that wiped out most of Hyrule - like, why celebrate it? I just don’t really get it."
“I feel you on that,” Legend said. “My hometown has some of the dumbest traditions during the winter months." He grimaced. “People were big on resolutions at the start of the year.”
There was a collective groan through most of the group.
“What’s even the point of resolutions?” Warriors asked from where he rested farthest from the cooking pot, lounging on his side in the cool grass.
“It’s meant to set personal goals for yourself,” Sky replied, seeming a bit confused by everyone else’s reaction, “to try to be a better version of yourself than you were the previous year.”
“Yeah, but no one ever follows through with them anyway,” Legend said with an eye roll.
“I do,” Sky muttered; everyone else ignored him, but Zelda seemed to hear him because she gave him a small smile.
“Do you have any other traditions from your home land?” she asked him thoughtfully.
Sky almost looked touched by her consideration, giving her a smile of his own. “Well,” he began, “in Skyloft, we have this tradition to clean the house on the last day of the year. It’s supposed to suggest removing the dust and dirt, like casting out all the undesirable things of the last year.” He looked up toward the night sky and his eyes glossed over in thought. “When Zelda and I moved to the surface, she started decorating our house with these beautiful arrangements she makes herself. She takes wood and bamboo from the nearby forest and crafts them into these incredible decorations that give my woodcarving a run for its money a dozen times over.”
“We still sort of do that on my island,” Wind said. “We usually take the bamboo and the wood from any fallen trees and my grandma uses them for her crafts. She loves to decorate the whole house with these figurines she makes from scratch. I’m not nearly as good with my hands when it comes to that level of detail, but she’s taught my sister how to make them and she’s gotten really good at it! I’ll have to show them to you if we ever end up in my world again.”
“Greeting cards are a big thing where I come from,” Four said. “My Zelda sends me and my grandfather a card every year. Apparently she makes them herself.”
Hyrule smirked and let out a small “aww”, earning him an elbow in the ribs.
“My Zelda takes a trip to the Temple of Time on the first day of the new year,” Warriors said longingly. “She told me it’s been a family tradition for at least a few hundred years. She stays there all day, praying for the peace and prosperity of her people.”
“My Zelda does that too, going to the Temple to pray,” Hyrule said with a distant smile. “Always putting the people of the kingdom first.”
“It sounds like all the women in our lives are pretty amazing, huh?” Sky suggested, a look of adoration clear in his eyes.
“Indeed,” Wild said flatly, eliciting a laugh from the other heroes, and when he looked over, he saw the pink that had begun to spread across his Zelda’s face.
“What do you do to celebrate, old man?” Legend asked with a tilt of his head in Time’s direction.
Time shrugged. “Nothing major,” he said dismissively. “My wife and I usually visit Kakariko and count down with the rest of the village; it’s much quieter than Castle Town.”
“Not much into the hustle and bustle of a crowded city, I see,” Zelda commented with a fond smile. “Spoken like a true Hero of Hyrule after saving the world.”
“I could say the same to you and your champion, Miss Zelda,” Time replied.
“Noodles are ready!” Wild called before Zelda could reply, smacking his ladle against the side of the cooking pot with a loud clang.
Six hungry young men simultaneously rose from their seats at lightning speed before making a small line in front of the cooking pot, where Wild handed each of them a bowl of hot noodles and broth. When they had all been served, the other three more patient souls stood to take their fill as well.
“Dig in,” Wild said once everyone else had returned to their spots.
Eight other heroes took a collective bite from their bowls; to no one’s surprise, the noodles were delicious, and each person in turn made a low hum of contentment.
“Wild, mate, this is fantastic!” Hyrule said, throwing his head back dramatically to emphasize how much he was enjoying himself.
The other heroes uttered their own praises of their dinner, surrounding Wild with compliments and overwhelming the poor lad.
“You’ve outdone yourself, as always,” Zelda told him.
Wild rubbed the back of his neck shyly. “It’s not much, but-”
“It’s delicious,” Twilight cut him off before he could finish that thought, “thank you, Wild.”
“What made you want to cook this?” Wind asked curiously.
Wild shrugged, but there was a clear sense of meaning in his eyes. “It’s a bit of an old tradition with my family,” he said slowly. “My mum and dad used to cook this for us at dinner every year. It was sort of meant to be a special ‘last meal’ of the year, if you will.”
“You remember that?” Four piped up, shifting forward as though he had to make sure he’d heard Wild correctly. “That’s great!”
Wild nodded absently. “Yeah, it really is.”
“He remembers a lot more now than before,” Zelda said fondly. “Some things, I wish he didn’t have to remember.”
Wild only chuckled. “You just hate that I remember that night you-”
“Don’t you dare!” Zelda interrupted hastily, reaching out in an attempt to slap a hand over his mouth, but she needn’t do so; Wild merely laughed and shook his head before returning to his own bowl of broth.
The others chuckled at the playful exchange - all except for Twilight, who had been sitting in silence for most of the night. He felt a prickling sensation on his skin as though he were being watched, a feeling he commonly had when his wolf senses kicked in. He looked up and saw the old man beside him, eyeing him expectantly.
“What?”
“You’ve been awfully quiet,” Time noted. “What’s on your mind?”
Twilight frowned and shook his head. “Nothing. I’m just listening to everyone else.”
“Everyone else has shared their traditions for the end of the year, but why not you?”
He shrugged. “We don’t do anything to celebrate in Ordon, not for the end of the year.”
“What about in Hyrule proper?” Warriors asked. “Does your princess have any special festivities that the kingdom celebrates?”
Twilight didn’t meet his eye. “I don’t know. I haven’t been near the castle in quite a few years - I’ve hardly set foot there in the first place, to be quite honest.”
The other heroes looked at him curiously. This was something he had never really mentioned to any of them, and it was interesting to hear him imply that his relationship with his Zelda was quite different from everyone else’s.
“Well, that’s alright,” the Zelda present in front of him said kindly. “You’re here now, so you can celebrate with the rest of us!”
Twilight did not seem to return her smile, but he did give her a thankful nod.
Everyone continued to chat as they finished their dinner. Once every ounce of the noodles was gone, the dishes were piled inside in the kitchen, where Zelda and Wild both insisted they would clean them all once they had returned home. For now, however, they had other plans.
“We have somewhere we would like to take all of you,” Zelda told them, “where there is a better view of the horizon for when it hits midnight.”
The others all perked up at once, but before anyone could ask where they were going, Wild cut in again.
“Actually, before we do that,” he said, giving Zelda a look and a jerk of his head back toward the house.
Zelda seemed to understand what he meant, as her eyebrows rose in realization. “Oh yes, that’s right!” She stood from her seat and Wild followed. “We have a surprise for all of you.”
Without another word, the pair disappeared together into the house. The rest of the group looked around at each other with confusion, but then they returned less than a minute later carrying various small bundles under their arms.
“What are those?” Wind asked, curiosity wide in his eyes.
“Here,” Zelda said with a grin as she handed one of the bundles to him. “There’s one for each of you.” She handed three more out to Hyrule, Legend, and Warriors.
Wild passed one around each to Time, Four, and Sky. Then, when he reached Twilight, he gave him a small wink.
Twilight gave him a puzzled look.
“Just open it,” Wild said a little impatiently.
Twilight did as directed and everyone else followed suit, unwrapping their bundles and pulling out a variety of garments unlike anything any of them had ever seen.
Each of the eight heroes held out in front of them a tunic that looked to fit their exact measurements. They seemed to be highly durable, almost indestructible, yet made of the softest material. Each one had a different color and a variety of patterns, each individually appearing unique to the hero it had been gifted to.
“Golden goddesses,” Time said incredulously, “Miss Zelda, did you craft these yourself?”
Zelda looked almost sheepish. “I… did, yes…” She waved a hand at him. “Though, I didn’t do any of the magic work on it.”
“Magic?” Sky repeated as he pressed the soft material to his face.
“Yes, Link and I had them enchanted by the Great Fairies here in our land. Each one has a few special additions to its defensive abilities.” Zelda was beaming at each of the heroes’ stunned faces.
“Wow,” Wind breathed, admiring the details on his new tunic.
“Thank you, both of you,” Twilight said, sounding incredibly touched by the gesture.
“It was all her,” Wild said immediately, gesturing to Zelda. “She did all the work.”
“That’s not true!” Zelda defended. “It was all your idea.”
Wild shrugged. “You made them all yourself.”
Zelda looked close to swatting him. “Well, it’s not like you could do it, given that all of them ,” she gestured to the other heroes, “were around you the entire time. That being said, you were the one who provided all the material!”
“It was just a couple of gems,” Wild retorted, trying to sound nonchalant.
Sky cocked his head. “So that’s why you kept hoarding all those gems?”
Wild waved a hand dismissively. “I mean, yeah, I collected them, but it wasn’t that hard. There are ore deposits everywhere, and they’re easy to break if you’ve got a good enough weapon.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Link,” Zelda chided, “would you please stop trying to discredit yourself?”
Wild raised his hands in defense. “Alright, alright. I did a bit of the heavy lifting.”
Zelda huffed audibly. “It was a team effort. We wanted to show you all how much you mean to us, since we obviously can’t always be together.”
“I wondered why you weren’t cashing in those diamonds for rupees,” Legend said. “Those things could have been worth-” He stopped mid-sentence at the disapproving look on Time’s face. “Er, nevermind.” He held up his tunic and resigned himself to attempt a grateful smile. “Thank you both.”
“Of course,” Zelda said, her smile returning.
“It’s the least we could do,” Wild added. “You all know you guys are like family to us.”
No one seemed to know how to respond to Wild’s statement. Obviously, this had been something they had all spoken of in the past, after the chain had been in countless trials together.
A small pause of silence fell within the group, in which everyone exchanged looks that said everything that needed to be said.
Meanwhile, Zelda took the opportunity to pull the Sheikah Slate off of her belt and activate it. She tapped the screen and her brow raised in surprise. “Goodness, it’s already that time!” She held the Slate out so Wild could see the screen. “We need to get going so we can have everything set up.”
Wild mirrored her surprise at whatever he saw on the screen and gave her a firm nod.
“Alright everyone,” Zelda said with a sudden enthusiasm, “we only have one hour until midnight.”
The group turned and looked at her, stunned by this revelation.
“Already?!” Wind and Four said at the same time.
“We have one last stop before we close out this year,” Zelda continued, frantically swiping across the Slate’s screen to look for something the others could not see. “We’ll need to warp in order to get there.”
Wild fixed her with a look of excitement as he reached for her, looping his arm in hers. It took him a moment to realize that no one else had moved an inch. “Well?” he said expectantly. “Are you guys coming?” After a moment’s pause, the chain stood from their seats. Twilight was first, looping his own arm through Wild’s free one, and Sky followed directly after. Everyone else continued to link up until everyone was connected to another with Zelda holding the Sheikah Slate in the center of them all. She turned her head to see that they were all ready to go, then she tapped the screen more firmly.
In that next moment, the entire group disappeared in bright glowing strands of blue light.