The Legend of Zelda: Prince of the Sea

Chapter Twenty-Two: Sheikah

The woman adjusted in her position and her eyes fluttered open once more.

"I'm glad to see that you're awake," said the man.

"Yes... as am I. How long was I out for?"

"Twelve hours or so? Maybe longer?"

"And where are we exactly?"

"Well... in the mountains still, but we've been travelling for a few hours now."

Zelda shifted her tired gaze from Arvid's supportive expression to look above her. She lay within the wagon and it was indeed moving. It was night still and the sky above her was clear... or rather, it was the next night since Arvid said she'd been sleeping for twelve hours. She could see all of the stars and they were beautiful. She could also see the looming shadow of a mountain beside the road that they were taking. Zelda was bundled up in blankets and her comrades had done well to make her ride as comfortable as they could make it. The Hylian felt sore, she felt tired, and she had a headache. Still, Zelda knew that she needed to sit up.

Wincing, Zelda moved. Arvid was quick to try and coax her back down, but a stern shake of her head convinced him otherwise. Instead, the knight helped her to sit up.

"What did I miss? Why are we moving at night?" she asked, sucking in a breath as her head began to throb.

The queen had to close her eyes against her own stars that she saw in her vision.

"You'll see..." Arvid said cryptically, holding Zelda upright as worry creased his brow.

He handed her a flask of water and she took it gratefully, drinking some down. At least that would get rid of her dry mouth. The water helped and Zelda opened her eyes to reassess what was going on and find out what Arvid meant.

Zelda immediately saw what the man cryptically indicated.

"Oh, Goddess..."

The entourage of Hyruleans and Noruidians were the same and all on their mounts. Arvid, of course wasn't riding his horse and his and Zelda's were tethered to the back of the wagon and following along happily. Faris was up behind Zelda, driving the wagon, and much to Zelda's surprise... so was a wolf. The large, grey wolf was seated next to Faris like a common dog next to its owner. Except that this dog was a very large wolf and a spiritual being. The beast's piercing blue eyes were fixated on the tall, dark-cloaked person who walked at the forefront of the entourage.

"Are those-?"

"Mmhm, yeah," Arvid admitted, puffing out his cheeks and looking around: the entourage was surrounded by dark cloaked figures. "The Sheikah... Incidentally, they found us. What luck, eh?"

"More like ambushed us..." Faris voiced, turning over his shoulder to smile at Zelda. "Good early morning, my lady."

Zelda was sure that the others of her group also wished to greet her. Aside from shoed hooves striking the earth and the creaks of the wagon, the group of travellers moved in silence.

"Yeah, they appeared a couple hours ago. Once they found out why we were there and, more importantly, who you were, they insisted on escorting us to their village. And... that's where we're headed now."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Arvid replied with a grin. "Apparently we got pretty close. We should arrive shortly after sunrise, or so they told us. They... don't talk much. You should rest more, Zelda. You aren't missing anything and nothing will be helped with you putting off sleep."

"I'm fine," Zelda argued, which was sabotaged by a half-suppressed yawn.

"Go back to sleep, Zelda," Arvid advised, sitting back himself and making a show of getting comfy.