The Lost Hero

Chapter 12

Dahvi and Robbie had one more day with the king's army to train them to control the Guardians, but Dahvi instead found himself roaming first around Hyrule Castle, then around town in search of Princess Zelda. With no luck, he opted to clear his mind, taking Epona from the stables and riding across the plains behind the castle. To his surprise, he found Storm, Zelda's horse, grazing on the lush, green grass. He dismounted Epona, removing her bridle to allow her to graze, and quickly found Zelda close by laying on the grass, the Sheikah Slate in her hands.

Dahvi watched her for a moment as she muttered to herself, a grin pulling at her lips. She toyed with the slate, capturing different images of the wild flowers, the insects, and the landscape around them. When her gaze landed on Dahvi, her smile disappeared, and she hesitated.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked, her gaze narrowing.

Dahvi sat on the ground beside her. "Needed a break."

Zelda tore her gaze away. "Me too."

Dahvi nodded. He wanted to comfort her, but he opted to change the subject instead, eager to see her smile again. "What are you doing?"

Zelda turned the slate over in her hands. "I was just... trying out all the features of the slate," she said. She moved the screen to show Dahvi the images she captured and a smile tugged at her lips. "There's a lot of beauty in Hyrule," she said. "But the flowers and plants are quite useful as ingredients for a variety of things." She placed the slate carefully on the ground and moved to her knees. She leaned forward to trace her fingers over a delicate pale blue and white flower.

"This one is called the Silent Princess," she said. "It's a rare, endangered species. Despite our efforts, we can't get them to grow domestically yet. The princess can only thrive out here in the wild." She hesitated, sitting back on her knees. "All that we can hope is that the species will be strong enough to prosper on its own."

Dahvi wanted to make note of the irony in the flower, but before he could speak, Zelda was diving suddenly into the tall grass, exclaiming to herself. When she sat back on her knees, she had a frog in her hands. She scooted over to Dahvi, thrusting the frog toward him.

"Do you know what this is?" she asked excitedly, but did not wait for him to answer. "Research from the castle shows ingesting one of these can actually augment certain abilities. You'd be a perfect candidate for the study!" She shoved the frog closer to him. "Eat it!"

Dahvi backed away quickly, his gaze narrowing on her, and he pushed the frog away from him. "You're insane. I will not be one of your experiments."

Zelda giggled and released the frog, watching as it hopped away in the tall grass. "I thought we were friends," she said. "Friends help each other out."

"Is that why we're friends, then?" he asked. "So you can use me for your twisted experiments?"

Zelda smiled playfully. "Maybe. What else are you good for?"

"Apparently not much," he commented. When she fell silent, he glanced at her. She was frowning, her gaze turned to the horizon.

"I guess you're not the only one," she said after a moment, then sighed.

"That's not true," Dahvi said softly. "Don't listen to your father."

Zelda met his gaze. "But he's right." She turned to look at the slate on her lap. "My entire life I've been training to find this power that I will need to seal Calamity Ganon away. Years and years of training and I have nothing to show for it. And we're running out of time. All the signs show that Calamity Ganon could rise any day, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. The entire fate of Hyrule relies on a power I don't have access to and a hero who doesn't seem to exist. Hyrule has no future." Her eyes started to well and she turned her face away from Dahvi.