III

.

Vows in Kakariko

They woke up warm, their limbs stitched together. Zelda whined as he slithered away—and then her stomach growled, followed by his. She grumbled and rolled over, wrapping herself in their blankets. The sight reminded him slightly of a Like-Like. He immediately tried to put that comparison out of his mind. Link crawled out, figures chilling as he crushed frost-coated grass outside their tent. A small cook fire burned cheerily several feet away. One of the men noticed him rise to his feet. The man quickly spooned two bowls of a darkly speckled porridge and brought them over. Link smelled a hint of burnt sugar along with a savory reminder of the prior night's stew. He salivated.

"The captain's own recipe, Sir Link," the man said, beaming with pride. "Made it before dawn as the night patrol returned from the plain before the Fort."

Link nodded as he stared at the great wall and tower that currently comprised Fort Hateno. They would be saying farewell eventually before continuing on to Kakariko. He still remembered when he first rode into that small village, tucked away within a fertile valley among the hills. The smell of freshly toiled soil and of cuckoos, clucking as they strutted about the village. Meeting Impa and Paya, seeing the first signs that life could still be lived well…

He sighed and slipped back into the tent. Time to reminisce later. For now, they needed to break their fast and prepare for their departure. Zelda had fallen back to sleep, though the smell of porridge filling the tent drew her into a state of vague awareness. He had finished about half of his bowl.

"Food," she grumbled blearily, eyes half-lidded. Link chuckled before spooning some of Zelda's portion and holding it out toward her. She leaned forward, mouth opening, and allowed Link to slot the spoon into her mouth. He fed her three more times before she became awake enough to take the bowl and eat without assistance. Her cheeks dusted pink as she hurried to finish the porridge, barely tasting Sir Hoz's quality cooking.

Link would try to get the man's recipe someday. Zelda's exhaustion prevented her from appreciating its quality.

The frost vanished by the time they crawled out of the tent. Their bags were repacked, ready for their departure. Link had changed into a pleaded grey and blue tunic with the red Sheikah eye over his heart, while Zelda wore a loose-fitting version of the stealth armor he had acquired during the last year of the Calamity. They had agreed without speaking that they should dress appropriately for Kakariko Village, the ancient heart of the Sheikah people. They had never been many, but their decline had been steep in the Calamity's wake. Link hoped they would rebound just as other races rebounded. Time would tell, but Link believed it was finally on their side.

Sir Hoz came to see them off, accompanied by the woman who had cared for their horses. Epona shook his head, disgruntled at being handled by someone other than Link for too long. Even the stable hands of Hateno Inn could not manage him long before they had to fetch Link.

"I wish you two could remain with us longer," he began, "but I understand that you must be off. I will remain here to oversee the construction until another captain arrives. After that, I will return to Caston." He saluted Link and Zelda, a proud smile on his face. "I pray for our reunion there, but I understand if you wish to be clear of the castle. It holds painful memories for many, even if our histories with it are neither as long nor as tragic as yours, Princess."

Zelda forced a smile. Link could tell from the slight pinch around her eyes. "I believe our journey shall give us cause to visit Caston. We shall meet again there, Sir Hoz. I can no longer run from my past… and there is that other matter which we must see to."

Link kept his face passive at the reminder of the strange gloom hand. He prayed the people of Caston took precautions to prevent the strange fiend was being summoned again, but there was always a chance someone would investigate—or make a fatal error.

"I look forward to that reunion, Your Highness." Sir Hoz turned to Link. "I will send a messenger to Caston, giving instructions for them to avoid the area where my men spotted that strange patch of gloom until you arrive. None forget what you have done for all of us, Sir Link. Most of my men aspire to live by the example you set."

Link nodded. "Tell them to be kind and generous, to speak honestly, and do what they must, within reason." He tapped the side of his head. "This is my weapon. I strike with my mind, not my hand." An old memory rose up. It was one of his, from before the Calamity. Before Zelda. "I remember the face of my father," he whispered. "He was the captain of the guard, long ago. He taught me most of what I know. The rest… That came from my fellow Champions."

Sir Hoz nodded, a grave yet proud expression on his face. "'I strike with my mind, not with my hand.' Aye, that is good advice, Sir Link. I will do my best—"

"I know you will, Hoz. You are a Knight, just like me."

That drew the man short. He stared at Link for several long seconds, mouth parted slightly. He then smiled and nodded, the hint of tears in his eyes. "You are our captain, my friend, whether you wish it or not." He nodded to Zelda and took a step back. "May Hylia watch over you both."

"And may She watch over you, Sir," said Zelda.

Sir Hoz bowed slightly, saluted again, and returned to Fort Hateno.

They reunited with their horses. Zelda chuckled as her golden mare sniffed at her hand, while Link ferreted out a few apples for Epona. The stallion took them joyfully, bumping him with his nose.

"That's all I have," grumbled Link. "I will get you more in Kakariko."

Epona perked at that. Link smiled fondly; there had been heroes of yore who rode steeds by the name of Epona. They too had come and gone from a village called Kakariko, though not always on horseback. It should not surprise him that his Epona would have memories like that. He had found him alone at Lon-Lon, just as Zelda's mare came to them in the snowfield beneath Mount Lanayru.

There were no coincidences in life. Only the cycles of time, rhyming as they changed to match the era they came to pass in.

They strapped their bags to their saddles and mounted. Zelda held them a little longer, staring at the haphazard wall of Fort Hateno. Stone and wood, metal and rock; it came together slowly yet cohesively. Like Hyrule and her races. Eventually, she turned away. Link followed. They gained some distance from the fort, taking the road as it snaked north to where Lake Siela pushed southwardly to meet the dry top of Blatchery Plain, notorious for its boggy center that once served as a graveyard to Guardians purged of evil by Zelda's divine power.

"When we next come this way," began Zelda, "I hope the old wall is restored. Perhaps they will finish the little keep. That will be better than a tent on the plain." She turned to Link with a small smile. "Do you recall when we came through? The six of us? Daruk was astonished by the work, though Urbosa believed he was too free with praise over the fort's construction. It had only been a few years old by that point."

Link snorted, smiling fondly. "She always held up the Seven Sisters as the pinnacle of stonework in all of Hyrule. Though she never said a bad word about the Temple of Time."

Zelda smiled softly, even as a glimmer of pain lingered in her cerulean eyes. "Urbosa was always like that. Proud, but not so proud it distracted her from the truth." They fell silent for a time before the princess continued. "I miss them. Even with their bad traits. The ones I wanted to cure them of then. Revali's arrogance. How Mipha could be wishy-washy. Urbosa's single-track mind. Daruk's—"

"Cooking," finished Link. When Zelda turned to him with a small glower, he shrugged his shoulders and grumbled, "He couldn't cook to save his life. And trust me, I had plenty of it. That's how I got into his good graces. Even the Gorons begged him to stop cooking rock roasts for them."

"And you know this how?"

"…Yunobo told me. I do not recall him from our rare visits to Goron Town—"

"It was only the one, Link. We had to wear environmental gear! Mipha and Revali stayed at the Woodside Stable, learning spoons and two card draw."

Link shrugged. He could not recall requiring gear that time they went to Goron Town, but that was before the Calamity. His memories of then remained spotty, but some things remained clear in his memories. Some of the Gorons he met during the final year of the Calamity had tested him with questions about Daruk's cooking to ensure he was actually the Link from the past and not another young man with blond hair claiming to be the princess's knight.

That he then went and calmed Vah Rudania silenced the remaining doubters in Goron City. Yunobo, who had begun to grow out of his cowardice, used his job assisting Link to gain prestige, which helped him build the confidence necessary to found YunoboCo. Of course, introducing the Goron to Hudson, a fellow of similar character, had helped tremendously with his transformation.

"I would have gone with Daruk's fear of dogs. It was unfortunate he could not handle spending more than a minute at the stables we visited. Those dogs are—"

"A menace." Link nodded to himself, even as Zelda squeaked with outrage. "A menace. They demand all my meat, won't allow me to pet them, and then dig up gloom-ruined weapons."

Zelda sighed, though her lips were still tilted upward. They came to the edge of the cliffs north of Blatchery Plain. Several feet to their right, the ground fell away to the banks of Lake Siela, whose waters descended from the rocky Bonooru's Stand and Pierre's Plateau. Those heights separated the plain they crossed from the ancient, waterlogged Lanayru Road. Link had spent more time than he'd like to admit to scrounging around those pale stone pillars. Stumbling upon a Hinox in the grove above the lake's waters had been an annoying affair, even if the terrible monster had been easily brought down.

Far before them, near where the Hateno Road met the Dueling Peaks Road, was the Kakariko Bridge. It was an ancient stone bridge, older than any beyond the Great Bridge of Hylia to the far south. Link spotted movement about the eastern side. He leaned forward over Epona's withers and squinted. It did not help him see further.

"There's movement."

"Yes, Link," said Zelda, her voice thick with fondness and a hint of annoyance. "I can see that myself."

He sighed, sitting up straight in his saddle. "Pardon your knight, dear princess, if he wishes to make himself useful." A second later, he snorted. Zelda's chuckles came a few seconds later, and by the time they came to the bridge, they were still struggling to suppress their giggly mirth.

"Hail!" shouted one of the men. He had the white hair and red eyes of the Sheikah, along with a wide grin that only those living beyond the confines of their village bore. His face was half-covered with facial hair. He also possessed a prominent nose and a barrel chest. "Hail! Princess Zelda! Link! Oh, how good it is to see you two!"

Link frowned slightly, trying to recall the man's name. He looked familiar, though it had been years since he saw this particular Sheikah. Or so he thought, at least.

"A good morning to you, Dorian!" Zelda shouted back. She kicked her mare into a canter before drawing her to a halt before the tall man. "We are on our way to Kakariko. What brings you out here?"

"Wanted to get out of the village for a time," he said. He glanced at the others present, dressed in subdued garb. Link saw none wore hallmarks of the Sheikah—blue tunics, straw hats, or toed shoes. "Plus, someone had to look over them. After the end of that Demon King, many of the Yiga Clan members abandoned in the wake of Master Kohga's death came to me. They knew I had been a spy for the clan before my defection. I provide them with work, and they receive a chance to prove the value of their word to no longer fight their Sheikah brethren."

Link gazed upon the figures, now that he was aware of their identities. He wondered how many he had exchanged sword blows with. How many had lost someone important to him? He had carved through many Yiga, both during his time in the Gerudo Desert during the Calamity and while traveling abroad in recent times. Their infestation of the Depths had been particularly annoying, though their engineering and craftsmanship was to be commended. Sometimes.

Thankfully, none slinked away from him. Few dared meet his gaze for more than a second. They did not falter. They understood that the past was the past. As long as they proved their honest word now, they would be allowed to live normal lives in peace.

Dorian had done just as much, or so he attempted while being a spy for the Yiga. They had murdered his wife as retribution for his betrayal, yet his daughters flourished. How strange the world could be when guilty and innocent lived side by side in peace.

Perhaps that was what Hyrule needed after the chaos of the past years. Peace and peculiarity.

He sat back as Zelda and Dorian exchanged banal pleasantries. He knew he could interject or merely listen in, yet Link found no reason to. His gaze wandered, drifting toward the northern Dueling Peaks and the stable near its base, along the Squabble River. He wondered if they had ever fixed the bridge across the river, which had been crushed during the Upheaval.

"Link." He turned to find Zelda staring at him. "Come along."

Link nodded and they started across the Kakariko Bridge. The workers stepped aside as they went. Link struggled to not glance at each and every one of them. What must they think, being forced to live as one of their hated enemies? He shelved that thought as they reached the far end of the bridge and stared up the curving road to Kakariko. He could ponder it another time.

They ascended the hill north of Lake Siela, eventually passing the narrow alcove where Link had found one of the Stable Trotters during his recent adventures. Once there had been monsters back there; now it was a sanctuary for travelers on the south road out of Kakariko who failed to reach the Dueling Peak Stables or Fort Hateno by nightfall.

"I've always enjoyed this route into Kakariko," said Zelda once they entered a narrow canyon. To their right was Bonooru's Stand; while to the left were the Pillars of Levia. He had passed through both more often than coming by this road. "Impa never liked coming this way, for she distrusted the cliffs and the stone pillars above. But I appreciated the faint sense of serenity, the separation from the rest of Hyrule. I imagine the Sheikah thought of that when they chose this site to become their home, ten thousand years ago…"

Her brows suddenly furrowed and her left hand rose toward her temple. Link nearly drew Epona short, but when Zelda continued moving forward, he did the same.

"Zelda, are you well?" he asked as they came to the solitary tree upon the road. An apple hung from the highest branch.

"I… I believe so," she murmured, frowning. "It's only… I cannot make sense of the past. Was it the Sheikah who changed ten thousand years ago, or was it the Imprisoning War that was ten thousand years ago?"

"I would think it even earlier," said Link. "Texts from ten thousand years ago—from the first Calamity—can be read even by children today. The Zonai language has to be translated by either you or Wordsworth."

Zelda sighed and nodded. "You're right. I just had a strange feeling, as though the past and the present were in crisis. A conflict against each other."

Link frowned, thinking of the memories that haunted him. And thinking of them made him uneasy about entering Kakariko. It had existed in past eras, but had been completely different. It remained bound to the Sheikah, in a way, but others always called it home.

But why here? Why now? Link wondered. He sighed as they neared the final turn. It mattered not. Thinking about those memories might cause trouble with Zelda. She had seemed disturbed when he mentioned them the previous day, and he worried what might spill forth when questioned about them.

For he recalled the relationship those heroes had with their Princess Zelda, and not all had been as happy as his.

They came to the gates of Kakariko. There were two, separated by a slight curve along the village road. They were built from dark, weathered wood and bore four navy blue banners, three with the eye and tear of the Sheikah, along with a disk of copper at the gate's apex. Waterfalls fell beside each gate, one on the outside of the first and the other beyond the second.

Wooden posts guided them through the final gap—and thus they entered Kakariko Village, oldest now of all of Hyrule's settlements. Fragments from the ring ruin upon the cliff to their left rested at the entry. Their horses skirted by before following the road's turn as it stuck tight to the right-hand cliff. They passed a thick tree and crossed a small wooden bridge over a creek. Link glanced to the right, a thin waterfall falling into the village, bringing cool, fresh water as it went under the bridge and down Kakariko's tiered length. He glanced left, staring over simple homes and tiered fields of pumpkins and carrots, orchards and pools. He smiled fondly as his gaze lingered upon the houses. All were built in the Sheikah style with dark thatched roofs that hung low over whitewashed walls, all lined with the same dark wood used for the village gates. Even the last house on the right, which had been partially crushed by a ring ruin, upheld the silent dignity of the Sheikah.

The road guided them down a leisurely slope, homes on each. Children dashed across the road, laughing and giggling. Most were Sheikah with white hair and red eyes, but a few appeared to be Hylians. Link swore one was of Lurelin stock, with sun-darkened skin and straight black hair.

"Oh, this is wonderful!" murmured Zelda. She smiled widely, watching the children vanish into the fields. "I feared Kakariko would continue its decline. I am happy some good came of the Upheaval."

Link glanced at the rings in various states of ruin. The great one over Lantern Lake looked about the same as when he had investigated it, though he suspected much of the scaffolding had been removed. It rested upon a pair of high buttes, grass-covered and limestone. He still remembered his surprise to discover that the strange ring he had seen in the distance marked the location of Kakariko. For some reason—perhaps purposeful, perhaps not—it had always felt separate from the rest of Hyrule in a manner that only Gerudo Town had matched.

Now Kakariko was being stitched into the fabric of the kingdom.

His gaze went to the far cliffs, where chunks of other rings rested, along with the dormant, egg-shaped Shrine he used whenever he had cause to visit Kakariko. He had become accustomed to the strange teleportation technology of the Sheikah and Zonai early into his adventures, and they proved a boon during his mission to destroy first the Calamity Ganon and then the Demon King. Fences surrounded the Shrine now. Set up, he suspected, to trip him up. Sheikah and Hylian alike had complained voraciously about him descending upon his paraglider.

They slowed their horses to a trodding walk as they came to where the road met the short lane toward Telta Lake. The last of the rings sat comfortably upon the high cliffs, surrounded by an array of lagging supports and scaffolding. A few members of the Zonai Investigation Squad moved about, too caught up in their work to mind the newcomers to Kakariko.

"So this is the one that led you to Mineru," murmured Zelda. "Purah told me of how Ganondorf's puppet kept everyone away from this one until you exposed them for what they were."

"I had the help of the sages."

Zelda smiled sadly. "But you led the way. You cleared the castle of fiends. They told me that they would not have reached you in time, were it not for how you cleansed Hyrule Castle of occupying monsters."

Link shrugged, uninterested in arguing the point. He looked at the large house on the nearby hill. Several banners, white and red and navy blue, were strung across the front. There was a copper eye, akin to the circular plate upon the city gate above the door. Once the building had been Impa's Hall, but now it belonged to Paya. It was the only building in Kakariko taller than a single floor, with three floors raised upon each other like a pale reflection of Hyrule Castle. Paya—or whom he assumed to be Paya, Impa's granddaughter and successor as the village chief—stood at the open door at the top of the stairs, staring down at him and Zelda. Her expression was hard to make out, for a wide-brimmed hat shadowed her face. He nearly waved to her on impulse. She retreated into the hall before he could make the conscious choice to wave.

"Was that Paya?" asked Zelda. Link turned to discover she too stared at the Hall.

"I believe so. She went inside without… welcoming us."

Zelda hummed, which sounded thin to Link's ears. "Maybe there is something important she needs to get from inside. Or perhaps Purah is there as well." She turned her golden mare toward Paya's Hall. "It's been too long since we spent time with either of them."

Link followed her toward the long flight of stairs. He frowned at the lack of guard, but then they lived in a different age now. Dorian was off at Kakariko Bridge, overseeing the rehabilitation of former Yiga Clan members. Cado, the other guard he had known during the Calamity, traveled the land as Lady Impa's bodyguard.

He sighed. If Paya felt comfortable without either man by her side, then perhaps it was for the best. Guards were not necessary in a time of peace. Only comforting.

They passed under the branch of a white flowering tree and climbed the few dozen steps to the hall proper. Link ran a hand along one of the railings, the smooth wood comforting under his fingertips. The hall's double doors opened when they reached the landing, a familiar face standing on the threshold. Her square glasses framed her red eyes nicely and her white hair was drawn away from her face by a high, messy bun.

"Linky! Zelda!" said Purah, beaming at them. She had a strange collar on; silk with a purple stone Link recognized and dreaded. A secret stone was embedded in gold-colored metal he suspected to be of Zonai origin. "You should have written that you were coming!"

"We only learned you came here from Sir Hoz when we passed through Fort Hateno," said Zelda. "Though Purah, I am curious: when did you claim that secret stone?"

"Oh, this?" asked Purah, brushing a hand against the secret stone around her neck. "I was twiddling with it recently when I awakened its powers. I realized with it I could astrally project my conscious mind out of my body." She shrugged as an awkward smile overtook her face. Her eyes skittered away from them. "It seemed appropriate that I would become the new Sage of Spirit. I was the one present when Mineru passed on who was not a sage."

"Link was there as well."

Purah scoffed, waving a dismissive hand his way. "Link is Link. The Hero. He does not count. And you, Princess, were the Sage of Time before you underwent draconification."

"It was for a vital purpose."

"To restore the Master Sword, yes, I know." Purah sighed, turning to Link with suddenly pleading eyes. "Please help me talk sense into Zelda."

He glanced at Zelda, who crossed her arms over her chest just so. He knew there was only one answer he could give. "No."

Purah groaned, throwing her head back and arms up high. She stumbled back into the Hall, mumbling and grumbling. The doors were left open.

"Best we follow," muttered Link. He had a feeling the figure they saw outside the Hall had not been Paya, but Purah. He was secretly impressed by her trick, though it was nowhere near as useful as the construct body Mineru had provided him. Losing that had been the most noticeable effect of when the Sage's sworn vows vanished, deep in the Depths of Hyrule Castle.

Zelda led the way into Paya's Hall. The main floor was open, the Zonai block that Paya had been studying was taken away. Worn, blue carpet ran down the center of the chamber with groups of sitting pads set off to each side. Most were occupied by grown Sheikah, all knelt patiently. There were stairs in the back, leading to the floor above, but that was not what grabbed Link's attention.

Paya and Tauro stood at the far end. Impa stood just beyond them, appearing to also be between them. Purah went to Paya's side. Calip, who was both Tauro's friend and rival, stood beside his fellow researcher.

"I— Are we interrupting something?" asked Zelda.

Link focused upon the happy pair standing before Impa. Paya's wide-brimmed hat bore long, gauzy veils where short chains normally hung. She was not dressed in the white and navy garb of the Sheikah. Instead, she wore a dark-colored body suit, which spanned from neck to wrists and ankles. It meshed to her curves and muscles. Tauro, on the other hand, was dressed in a white robe caught between the green tunics Link had discovered in the Depths and Zelda's old priestess—

"Oh!" he announced, surprising some gathered. "You're getting married. Congratulations."

Zelda choked on her breath. The wedding party chuckled weakly. Link rocked back onto his heels, then forward to his toes. After a moment to consider what they should do, he grabbed Zelda's hand and guided her to the two cushions left unoccupied. Luckily, they were together. More luckily, they were on Paya's side of the hall. It would not be right, as far as he was concerned, to sit on Tauro's side of the hall.

"Now that our interruption is over," said Impa, glowering at an unrepentant Purah, "it is time to begin.

"Since the dawn of time, the Sheikah have granted two phases of life reverence above all else: the end, and the beginning. Death and creation. The two elements of all rebirth. We are not gathered here on this day to mourn a loss, but to celebrate a new life. After all, when two come together in marriage, they depart their wedding hall as one."

Link swore he saw a faint smile on Paya's face through her veil. Tauro's face darkened as he blushed.

"Here before us are two souls who desire to be one. One is of the shadows, a Sheikah sworn and vowed to the duties all Sheikah have promised to see through since time immemorial. She is of Sacred blood, descended from the first Sheikah who swore undying loyalty to the blood of Hylia Herself. The other is of the light, a Hylian brought to us in a time of strife and uncertainty. He has become an admired leader thanks to his grace and skill, legitimizing his appointment by a fair ruler all respect. He has provided comfort to all in this hall."

Zelda leaned into Link, whispering so slightly he could barely hear her: "Did you know about them?"

Link shrugged slightly. He had never considered what might exist between Paya and Tauro. What he remembered strongest was a deep respect for the other, and a gentleness that reminded him of how he and Zelda acted. Tauro had spoken of Paya and what he thought of her during their hunt for the fifth sage in Faron, amongst the Zonai ruins in a thunderstorm unlike any other.

"They have come together, here and now, in a union that affects more than them." Impa paused, her gaze lingering upon a particular face in the crowd. Link stiffened, suddenly feeling like the foolish young lad she had blown off so long ago. "Through them, we see a glimpse of our future. The twilight of an old era, and the dawn of the new."

She turned to Tauro. "I begin with you, the fresh blood into our community." Impa drew a medal from the depths of her robe. It was a deep purple, almost black. Link swore it devoured the light, casting shadow in their place. "Lay your handle upon the Mark of Shadow," she said, raising the medal. Tauro did so, his breath catching as he did. "Does thouest swear upon thine sacred honor to love thy wife?"

"Aye, I do," Tauro said.

The Mark of Shadow rippled under his touch. Smoke slithered around his wrist.

"Does thouest swear upon thine health and wealth to protect thy wife?"

"Aye, I do," he said, stronger.

Another string of smoke rose from the Mark of Shadow, joining the first ring around Tauro's wrist.

"Does thouest swear upon thine sacred honor to never bring into question the faith and fidelity of thyself and thy wife?"

"Aye, I do."

A third strand of smoke rose from the Mark of Shadow. It wrapped around the previous two. They curled and stretched, slowly shrinking until the band wrapped perfectly around Tauro's wrist. The fresh band glowed for a heartbeat, a purple as dark as the Mark. The glow faded and a band of cedar was left in its wake. Link blinked; he had seen similar bands on the wrists of Sheikah on the rare occasions he was invited into one of their homes to share a meal.

So this is where they come from, he thought.

Paya laid her hand on the Mark of Shadow, right beside where Tauro's remained. She did not require the same instructions as given to her husband-to-be. Impa offered her granddaughter a small smile and then began another string of oaths.

"Does thouest swear upon thine sacred honor to love thy husband?"

"Aye, I do."

The first strand of smoke emerged, wrapping around Paya's wrist.

"Does thouest swear upon thine health and bearing to respect thy husband?"

"Aye, I do."

The second strand of smoke emerged, joining the first.

"Does thouest swear upon thine sacred honor to never bring into question the faith and fidelity of thyself and thy husband?"

"Aye, I do."

Link watched, like the rest gathered, as a third strand of smoke emerged. It bound to the other two, glowed, and left behind a band of cedar, identical to the one Tauro bore.

"Let it be known that these two, shadow and light, are bound as one forever." Impa smiled, wide and proud. "You are now husband and wife."

Tauro, in Hylian fashion, raised the veil over Paya's face. She beamed upon her husband, face a bright red, and they kissed to the whoops and cheers of all present. Even Zelda, who knew the two less than Link then, was boisterous in her support of the newly married couple.

Link found himself going through the motions, for in the back of his mind he envisioned another couple: him and Zelda. Both dressed in white, in accordance with Hylian tradition. There would be no Mark of Shadow, but three offerings. For the common folk, those offerings were of wheat and rice and fruit—commonly apples. Among the nobility, it had been gems and gold, all fashioned to honor the three goddesses none knew of beyond recognizing the Triforce as a symbol of their people.

He glanced at Zelda. He saw how her eyes shined and her skin glowed, the joy expressed by every inch of her face.

A smile came to him and he allowed himself to enjoy this moment. Their time would come upon another day, and before a different audience.

It was late in the night, long after a silvery crescent had risen in the sky, when Link and Zelda stumbled into the Kakariko Inn. The wedding party had descended from Paya's Hall, greeting the rest of the village, who had assembled a feast in the time that passed following Link and Zelda's late arrival. Dorian's daughters, Koko and Cottla, had rallied the village to prepare food and drink on mass, aided by Claree and, surprisingly, Olkin. Given the quality of the pumpkin soup and pie offered, Link realized the old farmer was a master of his chief crop.

Drink flowed aplenty. The members of Tauro's Zonai expedition had been working on a few brews of beer, along with a whiskey derived from Hateno wheat. The casks and barrels they supplied were larger than Link expected and stronger than even what Zelda could otherwise handle. He recalled fondly those nights with the champions, when Zelda would drink even hearty Daruk under the table.

"The royal family has always been able to handle our drink," she had said primly the first time. A moment later, she belched loud enough to send sleeping birds flying from their midnight perch.

Somehow, Zelda's capacity for drink spread. Sheikah and Hylian alike challenged the princess, buzzed enough to overlook her royal station. As she had over a century prior, she overcame challenger after challenger. Link smiled as he watched, sipping from a mixed drink of whiskey and a grainy apple cider thought up by the one Zonai researcher who had no taste for booze.

"A waste, using all those malts for ale and stout," the researcher said, nursing his own cup of cider. "The rye and oats used could've gone toward food for Caston or Lurelin."

Link shrugged. "We lost a lot in the Calamity. The stout almost reminds me of one brewed in Hebra. The guard loved it… and the King always received the first cask each year."

The researcher hummed, gazing over the party. It had spread across the entire village, though thankfully nobody had attempted to scale the cliffs up to the ring ruins above. "And what of ciders? There must have been aplenty then."

"Oh, there was," said Link, smiling. "My sister was the finest brew of them after she came of age. She was the elder. Were we commoners, she would have been expected to take up the family trade. Given father was a soldier and she had no martial skill to speak of, she looked for something else."

"Ciders."

"Aye. Sweet ones from golden apples and bitter ones made from fruit picked while still green. She even brewed one more potent than the finest ales brewed from Faron's hearty fields."

"Alcoholic ciders? Truly?"

Link nodded. "Took her a while to perfect her recipes, but nobody doubted her abilities. Aryll grew up around soldiers. She knew how we loved our drink. Most Hylians were similar enough that she never worried about excess stock."

He sighed and hung his head. Link had never learned what became of his sister after the Calamity. She had left Castle Town around the time Link and Zelda had traveled to Akkala. Where she planned to settle had been in a letter he never received. He had only remembered Aryll after the Calamity, when they began the great labor of flattening the ruins of Castle Town.

"You miss her."

"Aye. I hope she survived the Calamity… but that was a century ago."

"Well, you never know!" the researcher said quite cheerily. "There are plenty of places where people still live away from settlements maintained these past hundred years. You only have to seek them out. Why, there's some people busy settling the ruined village of the wetlands."

Link peered at the researcher through his long, tangled hair. "In the wetlands?" he asked thickly. "To the north?"

"Indeed! Why, I have heard rumors about them being able to brew." The man sighed. "I have meant to call upon them. Perhaps soon."

"Do you know anything of these settlers?"

"Only rumors."

Link opened his mouth to ask another question. Someone suddenly slumped over him. Zelda leaned over him, face rosy red and stretched wide with a grin.

"Come dance with me," she said, barely slurring her words.

"You don't like dancing."

Zelda leaned close to his ear, her warm breath brushing against his neck and face. "I enjoy it with you, Link."

They danced for the better part of an hour, Zelda slowly sobering. Link ran her through the courtly dances he remembered, impressed by how well she kept up. It had been well known amongst the knights that Princess Zelda cared naught for balls and dances, though she always made an appearance. None dared suggest that Princess Zelda was anything but dutiful. But that had been before the pain of the Calamity and the strange events that surrounded her part in the Upheaval.

When they came to the Inn that night, Zelda led him toward a suite tucked away in the attic. He was impressed by her ability to scale the ladder while tipsy. Link remembered nights where he had to carry her back from the inns and taverns of Castle Town, babbling as the booze she had drunk finally got the best of her.

"Come to bed," she whispered. "It'll be wonderful."

"Only to sleep," Link replied. "I want to wake early, so we can take our time passing through the wetlands."

Zelda tilted her head. "Why so?"

"Because of a conversation I had, and because Sidon is getting married in a few days."

"Eight days. Not a few."

Link blinked and then sighed with a smile. "Of course, you know. You've always had a good mind for the little things."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked with a sly smile.

"I'll tell you another time. Maybe while we're on the road again."

Zelda hummed and they got ready for bed as usual. Link smiled as she snuggled into him. He drew her tightly against him and fell asleep to the laughter and cheers of the Sheikah folk, celebrating the wedding of their dear chief and her loving husband.