He hadnāt slept well since the baby shower. Not really. A month later, the queen went into labor.
When Link was informed on the matter, anxiety filled him. He went to train with the knights to get the energy out of his system. Heād been trying to mentally prepare himself for this since heād found out Zelda was pregnant, but heā¦ heād never reallyā¦ figured out how to do so. How to be ready for this. He knew nothing of fathers, not good ones ā his two primary examples were Ganondorf and the former king, Ozen. One had tried to kill him, seeking power, and the other had reviled him, wanting to cling to the power he had. Even imagining that he was a father was terrifying. He wasnāt ready for this, and the circumstances were so absurdly horrible it terrified him all the more.
How could anyone raise a child in this? The castle was a battlefield for the nobles ā theyād tried to assassinate the queen and her child. Link could respond to such threats, but the actual fact of the little one growing in its motherās womb was utterly overwhelming.
But heād tried to tell himself heād figure it out. And every time he truly thought about it, he only became more uncertain. But what choice did he have? He had to do his duty, as a Sheikah, as the Hero, as the king, and now as a father.
But thenā¦ the baby showerā¦
He could still feel Hemisi's lips against his, smell the oils from her skin and hair, and it left him in agony. He hadn't seen her in a year, if not a little longer, and their last parting from back then had not been a good one. For just one night to completely unravel him again, after everything...
You did your duty.
He shook his head, charging towards the knight with a yell, taking out his training sword and knocking him to the ground.
He thought he'd gotten over this, but he supposed he'd never actually addressed it. This was not the time to do so, though, but it hadn't stopped haunting him.
Link wiped sweat from his brow. He should probably go to Zelda during her labor, but the mere thought of it was downright terrifying. All kinds of worries and debates swirled in his head, and he fought viciously against his sparring opponents until his head was just filled with fog instead.
Just as heād decided he should check on his laboring queen, heād received news that the baby had been born. A healthy girl. And her mother was doing well.
Linkā¦ didnāt know how to feel about it. Relief? Happiness?
All he knew was that Hemisiās words echoed in his mind. You did your duty. Come home with me to the desert.
Heā¦ he had done his duty, hadnāt he? The people had a princess. But his duty wasnāt just putting children in his queenās womb, and he knew that. No, that was just the beginning. And heā¦ he despised that.
It was stupid. Heā¦ heād slowly progressed from agitation, exhaustion, and melancholy to bitterness, and he hated himself for it.
He felt more trapped than ever, akin to a caged animal that was slowly dying, a flower hidden in shadow that wilted as it wept for the sun.
And he couldnāt be angry at anyone about it but himself. And he shouldnāt even be angry ā this was to help Hyrule, this should be a good thing. He'd known when he'd accepted Zelda's proposal that they were doing this to save Hyrule.
But the main feeling that kept him from seeing the queen that day wasnāt his bitterness. It was fear.
What if he was angry at the baby too, transferred all his problems to her? What if he blamed her, looked at the physical representation of his sacrifice and resented everything about her? What kind of horrible father, horrible person, would he be then? He couldnāt, he wouldnāt, and so he avoided both Zelda and theirāher child entirely.
Besides, he desperately tried to reason, somebody had to make sure the nobles didnāt do anything while she was out of commission. They quickly began to swarm Link, congratulating him (why did that make him feel like he couldnāt breathe?) and making suggestions about things āin the queenās absence.ā
Link slept even less. The night after Zelda had given birth heād fled to one of the turrets of the castle, shivering in the damp, chilly spring night air, occasionally peeking and sliding down some ivy on the wall to make sure she was safe. He could at least protect her, even if he couldnāt get near her or the child. By morning, his attendants finally found him and brought him inside, shivering and exhausted as he was.
He felt pathetic. He didnāt know what he felt.
He didnāt sleep much beyond that, honestly. The nobles wouldnāt leave him alone during the day, and he couldnāt shut his eyes at night.
About a week later, he was standing at the queenās door, barely able to keep his eyes open and barely able to keep his spiraling emotions in check. Heād been summoned by the queen, escorted there personally by Lady Impa, as if being fetched like he was in trouble. He hadnāt seen his chief since the babyās birth, as sheād been tending to the queen. He supposed that was fair. But goddesses he did not want to be here, and he could feel his paper thin patience fragmenting as the seconds ticked by.
When he entered, he saw the queen sitting on a chaise in front of her large bed. She looked commanding, the usual stoic features she wore in court clearly plastered to her face. Her war paint, heād used to think of it. He supposed it was still true.
Link bowed stiffly. āYou summoned me, Your Majesty?ā
āYou havenāt come once,ā Zelda said almost accusingly, eyes shinier than normal. āYou didn't check on me or your own daughter.ā
Oh, these were accusations. His queen was angry and hurt.
Your own daughter.
He felt like he wanted to explode, to snap at her and also apologize. He did but didnāt know why he was feeling this way, he didnāt know how to stop feeling this way, how to fix this and just do his duty.
Just hearing that thought process echo the tired rhetoric heād told himself his entire life made him want to throw up.
Queen Zelda shifted a little at his silence, blinking a few times. Her neutral expression crumbled in lieu of a far more vulnerable one. āDo youā¦ want to see her?ā
Link stared back at her, stony face twitching a moment, emotion watering his eyes. He swallowed hard, resolute and angry, tried to imagine seeing the child and fearing the result, heart a pile of ash surrounded by ice cold walls. āNo.ā
With that, he turned on his heel and left the room. Zelda bit her lip, fighting how it wobbled, before eventually breaking down into tears.
Link didnāt hear it. He just kept walking.
It didnāt take long before Impa intercepted him.
āLink!ā she called. āYour behavior is bordering on childish. This is completely unacceptable, and you know it.ā
Link froze for an instant, his heart skipping a beat, heat scorching his cheeks and ears, mind screaming. He whirled on his chief, on a woman heād trusted and loved, and lost it. āChildish?! Youaccuse me ofāā
He honestly couldnāt even get words out at this point. He was drowning so much he could practically taste his own bitterness and rage, his own despair and helplessness, his throat constricted as if he were choking himself, world spinning.
āAs the king and her husband, as a Sheikah, itās your duty to help her,ā Impa said sternly. āNot only that, but your behavior is downright cruel. You didnāt support her once during her pregnancy, during her laboringāā
The words finally fought through the confines of his chest and throat, demanding to be heard, and he hissed, āDonāt speak to me of obligations; I know my duty! I swore my life to it, I gave up the love of my life for it, I gave up my life for it! Donāt you dare ask me to spare one more ounce of blood when I have shed every single drop I have for her!ā
His vehemence cut off any argument from his chief, as she watched him in stunned silence, and Link immediately felt guilt pull at him. He was far too worked up to take the words back, though, and he stormed off, dismissing the servants from being anywhere remotely near his quarters, and slid to the ground as soon as he was shut away.
What had he justā
Link scraped both hands down his face, terrified and furious and hurting and he didnāt even know what else.
Heād yelled at his chiefāand the queenāZeldaā
Impa was right. Link was being cruel. He was no Hero, no king, no husband, no father, no Sheikah.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
ā Live Streamingā Interactive Chatā Private Showsā HD Qualityā Free Actions
Free to watch ā¢ No registration required ā¢ HD streaming
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
ā Live Streamingā Interactive Chatā Private Showsā HD Qualityā Free Actions
Free to watch ā¢ No registration required ā¢ HD streaming
Yes, ok. I'm sending you a card that I bought for my wife, but decided that it worked for you too. Apart from the birthday part. Wanna make something of it?
