Chapter Text
Zelda woke with a start, hurriedly shutting off the alarm on her slate before it could deafen her further. Sitting up, she rubbed her bleary eyes, already running through her mental checklist to prepare for the first day of senior year;
06:00- Wake up
06:15- Be showered dressed
06:45- Finish make up and hair
07:00- Possibly see father on my way out the door
07:30- Sitting in class
While most students would be happy just to graduate, her father expected her to be better than that. In his eyes, anything less than valedictorian with a full ride to the best university in Hyrule was utter failure, something he reminded her every time she faltered.
Zelda's bitter thoughts were momentarily derailed when her slate rang, Urbosa's name and picture popping up on the screen. A small grin formed on Zelda's face before she tapped the screen, putting Urbosa on speaker so she could resume trying to brush a particularly stubborn knot out of her golden hair.
"Good morning, professor!" Zelda cheerfully exclaimed, always happy to hear from her kinda-sorta mother figure.
"Now now, little bird, how many times have I told you to stop being so formal?"
Her words died in her throat, averting her gaze from the phone as if it was the woman herself, already picturing the teasing grin she most definitely had.
"Sorry.. force of habit."
Urbosa's laughter rang through the speaker. "You can call me professor once you get accepted to Hyrule Royal Academy and register for my course."
Zelda hummed in acknowledgement, the thought of slipping in her studies and being rejected causing a familiar sinking feeling to pool in her stomach.
"Uhm, Urbosa, while it is always a pleasure to hear your voice, is there a reason you're calling so early? Surely my first day back isn't *that* noteworthy."
The line remained silent before another cackle tore through the slate. "This is exactly why I called! Just a reminder for our expedition tonight."
"...You were serious about that? Ghosts aren't real, and last I checked, Hyrule Castle was condemed. If anyone caught us on the premises we could be arrested!"
"Exactly!" Urbosa added with a snap of her fingers. "*If* we get caught, which isn't part of our plan."
Zelda sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose before grabbing her messanger bag, slinging it over her shoulder and putting in her Sheikah Pods. "If getting caught was part of the plan, I would have serious doubts about your mental condition." She stated bluntly.
"Relax, little bird, it'll just be me and a few of my students. I know regardless of the spiritual side of things, you still love to tinker with the equipment we use. I remember when I first showed you an EMF reader, your eyes practically sparkled!"
Zelda paused, recalling the memory from nearly a decade ago, hand frozen in place on a shiny apple on her kitchen counter.
Her mother had fallen ill, frequent trips to hospitals had yielded little to no progress. Her father had grown more detached then, spending most his days researching hospitals or yelling at doctors. Urbosa was the only living emergency contact on her mother's hospital records, no matter what time she was called, Urbosa had always arrived to check on her mother, and more importantly, her.
Of all the painful memories in the hospital, she could never recall a day when Urbosa hadn't spoken to her or arrived without a fancy device for her play with.
"Please Zelda? I know its a school night, but we'll have you home in time for bed."
Zelda shook herself out of her memories, grasping the apple as she closed and locked her front door behind her. Her father's missing car in the driveway meaning he had already left for work. Although she had already made up her mind, it would be nice to get Urbosa back for all her teasing.
"I don't know, I'll probably be tired and hungry after my classes are over."
"Fine, I'll throw in a slice of fruitcake, and you can monitor our cams from the van, won't even have to get goddess forbid *cobwebs* on your uniform."
Zelda let out a giggle, sliding into the front seat of her car and tossing her bag in the passenger seat. "Deal, where and when am I meeting you?"
Her car roared to life as she turned the key, clipping her seatbelt on and checking her mirrors, Urbosa muttering to herself accompanied by the rustling of paper coming through the speaker.
"How about that cafe I took you to a few times? The one next to the park. Let's say.. eight pm? Also, you better be wearing your seatbelt."
"Already have it on, and that sounds good, a coffee would go great with the cake you're going to bring me." Zelda finished with a teasing tone, hands drumming on her steering wheel as she started to back out the driveway.
"I'll see you tonight..." Urbosa trailed off hesitantly, while she always cherished her, she would never dare try to overstep her boundaries, the thought of Zelda accusing her of trying to replace her mother causing her to opt for a more safe farewell, "Drive safe, little bird. Text me when you get there."
Zelda smiled, finger hovering over the end call button when she came to a stop sign. "I always do, good luck with your students!" Ending the call, she turned on the radio, a popular Zora pop song coming on while she drove, eyes wandering to a drive thru coffee chain.
"I wonder if Impa would want a coffee..."