Rise of the Goddess

Chapter Ten - Aadil

That past month had one of the craziest months Aadil had experienced in a long time. Between trying to find the source of Zelda's illness and losing his arm, seeing Jira and Zariah again, and failing to save Zelda, time had seemed to move too quickly.

Then there was the impossible truth that he had failed. Zelda was dead, he'd lost her just as he'd lost his parents, he could barely believe it was even happening.

But the truth couldn't be avoided. The Queen had died, and her funeral would be in a few hours.

Kesair stopped by his door, dressed and prepared for the funeral. He sat on his bed, staring out the window, on his arm a brand new prosthetic, made out of the same ancient material that he'd seen on guardians, strapped to his arm, remarkably moving as if it were his own flesh and bone. He'd just gotten it from Jira, and paid handsomely for it.

Kesair came over and sat next to him.

"Are you ready?"

He lowered his head, "I don't know if I am,"

She gripped his hand, "It's time to go,"

"Is anyone else...?"

"All you have to worry about is me and you,"

Aadil nodded and moments later black seemed to stain his clothes and the two of them instantly appeared standing before Hyrule Castle. He nodded at the guards as they walked through the wide open gates.

Two days ago, messengers as quick as wind were sent out from Hyrule reaching every major settlement to disperse the tragic news that Zelda had succumbed to her illness, and that she had fought bravely until the end. The funeral was open for everyone, but a smaller ceremony was reserved for select individuals, closer accomplices and such, including kings and champions. As he remembered, the first major funeral event took place in the sanctum along with the land just outside. Luckily, Kesair and Aadil were a little early, and the crowd had yet to grow too big.

They walked through the front gates and immediately saw a variety of familiar people dressed in black, finding himself being drawn towards the other champions. Darmar and Jira were already talking to each other. Darmar seemed to be alone, but with Jira — or at least a little behind her — was a dark skinned Hylian woman along with her son.

Aadil smiled at them as he approached.

"How's the arm?" Jira asked. She looked remarkable, her hair tied back with some sort of blue clasp, her clothes looking as if she'd just dyed her usual outfit black, "Working as intended?"

He nodded, "It works better than I imagined," he turned to Darmar, "But, Darmar, man, where have you been? It's great to see you again,"

"You too, brother," Darmar said with a great smile, "After the Champion ceremony thing, the blacksmith of Goron City brought me on as an assistant. He was an amazing warrior, the same guy who taught me how to fight, and one of the few Gorons who knew how to use the forge. He taught me everything he knew. A few years ago he passed away and left me in charge,"

"Wow," Aadil remarked, "Sounds like a dream come true for you,"

"Thanks, it really is,"

He turned back to Jira, "So... who'd you bring with you?" he gestured toward the Hylian woman.

Jira's face seemed to flush, "Oh... this is... this is my wife, Esen, and her son Atall,"

Aadil blinked at her, shocked, "Oh. Why didn't you— I wish you had told me,"

She nodded awkwardly and began to say something, but Aadil didn't catch a word of it. His eyes had been drawn upwards, where across the room the King of the Zora and his daughter were talking to someone, his daughter Lula seemed to have grown a lot over the years, now looking almost fully grown. She shifted her weight to the side and he caught sight of who they were talking to.