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Chap. 46: How Unfortunate

Zelda woke slowly, gently, even more so than when she had woken up in the Great Ton Pu Inn days earlier after the ravenously sexual evening with Prima, and for a moment she thought that was where she was. The slow, gentle breathing and soft, warm body next to her certainly helped convince her still half-asleep mind that she was still in the Inn, or had been there again.

But the body next to her was a little too hard (if still soft in the best places), a little shorter, stockier, and definitely not Prima. Zelda could tell because if Prima had been in her bed after the night and day Zelda hazily remembered, she would have been naked and stank of old sweat and sex.

There was definitely a certain musk there, underneath the soap, lake-water, and scent of the bed itself. Something earthy, low and lingering, and it took the princess nearly an hour for her sleep-fogged mind to realize what it was: Manure, grass, sun-warmed cloth... the scent of a girl who worked the fields and ranches.

A square-jawed, strong face with beautiful eyes and a dusting of freckles swam into her mind's eye, and slowly, Zelda worked her actual eyes open past the beam of sunlight that had woken her to see the exact same curves, valleys, and edges. The name came a moment later, along with the harried memories of the furious battle at sundown the night before. Koyin.

The girl's arms were wrapped around Zelda's waist, one beneath her and one over, her hands clasped just behind the princess' right hip. They were facing each other, Koyin's breath hot and warm against Zelda's jaw, neck, and the top of her chest, which was a little more exposed than it had been as the too-wide nightshirt she had borrowed had slipped off one shoulder. One of Zelda's more slender legs was tucked between Koyin's, while her left hand was tucked between them, and her right draped loosely over the ranch-girl's waist in turn.

Zelda smiled softly, gently. She had been so brave, fighting the blue Bokoblin. She had even struck the killing blow. If she and the other Bokoblins were to be believed, that was the second one she, not quite even an adult, had slain, and a far stronger one than most people would dare challenge. Yes, Zelda had been fighting beside her, and had wounded the beast first, but it was Koyin's lunging thrust that had saved Zelda herself from serious injury.

A rush of affection, more than she had felt the night before, flooded through the older woman, and she leaned in to press her lips to Koyin's forehead. The girl shifted, murmured something soft, then went still again. Zelda smiled, then slowly started extricating herself from Koyin's grasp. It was a difficult thing, as every time she pulled Koyin's fingers apart, they sought each other out once again. After five tries, she succeeded in doing that, only for her legs to pull Zelda closer as she tried to get her own back.

Finally, after nearly half an hour, she grumbled, "Let me go, Koyin, I need to use the toilet."

"Okay, Zelzha..." she murmured sleepily. Thankfully, it worked, and her limbs released the princess to her duty.

Fortunately, as she stumbled in the borrowed nightclothes out of Koyin's room, the rest of the house was empty. Her father, Dantz, and her grandfather knew she had stayed the night of course, but they didn't need to know she was the reason the normally industrious young woman was sleeping in so late, did they? No... they certainly didn't need a reason to peep into the outhouse once Zelda stepped inside.

They probably didn't need to know why she suddenly felt nauseous at the smell, and vomited a short time later, just after she finished relieving herself. At least the location was convenient, even if it still made her stomach turn.

When Zelda returned to Koyin's bedroom, she found the girl looking around blearily. "Z- Zelda?"

"Good morning," Zelda replied with a smile.

"M- Morning?" Koyin groaned, a moment before her eyes widened. "Oh, no! I overslept!" She threw the blankets off of herself and sat up, almost throwing herself from the bed. Apparently it was too much, because she stumbled and fell into Zelda, knocking them both to the floor with the rancher on top of the princess. "Oh, I'm so sorry! My leg was asleep, and I didn't-"

"It's alright," Zelda laughed, "Just a little bump. I-"

She was interrupted in turn as Koyin hurried to get off of her and offered a hand up, red-faced. "I'm so sorry, I have to hurry! The cows will need milking, I've got to gather eggs, and the sheep need feeding, and-"

"It's alright," Zelda told her again, watching with amusement while Koyin hurried to get dressed at least three times faster than her own leisurely changing. It was strangely comforting to her to have the girl, who had been so shy to change in front of Zelda the night before, ignoring any sense of modesty or propriety as she shucked the nightclothes, changed into fresh underthings, and threw on her normal daywear. Zelda was half-dressed at most when Koyin finished lacing her boots and stood up, "Will you shut the house up before you go? My Pa's going to be so mad..."

"It's fine, I'll take care of it," Zelda assured her, unable to hide the smile.

Koyin frowned up at her, "I don't know why you're so happy- he's going to tear me a new one! Even after- after yesterday, there's no excuse for not getting my chores done, if I'm not sick!"

She couldn't tell the girl exactly why she was so amused and happy in that moment, could barely acknowledge it to herself, but Zelda could at least reassure her, "I'm sure it won't be that bad. And if it is-"

"Not that bad?" Koyin grumbled, then put a very stern, serious expression on her face and wagged her finger as she spoke with a low, rough voice, "'Koyin, if you don't feed and care for those animals every day, they'll get sick. It's them that'll suffer for your lazy attitude.' That's what he'll say. He's said it before!"

"Well, if he does, then I'll talk to him," Zelda chuckled, "and remind him what's really important. You needed a bit of a rest after yesterday, and you got it. You seem fine now... are you? Or are you just trying to hide it?"

Koyin went still for a moment, then looked up at the taller woman with a shy, sheepish expression. "I... I hadn't been thinking about it, not really."

Zelda nodded, then sat down on the bed a moment after Koyin had dropped onto it, suddenly somber. She put her arm over the brunette's broad shoulders and pulled her into a hug. "I had... Some bad things have happened to me before, too. Things no one... saved me from. At least, not until it was too late. I know, and I know it's hard. But you're a strong young woman. You'll be okay, even if you aren't now. Right?"

"Y- Yeah," Koyin murmured, not quite meeting Zelda's eyes.

"And if not, you can always talk to me. Always, okay? I'll... I can't stay in Hateno forever, but I'll be around for a bit. And I'm sure I'll be back."

"Will you, though?" Koyin asked quietly, "I know you're... I know you lied to a bunch of people about what you're doing in town. But you saved my sheep, and you saved me. I don't think you're a bad person. But why would you stick around this dump? All we have is corn, wheat, rice, and sheep."

"Hateno also has you," Zelda reminded her, "and a bit more than that. I... I can't tell you what I'm doing. But yes, it is important, and yes, I have to leave again. But can I tell you a secret? And have it not get out?"

"Of course," Koyin promised, her eyes shining, "No one important's ever trusted me with a secret before."

"I don't know how important I am," Zelda told her with a soft smile, but renewed the one-armed hug, "but I can tell you it's important to me. You know that old house on the other end of town, a mile or so from the west gate?"

Koyin nodded, "Everyone knows that place, the old Orden House. They said it was haunted when we were all little, and a bunch of us would go there sometimes for a dare at night. I went in, once."

"It's not haunted," Zelda snorted, amused.

"I know that," Koyin shot back, "we were kids."

"Hm. A kid Koyin," Zelda teased, "that'd be a cute sight, wouldn't it?"

"Sh- Shut up!"

"Anyway, I bought- or I'm planning to buy- that house. I'm going to fix it up. So yes, I'll be sticking around. I can't stay full-time, but... I want to make a home here, Koyin. In Hateno."

It was only as she said it that Zelda realized it was true. Perhaps not a primary residence. Certainly, if she was to be the monarch of Hyrule if- and it was a huge 'if'- she succeeded in sealing away the Calamity, she would reside in the Castle most often. But wealthy or powerful people sometimes had more than one home, did they not? A vacation spot, if nothing else? A place to get away from the stress of rulership?

Yes, the small home in Hateno would be perfect for that, she decided. "And when I'm able, I'll be here."

"Oh," Koyin said softly. "That... that would be, uh, good. I- I guess."

Zelda didn't miss the soft dusting of pink on Koyin's cheeks, but could not do more than guess as to the reason. Still, she smiled over at her, "That way we can at least see each other every time I'm in town, right?"

"I- I think I'd like that," Koyin murmured.

"Me too." Then she leaned over and kissed the girl's cheek, before standing back up and moving to the chair in the corner where her own boots and armor rested. "Unfortunately, I do need to get going. Are you- are you going to be okay?"

"Y- Yeah," Koyin replied, her eyes wide, her cheeks dusky with embarrassment (or maybe something else?) now, as she reached up to brush the spot where Zelda had kissed her. "I... I just realized something, that's all."

Zelda grinned, but didn't reply with words as she finished dressing in her traveler's leathers and prepared to head out.

Once she had checked the shutters and doors in the home, finishing with making sure to shut the outside latch on the front door, Zelda could make out Koyin's frantic apologies to Dantz from around the house toward the feeding bunk, so she headed that way to help.

It turned out she needn't have worried, because the first words Zelda made out clearly as she neared the corner of the house where the stalls were let her know that Dantz was hardly upset. "For the third time, kiddo, I wasn't worried about it. I don't mind you spendin' a night to relax after what you told Pa and I. You needed a chance to have a rest, and if your... friend helped you do that, I ain't sayin' a word about it. Besides, I-"

"Sh- She's just a friend!" Koyin spluttered, "We didn't do nothin'!"

The accent was expected of Dantz, but Zelda was surprised to hear it slip out of Koyin, who had been, so far, one of the most well-spoken people she had met in Hateno. At least, to her own (probably aristocratic, but who really knew) ear. "It's true," Zelda assured him, making Dantz smile and Koyin jump as Zelda came up behind her. "We talked for a while, then slept. I'm sorry we both slept in so late, that's not like me, either."

"It's fine," Dantz waved them off with a roll of his eyes, I figured I'd use the day to give Jyoden a bit of teachin', since he's getting' to be an age where he can start takin' some of your work off, Koyin."

"But Pa, I can- I can keep doin' it! It ain't too much!"

"I'm not sayin' it is, kiddo," the tall man laughed, ruffling his daughter's hair as if she was a decade younger, "but the fact of the matter is, you're near enough a woman now, and it's time for things to change. Jyoden's getting' older too, and his own chores are more'n a bit easy for a kid his age."

The fact that Dantz sent a half-questioning, half-amused look in Zelda's direction, as if he knew far more than his country-man accent and rough style suggested he might. If he cared, though, Zelda could detect no hint of it in his attitude as he dictated to Koyin what would be replacing some of the things her younger brother had spent half the morning on.

Once she was finally gone about her own chores, shaking her head bemusedly, Dantz turned to Zelda and stepped a little closer. "Look, Miss... Zelda was your name, right?"

She nodded, "It is."

The tall man looked away down the hill, gesturing out over the town that sprawled across the valley, "I heard folks talkin'. I know what you did for a few of them. That you're interested in the house across the way, and I know what you did for Koyin, too, for our family. Uh, both times."

Zelda frowned a little, doubt creeping in as to where he would go next, but she said nothing.

"I know... I've known for a long time, since before her mother died, that my girl's always... been a bit open-minded compared to some. I've seen her lookin' at menfolk, at some of the more handsome boys, and I've seen her lookin' at women, too. I don't claim to know you from Hylia Herself, and I ain't gonna make no presumptions. But if you are of a mind to take a liking to my little girl, best treat her well. I won't have you breakin' her heart. No one gets to make her fall for 'em and then just vanish. You get me?"

"I... I wasn't planning anything of the sort," Zelda protested, "I barely know her!"

"Hmph. That's fair, and as may be," Dantz agreed quietly, and stepped back just a little to give Zelda a bit more space, which let her relax a tiny bit. She was not prepared for this conversation! "At any rate, I've said my piece. If you two start... seeing each other, don't expect any guff from me. I reckon if he ever gets to meet you, Jyoden will be just as smitten as Koyin in a few minutes at most. My Pops might give you some guff, but he's from an older time when we were hard-pressed just to keep a viable population going. That's eased a fair bit over the last eighty or so years since he was young, and I reckon most folk in town won't give you any trouble for it. Just... don't hurt her. If you gotta end things, end them nicely. You understand?"

"We aren't, um, together," Zelda said sheepishly, "I... I can admit I feel a certain... attraction, but nothing happened last night, I swear. And it won't. At least... not without us talking about it."

Dantz smiled, suddenly beaming brighter than the now cloud-hidden sun as he reached out and pulled Zelda into a one-armed hug of his own, all at ease. "Great, then. You feel free to stop by. Chores are important, but even if you two don't start seein' each other- which'd be a shame, given how she looks at you, and looks up to you both- she could use another friend her age. So come by any time."

"Er.. I- I'll do that, thank you," Zelda promised shyly. She hadn't felt... Well, if she were honest, she hadn't felt that welcomed since waking up at the Shrine of Resurrection. Her father's ghost had, at first, been so mysterious, and then so regal, commanding, if still warm. Mina and Mils had been justifiably worried at first. Brigo and Giro had been friendly enough, and of course Sagessa and Magheren at the Dueling Peaks Stable were quite friendly in their own way. Paya and Impa, and most of the Sheikah she had talked to, as well, had welcomed her.

But Dantz had simply accepted her as part of his family. At least, that was how Zelda felt. Not just a stranger that came into his life who helped him out, who helped his family, but...

But a person who might be courting his daughter. Is that what 'seeing her' means, even? How can I be sure without seeming like a fool, or some disconnected idiot who doesn't know how common folk speak?

It was a question she didn't really have an answer to.

More to give herself time to think than anything else, Zelda made her way back into the town proper for an early lunch or very late breakfast, then headed west once more.

A little after noon, she was shrouded once more in the quiet Ginner Woods, safe from Bokoblins and prying eyes both. There hadn't been a blood moon in a while, but she hadn't yet noticed a pattern to them, either. Sometimes, it felt as if they were a weekly occurrence. Others, by the month or even longer.

Either way, she was unmolested and unbothered as she checked one last time for witnesses, then pulled out the Sheikah Slate and opened the map. Two taps on the Ta'loh Naeg Shrine brought her sixty leagues or more, over a hundred miles and a week's worth of walking, to the Sheikah village of Kakariko.

It was truly a miracle she thought as she looked down over the valley that held the ancient-styled homes, and the manor of perhaps her oldest living friend. The friend whose advice she desperately sought.

Her thoughts were pulled from Impa, however, when she heard the Sheikah Slate beep an alert. She lifted the screen, and stared in surprise at what it said.

Power Level: 2%. Emergency Low-Power Mode activated.

Enhanced Runes: Deactivated.

Travel Gate Access: Deactivated.

Sheikah Sensor: Access Limited.

Recharge Sheikah Slate with Sheikah Furnace or Holy Power as soon as possible.

"Great... Just great."


"Impa? Impa, are you there?"

"Oh? Is that you, Zelda?" the wizened voice called over the sound of pitter-pattering rain on the wood deck around Impa's cliffside home called, "Come in!"

Zelda stepped inside quickly, glad her hood had at least kept most of the rain that had started while she walked across the village from her hair. She shook it off on the porch before hanging it just inside the door along with most of the rest of her clothing and backpack before turning to face her old friend, who was standing in the doorway of the foyer with a kind smile. "I'd heard Purah was giving you the runaround, but you seem like you're doing just fine," Impa greeted.

"I am, thank you," Zelda replied, giving the Sheikah Elder a bow before waiting to be welcomed further into the home.

It came quickly, Impa hurried her to the main chamber where she took her customary spot on the large pile of cushions before looking at Zelda with a thoughtful eye. "Let me see, then. Your Slate."

Zelda offered it carefully, but Impa's hands were steady as she took the ancient device and began leafing through the pages with confidence.

"It's... very low on power," she informed Impa, who paused and then dragged another screen Zelda had never noticed from above.

"Hm, so it is. Fast Travel still takes a lot of power, it seems. We had hoped that would be a problem Purah's improvements could fix, but it seems not."

"Where did you...?"

"See that?" Impa asked, turning the Slate to the princess, "It shows the last few Runes and their power used here, along with the main clock settings. Using the Travel Gates takes twenty percent of a full charge, per person. Right now you can't even transport so much as a Cucco that way. But at least the main and basic runes are still active. Purah can probably charge it, but I'm sure she'll try to make you pay for it."

"I did just relight her Furnace," Zelda grumbled, "and I know what you mean."

Impa chuckled, "It's how she's always been. Research does take funding, however, so I understand. Without the support of a whole kingdom, her and Robbie's work has fallen more and more by the wayside, though its importance has never faded. At any rate, come, let me show you this. We know you took a great many of these pictures. Many of us were there for some of them."

"Oh?"

Impa nodded, "While Link, your Appointed Knight, was there for a great many- or even all of these- as well, I was also your bodyguard. We worked opposite, you see, him during the day and myself at night, with a few hours of overlap a day, or when there was increased danger, or important functions. That is how he and I became friends, as well. The other Champions, Link, and several other members of Hyrule's peoples were close with you, and with all of us, back then.

"Purah's supposition matches mine. We believe that those images, or more accurately the locations where they occurred, are the key to restoring at least some of your memories."

Zelda frowned, her own face pensive, "I don't see how that's possible, though. Ninety-eight percent loss of my hippocampus, that's what the Slate, and the Shrine, said happened. If that's where the memories were stored, I can't imagine there would... be much left."

"So there might not be," Impa agreed, "but I cannot give up hope. There is more to memory than the workings of your brain, dear Princess. Perhaps I am simply an old fool, senile and batty, but I believe the soul itself carries memory as well. If even part of you remembers, then there is a chance, and I believe it is a chance worth taking."

"But they are only memories," Zelda argued, if only to play devil's advocate, "how could they- how could they be useful against the Calamity?"

"Because the past you, the Zelda I knew as a young woman," Impa replied quietly, "was a woman with a mind as fine as any I had ever met, equal to my own, to Purah's, to Robbie's, to her father's... and with a heart to rival her mother's, or even her Champion's. You are her, and yet you are not."

"That's true," she agreed at once, "I am not her. I can't be her. I have almost no memory of who she is. I am..." She almost whimpered after being quiet for a few moments, "I am a woman with the body of one, apparently an ancient, ageless soul, and the worldly experience of a newborn. How am I supposed to decide who I am?"

"You decide not by goals," Impa answered after several seconds, sounding tired but pleased that she was questioning rather than simply accepting, "until you are ready, at any rate. If you know what you want to be, then so much the better. Until then, decide in the moment what you think is best. That is all there is to it. For each choice, decide who you want to be, what you want to be, at that moment. Do that consistently, and a pattern will emerge. From there, you will know what you want to be. Who you want to be."

Zelda hesitated, then nodded, "I.. I think I understand."

"Good. Remember, we, all of us, are here to support you, Princess. No matter what that means. Now, as we briefly discussed before, and again just now, you are not that princess. Not any more. You are your own person, and yet echoes of the previous version of you remain. The resemblance would be uncanny, if the body was not identical. You are more alike to her than I think you realize, whether you planned that or not. Perhaps it is merely habit, but at any rate, you question, and you learn, you seek to understand. That was our friend's most defining trait: she hated not knowing things, and always sought to learn more, to answer all her innumerable questions."

Zelda smiled despite herself and her worries. That did sound like her, even if she was starting to get a better framework and had to question a little less often these days.

"Go to one of these locations. I can perhaps suggest where some might be, though I won't know all of them. You, and later you and Link, were notoriously skilled at slipping away from even me. Spend some time there, look around, explore, think about it... try to remember. If not events, then emotions, thoughts, feelings. Anything at all could trigger something in your mind."

"I see," Zelda murmured as she accepted the Slate once more. "Smells, for example."

"Indeed, they are known to be a strong connector to memories. Perhaps simply smelling the flowers could do it."

Zelda nodded, her eyes roaming the smaller, thumb-sized versions of the pictures on the Album's first screen. "Some do evoke a strange, disconnected feeling of memory. As if I should know them, but I don't."

"That itself is something, then," Impa chortled, "and most encouraging, at least to me. I would recommend you take a trip back to Purah, though. I don't know if any other Guidance Stone could recharge the Slate, or I wouldn't know how to do so, but I'm fairly sure she has a way to do it. Even if you have to ride the whole way back."

Zelda sighed with a rueful smile, "I've left my horse behind, actually, the one I took near the Stable. I ended up hiking... for days."

"Then perhaps you can hire them to find it again," Impa replied, "A trained or even wild-caught horse will often return to its home if left unattended for long enough, or you could purchase or rent another. It would at least save a few days."

With a smile, Zelda agreed. She turned to go, but hesitated, not sure if she wanted to ask.

"Something else is bothering you," Impa prompted for her, "I know that look well."

Zelda sighed. Impa remembering so much about her that Zelda did not just made it harder, for this question in particular. "It... This may seem strange, Lady Impa, but I..."

"Princess," the old woman chided with a quiet chuckle, "I haven't been your Lady in a hundred and ten years. I am your friend first, these days. Just Impa will do."

Zelda smiled a bit shakily, but nodded, "Zelda, then. I don't need any more reminders that I am a princess of nothing."

"You are a princess to me, and to the other Sheikah, if nothing else," Impa told her softly, "but I can do that for you, Zelda."

Her smile lasted only a few moments, before the question came bursting out, all awkward and strange. "Were we ever... intimate? You and I? Because I have memories, just flashes really, and I find myself remembering your eyes from very close, and other times there are... Well, women I find myself looking at. But I remember... him, and... and everything is just so jumbled, and strange."

Zelda's red-faced confession was not much helped by Impa's raucous, dry-throated laughter.

"Oh, my dear girl... that question must have weighed on you so! Hah... Put your fears to rest, Pri- Zelda. Dear, dear girl... yes. Yes, we were, a few times. I... I put a stop to it, when my feelings began to get in the way of my duty. You were... understandably upset, and the argument we had resulted in me being removed from your guard for nearly a year. It was... difficult, for both of us. But eventually we reconciled, and you are, and were, my closest friend. Even if I could not bring myself to be with you again in that way, though your offer of... of companionship was renewed. Does that answer your question?"

Thankfully, Zelda's face did not seem to be burning up with the topic of conversation, though she felt it should have been. She nodded once, "It... does. Thank you, for being honest."

Impa slapped her bony knee beneath the robe with another chuckle, "I'm too old, these days, to bother with lies and deception, Zelda. Think nothing of it. You are neither the first nor the last woman to appreciate the company of our kind. There are some it will bother, and some it will not. Be true to yourself, above all, and do not let others shape who you wish to be. Least of all, let your fears of what others might think shape you."

Zelda smiled, bowed, and left the home of her old friend once more, glad she'd found the courage to speak up.

She still felt better, even if her stomach was queasy again.