Chapter Text
Another sunrise radiates warmly in the fortress, and the family inside slept soundly. All except for one, who was starting to stir from the morning light. Link's blue eyes slowly blinked open as the sun started to beam in his face and he had a groan as his vision started to clear a bit more. The young man felt a mass against him and looked down in his bed to see a lump against his torso. Lifting the blanket, what he saw made him smile.
His twin siblings. Lily and Leo. His little sister and brother.
He was careful to get up as to not disturb them so much. He wanted to let them sleep a bit longer, but if there was one thing he knew about them: they were light sleepers. If he moved, they would be quick to wake up. They had been like that since they were infants, newborns even, and even now, at five years old, they were still light sleepers. Much like their father.
As he got up, thankfully, he was able to get out of bed without waking the twins making him sigh in relief. To his left, Link heard a soft whisper, "Sav'otta vehvi," and Link turned to see his father awake and had greeted with a gentle smile. Seems he woke up just from hearing Link get up. Link gave a smile, "Sav'otta paqsa," he greeted in reply.
"Are you going for a bit of training," Ganondorf asked keeping his whisper soft to not wake the family.
Link shook his head a 'no' before replying just as soft, "No, not this morning. Just a walk around the fortress," he replied and even made a circling motion with his hand. Seeming to approve, he saw Ganondorf nod.
"All right, vehvi," Ganondorf said keeping his whisper soft, "Just be back up before breakfast. You know how the twins get fussy when you're not here when they wake up." This was true; they've been like that ever since they were babies. If Link wasn't near, they would raise a fuss. Link gave a nod with an assuring smile before quietly stepping out making sure to grab his shoes by the door and slipped out to enjoy the morning air.
It was nice to see Link growing nicely into such a young man, and even gaining his independence all while keeping close to his family. This might complicate things, but if there's one thing he's learned, it was patience. He learned patience over the hundreds of years he spent trying to revive the sunken lands below. His steps were in place, and everything was close to fruition. But, now with being married and with children, things just got a bit more complicated, but he would make it work. He always did make things work in his favor.
Link was quiet to slip out, and even making it downstairs through the tower was no complication. He could walk this place barefoot and blindfolded if given the chance. Not even the moblins, bokoblins, and miniblins gave him trouble if he ran into them; he did grow up with them after all. Him and the twins both grew up knowing of them and learned not to fear them. There were even a few examples of him teaching the twins on how to show ferocity to the moblins and bokoblins. Seeing Lily trying to roar in one moblin's face was quite amusing seeing as how she was more fearless than her twin brother which definitely had them feeling proud. Not to say that Leo was inferior to his twin; what she made up for in bravery, he made up for with his cunning which balanced each other out.
Link's morning walk didn't take long, thankfully, stopping in the main courtyard just before the dock, and just as the sun peeked over the edge of the sea, Link started to make his way back up. By the time he got back, his family would be awake and getting a start on breakfast. But, as he walked, as of late, Link realized that as of late he couldn't help a feeling inside him. It had him yearning for more- more than just the few islands he and his family travelled to. He wanted to know more outside their fortress home and the other islands that were home to other populations, big or small. He'd seen his father's maps, and knew what islands were out there. There wasn't much, but they were worth exploring. He wanted to explore outside their home.
But, right now he had bigger things to worry about.
Today was his thirteenth birthday.
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The day went eventful and plenty, first starting with being greeted by the twins when he made it back up, and even Ven greeted him with a warm embrace and a lot of love as she wished her oldest boy a happy thirteenth birthday. She may have been the twins' birth mother, but since she came into their lives, he always saw Ven as his mother as well which added more happiness to his life, even now. Their breakfast was filling, and even afterward, they enjoyed some time together in the water as a family, Link even got some play wrestling with a bokoblin or two which Ganondorf observed with a careful eye and a smile of pride. By noon, he said to Link that he had something important to give to him on his birthday.
In the courtyard, the family had gathered for this 'something important' as Ganondorf walked in with a long bundle in his arms wrapped tight. "What's going on, Gan," he heard Ven ask still using his alias as she felt the twins holding her hands, all seeming anticipated, "Is it serious?"
"Only for this commemorative day, vai'bas," Gan assured her with a gentle smile as he got a few arms' length away from Link, "He is thirteen after all, the age of a man. And with entering manhood, he deserves his own gift. I know I did," he chuckled before giving a wink then turned to their oldest son and saw his face with a big smile alit with pride. "Link, you've certainly grown, haven't you," Ganondorf chuckled softly and stood tall.
"Sa, paqsa. Thanks to you and masaq," Link replied with a big smile making Ganondorf chuckle again.
"Sa, we did. It was a long time coming, but it was worth it to see you growing into the strong person you've become," Ganondorf replied and started to untie the long parcel. Inside the leather, their curiosity was sated when they saw an assortment of weapons. A spear, a longbow, two sheathed curved swords - scimitars by the looks of them - and finally, a standard blade with a wood metal shield that had two serpents on both sides of the shield and twisting to face each other. "You've gone through the few short years of arduous training, and I can safely say that now you've earned the right to choose your right to bear arms," Ganondorf said proudly, "You can choose either weapon as your main weapon of choice going forward. Choose what you feel is right for you."
Link gave a big smile feeling such an honor bestowed upon him. The pride swelling in his chest that his father gave him such an honor on his birthday was great. Stepping forward, he took a moment to look them over, even resting his hand on the handles of each weapon to get a feel for them, then switched between the other until he reached the sword and shield feeling their weight. It was a hard choice to make. He was well-trained on all manner of weapons his father had taught him, the bow, the spear, the scimitars, as well as sword & shield, so it was hard to waver toward one in particular. But something was pulling at him and the next thing he knew, he was holding the sword and shield in his hands.
Ganondorf had a smile seeing him holding his choice and covered the remaining weapons, "And it seems you've made your choice, vehvi," he said in pride as the twins let out a 'Ooh~' in unison, even Ven had a big smile seeing Link make his choice.
"And a wonderful choice by the looks of it. It suits you, my sweet," Ven complimented warmly as she and the twins approached, "You look like a valiant hero," she giggled and gave a pinch of his cheek making him blush.
"Masaaaaq," Link whined as the twins giggled below them, but then looked up at Ganondorf as he set the remaining weapons down on the ground by his feet and approached seeming to reach into the sleeve of his robe as he pulled out something else. It wasn't obvious, but as soon as he opened his hand, he showed a blue stone and a thin vial. Strange how the stone seemed to resemble Ven's own in color and size but hers had a golden base while this one had no base, just the stone. "What's this, paqsa," he asked looking up at Ganondorf.
"Your stone," they heard Ganondorf reply, "Like I said, you've reached the age of manhood, and while there are other traditional tests that cannot be done, I thought you at least deserved this one," he said before popping the vial open and revealed a tiny brush on the underside of the cork. Gently holding Link by his chin, he gently applied the thin liquid- it felt sticky like a glue as Ganondorf applied the thin layer before holding the polished blue stone up at Link's forehead level. He cradled the back of Link's head in his palm then pressed firmly holding the stone in place a moment to ensure it would stay.
After removing his hand, they saw the stone was firm in place. "And with this stone, you're officially a man," he chuckled softly and saw Link grow a bigger smile, "And don't worry, your stone will withstand anything from sweat to the ocean's wrath itself. That's strong paste holding it in place," he assured Link before giving a side smile.
"Sarqso, paqsa," Link said happily, and with no hesitation, he hugged onto Ganondorf around his torso making him stumble a bit before resting a hand on his back and head holding his son close gently returning the embrace. It was brief, however, when they felt a strong wind blow through making Ganondorf look up. Glancing up, his eyes caught the sight of the sun quickly being covered by light grey clouds that were quickly transitioning to darker shades showing it was going to be a heavy storm.
"Another summer storm," he muttered, "Unpredictable, they are."
"Should we get inside, Gan," Ven asked as she and their three children look up at the quickly gathering grey clouds.
"Sa, it looks like it will be another heavy one," Ganondorf replied as he hurriedly grabbed the weapons in the leather wrapping again.
"But what about the boats," Link asked in a light panic noticing they weren't secured in the inner docks.
"The moblins will handle them, we have to get the twins inside, vehvi," he heard his father reply before urging his family inside. They would have to navigate the circular walls going upward, but they knew their way up to their highest tower. But, at the back of his mind, Ganondorf could feel this was no ordinary storm. It seemed to gather too quickly for his liking. Almost like this was deliberate..
They made it safely up the second level, but going up the rising staircase and past the cells was going to be a challenge as they were more in the open air, and the winds were picking up more. He could see his family was growing more anxious at the growing storm; the twins growing scared and even Ven was getting antsy. She didn't do well with storms since she washed up in their fortress from the first storm that brought her their way several years ago, so her family was careful on shielding her from the louder sounds of the storms such as thunder and lightning. The rumbling of the thunder around them certainly was more and more noticeable as the skies grew darker from the grey clouds. This better not grow to have a cyclone, Ganondorf thought..
As they made it out of the inner docks, they got to the staircase and Link even started to protect the twins from the growing wind using his new shield as a barrier to protect them. The powerful gusts certainly were coming close to tussling him around, but Link showed courage against the mighty winds to protect his siblings. They looked up to their older brother, and were glad he protected them.
But, when they made it to the top, things started to get worse.
A breeze hit Link's shield like an umbrella and it made Leo stumble a bit on his feet heading toward the edge of the fenceless edge. But, Link was quick. Rushing over, he grabbed Leo's arm and pushed him toward the family..
..only to feel his feet scuff the stony surface and slipped over the edge himself.
In a panic, Ganondorf rushed over to try and catch Link's hand as he went over but just barely missed, and saw Link fall further down and broke the ocean's surface. He could have sworn he even saw a blue cloud before he went under. Or was it green..? Link tumbled a bit more feeling the current growing more and more violent. He didn't even have a chance to catch his breath before he went under but he did try to fight the current so he could surface for a much needed breath. The waves must have been very violent, however, for he couldn't reach the surface to catch his breath. A current caught him in a tumble again, and a hard THUD hit his head making him black out from the violent storm.
All while his family panicked in the fortress above calling out his name.
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Sunrise started to peak over the ocean's edge. Gentle waves crashed on a sandy yellow shore. A few blue crabs came out of the sand and started to scuttle along to make sure they weren't going to be a gull's breakfast. They even bumped into an obstacle, and easily went around before going to the nearby dock to hide.
The obstacle in question- a hand. Link's hand, as he seemed to sleep soundly on the shore, having been rendered unconscious from the storm before. The waves brought him to shore of an island during the night, and even then, he rested soundly. Who knows how long it had been since he had been awake or where he ended up..
Not far, someone approached with gentle steps before coming to a halt. "Oh my!" a woman's voice gasped softly and rushed forward. She set her vase down and knelt beside him, "Are you all right?" she asked before turning Link over to check on him, but saw him unconscious. Frantically, she rose to her feet and rushed further inland to find help for this strange young man. All while Link slept soundly on his back sleeping to the sounds of the gentle flurry of waves.