As the group of travellers came to a halt outside the gates of Hyrule Castle, the Hyrulean princess sighed in relief at seeing her heavy-stoned home. Zelda turned on her companions, dress twirling around her as she clasped her gloved hands together tightly.
"I'll be back shortly." Zelda bowed slightly; ready to walk away when Marth spoke.
"May I accompany you? I'd love to see Castle Town."
"If you wish." Zelda smiled, pleased to know someone was intrigued about her home as she was. "Link, are you coming?"
"I'll stay out here, it's nice to be out in the open again." Link smiled, genuinely thrilled to be back in nature once more.
"I'll stay put also; I don't believe I'm welcome among these walls." Ganondorf crossed his arms in defiance, reliving the failure of his past plans.
"Ike, my friend, you wish to stay out here also?" Marth asked the mercenary who was staring in awe at the vast castle before him.
"I'll be okay out here." Ike quickly glanced to the awaiting royalty.
"As you wish." Marth smiled, following the retreating woman, in complete awe as they entered through the gates. The inhabitants noted the princess's companion and greeted him with as much respect as their own heir. Marth scrutinised everything he could observe, from the sturdy yet aged structures to the pebbled stone path.
"If you are attempting to map out the town and attack the land if we ever become enemies in the future, you won't win."
If Marth wasn't looking at Zelda, he might not have known she was speaking to him. She kept her head forward, her royal smile dazzling the people before them as they continued. He heard the underlying sarcasm and threat in her voice and a small shudder shocked through him.
"I would never dream of it." Marth simply smiled a princely smile as he followed the princess to her castle.
Meanwhile, Link was watching Ganondorf's eyes flicker constantly in apprehension, his hands tightening on his arms as they crossed, fingers flexing in anticipation. The Gerudo King was clearly uncomfortable and was eager to leave the daunting castle walls behind them.
"What?" Ganondorf snapped after he noticed the green-garbed hero glancing at him in amusement.
"Nothing, I've just never seen you so agitated before." Link smirked, stifling a huff of laughter at the big man's dangerous look.
"I'm not agitated. I'm fed up with waiting for your useless princess, we have places to be."
Link just hummed in mockery and turned to see Ike gazing rather surprisingly behind him. The hero turned, his grin almost breaking his features when he saw Zelda with Marth, pulling want only could be Link's favourite animal. Silently being pulled behind the two returning companions were two purebred horses, one midnight black the other a rich brown. Along with the new arrivals, Zelda had changed attire and equipped a rapier to her hip. The two approached the waiting party and Link instantly headed for Zelda's companion. He stroked the animal's mane, almost letting out a satisfactory giggle as the horse nudged him affectionately. Link scarcely listened to the princess speak of the upcoming journey finding himself enthralled with the friendly mare.
"Link?"
The hero snapped his head up at his name and gave Zelda a curious tilt of his head. The woman sighed shaking her head in what should have been disbelief but was so used to the boy's small attention span she simply repeated herself.
"You should call Epona, so we may get this journey underway."
"Of course." Link nodded. He walked a few meters away, pulling out the beautifully handcrafted whistle his friend, Ilia, had presented to him after he had made the long and tiring journey to help retrieve her memory. Ike watched as the hero took the crafted piece to his mouth and the mercenary's heart stopped as a beautiful melody filled the air around him. The melody caused any tension Ike had to evaporate and he hummed quietly after it stopped. Link looked to the horizon and Ike blinked in surprise as a horse with a harnessed saddle galloped in their direction. It let out a whiney in excitement and pulled up sharp before Link and obediently waited before the hero. Link immediately threw his arms around the horse's neck and let out a delighted laugh as Epona began patting him with her head.
"Oh, how I've missed you."
"Alright enough with the affection," Ganondorf rolled his eyes, bringing his fingers to his lips, letting out a sharp high-pitched whistle and leaped onto a dead black mare with glowing red eyes that materialised from thin air. It snorted derisively; a small puff of smoke being released from its nostrils. Ike wasn't sure when it had appeared but the nightmare brought with it a cold aura, a sinister darkness that bled into the atmosphere. "Let's go."
Link sighed in aggravation, lightly stroking Epona's mane as Ganondorf took off at a slow pace. The hero watched as Marth showed Ike the reins to his steed and accepted Zelda's offer to ride the brown mare.
"I guess you're stuck with me." Link grinned at the princess's approach and stood rigid; even Epona straightened slightly on her hooves. Zelda simply patted Epona on her nose in fondness and let Link help her onto the mare.
The four companions managed to catch up with Ganondorf with ease, allowing the dark king to lead the way. Link wasn't sure why Gerudo was in front. A part of him was well aware that perhaps the huge male was riding them across Hyrule to their deaths. Marth and Ike rode up beside the two Hyruleans and asked a question the green-garbed hero had tucked in his mind for some time.
"Where is Ganondorf taking us?"
"To the Edge of Lake Hylia. It is the only known opening to the desert. However, I'm not particularly sure where it is but Ganondorf seemed confident."
The group stopped a few times to let the horses rest before finally coming to a stop at the edge of the vast lake. The horses lapped at the water's border while Link swam around sending intentional waves of water over at Ganondorf causing the big male to snap. Despite his anger, he still unconsciously moved inch by inch towards the water and the happy Hyrulean hero. Ike helped both Marth and Zelda produce a barely edible dinner that consisted of a dead squirrel and weird-looking mushrooms Link had found. The four travellers sat gathered around the burning fire, the mercenary and the prince were listening intently to what the Hyrulean princess had to say. The Hyrulean hero, however, was gazing at the big male a few meters away, his broad back acting as a wall. Link knew the man was awake, despite declaring to turn in early, it was clear that the Gerudo was on guard. He was surrounded by his enemies and even though it was obvious that Link or any other companion were not going to harm him, he was unintentionally alert of his surroundings. Link was still unaware of Ganondorf's contribution to the journey other than he knew the way. The big question was why was he helping? The man despised him and Zelda, along with their foreign companions. Link thought that the Gerudo would be pleased that he, himself, had serious problems and leave the princess to suffer the consequences of his crisis. Not to say that Link wasn't pleased with the man's understanding of the situation, but the thought that Ganondorf could feel anything but hatred towards him had the hero questioning the desert king's motives.
"So Zelda, how do we get to the desert?" Marth questioned, gazing with intrigue at the map he had before him. "It seems to be completely cut off from the rest of Hyrule."
"That wasn't always the case," Zelda explained. "When my grandfather ruled, it was said that Ganondorf had accused my grandfather's soldiers of having sexual relations with his tribe. After my grandfather simply waved off Ganondorf's accusations he refused Hyrulean access and eventually destroyed and cut off the desert completely. Eventually, the routes were forgotten, by the time my father came to rule they didn't exist."
"I see, how interesting. So how on earth did you get to the desert, Link?" Marth turned to the blue-eyed hero, who barely managed to capture the question.
"Cannon."
"Of course," Ike smirked, not surprised by Link's lack of confusion about the mode of transport. Marth seemed to flicker from surprise to bewilderment; simply nodding before bringing his attention back to the map.
"Well I am exhausted, I bid you goodnight, see you all in the morning" Zelda announced, gathering her rapier before retiring a few meters away, curling into herself.
"I suppose we should head to bed also." Marth smiled at the two boys left and neatly folded the map, tucking it gently into his satchel.
"I'll take first watch." Link offered, waving the two foreigners off to bed before settling down to watch Ike fall into a deep slumber with a mumble. The hero instinctively flickered his eyes back to the Gerudo who was staring into the burning fire, the flames reflecting in his golden orbs. Ganondorf turned his attention to Link noticing the curious look staring his way the desert king furrowed his brow and immediately flipped over, his back once again creating a barrier between them.