#finally holy cow | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

skyloftian-nutcase · 2 years ago

Text

Link's Parents Play Breath of the Wild! Pt 7

Hello! More fun with the parents! :D I wanted to say first before we get into it that the idea of naming Link’s father Abel is entirely from the wonderful @telemna-hyelle, so all props and acknowledgement to her for that. :)

Summary: The Soul of the Hero will always be there to save Hyrule. But when Calamity Ganon is nearly victorious in killing him, it's those that bear the Blood of the Hero who will prevail. Ten years after the Great Calamity, the Shrine of Resurrection is damaged and Link's parents fight to save their son and Hyrule along with him. i.e. Link's parents play BotW!

AO3 link

First chapter

<<Previous // Next>>

The Great Plateau - Hylia's Blessing

"The king's what?"

Tilieth had immediately wrapped her husband and son in an enormous hug when they'd returned, relieved they were both still alive and thanking Hylia for answering her fervent prayers, but hearing a ghost story was the last thing she was expecting.

"Is... is he still.. you know..." she asked nervously, looking around. She shouldn't be nervous, she supposed, seeing as the king wouldn't be a malevolent figure, but still.

She was terrified of ghosts.

Tilieth couldn't understand ghosts, couldn't understand anything about them. There was no logical explanation behind why a spirit, no longer bound to physical existence, would remain in the physical world. There was no reasoning to figure out how to help or stop such an occurrence, or how to defend against a spirit who wished to do harm.

But the king? As a ghost? Was this some sort of punishment from the goddesses for not protecting Hyrule?

"He's not here, if that's what you're asking," Abel answered as he laid Link on their bed. Til immediately removed his dressings to examine his wounds.

"Look," she whispered. "There's no more bone visible in any of them. But... they're still..."

"Horrible," Abel finished for her. "He could still die from these, Til."

Til bit her lip as the words sank in. Her husband had mentioned that they would have to visit more shrines, but she'd really hoped the four on the plateau would be enough. The thought of taking Link off the plateau went against everything they'd been trying to accomplish for the last decade.

Then again, that goal was already moot anyway.

She wouldn't give up hope, though. She couldn't. However minimal, they were making progress.

"I'm going to clean him and re-dress his wounds," she said finally, trying to grasp at something to help.

Abel pulled out the slate. "And I'll plan our trip."

Tilieth tried to ignore the anxiety that bubbled in her stomach at the word. "Abel... we..."

Her words trailed off into the quiet birdsong of the evening. Abel watched her a while longer, waiting for her to continue, but she couldn't. How could she articulate that after ten years on this abandoned, forsaken hunk of earth this was the only place she felt safe, both for herself and her son?

How could she say she didn't want to leave?

After a few moments, she sighed, shaking her head as Abel continued to wait, and he resumed what he was doing at the motion. Her husband was a loving man, but he was not good at reading emotions. He'd leave her be unless she spoke up.

And she couldn't speak up.

Grabbing some water, soap, and a cloth, she worked on bathing Link and tried to let the movement and the reassurance of seeing her boy breathing calm her down. Eventually she had his wounds covered and some spare clothes on him, leaving just his hair. She ran her fingers through gently, separating knots and getting blood and dirt out.

Abel sighed, standing from the table. She glanced at him. "What is it?"

"This slate only has the plateau mapped," Abel explained. "I think we'll have to visit the other towers to expand it. From what I remember of the land, and from what we can see up here, Kakariko is close to a week's hike away from here."

"Kakariko?"

Her husband nodded. "We should go there first. The Sheikah might be able to give us more information on the shrines and where to find them."

"Or they could repair the Shrine of Resurrection," Tilieth suggested, massaging Link's scalp and kissing him on the forehead.

"The Shrine of Resurrection is gone!" Abel snapped, making Til jump. As quickly as he'd spat the words out, he took a calming breath, rubbing his face with his hands and walking to her. "I'm sorry. I'm--I don't know if he's going to--it's a week to Kakariko. He--"

Tilieth slowly rose from where she'd been sitting on the bed. "You don't think he'll survive the trip."

Abel bit his lip, looking away. His eyes glistened with unshed tears, face flushed as he fought with all his might to maintain his composure. Clearing his throat, he said, "No. I don't. Not if he can't drink anything. I've seen soldiers die from thirst after a few days. He's already been out of that shrine for two now."

The couple glanced back at their son, a heaviness filling the simple home, and Tilieth had to step out as Abel paced with the slate in hand.

There has to be a chance, she told herself. But maybe leaving wasn't the right course of action, based on what Abel said?

Or leaving as soon as possible was the course of action. The only notable, verifiable things that had helped Link were those shrines. There was no denying that.

And as terrified as she was of leaving, she was even more terrified of losing her son.

Tilieth turned, ready to go back inside when she saw what looked like petals and tiny leaves floating in a strange circular motion just above the house. What in the world...?

Climbing the log walls, she pulled herself onto the roof and reached out tentatively, and the leaves and petals coalesced into a single point before another tiny woodland creature popped out of thin air. "Yahaha! You found me!"

Til stared in bewilderment. "Another Korok? What are you doing at our house?"

"Oh! Is this your house? It's very nice!" the Korok said cheerily. "Have this since you found me before Hestu!"

Whoever this Hestu was, clearly he had a lot of little woodland children to look after.

Taking the seed, Til gave a small smile in appreciation and climbed back down, even more befuddled than before. She wasn't going to question the whims of magical forest creatures, but...

Shaking her head, she went back inside. Abel was sitting on the bed with Link's head on his lap, but his eyes were on her.

"Was there a reason why you were climbing on the roof?" he asked with only mild exasperation, eyebrow raised.

"There was a Korok up there," she explained with a dismissive wave of her hand, pocketing the seed.

Abel blinked. "A what?"

"Nothing dangerous," Til summarized - that was all he wanted to know anyway. The seed felt smooth and warm in her pocket, and she clung to it with resolve as she said, "We should get going."

"What?"

"Kakariko. We should leave now," Til continued before her courage failed her. "You--you said it yourself. He won't survive much longer without food and water, and the only way he's going to get better quickly enough for that is the shrines. There are no more on the plateau. I'll pack food, you pack supplies. We need to leave."

Her husband watched her a moment longer, his hand resting on Link's forehead, and then he nodded quietly. The couple packed in haste and in silence, and they were ready to leave by midnight. They agreed to rest up and leave at dawn, but the anxiety kept Til awake for nearly the rest of the night. She held Link close to her as Abel settled into an uneasy sleep.

What if there are guardians down there? What if he can't drink? What if even if we make it to Kakariko, Impa doesn't know anything? What if monsters besiege us?

What if Link dies?

Til let out a shaky breath, burying her face in Link's hair. The thoughts wouldn't silence no matter how hard she tried to focus on something else, but eventually a rainstorm swept through and distracted her, lulling her to sleep long enough to realize she'd barely gotten any rest by the time Abel was shaking her awake.

"I want to go to the temple first," she said blearily. "Before we leave."

Abel acquiesced, and the pair quietly dragged their feet up the hill to the destroyed temple. The carpets had long since rotted away, bits of earth being dragged in by the wind and weather. The pews had mostly rotted away by now, overgrown and worn.

Hylia's statue stood as steadfastly as ever despite it all.

Tilieth knelt in front of the statue with Link on the ground at her knees. Abel stood guard just a few paces away, growing increasingly more paranoid about enemies after the king's remark.

Oh Hylia, she prayed. Please grant us the grace to endure this task. Help us to overcome all the trials that you might lay before us. Protect Link, heal him, help him recover.

A gentle breeze blew through the demolished temple, and sunlight suddenly seemed to shine even brighter. Tilieth smiled at it, reading into it as a reassurance from the goddess herself.

Link coughed.

Startled, Til immediately relaxed her posture so she was hovering over her son as Abel rushed over.

"Link?" Abel whispered softly, hand on their boy's chest. Til ran her fingers through Link's hair, prompting him as well.

Link's fingers twitched, and his brow furrowed ever so slightly. He leaned into Tilieth's touch, and then...

And then his eyes opened.

"Link!" both his parents exclaimed, and Abel pulled him into a seated position as Tilieth embraced him.

Link remained limp in his parents' hold, and when Til pulled away, his eyes were drooping.

"Wait, wait, sweetheart, you need to eat," Til said hastily as Link's head bobbed forward.

"Never mind food, we need him to drink," Abel said hurriedly, pulling out a flask. "I'll give him water, you try to find something for him to munch on. Link? Son, open your eyes again, come on."

As Til scrambled for some stew that she had packed away, she heard her husband continue to prompt Link repeatedly. By the time she was looking back at him, she saw him nearly choke on some water, though he seemed awake enough to swallow on reflex.

After a few sips, Link was unable to keep his eyes open and passed out.

Til and Abel exchanged a glance and a sigh of relief.

Their boy was coming back to them.

#link's parents play botw #I CAN FINALLY LEAVE THE PLATEAU NOW HURRAY #I've swept through the darn place so many times I'm pretty sure I've gotten all the treasure chests and korok seeds holy cow #ready to get out of here LOL #all right let's have an adventure!#breath of the wild #botw #link's family #breath of the wild link #botw link #legend of zelda #writing

35 notes · View notes