The Distance Between Them | ✔

4) Remember

⚔ In which Link remembers ⚔  

I leave the Domain before the guard's shift change. I change clothes and gather a few goods from the store and begin walking out.

Sidon stands outside, looking at his sister's statue.

"Your highness," I say, unsure of how to address him.

He looks at me, surprised, but then smiles. "There's no need for formalities. Sidon will do." I nod. He looks back to the statue. "I hope you remember more soon, Link. I hope you remember exactly how much the Domain owes you. And I hope you remember how much Mipha loved you."

I sigh, looking at her statue. "I hope so, too."

Sidon looks to me and smiles. "Best of luck on your travels, Link. It was truly wonderful to see you again."

"It was a pleasure to get to know you again."

And with that, I leave. I left with a promise to come back when I remember more, so I can tell Sidon stories of his sister. I don't think he knows enough about who she was. He was so young, and he's grown so much since then.

It's easy leaving the Domain, though. It's just a small corner of this huge kingdom. There's so much I want to see. So, I decide not to fast travel to Kakariko. I'll walk back, and I won't take the road, either. I have it pinned on my Slate so I don't get lost but I won't use the Shrines.

I'm walking for half a day around the Domain collecting foods and different items before I decide on a direction. Around where Ruta now sits aiming at the castle, over the river, and I want to see if I can climb the mountain above Hateno. It looks cool from below, but I might not have anything to keep me warm enough.

When I do decide, the first step is getting over the river separating me and the mountain. Cryonis – coming in handy for the millionth time – is great for stepping stones.

Wandering is a wonderful thing, I've found. The wild is peaceful, wholly unaffected by the chaos. The plants don't know about the Calamity, or that the ancient boy stepping around them is supposed to stop their demise. They just keep living. Wandering takes me around the base of the mountain until there's a thin dusting of snow on the ground. The doublet for the King is enough to keep me warm.

Oh, there's a structure over there. Guarded by a lynel, naturally.

After the last one, and all the stress of the past days, I could go for a fight.

And it goes by fairly smoothly. I get knocked on my ass a few times, but the lynel doesn't stand a chance against a short dude with pent up anxiety and a sword he can use by muscle memory alone.

Soon enough, the beast is dead. He was just like the one above Zora's Domain. I steal his weaponry, and clean it with a rag I stole from the Domain barracks.

The structure is giant. It's crumbling, like most other things in the kingdom, and it's overrun by other monsters. I can hear them. This place must have been busy when it was usable. A road for trade, perhaps, or a place for soldiers to rest. Maybe there was an inn here, or a tavern. I walk down the stone road a bit, and turn around to look at the arch. I pull out the Slate.

Lanayru road – East Gate

What's a Lanayru? I'll ask Paya.

I look back at the gate again. It's so... familiar.

⚔

"Well? Don't keep us in suspense-"

Zelda shakes her head.