The rise of a Hero

Chapter 23

Exhausted by their long journey, Link and Zelda arrived at the canyon stable a few hours after the beginning of the night. Fortunately, the owner was still awake and able to welcome them properly. The two travellers soon fell asleep because the next day was going to be long. Zelda had to improve Vah'Naboris' way of walking: one of her legs seemed too stiff. The rest of her corrections concerned minor problems. The next morning, she met Link for her first meal of the day. They had found a table carved from the stone, which suited them perfectly. The knight was more tense than usual because he knew very well what awaited him in a quarter of an hour. His friend must have read his mind as she broached the subject:

"It was Impa who found a servant's outfit for you. As she is relatively distinguished, the Gerudos will think that you are my lady-in-waiting. Unfortunately, some have already seen you on the battlefield... So I did my best to find a solution."

The blond swallowed with difficulty, disappointed. As long as his disguise was not as daring as the first time, he could say that it suited him even if he had no kind of desire.

"Iron shrooms have the particularity of staining a lot," continued Zelda, who took this case to heart. "If you let your hair down and I dye it brown, you should be harder to recognize. You will have to be careful not to wet them otherwise the colour may disappear..."

Link sighed, his shoulders slumped. Was there anything else? Given the princess's desolate look, this must have been the case. She told him that Urbosa would claim that he would be a cousin of the Hero, if necessary. At the end of the meal, Zelda got up to pay for their horses and then walked away with her friend to escape from everyone's view. Once that's done, she handed Link a big travel bag, an embarrassed smile on her face.

"In addition to a light dress that will allow you to withstand the heat, I added a corset to accentuate your waist and chest..."

The Hylian Champion thought the sky was falling; the fire rose to his cheeks. He prayed with all his heart that no one would recognize him. Link took a deep breath to grab the business in order to change in the shortest possible time. While he was doing this behind a big rock, Zelda was explaining the rest to him.

"Urbosa is waiting for us at the Kara Kara Bazaar," she informed him, sitting down. "She will take your equipment to hide them. It will be returned to you when we return to the castle. You have nothing to fear for my safety... Within the town, we will be quite protected."

Only the silence and the crumpling of the clothes answered her. After long minutes of waiting probably due to Link's embarrassment, the latter finally showed himself by displaying a lost look. The princess's first reaction was to laugh out loud despite her attempt to remain serious. Alas, nothing helped: it was too much funny.

"Don't embarrass me any more..." Link prayed to her, turning his head away, ashamed. "Am I so ridiculous?"

"That... That's not it! I didn't expect the disguise to be so effective."

Zelda wiped her eyes when she started crying with laughter. Seeing her appointed knight with false feminine forms was priceless. The cap that sat on his head to hide his skull had behind it the shape of a mushroom hat, two long threads fell on either side of his neck and were just waiting to be tied. In his back, Link's hair fluttered at times with the wind.

"Come, you must first colour your hair before tying your headgear."

Hesitantly, Link stepped forward, removed his headdress and then tilted his head forward to leave his hair more accessible. The princess, who had prepared the brown mixture, applied it meticulously for several minutes. After that, Link had to wait for the drying time. Zelda took the opportunity to wash her hands. She couldn't help but smile as the situation seemed grotesque. When she joined her friend, his hair had already dried thanks to the heavy heat. Of her own free will, Zelda grabbed her sons from the cap and tied them without even caring about Link's advice. The latter had frozen and was looking above his head because he did not know where to lay his eyes. A feeling of contradiction took hold of him because he wanted both Zelda to finish quickly but also that she continues.