FORTY-THREE
RECKLESS NABORIS

Princess Zelda of Hyrule

Great Highness,

Forgive my shortness, but I have much to tell you.

A few nights ago I was awoken by the unmistakable, nightmarish sound of Naboris moving across the desert once again.

I am left with no choice but to further investigate. I am sure that you, a fellow leader of people, must understand.

The leadership of my people is left to the people themselves, should I not return. They will know precisely what to do.

With your good health and longevity in mind,

Makeela Riju

"And that is all she wrote?" I turn the paper around, though I know the other side is blank. Perhaps I am hoping something will magically appear.

"This is all, Highness," says the young Gerudo messenger. She bows curtly and leaves without dismissal. I make a sound just as the door closes, and then find I can't put a thought behind it.

I look down at the letter. The handwriting slants towards the end: was she writing in a hurry? Starting to leave, or already left? Was it haste or emotion? If only words were as easy to read as people.

"Riju wasn't asking for help," I begin, turning to my fiancé and filling my chest with air.

"-but you are going to help her," completes Sidon, with a look in his eyes that I cannot really place. Is that determination? Dare I say, admiration? Something else?

"I don't expect you to come with me," I say with concern, just as he begins to say, "And I will join you."

We pause, and his head tilts slightly in amusement and surprise. "Of course I am coming," he gently speaks.

"You can't-" I begin, and then I correct myself. "That desert heat-"

"-Was not a problem, thanks to your clever, wonderful elixir. Do you have any left? A few smears of that, and I will be as content in the desert as carp in the freshest pond."

To my surprise, he almost beams, and then the gravity of the situation seems to reach the corners of his mouth. I can't help but manage a small smile myself. He seems to definitely be in a better mood since his last visit home. We have barely argued and seem to be in consideration of each other's feelings. In fact, thinking back on our earlier disagreements, I wince to remember how haughty and unreasonable I sounded.

I step towards him and place my hands on his chest, and he stoops to kiss my forehead – our familiar sign of affection. As I do every time his lips meet my brow, I imagine us doing the same on our wedding day, wherever we might be, and for once, I am not filled with a sense of worry. There is…something else there, in the hall of my heart.

"We should gather what we need," Sidon insists as we turn towards the library at the heart of the castle, "and then leave straight away."

"Will you inform Link, or shall I?"

I see him mentally pause. "I will inform him. In fact, I shall go now."

He bows to me swiftly as he turns, and then he is gone. I head to the library, while the reasonable part of my brain wills me to gather as much information on the Beasts as I can muster. As I am pushing papers around on the desk, Sidon enters.

"Strange," he begins, as I try not to obviously look behind him. "The innkeeper tells me that he is not at home." He rubs his forehead gently, muttering, "And I dislike those low wooden beams."

"He must be with Paya," I say, and try to put the concern out of my head. This is typical, so typical of Link: when I left Hateno just a short while ago I felt so sure we had renewed our connection, and then he becomes distant once more, falling into his pattern of silences and avoiding my gaze.

I don't have time for this. "We must be leaving." I grasp the few papers I could find, roll them up into my hands and bind them with a spare twine. "Will you meet me in the hall, in just a few minutes? I will dress and pack."

"Do we have any idea what to expect?" Sidon glances at the roll of papers in my hands.

"Not really," I answer. "We will know far more when we arrive, so let's not delay."

Once again my brain works overtime, packing my things while the rest of my mind runs wild. Why is Naboris moving? Why did Ruta turn itself away, and what is my part in this, really?

My hands carelessly knock a pile of clothing, which reveals my outfit for the desert climate. Tucked behind it is something wide and flat. I give it a pull, and out comes the crude gliding frame I made when I was last there, the one I copied from Link's – my father's. I remember Riju stumbling upon me making it the night before the battle, and how she surveyed me with folded arms as I continued unabashed, until suddenly she bent down and showed me that if I tucked part of the rope through the crossbeam, it would not fray against the sail when it moved. I had thanked her for her help, and silently for not judging me for breaking my promise not to enter the fray.

"It is what needs to be done," she had whispered to me, with a look deep into my eyes.

"What needs to be done," I had agreed. I repeat those words right now, and I think of Riju as I fold the sail and tuck it into my bag.

On my next breath, and every other one until long after we have departed the Castle Town, I think of Urbosa.

A/N: I will keep it brief, but I can't be brief in my thanks to everyone for your patience. I really do appreciate it. I have been so unspeakably busy but I promise to get straight back on it, no excuses! Sincerest love to you all. - Neet