@smilesrobotlover @ladye-zelda requested Abel, so here's my favorite papa in the whole wide world <3 (tagging @telemna-hyelle and @marenwithanm because it's Abel)
Zora's Domain was a beautiful and ethereal place. It was vastly different from anything Abel had seen before. His mind thought of all the different points of entry that could cause trouble, as he and his men were stationed there to protect the diplomats who had come to the domain to establish a better relationship with the Zora. His heart, however, thought of how much Tilieth would love this place.
He bit his lip and shook his head to rid his mind of the worry that started to cloud it. Tilieth's deteriorating health was entirely out of his hands. All he could do was pray and help peripherally.
Such as ensuring that Link wasn't an extra burden on Til's parents as they tended to her. Which led him to his current predicament.
Zora's Domain had many nooks and crannies for assassins to hide, many entrances for beasts to enter, and entirely too many places for a four-year-old child to go exploring.
Abel clenched his jaw a little as he continued to poke around all the glowing corners of the beautiful city. The sun had set a good while ago, and he had only just gotten out of his duties as the meeting between the diplomats had taken far longer than expected. Not to mention he had been assigned to guard them during dinner, which he had reluctantly accepted - he'd already pushed his luck bringing his little boy on such an important mission, so he wasn't going to complain at whatever task he'd been given, even if it meant watching everyone else eat when he hadn't touched a morsel of food since before sunrise, even if it meant his son was left alone in their quarters for the entire day.
He was beginning to wonder if bringing Link had been a good idea. He was also beginning to worry that something was actually wrong and he might not find his son anytime soon.
A giggle quickly alleviated that concern.
Sighing, Abel slowly peeked around a spire to see Link chasing a frog in the shallow water that flooded the majority of the city. The little one was barefoot, his pants soaked at the ankles, his hair a mess, and he was crouched over in intense concentration at catching the amphibian.
"Link," Abel said softly, making his son jump. "I told you to stay in our room."
It was an unreasonable request and he knew it. The child was four. He couldn't expect him to stay in their room all day. But he hadn't expected to be away from before sunrise to after sunset.
Idiot, he scolded himself. There was no way he was going to make this work, but he had to make this work.
"Papa!" the child yelled in delight, running towards Abel and hugging him tightly. The knight sighed, crouching down to hold his boy, feeling wretched as he heard the child sniffle.
"Papa I didn't know where you were and I tried to stay but I missed you," Link said, his voice muffled in his father's uniform.
"Oh, Link," Abel sighed, kissing his boy's head. "My duty kept me busy. I'm sorry. But doing our duty is very important."
"But I missed you."
Abel hugged him tighter. "I missed you too."
The pair was quiet a moment as Link's sniffles subsided, and then the child pulled away excitedly. "This place is so big! And I wanted to find you, and then I saw all the stuff, and then there were lots and lots of people, and then there was a frog, and then another frog--"
"Yes, there are lots of frogs here," Abel interrupted good naturedly, directing Link towards the main plaza so they could make their way to their quarters.
"But look, I can catch them!" Link insisted, laying eyes on yet another victim. He crept relatively quietly for a child, though his feet sloshed clumsily in the water. When he lunged for the frog, he put his entire body into the maneuver, slamming nearly headfirst into the ground.
Abel rushed to the child quickly and saw that while Link had earned himself a scrape, he was no less excited about his adventure. The knight sighed in exasperation. "There are better ways to hunt things, Link. Ways that don't involve almost giving yourself a concussion."
"What's a conshion?"
"Concussion. It's when you hurt your head."
"My head's okay!" Link insisted with a high pitched chirp and a smile.
Abel's tiredness pulled at him, but the boy's shining face burned it away. He crouched down so he was at eye level with the child. "Well. You still need to learn how to hunt better."
With that, the knight playfully grabbed his son and rolled around with him on the watery floor. Link let out a squeal that echoed in the air, unnoticed by both participants as Abel wrestled with the child, blowing a raspberry on his belly. Link giggled, wiggling like a little worm, too breathless to protest but trying to do so anyway as his father started tickling him.
Footsteps shifted in the water, and Abel's laughter and cheerfulness subsided as he noticed a shadow move in the distance. Glancing up, he saw a small Zora watching them, half hidden behind a pillar. Abel caught his breath, pulling Link into his lap as he watched the Zora child. "Hello, little one. Aren't you out late? Where are your parents?"
He heard chuckling above her, and he belatedly registered with terrifying realization that she was not, in fact, hiding behind a pillar.
Looking up, Abel saw himself staring at the king of the Zora.
Spluttering, he hastily shot to his feet, Link tucked into his right arm (and somehow he was upside down now, laughing the entire time), thought better of the gesture, and genuflected instead as he would for his own king. He knew his cheeks were flaming red, he could feel them burning despite being soaked from head to toe after rolling around with his son.
"Your Majesty," he acknowledged shakily.
"You may rise, Knight of Hyrule."
Taking a steadying breath, Abel slowly straightened out, adjusting Link in his grip. His boy was still in a playful mood, so excited he tried to squirm out of the anxious knight's grip entirely, and Abel had to gasp, catch his son as he fell, and reorient him to hold him tightly in his arms.
"I noticed you had a child with you in your party," the king commented. Abel didn't dare speak, so the monarch continued, "I take it he is yours?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Abel answered, keeping his eyes downcast. It would probably strain his neck to look up at the king's face anyway; the man was nearly twice Abel's height. It was honestly a little overwhelming how tall these Zora were. Rumor had it that the royal Zora grew to be enormous, though currently King Dorephan was only slightly taller than his subjects.
"My daughter, Mipha, noticed him too," the king said, and Abel saw him motion to the little Zora girl behind him.
Ah. So that was the princess. Great. Abel had talked to her like she was a normal child. He sincerely hoped he hadn't offended the king, damn it all, I came here for a diplomatic mission and have already made it impossible for Link and now I've ruined--
"She wanted to say hello," King Dorephan continued. "She heard you two out here."
"I-I'm terribly sorry for the noise, Your Majesty, we--"
"Nonsense, it's perfectly all right!" King Dorephan interrupted with a laugh. "Would it be acceptable for her to meet your son? She's never seen a Hylian child before."
Abel blinked, finally looking up at the king to see him smiling down at him. He... what?
Well... okay then.
"Of course," Abel answered. It wasn't like he had a choice in the matter - the last thing he wanted to do was offend the king. Besides... maybe...
He couldn't expect Link to befriend a princess. But... at least the boy could meet another child.
Slowly, Abel lowered Link to the ground as the king gently guided his daughter into the plaza. The princess approached slowly, hands clasped nervously in front of her.
"Hello," she said quietly, looking at Link.
"Hi!" Link said cheerily. "You look funny."
Abel choked on his spit. Goddess Hylia above, just kill me now, just put me out of my misery.
"Oh," Princess Mipha said, a little taken aback. "Well... I... you look... oh! You're hurt!"
Abel looked down at Link automatically and then remembered the scrape the boy had gotten. The princess approaced his son quickly, and Link watched her curiously as she hesitantly reached her hand towards his face. Abel felt his hackles raise a little - he wasn't sure about Zora culture, but physical touch was not condoned between strangers. They were children, but he still didn't like it.
Suddenly, the princess' hand started glowing. Abel's eyes widened, alarmed, as he watched her touch Link's chin. His son watched her in wonder, eyes wide.
There was a brief moment where she paused with her hand aglow and a strange, gentle hum reverberated through the air, and then she pulled away with a little smile.
"All better," she said, taking a step back. Abel looked at his son once more and saw that the boy's scrape was gone. Link's hand went to his face, tracing along his chin, and he gasped.
"Papa! Papa my ouchie's gone! Papa look!" he announced, grabbing Abel's trousers and tugging at them as if his father hadn't seen what had just happened.
The knight glanced uncertainly between his son, the princess, and the king, uneasily going down to one knee to placate his child.
"My daughter has healing magic," King Dorephan explained with a proud smile. "It's a rare and treasured gift among my people."
Abel held Link, letting his boy excitedly bounce and talk to him about his newly healed scrape, his eyes never leaving the king. Then he looked at his boy's glowing face, his own hand tracing his chin, and he whispered, "A gift indeed."
He should probably thank the princess. He definitely should thank her. Even if she'd been a normal child he should thank her. He looked up and noticed that she had retreated to her father, a shy smile playing at her lips.
"It's getting late," the king remarked. "But... if you like, I'm certain the children of the Domain would love to get to know your son. You should bring him with you in the morning. My attendants can help look after him."
Abel struggled to catch his breath. "Your Majesty, I could never ask for such a favor--"
"It isn't a bother at all, Sir...?"
"A-Abel, Your Majesty. Sir Abel. And this is Link."
"Sir Abel," King Dorephan said, his gentle smile returning. "Princess Mipha and I would be happy to see both you and Link in the morning."
With that, the king bade them a good night and guided his little daughter up the stairs towards the palace. Abel shuddered, the tension leaving him as he collapsed onto the ground, Link on his lap.
"Papa, she made it go away!" Link announced again, tapping Abel's face to get his attention. "It felt funny."
The knight huffed a tired, weak laugh, kissing Link on the nose. "Did it? I imagine so. Come on, Link. We both need to sleep."
His son thankfully didn't protest, and the pair made their way to the area set aside for the Hylian delegation. Abel nearly passed out before he'd even gotten to the bed, the encounter having sapped the last of his energy. Link snuggled in beside him, and Abel tucked him in and rested his chin over the child's head as he uncertainly drifted off to sleep.
By the goddess, Link, you're going to be the death of me.
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