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“Sometimes, we must grow stronger and you can't be stronger when I'm gone. When I'm here no longer, you must be stronger and if I could be with you tonight, I would sing you to sleep; never let them take the light behind your eyes. I failed and lost this fight. Never fade in the dark, just remember you will always burn as bright.” - The Light Behind Your Eyes, My Chemical Romance

The Great Calamity…

No matter how hard Aryll kicked, punched and screamed, Mama didn’t turn back for Nana.

Nana had fallen to her knees, already unable to run. Mama and Papa said she had arthritis. Link told her that meant Nana’s bones hurt all the time; it was in her hips and right knee. Even medicine and rest didn’t make it go away, not really. Aryll remembered crying when she first understood what it meant: Nana was always hurting and no one could make it go away.

And now, as the Guardians attacked them all, as Calamity Ganon destroyed Hyrule, Nana signed for Mama and Aryll to go without her.

Mama tried to carry Nana, but Mama was always so small, nearly as small as Link. Aryll said she’d carry Nana. She tried to stand up tall and look brave like Link, but Mama and Nana looked like they were going to cry.

A Guardian beeped and made its way towards them. All around, other people screamed, ran and cried. Some fell and didn’t get back up. Fire, ice and malice rained from the sky, even more than the rain itself; everything was either too hot or too cold.

“Calla, please,” Mama begged. “We’re nearly at the gate, we can hide out in the caves or…Or…Oh, please.”

But Nana shook her head and shoved Aryll at Mama. She signed for Aryll to be good and brave, and signed that she loved her. She told Mama to be brave too and that she loved her. She told them to not look back.

Mama picked Aryll up and ran. Aryll immediately broke the rules and looked back: Nana threw a stone at the approaching Guardian and, when it turned to her, she shouted hoarsely and ran at a hobble down a narrow side-street. The Guardian followed.

Aryll closed her eyes, but she heard the explosion.

So she screamed. She begged Mama to turn back. They couldn’t leave Nana behind, they couldn’t. Nana needed their help, she couldn’t run properly. Some days, she could barely walk, even with her cane, even when Link let Nana lean on him. 

If they didn’t help Nana she’d…she’d…

There was a huge, deafening roar. Ganon swirled around the castle, a gigantic monster made of smoke, red fire and malice. His head looked like a boar’s head.

People wanted her brother to fight that? How? Link had his special sword and his friends, but Ganon was so big and Castle Town was on fire, everyone was dying. One boy, a little older than Link, sprinted down the street, screaming for everyone to avoid the West Gate. He said there was a stampede of people, Guardians and monsters that way. He said they were crushing each other, they were all dying.

They couldn’t send Link to the castle. Ganon was too big, much too big. He’d made the Guardians evil and now they were fighting everyone instead of protecting them. Everything was going wrong.

Mama ran with all her might and they made it out of the East Gate. Hyrule Field was on fire, despite the pouring rain. Aryll could see a tornado, far to the south; it looked like it was in Faron’s direction.

“Mama,” Aryll sobbed. “Mama, where’s Link?”

Mama stiffened. She tripped and nearly fell, but another lady caught her.

“Mama, where’s Link?” Aryll repeated desperately.

“He’s on his way, baby,” Mama said, but she didn’t sound happy. She always smiled when Link came home, but she kept on crying now.

“Link?” the lady who caught Mama asked. “You don’t mean Hylia’s Chosen? You’re his mother?”

Mama nodded.

The lady looked back at the castle. Ganon kept roaring. He looked even bigger. More fire burst from him. Aryll could see hundreds of monsters from coming from the west. Link taught her north, south, east and west, and Aryll was learning to read Papa’s maps. Link always swore Aryll was better with reading and writing than he was at her age. He always sounded so proud.

The lady looked so sad. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said to Mama. “Without the princess…”

Everyone said Princess Zelda was supposed to have magic. She was training all the time and praying. Aryll didn’t think praying for magic worked; she prayed for magic all the time and it still hadn’t happened. Being Link’s sister didn’t mean Hylia listened to her wishes. Nana looked shocked when Aryll declared Hylia was mean, but Mama agreed with her.

But Zelda’s magic was extra special. As special as Link’s sword, maybe even more special than that. It was supposed to seal Calamity Ganon away, Papa said so. Aryll didn’t really get what that meant. She didn’t know where Princess Zelda’s magic would put Ganon, just that he wouldn’t be here. 

He was here now. Zelda didn’t have her magic yet. Link had his magic sword and his friends had their Divine Beasts. But everyone said they needed Zelda’s magic too, or nothing would work. 

If Link fought Ganon without Zelda’s magic, what would happen to him?

“Mama,” Aryll whispered, worn out from screaming. “We need to find Link.”

The first night, they stayed in a cave with the nice lady, who was named Rosie. The second night, they kept running and running. On the third day, they reached Hateno and their old house.

They let Rosie stay with them. She told them she didn’t have a family anymore.

The Calamity kept going. It wasn’t as bad in Hateno, so far from Castle Town, but it was bad. Monsters kept attacking the village’s walls. Men and women made lookout posts and fought the monsters with anything they could find. The fields and forests burned. 

Aryll looked in all the usual places for Koroks: under rocks, around tree stumps and in flower beds, but she didn’t find any. They’d all gone.

They added huge spikes to the village’s gates and stuck wooden and metal spikes into the ground all around the outside of the walls. They lined the bottom of the walls with barbed wire.

Aryll sat on Link’s old bed under the stairs and waited for him. She wished she had her favourite doll, Lucy. Link bought Lucy for her after months of Aryll staring at her in the doll maker’s window. 

Aryll dropped her in the garden when they ran out of the house. 

She hoped Lucy was okay. She hoped Lucy wasn’t scared and waiting for Aryll to come find her.

She hoped Link wasn’t scared. He was so brave, the bravest person Aryll knew…But maybe he was scared now? Aryll was scared. Uncle Duncan and Papa were at Akkala Citadel- or maybe they were on their way- and Link was…Somewhere. He’d gone to Mount Lanayru, and that was right there, so close to Hateno, but he wasn’t up there now. 

He was probably fighting Ganon. Probably at Hyrule Castle, with all those monsters and Guardians, all that awful malice. Everyone warned Aryll, again and again, to never go near malice if she saw any when she was exploring with her friends. She must stay far away from it and tell an adult where she’d seen it right away.

There was no malice in Hateno.

She waited. And waited.

The Divine Beasts didn’t do anything. Mama wouldn’t look at her when Aryll asked why. When she asked Miss Rosie, she looked nervous and changed the subject.

Mama sat her down, holding both her hands, and said that Akkala Citadel had been destroyed. Papa and Uncle Duncan weren’t coming home.

Aryll cried more for Uncle Duncan than she did for Papa. She felt bad for that.

Maybe they were like the Guardians and they’d turned evil too. Maybe they were broken and just didn’t work.

Then a Sheikah, a really young man with white hair in a bun, arrived at the village. Even when he ran, he didn’t make any noise. He didn’t look like one of their warriors or even one of their researchers. Doctor Purah and Doctor Robbie were much louder and didn’t dress like this Sheikah. He looked…Weirdly fancy under all that sweat and mud. Like he was dressed for a party.

“What news?” the mayor demanded.

Aryll wasn’t supposed to be here, she was supposed to stay inside, but all the rain and ice had stopped so Mama let her come when Aryll followed. It was still storming though, so Miss Rosie covered Aryll with her shawl.

The Sheikah said his name was Harper, an “acquaintance” of the princess, whatever that meant.

“The Champions are dead,” Harper announced. His voice broke, like he was trying not to cry. “Calamity Ganon has trapped them within their Divine Beasts. All rescue efforts have failed. And…And last night, at Fort Hateno…” He trailed away. Aryll heard people whisper nervously.

“There was a blast of light from the fort around midnight,” the mayor said. “Was it…?”

“The princess has awoken her sacred power,” Harper said. There were people crying and cheering.

Aryll stared at him. Harper shuffled about nervously. Maybe he wasn’t used to delivering big messages.

“And her knight?” the mayor asked.

Link needed Zelda’s magic. Zelda needed Link’s sword. That was how it worked.

Harper shook his head and Aryll’s heart froze. Mama sucked in a harsh breath.

“He…He fought bravely,” Harper said. “I saw him. He- he defeated so many Guardians, dozens of them, Fort Hateno wouldn’t be standing if it wasn’t for him. Hateno would have fallen if not for him. But, good people, his wounds were- I am sorry. Sir Link has fallen in the line of duty, may the Goddess give him rest.”

People began to cry again, but it wasn’t happy tears. There were wails and screams. One lady shouted that they were still doomed if The Chosen Knight was…was…

Dead.

No, Aryll thought. No, no, no.

Link wasn’t dead. Of course he wasn’t dead. That didn’t make any sense. Link couldn’t be dead. He was her big brother. He was Link. He held her hand crossing the street and snuck her honey candy even when Mama said she had enough. He let her do his hair and didn’t complain, even when Aryll made a mess. Link hugged her after nightmares and hummed until she fell back asleep. He introduced her to all his super special important friends, smiling so wide, and Lady Urbosa knelt down to shake her hand, and said it was “a tremendous honour” to meet Aryll. 

His sign name for her was “Heart.” He was her favourite person and, even when Princess Mipha came along, Link promised that Aryll was still his favourite. He even pinky promised. He taught Aryll how to climb trees and how to ride a horse. He was Link, her Link.

He couldn’t be dead.

There was a ringing noise in her ears. The storm was slowly dying down, but the rain was still heavy. Miss Rosie took her free hand and Aryll realised she was sobbing, sobbing so hard her chest hurt and she couldn’t breathe. Mama was yelling at Harper, asking again and again, “Then where is he buried!?”

“D-Doctors Purah a-and Robbie- I don’t know-” Harper stammered. “T-they brought him somewhere, madam, I don’t know-”

Aryll screamed. Just one word, one name. If she screamed, he’d come find her. He’d come and make it better like he always did.

“LINK!”

Everything stopped. The fire, the ice. The storm. The monsters. News arrived from all over Hyrule: the blizzards in Hebra had stopped. The tornados and hurricanes in Faron had stopped. The sandstorms in Gerudo had stopped. The tidal waves down south at Lurelin had stopped. The flooding in Lanayru had stopped.

Everything stopped. Just like that.

Malice still covered Castle Town and Hyrule Castle. But Ganon didn’t bellow and roar anymore.

Everyone held their breath. Everyone waited, but nothing else happened.

Then the rumours started. They said Princess Zelda died sealing Ganon away in the castle, trapping him there forever. They said the goddesses took Link away and put him in an enchanted sleep. They said his ghost helped Princess Zelda. They said the Champions survived, then they said the Champions died. No one seemed sure of anything, other than the fact that a lot of people were dead.

Link. Nana. Uncle Duncan. Papa.

Link, Link, Link.

Days passed. Weeks. Link didn’t come home.

Mama wrote a long letter for Link after Miss Rosie and a few others said it might help. Aryll drew him a picture; she may have been decent at writing and spelling, but her handwriting was even messier than Link’s. She was always really good at drawing.

She drew herself and Link, hand in hand and smiling.

A letter from Mrs Irma Hallow to her son, Sir Link Hallow:

My darling boy,

You will never read this, but my friends say writing to you may help. At this point, I’m willing to try anything.

I love you, Link. For so long, I had no family at all. Then I met your father and, for all his faults, he loved me at first. He wasn’t so harsh then. Oh, he was a fuddy-duddy, but still kind. His little brother, Duncan, was a walking sunbeam. His mama, Calla, welcomed me like I’d always belonged with them.

Then I had you and, for the first time, I wondered if Hylia had blessed me. I will be blunt, little love, you barely survived at birth. You stopped breathing twice. For the first six months, so many people told me to brace myself, to prepare myself to lose you. Trust me when I say, there is no preparing yourself for that.

But you lived. You thrived. You were my little miracle and that never stopped being true. For every second of every day, I’ve been so proud of you I could burst from it.

Your first steps were to me. Your first word was for me. Your first smile was for me. All my smiles were for you and your sister.

When you found the Master Sword, I wanted to run. I cursed Hylia’s name, I hated her more than I ever had before. How could she do this to you? How could she ask a twelve-year-old boy to save Hyrule? Your father tried to tell me it was an honour. I told him I wouldn’t let it happen. I told him I’d burn the heavens down if it meant keeping my children safe.

I’m so sorry I couldn’t keep you safe.

One day, far from now, I’ll see you again and tell you all this in person. Until then, I will keep Aryll safe. 

Tell our family I love them too, won’t you? Rest now. Please, please be at rest.

I love you, Link. I love you, I love you, I love you with all my heart.

I promise I won’t let anything happen to Aryll. I promise to make everyone understand how brave you were, and how terribly young.

You were always so forgiving; you were nothing like me in that regard. I can’t forgive them. The king, the goddesses; the Sheikah, all those knights. I’ve tried but I can’t. You should have been going on dates with Mipha, not training until your hands cracked and bled. You should have been sneaking into taverns with Zelda and Revali. You should have been hiking, swimming, climbing cliffs and trees; you should have been riding Epona across all of Hyrule, exploring to your heart’s content. You should not have been tasked with protecting Hyrule and the rest of the world.

I don’t know what else to say. I love you. I can never say it enough.

I love you, Link. I love you so, so much.

From,
Mama

“Did you break but never mend? Did it hurt so much you thought it was the end? Lose your heart but don't know when, and no one cares, there's no one there. But did you see the flares in the sky? Were you blinded by the light? Did you feel the smoke in your eyes? Did you, did you? Did you see the sparks filled with hope? You are not alone, ‘cause someone's out there, sending out flares. Someone's out there, sending out flares.” - Flares, The Script

Lurelin, 100 years later…

Nox had one hell of a family story. His great-uncle was Sir Link, Hylian Champion and Hylia’s Chosen. His Nana Aryll told them all about her big brother; not the knight, but her brother. 

Nana Aryll (really, she was his great-nana) was one hundred and eight years old. She’d only been eight when Calamity Ganon struck and her mama, Irma, was forced to take her and flee. She told them of her grandmother’s sacrifice, distracting the Guardian that followed them.

She told them about Uncle Link buying her favourite doll and letting her ride around on Epona. She told them about Uncle Link and his “socking great crush” on Princess Mipha of the Zora. Even now, Nana Aryll giggled about it. 

She told them how she and Granny Irma moved to Lurelin as soon as Granny Irma heard a Sheikah scientist had moved into Hateno’s old lighthouse. To the end of her days, Granny Irma wouldn’t talk about the Sheikah, the goddesses, the king or even the Champions. She wouldn’t stop Aryll from talking about everything, but she’d never share details and refused to answer questions.

Aryll painted portraits of her lost family and Nox knew she had hundreds of sketchbooks filled with her drawings. Their portraits hung in the living room of her house: her papa, her nana, her uncle, her brother. When Granny Irma and Granny Rosie died, their portraits were added. She even painted Epona, Uncle Link’s horse.

So when Nox spotted a golden-haired young boy by the village gate, feeding his horse an apple, Nox froze. Golden hair, like Nox’s own and his big sister’s. The same nose and eyes as Nox’s papa. The exact same face as all of Nana Aryll’s self-portraits from when she was a girl.

The boy gently stroked his horse’s mane, examining some weird gadget held in his other hand. Whatever it was, Nox could see lines of light streaking across it in funny patterns.

The boy wore a sky-blue tunic. He had golden hair, tied back in a ponytail. He had bright blue eyes. He looked like Nana Aryll. He looked like a member of Nox’s family.

He looked exactly like the portrait and sketches of Uncle Link.

Heart pounding, Nox began to run across the sand. The boy hauled himself up onto his horse.

“Hey!” Nox shouted. “Hey, wait!”

The boy didn’t hear him. He rode away from the village. Nox ran as fast as he could, but by the time he was past the gate, the boy was already out of sight.

There was no way…Was there? Uncle Link died at Fort Hateno, protecting Princess Zelda. He’d been dead for one hundred years.

But that boy even looked like he was the same age as Uncle Link.

It couldn’t be…

The old fairytales popped into his head; the children’s stories that said Link had been whisked away by the goddesses and placed in an enchanted sleep. The stories said he’d rise again one day and defeat Calamity Ganon once and for all.

There was just no way…

On shaking legs, Nox went in search of Nana Aryll.

He found her at the Palmorae Ruins with his big sister, Lilibeth and his papa, Benjy. They were speaking with Garini, who was gesturing excitedly at a shrine.

That shrine hadn’t been there this morning.

“It was crazy!” Garini was saying. “Once I translated the ancient script, he got it right away; we had to kneel on those funny pedestals to make the shrine appear! I always wondered what those things were for.”

“The shrine let him inside?” Nana Aryll asked, eyebrows raising. “They never used to let anyone inside, not even Princess Zelda.”

“Nana Aryll…” Nox hurried over. “Nana Aryll, you’re never gonna believe this.”

“Hm? Nox, love, you’re white as a sheet,” Nana Aryll said. “What’s wrong?”

Nox stared at the shrine. It had the same funny lights as the boy’s strange gadget. He couldn’t place why even that felt monumental.

He looked at his family, all of whom looked concerned. 

“Nana Aryll,” he said. “There was a boy at the gates…”

Kakariko Village, Post-Calamity…

Calamity Ganon was officially dead and gone for two weeks, as of today. After breakfast, Zelda quietly gave permission for Impa to write to the leaders of Hyrule, to give them the full story.

When she went outside, she found Cottla insisting that she would teach Link how to play pat-a-cake. Link looked dumbfounded, but he’d always been terrible at saying no to children. Cottla soon had him kneeling on the decking beside High Spirits Produce.

“Cottla,” Koko sighed in a long-suffering voice. “Don’t bother Mister Link.”

“I don’t mind,” Link said, his voice quiet as always, though used much more regularly now.

Smiling, Zelda joined them. Cottla was giggling happily as they played, her movements rushed and messy. Koko sighed again and read her cookbook, though she kept glancing up and smiling.

“I wonder if you ever played this with Aryll,” Zelda ventured. It was always a cautious dance with Link’s memories, never sure of the steps, never sure of how much he remembered.

And poor little Aryll would always be an emotional topic.

Link hummed thoughtfully. “I dunno. I taught her how to climb trees,” he admitted, his old Hateno accent slipping through slightly. Even that sounded different from today’s Hateno accents; she’d heard them as she watched Link, trapped in the castle. The drawl was different, a little more obvious now but they didn’t roll their R’s as much as they used to.

“Oh, I bet your mother loved that,” Zelda said, rolling her eyes.

“She didn’t mind,” Link said, carefully watching his and Cottla’s hands like he was memorising a battle strategy from Urbosa. “Nana said she’d whack me with a wooden spoon though.”

“Did she?” Koko asked eagerly, looking up from her book.

“Nope,” Link blatantly lied.

‘She did,’ Zelda mouthed at Koko. Koko giggled and ducked her head. Link shot Zelda a suspicious frown and she smiled innocently in return.

Urbosa and her little sister, Dara, had practically kidnapped Link from Kara Kara Bazaar and smuggled him into Gerudo Town, into the royal palace itself. Dara outright pushed Link into the room.

Urbosa glared at the trio of guards present. “If anyone breathes a word of this,” she hissed. “I will be forced to let Sir Link leave. Believe me, he protested against special privileges the whole way here. You will be endangering the princess if he leaves. And if you endanger Princess Zelda, especially after today’s events, heads will roll. Do I make myself clear?”

The guards looked stunned, eyes wide above their masks. The tallest looked at Link and, for the first time, Zelda herself could see what Urbosa surely already saw and understood: she saw an exhausted fifteen-year-old with dried blood from a Yiga under his fingernails and dark shadows under his eyes.

The tallest guard softened, seeing it too. The other two didn’t protest, though the one on the right watched Link warily.

Mere hours ago, Zelda would have raged at his presence. She’d have been outraged and betrayed that Urbosa allowed it. But now, after the Yiga, she was relieved to see him.

He’d really saved her life today. No hesitation. He’d killed a man for her. Was that why he looked so haggard?

Urbosa placed them in adjoining bedrooms. Dara went in search of something to “settle your nerves, vehvi,” and she looked at Link’s hands before adding, “And I’ve some lavender soap I believe you’ll enjoy, little voe.”

“How are you both?” Urbosa asked when they were finally, blessedly alone. “Truthfully now.”

To Zelda’s shock, Link signed, I’m breaking one of Hyrule’s oldest laws. Your most sacred law. If my nana could see this, she’d whack me with a wooden spoon. Most scandalous thing I’ve ever done.

Urbosa gave a bark of laughter. Link looked so pale, so exhausted, and Zelda wondered if he even realised what he’d said.

Urbosa ruffled his hair and Link allowed it, another surprise.

“You’re hardly breaking the law when you’re here with my permission. If anyone is breaking the law, it’s me,” she said.

“Well…You make the law,” Zelda dared to say. She glanced at Link feeling suddenly and absurdly shy. She just hoped the joke would land. “So it’s not breaking the rules if you say so.”

“Dangerous thinking, little bird,” Urbosa said, but she was smiling.

Zelda glanced at Link again and offered him a wobbly smile. Link didn’t smile back but his gaze softened into something less like a cornered animal and more like a teenage boy.

It was the first time she’d ever heard mention of Link’s grandmother, but certainly not the last. As their friendship grew, he told her more about his family. When she met them for herself, Link was bed bound with a fever, too ill to even open his eyes. Zelda had run from Hyrule Castle with Impa at her side, straight to the Hallow family home in Castle Town. Link had been on leave for only three days when Sir Roland, his father, informed King Rhoam his son was too ill to return to the castle.

She met Irma Hallow, sitting at Link’s bedside. She met Calla Hallow, hand-in-hand with Aryll, walking through their front door to find the princess sitting awkwardly at their kitchen table while Impa insisted that Irma take a much needed nap.

Aryll had scowled suspiciously. Link had admitted, quite awkwardly, that Aryll wasn’t fond of Zelda. No matter how much Link defended Zelda and told Aryll not to listen to gossip, Aryll had heard that Zelda was mean to her big brother. In her eyes, that was a cardinal sin.

“He’s too sick to work, go away,” Aryll snapped.

Aryll! Calla signed, using her sign name, “Heart.” The poor old woman looked mortified. Show some respect!

Aryll huffed, arms crossed. Impa looked astonished. Irma buried her face in her hands, plainly at her absolute limit.

Zelda stood and went to Aryll, crouching down to her eye-level.

“I was very mean to your brother,” she said softly. “And I’m so sorry for it. I’ve apologised to him and I promise we’re friends now. But it occurs to me, Miss Aryll, that I should apologise to you too, for worrying you.”

Aryll’s eyes widened. Perhaps she wondered how Zelda had cut straight to the heart of the matter. Truth be told, it was because of Link; he admitted Aryll was worried that he was, in Aryll’s words, “stuck with a bunch of jerk-faces.” 

“Your brother has taken very good care of me,” Zelda continued. “And so Lady Impa and I are here to take care of him too.”

Aryll softened. She uncrossed her arms, though she still regarded Zelda warily. The little girl looked so much like Link; same gold hair, same features, same wary glance. Aryll’s eyes were round and grey like Mrs Irma’s, whereas Link’s were more of an almond shape, and bright blue like Sir Roland’s. But other than that, they were strikingly alike, the very image of their mother. 

“Truce?” Zelda asked, offering her hand.

“...Truce,” Aryll said, shaking Zelda’s hand. 

Out of Link’s whole family, he talked about Aryll the most. His baby sister, his little shadow, who always followed him about like a duckling. When Link signed, Have you turned into a duck? Aryll grinned and quacked at him.

She remembered Mipha carrying Aryll as proudly as she carried Sidon, listening attentively to the child’s rambles. She remembered Link shyly giving her a drawing from Aryll, a birthday gift; she’d drawn Zelda in a field of silent princess flowers. Zelda felt stupidly close to tears at this simple, sweet gesture. She kept that drawing in her study from that day on, proudly pinned to the wall. She even made sure Link brought Aryll to the castle on a day visit, so she could thank Aryll personally.

Her sign name, given by Link, was “Heart” for a reason. He had adored that little girl, completely and utterly. More like a mini-father than a big brother, stepping in to fill Roland’s long absences and stony silences, and desperate to make up for his own absences. Aryll always, always made him smile.

Link had found her favourite doll in Castle Town, outside the ruins of their home.

The resulting breakdown had been terrifying to watch and all the more heartbreaking because, trapped with Ganon as she was, Zelda couldn’t make it better. She couldn’t help. All she could do was telepathically beg him to go to Impa, to Sidon, to Purah. Go back to Vah Ruta and stay with Mipha. Hell, she’d have been happy if he’d gone to Saki and Teba. If he’d even just gone to his house in Hateno, somewhere safe and warm, at least that would be something. 

But he didn’t. For an entire month, Link weathered the storm alone as memory after memory ambushed him, immobilising him for hours at a time and waking him up at night. It got to the point that he tried to avoid sleep at all. He barely ate. He camped atop Sheikah towers so at least he was semi-safe if the flashbacks lasted too long. No monsters could get him from up there.

He decimated monster camps, even burning down the camp remains when the monsters were dead. He sought out as many monsters as he could find along the roads, in fields and forests, and killed them. He completed shrine after shrine, but didn’t go to any Goddess statues to pray for blessings. He was ambushed by a Yiga Blademaster and managed to throw the massive assassin clear over his shoulder, and slit his throat. No Yiga Clan members attacked for two whole months after that.

When Link first left the Great Plateau, he’d been pale as a sheet, lost and alone, in pain with dark circles under his eyes. As the months passed, he slowly began to look healthy again and built his energy and endurance back up.

After finding Aryll’s doll, after he was forced to acknowledge the reality of her too brief life and her death, he was right back to square one. Worse, in fact. He looked half-dead himself. So wrecked that Zelda herself had flashbacks of that awful night at Blatchery Plain. She spent every moment she could watching her dearest friend, terrified blood would suddenly soak through his tunic and he’d bleed out again.

He finally remembered his family, but at what cost?

Aryll’s doll and the little pink pram Aryll kept her in, were now safely stored at the Hateno house. Battered but recognisable and handled with the utmost care.

In the end, Link finally went to Sidon and burst into tears, screaming and sobbing until he all but passed out. He slept for a day straight.

To Zelda’s ever-lasting gratitude, Sidon didn’t once leave Link’s side.

Now, as she watched Link playing with Cottla, Zelda wondered about memorials. Would Link want one for his family? For Aryll? They had no graves. No one from Castle Town did. So many souls lost to the Calamity didn’t; there’d been so little to bury.

That would be one of her first tasks. Setting up memorials. Acknowledging Hyrule’s great loss.

She wondered about her birthday gift from Aryll. Was it still pinned to her wall? Had it been blasted apart during the Calamity? Had it simply faded away to dust?

She’d find out sooner or later.

She would have gone to art school, Zelda thought with a sad smile.

Cottla turned to Zelda. “I can teach you too, Miss Princess,” she said.

Zelda knew how to play pat-a-cake. She scooted closer to Cottla anyway.

“I would love to learn,” she said and watched Cottla light up like the stars.

“Just close your eyes, the sun is going down. You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now. Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound. Don't you dare look out your window, darling, everything's on fire. The war outside our door keeps raging on. Hold onto this lullaby even when the music's gone, gone…Just close your eyes, the sun is going down; you'll be alright, no one can hurt you now. Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound.” - Safe And Sound, Taylor Swift

They had been living in the Hateno house (their house, Link needed to remember to call it that now) for nearly a month when a letter arrived from Impa.

It was addressed to Link and that was the odd thing. Normally Impa addressed her letters to both of them.

Zelda read it when Link asked her to. Truth be told, reading still made his head hurt sometimes. The letters wriggled about on the page and turned upside down and they all just looked weird. He was a slow reader, a slow writer, but Zelda had been happily teaching him tips and tricks to help ever since they arrived in Hateno and they helped, but it was slow going.

Whatever the letter said made Zelda’s eyes widen. She went pale. And then came the biggest shock of all.

“Horseshit!” Zelda said loudly. “What utter horseshit!”

Link could only gape at her. Fractured as many of his memories still were, he was quite sure he’d never heard Zelda swear before.

“Zelda?” he asked and Zelda jumped like she’d forgotten he was there. She knocked into the table and her notes and designs for memories nearly scattered everywhere. Link jumped to catch them before they could all hit the floor.

Zelda looked horrified.

“Zelda?” he repeated. “What is it?” This was something bad, this was something terrible. But why had Impa only addressed the letter to him? Was it something she didn’t want Zelda to know?

“Link, I…” Zelda looked at the letter again. Her eyes flashed with utter fury. “There is- something’s happened. A family has arrived in Kakariko, from Lurelin. They asked Impa for your whereabouts.”

“Oh,” Link said. “Is that all? Do they need help?”

Zelda took a deep breath and put the letter down. She took Link’s hands.

“Link, darling,” she said, much softer now, as if trying not to spook him. “Their matriarch claims to be Aryll.”

…What?

“Horseshit!” Link snarled in turn. “H-how- argh! How dare she? She- they- that’s sick.”

His little sister’s doll and toy pram were upstairs in the corner, kept as clean as Link could get them. Bolson fixed the missing wheel on the pram. Sophie offered to put a new lace trim on the pram to replace the old tattered one (once white but now yellow and grey) and the pram, while noticeably old and still pretty badly battered, looked more like it used to. Plainly recognisable as Aryll’s. 

Link didn’t dare go any further than their house’s front garden. The door had been knocked off its hinges and he didn’t want to know what he’d find inside.

Maybe he should just ask Hudson Construction to knock the whole thing down.

But the point stood: his baby sister was dead. Long dead. Link hadn’t protected her. For the first time ever, he hadn’t protected her and she died. 

It kept him awake at night. Had she screamed for him to come save her? Had she been scared? Did she understand what was happening? She was only eight, far too young to face the destruction of Castle Town. Had Mama been with her? What about Nana? Uncle Duncan and Papa had been at Akkala Citadel; it was Uncle Duncan’s main post but Papa had only been visiting, albeit on official business. 

If Hylia had any mercy, his sister died quickly and without pain. She didn’t die like he had, slowly, so agonisingly slowly and feeling every second of it. Burning with pain, bleeding out and struggling for every breath and scared. 

Aryll died quickly. She died the very second Ganon rose from the ground. She didn’t even have time to blink; she never knew what was happening. That was what Link told himself, that was what he had to believe.

In his nightmares however, she died like he did, only she was all alone. She died begging for him to come save her.

He always woke up screaming when it happened. Even Zelda couldn’t get him back to sleep when he had that dream. He doubted even Mipha could have.

Aryll was dead. She was dead, dead, dead. No coming back. No Shrine of Resurrection. Just…Gone.

And now some stranger had the nerve to claim to be Aryll?

Link pulled away from Zelda and paced the length of the room. He tugged on his hair and wanted to hit something. Preferably a monster. Possibly a mirror so he wouldn’t have to look at his own wretched reflection and see his little sister staring back at him.

“Why would anyone even do that?” he demanded, borderline hysterical. It was sick, it was so twisted, it was fucking evil.

“You’re the Hero, darling,” Zelda said softly, sadly. “Being your relatives would have…a lot of perks.”

They’d given Impa permission to tell the full story. Everyone knew that Link and Zelda were Link and Zelda: the knight and princess. The very same from a century ago. The fairytale characters come to life.

Living legends, Mayor Reede called them and they’d both blushed and quickly changed the subject. 

It would be impossible to claim to be Link’s long-lost family if he was anyone else. A descendent of the Champions, or just some random kid. He’d know they were full of shit. But to try and say they were the family of someone who’d been dead and then healing for one hundred years…Well, it was easier, wasn’t it? It would be so much harder to recognise Aryll as an old woman, when he only ever knew a little girl.

That’s it! he realised.

“They won’t be able to prove it,” Link said to Zelda. “They’re strangers, they don’t know a damn thing about my family. They don’t know anything about Aryll! All we need to do is ask them questions and their little scam will fall apart!”

Zelda’s eyes widened. “Oh,” she said. “Oh, yes! Perfect, we can do that. Yes!” She grabbed a pen and a clean sheet of paper from her pile on the table and immediately began to write.

“Uh…Zelda? What’cha doing?”

“Writing questions, Link,” Zelda said, glaring at the paper like it was Ganon himself. “These con-artists won’t get anywhere near you, I promise.”

Purah must have received a letter too, because she (literally) kicked their door down with a shout of, “WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT!?”

“Language,” Zelda said, the filthy hypocrite. She was still writing questions.

This was her fourth sheet of paper. Link was simultaneously impressed and intimidated, but that was the norm when he was around Zelda. His best friend was, as ever, scarily impressive. 

“THE ABSOLUTE NERVE OF- what are you doing?” Purah cut off her budding rant, squinting at Zelda’s lists.

“We’re going to prove they’re fakes,” Zelda said. “If we ask them any questions about the Hallow family, their scam will fall apart.”

“There’s stuff I don’t even remember,” Link said. “And everyone else-” Died. “-Isn’t here, so it’s not like anyone could pass on family stories. Zelda’s writing a list of questions for Fake Aryll and her…What did you call them, Zelda?”

“Her morally corrupt little cronies,” Zelda answered primly.

“What she said,” Link said, gesturing to Zelda. 

“Count me in,” Purah said. She looked vicious. She looked utterly furious. “No one’s screwing with my friend on my watch- and absolutely no one is gonna get away with using that little girl’s memory like this.”

She looked fierce enough to fight a Lynel. Purah was always so happy-go-lucky, it was rare to see her genuinely angry. 

It was actually quite sweet to see her so defensive on Link’s behalf. 

It was just nice to not be so alone anymore.

Chapter Text

“Home, love, family; there was once a time I must have had them too. Home, love, family; I will never be complete until I find you. One step at a time, one hope then another. Who knows where this road may go? Back to who I was, on to find my future, things my heart still needs to know. Yes, let this be a sign! Let this road be mine. Let it lead me to my past and bring me home, at last!” - Journey To The Past, Anastasia

Aryll had never been to Kakariko before, though Link used to bring her back souvenirs: a lotus-shaped hair clasp, a sketchbook, new paints, and a wind chime to hang near her bedroom window.

It was a lovely village, nestled high in the hills, surrounded by mountains on all sides. Lady Impa (she was alive, goddesses above, Impa was really alive) regarded her and her family with blatant disbelief and sent them to the inn, barely clinging to her manners, her voice ice-cold.

Aryll couldn’t blame her in the least. 

“Well, really!” her daughter Rue huffed. “We’re not criminals!”

“Love, she doesn’t know us,” Aryll pointed out. “And has every reason to think we’re lying.”

One hundred years and Link’s little sister arrives right after the Calamity is dealt with? With an entire family in tow? Oh yes, Aryll wouldn’t believe it either.

She’d hardly believed Link was alive when the news arrived. She’d even struggled to believe the news was from the same Lady Impa she’d known as a girl. But if this was Impa, then she’d know if their saviours were truly Link and Zelda. Not a pair of random teenagers with the same names, but the infamous duo themselves. Impa would know, she’d never fall for fakes.

Link was alive. Somehow, he was still a teenager. The rumours mentioned some sort of stasis or healing chamber. The details on Link’s survival were muddled, but one point was clear: the Sheikah had brought her brother back from the dead.

He was alive, alive, alive. Link, her Link. Her big brother. Would he recognise her? Would he believe her? What if he thought she was lying too?

She’d brought her portraits of their family and her favourite sketchbooks for this very reason. She needed proof. She needed to show she knew their family. Goddess knew no other reminders of them survived.

Aryll looked around at her family. Rue, her eldest child; her once black hair had turned grey, always worn in a bun with a flower pinned to her hair tie. Still stubborn and fierce, even now.

Linn, her son. As grey as his sister, but his hair had once been as golden as Aryll, Link and Irma’s. He’d inherited his father’s height and towered over her. He had Aryll’s eyes though, round and grey.

Benjy, Rue’s son, hand in hand with his wife, Diana. His hair was dark brown and fell in thick spiralling curls. He had broad arms and big, calloused hands, a warm and cheerful smile. Overall, he looked like a typical Lurelin native, but he had the same nose and jawline as Aryll- the same as Link. What’s more, his eyes were the same bright blue as Link and Roland. 

Diana had long curly black hair and striking dark brown eyes, a plump woman with a bright grin and a gap in her front teeth. Her earrings were shaped like stars. 

Jerah, Linn’s husband, was fussing and plumping the pillow on Aryll’s bed. Hylia bless him, but he’d always been such a worry-wart. Linn had caught his attention by telling him, very bluntly, to “Chill the fuck out” when they were only teenagers. Aryll had laughed her head off. It was certainly one way to meet the love of your life.

Then there were Lilibeth and Nox, Benjy and Diana’s children. Both children had, to Aryll’s surprise, inherited her golden hair. As dark as their mother and with more features from Diana’s family; their granny’s nose, their grandpa’s smile and sharp cheekbones…But Aryll’s hair, gleaming gold and standing out like sore thumbs in Lurelin. So many people were quick to compliment Lilibeth and Nox’s hair. Nox even wore his nearly as long as his sister’s, reaching past his shoulder blades.

Sometimes, she thought that Lilibeth’s solemn gaze and furrowed brows looked like Link’s.

Then there was Hope, Linn and Jerah’s only daughter. Adopted when she was only a few months old, she was a petite woman with freckles all across her face and shoulders. Her husband, Morgan, had moved into Lurelin when he was barely eighteen. He’d stumbled in one day, all alone; his parents had been slaughtered by monsters. His bright red hair was considered as eye-catching as Lilibeth and Nox’s hair. He was a Hebra native and, after his loss, just wanted to get as far away as he could.

Their daughter, Ava, only ten-years-old, was the baby of the family. Her long wavy hair was a darker red than Morgan’s and always held back with ribbons. She had her father’s bright green eyes as well, but otherwise heavily resembled her mother.

It was a big bunch. It was a lot of people to spring on Link.

She wished Tyrian was here. Her husband had passed away fifteen years ago. He would have been delighted to see Kakariko, so different from Lurelin. He was always so charming and outgoing, he’d have happily chattered with any villager in sight. 

He would have held her hand and quietly urged her to have courage. He would have told her everything would be alright.

What if Link didn’t believe her? What if he didn’t even want to see her?

A few hours later, Lady Impa came to the inn, followed by her granddaughter and two guards. Lady Impa still regarded them all with narrow eyes, while Lady Paya looked anxious and wary. The two guards, Cado and Dorian, could have been carved from stone.

“I have written to Sir Link and Princess Zelda,” Lady Impa said. She looked them all over, frowning. “They will know if you…Well. If you are truly who you claim to be.”

“For pity’s sake, we’re not lying!” Rue burst out. Impa only raised an eyebrow, thoroughly unimpressed.

“Rue,” Aryll said warningly. Eighty or not, Rue was still her daughter, and she backed down at her mother’s voice.

Aryll went to her pack and brought out her portrait of Link, the one that previously hung in her living room with the rest of her family portraits. She held it out to Impa. The chief’s eyes widened, but she didn’t comment. 

“Plenty of people know what he looks like now,” Dorian said coldly. “He’s helped people all over Hyrule.”

Impa stared at Aryll. Her eyes swept over Aryll’s family again, lingering on Nox and Lilibeth especially, and narrowing with curiosity on Benjy. She stared again at Aryll, barely blinking. 

“I have portraits of everyone, Lady Impa,” Aryll said quietly. “My whole family.”

Lady Impa didn’t comment. She bid them farewell and gestured for her granddaughter to follow her. Cado swiftly left, but Dorian lingered by the door.

“He’s a good boy,” Dorian said gruffly. “A genuinely good person. He-” Dorian broke off, blinking rapidly and scowling at the ground. He took a deep breath and glared at them. “If you’re here to get rupees or fame, or whatever it is you want or think you'll get…If you’re just here to cause that boy more pain, I won’t stand for it. If you’re lying, I’ll give you the chance to leave now. If you don’t leave, if you stay and I find out you’re lying, you will answer to me.”

Rue huffed, plainly offended. Linn nodded solemnly. Nox crossed his arms and met Dorian’s gaze straight on, like it was a challenge.

Aryll was just relieved to see that someone loved Link so much.

“I won’t hurt him,” she said to Dorian. “Not ever.”

“You…It's you and me. And if I only could, I'd make a deal with God, and I'd get him to swap our places. Be runnin' up that road, be runnin' up that hill, be runnin' up that building. Say, if I only could…” - Running Up That Hill, Kate Bush

Two days later, Aryll and her family were summoned to Lady Impa’s manor. Cado led them around the outside of the manor, to the very back of the decking where a long table and chairs had been set up.

Sitting at the table, sipping tea from a porcelain cup, was none other than Princess Zelda. Next to her, bizarrely enough, was a little Sheikah girl wearing bright red glasses. The little girl glared at them, fists clenched on the table.

Link was nowhere in sight.

“Welcome,” Lady Impa said with icy courtesy.

Aryll curtsied to Zelda as best she could, admittedly wobbly. Old age and walking cane aside, she’d never had court manners. 

“Princess Zelda,” she said. “It’s lovely to see you again.”

Princess Zelda regarded her with a commanding, regal gaze. Even now, sitting there in trousers, travelling boots and a dark green tunic, she looked every inch the part of a princess. She had a bunch of papers next to her, tied together with a black ribbon. 

“Hello, madam,” Princess Zelda said. She looked at Aryll’s family and added, “Hello to all of you. I understand you’ve made a very bold claim.” She looked at Aryll again and gestured to the seat across from her. “Please take a seat.”

Aryll sat. One by one, her family sat. Little Ava leaned forward, gazing at Zelda with awe- no, not Zelda herself, but her hair.

“You’ve got really pretty hair,” she said.

Zelda smiled softly. “Thank you, little one. So do you,” she said. “Now then…” She untied her papers and smoothed them out, spreading them out before her. She looked at Aryll, her eyes suddenly hard. “Prove it,” she said simply.

“Pardon me?”

“Prove it,” Zelda repeated firmly. “You say you’re Aryll? That you are all Link’s family? Prove it. If you think for one second you are getting anywhere near my best friend without proof, you are sorely mistaken.”

In answer, Aryll placed her family portraits on the table. Zelda stared at them; her eyes widened a fraction.

Lady Impa leaned forward slightly, peering at each portrait. Irma, Link, Roland, Calla, Duncan, Epona. She’d brought Rosie’s portrait, desperate to tell Link all about her, the woman who had helped Aryll and Irma so much.

“Who is this?” Zelda asked, tapping Rosie’s portrait.

“That is Auntie Rosie,” Aryll said. “Not an aunt by blood, of course. But she escaped Castle Town with me and Mama, and she stayed with us. She helped us both so much. When we moved to Lurelin, she came with us.”

Zelda stared at Irma’s portrait; the long braid, the smirk, the beauty that Link and Aryll had inherited. 

“Mama wrote a letter for him,” Aryll said. “Before we left Hateno. I…I brought it. He should have it.”

Zelda, Lady Impa and the little girl exchanged glances. By some silent agreement, they turned to face Aryll and her family in eerie sync.

The little girl stood on her seat and leaned forward, hands planted on the table.

“What’s Linky’s favourite meal?” she demanded.

Linky? Wait a minute, the only person to call him that was…

“Purah!?” Aryll gasped. “How…?”

“I’m the one asking questions here,” the little girl all but snarled. Could it truly be Doctor Purah? “What’s Linky’s favourite meal?”

“...Anything,” Aryll said faintly, head reeling. “But especially gourmet meat and rice bowls with spice. And our Nana’s wildberry muffins.”

Purah (Aryll didn’t know what else to call her, so she’d stick to her…impossible conclusion) leaned back with a thoughtful hum.

“What was Aryll’s favourite snack?” Zelda asked.

“Honey candy,” Aryll said. “Still is.”

“What can you tell me of Link and Princess Mipha?” Zelda asked.

“Link had a socking great crush on her,” Aryll said straight away, unable to hold back her grin. Memories of Link blushing terribly at the mere mention of Mipha immediately sprung to mind. “And she adored him too.” She remembered the breathless smiles Mipha shot Link’s way. Aryll smiled at Zelda and added, “I believed you teased them relentlessly, Your Highness.”

Zelda was unreadable.

“...I heard a couple of castle servants talking about something called The Blue Outfit,” Aryll said, wondering if it was at all relevant. But the maids had been gazing wistfully at her brother and whispering about how lucky Princess Mipha was. “Link wouldn’t tell me what it was.”

She’d come to see Link two days after Nayru’s Festival and when Aryll asked what the maids were talking about and why they kept smiling at Link so weirdly, Link went as pink as a hearty radish and wouldn’t answer her. He quickly steered her towards the castle gardens instead.

Purah snorted into her hands. Even Impa gave an amused smile. 

Zelda raised an eyebrow and sipped her tea.

“What was Mrs Irma’s job?” she asked. “Before she married Sir Roland.”

“She was in a band,” Aryll said promptly. “She was the lead singer. She played the lute and the banjo.”

Zelda looked at her papers. “Link’s birthday,” she said.

“First of February. First day of spring,” Aryll answered.

“What birthday gift did Link give Aryll for her eighth birthday?” Zelda asked, eyes narrowed.

“A doll I’d been desperate to have for months,” Aryll said. “She was the most expensive doll in the doll maker’s shop. She had joints in her arms and legs, so I could bend them and pretend she was walking.  Long curly gold hair and big blue eyes; she had a silky pink dress with ribbons and frills, and even tiny high-heeled boots with pearl buttons. I called her Lucy.”

All around her, her family was silent. Impa, Purah and Zelda stared at her, all perfectly blank.

“What’s Link’s sign name for his mother?” Zelda demanded.

“Mama,” Aryll said.

“For his father?”

“Papa.”

“His grandmother?”

“Nana.”

“His uncle?”

“Uncle Laugh.”

Zelda took a deep breath. Something in her gaze was more vulnerable now. Her lip quivered.

“His horse’s name?”

“Epona. He loved her.”

“What was his sign name for me?”

“Scholar,” Aryll answered. 

Zelda tilted her chin up. “What was Aryll’s sign name for me?” she asked. “The one Link asked her to stop using?”

Princess Brat, Aryll signed with a rueful smile. I didn’t trust you at first.

Zelda stared at her. Impa had turned bone white. Purah’s eyes were narrowed and her clenched fists shook.

Zelda continued to stare. Aryll held her gaze. The princess looked close to tears.

What was his sign name for A-R-Y-L-L? she asked.

Heart, Aryll signed.

What was Aryll’s sign name for L-I-N-K?

Gold, Aryll said. For his hair. She hesitated and added, The older I got, the more I understood it wasn’t just for his hair. It was for his heart too. You know as well as I do, Princess, that he is good and selfless to his core. Sometimes too much.

Tears fell from Zelda’s eyes. 

What is the Master Sword’s sign name?

Aryll gave a small, wobbly smile. Silverbells, for Fi, she signed.

Almost no one even knew Fi existed, let alone that Link spoke to her. How many people knew Fi’s sign name? How many people knew Fi's name at all; that the Master Sword was much more than an "enchanted" sword?

How many people knew anything about the Hallow family anymore?

Well…Zelda knew. As did Impa and Purah.

Zelda’s smile was incredulous. Lady Impa stared at Aryll with big, stunned eyes. Purah’s mouth hung open.

The portraits, the sign names, the doll; all the little details that made up a family.

Undeniable.

“...Aryll?” Zelda asked, voice breaking.

“Long time no see, Princess,” Aryll said, struggling with her own tears. Zelda believed her, oh thank goodness, Zelda knew her.

“Aryll,” Zelda sobbed. She jumped from her seat and ran across the table to Aryll, throwing herself at Aryll in a tight hug. “Oh, Aryll.”

Purah ran full tilt away, screaming incoherently but Aryll picked up one word loud and clear: “LINKY!”

“Someone holds me safe and warm. Horses prance through a silver storm. Figures dancing gracefully across my memory. Far away, long ago, glowing dim as an ember. Things my heart used to know; things it yearns to remember. And a song someone sings, once upon a December.” - Once Upon A December, Anastasia

Link sat in one of Impa’s guest rooms with Paya. Zelda had been quite firm that she wouldn’t let Link anywhere near these people until they knew for sure if…Well, if they were lying. Then he could decide what to do with them.

And if they weren’t lying…

He didn’t know how he’d handle that.

He held Aryll’s doll close to his chest, poor battered Lucy. She was missing an arm and chunks of her hair were missing. Even after a thorough cleaning, her hair didn’t gleam the way it used to, though Zelda had delicately brushed out all the many knots and tangles. Sophie had fixed her torn and frayed dress after Link cleaned it, but the dress still looked worn down and some stains simply didn’t come out. Her little boots were scuffed and stained and the tiny buttons were long gone.

Poor little broken doll. Link’s shouldn’t t relate to an inanimate object so much.

Paya tried to keep him distracted, telling him village gossip and asking about Hateno. It didn’t help; Link could barely focus. It was obvious Paya was nervous too; she kept fidgeting and getting up to pace around. Her voice was too cheerful, too loud.

They were both scared.

Then they heard Purah start to scream.

“LINKY! LINKY!”

There were rapid footsteps pounding up the stairs and Purah threw the door open, gasping for breath. She was grinning broadly, tears in her eyes.

She was grinning. If Purah was happy, if she was so excited then that meant…That meant…

Link stood on numb legs, staring at his friend. Paya crept forward and took his hand.

Purah looked at him and nodded.

Link couldn’t even form a coherent thought. Hand in hand with Paya, still clutching Lucy, he ran for it. He ran full tilt down the corridor, down the stairs and outside, sprinting for the back of Impa’s manor.

And, wow, that was a lot of people. Most of them looked like they were from Lurelin, barring one guy with bright red hair and green eyes; he looked like he’d burn to a crisp in the slightest bit of sunlight. There was a little girl sitting with him, holding his hand; her hair was red too, but darker. 

Two of them had the same hair colour as Link. That shouldn’t have felt like such a big deal, right? But the girl’s hair even looked all tangled and windswept, the way Link’s got when he was rushing around. One of the men had bright blue eyes, the exact same colour as Roland's...As Link's...

And the old woman…Zelda was clinging to her, sobbing. The old woman held onto Zelda like a lifeline, her eyes squeezed shut and a delighted smile on her face, even as she cried.

Everyone looked up and stared at him. Well, he hadn’t exactly been quiet. 

“Link,” Impa said, her voice hoarse. “It seems some introductions are in order.”

There were paintings on the table. Mama, Papa, Nana, Uncle Duncan and Link. Even a painting of Epona.

The old woman made a small, strangled noise. She let go of Zelda and got to her feet. Her tears fell faster; her eyes were round and grey. She had Link’s nose, the same arched eyebrows. The top of her cane was carved like a bird’s head, just like Nana’s had been. She’d tied a pink ribbon to it.

She wasn’t a little girl anymore. Link knew her anyway. He’d know her anywhere, memories or not.

He couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t even blink. If he looked away for even a second, she’d disappear. She’d drop dead, right here and now, if he looked away. She’d be gone again.

Aryll would be gone again.

“You found Lucy,” she said with a sob.

You found me, Link signed with shaking hands.

“Ya-ha-ha,” Aryll said. Link laughed. Then he sobbed. Then, the next thing he knew, they were crashing into each other, holding on for dear life.

He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t get his words out. He only sobbed against her shoulder, holding on as tight as he could, keeping her as close as he could. 

His baby sister was all grown up now.

“Link,” she kept repeating. “Link, Link, you’re alive. Link.”

I missed you so much, I’m sorry I wasn’t there, he wanted to say. What happened to Mama and Nana? I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you. 

They pulled back only slightly, just enough to look at each other.

Aryll’s smile hadn’t changed.

You’re old, Link signed.

“Oh, of course you got to keep your looks,” Aryll scoffed. She punched him on the shoulder, grinning, and Link let out a weak laugh. “What- Hylia, what happened? You’re still seventeen.”

Long story, Link signed. He looked at Zelda. Help please, he signed.

Zelda was still crying, but not sobbing.

“Yes, of course,” she said, wiping her eyes and smoothing her hair. “I’ll- oh, gracious, where to start…?” 

The boy with long gold hair helped Zelda back into her seat. Zelda gave him a shy smile and smoothed down the creases in her tunic.

Link stayed where he was, holding onto Aryll.

“The first thing you need to know,” Zelda said. “Is what happened at Blatchery Plain.”

Link handed Lucy to Aryll. She stroked the doll’s hair like it was an infant, looking at her with shining eyes. Paya sniffled and dabbed at her eyes with an embroidered handkerchief. Purah muttered something about Robbie and Jerrin “being pissed” they missed this. 

“I have a letter from Mama,” Aryll all but whispered. “When Zelda’s done explaining everything, you can have it. It’s for you.”

Link nodded quickly. A letter from his mama. He’d never expected that. After all, he thought she died in Castle Town.

Their house, like everyone else’s, was destroyed. A pile-up of skeletons (a stampede, no doubt) blocked the West Gate when Link first explored Castle Town. Hyrule’s former capital city was a death trap, nothing but ruins, malice, scorched earth and Guardians. He’d been terrified sneaking through the streets, but desperate to get a better look around, trying to find the best route into the castle. A side entrance, something to avoid having to go near the main gate, which had so many Guardians around it.

He hadn’t realised what neighbourhood he was in until he found Aryll’s toys in the garden. Then it all came flooding back.

Impa once told him that, as spotty as the information was, it was estimated only around two hundred people escaped from Castle Town. 

Over 700,000 people lived in Castle Town. 

So, really, what were the odds that anyone Link knew and loved got away? He’d tried to tell himself it was okay. He hardly remembered anyone, so what did it really matter? Why get upset over shadows?

Then he remembered. Then he broke down.

What did it really matter? he’d told himself, before he remembered. Afterwards, he felt like the biggest idiot in the world. Of course it mattered. It mattered even before he remembered, or he wouldn’t have felt so guilty about it all; he wouldn’t have gotten upset if it didn’t matter.

And then, remembering Aryll…The little girl he taught to climb trees. The little girl who took her first steps towards him, shrieking in delight and reaching for him with her tiny hands. His baby sister, who followed him everywhere. Aryll, who didn’t give a damn about holy swords and destinies, she just wanted Link to play with her. 

He loved her with all his heart, he loved her so much it hurt. He’d never been the type of kid to daydream about having siblings, but when Mama placed Aryll into his arms, he’d fallen in love on the spot. He’d have done anything for her, no questions asked.

Her sign name was “Heart” for a reason.

Aryll held him in a tight grip as Zelda explained everything. The little red-haired girl gasped dramatically from time to time. Some of the adults winced and looked horrified. The boy with Link’s hair caught his eye and gave him a shy smile.

“You’re amazing, big brother,” Aryll said quietly. 

Link shook his head. He wasn’t the amazing one here, not out of this sibling duo.

“You’re a miracle, little sister,” he said and Aryll lit up like the sun, grinning from ear to ear. 

He never wanted to stop saying little sister ever again.

Chapter Text

“And now I tell you openly, you have my heart so don't hurt me. You're what I couldn't find. A totally amazing mind, so understanding and so kind; you're everything to me. Oh, my life is changing everyday, in every possible way. And oh, my dreams, it's never quite as it seems, ‘cause you're a dream to me, dream to me.” - Dreams, The Cranberries

Aryll wondered if she was dreaming. Surely she must be dreaming. Surely life couldn’t have such a fairytale ending? She pinched herself, as if she was still a child. She didn’t wake up. Link was still in her arms. Link, living, breathing and here. 

She listened, heart pounding, as Princess Zelda explained what truly happened during the Calamity. The events of Blatchery Plain and the Shrine of Resurrection. Link’s journey across Hyrule to free the Divine Beasts and the souls of the Champions, their dear friends.

The final battle against Ganon in Hyrule Field. Aryll remembered that day; the sudden and fierce storm sweeping across Hyrule; the black clouds, crackling with red lightning and the agonised howls of distant monsters as their creator died, taking them with him. The ocean had swelled, becoming so tempestuous that the people of Lurelin feared a tsunami may follow.

And then it died down. The sun came out, the day was pleasantly warm again and the sea was calm. Even from Lurelin, they’d all seen the blast of gold on the distant horizon and the giant black and red boar-like figure soaring into the sky, only to turn into smoke and be overtaken by the golden light.

Link and Zelda, two teenagers against the world’s greatest evil. Taking Ganon on and winning. No army to back them up, no mythical Guardians. Just the ghosts of their friends and their own skills, their sheer stubborn wills. 

Her brother saved the world.

Her brother lost his memories.

“But you remember me,” Aryll said desperately, holding onto Link for dear life. “You do, don’t you?” He had to, he had Lucy, he’d recognised her on sight, he must remember…

Link nodded, holding on just as tightly. “I remember,” he said quietly, the first words she’d heard him speak in a hundred years. Two words that brought tears to her eyes. Link remembered her, that was all she needed to know.

“I missed you so much,” Aryll said hoarsely. He had more scars now but it was still Link, still her brother. Still seventeen. How bizarre was that? No matter, she’d get used to it. 

Missed you too, Link signed. His smile was still shy, just as it had been one hundred years ago. His eyes flickered questioningly to her family- their family.

“Oh goddesses, sorry,” Aryll said with a laugh. “We really should introduce everybody.”

“I wanna go first!” Ava cried, practically bouncing in her seat. She waved her hand as if to make extra sure everyone could see her. 

Link and Aryll sat next to Zelda. She saw Link take Zelda’s hand. The princess looked as overwhelmed as Aryll felt.

“They’re a mad bunch,” Aryll told them both. “Apologies in advance.”

Zelda gave a rather unroyal snort. “No one’s more mad than Link,” she said. “I saw him ride a Lynel.”

“You what!?” Aryll, Rue, Jerah and Diana all screamed. Nox burst out laughing. 

“That was one time,” Link hissed at Zelda.

“It was five times and you know it, Link!”

As dinner cooked, Link reluctantly slipped away from Aryll and went to find Zelda. Despite her best efforts, she was still a…creative cook, so she’d offered to set the table instead.

She looked shaken when Link found her. She was holding a stack of plates, staring blankly at the table.

“Zelda?”

She startled so badly that she nearly dropped the plates and Link hurried to her side, steadying her.

“Oh, Link! I’m sorry, I wasn’t- ahem. Is everything alright?”

“I just…” He trailed off uncertainly, biting his lip. Old habit said not to overstep, to only speak when spoken to. Even a hundred years later, protocol could be hard to shake. 

But really, what had protocol ever done for either of them, except make them miserable?

They’re yours too, Link signed. Zelda’s eyes widened.

“Oh- Oh Link, darling, I…They’re your family, I-”

And so are you. So they’re yours too. They can like it or fuck off.

“You don’t mean that,” she breathed, shocked.

Well, Aryll can’t, she’s stuck with me. And she loves you anyway. But we’re a package deal, so they’re your family too now. I just…Wanted to say it. I know you, you’ll spiral if I leave you alone. He paused, then added, So do I, so I can’t judge. But just…Don’t overthink it, please? You’re my family.

Zelda’s eyes watered. “I wouldn’t want to impose,” she said weakly, but she looked hopeful.

Exactly what she’d said when he told her about the house in Hateno.

You never do. It’s you and me, remember?

Zelda’s lip trembled. She put the plates down and flung herself into his arms.

“What if they don’t like me?” she asked.

“Then they’ve got terrible taste,” Link whispered. 

He meant it, all of it. He wouldn’t let Aryll go for anything, but if the rest of her family didn’t want Zelda around, or didn’t like her, they could take a long walk off a short pier. He wasn’t letting Aryll go and he wasn’t letting Zelda go. Simple as that.

Luckily, just as dinner finally started, little Ava decided to firmly break the ice. She took the seat on Zelda’s right and earnestly asked her, “Can you do my hair like yours?”

“Oh, yes,” Zelda said with a small, relieved smile. “Yes, I’d love to.”

(The next morning, he found Zelda and Ava making flower crowns together, while Lilibeth asked questions about the royal court, listening raptly to Zelda’s answers.

Yeah, nothing to worry about there.)

“In all the good times I find myself longing for change, and in the bad times I fear myself. I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in, I'll never meet the ground. Crash through the surface, where they can't hurt us, we're far from the shallow now.” - Shallow, A Star Is Born

Aryll watched Link carefully. He held the letter from Mama, eyebrows furrowed.

“I can’t read it,” he finally said.

“Link, if it’s too hard right now you don’t have to,” Aryll said gently.

“No, I just-” He gestured to the page, frowning. “The words are all…It’s like they’re bouncing around. Mama’s handwriting is too swirly for me.”

“Oh! Oh, Hylia, I nearly forgot,” Aryll said, slapping her forehead. “I'm an idiot. I’m sorry, I…I could read it for you? If that’s okay?”

Link nodded. He handed Aryll the letter like it was something precious, something fragile- which, to be fair, it was. The last words he’d ever have from their mother. A letter that waited a hundred years to be read. One that Irma never expected Link to be able to read, of course, but it had helped her a little. 

And now Link could finally know what Irma wanted to say.

“My darling boy,” Aryll began, and Link scooted closer. She took his hand and continued to read.

By the end, they were both in tears.

Maybe they’d never really stop mourning what they’d lost. Maybe that was okay. They could live with it; they could grieve and cope, they could move on. Aryll had found happiness in the end and, if she had any say, Link would too. So would Zelda.

Now, as a hundred-and-eight year old, she wondered how the hell they’d ever placed such burdens on Link and Zelda’s shoulders. Even Mipha and Revali had been so young. Just teenagers with their lives ahead of them.

Aryll had lived her life and Hylia could wait another hundred years to claim her. If the goddesses came for her now, Aryll would tell them to fuck off. They could wait their turn. She finally had Link back and nothing would take her away now.

If she knew her husband at all, she knew Tyrian would laugh and understand. He’d wait a few more years for her. Another century. Just as she’d wait for him if the situation was reversed.

Wiping her eyes, Aryll handed the letter back to Link. He held it close to his chest, like he was trying to hug Irma. 

Aryll wished they both could. She hoped their family could see this from the Sacred Realm. She hoped that Irma, Calla, Duncan and Roland could see they were okay.

She sat on Impa’s front steps, watching with a grin as Link showed Nox basic swordplay. They were going through stances again; Lilibeth kept teasing Nox so he got distracted, abandoning his stance or swing to turn around and tell her to go away.

Lilibeth didn’t even stop teasing when Link invited her to join in. If anything, it egged her on, determined to outdo her brother. Lilibeth was twenty-one, but there was no getting rid of the sibling instinct to tease.

Just look at Impa and Purah; they were over a hundred years old (even if Purah didn’t look like it) and yet they teased each other every five minutes. 

“I find myself wondering,” Impa suddenly spoke up. “About your heritage, Aryll. You’re in remarkable shape for a woman your age. Even better than I am.” She glanced at Aryll from the corner of her eye. “You may need a cane, but you stand tall and you’re in good health. May I ask, how old was Mrs Irma when she passed?”

“Mama? She was…” Aryll’s eyes widened. “She was over a hundred too. She was one hundred and fifteen…”

Impa hummed thoughtfully, a small smile on her face.

“Impa…Are you saying you think Link and I have Sheikah blood?”

“Well, Mrs Irma didn’t know anything about where she came from,” Impa said. “You’re in wonderful shape despite being one hundred and eight. You just said Mrs Irma was one hundred and fifteen when she died. And looking back…We’re called the Shadow People, you know- and you and Link were always remarkably sneaky. I listened to Mrs Irma’s stories of sneaking out of the orphanage, of scaling walls and roofs and now I find myself wondering…” Impa shrugged. “It’s possible is all I’ll say. Impossible to prove, but it’s something to consider.”

It was true, Irma didn’t know anything about her family or where they’d come from. She’d been found abandoned as a baby by the road. She could have been born anywhere. Her parents could have been anyone. 

Aryll hadn’t really thought of Irma’s age before. As for herself, when she had a terrible infection and the doctors believed she would die, Aryll croaked for them to fuck off and told them she’d live to reach two hundred. And now here she was; eight years later, still going strong. 

Linn joked that Aryll lived from sheer spite. Rue said Hylia knew that Aryll was still needed down here, and wouldn’t come for her yet.

Aryll was more in agreement with her son: tell her she couldn’t do something and she’d stubbornly find a way to do it. It was how Irma used to trick her into eating her vegetables; by saying “I bet you can’t eat them all.”

She didn’t believe Hylia had plans for her, not really. But maybe Hylia had taken pity on her and decided to let her see Link again.

Aryll normally didn’t like pity, but if this was the result of Hylia’s pity she’d gladly take it. If pity brought her brother back to her, so be it.

Hylia and the Golden Three would have to pry Link out of her arms if they wanted him again.

“Time may take us, take us far away. Surely time, time can bring us back together. Like an old school reunion, I'll be standing at the door, and you'll still look the same. One heart with a million voices, one day it could all be gone. Hold on to the words they told us, hold on to it all, my son.” - One Heart/Million Voices, New Empire

Aryll’s grin hadn’t changed. The way her eyes lit up was still the same.

“You bought the house?” she asked in delight. “Our house? The same one?”

“The very same,” Zelda confirmed and Aryll laughed outright, clapping her hands together.

“Oh, what are the odds!” his sister laughed. “I can’t believe it was still standing!”

“It nearly wasn’t,” Link said. “Bolson Construction had been hired to knock it down. And then I hired them to fix it. Bolson’s making a school in Hateno now, it should be done in…Hm, I think he said two more months?”

“Two months,” Zelda said with a nod. 

“Goddess, I feel like someone in the Sacred Realm is laughing at us,” Aryll said. “Bet it’s Uncle Duncan, he’d find this hilarious.”

Duncan would laugh about the house and groan about the fact that Link was in Lurelin, yet he and Aryll missed each other. Link sure felt like tearing his hair out when he thought of that. He’d been so close to meeting Aryll months ago! He hadn’t seen her around and he hadn’t heard Nox chasing after him as he left. Just his stupid luck. 

“Would you like to see it?” Zelda asked. “The house, I mean.”

Aryll’s grin widened. “Yes,” she said. “Goddess, yes please. And then I’m dragging you two to Lurelin for an extended vacation.”

That sounded good to him. 

He turned to Purah and said, “You’d better figure that teleportation rune out quickly.”

“Yeah, Linky?”

“I don’t want to have to travel for weeks when I want to see Aryll.”

Aryll beamed. Link wondered if he and Zelda were going to end up relocating to Lurelin. 

“Fair enough,” Purah said. She was still sketching new designs for Sheikah towers- only they wouldn’t be called that anymore. She wasn’t sure what to call them, but she wanted to create new teleportation points, now that the Sheikah towers had been torn down. They were still dismantling the shrines and Guardians. Robbie had promised that Link could be the first one to take a hammer to the Shrine of Resurrection. 

Aryll tugged on his sleeve. She had Lucy tucked under her arm and, for a moment, Link saw a little girl again, bright-eyed and eager.

“When do we leave?” she asked.

They left the very next day. Aryll’s family had all rented horses to get here. She’d ridden a horse with her daughter, Rue, but now Link helped her onto his horse, Aryll. Maybe that should be Aryll Two now? Aryll Junior?

Aryll had burst out laughing when Link sheepishly told her his horse’s name, then quickly started crying.

He’d named his horse after his sister, before he even knew he had one. 

His sister held onto him tightly. Paya and Impa stood together to wave them all goodbye. Paya giggled when Ava blew her a kiss. 

“Ready?” Link asked Aryll. Zelda was right next to them, with Aryll’s children and in-laws behind her and Aryll’s grandchildren behind them all.

“Ready,” Aryll confirmed with that bright grin.

Link snapped the reins and led the way out of Kakariko, towards Hateno.

Towards home.