Breath of the Wild: Link and Friends

Chapter 42

   While they were waiting for Link to get back, Zalie and Elyza had mischievously decided that they wanted to sneak Elijah and Kenton inside Gerudo Town. Zalie and Elyza were already girls so they had brought their traditional Gerudo vai clothes for the two guys. It probably wouldn't fit them very well but they wanted to try and see if they could get inside. If they were willing to surrender their dignity and cross-dress. Zalie and Elyza still hadn't told them they were planning this.
   But that was for later, because they wanted to make sure that Link got on the Divine Beast ok because that was probably the most dangerous part aside from fighting the blights.
   After a little bit, Zalie could see two sand seals riding off towards Vah Naboris. She could also see a shiny gold helm with a bubble surrounding the rider. Chief Riju.
   The Divine Beast sensed their presence and Zalie watched with muted anxiety as Naboris started to create lightning and she saw explosions by the machine's feet. The lightning struck the bubble but the seals didn't stop moving. Zalie also noticed that the storm of sand had died down and she could see relatively clearly.
   The explosions continued as did the attacks from Naboris. Couldn't be much longer now. That Beast wouldn't be able to hold stand up against those explosions for much longer. Sure enough, after another lightning fired off and an explosion, Naboris stopped and fell to its "knees." Link must be gotten on it, for the Divine Beast stood back up and resumed its walk around the desert. One of the sand seals returned.
   "Well, now we wait," Elyza said. "So... Zalie, what should we do?"
   "Wait why did you only ask her?" Elijah asked.
  The girls ignored him. "Hmm. Well I had an idea earlier...but..." Zalie said.
  "But...?"
  "It would require some sacrifice on the part of the boys," Zalie finished.
   "What're you guys talking about?" Kenton asked.
   "Do you guys want to go into Gerudo Town?" Elyza replied.
   "Uh...yes? But we're guys," Elijah responded hesitantly.
   "Maybe right now but you wouldn't look like one," Zalie said, smiling.
   Elijah and Kenton stared at her a moment before the realization dawned on them.
   "Please tell me you aren't going to have us dress up," Kenton groaned.
   "We sure are!" Zalie laughed. She let go of his hand, and pulled her Gerudo clothes out of her bag. "We already had a girls day and we all know how that ended up, so the more people the safer! Especially since Link has now killed the Yiga Clan leader."
   "Ok, but do I really have to wear those clothes?" Kenton asked, nodding at the bundle of cloth.
   "Yes."
   "Great. Elijah, are you gonna help me out here?" Kenton asked.
   "I mean, I don't really want to cross-dress but I do want to go inside town. So I'm a little more willing. Besides, who keeps their dignity forever?" Elijah replied, shrugging.
   "I guess I'm outnumbered. Fine. So be it." The girls gave them the clothes and they walked a ways away and used the dunes to change.
   "You know it's a good thing that Link was able to get in otherwise we wouldn't be able to laugh at those two now," Elyza noted. "By the way, I don't think I've told you congrats yet. You'll make the rest of us feel like 3rd, 4th, and 5th wheels."
   Zalie blushed. "Sorry. And thanks?"
   Elyza laughed. "I wasn't trying to make you feel bad, Zal. I think that's a good problem to have."
   "Well, it probably wouldn't have happened without your meddling so I guess I should thank you for that," Zalie said.
   "Sure. Always happy to interfere. You guys are cute together," Elyza replied. Zalie smiled.
   The boys came back now looking more like vai. It was easy to tell they were guys but maybe that was only because Zalie knew they were guys.
   Either way, it was entertaining because their body language conveyed that they were uncomfortable. Or maybe that was just Kenton. Elijah looked excited—he must have been envisioning going to that cooking class.
   "Zalie, do I really have to do this? Can't we just sneak in at night or something?" Kenton asked, picking at the garments.
   "Nope! They still have guards at night, anyways. This is more fun," Zalie said, hands behind her back girlishly.
   "Let's go!" Elyza exclaimed.
   The actual girls led the way into town, the guards barely glancing at them and the disguised boys. Good.
   Elijah's face lit up when he saw square—or well, just his eyes—and looked excitedly  at his twin. Her cousins split off from Zalie and Kenton.
   Kenton looked around curiously at all the shops. His eyes found the "Starlight Memories" jewelry shop. Zalie fingered her opal necklace on her neck.
   "Is that where you got your necklace?" Kenton asked.
   "Yep! But Isha isn't selling much right now," Zalie said. "She doesn't have the flint she needs and not a lot of business with Vah Naboris."
   "Ah. Well, is there any particular place you wanted to drag me off to?"
   "I dunno. I just thought it would be fun. We can go join Elijah and Elyza, if you want."
   "Well, you know town better than I do so lead on," Kenton said.
   "I've already been to the shops and most of them aren't really something you can't enjoy so..." Zalie trailed away. Kenton followed her.
   She walked out of the square down a side street. She walked down it and climbed up the wall up to where the water ran. Zalie took off her shoes so she could stand in the shallow water. Kenton climbed up after her.
   "Here?" Kenton said.
   "Yeah, why not?" Zalie replied, shrugging.
   "Fair enough."
   Zalie walked closer to the palace and found a nice place to sit. The water really was quite shallow and at most it came up to her ankles. It flowed in the troughs on top the of the buildings overtop the pretty mosaic tiles. The contrast between the heat of the sun and the cool water was nice.
   "You know, I can't believe we're almost done," Zalie sighed.
   "Done? Traveling all over Hyrule?" Kenton asked. He took off his—well, Zalie's—shoes.
   "Yeah. I know it's only been a few weeks but it feels more like a whole year. I don't know what I'll do when it's all over. I'll be back in Lurelin Village, helping my family fish and doing the same thing everyday. Aside from my occasional trips with my dad," Zalie explained.
   "And why wouldn't you be able to travel more? I know there's more to Hyrule than what we've seen," Kenton said.
   "I suppose I could, but it's not as much fun to travel by myself," Zalie replied, scooping up some water in her hands. It slipped through her fingers.
   "You, of course, realize that I would be coming along right?" Kenton said dryly.
   "I mean, I suppose, but you have a family too and we live on opposite sides of Hyrule," Zalie sighed. "And we're still young. I just don't won't it to end."
    "Me either. So it won't. If nothing else, I'd visit all the time." Kenton looked thoughtful. "Hey, what if I just moved with my sister? My grandfather would be fine and I'm old enough to take care of 'Mae."
   "To Lurelin? That'd be awesome but...where would you live? It's a small town. You'd have to build your own hut," Zalie said.
   "Then why not Hateno? That's where Elyza and Elijah live, right?" Kenton suggested.
   "I suppose that's more possible but I haven't been to Hateno since I can remember. That'd be a better question for them. But, Hateno is pretty close to Lurelin if you don't use the roads. And I'm sure I would visit anyway to see my cousins," Zalie responded.
   "Well, I'm sure we'll figure something out. It'd be a real shame to be separated after we just got together. By the way, we're...official right?" Kenton asked hesitantly.
   Zalie nodded. "Of course!"
   "Good." He sounded relieved. "Should we go find those twins?"
   "Yeah, maybe." Zalie looked to the right, out where the Divine Beast was walking around. Its long neck was moving. Probably Link. They were too far away to possibly see him though. But, that meant he was fine.
   Zalie hopped down, feet splashing in the water. Kenton followed suit, and they walked down some watery "steps" and hopped down on the palace's front stairs.
   "Oh, Kenton, guess what I found at the inn at the Bazaar?" Zalie said, remembering something.
   "What?"
   "Rumor Mill: Volume 7! You know, by Traysi?" Zalie answered excitedly.
   "Really? That's cool. What was it about?" Kenton asked. "I've only ever seen, like, one of her books."
   "The secret of the royal family of Hyrule! It sounded interesting and I read that there are secret rooms inside the castle! And not just any old room—the last king of Hyrule's. And there's also supposed to be a laboratory that belonged to the princess," Zalie explained. "I thought Link would be interested."
   "That's cool. Speaking of Hyrule Castle, what are we gonna do?" Kenton said as they walked around town, vaguely looking for the twins.
   "Whatcha mean?" Zalie asked.
   "How are we gonna get in? What will we find? What are we gonna fight?" Kenton went on.
   Zalie shrugged. "Dunno. I guess we haven't really thought about it. 'Course we're basically going day by day." She frowned. "I guess that's kind of a problem, huh?"
   "A little bit," Kenton said. "I mean, I'm all for rushing in blindly but I suspect we would probably die."
   "Hmm. Yeah, maybe." Zalie fell silent and the conversation died.
   They found Elijah and Elyza at the cooking pots next to the palace steps. Elijah was mumbling to himself because Elyza didn't look particularly interested and was staring off into space. Zalie and Kenton went over to them.
   "Hey, Elijah, whatcha doing?" Zalie asked.
   "Well, Elyza and I found where they do the cooking class but it was unfortunately not in session. But we found some books and recipes on the walls so here I am. But I realized that I don't have the snails I need," Elijah replied. "But I've learned a bunch on special foods and monster extract and stuff like that. Not that I really know what monster extract is..."
   "That's cool. Any other recipes?" Zalie questioned.
   "Yes but I don't have the ingredients unfortunately. I'm going to have to stock up on the fruits here because I've never seen them anywhere but here," Elijah rambled, talking more to himself than anyone else.
   "Alright then." Zalie sat down next to them, Kenton beside her. She nudged him, nodding towards the twins.
   Kenton nodded. He looked over at Elyza. "So, Zalie and I were thinking about what we would do after Hyrule is saved. And I don't really want to go back to the Woodland Stable, and never see everyone again, so I was thinking I could move...to Hateno."
   "Hateno? It's possible I guess. I'm not sure where you would stay though," Elyza said. She thought for a moment. "There's an old house that's unoccupied but I think the town was going to tear it down. Or you could stay with one of the villagers. Our home is a little small for so many."
   "Elyza, are you forgetting about those empty homes built by that Bolson guy? His construction company?" Elijah interjected.
   "Oh! You're right! I don't know if those are for sale however," Elyza said. "No one lives in them, other than maybe Bolson himself. You could certainly try. But, wouldn't Lurelin be easier if you want to be near Zalie?"
   "I thought about that but there's really no where he could stay, short of building his own home," Zalie said, shaking her head.
   "So, Hateno seems like a better option." Kenton sighed. "Even if it's farther."
   "Anyway, where are we going first after we separate from Link?" Elyza asked.
   "Lurelin? And then we can go to Hateno," Zalie suggested.
   "I want to stop by the Woodland Stable if that's alright," Kenton added.
   "Ok, we can go there after Hateno," Elyza said.
   "What exactly are we gonna do?" Elijah asked. "Am I the only one that feels like relaxing like that will be, like, not relaxing with a fight against the Calamity looming over us?"
   Elyza snacked his arm. "Way to be a downer."
   "Somebody has to be realistic," Elijah grumbled.
   "It's a valid point to bring up," said Kenton. "Maybe we shouldn't go back to our homes? Perhaps that would be...too normal."
   Everyone was silent.
   Zalie frowned. Kenton was right. Hyrule was only protected by one person who had been doing it for 100 years. Zelda was close to breaking—was it fair to go back to their normal lives when she could lose hers to Ganon himself? No, maybe not. But...
   "I think we should at least go somewhere, if not back home," Zalie said quietly. "Maybe it's a little light for the severity of our travels, but everyone needs a bright side. Light in darkness makes it that much easier to defeat."
   They were silent a moment before Kenton spoke up. "How about Akkala? I know it's sort of my home, but I'm way past my parent's deaths. It's really beautiful there and we can still relax a little there."
   "That's sounds lovely," Elyza said, smiling. "I'd love to see it."
   "Me too," Elijah agreed.
   "Of course I'll go too," Zalie added.
   "Great! We'll stop by the Woodland Stable and go all the way to Akkala," Kenton declared.
   The four of them waited a couple more hours in town, but they moved so they could see Vah Naboris. It was always really cool to see the Beasts move to aim at Hyrule Castle. So it was pretty close to noon when Naboris finally started moving irregularly.
   Well, that's the last of them. We can see the finish line, Zalie thought as the laser shot from Vah Naboris. If only there wasn't a chasm in between.