"Are you getting tired yet, prince?" Zelda asked.
He wasn't quite sure how to respond. His legs were like jelly but it was only sunset. The past week and a half since their plans had been boring. Zelda accompanied him to Kakariko village where be pleaded and tied offerings to the deities, nothing happened though. Lady Impa had taken a liking to Zelda,
so perhaps a new friendship would be formed there.
"Your highness?" Zelda spoke again, derailing his train of thought. He turned to her and shrugged. "The Gerudo Canon Stable is near, you can stay there for the night for some rest. The desert is deadly to travel through past sunset."
Link nodded, and so it was. The two trudged through the last bit on the canon until they reached the stable. Upon arriving they gained a few looks of attention from others. Royals never often stayed there and they were quite embarrassed at their lack of preparation for the prince. Zelda had reassured them that the prince was alright with whatever they had. Once the duo has checked in they returned outside and sat by the campfire.
"Are you excited to go to Gerudo Town tomorrow, prince?" She asked, he nodded as he stirred around the stew in the pot. "You can change your garb at Kara Kara Bazaar, then we can continue westwards to Gerudo town."
"Okay." Is all he said back. He would speak when necessary but often did not. Today in particular had felt awful for him, he had barely prayed once, sure before they eaten lunch or in the morning before their travels, but never giving his full effort and praying for his awakening powers. Guilt overtook him like a skyward shadow from a cloud. He frowned slightly, his mind was racing from thought to thought and he almost felt like he hated himself for how much he worried.
His grip grew overly aggressive around the wooden spatula and his teeth grit more than need be. Zelda opened her mouth as to speak but hesitated and wondered if words would be the solution.
"Are you feeling alright? I can cook if you need to get some rest," She offered. He released his grip from the spoon and slumped down on the stump next to the pot, across from Zelda.
"I am perfectly fine. As fine as a Rito feather," He scoffed. Zelda was already doing her duty and fulfilling her fate, all she had to do was swing around the sword and she'd be just peachy, yet he was a failure. She must have hated him, he was allowed to be lazy and fail at his duties and she had to work for it.
"Okay... Restrain not if you need help, I am always prepared to lend my assistance." Her smile was one of genuine warmth, yet Link perceived it as pity. He slumped forward and rested his head on his hands, facing away from Zelda. A minute past and the stew was ready, it was some meat with a Kakariko fortified pumpkin.
As he poured the soup into the bowls he sighed heavily. She took the bowl from him and their hands brushed against each other, causing the prince to slightly blush.
"Are you sure you're okay? You're really quiet."
His eyes turned away from her, with furrowed eyebrows he nodded again in response. Zelda had been trying to make sure Link knows that he can trust her, but it has been rough since she first got there as his appointed knight. No more unnecessary words were spoken for the rest of the night. Just the ambience of the critters and bugs, and the breeze that would rarely pass through the canyon.
Quicker than it needed be the morning shone it's light to do it's job. And it sure did it's job, Zelda couldn't get a good sleep so she woke up at sunrise. The prince alway liked to sleep in until 7:30, which he couldn't do very often at the castle. While he was sleeping she took everything and packed them into a tight sack. One she'd have to carry but it hadn't been that heavy so far. She made sure the Gerudo garb was ready and that she had both a chillt elixir for herself, and a cool mushroom skewer for him. Last time he tried to have an elixir he almost threw up, which is fair, the flavor and textures of those things are not for the weak stomach.
Once everything was prepared she had about 30 minutes until he would usually get up, so in the meantime she sat down on her bed polishing her extra knives, her Hylian shield as well as the Master Sword. Zelda thought it was important to keep smaller less important blades on hand for the purposes of slicing fruits or anything the Master Sword needn't do.
Prince Link woke up 15 minutes earlier than expected, giving them an earlier start than warranted. He was able to eat the skewer, and Zelda drink the elixir, and they departed from the stable half past seven. The Gerudo sun was already beating down on the wastelands, the burning sand caused them to sink down into the ground with every step. Link was quietly happy they stayed at the stable rather than trudging through the desert in complete darkness.
After a bit of walking, Kara Kara Bazaar wasn't too far out now. Only a little while longer and they would hit the half way mark. When approaching the oasis the ground began to harden, quickening their pace making it much more enjoyable to walk on. And the shade from the palm trees cooled their skin from the burning sun.
"We're almost there, prince." Zelda informed him. He nodded in reply. "I really do think that our plan to sneak into Gerudo town will work out perfectly fine, as long you don't act strange they have no reason to suspect anything!... I'm actually excited, are you?"
"Yeah,"
"Just yeah? I thought you wanted to discover more about the Gerudo history, it's quite beautiful once you see the true side of it. The tourist side is quite void of any tradition..."
He still walked in silence, and Zelda wondered what could make him talk... That's it! The divine beast that Urbosa piloted was out here, and Zelda was close to her, so maybe she could convince her to take Link up on the Naboris. After all, he was always quite interested in Sheikah technology as well as the Divine beasts.
"I can also ask Urbosa to take us up on Naboris..." She shrugged off making it seem like not a big deal. His head turned in her direction and she could almost see the stars in his eyes. Her little plan definitely worked now!
"Really? I actually haven't been able to see one of the Divine Beasts -Besides Medoh- in person, nevertheless board one. Plus... I've been wanted to tinker with the control panel and maybe add some adjustments, Revali has wanted that done for a while now to make it easier to control. Maybe I could even do that with Vah Naboris! Would Chief Urbosa really be okay with that?" Link asked. Although he wanted to investigate the Divine beast, he felt awful using his knight to do that. Urbosa wouldn't allow him to do it regularly, he thought, so the guilt just overcame him making him feel all the more uncomfortable with his presence. "Although... I don't think I should..."
"Why not?" Zelda questioned him. He was too embarrassed to give his true reasoning and just opted for a lie.
"I don't need to be on it to investigate it."
"Are you sure? You can take a look at the guidance stone and terminals."
Link loved the idea, but the more he loved it the more he would berate himself for that. He wished Zelda wasn't so nice, he didn't deserve to have someone treat him like that. Zelda smiled at him with a rather awkward smile, she wanted to know what she had done wrong to make him so distant, and why he would never open up.
While her and Link would have their fun times together in the kitchen or travelling, she often reminded him that he had unfulfilled duties, that he had yet to awaken his powers. Truly, something was wrong with him, had he not been praying hard enough? Did he not care, was his efforts worthless and was he the wrong choice? The goddess ought to have somebody else better than him, somebody that deserved that role as protector of Hyrule. A sigh fell from Link's lips.
They approached the oasis and it was now around noon.
"From here you can get changed and I'll cook lunch." Zelda spoke void of any emotion, making Link think that she really did hate him. He nodded and sighed. He stood where she left him and she walked off to the cooking pot. Link sighed and looked around.
In the short distance he saw somebody waving around and she looked like a saleswoman. Maybe Link could get something for Zelda. He approached the woman and saw that she was selling fruit! Or mainly... bananas? Well he could make banana bread for Zelda, she would like that. He asked about the price of the fruits.
"99 rupees for a banana!" She ecstatically shouted. Her eyes opened from her smile and now got a clear look at Link. "Hey aren't you..." She held her chin with her fingers in thought. "You're the prince! Are you not?" Anxiety overcame Link and he put his hands up to wave away her thoughts.
"So... you are. I will take your life!" A devilish smirk crept upon the woman and she suddenly disappeared into smoke. Link looked around in a defensive stance with panic spread across his body. The yiga laughed and took a slice at Link.
He was able to dodge but started running away. He wasn't sure how long he could keep it up for. The yiga continued to chase him and was able to call other members from the clan. Two more yiga appeared in front of him and he quickly turned to run the other way but the first saleswoman was still right there, he tripped over his foot and landed on his ankle. The three yiga encircled him and all he could hear was their maniacal laughs. The first one to trick him raised up her sickle right above him and just as she was to slam it down-
In just a split of a second the yiga thumped limp to the ground as her sickle was thrown up into the air. Zelda was suddenly in front of him with the Master Sword sheathed out pointing towards the yiga in a threatening stance. The two yiga looked at each other and left in a puff of smoke.
She turned around and looked at the yiga left on the ground. Zelda poked her with her boot staying silent. She turned around back to the prince.
"Let's go." Link remained silent and didn't move closer to Zelda.
"The yiga isn't- let's just go, please."
Link still didn't respond as per usual routine, but his silence was different this time. He was afraid yet confused, Did Zelda just kill somebody! More importantly did she do that for me? The woman was definitely dead, but Zelda didn't want to confirm it.
"She'll wake up soon, we have to go back to the Bazaar."
He glanced over to the woman with the inverted eye mask, and turned back to Zelda nodding. He started to stand up but as soon as he put pressure on his ankle he fell back. Zelda rushed towards him bracing his forearms with her hands. "Your highness!"
He shook his head, "I'm fine... my ankle is swollen,"
"I'm sure a fairy will do the trick, let's go back." She suggested, he nodded in return. She picked him up and placed his arm over his shoulder to support him. As they arrived back to the oasis it was now a bit past noon, giving them more than enough time to finish their path to Gerudo town.
She sat him down on the steps next to the inn's entrance and searched through her bag and sighed in frustration. "I'm sorry, your highness the fairy it-" She sighed again, "I really thought I had one. I can get one tonight, I know this desert like the back of my hand and there's a Great Fairy spring west of here near the borders of Hyrule."
"And for now...?"
Zelda snapped herself out of thought, "R-right let's see, I think ice chuchu's will help with the swelling and I'll help you with walking..." Zelda said, her eyes looked surveying the land until they rested on something. A beast of the desert, "A sand seal! Aha! That's it! Prince stay right here and get changed, I'll be back."
As Zelda ran off and took the sand seal, rounding and holding it up near the Kara Kara Bazaar, the prince got changed into the vai clothing. He came out fixing the veil around him, he looked around and saw Zelda wave and him.
"Your highne-" Zelda hesitated as to what to call him but neglected the use of any nickname, "Come here!"
As the prince walked over he looked at the animal and pointed towards it in question, "That's a sand seal, you can ride it on a shield, I'm sure you haven't been on one before so I would like it if you hopped on." She turned her neck towards the board under her feat. "Just hold onto me so you don't fall. Sorry your ankle got injured though... I should've been there earlier."
"I-it's fine, I assure you. Standing won't hurt,"
"If you say so then hop on!"
Link held back a smile and took a step up on the shiels, e felt a bit awkward doing so. Zelda felt his arms wrap around her stomach, and his head rested on her shoulder. "Hyah!"
The two made their way to Gerudo town the sun heated up the desert like a stone oven. The continued their journey for about two hours until Link finally broke the silence.
"Is there much longer?"
"Not much!" Zelda shouted over the wind, "20 more minutes!"
Link didn't have to talk loudly as his head was next to her ear, "Okay, my ankle isn't all too comfortable right now,"
Zelda grimaced but Link couldn't see. She gave another hyah and got the sand seal to dash faster, but also wanted to keep a smooth pace so the ground wouldn't become too bumpy.
Another twenty minutes had gone by and they had finally arrived to the front gates. The prince got off the board and Zelda let the seal free. The guards greeted the two as they made their way through the entrance, Zelda noticed his struggles walking.
"Pri-" She quickly shut up and turned into a hushed tone, "Um...Your highne-...." She struggled with what to call him.
"Linkle."
"Y-yes," Zelda became a little flustered at the thought of calling him by his name -even though it was a modified version of his name she nonetheless felt embarrassed. "Linkle how is your foot feeling...?"
"Not good." He responded, Zelda wrapped his arm across her shoulder again and assisted him to the inn. She brought two beds and checked them in. As they walked down further in they walked to their beds and Link sat down. She sat down next to him. She rotated his body to sit against the wall and picked up his foot and rested it on her lap.
Link never once resisted as she removed his shoe and pull his pant sleeve up his leg to get a better view at his ankle. It was red and all swollen around the joint, definitely twisted but a fairy should work. "Linkle, you really should have asked me to stop some way along the path, a break would've benefited you."
"It's fine, Zelda." He said, he had some hesitation in thought but decided to call her by her name. He still felt nervous doing it, but it felt right after what she'd done to protect him that day.
"I assure you it was not a good decision. Just... Gerudo town has a great security system. Stay here. I'll leave now and be back in a few hours. If you need anything ask someone, the women here are very kind."
Link nodded not sure what else to say. Zelda set his foot back onto the bed and stood up to tell the front desk woman something. He couldn't hear but she was telling her to make sure Linkle was fine. She walked through the town and made her way to the southeast gate.
All by himself, Link sat on his bed with nothing to do, soon a small tear drop fell from his eye. It was hard to restrain his reactions after being in so much pain. Oh! He had the Shiekah slate, maybe he could mess around for a little while.
Zelda went to rent a sand seal and decided to sneak up on Kelly. She snuck up behind her and surprised tackled her with a hug, "Kelly!"
"ZELDA!!" Kelly shouted in surprise, immediately recognizing her friend. "I haven't seen you in over a month! How have you been?" Her excited voice rang through the alley way.
Zelda got off her back and hugged her properly again, then once breaking the hug she spoke in a quiet tone, "The prince is here,"
The Gerudo woman's eyes widened in shock, "Isn't that treason?!" Zelda hushed her friend and covered her mouth with her hand.
"Yes, you know it is. I'm only telling you this because he's at the inn with an injured foot. I'm leaving right now to go get fairies from Tera's spring."
Kelly removed Zelda's hands in order to ask more questions, "So you're leaving him here?"
"Yes. I'll be back in a few hours. If I'm not back after sunset then go check on him."
"Okay... By the way do you wanna go out tonight? I'm sure the girls will be overjoyed that you're back here."
"Actually yes, I was going to ask you if you wanted to go, I was planning to do so once I got back, Link should be asleep by that point anyways."
"Okay, well I'll see you later!"
"Yeah! Byee!!"
Zelda set off with a sand seal for free, Kelly's mother owned the rental shop so it'd be natural that she would get 'discounts' every once in a while.
The rest of the night had gone smoothly. Zelda went to and fro the spring and when she had arrived back to town it was a little after 8. Link was fast asleep so she opened the bottle and then went to party and enjoy the night.
(A/N:) WOAHH that was a LONG chapter! 3171 words! Do y'all like it long or can I just have some be short and some long?
- Love, Mothy