Chapter Text
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“Purrrraaaahhh open up, pleeeaaaase!”. I know that voice…she can wait five more minutes. “Purah open this door or I’ll barge in myself. This is urgent business!”. I jolted up, immediately, the last thing I’d want is to be shamed for my disorganization by my own younger sister. I navigated my way through strewn about research notes, reference books, and miscellaneous gadgets before ever so slightly peaking my door open.
“What is it, sis…?” I could hear the grogginess in my voice, and Impa’s disapproving look told me that she could, too. “I was up late looking into any stuff I could find on that unearthed tech…it's exhausting work when I’m not even allowed to handle the real thing, so you better not get onto me for what it did to my sleeping habits.” She sighed in resignation.
“Well, I maaay have a solution for you then.” I saw her disapproving frown turn to an excited smile. “Princess Zelda wishes to expand the research team, and wants you to head the project! I suggested you for the job, since you love this stuff so much, I assumed you wouldn’t mind!” I watched in stunned silence as her excitement changed to a mixture of disappointment, confusion, and concern. “Hello? Purah, are you alright?” I’d get to study this new tech hands on. In the royal lab. With the princess . Everything I had dreamed of was dropped right into my lap. “I-if you are upset I offered you up for the job without asking, I can tell Princess Zelda you can’t do it? I didn’t mean to spring it on you, she just brought up needing more people and I thought, ‘Hey, my big sister is obsessed with this stuff, she’d be perfect!’. I didn’t think to ask you first, I’m-”
I pushed past my door and grabbed her arms before she could think to apologize for such a thing. My excitement finally processed, my face started to hurt with how strong my smile was. “I get to head the Royal Research Team?!” I shook Impa and watched the joy return to her eyes with a hint of fear, so I let go of her. “I get to actually work hands-on with this ancient tech…with the royal family, no less!” I began pacing to let some energy out, this was everything I wanted, everything I’d ever hoped for. “I can truly delve into the mysteries of this tech, I could change the course of history with this! When do I start? Can I go now? I’m gonna get ready to leave. See ya in a few!!” and before my little sister could get a word in, I slammed my door shut to pack.
As I got my bags ready, my mind was racing. I actually get to handle ancient technology with my own two hands. I can have my own research team. My own room in the castle of all places! I’ll even be buddy-buddy with the royal family. Though, I’ve never truly even seen any of them, much less met them. Impa goes around with the princess all the time but I’ve always been too busy with my research to meet her or her father myself. Well, that’s a bridge to cross when we get to it, I thought. After I finished packing I slammed the door open, making Impa jump. “Okay, Royal Scientist Purah is ready to go! Check it!” As I did what I call my ‘signature pose’ I saw Impa cringe slightly.
“Let’s maybe not do that around the castle for a while…if you don’t act on your best behavior, they may let you go.” I could see the pleading look in her eyes. I owe this position to her, so she deserves as much as this.
“Fine, fine. I’ll hold off on it until they see my mind is invaluable to them. So, shall we head off?” Before I even finished asking, I started to head down the stairs to leave Hateno.
“Wait, one more thing before we go!” I stopped dead in my tracks and turned on my heel.
“What could possibly be more important than going to the castle so I can get my hands on this stuff?” I could hear the genuine annoyance in my voice. She doesn’t deserve that. “I know you wouldn’t stop me for just anything, so spill it.” A mischievous smile crept across her face as she reached into her bag.
“The princess gave me something to pass on to you, a bit of an advance, she called it,” she explained while pulling a tablet-esc device from her bag. It had the Sheikah symbol on the back with orange and blue lights on it. I yanked it out of Impa’s hands immediately, which made her softly laugh. “Zelda called this the ‘Sheikah Slate’. It seems to have locked functions on it, all we could access is the camera. She wanted you to be able to give it a once-over while we traveled to the castle,” After relaying the message, she began heading towards the castle. I followed her at a distance, my eyes glued to the mysterious tablet.
“So if I press this here…,” I pushed in a button on the bottom of its face, and a glass screen lit up to an array of photographs. “Yes!” I heard Impa let out a chuckle at that. I decided to give the pictures a look, since the tablet turned on to them. I clicked the first one, a blurry picture of a flower. I mumbled to myself, “Ah, a Silent Princess. Interesting,”. I swiped my finger across to see if that changed the picture. Quite a messy design if I say so myself, even the best glass would get smudged over time if this was used without gloves. It seemed this picture was an attempt at seeing how the device’s camera interacts with reflective surfaces. I could make out a figure with blonde hair. Perhaps the princess, or whoever discovered this tablet? It was hard to tell, both with the blurriness and my lack of knowledge of anyone associated with the royal family, outside of Impa.
“Oh, I took one of the pictures in that, by the way! Zelda wanted me to try it out, so I took a picture of her with it. It can take photos better than any of our cameras, and with more detail than any of our paintings.” Valuable info. I decided to keep swiping through images until one finally wasn’t blurry. When I finally reached my goal, I let out a soft gasp. I felt my pulse quicken slightly.
“So that’s the princess…?” Her flowing hair. Her candid smile. Such delicate looking hands. How had I never met her before? This was I would be working alongside? I felt an empowered inspiration fill me. What an odd feeling, I thought. Unlike any I’d experienced before. Definitely something to look into, I noted. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Impa glance back at me.
“Everything okay? You seem…flustered.” I looked up and saw the genuine concern in her eyes fade the moment she saw my face. My cheeks felt tingly. “Caught off guard by seeing the princess for the first time, I assume? She doesn’t look like a typical princess, and she sure doesn’t act like one. You two will get along well.” She smiled and turned her head back around. This girl, this princess, gave me a feeling in my chest I was clueless to. It seemed I had more mysteries to unravel than I thought.