"Grandmother, tell me about the hero."
It took Impa a few moments to process her granddaughter's request. It wasn't the first time she had ever asked to hear one of her grandmother's extensive stories about the Champions of old, but she hadn't asked in many years.
Paya, named for her papaya seed-shaped birthmark, was sixteen now and seemed to Impa to be more beautiful and mature every day. Her mother, Impa's daughter, and her father had been killed by members of the Yiga Clan when she could barely speak, so Impa, a widow, had raised her largely on her own. The stories were first introduced to help distract the girl from her parents' untimely death, but they soon became Paya's favorite part of the day. Shortly after lunch, she would sit at Impa's feet and ask her to tell her about one of the Champions - the hero, the princess, the Gerudo chief, the Rito archer, the Goron warrior, or the Zora maiden. Which one she wanted to be like when she grew up changed on almost a daily basis, so Impa had bought her toy swords, bows, spears, and even a model Sheikah Slate (courtesy of Auntie Purah down south in Hateno Village). The toys saw less use as Paya began to adapt to her role in Sheikah tradition like her mother before her - after all that she had experienced one hundred years ago, Impa was disappointed to see both her daughter and granddaughter so readily accept tradition, but it seemed to make them happy - and she began requesting stories less often. Soon, and before Impa truly realized it, it had been days, then months, then years.
"What makes you ask for a story now?" Impa asked, her voice weak and crackled from over a hundred years of use. "I haven't told you one in almost a decade."
Paya looked flustered as she averted eye contact with her grandmother. "I know. But… it's been almost a hundred years, you know."
Impa almost laughed. Of course she knew. She had been counting down the days until the hero would awaken from his healing sleep according to Purah.
Paya looked up with newfound confidence. "If he's coming… I want to be prepared."
A smile appeared on her grandmother's face. "Very well."
She adjusted herself to be more comfortable upon her cushion. Paya followed her lead, understanding that this story would be a long one. "The legend of the hero is wrapped up in the legend of another… Princess Zelda. Her story begins over a century ago, in Gerudo…"
…
The Gerudo region is known for its expansive desert, stretching all the way from the northern Highlands to as far as the eye can see in the south. Few have ever attempted to reach the edge of the desert, and even fewer have lived to tell about it. Those who have speak of horrifying beasts, deadly sandstorms, and temperatures hot enough to fry an egg.
Fortunately, our story takes place in the northern part of the desert, where a town breaks the seemingly endless reach of the sand. This town serves as home to the Gerudo race, the warrior women. The Gerudo had been preparing for the arrival of King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, who had only recently been crowned and was to meet with the Gerudo Chief, Makeela Aveil, that day.
The preparations were interrupted, however, when a young girl came barreling through the town.
Princess Zelda?
Patience, child. No, this was not Princess Zelda. This girl had the dark skin and red hair of a Gerudo and was, in fact, the daughter of the chief: Makeela Urbosa.
The Champion Urbosa? But isn't Urbosa many years older than Princess Zelda? I thought this was her story.
Child, are you telling the story, or am I?
Sorry, Grandmother.
It is fine. Now, where was I? Oh, yes.
Urbosa pushed the Gerudo civillians out of the way as she ran towards the main gate of Gerudo Town, a pair of guards hot on her trail. Before she could make her escape, the guards at the gate stepped in her path.
"Lady Urbosa, return to the palace at once!" one of them shouted. She skidded to a halt, a whimper escaping her throat as the guards closed in on her, then darted off into an alley.
The chase continued until she finally rounded a corner and hid behind some crates, the guards running right past her. Once she could no longer hear them calling for her, she emerged from hiding and allowed herself to cry as she walked through the alleys. Her tears blinded her vision and she ran straight into a strange woman. At first, she feared she had been caught, but once she had wiped her eyes she realized this woman was Hylian, with long, flowing black hair and a pale pink robe.
"Oh, dear," the woman said as she knelt to Urbosa's level. "Why are you crying, sweet one?"
Urbosa's lip quivered and she burst into sobs as the Hylian brought her into her arms. The girl could not phrase an answer, so she simply continued to cry until she heard footsteps. When she turned around, she saw her mother standing before her and buried herself deeper into the Hylian's chest.
"Urbosa," Chief Aveil said sternly, "this is the third time you have attempted to run away today. Return to the palace at once."
"No!" Urbosa cried in response. "I don't want to go to the palace! I don't want to dress up and meet the king. I want to- I want to-" More tears and sobs escaped the heartbroken child as Aveil made apologetic eye contact with the Hylian woman.
"Urbosa," the woman said. "Why don't we play a fun game together while your mother continues her preparations?"
Urbosa looked suspicious. "A game?"
"Yes. It's a fun game I call, 'The Warrior Princess'. Do you want to play?"
Urbosa looked at her mother, who crossed her arms, then back to her new companion and nodded.
"Wonderful. Now, I'll be the princess of Hyrule, okay? But I've been captured by the Yiga Clan. You are the warrior Gerudo princess, and I'll need you to rescue me."
The Gerudo child was more eager to play now. "Okay!"
"But wait," the Hylian woman said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "We can't be princesses dressed like this. And I don't own any princess gowns. How can we play The Warrior Princess if we don't look like proper princesses?"
"There are princess clothes back at the palace!" Urbosa announced, her eyes sparkling with joy.
"There are?" she gasped. "Well, what are we waiting for, then? Let's put them on at once!"
Giddy with excitement, Urbosa ran off to the palace. Aveil chuckled as the Hylian woman stood up straight. "Thank you, Hilda," she said.
"Glad I could help," Hilda responded, walking beside her dear friend as they returned to the palace. "Our little game should keep Urbosa's energy focused while you meet with the king."
Wait, Hilda? Is this Queen Hilda, Zelda's mother?
My, you're eager today. Yes… that is right. Though she is not the queen yet! Before she married King Rhoam, Hilda was a wanderer. In fact, she was one of the people I mentioned before who traveled to the edge of the Gerudo Desert.
Really?
Indeed. After this impressive feat, she met Chief Aveil and the two became close friends. She was there when Lady Urbosa was born. And some years later, Lady Urbosa was there to meet the newborn Princess Zelda.
But I get ahead of myself. King Rhoam arrived at Gerudo Town. Tradition states that men - or "voes," as the Gerudo say - are not allowed within their walls. But with no consort or daughter to send in his place, the king had no choice but to visit himself, so the Gerudo had set up tents just outside the walls for the meeting to occur within.
Chief Aveil and King Rhoam's talks were of boring politics, as one would expect, to strengthen the bonds between the Hylians and the Gerudo. There was little worth hearing going on behind the tent's flaps. I'm certain the guards who had to stand by and listen were relieved when young Makeela Urbosa came running into the tent, squealing as she grabbed her mother's skirt.
"Mother! Mother!" she chanted. "I killed Master Kohga and saved the princess!"
Hilda wasn't far behind her. "I'm sorry, Aveil," she said as she took Urbosa's hand. "She ran in before I could stop her."
Now, Hilda was a beautiful young woman, and she was now dressed in one of the few gowns the Gerudo chief possessed - a sparkling purple gown, embezzled with shards of sapphire by the finest seamstress in the kingdom of Hyrule, which suited Hilda quite nicely. And King Rhoam was always a handsome man, but in his prime he could cause the sternest of Gerudo guards to swoon. It was little surprise that they were drawn to each other at first glance.
"My apologies, Your Majesty," Hilda said, breaking the hush that their eye contact brought to the room.
Sensing the sparks in the air, Aveil stepped forward. "Your Majesty, this is my friend Hilda."
"I am charmed," Rhoam said, taking Hilda's hand to kiss.
"Hildaaaaa," Urbosa whined, tugging on the Hylian woman's arm. "Let's play some more!"
"Of course, sweet one," Hilda said, smiling gently at the child and making herself all the more attractive to the king. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Your Majesty."
"Please," he replied, a charming smile on his face, "call me Rhoam. And the pleasure was all mine."
It wasn't long after this that Rhoam and Hilda were married. Hilda was barely in her twenties and she had gone from a wandering merchant to Queen of Hyrule in days. But she carried the role with the grace and charm one would expect from a born royal. Her husband relied upon her much during their time together. The Goddess Hylia seemed to approve of her as queen, as well, as she was blessed with the sealing power generally reserved for those in the royal bloodline. There are others in their history with similar blessings, but such special souls are few and far between.
Their happiness was short-lived, as it was only a few short years later that Hilda received the news that her dear friend, Makeela Aveil, had been tragically killed by a horde of monsters. Her death was sudden and shocking; as one of the strongest Gerudo warriors, Aveil had fought many monsters in her life without struggle, but now one had finally gotten the upper hand and she was gone. Hilda and Rhoam, of course, attended her funeral, where Hilda was reunited with Urbosa, now barely a teenager.
"How are you, sweet one?" Hilda asked when she caught a moment where she and the young princess were alone. They had exchanged pleasantries when Hilda and Rhoam arrived, but Urbosa had been mostly silent otherwise.
"I am to be chief," Urbosa responded without truly responding. "My coronation is next week. The people expect me to be strong, like my mother."
"You are strong," Hilda assured her.
Urbosa didn't speak as she collapsed into Hilda's arms. Once the crying began, it was hours before it stopped. But once it stopped, the childish Gerudo Hilda had played with in the desert years ago was gone. She would forever be a part of Urbosa and Hilda's lives, but Urbosa was now the confident young woman who would eventually become the Gerudo Champion. Queen Hilda was one of her closest companions, advisors, and confidants.
Urbosa was fourteen when she became chief of the Gerudo. When she was seventeen, she was met with an urgent visit from Queen Hilda. The queen was practically glowing with excitement as she carried her newborn daughter into the Gerudo palace.
Urbosa smiled gently at the sleeping infant. "She has your eyes and smile," she whispered.
"And her father's hair," Hilda said, stroking the golden hair upon her daughter's head.
"She is beautiful."
"Looks are fleeting, Urbosa. I only wish my daughter will be blessed with true happiness…"
"What is her name?"
"Zelda, of course," the queen replied.
Urbosa nodded. "After the Goddess Hylia. Many strong princesses before her have been given that name. It will give her strength."
"I certainly hope so." Hilda stroked her hair again. "I'm sure you have heard the rumors. The Calamity is returning. Rhoam has been scanning prophecies and legends for a way to stop it. The legends all speak of the princess who will seal him away…"
"You believe this princess will be your daughter?"
Hilda smiled weakly, but seemed almost unaware of Urbosa's presence. "Dear Zelda… I hope I can prepare you for the trials you shall face. My beautiful little bird…"
The unconditional love Hilda felt for her daughter brought a smile to the Gerudo chief's face. But some years later, Hilda became ill. The best healers throughout the land were rushed to the castle, but there was little they could do. It was too late. The Queen was gone mere hours after the symptoms surfaced.
And with Queen Hilda gone, Princess Zelda was left alone in a cold, cruel world. Her people expected her to save them, but she had no teacher in the sealing magic of the Royal Family. Her training continued for years with no success. Fortunately for her, Urbosa was one of her greatest supporters, likely returning the favor for what Hilda had done for her so many years ago. Although her father's heart was hardened and his soul lost without its other half, Zelda would always have the love and care she needed. But as the Calamity's threat loomed nearer and nearer, the pressure was on for this young princess.
…
"Well?" Paya asked. "What happened next?"
"When did you become so impatient?" Impa laughed. "My voice grows weary, child. I need water if you wish for me to continue."
Paya nodded eagerly and ran for the door. She paused before leaving, though, and asked, "When you continue, will I hear about the hero?"
Impa smiled mischeviously. "You should hurry back so you may find out sooner."
Paya nodded, and was gone.