A Couple of Trials (ZeLink)

Chapter 60: Welcome to Lurelin

"I can't believe we spent three hours at the beach. We even ended up exploring the other beaches around the cape..." Zelda sighed, carrying her boots as the three walked barefoot along the sandy coast. "It's already almost evening. I'm sure the sun is going to go down soon."

"I–I'm sorry, Princess," Paya called over the waves of the shore from behind as she carried her sandals. "W–we wouldn't have stayed as long had I g–gotten in the water faster..."

"Oh! Please, don't blame yourself, Paya," Zelda quickly said with a glance back at her. "Trust me, the blame only falls to one individual."

With a glare, Zelda looked back at the other woman walking behind her, who was carrying her own thigh-high boots. In return, Celessa gave her a carefree grin.

"Oh, don't act all displeased, Your Highness," she said airily. "You had a good time. You looked astonished to find a bull when we made it here at Rimba Beach. You even got a few pictures of it on your slate thing, so stop acting all haughty and show off that smile of yours."

"Oh, you! That bull put Paya in shock! And then you went and scared it off—" Zelda began, but unfortunately, a laugh escaped from her lips. Catching Celessa's glance as she contained herself she faced forward. "Fine... It was quite an enjoyable time and— dare I say— worth it. Are you happy?"

"Extremely," she heard Celessa say happily.

With another chuckle, Zelda shook her head before looking out into the ocean as she continued to walk down the shoreline. Though she had been there for hours already, the ocean was still a sight to see. The waves in the distance continued to sparkle while the sky above was just starting to change colors as an extremely pale orange began to overcome the day's usual blue. It was beautiful, though she couldn't help but feel just a bit lonely, even with the two friends behind her.

She wished her lover was there beside her, to play in the sea and sand with them. The only thing that could have made the experience better was if Link were there, but even with this loneliness, Zelda took a calming deep breath of the salty ocean air. This was motivation— something she could add to her goal. She would get everything ready so that she and Link could stand in front of the sea together.

"Hey, there it is!" Celessa suddenly called from behind.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Zelda turned away from the sea and looked out at the shoreline. There, sitting in a small gulf, was the sight of a small, simple village.

"It's really not that large at all, is it?" Zelda asked out loud.

"Nope, but it's got a lot of open air," Celessa said, catching up in order to walk by Zelda's side. "Come on! I know it's almost evening, but that's definitely enough time for us to go meet the people there!"

"Wai— Celessa! Must we run everywhere?" Zelda called as Celessa began dashing off through the sand.

Of course, just as she expected, Celessa continued running off, allowing her bare soles to kick sand up as she did. Unable to contain herself again, Zelda giggled before jogging after her.

"Hu–huh? W– wait up!" Paya stammered out before quickly following after the two Hylians, having not expected Zelda to start running with her pilgrim friend. The closer they got, the more shocked Paya became at the sight.

The village was surrounded by mountains and waterfalls, as if sectioning themselves and their beach off from the rest of the land, while the gulf had given them their own little sea to live by. The further into the gulf they walked, the more populated the palm trees had become, with leaves so vibrant they almost seemed to be reflecting sunlight off their thin, elongated leaves. From the sandy beaches, there were wooden docks that stretched out into the waters, where a few small boats were left bobbing next to them, one of which was a larger one with decorative banners and goods to sell. The biggest of the boats though, wasn't the shop-like one in the waters, but two huge ones sitting on land. Upon closer inspection, it became clear it was one of the houses. The rest of the houses were much simpler, though still beautiful in design. They were small, hut-like houses, with palm trees growing through their centers to give them support. Finally, as if to top off the beautiful aesthetic, lanterns and torches were placed all around, dotting the beach with their orange glow.