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The distant sound of a commotion awoke Zelda with a start. Groggy and disoriented, she struggled to remember where she was for a moment. The bed below her wasn’t her own, but far more ornate than anything an outpost could provide. Sandstone-
Gerudo Town.
She was in Gerudo Town.
A town that had just been ravaged by the Yiga only the day prior, reminding her of exactly why she was on edge.
Tossing the thin blanket off her, she hopped out of the bed, reaching for the Sheikah Slate on the side table, ready to defend herself if needed.
However, as she listened more intently to the sounds around her, she realized it wasn’t the panicked cries of terrified civilians. It was a far more joyous sound. One of a crowd cheering someone or something on.
Looking around the room, Zelda realized that Urbosa was missing.
She hoped she hadn’t slept too late.
Reminding herself to breathe as she got herself ready for the day, it was all she could do to steady her own heartbeat. A slight tremble in her hands reminded her she needed to eat at some point. The previous day had been such a mess, she couldn't even remember if she ate much of anything after the Kara Kara Bazaar. Their brief lunch there interrupted by Gerudo soldiers on the lookout for her.
Hooking the slate onto her hip, she followed the sound of the commotion down to the courtyard. All around the square, people had gathered in numbers, lining the edges, watching whatever was happening in the middle.
Signs of the Yiga attack were still clear. Stalls still overturned, deep gashes in the palms lining the square, and stains of ash from Urbosa’s lightning strikes charred a few spots along the sandstone walls. However, the sight of what Zelda assumed was the beginnings of a friendly spar lifted her spirits. It felt like normal times in Gerudo Town, where the sight was commonplace.
On one of the lower tiers of stairs, Zelda spotted Urbosa and Sabune, a grin on both their faces as they watched the crowd.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of Zelda, flashing her a smile. “Just in time, princess,” she said, beckoning her to her side.
Before she could even ask what was going on, Urbosa had already begun to answer her.
“It seems your advisor was picking fights this morning,” she teased, Sabune laughing at her side.
Zelda blinked hard, processing the information.
Looking back out into the crowd, she realized that one of the opponents in the courtyard was in fact Impa. At first, she hadn’t thought anything of it, too distracted and far away to catch any of the details, but now closer, she could see her in the mix.
Her long hair had been pulled back into an intricate braid, adorned with a blue jewel hair pin of some sort. Her clothing was more Gerudo in style, blue and rimmed with red, but the dye was more reminiscent of the shade of blue used in Sheikah stealth armor. Even at a distance, she could tell it was a gorgeous mix of the two cultures.
“Picking fights doesn’t sound like her,” Zelda mused, realizing it was becoming a bit of a chore to keep her thoughts together, her mind instead choosing to be absolutely fixated on the sight of Impa.
Sabune hummed. “I suppose Agona was the one who started it,” she said, getting a laugh from Zelda.
“Now that’s the true out of character behavior,” she said. One of the newest captains, she was easy to rile up, and she and Impa had always had a habit of getting on one another’s nerves in ways Zelda had begun to suspect was just thinly veiled flirting.
Something she certainly wasn’t [see: absolutely was] envious of.
Urbosa’s jewellery jingled with her laughter. “She insulted Impa’s honor by saying she only won against her yesterday because she had gone easy on her,” she said.
She stifled a laugh, easily picturing her falling for the taunt.
From the crowd Agona pointed the tip of her scimitar out towards the princess. “You have your princess’s audience, Impa. What are you waiting for?”
Impa looked back, her hair whipping around her body dramatically. While not close enough to actually hear, Zelda had no trouble imagining the sound of her jewelry jingling as she moved.
She could tell Impa was smiling at her, but beyond that, Zelda couldn't tell much else, her mind already grinding to a halt. She barely registered Urbosa having them move down to the lowest tier for a better view.
Zelda watched as Impa began to stretch herself out, continuing to tease Agona about something, and it was at the moment she stretched out tall, hands to the sky, back arched, chest out- the new clothing wasn’t helping in the slightest. She was seeing far more of Impa than she had...ever. Any closer, and she knew she would get to see every ripple of her lean muscle, and the thought alone was enough to wrap her whole body in a furious flush.
She forced herself to look away, up to the sky to see where the sun was. It wasn’t even fully over the easern highlands, the first rays filtering over the peaks.
Mornings in the Gerudo Desert were supposed to be cold, not scorching hot.
A snicker from her side was barely enough to pull her back into the present.
At her side, both Urbosa and Sabune were looking at her, trying to contain their amusement.
“What?” she said, her voice barely more than a squeak.
Urbosa nodded towards the courtyard. “She’s talking to you,” she said, a teasing edge to her voice.
Looking back at the courtyard, Impa had turned back to her, Agona now laughing, her booming voice echoing off the stone walls. “I don’t think she could hear you! Say it louder! With your whole chest, Impa!” she taunted.
Impa shot her a look that was unseen to Zelda, before returning her attention back up to her. “Check me out, Princess!” she said, holding her arms out in a flex. A gesture that if she weren’t so preoccupied, she might have teased and likened it to acting like Purah.
Again, she caught herself imagining the sound of the golden bangles on her wrists, and in her hair. The exact sound would be somehow both soft and sharp. The gleam reflected off them from the morning light. The strain of the muscle under her strong arms-
Urbosa leaned down, keeping her voice low. “Trust me, I don’t think she’s having any trouble with that,” she teased.
There was no way it was even loud enough for her to hear, but it didn’t stop all the blood from rushing to her face, leaving her lightheaded. “Urbosa!” she yelped.
Urbosa and Sabune both threw their heads back in a laugh, only worsening the feeling for Zelda.
Before she had time to react, Impa was in front of her, Sheikah-teleporting to get around the crowd, amber eyes boring down into hers.
Up close, she could see every intricate detail of her clothing. The fine golden design sewn into the sheikah blue--
Her face- only look at her face, she chastised herself.
“A selfish request, your highness?” Impa said.
Her voice refused her, and even if it hadn’t, she knew she wouldn't have managed more than a squeak.
Her face.
Zelda nodded.
“May I ask you to hold onto this?” she asked, holding her hat out to her.
She hadn’t even noticed where it was in the first place. Not that it even mattered. Her attention had clearly been elsewhere -but was currently strictly on her face; because where else would she be actually staring? Not her exposed midriff, that was for certain, or her arms.
Reaching out, she grabbed the edges, the bangles clinking together as she held it close to her person.
As Impa began to step back, Urbosa’s voice caught both their attention. “Come now, Princess Zelda! Offer your warrior some words of encouragement.” She looked out to the courtyard, smiling down at her captain. “Agona! Make this a good fight and make your people proud!”
The crowd around them cheered out for her, but Impa and Zelda both paid them no mind, their attention solely on each other.
She practically begged her mind to come up with something at the very least appropriate. Inspiring. Encouraging-- something.
“Make me proud,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Not the Sheikah. Not the Hylians. Not the crown, the other advisors, or anyone else. Her. Solely her.
Zelda wanted to absolutely smack herself for her pathetic, selfish words.
“Anything for you,” Impa said with a grin that Zelda was sure was going to make her melt into a puddle right there on the sandstone, worsening as she watched her grin turn into a full on smirk. “Think fast, Agona!”
As she whipped around, her hair milliseconds from smacking Zelda before she sheikah-teleported away, advancing on Agona. A clash of steel and the crowd cheered.
Zelda found herself hardly able to keep up. Two lightning-fast warriors sparring against one another, and yet all she could think about was the heat in Impa’s eyes, and wishing she was the one getting pinned down by her.
Which distinctly was a new desire.
“As bad as your mother was,” Urbosa teased again.
Tearing her eyes away from the courtyard, she looked up at her. “What do you mean?”
She hadn’t even noticed Sabune leaving them, joining the crowd further down.
Urbosa stifled a laugh. “Some nice Gerudo clothing and some skin and you’re a mess.”
Embarrassment, hot-flash, or hunger-- she wasn’t sure which would be the first to take her out. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, returning her attention to Impa. She seemed to have the upper hand, teleporting around, like it was all a game of cat and mouse.
Urbosa shook her head. “That father of yours has done you no service by not allowing you to learn how to court.”
Embarrassment was certainly in the lead for taking her out.
“What does that have to do with anything?” she asked.
Urbosa didn’t even have to say anything. The look she shot her was enough to keep Zelda digging her own hole.
“I was- I was simply caught off guard!” Which was the wrong approach, she quickly realized. “With the Yiga attack yesterday- I am diplomatic and focused. A princess with an unfulfilled duty. I am-” She was just talking at that point.
“Twenty-four,” Urbosa said, pointedly.
She pouted in response. “I fail to see what that has to do with anything.” Even then, she was only a few months away from being twenty-five. A quarter of a century. Old enough to ascend the Spring of Wisdom. If anything, it should have been a point in her favor.
Urbosa crossed her arms, shifting her weight around. “I think you’ll find it has to do with everything. I would know. I was twenty-four once,” she said.
She still failed to see what she was getting at. Of course she was her age once. She knew Urbosa’s age- she shared a birthday with her mother. The only saving grace to a day that might otherwise leave her in a pit of her own despair.
A loud cheer caught their attention, pulling Zelda back in just in time to watch Impa continue her teasing, teleporting up to the rooftop of one of the nearby shops, falling down to her side, lounging about and faking a yawn. “Is that all you’ve got, Agona? I thought you went easy on me yesterday. I’m getting bored,” she said.
“If you would stop your teleporting nonsense and fight me like you mean it!” Agona responded.
As Zelda anticipated, Impa gave in to the taunt, teleporting back down and smacking her back. With a small flash of energy, she had two of her symbol clones at her side, mirroring her every move.
“I still fail to understand the point you are trying to make,” Zelda said, dividing her focus, though, not equally.
“When the Calamity is over- when Ganon is sealed away: what then? What will you do?” Urbosa asked.
For Zelda, it felt like an odd conversation to have in that moment. At the very least, it wasn’t one she wanted to have, because she couldn’t even imagine what such a thing would look or feel like. With no sealing powers and no knight to wield the sword: was even such a reality possible? It certainly didn’t feel like it was. She could barely get herself to think more than a few days ahead at a time, otherwise she risked caving in on herself from the pressure of it all.
Seeming to sense her growing unease, Urbosa uncrossed her arms, shifting her weight to gently nudge her. “I think you would do well to find something for yourself to fight for during all of this,” she suggested.
Uncertainty worked its way into her stomach. “Meaning be selfish,” she grumbled.
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting something for yourself. You’re allowed to want things of your own. You owe yourself that much,” she said.
Zelda hummed a dissatisfied noise, the mere thought leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. Selfish wants were for accomplished princesses. Selfish desires were for princesses who had unlocked their sealing powers and could protect their people and their loved ones. Selfish was a luxury only afforded to capable people.
She didn’t fancy herself any of those.
The sound of metal on stone caught her attention, and just as she looked up, she noticed the little guardian making their way up the stairs, beeping as soon as they saw her.
Their appearance meant Link was probably waiting outside the town walls. She almost wanted to laugh at remembering how apologetic he had been after the Yiga had been dealt with. Apologizing left and right to Urbosa for breaking the old Gerudo laws of no men in the city. Secretly, she had found it terribly endearing, and Urbosa hadn’t minded, telling him the threat of the Yiga in that moment far outweighed the old law.
The little guardian made circles around her, trying to communicate something. Their beeps weren’t urgent, so she figured it was more like they were just happy to see her again after a long night of being apart.
The crowd around the courtyard roared, dragging her attention away from the guardian. In the middle, Agona was on her back, Impa standing triumphantly over her.
Again, the desire crept up in the back of her mind that wished she were in Agona’s spot, even if it meant having to lie there in defeat in front of a bunch of people.
What a...strange...desire.
Without warning, Impa had appeared back in front of her. Loose strands of hair stuck to her face, her chest heaving from her deep breaths. “Well, your highness?” she said between breaths.
A million thoughts all at once, and very few among them would have been appropriate for her to voice. Between them and Urbosa looking down at her, she caved under the pressure, but in the wrong direction.
Zelda thrust her hat back into her hands, and turned away, refusing to look at her. “Be ready to leave. I want to leave Gerudo Town immediately,” she said before heading off to gather the last of her things.
The little guardian beeped aloud everyone’s confusion as they followed after her, but neither Urbosa or Impa made any motions towards her.
Impa looked up to Urbosa, confusion written across her whole body. “Did I do something wrong?” she asked, terrified of the answer. Disappointing Zelda in any way- the thought alone was enough to make her sick to her stomach.
Urbosa shook her head, looking at her with an understanding Impa practically felt in her soul. “You did nothing wrong, Impa. It was an excellent match. I’m afraid I’m the one who overstepped,” she said, a shrug of her shoulders. “It’s hard being twenty-four,” she added with an amused breath.
Impa hummed, hooking her hand on the hilt of her kodachi. “I'm not going to pretend it’s any easier at twenty-six,” she mused. She had noticed the two of them talking during her spar with Agona, but was too focused on the fight to try and catch any of what they had been saying. All she could tell was that the princess had been...flustered.
“I suppose I...better get ready to leave,” Impa mused, turning herself away.
Urbosa nodded. “You do that. I’ll talk to the princess.”
She caught herself before she laughed, because clearly that had gone so well the first time. But that wasn’t something she could say aloud. Not to Lady Urbosa of all people. If there was one person on the battlefield she wouldn't want to cross, it was her, and beyond that, she was well aware of how much she meant to Zelda.
Back up in Urbosa’s room, Zelda busied herself with putting the last of her things back into her travel bag. Little Guardian stood by patiently, beeping out responses to her grumblings. She wasn’t entirely sure if she was having a conversation with them, or if it just felt nice to have someone who couldn't quip back in an intelligible way.
She failed to notice Urbosa leaning in the archway.
“Besides, even if I wanted to court her --which I’m not saying I do!” she said, pointing at the guardian as if they were about to object. “If I did...it’s not even like I would be able to. I’m an only child. The burden of a legacy is mine to bear- quite literally,” she said. If there was any future event she didn’t like thinking about apart from the Calamity, it was that.
The guardian beeped a sad tone at her.
For a second, Urbosa hesitated, not wanting to push her any farther than she had already, but it was the sad admission that forced her hand. “If I may, princess,” she began, chuckling as she jumped in her spot on the floor.
“You terrified me,” she said, hand to her chest.
“My apologies, but again, if I may,” she started once again. “There’s something I think you should look into if you ever get the chance.”
Zelda had half the mind to tell her to leave her alone, but decided against it at the last second. “Go on,” she said.
“It’s not something I’ve ever seen myself, but it’s something your mother once mentioned to me.”
If nothing else, that had her attention.
“She mentioned a royal archive, where the journals of past kings, queens, and other royalty are kept. Somewhere hidden deep below the royal study.” She hummed in thought. “I can’t remember how many greats of a grandmother she would be to you by now, but Queen Zelda Rania-Hyrule. You should look for her journal sometime.”
Given she herself was the first daughter named Zelda in a long time, she would have been many greats at that point. More of an ancestor rather than a relative.
“Why her?” she asked, more carefully putting her things away.
Urbosa shrugged. “Your mother found her journals useful when we were younger.”
“How so?” Zelda asked.
She shook her head. “I think that’s for you to read and find out. I don’t want to influence how you read it.” Besides, it wasn’t as though she herself had ever read the journal, either. She merely had the second-hand accounts from Amelia.
Second-hand accounts that lined up almost too perfectly with the current princess’s situation.
Zelda asked no further questions beyond that, and Urbosa couldn't bring herself to press any farther. She merely stood in silence with the princess as she packed her things, and walked her to the gates of the town. There, Link and Impa were already waiting, and not a word was exchanged between the three beyond Impa informing her that the Hylian army escort would meet them at the Kara Kara Bazaar.
“Think about what I said, Princess,” Urbosa said.
She almost laughed. It was likely all she would think about on the trip back to the castle. Thinking about whether or not she even wanted to attempt to get into the royal archive, and if she did, why. What did she hope to even find down there? She knew her mother’s journal was with her father. What could Zelda Rania-Hyrule offer her? What had she written down that comforted her own mother? Would she even see what had comforted her? Why had Urbosa of all people told her about an old journal?
Too many questions, and too much road ahead of them to think about adding even more questions to the list.
“I will,” she answered. “And I will send news as soon as I can regarding the champion ceremony.”
Urbosa nodded, offering her a smile. “I look forward to seeing you then, Little Bird.”
They headed off after that, and watching them leave, Urbosa couldn't escape the overwhelming sense of deja vu. She had seen the Princess off many times, but it wasn’t that exactly. Something about the conversation and things that went unsaid.
She briefly wondered if Zelda Rania, before she was Rania-Hyrule, had come to the desert seeking answers to her own troubles. Had she found the answers she was looking for? Solace offered by the Gerudo Chief of the time? Or was she also sent away with too many questions instead?
The more she tried to think of the times Amelia had told her Zelda Rania’s story, the more she found herself missing her smile...the shape of her laughter. The furrow in her brow when she was frustrated...Her.
Shaking her head, she let out a sigh, looking up to the sky. “She’s more and more like you every day,” she said to nobody.
There was no use in standing around, she reasoned. She had a town to help get back in order, and a Divine Beast to eventually figure out...