Children of the Hero

Chapter 7

They rode across Hyrule field in silence. 

Once in a while, Uther would mutter something to himself, that not even he could understand. But most of the time, the only sound was the wind whipping past them. 

By the time they reached Lonlon Ranch, it was about noon - time, and the other heroes were sitting in the barn, having a small lunch and laughing at something. Link completely ignored them as they called a greeting, and simply got off his horse, ordering Uther to saddle it up. Uther did so, still muttering to himself as he went into the stable, unsaddling and tying up the horses. He felt like punching a wall, really hard. But instead, he just did his job and headed towards the barn. There was sure to be plenty of chores left to do.

"Any idea what's up with the Old Man?" asked Warriors as Uther came into the barn. The rest of the heroes fell quiet, as if waiting for him to answer. "It's a family matter" he responded, voice barely audible as he picked up a bucket of feed. "I can finish all of your chores for the day" In all truth, he usually didn't want to do chores. He usually wanted to go out to the back of the house and shoot his bow, which his father had gifted him a few years back. But today was different, he needed something, anything to take his mind off of what was happening with his family. 

"You sure?" asked Legend. Warriors punched him in the arm. "What's wrong Uther?" asked Wild, hopping down from the loft, which he was sitting up on. Uther shook his head, walking out of the barn to feed the chickens. "Wait up!" he heard Wild call behind him. Yet, he kept walking. "Uther, we're friends, right?" Friends? They'd barely known each other for two days! "Please, leave me alone. I need some space" Wild nodded, smiling sadly as he backed away, and headed back to the barn. 

The heroes didn't bother him for the rest of the day. No one did. 

For hours he worked and worked and worked. Doing chore after chore. By the time Saria came home, the younger heroes trailing behind her, he was drenched in sweat, but still wouldn't stop. Yet even after working for so long, in such intense heat, he couldn't stop thinking about Nabby, about the day he was having... about everything. 

"Goro!" called Saria. 

(Goro means Brother in the Goron language) 

"Don't" said Twilight stopping her. "He's been like this all day"

Saria twisted out of his grasp and headed towards Uther, a look of worry on her face. "Goro, are you alright?" Uther looked up at her, he was carrying a large bag of feed across the barn, with little effort. But even Saria had to admit that it was a very hot day out (at least 90 degrees). "Are you alright?" she repeated, putting her satchel down in the corner and moving to help him. "Don't ruin your school clothes little Kokiri. I can take care of this" he felt like snapping at her, but really, what would that do besides make her upset with him. "Come on, Goro, you're sun burned. And I've seen you stand outside for hours with only a tan" Saria looked at her own skin, which was always sun burned at least a little. Her siblings only ever got tans that made them look like the Gerudo.

"I'm fine Saria, just leave me alone" he grumbled, putting the bag down and going for another. "What happened...? Well, don't I deserve to know?" Uther stopped what he was doing, and then nodded. She did deserve to know what was going on. "Nabby isn't at her boyfriends house. We all think that she might be with the Gerudo" Saria froze, eyes widening. "No... that's... that's impossible! Nabby isn't that stupid!" Uther motioned to the burn mark on her arm, which Saria frowned at. "But... she couldn't of! She wouldn't of!" Saria leaned against the wall, face in her hands. "Where's dad... and mom?"

"Both in the house. Dad was really upset, I assume mom didn't take it to much better" Uther said, going back to what he was doing. Saria didn't say anything for a moment. "Give me a few minutes to get changed, I'll be out here to help you soon" Then she walked off. 

"Are you alright Uther? Want us to help?" asked Wind, who was in a happy mood after meeting some kids his own age for once. Uther shook his head, and forced a smile. "Nah, I'm fine, enjoy your day. We have a place in the back of the house where Saria and I practice with our bows and arrows... You can use it if you want" Wind, who was ecstatic about the idea, ran off, leaving Uther alone again. 

Saria came back about ten minutes later, with some of his old farm clothes on (wearing dresses was uncomfortable for her). For the next few hours, they worked in silence. Once in a while, Uther would mutter something to himself. But unlike usual afternoons, Saria didn't say anything until they finished every last chore. "Bow practice?" Uther simply nodded, and like robots, they walked to the back of the house, and started shooting at the targets until it was well after dark, and Wild called them in for dinner.

Dinner was a silent affair that night, no one talked, but Uther was sure that he could see Saria crying, stifling her sobs with every bite of food. Finally, when everyone was finished, they both offered to pick up the dishes, and then head upstairs. 

There were three little beds in the room that the three shared. The one closest to the door was Saria's which had a bunch of notebooks scattered on and around it. Each was filled with diary entries, short stories, and dreams that she wrote down. The second was Uther's, in the corner nearest to it was a bow, a sword, and a wooden shield. The last, was Nabooru's. Her's was the messiest of the three. Clothes and other things were scattered around it. Neither of them had picked it up during the month or two she had been gone. Despite their mother saying that they probably should, neither wanted to, it was like a superstition, that someday she would return. And on that day, they wanted her to find all of her things where she left them. 

"We should get some sleep..." said Uther, half talking to himself. As if on cue, someone knocked on the door. Huffing, Saria got up, and opened the door. "Dad? Why are you here?" asked Saria, a little shocked. "Well, for starters, this is my house" Link pointed out. "Can I come in?" she stepped aside, letting him into the room. "You really need to clean up... oh..." he seemed to realize that the messy bed was Nabooru's, and shoo his head. "Look, I just wanted to talk to you both. Uther, I'm sorry I got upset with you today.... Saria, I'm sorry for not picking you up from school... As I'm sure you both know, Nabooru.... left" 

"To join the Gerudo" Saria cut in, a look of betrayal passing over her face. "Are there no secrets in this house?" Link muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. He shook his head, answering his own question before looking down at the two once again. "I'm going to the Gerudo Valley.... to find her and bring her home. The other heroes are staying here for a while... I just wanted to say goodbye before I left...." Uther cut him off. "No"

"What?"

"I said no.... I'm not going to let you leave"

"I wasn't exactly asking you"

"But I'm telling you. You're not leaving again"

"I don't like your attitude young man"

"And I don't like the fact that you keep disappearing every few days. But hey, I guess we're both stuck with the other's annoying habit" Uther snarled. Saria was a bit stunned, her brother was always so calm and collected, the go lucky one who never got angry and who's courageousness almost paralleled her father's in her mind. "Uther Lonlon, this is not up for debate. Do you want your sister back or not?"

"I want her back.... which is why I will personally go to the Gerudo Valley and retrieve her myself" Link didn't have a come back for this. "No, you will not Uther" he said simply, moving to go out of the room. "Dad wait please don't go!" Saria latched herself onto her father, hugging him tightly. "Both of you need to stop this. Saria, your 15, you can't be acting like a child" Link said, pushing her away. Uther curled his hands into fists. "YOU ARE NOT LEAVING! NOT AGAIN!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. A door opened somewhere down the hall. "Old Man? What's going on?" asked Hyrule, stepping out. "Nothing, go back to sleep" said Link. The younger hero didn't budge as the others watched from behind him. "I'm going, and that's that..." said Link, as Saria backed away, and into the room, back against the wall. He glared at the other heroes before making his way down the hall....

Only to have an arrow fly past his head.