Chapter 13

Princess Zelda, for how tired she looked and acted, was mighty talkative. It was understandable—she had put herself away for one hundred years, holding back Calamity Ganon. She chatted with Link like they had lost no time at all, as if they were the best of friends, and always had been.

As they traversed the Great Plateau, the princess was eager to know all that had happened for the last hundred years, mostly things he couldn't answer, but some he could. He told her of Purah and Impa, of the ghost king that greeted him after he woke, and of the desolation of the villages in Hyrule Field.

He did not tell her of his time in the desert, or of Shara, or even of Daren. Recent memory of the Yiga was too fresh, and older memory of his old home and the girl he'd left behind was too sensitive. The princess didn't need to know those things of his past, and it would be a very long time until he was ready to speak of them, especially to her. After all, he and the princess had been akin to enemies while Link was part of the Yiga Clan. Best not bring that up.

"It was always intended for you, you know," the princess said as they walked past the ruined Temple of Time. "The Shrine of Resurrection. It was meant to be a fallback. We'd hoped and prayed it wouldn't be necessary, but we were glad we got it working just in time."

Link raised one eyebrow and glanced her way.

She answered his unspoken question. "'We' as in the Sheikah, mostly. I wasn't much help in the long run. I had wanted to call myself a scholar, but it was always a losing game for me. But we had a lot of help. Even people who weren't Sheikah were interested in the Shrine. Mathematicians, healers, and even merchants wanted to know how it worked. Purah took on few students, and the ones she did were phenomenal. They sure had heart."

Link focused his eyes on the path in front of him, not wanting to give anything away with his expressions. He made a tiny half-smile on the side of his face hidden from the princess. Shara's memories came back to him in full force, and he suddenly considered himself lucky to have known her and been close to her. He was now walking up the same path she had walked a hundred years prior. Yes, he had walked it earlier when he first woke up, but being here now, with her memories, he felt at peace.

They finally approached the entrance to the Shrine, and Link almost didn't want to go in. He didn't know if he was ready to feel trapped in that cave again. But he steeled his nerves and followed the princess in.

"It's...smaller than I thought it would be. Hardly any Sheikah signature. Definitely more...cave-like," she noted. She stood to one side of the small pool, deep in thought, respectful. Link stepped up to the edge facing the entrance, on the other side of the corner between him and the princess.

Then he saw the faint glow underneath his feet; he'd almost stepped on it. Another Shara memory. Taking a deep, calculated breath, he stepped forward. White light clouded his vision, and he lived another life.

Shara was inside the Shrine, only a few steps away from where Link had been standing. She was taking notes in one of the large notebooks Purah had given her. The book was nearly completely filled, and she would need another soon. Link was impressed by her vigilance in researching this Shrine, to have taken so many notes that she'd need another book. She got out her prototype Sheikah Slate and readied it to the camera setting. Then she poked the water with her smallest finger and quickly snapped a picture of the ripples. She looked at the time on the top of the tablet's display, then noted the time and drew the shape of the water's movement in her book. When the water went still, she recorded the time again. She smiled.

There was a commotion outside, and Shara's smile went away as she jerked up. She dropped her book and jogged to the Shrine's entrance. Outside, intense thunderheads had gathered. Something red danced in the sky, like the lightning decided one day to change colors. The sky rumbled, and a red crack of lightning shot out, hitting a tree in the distance, which sparked and ignited. A red-purple fire swallowed the tree with no restraint. Shara gasped and sidled up to the other Sheikah scholars.

"Sari," Shara asked the smaller woman, mesmerized. "What was that?"

The other scholars, Sari being the shorter woman, and the taller man who was still unnamed to Link, watched the sky with the same awe.

"I don't have the foggiest idea," Sari replied. Then she pointed at the sky to the east. "But look at that. It's going to downpour soon. We'd better get our things inside."

"Right," the man said. He started gathering the papers, books, and instruments from the tiny wooden tables they had set up outside the Shrine. Shara and Sari followed suit, shoving papers into their arms and hustling inside. They didn't have tables set up in here, mostly because there wasn't much room. They dropped their things into the spaces bordering the small pool. There wouldn't be much room for walking around, but that's not what this room was meant for. It was meant for sustaining one person in a coma-like state, rejuvenating the body laid there, and giving the body enough time to revive after it had died.

The Sheikah scholars still hadn't told her who exactly the Shrine was built for, and she suspected they didn't know either. It was information that was strictly need-to-know.

Nearly instantaneously after they'd brought in all their books, the cold autumn rain came pouring down outside. Luckily, the wind was negligible, and the Shrine was at the top of a hill, so there wasn't much risk of rain building up in the Shrine. They would be dry here, but it wouldn't be comfortable. Shara huddled next to the Sheikah pedestal, where a Sheikah Slate was supposed to go, and Sari and the Sheikah man each huddled near a different corner of the pool. The rain pounded outside, pelting the trees, whose leaves were already falling from the season. The sweet scent of rain and wet foliage combined with the musty, natural smell of the cave.

"Do you think the red light was Calamity coming? I mean, we already saw the castle practically explode," the man conjured.

Sari shrugged. "I don't know, Jorgen. Maybe." She didn't sound or look hopeful. "I wouldn't be surprised if this was the end."

Shara feigned surprise. Both Link and she knew what the Yiga had taught about the coming of Calamity Ganon. "I hope you're wrong, but..." she trailed off, slowly turning her head to watch the entrance.

There was another commotion outside, supplementing the chaotic clashes of red lightning. Curious, Shara hoisted herself up and exited the Shrine, a cloak pulled up over her head to shield from the rain. Down the now muddy path, two other Sheikah were beside a cart hauled by a single black horse. She waved them over, and as they wheeled closer, struggling up the hill, they called out. "We need to get him in there right away. Princess's orders."

The horse pulled up right to the entrance, and the Sheikah hefted a blanket-wrapped body out of the cart. They hauled it into the Shrine, and Shara followed eagerly, anxiously, a worried look on her face. The scholars inside shoved their things here and there to clear a path. "Is it ready?" one of the incoming male Sheikah asked, concerned.

"As ready as we could make it," Shara replied. They all looked at each other, knowing it wasn't quite the answer they were looking for. She put her hands on hips, waiting. "Where's Purah?"

The Sheikah man shrugged. "There was no time to get her. Let's get this done as we are. He's not going to be in this state for much longer." He started to unwrap the blanket from the body, and the two other scholars grabbed the corners and the body's arms, holding the body up. If Link's incorporeal face could pale, and if he could get cold, he would at this moment. The body they were unwrapping was his. He knew this. He knew his body ended up in the Shrine of Resurrection, and the princess had literally just told him it was always for him. But it was still shocking to see his own dead body being laid down in that pool.

Shara's face was as pale as Link expected. Her eyes were wide, both in longing and in despair. She was as still as a statue, not shuffling forward to help, yet not recoiling. Her hands were shaking, and she managed to bring one up to her mouth in shock.

The scholars lowered Link's body into the pool and pulled the blanket away. They stripped him of his bloody clothes, leaving him in his underthings. They smoothed back his hair, tightening the knot that was already there. Sari spoke, her voice even. They had been preparing all this time, after all. "We need to get everything out. Nothing except a Sheikah Slate should be here when he wakes up."

Dutifully, the other scholars started gathering their things, stuffing papers and books into any bag they could find. Some of the documents wouldn't survive the rain. "Where does this go?" the new male scholar asked, holding up a Sheikah Slate. Link recognized it right away. It was the one strapped to his hip in his current time, which had belonged to the princess.

Sari pointed to the pedestal behind Shara. "Right over there. Shara will take care of it." Then she saw Shara's face. "Right?"

Mouth dry, Shara attempted to respond. She gave a small nod. "Right," she rasped.

The scholar handed her the Sheikah Slate, and Shara managed not to drop it in her shaking hands. Then they all left, except for Sari. She went up to Shara, a concerned look on her face. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Shara whispered, looking down at the newer Sheikah Slate in her grasp. "I've got this. You go on out. I'll close things up here."

Sari nodded slightly, then shuffled out of the cave, leaving Shara to her thoughts. Shara held up the tablet to her face, and she allowed the dam of tears to burst. She sidled closer to the pool, looking at Link's body, knowing he was dead. "I'm so sorry, Link," she choked through the sobs. "I couldn't save you then, and I can't save you now. I can only prolong your hardship." She sobbed some more and took his hand to gently caress the back of it with her thumb. She sat there for a few quiet seconds, squeezing her eyes shut, as if trying to purge this moment from her life. Sniffling, she stood up from her bow and went over to the pedestal. She huddled over it as she placed the Sheikah Slate on its platform, and a few more tears fell, causing faint blue glows where they landed on the tablet's surface. Either she didn't notice or didn't care, because she didn't wipe them away. The pedestal glowed blue and orange as she put the tablet on, and a finger-like brace emerged and snapped it into place.

Then Shara turned to face Link's body one last time as she centered herself at the cave's entrance. "Come back to me, Link. Come back home." She wiped the tears from her face and steeled herself, turning away and resolutely leaving the Shrine, the ending to her life with Link. He watched her walk down the muddy path, though to where, he couldn't know.

Link didn't even realize the memory had finished until he heard his name being called. Multiple times. Slowly, his eyes focused on the princess beside him.

"Are you all right?" she asked, concern heavy in her voice. She lifted her hand to reach out to him, then put it back down. "It suddenly seemed as if something heavy started weighing on your mind."

He cleared his throat, which felt rough and unused after that memory, even though time had not passed here. Slowly, he answered her. "I'm remembering something. Remembering that there's something I need to do. Some business I need to take care of."

This wasn't what she was expecting. "Oh!" she said, hopeful. "Something to do with the Shrine?"

"No, not exactly," he said simply. While he was supposed to know the princess, he'd only just started to remember things about his own past, and how she'd played a part in it. He wasn't ready for her to know about his upbringing and Shara. Not yet. He didn't know her well enough now to trust her with such information, and he hoped she wouldn't ask.

"Hm," she hummed. "All right. Is it something I can help you with? It's not like I have much to do now that Calamity Ganon is gone. I don't exactly have much of a kingdom to run right now."

He eyed her curiously, knowing she was right, but still puzzling how she could assist. "I need to have a chat with a friend in Kakariko. We can go there, and you can stay with Impa."

The princess beamed. "Yes! I would love to see Impa again." Then her face fell with realization. "You don't intend to stay when we arrive?"

If disappointment was palpable, it would reverberate all around this cave, echoing in Link's ears as the princess spoke. But he had to set expectations. "No."

Princess Zelda nodded, her dingy hair bouncing around. "I see."

They exited the cave, and neither of them were looking forward to their journey together all the way to Kakariko. Link had traveled mostly alone all this time, and to have a companion now was frightening. The princess's spirits rose a bit once they got into the daylight, but Link could tell she was simmering on his words, trying to figure out what the problem was.

Days passed, and they finally made it to Kakariko Village. They had rented two horses at the Dueling Peaks Stable and made good time. As they rounded the bend into the village, with the wooden bridge structures overhead greeting their entrance, the princess got more and more excited. Throughout the journey, she could hardly keep her mouth shut about her time learning with the Sheikah scholars and her eagerness to see Impa again. Link had told her that Purah was in Hateno and not Kakariko, but she didn't seem to mind.

"I'll go there and see her right after," she'd said. Link didn't dare tell her about the memory of hers that he'd seen—when he'd died and the princess was beyond distraught and near inconsolable. He didn't want to dampen her spirits, but he also didn't want to elevate her expectations. Almost all her friends would have passed at this point. Except, somehow, Impa and Purah. One was quite old, and the other was...special.

Link also felt relief at entering the village. For one, they had good food here. He'd heard so many good things about the produce here, and how rejuvenating it was. For another, he was finally going to get a good night's sleep. The past few nights at stables, Link would have to arrange separate rooms for himself and the princess, and the expense to his wallet was adding up. The princess said she'd pay him back, but with what money, he had no idea. She'd said it herself earlier—she had no kingdom, and no resources. And lastly, he'd get to see the friends he'd briefly made here. He hadn't stayed in the village for long, but he felt a kinship with the Sheikah that he was sure he hadn't felt while he was a Yiga. They had been more accommodating, welcoming, and understanding than the Yiga had been. The reception itself was enviable.

They entered town and immediately headed for Impa's house. Upon arriving, Link saw Dorian at the bottom of Impa's stairs, waving at him, and he reciprocated. Then the Sheikah hurried up the stairs, alerting Impa and Paya of their arrival. Paya was the first to follow Dorian back outside, and the old woman came out shortly after. At the bottom of the hill to the house, Link hopped off his chestnut spotted mare and helped the princess off her white horse. He gave both steeds a carrot and patted their necks. They were excellent mounts, even if they weren't his.

"Impa!" the princess exclaimed as she gave the old woman a fierce hug, causing the Sheikah's enormous hat to fly off her head. They both laughed.

Impa bowed her head respectfully after she let go. "Princess."

At that word, Paya and Dorian both sprung into action, awkwardly copying Impa's bow. Neither of them let up for a long time.

The princess's face reddened in embarrassment. She grasped her head between her hands, her palms covering her cheeks. "Please, there's no need for that," she said, trying and failing to suppress a smile. If Link had learned anything about her in the past few days, it was that she was shamelessly optimistic and kind.

Dorian retrieved Impa's hat from the ground and brushed off any dirt with his fingers. "If you would like, Your Highness, I reckon we should move this inside. Get more comfortable." He handed Impa's hat back and gestured to the stairs.

Impa took the hat and meticulously centered it onto her head. Then she turned and took Dorian's arm. "Swell idea. Come."

Paya gave the princess another small bow, then followed her grandmother into the house. The princess looked at Link sheepishly and together they followed suit.

Once everyone was inside, windows opened and candles lit, the men set out cushions in a triangle for the women to sit on, but Link wanted to stand. He'd had enough of sitting on a horse for a while.

The women chatted carelessly, like there had been no time lost between them. Impa had no qualms calling the princess "Zelda" to her face, even though it was improper, and the princess hooted and guffawed with her like they were young again. Paya grinned throughout, though she said little.

Link helped himself to a plate of fresh vegetables that had been set out, then walked over to Dorian, who was standing by the south wall. They looked at the painting Link had admired all those weeks ago. Link waited for a few strained seconds, then spoke quietly to him. "May I speak with you privately?"

The older man turned his body to him, curious. His eyes darted toward the women and then back at Link. "Sure," he said gruffly. With nods to the women, they left the house, quietly closing the door.

Link rested a hand on the porch rail and got straight to the point. "I'd like to finish off Kohga, once and for all. And if you're up for it, I'd like to you come with."

Opposite the arch atop the stairs, Dorian rested his own arms on the railing. He and Link were separated by beams, but they were still close enough to whisper and be heard. Link watched the townspeople on this unsuspecting afternoon, a little freer, a little more able now that they didn't have the threat of Calamity Ganon looming over them.

Dorian didn't respond for a bit, but if Link knew anything, it was patience. The Sheikah lifted his hand to his chin and mindlessly caressed his beard. He knocked lightly on the beam under his arm with his other hand. "When?"

Link looked up at the clouds hovering near the afternoon sun, then watched a flock of cuccos amble across the street on the hilly part of town. They clucked, children ran around, and townspeople were picking their summer fruits. "Within the week, maybe sooner."

Dorian didn't sound surprised. "That eager, huh?"

"One less loose thread. One less door to close," Link replied. He pulled his head back and looked at the back of Dorian's head, covered by the wooden beam of the porch's arch. "Don't you think?"

"Indeed," Dorian said, pulling his head back as well, leaning his left side against the wooden railing. "I've needed a good reason to go back, though."

"Losing your wife to them isn't reason enough?" Link asked.

Dorian shook his head. "It's not just that. I've got my kids here to think about."

Link didn't want to argue, but he also wanted to give this man an opportunity to strike back at those who had hurt him. "The princess will watch over them while we're gone. And Paya. And the whole village, actually. They all love your kids."

The Sheikah shook his head again, chuckling softly. "Spoken by one who has never been a parent."

Pulling back from the rail, Link nodded in understanding. "I'll do it for you, then. And for all the innocent lives the Clan has ruined, mine included. For those I used to call friends, and the ones I couldn't."

Dorian looked at him sadly and nodded back. "Then I wish you well in your endeavor. May the Goddess protect you."

"Tell the others I'll be back before they know it," Link added.

The Sheikah man hmphed. "I will."

Link headed down the stairs once more, fed his horse an apple, then hopped on, dreading the hard ride. He shouldn't have felt relieved the princess wasn't coming with, but she would slow him down.

He had a Yiga Master to defeat and a life of lost memories to reclaim.