A/N: Readers should expect a blanket trigger warning on everything I write. Themes of dubious- or non-consenting sex, domination, violence, gore, and character death- including major characters- exist in many of them. I do not condone such activities in real life, but unfortunately they are real in our world, and I don't feel that I could write fiction fairly without including them.

You- yes, YOU, the person reading this! If you have the means, go support me on Sub Scribe Star dot ADULT slash KAJAWILDER. I can only afford to write this much if I can justify it finanically. It's cheap, but it adds up even at the lower tiers. If this story is entertaining- at least as entertaining as a drink at the local gas station- isn't it worth sending a little to the author? I think it is.

DON'T go to unless you have to, though (under the same user name). 'Cause they force me to censor quite a lot.
You can read many chapters ahead on SubStar though... I believe it's posted up through 40+? Somewhere in that range.

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That's enough out of me. Enjoy!


Ch. 22

Visions of Beauty

Outside the Ta'loh Naeg Shrine, Zelda spent a few minutes more trying to reason why she had been so... so aroused, so driven by desire, when she had entered the Shrine, and more-so after she had finished it. It was almost as if there was some force or spell or perhaps a curse making her more eager to engage in self-pleasure, or to seek out additional stimulus from... something. Someone. Almost anyone.

But was it truly external? Zelda definitely had reason to think it was in some ways, as her green eyes swept the darkened valley, which still had many of the Sheikah's paper lanterns being lit in the early evening. Every time she had spoken to the Goddess there was a bit more of it, or something like it, but the last time in the center of the valley below her was the worst, the most intense by far. And it had happened immediately after the Goddess had finished speaking with her, almost as if it was some parting gift, or a strange, perverse joke.

She finally turned away to follow the path onward and upward into what the Sheikah she had spoken to was a lush, fertile higher valley where they did much of their hunting and, according to some, the 'guardian spirit of the village' lived. As she walked, Zelda had to admit that wasn't all of it, however. Certainly, the emotions and desperate need for pleasure were... affected by what the Goddess had done, if anything. Driving a piece of an ancient device in and out of her body could not be normal, could it? But it had felt so good in the moment, so very right, that she could not blame or fault herself for it. And it had worked.

The need wasn't quite sated, but it was much less... sharp, less intense, than it had been before her orgasm. Her analytical mind supplied a number, even if only to help understand the problem in an abstract. If the arousal she had felt while entering the Shrine that was falling in the distance behind her was an even hundred, then masturbating before the fight had left it at the same number... unable to go higher, and certainly not quite enough to drop it. But the moment the screw had entered her and Zelda had sighed with relief, that number had dropped to about eighty... and climbed back up to something like one hundred and fifty over the course of her self-pleasure. By contrast, her fingers in the grotto when she had been imagining Mina and Mils, a number more like sixty would have been accurate at the climax. But the last few moments in the Shrine, when she'd pumped the object into her fast and hard and made herself climax... the pleasure had been even higher, something like one-eighty, but the relief the powerful orgasm had left in its wake had brought her arousal down to... oh, thirty or so.

If there was a hard number, which Zelda could not say. It was far more manageable, at any rate, and she decided she would be satisfied with that, for now.

The valley above Kakariko's bowl was indeed lush and fertile, with trees, underbrush, berries, flowers, and herbs of all sorts growing in abundance. It was ringed by high cliffs on most sides, especially to the north and south as she explored it over the next few hours while Kakariko's residents fell into slumber far below. Between the valley and the wider one that housed the Village below, a series of low hills guarded the path and enforced that what water drained into Kakariko flowed down through several thin waterfalls rather than the well-used path. Zelda suspected some of the hills were actually man-made, but so old as to appear natural.

On the north, a particularly high, steep-walled bluff rose in an almost cylindrical shape, towering above many of the other spire-like mountains that ringed the bowl valley. To the south, the land rose into a rough, rocky and highly mountainous region full of jagged spires much like the ones closest to her, only in many cases higher and in almost all thinner. Some resembled, at least in the shadows of near midnight, needles thrust into the sky as if some great deity was weaving the stars into their ageless patterns.

To the east and northeast, the brilliant, angry red glow of the great volcano she had seen several times from the Great Plateau rose, a little closer and clearer now but a long, long way off yet. It was a convenient, if slightly unnerving, landmark that she could spot from, Zelda suspected, nearly anywhere in Hyrule thanks to its great height and the constant lava flow. Much closer, though, Zelda spotted several things of interest in the valley itself.

Bladed Rhino Beetles, Hylian Mushrooms (she even popped a few into her mouth, uncooked, as a hearty snack), handfuls of the same Ironshrooms she had discovered in the canyon leading to Kakariko before she had been attacked, and a crisp, clear mountain stream that was most refreshing to fill her canteen from.

A small bridge there, worn and aged but still used and swept free of leaves, was the last bit of civilization she saw from Kakariko. The reason the bridge was still kept clean at least every few days was clear soon after: The last vestiges of the path ended at a strange, raised dais. Too smooth and round to be anything but artificial, Zelda didn't even need that clue for the object shone with the same orange-red light that pulsed slowly from each Shrine.
At the center of the ten-foot circle was, as she had already guessed, a hemispherical hole about as wide as her torso. Perfect, in other words, for a certain 'heirloom' that rested in Impa's house next to her many-cushioned seat. Through no coincidence, Zelda was sure, the dais rested at the edge of a clearing where no trees and only small shrubbery grew, just large enough to hold a Shrine as well.
It wasn't common, so far as she had seen, to have to Shrines less than five miles apart, but Zelda saw no reason why it couldn't be so. After all, it seemed as if the ancient Sheikah could and had folded space itself to fit large Shrines inside very small interior or underground areas. Did distance really even matter to them?
Especially if she could suddenly stop being in one place, and start being in another, in a manner of seconds?

She kept exploring, accidentally startling a boar that nearly gored her as it fled and, in turn, startled a flock of pigeons into flight as she competed with the porcine creature for a handful of Silent Shrooms and a few Blue Nightshades. In her more stealthy Sheikah armor, Zelda was even able to catch a Hightail Lizard with startling ease as it basked in the early morning sun on the rocks on the east side of the valley where it opened onto a vast highland meadow that seemed achingly familiar somehow, though as always Zelda had no idea why.

As she headed back to the west, circling the edges of the hunting grounds, Zelda found something most peculiar however, in addition to the abundance of herbs, hearty radishes, acorns, other mushrooms, crickets, and even rare Silent Princess (of which she was able to gather an entire handful) and wild Endura Carrots: A plant unlike any she had seen before.

Its bulb was massive, taller than many of the healthy, towering oaks and elms that surrounded its little glade, with green ribs that towered to the size of houses, ending in a orange-brown, flower-like set of leaves that hung down a little over the rest of it. Each rib of the bulb was covered in thick, short spines of a similar orange color that were as thick as her whole torso where they met the base.
The bulb itself seemed to be the main part of the plant, but it was nestled in a pool of water surrounded by more of the beautiful Blue Nightshade and Silent Princess flowers in a dazzling panoply of color, petals from all across the rainbow dancing in the morning light that filtered through the canopy above and around the bulb's pool. Huge mushrooms, with flat-topped, flaming orange caps formed a sort of ramp on one side of the bulb, while they grew even taller, framing the bulb itself from the back as Zelda discovered it.
But by far the most interesting to her, as unusual as the huge bulb was, were the pink and blue lights that flittered about it on tiny, gossamer wings.

"Fairies," she whispered, and started creeping closer.
The nearest seemed completely unbothered by her presence, and as the golden-haired princess held out a soft finger while one of the three pink-shining ones moved over several of the flowers as if helping the bees to pollinate them, it turned to her, smiled, and alighted.

The figure was that of a young woman, in her teens perhaps or simply slender of build, though the Fairy was perhaps six inches tall at best. She was nude aside from a few small scraps of leaf or grass that had been woven into a sort of harness that covered just the barest bits of her tiny body. Her little wings stopped moving at blurring speeds, moving slowly like a butterfly's to cool itself as she looked up at the princess with a dazzling smile framed by short, lavender-colored hair that didn't quite reach the fairy's shoulders.

"Hi," the Fairy said, her mouth not moving. Zelda jumped, and the small motion made the creature bounce an inch or three into the air, but she only laughed and settled again on her finger. "Hee. I scared you!"

"You did," Zelda admitted, wide-eyed. "I- I didn't know you could talk."

"We can't, at least not that you can hear, big lady," the Fairy told her with a giggle, "You're just hearing my voice in your head because mother wants me to tell you something. You should go to the big flower! She wants to talk to you!"

"O- Oh. Okay," Zelda replied, looking past the beautiful, graceful creature at the giant bulb, "In- In there?"

The Fairy nodded cheerfully, then took off into the air to flitter in front of Zelda's enraptured face. "We'll go with you if you make her happy again! We can help, my brother and sisters!"

"I'll- I'll do what I can," Zelda promised, and watched in awe as the creature moved away to return to whatever she was doing on the flowers. With the flowers? Dancing, perhaps?
From just a few feet away, they were indistinguishable from large fireflies thanks to, perhaps, the light that each of the fairies gave off, but none of them seemed afraid of her. Only the blue one, which Zelda noticed was a rather androgynous looking boy, seemed a little cautious and kept an eye on her as she moved slowly closer.

She could only try and force down the feelings of arousal as they rose again while speaking to the barely-clothed fairy.

Humanoid, very close to her own body shape in fact (if Zelda was a bit bustier), only of miniscule proportions, it seemed she simply couldn't help herself. That much flesh on display was just... distracting.

Still, she had business to do. With cautious steps, Zelda glanced to the fairies as they waved her on, up the stairs and ramp of the orange-capped fungus to stand next to the bulb. "H- Hello...?"

"Girl," a deep, sad-sounding voice suddenly sounded, as if surprised, while the bulb rocked violently from side to side once.

Zelda jumped, and again as the same voice sounded, just a little louder, or perhaps closer, "You sweet girl... Please... help me. Listen... to my story..."

"A- Alright," she agreed, glancing over her shoulder at the same Fairy who'd spoken to her, who now flew in lazy patterns just a few feet back.

"I... am the Great Fairy, Cotera," the voice resumed, before heaving a massive sigh, "And this is my home. It was once a beautiful spring..."
Zelda could not understand why the being, a Great Fairy (whatever that was) called the place once beautiful, for it was in her eyes still. But she didn't interrupt, as the being continued to speak.

"As time passed... fewer and fewer travelers came to offer Rupees. As a result, my power has... largely abandoned me. I am so weak, so powerless... near death. I must... beg your help. I know you... seek to protect and save... all of Hyrule. I can help... if I am whole. Help me... and I will help you."

"I will, if I am able," Zelda promised, her eyes widening. She did not know what a Great Fairy was, but she could not see how the little creatures she had already spoken to would be in any way harmful, and even if this bulb was strange and covered in sharp, possibly poisonous spines she would not shy away. She would definitely help if she could.

"I... need Rupees... They feed my power... A symbol of belief in our kind... a symbol of wishes offered, and of wishes granted... just... just a hundred will do... please..."

Zelda's eyes narrowed in suspicion. She had that much, certainly, if she offered a bit more in trade. She could probably count out that much now, even if it would leave her poor in liquid currency. But... "Rupees? Really? I don't see how that can help you."

"But it's true," the little Fairy behind her protested, practically shouting in Zelda's mind, "Mother Cotera needs wishes made to be able to grant them! All Great Fairies need wishes! If you offer Rupees and make a wish, she can grant it, promise! Please, please help her, pretty lady!"

Zelda shook her head. It was... well, if she were honest with herself it sounded ridiculous, even insane. But the tiny little woman seemed so frantic, so sincere... And it wasn't like she didn't have the money. She'd already purchased everything she needed or wanted to in Kakariko Village, though it had drained her resources considerably. But if what the Fairy and Great Fairy said was actually true, then... perhaps it would be of benefit after all. "Very well," she nodded, still fighting down some reluctance and skepticism. "I'll do that. A hundred, you say...?"

The bulb's occupant didn't reply, but the smaller Fairy nodded enthusiastically. All four of the shining beings started dancing and cavorting, singing in what sounded like insect chirps to Zelda while she counted out the majority of her remaining red Rupees, five in all, and held the small gems up. "Here, a hundred. How will you take- Oh my!"

The hand that had suddenly lunged out from between two of the bulb's ribs was larger than her body by at least three times. Longer than she was tall, and four or more times as wide, perhaps twice as thick. It was pale of skin, and bedecked in huge rings, with a massive silver bracelet on the wrist that connected to some kind of clothing lost to the darkness inside.

Then, in a puff of purple smoke, the hand and her Rupees were gone. "Thank you, girl... you are most kind. Now... I feel the power! It's... overflowing!"

Zelda could only watch in stunned awe as the bulb shook, waved, puffed more purple smoke, and then blasted open violently, throwing its ribs out into a blossoming flower larger than most houses. She had only a moment to observe a line of mirrors framed in gold and flower patterns too circling the far side of a mushroom-surrounded pool...

And then a woman burst out of the water. The pool itself was deep, far deeper than Zelda could see, but about twenty feet wide. The woman, Cotera presumably, nearly filled the entire space. She was colossal, blonde with her hair up in a huge wave at the top and flowing down her back. Rainbow-colored insect wings grew from behind each ear, four on a side like a dragonfly, while markings and makeup framed eyes as large as Zelda's upper body. A silver gorget and necklace encrusted with massive diamonds hung from her neck, and a line of the same huge gems supported a- a dress, Zelda supposed, of white and gold petals almost like scales that hugged only parts of a curvaceous, motherly figure, with a sheer drapery of gold around it that hung from the bracelets on either wrist.
Zelda could not see anything from the waist down, as it was deep in the well, but from the waist up, what she saw was...

Well, not necessarily an object of desire, but a full-figured, shapely woman of unearthly beauty who radiated kindness and gratitude. "Haah," Cotera sighed as she relaxed from a tall stretch and put a finger to her lips as she looked down at the princess. "Such a fine feeling... the first breath of fresh air after what felt like an eternity of decay and starvation! Intoxicating! And I've you to thank for it, my dear. Thanks to you, I've regained a semblance of my former glory. We all know one good turn deserves another, so I will be happy to help you, girl."

"How- um, how would you be... doing that? Ma'am? Miss?"

"You may call me Cotera, Princess of Hyrule. It has been long since our last meeting, but I remember you well."

Zelda's eyes widened. "You- you knew me? Then? I don't... I don't remember you."

Cotera adopted a momentarily sad expression as she nodded, "Yes... not well. But we have met in the past, yes. Your handsome companion introduced us, once upon a time. Your Champion."

"O- Oh," Zelda murmured, and unable to help herself, her keen mind wandered to what the Champion must have thought on seeing the fairy's truly gigantic, heaving, soft bosom. Zelda herself felt quite curious to dive in between Cotera's breasts, to feel that ultimate softness envelope her whole bo- no. No, that was... inappropriate.

"In answer to your question... once upon a time, my sisters and I were a coven of the land's mightiest enchanters. Without their help I can achieve only a fraction of our combined power, but our particular specialty was defensive enchantments. For example, I can enhance your clothing to be more protective. Your armor seems scant, and the ability to better absorb an enemy's blows would be useful, would it not?"

"That it would," Zelda exhaled, shocked once more. If what she was saying was true... "What- what does that take? Can you teach me the art? I believe I was once somewhat skilled myself... for a human, of course. But it seems I've forgotten everything I once knew."

"A shame, then," Cotera remarked, "but to teach is not within our power. While I use the word enchantment, which is accurate enough, my own- our own- type of magic is not something Hylians can emulate. I am sorry, princess, for that I cannot do. But I can do it for you, and I am happy to do so. All you must do is bring me the materials I need."

Zelda nodded. That was... frustrating, in a way, but she also had to acknowledge that if she spent all of her time enchanting things, she'd never get anything else done. And if she couldn't learn the Great Fairy's methods anyway, then what was the point of wallowing in sadness over it? "Very well. Um... I don't want to take advantage..."

"Nonsense," Cotera chortled, a deep and loud sound that made her breasts shake in the petal-like dress, "You have literally saved my life, Princess. Anything I can do for you, and for Hyrule, I will. I am bound here, so the materials will have to be obtained by you, but the enchanting is easy enough for me. Sadly, with my sisters in the same sort of decay, trapped in a wishless state, there is only a little I can do... but it is something. Come, show me what you carry, and I will tell you what I can do."

The first few items Zelda brought out, unfortunately, Cotera could do little with. The ancient trousers and shirt she had first discovered on waking that had replaced her ceremonial dress, and the dress itself, were too far gone. "That cloak, jerkin and breastplate, and doeskin trousers I can definitely enchant," Cotera told her. "For each one I'll need... oh, five Bokoblin Horns."

Zelda frowned, and it quickly turned into a scowl. "Five horns each?"

"Is that too much?" Cotera asked, concern flooding her huge face. "I'm sorry, that's simply the least it would take, Princess..."

"No, it's not too much," Zelda grumped, throwing the items back into her clothing pocket in the satchel, "It's just that I had more than fifty a few days ago, and now I have none. I sold them for Rupees, in fact."

"Ah... well... if it's not too much trouble, you are welcome to return, of course," Cotera informed her. "For that delightful bandanna, I'll need three Keese wings, and three Rushrooms-"

"I've got the Rushrooms," Zelda told her, "but I've also just sold three or four Keese wings. Damn it."

"I'm sorry," Cotera commiserated, "perhaps you could buy them back...? Or again, return with them later? I am at your disposal, Princess."

"I suppose... this old shirt and parka have seen better days too. What about them?"

Cotera actually ran a leg-sized finger down the parka she had been wearing until donning her Sheikah armor with a frown, then shook her head. "No... perhaps if it were not already lightly enchanted, I could have worked with it. The old Sheikah shirt is also just too old. But what you wear now... I could work with that."

Zelda smiled and looked up, "Truly? What would each take?"

Relieved to actually be able to help, the Fairy smiled, "Just a few bulbs of Nightshade each. Nine in all, I would think... the head-dress, upper armor, and leggings."

"I've got plenty right now," Zelda chuckled, "it grows in abundance right here."

"Just so," Cotera nodded, smiling herself benignly, "planted ages ago by the Sheikah who once were so fastidious in offering wishes and Rupees. Allow me, Princess..."

Zelda shivered as she watched the woman wink, then bring up a hand to blow a kiss in her direction. Dust, golden in light and shimmering in the now noon sun blasted over her with a wash of warm, moist air from Cotera's breath. Beyond that, magic.

Raw, untamed, wild, Zelda could feel it swirling around her, seeping into her, in her pores, into her mouth and lungs... but no.

Not quite that, no... her clothes. Against her, skin-tight due to the nature of the armor she wore, Zelda shivered as the touch of nature's wild passion ghosted against her skin, bringing with it a fresh wave of arousal. Milder than before, thankfully, but it was starting to add up again.

After several minutes, however, the shivering and dust were gone. "There," Cotera murmured with a pleased smile, "Your armor, weak as I am, should be roughly twice as sturdy now, Princess. I hope it serves you well. Of course, with my sisters awake I could do more... any of us could, as our coven's strength grows. Who knows, we could even make it so that the magic woven into that armor is more effective. You could be even sneakier!"

"Oh, that would be useful," Zelda murmured as she lifted an arm, then a leg in turn to bend and flex. It didn't feel any different, but she could still detect just the faintest trickle of magic thrumming through it that made her believe it had actually worked.

"I wish I could do more for you, Princess," Cotera told her quietly, though her voice still boomed and made Zelda's hair wave as it passed by, "but as things stand right now... remember, though, I am happy to continue to enchant things as you obtain more equipment or the necessary materials. And my sisters, should you free them, will only add to our collective power."

"I'll remember that," Zelda told her, pleased at the interaction. While she was significantly less wealthy than she had been, the truth was that she needed the protection more. Like with purchasing the armor in the first place, it had been an investment. One that she hoped paid off. "Will I need to... give you more Rupees to awaken you again?"

"No," Cotera answered, glad to do so, "I can yet remain awake for a decade or more with what you have given, Princess. If you continue to come, then perhaps others will follow, and we might regain our former glory."

"I hope that happens," Zelda supplied, "I'd be happy to tell others...?"

"No, no," Cotera shook her head, "Sadly, if you simply tell someone where I might be found, an empty clearing is all they would find. A human- any creature- who seeks me or my sisters out must find us on our own. Clues can be given, hints... but the journey must be done by the individual, or it means nothing. Even if we must pass away to dust."

Unnerved by that declaration, Zelda bowed low, "I'll not tell anyone directly, then, Cotera. And I will definitely keep my eye out for your sisters. Thank you."

"Yes, best be going... but before you do, take my children with you. Keep them safe in some of your jars or vials, and they will repay the favor with healing when the time is dire. They can also use their dust for cooking, or even as a light in a dark place, should the situation require. Come, little ones... help our lovely Princess on her way!"

A chorus of, "Yes, Mother!" followed, and one by one the Fairies hopped into the jars Zelda, wide-eyed with disbelief, fumbled to pull out of her satchel. That last one in, the one she had spoken to, even came up and pressed a quick kiss, blushing, to Zelda's nose before she hopped inside and waved her hands, using magic to seal the lid instead of Zelda doing it herself.

With a few more pleasantries, still dumbfounded at the many gifts she had just been given, Zelda wandered away.

North, as the sun passed its peak, and then up. Up the cliffs, her mask and enchanted hair-pins swapped out for a bandanna, up the same high peak she had noted earlier. A fresh point of view, she decided, was exactly what she needed.

Clouds began to roll in as Zelda reached the first plateau, but there didn't seem to be quite enough moisture in them to prompt rain or worse, a mountain storm, so Zelda kept going, exploring the grassy area. She brought down a gray-winged Heron for lunch, feasting on some lightly spiced breast meat and leaving the rest for other animals, spooked a mountain goat before she could even try shooting it from her position hidden (badly, apparently) in the grass, and kept climbing higher.

It was late afternoon, and gray clouds still scudded quickly through the sky above when Zelda crested the tower-shaped peak, and found out her eyes had been playing tricks on her. Proximity alone had made it seem like this peak was higher. In actual fact as she stood at the top, where a giant of a tree had once stood but was now only held by a chopped-down stump and a proliferation of flowers including more Blue Nightshade and a few more Silent Princess blossoms, it was among the lowest.

Almost all the further peaks were at or above her level, for she still had to peer upward to see their tops. Even a few of the meadows to the south, the valleys between the spires were higher than her. It was still a beautiful, pastoral spot with an exceptional view, however, and Zelda spent more than an hour picking flowers, enjoying the quiet safety and movement of the cool mountain wind through her hair after the hot climb. All the while, her mind turned to building a mental map of her surroundings.

Kakariko was directly southwest of her, the northern reaches of the Village where Impa's large house lay still a bit further south, while Cotera's fountain was directly south. Far, far in the distance due west and a little south, a soft blue line indicated the Great Plateau tower, and Zelda realized just how high she was. Not quite in the snowy peaks of the Plateau's ridgeland, but far above even the grassy woods and plains of its lower reaches. The Dueling Peaks and their high, twin Shrines were visible between the peaks beyond Kakariko, and they stood higher still than any of the mountains she could see from her perspective, at least those facing that direction. The Pillars of Levia and Bonooru's Stand, where the canyon in which she had been captured twisted through, were where the taller spires lay as she checked them against her Slate's map. East still, that great meadow beyond the Fairy's fountain and woods stretched, and beyond that the massive thunderclouds that mostly hid even higher peaks and highlands.

Looking more to the north, she could see three great, orange-lit Sheikah Towers. The closest, she thought, might be at the mouth of a wide, deep canyon that twisted up into the mountains that seemed perpetually covered in storm. It was at the top of a rough hill on the southern side of a river, which emptied into a wide area of wetlands. There were several Shrines in the area too, and she did her best to note their position in her mind or on the Slate itself. The furthest, in the middle of the three, was atop an even more massive tower of rock that seemed to stretch up for miles from whatever was below it, where the shape of a distant castle was just visible. And on the left, in the middle distance between the two (though the nearest was several days away on foot, if she judged correctly), one rose high on the bluffs surrounding the great volcano itself. More lowlands separated them, and beyond that on the left, Zelda made out the twisting shadows that surrounded Hyrule Castle. On the far side, west of the volcano, a great forest with a tree so gigantic she could make it out rising like a giant over its smaller kin rose with another Sheikah Tower she had not yet seen between them.

A glimmer on the left of the castle, even further away, had Zelda bring up her Slate and use its scope function to view the far distance. Just on this side of the horizon's curve, she could see another tower somewhere south or south-east of the great mountains that were covered in snow. West, beyond the Great Plateau, the same tiered canyons that surrounded what Impa had described as the Gerudo's desert home rose. Far and near, she looked for more than two hours longer until the sun began to sink.

She had a decision to make.
Where to go next...?

Her father had sent her to find Impa in Kakariko. And she'd done that... only to be faced with a more dangerous quest. Freeing the Divine Beasts would, she knew, take tenacity, determination, intelligence, and more courage than Zelda thought she possessed. Above all of that, it would take time. A century had passed. How much longer could the Champion Link stand against Ganon?
As her thoughts turned in that direction, the heat in Zelda's body grew, and she touched the spot between her legs for a moment before she realized what she was doing and yanked it away.

It was... that was strange. She had images of a lover, a man, of course, in her mind. Lean, strong limbs, blonde hair... why had thinking of the Champion conjured up the same? Was that him, then?
Or Impa, in her youth, as the two shared a passionate kiss before the Sheikah woman had... had spurned her. Out of duty, yes, but still.

That had hurt, Zelda realized. It had hurt back then, to be turned away... had she loved Impa...? No. That couldn't be right. A princess would have to marry for the good of the kingdom, was it not so? But still, it was as if they had been most close, and then... not. Suddenly, for reasons Zelda did not understand. The echo of that pain still existed in her soul, and suddenly Zelda realized what one of the strange emotions she had seen flicker across the old woman's face had been: Regret.

Could things have been different? Would that mean they were better, or worse?

She couldn't say. All Zelda could say was that she still needed to decide.
Which Divine Beast to free first? Where to go?

Before that, though, she remembered Impa giving her another task, a step in that direction though it seemed away from any of them. Southeast, toward Hateno Village. An Ancient Tech Lab still survived, and its researchers might be able to help her, the woman had said. It was something at least. A long trek, to be sure, but less dangerous than tackling any of the Divine Beasts right now. If she could even reach them.

Recovering her memories seemed paltry in comparison to that task.

And after all of that... The Calamity itself.

Ganon.

She would have to face him, she knew, but the thought no longer provoked quite the same panic in the princess. She was not ready, she knew that. Of course she wasn't, her journey had yet to truly begin. Her father was right. Impa was right. The Goddess Hylia was right. She was not alone, for all she walked with no one beside her.

When the time came... there would be others. The thought brought a smile to Zelda's face, as she decided against using the Paraglider to sleep in Kakariko. No... this place was too peaceful. A good spot to sit and think, and wide enough she would not fear tumbling down the side of the mountain.
… Even if she felt it prudent to loop some rope between her bedroll and the stump, just in case.


She awoke near midnight, her sleep schedule thrown off completely by the Shrines and their strange, powerful restorative magic, feeling quite refreshed. After sticking a few leaves and berries in the jars for the Fairies to eat and being assured that they were quite fine like that, thank you, she moved on.

There wasn't yet a decision beyond heading for Hateno Village, but that was alright. Zelda could think and decide later. For now, she would just move, one foot in front of the other, as her Champion (she guessed) had advised her. Just act. Do something.

That, at least, she could do.

Before even heading to Hateno, though, Zelda had a few more things to do around Kakariko. First, make sure the place was safe. Hunting Bokoblins was something she was certain she could do, and she wanted to see what Cotera could do with her more 'normal' garb. It wasn't that she was ashamed of her body, but Zelda didn't really want to be seen walking around civilized places with such... revealing clothing. Having reinforced adventurer's gear would help her blend in rather than be eye-catching, at least, and that could only be to the good.

So she started working her way anti-clockwise around the great bowl valley, floating from one peak to one ridge or plateau on the next and climbing higher, summiting one mountain before moving to the next. It took hours, and with each new vantage point, the increasingly tired princess noted more features of the local terrain as the sun began to climb into the sky.

On one peak, one of the ancient, painted stone frogs that the Sheikah used as shrines, she presumed, to their ancestors stood eternal watch over a sword whose blade, despite being exposed to the elements, was razor-sharp and appeared pristine. Another eight-folded sword, similar to the one she already had, Zelda eagerly pulled, hoping it would come free...

And it did. The blade must have been nestled perfectly, for there was only the faintest of grinding noises as it came out of the rock, untouched for who knew how long. With a frown, she left her torch aside, the oiled cloth a waste... but it was not more valuable than such a weapon, even if it was relatively fragile.

Anything that could cut the armored shell of a lesser Guardian was worth keeping, in her book. Besides, torches were not that hard to come by, or even make. She had plenty of Chu jelly, if nothing else, and it burned just fine.

As she circled the Village in her strange, up and down route, Zelda found precious little in the way of monsters. It seemed the Sheikah's guards and patrols were doing an admirable job of keeping at least most of them at bay. She avoided the canyon where she had been captured, as she suspected it was rife once more after the recent Blood Moon, but she fully intended to clear it out again on her way back south.
If they had been successful with her, she would be in the Calamity's clutches, or worse. She could not let a large group of Bokoblins stay there unattacked.

But on her way back into Kakariko for one more night's peaceful rest before she did that dirty, violent task, Zelda found one more treasure. Literally, a locked box half-buried in dirt high atop one of the northernmost peaks near Impa's house, on the pillar that rose from Lantern Lake.

She had been lured there by the shimmer of a Silent Shroom in the early evening moonlight, and literally tripped over the hard steel case in the darkness. Rather than dig it out laboriously by hand once she figured out why she had scuffed her tender hands, Zelda ripped the thing from the ground with her Magnesis Rune and opened it up in a similar fashion.

It was, she concluded almost at once, well worth it. One of the Sheikah's ancient Phrenic Bows, according to the Slate's analysis, it was enchanted in such a way that it could mimic, in some way, the Slate's own scope ability. Magic allowed the user to focus their attention on distant spots, effectively bringing them closer and in sharp detail to the user's eye. For an archer of her skill, it was incredibly useful, if a bit strange the first few times she tried it out. The pull was strong two, twice as hard to pull back as her simple hunting bows, though not nearly as hard as her soldier's weapon. "Nice enough to keep, for sure," Zelda murmured to herself, before adding it to the Hestu-expanded row of hooks and loops on her belt.

It took perhaps another hour to glide and climb back down into the valley, and, finally weary from having been hiking for nearly twenty hours, Zelda started making her way toward the houses again, slowly circling Lantern Lake to the south.

The princess-adventurer was perhaps six hundred feet from Impa's house when a faint noise caught her attention. Just audible over the sound of the distant waterfalls, it sounded like splashing, but also humming that faded in and out. Worried that someone was hearing a cry for help, that someone was drowning, Zelda forced her caution down and, with a hand on her weapon, switched direction toward the noise, jogging softly.

It took her only a minute more to reach it, and when she did Zelda stopped cold, her breath taken away by the sight.

A young woman, naked, with long white hair falling to near her waist, sat in a small pool of water at the edge of Lantern Lake, just inside the borders of the town itself. A neatly folded stack of traditional clothing sat near her.

Zelda stared. The woman's back, the side she saw the most of, was largely hidden by the wet hair, but it was slim, graceful, and fit with ridges and lines of toned muscle that spoke of intense training on a regular basis. With some worry, Zelda noticed a long bandolier of knives, each shaped like a spearhead, folded neatly within arm's reach. But the woman, whoever she was, seemed neither worried nor alarmed.

In fact, she kept bathing, and every so often Zelda caught a hint of some sort of flowery soap as it was rubbed up and down the woman's pale skin, leaving trails of soap.

Just as she realized she was being a fool, and probably a pervert for staring, the woman turned a little to the left, and Zelda suddenly realized who it was.

Paya. Paya, Impa's granddaughter, the caretaker of the orb she needed to, probably, unlock a Shrine. Paya, the woman she had already admitted was beautiful, distractingly, disarmingly so.

Her breasts were larger than Zelda's, more rounded but firm still, which fit her taller stature, with pale pink areolae and nipples that were distended from the chill night air and no doubt colder mountain water. They bounced ever so slightly as Paya raised one arm and continued washing, then switched sides, her humming continuing softly.

Zelda continued to stare. She could not look away.

Paya was gorgeous. Unwittingly sexy, for Zelda knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that the shy woman would never have thought of herself that way, yet she was pulled to her so powerfully... The curve of her ribs as they flowed to her slender warrior-woman's waist, the swell of her breasts as she turned a bit further, showing Zelda both of them at an angle, and the soft sweep of her collar as it moved to the slender neck... Even the soft sigh of tension's relief as Paya finished her washing and dunked beneath the water made Zelda's arousal and desire grow.

Before she knew it, as Paya finished her bathing and, unaware she was being watched, Zelda's hand moved between her legs again. It started twisting, moving in circles over her clothes, and pressing against the tender folds of her pussy as the white-haired woman leaned back and started floating, her hips, breasts, knees and face all that remained above the water as gentle motions of her hands kept her near the shore.
Paya watched the stars and clouds, and Zelda watched Paya for what felt like nearly an hour, as her body grew hotter and hotter. She was not near an orgasm, but she was getting there, when she realized what she was doing. For a moment, Zelda's hand went still as Paya eventually stood in the lake again and then leaned, walking toward her clothes. Had she been heard...?
No... Paya's movements were calm and unhurried, and she tucked the bandolier away without drawing one of her Sheikah-style daggers as she let the night air dry her skin and then dressed.

Once she was gone, Zelda remained where she was, paralyzed.

Not by fear, or venom, or magic, or even indecision. No, she was prevented from doing much of anything, even continuing to pleasure herself, because she was confused.

Impa had been something like, or an actual, lover once. Zelda had glimpses and fragments of memories to that effect, anyway. Perhaps they were only dreams, but... there was something there. The man too, whoever he was, had been equally intimate.

She was, of course, at least somewhat aware that just as a man and a woman could be in love, could please each other sexually, that two men could, or two women.

But... was she one of them? Was she... a lover of women?

Not only, she eventually decided, as her hands fell away from her body, her lust unsated for now and left to stew. I do... I do find them attractive. Mina and Mils were confusing enough, but I'd have... have rather kissed Sagessa than Hino that day. And Paya is so pretty... I want her. I... I have to admit that I do. I want to kiss her, and I want her to kiss me, to hold me... to touch me, to want me as I want her. As... as I think, once, I wanted her grandmother. We were... at least, I think we were... intimate. Intimate like lovers.

And the man... whoever he was, we were the same. I felt the same passion, or at least close to it, for both. Perhaps not the same other emotions. I don't know, I can't remember, if I loved either of them., Or both, or neither, I suppose. But there was certainly passion. That echoes in me still.

Zelda swallowed, tucked away in the shadows near the lake, and whispered, "Yes... I'm definitely interested in both men and women, aren't I? I suppose that's proof enough."

For some reason, even though that seemed the sort of thing that would make her mind race and rail against... something, it did not. How would she provide an heir, a future royal family, if she fell in love with a woman?

Somehow, she did not feel like that would be a problem.

"Hylia, what am I going to do with myself," she chuckled. She did not expect, nor receive, an answer... yet Zelda could not shake the feeling that it would be alright. Somehow.