For the rest of their time in the Gerudo Town, both made sure to avoid the subject of their changing feelings. Link wanted to say something but he knew Zelda wouldn't want to hear those words that she might be fearing deep down inside— that her own choice of words could make his heart shatter into a million pieces. For that much, he was grateful but he hoped to Hylia whatever her answer when he finally came around to say how he felt, she wouldn't be straight out rejecting him.

It would hurt too much for him to handle if she rejected him like she had told him to stay away when they were kids. He could barely handle those words and if he had no idea how he would be able to handle the harshness of her words during her teenage years especially when the fate of the world rested on their shoulders.

Damn their destiny.

How was it fair that their fate was decided the moment they were born? The world was cruel in that fashion— taking away the right to decide how your life would play out when it deemed you special enough to take care of something for it. Unfortunately, that's how their fate played out, taken away from their hands and had it replaced with a harsher one that had them growing up too fast for their liking.

By Hylia's loving grace, they were only teenagers after all. Ones that still needed their parents' protection.

Well, they needed their parents' protection from the world because it was demanding that they give up so much, to put their lives on the line that could lead to certain death in the very end, to give away any type of freedom by placing such a huge burden on their shoulders— to end the very one their ancestors had fought against in raging fights.

"Here, I got you a drink," Link said as he walked into the room, the glass felt cold in his hand but it was nice considering the temperature out. "Urbosa doesn't know, but it's a Noble Pursuit."

"Alcohol?" Zelda hummed as she took a small sip, wincing how it burned her throat but still found herself liking the feeling. "You have my thanks."

Link grinned as he shrugged, sitting down next to her. They would be leaving the Gerudo Town tomorrow with the lack of movement from the Yiga Clan, it was like they had done the two had been in the desert and didn't want to take the chance of getting run out of Hyrule so soon. Especially with Urbosa's talent for controlling the lightning with a snap of her fingers, one of the main reasons why she had been picked for the Gerudo Champion out of everyone who could fill in the role perfectly like she was.

The Hylian Champion watched for a moment, watching as she drank the glass slowly and carefully, and knew she would want to disguise the alcohol that would linger on her breath after she finished because both knew Urbosa would chew them out for underage drinking, but in the end, could she blame them? They had the weight of the entire world on their shoulders.

There was no telling how it would end.

For the longest time, neither of them spoke, Urbosa's words repeating in their minds and how long they could have left until the Great Calamity awoke. Zelda's seventeenth birthday was nearing the corner, which meant they could soon make their way up to the final Spring to see if the power could be awoken there. Link's stomach twisted into a not as he thought about what happened once they did reach that point.

Purah and Impa didn't know when they could expect Calamity Ganon to show his ugly face, nor did they know where he would show up, but all they said was to stay alert. Which meant they also needed to check with Purah about the strange ancient building they had come across on the way to the Spring of Courage.

But deep down, Link didn't know if Purah really even knew the answer to that.

Everything nowadays was so strange to them because this hadn't happened before, and no one knew what to expect with the preparations of Ganon's incoming return. Everyone was stressing, but it was the Champions who were stressing the most with the amount of burdens on their shoulders. The Divine Beasts and Guardians were at their commands, but they could easily spin out of control and go haywire leaving them unable to retake control and others could easily end up hurt by the strong relics.

Link's hand tightened around his glass. "I hate this," he blurted out. Zelda's eyes snapped to him, waiting for him to carry on with his sentence but when he didn't, she gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean?"

"We have so much on our shoulders," he said. "Why were we picked? I know I've been going back to this topic so much but I want answers. That's all I want."

Zelda didn't answer. She couldn't. There wouldn't be a right answer if she did and she had a feeling whatever she would say, would make the boy even more stressed and distraught with the way things were at the moment. He was stressed, like she was, like everyone else, and sooner or later he wouldn't be able to take the amount of stress.

There was a chance he would ask to have his title as Champion removed, maybe the Appointed Knight one too, and tell everyone to find someone else to take his place— to have the Master Sword that chose him specificity— to have someone else take the stressful place as Ganon's Ender and be the descendant of the Hero of the Skies, to gain all the glory when they finished the job once and for all. For some strange reason, her stomach turned with pure worry as those thoughts entered her mind, playing out what could happen and what she would say in those moments; she couldn't have him leaving because it wouldn't feel right with someone else by her side, following her around like a lost dog.

Yet that couldn't be said out loud, because it would sound weird to him and to everyone who would hear those words come from her mouth. While some would have loved to know Link was thinking and could step down from his position of the Hylian Champion and wielder of the Master Sword, there was no way King Rhoam would allow it. Someone with great skill and easily pulled the ancient sword like him came around so rare that they couldn't allow him to slip from their grasps, but it just felt like he was being used solely for his talents.

Deep down, that hurt him.

It hurt her too when she thought about her own part in the plan— she was being used too because of the ancient power within.

Zelda's grip tightened around her glass. "Do you know what I hate?"

Link locked eyes with her. "What?"

"My father," she said before stopping herself, breathing in slightly as she closed her eyes to think about all the times they fought. Despite what she might've thought during those moments, she wouldn't wish he was dead because he was the only family she had left within the world of living. "I hate my father sometimes. Calamity Ganon too."

"I hate them too." Link agreed. "I hate them a lot sometimes."

"I know why I hate them too. My father disapproves of my choice for my future, whatever I might do with Hyrule when I'm Queen, wants me to drop anything and everything for the Champions, wants to be just like him. Calamity took away my freedom, my choice of future, my unstrict father, and placed a massive burden on my shoulders by deciding to have another go at reincarnation, even if it's the final attempt he'll ever do," she explained blandly as she took another sip. "But even then, they did give me some sense of freedom and everything I wasn't able to have growing up."

Link couldn't see what she meant. He didn't see how they could give something in return for what they had stolen away from her. He thought it was stupid, but if you took something away, you had to give in return. As for him and what his hate leaned towards, he didn't know what they could give him in return because he was so focused on hating them, he didn't see what they could give in return.

It made him sick to realize he failed to see the bright side of it.

"How did you see they gave you something?" he asked, biting his lip softly as his eyes nervously darted towards her. "I don't understand that part."

Zelda gave him a smile and it sent electric sparks to his heart. "Sometimes, you don't need to."

…

Urbosa had come to give her goodbyes as they readied themselves outside of the gates, and she had sent someone to grab their horses out of the Stable so they wouldn't have to walk through the blazing heat on foot and while Link was grateful he could see Outlaw again, he didn't know how his stallion would take such heat. Imagine his surprise when Outlaw came galloping over with an endless amount of energy just to see him again while Storm walked slowly over to her owner.

Once again, they were silent as they bid their goodbyes to Urbosa and the others, climbing onto their horses with many words being spoken as they rode off. Link made sure to keep his distance and it felt like the first day they had met as teens again; he wanted to say something but the quietness was nice and he didn't had it in him to break it. He would be able to stand it for now.

Her words about not being able to understand how hate could give you something back made him think about everything he hated in his life but he still couldn't understand what she meant.

Was he that blind?

Upon getting out of the desert, both felt happy to feel the cold breeze. It was definitely welcomed with the way they kept experiencing the heat. If you looked closely at them, you could see how they were tanned thanks to the sun blazing down on them.

Link glanced at her and smirked. "You look tan."

Zelda blinked, glancing over her shoulder. "So do you. We both experienced the sun after all. We were out in it all the time."

"You look good with a tan," he said.

Her face lit up with a blush but she didn't comment. Her eyes darted back to the road ahead of them, gripping the reigns tighter as she led them towards the Lab where Purah and Robbie were at, hoping they could find them to ask about the ancient relic they had come across. Her mind replayed what he had said and found her heart skipped a beat and she swallowed. He sounded so genuine, so sure of himself, and whatever he could think of when telling her those words.

Urbosa wouldn't lie about what she saw between people. She was able to figure out Mipha's love for the stubborn Rito Champion, and when Zelda asked when she was seeing her while Link was off to see Revali and Daruk, Mipha confessed she didn't see Link in a romantic sense like she once thought she did but rather someone they knew and spent time with. Daruk was out of the question— there was no way Mipha would go for him, despite his joyful ways; he saw them as family. It only meant Revali because the Zora went redder than her fins when Zelda asked if it was their stubborn Rito friend.

But how could Link go for someone like her? Shouldn't he go for someone who wasn't so stressed and would be able to spend time with him? If he went for her, he would have to put up with so many different traditions then what he was used to. The life of a royal wasn't like how one would expect it to be.

She just didn't want him to be placed into something he hated from day one. Plus, the nobles would be hard on him because he didn't have any noble blood.

But perhaps Larkin's status would be able to help him win them over? She doubted it because they were so old-fashioned like her father. Her stomach turned as she thought about how he would be able to handle the stress— it didn't fit him.

Link glanced over to see her pale face and his heart dropped like a stone. What was wrong? Did she need to pull over and empty her stomach? Did she eat something bad? What was wrong? He swallowed thickly as he tried to keep his voice silent from making her upset.

He didn't last long.

"Are you okay?" he asked, biting his lip. "You look like you might vomit. Do you need to stop for a minute or two?"

"No," Zelda said. "I was just thinking."

"About what?" he asked.

Zelda shifted nervously. She couldn't tell him the truth. He'd lose his cool if he found out she was thinking about what could happen if they got together. "Everything," she said, picking the safest route.

Link nodded, taking the answer even though he could sense something else was on her mind. But he knew deep down she didn't want to speak about it, which was fine, because she would come around when she was ready. Until then, he was okay to wait.

"Are we close to the Lab?" he asked, changing the subject.

Zelda glanced around. "We should be. But… let's just check the slate in case."

Halting their horses, Link waited until Zelda clicked on the map icon and zoomed out until she had the full view of Hyrule. With a satisfied hum, she glanced back at him and explained how they would be there in no time if they continued at the pace they were going unless he wanted to stop.

Not seeing a reason why they should, Link shook his head.

"No," he said. "We should keep going if we can make it there before the sun sets. It'll be easier to get there first and then find a place to camp."

"Alright," Zelda replied, kicking Storm softly into her side, and instantly the white mare began trotting again. "You know… if you want, we could take the day off tomorrow. Just travel around Hyrule and…"

"Sight see?" Link finished, smiling softly.

Zelda nodded, tightening her grip on the reigns. "Yes."

He laughed, nodding. "I'd like it. Where should we go? You have the map, Zelda."

"There's…" Zelda bit her lip, glancing to the side shyly. "There's a flower I've been meaning to see if I could find. It's a rare one and I always wanted to see it in person. I think I know where to find it if I can study the map more."

"We'll do whatever you want," he promised, eyes sparkling. "I promise."

Zelda smiled softly as she nodded her thanks before feeling slightly guilty for not asking what he wanted to see and do. But he seemed content to just stay with her throughout the trip. Her blood ran cold when she thought back to Urbosa's words about him liking her. She couldn't see it in his eyes because she didn't look deep enough, she just spared him a glance every time, but if she looked closely, could she see the apparent love Urbosa spoke about?

The urge to check was strong, but she managed to dull it down as they kept up their pace, making their way over to the Lab. Her throat was dry as she kept thinking about it before she breathed deeply to calm herself— it was no use freaking out over.

"Link?" she called out.

"Yeah?" he asked, glancing over to her, realizing how he and Outlaw had gotten ahead of her because of the stallion's energy. "Slow down, bud."

Outlaw obeyed as Storm and Zelda matched their pace perfectly.

"What do you want to do tomorrow?" she asked.

Link froze, unexpecting the question, but he smiled. "It's a surprise. We'll do it after we find you that flower."

Somehow, she didn't doubt his words.

…

"Okay, start again." Purah said as she leaned back in her chair, a book out as she checked over for anything that could match the description they were telling her.

Link sighed. Purah never changed, it seemed. "It wasn't a big structure, but big enough for someone to fit inside. It was blocked off, ancient text written over the door, and there was a pedestal next to it."

"It was also glowing orange," Zelda added, sitting next to Link.

Purah glanced over the book before she clicked her tongue, snapping her fingers as she tossed the book over before pointing down at a page full of information. It made Link's head spin as Zelda looked over it, intrigued at the text. How she managed to read it without feeling faint was beyond Link's knowledge.

He was never one for books anyways unless it had to do with the previous heroes.

"What you found is a Shrine," Purah explained as she sat back down, allowing them to read over the text. "They're all over Hyrule. 120 of them, to be exact. We have little knowledge of them now because we've just started to discover them. But they contain trials sent by the Goddess Hylia to test strengths."

"How do we open them?" asked Link, arching an eyebrow.

"The Sheikah Slate should be able to open them," Robbie piped up as he placed a steaming hot cup of coffee next to his partner.

"We tried that," Zelda said sympathetically. "It didn't work."

Purah waved the comment off, remaining her usual self as she grinned. "That's because the slates are still in development. We still have to adjust them to activate the shrines."

"Oh," Link breathed out, unsure what to say. "That explains it."

"Yup!" Purah grinned, a Cheshire cat-like grin.

Robbie sipped some of his coffee. "Anything else?"

"Na," Link shook his head. "That's all we wanted to ask."

Zelda gave her own nod of thanks, and Purah looked her up and down before internally sighing. The power hadn't woken. She knew it and she felt bad. She, out of everyone, knew how she was looking forward to awakening the power to help improve the chances of winning the war.

Hopefully the power would soon awake.