Rhiannon rode her horse through the Hyrule Field in the direction of the castle, hoping not to be spotted by a Guardian. Dori trailed behind, trying to catch up. She would nervously look at the Stalker Guardians in the distance. "Jeez, Rhia!" she called, "Slow down!"
Rhiannon pulled the reins of her horse to make it come to an abrupt stop. She then jumped off her horse and headed towards a stone platform surrounded by stone columns. She looked down to see the Triforce symbol beneath her feet, then looked back up at the castle as she began to remember.
25 years ago
"A knight?!" Rhiannon gasped. "That's right," Link sighed, "your mother wants me to appoint a knight for your guard."
"Father!" Rhiannon exclaimed, "There's a reason I don't need a knight: I can take care of myself! Isn't that why you've been training me?"
"And that's exactly why your mother wants to appoint a knight," Link answered, "she fears you're going to get too cocky and will get heavily injured, or worse, killed."
"I'm almost 18," Rhiannon crossed her arms, "my mother treats me like I'm a child!"
"She cares about you, champ," Link said sternly, "just give it a chance. If this knight does not do his job, I'll let you fire him, deal?"
"Ugh, fine," Rhiannon rolled her eyes, "I can't wait to meet the loser."
They then headed towards the sanctum, where Zelda awaited next to a knight. He was a young Hylian man slightly taller and older than Rhiannon, with black hair and brown eyes. Rhiannon stared at the knight with rage, wanting to destroy him with a single glance. "Rhiannon, meet the captain of your guard," Zelda smiled, "this is Kendrick."
Rhiannon looked at him in disgust. "Princess Rhiannon," Kendrick bowed, "it is my greatest honor to serve you."
"I hope you die," Rhiannon whispered coldly at him as she bowed back, forcing a quick smile. That afternoon, Rhiannon walked out of the gates of the castle town and headed towards the Sacred Grounds. She stood in the middle and took a deep sigh. "Power, Courage, Wisdom," she said as she looked down at the Triforce, "my mother represents Wisdom, my father represents Courage, but who do I represent? Could it be that it is me who represents Power? I mean, who else could it be? Ganon?"
"Hey, Rhia!" Dori said, "Hope I'm not interrupting!"
"You're fine," Rhiannon sighed, "guess what happened today."
She pointed at Kendrick in the distance. "Who the heck is that?" Dori asked. "My knight," Rhiannon sighed, "my mother decided it would be fun to baby me..." she then pulled Dori closer, "...do you know how embarrassing it would be for me if the folks at the Underworld heard I have someone looking over me, the four-time champion? My entire reputation would be in shambles!"
"I mean, it already kind of is," Dori said. "Oh, big deal!" Rhiannon rolled her eyes, "Just because I'm not the traditional princess! That's dumb! I'm not a renegade, I just like to think outside the box! By the by, a little birdie told me you applied for the Guardian Restoration Program, right?"
"Yeah, why?" Dori asked. "I don't understand how you can be so comfortable around those things," Rhiannon said, "I don't trust them. Whatever, let's go--"
Before she could head back to the castle, she and Dori heard loud screaming that came from the Hyrule Field. "Did you hear that?" Dori asked. "Someone's in danger!" Rhiannon said, "Come on, Dori! I came prepared!"
"Your Majesty! Wait!" Kendrick ran behind them. Rhiannon and Dori followed the noise, they noticed a pair of Gerudo travelers being attacked by blue Bokoblins. "You take the right, I take the left," Rhiannon commanded. "Roger!" Dori obeyed. They both charged towards the monsters at the same time. "Stay back, ladies!" Rhiannon said, "This is going to get nasty!"
She swung her sword towards the Bokoblin, making it bounce against the monster's wooden shield. "Eat my sword, you bundle of bacon!" Dori cried, swinging her sword and impaling the Bokoblin with it. Rhiannon, on the other hand, was struggling to get past the Bokoblin's shield when Kendrick jumped in, cutting off the monster's arm and then thrusting his sword through its chest. "Apologies for that, ladies," Dori said, "the road should be safe for now."
The two Gerudo travelers continued walking, muttering things between each other. "Princess!" Kendrick gasped, "Are you--?"
"Just what the hell's your problem, huh?!" Rhiannon hissed, grabbing him by the collar, "You think I need some man-thing like you to be my watchdog?! I could've handled it myself!"
She then tossed him towards a muddy puddle before walking away. "My most sincere apologies," Kendrick said as he caught up to them, walking into the castle town, "if you ask me, Your Highness, but fighting is a knight's duty. A princess should never fight."
Rhiannon then froze in her tracks. "What did you just say?" she hissed angrily. "Uh-oh..." Dori gasped as she slowly backed away, "You shouldn't have said that..."
"I'm sorry, I believe I did not hear you correctly," Rhiannon turned around, walking towards him, "what was it that you said?"
"That a princess should not fight--" before Kendrick could finish, Rhiannon delivered a strong punch into his face; the impact knocked him off his feet. "Get him, Rhia!" Dori cheered. The two guards that were standing at the entrance of Hyrule Castle gasped when they saw Rhiannon kick Kendrick in the face. Before he knew it, he was in a puddle of his blood. "Say that to my face again, you bastard!" Rhiannon shouted, "A princess shouldn't fight?! Well, news flash! I'm not like other princesses, I am the toughest warrior this kingdom has ever seen next to my father!"
She delivered a second kick, knocking off a few of his front teeth. The people around had gathered to see what was going on. "I dare you to say that again, you little worm!" the princess bellowed. "Sh-Should we tell the general about this?" one of the guards asked. "Definitely!" the second guard replied. They both ran across the bridge and headed towards the Guards' chambers. "General Link!" They called, "We need your help!"
"Huh? What is it?" Link gasped, "Is something wrong?"
"It's Princess Rhiannon, sir," the first guard answered, "she is beating Kendrick to a bloody pulp!"
"If we do not stop her now, Kendrick is as good as dead!" the second guard added. Without hesitating, Link dropped what he was doing and followed the guards towards the town square. Kendrick's blood was running through the cobblestone as he received another blow from the angered princess. "Please, Princess Rhiannon!" he pleaded, "Have mercy! I didn't mean to insult you!"
"You'll think twice before spewing out some dumb crap next time!" Rhiannon hissed, picking him up from the collar, "You should know better than messing with me!"
"No, please!" Kendrick cried, "I have learned my lesson! Please accept my apologies and for the love of Hylia just stop!"
"Rhiannon!" Link called, "Let him go!"
"He dared insult me and my fighting skills!" Rhiannon said, "I'm not done punishing him!"
"You're about to kill him!" Link said, "For Hylia's sake, let him go!"
Rhiannon then released Kendrick from her grip, making him fall into his very own blood. "You're fired," she hissed, "you didn't even last me a day, but it's not like I was expecting you to last longer. Good luck surviving out there, I doubt you'll make it to see next year, though."
She let out a malicious smirk, striking fear into Kendrick's heart. "H-How?!" he thought, "I always heard Princess Rhiannon was kind and caring like her mother, but I see she's just as ruthless as her father! She's even more dangerous than General Link could ever be! She's pure evil!"
With whatever strength he had left, Kendrick got up and walked towards the gates. "Wait! Kendrick!" Link called, "You can't leave yet!"
"I'm sorry, general," Kendrick said, "but it is obvious that Princess Rhiannon does not need me! Besides, she an insane murder machine! I fear for my life just standing next to her!"
"That felt good," Rhiannon sighed. "What were you thinking?!" Link asked, "What prompted you to beat him up so savagely?! I never taught you to be this violent!"
"He insulted me so I just had to defend my honor," Rhiannon replied, "you always say that a man's honor is to never be insulted, so that's kinda your fault, father dearest!"
"When your mother hears this, she will not be happy," Link sighed, "you have to control that anger of yours, champ. You're going to end up killing someone."
"In all honesty, father," Rhiannon said, "you're the only man I respect."
"That's not going to save you from getting grounded, champ," Link said sternly, "but good try, though."
Present Day
"Rhia? Are you okay?" Dori asked. "Yeah, I'm fine," Rhiannon sighed. She looked down at the Triforce underneath her feet, then looked up at the castle as night began to draw closer. "Let's get moving," she commanded, "we can't be out at night. If the Hyrule Field is truly dangerous, I don't want to imagine what will attack us."
As they walked away from the Sacred Grounds, Rhiannon and Dori felt something had zoomed behind them. "What the heck was that?!" Rhiannon asked. "A gut feeling tells me it was a group of Keese," Dori answered, "they tend to attack in large groups. We have to get to safety!"
They both mounted their horses and headed back into the Hyrule Field. Rhiannon noticed the blue glow of the Guardians in the distance, which made her anxious. The moon had risen to its highest point by the time they got across the Hyrule Field. "There should be a stable nearby," Dori said. "Why didn't we stop by a village?" Rhiannon asked. "Do you seriously want to stop at Mabe village?" Dori answered. "Good point," Rhiannon sighed. "Oh, check it out!" Dori exclaimed, "That path there should take us to Gerudo Town! It goes across the Gerudo Canyon."
Rhiannon observed the path ahead, although her vision was limited due to the darkness of night. "Come on, Rhia," Dori said, "we'll head there in the morning."
When they arrived at the stable, Dori booked two beds. "Huh? Where did you get rupees?" Rhiannon asked. "Oh, Tulin's mom handed me some," Dori answered, "apparently, Tulin himself told her that we can barely afford something to eat so out of the kindness of her heart, Miss Saki gave us a few rupees."
"I'll make sure to repay her once this is all over," Rhiannon sighed, "I don't want people thinking I'm taking advantage of them."
"Anyway, let's rest," Dori said, "I am exhausted, I dunno about you."
She headed towards a bed and laid down on it, falling asleep instantly. On the other hand, Rhiannon struggled to sleep all night. "25 years ago I was a naive and selfish princess," she thought, "today, I'm just the husk of who I used to be. If the person who I used to be before could see me right now, she would not recognize me. I can't recognize myself anymore, I've been torn by war, I was separated from my family, and now I struggle to find my identity."
She then sat up slowly. "As I told my grandfather, I don't feel like royalty right now," she continued, "there are so many pieces of the puzzle missing. It's so hard to connect the dots if I can barely remember who I used to be."
The princess got out of bed and walked towards the exit, trying to be silent enough to not wake Dori and the other travelers. She observed as the sun began to rise in the distance. "I just hope she recognizes who I am," Rhiannon sighed, "the more I think about Aya, the more I feel like she was the one I was supposed to be with, but at the same time, I don't want to throw away Zya's love... my heart is torn between two people I love, and it's so hard to decide."
She tip-toed back towards the bed and reached for the Sheikah Slate. "The current time is 4:00 am," she thought, "if I get moving now, I should reach Gerudo Town by sundown, maybe even by noon."
Rhiannon attached the Sheikah Slate to her belt and made her way outside silently. She mounted her horse and headed out in the direction of the Gerudo Canyon. "Aya, my love," she thought, "just hang on a little longer!"
She crossed a suspension bridge, trying to ignore the height as much as she could. When she was halfway through, she noticed a Stalker Guardian. It was positioned in the middle and it looked like it was decaying. Rhiannon could not tell whether it was still active or not, so she unmounted her horse and walked towards the machine. She reached for the Great Eagle Bow and loaded an Ancient arrow into it as she approached the Guardian. "It seems like this thing is nothing but a carcass," she sighed as she kicked the Guardian's body. There was no response as she was expecting, just an empty echo coming from the Guardian's body. When Rhiannon turned around, she froze in her tracks when she noticed she nearly stepped into the spotlight of a Skywatcher Guardian. "Oh, great!" She said, "Skywatchers! How pleasant!"
She observed the Skywatchers' routines, reminding her of Rudania's sentinels. Rhiannon whistled, making her horse approach her. She mounted her steed and nervously made it across the rest of the bridge, only stopping when she had to avoid the Guardians' spotlights. She would hold her breath when she had to stop, then would take a deep sigh of relief whenever she was in the clear. Finally, she reached the other side of the bridge, only to be greeted by Bokoblins on horses. "Well, this is lovely," Rhiannon sighed. She then charged towards them as she reached for the Great Eagle Bow, loading arrows into it and aiming at the Bokoblins' heads. One of them fell off its horse, which allowed Rhiannon to run it over with her horse. The other Bokoblin chased her down further into the canyon. After taking a sharp turn, Rhiannon noticed that she was not being chased anymore. She pulled the reins, making her horse stop. She then unmounted her horse and walked towards the canyon wall. "I'm going to get that map," she said as she began climbing, "I need a map of the region."
It took her a while to reach the top without falling. By the time she reached the top, her arms and legs felt sore. She looked up to see a clear path ahead of her that led her towards the Sheikah tower. "It should be easy from here on," she sighed. Just as she began walking, three yellow Chu-Chus sprouted from the earth. "Well, isn't this just charming!" Rhiannon exclaimed, "I didn't know I'd get a welcome committee!"
She avoided the monsters' electric attacks, somersaulting above them. "Quick, Rhiannon! Think!" she thought, "You can't use a sword against them, they'll fry you to a crisp! I only have a few arrows left from the Medoh battle, so I'll make 'em count!"
She reached for the Great Eagle Bow again and loaded three arrows. Using the arrows, she pierced the Chu-Chus until they exploded. Rhiannon backed up a few steps, trying to avoid being electrocuted by the exploding monsters. With the road ahead clear, she made her way up to the Sheikah tower as she climbed higher and higher until she reached the top. It was near 9 am when she reached the summit, but she noticed that the air was frigid. "Finally..." Rhiannon gasped for air, "...I finally reached the top–oh, come on!"
She groaned when she saw that the tower was in the middle of a bog. "What a convenient location to put a Sheikah tower in!" she groaned, "In the middle of a bog?! Seriously?!"
She then remembered that she had the Sheikah Slate with her. "Wait, Dori said that I can use Cryosis to get across," she said, "with a little bit of luck and good balance, I can make it to the tower!"
The princess detached the Sheikah Slate from her belt, then walked towards the edge of the bog. After setting the slate to Cryosis, she aimed it and created an ice pillar. She took a few steps back, then charged towards the pillar and leaped until she climbed to the top. She repeated the process until she made it to the tower. "Why bother climbing?" Rhiannon chuckled, "I'm just going to fly up there."
She crouched down and touched the ice pillar she was standing on. After focusing her energy as much as she could, she created an updraft. "Why didn't I do that in the first place?!" she gasped when she reached the top of the tower, "I could have saved a lot of time!"
After placing the Sheikah Slate on the reader, she looked over at the Hyrule skyline. She could see Hyrule Castle in the distance. She could see how the Divine Beasts' lasers were all aiming at it, which made her slightly anxious. Once she had acquired the map of the region, she glided off the tower and back to her horse. "Come on, Rhoam," she sighed as she landed, "we still have a long way to go."
Meanwhile, back in the Outskirt Stable, Dori opened her eyes to see that her friend was gone. "Rhia?!" she gasped, jumping out of bed. She looked around the stable only to see that Rhiannon was not there. "Has anyone here seen Princess Rhiannon?!" she asked, then approached a nearby traveler, "Excuse me, have you seen Princess Rhiannon?! She was here with me last night and now she's gone!"
"Princess Rhiannon?" the traveler asked, "Didn't she die 25 years ago?"
"I know it sounds crazy but she's resurrected!" Dori said, "She was riding a brown horse!"
"Nope, sorry," the traveler sighed, "I'm pretty sure you were scammed and were hanging around with an impersonator."
"She's not an impersonator, she's the real deal!" Dori exclaimed, "I would never hang out with someone pretending to be my best friend! They'd be dead by now..."
"Sure, kid..." the traveler said as he walked away. "Rhiannon, you sly little scatterbrain!" Dori hissed, "She's probably on her way to Gerudo Town! I gotta catch up to her before that idiot does something she's not supposed to!"
She mounted her horse and headed in the direction of the Gerudo Canyon, noticing that her only obstacles were the Skywatcher Guardians ahead of her.
"According to this map, we should be near the desert gateway," Rhiannon said, "I faintly remember there was a stable there, I hope it's still intact."
"Excuse me!" Rhiannon turned around to see a female Hylian ahead of her. She pulled the reins of her horse and unmounted it–something about the traveler made her feel uneasy. "Can I help you?" she asked. "Yes," the woman nodded, "do you know where I can find her?"
"Find who?" Rhiannon asked, feeling even more uneasy than before. "Um, I don't know how to describe her," the woman answered, "her name starts with R."
"Rachel?" Rhiannon guessed. "Close, but no," the woman said, "name starts with R, but the A is more towards the middle."
"Hm, maybe Rosalind?" Rhiannon guessed again. "Ooh, that's a pretty name!" the woman squealed, "But, it's not that. Her name starts with R, has an A in the middle, but ends in N."
"Sorry, no clue," Rhiannon shrugged, "any more details about this person?"
"She has long blonde hair and has a mole in the middle of her back," the woman said. "How does she know about my mole?!" Rhiannon thought, touching her back. "W-What else?" she stuttered. "She spent the last 25 years of her miserable life in a shrine, sleeping peacefully," the woman hissed, "doesn't that sound familiar, Princess Rhiannon?!"
"You're from the Yiga Clan, aren't you?" Rhiannon hissed, reaching for her shield and the Master Sword. The woman then shifted into a Yiga spy. "Your soul is mine!" the spy hissed, "I'll rip your heart out and feed it to the vultures!"
"Less talk, more fighting!" Rhiannon charged towards the spy, who dodged the attack. Before the soldier could attack Rhiannon from behind, the princess shielded herself. The spy clashed against the orange force camp, stumbling around. "It's me who will rip your heart out!" Rhiannon hissed as she impaled the spy with the Master Sword. "Y-You w-won't win that easily, Princess Rhiannon," the spy said, "good l-luck reaching Gerudo Town..."
Rhiannon watched as the spy dropped dead in a puddle of blood. She walked back to her horse and took off. By the time it was noon, she reached the Gateway Stable. "The desert will be too hot for Rhoam," she sighed, "it's best for the both of us if I leave him here. He means a lot to me and I don't want to lose him."
"Your horse will be under good care, princess," a Hylian man smiled, "I can assure you that he will be in good hands here at our stable. But, I must ask: are you sure you want to venture out into the desert?"
"There is no other choice," Rhiannon replied, "I must appease Divine Beast Vah Naboris, it is the last Divine Beast I must reclaim."
"I'm more worried about the scorching heat of the desert, Your Majesty," the man said, "the Gerudo Desert is a giant death trap. Please, take this chilly elixir with you."
He handed Rhiannon a flask with a light blue liquid inside, but it was only half full. She took it hesitatingly, gulping it down. "Gerudo Town, here I come," she sighed as she took off. As soon as she stepped into the desert, she felt the ground rumble violently. "What's happening?!" she gasped. Her ears were then pierced by a giant whiny-like sound–she turned over to see Divine Beast Vah Naboris in the distance, walking in a giant circle as it stomped the ground with the force of a hundred Lynels. "Hylia gracious..." Rhiannon thought, "Joji wasn't lying, Divine Beast Vah Naboris truly is powerful! With that stomp, it can bring mountains to their knees!"
Anxiously, she made her way further into the desert. She tried not to mind Naboris, but it was hard to ignore its loud stomps that would make her nervous–sometimes it would seem as if the Divine Beast was coming her way, but it would turn around quickly like a dog chasing after its tail. The sun was at its highest point and the road ahead seemed endless to Rhiannon. She could see Gerudo Town in the distance, but it would seem like it was shrinking with every step she took rather than growing nearer. "I should have waited until sundown..." Rhiannon whimpered, "...this heat feels more unbearable than the heat of Death Mountain... I'm sweating so much..."
As she wiped the sweat off her forehead, she felt how her nose began to bleed. It did not matter how much she tried to cover herself from the sun, nothing seemed to work. "I think I see something ahead..." Rhiannon thought, "I'm probably just seeing things..."
Her mouth felt dry even when sweat and blood fell into it. Every step she took made her feel weakened and she would stumble from left to right. At this point, Naboris's loud stomping did not bother her anymore–she was more bothered about the fact that she was losing strength. "I can't give up..." Rhiannon huffed, "I h... I have to make it... for Aya..."
Her vision then began to get blurry and she started seeing double. "Water..." she whimpered, "Aya!" she howled, "Aya! I'm coming!"
She then saw a figure walking along the sand, but her blurry vision made it difficult to make out who it was. A Gerudo woman walked out of an oasis when she spotted Rhiannon in the distance. "Is that Hylian vai okay?" she thought, "She seems weak."
"H-Help... m-me..." Rhiannon whined before falling on her knees, then collapsing into the hot sand. "Oh my Goddess!" the Gerudo woman exclaimed, then spun around in her heels. She headed back to the oasis and approached two Gerudo soldiers. "Help!" she said, "I saw a Hylian vai pass out in the desert! I don't know if she's dead or alive, but if we don't help her she's as good as dead! She seemed weak!"
"Lead us to her!" the Gerudo soldiers commanded, "If we leave her there, she'll become vulture food!"
Rhiannon...
Rhiannon...
Rhiannon opened her eyes to see she was surrounded by empty darkness. The only thing in front of her was a large mirror. "Huh? Where am I?" she asked, "D-Did I die again?"
"How does it feel...?" she turned around to see another mirror, but this time, it had her mother's reflection. "Mother?" Rhiannon gasped, "Mother!"
"How could you do this to us?" Zelda asked as tears began rolling down her face, "How dare you..."
"I promise I'm going to fix this all, mother!" Rhiannon said, "I'm almost there!"
"How dare you do this to us..." She turned back to the first mirror to see that her reflection had become her father's reflection. "Father?" she gasped, "I'm..."
"We gave you life," Link said sternly, "and you gave us nothing back. We have been paying the price of your mistakes."
"Just one more Divine Beast!" Rhiannon cried, "Please, don't lose your hope in me! I'm nearly there!"
"You are a bad daughter, Rhiannon..." Zelda said, "...We are the ones paying the price of your selfishness."
"Mother, father, please forgive me!" Rhiannon sobbed, "I know I made a terrible mistake, but I'm working to fix it!"
"Nothing you do will give us the 25 years we have wasted," Link added, "it's too late."
"It's not too late yet!" Rhiannon exclaimed, "Don't lose hope in me! I know nothing I do will give us back the 25 years we lost apart, but I promise I'll make it up for everything I caused!"
"Rhiannon..." a distant voice called, "Rhiannon! Hey! Rhiannon!"
She opened her eyes to see she was in some sort of inn. "Hey! Are you okay?" Dori asked. "Huh?" Rhiannon gasped, "Dori? How did you get here? Where are we?"
"Kara Kara Bazaar," Dori answered, "I'm glad I found you! My gut told me you were heading towards Gerudo Town when you left the stable. I saw you left your horse at the Gateway Stable, and as I made my way through the desert, I stopped here, and lo and behold, you're here too!"
"S-So... you just got here?" Rhiannon asked. "More or less," Dori answered, "that woman over there said you passed out. What were you thinking about going out into the desert without proper precautions?!"
"We can talk about that later," Rhiannon said as she got out of bed, "we have to go to Gerudo Town, we're halfway through."
Both fell silent instantly when the ground began to rumble. Rhiannon noticed it would make the other people nervous as well. "Naboris keeps on getting closer and closer," a Gerudo woman said. "It's Lady Urbosa's angry spirit," a second Gerudo woman said, "until Divine Beast Vah Naboris is appeased, her vengeful spirit will keep on tormenting us!"
"Come on, Dori." Rhiannon commanded, "we have to go."
"Oh, before we go," Dori said, "I remember finding your old desert outfit! I'll teleport for it, so don't you dare move a muscle while I'm gone, ya hear?"
She then vanished into thin air. While she was gone, Rhiannon walked out of the inn and took a look at the bazaar. A few memories sprouted inside her mind like vines, but her memories would suddenly get interrupted by the Divine Beast's loud stomping. "Rhiannon!" Dori called, "I said don't move a muscle!"
"I just wanted to take a look outside," Rhiannon sighed, "I noticed there is a Sheikah Tower in the distance."
Dori then snatched the Sheikah Slate from Rhiannon's belt. "Put this on while I'm back," she commanded, "and don't you dare head towards Gerudo Town while I'm away!"
"Whatever," Rhiannon rolled her eyes as Dori vanished. She obeyed Dori's command and went to change her clothes. By the time she was done, Dori had returned. "You know I could have done that myself," Rhiannon said. "Your silly butt would have gotten lost out there," Dori scoffed, "not to mention that thing is taller than Hyrule Castle's tower. I just saved us time."
"Let's go," Rhiannon said, "I know I have some explaining to do."
"To who?" Dori asked. "To Aya!" Rhiannon answered, "I just hope she hasn't heard about me and Zya."
"Wait, wait, wait," Dori stuttered, "hold your horses there, princess! Are you seriously willing to be two-timing Zya?!"
"Yeah, well, no..." Rhiannon said nervously, "It's complicated, okay?'
"Whatever helps you sleep at night..." Dori said under her breath. It was near sundown when Rhiannon and Dori finally reached Gerudo Town. "Halt!" the two Gerudo soldiers at the entrance shouted, "State your names and where you come from!"
"Lady Dori," Dori said, "Kakariko Village."
"I'm Princess Rhiannon of Hyrule," Rhiannon said, "we're both here to talk to Lady Aya! It's important!"
She ran underneath the guards' spears. "Rhia! Wait!" Dori shouted as she trailed behind. As she entered the town square, she noticed that the women around were in some sort of panicked state, she could see the fear in their eyes and would mutter things between them. "Where do you think they took her?" she overheard one of the women, leaning in closer to eavesdrop. "No idea," said the second woman, "I just hope Lady Aya is okay..."
"Aya..." Rhiannon gasped, running towards the palace. "Stop running away!" Dori chased her, "At least give me a heads up!"
"Aya!" Rhiannon shouted as she walked into the palace, "Where is she? Where is Lady Aya?"
"And who must you be?" a heavily armed Gerudo soldier asked, "How dare you break in just like that?"
"Where is Aya?" Rhiannon asked, "I need to speak to her!"
"Lady Aya was kidnapped two days ago," the soldier answered, "she sacrificed herself to protect her family's heirloom."
"Heirloom?" Rhiannon gasped. The soldier pointed at a golden headpiece that sat on a pedestal. "The Thunder Helm," the soldier sighed, "This has been passed down from Lady Urbosa to Lady Riju, then Lady Riju passed it down to her daughter."
"What exactly happened?" Dori asked. "Two days ago, Yiga Clan spies broke in," the soldier sighed, "somehow they managed to get across our security... They were trying to steal the Thunder Helm, but Lady Aya managed to negotiate. She offered herself to be their prisoner in exchange for leaving the Thunder Helm to the Gerudo people, and she has been their prisoner ever since... I could not fight them, Lady Aya did not allow me to. She was so calm, she did not tremble in fear, nor did she allow them to reduce her to their level. Lady Aya kept her head held high as they took her away, chaining her like some wild animal."
"The Yiga Clan, where are they hiding?!" Rhiannon asked. "The Karusa Valley," the soldier replied, "50 years ago, the Hylian Champion went to rescue a Gerudo soldier that was being held hostage in order to gain Lady Riju's trust–"
"My father..." Rhiannon gasped. "Father?" the soldier asked, "If your father was the Hylian Champion, then that means–"
"She's the Hylian princess!" Dori said, "Princess Rhiannon Amatola, daughter of Champion Link and Princess Zelda!"
"Don't ask me what I've been, it's a long story," Rhiannon sighed, "but to put it in short words, I slept for 25 years."
"Lady Aya was right," the soldier said, making Rhiannon and Dori exchange nervous looks, "all these years, she knew you were still here. She waited for you to return one day, but she did not imagine it would take you this long."
"How's that hole you're sinking into?" Dori murmured. "However," the soldier continued, "she never gave up hope, even when our people thought she was refusing to let go."
"If that is so, then I must go rescue her," Rhiannon said, "I need her help with appeasing Divine Beast Vah Naboris."
"You're crazy, right?!" Dori gasped, "Sneaking into the Yiga Clan's hideout?!"
"I must do what I must," Rhiannon said, "we did not come this far to turn around because of an obstacle. I'm going to the Yiga Clan hideout and I'll bring Lady Aya back by sunrise."
"Very well, then," the soldier said, "I wish you good luck, Princess Rhiannon. May Goddess Hylia be by your side."