Zelda felt a profound sense of relief sweep over her as they reached the outer gates of Kakariko Village. A group of Lizalfos had attacked them on the road, and had been swiftly dispatched by Link. The attack had been a sobering reminder to her that places that had once been safe from monsters were now risky to travel through.
Though, hopefully that would change soon. With Ganon's departure, the monsters would no longer regain life during the blood moon. Indeed, the Lizalfos Link had slain had left behind corpses, instead of fading into smoke. The monsters were unbound from Ganon's power, which meant that the Hyruleans that were left could begin to drive them back and retake their lands.
Though, what good were lands if there were no people to live there? This thought had persistently repeated in Zelda's mind on the ride to Kakariko. Perhaps...perhaps they could seek help from former allies in neighboring countries, like the island nations of Gamelon or Koridai, or the continental kingdoms of Holodrum, Ordonia, or Labrynna? Though, what country would want to send its own citizens to become citizens of a different nation? And there was always the possibility of war, especially now that the threat of Ganon was gone and Hyrule was weak.
Zelda's grip on her reins tightened. She had not held back Ganon for a century to see her people conquered by some mortal king. Her powers were gone, yes, but Hyrule was still protected by the Divine Beasts, and all of the citizens that remained would sooner die than bow to an uppity foreigner who wanted to ransack the ruins of their kingdom. Hyrule would endure. She would make sure of it.
As they passed through the second gate, and Kakariko Village came into view, Zelda shook her head and buried her circling thoughts.
The village had barely changed at all in the past century, thank the goddesses. There was no widespread devastation, no empty ruins. If anything, Kakariko seemed to have grown in size since she'd seen it last, which made sense, she supposed. It was in a highly defensible location in the mountains, and was guarded by Sheikah warriors. She was thankful for that.
"Is that…?"
An elderly Sheikah woman who had just exited the General Store looked up at Zelda with wide eyes. The basket of food that she had been carrying was on the ground, some of it spilled onto the dirt.
In front of her, Link immediately dismounted his horse, and quickly scooped up the woman's groceries. The old lady blinked and accepted her basket back.
"T-thank you dear. I hadn't expected...is that really you, Princess Zelda?"
Zelda smiled at the old lady from her horse.
"Indeed it is. Have we met before, elder?"
The old lady sucked in a breath, then laughed weakly.
"Oh, I saw you once riding through Kakariko when I was a small child. I doubt you remember me. My name is Nanna. I studied under Purah, during the Age of Burning Fields and after, before I retired here to Kakariko Village."
Zelda hummed.
"Is Purah still around? I imagine not, she'd be over a hundred and thirty by now. Still, it would have been nice to speak with her again, she was one of the foremost experts on Ancient Shiekah technology."
Nanna guffawed and said "Oh, Purah's still alive and kicking, as strange and energetic as always. Old age doesn't seem to have done anything more than annoy her. I haven't seen her in twelve years, but we keep in touch through occasional letters. She's living on a mountain near Hateno Village these days. I imagine she'd be delighted to speak with you again, your majesty. She talked about you sometimes, you know." Nanna smiled at Zelda, who smiled back. It was good to hear that Purah was still alive.
"Ah, that is good to hear. Thank you for your time, Nanna. We'll let you get back to your day." It was nice to talk to someone who was familiar with her, but Zelda really wanted to talk to the village chieftain as soon as possible.
Nanna didn't seem to mind her impatience, and waved her off.
"Ah, I imagine you have all sorts of important royal business to attend to now that you're back. Don't let me keep you, Princess...or should I say, Queen Zelda."
Zelda flushed slightly and said "No coronation has been held. For the moment at least, Princess is fine. Good day, elder."
With that, Link hopped back onto his horse, and the two of them continued on their way. A few minutes of riding later, they arrived at the Main Hall of the village, and both of them dismounted.
"Ah, Sir Link, let me get a stablehand over here to board your horses!" one of the guards in front of the stairway up to the Main Hall said, giving Zelda a curious once over before turning away and cupping his hands to his mouth.
"TALO! GOT TWO HORSES THAT NEED BOARDING!"
The other guard winced at the loud shout and gave his compatriot a glare.
"Dorian, they could have gotten Talo themselves. Hylia knows Link has been here often enough to know where to board his damn horse."
Dorain looked chagrined and responded "Sorry Cado."
Zelda covered her mouth to politely smother her giggle, and approached the two guards with Link at her side while a boy in his teens rushed over and led their horses away.
"We're here to see the village chieftain."
The two guards looked at each other briefly, then back at her.
"Any friend of Sir Link's is welcome anywhere in our village, of course. Just as long as you remember to be respectful to the chief." Cado sniffed.
Zelda nodded, amused.
"Quite."
As they walked up the stairs, Zelda heard the guards muttering behind her.
"Who was that? She looked familiar."
"Mmm. Agreed. Maybe she's from Hateno? The clothes look like they came from there."
"No, it's something else."
Zelda snorted.
The two of them reached the door to the Main Hall, and Zelda took in a deep breath before pushing the door open.
The interior of the building was dark, but clean and well cared for. There were paintings on the wall of places around Hyrule that she remembered. One in particular caught her eye. That looked like...Blatchery Plain. The place where Link had very nearly died.
An old woman rested on a pile of pillows at the back of the room. She looked to be asleep, but when Zelda stepped closer, her eyes snapped open. Zelda cleared her throat and said "Greetings elder, I am-"
"Princess Zelda!" the old woman cackled. "Oh, I am well aware of who you are, my lady. Don't tell me that you've forgotten me? For shame, Princess, I helped you steal wildberry tarts from the cooks and this is how you repay me?"
Zelda blinked in shock.
"Impa!?"
The elderly Sheikah smiled, showing her many missing teeth.
"Yes, my lady. It is a pleasure and an honor to see you again."
. . .
Hornet descended through the Fungal Wastes, with her eclectic posse of bugs following. The bees, who had refused to offer their names, looked nervous, while the spiders (Ibis, Ibex, and Ibik, sisters apparently), the mantises (Xeen and Kolan), and the Fool (The Crusher, probably a stage name) seemed unbothered.
Conversation hadn't occurred beyond cursory introductions. Hornet wasn't bothered, though. None of these bugs liked or trusted each other. Before, there had been the presence of other Hallownest citizens to provide distance and padding, but now, these wayward members of disparate tribes were in close proximity. It was no wonder that they kept silent. Hornet was just thankful the spiders and mantises hadn't tried to kill each other yet.
Soon enough, the small group entered the lands of the mantises, and Hornet parried a sudden claw strike from a young mantis patrol guard.
"Outsiders are not welcome on Mantis lands, and neither are traitors and cowards! Leave or die."
Xeen hissed at the patrol guard while Kolan visibly puffed up in anger.
"We are neither traitors nor cowards! The Infection took Kolan and I on a foraging mission in the upper reaches of the Wastes."
Hornet stood back to watch the byplay, while the other members of her party did the same.
"You lie! The Infection does not let those within it's clutches go. You are deserters, and you will pay the price for your dishonor!"
The patrol guard charged, razor claws ready to snap forward in an instant. Xeen, however, was an older and more experienced warrior, and the young guard was pinned to the ground in seconds.
"Know this, youngling. The only reason I do not kill you now for your words is that I wish to return to the service of the Sisters with as little fuss as possible, and because I know that you are ignorant and foolish as many young ones are. The Infection is gone. All of us will attest to it. And this one," Xeen pointed to Hornet "seeks an audience with the Sisters."
The guard struggled and hissed, their mandibles snapping forward in an attempt to bite Xeen's legs off while their claws struggled to break free. After a long moment, they calmed down enough to respond.
"The Sisters do not see any bug who comes strolling into our lands! If they wish for an audience, then they must challenge them, as is our custom!"
Hornet took this as her cue, and stepped forwards.
"I am going to challenge them. And if you will not let us past, I will challenge you as well. Xeen has already proved himself. Do you really want to be beaten twice in a row?"
The warrior let out an outraged scent, but stopped struggling as much.
"Watch your tongue, outsider. Infection or no infection, those of Hallownest are not welcome on Mantis lands. To say nothing of the savages you have in your party." The patrol guard stared at the spiders, who looked entirely unbothered by the attention. "But, very well. You have beaten me. You may pass into the village. I hope the Lords enjoy the taste of your severed heads."
With the patrol guard's surrender, Xeen let the young mantis up, and each member of Hornet's party was scent-marked to let them pass through to the village unharmed. Then, with one last glare, the guard leapt away, and Hornet's group resumed their journey.
No more mantis accosted them on their way, though the ones who saw them glared and hissed. The scent-marking would only last for a short time, and if it wore off while they were on mantis land, they would be swarmed by angry warriors. Hornet wasn't concerned, though. There was more than enough time to challenge the sisters.
Soon enough, they had arrived at the village proper, and Hornet turned to her party.
"Very well. Xeen, Kolan, we'll go see the Mantis Lords. The rest of you, try not to anger the mantises. That scent-mark only protects you from immediate attacks. If you offend them over anything, they will kill you. I shouldn't be long."
Xeen chirped, and Kolan looked torn between amusement and anger at how she talked about the mantises. Ibis was the one to respond, waving Hornet off with her forelegs.
"Go on, little Princess. I doubt you'll have a warm welcome, but do Deepnest proud."
Hornet fought the urge to hiss at the deceptively honeyed words. Bringing up her heritage here was a spiteful and confrontational move. She'd have to earn respect there just as surely as she would here. But, she'd deal with the spiders and their manipulative maneuvering later. For now, she had a fight to win.
It didn't take long to reach the high thrones of the Mantis Lords. The three Sisters sat up at seeing her and the two mantises alongside her. They observed her silently while she walked in front of them, Xeen and Kolan remaining off to the side of the room to wait.
Hornet drew her needle.
"I am Hornet! Daughter of the Pale King and Herrah the Beast! The Infection is gone. I seek to rebuild Hallownest, and challenge for the right to speak candidly with you about the future, and a potential alliance!"
The Sisters did not visibly react to this beyond a slight narrowing of their eyes. Then, the one on the highest throne spoke.
"Very well. Quan."
The mantis on the left throne stood, needle in hand. A cage of bronze descended from the ceiling, and spike pits opened around the edge of the cage.
"Drosa!"
The fight began with a ringing of steel.
Author's Note:
That was fun. I've been getting some questions on what each hero has and what they did before their respective game endings, so I'm going to answer that.
Link freed the Four Divine Beasts, bought and furnished his old home in Hateno, helped build Tarrey Town, got all of the non-DLC memories, got the Master Sword and Hylian Shield, and also found 100 Koroks and 102 Shrines. 102, because that's the number of Shrines I did in my playthrough before needing to consult walkthroughs. Link did all of this in the space of two months. He does NOT have the Master Cycle, the Hero of the Wild Armour, or any DLC/Amiibo stuff in general like the Ancient Saddle or Wolf Link. He also doesn't have Ancient Gear aside from what he was able to scavenge off of dead Shrine Guardians.
The little Knight got all the charms, the fully upgraded Grimmchild (yes, they beat NKG), did all of the Delicate Flower Quests, spared the Nailsmith, completed the Hunter's Journal, and beat the first four Pantheons. In this fic, though, the Pantheon of Hallownest didn't exist. After beating the Pantheons, the Knight was attuned enough that they were able to go challenge Absolute Radiance by breaking into Hollow's mind. The ending was a combination of Dream No More and Embrace the Void, then; Hollow and the Siblings helped the Knight, who became the huge Lord of Shades at the climax and ripped apart the Radiance. Hollow was freed. The Infection is gone. The Siblings are still around in the Abyss, but they're at peace and in control now. The Godseekers are all still alive, as the Knight ascended inside of Hollow's mind and didn't need to break out of his Sibling (and also didn't want to damage Hollow). Currently the Knight is chilling in the Abyss.