#gwonam

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"HEY!"

Link bolted awake.

A little girl with a sparkling headband was frowning by his window seat, squinting down at him with her arms crossed.

"This is my secret spot!” she huffed. “Who are you?"

Link clutched a pillow, eyes blown wide and shoulders trembling. Who was this girl? Was she mad? She looked mad. Mad at him. He'd done something bad, hadn’t he? What would his Papa say?

...No, Link thought. Papa can’t say anything anymore.

The little boy hiccupped and buried his head in the pillow, shaking with fresh tears.

Beside him, the little girl gasped.

“H-hey, hey wait!” she stuttered in a panic. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to—please don’t cry, you can be here if you want!”

Vaguely, Link felt the little girl shuffle onto the window seat beside him, her fancy dress fanning out like a butterfly around her. 

"Hey,” she said softly, patting him with her small hand. "Why are you sad?"

Link shrunk further in on himself, shaking his head desperately. He didn’t want to talk. He couldn’t. Not without Papa.

The little girl hummed as if she were stuck on a very hard puzzle. “You kinda look familiar…” she said. “I think I saw you with the knights once. Hey, did you know? They just came back from a big mission today—! Oh. But then Impa said something bad had happened and everybody was really quiet. I think the captain—”

Link whimpered, pulling the pillow over his head as if that could block out the truth.

The girl was silent for a long time.

Link had always had a hard time with clocks, but he knew the quiet must have lasted ages in that empty chamber. Idly, he watched the specks of dust that were floating around in the afternoon sunlight. He wished he could float like that, too.

Slowly, the little girl scooted closer to him, leaning down to brush her shoulder against his. Quietly, softly, she asked, "You lost your daddy, didn't you?"

His heart shattered.

Link broke into a shaking sob and nodded, feeling utterly, completely alone. The girl griped his arm tighter, but what more was there to say to her, when he’d lost his whole world? What else could he—

Little arms wrapped around his shoulders and yanked him into a sitting hug. As if she had turned into a bear, the girl clung tightly to Link’s shoulders and buried herself there, refusing to let go for even a moment.

The warmth of her hug was overwhelming. It poured out from her heart, silent yet strong, spreading across every painful part in Link’s chest. It spilled out of him through his tears, washing out his loneliness. And somehow… he found himself clinging back.

After a long stillness, once Link had cried all his tears away, the girl poked his arm gently. "…Hey."

He rubbed his nose with his sleeve and looked up at her.

"My name's Zelda. Do you want to read a story with me?"

Link sniffed and looked away. "…Dunno," he murmured, barely audible. "’S hard."

"That's ok," the little princess pulled out a book from behind one of her pillows. "I know how it goes! Wanna listen? Oh, and then we can go explore the castle!"

Link glanced at her timidly, but her friendliness was beginning to win him over. She's not so scary after all, he thought. She's... nice. Warm. She gave me a hug.

And who could say no to a tour of the castle?

Warm light washed over their backs from a window full of the setting sun. It was getting late, and Link knew that he was probably being searched for... but going back home now would only make him think of sad things.

He scooted closer so he could see the book's pictures. "…How's it go?"

Zelda beamed. Delighted, she began to recite the story alongside her brand-new friend.

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Out on the twilit streets of Castle Town square, Lord Kiro was losing his mind.

The frantic knight tore down yet another alleyway, the patter of his leather boots bouncing off the walls. The blue feather once fixed to his cavalier hat had long since come undone, and he’d lost count of how many times he’d dropped the cap and subsequentially stepped on it.

Not that anything that trivial mattered now. Not when he’d left a widow alone with nothing but her grief. Not when he’d lost track of his best friend’s only son.

Oh, Philip… Phil, you courageous, self-sacrificing fool…

He swallowed down a powerful pang of sadness as he turned in a circle, desperately calling out the boy's name until his throat began to choke him.

He couldn’t lose another person today.

“Philip,” he whispered, his bloodshot eyes refusing to stop their search. “Please. Help me find your son.”

Kiro turned a corner and froze.

There, before his very eyes, were the cold and mighty walls of Hyrule Castle.

He couldn't have...

…Except he absolutely did.

Where else could Link have so completely escaped everything, except for the labyrinth of a castle so vividly intertwined within his father’s life?

Hang on, milady Nyn, thought Kiro, striding towards his new objective. Just a little longer, and you’ll have your dear child back.

Kiro paused at the castle steps, taking one last look at the budding north star glowing in the cloudless sky. He drew in a shaky breath.

Thank you, Phil.

And that was how Lord Kiro found himself bowing to the king.

"Please allow me to look around for him, Your Majesty!" he begged. "Trouble is the farthest thing from my mind, I assure you. But the boy... he very rightly loved his father, and I fear his grief is so great that he's surely gotten lost—"

"Peace, Lord Kiro," King Harkinian said gently, motioning for him to rise. "I understand more than you know. My little Zelda acted in much the same manner when her mother passed. These dark days take their toll on all of us, young and old alike."

The king bowed his head, green eyes swimming in remorse. "My deepest empathy to you, Lord Kiro. Sir Philip was an amazing hero, and an even greater friend to you, I understand."

"Like a brother, Your Majesty.”

Harkinian hummed in thought, turning to mumble something to his advisor, Gwonam. The wise Koridian wizard nodded in approval, and with renewed spirit, the king faced Lord Kiro once more.

"In that case, we shall all search the castle without cease until his boy is found,” he decreed. “What did you say his name was?"

"The child’s name is—"

The doors to the throne room squeaked loudly behind them. The men all turned at once to see two children dash into the room, hand-in-hand.

Kiro gasped as he recognized the young princess Zelda, who held tightly to none other than…

"Link!" the lord beamed, shoulders sinking in relief.

Gwonam raised an eyebrow at the name.

"H-hi Uncle Kiro," Link waved sheepishly, hiding behind the princess.

To everyone's surprise, the little girl stepped forward. The stern look on her face could have belonged to a queen, rather than a 6-year-old, but she somehow pulled it off.

"Daddy!"

Harkinian bit his lip beneath his beard. "Yes, dear?"

"I'm the princess, so that means everybody has to listen to me, right?"

The king coughed, holding back laughter. "W-well—!"

"This is Link!" Zelda interrupted, pulling the bewildered boy up beside her. "He's my best friend now and I love him, but he was sad earlier, so I read him a book and then we went exploring! And then he was really happy! But then the mean old butler said he wasn't supposed to be here, so I said, ‘I'm the princess and I order you to let him stay,’ and he laughed, Daddy! Actually laughed!"

It was clear that Zelda found that to be the most offensive thing she'd ever heard in her life, and Link patted her back gently.

The adults were trying their best to keep straight faces.

The princess continued, oblivious, "So then I said, ‘If Daddy said Link could stay, would you listen?’ And he said yes, so I came here!"

Zelda threw her tiny arms around the boy, who hugged her back just as tightly, both close to tears. "Oh, Daddy, make him stay! Please don't make him leave, I wanna keep him!"

Harkinian and Kiro met each other's eyes, moved by the innocence before them.

Kiro looked carefully into Link’s teary gaze. "Are you truly feeling a bit better now, Link?" he asked.

Link frowned, thinking deeply, before nodding vigorously and hiding himself in Zelda's embrace.

"…She's nice," he murmured.

The adults smiled.

"…Plus she ordered me not to be sad."

Harkinian sputtered and raised his eyebrows. "Zelda!"

"It's not fair, Daddy! He's hurt! It's not fair, I don't want him to be sad, I don't want him to leave!" the little princess began to hiccup, salty tears spilling over her soft face.

Link whined desperately and hugged her close, evidently terrified that he'd done something wrong.

"Oh, my..." Zelda's nursemaid, Impa, tsked as she entered the chamber behind them. "It seems you've gotten yourself into quite the conundrum, Your Highness."

Harkinian sighed. "Oh, Zelda..."

Kiro stepped closer, kneeling down before the children. "Princess?"

She turned her head slightly, still crying into Link's shoulder.

“…Link has a mother that is ever so worried about him right now,” Kiro continued gently. “She loves Link just as much as you do, and right now, she is very, very sad. But Link can help her feel better, just like you've helped Link. So, my dear, he must to go to her tonight—"

"Noooooo!" Zelda sobbed, grasping her friend tighter.

"—But," Harkinian continued for Kiro, "Link is welcome back in the castle any time you two wish to play. He can even come tomorrow, if you'd both like."

The crying children sniffed, looking up with big, hopeful eyes. "Really?" they said in unison.

"You mean it, Your Majesty?" Lord Kiro echoed.

The king nodded. "My Zelda doesn't have anyone else her age to play with, and given the circumstances, this may be the perfect way for Link to heal."

‘For both of them to heal,’ went unsaid, but Kiro understood. He smiled down at his honorary nephew. "How does that sound, Link?"

The boy cried and nodded, hugging Zelda again in relief.

After a long, tearful goodbye, the children finally parted, and Kiro carried Link back to his worried mother. Impa stood with Zelda until the little boy left, then gently took her hand. She led the little princess to her chambers, finally leaving the king and Gwonam alone in the throne room.

"Link and Zelda... hmmm."

The king turned to his advisor. "Rupee for your thoughts, Gwonam?"

"It's just curious, Your Highness. A boy named Link and a princess named Zelda? It rings more than a few bells, does it not?"

Harkinian's eyes widened. "Oh, surely you can't be considering—"

"I think with all these monsters rising, it is foolish not to consider it," Gwonam waved a finger. "There is a very real chance this meeting was fated."

"How can you be sure? There are plenty of boys named after the heroes of the past—"

Gwonam laughed. "If you cannot trust my insight, Your Majesty, trust your own flesh and blood. Your daughter certainly seems determined to keep the boy by her side, and the bond so often shared between hero and princess is no secret amongst the legends."

Harkinian stared at him a moment longer, before allowing himself a hearty chuckle. "I see. Then it seems we may have some history unfolding before us, Gwonam."

"Indeed it does, Your Majesty," he smiled, the image of the two smiling children still fresh in their minds.

"Indeed it does."

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End of Fic!

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Author's note: Hope you liked it! Feel free to drop a comment if you did or have questions ^u^

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