Note: School started! We're back in business, folks. I offer this small chapter for your patience while I plot out our next little event.

The trek up the Great Plateau wasn't as laborious as I had previously thought. Since there were a community of priests and priestesses at the top of the steep incline, a trade route had been built to supply the patrons of Hylia with rations. It was also used by pilgrims who have traveled beyond Hyrule's borders to see the Temple of Time. By now, it was the offseason. Midwinter had long passed and the next holiday to celebrate the goddesses was at the tail end of Spring, leaving the sloping roads mostly barren.

"They should have medical knowledge, yes?" I said, unconsciously holding the offending limb in the opposite hand. If there was a possibility my wrist was broken it had most likely been healing without being properly set. I shivered at the thought of it being broken for the purpose of resetting.

Link halted Cozmo, the mare who was recently named after a fierce and heated debate. As with much of the journey, Link walked alongside Cozmo. I've started to think that he was so restless that walking was the least he could do. He held out his hand expectantly, motioning to the wrist I cradled, I obliged.

It was a wonder how such calloused hands could be so gentle. I watched his face and how his features paused to study the skin underneath the white bandages. Then, I remembered the way he looked between breathless kisses and how he wanted to feel nothing but me under his fingertips. Gods, I should have let him. How far would he have gone? How much skin would he explore?

Blue eyes caught my gaze and I nearly startled. Oh, he was talking. Concern appeared clearly on his face, "Are you okay?"

"Yes!" I said too quickly. His brows hiked up.

"You're pulse went haywire," Link muttered in obvious ignorance of his own attractiveness. "Anyway, as I was saying. The bruise and swelling went down quite a bit. I'm starting to think it was a bad sprain, but it's not a bad idea to see someone more knowledgeable still."

I hummed in response, not trusting my voice to be level. His eyes scraped over my hand once more before stopping at my ring finger and mumbled something out of earshot.

"I'm sorry?" I asked, wanting to hear his thoughts.

"That woman," he started, "Did she ever mention this?"

My brows knotted in confusion before I realized I had left the gold purity band on. It had been on my right hand since that evening by the river. My cheeks flushed at the thought of Aryll seeing it, no wonder she was so inquisitive. I went to shake my head, "No, she didn't. I suppose she was too distracted with asking about you."

Like an old man, Link grumbled to himself. Stuck in his own head once again amid a flurry of thoughts I couldn't read. "I didn't see her at the house," he finally said. My eyes widened. What does he mean he didn't see her? His fingers interlocked with my own, no longer acting as my medic. No, the action was full of tenderness and affection.

"I didn't want to alarm you, Zelda. I swear if I had seen her you wouldn't need to worry," Link's mouth open and closed, looking for the right words before meeting my eyes. Within them was the hint of that burning blue fire, but also a tinge of regret.

I swallowed, knowing what he meant. "I know. I believe you."

There was a beat of silence where he searched me for anything that would exude otherwise. No doubt, the feeling of seeing Nerissa again struck a cold, haunting feeling through me. It was fear, an emotion I came to hate and hadn't truly felt up until then. However, there was another rivalling reaction that made my heart skip in my chest. The only difference was that Link was here.

"I trust you," I said as he brought the back of my hand to his lips for a chaste kiss.

We continued on up the road and I found myself obsessing over the ring more than before. I had worn it for the Winter Solstice Ball, as I did with all formal events. It wasn't normal that I wear it for so long. "Link," I blindly spoke, "I don't suppose a commoner would where gold rings so frivolously."

He laughed to himself, "Why do you think that?"

I tugged the ring off, now noticing how much the swelling on my finger had gone down. "Would you mind keeping this for me?" I leaned forward in the saddle toward him, hand outstretched. Link turned, slightly bewildered. "You're sure?"

"Absolutely," I was indignant, but not ignoring what he had once said before about rings and I. Link watched me closely with a gaze more intimate than ever. My stomach dropped and I felt my head swimming. It was like the very act of breathing was ten times more difficult. I fumbled for words, "I… I have a tendency to lose such things. It would be better kept with you."

His palm brushed the underside of my fisted hand, maintaining those cursed blue eyes on my own – spellbound. I unfolded my fingers and the ring fell to his own hand. Then, the spell was broken as he turned to place it in his shirt pocket. My breath returned, though not without the feeling of being ready to press him against a wall and kiss him senseless. But I beat it down and reminded myself we were nearing one of the holiest sights in the country. Infidelity could wait until later.

"I've been here once," I said suddenly. We were turning a corner and my heart jumped at the altitude. Link hummed in question, spurring me on. "It was for Mother's funeral."

He watched me slightly, "This south? It's at least a several days ride from the castle."

"Ah," I touched a finger to my chin. "It's a strange ritual. All I remember was how much it rained. My skirts were soaked through because it wasn't considered proper mourning if we rode in a carriage. Father and I rode on horseback behind…" I stopped, not quite wanting to remember the engravings on the casket and how the body within was no longer my mother.

"Your mother?"

I nodded, shaking my head to clear my thoughts. "Yes, it's um. It's a ritual for the female members of the family. It's said that they carry the blood of the goddess so their bodies should be treated as the goddess would. Funerals for the men are usually held at the castle. It's much easier, don't you think?"

When I was young, I had asked Impa about what we do with women who married into the family. It was the morbid curiosity of a child, but she answered anyway. Apparently, it was the same because with the birth of a princess they too have had the holy blood run through their veins.

"I'm sure it was a beautiful ceremony," he said with a soft smile. "I hear she was among the most benevolent queens."

"The people adored her," I smiled back. "I adored her."