Link woke up the moment the suns rays touched his eyelids. He grumbled quietly and slowly opened them. The contact with the bright sun made his blue eyes become irritated, so he quickly turned away and allowed them to adjust. Once they did he directed them towards you. You were still resting against a tree, which made him smile. He had decided to let you rest an entire day and a half and seeing you in such a soothing state made him almost not want to wake you. Either way, he sat up and scooted close to you.
"(Y/n)," he said softly. You didn't respond which made snicker. He then felt a rumble in his stomach."(Y/n), come on I'm hungry."
This made you move a bit. It wasn't a lot of movement, but it was clear you were beginning to wake up. Your eyes fluttered open, only to meet Links blue ones. "Make yourself something," you mumbled before moving your head to the side. You closed your eyes and almost fell asleep again, but Link started to poke your arm. It was a childish thing he had come to do every so often, especially when he wanted something.
"You know I can't make anything good," he reminded you. You breathed out and turned your head to look at him. He was already putting on his best puppy dog eyes, in hopes of persuading you to make food. It took merely seconds for you to cave in.
"Alright, hand me my satchel please," you said in defeat as you fumbled off the ground. Link was quick to respond. He grabbed your satchel and gave it to you with a wide grin. You then rummaged through it. It didn't take long to find a couple of herbs and mushrooms that were stashed deep beneath other ingredients. "I'll make you a some steamed mushrooms, sound good?"
Link nodded as a response and to be of some help he started a fire for you. He then crossed his legs and simply watched you cut up a few herbs and mushrooms. "Want me to help in something?" He asked with a tilt of his head. You looked up from the uncooked food and hesitated.
"Could you maybe look for some big leaves to place the food on once it's done?" You asked with a half-smile.
"Sure thing," he said, a content look on his face. He enjoyed helping out, even if it was for something small. "Be right back." He stood up from the ground and grabbed his weapons, just in case he came across any monsters. When he had everything he needed, he ran off towards another group of trees that didn't lay too far from where you were.
You then moved your attention back to the food that was now roasting over the fire. With a stick you began to poke at it, turning the mushrooms around when needed and so on. The sizzling sound was awfully satisfying and the delicious scent of the well combined foods made your mouth water. When you figured the mushrooms were cooked enough you looked up, to check if Link was coming already with the leaves. They would act as your plates.
"I got them!" Link shouted as he ran to you. He panted a bit before setting down on the ground. "Here." He handed you three huge leaves and soon helped put the mushrooms on them. "We really need plates."
"Agreed," you laughed. Once the mushrooms were divided evenly between the two of you, you began to eat. The taste made you hum, and as always you were grateful for the skill the goddesses put in you. Link also enjoyed the flavourful meal. He ate quickly —as always— but he was clearly satisfied in the end. He licked his lips and patted his belly with a content smile.
"Delicious food as always," he stated in a pleased tone. You smiled before eating the remaining scraps of food you had. Link then rose his eyes to look at the trail that continued to the Deuling Peaks.
"We should get going," he suggested as he gathered his things. He made sure to carry your satchel once he fastened his weapons to his belt. "I'm pretty sure we'll reach the peaks today."
"Okay," you said. You started packing up everything, and once you were done you stood up. "I can carry my own satchel Link." You didn't want him to carry the heavy bag, but he shook his head.
"I know you can, but I'm carrying it," he insisted. He then nodded his head towards the path. "Now come on." He started walking up a small ridge that led to the dirt road. You sighed and followed behind him. The morning breeze allowed the two of you to have a pleasant walk. Link didn't walk in a hurry, which allowed you to admire the beauty of Hyrule. Granted, there were many ruins you would come across, but it just added to the history that surrounded you.
"Careful," Link told you, grabbing your arm instinctively. You were so busy analysing a few ruins ahead of you that you didn't notice the huge hole in the road. Luckily, Link stopped you before you had the chance to trip and fall in. He chuckled to himself before tugging you with him. He walked you around the hole and then let go. This made you get a bit embarrassed.
"Sorry," you said. You looked up to see his blue eyes on you. A grin was placed on his lips which made you look away.
"It's alright," he chirped, playfully nudging your shoulder. "You just need to pay attention more."
He wasn't saying it in a bad way. In fact, he kinda liked how spaced out you'd get in the presence of ancient things. He found it amusing really and somewhat adorable. But you didn't know this. You nodded and looked down while slowly crossing your arms.
"I will," you said.
Link looked ahead and sighed. There was still a long way to go, but he knew you'd both arrive sooner or later. He brought his attention to his slate and studied the glowing point that was on the screen. Not having an actual representation of a map made him frown. He moved his eyes up, wondering if there was a tower near the peaks.
"Hey, look," you said as you walked a bit more quickly. A few trees blocked your vision of something tall that rested beside the large Deuling Peaks, but once you walked into a clearing you saw what it was. "A tower." You glanced at Link with a smile. Up ahead, right before entering the peaks was a tall tower, identical to the one in the Great Plateau. Link looked at you with new found motivation and smiled. He knew the distance was still great, and it would probably take a few hours, but it didn't bother him much now.
"How'd you even catch sight of it?" Link asked as he now walked more quickly.
"Paid attention I guess," you said as you tapped your head. He laughed softly and put his Sheikah Slate away. His walk soon turned into a jog, as he was set on getting to the tower now. Believe it or not, he was so determined that he ignored countless monster camps that were resting at the side of the roads and would look past the three or four Moblins that roamed around a couple of ruins. This surprised you, especially when there were chests in some camps.
Nonetheless, you were pretty much glad he ignored these things. You weren't exactly looking forward to another fight. The jog allowed you to cover way more ground then before. Of course after an hour or so of jogging your pace slowed down slightly, but it only resumed a few minutes later. It wasn't until you both came across a bridge that you two stopped. The bridge was a bit crumbled down in some parts, but it still seemed strong. And only a few miles away rested the Deuling Peaks. It was a satisfying feeling to see how it wasn't at all far now.
"Come on," Link said, grabbing your hand to walk up a few steps. He was obviously thrilled that you were both just a few miles away from the tower and peaks. But you weren't entirely focused on this because just up ahead you saw someone. This person was standing at the edge of the bridge, and they seemed to be looking at something. "Who's that?" Link asked when he noticed the person as well.
"You expect me to know?" You answered his question with one as well.
"No," he said with a small chuckle. He gently let go of your hand and made his way to the stranger, which as you got closer you were able to see it was a young man. The man was mumbling something under his breath. 'The end is near,' or something along those lines. He looked like a traveller (his dirty clothes and stuffed bag gave it away).
"Excuse me," Link said before clearing his throat. The young man didn't look his way. He was too interested in what laid ahead of him.
"I'm used to seeing bad omens. But dear Hylia..." the young man muttered. He seemed oblivious to the two of you being there. "That ones badder then most!" He was about to say something else until you cleared your throat. His head soon turned to look at you and then a surprised expression washed over his face.
"Sorry about that," he was hesitant with his words as he continued staring at you. He didn't say much, since he was now admiring your alluring features. That is until Link waved his hand in front of his face to snap him out of it. "Oh um... who are you two? I don't think I've ever seen other Hylians here before."
"I'm Link, and this is my partner (Y/n)," Link presented himself and you. You sent a small smile to the young man before Link spoke up again. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I'm Brigo and well I've been staring at that thing down there," he seemed to stumble over his words when he glanced over at you, but he then pointed to what he was looking at. "Just to see if it starts moving."
You rose an eyebrow and looked over the small wall of the bridge. Down below, resting just at the side of the river, was a deactivated Guardian. Or well, you figured it was deactivated. There wasn't any proof that it had moved, which made you sigh.
"That guardian down there?" Link asked.
Brigo nodded and moved his eyes back to the old relic. "Yes," he said. "Some can move. Actually, one chased me and tried to kill me once!" He started to talk about him running away from one that resided near Hyrule Castle and how it continuously shot blue beams of lights at him. As he spoke, Link couldn't help but think he exaggerated his story just a tad in order to impress someone.
"Wow," you said as you blinked. "You're lucky to have escaped with your life you know."
"Yeah. On that note, make sure you be careful when roaming around Hyrule," Brigo said with a charming smile which was directed to you. "Wouldn't want anything to happen to a beautiful girl like you." You didn't expect a comment like that so his words made you grow red and in hopes of hiding it you quickly looked down.
"Ah, that's why she has me," Link said, stepping in with a chuckle. He was able to catch your growing red cheeks, which he would tease you about in a bit. "Well, we must get going now Brigo. Nice meeting you." He took your hand and nodded his head towards the other man before walking off the bridge. Brigo stuttered a small goodbye, and watched as the two of you left before turning back to the Guardian.
"My, is that red I see on your cheeks (Y/n)?" Link teased once you both started walking in the direction of the tower and Deuling Peaks again.
"Shush," you shoved him playfully and tried to cover your cheeks with your hair. But that didn't work out well because Link simply stood in front of you and gently lifted your head by holding your chin. He moved your hair behind your pointy ears and smirked before poking your cheeks.
"Aw, you look so adorable! But I must ask, what has you so red (Y/n)?" He asked in a baby voice. Obviously he knew the reason, but he couldn't pass this opportunity of teasing you about the situation. This made you frown, but due to your still red cheeks, it didn't come off as mean. If anything it made you look downright cute, and so Link laughed. "Wow, such a threatening face," he joked.
You huffed out and buried your face in your hands. "Link stop," you whined. You hoped he would drop it, but that wasn't the case. If anything, your little whine made a grin appear on his lips.
"Hmm, no. I don't think I will," he said before pestering you some more. This continued for a while and it came to the point where he started singing a made up love song. You kept your face hidden with your hair as he continued bothering you and he only stopped when you both reached the tower. His eyes slowly ran up the large object, until he brought them back down to you.
"Why don't you wait down here? Wouldn't want to risk something happening to you," Link said with a grin. You knew the only reason he said this was because of what Brigo had mentioned.
"Link I swear," you muttered under your breath. You pulled your hair back and away from your face before grabbing onto the golden railings of the tower. You began the climb up, without really waiting for Link. You weren't mad or anything like that, just slightly annoyed with his pestering. So what if you had turned red when being called beautiful? When Link saw you leaving him behind he scoffed, but he knew you meant well.
"Alright, alright I'll stop... for now," he told you before climbing up the large tower as well. You didn't pay much mind to this words, as you were now directing your focus on getting to the top of the tower.
•••
"Yes! We have the map now!" Link said happily as he took the Sheikah Slate from the tower. He began pressing a few things on the screen before looking at you with a smile. "Look!"
You leaned in and studied the new map that was distilled in his slate. Where the glowing point was, you were now able to see a representation of what surrounded it. Kakariko Village. You smiled and looked up at Link. "Well this will make it easier to get there. You can see all types of paths on the map now," you stated before taking a step back.
"Lets get going then. The sooner we get to Kakariko Village the better," He said before looking down again to study the map. "And judging by our location... it'll take us a while."
"How long?"
"Maybe another couple of weeks?" He figured. He then rose his eyes to look into yours.
You nodded your head and sighed. "Come on then. We better get moving," you said as you grabbed his arm. You pulled him over to the platforms that led down to the ground, since you guessed you'd go down that way, but Link had another idea. He stopped before you could lead him and chuckled.
"There's a more fun way to go down. And one that will help us cover ground more quickly," he said as he pulled out his paraglider. You looked at it and pursed your lips.
"Fun? Maybe, but what if I let go early again," you muttered, following him as he walked to the edge of the tower. Every single time you guys used the paraglider, you'd let go at the wrong moment and no matter how many times you tried to calculate at what moment to drop down, you would still fail. Most of time you had no control over it because the weight of your body would make you get tired of holding onto the handles and you'd have no other choice but to let go.
"I'll make sure that doesn't happen, now hurry up," Link said, putting the paraglider over his head. He had a good grip on the handle and he then waited for you to get in front of him. You groaned and took your place. You lifted your hands and held onto the wooden handles for dear life. Link moved you both forward and began counting to three. When he reached the final number the two of your jumped off the tower and the wind did the rest for you. Link glided past many monsters that lurked below and a huge river that streamed between the Deuling Peaks. The large peaks soon blocked out the sun, causing you to shiver at the loss of warmth.
"You still have a good grip?" Link asked you cautiously. Before you could answer, the wind began to hit your bodies a bit violently, which caused the paraglider to move back and forth on its own. Your hand almost slipped, but you forced every bit of strength you had into your hands. Link quickly leaned forward, but the strong winds didn't allow him to descend. He cursed under his breath and before he had anytime to think, the aggressive winds started to make the paraglider twirl around in a brisk manner.
"Link," you yelped. The twirling began to get you dizzy and the powerful winds that whipped against your face didn't help at all. Link grunted and tried to maneuver the paraglider, but it wasn't at all easy. His own vision began to rock from dizziness, making the fight for control almost an impossible task. He shook his head and tried to focus everything on steering out of the twirl, and after a few seconds he succeeded. Wasting no time, he leaned forward in hopes of reaching land more quickly. You leaned as well, figuring it would help. Wind continued pushing against you, but it wasn't as terrible as before. Your arms were getting tired from holding on for so long and when you figured you were close to the ground you let go.
"No, not yet!" Link blurted out, but by then your grip on the handles had opened. You hit the ground with a loud thud, but lucky for you it wasn't a bad fall. You did however feel an aching feeling in your legs which almost caused you to fall forward. The dizziness you were feeling before made you walk a bit funny, but once your eyes adjusted to the world around you, you were able to see Link gracefully land on the ground.
"Are you alright?" He asked as he tried to walk towards you, but the dizziness was preventing him from doing so.
"Sorta," you mumbled, walking towards him at a slow pace. "How about you?"
Link gently pressed his hand against his head as his vision was continued rocking. He shook his head, hoping that would help. "I think I'm good," he said, though it didn't sound like it. You went to his side, took the paraglider from him and put it away. "That strong wind was really something," he added. After a few seconds his sight went back to normal and he was able to look down to see your face.
"Yeah, I don't like paragliding anymore," you huffed out, before fixing your hair. Due to the crazy winds, it was sticking out in a whole bunch of directions. Link snickered at the sight of it and helped you tuck a few strands of hair behind your ears.
"Like it or not," he began to say as he stepped back. "It's still fun."
"You call what just happened fun?"
"Okay maybe not that, but any other time yes," Link said with a small laugh. You rolled your eyes and started to walk.
"Let's just go," you said as you continued down another dirt path that led out of the peaks you were both in between. Link chuckled quietly and hurried to your side. It was safe to say he was growing very comfortable around you, which is why he would bother you from time to time with certain things. He looked ahead and hummed a small tune before speaking up.
"(Y/n)," Link said as he saw something in the distance. You glanced at him, waiting to see what he would say. "Do you see that?"
You rose an eyebrow and followed his gaze. A few miles from where you both were, there was something glowing. Suddenly the two of you heard a beeping sound. A puzzled expression came over Links face as he looked for the source of the sound. "I think... your Sheikah Slate is beeping," you said as you looked at his hip, where the slate was. He cocked an eyebrow and grabbed it. You were right. His slate continued beeping and at the bottom corner of the screen there was a blue icon that seemed to glow brighter which each step you both took.
"A... Sheikah Sensor?" Link questioned the words that were under the icon. "Apparently there's a shrine nearby." You looked up from the slate to study the faint orange glow that was ahead of you.
"That must be it then," you stated. To make sure, Link began to direct the slate to different places and each time he faced the direction of the shrine the beeping would grow louder and the blue icon on the screen would glow more brightly. A smile appeared on his lips as he turned to look at you. You knew it meant he wanted to go to it, and that's exactly what happened.
The two of you jogged your way towards the shrine, and the silence around you was filled with the beeping noise of the slate. Soon, the jog turned into a run when you both could see the shrine more clearly. By the time you reached it, you were out of breath. You rested your hands on your knees as you started to catch your breath. Link on the other hand, seemed completely fine. His smile remained on his lips as he went towards the platform, that is until he remembered you were there. He turned to look at you and hesitated.
"I'll be here waiting, don't worry," you laughed, reading his mind. Link smiled at you fondly.
"I'll try not to take so long," he affirmed with a nod. You simply waved your hand, dismissing his words.
"Take all the time you need, it's alright," you said as you rested your things on the floor. He nodded his head before turning his attention back to the shrine. When the door of the shrine opened and he stepped in, he faced you and waved before disappearing. You smiled to yourself and looked away once the doors closed again. You wondered what the shrine would contain now, but you didn't dwell on that thought for long. Your stomach growled a bit, and so you took out some fruits and began to eat them as you waited for Link.
The hunger you felt soon subsided and when you finished eating you realised you were quite bored. You puffed out your cheeks and then let out the air as you thought of things to do. The sun slowly began to shine into the peaks, which made you hum out as you gladly received the warmth it brought. You rubbed your eyes a bit and thought about taking a nap until you heard splashing in the river that laid just a few feet away from you. This made you perk up, but there was nothing there.
"Hmm... maybe a quick dip wouldn't hurt," you murmured to yourself. You looked down at your clothes and figured you could wash your clothes while you were at it, since it was covered with dirt and grass stains. You slowly stood up and went towards the water, but before you got in you looked both ways, mostly to make sure nothing was around you. Quickly you removed your shirt and dipped it in the water. Your exposed skin soon came in contact with a cold breeze, which made you shiver and get goosebumps. You weren't exactly naked, since you had a bra on, but you still felt weird.
Nonetheless, you wasted no time and continued cleaning your long sleeve. Once you saw that it was washed well, you squeezed it to drain it from any water it still had. You then quickly went over to your belongings and took out the cloth Link had given to you. After draping the cloth on the ground you put your wet shirt on top and let it dry off in the sun. You sighed out and looked around you again before removing your trousers and boots.
You stayed in your undergarments and then ran into the water. It was cold, but when you fully submerged yourself in it you felt somewhat relaxed. Seeing as no one was near you went under the water and started to run your fingers through your hair. It felt nice to wash yourself and get clean, but you didn't stay like that too long. The idea of Link coming out of the shrine and seeing you in your exposed state made your heart beat quickly.
Once you figured you were clean enough you got out and scurried to your clothes. Before putting them on you dried yourself a bit with the damp cloth your shirt was on. You then fumbled to put on your trousers and long sleeve. It didn't take long, but you were relaxed once you were fully clothed. You sighed out and started to detangle your hair as you waited.
You weren't sure how many hours had passed during your wait, but by the time Link stepped out the shrine you were pretty much dry. Not to mention the sun was already setting, so there was very little light, but you were able to see him.
"There was some treasure in the shrine!" Link exclaimed happily as he sat walked over to you. He quickly took out the opal and amber he had found as he sat down and showed it to you. "Oh and sorry for taking so long."
"Nice, and it's alright. I told you to take your time," you told him with a small chuckle.
"True. What have you been busy doing?"
"Well, I got in the river to pass time earlier, it was pretty refreshing," you said as you stretched your legs out and put your arms behind you.
"Sounds fun," he said with a light laugh. A yawn then came from him and he started to stretch out his arms till they cracked a bit. "Do you have any food? I'm pretty hungry."
You nodded your head and quickly began taking out some uncooked food from your satchel. He didn't seem to mind eating it the way it was, and once he finished he yawned again. He looked exhausted, which made you wonder what was in the shrine that got him like this. /The puzzle he had to do must've been difficult,/ you thought. He seemed to be fighting the sleep though, which made you raise an eyebrow.
"Why don't you rest?" You asked while tilting your head.
"I'm not tired," he answered while mimicking your actions. "And besides I don't want to."
"And why is that?"
"I want to stay up and talk," Link said with a shrug of his shoulders. You giggled a bit before rolling your eyes playfully.
"And what do you want to talk about?"
He thought for a few moments, but nothing came to mind. He simply wanted to keep you company, since he figured you must've been a bit bored when waiting for him. He laid on the ground and lifted his eyes to examine the growing dark sky. "Whatever you want to talk about," he answered softly. He then looked at you and patted the spot next to him which made you snicker.
You laid beside him and brought your eyes up to the sky. It was slowly beginning to shine with the light of stars. "I can't really think of anything," you said as you glanced over at him. You couldn't help but laugh quietly when you saw his eyes closed and his hands resting on his chest. "I thought you weren't tired?" You commented in a teasing manner.
"I-I'm not," Link stuttered, quickly flashing his eyes open before clearing his throat. "I was simply... resting my eyes."
"Hmm, well I guess I'll rest my eyes too," you said as you looked away from him. You took one last look at the sky before fluttering you're eyes closed. "Goodnight Link."
Link looked at you briefly to study your resting features. He sighed out and moved into a more comfortable position. "Goodnight," he replied after a few seconds, but he knew you were already asleep. He took a few moments to admire the starry sky before closing his eyes and in a matter of seconds he was fast asleep as well.