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As the Princess neared her twelfth birthday, traditionally the age where common children became apprentices and noble children moved from the nursery to their own quarters, the King had put a call out to the knights of the realm for daughters of a suitable age to attend on the Princess. Link, despite living on a farm in Hateno with her mother, was the daughter and granddaughter of knights, and the appropriate age. Her parents had agonised over the decision: Link was happiest outdoors, on the farm or in the woods, or sparring with her father. She was deciding between the baker and the fletcher for her apprenticeship and seemed happy with either. Her father was a Royal Guard, though, so the King knew perfectly well that Sir Arn had a daughter of the right age. When Link had not yet been brought to court, the King had pressed the point.
Saying goodbye to Aryll and Mum had been a lot harder than Link expected, even though Aryll was much cheered up by receiving Link's old bow. Nonetheless, Link enjoyed the ride to the castle with her dad, he on his old warhorse and she on a sweet spotted mare that the castle had sent for her. Dad was always cheerful out on the open road, and sparred with Link at their campsite both in the evening and the next morning. On the last night, he kept Link's sword – her twelfth birthday present – when they were done.
"Are you sure I can't take a dagger or something?" Link asked on the morning before they arrived. They rode side-by-side to be able to sign to each other. "You told me that a girl should always be able to defend herself."
"Sweetheart, I won't let you take weapons into the presence of the royal family without asking first."
"I'm not going to accidentally stab the Princess, Dad!"
"I know that, you know that, but a whole castle full of heavily armed men doesn't know that! And truthfully – don't tell anyone outside the Guard – there's been attempts on the Princess's life since those bastards got to the Queen." He used a sign Link didn't understand with "bastards". He spat on the ground in disgust and Link copied him with enthusiasm. "And no spitting! That's for soldiers, not Royal Attendants."
"Once we get there, I promise no spitting!" Link giggled. Princesses probably hated spitting. "But, Dad, why do people want to kill the Princess? Isn't she supposed to have the Goddess's blood?"
"This sign is Y-I-G-A, like Sheikah but upside-down. And the Goddess blood is why they want to kill her, before she's old enough to develop her Goddess-given power. Or to have a daughter who will."
Link thought about that. She'd never heard of anyone who hated the Goddess, but she supposed it was like everything people were passionate about: if some people loved the Goddess enough to dedicate their lives to being priestesses, there must be people who hated Her equally. Poor Princess Zelda. Link hoped that she knew how to use a sword, too.
They arrived at the castle in the late afternoon, Link gawking at the crowds of Castle Town like the country girl she was. The place was stinkier than she'd expected, and not in the same way as a cowshed. There were so many interesting people, though, including the first Gerudo and Gorons that she'd ever seen, and many more Rito than ever before.
Dad whistled to catch her attention. "Close your mouth, sweetheart, you'll catch a fly."
They washed up at the barracks, after greeting all Dad's comrades, and Dad changed into his Royal Guard uniform while Link put on her newest dress. It was a comfortable knee-length green dress with embroidered flowers at the neck. It had been Mum's until recently, Link having grown out of all of her own clothes in the last year. Mum had taken it in for Link's skinny frame but for the first time, she hadn't needed to take up the hem: Link was half a head taller than her now, though she still hadn't made it to Dad's shoulder. Link kept her regular boots on, after a quick polish, then took down her ponytail to wrangle her hair into two plaits, as neat and tight as she could manage.
"Good girl." Her dad rested his hand on her head for a moment, and Link caught him frowning, briefly, before he took her arm instead and they walked into the castle.
The King was very busy, it seemed, but Dad chatted with his fellow guards as they waited and a dark-haired sergeant slipped her a piece of honey candy. It was hard to catch his words with his big moustache in the way, but the antechamber was quiet, which helped.
"Got a girl about your age at home, but she wouldn't do for this, they said."
Link was wondering what he could possibly mean when a richly dressed older man opened the door. Assuming this was the King, she curtsied politely, as she had practiced, but nobody else bowed, so she stopped in confusion.
The man looked her over, and she had the distinct feeling that she was being considered like a heifer at auction. He spoke very clearly, more so than anyone Link had met before. "Sir Arn. This is your daughter? Wonderful."
"Your Excellency."
"Please, the King and Princess await you."
Dad kept a firm grip on her shoulder and steered her through a room that was so large she couldn't clearly see the other end in the evening light. The King wasn't in that room but in a smaller, warmer one off to the side. There was a large desk, shelves and shelves of books, larger than life-size paintings on the wall, and an absolutely enormous man behind the desk. The man looked her up and down for a moment before he smiled broadly.
Dad bowed and Link curtsied, looking at the floor for as long as she could before looking up to catch what the King was saying. He had a white beard, but it was neatly trimmed and didn't hide his mouth.
"Sir Arn, rise, please. What's your name, girl?"
"Link, Your Majesty." Her mouth was dry.
"That's an unusual name for a girl, isn't it?"
This, Link could answer, as she had many times before. "Yes, Your Majesty. My grandfather died in battle the day I was born, so I was named after him."
"I remember your grandfather: he was in the Royal Guard when I first came to the castle. A good man. Why don't you go sit over there with my daughter, Princess Zelda?"
Link curtsied again and hurried in the direction he indicated. There was indeed a girl there, the prettiest girl she had ever seen, in a beautiful blue dress with gold embroidery. She was golden-haired, round-cheeked, taller than Link and looked much more grown-up, despite being half a year younger. Sitting attentively on a small padded bench, she patted the seat beside her and Link cautiously sat.
"Hello," the princess whispered. Even her voice was sweet.
"Hello, Your Highness." Link glanced over at her, to see she had a small, open book tucked into the bell-shaped sleeve of her dress. The adults wouldn't be able to see it, as she was holding her hand and sleeve above it, but from the side, Link could. "What are you reading?"
"Shh! I'm supposed to be learning about statecraft rather than reading." She too spoke very precisely, so even in the lantern light with a low voice Link could match up her lips with the sounds enough to understand.
"…my daughter was to be an attendant," Link's dad was saying, once Link paid attention again. "But I find out you want her to be a decoy, Your Majesty?"
"You are aware of the recent attempts on my daughter's life, Sir Arn. I would think a knight of the Royal Guard would do whatever he could to protect his charge." The King's voice was loud and perfectly even, like Link's grandma when she was really angry.
"Yes, Your Majesty, of course I would, but my daughter is just a little girl! She's deaf! She's not a soldier!"
The King had turned away from the girls at this stage, blocking Link's view of either man, and she wasn't familiar enough with the King's deep rumble to understand him without lip reading as well.
The princess, however, looked delighted, her green eyes sparkling. "Do you know the signing language?" she signed.
"Yes!" Link signed back with a big grin. "My mum is deaf and me and my sister have bad hearing. Why did you learn it?"
She looked proud of herself. "It's a Zoran language. I'm supposed to learn all the languages so that I will be able to talk to everyone when I'm the Queen. My apologies, I'm not as fast as you."
Link slowed down, thrilled that the Princess could understand her. "My mum learned it from a Zora teacher when she was a girl, then she went to live near the Domain. My dad got posted there and that's how they met. Also lots of my friends in Hateno use it a bit because the adults don't understand it. Except my parents. And Grandma."
"Some adults understand," she said, with a glance towards the fireplace for no reason that Link could see. "So you can hear a little?"
"When you talk to me face-to-face I mostly understand you. Your Highness," she belatedly added, remembering where she is.
"Do you understand why your father is angry?"
Link shook her head, flicking her plaits.
"Here's the situation." The princess switched between spoken and sign language as she hit the limits of her signed vocabulary, but she made sure to keep facing Link directly. "Father wants me to have a decoy. If people come to kill me when I'm out in public, they'll have the wrong girl. I will still have to do all the Temple ceremonies, so please don't worry about offending the Goddess, or anything like that."
"Oh. I guess we do sort of look alike. From a distance." Link thought about it for a minute. "But my dad thought I was summoned to be a Royal Attendant."
The princess made an annoyed noise. "I wish Father had told him in advance, then. Your father is worried that you will be killed in my place." She gave up on sign for the moment, folding her hands tightly in her lap, book tucked in her voluminous sleeve. "I think it's nice he doesn't want to put you at risk."
Link grinned. "I don't mind! I'll do it, but I want to have my sword. Or my dagger. Something to fight with. Maybe some chainmail?"
"Father!" The princess stood up. "Please, let me speak."
The King turned around, his face impassive but for his narrowed eyes.
"What do you have to say, Zelda?"
"Link has offered to be my decoy, but only if she can be armed."
"Your Majesty, she-" The words burst out of Dad but the King spoke over him.
"Very good. Young lady, your gracious offer is accepted. You will accompany the Princess wherever she goes in the castle to learn her habits. Sir Arn, you are dismissed."
Link quailed when she caught the look on Dad's face: she'd never, ever seen him so angry, or afraid. A moment later he was gone and Link was left with the King and Princess.
"So you've trained with your father?" the King asked, fortunately facing Link again. He looked a lot merrier now that nobody was arguing with him.
"Yes, Your Majesty. And in Zora's Domain. To defend myself."
"Excellent. I did not expect that. We will need to continue your training. Impa?"
A young white-haired woman suddenly appeared beside the fireplace, where Princess Zelda had glanced before. Link threw a protective arm in front of the princess, but the woman made no move towards them. She was wearing Sheikah clothes, which Link had seen before when Sheikah came to buy rice and wool from the village.
"Good instincts," the woman said. "You've trained with weapons?"
Link was very confused. "Where were you? Should I call you Your Highness?"
She shook her head. "I'm not royal, merely a bodyguard. I was in the shadows. Call me Master Impa. What weapons have you learned?"
"A bow for hunting, but a few times I've shot a bokoblin. Sword with and without a shield, dagger, spear, sickle. Sword is my best." Link answered promptly, very pleased to have a question she fully understood.
"Sickle is an unusual choice." Her dark red eyes bored into Link.
"Uh, no, Master Impa, not in Hateno. My dad told me I should be able to use whatever's around. I can fight with a stick or a torch or a soup ladle, too. But they're not really weapons, so I didn't say."
She relaxed. "Very good. I will be happy to continue your training." She turned to the king. "Your Majesty? May I take the girls up to their room?"
"Yes, of course. Good night, Zelda. Link."
The princess curtsied, and Link copied her: the princess did it differently to the way Link had been taught. She could feel Impa's eyes on her as she imitated the princess, as if the curtsy was a training stance. Well. Perhaps it was, now.
***
Zelda turned sixteen yesterday, and Link had spent all of today waving at crowds from the balcony and distributing small gifts to the poor while Zelda was stuck in her usual routine of prayer, prayer and more prayer. Link thought the King was more a little obsessed to keep forcing Zelda to do the one thing that wasn't working, every single day. Unfortunately, Zelda wouldn't hear a word against her father, and entirely blamed herself, despite Link's best efforts. Zelda would only really listen to Link when they were entwined together in bed, kissing in secret, and her father was the last thing Link wanted to think about at those times.
Link had her formal dress halfway over her head when she felt the tang of Impa's teleportation and pointed straight at the source of the shadow magic.
"Very good," Impa signed once Link's head was free, and helped her braid her annoyingly long hair – to match Zelda's – for the night. While Link's hair was not the same shade as Zelda's and their features not identical, it was easy enough to fool anyone outside the castle. Link always wore her white headscarf and unflattering attendant's dress or riding gear when accompanying Zelda elsewhere, so that nobody would compare them. She had never managed any actual Sheikah magic – which would have been very helpful for disguise – but cosmetics, padding, mannerisms and copying Zelda's distinctive hairstyle sold the illusion well when needed.
Impa was a great combat teacher, even if Link remained stubbornly unable to vanish into shadows. On the plus side, Impa's tough training meant that Link had become sensitive to magic being used in her presence, unlike Zelda. The Sheikah Elder had theorised that Zelda's own magical nature was too overpowering for her to be able to see smaller magics. It had hurt Link to see the mix of hope and defeat on her face at that, even if she could assure Zelda that she could feel the Princess's subdued but constant magic whenever she entered the room. Link was happy to be magically inert if it helped protect Zelda: she had personally spotted three disguised Yiga and a hidden teleportation rune in the last six months. One of the Yiga had even got close enough to shoot an arrow at the supposed Princess, though Link had ducked safely behind a carriage seat before the arrow left the bow.
Still, the King remained stubbornly against Zelda learning any combat techniques: Impa and Link had petitioned him, together and separately, and eventually gave up on anything official. Zelda might not be able to defend herself against fully trained combatants, but she had a long needle in a pocket of her sleeve and a small, flat kunai blade in each boot, her fifteenth birthday present from Impa. She was moderately proficient in their use at close hand, but had absolutely deadly aim when throwing. And the more her father made her pray, the more nights she spent hurling the knives into increasingly more difficult targets. She could beat Link two times out of three, and Link was no slouch.
"Is Zelda allowed to go see the Divine Beasts?" Link asked Impa, fairly sure that her tight-lipped expression was hiding news.
"Yes! Just Vah Ruta at the moment, since it's so close to the Domain, but if that goes well, I think she's going to be allowed to visit more."
Link punched the air. "Awesome! She'll be so happy!"
"Happy about what?" Zelda, soaked from the waist down after her prayers in the holy spring, trudged into the room, a pair of Royal Guards shutting the door behind her.
"Let me help you dry off." Link grabbed the towels she had been warming by the fire. Zelda stripped off her prayer dress, with some help from Impa as it clung wetly to her skin. "Happy about visiting Vah Ruta!"
"Oh!" Zelda's eyes widened in delight. "Really? There's so much I want to examine! And of course, officially ask Princess Mipha to pilot. Do you think Purah and Robbie will be there when I arrive, Impa?"
Impa was drying off Zelda's hair, but turned her head so Link could lipread better. "If we leave tomorrow, yes. I'm sure Link is looking forward to hearing you talk about ancient technology twenty-five hours a day."
"Don't be mean," Link scolded Impa. "I'm looking forward to seeing all my Zora friends, and Zelda will be completely safe there, so I won't need to hang around Vah Ruta so much. Besides, it's funny to watch Robbie's terrible attempts at flirting with me."
"Is he still doing that?" Zelda asked, finally getting into her nightgown and warm robe, sliding her icy toes into her slippers. "I'll have him executed if you like."
"I'll think about it. But first, dinner. Ta da!" Link whipped the silver cover off the salver to reveal some egg and spinach pies and bowls of a lightly spiced pumpkin soup.
"Always dinner first with you!" Impa rolled her eyes. "I'll accompany you tomorrow as far as the wetlands but then I'll continue to Kakariko. All right with that, Link?"
"Yep, patrols in the wetlands have been clearing out a whole lot of lizalfos and there's plenty of soldiers there. We'll be meeting Zora guards not long after. See you at dawn!"
Impa left and Zelda groaned through a mouthful of soup, signing, "Dawn, really? Must we?"
"Even with Storm and Epona we'd be hard-pressed to make it to Inogo Bridge before dusk, so yes. Dawn, sleepyhead."
"If you say so." Zelda pushed her pie Link's way. She was often queasy after a full day of prayer and missing lunch, but at least today she was able to consume soup, not just tea. "Link, do you think it's true? About the increasing number of monsters meaning the Calamity is on the way?"
Link ate the pie in four bites, then tidied the dishes onto the tray to put outside the door. "Don't ask me about Calamity stuff, it's you who studies it. But the monsters? Nah." She sat down beside Zelda and poked her in the ribs. "Let's get to bed."
"No, Link, please don't dodge the question. Why do you think the monsters are unrelated? There's so many!"
"You're dodging going to bed, but all right." Link got changed into her nightgown, a cast-off of Zelda's, and put out the lanterns. "So there's this saying in Hateno, 'two bowls for today, one bowl for tomorrow.'"
"Yes, obviously, so you put away some food for the lean times."
Link poked the bedwarmer further down the four-poster bed then pulled Zelda under the covers. The girls snuggled in, lying face to face so they could sign easily in the soft blue glow of Zelda's Sheikah lantern.
"True, but also it means that nature goes in cycles. Rabbits have a good year, lots get born, that feeds more foxes, the next year there's so many foxes they eat most of the rabbits, then the year after there's very few rabbits and the extra foxes starve. Or come sneaking after the cuccos and lambs, so you have to stay up all night on watch." Link yawned just thinking about it.
"Oh, a boom and bust cycle. You think the monsters might be having a few good years, naturally."
"Exactly! They breed like anything else does, it's not surprising that there's lots of them. Then that brings the army, lots of monsters die, and it takes a while to build up again."
Zelda leaned forward and kissed her. "I don't know why you think you're not smart. You're so observant."
Link blushed but kissed her back. "So observant that I can tell you're avoiding sleep yet again."
"No, wait. I wanted to say thank you for representing me again today."
"I'd rather do that than pray for twelve hours straight. The Yiga can try what they want if I know you're safe." Seeing Zelda's upset face, she quickly added, "Not that I saw any threats today."
Zelda gently touched Link's lips with her fingertip. "That's not…I hate it that you're considered less important than me. That it's considered acceptable if you are murdered in my place. You protect me and I can't protect you. It's not fine. You're no less valuable than I am."
Link blushed again, and kissed Zelda's forehead to distract her. "Go to sleep, Zelda. Your thoughts will still be there in the morning. And so will I."
***
Zora's Domain was beautiful, as always, and Link was thrilled that Zelda and Mipha – who Link had been friends with for years but hadn't seen since she entered service – got along so well. Mipha was very shy and Zelda could be dismissive about things that didn't hold her interest, but once they started talking about the scientific implications of the ancient technology, they were instant friends. Link wandered outside Vah Ruta to see if any of the Zora wanted to spar with her, but ran into Purah instead.
"Linky! Climb up that ladder and give the big cog a kick, will you?" She gestured clockwise.
"Sure." Link did as she was told and dropped down again as the mechanism groaned into life.
"You'll be pleased to hear that Robbie got called away, the sleaze."
"Oh, it's no problem, Zelda gave me permission to kill him."
Purah cackled. "Good for her! Though you jabbing him in the throat last month was pretty effective. He claimed he was going to go work on his combat training."
"Bet he didn't."
"Snap, you bet right, Linky! The King summoned him to do something or other in those creepy woods. I was hoping they'd found another Divine Beast we hadn't heard of, but seems not."
"Are four not enough?" Link patted the side of the enormous mechanical beast. She hadn't personally seen Vah Medoh or Vah Rudania yet, but she'd seen Zelda's diagrams. They were just as huge and terrifying as Vah Ruta and Vah Naboris. Well, maybe not quite as terrifying as Vah Naboris with Urbosa piloting it.
"There's only four in the tapestries, but there's at least two sources that claim there's five. Well, history's not my department. I just make them go."
Vah Ruta raised its trunk and made a brassy noise that even Link could hear clearly.
"Guess I'd better check on the princesses and see what they've done to this poor Beast," she told Purah and headed inside.
Zelda chattered all the way back to the castle about their discoveries in Vah Ruta and how she was sure that Mipha would be a wonderful pilot. Link agreed and enjoyed seeing Zelda in such good spirits. She hoped that they'd be allowed to visit the other Divine Beasts too, even if they had to stop at the various holy springs on the way. Getting Zelda away from the castle was always good for her, but getting to work with the ancient technology was even better. As they rode into Castle Town, Link alert to threats, the mood was different to the usual impersonal bustle. Everyone was giggly and excited, with people gossiping everywhere.
"What are they talking about, Zelda?" Link signed to her, worried that she was missing something important.
The horses slowed to a walk. Zelda listened closely, then went white and pressed a hand to her mouth as if she was about to be sick.
"Your Highness? What is it?" Link brought Epona closer to Zelda, ready to draw her sword from where it rested against her thigh.
Zelda swallowed hard. "They've found the Hero."
The Hero, it turned out, was Zelda's cousin, Yolero, an Earl. He was the second son of the Duke of Akkala – the King's older brother – and a Captain in the Guard at the young age of 22. Link was not fond of him due to the way he ignored Zelda and at best thought her research interests were "cute", but he was undeniably skilled in combat, brave, noble, very tall and handsome. The epitome of a hero. Link developed an unreasoning hatred immediately, and it only got stronger when people at the castle whispered how it must be destiny for a single family to produce both the King and the Hero.
"This destiny stuff is stupid! I wish it was someone who would be nice to Zelda, at least! We'll have to go everywhere with him," Link complained when she met up with Dad at the tavern. Link was old enough at sixteen that entering the all-male barracks was forbidden, but the two of them frequently met up in Castle Town at a tavern run by a former Hateno resident. The place was very noisy with had big windows and clear daylight: perfect for a signed conversation.
"You watch yourself around the Earl, sweetheart. I'm not so fond of him, myself," Dad replied.
"Is he not as good a soldier as he says he is?"
"No, he's good. At fighting, anyway. And seducing young maids without a second thought. Doesn't have much consideration for anyone else, who, say, might not have custom-made armour and a personal servant to clean it if it gets muddy. Or who might be more interested in following orders to protect a village rather than gloriously taking on a hinox that wasn't bothering anyone. Make sense that he'd get a flashy sword like that."
"I haven't seen it yet. He and Zelda have a big ceremony tomorrow. Is it really purple like in the stories?"
"The hilt is. I haven't seen him use it yet, but that Sheikah guy you don't like was all over it, so maybe it's being studied."
"Robbie? What did he have to do with the Master Sword? It's not Sheikah-made, I don't think. And Zelda has done all the research on it, not him." Link generally used Zelda's name when signing – the only other people she signed with were close to her, to Zelda, or both, and didn't mind the informality.
"Ah, leave all that stuff to the nobles! But you be careful, sweetheart: with the Hero around, the Princess is more of a target. I don't just mean Yiga, I mean monsters too. And the King thinks you're expendable."
"You know I'll be careful, Dad. You be careful, too."
"Good girl. Here, I brought you a letter from Aryll and Mum."
"Please! Show me!" Link grabbed the letter from Dad and forgot all about the Earl for now.
Zelda slept poorly the night before the ceremony, finally nodding off as Link rose with the dawn to prepare for the day. Zelda was to attend the royal ceremony in the Sanctum, then Link was to impersonate Zelda for the public ceremony afterwards, while Zelda was sent off to pray in the temple, yet again.
"It seems that the Calamity truly is approaching, if the Hero has been called," Zelda told her as they dressed identically for their consecutive ceremonies.
Link adjusted her heavy velvet dress with the boiled leather armour underneath, and started resettling the padding inside. It was annoying how the men of the court – adult men – stared at her breasts when she was dressed as the Princess, but then, Link would much rather them stare at her than Zelda, especially as the Princess would have to marry one of them eventually. Aryll had written that she thought it would be fun to be a princess, but Link had quickly shot down that idea. Any fun that Zelda was able to enjoy was due to Link, Impa or Urbosa making it happen. Being a princess was all history lessons and expectations and pointless ceremony, as far as Link could tell.
"Hey, Zelda, didn't the Hero get stuck in a crystal for seven years once? That's ages."
"Here, you're lopsided." Zelda adjusted the dress with a quick tweak so that everything sat correctly. "And yes, the Hero was stuck in a crystal but meanwhile Ganon ruled the land and hunted the Princess."
"Oh. Sorry."
"I know you're trying to help. Just…promise me you'll still love me when we're stuck with Yolero and I remain useless."
Link punched her arm, lightly. "You're not useless and that's an easy promise. Of course I'll love you. Hey, my dad said Yolero has a servant specifically to polish his armour if it gets muddy."
Zelda snorted. "Oh no! I hope Calamity Ganon doesn't arise in the shape of a mud puddle! Whatever will the Hero do?"
"Probably faint," Link replied dryly, and started brushing out Zelda's hair. To be entirely honest, she didn't envy Yolero his prominent position either, seeing what it had done to Zelda.
Link got her first chance to meet the Hero a few hours later, when she and Zelda swapped places for the public part of the event.
"So you're Zelda's attendant." Yolero sounded dubious. "Do I get a decoy too?" Like Zelda, he had the clear diction of someone who had been trained for public speaking, but unlike Zelda, he didn't bother to make sure he was looking at Link when he spoke. Link didn't mind that she only caught one word in three: Yolero spoke more than enough for her to figure it out.
Impa was right behind him. "If the Hero dies, he'll be reborn. Hylia's bloodline is irreplaceable."
Yolero jumped when she spoke. "Oh! Thanks for the vote of confidence, Lady Impa."
Impa signed to Link, still watching Yolero. "He doesn't understand sign. Speak freely. Can you feel his magic?"
Link realised that no, she had sensed nothing at all, and signed as much to Impa. The Master Sword was not with Yolero, though, so perhaps that was why. She frowned, but then they had to all step into the open-topped carriage for the procession through Castle Town.
After they were seated, Link felt the approach of something powerful: she glanced at Impa, who gestured towards the castle. A pair of priestesses walked out with the Sword between them, still in its scabbard, and passed it up to Yolero, who took it by the scabbard and held it across his lap. Link blinked at it. The shiny Sword was the source of all that energy, but definitely not Yolero himself. Maybe that was how it worked when a magical artefact called to you? The Hero could be anyone, the books said: a farmer, a forest child, a pirate. Even, she supposed, an Earl.
***
The next few months, despite getting to travel and view the other Divine Beasts, were dreadful. Yolero's entourage included two knights and three servants. For all that Link liked to joke that Impa had really scared the Earl by implying he was replaceable, it was a trial travelling with six men, three of them poor riders, instead of their small and swift party of Zelda, Link and sometimes Impa. Link hadn't got to fight anything in person since the knights took over, only assisting at a distance with her bow while Yolero protected Zelda himself. Two of the servants griped and moaned about having to be on horseback all day. The third, Chef Gotter, might be Link's favourite of their expanded party due to their shared interest in cooking, but he also darted off the road if he'd seen a tasty ingredient in the woods, meaning that Link or the knights then had to go track him down. Link had worried about the Earl pestering her after her father's warning, but fortunately it seemed that Yolero had no interest in her whatsoever. Maybe she wasn't his type, or it might be to do with both knights making it clear to him that they knew Link's father, but she didn't want to question it. The thing that Link did find odd was that Yolero never used the Master Sword, despite carrying it on his person at all times.
"Perhaps it's too sacred to be wielded against a common monster?" Zelda theorised once that they were safely away from him in Gerudo Town. "I haven't received much instruction about its use. Everyone seems to adore the Hero, at least. I am pleased that people are less afraid with my cousin in place."
Link didn't think it be long until the gossips turned to Zelda's apparent failure again, but she refused to bring Zelda's mood down while they were here visiting Zelda's favourite Champion and godmother, Urbosa.
"It was funny to watch the Earl try to argue with Revali, though," Link said.
Zelda laughed out loud. "Ha! Nobody is more obnoxious than Revali! Not on Yolero's worst day!"
"Ah, I hear someone mocking Revali!" Urbosa strode into the room. "I must join you! Are you well, little bird, and you, my favourite little warrior vai?"
"Urbosa!" Zelda flung herself into Urbosa's arms, and Link's hair was roughly tousled by the towering Chief. With no immediate threats here, Link was thankful not to have to wear her headscarf in the heat, instead making do with a light silk scarf that Urbosa had now entirely dislodged.
Link grinned and accepted the messy hair. Gerudo Town was fun, not least because Zelda was so happy here. And, of course, Yolero, the knights and the servants were not permitted here.
After Zelda made her official request for Urbosa to pilot Vah Naboris and the following grand feast, the three women went to walk outside the walls in the cool of the evening. The town returned to life after dark, spilling out into the sands beyond the walls for trade, dining and general merriment. They watched a fire-eater and acrobats for a while before strolling on past the gates. Link caught a glimpse of Yolero, for once not the tallest person around, arguing with a jewellery vendor, but he didn't seem to have spotted them. A few minutes later, as they rounded the next corner of the city, walking in a quieter area, Link felt something odd, a small touch of magic. She looked at the passers-by, but none of them seemed to be doing anything out of the ordinary or approaching Zelda. Suddenly Urbosa stopped, her hand on her scimitar.
"Halt and face me," she commanded. A pair of travellers several steps beyond her stopped, looking over their shoulders with interest, their eyes darting from Urbosa to Zelda to Link. A small group of Gerudo saw Urbosa's stance and wisely backed off. Link moved to Zelda's side.
Urbosa continued, "Unlike you traitors, I prefer to face my enemies head-on." The travellers blinked at each other, conferring, casting their eyes over Link and Zelda.
"Do your worst!"
With magical speed, the travellers were suddenly attacking Urbosa, clad in Yiga red and wielding sickles. Link kept close to Zelda, but Urbosa had deliberately drawn their attention and seemed entirely capable of dealing with them herself. The way she moved with her scimitar was so magnificent that Zelda simply watched, and even Link, with much more training, had to work hard to keep her eyes on Zelda and the Yiga instead. Urbosa battered the first Yiga to the ground with shield and pommel and Zelda cried out in fright as the second appeared behind Urbosa.
Both Link and Zelda readied their kunai for throwing but Urbosa needed no help: she called the lightning to strike the attacker down. The knives Link was holding tingled with the sheer power of the strike, even at this distance.
"Out of respect for our Princess, you may keep your lives. Now go!"
The Yiga staggered to a safe distance and teleported. With a laugh, Urbosa returned to take Zelda's arm.
"Put that knife away, little bird. I'm glad your father has allowed you to train with something, at least."
"He hasn't!" Zelda grinned up at Urbosa, alive as she never was in the castle. "Link and Impa taught me after he said no!"
"Good for them! Now, you asked why I call you little bird, and surprisingly, that relates to your weapons training. Did I ever tell you that your mother was an accomplished archer who studied with the Rito?"
A week later, most of which Zelda and Urbosa spent in Vah Naboris, moving the giant beast around the desert, it was time to go home. Zelda was to the point of inventing problems for her to stay and solve, but Yolero was growing impatient, especially as he had to stay at the Bazaar and seemed disinclined to adapt to the midday resting habits of the others there. Urbosa and her guards kindly walked Zelda and Link from the town to the Bazaar: sand seals would have been much faster, but a fast farewell what was wanted. Link and the guards kept an eye out for Yiga, but the early morning was quiet. They reached the Bazaar safely, where Zelda formally bid Urbosa goodbye, her tears having been shed in private before they left.
"Finally," Yolero complained as the Gerudo departed and the Hylians prepared for the walk to the canyon where their horses waited. Gotter had somehow managed to collect an entire sled of ingredients, piled higher than Link's head, but at least he was willing to pull it himself over the sands. Link gnawed on a wedge of hydromelon and stayed close to the quiet and downcast Zelda. Even if Yiga mostly attacked at night, she wouldn't feel better until they were far from here. They were in bowshot of the canyon when Link felt the teleportation magic.
"My Lord! Yiga!" she shouted, and Yolero drew the sword on his hip rather than the sacred blade on his back. If the servants of Ganon weren't a worthy target for the blade, who was? Link barely finished her frustrated thought before the Yiga were on them, in numbers greater than she knew existed.
Gotter's ridiculous sled of ingredients was suddenly the best thing Link had ever seen, as she pushed the Princess against it for shelter and took up her position at Zelda's side, sword drawn. The knights and Yolero stepped in front of the girls to take the brunt of the attack and the servants stayed close to the sled, two of them armed with spears and Gotter with his hefty meat cleaver. Several arrows struck the sled but they thudded into fruits, vegetables and spice bundles rather than into anyone's body.
The Yiga attacked with sickles and strange circular blades, twisting their way around the slower knights despite the men's best efforts. Link sliced at any who got through, but even so Zelda had to stab a Yiga's wrist to get free, and the first of the servants was soon down, the Yiga finding him easy prey once they got past the spear. More Yiga soldiers, huge men with longswords, approached, the lithe footsoldiers giving the defenders no rest, and one of them sliced his sword through the air.
Link was suddenly parted from the Princess by a rough gust of wind that threw her ten metres away into the sand, Yolero beside her. They staggered to their feet barely in time for Yolero to block a swordsman's swing with his own blade. Although Link turned to run to Zelda, three footsoldiers were launching themselves at her with that eerie chuckle, and she had no option but to hold her ground and defend. She parried the first and dodged the second with a side-step, but the third sliced at her torso with a sickle, and the chainmail under her bodice deflected it. The sickle caught in the mail briefly and Link's abrupt turn pulled it out of the Yiga's grip; she turned back to land a heavy blow on the footsoldier's arm and they shrieked, blood spraying everywhere. The first Yiga hooked a foot around Link's leg, but she knew that move from Impa and flipped backwards over her own shoulder to escape, jumping up to throw a kunai right into the chest of another Yiga. The first and fastest Yiga was still free and Link caught a quick slice across her forehead, obscuring her vision with her own blood.
"Got you, imposter!" the Yiga shouted, "It was you all along, every time we tried to kill the accursed Princess!"
Link frantically wiped the blood out of her eyes as Yolero staggered beside her, only to be briefly blinded as a massive lightning strike wiped out half the Yiga forces, avoiding those in close combat with the Hylians. A tremendous clap of thunder followed. Link was incredibly relieved: Urbosa had seen the commotion and returned! Familiar with the buzzing of her weapon and armour after Urbosa's lightning, Link stabbed forward and took down the startled Yiga in front of her.
The Yiga didn't stop their assault despite the immediate depletion of their numbers, but Urbosa and two guards slammed into them with the force of a sandstorm. Link turned to Yolero, who was bleeding from the chest – he'd avoided his plate armour in the hot weather – and staggering under the attack of a second swordsman. Once Link jammed her sword into the back of the man's elbow to disarm him, Yolero finished him quickly before collapsing to the sand. Link tugged at her weapon but she couldn't get it out of the big Yiga soldier's arm.
The Yiga were concentrating their attack on the Princess and Urbosa was taking care of that front, so Link dropped down beside the Earl, scrubbing her bleeding forehead with her sleeve. "My Lord! Where are you hurt?"
Yolero clutched his bloody tunic. "Glancing blow on my chest. Arrow in my knee."
Link glanced down to see the Yiga arrow stuck in the side of his knee, paralysing his leg. She fossicked in her bag. "Here, My Lord, I have a healing potion to stop the bleeding, but you're not going to be able to walk. I'll protect you."
Yolero shoved the potion away. "No. Help Zelda. I'm…I'm not the Hero."
"What?" Link thought she'd misheard in all the chaos and the blood in her eyes so she made sure she was looking straight at Yolero's face as he spoke. He repeated himself.
"I'm a fake Hero. The King asked me to do it for morale since there was no Hero. Save that potion for Zelda."
"But the Sword! You can't fake that!"
"That Sheikah man had some device that cut the pedestal it was in. Look, even now it has stone around the blade!" He drew the sword, wincing in pain as he touched the hilt, and dropped it in the sand. It was true: the blade hadn't been freed from the stone at all. The stone had been cut until it was but a thin layer around the upper half of the blade itself. No wonder he never drew it.
"Oh, no," was all Link could say, deeply shocked. It seemed she really had believed in the Hero's power after all.
Yolero didn't waste a moment more. "Zelda is the target here! I can defend myself if they come this way, go help Chief Urbosa!"
"Yes! Of course!" Link jumped to her feet to follow the order, only to see Urbosa dragged down in a maelstrom of Yiga, at least ten of them piling onto her powerful body to muscle her to the ground. The knights were nowhere to be seen and Zelda's defence was down to a single Gerudo guard and Gotter with his cleaver. All of Zelda's hidden weapons were lodged in Yiga corpses.
"Urbosa!" Zelda screamed, and Link grabbed the nearest weapon and ran to her Princess. Zelda had somebody's scimitar and was viciously slicing at the Yiga as she sobbed, and with the remaining Gerudo guard covering her it was effective enough. Link spotted a Yiga climbing over the top of the sled and threw her last kunai at him, sending him tumbling down. She swung wide with Yolero's sword and carved her way through to Zelda's side at the moment Gotter was sent sprawling to the sand. There were just three of them left, and no apparent end to the Yiga.
"Urbosa said reinforcements are coming from the town!" Zelda shouted as the Yiga closed in again, then blinked hard. "Link, what are you doing with the Master Sword?"
Link stared at what was in her hand. She hadn't grabbed Yolero's weapon as she thought, but the Master Sword. There was no stone obscuring the blade: it shone a cool, pale blue in the harsh sunlight. She had only a moment to think before cutting down a Yiga lunging at Zelda, slicing his arm clean off. The last Gerudo guard fell in the new onslaught and only Link and Zelda remained, pressed back against the arrow-studded sled. No lightning came to save them now.
Zelda moaned as the remaining Yiga closed in slowly, their mocking laughter crueller than ever, but Link couldn't make out what she said with her face turned aside.
"Zelda. Zelda, listen." Link grabbed her arm. "I'm wielding the Master Sword. If I can fight, anyone can do it. You can do it. You can save us. Save Urbosa."
Zelda's eyes fell upon the pile of bodies: a long brown hand with bright blue fingernails stretched out from beneath it. "Oh, Urbosa."
Link parried the first attack, but the force of the swordsman's blow sent her to one knee, determined to drive the attack away from the Princess. Zelda was saying something, but Link didn't hear it as she took the next strike on her mailed shoulder, spinning her sideways. Then another blow hit the sword as she fell on her back and the Yiga laughed and laughed. They were out of space, and out of time.
A second sun rose on the Gerudo Desert, obliterating the Yiga in a blast of pure light. Not a single Yiga remained, not even the dead. Link thought she'd gone blind for a moment, her sight destroyed by whatever this new magic was, until she realised that in fact the light was a soft summery warmth, not burning in the slightest. It emanated from Zelda, her hand outstretched.
"Oh, Zelda. Zelda, you did it!"
"Little bird!" croaked a voice from the ground.
"Urbosa!" Zelda flung herself forward, the light roiling around them, to drop down at Urbosa's side. Urbosa groaned, but let Zelda raise her head. She had bled all over the sand, her drained face the shade of old parchment in Zelda's light, and her eyes sunken.
"Here, a potion." Link passed it to Zelda, who tenderly held it to Urbosa's lips, helping her drink. Urbosa sighed and fell unconscious, but her wounds were closing and her breathing strong.
An entire squad of Gerudo warriors appeared around them a minute later, treating the wounded and exclaiming over Zelda, who hadn't stopped glowing. Link lost track of the Princess, then, pulled to safety to be checked over and healed from the multiple small wounds she had sustained. She saw Yolero being carried past, still talking, and Gotter limping his way into the Bazaar with the support of two Gerudo as more of the women tenderly lifted Urbosa.
Link awoke in the evening, sleepy from the healing potions and dressed in a soft silken nightgown. Zelda was sitting on her bed.
"Hey, sleepyhead," she whispered with a soft smile and a kiss on Link's tangled hair. "Rare that I get to say that to you."
"How is Urbosa? And everyone else?"
"Badly wounded, but she'll survive. Yolero, Urbosa's guards and the servants are healing up, but I'm sorry to say that the knights were both killed."
Both girls bowed their heads, the prayer for the dead on their lips.
After a moment, Zelda spoke again. "Oh, and Urbosa's sister Makeela has volunteered to pilot Vah Naboris until she's well."
"But what about you? What happened?"
"Oh, Link. Are you in pain? May I hug you?"
"I have a headache, but that's all. Yes. Please. I thought you were going to die."
Zelda threw her arms around Link in a tight hug. She climbed onto the bed and sat close beside Link, their sides pressed against each other.
"I thought I would lose everyone! And then you said about the Master Sword, and I've never felt such hope. Everything Father told me, all the praying he made me do, it was wrong. I needed to believe in you and in me."
"Did Yolero tell you?"
"He did. And, Link, did the Master Sword hurt you when you touched it?"
"No, not at all." Link stroked Zelda's hair.
"Well, either everything we knew about the Hero is wrong and the Sword arises when needed to protect the Goddess's bloodline, or…"
"Or what?"
"Or you're the Hero."
Link laughed out loud. "That's ridiculous. I'm your decoy, I'm your best friend, I'm not a mythical hero. I'm a girl, for one thing!"
"Be as it may, the Master Sword is hurting everyone other than us two. We had to put it in the scabbard to get it to the Bazaar because nobody else could hold it for long, and I wanted to stay with Urbosa."
Link shrugged. "It doesn't seem very likely that I'd be the Hero."
Zelda kissed her shoulder where the oversized nightgown had fallen aside. "Personally, I do think you're the Hero, Link. I know you! You're brave and strong and loyal. But that doubt you mentioned is what I'm counting on. I mean, it would be a hard fight to convince people that my attendant is the Hero. Nobody will feel safer even if I do have my power."
Link waited. It wasn't hard to tell from Zelda's excited voice that she had a plan.
"When you told me that anyone could do it, that was the most powerful I've ever felt in my life. I don't care if it's not strictly true, I want everyone to feel that. Not crushed by destiny and fear of the upcoming Calamity as I was, but free to stand up and fight. We're going to tell everyone that Yolero is the Hero all right, but also that when the situation was desperate, you took up the Sword that Seals the Darkness and fought in his stead. You could do it. Anyone can do it."
"Does the Earl agree?"
"He does. He was deeply shaken today. He wants to make sure everyone, men and women alike, are taught to fight monsters and how to reinforce the village defences. We're going to station soldiers everywhere people live, not just take them on expeditionary forces when the monsters get too dangerous. The entire Kingdom will fight the Calamity together."
Link grinned. "You held out. You saved everyone today. You're the most amazing person I've ever met."
***
The Calamity rose not a year later, and Hyrule was ready. Following Urbosa's injuries and replacement, each nation had a small team of trained and capable warriors in the Divine Beasts, rather than a single, vulnerable pilot. The Divine Beasts were capable of allowing other people the pilots cared about to access their functions. This was briefly a problem with Revali, who would admit to no such thing, but once Zelda diplomatically rephrased "care" to "respect", several Rito took on the responsibility beside him. When the Blights appeared, they were destroyed by the warriors while the pilots concentrated their fire on the Calamity itself, weakening it and its control over its creatures.
Despite the evacuation plans, the unexpected attack of the Malice-infested Guardians killed the King and more than two hundred people in and around the castle, but their rampage ended swiftly. Link, Zelda, Yolero and Revali, with a handpicked team of fighters, dropped from Vah Medoh to the castle, Link led the fight against the beast in Hyrule Field, and Zelda sealed the Calamity away.
Zelda's coronation was a day later, in the courtyard of the smoking ruins of Hyrule Castle, preceding the mass funerals to be held in the days to come. Of all the Champions, only Urbosa was recovered enough to make it in person, and it was Impa, leaning on her cane, who placed the crown on Zelda's head before the survivors of Castle Town.
Zelda stood. "I promise, on this bloodiest of days, to rule with true wisdom. Our unity is our strength, from the most ancient of elders to children newly born in the wake of this tragedy. No longer shall a single princess or a single hero be expected to bear the honour of their roles and terror of an oncoming Calamity. In recognition of who truly saved us – not the Hero and the Goddess alone but all of us together – I declare that a year from today, the survivors of the Council and I will cede our ruling power to the people of Hyrule, so that we may forge our future together as one."
Zelda sat down again, completely composed, as the crowd of onlookers murmured among themselves in shock. Urbosa, behind her, let out a low chuckle at their reaction. Spontaneous outbreaks of applause began, and within minutes, the entire crowd was clapping and cheering, stamping their feet, waving their village flags, garments from their own bodies – Link saw her father waving the bandages from his own head – in honour of their Queen and of their future as the sovereigns of Hyrule.
Zelda leaned over to sign to Link, at her side. "Thank you for making this possible, Link. I never thought I would live to see this day, and I miss my father already, but here we are. The Calamity is behind us."
Link grinned broadly, as the Rito flew overhead, carrying the new Queen's message to every corner of Hyrule. "No, Zelda, it's thanks to us. All of us, together."
She interlocked her fingers with Zelda's, proud to stand beside her as herself rather than as her secret double, and lifted their joined hands to kiss the back of Zelda's hand, lest she burst with pride in her Queen. It was a new day, in a new world, and together they could face down anything.