Link carefully surveyed the same street for what must have been a fourth or fifth time. His fear of getting found out for being a man in a town which only permitted women had slowly but surely faded away as he realized that he was repeatedly mistaken for a tourist or traveler. His height compared to the Gerudo's was noticeably shorter, his skin paler and hair lighter but luckily had no one suspected him for being an intruder. Knowing that he was safe made it easier for him to focus on finding the Princess of Hyrule.

But he had no luck in finding her so far.

Shopkeepers had tried to get his attention, the bar manager had eyed him as if thinking that he was too young to be there and inn employees had spoken promising words of their spa. Link quickly left the inn when they tried to show the spa to him.
He didn't dare to speak since he couldn't be sure if his voice would betray him and reveal who he was beneath the Gerudo garments, and so, he didn't ask if anyone had seen the Princess and only nodded or shook his head if anyone tried to have a conversation with him.

"Oh, so you're mute?" a young Gerudo woman about Link's age or slightly older asked him. Link didn't reply and just kept looking down the street. He would find her eventually, even if it would take the rest of the day. The woman mistakenly took his silence as a sign of shame. "You don't have to be ashamed of that. It's unfortunate but you're really brave to travel the world even though you can't talk."
Link looked at her for a second or two before he returned to keep his eyes open for the Princess. Did this woman just think he was…? Well, perhaps it's not such a bad assumption considering that he's not saying anything back.

"So why did you come here?" No reply. "You keep looking around, maybe it's the architecture that fascinates you? I haven't been very far away from Gerudo Town so I can't say if this town is pretty or not… I wish I can travel one day, just like you. I mean, if you can do it without being able to talk, then I should be fine too, right?" She paused and got momentarily lost in her daydreams before returning to reality. "My favorite spot in this town is the rooftop. You can see everything from there."

Link's head spun around, interested in what this Gerudo had just said. He nodded in a try to let her know that he wanted to hear more.

"Oh, would you like to see it?" He nodded again. "It's really nice, the water flows on the roof and reflects the desert sun when it sets… Aah, it's really the greatest." She sighed and pictured the image in her mind. "You're a bit short, but if you climb some wooden boxes or something like that, I think you can make it to the top. I think I saw some earlier today in an alley across from the plaza." Link knew exactly which ones she meant and where to find them. Gerudo Town wasn't large enough to get lost in and he had memorized the streets fairly well while keeping his eyes open for the Princess.
He wasn't sure how to thank the Gerudo but he hoped that a red rupee would be alright. Based on the wide smile from her when she received it, it was. "Thank you for the… chat. You inspired me to travel too, I think I might be ready for it now. I've always dreamt of it." Link smiled back and hoped that she could see it under the veil.

He crossed the plaza (unfortunately, but not surprisingly, still no signs of Princess Zelda being there), slid into the alley and climbed up to the rooftops, feeling his hands, arms, feet and ankles getting wet as he crawled and stood straight. The water was cooler than he had expected, and he crouched and brought some up to his face to splash it. Sweet Nayru, that felt good in this heat! He did it again. The fabric of his clothes was so thin that they would dry within half an hour in the high temperature, so he didn't worry if he got all wet.

The daydreaming Gerudo had been right: you could see almost everything from the rooftops. It was easier to get a quick view of the streets below him and see who was Gerudo and who wasn't, who was tourist and traveler and which among them might potentially be the Princess. He once thought he finally had seen her in his anticipation but quickly realized that it wasn't her – her hair had been blonde but shorter than the Princess'.

He had looked for her in the streets and various shops, he searched for her from the rooftops and he let his gaze turn out to the desert a few times, wondering if she had gone outside of town (although he doubted it, going unprepared in a desert was never a good idea). She seemed to have vanished. No matter where he looked, he wouldn't find her. And he was beginning to feel nervous again when he imagined the worst things that might have happened to her.

Remembering Urbosa's words from before, he forced himself to stop searching for the Princess and walked towards the largest building in Gerudo Town. A broad staircase lead up to the entrance of the building, which had a large, oddly-shaped rock above from which bands of water poured down. Urbosa, noticing Link on the rooftops earlier, had been standing at one of its windows and seen him approaching before he got close to the two Gerudo guards at the staircase. She informed them to let "the Hylian vai pass" and he entered after being told that "Chief Urbosa is waiting inside".

Urbosa stood next a large pouf, embroidered with flowers and patterns exotic to any Hylian, and turned around when she heard Link enter the room. There was no need to greet each other and Urbosa spoke first.

"So, did you have any luck in finding the Princess?" She smirked, finding Link's attire to be a bit amusing but tried to not show it. But she looked more serious again when Link only shook his head, looking serious as well. A thought crossed Link's mind that perhaps he should ask if the Princess had been in here, but the thought left as quick as it had entered his mind – Urbosa would have told him if that had happened – and continued to stay silent.

"Don't worry, Princess Zelda wouldn't do anything foolish. I'm sure she's waiting for you at Kara Kara Bazaar if she's not here. I'll let you know if I see her, alright?" They looked at each other and Urbosa couldn't exactly tell what he was thinking but Link's eyes… was it anxiousness of not knowing if the Princess was safe she saw in them, or was it a soldier's shame of not being able to properly do what he was told? She didn't ask. Link broke the eye contact and looked behind him, out to Gerudo Town once more and took a few steps to exit. There wasn't more to add to the conversation after all.

"Link." He stopped before he got farther down the stairs and turned to look back at Urbosa. "Tomorrow is the day Princess Zelda would make the adjustments on Vah Naboris, right?" She knew this already and didn't really need it to be confirmed. "If you'd like, I can come to the Bazaar in the morning and spend the day with her in the Divine Beast. In that way, you don't have to watch over her and I get to spend a moment with her. I wouldn't mind, I don't get to see her so often anymore." Urbosa smiled and Link nodded.

"Thank you." And he turned back to the plaza, ready to exit Gerudo Town… after going through the streets one last time, still hoping that he'd find her. He didn't.

Returning to Kara Kara Bazaar, Link's mind tried to come up with what he was feeling. Angry at the Princess for tricking him and making him worry about her safety? Regret that he left Gerudo Town when he could have tried a bit longer to find her? Ridiculous for playing dress up in Gerudo clothes? Confusion on why she kept running away from him? Whatever it was, he was only sure that he was truly thankful for what Urbosa had proposed him about tomorrow's plan. He could catch up the sleep he lacked from today while they were gone.

He successfully sneaked into the inn, dressed back to his light blue champion's tunic and leather boots and left the entrance, re-tying his hair into a ponytail, to find some shade under the palm trees at the pool of water. He stopped in mid-tracks, blue hair ribbon still in between his teeth and with large eyes when he saw her.

Princess Zelda sat next to the water with a voltfruit in her hand and only noticed her knight when he had stopped a few meters away from her. He looked more surprised than his usual, to her, judging expression and it made her smile.

"Where have you been for so long?"

And somehow, Link knew right then and there it wasn't anger he felt towards the Princess, it wasn't confusion over why she had acted the way she had. He only felt relief that she was ok.

Urbosa came in the morning with two of her own guards, just like she had told Link the day before, and brought Princess Zelda with her out to the vast desert and to the Divine Beast, Vah Naboris. The Gerudo chief admitted that there seemed to be something in the machinery which wasn't working correctly, although she couldn't tell what it was since this technology was foreign to her, and Zelda began almost immediately to work on it. Urbosa joined her, mostly to keep the Princess company and reach her any instrument.

"How is it in Hyrule, lately? Is the King still urging you to keep on praying?" Urbosa asked, standing next to the Princess with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Yes…" Zelda looked concentrated at her Sheikah Slate, reading some notes she had photographed from her study. She looked up again. "Yes, he does. But he doesn't seem to understand that it's not working."

"Don't give up, Zelda, I'm sure that the goddesses will grant your power anytime now."

"… I won't." She turned a cogwheel. "My mother didn't happen to mention to you how she got to use her powers?" She desperately wished that Urbosa's answer would be "yes".

"She didn't. And I foolishly never asked her either. If I knew what would happen… I would have asked her. I'm sorry, Zelda."

She sighed heavily. "It's not your fault, I just… wondered."

Urbosa watched the Princess turning the cogwheel back as she muttered something that it only got worse. "Would you like me to write to the King and ask him to not expect you to pray so much?"

"No. I have to do this, as the Princess of Hyrule."

"But if it is like you say, that it's not leading anywhere…"

"But-"

"… then maybe it won't lead to anything. And I would hate to think that you might stay in freezing waters again. I don't want to drag you out of it again, not your knight either." They shared a gaze in silence filled with affection for the other.

"I understand, but I'd rather if you didn't write to my father. If he believes it is the right thing for me to do, he might be right and I will pray until my powers awaken. And I wouldn't want you to get into trouble for… I don't know, interfering or something." The Princess returned to her work.

Urbosa chuckled. "Oh, sweetheart, I've known him long before you were born. He wouldn't get mad at me." She thought about Zelda's knight for a moment and what had happened yesterday. "How is Link?"

Zelda hesitated. "He's… alright."

"Is he helpful?"

"I guess."

"He's only trying to follow his orders, you know." Urbosa said, hinting about yesterday's miscommunication between them both.

"… I know that." Zelda flipped a few pages in the Sheikah Slate. She didn't really want to discuss Link since she felt silly for feeling that he was judging her, not wanting to admit that he had a right to judge her and sensing that she didn't have a right to complain about him. He was doing a great job so far, after all. She wasn't.

"What do you talk about when you travel?" Urbosa curiously asked.

Zelda took in a quick breath through her nose, pretending to focus on the machinery before her. "We don't." She admitted.

"You don't?" Now she got even more curious. "Why not, it must takes days to get to the Divine Beasts? You don't talk at all?"

"Look, he's just so quiet all the time, ok?" Zelda turned to face Urbosa. "I've tried and I got tired of trying when he didn't say anything back." She was annoyed at her knight but sensed a small pang of guilt at the same time. Should she have tried harder?

"I see." Urbosa couldn't blame the Princess for losing interest in one-sided conversations. Who wouldn't? But she remembered that his eyes had spoken when his mouth hadn't and a thought entered her mind. "Yes, I've noticed that he's a bit… quiet. But I'm sure he has a lot to say somewhere deep down inside."

"I wished I believed that too" Zelda scoffed before making sure that she had done what she thought was right to fix the machinery problem. Urbosa didn't comment back.

"Ok, shall we go and see if it's working now?" Zelda suggested. She and Urbosa were close but she still wouldn't tell her everything about the thoughts which troubled her mind, about the constant praying, hoping that the goddesses would bless her and about her silent knight. Luckily Urbosa didn't try to discuss those topics much more for the rest of the day.

The sun had already set and millions of stars decorated the night sky when Link, summoned by Urbosa, entered Vah Naboris. The desert air was still dry but no longer hot but cool and chill. His champion's tunic, shirt, trousers and boots felt much better now than during the daytime. He had seen the Beast slowly walk over the desert from distance and shouldn't be so surprised to see how huge it was, considering that the previous two had been at least equally large, but he was. He felt as if the interior was large enough for a manor and he struggled a little to find Urbosa and Princess Zelda. When he did, he found Princess Zelda resting against Urbosa's shoulder, assumingly asleep, and Urbosa complimented him for getting there so quickly. Then she proceeded to ask him whether the Princess and him were getting along – unprepared for such a question, Link couldn't answer her even if he tried. He uncomfortably dragged a foot back.

Truth to be told, he wasn't sure how they were doing. He had focused on doing his job but apparently he wasn't doing that well since the Princess tried to get away from him. And he guessed that they weren't good if even Urbosa could tell that something was off after spending only one day together with the Princess. Perhaps she had told the Gerudo Chief something to raise her suspicion.

Urbosa calmed his racing thoughts, saying that she could tell the answer by his silence. And then she told Link something he had never considered: that Princess Zelda only felt frustration when she saw him – no, not him, but the sword which had chosen him as its wielder – and that it only reminded her of her own… failures? But how could that be? The Princess had successfully picked out Champions to support her, adjusted the Divine Beasts all by herself and made progress in her lab research together with the two Sheikah researchers in the castle. Link only understood what failures she meant first when Urbosa mentioned the destiny which the Princess yet had to fulfill. He had, in a way, already fulfilled his by carrying the legendary sword. Not that he was feeling that he had though… and he wasn't planning on letting anyone know that either. Urbosa reassured him that he had no fault in the way the Princess was feeling, and he chose to believe her.

He kept listening as the Gerudo chief told him of the Princess' selfless devotion to praying, of her unfruitful practices she had spent countless hours on in order to awaken her divine powers. He had seen it himself, how she could spend half a day kneeling in front of the goddess statue in Hyrule Castle and then do it again the day after. He thought he understood her but, based on what Urbosa was telling him, he clearly still had a lot of learn about the Princess. And when the Gerudo chief lovingly stroked the Princess' blonde hair and praised her uniqueness, Link felt that he agreed with her. A person who selflessly devoted her life to save her people, whether it was in the form of prayers or actively working with ancient machines, must truly be… someone special. And it really was an honor to share destiny with such a person and protect them.

Noticing how the desert air was gradually getting colder, Urbosa suggested that they would take the Princess inside Vah Naboris instead of staying outdoors. But she didn't make a move and Link wondered if he should take the Princess inside instead when Urbosa got a mischievous expression, as if she got an idea or a plan to trick someone. She snapped her fingers and deafening lightning came out of nowhere from the sky, making the ground shake and startling Link but even more so Princess Zelda who immediately woke up with a drumming heart and a feeling of panic. Terrified, she looked around them, asking what it was that had caused the sound (she really hoped it wasn't something like the eruption at Death Mountain again)… and did she just see someone standing in a blue tunic behind her? Her eyebrows raised slightly.

Zelda slowly turned her head to look over her shoulder, wondering if she had just imagined things in her state of panic… but no, there her knight was. He didn't seem as scared as she was from the loud sound and looked back at the Princess when she noticed him. She had no idea why he was here, she thought Urbosa had said that they would spend the day alone, just the two of them, and in her surprise she couldn't keep her thoughts in her mind and bluntly asked him what he was doing there. Urbosa laughed at her reaction, tossing her head back, and Zelda looked at her instead, clearly not following what was going on and wishing that someone would tell her.

Urbosa continued to chuckle and just said "It's nothing to worry about, Princess. But it's getting cold, we should get you to the inn for the night."

Not completely satisfied with the answer but accepting it, she only replied "Alright."

Urbosa accompanied the Princess and her knight back to Kara Kara Bazaar together with her two guards before she wished them a good night and left to head back to Gerudo Town. Princess Zelda and Link silently stepped into the inn and when they reached their rooms, the Princess left her hand on the doorknob and turned to her knight standing behind her.

"… If it is alright, can we stay here one more day?" I'm not sure if I'm ready to return to the castle yet, she wished to add. She hoped he didn't think it was selfish of her for staying a bit longer.

Link nodded. Sure, the heat was difficult to handle but he would follow wherever she wished to go. She was the Princess after all – if she wanted to stay then they would stay.

She gave a shy smile and a small nod before she wished her knight good night. He bowed as a response and she slid into her room.

Link had been tired the day before but been able to catch up that sleep earlier this day and the disturbance of his sleep pattern made it difficult for him to immediately fall asleep. He tossed around in his bed, remembering back on what Urbosa had told him about the Princess. Thinking about the Princess. And, he admitted, a small part of him wished to get to know her better. Not in a romantic way, that would be impossible after all, but because she seemed to be something else than the regal image everyone had of her.

Hello, it's me again. I hope this wasn't too boring to read, I had to take a small break to see if it was any good or not - I think it's alright. But if it is dull, I apologize! (Please don't write if it's bad in the reviews, not because I don't think you can't tell me that but more because I'm such a hard critic on myself and a comment can stay in my mind for days before I realize that a) it wasn't that bad and/or b) that the reviewer might be right, lol. Honestly, a nice comment makes me instantly happy while a "negative" comment stays with me for half a week. And for some reason I always think they will be bad.). And well, I guess I shouldn't care because I'm just writing this for myself but then again... I do care what you think. (And I'm starting to see a pattern here... I apologize for almost finishing all the chapters in a similar way...!)

I'll name the chapters simply so it'll be easier to go back to a part of the story I wanna check. It won't be anything fancy.

Thanks for staying with me! Have a nice weekend!