Today is the day! Zelda sprang out of bed like a Hot-Footed frog. She was a ball of nervous energy, knowing this day was when she would meet up with Link. The stable was strangely quiet for it being so busy overnight.

She quickly ate one of Nyla's muffins for breakfast and ran up to the counter. A little embarrassed, she asked the owner for his permission to use their shower, and to her relief he obliged, and directed her downstairs to the basement home that sat underground below the stable.

Several minutes later she dried herself off and spread one of the fragrant essential oils she had made all over her body, creating a pleasant lingering floral aroma she hoped Link would like. The various oils and soaps she made while at Riverside Stable were put to good use, and she sighed with relief at being able to get a proper shower before meeting up with Link.

After getting dressed in her best pair of freshly washed and dried travel clothes, she emerged from the owner's home downstairs and sat on her bed and waited. She quickly got bored and decided instead to make some stamina-enhancing elixirs. She was running out of Endura carrots for Toffa, and not only would the energizing medicine come in handy for him, it would be useful for herself and Link as well.

She ruffled through her bag and let out a disappointed sigh when she realized she only had a few Stamella shrooms left. She walked outside to the cooking pot, creating one elixir with two green mushrooms and a Lizalfos tail and another elixir with the last mushroom and Bokoblin guts. She soon ventured out with Toffa to search for more Stamella shrooms rather than sitting around driving herself crazy waiting for Link to show up. She had already done enough of that over the last few days.

With her search successful and with one of the bag's pockets full of Stamella shrooms, she decided to head back to the stable. She was walking at Toffa's side when the horse suddenly let out a quiet, nervous whinny.

"What's the matter, boy?" Her horse was staring with his ears flattened backward at a large patch of trees to their right, and she suddenly heard the distant sound of someone shouting, and then repeated thumps with squeals that sounded suspiciously like Bokoblins. She and Toffa crept closer to the noise, and she could see someone beating a black Bokoblin over the head. Are they using some sort of spoon? What in the name of Hylia would compel someone to do that? She stifled a giggle and watched as the person put it away, then pulled out a bow and arrows. They seemed to be having trouble hitting the moving targets. Seemingly giving up on the arrows, the person switched back to what she could now see was a soup ladle.

Letting out a quiet giggle at their intriguing choice of weapon, she decided to help the poor person. She would have helped sooner, but the person seemed to have a shield and was pretty good with defense, and she couldn't stop watching them try to battle with the soup ladle, finding herself unable to pull her eyes away, giggling. She giggled so much that she soon couldn't control her laughter. Being clobbered with a soup ladle was only serving to anger the Bokoblins more as they stomped on the ground and threw a fit whenever the utensil made contact with their oversized heads. She snapped out of it when one of the Bokoblins used a large bat to hit the person on the head, and they were thrown to the ground.

She quickly mounted Toffa as the person sprang to their feet again. She pulled out an ice arrow and took aim at the Bokoblin that was closest to them as Toffa raced forward, but instead of letting it go she let out a loud gasp just after the person, a man, whipped himself around to face her. He stared wide-eyed as the young woman on a horse rushed at him, then he was instantly on the ground again at the hands of the black Bokoblin holding the bat.

Zelda couldn't believe her eyes. It is a man, he has a Sheikah slate on his hip, and it's Link!

Her thoughts raced and her heart pounded out of her chest as Toffa instinctively began to charge at the large group of Bokoblins. He sat up again, watching her in awe.

Horse and rider crashed into the forest like lightning. She burnt the Bokoblins one by one to a crisp with fire arrows as she rode, taking special care not to hit Link. Not a single arrow missed its target.

She yanked on the reins and Toffa let out a loud whinny as she suddenly slowed him, and they trotted closer toward where Link was now sitting up, still watching her with wide eyes. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed another Bokoblin she hadn't seen before rushing for them. Link was sitting up, oblivious to the Bokoblin, and he was rubbing his head and still staring at her. Zelda quickly grabbed hold of her Royal Guard sword and jumped off of Toffa and over Link as he followed her with his shocked gaze, landing squarely on top of the Bokoblin that was preparing to attack Link again. With one swing of her sword as she leapt off her horse, the Bokoblin vanished behind him with a loud squeal. The forest was silent once again, save for the pained groans coming from Link as he continued rubbing the back of his head.

He suddenly called to her, and her heart nearly stopped as she whipped her head around to face him.

"Where in all of Hyrule did you find that weapon?" He was staring at her Royal Guard Sword.
Her heart skipped a beat, both at the sound of his voice and what he said. Oh no. Royal Guard Swords are only found in the castle. "Uhh…I just found it and picked it up." It wasn't technically a lie. He didn't need to know it was from a defeated Moblin in Hyrule Castle.

Link was satisfied with her answer since that was how he had found most of his weapons. "Lucky! Wish I could find one like that!" he exclaimed.

Zelda quickly put the sword away in its sheath over her back before he could ask any more questions. Suddenly, remembering the pain he was still in, she plucked a tube of Pain Balm out of her bag.

"Oh thanks, I actually have a tube..." Link started to say.

"No it's okay, allow me." Without thinking, she squeezed out some of the medicine onto her hand and began gently rubbing it into his scalp on the back of his head where he had been hit.

Wow. She has no concept of a personal bubble. Link felt slightly uncomfortable at first, but as the relief washed over him from the quick-acting medicine, he decided he didn't care. "Thanks," he said softly. He glanced up at her facing away from him while she shoved the tube of balm back into her bag, and his eyes drifted toward her sword again. Who is this person?

Link called to her again. "Hey! That last move with your sword was incredible with you jumping off your horse like that! How did you learn to do that? And where did you learn to use a bow and arrows like you just did? You didn't miss a single shot, and you were on a fast horse!" He was staring at her wide-eyed again, mouth agape.

Her stomach was in knots. She knew exactly where she learned it, and it was from him. Oh, those archery lessons…No! I must not go there! She forced her mind back to the present and couldn't keep a smile from forming on her face as the image of him battling the Bokoblins with the soup ladle entered her mind.

Zelda dodged his question. "Speaking of weapons…" She stifled her giggles and was trying hard not to burst out laughing. "...why on earth…" She was having trouble getting her words out. "...did you try to battle those Bokoblins…" She had to take a deep breath. "...with a soup ladle?" She held the back of her hand over her mouth to cover the laugh that was nearly about to break out of the confines of her lips.

Link scowled. "I was cooking when a whole bunch of them attacked me at once, and all of my other weapons broke. It was just what I had."

"I see. Wait, you can cook? I wish I could do that." She stifled another giggle at the humor of him beating the Bokoblin over the head with a cooking utensil. She would never forget that one: Her sworn knight, fighting evil with a soup ladle! She couldn't help herself anymore as loud bursts of laughter escaped her uncontrollably.

"I don't see why that's funny. That's all I had," he said rather defensively. He liked the sound of her laughter, but not so much when it was directed at him.

She saw his scowl and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh at you. I think we started off on the wrong foot. My name is Ari." She extended a hand down toward Link who was still sitting on the ground. She smiled down kindly at him.

His eyes softened as he looked up at her. "I'm Link. Thanks for saving me, Ari. It's crazy out here." He clasped her hand, bringing it to his lips and gently kissing the back of it as he looked up at her standing over him. He noticed the sweet floral scent of the essential oil on her hand as he lifted it. Wow, she smells good.

Zelda was taken aback by the sudden contact of his hand and lips against her skin. It felt electric. Oh by Hylia, the feeling of his touch after all these years!

Link noticed her jump slightly when he touched his hand to hers and again when he kissed it, and he saw that she was suddenly redder than the apples he had eaten a few minutes ago.

"Oh, is that not accepted now? Doesn't a man kiss a lady's hand when they meet?"

She stammered, "N-no, I mean, y-yes, it's still a thing. Sorry. I just...haven't…had anyone act so formal toward me for…a very long time. It's…nice to meet you, Link."

She was still bright red, and he liked how she seemed to struggle for words. Wow, she's cute.

She paused to take a quiet, deep breath, then broke the awkward silence. "Hey, um, Link, would you like to join me for a little while? The Dueling Peaks Stable is just across this river. I've been staying there for the past few nights and their accommodations are okay, for a stable. You look like you could use a rest."

His heart leapt at her mention of Dueling Peaks Stable, since that was where he was headed. "Sure. Why not?" He was intrigued by this remarkable young woman who so suddenly rushed into his life, quite literally. Zelda led Toffa back to the stable, walking beside him, with Link on the other side of her. She reached around into the side pocket of the bag Toffa was now carrying and pulled out a tube of Bruise Balm. She turned and handed it to him. "This should help with the bruising. I just put something on it to stop the pain before."

He read the label that said "Bruise Balm."

"Oh, where did you get this? I actually just ran out of some. Thanks!" He wondered silently if she had also met the old-man-who-was-really-the-king's-spirit.

"I made it," Zelda replied slowly, wondering where in Hyrule he would have found any. Her thoughts were jolted away by his sudden loudness.

"YOU made this? Did you make the pain one, too?" Link was shocked.

"Yes, I love to research and create elixirs and balms. I'm not much of a cook, but I can make pretty much any medicine you might need while you're out here in the wilderness."

"That's amazing! I can tell you from experience, this stuff really works!" He was waving the tube around excitedly.

"Oh, um, thanks." She was trying not to blush. Wow, he's so much more talkative and animated than he used to be. I like it.

They approached the stable, and Zelda boarded Toffa once again at the barn.

"So, what's your story?" Link asked her curiously as they sat down next to each other at an empty table inside.

Thankfully, she had been thinking of one, and it wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth. "I'm just a humble traveler with a passion for medicine. I go where the wind takes me, and today it led me here…luckily for you." She smiled kindly at him, and he snorted and grinned slightly at the emphasis of her words.

Zelda continued. "My research has taken me all across Hyrule. In fact, I was out there foraging for ingredients I needed to make more elixirs when I stumbled upon you getting your butt kicked."

She playfully poked him in the shoulder and grinned, and Link couldn't hide a bigger smile that time. "How about you? What's your story, Link?" Zelda asked, knowing full well what his whole story was better than he did.

"Well…" he began. He took a deep breath and lowered his voice.

"...I seem to be on some sort of…quest. If I told you everything you'd never believe me. Basically, I woke up after a long slumber…a really long slumber…and I lost my memory and I don't have much of it back yet. I was told by…" (He almost said, "...King Rhoam's spirit who disguised himself as an old man," but he thought better of it. He didn't want her to think he was totally crazy.)

"I was told by some lonely but nice old guy that I am a knight. He gave me a tube of that Bruise Balm and a Baked Apple, and then later on he gave me a paraglider…"

Zelda stopped listening. Did he just say an old guy gave him a tube of BRUISE BALM and a BAKED APPLE? No, it couldn't be. That's impossible.

Link was still talking. "…and he told me to head toward the Dueling Peaks and make my way north to Kakariko Village. I'm supposed to meet with the village elder there. I think he said her name is…Ida? No. Impa, I believe. I guess she's supposed to help me figure out what to do next." He looked at her shyly, wondering if she thought he completely lost his acorns.

Zelda nearly jumped out of her skin at the name of one of her best friends from a century ago. Impa is still alive? I need to see her!

"Are you okay?" Link noticed her obvious excitement at his mention of Impa.

"I-I'm fine, thank you. It's just that I…was actually heading there to meet with Impa myself. She knows a lot about medicine too, and I have some questions for her."

"Oh!" Link exclaimed, a little louder than he meant to. He was secretly overjoyed at the prospect of them traveling together. She's great with healing medicines, and I am definitely not. She says she can't cook, so maybe I could help her. She's kind of cute. No, really cute. He tried to erase that last thought from his mind before he spoke again. "Would you like to join me? It would be nice to have some company out here. It gets pretty lonely when you're by yourself."

She decided to play with him a little and raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you flirting with me?" Now it was his turn to blush, and she put a hand on his knee. "I'm just joking, Link. I would be honored to travel with you." His heart leapt and he felt his own Summerwing butterflies dance in the pit of his stomach.

She continued. "Or shall I call you 'Sir Link'? You know, since you're a knight and all?"

He couldn't tell if she was teasing him or not, and Zelda could see it on his face. "Nah, I believe you," she said quickly. "You seem like the knightly type…Sir Link." She grinned at him. He always loved it when I called him that.

He blushed, and Zelda remembered she needed to behave. She glanced down at his hip where the Sheikah slate was resting.

"What is that?" she asked convincingly. Of course, she already knew what it was because it used to be hers.

"Oh, that's a Sheikah slate. Wanna see it?" He had been dying to show someone this fascinating little rectangular device but had nobody to share his excitement with until now.

He pushed the object in front of her, allowing her to examine it. Zelda's eyes lit up. "Really? You'll let me touch it?"

"Of course, just please be careful with it." He watched her scroll through the various screens as if she had done it before. "You sure seem to know what you're doing with that. Have you used one?" he asked.

"Y—no, I haven't, but I've read a lot about them. I read a lot," she said rather lamely, but he didn't press her. Zelda's face lit up. "Whoa! What is this 'Runes' section?" She went through the list. "Magnesis, stasis, cryo-nis…REMOTE BOMBS?" Her voice was loud inside the busy but relatively quiet stable, which suddenly grew even quieter. Before Link could stop her, she tapped the screen and a small, bright blue square bomb materialized in front of them on the table.

"No! Don't!" Link shouted. "Put that away!"

The words "Detonate" and "Cancel" appeared on the screen, and she quickly pushed the "Cancel" button sheepishly.

"Ari!" Link whispered loudly, taking the slate back. His voice was brought down to a softer whisper. "Those are weapons! The entire countryside doesn't need to know, and I'd prefer it if we didn't blow up the whole stable!" The people around them were staring. Zelda gave them a bashful smile and a wave as Link put his hand over his face and sighed.

Zelda was slightly jealous. A hundred years ago her Sheikah slate didn't have features like weapons. At that time it only had the map with the pins, the scope, a camera which seemed to be gone, and a now-missing compendium and photo album. She was disappointed over the loss of all of her photos; she had hoped to see them again. She noticed Link staring at her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to shout or draw attention. It's just…so exciting!"

Link softened and smiled again. "I know! Wait until you see this." He reached around to one of the weapons in his sling he picked up earlier from the Bokoblins. He set it on the table in front of them and held the Sheikah slate close to it. As he tapped the screen, to her amazement the weapon dissolved into thin air. He then showed her the screen with the inventory and how it was placed into one of the empty inventory boxes below, with its name and picture below it. It read "Boko Bat." Her eyes widened, and she let out a gasp.

"Go ahead," he instructed, "tap on it and push 'Equip.'" Zelda tapped the word and the bat materialized back into the sling on his back again.

"What! No way!" She continued examining it, fascinated. "It even has categories!" She scrolled through the "Materials"section that was full of various items, including monster parts, cooking ingredients, and cooked foods.

"That would sure come in handy," she said softly as she gazed toward her bulky travel bag. She was in awe of how far Sheikah technology had come in a hundred years. Does that mean some of my friends are still alive? If Impa is still around, maybe that means Purah…

"It's pretty great. I've never seen anything like it," said Link.

Yes, you have, but it wasn't nearly as amazing back then. I wonder if it can still teleport people.

Her thoughts were racing. "This is incredible, Link. Wait a minute…" She remembered the Runes section. "...if you have weapons on here, why didn't you fight those Bokos back there with, I don't know, remote bombs instead of a soup ladle?" She tried unsuccessfully to stifle a giggle again as he paused for a moment, then suddenly laughed hard at himself.

"I guess I didn't think of that," he said, still laughing while he moved the Sheikah slate back onto his hip. She grinned at him, and he tried not to smile back at her.

"Hey, Ari. Why was the chuchu mean to its friend?"

Zelda stared at him in confusion for a minute until she realized he was trying to tell her a joke. Whoa, that's a first. She tried not to smile and said, "I don't know, Link. Why?"

"Because it was a little jelly!"

Zelda laughed so hard she snorted. Oh, Goddess, he tells jokes! "Where on earth did you hear that, Link? Did you make that up yourself?"

"No," he said, grinning, "a Korok told me." He instantly realized he shouldn't have said that. Now she's really going to think I'm a Chickaloo Tree Nut, but I guess it's out there now. "Have… you ever seen a Korok?"

She had. The Great Deku tree was their guardian in the Korok Forest, where she had placed his Sword back into its pedestal. Most people couldn't see them, but she could. It warmed her heart that he could, too.

"Yes I have. A long time ago." They laughed together about the whimsical forest spirits while he relayed some of the stories about the ones he had found.

Link and Zelda talked for hours like old friends without realizing how long they had been sitting at the table. Link suddenly noticed it was dark outside. "Ari, I don't know how to say this, but I just remembered I don't have any rupees. I don't think I can afford to stay in the inn tonight. I might have to camp outside."

"Nonsense. I've got you covered." She brought out a pile of brightly colored rupees and held them out to him as he stared wide-eyed at the large amount of gems inside her bag.

"Please, take it. It's only 40 rupees for a soft bed. It's on me. And here's a few extra so you're not completely broke." She pushed the generous handful of glistening gem-like currency over to him.

"Are you serious?" he asked. Who is this woman?

"Absolutely. Don't you worry about a thing, Link."

He wanted to repay her kindness, and he thought of something. "Are you hungry, Ari?"

"Um, yes, actually. I know I mentioned earlier I'm not a very good cook, and I haven't had a decent meal for a while. This stable only has cold sandwiches for meals, which is fine, but I've been here for a few days."

"Perfect," he thought. "Well, Ari, it just so happens that I have discovered a hidden talent. Or maybe it was a talent I had before; I don't know. I realized I love to cook, and I've been creating all sorts of recipes. I'd love to make you some dinner. Consider it a thank you for the rupees."

"Thanks, Link! I'd love that."

They got up from the table, and to her delight Link led her by the hand to the lit cooking pot outside.

She watched him closely as he cooked, describing each ingredient and where he acquired them. It contained Hyrule Bass that he caught while swimming in the river, some Courser Bee honey he collected earlier "with the stings to prove it," and some Hylian shrooms he found in the forest. He bought some goat butter from a traveling merchant with his last rupees and added a little of it to the pot, sauteeing the mushrooms perfectly. He added half a bunch of Hylian herbs to the mix near the end. Once it was plated, he smashed a small chunk of rock salt with the Boko Bat and added a few pinches to everything on the plates. She grinned when he told her he obtained the salt by blowing up some ore on the side of a cliff face with a remote bomb.

Zelda couldn't believe her ears and what she was seeing. Link was a natural at cooking!

Remembering the stings he mentioned, she asked, "Where did you get stung? I could put some medicine on it for you."

"Uh…you don't want to know where, and…that won't be necessary," he said, clearly embarrassed, and she giggled. He was glad it was dark outside and she couldn't see the color of his face. The image of this cute woman putting medicine on his sore backside entered his mind, but he quickly shoved it away.

Her stomach growled hungrily at the plate in front of her. "Link, this looks and smells amazing! Where did you learn to cook like that?"

"I have no idea." They both laughed.

As soon as they finished every last crumb of the Glazed Fish and Mushroom Stir Fry, Zelda could hardly move. It was the best thing she had ever tasted, even better than the meals that were cooked for her at Hyrule Castle.

"You're an amazing cook, Link. Please, would you teach me?"

"I would love to." I thought she'd never ask. His stomach fluttered, realizing she not only wanted to learn from him, but she wanted to spend enough time with him to learn.

"Hey, it might be a good idea for you to get yourself a horse tomorrow before we leave. It will make our journey to Kakariko Village a lot faster and easier."

His eyes widened. He had no idea how to tame a horse.

Zelda saw the trepidation on his face. "Don't worry, I can help!"

Is there anything this woman can't do? His thoughts drifted to her, and he couldn't get the last several hours out of his mind as they walked back inside the stable. As much as they both wanted to stay awake talking all night, they needed their rest if they were heading to Kakariko Village tomorrow. After paying for Link's stay, they both went to their separate sleeping areas and fell asleep, with Zelda sleeping better than she had in over a hundred years.