Luminescence

Living After a Hero

She lifted her wings to the ceiling, which rippled with reflected light of the spring. Water shifted about her, shimmering like crystal. Each brush of feathers brought diamonds to the air. Even though each movement of hers were weak and sluggish, he could not help but admire the strange grace they held. Sitting in the shallows of the pool and enjoying the cool water on his burned skin, he watched. Something dormant inside him stirred, but not uncomfortably so, and for the first time in a long time the itch to howl, the itch to run and scream, had died down.

Luna ducked down once more into the water for another rinse. The nightgown's state bordered unmentionable, and even from the distance he sat at he could see the unbuttoned back just stopping at her lower back. The cotton gown stuck to her skin, making him glad his face was already as red as it could get.

He flinched back to awareness when Zelda took a seat beside him in only the underslip of her dress. The embroidered overlay, accessories, and heavy overskirt lay in a heap next to the entrance with his mail, shield, sword, and other equipment. For a minute she said nothing, seeming equally entranced by the pale form of Luna. Even as they looked on they could see the awful bruises and gashes disappearing and feathers growing back where they had been torn. Link had never seen a spring heal someone so fast, but he guessed Lanyru had figured out who she was by now.

"You should have told me about her sooner. We could have gotten the poor girl some clothes."

"I told you as soon as I could, princess."

When he felt her gaze on him he made sure to pointedly look away from Luna. He had not forgotten the awkward request of hers earlier. Courtship, he thought blithely. What do you say to that? By the way she fidgeted and wrapped her arms about her legs, she had not forgotten either.

"What are we going to do now?" she asked.

"Well, taking you back home is out of the question. From what I could see, twilight was only dissipated from the area we are in by our temperamental friend."

She frowned. "Link, I wouldn't talk that way about a guardian spirit."

"Why?"

"It's disrespectful. He might not take kindly to it."

"He burned me! He's already not taking kindly to me at all!"

"He burned me too."

"Yeah, well, at least he apologized to you. Because of him I'm a walking piece of bacon. I can even feel myself crunching every time I move, ugh."

The side of her mouth twitched. "I wonder why the sun spirit expected you to take care of her."

He didn't answer, though his stomach did an uncomfortable sort of flop. She didn't press him for answers, but bit her lip sullenly.

"This is...all quite confusing. I'm not sure what to do."

"Welcome to my world."

"What do you mean?"

Again, he didn't answer, though his irritation grew. As he remembered back in the castle, one of his greatest frustrations was having Midna, light spirits, and Princess Zelda pulling him along by the fur of his neck without entirely explaining to him beforehand. It had been as though he wasn't important enough to inform, just a pawn or toy to meet certain ends.

What the sun spirit had demanded of him just made him feel used all over again.

He stood and waded deeper into the springs for another plunge into the water. Luna turned at the sound of his sloshing and graced him with another of her tender smiles that jerked at something hot in his chest. What if she had come down here because...what if she did...damn it, was he to be obligated to feel the same way?