"Alright, Link, stand back," Zelda warned, holding her right hand up to a seeping pool of Malice. The triangular crest on her hand glowed faintly, responding to the corruption.

The main chamber within Vah Ruta was slanted sharply and now partially flooded. The Divine Beast reared on her hind legs and perched on the edge of a plateau - just the way Mipha had left her after their encounter with Calamity Ganon. The only place Link and Zelda could stand with comfort was within one of the two enormous cogs at the centre of the chamber. Their first expedition into the Divine Beast confirmed what the Sheikah Slate had told her - Malice still plagued Vah Ruta, and from what Link told her, there seemed to be more than he remembered. Perhaps the Malice was growing, festering while it remained undisturbed.

Focusing, Zelda blasted the pool of sludge with a surge of light. She felt the power course through every inch of her body, permeating her entire being and making her feel somehow separate from everything. As if she could in some small way manipulate reality itself. The radiance receded, and the Malice gurgled just as ferociously as before. Zelda lowered her hand, sighing. She fetched the Sheikah Slate to jot down her observations. 'Sealing power has no effect?'

She looked over to Link for some guidance. He stared back with wide, unblinking eyes, and gave a short shrug. Don't look at me.

Link had already told her everything he could about the Malice that he'd encountered. Sometimes there was a nexus, or more specifically an eyeball, that could be destroyed to clear it away. Other times it was just there in large pools and could cling to any manner of surface, and nothing he'd tried - Master Sword, bombs, arrows, fire arrows - seemed to have any effect.

"Well, trying to simply destroy it is a bit overzealous," Zelda had said. And while Link couldn't help in her research, that wasn't to say she didn't need him. He was the core of why they were allowed into Vah Ruta in the first place. When the Zora discovered that Prince Sidon had opened his eyes, and that the Champion Link had performed the miracle with a power gifted to him by their lost Princess-well, after that they were quite happy to grant Zelda's request. The Princess was given a small cell within the Domain, with no more than a bed and a small writer's desk, and Link was given a permanent bed at their inn. They were free to come and go as they pleased, and were permitted to board Vah Ruta if they could manage it without ending up like the Prince. The King was adamant however that they not dawdle.

"Vah Ruta is a sacred site," he had explained. "While we would all like to see her free of the corruption, we cannot abide her being turned into an...experiment, as you put it."

Yes, perhaps an insensitive choice of wording. Zelda was certain however that with enough time and enough thorough investigation, she could figure out a way to destroy the Malice. But without Link's help to climb the steep inclines and unsteady platforms, Zelda was unable to get inside the Divine Beast at all, let alone conduct any research. To make matters worse, the main control unit inside Ruta was now entirely submerged. Situated at the stern of the Divine Beast, the circular chamber received the brunt of the flooding waters that drained towards the rear of the structure. Without access to the control unit, there was no way to move Ruta at all, and so every room and every corridor would be remain at such a steep incline that they were nearly untraversable. Zelda had tried her best to dive all the way down to the control unit, jumping into the water before Link could stop her, with her Sheikah Slate held outstretched as she reached and reached for the pedestal...

When she passed out in the waters, Link stepped in to try the feat himself - until Zelda pointed out that even if he activated the control unit, he hadn't a single clue on how to pilot it. And so he gave an ultimatum. They were going to finish the job with an immobile, flooded and skyward-raised Divine Beast, or not at all. Still soaking wet, half-frozen and frustrated by her own lack of physical fitness, Zelda made an executive decision: if Ruta was inaccessible, she would cut Ruta out of the equation entirely. And so after an afternoon spent carefully extracting some of the Malice that clung to Ruta's walls, they placed what they had into one of the leftover Sheikah Chests and threw it overboard. Zelda's research could continue, and neither of them would need to go near Ruta. The Zora were none too pleased that she'd brought the poisonous sludge back into the Domain, but Zelda assured them she could keep it contained.

After so many years and so much time spent on the cusp of both victory and defeat, Zelda was surprised to find herself slipping easily back into a routine. In the mornings she broke her fast with salted fish and pickings of fruit, sitting in one of the water-filled gazebos on the outer edges of the Domain. By day she was glued to her research - poking and prodding at the Malice and noting how it reacted, if it reacted. By night she went over her notes, planned her work for the morrow, and rested. At first Link followed her everywhere - acting on his instincts again - and they would slip into their comfortable silence as usual. But then she started seeing him less and less. Practicing his swordplay perhaps. Or swimming. Or fishing. It wasn't important; what mattered was that he got his well-deserved break.

That morning however, she could not find him. He was usually nearby, at least. The day before she had found him chatting idly with a still-recovering Sidon, and the day before that he was poking around the tools in the workshop. But today? She had jogged through every watery twisting corridor, checked the length of both bridges leading from the Domain, and teleported over to Vah Ruta alone - but he was nowhere to be found. Zelda slumped down at the base of Divine Beast, taking off her shoes to soak her sore feet in the lake that filled the plateau on which Ruta stood. She cursed under her breath as she rubbed her legs. Where is he?

Turning back towards the Domain, Zelda spotted a blue-and-white figure jogging along the cliff's edge towards her. Link! she thought for half a second, until she realised the figure was too tall to be a Hylian. Eventually a lean and youthful looking Zora came into view, and waved her over. Zelda didn't recognise the woman, but then again there were so many Zora in the Domain that it was hard to keep track.

"Princess," the woman said. "Oh, I'm glad I ran into you. I was just coming to check on Vah Ruta."

"Well, there doesn't seem to be any change in her."

"Of course," the woman replied with a smile. "If I may, Princess, the King has asked me to relay a message to you. In one week, we will be holding the Champion Festival, and so the King asks that Vah Ruta remain empty until then."

"But-but," Zelda stammered. "I need to continue my research. We need to secure more samples."

The Zora woman's face dropped. "King's orders," she said curtly, pushing past to head towards the Divine Beast. Zelda stomped along behind her.

"Some more notice would have been appreciated," she called out to the woman. "And just who are you?"

"Larella, Personal Assistant to the King," the woman returned. Zelda raced to catch up to her. They were fast approaching the plateau lake.

"Well perhaps then, Larella, you'd like to convey to the King that I've requested access into the workshop several times now, and each time I've been ignored. I can't just carry out experiments from my desk-"

"I'll pass it on!" the Zora woman said, before diving into the lake and disappearing. Zelda kicked the dirt in spite of herself, feeling like a spurned child. She considered waiting at the lake's edge for the stupid woman to show herself, but quickly realised she didn't have the patience. Enough is enough, she thought, and walked back towards the Domain.


Zelda found her appointed knight underneath the Domain, after she'd run into a less-than-healthy looking Sidon in the central plaza. The Prince had been sitting by Mipha's statue on a small stone stool, and was wrapped in a long cloak. He seemed to shiver as he spoke, and Zelda could tell he was mustering all of his remaining energy.

"He's helping us out with the octoroks at the moment," Sidon had grinned. "It's great!"

"Octoroks?" Zelda wasn't even aware there were octoroks in the Domain.

"Right under our feet!" Sidon exclaimed. "I mean that literally. He's down there trying to clear them out for us."

And so Zelda made the climb down to the underbelly of the Domain, and found Link shuffling about in the shallow waters, shield in hand and a mighty Rito bow strapped to his back. She felt a twinge of recognition and sadness upon seeing the proudly made bow, with its limbs painted in lilac and gold. Revali's bow, she thought. At least it's being put to use.

A trio of blue water octoroks glared up at him from beneath the water surface, all surfacing in unison to launch three boulders in his direction. The knight deftly dodged all three, and quickly fired at the leftmost octorok. It screeched and splashed back into the water, but was not dead.

"Link," Zelda called out. He quickly looked her way, and then returned his attention to the octoroks. "Where have you been?"

He ignored her, feet dancing on the slippery rocks as he dodged yet another onslaught. "Link," she called out again.

"Busy," was all he said as he fired yet another arrow into the previously-injured octorok. It finally succumbed, and floated limply down the river. The two remaining octoroks seemed to seethe at Link now that their friend had been dispatched.

In a huff, Zelda stormed forward towards the octoroks, raised her right hand and unleashed a blast of energy into the waters. Link startled backwards, nearly losing his footing. When the light receded, there were no octoroks to be seen - only some unrecognisable remains and a pair of octo balloons. Link waded into the water to fetch them, quickly latching them both to his belt. He began to make for the ladder back to the main plaza of the Domain, but Zelda stood in his path.

"Did they tell you about the Champion Festival?" she demanded. "Because I've only just heard."

"I've heard," Link said plainly.

"Did they tell you that we're being barred from Vah Ruta? For a week?"

Link raised an eyebrow. "Do you know why they celebrate Champion Festival?"

She threw up her hands. "No! What am I meant to do for a week? We're almost out of samples."

Link placed his bow back on his back, and his expression changed. He gave her a stern look, and the angriest frown she'd ever seen from him. "Is that it?" he asked quietly.

"I'm sorry?"

"Is that why you're angry?"

"Yes," she said firmly, meeting his gaze. "That and other things."

Link just sighed, and walked past her towards the ladder without another word. She called after him, but he simply climbed up and out of sight, not even stopping to say where he was going. All around, Zora's Domain glittered passively as if to taunt her. Looking beyond the Domain she could see the flowing river stretching out into the valley, and the blue and red and green flashes of colour that gracefully streamed through the water as the Zora passed to and from the Domain - all happily going about their business and paying her absolutely no mind. You don't belong here, they seemed to say in unison. You don't belong anywhere.


Days were starting to stretch on, testing even his patience. Link could feel himself getting antsy all over, like he had a belly full of bugs. He flexed his hands, wanting to feel the weight of a sword, wanting to feel his blood course through his veins and rush to his lungs after a breathless dash across a battlefield. He wanted to fall just to feel the wind on his face. He wanted to run for his life just to run at all.

Sidon flashed him a knowing grin as Link walked back into the plaza. "Two down!" the Prince cheered upon seeing the octo balloons, before stopping suddenly as a hacking cough overcame him.

"How are you feeling?" Link asked, noticing the vein-shaped streaks of Malice creeping out from under the Prince's cloak.

"I'm alive, Link, all thanks to you," the Prince smiled, though Link wondered for how much longer. The Prince shifted uncomfortably on his stool, and was overcome once again by his relentless cough. The Zora in the plaza seemed to slow and stop what they were doing, anxiously peering in the Prince's direction.

"Did you see anything in Vah Ruta?" Sidon asked, changing the subject. "Did anything attack you?"

"No? Why?"

Sidon leaned in, his eyes darting around the plaza as if to check for eavesdroppers. His voice was low, with an unnerving graveness that Link was not used to hearing from the Prince. "The nurses informed my father that some of my wounds were made by a blade. That my injuries don't match up with a fall."

Link's stomach dropped. How many times had he and the Princess gone to Vah Ruta unarmed? Or the Princess completely on her own? Perhaps this was why they were barred from Ruta.

"Do you know what it might have been?"

The Prince frowned, and shook his head. Though he would not admit it, the news of the threat filled Link with excitement. Confined within the bounds of the Domain had made him feel like a stranger in his own body. With Zelda safe and undisturbed by malicious beasts, foul monsters, or treacherous clans, what was there for him to do?

Well, there was one thing to do. Those damned octoroks. They'd already torn through a number of shields, and the Dento the smith was getting hesitant to give him any more. It was a struggle as well to take them down with arrows alone; he must have weeded out the thinner-skinned ones by now. And yet they were still growing in number. He needed something stronger. Something quicker than even an arrow. A Guardian's laser would do it, Link mused, smiling at the absurdity of the thought. And while it seemed the Princess was more than capable of dispatching them, she didn't seem to be in a good mood with him - or anyone - at the moment. Truth be told, Link was as frustrated with her as the Zora were, but he wasn't sure what to make of that feeling, or how to confront her about it.

Once Prince Sidon had returned to the infirmary, Link made his way to the smithy. He sat in the workshop examining an arrow he'd pulled from a dead octorok, listening to the sounds of Dento tinkering away at some shield repairs. The trouble was the way the octoroks attacked. They'd hide under water where he couldn't get a good shot at them, and then jump up without any notice. By the time Link could draw his bow, the damn things had already fired at him and he would lose precious time dodging. He needed something that could be fired with one hand, allowing him to block with his shield, or something that could be fired immediately, before the octoroks could retaliate. The idea set off the pangs of familiarity - another memory. But it was too fuzzy to even access. All he could recall was the Academy, of his years spent training to be a Knight, so it must have had something to do with that.

Dento listened carefully when Link explained the problem, nodded solemnly and mumbling in agreement.

"Yes, yes," he observed. "A quickfire mechanism - a crossbow, that is what you need. Though I believe I'm too busy on the preparations for Champion Festival to craft one for you."

Crossbow! That was it. Link fetched his bow from the workbench, and casually nocked and drew the arrow in his hand. The comfort of the weight made him smile.

He felt a surge of determination. "Could I use the workshop, Master Dento?" he asked. The old Zora looked over at the spare workbench, which was occupied by a variety of Link's weapons and belongings.

"You already are, Champion," he said, and returned to his work.


Dento had to be recruited into the process, since Link knew little to nothing about weapon craft. With an awkward hand Link drew up the plans, carved and finished the wood, and spent a week's worth of long days fiddling and doting on his creation until finally, he managed to get it to fire. His hands were blistered from the work, and he'd lost count of the number of splinters he'd pulled. But once it was done, Link was unable to stop himself from grinning. And since he wasn't permitted to do much else, Sidon had taken to sitting with him in the workshop as well, still wrapped in his cloak and wincing at the slightest breeze. The Prince marveled at the finished crossbow.

"Fantastic!" he beamed. "I can't believe you're doing this just for us."

"Link's a regular prodigy," Dento agreed. "Though, I don't remember your father being a smith."

The Princess's words echoed in his head. Your path seems to mirror your father's.

"I don't think so," Link answered, though he wasn't entirely sure.

All around them, the Domain was abuzz. It was the day before the Champion Festival, and preparations were very much underway: long streamers of woven pastel flowers and shrubbery were strung between the glittering columns of the Domain; Mipha's monument and the re-created jewels that decorated it were polished until they shone; Zoran nobles squabbled about their allocated seat court table; and the air was filled with the rich aromas of salt-fish, stewed crabs and all manner of delicacies as the entire Domain worked to contribute to the feast. The King had passed on a message through his assistant Larella, inviting Link to join himself, Sidon, and the Zora elders in boarding Vah Ruta to pay their respects to Mipha. Link questioned the safety of the plan, only because Vah Ruta was still corrupted by the Malice.

"The Princess hasn't found a way to get rid of it yet-"

"The Princess need not be consulted," King Dorephan explained. "Nor need she concern herself with our traditions."

They're excluding her, Link realised. After thinking through his conflicting emotions, he politely declined their offer.

"You were Mipha's betrothed," the King argued.

"I know," Link said, bowing his head. "I'm sorry - it wouldn't be right."

He didn't see Zelda the entire day of the Champion Festival. In fact, she'd been scarce the entire week. She seemed to spend most of her time in her room, only occasionally leaving once night had fallen to walk along the long bridges of the Domain. Both times he had caught her, she had told him she was just fine, and brusquely returned to her room. Regardless, he had left a bowl of warm chowder by her door during the midday feast, slipping a small note underneath to tell her that there was food if she wanted it. When he returned in the evening, the bowl was empty, so he knew at least that she was in there.

He knocked on her door, and heard nothing but silence. He knocked again: nothing. Gingerly he opened the door, and found an empty room. It was tidy, but dreary and bleak. The exact kind of place that no one could enjoy being cooped up in.

Link found Zelda standing in one of the water-filled gazebos on an upper terrace of the main structure. She was looking down over the central plaza, where the Zora were feasting and dancing, though by now the music had died down.

"One hundred and one years," she said after he approached. "It's been over a century now since the Calamity. They've turned a horrible day into a celebration - all because of how much they loved her."

Link couldn't tell if she was looking at them with sorrow or contempt. Knowing the Princess it could have been either. He gripped the railing of the gazebo, unsure how to respond. The day of the Great Calamity. The day of the Champion Festival. But there was more to it than that, he realised. It was the day of Zelda's birthday, as it had been when the Calamity had struck. He hadn't even realised. Has she? Link wondered if he should say something, but hesitated. He could very well make the entire day worse for her.

"At least I'll be able to go to Vah Ruta tomorrow," Zelda pondered, cutting through his thoughts.

"I'll come with you," Link told her, suddenly guilty. She didn't look at him; her eyes were fixed on the celebrations below.

"Thank you," she muttered, and quietly stepped past him to walk back to her room.


Somehow, Vah Ruta looked worse. The Malice they had removed had already grown back, and unless Zelda was second-guessing herself, there seemed to be more.

Link had climbed up towards the bow to examine the parts of Ruta that Zelda could not reach. She waited patiently for him from within the large cog, remembering with sorrow the way Vah Ruta had looked when they'd discovered her. Majestic and shining, so complex and yet somehow organic in the way she moved. Eventually Zelda heard the rush of air against fabric, and Link floated back into view with his paraglider.

"Not good," he reported, showing her the photos he'd taken with the Sheikah Slate.

Zelda puffed out her cheeks in frustration. There was definitely more, and she still had no way of destroying it.

"You should have come here yesterday, with the King. You could have checked the growth changes daily." Link opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "Don't worry, I know you didn't decline because of me. If they wanted to send me a message, then they succeeded. I should have known it would be like this."

The silence that fell then was different to the others. Zelda could feel Link's eyes on her as she jotted down some notes, and when she looked up he was biting his lip and holding the Sheikah Slate close to his chest.

"What's the matter, Link?" she pressed. "Tell me."

"Have you…" he began slowly. She could tell he didn't want to say the words. "Have you ever thought about why they were upset?"

"If they had reasons, they could have told me."

"But have you?"

Zelda was taken aback. "I mean, I..." she struggled to explain herself. "They told me Vah Ruta was a sacred site for them, perhaps-"

"You have no idea, do you?" Link suddenly blurted out.

"Excuse me?" Zelda hissed, feeling a seething rage build inside her.

"If you'd taken the time to talk to them, to understand," Link offered.

"I have spoken to them!"

He frowned at her pointedly. "Aside from when you need something."

Zelda crossed her arms, and demanded to know where all this was coming from. "What makes you so sure?" she retorted, tone clipped.

Link looked her in the eye, with a glower so intense it made her want to fade into the shadows. "Because it's how you've been treating me," he said.

Cornered, she jumped on the defensive. The quiet disappointment in Link's eyes was enough for her to want to back down - but she had to stand up for herself. "Well I'm sorry for focusing on my research."

"It's all you've been focusing on," he shot back.

Unbidden, memories of her last confrontation with her father rose. She could see his frustrated features, hear the disappointment in his tone.

Defensiveness and hurt coated her voice. "I've been trying to help them!" she shouted. "You - you don't have to do anything! Do you think they would care for you at all if it weren't for Mipha? If she hadn't loved you?"

She had struck true. The pain and disbelief was clear on his face. "How can you say that?" he muttered. Zelda had no response. He looked at her expectantly, but no words came. There was nothing she could say now.

Link shook his head, and threw the Sheikah Slate at her feet. He fled the chamber, and Zelda heard the ruffle of his paraglider as he leapt from the Divine Beast.

She sat in Vah Ruta for a long time then, her head in her hands. If she had cried, the tears were long dry now. With no other way of leaving the Divine Beast, Zelda teleported back to Ne'ez Yohma Shrine underneath the plaza. The King's assistant, Larella, was waiting for her at the Shrine entrance, webbed foot tapping impatiently. Zelda was flustered by the woman's unexpected appearance. "H-How did you know I'd be here?"

The Zora looked down her nose at the Princess. "The Champion told us where you'd gone, so we knew you'd turn up eventually," she sneered. "Listen, Princess, you have a week to finish your work in Vah Ruta."

One week? "W-what then?"

"The King asks that you move on," Larella said. She gave a mocking bow. "Princess," she acknowledged, and walked back up the stairs leading to the Plaza. Zelda clutched the Sheikah Slate to her chest. They had all turned on her: the Zora, the King, Link. The thought made her sob.

No, she thought, brokenly. I've turned them against myself.