#muse ;; URBOSA ( ANSWERED ASK )

[tenebriism]

(Herosway Impa)

Impa had never had an actual relationship, outside of the occasional person she had taken to bed. Sheik’s father, a soldier in the Castle, had a rather rough friendship with her at best. One of mutual understanding after their drunken heated encounter that created her son. So this, all of it, does place her at a rather disadvantage when it comes to knowing relationships and how they really work. As well as her own reactions to most situations.

She's realized one thing, though, she’s apparently a slightly jealous person.

It’s not a feeling she’s used to. It’s not something she had even realized was happening initially. Till she gave it a bit more thought, till she really considered why she had the burning desire to run her sword through a couple people today. Urbosa is a gorgeous person, strong and confident, attractive to anyone with a set of eyes. And, she deals with a lot of people throughout the day. Those that want to see her, those who have meetings, even the other Guardswomen. Of course, at least most of the Guardswomen aren’t idiotic enough to do such actions in front of her, but not everyone has a stable head on their shoulders. And, unlike her, Urbosa has apparently had a good amount of flings.

Today, someone who she had taken to bed before apparently, had shown up. Impa had wandered in near the middle of the conversation but the words they threw at her, the compliments and flirtatious remarks were enough to have her considering drawing her Giant Sword. She trusts Urbosa, with her life and her heart, she doesn’t trust the stranger she’s never even met before. The only reason they even escaped with their tongue was because Malena had asked for her help with something. Either to distract her or because she actually needed it, since it had Impa calling the walls of the Palace to hang something for her.

By the time she came back down the tedious person was gone but she still found herself a bit worked up. Urbosa was still in the throne room when she slipped inside, gaze dragging across the room briefly before settling on Urbosa. She makes quick steps across the long floor and then, for once and without worry, just slides herself right into her lap. Her hands gently took hold of her face, red gaze briefly meeting Urbosa’s own before she leaned forward and pressed her lips against Urbosa’s own.

SHE ENJOYS ATTENTION, but only from those she, personally, DESIRES it from. There is a difference between simply admiring, and outright CROSSING BOUNDARIES, no matter how close of a relationship they may have once had with one another. Though uncertain what her past bed partner expects to ACHIEVE by hounding her with compliments that, clearly, were being tossed out with the intent to get something in RETURN, she isn't having any of it regardless.

The only reason she's even entertaining it, and not having the woman escorted out and dropped onto her rear end in the scorching sands outside, is because she doesn't believe in disrespecting women. Not for reasons as petty as a relationship that simply did not work out, even despite how ANNOYING this interaction may be. Urbosa will let her get it out her system, turn her down in that stern, yet still WARM way she has perfected as a woman USED to having all eyes on her, and should it grow needlessly confrontational afterwards ?

Then -- THEN -- she will act accordingly.

" But, Urbosa--- " " That is Lady Urbosa to you, Navara, and I have told you many times prior; what we had is no more. Pick your head up, dry your tears. A woman of your caliber can find someone far better than myself, and you will, but not if you continue to waste your time chasing the past."

The point finally hits and settles in, and even Urbosa cannot bite back the sigh of RELIEF that escapes her when, finally, the past object of her lust and sins retreats to mend the near fatal wound to her pride. Now that she has something ELSE to focus on that isn't a too persistent past fling, she realizes she'd likely seen Impa, however briefly, sometime earlier. White hair amidst a sea of various reds is nigh impossible to miss, but every opportunity Urbosa had taken to attempt to look her way, Navara had shoved herself RIGHT back into her line of sight.

She wants to go look for her, but enough time had been wasted dealing with this unexpected conflict, and she must return to her work. Impa will come to her in due time -- she always does. It's how they show that they care deeply for one another, checking on each other throughout the day as they tend to their separate affairs. It is not uncommon for Impa to catch sight of Urbosa from across the training room, watching and admiring her, or for their eyes to meet in the throne room whilst Urbosa is dealing with a line of outside visitors seeking her aid.

--- and, low and behold: here comes her Snow Ruby, right on schedule.

" Impa. Did you need me for something earlie--- ".

The way the Sheikah is swiftly striding across the throne room, Urbosa believes and FEARS, for a brief second, that mayhap she is in trouble. They do not upset each other OFTEN, but with any normal relationship, it HAS happened. " Is something wrong ? " Impa, still, continues to walk, and Urbosa would have met her halfway had she not soon found her lap OCCUPIED thereafter.

Now, she's less concerned, and more intrigued. ENTICED. There's a glimmer of something in her eye as Impa pulls her closer--- a SPARK, befittingly, and Urbosa utters not another word more as she waits, somewhat patiently, more-so IMpatiently. The guardswomen know that look, and can see in the way Urbosa somewhat shifts FORWARD in her throne, arms settling 'round Impa's lower backside, that this is not something they should be spectating. Their heads cannot pivot away quickly enough, sunkissed cheeks reddened as their unashamed leader wastes no time SPOILING the Sheikah. They swear, they've never heard Lady Urbosa make THAT noise before, but this will certainly be the hot topic of discussion at the bar later tonight, when the sun has descended and their shift is over.

One, two, three good scans of the perimeter -- no dangers, good -- and they immediately exit the throne room to stand just outside of it, protecting the two INSIDE and barring anyone else from entry.

[dinrelsanddragons]

@vigilantdesert cont'd from ask

Urbosa remained facing the sunset, arms folded across her chest. She'd only been back for a day, so to speak, and it was taking some getting used to to say the least. One might extend some leniency - after all, one could only imagine the toll that being quite literally dead to the world for a century would take on someone. At least she had the benefit of memory, something that had unfortunately been lost to the best-upon hero of the sword, but she couldn't help but wonder to herself if that was more of a burden. Of course her wife and daughter had passed on. She knew that, objectively, and yet, being back amongst the living, in a time in which people only knew of the stories told about her... It was a difficult adjustment to make. "With all due respect, I'd say the same of yourself." She held breath in her throat for a moment before turning her neck to look at him, a small, wry smile on her lips. Did he have the same trouble? He must have, to some degree... Yes, a few from their time were around - more in his case than hers, as Gerudo were notoriously short-lived - but he must have lost friends as well, older family members... "As well as can be expected from someone who rose from the grave the day prior, and still has one foot solidly in it. Yourself?"

'Rose from the grave'. The phrase gave Rhoam pause. He had not heard any details from his guardsmen; the how and why of Urbosa's existence in this time was yet a mystery to him. That aside, she had asked him a question, and he needed to answer. "I am as well as a former king whose realm was devastated can be." Which was to say, hardly well at all, but he had his health, at the least. "Seeing my daughter's work has afforded me some peace, but such a loss is no easy thing to recover from."

Zelda. Gods, if he were to spend any length of time musing on how she had grown and matured into her role– without him by her side to guide him– even when he had arguably stymied her in his parenting– the thoughts might prompt tears to his otherwise stoic eyes. He was proud beyond words, and still wounded over what had occurred to Hyrule.

"... I survive by good fortune. I am not sure how, but there was an accident. Those among my guardsmen who know magic speculate that it caused us, my twelve guardsmen and I, to be hurtled forward in time, to shortly before the awakening of my daughter's knight in the Shrine of Resurrection." Urbosa would undoubtedly wonder just the same thing Rhoam had; better to answer the question before it was asked.

He and Urbosa were peers, or once were– and, perhaps by each losing their titles, still were. In this age where neither of them held power, it did not strike Rhoam as a mistake to confide in her. Perhaps a few of his guardsmen might disagree, they were known to be perhaps zealous in their watchfulness, but it was not their decision to make.

[vigilantdesert]

✍ {Riju}

Sure, why not? - Accepting

send me a ✍ + a muse to see how i would play them.

"... And to Mother Desert, who shelters us from our enemies who would do us harm, please guide us away from pain and lead us towards evenness." The chieftain opened her eyes, hands still crossed over her chest as she looked up to the alter. Outside, the night air hummed with those few vai who were finishing their shopping before bed. Dawn would come in several hours to awaken those on day patrol, but in these few hours in-between, almost the entire city slept. She began to raise her right hand to her left shoulder to end the prayer, but stopped herself short.

She seldom went off script for her nightly prayers, especially given how seldom her ancestors spoke to her. She had only ever been able to contact her Grandmother, the chieftain Etanna, who had stewarded their tribe after the Great Lady Urbosa's death. She was helpful, but not always what she needed. And what she needed right now... Had never been able to find her.

"And... Vavha... I don't know if you can hear me yet, but..." Her chest felt so deep as she spoke, capillaries feeling like caverns under the brunt of grief, too open to heal and too old to discuss. "The Hylian champion has returned... He calmed Naboris, and I think... If you were trapped, I think you'd be able to hear me now, so..."

She drew a deep breath, cheeks burning bright red. You weren't supposed to ask your ancestors for help unless you truly needed guidance; she knew this, she understood, she generally followed to the best of her abilities, and yet...

"I miss you. I miss you, and I wish you were here... Bullaria's done her best, and I love her, but I want you. I want you here to show me how to use my powers, and how to rule, and when to answer questions and when to leave them for others, and I miss you, I miss you, I miss you!"

By the time she had finished, she'd completely lost control over her voice. The words came gushing out like seawater, and just as salty. She dissolved into tears she'd tried not to shed since taking the throne, falling to her knees in front of the family alter. She was the youngest chieftain in modern memory. Some called her the last chieftain, either as a snide prediction of her crown being challenged, or even more depressingly, in anticipation of a second wave of Hyrule's apocalypse finishing off the capital.

Sobbing years of pain into her small hands, she felt a warmth in the cavern of her chest, a small rumble. Her first instinct was a molduga attack, but when nothing else happened, she knew it couldn't be.

Riju, my brave Riju...

"Vavha?" She whispered, a palm curling against her chest.

You've been so strong, my ruby. I'm so proud of you.

"Vavha..."

I'm sorry it took so long to find my way out, and I'm sorry I had to leave you... But you've done so well. You will be a great chieftain, Riju. You already are.

The heat started to fade from Riju's chest, and though she had a million questions... There would be time. Evil may still pulse in what used to be Hyrule Castle, but she knew all would be well. Somehow, all would be well.

[hylianchampionss]

tags

✧ – 

[attllhak]

Masterpost

Hey, I’ve finally found the need for a masterpost of all my stuff.

So, I’m Attllhak, but you can feel free to call me Atta. I’ve also gotten the nicknames Att and Atty as well, and both of those are fine too. Sometimes I write things, and this is where they go. My main is @iamyourchair and you can feel free to bother me there too if you want, though that blog is almost entirely reblogs of stuff I find cool. My AO3 account is Attllhak as well if you want to find me on there.

For navigation tags, I use ‘#atta answers’ for asks and ‘#atta responds’ for reblogs. If I ever post something that’s just me talking into the void I’ll tag it ‘#atta babbles’. The tags I use for when I’m talking about worldbuilding for my stuff or I’m talking about my headcanons are ‘#i talk worldbuilding’ and ‘#my many headcanons’ respectively. Everything that’s part of the same AU or part of a series will have a tag connecting them. Fanart I get for anything I make will go under the appropriate connected tag when applicable, and also the tag ‘#fanart for my fic’, but I won’t be linking to it on this post. I try my best to tag for triggers and warnings, but you can always ask me to add a tag I missed to something.

Feel free to pop into my inbox and ask me about any of my stuff, though I would like to ask that you keep it mostly to questions and potentially suggestions, as I am not comfortable with statements that feel like they are simply asserting things about my AUs or works to me, and anything that feels like it’s dictating my stuff to me will be ignored/deleted. Also, while I am an adult I would prefer to avoid anything NSFW, since while I am a biology/xenobiology nerd I am also aspec and don’t like discussing that sort of stuff, and certainly not publicly.

I’m putting all of the links to my stuff under a cut so it’ll update as I add things to it reliably.

LU Fics

Wild Returns

Swimming

That Fast Food AU Fic I Wrote For Tortilla

My Part Of The Meet The Chain Fic/The Door Fic

Sequel To The Crack-Fic Where Mario Is Malon’s Step-Father

MAJOR FICS AND AUS

Adoption AU (Done In Chronological Order For The Timeline, NOT Order Of Posting)

Lullaby Reacts To Time’s Batman Level Adoption Bullshit Ao3

Sky and Time: The Story Of The Family’s Most Unlikely Arrest

Adoption AU: Midna

Time is Outnumbered By His Sons And His Wife Isn’t Helping; The Floor Is Lava Edition

Warriors and Wild: The Epic Quest For Taco Bell At 3AM

The Kidnapping

Finding Twilight

WORLDBUILDING:

How Old Are The Boys?

What’s Up With Saria/Kokiri?

What Are Rusl And Uli Doing?

Rusl And Uli And Twilight’s Kidnapping

Wild’s Backstory

Tag: #adoption au

A Change In Fate

AO3

OTHER DETAILS I COULDN’T ELABORATE ON IN THE FIC:

What’s Up With Hyrule And The Furnaces + The Time Hyrule Sat On Twilight

Astor Looking Into Sky’s Visions

Symbolism In Sky’s Vision

Sky’s Theory

DLC?

The Look Warriors Gave Wild

The Instance Where Warriors Saw Twilight Go A Bit Nuts

Has Daruk Met Warriors?

Why I Wrote This Fic At All

Tag: #a change in fate

merAU

Sky Receives His Mission

What Happened To Warriors?

What Happened To Wild?

Wild’s Memories And The Trident

WORLDBUILDING:

General Worldbuilding

Is There A Map?

CHARACTER DESIGNS

Warriors, As Done By My Very Talented Best Friend

Tag: #mer au

WingAU (In Order Written)

Flora’s Musings

Wild’s Journey

Sky’s Flight

The Flying Pirate Rulers Of The Great Sea

Hyrule’s Reprieve

Legend’s Attempts At Retirement

Ravio And The Worst Flight Teacher Ever

Tag: #wing au

The Things I Did For The Gerudo Twilight AU

Twilight And Dusk Talk

Urbosa’s Story

Tags: #gerudo twilight, #gerudo twilight au

Warriors Swan Lake AU

Soldiers - Legend

Soldiers - Twilight

Enter Wild

Tag: #swan lake au

General Zelda Stuff

Ancient Sea Guardian (Originally posted to my main, link leads there)

Children Of The Woods

Termina’s Mythology (AKA the thing about the gods)

That Crack Fic Where Mario Is Malon’s Step-Father

Shopping Day

MAJOR FICS AND AUS

Surface Too Soon

AO3

Chapter 1: The Push And Fall

Chapter 2: Chasing Fi

Chapter 3: On The Surface

Chapter 4: Leap Of Faith

Chapter 5: Skyview Temple

Chapter 6: A Place To Rest

Chapter 7: Return To Eldin

Chapter 8: Earth Temple

Chapter 9: A Night In The Sky

Chapter 10: Revelations

Chapter 11: To Lanayru

Chapter 12: Into The Mines

Chapter 13: Lanayru Mining Facility

Chapter 14: A Brief Reunion

Chapter 15: THE GROOSE IS LOOSE

Chapter 16: The Hidden Village

Chapter 17: Dreams of a Goddess

Chapter 18: Recreation

Chapter 19: New Things

Chapter 20: Making Plans

Chapter 21: Studies And Things To Learn

Chapter 22: Near Misses

Chapter 23: Reflection

Chapter 24: The Night Before

Chapter 25: Reunion

Chapter 26: The Imprisoned

Chapter 27: Return To The Sky

Chapter 28: Roles To Fill

Chapter 29: Scrapper

Chapter 30: Isle of Songs

Chapter 31: The Silent Realm

Chapter 32: TBA

Tag: #surface too soon

Headcanons And Other Things That Don’t Fit Elsewhere

Twilight’s Eyes

Colour Meanings In LoZ

That Theory That Accidentally Explains Why the Egg Guardian In AoC Can Time Travel

Thoughts On The Master Sword

I Learned A Lot About Japanese Swords And Daggers For A Fic. Here’s That Trivia

How Does My Fairy Brand System Work?

Where Does Every Warrior Have Their Mark?

Do The Regular Captains Have Fairy Brands? And How Do They Pass Messages?

Elaborating On Warriors’ Connection To Proxi

Twili-Ordon-Zonai Connection And The Divine Beast Epithet

The Weirdest Thing Warriors Has Seen Fierce Deity Do

[deiliamedlini]

Whumptober 2021- The Darkness I Know

Chapter 17

Field Care 101

“Please don’t move”| hemorrhage | dread

Fic Summary: After the world as she knew it was destroyed by the corruption of Malice, Zelda allies herself with her saviors from captivity: a disgruntled former governor, an alert paramedic, a cocky pilot, an excessively overt optimist, and a blind strategist. While the corrupted, malice-filled Yiga Clan looks for revenge on them, Zelda has to learn how important it is to find family in others... and how much more dangerous the stakes become if she fails to protect them.

Previous/ Chapter Index/ Next

~~~~~~~~~~

Zelda followed Link out of the room, hobbling a bit as she cradled her arm and forced her underused legs to remember how to work. It took a bit, and they burned with pins and needles, but it got to a tolerable point, and she managed to focus once again.

Link leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, resting his head back against. Urbosa had a sword in her hands, and she was running a cloth along it time and time again, keeping the blade pristinely clean. Even Mipha had a pitchfork, three prongs sharp. Effective, but flimsy. Zelda had a feeling she could reinforce that if she just had…

“Here,” Revali said, thrusting something into her hands.

Zelda startled and sat back before her mouth fell open. “Where did you get this?”

“Made it. It’s not great, but it’ll do for now.”

Zelda stared at the handcrafted bow in front of her. Sure, it wasn’t the most beautiful thing, but after losing her homemade metal bow to the Yiga, receiving this was an unexpected blessing. He even set a pile of arrows beside her.

“I had some time to kill,” he mused, huffing and crossing his arms. “Figured better to do this than to let all that time go to waste.”

The smile that spread across her face spoke louder than words as she ran her hand along the arrows. “Revali, thank you.”

“Well, don’t get all soft about it. I needed more arrows too.”

“Of course,” Zelda said with a smile.

Revali’s lips twitched up, but he huffed and walked away to grab his own things again.

Link walked forward, though he stopped between them all. “Do we know how many there are?”

Revali huffed. “I didn’t stop to ask them once they started to chase me. I counted fifteen before I was spotted.”

Humming thoughtfully, Link leaned on his staff. “Revali and Zelda should take the back with Mipha and I. Fire first, and focus more on keeping them together so they don’t scatter and surround us. If a few arrows miss, that’s acceptable if it’s keeping them herded. Urbosa and Daruk, you should both take point. Obviously, you’re both our best fighters.”

“In close combat,” Revali muttered, just loud enough to be heard.

“Why don’t we just run?” Zelda asked. “They’re Malice ridden, and they’re outnumbering us.”

Link didn’t answer, and neither did Revali. Urbosa, on the other hand, put her hand on Zelda’s shoulder. “We don’t leave anyone behind. We always take care of our own. And right now, you and Link are not capable of running the speed, or distance we’d need to outrun them. So, we stay and we fight.”

Zelda swallowed. “This is… my fault?”

“No, little bird, it’s not. We could have gotten you father when we first picked you two up. We could have found that hoard earlier and had more time to move. We don’t question our every action, because then that endless line of questioning never disappears. ‘Was it our fault?’ No. It was several things that all happened at once to cause this.”

Sighing, Zelda nodded, though Urbosa’s words were little more than an attempt at comfort to her. It was her fault, and she knew it.

That thought got her through the first volley of arrows.

Several crazed bokoblins, tongues hanging out, eyes wide and bloodshot with the effects of Malice, ran towards their abandoned house that they’d stationed around. Zelda and Revali were on the hill that led to the front door, Link and Mipha were at the base of the hill, and Urbosa and Daruk were out and ready.

Zelda and Revali took out several bokoblins while they kept them corralled, and the rest went straight to Urbosa or Daruk. Zelda heard Mipha call out to Link at one point. “On your right!” And Zelda had turned to make sure he was fine, only to see him expertly swing his new staff around and jam it through the bokoblin’s stomach before pushing it off and away with his foot.

Bokoblins, on principle, were not terribly threatening, but when they swarmed, they swarmed. Zelda and Revali quickly ran through their arrows, and followed Revali when he ran forward, scooping up discarded arrows and shooting them again.

The moblins were more difficult, but Zelda didn’t even have to worry about them. Daruk and Urbosa were on them quickly, and soon, surrounding their broken little cottage was a massacre of carnage and green bokoblin blood mixes with the purple ooze of Malice.

“Is everyone all set?” Urbosa called out, pulling Daruk with her through a safe path around the corpses.

Daruk laughed heartily, bent down, and picked a trinket before pocketing it.

“You’re disgusting,” Revali muttered, helping Zelda out of their mess. He turned to her. “Are you alright? Was that too much so soon after your injuries? I won’t tell the others.”

Zelda looked around and leaned into him. “We do what we have to, right?”

“Hrmph. That we do.”

The four of them returned to Mipha and Link, only to see them in a hushed argument.

“Link!”

“Mipha!”

Zelda rolled her eyes as she neared. Their childish back and forth didn’t surprise her.

“Link, please! Stop being such a child! Adults accept the help they’re given.”

“I’m not a child! I’m not Sidon! And I don’t need help!”

Mipha grabbed his arm. “Good thing you’re not Sidon, or I’d be able to ground you. But unlike you, he’s safe. You’re not.”

“I am fine!”

Mipha tore the staff from his hand and tossed it to the ground. “I will say this kindly one more time, and then I will have Daruk or Urbosa hold you down, okay? Please don’t move.”

Zelda’s brows scrunched together and she circled Link before noticing a small gash on his side through his shirt, leaving a red line.

He stayed still, likely afraid she’d follow through on her threat, and Mipha lifted his shirt, fiddling with something while he groaned and clenched his teeth.

“Fine. We need to wash it out. Let’s go back inside.”

Urbosa made a face. “Inside? Here? We have a pile of dead bokoblins here. Can you give Link a patch job and then we’ll fix him at the next available house?”

Which, for their safety, they did.

Zelda and Link limped on, using the others as support until a wrecked apartment appeared in the distance.

They settled in it, getting Link and Zelda onto the second floor while Urbosa and Daruk took watch on the first, and Revali took the window on the third. Mipha would stay on Link and Zelda’s second floor to watch them.

Zelda took a quick shower, unsure how long the water would even last, but needing to get days of gunk and Malice off of her. Link went in after her, swapping places. He’d been with Mipha, and Zelda went there next.

“Does it still hurt?” Mipha asked as she unraveled Zelda’s bandage on her arm.

“Yes,” Zelda muttered miserably. “I don’t know if there’s going to be a way to get it out. Or if I’ll die eventually from it.”

“We’ll all die eventually, Zelda. Link did well getting most of it out, and I have seen Malice kill faster than this. I don’t think you’ll die from this.”

For a moment, Zelda felt a surge of hope. Mipha was the expert. She’d treated Malice before. She’d scraped it off those who had it on their skin, and clearly done what she could to clean up after Link’s attempt.

But when the rest of the bandage came off, a pit of dread bubbled up in her stomach, and she nearly threw up.

Essentially, there was a hole carved into her arm, and purple veins surrounded it. It was attempting to scab over, but there was still a long way to go. The bandage stuck to her skin, and tears of pain, disgust, and embarrassment sprung to her eyes.

Mipha wrapped her fingers around Zelda’s arm comfortingly. “It was worse before. This is healing nicely, believe it or not.”

“Not,” she scoffed, letting her nail run along one of the purple, Malice-filled veins on her arm.

So, Zelda sat in silence while Mipha replaced the bandages, determined not to show just how much it all terrified her. Because if Malice turned creatures into demons, and humans into monsters, what would the amount inside her do to her?

[ranger-kellyn]

WIP Wednesday: Twenty-Four

Happy WIP Wednesday!

Have an extended WIP in honor of me hitting 45k today! This takes place the morning after the game chapter "Urbosa, The Gerudo Chief". Zelda/Impa

Inspired by the common theme I've noticed that Impa's idle stretch animation made a lot of people go: 👀 myself included dfkh

Also available on AO3

----

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...

[loruleanheart]

Desired Fate, Chapter 3

Read on FF.net

Read on AO3

The Yiga Clan leader sat in his chair with his feet on the table. His backside hung off the edge of the chair, his legs splayed open. Kohga’s hands rested on the sizable girth of his belly. It must have been the most undignified way of sitting Astor had ever seen.

“I’m not going to hold a conversation with you sitting like…. That! Show some deference for the Calamity’s chosen disciple.”

Kohga grumbled and sat upright.

“Good! Now we can proceed… Lord Ganon has revealed to me the purpose of the other Guardian. And, just as I suspected, it is a threat to the Great Calamity's revival. Consider yourself informed on what must be done.”

Kohga gave a dismissive wave of his hand. Astor moved past the two Yiga leaders, seeing that his harbinger had resumed its place on the altar. “My harbinger, show me your will...”

The harbinger sounded and once again a vision spread out in front of them. The Princess, the young knight, and the royal advisor were moving through the desert canyons that led into Gerudo Desert. The Princess was dressed in her usual field attire that day, for when out conducting research. Her blue and white corseted blouse resembled her royal attire, but she wore a pair of soft figure-hugging pants with it.

The seer’s yellow eyes flickered over the princess and then looked away, pushing all mental commentary down and away, substituting the ones that made him feel in control.

Behind him, the two Yiga leaders started to talk among themselves. “Looks like the princess and her entourage are on their way. That can only mean that she will meet with the chief.” Master Kohga mused. 

“Now would be the perfect time to attack. Our men have reported that Chief Urbosa is away on an errand.” Sooga suggested.

Kohga practically jumped out of his chair. “Sooga! Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I apologize, but I don’t follow-” 

“I can disguise myself as the chief, assassinate the princess, and no one will know the Yiga clan was responsible, and Urbosa will be the one blamed.”

“Yes, good thinking. I’ll inform everyone else of this.” Sooga and Kohga got up to leave, and then Kohga looked over his shoulder, seeing the prophet standing serenely and completely immersed in the vision. “Hey, Prophecy Man! Get your mind out of the rotten banana pile!”

Astor jolted back to awareness. “You know nothing!”

“Trust me, I can read people’s innermost thoughts. Secret technique passed down from my father’s mother’s father.” Kohga said in a teasing manner. “Anywho, she’ll be dead soon anyway. We’re leaving!”

“And you are testing the limits of my patience! But yes… she will be… It has been willed by Ganon, and we must make sure fate follows its proper course.”

Kohga’s teasing observation left the prophet exasperated. How dare this slovenly lump suggest that he was wavering in his devotion for the Calamity. In the beginning, Astor had just passed it off as a sick sense of humor, but the more Kohga ran his mouth the more it was taking root in the prophet’s psyche. Just the other night, his mind had regurgitated Kohga’s observation referring to the two egg-like Guardians as twins.

I am looking forward to using him as a blood sacrifice for the Calamity...

“Geez, touchy. I didn’t hear a denial there.” said, Kohga.

“I will not dignify that with an answer!” Astor ended the vision there. “Just go, and do not disappoint me. She is, after all, the foremost threat to Calamity Ganon.”

oOo

The Princess held tightly to the Sheikah Slate as they made their way to Gerudo Town, the sands crunching and shifting under her knee-high boots.

She hadn’t seen Urbosa in many years now, which bothered the princess that they hadn’t remained in close contact. Now was the perfect opportunity to reconnect with her old friend.

“Look, Your Highness!” Impa brought Zelda’s attention to the figures of three approaching Gerudo warriors. The three vai were armed with tridents and were rushing towards them.

As the Gerudo got closer, it became clearer that they were hostile. Zelda braced herself, motionless, trying to make sense of the situation. 

“There she is, grab her!” Shouted one of the Gerudo, motioning to the princess.

Impa and Link moved to shield Zelda, weapons drawn.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Impa shouted at the Gerudo who were now surrounding them.

“Chief Urbosa knows of your scheme to seize our lands,” said one of the vai, apparently a Captain.

“What? I would do no such thing! I’m here to -” This couldn’t be right. It had been a long time, but Zelda never imagined Urbosa would believe such nonsense or worse, act on it. The princess was discouraged, but there was no way she’d turn back.

“She’s lying. Grab them!” The Gerudo Captain said to the other two.

“Run!” Impa shouted, picking up the small Guardian. Link hung back for a moment, ready to hold off the Gerudo Soldiers.

“Link! Don’t fight them. Something isn’t right here! Just run!” Zelda shouted. Not wanting any harm to come to the Gerudo soldiers over a misunderstanding.

Zelda ran as fast as she could, nearly tripping at some points, her boots not well suited for the sandy terrain. She was nearly out of breath from sprinting when Link directed them to stand behind a rock outcropping. Zelda put her hand over her mouth to stifle her labored breathing, and the extremely arid environment wasn’t helping. 

The sounds of footsteps in the sand receded. Impa peeked over the top of the rocks, only to come back down fast as the last of the three women passed by.

“We just need to find Urbosa….” Zelda said quietly. And then she came up with a solution. “Advancing directly on the town will be difficult. Let’s go around the south side.”

Impa nodded. “Yes, good thinking, Your Highness.”

Zelda braced herself to start running again, but when they came out from behind the outcropping they were horrified to see a whole army of Gerudo warriors standing between them and the town.

oOo

The princess, her knight, and her royal advisor were marched into the chief’s throne room at weapon point. Zelda’s hopes fell through when she observed Urbosa’s severe expression.

“Urbosa! Why? What is all this?” Zelda entreated her dear friend.

Urbosa met Zelda’s eyes with a cold, murderous gaze uncharacteristic of the Gerudo Queen. She addressed the princess in a tone she had never heard from her friend before. “Thwarting your destiny of course,” the Gerudo Chief said, raising her scimitar. “Princess Zelda…”

She really means to kill me...?

A deep hurt and confusion immobilized the princess. Zelda braced herself as Urbosa charged, scimitar in hand. Link and Impa moved to block, but it wasn’t necessary. A loud SNAP resounded throughout the room and Urbosa became electrified. The electricity buzzed, Urbosa sputtered and fell to the floor. The Gerudo guards in the room stood silently, horrified to see their leader in such a position.

“I came back as quickly as I could…” Urbosa said casually as she strolled in.

Zelda turned. “Urbosa?” The princess cast another glance at the fallen Urbosa on the floor. 

An imposter?

“Not exactly what I expected to find,” Urbosa said, shaking her head at the figure lying in a heap on the floor. “I hope you’re not hurt….little bird.”

Zelda breathed a big sigh of relief, beaming.  “I’m not!”

“Then.... who is this?” Impa said, looking at the fallen Urbosa.

A gruff male voice groaned as the figure lying on the floor began to stir. There was an explosion of smoke and the imposter revealed himself.

“You’ve got some nerve thinking you can go toe to toe with…. MASTER KOHGA! I’ll show YOU…” The Yiga Clan leader clapped his hands together and started to chant, summoning several Yiga footsoldiers.

Link, Impa, Urbosa, and the Gerudo guards readied their weapons, taking a defensive stance around the princess.

Kohga struck a dramatic pose. “YIGA ASSEMBLE! Me excluded of course,” Kohga said quickly, before making his escape in a puff of smoke, leaving his minions bewildered and cross.

“We can’t let him get away. Locate Kohga at once,” Urbosa instructed, running out of the throne room, scimitar in hand. Zelda, Link, and Impa followed only to see all chaos breaking out between the Yiga and Gerudo forces in the streets of the women-only desert town.

Seeing the others taking on the Yiga,  Zelda activated the Sheikah Slate, determined to help in the fight just as she had done the other day when they had fought monsters and malfunctioning Guardians on the way to the Royal Tech Lab. Eventually, the Yiga were chased out of the town, fleeing to the desert outside the town walls, Urbosa and the others pursuing them.

“There is a beast in the north that will keep them busy if we can lure it out of hiding. It’s sensitive to noise, so if the sound of battle rings loud enough....” Urbosa called out to the others.

“Sensitive to loud sounds? What about an explosion? The Sheikah Slate’s remote bomb rune just might work.”

“The Sheikah what?” Urbosa asked, casting Zelda an intrigued look.

“I’ll show you later.”

The group lured the Yiga clan members deep into the desert, coming to a stop where Zelda sensed the sand was less packed and more disturbed; as if something was living within. Zelda looked to Urbosa.

“Yes, this is it!”

Urbosa crossed blades with the Yiga masses once again only to electrocute them while their guard was down.

Zelda activated the remote bomb rune on her Sheikah slate, laying down several bombs on the loose sand. 

“Good thinking, little bird.”

Within seconds the remote bombs went off, sending a massive shockwave into the sand. Urbosa stood back, waiting for the telltale sign that the molduga had been awakened. 

Urbosa called out to the others cautioning them. “Wait for it…. Wait for it…”

And then the ground beneath them started to quake. The footsoldiers looked around in confusion, but it was slowly starting to dawn on them what had been summoned. At last, the enormous whale-like creature erupted out of the sands, jumping high into the air and then diving back down into the depths with its wide-open maw coming in fast. The Yiga members shouted and scattered, escaping one by one into a multitude of bursts of smoke before they could be devoured and dragged into the sandy deep.

Urbosa gave a resounding laugh. “I almost pity the Yiga scum.”

“I’m kind of disappointed I didn’t get to see molduga make a meal out of them,” Impa replied, laughing.

“Well, nevermind that. We’ve still got to find Kohga. That voe has been a thorn in my side ever since I took the throne and this is my last straw with him.”

The party arrived at the Yiga outpost, Urbosa spotted Kohga hiding behind some large wooden boxes.

“I suppose my nimrod foot soldiers WANT me to croak. Looks like I will have to end you myself!”

Urbosa scoffed. “Not a chance! I will banish the Yiga Clan once you’re out of the way.” Urbosa charged the Yiga leader, meeting him in battle, scimitar against sickle.

Kohga summoned an oversized spiked iron ball. It hovered over Urbosa, but the Gerudo Queen leapt out of the way before Kohga let it drop. She snapped her fingers, hitting Kohga with a bolt of electricity in retribution, frying the Yiga Clan leader for the second time that day. As the Clan leader regained his bearings he was dismayed to see the party had surrounded him. Kohga gulped, waiting for the Gerudo queen to strike. 

Urbosa brandished her scimitar. “This is it, Kohga. You’ve lost. This is your last chance to surrender. I wouldn’t want to have to spill your guts in front of Her Highness.”

Zelda could see Urbosa hesitating, although the warrior queen’s determined expression never faltered. A mistake she would soon regret as Urbosa was momentarily distracted by an imposing figure, RUNNING down the pillar that Kohga was cornered against. The large Yiga bodyguard unsheathed his dual blades and went for Urbosa, who blocked his attack with her scimitar, pushing him back with some effort. Sooga landed in front of Kohga and then charged at the group again, this time crossing blades with the princess’s knight and Urbosa once again. The two blocked but had the air knocked out of them by an immense magical attack that manifested from Sooga’s dual blades.

“Master Kohga, are you hurt?” Sooga resheathed his twin blades.

“Sooga, you’re late! I was nearly peeled like a banana.” Kohga said, at his wit’s end, but still all too relieved by the perfect timing of his right-hand man.

Sooga ignored the verbal lashing, simply hoisting the rotund man over his shoulder effortlessly, Kohga giving only a sound of surprise.

“Forget these cowards. It’s time to retreat”

“I think not!” Urbosa rushed forward, but before she could engage the two, Sooga disappeared into an explosion of smoke, taking Master Kohga with him. Urbosa shielded her eyes as she ran straight into the blast.

Kohga’s taunting laughter echoed through the outpost, Urbosa grunting in frustration as she regained her bearings.

Urbosa turned back to the group. “Forgive me, little bird. Next time I will show the Yiga no mercy.”

“No worries, Urbosa…” After everything Zelda had been through today, the Yiga clan leader getting away was the least of her anxieties.

oOo

Zelda approached Vah Naboris, trying to figure out how she would phrase her request for information as casually and discreetly as possible. On the way back from the Yiga outpost, Zelda had quietly pulled Urbosa aside and asked if they could meet later and alone. Urbosa had given the princess a concerned, but conspiratorial look, and agreed, telling her to meet her by the Divine Beast.

Oh, come on Zelda. You have a perfectly good reason to ask if she might know who he is… You’re just asking because you want to know how he figures into the Calamity...

Zelda was feeling high strung. Urbosa had always been able to discern the princess’s motivations and raw emotions before, but...

Oh, just get it over with, Zelda scolded herself. Urbosa had never said or done anything to make Zelda feel foolish, unlike her Father.

Urbosa met her gaze, giving her a warm smile. Zelda took a deep breath and smiled back, feeling more at ease.

“Urbosa, thank you for meeting me here.”

“Of course. Anything for you, little bird. I trust you didn’t ask me to come here only to recruit me to pilot the Divine Beast.”

Zelda nodded, pulling out the Sheikah Slate from its pouch on her belt, powering it on.

“Just the other day… a strange Guardian appeared in Hyrule field. We took it to Robbie and Purah and they were able to extract some visual data from the Guardian’s memory and transfer it to this.” Zelda held the Sheikah slate between herself and Urbosa, showing her the pictures of the destroyed Hyrule. “As you can see, these images show what will happen if the Calamity awakens.”

Urbosa frowned, paying rapt attention to the pictures and what Zelda was telling her.

“And then there’s this…” She scrolled to the image of the mysterious individual. “Some of his jewelry looks Gerudo in nature. Do you know who this man might be? I believe he has some connection to the Calamity, but I can’t be sure... I’d like to locate him so I may question him.” Zelda spoke as matter of factly as she could manage.

Urbosa gave the mysterious man on the Sheikah Slate a hard look. “No… I’ve never seen him before. But yes, the jewelry does look Gerudo. Sorry, I could not be of more help.”

Zelda breathed an inner sigh of relief. It was disappointing to have come to a dead-end, at least for now, but any secret ambitions seemed to have flown right over Urbosa's head. Zelda shut down the Sheikah Slate and put it back in its pouch.

“However I am able to support you, I will. Just say the word.” Urbosa gave Zelda a reassuring expression. “We’re going to figure this out, and we’re going to stop the Calamity.”

Zelda smiled and gave a simple nod of her head. “Thank you, Urbosa...”

A comfortable silence passed between the two. It was like they hadn’t been apart all those years.

oOo

Astor sat at the table with his arms crossed, glaring daggers at Master Kohga, seated at the other end. “So you turned and fled, is that it?”

Even Sooga who was more competent than Kohga seemed complacent about their failure, which deeply irritated the prophet.

“Well… You’re the prophet. You should have seen it coming.” Kohga was sitting in his chair sideways, humming and moving his fingers to the beat.

Astor glowered at the man across from him and spoke as calmly as possible. “It seems that, as low as my expectations of you were, I was overly optimistic.”  Astor got up from the table.

Kohga finally turned to him, taken aback. Sooga’s hand went to his blade at his hip, ready to protect his master should the need arise. 

Kohga stood, raging. “Who are you to talk that way to us, when WE were the ones to go and stick our necks out!? What have YOU done besides hang around MY hideout, order us around, eat our food and complain about it? I could have been killed today if it wasn’t for Sooga!”

Astor was unruffled. “Well, no matter… I am the Prophet of the Calamity. I interpret Lord Ganon’s will and you are the Calamity’s hands.”

“You are a coward, seer. I sense it so clearly.”

“I beg your pardon?” Astor challenged, his voice steady.

“It is my duty to protect Master Kohga, even if it costs me my life, but I wonder, seer, would you give your life for the revival of the Calamity?”

Astor was caught off guard by the question, but maintained his calm demeanor, simply giving an aloof grunt of annoyance.

“I thought so…” Sooga said. “And that's not all… You’re fearful of that girl, or more specifically the power she could wield.”

“Are you not? Why do you underestimate the ruin she could bring to Lord Ganon?”

“Do you know what her court says about her?” Kohga asked the prophet. “Our Yiga spies have heard them say that she is heir to a throne of nothing but failure.”

Astor considered this. He knew better.

As if reacting to Kohga’s words, the harbinger sounded. The three stood at attention, and Astor approached the altar, wondering what it had to communicate to him.

He held out the ancient orb, wordlessly.

This time the vision that spread out before them was of the Hyrule from before. There was an atmosphere of despair and ruin, and Astor recognized the location, Blatchery Plain near Fort Hateno. In the vision, the princess was dressed in a muddied white dress. The young knight he’d seen at Zelda’s side in recent visions appeared wounded and was barely able to stand upright. A standard sized Guardian approaches the pair and towers over them, targeting the knight. The princess screamed in protest and stepped out to shield him, raising her hand high. A brilliant flash of light erupted from her hand, creating a dome of holy power that laid waste to several Guardians at once. The malice departed from the Guardians and they clattered into the mud, broken down. 

Astor’s yellow irises constricted as a wave of crippling emotion foreign to the prophet mixed with hatred washed over him. If he thought he understood hatred before, then he was wrong. This… This went so much deeper. And he couldn’t begin to comprehend why he felt that way. Sure the princess had unlocked her power, but she found it because of the knight? Did she… have feelings for him...? He couldn’t decide who he wanted dead more. But these were all limiting human grievances that were getting in the way of his purpose. If he didn’t suppress them, how long until Lord Ganon deemed him unworthy? The prophet convinced himself that it didn’t matter how the Princess found the power. All that mattered was that this was fated to occur, and meant the Calamity could be bound, if not sealed away forever if he did not act.

The two Yiga leaders behind him were silent as well. He could sense them staring, waiting for him to break.

Finally, Kohga spoke. “H-hey, three eyes, you gonna be alright?”

And without missing a beat the Prophet of Doom tossed the entire bowl of mighty bananas, sending the fruits raining down onto the floor.

The two Yiga in the room gasped, Master Kohga scrambling to his feet to collect the fallen bananas, while Sooga bowed his head to say a silent, sorrowful prayer.

[botw-oneshots-and-other-bs]

Prompt Challenge #2 

Prompt: “Alyss eats a mighty banana around the campfire with the Champions”

WARNING - Slightly NSFW

    It was the middle of summer in the Kingdom of Hyrule and the Princess was in the very beginning of her trip to unlocking her power gifted by the Goddess. The closer the group got to the Faron Region, the more they felt as though they were absolutely swimming in soup which made almost everyone miserable. Alyss walked next to Mipha who had no issue with the humidity while Daruk, Urbosa, and Revali followed behind. 

    “Must we walk through this abhorrent weather,” Revali asked more than annoyed at the wet air, “my feathers are starting to matte.” He held out his wings and tried flapping them to dry them off to no avail. 

    “Aww, worried about our image are we,” Alyss asked over her shoulder, not catching the daggers Revali threw her way as she snickered at her clever comment. “Don’t worry Princess we should be there soo-” she kept on until she was cut off by a large lightning bolt striking too close to the company for anyone’s liking. At this new storm, the Princess and Urbosa led everyone to a nearby cavern to escape the rain and potential danger which was well received by the rest of the group. 

    When inside of the cave, Alyss helped Link start a campfire before sitting down between Mipha and Daruk, pulling her knees to her chest. She watched as everyone took their time getting settled and comfortable by the fire, but the most interesting person for her to watch was Revali. Smirking, she watched as he quietly preened his wet feathers trying to get out the matting his sweat caused. 

    “I can’t wait to get back somewhere cooler, this is embarrassing,” he mumbled angrily. His comments were ignored for the most part by the group, however when he was finished his emerald eyes made contact with Alyss’s purple ones. He furrowed his eyebrows as he continued to hold her eye contact, silently asking what her deal was, but eventually his frustration in her lack of an answer caused him to “tch” and turn away. 

    “Well,” Urbosa started, walking back to the group and sitting against the wall of the small cave. “This storm doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon and it would be extremely dangerous to walk around in it so we should take this time to rest.” Everyone seemed pretty frustrated by the sudden storm but as far as Alyss can remember the Faron region was always ravaged by random storms. 

    Alyss sighed and reached into her small bag and pulled out a hand of bananas that she had picked off of a tree she found while walking the terrain. Her eyes held a certain glimmer of excitement as she had not had a mighty banana in quite a while and she was excited to partake in the sweet taste of the yellow fruit again. After offering a banana from the hand to each person in the group, Alyss slowly peeled the yellow flesh of the fruit back to expose the soft, white meat. 

    Using her tongue to wet her lips in anticipation of the taste, Alyss took her time in eyeing up the banana in excitement . Little did she know that a certain grumpy Champion had been intently watching her. Said Champion found it hard to pull his eyes away from the look Alyss had been giving the fruit, but the booming voice of their beloved Goron had broken his, less than pure, train of thought. 

    “So Alyss, indulge us, when was the last time you had a mighty banana?” he chuckled before slapping her on the back a little more gently than he would have to Link. “You look like you’re excited to devour it.” Daruk finished as Alyss looked up at him with pure child-like wonder glimmering in her eyes. 

    Nodding her head she rocked until she was on her knees, careful not to get the fruit dirty, so she could see Daruk’s face a little better over his shoulder. “Ah,” she uttered as she sucked in a breath. This small noise did not help the predicament that the brooding Champion had found himself in when he was watching her devour her banana with her eyes. “You see Daruk, I cannot remember the last time I indulged in a mighty banana, but-” she laughed reminenscently and laid her small hand on Daruk’s arm, “- 10,000 years will fade some memories.” Daruk joined her in her merriment, as did everyone else, as they waited with baited breath for her to take a bite. 

    It wasn’t long before she gave everyone what they wanted. Revali watched with a sharpness and hidden eagerness that he honestly had never experienced before. She was eating a banana, it wasn’t anything new. He has witnessed plenty of his kind partaking in the delicious fruit that travelers would bring, but no Rito made him internally squirm as much as Alyss did. She was infuriating. She was delightful. She made walking with the company easier to manage while simultaneously making him wish he didn’t have to look at her at all. Revali watched as Alyss’s soft, pink lips wrapped over the tip of the banana so she could take a small, testing bite. The sight caused Revali to suck in a slightly audible breath but quickly he covered it up with a fake cough. Revali turned his head, pretending to not care, considering he couldn’t excuse himself from the situation, but he had no idea that Link had heard and witnessed his reaction to the Sheikah and was silently planning. 

    “Well,” Princess Zelda said excitedly, breaking the slight tension in the air emanating from Revali. “How was it?” The Princess finished practically jumping up and down where she sat. She seemed to share the thoughts of everyone else in the group except Revali who was pretending he could absolutely care less. 

    “Oh goddess it’s absolutely amazing,” Alyss moaned happily unknowingly causing Revali’s skin to crawl in a sensation he tried not to humor. Alyss went on to happily muse about the delicious fruit with the other Champions until the storm had finally lifted. 

    “Finally,” Revali shouted as he jumped up to his feet and walked outside, slightly catching everyone off guard. The moon had started to rise just barely letting Revali know it had been about an hour or so since they had to take cover. “The storm is lifted and we should get to the Spring before another one pops up.” He motioned to the others before creating a gale and using it to scout how much further they had to go. Not long passed before everyone was up and ready to continue on their trek through the humid, slightly cooler, woods of the Faron area. There were a few fights with Lizalfos and Bokoblins before they got to the ruins, but coupled with the day’s travel time, most of the companions decided that they needed to set up camp and continue to the Spring at dawn. Everyone headed to bed pretty quickly after that except Alyss who had wandered off not knowing that a certain Rito was following. 

    Revali silently cursed Link who had been sitting up and saw Alyss leaving the campsite. Why he had to be the one to follow after her he didn’t know, but Link looked pretty concerned. Revali was still pretty stuck on the banana incident so much so that he barely registered when Alyss stopped in front of a large lake. The clouds had finally departed allowing the rays of the almost full moon to shine down and seemingly illuminate her skin and hair. Revali paused by a tree, still hidden in the woods, and watched as the Sheikah started to let her hair down. The bottom of her hair licked the middle of her thighs, hiding from view the shape of her curvy body, but brought extra attention to her feminine legs.

    Once again he found himself enchanted by the mere sight of her. Not knowing what possessed him, Revali stepped out into the open view of the woods and crossed his arms as she bent over to wet her face with the lake’s water. “It’s not smart to go wandering the woods without protection this late,” he started, smirking internally at his unintentional spooking of the woman in front of him. “But, thankfully, you had the luck of someone with my special skill set following you.” He taunted not bothering to wipe the smirk from his face as his emerald eyes continued to roam her being, taking a mental picture of the way the moon illuminated her irritated posture. 

    “I can take care of myself thanks,” she spat back at him in irritation, placing her hand on her hip. “What are you doing here Revali? Come to get your feathers wet?” Alyss asked, taunting him back which both infuriated and excited him. Normally women practically fell at his feet in reverence, but Alyss’s demeanor towards him was angering and intoxicating. Alyss watched as the dark blue Rito took a small step forward, his eyes held nothing Alyss could decipher as they held her gaze. 

    “In a manner of speaking,” he whispered, afraid that if he spoke his weak attempt at flirting any louder he would shatter the air around them. He was close enough to her now that if he wanted to reach out and touch her he could. His gaze never leaving hers, he continues in the same hushed manner he spoke in before, “you infuriate me.” 

    Alyss furrowed her eyebrows and watched out of her peripheral vision as he took another small step forward. She refused to back down from whatever this was and stood her ground despite the harsh, loud beating in her chest. “Excuse me?” She scoffed slightly offended. “You’re one to talk.”

    Revali chuckled, genuinely amused by her expression of feelings. He could read in her face that his words had offended her, so - naturally - he decided to tease her. “I’m sorry to offend your grace,” he smirked, taking another step closer to her. He was definitely close enough now to fully wrap his wing around her and pull her into him if he wanted to. Which of course he didn’t. Right? “I was merely stating that you frustrate me.” 

    Alyss still didn’t move, but this time she completely dead panned. “Geez, thank you for that clarification. Now if you don’t mind I-” she couldn’t finish her sentence as Revali had started to advance more. The look that took over his gaze made her heart skip a beat as she had seen it before in her previous love’s eyes, but never did she expect to see it in Revali of all people. With every couple of words he took a step and forced her to step backwards to the nearest stone column.

    “You infuriate me in the fact that I can barely control myself around you. You infuriate me with the way you talk about and look so excited over trivial things.” Revali had completely managed to back her into the closest stone column before he reached out, grabbed one of her wrists, and pinned it up against the cool stone. “But you want to know the thing you have done to become the biggest nuisance in my life?” He asked more of a rhetorical question. “It’s the way that you have unabashedly taken over my thoughts. I mean-” he scoffed annoyed, “- I can’t go one day without thinking about you in some form or fashion, and the banana incident today did not help.” He growled. 

    Alyss took a moment to take in and digest everything Revali had said to her. What she did with the banana that would have made him irritated, she couldn’t figure out, but she could hear the obvious frustration and need in his voice. Deciding to roll with it, Alyss reached her hand up and cupped the side of his face, soft feathers tickling her wrist. “Mmm,” she mewled, “since you liked it so much, maybe I should eat another delicious banana right now?”

    Revali felt his gaze darken as he took in her obvious teasing manner, his grip on her wrist tightening just like the air in his airway. “Maybe you should,” he whispered, giving her the answer to her teasing he hoped she desired. The tension in the air grew between the two adults. All Alyss could feel was the soft feathers of his pressing against her body. All she could see was his chest rising and falling in deep, uneven breaths as his eyes continued to hold her gaze wondering who would make the first move. 

             Alyss slowly moved her hand down his chest, the sexual tension growing, as she started to fall to her knees. Just as quick as she had kneeled, she jumped back up with crimson red cheeks as a chuckling was heard from the woods. Her head snapped to the direction to find Link standing against a tree with his arms crossed and a smirk across his face. He raised an eyebrow and zipped his mouth shut before walking back to the campsite with everyone else. 

            Revali felt furious, frustrated, embarrassed, and confused all at the same time for the situation that had just transpired. Trying to play it off he started walking towards the woods. "We should get back before anyone else notices we're gone," revali murmured tensely. 

             All Alyss could do was follow along, still extremely embarrassed at what she was about to do. She wondered, as she watched the Rito's back, if this would make things more interesting. 

[tenebriism]

(herosway Impa)

   “You want to learn to fight a Yiga?” The words are sharp, a bit annoyed, mostly because Urbosa has been more distant lately and she’s hating it. She finally dragged her out into the training grounds, with much effort and forced kidnapping by her own guards. It was an effort. She yanks his Giant Sword off of her bag and tosses it toward the ground, hearing the loud clatter as it hits the ground. She’s back in the Sheikah suit today, the comfort of the blue and her guards. There’s a Vicious Sickle strapped to her waist and against the wall was a Windcleaver against the wall where she had thrown her Giant Sword. 

   Impa hadn’t put on her guards today, her wrists were entirely bare, but her gaze was determined. “I know the magic they use, I know their fighting style, I know how they think and I know what they do. You want to fight one, you want to train, then come at me. But when we're through, if you don’t start talking to me, I’m leaving for Kakariko Village.” She doesn’t take the silence game well, it frustrates her. She expects Impa to talk to her, well, she expects the same. 

   No one understands her frustrations more than she does. Impa has been in her shoes before. 

   Shadow magic is tricky, it’s a complicated mistress much like the desert. Getting it to listen to you is difficult and continued use of it is exhausting. When Urbosa makes the first move, not nearly as strongly as she should, Impa vanishes from sight and reappears above her swinging the Sickle at Urbosa. She swings a kick to her hip, shoves her back and then vanishes from sight once again. 

   It’s an ongoing thing until Impa finally gets a hold of her and swings her down onto the ground. She’s straddling her waist, chest raising and falling quickly, sweat covering her entire body. She has her hands pinning her down, her face close to Urbosa’s own and she stares into her eyes. “You need to try. You need to hurt me. You need to use everything you have. Your lighting, your weapons, your strength.” She squeezes her shoulders slightly, Urbosa is very close and Impa swallows a lump in her throat. 

   “I don’t like when you close me out. It isn’t fair. I know you’re frustrated, I know you’re worried. But I’m right here and I’m more than willing to help you if you let me.” A shake of her head, her fingers curling into fists over top of Urbosa’s skin. “I can’t help you if you don’t let me and do you know how frustrating that is?” 

   She’s not an emotional person. She closes herself off and she knows that frustrates people too. But Urbosa has seen her rage, has seen her frustration, has seen her heart when she talks about Sheik. She’s seen every part of her and to shut her out the moment things get uncomfortable for Urbosa–it isn’t fair. 

   “How much further do I need to let you in before you realize I’m not going anywhere unless you tell me to?”

SHE'S DISTRACTED, her head not all there, her focus scattered. It shows in the way she holds back, and how she hardly listens to the crucial lessons Impa is attempting to teach her. Rather backwards, and foolish of a LEADER, when she had been left with no other defenses to fight BACK against the Yiga, yet had been GIFTED the company and generosity of someone who knew how they fought, knew their weaknesses, knew how to salvage Gerudo Town from its downfall. Impa's words have been STATIC for weeks now, but she is the only one who has noticed that Urbosa had been in a slump at all.

To everyone else, the Gerudo Chief had put herself back together in her usual, RECORD time after the brush with death, and appeared ALRIGHT, if not a tad slowed down by her mending wounds. That's how she prefers it to be: for the internal, and eternal war within her head to remain caged and unknown to those around her. Yet, to someone like Impa, who knew how it felt to be addled with wars both internal AND external, it was futile to even attempt to mask it.

--- and now, here she lay on her backside, staring upwards into eyes with a fierceness she's never witnessed before. That Impa had managed to get her into this position speaks volumes of just how OUT OF IT she is--- it is, after all, no small feat to knock a woman of pure height and muscle onto her backside, with enough time to even straddle her before she's back up and retaliating. It's . . . annoying, but satisfying at the same time. Urbosa has only ever been put on her backside for one thing, and one thing only, and it was not during a fight. NEVER during a fight, until now.

She'll have to return the favor later, when Impa isn't scolding her for being an idiot.

" I . . . " How does she put into words what Impa likely already knows ? That ' asking for help ' simply isn't in her nature ? That she's used to simply stepping up and doing everything by herself, even if it means her own downfall ? Lady Urbosa doesn't like appearing anything synonymous with weak, vulnerable, or destructible. It matters little that her body and soul are mortal, and that she will pass away in some dozens of years from old age like many before and after her. She presses onwards and acts as if she IS immortal and indestructible, because it's all she knows.

It starts with a lump in her own throat. One that signals what is to come, unwanted though it may be. Then, then, her gaze blurs, and all that has burdened her shoulders for years upon years comes trickling down her sunkissed cheeks in the form of tears, descending atop the hot sands and fizzling away near immediately as if they'd never even existed. Wet, hot, but yet, with no sound to accompany them; though, they oft say that the silent cries are the heaviest and most needed.

Instead of hiding or running away this time, though, she simply curls her arms around Impa's body, and pulls the Sheikah down, holding her snug against her chest with a palm against the back of her head. Mayhap that is a lie--- it IS a means of hiding herself away, to some degree, so Impa cannot see the way her resolve gradually crumbles until her body trembles, naught more than the occasional sniffle heard over the background murmurs of an unaware town of Gerudo, but the way she holds Impa, tightly with no intentions of letting her go unless asked, it is telling of her desperation even without the Sheikah needing to see her face.

Help me . . . as the one thing holding me afloat, please help me . . .

[syilcawrites]

archived memories | 2

Series: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Type: Multi-Chapter Main pairing: Zelink (Zelda and Link) Rated: T Tags/Genre: pre-calamity, fluff (middle chapters mostly), hurt (toward the last chapters lmao), pining Summary: bits and pieces of zelink scenes strewn in between the canon memories in botw! Snippet from Ch 2: “Dancing with unknown men was better than being around someone that surely had no desire for anything more.” A/N: Takes place between Memory 1-3 this was supposed to be scrapped but I kinda liked it so I added it in lolol. Also decided instead of 6 chapters I'm gonna make this 8 (potentially 9 ehe). Thanks for reading! You can also read it on ao3! Click here to see all chapters on tumblr

Chapter 2: merry-go-round

Zelda twirled, twirled, and twirled with the rhythm of the music—an endless merry-go-round that she had to take part in, like a stringed puppet forced to dance until her feet bled.

She really did feel like it was, as the laughter of the Hylian men she danced with pierced through her ears, an endlessly constant reminder of who she was.

She stared up at the ceiling of the ballroom, watching the intricate designs turn blurred and dizzy in her vision with the constant movement she was in. Switching and turning, gripping the various hands of different men, smiling pleasantly at them, nodding, keeping her mouth shut—

As she twirled once more into the arms of another, she was met with a wave of familiarity. Her view of the ceiling was obscured by a red-headed woman.

“You seem awfully engaged,” Urbosa mused, smiling. Zelda let her shoulders sag in relief, relaxing just a little.

“I’m not one to fancy these… gatherings.” Zelda replied back, shrugging. “Especially when I can feel someone’s eyes poking my back throughout the entirety of it.” Zelda darted her eyes off to the side, tilting her head ever so slightly to the left. Urbosa followed her gaze, to the quiet knight standing off in the corner of the ballroom.

“Awe, come on now. He’s not so bad, is he?”

Zelda let out a short, stale laugh. “I can’t even hear my own thoughts when he’s around me.” Even though he never spoke, his presence was just… loud. At least for her.

Urbosa sighed, but with a smile, and gazed upon Zelda with eyes that reminded her of her late mother. “He is reliable, my little bird. Far more than you think. I think you two could be great friends if you would give him the chance, truly.”

Zelda mulled over her words, turning it over. A relationship in which they could be friends…

Before she could respond, she was once again thrown into the arms of a stranger.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Her hot breaths came out in puffs of smoke as she gazed upon the moon, sweat lightly dampening her skin, The gentle breeze cooled her down as she yearned longingly upon the land basking quietly under the moonlight. She had taken the opportunity to slip out of the ballroom, to the balcony, when no one was looking.

For once, she could hear the sound of crickets, of frogs, of the wind rustling through leaves—

A step behind her dragged her out from her moment of bliss, unsurprisingly.

Zelda didn't even turn around to see who it was—tonight, she was tired, and dreadfully sinking further and further into the murk of her thoughts. She didn’t have the energy to feel anything else.

“Not enjoying the ball, I assume?” Zelda asked, sarcasm coating her words. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him shift. When she turned around to face him, he merely gazed at her with a gentle look. For some reason, it made her feel even worse.

She turned away from him, resting her cheek on her hand as she leaned against the railing of the balcony. “Don’t you hate being here?”

He responded with a shuffle of his feet. But the sound of the act meant nothing to her.

“Well, I hate it.” Zelda declared, loudly into the night sky. “Maybe you wouldn’t know, since you’re already so…” she trailed off. There she was, igniting her own anger once more. It was funny that she realized this now, during a time where she felt utterly defeated. “Since you’re already perfectly capable of doing your job. Expectations are already met, so you really wouldn’t know how it feels, right?” She knew he wouldn’t respond, but it felt better saying it out loud. Letting all of Hylia hear it, maybe even Hylia herself would hear the silent plea tucked in between the words she was expressing.

She knew he had shuffled closer to her, but why?

She turned around and he froze, as if he was caught in some unlawful act. She watched his hand, which had been just barely lifted up, go limp immediately. Her eyes darted back to those endlessly blue eyes, masked and shielded. Urbosa’s words swam around in her mind as she stepped closer to him, observingly. They were close enough that she could hear his shallow breathing and the light thump of his heart beat against his chest. Their breaths mingled for just a second.

Give him a chance.

An ache bloomed in her chest as Zelda shut her eyes for just a moment. The mere possibility of anything more than what they were simply pained her. She turned away from him, walking back toward the door. Dancing with unknown men was better than being around someone that surely had no desire for anything more.

But a moment of rest was not in Zelda’s agenda, since the second she stepped back into the ballroom she was whisked away within the next beat. The man’s grip on her hand was too tight—sweaty, as he pressed against her body as if he was try to hold her up.

“How do you do?” She strained a smile at him, trying to maintain some sort of proper distance between the two of them, but he was rigid. Annoyingly rigid. She didn’t really listen to him as he answered, because she was too focused on trying to push him off of her. If he took a hint, which he clearly did not, he didn’t show it. Whenever he spoke, hot breath smacked against her face. Whenever he moved, his hand that had initially rested on her upper waist moved further down her body, and his face dipped down closer to hers.

Zelda’s frown deepened, her face red with something between disbelief, humiliation, and anger. She was just about ready to shove this man to the ground—

A blade sliced the air between the man and her, close enough to nip a little skin off of the man’s nose.

A startled sound came from him as he jumped back from the blade that had come between him and Zelda, grabbing his nose as if it had been sliced clean off.

She blinked, looking at her own confused eyes in the reflection of the blade, but just as quick, it was pulled away. Zelda looked to her right, watching Link sheath his sword back.

As the man became a blabbering mess, pointing accusing fingers at him, Link merely casted him a shadow of an annoyed glance. He did not look at her and turned around, back to the corners of the ballroom.

[vigilantdesert]

⚪ 🙌🤞👻 💢 👍

Symbols headcanons - Accepting

⚪ - what are small things that mean something to your muse

The dry scent of chalk that reminds her of one of her favorite tutors as a child, waking up before Stanna and spending a few minutes watching her wake up, her daughter's laugh - she cherishes moments above all else. She goes back to her favorites again and again, especially when she's out on business. She doesn't spend nearly as much time in the desert as she would like, even less since they began preparing for the calamity, so any memories she can make of home are precious.

🙌 - mannerisms that your muse has when they’re extremely happy

Already Answered

🤞 - what’s the most impulsive thing you can picture your muse doing

Already Answered

👻 - recall one or more times your muse has been the most scared or fearful

She was absolutely terrified in the week leading up to the birth of her daughter. A Gerudo pregnancy is a full year and the last few months are, as is common with bipedal mammals, Hell. Her mother had significant pregnancy complications and it was unclear as to how many of those were inherent with her and how many were because of her age (Romah was pushing forty by the time Urbosa was born, which is extremely uncommon). She'd been told all her life about how difficult her mother's pregnancy and birth were, and even though the pregnancy wasn't as bad as she'd been warned about, she didn't know what would happen to the nation if she passed away during labor.

To add context, Urbosa had only been chieftain for six months or so and it had been a rocky start. Many tribeswomen, especially the elders remembered Urbosa from her teen years as reckless and impulsive, and though she'd steered them through a few disasters, many were still skeptical about her ability to rule, as well as her choice in wife. Urbosa couldn't stand to think about what would happen if Stanna had to rule as regent until their daughter grew up, if only because the ever-present fear of revolt was strong in her mind. 

It all worked out in the end, luckily, but that last week of false starts to labor, sleepless nights, and drafting and redrafting what needed to happen in the event that she passed away took an enormous toll on her.

💢 - what would cause your muse to be annoyed

His name is King Roahm. It actually takes quite a lot to get under her skin. The worst common annoyance she deals with is foreign bureaucracy. She's intimately familiar with how Gerudo politics work, but it seems to her that every time she steps into Hyrule they've added a new step to passing a law and it drives her absolutely mad, even from afar.

On a more personal level, she hates having to sit back and watch a loved one or friend be mistreated, even for a common goal. She has a very strong sense of justice and generally has the power to act on it, so being forced to watch wrongdoing and stay mum is torture. Yes I'm talking about Roahm again.

👍 - what are your muse’s good traits?

As mentioned above, Urbosa's sense of Justice as a leader and person is a great strength. She is intensely hands-on and makes a point to never ask someone to do what she herself wouldn't, even going so far as to be on the front lines during battle. She is a very caring and accepting parent, a loyal and affectionate lover, and brings passion to all she is responsible for. She's also strongly charismatic, understands how to take a peaceful approach to diplomacy, and possesses a strong curiosity towards outside cultures. 

[magicallygrimmwiccan]

All Was Golden In the Sky

Summary: Sidon glared, baring his teeth at Revali. “Stay away from him.” In response, Revali tilted his head back so he could look Sidon directly in the eyes, glare, and respond “Not a chance.” OR Sidon and Revali are idiots who love One (1) Feral Elf Twink, Link and Zelda are done with their shit, and chaos ensues.

Notes: This was written for my lovely fiance @theotheralya​!

Before he died fighting Calamity Ganon the first time, Revali had never quite managed to work up the courage to tell Link how he really felt about him. He had never really had the time, either, what with attempting to save all of Hylia from Ganon. Plus, Link had Zelda, Revali had always bitterly, harshly reminded himself when his romantic musings began to grow in his mind. He would not stand in the way of those two’s love.

And yet, Revali realized, now that he was alive again after being dead for 100 years, Zelda and Link had never loved each other at all. Oh, of course they were wonderful friends. No one would ever deny their deep bond of friendship with each other, even with their rocky start. However, neither had interest in the other in the romantic sense, Zelda having eyes only for Urbosa and Link having absolutely no interest in women. Revali felt immediately relieved when he learned this (he still had a chance with Link! Now he just had to work up the courage to ask him), but as soon as he realized this, he also realized something else horrible.

Sidon was in love with Link, and the prince seemed to have no issues showing it.

Thankfully for Revali, Link was an oblivious idiot who wouldn’t know romance if it smacked him upside the head. He never seemed to realize that Sidon kept asking him out on dates, always treating these meetings as just spending time with a friend. Revali was eternally grateful for Link’s lack of awareness of romance, because this meant that he still had a chance. He began to plot, planning out exactly what he would say to Link, how he would say it, when he would confess, where he should ask Link to in order to make his grand confession. His plan was foolproof and accounted for every possible factor. Of course, Revali forgot one particular factor.

Sidon.

The Zora prince seemed to be there whenever Revali tried to get Link alone. The first time Revali asked Link to take a walk with him, Sidon suddenly swooped in with a mission for Link to finish. The second time Revali tried to ask Link for a walk, Link smiled sheepishly and informed Revali that he had promised to spar with Sidon that afternoon. After the third attempt, Revali gave up on the walk idea and began asking Link to spar. That was also an issue, apparently, as became apparent when Link was dragged off by Mipha right before their first session, kidnapped by Sidon before the second, found by Zelda and coerced into helping her with an experiment during their third, and dragged by Urbosa into another sparring match before their fourth. Revali was beginning to become convinced that everyone did not want him and Link to be together, and he was beginning to get desperate.

Eventually, Revali just decided to approach Link and ask him out bluntly. He found Link in the corridor, chatting with Zelda, his laughter lighting up his whole face. Revali let out a small smile at that and began to walk forward, intent on professing his love, when he was stopped abruptly by the Zora prince.

“Greetings, Prince Sidon. What can I do for you today?” Revali didn’t really care if he sounded testy at the moment, he was busy and Sidon was disturbing him.

“You like Link, don’t you?” Sidon simply asked, golden eyes dark and filled with an emotion that Revali didn’t really feel like interpreting at that moment.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“You’re very rude to him. I don’t like it.” Sidon wasn’t smiling for the first time since Revali had met him. “You insult him all the time. I don’t know why you act the way you do, but stay away from Link. You’re not good for him.”

Revali’s feathers positively bristled at that comment. “Well, you’re too soft. You don’t understand what he’s been through. You can’t help him through his panic attacks, you can’t help remind him of his life before the Calamity, and honestly, who the fuck do you think you are, telling me to stay away from one of my friends?”

Sidon glared, baring his teeth at Revali. “Stay away from him.” In response, Revali tilted his head back so he could look Sidon directly in the eyes, glare, and respond “Not a chance.”

________________________________________________

And so the war began.

Sidon would attempt to woo Link by bribing him with food and monster hunting, while Revali would try and woo Link more with pretty rocks and feathers. Link, the strange, feral Hylian that he was, did not seem to understand the purpose of any of these gifts, and instead insisted on repaying both Revali and Sidon with food. Revali was at the end of his rope, as was Sidon, yet both refused to be the first to back down. And so, they kept at their wooing war, despite the fact that the person they both wanted to woo was completely oblivious to their advances.

This all came to a head two weeks after the beginning of this Wooing War, when Zelda finally pulled Sidon and Revali into a back room to scold them for their behaviour.

“Why don’t you two idiots just ask Link out like normal people?” Zelda sighed, crossing her arms as she glared at both of them.

“He’s not going to accept both of us dating him!” Revali shot back, rolling his eyes. Honestly, Zelda was so intelligent, but sometimes she was just plain silly.

“And you know this how, exactly?”

“Well, because…” Revali trailed off, and he could also see Sidon looking just as confused. “... he’s never said he’d date more than one person?”

“Idiots, all of you,” Zelda groaned. “Just- just ask him, for the love of the Goddess.” With that, she spun around and stalked off, muttering about emotionally constipated men who wouldn’t know communication if it hit them upside the head. Revali and Sidon glanced at each other and shrugged at that. The princess had always been a bit weird.

___________________________________________________

Revali should have known that Zelda would take matters into her own hands at some point. Another week had passed since she had talked to him and Sidon, and neither had confessed to Link. Revali was planning another way to woo Link, involving bokoblin hunting, when Link approached him with a serious expression in his eyes. “Revali? Can we talk?”

“Hm? Oh, of course. What’s wrong, Link?”

“Do you like me?” Link’s face promised pain if Revali tried to bullshit his way out of this. Deciding to be smart and keep his feathers all intact as well as his life, Revali simply nodded in reply. “So why have you not told me before?”

“I was trying to figure out how to court you properly, but Sidon kept getting in the way, and I did not think it was appropriate to ask you without properly courting you first,” Revali answered, crossing his wings.

Link rolled his eyes and threw his hands towards the ceiling, beginning to pace around in clear frustration. Revali just watched, not willing to risk possibly losing a limb by interrupting Link.

After a few minutes, Link calmed down and turned to face Revali, hands clasped together and fingers resting under his nose. He inhaled before pointing both hands directly at Revali. “You are an idiot.”

“Hey-”

“You and Sidon are both idiots. You could just talk to me, you know!”

“Yes, we’ve established this. Is there another point to this?” Link made a small noise of frustration before he marched over, grabbed Revali’s head between his hands, and pulled him in for a kiss. Oh, it was awkward. Link had never kissed a Rito before, after all, and Revali had never kissed a Hylian. It was far from perfect, but somehow, that made it even more perfect. After a few minutes, Link pulled back with a goofy grin on his face.

“That’s the point,” he signed. “I love both of you, Revali, and of course I would date you.”

Revali swallowed at that. “So, are you saying yes to me, or yes to Sidon?”

Link’s face broke out into a smirk. “Revali, darling. I have two hands.”

[honeyveins]

       — -      hello,  yes,  hi.  it’s  me,  your  least  favorite  planet  named  mun,  here  to  try  and  explain  my  child  without  actually  writing  out  a  full  intro.  fingers  crossed.  oofies.  this  got  long,  please  just  go  on  and  skip  to  the  bottom  for  plot  ideas  !

        —    quick  stats  :

full  name  :  link  jang nicknames  :  n / a  age  :  twenty - two  (  22  ) gender  &  pronouns  :  non - binary  masc  presenting  /  he  &  they birthday  :  august  twenty - sixth  (  08 / 26 / 1998  ) zodiac :  virgo romantic  /  sexual  orientation  :  biromantic  &  bisexual   fandom  :  the  legend  of  zelda  /  breath  of  the  wild  timeline occupation  :  assistant  to  master  blacksmith

(  SKIP  TO  THE  END  FOR  PLOTS  !  )

         —     memory  :

     ❛       — -   the  smell  of  damp,  still  and  spoiled  water  itches  at  the  soft  freckles  that  reside  on  your  nose.  those  that  have  faded  in  the  one  hundred  years  you’ve  been  locked  away  underground.  locked  beneath  the  tall  grass,  cold  walls  that  coated  you  in  a  thin  layer  of  restless  sleep.  with  the  stale  water  that  blanked  your  pale  skin,  covered  in  gorgeous  scars  that  rested  against  your  hips,  the  curves  that  your  waist  held,  your  chest  that  was  constantly  covered  by  armor  was  still  peppered  in  raised,  white  healing  moments. how  these  all  came  before  that  which  they  aptly  named  CALAMITY  GANON. 

    ❛       — -   with  chills  raising  against  your  toned,  yet  fragile  arms,  you  bright  eyes  opened.  sapphie  eyes  that  shone  against  the  water  that  drained  below  you,  cornflower  shade  against  the  moss  covered  stone  that  surrounded  you.  the  slightly  tinted  walls  now  mirroring  that  of  the  necluda  sea,  remembering  being  at  the  helm  and  watching  the  waves  go  from  that  sweet  cerulean  to  white  as  the  waves  crashed  against  the  adorned wood. eyes  that  mirrored  the  sea  were  never  hard  to  forget.

    ❛       — -   crawling on your hands and knees  over  the  rough  rock  bed  that  you’d  gotten  comfortable  in,  a  stretched  spread  along  your  figure,  blonde  tendrils  brushing  against  your  ski  slope  nose  and  blushed  colored  lips. long  blinks  over  those  unforgettable  necluda  eyes,  before  getting  used  to  where  you’d  been  placed.  why  am  i  here  ?  did  we  lose  ?  is  mipha  okay  ?  daruk ?  urbosa  ?  revali ?  ZELDA  ?

        —     teaser  /  summary  :

   ❛       — -   link  jang  leads  a  life  as  boring  and  generic  as  you  can  think.  while  there  were  bumps  along  the  way,  link  still  enjoys  the  life  he  was  given.  along  with  the  parents  he  was  gifted  to.  he’s  shy,  doesn’t  speak  much  and  a  total  dork.  plays  world  of  warcraft  and  reads  comics  in  his  spare  time.  hates  the  taste  of  coffee  and  (  doesn’t,  but  should  )  wears  glasses  that  will  give  you  a  headache. very  sweet  and  loyal  but  with  his  fists  are  always  closed  if  he  needs  to  knock  some  sense  into  you. will  never  tell  someone  a  secret  you  tell  him,  but  it  always  very  bad  at  making  friends  because  he  can’t  open  up.  of  course,  this  will  all  be  explained  in  the  intro.  but  for  now,  this  is  all  i  can  expand  on.  if  you  have  any  questions  about  link,  feel  free  to  ask  them  and  i’ll  be  happy  to  answer  !

       —     plotting  :

i’m  really  bad  at  plotting  and  plots,  but  i  can  come  up  with  a  few  and  i  ADORE  brain - storming,  so  we  can  do  that,  as  well  !

001.  would  die  for  a  plot  where  link  has  a  crush  on  your  muse  and  never  says  anything  about  it.  just  admires  them  from  afar  and  it  too  scared  to  say  anything  about  it. maybe  they  come  into  his  dad’s  shop  or  link  has  seen  them  at  a  coffee  shop /  book  store  /  any  meet - cute  hot - spot  and  they  always  end  up  there  together.  link  has  never  been  in  a  relationship,  so  please  don’t  tease  him  !  CLOSED.

002.  also  think  a  best  friend  that  he  almost  looks  up  to  would  be  sick.  link  is  a  man  of  VERY  few  words  and  never  really  says  much.  he  talks,  but  doesn’t  ramble  or  anything,  keeps  it  very  concise.  but,  if  you  muse  can  ramble  and  talk  and  teach  link  how  to  use  his  big  boy  words  and  get  him  out  of  his  shell,  that’d  be  RAD.

003.  lastly,  i  think  link  having  a  someone  who  he  doesn’t  talk  to,  someone  where  they  can  just  enjoy  each  other’s  company  in  silence  is  cute.  someone  where  they  can  give  each  other  a  look  and  it  speaks  volumes  !   could  also  include  tons  of  fluff  with  cuddling,  watching  movies  and  kisses  on  the  cheek  /  forehead  /  nose.  little  acts  of  showing  their  friendship  and  how  close  they  are.  CLOSED.

that’s  all  i  can  really  think  of,  i’m  up  for  literally  anything. i’m  partial  to  angst,  so  i’m  sorry  if  we  plot  and  it  turns  into  a  big  ball  of  sad,  messy  angst.  but,  feel  free  to  message  me  /  ask  me  for  my  discord.  i’d  love  to  plot  with  all  of  you  !

[katedoesfics]

Breath of the Resistance: Chapter 11

Link and Zelda stood on the balcony behind the palace, watching the soldiers interact with the activated Guardians below in the training fields. Link leaned against the rail curiously as the long legs of the machines moved about. The soldiers chatted and laughed as they followed the Guardians around. They climbed on top and inside, inspecting the mechanics, studying and learning how the machines worked in preparation for war. Not only were they intrigued by the machines, they were eager to see them in action.

“You’d think they just got their hands on the coolest toy,” Zelda said with a light laugh.

Zelda, too, was intrigued by the machines. Over the last few days, while they were back in the city, Zelda lost herself in her books, mulling over the ancient Sheikah texts, hoping to learn anything and everything she could about their technologies. Link often found her in the palace library, her nose so deep in a book she hadn’t even heard him come in. And when she did finally notice his arrival, she talked endlessly about something new she had discovered.

It was a side of her Link hadn’t seen much of, but it was a relief to see her so happy after the way things had been going. At home in the city, she was relaxed. She was safe. And for a moment, it was as if they weren’t preparing for an impending war. Zelda and Link could be themselves.

Link watched as she gushed over the Guardians and smiled.

“We’re able to control them now, just like we can control the Divine Beasts.” She turned to Link with excitement in her eyes. “When Ganon does show his face, he’s going to be in for a big surprise.”

But her excitement was cut short by the sound of her father’s voice.

“What are you doing out here, Zelda?” King Rhoam said from behind them.

Zelda turned quickly to see her father approaching them, his stern gaze on her.

“I…” Zelda started, hesitant. She knew her father did not approve of her scholarly studies, as he referred to them. She made a fist at her side and spoke confidently. “I was assessing the results of the experiment with the Guardians. These pieces of ancient technology could be quite useful against the -”

“I know that,” the king interrupted. “They are essential to Hyrule’s future, and our research demands that we keep a close eye on them.” His voice grew stern. “However, as the princess, you currently have a crucial unfulfilled responsibility to your kingdom.”

Zelda looked down, defeated. She knew what he was going to say next.

“Let me ask you once more,” her father continued. “When will you stop treating this as some game?”

“I’m doing everything I can,” Zelda pleaded with him.

“You are here wasting your time. You need to be dedicating every moment you have to your training.” The king’s voice rose. “You must be single-minded in unlocking the power that will seal Ganon away.”

“I already am,” Zelda said. “I want to help in whatever way I can.”

“No more excuses, Zelda!” The king said, shaking his head. “Stop running away from your duty. I forbid you to have anything to do with these machines from this moment on and command you to focus on your training.” He turned away from her and looked down onto his soldiers as they continued to work with the Guardian. His voice lowered. “Do you know how the people speak of you? They say that you are the heir to a throne of nothing. Nothing but failure.”

Zelda lowered her head in shame. Her father never missed a chance to remind her of that - that she was a failure.

“It is woven into your destiny that you prove them wrong,” he continued. He turned to his daughter, his expression softer. “Do you understand?”

Zelda did not meet her father’s gaze. “Yes,” she said softly. “I understand.” She did not look up as the king turned away and left her alone with Link on the walk. She did not move until her father was out of sight. As Link got to his feet, Zelda strode passed him in frustration.

Link trotted to catch up to her, his mind searching for some way to console her, but Zelda stopped suddenly and faced him. The frustration that creased her face was gone. Her expression was stark and cold.

“Tomorrow we will go to the Spring of Power,” she said simply. Without another word, she turned away from him and made her way to the opposite end of the walk, disappearing behind the door as it slammed shut behind her.

*****

It was early the next morning when Link saw Zelda again. After the interaction with her father, she had stormed off and disappeared for the rest of the day. And after having spent so much time with her over the last few days, Link couldn’t help but to feel empty without her. But she wanted her space, clearly, and he wasn’t about to test her and upset her even more.

So he was surprised to see that she was back to her bubbly self when she met him outside of the palace. Link watched her carefully as she slid into the seat beside him. He debated what to say to her, but to his relief, Zelda didn’t waste a moment to open her mouth.

“I was thinking,” she started before she even closed the door, “that maybe the Master Sword has some connection to the ancient Sheikah technology. I thought the slate would be connected to everything, but it doesn’t seem to work on those mysterious shrines around Hyrule. Maybe the Master Sword will have something to do with that.”

Link put the car into drive and navigated them out of the palace gates and through the city. He checked the rearview mirror as the sun glinted off the blade in the back seat. It hadn’t left his sight since he retrieved it.

“Maybe,” Link said, mulling over this information.

“What do you suppose is in those shrines?” Zelda mused. “There’s some ancient Sheikah text written on the shrines. I bet if we could decipher the text, it would give us more clues.”

Her mind raced wild with theories and Link simply could not keep up with her as she rambled on. Though she had some valid points that were worth looking into, he just couldn’t focus on anything but the mysteries behind Dorian, Impa, and even the king. He had to take advantage of their trips to the springs, but he was sure that if Dorian was a traitor, the Yiga would be following them now more than ever. He couldn’t afford to let his guard down, even for a moment.

This next week was going to be a very long week for him.

“Link?”

“What?” He could feel her watching him.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

His eyes glanced to hers for a moment. “Nothing.”

“You’re thinking about Dorian.”

Link didn’t answer.

“I was thinking,” Zelda started. “Maybe we can trust him.”

“I’ll never trust him,” Link snapped.

“The Yiga Clan murdered his wife,” Zelda reminded him. “They tried to go after his children. His girls, Link. He wouldn’t put them in danger.”

“Makes for the perfect cover up,” Link said. “Makes him look weak and helpless and innocent.”

“How can you be so cynical?”

Link’s brows knit together. “I have no reason to be otherwise.” He met her gaze briefly. “When you’ve been used and betrayed, you learn pretty quickly that everyone has an agenda. I can’t afford to be anything but cynical.” He turned his gaze back to the road. “Dorian was my mentor. I trusted him. My father trusted him. They were best friends.” He hesitated. “Now, all I can think about is who else is involved in this. My father could have been a traitor, too, and I didn’t have a clue.”

“He wasn’t a traitor,” Zelda said softly, her eyes on her feet.

“I’m done with them,” Link said. “Done with the SFU. I only have myself to trust. I’m doing things my way from here on out.”

“You can trust me,” Zelda said.

Link turned back to her for a moment. In all his doubts and confusion, she was the one person he never doubted for a moment. The thought hadn’t even crossed his mind.

“Yeah,” he said, his eyes on the road once more. “I can. I do.”

“Okay,” Zelda said simply. “So, what’s the plan, boss?”

“The plan,” Link started, “is to take out Ganon and the Yiga Clan before they make their attack.”

“Which will be easier said than done.”

“If Dorian is working with the Yiga, then he knows we’re on to him.”

“He said their hideout was somewhere in the desert.”

“Which could be a trap.”

“We don’t have anything else to go by,” Zelda said. “And I don’t think we’ll be able to sneak around Dorian looking for clues. He’ll be on guard now more than ever.” She paused for a moment. “Dorian mentioned the desert because he wanted us to go there. But then, wouldn’t Dorian know that we would be skeptical of him? He’d know we wouldn’t walk right into the desert just because he said that’s where they are. So, that would mean he’s telling the truth, right? Or maybe he’d think that we’d think he’s telling the truth, but he’s not. Reverse psychology?”

Link furrowed his brows as he tried to follow her train of thought. “I think you’re overthinking this.”

“Or, maybe we’re not thinking enough about it.”

Link rolled his eyes. “Let’s head to the Spring of Power first,” he suggested. “The other two will be to the south. Maybe we can hit the desert while we’re there. At the very least, maybe someone in Gerudo Town will have some leads for us. If there’s anything suspicious in the desert, Urbosa would be the first to know about it.”

Zelda nodded. “Good enough for me.”

*****

It was early in the afternoon when Link and Zelda arrived at the Spring of Power. Zelda stood before the goddess statue in silence for a few moments in an attempt to clear her mind and focus on her prayers. She looked up at the goddess statue, her hands clasped together before her, but the longer she stood there, the more helpless she started to feel. She closed her eyes and prayed with every ounce of energy she had, but still the voices remained silent.

She looked upon the goddess statue and let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She stared at the statue for a moment, her shoulders dropping, and she began to mumble to herself.

“I’ve done everything I’ve been told to do to find this power,” she said to no one in particular. “Prayer is supposed to awaken my power, or so everyone tells me.” She let her hands drop into the water, her eyes cast downward. “Everyone in my family has heard the voices from the spirit realm. This power that has supposedly been passed down through the generations is supposed to develop within me. But I don’t hear… or feel anything!”

She turned her gaze back onto the statue. “Curse you!” She let her fists punch at the water. “I’ve spent every damn day praying, pleading to the ancient gods, but to no avail. She brought her hands up across her chest, gripping at her arms. She closed her eyes in an attempt to hold back her desperate tears. “Please just tell me. What is it? What’s wrong with me?”

Link stood just outside of the spring and, upon hearing her voice, walked in curiously. He watched as she muttered to herself, her desperation growing as she struggled to find her power. He felt helpless, wishing there was something he could do to help her or reassure her, but there was nothing.

Zelda moved across the spring, away from the goddess statue, her head hanging low in defeat. She stood before Link, her tears dripping off her cheeks and onto the ground.

“What if I can’t do it?” she said softly. “How can this world depend on a failure of a princess who can’t even awaken the power needed to seal Ganon away?” She met Link’s gaze. “Is it all just a lie? What… What’s wrong with me?” She let herself fall into him, burying her face into his shoulder as she sobbed.

Link hesitated for a moment, then wrapped his arms around her. He leaned his head against hers and sighed. “Nothing’s wrong with you,” he whispered to her.

“Something must be,” she said. “The war hasn’t even begun and I’m already failing.”

“We’ve only come to the first spring,” he reminded her. “Don’t give up yet.”

Zelda shook her head. “My father has pushed me day after day, ever since I can remember, to find my power. If I haven’t found it by now, no spring is going to help.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Link said.

Zelda pulled herself away and wiped at her eyes. “When did you become such a believer of all this sacred magic?”

Link shrugged. “I’ve seen some weird stuff since we started.”

Zelda chuckled lightly. “The Sheikah have rubbed off on you.”

“They have made some pretty incredible technology, I’ll give them that. Especially considering how little technology there actually was back then.”

“I can’t even imagine what Hyrule was like thousands of years ago.”

“Come on,” Link said. He pulled at her hand, leading her away from the spring and towards the car, but when Zelda’s fingers squeezed his, he pulled away quickly and shoved his hands in the pocket, then proceeded to fumble for his keys. “Where next?” he asked as he opened the car door and slid inside.

“I guess to the Spring of Courage,” Zelda said as she slid in beside him.

Link started the engine. “Faron Woods or bust.”

[botwriter]

Desert Sun, Chapter 9

[ tw: assault ]

It was Darius - no - Ganon. His knees dug into her thighs, keeping her from moving; the hand on her face moved to just cover her mouth, and she breathed in desperately through her nose, though the air was restricted due to the hand on her neck. She struggled relentlessly anyways against his weight, fear seeping into her heart as the other Gerudo smirked down at her, his violet eyes narrowed. His burgundy hair was cut shorter than she remembered it, barely falling to his eyebrows, but otherwise he looked as familiar as before.

“I’m surprised you left the palace so unguarded. Are you that confident?”

Zelda struggled more, grunting against his hand. She was hardly registering his words. Her mind was racing, calculating the time that had passed. It hadn’t been a month yet. She just wanted to get out-

“You’re just as pretty as always,” he whispered, interrupting her thoughts. “Are you sure you don’t want to be my queen? You used to say you would.”

She had no chance to respond, relying on just her nose for air, and finally stopped fighting his hold on her. His hand was gripping her neck firmly, and any excess movement was only obstructing her airways even more. Her chest heaved with each shallow breath as she fell still, her hands holding tight to his arm.

“I’m not going to hurt you tonight. So let’s have a civil conversation, for… old time’s sake,” he whispered, slowly lifting his hand from her mouth. She considered screaming, but wanted to hear what he had to say, and believed that he wouldn’t hurt her - would he? Not like this.

“That’s more like it,” Ganon hummed, using his free hand to pin down one of her wrists. ”So, you take off to Kakariko, then come back and kill my monsters and get the triforce of courage - you must be feeling pretty good,” he mused. “Then you decimate Karusa Valley. I heard what happened.. If only you knew how utterly characteristic that was of you, to use the other Champions for your own gain.”

He tilted his head at her, his eyebrows rising, no doubt noticing the confused expression on her face.

“Didn’t you know? You have four Champions to protect you and keep you safe, and you don’t even think twice before putting them at risk… classic.”

“I know what you’ll say. They chose to offer their help,” he said in a mocking tone, but his expression quickly soured. “Tell me, then, how could they refuse? Did that Rito today get a choice but to risk everything to save you? And-” he laughed- “don’t get me started on your chosen hero. His entire purpose is to serve you. Hylia made well sure of that.”

Zelda’s mind was racing, and Ganon was drinking it all in, a grin pulling at the corners of his lips.

“That’s right. You chose the best-looking blond you could find and decided to string his soul along for all of eternity,” Ganon whispered. “It’s your fault he’s in this mess with you. So why don’t you just hand him over to me, instead? We could end the cycle…”

She was speechless. And despite the reading she had done on the legends, despite what Impa had told her, she felt somehow like Ganon knew something she didn’t. She couldn’t think of what to say, until she remembered the one thing that had been bugging her over the last couple weeks.

“What’s with the note?” Zelda blurted out as soon as she’d remembered, but Ganon looked confused.

“What note? Nevermind,” he replied, obviously uninterested in what she had to say. “Now, this might be a little unorthodox. But I have an offer for you. Forgive my being so blunt, but without your sealing power or triforce, you have no hope in winning this battle.” 

Zelda couldn’t hide the fear that flashed through her eyes. Ganon tilted his head at her with fake sympathy.

“Oh, don’t tell me you still thought you could beat me without? Don’t tell me you think that Link will save everything? Ah wait, of course you do. How romantic and naive of you,” he cooed, voice dripping with sarcasm. Then he laughed. Zelda tried to keep herself calm, but found it increasingly difficult.

“Give me the Hylian, and I’ll spare the Gerudo people, including you and even Lady Urbosa,” he said, and and Zelda’s eyes widened. She began wondering why, but Ganon answered her question before she could ask.

“You are my people. I am your King, by right and by blood, just as much as you are their Princess. But you could be… Queen, instead…”

She immediately spat at his face without even thinking about it. Ganon blinked in shock, adjusting his hold on her wrists to just one hand and wiping his face in frustration.

“Perhaps I won’t give you the choice,” he snapped, and bent down suddenly on top of her, his lips brushing against her neck.

“It’s been a while since I snuck into your room, hasn’t it? So… nostalgic,” he whispered, and she shivered at the feeling of his breath on her neck, fighting once more against his grip.

“Get off-”

Something went woosh and Ganon reared back suddenly, letting out a yell in pain. Both he and Zelda looked to the side to see an arrow sticking into the back of his upper thigh. Link stood in the doorway, framed by moonlight, his eyes shining with anger that she’d never seen before. Zelda’s heart soared. Thank the heroines.

“You’re interrupting us. Our fight doesn’t take place here,” Ganon hissed, but Link only readied another arrow in his bow.

“Then leave,” the knight spat back, and Ganon responded with a laugh.

“I suppose there’s no wooing this one anyways,” he sighed, releasing his hold on Zelda. He stepped down from the bed then, staggering a bit on the leg that had been shot.  Zelda curled over immediately, reaching desperately for the scimitar kept under her other pillow.

Link pulled back and fired as Ganon approached him, but the Gerudo dodged nimbly to the side, and Zelda stopped abruptly as the arrow flew directly past her, grazing her cheek before lodging itself in the headboard of her bed. A couple drops of blood trickled down her face, and she turned to stare at Link, who looked horrified and hastily dropped his bow in shock at what he’d done.

Ganon lunged at Link, who drew his sword swiftly and swung it upwards in response. The Gerudo staggered backwards, barely dodging, and Zelda finally located her scimitar. She leaped out of bed, holding the blade at the ready.

Link’s eyes met hers, and he shook his head a little, which must not have gone unnoticed by Ganon.

“Oh? You don’t think she can fight?” Ganon asked, glancing over his shoulder at Zelda.  

He turned on her now, a hungry look in his eyes as he lunged at her. She lifted the blade, but Link had thrown himself around Ganon and once more swung the sword - now glowing a bright, distracting blue - towards the man. Ganon stopped hastily, but then disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Link must have realised where Ganon was going to be, because immediately he wheeled around, yelling “Behind!” and Zelda barely turned in time to slice the scimitar up wildly into the air. She was surprised to feel it meet resistance and see Ganon, suddenly behind her, her weapon cutting through his clothes and creating a long but shallow wound across his chest.

He grimaced and fell onto his back on the floor, glaring upwards at Zelda as she stood above him with the blade.

“Do it,” he snapped, but she stopped. Something - something was wrong.

“I’m going to kill him anyways,” Ganon spat, hatred dripping off his every word, “so you really should have taken me up on my offer. Then maybe you could be spared!”

Link let out a yell and swung his sword a moment later, but before it could hit the Gerudo man, he rolled sideways - and continued rolling, through one of the pools of water on the floor and finally straight out the doorway. Link ran after him, staring out and down the stairs, but Ganon had disappeared in another cloud of smoke.

The scimitar dropped from Zelda’s hands, clattering to the floor as Link turned back to her. She couldn’t make sense of her thoughts. What just happened?

“Are you okay?” Link asked immediately, his eyes glancing over her briefly in search of any sort of injury. “He was- he didn’t do anything to you?”

He looked a little scared to hear her answer, but Zelda shook her head.

“No, he didn’t. Just my wrists hurt a bit,” she said, shivering. Link let out a small sigh in relief.

“I- I let him go, though,” she suddenly stammered, barely noticing how Link reached a hand delicately to her cheek to look closer at the arrow cut. “I was ready, and I trained, and I couldn’t - it was like -“

“Like it wasn’t the right time,” Link replied quietly, his gaze flicking up from her cheek to meet hers. She searched his eyes briefly, and saw herself in him staring back, scared, shaken, guilt-ridden.

She winced then as his thumb swept over her cheek gently, pulling at the skin a little.

“It’s a deep but clean cut,” he said, looking back to her scrape. “I’ll clean it out for you.”

“I can just do it,” Zelda sighed, turning away.

“No,” Link replied firmly, and she was surprised at his insistence. “It’s my fault. Let me.”

Zelda felt colour rush to her cheeks at seeing the look in his eyes, and silently resigned. She gestured to the bathroom and then sat herself on the edge of the bed, staring hard down at the floor while she listened to Link rummage around in the cupboards. She kept replaying that moment over and over. Ganon said their fight didn’t take place here - so why show up at all? Did he really mean that offer? How could he possibly expect me to accept it?

Link returned promptly and sat beside her on the bed - warned her it might hurt a little - and then started to carefully clean the cut and blood around it. Zelda couldn’t help but be surprised that he could be so gentle, although she winced when the cloth moved over the scrape.

“Sorry,” Link said, his voice almost a whisper, and Zelda looked sideways at him.

“It’s not your fault Ganon dodged,” she observed, but Link shook his head.

“I can’t make mistakes like that. I’m supposed to be - to be-”

He cut himself off, his hand hesitating just above her cheek. Something in her clicked in that moment, and she didn’t have the time to sort through all of her thoughts and feelings, but somehow, the reasoning for his behavior to her made sense. He had been trying to prove himself to her from day one, not to show off, but just to fulfill his purpose. She more than trusted him now - how could she make him see that? Did she want him to know how she felt, really?

“... my chosen hero,” she replied slowly, not able to meet his eyes.

He nodded, and wiped off the remainder of blood from her jawline. She shut her eyes briefly.

“But you were here,” she said at the same time she realised it, looking back at him. “How did you know to be here?”

Link looked back at her, searching her expression as if trying to find an opening in it to escape the question, but Zelda was too curious to let him get away without an answer.

“When we were away, you were always close by,” he began, glancing away. “I didn’t have to worry about keeping you safe if anything happened. But here, knowing you were far away and without even a door…” he trailed off, resting his hands on his knees briefly. “I couldn’t stand it if someone came after you. Not that I expected it to be Ganon,” he admitted.

Zelda took a moment to consider what he’d said. She wished she could say that she had it covered, and the Gerudo guards were more than enough to keep her safe, but clearly that was wrong. Not to mention that Link’s being worried about her had been a success. She shuddered to think of what Ganon might have done if Link hadn’t shown up.

“I’m not the Hylian Princess I was meant to be,” she said, turning from him to follow his gaze out the doorway. Urbosa had told her over and over that it didn’t matter; that the blood of the Goddess still ran in her veins. All it did was make her feel more guilty for not worshipping Hylia as she ought to. If she was Hylia reincarnate anyways, wouldn’t that just be awfully narcissistic?

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

When she looked back at him, Link met her gaze evenly.

“We’re here now, right?”

It wasn’t the uplifting sentiment she was looking for, but there was comfort in the numbing sensation it brought on. He was right. All they could do was make the best of the cards they’d been dealt. That notion, and something about him - something about the way he understood her, the way he spoke, the way he made her feel safe, something about his striking blue eyes and messy hair, emboldened her in that moment. She moved before she had time to stop herself.

Zelda lifted a hand to Link’s shoulder and then moved up to him, pressing her lips softly to his. It seemed like an easier way of saying thank-you than using words, and the best way of conveying all of the other feelings he inspired within her.

Link was obviously shocked, since when Zelda pulled away, his eyes fluttered open wide and he was silent.

“Am I that bad of a kisser?” Zelda asked, laughing in spite of herself and wishing she could just erase the last twenty seconds and re-do them. But when she looked back up to Link, he dropped the washcloth to the floor and returned the favor - and then some.

“Mm-“

He kissed her with more passion than she was expecting. Link found her hands in each of his, interlacing their fingers and pushing forward, softly then firmly, until they fell back against the sheets with him above her.

Their lips parted inadvertently, and as Zelda looked up at him, he looked back at her in a sort of entranced surprise. She couldn’t take her eyes away from his. She didn’t want to let go of his hands. She wanted him closer, down against her, keeping her safe, distracted, happy.

“Zelda-”

Link looked apprehensive, but was making no moves to leave.

“Just… kiss me,” she said quietly, nervous but hoping he would oblige. He studied her for a moment as if searching to see if she really meant it. Zelda was lost in the blue of his eyes, and when he finally did lean down to press his lips back to hers, sky blue swirled awash in her mind’s eye like they were kissing colours.

Link took her hand back in his and pushed it gently down to the bed. He pressed himself entirely onto her, and she felt like her entire body had lit aflame at the sensation of having him, strong and warm and wanting her. She pulled at his lips a little between kisses, eliciting unexpected moans from Link, which caught her off guard and made her knees feel weak. All of her fears from Ganon had disappeared. At least for now.

When Link finally pulled from her lips, he kept his forehead resting on hers, and all she could feel was his body pressed to hers and all she could taste was him and the heavy breaths that hung between their lips. It was strange, being with another voe, but something about this was already so much warmer and comfier than it had ever felt with Darius. She’d been lovestruck, then, but this… felt like something more.

Link’s eyes fell shut and he lowered himself carefully downwards, pressing his face into the crook of her neck. He was incredibly warm, but the desert air kept the room cool otherwise. Zelda lifted a hand to play idly with his hair, pulling her fingers through it as she stared up at the ceiling. It was easier not to talk in the moment. Despite everything that had happened tonight - no, considering everything that had happened tonight - she was grateful for having him there. In truth, she felt incredibly safe and comfortable, more than she ever had before. She just didn’t know how to admit it to herself.

Not long later, Link’s fingers twitched on her arm, and she realised how heavy his breathing was. He must have fallen asleep. Part of her wanted to move and give him more space, but her eyelids were becoming increasingly heavy. When she reluctantly let them fall shut, she fell straight asleep herself.