Haunting Shadow of the Past

Part 9

Evening came quicker than Link had expected. He had spent the better part of his time back at the castle just aimlessly wandering the corridors. Occasionally he would take a look out one of the giant windows and watch the Sheikah people try to train the guardians. If Link had to describe what it looked like he would say the training of the guardians looked like they were trying to train a new pet. It wasn't hard to see that the Guardians definitely had a lot of power and if used correctly could do a lot of damage. Link couldn't help but be relieved that those giant machines were on his side and not the enemies. If he had to fight one he wasn't sure he would be able to defeat it. The lasers that they shot could destroy just about anything and with their six spider like legs they could move with extreme speed.

Just as the sun had almost dipped fully behind the mountain Link decided that he should head back to his family's living quarters for dinner. He already knew this meal wouldn't be ideal as Liliana wasn't talking to him. When Link finally got back to his living quarters he opened the door to hear his sister and father talking.

"Lily, sweetie, please talk to Link. He has enough weight on his shoulders already without you refusing to talk to him." Lian tried reasoning.

"No, he is being selfish."

"How is he being selfish, he is trying to save all of Hyrule and that includes you and me. If we stop him from going to help Hyrule then we will be the ones being selfish."

"But what if he-" Liliana choked back a sob, " what if he dies?"

Lian stayed quiet for a few seconds. "I know," he finally whispered his voice breaking, "I worry about that too, but," Link's father cleared his throat, "we must have faith that he will be safe. We must show confidence and encourage him. This will be difficult on all of us emotionally but we must stay strong. Can you do that? Can you put on a brave face for your big brother, Lily?"

Liliana took a shaky breath. "I'll will," she whispered, "I promise."

Link stood by the door for a few minutes listening and waiting. Both of his family members were worried about him. When Link had gotten the sword all he cared about was how stressed he was he never thought about how this decision would affect his family. After a few more minutes of quiet Link walked into the dining area.

"Sorry I'm late," he said to announce himself, "I lost track of time."

Lian gave a small, "It's fine, Son, just glad you made it."

Link nodded then sat at the table. When he sat he looked over at Liliana who's eyes were red and puffy from crying. Knowing it would seem suspicious to not ask about it Link turned to his sister and opened his mouth to talk when she looked at him and cut him off.

"Link," she sobbed, "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have been so mean to you. I was the one being selfish, not you. I'm really sorry, please forgive me." Tears were streaming down her face and her hands were set on the table and balled into fists. Link placed his hand on one of his sister's.

"It's okay, I know this is a little hard for you to accept and you are scared. I forgive you."

Liliana wiped her eyes with the back of her free hand. "Really?"

Link nodded. "How about tomorrow since it's my last day to rest you and I spend the day together? Would you want to do that."

A smile spread across Liliana's face and she nodded. "I would love to." She hopped out of her chair and threw her arms around Link, "You're the best big brother ever!"

The rest of dinner went smoothly and quietly and as soon as Liliana finished she drifted away from the table to get herself ready for bed. Lian set his fork down and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "Be honest with me, Link. You overheard us talking didn't you."

Link sighed, lying to his father would be pointless. "I did."

"Oh." Link's father groaned and put his face in his hands. "I'm so sorry, Link. Please don't go thinking that neither Lily or I have faith in you, we do. We are-"

Link held up a hand cutting his father off. "Just scared? I know, Father, I myself am a little anxious but you have trained me well. I have been preparing for... well maybe not this, but something similar my entire life. And I should have thought about how this will affect Lily and you."

Lian gave a sad smile. "You are very brave son, your mother would be proud."

"I know."

Lian cleared his throat and stood up. "Well, you are going to have a busy day tomorrow. You best get some sleep yourself."

Link nodded and stood up as well. While he was walking to his room he noticed Liliana sitting on her bed and holding a picture of their mother. She was stroking the frame and whispering. "Mama, did you hear that me and Link are going to spend the day together? Dad explained to me that we should be supporting Link and now I feel really bad being so mean to him. Do you think he really forgave me or was he just saying that? Mama, while Link is protecting Princess Zelda and Hyrule do you think you will be able to watch over him? I don't think anyone fully understands what he got himself into. I also worry about Dad. Sometimes in the middle of the night Dad will come into my room and just hold me close and sometimes it sounds like he's crying. I think he is worried about Link.

"I think Dad is even more worried about Link because I heard him say some of his students attacked Link. That means that monsters and people don't like him. Mama, I need you to protect Link please. Well, I've got to get some sleep goodnight, Mama." Liliana set the picture back on her nightstand and layed down on her bed.

Link walked to his room and closed his door. As he removed his armor, sword, and shield he thought about what his little sister had said. How many nights had she been doing that? The way she talked so casually made it sound like this was a normal thing. Maybe it was her form of going through her day, instead of writing in a journal she just spoke it allowed. It would make sense that it was their mother. Link's mom had passed away a few months after giving birth to Liliana. She had had complications and that ,combined with the same sickness that had killed the queen, had caused her life to be cut short. Link had been 9 when that happened and it had completely torn his world apart. His mother had always been so supportive of Link's swordsmanship skills and she had always been the one to encourage him to continue forward with it.

As the years went by Link's grief for his mother just became a part of him but it stopped dictating his life. It had affected his father more but even he had learned to distract himself in his work. The days, years even, after Link's mother had passed Lian had pushed the knights harder than ever and despite it feeling like torture they had turned out to be some of the best ever trained. Liliana never had the luxury of getting to know their mother but sometimes Lian would sit her down and tell her stories. Link would occasionally listen to them as well but as time went on he got busier and busier and was unable to listen as much.

As soon as Link was fully in his pajama he turned out his lights and sat on the edge of his bed. Liliana had been correct; he wasn't entirely sure what pulling up the master sword had meant. The last time someone pulled it out had been over 1000 years ago and that meant the only living being that had witnessed that had been the Great Deku tree and he hadn't exactly gone into detail about what Link's full role was. When Link finally laid down and fell asleep he was filled with confusion and worry.