To Capture the Heart of a Hero

Chapter 23 – Kakariko Village

After the break ended, the procession mounted their horses and wagons and continued the trek eastward. They galloped across Hyrule Field throughout the afternoon, making sure to keep a steady pace. By the time evening rolled around, the group managed to spot the first rocky cliffs that served as a gateway to the rest of the mountain range.

Since the sun was setting, the party decided to stop and camp for the night. They could have continued on if they had wanted, but it was usually dangerous to travel in the dark, and they still wouldn't arrive at Kakariko until the early hours of the morning anyway. They soon set up a few tents and unraveled their bed rolls. The chef managed to prepare another satisfying meal, while the horses grazed in the field. After dinner was finished, the sun set, and everyone chose to retire for the night. They planned to resume their journey at dawn's first light, so there was no point in staying up later than they had to.

Naturally, the guards decided to take shifts keeping watch throughout the night. This would guarantee that each of the soldiers could get a fair amount of sleep while also ensuring that the camp remained safe from any possible threats. Surprisingly, Link and Zelda also volunteered to take shifts and join in the watch, hoping to assist with what should rightfully be their share of the work. The soldiers claimed that such a thing wasn't necessary, but the two of them insisted upon it, and the men eventually allowed it.

Fost, however, was far from willing to accept this outcome. He didn't particularly care if Link wanted to keep watch, but he wasn't about to let the Princess lose sleep while doing something so borderline dangerous. Naturally, Zelda ended up arguing back and forth with him about this, but the old geezer refused to give in. Zelda just eventually sighed and told him that she would refrain from joining the watch if that would make him happy. However, she secretly told the soldiers to include her in the watch anyway, and she simply snuck out of her tent to join them when the time came. It was the middle of the night by this point, and Fost was fast asleep, unable to do anything about her willingness to participate.

Zelda just smirked as she let her eyes settle over the dark plains before her. Fost was honestly a fool to have believed her surrender as easily as he had. She didn't mind tricking him like this, for she knew that he was truly worrying over nothing. Zelda was more than capable of functioning without a full night's rest. She had done it before, and she could do it again. Besides, she kind of enjoyed the task. She felt like it helped her stay alert and keep her mind sharp.

The guards were all sworn to secrecy about the Princess's participation, so when the next morning rolled around, Fost was none the wiser. They packed up their camp and reloaded the wagons before continuing their journey once again. Before long, they managed to enter the canyon that lay ahead of them. From here, it only took a few more hours before they finally reached their destination.

The party looked around as they rode into the civilization known as Kakariko Village. The air here was dry, and also a bit dusty. The temperature was a bit on the warmer side as well, no doubt due to the town's proximity to Death Mountain as well as its natural exposure to the sun. All of the village's buildings lined its single street, starting at the base of the cliff with additional structures working their way up the cliffside. They mostly appeared to be made of stone or wood, or sometimes a mixture of the two. It definitely seemed like the villagers had used whatever materials they had available to construct their homes. At one end of the street was a large watchtower resting on wooden supports which could safely observe the entire canyon below. At the other end of the village was a beautiful spring full of fresh, clear water. This specific pool was said to be home to Eldin, one of the four Light Spirits.

As the procession slowly made its way into town, they were soon met by a small group of individuals who applauded their approach. Zelda just smiled and gave them a friendly wave. The crowd was far smaller than what they had experienced at Castle Town, but that was to be expected. After all, Kakariko was a village that was still growing and recovering after the Twilight Invasion had taken its toll. Nevertheless, Zelda was pleased to see a decent mixture of races among the town's residents. Most of them were humans of course, but there were a fair number of Gorons, and even a handful of Zoras. Surely, this was a sign that the village was recovering smoothly.

The procession soon came to a halt in front of a large building that most of the residents had gathered around. Zelda then dismounted from her horse, and Link did the same. The first thing the Princess intended to do was address the people and give them a proper greeting. Naturally, they had planned their formation ahead of time, with Link standing on Zelda's left side and Fost on her right.

Once everyone was in position, Zelda raised a hand, signaling the crowd to fall silent. She then spoke up in a clear, majestic voice.

"Greetings, citizens of Kakariko Village. My name is Princess Zelda of Hyrule. It is an incredible honor to join you here today, and I thank you for graciously welcoming me into your home."

The crowd applauded a bit more, and a few of them cheered. It was obvious that they were excited to have a member of the Royal Family visiting them after all of this time.

Zelda soon gestured to her right. "Accompanying me on this journey is Minister Fost of the Hyrule Council…"

The tiny Minister beamed a bit as he received a polite applause.

"And," Zelda continued, gesturing to her left, "Link, the Hero of Twilight."

This announcement garnered much more applause than before. Once again, the people cheered, and some of them waved at Link. Others gawked a bit, surprised to finally see what the Hero of the Kingdom looked like after hearing so much about him.

Link just accepted all of this with a small smile and a sheepish wave back. As expected, he didn't care for the attention, but he at least wanted to make sure that he returned their kindness.

As the noise started to die down, Renado walked out from the crowd and approached the Princess before giving her a bow. "Greetings, Princess. It is an honor to have you visit our village, and we gladly welcome you into our home. We hope that your stay with us is a pleasant one."

Zelda smiled at him. She could tell that he was only being formal for the sake of the crowds, but she intended to play along. As fellow individuals of high positions, it was their duty to behave this way.

Renado soon invited the entire procession into the large building behind them. It was apparently an inn that had been recently restored. Renado claimed that a meal had been prepared for them, and the entire village would be dining together. As the group entered, they found that the base of the building mostly consisted of a dining room that held a warm, tavern-like atmosphere. It seemed that for this particular occasion, three long dining tables had been set up in the center of the room. Renado led them to the table in the middle and invited Zelda to sit at its head. Fost and Link took the nearest seats to her right while the Shaman took the seat to her left. The villagers then filled up the rest of the tables, with the Gorons choosing to discard their seats so they could sit directly on the floor.

"This place is marvelous," Zelda said as she eyed the spacious and well-lit room. "You said that this building was only recently restored?"

"Yes, we finally got ahold of a carpenter to fix the place up," Renado said with a nod. "It used to be in shambles back during the Twilight Invasion."

Link nodded too. "Yeah, it honestly used to look like it was abandoned."

"Amazing," Fost said as he also looked around. "You'd never think such a thing with the way it is now."

"Your compliments are appreciated," Renado replied with a smile. "I hope it pleases you to know that this inn is also where you will be staying for the night. There are a number of rooms available upstairs, which you should find more than comfortable."

Zelda smiled back. "That sounds wonderful, Renado. Thank you."

"It is my pleasure."

It was at this moment that Zelda glanced to Renado's side and noticed a young girl had been seated next to him. She had dark hair that stopped just above her shoulders, and she appeared to be no older than twelve. Zelda just gave the girl a curious glance.

"Renado, would you mind introducing me to your companion?"

The Shaman smiled. "Of course. This is my daughter, Luda."

The girl had been silent up to this point, but she soon smiled and gave a small bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness."

Zelda quickly smiled back. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Luda. Thank you for welcoming me into your home."

The girl just gave a shy smile. Zelda wondered if she might be nervous about this encounter with royalty. However, she then watched as the girl turned towards the Hero that sat across from her, and spoke up again. "It's nice to see you again, Link."

Link smiled down at her. "It's nice to see you too, Luda."

"Can I ask how Colin is doing back in Ordon?"

Link seemed a bit surprised, but he gave a positive nod. "Oh, Colin is doing well. He and all the other kids are back home, safe and sound again."

Luda gave a small nod back. "Does Colin ever talk about coming back here to visit?"

Link just raised his eyebrows at this. Why would she ask something like that? And didn't she care to hear about the other children? "Um…I don't know. I don't think he's mentioned it."

Luda stared down at the table. "Oh, I see."

As Link gave the girl a weird look, Renado chose to continue his conversation with Zelda. "Anyways, as I was saying, Kakariko Village has been slowly but steadily recovering from the Twilight Invasion. In addition to this building, we've managed to repair a number of homes, and as I stated in our Roundtable discussions, business has been consistently growing. We've been thankful to receive so much assistance from Castle Town as well as the Zoras."

"I'm very happy to hear that," Zelda said with a smile. "I spoke briefly with Enzo before we departed from the castle, and he mentioned that there are a few more individuals that have an interest in potentially relocating here."

Renado smiled. "Is that so?"

"Yes. I believe Enzo stated that you can expect a young smith by the name of Arden, as well as a young woman named Beretta who excels at cooking."

"That sounds wonderful," Renado said with a grateful nod. "It will certainly give this village some more variety."

"Oh," said Zelda, suddenly remembering another name. "Enzo also mentioned that Telma showed some interest in moving here."

Renado paused as the smile faded from his lips. "Telma?"

Zelda nodded. "Yes, she runs a tavern in Castle Town. I haven't heard if she's made a final decision or not, but if she does move here, I imagine that she'll pursue a similar line of work."

Zelda waited for Renado to respond, but to her surprise, he simply remained silent. She soon glanced over to him only to feel even more bewildered by his expression. The Shaman's eyes were wide, and he seemed a little unnerved. Zelda just continued to stare at him, wondering what was going on.

"Is something the matter?" she eventually asked.

Renado soon blinked and sighed before shaking his head. "No, everything is fine."

Zelda raised her eyebrows a bit. "Do you know Telma?"

"I've met her once before, yes." The Shaman then closed his eyes and retained his silence once again.

Zelda just stared at the Shaman some more. Clearly something had bothered the man, and it likely had something to do with Telma. The Princess couldn't help but wonder if something had happened between the two of them in the past. She knew that Telma could be a bit outspoken at times, and that quality could potentially leave a bad impression on others.

A part of her wanted to inquire about this topic further, but she decided to drop it since their lunch had started to be served. Renado assured his guests that it was an old Kakariko specialty, made using only crops that had been grown here in the village.

"You guys grow stuff here?" Link asked as he helped himself to the meal. Being from Ordon, he was naturally interested in farming. "I've never seen any fields though."

Renado chuckled. "Yes, we do it in a different fashion than what you are used to, Link. Here, we grow the food in small gardens that we keep around our homes. Some are even grown directly on our rooftops."

"And the plants…actually grow in this environment?" Link asked skeptically.

Renado laughed some more. "While it is true that we lack the nutritious soil that can be found in Ordon, there are a surprising number of plants that do not require it. Everything we grow here is indigenous to the area, and we water it all using the spring at the edge of the village."

"Wow," said Link, sounding impressed. "I had no idea."

"Living here hasn't always been easy," Renado admitted with a smile. "But it has taught us to be resourceful, and we've always managed to get by."

"Which is a quality that you and your people should be very proud of," Zelda complimented him. "The people of Kakariko have always been known to be hardy as well as trustworthy. I consider it a great honor to count this small village as a part of our Kingdom."

"Your words are too kind, Princess," Renado said with a bow of the head.

"And yet I say them with the utmost sincerity," Zelda assured him with a smile. "That being said, I would still like to learn a great deal more about Kakariko. After our meal, would you be willing to show me around the village? As part of the tour, I would like to explore this area, and see how the residents live."

"It would be my pleasure," Renado said with a nod.

After they finished their meal, Renado proceeded to show the visitors around the village. A handful of guards traveled with them for the sake of ensuring the Princess's safety, but the rest were dismissed to roam about the town at their leisure. The procession didn't plan to depart until the following morning, so they had plenty of time to explore.

Renado started at the base of the village, showing the group his home where he practiced his medicine. They then moved on to the stores and street stalls, some of which were run by Gorons. They visited a general store, a potion shop, and even a business that specialized in crafting bombs. As they moved along, Zelda wanted to make sure to support the town's business, so she kept an eye out for anything that she might be interested in purchasing.

Her answer eventually came in the form of a large tapestry hanging on one of the shops' walls. It carried the insignia of the Eldin Province: a large owl with its wings spread out in an arc overtop of it. Surrounding the owl was a canyon which contained numerous rustic buildings. Its colors consisted of various shades of brown and mahogany, and Zelda thought it looked rather charming.

She soon pointed it out to the Minister who accompanied her. "What do you think of this tapestry, Fost? Don't you think it would look nice hanging on one of the castle walls?"

Fost just stared at it, looking less than impressed. "What, this? But it's just a dusty piece of j-"

Zelda decided to give the short man a rough jab with her elbow. He immediately yelped before glaring at her. He then paused once he realized that the shop's owner was within earshot.

"Oh, I mean, yes, I'm sure that it would look wonderful," Fost said with a less than believable smile.

Zelda just shook her head before turning to the shopkeeper. "Would you mind if we purchased it?"

"Of course not," the man said with a bow. "It would be a great honor to know that our family's meager work will be displayed in the magnificent halls of the castle."

"Wonderful," Zelda said with a smile. "Fost, would you mind?"

The short Minister just sighed before pulling out his rupee pouch. He made sure to pay the shopkeeper more than a fair sum, and the tapestry was soon rolled up and handed over to them. One of the guards offered to carry it back to the wagons, where it would be safely stored until their eventual trip back to the castle.

From there, Renado led his guests to the graveyard, which lay in a smaller canyon outside of the town. Here, numerous gravestones littered the dry earth, some of them looking ancient in age. It was clear that there was a lot of history contained in this place. Renado also offered to show the group to the grave of King Zora which lay at the far back of the graveyard, but he mentioned that it wasn't easily accessible, so Zelda refrained.

The Princess did, however, insist on stopping and uttering a short prayer. She wanted to pay her respects to King Zora, a great leader whom she had met once when she was a young child, as well as his wife, Queen Rutela, who was also buried here. Zelda silently spoke to the Goddesses, asking them to watch over their departed souls, and provide relief to the living that grieved them.

Zelda also took a moment to offer a similar prayer for those that had lost their lives during the Twilight Invasion. She knew that most of the residents of Kakariko had fled from the encroaching danger, but a handful of them had still met their end at the beasts that dwelled in the Twilight, and the guilt of that loss weighed on her. She hoped that these poor souls were now in a better place.

Once she had finished, Renado then offered to escort the group to the upper levels of Kakariko. This is where most of the villager's residences had been built, and interestingly enough, there were a few natural hot springs to be found as well. However, the truly amazing sight was still yet to come. Renado led the group up to the highest point in Kakariko, where the watchtower stood. It took them a while to get there, since Fost kept tiring out after climbing on his short legs for so long, but they eventually reached the top.

"Oh my," Zelda gasped when she was finally able to gaze out at the sight before her. The view was incredible. From this high point, she could easily see the entire canyon spread out before her. All of the buildings, the people, even the spring at the far end. It was amazing how distant everything felt. At this height, even the Gorons looked small. Additionally, she could also see the wide expanse that was the sky, uninhibited by the cliffs that usually restricted the view. Today, it was a magnificent shade of blue, painted with numerous white clouds to accompany it. Between both this and the canyon, it was a truly glorious sight.

"It's…breathtaking," was all Zelda could whisper in response.

Link soon walked up next to her, smiling. "See? I told you that you'd see some incredible sights."

The wind suddenly blew, pushing some of the Princess's hair into her face, but she just casually brushed it back into place. "Yes, and you certainly weren't kidding."

"Oh my heavens," Fost said, as he too gazed out at the view. His legs soon began shaking, and he retreated back towards the building to steady himself. "G-Good Sir Renado, you never mentioned that we would be th-this high up."

Renado just raised his eyebrows at the small man. "Come now, Minister, I would've thought that you'd be used to this sort of thing. Surely the castle has balconies that are higher than this."

Fost just squeezed his eyes shut. "Yes, but that is a well-constructed castle made out of sturdy stonework, while this is nothing more than some old pieces of wood haphazardly nailed together."

Renado stared at him some more before laughing. "Worry not, Minister. I can assure you that this structure is just as well-crafted and sturdy."

"So you say," Fost replied skeptically. "Oh, Princess Zelda, do be careful up here!"

"I will, Fost," Zelda assured him with a laugh. She was honestly surprised at how nervous he was. There was no doubt in her mind that he was just needlessly worrying as he always did.

Zelda then paused a bit as she felt someone give a slight tug on her dress. She soon glanced down to see Luda standing by her side.

The girl gave a shy smile before speaking up in a soft voice. "Would you like to see something interesting, Princess?"

Zelda just stared at her for a second before producing her own smile. She found the girl's shy behavior to be a little cute. "Of course, Luda. What is it?"

Luda then pointed up, past the Princess, to the top of the building behind them. Zelda followed her finger, eventually spotting a long wooden pole stretching out from the rooftop. "Do you see that arrow?"

Zelda squinted, and sure enough, noticed a single arrow sticking out near the top of the pole. "Yes."

"Link did that," Luda said with a wide smile. "He fired it from the other side of the village. They say that it was the most impressive shot in Kakariko's history."

Zelda gawked at the girl, before glancing up at the arrow once more, only to then stare back down into the canyon. After a few more seconds of stunned silence, she finally turned to Link. "You shot that? From all the way down there!?"

Link gave a bashful smile. "Yeah, although I did use a tool to enhance my vision."

"Still," Zelda replied, marveling once again at the distance. "That's an incredibly impressive feat. That little archery contest we held never would have led me to believe that you were capable of this."

Link just laughed. "Well, I told you that I was a good shot, didn't I?"

Zelda just smiled. "Yes, and I suppose I should have listened." She then paused before glancing down into the canyon again. She was still in awe of what had been explained to her, but she had to admit, she was a little curious about something as well. "I do have one question though. Why were you standing in the middle of the street and shooting arrows up here?"

Link seemed a bit taken aback by this. "Well, I was trying to hit the pole."

Zelda nodded. "Right, but wasn't that dangerous?"

Link soon frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Link, you were just standing in the middle of town, trying to shoot arrows up at this building," Zelda replied, sounding incredulous. "What if one of your arrows had gone astray? You could have hit someone, and with such a far-off target, you might not have even known that you'd done such a thing."

Link just stared at Zelda, feeling stunned. Why did it feel like she was scolding him? "Zelda, I can assure you that it was perfectly safe. It was back during the Twilight Invasion, so the town was mostly empty back then."

Zelda tilted her head a bit. "Mostly empty?"

Link just gulped. "Well, yeah, there was nobody out on the streets, and the only people watching were standing by my side, so it really was safe."

"Were you entirely sure that there was no one about?" Zelda pressed him. "Did you do a check of the village and surrounding area? Did you alert the villagers that you were going to be attempting this?"

Link felt like he was caught off guard by this. "I…well, no…"

Zelda just sighed as she shook her head. "I knew that you could be reckless at times, but this just borders on foolishness. I'm all for challenging your skill with the bow, but an archery range is the appropriate place for that sort of thing. Not the middle of a village."

Link could only frown. Just a second ago, she had been impressed with his feat! Now he was suddenly being reprimanded for it! "You're blowing things out of proportion. It really wasn't a big deal," he insisted.

"I think you're just lucky that nobody got hurt," Zelda replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "What compelled you to make such a shot in the first place?"

"It was Talo's idea," Luda suddenly chimed in.

Zelda immediately turned to face her. "Talo?"

"He's one of the kids from Ordon Village. He encouraged Link to do it, and then he climbed up here and stood right next to the pole."

Zelda's eyes went wide. "He what?" She soon whipped her head back towards the Hero. "Link!"

Link clenched his teeth a bit, looking apprehensive. "Wh-What?" he stuttered, trying to sound innocent.

Zelda just gawked at him. "You were shooting at a target that was mere inches away from a child!? You told me that no one was around!"

Link could only gulp again. He had to admit, he had kind of forgotten that Talo was there, and he knew that this fact really did make the situation sound worse overall. "He…He wasn't that close," he argued back weakly.

"He was close enough!" Zelda insisted. "With such a distant target, your arrow could have easily gone astray and struck him by accident! Why, it's so windy up here, even a slight breeze could have forced your arrow off course. Did the two of you not consider any of this?"

Link frowned. Truth be told, he hadn't thought about it at all. "Well, Talo just thought that it would be fun, so I kind of went along with it…" he admitted guiltily.

"And that's another thing," Zelda continued. "I understand that you wanted to have some fun, but you should know better than to indulge a child in such a dangerous request."

Link could only sigh at this. He wanted to defend himself, but he couldn't deny that the Princess had some good points. Still, it wasn't like he had been trying to hurt anyone. It had all been done in innocence as far as he was concerned. "What do you want me to say? It happened months ago, you know."

Zelda just stared at him before speaking up in a stern voice. "I want you to not partake in something so dangerous without thinking about the consequences. I mean, my goodness, can you even imagine what the people of Hyrule would say if they knew that their Hero had been firing arrows at a target that was mere inches away from a child? They'd paint you out to be some sort of monster. Or perhaps an utter fool. Either way, I really do wish that you would use that head of yours in order to prevent situations like this before they happen."

Link could feel both his confidence and shoulders dropping as the Princess scolded him. He never imagined that he might be on the receiving end of one of Zelda's tongue lashings, but now that he was, he had to admit that it was not fun. He initially felt like he hadn't done anything wrong, but now he just felt ashamed.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I guess we probably should've tried it under safer circumstances."

Zelda just continued to eye the Hero, feeling a little disappointed in him. She knew that he hadn't meant any harm by what he had done, but it was still the height of carelessness in her eyes. However, she soon broke her gaze when she felt another gentle tug on her dress. She turned to find Luda frowning up at her.

"Um…Princess, you really should go easy on Link. You see, Talo's kind of an idiot, and his stupidity can spread to other people sometimes. Link wasn't really trying to be reckless. He was just trying to have fun with the kids."

Zelda just blinked as she stared at the girl, surprised that she had chosen to speak up and defend the man. She soon glanced back towards Link to find that he held the exact same expression.

"A few of us watched, but none of us spoke up against it either," Luda admitted quietly. "That means that we are also at fault. So please don't be too hard on Link."

Zelda just continued to stare at the girl in surprise. From what Zelda had seen today, Luda typically seemed to be rather reserved and soft-spoken, and yet here she was, speaking up in defense of Link. The Princess knew that it couldn't have been easy for her, and she truly admired her courage. Additionally, Zelda had to admit that she found the girl's demeanor to be rather sweet and innocent. She honestly wasn't sure that she had the heart to disagree with such a pure child.

Zelda sighed a bit, but soon smiled. "Very well. In the end, nobody was hurt, so I suppose I can drop this matter."

Luda's face lit up a bit. "Does this mean that you're not going to punish Link?"

Zelda just giggled at this question. Was that what she had been worried about? "No, I think I'll just let him off with a warning this time." She then smirked a bit, before turning back towards the Hero. "That is, if Link here feels like he has learned his lesson."

Link just stared at them, surprised at Luda's words as well as Zelda's sudden mercy. "Er, yes, I promise that it won't happen again," he agreed hastily.

"Then all is forgiven," Zelda said happily. Although, she made sure to give Link a look to let him know that he was incredibly lucky to have been spared.

Link just nodded a bit before releasing a sigh. He knew all too well.

You ever stop and think about some of the dumb things you did while playing Twilight Princess? Specifically, the things that were so dumb that you would feel embarrassed and ashamed if you had to explain them to rational people? Because that is exactly how Link feels right now lol.

Also, I have a quick announcement. In light of Fanfiction's recent issues, I decided to join AO3 as an additional option for releasing stories. I'm hoping to release all of my old stories on there at some point, but for now I'm focusing on catching up to releases for this story so I can eventually start dual-posting new chapters to both sites at the same time. Naturally, this will take some time, but if you ever decide that you would prefer to read this on AO3 as opposed to FF, feel free to do so.

That is all. Thanks for all the support, and I'll see you next time.