Link
Lines of scorched stone raked across the ground before me as powerful laser beams fired from every direction. I sprinted up the curved walkway, passed guardian turrets corrupted with the calamity's power, and somersaulted out of the scope of a guardian skywatcher that took aim from above me. I drew my bow, knocking one of the ancient arrows I'd gotten from Robbie, and sent it flying up at the skywatcher's eye. It exploded immediately in a flurry of raining metallic peaces. I continued my sprint up the hill as more skywatchers drew towards me with the sound of the explosion. The sanctum of the castle was only a short distance away. I had to get there before the Princess's power was exhausted…
"Link… open your eyes."
My eyes fluttered open, and the blue light of the shrine filled my frame of view. Zelda looked down at me from where she leaned over me above, an increasingly familiar look of concern on her face. I took a deep breath, rubbing my hands over my face. My heart beat hard in my chest.
"You were having a bad dream again," said Zelda. Her hand swept across my cheek. "What was it about this time?"
I sat up onto my forearms, and she leaned back where she kneeled beside me. "The castle," I said, after taking a moment to let my heart return to its normal pace.
She looked away. "It was such a horrifying sight. No wonder it haunts you as well," she whispered.
"I'm looking forward to seeing it restored soon," I said.
Zelda nodded. "I am as well."
I sat up and rubbed the back of my neck. The floor had been very uncomfortable. Something shiny in Zelda's hands caught my eye. "What do you have there?"
She sat up straight, like a child caught stealing a piece of cake behind their mother's back. "Oh, it's uhm… Just the little seashell you gave me at the beach in Hateno..." She held out her hand and dropped the small white shell in my palm.
"You held onto it?" I was surprised. It was nothing special as far as seashells went—just a little scallop. I figured she had just thrown it back into the waters.
"It meant a lot to me," she said. Her cheeks became pink as she spoke. "It… It reminds me of even the small things that I must fight to protect in this Kingdom… and it also reminds me of your generosity. I decided to keep it with me in my pouch."
"I'm glad you liked it," I said. I gave the shell back to her, then pulled my hair back into my usual ponytail. Never did I ever think my little gesture would impact the Princess so much. I stood, and the stiffness in my back objected to me until I leaned into a stretch. "Shall we go out and look for the horses?"
The early morning sun reflected off the wet grass in a shine of such brilliance that I had to shield my eyes when we emerged from the shrine. The rains had brought with them a crisp chill on the land. We wandered out of the grove beneath Satori Mountain and soon located the road. Luckily, my hunch had been correct, and we found our horses grazing nearby the Outskirt Stable. The stable hands told us they found them riderless late last night in the rain and let them shelter there, praying their riders would show up. I tried to paid them a good tip for their generosity, but when the stable owner learned our identities, he insisted it would be no cost to us as a thanks.
After a quick breakfast, we trotted around the colosseum ruins. The swamp of malice that once blocked its entrance had dissipated. I wondered if that malice had spawned there due to the herd of incredibly violent monsters that lived inside. It would align with the Yiga Clan's beliefs about malice appearing near evil events. Soon, we arrived at the ruins of Hyrule Garrison, and Zelda wished to stop.
"It is still shocking to see the places I was once so familiar with… completely obliterated without restraint," she said. She stepped over a pile of rubble and placed her hand against a ruined corner that had survived the blasts.
I scanned the ruins, alert for any monsters squatting amongst them. The outlines in the ground of many buildings and walls were still visible through crumbling foundations that had weathered the blasts of the guardians' relentless assault. A flash of blue sprouting up in the grass in one of the ruins caught my eye. It was a silent princess flower. "Look, Zel," I said as I pointed to it.
We carefully stepped over the ruined foundation walls to the flower. Zelda leaned down and cradled its delicate petals in her hands, though she did not pick it up from the ground. She sighed. "It amazes me that such a beautiful little thing has managed to grow amongst all this destruction."
I nodded, and a cool wind swirled around us. "It is a sign that we can also rebuild," I said.
She smiled up at me before standing up. "That's very poetic, Link."
A wind fluttered through the tall grasses and birds chirped as the tattered banner flapped overhead us. It was so peaceful here. One would never know a horrific event once came to pass if it weren't for the ruins littering the open field and the damaged castle in the distance. Yet, we were surrounded by incredible mountains, sparkling rivers, and lush forests that continued to thrive despite everything. From Central Hyrule, one could see almost all of the Kingdom's amazing landscapes. As I looked around us, I suddenly felt overcome with emotion. "Even without memories of my life growing up here, I managed to fall in love with this beautiful land all over again. If nature can recover from this calamity, so can we."
Zelda looked out at the field around us. "Indeed," she said.
We rode across the wide open grassland of Hyrule Field and through the ruins of Mabe Village, passing by the carcasses of several guardian stalkers that had deactivated upon the defeat of Calamity Ganon. I wondered if any travelers had braved approaching them yet to start scavenging for their highly valuable mechanical parts.
It was evening when we arrived in the ruins of castle town. We came upon a cluster of tents in the center square. Different designs annointed the tops of the tents with the symbols of different tribes. Gorons carried huge blocks of masonry into neat piles as they cleared out the ruins nearby. Rito perched on the ruined walls above, and Zora patrolled the streets. Several older Zora members were working on restoring the ruined fountain in the center of town. Even a few Gerudo had already made it into the town.
A hylian girl was the first to notice our arrival. "They're back! The Princess and Hero have returned!" She yelled. Several citizens poked their heads out of their tents. They began cheering, welcoming us back as we dismounted the horses. They bowed down on their knees to Zelda.
"Thank you, all," said Zelda. A smile stretched across her face, though I sensed a touch of nervousness in her voice. "We've returned to check in on the state of the castle."
"The castle has been stabilized of debri and the passages are clear now, Your Highness," said a Goron amongst the crowd, who I immediately recognized as Yunobo.
Zelda nodded. "Thank you. We will return to all of you here after our business is in order."
"Princess, what are your plans for us?" Another Hylian traveler in the crowd asked.
Zelda looked at her boots, then back to the crowd. Her voice was slightly more confident this time. "We are rebuilding the society we once called home. I call on all and anyone who wishes to assist to join me in this great effort."
Several citizens cheered with their support. Zelda smiled. "Additionally, I would like to hold a celebration of the new beginning here in the castle, once it is safe, for all who wish to come."
I wondered if she had made that decision at that moment or if she had been inspired by our party with the Gerudo. Surely, it would take quite a long time to get the castle ready for any type of formal event once again.
"Princess Zelda!"
Purah raced up from the castle gates and through the crowd to meet us. Apparently, she didn't care anymore if others saw her childlike appearance. Symin followed behind her at a slightly slower pace.
"Hello, Purah!" Zelda said, stepping forward to greet her friend.
"Princess… Oh, uh, did you change your hair? It looks so cute!" said Purah. She nodded at me in greeting. "Hey, Linky. Not sure if you did anything to yours, but I guess it looks good, as usual."
"We received your message," said Zelda. "We left at once...though we were sidetracked."
"I had no idea you were way out in Gerudo Town, so it took the messenger quite a while to ask around and find you I guess," said Purah, shrugging her shoulders. "Now come, see what we've found inside!"
We followed Purah as she skipped up to the castle entrance. Zelda took a deep breath from beside me as we entered the outer gate. She had been stuck inside this structure for a hundred years fighting off Ganon. I did not blame her for not wanting to return yet. The last time I was here, I too almost died.
The Gorons had cleared the main entrance of the collapsed debri in the Great Hall, and it was finally navigable. Inside, the stone walls were mostly intact but most remains of furniture were crushed beneath the collapsed stone. Broken ceramic of the castle's decorative vases littered the floor but the Gorons had at least swept a clean path for us to walk safely.
Purah and Symin continued across the hall, but Zelda paused to look up at the remains of a portrait of her and her parents that once hung proudly in the Great Hall. Its canvas was torn to shreds, the paint faded, and burn marks from the fires of the calamity charred what hadn't been ripped away. The Calamity wanted to thoroughly erase all traces the Royal Famiily. Zelda's eyes glinted, and I feared she would break down at that moment.
"Come on, Princess! We're losing daylight!" Purah called from the top of the staircase across the hall, completely oblivious to the Princess's quiet mourning.
I reached out hesitantly with my hand and brushed the back of hers to comfort her. Her eyes darted down for a moment. To my relief, she blinked away her tears before she silently laced her fingers into mine. "Coming, Purah," she called. Her voice echoed around the tall ceiling.
I gave her hand a light squeeze as we continued up through the castle. We climbed the stairs and emerged into a corridor that led past the dining hall. A shiver ran down my spine as I recalled the monsters and malice I'd encountered here on my previous visit. Zelda seemed to notice my discomfort and squeezed my hand back as we followed Purah
We could do this. Together.
We passed into a hall with an enormous hole blown into it that looked down into the Sheikah observatory below. The floor and red walls were scorched and broken in places from my battle with Calamity Ganon. Robbie was inside, tinkering on a large device on the edge of the room that I hadn't noticed during my battle. "That is the mainframe control system for the Sheikah Tower network. Robbie is still trying to repair it. I'd like to play with its teleportation functionality once it is done," said Purah.
Robbie looked up at the sound of Purah's voice."Princess! Wahh! Great to see you, after all these years..."
Zelda waved down at the Sheikah. "Hello, Robbie. Wonderful to finally see you in person again."
"And Link, glad to see you made it out in one piece. Hopefully my weapons came in handy," Robbie called up to me, adjusting his spectacles.
I nodded. "Very much. Hyrule owes much of this victory to your research on the weapons."
Robbie beamed, happy with this news. Purah motioned us to continue along the corridor. "We can go see Robbie later. Princess, there's something we just found while cleaning the residential quarters that we wanted to show you…"
We climbed up the winding spiral staircase and into a corridor that was blocked by fallen debri in my previous visit. A few sheikah were sorting things that could be salvaged into crates. We entered into a large room: the bedchamber of the King and Queen. The large arched windows were missing most of the glass panes, and a thick layer of dust covered the entire room. The large bed was still present, though its posters were collapsed from fallen roof debri. Purah led us over to a wardrobe in the corner that seemed miraculously unharmed besides the layer of dust covering it. She hopped up and pulled the handle open. Inside were many garments.
Zelda's eyes widened as she pulled on the fabric of a dress hanging inside. "These… These were my mother's gowns…"
Purah nodded. "Can you believe they survived the calamity? When one of the Sheikah here told me, I thought you'd be so excited to see them when you came back!"
Zelda blinked away tears. I held a hand to her shoulder. "Thank you, Purah."
"More beauty that persevered amongst the destruction," I whispered.