Zelda - The Winged Ones - ch23

Chapter 23: Termina

Three figures along with their steeds appeared in the woods at the threshold between the land of Hyrule and that of Termina.

One was Chirin in his Hylian form atop the pinto Fillea, wearing his father's former style of green tunic along with the hat.
Right alongside him was Link in an earthy green rustic tunic with his exposed braided hair, walking alongside his old graying mare Epona.
Behind them was the new Sheik in his armor atop the black Phantom, the sage was lagging behind a bit as he studied the landscape, reacquainting himself with the world he flew over as an owl so long ago.

Navi was in Chirin's hat, the little fairy had begun spending more time with the prince ever since that day In Gerudo valley…and not just because Chirin sill wore long hats. She found herself forming a new attachment to the boy. Navi still spent most of her time with Link, but when father and son where near each other she would drift over to Chirin.


As they left the grasp of the forest Link's deep inner turmoil lifted a little, the land before them was fresh and alive. While the hero knew he'd left Termina in a peaceful state his dark and haunting memories had erased all good experiences he had in this land.

Seeing it alive and well seemed to set one more stone into the long road of recovering his inner peace.



The three of them stopped to have supper in a shaded spot of grass. They seated themselves on a hill overlooking the town which sat right in the middle of the land of Termina.

As they unwrapped their chosen food items Chirin saw that Link had a hyoi pear. The prince loves these things and wondered why he did not see any in the cellar.

Link was distracted with a mouthful of food and was staring down at the sunbathed town below, Chirin tried to sneakily reach over a claim it for himself.
He was just within reach of the green pear when suddenly the boy was met with a face full of feathers. Link had stretched out and snapped a wing at the boy knocking him over. "I Like those just as much as you do, and this one is mine." while continuing to look down at the town he picked up the pear and took a bite.
Link loves his family but one of his other passions in life is food and one should not get between him and what he loves.

Kaepora in the form of Sheik was trying to stifle a laugh. He had never seen wings used for discipline before and seeing Link use one to push his son over was quite amusing to the wind sage.


With food in their bellies they made their way to Clock Town to stay at the Stockpot Inn for the night.
They left the horses fully geared up and set them free in the field knowing the animals could be trusted to come when called and to keep out of harms way.

When they passed through the gate Link found the town was far quieter than he remembered, he then realized that this was because the Carnival of Time had already come and gone.

As they walked the town the winged hero wondered if memory of his existence had faded from all who lived here. Many stopped to look at him and Link expected to be greeted by the familiar faces he saw, but then the people would just walk away. The hero realized their reactions were only because of his wings, they did not remember who he was.

As a child Link knew for a fact that all of the good deeds he had done over his repeated three days were restored to the memories of the town on the dawn of the fourth day…however Link passed faces he knew and yet they had no clue who he was, even the now doddering old postman did not even so much as flinch an eyelash at him.
Link tried to not let it bother him, he was kid in those days, and he had wings this time around after all…of course no one would recognize him in...

As they made their way to the Inn under the dimming light of the setting sun the hero was shocked to hear his name "Link?…" a male voice reached him. As he turned around a handsome middle-aged, purple haired figure was looking at them with red eyes, alongside him was an older teen, a girl with brown hair.

"…Kafei?…"

"It is you! Link!" he said coming over "I saw the green hat on this fellow here and thought he was you till I realized he was so young…and I almost thought no when I saw you because of the wings and braided hair, but, even though you have grown and changed… I can never forget the one that helped me get my Anju back and who saved our world."

The man's words set one more stone into the long road of recovering Link's inner peace. He was remembered, maybe only by one but his deeds were not entirely unsung in this land.

"Are you staying at the inn?" Kafei said
"Well yes."
"Then come on home with me, you are my guests tonight, come meet the rest of my family." he said leading the shy and quiet girl by the shoulder.

Kafei was far more cheerful than Link remembered, but then again he only knew the man in a cursed child form in a state of much anguish. It made the hero glad to see Kafei was such a happy person.

As they arrived at the Inn Sheik stayed by the door to give the winged hero time to catch up with his old friend.
Link and Chirin followed Kafei to the front counter. Anju did not recognize the green clad hero at first "Honey, do you know who this?" She looked at the winged man
Kafei whispered to her "Hun, without him we would not be a family." she blinked "Link!? Oh I am so sorry I did not recognize you." the hero stifled a giggle as she bowed in apology,  Anju had not changed.

An indigo haired young man came from the other room, he had red eyes and hair styled similar to Kafei's, his expression however contrasted that of Link's cheerful old friend.
The young man stopped in the doorway behind the counter "Who the hell are these guys?"
"Keaton don't be rude to our guests."
"Sorry mother." he said leaving in a huff.
Anju sighed "Don't mind him, he's been mmm… a bit broody lately…"
"And missing a lot" the girl said "I don't know where he goes, he won't le me come."
"Hush dear" Anju said "No need to bother our guests with family matters." the girl fell quiet and fidgety
"Well you met Keaton, and this is Angie." said Kafei as the berated teen tried to pay more attention to her hands so as to avoid eye contact with the strangers.
Link smiled proudly "And this is Chirin, my son." Kafei grinned, glad to see Link had a family of his own "Chirin, Son of the hero. Nice to meet you." he said with a firm handshake.

The group of three went up to their free room for the night, the large one on the end with bunk beds. There were no events going on and no other guests so they got the biggest room.
"Dad."  the boy said, "hmm." he continued to unpack under the glow of the candle on the table "Dad…Kafei has red eyes, so does his son…the only other people I have ever known who have red eyes… are Impa and Sheik."

Link halted and looked over to him, he had never made this connection.

Kaepora in the form of Sheik sat up in the bottom bunk, he was in the dark far corner getting ready to sleep "You're right…" said the Sage "it may be only a coincidence, but what if Kafei is of Sheikah decent? It means Impa may not be the last, the bloodline may not be pure but, still the Sheikah have a unique and strong gene with those red eyes. Even if only one survived chances are the eye color would show up in later generations, even if it skips a few along the way."
After a short pause Chirin spoke up "Should we tell him?"

"I already know." a voice from the door said.
It was Keaton
"Who the hell are you people and how do you know about the Sheikah?" he stormed in acting threatening. Sheik was still sitting on the bed at the far side of the dark room, he stood up and menacingly loomed in the darkness. As he came into the light of the candle Keaton took a step back in shock staring at Sheik's intense red eyes.

"We know a lot about the Sheikah" Kaepora within Sheik said.

The indigo haired man backed away as if to leave but then hit something. He glanced over his shoulder, surprised "Dad!"

"Sheikah?" Kafei said, putting a hand on his son's shoulder and staring at Sheik, namely at his red eyes.
"I get a feeling there is much for me to know here, including whatever you have been up to, Keaton." the young man shrank away from his father "Sit."

Keaton went over to an empty bed and did as he was told. Chirin was on the bunk above, he laid on his stomach to peer over the edge and looked down. The indigo haired young man peered up at him, he was not amused. Chirin's eyes went wide as he met the angry gaze of Keaton and quickly tucked his head back behind the edge.

"Now, where have you been running off to, you have even been gone overnight. And all this brooding about and how you have been sassing people? At first I thought it was just a phase so I left you alone, but now I catch you talking nasty to our guests behind my back. Spill it."

"Ikana, I have been excavating Ikana with Pamela's father…"

His words sure caught the interest of Link and his team.

"Pamela ran into me in town and was instantly drawn to my eyes. She said they were digging up the past of the forgotten red eyed people, she said they are likely my ancestors and invited me come…At first I went just for fun but the more we dug up the more disturbing things got…And now, all I want to know why no one in Termina even remembers the Sheikah and why they were exterminated!" he said harshly, obviously troubled.

Chirin hopped down from the bed above and landed with a thud in front of the brooding young man, the prince turned and looked him in the eyes "Ikana is why we are here, we know part of what went on there. We need to know the rest, the fate of our world is at stake." He stared at the youth's red eyes with his own sharp blue ones, Keaton was taken aback by the fierce courage in Chirin's eyes and his own expression softened.

Kafei spoke up "Link, you saved my world, in more ways than one, let us do what we can to help yours. Besides, I would like to know more about the red eyes only my bloodline seems to carry."
"Son" he said turning to Keaton " you will take us to see the scientist tomorrow won't you?"
"uh, yeah" Keaton said, his tone calmer than before.
"Good. Well Anju is expecting me in the kitchen, I will fill her in on our trip, minus the Sheikah part, for now at least."



  Morning came.
After a hearty breakfast and a quick tour of Clock Town the five of them, plus Navi, set out on foot for Kafei's family had no horses.

As they traveled under the growing heat of the summer sun Kaepora unraveled the tale he had told Zelda in the wind temple that night while Link and Chirin slept. Only he left out the fact the Tenshioni involved was a prince and thus his own eldest son. He still found that little detail kind of odd to deal with considering Link's state and he did not want to trouble the hero's already unsettled soul.

"and that is what I know."
"So you are not really a Sheikah then are you?" Keaton said snidely
"No, I am merely a shadow of one while using this mask, I take on the guise of the fallen prince. But one true Sheikah does remain, in Hyrule, a straight descendant of the royalty of Ikana. Her name is Impa. She is the guardian of the royal family of Hyrule and adopted grandparent of Chirin and his younger sister."
"Grandparent?"
"Yes she, well the lineage will die with her and she is as not as young as she used to be. But I digress, we need to get back to the task at hand.

As a sage of wind I can hear the essence of the land clearly while the rest of my kin hear only whispers…but something so terrible went on in Ikana that the land refused to speak to the owl form I was cursed under when I was last here. We must know what went on, we have to find the light guardians."

"Well Professor Pam seems to know a lot about Ikana, he and his daughter have lived there a long time." Keaton said.
The new Sheik sighed "Whatever went on was so dire that I doubt that anything of these events would have been recorded physically, Impa for one thing was of no help unraveling the past for these events were never added to her family's history book. So I must hear it for myself, hopefully the form of Sheik will help the land speak with me more freely…"


As they got closer to their destination Link remembered something, he turned to the fairy and informed Navi to stay in Chirin's hat. Professor Pam's paranormal research had brought about a strange interest in him and the fairy Tatl as a child and he did not wish to repeat this.

When they arrived in Ikana Link was met with the nostalgia of the gaudy music box house and it's tune "farewell to gibdos".

A female voice reached their ears "Keaton! you said you wouldn't be back today." a young woman said as she approached. Link looked at her "Wow has she grown." he thought to himself remembering the small freckled girl he used to know.

"Yes but, I think we have some information your father is going to find very, very interesting." Keaton said motioning to Sheik.
"Haaaaa! That symbol!" she said running to him "It's the Sheikah symbol. Who are you?" she said looking at his face for the first time, she gasped "Red eyes! FATHER! Come here quick!"

"What is it dear, you have not hollered like this since you were a child." the white old man said hobbling up from the castle ruins "Oh my!" He gasped pace hastening as he saw what was beside his daughter "A Sheikah, sir, where did you come, are there more of you?"
"Professor Pam" Keaton said, "let us go inside, he can explain everything there."
"athem" Kaepora Sheik cleared his throat "after a big glass of cold tea or something, my throat still aches from weaving the same tale earlier." he said. Link was amused by this, for once the long winded owl's voice was tired.

Professor Pam stopped and stared at Link and his wings, he had no idea that this was the boy who had shown up years ago, and Link did not mind this fact all for the scientist's interest concerning having a fairy unsettled him as a child. "And what might you be? My focus is on the Sheikah at the moment but I have never seen a winged man, you may well be the center of my next study."
Link sighed "It is a long story, my friend here can touch upon it as he weaves his tale."

Professor Pam was writing furiously as Kaepora retold the tale, jotting down every fact.
"Oh this makes everything so much clearer" the old man said "but alas, it does not help your task. None of my research even with this information ties together with your tales of the monster Majora, sacred beast or light guardians." the group sighed.
"Well my home is small and humble but you are welcome to stay the night." he said looking at the darkness descending outside.
"I may have to stay for a few days." Kaepora said in the guise of Sheik. "I need to try and get the land to speak to me, it takes time, and never before have the spirits been so unwilling… I will be outside, untill, well likley indefinitely… meanwhile try to enjoy your visit…" he paused for a second "I surely am not going to enjoy my stay here..." he thought to himself as he got up from the table. The sage opened the door "I can still use my empathic connection in this form to reach you if I learn anything, just don't leave Termina."

Kaepora left the house and leapt up to the top of the cliffs and laid down on the rocks, eyes closed, waiting for the magic and spirits of the land to cooperate.

The following day Link and Chirin toured Ikana a little. Kaepora-Sheik looked down at them from his high perch on the cliff, sitting in what little shade the place had to offer at this time of day. Kaepora decided he did not like summer, even as a Sheikah he was uncomfortably hot and the sage imagined he would self combust if he sat out here in his Tenshioni form.

In the afternoon they bid farewell to their hosts, Sheik above smiled as he saw Link giving Professor Pam a feather for his collection of supernatural material.


During their walk back through the canyon and to the field Kafei struck up a conversation.
"So as you can see I opted to not follow my family's line of being mayor, I decided to take on Anju's family's line of work and run the inn."
Link laughed "I too decided to take on my princess's family's line of work."
" 'Your princess?' that is kind of a cliché nickname."
Link looked at him with a sly smile "No, it is not a nickname, that is the title she held when we were married."
Kafei took on a funny look of shock "…Wait?! You mean she is an actual princess, then that means… You're a prince!"
Link laughed humbly "Well, she holds the title of queen now."
Kafei blinked "…Which makes you king?!" the winged hero smiled wider.
"And that means you are a prince?" Keaton said looking to Chirin who nodded.
Kafei was awestruck "Damn…Link, I had no idea you guys were royalty, your clothing and personality sure do not show it."
Link grinned and rubbed the back of his head shyly "Actually I take that as a compliment, I may be a king but I am a father and fighter first and foremost."


As they got to the Inn the sun was low in the sky and they could smell dinner cooking inside.

The violet haired man stopped outside the door.
"Ya know, there is one other person who very much remembers and misses you." Kafei said, the winged hero looked at him "I get a felling I know who…do you know where he is?"
"Well he and his fairy friends sure have cleaned up their act since you saved us all, he shows up in town from time to time but as far as I know he hangs out in the felid outside the swamp, by the huge hollow log.

Link smiled and Kafei smiled back "Chirin, tomorrow, lets go find an old friend of mine…as for tonight..." he said looking over to the Milk Bar "Lets have some fun."



Late the next morning after a hearty breakfast cooked by Anju and Angie the hero and his son took the horses and searched the field outside the swamp.

Link was sad to find his old friend was not there. They ended up searching around the entire expanse of Termina field before returning to area outside of Woodfall swamp.

It was hot and getting late so they stopped to cool down and have a snack in the shade of the hollow log. As the winged hero unwrapped his food alongside Chirin they heard Epona neigh in an unpleasant tone.

The two promptly popped out of the log and found the old horse in hot pursuit of something which had fled into the expanse of bushes.
"Epona!"
The horse stopped and came to Link who left her in the hands of Chirin as he went to investigate.

The leaves were rattling as her target trembled.

"Skull kid?"

A head popped up "Who what where?!…huh…Link?…"
the man in green sighed "Epona never did forgive you for stealing her from me."

"LINK!" the skull kid bounded over with joy dancing around, "Oh wow you look like a birdy!" he said taking the tip of one wing, holding it up thus unfurling the feathers. Link sharply folded his wing back down, the Skull Kid giggled apologetically realizing he had crossed the line by touching.
"soooo who is this?" the imp said bounding over to Chirin
"My son."

"That makes him another Link!" the imp said while doing a cartwheel. "I simply must share this with them!" The Skull Kid stopped and whistled, two orbs of glowing light appeared, one white and yellow, one black and purple, Tatl and Tael.

"What do you want now you little…wait? Link???" the yellow fairy came closer and got right in his face "Dear gods you got OLD! And wings? Damn, what the hell happened to you!"
"Hey Tatl, nice to see you again too." he grinned, Tatl was her old spicy self.

Navi woke up and came out of Chirin's hat, Tatl's attention was peaked "Now who in the hell is this little blue twit?" she said whilst invading Navi's personal space.
"Huh?!" she said backing up feeling flustered.  

"This is Navi, she is who I was looking for when I got caught up in your guy's mess."
"So that is why you looked at me funny when we first met on our adventure. You thought I was this twit."  

"Link! You cheated on me!" said Navi "I can't be called to the sacred realm without you paling around with some little hussy?" Navi said suddenly incredibly jealous.

"Hussy!" said the yellow fairy. Tael giggled and then got thoroughly pounced by his sister who then pounced Navi as a vicious little cat fight ensued.
Link looked on wide-eyed in shock as he heard Navi use language he had never expected to hear from the normally sweet and dainty creature.

"Bring it on you little yellow bitch!"