Nightfall in the desert made for a much milder climate, the twinkling stars above bringing cooler air, though not too frigid, making the nights far more peaceful than the day. Most creatures alike that called Gerudo Desert home often took the night to signal rest or at least a time to reflect, almost an air of tranquility swirling along the desert sands once the moon appeared.
The Company had decided to set up camp for the night just as they exited the canyon, deciding to take to the sands at the first break of dawn, arriving at the Bazaar before the sun's apex, a few of them more than happy to finally be able to make use of their blankets, which until now had merely been an encumbrance, to curl up and take to sleep quite readily after the day prior. While that full accruement of exhaustion added to the lethargy that came with the desert heat, it didn't seem to affect Zelda, who was unable to sleep, simply laying there wrapped in her blanket, staring up at the stars above, having even resorted to counting them aimlessly in an attempt to discover sleep.
Displeased with her failing attempts at rest, she turned onto her side, gingerly yanking her blanket up over her shoulder to protect against the breeze, a single outstretched finger brushing along the ground in front of her, her eyes following listlessly, drawing random shapes in the sandy rock face beneath her. Uncomfortably so, she slid her arm up to better rest her head, grumbling silently to herself, her eyes turning to find Revali and Daruk asleep, such a thing coming so much easier for them. Certainly she should have brought a pillow, herself.
Zelda sighed, the bitterness trailing along her warm breath as it sent the most minuscule amount of dust flowing into the air before dying down just as swiftly. Her ears suddenly perked at a gravelly sort of skidding sound, like dragging atop asphalt, just raising her head above her blanket to peek over her shoulder, not wanting to give her accidental eavesdropping away. To her confusion, everybody was where they had originally lay when they'd settled down for the night just off the road, Zelda's eyes peering with a strain through the darkness surrounding her, the moon hidden behind one side of the canyon's mighty sheer walls.
Slowly, and carefully, she pushed herself up, only barely at first, her suspicions getting the best of her, her brow turning curiously as she noticed Urbosa's place had become vacant in the night. She took a sharp breath, only for expecting the worst, before another sound took her by surprise, this one of the unfamiliar sort. Her ears strained to catch it once again, something like uneven breathing, shaking itself into higher volume. Zelda's lips curled sadly, slowly kicking her blanket away and pushing herself to her feet, looking around with uneven glances before steadily pacing herself toward the edge of the desert, carefully enough not to stray too far from the camp.
Just beyond the canyon, a craggy outcropping of rock lead up toward a small overhang clutching the wall of the canyon that faced the desert. Atop a small, unsteady-looking pathway, Zelda saw Urbosa, sitting there with her knees brought up to her chest, her arms clutching her knees with her eyes peering off into the distance with a scornful, yet primally melancholy, stare.
Zelda's brow curled at the sight. For a woman as brusque as she, her tears, trailing down her face, twinkling in the night sky like jewels, made her seem a celestial kind of beauty even behind her stony face, devoid of any form of vanity beyond what her strength offered her in the way of respect. Her tan skin took on a darkly demure sight beneath the starlight, but behind that outward beauty which seemed only to present itself here in this desert, Urbosa's eyes revealed a sincerely pining for something to take away the emotions coursing through her.
It only took Zelda one step further for Urbosa's head to immediately bury itself into her knees, hiding away her tears, though it visibly shook from side to side in rejection, "You know, you were never supposed to see me like this."
Sadly, Zelda bowed her head respectfully while her arm raised to allow her hand to stroke the opposing limb with a nervous gait, "I- Sorry. It's not like I'm going to ruin your cred or anything, for what it's worth."
Urbosa's shoulders trembled with a subtle laugh, raising her head to reveal two streaks of starlight running down her face as she eyed the Princess, "I'm more worried about your own perception of me than anybody else's."
"I mean-" Zelda began, pausing as she unsurely took stock of her next set of words, "I'm the first person to know that tears don't say much about a person."
The Gerudo woman gave a weak smile before sending her gaze back over the desert sands, "You're your mother's child, alright."
Silence enraptured the two, allowing Zelda to watch her feet as they carried her up the narrow slope, hoping to reach the minor incline that separated the two of them, catching herself with a hand as she slipped on a footing of loose gravel. Save for that instant, she easily made her way to the small bit of rock jammed into the mountain wall, sitting beside the Gerudo woman with a similar stance, trying to protect herself from the biting cold as she watched those same sands, as though trying to translate what this night-washed land was speaking to this woman she so respected and loved.
"He's right, you know," Urbosa muttered quietly, earning her a confused glance from Zelda, forcing her to elaborate, "Revali. He can be an ass about it, but- He often speaks the truth."
Zelda's heart tugged, "Urbosa, don't-"
"I knew it was, but-" Urbosa gave a weak grin, "Well, I suppose we all try to disguise the truth with our own lies from time to time."
Disheartened both by this powerful woman's sudden vulnerability, as well as her callous words, Zelda lowered her head sadly as Urbosa went on with a fragile tone, "Y'know, I respect Nabooru a great deal. When I first became Chieftain, oh man, I couldn't stop trying to emulate her. So much of her persona, in reality, has been lost to time, but- All those legends that had formed; how she stole the gloves that could strangle Evil itself, how she treaded the rivers of quicksand with such a skillful prance that the fountains of the earth below burst in frustration."
She smiled, perhaps imagining herself as a child, "I spent so many hours forcing my body to take on the powerful form you see now. I leapt from mesa to mesa, slamming into the ground countless times until I could make the chasmous jumps. I thought I could be just like her, an idol. that I may go down in Gerudo history as she's done, a pillar of our people."
Urbosa paused, her face gradually darkening into something resembling heartbreak, earning her an equally tumultuous look from Zelda, who reached out to rest her hand atop her shoulder, "You've done plenty to outlive time itself. Believe me, wholeheartedly, if it's only me, I will make sure your deeds live on, unto this generation's children, and their children, and-"
Her voice suddenly trembled to a pause, realizing what Urbosa had been getting on. Without reproach, Urbosa managed a weak grin to go alongside a quick, muted chuckle, lowering her eyes in reflection.
"We haven't had a Hilarser in many years," Urbosa explained quietly, a tugging entering her voice as she pressed on, "So long as that spirit of evil looms over Hyrule-"
She fought to keep her lips turned upward. She battled the tears that awoke with shaking eyes, with gritting teeth. She willed herself, as desperately as one could, to yank back these emotions that had so swelled in her heart, unable to retain a soft, whimpering cry as tears rolled down her face once again, her body falling to the side as Zelda quickly took to her knees to reach over and hug the woman around the neck, pulling her head against her in shared misery, battling her own tears, knowing Urbosa allotted no tears for herself, and would have hated others offering her any of their own.
"I think about it- Night and day," Urbosa managed through trembling, quietly wailing breaths, "Thinking about my people. How it's my duty to remain purely Gerudo while they go off to make sure I have a future worth remaining pure for. Thinking about how my duty is nothing more than offering up my body to that scourge of Hyrule."
She desperately sniffled as her voice broke, "I- I'm cursed."
Zelda tugged her tighter, "Urbosa, you're not cur-!"
"I am," Urbosa confirmed with a shattered tone lining her whimpering words, "My legacy won't be any children with a man I love- it'll be the offspring of me and that single man so determined to bring this world to ruin, I- I have nothing to offer this world but continuing this cycle of hatred, unless my people d- d-"
She couldn't bring herself to invoke her people's extinction, so lost in her mind's endless corridors of despondency, having had to live knowing this her entire life. She knew she'd never be able to love, for who could love that which is purely evil? She knew that she would constantly live in fear for that night the Prince of Evil would finally assert his claim over her, if only to ensure his continued dominance through the next Hilarser. She knew that, for selling her femininity, selling her future children, selling anything resembling a normal life- yet, she could watch her sisters go off into the world, have their loves, their lives, their children. Even if it broke her heart to know she wouldn't ever partake- maybe it would be enough to know that she was doing as Nabooru did. Sacrificing herself for the good of her people. For the continuation of a people so cursed since the entry of demise into the world.
Softly, gradually, her aching heart began to tremble less, in gentle spurts now, as Zelda's quiet humming broke through to her in a daze. The Princess' voice was so beautiful, Urbosa thought; so calming it was to hear, nearly shedding her misery from its very hopeful tone. Another sniffle allowed Urbosa to speak up, suddenly catching the melody which Zelda was humming.
"That's-"
"It's your song," Zelda interrupted softly, "You would hum it to me when you came to visit, just when I was a little girl. I loved it so much- in the middle of the night, you'd sneak into my room and hum it to me until I fell asleep."
Urbosa gave a weak chuckle, so dichotomous to the tears still staining her skin, reaching up her free hand to wipe away the starlight tint sprawled down her cheeks, "You cried so much when it was bedtime and you had to stop listening."
Zelda smiled weakly, "I still remember the melody. Mom couldn't ever emulate it, but- When you left, I only had to sing it to myself."
She grinned more warmly, "I thought you were so cool, you know. Everybody in the castle was so reverent, but- You just kind of made the place your own. When she died, I- You held me so tight, and you hummed that tune until I stopped crying."
"I figured it might work the other way around, too," Zelda surmised, returning to a solemn expression.
Urbosa turned to watch the ground as Zelda relinquished her hug, muttering softly, "I'd nearly forgotten that song, myself. It was nice to hear."
A healthy silence arose as the two took in the air, allowing themselves a chance to recuperate from a moment earlier. Urbosa sighed, shaking her head reflectively as she thought of Zelda having to witness such a torrential wave of emotion from her; how bad of an example she was setting.
"Goddess, I'm sorry," she managed quietly, turning toward Zelda with a weakened smile, "Here you are on your first major quest, and instead of being a pillar of support, here I am wallowing."
Zelda grinned sincerely enough, "You've done plenty of supporting already. I never wanted you to bear any of my burden, you know."
"Well, it's difficult not to place myself in those shoes after all these years," Urbosa shivered with soft laughter, "Watching you grow up all these years. I can't help but think of myself in that light."
Urbosa's eyes fell toward the weak visage of Kara Kara Bazaar in the distance, spotting out the massive stone column that watched over the trading post. The desert had thrived as something of a commercial hub during her reign, offering her people riches and commodities. For all she had to feel sorry for, she knew that her people were the ones that mattered most.
"For what it's worth," Zelda spoke up lightly, earning a curious glance from Urbosa, "I, uh-…"
The Princess lowered her head as though in embarrassment, though her shaking voice quickly solidified, "You were always more than a Gerudo to me."
"You're more than just a woman to me, " Zelda admitted, her smile hidden from view, "You're a mother."
Urbosa's rigid face softened into a radiant smile at those words. She slowly reached an arm over, pulling Zelda into a gentle hug.
"That's worth everything, child. Even the endless grains of sand that line this desert," Urbosa concluded softly.
"You have a legacy beyond these evils," Zelda continued with a steady resolve, "I'll make sure of it."
Urbosa smiled, reaching up to pull Zelda's head against her in tender embrace, "You're much too good to a mere woman such as me."
"Well, you did teach me to find the best in people," Zelda admitted, fighting the childish urge to fight herself free from Urbosa's arms as she'd done while a child.
Urbosa chuckled, her powerful body vibrating against Zelda's without restraint, "I suppose I'll have to work on relearning that."
Her head began to shake in disbelief, "When did you take the role of teacher?"
Zelda giggled, "I must'a had a neat teacher myself."
Sighing, Urbosa held Zelda close, peering off into the distance as she rested her cheek atop the young woman's head as a smile stretched across her face, "By the goddess, you're so much like your mother."
Expecting something along the lines of a pithy reply, Urbosa turned her head down to examine Zelda's face, only to find her eyes closed, having easily found sleep within such familiar arms. It took Urbosa back to those days keeping watch over Zelda, the same event occurring even then, forcing a heartfelt smile upon the Gerudo's face.
"You're too good to me," Urbosa spoke softly in tender sincerity, smiling with demure veracity, "I suppose no daughter of my own could ever match you, anyway."
She chuckled slightly at the thought, returning her attention to the desert below while allowing Zelda to sleep. It had already been a tumultuous journey for Urbosa, and yet she'd never felt more in touch with the world beyond the snowfields and mesas of the Gerudo's massive peaks. Even if it meant facing the unpleasant perceptions of others, perhaps it was necessary to better appreciate all that she'd accomplished.
She had already come to relearn to so appreciate the young woman in her arms all the better. Why not more?