Following the activation of the main tower and getting a glimpse of the entire desert on the slate, Link paraglided straight into the desert while watching Barnabus be forced to run the entire path again.

It was funny to him, watching his friend have to do the entire hill once more, but at least the path was cleared this time and downhill, so it made a much smoother and faster trek.

Link eventually landed atop the old ruins and waited around for his friend. He could see sleeping lizalfos around the outskirts, but uninterested in the idea of engaging in a useless fight, he simply camped out atop the old sandstone.

He touched the sandstone and traced his hands along the craftlines that had been shaved by the endless sands of the desert, and wondered what the ruins may have looked like long ago.

I wonder how they built this stuff… Link admired the stones' exact measurements and fitting the stones so high up, where some places in the broken arches had intricate carvings, though now weathered by years of wind and the small sand granules in storms.

In the distance, he soon caught sight of three sand seals coming into view, but only two Gerudo guards with them, racing full speed towards the ruins. Sensing urgency on their parts, Link jumped down from the pillar he'd been sitting on and stood by as they halted their seals and came forward.

"Are you the Hylian champion?" One spoke to him in a heavy accent.

Hylian champion, it's been a while since I've been called that! Link nodded.

"You must make haste, there is a problem with Vah Naboris."

Link's eyes widened. Had he truly not imagined that colour shift? Had it been real this entire time?

Zelda. "What kind of problem?" Link hesitated to ask.

"Monster problems."

Without another word spoken, they showed him the extra seal. "I have a guard on his way from the tower," he pointed back.

"I will find him." The second guard nodded and ran back to her seal, then drove further into the ruins while he followed the first guard towards Gerudo Town.

The winds had begun growing stronger, obscuring their view of the area, but nevertheless, Link stayed close to the guard as they went over dunes, hills and around stray pillars.

He marvelled at the way the guard managed to maintain her direction in the aggravating storm, but at the same time, he worried about Zelda.

A monster problem inside Vah Naboris? He'd heard of them swarming around the area, but never inside of the Beasts apart from keese or stalfos.

Another reason to dislike Sheikah Technology . Link thought with growing frustration. It seemed anytime he looked away, they did something they weren't supposed to. Guardians weren't meant to attack Hyruleans and yet, they aimed at them so quickly, no matter the method of detection, and now the Divine Beasts were doing this too? For machines meant to help them against the Calamity, they weren't doing a great job…

The clouds and winds began thinning out until they rode out into open sands. Gerudo town was within view, but so was Vah Naboris, who's blue lights were visibly fading then reappearing.

He disconnected his shield from the tether and dashed towards the beast with the guard.

He needn't be told even once to hop onto the lowered platform, dashing right up the stairs, bow at the ready and bomb arrows in his quiver.

Before even reaching the main compartment of the beast, he could smell the rotten foul blood of slain monsters, the growls and snarls of bokoblins and moblins were loud and clear, but so was the clashing of blades.

A zap of lightning reverberated through him via the beast, and a flash of light came from the inside, then followed by pained growls and the smell of more blood.

Just how many are in there? The glowing kept fading and reigniting around the beast, meaning it had to be enough to falter Chief Urbosa's control over Vah Naboris.

He nocked two bomb arrows into his string and ran up the stairs, ready to shoot.

Link hated the sight before him.

The main chamber was filled to the brim with living monsters of most species, and there were far more alive than dead. Urbosa was busy fighting a small swarm of moblins around her, Impa was fighting off a small group of black bokoblins, and up on the platform gave him the most stress of all.

His heart beat rapidly in his throat, adrenaline surged in his veins, and his grip squeezed the arrows and bow he held.

Dame Caya and Purah were flanking Zelda on both sides, knocking and attacking various lizalfos— the electric kinds— and they were fighting them with metal weapons. The worst match-up possible.

He aimed to the stairs along the walls and released his bomb arrows, watching them fly and hit the monsters.

"Link!"

As much as he wanted to go grab Zelda and run to get her out of here, it would have been far too difficult to just leave the others there to fight.

Link grabbed more arrows and did the same to the opposing side of the bridges, clearing the path just enough as to not catch Purah or Dame Caya in the blow.

He stashed the bow away and pulled out the Master Sword and his shield, swinging at the crowds around him left and right, dodging when he needed to, parrying clubs and short lizalfos blades.

Then a whip to the back had him almost dropping his sword. He pivoted and sliced down the lizalfos, but not fast enough, for it jumped back before the blade could make contact.

I hate these things, he watched it stand on its hind legs, preparing to shoot its liquid attack. As it launched its projectile, Link spun off his foot to the side, the monsters surrounding him slowed to an almost frozen state before he jumped forward and sliced down his foes one after the other while he had the opportunity.

More lightning went off in the background, then three moblins in the back collapsed to the ground, motionless.

In his change of focus, things seemed to revert back to their regular motion state and he cursed as a bat came into contact with his back.

Link knew he was constantly surrounded from all sides no matter how many he took down, it seemed as though they were recovering just as fast.

Then his eye caught it.

One of the keese overhead wasn't glowing its regular yellow. It had a distinct purple hue to it.

They're not regular monsters.

He leapt off the ground and carved a way through the monsters, running to the walls and up the path that lined the outer side, then emerged onto the bridge where the three girls were, Purah and Dame Caya still defending the only ways to get on top.

"What do we do? They just keep coming!" Purah shouted as he knelt and pulled out his bow again.

"Keep doing what you're doing." Link ordered as he nocked three bomb arrows and released them into the crowd below. It seemed a far more effective strategy in disposing of the weaker beasts.

He watched as numerous parts of the crowd began to clear with the flames, monsters burning left and right and falling to the ground. The black and silver monsters of the groups seemed to recover just fine.

He'd need a few to fight of those ones himself; it'd be better to go with a blade, Link knew from years of experience. He'd be wasting his precious supply of his explosive ammunition if he used them on the stronger of them.

Without looking in his quiver, he hastily counted the bomb arrows in his pack.

Only eight left.

Better save them.

He switched to his shock arrows and nocked only one this time, shooting it into the crowd to test its efficacy.

A few fell to the ground, but not nearly enough to satisfy him. The arrows were effective, but not enough.

Well, if he could get something done with them, it was better than to waste and run out of his best ones.

Then a bomb barrel came flying out from the side entrances.

Link kept his arrow at the ready as Captain Barnabus finally joined the fray, frazzled and confused by the scene that awaited him.

Link waited until the fires died down before launching his arrows out into the groups he knew were easily more wounded by the arrows and released them one after the other, shocking them one after the other while felling them.

"Get the lizalfos!" He shouted down to the captain, who pulled out his usual spear.

His friend, having an expertise in the longer range weapons and being a terror with a spear in hand, got to work on the lizalfos and the white monsters, pushing them away with repeated jabs. The man performed full arcs with the spear, keeping his space open and well protected with both ends of the weapon, no matter how he was attacked from any side.

He has his things in order. Link focused away from the group and aimed his arrows to the lesser groups around and switched to fire arrows, which he had many. He didn't use too much of his focus on aim, there were still so many, he simply shot and hit no matter how he directed them.

By the time the crowds had thinned out, no monsters had approached the bridge. There weren't enough and none could get even close with how well guarded they had kept it.

Link scooted closer to the centre of the bridge and made his way next to Zelda.

"Dame Caya," He whispered quietly, catching the attention of the guard to his left. "How well do you shoot under pressure?" He asked.

"Did I score a 96 on the last examination?" She seemed to almost question herself.

"Here." He took her spear from her hands and gave her half of his arrow supply. "I'm getting her out of here." He told her. "Use as many as you need."

The woman nodded and took a knee, getting her stance ready and nocking the first few regular arrows.

Purah seemed to understand the task, getting up and quietly retreating behind the guard to their sides.

Link grabbed Zelda's hand and helped her up from off the ground and pulled her along the bridge, then around the beast and down out the entrance of Vah Naboris.

The path was entirely cleared of monsters thankfully. He felt immense relief the moment he hit the sands below with Zelda.

The first thing he did was throw his arms around her and pull her in close. "I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner. Are you alright? Is the baby alright? They didn't touch you, did they?-"

"Link, I'm fine," she hugged him back and tried to reassure him. "I'm a bit spooked, but I'll be fine."

He released her but still kept her close "You promise?"

Despite her smile, he could still sense her fright, the stress she felt, and her intense worrying. She seemed fine at first glance; no scratches or bruises, no blood or tears in her clothes, but he couldn't help but still fear for her.

"I feel fine, thank you for coming." She kissed his cheek softly and hugged him again, but this time gently.

The flashing of Vah Naboris' lights appeased none of the knots in his stomach, however.

"I still want you to get checked over," Link told her, his voice still full of worry. "Can I leave you with the Gerudo until this is resolved? I can't let them fight all of that by themselves."

"Will you be alright?" Zelda asked him, taking a brief look over at him as well. "I saw you get hit a few times there."

Link nodded. "I fight better knowing you're in safe hands."

He knew he'd feel too guilty if something happened to anyone inside the Divine Beast when he could have prevented the severity of it.

Zelda stayed quiet a moment before nodding. "I'll go with Purah."

There were a number of Gerudo guards approaching, and he knew that it was likely they'd also escort Zelda and Purah back to the walled city.

"I'll catch up when we wrap up, I promise," he told her, kissing her softly and briefly before she separated and followed Purah away with two of the city guards.

He waited until she was much closer to the city before sighing and getting ready to return back into the Divine Beast.

Back into the fray I go.

...

It was nearly evening when they all emerged from Vah Naboris, entirely spent of their energy, arrows, and tired beyond imaginable. Link wanted to sleep in the sands, as did the two Royal guards and Impa. Urbosa seemed ready for a drink and looked as though she would be getting the best sleep in ages.

Just as they'd been wrapping up, a lynel with an axe had reared its ugly head out of thin air, taking them all by surprise.

There being five experienced fighters with injuries kept to a minimum, but a full rampaging lynel was still nothing to scoff at. Dame Caya had nearly taken an axe to the torso if she hadn't parried just in time and been thrown back by the strength, and Impa had nearly gotten caught in the crossfire of Urbosa's lightning strikes.

Link had once again noted the distinct purple hue of the electricity around the monster, but once it fell, the colour disappeared and he hadn't had the chance to find the source, but he had no doubt of its origin.

The monsters in the highlands, the ones here and the surprise lynel, they all reeked of the same distinct magical smell he'd detected in the temple and at the ball.

It had to be that creepy seer with the hood and the magical floating ball thing.

While Link hadn't managed to track him down, he was abundantly thankful they'd only faced a lynel and not a few of them. He recognised that the situation could have been much much worse, he could have created something entirely different, he could have made them all lightning-proof, he could have made them all white or black, he could've done all moblins or all lizalfos, he could have sent hinoxes, stalnoxes or molduga to the area, maybe one of his champions clones he's demonstrated at the ball with Mipha and Daruk, but he hadn't.

But why not just overwhelm us?

Had the seer sent anything more—if it was even him doing it— it would have resulted in casualties, Link was sure of it. The crowds they dealt with would have felled any number of fighters had he and Barnabus not shown up. The only truly experienced monster fighter in the group was Urbosa and maybe Impa, but they'd all come out relatively in good shape, if not extremely exhausted.

Is there a limit to his magic? Link wondered. If he'd sent the lynel ahead of time, surely one of them would have been out of commission. Having enough experience fighting a lynel in the company of other monsters, Link knew it was incredibly hard to focus on more than one foe like that at a time. There were few people in the castle who could fight lynels and survive, even less could beat them on their own. Link could count them all on one hand.

Why only one and why at the end? There had been monsters of all strengths and types, some even stray travellers could defend from. There were monsters most knights could have struggled against, and some even the strongest guards could have fallen to.

Why didn't you send more? Link struggled to think of more than two reasons: Either he was testing them or he had a magical limit he couldn't exceed.

The highlands and Gerudo town had quite the distance between them. To control or summon something from so far away either meant he'd been somewhere in between, or he could summon from a hiding place and remain safe.

There's no use fussing over that now, he's gone. Link wanted to hit the ground in frustration, but he had no energy to do so. He was spent.

"Alright folks, on your feet." Urbosa called out to the bunch of them laying in the sand motionless and tired.

"No," Dame Caya moaned out. "I want to sleep." She whined.

"The desert is freezing at night, you won't want to be here when the sun sets."

Link looked over at the highlands and noted the sun had already dipped below the mountain range. A chill came over them briefly as a gust of wind blew by. It was nice compared to the heat of fighting in the desert.

I need to go check on Zelda. Link struggled up to his feet and started walking the short distance to the town with Impa following tiredly behind him.

"And where are you going?" Urbosa called out to him with a snicker.

"Checking on the Princess before I go back to the bazaar." He called back out to her.

Upon Link's return to the front gate of Gerudo Town, he bid Zelda a good night with strong hesitation. Zelda understood why, she'd nearly been trapped in Vah Naboris with an overwhelming amount of monsters and she could have very easily died.

"I'll see you in the morning, I promise." She told him at the gate.

Link seemed apprehensive about leaving, shifting his weight between his feet. For once, his emotions showed on his face as clear as day like it had earlier; unease was everywhere on him and he reeked of it. "Do you want me to meet you here or in Kara?"

Zelda glanced at Urbosa who smiled back. "I can meet you at the oasis." Urbosa would likely escort her back, but regardless, she still had Purah, Impa and Dame Caya with her. A small yet sturdy defence even if the latter was currently nursing a rather nasty scratch sustained in the fighting.

"Sounds good to me." Link said. He gave her one last hug and a stealthy kiss on the cheek before turning away from the gate and walking towards the bazaar.

Zelda watched him walk, sometimes she would catch him slowly turning around to look back at the town, but then he'd keep walking when he saw that she was still there.

She wondered what that was about.

"Come, you must be hungry." Urbosa led her into the town with a smile. "It's been a while since you've come to see us."

...

As always, the food was to die for.

Well, not literally. Zelda was taking that sentence for granted considering the earlier events of the day.

The savoury spiced kabobs hitting her tongue was heavenly in the chilled breeze of the desert's evening. A yoghurt drink cooled the spiced prickles the meat left behind and then dessert afterwards had been a small chilled fruit and cream snack in a bowl.

Once they had their fill, they travelled out to a recommendation of Urbosa's, more specifically a bar.

Before entering, Zelda awkwardly looked down at her now-obvious swollen belly then back at Urbosa, unsure of what to say.

"They serve non-alcoholic drinks as well." She informed her with a smile. "But I can go for a drink. The Heroines above know I need one." She laughed heartily and led her inside where she waved at the lady sitting at the desk and walked by to the patio where there was a low chair, the fabric embroidered with brightly coloured Gerudo designs.

Urbosa took a seat across from her and Zelda carefully lowered herself down into the chair. It was far lower than it looked and she wasn't used to going so far down with the belly, it was starting to be difficult to bend.

"Do tell me when you can't pick up your things from the floor anymore, I'd love to see Hyrule's next King pick up your things every few minutes," Urbosa joked light heartedly with her.

A Gerudo woman came by and handed a noble pursuit to the chieftain while she handed Zelda a blue-green drink with an ice cube floating around the top.

Zelda smelled the drink, recognising the sweet notes of hydromelon. She sipped it and smiled as the smooth liquid hit her tongue. She felt as though she was intensely dehydrated at that moment and almost wanted to down the drink in one go.

"I apologise once more about the events from earlier tonight." Urbosa sighed for the fifth time.

Zelda thanked the Gerudo woman with a small thank you before turning back to Urbosa. "You had no way of foreseeing such a thing, please do not apologise." Zelda sipped the drink again.

"My job was to protect you and I nearly failed, and for that, I hope you can forgive me. I failed both you and Link in that manner."

"Please, I'm fine. Link is fine. Most of us are fine," Dame Caya could make good use of the healing balm the healers gave her. "I can guarantee that Link feels no ill-will towards you for the incident earlier."

Zelda took another sip, but kept going quietly as the sounds of crickets and cicadas began to fill the air.

"I broke so many promises," Urbosa lamented quietly. She seemed lost in the horizon, her eyes glossy in the moonlight.

Zelda frowned into her drink. She knew how the Gerudo felt about broken promises, whether they be to themselves or done to others. It always gave her the impression of a weight of guilt upon the conscience, more so than Hyrule where promises were often broken and taken lightly. Zelda would have compared it to swearing an oath rather than just the sweet-talking she was used to in the castle.

"You need not see it like that, I beg of you." Zelda tried to raise her own spirits by drinking, but the mood of the patio was quickly taking a turn as the smell of rain and humidity seemed to take over.

It was sadness, but so much more that Zelda couldn;t properly describe. She was too new at identifying moods by scent but this was clearly along the lines of an intense guilt.

She watched Urbosa down much of her Noble Pursuit in one single sip.

I hope she doesn't get drunk. Zelda was in no mood to attempt to drag a tall muscular, probably heavy, Gerudo chieftain back to her quarters.

Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen her get drunk recently. The last time had been a few years ago, when she and Link were old enough to do so. Urbosa had allowed Link into town–heavily disguised as a vai , of course—and the two Champions had attempted to drink each other under the table. Urbosa had won. By a lot. She'd barely been tipsy by the time Link had hit the floor.

She didn't know what had been going through Link's mind at the time, he's the lightest drinker she's ever met, by far. And the only one to get Urbosa past the point of tipsy had been Daruk.

Zelda went to set her drink down on the small table to her right and quickly discovered a small platter of diced fruit.

Surely a mistake, she looked around, unsure of what to do with the sudden appearance of the fruit, she hoped that maybe someone had put it down by mistake on her table, but she found no one.

"You'll keep getting those until they know you can't take more." Urbosa explained without looking over.

Zelda cocked her head to the side. "But why?" She hesitated to pick a small piece of fruit from the platter. It was sweet on the tongue, but a bit tangy as well.

"Pregnancy is rare here," Urbosa started to explain. "So we do our best to care for those who are." she motioned to the platter and plucked a small piece for herself. "We are self-sufficient in such a manner, but even so, our vehvi are few in numbers. We can seek Hyrulean partners, but why do so when we don't need to leave home to find one?"

Zelda wasn't sure if she detected sadness in Urbosa's tone, but she chose to keep an eye out for it regardless. "How so?" Zelda pushed a bit. If there was a difference in biology between them, she'd have loved to take notes she couldn't find in her own library.

"You don't know?" Urbosa looked at her surprised. "We Gerudo can only get pregnant through our cycles and they only happen once or twice every year, compared to you Hyrulean women who can be with child at most points of the year, although your best time is during your cycle."

"Oh." Zelda lay a hand on her belly. It had happened the first time for her, but there were so many that must've tried many times, praying hundreds of times to get such a thing.

She hadn't realised the Gerudo could only get pregnant through their heat or rut…

No wonder their numbers are so small.

"It is a fickle gift the moon bestows upon us, and it is a gift we protect with our very beings." Urbosa finished, swirling her glass in a slow, relaxed motion. "You should know the town is abuzz with the news of your pregnancy, there are wagers for the gender of your baby." she smiled and sipped her drink.

Zelda giggled quietly. "And what do you think it'll be?"

"A lovely vai, I've put down a few rupees." Urbosa winked. "How am I to play with your child if they can't come here to see me as you did so often?"

"You can bend the rules?" Zelda batted her eyelashes.

"Or if you have a voe, you can dress them like a vai and then we'll talk."

"I make no promises!" Zelda sipped the last of her juice, and as she went to place the glass down, she found another full of the same content waiting for her.

Link pulled himself into the top bunk of the inn with the last of his strength. He didn't know if he had the strength to pull the sheets of the bed over him despite the looming chill of the desert coming in from the windows.

"Well, you wanted your workout." He heard Barnabus joke from the lower bunk.

Link groaned. Yes, that was indeed a workout, but not the one he'd been hoping for. "The universe can ignore me the next time I say I want to fight."

"I request thee to never utter another request like that out loud ever again." Barnabus muttered. "I think you shouldn't even wish it in your head."

"I won't." he snickered to himself. If that was a lesson the universe wanted him to learn, he would gladly remember today.

Towers, monsters, death-defying jumps over bottomless chasms, lynels, Link wanted all of it to be done with.

"Please don't summon Calamity Ganon via the universe." His friend asked. "I'll tear your head off."

"Don't remind me of that." Link wanted to smack his head against the wall of the inn. I completely forgot about the Calamity again…

"Imagine this shit happened at the same time as the Calamity rising."

"Can you stop thinking of nightmare scenarios please?"

"What? I'm just saying, Goddess, that'd be one way to kill us all."

"If you don't shut up, I'll kill you myself right now."

"Fine, fine." There was no noise for a bit apart from the shuffling of blankets. "Hey Robbie?" Link heard called out from below him.

"Robbie is sleeping." Link told him.

"Robbie, your shit sucks."

" He's sleeping." Link let his arm hang to motion him to stop and let the Sheikah man sleep. In the dim light of the one lantern of the inn, Link watched a small apple get flung from the bunk below. For fucks sake.

"Robbie!"

"What?" he heard his groggy voice reply back and the fruit got thrown back.

"The Divine Beasts suck balls."

"Zaktep ki. "

"What's that mean?"

"That means 'fuck off' in Sheikah." Link muttered, turning his head into his pillow. "Let him sleep, you dumbass."

It seemed to work. Link heard his friend grumble an apology, then some shuffling again before the silence took over the inn's sleeping area. Link was thankful the only people in today were him, Barnabus and Robbie, he would've felt bad for any of the other patrons had there been some in the inn and not the tents.

He tried to close his eyes and shut his brain off, but tonight, his mind didn't seem to want to do the simple task.

Link couldn't stop thinking of the events of the day. Had the Gerudo guards not come to grab him with the sand seals, would he have missed everything? Would he have come back to a massacre?

Don't think like that. He tried to shake the idea from his mind, but the thought of having just relaxed around the ruins while that fighting was happening haunted him.

First the Guardians, then the Champions' clones, now the Divine Beasts like he had feared before?

He almost didn't want Zelda going near them, but then he knew he'd seem controlling if he dared make such a request to her. She already had so few freedoms in the castle, could he really ask her to give up another one for the sake of his worries?

He wanted Zelda the furthest away from those deadly lasers, from the fighting, from anything that might be involved in the war against the Calamity, but he knew that wasn't realistic, even if she was pregnant. Every instinct in his being screamed at him to take her and run away from all of it, somewhere away from the violence and danger.

Even the castle wasn't seeming like the safest place, which only drove the desire to relocate somewhere better. Maybe he could find a place where Zelda could lead that simplistic life she craved away from the courts of gossip, it wasn't a bad idea, Link thought it'd be nice to settle somewhere away from the judgy nobles where he and Zelda could just raise their family in relative peace and quiet.

Oh that'd be nice.

But the haunting thought of the fighting and the looming threat of the Calamity remained over that picturesque dream.

Would this happen again? This was by far the most violent monster uprising to date, how soon could the next time realistically be? Would there be a next time? Would he be there in time if today repeated itself once more?

"Stop worrying so much, you're stinking up the place."

Link bit the inside of his cheek rather painfully at the idea of a next time happening. "Is it bad that I don't want Zelda stepping foot in those things ever again?" Link looked out the window at Vah Naboris sitting in the distance, her solid blue light no longer faltering and fading away, no flashing or changing colours.

"I get it, don't worry."

"I can't just tell her never to step foot in one again."

He heard snickering below. "You'll sound like her father if you do."

Link felt himself gag involuntarily, the strength nearly making him throw up. " Never say those words ever again."

The idea at first glance was fine… to him. He didn't want to worry about Vah Ruta, Vah Rudania, or Vah Medoh, all of which were a lot harder to get into and out of during their resting periods.

Vah Ruta's resting place was in the middle of a reservoir, Vah Medoh rested on a giant perch above Rito Village but was in the air more often than not, and Vah Rudania perched near Death Mountain did nothing to ease his worries.

What if the same thing happened there as well? They got lucky with the way Vah Naboris had its legs bent on the ground, the exit having been on the solid ground.

If the same situation happened with Vah Medoh, they'd be stuck in the sky until Revali could regain control or fly Zelda down—the idea terrified Link even more. If it happened in Vah Ruta, they could always jump into the reservoir and count on the Zora to get them to shore, but Vah Rudania was atop a damn volcano with steep cliff sides and magma pools everywhere they looked, and often resting near the peak. That wasn't exactly where he wanted Zelda to begin with.

Could Zelda even get to Goron City like that? Zelda was already starting to complain about walking on uneven ground, would she realistically be able to make the three hour trek to Goron City with so many areas that needed to be climbed over and the heat?

It was hard to imagine they'd get any further than the first checkpoint—not to insult Zelda's ability to persevere or anything—but the idea starting to appear ludicrous that a pregnant woman would willingly put herself through that hell-walk. Even he hated that walk.

"Maybe you can think of a condition or something like that?" His friend suggested.

"That could work." He hesitated with the idea of restricting Zelda from the things she loved so much. "But how would I phrase that? I'm not good with words."

"I think you might have to put your foot down on that one." He heard his friend sigh defeated. "Maybe… Maybe say it like 'I'd rather you not enter the Divine Beasts without me there'? You think that'd work?"

"I still think I'm digging myself a grave with that."

"Then explain how that -" he emphasised loudly, but Link was sure his friend was motioning to the Divine Beast, "-absolutely terrified you. I don't know who that wouldn't work on, but man, I wouldn't want Rana or Eli anywhere near those things with all that I've heard in the recent weeks."

Link heard his friend mutter a couple of things quietly along the lines of 'heart attack' and 'today'.

"I'll think about it, I guess." Appealing to Zelda's love for him might get him further than tough love, but he still risked hurting her with the request. Link turned fully onto his side and watched Naboris' light in the distance. For the first time in a very long time, he found the Gerudo laws chafing.

After four glasses of fruit juice and two platters of small snacks, Zelda was just about ready to jump off the patio to escape any more stealthy gratuities. Urbosa seemed to laugh at Zelda's panic everytime a new item made an appearance on the small table.

It seemed as though Urbosa herself had had enough to drink; she was three noble pursuits in and she'd nearly set the glass down next to the table . She had barely just caught the glass before it hit the floor, but it was her sign to slow down her drinks.

Zelda was the first to move from the seat, needing to awkwardly push herself up from the chair in the oddest of manners; feet slightly further apart than she would have liked and her back trying to snap itself in half.

"Why are your chairs so low?" she muttered as she finally stood up properly. Zekda glared at the low chair, hoping the chair could momentarily catch on fire.

"I'd have sat us at a table, but then we wouldn't have been able to watch the moon." Urbosa shrugged, as she stood up effortlessly.

Zelda glared at the back of her head.

She quickly caught up to the Gerudo matriarch as she walked out of the bar and out into the open town.

Most had gone to sleep already, but Zelda could spot a woman here and there sitting quietly near their stalls by a small open flame, one woman even had a small child curled into her side with a blanket over them both.

She continued walking with Urbosa in silence until they came to a back alley where a small statuette of the Goddess stood on a small blanket.

"Zelda, I feel there is something you wish to ask but are not." Urbosa stopped her. "Speak your mind, Little Bird."

All day, Zelda had been looking for the semblance of a mark, anything that might resemble hers, but had no luck. It didn't help that the mark could be anywhere on the body, but paired with the fact Urbosa wore revealing clothing most of the time, Zelda still couldn't find anything. There were plenty of other scars: lizalfos claw marks, the thin lines from assassins' blades, and even a star-shaped scar on Urbosa's wrist—though Zelda knew that one to be the result of a keese fang—and none were the mark of a bonded person. Still, Zelda couldn't bring herself to rule out the possibility.

"There have been discussions regarding my mother…" Zelda said quietly, looking at her clasped hands. "Your name has come up."

"I see." Was all Urbosa said.

Zelda wished Urbosa was easier to read. She simply stared off into the dunes of sand in the distance, a far away look in her eyes.

"I wanted to know something… it may be a bit personal." She asked shyly, wanting to bury herself in the sand and never come out. If she hadn't been almost dying from curiosity and desperation, she wouldn't bring it up, but she had to know.

Urbosa nodded but didn't speak.

Zelda took a deep breath. "Were you with her?" She asked, "As her bonded, I mean."

The Gerudo chieftain was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, my little bird." She apologised quietly. "I'm afraid I wasn't."

The all-too familiar feeling of disappointment set in as Zelda thanked Urbosa quietly and stood up from her chair, dusting off her skirt.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be what you wished of me, Zelda." She heard Urbosa whisper quietly to herself.

Unable to bear it, Zelda turned around. "You were close with her, Urbosa. Do you know who it was?"

"I do," Urbosa said.

"Then can you tell me who it is?"

Urbosa sighed. "I'm sorry, little bird. But your mother made me promise to keep it a secret."

Zelda's jaw dropped. "But why?"

"To keep you safe , little bird," Urbosa said, a bit of steel sliding into her voice.

"But my powers–"

"And what do you think your father would have done if he had known about that little loophole?" Urbosa demanded, rising to her feet. "He would do anything to awaken your powers, your health be damned. I swore to your mother that I would protect you—may the Sand Goddess forgive me, I haven't always done the best job—but I cannot endanger you willingly, even if it causes you pain." She exhaled, closing her eyes.

Zelda stared at her. She had never seen Urbosa look so… defeated.

"Furthermore," Urbosa continued, "your mother knew what would happen if the identity of her bonded came to light. Until you came of age, her bonded would have had a greater claim to the throne of Hyrule than your father. Revealing that identity could have thrown the realm into chaos, further endangering you."

"What, a political dispute?" Zelda spluttered.

"I'm talking about war , Zelda," Urbosa snapped. "The nobles would fracture and you and the common people of Hyrule would be caught in the middle, leaving us open to attack from Calamity Ganon. I cannot think of a worse way to disrespect your mother's memory than to do that. So no, little bird, I will not tell you or any other living soul who your mother's bonded was. I'm sorry." With that, the Gerudo Chieftain walked away, holding her head high beneath the watchful moon.

Zelda wiped away her tears of frustration and settled herself against the wall next to the statuette.

For once, the statue did not seem to be mocking her.