Many Centuries ago...
"Grandpa, do the Picori really exist?"
"Well, you'll surely meet one if you believe in them. I heard only children can see them."
"...I've never anything like that."
"Don't you worry, I'm sure you will one day, Link."
Zelda looked around in awe, the warped intricacies and patterns on the stump's inside mesmerized her. Daylight poured in from various holes and cracks in the woodwork.
Sliding off the mushroom she sat on, she observed the area to find a way out. Locating one in the form of a doorway-like hole in the Stump's side.
She heard a yell of excitement above her, looking up to find Link falling in through the X-shaped hole in the ceiling.
He landed on the mushroom she had, bouncing off it and flipping acrobatically through the air, before executing a perfect three-point landing. He stood up, brushing himself off and giving her a smirk.
"Show-off." She said flatly, brushing her hair off her shoulder. "You can hurt yourself doing things like that."
"Princess." He replied, grinning and walking past her backwards, with his arms outstretched. "It's me, remember?"
She chuckled, following after him. He pivoted around and walked outside.
They were both awestruck at the now massive scope of the courtyard, both being barely the size of a mouse now.
"Well..." Link began, hands on his belt.
"...Well what?" Zelda blinked.
"...I've got nothing." He said simply, walking around a small perimeter. "We do know the Picori most likely exist now, given us being the size of breadcrumbs."
"Indeed." Zelda hummed, looking around the area. "Do you think they'd out here or in the castle?"
Link stood for a moment, looking for any obvious signs of dwelling amongst the fauna. None found, he nodded his head towards the castle, deciding on the latter.
Using the Master Sword to cut away at the now huge blades of grass, they very slowly made their way towards the castle, through the still open courtyard doors.
Unfortunately, just as they were about to get inside, a worker walked through the door and looked around in confusion, as if wondering where they were. She shrugged and walked back inside, shutting the door behind her.
"Dammit, Reida." Link muttered.
Thinking on the fly, he got out the Paraglider and motioned for Zelda to hang on. Revali's gale kicked in and, accompanied by the green apparition of their ally, they shot up into the air, landing on the door handle.
"Well, this is fun." Zelda deadpanned, holding onto him tightly to prevent herself from falling.
"Yep." Link replied flatly, looking around. "Wait, is that?"
Zelda looked to where he was staring, the right side of the doorway, along a narrow path ontop of where the wall jutted out. Standing there, next to a conspicuous hole in the wall, was a little mouse-like person staring at them.
"Is that a Picori!?" Zelda gasped.
"Kcab er'uoy!" It replied, almost sounding excited. It darted off into the hole, yelling all the way. "Syug! Syug! Kcab s'knil!"
"What?" Zelda blinked. "Did you catch that?"
"No." Link frowned. "It was just gibberish to me. Gimme your hand."
Bringing her closer, Link activated Revali's Gale once more, this time landing on the outcropping. Letting her go and putting the Paraglider away, they both entered the small hole with caution.
To find a quaint little village inside the inner wall, houses built into the wall with windows view the hallway and courtyard. Small torches lined the walls, giving a glowy atmosphere to the place.
The Picori they had seen earlier was just ahead of them, talking to a whole group of them. Their eyes widened upon catching sight of them, the first Picori turning to look at them.
"Gniyl t'nsaw I. Ees?" It said, crossing it's arms in triumph.
"Interesting." Zelda mused. "They have their own language, I wonder what they're saying?"
"Ytterp yrev si riah s'eno ednolb eht!" One said, pointing at them.
"Eno hcihw?" Another replied.
"Oh hush, all of you!" A nasal, authoritative voice chimed in.
A picori wearing long robes, a scholar's hat and glasses stepped out from the crowd, walking towards them. Link instinctively stepped in front of Zelda in case they tried anything.
"Do not fear, hero. We mean no harm." The Picori said, adjusting his glasses. "You are Link, correct?"
Confused, Link replied, "You speak our language?"
"Ah, I see. You are a different Link, or else you would understand our language still." He mused. "Alright, follow me."
"Different Link? Wha-"
But he had turned and began walking towards the village. Hesitating for a moment, they quickly followed after him. Swaths of Picori had gathered from all around to gawk at them, studying them intently.
Link, being used to such things, simply ignored it, but Zelda quickly became abashed by the scrutiny they were giving her.
They entered a little hamlet at the end of the inner wall, a nail stuck above the door with a sign hanging from it, the words in the Picori language.
Entering, they found it was a science lab of sorts, with some equipment to the side, and a mini garden in the corner. A Picori with long, sharp blonde hair was tending to the plants, humming in a feminine voice.
Their guide walked to up to her, saying something to her in Picori language. She chirped in reply and picked some fruit from the plants and handed it to him. He in turn handed it to them.
"Eat these, they'll help you in the long run." He instructed.
Tentively, Link ate his first. It was sour, yet juicy like an green apple. Zelda ate her's as well.
"Eh, Six outta Ten." Link blanched, shivering. "What was that anyway?"
"Perara Fruit. You can speak the Picori Language now."
"Wait, how does that work?"
He shrugged. "It just does. Welcome to The Wall. Our little home." He held out his hand. "I am the Priest of this Village, Festa the 4th. And this my wife, Miva."
"Welcome!" Miva chirped, bowing to them. "It's a pleasure to have Humans among us after so long."
"You seem more of a scientist than a priest." Link said, shaking his hand and bowing his head to Miva. "You said I was 'Another Link'? You've met one of my ancestors?"
"Yes, there have been many Links in history, and we have helped all of them." Fest withdrew his hand, putting both behind his back. "You are not the first Link," He looked at Zelda. "Or Zelda, to have met us like this. Although I didn't expect any of them to become an item."
The two frowned and blushed at the same time. "Wait. We're not-"
"Whatever you wish to say then." Festa lightly smirked.
"Anyway." Link cleared his throat. "Was the last one slightly taller than me? Dirty blonde hair and dark green tunic?"
"No. My ancestor's journal described him as a young boy, about Ten years old or so. He wore a light green tunic and had simple blonde hair like yours. Kind, Sympathetic, and well-spoken."
He placed a hand to his chin. "My Ancestor spoke of him quite often, I'm told. Anyway, why have you come here anyway? We did not summon you as far as I know."
Zelda spoke up. "Well, we heard the Legend of the Minish and, because of Calamity Ganon, we thought you were driven to extinction. It just felt right to check to see if you were okay."
Festa looked at her suspiciously. "Well, that's very kind of you then." He cleaned his glasses. "But, I must be honest with you. We are not fine at all."
"What do you mean?" She inquired.
"The Sword that the Hero of Men once wielded, and later passed on to his Descendants has been removed from it's seal." He elaborated. "The Four Sword, as it's often called nowadays, was removed from it's seal One hundred years ago by a dark force, with only your Master Sword sealing away the monsters that have plagued us for generations."
His lenses flashed. "Then you removed it."
"Wait Wait, are you accusing me?" Link asked, offended. "How was I supposed to know? I would have never done such a thing if I had known-"
"You do not have to explain anything to me." Festa retorted coldly. "I know not your reasons, but either you were forced to do so or were driven by some righteous act. You heroes are not ones to knowingly cause despair."
"...Thank you?"
"You're welcome, but I do wish to ask for something in return." He glowered. "To help my people help your people. So to speak."
Link frowned, then nodded condescendingly. "Depends on what it is."
"Find the Four Sword, and place it back in it's seal here in the courtyard." Festa walked to his desk and sat down. He shuffled through some parchment. "From what I've found, It's somewhere located in the 'Gerudo Desert'. A place called Ar...Arbi..?"
"Arbiter's Grounds, honey." Miva said.
"Thank you." Festa blushed lightly.
"Sounds like something Twilight would know." Link murmured to Zelda, she nodded in reply.
"Travel is dangerous for us Picori. It' the reason we cannot place items to help you anymore, we have gone on too long and being outside the village can be dangerous." Miva explained. "It may have something do with this 'Blood Moon' that keeps rising."
Zelda perked up. "Have you discovered anything about it?"
Festa shook his head. "No. It remains a complete mystery to even us. But we've had a theory that it may be connected to the Four Sword."
"Interesting..." She frowned.
Festa motioned to his lab. "You are more than welcome to stay and help me with the research, It would be nice to have another intellectual around for a moment."
She smiled brightly. "Oh, that would be marvelous." She gave Link a lopsided look. "Unless you're not so keen about it."
Link shrugged. "I'm fine with it, as long as you promise me you'll be safe."
Zelda laughed, stepping closer to him. "You're rather straightforward with your feelings, Link. As worrying as they are."
He grinned, leaning forward until his forehead was nearly-touching her's. "Well, you tend to worry me, Princess."
"Do I now?" She grinned as well.
For a moment, their eyes locked and they barely said a thing for a while. A faint blush rose to their cheeks when they realized what was happening.
"I'm going to find Twilight, I'll be back with the Four Sword thing." He said quickly, waving and walking out. "Stay Safe."
"You too!" Zelda called after him, fully aware of the warmth in her face. She glanced at Festa, who was peering at her from over the rim of his glasses.
"Sorry about that..." She laughed nervously, messing with her hair. "That tends to happen a lot now..."
"No need to say anything. But you two just amaze me." He said in wonder. "You act...so counter-productive to your feelings."
"What?" She blinked in confusion. "We aren't in love or anything. Besides, he already had someone in his heart. I could never replace her."
"Had." Festa and Miva chimed.
Twilight had searched all around. Hyrule field, the last known place of a Fused Shadow, was completely devoid of such an artifact. Deciding to retrace his centuries-old steps, he searched Faron Woods, Death Mountain, and the Bottom of Lake Hylia.
Nothing.
He sighed, warping back into the Castle Library. Changing back into his Green Tunic from the Zora Armor, he sat down and looked through some books.
Where would a Fused Shadow be nowadays?
The door clicked, opening to reveal Link walking in.
"Hey, I need your help." He said.
"What else is new." Twilight sighed. "What's up? Find the Picori?"
"Yeah." He sat down across from him. "But we need to find this thing called the 'Four Sword'. They said it might be in Arbiter's Grounds."
"Arbiter's Grounds?" Twilight frowned, leaning forward. "Why would the Four Sword, of all things, be in that place?"
"Well, he did say in the Gerudo Desert." Link shrugged.
"Arbiter's Grounds..." Twilight looked at his hands for a moment. His eyes widened after a second. "That's it!"
He reached over the table and grabbed Link, who only had time to gasp in surprise as they both warped away.
Note: The Picori Language, at least in english, is just backwards. You can easily decode it. (The Chapter title is "The Picori!")
Wow, even the Festa and Miva are like "Get it over with!"
I was just gonna have the Picori Blade in this, but then I later found out that it had later become the Four Sword, which is all good with me in that case.
If you notice, Link and Zelda, while not that open to it, are more flirty and playful with one another. I'm trying to emphasize the reluctance of a first relationship (In Zelda's case.), and also the mental problems that come with such a romance. (Between a Knight and Princess.) But they are steadily getting more and more comfortable with one another. (Thank Nayru.)
Of Course, I'm terrible at writing romance, but I try. (To the point, I bet Festa knows more than me. Since he's a priest.)