I know it's been a while, but I'm still around and this story is not near over. Got sick for a while, but I'm all better now. I've had a lot going on as well, but I have more time now. Hope you're still enjoying the adventure.


Chapter 43

Fun Things

Link's PoV

I walk into town the next morning to buy something I saw yesterday and haven't been able to stop thinking about. Inside the weapon and armor shop, I walk up the stairs and stand in front of the collection of paragliders. Something about floating on the wind calls to me, so much so that I dreamed about it last night. I didn't tell Zelda what I was going into town for. Instead, I only hinted that it would be a surprise she'd enjoy as well as I walked off leaving her confused in the shade. I hope I'm right.

The shopkeeper gives me a run down on how they are made, how they work, and how they fold up and expand. The paragliders range in price from two hundred rupees at the cheapest and five hundred at the most expensive. I select one in the high-middle ground for four hundred and ten rupees, judging it by its quality and an extra feature that looks very practical. I'm sure Zelda will like the adjustable body strap holster connected to it, a feature added for those who need or want extra security from falling from the sky. It's also a good buy for those who also don't have the upper body strength to hold themselves for a long time, making it probably safer in general. I consider that a bonus considering how cautious she is about anything that could put my life or hers in peril. Before I leave he politely warns me not to go jumping off any cliffs before I learn to use it. I respond saying that anyone with common sense would take that advice. He chuckles nervously and mutters "Not everyone..." as I walk out the door.


Back at our camp, Zelda looks up from the book she's reading and welcomes me back. Upon seeing what I have in my hands she places her bookmark and sets it aside.

"Have you ever gone paragliding?" I ask, even though I'm sure about her answer.

Zelda shakes her head. "Never. But I have always wanted to. A man comes to Lurelin Village every year and glides down from the above mountain. It looks really fun, but I don't know if I'm brave enough."

I'm slightly shocked when she says the words "I've always wanted to."

"I'm going to go try it out. You can stay here if you want."

"What? No way. I'm definitely coming to watch."

We walk north of the trees we've made camp in until we find a good spot to give it a go. I step my legs into the bottom part harness attached to the glider and pull the rest of it up my body. Zelda helps buckle and tighten the straps around my waist and across my chest. When I hold the glider above my head and stretch my arms out everything feels secure, so I back up a few steps and look at Zelda with a grin. She gives me a thumbs up.

"Ready to fly?"

"Hell yeah."

I run and leap from the small ridge we're on when I feel a gust of wind at my back. I'm almost instantly jerked up slightly before I'm sailing through the air. Well, "sailing"isn't really the word, it actually feels more like I'm floating. Either way, it feels incredible and I laugh and shout in exhilaration. After landing quite a ways downhill with a jogging descent, I immediately want to go again. I shout up to Zelda to stay where she is as I jog back up there.

When I ask her if she wants to go with me this time, Zelda asks if it will hold us both and I respond that I'm sure it will so she says "Let's do it!" so I crouch down and tell her to climb on my back. Once her arms and legs are wrapped around me I stand up. Zelda asks me if she's heavy and I tell her she isn't. I run forward and jump again and Zelda shrieks during our brief drop before we're floating through the air. I'm glad for the straps holding me to the glider so I don't have to seriously focus on holding us up so I can just enjoy the ride, though I'm sure I could hold myself up for a while doing this if needed. Once we land and come to a stop, Zelda lets herself down to her feet and squeals in excitement before jogging around in front of me with a giant grin on her face.

"That was amazing!" She squeals. "Whoever thought gliding through the air with a sail above you is a genius."

"Agreed. I'm pretty sure this counts as a daredevil stunt though. Sure you're cool with that?" I ask, wishing I hadn't right after because then Zelda has her thinking face on, and I know the wheels inside her brain are calculating her answer.

"Tell you what, this will be our dangerous daredevil thing'." She says, matter-of-factly with her index finger held up as if she's making a point. I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Great. What do you say about taking the excitement to the next level?"

"How so?"

"By jumping off from way up there." I say pointing.


Ten minutes later we stand on top of the mountain above the hot spring looking down over all the trees around it. I can't believe that she agreed to do this. I notice that Zelda's expression keeps changing between happiness and excitement to absolutely terrified and nervous. I feel exactly the same way. This is far different than the feeling I would get before climbing up and down a cliffside. We're standing here with the insane idea to jump off a mountain, which makes me nervous even with a paraglider with thick body straps. Most people who know me well call me words like "fearless" or "brave" but I'm not sure that I'm either now. I thought this was a great idea when I suggested it, but the rational part of my mind is screaming at me like "Now this is insane buddy. What are you thinking?!"

Then again, people do this all the time. I've seen many travelers jump off cliffs and mountains much, much higher and steeper than where Zelda and I stand now and land perfectly safe. I feel that inner "bravery" of mine seeping back into me as I close my eyes recalling the countless times I've watched other people do this.

We'll be fine. I'm sure of it.

"Still up for this, Zel?"

"Yep." She says, standing up straight and putting her hands on her hips. Good. If she has confidence then I can certainly keep building mine up.

I kneel down so Zelda can climb on my back again then stand up and walk through the grass until we're approximately twenty-five feet from the edge of the mountain. I ask her once again if she's ready to do this and when she says "Yes" it comes out a quiet squeak.

"You sure? We don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"No. I want to. Why? Are you having second thoughts?" Her voice sounding a bit stronger.

"Nope." I say, before taking a few deep, slow breaths, pumping myself up with as much courage I can muster.

"Then let's do this!" Zelda says, sounding half very nervous-half very excited. Her voice sums up how every atom of my body feels right now.

"Alright! Here we go! Hold on as tight as you can Zel. Okay?" I shout and Zelda squeezes her arms and legs around me tight.

"Okay!" She shouts.

I take one more deep breath and let it out before I sprint as fast as I can toward the mountain cliff. My stomach suddenly feels like it has leaped in my throat as my body realizes we're really doing this. Too late to be scared now, I tell myself in the last moment before I leap off the mountain with a battle cry leaving my lungs. We free fall for what feels like an eternity, in which I stop breathing and hear Zelda scream behind me, her body lifting upwards off my back. She clings onto me even tighter, her fingernails scratching me through my shirt. Then we're suddenly jerked upwards as the wind catches the sail of the of paraglider and relief washes over me and Zelda gasps for air, her fingers grasping my shirt as she sucks in air heavily. She hyperventilates a few times before first laughing shakily and then for real. We both shout and whoop loudly as we float through the air, riding a high of pure thrill and elation.

If sailing down the hillside near our camp was fun, floating through the air after jumping off a mountain is amazing. There is nothing like flying over treetops about forty to fifty feet in the air. We look down and see several people gazing up at us, a few of them pointing and cheering, shouting hellos. Zelda waves at them with one hand and shouts "Hello!" as we slowly descend into the grass just beyond those trees. As soon as we land, Zelda says we should go again and I respond with a "hell yes."


Zelda's PoV

I never thought I'd be brave enough to climb onto someone's back and agree to jump off a mountain with them with a paraglider, but that was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I'm surprised by myself honestly, I never thought I would do something so dangerous and enjoy it this much. I'm afraid of heights and yet I was all for doing exactly what I've told Link not to do many times: risk my life.

Nobody else could have convinced me to hold onto them with no support, where I could just fall with just one hard gust of wind to knock our paraglider off course, or lose my grip and go screaming to my death. I'm kind of shocked that I didn't think of any of that before we leapt off the mountain. Link usually is cautious about my safety, but I don't blame him for getting lost in the excitement just as deep as I did. A month ago I would never been brave enough to even consider doing what we just did, and now I want to do it over and over. I recall Link telling me how I've changed him and I'm starting to think he's changing me as well.

As we walk back to our camp I'm still buzzing over the thrill of floating through the air. I'm so excited to write Tetra and tell her all about it, mostly because she's not going to believe I actually did it. I'm the scaredy-cat between of the two of us and all our friends in Lurelin. Hearing about this will probably shock them all. When we get back to camp I don't waste any time taking out my stationary and pen and beginning to write. Link asks me if he can have a piece of paper and I say of course, handing him one along with my extra pen. I realize that for once I didn't have to remind him about his promise of "one letter a week" to Aryll. I almost point that out but decide to keep it to myself.

When we're done, we walk down into Tarrey Town to mail our letters then wander around there, meeting fellow travelers and sharing stories. I don't even blink when many of them recognize us this time around and instead just hold Link's hand and grin as they tell both of us how awesome they think we are. I do so so easily that now I see my silly fear of being recognized was the stupidest thing in the world. All those dumb nightmares, so much wasted time being paranoid. It was all such a waste. I feel so much freer now being able to accept everything so completely, to not have to fear it anymore. Somehow I just know I won't have dreams like that anymore because I'm now so excited to meet everyone as Sheik. I have Link and the wonderful people of Kakariko and Zora's Domain to thank for my newfound confidence. Maybe I'll find a way to thank them all someday.


The next morning I take Link's paraglider and try it out on my own. I'm happy to find that it's just as easy as I assumed. When I return to our camp and he wakes up, I let him know that I want my own paraglider, so we walk into Tarrey Town and up to the weapons shop they're sold in. The shopkeeper greets us cheerfully and personally guides me to the flying contraptions. I tell him I want one just like the one Link bought from him yesterday. Just before I hand over the money, the man gives me a hundred rupee discount on it. I stupidly ask him if he's sure and he says "For you, of course! I'm a fan of yours." I should feel flattered, but his voice and the look he gives me as he says that creeps me out. I force a smile and say thank you.

Link calls me over to where he stands on the opposite side of the shop. A huge sign on the wall behind the table reads:

Elemental Arrows now back in stock! Get them before they're sold out!

I'm instantly curious as I look at the colorful arrows displayed neatly in front of us. Mr. shopkeeper suddenly appears behind us, startling me as he starts telling us about them. He says that he definitely recommends them and we will not be disappointed. Link says he wants ten of each and pulls three silver rupees from his wallet and hands them over. I stare at the money as he hands it over, biting my lip at how much they cost. I paid three hundred and seventy five for my paraglider and he's paying three hundred for thirty arrows?!

They damned better be worth it.

Not that he need worry about money, I guess. Link is this year's mega rich Golden Arrow Champion after all.

We both thank the creepy shopkeeper before we leave and he highly recommends that we go to Ulria Grotto before we try them out. When we get outside I ask Link where that place is and he tells me it's about an hour walk from here. Before I can ask him why we would walk, he explains that the area is quite treacherous for horses. I tell him we will be boarding them at a stable, then, as I will not have our steeds left out in a dangerous storm. Link laughs and points up to the clear cloudless sky before asking me if I really think it's going to rain. I remind him that the weather was just as nice when we were down at Rist Peninsula and we were almost killed in a lightning storm a few hours later. I stare up at him as he searches his mind for an answer to that before he sighs and admits I'm right.


Link's PoV

I watch as Zelda uses her charm to convince the Tarrey Town stable owner to let us keep our horses there while we're off adventuring. This stable does not board horses for more than an hour or two for anyone, which is why it's such a big deal that the man agrees to take care of them for us for the day after we give him eighty rupees - twice as much as we'd usually owe for a boarding. She gives him a brilliant smile as she says "You're so kind. Thank you so much" blinking her eyes at him and the man says "You're very welcome, Miss Sheik."

As we walk away I shake my head and Zelda gives me a look.

"What?"

"I've seen people ask that mn to let them keep their horses with him for the day countless times and he has never let them. You can get anyone to do anything you want with a sweet voice."

"Coming from the guy who makes girls melt just by looking at them with a smile." She retorts.

I think about that for a few seconds before I answer. "Fair... It especially worked on you."

Zelda punches me lightly in the shoulder, her cheeks tinting pink. I won't lie, I enjoy how she still gets embarrassed when I tease her after all this time. She steps in front of me and gives me a smirk of her own before planting her lips on mine, arms over my shoulders.

We stop by our camp and grab a few supplies before heading southwest toward our next destination. As soon as we get there we see a sign that reads "Welcome to Ulria Grotto: Home of the famous Akkala Wind Park" with all the rules of the area written below it. During my first trip around the world, I didn't hear about this place until I was over in the Tabantha region, so this is my first time here as well. Zelda grabs my hand and hurries me over to the cliffside in front of us. Two people suddenly appear from around the mountainside to our left, shooting up high up before they just float in midair, nothing but their paragliders holding them up.

Zelda and I look at each other wide eyed before we both pull our own gliders from our backs. We take a running jump off the cliffside we're on and I'm taken by surprise when the air current below us propels me upward. I'm beyond glad for the straps connected to my paraglider as my hands slip right off the handles as I'm taken off guard. I look down and see a lake with giant wind funnels on each side. I'm currently floating over the top of the nearer one. I've never done or seen anything like this and it's just as cool as people have told me.

Zelda calls my name as she floats past me grinning like crazy. "This is incredible!" She exclaims.

"It's definitely on my top ten!" I answer.

We both have a little trouble getting off the wind current directly below us until someone else shouts to us to use our body weight to "steer" our direction in the air. I shout back thanks as we do so and successfully glide toward the other end of the lake. Once there were both caught by another wind funnel and launched back toward the sky, spinning in wide circles on the way up. We both laugh as we glide to the other side of the lake and get propelled up into the air again. I can't get enough of it and I can tell that Zelda is enjoying this as much as I am.

After a lot more flying around we descend onto a wide stretch of land between the lake we're over and the one on the other side which does not have wind funnels. We both land in a run and Zelda lets out a laugh that sounds exactly like I feel: exhilarated and beyond ecstatic.

"This is even better than I've heard it would be."

"Well of course it is. We can literally fly here!" She pretty much squeals.

We fold up our gliders and take a rest, sitting on the opposite side of the land bridge we're on. As we eat a lunch of our breakfast leftovers, which Zelda brought with her, I notice that the mountainside across from us has huge chunks blown off of it. It only takes me seconds to realize why. This is obviously where many people have tried the elemental arrows, confirming the fact that they do indeed work and I didn't waste a ton of money buying them. Zelda says we should try a fire arrow first, pulling a red feathered arrow from her quiver. I take the piece of flint the seller gave to us from my pocket and strike it against the arrowhead. The thing instantly engulfs in flame, making us both gasp and share a grin. Zelda nocks it in her bow and lets it fly after aiming for the cliff wall in front of us. The weeds growing out of the rock catch on fire near where her arrow lands and smolder out seconds later.

I grab a shock arrow from my own quiver and spark it to life just like the one before. I almost end up zapping myself with it as the tendrils of electricity come to life. I hold it out at arm's length and Zelda wonders aloud how does it work? I shake my head and tell her I wish I knew the answer myself. I carefully place it on my bow and aim straight down at the lake below us and let it fly. We're both taken aback at the reaction that happens when it hits the water. A huge bubble of green and yellow electricity forms, striking the mountain walls on both sides of the grotto.

"Whoa! That's so cool!" Zelda exclaims.

"Now that's definitely something I've never seen."

Zelda takes her own shock arrow out and after we carefully activate it, she shoots for the water like I did and we watch it happen all over again. She gasps and throws her hand over her mouth as three fish surface and float near where her arrow hit.

"Oh no! I killed them!" She says, staring wide eyed. I laugh and she tells me it's not funny before she cracks up herself.

"Poor fish...hope they didn't suffer."

"It probably killed them immediately."

"I still feel terrible."

I pull out one of our third type of elemental arrow with a whole different type of eagerness. Considering what the others did, I'm sure that the bomb arrows will be just as dangerous as they sound. This one has a red pouch attached to the arrowhead and a two foot long string connected to it as a fuse. Zelda stops me from lighting it when I go to do so, telling me I should probably find my target first. Secondly, she brings up a good point; we don't want it exploding in our faces. So I nock the arrow and aim for the wall straight across from us where some cracked rocks are and ask her to light it.

"Careful, we don't know how fast this will ignite... I hope it doesn't blow up immediately." She says as holds the flint in her right hand and a large flat rock in her left. I tell her I'm ready and she lights the fuse, her hands shaking. The rope burns slowly to our relief and once it's no more than an inch or two from the the arrowhead, I let it fly. A second later the wall literally explodes in flying debris, huge chunks of rocks falling into the water below us.

"Damn. That's incredible."

"Definitely..." Zelda answers, her voice full of awe.

I grab another bomb arrow. Zelda lights it as soon as I've got it ready and I aim for a deposit of sharp rocks sitting on small ledge to our right. We both enjoy the explosion for a second time as the entire ledge breaks off the mountainside. Zelda tells me she wants to try it next, so I light her fuse as she aims to the left and takes out another section of cliffside. We both shoot the rest of the elemental arrows until we run out of them, unable to get enough of their effects and the destruction they cause.


Zelda's PoV

I was not expecting a wind park when we got here! I didn't know that there were such things as natural wind funnels, it makes me wonder what other insane phenomenons exist in the world. I assume Link knew about this place all along and kept quiet about it to see my reaction. After all, he is the king of surprises. I also never imagined I'd ever have the bravery to jump off a mountainside with only a paraglider over my head, but I did so the first time with almost no fear at all.

Playing with the elemental arrows is so fun. My favorite are the bomb arrows, I've never gotten to blow something up before. I wish we had more. I'm definitely going to buy them again in the future. They were beyond worth the money.

We hike out of the opposite side of Ulria Grotto we came in from and come up to a cliff over the ocean. Instead of open water I'm excited to see four islands jutting up out of the sea even to the altitude we're currently at. Link tells me to lead the way so I walk first across the long narrow bridge before us. Below us is nothing but water and the boards beneath our feet creak as we step on them. I keep my hands on the railings, paranoid that one will break beneath one of my feet. Once we're on the other side I gaze around at our new surroundings. The first pillar island we stand on is tiny and there isn't much to see, but I walk up the hill in the center for a better view around. Precarious bridges like the one we arrived on connect each of the three other islands at odd angles, which makes me wary. However, they do look a lot sturdier than the one we crossed to get over here.

Link suggests we paraglide to the next island and shake my head tell him absolutely not. All it would take is a bad directioned gust of wind and we'd be sailing for the open sea instead. I don't feel like swimming all the way back to shore, wherever the closest one to here is. We cross the next bridge and walk around the hill and come across several colorful buildings. It's obvious who designed them; they match the ones in Hateno Village and Tarrey Town. I wonder just how wealthy Bolson and Co. are. Four of the buildings are several stories high, towering up into the sky, which I think is a genius idea. These islands are the perfect place to build them to enjoy the gorgeous views of the ocean and the distant rolling hills of the Akkala region.

We meet some of the residents, who are mostly nice except for a few stuck up women dressed up in fancy clothing. One of the towers is a multistory shop, connected by a staircase that wraps around the round exterior. There are several large paintings underneath protective covers on the way up to the top floor of various nature scenes. Such as cloudy skies, forests, meadows of flowers. I like every single one of them, they're just so gorgeous. On the roof there is a gazebo decorated with viney plants. I climb the stairs just to see the view from up there and I'm not disappointed. It almost feels as if we're at the top of a Sheikah tower looking down at everything.

I enter the top floor of the building to find a clothing shop. I take my time looking around until I find a nice dark blue jacket that feels really soft. It's a bit chillier up in the Akkala region and I've needed a new one for a while so I buy it. The girl behind the counter gives me a soft green scarf for free with my purchase as she thanks me. I walk downstairs to the second floor, which is dedicated to weapons of all types. I spot Link at the back of the room checking out the knives and join him. When he picks up one with a sleek black blade, I notice that the handle of it looks quite familiar.

"That one looks so much like mine." I say, pulling the one my dad gave me from the leather holder on my thigh. I hold it up next to the one Link is holding and find they are in fact nearly identical. The only obvious difference is that my blade is silver instead of black.

"Huh, that's interesting." Link answers my statement, turning the one in his hand over.

The shopkeeper comes our way when he notices us comparing the two of them.

"Can I see that miss?" He asks me. I hand mine over and the man turns it in his hand several times before speaking next. "Just as I thought. This is definitely one of mine. I clearly remember selling this one to a scruffy looking young man. It's in great condition after all these years."

"That'd be my dad. I didn't imagine I'd someday meet its maker. Pleased to meet you. I'm Zelda." I answer with a grin, then feel a rush of panic inside as I remember I've forgotten to introduce myself as my alias. What the hell, stupid!? Don't mess up like that! I scold myself in my head, gritting my teeth. I decided when we were in Zora's Domain I'd start meeting people as Sheik instead. As that is who I am, or I'm supposed to be, to Hyrule. The less people who know that name isn't my real one, the better for so many reasons. Especially since I've outed myself to the paper and everything.

"Really now? That's curious. I'm Harper." He says handing my knife back. Link says he'll buy the knife that looks like mine and the man gives him a half price deal on it when he realizes who he's talking to. While they chat about the Festival of Warriors and the Golden Arrow, I excuse myself from the shop quietly. Since I messed up introducing myself a minute ago, I find it's probably better Harper doesn't get the chance to realize who I actually am. At least while I'm standing there. I'd much rather not explain why I introduced myself by a different name. I wouldn't even know what to say. Hopefully Link is witty enough to come up with an explanation if he asks. I cross my fingers and pray to Hylia that none of that scenario happens.

I've got to be more careful from now on.


A few minutes later Link and I pass through the food market on the ground floor, stopping only to buy some absolutely delicious apple pastries. We cross the bridge to the next island which has a completely different atmosphere. Almost all of the land space has been taken up by gardens with numerous types of herbs, fruits, vegetables, and a few fruit trees. There is also a small cucco house and a pig pen. A few people mill around getting the duties done. I think it makes sense that these islands are self-sufficient, since being off the mainland would make getting supplies a bit difficult. Especially with the only path over here being the narrow bridges.

We explore the last island, which has small wooden houses instead of the fancy colorful ones like the other one. Several people sit outside under the shade trees and kids play up in a treehouse. We check out a goddess shrine that rests underground, all lit up in the dark. I think it's really creepy down here instead of peaceful like these shrines usually feel. Back up in the light, we wander around till we find a steep path going down the side of the island. I'm grateful for the railing built along the outer edge as one slip would send you falling into the sea. At the bottom of said path is a hidden room full of random items. Most of it is emergency stuff like blankets, candles, lanterns, and crates of non-perishable food. It's obviously a safe bunker, which makes sense and is smart considering the location of the islands. Link tells me there's places like this everywhere along the coastline and throughout Akkala. The region is often victim to extreme weather. Lightning storms mostly, but rare cyclones come up from the sea every several years. I really hope we don't get stuck in another storm while we're around.


Link's PoV

Even though it will be dark on our way back to Tarrey Town, Zelda insists we stay and watch the sunset before leaving the islands. So we climb the steps to the gazebo atop the shopping center tower. A heavy fog sets in as we watch the sun go down, which makes leaving the islands afterwards a bit more difficult. Everything is now overcome by that fog and it's much harder to see as we go along. I run my left hand along the bridge railing as we cross while Zelda holds tight to my right. I tense up when I see something shimmer in the distance to our left and squint through the fog but come up empty. I chalk it up to my imagination until Zelda shrieks and points out into the open air a few moments later.

"Did you see that?" She asks, her voice wavery.

"Yeah..but it was probably just a bird. Nothing to nothing about, Zel."

"No. The thing I saw was much bigger than a bird. Look! It's right there!"

I look around in the direction she's pointing and I'm about to tell her I don't see anything, when something forms through the fog on our right. It's definitely large like she said, and has… my heart skips a beat, sails. We stop in the middle of the bridge as we stare at it.

"I don't believe in ghosts...but what else would that be?" Zelda asks, her voice high and squeaky. Her fingernails are now poking into my hand as she squeezes tighter.

"Come on, let's go." I answer and tug her along to a jog across the bridge. We've both heard the stories. Zelda, having come from a fishing village, probably more so than me.

Once we're back on the first island we both hear a high pitched screeching noise. We both skid to a stop with a startled scream as the ghostly hull of an enormous ship appears out of nowhere in front of us. The smell of rotting grey wood overpowers me and a sense of dread and despair creeps up my neck. Then, penetrating through the fog, a large stone skull suddenly appears before us...it's lifeless eyes sending shivers down my spine. Neither of us can do anything but stare, transfixed. It's like my legs are no longer being controlled by my body anymore.

Zelda breaks free first and, grabbing my arm, runs forward making me stumble in tow and we dash across the last bridge to as fast as we can. The sounds of the wailing and creaking ship behind us slowly start to fade but we don't stop running until we make it back above Ulria Grotto. Stopping to pant and regain some control of our breathing, Zelda searches the now clear air behind us for the vessel we both know doesn't exist...shouldn't exist. I'm relieved when I can no longer see it as well.

"The ghost ship." Zelda whispers as she stands with her hands on her knees. Her face is pale and her eyes are wide as she looks at me, straightening up.

"Yeah..." I say, looking back in the direction of the islands. Even from here I can still see the thick white fog still overtaking the sky over there.

"I'd like to believe that was a trick of the fog, but there is just no way I imagined that smell...or that beyond terrifying, giant floating skull! I'm probably going to have nightmares from that!"

"Same...honestly. I've heard people talking about it time to time at stables. I've always believed they were just trying to freak others out, but I guess I have to believe it now."

We both walk through the dark in silence for a minute, hand in hand, before I add "Aside from how cold bloodily terrifying that was, I can't deny that the ship looked pretty cool."

Zelda doesn't answer me for several moments before she squeezes my hand in hers. "Yeah...Too bad nobody would believe us if we told them."

"No doubt about that. Unless they were lucky or well...unfortunate enough to be around after sunset."

"Probably. But I get the feeling if we went around saying we saw the ghost ship from that old fisherman's tale people would think we'd lost our minds."

"I'm sure we aren't the only ones who have seen that ship. I wouldn't be surprised if the residents of those islands see it often."

"Possibly. But if it showed up regularly I dont know why anyone would want to live out there. Goddess...After that, I'm glad I don't." Zelda says, gripping my fingers as we walk along through the dark. In her other hand she holds the luminous stone necklace up I gifted her in Castle Town up near her face. Once we get around the perimeter of the grotto we hear a loud noise far off the left and I hear Zelda whimper and see her looking around frantically. I glance over to see her shaking, her bottom victim to her teeth as she looks around in the dark. I let go of her hand and wrap my arm around her instead. Zelda moves closer to me and wraps her left arm around me and grips my shirt with her right hand.

"I hate the dark. I hate it and I'm so afraid of everything it hides." She mumbles.

"I know. Just think of the lights of town. We aren't that far now."

Back at Tarrey Town, we retrieve our horses and Zelda apologizes for us getting back so late. The stable man assures us it's fine, patting the bulging pocket of his shirt pocket. Well, rather the extra rupees I gave him for agreeing to take care of our horses for the day. We make camp over by the hot spring again and enjoy another much needed soak in the hot, steaming water before turning in for the evening.