Linkle seemed like some form of weight had been taken off her shoulders as she was fascinated with the world around her and Link's own ability to carry his own gear. He had seen the sprawl of things she had said belonged to the "Hero of Time".

Her claim of being from the ancient past suddenly flung forward was far fetched and sounded impossible but he also was just asleep for one hundred years. Anything was possible. She pointed to a tower after the two finished off a Bokoblin encampment. She tossed the broken Sickle away and picked up one of their small clubs, "what's that thing for?"

Link gritted his teeth, "it's a map tower for the Shiekah Slate I showed you."

"I still want one of those. Infinite Bombs would be so useful for inventory."

He still didn't understand her. She was hyperactive but then seemed to go into introverted mode on a dime, like she was afraid to get ridiculed for her behavior. Her normal weapons though seemed of remarkable craftsmanship. Not a dent in her hammer or crack in her bow. While her handheld weapons could use some work (she was prone to just swinging the hammer around and breaking things with a shockwave with it) her use with a bow far outclassed Link. He even watched her fire an arrow made of light at a black Bokoblin, slaying it instantly.

She was definitely equipped for an adventure. But when it came to cooking...his insides reeled as he thought about the dubious food she had made earlier that he had proclaimed was poison. Linkle however happily ate the Chuchu Jelly that she had made with a few apples.

"It's like apple jam! Stop being such a baby!"

"I'm not, I'm pretty sure I'd rather take another hundred year snooze than eat that again."

She had continued to eat it while Link had found some wild game to eat.

He blinked back to reality as Linkle had apparently taken the Shiekah Slate from him, "so how do you get this map? Is it like that, uh, shine earlier? Just boop it in a thingy and get a map? What happened to good ol' parchment maps and compasses?"

"This is arguably better."

She handed it back, "so, how do you get over there?"

"I think I'm gonna paragliding off that rock over there."

She chuckled, "alright. Meet you over there?"

He struggled to find the words to express how she would have to possibly walk for days just to find a way to get to the other side as she dug through her pack, "it'll take too long. Give me a bit, I'll be back then."

He took off towards the rock outcropping in a jog. He looked back halfway to it to see Linkle absent from the beach. He looked around, expecting her to pop out or some more water to drag her off when he spotted her finally...across the river...waving at him. She held out her arms before changing her footwear again.

The Iron Boots? It made no sense, she would surely drown! He ran to the outcropping and pulled out the paragliding to see her at the base of the tower pulling out what she had called the "Longshot". She fired once and was immediately up one third of the tower. It was definitely impressive. He finally touched the the ground on the bank of the river as she looked over the side, "you're as slow as an Iron Knuckle! Hurry up!"

She darted out of sight before beginning to climb down the ladder. He waited for her to reach the bottom, "hey, can I borrow that Longshot thing?" he asked as she dropped down.

She handed it to him, "if this thing breaks, you're helping me fix it."

He turned it over, unsure of how to immediately use. It's appearance deceiving the item's actual weight. The fact that she held it in one hand was impressive. He continued to examine it until Linkle grew tired and held his arm up and pressed a button on the inside as the chain shot out like a cannonball. He huddled towards the side of the tower and smacked against it. He didn't expect it would have that much pull. How could she handle it so easily? He repeated the process as Linkle began to walk around.

It was weird thinking this was Hyrule. Other than the Yoga Clan Foot Soldier and a traveling merchant, they hadn't seen a single other living person. Just ruins.

But as depressing as Hyrule seemed, Linkle felt something inside herself. Sure, she was thousands of years into the future and the Princess Zelda of her time completely missed her point of origin in time but this Link was kinder to her. If he was going to be a hero, it wasn't feeding his ego and making him feel special.

Then again, their would have to be people to do that in the first place. She heard Link call out over the side, "hey! It's prob gonna take a few minutes! It has to reboot for some reason!"

"Okay! I'll wait for you over in the gorge!" She pointed to the divide between the Dueling Peaks before receiving a thumbs up.

Link was nervous. The Shiekah Slate was slowly updating but that wasn't what bothered him. It was the noticeable fact that Linkle, who possessed one when she handed him the Longshot, was now missing a shadow. It wasn't the first time either. She passed under a tree, obscuring his vision. His stomach was in knots. Should he follow her? No. He was sure she could handle it. But it was still disturbing.

Linkle stopped in her tracks, "I know you're here," she hissed as she started to draw the Fairy Bow. Two arms cloaked in black reached out from behind her and halted her movement as a chin rested on her shoulder.

"Is that anyway to greet somebody you know?" a chill breath gently kissed her face as the young Hylian stiffened.

"You shouldn't exist right now," Linkle spat.

The arms retreated as a chuckle escaped the lips of her shadow while she began to circle, "and yet here I am. Witness to everything."

Her red eyes met Linkle's blue with a small playful smile as Linkle felt her anxiety return as her own fingers began to tremble, "but Ganondorf was defeated, Dark Link was defeated and you..."

"Am your shadow. Given life by Ganondorf. But unlike my late brother, I don't have the desire to kill my counterpart as he had instilled in him. I won't die unless you kill me. But..." She held a hand to her mouth, "can you kill a part of yourself? Because maybe you aspire to be a little more...dark yourself."

A light arrow formed in the bow as Linkle raised it, her hand clearly shaking, "no. I'm not evil. I'm not like you."

Her counterpart laughed, closing the distance and lowering the bow herself as the arrow dissipated, Linkle's focus broken, "is that how you see me? Evil? Is it always one or the other? You claim to be good but you slay other sentient creatures. You break pottery which others have worked to sell for their own money to save lives. You steal from the dead. Can you call yourself pure good or is there a little darkness inside you as well? You may think you aren't like me but my dear Sundial, you and I are more alike than you realise."

A shout was heard as the two girls glanced towards the Shiekah Tower, "Linkle!? Are you okay?"

"I'll be nearby if you ever want to have a conversation, I have a feeling we'll speak again rather soon," with one final remark, Dark Linkle seemingly melted into the shade beneath Linkle's feet as Link approached, out of breath.

The young girl was shaken as Link finally looked up at her, hands on his knees and out of breath, "hey...are you...okay?"

She swallowed and nodded, slinging the bow back over her shoulder, "yeah. Uh, it's...I thought I saw a Lizalfos. Sorry, um, did you get the map?"

He waved the Sheikah Slate, "yeah. I did. I think...hooo I'm out of shape...anyway, this is the Dueling Peaks so...we need to get through here...to get to...Kakariko."

She nodded, "then, let's go..and give me the Longshot back."

TO BE CONTINUED...