TLOZ, Rebirth

Another two days passed and Zelda still hung against the wall, her body ready to give out from the lack of nutrition. No one had come into the room, not even Granadhim. The air was cool and the curtains were still closed over the windows, letting in very little light. Zelda looked around at the now familiar prison and hummed quietly. It wasn't a very upbeat tune, just a melody her nurse maid, Impa, use to play for her when she was young.

'How I miss those days,' thought Zelda. She smiled at herself and chuckled behind her gag. 'Though I don't mind so much the times now; that is, before all of this here happened.' Zelda again laughed at herself and looked around the room. The darkness made her sleepy, but there was no way for her to lean against her shoulder without discomfort. But she tried anyway. She was just getting her head situated when the doors burst open. Zelda turned her head and saw Naboru enter the room. She opened the curtains and then turned to Zelda.

"Well, well, you don't look so good." Naboru sauntered over and grinned slyly. "Poor Zelda. It hurts being treated like this, doesn't it; but I can help you out. I can get you out of this room and treated properly. What do you say?"

Zelda glared at her. 'Yeah right, like you'd let that happen.'

She couldn't make out too much of Naboru. The light hurt her eyes, but after a moment or two she was adjusted to the change and looked around to see Naboru standing near Granadhim's armchair. She ran her hand along the arm of it, lost in thought. Zelda jumped when Naboru turned to her and came over to rest a hand on her stomach.

"How does it feel?" she asked. "Is it as wonderful as I believe it will be?"

Naboru looked up at Zelda with lost, longing eyes. This was not the woman who had come in a moment ago, full of evil intent. She was just a woman who desperately wanted a child. Zelda blinked, quickly changing to the woman's behavior. She stared back at Naboru, softly, caringly. Her heart went out to her. How could she have missed this side of her? Zelda wanted to tell her exactly how she felt, but with the gag in place, she could do nothing but mumble. Naboru noticed and quickly removed her gag.

"Aw," Zelda gasped. She looked at Naboru who was staring at her, her hand still on Zelda's abdomen. "It is wonderful, Naboru. Unbelievable. It's a thing all of its own to everyone. All women have their own words for it. All I can give you is mine. But trust me, when you have your own, you'll be delighted beyond belief."

Naboru smiled shyly. "I pray that time will be very soon."

Light filtered in under Link's closed eyes. His body ached and it hurt to breathe. Slowly, Link opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. He was in one of the houses in Monetry. A makeshift cot had been made out of his saddlebags and a bed frame, and he was lying there now, unable to move. He tried to think back to what had happened, but it made his head hurt, so he closed his eyes and tried to conjure Zelda's face in his mind. He saw her the day he had rescued her from Ganon, half dead. He saw her when they had shared a day at the Castle Town fair, laughing over all the glitter covering their clothes from the Star Catching game. He saw her the day they had been married, shining in her white gown. Then the day she had told him she was pregnant with Duiren, her face red with excitement. The day Duiren was born; Zelda had insisted he be the first to hold his son. The last three years watching his son grow up before his eyes and seeing Zelda's smiling face every day cheering him up. A smile played across his lips and he laughed inwardly. 'All those times and it comes back to this. Please don't let this be a repeat each time we have a kid.' This time, a chuckle escaped Link's lips, and the door opened. He listened to the footsteps as they approached his bedside. Opening his eyes, he came face to face with the Spirit of Fire. She held the water skin from his satchel and a rag.

"Ah, welcome back," she said with a cheerful smile. "You almost died there a few days ago. Scared me to death." She chuckled and wetted the rag. She coaxed Link up into a half sitting position and removed the makeshift bandages from across his chest. Looking down, Link grimaced. A long ugly mark ran directly from his left shoulder to just above his right hip. The Spirit's face fell as she dabbed the scar. "You lost a lot of blood, a deadly amount. You're lucky I was there. If that had been a regular battle, you would be a goner right now." She dipped the rag over the water skin and continued cleaning the wound. "I was able to heal most of the gash. It's no longer as deep and it won't scar when it heals, but it's going to still take a while for it heal."

Link watched as she talked. He was grateful to her; the one he had come to save had saved him. Shakily, he lifted a hand and placed it on her shoulder. She jumped and looked down at him. "Thank-you," he said, "for everything."

The Spirit of Fire smiled shyly then stood and left. At the door she turned back around and looked at him. "Rest now. I'll be back in a few hours with some food."

Link nodded and she left. Settling back down, he closed his eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Several hours later, Link awoke and found the room completely dark. He looked around frantically, trying to figure out why he was where he was. It came back to him with a sharp pain from his chest and shoulder. Link hissed and wrapped an arm around his torso. Slowly, he forced himself onto his feet and walked out the door, almost tripping over the Spirit of Fire who was just getting ready to enter the room.

"AH!" cried the Spirit.

Link looked at her and started laughing. "Am I that scary?"

The Spirit's mouth dropped, but she quickly shut it and pushed past Link into the room. "Oh, very funny. I was just bringing you your food."

Link turned and saw the bundle that was splayed on his cot. He came back and sat down, wincing from the pain. Picking up a piece of the jerky, he tore a part off and chewed it slowly. "Will we be able to head out soon? I need to be returning you to your guardian before he thinks something bad has happened."

The Spirit walked to the door and took hold of the knob. "Whenever you are ready, young Hero."

Link nodded and took a swig from his water skin. "As soon as I'm finished here. I want to get going as soon as possible."

The Spirit of Fire bowed and left the room. Link sat on the crude cot, thinking of the journey ahead. He had so many more things to do before he could reclaim Zelda and his son, but he wished there was a shortcut. With a sigh, Link got to his feet and grabbed his tunic and undershirts. Across the entire front, a line was sewn from where it had been ripped apart by the shadow Link. Link chuckled and pulled the shirts on; taking up his other things after they had been packed he left the room and came outside to where the Spirit of Fire stood next to Epona. Link froze in his tracks as he stared at the Spirit; her hair was glowing a soft fiery orange color. She stood next to Epona, stroking her muzzle and singing a battle tune. Looking up, she saw Link and stood back a little ways from Epona.

"She's ready to go, young Hero," said the Spirit.

Link threw his saddle bags onto the saddle and secured them then turned to the Spirit. "Shall we head out?" Link held out his hand and she took it, letting him help her up into the saddle before he, too, swung himself up behind her. "Now let's get going, I don't want to be late for breakfast."