Takes place immediately after the true ending of BotW. Link and Zelda's duties are far from over as they have some people to see after Ganon has at last been sealed away. This is cross-posted under my other account because I couldn't remember the log-in for this account until recently lol.
BotW: Visitations
Visitations Part 1: Korok Forest
Link was surprised that Zelda was not the least bit wary as they wended through the Lost Woods. She rode as regally as was exemplary of her station and it would have been easy to tell that much had she not been wearing a thick, hooded cloak over her face and figure. But then he just as quickly remembered again that she had been there before and was quite familiar with the forest and the denizens within, particularly the Deku Tree. He was the reason they were headed this way after all. These memories, though undoubtedly his, still felt as if they were outside of him. They were as pictures played in his mind and recounted by someone else. It was taking him some time to absorb them as a part of his being but having the princess at his side helped to remind him that they indeed belonged to him.
It had been 100 years since the land was with a royal head and, after catching the eye of a few travelers on foot, she thought it might be best to wait until she had found a place to root herself and plan for her people's future once again before news spread around the land that the royal bloodline was still alive and well. She had a lot to answer for, she thought, but she wasn't quite ready. He heard the wisdom in her words so the cloak was his idea. Still, to him, she stood out; even without the cerulean blue of the royal blouse she wore underneath. It was the way she carried herself in addition to her golden hair and her eyes that were at once warm yet penetrating whenever he could catch their gaze. But that was beside the point, he told himself. The important thing was that it was enough for her to be able to travel through Hyrule, at least for now, without much scrutiny or mind, until she was ready to lead her people once again.
"I know it has been a century but it feels like I was just walking through these woods yesterday, though I'm not sure I was actually walking" she said, just loud enough for him to hear her voice above the soft clops of their horses' hooves on the grass. There was a light cross breeze in the mid-day air, though these woods were always grey and moody no matter what time of day. The wind seemed to carry her voice to him as she spoke. He looked at her as they continued to ride, side by side, entreating her to continue.
"The great tree took pity on me once I made it past Minshi Woods. Somehow he knew I was coming and he sent his little children to guide me to him. It felt, well, it felt as if I was lighter on my feet the rest of the way. I must have been quite the sight, I'm sure, as I approached him. Caked in all the mud Hyrule could possibly spare, shaking like a newborn leaf. I had to travel by night most of the time to get there. Trying to hide the Master Sword proved quite difficult while also trying to travel unnoticed. The fact that you're able to wield it with such dexterity proves you are its true match," she said and smiled softly. The smile slowly disappeared and Link noticed a marked change in her countenance.
"Leaving the sword there at the roots of the great tree felt as if…as if I was leaving you once again," she finally said, after a long pause. Link blinked and tilted his head slightly, unsure of what she meant.
"Everything I held dear was lost to me because I could not protect them. My friends, my father, the kingdom…and when you fell, I even had to leave you in someone else's charge in hopes that you would be cared for. I carried your sword for a time, a piece of you, and left it in someone else's charge, too. There was nothing I could do for either of you but hope. Hope that you would return to us and hope that you would return to your sword as well. All I knew was that, to the very end, I was unable to protect anyone or anything. So many lives…."
Her last words trailed off and blew away with the breeze.
Link felt a memory stir. Not so much a memory but a feeling at first. A familiar feeling of tightness and regret square in the middle of his chest. Each time he had accompanied her to a shrine to pray, each time her father caught her in her research, each time she felt she failed in her birthright. He remembered watching her shoulders slump, her frame diminish, her fists clench in frustration. He saw himself standing outside her research lab many nights, then kneeling, as her father walked by him to enter in and chide her. Those nights she didn't eat or sleep much. He wanted to say something so many times, to ease her disappointment. That feeling of regret when words were often swallowed in favor of duty. That tightness that would wind in his core when he'd see her wrap her arms around herself, as she wondered aloud what was wrong with her.
"Are you all right?" Zelda asked.
She had noticed him staring off into the distance, lost in thought, his brows knitted. At her words, he turned to face her. It never ceased to startle her how his gaze made her feel, even long before, when it was at her back.
"Where did you go after you left the great tree?" he asked.
"Answering a question with a question, hm?" she replied, with a smile, belying her mood.
He had heard that somewhere before...
"I went straight to the Castle," she answered, quickly. "I knew he would be there, waiting. And I finally knew what I must do."
He had been her appointed knight. But on the daily, he now remembered he truly couldn't do anything for her. Bombarded by expectations from within as well as outside the castle walls; whispers of a ruler's failing lineage. What she needed protection from, he couldn't provide. And she didn't need him to. Disappointment after disappointment, she rose again, tried again. If she wasn't praying, she was studying. When she wasn't studying, she was out investigating until the break of dawn. If she didn't rest, neither would he. He remembered watching the sun rise with her, over a ridge that looked over another shrine she had found. She was exhausted but she pressed on. He wanted to comfort her when she felt discouraged but found she would strive on regardless. Even in the end, when all was lost, she continued to do just that.
What he could protect her from, he had failed. As he had lain in her arms in that field, he remembered looking into her eyes one last time. It was the only thing he could have wanted to see if he were ever to have to close his eyes forever. But not like that. Not without knowing she would be safe. The words he had wanted to say came out as a harsh, guttural exhale and then nothing. His duty unfulfilled, she carried on, saving him, and saving the sword that would seal the darkness. Waiting.
"Link…?" she said, her voice catching an edge of concern. "You're staring off again."
"I'm just….remembering some things," he said, low.
"Are you remembering things on your own?" she excitedly asked. "That's wonderful!"
"Perhaps."
Before she could ask him about it further, the woods opened up into a beautiful green canopy. The heaviness of the Lost Woods evaporating into a bright, airy antithesis. Link looked behind him and couldn't see where the Lost Woods began or ended, even though they had just exited it. Some kind of enchantment.
They heard the creaking of wood and shuffling of leaves. It was a sound that seemed as old as time. Before they even dismounted, they heard him.
"Ah, I see you have brought a friend, young one," came a slumbering, languid voice. Link nodded as he and Zelda climbed off their mounts.
Leaving the horses to graze, they approached the Deku Tree.
"Great Deku Tree," Zelda began, hands clasped under her chin, "I don't know how to thank you for keeping the Master Sword safe and ready for Link's return. Your vigilance was instrumental in finally sealing Ganon away."
"I felt the moment he was defeated. The resonance reached far and wide and my children rejoiced," he replied. "Have you come back just to see me?"
"Link told me he wanted to keep a promise," Zelda answered, pushing the hood off of her head.
"Oh? And what promise would that be?" the great tree asked.
"I don't know…he said he wouldn't tell me until we got here," she said, and smiled as she looked at Link.
"Ah, there it is," the Deku Tree said, as he sighed slowly. "As warm as any sun."
"Hm?" Zelda remarked quizzically, looking back at the tree again.
The great tree chuckled and spoke to Link, "Thank you, young one. I think that shall keep me blooming for many more years to come."
Link rested his fists on his hips, almost triumphantly.
"What's going on with you two?" Zelda asked.
"You must be tired from your journey, let alone all that *other* work," the Deku Tree continued. "You should rest here for the night under the shade of my leaves. I feel you have more traveling to do tomorrow and on."
"We are off to Kakariko Village next. Link was quite adamant about seeing you first, though," replied Zelda.
"This old trunk is honored. You will find that my children have prepared a place for you both. Feel free to eat of any fruit you find should your bellies need filling."
COMING UP NEXT! Visitations Part 2: Kakariko Village
