Zelda found herself consumed in a place of darkness. She wasn't aware of how long she had been in this strange place. She felt trapped, and alone. And then a light source appeared, a blinding one. She adjusted her eyes to the brightness and gazed at a lone woman. She could just tell that this woman was not of this world. Her beauty made Zelda wonder whether this woman was a fairy or a goddess. She even dared to wonder if this was the goddess Hylia, but such a thing was impossible. Her lips were moving, Zelda strained to hear the words, her words seemed urgent, the woman had a pained expression on her face, but no matter how hard Zelda tried to listen, no sound entered her ears. She wondered if she couldn't hear because she did not yet awaken her powers.. perhaps these were the voices from the Sacred Realm that her grandmother once heard, but she couldn't hear anything. Then, she did start to hear. "Zelda.." It wasn't coming from the woman, it was distant. "Zelda.." It was stronger now. "Zelda!" Her eyes snapped open, she was shaking. Was that all really just a dream? A manifestation of her fears? She could not tell yet. "Zelda, are you okay?!" She looked up at Link, he looked fearful. "Yes, Link. Why are you looking at me like that?" Her voice was shaky, she didn't realise that she was recovering from a state of shock. "You- you were shaking, and you weren't breathing and.. and.." She gazed up at him. "And?" She prompted, watching as he reached for her hand, it was glowing a very pale yellow, but the energy was fleeting. She stared down at it, before attempting to rekindle it. "Zelda, what happened?" He asked, his tone firm and worried. "I had a dream, I saw this woman haloed by a blinding light. She was speaking, her lips moving urgently, yet I could not hear her.." She looked back at her now pale hand. "Perhaps Hylia was trying to communicate with me.. but I could not hear her because I have not yet succeeded in awakening this cursed power." She sighed shakily before sitting up and embracing Link, finding comfort in his arms. "What is wrong with me?.." She whispered softly before everything faded away again, and she once again fell asleep. She could only just about feel her head being laid down against the pillow before she lost consciousness again.
The next morning, Zelda and Link found themselves in the library with the other Champions. The library was typically empty in the mornings, it didn't usually open that early, but residents of the castle had constant access to all of it's books. Zelda was sitting against Link, his arms were around her. The Champions had seemed to have accepted them, for which Zelda was grateful. "I still don't get it, you prevent all males from entering because the last male to rule you all was a mad tyrant?" Zelda glanced at Revali who had spoken. Urbosa sighed before beginning to explain. "It is a sacred tradition passed down from leader to leader. Ever since the age of Ganondorf, we have sworn to prevent males from entering the Town, yet we cannot entirely confirm any of these as truth. It is said that one male is born to the Gerudo once every century unless the previous male is still alive. But no Vais have given birth to a male in recorded history, and the chances that the final male survived until now is certainly impossible, even with the Sheikah Technology." Zelda nodded that, deciding to shed light on the Sheikah. "The most a person can be preserved for is 50 years thanks to the Shrine of Resurrection." She glanced at them all, waiting for someone to prompt her to continue. "Go on." Daruk urged, and so she cleared her throat. "The Shrine of Resurrection is an ancient Sheikah structure which is designed for one specific purpose, to bring people back from the brink of death. This process can take anywhere from a year to half a century, but anytime beyond that and the person will lose their life entirely. I managed to salvage some experiment results from when the Sheikah were testing this thing, they were successful in reviving those who had almost dead every time, but there was a negative to this. Not a single user could recall a single memory after reawakening." She found it rather interesting that this structure could breathe life back into people, of course it was unfortunate that their memories were lost to time. "But as I said, this can only preserve a life for half a century, so no, there is no possible way the last male born to the Gerudo has survived over 10,000 years." She wondered if they would ever invent technology that could achieve such a feat, she hoped so, but it was quite a big leap to take. "I still don't understand why such a rule is in place." Revali sighed in defeat before leaning against the table. "Maybe it's to keep prideful Ritos out, such as yourself." Mipha teased, and Urbosa stifled a laugh. "I actually think I prefer that answer." She replied. "When was the Shrine last used?" Zelda turned to Link as he asked the question, she thought for a moment. "I suppose it was last used before the banishing of Sheikah Technology." She would have been able to pinpoint an exact date had the books from the time been present still, but the last Calamity had destroyed many of the books. "How many times has Calamity Ganon plagued this land, Princess?" Zelda stared up at Daruk before searching her mind for the answer. "9 times in the last 100,000 years, it has appeared once every 10,000 years without fail, we're the next to fight it, how it manages to break through the seal is unknown." He nodded thoughtfully, she was glad that they had successfully defeated this beast in the past, that gave her hope for the future.
That same morning, the duo departed to visit the Spring of Power, Zelda wanted to get one last visit in before her birthday which was now 6 days away. She couldn't shake the feeling that her vision from last night was warning her, and she couldn't help but wonder if that warning coincided with her birthday. Nevertheless, she couldn't worry. She wondered if this time she would unlock her powers, her hand had glowed after all. "We'll board our horses at the South Akkala Stable and make our way to the Spring on foot." She announced, glancing at Link as they raced to the Spring on their horses. "Sounds like a plan to me, and if it doesn't go well, don't be mad at yourself, you have plenty of opportunities left." She gave him a smile of appreciation as they continued forwards. "So how does this Shrine of Resurrection operate." Her smile widened, she loved relaying information to Link, it made her feel prideful of her knowledge. "From what I've read, it fills a small chamber with a fluid which the person is suspended in. Their wounds are healed and their body reaches peak performance, once that peak is reached, the person is able to exit the Shrine." He nodded at that. "Hopefully we won't have to see it used in our lifetime." He added, she too hoped such a thing. She couldn't bear to see anyone have to go into that Shrine, it was a cruel fate, for all those involved. Soon after they arrived at the stable and boarded their horses. "Right then, let's be off!" She announced before beginning to lead the way to the Spring.
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They arrived at the Spring twenty minutes after leaving the stable. Zelda had changed into her ceremonial gear before they left the castle. She looked somewhat hopeful this time, perhaps her dream last night could have been some sort of trigger, and now prayer was all that was required to finally achieve her goal. He longed for her to succeed, for her own sake, and for everyone else's. If she couldn't unlock her powers, then Hyrule as they knew it, would be doomed. Link pushed such a thought out of his mind as he assumed his post by the entrance of the Spring, watching carefully for any sort of intruders. Zelda began to pray as she had in the Spring of Courage, he had grown used to the prayers. She would spend half an hour praying nonstop before spending a half hour in silence and then repeating the cycle. He watched the sun peak in the sky, watched it set, watched the light fade away as night took the spotlight. The moon was almost full, he reckoned it was about five days away from reaching it's peak. He used to study the stars when he was younger, Purah offered to show him the constellations with her telescope. He found the experience very enjoyable, he'd learned about the multiple comets that graced their sky, he'd learned about eclipses and many other phenomena. He smiled at the memory before tuning into Zelda's praying again. She had just ended thirty minutes of silence as she began again. "I come seeking help," This was the prayer she always started with, he followed along in his mind, reciting the words with her. "Regarding this power that has been passed down over time.. prayer will awaken my power to seal Ganon away.." He recalled the next line in his mind. 'And so pray I will.', but those were not the words she uttered. "Or so I've been told all my life.." He paused and listened carefully. "And yet.. grandmother heard them- the voices from the spirit realm." He turned his head slightly to watch her over his shoulder, her hands were in the water for now, not clasped together as they should be. "And Mother said her own power would develop within me. But I don't hear.. or feel anything!" Her voice sounded lost, broken. He felt a twinge of sadness in his heart. "Father has told me time and time again.. he always says, "Quit wasting your time playing at being a scholar!" It took all of his will power to prevent him from getting into the water and comforting her, but perhaps by letting her thoughts out, her prayers would be answered. "Curse you.." He heard her hands splash the water. "I've spent every day of my life dedicated to praying! I've pleaded to the spirits tied to the ancient gods.. and still the holy powers have proven deaf to my devotion." He frowned slightly, she was so sick of failing over and over, he didn't know how she could possibly even continue. "Please just tell me.. what is it..?" He began to turn around. "What's wrong with me?!" He heard her fall down into the water as she began to sob. Link quickly got in and rushed to her side. She held onto him as he helped her out. "Zelda, you're freezing." Her skin was a sickly white, and she was shivering. "We need to get you back." He picked her up in his arms and she held onto him with her own arms. He noticed her eyes close slowly, as she fell asleep. He needed to warm her up as soon as they got back.
He made it back in twenty-five minutes. Zelda was still shivering. He started a fire and set Zelda down close to it before rushing to his horse and pulling a blanket out. He wrapped it around her and kept her close to the fire for some time before she stopped shivering. He carefully dried her off with the towel before picking her back up and taking her inside. He laid her down on one of the beds and took a seat next to her, monitoring her condition for the next few hours. Eventually, she woke back up. It was very early in the morning, just past midnight he assumed. She yawned softly before looking up at him. "How come you're sitting there?" She gazed up at him as a small smile haunted her lips, she was so beautiful. "I knew that if I laid down I wouldn't be awake when you woke." Her smile widened before she pulled up the covers. "Well I'm awake now, so get in here." She giggled lightly and he nodded before laying down next to her. Something about the way she looked at him was different, the desire he saw in her eyes was more fiery, stronger. He watched her hands move up into his hair before removing the ring that tied it up. He wondered why she was letting it down. She took her hand away before taking one of his hands and placing the ring inside before closing his fingers around it. He glanced down before looking into her eyes again. "Ask me to marry you." He froze, his heart skipped a beat as he gazed into her eyes. "What?" He croaked, barely above a whisper. "Ask me to marry you, Link. It's sudden, but it's right." He blushed softly as he considered her words, she was right. He never felt such an intense passion for anyone before Zelda, and he never wished to feel it with anyone else. He smiled softly before nodding, and they both got out of the bed. Link knelt down onto one knee before holding the ring up. "Zelda, Prncess of Hyrule, will you give me the pleasure of becoming my wife?" He gazed up at her, she nodded lightly. "Of course, hero." He placed the ring on her finger, he knew he'd get a better one after everything settled down, after the Calamity was slain. He stood up and hugged her tightly before laughing softly. "Zelda, we are way too impulsive." She pulled back a little so she could look into his eyes. "I don't see a problem with that." She replied, and he nodded, neither did he. "Let's get some sleep then." He suggested, to which she nodded. And with that they both climbed into the bed and assumed their typical position, holding onto each other. Link reckoned his smile couldn't have been wider