Disclaimer: I don’t want to get in whatever trouble people can get into when using other people’s characters so - .The Legend of Zelda, Link, Zelda, Ganon, Hyrule and other related characters and settings belong to to that wonderous console company, Nintendo. No infringement intended.

Juliet A. Singleton (Scullys@bigfoot.com) & Kirsty Singleton (Indigo_Spacen@mail.com)

Epilogue

    The group returned to the castle early next morning, triumphant, yet subdued. Drake seemed particularly quiet. Everyone, even Zelda, were devastated over what had happened to Leigh. They'd sheltered in a cave in the canyon for the night, and then made the journey back home when the first rays of sunshine had shown themselves. Miraculously, all the water and mud had disappeared, proving that indeed, the terrible weather had been caused by the entities in the tower, and had been a magical storm, as Impa had suspected. The King ran out into the courtyard, along with Fenella, to warmly embrace his daughter, and her companions. "You're all okay!" he exclaimed, hugging Zelda tightly.

   "Almost," the Princess admitted.

    "We... we lost Leigh," Drake said sadly.

    "What?" Fenella said, looking shocked.

   "I couldn't help her... she fell from the top of the tower and..." Link started.

   "There was a flash of lighting, and she was gone," Aaron said.

    "The Avatar can't be dead! It's simply not possible!" Fenella cried.

   "She just disappeared. We tried to search around the tower, but..." Charles said, trailing off.

   "This is simply terrible! Whatever will Lord British say?" Fenella continued.

   "Yes well, it's not good! This could put us on bad terms with Sosaria!" Zelda said, looking slightly angry.

   "Who cares about that? I think we should go back, once this weather calms down," Drake said.

   "Drake, we saw her vanish. And we couldn't possibly have found her around there," Nick replied, putting his hand on Drake's arm and looking directly at him. Drake nodded, and turned away.

   "I'm sure you all did your best," Harkinian said, looking sad.

   "I think we got rid of whatever was inhabiting that tower," Link told the King.

   "Thank you, Link," Harkinian answered, patting his son-in-law on the shoulder.

    "I don't feel like a celebration party," Zelda suddenly remarked. Whenever they'd had any sort of victory, it was tradition to hold a party. But like Zelda, none of them really felt in the mood for something like that.

   "I suppose we should contact Lord British," Fenella said to the King. He nodded.

   "What about that kid, Sparks?" Aaron suddenly questioned. He'd been training the boy to be his apprentice, but would he stay, now that his guardian was dead?

   "Oh goodness, there's so much to do," Fenella exclaimed, heading back indoors, along with the king, looking very distraught.

   "He can stay here, if he wants," Zelda said, not really knowing what else they could do about the situation.

   "Maybe he'll want to go back to Sosaria. I believe Leigh had a lot of friends back there, they might want to look after him. I mean, we're practically strangers," Link replied.

   "Yes well, Aaron, can you tell him what happened?" Zelda asked, turning to the young hero. He nodded.

   "Sure. He's my apprentice, so I guess it's my job," he answered. The princess sighed, and turned to walk inside. Link quickly followed. This left Aaron, Drake and the two other young kings stood in the courtyard alone. Charles looked over at them all.

   "I guess now that the weather's cleared up, I should be heading back to Lemmink," he said quietly. Drake nodded.

   "Thanks for your help. I don't know what we would have done, without the aid of your men," he said, thinking back to the recent war.

   "Anytime," Charles replied.

   "I think I'll go and find Sparks," Aaron said, hurrying off.

   "Come on, let's go inside," Nick suggested.

    Drake walked into the courtyard, and instantly spotted a mournful looking figure, perched upon the wall nearby the archery range. He knew he it was immediately. He carefully walked over, careful not to disturb the boy. He leaned against the wall and looked up at the boy. Sparks turned his gaze from his dangling feet and turned it onto the knight. "She wasn't meant to..." he started, choking back a sob. Drake placed a reassuring hand on Sparks' shoulder.

    "I know, I know," he said, searching for better words. "I mean, she was like, I don't know. A sister, a mother, a guardian. She did everything for me, and I never did anything for her. She didn't have to help me when my dad died, but she did anyway," continued Sparks, his voice beginning to crack. Drake squeezed the boy's shoulder comfortingly.

    "You gave her gratitude, appreciation, love. It's a hell of a lot more than she got while she was here. She helped us defeat Ganondorf once and for all, and what was she repaid with? She was chucked into jail for a load of crimes which she hadn't even committed," said Drake, sounding a little angry. Sparks shrugged nonchalantly, not really caring. Nothing really seemed to matter, not now. "Are you going to go back to Sosaria? Because you are welcome to stay here if you want to," said Drake.

    "I don't know. I should go back to Sosaria I suppose, tell Iolo and everyone else. And Lord British, I sure bet he's gonna regret exiling her now. If Sosaria ever comes under attack again, we're as good as gone," said Sparks, his tone bitter.

    "What then?" pushed Drake.

    "I could either stay in Sosaria, and take over my dad's blacksmith, or I could come back here, couldn't I?" said Sparks questioningly.

    "Of course, you'll always be welcome here. Aaron thinks you'll make an excellent apprentice, so..." said Drake. Sparks slipped down off the wall.

    "I guess I should go and pack. I want to get back to Sosaria as soon as possible, away from all this," said Sparks.

    "I'll arrange a ship for you to get back," offered Drake quickly. Sparks waved a hand dismissively.

    "Nah. I came in the Golden Ankh, the crew are still with it. I'll go home in it too," he said. Drake nodded and shrugged. Sparks began to head back to the castle and then turned to Drake with a thankful smile. "Thanks, for caring," he said, then left. Drake stood up straight and decided to follow the kid back in for an early night.

    Fayette sidled up the corridor to Selina's room. She pushed the door open and walked in. Selina was sitting on the edge of her bed, reading through a letter of some sort. She had been crying. "Come to a decision?" said Fayette loudly. Selina looked up, shocked. She clutched the letter to her chest and gulped back a sob.

    "What about?" she asked meekly. Fayette smiled.

    "You're not that absent-minded surely?" said Fayette coyly, perching upon the bed next to Selina. Selina edged away, folding up the letter and slipping it into her back pocket. "What were you looking at?" questioned Fayette.

    "Nothing for you," replied Selina, fiddling with a piece of her thick, curly hair.

    "Umm well, I'll probably see it eventually," retorted Fayette flippantly.

    "Not if I can help it," snapped back Selina. The healer stood up and walked over to the ajar door. She opened it wider and turned to look at Fayette. "Out!" she demanded. Fayette just laughed.

    "I don't think you really want me to go Selina. Not until we've sorted out our little agreement," said Fayette sweetly, twirling her hair.

    "I said out," said Selina, a little quieter. Fayette stood up, pausing to brush the creases from her dress. She walked over to the door, coming face to face with Selina.

    "I am a woman of my word Selina, so don't think I'm just bluffing my way through life. I'm sure you will regret your decision," threatened Fayette.

    "I said out!" said Selina, still ignoring Fayette. Fayette just smiled smugly and left the room. Selina slammed the door behind her and waited a few minutes. Then she left the room, hoping she would reach Nick before Fayette did.

    "Hey. I've not seen you since we got back. I was worried," exclaimed Nick as he spotted Selina entering the library. Selina said nothing, just walked over to him and took his hand, sitting down next to him. She examined his hand for a moment, then looked at him. She looked upset. "Selina? What's wrong?" implored Nick worriedly.

    "There's some things I need to tell you Nick. About me, I'm not sure if your going to like it, but there you are," she blurted suddenly. Nick gazed into Selina's eyes meaningfully and shook his head. He clasped his both his hands over hers and smiled.

    "There can be nothing about you that I could ever even slightly dislike, never mind hate. I just want you to know that," he said, his voice husky. Selina nodded, casting her gaze down to her hands, unable to return his stare.

    "I'm afraid you might have to retract that statement once you've heard this," she said sadly.

    "I won't. I know you, and I love you more than anything in the world Selina. But if you want to tell me this, even though you don't have to, then I'm prepared to listen," Nick assured her. Selina smiled, but she felt worse. How could she even begin to explain to him about her relationship with Aramis? Nick hardly deserved to know that Selina really was almost as a common wench as Fayette made her out to be. Almost. There had only ever been Aramis. Selina paused as she ran through her thoughts, hating Fayette for forcing her to this. But perhaps it was all for the best.

    Fayette snorted as she discovered that Nick, as in every other room in the castle, was not in the drawing room. He hadn't been in his own room, or anywhere on the bottom floor, even in the castle grounds. Her last place was the library. He could be anywhere by now though, in a room she had already searched. She yanked open the door, annoyed, and spotted Nick immediately, sitting at a table reading. He looked particularly sullen. Fayette smiled and almost pranced over to him. "Hello," she said sweetly. Nick looked up, but did not return the greeting. "I've been looking everywhere for you!" exclaimed Fayette loudly. Nick remained silent. "It's just, I found some things out about Selina, and I thought you deserved to know," she continued. No response. "It's just..." started Fayette gleefully. Nick slammed his fist heavily down onto the table.

    "I already know!" he said quietly. Fayette stopped, wondering what to do next.

    "Terrible, isn't it? But I always knew she was a..." she said.

    "Fayette. Do you realise what your threats have done? Your snooping? Bringing up all those old memories for Selina like that. She's extremely upset, and worried what I might think. Well I can tell you know, I think a hell of a lot more than her than I'll ever do of you. You disgust me more than you could know!" said Nick, his voice raised much louder than his usual neutral tone. It was Fayette's turn to be silent. Nick shook his head in clear hatred, if not dislike, and stood up. He stormed out of the library, slamming the door with such a force, Fayette was surprised it didn't come of it's hinges. She sat there for a moment, speechless. Perhaps she had gone a little too far this time. And now she was going to pay the consequence.

    Nick strode up the stairs, and headed for Selina's room. After she had told him everything about her relationship with Aramis, she had asked him to think about it, see if he still loved her as much as he had claimed to. He now knew that he hadn't needed time to think about it, he still loved her. He didn't see that this whole Aramis thing was even a reason to hate Selina. It was all in the past. He raised a fist to tap at the door, then paused. There was something he needed first, and it was in his room. He quickly turned around to head back to his own room.

    Selina lay on her bed, fully-clothed, staring at the ceiling. When Nick had heard all she had had to say, he had told her it made no difference to his feelings. She had asked him to think about it first, so that he could be absolutely sure. She was regretting that statement already. There was a soft tap at the door. Selina sat up, combing back her disarrayed hair with her fingers. She knew it wasn't Fayette, she would've just barged in. Selina looked across at the large clock that stood in a corner of the room. It was late, so who could it be? Nick? "Come in," she called wearily. The door was slowly swung open, Nick standing at the threshold. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Selina got off the bed and walked towards him, searching his eyes for a clue of his decision. Instead of giving her a reassuring word, hug or kiss, he said nothing. Selina feared the worst. He looked around the room for a moment, almost shaking his head.

    "Selina, come outside. We need to talk," he said. Selina felt a pang of worry in her chest. He wanted their relationship to end. But why outside? To make her feel worse? Nick saw her expression, and smiled softly. "It's good, I promise you," he assured. She noticed he was wearing a cape. He had obviously been counting on her to agree. She nodded.

    "Just let me get something warmer," she said, walking over to the wardrobe and pulling a long dark green cloak from it. She quickly put it on, and then allowed Nick to lead her outside her room, down the stairs and outside into the night. From there, he took her to the royal gardens, finally settling on a twilight bathed spot near the lake. For the whole journey, Nick said not a word. When they arrived, he told her to sit down on the bench and then he got down on one knee. He took Selina's left hand, touching it with his lips.

    "I know this isn't perfect, but if I don't ask now, well, I'd probably ask you tomorrow, or the day after, or the day after that. But the point is, I think although the setting isn't as good as I would like it to be, the time is," started Nick after a short breath. He pulled a small box from his back pocket, still clasping Selina's hand with his free one. He pushed it open with his thumb, and held it up for Selina to see. She'd known what it was a soon as he had pulled it from his back pocket. It was an elaborate, yet strangely simple gold ring, set with diamonds and emeralds. It wasn't too much, nor too little, and it was as perfect as if Selina had selected it herself. "Selina, do you believe in love after love? Because I can see that what you shared with Aramis clearly was love, but if you reciprocate even near the feelings which I hold for you, then it must be true. Selina, will you marry me?" asked Nick, in a tone that surely did not belong to a King of the richest country in the entire world. He sounded as though he were the humble peasant asking royalty to marry him, rather than the other way. Nick looked up at Selina, his eyes filled with sincerity and love. They say that the eyes are the window to the soul, and the case was so true with Nicolas of Dalsona. Selina nodded at him, too overwhelmed to say a word. He smiled and dropped her hand for a brief moment as he took the ring from the box. He grasped her hand again, then slipped the ring onto her finger. It looked perfect. He put the box on the edge of the bench and then stood up, as did she, and joined her in a joyous embrace. After a while, they briefly separated.

    "Thank you," breathed Selina, gazing into Nick dark, expressive eyes.

    "Thank you, for making me the happiest man to ever walk this planet," retorted Nick, smiling. He kissed her again, feeling happier than surely any man had.

    "I never thought it would come to this," Zelda said quietly, as she gazed out of the window.

   "Me either. She... she said it was going to happen," Link replied. Zelda turned to face him.

   "How do you mean?" "She foresaw it. I guess you can't always change destiny," Link said, suddenly remembering his encounter with Kylara.

   "I guess not," Zelda said in a soft tone. She walked slowly over to the bed. "I never even thanked her," she said, looking upset. "I was so mean to her, I can't believe how dreadfully I acted," she added, her eyes beginning to water.

   "Zel, don't do this. I did it when my family was killed... I blamed myself and thought of all the awful things I'd said and done, but it's just not worth it. We have to look to the future, and try to forget," Link replied.

   "It's okay for you. You didn't act horribly towards her," Zelda said. She sunk down onto the bed. "I guess it's too late to be sorry, though."

   "I think she knew you were sorry," Link said, giving her a small hug.

   "At least it's all over. Hyrule is finally safe," the princess said, wiping her eyes. "Yes. It's safe. For our children," Link said, bringing a hand softly down onto his wife's stomach. She looked up and smiled at him.

   "You truly think we're rid of Ganon, and any of his cohorts?" she whispered.

   "I sure hope so," Link answered.

   "Too much to hope?" Zelda questioned.

   "Not this time. I think it's all finished. We can have a peaceful life now," Link said, wrapping his arms around her comfortingly. Zelda laughed a little.

   "That sounds kind of nice," she said.

   "I sure think we deserve it. After everything we've been through. Yes, it's time to settle down and... " Link said. Zelda leaned back, still smiling.

   "Actually, I can't believe I'm hearing this. You and I, settle down?" she interrupted.

   "Uh, well..." Link began, smiling back. Zelda leaned forward to kiss him. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see," he finished, kissing her back.

   "I love you, hero," Zelda whispered.

   "I love you too, Princess," Link replied back, mimicking her use of their old names for each other. They leaned forward to exchange another kiss.

    Sprite and Navi sat atop a bookshelf, watching the scene unfold before their eyes. "The land is finally rid of all evil," Navi sighed in contentment. Sprite snorted.

   "As if!"

    "Can't you not feel the good in the air?" Navi questioned.

   "I guess so," Sprite admitted. Navi smiled.

   "Don't you just adore true love?" she said amicably. Sprite rolled her eyes.

   "Navi, you're the weirdest faerie I ever met!"

   "Correction Sprite; you're the weirdest faerie I ever met!" Navi replied.

   "Jeez, thanks!" Sprite said, looking offended. Navi smiled again.

   "Well, I guess my work here is finally done," she remarked, standing up.

   "Great! Now you can get lost back to your own era and leave me in peace!" Sprite said, standing also. She brushed down her short pink silk dress, and ran a hand through her curly auburn hair. "I get Link all to myself," she smiled. "Well, almost," she added, on afterthought, remembering Zelda. Navi raised her eyebrows.

   "Hmmm... then again, it's so nice here, I think I'll stay," she said.

   "What?!" Sprite screeched incredulously.

   "Never mind that, I really should keep an eye on Link..." Navi continued.

   "Excuse me, you little time-travelling witch, but that's MY responsibility!" Sprite cried.

   "I mean, you might just be tempted to..." Navi said slyly. She didn't get to finish, because Sprite grabbed a lock of Navi's wavy black hair, and pulled it hard. Navi shrieked, and punched Sprite in the chest. The faerie staggered backwards, and fell off the bookcase.

   "You little cow, I'll get you for that!" she shouted in a high pitched tone, managing to fly, and thus stopping her fall. Navi chucked some faerie dust at her, and laughed.

   "Yeah, right!" Link and Zelda noticed the scene, and just laughed. It certainly looked like everything was once again, back to normal...

    And so now we will leave Hyrule's greatest hero, his beautiful princess, and all of their friends (and enemies) for a short while. Hyrule is finally rid of all evil, and a full Triforce resides safely at North Castle. Of course, there are many matters that are yet to be cleared up, but unfortunately, this story got very long, and we had to stop somewhere. What happened to Leigh? Is she really dead? And what about Selina and Nick? What will their wedding be like? And of course, Zelda and Fayette will soon be having a child each... all this, and more, will be covered in another upcoming Special Edition story, which we'll post as soon as we can. Watch this space!

The End

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