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Fae should know better than to hide this particular issue from the rest of the Chain. Should know better than to ignore the warning signals. Should know that doing so will only make it worse in the end.
But Hyrule doesn’t want to inconvenience anyone with faer strange needs.
Even if fae feels like fainting.
Even if faer magic is dangerously low and doesn’t appear to be recovering at any noticeable pace.
Hyrule knows from extensive trial and error that fae needs more sugar in faer diet than the normal Hylian because of faer half-fairy nature. Fae didn’t use to feel shameful about it, back when faer only companions were faer fairy sisters and faer mother. But then fae became the Hero of Hyrule and was adopted into the royal family. Hyrule loves faer adoptive sisters to bits, fae really does, but they don’t understand faer needs. Hadn’t understood Hyrule’s need to sweeten food and hadn’t grasped the concept that it actually improved faer experience of eating the meals if fae increased the sugar content first.
Dawn and Aurora don’t understand fairies. Or fairy needs. Or fairy cuisine. Hyrule tried cooking for them once, and never again. It’s why fae doesn’t volunteer to cook for the chain.
Sugar is expensive. It’s so so expensive in faer Hyrule that on multiple occasions fae had to make the difficult decision not to buy new shoes or supplies to repair clothes. It’s a mercy that faer sword doesn’t need sharpening or much maintenance. White sugar is rare. It’s so rare and expensive.
And it’s not even that good of a solution in the end.
Natural sugars found in fruits and honey are what sustain fairies. But fruit doesn’t grow naturally in faer Hyrule and honey is only for the royal family. And while fae is part of the royal family now, it doesn’t feel right for fae to have any.
And besides, fae needs so much more than the average fairy due to faer hylian form that taking any of the honey naturally available in the wild would be greedy.
Hyrule’s so used to hiding faer half-fairy nature.
Fae hadn’t revealed it that one day when four heroes had come up to faer in the forest just outside of Castle Town asking after the Hero, one likely named Link that might or might not have defeated a Great Villain by the name of Ganon or Ganondorf. Fae hasn’t mentioned it since. Not until that night on Lon Lon Ranch as a secret for a secret with Legend and Four. And the two of them don’t know much about fairies either.
The knowledge that multiple people in the Chain are fairy-blessed doesn’t make the anxiety in Hyrule’s chest lessen any. Doesn’t make the thought of revealing it any easier.
In fact, it almost makes it worse. The constant taste of a fairy’s blessing makes Hyrule miss faer mother. Fae misses faer mother so much. It’s a constant ache in faer chest. A constant gaping hole where Navi should be. But she slumbers in a different Hyrule from where the Chain currently is, the land too ill and the forests too poisoned and the rivers too acidic for her to keep her consciousness. She’s retreated into a deep slumber to ensure her survival, waiting for Hyrule to make the land living and healthy once again.
Fae can’t give up now. Hyrule hadn’t originally wanted to leave.
But the imminent threat to the timelines is greater than the illness faer own Hyrule is suffering through. At least, in faer absence, it won’t get any worse.
All of these thoughts consume Hyrule as the Chain makes its way down Kaepora Pass towards Tarrey Town.
“Are you okay, Hyrule?” Time asks, coming up to walk next to faer. “We should be somewhere we can settle down soon. Wild said there’d be an inn where we’re going.”
“I’m feeling a bit faint,” Hyrule confesses. “I didn’t sleep very well last night. My magic’s a bit low, too.”
And I need sugar. My magic isn’t healing. There’s a hole in me where my magic should be.
“Do you need a magic replenishing potion?” Time asks, allowing Hyrule to lean on him down a particularly steep slope. “I’m sure we’ve got a spare potion in someone’s bag.”
Hyrule shakes faer head. “It’ll replenish itself eventually. I don’t know why it’s so much slower than usual.” Lies.
Legend comes up on the other side of Hyrule and beneath the pink fringe, concerned eyes perceive faer. “It’s not because of your … thing , is it? You said that affects you sometimes.”
Hyrule stares at the ground. Fae feels caught between a rock and a hard place. “Maybe. Possibly.”
“Thing?” Time asks, but it sounds like he’s only half expecting an answer.
“We’re almost at Tarrey Town!” Wild calls out from the front, thankfully saving Hyrule from answering. “ It’s there on our left. Should be there in less than two hours. I just want to go see Mija first. I’ve collected enough stuff for her to upgrade some of my clothes, I think.”
Hyrule tries to stay towards the back of the group as they approach the Great Fairy Fountain. It’s not that he dislikes Wild’s Great Fairies. They just make faer miss faer mother.
The rest of the Chain stays back as Wild steps up on the platform and talks quietly to Mija about clothes, handing her items from their slate and discussing enhancements.
Hyrule feels faint. Fainter than a moment ago, fae tries to non-conspicuously lean against a tree to stave off some of the dizziness.
A couple of fairies flitter up to faer and settle in the soft curls on faer head.
“You need to care for yourself,” one of them scolds quietly.
“You can’t go on like this,” another one says gently.
“Great Mother Mija is going to tell you off,” a third one claims, “In three, two…”
“My child,” Mija says, and Hyrule looks up to see faer … great aunt? … looking at them. The rest of the chain, save for Time, has left to settle down under a wooden structure close by. “You need to take better care of yourself. You’re struggling. Look at my children surrounding you. Can’t you hear their worries?”
“I can,” Hyrule says quietly. “I can hear them.”
Fae slowly trudges up to Mija, unwilling to meet her eyes, “Whatever is it that has you hesitating?” Mija asks. “Are you not proud of your nature and of your heritage? Do your skills not bring them great advantages? You know that many of them are fairy-blessed themselves.”
“I’ve had negative reactions to it before,” Hyrule whispers back. “My sisters— my adopted sisters, my Zeldas — they don’t understand my needs. My Hyrule is a wasteland, where sugar is a rare commodity. Fruit more or less doesn’t exist. We can’t drink the water. My mother Navi is in an indefinite slumber and she’s waiting for me to heal the land.”
A small gasp sounds behind Hyrule, but fae doesn’t turn around. Time can wait, fae’s talking to Mija. Allowing Mija to soothe faer worries. It feels good to be talking in the tongue fae grew up with. Only a half-fleeting thought wonders how Time understands their conversation.
“You need to take care of your fairy half,” Mija scolds gently. “Do any of them know of your nature?”
Hyrule nods. “Two of them. But they don’t know much about great fairies. They’re not fairy-blessed themselves.”
“Let the Hero of Time in,” Mija advises. “Trust me, him knowing would do you a world of good. If you cannot tell them all, tell him.”
“Fine,” Hyrule says. “I will. Time?”
Time comes up to them. “Yes?”
Mija addresses him. “I need you to care for this young one here. This child keeps neglecting faer needs and is scared to face the repercussions of revealing said need, though there shouldn’t be any. I believe you knew their mother, so I trust you to ensure that fae recovers.”
Time raises an eyebrow, waiting for Hyrule to explain faerself.
Hyrule sighs. “I’m half-fairy. My mother is the Great Fairy Navi. I guess I haven’t been eating enough sugar. That’s why my magic won’t recover. I’m just low. ”
“You’re… You know what, come here,” Time says, sitting down on the petals of the fairy fountain and opening his arms for Hyrule to settle into. “We’ve seen weird things, all of us. Legend can turn into a bunny, Twilight’s a wolf and I’ve been possessed by a god on multiple occasions. Trust me, your needing more sugar than the average Hylian isn’t that strange. And even if it was, we wouldn’t mind.”
“Dawn and Aurora got on my case for sweetening my food,” Hyrule mutters quietly. “I didn’t want it to happen again. I usually carry my own sugar but I’ve run out. I can’t read the other Hylian languages except the vet’s and so I can’t figure out the prices. I don’t even know if I can afford it. Sugar in my Hyrule is a rare and really expensive luxury.”
“Sugar’s not the cheapest out there,” Time agrees. “But then again, neither are red and green potions. Or meat. Or some vegetables. Or the milk alternatives we use in the food for Wind and Sky. But those things are important for our health and our happiness. At the end of the day, your dietary needs aren’t all that strange, and certainly no weirder than any of ours. And besides, it doesn’t have to be pure white sugar either, does it?”
Hyrule shakes faer head. “No … it was the only alternative I had. It’s not great. Natural sugars in fruit and honey would be better.”
Time gently encourages Hyrule back off his lap and stands, turning to Mija. “We’ll figure something out. Rest assured, Hyrule will not struggle with this any further.”
“Good,” Mija says. “Until next time, byebye~”
“Let’s go find the others,” Time suggests. “Wild has honey candies for you. I know they always carry some in their pocket. Just ask him for a couple and we can talk to the group this evening. If any of them take issue with your needs, I’ll talk to them.”
Hyrule stands and together they start walking towards where the rest of the group is gathered.
Right before they’re in hearing range of the Chain, Time stops faer. “And, Hyrule?”
Hyrule turns to look up at Time. “Yes?”
Time smiles softly, nostalgic. “I’d like to hear about your mother sometime. If you’d be willing.”
“I’d love to.”