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Chapter Text

“Ah, I am certain, princess,” said Kaneli. His huge, hulking body seemed to hunch over in fatigue. His rocking chair creaked under his weight as he nodded down at Zelda. “Vah Medoh has not responded to any sort of changes or nearby flying Rito in the weeks since Ganon was defeated. The Divine Beast is well and truly a shell of its former self.”

Zelda folded her hands into her pockets, the chill in the air finally getting to her. She hummed. “How intriguing indeed,” she replied. “I suppose that settles things then. None of the Divine Beasts or the leftover ancient Sheikah technology we’ve come across so far seem to be active anymore.”

Kaneli nodded, placing a thoughtful wing under his great chin. “It looks like for now, Hyrule is finally at peace.” His yellow eyes blinked at her, glowing like lamplights. In the dimming sun, he looked every bit like the respected owl he was, and she could imagine for just a moment how imposing he must have been in his youth. “Perhaps now it is a good time for me to think of retirement. I do want to pass on the mantle of the chief to Teba after all…”

“Of course, I agree with such a wonderful choice.”

Kaneli laughed, and his feathery chest shook with mirth. “If our princess approves, who am I to back down?” He looked upon her fondly now. “It is good to have you and Link back. It has been a long century.”

“Indeed. It has.” She glanced at the boy standing by her side, his Master Sword still strapped to his back as if in anticipation of danger breaking out, even during this new era.

Link tilted his head and raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

“Right,” Zelda continued, turning her attention back to the Rito chief. “I believe that is all we needed to check here in this region.” She bowed. “We will take our leave.”

She turned, watching Link follow her.

“Stay the night at our inn, at least!” called Kaneli from behind them. “It won’t do for you both to travel so late!”

Zelda was about to protest when Link gave her a pointed look.

“We’ll take you up on your offer,” she replied over her shoulder. She stepped out of the hut and onto the wooden steps outside that led down the spiral shape of Rito Village.

Children ran around them playing tag after dinner, their parents shouting at them to not go too fast especially when there were visiting Hylians who might trip over them. Link barely minded them at all. Instead, he seemed to dance with them, hopping to and fro like a child himself.

The dangling sign with a crescent moon painted on it hung above the inn, and Zelda dipped her head inside.

“Two beds for one night please,” she told the receptionist. “Preferably the down bed kind.”

The Rito woman at the counter nodded and her beak reflected the moonlight from the slats in the walls. She held out a wing. “That will be one-hundred sixty rupees please.”

Zelda handed her the money.

Link waited for her next to one of the designated beds. He gave her an expectant look.

“I’m more tired than hungry,” said Zelda. “In fact, I’d rather sleep than bother with something to eat. I really need a vacation after all that traveling. But we have a schedule. Our last Divine Beast to check is Vah Rudania and I’m not looking forward to a trek past the volcano. We check that, and we know for sure that this nightmare is really over.”

Link stepped closer and held one of her hands. She had not realized that she was fiddling with the Sheikah Slate swinging from her belt. His thumb roved over the back of her hand, featherlight.

She smiled. “I’ll be fine. I just need rest,” she explained to him. “But that does not mean you cannot go for a meal, right? You can make that apple pie you like. The ingredients are here.”

Link let go of her hand and nodded. He faced the exit.

“Just do not forget to eat something substantial too! Not just dessert!”

He waved her off, and Zelda sighed. At least he would be fed.

After he left, Zelda slipped off her boots and collapsed into bed. The softness of the feather-filled comforter was like a balm on her back. Days on horseback left her sore and exhausted.

She closed her eyes and dreamed.

-

Snow crunched beneath the hooves of her horse and flurries wafted around her face like swirling, miniature fairies vying for her attention.

“All right, really, Link,” Zelda huffed. She tugged on the reins of her horse. Her white mare whinnied in annoyance, and she had to agree with the poor creature’s protestations. “Where are you taking us? You’ve pulled us off course over an hour ago, and I only agreed because you kept on insisting you knew what you were doing. But the Hebra Mountains?”

Link, to her immense dissatisfaction, completely and utterly ignored her.

“Hey!” she called out to him. She squeezed on her horse’s flank with her thighs, willing her mare to trot faster to catch up with him. “You come back here!”

But Link only seemed to be going faster and faster. His own horse, Epona, neighed as if with uproarious laughter and that only served to incense her more.

“What do you think you’re doing, the two of you? Get back here this instant!”

Zelda leaned forward in her saddle, the winds whipping by her and billowing through her thick fur cloak. Biting cold seeped into her skin, ice nipping at any exposed part of her body, her hair flying behind her as she galloped forward. Through the mounds of snow, past the steep cliff edges, the gray skies, the ice caves that swallowed the morning light whole.

Link kept going, always ahead of her but never straying too far in front so she could not see him. His sword and shield bounced on his back against the parka that clothed him.

He looked like a warrior straight out of a fantastical tale.

“I will catch up with you!” Zelda yelled. Her voice echoed through the mountain pass.

She was not sure how long they had gone at a full gallop, nor what had gotten into Link at all, but by the time they had stopped, they were at the peak of one of the mountains and there was a log cabin up ahead.

“Ho!” Link heaved on his reins and Epona trotted and slowed until he leapt of her back and led her to a stable-like awning.

Not knowing what else to do, Zelda followed suit.

Smoke curled from the cabin’s chimney, and a warm glow flickered through the frosted windows. Somehow in the middle of a place stuck in eternal winter, they had made it to somewhere that looked so inviting.

“Where are we?” Zelda asked. She walked with Link up to the door and watched as he knocked once, and it swung open without preamble.

A blond, eager-looking Hylian woman with wide eyes and wearing a rather beat up coat ushered them inside.

“Link!” the woman exclaimed. She sounded like one of the dogs at the stables that liked to trail after people who gave them a treat, if Zelda was being honest. Still, she somehow was even more overzealous than them. “It’s been an age since I saw you last! What are you doing here? Who’s the lady? Are you here to bring her for a shred down the mountainside?”

Zelda blinked. “A shred?”

The woman stood straighter, her face split into a grin. She held out her hand. “Name’s Selmie,” she said. She shook Zelda’s hand without realizing that Zelda had not put hers out yet. “Champion shield surfer. Always looking for a challenge and challengers. You up for it?”

“Excuse me?”

Link interrupted, stepping in between them with the most unhinged smile that Zelda had ever seen. He nodded, pointing to the very important and rare Hylian Shield on his back.

“Oh, that’s a good specimen!” marveled Selmie. “That one will be good for smooth sailing down the slopes.”

Link shoved his shield into Zelda’s arms.

“Wait, Link, I don’t think—”

“Oh ho!” cheered Selmie. She clapped her hands. “You’re going for something riskier than that, huh?” She followed him around until he picked up a pot lid from beside the fireplace. “No way! That’s living life on the edge! I respect it.”

“What…but…”

When Link grabbed onto Zelda’s hand, she could not bring herself to refuse him, especially with how happy he looked.

He brought her outside to the edge of a dip where a hill started not too far away. He tucked an extra scarf around her face, making sure that her ears were covered underneath her hood, and nodded at his handy work.

He gestured to the shield in her hands. Even through her mittens, she could feel the suggestion of its cold metal.

Link mimed getting on the shield, pretending that he was balancing on his pot lid, then asked her to try. When he was satisfied, he held up three fingers.

“Wait, Link—”

Two fingers.

“Are you sure—”

One finger.

“Is this safe?!”

No fingers.

He jumped onto the pot lid, and for a reason only the Goddess Hylia knew, Zelda copied him. Perhaps, after knowing him for so long, she knew that no matter what she did, Link would always do what he wanted.

And then both were off.

Pine trees and snow foxes alike zipped past her view, and the fear that started in her gut rose into her throat.

But then Link was laughing.

And then she could hear the local birds chirping at her as if cheering her on. The ice and snow grinded beneath her feet, and it was a sudden, unexpected thrill.

Then somehow, when they were both tumbling at the bottom of the slope, the Hylian Shield soaring into a pile of fresh snow with a crash, and Link clinging to her in his warm arms, she realized that she was laughing too.

Zelda caught her breath, positioning herself so that she was lying down facing him. Their breaths mingled together, frost and silver.

“Is this your idea of a vacation?” Zelda chuckled.

Link did not answer, of course, but he held her closer.

Chapter Text

It was hot. The dripping, damp, wading through freshly boiled soup kind of hot. Perhaps a different person would enjoy a dewy, glowing heat in a perpetual summer climate, but Link was not one of those people. A part of him wondered if Zelda could hear his thoughts, she would think he was being dramatic.

Though he should not complain. Arguably, he had been through worse. The Gerudo Desert was a scorching land that he did not much enjoy traversing without the right gear, but that was nothing compared to Death Mountain.

They had made their final check on the last Divine Beast and had gone to meet with the Gorons in Goron City. The climb up the volcano had not been a pleasant one.

To their relief, Vah Rudania was silent, an empty husk of a great mechanical wonder paused at the base of Death Mountain. That proof alone felt like a cooling balm when one was surrounded by the fiery heat emanating from underground magma. It was a feat for people to live there and withstand it.

“I think you’ll quite enjoy what a real vacation feels like,” Zelda said from up ahead. She guided her horse’s reins with a gentle tug. The mare snuffed as she trotted through the beach’s white sand.

Link sighed as he followed behind. Epona whinnied as if in distress. “Ho, ho,” he huffed into her ear. He patted her side. A tender soothing gesture was what his beloved horse needed now, he supposed. She did not much enjoy weather like this either. Beneath his hand, he could feel her sweaty coat.

Zelda straightened in her saddle. “Ah look, Lurelin Village!” she exclaimed. “We made it just as dawn was breaking too. Isn’t it wonderful, Link?” She turned for the briefest of moments, and her face was lit up by a bright smile. “Ah, what a beautiful day!”

And just like that, all thoughts of the unbearable tropical heat dissipated.

Now, away from it all, away at last from the threat that was Calamity Ganon, being on his way on an unknown voyage with Zelda did not sound so bad. Even if he would have rather spent their vacation in a more favorable climate.

He rode up next to her.

“We can have some breakfast, maybe,” suggested Zelda. “Board our mounts…stay at the inn for a few days.” She breathed in, rolling her shoulders back. “It feels incredible knowing that we can have this vacation without worries now. Though, later we’ll have much to do when we help with the rebuilding efforts. Hyrule has been through so much…”

He tapped her elbow, tilting his head to the side with a smile.

She grinned wider. “Ah, yes, of course you’re right. I’m worrying too much again. Let’s just enjoy the time we have here.”

He nodded in agreement, looking at the woman who had set up a food stall near the inn. He could smell the simmering herbs from here.

Link’s stomach growled.

Zelda covered her mouth, barely holding in a snort. “I understand,” she acquiesced. “Let us not leave you waiting when there is food up ahead.”

Their horses were boarded nicely at the inn’s stable, and soon Link was sitting at a table eating an omelet and salted fish. The smoky flavor was everything to him, especially after the few days’ journey they had going south.

The village had started to wake up. Children milled about doing chores or running around with their friends. Fishermen set out to sea for the day or set up shop at the docks to sell their wares if they had made a catch earlier.

A mother and her daughter stopped to pray at the goddess statue hidden in the alcove underneath the inn. The daughter replaced the crown of flowers on its head with a new set.

“Glad you seem to like my food, lad,” interrupted the lady who had cooked for them. “Your friend ran off though. Care to pay the bill?”

Link blinked up at her.

The woman cleared her throat, raising a dark eyebrow. Her pink apron fluttered in the breeze as if beckoning him. “Well?” she asked.

Link glanced all around him, realizing for the first time that Zelda was nowhere to be found. He sagged in his seat. He reached into his pouch and gathered the correct amount of rupees before giving the money to her.

“That’ll do it,” said the woman with a satisfied nod. “Enjoy your stay.” She lifted her hand to wave.

Frantic, Link searched around the immediate area for Zelda. How could he miss her? What if something happened to her? What would he do? How could he shirk his duty as the princess’s appointed knight like this? How could he—

“Link!” called Zelda from behind him.

He whipped around, wide-eyed.

There was Zelda, long blond hair flowing behind her like a banner in the center of a storm, running toward him from the direction of the dock.

He crossed his arms, frowning.

She paused in front of him, breathing heavily. “Oh, don’t be like that!” she huffed. “I saw this old man who looked so forlorn while we were eating, and I couldn’t resist talking to him. Besides, if I was really in danger, I’d let you know.”

Link growled.

“All right, all right,” she placated. “I apologize. I may have been hasty in my pursuit of adventure.”

He shook his head but finally softened. That was the best he would get out of her, anyway.

“Speaking of adventure,” Zelda continued, “The old man, Rozel, said there’s a treasure out just beyond Korne Beach in the middle of a golden triangle and he’s been trying to get it for ages. He says if we want to try, we can use his raft.”

Against his better judgment, that was how Link ended up accompanying Zelda on an impromptu expedition out to sea.

Rozel, an elderly man hunched over on the dock, directed them to his rickety raft that Link had to untie. Ever prepared, Zelda handed him a Korok Leaf. Her blue eyes were twinkling as she did so, excitement palpable with everything she did. Link could not help but chuckle as he took the leaf from her.

It felt more fun fanning the leaf into the raft’s sailcloth than anything else he had done in a while. Wind blasted forward, and the raft bounced on the clear, turquoise waves as saltwater splashed their faces.

The sky was a soft azure now, tinged with yellow on the horizon. Seagulls soared above them and striped porgies zipped by underneath the surf.  

“Oh look, Link!” Zelda exclaimed. “Those rocks up ahead form a triangle, and the sunlight makes them look gold. I wonder if that’s it?”

Link grunted, the muscles in his arms burning while he fanned the Korok Leaf with one great motion, forcing the raft to move in the direction of the rocks.

He let the raft settle. The water pushed it toward the designated spot, teeter-tottering over the roll of the waves. Afterward, the corner of the vessel nudged against one of the rocks and they paused just enough so that the raft would not move much more. They drifted to the center of the three rocks.

Zelda bent over the water, grasping the edge of the raft with eager hands. “I see something down there!”

Link leaned over behind her shoulder, peering into the water, too. There, just below the surface and amidst a colorful city of coral and schools of fish, he could see the shapes of treasure chests. The sun’s rays refracted through the ocean, and it cast a rainbow light on the loot on the bottom.

“It’s so deep,” Zelda said, placing a fist under her chin. “If the Sheikah Slate still worked then we could use Magnesis to—”

Link dived into the sea.

His eyes stung with salt. He swam deeper and deeper. Clownfish flitted by his cheeks. He grabbed onto the first chest’s handle.

If it were not for the training he had done so much of, he doubted he would have been able to do what he did.

But chest after chest slammed onto the raft’s floor, each bulky and made of metal, shining brighter as the morning became early afternoon.

Finally, when he was sure he was turning into a Zora, the last chest made it to the surface.

“I didn’t expect you to do all of that! And without consulting me, either!” Zelda gasped. She was blinking fast, mouth gaping open. “In fact, I was going to suggest that we take turns going down there. I know I’m not as strong as you, but I could hold my breath long enough to open a chest and bring the treasure up at least.”

Link shook his head, laying a hand on her back.

She pouted. “Oh please, I’m not a fragile flower.”

He sighed, giving her a pleading look.

She touched his hand. “All right,” she whispered. “I understand. One hundred years is a long time.”

She did not speak for a while. Then she let go of his hand. “Right, so why don’t we open these?”

She went for one first and unlatched it. Inside was topaz. Link opened another for more topaz. Amber, topaz, sapphire, diamond, ruby, topaz…it was a trove of valuable minerals.

“If we sell these, we’ll have enough funds to start helping Hateno Village!” Zelda grinned. “We can build a school, improve the wells, maybe even start capitalizing on the clothing scene there so they can start having more income to drive their economy, maybe even make improvements to your house there—”

Link tapped her arm, laughing.

Zelda’s ramblings screeched to a halt. “I’m getting overexcited again, aren’t I?”

Link nodded.

They stared at each other for a long moment.

Then, Zelda broke through the silence. She burst into laughter, and it sounded like the music Kass played on his accordion about an Ancient Hero lost to time, but so much more alive. She laughed as if there was nothing that weighed her down anymore, and Link supposed that it was true.

Her cheeks were rosy with delight and her entire body shook with mirth. She looked more beautiful than the day he had first laid eyes on her.

Zelda was free. That was all Link ever wanted.