A/N: Almost caught up I guess xD I completely keep forgetting to update this lololo

The next morning as early as possible, the group left the Gerudo's hideout.

It was still dark and cold, but the time it took from the ruins to the desert entrance was four hours and they had to beat the desert heat so the Zora wouldn't fry.

The small braids in Ganondorf's hair remained, either because he forgot about them or because he kept them as a memento of Urbosa.

Walking on foot wasn't ideal and multiple tines the group was ambushed by lurking Lizalfos or Stalizalfos. Of course, with six of them, the monsters weren't a threat and more of a nuisance.

As the sun was beginning to rise, lighting up the desert sand, the group left the shifting grains and were back on solid ground.

Zelda sighed as they made their way to the stable that sat alone in the canyon. "I don't miss the desert at all."

Sand is overrated, Link agreed, rubbing his hair furiously to dislodge the grains of sands buried in his scalp.

Even the Zora were rubbing sand off themselves, trying to get between their scales.

Ganondorf couldn't say anything, being biased towards the desert, sand grains included.

There was an excited whinny and before Ganondorf could brace himself, Helltrotter had already knocked him to the ground.

Epona! Link gasped as the chestnut mare approached him. He hugged Epona's neck.

"How did you guys get here?" Zelda asked, petting Bluebell when the mare approached. "We left you by Digdogg Bridge."

"These horses yours?" the stable owner asked, walking over to the group. "Some travelers saw them being attacked by some Bokoblin and brought them here to keep them safe. That large one is a fierce fighter, sir."

"Don't I know it," Ganondorf muttered, rubbing Helltrotter's face, the large stallion standing over him and demanding attention.

Helltrotter snorted, giving a look that told Ganondorf he wasn't pleased at being left alone for so long.

Ganondorf rolled his eyes as he shoved Helltrotter's face away so he could stand up. "You were the one who wouldn't cross the bridge and you'd do it for some strangers?"

Helltrotter nickered.

"Don't give me attitude."

"Where are we off to now?" Mipha asked. "Lurelin?"

Zelda nodded. "Yes. It will take a day or two, but we can stop at a stable."

Ganondorf opened the map he had in his possession, looking at their current location and the location of Lurelin. "Well, it will take a while to reach the nearest stable, which is Outskirt. We and rest there for a night then if we leave early, we should arrive at Lakeside Stable…"

He hummed, mentally calculating their route and how long it would possibly take.

"Well, it's possible we could arrive tomorrow afternoon."

"That's not too bad," Sidon said with a grin. "We'll at last be surrounded by water soon enough."

"I do miss the water," Mipha murmured.

Bazz nodded.

"Well, we can stay a while at Lurelin," Zelda promised, looking at Ganondorf and Link. "Right?"

Link nodded eagerly. It was like a vacation. One they deserved after everything they had been through.

It wasn't a vacation, though. Not to Ganondorf. They still had a maze to do as well as two more temples. Not only that but with Revali out for vengeance, he could rat their location to Rhoam. However, it couldn't hurt to stay a day or two.

Ganondorf sighed then nodded. "All right. We can stay a day or two. Relax a little."

Zelda beamed at Ganondorf agreeing to a small vacation.

With that settled, the group continued on their way, winding back through the canyon and dry grass. The ride to Outskirt Stable was long and boring, monsters and animals scarce.

While the heat was not nearly as stifling as the desert, it still got hot enough to make the Zora uncomfortable.

They took a brief break at Digdogg Bridge so the Zora could refresh themselves in the water. Once they were ready to continue, the group resumed their trek to the stable. It took several hours and they reached it around nightfall.

While Ganondorf put the horses away, Zelda went to buy some beds for them. Link decided to make a late-night dinner since none of them had anything substantial to eat during their trip.

Gathering whatever he could find that the stable offered, Link cooked something with Sidon's help.

Everyone was tired and aching but stayed awake long enough to eat what Link made.

Ganondorf glanced at the moon while they ate, spying the half circle hanging in the sky.

Another few days would be a full moon and more trouble from nightmares and Malice.

"Ya ha ha!" Astrid laughed as she appeared in Ganondorf's lap, startling everyone from her appearance.

"There you are," Ganondorf murmured, not bothering to stop the Korok as she began to steal pieces of food off his plate. "Where were you?"

"Desert too hot," Astrid said. "Don't like the desert."

"You were hiding out somewhere cool?" Zelda asked, mildly offended Astrid had abandoned them.

Wasn't she supposed to help them find temples?

Astrid nodded. "Korok Forest. Talked with Grampa a lot. He said he's proud of your progress."

"Is that where you go every so often?" Ganondorf asked. "To see the Great Deku Tree?"

"Mm-hm. He wants to make sure you stay on the right path."

It made sense, Zelda decided as she glanced at Ganondorf. Even though they were doing as the Deku Tree suggested, they could still end up falling into the wrong place.

"Will you stay with us now?" Sidon asked, looking at Astrid. "Since we'll be heading to cooler places now?"

Astrid hummed as she thought about it before nodding with a laugh. "Uh-huh!"

Ganondorf patted her head. "Good. You're part of our group, you know."

Astrid giggled as she swiped more food off Ganondorf's plate.

Before everyone was awake the next morning, Ganondorf was awake by a sense something was missing.

The sun was just beginning to rise from the horizon and as he looked around, Ganondorf saw that everyone was still in their beds. Everyone except Zelda.

With a hum, Ganondorf got out of bed and made his way outside, wondering what had gotten Zelda up so early.

He didn't have to look very far as she was near the small group of trees in front of the stable, staring at the sunrise. He noticed immediately that her hair was cut short, reaching to the middle of her neck.

Ganondorf wasn't sure why she had suddenly cut it and he was about to make his presence known when Zelda turned to look at him.

"Oh." She smiled. "Good morning, Gan. Aren't the sunrises here beautiful?"

The sun's rays caught the dry grass, turning it orange, and Zelda's hair. The light created a halo and Ganondorf was once again reminded that Zelda was Hylia's incarnation. Bright as Din's fire and sweet as Faron's breeze.

"Yeah…beautiful..."

Zelda tilted her head. "Huh?"

Ganondorf blushed as he realized that his mouth had acted before his brain. "I….I said viewtiful. It's viewtiful!"

Before he could make a fool out of himself anymore, Ganondorf made his way back to the stable. He could hear the derisive laughter in his head and wasn't sure if it was his mind mocking him or the Malice.

Zelda watched Ganondorf leave, even more confused by his behavior.

"I could have sword I hear him say something else," she muttered to herself, tapping her cheek.

Perhaps she had been mistaken.

Deciding not to question it, Zelda returned to the stable to see if Link was up so they could all eat breakfast before continuing to Lurelin.

With supplies gathered around the stable, Link was able to make open-faced eggs and pancakes with local maple syrup.

Sidon helped Link with the food, but only the pancakes since he had accidentally broken an egg into the cooking pot, ruining the first batch because of the eggshells.

Ganondorf joined the group for breakfast but he avoided Zelda's gaze the entire time, sitting closer to the Zora than her.

Zelda decided not to ask since she was sure he'd continue to shut her out. He would tell her when he was ready.

Their bellies full, the six left Outskirt Stable and continued on their way to Faron.

As they approached Finra Woods, a heavy rainstorm decided to dump its contents on them.

While the Zora enjoyed the rainfall, Ganondorf, Zelda and Link were miserable being wet, especially as the humidity climbed the further they walked.

Bokoblin archers dotted ridges along the path, ready to take down unsuspecting travelers, while Lizalfos lurked along the edges, camouflaged to match the green foliage.

The monsters posed little threat. While Link and Sidon took out the archers, Mipha and Bazz took care of the pesky Lizalfos.

After crossing a bridge spanning Floria River, Astrid popped up on Ganondorf's shoulder.

"I sense a temple!"

"A temple?" Zelda asked as the group slowed to a stop. "Where?"

Astrid glanced around before pointing to her left. "Over there!"

The forest ahead of them was dotted with old, crumbling pillars that Zelda had recognized as Zonai ruins.

"It was said they lived in Faron," she had pointed out.

The ruins impressed even Ganondorf as the group stared at a stone statue of a bird.

"Up there, huh?" Ganondorf grunted, taking out his map to see where Astrid was taking them.

They had just left Pagos Woods and stood close to Harker Lake. Astrid was leading them towards Dracozu Lake.

"The road ahead is too rough for the horses," Zelda said. "Are we going to leave them?"

Is it safe for them? Link asked. Should we drop them at the nearest stable?

"And backtrack all the way here?" Ganondorf muttered. "That'd waste hours. We could find the temple in less than an hour if we just go. Besides, the horses can take care of themselves."

"That stable owner did say they held their own against Bokoblins," Sidon agreed.

Ganondorf nodded as he got down. "We'll go on foot from here."

"We'll go ahead," Bazz suggested. "Clear out any monsters ahead."

"Good idea, Bazz," Mipha said. "And we can see if there is anything of not as well."

"Thank you," Zelda murmured. "That's kind of you."

The three Zora jumped into the nearest body of water and disappeared beneath the surface.

At least the rain stopped, Link said as he, Zelda and Ganondorf began to walk through the dense jungle undergrowth.

"The humidity hasn't," Ganondorf grumbled.

And they were still wet from the storm. He had preferred the desert to humid jungle.

"Lurelin will be much better," Zelda promised. "It's got a cool ocean breeze so it's not too humid. It does rain a lot more, being on the ocean though."

"Great," Ganondorf grumbled. "More rain."

"It's good rain," Zelda defended. "Not hot like this rain."

Halfway to their destination they ran to the Zora.

Sidon held onto the fletch of a few shock arrows, holding them out to Link once he was within range.

"The Lizalfos had shock arrows," Mipha explained.

"Good thing they weren't too tough," Bazz grunted.

Link took the offered arrows, adding them to his quiver.

With the Zora back with them, they continued to the end of Dracozu River, the mouth of it open like a dragon's jaws.

The name makes sense, Ganondorf thought.

Draco meant dragon. Dragon river.

"This is amazing," Zelda breathed, staring at the enormous stone sculpture in front of them.

The stones were carved and shaped like the head of a dragon, rocks on either side of it gripping the edges of the cliffs and carved into claws.

"The Zonai built this?" Sidon asked, impressed with the architecture.

"This must have been an important spot for them," Bazz said.

"Where's the temple?" Zelda asked, glancing around for an entrance to the temple.

Is it here? Link looked at Astrid on Ganondorf's shoulder.

The Korok nodded. "Uh-huh!"

"Perhaps that opens up?" Ganondorf muttered, staring at the dragon's head.

Though it couldn't be that easy, how did they pry it open in the first place? Maybe a few Goron could lift up the ton of rock, but not the six of them alone.

There was a whisper of scales rubbing against bark.

Ganondorf looked behind him to see an enormous snake slithering closer to them.

The snake was as huge as the dragons and black with red diamonds down its back.

Upon noticing that its attempt at sneaking up unnoticed was futile, the snake hissed, a large hood unfurling from its neck.

"Why did it have to be a snake?!" Zelda asked as she and the others got their weapons out.

"We kill it and the entrance will show itself," Ganondorf said, scraping his swords together to activate the ice and flames.

The snake flicked its tongue before lunging at them.

They all moved to different sides and the snake struck the ground.

As it shook its head, Link and Sidon pelted it with arrows.

Annoyed, it lashed out with its tail, knocking Link into Sidon.

A Light Arrow sunk into its tail and the snake shrieked before turning its attention to Zelda.

With its attention off them, Mipha and Bazz both stabbed its underbelly with their weapons.

It writhed with a shriek before swinging its head low, slamming to the two into each other.

With the head low, Ganondorf jumped onto the snake's skull, raising Kotake above his head, blade pointed down. "You're about to have the worst brain freeze, buddy."

As it reared up, the ice covered its head then slid down its body, immobilizing the snake entirely.

Ganondorf yanked Kotake free and leaped to the ground just as the frozen snake shattered.

"Whoa," Sidon said as the group slowly approached the pile of frozen snake pieces.

"That's…amazing," Bazz agreed.

"I didn't know they were that powerful," Zelda said, watching as Ganondorf sheathed his swords to cut off the magic.

"Me either," Ganondorf muttered. "However, that doesn't matter since we beat the guardian."

Was that the guardian? Link asked. It could have just been a monster.

Before Ganondorf could disagree, Mipha interjected, "He is right. Not every large monster we come across could be the guardian of the temple."

"Well, it was the guardian," Zelda said, pointing at something.

Behind them, the head of the rock dragon was shuddering. Gradually, the dragon opened its jaws until they gaped before the group. Torches lit up within the teeth, revealing the entrance to a structure.

"That must be the temple," Ganondorf said, looking at the entrance. "Come on. Let's go inside."

"We'll wait out here for you," Mipha said, clasping her hands behind her back.

Sidon nodded, appearing concerned for the three. "Good luck in there."

Link gave a thumbs up as Zelda said, "We will. We'll try not to be long."

With Ganondorf in the lead, Zelda and Link headed to the temple.

As soon as they passed through the entrance, the door closed behind them. Outside the dragon snapped its jaws shut, the sound similar to a growl.

TEMPLE TEMPLE TEMPLE