Chapter 7 - Fears

For a moment he thought Zelda had left him. Well, the village.

When he arrived at Hateno he found the house empty, more than that, it was noticeable that it had been several days since anyone had set foot there. He didn't find Zelda's belongings, though her horse was still in the shed and had fresh hay. Maybe that didn't mean anything. Maybe someone had escorted her back to Impa's house, or somewhere else.

He was exhausted, he hadn't slept a wink for a whole day, but he had to check if she had really left or was still around.

That's how he arrived to the sheikah lab, soaked and in the middle of the night.

"It's great you've finally finished them, Link," Symin said, serving him a little overheated stew, "we were planning a trip, and if you got a little late, we'd have left without crossing paths with you."

"A trip? Where?"

"Akalla," Purah interjected, "I haven't seen Robbie in person since the Calamity. We've had communication by letter, of course, but neither of us has left the research or the laboratory. It's about time."

"Akalla is far away, it's a long journey. I'm a little tired, I only ask for one day so I can rest and sleep, then I'll go wherever you want," he said, taking a sip to his dinner.

"No. I have another mission for you, Link," Purah said, "Zelda has written some letters, it's hard to send messages at this time of year, now that the rains and the cold lurk. Even more so when you have to send them to regions as remote as Hebra. We would save time if you-

"No," he interrupted.

"No?"

"No. The trip to Akalla is dangerous. The great massif of Lanayru separates Hateno from the Eldin region and you have to cross the Duelling Peaks, part of the plain and the swamps. Deliver the letters to your sheikah messengers. I will go to Akalla with you."

"But Link, we-

"Zelda," he said, addressing only the princess. She had remained silent all the time, as if she were not there. He didn't know if anything was wrong with her, but he'd find out later—you decide, the letters are yours. If you prefer me to deliver them, I will do so. But I think it would be more helpful if I accompany you to Akalla."

She frowned in her already famous gesture of contradiction.

"As you know, you're free to go wherever you want," she said, "if you think it's better to come with us to Akalla, so be it."

"See, Purah? It's clear," he said, and he took a huge piece of bread to his mouth.

Purah was protesting and flapping back and forth across the room while he finished dinner and Symin apologized on behalf of his boss. After dinner, the hours of travel weighed on him. Every drop of rain that had soaked his clothes, every yard wedging himself into Shadow's saddle to move forward started to be too much. Zelda was safe and sound at Purah's lab, and that brought him almost the same relief as filling his stomach. He'd already ascertained what he needed, so it was time to give himself a break and sleep soundly for as many hours as possible.

"Well, it's too late," he said, standing up, "as everything is right and in order around here, I'm going home."

"Link, if you want you can spend the night here," Symin offered.

"No, there are too many of you here. I left Shadow in the shed, and I prefer a little peace of mind to rest well. I'll be better off at home, even if I have to go all the way down the hill in the middle of the night."

"I'll go with you, Link," said Zelda, standing up, "I'm going to grab my stuff, I won't be late."

Both he and the sheikah watched her disappear up the stairs. Purah stared silently up the stairwell, looking as puzzled as he was with Zelda's reactions that night. Symin merely picked up the dirty dishes.

Bundled up in cloaks and hoods, Link and Zelda walked together down the path that separated the lab from the rest of the village. She carried a bag with her things, clutched them tightly and walked down the hill, clearly with much more energy than he did. Still...

"If you want, I can carry that," he offered.

"Oh! It doesn't weigh at all, don't worry."

For a while they walked in silence. He was still a little confused. He hadn't expected to be greeted like that. In fact, he hadn't expected her to want to go home at all, that seemed as strange to him as the welcome. With the sheikah, Zelda had everything she needed, and she spent many hours at the lab anyway, working on a thousand things. The fact that she was returning home at this hour and had greeted him like this... he froze. Suddenly he had her around him, and he should have done something about it, but he could only focus on her light, fragile touch. He felt her cold hands clinging to his neck and the smell of her hair had gotten up his nose and it was still there. Next time he'd have to react better and not just stand there like an idiot. If there was a next time, of course, who knew if after his cold reaction she would ever want to be so friendly again.

"Did you have any problems on the trip?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"It was a little harder than I thought. The lizalfos hide well, it took longer than I anticipated to find their hideouts. And on the way back it rained a lot. I see it's rained a lot in the village, too."

"We haven't just left the lab for two days because of the rain, you can't imagine what a nightmare to be locked up all day with the sheikah," she mocked.

"A nightmare...," he said. Then he swallowed and as she looked like she was in the mood to talk... "I thought that once settled with the sheikah, you wouldn't want to go back to my house."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. Purah has a lot of books in the library so you can work better with them."

"The sheikah are kind to me, but very meddling. I moved in with them because I didn't feel like being alone, I preferred to have some company while you were away. I have everything I need at home, don't worry about it. I hope you don't mind... The truth is, I haven't even asked your permission to come back."

"You don't need to ask permission," he hastened to say.

"Thank you," Zelda took a small energetic step forward, "What I enjoyed most about being with the sheikah was the telescope."

"Telescope?"

"That big lens that Purah has at the top of the lab. It is used to look into the distance and also for stargazing."

Yes. He had seen that thing several times. It wouldn't be difficult to get hold of one. Maybe Purah could make it, or better to ask Symin if Purah was too busy. He had so many rupees he didn't know what to do with them, so buying a telescope and putting it in the house wouldn't be a problem. And that would cheer Zelda up.

"Do you look at the stars with that thing?"

In addition to reading books of rare letters, analysing ancient mysteries, she also studied the sky. Zelda seemed to be an inexhaustible source of knowledge, he was more and more surprised every day.

"You can see much more than with the naked eye, and you can also make maps of the sky. If you ever get lost and don't have the sheikah slate with you, you can always look at the sky map to find your way."

"Wow... I didn't know you could do that just by looking at the stars."

"Look over there," she said, stopping. She dropped her bag on the ground and grabbed his hand by the wrist. She asked him to extend his index finger and she guided it to a point in the sky, one that glowed with a pale, blue flicker. "It's Naydra's eye. It always points north. And if you scroll through the rest of the stars, like this, you'll see the dragon's body."

Yes, the stars seemed to form a kind of row. If she said that was Naydra... all he could really think about was how close she was to him again, and how his body overreacted to her being so close to him, maybe that's why he'd been stunned when she'd greeted him with a hug. Was he sick or too tired? Before the trip to Lurelin, nothing like that had happened to him.

"Sorry," she said, releasing him suddenly, "you must be exhausted and I'm here talking nonsense."

"It's not nonsense," he grabbed her bag, and they resumed their passage. "I've seen Naydra, the real one."

"Really?"

"At the top of Mount Lanayru. And also at the eastern gate of Kakariko village. It's curious, there are many ruins there and a long asphalted stretch of white slabs, like pearls. The slabs form a path that goes up to the mountain."

"Yes, that's the way of the pilgrimage."

"What pilgrimage?"

There was darkness, but he noticed Zelda twisting the gesture. He had asked one of the compromising questions that he sometimes asked without realising it.

"Well, anyway," he intervened again, "if you're ever curious to see Naydra, I can show you."

"I'd really love to."

He felt a new surge of warmth at her response, and they walked the rest of the way talking about the weather, Nynn's gossip, and other unimportant topics. He also learned that the apple cake he'd tasted at dinner had been baked by Zelda. Goddesses, if he wasn't a hungry, stupid animal he would have stopped to taste it much better, instead of gulping it all down his gullet almost without chewing, like ducks do.

"Home at last," he said. He opened the door and strided in. All he could think about now was his comfortable bed and getting under the covers for a million hours.

"Link..." Zelda stopped at the threshold.

"Is something wrong?"

"You'll come with me to Akalla, won't you?"

"Of course, I'll do."


Purah had insisted on riding a horse. Her legs were so short that her feet didn't reach the stirrups, but she was incapable of surrendering to the obvious when something got into her head.

He had offered to take her on his horse. So had Symin and Zelda. But Purah still insisted on perching on an old mare that Symin had bought from Fred the cowboy, to carry the tents and luggage to Eldin. Goddesses, they would have to carry both Purah and the mare.

While the others argued, he lay down on the grass, watching the clouds. They would take the most direct path to the Duelling Peaks. Then they would set a course for the Hyrule Plain. The plain had gone from being one of the most dangerous places to one of the safest. Link had cleared the plain of guardians, and if there were any left, he would sweep them away with no trouble. Monsters did not dare to leave the forests and other areas where they could hide to ambush their enemies, so the plain was not their favourite place.

"Link, what do you think?" Purah asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Uhm... Well..."

"Link thinks you should go horseback riding with one of us," Zelda interjected.

"I think I can reach the stirrups with the leg lengtheners I'm going to make myself," Purah insisted, "I'm an excellent rider. The best in the sheikah tribe."

"I don't think it's a good idea, really...", Symin said.

"You may have been an excellent rider a hundred years ago, but now you're a child. A brat." Zelda complained, rolling her eyes. She used the same grumpy, stubborn tone as the day they discussed about the lizalfos. Somehow, that made Link smile, "you need a nanny to take care of you."

"Nonsense... I don't want to, and that's all," Purah protested, folding her arms.

"Good. Then we'll go to Akalla without you," Zelda counterattacked, "Link, get the horses ready. We leave immediately."

"Yes ma'am," he answered, following her lead.

"Symin, take the bags off and make sure everything is properly sealed," Zelda continued, handing out orders.

No doubt the orders were well internalised. She wrinkled her nose a little and her green eyes became bright, full of life. Link found it amusing to see her sulking, it was an energetic mood far removed from her usual melancholy state. It did Zelda good to sulk once in a while. It was good for her.

"What are you doing, Link? Get up from there!" She said, seeing him still lying on the ground.

"I'm coming… there's no hurry…," he protested and got to work.

In the end, Purah gave in. The departure for Eldin turned into a real spectacle for the villagers. Zelda riding in front, on the hay-coloured horse Impa had given her. Behind Symin with Purah, sitting in front of him. They tried to cover themselves with a sheikah cloak on a scandalously sunny day, they were as conspicuous as if a hinox had stopped to shop in the village bazaars. Closing the group was he, with Shadow. As the procession moved on, the villagers peered out to watch and whisper. All eyes were on the sheikah, especially Purah. He greeted a few acquaintances and shrugged when some asked him in a whisper "where he was going with those people".

Leaving the village was better. The descent was slow at first, but then they made good progress. They decided that he should be the one to carry the sheikah slate and he consulted it a couple of times to make sure of the route.

"We'll reach the wall before dark," he commented, "we'd still have enough light to make our way across the marshy plain to the Duelling Peaks stables. Depending on how tired we are, we could try to reach the stables or stay on the plain. There are some ruins halfway along the way that could serve as shelter, if we decide to spend the night first.

"No," Zelda said, "or we spend the night next to the wall or at the stables. Not on the plain."

"Your high... Zelda. It's okay to camp on the plain, it's been a long time since then," Purah interjected.

"For me it hasn't been a long time. I've seen it a thousand times, in my head. I don't mind riding all night by myself to the post Link says."

"There is no need for that," he said, "we will spend the night next to the wall. We will wake up at dawn and ride to the Duelling Peaks without stopping. There is no hurry, no one is after us."

Purah nodded and Zelda sighed with relief. This time it was he who took the lead and set the pace. Purah told how the entire slope leading down from the village to the wall had been filled with trees. In just a couple of decades a lush forest had carpeted what had once been part of the city, its remains buried in the thicket. The wall had served as protection for the most part, there were no guardian attacks in Hateno, the decline of the city came because of a lack of supplies from other areas and because many inhabitants left everything and fled to the coasts and the mountains, where they felt less vulnerable. Apparently, a single explosion or so had wiped out all the guards on the marshy plain, which is why they had failed to break through Hateno's walls. The sheikah seemed to know about the big explosion, and he didn't ask questions because he knew it made Zelda uncomfortable. But he could only think of one energy powerful enough to wipe out hundreds of guardians in one blow. He had seen it with his eyes at the final battle on Hyrule Plain.

They were camped in the same place he and Zelda had been when they first arrived in the village. It hadn't been that long ago, but it seemed like years to him. Purah complained about everything. She didn't like his planning of the trip, or his choice of where to camp... she didn't even like the direction the wind was blowing, even if he had nothing to do with it. Symin rolled his eyes and just helped set up camp, without complaint. You could tell he'd been putting up with Purah's domineering attitude for years. He wasn't handling it as well as Symin. Zelda could see how he would snort every time Purah made him move the tents, or complain about his fire starting techniques, so she tried to calm him down so he wouldn't explode at the little sheikah, "don't listen to her, just nod and then do what you think is best." Zelda whispered to him. Link understood why Zelda wouldn't be able to live peacefully with the sheikah. Purah would be giving orders all day and their characters would clash and they would end up arguing and fighting. Zelda would continue to live in his house for a while longer, until she decided to move out on her own, but it was clear that the sheikah weren't going to be the reason for a possible move. That made him feel good.

They took the opportunity to dine on the freshest and most spoilable food and then, as if by magic, Purah fell asleep. She fell asleep on Symin's lap before she had even finished her dinner.

"Physically she's just a little girl," Symin smiled, carefully lifting her up to take her to sleep in her tent, "and like all children, she spends the day full of energy and suddenly falls down."

Symin also retired early to sleep, although he offered to take turns keeping watch if necessary. Link told him to sleep peacefully, he wasn't sleepy, and he felt he could last until dawn. Zelda stayed at the campfire beside him.

"You can go to sleep if you want, I'll take care of the camp." He told her, once the camp was in silence.

"I'm fine here, I'll sleep later."

Link found himself thinking about how to start a conversation. She was usually the one who spoke, made observations or gave orders to coordinate some activity. But now she was only warming her fingertips in the dwindling flames of the campfire.

"Is there anything that scares you?" he asked suddenly. The idea came to him whenshe heard the hoot of an owl nearby. The three Lurelin sisters were scared of almost everything, and by almost everything he didn't mean the monsters that terrified everyone. Insects, darkness, night noises, caves in the cliffs... they used to screech and ask for his help to scare away the bees or squash an ant. Bees were as harmless as all other animals; it didn't make much sense to him to make so much noise for such small beings that were oblivious to human fears. He wondered if Zelda would be as scary too, though he sensed the answer.

"Why do you make that question?" She was surprised, drawing a half-smile.

"Don't know. Just wanted to talk about anything."

"Of course, there are things that scare me. But... I find it hard to talk about it."

"I don't mean that," he clarified, "it's not a kind of… deep question, I'm not talking about darkness or monsters. I mean if there's anything that scares you. Like beetles, rats or owls."

"Oh! I see," she exclaimed, recovering the smile, "Mm. I don't really know. There were a lot of rats in the castle. They used to come in through the underground wharf at the pier, mostly. I know a lot of people don't like them. I used to see them nesting in the dark, less damp corners. They always looked after their young, protecting them from the monsters in the corridors, and they made sure they didn't lack food... In the castle there was hardly anything edible, so they had a hard time. Somehow, they kept me company... I watched their babies grow up and then leave the nest to form their own families. It was nice to see that there was life amongst so much destruction. What about you? There doesn't seem to be anything that scares you..."

"Don't believe it. There is."

"You're not afraid to face The Calamity without remembering anything from your past, nor the guardians, nor the moblins, nor the hinox... I've seen your pictures posing next to a lynel..."

"Oh, goddesses, how embarrassing... " he laughed, blushing a little, "I didn't know you'd seen my pictures."

"Symin recovered your files after the damage suffered by the sheikah slate. So, tell me, hero of Hyrule, you're clearly not scared of monsters. I can't imagine what scares someone like you."

"Alright, there you go. I'll tell you my weakness."

"I hear you," she said, straightening up with her full attention.

"The cuccos."

Zelda tried to keep her composure for a few seconds, but broke it with a huge laugh.

"Cuccos? I don't believe it!"

"Laugh as much as you like. They seem harmless... always pecking at something on the ground, pretending to be so. But they're hellish creatures, possessed by demonic spirits," he said, as she continued laughing, "I'm telling you, if I were you I'd be careful, you never know when they might strike."

"Oh, goddesses, you make me laugh, Link. I can't believe you're scared of cuccos."

"You won't find a picture of me in the sheikah slate next to a cucco. It's the ultimate proof," he joked, joining in Zelda's laughter.

"I haven't laughed so long in a while," sighed Zelda, dropping on her back, against the soft grass that surrounded the bonfire.

"I know," he imitated her. He could see the wisps of smoke from the campfire filtering through the branches of the trees, and the stars among the leaves, distant and cold.

For a while they were silent, but he wished to continue the conversation. He had found that she was easy to talk to, the most absurd subject seemed entertaining to her, and Zelda, after more than a hundred years, had laughed again. He didn't want to spoil the moment, but there was something he'd wanted to tell her since they'd arrived at the wall, and he didn't want to leave the opportunity to do so, now that the sheikah were gone and she was relaxed and in a good mood.

"Zelda, I know one of the things that scares you, seriously, is that plain out there." He held on for a moment, in case she said something, but took her silence as an invitation to continue. "It's okay. It's just something that happened a long ago, and you can't change it. I've been there a thousand times and all I see is a plain with water seeping down and forming little pools and ponds. Old ruins of white stone, now covered with mould and climbing plants. Piles of ancestral junk that is useless, believe me, I have looked for old pieces in that tangle of iron and nothing can be reused. Memories are not reality. I don't have them, and I can go on living the same way."

Zelda said nothing. She closed her eyes and remained relaxed, in her same position. Again, the sounds of the forest could be heard. The owl, the crickets hiding in the grass, and the wind, swaying the leaves of the forest trees and making them sound like a wave.

"Thank you for your words, Link." She said, after a while.

"When we ride out there tomorrow, you will only step on land, water and grass. Nothing else. That's all there is now, that's all that matters."

"I hope so."

Zelda stood up and brushed the dry grass from her clothes.

"I hope I haven't disturbed you... I just want to prevent you from riding with your eyes closed and falling off your horse."

"You haven't," she smiled, "we have a long trip ahead of us and I'm going to sleep, that's all. Aren't you going to get some rest?"

"I'll wake you up at dawn."

Zelda frowned and said no more. He knew the forest by the wall was safe. He had scoured the perimeter and made sure there were no monsters or threats. Still, he felt it was his duty to protect the group, even if no one had asked him to. The worst threats were inside the head of the princess of Hyrule, and there he was convinced he couldn't reach.