Chapter sixteen: Back to The Light

Three days had passed since the destruction of Majora's Fortress.

Link, Zelda, Saja and Malon were all staying at Lon Lon Ranch for the time being. Talon, it turned out, had been just fine during the evil transition that took place in Hyrule over that horrible month. Although he had notced the red tinged sky, the destruction of Hylia City, the war in the market, and seen himself from his bedroom window, the top of Majora's Tower explode in a ball of fire, he still did not know exactly what had transpired over the many weeks since Link had discovered Majora's Shadow in the woods. Malon took it upon herself to tell him.

Darunia had been buried at the foot of Death Mountain by a request from Link himself. He believed it was what he would have wanted, and believed that it was for the best. The funeral had been short due to all of the things that needed taking care of at the moment in Hyrule. Chief among the tasks was that half the beings in Hyrule were banding together to help rebuild Hylia City and parts of Kakariko. Link himself had been helping nonstop, as had Zelda, Saja and Malon, though Link could not keep Darunia out of his mind. Eventually, he knew, he had to go visit his grave one last time, to clear his conscience.

All of the team members that had assisted in Majora's downfall were in a deep shock after the quick demise of the incarnate. They had gone through such terrible evil and it had ended in only a few seconds. It didn't seem possible for it to have happened so fast, but it had, and they were having a rough time trying to come back to reality and realize that it was all over for the time being. They gave themselves one day off, three days after helping nonstop to rebuild Hylia City and gather together the surviving townsfolk. It turned out that most of them were still alive, though they were in huge shock, and were having trouble coming to their senses much like they were.

Malon chose to spend the day at the ranch. She did not feel much like going back out onto Hyrule Field, or to go anywhere else for a while. She knew in her mind that she was not to go back to being a ranch girl. She had hung the gerudo sword up on the wall, and made sure that she saw it at all times, to remind herself of who she now was.

The warrior girl lay on her sofa in the living room, staring up at the ceiling. It was raining lightly outside, saturating the earth, making the fields grow green again. Although she was happy about this, she didn't care much in her mind. There seemed to be something she had missed... something that hadn't been done...

She quickly remembered, when Saja opened her door and walked inside, his deep gray eyes boring into Malon's form. She sat up slowly, and smiled at him. He wordlessly walked over, and sat down beside her, putting his arm around her.

"I'm glad you came here," she said to him. He smiled to her, and replied, "This is the only place for me to go at the moment."

"Will you return to Cylith?" she asked, a hint of pleading in her voice. Luckily, Saja didn't catch it. She prayed that he would stay in her mind.

"There is no reason for me to return there," he answered her with a slight edge to his voice. "This is the only place for me. There is much work to do before I will go anywhere, if I indeed do go anywhere. Besides," he looked down at her, and she looked up at him, puzzled. "You're here."

She smiled, warmth washing over her for that response. She was very happy that he was staying. She had grown to know him so much since they had first met that night so many weeks ago.

"I remember when I first saw you standing there in front of The Black Leaf Temple's doors," she said to him. "I was so ignorant. I didn't know half the stuff I know now, and I think both of us have come to contacts with the world a bit more."

Saja grinned. "I suppose your right," he said. "Majora's rise and fall made me realize just how important life is... we take it all for granted, when really we should be cherishing every minute of it, spending it with the one's we love... "

He looked down at her, and she looked up at him.

"I wouldn't spend my life with any other person," she said to him, very quietly. Her heart thumped madly in her chest. She felt that she should finally make her move. Enough was enough. She was done waiting, and she was going to see what happened. Her heart was ready to take a rejection.

Saja pulled her closer to him on the couch, and he said "and I would stay with you for the rest of my life, too."

Malon moved closer to him, and saw that his head was moving closer to hers. I Could it really be true? /I

The two leaned closer to each other, wrapping their arms around each other, and kissed softly. They sat there, kissing for a few seconds, until both withdrew, putting their heads together. Saja smiled, stroking her face.

"I love you, Malon," he said gently. Her heart slowed down, and relief, and total and complete happiness enveloped her conscience.

"I love you too, Saja," she whispered. The two kissed once more, before breaking apart and hugging each other. Malon looked over his shoulder, tears in her eyes. Majora was defeated, the world was back to normal, she was a warrior woman, and Saja was in love with her as much as she had been for their entire time together. Everything seemed to be going right in her world...

But in some worlds, things weren't.

Link stood above Darunia's grave, his eyes cast downward, refusing to let tears drop from them. He looked at the grave. It read:

HERE LIES DARUNIA

WHO WAS THE FIRE SAGE OF LEGEND

A BELOVED FRIEND, AND ALLY, AND KING OF HIS PEOPLE

MAY HIS NAME LIVE ON IN GLORY.

Link had thought of no better inscription for the grave, and believed that this was the sort of treatment his sworn brother would have wanted. He knelt down next to his grave, and touched the dirt softly.

"Hello, brother," Link said gently to the grave. "Just thought I'd stop by."

There was silence, punctuated by the steady dripping of the rain around him.

"Hylia City is being rebuilt. Majora's Tower rubble has already been thrown away. We actually threw it into Hylia Lake and let it take it to the sea. Some people were against this idea, but we could think of no better way to do it."

He knew he was rambling, but he didn't know what else to say.

"Rebuilding is going along quite nicely. The ash from the black buildings has been cleared, and we're constructing the white walls of the city, and we're remaking the gate. We have all the townsfolk back, as well as the royal guard. Zelda is a little nervous around them, because, as you know, she's Queen now. She hasn't had much expirience in commanding her own army, but she'll learn, I'm sure."

He tightened his mouth, feeling tears forming in his eyes. Forcibly, he wiped them away.

"You helped us more than we could ever say," whispered Link. "Without your help, Hyrule would be rubble right now. You saved our lives more times than I want to count... I can't think of anything more that you could have done for us. Your name will go down in the legends, I'll make sure of that."

He closed his eyes, feeling them stinging. Tears dropped from them, despite his best efforts.

"I miss you, Darunia," he said through sobs. "I didn't want you to die... I should have done something for you... I should have helped you. You didn't deserve this!"

He wiped away his tears, and forced his voice to go back to normal, though it trembled in grief.

"If you ever need anything, I'm here. I will never leave you."

He clasped a hand on the grave, and whispered Darunia's final words to him.

"We rode together, we died together. And we will be brothers forever."

"Link," whispered a feminine voice. Link looked up through the rain, and saw Zelda walking toward him. He quickly tried to hide the fact that he had been crying as she approached. She knelt down beside him, and put her arms around him, looking at Darunia's grave.

"It's truly over," Zelda said, more to herself than Link. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he nodded mutely.

"We survived through such evil, and Darunia made it all the way to the end... why did he have to die like that?"

Zelda just kissed his cheek and rubbed his arms comfortingly. "The goddesses have chosen each's fate. Things can't have turned out any other way.

Link turned to her, and put his arms around her. The two hugged each other tightly, and Link made sure that his eyes were dry before pulling away.

"I will stand by your side through thick and thin," said Link to Zelda, his arms on her small shoulders. She smiled, and tears rolled down her face.

"And I will be your friend forever."

They both hugged again, this time, staying embracing for several minutes. When they finally took their arms off of each other, she said, "I have to get back up to Lon Lon Ranch to check on Malon and Saja."

"You go, I'll meet you there in a bit," he said. She smiled, then got up, and walked off around the base of the mountain.

Link looked back down at the grave, and sifted his hand through the freshly dug earth. Before he got up and left, he whispered one final thing to his brother, before departing.

"Your death will not be in vain."