Note: I've finally gotten some free time again as schools started to slow down again. I even have a long weekend so I may be posting multiple chapters since I hope to do a lot of writing. Thanks for reading!

CHAPTER 11: Akkala Lab

Zelda awoke to the smell of Link's cooking, he had already packed his bedroll and was cooking eggs for the two of them.

"Morning." He said to her with a smile

"Good morning," she replied, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "you don't ever sleep, do you?"

But he didn't reply, instead handing her half of the breakfast he had made on a small plate which she gladly ate. They ate in silence after that, Zelda watched him, he wasn't acting any differently than usual but he at least seemed to be in a better mood.

"Link, I want to make it to Robbie's lab today, how long do you think it would take to get there?" Zelda asked, he thought for a long while before replying.

"You could warp there now and I can go on foot. I can make it by noon and we can take off towards Goron city by tonight. It'll take us a few days to make it to Death Mountain so the sooner we can take off, the better."

Although it made more sense logistically, she didn't like the idea of leaving him behind and travelling without him. Ultimately, she decided that a few extra hours added on to their trip wouldn't affect much.

"And what if we travelled together? I am in no rush and I've come to enjoy your company." She said, happy to see him smile in return.

"We can make it by late early afternoon and I know of an unused shack in Tumlea Heights we could use for the night." Link said as he took her plate to clean it off and store away.

"Sounds like a plan." She said as she stood ready to take off.

Things were more normal than they had been in the past couple days, Link didn't look as distraught and Zelda was talking about their plans for the trip. She hadn't really thought about where they would travel to next after Goron city and she was now thinking of whether they should go directly to the Spring of Courage or to head to the Rito Village first.

"But if we go to the Spring of Courage first, it'd only make sense to visit Gerudo Town for Vah Naboris before visiting the Rito, but then we'd be finding the spirit of Hebra last," she thought silently for a short time, "where do you think we should go Link?"

"Spring first."

"Why?" she asked.

"Might as well cover what we already know is a priority. We can figure out the rest later."

"You don't plan much in advance do you? She asked with a pointed look, but he only smiled in reply.

"Well then, after Goron City we will head to the Faron province and make our way from there." Zelda decided to which Link nodded. Content with the decision, she decided to change the topic to something more entertaining.

"Link, what do you think you would be doing if you were never assigned as my knight?" She asked, it was the first question that came to mind.

Link thought for a moment but then shrugged.

"Well then? Isn't there anything you can come up with? With as much of a glutton as you are you could have been a chef, I've certainly enjoyed your cooking."

"Maybe," Link said with a slight blush on his face, "but this is all I know."

"Well, what do you enjoy doing with your free time?"

"Cooking," he said with a smirk to which Zelda let out a giggle, "travelling I guess."

"I suppose it is what you are used to now, but have you ever considered settling down one day?"

Link just shrugged again in response.

"I have trouble believing any woman could tame the wild man that you are." Zelda teased and got a good laugh out of Link.

"It's easier to fight Lynels than to understand the mind of a woman." Link said and this time it was Zelda who couldn't contain her laughter.

They continued to enjoy each other's company as they made their way to Robbie's lab and Zelda was glad she had convinced him to walk with her. They made it to the ancient tech lab a little later than anticipated but neither of them had any issue with it. Zelda knocked on the door and was greeted by the significantly shorter male sheikah.

"Princess Zelda!" He bowed, "It's been quite a while since you last visited me, one would think you've forgotten all about our efforts up here." He said with a huge grin.

Zelda bent low to hug him and he hugged her back as well, "It has been far too long." She said also with a smile.

Link was glad to see the interaction between the two, he had come to learn that Zelda had built up an almost familial relationship with a lot of the sheikah. Especially with Impa, Purah, and Robbie, who had always supported her research endeavors.

"Robbie, we've come hoping that you might be able to elaborate on some knowledge we recently came across." She continued.

"I would gladly help in any way I can!" His enthusiasm was contagious, and Link couldn't help but smile with him.

"We just departed from Zora's Domain and we took a moment to investigate Vah Ruta while we were there. It recently had stopped responding to Princess Mipha's attempts to control it and it did not move until we intervened. After that, we received a notification on the Sheikah Slate stating, 'Vah Ruta positioning complete. 3/4 Divine Beasts remain for access,' would you happen to know what that might mean?"

"Well, based on our records, the Divine Beasts have consistently required synchronization in order to be activated. We theorize that this may be due to a safeguard that was put in place to prevent any disjoint amongst those who control them, forcing their respective champions to work together. Therefore, it isn't unnatural for all four of them to act in unison as is stated by the Sheikah Slate." Robbie elaborated.

"But what exactly are they synchronizing for?" Zelda asked.

"Our information on the Divine Beasts, let alone the Sheikah Slate, is very limited so we do not have any information regarding their full capabilities. However, and this is merely speculation on my end, they may also be the keys to opening some unknown secrets or locations that our Sheikah Ancestors may have left for us. Think of how all the Sheikah technology, the slate, towers, shrines, divine beasts, they are all connected."

"Do you know how we can locate what the divine beasts may be focusing on?" Zelda asked, some hope brimming in her voice.

"Through the few logs that we've recovered and partially translated, we know that our ancestors spent a lot of time developing something in both the Great Plateau and Tabantha Tundra so these areas may be your best bet."

With renewed excitement, Zelda pulled out the Sheikah Slate and placed markers on the two regions he mentioned, "Thank you Robbie, I promise let you know if we find anything in these regions. Also, I have a gift for you as thanks," she said as she pulled out Link's Shrine Journal, "Link has turned out to be quite the scholar, you'll be pleased to see all his notes on the shrines throughout Hyrule. I've already read through all of them but I feel as though they may do you more good."

He began to skim through the notes before saying, "I am really impressed, if I had known you were this good, I would have sent you myself sooner. In any case, thank you your highness, I sincerely appreciate your gift."

The two continued to catch up for most of the evening, Robbie shared with her some of the research that he thought would pique her interest and she brought him up to speed with their current journey. He offered them some other traveling advice but for the most part, just agreed with Link's original suggestion. Before they knew it, they were headed out making promises to come visit Robbie again soon. With that, they set off Westward, as Link led the way to the shack where they would stay for the night.