Chapter Text
Zelda woke to the smell of eggs cooking and the sound of bacon crackling. The sun was only starting to peek through the drapes, casting a lazy light into the upper floor. Slowly, Zelda sat up, stretching her arms above her head as she looked around the quaint room with new appreciation. Link had a fresh flower on the nightstand and there was a small bookshelf with books and pictures collected on it. After getting out of the bed, she slipped into day clothes quickly and leaned over the balcony to see Link preparing breakfast.
“Still an early riser, I see,” she called down.
Link started briefly, the plates in his hands, then turned his head up towards her. “I can never seem to sleep in, no matter how late I’m up or how tired I am. If the sun is up, I’m up.”
Zelda came down the stairs as Link was setting the plates on the small table. “It smells delicious. I do so appreciate - and enjoy - your cooking.”
They sat to eat in amicable silence, the only sounds the clatter of their cutlery on the plates. As Link finished his plate (well before Zelda finished hers), he set his fork down and cleared his throat.
“So, like I mentioned yesterday, we have to come up with some sort of backstory - I’ve had this as my home base for a little while now and I’ve never mentioned any family, so we will need to have an answer ready in case anyone asks. And we also need to decide where you’re from.”
“Yes, I was thinking about that last night before I fell asleep. Is Laurelin still there? It’s far enough away I’m sure no one would think twice if I said I was from there.”
“Unfortunately,” Link said with a laugh, “There is a woman who moved here a few years ago to be with her husband and she is from Laurelin, so that will not work.”
“And I’m sure people travel back and forth to Kakriko, so I cannot be from there. And obviously Castle Town is out of the question. Are there any other settlements left?”
“Other than the Rito, Goron, and Gerudo settlements, no, not really. We could, however, say you grew up at one of the stables that have cropped up in the various regions. People use them as resting points while they travel,” Link suggested.
“But, if anyone has traveled to that specific stable, they may remember that I wasn’t there. I don’t think that’s the way to go,” Zelda countered. “I’ll just say I grew up as a nomad, traveling Hyrule and living off the land. I think I’ve traveled Hyrule extensively enough that it will come off authentically.” She paused thoughtfully. “And we should stay as close to the truth as possible. I will say my father was the only family I had left and he passed, so I came to live with you, my cousin. And you’ve never mentioned me before because you weren’t sure where I was or if you’d see me again.”
“Do you have a name that you’ll go by?” Link inquired.
“I’ll just use Zelda. A fake name, I think, will lead to occasional confusion on my part - and probably yours, as well. I think it’ll be easiest if we stay honest about as much as possible without putting the vision of a simple life at risk.”
By this time, Zelda had finished eating as well and was gathering the dishes to put in the small basin Link used to clean them.
“Is Purah still around?” Zelda asked, turning to face Link and leaning against the countertop.
“She is, but she -”
“I would love to see her! We worked together on figuring out the ancient Sheikah technology before the Calamity. We were close friends,” Zelda gushed, clasping her hands together. She had a wide smile on her face.
“Purah did mention you several times as she fixed my slate. I should tell you, she is -”
“Wait, you still have your slate?” Zelda asked excitedly. “May I see it? We still were trying to figure out the various functions the slate was capable of. Did you know if could capture still frames of life and store them? Was Purah able to fix that portion of it?”
“Yes, I have a whole section of pictures that you took from before the Calamity as well as pictures I took during the last several months,” Link said as he went to go find the slate in his belongings. He located it and brought it over to Zelda.
She flicked it on and started to browse through its functions. “Ah, yes, here’s the map,” she mumbled to herself. “And let’s see - these blue marks are the shrines and… towers? Yes, the towers.” She tapped on the screen and quickly dissolved away. Link started towards where she had previously been standing. He should have warned her about the traveling aspect! He couldn’t remember if they had discovered that function Before, and he hadn’t been thinking about that. He nervously paced towards the door - she had a scholarly mind, surely she would be able to deduce how to use the function again and return near Hateno.
With determination, Link grabbed his shoes and pulled them on, deciding to go wait by the Myham Agana Shrine, since she was most likely to return there. As he was crossing the bridge outside of his house, he saw Zelda approaching him with a look of jubilation on her face, eyes shining with excitement.
“This is incredible, Link!” she exclaimed. “I traveled to Hebra in an instant! This is revolutionary! Think of how this could impact trade! Commerce! Education!” She was waving the slate in the air. “What else have you discovered that you can do with the slate? Wait, nevermind, don’t tell me, I want to find out.” She stopped in front of Link’s house and was staring at the screen. With a few taps, she suddenly had a bomb drop in front of her.
“What’s this now?” she asked curiously, staring at the object near her feet. “It seems to suggest I press this button on the top left ha-”
“No!” Link cried, diving to snatch the bomb away from her feet. “That will cause it to detonate! Don’t press it until it’s at a safe distance!” Zelda curiously looked up at the object Link now held in his hands. “Here, I’ll toss it away so you can see what I mean.” Link lobbed the bomb several yards away from them and the house. “Okay, now you can press that button.”
Zelda did so and gasped as it exploded. “Again, this is incredible. The technology is far beyond my understanding. It is so fascinating.” She looked down again and found the ice rune, but seemed frustrated when it didn’t seem to respond as she pressed on it. Link came to see the screen.
“Yes, that one you need to be near water. It will create ice instantaneously from the water.”
“Even in the summertime?” Zelda asked, awed as Link nodded.
“You also won’t be able to try this one out just now,” Link said, pointing towards Magnesis. “You need metal nearby. You can move metal objects around with the device, not having to lift it yourself. And this one, this is Stasis. You can freeze time for an object for a short amount of time. If it is a living thing, it will not be able to move - very useful as I was fighting monsters. If it is an inanimate object, you can hit it and it will shatter or move once time is no longer manipulated for it.”
Zelda nodded, slowly. “May I try it on you?” she asked.
“Er, I mean, I suppose there’s no harm in that,” Link said slowly, nervously.
“I promise no funny business,” Zelda said with a laugh. “I just want to see how it works.” She held the slate up to him and he nodded his assent. Zelda hit Stasis. He glowed with a faint yellow aura for a few moments, frozen in place before finally coming back into regular time. “This is absolutely fascinating. This technology - it amazes me. Purah discovered all of this?”
“I suppose so - she was the one to add it all to my slate,” Link said with a shrug. “I didn’t really question it. I have vague memories of you using the slate during our travels, but I didn’t realize that it wasn’t fully equipped at that time.”
“I simply must go see Purah and hear more about this,” Zelda declared. “I have to know how she made these discoveries and if there are any more to be made.”
In the excitement of the moment, Link forgot that he hadn’t yet warned Zelda her good friend, Purah, was not an old woman like Zelda would have expected. They left the home and began to cross Hateno village.
“I can show you around better once we’ve met with Purah, but I’ll point out a few of the buildings… there’s the East Winds general goods store, and there is the Ventest Clothing Boutique. There’s also the Hateno Kochi Dye Shop… and over there is the Ton Pu Inn,” Link narrated as they walked by. Zelda seemed distracted by all the children running and playing in the walking path.
“Why are these children not at school?” she asked Link quietly as they passed Nebb and Narah playing.
“There… are no schools?” Link said. “I think it must have happened After the Calamity. I honestly hadn’t noticed or thought about it until now.”
Zelda frowned deeply. “My mother was the one to put the Hyrule school system into place,” she said sadly and quietly. “She thought it important that all Hylians be able to read, write, and do basic arithmetic. It was her pride and joy.” While she recalled this, she had stopped walking. Link reached out and placed a sympathetic arm on her shoulder. “No matter,” Zelda said after a moment, shaking her head. “Nothing to be done about it now, I suppose. What’s past is past.” She began walking towards the tech lab again.
As Link pushed the door open, he saw Purah’s head pop up from the work she was doing at her table and he realized he did not tell Zelda about Purah’s strange condition. Zelda burst in behind Link, but stopped short, staring at Purah in confusion.
“Zelda?” Purah gasped, jumping up and squealing. Zelda blinked and furrowed her brow in strained recognition. “Zelda, it is you!” Purah rushed towards Zelda and threw her arms around Zelda’s thighs.
“Purah?” Zelda asked. “How are you so - why - what happened to you?” she ended the question in a nervous laugh, returning Purah’s hug self-consciously.
“A mishap during an experiment, dear,” Purah said with a wave of her hand. “I won’t bore you with the sordid details.” Link glanced towards Zelda and could see from her eyes that she very much wanted to hear the sordid details but was far too polite to ask. “Impa sent word that you had defeated the Calamity and were in Kakariko, but it must have slipped her mind to let me know that you were returning to Hateno! I would have come to see you in Kakariko, but - well, I don’t leave the lab much these days. Don’t want to cause too much talk amongst the village. Some of the children have seen me, but no one seems to listen to children much. I cannot believe you’re here standing before me, flesh and blood! It has been so long, my dear. It’s so good to see you. How are you?: Zelda opened her mouth to answer, but Purah kept on. “And your hero, handsome as ever and right by your side. I assume you’re off soon to see the other tribes and restore unity among them. Might I suggest going to the Zora first? They will remember you as they live the longest of all the species and once you get them to commit to you, others are more likely to follow. Although, you did have such a close personal tie to the gerudo, it may be wise to start there instead. I would venture to say the Rito are the least likely to cooperate at this point, so perhaps save them until everyone else has committed. But here I am, blabbering on and haven’t given you a second to talk.”
“Yes, well -”
“Purah, I wasn’t able to find the exact passage you were looking for, but I found one in another book that I think may be helpful,” Symin said as he entered the room, holding an open book in his hands.
“Symin, get out of here!” Purah cried impatiently, shooing at him with exaggerated hand motions. “Can’t you see I have guests?” She turned back towards Link and Zelda. “That’s Symin, my research assistant. He’s very helpful, but not half as you were, Zelda. He’s good for fetching things and helping find obscure information in my library collection that I only partially remember, but he never remembers the specifics of our experiments and occasionally mixes up measurements and that - well, you see what happens as a result of that,” she said and gestured towards her childlike body. “Can be a terrible catastrophe occasionally. But he’s loyal and trustworthy and so I keep him around - and now he’s not alone in knowing my embarrassing secret. Anyways, you were just about to tell me about your plan for restoring the former glory of Hyrule,” Purah said, and flopped back onto her stool, resting her head in her hands, her eyes wide with anticipation and made wider by her glasses.
Zelda waited for a moment to see if Purah would resume talking. When she didn’t, Zelda let out a small breath. “I won’t be reuniting Hyrule,” she said, “and I'm not going to be taking back the throne or rebuilding the castle. I’m going to live right here in Hateno and - if I may be so bold - I’m going to resume my research into the ancient technology with you.”
Purah paused for a moment, surprised, but then shrugged. “You never seemed like you liked being a princess much. You always preferred the scholarly life of research and experimentation. Yes, you can resume your research with me, of course,” Purah said. “You’re always welcome here, my dear. And you too, handsome hero.” Purah sent a wink towards Link which made him shuffle awkwardly. Whenever Purah flirted with him, he had to remind himself that she was actually an old woman despite her appearance. It still made him uneasy.
“So, Link was showing me the runes you discovered,” Zelda said, sliding onto a stool beside Purah. “Please tell me more about how you discovered them.” As the two old friends began to talk, Link edged towards the door.
“Zelda,” he called, “I’m going to go see Bolson about some more furniture for the house.”
Zelda distractedly held up and hand in a sign of acknowledgement but didn’t lift her head from the book Purah was showing her. Link smiled to himself - it was good to see Zelda back in her natural element.