Across the Proxim Bridge we went, carefully and slowly because no matter how well built it was a century ago, that long without upkeep and with the weather beating down on it and the general air of decay hanging about like a shroud, we didn't want to be on it for any longer than necessary.

To be extra careful of loose materials and missing stones, we dismounted and crossed by foot with the horses led along behind us. Horses tended not to like bridges, anyway, and they were growing increasingly restless - Epona, especially. The brown beauty protested vocally with nearly every step, and she kept sniffing at the air, feeling something we did not.

And I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was a bad idea. This was a really, really bad idea.

When the stone beneath our feet ended, and we stepped onto the dirt road beyond it, I found myself faltering after only a single step. Link noticed right away and stopped as well, looking back at me with so much concern that at any other time, I might have been embarrassed, but I was too worried to care.

"(Y/n)? What's wrong?"

"The air feels strange here," I told him. Seeing his eyes widen, I hurried to explain. "It's not like it was before, when my instincts were telling me to run. I don't feel like I'm in danger. But it's harder to breathe here, and it's almost like..."

"It feels off, doesn't it?" I nodded in response, and he hummed thoughtfully. "I feel it, too. That'd be Ganon's influence on the area."

I looked off in the distance, northward. Hyrule Field was vast, incredibly so. It was nighttime, yes, but through the inky darkness there was a purple haze on the horizon, and I knew that cloud in particular could be nothing other than Hyrule Castle and more so, what I was seeing was Ganon's influence directly. But for it to be so strong here...

"Even this far away?"

Link nodded gravely, stepping closer to Epona to pat her side reassuringly as she pawed the dirt anxiously. "Ganon's dark powers cover the entire castle with evil, and after some time, it started to spread. It'd taken over Hyrule Field by the time the Calamity truly started, and by now it's permeated the soil, the air."

"I see," I murmured, looking upwards, into the sky - as though I'd see a purple tint to the sky as I did over Hyrule Castle, where a near-physical blanket shrouded the castle and the town below it.

"Of course, Ganon's reach is great," Link continued. "He still controls the Divine Beasts, and his monsters explore wherever they please. But only here does it affect the environment, the flora."

To his point, the grass here seemed dull, comparatively devoid of life. I turned on my heel, looking back over the bridge - even the sky seemed so much brighter there, despite the fact it was still late. The moon was still high in the sky but by now it had lost some of its rosy hue. We really should stop to rest soon, to get some sleep before dawnbreak - but we were both too on-edge, it would seem.

"You know all the stories about Hyrule, or nearly," Link said, and I tore my eyes from the landscape behind us and instead brought my attention to him. "So you must have a guess as to why Ganon's power isn't as prevalent elsewhere. Am I right?"

I was quiet for a moment as I looked away and thought it over. I thought first of Ganon's power - was he foregoing spreading it further so as not to expend too much energy? Or was it something else? Oh, perhaps it was based on geographic features. But what was there? A mountain range would be difficult to take over or at least permeate - they took thousands of years to even begin to form and to break one down, to break through one... All of that, but it was useless anyway, because Hyrule Castle was not encased within a mountain range.

Rather, the castle itself was set on an island that was connected to Hyrule Field via a bridge. In the west, that moat was flooded by the waters of Regencia River, and in the east, Hyrule Field was bordered by the Hylia River, the one we'd just crossed over.

"The rivers, Regencia and Hylia," I said aloud. "I started feeling it as soon as I crossed the bridge. It might be difficult for his evil to gain a foothold over rushing water, maybe?"

"Maybe," Link echoed. "As we heard it said, those waters were blessed by Hylia's grace. Hyrule Field itself, and the castle, are encased by water's blessed by the goddess herself - and even now, she is fighting to ensure the rest of Hyrule is not plagued as Hyrule Field is." He shrugged then, reaching into his pocket to feed Epona a carrot just as I welcomed Sky's gentle nickering by my ear, thanking me for the treat I just handed her. "Of course, we've no way to confirm if that's true."

"Not unless we ask the goddess ourselves," I suggested. "Still, it's a nice thought. Thinking that the goddesses haven't given up hope on us is nice, at least."

"True," he agreed. "Ready to keep going? I know a place where we can get some rest."

"Lead the way," I said, preparing to pull myself up into Sky's saddle. As soon as we were both settled in the saddles, we continued on.

—

We passed by the East Post Ruins, and then the Outpost Ruins, and many more smaller, nameless batches of ruins - small settlements and villages that once were the proud homes of farmers, of shepherds, of retired royal guardsmen and happy families.

But now they were deserted, completely and wholly. Everything - life and material possession both - was left behind here. Left untouched for a century by everything but weather, there were the deep tracks left behind by Guardians, cindered ashes of fires long burnt out, and the haunting sound of wind through the old structures that sounded like wailing, the laments of so many lives lost.

Link was quiet as we rode on. We went at a walk, and no faster than that. Anything else felt too invasive almost, but besides that, we did not want to draw too much attention to ourselves. Besides that too, we did not want to ride too quickly because doing so would require too much of our focus. Doing so would be too loud, too noisy - not just to others, but to us. And if we could hear only the sound of the horses panting and charging and their hoofbeats against the dusty dirt below, we might miss the sounds of... incoming threats.

If Link was right, if this place was truly crawling with Guardians, so close to castletown as we were... then we needed our wits about us. Not only that, but we needed to be able to react quickly and...

I was rationalizing too much. I was spending too much time in my head.

Dammit, why had I wanted this? I didn't want this. We could turn back. We should turn back.

But no, we were too far in, now.

"That's the Forest of Time," Link said, gesturing to a massive grouping of trees to our right. The road curled around it, adapting to the line of the trees. Thinner trails ducked into it, but we avoided it. I'd have voiced my confusion, but Link spoke before I needed to. "The trees would provide good cover, but that doesn't just apply to us."

Oh.

"Guardians," I said quietly, a statement vocalized as a question.

Link nodded, guiding Epona to switch sides. He adjusted himself in the saddle, holding the reins in one hand with the other, his left, resting on the pommel of the sword at his hip. He glanced towards the forest warily, as though the trees themselves would get up and attack. They wouldn't, of course they wouldn't.

...would they?

I had no idea. And that had my heart sinking to my stomach and even further down, because I realistically knew nothing of what we would find out here. All I knew was Hateno, all I knew was my old life. I could fight now... kinda. But Hyrule was vast, its dangers great. I had no idea the scope of what I would see.

And that was terrifying.

Adventuring itself was exhilarating, being an adventurer was something I still could hardly believe I could say about myself. And when it came down to it, I was traveling with the Hero of Hyrule, our Hylian Champion.

All of that, and he was far more experienced than I was, and he was so wary, so anxious.

Maybe this really was a mistake.

—

We rode along that road for several hours. It bordered the Forest of Time, and throughout it all, Link rode closer to the forest, keeping space between us. Riding for that length of time and along that circuitous track, only worked to prove how large Hyrule Field truly was. I knew that Central Hyrule, as a region, was huge. Hyrule was divided into sections about as evenly as it possibly could, but to think that so much of Hyrule consisted of land that was so flat was incredible.

When we at long last passed the edge of the forest, heading far enough west so that it ended, Link slowed. At a crossroad we stopped, and Link led the way just off the road and into an area with lush, bright green grass.

"Let's wait up, here," Link said. "Let's head north on foot. I want you to see something, but I don't want to risk scaring the horses. They'll be fine here, for now. The Guardians would rather hunt us down than them."

Oh, good.

We dismounted, and as we left some treats out for the horses, Link watched me closely. And when I stepped back up onto the road, directing my gaze upwards because angry, twisting clouds began racing through the sky, Link caught my wrist, keeping me from going any further.

"Hey," he said, only once I pried my eyes from the sky and instead found the sky within his own. Only... the sky in his eyes was not stormy, and was not dark. It was not cataclysmic, and it assuredly was not chaotic. It was calm and clear, wonderfully so. And as I got lost in them, in the cloudless sky contained within his eyes, I felt more grounded, somehow.

And I felt a little less nervous, myself.

"I'm not going to leave your side," he said. "But I think it's important for you to see exactly what we'll be facing as we progress. Necluda doesn't see them often, but Guardians could realistically be anywhere. This isn't just... just to scare you, ok? Or to try to make you want to go home. I just know how..."

...Scary they can be. He didn't have to say it for me to know what he was thinking. And so I nodded.

And on foot we went.

"They're not silent, but they are quiet," Link told me as we walked courageously into Hyrule field. "They're machines, so their sounds are mechanical. They're smart, and they learn quickly. But they're not invincible. Actually, their strength is their biggest weakness."

"How so?"

"It's hard," Link began rather hesitantly, then glanced at me sidelong. His ears twitched downward, the beginning signs of a nervous tick - and I wanted so badly to stop us right here. But this was too important. I understood well why we were doing this, no matter how terrifying. If for whatever reason I froze up with fear seeing a Guardian... I wouldn't want it to be in an actual fight. If we could scout one from afar and I froze, there would be no danger.

"I used to be well-versed in working with Guardians," Link continued, and I was happy to have pulled myself from my thoughts before he did. "But I only learned to fight against them once the Calamity begun and Ganon took them over. Unfortunately, they're strong and durable, but fortunately, their own weapons can be used against them."

"Is that the only way?"

"No," he answered. "It's just the most effective. That's not to say that fighting it through other methods won't work, but in my experience, there is something to be done to quickly take one down. But it's a... high-risk, high-reward sort of situation."

"And clearly you've risked it," I prompted, and he nodded.

"I had to," he said. "The Calamity didn't really give anyone a choice in the matter. It was run and hide, or stand your ground and fight. The civilians didn't have a choice, they could not fight. And my choice was made for me."

He released a resigned, indignant sort of breath, then turned away, watching the landscape with a keen eye. As those angry storm clouds rolled in above head, we could see the fading sunlight peek in and out and the vast grasses of Hyrule Field - and the purple miasmic haze that was the castle far, far, far on the horizon, visible only because of how massive the hazy mass was.

Ruins dotted the field, and there were thin roads branching far off left and right in most places. In any other place, I'd have thought they were natural trails laid out by wildlife... but not here. There was no life here, save for the grasses and trees.

And for now, we seemed to be entirely, completely alone.

"I don't know if that's true," I said quietly, looking ahead of us instead of at the sky.

When Link glanced over at me, I could see how he was suddenly far more interested in what I had to say than on keeping a keen eye on our surroundings - but that lasted only for a minute. He did still seem interested, but he diverted his attention to where it needed to be for now.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that while the choice might've been made for you, I think you'd have made the same decision in the end," I said, elaborating as asked. "Of course, of all people, I know how frustrating it is to have things decided for you."

"And that's an understatement," he agreed, sending me a brief and fleeting smile.

"So I get it, but from what I know of you, which really isn't much more than you yourself know, unfortunately," I said, knowing the irony was not lost on him, "I know that you have a huge bleeding heart of gold."

"Hm? Isn't it heart of gold? Or bleeding heart?"

"You've got both," I said simply as we passed under the arch of what might have been the entrygate to a small farming community here - more ruins, though small. "So I have a feeling that even though the decision was made for you, and that it sucks to have happened, I think ultimately you'd have-"

Link stilled immediately, throwing his arm out in front of me all at once. I stopped dead in my stacks, not daring even to breathe as he picked up on something I didn't. I searched for the sound of mechanical whirring, but I found nothing. I searched the landscape for movement but saw nothing but the wave of swaying grass bending to the will of the incoming wind.

But I knew better than to doubt Link's instincts.

I wanted to say his name, to call so that I might reassure myself, if nothing else, but I dared not summon the breath. For that moment, I did not breathe and I did not speak. I only kept my eyes trained on the horizon, searching for something, anything.

And there it was - a group of quail that suddenly alighted from behind a boulder up ahead.

Link muttered a curse, and I nearly did too, because those birds would not have been spooked if there was not something to spook it.

And a sickening curiosity rooted me in place, even as Link ducked behind a stone wall that only came up to about his waist. He made to progress further along it, but wheeled around as soon as he realized I was not with him.

I did not move. I couldn't force my limbs to obey. Only my heart moved, for it rammed itself against my ribcage, and only my eyes moved, for they narrowed, willing myself to see what was still hidden.

A bracketed foot of metal but articulating... claws, I suppose, was what I saw first. It reached out beyond the boulder, the metal sliding against itself noiselessly. The foot presented itself, then placed itself down methodically. The claws dug into the dirt.

I could see the way weight was distributed forward onto it, the way the metal bent to accommodate the rising weight being placed atop it. And I could see the very beginning of a body when Link's hands wrapped around my wrist and pulled me to him.

"Dammit, (Y/n)," he hissed when I landed against his chest, stumbling unceremoniously to my knees before him, "you can't just freeze like that!"

"I'm-"

"Shh," he hushed right away, pulling me closer in his arms even as he craned his head upwards, trying to keep an ear out for movement. I tucked myself against him securely, praying that my every cell and atom that made me up might be still, just for a few moments.

Link held me tight, but shifted into a crouch, prompting me to do the same. He kept me steady as I got my feet beneath me, then balanced my weight between them. I pressed my back to the wall, just as he was doing - and that's when I heard it.

"Not a sound," Link mouthed to me when I heard it and looked to him immediately for support.

What the hell were we supposed to do? It was coming this way! Surely he saw the rising panic in my body because it was obvious - my entire body stiffened up and my eyes went wide and my mouth hung open, wanting to scream if I could only summon up the nerve.

Link pressed his index finger to his lips, hushing me silently. He did what he could to maintain eye contact with me but his ear twitched and his eyes darted away, glancing at the stone wall as though it might disappear, or that he might be able to see through it.

I could see the fear in his own eyes, and the anger, too - though directed at what, I could only guess.

When the approaching footsteps paused, we still did not move.

When the silence stretched on for several long minutes, we still did not move.

When the footsteps began to withdraw and grow quiet, we still did not move.

That close, for those few silent and tense and horrible minutes, I had been able to hear the gears turning in the guardian, seen the shadow it cast with the sun just so behind it. It was tall, imposingly so, and was the product of so much research and development it was a marvel.

But it was also terrifying.

Only when we could no longer hear the footsteps did Link draw in a deep breath. I still did not, because I could not, not until Link was there in front of me, suddenly all I could see. When the Guardian's shadow had loomed over us, I had looked at it, and had been unable to look away.

But now, Link forced me to look away from the grass no longer stained with shadow but now gloriously illuminated by fading sunlight. Link knelt just before me, his knees bracketing my own because I had slumped just so, and he took my cheeks into his hands, guiding me to look at him and only him.

I could tell by the shape of his lips that he was saying my name, but all I could hear was the rapid beating of my heart. I could not will my heart to slow. I could not convince it that we were safe.

And that was because it was right.

The steps returned, much more urgently now and before I could vocalize my fright Link's gloved palm was pressed to my mouth, and his body was pressed to mine, blocking as much of my vision as he physically could.

His eyes bore into my own, until the shadow loomed above us once more and I squeezed my eyes shut, unable to keep them open. I was also unable to keep tears from welling up in my eyes despite my best efforts and I opened my eyes only to wish I hadn't.

The Guardian was standing right next to us.

It was looking around, the swivel of its head completely noiseless. It did not look down, thankfully. But with one more step forward it did startle another group of quail, and it turned that way. It began to walk in that direction, and before I could do anything for myself, Link was guiding me to follow after him, further along the wall and away from the Guardian.

Around a corner we ducked, and here, we gathered ourselves.

Only... this place was no better. Link had brought us here, but though this place was arguably more hidden, with shrubbery and chests to duck behind which kept us well out of view with our backs pressed now to this wall, it provided us a wonderful view of Hyrule Fields patrols.

Every square inch beyond this point, or nearly, was covered by a Guardian. If not physically, then each inch was observed by the wandering gazes of the machinations and my mouth went dry. Link looked over his shoulder, then allowed himself to be enraptured by the view, just as I was.

This was the grave truth of Hyrule. The Calamity was still alive here, thick in the air and weighing down the grass.

This was the fate - should Link fail, or Zelda fall - that would befall all of Hyrule.

—

The horses grazed nearby quietly as Link helped me sit atop the flat top of a boulder. Rather instinctively I crossed my legs before me, and he mirrored my position. His knees were flush against my own as we settled together here, but I couldn't quite meet his gaze.

"(Y/n)," he said gently, reaching for one of my hands. "We're safe, now. They won't find us here."

"How do you know that?"

We'd made considerable distance between us and the Guardians, or where we'd seen them anyway, but it was apparently far easier for them to sneak up on someone than I realized. Who was to say if we were really, truly safe? How could he know?

"If they were nearby, they wouldn't be hiding," he told me, holding one of my hands in both of his own. "They're smart, and they're hunters, but they're not ones to hunt like a wolf or coyote. They don't stalk. If they saw us, we would know."

"And we'd be dead."

Link did not answer, not right away. His hands were warm, but with my own archery glove and his leathery gauntlets, I could not feel his skin. Link's eyes softened as he considered what to say, and his thumb - fingerless as his gloves were - rubbed a soothing arc into my wrist.

"That is exactly why we will not be going right to Hyrule Castle," he spoke quietly, at long last. "I am not strong enough, and you..." He trailed off, and I knew he did not mean to say that I was weak. He didn't mean to imply the same of himself, either. But until I could pull my own weight and fight one myself, we could not venture that close to the castle again.

"(Y/n)," he called gently, "I'm so sorry." That's when my gaze lifted to meet his own. His sky blue eyes were now stormy and dark, and my heart thumped uncertainly, for I so hated to see that sort of look in his eyes.

"Link," I began, only for him to shake his head and squeeze my hand.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "For putting you through that, for bringing us so close. I... I wanted you to understand but I didn't mean to go so far, and I... Dammit, I-"

"I don't blame you," I said surely, recognizing that even those few words were the most I'd spoken nearly all day, or at least since we saw the Guardians, "but even if I did, I forgive you all the same."

"No, I can't, I... (Y/n), dammit, I went too far."

I shook my head, refusing to accept that. "I was the one who was curious," I reminded him. "But this... all of this... I wouldn't have believed you if you didn't show me. If I didn't see it, I wouldn't have thought it was so bad."

"I don't tell a lot of stories," Link said sadly, "because I don't have any. But I think I could have at least explained that in a way you'd understand..."

"Maybe," I agreed, happy that I found my voice, "but something like that is better seen."

"It was dangerous."

"So was picking up that club and fighting the Bokoblins on the beach," I said, and his eyes found some of their color again. He was understanding, slowly, that I did not blame him and that I would not blame him. Not for danger, not for my own fear.

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure," I affirmed. "All of this only strengthens my resolve, you know." His eyes widened and he searched my own for an answer - to which I smiled, hoping my own gaze worked to reassure him as his own had for me. "How could you possibly defeat them all on your own? I have to stay by your side to help you."

"(Y/n), no, that's not..."

"It's why I'm here," I reminded him.

"I don't want you to have to fight them," he said dejectedly and more than a bit ruefully.

"When I originally left Hateno with you, I wanted only to travel. Knowing who you are now, I vowed to help you. This is what I wanted, and it hasn't changed. It's only stronger now, my resolve. I want to get strong enough, and brave enough, to fight them and not be afraid."

"Even I still fear fighting them," he told me.

"Then we both have some growing to do," I said softly, smiling at him.

He saw my challenge and, knowing my resolve was not wavering, rose up to meet it. He nodded surely, squeezing my hand.

"First," he said, "to Rito Village, then."