Haunting Shadow of the Past

Part 19

Purah, Zelda, and Link all got off Vah Rudania and started walking the path back to the mine. "That whole thing with the ground shaking was pretty weird." Purah said with a frown. "It looked like that worried Daruk so when I get back to the lab I will have to get everyone to work twice as fast and hard."

"Just don't overwork yourself, Purah." Zelda advised.

Purah shook her head. "I will do what it takes to master this ancient technology before the Calamity arrives. If we are caught off guard things could end tragically. We all must be ready to do our part." Zelda's shoulders slumped slightly and she looked down at her feet. Purah's eyes widened slightly and she rested a hand on Zelda's shoulder. "Don't worry, Princess. I know that you will be ready when the time comes. I believe in you as does all the sheikah including me, Robbie, and Impa."

"Thank you, Purah. But you are right, we have to do whatever it takes to master our roles so that we can be ready to stop the calamity."

"But don't forget to listen to your own advice, Princess. 'Don't overwork yourself.' If you want me to follow it you need to follow it as well. Okay?" Purah smiled at Zelda.

Zelda opened her mouth to say something when suddenly, right in front of them, a rock revealed itself to be a Lizalfos. The monster hissed and Link quickly put himself between it and Princess Zelda. He quickly removed his shield and the Master Sword and welcomed the awakening feeling before lunging at the monster. The Lizalfos jumped back and from behind him Link heard Purah pull Zelda farther away from the fight. The Lizalfos shot it's tongue at Link but he jumped out of the way before rushing the enemy. He sliced at its front with the master sword and the monster cried out in agony.

"Link! Watch out!" Purah warned. Link turned around and only barely managed to bring his shield up to stop the Lizalfos that had attacked him from behind. The creature rolled off the shield and over Link and he swiveled around to face the two monsters. The injured one started spitting fireballs and Link had to jump back to avoid them. The second Lizalfos took the chance to charge Link but, as if the sword was guiding him, Link plunged the sword into the Lizalfos' stomach. It then made a gurgling sound before slumping to the ground dead.

Link brought his gaze to the other Lizalfos who, in a desperate last attempt, jumped at Link, its arms flailing in the air. Link stabbed his sword through the Lizalfos' chest and it too fell to the ground dead. Link then turned back and saw, to his relief, that Zelda was alright. "We should go." Link urged. Both Purah and Zelda agreed and Link allowed them to jog in front of him.

By the time the trio made it to the mine the sun had completely disappeared and all the Gorons were sitting in circles chatting and laughing. The Goron from earlier looked up and spotted them before smiling and walking towards them. "Did you find Chief Daruk, Princess?"

Zelda nodded. "We did, thank you for your help."

The Goron gave a nod. "Of course, always happy to help the Princess of Hyrule. Say, the mountain can be dangerous at night. How about the three of you spend the night here and then you can head down the mountain tomorrow."

Purah smiled. "That would be great, thank you."

The goron nodded again before gesturing over to where there were a bunch of rugs stacked together. "You can go sleep on those rugs if you wish. Sorry we can't get you something more comfortable but most other things burn this high up since it's so hot."

"They are perfect, thank you again." Purah said before walking over to the rugs followed by Link and Zelda. Purah sat down and patted next to her. "They really aren't that bad. Maybe not as soft as some beds but for where we are this is pretty good."

Zelda nodded before laying down and closing her eyes. Link turned to look at Purah who was looking up at the sky. "Aren't you going to get some sleep?" He asked.

Purah shrugged. "I will but I haven't been up on the mountain for a while and I forgot just how beautiful the sky is up here. I wanted to take a moment to appreciate it as it will probably be a while before I come back up here."

"That's fair."

Purah turned to look at Link. "You should probably get some sleep too. Not all the Gorons sleep at night. As you can see," Purah gestured to some Gorons that were hacking at the rock with their pickaxes, "some of the Goron workers take a night shift so I bet if anything happens they will sound the alarms."

Link nodded. "You're right." He laid his head down on a rolled up carpet. After only a few seconds Link drifted off into a light slumber. His dreams were plagued with the same nightmare of a post-apocalyptic hyrule and an evil entity surrounding the castle. In the dream he was tormented with the feeling of loss and sadness and when Link woke up he had tears prickling at his eyes. He looked around and noticed that the sun wasn't even fully up yet and he wiped away the tears in his eyes. He looked down at his hands and frowned. Why was he always having that dream? What could it possibly mean?

After a while of Link just sitting and contemplating what his dreams meant he heard Zelda shift beside him before she sat up and did some small stretches. Purah also sat up and got to her feet. She started doing some stretches to wake herself up and Link stood up as well. He turned to Zelda and extended a hand to help her up but she swatted it away. "Alright, let's get back to the stable so you can both get back to the castle and I can get back to the research lab."

"Will you and Robbie come down to the castle at all?" Zelda asked.

Purah nodded. "Of course! After all that is where the guardians are being trained so we will be down there sooner or later to see how much progress has been made." Zelda nodded and the trio, after saying a goodbye and thank you to the gorons, started towards the stable.