"Lean back! If you place too much of your weight on the front of the shield, you are going to fall over as soon as the sand seal changes direction!"

Struggling to both hold onto the reins and pay enough attention to the advice Riju would yell at her, Zelda did her best to do as she said, shifting on the shield. Unsurprisingly, as soon as she did so, leaning back as far as she dared, the unpleasant feeling of almost falling off every time they passed even the slightest bump in the sand disappeared.

The sound of Patricia digging through the sand reached her long before Riju surfed up to her, shifting the reins to hold them with one hand while she waved at Zelda. Wondering how Riju could possibly stay on her shield, Zelda nodded in her direction and went back to clutching the reins so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"Zelda," Riju called out, "relax! Trust your seal, it knows what to do—as long as you don't let it pull you too far away from the town, nothing is going to happen!"

Why had she agreed to this? Why had she not just said no, told Riju that although she would love to learn how to use the seals to get through the desert, it would have to wait?

Her sand seal made another sudden turn, almost managing to throw Zelda off the shield. Pulling the reins closer to her and feeling how the rope tightened, pulling her forward, Zelda dug her heels into the shield, willing herself to be heavy enough to stay upright.

This was not how she remembered the seals. Admittedly, Zelda had been quite young when Urbosa had decided to teach her how to surf, but it had been so much easier then, the sand seals slowly swimming through the sand, and Zelda able to even chat with Urbosa as the wind made sure to keep her hair out of her face. Now, however, strands of hair were constantly whipping around her face, obscuring her vision as the sand seal made yet another turn, this time a bit sharper and faster than before.

Zelda stepped forwards and immediately realised her mistake when she was sent flying to the side.

The sand softened her fall, but she still rolled over a couple of times, the rope twisting around her. She pressed her eyes shut as the sand flew around her.

Patricia protested loudly as Riju brought her to a halt, the metal surface of the shield screeching as it continued forwards for a few metres even after the sand seal pulling it had stopped.

"Are you okay?" Riju jumped off her shield and landed in the sand, the jump causing even more dust to fly up

"Yeah, everything that was damaged during that fall was my dignity." Zelda pushed herself up and tried to brush the sand of her face and untie the rope from her belt. She was quite aware of just how ridiculous she no doubt looked, sitting there with sand in her hair and on her clothes.

Riju extended her hand towards her with a smirk. "If it's any consolation, Link was not much better than you at first."

"Really?" Zelda took her hand and let Riju pull her back up.

"Really. I saw him, the first time he tried surfing, he steered his sand seal directly into a cliff." Riju laughed, and Zelda could understand why. The picture of Link doing his best to become as good a swordsman while surfing with a sand seal as he was when riding a horse, only to crash directly into a cliff was not something she would ever have thought to imagine when she had first met him. "His sand seal was not too happy about that. I was surprised Kohm even let him rent a sand seal again after that."

"Well, practice makes perfect, doesn't it? I don't think Link had ever tried sand seal surfing back before… everything."

Zelda was thankful when Riju does not comment on her inability to say the word to instead nod at her. "Yeah, it didn't look like his muscle memory was of any help to him; he tried to treat it like horseback riding. But have you tried surfing before then?"

"Yes, back before everything, I was—well, I was not exactly good, but at least I didn't get thrown off the shield this quickly. Speaking of which, from what I remember, sand seal surfing was never this difficult. Has something changed during the last century?"

A smile appeared on Riju's face as she pointed towards the shield. "I imagine that the shields have gotten a bit lighter, or at least I would assume that they became after the Molduga began to grow in number."

"Because it was important to be able to move quickly?" Zelda guessed. She was surprised she had not considered the possibility before.

"Yes." Riju nodded. "After my mother died, there were a few cases of soldiers who were not able to escape a Molduga that had decided to chase them." a pained expression that Zelda knew all too well crossed Riju's face. "So it was evident that something had to be done given the increased risk of running into a Molduga. And since these shoes," she gestured towards her feet and how the high hells were already sinking into the sand, "are not exactly made for running, it is matter of life and death that the sand seals are able to outrun a Molduga. So, yes, you might be right; I can show you the records once we get home to the town, then you can see for yourself if you want."

"I would like that very much, thank you."

"Oh, it was nothing," Riju assured her with a wave of her hand before gesturing towards the shield that lay abandoned a short distance from where Zelda had been thrown off, "but if you think you have learnt how to stay on the shield now, we can begin to head back."

"Hey, I was actually quite good at this before the shields suddenly had to get lighter and less sturdy!"

But Riju just laughed and pushed Zelda towards her sand seal, the contact making her Mark burn. "Sure you were!"

Later that day, just as the chill of the night air was beginning to roll in over the town, Zelda found Riju sitting outside in the small enclosure that housed her pet sand seal. Despite how the cold air made Zelda pull at her sleeves to make them cover her fingers as well, Riju looked at ease as she sat there on the throne-like chair.

"Riju?" Zelda asked, stopping at the start of the stairs that led down to the chair.

For a moment, Riju glanced around, searching for the source of the sound, and then Zelda saw how wrinkles appeared around her eyes when she spotted her, the corners of her mouth curling up into a smile. "Zelda! Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yes, you were right. A couple of years ago, the records showed that the fastest sand seal was several seconds faster to complete the sand seal rally than it had been the previous years, just like the shields produced within Gerudo Town were much lighter than before."

Riju laughed, a soft, melodic sound, as she patted the seat next to her. "That was what I told you. But do you want to join me down here?"

"Uh," sending an apprehensive glance in the direction of Patricia, Zelda shifted her weight from one foot to the other, hesitating to accept the offer, "I am not sure if I should, I don't want to intrude…"

"Nonsense, I invited you. If I didn't want you to be here, you would have known already. Now, if that is all that keeps you at the top of those stairs, don't hesitate to join me; I think Patricia likes you."

Almost as if on cue, the sand seal in question turned towards Zelda and let out a low, guttural sound.

"She agrees," Riju said.

"You understand her?"

"I do. She is no ordinary sand seal; she is actually quite the oracle!" Riju paused to jump to her feet, skipping over to Patricia to pat her head before she continued. "Patricia can predict the future, she has warned me about incoming dangers more times than I can remember."

Giving up on keeping her distance, Zelda slowly began to make her way down the stairs, keeping her gaze on the sand seal in front of her at all times. Even if Riju had assured her that Patricia liked her, Zelda did still not feel entirely confident around the huge animal. When she had been with Urbosa, it had been one thing, but everything seemed to have changed during those last hundred years until even the animals were almost unrecognisable. But Zelda tried to keep her fear in check as she moved down the stairs.

"She can see the future? How?" Zelda asked as she went to stand next to Riju.

"No one really knows," Riju said with a shrug, "but sometimes, Patricia will speak in a language almost like our own or at least close enough so that it is not too difficult to understand, and no matter what she says, it has a habit of becoming reality. Although," Riju chuckled faintly, "she does like throwing in a lot of seal-related puns. It was my mother who found her, halfway across the desert. Suddenly, there was a sand seal in the middle of nowhere. Given the danger of her wandering off and getting eaten by a Molduga, my mother brought her back home and gave her to me. It wasn't until a few months later that Patricia began to tell us about the future." Riju gestured as she talked, pointing back and forth between herself, Patricia, and the tall walls that separated the town from the desert and the monsters that still lived there, creating a vivid depiction of the story. But then, almost like a torch that was thrown into the water to kill the fire, the smile and energy left her as she stared down at the ground. "I know it must sound silly," her voice was barely louder than a whisper, "but, sometimes, when I was younger, I liked to imagine that Patricia was a gift from Urbosa, a way for her to watch over me. She did after all disappear while in the desert. That way, it would mean that my mother might also come back some day to help my descendants."

That was something Zelda could recognise, the need to feel some kind of connection to those who had died and to maintain some sort of hope that despite everything people around her would say and how the idea defied all logic, they were not truly gone.

Zelda moved closer, taking her eyes off Patricia. "Hey, I promise you, it is not silly at all. I did the exact same thing after my other died."

"You did?"

"Yes, of course, that was the only thing that made me able to continue on. I simply imagined that if I succeeded in awakening the sealing powers my father insisted I possessed, then the goddess would see that I had not failed and give me back my mother. Of course, I never did succeed, but at least that way I could fool myself into thinking that whether or not those I loved would live or die was within my control." She had moved, almost without realising it, to reach out to place and arm around Riju's shoulders. For a moment, Zelda a felt her blood turn to ice as she wondered whether or not she had just made yet another mistake, but then Riju nodded and leant in closer to her.

"I felt the same way. I inherited the throne a long time before I was meant to, making me the youngest chief in centuries, only for the Thunder Helm to go missing shortly after. No one openly told me that it was my fault, but…"

"You still felt like everyone around you were whispering behind your back, talking about how much of a failure you were?"

Riju looked up at her, pausing before she bowed her head. "Yes, something like that."

It felt like a million years had passed since Zelda had last seen her father, standing on the bridge that connected her room to her study while he made sure that she knew just what everyone thought of her. Even now, more than a century later, Zelda could still remember the horrible feeling in her stomach as her father had reminded her of just how unlikely it was for the people to be willing to follow a princess without a Mark and how important it was that she could at least use her sealing powers.

"Well, I am sure you proved anyone who might have thought that wrong when you took back Vah Naboris," Zelda tried her best to comfort her, but the only reaction she got from Riju was a smile so tiny it might just have been something Zelda had imagined.

"Yeah, I guess I did."

"How well did you know lady Urbosa?"

Being caught off-guard by the question, Zelda looked up from her breakfast, overly aware of just how she looked, still wearing the ancient clothes that had been able to survive the Calamity and halfway through her plate of crepes. "What?"

"Well, it's just," Riju looked away, "a lot of the records from her time and even some of the older ones were destroyed during the Calamity. I have heard many different stories about her, but without any way of knowing which ones where true, and although a few of them were obviously either true or false, you and Link are the only ones I know who actually knew her."

"What has Link told you about her?" Zelda asked, trying to figure out what exactly she could tell that Riju had not already been told.

"Nothing. When Link arrived, the threat of Naboris covering the entire town under a mountain of sand was eminent, so it seemed selfish for me to begin to ask him about her. But," Riju shot her an unsure smile, "now, you are here, and it would appear that you knew her quite well."

"Yes, I know her—well, knew her."

The thought of having to refer to Urbosa—to all of the Champions, everyone she had once known, really—in the past tense seemed weird to her. Although she had experienced every second of the century she had spent in the castle, fighting Ganon at every turn, it was as if her brain had not truly caught up, halfway expecting to see Urbosa every time she turned around the corner, ready to greet her with a hug and another anecdote about her mother. Somehow, the fact that Link's spot no longer bore any sign of his Mark and that Mipha's name alone was enough to render him as quiet as he had been during the first few months always seemed to take her by surprise even after she had spent months attempting to get used to the new world.

But she tried not to let any signs of her discomfort at the thought of referring to Urbosa as someone of the past show. This was for Riju, and if she wanted to know more about Urbosa, well, then that was a request Zelda could understand.

"She was one of the kindest persons I ever met." that seemed like a good way to begin, the absolute truth, but still leaving room for all of the stories Zelda could still remember. It had been the same way when Urbosa had told her about her mother, details coming last, and even if Zelda's and Riju's situations were not exactly the same—after all, Zelda had known her mother, had seen her alive, while Urbosa seemed to be more of a legend now, as unbelievable as it seemed to think of her as no longer being there—and from the way Riju leant back in her chair, lifting her chin as she closed her eyes, Zelda knew she had been correct. "I did not really get know her until the first time she visited after my mother had died. She had pulled me aside at the funeral, attempting to cheer me up, but it didn't work all that well. All I knew about her at that point was that she and my mother had been very close," Zelda paused, picturing how her mother had held onto Urbosa's hand like her life depended on it, and continued, "she was incredibly brave. It took me a while to figure it out, but she must have been the one to go into the desert to find a Molduga, all in an attempt to try one last cure for my mother."

"Molduga guts?" Riju finished for her. Zelda nodded.

"Yes. I overheard them talk about it, but I never told Urbosa that I knew that the medicine had not appeared out of nowhere, that it was incredibly hard to come by. Still… I think that she knew that I had been there."

"And that was why you hesitated to accept the elixir back when you first arrived here? Both the one who had suggested it as a cure and the one who had been in need of such a thing died?"

"Among other things," Zelda admitted.

Riju went silent, gazing out into the distance. Out towards the horizon, Zelda could see the yellow expanse stretch on, the occasional breeze whirling up the sand before it fell back to the ground, a perfect, unbroken surface. The first time she had ever set foot in the desert, Zelda had almost been afraid to walk around, stubbornly insisting that she would not ruin the beauty of it all, only for her mother to take her hand and show her that the cold wind would make sure to even it all out again.

"I have heard," Riju then said, and to Zelda's surprise, her voice had a hint of something almost unsure to it, "that Urbosa never married. Do you know if that is true?"

"It is. She said that she had already lost her soulmate, and that there was no point in marrying anyone else since that would mean keeping another person from being able to find their soulmate." Zelda tried her best to think about the way Urbosa had sometimes seemed to glare directly at her father when she would visit for the anniversary of the queen's death. Back when there had still been time for that kind of gatherings, Zelda had been too young to think anything of it, other than noting how the relationship between the king of Hyrule and Urbosa seemed strained. Really, until Zelda failed to receive her own Mark, she had never given much thought to how Urbosa had seemingly known her mother better than anyone else.

"Pardon my question," Riju shifted next to her, suddenly running her hands through the end of her plait, before finishing the sentence, the rest of the words coming out in one big jumble of sound, "but I have heard rumours, from multiple sources in fact, that lady Urbosa did meet her soulmate, but that she was destined for someone else, that her soulmate was the queen of Hyrule."

A tiny shield sitting on top of her mother's heart, almost like it had been placed there specifically to protect her. When her mother first began to grow weaker, she had been so full of hope, telling Zelda that as long as the Mark was still there, her heart was protected from evil. As long as you made sure to keep your heart safe, she had insisted, nothing bad could happen. But, in the end, the shield had not been enough to save her mother, no matter the intricate design of it had been, the Mark almost seeming to glow or how her mother had introduced her to a dear old friend who held an exact replica of the shield in her hand when she had left the castle with tears in her eyes after introducing herself to Zelda.

A book, the cover of it a brilliant blue. Zelda had recognised it as the collection of fairy tales her mother had read to her from when Zelda had been young and had woken her up to tell her about yet another nightmare of malice and hate rising up from the ground to swallow them all. When she had told Urbosa of the coincidence, she had simply smiled at her, though there was no joy to be found on her face when Urbosa had nodded and told her that sometimes, fairy tales were more important than anything Zelda's tutors could ever teach her.

"They never told me directly, but…" Urbosa had always accompanied her to her mother's grave, Zelda remembered, always with a flower to place on the grave. Zelda had never thought much of it until she realised that no one apart from herself and Urbosa would make sure to bring a flower and a story along to the grave, not even her father, "… I think that it was the case. My mother's Mark resembled a shield, a shield that looked exactly like Urbosa's."

"And Lady Urbosa?"

"A book. A collection of fairy tales my mother would tell me when I couldn't sleep. My mother always believed that your fate had been decided from the start. Urbosa and her actually discussed that very subject quite a lot towards the end." now, after several years had passed since Zelda had been the little girl, hiding behind a curtain to overhear conversations that had never been meant for her to hear, she found that she was finally able to talk about it without it making her eyes feel like they were burning. "Urbosa asked her to fight, told her that there were still a few more things they had yet to try, that she should not give up when the healers were getting closer to a cure every day, but my mother just told her that this was how her life had always been meant to end."

They had found her in the courtyard, having crawled into a bush to cry without anyone finding her. Her dress had been ruined, stained with dirt and torn from when it had caught on the branches around her, but when Zelda looked up at the woman she had seen at her mother's bedside, there was nothing but pity and sadness to be found in her eyes as she warned her that the guards were looking everywhere for her, adding that it would probably be a good idea to change into something else before her father caught sight of her.

"I am sorry."

Looking to the side, Zelda saw how Riju had reached out to place her hand on top of hers. It almost seemed like an electrical current ran through her arm, starting from where their hands made contact and continuing towards her heart.

"Don't be, it was a long time ago. Besides, I had Urbosa. For most of my childhood, she was like a mother to me. It just took a while before I realised just why she had been so close with my mother." her left hand involuntarily went to rest against the spot where her Mark was hidden. "It is just yet another sacrifice you might have to make as a ruler, I suppose."

"My mother did marry her soulmate," Riju said, and Zelda had to fight the irrational feeling of jealousy that washed over her. It was not right, she knew that, she knew that the sadness that would always seem to appear in her own mother's and Urbosa's eyes whenever Zelda would ask them about their Marks had nothing to do with Riju's parents. So she stayed quiet and listened to Riju as she continued, "she met him during a meeting with some of the merchants when they still thought it would be possible to figure out a way to cross the desert without risking meeting any of the monsters out there. The moment he began to talk about the possibility of somehow changing the way the Guardians behaved so that, rather than attack travellers, they would protect them, she knew that he was the one—her Mark resembled a Guardian, you see."

"Where is he now?" Zelda asked, trying to remember if she had met anyone who could fit that description.

"Dead. He died just a few weeks after I was born."

"Oh, I didn't mean to—"

"I know you didn't." Riju said, sending her a sorrowful smile, "it is just how life is sometimes. You parents die, and although it doesn't seem right that they have to leave so soon, they do. The only thing you can do is to attempt to not let the world see just how much you depended on them to help you."

"Yes," Zelda said, bowing her head, "it doesn't seem right that we have to hide it just so that the people around us won't get the chance to doubt our ability to rule."

"No, it does not." and then, something that almost sounded like hopefulness filled Riju's voice. "But even despite all of that, I do still hope that I can find my soulmate someday. It might make us miserable more often than not, but I refuse to believe that we don't get the Marks to help us find some kind of happiness even if it is rarely able to last forever."

Trying not to think about the sand seal that looked so much like Patricia and the way they sat, Riju not having moved her hand away from Zelda's, Zelda nodded. "So do I. But I doubt I will be able to find them."

Riju raised her brows, shooting her a confused look. "Why is that?"

"I spent most of my life not believing that I would ever get a Mark. When Ganon was finally defeated and I could once again return to my own body, it seemed like a dream come true when I looked down to see that a Mark had appeared, and to see that there had never been anything wrong with me, that my soulmate had simply not existed in the past, but it did not take long for me to realise that I would not be able to find them. Even after having spent months out here, there is still so much I don't know about the world as it is now. I would not have any idea where to begin to look for my soulmate, and I don't even know if there is anyone out there with a Mark that will lead them to me since I am technically not from this age." Zelda barely managed to silence herself before she would have added how she looked between her Mark and Patricia, wondering if she could really be lucky enough for there to be a connection. If the girl sitting next to her could truly be her soulmate. She knew that could not be the case, Zelda's luck had already proven not to be enough to allow her to meet Riju purely by chance, but her heart insisted on clinging onto the hope that the warm feeling that blossomed around the Mark had been caused by more than just the empty cups of tea sitting on the table in front of them.

"Perhaps I could help you."

The unexpected offer instantly pulled Zelda back to the present.

"How so?"

"Well, although I might not know everyone in Hyrule, quite a lot of travellers make their way out here. I could call in a couple of favours and see if any of them knew of anyone who would match your Mark." Riju cocked her head. "I would be more than happy to help you find happiness, after everything you have done, you really do deserve to get a chance to find your soulmate." The corners of Riju's mouth curled upwards, but the gesture did not quite reach her eyes.

She was not the only one to feel uncomfortable, and Zelda found herself picking at the hem of her sleeve as she answered. "You shouldn't feel obligated to help me though. I can find them on my own, and if I don't, then it was probably just not meant to be."

"I don't feel obligated to help you, I am offering my help because you are my friend and I want to see you happy."

"Yes, but…" she could not come up with a convincing reason to decline Riju's offer to help. And if she was honest with herself, Zelda did want to accept, to let Riju help her find her soulmate. After everything that had happened, Zelda did not want to be alone. It had been hard enough for her to grow used to the idea when she had not received a Mark, but it was a thousand times more difficult for her to look down and know that someone out there was her soulmate and then willingly deny herself the opportunity to find them.

The fact that saying yes and allowing herself to accept Riju's help would inevitably lead to Riju asking for information about her Mark and the risk that she too would see a connection between Patricia and the Mark, only to react in disgust to the very idea that Zelda's Mark might have pointed towards her flashed in her head, reminding her not to say anything, but Zelda forced herself to ignore it, talking so quickly she did not give herself the chance to change her mouth before it was already too late to take it back. "Okay."

"Okay, you will let me help you, or okay, please stop asking me now?"

"Okay, I would like it very much if you would help me."

Riju beamed at her, and although Zelda tried her best, she could not see even the slightest hint of anything forced in the smile. "Great! Then, I know that this might be a personal question, but would you mind describing your Mark to me?"

Zelda would indeed mind describing her Mark, but she forced the part of her that wanted her to stubbornly cross her arms and tell Riju that she had changed her mind to be quiet.

"It's a picture of an animal."

"What kind of animal?"

Zelda pointed towards the stuffed toy next to them, the one that looked like a blue sand seal. "A sand seal."

"A sand seal," Riju repeated, her voice rising through the sentence, "then, your soulmate might be here in the city; we won't even have to ask the travellers if they have met anyone, your soulmate is probably right here." as she talked, Riju stood up from the couch, walking around in a little circle in front of Zelda, waving her hands around.

Was it something Zelda imagined, a figment of her hopeful mind, or did Riju's right hand briefly fly up to touch her Mark? Zelda hoped that was the case.

"Yes," Zelda said, doing her best to appear nonchalant and like she had not at all spent hours wondering whether or not her Mark being the shape of a sand seal and Riju's love for Patricia could be more than a simple coincidence, "I was wondering…"

"Yes?"

Was it…? Zelda could have sworn there was a hint of something soft, a sense of glee in Riju's voice as she nodded at her, waiting for her to continue. But then her brain caught up with her heart. Riju was her friend. Yes, their friendship seemed to have grown into more than just a political alliance, and the fact that she had allowed Zelda to stay in Gerudo Town was more than Zelda could have hoped for, even if Riju's willingness to let her stay could also just have been meant as a favour for Link to let him go to the Champion Festival at the Zora's Domain without having to worry about Zelda's safety, but Zelda was not ready to risk it all by admitting that she had actually entertained the thought that her Mark might have been pointing towards Riju all this time.

So instead, she glanced out towards the horizon where the sun was beginning to set. "I was wondering… there is a place to rent sand seals here, isn't there? Could my Mark perhaps be a sign that I should go and meet the owners of that shop?"

"Oh." Riju's shoulders lowered. In fact, it was not only her shoulders; her smile, which had been brilliant and wide just a few seconds before, also disappeared as she turned her gaze towards the floor. "Yes, I suppose that could be a possibility as well."

She knew that she had made a wrong move. But even then, Zelda did not know what to do. If… if she just for a moment, considered the option of Riju having thought Zelda would mention her, then her disappointment would have to be a sign that… no.

Zelda shook her head. She had to stop. Although the kingdom of Hyrule might be little more than a ruin, she had still been raised to become a queen once day, she had to be able to get her emotions under control.

But even as Zelda did her best to remember how pride had swelled in her chest when her father had complimented her for showing strength on the day of her mother's funeral, it was not enough. It would never be.

"Riju," she said, slowly, as she tried one last time to avoid the conversation before the blooming warmth in her heart assured her that she could continue, "I was actually thinking… about how— how there might be another person who could have led to me getting a Mark that looks like a sand seal."

In an instant, Riju was looking back up at her. "Yes?" she asked, her voice breathless, almost like she did not dare to interrupt her.

Zelda couldn't quite believe that she was still talking, but despite that, she continued. "You really do love Patricia, so if I would have to make a guess, I would think that your soulmate, well, that your soulmate would most likely have a Mark that is in some way connection to that." she paused, unsure of how exactly she could finish what she was trying to say, when the sparkle in Riju's eyes made her find the words. "So what I suppose I am trying to ask you is… well, do you think that your Mark might in any way be connected to me?"

"Are you interested in something that might have led to your soulmate receiving a Mark that looks like a flower?"

A flower? Try as she might, Zelda could not figure out a reason for why the goddess would have decided that a picture of a flower would be the best way to lead her soulmate in the right direction. And yet… just as Zelda was about to admit that no, she could not come up with a reason to explain that, an idea struck her.

"Does this flower have white petals that slowly turn into a bluer colour as they get close to the middle of the flower?"

"It is you!"

Before Zelda got a chance to properly realise the full extent of the words, Riju had jumped back onto the couch, throwing her arms around Zelda as she laughed. But she had put too much force into the movement, and although Zelda tried her best to stabilise both of them, placing one hand hand behind her and wrapping her other arm around Riju in an attempt to hold onto her as well, it was not enough.

They hit the floor, Zelda narrowly managing to twist around in mid-air and keep them from hitting the edge of the couch. But even as they lay there on the cold stone floor, it was not enough to ruin the feeling of warmth that spread from Zelda's Mark out towards the rest of her body.

Rubbing the back of her head, she grinned up at Riju. "Yeah, I suppose we are."

When Link returned to the town, Zelda was there to greet him, waving at him as he passed through the gate, Link turning around to wave at the guards before he continued to move along the road.

Letting go of Riju's hand, Zelda ran forward. "It's good to see you again!"

He looked tired, and from the look on his face, he had cried recently. Still, he let go of the hilt of his sword to return the hug, although it was more of a fleeting squeeze than a proper embrace.

Zelda supposed she should have expected it. Although she had not been particularly close to Mipha, it was easy for her to imagine how it must have felt for Link to participate in a festival that, no matter how much everyone had been focused on honouring the life of the Zora Champion, ultimately served as yet another reminder of everything he had lost back then. So rather than asking him how it had been while knowing full well just how horrible it must have felt, she pulled him closer.

"It is also great to see you," he said, leaning back to look at her, "how have you been while I was gone?"

"Uh," wondering how exactly she was supposed to tell him everything that had happened during those last few weeks, Zelda shot a glance in Riju's direction, "it… it might require a bit more time for me to tell you about it all."

"A bit more time…" Link parroted, following her line of sight, as a faint crease appeared between his brows. Zelda could pinpoint the exact moment he put it all together from how the worn-out expression faded to make way for a smile. "Have you told her?"

Taking a deep breath, Zelda decided that there was no way she would be able to surprise him with the news, not when he could probably already see the joy in her eyes. "I have."

The embrace felt more real this time, like Link meant it when he looked first at her, then over at Riju, before nodding.

"I am proud of you. Really, I am."

And for the first time in ages, Zelda thought that, yes, she was proud of herself as well.

"Zelda, I have to ask you about something."

At the sound of Riju entering the room, Zelda looked up from her sketches, halfway about to ask if it could wait for her to finish the plan. But the sight of Riju barely looking at her, instead standing still, a hand running through her hair as she kept her glance fixed at the floor told her that, no matter what Riju was about to say, it was more important than whether or not Zelda would be able to use the Guardians to rebuild the ruins scattered throughout Hyrule.

So, putting her notebook down onto the table, Zelda jumped onto her feet, moving over to place her hand on Riju's shoulder. "What is it about?"

"Urbosa. Well, it is about all of the Champions, but she is part of the reason I didn't want to continue with the plans before talking with you."

"What do you mean?"

"After hearing everything you have told about her, and after Link left to celebrate Mipha… it doesn't feel right that the Champions and the role they played in Ganon's defeat have almost been forgotten."

That was something they could both agree on. But as Riju was still unwilling to meet her glance, Zelda knew that there was more to it. What Riju had told her so far was simply not something that would explain why she almost seemed worried about what Zelda's response would be.

"And?" she prompted, moving closer to Riju and doing her best to make her voice light.

It worked, and as Riju continued, she looked up at her, a layer of hope making its way onto her face. "I was looking into the different things I could do to make sure they would not be forgotten, and I found that the best idea for everyone would be for us to all come together to celebrate them—not only or their sacrifice, but also for everything they did while alive—"

"That sounds like a brilliant idea," Zelda said, and there was no need for her to try to sound ecstatic as she added, "if there is anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to—"

But Riju held up her hand. "Actually, I was hoping that perhaps… you and Link would make a speech. I know that it is a lot to ask and that it might be too much, that is why I wanted to ask you—Link would say yes no matter how he felt about the idea, I mean, he did after all agree to go and retrieve the Thunder Helm even though he could barely remember anything," she smiled, but it did not quite reach her eyes, "but I hope that you know it will be fine even if you don't want to, I already have something else we can use in case you don't want to—"

"Hey," Zelda said, moving closer, caressing Riju's cheek, "it means a lot to you, so of course I will do it."

The relief was clear on Riju's face, as she too leant in closer towards her. "Really?"

"Really."

The short amount of space that was still left between them soon disappeared, and as they stood there, Zelda could almost convince herself that the thought of an entire celebration that would in the end still be a reminder that the Champions would not come back did not leave her with a slight twinge of pain in her stomach.

But the way Riju's eyes sparkled as she looked up at her for a moment before they resumed the kiss made Zelda want to push through it despite the pain it would no doubt bring.

They celebrated the Festival of the Champions a year after Ganon was sealed away for good. During the century Link had been asleep in the Shrine of Resurrection and Zelda had been hidden away in the castle, it seemed that the knowledge of the exact date of the Calamity had been lost to the sands of time, but celebrating the day they had made sure that the Campions' sacrifices had not been in vain seemed to be a fitting tribute.

But although Zelda knew that it was a joyous occasion and that the mere fact they were able to celebrate the day meant that the Champions had succeeded in their quest—that they all had—it was still overwhelming. So after just a couple of hours, Zelda had to excuse herself, putting on a smile for a Pearle when she spotted her leaving the room and asked her where she was going and making up some lie about needing to get some fresh air.

She stepped out of the banqueting hall, walking away from the palace and out into the deserted street. Maybe she had not been lying at all; the chilly night air did do wonders to calm her down as she sat down, bringing her knees up to her chest as she craned her head to look up at the stars above her.

That was how Riju found her.

"Zelda?" the voice alerted her to the presence of the chief, and Zelda turned around to see Riju stand at the top of the stairs that led into the palace. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Zelda said, or rather, attempted to. The words did not want to get out, sticking to her tongue. Her eyes were burning with tears as she continued, "I am fine, don't worry about me."

But despite Zelda's assurance that she was fine, Riju began to walk down the stairs, moving over sit down next to her.

Zelda wanted to say something, to tell Riju that there was no need for her to dirty her clothes, but the next moment, Riju had put her arm around her waist and Zelda found herself both unable and unwilling to say anything that would have made her move away from her again.

"You don't look like everything is fine. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Zelda tried to shake her head, but it seemed that the worry in Riju's voice was the thing that made her unable to continue with the pretence. The tears were warm against her cheeks as she began to sob, Riju pulling her closer, stroking Zelda's hair as she cried into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I know I should be happy, but I— I know that she is gone, that they are all gone, but I just keep thinking that she is still here and that she could turn around the corner any second," Zelda tried to get out in between the sobs, fully aware of just how pathetic she must appear to Riju as she sat there, crying after she had just left a festival dedicated to someone who had been among her closest friends.

But if Riju was judging her for her grief, she didn't let it show, simply continuing to hold her close. "I understand that," Riju whispered, "please don't feel like you have to apologise. From what you have told me about Urbosa, about all of them, I should have expected for this to happen."

"No—" Zelda protested weakly. This was not something anyone should have known about, least of all Riju who had done everything she could to ensure that this festival would be a success, only for Zelda to ruin it by leaving the rest of the participants to instead go cry in the street.

Riju pressed a kiss to her forehead, and, somehow, the unexpected gesture coupled with the warmth that sprouted in her chest was enough to make Zelda go silent, allowing Riju to take her hands.

"If you want to go back inside," Riju began, not looking away from her for even a second, "I can promise you that no one will think any less of you for having had to leave for a moment. But, if you can't do that, you shouldn't feel like you have to participate."

"No," Zelda shook her head, bringing her hand up to her face to wipe away the tears, "I want to be there."

"If that is what you want," Riju said, holding her hand out towards her, awaiting her answer.

Erasing the last signs of just why she had had to leave the room, Zelda managed a weak smile and took her hand. Together, they made their way back inside the brightly lit halls of the palace.

There might not be a way for Zelda to go back to everything she had once had, but, although she had spent so many nights lying awake beneath the stars, wishing that she could turn back time and change what had happened, as the night progressed and she heard about the legends of Urbosa and the rest of the Champions—some so absurd that she had to laugh, and some sounding so much like something they really would have done that Zelda had to consider the possibility of her memory betraying her—and Riju pressed a kiss to her lips once Zelda had finished her speech, she found that she did not want to.

After all, the world could only move forward, and this time, Zelda would be sure to move along with it.