Zelda waited a while before she and Aryll heard anything. She had put the box of things away when they heard a new knock on the door, this time more frantic.

Aryll made her way to the door in a hurry, confused as to whom it could be at this hour. It was well past midnight now, Link's father had left over an hour ago and he'd yet to come back.

She wasn't expecting the sound of an older woman's whining. "Have you seen Arn?!"

Arn? He's missing too? Wasn't Link with him? Zelda poked around the table curiously.

"I haven't seen Uncle anywhere. Dad went out to look for Link about an hour and a half ago." Aryll told her. She let the woman enter and led her to a chair at the table. "Tea?"

"Yes please." The woman nodded and drummed her fingers on the table. "Goddesses, he promised only one before taking Link home, it shouldn't take him this long."

Zelda watched from the counter quietly. This was family matters, what good was she at the moment? She stood back and didn't comment.

The kettle began to whistle and Aryll turned to pour the cup. "The pub is only a ten minute walk from here. I think they maybe took a detour or got distracted." Link's sister admitted as she brought the steaming cup to the table.

"I sent them off two hours ago!" The woman cried and took a long sip of the hot beverage.

"Listen, if Dad isn't back in the next five minutes, I'll send Sota out to find them."

"Sota's here?" Zelda asked surprised.

Aryll nodded. "He wasn't feeling too good today so he's resting in our room but he's fine enough to go looking if I can't." She shrugged.

"I see." Zelda nodded and turned but froze when she realised the woman was staring at her quizzingly.

Aryll looked between them before cursing to herself. "Oh bugger me, Princess, this is Elise." She rushed to introduce them. "Aunt Elise, this is Princess Zelda. She's Link's lady friend." Aryll's teasing tone brought a vivid blush to Zelda's cheeks.

"Oh-OH! Link's said so much about you! It's so nice to meet you!" The woman stood up and opened her arms expectantly.

Zelda awkwardly stood from her chair and returned the hug with heavy hesitation. She tried to force a smile on her lips when the woman embraced her tightly. "Likewise, Link tells me so much about you." Zelda tried to pull away but the arms kept her there.

"Oh goodness me! You really are pregnant!" The woman pulled back and stared at her stomach in wonder. "I do hope you're eating enough? Link better be taking care of you properly-"

"He is, there's no worries there." Zelda tried to back away to her chair, but Elise seemed to ignore the existence of personal space. "I am eating enough."

What was with Link and having the most outgoing people around him all the time? For an introverted man, he seemed to collect extroverts as if his life depended on it.

Aryll excused herself and ran up the stairs where Zelda heard a clear knock on the door and Aryll's voice through the hall before the door clicked shut once more, then what almost sounds like tumbling down the stairs with the speed Aryll had ran back.

No more than a few minutes later, Zelda saw a tall Sheikah man come down the stairs, clearly woken from sleep and looking like he wanted to go back to bed. He was a bit slumped and yawning and mumbling something to himself before he finally noticed her, then his posture and attitude shifted a full circle. Suddenly he had the prideful stance of the Sheikah, ready to serve and receive an order.

"I need you to go find my dumb brother." Aryll simply pushed his back to the door, interrupting whatever Sota was about to say. "He's gotten himself drunk again and he's lost."

Sota stared at Aryll with annoyance and took a knee to pull on his boots. "This is ridiculous." he mumbled just loud enough for them to hear. He closed the door and they spotted him running down the street through the window.

Barely five minutes passed before the door banged open again, causing Zelda to nearly jump out of her skin.

"We found them in a ditch on the other side of town." She heard Sir Fredrick call out as he and Sota came into the doorway, Arn and Link slung over their shoulders. Sota, in his free hand, was holding what looked like the Master Sword wrapped in a large white towel. Zelda sometimes forgot the blade burned unworthy wielders.

They were unconscious and Zelda could smell the alcohol off them the moment they entered the room. Both Link and Arn were pale and sweating, but neither seemed even a bit conscious, much more like dead weight.

"No more alcohol for either of these two dumbasses." Link's father dumped Arn on the couch and Link next to it. "Elise, start cutting him off when he drinks at home."

"Oh please, he had a glass of wine! One!" Elise rushed by and touched Arn's face, then his hands. "He's never like this when he drinks."

"Bartender says he only had three drinks, no way he didn't have more at home."

"Well I'm the one with the key to the liquor cabinet. I gave him a single glass of wine and he left home sober. He came home sober, and he left sober." Elise retorted back with force.

"Then I don't know what's wrong with him, but he's clearly plastered again."

Aryll had her fingers on Link's wrist and was staring at the clock. "Dad, what'd he have?"

"Three whiskeys. That's it. Link had Goddess-knows-what but it was only one."

"I doubt Link's drunk after one; there's no elevated pulse—if anything it's slow." Aryll stood up and ran up the stairs and came back with a proper stethoscope. She placed the round end to Link's chest and waited there for a minute while looking at the clock. "If he was drunk, his heart rate would be elevated." She moved over to Arn and did the same.

"So what does that mean?"

"He's drugged, not drunk." Aryll told them. "Alcohol brings your heart rate up, even when unconscious." She folded her things back together. "Other factors can influence that, but generally, that's the rule."

"Someone spiked his drink?" Fredrick asked quietly.

Aryll nodded, and Sir Fredrick pinched the bridge of his nose as if to dispel a headache.

Zelda stared blankly. Link had never dropped the information that his sister had medical knowledge… or that she could deduce drug use so quickly.

"How is it you know all of these things?" She asked quietly without thinking.

Aryll looked at her and tilted her head a bit. "Link never told you? I make potions, but I also make them for medicinal uses so I need to know what the ingredients' after-effects are on the body and how they interact with each other." Aryll answered simply. "Alcohol is pretty common so it's among the first things I learned."

"So do you know how to help them?"

Aryll chuckled. "I wish. I'd have to know the compound and spend a few days on it, but I'd rather send them to a proper doctor unless I knew exactly what was used. Do any of you know of a city doctor still awake at this time?"

When no one replied back, Aryll shrugged. "The Castle Doctor should know what to do with them in the meantime."

Link's father and Sota sighed and bent down to pick up the two unconscious men. "Let's get it over with." Sota muttered. Zelda followed quietly behind as Aryll and Elise waved them goodbye.

They took no more than fifteen paces from the door when she heard a voice call out to them.

"Where are you headed at this hour—Is that Link on your shoulder?" The voice of an older woman caught her attention.

Zelda turned and was now faced with a middle-aged woman—A noblewoman. She immediately felt her heart rate spike at the thought of being seen out of the castle unchaperoned at this hour.

"Link's ingested something, we're bringing him to the castle, Sota's bringing Arn too." Sir Fredrick said offhandedly. "Elise is having a fit again."

The woman sighed and put her fan away, her motions exaggerated. "Of course she is."

In the streetlamps, Zelda vaguely remembered seeing this woman earlier today, but she hadn't spoken to her, but she'd definitely been at Lady Litha's afternoon event.

Is that Link's mother?! She was a similar age to his father, and her short stature was definitely a ringer for Link. At this distance, even she could tell the woman was shorter than Link by a couple inches, but maybe not by much. Upon a second glance, Zelda noticed that she did indeed bear a marked resemblance to Link: they had the same ear shape, and the hue of their hair and eyes were the same as well.

"Should I expect you home tonight?" The woman seemed to ignore Zelda but continued talking.

"Yes, don't stay up."

"Alright."

Zelda froze when the woman turned to face her. The partial lighting gave way parts of her face, but the cold expression was enough to tell her this was who she thought. Expressionless, cold, but the piercing blue eyes was enough of a give-away. This was indeed Link's mother.

"Your Royal Highness," She stepped up and curtsied briefly.

Zelda didn't miss the clear look-over Link's mother gave her during her curtsy.

Zelda tried to smile. "Good evening, Lady Madeleine," she replied, her heart racing.

Make a good impression, make a good impression.

"Late to be out, isn't it?" The woman asked flatly and raised a brow. She looked between her, Sota, and Sir Fredrick with a critical eye.

Well, there goes any hopes for that.

"She was worried for Link, I'm escorting her back to the castle." There was a tone that Zelda recognised. One that had the undertones of a scolding.

She heard a quiet 'hmph', before the woman spoke again. "Safe travels back to the castle, Your Highness." The woman turned briskly and walked away with the heels of her shoes clicking with every step loudly.

The group continued on their way down the main cobblestone roads.

"Don't pay her too much thought. She's like that with everyone." Sir Fredrick told her.

Before Zelda could say anything, Sota snorted. "No one can please her standards, I doubt even the Goddess could." He said without a care in the world.

"Watch yourself." There was that tone again.

"Sorry."

"But he's right. Pay her no mind. I apologise for her comment and any future disrespect that comes from her."

"Well, aren't you both having quite the week?" Dr. Finri commented dryly upon spotting Link slung over Sota's arm. "For everyone's sake Princess, can you make sure he stops finding trouble every other day?" The doctor pointed at the two empty beds in the room.

Both Arn and Link were dropped onto the beds while the doctor grabbed a few tools from the drawer.

Zelda tried to smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'll try, Doctor." She responded back.

Doctor Finri shooed Sota and Sir Fredrick out of the room with a wave of the hand and he got to checking Arn briefly before going to Link next and repeating the same process with the stethoscope and his fingers of his pulse.

"Princess, you need not stay here if you don't wish to." The doctor commented without glancing her way. "They won't wake up until morning at the earliest." He informed her as he returned to his desk and opened a drawer.

"Are you sure?" Zelda asked anxiously. She glanced at Link and Arn, who'd been placed on their backs rather than their sides earlier.

The doctor hummed. "Yes, Princess. You, out of all of us, need your rest, and that is my personal recommendation." He glanced up from the drawer. "I'm sure tonight has been stressful, but they are safe in my hands."

Zelda nodded quietly. "Thank you." She left the room and walked off quietly to the residential wing where she summoned her Lady's Maid to come help her undress from her afternoon gown.

The woman made quick work to unlace the princess from the gown while Zelda helped pull the pins from her hair. Her jewellery was removed and placed back into their drawers. Zelda dressed herself into her nightgown and bid the maid goodnight before heading to her bed.

She knew she needed sleep. She knew it was a must, but the moment her head hit the pillow, Zelda knew that sleep would evade her. Any sleepiness she'd felt before hopping into bed seemed to vanish. She sighed, resting a hand on her stomach idly. She looked around her room to see what might occupy her mind long enough for the residual worry to wear off.

Her eyes alighted on the wooden box on her desk.

The one Sir Fredrick had given her.

She had been interrupted the last time she had tried examining the contents. But given that it was the small hours of the night, another interruption was unlikely. She lit a lamp and sat at her desk, opening the delicate box.

Each item Zelda pulled out was covered in dust, some less than others, but her hands were soon turning grey and powdery.

Zelda pulled out the small tube wooden container. It was made of a quality wood, carved with intricate flower decor, and had a cap that twisted off.

Zelda untwisted the cap curiously and looked inside where a small glass bottle sat. The smell of Rosewood was immediately around her, along with hints of violets.

She flipped the tube upside down and let the glass bottle fall in her hands gently and discarded the wooden container.

The bottle was made of clear glass with gold filaments underneath, then intertwined around the spherical area with the smallest of rubies, sapphires and diamonds around the bottle. Inside was a clear, ember oil that swished around when she moved the bottle. It was still full, and she could see the stick applicator inside.

Would it still smell similar to when it was crafted twenty years prior?

Zelda knew that alcohol-based perfume quality began to deteriorate after a few months when left in the open, a couple years at best if one really took care of the bottle, temperature and location, but oil perfumes were more resistant. Some were known to retain their quality some years after if the bottle was left unopened with very little smell difference.

But twenty years would do something to even the best kept perfumes no matter how good the quality was.

She held the bottle up to her nose and inhaled.

Rosewood and violets were obvious, but she couldn't figure out for the life of her what the third scent was. It was lightly spiced but not in any way to overwhelm the violet tones and the woodiness of the rosewood, which had the heaviest presence. Maybe Sandalwood? Or musk? No, sandalwood wasn't spiced like musk was, though they were often together in perfumes and colognes.

"Probably musk." Zelda concluded as she tried to analyse the smell. Should I open it? She desperately wanted to know the true and proper smell of the perfume, which was locked inside the bottle for so long.

After almost no debate, she untwisted the cap, allowing the perfume to hit open air after so many years and Zelda was baffled by the smell. It smelled divine.

Zelda lifted the small glass applicator stick from the bottle and allowed the excess oil perfume to drip off the stick and into the bottle before lifting it to her nose.

The Rosewood seemed to be the star; it had a lightly spiced and rich, aged wood smell, while the floral notes of the violets almost seemed to leave small whispers to compliment the wood. The musk was an interesting undertone. It added sensuality, almost a mysterious air to the liquid.

She wondered if it had been chosen by her mother or presented as a courting gift, but regardless, the one who'd made it had excellent taste. The ingredients were pricey, but melted together so well while remaining individual in themselves.

Zelda had to smell it a few times and really put thought into the individual scents, analysing each and everyone and how they worked together. There was a warmth that seemed to linger in her chest with every passing thought to the fragrance.

She had a hard time pulling away from the stick, the scent seemed to pull her right back to it every time she tried to put it back.

She twisted the cap back onto the bottle and set it back into its wooden container and placed it back in the box before grabbing the small leather-bound notebook. She untied the strings and flipped open the first pages once more. She'd started it in Link's home but she hadn't had the chance to continue through it.

The charcoal drawings were the opening pages, the ones she'd admired with Aryll, but there was just something that was captured in the pictures that made Zelda's heart pang. The sketches captured the happy twinkle in her eyes, the sheer smiles that seemed to exude from her entire being.

She flipped to the next page and Zelda nearly cried again. There was a sketch of her as a young child atop who she assumed was Abraxas. Her mother was seated behind her on the saddle and held the reins, but Zelda's younger self was held with her mother's free arm. Her younger self was so happy in the saddle. She looked just like any excited child.

Just as she was about to flip to the next page, Zelda saw a tear drop onto the back of her hand. Almost immediately, she closed the book again and placed it back onto the table out of fear of soiling the pages.

She was glad it was the middle of the night. No one was here to see her cry again, but even then, she tried to hold them back as best she could.

She moved the letters around—she couldn't read those now, she'd be in tears all night—, she moved the small perfume bottle and heard the metallic clinking of keys. She pulled out the large ring which attached the other rings and held it before her eyes.

A ring of skeleton keys. Shining, black, but covered in dust.

The bows were intricate and circular and the shafts of the keys long and narrow, but the key wards were intricate and complicated.

Well, if everything in the box belonged to her or her mother, then the keys had to belong to her mother as well. But what had they been made to open?

A door? Or a lock? A safe? One of the keys had to go to her mother's bedroom door, surely. In all these years, she'd never been able to break into the room no matter how much she picked the locks in the castle, but four distinct keys? How many things could they open and why were they so complex? The wards circled around the keys in different angles, and it seemed almost impossible to put them into regular key holes that only allowed for simpler keys.

She tried to think of any locks she may have noticed over the years, some that had been odder than others but nothing seemed to come to mind.

Sleep will do me some good. How was she to use her memory properly if she was tired? Maybe some tea will do me some good. As Zelda went to approach her bedroom door to call for a servant, the events of a few days ago rang back into her mind.

Link had been making her tea since the incident four days earlier.

Link could not do that in his current state.

You have taste testers for a reason. But even with that thought, Zelda backed away from the door. She'd had testers for that tea too, but it had taken nearly an hour for its effects to set in before.

I think I'll pass this time… Sleep couldn't evade her forever.

Zelda spent much of her morning uneasy and anxious for a reason she couldn't pinpoint. Something just didn't feel right in her gut. Where she usually felt Link's daily frustrations and little spurs of emotions, she found numbness.

Typically, she found frustration when he was in the training yard watching guards, the same with his political lessons. She would feel the ghost twitches of his emotions twisting into knots and releasing throughout the day, but today, there were none.

Link went through his lessons, as he normally did, albeit with a headache and claims of not feeling well from the night before. Captain Reinhartd had no issues finding Link after breakfast, and he dutifully attended the early council meeting immediately after his lesson, and he returned for lunch strangely in a fine mood.

Zelda didn't want to look the gift horse in the mouth, but she was thankful. Typically, Link's running and hiding seemed to summon councilmen and guards alike to her side to find him, but today it ran so smoothly, there were no issues and he found himself ahead of schedule.

Well, ahead of most schedules.

Instead of councilmen or guards coming to find her, it was Purah and Robbie, so she made her way to the laboratory in the lower levels of the castle.

"We can't continue with the tests until Link actually gets into the slate." Robbie told her. He was holding the slate towards her and showing the tower icons that were blue at the moment. She noted the smaller square icons that glowed orange.

"Well, he's got duties to tend to," Zelda told them. "He can't run from them forever."

Purah was the one sulking over on their sofa. "But every time we try to approach him, he's busy with something." She threw her hands into the air dramatically before crossing her arms again. "He just said 'just send Terrako', that's not what he's for!" She exclaimed.

Terrako's use was always a bit of a mystery. They'd seen the images of a war torn Hyrule with flames everywhere, but it had never come to pass. It was how they'd even come to label the Calamity as 'Late'.

"You know Link has little experience with the Guardians. Who knows, maybe Terrako can do more things than we know?" Zelda suggested. Terrako was on the table, beeping away. It'd been a while since she's interacted with the little robot herself but the researchers had been trying to see if they could pull anything more.

Purah scoffed. "'Just send Terrako,' How dare he!" she imitated and stood up abruptly. She began pacing around the table before grabbing her notepad. "I ought to make him walk to the rest of the towers!"

Zelda laughed slowly. "Careful, he might take that offer and run before you can change your mind."

A light knock on the door had everyone quieting down. Zelda motioned the others to stay while she answered the door.

Speak of the Devil. Zelda smiled brightly when she saw Link standing in the doorway. "We were just talking about you!" She said happily.

"All good things, I hope?" Link smiled as he looked into the room at Purah and Robbie and waved.

"Of course!" Zelda was about to let him in before hearing Link clear his throat.

"I actually came to ask if you wanted to go horseback riding this afternoon?" He asked, staying in the hallway. "I've got a bit of downtime until my next lesson and it's a sunny day."

It'd been a few days since she had been able to have some time to herself and Link in private without guards—well they were never without guards for long.

"I would love to!" Zelda blurted out without a second thought. If the day was still as nice as it had been in the morning, then the weather was perfect for a leisure ride with Abraxas or Storm.

Zelda was excited. She was itching to leave the castle grounds for some proper fresh air, even if just briefly, so when Link suggested a horseback ride, Zelda happily jumped on the idea. It was a beautiful day with a light breeze and few clouds in the sky for occasional shade from the sun.

With a short stop into the doctor's office to get a pass for horseback riding, Zelda was practically skipping down the hallway past the knights and guards on stand-by as she made her way down to the stables where they met the stable boys.

Upon seeing them, they immediately got to work going to Epona and Abraxas' stalls and left to grab the riding gear.

"I'm so excited!" Zelda exclaimed happily. "I haven't gotten to go riding in a few days!"

"A leisure ride is better than a cross-continent one, that's for sure." Link replied back and they entered the area where most of the horses were.

"Maybe we can go to the fields?"

"Fine by me." Link shrugged and stated plainly.

The moment Link approached Epona's stall where she was poking her head out, Zelda almost wanted to grab his arm and pull him back.

Epona, beautiful chestnut mare that she was, had her ears tucked back against her head, an unblinking stare trained right on Link and an almost deadly silence around her. She would've classified behaviour like that to be predator rather than prey.

Link extended his hand out towards her nose with a nonchalance.

Snap! He pulled his hand back just in time to avoid Epona's teeth clamping down on him.

Zelda stared quietly as Link glared up at Epona and she did the same back. "Maybe today's not a great day?" Zelda motioned to one of the stableboys to go to Abraxas' stall.

He was one of her two horses. Between Storm and Abraxas, she preferred Storm for long trips, but Abraxas, being old in age, much liked him for casual strolls in the area.

Abraxas had a gorgeous and shining dark brown, almost black coat free of any other colours. A bit temperamental, but not overly so.

The stableboy opened the hatch and opened the stall door while another ducked into the stall and fit him with his bridle and reins before leading him out.

He was calm until they went to tack him up.

He reared up on his hind legs with a loud squeal before trying to pull loose from the stableboys' hands. They both backed away cautiously and tried to calm down the large beast, but Zelda noticed how his ears were quick to go back and how he grew restless so quickly.

"We're so sorry, Your Highnesses!" The stablehands apologised profusely and another came running from behind one of the smaller barns. The two already present held Abraxas as best they could while the third tacked up each side as quickly as he could.

"We're so sorry, Princess." The older of the three bowed to her. "Abraxas has been in a good mood until a few moments ago."

"As was Epona, Your Highness." The other added on. "It really is sudden."

Zelda nodded and thanked them. She glanced back at Abraxas who had yet to settle down. He was slamming down his hoof and scratching the stable's cobblestone flooring. He was huffing and puffing constantly and trying to pull free from the ropes, but evidently couldn't.

"I think it may be best to let them cool off for the day?" Zelda suggested with unease.

The boys shared a glance before shrugging. "Perhaps it's just bad weather coming?"

When she glanced back at Epona, her worries aggravated. Epona was still glaring at Link and her hoof was doing the same, but she was constantly trying to back away from Link's hand and snapping back.

Link, on the other hand, looked cross. He looked like he wanted to just walk away and leave the stablehands to deal with it.

After two more snaps of Epona and one catching Link's hand, he moved away and went to sit on a haybale. "Do what you want." He told them, almost in a harsh tone.

Zelda sighed and scratched her head. She did still want to go on a ride today, maybe Storm would be in a better mood? She doubted that to be the case. If both Epona and Abraxas were in foul moods, then Storm would have likely been the first to join the crew.

She wasn't a fan of riding Storm when she was in some of her moods; Storm tended not to listen to instructions, she'd go the direction she wanted and not Zelda's and she'd tug and whine excessively. It was just better for everyone if Storm was left to her own devices when she threw her tantrums.

"Right, I suppose we'll put Abraxas back then." Zelda told the eldest stable boy. A stroll would probably be better.

"Yes, Ma'am." the boys got to securing her bridle while the third unclipped her.

Link hopped off the hay bale with a quiet sigh. "I have things to tend to with my lessons, I'll see you in a bit for dinner." Link began walking away.

"Alright."

As Link began walking off, commotion caught Zelda's attention and it was at that moment that Abraxas began rearing up again, breaking free from the stablehands.

A nearby guard was quick to pull her back, but Abraxas was successful and took off with a loud whinny and straight forward towards where Link was walking off.

She needn't say anything. Link pivoted immediately and jumped into an open stall just as Abraxas dashed past him, not too dissimilar to the way a ram was known to do.

Once Abraxas slowed a few paces away, the stable hands were quick to grab his reins and force him as best they could back into his paddock.

It was only once the gate had been secured closed that Link left the empty stall cautiously.

"What did you do to Abraxas?" Zelda asked as she caught up to Link.

Link looked appalled at her words. "What did I do? He tried to kill me." He pointed over at Abraxas and gave him the stink eye.

Zelda glanced anxiously at Abraxas who was stomping away in his stall, ears still pinned. "Maybe it's just a bad day then…"

"Well, they seem to love you today, so I'll get to my lessons. Go for a ride if you want, take a guard." He muttered and waved off as he began walking off back towards the castle.

They've really put him in a bad mood… Doctor Finri wasn't kidding when he said it's been a terrible week for him… Zelda wondered if she should still go for a ride with Abraxas or attempt to go with Storm As she watched Link walk away, dejected, her heart ached.

She caught up to Link a moment later, threading their arms together. "What's this next lesson going to be about?"

He smiled. "Strategy, apparently."