Grandiose and opulent.

Those two words described what the Desert Palace Throne room was. Shimmering gold accents complimented by luxurious fabric. It housed tables and chairs made from finely chiseled stone. The throne itself had a red, green, and white color scheme, embellished with gemstones. Carpets woven with intricate patterns and colors, walls rich with tapestry, the room filled up with exotic incense with the guards on every corner, standing at attention.

Among the grandeur sat the lady who ruled it all. Decorated with Gerudo jewelry, sparsely dressed, wearing a decorated bra with a bare midriff. Wearing large, slack pink pants and red pointy shoes, the ensemble was completed with an orange jewel. She wore her hair in a red ponytail, her yellow eyes peering through everyone. This was Nabooru, self-proclaimed 'lone-wolf thief' and Lady of the Gerudo.

Everyone bowed before Nabooru who got up from her throne and bade everyone to rise. "My sisters! I welcome you back to your home in the desert!" She spoke with a soft Marsi dialect. "To our brothers and sisters from Hyrule, I bid you good tidings and hope that our shared goals maybe completed in the coming days!" A loud cheer was heard from the entire room. "Utia, Lady Felia, step forward."

The two ladies in question come from both sides of the room. Both of them knelt down before Nabooru who looked at them approvingly. "Utia, you have represented us well, and I thank you on behalf of all of our sisters! The King of Hyrule now knows of our plight and has brought reinforcements to stem the tide against the traitor forces." She turned to Felia. "Lady Felia, I hope that the coming days will bear cooperation and goodwill towards reconciliation between our two peoples!" There were some mumblings from some Gerudo, but they were quickly quashed by Nabooru's glare. "Before we start the feast in celebration of the delegation's return, there is one more matter to attend to. Aveil."

A fair-skinned Gerudo stepped forward. Wearing red Gerudo wear with a yellow diamond jewel on her forehead, she wore yellow greaves and gauntlets with a yellow diamond belt. "Bato of Termina, step forward."

"Crap." Bato looked at Link, who gave a smug grin and shrugged. Ignoring this, Bato took his time in approaching the throne. He knelt behind Utia and Felia.

"I understand it is you I need to thank for defending my sisters from an ambush. Tales of your heroics have already reached us before you even arrived. So, in recognition of your efforts, I present you with the Desert Eye." Aveil stepped forward and presented a golden chain with a beautiful orange gem attached to it. He took it, gingerly. "Know that you are a friend to the Gerudo, an ally to us and a harbinger of good will to us all!"

Flustered, Bato meekly replied, "you honor me, your grace."

Nabooru addressed the entire room. "And now! Let the feast begin!!"

It was the middle of the night, and Bato made sure that he didn't drink too much. Link was already sleeping; he stepped out of his room and into the foyer. Walking through, he arrived at a place overlooking one of the palace gardens. Each step that he took echoed on the marble floor. Towering columns cast shadows from the pale moon. Greenery and exotic plants added to the desert landscape.

He closed his eyes. The night air blew gently within the corridors. The trickling of a nearby fountain could be heard. Soft footsteps of guards and servants tip tapped randomly all over the palace. He could hear the gentle and loud snoring of people in the wing that he was on. Suddenly, one of the footsteps became louder. It was just like at the Castle Garden, when Impa attempted to sneak up on him. Someone was doing the same thing. The footsteps were lighter, but still, they made their sounds.

Despite all of his senses telling him to open his eyes, he knew he had to wait for the right moment to make his move.

Tip-tap. The footsteps were on the marble floor.

Tip-tap. The footsteps inched slowly and closer.

Tip…tap. The footsteps were poised to strike.

A still, brief silence and a change in air pressure made Bato duck beneath a striking blade. His palm opened; he pushed the assailant against the wall. Finding a neck, he pinned her and summoned a dagger to pierce the enemy. He opened his eyes.

He was holding Nabooru at dagger point. Her dagger poised to strike his arm. At once, he released her and stepped back awkwardly. "Your grace, I sincerely apologize. I thought I was being attacked."

Nabooru messaged her throat, "I cannot fault you for being cautious. Especially, being in an unknown place. Still, and I could be entirely wrong here, this might have been an overreaction on your part."

"Someone might get nervous. A person with their weapon drawn." Nabooru sheathed her dagger. "Again, your grace-"

She held up her hand, "just Nabooru, is fine. Thank you." She cautiously looked at him. "You were able to summon a dagger with your magic. I've never seen anything like that before."

"I can summon all manner of weapons and creatures. So long as I have enough magical power."

"A nifty trick. You should teach it to me sometime." She walked around him. "I meant what I said in the throne room. Rumors of your exploits have reached Desert Town. Your reputation precedes you, Bato. Some, not as flattering as you'd like to admit."

He crossed his arms, nodding. "My conduct on the battlefield was…unbecoming."

"Yes, I heard from Utia and Felia. Bringing Avesa to heel was one thing. But beating Uraka single-handedly, in combat, now…" She stopped for a moment. "Summoning a flying lizard to take out an entire enemy contingent. Your revival of the Great Deku Tree in the forest. Even I didn't know that Ganondorf was responsible for that."

Bato just studied her. She was just stating facts, but she was getting somewhere.

"Now you're planning to present yourself to Ganondorf. Such a bold, but foolish, action. You understand I cannot allow you to do that?"

"Why not, your grace? Are you afraid that he might use my power against you."

"That is exactly it." She stepped forward towards him. "Ganondorf is no ordinary man. He was once the greatest of us. The King of the Gerudo. Just because he doesn't carry a crown anymore doesn't make him less dangerous."

"I've been told, many times."

"I'll be honest, Bato. I have my reservations about you. The power you wield is incredible and destructive. Utia listed her concerns over what happened to Uraka."

"That's fair. I wasn't myself when I attacked her. The only thing I remember was being given the order to 'eliminate the traitors.'"

"Traitors they may be, but they are still our wayward sisters. Their eyes have not yet been opened to Ganondorf's lies and corruption. It has cost us dearly after all these years." She scoffed, angrily. "Damn those witches."

"I heard what you did to them. Congratulations on your victory."

She looked away and mumbled, "all I did was kill two old souls that forgotten how to die."

"How'd you manage that? Last I heard, they were the 'sorceress sisters.' They must have used their magic against you."

"Not when you have a potent absorption crystal." She looked at him with regretful eyes. "They were powerless against it. Without their magic, they were nothing."

Bato nodded. Nabooru had resorted to playing dirty, something that was frowned upon by the Gerudo. Either no one knew about that, or they didn't seem to care. Anything was better than Ganondorf's despot rule. "Thus, you have taken the desert for your own."

"I took the desert for our people!" She practically yelled at him. "My sisters were dying after that man attempted to salvage what was left of his precious plan. All resources, time, and compromises! All for nothing! That, I could not stand for!"

"So, you rebelled."

"Yes. I did. Hearing the king's defeat at Hyrule Field was what broke me. I truly wanted to believe in his vision for prosperity! For peace! Instead, he wastes lives to fulfill his self-importance."

"Now the million-rupee question. Were his actions and intentions nobler before or after the witches corrupted him?"

She went silent with shock. Then, she smiled. "Ha! Figured that you knew the king was corrupted by them. How his mothers turned him from a noble prince to a ruthless man. How?"

"By seeing through the eyes of the boy that sleeps now. Link."

"Hmm. The boy, Link, was it? I heard strange things about him as well. He was the one who warned the King of Hyrule of Ganondorf's plan. He put a stop to it before he was able to act. My sisters did a little digging and heard that he might have travelled from the future to warn us here in the past."

"The Castle Walls has ears, indeed."

"Only when the Gerudo are there. We can be very versatile. I believe Avesa served as the perfect example." She smiled a little. "At any rate, I can't discount the rumors, but I can't also believe in them."

"All true, I'm afraid."

She gave a small laugh; it echoed in the corridor. "Really? Do you have proof of this claim? I'm interested to know."

Bato took out a document from out of his pocket and handed it over to Nabooru. Unfolding the paper, it was revealed to be the Gerudo Membership Card. She studied the document once over. Then again. "This was signed by Aveil. When did this happen?"

"This is actually Link's. I took it from his satchel. He received it in the future when he recused some carpenters from the Gerudo fortress from four blade masters."

"You're joking, right? A little kid defeated four blade masters?"

"In the future. That means, at that time, he was an adult. So, yes. You tell me whether it is possible he could have done so." He pointed at the parchment. "That's proof of Link's bravery and skill."

Nabooru studied it a little while longer. Then, she handed it back to Bato. "Anything else?"

"The ice arrows are the prize for completing the Gerudo Training Grounds. The treasure of the Spirit Temple are the Silver Gauntlets and the Mirror Shield."

Nabooru took a step back. Her eyes pierced Bato's soul, making him feel uncomfortable. "Even I didn't know what the treasures were in the Spirit Temple. The ice arrows are only known to a select few!"

"I've seen the future through Link's eyes, remember? Link was the one that completed these tasks. That's how I know."

She held her chin, pondering. "Intriguing. Bato I-"

A loud bell rang throughout the city. Nabooru turned pale as Bato watched the lights turn on. Guards and servants were rushing out from the palace, taking positions in the outer courtyard. Some of them headed out towards the city. "What's going on?"

She grimly looked at him. "Trouble."

Link busted out of the door, sword, and shield equipped. He was impassive, looking at Bato. "The bell."

"I know." He gave a look to Nabooru, who looked just as perplexed. He turned to Nabooru, "by the sands of the desert, I will meet our enemies. By the moon and sun shall I fight to the end."

"Go then and make it so." Link nodded as he rushed down the end of the foyer and down the stairwell. Nabooru looked back to Bato, "A Gerudo warrior must swear this oath to a sister in arms or in the presence of others. He said it so naturally."

"Because he's done it before." Bato summoned his bound sword, its pale blue compared in the moonlight, "shall we?"

Determination and focus seemed to be the theme as every able-bodied Gerudo took spears, bows, and arrows and rushed towards one of the four entrances. The majority of them, however, were making ready at the western gate. Aveil was already coordinating groups and attack formations when Link suddenly appeared with sword, at the ready. The group of women stood there confused on why a child was on the battlefield. Aveil walked over to him, "what are you doing?"

She beheld him for a moment before noticing his sword and shield. Eyes wide, her mouth trying to formulate words of astonishment, befuddlement, and amusement all in one sentence. The Gerudo women started to speak in their tongues. Finally, Aveil crossed her arms. "Get into an attack formation." Nodding, Link moved without another word or emotion towards the nearby attack group. The air was charged with the clanging of spears, swords, and shields. Bato and Nabooru made their way a moment after Link arrived. Nabooru came to Aveil while Bato was looking for Link.

"If you're looking for the boy, he's over there," she pointed to the nearby attack group. "I have questions, but I will save them for later."

"Good idea." He left to go to the battle group.

Nabooru saw to her subordinate, "what do we have?"

"Scouts have made visual contact with the enemy forces. It looks to be forty strong, all horseback. They have spears, swords, and shields. They'll reach the village in fifteen minutes."

"Then we'll be here for a protracted battle." With a gesture, a group of spear women lined up in front of the village. The battle group started to move out towards the sands. Bato found Link in the group but said nothing. He was concerned about his ward's lack of emotion. It was like he was in a trance. Now, they waited. Archers behind, ready to fire. The spear woman directed their spears upward, with the attack group poised to strike at any enemy that was able to go through. In the moonlight, the torch fire burned brightly, casting long shadows across the dunes.

After what seemed to be an eternity, Link softly said, "here they come." Bato squinted to see a cloud of dust darkly contrasting the night sky. It was getting closer. The torchlights on the main road illuminated the invading force, but what the defenders saw was not what they were expecting. Instead of a fierce force with weapons in hand, more than half of their number were carrying wounded. The lead horse carried a white flag with her. The majority of them had various degrees of cuts, bruises, and scars. Some even were missing limbs.

"What, by the sands of the goddess, is this madness I see before me?" Nabooru asked rhetorically. Now the defenders seemed to be unsure of themselves. "They're not attacking, they're fleeing!"

"Fleeing from what?" Aveil asked as she gave the command to hold steady. The defenders held the line. Soon, her question would be answered by a monstrous, loud roar. From the sands behind the fleeing Gerudo, an orange fin appeared. A giant maw gaped open, what looked to be a giant crocodile snapping every few seconds. It swam in the sand, continuously gulping sand, trying to feed on the fleeing women.

The defenders, awestruck by the size of the gigantic monster, were silent. Some of them looked around to see what her battle sister was doing. Aveil and Nabooru said nothing but gave a silent look to each other of 'what is that thing?' and 'how are we even going to survive?' This silence was broken by the noise of an adult male, seemingly exasperated. "OH, COME ON!"

The attack group and Link looked at Bato, throwing his hands up in the air. He knew a molduga when he saw one. But this creature never existed in Ocarina of Time but in Breath of the Wild, one of the more modern Zelda titles. "What the fuck is a molduga doing here?!"

"You seem to know what that creature is," Link said, concerning. "Care to explain."

Bato shook his head. "I need bombs, and I need arrows." He turned to Link, "are you a good shot?"

"Was that supposed to be a joke?" Link got his bomb bag out and handed it over to Bato. "Now what?"

"I need a messenger!" At once, one of the women came over quickly and saluted him. "Tell Lady Nabooru I need some of her best archers and sword fighters! The beast we face is called a molduga. It's very sensitive to sound. I'll draw it out using bombs so it can sense the vibration. It'll jump up and eat it, with the bomb exploding inside. Once that happens, its soft underbelly will be exposed. That's when the archers will attack. Once the beast is down, swords, and spear women will attack directly. Got that?"

"I will relay this message, posthaste." Another salute and she was already rushing towards the back of the village. Bato rushed up a dune, seeing the fleeing Gerudos nearing. Joining him, Link moved up with him and the battle group watched on. When the horses roared under him, he started chucking bombs towards the Molduga. The bombs exploded behind the beast, but the molduga still kept following them. In frustration, he chucked the bombs more quickly. Somehow, the molduga sensed it and turned around towards the bombs.

Just as the other archers were arriving, the beast leapt up from the sand, swallowing the bomb. Exploding in its mouth, the molduga was stunned. "Fire!!" Bato roared and a salvo of arrows pierced the underbelly of the beast. Crashing down with a vicious thud, it remained motionless. "Attack!!" At once, the battle group rushed towards the underbelly, slashing and hacking at it. Link managed to land a few strong blows before it shook off its paralysis and dipped back into the sand. "No one moves! Move, and you're dead!" The battle group and archers stood still. Bato started to chuck more bombs and the molduga came and jumped out again, falling for the same trick.

Two more of these iterations and the beast was down for good. It made a mortal coil on the sand and exploded spectacularly. Cheers, of victory, filled the air. Bato looked at Link, who remained emotionless the entire time. While the battle with the molduga was going on, the fleeing Gerudo stopped before the spear wall. Under guard, the defenders carried their wounded inside, some of them succumbing to injuries. When Bato and Link returned, he saw Aveil and Nabooru speaking to one of Gerudo women carrying the flag of surrender.

"You fool!!" Aveil yelled and slapped the girl hard. Nabooru had to rush in to stop her. "Why did you lead that beast here?!"

"It was the best idea I could think of at the time!!" the girl yelled back. "We were far away from the Spirit Temple when that beast came out of nowhere and attacked us! We tried to beat it back, but our weapons couldn't penetrate those thick scales! We needed help and the village was close by! So, we came!"

"Don't you play stupid, Naufefi! I know you were trying to lead that beast here to destroy the village!"

Naufefi smiled at Aveil, enraging her, "if it meant taking down the enemies of my King with us, then." Aveil lunged at her, and both were now engaging in a fist fight. Some guards had to break them up before Nabooru shouted to both of them, "ENOUGH! Aveil, I expected better from you!" Aveil clicked her tongue but said nothing. Nabooru turned to Naufefi, "I will deal with you, later. Take her to the dungeon." The traitor Naufefi was led into the Desert Palace. Bato and Link walked past them, and he saw Naufefi scowl at him.

"Crazy bitch," he muttered, under his breath.

Link heard, but he said nothing. The two met with Nabooru and Aveil, who was getting a good tongue lashing. "— let your rage consume you! My second should be an example of what every warrior should aspire to be!"

"Forgive me, my Lady." Aveil humbly bowed. "I have failed you."

"So long as you do not fail me again in this way." She turned towards Bato. "It seems I have you to thank for dealing with that beast."

"By all accounts, that thing shouldn't be here. Like, at all."

"The desert holds many secrets and monsters unseen before. Perhaps this is one of them. I will admit that this is the first I've seen of it."

"That's because it never existed during your time! Were we able to gather intel on what happened to them?"

Nabooru looked absently at him. "Intel?"

Bato was silent for a moment, then sighed. "Did we learn anything about them or the situation they were in?"

Both Gerudos nodded, understanding what he was asking. "Of course. This was an advanced force, looking for weaknesses that they could exploit if they needed to enter the town. The beast suddenly appeared. They tried to fight it off, but their weapons were ineffective."

"They said that its scales were hard as diamonds," Aveil added. "It tore them apart. Naufefi, the girl that you just saw bounded and taken, was the group leader. She sought to bring her wounded back to the village. At worse, she thought to make the beast take us out along with the rest of her group."

"That's actually wild. Everyone did well. You have my thanks for the support."

"No one really knew how to fight that thing apart from you. To the battle group leader, it sounded reasonable, so they just followed your lead." She narrowed her eyes and whispered in his ear. "Link, was it? I know about your trip into the future." Link was momentarily shocked before returning to calm. Meanwhile, Aveil wondered what Nabooru said to him that made him shocked.

She whispered again. "Did you see any creatures like this in your future?"

Link shook his head.

Then Nabooru looked at Bato, with an inquisitorial glare, "then Bato, how did you know how to fight that thing?"

"Um…Ah…" What could Bato say that would get him out of this situation? His mind tried to formulate an excuse for this freakish knowledge. But it appears that Link was a step ahead of him, this time, "he's a keeper of lore and a prophet. But that doesn't matter. Your people are safe, Nabooru. That's what counts."

Before Nabooru could ask to elaborate, one of the guards appeared. "My Lady. There's one among the group that wishes to speak with you, personally." She came in and whispered, "the desert eye sees all."

"The beast stirs in the sand." Aveil and Nabooru looked at each other, "You'll have to excuse us."

"Of course." The two Gerudos left with the guard. "Thanks for the save, Link."

"No problem," he said, deadpanned. "I'm going back to bed."

"…All right." Link nodded and started to head towards the foyer. "Link. I'm still here." The boy didn't seem to acknowledge. There was something seriously wrong with him, and Bato wasn't sure what it was.

"Look at that stupid kid!" Link found himself on a platform, with one smaller platform for each direction. Underneath him was a tile with ancient Gerudo sand scripts. The symbol of the sun surrounded by what seemed to be snakes. "He came on his own to offer himself as a sacrifice to the great Ganondorf!"

A fire glyph ignited to life. Intricate in its design. Kotake arose from it, with her broom, sinisterly smiling at the boy. "With my flame, I will burn him to the bone!" Spinning around, she turned herself into a giant, riding her broom and laughing. Her hair was aflame.

An ice glyph froze the ground. Intricate in its design. Koume arose from it, with her broom, sinisterly smiling at the boy. "With my frost, I will freeze him to his soul!" Spinning around, she turned herself into a giant, riding her broom and laughing. Her hair was like icy fire.

Both spun around and around, laughing at the boy who had seemingly brought forth his demise by coming to their lair. The battle began, both sisters hovered apart from one another. Kotake took aim, firing a red beam at Link. In response, Link held up his mirror shield and aimed it for Koume. Hitting it, Koume furiously shook off the attack. Now it was Koume's turn. A blue beam was fired from the other side. Link barely hit Kotake with the mirror shield. She, like her sister, shook off the attack furiously. Again and again, they played this game. Fire and ice, hitting ice and fire, respectively. Gerudoian curses flew out of the witches' mouths.

After a few of these bouts, the sisters started to circle faster and faster. "OK, let's get serious now, Kotake!"

"Oh, OK, Koume." The witches started to merge into one another, spinning faster and faster until fusing into a new whole being. Fire and ice hair on each side, her jewel also. Dressed in ancient Gerudo wear, she held the witches broomsticks like wands. Shocked, Link took a step back as she winked and restarted her assault. Firing three fire projectiles, it bounced off the shield, redirecting the power back to her. Stunning her, Link hopped over the platform to deliver the finishing blow.

But Twinrova was crafty. Putting her broomsticks together, she hit Link with a fire/ice blast that sent him back to the central platform. Burns and frostbite all over his body, he felt as if he was being pulled apart. "Foolishness boy! Utter foolishness!" Summoning a giant purple circle, the energies from below welt up to it before…

The boy woke up in a cold sweat, like always when he encountered a terrifying dream. Though Link remembered dodging the attack and continued to ultimately defeat Twinrova, it was still too close for comfort. Looking around, he saw the moonlight on the carved window casting its light into the room.

"Trouble sleeping?" Link turned around to see Bato, sitting on a chair. He was there, just as always. He felt a tightness in his gut, anger starting to build up. He wanted to show Bato that he was strong. That he could still handle himself when he needed to. The fear paralyzed his spirit and body. Slumping, he sadly nodded his head. Bato got up, but before he did anything, Link slammed his fist on the ground.

"Why, Bato? Why do I have these nightmares?"

Bato sat down right in front of him. "A nightmare's purpose is to reveal to the dreamer his or her darkest fear so that they may face them. Tell me, Link." His soft voice irritated him. Full of understanding and caring. No one else showed him the same courtesy. It was always a fulfilling interaction with someone. He got something and they got something. Bato provided this love unconditionally, and he felt frustrated that he couldn't give anything in return. "Tell me, what's wrong?"

"I don't know!" He yelled impatiently. "It just keeps happening! Look, I don't wanna talk about it!"

The man nodded his head. "No problem. I'll be here."

That moment was when Link's anger boiled over, "you always say that! You always say that you'll always be there for me! But you do stupid things that risk your life!"

"Are you talking about the molduga fight?"

"I'm talking about everything!! Every single thing that you've done was for someone else! Why can't you do something for yourself!" Telling him his honest feelings and not keeping them bottled up felt liberating. He still felt bad about lashing out on the person he trusted the most.

"Are you talking about me? Or you?"

Link screamed at him, "this isn't about me!! It's about you! It's always about you!"

He still kept the same, level, quiet voice. "What's going on?"

The boy couldn't answer. He stuttered for a bit, trying to come up with an answer.

"Tell me honestly, Link. Why am I upsetting you?"

"You're gonna leave me again!!" He broke down into bitter tears, water streaming from his face. "I don't want you to go!!"

"I'm not going anywhere."

"I know what's at stake! I've done exactly all the things you've been doing! I know that every time you get yourself in a situation, you risk your life for the sake of others! But what about me, huh? Do I even matter to you? Do you even care?!"

Bato's jaw dropped, stunned by what he was hearing. "Are you asking for something, Link?"

"N-No! Yes, no, I don't know!" Breathing quickened. His head started to hurt. The room felt like it was spinning. Feeling woozy, he almost fainted, but Bato caught his shoulders before he fell.

"Just because you need someone, it doesn't make you weak. I told you before, if I wanted to go, I would have done so already. No tricks. No lies. I will be here for you."

Link wanted to hear the words from his mouth. "Prove it, then. Prove that you'll always be there for me."

"I will always be there for you, Link. I will always be there because… I love you." An admission to fatherly love. He never had anyone say those words to him before. Friends. Acquaintances. Comrades. He had no one that would unconditionally love or care for him like he did.

He didn't want that to go away.

Bato started as he held the boy's crying frame. "In my old world, I used to be full of myself. I never cared for anyone, and they never cared for me. I hoarded knowledge for the sake of showing it off and in the end, I was left all alone. I was selfish, self-centered, always thinking about me. When I started this new life, I vowed to never again to be the man I was before. I was going to give my all to the people I care about. Maybe I'm still the same selfish man I was, but now I'm that person for all the right reasons. I've come to care about this world and everyone in it."

The boy started to calm down, as he kept on speaking to him. "You never had someone love you like this before. You probably feel bad that you're not giving me something in return. But you are giving me something. You are entrusting to me your precious life. The life that you held on to throughout time in the hopes of finding something more. That's why you came back, isn't it, Link? You came back to Hyrule to find that love. Well, it's right here. Regardless of whatever happens to me, know that I will always love you."

"I don't want you to go. I don't want you to leave me again."

"All life ends, Link. It's just a matter of when. But, by the grace of the goddesses, it won't be for a long time. Like I said before, I'm going to be doing a lot of stupid and impulsive things that will probably make you upset. The world of Hyrule, as you know, is always in peril. Even though I wished for a quiet and peaceful life, I can't stand by and watch people suffering. Not when I have the power to do something about it."

"Spoken like a true hero," Link whispered.

As the two looked at each other, Link felt an enormous weight off his shoulders. Bato had said he loved him. Like a father to a son. He made his feelings known, and he came to understand why Bato did the things that he did. A crash of plates on the floor interrupted the wholesome moment. Both turning, they saw Nabooru in the shadows. She cursed and fled out of the room.

Link looked at the door for a moment. "Should we go after her?"

Bato smiled and said, "that can wait until tomorrow. For now, I'd like to stay like this for a bit."