Dueling Peaks Stable
When Link got to Dueling Peaks Stable, her guards were outside boarding their horses while he went in to check her over.
"It's a minor sprain and it will be fine," she insisted. "Oh, with all the power I discovered in myself, you'd think I could protect my horse." She sighed as she stared outside. "It was my fault, I shouldn't have had her out there in that weather."
The weather was fine, only a little rain, she couldn't have known. It wasn't her fault, but Link knew she was going to stop and try to find the legendary Horse God.
"I just had to give her an endura carrot before we left," she blamed herself again. "Oh, who am I kidding? She loved those so much. I had even named her Endura. I gave them to her every day." She stood up, but having been thrown violently from her horse, wasn't going to get far.
Link watched as her 'regular guards' came in to check on her injuries. He'd already done that. Even if she had ten of those guards, they wouldn't stand a chance with the creatures he once faced. Monsters were still out there too, they were there before and after Ganon. Monsters would be fighting for their lives, as well as the taste of their Hylian flesh. He tried to hide a sigh. All of them would be a full course meal for something like a Lynel. While the smaller monsters were mostly defeated, there were still several of the bigger ones that were out there. Hiding and waiting to ambush others. The wilderness of the Horse God would be the perfect place for them.
Anyone could ambush a bright but stubborn Queen currently hurt who would still insist on going there for her horse.
"I'll get word to Gerudo that it will be longer," one of her guards said. "Maybe in the meantime you should rest up and see a healer?"
Logical idea but Zelda didn't answer. "It was good to see you again, Link. I need to rest now."
He nodded briefly.
Memory. One more memory and Impa. He had to find it.
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Eldin Region
Hot. Sweaty in the huge armor that weighed him down, but there was no choice to remove it in that climate. Maybe if he had a colder weapon. Maybe he could take it off, but if he was wrong, he'd be burned crisp rather quick. Not worth it.
Then he didn't care about the feeling anymore as he saw the area he was at. He pulled out his sheikah slate as he felt the last memory.
They had started to notice all the monsters coming out more often. Zelda had told him he wasn't immortal, but it was clear something had started to happen. It made the kingdom gear up even harder against Calamity Ganon's possible return.
He moved toward the closest shrine and teleported away.
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Kakariko Village
"I see," Impa said as he explained what happened past the stables. "With Zelda there, her emotional state that day . . ." She didn't continue. She got up and led him to a painting. "This was it, wasn't it?"
Link stared at the painting. That was it. He had all of the memories now.
"What now, Link?" she asked him. "This is the end of the road for the memories you have now."
No. Link didn't believe that. He pulled out his master sword and maneuvered it in his hands. Zelda and Impa had known those pictures would stir his mind. Hollow pictures with no one in them taken with the sheikah slate.
He pulled up his sheikah slate and pointed to a blank slot.
"I can do nothing else," Impa insisted. "The memories you have of the Princess and the Champions, are what you are left with. There are no more pictures."
No. Link put his Sheikah slate back but in a huff. He didn't believe that.
"I see. Do you believe following Zelda will lead you to all of your memories again?" she asked. "Yesterday, you came here and guarded the entrance. Did you do that for a purpose? Are you trying to discover your old self, Link?"
Yes. Zelda herself, her presence right there had triggered the memory, not that picture.
It was time to go to the shrine near Dueling Peaks stable. Zelda would have to still be near there after her fall.
As Link arrived at the shrine near Dueling Peaks though, something kept bugging him. He had a sinking feeling that she wouldn't be there. She was injured though, she should be there. But when he looked inside?
Gone. Her and her volunteer guards were gone. "Agh." He did remember her correctly, of course Zelda was too stubborn to stay still. She had to go save her horse. Link approached the stable man and asked when she had left.
He could get closer with a shrine to the Horse God, but that wouldn't let him catch up to them. A horse might be the best idea. They would be traveling by horse and couldn't do too much maneuvering. They'd have a more set path. "Ayyye." He finally had what he needed and now she just had to be gone. With regular guards. Not even well-trained royal guards, just volunteers. Experience must have been minimal. How many times had she been doing these reckless things without a fully trained guard since he'd been away?
No. It was more like how many times had she been forced to. Guilt started to creep in.
It was time to go to her.
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Near Puffer Beach
Riding out to the Horse God Fairy took an extreme amount of time. Zelda knew it would. While she knew she should wait for her injury to heal, she also had a duty. She had sent word through a volunteer messenger to reach Gerudo and let them know she would be a few days late. There was no longer a stop into Lurelin for a short reprieve. A place to eat delicious fish, talk to people in a community, and relax on the beaches safely. No, that time was now replaced with a grueling ride.
It would not have been so bad if she hadn't been injured. She could have gone on foot against some areas with her guards and got a temporary horse on the other side of Dueling Peaks to make it there safely. However, she couldn't do that with her injury. Her guards even had to help her on and off their horse. It felt shameful but she wouldn't let shame disallow the horse.
Endura had been a great horse, listened well and had a gentle temperament. Just like Ember. Ember had been her truest riding horse. Also white like Endura, they both carried themselves well. She was over a hundred years too late to save Ember, but she wouldn't fail Endura.
The Horse God or Horse Fairy was supposed to be Malanka. Malanya. Little was known about her, and most people would assume she was a legend. Zelda knew better though. Just because things were covered in the dirt of time, it didn't make them false.
The journey with these drawbacks meant a couple of things though. First, it was too far for her current guards to go. They weren't made for the guard life
Most of the relay messages from place to place was done with a single messenger, a Rito bird who cared great enough he traveled all over being her official messenger. His name was Nekk and he used to run the clothing store but felt a greater duty to her, so he quit and came to work with her permanently. Zelda didn't know what she would do without his help. When he was there, he was usually treated with the same care as her by her guards. She always had some minerals or goods or food for him when need demanded. He never went hungry in her presence, even if she had to climb a mountain and hammer out ore. Not the easiest feat for her.
Unfortunately, he was coming back with another new article and it was a rifting one. "I am sorry, Nekk," she apologized from the back of the horse of her guard Brigdo. Apparently he was guess number three for the one she should marry. He traveled great distances, gave up Rito Village for a life to be her guard, and was always watching out for her by sending important messages, or flying above her.
"Princess Zelda?" Nekk questioned. "I think I should make a special trip to this printing area it's coming from. I mean? Not that you aren't a beautiful . . . person," he said awkwardly. "I wanted to be known for something great and be able to get out there and see the whole world instead of staying up in Rito's roosting village."
"We all have our own reasons for doing things," she said gently. "I know it's not easy to deal with the rumors. It is unfortunately something everyone has to contend with. If you go over there and give your story, I won't stop you, but know that often times others will come out with something new or twist your own words against you. Sometimes, the news is highly rewarding and accurate. While at others, it's only sensationalism to entertain others."
"I just don't want Rito Village to get the wrong idea," Nekk said. "Most times I am out delivering messages, or I'm just circling close because this near to the ground in the mountains next to a horse feels . . . like I'm a baby Rito who hasn't learned to fly." He ruffled his feathers. "I'm always within shouting distance, but it's not like I even fight."
"I know." It was a drawback but that was okay. He was a messenger not a fighter. If they ended up in trouble, he could hear them and relay it out. Not go in and take anyone on.
"I know how you feel," Hino her other temporary guard answered. "I am not here for fighting, I study the moon and the nights and the weather. To be aware of your surroundings can be the difference between life and death." He sighed. "There is no more blood moon without Calamity Ganon, so exploring the world is the closest to the feeling it used to stir within me."
Zelda noticed Nekk staring back at her.
"Then if I'm not a fighter, and he's not a fighter. Is the other one a fighter?" Nekk asked. "You better have at least one fighter."
"I am not to be underestimated," Brigdo said to him. "I can and will fight for Zelda. Anything I can to help keep the monsters at bay from her."
"Brigdo is wonderful at his work," Zelda said politely, "as well as Hino. All of my guards have various talents for aiding me and I am honored by each of their commitments."
"Fine, but this is a long way out from the usual area," Nekk warned her. "At least you have one guard, loyal history if the article is right for Brigdo."
Oh no. "Not another one?" Zelda was moving out of her way to try and avoid the incessant things.
"I made an article?" Brigdo asked. "Really?"
"Yeah, it talks about how you were brave and standing between the bridge helping others cope while keeping back the monsters near Hyrule," Nekk said. "That kind of dedication would be fitting of a King."
Zelda kept her cool. She didn't want to belittle nor make Brigdo feel uncomfortable.
"Me as a King? King of Hyrule?" Brigdo's horse started to stir the wrong way, until Brigdo corrected it. Zelda looked over from Hino's horse. "Well, that is a real honor for anyone to think. But I mean, someone such as me ever marrying Zelda. Princess Zelda. Although technically since she is the last royalty, she is Queen Zelda. I mean either way she was the legendary, powerful woman that held on with such a force this many years."
Oh. He was blushing. Zelda still refused to say anything but Brigdo hadn't spoken like that since he had first seen her and took the position. At least she hadn't heard anything about Nutcake girl.
The world getting excited about some match with her was one thing. The world believing that she had Calamity Ganon's evil resting inside of her was another. That needed to be avoided as much as possible.
"I'll go scout up ahead," Nekk said as he lifted off again. "Down across the shoreline, right? I'll be back to let you know how it looks."
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"Whoah, whoah, whoah." Link stopped his horse again. "Ayye." It wasn't as easy as it looked. While he had memories of Princess Zelda and the Champions, he was missing so many more. It was the reason he wanted to get into her presence again in the first place. But more than that? His memories of the roads to take with horses was semi-good at best. He probably used to know these paths if he traveled around the world with Zelda. There were probably much better maps of everything. However, Link had been exploring areas using shrines, towers and his paraglider since his resurrection. While he kept horses, they weren't used half as often.
So it wasn't a surprise he somehow ended up in the thick of the mountains. He turned his horse around and continued moving. To make sure he followed Zelda's path, he had to follow the path the horse could get through. Either that or use a nearby shrine to the Horse God and hope that she made it that far. No, it was too risky. The Horse God through an alternate path was going to be four to five days away. There was no stable between, unless they went deeper South into Faron. While Zelda might have grown accustomed to riding great distances, she was moving in a more dangerous path no one tread across, increasing the chances for powerful monster encounters.
He rode his horse back down and backtracked, finding his way out of the rocky problem and into the Dunsel plateau. With a straight shot between full of dirt road, he gave his horse an Endura carrot and rode it faster.
The amount of monsters weren't bad, three moblins they could have avoided. He dealt with him though, knowing it would help the next people who went on that path in the future. Further on, there was a Hinox that was barely out of the distance of hearing. Zelda and the guards were probably being more quiet if they were aware of the dangers. Hopefully.
Link took the time to get rid of it too. Any monsters he saw along the way he tried to vanquish. Although it took time away, innocent people wandering that path could get hurt because he didn't take extra time to deal with them easily with his sword.
Past Atun Valley and the Floria Bridge, he seemed to be making decent time. He didn't take as long to rest or eat, opting for food for stamina and power and only the minimum hours of rest to reach her. Anything he could do to cut down time between would be best.