Link trudged behind Mipha and Daruk as they talked about a Hinox Mipha had found. He was still tired and wished he could've gone back to sleep, but he heard Daruk's voice and knew that that wasn't going to happen. He yawned before messing with his belts, making sure his equipment was secure before seeing Mipha turn to him.
"Are you tired?" she asked.
Link shook his head. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure? You've been yawning an awful lot. If you wish to rest, that is perfectly fine. Daruk and I won't mind waiting for you."
"No, really, it's fine. Besides, by the time we get to that Hinox, I'll be wide awake."
Mipha nodded as a small smile came across her face. "Well, I believe that you will find this fight to be far easier than your last one at the castle. This time, you're fighting a normal Hinox, so you don't have to worry about disassembling limbs or falling eyes. However, the Hinox you are fighting is a black one, so I would advise caution."
Link nodded. "I'm guessing that's the strongest one. Is there anything else I should know?"
"Yeah," Daruk suddenly said. "Beat that thing into the ground, little guy!"
A small smile came from Mipha. "I suppose that is another way of saying best of luck."
They went past Veiled Falls and soon found the Black Hinox at Ralis Pond. They observed it for a moment before Mipha and Daruk gave Link a small pep talk and sent him off to fight the Hinox. Link carefully approached the sleeping Hinox, trying to find the best way to attack it. He noticed a metal band around one of its legs and concluded that shock arrows would be best. He started preparing his arrow before seeing a glint around the Hinox's neck. He hesitantly got closer to the Hinox and saw what he believed was a weapon. The Hinox moved its hand to scratch itself which gave him an idea.
Link carefully moved to get on the Hinox's hand—he could feel Mipha and Daruk's questioning gazes. The Hinox moved its hand and Link suppressed a startled yelp. Now on the Hinox, Link could see the weapons better. He let out a light gasp as he saw the royal weapons along the Hinox's necklace. A smile came across his face before his brow furrowed in concentration as he deftly took the weapons off the Hinox's neck. Quietly, or as quietly as one can manage with metal weapons in hand, he jumped down and smiled, proud of his conquest. He went back to Mipha and Daruk's side and placed the weapons on the ground.
"Little guy, what're you doin'?" Daruk asked quietly.
"I just…wanted to see what it had."
"Oh, I thought you were givin' up."
"Never," Link said as he retrieved his bow and shock arrows.
Mipha gasped and took a few steps back.
"What's wrong?"
It took her a moment before answering. "Link, I—please be careful with those. You may not know this but shock arrows—actually, all things electric—are quite dangerous for us Zora. I'm far enough from the Hinox that I should be fine, but if it starts to rain, please put them away. The rain will amplify the shock arrow's power, and then…you know."
Link nodded and went back to actually deal with the Hinox. It wasn't too eventful, at least in Link's eyes, but the uprooting of trees was certainly new. Though he supposed it wasn't too different from the Stalnox tearing off its ribs. He dodged another tree and heard Mipha and Daruk yelp as it collided with a tree close to them. However, it began to rain, so while Link was busy trying to find his normal arrows, the Hinox had uprooted yet another tree. Intense pain shot through Link's body as part of the tree collided into him. Darn him and his inability to dodge such a large object. Daruk was quick to find a large rock and threw it at the Hinox, stunning it.
"Daruk, don't," Link groaned as Mipha helped him up. "It's my battle."
"Link, you were crushed by a tree!" Mipha exclaimed.
He had multiple reasons for why that happened but decided to hold his tongue. "It's my fault. I wasn't paying attention," he muttered while getting his bow.
"I think you should quit now while you're ahead."
"Ahead?! That thing almost killed me. The only ahead I'm getting is that thing being dead!"
"Link!" Mipha cried out as Link made his way back to the Hinox.
Link heard Daruk start saying something to Mipha but couldn't hear it, as it was muffled by the sound of the Hinox hitting the ground. He quickly went up to the Hinox and attacked it for as long as he could before running to avoid being sat on or smacked away like some bug.
The fight was similar to his battle with the Stalnox, however, the uncontrolled environment added some problems. Like the uprooting of non-hollow trees compared to hollow bones being thrown and him failing to dodge said trees, rain preventing him from using shock arrows which would've given him an advantage, and the Hinox being stronger in every way possible. Yes, the odds were stacked against him. No, he wasn't backing down. Even though, he really should have. About an hour later, Link defeated the Hinox. And, as if on cue, the rain stopped.
Link let out a triumphant yell of sorts but whatever it was wasn't heard because Daruk was too busy celebrating his brother's victory. While Daruk and Link were busy excitedly chatting about the battle like young boys who had just seen or done the coolest thing ever, Mipha noticed something about Link.
She gasped and ran up to Link, "You're hurt!" she exclaimed.
"Huh?" Link looked to where Mipha was staring; he saw a few bruises already starting to appear from the Hinox's attacks. "I didn't notice."
Mipha opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by a hearty laugh from Daruk.
"Of course ya didn't notice, little guy. You were too busy beatin' the Din outta that Hinox like you were supposed to. Great job, brother!" Daruk pat Link on the back, causing him to wince.
"Thank you, Daruk," Link said through gritted teeth.
"Daruk, you're hurting him," Mipha stated.
"Huh?" Daruk looked at Link who, although didn't look like he was in pain, looked uncomfortable. "Oh. Sorry about that, little guy," he said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"No, it's-it's fine. Really," Link mumbled as he started to feel the adrenaline wearing off.
Taking a step towards him, Mipha said, "Link, please. Allow me to heal you."
"Heal me?"
Mipha nodded before gently taking his hand and leading him near his stolen weapon pile. He sat down and watched as Mipha's hand started to glow before she put it over his largest bruise. They stayed quiet for a while before Mipha hesitantly broke the silence.
"Link, I've been meaning to ask, but how did you do the…the bow thing that you did at Hyrule Castle?"
"What bow thing?"
"Oh, you know, the one you did when you were…showing up Revali."
"Oh, that." Link stayed quiet for a moment as he tried to find the right words to properly explain it before deciding that he couldn't and that if he could, it wouldn't be worth the effort. "It's just something I taught myself over the years. It still needs perfecting."
"Really? I find that a bit hard to believe."
"Why's that?"
"Well, it's just that…you executed it so flawlessly and you hit the bullseye on every target, not to mention how quickly you did it."
"Quickly? It looked quick?"
"Well, perhaps quick doesn't properly describe it… It looked…well…um… Daruk, would you mind helping me?"
Daruk looked at Link confidently. "The arrows were a blur, brother. One, two, three, just like that." He counted on his fingers to emphasize his point.
Mipha nodded a little as she moved her hand to another bruise. "I've never seen anyone execute such a maneuver before. Who knows…maybe one day you and Revali can settle who's the better archer."
Link slowly shook his head. "There's no point. You said so yourself that Revali's an expert with the bow."
"Well, you have proven that you're one as well. So I think you have a good chance at beating him. Perhaps you two should arrange some sort of…competition one day."
"I'll…think about it," Link said. It wasn't an entire lie; he would think about it. But he would also try to avoid Revali in any way possible.
After a while, Mipha healed most, if not all, of his bruises from the fight, and even some from the travel to the domain. Due to Mipha's suggestion, she and Daruk got Link's weapons for him. Mipha claimed it was better for them to do it instead of him so he could rest. Link didn't feel sore now, but he knew better than to overestimate himself…kind of. Daruk carried the royal claymore while Mipha held the royal bow and royal broadsword. There was relative silence between them as they passed by Veiled Falls, its rushing waters filling any silence before Daruk spoke up.
"Hey, little guy, have you ever considered doin' something to show your brotherhood?"
"Like what?" Link asked.
"Like gettin' a tattoo!"
"'A tattoo'?" Link repeated as he caught a worried look from Mipha.
"Yeah! All our Hylian brothers get one, so you should too. I guarantee you won't regret it."
"What does it look like?"
"It's the symbol of the Gorons and is inspired by Goddess Din herself."
As interesting, and as painful as getting a tattoo from a Goron sounded, Link knew he couldn't. His mom wouldn't let him hear the end of it if he came home with the Goron symbol etched into his arm. "I'll, uh, I'll consider."
When they arrived at the domain, Daruk and Mipha went with Link to the inn so he could put his weapons away. However, when Link and the others got to the inn, Link noticed Kyra wasn't there. He doubted she left but he knew she could take care of herself if she did. Kind of. And that would depend on whether or not she did leave the domain and if she left with company.
Link spent the rest of the day with Daruk challenging him to face some major monsters—the closest in the area being a Blue Hinox and a Lynel—while Mipha kept advising against it. Link would've ignored Mipha's advice if his best weapons for fighting the Lynel weren't so brand new. He wasn't sure if the weapons were actually worth keeping, and being that there was dirt and grime on them he couldn't tell. But if he could get some cleaner, oil, and a cloth, he could clean them off.
Mipha suggested he ask the owner of the Zora armor shop, saying that there would naturally be weapons, and by extension things to clean weapons with, in such a shop. He was going to ask the shopkeeper for the necessary materials but figured it may just be better for him to wait until he got home. Primarily because Zora weapons seemed to be made of some shiny metal so he felt it would be better to get home and use the materials he knew would clean his weapons. So instead, he asked for pieces of cloth to wrap them in. Before he and the others left, Link stopped to look at a full set of Zora armor.
"Are you interested in getting armor?" one of the assistants asked him.
Link shook his head. "No, just looking."
The assistant nodded before going back to whatever he was doing before and Link left with Mipha and Daruk. While Link was wrapping and putting the weapons away, Mipha asked him a question.
"Link, what did you think of the Zora armor?"
He took a moment before answering as he put away the final weapon, "It was nice."
"Nice? Is that all?"
"Well, um…it is nice, don't get me wrong. It's just that I'm used to seeing more…flair, I suppose, when it comes to armor. There's nothing wrong with the basic design, it's just that I expected more from… I mean, have you seen your home, princess? It doesn't exactly say humble."
Mipha laughed a little, "I suppose it doesn't. But you know, Link, there is a special set of Zora armor that perhaps fills in the flair factor a bit more. It's…um…traditional for Zora princesses to make a set of Zora armor for her husband. There is a bit more jewelry on that one, not much though."
Link nodded before sitting back against the headboard of the bed, and spending the rest of daylight talking with Mipha and Daruk. Around dinnertime, Mipha suggested Link try fish—voltfin particularly. However, being that voltfin trout weren't found at the domain, they had to settle for sizzlefin trout instead. She found a recipe that she believed Link, and by extension Kyra, would like. It was a simple fish and mushroom skewer with zapshrooms instead of Hylianshrooms. When Kyra finally came back to the inn, Link was quick to offer her a skewer. Her face scrunched up in confusion and disgust before she hesitantly took it from him. Mipha assured Kyra that she would enjoy it and watched as she cautiously took a nibble. She must've thought it tasted good because she took a larger bite before sitting next to Link.
"What is this?" she asked after another bite.
"Voltfin," Link answered.
"Voltfin." Another bite. "Link, did you make this?"
Link nodded as he took another bite of fish and shrooms for himself.
"You're so much better than me at cooking," she muttered. "You got to teach me sometime."
Link stifled a laugh as he tried not to think of his sister's many failures with cooking before nodding. For the rest of dinner, Link, Mipha, Daruk, and surprisingly enough, Kyra chatted. Link wasn't 100% sure why his sister was bothering with talking to them. He hadn't seen her the whole day and wasn't expecting to see her until he decided to sleep.
Maybe she met a voe, and that's why she's good mood, Link thought.
It was getting late, so everyone went off to bed. Link plopped down onto the bed with a content sigh before shifting to get under the blankets. However, he stopped when he saw Kyra still wasn't dressed for bed. With a sigh, he moved so he could see her better. He was about to ask her what was wrong but she asked him a question.
"Link, do you think we could go to Hyrule Castle Town?"
Link blinked, surprised. "Hyrule Castle Town? Why do you want to go there?"
Kyra shifted a bit in her spot on the before saying, "I just want to visit. Might as well since we're traveling."
Link nodded. "All right, but we're going to get home later than Mom wants us to, so you better tell her you're why."
To Link's surprise, Kyra complied with what he said. "All right, that's fine."
"Yeah…" Link turned over in the bed and pulled the blankets up to his chin. What was wrong with his sister? She never agreed to everything he said. There was always at least one complication. Did she meet a voe like he thought? Because that would definitely explain this. And if she did, then that would mean those Voe and You classes somehow helped, and that his mom would sign him up for that 'Vai and You' his teacher had been suggesting for the past few years. Link did his best to not groan and pulled the blanket over his head and did his best to go to sleep.
Come the next morning, Kyra was asking if they could leave now. Link felt like it would be rude to leave right after they came so he was hesitant. However, he did manage to convince her to stay one more day. Though neither of them could say they were productive. Kyra spent the day doing Goddess knows what while Link tried to get ready to fight the Lynel on Ploymus Mountain. 'Try' being the key word, because the better part of the day was spent cleaning the weapons with the Zora's annoying to use cleaners and then coming to the conclusion that they weren't good enough to fight the Lynel. However, being that they were royal weapons, they were designed to be durable. And, according to Mipha anyway, they were in good condition. Link felt differently, though he supposed they were…fair, condition wise, but part of him believed they would break in the next few swings.
When Link, Kyra, and Daruk left the domain, Link had to tell Daruk that he wasn't going to Goron City to get the tattoo. At least, not yet anyway. That last part wasn't the entire truth, but Link didn't know what to do involving the tattoo so he could change his mind, so it wasn't exactly a lie. They parted ways a few days later, leaving Link and Kyra alone to travel to Hyrule Castle Town. Link noticed that Kyra didn't talk to a lot of the voes at the stables they stayed at anymore.
Maybe she did meet a voe, Link thought before doing a slight shrug. Good for her.
They arrived at Hyrule Castle Town a few days later, and made sure that getting a room in an inn was their first order of business. They were lucky to get one close to the center of town. Though Link felt that they would've been lucky to get a room in any inn. He saw Kyra looking out the now open window and went to her side.
"You were right, Link," she said quietly. "It is busier than Gerudo Town."
For a moment, they watched the bustling streets as soldiers and civilians alike traversed the town. Hylian vendors and merchants used the same tricks the Gerudo shop greeters did, although with some changes. Instead of shouting out words in Gerudo, they shout out words in traditional Hylian, which would attract the attention of other races. A Zora stopped in her place when she heard a merchant shout something in said language and began to listen as the merchant advertised his wares. As they watched, Link noticed that the streets seemed to be busier than usual. Was there an event coming up?
They decided to stop watching and went their separate ways; Kyra was going to walk throughout town and Link was going to Hyrule Castle. When he arrived at the castle gates, he was asked his name and what his business was. When Link said he wanted to see someone, he was told by the knight that his company was being expected. He was considering asking the soldier if he knew where Lord Cyrill or Captain Ryder were but figured it may be easier to go and wait in the guards' chamber.
While waiting for either of the brothers to drop by or to ask a guard about their whereabouts, Link noticed someone who didn't seem to belong in the chamber. Though they were both looking around, the vai seemed to be watching the knights around her with keen interest. Suddenly, her attention was drawn to him. Sharp, vivid blue eyes looked him over and the woman appeared to tilt her head slightly. She moved and, for a moment, Link thought she was coming for him. That was until a bell rung. The vai's attention was brought back to the knights, soldiers, and trainees as some left, some stayed, and some entered. She made her way to the stairs that led to the chamber's exit and settled herself on a stool that a knight had previously been occupying. She crossed her legs and, seemingly forgetting about his existence, kept her attention on the entrance and didn't look at Link again.
Link released a sigh he didn't realize he was holding and shuddered; he had tensed up horribly under the vai's gaze. Perhaps it was because her gaze contained the same sharpness that reminded him of the way his superiors looked at him when he was younger and had gotten in trouble. He shifted somewhat awkwardly in his spot and looked around, hoping he would see Satori. When he didn't, he guessed she was actually training. He looked around to see if there was a knight he could ask about the brothers and saw one sitting by himself. Link pushed himself from the wall and made his way over, hoping the knight wouldn't mind being bothered.
"Uh, excuse me?"
The knight stopped what he was doing and looked up at Link. "Can I help you?"
Link nodded. "Do you know where Lord Cyrill or Captain Ryder are?"
"I don't know where they are but you can ask a royal guard. But I don't think there are any here." The knight looked around as he tried to find the best alternative to a royal guard. He then pointed at the vai from earlier. "I think your best bet is her. She was talking to them and some of the other royal guards earlier. Come on."
Link hesitantly followed the knight, not exactly wanting to to encounter the vai. When they stopped beside her, she shifted her attention from the entrance to them.
"Can I help you?" the vai asked in a cool voice.
Link could see the vai much clearer now. Her skin was tanned slightly and her blonde hair had several large white streaks running through it, there were some wrinkles on her face that indicated her age slightly while her eyes betrayed her apparent age by having a youthful energy to it.
The knight pointed at Link. "He was wondering if you knew where Lord Cyrill and Captain Ryder were."
"Cyrill and Ryder? Well, there's a meeting going on. However, that bell may mean they're taking a break. Perhaps for lunch. Of course, they could always be fighting through it. It's happened more than once, but they should be here soon."
Of the few people Link knew would be in that meeting, he didn't see them as the kind of people to fight and bicker. Well, sure, Cyrill and Ryder fought, but they were brothers, it was bound to happen. Link then noticed that the vai was looking over him again and did his best not to squirm.
"Your armor is quite interesting," she said, causing Link to subconsciously look at himself. "Where did you get it?"
"Home."
"'Home'?" she repeated.
Link nodded a little.
After a second, she pointed at him. "Hang on, you wouldn't happen to be Ar—" She stopped mid-sentence and looked up the stairs.
Link saw a Sheikah at the top of the stairs, there seemed to be a child with them.
"I'll be back," the vai suddenly said and quickly made her way to the Sheikah.
Link looked away, not wanting them to feel like he was watching them and shifted somewhat in his spot. Suddenly, he heard someone address him.
"Link!" Aryll exclaimed when she ran down the stairs to him. "What are you doing here? Are you escorting Lady Urbosa again?"
Link shook his head. "Just dropping by."
The vai also made her way down and Link saw that the Sheikah had left. The vai looked over Link again before asking, "And who is this, Aryll?"
"This is my friend, Link."
The vai stayed quiet before giving a slight hum, "Ah, so this is the oh-so-famous Link. I always thought Link was a strange name for a Gerudo." She held out her hand, which Link hesitantly took. "It's nice to finally meet you. Aryll has told me a lot about you."
"You're Kagami?" Link asked, remembering Ryder say the name a few times.
"Kagami? Oh, no." The vai laughed slightly, "I'm Eira, Aryll's grandmother."
"Oh. Sorry, I didn't know. Ryder never mentioned you."
Eira let out a light hum before putting her hands on her hips. "Tell me, have Ryder and Cyrill been causing any trouble?"
Link's brow furrowed at the strange question before he shook his head.
"Good. Wouldn't want them causing any trouble for you with all their bickering and whatnot. Speaking of which, where are they? They should've been here by now."
Aryll shrugged a little as if the question was directed to her.
"I'll give them five minutes. If they're not here by then…well…"
After a few minutes, Cyrill, Ryder, and a few other royal guards entered the guards' chamber. The royal guards greeted Eira while the brothers hugged their mother and, expectedly enough, received a kiss on the cheek. While Ryder rubbed his cheek and received a hug from his daughter, Cyrill talked to his mother.
"Mom, what are you doing here?"
Eira placed her hands on her hips. "You say that as if you don't want my company."
"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just weren't expecting you to visit."
She put her arms back by her side. "Well, it gets lonely without you two causing a ruckus somewhere, and I was in the area so I thought I'd visit."
"Well, Ryder's certainly causing some so you won't be lonely anymore."
Ryder glared at the back of his brother's head before returning his focus to Aryll. Eira laughed slightly, whether it was at what Cyrill said or Ryder's reaction, Link didn't know.
Cyrill looked at Link. "I'm assuming you came because you got our letter."
"Kind of. I was in the area, so I figured why not."
"Well, there's no time to waste," Ryder suddenly said. "Did you bring your sword?"
"Uh, no. I left it at the inn. Do you want me to get it or…?"
"Well, your sword is a scimitar, and that wouldn't be appropriate for this," Cyrill said.
"Not that it matters," Ryder commented. "We have training swords for a reason."
Eira looked at Cyrill. "You're not going to fight with the proper swords?"
"We have too much to do to afford injuries," Cyrill stated.
Though Eira didn't seem to believe him about the injuries, she pushed it off. "Well, you might as well start. No need to keep anyone waiting." She took Aryll's hand and led her to the wall.
"You go first, Ryder," Cyrill said before following Eira and Aryll.
Ryder nodded and went to retrieve two dulled down soldier's swords and two soldier's shields and gave one of each to Link. "Do you need to warm up first or do you feel okay?"
"I'm fine," Link said.
Ryder nodded before going to the center of the room and Link followed. They pressed their swords together and looked at each other for a moment before Ryder spoke.
"May the Goddesses let the better man win."
Link nodded and they both took a step back and looked at each other for a moment before someone—Link believed it was Eira—signaled the start of the round. The first thing Link did was jump back as Ryder lunged at him. During the fight, Link kept overestimating the range of Ryder's attacks, so he forced himself to get closer, as uncomfortable as that made him. He strafed to the right to dodge another thrust from Ryder and was quick to counter. He pointed the sword at Ryder's neck and internally released a sigh.
"Heh. Good job, kid." Ryder was about to give the sword and shield to Cyrill before Eira stopped him.
"I'm sure you have enough time for another round," Eira said before gesturing to the center of the room. "Best of two."
"'Best of two'?" Cyrill repeated.
"Well, we don't have enough time for three."
Ryder shrugged a little when his brother looked at him and went to where Link was waiting.
"Time for round two," Ryder said.
Link prepared himself once more and found himself being put on the defensive. He blocked a blow and was going to counter but Ryder was a step ahead. Ryder parried and almost knocked the sword out of Link's hand. Link found the sword was pointed at him this time.
Ryder laughed lightly, "You almost got the best of me again." He put the sword by his side. "Good job. All right, Cyrill, it's all you." Ryder gave the sword and shield to his brother before patting his shoulder. "Best of luck."
Link saw Cyrill get close to rolling his eyes before he shook his head. Cyrill got into a fighting stance and gave Link an expectant look as he got in one himself. Though Cyrill's fighting style was similar to Ryder's, Cyrill had some new tactics that Link had to look out for. Cyrill seemed to be taking advantage of how uncomfortable Link was with being closer to his opponent. In the next few minutes Link found himself in the situation as before; almost being disarmed and having the sword pointed at him. Unlike Ryder, Cyrill didn't linger with a compliment before putting the sword by his side.
"Are you ready?"
Link nodded and prepared himself, now ready for Cyrill. Cyrill proved to have a few new tricks up his sleeve which forced Link to go on the defensive again as he tried to figure out how to maneuver around him. Link blocked a strike and pushed back, causing Cyrill to step back before preparing to swing, but not before he found himself with the sword by his neck.
Cyrill took a moment before saying, "Nice job, Link," as he used one hand to push the sword away. He crossed his arms the best one could manage with a sword and shield. "You know, you seem a lot more confident in your fighting when you're not fighting something 10 times your size."
Link rubbed the back of his head. "It's actually the opposite."
"Really?" Eira asked as she took the sword and shield from Cyrill.
Link nodded.
"What are you most comfortable fighting? Moldugas? I hear they're quite fearsome."
"Stone Taluses. I mean, I have encountered a few Moldugas but Stone Taluses are easier to fight."
Eira nodded slightly. "They're predictable; like most monsters."
"Well, I guess that's one way to put it," Link mumbled.
Eira smiled a little. "Well, Link, are you ready for your final battle?"
"Final battle?" Did he miss something? "Who am I fighting?"
"Why me of course."
"You?" It took Link more effort than he'd like to admit to not to mention Eira's age when asking that. But could someone her age still fight proficiently? Well, she must've been able to if she wasn't hesitating to fight him. Of course, she could be like Revali and was just boasting about her ability to still fight at her age.
Eira nodded. "Are you ready, Link?"
Link looked at Ryder and Cyrill, kind of wanting them to intervene. However, instead of intervening, they gave him a look. A look that said best of luck.
Eira took a fighting stance and Link followed suit. Link quickly found himself being overwhelmed. It was almost as if she was reading him like a book. Every time he thought he had the advantage Eira was quick to prove him wrong. In a few minutes, he found himself flat on his back with a sword pointed at his neck. Eira put the sword by her side and gestured for him to get up for the second round.
With a grunt, Link quickly got back to his feet and the second round started. He made sure to use his shield more often, blocking after almost every swing. Eira swung at him and he blocked before going for a thrust. She strafed and it felt like time slowed down. They caught each others eyes and for a second, Eira looked shocked. Link, though also shocked, had enough wits to raise his shield before Eira quickly dealt several blows to it. The moment she stopped Link prepared to strike but was parried. He stumbled back from the force and was about to raise his shield again but Eira was quick to point the sword at him.
There was a slight smile on her face as she put the sword back by her side. "You're a good opponent, Link. You keep your enemies on their toes."
Link was confused why she was complimenting him. He lost. Wasn't he supposed to be complimenting her?
"But, Link, I'm not going to lie to you, it felt like you were holding back. As if you were afraid to hurt me."
"I wasn't holding back, though."
Eira seemed annoyed by what he said but didn't pursue the topic. "If you say so." She let out a deep sigh. "I fear I'm getting old. My performance time wasn't nearly as quick as I would've liked."
"It was more than quick enough if you ask me."
"You're too kind, Link. You know, when Aryll gets older, you'd probably make a good sparring partner."
"Sparring partner?"
Eira nodded. "Aryll's going to start training soon and she'll need someone to fight when she gets better."
"Aryll wants to become a knight?"
"No, not quite," Eira said as she looked at Aryll who was talking to her father. "Aryll is part Sheikah, and all Sheikah children have to learn how to fight. It doesn't matter what they want to do with their lives, they have to learn. After all, it is their Goddess-given duty to protect the royal family."
Link nodded slightly. It was a bit strange to think that every Sheikah he's come across in these past few months was more than capable of fighting, even though none of them looked the part. Eira took the sword and shield and put them away before inviting him to join them for lunch. He hesitantly declined, saying he needed to go back to the inn. Link said good-bye and started to head back to the inn, buying a few things on the way back and making a mental note to send Princess Zelda another letter that he would make sure involved his fight with Eira. Even though he didn't win a single round against her, he felt like it would be something worth mentioning. He opened the door to his room and saw Kyra sitting by the window with a journal and pencil in hand.
Link greeted her before going to his bed. He started to mess with his bag before looking back at Kyra. "Do you want to leave tomorrow?"
Kyra looked at him for a moment before looking back out the window. "I guess."
"If you want to stay another day, that's fine."
Kyra shook her head. "No, we should've been home by now, so staying another will just get us in trouble."
"But you're a vai. Mom can't do anything to you."
Kyra shrugged slightly and made a sound that gave the impression she didn't believe that. "But she can do something to you."
"Ah. But you're the adult here."
A light laugh came from Kyra, "I guess."
A comfortable silence fell between them, but there was a twinge of tension. Link shifted in his spot. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?"
"You look…sad. Did something happen?"
Kyra pushed off her brother's concern with a laugh, "I'm fine. Just thinking." However, she was quick to look back out the window.
"Are you sure?" Link asked, trying not to push her too far.
She didn't look at him and nodded. Another silence followed before Kyra spoke up, "I overheard some of the Hylians. Turns out there's some sort of festival to one of the Golden Goddesses."
"Is that why there's so many people?"
"I don't think so. The festival's being held in the Summer."
"Well, Spring is almost over."
"But it's still too far for the festival," Kyra stated.
Link muttered something that somewhat agreed with what Kyra said before leaning back onto the bed. "When do you want to leave?"
"Tomorrow morning."
Almost a bit too quickly, Link sat up. "Are you sure? We've only been here for a day. I'm sure there's plenty of things to do."
With a sigh, Kyra said, "There's so many people. I'm ready to go home."
"Maybe we can come back for the festival. There'll be more people but it'll be worth it."
"I'll think about it."
Link nodded and leaned back in the bed, but not before looking at Kyra again. On the way home, Link noticed that Kyra wasn't talking to or was barely holding a conversation with any of the voes at the stables. Which could only mean two things: one, Kyra found a voe and was no longer interested in the others, or two—and more likely—a voe she had found interesting was a jerk, and if that was the case, Link planned on finding said voe. Well, there were other possibilities, such as Kyra simply being burned out from all the traveling, but Link was going to stick with the voe was a jerk theory. He made a note to ask his sister about it later but found that he wouldn't need to. The closer they got to Gerudo Town, the happier Kyra seemed. He concluded that she was just homesick, as it was her first time traveling abroad. Slowly, they made their way through the last stretch of desert and back home.
HanVan: Yeah, they can be a bit long. And my habit of cutting off in bad places doesn't really help. But compared to another story I'm working on, these chapters are pretty short. At least, I think they are. And thank you for liking the story!
Okay, so I had a reality check of sorts the other day, so I sat down and wrote (most of) the outline for this story. Feels good, 'cause now I kind of have an idea of where I'm going. And now that BotW 2's been teased, like with BotW, every droplet of the trailer will be squeezed out to get the second half of this story. (No, not really.…Kind of. It's just that it works pretty well with what I'm planning.)
Okay, something random. Zora armor in BotW is really weird. It's known for being made by Zora princesses for their future husbands, yet there used to be a Zora armor shop. And from Gruve's dialogue in the game, it sounds like only the Zora armor made by the Zora princess can let the user swim up waterfalls. Which makes no sense because the stone monuments basically say the only difference between the shop's armor and the princess' armor is that the princess' armor has one of her scales in it. Oi.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of The Hylian Child. And here's the part where I semi-promote myself. Feel free to leave a review, ask a question, or something. I don't know. You do you. Until next time. Bye~
