Successors

Forever May You Reign

She had to remind herself every so often, that he hasn't eaten anything since the Calamity. Because he was gone.

These patron spirits of the Sacred Springs were helpful, but they weren't the same. They were servants, not family.

Ah, what she'd give to even see Link's family again.

His sister... she should be full grown now, hopefully with a family of her own.

Her family was splintered. Her child was somewhere in this long body, but the scales and such prevented her from feeling the kicks and movement. Her husband was long deceased, in a tomb that she invested all her hope in, the Shrine of Resurrection.

Saying she would kill to have him back would be an understatement. But even thinking about how much she wanted him made her whole body crumple. "Link... wake up, Link..." She didn't care about her footing giving way to her faltered weight, and she didn't care about the returning wingbeats or the screams of "My Queen! Are you alright?!"

...all she did was scream his name in agony.

...

"Good evening, wise Sheikah." Sirie bowed. "I know you've come from so far to honor our Queen, the descendant of Hylia herself. However," She looked towards Naydra's collapsed figure in the frozen water. "Her Majesty had a bit of a fall earlier, and in her already weakened state, she will not be able to lament on this day of remembrance."

An aging Impa, Purah, Horacio and a strongly-built Temitri stumbled from the crowd, followed closely by one of Purah's assistants. They made their way behind the statue where Zelda had laid, almost lifelessly, since her tumble earlier.

"How are you doing this evening, Your Majesty?" Temitri knelt into the water, gently brushing a warm hand across her face, Naydra's scales pixelating into Zelda's skin for mere moments at his touch.

She was cold. And not just because she was in Naydra's body.

"Mother, Father! Help get her out of the water!" Temitri looped his arms under her shoulders and began to drag backwards, his aging parents lifting her legs and hips together. They placed her just outside the lapping waters and lit a fire near her body.

Several red dragons, exactly like Sirie except for their color and the heat billowing from their scales, surrounded the parts of Zelda that the fire didn't reach.

"You'll be okay, Your Majesty..." Temitri whispered through burning eyes. "Please... please be okay..."

"Zelda..."

Her breath shuddered at the frighteningly familiar voice, and all the Sheikah froze in place.

"No... it can't be..." Impa mumbled, afraid to look to where the voice had come from. There was no way... and she didn't want to induce any more despair on her or Zelda.

"Zelda..." The voice was gentle and smooth. "Come here."

Zelda finally found the strength to flutter her eyes open and look towards the voice, though it was clear she was afraid. Upon seeing the voice's identity, her eyes shot open and her breath caught.

"Hi... Zelly."

"Link!" She tried to stand but lacked the strength. All the Sheikah, in awe of their young deceased king's sudden arrival, began to gather around.

Link drew closer to Zelda and cradled her to his chest, all of Naydra's features fading away. Even though he was a spirit, her body did not pass through him, and her cheeks felt his soft lips. "I missed you..." he whispered into her ear, stroking her shivering shoulders. Her stomach had become noticeably larger in the decades that passed since their last meeting, and she felt him purr upon seeing their child was growing still. "You're beautiful..."