notaname: Yeah, you have an excellent point. I usually feel very metaphorical/argumental when I respond to these because I'm tired, so I tend to run people in circles. Sorry about that! My three weeks were going alright. Last two went fine, too. I hope yours went well! Thank you for the congrats! I actually noticed right before I read your review, and was all like "WHAT THE HECK, THIS IS AMAZING!" and stuff.

Chapter 41: Colorful

Deep below Hyrule Castle, in the caverns long since forgotten, four people clad in thick wool cloaks walked down the tunnels, torches the only light to be seen.

The young scientist held a torch towards one of the murals, ancient and worn by time. She found herself enamored by the images, whether it was her field of expertise or not. To think, all of this was below the castle all this time!

Engraved on the wall was what she could only assume was the castle… but were those five structures depicted around it?

"Something wrong, Newbie?" asked the grumpy older woman.

The scientist frowned as she leaned closer to the mural, gently brushing away dust with her hand. "What are these pillars? Surrounding the castle…"

She heard her companions walk towards her. "Ah, those," said the older man. "Those are the columns."

"The columns...?" She sucked in a breath of realization. "From the myths!"

"Indeed," he said, amused. "Said to have the power to activate once the Calamity was released, for the sake of creating an invisible, magical barricade. It's even suggested that they contain the hundreds of guardians we've been unable to locate. All theories, of course…"

The young scientist's demeanor brightened significantly. "Is that what we're looking for down here, Koru?"

"So it is." The man smiled, trailing his own fingers along the grooves in the stone. "One of my scouts caught onto a lead on how to reach them. If we can find them, we can figure out how they work, maybe improve them to better defend against invaders."

"If we did find them, we could use them against more than just the Calamity," the scientist realized. "Tensions with Labrynna have been high since the war… they could attack any day. That threat, combined with that of the Calamity…"

"And the barrier only activates when it senses a strong presence of the Calamity's energy," Koru explained. "Ancient Sheikah had a name for it that roughly translates to 'malice.'"

"So essentially, it activates when it senses anger? Seems a bit foolish."

Koru shook his head. "No, not exactly. The texts describe it as a thick, gooey substance that concentrates in areas of the Calamity's exposure. It was said that even the slightest contact with it made any living thing burn to death."

"Why 'malice' then? And what could have made it so destructive?" Though all this mythology was definitely not her field, she couldn't help her interest. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. Besides, ancient tech and mythology went hand in hand.

"It was said to have been the physical representation of the Calamity's rage and spite. Actually, come over here."

The young scientist looked up at Koru, who was gesturing towards another wall. Curious, she followed.

Koru pointed at the new mural, covered with aged crimson paint. "This is a depiction of a fort of some sort that was exposed to the Calamity. The crimson? Not blood. And those figures right there are the hero and the princess incarnations."

"'Incarnations?'"

"It's only a theory." Koru's hand brushed along the top of the mural, which showed a white figure. "The idea that the hero and princess of each era of Calamity are all incarnations of the originals… that's been passed down in the families of Sheikah philosophers for generations. Sure, it's a strange concept…" Koru shrugged. "If that were true, that would mean that maybe, somewhere deep down, the princess and the Hylian Champion have memories of their past lives. I heard a rumor that Sir Link was taking down fully grown knights when he was a mere squire, so there may be some truth to that."

The young scientist nodded. "I've… interacted with him. Even when he was younger, he had an oddly automatic grip on formality."

"Ah, yes, you would've met him," Koru said absently. "Well, if we can manage to reach the columns… perhaps we may be able to help the upcoming battle with the Calamity go smoother."

Smoother. Smoother meant fewer burdens on those knights and soldiers. Smoother meant fewer casualties, fewer lives lost.

She turned to Koru with a grin. "Well then, let's find those columns, shall we?"

"Ridiculous."

Zelda could hardly keep herself from sinking down and willing the floor to consume her. But she knew she had to do this.

The princess blocked his path in the wide, arching corridor. Perhaps it was the windows that boosted her courage - the light that filtered in from the outside gave her a warmth and strength she wouldn't have otherwise.

"Listen, Father." Zelda stood her ground as firmly as she could, ignoring the way her heart pounded as the King of Hyrule raised a single brow. "Captain Arduum is abusing his power! I read the punishment records, all extreme for the reasons listed! A beating for reading a book! A demotion for knitting! The reasons go on and-"

"I'm not in the mood for your foolish games, Zelda," the king growled. "Captain Arduum has been in charge of the Royal Guard for years with no complaint. He's a loyal, hardworking man. He may be a bit strict-"

"Strict?" Zelda echoed indignantly. "He beats children for having hobbies!"

"Squires, Zelda." The king brushed past her and continued on. "They sell their souls the moment they're enlisted. They've no time for leisure."

"But Father-!"

"And as you are participating in these ridiculous accusations, you are wasting precious time that could be spent trying to find your powers!" The king's eyes darkened. "I've been lenient on you so far, Zelda. If I wished, I could lock you away in the temple until you finally make some progress. Though I'd rather not deal with the riots, I will gladly do so if necessary."

"If you would just listen-"

"I've been listening, Zelda," the king interrupted coldly. "Basic disciplinary procedures are not something to start a protest over. That's my final answer."

Without even giving Zelda a moment to respond, King Rhoam disappeared into his quarters.

Zelda shouted something in her rage and slammed her fist against the door. "Fine then!" she screeched. "It's not as if I haven't done everything I can for you already! So just turn your back on me - see if I care!"

Zelda turned on her heel and stomped away, the soldiers guarding the corridors shifting the slightest bit further from her wrathful form. Zelda couldn't bring herself to care - the nerve of him! He didn't even bother listening to the evidence she'd spent weeks putting together. All of that work, and he didn't even look! And now she wouldn't be able to help Link-

Zelda stopped in her tracks. Today was his day off (well deserved, she was sure), so he wasn't there beside her. That was why she'd chosen this time to confront her father. But if he were there… what would he think?

If it was Link who was in this situation, he would remain calm, she realized. He would stay strong. He wouldn't throw a tantrum, would he?

He would bear it. Silently.

Zelda frowned. Wasn't that how he'd gotten into this situation in the first place, though? It was all so complicated. Now she wished that Link wasn't off duty today.

Wait… if he's off duty… maybe she could still ask him? And perhaps she wouldn't have to do nearly as much digging to get past the dreaded "Sir Link."

She found herself becoming more and more partial to this idea. But where would she find him?

The answer came just as quickly as the question, with a memory to support it. The training grounds.

If the captain had beaten into him that not training or guarding was pointless, where else could he be?

So Zelda made her way to the training grounds, not bothering to offer a single glance at those she passed by.

It was a warm day, despite what Link knew was an approaching winter. Epona hadn't been on a good ride in a long time, so what better day than this?

That was how he'd ended up in Hyrule Field, laying in the yellowed blades of grass. Epona was entertaining herself, running freely for once. She was not meant for days spent in stables and cramped paddocks. She was far too wild at heart. Though she was getting on in years, making the stables far more bearable, she had more than enough energy to run to the Labrynan border and back thrice over.

Link breathed in the crisp autumn air. Autumn was easily one of the most beautiful seasons. All the trees' leaves turning a vibrant range of orange and reds, the crunch of leaves underfoot, the nipping, not quite chilling breeze.

Warmth was an easy thing to come by in central Hyrule. Snow was rare, and even if came, it was never more than an inch. It was one of the things he missed about Kakariko. Days spent rolling through the white powder, scooping snow into mounds. Running through with Liari, laughing-

He stopped before he got ahead, scrunching up his forehead to remove the thought. He couldn't help the way his moistened, and he forced back the droplets. I can't cry. "Heroes don't cry," he murmured.

"There you are!" came a sudden voice, causing him to jolt to his feet faster than should be humanly possible.

He turned, and there was none other than Princess Zelda, dismounting her white steed. She turned towards him and smiled so brightly he was certain he was going to be blinded.

Link cleared his throat. "Princess?"

"The one and only." She rolled her eyes.

Link looked at her in confusion, before connecting the dots. "I wasn't aware you needed a guard today. I apologi-"

She waved her hand dismissively. "Oh no, you're absolutely fine," she insisted. "I know that you're probably sick of me by now, but I wanted to see you. Get the chance to talk to you without any duty in the way, you know?"

"Excuse my bluntness, Your Highness, but why-?"

"-would I come all the way out here to see you?" She blinked as if she'd realized something, but shook her head subtly before continuing on. "I thought I'd established this already, Link." She blushed a graceful pink. "I want to be your friend."

Link blinked at her, but she didn't give him a moment to respond. "Where did your horse go? ...Epona, was it?" She casted her eyes about in search of the mare.

Link nodded his head towards the place his horse was grazing. "She needed a bit of freedom," he explained.

"Freedom? You mean she isn't tied up or anything?"

Link shook his head. At Zelda's shocked expression, he decided to explain. "She'll come right back the moment I call for her. She's as loyal as can be."

"That's… incredible. Who trained her, if you don't mind me asking?"

Link hesitated for a moment. "I… my mother did." He found a fond smile quirking at the corners of his lips. "Epona was a wild foal near my mother's hometown. She liked to cause a lot of problems, and had no herd to speak of. A knight, my father, came to town on a survey and decided to help my mother catch her. That's how they met, actually."

"Really?" Zelda laughed. "That's one way to meet your future husband." Link frowned as her face fell. "I'm sorry if bringing that up made you uncomfortable… I know that you miss her and all."

"It's fine, Princess." Link found himself genuinely smiling. "I think that's the first time I've talked about anything other than her death in a long time." It was strange, how easy it was to fondly recall his mother.

Zelda sat down on the grass and patted the ground beside her. Link obliged, though he did sit a respectable length away. Her eyes were distant as she gazed out at the evening sun, a fond smile on her face.

"Autumn was always one of my mother's favorite times of the year," she said. "It's so colorful."

Link looked off into the distance, at the forests of gold, the ponds reflecting the evening light. For some reason, it hadn't felt this colorful in a long time.

Chapter Summary: Some people in sweet capes are chilling in the underground, Zelda fights with her (terrible excuse for a) father, and Link likes grass.

Dang, this chapter is all over the place. It is a bit longer though, which makes up for last week's shorter chapter. If you're confused about Zelda's sudden change in mood between the second and third parts, But (spoiler alert) I plan on explaining that in the next chapter, and let's just say someone gave her a good talking to in between points A and B. I NEEDED A STARTING POINT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER, OKAY?! There'll probably be a little shifting around of events when I do the mass edit, but I think this'll make the writer's block much less likely to come. Solid idea = actually writeable.

Much thanks to all of you that reviewed! Holy- we've reached 300 reviews?! When did that happen? (haha, I know when that happened, I was checking for new reviews every five minutes.) But yeah, I never (not in a million years) expected to reach that number. Furthermore, we recently passed forty chapters. Many of the chapters are likely to be combined on the mass edit, but still! That's a lot of pages! 316... wow. 78,607 words, not including Before (Before Before the Rewrite). That's like, nearly the length of a full novel, and we're still not quite done! Besides that, we've got 103 favorites and 132 followers. Honestly, guys, I'm so glad that you like this story! Never would've gotten this far without you here! In fact, the moment I dumped the old story would've been the end. So... arigatou gozaimasu! Muchos gracias! Merci beaucoup! Danke sehr! Dziękuję Ci! And last of all, thank you very much!