"Not that way," Riju panted, leaning over her knees to try and catch her breath. "It leads to deeper water. It's this way to the surface."
Mipha's face was pinched with worry. "I don't believe…" She looked back at her brother, who was happily treading water up to his chin, his mouth stretched in a white smile that flashed the rays of Zelda's lit hand. "I don't believe we'd survive in the desert."
Riju regarded the Zorans incredulously. "So you'd rather stay here and get caught?"
The pink-haired princess glanced at the branched path pointedly.
"No," Zelda realized. "She'd rather stay in the water." Her hand moved to shower light down the darkened path to the right. "That leads deeper into the canal systems, right?"
"The currents get swifter," Riju warned, uncertain. "And I'm not sure how deep it will get."
"Sidon and I are excellent swimmers," Mipha said, her head tilting with a soft smile. "I'm confident we will be alright."
"No, you don't understand," Riju argued, but Zelda placed her non-glowing hand on the Gerudo's shoulder.
"I think it is us that will not understand. They're Zoran. Their magic comes from the water."
Riju looked about ready to argue, but her gaze drifted to the shining Triforce on Zelda's hand. "Fine," she conceded. "The canal will eventually lead to the Regencia River. Stay in the main cavern, and you'll get there without any problems. We'll meet you there."
"Be safe," Mipha implored them. She and Zelda embraced, before the sister grabbed her brother and dove into the water.
"I cannot believe you talked me into that," Riju muttered, but there was no more time for them to talk; they had to keep moving. They linked arms and began wading through the water again. Zelda wasn't a swimmer, though she knew how to do the most basic of strokes. The Gerudo girl, however, was hopeless in the water. She'd admitted a while back that she'd never been in a pool of water bigger than the Oasis pond, which was barely more than three feet deep. Both girls were stuck wading.
The time stretched as they plowed through the water, accompanied only by the sound of their panting breaths and splashing. They grew exhausted as their adrenaline drained away, no sounds of pursuit alerting them to followers just yet.
After an eternity, Riju paused, pointing to a plaque. "We exit here to get into the city," she explained. She began to take a step towards the ladder, but Zelda held her fast.
Not yet. She echoed the words in her head out loud, tugging Riju forward, away from the exit.
"But -"
Too exhausted to argue, Zelda shook her head again. "This way."
Riju grumbled, but complied - for whatever reason, since she had no reason to trust Zelda's instincts. They trudged onward, weary and soaked down to their bones.
Left, came the voice. Zelda tugged on Riju, pulling her down another cavern. They walked forward still, until the voice urged them to go right down a forked path. Here, they heard the crashes of water from their pursuers behind them, causing Zelda's light to instantly blink out like a switch had been flipped. They waited in the dark, terrified, clutching their hands together for comfort, until the noises faded. It wasn't until ten minutes of silence passed before either girl thought of continuing, albeit with a much more unhurried, quiet pace.
It continued on like this for hours - though Zelda could hardly tell the time in the eerie darkness - with all that quiet monotony. The Hylian Princess could no longer summon up the light from her hand, and so the two girls waded with their hands tightly clasped together to prevent separating. The voice in Zelda's head did not leave her and was a constant companion that prodded her this way or that.
When Zelda was about to collapse from exhaustion, ready to float on the canal and let it carry her back the way she came just so she could rest for a moment, Riju jerked on her arm and whispered for her to look up.
There, in the oppressive darkness, was a thin line of gray. Barely daring to hope, the Princess stepped forward, reaching out her hand. As she walked forward, it brushed against the rungs of a ladder. Don't stop me, don't stop me, Zelda begged as she curled her hand around the first rung.
No command to wait. No uneasy feeling.
Zelda pulled herself up until her waterlogged feet hit a metal rod. She climbed, careful to hold fast to the bars since they were slick with water and grime. When she reached the top of the ladder, she pushed her hand against the cover, straining to lift the heavy metal with the awkward positioning and her ever-increasing fatigue. Her wrist ached as she applied more pressure, but the metal was shrieking, a clear sign that it was moving.
With one last burst of energy, Zelda threw aside the cover, letting it tip backward until it fell into the dirt. The Princess crawled out of the hole, instantly creating mud with the drops of water raining down from her wet clothes. Her hands were getting coated in dirt, but she inched forward, too happy to be on dry ground again.
It was dark outside, and they'd crawled out in the middle of a long desert road, dotted with intermittent traffic poles that were no longer lit. Zelda's hand still glowed, and lit up a decent circle of their new environment. It was all sand.
Riju joined her, shoving the grate back into its place. "Come on," she encouraged. The Gerudo pushed herself to her knees. "We have to get away from here. We'll catch a pair of sand seals and ride them out of the desert."
"How will we ride them?" Zelda asked, perhaps stalling for a few more moments of rest on the dry ground.
"Well, we need a board and harness," Riju pondered. "But we should be able to find something similar. Sand seal riding is a very popular way of traveling in the desert. I've seen loads of lost harnesses out here when people lose control of their seals and drop everything."
"Right, okay," Zelda muttered, slowly rising to her feet. The cold was starting to sink in, though she'd put off noticing it until she could fully revel in how good it felt to be back on dry land. "Let's do this."
They took each other's hands again and trudged into the desert. They were shivering within minutes, the sand beneath them leaching out what little warmth they'd retained in the canal system. They left footprints, but they didn't have the time nor the means to cover them up. They had to be quick, which is exactly the type of thing they could no longer manage.
"H-how does one f-f-find a s-sand seal?" Zelda chattered. Her teeth were clacking together so violently she was afraid her tongue would get bitten off.
"They sleep beside outcroppings of rocks for protection," Riju replied, apparently warding off the cold through sheer force of will. "We just have to get lucky."
"Lucky," Zelda repeated, burrowing down into her soaked clothes. "Right."
But they didn't find a sand seal for hours. A slight sandstorm in the early hours of the morning erased their trail, though the sand had lodged itself into every crevice of their body. Their clothes hadn't dried yet, due to the cold, and now to top it all off, they were gritty. They managed to find a pair of harnesses, though they were damaged. Riju worked with frozen fingers to tie the leather straps back together as they walked.
Just before the sun rose, Zelda spotted a nearby cluster of rocks, creating a sort of arch that left a patch of sheltered sand underneath. "There," she pointed, splintering the silence that had hung between them for many hours.
"I doubt there are any seals there," Riju warned, looking at the rocks skeptically. "They tend to move towards harder stone with a deeper color, the color of their own coats."
"Not for the seals." Zelda forced herself to carry on. "We need to rest."
"But if we rest now, we'll be stuck in the heat of the day."
Zelda shook her head, near delirious. "I can't walk further, Riju. I need to sleep, just for a little while. Please."
"Okay," Riju placated. She looked up at the sky, the sunshine playing shadows across the planes of her face. Zelda stumbled to the sand, her knees hitting the cooler ground, the rest of her body falling afterwards. She barely got her arms underneath her head before she passed out.
"Come on girl," Link coaxed. Epona hardly needed the encouragement - the red mare was ecstatic that it was just the two of them. She loved the speed, the freedom, and under different circumstances, Link would be loving it too. Instead, he was nearly flat against Epona's back, urging her onwards.
They hit the desert area hard, and Link was forced to halve their speed. Sheik was right - this area was far too treacherous for a group of horses. Link hoped that his expertise with horses, Epona's ingenuity, and a little bit of help from the Goddesses would be enough to get them through without a twisted hoof.
A rudimentary hiking path wound around the bulges of stone, which helped the pair to navigate the rough terrain. Link kept a constant prayer in his heart to the Goddesses, asking them to keep Epona from twisting her hoof, to guide them to Zelda.
The sun started beating down hard by mid-morning. Link shrugged off his outer coat and let it fall to the ground. Cold would be a problem that he could worry about later. In a sweater and thick pants, Link bore through the heat without thought. He was single-minded, and as a result, Epona was too.
They stopped for five minutes around noon to let Epona grab a drink. Besides that brief pause, where both horse and rider guzzled water straight from the stream, they did not stop or slow their pace.
After the hiking path led them down to the roads of Gerudo valley, Link hit the roads, weaving between stalled cars.
The space behind his heart stuttered, jolted back into awareness. Wherever she was, Zelda had woken up to a panic.
I'm coming, Link promised her. Just a little longer. Wait for me, just a little longer.
She must've looked quite the sight, riding up to the mechanical bridge covered in cars on a horse. Her hair was wild from the wind, strands plastered to the sides of her face from a combination of sweat and tears. She was half-hysterical from losing her companion and the exhaustion of days of travel.
The soldiers were quick to form a barrier, preventing her from entering the city gates. They were open - since it took electricity to close them, and they didn't have that anymore, as the suspicions that all of Hyrule had been plunged into darkness proved true - and were guarded by the Royal Army.
Malon tumbled off of Jay, collapsing at first from the weakness in her legs. "I need to speak to your captain," she chattered through teeth locked from the chill and desperation. "I've got to deliver a message to the King." Maybe if she hadn't been a bit calmer, they would've listened.
Instead, she was handcuffed and led to a holding cell while the powers-that-be checked out the kunai Sheik had given her. She lost sight of Jay, but trusted that the army would have no reason to kill her horse.
Alone in the prison cell, Malon fell into an exhausted slumber against the brick wall.
She slept so deeply that the sound of the cell crashing open didn't rouse her, nor the barked order to get up. The exhausted teen only blearily opened her eyes when someone shook her and set her on her feet.
Rubbing her eyes, she tried to gather her bearings. "What's going on?"
"The message checks out. The King is granting an audience."
Malon was nodding, feeling much more alert. "Great! Let's go!"
"Let's get you cleaned up first," the soldier on the right suggested, looking a little put out by her disarray.
Now that she knew she had the King's attention, Malon's defiance was back and she could afford to stick up for herself. "This information needs to be delivered to the King as soon as possible," she replied with a scathing glare. "Why do you think I rode in here on a horse like Din's flames were at my back? I'll worry about my appearance after I tell His Majesty about Princess Zelda."
At the sound of the Princess's name, the soldiers' postures sharpened. She was looked at with a little more respect.
It was no secret that everyone adored the Princess.
She was ushered along, a soldier on each side. The halls were grand, and Malon vaguely remembered seeing them on cameras when council was held at the castle. It was every bit as gorgeous as the video footage promised, but Malon didn't linger on it.
She had lost a friend getting here. She would speak to the King.
There was a short security check at the door to the throne room where a female guard patted her down for weapons. After Malon proved to have no weapons, they opened the doors.
Despite the dire situation she found herself in, Malon suddenly felt self-conscious about her decision to meet the King before washing up. She was grimy after a week of travel, and that last few hours mad-dashing to the castle had added its own layer of disarray to her appearance. In the presence of the King of Hyrule, she felt small and dirty.
He was an imposing man, just as he appeared to be on the TV interviews he did. He was balding, but the receding white hair stood stark against the surrounding red velvet of his throne. The short beard he sported was neatly combed, his mustache trimmed to expose his lips so he could speak without irritation. He was wearing a sharp business suit, a sash and crown depicting his Royal status. His attention was solely on Malon.
"What news do you have of my daughter?" he boomed from the throne above Malon.
Her nervousness faded at the reminder of her mission. She rose from her kneeled bow and stared him straight in the eye. "Princess Zelda went to my school. She was in my class. I knew her as Tetra, and had no idea that she was the Princess. She's been captured, and Sheik sent me here to tell you what happened while he goes after her."
The whole room was silent. The King gripped the armrests of his throne until his knuckles turned white, but he kept his mouth shut, nodding at her to go on. Malon swallowed against her dry throat. No one interrupted her as she took a couple breaths.
"Just last week, the day the power went out, our school was attacked by shooters." A beat, as she took another long breath to steady herself. This was a traumatic event she still hadn't processed.
Come on, Malon. Your country needs you. Quick and clinical… You can worry about emotions once you've delivered your message.
"We were in our Ancient Tech class when we started hearing gunshots. Our teacher tried to close the door, but was knocked to the ground when a shooter forced his way inside and shot Mr. Orden in the leg. I was holding on to Tetra - Princess Zelda - in the back of the room while the shooter stood guard in the front of the classroom. The intercom went off, and a man said that he wouldn't kill anymore people if Princess Zelda showed herself and went with them.
"I couldn't believe when Tetra stood up. She told them she was Princess Zelda, and answered a question when the shooter asked. Something about the Veiled Temple and a Zoran meeting? I don't really know. But she answered correctly and was taken away. The last thing she said to me was to tell Link to come for her." At the confusion in the other's glances - there were so many people here, no that Malon looked around - she explained, "a friend of ours. That was all she said, but she was very serious when she did. Two men took her away, and our shooter stayed until all the lights went off.
"The shooter left without another word, and we stayed until other students began passing the door and telling us that the shooters had left. I stayed with my friend Navi, and we found our other friends in the hallway. We didn't leave just yet. I needed to find Link to pass on Princess Zelda's message.
"Sheik, who we later learned was Princess Zelda's undercover bodyguard, found us not long after and tried to use my phone to call Impa, who he said was their guardian at the moment. But everything was dead. Link followed Sheik, and I told him what the Princess said. Sheik agreed with that, though I don't know what a teenage boy can do that the Royal Guard can't." She swallowed thickly here, and someone seemed to notice her discomfort and handed her a plastic cup full of water.
The room continued to wait as Malon drank deeply, finally clearing her throat. She thanked the servant who had brought it to her as she took the cup back and returned to her story.
Her voice grew stronger, but the story had reached its most disheartening chapter. "Link told us what he had seen. He was in the school's ceiling, where his class had hidden during the shooting. He had been above the main hall and saw the Princess being taken. He told us that the man who had taken her was Ganondorf Dragmire." Soft gasps sounded around her. She tried not to let her voice crack. "Link said that she was injured, some sort of cut on her arms. There was blood-" her voice broke "all over the hallway" she was trying so hard not to cry, she couldn't, not with the King hanging on her every word, Malon you can't cry "but she saw Link and mouthed 'Gerudo capital'."
She had to pause here. Pressure was building in her throat from the force of holding back the tears. Her friend had been brutally kidnapped for political gain, and even the retelling of it had her shaken. Over all the traveling and purpose of the last week, she hadn't had the time to dwell on the Princess's fate.
But she couldn't break now.
After a deep inhale, Malon continued, "We went back to Sheik's house only to find that Impa was no longer there. We started discussing our options and decided that if all the electricity was out, our best bet was to take horses. I live on a ranch, so we went there and chose the fastest horses we had to start for the Gerudo capital. The plan was for Sheik, Link, and the others to ride for the desert while Revali and I went here, to tell the King that the Princess had been taken and who she was taken by."
Her tale was complete - as complete as she knew. They could ask her questions now, and seeming to sense that, there were suddenly a dozen inquiries thrown her way. She didn't understand a single one, with all the voices intermingling, and stared at each face at a loss for words.
"Silence."
The King's short command quieted the whole room in an instant. Malon focused again on the older man, trying not to quiver under the intensity of his gaze.
"How long ago was this shooting?"
"Eight days," Malon answered immediately.
"Are you certain that it was Ganondorf Dragmire himself at the school?"
"No, sire. I didn't see him with my own eyes. But Link did, and he said it was a face nobody could forget. Sheik verbally agreed with him and told me to tell you he believed it was him."
The King's face was heavy with shadows. "Why was this boy Link requested by my daughter?"
"I don't know, sire. Sheik didn't explain. He said he couldn't be sure of the Princess's intentions, but to tell you that if she chose to ask him to come for her, that you should respect her wishes." Deciding that felt a tad too demanding, she tacked on a soft, "Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty," came a voice at his side, belonging to a short balding man with beady eyes. "The Princess is only a teenager. She was certainly terrified. It makes sense that she would ask for the nearest person to come for her."
The King held up his hand. "I am aware. I am also aware of the reason Zelda chose to attend this school in the first place, what she had gone to find." Everyone, Malon included, seemed to hold their breath. It was the biggest question she had - why the Princess had come to high school, in disguise, without proper protection. "It has long been under debate of the existence of magic in this world."
Well, she wasn't expecting that. The others clearly weren't either, if their palpable confusion was anything to go by.
"A closely guarded secret within the Royal family is that magic has always existed in Hyrule." Gasps and scoffs of disbelief, but the King paid them no heed. "It has come to my attention that with this blackout, magic has begun to return to where it once resided." At everyone's shock, he waved his hand, as if banishing their doubts. "My subjects have been falling ill to several different maladies with no cure. Webbing between fingers. Skin flaking until all that remains is stone. Feathers sprouting from every pore. You would all be fools to recognize this as anything less than a return of magic, something our ancestors have long professed to be real."
"That would make sense," Malon murmured. The King gestured for her to speak up, and Malon coughed nervously. "I just mean… Well, one of our companions, Daruk, started getting really flaky skin. And Revali had really red arms that he constantly scratched, even though there was no reason for there to be a rash. And Midna was losing her eyesight… I just mean, there were too many coincidences for it to add up."
The King nodded. "I've refrained from making an official statement, but Princess Zelda's safety means more to me than any family secret. Magic has always existed, particularly in the female line of the royal family." He rose from his throne, every inch the imposing monarch he was made out to be. "We will ride to Gerudo. Zelda must be brought back safely."
"Wait!" The words were out of her mouth before she could remember she was speaking to the King of Hyrule and remember herself. He turned and looked at her, and she hurried to ask, "What was the reason Princess Zelda went to Skyloft? What was she looking for?"
He blinked his dark eyes at her, tilting his head slightly. "The Hero of Legend. Your friend, Link."
"Zelda!"
She woke with a start, sitting straight up and sending the blood rushing to her head. Groaning, she held her head, rubbing sand into the sensitive skin of her face as she tried to clear her blacked-out vision.
"Get up, Zelda," Riju urged. She was at the Hylian princess's elbow, trying to push her to her feet.
Zelda was so exhausted she could barely sit up, but she allowed Riju to guide her to her feet. "What's happening?" she mumbled. "Did they find us?"
"There's something coming," Riju agreed, "But we now have seals."
"Seals?"
Rubbing the sand out of her eyes - or trying to, since it had dried on every inch of skin - Zelda blearily noticed the shape next to the petite fire-haired Gerudo. It was a brown sand seal, nuzzling Riju's side. Another seal was harnessed off to the side, decidedly more grumpy with being caught.
"How did you find them?"
"I didn't," Riju replied, grinning. She rubbed the sand seal's head with unrestrained affection. "Patricia found me." She focused all her attention on scratching the sand seal, squatting down so they were eye to eye. "Who is the best sand seal in all of Gerudo Desert? You are, yes you are…" At Zelda's bewildered stare, Riju explained, "She's my sand seal. I released her before I was captured."
Zelda had sand in her eyes. Her muscles ached. She was miserable. "I'm glad you found your seal, Riju." She must not have sounded convincing, because Riju glared at her.
"She's my best friend, Zelda, and I thought I lost her forever. So yes, I am glad I found her." The seal barked, looking for more attention, and Riju gave it to her instantly.
"I'm sorry," Zelda said, though she didn't sound apologetic, just exhausted and defeated. Riju accepted it with a nod and a small smile, then handed Zelda her own harness. It was rusted and a bit knotted, but the Gerudo girl had managed to reconnect the broken straps of the seal's harness and find a piece of metal that could replace the handlebars.
"We need to ride north," Riju told her, pointing to where the sand dunes rose high in the distance. "We don't have a lot of time left." She pointed in the opposite direction, where dust was starting to rise at the horizon. "See that? They're beginning to search over here. We were lucky to make it through the night, though I suspect they just didn't have a way to search for us and waited until dawn."
"What time is it?"
Riju studied the sun, which had risen a short distance over the horizon, not quite searing yet but beginning to heat the air around them. "Eight, maybe nine."
Zelda wanted to cry. She stared at the horizon, watching the dust rise. They only had a couple hours' headstart, maybe less. Ganondorf's army had machines that powered on an energy source other than electricity, and would be able to catch up to them soon. If they wanted to stay free, they would have to make it out of the desert.
"I've only ridden once," Zelda confessed as she dragged her tired body into position, reigning in the nervous seal with a tight hand.
"Well I hope you're a fast learner," Riju said drily. "Because we have to go fast." She was expertly perched on a shield, her legs spread into the optimal angle for max speed. Zelda watched sand seal racing competitions every time she visited the desert, and knew how an expert positioned herself.
Riju was an expert.
"I'll slow you down," Zelda blurted. Before she could stop herself, words were tumbling out of her mouth. "It's me they want anyway. Let's split up. You have a chance at escape. You're faster and more experienced."
"Zelda…"
Zelda had made up her mind, and she willed her legs to stop trembling. "I'll survive. If I manage to get away, let's meet at Regencia River, okay?"
Like there was any chance of that happening.
Riju looked horrified. "I won't just leave you," she protested. "I can't! We made it out of here together!"
"Find my father," Zelda told her. "And Link. He's blonde, he likes green. He'll know me. Ask him what I had him in my phone as, he'll know what I'm talking about. Tell him to come for me." Riju still looked like she wasn't going anywhere. "He's the hero of legend," she whispered. "He's saved me in countless lives. Please, Riju."
They both might've cried, if they weren't so dehydrated.
"Go."
Zelda picked up her reins, nodding in her direction. The girl looked at the approaching dust cloud, at their destination, and then back at her. "Stay alive, you foolish girl," she demanded. Zelda nodded. "I'll see you at the river."
She snapped her reins, and within seconds she and Patricia were dozens of feet ahead of her. Zelda let out a shaky breath. "Alright, bud," she murmured at her own seal, patting his flank. "Let's go."
There were several rough starts, where Zelda desperately held to the reins and tried to maintain her balance. The shield pitched wildly beneath her, but she managed to keep her feet firmly within the footrests. Her seal was wild, and not trained to be ridden, but then, Zelda wasn't planning on making it far.
She may have been unable to produce tears, but she was still holding back hysterical sobs. She didn't want to go back. She'd rather die. All that dark was suffocating, and she felt as if she was constantly standing on the precipice of a breakdown. Please, Nayru. Don't send me back there.
The goddess didn't reply, but Zelda didn't expect her to. She only steeled herself, tightened the reins, and urged the seal faster.
The ride was agonizing. Once the sun rose, it beat down on Zelda's short-sleeved back mercilessly. She could feel her skin burning, but there was nothing she could do. If she stopped, she wasn't sure she'd be able to start again. Her hands went numb under the ropes, and her legs were locked into their position. She was cramped, exhausted, and in pain, but she couldn't let up yet.
Can't stop, Zelda chanted in her head. Can't stop, or they'll catch me. Just a few more minutes, Zelda…
It was almost trance-like, that ride. It was awful, like the moment right before vomiting, full of vertigo and nausea. She couldn't think beyond a desperate plea with herself to hold on, to just make it a few feet further.
When her body finally gave out, it took her several moments to realize she was tumbling into the sand, the hot grains pressed into her scraped and aching cheek. Her world spun, like an out of control merry-go-round. Ears buzzing, she lifted herself from the ground to try and get her bearings.
She must've blacked out or been otherwise completely unaware for a few minutes, since the sand seal was nowhere in sight. The shield was still strapped to her feet, but she couldn't see the harness or reins anywhere around her. The princess of Hyrule sat up and began to untangle her feet from the shield, mind blank.
The cloud of dust behind her was close, and she could make out the vehicles that created the stir growing from specks to discernable shapes. She was through.
She turned in the opposite direction, where she could make out the end of the desert. There were rock formations that she knew would lead into cities and highways. If she could just get to that horizon, she could hide. She wouldn't be in plain sight, a lone figure walking against an otherwise monotonous landscape.
There was no way she'd make it. But she had to do something.
Getting to her feet was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do. She fell into the sand more than once, and even when she did manage to stay upright, her spinning perspective nearly sent her to the ground again and again. Without looking behind her, she began to step in the direction of safety.
There was no way she could run. She could barely stay on her feet. Her consciousness felt disconnected from her body.
Zelda made it sixty-two paces before her legs gave out for good. She was too hungry, too tired, too dehydrated, too disoriented. Her body simply refused to cooperate. Sheer willpower led her a couple of dragged steps, but that was all that was left.
Maybe just a couple of minutes, Zelda told herself. She lay her head on her arm, watching her pursuers grow closer. If I just rest a couple of minutes, I can try a few more steps. Maybe I won't escape, but I have to try.
The sun was unbearable.
Is this my end, Nayru? Have you helped me this far just for me to die?
The sand was too hot. Why was the desert so hot?
I just want to see Link again. Just one more time.
And the mirage flickered in front of her. Eyes with an ever-shifting shade of blue, cobalt and sky and ice and ocean. Blond hair in disarray, curtaining his eyes and plastered to his forehead with sweat. Eyebrows drawn together in concern, mouth moving around words she couldn't hear. She'd kissed those lips. Maybe in her next life, she could kiss them again.
Her eyes drifted shut as strong arms lifted her from the sand. They felt warm. Was she dying? Was Nayru lifting her back into her arms, whisking her away to join the other goddesses in their city above the sky?
"Zelda, can you hear me? Open your eyes!"
But she was already gone.
Whoooooooo boy. I did it! I've been working on this steadily throughout the entirety of my Fall semester. Why did it take so long to get out? Uhhhhh couldn't tell ya. I just didn't. I worked on it once a week, at least (though sometimes it was just me opening the doc, typing one word, and then going back to watching Youtube) but didn't get around to finishing the chapter until this week. Idk, it just kinda happened. If you want a true reason, I can always alert y'all to the fact that I was taking 17 credits, all of which were science courses. But really, I was just uninspired for a solid bit there, and focused all my attention on school (and stardew valley but we're not talking about the 120 hour farm I worked on for 15 weeks). But enough about my dumb life, let's go on to reviews!
Oracle of Hylia: He totally would. He's so full of himself lol
Loreseeker: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! I have a lot of fun things planned for Midna in particular. You can kind of see where my character emphases are based on the games I've 100% - BotW and Twilight Princess, with a lot of influence from Hyrule Warriors (age of calamity and definitive edition). I'm still working through Link to the Past, Skyward Sword, and Ocarina of Time, and I haven't started Majora's Mask or Windwaker yet. I do my research, though! I'm also really really glad you see where my inspiration started and where it branched off into an original story. I am really enjoying where this story is going, since the ideas keep coming! The one thing that really made me sad in Hit List was that most of the characters never realized their reincarnations. Not remembering per se, but more recognizing the role they've played throughout the centuries.
Random Norwegian: Lol I sometimes imagine they're just watching Link in Botw doing backflips off of cliffs and cooking dishes for a week straight like a reality show and laugh. He's such a dork sometimes. I think that the gods particularly respect Link. You have to admit, out of every reincarnation he seems to really get the short end of the stick. I mean, Ganon's a King, Zelda's a Princess, and they fight their war by sending Link back and forth. Who does so, repeatedly, without complaint. I don't know if I'll go into the Goddess's perspectives like Hit List did, but Nayru will talk a bit to Zelda.
Thank you all for sticking with me. I hope this chapter is well received!
I'm gonna go work on the next one now like a responsible writer (oooh is that my switch fully charged?)
Tootle-loo!