The story is told in half-sentences and meaningful looks. But as far as Zelda can make out, three days ago, a member of the Yiga clan approached Dorian while he was alone on patrol. This in itself is worrisome, because it means the Yiga knew all about the Sheikah presence in Hateno and they have been waiting and watching and growing impatient for Zelda and Link's return. The Yiga made Dorian an offer: in exchange for him turning over the princess to them, they would release his two small children
Zelda covers her mouth. She isn't sure how it's possible to feel cold at the base of Death Mountain.
Yunobo, who jumped down to join them, probably follows this story even less than Zelda does, but he puts his over-large hands on her shoulders to comfort her obvious distress. The protective size of him is comforting. In a nervous flash, a red barrier shimmers around them, then flickers out. That's comforting as well.
Link shows no signs of being horrified, no signs of being shocked. She realizes that that's because he's not. He rolls his head back in exhaustion or frustration and says, "This can't keep happening."
"It's different this time," Dorian says. "This time they did more than threaten my family. And this time I came to you for help before I did something I'd regret."
Link is silent a moment, then nods. "We'll meet you in Goron City. We have to pack before we leave."
Dorian gets out the first guttural sound of a protest. (Zelda would protest too if she didn't feel it in her bones that she needs to back Link up on this. Present a united front. She can argue with him about it later.) But Yunobo voices his dismay first. "You're leaving, Goro?"
She turns and attempts a smile. "It appears we must." She pats his wrist. "We won't be gone for long. And you've come so far already. It seems you hardly need us looking over your shoulder all the time."
He leans in and attempts to whisper. "I don't like this." By this he clearly means Dorian. Then he jerks his head towards Vah Rudania. "Do you want us to come with you?"
It's...not the worst idea. The Yiga would surely think twice about further acts of violence if confronted with a Divine Beast aiming a laser into their stronghold.
But the Divine Beasts should be more than weapons.
And she's not sure how quickly or safely they could get Vah Rudania to the desert.
She smiles at him. "You have the heart of true Champion, Yunobo. And the heart of a true friend. Thank you, but we'll handle this, and you'll perfect your bond with Vah Rudania."
His dark eyes look wet as he says, "Stay safe, Little Brother."
"May the Goddess smile upon you, Brother."
Yunobo wipes his nose on a forearm as they part, and Link slips an arm around her waist before reaching over to give Yunobo a fist pound. His hand is comically small next to Yunobo's. He glares at Dorian, ensuring he isn't going to leap at them, then warps them away.
He grabs her hand and pulls her into town the moment she once again has feet. "Come on, we need to get you packed and out of here before he gets here."
"What? We're leaving?"
"You're leaving."
"Why?"
"Because, first of all, it'll be a very tempting offer to hand you over. You going with us out to the desert to rescue the girls is basically you walking into the Yiga's hands." They're at the inn, and he's digging under their hammock, grabbing their stuff. She helps him by strapping on her bow and quiver. He starts separating their clothes, tossing her few belongings into a bag without folding them. "Secondly, there's no way in hell you're coming with us to the Yiga stronghold. It's too dangerous. For all we know it's a trap for both of us."
"So suspicious," she mutters, although she's only putting up a fight for the comforting familiarity of it. She doesn't want to waltz into the Yiga stronghold either. That sounds terrifying. She doesn't even want Link to go. She shoves down the clothes in the bag, so he can cram her sewing kit and some of her new Goron-made tools on top.
He flicks the clasp on her bag to close it and looks at her with burning eyes. "Also, it's entirely possible that the Yiga foot soldier who threatened Dorian is full of it. We only have his word that the Yiga have the kids at all. But Dorian ran straight here and led that foot soldier to us, and we're going to be attacked any second."
Her eyes widen. Her hands are shaking. Link passes her bag into her hands and wraps his arm back around her waist, pulling out the slate to warp. He's in too much of a hurry to step outside to warp like he usually does. It feels like her shoulders are shaking, her lungs are shaking. The way he holds her close is comforting, but she knows he's going to let go soon. He's going to let go and throw himself into a wild rescue attempt against the Yiga with their glinting scythes and their faceless masks, the sign of the Sheikah inverted in blasphemy. She can hear the way they laugh as they attack. Link's going to face them to keep her safe, and she doesn't want him to. She wants him safe and sound and with her.
The burning magic of the Goddess, the need to throw everything into protection rises up her chest like bile. She swallows it down and asks, "Where are we going?"
"The safest place I know."
#
Paya has a habit of channeling the emotions of the people around her. When Impa was anxious, Paya was anxious. However, her grandmother hid her anxieties with grace and Paya did not, so everyone assumed Paya was an over-sensitive mess. Maybe she was. No one else had sympathy anxiety.
But everyone was anxious, and Paya was about to vibrate out of her own skin.
The princess and Master Link had been gone for far too long. We're they delayed? Had they run into trouble? What was an acceptable amount of time to go without word, an acceptable amount of time before they sent a search party?
Then Dorian went missing. To take matters into his own hands and check on the princess? Did he abandon the Sheikah? Was he murdered by the Yiga? Had he fallen somewhere and was lying helpless, praying to be found?
And Purah's patience was running perilously thin. She shrieked at Paya for tidying her papers. She shouted at Impa until Paya had to run outside just to be able to breathe.
And then the messenger arrived from Kakariko. Another Yiga attack. This time successful and horrible in that they'd kidnapped Cottla and Koko. So clearly they'd taken Dorian as well. But why?
And what should they do now? They should regroup to Kakariko. They should mount an attack against the Yiga stronghold. They needed Master Link. They should wait for him. They should send a messenger.
Paya itched for definitive action, for a task. That's how you kept the anxiety at bay. If you can't run to Eldin and find the princess, clean a floor. Feed your grandmother. Practice your sword work.
Of course, it was then that Master Link slammed into the tech lab.
He looked ragged and over-heated, as if he'd just stepped from a hot house, but his eyes were so fierce and piercing that Paya dropped the stack of books she was sorting against Purah's wishes.
"Link!" Impa said. "You took your time in Eldin."
He ignored her. When his eyes locked on Paya, it was as if everyone else in the universe ceased to exist. He only had eyes for her. Paya stopped breathing.
He crossed to her in three strides and said, his voice low and dangerous, "I need your help."
"What's happened?" Impa cried. "Where's the princess?"
Link didn't even blink. He just stared into Paya's face, awaiting an answer.
"I...I..." She swallowed and nodded, as if there were any doubt whatsoever. "Yes."
He whipped out the Sheikah slate. "Take hold of this." She did. And then he pulled her into his arms, so they were pressed shoulder to thigh, so she could see the sharp clench of his jaw.
She gasped, and that gasp was snatched away as they teleported away. She'd seen him do it, of course, but she never could have imagined the way her skin turned to wind and fizzled away, never could have imagined the terrible lightness of not existing.
She clung to him when they reformed, under green tinted shade in a bright forest. When he stepped back, the princess was waiting for them, her hands clenched together in prayer, her face stricken.
She also looked as if she'd stepped out of a hot house. And possibly rolled in some dirt while she was at it. Instead of her tiara of diamonds and laurels, She wore a kerchief to hold back her frizzing hair. She had on a dirty shirt that clung tight to her frame and shone a brilliant red where it wasn't smudged. Paya dropped into a terrified bow. "Your Highness."
"Tell me about the recent Yiga attacks," Master Link said. His voice was an order. Direct without an undertone of resigned irritation like her grandmother used when she told Paya to go clean something. His voice reminded her of weapons training with Cado. Her back straightened into attention, her training locked into place, and her stutter caught in the back of her teeth. "A messenger from Kakariko arrived two days ago. The Yiga attacked the night before. They broke into Lasli's house and kidnapped Koko and Cottla, who were staying with her. It was four against one, and she was knocked out, but they left her there, and she's recuperating. At the same time as the attack, Dorian vanished from Hateno without a trace. We searched for him, but when the messenger arrived, we assumed he'd been kidnapped as well."
"What are the Sheikah's plans now?"
Embarrassment overtook her. "We have been...in-in-indecisive."
Master Link nodded in such a way that she could feel the eye roll he tried to hide. But his irritation wasn't with her. It was mutual irritation that they shared just between them. He understood her frustrations. "I'm going to rescue them. I need someone to stay with the princess while I'm away."
The princess muttered something about not needing a baby-sitter, and Master Link—in that same decisive voice—reminded the princess that Paya wasn't a babysitter. His tone softened as he looked at her, "You don't like being alone."
He went up to her, and they gripped each other by the elbows. He pressed his forehead to hers, and she took a deep breath. "It's going to be fine," he said.
"I know. Of course, I know." She let go of his arms enough to shake out her hands, and for a moment so much magic sloughed off them that it sparkled in the air, like she was flicking water from her fingers. "It's just...this place..."
"It's the safest place in Hyrule. The Deku Tree will keep you safe, no one can get in, and I trust Paya."
Paya's heart swelled so much she worried the emotions would leak out through her eyes.
"I'll be back before you know it. Don't combust while I'm gone."
"I make no promises. I might just to spite you."
He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then pulled away, turning back to Paya.
He came close enough to grasp her arm and lower his voice. "You're safe as long as you stay in the glen. The fog in the forest makes it so no one can get in. There's shelter and food inside the Deku Tree. But if I'm not back in three days...you'll need different plans. The koroks will guide you out of the forest. If I don't come back, I don't know where in Hyrule will be safe. The princess will have ideas. "
Paya nodded, even though this was too much. Wherever he was going, he shouldn't go. She nodded even though she had no idea what a korok was, and still doesn't really understand to this day.
Link leaned in and pecked a kiss to her cheek, which flamed so hot she almost missed it when he said, "Keep her safe. Even if you have to stand up to her."
Then he warped away.
The princess shook once more, like a spindly tree in a fierce wind. Then she doubled over and vomited into the grass.
Paya had no clue what to do, and it took a moment to dart forward and rub her back. Because of her kerchief, she didn't need her hair held back. The retching noise made her nauseated, and she forced herself to look away with a grimace, forced herself to make calm, shushing noises. The princess rolled away an collapsed onto her back with a groan, shivering in a cold sweat.
"I'm sorry," she said. "It's as if...as if the magic inside me wants to burst out. It wants to blast across Hyrule like a comet and slam into the Yiga's hideout."
Paya nodded as if she understood. Then she hurried off. She assumed the "Deku Tree" was the massive tree in the center of the glade, and sure enough there was an entrance to a hollow, where she found a ceramic cup, which she filled with water. The princess was still lying of the forest floor, her eyes closed. Paya helped her sit and drink, then guided her to stand and then into the hollow of the massive tree, where there was a thin bed that she helped the princess onto.
"This is an interesting knit," the princess muttered. Her fingers traced the weave of the blanket, which seemed to be made of leaves and moss. "Or is it knit? It's not crochet and doesn't seem to be from any kind of loom with which I'm familiar. I wonder what method was used here."
"Pl-Please rest, Your Highness."
Paya hurried away, throwing herself into scouting the glade.
#
Zelda pictures Link warping to the shrine above Goron City, only to find himself surrounded by a dozen Yiga. She pictures him narrowing his eyes and setting his jaw, setting his stance as the Yiga sway closer like snakes coiled to strike. She pictures them falling upon him before he can even draw his sword. She pictures the Yiga lying in wait at the base of the mountain, waiting to fall upon Link and Dorian where they can attack without use of fireproof elixirs.
#
There were four entrances to the glade—far too many. The setting sun vanished as she stepped from the glade. The air turned cool, murky. Shadows danced through the mist, just out of sight. She stepped too far away and the fog surrounded her, choking her. She couldn't see. She took another step, and the mist cleared, and somehow she'd completely turned around and was now facing back into the sunlit glade. Paya did no more exploring after that.
The princess wasn't sleeping. She seemed to be diagramming the odd blanket in a journal. Paya suggested a bath. There was a little spring-fed pond behind the shrine. And the princess looked as if she could use it.
"Yes, that's a good idea," the princess said, marking her place in her journal. "It's difficult to get a bath in Eldin. They only have hot springs, and you can scrub off the grime and the soot and the grease, but as soon as you step out, the sweat is right back. And, I'll admit I have lost track of time lately."
Paya didn't know what to do but nod.
"My foot is asleep," the princess announced. She extracted her legs with far too much care from under the blanket. It concerned Paya. Was there something wrong? Had she hurt herself? "They all just climbed up here and fell asleep in a pile on my feet. It feels wrong to disturb them when they're so sweet. Their little snores are comforting."
This concerned Paya even further.
Paya found the princess a blanket she could use as a towel and a set of clean clothes—the sky blue set that her grandmother prepared for her—and it didn't escape Paya's notice that the princess gave them a disappointed look. As the princess de-robed at the pool, Paya turned her back and leapt up the great tree, from branch to branch to knot, until she was high enough to leap to the top of the shrine, where she sat with her back to the princess and kept an eye on the glade. She listens intently as the princess splashes, unsure what she should listen for, but praying she knows it when she hears it.
#
Zelda pictures Link sneaking towards the Yiga stronghold. She pictures him going ahead of Dorian, so he can take the brunt of whatever befalls them. She pictures Dorian silently picking up a rock. Holding it over his head. Bringing it down. She pictures Dorian taking the Master Sword. How it will bite into his hand, and he'll toss it away with a hiss. Then perhaps he'll kick it over a cliff. She pictures him taking the slate from Link's hip. Activating it. Searching through her notes, through her pictures, through her maps. Trying to find where she is hiding.
#
The princess washed her hair three times. She scraped at her skin so when she reappeared, she had a pink, over-scrubbed look to her face.
There was a triangular platform in the glade, surrounded by a scattering of blue flowers. It was within sight of the shrine, so they would know the moment Master Link returned. The princess hesitated before stepping onto the platform and sitting cross-legged, opening her journal to sketch the flowers. "These are called the Silent Princess," she explained. Then explained a great deal more. Paya listened, because not-listening was not an option. She didn't follow all of it, and realized at some point that the princess was rambling in the most elegant way imaginable. Eventually, the monologue faded, but she continued to sketch.
Paya hurried off to start dinner and wash the princess' clothes.
The princess didn't eat much of the mushroom soup Paya prepared. At first, she thought this was because the soup was awful. She didn't have much to work with. And she wasn't an expert chef like they must have had at the castle. But she was alright!
"It's funny," the princess said. "I think Link has been adding more and more curry to our meals. Now food seems odd without it. Also it's not boiling. Isn't it strange how we can grow used to the most odd things?"
#
She pictures Link in manacles, in chains. She pictures him glaring from inside a cell. She pictures the Yiga throwing him in a pit. She pictures him bound up in rope and hung upside-down from the ceiling, his face growing more and more red and more and more puffy as he rotates slowly.
#
The princess didn't sleep that night. She sat on the narrow bed and sketched dumpy creatures with leaf-like masks. She said their shaking sounded like the rain and that she hadn't heard the rain in weeks.
She spent the next day on the platform, sketching design after design that she considered embroidering into her paraglider. Flowers and oak leaves and mountains and dragons and birds. She couldn't settle on one design. None of them were good enough. She asked Paya's opinion, but it wasn't Paya's place to tell her the birds seem a bit on-the-nose. The princess was unhappy with Paya's non-committal answers, and instead asked the stones beside her as if they might have an opinion.
"I most certainly will not embroider a picture of you, you scamp! How presumptive!"
Paya's forehead wrinkled in deeper dismay. Had the princess' time fighting the Calamity broken her mind? Is this why Master Link brought her to the solitude of Hateno rather than bringing her directly to Kakariko?
She swallowed. Whatever the princess had been through, it was a sacrifice for her people. For that, Paya vowed to protect her, even if that was protecting her against others finding her strange.
#
Zelda pictures Link in Kakariko at a funeral for two little girls. Two little girls he wasn't fast enough to save, because he had to take Zelda somewhere safe and provide her with a Shiekah guard. Two little girls who died because the Yiga wanted Zelda. She's been to the graveyard in Kakriko, so she can picture this much more clearly than she can the Yiga hideout. It's a vivid image.
She can see it raining.
#
The princess didn't even attempt to sleep, but instead sat by the glowing pea pods that lit the various entrances to the glade. She inspected them, measuring and taking notes, poking them and massaging them and asking questions to the air. She thought they might be a better light source for the black interiors of the Divine Beasts. Do they grow elsewhere? Can she pluck one? How fast do they grow back? Can they only grow in the Korok Forest?
Paya had no answers.
The princess' speech slowed, her movements growing clumsy. Dark smudges appeared below her eyes. Paya guided her back to bed, but she lay awake and stared at the ceiling.
The next day, she decided to embroider a pattern of stars and gears and flowers. It was lovely. All her designs were lovely. And her embroidery skills were exquisite. Or at least would have been had she slept at all.
They both jumped at every sound, expecting Link at any moment. The princess would glare at fallen tree branches and snapped sticks. "Could you please stop that?" she more than once asked the air.
The princess spent that night pacing. Round and round the great tree. She muttered to herself, and every time she passed where Paya had sat herself, she caught a portion of the princess' thoughts. She was going through worst case scenarios with Link's rescue attempt and explaining to herself that none of them were really that dire. "He would simply climb out of the pit. He would love that..." "Fooling the Yiga into letting him loose in exchange for bananas..." "He would call on a dragon, who would bring lightning that would electrocute him, but also break his bonds..." "And he could utilize Daruk's Protection..."
Paya let her pace. She had no idea what else to do. Her anxiety rose with every quickened circuit the princess made around the tree.
The princess pretended to work on her paraglider the next day. The final day. They spent most of their time staring at the shrine. The princess kept zoning out, she was so tired. Paya should have started the conversation about what they would do, should Link not appear. But her heart squeezed so painfully each time she thought of it, that she couldn't get words out. They trapped themselves in her throat.
The princess frowned at the shrine, and finally set down her work in a huff, clasped her hands together, and twisted to face Paya. Instead of anything Paya expected her to say, she asked, "Do you think it's odd the way Link shows physical affection?"
"Wha-What?"
"Link. He kisses people. And leans on people. And hugs a great deal. More than most people. More than is usual. I find it comforting and endearing, but I wonder if other people feel the same way."
"I..." Paya's face heated past endurance.
The princess frowned and straightened. "Did he make you uncomfortable?"
Paya averted her eyes.
"Well. That is simply unacceptable. I'm sorry for his behavior, and I will make sure he apologizes as well. I'll speak to him and it will never happen again."
Paya nodded. "That's-that's for the best. I get-I-I..."
The princess waited. Patient. Interested. Concerned. People did not often wait for Paya to express an entire thought.
Paya took a deep breath and patted her chest over her heart. "I-I know he doesn't mean...he doesn't...he's not trying to start...an-anything."
The princess nodded.
"But it..." Paya blushed harder. It was almost like they were having a normal girl conversation rather than waiting to find out if their friends were dead and if they had a safe place to travel. That spurred her to tell even more of the embarrassing truth. "I don't dislike it. And that's-that's not the-the best."
The princess nodded again. "I feel the same," she admitted. "I will speak to him." Then again, like a promise, like a prayer, "I will speak to him."
The sun started to set behind the leaves, twilight inching in on the glade. As it grew darker and darker, the princess reached out and set her hand over Paya's. Paya twisted to thread their fingers together.
"What will we do?"
"Keep going."
"Go where?"
Paya thought a moment. "R-Rito Village?"
The princess' head tilted. "That's a idea."
The circle before the shrine lit, and they both startled, then jumped to their feet.
Master Link took shape before them, a child in each arm. They all had a hand of the slate, and the girls blinked around at the forest, then scrambled to the ground and flew into Paya's arms.
The princess had her mouth covered again.
Master Link collapsed to sitting and sighed, asking, "What'd I miss?"
The princess threw herself at him, nearly knocking him over, burying her face against the side of his head just as Paya pressed her nose to the tops of the girls' hair, breathing in dust and relief.