Kira

The excitement and adrenaline that Kira had initially felt while leaving the stable with Link had worn off by dusk—they had been on horseback for close to twelve hours; the only stops they'd made had been brief, and she'd not had anything to eat other than a few apples that had been meant for the horses. Kira shifted in her saddle, wincing at the pain from her tired hips. Her thighs were chapped and sore.

She glanced over at Link, wondering if this was how he normally traveled. Despite the long road, he looked as determined as ever, and rode steadfastly ahead of her. Occasionally, he'd glance behind to ensure that she was still there, though they rarely spoke. She watched as Link grabbed an odd-looking tablet from his belt for the hundredth time. Nudging Diana into a trot, Kira sidled up next to Link and Eros.

"What is that?" She finally asked. She'd been studying it for the entire day and still could not make out what it was, what he was using it for. He turned to look at her but said nothing. Kira sighed.

"What is what?" He answered. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please. That…thing that you've been staring at all day. Did you think I wasn't going to notice your mysterious-looking glow rock?"

"It's not a rock."

"It sure looks like it's made of stone…"

"Well, it is made of…" Link shook his head, "Never mind."

Noticing that Link had quickened his pace, she trotted Diana back up to his side again. Leaning slightly over in her saddle, she peered at Link's belt, trying to get a better look at the tablet. It was adorned with ancient markings that Kira did not recognize, the most prominent being a blue eye in the center. It was surrounded by an intricate design splashed with an orange hue; the whole thing glowed faintly and pulsed with an energy that made it seem alive.

"Stop that," Link said flatly. Kira screwed up her face.

"I'm just trying to look at it since you won't tell me what it is."

"It's…for navigation."

"So, a map." she said. Link sighed.

"Yes, among other things."

"What else does it do?"

Link pulled back on Eros' reins and came to a halt.

"This looks like a good place to stop for the night," he said, surveying the area around them. "The horses are tired."

Kira scoffed. "Yes, the horses are tired," she muttered under her breath.

"What?"

"What? Nothing."

Link's eyes narrowed but he remained silent. He spurred Eros on, motioning for Kira to follow behind him. They led the horses off of the main road and into a small, lush clearing neighbored by steep cliffs. In the shadow of a towering hill lay a shallow pond. Kira looked around, taking in their surroundings. Not far from the pond was a thicket of oak trees emerging from dense brush; bright purple thistles and yellow-green clover decorated the grass near the water's edge. Looking up, she saw a familiar beam of red light from one of the Divine Beasts slicing through the sunset.

"Oh, look!" She said, following the beam with her eyes, "You can really see the castle from here." She quickly dismounted and made her way up to higher ground to get a better look. From her new vantage point atop a small ridge, Kira was able to see Hyrule Castle in its entirety, and she felt her stomach drop. She had heard about the Calamity from travelers passing through Akkala, but she was overcome with a fresh dread as she saw it for herself.

A thick cloud of black and crimson swallowed the castle, writhing around it like a snake. The castle itself looked infected; crumbling and sallow from a century of decay. It gave her a sinister feeling that made her skin crawl, but she could not seem to look away. She didn't know what she had expected, but it was not this.

"Oh." She said softly. Feeling a presence, she turned to see that Link had joined her. He watched the castle with an almost melancholy look on his face. Kira turned to him.

"Do you think it's true what they're saying? About the descendant?"

"What?"

"About the descendant of one of Princess Zelda's champions," she answered, gesturing vaguely to the beam above them, "The one who's been reclaiming all of the Divine Beasts." Link chuckled. Kira huffed.

"Well, I think it's true. They say that he has power that no one has seen since the Calamity 100 years ago…and only a true descendant of a champion could control a Divine Beast. Right?"

"I wouldn't know, I wasn't there," Link replied in a dismissive way that Kira immediately decided that she wasn't fond of. He began walking back towards the horses, both of whom had taken to the pond for a drink.

"Besides, you shouldn't rely on hearsay," He said over his shoulder. Kira stumbled down the ridge after him.

"You know, you're right. I'll just ask him myself," she said. She saw Link hesitate as his eyes darted to her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, the only Divine Beast left is in Gerudo, yeah? Maybe we'll see him when we get there."

"Yes, maybe we will."

After the horses had been watered, Link and Kira unbridled them in order to let them graze. Like most of the journey up to that point, there was little conversation as the two set up a makeshift camp; Kira foraged for sticks while Link cleared a space for a fire in the tall grass. She had watched him as he unsheathed his sword and wielded it skillfully, clearing his chosen spot in mere seconds. She found her eyes drawn to his arms in particular and followed them intently as they tensed and flexed while he moved. Feeling an odd, sudden tightness in her chest, she'd quickly looked away.

Kira sat on the mossy bank of a quiet stream that they'd found nearby while Link waded in the water, bow poised and arrow ready. She sharpened sticks with a dagger Link had given her as she watched him scout for fish. His eyes were intense as he scanned the water. The tangerine glow of the setting sun reflected in the gentle stream, its burbling the only sound. She thought about what she might say to strike up a conversation as they each went about their tasks, but nothing seemed quite important enough to break the silence.

Where is your family from? Hm, too personal.

How do you feel about…dogs? Idiot, everyone likes dogs. That's not even a question.

You have a very nice sword. No; shit! Do not say that.

She sighed loudly and dropped the sticks; she saw Link's eyes dart towards her as they clattered to the ground. Kira felt her cheeks flush.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she whispered. Link shook his head, finally relaxing his stance.

"It's alright. I haven't seen a single fish, anyhow." He briefly glanced at the forest surrounding them, as if he were analyzing it. "I may have to go and find us something else to eat."

"I can always try and forage for…"

Kira yelped as the sudden snap of Link's bow startled her. He had whipped around without warning and shot an arrow into the water a good distance away from them. A ribbon of crimson flowed from where the arrow had landed, and she saw a satisfied smile on Link's face. She gawked at him; at both his marksmanship and the fact that he was actually capable of smiling. Slinging the bow on his back, he went to retrieve the arrow. He then hoisted not one, but two, fish out of the water. Kira watched in awe as he held his catch up for her to see.

"They must've been hiding," he called out matter-of-factly. He made his way back over to her and laid the fish on the grass. He nodded, pleased.

"This'll do fine, I think," he said. He then looked up at Kira quizzically.

"What?"

"That…that was amazing, are we just not going to talk about that?"

"I caught some fish," he stated.

"Yeah, two of them. At the same time. With a bow and arrow."

She stared at Link expectantly, but he shrugged and glanced at the fish still speared on the arrow.

"When you travel as much as I do, you learn to find food. And how to protect yourself; you get a lot of practice out here, too," he sighed, glancing around, "plenty of things that want to kill you." Link hesitated and studied Kira oddly as though he were trying to solve a puzzle. She raised a brow.

"It's not polite to stare," she quipped, a smile creeping onto her face. Link immediately looked away, his hand retreating to the back of his head. He fumbled with his hair.

"I was not staring," he insisted.

"Ah. So, you were just looking at me for an extended period of time without blinking, then?" Link scoffed.

"I certainly blinked," he muttered.

"Debatable."

Link squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his temple.

"Look, I was just thinking that we hadn't discussed whether or not you know how to handle a weapon," he said.

"Is that a euphemism for something?"

"Kira, please."

She laughed and leaned back, her elbows sinking into the plush grass.

"Sorry, I'm sorry. You were saying?"

"I was saying that it's important that you know how to defend yourself. Have you been trained with a weapon of any kind?"

She puzzled at that. Thinking back to her childhood, she remembered Hoz attempting to teach her how to wield his spear once. She had begged him countless times to let her try, and he had finally given in. She recalled him hesitantly guiding her hands as she held it, showing her what to do should an enemy approach. In that moment, she'd been filled with a foreign, powerful boldness. Before they could go any further, however, Rudi had stormed out of the stable and knocked the spear from her hands. He'd carried her back inside and set her on her bed, and then returned to reprimand Hoz for his 'recklessness'.

"She's much too young for that, and you know it, Hoz," she'd heard him say as she sat on the corner of her bed, angry tears stinging her face.

"We'll wait until she's older."

"You and I both know that that's not the reason, Rudi," Hoz had said sadly. Kira had always wondered what he meant by that, but she'd never found out. Despite her father's promise that she'd learn when she was older, it had never come to fruition. She shook her head.

"No," she finally said to Link, "I don't suppose I have." He nodded gravely.

"We'll have to remedy that," he said, picking up the fish and a couple of the sharpened sticks, "It's just going to get more dangerous from this point on. You'll need to be able to protect yourself should I not be there." Kira sat up and crossed her arms, screwing up her face.

"Um, excuse me? Who said anything about me needing your help in the first place?" she challenged.

"You said yourself that you wouldn't be able to get to Gerudo without me," Link answered. He began skewering the fish onto the sticks. Kira's stomach flipped as she watched him.

"For navigation. I can certainly handle myself otherwise. I could fight if I needed to."

"Well, you're going to need to." He held out his free hand, offering to help her up. Taking it, he hoisted her off of the ground. She placed her hands on her hips and stared at him expectantly.

"Okay, Mr. Warrior. Are you going to teach me, then?" Another glimmer of a smile graced Link's tired face before he turned away from her to begin walking back to camp. Kira saw him motion to her and she followed, but not without an exasperated sigh.

When the fire had been built, Link drove the sticks into the ground and carefully positioned them near the flames and left the fish to roast. The horses continued to graze nearby as the sun's light began to fade. Kira sat cross-legged by the small fire and watched with hungry eyes as the meat began to sizzle and pop; her stomach made a noisy, gurgling sound. She turned away from the fish in an attempt to distract herself from her hunger and noticed that Link was no longer beside her. He had walked over to the tree where they'd laid the horses' saddles and was rummaging through an unusually large saddlebag.

From it, he pulled a narrow smallsword. She eyed him curiously. He made his way back to her and held the sword's blade in his hand gingerly, offering her the hilt.

"Do you just…have extra swords?" she asked with a smirk. Link stared at her blankly.

"Is that a trick question?"

"Oh, give it here," she said. Taking the sword from him, she stood and immediately gave it a wide swing. Link held out his hand and took a large step backwards.

"Woah, okay. Easy. Let me at least show you how to hold it first," he said. Kira twisted and tilted the sword in her hand some more, smiling.

"What's wrong with how I'm holding it now?"

Link stepped forward and drew his sword. With one swift movement, he struck Kira's sword and it tumbled out of her hand and onto the ground. She gaped at him.

"Hey!"

"You were using a hammer grip, which is fine, but it can cause you to hyperextend your wrist—which you did. It makes for a weak stance; easy to unarm."

She scoffed at him and stooped to pick up her sword.

"That's hardly fair, I wasn't ready."

Link chuckled lightly, and Kira felt the heat of irritation slowly growing in her chest. She steadied herself on her feet and grasped the sword firmly as she had before. Narrowing her eyes, she nodded at Link. He took a deep breath in and steeled himself, grinning.

Before she could even react, Link pivoted swiftly on one foot and struck Kira's sword with his own, delivering a harsh blow that both disarmed her and knocked her off of her feet. She lay on the grass in a daze, blankly staring up at the evening sky. Head buzzing and body aching from the impact, she sucked in a large breath that stung her lungs. Link's face came into view, peering down at her.

"Okay," she said weakly, "Show me how to hold it."

Link once again offered her his outstretched hand. She accepted, taking his right forearm in her right hand. Kira reeled as he lifted her up, still disoriented from her fall; she stumbled forward as her feet suddenly refused to hold her weight. She found herself colliding with Link's chest as he clumsily attempted to keep her standing by hooking one arm around her waist, the other bracing her shoulder. When Kira finally found her bearings and looked up, Link's eyes locked with hers. She was frozen in his grasp, unsure of what to do next. His embrace was strong but somehow gentle; his arms felt just as steady and powerful as they had looked earlier.

Feeling heat begin to prickle in her face, Kira stepped away from him, her gaze falling to her feet.

"I'm sorry," she said, attempting to veil the panic in her voice, "I guess I lost my balance."

"No, I'm sorry," he replied worriedly, "I should have taken into consideration that you'd never done this before." Kira looked up at Link; an expression of genuine concern painted his face. She waved at him in dismissal.

"Don't be sorry. I've got to learn, right?"

Link chuckled.

"I suppose so."

"Now," Kira said, walking over to where she'd dropped her weapon, "Show me the right way." She picked up the sword and faced Link, readying her stance. She was eager to shake off the odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. Link approached her, but sheathed his sword.

"I'd be happy to, but why don't we eat something first?" he suggested, nodding his head towards the fire.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" he asked.

"Sure, I could eat."

Hello, everyone! Happy Wednesday. I hope everyone is doing well-I know some of you must be in quarantine or self-isolation like myself. I'm sending everyone positive energy this week.

I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you for being here. Until next time!