Red Sky at Night - Chapter 9

Oh my, I am SO sorry for the ridiculous delay. Is anyone still reading this?! Short version - I took a break while we moved house and then I could NOT get back into it. I've rewritten this chapter five times! Hopefully back to it now though!

xxx

It had been a week since the incident on the cliffs and, at least on the surface it seemed as though things were returning to normal. Link and Medilia were back at home and Rivan, though still with the healers, was making good progress. The Domain as a whole was recovering from the shock, though the incident would not soon be forgotten.

Yet, in the privacy of their home, Medilia was anything but calm. She could only watch as her bright, spirited boy hid himself away, becoming a child she barely recognised. His sleep was uneasy and full of nightmares and she could barely get him to eat. She was sure he was hungry, yet he refused to take more than a few bites of anything.

Medilia blamed herself; had she not been so proud, had she asked for help earlier, none of this would have happened. Link was just a child, and he should never have had to worry that he'd go hungry. She'd failed him by not reaching out and had driven him to that nearly fatal climb up the cliffs.

She took a deep breath and made her way into the small bedroom. Link's bed adjoined hers and, over the past week, she had been especially glad for that. It allowed her to hold him in the night and do her best to soothe away any nightmares, yet, when she rose in the morning and he refused to follow, it made the day so much harder. Leaving him there to wallow in his misery was not helping either of them.

He had barely left the bed since coming home and, while she hadn't worried much the first day or two, as the days rolled on, she became increasingly concerned that he was not, in fact, recovering at all.

Hylia knew she'd tried. Tried to talk to him, comfort him, make him see that it was her fault, not his. Yet it was all in vain, as he refused to come out from the sanctuary he'd created for himself. And she was running out of ideas.

With nothing else to do, she sat herself down on the edge of his bed, observing the blanket covered form of her son for a few moments. "Link... Link you need to get up. It is a beautiful day, you should go out and play with your friends. I'm sure they're missing you." The only response was a shuffling and then the blankets were pulled tighter, blocking out the world even more.

Medilia wanted to cry, only the fear of Link seeing her break down held her back. How long would this last? "I'll be in the other room if you need me," she said quietly, leaning over to kiss the top of the blanket wrapped heap. "I love you."

xxx

By the time another two days had passed, she was almost frantic. Although she had always known Link was stubborn, he was taking that trait to extreme lengths with his continued refusal to leave the bed for anything more than the most basic of needs. His health would suffer if he didn't start living normally again soon and she wondered if she should take him to the healers, even if she had to carry him there.

A knock at the door came as a welcome distraction from her troubles. Opening the door, however, revealed a miracle.

"Rivan!" Of all the people it might have been, he was the last she was expecting. "I thought you were still with the healers!" She pulled him into a careful embrace, though she wanted to hold him much tighter.

He laughed, hugging her back with arms that seemed as strong as ever. "They have allowed me to go home as long as I rest. I will not be working again for a while if they have their way. But I had to come and see how you were. I have missed you very much."

"I have missed you too." She felt dangerously close to tears. "I wanted to come and see you, but Link..." She bit her lip. "He stays in bed, all day, every day."

Rivan frowned, his expression changing from joy to concern. "What's wrong, I thought he wasn't hurt? That is what Lady Mipha told me."

"He was not injured physically, no. But he blames himself for what happened. He hides away all day, barely eats or sleeps. He's hurting so much but I do not know how to help him. I've told him it was not his fault, but he does not listen."

"Well, he is a strong willed child," Rivan smiled. "And I can understand why he might feel that way. Would you like me to talk to him?"

Medilia looked away. "You would do that, even after all the trouble we have caused?" She sighed. "I told myself I would no longer put pride first and ask for help when needed; yet I feel I have no right to ask more of you after you almost... you almost died due to my foolish pride."

"I think I can see where Link gets his stubborn streak from," Rivan chuckled. "Medilia; what happened was terrible and I certainly have not enjoyed the past days. But it was my choice to do what I did and I'll have no one else taking the blame for that. We all make our own choices and I stand by mine." He looked fondly at her. "To me, the two of you are as family."

She did cry then, the tears spilling despite her best efforts. I do not deserve you." she whispered, trying to wipe away her tears.

"Perhaps not, but you are stuck with me anyway," he teased, trying to lighten the mood as he hugged her warmly. "So, may I speak to him?"

"Of course..." she grabbed at a cloth to dry her eyes and gestured towards the bedroom. "If you can find him."

Rivan nodded and made his way into the bedroom as confidently as he could, trying not to show how stiffly he still walked, or how eager he was to sit down, tired just from the short walk.
"Link?" he called out softly as he entered.

The bundle in the middle of the bed stilled suddenly. Clearly, this was the last person he expected to be here.

"Hello, Link," Rivan sat himself carefully at the end of the bed. "Do you think you might come and talk to me? I have missed seeing you." He watched, seeing what, if anything, Link would do.

There was a slight shifting of the covers and then a small sound; a muffled but still identifiable whimper.

"Link…" Rivan shifted over and pulled lightly at the blankets, only to find them pulled away again. "Link, let go... come on now. For me, please. I only want to talk to you." He felt the tension on the blankets drop and pulled lightly again, relieved when there was no further resistance. "It's going to be okay..." slowly, he began the arduous task of peeling off the layers of covers that hid the boy.

With careful hands he pulled the blankets away, until at last he spotted a mass of messy blonde hair peeking out. "Ah, there you are..." he smiled and unravelled the boy further.

Link was a dishevelled mess, his hair sticking out at all angles, his face pale and his eyes red. He clutched his stuffed horse like a lifeline as he stared at Rivan, still surrounded by piles of blankets.

"Oh dear..." he smiled sadly. "Oh Link. You do not need to hide yourself away like this." He offered his hand cautiously. "Come and talk with me, please?"

Link blinked, still clutching the horse with both hands, making signing impossible. Still, he edged forward ever so slowly, his eyes fixed on Rivan.

Rivan waited, not wanting to startle him or do anything that might ruin the moment. Link was moving towards him, that was progress.

Eventually, Link was next to the Zora, still looking up at him with wide eyes. Rivan realised that Link was in fact examining him, looking for signs of the horrendous injuries he'd sustained. "I'm fine," he assured him gently. "I ache a bit still and my leg is stiff, but I'll soon be back to myself, no need to worry." He reached out and rested his hand on the toy horse. "Could we maybe put this down for a minute so we can talk?"

Link froze and Rivan thought he was going to dive back under the covers, but at the last moment he seemed to pull himself together and relinquished his grip on the toy.

"Thank you..." Rivan set it nearby, so Link could get to it if he needed. "Now... why don't you tell me why you're hiding in here like this? There is no need, you know.

Link's hands were unsteady as he brought them up, his signs uncertain and hesitant in a way they hadn't since he first learned to sign. /My fault/ he said slowly, not looking at Rivan. /My fault./ His hands shook as he tried not to cry.

"Link..." Rivan sighed, trying to find the right words, words that would soothe without patronising. "I know that... things went rather wrong. But I also know that you didn't mean for it to happen. You were trying to help your mother, and that is a good thing. Sometimes things just do not go the way we plan." He paused, considering what to say next. "You are still very young, you could not have known how dangerous it is up there."

/But you could have died/ Link still couldn't look up. /Because of me./

"Link. No." Rivan reached out to hug him. "One thing you must learn, is that in life we all make our own choices. "Just as it was your choice to go there, it was your mother's to go after you and mine to go after her. I knew the risks when I made the jump; that was my choice and no one else's."

To his frustration, Link shook his head.

/I started it. You wouldn't have had to make those choices if I hadn't gone./

"Perhaps," Rivan conceded, "But life is full of choices, good and bad. All we can do is learn from them. No one died, Link, no matter how close we came, we are all still here." He smiled sadly. "You can spend your whole life thinking 'what if', or you can be thankful for what you have. And I think that is much better. And Link; I do not regret my choice. Not at all."

At that Link gasped, his body shuddering as he failed to fight back the tears. Rivan held him close, quiet for now as he let him cry. The trauma he had endured over the past week would stay with him a long time; if not the rest of his life. But they could at least try to minimise it, to preserve his childhood. "It's going to be okay, Link. We just need you to start being you again."

The small boy curled closer into him and Rivan bent a little when he realised Link was listening to his heartbeat. "See? Still working. And it will keep working. But it would feel a lot better if you could start to forgive yourself and come outside. Dunma misses you terribly."

Link looked up at last, his eyes still wet. /Doesn't hate me?/ he asked cautiously.

"Not at all. She was scared of course, for all of us, but she knows you were only trying to help your family. She might even have done the same in your place."

/Miss her too/ he signed miserably and Rivan smiled.

"Then come and see her. I'm sure you'll both feel better for it. And maybe you and your mother would both like to stay for dinner?"

Link blinked and Rivan suppressed a chuckle. "Yes, you heard me. For as long as I am here, neither of you are going to go hungry."

xxxxx

Medilia could hardly believe her eyes when the door opened and Rivan exited, his hand wrapped around Link's tiny one. It was the first time she'd seen him out of bed willingly in a week. She didn't know what Rivan had said, or how he had managed it, but she was elated. "Link!" she hurried to him, pulling him into a gentle hug. "Oh I am so glad to see you up." He was a mess; his blonde hair was matted and tangled, his face was pale, his eyes red and he desperately needed a bath. But he was up and looking at her and that was enough for now.

"Thank you, Rivan," she whispered as she held Link closer. She was keenly aware of just how much the kind Zora had done for them; it was more than she could ever repay. "I don't know what we'd do without you."

"Well then it's a good thing I'm not going anywhere," he chuckled, heartened at the sight of mother and child. "I'm happy I could help."

"You've done so much more than that. I wish I knew how to thank you."

Rivan smiled. "Well I've promised Link dinner tonight, so your company will be thanks enough."

"Oh..." she shook her head. It seemed there was no end to the kindness. "Thank you. Once again."

"There is no need. Dunma will appreciate seeing Link too, she's really missed him this week. It will be good for all of us and I am certainly looking forward to it, too long has passed since we spent time together. It is just what we need to put this last week to rest.

"Well then," Medilia looked to her bedraggled son, "We'd best get you cleaned up!"

Link groaned but nodded and Medilia was glad to see just a little bit of a spark back in his eyes. Perhaps healing was possible after all.

"I should be going then," Rivan said. "But I will see you later." He ruffled Link's already messy hair. "Thank you for talking to me."

Link nodded, still too entangled in his mother's arms to sign. He did smile though, the first that Rivan had seen since before the incident.

He made to leave, but as he opened the door, another surprise awaited him. Mipha stood there, her hand poised to knock and clearly startled that the door had opened already.

"Rivan! I did not expect to see you here. How are you feeling?" She looked up at him, still regal though he towered above her.

"Very well, thanks to you, my Lady," he replied. "I have finally been allowed home, but I had to come and see how Link and Medilia were faring."

Mipha looked past Rivan then, seeing Link as he pulled free of his mother's arms. "Link! How wonderful to see you again!" His unkempt appearance did not seem to bother her in the slightest. "It seems you are already feeling better, I am so pleased. Still, I hope the news I came to share will improve your mood further. I know it has done wonders for mine."

/What is it?/ he asked, curious despite himself.

Mipha smiled and offered her hand. "Let me show you."

Link hesitated, fear colouring his expression as he took in the door and the domain beyond it, but Rivan's hand came to rest on his shoulder. "It will be fine, I promise."

After a long moment Link nodded and while he didn't take Mipha's hand, he did reach for his mother's, letting her lead him out of the safety of their home, even as she tried to smoothe his tangled and knotted hair with her free hand.

Mipha led them through the domain, past the shops and the inn and up to the royal quarters. Past the throne room and into the private area the Zora royals called their own. There, in the middle of the room, was something new. A glass bowl, about the size of a cooking pot, upon a low but ornate stand. It was filled two thirds full with water and, floating in that water, a single egg.

Rivan was the first to catch on. "Is that…" he gasped, approaching the bowl with caution.

Mipha nodded, her smile radiant. "The royal family has been blessed again. I am to be a sister!"

XXX

END CHAPTER NINE