Author's Note: for older readers, this is part 3 of "The Great Fairy Fountain"

Beguiled

As Twilight and Grace came into view, when one looked up from grazing, they both started nickering as they eagerly walked up to him. Grace, of course, seemed to be the most interested. He focused on her first, petting her cheek as he brought her forehead up to his face.

"Ah Grace," The Hero sweetly soothed, "I'm so sorry, I'm gonna have to ride with Link on the way back." All the while, Grace appeared to respond back to him with sniffs and purrs. He smushed his cheek against the star on her head, "I know, I know. I'm awful and I feel absolutely terrible about it. Hm? Once is fine? Silly this is twice now!"

He knew damn well that the others watched on in astonishment. Granted, it's not his fault that they never see how he talks to his horses. As far as he knew, the horses typically don't understand anything he's saying. They understand they're getting talked to and understand the tone of voice, but this only made it all the better to act like they knew and were making responses to him.

"Oh sorry, you meant twice? You're right, that's my mistake, haha!" He felt Twilight starting to nose his shoulder, "Alright I'm holding them up." He moved her bangs aside and peppered her forehead in kisses. Now turning to the older mare, he searched her eyes as he let her lick his hand. 'Right, I'm realizing I've never paid attention to how Link rides her. That and I certainly don't know how they've trained their horses. Grace sort of just molded to how I ride and command...' Moving his hand away, he let out a short whistle and simultaneously snapped his fingers. On command she immediately stood up straight at attention.

Young Link was delighted it worked, "Good girl!" He pat her neck as he continued toward the saddle, gesturing with his head for the stunned knight to get on, "You should get on first." 'Wow, they really watched me the whole time instead of getting to their horses.'

Link looked over at him once he got a foot in the stirrup, murmuring, "The more experienced rider is up front."

He smiled, "She's your horse. Get on up there." While he was busy swinging his foot over, the Hero took off the sleeping bag that sat behind the saddle and put it on Grace. Watching Zelda pass by to walk toward Storm, he felt inclined to help her up since the stallion was so tall. "Would you like a boost, Your Highness?"

She paused in her tracks, "Oh er...yes please."

Young Link could feel Impa rolling her eyes as they walked toward her mount, "So are you wanting a leg up? Want me to lift you? Just tell me and I gotcha." Part of him was happy to help her since it reminded him of helping his Zelda. 'As much as I've grown past being her loyal messenger-swordsman-hero, it's still nice being able to be of use. Even if it's small things.'

"Lift?"

He could tell that answer stemmed from her curiosity more than what would have been more practical. He remembered seeing how Malon's father would lift her onto the bigger horses at their farm, "No problem! So, I'm gonna grab your hips, sit you against the side of the saddle, and then you're gonna not kick me in the face as you swing your leg over. Got it?"

Zelda nodded as she moved her arms away from her sides.

Being gentle, he picked her up and did as he said. He was too deep in thought to notice her flushed cheeks, 'Huh...just like with Link last night, they both weigh nearly nothing!' Time chuckled, "My goodness, you're as light as a feather, Princess!"

"I suppose I'm not too surprised to hear that," Her voice edged on being shy as she took the reins, "Your figure speaks for itself."

"Perhaps, but you can't blame me considering it's been years." Now he turned to look at his descendant, seeing that he'd definitely end up riding behind the saddle since there wasn't any room in the actual seat. "Alrighty, unfortunately the trip back might take a bit longer since we don't want to overwork Twilight, but we'll see. I've got faith in her." He grabbed his descendant's outstretched hand and hopped up behind him. Young Link instinctively wrapped his hands around the rider's hips, 'This way I'll have more stability while holding on.'

But then Link quickly moved them up to his waist as Impa started heading out.

"Eh? Why'd you do that?" It would have been different if there was something he could grab onto that was at waist height and more in front of him. However, he figured it would have been best to keep this out of 'bear hug' territory for the champion's sake.

He sounded like he realized that his intentions were innocent, "That's.." his shoulders slumped, likely out of contempt, "too low."

The hero laughed to himself, "You're fine. I can see why you might think that, but no, I'm not gonna do any of that on the way back." He moved them back, "Trust me, I'll be annoying some other time when it won't get us bucked off." He looked ahead at Twi's ears. She'd angled them back at the sound of his voice, "Speaking of which, I'll try not to do anything that comes off as a command. And if my hands twitch, don't think anything of it." His tone was bashful, "It's the first time I've been the back rider, so I really don't mean anything by it." He watched the knight's ponytail bob up and down before whistling for Grace to follow.

Exiting the village and getting past Dueling Peaks seemed to take no time at all. Turns out Twilight could carry the both of them like it was nothing.

He still kept an ear out for her breathing just in case they needed to stop. His other ear was focused on listening for monsters. 'Y'know, I might not have a sword, but at least I've got a bow and shield.' "I suppose if there's any trouble, I could just shoot it down." He yawned.

This got him an interested look from Link.

"Meh, I'm just tired. Also your hair keeps smacking my nose." It didn't bother him that much. If anything, it was humoring him since it kinda tickled. He held in his laugh at witnessing the champion's hand race to his hair tie. He had it pinched between his index finger and thumb as if he planned to pull it out, "Link! Don't you dare!" He hissed with a grin. The image that painted in his head made a chuckle slip out.

Meanwhile both Zelda and Impa were looking back in confusion as they were waiting to see what he was going to do.

Young Link nudged him, "I think it looks like you're going to pull out your sword."

"Ah," He followed that with shaking his head and resuming holding the reins.

As they crossed the bridge, Zelda kept glancing back at Twilight with a certain look in her eye. This led to the group stopping for a while at Gatepost Town. "We won't be here for longer than an hour," She announced as she got off her mount, "However, I admit I'm quite hungry and I think the champion's horse could use a break."

The Hero was quick to slide off Twi's rear end. 'This is typically a dangerous move, but if my relationship with her was nonexistent, I wouldn't do it.' His own palomino strolled up and nosed his side. He was now taller than her withers, so naturally she appeared quite small. He nodded in the direction of the nearby grass, "You keep Twi out of trouble, okay? I know she's Miss Alpha out of the group but stick by her." Grace swished her long tail before nudging Twilight's hip and getting her to follow.

"Don't tell me you can talk to animals too," Impa had a hand on her hip.

He noticed when they arrived that the soldiers roaming the clearing didn't have a clue who he was. In fact, he was under the impression that the soldier's shield Link gave him was the reason why they weren't questioning him. Young Link crossed his arms, "No actually. I think all she understood was me looking toward the grass. As far as I know, the both of them always eat together, so she was just telling her to c'mon."

The Sheikah rolled her eyes, now gesturing to those around them, "Oh right. Don't worry guys, he's the Hero of Time. Strange, and a bit revealing, I know—"

All he could do was shrug.

"—but it's fine. Go about your business as normal." She walked off in the same direction Zelda did.

It seemed like the surrounding guards and soldiers took one last look at him before resuming their stations. Surprisingly, he didn't catch where Link wandered off to. 'Guess I'll hang out in the shade. That sun sure is after us today, it's hot.'

As he leaned against an entrance to one of the buildings, he recalled a memory of him pulling off his tunic and shirt and swimming in Lake Hylia. 'Aahhh, that water was freezing...I nearly regretted doing that.' He chuckled, 'And then Navi was telling me she told me so. Haha, she really did!' His hands had started to pull up at the lip of his shirt when the rim of a bowl pressing into his stomach made him pause.

Link was shaking his head, "I know it's hot, but don't...that's not as good of an idea as you might think."

If his hearing hadn't expanded, he would've immediately leaned forward and loudly said 'Huh?' 'My goodness, it's almost a skill to be able to talk that quietly.' "You sure?" His eyes looked to the bowl, "Oooh!" The Princess's knight had brought him some soup. He badly wanted to sing the jingle. Unfortunately, that would admittedly be a bit too odd for the setting they were in.

"Impa was busy announcing you, so I went and got you some."

One of the downfalls to his adult form is that, occasionally, the tone of his voice conveys things a bit differently than he meant. In this case, his sincerity came off slightly endearing, "Aw, thank you so much!" He smiled.

Link's eyes flicked around before he answered back, "...of course." They both sipped from the edges of the wooden bowls. Turns out it was potato soup made with cream and vegetables.

His eyebrows lifted once the taste hit his tongue, "Not bad...a tad watery though."

The champion agreed, now turning toward him, "Oh yeah, I realized I don't exactly know how to refer to you."

"Huh? Sure you do," He listed them off, "Let's see, there's Young Link, Hero, Hero of Time, kid—"

"Right, but you clearly don't look all that young right now, and the other two are a bit formal, no?"

"I would've never guessed that you had a preference," He put a hand on his hip before downing the rest of the contents in his bowl.

"Oh I know, I could just call you Time." Link nodded at his own development, "That way, no matter what you look like, it still works."

The Hero of Time was elated to hear one of the other names he'd gone by in the other worlds. So much so that his toothy smile preceded him as he picked him up into a hug and spun a short circle, "Works for me! It's been a while since I've been called that, however it's certainly a favorite!" He sat him back down, "Hero of Time is just—well it's pretty long!"

Link's entire being was stunned. Maybe it came from the sudden childish nature that was paired with a very adult figure. Maybe it came from how easily he'd been lifted off the ground. Either way, his voice was dripping in disbelief, "N-No problem..." He took what seemed to be a preemptive step back.

Meanwhile the Hero remained unphased as he watched this. "What's that face for?" He intriguingly cocked his head, "I'm agreeing with you."

His cheeks were giving away his confoundment, "No, it looked like you were flirting." He woefully eyeballed the ground, "Plus you spilled my soup..." This much was true. It's a wonder that it didn't get on either of them.

"Ah." 'Dammit! Me and my stupid charm…and carelessness I guess…' "Sorry about that," Time sounded heartfelt, something similar had definitely happened to him before, though now he felt super bad considering it was his fault! "I suppose I can't exactly put what I felt into words." Which was also his way of saying that he didn't have a good defense for his actions.

The champion sighed, now pathetically gazing down at what was left from the sides of the bowl starting to pool at the bottom.

His sizzling embarrassment made his body temperature skyrocket, not to mention the sun was beating down on them, "Okay where did Zelda go? Because if I'm out here any longer, this shirt is coming off." That put some pep in the knight's step as he led him to the mess hall the Princess sat in. Much to his surprise, she was in the midst of talking about the Sheikah tech.

"I've heard some interesting news from the researchers the day before we left. See, they told me that they're managing to get them to better coordinate their movements! Isn't that exciting?"

'No.' He took a seat next to her, watching Impa supportively nod.

Zelda scooted over, "Goodness! You're practically radiating heat! Are you okay?"

"All I can say is that I really want to take this shirt off." He came to a realization as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, "But speaking of the guardians, it kinda just hit me that—y'know—just why are you guys finding these things now? They're so advanced! I dunno the word, but it seems like things have gone backwards since these were made."

Zelda motioned for Impa to explain, "Right, so ten thousand years ago, after the Princess and the Hero, with the help of all the Champions, the guardians, and Divine Beasts, sealed Ganon away, the King banished all technology."

Both Links put their hands on their hips as they listened on.

The Sheikah shrugged, "This of course oppressed our tribe, and this is why and how the Yiga came to exist. One portion stayed loyal to the family," she pointed to herself, "and the other became a militant group that split out of spite and hatred." Now she folded her hands in front of her, "That's why we're just now finding everything."

While Impa hid her exasperation for the past King quite well, the Hero facepalmed. In fact he could feel one of his ears twitching as he lamely shook his head.

"What's wrong?" Zelda asked. Her eyes held a tinge of worry.

He explained how the King from his time had allowed Ganondorf to falsely pledge his alliance with the Royal Family and failed to protect his kingdom seven years later, all the while being unable to see the damage his "ally" was causing to his true allies, "So I'm very familiar with Kings just...being...I'm not gonna bother trying to find the right word in this language. You get what I mean. What's more, I'm sorry to hear that it had to happen with the Sheikah of all people."

Impa gained a thoughtful gleam in her eyes, "Oh um, thanks. Though, that was ten thousand years ago, it's kinda hard to stay mad about something that's been around for that long."

He perked up, "I suppose I can only wonder what everything would look like if things had happened differently." He internally sighed at himself, 'That's my whole life summed up in one sentence, isn't it? Damn.' Standing from the table, he signaled his goodbye, "Well, I suppose they don't call this place a town for no reason. I'm gonna look around and then round up the horses." He smirked at Link's unimpressed stare. Seems he left in the middle of the conversation to get half a ladle's worth of soup, "I'll stay out of trouble, don't worry."

Once out of the mess hall, he spied a couple of shops. 'Right, I have no money...' He put a hand on his hip, 'Dammit, that's probably the most ridiculous thing to come from this! I kept my wallet all the times I changed back in my own world, why the hell was it considered a clothing item in this one!? Better yet, I wonder if Cotera just wanted my money!' His head turned toward the patch of grass he left the horses to eat at, 'I'm just gonna check if it's in my saddle bags. I guess it's not as if I plan to buy anything anyways...'

Strolling up to the horses, his heart began to melt at seeing Grace lying in the grass while Twilight stood watch. Even Storm and Impa's mare had their eyes closed as they dozed while standing. 'Aww! That's adorable!~' Twi sniffed in his direction as he came closer, "Shh, Grace," He hushed as he lowered himself into the grass, "I'm just checking to see if that fairy lady put my money in my bags."

It didn't take long to check either bag. One had clothes that currently don't fit and the other had a weapon. Not to mention, his particularly had the emblem of an orange rupee sewn into it along with his name in his own language. His composure sloped as he softly rubbed Grace's side, "Damn...at least I don't have to worry about it getting stolen." To be frank, he only had a reason to care because the wallet held an accumulation of all the money he'd ever collected or found throughout his adventures.

He was filthy rich with a frugal mindset...on occasion.

The shops in Gatepost Town were few but lively. There was a bakery for the residents and weary travelers, a black smith who wore an eyepatch and tended to the soldiers' needs, and, much to his surprise, a small potion shop. While the scent of freshly baked bread made his nose start to run, his gut told him that the potion shop absolutely had to be visited first. All the previous ones he'd gone to were dim and mysterious in nature, so it was no surprise that this one also fit the bill.

It was run by an old man and a younger woman. Clearly the older guy was the alchemist, and the girl was his apprentice. "How can we help you?" She sweetly asked.

"Ah, I'm just looking at your—wait why is she in there!?" He immediately pointed to a fairy that was trapped inside a glass bottle. He could just barely make out her voice...actually, his voice. Oops.

The alchemist chuckled, "Ahh, that'll catch quite a price. I nearly popped my knee out capturing the darn thing! Did ya know that they'll heal ya once the bottle is opened? Super handy for a traveler like yourself!" He gestured to his clothes, "Especially since I'm not seeing a lot of armor on ya!"

Time was very familiar with carrying fairies in bottles, but that was because they wanted to help him. He didn't force them in there like this old croon probably did! "Er okay, how much?"

"A hundred rupees please!"

Part of him wanted to say he was the Hero of Time. The other part of him knew that would hike the price up by tenfold. "Hm..." He thought aloud, "Well, what if we set a wager that's worth just as much?"

"Bah! I knew the lad was broke!" He waved him off, "Go use your pretty face and come back!"

"Wai‐wai‐wait, I think you'll like this." He spied two apples hanging off a nearby tree, "One second." He flicked the truck, catching both of them in either hand. 'That better have looked cool! My finger hurts now...' Keeping his charm, he set them both on the counter, "I wager a hundred rupees that neither of you can burn this apple into a crisp faster than I can. I can only use my hands; you guys can use whatever you want."

The apprentice couldn't help but chuckle as she eyed the fires that kept their pots warm, "No offense, sir, but are you trying to lose?"

"Well he's right in the sense that I'm interested," the old man said with a sly grin. "I'm in."

"Here," he handed an apple to him, "You hold yours, I'll hold mine, and then when I say go, you can chuck it into the fire and hope it burns hot enough to turn it into dust." Watching his confidence falter felt a little too good, "On your mark...get set...go!"

The both of them snickered as the alchemist tossed it into the raging coals they kept behind them. However, their shared contentment was quickly diminished by the roaring flame in the Hero's palm that scorched the poor apple out of existence in mere seconds. He squinted his eyes at the flaming apple that sat atop the coals, "Aha…seems yours is still there. I win."

Seeing as they were stunned and disappointed, he almost thought they wouldn't adhere to the bet, but then he had to catch himself from tilting his head as a silver rupee was pushed over the counter at him. 'Damn, they really changed the color of the money too!? Dear Goddesses why do they have to change literally everything!' Either way, he held it upright with one finger and used his other hand to flick it to make it spin like a top. A neat trick he was fond of, "Thanks! I'll take the fairy over there please."

The apprentice carefully handed him the bottle containing the shimmering fairy after lamely accepting the money off the counter. She sighed, using her customer service voice, "Have a nice day sir! Enjoy your purchase."

He simply smiled back at her as he walked off. Once in the shade of a tree, he pulled the cork off and watched him fly out.

The teal fairy gave him a big energizing kiss on the cheek, "Thank you so much! I thought I was gonna be trapped in there for weeks!"

"Of course! I just came from visiting Cotera's fountain, so there's no way I was going to let you stay captured!" Plus this also felt like vengeance for all the fairies he had to leave in their cages back in his own world since he didn't have the money, nor the influence, to get them released.

He squinted his eyes at him, "You're someone important, aren't you? You feel awfully familiar! You sure you're not like me but waaaaay bigger?" He floated down and sat on the back of his hand.

Young Link smiled as he shook his head. He could see Zelda and the others leaving the building out of the corner of his peripherals, "Well, I am the Hero of Time if that rings any bells."

He immediately hopped to his feet and bowed, "Dear Hylia! Where are my manners! What an honor it is to meet you! Can I help you with anything? I don't mind!"

"No worries! All you can do for me is make sure you don't get caught again." Time started walking toward the horses as the glittering sprite sat on his shoulder.

His wings drooped as he sighed, "Really? Just that?"

"Mhm," He had a hard time hiding his smile as he watched him glumly cross his arms. He whistled to the horses to get them alert and on their feet.

Link's eyebrow raised when he passed by, but Zelda asked before he could, "Who's this on your shoulder? I've never seen one in this color before." She had her hands together as she stood on her toes to peer closer.

"I got this little guy out of a bottle at the potion shop. Poor thing was captured at one point." Now he couldn't help his chuckle as the fairy dramatically hugged his knees to his face, "Oh my goodness," He scooped him into his hands, "It would mean that much to you? How about you give me some ideas then? Surely you have one or two."

"Yes!" Of course he started to shimmer again at the proposition, "Okay, I was thinking I could accompany you for a while. Oh, or I could cool you off! Hehe, did you know that your sweat makes you look all shiny?" His smile widened as his hands came to his cheeks, "Which reminds me, you're very pretty too!"

Time's ears drooped as his smile became incredulous at what he was hearing, "That's not the first time I've heard it, but thanks. I'll go with option two, mainly because I have several people that want to kill me, and I'd hate to get you hurt."

"Eep!" He squeaked as his wings raised, "You're right! Not sure I'm cut out for that sort of thing!" He fluttered out of his hand, "This might take a second."

It quickly crossed his mind that speaking in the old tongue was a bit rude considering the Princess was right in front of him. Not to mention there was no doubt that she was curious, "So, where are you from that gives you a cooling ability?" He winked at her.

The teal fairy had rosy cheeks, "Ahh~ of course you're super smart! I'm from aaallll the way in the desert!"

"The desert?! That's really far!" This shocked the others as much as it shocked him.

"Yep! Tera says to help as many travelers as possible, unless they're mean of course!" There was a small sparkle that inhabited his hands, "Okay, hold still! This should last until night!"

Time watched the fairy fly around him the same way a healing fairy does, only this time the feeling of coolness melted into his skin. He was very grateful, "I really appreciate it. That's nice."

"Of course!" He snuggled against his cheek before snickering, "I still think taking your shirt off might help, though~ Hehehe!"

"Alright alright, that's enough." It was bad enough that he could feel his cheeks getting warm, "And remember what I said about getting caught!" Catching his descendant's eye made his soul die a little once the fairy was gone. He picked up Zelda and sat her on Storm, "It seems there's another Great Fairy in the desert somewhere. Her name is Tera too."

"Ah, thank you! I'm surprised she stuck around for so long," She was talking about the sprite.

"That one was a guy. I'll be frank, they all seem to act the same toward me, so I guess there's not much of a difference between girls and boys. That was a bright teal, too. I used to think they were darker colors." He picked up Link as well, "Well, let's get a move on."

Impa gave him a look before simply warping onto her horse, "How do they act toward you again?"

That made him cough as he put the champion in the saddle, "Ahem, sorry. Yeah, they're just very attracted to me and kind, that's about it so far." He pat Twi's neck before hopping on, "Imagine constantly getting reminded that you're pretty. If you were a narcissist, you'd be in love with them."

She got onto the path, "A what?"

"That thing where you're obsessed with yourself and think you're better than everyone else. If the fairies happened to like you, you'd be having a field day with their compliments."

"Oohh, right." The Sheikah nodded toward the castle in the distance, "Let's get back and hope your new age doesn't raise too much alarm."

Their ride through the upper part of Hyrule Field was peaceful. All the different nature sounds such as the grass, the birds overhead, and the cicadas chirping as the sun came down made Young Link feel sleepy. 'This reminds me too much of my hometown. If I wouldn't break my jaw on Link's shoulder from him bouncing around, I'd consider leaning my head on him. Plus, that fairy worked wonders...even though I can't believe he pouted!' He quietly sighed in relief, 'At least I feel like I can say that I can't expect any more overtly affectionate people. Aside from Hylia I guess, but I feel like she would have talked to me by now if she wanted to.'

Just as he saw the Castle Town gates coming into view, he took aim and shot down a small group of keese that were flying in their direction. As soon as his eyes flicked back to the road, he found the tip of his arrow becoming thick with frost as he let it fly into the thigh of the single Yiga that had spawned in front of them.

The others immediately brought their horses to a stop at the frozen figure that had formed. Time could feel their eyes on him as he walked up and melted away the ice around the enemy's head, "Can I help you?" His voice was nonchalant.

"What the!? I can't get away!" He hissed aloud as his head whipped around while he tried to squirm.

Impa had warped to his side with her arms crossed as he continued talking, "Yeah that's kinda how getting shot with ice works. Sooo...what? Were you gonna come attack us just now?" He spied his hands and back, "I don't see some kind of message on you. Obviously you guys don't really work solo either."

"What the hell do you think , piece of Goddess shit! All of you assholes need to pay for what's past! Especially you, Hero of Time!" The footman became more aggravated as he spoke, "You managed to kill Ganon before! Hell, you managed to stop evil twice! That makes you two times as bad as these other idiots!"

"Cool, math." He thumped the mask a few times, resulting in an action that looked like the footman was trying to bite him, even though his mask would have been in the way, "Anything else?"

"Just you wait!" The Yiga started to cackle, "You think you're all high and mighty now, but soon your head will get served on Master Khoga's plate!"

"Right," He turned to Impa, "Anything you want to add before I send him on his way?"

She seemed partially stupefied at the conversation she just witnessed, "Where exactly are you sending him?"

Time made it sound obvious, "To hell." He looked back to him, "Only it seems like they'll have to put you back together when you get down there, sorry." He gestured for her to stand back a little before taking out his shield, "Any last words?"

The only sounds he made were those that denoted that he started to realize what was going on.

Shrugging at the lack of a comprehensible phrase, he took a step forward as he brought his shield to the lower left part of his body. In the next moment, he diagonally swung it outwards and shattered the Yiga's frozen body into shards, sending his head flying far into the distance.

And yet...

A peculiar frown took form on his face, 'That's...hm…that's not how I wanted that to go.' His other hand came to his chest.

"DEAR HYLIA!" Impa yelled. She hopped back after glancing at his face, "And you look confused!? Just what was that!?"

His voice portrayed that he was still processing this as well, "Okay yes...that was sort of the idea. What I didn't expect was him to break into a million pieces! I was thinking...I dunno! Like a hundred!" His demeanor practically rolled its eyes at himself as he walked back to Link.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, "Okay sure, fine. Ice arrows? I didn't see any in your quiver!"

He surveyed their surroundings, "Let's at least get into town first. What if there's more?" Watching Zelda's hand stay glued to her mouth and overall being able to sense the group's concern was making his temples ache. On the flip side, the guards didn't seem to be in the mood to question him as they went through the gates. He held in a sigh once he got off and pulled his bow out.

"This is pretty much the last magic thing I can do. Watch carefully." He started with a fire arrow since it was easier to watch the feathers turn black and the tip become aflame. "I can only do two: fire and ice." Young Link could see out of the corner of his eye that Link was flexing his hand, 'Dammit! I swear I'm gonna talk to Her about this! That's kinda not fair!'

He shot it into the ground and stamped it out. Picking it back up, he watched the tip frost over and felt the feathers grow stiff, "This is ice. To be frank there's a trick to getting unfrozen." He pushed the tip of it into his arm, remaining calm as he immediately froze over. Just like before, he bent his knees and pushed out with his elbows...but not before moving his eyes around and staring at his descendant. Just to be a little creepy. He shook and brushed off the chunks of ice that crumbled afterward, "See? And this isn't something I can only do at this age either. I was frozen by that wizzrobe at Rito Village and did the same thing."

Zelda gasped a total of three times throughout that explanation. The last was at hearing what had happened when they were together. Her expression read disbelief as she took a step back, "I can't believe I didn't know about that! Also," She started to wave her hands and continued to back away, "I don't think I can handle seeing another person get frozen again. It's late. I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

Impa was at a loss for words. Her eyes widened at the fire, but they nearly popped out of her head when he froze himself. She nodded at the Princess's words before warping away.

After they left, Time kissed Grace on the forehead before grabbing his saddle bags and putting the knight's sleeping bag back on his mount, "Hm, I guess it's just the two of us again." He looked back at him from over his shoulder, "Why are you looking at my horse like that?" A knowing grin spread to either cheek, "Do you want a kiss too? Is that it?"

Link's signature unimpressed face unveiled itself, "I don't. It's just odd seeing you change between the town, smashing the Yiga, and now kissing your horse."

"It still sounds like you want one. Also, you're one to talk." He turned back to Grace, "Go home girl. They'll get all this stuff off you in the morning." She nibbled on his fingers before nickering and trotting away.

"Okay, just how many commands do you have for her? Where is she going?" Then he made a fist, hissing, "And no, I don't want one!"

The Hero motioned for Twilight to follow after her, "I have enough, also she's going back to the stables and jumping over the fence back into her pen. That's what it means." They started walking toward the castle, "Just like Twi, she's pretty smart. I've got some commands I only know in my own language, but she still gets it."

"I still can't believe Twilight listens to you either." His descendant sighed as he crossed his arms, "Oh well."

"Aw, it's okay," Time pat his shoulder, "She still thinks you're her master. I think I'm just the weird other guy she feels like she needs to listen to."

"I guess that makes me feel better."

As they continued through the doors, Young Link was quick to recognize that they weren't heading in the direction of his room, but instead were going toward a different part of the castle. Watching some of the decorations change to look a bit more worn made his heart soar with the sense of adventure.

He caught himself as they rounded another corner, 'Ha, my Gods. If I'm getting excited about finding a new room...ugh I really need to get out more. I remember when that used to only happen when I entered new temples and dungeons...' However, he had been wondering where the knight's new room was, and the fact that he hadn't stopped and told him to go to his own room felt really lucky. 'I don't care, it's justified for this one time.'

It was worth mentioning that there didn't appear to be many guards in this part either. Where Time stayed, he was familiar with seeing the castle staff bustling around. Back here, there was hardly anyone! It added an element of sneak and stealth as they continued past a very important looking door. There was something fancy inscribed on it, but he'd be damned before he could figure out what it said, especially in such dim lighting.

Link paused in front of the door that was just to the left of the other one, revealing a decently sized room once he opened it. It was a lot like the Hero's room, except the covers were royal blue and looked far nicer. Maybe they were silk! Other differences were that there were no windows, and that there was a proper armor stand and place to store his weapons on the wall. The vanity looked wider too.

"Ahh! So this is your room!" He caught his descendant's surprise as he walked around. It made him laugh, "Don't tell me you forgot I was next to you the whole time!" Watching his eyes narrow told him he was exactly right.

The champion puffed out a sigh as he started to take off his belts and equipment, "Well, I knew it wouldn't be long before you found it...I just didn't think I'd be the one betraying myself."

"Aw c'mon, you know where mine is! I think this is only fair." He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, eyeing his shirt, "Oh yeah, would taking this ridiculous thing off at the town really have been all that bad of an idea?"

There was some surprise in his voice, "Yes, it would have."

"Pfft, well don't look at me like I'm supposed to already know why. Explain a little, please." His hands went to his hips as Link waved him off.

"I don't know if this would have happened for sure, but my gut tells me that the reactions from the locals of the town would have been a lot to deal with. Not to draw comparisons, but I know that gets tiring really fast."

"No you're right. That's accurate."

Now he was curious, "Speaking of which, you said you didn't have any money. Well, at least that you don't have your wallet. How did you buy that fairy?"

"Ohhh, I made a bet that they couldn't burn an apple faster than I can. See, it was interesting enough to them and they already thought they could win. So far in their eyes, I'm a dumb, broke blonde who cares too much about a fairy." Time shrugged, "I burnt the apple in seconds and bought the fairy with the money. Easy."

"Wow, that's...pretty smart. I'll give you that."

"Thanks, I'm glad he turned out to be a cooling one too. Speaking of which, if it weren't for that, I'd be burning up this room right now. I can tell it feels like...dammit." Not knowing what felt like a simple word was always a reality check, "It means that you feel sticky and uncomfortable."

"Humid?"

"Oomid, yes, thanks. It feels like that in here, maybe because of there being no windows." Hell it was dim too. He turned on the other lamp for some extra light while rolling his eyes at his descendant trying to hide his laugh, "Link, I don't wanna hear it. I also found out today that not all of the colors of rupees mean the same thing anymore! Since when was a hundred rupees silver? That's orange!"

"Orange?" He was taken aback, "That's a color they can be?"

His jaw dropped, "Yes!"

A moment of silence passed as they heard the bed creak in the room next door. They were being a bit too loud.

Link gave him a look that said this was his fault. He spoke in a hushed tone, "Anyways, what did you mean when you explained that you meant for that Yiga clan member to explode into a hundred pieces? Just saying, you said that as if it were any better."

'Shit, he's not wrong...' He sighed, matching the other's volume, "I'll be honest, when I hit him with my shield, I was barely trying . That was nearly my lightest swing, I swear. Eh...medium swing, maybe. So yes, I was surprised when I got close to diamond dust after that."

"So your problem is that you don't know your own strength? I remember how you picked me up like it was nothing back at the fountain, and then today."

Young Link nodded, "That's right. You weigh as much as a small stone. It's interesting."

It was clear that the champion didn't know how he felt about hearing that information, "Okay...on topic with the fountain." He lazily threw his hands up, "Um, Gods? I'm sorry, what? Cotera was just, as you put it, 'being herself,' right?"

'Ugh, I'm gonna kill her…' "Listen, I don't care if it seems like I'm in denial, because I'm not. No matter what the situation is, that's not what I am. Truth be told, I think I'm past caring what I am. As long as it keeps me from dire trouble and I can help people and do good, that's all that matters to me."

Link seemed pleasantly surprised, "Oh...well good..." His eyes looked toward the floor, "But that does mean that super tall version of you is a God, right?"

"Uuuugghhh!" Time half stomped over to his bed and buried his face into one of the pillows, "Link you're killing meeeeee!" He lifted his head up enough to use one eye to stare at him, "Maybe."

"Well c'mon, what's so bad about it? Sure, you couldn't fit anywhere, but I bet Calamity Ganon would—I dunno—evil cry. Just imagine what would happen with you on our side."

He flipped on his side, "Uh-huh, except I'll be the one crying because I stepped on like ten people in the process. Plus, there's only one Master Sword and it's yours for the time being." He groaned at his descendant grabbing his shoulder and pushing him back on his face.

"Ha, is that your thoughtful way of saying that I'll be doing this alone? Hm?" The champion spied his hands, "And wow, that fairy was not kidding. You even feel cool to touch."

His voice was muffled, "It's more like a reminder that you're the one sealing the deal—well, that's Zelda. You get what I mean." Time sat up, "Speaking of which, said cooling is wearing off." He stood, folding the hem of his shirt to where just his pecs were covered, "I guess you won't have to worry about me coming back here too often, geez. Anyways, before I go, whatever did you do with that opal? The thing I found in that chest by the stable?"

"Ah right. It's in here," The champion scooted down to the end of his bed where a wooden chest sat, "I guess it went from a chest to chest, huh? I couldn't figure out what to do with it since selling it felt kinda wrong." He opened it, "I almost forgot it was big."

The Hero snickered at the idea of his descendant refusing to sell something for money, "Well if you're not gonna sell it, just have it made into something. I'll be frank, it doesn't seem all that strong—but! That's when you make it into something pretty."

Link's eyebrow rose in suspicion, "That's funny, because you don't seem to be the type to have that sort of thing."

His eyes widened, "C'mon really? Look, there's nothing wrong with having your own treasure. It's not like you've gotta worry about it getting taken anytime soon either. I mean, just who are you rooming next to for them to have such an important door?"

"The Head of Command."

He choked on his spit, it throwing him into a fit of coughing that made him plop back on the bed. Meanwhile his hand slapped onto his forehead, and he severely questioned the contents of their conversation. 'O-Oh my actual Gods...I should have asked that earlier!' He felt a hand on his back.

His descendant's face had gone from curious to slightly concerned, "You okay there?"

There was an opening for him to talk, "One seco—" aaand back to coughing. A few moments later he was in the stage of taking deep breathes, "Sorry that just really surprised me." He got back to his feet, sounded decided, "I think I should maybe go now."

Now he was surprised, "Ah, well goodnight."

"Goodnight." He felt like he had to creep past the Head of Command's room. Time wasn't afraid of him in the slightest, just more or less wary at the idea of him being able to hear their conversation. Which was likely because the issue was that it didn't sound like anyone was sleeping in there!

Once he was back in a familiar hallway, he started humming Epona's Song as he walked back to his room. A couple of the castle staff happened to walk by, but they seemed too shocked to be up for a conversation. He felt fine temperature-wise, but the shirt was coming off when he got back anyways, why pull it back down? What's more, the sheets felt nice on his skin after he laid down.

Sleep quickly greeted him at the door of his pillow.