It took about an hour for the others to wake up. Once everyone was awake again, Flayn explained what had happened to them. "So we were ambushed by a Yiga sorcerer, who caused us to run aground, and Monica killed him. But it turns out Monica wasn't actually Monica, but an Agarthan impostor?" Dimitri asked.

"Yes," Flayn answered. "I thought it was just another one of the illusions, but..."

Claude sighed. "This wasn't how we wanted you to find out."

"Wait. You knew?" Dimitri asked.

"She told me a few days after Rudania," Claude admitted.

"And you didn't tell anyone?" Lysithea asked.

"Why would he do that?" Raphael asked. "If he told us who she really was, she would have got beaten senseless." Lysithea facepalmed.

"I think what Lysithea means is, what made you decide 'Monica' was trustworthy?" Lorenz asked.

"Kronya. Her name is Kronya," Claude said. "And if Kronya wanted to betray us, she had several opportunities to do it."

"That only means that she thought we were useful for now," Hubert said. "Just because she didn't want Calamity Ganon to destroy the world, that doesn't mean she isn't our enemy."

"You know what? Maybe that's the case," Claude admitted. "I don't think it is, but who knows? Maybe Kronya's a better liar than I realize. But I don't think it's reasonable to assume she's evil just because she's Agarthan."

"I agree with Claude," Sylvain said.

Ingrid turned on him. "What the fuck, Sylvain? Why do you think we should trust Kronya after everything the Agarthans did?"

"I'm not saying we should trust Kronya," Sylvain said. "I don't know her well, so I don't think I could make that call. But I think we should hear her out before we decide she's the enemy."

"I'm not sure that's wise," Felix said. "I trained with her. She came across as a rabid dog."

"Enough!" Link shouted. "Right now, it doesn't matter if Kronya can be trusted or not, because we're not following her. We need to get to Rito Village. Maybe we'll meet Kronya again, and we can decide what to do then."

Everyone went silent, and Link turned to the leader of the sailors who had gotten them this far. "Can you get us to Regencia?"

"No," the man said. "The ship is damaged. We'll need to repair it before it can go anywhere."

"Then we're walking," Link said.

"Great," Hilda said sarcastically.

After the Company made its way up the bluff overlooking the river, they found a hill overlooking a pond. "I know this place," Link said. "I've been here before."

"Do you remember something?" Annette asked.

"This place is familiar, but I..." Link stopped as a memory hit him.

"There's one. And another! The flowers we have in Hyrule aren't just beautiful. They're also quite useful as ingredients for a variety of things."

A genuine smile of joy from Zelda was unfortunately a rarer sight than it ought to have been. They seemed as rare as diamonds, and he treasured them even more. Link could hardly wait for Ganon's return to be foiled, because after that, maybe this sight would be a common one. For now, though, he would treasure this moment of happiness.

Zelda drew his attention to a blue-and-white flower. "This one here is called a Silent Princess. It's a rare, endangered species." She gently felt one of the flower's petals. "Despite our efforts, we can't get them to grow domestically yet. The princess can only thrive out here, in the wild."

Link did know the Silent Princess. It was used in antidotes for a few different poisons. He decided not to mention that. "It's not as if the flower knows if it's being grown domestically or in the wild. There are environmental conditions it thrives in. If we can replicate them, we can grow the Silent Princess."

"Perhaps," Zelda mused. "Someday, maybe we will be able to grow the Silent Princess. But for now, all that we can hope is that the species will be able to prosper on its own."

Suddenly, something caught Zelda's eye. "Is that what I think it is? Look at this!" She held something in her hands. "I don't believe it, but I actually caught one! This delicacy is known to have very, very potent effects under the proper circumstances."

She showed him what was in her hands. A frog. "Ta-da! Research from the castle shows ingesting one of these can actually augment certain abilities. We wouldn't be in a controlled environment out here, but with your level of physical fitness, you'd be a perfect candidate for the study! Go on! Taste it!"

Oh, hell no. Sure, Link had eaten cooked frog legs before, but there was a world of difference between that and eating a live frog. "Not a chance."

"Come on!" Zelda cajoled, but the frog surprised her by jumping out of her hands, and onto her face. Surprised, she lost her balance and fell over. Both of them burst out laughing.

Her laughter. What a wonderful sound.

When Link's mind made it back to the present, he noticed that he had been smiling.

"Happy memory?" Mercedes asked.

"Yeah..." Link said. "Zelda and I stopped here on our journey through Hyrule. It...it was one of the few times I saw her truly, unequivocally happy."

"Hold on, 'Zelda'?" Sylvain asked. "That's an awfully familiar way of talking about your princess."

"...Zelda was the most constant companion in a large part of my life, and I was the most constant companion in a large part of hers," Link said.

"Is that really as far as the relationship between the two of you went, though?" Dorothea prodded him.

Link bit his lip. "I...I don't know." Well, it was true. He didn't know how she had felt about him.

Hilda put her hand on his shoulder. "We'll save her," she said. "We'll get rid of Calamity Ganon, and we'll get her out of that castle."

Link nodded. "Of course." He took one last look at Hyrule Castle. "Let's get moving."