Breath of the Wild: Link and Friends

Chapter 33

   It was hours before Link defeated Medoh. Zalie watched as the Divine Beast flew towards the village and its wings were outstretched as well as its claws. Zalie and the others had ran up the village to where the shrine was so they could get a better look.
   Medoh latched onto the top of the village with its mechanical claws—the outreaching rock looking suspiciously convenient—shaking the village. It didn't break anything but Zalie stumbled a little. Elijah fell down. She was still looking up at it and saw the familiar red laser shoot out across Hyrule at the castle.
   "3 down, one more to go," Elyza said. They looked around to see if they could find Link but didn't see him.
   "Guys, he's probably down at the bottom. That's where he usually is," Zalie said, starting across the bridge.
   "Yeah, but he's gonna come talk to the elder again. He'll come up and we can meet him there," Elijah said, stopping her.
   Zalie nodded, sighing. "It's just, what if he's hurt?"
   "Zalie. He can literally heal from the brink of death. He's fine," Elijah said. He let go of her arm.
   "Wait. He can what?" Kenton asked incredulously.
   "He's gotten powers from the Champions in the Divine Beasts. He can heal from anything, and he has an indestructible shield. And he probably has another now," Elyza explained.
   "Huh." Kenton sat back.
   Zalie smiled. It was cute how much he didn't really know. He had funny reactions to everything.
   They waited for a couple minutes for Link to come walking up to them but instead, they heard a whooshing of air and a whooping yell. (Wow those are weird words) It sounded like Link.
   Zalie watched as Link shot up into the air near them, hovering on his paraglider before slowly drifting down. He was grinning like a mad man.
   Link landed softly, putting his glider away. He looked at all of them.
   "How did you do that?!" Kenton asked, insistent. He had even stood up.
   Link grinned wider if that were possible. "Magic."
   Kenton opened his mouth then shut it again. Zalie giggled, and he glanced at her.
   "Yeah, obviously, but what does this one do?" Elyza asked.
   "It allows me to create an updraft strong enough that I can launch myself upward on it and glide. It's called Revali's Gale," Link explained. "Now I've got three abilities. Mipha's Grace, Daruk's Protection, and now Revali's Gale. I only have one more to get." He turned to Zalie. "You've been to the Gerudo Desert, right?"
   She nodded. "It's been a couple years but yes."
   "Do you remember seeing the Divine Beast?"
   Zalie thought a moment. "I'm...not sure. I don't think so. Besides, it's only recently that the Divine Beasts have been acting up, right?"
   Link nodded slowly. "Yes...I think that... my waking up caused this. All the Divine Beasts wreaking havoc on these people."
   "Maybe, but you had to wake up eventually," Elyza said.
   Link nodded. "I know. It just means it's my responsibility to fix it. Anyway, I have to go talk to the elder and then I have something to show you, Zalie. I think you'll like it."
   Zalie smiled. "Let's go then."
   Link led the way and they walked up the village to the elder's hut. As they did, Zalie noticed that Link didn't have the Master Sword. What? Where was it?
   "Link," Zalie said, drawing his attention," where's the Master Sword?"
   "Oh, I used it while fighting the blight up on the Divine Beast. It just ran out of energy. It needs to recharge and then it'll come back. Don't worry," Link replied absently. He seemed lost in thought.
   Either way, Zalie accepted the explanation. He would know. She was curious about this surprise of his.
   Elyza sped up to walk next to Link and started talking quietly with him. Zalie only caught snippets of the conversation.
   "...is...surprise? It's not...you...get.... involved..."
   He nodded. "...noticed...on...looks like...thought it... would be...place for..."
   "...you...him...know?"
   Link shook his head. "...want...surprise... both..."
   Elyza nodded and fell back.
   Zalie frowned. Well, now she really wanted to know. She glanced at Kenton who was walking slightly behind her, eyes glazed. She waved her hand in front of his face.
   He focused and looked at her. "What?"
   "Could you hear what they were talking about?" Zalie asked.
   "Who? Link and Elyza? No. Why?" Kenton said. He cringed for some reason.
   "They were talking about some surprise for me and I'm very curious now," Zalie said, throwing a pouting look at Link and Elyza.
   Elyza smirked. "You'll just have to find out later."
   Zalie pouted, crossing her arms. "Rude."
   That drew a chuckle from Link. 'Course it did. But he didn't say anything.
   "Fine. Be that way. I'll just talk to Kenton then," Zalie said, huffing.
   "Not that I'm against that, but we're about to talk to the elder if you want to listen in," Link said.
   Well, he had her there.
   Link led the way into the hut. Kaneli was awake and appeared to have been waiting. He leaned forward and Link approached.
   "You have done it! And you survived, at that! You conquered Divine Beast Vah Medoh!" Kaneli exclaimed. "To think the beast has taken up roost at the top of the village! It looks simply...divine. If the legends are true, 'the light from the Divine Beasts will ravage the Calamity.' For now, Divine Beast Vah Medoh will become the protector of this village and live on in legend...alongside you." He laughed.
   "...Oh, yes! Of course! I must reward you properly! Feel free to take what you find in that treasure chest. You will get more use out of it than I. What you did was miraculous. Though I should expect nothing less of one from the bloodline of a Champion," Kaneli continued. "Why...you are almost of the very Hylian Champion who fought alongside Master Revali 100 years ago...all you lack is the sword that seals the darkness. If you had the sword that seals the darkness in your possession, you would be the spitting image..." He leaned back in his chair, nodding to the side where the chest he mentioned lay.
   Link thanked him and walked to the chest. He opened it and pulled a bow from within.
   Zalie was no bow expert—not like Kenton—but she could tell it wasn't an ordinary bow. It looked like it had room for more than one arrow at a time.
   Link thanked the elder once more and they all withdrew. Kenton looked like he was restraining himself from snatching the bow from Link who was examining it. Zalie wasn't too interested in the bow though. She just wanted to know what this surprise was.
   Link led them back down to where the shrine was and sat down. Kenton sat beside him eagerly and Link smirked. He handed the bow the Kenton. He looked like he would explode any second now.
   Zalie smiled. Only Kenton—and maybe Elyza—would look at a bow as if it were a precious childhood toy. His eyes were wide and awed and he held it.
   "I knew it!!!" Kenton suddenly exclaimed. "This is 100% the GREAT EAGLE BOW! It is the one and only Rito Champion's own bow! It shoots even straighter than your normal Rito bow if that's possible AND you can shoot 3 arrows at a time! You're so lucky, Link!" He reluctantly gave it back to Link.
   Link smiled. "Well, since I have this one, you can have the Falcon bow I got from Teba." He pulled that bow off his back. "I think it's enchanted or something because it's really durable and I haven't used too many times. Here." He handed the bow to Kenton who lit up immediately.
   It was a little like handing a puppy a sword. A puppy who already knows how to use it. Really really well. But you didn't want to tell him no because he was cute and he might find you in your sleep later.
   Of course, it was still a cute reaction.
   He jumped up. "Thanksthanksthanks." Kenton looked like he would hug Link for a second, but he didn't. He slung the bow on his back and waved then left, running down the stairs to who knows where.
   Zalie just shook her head, smiling. She turned to Link who was grinning but with a slight hesitance.
   "You know, I'm not sure that was a good idea," Link said, putting his new bow on his back where the other had been, and stood.
   "Yeah, maybe not, but it was an adorable reaction," Zalie said, giggling. She didn't know exactly when Kenton had become adorable but she wasn't really upset about that.
   "Well, since we're done here, I'm going to go make some food and stuff. Can I borrow your spear, Zal?" Elijah asked.
   She nodded and took it off her back and handed it to him. "Whatcha need it for?"
   "Fishing. Care to join me Elyza?"
   Elyza nodded and the two walked down the stairs.
   Zalie turned to Link. "Alright, so what was this surprise?"
   Link gave a small grin. "I'll show you." Link waved for her to follow him and he walked across the bridge. He walked around the village looking for something before stopping. "Alright, I want you to hold on; I'm gonna use my new power. Also be ready to climb a little bit."
   Zalie was a little confused but nodded. She held onto him and he crouched and wind started to blow from beneath them, making Zalie's hair whip around. Link was suddenly launched up and Zalie yelped but held on. His open paraglider allowed him to glide up smoothly.
   "Ok, now we climb unless you can find a ledge and then we can go up faster on the Gale," Link said, hovering on the paraglider.
   Zalie nodded. She took a hand off and grabbed the rock, finding a handhold. She brought her legs over and let go of Link and held to the wall. Link joined her on the wall and they climbed upwards.
   "So, where are we going anyway?" Zalie asked, puffing. She pulled herself up farther. Climbing like this was tiring.
   "Up. You'll see."
   "I can't help but think this will be anticlimactic Link," Zalie said. She found a short ledge and pulled herself into it, sitting and holding onto the wall.
   Link pulled himself up next to her. "Maybe, but I thought it was kinda cool. You can see part of it only at a certain part of the day."
   Zalie sighed. Link crouched again on the short ledge and Zalie held on again as the wind started to blow and they flew upward once more.
   This time, there was an opening or a gap in the pillar and Link glided down a little bit and Zalie let go, dropping the few feet left to the ground.
   She looked at Link. "Ok, now what?"
   "We're here," Link said.
   Zalie looked around. The sun was shining brightly and they were pretty high, but Zalie wasn't really sure what she was supposed to be seeing.
   Link waved for her to join him near the edge, so she did. He pointed to the circling cliff sides and the shadow of the village. The only odd thing about the shadow was the hole they were standing in.
   It was oddly shaped. The two of them waited silently as the shadow moved with the sun. Zalie squinted at the shadow. It looked like a...heart. Almost perfectly shaped.
   "Wait, Link, that shadow is a heart! Aww,    that's so cute! Look at nature being cute," Zalie squealed.
   Link smirked. "Yeah, I though you'd like it. This hole is heart shaped and you can see it from down there. Cool, huh?"
   "Yeah! Have you shown Elyza?"
   "No, but I told her about it and she probably told Elijah. I suppose the only person who doesn't know is Kenton," Link said.
   "I can show him. Maybe he can pull himself away from that bow long enough for us to go down there. By the way, when are we heading to the Gerudo Desert? Are we leaving tomorrow or are we hanging around for a day?" Zalie asked.
   "I want to get going as soon as possible but I understand if we can't leave tomorrow. I just feel like something is building out there. I don't know how much longer Zelda can hold out..." Link fell silent.
   Zalie recognized his silence. Anxious and closed off.
   "Link? It'll be ok. We can make it," Zalie said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.
   Link nodded, but didn't say anything.
   Zalie could only imagine what he really felt like. Stressed, anxious, and maybe even angry and afraid. He probably couldn't bring himself to believe Zalie's words. But after a certain point, there wasn't much Zalie could do or say to help.
   "Link I think we need a relax day," Zalie said.
   "I'd rather just finish this and get Hyrule back to how it was 100 years ago. Then I can relax a little. Assuming I actually can." Link held out his hand a the Master Sword appeared, looking new. He started at the sword a moment before sheathing it. He turned to Zalie. "Ready to go?"
   She nodded, letting the subject go, and held onto him and he jumped off, pulling out his glider. She let go as they landed on Revali's Landing and he walked away, looking more serious than he usually did if that was possible.
   Zalie turned holding her arms, looking out at the snowy mountains to the north. This whole journey was incredible. It really was. More than she'd ever imagined and she would never change that decision to come if she could. Traveling this way was more fulfilling than traveling with her father for trading had ever been. But it was definitely more taxing in multiple ways.
   Zalie didn't make nearly as many jokes as she used to, looking back in the past couple weeks. It was hard to be lighthearted when this mission was so serious with real consequences. But that was the best time for jokes, wasn't it? Don't let it get to you? Perhaps she could do better. They all needed to laugh a bit more, except maybe Kenton but he hadn't been on this journey long. But he seemed the type who laughed just when others couldn't.
   Zalie admired that. She had thought she'd been like that, but it was less laughter than just optimism. She was optimistic all the time but her laughter had been slowly trailing away. Well, that was gonna change. She'd laugh the whole way to the desert and right up to the fight with Ganon.
   With that in mind, Zalie turned and walked down the stairs to find Kenton. Maybe he knew some good jokes if she could pull him away from that bow long enough. The thought made Zalie smile unconsciously.
   As she thought about it, Zalie realized she really liked Kenton. And Elyza had said that he liked her, so perhaps there was something to be explored there. She didn't have much experience in that area but how hard could it be? After all, they liked each other, didn't they?
   It seemed so. Zalie reached the bottom of the village, looking around, hands on hips. Where was he anyway?
   An arrow struck the tree next to Zalie. She jumped and fell to the ground.
   "Oops! Sorry, Zalie!" came Kenton's voice. He came running over from across the nearest bridge. "I didn't mean to do that."
   He held out a hand and helped Zalie back to her feet. She brushed herself off.
   "You scared me half to death Kenton," Zalie said, heart still racing from surprise.
   "Er, I'm really sorry. I'm not used to this bow yet. It's throwing me off," Kenton apologized. He scratched the back of his neck.
   "It's alright. I'm just glad you didn't accidentally kill me," Zalie laughed.
   "Me too," Kenton said. "Did you need something?"
   "I suppose I don't really need it but I wanted to show something cool. At least I thought it was," Zalie said, clasping her hands behind her back and smiling up at him.
   He blushed. "U-uh, sure."
   "Ok then, c'mon," Zalie said. She walked away with a spring in her step, with him hurrying to catch up.
   They crossed the bridges back to the stable together and made idle chatter and Zalie led the way towards where they could see the heart.
   Finally, the important questions were asked.
   "Hey, Kenton, do you know any good jokes? Or puns? I'm fresh out apparently," Zalie asked.
   Kenton laughed. "Well, I don't know how many I have on the spot. What kind are you looking for?"
   "Any. Even if they're really bad," Zalie giggled.
   "Alright. How about...um...what does a baby moblin call its mother?"
   "What?"
   "Momblin!" (I know it's bad)
   Zalie stopped and stared at him a moment. Then she started laughing even though the joke wasn't even funny. In fact, it was downright awful. She laughed so hard she started crying.
   "Kenton—that—was—probably the—worst—joke—I've ever—heard," Zalie gasped, wiping her eyes.
   Kenton grinned. "I know, but you did want one on the spot. It was bound to be bad."
   "I'd ask for another but I'm a little worried," Zalie said.
   He grinned wider. "That's fair." He trailed his hand on a tree then winced pulling his hand to himself.
   "What happened?" Zalie asked.
   "Splinter," Kenton said.
   "Need help getting it out?"
   "Maybe."
   Zalie took his hand, using her smaller fingers and thin nails to pull the sliver of wood out of his hand. She threw it to the side and let go of hand, even thought the warmth of it was nice. This area of Hyrule was cold, especially considering she was from the hot and muggy south.
   Kenton held up his hand, shaking it. "I had a splinter, but then it got out of hand."
   Zalie laughed. "Ok, that one was better."
   Kenton smiled. "Why don't you say a joke now?"
   "Um...I'm glad that meat tastes good because becoming a vegetarian is a huge missed steak," Zalie said, smiling.
   Kenton laughed. "Nice. I thought you were out of jokes."
   "Well, I guess I've been inspired." Zalie tried to think of more puns. "We should probably hurry because Elijah is making food but it's a little fishy."
   He chuckled. "He certainly was interested in the salmon, wasn't he?"
   Zalie nodded. The two continued to talk as they made their way around. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily because Kenton was fun to talk to, they made it there where they could see the heart perfectly.
   "Alright, so what am I looking for, Zal?" Kenton asked.
   "Look!" Zalie pointed at the village to the hole in the village pillar.
   Kenton squinted up at the village. "Huh, was that hole there before? It looks like...a heart. Woah, that's pretty cool. I don't remember seeing that."
   "Right?! I think it's cute. Look at nature being...nature," Zalie said. It seemed kinda small in retrospect, and she'd dragged Kenton all the way out here. "I guess it's kinda a small thing to drag you all the way out here for but—"
   "Hey, it's fine! It was a fun walk, and it's actually pretty cool. Plus, look at that," Kenton interrupted. He grabbed her hand and pulled her over to a platform that reminded Zalie of a shrine. "Isn't that a shrine?"
   "Well, if it is, it's not a complete one," Zalie said. She noticed Kenton hadn't let go of her hand, but she didn't mind so she pretended to not notice.
   "Yeah, maybe it's some puzzle for Link. We can let him know," Kenton said.
   Zalie nodded. "We should probably go then. The others could be worried."
   Kenton nodded too, and then let go of her hand, probably realizing he hadn't let go yet. There was an awkward moment before they started walking again, this time back to the village and stable. It was getting late anyway and they would probably leave for the desert tomorrow.
   The two made the wall back the same way they had gone. Laughing and talking.