When they warp to Gerudo Town, instead of heading straight for the city, Link ducks into the shrine entrance and strips off all his clothes. Zelda is looking forward to when Vah Medoh can land before they disembark, so they don't have to arrive in the desert dressed for excessive cold.

Luckily, all she has to do is remove her coat and switch from the ruby circlet to the sapphire one Link has gifted her. This one looks sillier poking out from under her kerchief, but someday soon her hair will be reasonable, and until then she'll make it work. She squints out at the desert as she waits for Link. It seems so vast with the mountains so far in the distance and the air so thin, and yet everything fades into a haze not too far away.

"No being judgy," Link says.

"Judgy? About what, the deser—" She turns to frown at him, but cuts herself off when she sees that he's wearing pants she's never seen before. Instead of barreling through getting dressed, he's holding a shirt she's also never seen in his hands. It's silk. He gives her a very pointed look, then pulls the shirt over his head, which takes some maneuvering as putting on the sleeves is more complicated than he's used to. It wraps around his chest, leaving his stomach bare, and the long sleeves billow and attach to his fingers. With another narrowed-eyed look, he slips on the veil.

She blinks at him. "I had assumed they had relaxed their restrictions on who could enter Gerudo Town."

"Nope."

She looks him up and down. "Those pants don't match."

His posture slumps. "I know! I thought about dying them, but I never got around to it."

"And they just let you walk in like that?"

"Yeah. I think it's like...if I'm willing to wear the outfit, they assume I'm not a macho asshole, so I'm good to go. Plus, telling a stranger they look like a man is super rude. Although, you know, some of the Gerudo will say it anyway. Most of the guys that hang around the bazaar or outside the walls just stomp around all entitled, complaining about how they're not allowed in. They guess gross stuff about what the ladies might be doing inside and then they go, 'Women! Amiright?' As long as I don't do any of that, they don't care."

That...sounds about right.

"You're not going to do a high-pitched voice, are you?" she asks.

His eyebrows furrow. "Why would I do that?"

She shakes her head. "Are you ready?"

They walk straight into town, Link walking as if he's done it a thousand times. The guards don't give them a second look.

Gerudo Town looks remarkably similar to the bustling metropolis it was before—bright colors and sweet smells. There's music and laughter and commerce and art. Her eyes fall on a wind chime of colored glass that sends spots of red and orange light across the street. Her first thought is to get it for Urbosa. Her knees nearly give out when she remembers, and she rips her attention back to where she's walking. She fights through the light-headedness and anchors herself to the present by snagging hold of Link's sleeve. She was never here with Link Before.

He guides them through the crowds, heading straight up to the palace. He waves at the guards who don't bother to stop him, but also don't greet him with any enthusiasm. It's cooler inside the palace, and there's the familiar sound of running water over sandstone. Suddenly, they're in the throne room, and Zelda's head is spinning.

All the grandeur once held by her home in the castle has been ripped away. Everything is tarnished and crumbled and dirty and faded. Everything smells of monsters and rot. Everything is steeped in the bad taste of malice. Seeing it, the fear eats at her like the Calamity is still just rising, but there's no way she can confuse the castle for what it was Before.

But this...there were times when this was so much more her home than the castle was. This was her sanctuary. Here she felt valued.

And it is unchanged.

Her feet hit the sandstone with the same soft pat. The same banners drape across the ceiling. There's the same columns and the same pots for identical plants. Her vision doubles, and she blinks it away, thinking maybe she should go to her room for a moment. There's the same view out the back and the same throne disrupting that view, drawing the eye...

To a woman who is not Urbosa.

Link warned her that the new Chief was young, but it's still striking, mostly in how short she is. It's also striking how glamorous she looks, with her cat-eye eye-liner and her lips painted green to match the jewels she wears.

"Link!" she shouts, cutting off a woman who looks like a scribe mid-sentence. "I was wondering when you would show up."

He holds out his hand to present Zelda, and encourage her to step forward, and it's only then that she realizes that she's almost hiding behind him. "This is Zelda, the expert on Shiekah technology. She's been reactivating the Divine Beasts."

She steps up and ducks a short bow. "Chief Riju, it's an honor to meet you."

Chief Riju frowns at her. Her eyes narrow. Without breaking eye-contact, she snaps at the scribe, "Leave us."

They wait as the scribe hurries from the room, then wait a bit more as Riju props her chin on her hand and continues to assess Zelda. She's never felt such scrutiny in this room. Suddenly, the ceiling is too low. It's trapping her in. She forces herself not to let her eyes dart around in search of an exit, to hold Riju's gaze.

"Historically," Riju says, her tone slow and thoughtful, like a cat playing with its food, "we haven't gotten much news from outside the desert. But that's changed in recent months. I received reports that one day the Calamity just vanished. Poof! Gone! Almost like someone turned each of the Divine Beasts against the Calamity one after the other and then went into the castle to finally defeat it in battle. Well, I heard that, and I said, 'Oh, that must be Link.' But he never appeared to tell us it was true.

"Then we noticed that there hadn't been a blood moon in over a month. Not a single one since Vah Naborus fired on the castle and then deactivated. And I said, 'Well, if there are no more blood moons, then we should finally get rid of those monsters for good. And I sent a platoon to clear the path between here and Kara Kara, and then Kara Kara to the Gerudo Canyon Stable then the stable to Regencia River. And suddenly, all sorts of people start showing up. Just pouring in. Travelers and merchants and adventurers. But do you know who still didn't show his face?

"And then I heard stories that he was wandering around Hyrule, reactivating the Divine Beasts for everyone but the Gerudo, fighting monsters when we fought ours ourselves, and talking about reunification without including us. And not only that, but he's doing it all at the heels of a vai no one's ever seen before, but she's clever and driven and lovely and has a way with the Sheikah tech. The rumors said her name was Zelda. And that reminded me of the stories I'd heard about the Crown Princess Zelda of Hyrule, beloved by the Gerudo, who walked into the castle alone and held back the Calamity for a hundred years so we might prosper, the pinnacle of a self-sacrificing leader.

"But I thought, No. The crown princess would know the history between the Gerudo and greater Hyrule. She would know the history of that strained relationship. She would know that the Gerudo are the most likely to thrive outside an alliance of Greater Hyrule. The crown princess would know better than to wait so long before paying her respects to Urbosa."

Zelda flinches. She closes her eyes before she can cry. She straightens her shoulders, but they are trembling.

Link shifts beside her. She can feel his umbrage like a heat against her skin. She doesn't open her eyes to look at him.

"So," Riju continues, "isn't it good that you're not the Crown Princess Zelda of Hyrule? That you're not coming here, demanding the subservience of my people, demanding taxes and tribute and laws to let in voe or laws to take our warriors to die for you. That you're just Zelda, the Sheikah technology expert from Hateno. And the fact that you share a name with the princess is all a funny coincidence."

Zelda swallows. She tries to say, "That is such an interesting coincidence. The Gerudo are such strong, capable, and admirable people, and I look forward to working with them in the coming weeks to revive Vah Naboris to use as you see fit. And I really hope you'll use her in ways that benefit all of Hyrule's people."

But instead her stomach clenches painfully, and she gasps, "I didn't get to say goodbye," and she's too too hot and the room spins.

She squints blearily up at the draped ceiling. Someone is snarling, "—don't care about your damn power struggles, you didn't have to be cruel."

"How was I supposed to know this would happen? And if you'd just told me your intentions, we could avoided the whole thing!"

"You wouldn't let us get a word in edge-wise with your speechy-speech."

"I've been working on that speechy-speech for a month! By myself. I was proud of it. Do you know how hard it is to meet with advisors and ask subtle questions about the Hylian monarchy and what they would expect from a tributary state without raising suspicions? Just asking to have the Treaty of Nabooru pulled out of the archives would have been a huge red flag! I had to sneak in. Me! Sneak around in my own palace! And—Look, she's coming around."

"Zelda?" Link's voice is sweeter now.

"How do you feel?" Riju's is sweeter too.

They're both hovering over her, both looking worried and not sure what to do. Link is holding her hand to his chest. Riju has a cool hand pressed to her forehead.

Zelda blinks at her. "I don't want your throne," she says.

"From the sound of it, you don't want yours either."

"I'm sorry we came here last. We just started in Hateno and the Zora's Domain was so close—"

"Shh. I know. I just had to...well, now you've gone and made me feel bad."

"It's all a clever ploy," Zelda mumbles. "Now you'll underestimate me."

Riju just stares at her. Then she coughs up a laugh that seems to startle her. She leans over and swat's Link's arm. "Your girlfriend is absurd. I like her. Are you two going to get Vah Naboris running for me?"

His eyebrows lower in confusion. "Are you piloting her?"

"Don't you be absurd too. My people would never let me pilot her. Not after...Zelda, dearheart, do you want some water? Link, get her some water."

She says, "That would be lovely, thank you," and pushes herself up to sitting.

"I'm so sorry," Riju says. Her voice is higher and quicker, like a song bird, her hands moving in thoughtless gestures that now make it obvious how much of an act she was putting on earlier. She suddenly looks her actual age. "You know I had to come out swinging, and I had no idea you wouldn't try to put everything back to the way it was a hundred years ago."

Zelda rubs her temples. She finds that shielding her peripheral vision and focusing on the floor makes the air breathable. "The Treaty of Nabooru is hardly fair. We both know that. I knew there was no way you'd go back to it. I'd consider you a poor leader for your people if you didn't fight me on it."

"Exactly. See, we understand each other."

"I'd practiced my speech too, if you can believe it. I was expecting this to be difficult, but I wasn't expecting...And now I've gone and made a fool of myself."

"A bit, yes. But I think it's ultimately to your benefit, because we're friends now, and—Goddess! Link, what are you doing?"

"I can't find a cup!"

"They're to the—the left—No. There! " She points and Link looks around without seeing anything. Riju gives up and slaps her hand to her forehead. "Goddess!"

Zelda watches Link search around through a short array of shelves, trying to find cups, his movements growing progressively more desperate.

"I'm sorry I passed out on your floor," Zelda says.

"I'm sorry I triggered a ta'oten'orr."

A Goddess sleep. When a spirit would come upon you so suddenly that your mind would be knocked from your body.

It sounds more akin to when Link has a memory, but perhaps it's not too far from the truth.

"It's mostly this room," Zelda says.

Riju looks around and seems to understand immediately what's happening. "Come," she says, tugging Zelda's elbow and helping her to stand. "Let's find somewhere else to talk. Link, just leave it!"

Riju hooks her elbow through Zelda's and guides her out into the market and down a street, pulling her into a restaurant, where she orders a spread that covers their table. There's flatbread to be dipped in a half dozen spreads. There's a platter of mixed fruit, all bright and sweet and juicy. There's meat on sticks marinated in spices that makes Zelda's breath come out like fire. There are tall glasses of fruit juice with long straws and fat bowls of fruit juice with voltfruit flowers floating across the top. They eat with their hands, Riju shuffling the plates around over and over to get dishes closer to Zelda for her to try.

"I hadn't realized how stressed I was. I haven't felt this light in weeks," Riju says, her mouth half full of crunching pastry and honey. She sucks her thumb clean, then claps her hands together. "So tell me about Naboris. What do we need to do?"

The change of scenery and improved blood sugar levels have Zelda almost feeling human again. "Actually, first, we would like to request that you let Vah Medoh land. She's making a circuit of Hyrule, carrying goods and mail. Her pilot is a Rito named Amali, whose whole family is aboard. They have fresh fish from Lurelin."

"Huh! What an odd use for a Divine Beast. Where would they like to land?"

Zelda actually has no idea, but Link says, "Could they land in the ruins between here and the ice house? Or is that disrespectful? It's out of the city limits, but not too far, and the ground will probably be firm enough."

Riju considers while chewing a cube of hyrdomelon. She shrugs like it doesn't matter, even though Zelda can recognize the calculation that went into the decision. "Sure. Just have them land in the same spot every time so if they're going to crush something, they only crush part of it."

"We'll glowing-string-travel over and tell them after lunch."

"Then we'll need to travel out to Vah Naboris," Zelda explains. "We will need to activate most of the terminals. She still won't be able to move until you've selected a Champion and we've completed the connection, but we need to ensure there hasn't been too much damage. The Rito had a tournament to pick their Champion, but the Goron Champion was appointed. It should be your decision how to proceed."

Link drinks half his juice in one go to wash down a huge mouthful of couscous, and says, "And if there are other chores you need doing, we can help. Rebuilding projects and monster infestations. I'd like to get those big sand monsters out of your way once and for all."

Riju scoffs. "It's not like they're in the way. And I've heard there's a new one, a Molduking, who moved into the Eastern Barrens. It's supposed to be enormous."

This gets Link's undivided attention.

"But then again, there have been plans to restore a few cultural sites since before the Calamity. The West Gerudo Ruins, the Arbiter's Grounds. They started work on the Seven Heroines about twenty years ago, but work had to be abandoned when Naboris blocked the way. And then if you really want to be helpful, you can do something about the Yiga."

Link makes a face, but Zelda wants to know everything about the restoration projects.

They leave the city so Link can change before warping. They decide to sleep on Vah Medoh tonight and get to Vah Naboris tomorrow. The warp point on the camel should be easily accessible in its current position, so it will be possible for them to sleep there instead of in Gerudo Town, where Zelda is clearly having problems.

She takes a look back at the market. With everything else unchanged, with the market holding the same movement and color and chaotic tidiness she's used to, it's as if Urbosa has just died. Her death is fresh. She has died and life has continued on. As if the loss during the Calamity wasn't a culture-wide upheaval, but singular and personal.

#

They arrive in Vah Medoh around sunset. A small crowd is camped out in front of the city, far enough away to be safe from squashing, but close enough to see the great bird land. The air has cooled but has yet to turn frosty, and the children are the first off the Divine Beast, where they roll and burrow into the hot sand. They greet the first of the Gerudo to arrive with dozens of overlapping questions before the Gerudo can even hope to ask their own. "Your hair is so pretty!" "Have you ever been to the ocean? We were just there. It tastes like salt! So gross!" "Do you ever get sand in your eye? How do you get it out? Can you help me? I have sand in my eye." "Do you want to see me dance? Do you know any dances? Oh! I like that one! Teach it to me!"

The Gerudo are confused. But it seems the welcoming committee of female children effectively squashed any lingering concerns over the Rito's intentions or over Vah Medoh being a threat.

A small market is set up in the ruins at Vah Medoh's feet, where the Gerudo offer arrows and jewelry and fine foods, and Mubs from Lurelin trades for fresh fish and then sets a few of the Gerudo down to show them how to prepare them: from de-scaling to filleting. The Gerudo grow easily frustrated with their butchered fish, and Mubs more flustered by the second until Zelda steps and suggests maybe Mubs prepare these fish for them until they can get used to it. Link shows a different group of Gerudo how to cook crabs by tossing them straight into an open flame and then crack them open and suck out the meat. It's an activity which the Gerudo find much more enjoyable than preparing fish and at which they are much more adept. They buy all Mubs' crabs and tell her to bring more next time, which makes her pale. She wasn't expecting there to be a next time.

Kass sets himself on a broken column to play the accordion for the crowd, and after several songs, he hops down to hear about the Gerudo's music and to mine everyone for information on the Champion Urbosa.

Amali pulls Zelda aside. "I'm not a merchant," she says. "I feel like I should be buying things, because I know they'll sell in other parts of the country, but I don't have anything to trade and I don't know how much to get and I—"

Zelda reaches out to smooth both Amali's wings and soothe her. "You're absolutely right. That's not your job. How about, we buy samples of everything, so you can show what's available to everyone on the next circuit, and you invite merchants to come aboard Vah Medoh for a circuit and do their own trading. Does that sound fair?"

Amali practically sags in relief, nodding her head.

Kass has moved on to attempting to accompany a trio of Gerudo drummers, who find his improvised melodies hilarious. He dutifully tries to keep up and fit their tone, and they gleefully make their rhythms more complicated, until suddenly everything fits. The music locks together into a sound both haunting and joyful, and the drummers cheer and the crowd cheers and then everyone is moving, singing, dancing. It's a dance she learned Before, and it comes naturally now.

"Imagine there are two lines of people," Urbosa explained, her long fingers moving through the air, her face lit in firelight. "You spin around the person directly in front of you, then person to their left, and then you slip back to your row. It's easy. Except, of course, the rows aren't straight like they would be at a Hylian ball. They curve through the party and double back on themselves and sometimes people join and sometimes people leave, and you can circle your partner however you want, except you all have to stomp your feet and clap your hands in unison."

And now Zelda is circling, spinning with partners who grab her hands and twirl her, twisting between partners with a sway of her hips, pulling up short to clap her hands to the sky, a clap made a chorus that rings to the desert sky. She dances until Link cuts in as her partner, slipping an arm around her waist and spinning her as she laughs. He's grinning, and his eyes sparkle in the torchlight. He hits the stomp on time, because he knows the dance as well as she does, of course he does, and that makes her love him all the more. She locks onto him and falls out of her row, and he simply raises an eyebrow and rolls with it as they move as a unit to circle their next partner, who laughs at their antics and rolls with it too.

They dance almost all night. In the morning, it's an easy walk from Wasteland Tower to Vah Naboris. Link reaches the warp point by simply using Revali's Gale and paraglides back down once he's activated it. They're aboard Vah Naboris within the hour.