I awoke groggily from my state of slumber, still tired. But the sun's rays upon my face signaled that it was time for me to rise. Stretching, I rolled out of bed and began to get ready. Once my armor was on, I plaited my hair into a long braid and then strapped my bow and a quiver full of arrows around my back. Then I grabbed my two oversized saddle bags and began to carry them downstairs. Stopping by the dining hall, I grabbed two paper sacks and stuffed some food in them. With that done, I made my way to the stables.
I set my bags down and saddled Icefire. Then I strapped the saddle bags over his back. He gave a little huff and I scratched his chin. From the corner of my eye, I saw Link and his beautiful mare approach me. Once he neared me, he hopped down from his saddle. I tossed one of the paper bags at him and he caught it, arching an eyebrow at me.
"Breakfast." I said. "Not sure if you ate or not, but figured I'd bring you something."
He opened the bag and pulled out a slice of banana bread.
In return, I pulled the map of Hyrule out from my belt and opened it. "This is the route we will be taking to Kakariko village." I pointed out. "There we can talk with the Sheikah Clan." I looked over at Link, "Got it?"
He nodded and hopped on his horse, still eating his banana bread. I too mounted my steed and then we began to leave Hyrule Castle. Allowing my horse to steer momentarily, I grabbed my paper bag, excited for the banana bread. Opening it, my heart fell as nothing but a boiled egg, some nuts, an apple, and a banana greeted me.
"Oh no!" I cried, despondent. In my rush to get to the stables on time, I had not paid attention to what I put in each bag and had apparently only put the banana bread in one bag.
I saw Link walk up next to me on his horse and give me a questioning look. I shook my head, "It's nothing." I replied, "I was looking forward to the banana bread, but it looks like I only packed it in your bag."
Breaking his piece in half, he handed me the other half. Surprise rippled through me and I dazedly held my hand out for him to place it in. "Thanks." I said, heat rising to my face, "It's stupid, but I just really like bread."
Glancing from the corner of my eye, I saw Link give a soft smile. I looked away and took a bite of the banana bread, smiling at the sweet flavor and crunchy rind but supple inside. We ate in silence, making it to Hyrule Field, which is where we began to pick up the pace.
Our horses trotted along swiftly. We had a lot of ground to cover today. By mid afternoon we were almost to the Dueling Peaks region. We stopped briefly for a quick meal, but then continued on our way. The two of us remained silent for most of the trip, which wasn't surprising. I knew Link wouldn't say much, and I was lost in my thoughts. Besides, I didn't really know what to say to the knight.
Soon we were traveling through the two giant peaks the region was named after and I couldn't help but look up in awe at the natural formation. "This is amazing." I breathed. Link too was staring at the sharp peaks, but his expression was unreadable.
We continued onwards until we exited the pathway through the mountains and soon a stable came into view. The day was growing long, and after a long day of traveling on horseback, I was growing sore. And although Icefire was still keeping a decent pace, I could tell he was also tired. Turning to Link, I said, "Let's stop at this stable for the night."
He nodded in agreement and as we reached the stable, I dismounted and asked for a place to put our horses and two beds. Once paid for, I led Icefire over to the stables and Link followed. As we took the saddle and bags off our mounts, I looked over at Link, who was stroking his horse's neck affectionately. She was a beautiful horse with a dark brown coat and white mane and tail.
"What is her name?" I asked him suddenly.
He looked away from his horse and over at me. "Epona." He uttered.
I smiled. "She is a fine horse." Taking an apple from my bag, I offered it to the mare and she greedily accepted. Once it was gone, she nudged me again with her nose. I laughed and gave her a soft scratch on the snout.
"She likes you." Link said, again catching me off guard. I looked up at him and our eyes met. Then I looked over at Epona and rubbed her nose. Icefire neighed off to my side and I laughed.
"Are you jealous, Icefire?" I asked him. He shook his head. Grabbing another apple from my bag, I offered it to Icefire and he begrudgingly took it, still slightly upset with me. "Don't be mad, Icefire." I patted his side. "You know you're my favorite."
He huffed in response.
Walking away from the horses, I dragged my bags to the bed I was sleeping in and set them down on it. Link quickly did the same, putting his luggage on his bed. I looked outside, seeing that there was some light left in the day. My body ached, but grabbing my notebook, I quickly made my way outside, deciding to explore the area a little.
I didn't venture far from the stable, making sure it was still within view as I wrote in my journal. There were some interesting species of mushroom that I took note of, sketching a quick outline of them and taking down general notes. I then picked a few of each variety and placed them in a bag, where I compressed them so most of the air was out. I did this same process with several plants as well.
Returning from my little research expedition, I saw Link was by the fire, cooking something in the large pot. Smelling the food, my stomach let out a growl. Quickly, I put away my samples and notebook and then joined Link around the fire, curious to see what he was cooking.
"It smells great." I said. He looked over at me as I sat down, the heat of the fire instantly warming my shins and hands.
He shrugged. Not too much longer, he pulled out two bowls and scooped the contents of the pot into the bowls. He handed one to me along with a spoon. Grateful, I took the steaming bowl, the warmth feeling nice as the night was cooling off slightly. Inspecting the meal, I saw it was composed of rice and an assortment of herbs and vegetables. I took a spoonful and found that it tasted just as good as it smelled.
The two of us ate in silence and after we finished, Link stood up and extended his hand to me. I gave him a questioning look, and he pointed at the bowl in my hand. "Oh." I said, comprehension dawning. Lifting the bowl, Link took it and proceeded to wash them off in the river. As he was doing this, a thought came to mind and I made my way back to my bag. Eventually after sifting through the contents of my bags, I found what I was looking for. Walking back over to the fire, I saw Link had returned, the bowls cleaned and put away.
I sat down by the fire again and opened the cloth satchel in my hands. Inside were many tiny sugar balls. Each one a different color based on the flavor. I grabbed one and popped it into my mouth, the slight tart flavor enjoyable upon my tongue. Extending my arm, I offered the contents of the satchel to Link.
He arched his eyebrow as I did so. "It's candy." I replied. "Basically just sugar with some fruit extract. You never know what flavor you'll get through."
Link grabbed a few and popped one in his mouth. He nodded his thanks, seemingly enjoying them. The last of mine dissolved in my mouth, and I grabbed another one, this one tasting of wildberries. "I remember when I was a kid, I wanted to try and make these." I smiled, "I ended up burning the sugar so bad, they all came out as black, gooey lumps."
I laughed and Link gave me a slight smile, clearly amused. We remained in silence for the rest of the night, just lost in thought as we sat around the fire. As the sun set, and the night grew dark, wariness began to creep up on me. Yawning, I rose, deciding it was time to sleep. I quickly returned to my bed and took off my armor.
Burying myself under the covers, I saw Link walk in, probably headed for his bed. With that I closed my eyes.
Morning came too quickly, and I awoke, blurry eyed and groggy. Rolling out of bed, I put my armor on in a daze. My braid had come loose while I slept, so I rebraided it and then walked outside. To my surprise, Link was already up, cooking over the fire. He handed me a bowl with some scrambled eggs with herbs and offered me either an apple or banana. I took the bowl and the banana. We finished our breakfast and then began to pack up.
Before much longer, we were on the road, making good time to Kakariko village. Soon we crossed a bridge and the path wound its way through the mountains. Sometime in the early afternoon, the red gates to Kakariko village became visible. I smiled, happy to finally be here.
As we entered, the guards exclaimed, "Princess Zelda! What are you doing here?"
I smiled, "I am here to speak with Vorel. It is of utmost importance."
The guards bowed, "Right away Princess. Please follow me." The one guard said and began to lead us down the path through Kakariko Village. As we went, many eyes fell upon us, and I could not help but glance at them as they whispered to each other. The Sheikah had always been kind to me. I had spent several seasons growing up and training in Kakariko Village. Yet I could not help but fear they too had begun to see what a failure I was.
The guard stopped in front of the Sheikah temple. He quickly informed the guards in front of the temple that I was here to speak with Vorel. I dismounted my horse and once they were finished talking, one of the guards bowed to me and said, "Please follow me, Princess."
I nodded, "Can someone please show my knight where to put the horses?" I asked.
"Of course." The guard who led us here said.
"Thank you." And with that I followed the other guard up the stairs that led into the temple. At the top, he motioned for me to wait outside. He entered the temple, probably to announce my presence, and a minute later, popped his head out to wave me in. I followed him and as soon as I entered, I was greeted by a heartfelt smile from the Sheikah leader.
"Princess!" He rose and walked over to me, his arms out. I smiled, and met his hug. "It is wonderful to see you. Impa will be delighted you are here."
I pulled back, "How is Impa?"
Vorel laughed, "She is doing well. Always up to something it seems. In fact, I think she has something she wants to show you."
"Oh?" I asked, intrigued.
"I'll let her explain." He replied, only making me more curious. "But please, to what do I owe the pleasure of seeing my adopted daughter?" He ushered me further into the temple and the two of us sat on a cushion, facing each other.
"Yes, about that." I paused, uncertain where I should start. I hadn't actually thought about how to broach the subject. "Have you heard the rumors about the return of Calamity Ganon?"
Vorel frowned, his eyes growing serious. "Yes Zelda, I am aware of them."
"My father and I believe it is time we take action." I informed, "We cannot risk being unprepared. Thus I am here to ask for the Sheikah's help in fighting the Calamity if it returns."
Vorel nodded, "A wise decision. Of course the Sheikah will help you."
"Thank you Vorel." I gave a slight bow of my head and then continued, "I specifically wanted to ask Robbie and Purah for their assistance. I was hoping they could temporarily move to Hyrule Castle and lead a team for research and development."
"Ah yes, the two geniuses of the Sheikah." Vorel smiled, "I'm sure they would be delighted, however Purah and Robbie do not live in Kakariko anymore."
My eyes widened. "They don't?"
Vorel shook his head, "Purah actually moved to Hateno and started a research facility out there. As for Robbie, well he decided to strike out on his own and moved to Akkala."
"Akkala!" I sighed; perhaps we would have to change our travel plans slightly.
Vorel gave a sympathetic smile, "Sorry Zelda. I'm sure they would love to help... actually, they might have some interesting discoveries to show you. In fact, Impa was just returned from visiting Purah. She found something and had Purah take a look at it."
"What is it?" I asked, intrigued.
"Well that's what Impa wants to show you. Best wait till you can see it for yourself." I crossed my arms, hating being kept in the dark. Vorel simply laughed. "Are you traveling alone, Zelda?"
I frowned. "No."
Vorel arched an eyebrow. "Isn't that a good thing? We wouldn't want anything happening to our Princess."
I gave Vorel a displeased look. "My father has assigned a personal knight to tail my every movement."
"Poor fella."
My eye twitched, "Yes, show sympathy for him."
Vorel smirked, "You are very spirited, Zelda. I'm just saying, the knight has no idea what he's in for. And," He continued in a fatherly manner, "A young girl such as yourself really shouldn't be traveling alone."
I looked away, "I can take care of myself."
"Oh I most certainly know. Who helped train you for all those years? Every time you came to spend time with Impa and I, you trained relentlessly. You could be a Sheikah ninja if you wanted." My expression softened at his praise. "Even so, I wouldn't want you traveling all over Hyrule alone. I made sure Impa wasn't alone on her journey to Hateno. Your father just wants you to be safe."
My expression hardened at the mention of my father. "No." I replied and looked back at Vorel, "He wants me to unlock this power inside me."
"Still no luck?" He asked gently.
I shook my head, "No." I answered despondently.
I felt a hand on my shoulder then and looked up to see Vorel's eyes on me. "Have faith, Zelda. I do."
I looked down, "I don't know what else to try." I whispered.
"If anyone can do it, I know you can. I've never seen anyone as persistent as you." Vorel squeezed my shoulder.
I smiled back at him. "Thank you Vorel." Gratitude flowed through me. "Is Impa here now? I would like to speak with her soon. I fear I won't be able to stay in Kakariko long. But I wanted to visit here first and ask for your assistance."
"I'm glad you did. The Sheikah clan will always help the royal family. I will send messengers to your father so we can start discussing what preparations we need to take. Perhaps some cross-training."
"Yes, I think that would be good. You can both get a feel for the other's style of fighting. And learn to work as a team... and then with Purah and Robbie there, we can start to figure out how to put your technologies to use."
"Indeed." He cleared his throat, "As for Impa, she's down training right now." He smirked at me then, "Why don't you join her? Have a little match?"
"I'm not sure." I stated, although I desperately wanted to. It would be so nice to train with someone again. At the castle I always trained on my own. "I am here on official business..."
Vorel waved his hand, "Think of this as our cross-training. Sheikah versus Hylian."
I couldn't help but smile. "Thanks Vorel."
"Of course!"
With that the two of us rose and walked outside. "Who is your knight?"
"His name is Link." I replied, scanning around me to see if I could find him.
"Link?" Vorel said, "The Link?"
"You know him?" I asked in surprise.
"He is a well respected knight. Probably the best of his generation. Not to mention his father was a highly respected knight; a captian even. And doesn't he wield a special blade?"
I grimaced, "The Sword that seals the Darkness."
"Yes!" Vorel exclaimed, "Why, his destiny is just as important as yours. It makes sense he was chosen to be your knight."
"Does it?" I asked, a trace of annoyance in my voice.
"Well, your destinies must be intertwined. I would think the two of you collaborating would be very important if Calamity Ganon ever were to return."
I looked up at Vorel, his brown eyes giving me a knowing look. I nodded then, not sure what to say. But what he said made sense. Whether I liked it or not, the two of us were tied together.
As we made our way to the training grounds, a familiar figure came into view. Her white hair was tied up in a messy bun and she wore black leggings and a black long sleeve shirt with tan and red armor over the top. She was sparring an opponent much bigger than her, but she looked unphased. As her opponent approached her, she stepped in and grabbed his shoulder with one hand and his wrist with another. Then she turned and dug her hip into his hip and threw him over her shoulder. The man grunted as he fell on his back.
"Excellent!" A voice called and I looked to see a man standing off to the side watching them. His white hair was cropped short and he also wore similar clothing to Impa. I recognized him instantly; Reghi, the Sheikah instructor who had taught both Impa and I self defense and martial arts.
Reghi's eyes seemed to sense Vorel and I, as he turned his head and smiled as he watched us approach. "Do my eyes deceive me?" He called, "I swear it is a former student of mine."
I smiled and ran up to him. "Reghi!" I said. He extended his hand and I shook it happily. "It is so nice to see you."
"Ah, it has been awhile. I hope you have been keeping up with your training."
"Nothing would stop me." I replied.
"Well, how about we find out then?" Another voice said, and I turned to see my childhood friend walking over. I instantly smiled at her and the two of us extended our arms, wrapping the other in a warm hug.
"It's been too long, Zelda." Impa said.
"I know, I wasn't able to visit this past spring."
Impa shrugged, "I'm honestly surprised your father ever lets you out of the castle." She gave me a curious look, "Which brings the question, why are you here now?"
"Official business."
"Is that so?" We laughed. "You want to get a quick match in then? Or are you too busy with official business?"
"Well, according to your father, this is a part of my official business." I answered.
"Is that so?" Impa replied and shot a look over at her father, Vorel. "Wonder how he swung that?"
I laughed, "I'll fill you in once we're done."
Impa smiled, "Perfect, cause I got something to show you too."
Then, our eyes sparkling with the challenge of sparring each other, we took up fighting stances, awaiting Reghi to signal for us to start.
Link finished taking care of the horses. It wasn't a big stable like the ones found throughout Hyrule, but it would due for their two horses. Link looked down at the two large saddle bags that Zelda had packed. His were much slimmer than hers, not packed to the point of bursting like hers where. What on earth had she brought with?
Link sighed, grabbing the four bags. Resolutely he began walking back down the road towards the temple. It wasn't far, so he didn't mind the physical exertion. Once there the guards let him into the temple and he set the four bags down. Looking around he saw that the Princess and leader of the Sheikah weren't there anymore. Walking outside he scanned the area, trying to find the Princess. She did have a tendency of running off on her own.
"Looking for Princess Zelda?" One of the guards asked.
Link nodded in response. The guard smiled, "She's at the training grounds. I can take you there." Link gave an appreciative nod and then they were off. The training grounds weren't far away, but Link was completely surprised at what he saw once he arrived.
Walking over to Vorel, he watched as the Princess sparred with a skilled Sheikah girl. Yet despite the girl's skill, the Princess was just as skilled, perhaps better. He did not know why it surprised him so, he had stumbled upon the Princess training before, had seen her pulverize a punching bag as well as show superb archery skills. There was more to her than royal blood and a pretty face.
The two females danced around each other, both locked on their opponent. They didn't fight with weapons, just their limbs, but there was something raw and powerful about it. The Princess quickly moved in, clearly the aggressor. She threw a punch to the Sheikah girl's face, but the Shiekah blocked it. Yet the Princess seemed to expect this and leapt back, throwing a kick at the same time. The Shiekah saw the strike, but didn't have time to evade and took the kick on the side of her abdomen. She let out a hiss, but did not falter, eating the kick.
The Princess quickly followed up with another attack, but the Sheikah girl evaded and ducked low, striking the Princess in the gut with her fist. The Princess stepped back, throwing a short hook in the process, but it just grazed her opponent.
"Impressive, isn't it?" A voice called next to Link. Link looked over to see the Sheikah leader, Vorel. The man grinned and let out a little chuckle, "You look a little surprised." Link arched an eyebrow at this. Vorel grinned even bigger, "Although a Princess, Zelda is a warrior. She may not be as skilled as the royal guard, but she has trained for many seasons and has honed her skills. She can hold her own with even the best Sheikah ninja, such as my very own daughter, Impa."
Link looked back at the two battling girls and he could see the elation on their faces. Impa had a wicked grin plastered on her face, and the Princess, although she neither smiled or frowned, her eyes glimmered with excitement.
"Anyways, you must be Zelda's knight." Vorel continued, "I am Vorel, leader of the Sheikah." The man extended his hand and Link took it. "I am glad you have accompanied the Princess. I know she can come off as a bit unappreciative, but don't hold it against her too much."
Link gave the man a knowing look, recalling the first words she had said to him after becoming her knight. She clearly did not appreciate his presence, but he was merely doing his job. Although, after seeing how her father, the king, treated her, he could not blame her for being so determined to prove she could do things on her own.
"All right, all right!" A voice shouted and Link turned to see an older Sheikah man stepping between the two girls, however Impa was on the ground while the Princess remained standing, clearly having gained the upper hand. "Let's call it a day for now you two."
The two girls nodded and then the Princess helped Impa to her feet. Vorel turned to the knight and said, "Probably good he stopped them now. They would have gone on for a lot longer. Not surprising since the two used to train together."
Link gave Vorel a questioning look. "Ah yes, Zelda spent many seasons here in Kakariko Village while growing up. She trained side by side with Impa."
Link looked over at the Princess. She was full of surprises.
Pulling Impa up, I hugged her. "It has been too long, Impa!"
"You're telling me!" She hugged me back. "I've missed training with you. Honestly, it's no fun without you."
I smiled, "Yeah, training alone can get old."
Impa narrowed her eyes, "How has your training gone... ya know, the other kind?" Her voice was curious, but hesitant, knowing what a sore subject it was for me.
I sighed and shook my head. "Nothing yet."
Impa nudged me, "Don't worry Zelda, you still have time. Besides, I've always told you if any place will have answers it's the Spring of Wisdom. That just screams Zelda. Ya know, cause you're just so smart."
I rolled my eyes, grateful for her words of support. "I hope so too. I'm running out of other ideas."
"That reminds me." Impa said, "I'm going to need your big brain for something."
"What is it?" I asked, my interest piqued.
She smirked, "I kind of found something."
"What?" I asked eagerly.
Impa shook her head, "I'll show you later. Promise." She added as I gave her a pouting face. Looking past me, she nodded and asked, "Who's the guy?"
Turning around, I saw Vorel talking to Link, who was quietly listening as always. "His name is Link." I answered. "He has been assigned as my knight."
"He's cute." Impa replied.
I whirled around, my eyes wide. "Excuse me?" But Impa just laughed at my shocked reaction. "It's not funny." I fumed.
Before Impa could reply, her father called out to us, "Girls, let's go back to the temple. I'm sure you have lots of catching up to do, but we need to get Zelda and her knight situated."
Quickly the four of us walked back to the temple. Vorel insisted that Link and I stay with him. Unable to refuse, I found myself in Impa's room, which we would share for the few days I was in Kakariko Village. Link had a small guest room downstairs.
Dragging my bags up the stairs, I plopped them down in the far corner of the room. Impa arched an eyebrow at me, "Had to bring the entire Castle with you, didn't you?" I glowered at her, resulting in a hearty laugh from Impa. "I'm kidding!" She placated, "I'm sure you got a bunch of research stuff in there."
I grinned, "Of course. I have a few things I've been working on and want to test out."
Impa rolled her eyes, "Well this will be interesting. I will pray to the Goddess Hylia for that knight of yours."
I put my hands on my hips, my eyes stern, "It's nothing dangerous!" I said and then paused, recalling a few things I wanted to test could potentially be slightly hazardous. Impa saw my hesitation and laughed.
"Yep, definitely praying for him."
I shook my head, "He'll be fine. Sure he has to follow me around all over Hyrule, but he'll be fine. In fact he might end up quite bored, seeing as I can take care of myself."
Impa rolled her eyes, "You are a Princess, Zelda. Maybe you forgot, but a lot of people out there haven't. It's good you have a knight with you."
I huffed, annoyed.
"Anyways..." Impa drawled out, grabbing my attention, "The thing I wanted to show you..."
Immediately, my attention was snatched. "Yes?" I asked, sitting next to her on her bed.
Grinning, she pulled an odd tablet from under her pillow. It was dark brown and had a handle on one side. On one side of the tablet was an interesting design reminiscent of an eye. The outline and detailing around the eye was burnt orange, while the iris was a bright, sky blue. On the other side was a plane surface.
"What is it?" I asked, running my fingers along the edges.
"Good question." Impa said, "According to Purah, it's some kind of ancient Sheikah technology. When I first found it, I just thought it was some kind of decoration. Still, I was curious, so I took it to Purah; that's why I was in Hateno."
"What kind of technology is it?" I asked, grabbing it from Impa and turning it around in my hands, inspecting it.
"Well that's the cool part." Impa grabbed the tablet from me and pressed the flat side of the tablet. Instantly the black surface brightened up and a map of Hyrule appeared on it.
I gasped, shocked. I leaned into the tablet, completely transfixed by what I saw. "This is remarkable." I stated, looking over the perfect topographical map of Hyrule.
"Watch this." Impa said and as she tapped the screen it zoomed in closer to the specific location, revealing even more details.
"That's incredible." I said, taking the odd contraption from her and beginning to zoom in and out of the map of Hyrule.
"That's not it either."
I looked up at her in wonderment. Impa laughed and took the tablet from me. She swiped to the right and a bunch of images showed up. Impa clicked on one, which then expanded so it took up the entire surface. It was an image of a sunshroom, however it wasn't a realistic drawing of one. Instead it looked like someone had captured a moment in time of the sunshroom and had been able to store it in here.
"How?" I said in awe.
Impa shrugged, "No idea. Maybe Purah will have more answers when you go visit her. She was pretty interested in this device, but I told her I was going to give it to you."
My eyes snapped to Impa's face. "You're giving it to me?"
She nodded, "I think you'll find it useful. Watch." And then she clicked on the sunshroom image and it shrunk so it only took up half of the surface, while the other half was a very detailed description of the sunshroom, such as where it grew, characteristics, certain properties, and uses.
"This is amazing." I said, my mind reeling. This would help so much with my research.
"Apparently you can add more information to each description, but Purah wasn't too sure how to do that. See there's this icon over here that says 'add notes', but when we click on it nothing happens. Purah was going to look more into it, so hopefully when you see her, she will have something figured out."
"Remarkable." I uttered, "It is a shame such technology was lost."
"Yeah no kidding." Impa agreed, "This next feature is my favorite." Impa took the tablet from me and swiped the top of the tablet again. She tapped the screen and held it up in front of us. To my complete shock, both Impa and my face were reflected on the tablet, as if we were looking into a mirror. Then Impa clicked the screen and both of our faces were frozen on the tablet. She lowered the device and still our faces remained frozen on the tablet. It had just taken a snapshot in time of Impa and I and had saved it.
"How did you do that?" Impa quickly showed me how to take images and soon I was snapping images of everything.
Impa laughed at my enthusiasm, "Purah called it a camera. That ability to capture things in time."
"Camera, huh?" I repeated, only half listening. "It appears as if it can recognize certain things, as if it has a memory." I stated as I held up one of the mushroom samples I had collected earlier. The camera had fixed on the ironshoom and a word popped up on the screen, identifying it as an ironshroom.
"See, I knew giving it to you was a good idea." Impa concluded, "You already figured something else out about it."
"What else can it do?" I asked, still busy playing with the device.
"Well, so far that's about all we discovered." Impa replied, "But who knows. Maybe it has more to it than that."
"Yes, perhaps it does." I repeated, "And if not, well it already is a truly remarkable device."
Impa smiled, "Purah also named it the Sheikah Slate. Not very original, but she seemed rather adamant about it."
"Sheikah Slate." I whispered, still transfixed by the camera ability as well as the album of photos on it. There were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of photos on the slate; images of wildlife, plants, monsters, weapons...
"Impa! Zelda!" Vorel's voice tore through my state of fascination and I snapped back to the real world. "Dinner!"
"Finally." Impa huffed, "I'm starving."
Begrudgingly I set the slate down and followed Impa downstairs. Vorel and Link were already at the table and Impa and I quickly sat down. My eyes took in the food, smiling when they fell upon the roasted pumpkin. Pumpkin was one of my favorites.
Quickly we passed around the food and began to eat, having some ideal chatter as we did so. Impa and Vorel did most of the talking, while Link stayed completely silent. As we finished eating, I glanced over at the knight. He seemed relaxed, maybe he was even enjoying himself, but it was hard to tell. It appeared as if he had this wall up around him, a wall of silence and tranquility, for no matter what happened, nothing seemed to bother him. He was calm and collected as always.
He was the opposite of me; instead of a wall of calm, I had a wall of anger.
We finished dinner and then Vorel bid us goodnight, deciding to take a stroll outside before he headed to bed. Link gave me a slight nod before heading back to his room, likely retiring for the day. The two of us had had a long journey and I was beginning to feel the wariness in my body.
Impa and I returned to her room, where I changed into more comfortable clothes. She laid on her bed, facing me as I sat on the cot that had been brought up to her room. The Slate was still on my mind, and my fingers itched to go through its contents again, but it had been so long since I had seen Impa. Instead the two of us began to catch up and talk like we used to.
"A knight all of your own, aye Zelda?" Impa said after I had told her about Link being assigned as my knight and the ceremony. "It would have been nice if your father at least let you pick your knight, but I guess he figures he knows best."
"I think he simply wanted the best, which this knight apparently is."
"And he seems to be your destined partner in crime." Impa added.
"What?"
Impa rolled her eyes, "Ya know, the Knight who wields the Sword that seals the Darkness and the Princess with the Blood of the Goddess..."
"Oh." I said, blushing, "I misunderstood."
"I mean, he still could be your partner in crime beyond that." Impa winked at me.
I glared at her, "That's not funny."
Impa shrugged. "I mean you're getting to that age. I'm surprised your father hasn't arranged a marriage for you yet."
I groaned, "Don't give him any ideas. Please."
"No worries." Impa replied, but then her eyes turned a little more serious. "How has he been?"
I knew instantly what she was asking, "The same." I looked down.
Impa frowned, "I'm sorry Zelda."
I shrugged, "It can't be helped. He has always been like this." I sighed, "I'm just so tired of disappointing him. It seems I can never do anything right."
"That's not true." Impa said, "You're brilliant, Zelda. And your father is a fool for not seeing that."
"Impa!" I said aghast.
Impa waved me off, "It's true. If he can't see how hard you're working, then he is a fool."
I sighed, not wanting to have this argument. "I just need to unlock my powers."
Impa frowned, clearly wanting to say more, but she dropped it thankfully. I yawned then, recalling how tired I was. "Come on, Princess." Impa gave me a soft smile, "Let's head to bed."
I nodded, "Goodnight Impa."
"Night Zelda." And then she blew out the candles. I laid down, happy to relax, sleep already tugging on me, pulling me into the realm of unconsciousness.