Chapter Text
…only to reveal a script that Link had no hope of deciphering on his own. He offered a tense smile as Zelda returned to her desk, papers floating in the air as she was started on preparations for whatever the letter had informed her of. “This is in Gerudo, princess.”
“What? Oh, of course,” Zelda answered, even as her mind was clearly a dozen other places. Blip was forced out of his sleeping spot, hopping over to Zelda’s neck again, very quickly a mouse as she scanned the maze of paperwork now stringing itself through the study.
It took a while longer until Zelda properly addressed the matter, half a dozen steps into a plan she was writing out. “It’s a letter, from a friend of mine in Rahaal. Hamuus, he’s—where is it? Ah, here. He’s a professor at the University of the Forum.” She pulled the letter from Link’s hand before adding it to the paper storm around them. “He’ll be meeting you in the Rift.”
“He is? Wait, where?” Link asked as Zelda continued noting down details faster than he could read. “You’re skipping steps, princess. What’s going on?”
Zelda took a deep breath before she turned back to face him. A little calmer, she began again, “Hamuus was investigating our missing census case. We had assumed if the records were missing here in Hyrule, it was possible they were in Rahaal since the caravans register in both nations. After the news you gave me in Pabatta, our investigation became more urgent.
“But now Hamuus is saying that the Forum is going to be holding debates on the matter of a Dragmire Il Ganondorf and his claims as king,” Zelda went on, waving a hand loosely before she floated a map of Hyrule and its neighbors before her. “How close can you get to Gerudo Town?”
This was rapidly becoming more information that he could keep up with. “What do you mean the Forum is holding debates? What is the Forum?” Zelda turned back, clearly waiting on an answer to her own question, to which Link relented an answer. “Probably Lake Hylia. Maybe Navoras?”
“Of course, Nayru’s Temple. And not Navoras, too many border crossings,” Zelda said, marking something off on her map. She ran a finger along the surface before tapping another point in the middle of the Gerudo Desert. “It would be a week at least with the desert crossing, and your horses will need charms for the climate. I can make those.”
Again brushing away Link’s waiting questions, Zelda began searching through her shelves. She returned, pulling three glass pearls from a shelf, palms glowing as she began enchantments. Link leaned on the side of the desk as he waited, not wanting to interrupt whatever spell she was casting, but he didn’t hide some of his rising irritation. It was largely muted though at his respect for her ability to focus on so many details at once. And he did like the face she made when she was concentrating.
When Zelda set down the beads, now shining each with an assortment of colors inside, Link pressed his point again, “Princess, I can’t read your mind too.”
“I know, I need a moment,” Zelda answered, rapidly scrawling a letter. Link was surprised by how perfect the handwriting was despite her speed. It took less than three minutes for her to fill the page, sealing it as she turned to him. “Where were we?”
“The Forum?” he prompted as Zelda moved to pull wax and a seal press from her desk.
“Right, the Forum of Dirjaan is the governing body of Rahaal,” Zelda explained, a fire dancing off her fingertips to melt the wax almost instantly before she dripped it on the envelope. “And regardless of whatever is decided by the Forum, which will take a long time, I assure you, we must get the Hero to Rahaal before the debates become hostile for us.”
“I thought relations were good between Hyrule and Rahaal?” Link asked as Zelda walked the letter over to Impa, the Sheikah nodded before she wrapped on the door. A hand bound in vestments as Impa’s were appeared through a crack, taking the letter and then vanishing as Impa pressed the door closed once more.
“They are, but that isn’t the point of Ganondorf calling the Forum to order. The point will be to get them talking on the matter of his claim, and that will take months,” Zelda went on as she returned to her paperwork. “And in the process, the Forum will divide into factions on either side of the discussion, and their focus will be on Dirjaan. And at least one of those factions will stall any attempts to allow you to reach the Temple of Radiant Fire. I suspect there’s more plotting involved on our Enemy’s side while the Forum has turned a blind eye for their debates, but at the very least, we must get the Hero before the Forum before the discussions can begin.
“On that point.” This time the breath was more to actually breathe. It was followed by an apologetic look. “How soon can you leave? I assume Saddiqah and Ambrose will be traveling with you again.”
Link’s shoulders dropped some at that, even with the feelings of urgency that had been following him before. He didn’t want to have to tell Floan. They didn’t have much choice. “Yeah, that was the plan. But Ambrose is out of town on contracts. I mean, Saddiqah can get ahold of him, but it could be a bit. And for Saddiqah.” He grimaced at the thought, resting his hands on his hips. “I don’t know if Marela or Saddiqah would be more upset about the news.”
That caught up to Zelda a little more, a guilty scrunch of the nose. “Ah, yes, that would be…disagreeable. But at the very least, you’ll need to get ahold of Ambrose. We can start there. Impa.”
Zelda had barely turned before Impa had already bowed deeply. “Yes, Princess,” was just out of her mouth before Impa was gone in a cloud of smoke, and the two were properly alone. It was a shame to be chased by all of this.
“Well. We have to wait anyway,” Zelda resolved, before returning to her notes. She looked back over her shoulder as Link lingered by the desk, Blip hopping back down. As Link ran a hand over the retransformed blue cat, she offered, “I am sorry. I didn’t mean for this to turn so quickly.”
“That’s the hand we’ve got, I guess,” Link answered, not hiding the disappointment. Not only at the too recent farewells to his family. He’d had maybe an hour with Zelda since she was back, only for them to be turning around again in days. After nearly two months of barely getting talk to each other.
This Zelda caught on to, corners of her lips turning up as she tightened her expression. “Is that so?”
Link stiffened, leaning back as Blip slipped away from his reach. “Somehow I don’t think being noisy is very princess-like.”
“Oh, and you would know?” she asked, leaving her notes to come back around the desk.
“According to history, I think I’ve had a pretty good track record with princesses so far,” he replied as Zelda grew particularly close. “So, yes.”
“I would be careful, Mr. Sayre. This argument is not particularly wise,” Zelda warned, though he wasn’t certain what the warning was for as she leaned in even closer.
“You’d know all about that, princess,” Link answered, pressed back to the edge of the desk by Zelda’s advance.
“Flattery might serve you well right now,” she said, more than a little smug as she backed away from him to return to her notes. She stopped, catching the shine of the star fragment on her desk. “What’s this?”
“A gift,” Link replied as Zelda collected the item. “From the Starmet Festival, in Stuva.”
“I’ve heard it’s a beautiful occasion.” She ran a finger over the sides, catching the jagged details with a slow trace of her finger.
“Story goes catching one is good luck.” Link leaned around the corner of the desk, hoping perhaps waiting on the others might include waiting on more planning as well. Zelda was not so easily persuaded on this, bringing the fragment in closer to her chest as she looked it over. “Does it?”
“It might,” she answered quickly, some challenge in her eyes as she retreated. It didn’t hide the smile. Hylia, it was good to see her smile. Though it was a dangerous one as she reached for his belt, pulling out a Gossip Charm from his bag. “On the matter of distance, I think you’ll find this useful. I will be here at the castle. Both to look after Syd and likely further complications with the Crown.” The last word she said with some derision, a tone that shifted the mood quite severely away from where Link wanted it to be. He took the charm back as Zelda turned to her papers, content in not pushing his luck.
As Zelda’s mood shifted into focus again, Link joined her around the side of the desk. He had no idea how she was connecting details between all of the papers. It didn’t help that half of them were in languages he didn’t understand. And he was sure there was even more in her head that he had no knowledge of.
The room starting to spin under the movement as he watched the network of papers, Link ran his hands over his eyes before leaning on the desk. “Can you start from the beginning?”
“I feel like I’ve been very thorough,” Zelda answered, not looking back.
To that, Link pushed off the desk and carefully wrapped his arms around her waist. Kissing her neck, he said, “For the not incredibly beautiful.” Another kiss, slightly higher. “Amazingly talented.” A third, below the ear. “Super geniuses in the room.” Zelda turned her head only slightly to acknowledge him at this point, to which he offered a smile. “Would you mind starting over?”
“What exactly needs repeating?” she asked, a long sigh as she continued to work. But not disapproving as he still remained at her back.
“What’s happening in the next few days?” Link replied, stopping from kissing her but not letting go.
“We are going to get your companions back to go to the Rift, first to Lake Town and then Gerudo Town after,” Zelda began, before an idea came to her and she pivoted. “How do you feel about a ferry?”
“Princess, please,” Link answered, grinning as little as Zelda rolled her eyes and turned back. “I will help you plan after I know where we’re going.”
“I need to plan to answer those questions,” Zelda returned quickly, not hiding the self-important look spreading on her face. When Link dropped some of his weight in frustration against her, she relented, “Fine. You’ll be meeting Hamuus at the Rift to take you to Dirjaan.”
“As the Hero?”
“As yourself for now. The borders will be watched,” Zelda answered, looking back at her notes and moving a pin elsewhere. “I assume he has more plans once you’re traveling together, but his letter described traveling to Sokoru on the coast, taking the Rahi into the city. After you were in Farona for so long, they won’t expect you arriving from the sea, the trip would be too long for them to anticipate.”
“Won’t that make them suspicious?” Link asked. “They don’t know about the teleporting spell so far.”
“Maybe. But it will keep them guessing. And we need them to be scattered when you get there, not prepared with a defense. The Hero appearing suddenly from the river ports would do that,” Zelda said as she continued working through her notes. “Now. A ferry?”
Link sighed, but held up to his word. “A ferry where?”
“Across Lake Hylia. It would save two days of travel if you weren’t riding around,” Zelda replied, tracing the path over the lake and then around it to demonstrate. “You could reach the Rift in five days instead of a week. Those beads are for the temperature. For your horses. I would recommend braiding them into their hair rather than putting it on their tack. I can give you cord that will attach the teleportation pearls as well.”
“For the heat?” Link asked as he collected the pearls, Zelda quick to provide the additional material.
“And the cold. The Gerudo Desert is frigid at night as well, particularly in the dry season.”
Nodding slowly, Link recounted the next week’s progress so far. Debating an answer on the ferry, he asked, “How long is it going to take Hamuus to get to the Rift?”
At that, Zelda paused before shaking her head. “Of course. This.” She turned back quickly to kiss him briefly before her focus was ahead once more. “Is why I need you.”
“Really?” He didn’t hide the surprise in his voice at that.
“Waiting around at the Rift would attract attention, and you aren’t the only ones who would need to get there. At best, it would take Hamuus a week as well. Hm.” Zelda pushed by Link to her desk, pulling out the materials for another letter. “I can coordinate with Hamuus on his travel after you leave. If you arrive ahead, you’ll stay in Gerudo Town. At least being in Hyrule should give you more cover than being on the border. And then I can contact you when Hamuus has left Sokoru to head on to the Rift.”
“We could also leave later,” Link offered, before quickly rescinding that as he held up his hands as Zelda looked up from her letter. “Or we could leave when Ambrose is back.”
“Considering that is a variable we cannot currently predict, I would prefer we plan on that,” Zelda agreed, turning back to her letter. She remained focus for a long while, this letter at a far more reasonable pace than the last, but still very fast. “You should go though. Teleport back to the temple, I’ll make some excuse for your absence.”
That hurt a little, in a way he didn’t know how to admit. Teasingly, he asked, “Am I that distracting?”
“No,” she answered easily, cool enough his jaw dropped a little. But her smile fell quickly. “But you should spend time with your family while you can.”
“Can’t I spend time with both of you?” Link questioned, getting close enough Zelda relented from her letter and set down the quill to face him.
“You could, and then I’ll feel guilty for weeks for keeping you from them when we can talk more often,” Zelda answered as she took his hands. “And you wouldn’t do that to me, would you, Hero?”
Link’s expression twisted at the decision between the two, even though he knew in his heart where he’d agree to go. Pulling her in close again to hold, he asked, “Will I get to see you again before we leave, princess, or are you going to be too busy saving the world in here?”
Zelda snerked at that, shaking her head against his chest. She pushed back to look him in the eyes. “Robin will come to see you off at the temple if she can.”
“I’ll keep an eye out then,” he replied before too tender lips met his again and they were distracted for seconds in the moment. A moment was enough and not at the same time.
It was Zelda that broke them apart, returning to her work. “You should change before you go, I don’t want you to get stuck at the temple this time of day.”
To that, Link smirked a little. “Oh, is that so? Where should I do that, princess?” When Zelda only waved vaguely off to the rest of the study, he shook his head. “I think I’ll take my chances with the priestesses.”
Zelda clicked her tongue once, not hiding the disapproval, before she was engrossed once more in her work. Not wanting to begin the cycle again, Link backed away to a more open section of the study, an image of the Temple of Time in his head and a flash of light taking him away.
Despite Zelda’s suggestion, the priestesses were in fact not particularly difficult to avoid. Link slipped into an alcove without much notice, before leaving the temple shortly after a common mercenary again. Some soot from the incense burners through his hair for added effect, no one would have believed he’d been in front of the king and queen of Hyrule only hours ago. To be honest, he didn’t have believed it himself.
It was still too early to expect Floan back from school, though Leyla and a less energetic Adira made a good effort to match the greeting his sister might have offered. He felt a little guilty now coming back, particularly as Lance got up to greet him, if at a much slower pace.
“How’d things go?” Lance asked, a quick side hug before he made himself busy at a nearby table.
“Mostly good,” Link replied, dodging the point as he pretended to help. Lance didn’t press for actual assistance, but he did seem interested in a better explanation. “Kid’s back home, that should work out. Robin’s going to be taking some of the heat rather than him, but he’s…he’s going to be ok.”
“That’s good, that’s good,” Lance said, nodding slowly as he watched Link’s avoidant expression. He knew his son too well. “So when are you leaving?”
Link sucked the air between his teeth, screwing up his face into a smile. “That obvious?”
“Not much more I can think that would make you this guilty looking. Or not back visiting with your girlfriend over old me.” Lance patted his son on the shoulder, before moving a pot from the display towards the counter for more proper treatment. “So, how soon?”
“Whenever Ambrose is back,” Link answered, following after, the dogs close behind. Leyla was getting big now, big enough to be a problem when she jumped. But she listened well enough as they returned to the counter, happily laying down with her mother as Adira gave the pup a warning nip. Link scratched behind Adira’s ear as he turned back to his dad. “Not sure when that will be, I haven’t heard from him since we got back. Dirog said he’s been off on hunts by himself.”
“Sure you should be leaving him alone? He getting up there,” Lance joked, focused on his work enough he didn’t catch Link’s more nervous reaction to that.
“I don’t think there’s anything that could stop Ambrose from being out in the field beside Ambrose.” Even saying it felt like a fell wind on his back, and he double-checked over his back on the off-chance Ambrose might actually be back in Castle Town. There was no one there, but he didn’t rule out the possibility he’d pay for the comment later.
“Ha, that’s true. Never seen anything slow that man down,” Lance replied, shaking his head. “Anyone have any luck guessing how old he actually is?”
That only made Link tense more. It wasn’t even that he knew, but the whole subject and its proximity to Ambrose’s seal made him nervous. He shook his head. “No, no, I think there’s still a betting pool on it though at the guild. Imagine someone’s going to get pretty rich after you figure it out.”
“Really? Still? Can’t imagine what that’s at now.”
“Saddiqah’s going to guess it,” Link answered with a laugh, still looking away as the topic pushed on longer than he thought was a good idea. Not that he wanted to let his dad know why. And Saddiqah probably was going to guess it, knowing her. She certainly wasn’t letting up on it with Ambrose, despite limitations to the conversation.
Lance bobbed his head in agreement. “She probably will.” Their conversation was brought to an end as the door was nearly slammed open. Lance didn’t seem to mind. “Speak of the Blin!”
Link’s face twisted up to a tense smile as Saddiqah stalked across the shop, trailed very quietly by Marela. Marela’s expression was less than quiet though as Saddiqah wrapped an arm around Link’s shoulders and pulled him away from the counter. “Sayre, how is it you see Robin for less than an hour and already the whole world’s going to pieces?”
“I didn’t know she was going to get the letter!” Link defended, particularly as Saddiqah’s grip tightened. “Look, you can stay.” To that, Saddiqah smacked the back of his head, just hard enough he debated whether it was in the normal range of Saddiqah’s more corrective actions. As he rubbed the spot, he said, “We’re not even leaving until Ambrose is back.”
“Ambrose is in Deku’s Shelf,” Saddiqah stated, folding her arms as Marela joined beside her. There was a particular implication that followed, one that made Link sucked his lips in as Saddiqah’s gaze darkened.
“It really is a shame, I even managed to get dinner arrangements made tonight,” Marela pouted, more than a little doe-eyed as she tried to play on the particular guilt. If it wasn’t so obviously acted, he might have fallen for it.
“This isn’t my fault!” Link answered, before putting his hands up as Saddiqah clearly thought otherwise. “How could this be my fault?”
“Because you walked into the same room with destiny or whatever nonsense you’re wrapped up in and now we’ve got to leave,” Saddiqah huffed, leaning over towards Link until Marela curled an arm around one of hers. Saddiqah leaned back, clearly more interested in enjoying the contact that expressing her frustrations towards him.
“How would I have known Ambrose is in Deku’s Shelf? You’re the one in contact with him,” Link replied.
“Half way to Deku’s Shelf.”
Three heads turned to Lance. He looked up from his work, cutting off a broken branch from the small flower bush he’d been repairing. “Old man always liked to round up. Half way to Deku’s Shelf. Shouldn’t expect him for another day or two.”
Saddiqah’s expression split like a cat, reaching across the counter to catch Lance’s shoulder. “This is why I like you, Lance. At least one of you Sayre’s is clever.”
There was a wave of relief as that, for most of them. Link began a little cautiously, “We can’t lie to—”
A hand caught him over the mouth, Marela leaning in. “Ah, buhp buhp buhp. Hush. I already know Robin has three contingency plans for a delay, this is fine. Go fight more monsters around the city if you feel so bad about it.”
Link deflated at that, but there was no arguing with the decisions…