Haunting Shadow of the Past

Part 17

The rest of the day passed without incident the only real problem was Link's water canteen slowly getting emptier and emptier. When the sun had finally dipped below the far away mountains, and the sky was a dark purpley pink, Link watched Zelda exit the town and with her was Champion Urbosa. Link jogged over to them and Urbosa greeted him. "Why am I not surprised that you waited out here in the heat, Link."

Link shrugged. "It's not like I had the option to go anywhere."

Urbosa nodded. "I apologize for the town's strict rules but it has been this way for generations. I will assure you that the princess was safely with me the entire time."

"I'm glad to hear that but now we just have to get back to the Oasis without anything happening."

"I can go with the both of you." Urbosa offered with the tone of "no" is not an answer, "The yiga tend to avoid me."

"How will you get back safely if you're on your own?" Zelda asked.

Urbosa gave a knowing smile. "As I said, the Yiga tend to avoid me." Zelda nodded as she understood and Link, Zelda, and Urbosa all headed towards the Oasis as the sky grew completely dark. Along with the sun dropping the temperature dropped as well and the chill was boarderlining uncomfortable. Looking over at Zelda Link saw her wrap her arms around herself and Urbosa patted her on the shoulder. Although Link was also cold he had to shrug it off. Unfortunately as a knight he was trained to withstand all temperatures but sometimes it was annoying that he had to pretend he wasn't affected.

They reached the Bazaar without incident and were surprised to find that there were still plenty of people awake and lively music was still playing. Urbosa let out a hearty laugh. "They will party late into the night. Unless you two want to party with them you should probably just tune the noise out because it will go on all night."

Zelda looked up at the Gerudo chief. "Are you sure you will be alright?"

Urbosa rested a hand on Zelda's shoulder. "I promise, Little Bird, I will be alright. Now you should both get some rest, I will see you again soon. Sav'orr." Urbosa then turned back towards Gerudo town leaving Link and Zelda. Neither of them said anything as they went into the hollowed out rock and got themselves beds to sleep in.

...

The rest of the night was uneventful and when Link woke up the next morning he heard that the lively music from the night before had died down and was now mellow and relaxing. He climbed out of his bed and was surprised to see that Zelda was already awake. She looked over at Link and frowned before looking away. Link sighed before doing a few small stretches to wake himself up more. Zelda, seeming to not care, started heading out of this inn. Link dropped his hands to his side and chased after her. When they got outside Zelda started heading in the direction that led out of the desert.

The walk through the desert wasn't too hot as it was morning but the winds had picked and sand blew around Link and Zelda. Link walked a little faster. "Princess, we should try and hurry to get out of the desert. I'm worried there is a sand storm coming and I don't think either of us want to get caught in it."

Zelda turned to look at her knight. "For the first time you and I actually agree on something." Before Link had a chance to respond she turned back around and broke into a light jog. Link did similar but he couldn't help feeling discouraged. He had no idea why Princess Zelda hated him so much and that tension could cause future problems.

They were out of the desert in no time but Link and Zelda were both covered in sand. It was in their hair, on their clothes, and on their faces. "You two look like you could use a wash." The man in charge of the stable said with a chuckle. "No need to worry though, I can get you both something to clean off with." He handed Zelda and Link some damp towels and they both wiped their faces. Although Link didn't want to say anything he was extremely thankful. He hated the feeling of sand especially all over his face. They handed their towels back once they were cleaned off and the man smiled. "I assume you two need your horses."

Zelda nodded. "Yes, we registered as Princess Zelda and Link."

The owner nodded. "I remember. Go around to the side and my sister can get you your horses." Zelda thanked him and the duo walked over to where their horses were.

The owner's sister smiled when she saw them and handed them the horse reins. "Here you are, be careful on your journey there have been monster attacks all over the place."

"We'll keep that in mind. Thank you." Zelda said while she pulled herself up onto her horse. The woman waved goodbye as Link and Zelda headed off.

The ride back to the castle was completely uneventful but Link stayed on high alert making sure there were no surprise attacks from the yiga or something else. When they got back to the castle they were greeted by one of the people working at the horse stalls.

"Glad to see you are back princess!" they exclaimed. "Do you want me to tell your father that you returned?"

Zelda shook her head. "No, I'm just dropping off Jesper so he can get some rest," she gestured to her horse, "but I was going to do a bit of exploring and looking around."

The worker nodded and accepted both Jesper's and Epona's reigns. "Be safe, Princess."

Zelda nodded before she turned and started walking towards Hyrule fields. As they walked in silence Link's mind trailed off. He wondered what Liliana or his father were doing right now. It had only been a few days since he actually saw them, and this wasn't the first time he had spent a few days away from them, but normally he knew he would be able to see them whenever. He had been Zelda's appointed knight for only a month but it hadn't been a full time assignment until now. He missed waking up and sitting in his bed for a few minutes listening to the birds outside. He missed getting to say good morning and goodnight to Liliana. And more importantly he knew that Liliana missed him. He then started wondering what they were even doing. Zelda wasn't walking in any specific direction and so the most she was doing wasn't exploring but taking a stroll.

"From here we will make our way to Goron City." Zelda started bringing Link back into the moment. He noticed they were walking through a sparse forest close to a small lake. Zelda was several paces in front of him and was holding the sheikah slate close to her. "Then, we'll need some adjustments on that Divine Beast so Daruk can manage it as easily as possible. He's figured out how to get it to move... However, it's apparent that we still have much more to learn. But to think, that Divine Beast was actually built by people... that means that we should be able to understand how it works and how to use it to our advantage. These Divine Beasts... so much we don't know... But if we want to turn back the Calamity Ganon, they're our best hope." Zelda started slowing down before she stopped walking and dropped her hands to her side slowly. Link too stopped and looked at the Princess. "Tell me the truth..." Zelda turned her head to look at Link, "how proficient are you right now, wielding that sword on your back? Legend says that an ancient voice resonates inside it. Can you hear it yet... Hero?"

The question took Link off guard and he opened his mouth when Zelda started walking again at a slow thoughtful pace. Although it was quiet Link heard her mumble, "You probably have. You are able to accomplish and fight everything thrown at you and everything comes so easy for you. You were just another guard until you somehow managed to pull up that sword. Everything comes so easy for you unlike me who isn't even able to unlock this hidden power that is said to save all." Link's heart ached as Zelda talked down to herself. Although they weren't friends he fought the urge to tell her she was doing fine. Zelda continued quietly. "You probably look down at me and see me as just the failure known as the Princess of Hyrule. You probably wish that you were never assigned to help me."

That's when it hit Link that Zelda didn't hate him she was simply upset with herself and thought of Link as a constant reminder of, what she believed to be, her failure. Link let out a sigh, Zelda hated him and he knew there was probably nothing he could do about it. 

Hey everyone! I'm really sorry about this part haha it's not my strongest work. I'm not sure how I feel about it but I have been so tired with school so just let this one slide for now. It's not that I hate it I just wish it was a little better. Anyway I hope everyone is doing well! :)