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Hateno was very different from Kakariko—it wasn’t a bad difference, per se, but it would definitely take some getting used to. Paya knew that Kakariko and Hateno were far apart in distance but never imagined all the little things she loved about Kakariko would be absent, or in some way replaced.
The air for one had changed. Instead of a calm subtle breeze, one that radiated with a gentle Sheikah energy, the one that she grew up with her whole life, Hateno’s breeze was a joyful prankster, skipping and running through the roads, stopping sometimes as if it was tired, and picking up with a fierceness during storms as if it was running from the sound of thunder. The wind was a child dancing to the village’s tunes, trying to join the games with the other children, ruffling their hair.
The whole village seemed to be just as bright and joyful, down to even the clothes, which could be dyed bright colors. The Sheikah of Kakariko wore calm warm tones, hints of reds and dark blues as well, nothing like the bright green and popping scarlet they sold in the clothing store.
Even the grass was different, it seemed a bit more vibrant, and the people of Hateno let it grow and flourish. Not out of control, but it was healthier. The village was based on agriculture, that she knew, but she had never expected everything, even the apples in the trees, to thrive so much. They were rosier in color, Kakariko’s apples paled in comparison.
She loved Hateno, it was a wonderful break. There were so many children as well, running around playing tag as well as various other games. It reminded her of Cottla, who would have loved it here. Maybe Dorian would let the girl visit sometime, she’d write to Grandmother about that later.
When she first arrived nearly everyone stared at her, their eyes glued to her white hair and her traditional Sheikah clothing with its pale colors terribly different from all of their bold browns, reds, and blues. She supposed it was because they hadn’t seen a Sheikah in a long while; Impa had told her Purah rarely left the lab. Purah denied it every time she came to visit, which was scarce, but Link had always caught her lies. Still, her cheeks flushed at the attention, diverting her gaze to the soft green leaves of the trees.
The children had been the first to approach her. She understood, the adults were confused and hesitant to approach her, considering Sheikah rarely left their home in Kakariko. Paya was glad it was the kids that had come up to her. She wasn't quite as shy around children, it was a sort of childish joy around them that let her take a breath and have fun.
The children were great; showing her silly dances and talking about the person in the Tech Lab, Purah. Paya had offered to bring them there, grinning as their faces lit up. The sun smiled along with them, warming up the pathway. The children skipped along the dirt road, stopping to say hello to the family with the sheep and cows and get a glass of milk along with a plate of cookies. It wasn’t terrible to stop for a snack.
Paya was glad she did. Talking with the adults was a bit awkward, but they were friendly folk. They asked questions, small things about Kakariko, the journey. She wouldn’t answer anything terribly specific, like how long the journey took or the details of her home village. It was a deep rooted fear that caused this. Her generation of Sheikah had all joined the Yiga Clan when they were in their early teens— maybe after their parents, maybe just because they could. It scared Paya, that she was one of the last ones left that hadn’t been consumed by evil intentions, encased in thick, heavy malice. Her absence in the clan wasn’t a pity to them, rather something they would use. They could take her and make her spill the secrets of the Sheikah and Impa, all to resurrect Ganon.
Her thoughts ran far too easily, imagination always getting the best of her. It was why she was scared of new people, whenever someone asked about her she would stutter, scared they would haul her away and make her speak. It was nasty habit, the stutter, but she had gotten a bit better, and it only happened when meeting new people and during terribly awkward situations.
A woman’s voice, Koyin, interrupted her thoughts. “Want some more cookies? The children finished them up real quick. I noticed you hadn’t gotten to try one and they’re delicious.”
Paya blinked twice, registering her words before hurriedly replying, “Y-yes, that would be lovely.” She had stuttered, unfortunately. She really hoped that Purah would help boost her confidence. It would be great to be able to speak to people without messing up words.
Koyin had brought a plate of cookies, and asked a few more questions about Kakariko, mostly about the agriculture and shops. Paya was happy to explain the feud between the carrot farmer and the pumpkin farmer.
“If we want pumpkins we have to go to the fields to get them. It’s terribly impractical but no one can get them to resolve whatever happened.”
The girl chuckled, her laugh so strong it seemed to bounce off the walls. It silenced when she took a bite of her cookie, and Paya blushed, remembering that she still hadn’t taken a bite of hers.
The cookie was delicious, crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. It was a sugar cookie with cinnamon added to the batter for a twist. The cinnamon really made it all the better, reminding her of autumn, which she had only had the pleasure of experiencing once. She had gone to Tarrey Town with two Kakariko guards to congratulate the new town and set trading routes. Impa hadn’t been able to come because of the distance between Akkala and Kakariko. Her old age was also a factor. The leaves had been falling around that time, streaks of reddish-brown flying in the wind. Campfires burned bright, smelling of charcoal and roasted acorns.
Finishing up her snack, she thanked Koyin in a quiet voice before calling for the children, telling them to follow. They had been playing with the sheep and dogs, running around with the latter and touching and poking the sheep, feeling their soft fluff and marveling at the fact that they didn’t try to escape from the clutches of the children.
They had followed Paya immediately, and she knew that meant they were waiting, impatiently at that. The path to the Tech Lab itself was different from the rest of Hateno. Instead of being kind to the traveling foot, the road ahead was much more compact as if no one traveled along it much. Well, no one had, so it made sense.
Her shoes really weren’t made for roads such as these. The path she had taken during her journey to Hateno had been well traveled, enough that it didn’t bother her, but this small stretch of land seemed to be different. The children’s leather boots, which had strong soles, unlike Paya’s, made quick thumps against the dirt, their faces eager and feet bouncing, running at a fast pace.
Paya’s footsteps were dull thuds, more in tune with the sound of the wind, which whipped her hair and accompanied the playful notes of the birds in the sky. With fewer houses it was easier to see the sky, which as a bright blue in the afternoon, the sun beating its calms waves onto everyone, pleasantly warming Paya’s back. Even the clouds seemed to smile; it was a beautiful day.
The children had stopped near the top, faces turning a tad nervous. Paya continued however, knocking on the door twice. She was not met with Purah or Symin, not even Link.
Instead a pair of bright green eyes greeted her, brighter than even the grass in Hateno, and softer than the rolling empty fields. The princess, Zelda, had answered the door.
Paya couldn’t stop herself from blushing that time, mostly out of embarrassment and surprise. She was glad the princess did the talking for her, exhilarated to see the children.
The princess stepped out of the door and Paya quickly backed up to make room for her. She smiled briefly at the Sheikah girl before turning to the children.
“Hello, it’s been a while since I’ve talked to all of you! How are you doing?” The princess’ voice was soft and clear, like the waves on Hateno Beach. Her smile basked everyone in sunlight and warmth.
One of the children had been the first to respond to her question. “I’m doing good, Miss!” The girl pointed at Paya while continuing to talk. “She said she’d take us to see the lady that runs this place. I heard she’s a kid like us! Were you here to see her too?”
“You’re still on with that, Karin?” She laughed, cheeks tinted with red. Her laugh was light and melodic, like the bubbles that rose from the sea on gentle days, like something to look forward to. Paya loved Zelda’s laugh.
Karin put her hands on her hips, nodding with a fierce affirmation. “Yep! Could we come in, Miss?”
“I’m sure Purah wouldn’t mind being interrupted for a few minutes. You all are welcome to come in as long as you don’t make a mess of what we are working on.”
“Purah? Working on?” Another child, a boy, asked.
“Yes, Azu. Purah is the name of the director! And I’m helping her with her research.” The princess stood up, brushing off her legs.
“Really?” Another child tugged lightly on her coat. “Is that why you’re staying in the village with Link? You never told us why.”
That was news to Paya, she knew the princess had been staying in Hateno to help Purah, but she had thought she had been staying in the Inn.
“That’s exactly why, Sefaro! Link and I have been friends for well, a long time.” She chuckled under her breath. Paya couldn’t help but smile with her, knowing exactly what was funny.
“How long, Miss?” The children really had such a young curiosity to them, impatient eyes, flicking to the door, down the path, and back at the princess, holding question upon question about all of them.
“Nearly one hundred years.” Zelda’s eyes twinkled with a playful gleam, watching in joy at the children's reactions.
The children looked at one another, eyes wide, in shock and joy, before a brave one spoke up, asking the question they were all wondering,
“Miss, did you know the princess?”
Zelda thought for a second, contemplating her answer. “You could say that.”
The children were ecstatic, chattering among themselves, coming up with theories and squashing down others.
“Maybe she is the princess!”
“I doubt she’s the princess, she’s wearing common clothes and helping out the Sheikah girl.”
“She never told us her name! Maybe she just doesn’t like being the princess.”
“Who wouldn’t want to be a princess?”
“Well, I think she’s the princess, she must be!”
“And how exactly did she get here then? Time travel? We all know that isn’t real.”
The children continued like that for a few minutes, and stopped squawking theories loudly, heads full of bright ideas at the sound of another voice.
“Zeldy, what’s the commotion? You’ve been out there for like 10 minutes.”
And of course the theories started up again.
“The sheikah girl called her ‘Zeldy’; that must be a nickname from ‘Zelda’ and that was the princess’ name! See I told you!” Karin grinned in triumph, before exclaiming once more. “Wait! The Sheikah sounded super young! I told you! Just wait until I tell my mama and papa. That’ll teach ‘em to trust a kid!”
Karin was indeed correct, biologically Purah was 6, as the kids were amazed to find out seconds later when she stepped out of her lab after the princess had failed to respond to her holler. The fact that she was also 125 or so, mentally speaking, flew right over their heads and so they ignored it.
The children took a few minutes to say hello to Purah and poke around, asking questions about the Sheikah technology. She of course answered them enthusiastically, glancing back at the slate every so often as if checking to make sure nothing had happened in just a few seconds.
Paya could sense Purah’s eagerness to get back to work and the princess’ face was a mix of joy and a tad bit of impatience. She understood, considering they had been interrupted in the middle of work. The Sheikah girl rounded up the children and walked back down to the main part of the village. It was just past lunch time, if the smells coming from the cooking pots were anything to go by.
Sauteed vegetables and chopped pieces of meat doused in honey were still present on plates when Paya returned the children to their homes. They ate up their meals quickly, a smaller portion of what the adults were having, albeit some of the children ate a much simpler meal, like a skewer of meat and a crisp apple plucked straight from the tree. It all smelled heavenly and some families offered Paya a spot at the table. She declined, but some insisted she take a bit of food with her and she couldn’t refuse again. Zelda and Purah might be happy to eat something anyway.
She made her way up the steep hill to the Tech Lab a second time that day, this time with a basket of food in her arms. Her walk was much slower, considering she wasn’t chasing after a group of children. Paya finally got a chance to breathe in a breath of the Hateno air, connect with the wind, be at peace.
Hateno smelled sweet, like the apples on the trees and the slight note of light airiness of the milk that made it all the better. Yet it still would itself crisp and bold at times, somehow similar to the cookies she had shared with Koyin and the children. It was fresh like the crops Hateno produced, and acted like the children, always running, always curious.
Paya had then realized that the nature of the wind, the weather, and even the land of a town reflected the nature of the people and mirrored what they did. Hateno was bold and bright, sweet and strong. That’s why it was so different from Kakariko, because of the people, their auras, personalities impacting the whole of the town. She had realized why Impa chose to send her here. It was not only to help out the princess and Purah, but she had been sent here because of the town, Impa wanted the town’s forwardness to help her, maybe Impa knew Purah wouldn’t be the one to boost her confidence and social skills—if only there was a rune for that— instead it would be the people of the village, maybe even the children. Only a few hours had passed since she arrived and she had already become friends with Koyin and several children. The town really was helping her.
Or perhaps not, considering she blushed and stuttered when she ran into Zelda, nearly dropping the basket.
“Ex... excuse me, Pr... princess,” Paya felt her face grow warm as seconds flickered, taking minutes instead of the normal fast beats of time. Zelda stared back and held her gaze strong, but her hands found themselves playing with her hair, which was braided to keep it out her face and tied off with a simple piece of spare ribbon. A red quill was tucked into her hair and by the looks of it, it pulled out strands of hair everytime she plucked it out to write. She did not wear her old traveling top—she had discarded it long ago—instead settling for a simple tunic of blue that came down just past her fingertips and was fastened with a sheikah belt in the middle. On top of it she wore what Purah had later called her old lab coat, which was simple by design, much like a plain white dress that was cut down the center, with a few random splotches of color from various experiments. On top of her head was a simple pair of goggles to protect her from anything that may happen during the tests.
None of it was fit for a princess in any way, but Paya knew that was how she liked it. The young Sheikah was far too entrapped in Zelda’s gaze, her eyes really, they were so bright that she barely heard her when she responded to Paya’s jumble of a sentence.
“It’s quite alright, Paya. It was my fault anyway, I wasn’t watching where I was going.” The princess paused for a second before adding to that with an afterthought. “You know you can just call me Zelda. We’re friends.”
The Sheikah girl nodded numbly, her cheeks reddening more as Zelda backed up and let her through the door. She had spent really two hours in Hateno and she hadn’t even stepped foot in the tech lab yet.
It smelled of dried ink, fresh paint, and burned paper. The floor was scattered with various papers and bits of guardian parts were piled along the large table in the middle. The air was tainted with a faint stuffiness, with the lack of windows most likely the cause. The smell of dried ink came from the various notebooks, and the burnt smell seemed to come from the charred ash of what could have been frustration. Various books, either written in Hylian or Sheikah, were thrown on the floor. The crisp white pages were filled with jotted notes in the margins and many of the pages were folded in the corners. The books were the only bright things in the room, with the exception of the occasional yellow of a guardian part, everything else was a dull brown. The whole of the Tech Lab seemed to hold a permanent sweet jingle to it that seemed to match Hateno.
It looked exactly like Paya thought it would.
When she finished taking in the scene she looked at the others. Symin was in the back organizing books and papers while Purah had nose in a book, scribbling notes with a spare quill. Zelda was behind her, closing the door with a gentle thump.
The princess had spoken before Paya had even thought about how to announce that she had arrived. “Paya’s here!”
Purah turned from the book to look at the two of them before putting on a grin only a child could manage to plaster on their face. “Finally! I thought it was gonna take you another two hours, I had just sent Zeldy to go find you when you came in! What took you so long anyway?”
“Uh..I was bringing the kids back to their houses, yeah. Many of the families offered to let me stay for lunch. Speaking of that, they had me take some food.” Paya set the woven basket on the table before taking out the meals. She ended up with four closed containers of honeyed meat and sauteed vegetables, a couple apples, a large jug of milk, and a jar of honey candy.
They managed to clear four places on the table by pushing a bunch of guardian parts onto the floor and stacking up the papers and books. The loud noises were a bit startling, and the sound of guardian parts hitting the floor made her a bit nervous; something had to have been damaged in the process.
The food was good. The meat was done well, not too chewy and the honey made it a bit softer and brought a sweet flavor to it. The sauteed vegetables were a little bit plainer than she would have liked, but still good, as they had been salted nicely. The milk was very fresh and cold, a pure white that found a way to be a bit sweet, yet still refreshing. The apple was crisp, and flavored well. The ones in Kakariko had barely a touch of flavor, mostly a type of watered-down juice. The apples of Hateno had a tart sweetness to them instead, much more fresh.
They didn’t talk until the near end of the meal. The silence was broken when Purah spoke. “So! Now that we’re almost done I’ll tell you what we’re working on right now! We found a new rune that could be beneficial to rebuilding many towns and villages. It seems to be used to turn one material into another, but it does need the item near it so that it works!” Purah finished up by taking a big bite of her cooked meat, turning to Zelda expectantly.
“Oh! The rune seems to work by taking the atomic build of one thing and using a sort of ray to restructure the second object into the first. It takes a while and it’s not working every well at the moment. When we discovered the build of the rune it was already destroyed in a few parts, namely the parts that altered the ray to change the object. That’s the most important part of the rune so it's been quite a struggle, although we are getting somewhere, considering we can get some bits of ruby into a piece of amber. It looks like the ray essentially needs to be strengthened but we’re not able to get it quite right, considering it looks like it’s having a lot of trouble near the end for some tests and then it doesn’t even start at all. I’m pretty sure we’ve somehow created new elements through this though. One test of a mix of a rushroom and a silent shroom created completely new effects and a new shroom. I’ll have to show you the pictures I took. I can tell you, Link did not have a good day being our test subject.” Zelda blushed upon realizing she had been rambling and mumbled out a little “Sorry.”
Paya had smiled through the whole thing, she found the rune interesting and she wanted to see what the shroom looked like, but more than that, she loved listening to Zelda ramble, her voice was very calming. And she told the princess that.
Or she tried to at least.
“Th..that was interesting, and I’d lo-love to see the shr..shroom.” Curse her stutter, it really came up in all the wrong places. Not that there was a right place for it.
The princess didn’t seem to mind, eyes lighting up as she smiled, the bright blush dulling to a happy color in her cheeks. Her hands found themselves pulling at her braid again, playing with the hair, and she didn’t take them out until Symin had begun cleaning up. When she pulled her fingers out a few strands slipped out of the braid, but she didn’t seem to notice, subconsciously tucking the loose strands behind her ears to get them out of the way.
The table had been cleaned off, or rather the food had been cleaned up, as the table was still littered with various notes and books which had been spread out again. The table groaned as Purah dropped another few books onto it. Purah began to mutter under her breath before turning up to see Paya, who was still standing there, goggles in her hand from when Symin had handed them to her.
“Oh! Silly me! Of course you don’t know what to do. “ Purah walked over and handed her a book on the rune, already filled with little notes. “Just skim through the first few chapters and if you recall anything you learned from Impa feel free to shout it out!”
The pages of the book were soft, different from the rough, starchy texture she was used to. The rune seemed relatively simple and the princess had summed it up well. The only thing she really learned from that were some further details on how the atoms were changed, a careful transformation that took a few atoms of an item and altered the ray to fit the atomic structure of that object before transferring that into the target item via the ray. She learned the name of the rune as well but it seemed to pass over her head until she had moved on to the second section, eyes flicking to the subtitle, ‘Uses of the Transmusis Rune Throughout History’.
Paya had heard of this rune before and she made a little exclamation of noise upon realizing that. The other three people glanced at her and she blushed for what must have been the millionth time that day.
“Well, I, uh, think I recall something, it was told from word of mouth, yeah, surprisingly not written anywhere, and uh…”
Purah leapt up and cut Paya off in the middle of her sentence. “Oh really! I just knew Impa sending you here would be a great idea!”
Zelda giggled and raised an eyebrow at Purah. “You do know she hadn’t even told you what she knows right?”
Purah’s eyes widened and she joined Zelda’s giggling, leaving Paya to blink numbly before they stopped allowing her to continue.
“Well, I remember that, um, this rune was built off of a prototype of the Sheikah Sensor, it might, um, be worth looking at.”
Zelda’s eyes lit up along with Purah’s, who was fumbling with the slate, setting the Sheikah Sensor to something in the room, probably a guardian part.
“This really changes things you know? I’m glad Impa had you come here.” Zelda was smiling again, her eyes like rays of sunshine on a field of grass. And again, Paya couldn’t help but smile back.
The ringing of the slate became present as Purah started playing with buttons on the slate while copying something onto a fresh notebook page. Paya looked over Purah’s shoulder to see a copy of what looked like the code of the sensor.
“It looks like slate uses the information on the atomic structure to find other items that match it. It would be a good base for Transmusis because it requires the same information!”
Zelda was handed the slate. She peered at the build of the sensor before looking at her notes on Transmusis.
“Yeah, these look very similar and should be enough information to finish the rune.” Zelda smiled and played with her braid again. “Purah, may I take Paya into the main village? You should be able to figure it out from here.”
Purah mumbled something that sounded like a yes and nodded her head in affirmation, before smirking and adding one more thing. “Have fun, lovebirds!”
Both Zelda and Paya blushed and the princess bit her lip as she removed her goggles, not seeming to care as it managed to pull out even more strands of hair. Paya followed, placing her goggles on the table, not taking her eyes off Zelda.
She hadn’t realized she had been staring until she tripped over her own feet, eyes widening as barely caught herself, her face becoming even more warm somehow. Purah burst out laughing and Zelda gave a startled face, before it morphed into one of concern. Paya realized that, oh, Purah was right. She did love the princess— or at least she liked her a lot. Her eyes widened and she let out a quiet gasp before meeting eyes with the princess.
She only smiled, although her face was still flushed and her hands were still in her braid. She pulled her hands out with a quiet ‘oh’ and offered a hand to Paya, who took it, albeit nervously. Zelda’s hand was soft but calloused in a few spots, most likely from handling a sword briefly.
They walked down the path to the village, the wind whipping against their hair, tugging on it a bit. Even in the cool weather, Paya found herself a bit hot. Zelda seemed to have noticed and steered them towards the clothing shop. The light jingle of a bell announced their arrival.
Zelda turned towards the corner of the shop and lowered her voice, as if to be less intimidating. “Hello, if you don’t mind, I’d like to look at the other tunics in this collection.” The princess pointed to the tunic she was wearing. Zelda had discarded the lab coat before they left the Tech lab and Paya now saw that the tunic was much looser than she had originally thought, loose and a bit flowy, the sleeves going down to her elbows.
The girl nodded silently and scurried off towards the back of the store. The shop had a nice homey feeling, calm welcoming colors of beige with some strikes of orange for pop. It smelled of new fabric and chocolate, hot cocoa, to be specific. Paya didn't stray from her spot but she imagined that the back sitting room had a pot of the sweet drink and a few mugs.
The girl returned with a chest before finding her place back in the corner. Zelda opened it and pulled out four tunics, the main differences in length, the cut of the neck, and sleeve length. They were all the same color and Paya assumed they would be dyed at the dye shop.
“Thank you, Sophie!”
The young girl’s mouth twitched into a smile. “You’re welcome, miss.”
The first tunic Zelda picked up was identical to her own and she folded up and placed it on the ground without a second thought. The second tunic had sleeves that came to the wrists, and for that reason Zelda folded that one back up as well. The third tunic had no sleeves and came to just past Zelda’s hips, or about that. The neck cut was what was called the ‘square’ cut, similar to the under layer of Paya’s current outfit. Zelda smiled and hung it on her arm, and asked Sophie for a pair of simple trousers. The young girl grabbed one from the back and handed it to Zelda.
“Are the changing rooms open?”
Sophie nodded and took out a key, handing it to Zelda. A large ‘one’ was written on a card attached to the handle. Paya followed Zelda through to the back, and was happy to see that a pot of hot cocoa was on the coffee table. It smelled wonderful. Zelda poured herself a cup and placed a few marshmallows into her mug after handing Paya the key.
The princess laughed at Paya’s envious face and reassured her. “I’ll pour you a cup after you try that on.”
Paya opened the changing room and locked it. The clothes were soft and fit her well. The shirt was loose and seemed to need a belt, much like the one Zelda was wearing. Paya just grabbed the one that she wore on her normal outfit. The fabric fell just past her hips, and managed to not bunch up in the upper half. It was nice, but the plain color was a little boring. Her arms felt a little cold but she supposed she would have to get used to that.
The Sheikah girl stepped out of the changing room. “What do you think?”
Zelda turned her head and smiled, giving Paya a thumbs up while she swallowed the hot chocolate. “You look lovely!”
Paya blushed and mumbled a thanks, before sitting down and pouring herself a cup of hot chocolate. It warmed up her arms, causing her to smile. The liquid was slightly sweet, but still with bitter notes and a dash of spice. It must have been made with a bit of cinnamon. The marshmallows melted in the hot liquid, creating a frothing, sweet, sticky goo.
“Do you like hot chocolate?”
“Yeah, we don’t get it as often. Traders normally go to, uh, Hateno more than Kakariko. So we, um, rarely get cocoa beans from Faron.” Paya took another sip, licking her lips.
“That’s too bad. Next time Link or I go to the Faron region we’ll have to get some for Kakariko. You know we didn’t have hot cocoa in the castle. Cocoa powder was always used in desserts.” Zelda added another pinch of the spice, mixing it in with a spoon.
“At least you had cocoa.” Paya giggled.
“That’s fair, but Kakariko has the best pumpkin pie. But Hateno has really good apple pie— I’ll have to ask Link to make some while you’re here.”
“I hope so, I can’t, uh, say I’ve ever had any.”
Zelda’s jaw dropped and she set her mug down, pulling out a bag of rupees and pulling out a single golden rupee before grabbing Paya’s hand. She quickly paid and pulled her outside.
“Uh, Zelda?”
The princess stopped and flushed. “Sorry, you must try some apple pie. I guess I’m just a little excited.” She played with the end of her braid in embarrassment, looking into Paya’s eyes.
Paya smiled and pointed towards the dye shop. “It’s okay, could we, uh, get the top dyed first?”
“Ah okay.” Zelda plucked five apples from the tree near them, explaining her action upon seeing Paya’s confused face. “The dye shop requires you to supply items for the color you use. I think red would look nice.”
Paya offered to take a few of the apples, and ended up with two in her hands, smelling the sweet crisp scent of them.
The dye shop smelled odd, a mix of sweet flowers and spices contrasting heavily with the monster guts and horns. Paya hadn’t really listened to the conversation between the shop owner and Zelda. Instead, she was thinking about the princess, her eyes mostly, along with her hair. Even as the day grew old, her eyes shone with the same intensity, like a fierce green flame that accompanied the gold strands of her hair, which had been slowly working its way out of her braid. Her skin was beginning to tan in the sun of Hateno, but not as much as Link, who traveled around Hyrule quite frequently, or when he could use the slate, accounting to Zelda. While she was technically royalty, the simple life of Hateno suited her. She didn’t seem like the person to enjoy long, heavy dresses and fancy meals, she loved the little things like a campfire under the stars.
Paya hadn’t even realized her top had been dyed until Zelda tapped her on the shoulder and handed the clothing back to her. Paya pulled it back on over her undershirt staring down at the new color, a bright red. She fashioned the belt back on and gave a thank you to the dye shop owner, following after Zelda.
“I never asked, will you be staying in the inn while you're here?”
Paya nodded.
Zelda flushed and played with a loose piece of hair. “How about you stay a night with Link and me?”
Paya nearly tripped over her feet again. “I-If I wouldn’t be a bother, then, um, I’d be glad too.”
Zelda clapped, clasping her hands together. “Okay it’s settled! Let’s get your stuff from the inn and bring it over to Link’s house!”
They walked in silence after that, but it was a comfortable silence that she enjoyed. Paya loved hearing the sounds of the village, the chirps of birds and children laughing being the most prominent.
Paya had only brought one bag which Zelda had insisted on carrying. She slung it over her shoulder and they walked back along the path toward the little house across the river, which traveled at a rapid pace, yapping and tackling the rocks that were in its way.
Link was in the house, cleaning a weapon when they came in. He signed a quick hello with his free hand before putting the weapon back on the display.
“Paya will be staying here tonight. You still have the second extra bed?” Link nodded and Zelda went to help him.
“Oh! Paya you can go upstairs if you’d like, we’ll just be moving the furniture around a bit.” The princess jerked her head towards the stairs. Paya started walking up the old wood creaking under her feet. The house smelled of weapon poslish and flowers, along with hints of what seemed to be Akkala spices.
The Sheikah sat on the bed and pulled out her journal, picking up the spare quill and ink on the nightstand. She paused, not sure what to write. She had written about Link, but this was different.
I suppose it’s easiest to start with the truth. The quill scratched on the page before she stopped again, collecting her thoughts. I think I’ve begun to fall in love with Zelda. That might be a bit much to say, at this point, but I at least like her. She’s kind and doesn’t look at me in an odd way when I stutter. Conversation is beginning to come a bit easier around her. She does have a bad habit of picking at her braid though. Maybe I will tell her while I’m here, or at least try to.
Footsteps echoed as someone walked up the stairs and Paya slammed the journal shut, slipping it into her bag. She knew better after what Link had done. She supposed it was for the better though, who knew what she would have done if Link hadn't told her that he and Zelda were like siblings? It hurt a bit, but it got better. And now she was falling for the other half. Paya laughed.
Zelda’s brows creased together in confusion and the Sheikah shook it off and gave her a smile. Paya followed her back downstairs to hear the sounds of apple being cut.
“Link’s making apple pie. I don’t know how to make it or else I’d help.”
The cutting ceased and Link lifted his hands. ‘ It’s good. You two can sit on the porch, I’ll join you once this is in the oven. ’
Paya and Zelda walked outside and up the ramp. The air smelled fresh, and the flowers that were planted near the house gave it a soft floral smell. It was relaxing.
Zelda broke the silence, and her voice joined the wind. “Paya?”
“Yes?”
“I know you have trouble with speaking sometimes. I used to as well, at least when addressing a lot of people. My mother gave me advice on it before she died. If you’d like, I’d be happy to share.” Zelda glanced at Paya, who had been looking at her feet. The Sheikah smiled.
“I’d be very, uh, thankful if you did.” They were both staring at each other now.
“Well, my mother would always tell me to imagine myself speaking the words right before I speak them. If I hear them in my head it helps me make sure I say the right things.”
“Let me, um, try it out, yeah.” Paya took a deep breath, “Thank you, Zelda, for everything you’ve done for me today.”
Zelda smiled and bit her lip. “You’re welcome!” She grinned, before glancing at the ground. The princess leaned in and kissed Paya on the cheek briefly, before running off towards the house, loudly calling to ask Link a question.
The Sheikah girl blinked as her cheeks flooded with color. By the time she had fully processed what happened Zelda was already in the house. Paya ran after her, grabbing her hand before the princess ran up the stairs.
Paya kissed Zelda on the lips, smiling slightly. Her lips were soft and she smelled of silent princesses, blue nightshades with a hint of chocolate. She was warm, like the lands of Akkala, sunny, yet cool, a certain color to everything, bright leaves.
They parted and it was Zelda’s turn to blink. Her face flushed and Paya giggled, the princess joining her, they said nothing, not sure what to say.
“You know, Zelda, you have a habit of picking at your braids.” Paya blushes, and blurted out, “Would you like me to braid it?”
Zelda nodded and they found themselves back outside, Paya combing through the soft golden strands before parting it into three sections. She braided Zelda’s hair into a loose braid with ease, tying it with the ribbon.
Zelda smiled as she brought the braid over her shoulder. “Thank you! Would you like me to braid your hair?”
Paya nodded and handed Zelda the comb. She relaxed, liking the feeling of the princess brushing through hair. Zelda pulled out the things keeping her bun up, letting it unroll and fall back into the rest of her hair. Zelda brushed through that part before sectioning the top and bottom layers of her hair, clipping the top layer. The princess braided a crown with the bottom layer quickly, tugging lightly on some of the pieces of the silver hair. She returned to the top section, letting it loose and brushing through it once more, gathering it all up and tying a loose ponytail just above the bottom of the crown braid. From there she braided the remainder of the hair loosely, bringing it back up and fastening it where she made the ponytail earlier. She tucked in the two hairpins before stepping back.
“Wait here!” Zelda exclaimed, and Paya did, drumming her fingers against the wood of the bench and getting used to the feeling of all her hair braided up. Minutes later Zelda came back and Paya heard the snap of the Sheikah Slate and she turned around to see the picture. It was very pretty and Paya smiled.
“I love it! You’re really good at this!”
Zelda blushed as she sat down. “Yeah, my maid would teach me different styles once a week, that one seemed to fit, considering you have thicker hair.”
Paya’s eyes flicked towards the garden and was struck with an idea. “Ooh! Let’s make each other flower crowns!”
They did so for the next 20 minutes in silence, both of them focused on their work. Paya had chosen cool safflinas, swift violets, as well as white wildflowers. The soft colors brought out Zelda's bright eyes.
Once Zelda finished she smiled down at her creation, and then noticed Paya and chucked, a light blush settling on her cheeks. She placed the flower crown on Paya’s head and the Sheikah followed. They both turned and looked at the ground.
Paya flushed. "Zelda, I think I like you."
Zelda smiled and looked at Paya. “I think I like you back." The princess slipped her hand into the Sheikah’s and they got up, walking inside just as Link plated the pie and grabbed a jar of whipped cream. They had been outside for a while.
They all ate in a certain silence, it was calming, just listening to the breathing of the others, smiling at the taste of the apple pie. It was sweet, but had a taste of spices from Akkala. It was like a combination of both Hateno, a fresh joy, warm sun, and laughing, and Akkala, a calm breeze, whispers of words. It was delicious and Paya had to admit she liked it better than pumpkin pie. It had a better sweetness to it.
After they had finished, Zelda managed to start a conversation while she washed the dishes. They eventually moved back onto the subject of food and Zelda insisted that she cook that night.
“Would something simple be okay? I know a few nice soup recipes.” Link and both Paya gave her a nod and she took out a pot as well as a cutting board, flicking through the Sheikah Slate and placing various items onto the counter. Zelda had begun chopping carrots when Link pulled out a blank notebook and a piece of charcoal instead of a quill. He began to sketch a Hylian form and Paya peered at it in curiosity. Link glanced over, offering a piece of paper and another chunk of charcoal. Paya accepted it and doodled in the corners, various spirals and other shapes before thinking of an idea.
The charcoal ran along the paper. A large eye, round with long lashes. She drew a flame in the middle of the pupil, then moved on to various other things, like a silent princess, a blue nightshade, a mug of hot chocolate, and sheikah technology.
Paya wondered why she had never tried drawing before—it was much more fun than writing in a journal. Instead she could illustrate her day, the clothes, the children, Zelda, and all her experiences with her.
When she glanced back up from her drawing, she found that Link had taken out a set of colored inks, dipping a quill into the various pots to add streaks of color here and there. Paya followed, adding green to the flames, blue to the silent princess, a bright red to the apples. She smiled down at her work and left it on the table to dry, walking up to Zelda.
“Would you like some help?”
Zelda smiled as she scooped up the carrot pieces. “That would be great! Could you chop some greens while I add the carrots?”
Paya took the knife and chopped them up, discarding the tops. The smell of cooked carrots arose from the pot as the flame peeked from underneath the pot. Once Paya finished she subconsciously tried to tuck some of her hair behind her ear, chuckling when she remembered it was braided.
Zelda added the greens and scraped a bit of salt into the soup and they watched it cook.
“You know, this is one of my favorite meals.”
Zelda grinned. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
Zelda slung an arm around Paya’s waist and kissed her cheek again, loving how Paya immediately flushed red. Zelda played with her hair, but was careful not to pull out any strands out of the braid.
--
By the time they finished dinner, the sun had set and Zelda pulled Paya outside onto the grass, the two of them staring up at the stars.
“They’re beautiful.” Paya’s voice was near a whisper, not wanting to interrupt the quiet atmosphere.
The nights of Hateno were different than the day, and they reminded her of Kakariko. The children had gone to bed and the wind settled down; all was calm. The stars blinked in the darkened sky, showing constellations. Zelda recited some of the ones she knew under her breath, smiling a bit when she found each one in the night sky.
“They are.” Zelda responded after some time. They both loved the joys of the day, but at night they could relax, breath slower breathes. They could kiss under the moonlight without a care in the world. They had fun during the hours of the day, exploring the nooks and crannies of Hateno with the children, eating delicious snacks, and helping out Purah. During the night they shared intimate moments, words spoken only for the other to hear.
“I’m glad you decided to come here.” Zelda put her head on Paya’s shoulder, holding her hand tight.
“Me too.”
Paya had ended up staying in Link’s house for the rest of the time she stayed in Hateno. She and Zelda relished the nights they spent together, telling stories, laughing.
Young love.
Months later on the night of crescent moon, the wind barely there and the smell of flowers dancing around, Zelda had told Paya she loved her. The princess pressed a kiss to her nose and closed her eyes.
She smiled as Paya told her she loved her back.