Zelda ran her hands up and down her face as she tempered the ravenous thoughts running through her mind. The Champions had retired to Daruk and Urbosa's quarters, the curtains drawn so as to prevent any prying eyes, where they had began to flesh out their plan, as tempestuous as that might have been. While the outline of the plot had been drawn, how to go about it had been a rather incongruous matter in itself, which a triumvirate of suggestions had been employed. As Zelda listened to the arguments, exhaustion had begun to settle within her in time with the waning sun, darkness casting over the Domain as the Champions continued disagreement.

"Just give him the fake sword!" Urbosa charged with a stern tongue, "Who cares if he knows what it is or doesn't? He'll recognize it soon enough whenever he's presented with the Master Sword!"

Daruk grinded a fist across his forehead, "Again, we cannot leave this matter to chance! Say he doesn't recognize it, or better yet, even if given a false weapon, who says he would take it from some random being anyway?"

"That's why we employ Mipha to do so," Urbosa explained, "If anything, he'll be willing to show off for a member of royalty."

"Bah," Daruk grumbled, "Such a ridiculous idea."

Revali gave a scathing reply, "This coming from the King of poor ideas. A rolling Goron travel agency. Those sands truly must have damaged whatever mass of thought you have in that boorish head of yours."

"It's a work in progress!" Daruk challenged.

Clicking his tongue, Revali shook his head, "I should have spoken sooner my idea. In the presence of one more erudite than you all, the Zora King would have recognized my plan as the most sensible."

"Oh yeah, sneaking the fake sword into the man's hand while he sleeps is a way better plan," Urbosa spoke with sarcastic droll as her eyes rolled out of view.

Revali shrugged, "It prevents any action of his toward the contrary. Once he wakes, think of the zeal upon his ego! He would take hold of Farosh's horn at that point!"

As the arguing progressed, Link remained silent off to the side, his eyes resting upon Mipha with concern as she sat apart from him, a downcast expression keeping her attention elsewhere. He wanted nothing more that to make his way toward her and take her in his arms, but with the Company present, such things were not available to him, leaving him as crestfallen as she. What might have been going through her mind, he wondered. Disappointment in him, sure. But beyond that? She seemed upset with herself more than him.

"Zelda, you must choose!" Daruk shouted with a sudden gasp of fuming breath, "We've made our arguments!"

Urbosa sighed, "I do hate to put you on the spot, child, but Daruk speaks the truth. Time is of the essence, and unfortunately, the darkness can only help our plot, so-"

Dropping her hands to reveal a face burning red from friction, Zelda groaned deeply, "I know, I know; just- I can't say I'm convinced of any of your plans."

"Bah!" Revali visibly complained amidst a scowl.

Zelda shrugged, "If I'm to handle such responsibility- It's what my father always said. The short-lived King acts; the wise King waits."

She scratched her ear as her face narrowed wistfully, "I know it's stupid, but- I'd like to think this is a trial for myself to overcome. I'd like to do it properly."

Sighing, having forgotten her role as this young woman's surrogate mother, Urbosa dropped her shoulders, "No, you're right. and it's not stupid."

She sent a finger out to bring Zelda's chin upward so that their eyes could meet, the Gerudo smiling sweetly, "You're tapped to be a Queen in your own right one day."

Zelda grinned brightly in reply, though the mood was rushed to a halt as Revali complained, "Waiting also brings you to your doom in some instances. I'd like to remind you that the longer we wait, the more resistance builds."

"You're right," Zelda groaned, "Regardless of what we do afterward, the first step of this plan is set in stone. Link, your sword?"

Link nodded in reply, noticing Mipha's eyes upon him as he stood, "You sure you can replicate the Master Sword from memory? "

A timid voice arose from Mipha as she surprisingly answered instead, "We can stop by the library if we need to. There are drawings of it in a few texts, I'm sure."

"We?" Zelda asked.

Link now watched her with concern while Daruk asked, "Wouldn't just one of us be less suspicious?"

"Perhaps. But Urbosa doesn't know these people like I do," Mipha began, reaching up toward her necklace, "Plus, I have this. I can command silence, should we run into a Niq sympathetic of those guests."

Daruk chuckled, "Who knew the two princesses amongst our group would be quite the tricksters!"

Mipha gave quite the mischievous grin as she stepped toward Urbosa, "I was a child myself, once."

Turning back to the others, she motioned toward Link, "He should be aware of such things."

Link nodded with a grin of his own before bringing his hands together in front of him, "I taught her how to do squirt-gun hands- you know, like this. That was in exchange for the time she and I raided the pantry at the inn."

Almost proudly, Mipha felt her posture straighten as her shoulders fell in line behind her, smiling brightly while Zelda reiterated, breaking her from her spell, "Alright, if you two are ready. We'll try to figure out the best way to lay out the next part of our plan back here."

Mipha and Urbosa traded nods before turning toward the entryway, stepping out beneath Link's concerned glance into the breezy air of the Domain, immediately forcing Urbosa's hands to run up and down her arms.

"We arrived a bit too late for you all to notice, but the waters cool before the cliffsides due as the sun sets," Mipha explained in apology, "It should grow more temperate within the hour."

"I hope so," Urbosa fought back a whine, "So, where to?"

Mipha replied simply enough, "Well, to the library, just in case. After that, we have an armor shop that should have all you need to forge that sword- or rather, alter it."

She eyed the Gerudo with interest, "I hadn't a clue you were a blacksmith."

Urbosa shrugged, "I know the other races often consider it 'men's work', but-"

She threw her arms up in presentation, allowing a giggle to leave Mipha as she answered, "I see."

"Seriously though, as Chieftain of a small town, you learn real quick that you haven't the numbers to have masters of their craft wandering around all over the place, so you sort of become a jack of all yourself, even if that results in becoming a master of none," Urbosa noted as she examined the sword in her hands, "The Hylians seem to pay homage to the Master Sword to begin with in their rank-and-file weaponry, so it shouldn't be much work at all, now that I'm seeing it."

Mipha appreciated her answer as the two began their descent to the lower sections of the Domain, leaving Urbosa so continue with a pensive voice, "You think this will work?"

"So long as my father wishes to avoid expelling them by force, this seems as good of an idea as any," Mipha offered gently.

Urbosa's eyes wandered down toward the Zora princess, "Even if your home is on the line? Seems kind of ridiculous to me just to avoid a fight that we could certainly win."

A silence fell upon the two for a moment, Mipha's spine curdling at the thought of Urbosa's own future, speaking almost with timidity at the response she was expecting, "Don't you have so much more on the line should this journey as a whole result in success?"

Admiring the gall Mipha presented in her question, whether knowingly or otherwise, Urbosa shone a smirk across her face, "One person's body doesn't equate to an entire people's home. That's another thing you'll learn, being the child of a King. That's why your father wishes to avoid violence. He'd much rather sacrifice his own rule before causing unrest among his people."

Urbosa shrugged, "I understand him in that regard. If I am destined to carry the spawn of evil incarnate, who am I to complain if such a thing is the only thing keeping my people from extinction?"

Suddenly remiss by having asked, Mipha simply remained quiet, even if Urbosa had seemed rather lackadaisical about the entire topic. Still, she understood more than Urbosa would ever know, having faced a similar ordeal. Regardless, as the two increased their care as they began toward the more crowded bottom portions of the Domain, such discussions were left behind in favor of focusing on the task at hand, even if it had left Mipha with a bit more respect for the woman at her side.

Ilem began packing away his things, sighing lightly to himself, longingly, yearning for a better life for his family than he had to offer. It was a dark shadow that constantly followed him, especially at the end of days like these- another day with nothing to show for his dedication. Clearing off his workbench, he allowed himself a moment to sit down and reflect, even if those thoughts did nothing but torment him. Dropping his head into his palm, a chilled sigh escaped him as his eyes caught the silhouette of his forge in his peripheral vision, shaking his head as if to a useless friend who refused to offer help.

A salty breeze overtook his skin, carrying with it the deep, worried voice of his wife, Nephetu, stepping in from the next room that had been constructed for the very forge that now hadn't a use, her body coming to a stop as she watched her husband wallowing once again in failure, her heart breaking not for his lack of success, but for the burden he, alone, held solely atop himself.

"Ilem…" she spoke up, masking the anguish in her voice.

He rose to his feet, "Nothing. Again."

Ilem's head turned to find a stray piece of metal casing lying on the floor, his hands balling into fists as he angrily seethed, "I can't catch a break. Two visiting troupes of outsiders, and what do they bring me but dread?"

He spun around to face his wife, throwing a finger toward the door, "Not a single rupee crossed that frame! The most rag-tag-stricken bunch of- ARGH!"

In a rage, Ilem threw his foot, slamming it in a blistering kick toward the metal casing, sending it careening into the wall with a massive CLANG that echoed throughout the open-air shop that he'd once helped construct himself.

"Ilem, please," Nephetu pleaded with a weakened timbre leaving her tongue, "You'll wake Laflat."

His growing frustration checked by the thought of his daughter, Ilem withheld any further outrage, instead standing there with his head tucked against his chest, his teeth barred angrily as he warded off further noise. His shut his eyes as tight as he could before tightening them even more, as if inflicting pain upon himself as his own retribution for offering such a pathetic existence for his family.

"Ilem," came the sweetly deep voice of his wife as she embraced him from behind, "This place was your dream. but it's killing you. And it's killing me to have to watch you do this to yourself, day after day."

He broke free from her arms, turning to face her, "I just need one break. Just one! Why couldn't have been those- those- goons?! or that conglomeration of whoever the heck?!"

"That's not how it works sometimes, my sweet," Neph answered breathlessly, not at all uncomfortable by now with continuously checking her husband's anger and delusions of better days ahead- these nights had become increasingly routine.

"You know what it is, don't you?" Ilem questioned without any space for a reply, "Those Hylian steelcrafters. How many of those long-ears come here for a taste of Zoran steel? None, that's who! If I could just- travel there and learn some-"

Nephetu's eyes narrowed, "You're not spending the last of our-"

"It's not a waste! It's an investment!" Ilem pleaded, "If I could match the Hylians, I could fuse that with the Zora technique-! Maybe construct steel that never fails!"

With a breathless sigh, Nephatu replied, "Ilem, we have a daughter. We have enough rupees to get her past this week's meals, but you want that to go toward a trip?"

Ilem's lips spun with venom at the insinuation of his idea being worthless, but just as quickly, the thought of his daughter pervaded throughout all else, leaving his shoulders weakened as he fell seated back onto his workbench, shaking his head. Nephetu's eyes lowered sorrowfully as she approached him, sitting at his side and running her hand along his back, doing what she could to comfort him.

"What do I do, Neph?" he asked with a shaky voice.

She frowned, "I don't know, my sweet. This place was your dream. I dare not tell you to abandon it, but- Something has to change. You refuse help from our peers; you send Laflat out to her training in worn armor that threatens to get her speared instead of accepting what they have to spare."

"No, no," Ilem muttered, shaking his head, "When I opened this shop, I made a promise to myself that I would be a proud beacon of my people, not an embarrassment."

He pointed beyond his wife toward the forge in the adjoining enclosure, "So long as that forge is alight, I haven't wholly made a mockery of my life."

"My sweet," Neph quietly whispered, "You have a daughter's life, now, to think about."

Ilem gave an enthusiastic nod, "Think how proud she'd be to continue this shop's history once I pass! I just have to keep my head down and keep trying to-"

"Ilem," his wife repeated with dread, "We-"

A gentle rapping came from the doorframe, jolting the two's attention toward the knocking to find the Princess standing there, oddly enough, with a tall Gerudo woman at her side. Nephetu recoiled in fright, knowing that Lady Mipha being here this late was quite the oddity, though Ilem immediately leapt to his feet, scurrying over toward the door with the pitter-patter of a child during the winter holidays.

"Y-Yes! How may I assist you!" he served with a chipper voice that contrasted his tearful face, even after he had wiped his arm along his eyes, "I've shut down the forge, but if you don't mind waiting, I haven't a problem serving you both at any time of night!"

Neph whispered, "Laflat is sleeping…"

Ilem gave a nervous smile over his shoulder before returning to the guests with a weakly assuring laugh, leaving Mipha to inquire with her own concern, "Ilem? Are you-"

"Okay? Why, yes! Certainly!" he happily replied, earning him a questioning glance from Urbosa, "Whatever might be the matter?"

Mipha pulled her lips inward, deeply uncertain by the man's reassurances, though she knew this wasn't the time to question him, simply continuing along, "Well, we need your assistance. This is Urbosa."

Shared nods between the two.

"We have this blade here-"

As Urbosa revealed the sword, Ilem's eyes lit up, "Oh! A magnificent blade at that! Hylian crafted… Looks like, perhaps…of the smelter's guilds, not the workmen from the bladesmith himself. See?"

He reached out to grasp the blade himself, pointing at notches within its construction that Mipha and Urbosa might as well have been blind upon review, "These divots are left only by the most skilled craftsmen; sort of like an autograph. It's easy to mistake for faults in the construction, but these won't cause issues with the steel itself; it will remain trued. I'm honored to be in its service!"

For a moment, Nephetu could smile warmly at the man she once knew well enough to offer her very life to.

Ilem eyed the two guests, "What shall I perform? Does it require sharpening? I can ensure its hilt it well-stocked to resist impact!"

Urbosa, recognizing the man's devotion, warily offered as her face contorted with anxiety, "Well, we kind of need to…alter it."

"Alter?!" Ilem retorted with shock, pulling the sword against his chest, "This sword was crafted by-!"

"We know," Mipha suddenly interjected, reaching a hand up to cover her chest, "Ilem, it's important."

The man's brow, furrowed as it was in concern for the piece of steel within his arms, tightened further before Mipha went on, "I don't even have to ask you to do it. Urbosa here knows some steelworking herself. So long as we could borrow your forge, she can-"

"You know how to work with steel?" Ilem suddenly wondered with credulous intrigue.

Urbosa nodded, "I do."

"So, uh, you know some- how was it- tricks of the trade?"

Shrugging, Urbosa answered, "I mean, I suppose. I haven't a knack or anything, but I know enough to be serviceable. My teacher was Toseifi, who was well-renowned for her technique of burying plated steel in the sand and creating a glassy exterior that was rather prized by many in Hyrule."

"Reeeally…" Ilem managed as his mind spun, "You wouldn't be able to show me some of that, would you?"

Urbosa's eyes fell skeptical as she charged, "Offer us your forge and you have a deal."

Ilem examined the sword in his arms once more. What was a single sword against a lifetime of practicing future works of art?

"Alright, let's light her up!" he declared excitedly, returning the sword to Urbosa before disappearing into the next room to stoke the forge, leaving Nephetu to groan exasperatingly as she rose to her feet, massaging her face with her hand as she followed her husband into the adjoined room.

Urbosa shrugged, turning to Mipha, "That was easy."

"I suppose it was," Mipha replied with an exhausted air of her own.

Before them, Nephetu returned to the main shop area with a Zora child's hand in hers, Laflat following at her side with her head sunken in tire. The mother smiled weakly at the guests as if to ensure that they weren't any imposition, despite the scene of a woman nearly dragging her near-sleeping daughter from her bed, before the two made their way to the back of the shop where Nephetu offered her arms as a bed once she lifted her daughter against her torso.

"I'm already feeling guilty…" Mipha noted weakly.

Urbosa attempted to convince her quietly, pulling the rolled up page from her pocket, "It won't take too long. It's really just a few things, like- The winged hilt is that low?!"

Biting her lip did little to settle Mipha's quivering nerves, but she still caught some semblance of relief at smoke began to exhaust itself from the forge room, leaving Ilem to wander out with a face charred black with soot.

"Voila!" he declared.

Urbosa nodded with a smirk as she made her way toward the forge before Mipha grabbed her by the arm to inform her, "I'll stay out here, just in case."

Nodding in agreement, the Gerudo continued on her path, with Ilem enthusiastically following her along in hopes of learning some long-lost secret art. This left Mipha near the shop's entrance to keep watch, though she couldn't help but return her glances toward Nephetu and Laflat, a dour feeling overtaking her as she did so. She remembered so many nights shared with her own mother in her arms, but now that she had passed- Even had she still been alive, there were yet bridges unmended; enough, Mipha knew, to keep such loving displays from being shared.

Nephatu noticed Mipha's attention upon her, smiling nervously in reply at the idea of being looked upon by a member of royalty, before bowing her head to keep tending to her exhausted daughter, ensuring that she was sleeping soundly even in her arms.

With a massive plume of smoke trailing behind him, Ilem burst from the adjacent room, leaping toward Mipha with a start, "Lady Mipha! I am to tell you-!"

He slid to a halt, his eyes zeroed in on the shop's entrance. Mipha followed his gaze only for her eyes to widen in surprise at the sight of the Niq visitors approaching them, though it was only two of them: that large, brutish one, Helor, along with the only woman who'd been traveling with them, her stagnant sneer remaining from the last time Mipha had seen her. Ilem did his best to present himself as a proper host, anxious as he was over their bedraggled appearances, slowly approaching them.

"W- W- Well, uh- Hello, there…" he managed, "May- May I help-"

Helor's eyes turned toward Mipha, "You're a hard Zora to find."

Urbosa's ears perked up. She peered out from her enclosure, but slid against the wall instead of leaving, listening along as she sat the sword down carefully.

A wise Queen waits, she thought to herself.

Mipha didn't reply.

Snickering, Helor cocked his head toward his accomplice, "I was told to bring Avoh because she can get anybody to speak, or do as we say. Dolare and Akis would like to speak to you, particularly about the future of this Domain."

Rather wishing she had brought her trident, Mipha simply replied, heeding the earlier warning, "Why? If my father goes, I go with him."

"It needn't be so black and white," Helor explained with a shrug, a smirk stretching across his face, "If you were to hear our Master out, I'm sure you'd find his rule to be rather beneficial. He is to bring about a new age of prosperity for the Zora. We spent too many years apart from this Domain; we wouldn't wish those trials upon anybody else."

He cackled suddenly, "Well, maybe a few…"

Mipha's eyes jumped to Avoh, who hadn't moved an inch, though the ferocious-looking woman allowed her eyes to survey the room.

"If it helps persuade you…" Helor muttered, motioning his head forward.

In a blindingly split second, Avoh had leapt toward Ilem, her arm spun around his neck to keep him yanked down to her level, a dagger in her arm pressed into the tender meat of his neck. Nepthatu jumped to her feet in terror, Laflat remaining asleep in her arms, but a stern stare from Helor prevented her from moving further.

"If either of you move," Helor threatened, "You'll learn real quick why Avoh's dorsal fin has been stripped from her body."

Still emotionless, Avoh kept the shivering man in her clutches, though her eyes remained on Mipha despite Ilem's protests.

"L-L-L- Let's j- just-!"

Avoh jerked his body downward just enough to press the dagger into his neck for a moment without exerting any motion from her other arm, leaving Ilem whimpering in her grasp.

Allowing a quiet moment to resonate with his prey, Helor finally spoke up, "You're to come with us, Princess. Failure to do so will result in more deaths than these."

Mipha watched Ilem's shivering body, her eyes narrowing determinately as she returned to Helor, "Let him go."

The brute watched her for a moment before nodding his instruction to Avoh, who did as she was told, slithering away as Ilem dropped to his knees, unable to find the energy to stand as he gasped for breath. Mipha stepped toward him, crouching down and patting his back, her benevolence earning her a wayward glance from him.

"Lady…Mipha," he managed in between choking breaths.

She shook her head, "Finish what you're doing and return to your family. If I'm to be taken, I'm sure it will be to the prisons on the eastern cliffs; you know the ones?"

Ilem's brows coursed with confusion, "Lady Mi-"

"Do you understand?" she repeated.

His eyes strained, Ilem slowly nodded in reply before Mipha rose to her feet, "Don't come after me. I can look after myself, after all. Besides-"

She eyed Helor, "It wouldn't do them much good to kill a Princess."

The massive brute snickered, "Maybe not kill one."

Despite the shivering along her spine, Mipha kept a tenacious face as she began toward him. Her feet had long gone numb, ever since Ilem had been a mere inch from death, though she did as she had routinely done. She had learned long ago, keeping a straight face was the best medicine against fear. As she approached the brutish pair, Helor grinned once again.

"I trust we won't have to restrain you?"

Mipha eyed him with something resembling confirmation, leaving him to shrug as the two of them turned to leave with Mipha following behind them. Where she was headed, she did not know; whether for a simple talk, to imprisonment, or perhaps even death.

But what was her life compared to all of her people?

Urbosa grinded her teeth angrily as she slammed a fist into her palm, pushing it ever deeper against her skin until her hand began to ache. She shut her eyes, attempting to calm herself down, knowing what still had to be done, until Ilem slowly slid his way back into the room.

"I-" he muttered, "I'm-"

"No time for apologies," Urbosa assured angrily, grabbing the sword and slamming it atop the forge before taking the hammer and slamming it atop the steel with such force that sparks went cascading throughout the room, illuminating the furious expression she now wore.

She had caught Mipha's message. The eastern cliffside. Without question, Urbosa knew Revali would be in the mood for some scouting by the time she returned to the others.