Chapter 8
The Sheikah warriors scrambled to obey Captain Imbert's orders to shut down the Guardians, running from one machine to the next to manipulate the controls. Link and Zelda watched anxiously from horseback, hoping against hope that none of the machines had come into contact with the strange black and magenta sludge that had corrupted the Divine Beasts.
It wasn't a strong hope. From here they could see the crisscrossing lines of sludge seeping out of the ground everywhere.
The knights who had been resting on the battlefield seemed confused by the urgency of the shutdown. The Guardians had just spared them a long and bloody battle with monsters. They hadn't seen what had happened over the ridge to the north. They hadn't seen a corrupted Vah Naboris attack Mabe Village and Lon Lon Ranch.
"Hemart!" Imbert shouted, gesturing curtly to a mounted knight nearby, who trotted over. "Ride over to Kolomo Garrison, as quick as you can! Have them send their Rito scout to Castle Town and order an immediate evacuation! Make sure they understand that both the Divine Beasts and the Guardians could potentially open fire on military or civilian targets! Then make sure the word gets passed on to Fort Hateno and Akkala Citadel, and every garrison, village or stable that can be reached!"
Hemart's eyes widened as he heard the message, and he gathered up his reins.
"Hold!" Imbert told him quickly. "Princess, you know more about these machines than anyone else. Is there anything we can tell them to do if they come under attack?"
"They can't hope to counter the Divine Beasts," Zelda quickly. "But the Guardians-" She thought rapidly. "We tested them by having them open fire against dummies set up with armor and shields. Once, their lasers struck a knight's shield at just such an angle that the laser bounced back and burned out the Guardian's own emitter. We worried that perhaps the Lynels would be intelligent enough to exploit the weakness."
"That has to be a one in a million shot," Imbert said grimly. "Your timing would have to be perfect. Parry too late, and your shield gets blown apart. Parry too early, and you expose yourself to the weapon."
"Oh," Zelda said, looking disappointed. "Let me see... their undersides! Their undersides are vulnerable. If you can tip them over, perhaps by cutting off several of their legs..."
"Pass that along," Imbert told Hemart, and he nodded.
"What about arrows?" Imbert asked Zelda. "Can we target their 'eye' that way?"
"A single arrow can't do much damage, though it may stun them for a moment," she answered tensely. "And it's no good trying to outrun them," she added. "Even a horse can't outrun their lasers."
Imbert gestured curtly, and Hemart galloped off toward Kolomo Garrison with all speed. Imbert hurried over to the resting knights and began chivying them back into order.
A low rumble of thunder sounded in the distance. Link looked around in alarm, half-expecting to see Vah Naboris coming back, but then he looked up and realized it was only the weather. A thick cloud cover had moved overhead, blocking out the stars. A few seconds later, it began to rain.
Sheikah warriors were still rushing from Guardian to Guardian, shutting them down one at a time. It looked like they had deactivated about half of the pod now. Zelda shivered as the rain began to fall more heavily, wrapping her bare arms around herself for warmth. She was still wearing her thin white dress from her worship at the Spring of Wisdom. Link opened his mouth to say he would ride over to see if anyone had a cloak to spare, when they heard the unmistakable sound of a Guardian powering up.
Whirling to the side, Link and Zelda saw at a glance that one of the still-active Guardians had just changed color. It was now glowing magenta instead of blue. Its eye spun around, seeking a target. It spotted a nearby knight, and the laser zeroed on the man's chest. The Guardian's legs churned up and down several times, finding a stable configuration on the uneven ground, and then the sound of the laser intensified.
The man being targeted hadn't even noticed that he was being targeted.
"No!" Zelda gasped, but Link was already in motion. Remembering her caution about horses being unable to outrun the lasers, he slid from the saddle and slapped Ladybird's haunches to send her away at a gallop. Dashing forward, he pulled out his bow and quickly fired a shot at the corrupted Guardian.
He couldn't hit its eye, not from this angle, but the arrow got its attention. Its eye spun, and it spotted Link running toward it. Immediately, it pegged him as a greater threat and scrambled toward him on its many legs. The knights nearby shouted in alarm, diving to get out of the way. Link shot off another arrow, this time hitting it in the eye.
It was stunned, but only momentarily. Link took the opportunity to get his shield into position. He'd heard Imbert's skepticism about trying this technique, but the same part of him that had known to fling sword beams against Vah Naboris was confident that he could do this, too.
The Guardian's legs churned, finding a stable position. Its laser pointed directly at Link. He kept his shield up, muscles tensed and ready.
It fired.
Just as it had when he had rescued Princess Zelda from the Yiga assassins, time seemed to slow around him. Link saw the laser discharge fly toward him. He felt its impact against his shield. He held for an instant, understanding in a flash that parrying too soon would be far more costly than parrying too slow.
He pushed his shield forward to bounce the laser back toward the Guardian.
His shield shattered, metal bits spraying out in all directions. Link staggered backward, scorched by the intensity of the explosion. He heard Zelda shouting his name.
Too slow.
"Here!" Kester shouted, and he turned in time to see Kester toss his own shield over. Link caught it neatly and slid his arm through the loops as he faced the Guardian once more. It was already gearing up to hit him again.
Link held his breath and waited, standing his ground. The rain pattered down, cooling his scorched skin.
The Guardian fired again.
Once more, Link saw the discharge coming toward him in slow motion. It hit Kester's shield, and he pushed back just a little quicker than before.
The laser bounced off and hit the Guardian in the eye. An explosion splashed against its metal shell, and its head spun crazily for a moment. He'd done some damage.
Then it implacably locked on to him again.
A surge of confidence flowing through his veins, Link shook his damp hair out of his eyes and waited for the next shot. He knew he couldn't take his eyes off the Guardian, but close by he could hear the unmistakable sounds of another Guardian powering up, and the shouts of the knights nearby as they realized what was about to happen.
His Guardian fired again, and Link parried again. Another explosion hit its eye, and the Guardian's gears ground in a sickly kind of way as its legs churned for new purchase on the ground, growing muddy from the rain. But it still had some power left. It locked onto him for the fourth time.
Link spared a quick glance in Zelda's direction to make sure she was safe. She was sitting up straight in her saddle, palm outstretched, face screwed up in painful concentration. She was trying to use her powers. Not against the Guardian he was fighting – she must have realized he had it under control – but the one that was now powering up to attack a small group of knights that surrounded it. They had their swords out, and all except the one being targeted were darting forward to hack at its legs.
He returned his attention to his Guardian, and an instant later it fired yet again. He parried at the perfect moment, and this time the resulting explosion staggered it. The magenta light within it flickered and went out, and its legs collapsed from under it. Its head sagged lifelessly in its housing.
Link scanned the battlefield to assess the situation. There looked to be about a dozen Guardians that had been corrupted and were now attacking the knights. Explosions rocked the battlefield. Men were shouting and hacking at metallic legs. One group had actually managed to tip over their Guardian and they were stabbing at its underside. Link saw one man stumble back, looking at his broken sword in dismay. Their weapons were not well suited for fighting machinery.
Sheikah warriors continued to dart around, working to deactivate the Guardians that still glowed blue.
Another glance told Link that Zelda was safe. Kester was standing by her horse on full alert, one hand on Trigger's bridle and the other clutching his knight's broadsword.
Zelda wasn't trying to use her powers anymore. She was hunched over in the saddle, both fists pressed against the sides of her head in wordless despair. Her long hair hung damp and stringy around her face.
Link dashed over to them.
"Take her to the edge of the field, out of range!" he told Kester breathlessly. "I'll keep fighting them. I've got the timing down now."
"Uh... Link?" Kester said, his eyes going wide, looking behind him.
Link turned to see.
All of the corrupted Guardians were on the move. Moving toward him, specifically. Scrambling past wounded, exhausted knights with broken swords who would have made easier targets. He looked down at his chest, and saw multiple red dots flaring to life there. Link looked up and saw there were red dots on Zelda's chest, too.
"Get her out of here!" Link shouted, and Kester didn't wait to be told again. He swung up into the saddle behind Zelda and spurred Trigger hard. The horse jumped forward and galloped away. Kester had the good sense to immediately wheel Trigger to the right, guiding him behind a stand of trees that created a protective screen between them and the Guardians.
Link started to run the other direction, and managed to get himself behind a tree just in time.
Multiple explosions went off in rapid succession. Trees burst into flames. Branches went flying. Link kept his back pressed against his tree, thankfully a stout older one that provided adequate cover, although he could feel the heat radiating past. To his relief, he saw Trigger through the trees still galloping away with his two riders, unhurt. They were nearly out of range now.
His mind raced, trying to figure out what to do. He had vanished out of sight of the Guardians' lasers for now, but any moment now, the machines would start moving around, searching him out. Calamity Ganon was in control of them now, and he surely knew he needed to kill Link and Zelda far more than he needed to kill a unit or two of knights.
Link still had Kester's shield, a good strong one. Fighting one Guardian was doable. Fighting two...
Maybe. The timing would be much trickier. If they fired at the exact same time from two different directions, there wasn't much he could do. Even slowing time wouldn't help.
Link soundlessly laid down flat on the ground and then belly crawled far enough to risk peeking around the trunk of the tree. It looked like there were nine or ten Guardians hunting around for him. His heart constricted painfully. He couldn't fight that many. Not alone.
There were still knights here – they stood back to back with each other in small knots, keeping wary eyes on the Guardians with their shields raised, safely ignored for the moment – and Link knew with certainty that they would back him up if he got into trouble.
They would get slaughtered doing it. The men were already exhausted and injured from fighting the monsters earlier. Now they were wet and cold, too. Night had fallen, and the light of the full moon was dimmed by the cloud cover. Guardians saw better in the dark than Hylians did. What were the chances that anyone would walk away from that fight?
Something touched his foot, and Link nearly jumped out of his skin. He skewed around on the ground and saw Captain Imbert also laying flat on the ground just behind him, well concealed in the tall grass around them. Imbert held a finger against his lips, indicating silence.
Link lay motionless, while Imbert slowly crawled through the grass on his belly until he was laying alongside Link in the grass.
"You should slip away," Imbert whispered to him softly. "Before they spot you again."
Instantly Link felt himself rebel against the words. Abandon his fellow knights? When he was the only one here who could effectively turn their own lasers against them? He had sworn an oath to protect his brothers in arms.
He had also sworn an oath to protect Zelda. And to oppose Ganon.
He could not be in two places at once.
Imbert seemed to guess what he was thinking, despite his pained silence.
"They're targeting you and the princess," he whispered. "If you leave, the Guardians may leave too. They want you more than they want us."
"Or they may pick off some easy targets before they go!" Link whispered back, ice squeezing his heart.
Imbert looked at him levelly. "You think we don't know what we signed up for?"
Link didn't know what to say to that. He could hear metallic legs churning through the mud nearby. How much longer before they came this direction?
"I saw Kester ride off with the princess while the Guardians were busy targeting you," Imbert murmured. "They went into the wooded area just northeast of that swimming hole, the one that turned into a swamp after the earthquake. They're probably waiting there for you to catch up to them."
Link squeezed his eyes shut, but the man was right, and he knew it. He looked Imbert in the eyes.
"Captain-" he said slowly.
Imbert nodded and smiled slightly, as if he understood perfectly. "I know. Just get the princess to the castle. Defeat Calamity Ganon. It's what we're all here for."
Link set his jaw, and began to belly crawl away.
It took an agonizingly long time to get out of sight from the field of Guardians, crawling this way. By the time he reached the road that headed north past Lon Lon Ranch and toward the castle, he was soaked through and covered in scrapes. Link got up on his hands and knees and looked all around carefully, but saw no sign of Guardians nearby. He got up on his feet at last and darted across the road, crouching low and praying he wouldn't be seen. Luckily, he made it into a sheltering cluster of trees, and took stock of the situation from here.
He had hoped to skirt north around the hill that stood between him and the wooded area where Imbert had said Zelda and Kester were probably hiding, thus avoiding a muddy climb. But he found a lone corrupted Guardian stood there, electronic eye spinning vigilantly, no doubt looking for him. Link looked south, past his old swimming hole now turned to swamp. Yes, there was another Guardian down there, standing guard at the south end of the hill. He had no choice but to climb.
A faint whinny reached his ears, and he looked around in the gloom until he thought he spotted Ladybird walking around restlessly a safe distance from the battlefield. She was still waiting for him to summon her back to service. It took all the strength Link had not to whistle for her. He knew the sound would only draw attention to his position, and Ladybird could not outrun the Guardians. He would only get her hurt.
But regret flooded his heart. Not only because he was being forced to move on without his faithful companion, but also because all his supplies were in the saddlebags. Including the food his mother had packed for them.
As a practical matter, that could become a problem over time. But a part of Link knew he was only worrying about the loss of Mother's food to stop himself from worrying about Mother herself. She was a refugee now, fleeing from her own home in the rainy night, along with Owayn and everyone from the ranch. Where would they go? Riverside Stable wasn't far enough from the battlefield to be safe. They would have kept going. Maybe they would turn east and cross the river, traveling through Dueling Peaks and then turning north toward Kakariko Village. The sleepy village was far enough out of the way from castle-bound traffic that maybe it would be safe there.
Link looked up at the muddy hill before him, sighed heavily and began to climb.
He kept low as much as possible, just in case either of the Guardians nearby decided to wander this way. When he reached the small dip between the hill's two crests, he glanced to the right where his old swimming hole was. In the darkness and the rain, he couldn't see much, but he could hear the sound of slowly bubbling muck. Suppressing a shiver, he began to descend the other side, slipping and sliding in the rain. The woods in front of him were a dark blur in the night. He hoped fervently that Kester and Zelda really were waiting for him there.
From the far side of the trees, he could hear the rush of flowing water that must be the Hylia River. It was louder than it should be. He remembered they had seen Vah Ruta standing upstream from here, gushing water from the Zora River into this one. The current must be running dangerously high and fast by now. Rebonae Bridge, which led to Wetland Stable, might be washed out. If so, they wouldn't be able to borrow a new horse there. He and Zelda would have to ride double on Trigger, but he was a strong horse and neither one of them were heavy. They could make it to the castle that way.
The image of the corrupted Vah Ruta he had seen through the scope of the Sheikah slate flashed through his mind, and his stomach flip-flopped, thinking of Mipha.
No. This wasn't the time for that. He had to keep moving.
Link plunged into the woods. Luckily the trees here didn't extend very far, and he didn't have to search to find Zelda and Kester. They were standing under the spreading branches of a large tree, taking shelter from the rain. Kester had his sword drawn, vigilant for threats. His eyes fell on Link, and he breathed a visible sigh of relief. Link hurried over to join them.
But there was no sign of Trigger. Where was Zelda's horse?
"Oh, Link!" Zelda cried, hurrying to meet him. "I was so worried-"
She stopped short just a foot away from him, her arms half-raised as though she was going to embrace him, but quickly she put her arms down and didn't finish her sentence. She glanced over at Kester, looking embarrassed.
"Where's Trigger?" Link asked dully.
"We got spotted by that Guardian over there," Kester said grimly, pointing in the direction of the Guardian that had been patrolling the north end of the hill, though they couldn't see it from here. "We had to jump off and lay down in the grass to hide. Trigger ran one way and we crawled another. Nothing else we could do." Kester and Zelda were, in fact, coated in as much mud as Link himself was, he realized.
They'd be going to the castle on foot, then. That would slow them down a lot. Link took Kester's shield off his back and handed it back to his friend.
"Link," Zelda blurted out, and she sounded close to tears. "I tried to use my sealing powers... I tried..."
"I know. I saw."
"I don't understand," Zelda said weakly. "I... I did everything you did. I went to all three sacred Springs, I... I... I prayed just the way you did. And now he's here." Her tone turned pleading. "Why didn't it work?"
"I don't know," he said wearily. "We need to-"
A metallic sound drew their attention, and Link closed his mouth with a snap, eyes opening wide. Zelda's eyes darted around with a hunted expression on her face.
Metal squished through mud and banged against branches. Close. It was close. A Guardian was approaching.
Acting purely on instinct, Link pulled Zelda behind the large tree they had sheltered under. Kester darted behind another tree nearby. They all froze in place, trembling. Zelda had her hands clapped over her mouth to quiet her breathing. Link silently drew the Master Sword from his back.
His mind raced with the possibilities. He could fight it off while the other two stayed hidden. They were surrounded by trees, and the Guardians did their best work in open fields where they could see clearly and move rapidly. He had the advantage here. It was only one Guardian. He could-
More legs churned through mud, and a second whine of machinery joined the first. Another Guardian. Link listened closely, gazing at Zelda, who stood with her back against the tree, her palms now pressed against the rough bark. No, there were three! He could tell by the sounds, though it was hard to pick them out with the river rushing so loudly nearby.
Link's heart raced as the trio of Guardians scrambled this way and that under the trees, looking for their targets. Any moment now, they would come around the trees they sheltered behind. Link tensed his muscles in preparation. No matter what he did to counter one Guardian, the others could threaten Zelda while he had his hands full. Even if Kester could keep the second one busy on his own, Zelda could still be targeted by the last. Not good odds.
But he would do his best. That's all he could do.
He glanced over at his friend, who was looking at him expectantly. The rain pattered against Kester's metal armor, still so new that it was pristine. Even in the dimmed moonlight, it gleamed with a soft light.
"Get ready to run," Kester mouthed at him silently.
Link's forehead creased. What...?
Kester readied his shield on his arm and leapt out from behind his tree. He put his fingers to his lips and whistled shrilly.
Instantly, the Guardians stopped moving. After only a beat, their legs scrambled in Kester's direction with a terrible speed. Three red dots appeared on Kester's chest, and Link's heart seemed to stop.
Kester whirled and ran east, leaping over gnarled tree roots and darting around trees, heading toward the flooding river. Three Guardians raced after him.
Link felt sick, but he knew what he had to do, and he did it.
The moment the Guardians were past them, he grabbed Zelda's hand and they ran north. Toward the castle.
They ran flat out, stumbling over tree roots and slipping on the muddy ground, breathing hard from the effort. The sounds of the Guardians grew distant, swallowed up by the roar of Hylia River. Link listened for the sound of explosions, but so far nothing. Kester was a fast runner. Link told himself this firmly, even as he knew that a Guardian could not be outrun by a horse, much less a Hylian.
Maybe Kester could dodge and weave and eventually hide from his pursuers.
But they'd been so close to the swollen river. Not much room to maneuver.
Zelda was struggling to keep up with him, but Link kept a firm grasp on her hand and kept pulling her along. They had to get as far away as possible. The Guardians might realize they were chasing the wrong target and turn around.
They ran for what seemed like an eternity. They were a good distance from the start now. No sound of pursuit. Zelda's gasps were growing more ragged, and Link's legs ached. Maybe it would be safe to stop here and breathe for a moment. He decided they'd go just a little further and then rest.
Zelda's hand suddenly jerked free of his, and Link skidded to a stop, looking back.
The princess had fallen to the ground, but she wasn't scrambling back to her feet. She just huddled on the ground on her hands and knees, head bowed, wet strands of hair hanging down and brushing the mud.
Link walked back over to her, his heart thudding loudly in his chest from their run.
"How?" Zelda asked weakly, her voice barely audible over the beat of the rain. Her hands clenched into fists on the ground.
Link sheathed the Master Sword and took a knee beside her, forcing himself to let go of the urgency thrumming through his veins, understanding in a flash that they could not travel safely through Guardian-choked lands unless he and Zelda were both fully alert and at their best. She needed a moment to calm down before they could move on.
And, if he was being honest, so did he. So much had just happened, so quickly. He found that he was still listening for explosions in the distance. Had Kester somehow made it to safety? Had the Guardians given up on harrying Captain Imbert and his knights, once Link and Zelda had left their company? Where had Mother and Owayn and everyone from the ranch gone? Were they safe yet? What about Father? He must have been at Hyrule Castle when Calamity Ganon arrived. Was he defending King Rhoam from an attack, even at this very moment?
Asking these questions made breathing painful. It didn't seem likely that any of them would be answered anytime soon, either. Link felt he could have faced even bad news rather than this blank uncertainty.
Suddenly his body felt strangely limp, like a wrung-out dishcloth. He had felt fine as long as he kept moving from task to task. Now that he was no longer moving, he found that he no longer wanted to move.
"How did it come to this?" Zelda asked without looking up at him. It didn't sound like the kind of question she expected him to answer.
"The Divine Beasts... the Guardians... They've all turned against us!" she continued, with growing horror in her tones. "It was Calamity Ganon. It turned them all against us!"
She slowly looked up to meet Link's eyes. "And everyone - Mipha, Urbosa, Revali and Daruk - they're all trapped inside those things!"
The word "trapped" echoed in Link's mind. Is that what had happened to them? To strong Urbosa, to jovial Daruk, to sharp-tongued Revali? And Mipha... dear Mipha...
Just thinking about her made Link feel as though he were standing at the edge of a cliff with nothing but blackness below his feet. Mipha. Small, delicate, soft-spoken. She shouldn't have had to face something like this. And... trapped?
It sickened Link to find that he was hoping that the fate of the champions was merely being trapped in a machine that was supposed to serve and protect them. Was Zelda thinking of the other alternative? And not saying it?
With all his courage, he couldn't say it either. Not even to himself.
The tears swimming in Zelda's eyes broke loose and flowed down her cheeks. "It's all my fault!" she burst out. She buried her face in her hands, shoulders shaking. "Our only hope for defeating Ganon is lost all because I couldn't harness this cursed power! Everything – everything I've done up until now – it was all for nothing."
She looked up at Link, tears flowing steadily. "So I really am just a failure! All my friends – the entire kingdom – my father most of all-" She looked up at the rainy sky. "I tried, and I failed them all." Her voice nearly disappeared with the last few words. "I've left them... all to die."
Zelda's face crumpled, and she fell forward into Link's arms, dissolving into sobs. Feeling strangely numb and distant, he put his arms around her and let her cry. He couldn't find any tears for himself, although he almost wished he could. It would have been a relief.
It was only that afternoon that the six of them had sat together in the sunshine, enjoying their picnic together. Eating cake to celebrate Zelda's birthday. Blithely confident that they had mastered control of the Divine Beasts and full of hope that they could defeat Calamity Ganon.
In his worst nightmares, Link had never imagined things going this wrong, this quickly.
Zelda was wrong, of course. It wasn't her fault. How could he convince her of that? Was it even possible to? She was so stubborn. So determined to believe the worst of herself.
It wasn't her fault. If it was her fault, it was Link's too. Maybe there was something he could have or should have done to prevent all of this. Some failure he hadn't fully admitted to himself yet. Some secret of the Master Sword that he should have discovered by now. But thinking that way felt wrong. It wouldn't help them keep moving. And they needed to keep moving because the job wasn't done yet.
Zelda cried and cried. He held her close and tried to think what to say. He wasn't any good at this kind of thing. He didn't have the words. He...
Link went still as he remembered: He did have the words.
Zelda had given them to him.
All those hours they had spent around the campfire these last few weeks as she had taught him what to say to people to help them feel seen, to build their confidence, to bring them hope. She'd even had him practice how to say those words to the people they had encountered on their travels. People who were frightened by the prophecy of Calamity Ganon's return, people who feared losing their homes or their families or their lives to something that felt far beyond their control.
He wasn't as good at it as Zelda was. Not yet. But he remembered her lessons.
Good eye contact. Comforting touches. Repeat their words back, so they know you understood them. Then make short, simple statements in response. Always be truthful, but focus on the positive.
He could do this. Maybe not well. But he could do it.
Link cleared his throat and took a deep breath, bracing himself for a new and different kind of battle.
"You think everything that happened today is your fault," he said.
Zelda stilled in his arms, so he knew she had heard, although the hoarse sobs continued.
He pulled back a little, and put his hands on her upper arms, gently pushing her more upright until she faced him. He looked right into her eyes, still flowing with tears. Her expression was utterly dejected.
"You didn't do this," he said firmly.
Immediately she shook her head in wordless contradiction, but he kept his hands on her arms and his eyes locked on hers.
"Zelda. You didn't do this. Calamity Ganon did this."
"I was the one who restored the Guardians and the Divine Beasts!" she objected in a raw voice.
"You helped the Sheikah restore the Guardians and the Divine Beasts," he clarified, "to kill monsters."
She made a soft sound of denial as two more tears slipped down her cheeks, but he could tell it was uncertain now.
"You didn't tell them to attack people," he continued. "That was Calamity Ganon."
"I put our champions in harm's way!" There was a hint of pleading in her voice. She rubbed a shaking hand across her tear-streaked face, smearing the mud further. "I- I-"
"You asked them to serve, and they chose to. Because they love you, and they love their own people, and they love the kingdom of Hyrule."
"Well..."
Zelda wasn't taking her eyes off him. Link's voice grew stronger. "You love them. All the champions. Urbosa and Daruk and Revali and Mipha." His voice went strained on the last word despite his best efforts. "You love your father, too. I know things are hard with him, but I know you love him. You did everything a daughter is supposed to do. You did."
More hot tears slipped down Zelda's cheeks, but they seemed different now. Suddenly, she flung her arms around him again and buried her face in his neck.
She cried a little longer, but much more quietly. No more short, bitter sobs wracking her whole body. And if he was honest, her arms tight around him felt as comforting to him as his seemed to be for her.
"Why?" Zelda whispered faintly in his ear at last. "Why couldn't you have been with me from the beginning?"
She finally let go of him and sat back on her heels, sniffling. Link dug in his pockets and managed to find his bandanna. He offered it to her, and she used it to wash her face as best as she could. The rain had turned into a fine mist.
Zelda cleared her throat roughly, and handed the bandanna back to him. He tucked it away, and they looked at each other for a long moment, kneeling facing each other in the rain.
"Do you know what I'm thinking?" Zelda said at last.
"No."
"I'm thinking," Zelda said grimly, her bare, muddy shoulders going back as she visibly straightened her back, "that we should go and find Calamity Ganon, and make him pay for what he's done today."
He met her eyes.
"I like it," Link said.
They wasted no time getting started, now that they had caught their breaths. The rain finally stopped, and that helped energize them. They went north, following the path of the Hylia River until they came to the edge of the trees. They crouched down there and looked around.
They could just make out Wetland Stable to the east, on the other side of the swollen river. As Link had feared, Rebonae Bridge was washed out. No chance of getting horses, then.
At least there were currently no Guardians in sight. Link led them carefully across the road, and they plunged into the sheltering trees of the Applean Forest.
"Is there any way for us to get water?" Zelda asked with a hint of pleading as they walked.
He knew what she meant. His mouth was painfully dry from all their running around, and the continual sound of water near them was becoming a torture. But there were no wells around here that he knew of.
"That river water's not safe to drink," he whispered back. "Too dirty. But-" He got an idea, and reached up and picked a couple of apples, handing one to her. They took a hasty moment to eat them. It helped a little. Better than nothing, anyway.
It was a good thing they took the pause, because just as Link dropped his core into the grass, he realized he could hear another sound nearby, almost buried in the roar of the river. A long, slow snore. He stopped Zelda just as she was about to resume walking, and gestured for her to wait.
He crept forward a little further, peering through the branches, and abruptly stopped. Yes, it was as he feared: the dark mass of a Hinox, sleeping in a small clearing ahead. It was hard to tell what color it was in the night, but it didn't matter. Fighting wasn't an option. Any noise at all, and Guardians would come to investigate.
He stepped quietly back over to Zelda, gesturing at her to be quiet and follow him. He turned west, and they tiptoed away as quietly as they could. Link sighed with disappointment when at last they were out of earshot of the monster. He had hoped to be able to make it to the northern end of the orchard, where it would have been easier to continue following the river with at least a few trees to shelter them from sight until they made it to the edge of Castle Town. Now they would have to cross the Romani Plains, where they would be more exposed.
The trees thinned ahead of them, and Zelda copied Link as he got down low and crawled the rest of the way on hands and knees. They were already so wet and dirty that it hardly mattered anymore.
They stopped at the edge of the Applean Forest, laying down on their bellies, and surveyed their path forward.
It was...
Link's mouth dropped open.
Vah Rudania. It was here.
They hadn't been able to find it with the Sheikah slate's scope earlier, but it must have moved this way since then. There it crouched on its four legs, standing guard in the center of the Romani Plains, its reptilian head tilting this way and that as it looked about with eyes that glowed a sickly magenta. After seeing the Military Training Camp burning in the distance, they had assumed Vah Rudania had become corrupted and done the deed, but Link realized now that a part of him had been hoping they were somehow wrong about that.
It was clear Daruk had been bested, just as the other three champions must have been. Link heard Zelda let out a soft whimper beside him, which she quickly silenced.
Link's eyes roamed all over the plains, but he didn't immediately see how it would be possible to slip past Vah Rudania. For one thing, it wasn't only Rudania standing between them and Hyrule Castle. The Divine Beast had deployed a veritable swarm of Sentries that hovered over the surrounding plains, blades whirling rapidly overhead as they shone red spotlights down on the ground, moving back and forth in a thorough search pattern. Half a dozen Guardians or more crawled about below, ready to attack anything the sentries might alert them to.
The longer Link looked, the more his heart sank down to his toes. There was no way he could get Zelda across all that in one piece.
He should have known it would be like this. The Guardians back at the battlefield south of Lon Lon Ranch had seemed to recognize him and Zelda, and targeted them personally. Calamity Ganon must have been aware of their position. And he would have guessed from what direction they would approach Hyrule Castle.
He pulled the Sheikah slate from where it still rested on his hip, and he activated the scope function and held the device up, pointing it north.
He found Vah Ruta fairly quickly. It was still standing at the junction of the Zora and Hylia rivers, funneling all the water in their direction. Boneyard Bridge south of the junction was washed out in the flood, just like all the bridges further downstream. So they couldn't access Hyrule Forest Park and come at the castle from the north. Ganon had known to cut off all the access points to the castle in that direction.
He turned the scope east, looking for more sickly magenta light. Soon enough, he found it: Vah Naboris was tromping slowly through Castle Town, sending out crackling lightning bolts and laying waste to the town. Apparently it had repaired the power nodes he had damaged earlier. Many roofs were on fire. Sickened, Link moved the scope down and saw long lines of people fleeing south, lit by the lanterns and torches they were carrying. Some in wagons, some on horseback, some walking. There were so many of them that Link knew Castle Town had been emptied. Hemart must have been able to pass their evacuation orders along to a Rito scout in time. Thankfully, Vah Naboris seemed to be ignoring the refugees in favor of destroying every building in sight.
Ganon wanted to hold ground. He wanted to make a fortress that couldn't be breached.
Link slowly lowered the Sheikah slate. He may have succeeded in that. They had been cut off from three directions.
"Could we approach the castle from the west?" Zelda whispered. She had moved over to lay close by him, looking through the screen, seeing everything he saw. She seemed to be keeping her voice steady with an effort.
"Can't see from here," Link whispered back. "But there's still one Divine Beast missing."
"Vah Medoh..."
"If Ganon has fully taken control of it by now, it could be circling over the western side of the castle," Link whispered. It could be watching the ground below with eagle eyes. How could they hide from that?
They laid there in silence for a long moment, thinking about that.
"There... is one other option," Zelda said slowly. "I- I'm not supposed to-"
She broke off as an electronic alarm began to blare, shattering the silence of the night. Instinctively they flattened themselves to the ground, eyes darting around to see what was going on. Had they been spotted?
Something had been spotted. The red searchlight of one of Vah Rudania's Sentries was flashing on and off, pointing at something that was moving on the ground. Something that was moving in their direction, running for the shelter of the trees. Two people, it looked like. Link and Zelda heard them crying out wordlessly in fear as pandemonium suddenly erupted on the plains.
Vah Rudania began to stomp up and down and thump its heavy tail down, the impact of its limbs shaking the ground. The two people fleeing stumbled and fell, then scrambled back up and kept running. Right toward Link and Zelda. The Sentry that had spotted them still followed, keeping the red light shining on them. Guardians were swiveling their heads to look, and in seconds all of them were scrambling toward the unfortunate targets.
The terrified pair – Link could see now that they were Zora – leaped over a fallen log and plunged into the trees, right past Link and Zelda, with half a dozen Guardians hot on their heels.
There was no hope that they wouldn't be seen by the pursuers. Grimly Link leaped to his feet, and Zelda quickly followed him. They tore through the forest right behind the two Zora, who seemed to be heading east, straight for the river. But they were running right toward-
"Hinox!" Link shouted in warning, finally catching up to the Zora enough to grab one by the arm and drag her to the right. They heard a snorting, snuffling sound, and then the slow, ponderous thuds of a sleepy Hinox struggling to its feet nearby.
The Zora he held by the arm – a young woman around Mipha's age, maybe – gasped with alarm. "Oh no, oh no, oh no!" she chanted in distress as they ran, but she and her companion followed Link's lead as he veered southeast. Zelda was valiantly keeping pace with them. His mind raced, thinking what to do. The trees around them had slowed the Guardians, but not for long. They were about to be trapped against the flooding river, just as Kester had been. What could he do?
The four of them burst out of the trees, the roar of the river before them drowning out the alarm of the Sentry still following them, shining its red searchlight down through the branches overhead.
Without hesitation, both Zora dove neatly into the swollen river, and in seconds they had disappeared.
Link stood on the muddy bank, hesitating. "Can you swim?" he shouted to Zelda over the sound of rushing water.
"Yes!" she shouted back, looking at the raging river with wide eyes. "But-"
A Guardian shoved its way between two trees behind them, and a red dot appeared on Zelda's back. Without thinking, Link put his hand on that spot and pushed her hard. She fell into the river with a splash, and he jumped in after her.
Instantly they were swept away by the current.
It was breathtakingly fast. Even faster than he feared. Already Zelda was drifting away from him, although she was moving her arms enough to keep her head above water.
With all his strength, Link swam toward her. The power of the current was terrible, and it was exhausting to fight against it. A broken branch rammed into his back, and Link struggled to disentangle himself from its scratchy clutches, accidentally swallowing a gulp of water as a wave swamped his head. He coughed, sputtered, and finally broke free. He found Zelda again and set out toward her once more with rapid strokes.
His lungs were burning by the time his hand finally brushed against her arm. She turned, and clutched at him frantically. She seemed to be trying not to accidentally drag him underwater, but it was hard to get a hold of each other. Finally, she managed to get a grip on the leather straps that bound the Master Sword's sheath to his back.
That was much better. Now Zelda was trailing behind him, holding tight, and his arms were free to swim. There was no sign of Guardians on the banks they were rapidly passing, and the hovering Sentry had disappeared. The current had taken them so quickly, it seemed the predators had lost sight of their prey.
The moon was peeking out of the clouds now, and Link could see Orsedd Bridge coming up quickly.
Very, very quickly.
The floodwater was washing over the bridge, but it wasn't deep enough to sweep them safely over the bridge. They were going to smash right into that stone barrier. Link desperately started to swim sideways, trying to get them out of the current and to the banks before they got to the bridge.
He was already so tired, and he didn't make the headway he wanted, even though Zelda was now holding his strap with only one hand and helping propel them the same direction with the other.
He panted for breath, struggling against that inexorable current. They were nearly to the bridge. They weren't going to make it! They were going to-
A pair of strong arms seized him around his waist, and yanked him down under the water.
Startled, he struggled against those arms, but they had a powerful grip. He couldn't get free. He was still being pulled along with the current, and he could feel Zelda's weight dragging behind him. She was underwater too. She was drowning, they were both drowning! They...
Their heads broke the surface, and they both gasped for air. At the same moment, they abruptly stopped moving, and although the current tore at them and tried to sweep them away, they stayed locked in place, the strong arms around Link's waist still holding him firm. Whoever was holding him must be braced against something well-anchored against the water.
It was pitch black here. Where were they? Link put out a hand, and touched damp wood right in front of his face. It was a small space. Were they...?
They were under the bridge, he realized. There was a pocket of air here, although the water was still rushing over the top of the bridge overhead. He couldn't see Zelda, although he could hear her gasping for breath right next to him. There was a soft splash, and then he heard a new voice near them, one that sounded worried.
"Are you all right? Oh, dear! You aren't very good swimmers, are you? We nearly didn't catch you in time!"
It was one of the Zora who had been running away from the Guardians with them.
"Now, don't scold them, Malu," another Zora woman's voice said, this one a little deeper. "I'm sure they swim well enough for Hylians, and they have had just as much of a fright as us! I can't even think what just happened! I thought those machines were there to help us fight Calamity Ganon! But they attacked us!"
"Thank you very kindly for helping us," Zelda managed to gasp out. "Are you both quite all right? I am afraid that Calamity Ganon has taken control of the ancient machines for his own use."
"I suppose I am all right," Malu said, although she sounded a little uncertain. "Velta?"
"Yes, yes, I am fine. Although I don't know how we will make it to the castle now. Those machines are everywhere!"
"Why were you going to the castle?" Zelda asked, her teeth chattering from the cold water still tearing past them.
"Why, the Zora River is going dry!" Velta said. "King Dorephan sent us to inform King Rhoam that Zora's Domain will soon be threatened if our water supply is not restored! We had to walk much of the way here. We couldn't think what had happened!"
"It was Vah Ruta," Zelda said wearily. "It's sending all your water down this river. We're working on it. I'm afraid the situation may continue until Calamity Ganon has been defeated."
"Don't you know a lot about it!" Velta said in surprise. "Who are you?"
"Zelda."
There was a short silence.
"Not-" Malu started.
"Yes," Zelda said. "That Zelda."
"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!" Malu fretted. "Oh, I am glad we caught you, princess! To think we didn't even know! And oh... I thought Princess Mipha was supposed to be piloting Vah Ruta! Then Calamity Ganon has stolen our Divine Beast from us, before Mipha could even get into it? How shocking that he would dare! Why, it belongs to our people, not to him!"
Zelda said nothing to elaborate. Link felt even less inclined to do so.
"And who are you?" Velta asked after a beat, giving Link's arm a squeeze in the dark. She sounded much calmer than Malu, and Link decided she must be the older of the two.
"Link, knight of Hyrule."
"Ohhhh... I've heard of you." Malu tone had abruptly changed.
"Malu!" Velta said sharply. "Not now!"
"We need a plan," Link said firmly. The air pocket under the bridge wouldn't last forever. Already the air was beginning to smell stale. "Where do we go from here?"
"Just a moment," Zelda said. He felt her hands feeling around, bumping into his shoulder and then his face, as she tried to figure out where he was in the dark. Then he felt her move closer and put her lips close to his ear.
"There's another entrance to the castle," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the rushing water. "A secret entrance, at the Sacred Grounds where I made you my own appointed knight. It leads down into a system of tunnels that go under Castle Town, all the way to the Observation Room. We could approach the castle unseen by Guardians or the Divine Beasts. Do you think we could get there?"
"How secret is it, really?" he whispered back. "Is there any chance Ganon could know about it?"
"It's closely guarded. Only the Royal Family and their Head Guard have been informed of it, for generations upon generations. I've... just made the only exception."
It sounded promising. The Sacred Grounds were too close to the castle for comfort, but at least there was a chance Calamity Ganon would not be watching that entrance, unlike all the others. He'd keep the Divine Beasts stationed elsewhere. Maybe they would only have to contend with Guardians.
That would be enough of a problem. There weren't enough sheltering trees in that area to effectively hide from Guardians. And there would be more of them than Link could handle by himself. They wouldn't be able to do this alone, just the two of them.
"We'll need an army to get us there," he said out loud. Ganon would no doubt be bracing for that, but he wouldn't expect them to punch through in that direction. If the attack was swift enough, it just might work. If he and Zelda could slip through the secret entrance unseen amid the chaos and then close it behind them, the knights would even be free to retreat if necessary.
"We tried using an escort, with Imbert and Farrimond's units," Zelda pointed out. "They couldn't help us get to the castle."
"They were caught off guard by the Guardians turning on us," Link said. "And they were tired, wounded, and small in numbers. We need a large force. One that's well-rested, well-equipped, and ready for what they're going to face."
"Does that exist?"
"It does if the Rito scouts did their job. Imbert's orders should have reached Akkala Citadel and Fort Hateno by now. Those are good fortifications, easy to defend. If they were warned in time, they should still be in good shape."
"But those are nowhere near us!" Zelda objected. "It would take days to get there, get an army, and bring them back here! We don't have time for that!"
"I don't think we have a choice. And... maybe it won't take that long to get to Fort Hateno. This river's trying to take us that direction right now." It was tiring fighting against the current, even with Velta and Malu hanging onto them, their feet presumably braced firmly against the pillars of the bridge.
"I could lash some logs together, make a raft," Link continued. "We could probably get there by dawn."
"A raft would capsize, running into all the debris in this river," Velta cut in their conversation unexpectedly. "And even if it didn't, you'd have a time of it when you came to the junction between Hylia River and Squabble River. You want to turn east there, but the current will try to keep carrying you south."
Link didn't have an immediate answer for that.
"What you need," Velta said knowingly, "is a couple of good strong swimmers to tow you there safely."
"Ohhh, yes!" Malu agreed eagerly. "We could do it!"
"I wouldn't ask you to endanger yourselves-" Zelda began.
"But you didn't ask!" Velta said proudly. "We have just volunteered! It is as the young knight said. We can get you to Fort Hateno well before dawn. Just make certain you hang on tightly when we come to the junction. We will have to swim very hard to cut across the current. And there are three bridges between here and there. Be ready to hold your breath. We will have to pull you under them again."
They discussed it a little longer to be sure, but they could not come up with a better plan, and Zelda finally acquiesced. They shifted awkwardly around in the small space under the bridge, getting ready. Zelda clung to Velta, and Malu prepared to tow Link. When they were ready, Link and Zelda took deep breaths, and the Zora dove down, pulling them under the water and letting the current take them at last. A few seconds later, the four of them popped back up into the air, and they floated swiftly on their way.
The cloud cover had lifted, and the bright moonlight shone down on them. It seemed deceptively peaceful here, with the sound of nothing but water and no Guardians in sight. It took only minutes for the current to take them to Rebonae Bridge, near Wetland Stable. Link and Zelda held their breaths while their escorts towed them under the bridge. They came back up again, and then they were passing the small wooded area where Link had met up with Kester and Zelda hours before. The moonlight reflected off something strange along the banks. Some kind of scattered debris on the mud, but not wood or stone. Something gleaming and metallic. When the current took Malu and Link past the debris and he got a better look, his eyes went wide with a sudden realization.
It was armor. Pristine metal armor. Knight's armor.
Link's heart leaped in his chest. Kester! This was where he had run to get away from the Guardians he'd drawn away from Link and Zelda. He must have torn off his armor as he ran along the river bank! Which meant...
There was only one reason to shed armor while in the presence of an enemy. He must have planned to jump into the water as soon as he dropped the excess weight! The current would have carried him away too swiftly for the Guardians to get a lock on him. As long as Kester had managed to grab hold of something along the bank and gotten out of the water before he smashed up against a bridge, he would be all right! And unlike Link, he hadn't had another person to tow through the water. He really might have made it.
Link carried the thankfulness in his heart all the way past the Floret Sandbar and under the Horwell and Owlan bridges. He even tried to see if he could spot Kester in the area, perhaps washed up on the sandbar, but they moved too swiftly to allow a good look around. After that, they reached the junction of two rivers and he was distracted by the need to desperately cling to Malu as she swam hard across the current trying to sweep them south, toward Lake Hylia. The Zora wriggled her torso powerfully, and with a terrible effort she managed to get them into the mouth of the Squabble River flowing east, following in the wake of Velta and Zelda ahead of them.
The four of them breathed a little easier than that. The Squabble River was taking some of the excess water from upstream, but not nearly as much as the Hylia River. The current wasn't so fast now. They had time to look around as they drifted toward the split mountain that was Dueling Peaks. Things seemed quieter here. No sign of Guardians or monsters.
No sign of refugees, either. Link thought his mother and Owayn and the others from Lon Lon Ranch may have come this way using the road that followed the river between the split peaks, intending to turn north toward Kakariko Village. Traveling by horse, they may have reached their destination already. He hoped so. Maybe by now Mother was fed and warmed and resting in someone's home, generously shared by the peaceful Sheikah who lived there. He let himself believe it, and felt the knot in his stomach loosen a little.
They were nearly through the channel that cut between the two halves of the mountain. He could see Big Twin Bridge ahead. Dueling Peaks Stable was nearby. Would it still be open and staffed? This far from the castle and the flooding, it just might be. It wouldn't make sense for them to stop there, though. They only needed to follow the Squabble River a little further. It would skirt around Bubinga Forest and then turn north, depositing them directly at Fort Hateno's border. The fort had tall, strong stone walls with a single gate on its west side, and was protected on both the north and south by high cliffs. The two cliffs curved and nearly joined at the back end of the fort, leaving only a deeply cut, narrow valley to defend there. It was one of the best strongholds in Hyrule, rivaled only by the towering Akkala Citadel far in the northeast.
Link was anxious to get there. He would feel much better once Zelda was surrounded by strong walls and a host of trained knights as ready and eager as he was to defend her. This had been a long and stressful night. He was glad it was almost over.
Ahead of him, he saw Velta turn and swim for the south bank of the river just in front of Big Twin Bridge, towing Zelda behind her. Link frowned. Why were they stopping here?
Malu followed, and the four of them crawled gratefully onto solid land, heedless of the mud. Link looked at Velta questioningly.
"Just need to catch our breaths," she said a bit breathlessly. "The fort's near, but we should be rested when we arrive. Just in case more of those machines are waiting for us, and we have to retreat upstream."
Link fervently hoped the Guardians had all been shut down already, but he had to admit there was a chance they hadn't been. Velta's plan was probably a sensible one. So they sat there for a while, resting. A night breeze washed over them, chilling their damp skin. Curious, Link got on his hands and knees and crept up the bank a little way, looking in the direction of the stable. He couldn't see it in the dark, though. Weren't their lanterns lit? Maybe they had shut down tonight after all. He shivered a little. That didn't seem like a good sign. Had there been trouble here, too?
He turned to rejoin the others, and froze.
There was movement along the river bank. Almost impossible to see. Something that blended into the background behind it with uncanny accuracy. But somehow he sensed more than saw that it was man-shaped. And it was moving toward where Zelda and their two Zora guides were laying back against the bank, resting with weary eyes slid shut.
He went after it like a shot, although his muscles were cold from inactivity and the long plunge in the river and he moved more slowly than he wanted to. Even so, within seconds he had the Master Sword out and had tackled the thing, pinning it to the ground and holding the edge of his blade at its throat.
The man grunted in surprise but didn't move, looking up at Link in shock. Even now, his clothing blended into the ground so perfectly that Link could only see his face clearly in the moonlight. He was...
He was Sheikah. Long white hair pulled up into a neat topknot. An older face, lined with a few wrinkles but still hale and strong. Stealth clothing of a kind only the Sheikah knew how to make. The man's eyes focused on the Master Sword, and then he turned to look at Zelda. She had jumped to her feet and come just close enough to see what was going on, although still out of arm's reach.
"Zenno?" Zelda said in surprise, looking at the man's face.
"Princess!" he said, sounding both surprised and pleased.
"It's all right," Zelda said to Link. "I know him well. He was with me when I found the-" She looked over at the Zora, and quickly amended: "When we found that shrine I told you about."
Link released the man and stood up, offering him a hand to help him up. Zenno stood and brushed the mud off his clothing, and then shook his head, looking Link over.
"Sharp eyes, young man," he said with a soft chuckle. "Not many can spot me under these conditions." He turned to Zelda. "Princess, we had no idea you were coming this way." He glanced curiously at the pair of Zora behind her. "I would hear your report. But not here. Let's get to shelter."
"The stable is just over-"
"Not the stable, princess. It's evacuated. There are Guardians in the field right behind it, still active."
Link's heart dropped at the words.
"Oh, no," Zelda said, crestfallen. "Not here, too?"
"Let's get to shelter. I'll explain everything."
Looking around carefully, he led the four of them up the muddy bank. They quietly crossed the Little Twin Bridge and entered the small wooded area at the foot of Breman Peak. The stream that edged the woods here was narrow and relatively shallow. They followed it all the way back to the cliff, startling a fox out of the bushes as they went. But when they reached the cliff, they didn't stop. Zenno began to climb up the boulders, placing his hands and feet carefully to avoid slipping, and the four of them followed as best as they could. A thin trickle of water fell past them from a cleft above, not large enough to be a true waterfall.
Luckily, they didn't have too far to climb before Zenno suddenly moved forward and disappeared into a dark hole in the cliffside. Link followed him and then turned to give Zelda a hand up.
It was a cave, just large enough to hold the five of them, although they ended up having to press together to give Velta room to enter last. There was a small fire crackling at the back of the cave, its smoke rising up to disappear into a crack in the ceiling. Zelda knelt down and held out her hands to the flames gratefully. They were still soaking wet, and although it was a summer night, Link was ready as Zelda to feel dry and warm for a change.
They all settled down around the fire, and Zenno gave them the news succinctly in a low voice. A Rito scout had arrived an hour or so after sunset with Captain Imbert's orders to immediately shut down the Guardians. The Sheikah had hurried to obey, while Captain Brion, the commanding officer at the fort, had ordered the troops to retreat from their tents on Blatchery Plain and crowd into the walled enclosure out of an abundance of caution.
"It was a good thing they did," Zenno said. "I'm afraid we didn't get quite all the Guardians shut down before a strange black sludge started seeping out of the ground and corrupting them."
Zelda moaned, covering her face with her hands.
"Be comforted, princess," he advised her in a calm and grandfatherly way. "Casualties were low. It is fortunate we got as much warning as we did. The troops are now inside the fortifications. Trapped, yes, but also safe, and with plenty of supplies. You prevented a massacre." He patted her shoulder. "Now, then. Tell me how you came to be here."
They told him everything that had happened that night, and their hopes to be escorted to the Sacred Grounds near the castle. He nodded seriously, not betraying any skepticism of the plan.
"We should get the two of you into the fortification in the morning, so you can discuss the mission with Captain Brion," he said at last. "It's no use trying now. The Guardians see better in the dark than we do. And you all look exhausted. Why don't you stay here and get a little rest? I'll slip back out and meet with the other scouts. We'll try to come up with a plan to get you safely to the gate."
Link chafed against further delay, but he knew Zenno was right. Both he and Zelda had been up before dawn and had not stopped moving since. They needed rest before facing yet another field choked with Guardians.
Zenno reached past them and pulled some blankets out of a pack and passed them around. They wrapped themselves up as best as they could, and then he produced some meaty rice balls from the bag, cold and a bit dried out. Probably a couple days old.
"I wish I had something better for you, and more of it," he said apologetically, but the four of them were too hungry to mind. They ate quickly, and then felt too sleepy to wish for more. The Zora leaned back against the rock wall, and Malu's head sagged down onto Velta's shoulder as both of their eyes slid wearily shut. Zenno put more sticks on the fire and then climbed out of the cave, leaving them alone.
Zelda laid down by the fire, shivering in her damp dress despite her blanket. Link laid right up against her wrapped in his own blanket, too exhausted and cold to be embarrassed about huddling for warmth.
He thought maybe it would be hard to sleep on the hard floor of the cave, but within minutes, he was out like a light.
TO BE CONTINUED
Author's note: I would love to know what you think so far! Please leave a review.