Riju, chieftain of the Gerudo, popped a candied voltfruit into her mouth and chewed it slowly. The honey that coated the voltfruit dulled the highly acidic taste into a pleasant burn at the back of her throat, and the cane sugar just added more sweetness. Lovely. She'd have Buliara pass on her compliments to the cooks later.

Snagging another candied volfruit, Riju collapsed onto her bed with a groan. Today had been full of annoyances that she had needed to attend to. Shabonne wanted to build a new sand-seal course and was insistent that it be done as soon as possible. Barta had gotten lost again, and Riju had ordered three of her soldiers to find the wayward Gerudo (at this point, Riju wondered if she should just boot Barta out of her service). And to top all of it off, there had been an earthquake three days before that had occurred minutes after Vah Naboris fired a massive laser in the direction of Hyrule Castle, and everyone was still on edge.

Riju herself was anxiously awaiting news of...whatever it was that had happened at Hyrule Castle. She hoped that the vile Ganon had been defeated. She prayed that the brave voe Link had not been killed.

"Riju, there's a Rito here with a message from Kakariko Village." said Buliara from just outside of her bedchamber.

Scrambling off of the bed, Riju took a moment to compose herself before she strode out of the doorway. She had a feeling that this was the news that she'd been waiting three days for.

. . .

"...I shall be travelling to Zora's Domain to meet with you for a day, King Dorephan, before continuing on towards Tarrey Town to see this bug kingdom for myself. I pray that this finds you in good health, Princess Zelda Bosphoramus Hyrule, third of her name, Hylia's Chosen, Vanquisher of Ganon..."

Sidon, Prince of the Zora, tuned out the reading of Princess Zelda's many titles as he considered the information they had just received through the Rito messenger. They had already been informed of the presence of the bug kingdom through Fyson the day before, and his father had sent a detachment of five Zora scouts through the underwater tunnels to Lake Akkala to investigate just hours before they'd received this letter. The scouts could be arriving at this 'Hallowed Nest' at this very moment.

The rest of the letter was new though. Sidon grinned wildly at the thought that Link had not only survived, but that the little Hylian had also fought Ganon, freed the Princess, and that together the two of them had once and for all vanquished the Calamity. Truly, thanks to them, Hyrule would flourish like a water lily in summer. Monsters would be mortal now, and Central Hyrule could be reclaimed to create more farmland. Not that the Zora cared much about Hylian foodstuffs, but Sidon tried to think outside of the Zora's needs; it was what a good Prince would do.

Sidon turned towards his father and clasped his hands together.

"Father, I wish to go down the river to meet with Link and Princess Zelda! I already know Link quite well, and it would be beneficial to get to know the Princess better outside of the confines of the court. I only saw her a few times when I was a child, after all. And, while I do not doubt Link's abilities in the slightest, it could be beneficial to have a Zora guide along the way."

King Dorephan rumbled in thought before he ponderously nodded.

"Yes, I think that is a fine idea, my son. Go then. We shall prepare for a royal feast on your return to commemorate this joyous day." King Dorephan laughed, the sound booming around his above-water throneroom. "100 years of the Calamity, and it is finally over! Ah, this does my old bones good to hear."

Sidon grinned, teeth sparkling, and he flashed a thumbs up.

"Thank you Father! Well then, I'll be off, I don't want to keep Link waiting!"

. . .

Teba finished strapping on his quiver, while beside him, Harth was checking his bowstring. Elder Kaneli had called them in to read the letter from Kakariko village, and both Rito had immediately volunteered to go to Kakariko to represent the Rito, as Kaneli was far too old to fly across half of Hyrule.

When Kaneli had reminded them that the official summit wasn't for three weeks, both had brushed it off. Arriving early was just good manners, and Teba wanted to investigate Hyrule Castle and this new bug Kingdom for himself before moving on to Kakariko Village. He trusted the words in the letter but there was no harm in verifying the situation with his own eyes.

...besides, Hyrule Castle was said to house some of the finest weapons ever made, and with the Calamity gone, Teba wanted to snag a few fine bows and quiverfuls of arrows. His son was going to be the finest warrior the Rito had ever seen, and there was no reason not to start collecting gear for him to use in the future.

"Flight pack good?" asked Harth. Teba nodded, and rolled his hip. The wound he had taken while assisting Link against Vah Medoh was mostly healed, but it still twinged occasionally.

"How's your wing holding up?"

Harth spread both of his wings in response and approached the edge of the take-off balcony.

"Why don't you just try to keep up, Too-Slow Teba?"

Harth dived off of the balcony and Teba followed, seconds after, a scowl on his beak.

"I swear, you arrive late to one class in Flight School and he never lets you live it down."

. . .

Big Boss Bludo ruminated over the news that a Goron messenger had just delivered. He'd received the clay tablet that the Rito had brought to one of their postal stations on the outskirts of Death Mountain just before he was ready to eat (paper and Rito being notoriously combustible in the fiery domain of the volcano) and had read it while munching on a prime rock roast.

Across from Bludo sat Yunobo, who was digging into his own rock roast while trying to not think about a kingdom of bugs right next to Death Mountain. Bugs were so scary, and now they could walk around on two legs and talk? Even scarier. Yunobo desperately hoped Bludo didn't send him to meet with the bugs.

"Yunobo, I'm sending you to meet with the bugs."

Yunobo's mouth opened, and little bits of red hot gravel fell out.

"Boss! I-I can't do that, bugs scare me!"

Bludo smashed his fist into the ground and said "Boulders and bedlam, toughen up Yunobo! You managed to fight off Vah Rudania without me there, didn't ya? You're a Goron, they're just little bugs, they're not gonna be able to hurtcha."

Yunobo picked up the fallen gravel and tossed it into his mouth before it cooled.

"But Boss, what if the bugs are really big?"

"Then they'll be really big! Get over it and act like a Goron, brother." Bludo said, waving his rock roast at Yunobo "Be more like your ancestor Daruk. Now there was a Goron that wasn't scared a' nothin', not even Ganon himself."

Yunobo tuned Bludo out as the venerable Goron began to reminisce about Daruk. He didn't want his rock roast to get cold, and food kept away the thoughts of giant bugs.

Ugh. Bugs. So Creepy.

. . .

Hornet gave a curt nod to the bugs milling through the Crossroads, many of which bowed to her. The teams that she'd assigned seemed like they'd been busy; the Crossroads village had been transformed from a decrepit husk to a thriving town in the time since she'd been gone. She was impressed, and resolved to pass on her approval to all of the team leaders.

The path up to Dirtmouth was thankfully quite short, and Hornet was soon standing underneath the well exit. She added down a mental note to look into opening up a larger entrance into Hallownest. Tunneling could work...there hadn't been much need before, as nothing of value was produced on the surface, but now they would (presumably, if they didn't go to war) have trade flowing in from the surface that needed an easier path into the depths. If the Fools agreed to come onboard, she could make use of their tame Garpedes to tunnel…

Hornet shuddered with exhaustion as she ascended up the well wall. She hadn't slept since leaving Dirtmouth, though she'd tried on the tram, and she hadn't eaten a thing for even longer. There was too much to do.

Bugs bowed to her as she passed through Dirtmouth, and she did her best to give them nods in return. Thankfully, the town center soon came into view, and Hornet spotted Elderbug speaking with a group of bugs.

"...the latest group up from Crystal Peak just came in, we need somewhere to put the miners." said one of the bugs, a slim, black ant. Elderbug gently shook his head before he spotted Hornet.

"Oh! Your highness, you've returned!"

Hornet chirped affirmatively, presenting the front of someone who wasn't running on empty.

"Are we running out of space in Dirtmouth to house bugs?"

Elderbug nodded, seeming almost embarrassed.

"Dirtmouth was never a large town, your highness. The only reason we're able to house this large a fraction of Hallownest's population is because of how few bugs were left alive by the Infection. But yes...we've reached the end of our open houses, and I don't think it's wise to be without shelter under the burning orb. The Crossroads Village is full as well. We'll just have to send the miners to the City of Tears."

Hornet nodded, and that was all the confirmation the ant needed to scurry off towards a group of miners. Hornet walked past Elderbug and sat down heavily onto the iron bench in the town square. Elderbug looked at her with concern.

"How long has it been since you slept, or ate? You do not look well, your highness, if I may be so bold to say that."

Hornet chittered tiredly.

"I will do both soon. First though. Sit. Tell me what has occurred in my absence."

Elderbug did as she said and began speaking.

"Well...many things have happened. Ogrim's team has found bugs all throughout the kingdom, and they still have more areas to explore. The last numbers coming up from the City of Tears say that more than 3,000 bugs were found and counted in the city among the living, and they've taken over one of the towers in the Merchant's Quarter. Combined with the 500 or so in the Crossroad's village, and the 500 or so here in Dirtmouth, we've found more than 4,000 bugs so far."

Hornet clacked her pedipalps together, pleased, and she motioned for Elderbug to continue.

"Cornifer and Iselda purchased a map of Hy'rool from the nearby town, and they also sold maps of Hallownest to them. We have a small stash of the foreign currency now. Cornifer's team has also been testing the surface vegetation, and most of it is edible, though much of it is bitter tasting. As for Quirrel's food gathering team, they managed to scrounge up enough supplies in Greenpath to feed all of the gathered bugs in all three locations, at least for now."

Elderbug paused, then said "The Hollow Knight was helpful in getting the food to the surface. They helped with that after guiding around a peculiar hy'leen who stopped by...oh, and there's another peculiar hy'leen here now. Some strange fellow with a beetle shaped pack. Very excitable sort, stuck close by to Bretta, one of those who lived here before the end of the Infection. I think he's staying with her in..."

Hornet nodded absently, filing that information away, but she found it harder and harder to concentrate on Elderbug's words.

"...highness…your highness, did you hear me?"

Hornet snapped back to clarity and reprimanded herself. Falling asleep in the middle of town was absolutely unacceptable!

"Ah, yes, could you repeat that for me?"

Elderbug studied Hornet before he shook his head.

"No...no, I don't think I will. You're in no condition to be working anymore. Stay there. I will go get some food from the public kitchen."

Hornet considered protesting, but she saw the wisdom in Elderbug's words. She wouldn't be good to anyone if she collapsed in the town square. She had to trust in those she'd appointed to run things in her stead.

With nothing else to do, Hornet sat on the iron bench and basked in the light of the burning orb. It was oddly soothing.

Author's Note:

Damn. I was really hoping for some BOTW2 or Silksong news from that Nintendo Direct, but it looks like I'm just gonna have to continue to suffer in silence. Ah well.

This is very much another interim chapter. This fic has been a little bit Hollow Knight centric thus far, and I wanted to reassure people that that isn't gonna continue to be the case. Hyrule is soon gonna be mixing things up with Hallownest, but travel takes time, and it's literally been 3-4 days since Ganon's defeat (depending on how you count it).

Other than that, not much to say. Thanks for stopping by, leave a comment if ya want. If the chapters come out slower from now on, blame Hades, it's a very addictive game.