Link slowly made his way down the path away from Purah's lab, doing his best to ignore the throbbing pains in his now bruised body. His eyes traced the tracks the Master Cycle Zero had made in the snow less than an hour earlier during his ride, yet his mind wasn't thinking about the divine beast itself. What kept appearing in his mental was the image of the Yiga's mask carefully peeking out from behind the tree he had ridden past. His eyebrow twitched every time the upside-down eye appeared. His hands, which were deep inside his pockets, had formed tight fists that caused the soreness in his arms to hurt even more. Though his thoughts were elsewhere, his eyes had noticed the cycle's tracks in the snow start to diverge from the path it had been following.

He stopped walking as his focus followed the wheel tracks. They ignored the sharp bend in the road, opting to continue straight until they passed the tree and went off the cliff. After a pause, Link moved towards the tree and stepped onto its roots before crouching as he looked behind it. The snow at its base looked bare and untouched. With a heavy breath, he looked up and out over the cliffside towards the roofs of the village below. He knew it was possible the wind had blown any sign of footprints away, if they had existed to begin with.

Am I really losing it? He asked himself as he stood from the tree and began heading back down the path. I get it, I haven't been the same since the trials, but this feels different. I've been stressed before and this can't be much different. What is going on with me?

"Link! Link!" multiple young voices chanted as he entered the village. Link barely looked up from his thoughts to see the usual group of children running toward him. "Will you play with-?"

"Not now," he answered without even allowing them to finish. Without stopping, he patted a few of them on the head before walking away. "Sorry…"

"Link?" the children questioned as they all stood and watched his backside grow smaller the further he got.

Is he here or is he not?

The question kept swirling around inside his head. He talked himself into believing it was all just in his head before the question once again popped back inside only for him to talk himself into believing the Yiga was around. It always circled back, with Link unable to believe whatever he tried to tell himself. The more he thought, the more he could feel his heart knocking around inside his skull. Faintly, a ringing had appeared deep within his eardrums.

Annoying, he thought to himself as the original question remained lodged in the back of his mind. I hate this. I hate this. I hate this. I know you're around, whether you're here in the village or away in your part of the desert. Is he here or is he not? Why can't I just go take care of him? I'm tired of this. I'm actually exhausted. But I only just woke up. Is it because he's here? What if he's not and it's just me?

Link arrived at the fork in the road, turning to walk up the mountain towards the bridge. His mind kept swirling. His body continued to ache from the fall. He began to wish he still had Mipha's gift, and yet the moment the thought came to mind, so did the mental image of the decaying body he had seen in his nightmare.

Are you messing with me? Link asked as he opened the door to his house, ignoring the neighs of the horses. Am I messing with myself? Why am I so tired? My body hurts. It's never bothered me like this before. Is it because he's here? What if he's not and it's just me? Am I changing? Is it because of the trials? Is my mind that weak? Or is he here and tricking me because he knows I'm weak from the trials?

His breaths had become heavy as he climbed the stairs, though he did his best to keep them as rhythmic as he could.

Not well… Not well…

He continued to repeat Purah's words in his mind as he placed the Sheikah Slate on the desk. He kicked off his boots, leaving them scattered across the floor.

Not well…

Do you feel at ease?

Feeling a little… guilty?

Not well…

Is it relaxing enough to help you sleep?

Do they still bother you?

Not well…

You're not mentally okay enough to take on those tasks.

You almost killed that Yiga…

Link… Link?

Link's mind grew heavy as his thoughts continued to run rampant. He pulled off his tunic and undershirt and threw them to the ground, revealing his bandaged body before flopping down on the bed. He stared up at the ceiling until his eyelids began to droop.

Tired… Sore… Constricted… Annoyed… he continued to think as his eyes closed. Is he here… or is he not…?

...

Zelda had been cleaning for hours. Prima had ensured that the sweeping had been done to her standard by making her continuously repeat the task multiple times until a speck of dust couldn't be found anywhere on the floor. By the fifth attempt at sweeping, Zelda had felt her hands starting to blister thanks to the broom's rough wooden handle. The moment Prima told her that she had it easy with simply sweeping the wooden floors and the stone steps, she suddenly had a much greater appreciation for those who took the time to sweep the snow from the village pathways and the storefronts. Sweeping, however, was just the beginning.

Once Prima had accepted the floorboards as clean, she moved Zelda to the next tasks of the day. Replacing the sheets and making the beds, collecting and washing the dishes, and dusting the shelves and surfaces, only to have to sweep one final time thanks to wiping excess dirt onto the floor. All of these, of course, were repeated multiple times throughout the day until they were approved by Prima. By sunset, Zelda felt as though she had memorized every corner, crack, and crevice of the building, and even then she questioned if that was true thanks to how often Prima would show her something new and unexpected when it came to even the simplest of tasks.

"Alright, Zelda," Prima called out suddenly.

She looked up from the front counter and looked out one of the lobby windows, noticing the orange rays of twilight shining through. With a small smile, she looked over to where Zelda was standing, still sweeping, yet her stance was giving way as her head began to nod. Prima chuckled.

"Zelda, come on now, stay with me," she attempted again. "I think it's time for you to head home."

"W-what?" Zelda called out tiredly. "I can… I can still keep going…"

"No, you can't," Prima said, walking out from behind the desk, "and even if you could, this would be a good time to stop anyway."

She reached out and took the broom from Zelda's grasp before giving her a warm smile.

"You did well," she said. "I think you'll do just fine here. With time, you'll only have to do tasks once. Go home and get some rest, and put some alcohol on those hands. It'll help with the bruising."

"Does using a broom handle get better with time as well?" Zelda asked as the two began walking to the large double doors.

"It will. Trust me, I know it's the worst adjusting to having to hold a wooden broom handle for so long, or anything rough like this," Prima said, looking down at the broom in her hands. "I'm not sure how the farmers can use their rakes all day."

"I'm grateful to them," Zelda replied earnestly. "I couldn't imagine using that broom the entire day alone."

"They work hard," Prima chuckled as she opened the door for her employee. "Again, you did well. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow, so rest well, alright?"

"I will. Thank you," Zelda said as she stepped out of the inn before turning around to give Prima a small bow. With that, she waved and headed down the recently swept stone staircase.

As she walked through the village paths, she looked down at her blain hands. While they did sting, Zelda couldn't help but smile to herself. She had finished her first day's work. She was finally becoming part of the community. It wasn't until she heard the mumbles of young voices did she look up from her cheerful thoughts.

Sitting in the snow a few feet away was the group of village children who were all looking worried and confused. With her curiosity now peaked, Zelda looked around. All of the adults had chosen to head back into their homes before the evening cold, yet it seemed as though the children wouldn't be called back for some time. Nervously, she looked back at the group before taking a deep breath, praying that she would be able to do this without her boyfriend's help.

"H-hello there," she said, bravely stepping up to the children.

"Zelda!" the children cried as they looked to see who had called out to them. In a matter of seconds, the group had jumped from their seats in the snow and surrounded themselves around the base of her skirt. Zelda blinked.

"H-hello," she said again, surprised at the warm welcome, but accepting it nonetheless. "Sorry to interrupt, but you all seemed noticeably down. Is… everything alright?"

"Link didn't play with us today," a girl said, who Zelda recognized as the mayor's daughter.

"Well, he can't play all the time," Zelda admitted. "He's been a bit busy with a… personal issue."

"We know he's been busy, but this was different," another child with glasses said. "Usually he'll stop to at least talk for a second, but this time he just walked past us!"

"He gave some of us a few pats, but that was it," said another. "He barely even looked at us…"

This did strike Zelda as odd. While she knew Link was certainly acting strange, something she had summed up to simply him being overly proactive thanks to his stress from the trials from before, usually he would do well not to show his true mindset to the children.

"Is he going to be okay?" a child asked, snapping Zelda out of her thoughts. She paused for a second before crouching to their level.

"He'll be just fine," she said, trying to mimic Link as best she could as she placed a hand on their heads. "He's just going through a lot right now, but he'll find his way back… He always comes back."

"Always?" the children asked.

"Always," she repeated, "so I need you all to make sure things are easy on him for a while, alright?"

"Okay!"

"We can do that!"

"Great," Zelda replied with a smile. Suddenly, faint calls of the children's names began to echo through the roads. "It sounds like it's time for you all to return home. Get back safely, okay?"

"Okay!" the children answered.

With quick hugs, the children darted off down the roads before splitting off into their own directions. The moment the kids were out of sight, Zelda's smile faded as she began to head back to her own home. Questions began to flood her mind as she passed the fork in the road and headed to the bridge that connected the mountainsides. Once across the bridge and at her door, she pushed it open to reveal a dimly lit living area.

"Link?" she called out. "Are you home?"

She paused, yet no response welcomed her. Slowly she stepped inside, pushing the door closed behind her. Everything that she could see seemed untouched. The cooking counter was clean, there wasn't anything on the table, and nothing on the shelves had been moved. Skeptical that Link wasn't here, Zelda made her way to the stairs and began to climb.

"Link?" she called again as she reached the top of the loft.

Immediately she noticed the shirts and the boots that had been thrown to the floor. Furrowing her brow, she looked toward the bed to see Link, who was currently asleep. For a moment, she breathed a sigh of relief before noticing the bandages that were wrapped around his torso and arm.

"Link!" she shouted, immediately covering her mouth in regret. Link's eyes shot open as he bolted up his pillows.

"What?" he shouted, ready to leap from the bed entirely. "What's going on?"

"Nothing! Nothing! I'm sorry," she said quickly, hurrying to the side of the bed to place a hand on his chest. "I didn't mean to wake you! I just- what happened?"

"What? Oh…" Link said, glancing at his bandages. "I had a little incident at Purah's."

"A little incident?" she repeated. "Link… What were you doing at Purah's? I thought you were sleeping."

"I was, and then… stuff happened," Link said. "Regardless, I went to Purah's for some advice, and to take my mind off the stress, she suggested we test out my divine beast."

"And it did this to you?" Zelda asked.

"Actually, I more or less did this to myself," Link admitted. "I got a little distracted and… rode off the mountainside."

"Off the mountain?" Zelda repeated as her eyes grew more concerned. "How could you ride off a mountain? Link, you rarely get distracted when it comes to riding something."

"Well, this time I did," Link chuckled. "Horses usually follow the path on their own, but this one doesn't. I guess when I thought I saw-"

He paused, yet the damage had been done.

"What did you think you had seen?" Zelda prodded.

Link groaned as regret instantly filled his chest. Thanks to his grogginess, his facade had cracked.

"It was the Yiga, wasn't it?" she continued. "Is that what you thought you saw?"

"Yeah it was, but-"

"And was he really there?"

"I don't know. I went back to check and his footprints weren't there, but-"

"Link."

Link paused, staring Zelda in her stern green irises before turning away.

"No, he wasn't," he answered.

"Did you have another nightmare?" she asked. "Is that why you woke up? Was it about him?"

"Yes, and no it wasn't… Well, I mean kind of, but…"

"But? Was there something else other than the Yiga?"

"Zelda, can we not talk about this?" Link asked as he pushed himself back against the bed's headboard.

"But, Link, you can't continue this way. We need to find a way to-" Zelda began to argue, yet Link shook his head.

"Does it have to be tonight?" he asked, eyes heavy and face weary. "Look, let's just… Please, just… Not tonight."

Zelda frowned. She wanted nothing more than to continue probing him for information. She wanted to help, to get to the root of the issue, yet Link's gaze had already made its way to the window. Saddened, she looked back down at his bandages.

"The bandage on your arm is too tight," she said quietly. "Even I can see that."

"Yeah, um, Purah wasn't too happy with me after the crash," Link explained without looking at her. "I guess I can't really blame her."

After a silent pause, Zelda turned and walked toward the writing desk. She gripped the back of the chair that sat in front of it and pulled it back towards the side of the bed. Taking a seat, she took Link's bruised arm in her hands and began undressing the bandages.

"It's fine, Zelda, you don't have to-" Link began as he turned his attention to her, but she had already started shaking her head.

"This can't wait," she said tiredly, keeping her focus on his arm. "It'll only make it worse, so let me take care of you, alright?"

Link watched as she began to rewrap his arm. His earlier frustration had faded only to be replaced with guilt. Unable to hide his own disappointment in himself, he turned back away from her, choosing to look at the few stars that were beginning to appear in the evening sky. After a few minutes, Zelda tied a neat knot to keep the neatly redone bandaging job in place. Exhaling the little breath she was holding, she slid her feet out of her boots before climbing into the bed next to her patient, laying silently next to him as she clung gently to his arm.

"Hey, how was your first day at work?" Link asked after a few moments. "Prima didn't work you too hard, did she?"

Zelda didn't answer. He looked away from the window and down at her, only to find her eyes closed and her breathing slow. Link frowned as his guilt only grew heavier.

She must've been exhausted, he told himself as he used his free hand to brush back a few loose hairs from her forehead. He glanced down at the bandaging job she had done before noticing her hands that still clung to him. After a moment of inspection, he noticed a faint hint of red on her palms.

Slowly and carefully, he pulled away and climbed over her body before placing his feet on the floor. He quietly made his way down the stairs and over to the kitchen counter before looking up at the shelving above. After taking a moment to choose carefully, he took one of the alcohol bottles down, and after finding a loose cloth from the storage area, he went back upstairs. Now sitting in the chair Zelda had been in only minutes earlier, with a damp cloth he carefully took one of her hands into his own and began cleaning her palms.

"Sorry," he whispered as he focused on his work. "You had a long day, didn't you?"

After a few minutes, the redness in Zelda's hands had begun to fade, and though Link had washed the alcohol off and finished treating them, his hands continued to hold hers.

What happens if he is here…? he thought to himself as he looked down at her white hands. Do I really risk her safety just because I'm anxious?

With a moment of hesitation, Link gently placed her hand back onto the bed. After covering Zelda with the blankets, he crouched down onto the floor and reached under the bed. The moment he felt his fingers wrap around a handle, he pulled it from under the bed. In his grasp was a sword. Its blade was long and curved, and its handle was decorated with red wrappings and a spiraling dark hilt. What made this sword different from any other he had seen before, the edge of the blade was covered in purple and pink burn marks, a sign of malice infection.

Link frowned at the sight of the sword in his hands. He remembered the first time he had clashed against this blade a few months back. When Zelda had first been freed from her one-hundred year self-imprisonment, the Yiga had suspected she was still alive. To Link and Zelda's surprise, some of the remaining malice had gone to the Yiga, allowing them to control it as they pleased. Thanks to Link's efforts, the malice had been ridden from their influence, and the sword had been taken from one of his battles. His job, however, wasn't finished.

One was still out there; one that kept evading him, yet managed to stay stuck in his mind.

Link's brow furrowed. The remaining Yiga had already gotten away once when he attempted to confront him during Maz Koshia's trials, only thanks to Zelda's mercy. His grip on the sword increased as he turned away from the bed and headed outside the house. Standing in the snow and with the blade still in hand, he put himself in a proper stance. With amazing form, he began to cut through the air.

He would not allow the Yiga to escape again.

**Message from Kenny here! Hey guys, been a while since I've actually written a message. Just letting you guys know that there is a lot of amazing art in these last few chapters that just can't be put into fanfiction,net. If you want to see the art, check out Wattpad or AO3. The talented artist who drew the pieces will also soon be posting them on her Twitter or Instagram lunarartistry13! So make sure you go check her out!**