Author's Note

These short chapters really help me theme them well, I feel. Right now I'm trying to find a way to make a relationship between Link x Purah x Paya work, seeing as Paya is Purah's grand niece and Purah is a hundred years older then Paya.

But I love the idea of the pairing, and I'm going to keep throwing my head at this. It would be all too easy to make this simply a Link x Purah story, but that's not what I originally set out to do nor what I think many followed this story for, lol...

Uploaded

06/10/2023

LEGEND BELOW

"O-Oh goodness, I'm so clumsy!" = Normal speech.

''Dont panic.'' = Normal thoughts.

Chapter 5

A hundred year old longing

Rated-M

M rating for Romance, and things of explicit nature.

After having their little head to heart in her front yard, they both eventually decided it time to get up off the ground and go inside her home.

The topic of his missing memories quickly came up once more, and that's when Purah finally decided on asking why she would somehow be able to help him regain said memories.

There had to have been more than just one reason Impa had sent him her way so immediately after his awakening.

She just had to figure it out.

"Well, she told me that my Sheikah Slate is… broken? I'm not sure…" Link said in response to her question, pulling the ancient device from his hip. The object immediately powered on, playing a quiet sound as it did.

Purah was all over it, pressed into his side, leaning over to gain a better look.

She wasn't doing that just to press into him, not at all…

"Well what do you mean? It looks like it works to me." She mused, taking pleasure in the way he seemed to grow bashful and nervous as she pressed her bosom against the side of his arm.

He cleared his throat. "That's what I thought. It can create bombs, allow me to control metal objects from afar, and even place objects or monsters in stasis for a brief period…" He explained, listing off its many capabilities.

She made a noise of interest, lips curling downward slightly. "Anything else?" She asked.

"I can freeze water?" He added helpfully.

"And?" She kept prodding.

He frowned in thought, before a little smile formed on his face. He pulled away, facing her as he brought the device up to his face. "It can magnify things from really far away." He said with a little playful grin, zooming in on her bright and vibrant red eyes. "Wow, your eyes are really pretty…" He accidentally slipped out, finding his breath taken away for a moment.

Never mind the fact that he found her large rounded glasses adorable.

Her face flushed underneath his praise, but the fact of the matter was, he'd not listed everything she remembered the device being capable of.

"What about the camera?" She asked curiously. "You haven't listed that rune yet…"

Link's hands lowered, looking confused. "Camera?" He asked. "I don't have that rune."

"Really? Here, let me see." She took the device, scrolling through its options. And after a moment, she realized that it indeed did not have the camera rune. More then that, it's map was entirely blank, save for the Great plateau and the land's surrounding Kakariko Village.

There were also blue symbols placed around in random locations, and she had no clue what those were. "What are these?" She asked, pointing them out.

He glanced over her shoulder to see what it was she was talking about, and his eyes lit up in recognition. "Ah, those are ancient Sheikah shrines. They're hidden all over the place." He explained lightly.

"Really? You mean the strange obelisks they uncovered one hundred years ago? We tried to get it to open… how'd you do it?" She blinked in question.

"Well, after activating the towers across Hyrule, they just… Turned on… I'm not quite sure of it myself." He offered helpfully.

"So that was you?" She whispered in awe. He nodded, confirming her questions. "What do they do? The legend does not mention them in great detail." She had to know, the scientist and researcher in her blood demanded it from him.

He crossed his arms, bringing his fingers to his chin in thought. "Well… Here, look at this." He took hold of the slate again, switching to its map function. For most of its map, it was entirely blank. But surrounding the area that was the Great Plateau, it and the land that housed Kakariko village were filled out with extremely fine detail.

Winding rivers, smooth and rolling hills, mountains and different elevations, and even the local roads that were still used after the Calamity occurred.

"When I activated the buried tower atop the plateau, it shot up out of the ground alongside the others. Then it distilled something onto the slate, and it gave me this map." He explained enthusiastically. "It wasn't very large, but what it gave me was so extremely detailed, I was surprised. The second tower did the same thing." He added after a moment.

She blinked, stepping back. She thought about what he said, but it just didn't seem to add up with the words spoken about it in the ancient legends.

"So, how do these maps help you face the Calamity? They are useful, but I don't really see the importance of them…" She mused. "Don't you know what else it does?"

"I'm not sure… The slate said that a new gateway was opened, but I still don't know what it meant, nor could I access it." He sighed, rubbing the back of his head disappointedly, face flushing lightly in embarrassment. "I know I should know more about it. But I'm still learning how to use it, and no one else knows how it works. I'm sorry for disappointing you."

Her eyes widened as she quickly tossed her notebook on her research desk, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "No, please don't apologize. I'm not mad at you." She hummed, sighing as she rest her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes, taking a second to relish this moment in his embrace.

"I'm just… I'm still getting used to the fact that you are here now… That's all." She said, reluctantly releasing him from her hug. "Here, let me see if my machine can't fix it." She said, taking the slate from him again.

"Machine?" He echoed, confused.

She grinned, spinning around. "Check it, I salvaged it from an abandoned Sheikah location years ago." She walked over to a pedestal that looked nearly identical to the ones he'd found atop the towers. She placed the slate into the pedestal, and it immediately took his device, spinning it around and locking it in place.

His eyes widened with almost childlike wonder as he stood over it, watching it intently.

Above the pedestal, the rune dispenser began glowing.

"Error, missing runes detected. Repair Sheikah Slate now?" A disembodied mechanical voice spoke up. Link jerked back in response, having not expected it.

Purah laughed gleefully at his reaction, getting a pout from the Hero. "Well, are you going to answer it?" She asked after a moment of waiting.

He blinked, before turning back to the pedestal. "Yes…?" He almost asked.

"Repairing Sheikah Slate now. Dispensing Camera Rune, restoring photo logs. Restoring Gateway Rune, three gateways unlocked." The pedestal listed off, before it began concentrating a large teardrop of some form of magic. Then it dropped it onto the slate, before it returned the magic device to him.

Link picked it up curiously, inspecting it for its newly returned features.

Purah blinked. "What was that last rune it restored? I don't remember that one…" She asked.

"I'm… not sure." He mused, clicking on the Gateway Rune. Once he'd done so, he clicked on one of the only blue icons near him, one directly outside Purah's house.

…

…

…

"Did it do anything?" She asked curiously, leaning over his shoulder to look the device over.

He blinked in confusion, but when he went to open his mouth, nothing happened. Purah stepped back in surprise as his entire body was suddenly turned blue, then he vanished into thin air, wisps of blue magic remaining briefly where he'd once stood.

Then there was silence.

"L-Linky…?" She called out quietly, looking around.

Suddenly a fear appeared in her heart, and it nearly consumed her immediately.

"Link?! Link, where'd you go?!" She called out, trying not to let the rapid onset panic into her voice.

"I'm out here!" His voice rang out from beyond her front door. "Wow, that was exciting! Purah, it-" He was cut off as her door swung open, cracking into his face with a resounding thud. He stumbled back, dazed. "Ow…"

"Linky! There you- Oh, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, rushing to his aid when she realized she'd thrown the door into his face.

He laughed it off, rubbing the back of his head. "It's okay! It was just-" He tried, but quieted when she threw her arms around him tightly, hugging him as if her life depended on it. He blinked in surprise as she held onto him, her cheek resting on his shoulder. "Hey…? Are you okay, Purah?" He asked tentatively.

"I-I'm… I'm sorry…" She muttered quietly, suddenly sullen. "When you vanished so suddenly… I-" She tried, but couldn't bring herself to say it.

His eyes widened in surprise, before softening in understanding.

She'd feared that he'd vanished, as if he'd never been there. The fear that he was just a trick of her mind all along must've struck her seeing him disappear in the blink of an eye.

"Hey, I'm right here. I'm real, I'm not going to disappear, not again." He said quietly, trying to comfort her.

"How…?" She asked quietly, trailing off. "How can I know that? Prove to me you're real." She asked, pulling away slightly, just enough to search his eyes once more.

She wasn't prepared for him to gently grasp her chin, index finger underneath while his thumb softly pressed against the area just underneath her lips. She felt her heart skip a beat for a moment, eyes widening as he leaned into her, and pressed his lips to her forehead.

This kiss was different, gentle, kind, caring. This kiss was true, carrying the love he had, even though he still wasn't sure what he truly felt. Suffice it to say, it took her breath away, leaving her speechless when he finally pulled away.

"Was that real?" He asked softly, eyes closing in that signature kind grin of his.

She was speechless, lips quivering as she raised her fingers to her forehead as if to inspect that what just happened was real.

"M-Mmhmm…" She nodded, too stunned for words.

He'd done it again, taking that fear and desperation that was running rampant in her heart and lovingly, gently silencing it, bringing her peace of mind.

She felt herself falling for him all over again.

She only wished that it was his lips on hers, not her forehead. But he'd still practically barely met her, so she took what she could get, and graciously accepted what he offered.

For she was acutely aware of the reality that he could've denied wanting anything to do with her romantically, yet here he was, willing to give her a chance when he barely knew her.

After that they both went back inside to continue experimenting with the Sheikah Slate, trying to figure out what else it was capable of, and what else it may have been missing.

That's when they came across the photos that had been restored to the ancient device, photos that were a hundred years old. Purah expressed that she didn't remember those, but that since they had to have been taken by him and Zelda all those years ago, he should try to find his way to where they'd been taken, that perhaps doing so would jog his memory.

Yet after setting him up with another journey to set off on, she was more than hesitant to see him go.

He'd just returned after so long…

Couldn't he…?

Couldn't he just stay with her, at least just one day…?

She knew it was selfish to ask such of him, especially with the Calamity on the horizon. But she realized long ago that she was selfish for the things she longed for in life. Whether for better or for worse.

So, the time quickly came for him to set out upon his new journey once more. He stood by the door, strapping his gear to his belt, and his sword to his back.

But before he could leave, she came up from behind him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. He paused, glancing over his shoulder as she nervously averted her gaze from his own. "Do you have to leave so soon?" She asked quietly, already knowing the answer.

He smiled sadly, know more then anything that she didn't want him to leave, not yet.

But he had to go…

He had a world to save.

He couldn't sit around…

Not until Hyrule was no longer in danger.

"I see…" She muttered quietly, releasing him from her grasp. "But, before you go…" She spoke up, grabbing his attention. "Can you take a picture of me? To remember me on your journey…?" She asked, cheeks heating up as he stared at her.

"Yeah, of course." He smiled after a moment, stepping up to her. Her face heated up the closer he got, suddenly nervous despite herself.

"W-What are you doing?" She asked, suddenly bashful.

He grinned cheekily, quickly pulling out the Sheikah Slate as he slipped around behind her, wrapping her up in a sideways hug with his right hand as he held up the device with his left. "Taking a picture." He chirped, before taking the photo.

He grinned playfully down at her as he pulled up the device photos, easily finding the one he'd just taken, seeing as it was the newest. His eyes were closed in a happy grin, the woman pulled into his side, her face flushed in surprise. At such the angle that it was, it accidentally showed off her open cleavage, what with the fact that she'd forgone wearing her red under suit that day. Embarrassed with the realization, she went to ask him to delete it, but he'd already taken off running as she'd been stunned processing what just happened.

"H-Hey! Linky, delete that!" She yelled down at him, the Hero already a short distance away.

Either not hearing what she said, or simply having misheard her, he waved back as he kept running. "By Purah, I'll be back soon!" He called out, waving happily at her as he jogged down the hill.

Her face flushed red as she watched him leave, dreading whoever would see such a photo.

She supposed, however, such a thing was her own fault…

After leaving Hateno behind and officially setting out on his journey once more, he was faced with a decision to make.

After gathering information and learning about what was going on in this new destroyed Hyrule, he came to the realization that he had multiple quests to accomplish now, not just the one.

Sure, he needed to stop Ganon, but he wasn't sure he was up to the task just yet.

He needed to venture to the four corners of the land and stop the havoc that had been wrought upon the land by the out of control Devine Beasts, and subsequently assist the people of those lands wherever needed.

He needed to track down and reclaim the Sword that Seals the Darkness that Impa spoke of, otherwise he had no chance against the Calamity. Alongside that he was going to need to continue to complete the trials of the shrines spread throughout the kingdom to continue to grow his strength so that he was strong enough to face the evil that was lying in wait for him.

With all of that, he also needed to reclaim his memories and protect what little seemed to remain of the once sprawling Kingdom of Hyrule.

He sighed, realizing then what a monumental task was set before him.

There was so much to do, so much to accomplish, so many in need of saving, and so many that were probably out there suffering right that moment because he wasn't there yet. That thought alone quickened his step just a bit.

First things first, he was going to return to Impa. On his way, he planned on purging the lands around Hateno of the monster's that had thought it a good idea to settle around one of the last human camps.

He'd make sure none of them survived his wrath, and that was going to start with the Bokoblin camp he found not too far from the town back up the road.

He decided to forgo any stealth this time around, well armed and armored, and these creatures were small fry, only as dangerous as the weapons they held, weapons he intended on stealing for his own use.

He ran loudly into the fray, armored boots splattering across the creek that separated them from the main road. The red and blue Bokoblin's all stood, shouting things at him in their slurred and garbled language, picking up their swords they'd procured from the humans they'd kills, people that would never again see the light of day, because creatures like the ones that stood before him had brutally taken their lives away.

They deserved no mercy, no hesitation on his part, only capital punishment. And he was going to see to it that they were fully and well punished, here and now.

The first one ran at him with the sword of a low ranking soldier, in his other hand a crude shield of spotty wood.

As quick as the wind, and as deftly as an arrow flying through the skies, he bashed the Boko's shield from its hands, quickly and ruthlessly swinging his sharp sword down upon the defenseless creature, ending it in a messy spray of blood.

The second creature rushed him, jumping wildly into the air to try and bash him over the head with his club. Unfortunately for it, Link sidestepped the attack, and the beast learned the hard way that once in the air, it had no way to defend itself, as Link used both hands to drive his sword to the hilt the creature's chest as it landed on his blade.

Link spun, flinging the dying monster from his blade into the third, breaking its neck as its companion's dying body slammed into it.

Which left the fourth Boko, a blue skinned monster that was stronger then his fellow monsters, but was still no match for the beast that stood before it.

Yet after seeing all its brethren die by his hands, the beast was still intent on cutting the Hero down.

How foolish…

Such a decision would be the creature's downfall.

Link stood tall, squared his feet, and lowered his shield. He sheathed his sword on his back, and with his hand now free, taunted the soon to be dead leader of the local monster camp to come forth and face him.

The blue Bokoblin snarled at the humiliation Link seemed to throw its way, and drew its weapons. It was a blade from a true Knight, and a shield, both used by frontline soldiers. The gear was expensive, and powerful.

It would serve him well once it lay with his hands.

The Boko snarled as it rushed forward, raising its blade high into the air, intending on killing him in a single swing.

Link deftly sidestepped the attack, tripping the monster, sending it face first into the sharp wet rocks that lined the riverbed.

He stepped back as the monster cried out in pain, quickly getting to its feet as it rounded on him, face burning in rage.

Link stood there, calm as the river's waters, yet carrying a hidden power as strong as the ocean's raging undercurrents. His face was blank, thoroughly unimpressed by the display of the monster so far, blue eyes glaring with a deep seated anger hidden just beneath the depths of his gaze.

The Boko took a step back, stunned and momentarily subdued by the raging inferno that lay dormant just underneath the surface of the Hero.

Then, foolishly, it let its own hubris get the better of it, and it charged him once again. However, it learned from its first mistake, and instead ran in with a frontal assault.

This, unsurprisingly, would not be enough to challenge the Hero.

Link dodged the first attack by stepping out of the way, deftly leap out of the way of the second swing, and tripped the creature a second time to avoid its third strike. The beast hit the ground hard, breaking its snout with a painful snapping sound.

It snarled and swung blindly behind it, hoping to catch Link off guard. But the blade clinked off of his armor as he kicked the sword out of the monster's hand. Like a blade of lightning, he drew his sword in one swift motion, removing the monster's arm in one deft swing.

The Boko stood up and tried to run, tried to escape. But it tripped, tripped over the bones of somebody it had likely consumed some time long ago.

But it stood up again, sure that it could get away. The human that attacked it was strong, but it thought, surely it couldn't be fast too.

Unfortunately, it learned the truth a moment later, when it felt a hand slam down upon its shoulder with enough strength to shatter bone. Of course, what it really focused on was the sword lodged in its chest from behind.

Link sighed as he let the breath he'd held go, before ripping his blade from the monster's backside. He trekked back to where it had dropped the weapons, grabbing both sword and shield before stuffing them in his magical bag.

He took one look around the camp, before deciding it cleansed.

Hateno village was now that much safer, safer than it was a hour ago.

He glanced down to the pile of bones that the monsters had gathered, many of them animal or other monsters.

But there were bones of people there too…

His gaze hardened, again reminded of why they were to be shown no mercy.

Never…

But, before he left, he offered a quick prayer to the Goddesses on behalf of the innocent that had fallen to the monsters. He promised himself in that moment to stamp out any creature who had ever willingly devoured human life, with no mercy to be expected from his blade.

He walked away, intending on continuing his journey.

Yet, unbeknownst to him, he had a stalker gazing upon him from a distance, their form tall and powerful. They watched from afar as he effortlessly and systematically dismantled and annihilated the lowly monsters that had terrorized the people of the nearby town, even engaging in hand to hand only to display his raw power and fury.

Watching him fight was exhilarating, and it made their blood excited to test their mettle against his own strength. But, they were content to stand back and watch for the moment. It was not yet the time to engage in a battle…

Once he'd left their sight, the figure turned away, the sound of their footfalls hefty…

Chapter

5

End