Hero by Heart

Chapter 33

Directly after Link's statement Riju's face lit up, but Zelda felt her heart plummet. Somehow she knew that Link had not included her in that plan.
For now she just waited to hear more, so she kept quiet, secretly feeling more and more uneasy.
Eventually Link and Buliara decided mostly together, since they were the best at tactical stuff, while Riju listened intently and nodded excitedly every now and then.
In the end it became clear that Link and Buliara were going to scout the Hideout together, through the back entrance high up in the Gerudo Highlands.
Zelda would be left behind, entrusted in the good care of Merina and her group of warriors.
That was when she finally decided to speak up, because she simply refused to sit idly by waiting for Link to return safely.
'If you are going to trek into those mountains, then I want to go as well,' she said sternly.
Just when Link opened his mouth to protest, she raised her hand to cut him off. 'I want to go the other way, to visit Vah Naboris.'
At that she instantly gained a lot of surprised faces and multiple people started speaking at once.
'Why would you-'
'It's dangerous to-'
     'What?'
     Only Riju remained silent, studying the princess with a thoughtful expression.
     Eventually the others quieted down enough for her to speak. 'If you are willing,' Zelda started, looking first at Riju and then at Merina, 'your warriors can accompany me, so that I can take a look. As I briefly mentioned before, we were investigating why all Sheikah Technology went dead and this is a great opportunity to go see the Divine Beast.'
She sent Riju a pleading look, almost asking her for help. 'I don't want to sit here and be useless. If Link is going to go up those mountains it will take enough time for me to climb another.'
Riju slowly nodded, but Zelda could see on Link's face that he wasn't convinced. He didn't trust in her abilities and wanted to keep her safe and sound inside these walls.
Zelda straightened her back, convinced that she would show him she could take care of herself. If she had to take six warriors for him to feel at ease, then so be it.
'It's up to Merina.' Riju said. 'If she and the others are willing to guide you, then you have my blessing.' She smiled, grasping Zelda's hand and squeezing it softly. 'I trust that you deem this important, to risk your life for it.'
Zelda smiled, hope filling her heart again. She would be able to make herself useful and that was enough to lift her spirits, despite Link's obvious discomfort.
'What about you?' the Warrior Captain asked Riju, concern plain on her face. 'There will barely be anyone left to protect you.'
Riju shrugged and smiled assuringly. 'I will be fine. I'll stay inside the walls. We have enough warriors to protect me here.' She winked at Zelda. 'And I can protect myself perfectly fine as well.'
Zelda chuckled, feeling herself already growing close to the young Gerudo Chief. Much like herself, Riju always had overprotective people around her, wanting to keep her away from every form of danger.
     'So, now that that's all settled,' Riju exclaimed, excitedly clapping in her hands, 'let's get you some proper food.'

The Gerudo did not let a chance for a feast go to waste. The arrival of the Princess of Hyrule and her personal knight, the legendary Hero, had gone around like a rapid fire and soon the central square was being filled with tables and chairs for the entire population.
When Link and Zelda had freshened up they were escorted outside by their unofficial personal guards.
The sight of the central square was mesmerising, with countless lights under the great palmtrees, surrounding tables covered with the most extravagant dishes.
There were vai of all ages everywhere, enjoying this chance to party and eager to start the festivities.
After Link and Zelda found their seats and everyone had settled down a bit, it was time to eat. Lunch and dinner seemed to be combined, and there was so much that they would probably still be eating at nightfall.
Zelda enjoyed being around all these exuberant women, who brought so much colour into this desert that it was hard not to feel right at home.
As the feast progressed, more and more of the famous Noble Pursuit was consumed, making the younger vai forget about their prejudice towards men.
With every passing hour, the group of women swarming around Link grew bigger, all trying to gain his attention or to make him laugh.
Zelda watched in amusement as he was ever the gallant knight, using his charms as he talked and laughed with them. Every time someone touched him, though, he would chuckle awkwardly and politely pull away from any form of physical contact.
'You mean a lot to him.' Zelda heard a voice on her side.
She looked up to find Merina coming to sit down on the empty chair next to her, a glass of Noble Pursuit in her hand and her cheeks slightly flushed from its effect.
     'You know, I met Link when he first came here after waking up in that Shrine. I was standing guard at the front gate and wouldn't let him in, determined as he was.' She chuckled, barely noticing Zelda's gaze on her as she looked off into the distance.
     'He tried and tried again and every time we told him to get lost. We didn't believe him about this big destiny of his.' She frowned, her mind going back to that time.
     'Eventually he stopped coming and not too much later this little Hylian vai showed up. We never connected the dots.' She laughed out loud now, shaking her head.
     'He was pretty convincing as a girl, you know.' Now she winked at Zelda, a smirk playing on her lips.
     'This vai helped Lady Riju with returning the Thunder Helmet, before accompanying her in calming down Vah Naboris.' She scoffed. 'We couldn't believe it. We all knew this was someone special, so little effort did it take to solve all our problems.'
     'In the end we found out that it had been the Hero of Hyrule who saved us from the Yiga and our own Divine Beast. Some were outraged that he had infiltrated our town, but I always thought it was rather clever.' She smiled, looking at the handsome knight as he laughed about some joke.
     'I encountered him again, much later. He was travelling in the same direction I was, so we walked together for a while. Even though he had his horse with him, he walked beside it to accompany me.'
Merina paused, as she took a sip from her drink, and looked directly at Zelda.
The princess looked back, intrigued by the story. She hadn't heard much about Link on his journey to defeat Ganon. She knew what he had told her about the general events, but not many details.
'He was so gallant, always ready to help anyone that asked. Even though he remembered so little about himself, he never gave up hope.'
Zelda smiled softly, thinking about how hard it would have been for him. She was so glad that he had found his way back to her.
'He has changed,' Merina stated, causing Zelda to look up in surprise.
The Gerudo smiled at her, placing her hand on her shoulder. 'For the better. He seems happier.' She gave a little squeeze. 'You make him happier.'
     Zelda felt her cheeks flush slightly at those words, but she smiled gratefully nonetheless. 'He makes me happy too,' she whispered.
     She had never said that out loud before. It was the first time she openly admitted to the Gerudo that they were indeed in a relationship.
     The realization made her heart skip a beat, but it felt much better than she had imagined.
     Merina didn't look at her disapprovingly, or skeptical, or any other way that Zelda was always so afraid of. Instead she looked happy, encouraging even.
     Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let others see how much the knight meant to her.