Reunion

In the weeks that followed Lunnaei, at her grandfather's request, managed to stay out of trouble, not only with the local law enforcement, but also with the boys who had been harassing her. On the day they were to leave, she lay face down on her bed, arm hanging askew, buried under her favorite blanket. Her traveling gear and pack were stacked neatly in the corner. She had spent a good part of the night before deciding what to bring along for the journey to Hyrule. She was completely oblivious.

Lunnaei did not wake when her father and grandfather came into the room for the fourth time that morning. It was however, brought to her attention, when she felt herself falling out of bed. She hit the floor with a thud and yelled, "Huh? What the hell?!"

Still groggy Lunnaei struggled out of her blankets. When she did manage to poke her head out, she faced a pair of devilish grins as her dad and grandpa set the bedposts back onto the floor. She hated it when they did that. "Uh...morning Dad." Her eyes flicked to her grandfather. "Morning Grandpa...sorry bout the, uh...hell thing." he hated it when she swore.

Her attention went back to her father when he said a little too cheerfully, "Good Morning Lunnaei, so glad you could join the land of the living." He sighed as he shook his head and looked at the neat stack of supplies in the corner. "Well, at least you're packed." Lem turned back to his father and said, "Good luck Pop," he said as he patted him on the shoulder, but Lunnaei still heard him when he lowered his voice and added, "you're gonna need it." Her father chuckled to himself as he left the room and her eyes slid from the vacant doorway back to her Grandpa. "So we're leaving today?" she asked in hopes of changing the subject. His face still held that grin. The one that said, just wait til later. With a groan, Lunnaei pulled her blanket back over her head.

When she heard him leave and close the door behind him, she cautiously looked out from beneath her blanket. The coast was clear, she got up and dressed in the clothes she set out the previous day. Lunnaei shuffled into the small kitchen and immediately was handed a bowl of steaming oatmeal topped with berries and cream. Her father smiled when her eyes lit up at the site of her favorite breakfast. She took the bowl from him, gave him a peck on the cheek and sat down at the table. "Where's Grandpa?" she asked between bites.

"Out getting the rest of the supplies," he responded. Lunnaei finished every spoonful and examined her now empty bowl with a frown. Her dad gave another chuckle and she looked up at him when he said, "There's more if you'd like."

"Yes please!" She got up but her father stopped her and took the bowl.

"No, let me get that, you just sit and enjoy your breakfast." He went over to the pot and scooped out more, emptied the rest of the berries into it and topped it off with the cream, "I want this morning to be special."

Lunnaei noticed then her father had not frowned once, which was good cause he seemed to do it a lot more since Mom died. She finished the second bowl almost as quickly as the first and when she was done, she smiled.

"That was the best breakfast ever."

"Lunnaei," her father said as he collected her bowl. "I want you to do something for me while your gone."

"Sure Dad."

He reached up into one of the cabinets and pulled out a leather bound journal and writing kit tied together with thick string, "I picked these up at the market. Take them with you and write down the things you see and when you come home, I can read about your trip. I made sure there were some pencils in there, so make sure you draw a few pictures. I always enjoy seeing the things you draw."

Lunnaei stood up as she took the items from him and gave him a big hug.

"Be careful, and listen to your Grandfather. He knows a thing or two so make sure you do what he says," and he lifted her chin. "The first time Lunnaei."

"Okay."

"Good," he said and planted a kiss on her head followed by a big hug. "I'm gonna miss you girl, so you make sure to hurry home."

Lunnaei felt a lump in her throat and almost started crying. "Okay, I will," she said. She heard him clear his throat, and after one more squeeze he returned to the sink and fiddled with the dishes there. Lunnaei sniffed once and returned to her bedroom with the journal and kit. After she pulled a book out of her pack she’d planned to read, she tossed it on the bed. Carefully she put the journal and kit in its place and re-did the laces of her pack. After one final look around her room, she grabbed the pack and bedroll and headed downstairs to see if her Grandfather had returned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Lunnaei looked back only once as they crossed the bridge that lead out of their small village. In a few minutes, she would be farther from home than she had ever been in her whole life. Her Grandpa, who was walking behind her, noticed her hesitation and asked, "Are you worried Lunnaei?"

"A little. Mostly about Dad. Do you think he'll be alright by himself?"

"I'm sure your father will find something to fill up the day. We had several orders that needed filling. Are you sure there's nothing else?"

"Yeah...No...not really…it's just, I've never been this far from home before."

The Potter looked back and said, "It's the farthest I've been myself in forty years."

She watched him as he stepped off the bridge, Lunnaei knew her grandpa was more than forty. It made her wonder, just where he’d been before he came to the sleepy village of Durstin. It also occurred to her that she never asked.

"Grandpa?"

"Hmmm," he said as he turned back.

"Where did you live before you met Grandma?"

He cocked an eyebrow and said, "A lot of places."

"Well, like where?" she asked

"Oh, here and there. I never stayed any place for long though."

"Have you ever been to Hyrule before?"

"Yes, I was born there."

Well, she thought, there's something I did not know, so she asked, "Why did you leave?"

Her grandpa did not answer right away. He walked on and said in a sad voice, "Couldn't find a compelling enough reason to stay. Why all the sudden interest in my past?"

"Dunno, got to talk about something while we're walking all the way to Hyrule."

He chuckled and asked, "How about a story then?"

"About the hero?" he nodded and Lunnaei heaved a sigh, "Haven't you told me all those already?"

"Actually, no." he said

"Okay, but make it a good one."

"Hmmm, lets see. We should start at the beginning. I've never told you the how the hero came to live with the Kokiri."

"Yes you did, you said his mom brought him there."

"Yes, well you were much younger then and I didn't want to scare you with the details and left out quite a bit of that, but you're older now so you should be able to understand it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The hero was born the son of a Knight of the Kingdom of Hyrule. It was during a time of war, so this also made him a target. When the village where he lived came under attack, his mother knew that if she stayed in that place her son would surely be killed. The rumors that had preceded the enemy told of whole villages burned to the ground. There were horrifying stories that said they were searching for a child, a very special child.

Even babes were taken from their families and none were ever spared. The invaders slaughtered even the youngest of children when they were found not to be the one they sought. But now, the enemy was at the gates, so woman did the only thing she could. She ran.

Wrapped tightly in a blanket secured to her breast, she grabbed what supplies she could and headed out into the night. The enemy were everywhere, so it was not surprising that they spotted her and gave chase. The village where they lived was near a great and magical forest and the hero’s father sent them there in the hopes they would remain safe. The Knight told his wife, if all else failed, she should take their son and hide in those woods.

Remembering his words, the woman skirted the forest rather than entering it. For many a Hylian who entered those dark woods never came out again. They were called the lost woods for a good reason. The forest was said to be haunted and though she was not a superstitious woman, she knew that all stories had their start in fact and was wary. This changed as the enemy drew closer. She found herself surrounded and was forced to enter the dread wood or be captured.

As with all enchanted forests, this one too had its guardian. Known to the forest creatures as the Great Deku Tree, it watched over the forest and knew of all who entered. On the night of the attack of the hero's village, the Deku tree shuddered. For it knew, a great evil passed its wood. The tree then felt a strange and wondrous thing. The touch of the Three, it showed the forest guardian the boy and his mother. The tree understood that this child must live or the evil that now roamed the land would someday destroy it. So when the woman and her son dashed into his forest. The Deku Tree caused the ghosts of all those who had been foolish enough to enter to there, to rise up and block the enemy that gave chase.

Only a few of them entered the woods when they saw the woman run into it. She heard them behind her and heard their shrieks of terror that fell suddenly silent. No others followed though many drew their bows and began to fire into the woods, and it was by chance that an arrow grazed the woman's shoulder but she dared not cry out, lest her location be given away. As the sounds of the enemy grew more distant, she sat with her son and soothed him. He whimpered and she loosened the ties enough that she could see his small face. She brushed his blond hair from his sleepy blue eyes and sang to him quietly;

Hush, my baby
Please love, don't cry
Safe in my arms
Rest and remember
Close to my heart
Drift now and slumber
And we'll be together
When you dream

She sang to him softly and within her song; a prayer to the Goddesses to show her the way. Her arm ached with a dull throb where the arrow nicked her and she realized the arrow that had found her must have held some kind of poison. The woman rose as she realized she would need to find someone, anyone who could take her son. Feeling flushed and light-headed she felt sure that by morning, the poison will have done its work and she would be dead. Therefore, she did not question the path that opened through the dense forest before her. Nor did she pay any mind to the girl that shadowed her every step deeper into those forbidden woods. Follow the path, she thought, follow the path.

The mysterious trail eventually took her to a wide meadow. One great tree stood at it’s center. , It would be a good place to rest, , she thought. As dawn neared, she wanted to move on but felt herself quickly losing strength. She leaned carefully against the large tree and undid the bindings that had held her son to her. She sat and fed him from the supplies she’d brought and felt her unsteadiness increase as she tended to him. When he was clean and dry once again, she watched him as he struggled to stand and take a few tentative steps away from her.

Proud of his accomplishment the boy turned and smiled at his mother. She felt a tear slip down her face as she watched him toddle this way and that. In a brief moment of despair, she wonder if the Goddesses brought she and her son here to die. She squelched that thought and her vision blurred as the girl who trailed behind her through the forest stepped out into the clearing.

A forest child? The woman always believed them to be a myth. The hero’s mother felt her fears drift away as the poison worked to steal her life from her. She smiled and collected her boy to her. He lay his small head on her chest and yawned. As the woman held him for what she knew was for the last time, she again sang his favorite lullaby.

Hush, my baby
Please love, don't cry
Drift now and slumber
Safe in my arms
Rest, remember
My last lullaby
Hush now, baby
Sleep love, don't cry
Be peaceful, be calm
Though we must part
You're here in my heart
Drift and remember
My last lullaby
Yes, we'll be together
My little Link-kun when you dream…

Her breathing slowed and she lay down with her son nestled there in the soft grass. As the girl approached them cautiously, the woman kissed the top of her son's head, taking in the scent of him. She knew he would be safe here. The woman smiled as she closed her eyes and quietly passed into her next life.

The little boy named Link slept unaware, that he would never know the gentle touch of her voice again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The story ended and Lunnaei stopped to wipe a tear from her cheek. "Goddesses, Grandpa, that was the saddest story you've ever told me. Did she really sing that song?" He paused and looked back at her but instead of an answer, he gave her a small smile. He turned and walked away. He did not look back again and did not respond when she repeated her question. He continued down the road lost in his own thoughts and Lunnaei decided she could ask her questions later.

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