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The sky is still a deep blue, with only a hint of light pink on the horizon, when Prince Donnie sneaks out from Gerudo Town. He packs his belongings, including his trusty Sheikah slate, into his satchel before slipping out of his comfortable guest bedroom in the Royal Palace.
As quietly as he can manage, he tiptoes down the stairs and slips past the guards. He then exits through a secret passageway Urbosa had shown him in the past. Once his feet hit the sand, he hunches over, staying as low to the ground as possible to avoid detection. It’s not until the guards are no longer visible and the town is a small dot in the distance that the prince stands up straight with a triumphant grin on his face.
He takes his cloaking brooch off, his more humanoid disguise disappearing in a flutter of blue light. He slips it into a side pocket on his satchel before taking off the feminine clothing he was wearing for his convincing vai disguise. While he adores the fabric’s satin-like feel as well as its shimmering sheen and exquisite violet hue, the clothing is definitely not well-suited for an expedition into ruins.
Especially ruins that reportedly contain Zonai ruins and ancient technology.
As he takes off the vai disguise, he replaces it with clothing that is much more suited to the task at hand. Soon enough, he is completely dressed in his regular gear and ready for the mission.
Prince Donnie begins walking as he pulls out his Sheikah slate and opens up the map. He’s headed towards something known as the “Ancient Prison Ruins” located in the Palu Wasteland.
He overheard some of the off-duty guards talking about it yesterday. Their description of the ancient architecture, with geometric patterns and draconic sculpture, immediately caught Donnie’s attention. He eavesdropped more on their conversation and learned that while a few of them had ventured into the depths, none of them had made it that far. Several gates cut off access to the rest of the ruins, and none of the guards wanted to get stuck. So they turned tail and left.
Truly a shame, in Donnie’s opinion. If these ruins are anything like the other Zonai locations he’s visited, then a simple lever or puzzle mechanic would open the gates. Then whatever treasures were behind those gates would be his for the taking!
Oh well, their loss!
After confirming he’s headed in the right direction, Donnie hooks the slate back onto his belt and continues his journey with only the sound of crunching sand beneath his feet.
It’s… been a while since he’s experienced this sort of peace and quiet. Not since Hyrule learned of the prophecy that foretold the return of the Calamity. Not since the discovery of the magnificent divine beasts. Not since his father started pressuring him to unlock his ninpo, which could seal away the beast threatening their future. And especially not since that pesky knight was assigned to him.
The one who carries the sword that seals the darkness.
The Chosen Hero.
April O’Neil.
Donnie shakes his head. He doesn’t need to think about her right now. This is supposed to be a stress-free, April-free adventure, away from the expectations and the prophecy currently making his life dreadful. He’s going to some Zonai ruins, exploring its depths, and hopefully finding some ancient tech tucked away somewhere.
Urbosa will probably give him a stern talking-to once he returns, but he’ll deal with that later.
The Sheikah slate pings as he nears the location, and he takes it out to help locate the ruins. He wanders around the wasteland, looking for something resembling an entrance. Eventually, he finds an opening in one of the mounds of sandstone. He takes a peek inside and sees sand-covered stairs descending into the depths below.
His eyes widen as a smile spreads across his face, and without hesitation, he descends the stairs, eager to find what lies below the surface.
Prince Donnie sits down in a huff on a broken stone pillar, wiping his brow before leaning backward against the wall behind him.
The ruins have been nothing but a monumental disappointment. While opening up the gates was easy enough, the ruins themselves contained little Zonai architecture. The dragon sculpture the Gerudo warriors found lacked the distinct style of the Zonai and was clearly made by a Hylian in recent history. There were also warrior statues in the maze-like labyrinth, but those were clearly the work of the Gerudo. While he can appreciate their craftsmanship, it’s still not what he’s after.
After spending hours searching every nook and cranny, Prince Donnie has no other choice but to admit defeat. Either there was nothing related to the Zonai here in the first place, or evidence of their presence has long since left the ruins.
With nothing to show for his daring and foolish excursion, Donnie pushes himself back onto his feet and makes his way back toward the exit. He starts prepping himself for the inevitable lecture from Urbosa and the disappointed look from April.
As he nears the exit, something in a corner of his eye moves. He whips around to face it, pulling out his Sheikah slate and shining the screen's light in front of him. Against one of the walls, a tarp covers some large object, the corners of the fabric rippling due to the small draft flowing down the stairs.
Donnie furrows his brow. He doesn’t recall seeing it when he first entered the ruins, but considering how close he is to the entrance, perhaps he missed it while his eyes were adjusting to the light.
Against his better judgment, the prince cautiously approaches, keeping his slate raised so he can see it better. Once he’s in front of it, he leans down, grabs the corner of the tarp, and slowly lifts it upward.
He freezes.
Underneath the tarp is the upper body of a Gibdo, its strange face with pale yellow pupils staring back up at him. While it’s missing the lower half of its body, what terrifies the prince more is the undeniable, unmistakable symbol of the Foot Clan plastered on its face.
While the Gibdo makes no move toward him, it lets out a strange cry—a cacophonic mixture of bones rattling and a Hylian screaming—through its pincer-like mandibles. Donnie then hears movement somewhere deep in the ruins, shouts echoing down the corridors.
Shit.
Prince Donnie drops the tarp and races back up the steps, hissing as the bright desert sun temporarily blinds him. But he doesn’t linger at the entrance for long. With his heart pounding underneath his plastron, the prince starts running in the direction of Gerudo Town.
But he doesn’t make it very far from the ruin’s entrance.
Two Foot soldiers emerge from behind some of the outcroppings of sandstone, weapons raised and blocking his path forward. The Prince comes to a halt, his boots kicking up sand as he reverses direction. As he turns around, a third Foot soldier jumps down from the sandstone boulder, preventing him from fleeing in the other direction.
Prince Donnie stumbles, falling backward onto the sand. He scrambles away from the Foot soldier, but as he looks around, he realizes there’s no escape.
He gulps.
This whole expedition to the ruins was a horrible idea.
The three Foot Clan assassins silently close in on him, their weapons glinting in the sunlight. One of them raises their vicious sickle, ready to deliver a fatal blow to the foolish prince.
Donnie closes his eyes and looks away.
But the deadly blow never comes.
Instead, the prince hears a scuffle, the sound of clashing blades, and the choked cry of one of the masked Foot Clan warriors. Something falls behind him, and he opens his eyes to see the body of the very assassin that was about to kill him lying lifeless on the sand.
A shadow falls across his form, and the prince turns his head and gasps. In front of him is April, Master Sword drawn and her eyes glaring directly at the remaining two Foot Clan soldiers in front of them.
“If you wanna hurt the prince–” she growls, raising her sword toward their two adversaries, “–you’re gonna have to go through me, April O’Neil!”
The two Foot Clan members scramble backward, clearly not willing to engage in combat with the Chosen Hero.
But Prince Donnie is hardly paying attention to them. Instead, his eyes are locked on April, who stands resolute and firm between him and those who wanted to end his life.
She… she saved his life.
Despite his reckless and foolish decision to explore the ruins alone, she saved his life.
And for her to be here, that means she had to be searching for him, scouring the desert just to find him.
Prince Donnie feels a blush warming his cheeks as the Foot Clan soldiers disappear in a cloud of smoke, his mouth hanging open but no words tumbling from his lips.
Someone with such a high intellect as me is rarely rendered speechless. But today’s events have truly left me at a loss for words. They evade me, slipping through my fingertips like grains of sand.
She saved me. Without a thought for her own life, she swooped in and protected me from the ruthless blades of the Foot Clan. Even though I was the one who put myself in such a predicament that my life was at risk.
I’ve been cold to her all this time… taking my anger out on her at every turn. I used to justify it, convincing myself that she despised my inability to awaken my ninpo and fulfill my duty to fight the Calamity. That her efforts as my guard were just for show…
Still, she was there for me. I won’t ever forget that. Tomorrow, I shall apologize for all that has transpired between us.
And then… I will try talking to her.
To April.
It’s worth a shot.