It took a week for Zelda to wake up. Despite multiple checkups from Link (including an occasion where he had carefully slipped a hand in front of her nose, just to make certain that she was breathing), the princess had stayed sound asleep for exactly 7 days.

Link hadn't done much in that time; although, he had developed some sort of a routine: he would wake up, apologize and pay an exuberant amount of rupees to the man behind the desk for another stay, eat whatever was being served, bathe in the Hylia River, forage for various materials… until the sun began to set, and he'd return to the stable to once again check on Zelda.

After the first couple of days, Link actually managed to rest well himself. He had switched to a regular bed in order to save money, considering how much he was paying for their extended stay already. Somehow he slept better on the stiffer mattress. The rest, along with his new little routine, provided some amount of comfort, even if he was getting antsy staying at the stable for such a prolonged period. He was constantly on his toes, convinced that he ought to be doing something other than wasting his time, waiting for Zelda to wake up. But then again, part of him enjoyed it. There wasn't anyone depending on him, not really. Certainly he was always ready and willing to help, but now there wasn't the constant dread of time running out.

The day Zelda awoke, Link was already out by the crack of dawn. Very rarely did he allow himself the privilege of sleeping in, and this was no exception. He was knee deep in the very edge of the Hylia River, staring pointedly at a Hyrule Bass, when the damn near thundering voice of the princess caused him to drop his Zora Spear and jump to attention.

"Link," Zelda had her hands folded in front of her. The mannerisms of a true royal, even after 100 years. Why had he expected any different? "What are you doing?" her eyes traced over his form, from his bare foot to his eyes once more. There wasn't any sort of malice in her tone, but he quickly felt a pang of embarassment that a princess was watching him. It was a feeling he had gotten occasionally during his journeys. When he had worn the Vai Gerudo clothing (or lack thereof), he had grown red quite a number of times as he had conceptualized that some goddess-like princess was looking down upon him.

"Fishing," he replied quietly, motioning with his head to the river. He quickly snatched up his spear, as if that would justify what he was doing.

Zelda pursed her lips for a moment, and Link nearly flinched. She thought him a bumbling fool, didn't she? It was essential that he learn to project clearly, less more embarrassing moments such as-

"All three types of bass native to Hyrule can be found in the Hylia River."

Link blinked. It took him a few moments to process what she was saying at all.

"The Hyrule, Staminoka, and the Hearty," she listed, staring inquisitively at the river itself. "When cooked, each has its own unique ability- except the Hyrule of course, although when paired with one of the others, it may be able to amplify the effects. Certainly something we ought to look into. long distance traveling would be made much easier, especially for the Gerudo with the distance they often cover, if we could increase our knowledge on the subject." Zelda nodded to herself, as if in a world of her own. Link only stood, holding back a shiver from the cool water. He knew what she was talking about, for once. Cooking the various types of fish found around Hyrule was common for him. Mastering his culinary abilities was how he had survived this long, frankly. Part of him wanted to tell her this. Part of him wanted to go into great detail about all of his tips and tricks for getting the best quality meal with the resources you had. But only part of him wasn't enough to pry his lips open.

"Anyways," Zelda cleared her throat and clapped her hands together. A pleasant smile spread across her face as she once again meet Link's eyes. "We ought to get going. I'm sure impa is awaiting us. I have no doubt about it. She made me promise to see her first thing after our victory." her smile faltered. "100 years ago… I wonder if she-? She must have aged quite a bit."

A pang of guilty rang through Link's body yet again. It wasn't as though he had decided to stay asleep for that long- or to sleep at all. He didn't remember very much at all, but from the last memory he had relived, he knew that he had accepted his death. He had protected the princess to his final breath; that was honorable, wasn't it? But no… no, he had been snatched from death's embrace and made to recover for 100 years while the princess he was supposed to protect fought in his place. there was a quality there that he loathed. He had succeeded, so why did her standing there make him feel like he hadn't? What did he want, even? For her to grovel at his feet? Certainly not. For her to have died? No, that was the last thing he would have wanted. But still, Link felt miserable. Truly, truly miserable as he watched the princess's face grow sad with the idea that her old friend would have aged.

"But still, we ought to go. It's a 8 hour journey, isn't it?" Zelda once again seemed to be coercing words out of Link. He wasn't used to so much discussion, even if he had only spoken a few words so far. it was exhausting.

"4 hours, Princess." The air chilled his wet legs as he stepped out of the stream. It wasn't like he had necessarily needed the fish, anyways (even if he had, it wasn't like he was going to let royalty wait around for him to catch a few bass). He moved with her towards the stable to retrieve his horse. "2 if we ride- well, it'd be unsafe, nevermind." A full speed gallop was entirely inappropriate given the situation.

"You know, I'm not made of glass," Zelda huffed in return; she approached the stable quicker than before, leaving Link a few paces behind her. "I'm here to take out Dahlia, please. Registered under the name 'Link'." Her voice seemed even more thundering than before, and the man at the counter surely noticed, as he nodded his head quickly and set to work finding the paperwork immediately.

Link let out a sigh as he watched Zelda. there she was, standing with every ounce of power that she surely had. He was a Hero, the Hero… but she was Zelda. A princess, a leader, born into a palace of gold and blessed by Hylia herself. strong, and brave, and in possession of the power that sealed all darkness. before, he was her knight. He was to follow her all over Hyrule and protect her. But now… she was almost certainly more than capable of protecting herself from any threat in Hyrule or beyond. So what was he any good for?

Dahlia didn't seem pleased to be woken up so early in the morning. The stubborn horse preferred to ride in the evening, But like Link, she didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

Link's first instinct was to help Zelda up onto Dahlia's back, but just as soon as that instinct had come to mind, Zelda had already hoisted herself up and onto the back of the saddle.

"Would you prefer if I walked, Princess?" It would certainly take a few extra hours, but if she wanted the horse to herself, who was he to question it?

"No, no that wouldn't do- do you have another horse you could ride?" she responded, glancing over at the man behind the counter, who once again began to dig through paperwork. Link, once again, felt incredibly stupid for not thinking of that himself. It seemed like his mind was constantly short-circuiting around her; when he needed to be able to think the most, he was unable. It was almost like her power, her intellect, drained him of his own. But that wasn't her fault, of course. It was Link's inability to process who she was. Who he was, even. He was positive that she still saw him as whoever he might have been 100 years ago. Some gallant knight who saved her from the yiga and never faltered when strings of venomous sentences poured out of her mouth and flooded over him. He had held her when she cried, defended her to his last breath, and had come back 100 years later to save her. Certainly that's who she pictured when she saw him, so why did he feel like such a fraud? Like he was just some farmers boy plucked out of crowd and given the title of "hero" for no reason other than luck?

By the time he had pulled himself out of his thoughts, Violet, his timid, frightly grey spotted horse was being escorted out to the pair. Zelda smiled at him, confusing him once again. maybe he just hadn't yet mastered the art of understanding women.

"That worked out nicely, didn't it?" she chirped as he readjusted his quiver of arrows and hoisted himself up and onto the horse's back. "More room for the both of us, and we should be able to make it to Kakariko village by lunchtime… it's so strange to think, that well, I don't know..." her voice faltered as the horses began a healthy trot down the dirt path. "I'll have to speak with Impa. I had 100 years to think, and here I am, utterly confused as to what happens now. you know?" Link did understand the sentiment, but he neglected to give her any real response. "I think it'll be most important to check in with each of the different regions. I'm sure they've already noticed, even if it's only been a day…"

"A week, princess."

Zelda's eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"it's been a week, princess. since Calamity Ganon fell. you were in a deep slumber." Link's hands toyed with Violet's bridal.

"Oh," Zelda replied. She ran a finger through her hair, and Link heard an audible sigh. Perhaps he should have just let her believe it hadn't been so long. He didn't see why it particularly mattered; it made sense. She ought to be exhausted after fighting for 100 years alone, but it looked like Zelda was taking it as a moral failing on her part. "Well…" she shook her head, and a swift air of confidence seemed to enter her lungs. "No matter. I want Impa's advice, of course, but I expect to be off to Zora's Domain as soon as possible. I'm positive that they'll be eager to re-establish the royal family and a line of communication as soon as possible as well. After that, Goron City, Rito Village, and then Gerudo Town… it will probably take just over a month, but in the meantime, hopefully I can try and reestablish Hyrule Castle as a base of operations, although I'm not certain how…" Zelda continued to speak, although it felt as if he was merely eavesdropping on a conversation that she was having with herself. In truth, the thought of having to rebuild a kingdom seemed overwhelming to him. If it was something he could do alone that'd be different, but this… this was leadership. Something Zelda was clearly much more proficient at. He wondered briefly if he had been better at that kind of thing before.

Link didn't speak another word during the remainder of their ride.