The drive to the Spring of Courage was a long one from the Spring of Power in the Eldin region. It only made sense to split up the drive and grab a room at one of the motels off the highway for the night. Despite the confusion situation they had found themselves in, Link thought it would be in their best interest to stop, anyway. It was unlikely they would be attacked in such a public place. And if Dorian was keeping tabs on them, it likely would have been more suspicious to continue driving. Which only meant that they would probably be better off using their own names. Even still, that made Link slightly uneasy.

It was late when they finally did stop and they quickly settled into their room. Zelda lay across one of the beds on her stomach, her feet swinging in the air as she played with her phone. She watched as Link let his own phone drop to the bed, then stripped out of his two holsters. She grabbed his phone, disappointed when he did not fight her about it.

"You don't even have a password on this thing?" she said as she unlocked the unsecured screen with a simple swipe.

"I don't keep any secrets on there," Link said with a shrug. He sat on the edge of the bed and made a motion to take hers, but Zelda acted quickly taking it from him.

"What are you hiding?" Link said with a grin.

"Nothing," she said quickly. "It has a password, anyway."

Link laughed. "I bet I could get into it." He watched Zelda as she opened the camera and began to play with the preloaded filters. "Please don't put stupid pictures on my phone," he groaned. Link crossed his arms as she held the phone in the air, angling it just right so they were both in the shot.

"Delete that," he muttered.

"Why?" Zelda whined. "You have pictures of everyone else on here." She flipped through the images, pausing on a picture of Revali with crude drawings on his face. She turned the phone to Link. "Is this really how you spend your free time?"

Link grinned. "Daruk did that on one of his drunken escapades."

She clicked off the screen and tossed it onto Link's lap. "Boring."

Link took his phone and made his way to the other bed. He leaned against the headboard with a sigh as Zelda clicked off the lamp between them.

Link was determined to leave early the next morning. But sleep was the last thing on his mind. He just couldn't bring himself to close his eyes, even for a moment. There were just too many unanswered questions and he wasn't about to leave themselves unguarded and vulnerable, despite the public venue. So Link busied himself with cups of coffee while Zelda slept beside him. He took his guns apart and cleaned them, twice. He flipped through the channels on the tv three times. He played absentmindedly with his phone until he found himself opening and closing apps without doing anything more.

He sighed and let his phone drop to the bed. He watched as Zelda mumbled softly and turned over in her sleep. She settled in with a light sigh, pulling the blankets up over her shoulders. Her blonde hair fell loose around her face, single strands blowing away slightly as she breathed.

Link's phone vibrated beside him. His hand flew down to open the message. His heart raced when he saw Dorian's name on the screen.

Report.

Link hesitated. Why would Dorian want a report this late at night?

No luck at the spring of power. Heading to spring of courage next.

It wasn't long before Dorian's reply came through.

Return to HQ after that.

The Spring of Courage proved just be just as futile as the Spring of Power. And though she tried to keep things together, Zelda was visibly falling hopelessly apart. Just as defeated, they returned to the car without a word until Link took the highway northbound.

"Where are we going?" Zelda asked him.

"Back to the city," Link said. "Per Dorian's request."

Zelda raised a brow. "Why?"

Link shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Zelda sighed and slunk back into her seat. She cast a glance towards Link. "Should we be worried?"

Link shook his head. Whomever Dorian was loyal to, he wouldn't have asked Link to return to the city if it wasn't business related. Whether that business was in Hyrule's favor or not was an entirely different story. But Link wasn't about to voice his theories to Zelda. She had enough on her plate to deal with. It was his job and only his job to worry about the other details.

Link turned off the highway a few exits sooner than necessary. He was in no rush to get back to the city, and from the looks of it, Zelda didn't seem to be in much of a hurry, either. In fact, she didn't even question him when he took the exit ramp, and for a while, they drove through the countryside in silent contemplation.

Link drove with no real destination in mind until the sun began its descent and finally, he pulled to a stop outside of Sanidin Park. Without a word, he stepped out of the car and walked across to the edge which just overlooked the rolling hills of Hyrule. In the distance, to his left, he could see the bridge into the city and the palace that sat atop the small hillside.

Zelda joined Link, standing at his side. She stepped forward and leaned against the wall. "What are we doing here?" she finally asked.

"Figured you could use a break," he said. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he watched her. He couldn't help but notice - admire, even - the way the setting sun framed her in a warm, golden light. "I grew up in that town over there," Link said, pointing towards the small town in the distance. "I used to come here a lot when I wanted to get away."

Zelda smiled. She looked beyond the town and towards the distant mountains. "That's Mount Lanayru," she said, pointing towards it. "It takes its name from the Goddess of Wisdom. I read somewhere that 'only the wise are permitted a place upon the mountain.'"

"Guess that leaves us out," Link said, folding his arms with a smirk.

"Maybe up there," she continued. "Maybe the Spring of Wisdom will be what awakens my power." She hesitated for a moment. "To be honest, I have no real reason to think that will be the case. But there's always the chance that the next moment will change everything." She turned her back to the mountain and met Link's gaze. "How long will we be in the city?"

Link turned his gaze to Mount Lanayru. "I doubt very long," he said. "Maybe just for tonight."

Zelda nodded in approval. "The sooner we get to the spring, the better," she said.

Link walked to her side and looked out over Hyrule.

"I bet you have no idea," Zelda said. "Tomorrow is my birthday."

"And you want to spend it climbing that damn mountain?"

Zelda smiled down at her feet. "Maybe I'll have some birthday luck on my side." Her smile disappeared slowly. "At this point, I'll take any kind of luck I can get." She hesitated, then met Link's gaze. "I'm grateful for your help through all of this," she said, then, with a shrug, added, "Even if it is just part of the job."

Link shook his head. "It was never about the job," he said, his brows knit together. "Is that really what you think?"

Zelda lowered her gaze. "I always thought you resented me the way I had resented you," she admitted. "I wouldn't have blamed you, either. You didn't really have a choice in the matter." She sucked in a breath. "It never seemed quite fair that we were forced into this mess."

Link's expression softened as Zelda met his gaze once more. "I never resented you," he said, taking a step closer to her. "I always admired your determination. It made me want to better myself to protect you. You're not just a pawn in this world, Zelda. You're so much more than you give yourself credit for."

Zelda hesitated. Her cheeks felt warm and she averted her gaze once more. But before she could open her mouth to respond, Link was standing before her, taking her hands in his. She looked up into his soft, blue eyes, and her breath caught in her throat.

"Job or not, I will protect you until my dying breath. You are worth protecting." He hesitated and let a smile pull at the corners of his mouth. "For what it's worth, I'm glad destiny brought us together."

"Me too," Zelda said softly, returning his smile. Her heartbeat quickened and something seemed to flutter in her stomach. It was a peculiar feeling, but she didn't want to pull away. She moved closer to him, holding her gaze on his for a moment. She let her eyes trace down his cheeks to his lips, realizing at that moment how close their faces were. She wanted to move closer to him where she felt safest, but the fluttering of wings in the nearby tree caused her to jump. She realized at that moment how dark it had gotten. The last of the sun's light was fading behind the horizon, and the deep night sky was cast aglow by the full moon.

"We should go," she said quickly, her voice low. "Dorian's waiting for you." She took a step back but did not pull her hands out of Link's. She paused and met his gaze once more.

"Yeah," he said simply. He found himself confused by the interaction. Or perhaps he was simply regretting not doing anything more while he had the chance. But it was for the better. The king would likely not respond well if anything… transpired between his daughter and her handler. He had to cast his own growing feelings aside. Link offered her a sheepish, crooked smile.

Zelda took the initiative, stepping around Link and heading to the car. Link followed quickly and slid in behind the wheel. The engine roared to life once more and he pulled away from the park and towards the city.

Dorian had a map open across his desk when Link entered. His back was to Link, his arms folded across his chest as he gazed out his window into the night. Below, the city streets were still alive, headlights and streetlights marking the roads as they crisscrossed throughout the city.

"I presume Zelda hasn't awaken her power, yet," he said without turning to greet Link.

Link chose to remain silent. This wasn't why Dorian had called him into his office.

Dorian finally turned and let his gaze rest on Link's. "What plan do you have brewing in that mind of yours?" he asked curiously.

Still, Link said nothing. He narrowed his eyes at Dorian.

"It's not enough for you that Impa trusts me?"

"What do you want, Dorian?" Link fought to keep his voice level, though the frustration and anger brewed inside of him.

Dorian held his gaze on Link's for a moment before directing his attention to the map. He pointed a finger at a spot outside of Gerudo Desert which was marked with an X. "The Yiga Clan's hideout is here," he said simply.

"How can you be sure?" Link asked as he studied the map. He turned his gaze onto Dorian when he spoke.

"Because I was there," Dorian said. "I finally met with Master Kohga myself."

"Master Kohga?"

"He's the leader of the Yiga Clan."

"Oh, yeah? And what did the two of you do there?"

"We had a bloody cup of tea, Link," Dorian snarled. "He wanted my intel on your efforts to prepare for Ganon."

Link's heart raced, but he forced himself to remain calm, his expression and voice steady. "What did you tell him?"

"I told them that no further progress had been made," he said. "The Master Sword remains a hidden mystery and Zelda's powers had not been awakened. As far as they are concerned, you and Zelda do not pose a threat to them at this moment." Dorian paused, his gaze softening for a moment. "I assume you will set out to try to find the sword."

Link narrowed his gaze at Dorian. It seemed Dorian was unaware that he already had the sword. That, or he was an excellent liar. "Are those my orders?"

Dorian straightened, holding his gaze on Link's. "Your orders from here on out are for you to do what you think is in the best interest of this country. Whatever you decide - whatever items you may find - nothing needs to be reported to me."

Link blinked at Dorian for a moment. "Okay," he said simply. He wasn't an idiot; he knew exactly what Dorian was telling him, and Dorian was telling him that he did not want to know anything about his and Zelda's progress. The less he knew, the better. Perhaps he was loyal to Hyrule after all.

Dorian nodded once at Link. "Good luck, then. May the Goddesses be on your side."