They had spent the night watching the stars atop Dueling Peaks, deciding it was safer to descend during the light of day. Link got to his feet, feeling slight discomfort from laying down for so long. He extended his arm and helped Zelda to her feet before taking a look around them again. The sun was rising to their right, in the east. "Did you spend half of your journey just staring off into the distance?" She playfully punched his arm before brushing herself off. He shook his head whilst chuckling softly before redirecting his gaze to her. "Only when I was thinking of you." He responded quietly. He watched her cheeks turn a deep shade of scarlet at that as she looked away, seemingly quite flustered. "I see.." Was her only attempt at replying to such a comment.
She made her way over to the edge of the cliff before beginning to climb down it, he soon followed suit. It was faster coming down, as they were no longer fighting gravity. They made it down not long after, Zelda's face had returned to its normal colour and she seemed more capable of conversing. "We'll consult with Purah and see what information she has come across." She stated before taking the Sheikah Slate. "And I believe that its time this is returned to me." She smirked lightly as she spoke, Link had no issue with her possessing the device. She struggled momentarily with the interface, but a few moments later she managed to summon the Master Cycle. She clapped her hands together triumphantly before glancing at Link. "You're not driving this thing before you go asking." He warned, knowing that she would most likely cause them to crash. If she struggled with a horse there was no hope of her managing to control this machine. She pouted before nodding slowly, he took a seat at the front and she promptly seated herself behind him.
He started up the machine before beginning to advance forwards, back the way they had came the previous day. The journey was mostly uneventful, with little dialogue shared between them. Zelda had fallen asleep whilst holding onto Link, he hoped that she wouldn't fall so he slowed down a little and took in the scenery. It hadn't occurred to him how many times he found himself admiring the beauty of Hyrule's scenery until Zelda had brought up the matter. He found it odd how laid back he now was, his past self had been stoic and tense, but this new version of him no longer felt the weight of such burdens and no longer had a need to hide his true feelings from those around him. He contemplated the thought during the rest of the journey until they arrived at Hateno.
He travelled up through the town and up towards the ancient laboratory which belonged to Purah. As the vehicle came to a halt he felt Zelda shift slightly as she woke up, she yawned softly before looking around. "That was quick.." She mumbled tiredly, he chuckled at that before dismounting the vehicle, she quickly did the same before allowing the bike to dissipate. He allowed her a minute to wake herself up before making his way over to the wooden double doors, pushing them open in dramatic fashion before stepping inside, hearing Zelda's footsteps as she followed close behind.
The two Sheikah researchers seemed to be exchanging notes. Purah was standing up at the table whilst Symin sat down opposite her. The clutter on the desk had been discarded for the time being in an attempt to make space for their research on the pressing matter. They didn't appear to notice the Hylians at first, too deep in their notes. Zelda cleared her throat and the two turned their heads in unison. "Ah, we didn't hear you come in." Symin exclaimed before turning back to the pages he clutched in his hand. "Any breakthroughs?" Link stepped forward before leaning on the table and looking at the notes of the two researchers. "We attempted to see if there was any real reason as to why the malice was staying around, but none of our theories can be proved until we learn more about the substance, however, finding and extracting a sample of it has proved to be quite difficult." Purah explained, occasionally glancing up at them.
Zelda was peeking over Link's shoulder, attempting to make sense of the notes which were randomly thrown around on the page. Link found it difficult to understand the layout of all the notes, there were arrows leading every which way, random points being circled, and none of the sentences lead anywhere. "The return of the Blood Moon may also be a one off, completing the cycle one more time after Ganon's demise, but as Symin said, we have no concluding evidence." Link heard Zelda sigh with frustration behind him, he too was quite annoyed by the fact that there was currently no way to determine how much Ganon's influence would continue to affect them, even after death.
"We can attempt to collect a sample of malice if you would like." The suggestion was made by Zelda as she stepped around Link, becoming more involved. "That's kind of you my dear, but such a task is far too dangerous. Besides, what you two should be focusing on is rebuilding the kingdom. It wouldn't be too difficult for a ruler from another kingdom to just sweep in and take over the land now." The Sheikah woman focused her eyes on Zelda. "I know that the last thing you wish right now is to reclaim the throne, and you don't need to yet. But you at least need to begin strengthening the kingdom, and Link will surely assist you." He nodded at that, to reassure Zelda, rebuilding the kingdom from the ground up was quite a daunting task, Link was unsure of where to even start. However, it seemed as though Zelda's knowledge from learning to rule a kingdom started to kick in a little.
"Very well then, continue your research on the malice and Link and I shall find a place to begin." A smile came to Purah's lips at Zelda's words. "As you wish." She responded brightly before stepping down and grabbing the Sheikah Slate from Zelda's waist. "Group photo time!" She exclaimed happily before getting up onto her seat. The other three slowly gathered round behind her. "To Hyrule's future!" She activated the camera room before ordering them all to smile, they reluctantly did so before waiting for Purah's favourite line. "Click, snap!" The machine clicked and the image quickly appeared on the screen, she saved it to the album before handing it back to Zelda. "Purah.." Zelda began, receiving a curious look from Purah. "You didn't say that every time you took a photo of each location for Link's memories, did you?" The young girl shyly looked away before nodding softly. Link couldn't help but smile and Zelda giggled lightly. "Good luck with your research!" Link felt Zelda grab his arm and begin to pull him out of the lab. "Fare well!" Symin called out before the doors shut behind them.
Zelda quickly pulled out the Sheikah Slate and summoned the Master Cycle, however, as Link attempted to start it he noted that the fuel was depleted. "We'll need to refuel the bike." Zelda tilted her head, clearly not understanding. "The Master Cycle converts objects into fuel, it eventually runs out and requires more fuel. However, I currently don't have much on me to fill up the engine so we'll have to get some horses. I have a few boarded at the stables, we can travel to the Dueling Peaks stable and from there we can figure out where to go next." Zelda didn't seem pleased with the idea of walking multiple miles to take out some horses, but they had no other options open to them. "I suggest we return to Kakariko for the time being, from there we can focus on where we wish to go next." Zelda stated, Link didn't see any reason why they couldn't go and visit the town yet again, they had all the time in the world after all. "That sounds like a plan." He responded, showing his agreement, and with that the two set off down through the village.
Zelda's legs were burning, they had been walking for a little over an hour now and were situated at the gate of Fort Hateno, the sight of Blatchery Plain unnerved her, she wished to pass it as soon as possible. She stuck close to Link, holding onto his arm as they traversed the path which led towards the stable. Despite the fact that there was no longer any danger around, the emotional torment she had suffered had began right on this patch of land, and so its very presence haunted her being. She stayed silent as they crossed, and Link seemed to understand her troubles, for he remained quiet and held her close as they walked.
They arrived at the stable ten minutes later, it was thriving yet again, she found it difficult to tell the evening prior considering that most of the travellers were only beginning to arrive at the stable. It wasn't as busy as it would've been a century ago, but it was still rather packed. They didn't stay long, Zelda sat down by the waters edge, watching the shrine from a distance as Link took out two of his horses. A few moments later she heard soft trotting behind her, she turned around and examined Link's horse first. "I called her Storm, she's rather temperamental but quite strong and fast." She smiled as she gazed upon the steed, her eyes then focused on the other horse. She quickly noticed that the steed resembled her own horse, Wild. "What's his name?" Her words were barely audible as she gently patted the mane of the horse. "Winter is what I called him." She smiled softly and quietly repeated the name to herself. "It's perfect." She exclaimed happily before getting up onto the horse.
She knew that it wasn't the same, and that the horse had no recollection or bond with her, but it brought some comfort that the stallion was similar to her horse of the past. They set off soon after, she struggled to keep the wild creature from fighting her control, but with multiple corrections from Link she quickly gained some more control over the horse, soon enough she was able to control him with ease. They were headed for Kakariko again, Zelda wished to properly catch up with Impa without allowing guilt or sadness to consume her. They travelled for quite some time, Zelda became comfortable with her horse more and more, becoming confident in her ability to tame the wild beast. Link seemed rather impressed that she had managed to control her steed, she supposed that her stubbornness had faded away slightly over the century she had been trapped. After being trapped for so long she came to appreciate life more, which fed into her becoming more willing to listen to others and see what it was that they wished to do, rather than focusing solely on her own views.
They slowed down along Sahasra Slope, Zelda wished to take a picture of the scenery just outside of the Sheikah settlement. They halted and dismounted their horses before Zelda positioned herself away a little to get a good shot. She opened up the camera before raising the Sheikah Slate and taking multiple photos of the view they could see before them. The sun was shining brightly, and the land looked peaceful at least. She opened up the map and examined it, the shrines and towers were all locked now, as well as the Divine Beasts. However, she only noticed three beasts on the map. Vah Ruta seemed to be missing, she looked over towards Lanayru and noted that Vah Ruta wasn't glowing at all.
She frowned before glancing down at the Slate again. "After we leave Kakariko we'll make our way to Zora's Domain. Divine Beast Vah Ruta.. looks like it stopped working." She certainly found that odd, it was additionally odd why a useful mode of transportation was taken from them. "Let's investigate the situation." She paused briefly, a sense of guilt washing over her at the thought of confronting the Zora. She had outlived their beloved princess who had been so wronged by death. "Mipha's father.." She lowered her arms and frowned slightly. "I believe he would like to hear more about her. The least we can do is offer him some closure. Although Ganon is gone for now, there is still so much for us to do." Purah's words of advice seemed to be encouraging her now, however she also wished to see Hyrule brought back from the brink of extinction. "And so many painful memories we must bear." She knew that restoring the castle would take a heavy toll on her well-being, seeing the place she grew up, remembering all the people and faces she'd seen there would most likely harm her in some way. "I believe in my heart, that if all of us work together.. we can restore Hyrule to its former glory. Perhaps.. even beyond." She knew that the Sheikah would continue to remember their heritage, she may even start her own laboratory, as Link had suggested many years ago. "But it all must start with us." She briskly turned and began to return to their horses, however she did not hear Link's footsteps behind her just yet.
"Let's be off." She continued momentarily, but Link was still not following. She paused briefly, noting that she felt lighter. She had for some time before realising in that moment that the sword and its voice, along with her powers, had left her, their purpose seemingly fulfilled. "I can no longer hear the voice inside the sword. I suppose it would make sense if my power had dwindled over the past 100 years.." She was talking to herself more than anything, but was aware that Link was listening. She spun around to face Link. "I'm surprised to admit it.. but I can accept that." She gave him a wide smile before he stepped towards her, once he reached her she turned around for the last time as they made their way to their horses. "The sword now feels as though it is in a slumber, it no longer glows consistently and the power I used to feel course through me as I wielded it is all but a memory." He stated as they mounted their stallions. "How long are we residing in the village?" He grabbed an apple from a bag which hung over the side of his horse before leaning forward and feeding it, she admired his dedication to treating his horse with kindness. "Perhaps a week? I would like some downtime after all that has occurred recently. After that we shall travel to Zora's Domain and see what we can find." She stretched her arms above her head before yawning softly, her awkward sleep pattern catching up with her. Link had began leading his horse into the village, and Zelda lazily followed him, she felt an overwhelming sense of joy at the thought of having some time away from everything.
Their trip into the village didn't take that long. Link suggested they tie their horses up in the forest so that they would be out of the way, she nodded in agreement and made that their first course of action. They tied their horses against separate trees. Zelda knew that this forest was home to a fairy named Cotera, a mystical being who grants fortune to those who come upon her. She wished to someday see such a magical person with her own eyes, but she was far too tired to do so today. "You seem as though you need to rest." She glanced at her companion before smiling weakly. "Thank you for that, Captain Obvious." She received a smile for that comment. With a slight sigh she glanced around before looking down at the village.
"I'll be back shortly, just wait here." She nodded silently, focusing on the village as she heard Link's footsteps disappearing off into the forest. She was glad that settlements such as Kakariko were able to remain during the Calamity. Hyrule fields was certainly off limits during the long century, but hopefully in time they could create a large living area there. The people of Hyrule were resilient which would prove helpful in rebuilding the kingdom, with such spirit from the people, she was confident that they would be able to help the kingdom rise from the ashes. A few minutes passed before she heard Link's footsteps. As she began to turn, her vision faded.
Fright filled her for a moment before she realised that it was just Link's hands covering her eyes. "Link..? What are you-" "Hold still." He stated before one of his hands pulled away, though her vision remained compromised. She felt his hand in her hair, she wondered what it was that he was doing. His hand remained there, he stayed silent until eventually he pulled away and allowed her to see again. She reached up into her hair and felt something odd in it. "What did you do?" She inquired sceptically as she turned to face him. He took the Sheikah Slate from her hip before placing it in her hands. She looked down at it, her expression puzzled. She slowly came to the realisation of what it was that he was signalling and she opened up the camera. She raised it up and examined her hair, seeing a silent princess neatly tucked away on top of her head, it reminded her of when he had done such an action a century ago.
"It's wonderful.." She stated simply before placing the Slate on her hip and wrapping her arms around Link tightly. "To Kakariko?" He asked softly, she nodded against his chest. "To Kakariko." She echoed, holding onto him a little longer.