Link has traveled in a group before, but it's always been less than ten, and everyone took turns with guard duty and cooking, and you were responsible for your own shelter. It's entirely different when you're more than ten and you're heading north. The road grows colder every night, meaning you start out with more supplies than if you head south. Add the current tension in Hyrule and the queen herself and everything becomes exponentially more difficult.

They stop to set up camp far earlier than if he were going alone, and break it far later. There is so much standing around. There is a cadre of Royal guards rotating watch around Zelda. There is a cook, for Hylia's sake, and staff to accompany her. There are grooms for the horses and servants to pitch tents and strike them the following morning. And Zelda has brought a handmaid.

It is going to take forever to get to what had been Tabantha Village.

But

Evenings are nice. They are a small segment of the organism that is the castle, and on the road things are a little more informal. There's a communal meal around a fire at night, and there are stories to be told as the cold night closes in. He even tells a few. There is often music, as well; and on the third night, there was dancing. Link can barely keep a beat, and he never learned more than the contra dancing they did in Hateno, but he enjoys listening and watching. Zelda even partakes in some of the frivolity, though she is always among the first to turn in for the night. Impa and he stayed up late at least one night, swapping tales in a game of one up that he isn't sure who won. He is finally part of something; and when he heads to his bedroll each night, he feels warm inside. He wonders if this is what happiness really feels like.

It almost makes up for the dreams.

They are never very specific, but every night he goes to bed feeling good and hours later he is up with a gasp, hair standing up on his neck, sweat leaving him cold, heart hammering away. Usually, he can get back to sleep; but sometimes he ends up striking his own tent and brewing a cup of coffee for his mangled nerves. As nice as it is to be in a group, he reflects on the morning they start the climb that ends at Tabantha Village, it would be very nice to not sleep alone.

It is a cold, clear day. There is no snow, yet, but its cold enough to consider. The plan for the day is to stop well outside the village and allow a smaller party to ride in and explore. There's been some argument about the make up of this party as Zelda's guards are adamant she stay behind. Link has felt bad agreeing with them. She will be in harm's way soon enough, and there's no reason to flirt with a disaster now. Link will be part of that scouting party. Impa and a pair of the more seasoned guards would as well. He spends the day in a mobile meeting with Impa and the two guards, planning out how to sweep the village and trying to anticipate what they might need. There's a delicate balance to be struck between traveling light and being ready to flee, and making sure they have all the tools they might need for whatever they might encounter. He pulls his cloak closer and gently closes gloved fingers on his reins, as the chill has made all the horses a little fresh. Epona tips an ear back to him and settles, putting her energy into a longer stride.

They stop and set camp mid afternoon. Daylight seems to grow shorter as they head north. The day has gone from clear to heavily clouded, the sky closing in on the party. Camp is made in a tight circle around the fire tonight. He seeks out Impa after dinner, clutching a cup of tea, settling down next to her by the fire. They exchange small talk before he is ready to ask her a question.

"Impa.. do you sleep, ever?"

"I don't need to." She pauses for a moment, "Well, not as much as you do," she leans an elbow on her knee and rests her head on her hand. "It's a Sheikah thing."

"I have been having nightmares, and I think they are centered on that village, and I do not want to be alone tonight. I don't really want to talk about it, and I do not– I'm not... I'm not asking for something improper." He stops, tilting his head slightly, trying to parse what he wants. "Can you stay with me tonight? While I sleep? Is that ok?."

Impa gives him a quizzical look before laughing. She reaches over to put a hand on his shoulder. "I can stay with you, Link."

He lets out a breath he'd not realized he was holding.

"Would you prefer your tent, mine, or somewhere neutral?"

They end up in his, wrapped in separate blankets, back to back. Link burrows in, shivering, glad lean against someone warm in the night.

Later, when he bolts up, the arm across his chest and the voice at his ear make him freeze until he realizes it's a friend–not something to fight his way out of. He falls back into his bedding and Impa slides her hand to his shoulder.

"That was something," she whispers. "Is that every night?"

He shakes his head "Just recently," he crosses his arms as his heart rate slows. "It's not even anything specific. It's just...it's like just feelings. There's no images or action, it isn't really a dream.

"I think they come from outside of me."

"A message, maybe."

"Something like that."

They lay together, silent, Impa running her thumb back and forth over his shoulder. He is still unsettled, but he feels safe. Maybe there is something to having a friend like this.

"Impa, thank you for staying with me. This is definitely better."

"You're welcome." Her voice is a balm.

He hunkers back down in his blankets, and he is quickly asleep.

He wakes up later than he usually does, and Impa is gone; but it's still warm where she had been. He changes into his chainmail and the green tunic, but throws the travel cloak over it and grabs his gloves before heading outside. He thought his tent was cold, but the outside air nearly stops him. The air smells sharp and he can feel things freeze in his head. He hunches his shoulders and heads toward the fire where he can smell breakfast.

Impa calls him over. "Good, you're up, I was bringing you this. Extra cream, right?" She offers him a mug and he can smell the deep, heady scent of coffee. Pleasure spills over him and he smiles accepting the mug.

"Goddesses yes, thank you. You are too good to me." He dips his face to the mug and huffs a deep breath before bringing it to his lips and taking a long pull. It's a little too hot, but he likes the feel of liquid in his mouth and how he can feel it warm him as he swallows. Small pleasures, especially on a morning like this. He closes his eyes and sighs, savoring the moment.

"Thank you, again, for last night." He chuckles. "Yeah uh. You know."

She bumps his shoulder gently. "I know. And anytime. Ready for today?"

"As ready as I am going to be."

"Great, let's eat."

By mid morning he is mounted on Epona. He's riding toward Tabantha Village with Impa as well as Liro and Tazo of the guard. The big red mare is a bit of a handful this morning, despite the double bridle he decided he needed today. He prefers a snaffle bit on his mounts, but suspected he might need a little more enforcement this trip, and he'd rather have it than want it. The mare plays with the metal in her mouth but remains submissive. He almost simply needs to think about a request and she responds.

They move along at a jog, letting the trail roll by. By noon, they are still a half hour ahead of them when the first sign announcing the approach to Tabanth village appears. Epona stops in her tracks. Her head and neck suddenly rise, ears swiveling forward and they freeze. She has gone to full alert under him, nearly electric and the low rumbling snort she gives says she is ready to explode. Link takes a quick look around. All of the horses have come to an abrupt stop and are focused on the road before them. Impa's horse is jigging and working up a foam as she shortens her reins to try and hold him. Epona flips an ear in Impa's direction for a second before flicking it back forward and she snorts again, feeding on the anxiety of the other horse. She shifts underneath him, and he gets ready for her to bolt. So much for spook proof.

Impa's horse half rears. "What's gotten into them?"

"Something we can't see or smell."

Liro is on Link's right and his mount bounces on its front end twice and then rears straight up. The guard remains mounted, barely, but when the horse comes back down, it whirls and bolts back down the road in the direction they rode in. This is the final straw for the rest of the horses and they erupt in panic, scattering.

Except Epona. She startles under him, and then stands like rock, eyewhites showing, giving another low snort. She flips an ear back to him, asking for direction. Link quickly looks for Impa, not sure which direction her horse bolted. Her chestnut is easy to spot, galloping toward the village. Link gives the mare a swift kick as he tugs his left rein to direct her after the red horse. Obediently, the mare spins and takes a huge leap forward; leaving Link to grab at the pommel of his saddle. She is flying under him, and he stands in his stirrups to get out of her way. He leans forward and whispers go go go to urge her on after Impa. She flicks an ear back, and surges on faster.

Link has been warned that speed was not the mare's forte, but she seems to be gaining on Impa with each ground eating stride. It is difficult to not just be swept up in the thunder of hooves on ground, the sharp smell of the cold, the flow of the body under him. They are one and the same now, and he is side by side with Impa's red horse. She is desperately trying to bring it to a stop, bracing in her stirrups and leaning back, bringing her hands up to only have her mount fling its head trying to evade the bit in its mouth. He shifts both sets of Epona's reins to his right hand, reaches over with his left to grab the rein on Impa's horse, and sits back down in the saddle. Easy– easy, whoa, easy and uses his weight to ask Epona to slow. Immediately, her stride shortens and slows. He pulls the rein on Impa's horse toward him, forcing the horse to unbalance and turn into Epona, hoping the run away will slow as well. Mercifully, the red horse pulls up and stops. Still jigging and dancing, rolling its eyes and snorting, but stopped.

Impa shortens her reins until she has a tight hold on her mount's mouth. "Thank you. Stupid horse."

"He's just scared, that's what they do. They run." He lets go of the rein. "Are you ok?"

"I'm not sure, this is a little more than I feel comfortable with," Impa wheels the horse in small, tight circles. It definitely would like to be somewhere else. "Maybe we back track and find the guards and try this on foot. I'm tempted to get off now after that."

Link offers to switch mounts, but Impa just looks at the two sets of reins he currently held in one hand and then back at him with a raised eyebrow. "I can ride, but not like you do, and you have an awful lot going on there."

"Ride double on Epona and I'll pony your nag?" He takes his left foot out of the stirrup, swings his leg forward and offers his left hand. Without a word, she dismounts, hands him her reins and takes the offered stirrup to climb aboard, settling herself behind him on the cantle of the saddle. They ride back down the trail at a walk, finding Tazo still mounted, but Liro, looking chagrined, on foot.

Link assesses the scene. "I'm sure base camp will be excited to have a single horse gallop in, and the rest of us no where. We are close enough. We will leave the horses here and Impa and I will go scout. You two stay with the horses, I don't want to leave anyone alone after that."

"What do you think that was?" Asks Tazo.

He shakes his head. "I rode through Eppon a few weeks after whatever happened there, and my horse bolted then as well. There's something they don't like, and we should be careful. It's more than just spooky shadows or the wind kicking up.

"If we are not back as the sun sets, ride back to camp without us." He thinks he sounds confident with that. He chases away thoughts about missing his own deadline.

"Well," He turns to Impa, "Let's go."

Once they are out of earshot, Link turns to her. "We are not going to split up when we get there. No matter what. Not even a door between us."

"Do you have any idea what we are going to find?"

He shakes his head. "I don't. It feels a little like a trap, though. I don't like that we've already been split. We do not do anything without the other. Please."

She nods. "You're in charge."

It takes far more time on foot than it would on horseback, and Link wonders if he's given himself enough time with an arbitrary deadline. Over an hour later they arrive at the arch marking the entrance. At least, it had been an arch at one point. Currently it was two posts drunkenly heaved out of the ground with a broken crossbar between them. It still smells like smoke. It's been a while since he has been here, but the main square is completely unrecognizable to him.

And he's cold, though it's been warm in the sunlight on their way up. He stops before the broken arch to take in the scene. The top story of the inn has caved in on itself. The farrier's shop has burnt to the ground, but the structures next to it seem untouched by flames. The double door of the tavern hangs off its hinges. There is no sound. This place is dead.

Impa nudges him after a moment and whispers in his ear. "Where do we start?"

"The inn," he whispers back, not taking his eyes off the carnage. "We are not to get caught here after sunset. Let's go."