The two exited the Divine Beast, Link had prevented Zelda from dismounting the beast first as he wished to make sure she descended safely. She felt as though he was being a little overprotective, she didn't need to be watched over at all times, but after everything they'd been through she supposed she could understand why he would wish to keep her safe. "Link, I assure that I will be perfectly fine getting down from this mechanica-" She lost her footing and yelped as she fell over the edge, her short fall was cushioned by the arms of Link, she gazed up into his eyes in admiration before seeing a smirk appear on his face. She hopped out of his arms before folding her own arms and sighing briefly at her hypocritical statement.
"Perhaps it wouldn't hurt if you observed every once in a while." She stated quietly before hearing the knight chuckle lightly. She playfully punched his arm before allowing her arms to fall to her sides. "Let's continue onwards, we must follow the monk's instructions and see what trivial task has been burdened onto us." She was unsure of what exactly was in store for them, but she figured it couldn't be anything harder than the challenge Calamity Ganon brought to them. "And may we find some sort of hood or something? My back is rather cold without most of my hair covering it." She began walking back towards the Domain, hearing Link following behind her. "Of course, I don't believe we will find anything here in Zora's Domain, but perhaps the Rito will have something which will suit your needs, they do specialise in crafting warmer clothing after all." Zelda nodded softly, she recalled her winter gear being presented to her, a fine piece of clothing, hand crafted by the Rito using their feathers. It was one of the warmest outfits she had ever donned, and she missed it dearly, even if it was too warm for most climates.
"Do we have much left to do in the Domain?" She turned her head towards Link as he asked her such a question. She shrugged nonchalantly, there was much that they could indeed do, but nothing that couldn't be put off for some time. "I suppose anything we have to do can be left until later, the sooner we tackle this issue, the better." She noticed Link's head lower slightly. "What do you think this issue will be?" He inquired, perhaps he assumed that her extensive knowledge would have some sort of idea of what the Sheikah monk was referring to. "I honestly don't have a clue, there is nothing in the prophecy which states any necessary requirements that follow after the Calamity, and there is nothing fundamentally flawed with the kingdom, apart from the curse which brings back the Demon King in all its forms of course."
Link seemed puzzled at the mention of a curse, sometimes she forgot how much information was common knowledge, and how much was obtained from obscure books. "Long, and I mean long ago, shortly after the time of Hylia, the god which she opposed, Demise, was revived. Supposedly a hero which shares your spirit was tasked with taking on the god, wielding the exact same sword you hold on your back. The hero emerged victorious, though failed to prevent Demise from uttering his last words, which forced a curse on the land, one which would curse the spirit of the hero, the blood of the goddess, and the reincarnation of Demise to be eternally bound to this curse. As long as his curse remains intact, there will always be a threat such as Ganon, there will always be a descendent of myself, and there will always be a hero such as yourself, destined to fight for control over the land." Link seemed rather overwhelmed by her short history lesson, it was a rather grim thought, one which may not even be factually correct. Many stories of Ganon and his Gerudo being seemed to be portrayed exclusively through fairy tales, Zelda could not distinguish fact from fiction anymore. "So there is an eternal cycle where the land will be destroyed, refurbished, built upon and destroyed once again?" Zelda nodded slowly, such was true, no matter what precautions were taken, there would always be an inevitable threat.
The two had passed through the Domain and said their goodbyes, prepared to depart for their next destination. Zelda pulled out the Sheikah Slate, the image of Vah Rudania now faded. "From here we'll make our way to Goron.. I've said that before.." She was overcome with nostalgia for a brief moment before shaking her head, breaking her train of thought. "Vah Rudania has faded, clearly the monks wish for us to travel there next." Zelda was not looking forward to travelling to the city, the thought of drinking an elixir disgusted her, she hoped she was past such things, unfortunately that was not the case.
"We'll be able to purchase some elixirs by the foothill stable." Link stated, which prompted a disgusted sigh from the former princess. "Very well then, we should make it to the stable by nightfall if we are quick enough, we can head to the city tomorrow." Link nodded at that before mounting his horse, she copied his action before the duo set off into the distance, fortunately the sun was shining, so at least she wouldn't have to complain about the weather.
The two had been travelling for a little while now, the journey was mostly uneventful, little dialogue was shared between the two. "What was it like during the first year?" Link glanced at Zelda as she asked such a question. It took him a moment to register that she was referring to his journey in taking down the Calamity, he frowned slightly as he began to mentally word his response. "Well, waking up was probably the most frightening part, not knowing anything caused my imagination to run wild with possibilities. I soon came to realise that you were the only person who was capable of helping me find out who I really was, though, over the course of my travels I came to realise that it was more than just answers I craved when it came to you." He watched her cheeks turn a light shade of pink, as well as the tips of her ears.
"Your father suggested I head to Kakariko, where I met with Impa. She sent me off to Hateno to meet with Purah where I upgraded various runes on the Sheikah Slate, as well as returning the ability of the camera which allowed me to access the photos you had left for me. After that I made it my goal to free the Divine Beasts whilst unlocking memories each time I vaguely recognised the landscape. It was a strange experience, but in the end.." He turned to face Zelda before smiling gently. "It was worth it." He concluded, watching her cheeks darken even more.
"I wish I could say my own experience was as intriguing, but alas there is nothing exciting about being stuck with a demon for over a century." Link frowned softly, he couldn't even comprehend the amount of suffering Zelda had gone through during his slumber, she had been trapped with that monster for a century, though she seemed to be coping with it all quite well, for which he was thankful.
"But it is nice to hear that your journey wasn't all that difficult." Link wouldn't call such a statement entirely true, there were certainly some tricky situations he found himself in, though telling Zelda such tales would only cause her to fuss, so he remained silent on the issue. Silence settled between them once again as they continued their travels, minutes turned into hours and before Link knew it, they were coming up to the stable. "That was fast.." Link stated softly. "What that was, was a trip through time. I never thought I'd see the day that you would shut up, many years ago your silence was unbearable, for some time though it was rather refreshing." Link was unsure if Zelda was being sarcastic or not, though the expression on her face stated that It was the latter.
"I suppose the return of my memories has reinforced my silence in some degree, though I promise to not become the knight of the past." He watched Zelda's smirk turn into a frown at his words. "That knight is the knight I fell in love with, I never want him gone, though I'm glad you've became more comfortable with speaking aloud, but please, be yourself." Link nodded softly, he would find it difficult to adjust to a blend of his two lives for the time being, but eventually they would hopefully merge and result in the person he was supposed to be had this all been worked out a century ago. "Well then, I suppose we have one night of comfort to go through before we scale the mountain.." He always knew of Zelda's distaste for elixirs, but it appeared that her hatred for the liquids had only strengthened over the course of his slumber.
After boarding their horses, Zelda had gone inside to try and fix the mess that her hair currently was, and to see if any travellers had any hoods that she could purchase. Whilst Zelda focused on her task, Link focused on making some food. He scouted around the outskirts of the stable, scavenging for food. Though it was possible to purchase a wide variety of food from traders, he wished for his diet to include as many fresh items as he could find, though he assumed he would need to purchase some meat, he hoped to find some mushrooms or herbs to add flavour. He gathered some sunshrooms before finding some acorns and eggs not too far away.
Content with his findings he returned to the stable, once inside he set his items to the side before strolling over to Beedle, who's face lit up at the sight of one of his common customers. "Why if it isn't the reckless wanderer!" He exclaimed, bringing a smile to the knight's face. "And if isn't the beetle loving merchant." The boy responded, which ushered a glare from Beedle for a moment. "What is it that you're looking for? Or are you selling?" The skinny trader unloaded his bag from his back, enabling Link to see what it was that was on offer. He decided to purchase a piece of raw prime meat as that would likely be enough to divide between the two Hylians. "An excellent choice! That will be 25 rupees." With a nod, the boy pulled out his pouch and took out a red rupee along with a blue rupee before handing the payment to the merchant. "There you go, thank you Beedle." With a final smile, Link gathered his goods before making his way outside to the local cooking pot. To his delight, it was not being occupied by anyone thus far, so he made his way over, securing his ability to use it.
He sat down by the cooking pot before examining his items. He looked around for something which could serve as a board before walking up to a crate and tearing one of the wooden planks off. He snapped it in half before returning to the pot and placing the mushrooms on the board. He took out his sword and began finely chopping the food. He didn't see much point in carrying a smaller blade when he could use his sword perfectly well. After chopping the mushrooms he placed them into the pot, hearing them sizzle as they met the hot water.
He then took the eggs, cracking them against the pot's rim before placing the contents in the steaming water and disposing of the egg shells. He then started on the meat, slicing it up finely before placing the pieces into the water, a pleasant aroma of meat filling the air. He heard soft footsteps on the wooden floor of the stable nearby, it appeared odd considering most travellers slept early. He turned around, seeing Zelda approaching him, her father's diary in her hand, and an elegant hood flowed down her back.
She seemed somewhat distraught, most likely uncomfortable with reading the memoirs of her deceased father. "Uh Link.. you may wish to keep your eyes on the cooking pot.." A smile was forming on her face as he turned around. He saw the stable dog's face approaching the water, ready to take a piece of meat. He feared that the little guy would burn himself with the temperature of the water. "No no no, down you get.." The Hylian reached into the water quickly and pulled out a chunk of meat, feeding it to the dog. Luckily he hadn't burned his hand, without Mipha's grace it would certainly have stung. "He's quite the dare devil isn't he?" Zelda was approaching him now. "Willing to take on the Hero and some scalding water. I'm impressed." She giggled lightly as she sat by the pot. "I always wanted a dog.." She said wistfully, Link glanced at Zelda who was looking at him with a look of longing.
"Do you recall us sharing our plans for the future?" Link nodded softly as he met Zelda's eyes. "Perhaps now that everything is finally over, now we can have that.." She stated softly, with a soft nod Link walked over to her, kneeling down in front of her. "I look forward to having that." He replied, his tone as soft and wistful as hers. He pressed his lips against hers, and could tell that she was caught off guard, though some time later she eased into the embrace, returning his kiss.
After a few moments he pulled away and he heard Zelda sighed contentedly. "That was welcomed.." She smiled brightly, her face a soft shade of pink. "You hungry?" He inquired, looking at the pot. "Very." She responded, it had been some time after they had eaten after all. "Do you want me to get some plates?" Link nodded at her suggestion. "I'd appreciate that." She clapped her hands together, she was clearly in a good mood now. Link grabbed a ladle nearby and stirred the food before Zelda returned with the plates. He placed the food onto the plates along with one egg for each of them. "You have to teach me your ways." She demanded as he handed her a plate of food. "I'll teach you whatever you want, we have all the time in the world now." She gave him a smile before the both began to eat.
About ten minutes later they were finished their food. Zelda yawned quietly, placing her plate on the ground before stretching her arms out. "If you're tired you can go to sleep." Link suggested, though Zelda shook her head. "I don't want to fall asleep unless I'm in your arms.." The boy felt his cheeks flush at her words, but nonetheless he nodded softly at her words. "I suppose I can let you do that then." He liked the idea of experiencing that once again, so with that he stood up and returned their plates to the stable, and together, like they'd done many years again they picked a bed before making their way over to it. "I never thought this would ever happen again." She whispered softly as she laid down, he laid down next to her and she leaned into him. "Neither did I, but I'm glad it has." She hummed in approval to his words before they both closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep.