Paya held her head in her hands, her eyelids fluttering closed.

"Child, you look tired," Impa stated flatly.

"Not at all!" Paya insisted, lifting her head. "I'm completely—" Her argument was betrayed by a loud yawn. "…awake."

Impa clicked her tongue. "Go on to bed. I'll continue in the morning."

"No!" she protested. "Something to eat will perk me right back up. I want to hear more. I want to know about Link… and about the princess, and her father."

"You have your duties early in the morning."

"I'm certain the tribe won't mind if I'm a little drowsier than usual," Paya responded. Impa was surprised at Paya's attitude, though a small speck of pride came with it. "Do you want anything to eat, Grandmother?"

"Some stew, if you don't mind," Impa answered. "And when you return, I'll tell you about King Rhoam."

Paya grinned and ran off to prepare the stew.

I'm afraid this part of the story comes second-hand. I was lucky enough to witness many important moments in the lives of the Champions; however, in this particular one, only Purah was present.

Few knew where the king was heading when he left the castle, and even fewer knew why; all the rest of us knew was that he, some of his most trusted knights, and a few Sheikah would be leaving first thing in the morning. The rest of us were to continue our research at the castle. Although she wasn't supposed to, Purah told me that they were heading to Gerudo to meet with Lady Urbosa.

Purah was asked to enter the city's gates and request Urbosa come outside to meet with the king. As it turned out, she was not expecting this visit; however, she willingly followed Purah out of the city to him.

"King Rhoam," she said plainly, her lack of reverence shocking Purah. "It's been awhile."

"Indeed," Rhoam responded. "But I'm afraid I haven't come to catch up."

Urbosa nodded. "I assumed as much. Well, I was on my way to Naboris anyway. Come along. We can talk there. And you can bring your guards." Without waiting for a response, she began to walk away.

Did Urbosa not respect the king?

She respected him, to a point. But she also knew him better than most, thanks to her experience with Hilda and Zelda. She was one of the few who knew him before Queen Hilda's passing – who saw the change that it caused. And she was one of the few who knew just how his treatment of Zelda affected her.

So she blamed him for Zelda's inability to awaken her power.

Not exactly. But she knew he didn't help.

She also knew that it was why Rhoam had visited her that day. "Tell me, how is the princess?" she asked as they trekked through the desert to the Divine Beast. Of course, Urbosa had seen Zelda just days before, and so had no obvious reason to ask this question. Only a few understood that she was truly searching for Rhoam's thoughts on the matter of Zelda's powers.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be this quesiton that drew those thoughts out. "The same as ever, I suppose," the king answered simply.

But Urbosa wasn't fazed. She nodded and continued. "It's striking how much she resembles her mother, isn't it? Besides her hair." It didn't take a genius to understand how uncomfortable this topic of conversation was for the king, and likely for Urbosa, as well. But this was exactly why she selected it. "And she takes after her in personality, as well, despite the relatively short time they had together. She has her curiosity, her stubbornness… her eagerness to please. It's almost as though the queen never left us."

Rhoam remained silent for the rest of the trip to Naboris and even as he and his entourage followed Urbosa up into the inside of the beast. It was the first time Rhoam had ever been within a Divine Beast to anyone's knowledge, and yet where he should have been impressed, he remained ever stoic.

"So tell me, King Rhoam," Urbosa finally said. "Why did you come here?"

"I require your… assistance. With Zelda. You are close to her. I understand you were close to her mother, as well."

"Her mother… your wife," she responded bluntly. "But yes. I was."

"Then you know about her powers."

Urbosa shook her head. "Who doesn't? The princess who will let Hyrule fall. She's the talk of the kingdom." For the first time since he arrived, Urbosa made eye contact with the king. "But you knew that already. And it's exactly why you're here."

"The kingdom needs her—"

"Oh, please," Urbosa scoffed. "Who says the Calamity is coming? A crazy witch with a ball made of crystal? Ratty old pieces of paper?" It took much of Purah's strength not to lash out at this derision of the ancient Sheikah scrolls. "We all know that the Calamity will always be destroyed. Perhaps the reason Zelda's powers aren't awakening is because she isn't the one who is supposed to defeat him."

"Lady Urbosa," Rhoam said sternly.

Urbosa crossed her arms. "Please, Rhoam," she said, equally stern and doubly venomous. "I think we're past formalities at this point." By this time, most of the knights had fled to the outside under the guise of standing guard, and most of the Sheikah had busied themselves with work deeper within the beast. Only Purah remained nearby.

"I want what's best for her. I want what's best for the kingdom."

"You want what's best for you," Urbosa corrected. "Who do these gossip-mongers effect, hm? Whose reputation depends on Zelda's success? The one responsible for her training, perhaps?"

"It was never meant to be my responsibility! I have no knowledge of how these things work."

"Neither does she. And yet it's her fault."

"It isn't her fault."

"Then whose is it? Hilda's? Would you blame your dead wife for your kingdom's troubles?"

Rhoam's expression darkened. "You have no right to speak to me this way."

"I have whatever right I wish," Urbosa responded. "We both know that if I gave the order, my soldiers would destroy yours without breaking a sweat."

It seemed like they stared each other down for hours. Many times Purah considered fleeing, but her curiosity always won out.

"Zelda is too invested in her research," Rhoam finally stated, his voice much gentler than before. "It's distracting her. Consuming her. She was never meant to be a scholar, but she won't listen to me anymore. I need your help."

Urbosa was genuinely surprised. "You want me to take her research from her?"

"She needs to be single-minded in her training."

"You want me to take away the one thing that brings her joy?" Her fury was building again. "By the Goddess, Rhoam, I never would have expected this from you. Surely her father of all people would realize how much this means to her!"

"Urbosa—"

"I have no more knowledge of the powers of the Goddess Hylia than you, Rhoam, but even I understand what a detriment it would be to crush Zelda's spirit like this! By the Goddess, you're such an old fool! Have you ever once considered her feelings? Have you ever once considered what it's like to lose your mother at such a young age?!" For a long, painful moment, all of the emotions Urbosa had buried since her own mother's death came flowing out. Before she could even realize what she was saying, they were out there, and with them came a nigh-endless flow of tears. "How can you ever understand what's best for her when you can't even understand this? If Hilda could see you now, imagine how disappointed she would be at how hard-headed you've become. For once, stop letting your stubborn pride run your life and listen to your daughter!" This final statement came with the loud crack of lightning striking. The ground beneath Naboris quaked at the impact. Several knights were sent tumbling to the ground.

And finally, Purah elected to retreat. But before she could get far, Rhoam's voice echoed through the beast. "We should be going," he announced. The Sheikah reluctantly came back to his side.

Urbosa's breathing was starting to steady as they made their way down the ramp. "Please… don't do this, Rhoam," she called after him. But no reaction crossed his face.

"Why?" Paya asked simply. "Why would King Rhoam be so cruel to his own daughter?"

"Unfortunately, I don't believe King Rhoam ever truly understood how cruel his actions seemed. At least… not until it was too late."

Slightly shorter chapter this time. The next one is likely to be pretty short, too, but I'm really looking forward to it.

Also, I released another Breath of the Wild one-shot focusing on Link's adoptive parents mentioned in "Promise" and "Me". It's titled "Motherhood" – please check it out!