For all Impa had told her about how she had powers, over the course of the following week, the only thing Zelda got to discover was the new depths of despair and the feelings of being unable to do anything to change just that that accompanied each failed attempt at figuring out how she was meant to use her powers.
If there had just been a way for her to escape from it, some way for Zelda to go back to a point in time where she did not have to wonder whether or not the whisper she would hear came from the spirit world, only to then turn around and see that Ganondorf had been trying to get her attention for the past couple of seconds, a time where she just had to figure out a way to secure a reserve of food and water, she would have done it in a heartbeat. It was not a thought she would ever have thought that she would have, and yet, as time continued to pass, days slowly adding up to an entire week, she the feeling only grew alongside the number of times where she was barely able to keep herself together, forcing herself to remain silent as Impa would sigh and tell her that they would try again tomorrow.
Tomorrow. It felt like she heard the word over and over again. The cycle of reincarnation and hate might have appeared to ruin the lives of everyone in the world, but as the days passed, Zelda soon discovered another cycle, one that consisted of waking up, sometimes seeing Paya's eyes rest on her for another second, almost making it appear like she was going to talk to her, only for Paya to avert her gaze when she noticed her looking, and then going down to eat breakfast to the sound of how Ganondorf and Link would be talking about everything they looked forwards to learning during the day while being aware of how she was only going to waste yet another day. It should have been an infectious kind of enthusiasm, and, in a way, Zelda supposed that it was just that, but rather than bringing her hope, it only brought her to a point where she was almost able to forget that she could not come along, the result being that her stomach would sink to the floor each time Dorian would come to accompany Ganondorf and Link to the training grounds, leaving Zelda behind with Impa.
It was not that she did not like Impa, not at all. Zelda doubted that any amounts of feeling lost would ever have been enough to make her ignore how she could see the silhouette of other people, people she felt like she had once known, whispers of something she could not quite make out moving past her, whenever she would look at her. But still, for as much as Zelda tried to remain patient and understanding, clenching her jaw to keep herself from saying something she would regret when Impa would spend hours trying to get her to talk about her life, fact was that they did not make any progress, Zelda returning home in the evening to listen to Link and Ganondorf talk about the bruises they had received during their training without being able to tell them anything about her day. One Wednesday, Link had rolled up his right sleeve to show how a particularly well-executed series of attacks had drawn a yellow line up his arm, the bruise looking slightly green in the candlelight, and Zelda had tasted blood as she had bit into her lower lip to keep herself from saying something she already knew she would regret later on, instead allowing the feelings to bottle up inside of her as she continued on with the cycle of sleeping, eating, talking, eating, sleeping, and then repeating the entire thing over and over again..
They had just reached the second Monday of them staying in the village, Zelda being fairly confident that she was still able to keep track of the days, when Impa motioned for her to wait for a moment before Zelda got the chance to sit down in their usual spot next to the gravestones.
"Wait a moment, dear," Impa said, clearly not extending the meaning of the command to herself as she sat down, the ornaments hanging from her hat clattering slightly as she moved, "there was something I wanted to talk with you about."
"Yes?" Zelda heard the strained tone to her words, but decided that it was the best she could muster up the energy for right in that moment. "What is it?"
Clearly not in a hurry to tell her the answer to her question, Impa looked out over Hyrule for a moment before acknowledging the answer with the faintest hint of a smile. "Zelda, we have been working on allowing you to gain the understanding of how you are supposed to reach your powers for days now. Do you feel like all this training has made any difference for you? "
Had she asked the question only a day before, Zelda might have been able to think of a lie, to nod and say that she was seeing progress. As it was, however, just maintaining her posture took every last bit of energy she had, all of it contributing to her continuing to remember her father's mantra of shoulders back, chin slightly raised, and then keeping her expression open, keeping her arms at her sides rather than crossed in front of her chest to improve her image as well as her articulation. After that, she did not have any energy left to think of what she could say other than the truth, which was exactly what Zelda did. "No. I have not seen any differences since we first began training. In fact, I feel like I have even less of an idea about what I am supposed to be doing than I did back before I came to this village."
Impa bowed her head. "I see. Well in that case, all we can really do now is to try to appeal to the goddesses yet again. Who knows, perhaps today will be the day where you will be able to solve the riddle of how to reach your powers."
It was not that she had expected for Impa to show any outward reaction that would be able to outweigh a week of silent glances and thoughtful nods, not at all in fact. But still, for as much as Zelda tried to remind herself of that, of the fact that everything was as it had been the day before, that if she had been able to handle it back then, then she should also be able to remain calm, to remain silent, now. However, she could try to convince herself of that being the case for the rest of her life, and Zelda would still not have been able to ignore the bubbling feeling of frustration that rose up from the pit of her stomach, pressing against her chest, feeling like all air was being squeezed from her lungs, before finally manifesting in her jumping to her feet, her heart already beating madly in her chest as she looked down at Impa.
"No!" she all but yelled the word, and still, the only reaction she got was Impa slowly turning her head to look at her, eyebrows slightly raised, but otherwise not showing any sign of being surprised or shocked by her outburst, a fact that made Zelda continue. "I am not going to continue to ask for help from some goddesses, just as I am not going to sit here and talk with you like—like this is some kind of therapy session where you will in any way be able to do something to help me make sense of the fact that everyone is dead. Because they are; everyone is dead and gone, and the goddesses, both the Golden Goddesses and Hylia, did not do anything at all to try to stop it. They just let it happen, leaving us here like we aren't even worthy of their time and attention! If they or you, for that matter, think that I am ever going to ask for their help to figure out the powers that I should already have by now, then you are going to have to change that plan quickly, because I will never look to them for help, not now and not ever!"
The sound of the wind moving through the mountain pass sounded like wailing, but around them, everything was deadly quiet.
Finally, Impa rose. The difference, though not much in regards to height, was still enough to make Zelda take an involuntary step backwards before she got the chance to remind herself that she had not done anything wrong, that, if anything, Impa was the one who had wasted over a week with pointless talks about the past and future while ignoring the fact that Zelda still had no idea about how exactly they would go about bringing an end to the cycle.
With a voice that did not reveal any reaction to her outburst, Impa brought an end to the silence once more. "Zelda, I understand that you are frustrated, but—"
"Frustrated?" Zelda heard her voice rise to a pitch that approached the point of being inaudible. "Frustrated—yes, of course I am frustrated! Why should I not be when I have yet to learn anything useful, when I am sitting here, waiting, while Ganondorf and Link are able to go out and learn about their powers, learn how to fight and defend themselves? Why would I not be frustrated when faced with the fact that you apparently know exactly what we will have to do but refuse to tell me what it is, instead having me sit here and try to describe how I feel when I am ignored or when people assume that they know me because of my ancestors? Why would I not be frustrated when faced with all of that, Impa? Can you give me one good reason for why you are acting the way you are? Can you?"
Forcing herself to give her even the slightest opportunity to answer, Zelda gasped for breath, her lungs screaming for oxygen after she had just spoken without stopping to breathe. The second become another, soon reaching a total of ten seconds if Zelda was counting correctly, something she would not be willing to bet on with how her thoughts where a maelstrom of half-finished sentences and ideas inside her mind but nevertheless enough for her to know that Impa had got her chance and had had to face the fact that she did not have any answers for her.
Letting out a snort, Zelda nodded to herself. "That is what I thought." without another word, she turned on her heel and left the little hidden spot between the two hills.
She could not tell whether or not Impa tried to call out for her, tried to get her to stop and come back, nor did Zelda stop to wonder whether she would have liked her to. Instead, she continued to run, ignoring how her lungs were already burning, adrenaline and the effects of having only barely eaten enough to remove the immediate danger of malnourishment clouding her thoughts.
The buildings flew past her as Zelda turned around the corner, running along the main road of the village. There was no plan for her escape, no thought about where she would go, and still, Zelda found herself running towards the defile they had first made their way through in the early hours of morning, her, Ganondorf, and Link huddled together in the sidecar of the motorcycle. Distantly, Zelda was aware of how leaving now would also mean leaving the two people who were the closest thing she had to a family now behind, but it was not enough to break through the paramount need to get away from Impa and her cryptic instructions for her to listen to the goddesses, acting like that had been enough to help them so far, like the goddesses had done anything to try to stop the disease from unfolding around them.
Zelda could hear her pulse in her ears as she ran between the mountain walls, but she could not bring herself to slow down, not even as she had to gasp for breath, her muscles already beginning to ache. If she was injured and alone out there, she would not survive for long. Pulling a muscle came with far more severe consequences than it had done in the past where she had been able to go to the doctor to have a professional assess the damage and prescribe her analgesics to help with the pain. Zelda knew that, but she still continued forwards. As long as she ran, as long as the sound of her heartbeat echoed around her like thunder, she would not have to stop and think about what had just happened, which was exactly what she wished to avoid. If the choice lay between leaving the village behind for good and possibly risk dying alone out in the wild and stopping to think about what she had done, to hear the sound of how her voice had broken, gaining a childish lilt as she had lost all control over herself, echo in her ear, Zelda knew what she would prefer as her feet hit the ground below, sending dust up into the air behind her.
Her anger could only take her so long though. For as much as it had felt like a fire rising up inside of her, like it could never be extinguished, Zelda soon found that the aching pain in her side left her unable to run. In front of her, the narrow defile opened up to reveal a river, the bridge that connected the two sides looking unstable and old, moss growing on the stones, giving it an air of having been left there for ages. Perhaps that was really the case. After all, with how Zelda doubted she could have put more than a couple of kilometres between herself and the village, she doubted that the area around her was one that had often been visited by people in the past. Placing her left hand just above the centre of the pain in her side, her breathing sounding more and more like a wheeze in her ears, Zelda tried her best to calm down enough to think things through somewhat logically, and, suddenly, the option to cross it, to move further away from the village and her friends, seemed less and less appealing with every passing second.
Still, Zelda was not about to turn around and go back to Impa. She might not have been right to yell at her like that, but she still had her pride. She would not go back to be greeted with the expression of someone who had known from the beginning that she would come back again, the forbearing smile as Impa would tell her that it was all right before immediately asking her what had gone through her mind as she had fled. She could not return to that.
So, rather than moving further away from Kakariko Village or turning around to begin the long walk back to Impa, Zelda looked to the side, the sparkle of the sun being reflected in the water catching her attention. It was cold around her, the beginning of autumn waiting just around the corner, but Zelda still approached the lake, looking into the deep blue water as she slowly sat down, pulling off her boots. The leather-like material they were made of felt rough against her hands as she made sure to place them directly next to each other before rolling up the trouser legs of her borrowed clothes. Despite knowing that she was only imagining things, Zelda could not shake the feeling of being on fire, of having warmth envelop her as she crossed the few metres she had chosen to put between her boots and the water, desperate to make contact and try to bring an end to the sensation of being on fire.
The water was as cold as ice, Zelda feeling how every last muscle in first her feet and then her shins tensed for a moment before slowly beginning to relax again as she stuck her feet into the water. She could not remember having done anything in a long time that felt nicer. Sitting there, focusing on nothing but the sensation of the water moving around her feet, it was almost as if the rest of the world did not exist. There was no disease, no cycle, no burden on her shoulders, and no constant reminders of the fact that a person in the past who had been much like her was part of the reason for the outbreak of the disease and that she was supposed to know how to bring an end to the cycle. Her supposed powers did not exist; they were not constantly just out of reach, taunting her as Zelda remembered how she had never read anything about the princess struggling with her destiny in any of the legends. There no Impa to stand there, looking like someone she should have remembered while refusing to tell Zelda the answer to her questions. There was nothing and no one at all, only Zelda and the birds in the nearby trees, chirping to each other.
The sound of a twig breaking brought an end to the illusion.
Zelda should perhaps have leapt to her feet and felt how her heart sped up as the memory of the attack and the blades of the Yiga Clan would appear in her mind, but she could not even bring herself to make an attempt at identifying the source of the sound.
Another second passed, ruling out the idea that the Yiga might have found her, and Zelda remained exactly where she was as the sound of footfalls grew louder, moving towards her until, at last, Zelda spotted the brown colour of Paya's boots out of the corner of her eyes.
She did not say a word as Paya slowly reached down to tug at the boots, pulling them off and throwing them in the direction of where Zelda had placed hers, keeping herself from looking to the side by fastening her gaze on the tree directly in front of her, pushing back down the wish to meet Paya's gaze as she felt her look down at her, the gentle sound of the water surface being disturbed once again letting her know that Paya had joined her in sitting with her legs in the water.
The silence should have been uncomfortable, the kind of silence that accompanied her days with Impa, loud and with the sensation of it filling every last bit of air around her, coming into her lungs when she breathed, making her throat feel tight and constricted. Zelda should have registered the fact that Paya was there and immediately know deep down that she had been sent by Impa to let her know to come back home before it would become dark. Paya's arrival should have meant a lot of things, but as Zelda sat there, at once acutely aware of how Paya was sitting only a little under a metre away from her and unable to even consider looking over at her, feeling like her cheeks were on fire, the only thing she could think about the silence was how nice it was to be able to be quiet and not feel like every passing second was sand in an hourglass that showed her how their time was coming to an end.
She received a warning that the silence would not last forever in advance in the form of Paya coughing slightly before speaking. "Zelda… are—do you need anything?"
Did she need anything? Zelda could have thought of a lot of things she needed, a plan and information about what to do being only some of them. If Impa had been there, she might even have said that, let her words become steel as she glared at her, but now, with Paya sitting there, her voice revealing how she had not been sure about whether or not to ask, Zelda could not bring herself to even consider it.
Instead, she shrugged weakly, knowing from the sound of a sudden intake of breath that Paya had noticed it. It did not feel good to know, not when Zelda would only need to close her eyes to imagine what Paya's expression probably looked like, anxious and shy, but she still heard herself ask the question that occupied every last part of her mind with a voice that felt unrecognisable. "Did Impa send you?"
Paya was silent for a while before answering. "No, she did not," she said, and although Zelda knew that the words should not have been audible among the sound of birds chirping in the trees and the flow of the river, she still heard every syllable, "I… I doubt that she would have thought me capable of finding the courage to leave the village like this."
That got Zelda's attention. Planting one hand on the ground, she pushed herself to the side so that she was no longer facing the opposite bank, but rather looking over at Paya as she reached up to fiddle with her necklace.
Maybe it was simply the effect of the sun being reflected and refracted in the surface of the water, but, to Zelda, it felt as if she had not quite looked at her before that moment, not properly, at least. She could not see any other explanation for how she had been able to miss the slight signs of the beginnings of a smile, Paya brushing a strand of silver hair back behind her ears, momentarily blocking Zelda from being able to see the tug of muscles that would no doubt grow to become a smile if she could just refrain from ruining it.
In that moment, getting to see that smile felt more important than anything else, so, making sure to think the sentences through before allowing them to leave her mouth, Zelda tilted her head to the side, sending Paya what she hoped would be interpreted as a quizzical look. "Are you scared? Out here, I mean?"
The tug became stronger as Paya returned Zelda's attempt at an encouraging smile by moving slightly closer to her. It was a matter of centimetres, nowhere near enough for Zelda to stop thinking about how she must be staining Paya's clothes by sitting there in the grass, how Paya was no doubt doing the exact same thing as she moved, and yet, that was exactly the effect it has, removing all thoughts of both their surroundings and the failure the last week had proved to be from Zelda's mind as Paya spoke.
"Immensely. I am always scared. It does not really matter whether or not I am inside the village, not when I have no way of knowing when my life will come to an end again." Paya's breath hitched as she looked up towards the sky, Zelda finding herself mirroring her without thinking. "The only feeling being out here brings me is the certainty that I will not able to get back as quickly as I would otherwise have been able to, should anything happen. Still, I doubt that I would be able to do anything to help anyone if they are threatened by someone, so I suppose that it doesn't really matter, does it? Besides, it is nice out here. There isn't any noise or anyone asking me what I am doing. I take it that you wanted to escape from that for a bit too, right?"
She had no reason to feel guilty. She might have planned on leaving, envisioning how she would put as much distance between herself and Kakariko Village as she could to lower the risk of her changing her mind, letting the fact that she missed Ganondorf and Link lead her back, by removing her option of remembering the path she had taken, but, in the end, Zelda had ended up not doing it, instead going to sit with her legs in the water as her heart slowly found a more normal rhythm. If she did not mention it, no one would ever have to know what she had been considering.
Zelda could have tried to convince herself of that for hours; it would still not have taken away the feeling of guilt sitting in her stomach as her shoulders fell, Zelda lacking the strength to do more than mumble in response. "No. I… I was actually considering running away. I am not going to do it though." she did not know why, but it felt important to assure Paya of that, to try to erase the fact that Zelda had seen how her eyes had widened as she had answered the question. "I promise that I am not going to do it and that I never even crossed this bridge. I just…" there was no end to the sentence, and so, Zelda let it trail off to become silence.
Trying to keep track of time, Zelda began counting along to her heartbeat, only to realise that it would not work. Though she was not in any danger, her heartrate was increasing with every passing second, Zelda slowly beginning to hear her pulse in her ears again. It made no sense. There was no danger, no feeling of someone watching her. It was just the two of them, and still, Zelda could not get her heart to understand that and let her heartrate go back to a less frantic pace.
Paya's voice came as a welcome distraction from Zelda's attempt at figuring out just what had happened. "Oh… I… yeah, I suppose I should have expected for that to happen."
There was something there, something Zelda had to figure out what meant.
Feeling how a frown spread across her face, Zelda looked over at her. "What do you mean?"
"Just…" Paya kicked at the water, sending drops flying, ripples spreading through the surface of the water where they landed. "With how I told you about, well, my parents and all that just moments after meeting you and the way you reacted, I—I guessed that it was just a matter of time before you would leave again. I am sorry about that. Both for just throwing all that at you and for… well, for not properly apologising for it until now."
She heard what she was saying, and if Zelda focused on the individual words, she was even able to get them to make a tiny amount of sense, but together, she could not figure out just what Paya was trying to tell her. With the feeling of being about to make a mistake rising in her throat, Zelda pulled her legs out of the water, resting her chin on her knees as she turned to face Paya. "Wait, what are you talking about? Paya, I didn't try to leave because you told me about your family."
"Really?" Paya looked at her with an expression Zelda knew too well, feeling almost like she was looking at herself, not quite willing to believe what the other was saying.
"Yes." Zelda made sure to keep her voice firm, not allowing for there to be even the tiniest bit of uncertainty about whether or not she meant it. "Yes, of course that wasn't the reason. I am actually happy that you told me about it—the reason that I did not bring it up with you again was that, well…"
"You thought I didn't want to talk about it anymore?" Paya finished the sentence for her.
It was not the entirety of the explanation, but it was a beginning, so Zelda nodded. "Yeah… I… I thought that, with how I did not really want to talk about my father, it would mean that it was just as terrifying for you to tell me about your family, so, well, when I did not return the gesture by telling you about him, I supposed that you took it as—Nayru, I know this is going to sound weird, but I thought that you would take it as an insult."
Paya hummed for a moment before answering. "No, I get that. I… I guess that I tend to overthink what other people might think of me as well." she turned to the side, keeping both her hands on the ground as she leant forwards. It was not much, barely a change from how she had been sitting until then, but it was still enough for Zelda to find herself utterly unable to look away from her as she continued. "But if that was not why you left, then… what was?"
She could deny her the answer. Zelda could almost picture what would happen, how the weak smile would disappear in an instant to instead be replaced with fleeting glances that always ended the moment Paya became aware of the fact that Zelda had noticed them as she would move away from her, most likely stuttering some excuse before leaving her again. It was clear that she could not do that, but the truth still sat heavy in her stomach, making Zelda have to force herself to spit it out, explaining to Paya how she had yet to see any improvements, that she would sit down to eat dinner in the evening, listening to Ganondorf and Link talk about how Dorian had told them that they were showing great potential, while knowing that she was wasting time.
"They are doing all of that," Zelda said, blinking quickly to keep back the sting of tears, "and I am just sitting there with Impa. I have no idea what we are supposed to do or how we should do it. All I know is that there is a cycle that uses us to bring destruction to Hyrule, that the disease was caused by the cycle not being able to repeat the last time the three of us were brought together, and that I am apparently supposed to have some kind of magical powers. I am standing still, and I can't see why Impa keeps on trying the same tactic when it is obviously not working."
"Maybe she is just hoping that you will be able to figure it out one day if you keep on approaching it the same way?" Paya offered with a tone of voice that made it clear that she did not even believe that herself. "I mean, right now, you at least know what you are doing. If you changed that, I think that Impa might be worrying that you would feel like you have wasted your time so far."
Even through the hurt, Zelda could admit that it made sense. However, agreeing that something made sense was not the same as her agreeing with it, so she shrugged in response. "I guess it might be the case, but if so, I just cannot help but think that it is dangerous to assume that we have all the time in the world. I mean, the disease struck from one moment to the next, affecting everyone at once, and we had no way of knowing that in advance. Who is to say that the cycle will not repeat again, that since Ganondorf, Link, and I refuse to see each other as enemies, we will face a new disaster?" Zelda leant in over her knees, feeling how the position forced a sigh out of her lungs. "I don't know anything about the cycle. I don't know exactly what caused it or what we can do to bring an end to it, and Impa—" Zelda shook her head, "I know that she knows something, but I just cannot get her to tell me."
"Uh, if I may…" moving closer to her, it was clear that Paya was fully blushing now. It was no longer a matter of a slight redness to the tip of her ears, but rather a blush that made the vivid colour of the Sheikah symbol that had been painted onto her face seem a little paler in comparison. "I actually asked Purah about it since the last time we spoke."
Purah. Of course. It made sense to go to her, to seek out the person who liked talking about her theories with anyone who showed even the slightest willingness to listen, the one who possessed a level of knowledge about the world that Zelda had not seen anyone match. In hindsight, Zelda could have told herself that it was what she should have done, that she should have moved past Impa to instead ask her sister to explain what her place in their conversations about destiny and cycles was, but even sitting there, she could acknowledge the fact that, with how her thoughts had been a combination of despair and jealousy for most of the past week, she would not have been able to think of it herself.
It felt like the world went quiet around her as Zelda tried to understand what she was hearing, knowing that she must look dumb as she sat there, instinctively lifting her head up to look at Paya. "You—you did?" she asked, hearing how her voice rose a little.
Thankfully, Paya did not comment on it, merely nodding at her. "Yeah, I did." the silence that followed must have been enough to let her know that Zelda was barely able to keep herself from asking, begging her to tell her what Purah had told her, for, the blush deepening a little, Paya continued. "Uh, I did not really understand—I guess that she was trying to describe it in a way she thought that I would get, so it might not be totally correct, but—"
"Paya." Zelda cut into the ramble, barely catching herself in time before she would have followed the instinct to reach out and put a hand on Paya's shoulder to try to calm her. Fearing that she would see that Paya's blush had spread to her own cheeks as well if she were to cast a glance into the water, Zelda forced herself to look at Paya as she continued. "I know that. She was my teacher as well. Trust me; I am aware of the fact that she will sometimes use words I doubt anyone has ever used before. I just need to know the essence of what she told you, that is all."
"Yeah—yeah." Paya stuttered before clearing her throat. "Yes, I—I—never mind. I was just a bit… distracted. Anyway, she told me to think of the cycles and the way they manifests as pressure in a closed container where every new repeat of the cycle lowers the pressure a little."
Zelda ended up closing her eyes to bring an end to the instances of her continuously find herself looking at Paya and forget what she had just said. Picturing a plastic container, trying her best to imagine how the pressure inside it would rise, the person responsible for it occasionally opening the lid a little, just enough to let a little of the air out before closing it again, Zelda nodded. "Yes, and then what?"
"Well, according to Purah, the way we can interpret… everything that happened is that if the pressure is not regularly lowered and still continues to rise, the container will begin to crack. That was what happened when the disease struck: the world began to crumble because the pressure of the cycle grew to be too much for it to withstand."
It was all so logical, something she could visualise. Perhaps that was why the grief that should have accompanied the idea that everything that had happened was little more than a cosmic experiment did not overwhelm her the way she had expected for it to do, Zelda instead finding herself able to focus on nothing but the idea of regarding it all as little more than a matter of pressure. Or perhaps there were simply no tears or grief left in her after those last few months. Zelda did not know the answer, and so, she made sure to focus on nothing but what Paya had just told her.
"All right." Zelda nodded, trying her best not to look distracted as she went over what she had just been told. "Pressure in a container, right, so what we will have to do is that, rather than merely letting the pressure fall to a level the container can withstand, we… have to remove the source of it completely." casting a glance over at Paya, Zelda was met with a smile, but also the gesture of someone telling her that they had no idea about the validity of the answer. It would have been enough to crush her only a moment ago, but now, Zelda found herself thinking aloud as she tried to see a way to get through to the other side of the question of just what they would have to do. "Okay, so if it is a container and the pressure is building, we will have to do something relatively soon, or at least we have a time limit for when the container will burst. But the source…" Zelda tapped her chin, "I don't know what it can be. I mean, if it is a physical object, it would have to be old, with the cycle having been detailed in even the oldest written texts, but where—a museum!" the thought came from one moment to the next, Zelda leaping to her feet without thinking. "Yes, that's it; it would have to have come from a museum, perhaps even Hyrule National Museum." stopping for a moment to help Paya up from the ground, Zelda could feel how the exhilarating rush of chasing down the right answer made her heart beat even faster. "It would explain why we haven't seen the Yiga Clan since then; they would most likely already be busy protecting the source of the cycle if they had found it and knew what it was." Zelda paused, spotting a slight flaw in her plan as Paya grimaced. "Do we know if the Yiga Clan wants for the cycle to continue?"
A moment later, Zelda found herself whishing that she could have taken back the question as Paya looked like she had to fight off the urge to flinch at the mention of the Yiga Clan's name, but she could not, not when Paya shook her head, her shoulders rising up towards her ears. "We don't know much about them really," she said, her voice low and shaky, "I mean, I have read that they used to be part of the Sheikah Clan a long time ago, but that they left to form their own branch over some disagreement about the use of Sheikah technology. I can't speak for everyone though, but I know that I have no idea about what exactly they wish to achieve."
"Okay, so we don't know just what they are trying to do." Zelda repeated the answer to herself, the tense feeling of frowning pulling her back to reality to look over at where Paya had resumed fidgeting with her necklace. Moving slowly, giving her every chance to step away, she reached out to place her hand on top of hers. Feeling Paya stiffen slightly, Zelda could only hope that she would not make everything worse by giving her hand a little squeeze. "I am sorry about bringing it up. I—it is clear that you don't want to talk about it, and I promise that if I had not genuinely thought that they might be involved in the cycle or at least the answer as to what we will have to do about it, I would not have asked you about them.."
She would not have been surprised if Paya had taken a step away from her. That or brushing aside the apology would have been among the reactions Zelda had almost come to expect from her, so when Paya shook her head, moving her hand so that, rather than Zelda simply having placed her own hand on top of it, Paya returned the gesture, clasping both of her hands around Zelda's right hand as she spoke, the only thing she could do was to stare at her.
"No, it is not that I personally feel uncomfortable when talking about the Yiga Clan, it is just…" Paya bowed her head, and for what felt like the first time since she had arrived, Zelda could see that she was avoiding her gaze, looking down at the ground as she continued. "It is difficult to explain. To be honest, I don't even think that it is my place to explain just why we don't talk much about the Yiga Clan here or why we care about making sure that they have no idea where we are to a point where people are willing to risk their lives for the missions." tightening her hold on Zelda's hand, Paya turned around and began to lead her back towards the mountain pass, back towards Kakariko Village. "Come with me. I will find the person who can explain everything to you."
Zelda wanted to ask her who it was. As she walked along next to Paya, Paya still not having let go of her hand, the result being that they walked hand in hand, moving past the places where pieces of rock has seemingly fallen from the top of the mountains to land in the little chasm or where puddles had formed to push down parts of the ground, their hands swinging slightly between them as they moved, however, Zelda could not find the words to even begin to construct that sentence, nor did she want to. Looking at Paya as she walked there next to her, all Zelda could see was the little twitch near her eyes, the way Paya clenched her jaw as they moved at a pace that was not quite running but also not a light walk. She could not ask her, not now, not when Paya already looked like it took every last bit of strength in her not to sit down and cry over the question Zelda had already asked her.
Though Zelda could have sworn that she had run for less than a minute to get out to the lake, the journey back home ended up lasting several minutes. Zelda was not even able to pretend that it was only due to how quickly her heart beat in her chest, that the rhythm was making the seconds appear far shorter to her, since that would then also have been the case when she ran out to the lake in the first place.
At last, the gate appeared as they turned around the corner, Kakariko Village waiting just in front of them, and Zelda could almost feel how every last part of her was begging her to ask Paya where they were going. Trying her best to convince herself that she could wait for a bit longer, however, Zelda was somehow able to remain quiet as Paya led her down the main path of the little village.
That level of determination ended up lasting little more than a minute. Having expected for them to turn right at the bend of the road, when Paya instead followed it around the corner, Zelda felt how the resolution not to ask melted away, the question leaving her mouth before she was able to stop it. "Wait, aren't we going to talk with Impa?"
The question received a short answer. "No."
After that, they walked in silence the rest of the way, Zelda doing everything in her power to remind herself of the fact that Paya would probably have let go of her hand if she was upset that she had asked, and although it should not have changed anything, as Paya led her towards what looked like a field that had been hastily converted to some kind of training area, the fear that sat down in the pit of her stomach abated a little to instead make way for the ability to register the sound of wood against wood, the thuds occasionally punctuated by a yell or a groan, giving Zelda an idea of just where they were going even before they moved past the little group of trees that partially obstructed their view of the area.
With the way they were moving back and forth over the wooden planks that made out the flooring of the makeshift training ground, ducking and parrying while waiting for an opening to strike, it took Zelda a moment to recognise the two duellists as being Ganondorf and Link, the confusion soon giving way to disbelief that it had been there as all. After all, there was no mistaking the way Link spun, the tip of his sword almost reaching Ganondorf's arm before he was able to bring up his weapon, the handguard being all that would have kept the sword from continuing its downward trajectory to hit his hand if it had been an actual weapon as he narrowly managed to block the stroke, stepping forwards to gain momentum for his own attack.
It was something they had done plenty of times, that much was clear from the way they would alternate between being on the defensive and moving to assume a more offensive fighting style when the other would have to move back to regain their energy for another attack. In hindsight, Zelda could see that it was something she should have expected with how they had gone out to train with Dorian almost every day since they had first arrived, but that did not make it any less captivating to stand there and watch how Ganondorf used his height to his advantage, forcing Link to stop his own attack to instead focus on not being pushed away from the centre of the fenced off platform, Dorian leaning against the fence as he watched them spar.
Zelda was able to pinpoint the exact second Ganondorf spotted her and Paya with how his reaction was abrupt and noticeable, Ganondorf going from making it seem like all that existed to him in that moment was the battle and the sword in his hand to looking over at her with wide eyes in a matter of seconds.
"Zelda?" he called out, and now, Link too turned to look over at her, lowering his sword until it hung by his side, looking more like a toy than the weapon it had resembled only a minute earlier. "Is everything all right?"
"Uh, yes!" Zelda yelled back. Why she had not thought about what it would look like to Ganondorf and Link when she would so clearly show them that she had left her lessons before that moment was beyond her, but as Ganondorf frowned slightly, already beginning to walk over to her, Zelda knew that she would have to be more convincing in her attempt at letting him know that everything really was all right, so she tried again. "Paya just told me that there was something I had to hear." Zelda raised their clasped hands. "That's all."
Ganondorf did not appear to be convinced just yet, but before he got the chance to say anything, Dorian had pushed himself away from the fence and began to walk over to them. "What is going on?" he asked, already looking over at Paya. "Has something happened? Does your grandmother need me?"
A single glance at Paya's face would have been enough to let anyone see that she did not want to say what she was about to. In a way, Zelda supposed that the feeling of warmth that bloomed in her chest as she did it nevertheless could have been pride had it not been for the fact that she was aware of the fact that she did not know her nearly well enough for it to feel like a personal victory to see her able to do that.
"No," Paya said, shaking her head, "everything is fine. It was just that Zelda and I were discussing what she and her friends could do to put an end to the cycle, when I realised that Zelda does not know much about the Yiga Clan or our reasons for training to be able to stand a chance against them in battle, and so, I thought that, maybe, you would be able to tell her. I get if you don't want to, though!"
It should not have felt like an attack as Paya let go of her hand to put them up in front of her, waving frantically at Dorian like that would be able to push the suggestion away, and yet it did. Looking back and forth between the two of them, there was no doubt in Zelda's mind that no matter what exactly it was that had made Paya decide that Dorian was the only one who could tell her about the Yiga Clan, it was something deeply personal. The way Dorian was not quite able to mask his instinctive reaction to the idea, the serious expression faltering for a moment to let another one shine through, his eyes becoming shiny as he looked back towards Ganondorf and Link, was more than enough to let her know that.
Perhaps coming to the same conclusion as Zelda, Ganondorf moved over to stand next to them, propping his elbow up on the fence to join Zelda in looking at Paya and Dorian as they seemed to lead a silent conversation in hurried glances and slight nods.
"Uh, Dorian—" Ganondorf began, only to almost immediately be interrupted as Dorian let out a sigh.
"Sure, I will tell her—I will tell all three of them, in fact. If they want to be here, they need to know just what the Yiga Clan is capable of and why we have to be prepared to fight them." he turned towards them, Link running over to join them, and as much as everything in Zelda told her that she would not wish to hear what he had to say, she could not bring herself to walk away or tell Dorian that she had changed her mind as he looked to the sky before beginning. "I know that I have not introduced you to them just yet, but perhaps they have taken care of that issue all on their own—they are good at making friends, after all, so it really would not surprise me if—" Dorian interrupted himself, but even as he shook his head, Zelda could still see the smile on his face as he continued. "I am sorry. I guess I tend to ramble while talking about my children. I… well, I don't really talk about my family when training beginners, they—they don't need a distracted teacher, not when they are handling weapons for the first time in their lives."
"Children?" Link parroted, eyes widening as he seemingly missed the fact that he had just been referred to as a beginner. "Do you have children?"
"There's no need to look so surprised!" it was clear that it had been meant as a joke, but Zelda could already hear how it fell flat the moment the words left Dorian's mouth, an opinion that was apparently shared by Dorian as well, as he did not bother to try again. "But, yes, I have children, two, in fact. Koko and Cottla. You might have seen them around the village; Cottla really likes playing games, especially hide-and-seek."
"Yeah," Ganondorf nodded, "I think I saw a girl who was trying to convince Epona to play hide-and-seek with her."
"What?" Link turned his head to the side, the swift motion making his hair fly up around his face. "When?"
Ganondorf shrugged. "A couple of days ago. Epona did not seem to mind, so I thought that it would probably be fine for me to leave her there. Besides, she looked like she really enjoyed talking with Epona, so I did not really feel like being the one to walk over to ruin that for her right then."
"Yes, that does sound like something Cottla would do." Dorian chuckled, a tense sound that died a moment later as he looked down at them, pain written across his face. "I… before all of this happened, we used to live in Hateno Village, just me, the girls, and my wife." Zelda could see how Link opened his mouth, no doubt to confirm the creeping suspicion forming in her mind that they had never known about him having a family either, so she reached out, placing a hand on his arm to make Link remain silent as Dorian continued uninterrupted. "Yeah, I know, I know, you haven't seen her around here in the village. I… listen, before I tell you this, I just want to let you know that I don't really like to talk about this. Far too many people look at me with pity in their eyes after I tell them, and I just… it does not help. Nothing does, really. So, please, just promise me that you will not begin to walk on eggshells when around me from now on."
Zelda had to try to speak twice before she was able to force out a sound, the fact that she already had a pretty good idea of what he was going to say lying as a rope around her chest, pressing the air out of her lungs. "Of course not."
With a glance in her direction that made it clear that he did not quite believe them, Dorian let out a sigh. "Hmm, all right. To begin with, I need you to know I made a lot of mistakes when I was younger. I was angry and sad that there was no one willing to really teach me about how to use Sheikah technology for more offensive purposes, why it had been fashioned into phones when it could so obviously be used for more than just that. It was that kind of anger that led to me beginning to spend time with people who—uh, let's just say that they shared my opinions. In other words, I became a member of the Yiga Clan, and—"
"The Yiga Clan?" Ganondorf pressed his hand against his mouth, but it was too late to take back the surprise in his comment. "I am sorry, I was just—I didn't expect for you to have ever been part of that group with the way you arrived to save our lives, risking your own in the process. They certainly did not seem like someone who was facing an old teammate when they fought you."
Dorian gave them a humourless smile. "No, of course they did not. The Yiga are merciless when it comes to betrayal and me deciding to leave them after meeting the love of my life was one they could not forgive. They waited a few years, I will give them that, but in the end, just as I had begun to delude myself into thinking that, perhaps, perhaps I had made it, that maybe I would be the one who was able to keep a low enough profile for them not to remember me or bother to do anything to me to show that they did not forgive traitors. I guess that I should have known better, but I didn't, so I wasn't even home the day they arrived to Hateno Village." Dorian looked down at the ground, but there was nothing he could have done to hide how he tightened his grip on his sword to a point where his knuckles turned white, the bones looking like they were going to tear through the skin. "They killed my wife. I returned home to a dead body and a note that, unless I learnt to be a loyal member of their group, my children would be the next victims. In a way, the disease came with a silver lining for my family since that was when Impa arrived to tell us about this village where the Yiga Clan would never be able to find us again. After all, I know that I would never have dared to disobey that order much less outright oppose them after that."
In the silence that followed, the only thing Zelda could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat. It felt like the wind itself had died down, all the birds that had been chirping in the trees quieting for a moment to allow her to take in what Dorian was telling them. A dead wife. Zelda would be the first to admit to not having spent much time talking with the people of Kakariko Village, but even then, the idea that two of the children she had seen run along the paths, whispering about her but never walking over to her, could have experienced what Dorian was describing was not something she should have been able to miss so easily.
Forcing herself not to look away from Dorian, to face the discomfort head-on and take in the way his jaw clenched as he looked down as if to inspect the luminous blade of his sword, the blue glow casting deep shadows across his face, Zelda could almost see the face of the person who had jumped in through the windows of the museum, leaping into battle without a second thought to block the attacks from the Yiga Clan while she fled with Ganondorf and Link, all three of them wordlessly reaching the agreement that it was better not to look back, not to pause to try to figure out just who had arrived or whether or not they were there to protect them or to kill them before the Yiga Clan got the chance. The fact that they had compared Dorian and his group to the Yiga Clan sent bile rising up in her throat. A dead wife and they had looked at his blade and deemed it to be just as dangerous for them as the Yiga Clan.
"I am sorry," Ganondorf said, Zelda hearing the same uncertainty about what to do in his voice as she felt inside her own body as she tried to think of something to do, something she could say to make the situation any better, "I—we had no idea that that had happened to you."
"Don't apologise." Dorian's voice was firm, almost enough to hide the way he wiped a tear away from the corner of his eyes. "It isn't what she would have wanted. She knew exactly what the risk was when we first met. Besides, I don't need pity, I need to continue training and training others to make sure that even if the worst were to happen, there will still be people here who will be able to defend the rest of my family until they are old enough to defend themselves."
Zelda could only nod along. It made sense, she supposed, that he would be willing to face the Yiga Clan after everything he had been through. Making sure that she swallowed back the apology, Zelda took a step forwards before she too tried to fill the awkward silence that hung in the air between them with at least some kind of acknowledgement of what he had lost. "Dorian, I just want you to know that as soon as we know what we will have to do to—to make sure that something like the disease will never happen again, we will try our best to avenge your wife and make the Yiga Clan pay for what they did to her. You and your children should not have to fear them, and we will make sure that you will never have to again."
She would have expected for Dorian to frown at her, the question of just what she was thinking that she could achieve alongside Ganondorf and Link, what a teenager was thinking that she and two people who had been training for only about a weak would be able to do when faced with an entire clan of people who seemed to have dedicated themselves to their cause for years, being the one she had thought she would be confronted with. However, as Dorian shifted his weight to the side, the blade retracting into the hilt of his sword, what she saw was not the puzzled expression of someone who was not quite sure if she was sincere or merely trying to console him, but rather something akin to heartbreak as Dorian shook his head.
"I don't want that," he said, and despite his voice having become a mumble, Zelda knew that both Ganondorf and Link heard him as well, "I wasted too much of my life being angry at the world for everything it had done to wrong me. For the first couple of weeks after my wife's death, I could barely face my children and Cottla's questions of when her mum would be home, and do you know who suffered for that? My children and I did. It wasn't the Yiga Clan who paid the price for all the nights I spent trying to track them down to make them pay for what they had done to my family, it was me. I was the one who missed out on my children's life by trying to change what could not be changed, and I was the one who had to miss Koko's birthday and come home to find them crying in the middle of a dead village to realise that I had more important things in my life than the need for revenge."
Zelda fell silent, the question of how he could not hate the Yiga Clan and everything they had done dying in her throat.
Instead, Link was the one to speak. Mirroring Ganondorf's stance as he leant against the fence, it could hardly have been more apparent how he did not wish to ask the question, Zelda seeing how he had to try multiple times before being able to force it out. "Dorian, I get that it is not my place to ask this, but… when you came to save us, back in Clock Town, I mean, how…?"
"How was I able to keep myself from trying to pursue the Yiga Clan, you mean?"
Link nodded. "Something like that, yes."
With a sigh, Dorian sat down on the ground. "It is as I said: my wife is dead. Nothing I can say or do will ever be able to change that. But my children are still alive and well. I have a responsibility to them and to Impa for having saved us from Hateno Village to ensure that this village is safe—I confronted them in the museum because Impa had explicitly told me that if I were to see three people there, they were the ones we had been waiting for, but I still knew that I had to be careful not to make my children lose their dad as well. Do you understand?"
His eyes passing over all of them, Zelda could not quite ignore the feeling that he looked at her for far longer than he did with the two others, looking at her like he was expecting for it to tell her something, for Zelda to nod her head and say that she understood.
Maybe another person would have been able to do that without lying. If she were to look over at Paya, Zelda was sure that she would have been met with exactly the reaction Dorian wished to see. In fact, she only had to glance over at Ganondorf to see how he looked at Dorian, a distant expression on his face letting her know that he was thinking about what they had just been told. But for as much as she wanted to mirror their reactions and let Dorian know that she was able to think of something other than what it must have felt like for Koko and Cottla to first lose their mother and have their father leave them behind as he tried to track down her murderers, their entire village dying around them while he was gone, she could not. She could not stop seeing the glint of the sunlight reflected in the Yiga Clan's weapons, just as she could not stop picturing the two children who had stood by one of the trees in the village, giggling to themselves as they pointed towards her.
"But why?" it was not until everyone turned towards her that Zelda realised that she had been the one to ask the question. Clearing her throat, already knowing that it would do nothing to change the way her tone of voice rose throughout the sentence Zelda tried again. "How can you be so calm about all of that? I know that it is not the same, but every time I think about what happened back when the disease struck and how there was nothing any of us could do to stop it from taking everything from us, all I want is to confront whoever was responsible for it. How can you be so calm when you talk about the people who killed your wife? How can you stand here and say that you don't want to rush out to get revenge and destroy their lives just like they destroyed yours?"
For a moment, Zelda was convinced that Dorian would tell her that she had to grow up, become less childish and face the fact that, sometimes, the world was not a just place. It certainly seemed like that was what he would tell her as he crouched down slightly, bringing himself down to the level of her eyes, Zelda having to blink furiously to continue seeing him rather than how her father would have done the same thing, placing a hand on the dining table rather than the fence but nevertheless looking just as Dorian did. It was that, the too soft voice making it sound like he was talking to someone far younger than her, or Dorian's voice becoming icy when he would tell her that she had no right to judge his way of talking about his past, Zelda knew that.
However, rather than continuing like her father would have done, Dorian simply tilted his head to the side, a look that was not quite pity nor annoyance at the question being all she could see in his eyes as he spoke. "Zelda, I am not calm. Trust me, for the longest time, I was so full of rage every time I would think about what had happened that I could barely stand to look at myself or my children. Even now, I admit that there are times where I wish death upon the people responsible for my wife's murder. It is a matter of me realising that I have an obligation to my children to be a good father for them, and part of that is that I have to not only keep myself from needlessly rushing out to get myself killed in a misguided attempt at making the Yiga Clan pay, I also have to show them that there is another way to handle what has happened, that we cannot use revenge as a guide for our actions. I will never forgive the Yiga Clan for what they did, but I had to recognise the fact that I would have to find something other than the rage to live for, and, in the end, my children became that thing. Do you understand what I am saying?" Dorian placed a hand on her shoulder, but unlike what Zelda would have expected, she did not have to suppress any instinctive urge to shove it off, just as she did not have to continuously remind herself that he was not her father, that he was not about to tell her that she had to try harder, had to try again until she would excel. "Blind rage would not have got me anywhere. The only thing it would have achieved is the destruction of the rest of my family. I had to focus on the fact that I still had my children and that I wanted to make the world safe for them rather than the part of me that still wished to kill the Yiga Clan to avenge my wife."
Distantly, Zelda could see that Dorian stepped away from her, turning to answer some question Ganondorf had just asked, but it was as if she was watching it though a thick layer of fog, not quite hearing what they were saying as she tried to fit in everything Dorian had just told them with what she knew about the world.
Her father was dead. That much, she could not change. Even if she were to somehow find the goddess or demon responsible for the cycle, even if she were to somehow reach out towards the spirit realm to find the princess who had allowed for everyone around Zelda to pay the price for her attempts at keeping her own time safe and out of reach of the destruction of the cycle, he would still be dead. Urbosa was not going to come back to pull her in for a hug and tell her that she had done her best and that that was all anyone could demand from her, both of them silently choosing to ignore the fact that they knew that that was not an opinion Zelda's father would share, no matter how many times Zelda would beg Impa to let her know where she was making mistakes in her attempts at manifesting her powers, having to struggle to keep back the tears as she looked at her, knowing that Impa was aware of just what was wrong with her but simply refused to tell her the exact details, giving her something she could change, instead coming with vague statements about Zelda having to find the answer for herself.
The dots connected in an instant, and Zelda supposed that she would have been relieved that no one was really paying attention to her if it had not been for the fact that, in that very moment, all that mattered was the fact that she had to go and find Impa immediately, for she felt the realisation show as almost a physical change, her posture becoming a bit straighter as she looked over towards where Ganondorf and Link had pulled Dorian in for a hug.
Hearing Ganondorf tell him that they too would make sure that they would be able to help defend the village from harm, Zelda knew exactly what she had to do.
Throwing open the doors to Impa's house, Zelda was met with the sight of Impa already sitting on the dais, facing the door, an expression on her face that did not show any surprise at the fact that she was back there again. Maybe that really was the case. Perhaps Impa had always known that the moment where Zelda would find herself understanding why she had acted the way she had would come, maybe she had known from the moment Zelda had turned around on her heel to sprint away from her that there was no need to worry about whether or not she would return back home to her again. Looking over at her and the way Impa sent her a small smile, acknowledging her presence with a curt nod, Zelda would not have been surprised at all if that was the case.
The doors closed behind her with a thud, and, taking a step forwards, Zelda was at once aware of the fact that she had run away without a word, without stopping to tell her that she would have to take a break. The distance between her and Impa was not great, but the few seconds it took for her to cross it and sit down next to Impa was still more than enough for Zelda to feel how the regret and guilt began to build up in her chest.
Still, she had not sprinted through the village to turn back now, so, without giving herself another second to talk herself out of doing what had to be done, Zelda forced herself to stop thinking about how she would explain what had happened, instead doing it before she would lose her courage. "Impa, I… I was talking with Dorian just now, and he…" Zelda swallowed, "he told us about his wife."
There was no trace of surprise to be found in Impa's eyes as she looked over at her, the metal ornaments clattering slightly as she nodded at her. "Ah, yes, I suppose I should have known that that would happen sooner or later. I take it that you had not had any idea about it before he told you?"
There should have been guilt curling up in her stomach as Zelda shook her head, a suspicion that Impa was trying to tell her that she should have paid more attention to the rest of the village, but all Zelda could do was to shake her head. "No, I had no idea about any of that. Uh, I, well, I think that I realised what you were trying to make me see, though—back when he told us about his family, I mean. The reason I could not access my powers, it was not because I didn't have them or was inherently unable to use them, was it? Instead, it was because I wanted to use them for all the wrong reasons."
Zelda could see that she had found the correct explanation from the way Impa leant forwards, but she still stayed quiet as Impa bowed her head at her, an expression not unlike a smile making her eyes light up. "And then what do you think the right way to go about reaching your powers would be?"
For once, Zelda was able to answer one of her questions without hesitation. "To try to remember the people I want to protect rather than those I want to be able to fight. I… I think that I have to focus on everyone that I love rather than the anger and hurt that followed … well, just about everything that happened before Ganondorf, Link, and I were brought to this village."
Impa was quiet for several seconds after that, but just as Zelda was able to acknowledge the fact that, just a day ago, she would have taken it as a tacit way of letting her know that she was wrong, there was nothing about it that made Zelda have to force herself to sit still, not to run out of the door the way she knew she would have done before.
Finally, Impa sent her a genuine smile, the expression making her look younger, Zelda almost believing that she could see a symbol not unlike the Sheikah eye and teardrop painted around her eye as she blinked at her. "I think that you have understood it as well, my friend. For now, you should rest and try to find the energy to continue your training. Then, we will resume our attempts at reaching out toward the spirit world first thing tomorrow. Is that all right, my dear?"
Before Zelda got the chance to answer, the door was thrown open, Ganondorf and Link rushing into the house. Ganondorf seemed to be the first out of them to realise that they had just interrupted a conversation, reaching out to grab onto Link's sleeve as he came to a sudden halt before glancing back and forth between Zelda and Impa. "Sorry, uh, I didn't know that you were here, Zelda," he said, still with a wide grin on his face that was only partially dimmed as he took a step back, hesitating halfway through the motion, "I hope that we didn't interrupt you two."
"You can relax, my friend. Zelda was just about to tell me that she has made a breakthrough in regards to her training, a fact I am sure she would love to share with the two of you as well."
"A breakthrough?" Zelda saw Ganondorf's eyebrows rise, the implicit insult that could perhaps have been found in his surprise mitigated by his smile. "Zelda, that is amazing!"
The next thing she knew, Zelda found herself enveloped in a crushing hug. Taking in the familiar sight of Ganondorf's red hair as it filled her field of vision, Zelda was barely able to look to the side and see how Link too had joined the hug, the combined weight of all three of them almost bringing them out of balance, making Ganondorf have to step back and let go of them.
Still with a smile on his face, he turned towards Impa, Link mirroring his behaviour as Ganondorf gestured towards a point between her and Zelda. "What is this breakthrough exactly, if you don't mind me asking?"
The question, though directed towards Impa, was immediately sent over to land in front of Zelda as both Ganondorf, Link, and Impa turned towards her. Feeling how the pride made her stand up straight, keeping her chin slightly raised, Zelda met their gazes. "I think I have figured out the kind of, well, I guess you could call it mind-set that I need to have if I want to be able to access my powers, that being angry at the world is not going to get me very far and that it would be better to focus on what I still have left."
"You mean like—" Link interrupted himself, but with the way he cast a glance out of the windows, Zelda knew what he would have said.
"Yes," she said, "like Dorian."
"Oh." Link was silent for a second before looking back over at her, and though she could see his attempt at hiding it, it was clear how his smile was slightly more fragile than before, not quite reaching his eyes anymore. "Yeah, I suppose that would be a good idea—focusing on what we still have left, I mean. Uh…" as he hesitated again, Zelda saw how she was no longer the only one catching onto the fact that he seemed to struggle to figure out what to say, Ganondorf's frown confirming the thought that no matter what might be distracting him, it was not something he had decided to share with him either as Link appeared to find the strength to put on a wide smile that seemed only a little less strained than the first before continuing. "In that case, I am proud of you, Zelda. Really proud of you, in fact."
It was far too early to congratulate her on anything or act like she had actually accessed her magic. Zelda was aware of that, but even then, as Ganondorf slung his arm around her shoulders to pull her in for another hug, she did not bother to tell them that she still had yet to achieve any kind of substantial results. Besides, and perhaps it was only her own wishful thinking that spoke, but as Zelda spotted the door being pushed open and Paya stepping into the room, sending her a small smile when Zelda leant to the side to catch a glimpse of her, it felt almost like she was already halfway there.
"Zelda? Are you awake?"
The sun had set hours ago, leaving the room in darkness, but Zelda still pressed her elbow into the mattress to push herself up as Paya's voice broke through the silence. If she squinted, she was almost able to make out the outline of how Paya did the same, looking at her from her bed across the room.
"Yes," Zelda answered, breathing out the answer to make sure that they would not accidentally wake up Impa. Though she still had yet to discover just where she slept, part of Zelda was willing to bet that it would be somewhere downstairs, and for as much as she was sure that Impa would not mind the two of them discussing what had just happened, for her to be outright happy to be woken up by their conversation still felt a little too hopeful, "I am awake."
Fabric rustled, the noise soon followed by the sound of bare feet moving across a floor, moving quickly and lightly to avoid the spots Zelda was already beginning to identify as the sources of the creaking noise, and a moment later, Paya was standing by her bed, looking down at her as Zelda hurried to fully push herself up from the mattress, sitting with her legs hanging over the edge before patting the spot next to her. The bed dipped slightly as Paya accepted the invitation, pushing the blanket aside as she did so.
Then, looking over at her, Paya leant in, pausing when she was just close enough to be able to whisper to her without risking anyone being able to overhear. "I just wanted to tell you that I know that my grandmother was impressed with you today, even if she might not necessarily have shown it."
With how Impa had smiled at her before letting her know that they could now properly begin her training, Zelda found it hard to bridge her own recollection of their conversation with what Paya was telling her, but, nonetheless, she bowed her head, making sure to keep her voice down as she whispered back. "Thank you. I have to admit, though, that I really had no idea that I would ever be able to do that—to see that I had been thinking of what my powers could do for me in a completely wrong way, I mean."
"You say that, but I know that my grandmother has always believed in you." Paya's breath tickled her ear as she paused for a moment before adding. "You know, even before you came here—and Ganondorf and Link as well, of course —she used to tell us about how we would have to wait for the three chosen ones to arrive, that they would possess the power to bring an end to the reason the disease had appeared in the first place. She didn't tell us about the cycles, but still, it was more than enough to let us know that there were people out there who would arrive soon to help the world heal again, and although I doubt that any of us had expected for it to take weeks for you to come here, there was still this feeling of hope that accompanied the fact that we had reason to believe that you would arrive. I think that the reason we felt it so strongly was due to the fact that my grandmother always talked about it like it was inevitable. Zelda, I know that you felt like it was not going well before today, but I promise you that she never gave up on you, that she always knew that you would figure out a way to reach your powers." even in the darkness, Paya's eyes shone as she leant in towards her, resting her head against Zelda's shoulder as she fell silent.
Looking out into the darkness, Zelda could feel how Paya's breathing had quickened, and if there had been even a tiny bit of sunlight in the room, she was sure that she could have looked down at her to see a blush spread across her cheeks. But Zelda did not do any of that. Instead, she reached out to wrap her arm around Paya's shoulders, moving just a tiny bit closer to her. She did not need to look down to know that Paya was smiling at her, nor did she need to assure herself that she was not making up everything, that she was not reading into things that weren't there in the first place. It was not a matter of her wishing for things to be a way and then interpreting them as such, not anymore, Zelda was certain of that, so for as much as her voice should have trembled just as it had done when she had tried to talk with her father about the fact that she was not interested in politics the same way he was only for him to brush it off with a reminder of their family's history, Zelda heard the question fill the darkness with a certainty that would have made her suspect that someone else had said it for her only a day ago.
"It is not just Impa who thinks that, is it?"
The answer came promptly, Zelda feeling how Paya lifted her head ever so slightly from her shoulder to look up at her. "No," she admitted, "no, I believe in you as well."
There was no grand declaration, only Zelda leaning back against the wall, Paya following along, the two of them looking out into the darkness, until, at some point, they fell asleep.