The Legend of Zelda: Transient (third book in the Timeless series)

Chapter 17

Link's eyes were wide as they flashed over to where light flooded the empty field. His horse stumbled away from the sudden disturbance, nervous. He exchanged glances with his remaining men,  on edge. He didn't bother brushing his hair, which had grown out considerably, out of his eyes as his focused his gaze back on the shimmering light. It soon faded, and in it's place were two dazed children and a worried mother. A girl, no more than 7 years old, met his eyes. His eyes narrowed, confused. They were too far away to really make out. He was about to call out to them when his eyes shifted and met the mother's.

He knew those beautiful eyes.

He froze. Even after 7 years, she still took his breath away. She seemed in shock as well, and for several moments neither of them so much as breathed, as if daring to would cause the other to vanish. Link finally got his limbs to work enough to scramble down from his horse, never taking his eyes of hers.

Then, they were running.

She threw herself on him, tears streaming down her face. He wrapped his arms tightly around her immediately, lifting her up and spinning her. He buried his head in her shoulder, tears mixing with laughter. They stayed that way for several long moments. She finally pulled away, both hands on the back of his neck. Her radiant smile made him realize just how much he had missed her,

"You-You're al-i-ive." She choked out, and he smiled widely, touching her forehead with his,

"I'm not that easy to get rid of," He murmured, before stealing her lips in a kiss, having forgot they had company. She certainly didn't object though. 

He pulled away after a minute, knowing there was someone else he had missed just as much. He kept his hands on her upper arms, as if reassuring himself she was really there, and looked over her shoulder to his son, who still seemed to be frozen on the spot,

"...Dad..?" He asked, almost too quietly for Link to here. He nodded with an airy laugh, "Hey, bud." Erick suddenly broke out in a run towards him, almost knocking him down when he made it to him. Zelda laughed, having narrowly moved out of the way,

"I can't believe you're really back." Erick murmured into his shirt,

"Did you really doubt me?" Erick choked out a laugh,

"The seven years gave me a bit of hesitation." Link hugged him closer,

"I'm so sorry. I wanted to be here more than anything. I love you son." Erick didn't respond, only looked up at him with teary eyes and a small smile.

Then, Link looked up.

The small girl was looking over at them with wide eyes, playing with her hands nervously. Link glanced over at Zelda,

"Wait.." She followed his gaze before looking back at him with a small smile, nodding slightly. She extended her hand to the small child, beckoning her to join them. She hesitated for a moment before walking towards her slowly.

"This," She said, voice full of emotion, "is our daughter, Miracle. Mira for short." She added with a chuckle. Link's eyes widened slightly, before he lowered himself onto his knees slowly, not knowing what to say as millions of thoughts raced through his head,

"M-Mira..?" He murmured, in pure shock.

"Are you my Daddy?" She asked softly after several moments. Feeling tears prick at his eyes once more, he nodded. Suddenly, a smile spread across her face, and she flew against him,

"It's nice to meet you! Mommy and Erick say a lot of nice things about you, so I already love you! I hope you can love me the same." She said happily. He wrapped his arms around her,

"Oh, sweetheart, I already love you more than you can imagine." He said, kissing her forehead. 

"Our family is finally complete again." Zelda said, her hand on his shoulder. He stood up and smiled at her.

"I love you." He said. She smiled widely,

"Oh, how I've longed to hear that again. I love you too."  He glanced between the three of them, smile slowly fading,

"Wait, why are you all out here in the first place?" He asked, suddenly remembering where they were. Zelda sighed, turning in the direction of the distant castle. The clear sky seemed to darken around its walls, clouds forming to cast shadows on only the land unfortunate enough to be in the palace's immediate surroundings,

"Dayfos. He has returned." She whispered. "I had to get them away." She said, turning back to him. He nodded, crossing his arms. His daughter looked up at him, a worried expression clear on her face,

"What's going to happen to us?" She asked timidly. He bent down, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Don't you worry. As long as I'm here, nothing can hurt you." He said intently. She didn't seem convinced,

"How do you know?" He smiled slightly, shifting his gaze between each of the people he loved the most,

"Because there's one thing that he hasn't seemed to learn yet." A smile flickered across Zelda's face as both of their children looked at him expectantly, "You don't mess with a man who has a family to protect."

For those of you who are wondering what happened to Link during his journey or how he survived, I'll be making a long chapter about that soon, so, patience! XD