Chapter Three

Revelations

The next morning came as sure as the sun rose in the east. Miraculously, Zelda found herself awaking from a pleasant night's rest, despite the harrowing events that unfolded throughout the night. Link, the good knight that he was, remained focused, wide awake, and never left her bedside after the failed intruder made an attempt on her life. Finding comfort in the peaceful serenity under his careful watch that night, she managed to close her eyes and fall asleep again.

As the morning sun lit up her eyelids, she awoke full of dreams, forgetting for just a moment the stark reality of what happened just hours prior. Fresh on her mind was all the fond memories she had with Link from over a century ago. But, she couldn't help but wonder to herself, was he indeed the same knight of her memory? Did he indeed recall all the tender moments they shared together? Was he truly her Link? She feared that maybe not all that has transpired from the distant past between them was remembered by him. And that perhaps, a piece of him may have been lost to the sands of time forever. Her heart ached at the thought of it. She needed to know, but how?

"You're awake..." Link said to Zelda, rising up out of his chair.

"You waited there the whole night?... Did you get any rest at all?" she asked as she sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes.

"I'm alright...besides, I needed some time to clear my head and think," he said.

"About what?" she asked, sliding out from her bed with her senses coming to one by one

Link continued on pacing in the room, looking away from her respectfully as she dressed behind her veiled partition. "I'm not sure how it can be possible for the Yiga to still be lurking about in the shadows. I defeated their master and burned their hideout to the ground. I left none..." he said with his words quickly trailing away into silence, as if he was ashamed at the admittance.

"None what?" she interrupted, moving out from the cover of her curtain.

"Alive..." Link said back with an uneasy look stretched across his face. His brows were bent, and his eyes were troubled, locked in thought. " I don't want you to worry... and besides, we still have much to celebrate, Ganon is gone, and you are safe once again. We will take it one step at a time...The people here will need their princess now more than ever," he said, trying to deflect the conversation.

"And what is it that you need? hmmm?" She said as she poked her head out from behind her dressing curtain. Zelda felt her stomach pit with uneasiness at the sight of Link's demeanor and had a suspicion that there was more to his worry.

"I am a knight; I already have all that I need...C'mon, let's go show these people a princess," he said as he shook his head free of the worry from before. He then lifted up his chin to throw a quick smile at Zelda, trying to reassure her all is well.

Zelda and Link, having already made their way to the main pavilion, were about to address the people of Hateno. There she would give a speech to the people on the makeshift wooden platform they had readied for her. Most of townsfolk were already gathered in the main market square, awaiting anxiously nearby.

"Stop your shouting and shoving! All will be able to see and make hands with the princess soon enough," called out a raspy-voiced, older Hylian man who had long scrawny arms and two helpings of neck. He was just below the platform and could be heard shouting down the over-eager crowd that was trying to trample over him. The people were trying to get a better view and ear of the princess. He was the last line of defense between the two mysterious travelers and the over-eager crowd.

The towns-people have never witnessed a princess with their own eyes in their lifetimes after all. So, it was natural for them not to know what to expect and if she would be able to live up to any of their expectations. A grumpy old fellow the pursuivant was and was attempting to manage the people as their self-appointed organizer. Poorly at that, he did.

The old man turned. "They will, right? Get to make hands with her?" he whispered back, questioning Link and Purah with his caterpillar brows raised. He was carefully leaning over to them, as to not let the crowd hear their answer just yet.

Purah raised her head up slowly and gave a begrudge stare back to him. She shook her head again to him 'not a chance.'

"Well that settles it then, y'all will have to waits your turns!" the man said as he resumed to shout at the crowd as if he had last-minute tickets to an auction.

Zelda tiptoed nervously to the podium they had prepared for her. She felt a cold sweat bead down across her face, for the moment she has been dreading her whole life, has finally arrived. She now had to lead the kingdom on her own. It was the one duty she's been molded forever since she made her first steps. But she never imagined that this would be the way it would end up for her.

She was the last living and sole survivor of the royal house of Hyrule now. There would be no one else for her to turn to who's a degree of responsibilities to the kingdom were above her own. She was at the pinnacle of hierarchy, and she felt the immense gravity of that begin mount atop of her, weighing her down. She felt her knees start to buckle at the pressure of what she should say to her people. She never had to lead the kingdom by herself before and began to feel an icy emptiness engulf her. It filled her with fear.

One fatal wrong decision and the kingdom could easily fall back into peril. The very thought of that knotted her tongue and kept her from speaking.

Zelda's father, who during the time of his reign, always had the luxury of his entourage of trusted advisers and cabinet. Having help from his court and chancellery, all matters of state back in those days were easily managed by his capable hands. He had a natural talent for it too. Or so it would have seemed to her.

She never had to concern herself much with that sort of thing back then. Her main focus during that time was to be the princess of Hyrule, and that meant preparing for her sacred role as Hyrule's next queen. Even the queen hardly dealt with the politics of things. Her only responsibilities were ceremonial at best, except being that she would be the one entrusted to carry on the 'Divine Gift.'

That gift which was the birthright from the goddess Hylia herself, or so the old legends say. The power of the sacred crest, the golden triangles themselves, the Holy Triforce it was once known as. A name now lost to memory from an age faded into myth over the many thousands of years.

Very few were actually even aware of its existence before the rise of the Calamity. To most of the denizens of the land, it was just thought to be of a legendary tale of hearsay and of pompous grandeur. It was more akin to something told in children's stories rather than anything real that existed ages ago.

However, to Zelda and those intimately tied to the Royal Family knew all too well of its true existence. The Sacred Sealing power they have come to call it throughout the long eras of peace through the changing of words from one generation to the next. Only the royal line of princesses carrying the blood of the Goddess were ordained with this holy gift. It was the most treasured gift of all the land and of the highest importance.

However, its existence couldn't be hidden for long and became all too real to everyone, shortly after the prophecy marked the impending return of the Calamity. An ancient, otherworldly nightmare that stoked terrible fear in the hearts of all the people. It even got to the point that everyone was so on edge in the capital just before its dreaded return that fear began to consume the people. All because she couldn't harness this so-called Sacred Sealing Power. She was the key to their salvation, and with every passing day, no sign of the power within her, the people lost faith. Those who lived at the capital at the time began to doubt. They questioned her abilities and wondered if she was, in fact, even blessed from the Goddesses at all.

A paper princess the gossip mongers called her, forsaken one, and heir to a throne of nothing. Those words stung her and loomed clouds of doubt that followed her all her life. It wasn't until her sealing power awoke in the dead of night did she ever feel that she was indeed a princess at all.

It came to her late in the hour when her need was most dire and when all in the world seemed lost, destined to fall into shadow. It didn't come to her after the fall of the kingdom, nor after the loss of all her friends and family; not even the loss of her beloved father could awaken forth the sacred Golden flame that surrounded her that terrible stormy night at Blatchery.

Only the soul stabbing pain and thought of losing her one true love in this world. One that fate would have it that she alone would have come to have known by mere happenstance. The one she realized she couldn't live without. The one person who stood by her side through it all that never lost faith in her, even when all seemed destined to despair. Just as when the flickering fires of hope were doomed to burn out forever. To his dying breath, he believed in her. Her lowly chosen knight, Link.

Her holy blessing manifested itself to her like a fiery phoenix burning new life within her after witnessing him fall in battle. It swallowed up her eternal enemy's Malice as water extinguishes a flame. However, even with the sudden revelation of her Divine power being bestowed upon her that fateful night, she still felt woefully unprepared to lead the kingdom on her own.

Even her father still had an unfair advantage over her when he ruled. He had his advisers, a chancellery, and a cabinet at his beckoning to help him make all the proper choices for the kingdom. She would have to be twice the righteous ruler he was if she was to be any sort of successful at fulfilling her duty to the realm of Hyrule. That thought filled her with a dreadful worry that sank low into her chest and turned in her stomach.

She didn't want to fail at being the princess and the leader of her people. All she wanted was to not let her people nor her father's memory down. She could hardly remember that far back as it was and wanted to lead as if her father was still by her side, guiding her steps like he always did, as she was growing up learning to be a royal daughter and princess of Hyrule.

Trapped in thought, she stood there among the people, desperately trying to recall and relive any memory that would come into mind of her being taught by the castle scholars so long ago. They, from a very young age, would drum formalities and protocols into her head on how to behave like a princess. Her memory drew a blank of any lessons from before. Nothing they could have taught her then would have prepared her more for this day and for her time as the sole ruler of the realm.

However, she did have Link. And that to her was her only comforting thought indeed.

Standing there, while ready to address the people, she shook out of her unpleasant daydream as the minutes slipped away. She was still reeling to herself about what just happened last night in her bedroom. So many worries were pouring into her crowded mind. Each of which was trying to take center stage in her thoughts. It was all so overwhelming, everything all at once.

Distracted while staring into the sea of faces, she could have sworn she caught glimpses and flashes of her attacker standing in the crowd. She became frightened again. She couldn't be sure what tricks her mind was playing on her. It filled her up with a fleeting feeling.

With her head drowning in thought about what she should say to the crowd, the words evaded her lips still. But she began to speak nonetheless. She couldn't delay them a second longer.

"Dear..." she said as she paused, looking into the distance, past her people and above the rooftops of the village cottages. Her tongue tightened, and her throat went dry, but she managed to muster her lips to speak a few syllables more. "My dear people of Hateno, hearty, humble, and well-remembered folk of the realm of Hyrule. It is I, your Princess, who comes bearing good news to you all..." she said to them with a phony cheer that cracked in her voice as it wavered in the wind. She hesitated, and with a wavering blank stare cross over her face, she froze perched above them.

The people gathered below were unconvinced and all could tell something was eerily queer.

Secretly, she felt dishonest in speaking that way to them and it made her question herself and her own words even more. Was everything truly to return to the way it was before? She thought to herself. Can I really do this? She continued pondering behind the boxed pulpit.

She was unsure what was unfolding around her as of last night. She wasn't sure of anything anymore. What staff and book was the late-night assassin after? What does this all...mean? She thought.

But she knew she had to say something. The crowd became restless, and higher-pitched voices started to cut through the silence. Link and Purah tried to mellow the masses alongside the gimpy man that was in front, but they would have none of it. The uneasy roars and murmuring doubts among them became louder and more demanding.

She trembled just as the crowd started to get louder in anticipation. The noise of them began to ring in her ear, her eyes became blurry, and her memory started to fade. She felt the blood rush up to her temples as she became faint.

It was all too much for her to bear. She had no choice and did what she thought she could only have done at that moment. She turned and bolted away from the pulpit because of the immense weight of responsibility on her shoulders. It crushed her soul with the fear of failing. As she spun around, she accidentally collapsed into the arms of Link, who just happened to be right behind her. It was all she could do.

She fell into his arms and cleaved to the safety of his tunic. She slowly lifted her head up and gazed deep into the calming blue waters of his eyes. For a brief moment, she was taken away to a faraway place. A place where she can hide from the world. He spoke no words but instead gave her an encouraging, sweet smile back to her. It was all she needed.

The world could have been falling asunder to depths of Demise's hell and ending around her, but in the arms of his warm embrace for that small moment, nothing else mattered. The way she felt as he gazed back the way he did, melted away all her fears. So much was depending on her, and even though she didn't believe in herself, Link had faith in her. That to her was enough to squash all her doubts.

She felt an immediate calming wave of comfort, courage, and strength overflow from a pool deep from within her, a steady stream of strength she never knew she had until that day. With sudden conviction as her duty as the princess, she spun back around to face the people of the downtrodden village who were disquieted.

They were worried what all of this meant, and the dismayed chatter started to bellow out louder and louder. However, her once mellow and meek voice that she kept hidden away from her responsibility for so many years finally resonated like a trumpet horn of her father's court soaring over all theirs.

It was as if she always knew what to do and say. She knew she couldn't let her people down. Not this time.

"My dear people of Hateno, the kingdom of Hyrule will once again be restored to its former glory and you will all soon be able to return home," she said with vested authority in her voice. She continued to speak to them with her face lit up like a beacon of hope. Unafraid of the uncertainty that lies ahead . If there were to be challenges ahead of them, they would overcome them together, she believed.

"For it be because our dear Champion, lo the very same Champion from one hundred years ago, the one who is the hero of your songs and of your tales that have been passed down these many years, the one you all thought fell at Blatchery, has indeed returned and saved us all. It is true...Through their holy power and grace, the Divine Goddesses themselves gave him back to us in our hour of need, breathing new life within him, saving him from his fate at Blatchery."

"It is he, the hero Link, who stands before you here today, who was victorious in defeating that wretched and most terrible Calamity of our age. Fear no more, for he continues to protect us all and serve the realm," she said as she waved her hands showing off Link to the crowd, diverting from herself to bide time in what she would continue to say next. The gathered people looked onwards in awe of Link.

Link shuffled himself behind her and was trying to act modestly, reverting attention back to her by fanning down the people. Because he felt it was because of her Sealing Power, it is what truly saved them, and they ought to know it.

With her eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope, she continued her speech. "Behold that same Calamity which has robbed you of your lives, destroyed your homes, and ruined any hope of a future for your children for so long has been slain.

"For this day forward, I say to you all; fear no more, have hope again fill your hearts, for in this day evil has been truly vanquished and the promise of a new day will now shine upon us.

"Let it be proclaimed throughout all the land, in every corner, in every village, and in every tongue and people; that peace shall reign once again, and all things shall be restored to their former glory and...beyond.

"There is so much for all of us to do. I believe that if we help each other and if we trust in one another, all things are possible if we would only believe.

"All who can begin to prepare should prepare for the long journey home...Link and I, as soon as we return back from our quest, will bring back with us help and aide in assisting the heart of the people who need assistance.

"I as your Princess stake my claim on it and swear my allegiance to all of you the people, and I will see it done to its end or mine.

"Farewell now, for I go to fulfill this covenant I make to you...peace be unto you all until we meet again and make for our journey home together as one," She said with prayer hands against her chest. She was speaking to the people, but it seemed more as if she was swearing to the Goddess in a solemn oath. Before she stepped away, she looked vaguely into the yonder part of the village. She couldn't see the face of her assassin anymore. Her mind and heart were at ease yet again, even if it was just for a day.

The crowd fell quiet, pondering her words, and Purah quickly used the still moment for her own mischievous benefit. With her face grinning, she proclaimed loudly to them. "Also, before you all scatter, Anyone who is ready, able, and willing to go to the castle now, may so at my request!...I'm looking for the adventurous type, those who want to make a shiny rupee or two!" She said, declaring to the audience as they were about to sidestep away. "Always in need of trapped things from around the Castle," She said gleaming.

"Purah! It is far too dangerous for anyone to be trekking those lands just yet!" Zelda scolded her quickly, turning over to her.

"Well geez, it was worth a try...A girl gotta get tech somehow, you know. And besides, it can't be THAT bad," Purah said back to zelda, quieter than before as to not let the people hear their quarrel.

"It is THAT bad...I cannot afford to endanger anyone. I'm responsible for everyone now, Purah. We will make our way back to Kakariko to let Impa know what happened here last night and then onward to Zora's Domain," Zelda said back to her, not having any of it.

"What happened last night?" Purah questioned her. She then frowned and gave a look one would make who doesn't seem particularly keen on being kept out of the loop of things.

"As soon as the people make way, I'll tell you. Just hurry along over to Stables. I don't want to frighten or cause any unnecessary worry to anyone here," Zelda said, slightly crouching down with her hand cupping her voice low to Purah's ear.

The Innkeeper jumped up at her words. "I'm already frightened! A dead man was hanging on my door last night!" Exclaimed the Inn Keep, who was standing next to the four of them.

"Shhh!" Zelda said quickly back to him.

Link took that as his cue and shot up over to the short Innkeeper and covered his mouth.

Zelda leapt herself towards the Innkeeper. "We cannot afford to cause a panic here today...These poor peoples' hope dangles from a thread as it is," Zelda said.

Link realizing he was too forceful with the man loosened his grip over his face.

"We will pay you for your troubles and for the disturbance of last night, "Zelda said to the Innkeeper.

"About that! This lad here says you don't-"

Link hearing what was about to be said returned to his tight grip of the man's mouth, blocking his confession. He didn't want Zelda to know they were out of rupees just yet. Link nervously smiled farewell to Zelda and Purah while he drug the man away, grumbling. "Alright, the princess has had enough of you for one day, my friend. Let's go talk about your payment somewhere else, shall we," Link whispered to the man. Ramblings of him and the disgruntled man could be heard as they both stomped off back to the inn.

Zelda and Purah both watched over the sight of them trailing away with questioned looks. "That was rather odd. I wonder what that was all about?" Zelda said to Purah, who stood next to her.

"Well, whatever it was, it doesn't seem important. What's important is you telling me what happened, last night princess. Why didn't you come to me sooner?" Purah scorned.

"Ok, but let's go over here next to the horses."

"Alright, but then you tell me what happened."

Zelda grabbed Purah by the hand and led her to the back of the stable house where Link's and her horse were tied.

"Well, go on! Spill it! What happened!?" Purah said to Zelda stomping one foot to the ground with arms crossed.

"I didn't know what to tell you earlier. I was still pondering what happened myself...I didn't want to give any wrong information," Zelda said. " A strange masked assassin came into my bedroom last night."

"Yiga!?"

"Yes, Link was absolutely certain it was one of their kind. I still don't understand why the Yiga Clan is, so hell-bent on hurting the kingdom...their master is gone for good, what more could they hope for?... If it weren't for Link's clever prowess and experience in dispensing of unsavory types such as them, I might have been done for. Fortunately, he saved me yet again before that man could have carried out his evil wishes," Zelda said.

"Hmmm...That Link is starting to build up himself quite a tally of saving you. You are most fortunate to have such a nice young man watch your every step...Don't let that one get away, princess," Purah said with a grin.

"Purah, Link was just fulfilling his duty as my sworn knight."

"Was he now? The last time I checked...Ganon is gone...anything tying him to the past has been done away with for over a hundred years...And up until five minutes ago, we didn't have a princess or a kingdom for that matter...Tell me, what obligation is he under to guard you now? He served his duty faithfully. He fulfilled his end of the bargain and completed his task. Most knights, after all that, would have been released from their servitude and have been given their lands and titles."

"Well, I haven't released him of his oath as of yet; that's why," Zelda replied.

"And why do you think that is princess? Hmmm? Is it really because you need him as your knight following you day and night, or could it be because you need his company? I wonder..." Purah said, smiling to Zelda with yet again another mischievous grin.

Just as Zelda was about to talk back to her with a dodgy reply, an ear-piercing shriek of a young girl was heard not too far off, somewhere nearby in the village. It rang out loudly, followed by an eerie silence afterward. Something terrible was the matter, and Zelda and Purah only looked to each other once before they both ran towards the direction of the scream.

Making their way over to the source of the god awful sound, it was a little Hylian girl, no older than the age of four. She was crying in the middle of the main road. Link too upon hearing the noise from where he was, must have run over to investigate the matter firsthand as well. Also, he had to make sure that his princess was safe. Townspeople began to gather around at the sound of the frightened child.

The young girl was crying at the sight of a tall, overly round Hylian man that was pulling a decrepit old hay wagon. One of the rickety wheels spun off the axle as he pulled it along the muddy road. And in the process, the load he was carrying slid out from under the weathered tarp that was over it. There is revealed before the innocent eyes of the bright-eyed child, a corpse, and not just any corpse, the same Yiga assassin from the night prior. The burly man who was none other than Nod himself. He was on his way to dispose of the body at the request of the Innkeeper and Link.

The Innkeeper, who was alongside Link, rushed over to Nod. "You clumsy fool, I told you to keep this quiet and get that...that-thing, far away from here!... Now the whole village knows!... And to make matters worse, nobody will want to stay at my inn now...certainly not after seeing something like THAT took place there!" the Innkeeper yelled at Nod.

Nod, in a fluster, quickly tried to rectify the situation and reached over to cover up the dangling body of the hooded assassin before anyone else saw. "I'm so sorry little missy for you to have seen this," Nod said as he rubbed his head, hurrying to hide the body.

That was when Link stopped him. "Wait!... Hold on, don't cover him...That's it!" Link said, sprinting over towards the lifeless body. Upon noticing the Yiga emblazoned shroud only partially covering his face, Link ripped it off. The girl screamed at the horrible sight yet again, and the Innkeeper fainted at his guaranteed loss of revenue. The crowd around them was in shock and awe of why Link would do such a dreadful thing out in the open for everyone's' eyes to see, but he had no choice. As one voice, the people around let out a gasp.

However, Link's face lit up with clarity, as if he just solved a mystery. "I knew it... I knew something wasn't right...I remember now, Yiga men don't use straight blades or throwing stars...Those weapons are too crude for them..." Link said to himself but loud enough where Zelda and Purah could hear him. Both of their faces were confused by Link's revelation to them, unsure of where he was getting at.

Link had his hands fixed on the dead body. "Look here, the eyes...Notice anything? They're not red...Sheikah and Yiga were one and the same, once upon a time...They share the same blood. Yet, this man's true pupils are brown," Link said, slowly turning to face the pair who were now curiously standing right behind him.

"Oh my, that means..." Zelda said, slowly covering her mouth, worried at the notion.

Purah lifted her head, "It means, this bloke and I are not distant relatives after all...It disgusts me to no end that I share the same blood as those traitors," Purah said as she kicked the wagon.

"It means...it wasn't the Yiga who were after you...Someone else wants you gone. I have no idea who as of yet, but I intend to find out," Link said with a gruff conviction in his voice. "Whoever it was, was taking great lengths to deceive you...us."

"Link, there is something you must know...but not here, please...come follow me," Zelda said, placing a hand on Link's shoulder. Purah's eyebrows raised; she too was perplexed at what Zelda had to say.

Link then quickly threw the tarp over the body. Nod took that as his cue to shove onward on with the wagon with haste, as to not draw any more attention from the people around them. Zelda then led both Link and Purah away from anyone's ears that may have been dropping ease and made it back to the relative cover of the stables.

"What a day indeed...first you two appear, and now this," Purah confessed as they all marched into the barn.

Zelda turned and glanced in all directions, making absolutely sure they were all alone."Link, the man...the assassin I mean...said he was after something. I don't think he wanted me dead, or at least not then... I couldn't be certain, " Zelda said, her eyes were suddenly downcast as she placed her hand to her chest.

"What do you mean?" Link said.

"What I mean is... he wanted to know something about a book and a staff. I have no idea what he was talking about...or why he wanted them or what they meant to him," Zelda said.

Purah's eyes woke up. "Very interesting...I wonder..." Purah whispered as she spun around, delving deep in her own thoughts.

"What do you mean? Purah, do you know something?" Zelda said back to her.

"Its nothing, carry on...I'm listening," Purah said as she twirled back around to face Link and Zelda.

"Well, that's just it...I don't have anything else to tell I'm afraid," Zelda said, head hung low.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Link asked, taking a step towards her.

"I don't know, I wasn't sure what to say... I was frightened...I needed time to think," Zelda said, defending herself. "Why didn't YOU tell me of your suspicions earlier that you were having before?" Zelda snapped back.

Geeze, these two really do belong with each other, "Stop your arguing." Purah stepped in.

"Zelda...I...I'm sorry," Link said, apologetically stepping back as he scratched the back of his head.

Zelda then turned to face Link at the sound of his words and, too, felt she was harsh in her statements. "I'm sorry too Link..," she said.

"Well, now that's out of the way, what is your next move now, princess?" Purah asked.

"We should-" Link was about to say, but Zelda interrupted him.

"We should head back to Kakariko and see if Impa knows anything about this book or staff. Or if she knows anything that can give us more information on who this impostor was," Zelda said.

"Always my sister...and her 'advices'...You people know that I am the older and wiser one, right!? I may look small, but don't be deceived; I am the older one. And with age comes wisdom...but if you insist on needing her help over mine, I won't stop you. You know where to find me, dear princess. There is something I must look into while you are away. Some questions that I have that need answering. I can't be sure just yet, but I'll find you if I find out anything new that may help our situation. That's one of the perks of getting to relive your whole life all over again, I guess. With this young body of mine, I can travel quite easily with an escort," Purah said, chin up while fixing her glasses cooly on her face.

"Purah, it's not a competition; if you know something, please do tell us," Zelda said.

"I have my suspicions, but that's exactly what they are, just suspicions...No need to get you all riled up if it's a dead-end...Now that you mentioned it, perhaps, it is a good idea for you to visit my sister after all. Maybe I am wrong about her, and she is the wise old sage everyone believes her to be. Perhaps she has a crystal ball I don't know about...it sure would answer a lot of questions I have had about her all my life, haha," Purah said with a chuckle in her voice.

"Purah! This is no time for levity," Zelda said as she rolled her eyes.

"I'm just joking. You can use a smile from time to time, princess. Right, Linky?" Purah said, putting Link on the spot.

"I...uh." Link said, caught off guard.

"Link has no time for your games Purah, unlike some people, he puts his duty above all else, right Link?" Zelda said, turning to face Link.

Link stood nervously with both their eyes fixed on him, waiting for his reply. "...I'll go get our packs ready!" Link said back to them both as he quickly fled his predicament.

As Link made his escape, they both smiled.

"Definitely don't let that one get away Princess...and relax, don't worry so much, you have Link...and with him by your side...you will be just fine," Purah said, placing a calming hand on Zelda's back. She was more serious now that they were alone.

Zelda turned to Purah and smiled at her comforting words. "You're right..."

"Of course, I am right; when am I ever wrong!? That is the real question...Don't answer that..." Purah said with a wink. They both laughed and made their way back to the inn, where Link was preparing for their trek back to Kakariko.

So many questions still remained unanswered, but Zelda did have Link as Purah mentioned, and that was comforting to her. Soon they would be back at Kakariko, where perhaps more light could be shed on this mystery assassin. Zelda realizes now that reunification will be the hardest hurdle she would ever have to overcome, second to sealing away Ganon. But for now, Impa awaits.