The courage to find me - The fate of us: Part I

[Act I - Courage] Chapter 1: New beginnings

POV Zelda

Purah keeps talking, switching from one topic to another without caring if the line of reasoning gets lost in between subjects. Her tea has long since gone cold, practically untouched. She seems determined to update me in a single day on everything that has happened in the kingdom over the last 100 years. I try to pay attention to her words, but I find myself unfocused, dwelling on this morning's events.

In the early hours of the day, Link and I finally managed to obliterate Ganon. I replay the sequence of events over and over, trying to understand what I might have said that made him so distant during our reunion. Perhaps I had just idealized this moment too much. After all, it had been literally 100 years thinking about it, during the trance to keep the threat at bay while Link recovered in the resurrection chamber. He showed as much emotion as he ever did in the past, remaining closed off and servile.

Therefore, the blame for the disappointment of not having an emotional reunion falls solely on me, who created utopian scenarios in my head.

"Wow, really?" I respond automatically to Purah upon realizing she is waiting for some reaction to continue her story. She resumes her tale, and I return to losing myself in the memory of a few hours ago.

After addressing me as "majesty" — which is at least ironic considering the kingdom is reduced to ruins — Link offered me his mare, Epona, and suggested for we to go to Hateno to start spreading the good news. Keeping a respectful distance from me, he helped me mount the animal and then we began the journey to the town. We stopped at the nearest stable so Link could get another mount to make the trip faster. I didn't have the courage to suggest we share Epona, given the distance he had imposed between us from the first moment.

Except for this interaction — him informing me that we would stop at the stable to get another horse — we exchanged no words during the several hours' journey to Hateno.

Upon reaching the town, different people greeted Link and stared at me with curiosity. I recognized no one — probably only knew their great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents, who certainly had died long ago. Trying to ignore the feeling of guilt for being alive while so many I had sworn to protect had died, I just moved forward.

"Where are we going?" I asked Link, addressing him for the first time since I questioned if he remembered me.

"I thought we'd go to the lab, to meet Purah," he replied in his usual few words.

I was happy to hear she was still alive. How old would she be now? I never knew her exact age before the Calamity, but I think she was just under 30 years old... The Sheikah people live longer than common hylians, but 130 years is an advanced age even for them. My heart ached at the thought of Impa, Purah's younger sister. Was she still alive too?

"Do you know if Impa is..." I tried to ask, but couldn't complete the thought.

"Yes, she's fine. Living in Kakariko, we can go there tomorrow. It's a little over half a day's journey on horseback from Hateno."

I received the information with great relief.

"Is Purah well?" I tried to keep the conversation flowing.

"She's... different," Link responded vaguely.

Exasperated that he didn't elaborate, I assumed he was referring to the fact that she certainly must look like an elderly woman, contrasting with my last memory of her as a young, smart, and agile woman. I nodded and fell silent once more.

A few minutes later, after climbing to the top of the town's cliff, we arrived at a building I didn't remember. We dismounted our horses and headed to the door. Link knocked three times, alerting the residents that visitors had arrived.