"You know, when I said you should try Honora's Noble Pursuit, I meant when you're older."
Link blinked owlishly at Urbosa. He forced a "Huh...?" past his tongue before his head dropped again, rejoining the rest of his torso as it hang over the railing of the Noble Canteen. His stomach was roiling, gloriously empty, his skull throbbed as if he knocked heads with a Lynel, and the chilly night air just managed to cool the tips of his ears to Death Mountain temperature. His hood had long since followed the call of gravity, and after a helpful Rito girl picked it up for him, he decided for some reason he wasn't meant to remember that his empty glass needed it more than him. The loose hair spilling down the back of his neck and the sides of his face was all protection he had now, and it was itchy on his suddenly much more sensitive skin.
And he was tired, so very, very tired. He barely twitched when Urbosa fixed his veil.
"You're going to blow your cover, kid."
"I don't care."
"You should. I'd prefer not to order your execution."
"This is your fault! You made me come here! Besides, you're the chieftain. Can't you just change that stupid law?"
Link squealed and jumped upright as something cold hit the back of his neck. He turned to glare at the culprit – Urbosa was leaning against the parapet, an empty glass in her hand and hiding a smug smile.
Link rolled his eyes, but he got distracted when his ears picked up on giggles from across the room, where three Gerudo girls hang out.
"Still think that Hylian could possibly be a voe?" one of them asked her friend.
"No way! Her voice, though..."
"Completely plastered. I'd be hoarse, too."
A part of Link's brain that was at least semi-sober figured he should thank Urbosa for dumping her half-thawed ice cubes on him. However, he was shivering a little too hard to be grateful. His headache intensified, motivating him to get right back to scowling.
Urbosa was unimpressed. "If I didn't know you're not usually like this and you didn't have a job to do, I'd have you thrown out for that comment."
Link lowered his eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to apologize. The Gerudo were paranoid, simple as that. He wouldn't be surprised if, given another hundred years or so, they'd completely forget that male did not equal animal. Animale?
Oh, for Goddesses' sake, he really shouldn't have touched that glass!
A new bout of nausea washed over him. He groaned and returned to draping himself all over the parapet, trying to will the misery away. What was up with adults that they liked this?!
"Where's Zelda?"
Such an Urbosa thing to spring on him. "Spa," Link mumbled. Though drunk and dry-heaving he might have been, never let it be said he neglected his duty. Or, well, at least not on purpose. "She's getting a massage or something."
Even in his current state, he sensed Urbosa's nod. "Shouldn't you be looking out for her?"
"And get yelled at for the millionth time because I dare to do my job?"
"Better than getting drunk."
"I didn't think it would be like this!" Link whined. "My sister downs that stuff in buckets!"
Urbosa sighed. "You're spending too much time with that sword of yours."
The youngest knight in recent history was inclined to take offense (Well, what choice do I have?!), but the tips of his hair and what little fabric covered his skin were still soaked with ice water. He sneezed, and the raw force of it made him see stars. He found himself agreeing.
And he wasn't particularly happy about it. Destiny or not, he loved practicing his swordsmanship. Urbosa's attitude irked him, even though he knew she didn't mean it that way.
So he changed the subject: "You know, if you're so concerned for the princess, you can have her. She loves you, you love her, and I don't have to follow mutually exclusive orders anymore. Everybody wins."
Urbosa put her glass down on the nearest table and crossed her arms. She eyed the boozed up ball of misery that was Zelda's bodyguard – Link could feel her disapproving gaze burn holes into his back until finally, she sighed again. "You two really don't get along."
Link bit back a Ya think? and replaced it with a huff. It conveyed the message just fine.
"It's easy to forget you're only seventeen. No matter what the princess throws at you, you never react. You never complain, you never show any feelings, and you're so quick to obey it's almost offensive."
"Oh, great," Link grumbled. "Now you complain about me daring to do my job, too."
Urbosa chuckled. "Oh, I'm not. I just prefer people over shadows. You know, living beings with emotions and opinions and all that fun stuff."
She fell silent, and Link knew she waited for him to react. He didn't quite feel up to the task, and Urbosa continued the conversation by herself, all her humor fallen away: "I don't know you, Link. We've met months ago, and until now I didn't even know you have a sister."
"It never came up."
"Nothing comes up if you only ever speak three words a day." Was Urbosa capable of anything besides sighing tonight? "We're a team, kid. And I'd like to know the person I'm supposed to trust with filleting Ganon's bacon."
"Can we discuss this some other day?" Link groaned. "When my brain isn't mush, for example? Besides, the princess should be finished soon." He clamped his fingers over the parapet and, with a grunt of effort, hoisted himself up. "I'd better get a move-" Black swept Link's vision, cutting him off. He didn't notice his knees buckling, but when the dizziness faded, he found himself in Urbosa's grasp.
"You're not going anywhere, Link."
"But..."
"You're drunk. The only place you'll be going tonight is a bed chamber. Leave Zelda to me."
"But...!"
"No buts, kid! We can talk about this in the morning."
Link would fight, usually. This time, however, he closed his eyes and relaxed his shoulders. "Yes, Your Majesty." He could hardly point a sword at Urbosa in the middle of Gerudo Town, even if he didn't have trouble standing upright. What had he been thinking, drinking on duty?!
His father was going to be so disappointed.
As if reading his mind, Urbosa added, "Don't worry, kid. I'll think of something to tell the princess. Even prodigies need some free time every now and then."
"Thank you." Link rubbed his eyes, which were so bloodshot they seemed more purple than blue.
Free time... Such a foreign concept. And not only to him.
He slipped from Urbosa's hold. His throat was dry and raw. "I wouldn't say no to some ice cubes right now."
Urbosa's laughter cut through Link's head like a hot knife. He winced, but somehow, he found himself laughing, too.
"You know what, Urbosa? I don't hate the princess. I only want her to smile more. Maybe then she'd yell less."
The Gerudo chief chuckled and ruffled Link's hair. "Try smiling first. Who knows, maybe someday, she'll return the favor."
Link sat on the sofa of the Noble Canteen, right next to the window. He was flipping through the photos saved on the Sheikah Slate – a fairly listless endeavor that happened more out of habit by now rather than genuine curiosity. His knees were drawn, partly to spare his skin from rubbing against the fabric of the seat cushion (his bare soles were about the only thing that wasn't lobster-red and peeling), partly to annoy Furosa, but mostly because he found that Gerudo generally respected a posture that said Heartache, desist from contact!
He really didn't feel like company.
Zelda... No, it's Her Highness, she's the princess, you're a knight, for Hylia's sake! Zelda apparently had some... fairly non-standard photographing habits. You'd think she'd use the Camera Rune to capture happy memories, but Link was yet to encounter one of those. Most were confusing, if not outright hair-raising, and some of them he'd gladly re-forget.
There were no people in these photos, either. No Zelda, no Link himself, none of the other Champions.
He dropped the Sheikah Slate to his legs and rested his head against the screen. The burned skin smarted where the Sheikah Eye pressed into the flesh just below his knees, but the physical sting paled in comparison to the isolation gnawing at him, poisoning his resolve and chipping away at his very soul.
Zelda, Mipha, Daruk, Urbosa, even Revali... He tried so hard to remember them. His companions, friends, people who cared about him, people he cared about...
But there was nothing. No recognition, not even a spark, not the vaguest hint of warmth. His memories were just like the pictures on the Slate. He could call them up, he could look at them, but they had no connection to him, no more meaning than the grains of sand between the cushions or the drops of sweat plastering his hair to his neck.
It all felt like it happened to a different person.
Link's grip on the Sheikah Slate tightened until his knuckles turned white. His shoulders shook. Tears of frustration and loneliness welled up in his eyes, only to be absorbed by the fabric of the veil.
He shouldn't be crying. Not here, not in such a public place. He should teleport to Hateno, back to the silence of his house, back home. Home to where a hero could be a boy.
There was a lot he should be doing instead of sitting in a bar feeling sorry for himself, but he couldn't even convince his fingers to unclench. And the tears kept running, and he kept choking back the sobs that threatened to rob him of what little control he had left.
Glass clinked, but the sound got lost somewhere between his eardrums and his mind. The buzz of conversation filtered away, the laughs and the toasts. The only sound that reached him was his name.
And that one reached hard.
Alarmed, Link dropped the Sheikah Slate. He sat up straight, howling as his feet hit the ground – he'd skinned his shins where they connected with the edge of the table.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."
"No problem," Link wheezed out. "Be good as new in a minute." He held his breath and poked at his shoes with his toes, contemplating putting them on. But the idea alone caused his skin to explode in agony, and he decided against it. Riju couldn't see his feet anyway.
Link sighed and wiped his eyes. Enough stalling. He hooked the Sheikah Slate to his belt and looked up to find the young Gerudo chieftess lounging in an armchair to his right. She pushed a glass of funny-looking liquid towards him, complete with ice cubes.
"Uh... thank you," Link drawled and glanced around. The bar had fallen silent; everyone was too busy staring at the queen and the puffy-eyed Hylian vai she was gracing with a visit.
Link shook his head. "Where's Buliara?"
Riju shrugged and took a sip from her own glass. "Giving Barta a good dressing-down, I suppose."
"Uh-huh..." Another royal without a need for a bodyguard, I see.
"You should try the Sweet Heart. You look like you need it."
Link kept his comment to himself and picked up the glass. Its content resembled milk, only that it was pink. But he found he quite liked it once he maneuvered it around the veil, and it was insanely refreshing. Hydromelon, definitely, berries too, and probably bananas...
"Link?"
"Huh?" Link caught himself staring at Riju. He chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. (Bad idea!, his skin screamed.) "Sorry. I guess the cook in me wanted attention."
Riju straightened a little. "You cook?"
Link sighed and leaned back, placing his feet on the edge of the sofa again. "I feel like I'm doing nothing else, sometimes."
Riju studied him, her eyes slightly narrowed. She kept her thoughts to herself, though Link had his share of suspicions as to what might have been running through her head. Judging from... well, everything that the Gerudo seemed to think of men, he wouldn't have been surprised had her next question been Since when do voe cook?
It wasn't his place to criticize, though. Instead, he took another sip of his Sweet Heart and remarked, "I didn't realize there were non-alcoholic beverages on sale."
"That's because they aren't." Riju, too, had leaned back by now, an elbow on the armrest the way she usually sat. "Did you know it was Lady Urbosa who made the law about underage drinking? It is said that she passed it after she found a young guard drunk off her..." She cut herself off and cleared her throat, eliciting a grin from Link. "She found a guard drinking on duty."
Link raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? That's pretty irresponsible."
Riju nodded. "Hard to imagine, but that's how it is. Furosa's been looking for an alternative, but she's such a perfectionist when it comes to drinks, she tends to keep the results to herself."
Link's answer was taking another gulp and licking his lips, maybe a little overdramatically so. "Can't see why. I love it!"
Riju laughed. "Tell her, not me!"
"I will!" Link raised his glass, infected by her good mood. A companionable silence settled between the two teens as they sipped their drinks, only interrupted by Link humming appreciatively every now and then and Riju chuckling at his antics.
"So..." she started again after a while. She shook her glass awkwardly, making its remaining contents swirl. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Link didn't need to ask what she meant. He stretched his legs and set down his glass, even though he didn't plan on letting go of it any time soon. His demeanor froze over as he pushed the wave of feelings aside before he could properly identify them, not allowing himself to dwell on a past he had no connection to. Not again. "There's nothing to talk about."
"Link..."
"It's fine!" Link half yelled, half cried. His grip on the glass tightened. He couldn't look at Riju, couldn't look at the hurt he was surely causing. He forced himself to unwrap his fingers and lean back. "It's fine," he repeated, gentler, apologetically. He hugged his legs and buried his face in his knees. "I'm being irrational. I'll get over it."
"Feelings are irrational, Link. That's the point."
"True..." He sighed and shifted around until his arms rested on his knees and he could settle his chin on them.
Riju was no longer slouched over the armrest, either. She had sat up, her shoulders squared. For once, she actually looked regal.
She looked like Urbosa.
A wistful smile snuck up on Link. "I'm sorry for snapping. It's just... Do you have any idea how long a hundred years are?"
Riju didn't answer, but her expectant eyes said everything. She nodded for Link to continue.
A bitter laugh was all he could offer. "Yeah, me neither. It's not like I've been there. Could have been yesterday for all I know." He didn't see Riju anymore, or the table in front of him. He couldn't feel the heat, the sunburn, the veil soaked with sweat and sticking to his nose. He was back at the Great Plateau, looking at Hyrule stretching out before him while the wind ruffled long-loose strands of hair. It was hard to describe the awe – the awe of a child seeing the world for the first time. Not knowing what to do with it, and not caring, either. Not wanting to do anything with it besides drink it in and marvel.
The pure, undiluted joy of being alive.
Unbelievable how fast it all came crashing down. "You know, I see the land that should be my home... the fields, the forests, the towns, the ruins, the people, the castle, even the sky... and all I can think is, 'This is not how things should be. This is wrong, this is all wrong.' And I can't even tell why, because it's not the world that's wrong; it's me. The abnormality is me!" Link barely realized he was swiping at his eyes. "I don't belong here. I should be dead, and there's a whole clan of assassins out there devoted to reminding me of it."
"They're bananas," Riju cut in, and Link nearly laughed out loud. She had no idea how truly bananas they were. "And frankly, you're bananas as well, if that's the way you think about yourself. Then again..." She cupped her chin and returned to her normal sitting position. "Considering your situation, you can be forgiven for going crazy."
Link swallowed a sarcastic retort, and he probably looked it. Riju watched him like a hawk, as if waiting for him to make a move.
Either that, or he imagined it because of her sharp features. However, her eyes softened when he failed to answer, and she dedicated herself to her Sweet Heart. "I understand, you know," she mumbled into her glass, her eyes flickering from side to side. Link instinctively followed her lead, and the fact that they had an audience came searing back to his attention. His breath hitched and he did a quick review of their conversation. He relaxed slightly when he determined that it would sound like a useless jumble of words to anyone who wasn't in the know, so there was nothing that would reveal his gender.
Then he took the time to let Riju's words sink in. He shouldn't have been as surprised as he was, but he had to admit that he'd been too caught up in his own misery to realize that Riju's position wasn't all that different from his.
Suffice to say it was mortifying.
He gritted his teeth. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be complaining."
"That's not what I meant." Riju shook her head, and suddenly she didn't look like the Gerudo chief anymore. She looked like a girl. A girl who had responsibilities thrust upon her at an age where she couldn't shoulder them, without any real guidance. A girl whose crown slipped down her head. A girl whose best friend was a prophetic Sand Seal.
A girl who felt just as lost as him.
"Riju..."
The smile that spread on her lips looked glum, but at least it was a smile. "I can see you understand. Thank you. As for you, I'm glad you're not dead. And, between the two of us..." She leaned in, and Link found himself responding accordingly. "I was incredibly happy when you told me the Thunder Helm doesn't fit. No one else would have done it." She leaned back again. "I haven't laughed like that for a long time. You probably noticed that, age-wise, I'm an outlier. The Gerudo living here are either around twenty and up or no older than ten." Her gaze had become pretty intense. Gratefulness and determination, laced with a melancholy that was hard to let go. "You, Link, are the closest I've ever had to a peer, and I enjoyed working with you. A lot."
"Likewise" was all Link could put together. That sudden outpour of feelings had been so far beyond his expectations, he was a little overwhelmed. "Glad I could help."
Riju hopped out of her seat and stretched. A sigh of bliss escaped her lips. "I feel so light now. What about you, Link?"
Link smiled. "Much better."
She returned the smile and picked up their glasses. "I need a second. You?"
"Not going to say no. But I can–"
"That's nice, but I want to do this. Sit down, Link." She grinned, and Link felt himself reminded of Urbosa again. "That's an order!"
"Well, technically..."
"Technically, I'll whack you with this glass!"
Link laughed. "Alright. Please go and avoid whacking this lowly peasant with a Sweet Heart, Your Majesty!"
Riju snorted and went off. Link drew up his knees again and reached for his Sheikah Slate, then thought better of it. He let his legs drop to the side, not quite crossing them because of his still tender skin. It was a good sign, he figured, that sunburns were his biggest problem now. His friends were still gone, and he was still facing this seemingly impossible task of defeating Ganon. But he'd come a long way, and made new friends along it. He'd see this through.
"Link!"
Riju was back and shoved a fresh glass of juice into his hands. "Funny how the fact that we're both kids only becomes important when walking into a bar."
"Right." Link smiled wryly. A chief and a Champion, united in their shared victory over Vah Naboris and exclusion from drinking. "Thank you, by the way." He sighed, and his smile became more sincere. "For reminding me I'm not alone."
"Always. And thank you, too. When this is all over, let's have a race. I hear you've been slaying it, now that I'm done chasing your incompetent butt around Vah Naboris."
"Well..." Link began, then remembered he didn't feel like justifying himself and shook his head.
Riju just grinned and raised her glass. "To us!"
Link couldn't agree more. While it felt weird to raise a toast to themselves, it also felt right. Maybe a little self-centeredness every now and again was good for one's self-esteem.
"To us!"
I really should be concentrating on university, but I've waited so long to play BotW, I just... Well, damn Nintendo if they don't get me every single time.
Poor kid needs all the love! T.T
Apologies for potential inaccuracies. I'm still debating on whether or not I should get the DLCs, because money, so all I know about the Champions' backstories comes from YT videos. (That, and I lost contact to my beta reader.) If there's something odd, please don't hesitate to tell me about it.
Edit: I got the DLCs! Not regretting it one bit! ^-^