New Home - BotW Link x Reader (Undergoing Revisions)

Chapter 16 - Sudden Heroics

When the sun went down, we headed out. Riding by the bright light of the full moon that had only just peeked up above the horizon, we made good time with me on my own mare and Link on his. Certainly, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

At night in Hateno, all was quiet, all was still, and all was calm. On clear nights I would sit outside on a bench in my garden, surrounded by the pleasant floral notes of summery buds and the cool, salty wind that was brought in from the sea.

I would gaze up at the sky on those nights, and if bright enough by the grace of the moon, I would read - usually old tales, those I had no need to read (or reread, rather), because I had them memorized front to back, but I would do so anyway for the nostalgia of it all, for the comfort a familiar story could have.

Those stories of valiant heroes, of gallant knights and of daring fights, of battles hard-won and victories long-awaited... They were inspiring, truly. To know that someone, a no one, could fight, could be bigger than oneself, could make a true, tangible difference in Hyrule...

Often, it was such heroes that those stories centered on. Those nameless, faceless beings of courage incarnate would brave the storms, take to the skies, traverse time itself to protect our fair land...

Or so the stories go.

If I were at home tonight, reading those stories with a cup of warm tea beside me and only the sounds of the sea to accompany me would likely be how I spent my time until I curled up on that bench to fall asleep or until I heaved myself up to get myself to bed.

But not tonight. No, not tonight. If I turned in the saddle, I could pretend I could still see Hateno, I could - but I didn't dare to. Why pretend to still be so close, when in reality we were so far? I could not see the rolling hills of Hateno nor the fields preceding it, nor the stony clifftops that lined the beaches and the fort that protected us a century ago.

No, we were in the shadows of the Dueling Peaks, far from Hateno and yet I knew we had just barely started crossing the whole of Hyrule.

But we weren't going that far. I was getting ahead of myself. We had only one destination in mind before turning back and... bringing me home. Back to Hateno.

Honestly, how much longer did I think I could fool myself by saying that? How could I possibly think I would keep falling for that? To go home... That damned village of the normal.

...At any rate, we needed to backtrack a bit to get back on the road that headed ever towards Kakariko. After leaving Fort Hateno, at a crossroad we turned left, in a southward direction to reach the stable, though the way to Kakariko was north. So, back towards that crossroad we went, and when the time came, we continued straight, crossing the Kakariko Bridge as we officially entered that domain - the land of the Sheikah.

Rocky beaches were to our right, and stony cliff faces were to our immediate left as we traversed a winding road at a comfortable trot. Certainly, my Stormy Sky had calmed considerably, and was seemingly well-suited for a saddled ride through such a pretty area. In a companionable quiet, Link and I rode along next to each other, the horses pacing themselves nicely and ensuring Link and I had plenty of time to admire the views about us.

The moonlight gleamed prettily across the rushing water of the nearby river, a river rushing by in the opposite direction we were going. If I had read the map properly, there was a waterfall a considerable hike from the main road but that was where the river was rushing from: the Phalian Highlands. These waters rushed on towards Lake Siela, seated at the foot of these winding, sloping canyons.

Trees here were sparse, and the road rocky and uneven the further up we went. As rocky walls closed in, I wondered for a moment what this area looked like so many thousands of years ago before the water carved out these walls, and even during - for now they were dry, the only water meeting them now being that of the rain.