Breath of the Wild: Link and Friends

Chapter 14

   Zalie and Elijah set out the next morning, heading for the Lakeside Stable. It wasn't very far away, maybe a couple miles. It wouldn't take them more than an hour to walk there. Zalie had been a few times, when her mom needed something special that wasn't in town, from traveling merchants. She knew a couple people at the stable, but not well. She really hoped they could get horses though. She did not particularly want to walk all the way to Zora's Domain.
   Elijah was quiet as they walked along the road, looking lost in his thoughts. He hadn't said much since last night and since her had given Zalie's mother a letter before they had left, telling her not to open until they were long gone. She had a feeling she knew what was written in it. Zalie wanted to get Elijah's mind off it, because she had a feeling that was what he was thinking about.
    "You've never been in Faron before, have you?" Zalie asked, breaking the silence.
    Elijah glanced at her. "Nope. Haven't seen it really. It's a big jungle though isn't it?"
    "Yep! Huge! It's awfully humid though, but I don't notice it much. 'Course, I live by the warm ocean, so it's not exactly new. Anyway, it's got some really awesome sights," Zalie went on. Elijah still looked out of it. "Oh! But there is one really cool thing that you can find just inside Faron!"
   "What?" Elijah looked curious.
   "Farosh!"
   "Farosh? What's that?"
   "It's a dragon!" Zalie explained.
   "Really? That's awesome! I haven't actually seen one of those, even though one is supposedly on Mount Lanayru near my village," Elijah said.
   "Yeah, this one is an electric dragon. I've seen him myself! He comes out of a lake at the top of a waterfall, and he's giant. If we're lucky, we might see him." Elijah nodded.
   They soon reached the jungle and made quick progress through it, passing old pillars and statutes overgrown with vines. The canopy was thick, making the path shady but it was still hot with the humidity. It was a relief when they saw Floria Bridge ahead of them. The bridge was long across lake that held it's namesake, and was held up by enormous, thick trees. She sped up, eager for the stable. Elijah followed and they quickly reached the stable. Elijah sat down by the cooking pot while Zalie walked over to see if they could get some horses.
   Zalie knew the man at the desk and so he smiled at her as she walked up. "Why, hello, Zalie! What brings you here? Anything I can help with?" Kampo asked.
   "Yes, actually. You see, me and my cousin need some horses. You know, for rent," Zalie responded.
   "Ah. Well, my dear, I'm afraid that we don't really rent out our horses."
Kampo looked apologetic.
   "You don't?"
   "No, I'm afraid not. However, you could buy some or you can catch your own. I know there's a few just outside Finra Woods. It's not too far from here. A few miles. Of course, if you did that, you would either have to turn back and come here for a saddle and to register it or go on to the Riverside Stable up in Central Hyrule," Kampo explained.
   "I see. Well, let me talk to my cousin. I'll get back to you," Zalie said. She turned away and walked back to Elijah. "Well, he says we can buy the horses or walk to Finra woods to get our own."
   "That's not very convenient," Elijah replied.
    "Nope. The deciding question is: how fast do we need to get to Zora's Domain?"
   "Quickly. Elyza and Link are only in Kakariko Village. It's much closer. They will probably get there before us. We need to meet them there."
   "Well, you may not like it, but we may need to buy a horse. That will make it cheaper. I'll ride with you, and, to be honest, I'm not much of a rider. I can sail. Not ride. We'll be faster if I ride with you," Zalie said. "And cheaper."
   "Well, I guess so. Here." Elijah handed her the rupees bag that he used. Zalie took it and walked back over to Kampo.
    About ten minutes later, Zalie and Elijah had saddled up their new horse and put their bags on it. The horse hadn't been too much. 150 rupees. They had some leftover from what Zalie's mom had given them.
   Elijah helped Zalie up onto the horse, as she couldn't manage to get on herself, and swung on. Zalie held on as the horse, which Elijah had named Royal for its solid pink coloring, started to gallop off. Elijah must have been eager to get going because he kept Royal at a gallop.
   The trees raced by and they were soon crossing a bridge into another forest. There were some monsters along the trail, but they either didn't notice or couldn't catch them because they mostly watched as they galloped by.
   Elijah kept Royal heading as north as mush as  he  could. He probably just wanted to see his sister. But, they'd only been apart a couple days? Zalie was used to not seeing her siblings for days at a time. Zalie had often gone with her father when he went for long fishing trips farther west. But, she supposed, they've probably never been apart. Hateno is a farming village. They wouldn't have traveled anywhere.
   After a little while, the galloped out of the woods and, sure enough, there were some wild horses just outside them. Elijah did not slow, and kept on. Zalie was starting to feel sore from riding so hard and was starting to ache. She really wanted to stop. But, she she knew that Elijah would not. At least, until they reached Zora's Domain.
   They continued on in silence. Elijah seemed to be in his own little world because he didn't even flinch as they crossed the Bridge of Hylia that had Lizalfos in the center that did their best to try to catch them.
   Though it felt much longer, they had only been riding a couple hours so that it was only around 11am. Zalie did not know when they would stop but it would have to be soon. Zalie's soreness had only gotten worse. She did not know how Elijah was standing it.
   Soon, she could stand it no longer. "Oh my goodness, Elijah! We need to stop! We've been going non stops for hours," Zalie burst out. Elijah seemed to come out of his determined trance with a jump.
   "What?" He did not slow down.
   "I'm gonna kill you. The soreness is killing me, I've gotta go to the bathroom, and I'm hungry. Let's stop for lunch at least!" Zalie said, working to not yell.
   "We can stop in a bit. We're close to the Riverside Stable. It's just over these hills." He gestured northeast. They had long since entered Central Hyrule, and were next just passing the Central Plateau.
   Zalie did not argue further, but it was still painful to wait longer. It was a huge relief when they saw the stable up ahead. Zalie let go of Elijah and hopped off the horse right there.
    Her legs did not appreciate the use and did not support her. They felt like jelly beneath her so Zalie just laid on the ground. Elijah had slowed and looked at her on the ground. He got off Royal more carefully and did not fall to the ground even though Zalie was sure his legs felt similar to hers. He walked over to her and helped her up. They walked the rest of the way to the stable and Zalie sat down by the cooking pot, massaging her thighs. Elijah had walked inside the stable for a moment and came back out.
   "Sorry about going so long. I want to make it to Zora's Domain by tonight," he apologized.
   "How far away are we now?" Zalie asked, wincing at her soreness.
   "Well, I asked around in the stable and we are relatively close. They said around 7-8 miles. It would take us a few hours. We'd probably get there by dinner time."
   "I see. And I take it that you are wanting to keep going?" The pain flared as if in response to this.
   "I'd like to. But, we'll rest here for an hour or so, so you can recover a bit."
   "Ok." Zalie resisted the urge to lay on the ground. She wanted something cold for her legs. Zalie looked around and saw the river. There was a shallow part that would be good. She didn't really care about getting wet at the moment.
   She got to her feet shakily and walked over to the river. She got it and sat down in it. It came to her waist like this. It was cold, but not freezing, and felt good. Elijah had walked back into the stable again and so when he walked back out, he looked confused. Zalie waved at him and he noticed, coming over.
   "Um, you do realize that there aren't many places to change right? You gonna wear those all day?" Elijah asked, raising an eyebrow.
   "Of course not. I'm going to change. It feels good," she snapped.
   Elijah held his hands up. "Ok, ok. What do you want to eat then?"
   "I dunno. Pick something."
   "Ok. I'm just gonna skewer some meat and mushrooms then." He walked over to the cooking pot and got supplies out of his bag and started cooking.
   Zalie stayed in the water till he was almost done. She already felt better and so she got out, dripping from the waist down. Luckily, she had spare changes of clothes, which she grabbed from Royal and went off into a nearby bush and changed fast. She walked back out and sat by the cooking pot with Elijah. He absently handed her a skewer and started on his own. Zalie remembered how hungry she was and started as well.
   They ate in silence and were soon finished and ready to get going again. Zalie didn't want to ride like she had before and so, when Elijah helped her up, she sat side-saddle. Elijah glanced at her, but didn't say anything, and got on.
   "Got everything?" Elijah asked.
   "Yeah. Do you know if they are ahead of us?" Zalie asked.
   "Probably not." He pointed at what he had called a shrine previously. There was one in Lurelin so it was familiar. There was one next to the stable. It glowed orange. "Otherwise, that shrine would probably be blue. Either they haven't gotten here yet, or they skipped the shrine. I think it's the former. We're making good time." Zalie nodded. "So, I asked around which was the best way to Zora's Domain, and it seems that we go by another stable. It's safer than going into Central Hyrule further. But, it's also apparently been raining over there non-stop. They advised us against it."
   "Oh. Well, we'll go to the road to it and wait for your sister and we'll see what they say," Zalie replied. Elijah nodded.
   They started up once more. It was now probably around 2 in the afternoon. Zalie hoped they made it before dark. She was not eager to fight anything right now. She did admire the scenery though. It was very different from the ocean and Faron. They were hot and humid and dense. But here, it was relatively cool, there were rolling hills, mountains in the distance, and of course, Hyrule Castle.
    Hyrule Castle was big and dark. There was swirling blackness around it and enormous pillars coming from the ground that glowed a reddish purple. She could see, very slightly, flying...things around it. She couldn't tell what it was from here, but she was certain it wasn't good or friendly. Zalie was suddenly glad that they weren't venturing further towards it.
    They had been going for an hour by the time Zalie had stopped gazing at the passing scenery. Elijah had mentioned that the stable was just ahead and that they were going to stop a minute for directions. It came into view and they stopped as they neared it. Elijah walked over to some people while Zalie watered Royal and fed him. She glanced northward and could see the volcano but she was sure that the Zora didn't live there. She hadn't ever seen a Zora but she had a feeling that they wouldn't like the volcano much.
   Elijah walked back over to her and nodded. "Ok. I know where to go. Apparently, we are less than an hour away from the road. We'll be there in no time. You'll finally get to meet Link and see Elyza."
   "Yup! I'm excited! What're we even doing in Zora's Domain? I don't think you told me," Zalie said, as she got onto Royal.
   "Well, I'm not entirely sure," Elijah admitted, climbing into the horse. "We've got vague instructions though, and we're supposed to ask the Zora about the Divine Beast. But, I'm not sure what that entails."
   "Oh. Guess we'll just have to wait and see then," Zalie said. Elijah nodded.
    The two of them rode once more, and Zalie was now sure that she really preferred a boat or raft to riding. She was sick of sitting on it all day. She would be glad when they finally stopped for the day. She hoped that they could walk some tomorrow.
    They quickly went over a big hill and crossed a bridge when they saw a road sign. Elijah and Zalie got off and rushed over to read it. To the right was Zora's Domain and Akkala, to the left was a stable.
   "Hey! This is it! The road to Zora's Domain! We can meet up with your sister here," Zalie exclaimed.
   "Yeah, alright. They're bound to come this way. We'll meet up for sure," Elijah responded.
   "Yay! And there's even a nice place to stay." Zalie pointed at a little shelter. It was next to a fire. And Zalie didn't see anyone around. Elijah nodded.
   They brought Royal over and sat down next to the fire, waiting for two figures to come over the hill and over the bridge.