Red, white, and blue. She's all colour, all song. Wide yellow eyes framed by jewels: jewels on her crown, on her ankle and wrists, jewels all the way down. Her lips move but she doesn't speak. She smiles but she doesn't breathe. Her long fingers entomb a glittering bracelet, shielding it from harm. Her fingers unfurl to reveal - the bracelet is blackened, and marred, and festering with a wound that looks like flesh, and reeks of death. She's encircled in light, she's the centre of the world. Until it all shatters, the light disintegrating into diamond shards that burst like stars. They are suspended above on a vast and empty sky, reflected below on a waveless sea. Then there's a blight in the water, a sluggish growth of fetid corruption - and hatred - and malice. She wails, her lungs pushing air for the first time in one hundred years and….
Link's eyes snapped open. His pulse was racing, and he gasped for breath as he fought off the vestiges of his nightmare. Silence and darkness blanketed the inn of Zora's Domain. A hundred feet below, the Zora River bubbled and gurgled with an oblivious ease. Link exhaled a long sigh. Slowly, the dream began fade, with reality creeping back and extending its long fingers of familiarity back into his mind. He was shaken, even as the dream drifted away from him and into the darkness that surrounded him. Or...was it a memory? A gentle breeze blew through the Domain, but it was enough to set his skin crawling and his lips a-quiver. He clutched his knees to his chest, peering around the room as his eyes began to adjust to the dim light. The night cast harsh shadows on the luminescent Zora architecture, doing little to put his mind at east. In the next bed over slept a Hylian man, his whistling snores the only sound save the River. If Link closed his eyes and focused, it almost sounded like a song.
Flashes of the dream-memory came back mercilessly. Red, white, blue. Mipha. Again. Always. He'd lost others in the attack: all of his friends from the Academy, the other Champions, his father and his mother as well...though with an overwhelming sense of shame, Link realised he could not remember if either of them were alive during the Calamity. His thoughts turned to Prince Sidon and he wondered how many more he would lose before it was done. But still, it was the Princess of the Zora that haunted him, even though he knew she was at rest. What did I do? What did I say, all those years ago, that she won't leave me be?
The Princess would know. Would she tell him now? Probably not, after last night-and in any case, Link's stomach turned at the thought of seeing her, let alone speaking to her. With resignation, he determined that he had no choice. In an age past, the hero and the princess were bound by fate - a fate that Link now had to suffer. A surge of relief washed over him as he detected the first rays of sun beginning to blanket the valley.
Link sat on his bed watching the morning come, mentally cataloguing the facts of the time since he woke from the Shrine of Resurrection. He'd been awake at least a year now, he realised. Whenever his birthday was, it had surely come and gone by now - not that it mattered, he knew even less how old he truly was. Zelda would know. He pushed the thought out of his mind, though he wondered what else of his the Princess held hostage.
Finally the first full rays of sunlight peeked over the cliffs to the east, and the Domain was awash with light. And where there was light, there was work, and where there was work, the demons of the night would cower.
Day One
Zelda knelt before the King once more, though this time Dorephan did not tell her to rise. Light pierced the royal audience chamber. It sliced through the frigid morning air and creating the novel sensation of warm sun on cool skin that marked the first days of a long winter ahead. Somehow the ice in the air made the world shine brighter. Colours sprang out at her like old friends seeking an embrace, and sounds - even familiar ones - seemed thicker in timbre, fiercer and harsher against her ears. Even moving felt strange, as though she could glide across the azure marble and glass floors of Zora's Domain. I'm more likely to slip and fall, she mused. It took a concentrated effort to ground herself in the present moment, and raise her head to meet the steady gaze of the Zora King.
"Princess," the King began calmly. "Have you been made aware of our decision?" His entourage of retainers and nobles surrounded him as ever. The aging Zora of the court-who no doubt had likely known her father-were perched like herons on the raised platform around the King's Throne, all peering down at her like she was the last morsel of a hunted feast. What was it her father had once said? Never show the enemy contempt. Then they know they have affected you. What she would have done to have him by her side. What wrath she would have brought down just to have a chance at saving him.
"Yes, and promptly," Zelda returned, gathering all the politeness and pleasantness she had in her for this single moment. "Your assistant Larella is most...personable. But I am not contesting the decision."
There were whispers among the court. "Oh?" the King said curiously, clearly taken aback.
"I realise that neither myself nor Link have taken the time to tell you of Mipha's bravery in her final hours. I simply wanted to come before you today to share her story." This somehow caused more scandal than if Zelda had indeed come to contest the King's decision. If there was anything to set the Zora a-twitter it was more information on their Princess. Maybe they'd love me too, if I had died, Zelda thought morbidly.
The scowling dark green Zora was the first to question her. Muzu, she remembered. A close confidant of the King. "What could you possibly add? We know well of Mipha's movements, and we know of her fate from Link."
"Well I-" Zelda started.
"I'm sure the King would be interested in hearing everything there is to say about Mipha," one of the other retainers spoke up. There were nods among the crowd.
"As would we," added another.
Is it...working? Are they really listening to me?
"Go on, Princess," King Dorephan urged. "Tell us what you know."
In truth, Zelda didn't have much to add. But she told them about how quickly Mipha had learned to control Ruta, and her plans for utilising the Divine Beast in ways other than battle. She spoke of all the times she had carted Link off to Zora's Domain for healing from the Princess, and how the two of them would often spend entire afternoons together atop Vah Ruta. She spoke of how their Princess tried to help her unlock her sealing powers, and how despite their differences, Princess Mipha had always been kind, and was a living embodiment to the strong friendship between the Zora and the Hylians.
"I have nothing to offer, I know," Zelda said. "But when the time is right, I will repay the Zora for her bravery. In a way befitting of her."
All the while the King nodded slowly, seemingly unmoved by her story. Zelda noticed however, that some in the court had begun to shed silent tears. "You have confirmed what a treasure she was to us," the King finally said. "For this I am grateful."
Zelda nodded, clasping her hands at her chest. "That is all I wanted." She moved to leave the chamber.
The King was not done. "Princess," he boomed. "Speak truly - you have no objection to our decision?"
Zelda turned back towards the King, and stood before him with all the importance and regality that she could muster. "My father once told me that there are choices we must make when we have no choice at all." The King had been referring to her then-untapped power as always. You must make the decision, he'd said. Are you truly Princess Zelda of Hyrule?
"And I have made a decision," Zelda explained. "To help where I can, for as long as I can."
As she left the chamber, she heard those among the Zora sneer. "If you can," one of them drawled. I can, and I must, she thought, keeping her chin high despite the weight she felt.
Sidon's physical injuries had mostly begun to heal, but the seeping infection of Malice on his body had not. The Princess went to visit him in the infirmary, where she found Link sitting at his side, holding that homemade crossbow of his. The Prince's face lit up when he saw the Hylian princess, while Link's face remained convincingly stoic. Her knight visibly tensed when she walked into the room, quickly hiding whatever he was holding out of sight and stiffly sitting back in his chair. She shot him a withering look. You can't hide from me, Hero. I know you're surprised to see me here.
"Prince Sidon," she greeted him as she neared the bed.
"Ah, Zelda!" the Prince smiled. "Just the face I wanted to see - it is as if Hylia herself were here, don't you agree Link?"
Zelda laughed nervously, seeing from Link's dour expression that he did not. Ignoring him, she pulled up a silverite chair next to the large waterbed and unhooked her Sheikah Slate. "Show me your arm, Sidon, if you will."
The Prince reluctantly lifted his blankets, and extended out his right arm. The entire length was covered in a web of purple and black vein-like protrusions that pulsed with its own rhythm, as if locked in a dance. Warmth blossomed in her right hand in reaction - and there was no doubting it, the infection was Malice. She gently placed her hand against his wrist, and the Prince winced in pain. The triangular crest shone on her hand with a sparkling brilliance.
"Hmm...if the power reacts, why is it not enough?" she muttered to herself. She tapped at the Sheikah slate, pulled out the compendium, and scrolled through to her notes. A few weeks' worth of research must have culminated in something - something that she could maybe, just maybe, use to help him. Sidon was waiting patiently, his head turned away from his arm in self-disgust.
"Alright, give me your hand," Zelda instructed, cross-checking her notes.
The Prince laughed at that, face suddenly brightening. "So forward, Princess! You know you've yet to reclaim your Kingdom."
"Or," Zelda was unphased. "I can let this corruption slowly kill you." How does he do that? she wondered. How does he go from so sorrowful to so full of life?
The zora obliged her without another word and Zelda interlaced their fingers so that their hands were palm to palm. She looked back to Link, who was silently regarding them both, his features twinged with concern. Sidon too looked at her with anticipation. She began to explain. "In my research over the past few weeks, I've found that sustained exposure to my powers would cause the Malice to 'calm' for a time. I never succeeded in destroying it, but perhaps I can relieve your pain, or slow the spread."
"I trust you," Sidon nodded, his faith in his Hylian friends apparently unwavering as ever.
Zelda closed her eyes and thought of her childhood, and of the last time she saw her mother alive. How proud and striking the woman had looked, bathed in the morning light that streamed through the tall windows of her chambers. How she had taken Zelda's hands in her own and reassured her daughter that no matter what happened, no matter their individual fates, neither of them would ever truly be alone. Once you have known love, little one, loneliness can never take root. Zelda knew deep down it was a lie, but the memory fed her power all the same.
When the light faded, Zelda opened her eyes and looked apprehensively at Sidon. She released his hand, and the Prince flexed his long fingers. He gingerly moved his arm back and forth, a wide smile growing on his face. The web of Malice had seemed to recede, if only slightly.
"Are you certain you aren't the Goddess herself?" he beamed. "That was incredible! If you did want to propose, now would be the time, Princess!"
Zelda had almost had enough of Sidon's flattery. Flustered, she attempted to protest, "Oh, no, I couldn't, not until-"
"You'd upset your fan club," Link chimed in nonchalantly, the suddenness of his voice sending a jolt down Zelda's spine.
The Prince blinked at them. "...I have a fan club?"
Zelda wasn't sure what the believe. She chewed her lip, trying to think of something courteous to say to ease the air of awkwardness that filled the room. Behind her Link was looking off to the side, suppressing an amused smile. And then Zelda laughed, and she heard Link snigger as well, though they were both upstaged by the Prince's roarous belly laughs at a joke he didn't fully understand. And just as ferociously as they began, the Prince's laughs were overcome by ragged coughs. He shivered, and pulled his blankets back over himself.
"How are you feeling, Sidon?" Zelda asked.
"Just fine, thanks to you!" the Prince said, his face awash with worry despite the twinkling grin he gave them. "I shall be back on my feet in no time."
But that was not what she saw. She had to face the truth, as much as she didn't want to. The Zoran prince looked worse: worse than he appeared when they had first seen him; worse than he seemed a week ago; worse than the day prior when she'd seen him slowly sauntering around the Domain during Champion Festival. There was a noticeable pallor to his scales, dulling what she assumed was his usual crimson to an almost pink hue. His eyes were baggy from lack of sleep, and the ivory scales of his front were mottled with rippling red blotches. Not only that, but his intermittent shivering continued.
They bid Sidon a good rest, and together she and Link left the infirmary. Before the knight could silently skulk away, she caught him by the arm. The words were on her lips; afraid as she was to say them, this was not a time of choices - only truths.
"He's dying, Link," she whispered.
The knight did not turn, and did not pull away. "I know," was all he said.
"What should we do?" she asked him, knowing there was no answer. Desperation made her believe that perhaps Link knew. That he would turn, take her hands in his and reassure her as though she were a child again. The knight said nothing; he pulled himself free of her grip, and disappeared down the hall.
Day Two
"So, Dento makes all the jewelry?" Link asked Sidon the next morning. They sat together by Mipha's statue - the Prince content to watch the bustle of Zora's Domain by day, while Link worked on tweaking the firing mechanism for his crossbow. Despite his success in getting the weapon to fire, he had yet to figure out how to get it to fire straight. Until then, the growing throng of octoroks below the Domain could rest easy.
"Oh, for as long as I can remember, yes," the Prince answered. "He doesn't even have an apprentice. Dento still has a few decades in him yet."
Link pointed up towards Mipha, to the stylized heart-shaped bracelets she wore. "He made those?"
"None other," the Prince answered. "The loss of those jewels is a lingering tragedy in my family. Once Ruta is safe to board, we will find them, Link."
Link stared up at the statue, uneased by its likeness, and focused on the bracelets. Yes - they were the same as the one he'd seen in his dream. The pinpricks of familiarity were at him again, taunting him with a memory he couldn't reach. The bracelets...something had happened with them, all those years ago. He latched onto whatever small details he could. It had happened here in the Domain, he had been young, and whatever it was it made him feel strangely happy.
Link broke his pensive silence. "Do you remember much of your sister?"
The Prince paused to consider his answer. "Not as much as I would like," he admitted, looking down. "Even for the Zora, one-hundred years is a long time."
Link pushed further. If there was a chance the Prince help him recover this memory, he would take it. "Do you remember me when I was younger?"
Sidon smiled down at him, his toothy grin almost a little wild-looking. "Of course! Though I was quite young at the time. I remember you spent the summers at the Domain."
Link knew that much. With anticipation he questioned the Prince further. "Anything stand out from those summers?"
The Prince looked back up at his sister. For a long moment he seemed deep in thought, though his face was mournful. "No," he finally said. "Only that they were happy,"
Link wasn't sure if he felt truly disappointed. The Prince had lived a long life, numbering many more years than Link. One incident on an afternoon among an archive of summer afternoons probably stood out no more than what the Prince took for supper the night before.
Across the plaza he caught a glimpse of golden hair, and saw that the Princess was coming their way. She was the picture of determination, her Sheikah Slate held against her chest as she marched towards them. Not wanting her to see him in a sullen mood, he excused himself from Sidon's company, and fled to Dento's workshop before the Princess could reach them.
Dento was adding the finishing touches to the fletching of the specially-made crossbow bolts. He insisted on doing this one task for Link, since as he put it, fletching was an art that was significantly more complex than sticking some Rito feathers to a stick. And, that if Link wanted to learn, it would take much longer than the week he had left at the Domain. Less than a week now, Link realised with an inward frown. He took a bundle of bolts and gave the old Zora his sincere thanks, but not before the smith inspected the progress on his crossbow.
"You learn quickly," he noted, turning the weapon over. "You would have made a good apprentice."
Link looped the Zora's words in his head the whole walk to Vah Ruta. They were another entry into his collection of things to mourn...another drop in the calm seas of regret. Perhaps he could have been a good apprentice. And maybe later, weaponsmith, and a jeweller, and the successor of an old Zora sage. He could have spent more than just the summers in the Domain. He could have built a life. In time, making jewelry for his would-be wife, and sitting in the sun with his brother-in-law in a Kingdom wholly encompassed by peace. Is that what I wanted? He wouldn't ever know now.
Link pushed the thoughts away, down beneath the chorus of other worries. The haunting dream, Sidon, the Princess...even by day he was filled with dread, lost in a place he knew he should know. And for all the summers, long afternoons, and days in the sun that he had spent at Zora's Domain, none of it felt real. None of it felt familiar. But at least - at least - he could be alone up on Ruta's Plateau, with his crossbow contraption and two dozen octo balloons ripe to become targets, and just be the hero for once.
And of course when he came over the lip of luminous wind-weathered rock at the edge of the wide plateau, he saw her, and her crown of sun-gold hair.
Zelda felt her pointed ears burning before she even heard the crunching of rock under boots. Evidently the peace she'd expected to find at Ruta's Plateau was not to last.
"I thought you were with Sidon," his voiced echoed across the plateau.
Zelda cocked an ear in his direction, not looking away from her notes. "I was, and then I came here. The Travel Gate on Vah Ruta is still active."
She could hear the rising frustration in his voice, though his words were clipped. "You shouldn't have. It's dangerous,"
Zelda laughed. "Please - Lady Ruta can't even move, let alone hurt anyone."
"Sidon was attacked here."
That was enough to make her turn, fury and fear bubbling up inside her. "Well that's the first I've heard," she scolded. "What do you mean he was attacked?"
"It means you aren't safe alone."
"So. I've. Heard," she enunciated, voice dripping with poison. Ignoring his exasperated sigh, Zelda returned her attention to Ruta, and to her Sheikah slate. From the sound of his receding footsteps, she figured he'd had enough as well.
Overhead, the sun crept towards the western skies. Zelda tried to focus on simply enjoying a respite by the deep pool of water as she idly watched Ruta's readings transmitted through her Sheikah Slate. There was nothing to report, and nothing to note down. Ruta was stable - still in a low energy state and entirely immobile - but in no danger of malfunctioning or breaking down. The Divine Beast could rest on the plateau for another hundred years, so long as the Malice within her never breached her ancient walls.
There was a rustling behind her, and the floating sound of hushed mutterings coming from what she assumed was the knight's direction. Zelda peered around to see that he was busy lining up a row of octo balloons, as if they were ducks for the hunt. He then measured out a ten-step firing line, and raised, loaded, and fired that crossbow of his. A bolt soared past the bloated balloons, whistling almost pathetically as it disappeared into the valley. He pulled another from his quiver: draw, load, pwiiiish. Draw, load, phwap! One of the balloons exploded into fuschia-coloured scraps of rubber innards.
"Huh," Zelda muttered to herself. "He managed to get it to work."
She turned back towards Ruta, not wanting to stare. From what she heard however, the crossbow was not yet firing true. More of the bolts gave a long whistle than a pop, followed by a few grumbles of frustration from the knight. He'll run out of arrows soon, she realised. Link and Zelda had been on eggshells with each other - doing their best not to offend each other, and doing their best to pretend not to be offended - and after two days Zelda no longer cared whose fault it all was. Perhaps a small peace offering was in order.
Tapping through the menus of the Sheikah Slate, Zelda pulled up the inventory function, and selected three regular arrows. They materialised above the slate in a bundle of shining blue light and fell into her lap. Not entirely sure what she was doing, Zelda snapped each arrow in half, and kept the fletched pieces. And then - still unsure, with her hand unsteady - she held the splintered tips up to her right palm, and seared them with a concentrated pulse of energy. She cleared her mind, feeling the world around her blacken as all other distractions fell away, and focused her power into something that could mould as well as burn. She felt a click - a disconnect - as the world slipped away underneath her. It lasted no longer than a blink. And then it was done, the splintered tips were rounded and consolidated, and in her hands she held three makeshift crossbow bolts.
She sprang to her feet, forgetting that she and Link hadn't exchanged a single word in the past hour that they were (technically) in each other's company.
"I did it!" she exclaimed as she bounded over. "Look!"
From his reaction, it was possible he had forgotten she was even there. He spun on his heel, his right hand reaching instinctively for the sword on his back, and he seemed to freeze when he saw her.
She held out the trio of bolts. "Take them, I want to see if they work!"
Wide-eyed, the knight looked down at the bolts, and then back to her. "You made these?"
"Mm. I think maybe the technique can be refined, and if I'm honest it made me feel quite dizzy, but they should be-"
"You made these for me?"
Zelda nodded, worried that she'd done a horrible job; that her makeshift bolts looked ridiculous and were entirely unusable. Link took one from her hands, spun it around deftly to examine her handiwork, and then nocked it into the crossbow. In his row of balloons there were only three left. After a second to aim, he fired, and an octo balloon disappeared with a succinct phwap!
Zelda could have sworn she saw the knight smile. "Not bad," he said, taking another bolt from her hands and loading it into the crossbow. Link fired at the second last octo balloon, and again the bolt easily found its target. "Magic," he breathed.
"Magic," Zelda agreed. She handed him the last crossbow bolt, but this time he did not load it into the crossbow.
"How's Sidon?" he asked, tucking the bolt into his quiver.
"Unchanged, I think. I was trying again with the power. Easing his pain."
Link raised his crossbow, inspecting the latch that held the drawstring. "Kind of you," he said.
"I learned a very long time ago not to force myself upon a solution. If I cannot heal him, then I can make him comfortable," Zelda explained. "And if I cannot heal Ruta either...then I can just try to make both of the comfortable,"
Link lowered his crossbow and gazed solemnly out over the landscape. "Make him comfortable…." he muttered.
"I'm sorry," Zelda said. "I was - last week - I was being unfair. And now your friend is very ill. I can see with clarity now how unhappy you are. I brought you home...and then I made it horrible for you."
"Our friend. Sidon is our friend," Link said quietly. "And you've been good to him, with no thanks from me."
He lifted his head and met her eyes with his own; Zelda felt her breath hitch. She had nearly forgotten the fierceness that hid behind those calm blue eyes of his - they way they saw, as well as looked. "I should have been looking out for you. Helping you with the Zora."
She placed a hand on his shoulder, finding a quiet fondness for the warmth of him, as well as a ruminating, near-constant disbelief. You are here; we are here. How long she had spent in that wretched sanctum, watching in fear that he might perish again.
She gave his shoulder a squeeze, and returned her hand to her side. "Help me now. Help me do some good, and make our Prince happy."
Link nodded, and gave her a small smile - though she knew it was genuine.
A red-orange light had swept across the sky, smooth as a painter's brush. The aquamarine rocks of Ruta's Plateau were tinged with a radiant amber hue, and the waters of the Zora River below sparkled under the waning light. They stood together, watching the changing colours, a peace having settled between them. This is how it should be, Zelda thought, and she felt that perhaps Link was feeling it too.
After a time, and with reluctance, Zelda broke the silence. "Does he really have a fanclub?" she asked shyly, still unsure if she had heard that correctly.
Link chuckled. "Yep," he grinned. And then Zelda was laughing too, their soft giggles echoing down the canyon, between the rocks and crags, to the river below.
Day Five
Their routine changed. For the third day since their reconciliation, Link and Zelda left Vah Ruta undisturbed. In the mornings, they broke their fast with Sidon, before Zelda administered her magical treatment. Sadly it didn't seem to be healing the infection, and if it was slowing it, they could not tell. But Sidon reported that it numbed the pain almost entirely, and that this very moment was the best he had lived in his entire life. Zelda noted his enthusiasm and joy like committing formulas to memory, hoping to store and reuse it later. The weight on her felt heavier than ever somehow, and no matter the minor happiness she found during the day, the heaving feeling in her chest never seemed to fully leave her.
In the afternoons, she helped Link modify arrows for his crossbow. He was still learning to fire it with accuracy and speed, so her job as part of his crossbow training was snapping regular arrows in half and burning the splintered shaft with her powers. Perhaps she did something else to them - made them shoot straighter, or swifter, but she couldn't quite tell. Then they would hike to Ruta's Plateau together, tie octo balloons along the cliff's edge, and Zelda would watch as the knight dispatched the balloons one by one, keeping an eye on Ruta's readings to make sure that she truly was stable. By the third day, Link determined that he was ready to take on the octoroks that still lived.
And in the evenings, Zelda sought out however many Zora that would talk to her. Guards, children, shopkeepers, and nobles- she pried them all for stories on the past one hundred years, and the state of the Domain. It took a little while, but eventually some began to open up, and Zelda dutifully jotted down their stories. Somewhere along the way, she became the unwitting second-ever Hylian to join the Prince Sidon fanclub.
"Pardon, but who was the first?" she inquired the garnet-skinned Zoran woman named Luna.
"Link, of course!" Luna giggled. "At this rate, we'll sign up a third in no time."
Why does none of this surprise me? Link of course, denied the allegation outright. She interrogated him as they sat together in one of the gazebos, taking a supper of grilled salt-fish at the end of the fifth day. Link avoided her question by stuffing his face with fish every time she asked.
"I didn't realise the Prince was so popular. Is he betrothed?"
With a mouth full of fish, Link had no option but to shrug.
"No, you must know, you talk to him all the time."
Link shook his head, mumbling a "nope" through full cheeks.
"I know you're lying," Zelda squinted at him. "I'm on to you, Hero."
He looked at her with coy, innocent eyes, before digging into another morsel of fish.
Day Six
On the sixth day, their morning session with Sidon never came to be. Zelda met Link at the Inn, and as they walked towards the infirmary together, the quiet of the morning was shattered by a frightful wail that echoed throughout the Domain. It was one of the nurses; she came scrambling into the Plaza, and raced over to Link and Zelda.
"Champion! Champion! Princess!" she cried, her hands balled into fists. "The Prince!"
They both sprinted to the infirmary, splashing through the watery halls with frantic desperation. But there was nothing to be done. Sidon was comatose, and both Zelda and Link's attempts to wake him were in vain. Even a last-ditch use of Mipha's Grace did nothing. Link was sure that Mipha was in the room with them, watching their failure to save her brother. Link looked over and saw Zelda's face was determined, despite the tears the drifted down her cheeks. He could tell the cogs were turning, as her instinct to find a solution - any solution - kicked in. He felt his instincts rise as well, wanting nothing more than to protect both her and Sidon. The web of Malice around the Prince's arm pulsed angrily, the putrid fluid of corruption churning under his skin. It was almost enough to make Link vomit.
Link turned to Zelda. "What should we do?"
"What can we do?" she said calmly. "That is the better question."
The Princess suddenly turned to leave, and Link followed hurriedly behind. They burst into the central chamber of Zora's Domain, interrupting a meeting between the King and his retainers.
"King Dorephan!" Zelda called out to him. She did not bow. "It's Sidon."
The King seemed to ignore them, muttering in a low voice to his retainers. On his word, they dispersed, and returned to sit in their positions in the gallery. "I have heard," he said flatly, as if the news was no more a bother than a passing dorner. "The commotion was heard throughout Zora's Domain."
Zelda was breathless. "It's the Malice. I'm worried he doesn't have long." Zelda kneeled then, all but dropping to her knees. Link followed suit, kneeling beside her.
"We are due to leave the day after tomorrow, but I beg of you that we are given more time to treat Sidon," she pleaded.
"The Prince," the King corrected pointedly, "has been unaffected by your help. Our healers have been working on a cure since we found him. They will find a way. In the meantime it is not unexpected that his condition will worsen."
"King Dorephan, the Prince - your last child - is dying. You must let us stay. You must let me try again to destroy the Malice. It cannot be healed with elixirs and poultices, it's...it's just not the same thing."
The King regarded them with a vacant and contemptuous expression. "I would need time to reach a verdict," he said. "After all, we thought you were not contesting my decision."
"You don't have a choice, you said, as we recall," interjected Muzu from his place in the gallery.
"You don't have a choice!" the Princess retorted.
"We have no proof that what you are saying is true," Muzu returned her fire.
Zelda pointed to the east. "The reservoir!" she challenged. "Built 10,000 years ago by our ancestors, as a sign of the bond between our kingdoms. That it still stands is testament; you must help me, and you must let me help you!"
Link could not help but admire the Princess' strength-to stand before a King and his court, to lecture him on his own history. Memories from one hundred years ago had brought him flashes of a doubt-filled girl not ready to be what she was destined to be; that girl seemed all but gone now. But the King did not relent, and eventually ordered them both to leave him be. Zelda led them back to the infirmary, where she sat vigil by Sidon's side, her hands wrapped around his as though by will alone she could heal him.
You don't have a choice, Link thought. There must be to be something he could do. He needed a solution fast, or Sidon's likeness would join his sister's in the plaza, and likely the Zora and Hylians would never again be allies. He looked to the Princess and understood that it was her strength that he needed.
Link quietly asked to borrow the Sheikah Slate - Zelda simply nodded, her attention fixed on Sidon. And when enough time had passed that she would not notice him leave, Link snuck away from the infirmary. He opened the Sheikah Slate map, and found the small glowing symbol that marked Vah Ruta's travel gate. He activated the teleport function, and held his breath.
If he was going to be honest with himself, he had no real plan. So Link used a method that seemed to epitomise his life so far: he went back to the start.
He stood at the flooded entry to the chamber that housed Ruta's main control unit, and watched the pulsing blue glow of the terminal. Zelda had rightly pointed out when they first came here that Link had no knowledge on how to pilot Vah Ruta. But if he could just move her somehow, force her to stand so that she was more easily explored, then perhaps their research into the Malice could start again in earnest. And from there, they would have one day to figure it out….
You don't have a choice, Link repeated to himself every time he doubted his plan. He owed it to Mipha to clear her Divine Beast of the corruption; he owed it to Sidon for being his first friend when he awoke...and he owed it to Zelda for...well, this was really the least he could do for her.
Link crouched at the water's edge, and closed his eyes to focus. He drew out the image of a soaring Rito and the feeling of a great gale, and felt the surge of power as a rushing updraft erupted underneath him. The Rito Champion's sardonic face came to mind as Link whipped out his paraglider and was launched towards the ceiling of the chamber, high above the flooding waters. Deep down below the main control unit continued its rhythmic blinking, and after taking a second to line himself up, Link let go of his paraglider.
The water surged upwards to meet him, and he broke through the surface with a clean dive, tearing through the dark waters. The faint glow of the main control unit had become a shining beacon of light, and Link swam with all of his strength down towards the terminal. He held the Sheikah Slate out in front of him as he fought his way down, and reveled in the rush of adrenaline that came from the icy waters and daring dive. For them, he thought as he felt his lungs begin to give out. For Mipha...for Sidon...for Zelda.
The terminal flashed a brilliant orange and blue as finally, Link reached it, extending the Sheikah Slate. Immediately, he felt an earth-shattering rumble that shook the entire chamber. And then he was slammed into the main control unit, the pitch back waters rushing past him and out towards Ruta's stern. It's working! Link realised. He had to grip onto the control unit to stop from being flushed out of the chamber through the wide windows that lined Ruta's outer walls, but eventually the waters receded almost entirely, exposing the main control unit to air at last. Link toppled down onto the stone platform surrounding the terminal, and coughed violently as he gasped for breath.
And then it was over. He lay on the platform - soaking wet and exhausted - until his breath returned to him and he found the strength to stand. But when he stood, he saw that somehow by the Goddess's grace, his plan had worked. For the first time in nearly half a year, Vah Ruta floated level with the waters that surrounded her, and the flooding waters that had prevented piloting her were entirely gone.
Did I...did I do that? How?
He looked around the large chamber, and found it almost entirely clear of Malice. And then he saw, tucked away in the corner - perhaps having always been there, or perhaps having been washed into the chamber by the receding waters - a shining silver bracelet, adorned with the shape of a heart.
It was the summer he turned eighteen. The last last summer he would ever see in Zora's Domain, and he was finally starting to look, and feel, like an adult. His friends, the youth of the Zora, had always marvelled at the speed at which he grew, as he returned at the end of each spring a few inches taller and a decent amount stronger. Though to his frustration he was never able to outpace them in the waters. The boys - Rivan, Gaddison, and their leader Bazz - always insisted on challenging him to races through Zora River, taunting him that this time might be the first time he wins.
And it was Mipha who was the voice of reason. She and her friend Kodah had always tried to talk him out of it, but he never listened. He was nearly a man, and freshly accepted in the Knight Order at Hyrulean Academy like his father and father's father before him. However this summer brought new things to attract his attention - for suddenly the Princess of the Zoras' calm pleas for him to stay back with her were more appealing than the glory of out-swimming the group of Zora boys. Her little brother Sidon, still a small fry, had followed them down to the Bank of Wishes southwest of Zora's Domain, and was mumbling happily to himself as he dangled his feet in the waters.
They'd been sitting together on the bank, shoulders just kissing, and Link felt like either his chest was going to give out or he was going to be sick. If this was what love was, he wasn't sure if he couldn't get enough, or wanted it to just go away. Mipha didn't seem to notice his internal panic, and was focused on examining one of her bracelets. A slender silverite bangle fashioned into the shape of a love heart, it had been pinching her skin at the hinge, and so she'd removed it. As Link and Mipha sat together, chatting quietly and enjoying the sun, Sidon caught sight of fox around the bend of the bank, and darted away to chase after it. His big sister leaped to her feet to chase after him, and judging by her exasperated pleas, was struggling to catch him. The siblings disappeared around the bend, and Link was alone. He picked up the little bracelet, and admired the workmanship.
That was when they turned up. The whole crew: Bazz, Rivan, Gaddison, and Kodah, all racing through the waters.
"Whatcha got there, Linny?" Kodah called to him as the four of them advanced up the bank.
"What's this?" Bazz teased, marching up and snatching the bracelet from Link's hands. "I recognise this. This is Mipha's." The Zora glowered at Link. "Did she give this to you?"
Link opened his mouth to speak, but Bazz cut him off. "Wouldn't want to lose this, would we Linny?"
Link moved to take the bracelet back, but the taller Zora held it out of reach, snorting with laughter as Link jumped to try and retrieve it. The Zora's face suddenly dropped, and with his free hand he shoved Link to the ground.
"She'll never be yours, Hylian," Bazz spat. "You're just a novelty to her, and it wouldn't matter either way - your kind die well before ours."
Later, Link wouldn't recall leaping to his feet and tackling the Zora boy, but the fierce bruises that spotted his body in the fight's aftermath would tell the story well enough.
Mipha's voice rang out through the valley. "Stop!" she cried. Link and Bazz sprang apart, the bracelet all but forgotten. They both mumbled hurried apologies, but the Princess ignored them. Sidon in tow, she walked over to the edge of the bank, and pulled her bracelet free of the mud and silt where it had become lodged, entirely forgotten in the fight. And Link saw, marking one of the heart shapes, a visible dent and scratch. Mipha ran a finger over the bracelet, tracing the spot where it had been damaged.
"Come, Link," she said. "It's time I escorted you back to your family."
Link picked up Mipha's bracelet from its resting place in Vah Ruta, and thumbed a small black dent that marred one of the heart shapes. The memory it conjured was a diamond among the dirt. A single piece of clarity in a muddied world. Mipha had never even scolded him, never snapped, never so much as expressed her disappointment. They had walked back to Zora's Domain together, where she took his hand in her own and apologised for the behaviour of the other Zora.
It's just a scratch she had said, slipping the bracelet back on. Something we can look back on, and laugh about. She must have kept the bracelet ever since. She must have died wearing it.
The dam broke, and the sea of regrets and sorrow that Link had been holding in spilled out of him. He nearly dropped the bracelet again, seized by a twisting feeling in his chest. It was worse than a punch to the gut, worse than the uncountable times he'd been knocked off of his feet. He was completely winded, gasping like a fish drowning in the sun. He fell to his knees, and his tears mixed with the shallow waters that filled the chamber.
If anyone tries to do you harm…no matter when, or how bad the wound….
The sobs racked him; they came in unceasing and rolling heaves like waves on a stormy sea. It was enough to pull him under, and maybe that was what he wanted. After a time though, he quieted to soft whimpers, and eventually silence as a feeling of numbness encased him. The worst part of it all was that he couldn't quite grasp what made him feel like this. Just like everything else, it was just out of reach. A few weeks ago he'd wanted nothing more than to remember, but the more he remembered, the more he wished he'd died with the rest of them. You should have let me, he thought, the sweet and radiant face of Princess Zelda coming to mind. I died at the Fort. I failed, but I failed as myself. You should have just accepted it.
He knew the thoughts were cruel, but he wanted to indulge in them anyway. A new round of tears followed, though this time they brought no sobs; just a dull sense of pain. After a time, he closed his eyes.
"Link?"
Her voice pulled him back to earth with a thud. Link startled to his feet, his hand instinctively reaching back for his sword, as if she could ever do him any harm. She was carrying a small lantern, and Link realised that night had fallen. How long...?
"Someone told me that Vah Ruta had moved, and I came as soon as I could. But you - how long have you been here?"
He couldn't speak. There was no place he could begin. His face was likely still puffy and red from the tears, and his body raw from the pain, Link couldn't even look at her. She stepped towards him, the lantern illuminating her face with a harsh shadow. "Link? Are you okay?"
Zelda stepped forward again, and Link backed away from her, still unable to look her in the eye. "Don't," he sobbed. "Please."
Link heard her slot the lantern onto her belt. She must have seen Mipha's bracelet in his hand, as well as the tears on his cheeks, for she sighed. "Oh. Oh, no...I'm so sorry, Link."
Zelda again stepped towards him, backing him into the wall where there was nowhere for him to go. She wrapped her hands around his, lifting them so that she could look at the bracelet. It glittered in the light from her lantern, and Link felt another surge of grief.
"It's beautiful," Zelda murmured. "And so elegant. Just like her to wear something like this."
Link nodded with a sniff. Zelda let go of his hands, though he could not move, and stood holding the bracelet between them. He looked up, slowly meeting her eyes, and saw the pity and sorrow written on her face. It sent a wave of embarrassment through him. She should never have seen this side of him. No one ever had. And yet, he had no one else to talk to.
Link mustered the courage to speak. "I think...I think I did love her. Why else would I...?" his voice trailed off into a weak mutter.
"There is no grief without passion. My governess told me when my mother died," Zelda offered softly, looking down at the bracelet. "And no passion without grief."
Link let out a reedy laugh, feeling absurd as more tears began to fall. He took a deep breath.
"I don't want these memories anymore," he whispered, choking back his sobs. "Take them away, please."
"Link…" Zelda sighed, eyes shining, her own tears budding at the corners of her eyes.
"Do you ever feel like it's unfair?" he blurted out. "That we lived?"
"All the time. Every day. Every hour. Wondering why the Goddess chose to keep me alive when so much of it was my fault," she looked up at him with remorse in her eyes.
"No," Link said firmly. He lowered his hands. "You did what was best for your kingdom."
"My kingdom," Zelda repeated, suddenly overcast.
She looked around the chamber, turning to observe the entire room. "You piloted Vah Ruta," she observed. "Or perhaps, Mipha programmed in a sort of reset. Once Ruta's job was done, the main control unit could be scanned to return her to a neutral state."
"Sounds like something she'd do," Link offered.
"You didn't have to do this alone," Zelda said, turning back towards Link. "Activating the terminal couldn't have been easy. I...I could have helped. If I'd just had the courage to let you try."
His grief was receding, and no matter what he felt in that moment, they had work to do. Link walked over towards the main control unit, taking out the Sheikah Slate. "I think it's time we work together on this," he said. "We have until tomorrow to clear out the Malice."
"Only if you're feeling okay," Zelda jogged to join him. "You know, I didn't know you wanted to help my research."
Link shrugged. "Neither did I."
"Okay, Link, this is me asking what you think," Zelda stood in the now-righted central chamber of Vah Ruta, once again examining a wretched pool of Malice.
Link stood at her side. "I've had an idea for a while."
"Tell me."
The knight drew the Master Sword. Zelda couldn't stop herself. "We've gone over this, the Sword-"
He held up a finger, and then outstretched his free hand. "Take it."
"Your hand…?"
Link nodded. Cautiously, Zelda obliged. His hand was warm, a welcome source of heat in the chilly Divine Beast. Night had well and truly fallen by that point, and Zelda dreaded making the hike back to the Domain in the dark.
"There's a Rito bard who helped me out, when I was travelling around," Link explained. "His songs always had some meaning. And he had one last one to give me, right before I came to get you."
"What did he say?" Zelda asked with trepidation.
Link recited the words. "'The hero - the princess - hand in hand, must bring light to the land.'"
"You think it was a message?"
Link just shrugged. "It's not much to go on."
"Maybe it wasn't this literal," Zelda pondered. She was beginning to feel uneasy simply standing there hand in hand. "But what if? What if it meant we need to work together, like you said." She turned to face him, pulling her hand away from his with a sense of relief. "You're the hero. What does the hero do?"
Link thought for a second. "...kill things?" She shot him an unimpressed scowl. "Wield the Master Sword?" he offered.
"Okay. And what does the princess do?"
Without missing a beat, he answered, "Boss Link around."
Her scowl worsened. "Excuse me?"
"I mean - magic. The Princess does magic."
The sword, and the magic. It seemed too easy, but why need it be so complex? For so long her own powers had eluded her, and day by day they were becoming second nature. "Maybe that's it," she concluded, the creeping sense of realisation growing within her. "We've tried the sword, and we've tried magic. But never both together."
Link nodded, and held the Master Sword in out in front of him, the blade pointing downwards. He wrapped both hands around the hilt, and motioned for her to do the same.
"The sword that seals the darkness," he said.
"And the sealing power of the princess," Zelda finished, wrapping her hands around his. "Sounds so obvious, doesn't it?"
Link looked down at the sword. "So...what do we-"
"Just focus on the sword and on the power that it carries. I think I can manage the rest."
The knight nodded, and closed his eyes. Zelda followed, and focused her power to the blade of the sword that they wielded together. She felt the heat rising through the hilt, and just as before, felt herself spliced from the fabric of reality. She focused on the light - and on the small morsels of joy she had felt during her life - and an enduring wish to see Vah Ruta returned to her true state. Though she could not see it, she could sense an intense aura of energy and light beginning to emanate from the sword at the point where hers and Link's hands crossed. Thoughts raced through her mind unbridled as she drew on every feeling she had to bolster her power.
My mother surrounded by light.
My father at the height of his reign.
My knight ready to die so that I may live.
My kingdom returned to the sun.
Zelda opened her eyes and saw that all around them was a blinding golden light. It surged outwards, enveloping the entire chamber, and soon, the entire Divine Beast itself. Link's eyes opened slowly as well, and went wide as he marveled at what he saw.
Their gazes met, and Link smiled. A true smile, rich with pride
Around them, the shining sphere shattered, and before the light could even begin to dim, Zelda collapsed against the stone floor.
She came to bundled up in Link's arms, the soft sounds of his voice pulling her back into consciousness.
"You did it," he was saying. "You did it."
Sundered by the ritual, and struggling to anchor herself in the present, Zelda gazed up sleepily at the ceiling of Vah Ruta. She sat up gingerly, and peered around the room. Her mouth fell open, and she gaped like a child gazing up at the sky.
There was not a single trace of Malice anywhere to be seen. Every pool and growth was gone, and somehow the air inside Vah Ruta was purer. The Divine Beast seemed as if she was just as new-the way she could have been those 10,000 years ago.
Link and Zelda caught each other's eyes, and before they could say anything else, a single name was on both their lips.
"Sidon!"