With the older woman captured, and roughed up a bit, courtesy of Paya, it was then the task of identifying the man Paya had killed and finding Yerva. Link had stayed with Zelda for the rest of the day, and it was that night that Paya sent the message for them to journey down to the dungeons.

The secret dungeons that Link hadn't known about. He was slightly miffed. What dungeons did he know about? How many secrets did the Sheikah keep? Eyeing the guard who accompanied them, Link realized it must be more than he'd thought.

He wondered if Zelda knew all of them. Or if she just thought she did.

The Sheikah lantern's light made her face look almost gaunt. Her hair was still limp with sweat, though she covered it with a scarf, and despite the short nap she'd taken her eyes were still haunted. He couldn't believe how he'd failed her.

He pushed the self loathing down and refocused. They were going to interrogate this woman, who turned out to be an exile. Exiled for what? Paya was more tight-lipped about that.

They arrived at what appeared to be a blank wall only for a magic to be performed and a door to open. Once more, he descended into the dimly lit tunnel, down to the only dungeon still used in Hyrule Castle for its original purpose.

As they walked, he felt a hand slip into his from behind as they walked one by one. Despite it all, he couldn't help the heat that rose in his face. Logically, he knew Zelda probably just needed reassurance and support, and any friend would do, but still…

… He was a simple man.

As soon as they made it down the steps, there were a few more twists and turns before they ended up outside a room. The dungeon part of the area was stone and dank, but the door looked new, and glowed with the sacred blue flame. Their Sheikah guard signalled for the door to open, and they entered the much more technologically advanced room. Paya sat at a table, and once Link saw how, and he thought this with all the love in his heart, horrible she looked.

He knew she was tired, but she looked like she might pass out– which meant she might. Link had never seen her so uncomposed. It was almost like she was human.

There were a few more Sheikah in the room, and a covered body on a stretcher. On the far side of the room there was another door.

"Princess," Paya greeted, rushing to stand. She swayed slightly on her feet. "We've identified the man,"

Seriously, Link thought, is she sick or something?

Zelda nodded, and sat in the chair next to her. Link stood behind them and looked at the documents Paya had been reviewing. "Who is he?" she asked.

"A new guard to the castle, Berian."

That would explain why Link hadn't recognized him.

"Yerva is being tailed currently. As far as we know she doesn't know we know about her," Paya continued, "she will be brought in soon."

"Were you able to find out anything new?" Zelda asked.

"Bana is wily," Paya started, referring to the woman they held in captivity. "She was a student alongside my father. She showed great promise until she disgraced herself. I don't know how she got into the castle, or how she has contacts in the village."

Link narrowed his eyes. Once more she skirted around the subject of just what Bana's crime was.

"We do know she is something of a leader for this group."

"How big is the group?" Zelda asked.

Paya sighed. "All I know for sure is it's larger than we assumed."

Zelda started shutting down, withdrawing further into herself.

"Is there anything that can be done?" she asked, her voice stoney. "Any way to root them out, to stop them?" in a smaller voice she asked, "How could this happen?"

Paya's eyes intensified to a knife's point. Her anger was almost tangible. Then, it was released, the effort too much to keep up. "I'm working on it. On how to root them out that is. I can't say if it will catch all of them but it should get most. Enough that the ones hidden will need to stay hidden or leave. I don't know how I allowed this to happen."

"I'm not blaming you Paya–" Zelda started, but was cut off.

"You should," Paya said, "I should've seen this. I should've done more when your parents–"

Abruptly, Zelda's posture straightened. "No," she snapped. "You couldn't have done more. I was there with you. I saw the evidence. There was nothing. We've been faced with new opportunities and we need to strike while the iron's hot. It's clear to me that you as you are are not currently fit for duty, and I hereby order you to be confined to your room for a day."

Paya made to protest, but was cut off by Zelda once more. "For your insolence of trying to speak back, that's two days." She held out a piece of paper. "Now I want you to write down a list of Sheikah and guards you know are loyal and go rest."

If Paya was anyone else, Link was sure she would've burst into tears. As it was, if he were her he'd probably wait until he got back to his room. Without another protest, Paya made the list. It was shorter than he would've hoped. Though he did notice Strawn's name was on there.

Link still didn't have many friends outside of the Zelda, Paya, and the pilots, but Stawn was definitely getting close. He hadn't seen the guard since their late night heart to heart, but Link became more determined to know if he had a chance with Reba. At the moment, he put that to the side. There were more important matters at hand.

Paya stood and bowed, leaving without another word.

The other Sheikah seemed relieved that their boss had left to get rest, and the tension in the room lightened slightly.

Zelda poured over the names and files. Eventually, Link sat next to her to try and help, though he wasn't sure he'd be much help. Reading had never come easily to him, at least this sort of reading. Analytical reading he thought he heard Zelda call it?

Still, the two of them endeavored on and eventually Zelda set her file down. "I would like to speak with Bana," she announced. The other guards were slow to grant her request, but eventually they did.

They opened the door at the one side of the room revealing a glowing cage. Inside the cage was a woman, though she lacked the nobility he'd thought she'd seen earlier. She didn't look defeated, but like someone who didn't know when to be defeated. Like someone who was mad.

She didn't stir when she heard the door open, just lounged as comfortably as she could with her arms secured behind her back.

"How did you enter the castle?" Zelda asked.

Link could see a smirk on the woman's face, and frowned. She remained silent.

Zelda was unfazed and repeated her question, "How did you enter the castle?"

"If you don't know that, you're doomed," Bana said, "but it shouldn't surprise me, the goddess has never equipped her chosen ones with enough."

"Your illusions would not have passed our lens of truth," Zelda said confidently, "So we know someone on the inside turned a blind eye. Who did it?"

"You lot are in a sorryer state than I thought," Bana cackled. "Ganon hardly needed our help, but now I'm convinced he doesn't need it at all."

Zelda sighed and crouched to be at eye level with the ex-Sheikah. "You're making this harder than it needs to be. We have Berian and Yerva, and they already told us about Aplya."

That name phased Bana. If only for a second, she froze. Link didn't recognize the name, but Zelda seemed to know what she was talking about. Link kept up his stoic facade for her sake. "Yes, we know about her. We know where she is too."

"I don't know who you're talking about," Bana bit back just a mite too quickly.

"For an exile of the Sheikah you don't lie very well." Zelda's tired state almost enhanced her speech. Like she was disappointed in Bana. "and before you accuse me of lying, I'll have you know my dreams hardly lead me wrong. Your daughter is 20 miles south of here, hiding with your Gerudo cousin."

Bana didn't say anything for a long time. Finally she looked up, her age showing on her face. "Why are you telling me this? Are you threatening her?"

"I'm not threatening her, I'm telling you what I know. I'm also telling you what I'm going to find out. I'm going to find out how you entered the castle. I'm going to find out who has betrayed me, and I'm going to reseal Ganon."

Bana didn't have a response.

"And you're going to sit in this cell and think about how you've failed your daughter."

Zelda turned around and motioned to leave. Link followed her out of the room, glancing back to see Bana staring after them. Their eyes met for a moment and the brief sense of loss that the woman had held was gone, replaced by sharp anger. Link left, the door shut behind them and locked.

The minute they were out of the room, Zelda's shoulder relaxed and she deflated slightly. "I think I should retire as well," she said. All agreed, and Kahnya, one of the female guards from Paya's list, accompanied her. Link also needed to sleep, though his mind still was reeling and he had many questions for Zelda. Still, she was too exhausted, physically and mentally for him to press anything at this time, so he let her go without much more than a, "Good night."

He also left the prison shortly after her, wanting to check on guard schedules first. After that, he returned to the castle proper, but couldn't find it in him to head back to his room. Wandering the castle past midnight wasn't a new activity for him, but it never failed to fill him with a sense of unease. Like the ghosts were more likely to come out. Link had yet to actually see a ghost in the castle.

His feet brought him to the stables and he remembered the little girl who claimed she'd be beaten if he didn't help her. He furrowed his brows. Was he remembering that right? That was odd... Considering it all, he wasn't surprised he'd forgotten that, but he should probably track down that child.

What had been her name? Agh, he couldn't remember.

She'd been strange though, something off…

Then he remembered Zelda's account. One of them had been late because– because she'd been stalling the hero. He tried to think about what he knew about the disguises the Sheikah could do. Not much. He'd tell her about that in the morning if Yerva wasn't caught.

Still dead tired and yet nowhere near sleeping, Link decided to go to the cathedral and pray. Perhaps the goddesses would lend some peace to his weary mind. Though with his luck he'd probably be attacked by assassins or something.

…

Zelda found an amusing sight infront of her as she knelt to say her morning prayers. A certain Hero was slumped over in front of the goddess statue. She had been alarmed at first, but his quiet snores informed her that he was alright. Kahnya stood behind her, and Zelda couldn't help but help him lie down more comfortably.

Thank you for allowing him rest, she prayed to Hylia.

The statue seemed to smile at her, and absent mindedly she stroked Link's hair. Eventually it was time to move on with the day, and Zelda felt reluctant to move. She felt at peace, which was rare these days.

She didn't need to be conflicted for long, as a bell rang, signalling the changing of the hours, and Link awoke with a start.

His eyes wide and disoriented, he grabbed her wrist on instinct, realizing in the next second who it belonged to. He smiled softly, and then panicked again.

"What are you do–" he started before he took in the surroundings. "What am I doing here?"

"I think you fell asleep while praying."

That must've lined up with what he believed happened, as he sat up and shook out his hair. "I was trying to meditate."

"Relaxation is key to that," she said.

Priests and priestesses were about to start their duties, and she needed to finish up her prayers. Link stood and yawned, stretching his back. "Well, good morning Princess, I'll be on my way. Will you need me for anything?"

"You should join me for lunch," she said, almost shocking herself. Still, she did want to see him for lunch, and just yesterday she'd disagreed with him about putting up a more professional appearance. "Loose ends were tied up after we left, we should talk more about how to move forward."

He nodded and left.

Zelda went about finishing her tasks that had been thrown up into the air after her kidnapping. It was sort of frightening how quickly she'd bounced back from the events of yesterday, but considering her magic level today she would consider it a good thing. She was getting stronger.

Before lunch, a report arrived that Yerva had been killed while attempting to escape. Zelda didn't know how to feel, so she didn't and poured more effort into work. At least there were no more known traitors in their ranks. There were no new leads either.

Soon enough lunch came, and she dined in her office. Link showed up a little early than planned, but she didn't mine. Once food arrived, they ate in companionable silence before she said, "Yerva was killed about an hour ago."

He paused his chewing for a moment before slowly starting again and swallowing. "I'm sorry," he said, his face stoic so she couldn't tell his true feelings on the matter.

"Don't be," she said, "what's done is done. Paya will be back on duty soon and she can take over the investigation. We should focus on what you spoke of."

"What I spoke of?"

"Taking the fight to Ganon," she said, "retrieving the master sword."

"Right, that," he said. "So you would help me with that?"

"I think it's a wise move. We'll only open ourselves to more attacks if we keep waiting passively. Though, I do think we should ask the pilots what they think we should do."

"You make a good point. I hadn't thought about that. I know that Amphritus and Kadli are ready, or at least believe themselves to be ready. Darlas and Reba… I couldn't get as obvious a read on them."

"Both have the skill," Zelda said, "It's more a matter of confidence."

"We should call an emergency meeting. Kadli will already be on her way, if everyone could get here within the month…"

Zelda smiled tiredly. "I'll draft a message."

"Thank you." Link finished eating and sat for a moment as if wrestling with himself.

"Sooo," Link started, uncharacteristically sounding like he was scheming. "This is a bit of a lighter topic… but I was just curious…"

"Spit it out," she commanded. Despite disagreeing that they should keep a distance, she didn't want to be flustered at the moment. He was good at flustering her. He was blushing slightly, but she couldn't tell where he was going.

"What's Reba's type?"

"Reba's type?" she repeated.

"Yeah, like, I know she liked your brother, but… what did she like about him and what would she want from a guy?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I sort of… well on your birthday I started talking with this Sheikah guard who has a big crush on Reba, and he seems like a real decent guy. I know Reba would like to meet someone in the future at least, but I don't really know her well enough to know who she'd like to meet."

"Which guard?"

"His name is Stawn."

"Strawn?"

"You know him?"

She shook her head. "The name sounds familiar, but I couldn't say… is he around our age?"

"I would figure. I saw he was someone that Paya felt is loyal, and I think that's what brought it back to my mind."

Zelda thought about it. Reba did deserve a nice guy, someone who loved her as much as she loved him. Zelda had never wanted to hear about Reba's crush on her brother. Who would? It was weird to think others viewed him like that even if it was expected. But still, even now she couldn't say why exactly Reba had fallen so hard and if the crown prince.

Zelda thought back to various crushes of the week. She was pretty sure her and Reba had very different tastes in men, as Reba's crushes always seemed to be the more sensitive, poem writing type, while hers were more towards heroic deeds and feats of strength. Not to say that Reba didn't appreciate muscles, but she supposed to the Gerudo, all Hylians were on the slight side.

"Does he write poetry?" she asked, "or sing?"

Her non-denial of the question shocked Link, who sputtered for a moment. "I– I don't know. I could find out?"

"And dances, Reba loves to dance. If he wants to be with her he'd have to know, or be willing to learn practically every dance there is."

"I know he admires her dancing," Link said.

"Link, everyone admires her dancing. You'd have to be blind not to."

He smiled. "True enough."

"Though it sounds like you need to find out more about him for me to make a fair assessment," she said.

"Probably…" he siad. He then gained a look in his eye that warned of him saying something daring. "Say, princess, do you… do you like poetry?"

At that Zelda couldn't help but smile. "And why do you ask?"

His ears turned pink and he averted his eyes. "Just curious."

"Just curious?"

He nodded.

"I suppose I would be curious what you could come up with."

Catching the under current of her words, he said, "So I take it your and Reba's tastes differ?"

"Hero, you're quite bold."

He didn't even try to deny it. "With an end in sight, I'd like to put myself in as good a light as I can."

He was so radiant in that moment that she forgot about the pain of betrayal and the looming danger. A lively flush to match his lively hair. He didn't need to worry about appearing better to her. He'd already won much of her favor, if not her heart. It was too soon to know if she could love properly, but she would love him to the best of her ability.