New Horizons - A Skyward Sword Aftermath Story

Chapter 27 - Allegiance at Last

Warm.

Everything felt warm. By now, it was a sensation Link was almost unfamiliar with.

Slowly slipping back into consciousness, he could feel that the painful frostbite had disappeared from his fingertips. He could hear the voices of several people around him, all muffled.

As if he had just been hit with a tonne of bricks, a pounding headache suddenly came over him.
He winced as he brought his hand up to his head. Eventually, his eyes cracked open for the first time. Several silhouettes of people towered over him. Blinking repeatedly, his vision slowly began to refocus. To his right, he saw his bedroom shelf, decorated with neatly-organised books and wooden statuettes he had built. He felt the softness of his bedsheets underneath him.
He was...home?

His eyes slowly shifted to his left. He recognised the people standing over him as his friends: Pipit, Karane, Groose, Cawlin, and Stritch. Their eyes were filled with worry. Mallara also stood at the foot of his bed, a pestle and mortar in her hands. Presumably, she was making a medicine of some kind.

"Hey, buddy." Groose spoke up, his voice weak. He forced his quivering lips into a small smile, trying to ignore the tears in his eyes that were threatening to fall.
"H-how are ya feelin'?"

Feelings of guilt and confusion washed over Link. He hadn't seen Groose emotional in a long time. It was a rare sight.
"I-I'm fine." The hero coughed as he sat up.
"Where... How did you-"
"After several days went by, we knew somethin' was wrong. We searched high and low, day and night for you two. The whole town was worried sick about ya!"
Link lowered his gaze.
"I'm... I'm sorry I made you worry."
"No no, it's okay. Don't apologise." The other replied. He hastily rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands, trying to keep his cring subtle.
"Luckily, we managed to find ya out in that strange white valley. A bright light was shinin' in the distance and we guessed that might be where ya two were. Your loftwings knew something was wrong, and joined the search party. They carried ya both back here."

Finally, Groose choked on a sob he'd been holding in for too long. He gave up and let his tears fall pathetically.
"If we hadn't found ya when we did- I- I worry that-"
"Alright, that's enough." Mallara interrupted gently.
"I'm glad to see that you're doing much better, Link."
The smaller boy glanced around the room, realising that something was missing.
His eyes widened.
"Where's Zelda?"
He threw his blanket off of him, and swung his legs round to get up.
"Is she alright?"

Everyone briefly looked at each other, awkwardly. Karane bit her lip.
"She's... Okay. She's safe."
"She's... just resting at home right now." Mallara quickly butted in. Link noticed how the woman refused to make eye contact with him, keeping her eyes on her pestle and mortar.
"She just has a bit of a cold from the weather."
"Resting?" Stritch spoke up. "I thought she was-"

Suddenly Cawlin slapped his friend's arm.
"Shut up, you idiot!" He hissed quietly.
The others all glared at the tall boy. Pipit slapped his forehead.
Link leaned forward, looking at them with narrow, angry eyes.
"You're lying to me."
Everyone's expressions became guilty.
"...We're sorry, Link." Karane started hesitantly. "We just didn't want you to worry."

Link completely ignored her, and sternly asked again.
"Where is Zelda?"

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Zelda hopped off of her blue loftwing at the foot of Eldin Volcano, and gave her head a pat.
"It's okay. I'll walk the rest of the way. I won't make you suffer in the heat."
Her bird gave her a concerned look.

After many years of being together, Zelda could read her like a book. No words were needed for her to see how she was feeling. 
"Oh, don't worry! Everything is going to be fine. I promise I won't get lost again. I shouldn't be long at all. You just stay here."