With authority, the Rito insert themselves into Zelda's schedule, demanding an audience with a confidence she hasn't had to contend with in a century. They swoop in, announce they'll meet with her at a specific time, then swoop out before she can explain she's already meeting with someone else. She's booked solid for the next three days.
At least they appreciate making appointments.
It's a little thrilling, if she's being overly honest.
She and Link have a meeting with Teba at the flight range to plan the trial that will take place there. It looks different from how she remembers it: each of the targets glows with a Sheikah eye. Link takes five minutes to sail slowly to the other side of the range, then all of thirty seconds to fall, shoot four of the targets, and complete the trial.
A shrine rises from the shallow water below them, but before they can explore it, Teba wants to discuss the trial for the Champions: the goal, the rules, where spectators will sit. They'll need to build seating. They'll need a large sign to keep score. Decorations are in order. How will they pick the order of the contestants? Where will the contestants wait? Should the contestants be able to watch the progress of other contestants?
When they're done, they have just enough time for Link to touch the slate to the shrine pedestal, leaving without entering, before they have to warp back to Rito Village for a meeting with Cecilia, the carpenter, and Harth, the blacksmith, who have kept the structure of Rito Village in pristine condition. Zelda wants to speak to them about the Great Tabantha Bridge reconstruction. Could it be restored? What would that take? How much manpower? What materials? How much money? Could this be done in partnership with Bolson Construction? Could it be done in partnership with the Gorons? But first she has to talk with them about stadium seating for the Champion trials.
They rush from there to meet with the elder, reporting what they've decided to do for the flight range challenge, what she will need, and how they will allow people to announce their candidacy. What will be needed for that? She suggests her earlier idea for a large sign: write the contestant's names on it when they sign up, then carry it around to the trials and continue to use it to keep score. Something collapsible, like a large banner with a frame. Kaneli nods and suggests a stage-like platform, which they can set up on Revali's landing. From there the candidates can announce themselves, and each can make a speech about their qualifications and what they'll accomplish as Champion!
Zelda doesn't know what to say to that, but Revali would absolutely love it, so she says nothing. She'll make it happen.
"Also decorations," Kaneli says. "Lots of decorations...And perhaps a feast."
She shares a look with Link, but he's so wildly out of his element that he doesn't seem to realize how much of an ask this is.
Zelda says, "We need to discuss a budget."
She rushes down to Verla about cooking for the fest, for which he shows overwhelming excitement, so she gleefully delegates the entirety of that to him. Then she's off to the Brazen Beak to talk to Nekk about banners and streamers and the large sign she has in mind. There's not nearly enough fabric in Rito Village, but if Zelda can procure it, the Nekk and his assistant Huck can make Zelda's wish-list happen. She and Link will need to go to Hateno, but they'll have to do it later, because Teba's son, Tulin, has vanished, upset that he's too young to take part in the trials. Before he left, he said something about how if he fought a talus, everyone would see how great he is. Link has to run off and save him.
"I hope he tries to get that talus we took care of the other day," Links says. He brushes her fingertips, and then he's gone.
Zelda tries to sneak in a very late lunch, but the Cecilia finds her and hands her an invoice for the bleachers at the flight range. Zelda asks her to add a podium for the speeches, and warns that they're going to need seating for the other two trials as well. Then Huck interrupts with a list of fabric to buy, and could maybe Zelda mention to the people in Hateno that they're interested in a long-term trade agreement? Of course! That's thrilling! But also Zelda's not sure how she's going to squeeze that in. Then two of Amali's kids bounce in to ask excited questions about the feast in three days.
Because Verla has announced that the opening feast will be in three days.
#
She's relieved they're heading to the canyon that night to look for the dragon. They've made it clear to everyone that they're busy with trial business all night, so they hopefully won't be interrupted. Link has told her about the nights he's spent camping in the canyon, waiting for the dragon, so she's hopeful that they'll have some time to unwind.
Alone. In the dark. The stars circling overhead. Just the two of them. She revels in the fantasy until twenty minutes after they were supposed to leave.
Link isn't back yet.
Is it bad that she wasn't worried before? No, she was trusting. And either way, she's worried now. She keeps picturing Koko, her thin arms locked tight around Zelda's neck. It makes her sick to her stomach. It makes her vision tunnel, wich is not a good thing to happen when running up and down stairs.
She sets up beside the shrine, going through her notes to distract herself. She's joined by Tulin's parents, Teba and Saki, and they distract each other by discussing preparations for the feast and if Saki's going to announce her candidacy.
She gives her husband a look from the corner of her eye and says, "No."
In a swirl of blue, Link appears at the shrine, and Zelda's on her feet before he's fully reappeared. He has Tulin in a headlock, and the child is flapping and screeching and trying to kick him. He has the slate pressed against the side of Tulin's head, and Link drops him to the ground and let's his parents deal with him.
"You ready?" he shouts over Tulin's renewed screaming. He almost had that talus! Link ruined everything! Zelda grabs her journals and rushes to his side. She's not sure if Link's more eager to get to the dragon or to get away from the Village, but he grabs the back of her tunic in a fist and pulls her close.
It's freezing at the top of Herba tower, and even though the sun hasn't gone down quite yet, the silent snow around them makes everything dim, everything still, as if the sun might rest there for a moment. Link's breath curls hot and visible before his face, so warm that maybe she doesn't need all this protective clothing.
They're in a rush, but the moment waits, it holds its breath, and he just holds her, giving her a look of undeserved adoration.
"We might miss the dragon," she murmurs, and he makes a noise and pulls her into a kiss that's even warmer than his breath.
Against her lips he says, "I like it when you take charge." His breathing is heavy enough for her to feel the expansion of his chest through his thick coat.
He descends on her neck, and she rolls back her head, rolls back her eyes. "I think you're the one taking charge."
"I meant today. With—with the planning."
She laughs and it turns to a gasp as he nuzzles under the high collar of her coat and sucks, sucking her up onto her toes, snagging her from deep in her belly and sucking her closer. He's inhaling her and it's glorious and she wants more more more.
When he speaks again it whispers over her tender skin, teasing and gasping and not nearly enough. "You're so enthusiastic. And authoritative. And there's just—"
He gets distracted.
"I've had practice," she says, even though she's dizzy and words are hard. "You wouldn't believe—how many tournaments I've organized."
"How many?"
"Eight."
"How'd they go?"
"You won five of them."
"Just five?"
"The last three, mmm, I made it my mission to—to—"
She gets distracted.
He pulls back just enough to hear what she has to say. The trail he's left down the side of her neck tingles with cold.
"To what?"
She tries to catch her breath. To focus. "To have you disqualified. On technicalities."
He stares at her for a beat, then a grin spreads across his face. His blue eyes sparkle in the setting sun, his smile endearingly uneven. "That's my girl."
He kisses her through her laugh.
"Do you want to say we missed the dragon?" she asks.
"We'd have to come back tomorrow."
"Mmm." For a moment that sounds perfect. Then she remembers. With a frustrated groan, she pulls back. "The welcoming feast is in three days. We need to see the dragon tonight if we haven't missed it already."
"So responsible," he says. And, once again impressed by her competency, he goes in for another kiss.
She covers his mouth with a hand and pushes him back with a laugh. "Pick this back up in the canyon?" she asks.
He enthusiastically nods.
#
Their hopes are dashed the moment they arrive at the spot on the map, a spot marked by a campfire and a pillar of smoke. Because there's a Rito named Mazli beside the fire, and he's also there to see the dragon. Link gives her a look, but it would be too rude for them to move further down the canyon. And this is the spot where they need to be anyway.
Link unrolls her bedroll and they sit on it together and bake apples on the fire while Mazli tells them everything he's heard about the dragon. Zelda takes copious notes, and every now and then Link leans over and subtly makes a mark next to something she's written. She interprets this to mean that Mazli is incorrect.
Link drapes an arm over her shoulders, and she twists to lean her back against his side. She tries to chart the dragon's nightly movements on her map, and Link shows her blurry pictures that she can't understand. Her eyelids grow heavy. His voice softens, lowers and soothes like a lullaby. He tells her of the first time he me Naydra, covered in malice and whining in pain, how, when the malice shattered around her, she glowed in the night sky, how at the end she held so very very still to give him a scale. He tells her of Farosh who dives in and out of the water of Lake Hylia, and who slides down the Floria waterfalls, so, if you stand on the bridge, you're wrapped in the music of the wind that he whips up.
When Dinraal appears, he's more magnificent than even Link's stories. He's graceful and powerful, and she can hardly breathe for the awe. The dragon doesn't notice her at all. She's too small. Insignificant. And the feeling is relieving. There are forces in the world greater than even the power for which she fought so hard, for which she waited so long, for which she prayed so hard.
Link lifts into the sky on the hot wind that ripples her hair. He lets loose a single arrow, and the dragon's crown of horns lights, like the light of the goddess. It bursts off like a shooting star, and Link follows it down. Across from them a new shrine rises. The dragon continues on its way.
By the time Link returns from collecting the shard of horn and activating the shrine as a warp point, Zelda is asleep and the sky is lightening.
#
It's the day before the opening feast, and Zelda woke up early to get a few hours to herself. She fears with every Rito that passes that they'll want twenty minutes of her time. And she'll agree, because of course she will.
"Zelda?"
She bites back a sigh. She turns to find Amali standing downstairs from her. "Good morning."
Even though the sun hasn't made it all the way into the sky, the Rito is holding a basket of laundry. Amali follows her gaze up to Vah Medoh, then back to Zelda. "Studying the Divine Beast?"
"Yes," Zelda sighs. "Unless I want to climb up every time I visit, I'm going to have to build ladders just to reach the top of the spire. At least I can construct them out of rope this time. It will just take time—time to find materials, time to construct the ladders, time to climb up and attach them to the spire...Perhaps I could construct another elevator? Hmm. It will be easier, since we can use wood, but we won't have the Gorons to help install and run it. And that's just to reach the Divine Beast. We'll need to build more ladders and platforms once we're inside in order to reach all the control units. I can't even see those enough to plan for it yet. And it will most likely all have to wait until the trials are over, which is a bit disappointing, and also makes me worried we're putting the cart before the horse. What if Vah Medoh doesn't turn on? All this will be a waste. Or what if there's a substantial delay and all the excitement drains away?"
Amali frowns up at the Divine Beast. Unexpectedly, she asks, "Are you a descendant of the Champions like Link is?"
Zelda's eyebrows raise. she leaves whatever Link's cover story is alone, and says simply, "No."
Amali shakes her head—a quick, fluttering thing that puffs her feathers. "Only a Champion or one of their descendants can approach Vah Medoh."
"Why is that?"
"The Divine Beast will shoot down anyone else who gets too near."
Zelda bites her lip. A few other Rito have mentioned this. It's the reason at least two of them want to be Champion: they want to see inside Vah Medoh. "I don't want to ignore your people's traditions. I'm sure they're in place for good reasons. To keep your people safe while Vah Medoh was possessed by malice." Or perhaps Revali invented this rule long ago. She smiles at the thought. That seems like something he would do—a grand pronouncement that only he was strong enough to face the Divine Beast.
"But Vah Medoh is powered down now," Zelda says. "Anyone can approach her. And when she's reactivated with a new pilot, the only way the Divine Beast would shoot anyone down would be if the pilot instructed her to do so. There's no science keeping non-Champions away. Only respect."
Amali's face brightens, her head cocking in interest. "Truly?"
"Yes."
Amali looks back at the Divine Beast. Something she's feared since childhood but is no longer a threat. A fact she's known her entire life is no longer true. Zelda can relate. Amali looks down at her laundry. "If you'd give me a moment to put this away...I could fly you up there. You wouldn't need to send your time constructing ladders."
Zelda blinks. "You could? You would?"
Amali looks her straight in the eye, painfully serious. "I can if you swear it won't hurt me."
"I swear it! Thank you! That would be...Oh, that would be tremendously helpful! Even if you can't provide a lift every time we need to visit the Divine Beast, at least I can get a look inside to plan."
Amali looks once more at the Divine Beast, then swallows and narrows her eyes. She rushes past Zelda to drop off her laundry, and Zelda rushes down the stairs to find Link.
She's not sure what she was expecting, but hugging onto Amali's back was not it.
"It's fine," Amali says. She's kneeling on Revali's landing, her back to Zelda, looking over her shoulder. "You look lighter than my daughters."
Link adds, "It's really not hard. Just hold on and don't choke her."
Amali nods.
But they're both clearly nervous. Link keeps rubbing the back of his neck, and adjusting how Zelda's belts lie or the placement of the bow on her back. He's asked her if she has her paraglider four times, and he keeps checking that she's wearing her ruby circlet as if she's taken it off in the last thirty seconds and it's not clearly visible on her forehead. Amali is tense, as if she's braced for the Divine Beast to come to life and pluck her from the sky with its great beak. Her eyes keep drifting from Zelda to Vah Medoh.
"Link, find someone else to give you a ride and come with us," Zelda says. She's not concerned for her safety, but their anxiety is making her antsy.
"Teba's already gone to the Flight Range, and everyone else was kind of offended when I asked." He runs his hands from her shoulders to her elbows, reassuring himself that the snowquill coat will work. She grabs his hands and holds them still, forcing him to look at her and her over-abundant confidence.
"I'm fine. We'll be back soon." She pops up on her toes to kiss his cheek, then releases him and steps up to Amali. She hugs her arms around the Rito's neck, pushes through her embarrassment, and squeezes her knees around Amali's sides. Her feathers are stiff and poke at Zelda's face. She's worried she might be pressing them in uncomfortable directions with her knees or her arms, but when Amali stands, Zelda hugs tighter. The Rito's muscles coil beneath her, and then she launches into the air.
Wind whips chilly and damp against Zelda's face. It's so much faster than the paraglider. Amali's wings beat, and Zelda's knees and shoulders and abs move in a completely alien way. The good news is once they're airborne, Zelda is lying down more than hanging from Amali's neck.
They spin upwards around the spire, then catch the wind as they reach the height of Vah Medoh. Amali glides, barely shifting her wings as they circle the Divine Beast.
Zelda shouts over the wind, "There's the warp point on her tail!" And therefore currently unusable, because the way Vah Medoh is perched has her tail practically vertical.
She wasn't expecting Amali to head that way, but she flicks the tips of her wings and rolls to the right, and they're gliding down towards the tail, pulling into a slow circle in front of it.
"Do you see the pedestal?" Zelda shouts.
"Yes."
"If I can touch it with the slate, I'll be able to activate it."
"You'll have to sit up."
Zelda gathers her courage and does so, holding on with only her thighs. If she just thinks of it like riding a horse...
Amali beats her wings once, and Zelda grabs for the straps at the back of her shirt. If she holds on like that with one hand, she can maybe lift the slate with the other, and hopefully she won't drop it...
When they're away from the Divine Beast, they seem to be moving slowly, barely progressing through the air, but as they circle closer and the pedestal comes rushing towards her she almost loses her nerve. She's going to drop the slate. She lets go of Amali and grabs the slate in both hands, clattering it to the pedestal as they rush past, twisting in her seat to hold it there as long as she can, then whipping herself flat against Amali's back before she can fall.
She has no idea if it worked. She sits up again and looks to the Divine Beast just as the warp point lights blue.
"It worked!" Amali calls.
"It worked!" Zelda laughs as they pull into a wider circle around Vah Medoh, preparing for their next target.
#
Amali shows tremendous courage when they enter Vah Medoh and find a landing place on one of the walls. They can't activate the map on a fly-by, but Amali lifts her in her claws and drops her onto the guidance stone, then swoops down to catch her should she fall. Zelda lands with an oof, but doesn't fall, and she's able to reach down to activate the map, which surprisingly works sideways. (There must be a force propelling the liquid other than simply gravity.)
After activating the second control unit in Vah Medoh's wing, Amali is comfortable enough to peer over Zelda's shoulder at the map while they rest and suggest how to reach the next one. She's awed by the inside of the Divine Beast, her voice lowered in reverence. At first she keeps her tail and wings raised so her feathers won't touch the walls.
But the third control unit, Zelda readily hops on and off Amali's back, keeping her seat even as she lifts the slate over her head with both hands.
This is infinitely easier than Vah Ruta or Vah Rudania. She wonders if someone from the Rito tribe will help them activate Vah Noboris.
They activate every control panel save the main control unit, which will need to wait until a Champion is chosen. Finished with their work, they spiral down to where Link is pacing Revali's landing with four of Amali's daughters.
Link jogs up to them, and he drops whatever concerned words he'd bottled up at the sight of her wind burned cheeks and blinding grin, at her excited report that they've activated Vah Medoh in just a matter of hours, as she excitedly pushes the slate into his face to show the images she took.
"Mama!" "Did you really go inside the Divine Beast?" "Will you take us next time?" "Does this mean you're the new Champion?"
Amali grins at them, then spreads her full wingspan to the mid-day sun, closes her eyes, and offers her smile to the sky. "Oh, my babies. Today is a beautiful day."