Zelda had nearly stayed up half the night; rummaging through old storage spaces full of important papers, hoping to find the original maps for the Divine Beasts. Luckily- she found them, just as she was about to give up for the night. They were at the bottom of the last chest, rolled neatly into scrolls, under a handful of other papers.
The next morning, just after the sun had risen, Link returned.
"Good morning, Link," Zelda greeted, still in a leisurely nightgown. "It's early, did you get enough sleep last night?"
Link nodded. "Yes, Princess, thank you. Mipha and Mimi will be on their way at noon; I figured the two could use extra time to rest up."
"I agree. I don't quite believe the champions were resting as they sat in that ice. I know that I would be exhausted coming out of there."
"Me too. Mipha did sleep most of the day, up until she woke just in time for Sidon to throw a town gathered feast. Then she spent time with Mimi, and went right back to bed. I wish I had that dedication, really."
Zelda laughed into her hand. She felt the same way; sleep was something that didn't come by as much as it used to. There was so much to do, and so little time…
Speaking of time, Zelda turned back to her desk, completely unraveling the Divine Beast maps. They were still in glorious condition, and, attached to the underneath, Zelda found some of the old blueprints that went into creating the massive machines. Her father must have tacked those on.
"Link, would you mind checking these over? Confirm for me that they are still accurate, while I go change into my day clothes."
Link nodded, taking her place by the desk as she took a quick pace to her bedroom. Since becoming full time ruler, Zelda happily added more active wearing clothes to her wardrobe. Her father had been rather stuck on the idea that 'a princess must look and behave like a lady'- but Zelda had too much on her plate to act noble. Plus, the dresses just got in the way, and she always eventually tripped and ruined the front anyways.
Lost in her thoughts, as she tied a sash around the waist of her shirt, she saw the small ornate chest that sat on the floor of her wardrobe. Inside, she already knew, were the champions' original garments. They had been recovered from the Divine Beasts after the first Calamity Ganon had been defeated.
She pulled the chest out, and carried it back to the study with her. When she returned, Link confirmed the accuracy of the maps- as he eyed the box precariously. Zelda just smiled, propping the chest on the desk, and opening it.
"Oh, wow, I'd almost forgotten about those," Link uttered, as Zelda carefully pulled the thin fabric out. She had believed for a while that Yunobo and Holt had been granted Daruk and Revali's garments, but they had turned out to be near perfect duplicates.
"I should return these to them today," Zelda mused, and Link sounded in agreement. She ought to make new Champion attire for the new Champions one of these days, she thought.
After another couple hours looking over the maps, and talking through plans, a knock came from the door.
"Your highness, some of the champions are arriving," a knight's voice came from the other side, and Zelda opened it.
"Thank you, sir," she said, smiling, and he bowed to her, walking past the other two knights who guarded the study to return to his own post. Zelda signaled for Link to follow, and they followed the staircases down to the entrance of the castle.
The first to arrive were Daruk and Yunobo; then Mipha and Mimi, just paces behind them. She waited patiently outside for the last two groups to catch up, before hurriedly making sure they all had warm drinks to recover from their journey back in the snow.
After everyone had seemed comfortable and settled, Zelda carefully pulled the old maps off of the table.
"I think it may be best to plan our strategy, on how we are to tackle working with the Divine Beasts, before we actually dive in," she started. "I was able to recover these maps of each Divine Beast, and I think it would be valuable to simply learn them first."
She circled the room, handing out the maps to their respective champions.
"Link and I will help with the learning process over the next couple weeks- assuming we will have enough time before the next blood moon," she said, and Link coughed into his elbow.
"Also assuming our blood moon theory is correct."
Zelda frowned, but ultimately knew he was right. She wasn't sure exactly the path of the new Calamity Ganon; none of them were expecting it to vanish into nothing. All Zelda had to work with was the fact that it rose on a blood moon, and disappeared when it set. After that- what else was she supposed to assume?
Urbosa raised her arm, signaling briefly that she had something to say, and Zelda turned her attention.
"Princess, this morning, I saw Vah Naboris walking through the desert, before climbing back up to it's spot on the mountaintop. Is this something all of the Divine Beasts are doing? Are the Blight Ganons back?"
"I do not believe so, no," Zelda said. "They aren't attacking anyone near them, and they aren't causing up storms, so I think they may be patrolling."
She thought for a moment, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ears.
"They should be safe, but on the off chance that something does take control of them- we are prepared, and Link still has the sword that seals the darkness."
Link scrunched his nose, obviously still exhausted from his trifle with the Calamity's henchmen years ago. But- he still followed it with a nod, and Zelda woefully admired his perseverance.
Once everyone had zoned into the maps, Zelda paced around slowly, taking the time to point out which sections of the Beasts would be most important to learn about first, in case they didn't have the time to go over everything before their time ran out. It was almost odd, when she stepped back, to take a look at everyone; sitting quietly, murmuring under their breaths to each other, all just sprawled out on the floor. There was something humorous about it- and she would have moved them elsewhere, if her study wasn't the only place truly safe from the foot traffic of her workers and knights.
Looking around, everyone seemed to be sucked into their conversations- save for one of them. As Revali spoke, Holt's eyes fluttered around the room, only stopping briefly to airily acknowledge that Revali had said something to her. Zelda cocked her head, confused. Holt wasn't one to fall away from paying attention; she was usually alert and on point, holding direct eye contact with the speaker in question.
"Revali," Zelda called, as she walked her way over to them. He stopped mid sentence, his beak clicking as it shut, and he looked up at her. "Might I steal Holt away from you for a moment?"
Revali's brows furrowed, before giving a short sigh from his nostrils, and sitting back on his hands.
"Be my guest, Princess."
Zelda thanked him, then led Holt out of the room and into the hallway. She politely shooed the guarding knight away, closing the door behind them.
"Holt, out of everyone here, you are usually the least likely to zone off like that. What's going on?" Zelda placed a comforting hand on Holt's upper arm, but Holt only stared off at the wall beside them.
"Sorry, it won't happen again," she said, and Zelda narrowed her eyes.
"Are you alright? Is there something wrong with the maps? Or with Revali?" Zelda pressed, but when Holt's face only gave a slight twinge, she could only assume it was the latter.
"Has he been rude to you? Do you dislike him?"
"No, Revali isn't mean at all. I trust him, and I trust working with him," Holt finally spoke up, heaving a sigh. "I think…. I think I'm afraid of him."
Zelda recoiled.
"Afraid of Revali? Please, could you elaborate?"
Holt held her tongue for a couple nervous moments, twisting her foot to tap on the floor, and causing her anklets to jingle against each other. She stared down at them, before nodding.
"I'm afraid of disappointing him," she said, her face crumpling slightly at the confession. She sniffed, her stoic cover beginning to break. Zelda clicked her tongue sympathetically, reaching out to hold the sides of Holt's face.
"Zelda, I… I don't know if I'm cut out to be a champion," she blurted after a moment, reaching up to quickly wipe away the few tears that had begun to drip down her cheeks. Before Zelda had a chance to respond in shock, Holt continued.
"I don't feel like I really… fit in. I'm terrible at retaining knowledge- what if I forget how to pilot Vah Medoh right at the big moment? Plus- I'm crippled, and can't even catch the wind and glide without my extra feathers- and what if something happens and my gear breaks? Then I'm totally useless inside of a Divine Beast that's made up entirely of gusts of wind!"
Holt stopped to catch her breath, groaning in frustration. "The only thing I'm good at is firing arrows from a bow- and that won't help me fly. Plus- I'm a Rito. We're not known for our running."
Zelda sighed, glancing down at Holt's left arm. She did have a point- the straps that held the feathers on her arm were starting to look rather worn down; though it seemed to handle well when she flew, one wrong strike against something hard could snap the leather right in half. But- Zelda already knew they could have something fixed up for her, so that breaking wouldn't even be on the mind.
"Holt, I wouldn't worry about the prosthetic. I'll send letters to Robbie and Purah, and see if they can help come up with a replacement for you."
Holt nodded, forcing a grateful smile. But her head still hung.
"You know, when I knew that we would have to choose new champions to pilot the beasts, you were the first to come to mind. You are brave, strong, smart, quick thinking… the biggest things to look out for. Learning to pilot guardians in general is like learning to walk; it may be a challenge when learning, but once you've given it a shot, you'll never forget how to do it.
"Now, I wouldn't worry about disappointing Revali. He has already expressed great interest in you and what you've accomplished, so I would say he's already very proud of you. I know he seems conceited and pigheaded, but I promise, under all of those pompous feathers, he really is just a big baby."
Holt recoiled, letting a short laugh into her hand. Zelda smiled, pleased at her success in lightening the mood.
"What do you say, Holt? Are you happy enough to keep giving it a try?" Zelda asked, and Holt sniffed once more, scrubbed at her face, and then gave a soft smile.
"Yeah, I think so."
Zelda gave a nod, and reentered the study room. Link had taken Holt's spot on the floor next to Revali, chatting quietly. At Holt's return, Revali nearly jumped to his feet with excitement.
"Holt, I think I have a rather grand idea," he exclaimed, causing the rest of the champions to break from their studying and look towards them.
"What would you say to learning my Gale?"
Holt's eyes went wide.
"Like- 'Revali's Gale'?" She barely squeaked out, as a much larger smile spread across her face.
"Well, Yeah! If the Princess thinks we could fit that in, I think it would be helpful, as a champion, to learn it."
"Of course we can fit it in. You won't be on the Divine Beasts every hour of every day!" Zelda said. "I wasn't even planning on having you split up to the Divine Beasts until later tomorrow, anyhow. I would much rather prefer you get another night's rest before moving onto the big things."
"Then it's settled, Holt. I think it will be a big help when working inside if Vah Medoh."
Zelda hardly even had to urge Holt along, as Link was swapping places with her immediately. The rest of the champions had become excited at the idea as well, and as they grew in volume, Link pulled Zelda aside.
"This is good," he said, leaning an elbow down on her desk. "They all need this personal time with the old champions, and learning their powers could prove incredibly useful."
"Agreed," Zelda said. "Now, I'm aware Yunobo already has a hold on Daruk's protective power, but I'm sure there's still factors he might work on."
As Link nodded, Zelda moved around to the open side of the desk, and pulled out a few sheets of fancy parchment. While she had the time to think, she realized that bringing Robbie and Purah to Hyrule Castle for aid would be a smart move on her part. They had evolved in the technology world since the last Calamity Ganon- and by Goddesses, they were going to use that to their advantage.
