"Before we head to the Domain," Link started. Just the mere thought of postponing saving the world made you want to groan in annoyance, but you suppressed it as best you could, before continuing to listen to him, "there's a maze or something up northeast, and I think we should go check it out."

At his mention of a maze, you looked up at him with interest. He was looking down at his slate, with the map pulled up. He turned it so you could see and you looked where he was pointing. There was, indeed a giant maze that looked about a half's day ride from where you currently were, which wasn't that bad. "Look at the size of it," you said, approaching the slate to get a better look, "that's a labyrinth, not just a maze."

"Well, same difference," he said. He met your eyes and smiled at you. "Can we go?"

With a sigh, you nodded your head. "So long as we don't get completely lost in there, I think we can, with plenty of time to save the world after."

Link grinned. "Great! Let's go now!"

"Now?" You began to whine, having just set up camp for the evening. You looked around at everything you had just unpacked to get the bedding ready.

"Yes, now! Nothing like a late night ride to the coast!"

You leaned over again and glanced at his map again. "We're heading to the Akkala Region, right?" He nodded. "I heard there's another research lab up there. Maybe they'll have information to help us out there."

"We'll stop there first, then go to the Labyrinth. Now that I actually look, there are actually two others in Hyrule. I've never noticed that before."

"Well, we'll go to that one first, and if there's anything good, we can head to the others when we get close to them or even after you're done kicking Ganon into oblivion."

"That sounds good," he said. "So what are we waiting for? Let's get going!"

You suppressed the urge to roll your eyes at him and instead just helped the hero pack everything up into the saddlebags again.

---

The landscape before you seemed to change right before your eyes. One moment, you were facing rolling, grassy foothills that led to Death Mountain in the north and rocky plains to the southeast, headed towards Zora's Domain. After just a few hours of riding northeast, towards the Akkala Region, the land seemed to forget that summer was approaching once more in Hyrule, as it remained stuck in fall.

A lot of Hyrule faced very moderate, mild seasons. There were parts that were always warm, like areas surrounding Death Mountain and the Gerudo Desert, and parts that always faced stinging cold, like the Snowfields and the tops of mountain ranges that stretched into the sky. During summer, the rest of the lands just got a bit warmer and during winter, the opposite was true, but there was nothing too crazy about the seasons in Hyrule.

Spring seemed to last the whole year round, and maybe that was just one of the blessings the Goddesses had blessed the land with. But Akkala, so it seemed, was stuck in autumn, just as the Snowfields were trapped in winter and the Desert would always be wrapped in heat. You had never seen a proper autumn before, and the sight of leaves on the ground, layered in beautiful shades of red and gold, was truly a sight to see.

Even Link seemed to appreciate the beauty of the land, something that he didn't usually take the time to do. The horses slowed to a walk as the leaf-covered road began to slope upwards. Link whistled, taking in the sights. Squirrels dashed to and fro, skirting across the leaf-littered forest floor. Birds flitted through the tree branches, chirping to themselves.

The wind threaded through the leaves, rustling them and making the shadows seem to dance. It was slightly chilly here- the land had been gently reaching towards the sky and when you turned in the saddle briefly to look behind you, all you could see was the road wind through the trees before it faded from your view, shielded by the sea of red and gold.

The ground eventually evened out, and the trees ended, and in front of you, taking advantage of the space, was a stable. A worker was busy sweeping leaves out of the stable's tent while a puppy- a stable dog in training- was busy trying to bite the broom. A few travelers were chatting by a fire on the far side of the stable, sitting on logs.

Wanting to see how much further it was to the lab, you got off of Nayru and grabbed her reins. Leading her to the desk, you smiled at the stable owner who was busy writing something in a notebook when he noticed you.

He was fairly young, and looked about your age, oddly enough. He had brown hair and matching chocolate-colored eyes. He smiled at you warmly. "Hi," he said when you stopped in front of the desk. You smiled back, and watched as his cheeks flushed red. He composed himself, and cleared his throat. "Anything I can help you with?"

"There is, actually," you said with a nod of your head. Nayru tugged on the reins, and you loosened your grip on them so she could lower her head and graze. "Do you know of the Research Lab in this region?"

"I do," he said, leaning forward and resting his forearms on the desk. "I grew up here. Old Robbie up there used to teach me about all this ancient tech. A lot of it confused me, but I loved looking at all the old armor and weaponry used before the Calamity."

"Armor and weaponry?"

He nodded. "Back when the Guardians were under the control of the king and Hyrule's military forces, they developed specialized gear for those commanding them, and repurposed a lot of the old Sheikah regalia. The armor was aimed to withstand their intense lasers, yet still allow free movement. It all looked rather clunky and heavy to me, though. The weapons were far cooler looking- all kinds of spears and things, with blades capable of slicing through their armor as easily as a knife through butter."

"Really? That's amazing," you said. You wondered how friendly this Robbie figure was. Apparently friendly enough, to have taught a child about such things, but would he be willing to give up some of this gear? You bit your lip as you thought for a moment, before the owner cleared his throat.

"Are you a historian of some kind? A scientist, perhaps?"

"Ah, no, I'm not," you answered. You sent him another smile. "Just a curious traveler."

"A curious traveler fighting with the Hero of Hyrule," Link said suddenly, surprising you as he threw an arm around your shoulder.

The man seemed less concerned about Link's arm around your shoulder as he was about Link in general. "H-Hero of Hyrule? Here? You? Now?"

Link grinned. "Yep," he said, clearly pleased with himself. You rolled your eyes at his blatant show of possession and shrugged out of his hold. Without missing a beat, he slid his hand across your back and rested it on your waist.

You decided not to fight against this and simply leaned into him. He blocked most of the chill the breeze carried with it, so you weren't complaining. "That's not possible," the owner said in awe, standing at his full height and easily beating Link's height by a few inches. Link's smile wavered slightly but he lifted his chin a bit higher.

"But it is," Link countered. "Would you like proof?"

"You don't happen to have the Master Sword with you, do you?" The man's eyes sparkled, and you figured he must've done a lot of reading on the Calamity to be so excited about this.

Link pouted slightly. "Of course I do. What kind of hero do you take me for?"

Link stepped away from you and with his left hand, reached for his back. He grabbed the sword and lifted it with ease, the metal of the sword scraping against the material of the scabbard. Link took another few steps away from you and swung the sword, letting it practically dance across and around his hand before landing seamlessly around his palm. The grin on his face let you know that he was only doing it to show off.

"You gonna let me have all the fun, (Y/n)?"

At Link's challenge, you sent him a glare and pushed away from the desk that you had taken to leaning against again. You rolled your neck and cracked your fingers as you walked towards him. You walked past him and pulled your hair back and tied it up slowly and deliberately. When you were ready, you reached to the belt at your hip and pulled out a broadsword. You examined it for a brief moment before you heard Link lunge towards you from behind you.

Rolling your eyes, you simply swung in a movement similar to if you were just reaching into your quiver and heard the unmistakable clang of metal on metal. The sound rung in your ears but you turned around, keeping the sword between you and Link, the swords' edges scraping against each other. Link swung again, which you parried easily. Your foot followed your sword as his was pushed away and you landed a kick, but as you tried returning it to the ground he grabbed your ankle, getting you off balance.

Your momentum kept you moving, so you leapt up and swung your free leg at his torso. Link grunted as your leg made contact and let go of your other leg. You rolled to your feet, just barely getting your sword back up to block his next swing. He continued swinging, using movements far too easy for him but looked very impressive to anyone without fighting experience. You didn't even have to look at the Master Sword in Link's hand; you knew where it was going, exactly what movements were to come, so you looked past the blade into his eyes, and his own pair met yours with an easy smile.

The two of you kept up the pointless spar until the stable owner began to clap. Still looking into Link's eyes, you grinned at him and lowered your sword. You slid the broadsword into its scabbard and Link did the same. You turned to the stable owner and didn't protest when Link threw his arm around your shoulders again. "That was amazing! I can't believe it, the Hero of Hyrule, here! And miss, you were excellent too! You aren't related to one of the Champions, are you?"

"Not that I know of," you answered with a chuckle.

"When you go see Robbie," the owner continued, "just mention me and Robbie should let you see the gear. My name is Sampson, and our families are pretty close, so he shouldn't give you any problems."

"Thank you, Sampson," you said with a smile. He nodded once more at you and you and Link returned to your horses. Mounting quickly, you and Link continued once more up the road, up the hill that seemed to grow ever steeper.

Only a few short minutes later, Link, who was ahead of you by only a few paces, held out his arm for you to stop while simultaneously pulling back on Epona's reins. Nayru came to a stop next to Epona and nickered quietly. The forest here felt... off. It felt as though there was a massive source of power nearby that caused the rest of the forest to be still. But what could it be?

Link slid off of Epona noiselessly and you followed suit. Link's eyes narrowed and he dropped into a crouch as he stepped into the underbrush on the side of the road. Link stopped at every noise, natural or otherwise, and the tension in the air was so palpable that if you reached out, you were sure you could feel it. The underbrush cleared, but you and Link ducked behind a tree. The two of you leaned over, just enough to see around the trunk, and there, half-buried in the ground, was a dormant Guardian.

Just the sight of it sent a stab of fear through you. The giant machines, even deactivated like this one was, and the ones in the historic sites just outside of Hateno, demanded respect and you were more than happy to oblige. The technology behind them was amazing, but the sheer damage they were capable of... It was terrifying.

You and Link had fought and destroyed one, but only barely. The machine was crafty, and seemed to learn. It almost picked up on your patterns, and predicted your moves before you had even executed them. That fight was long and hard, and had left the two of you shaken for days on end.

That was why, even now, you both avoided central Hyrule where there were rumors of them roaming freely. The two of you simply lacked the experience of fighting them, and you honestly didn't think you could handle facing more than one at a time. But according to anyone who made the mistake of traveling by Hyrule Castle, the land was absolutely swarming with them.

The only reason you and Link had destroyed the first Guardian you fought was because you had managed to hide away for a time and formulate a plan. The plan hadn't even been great, nor was it executed well. You had planned to blind it, and just beat it to a pulp, but that hadn't worked. Link, who had ended up on top of it to try and find a way to permanently blind it, fell, and had destroyed one of its legs in the process, and that became your new strategy.

The one in front of you now clearly could not move. Its tentacle-like legs were pressed deep underground, and you were sure that tree roots, possibly as old as the machine itself, wound around its legs, ensnaring it.

Despite that, you could still feel this... power, coming from it.

Link stood up, chest still pressed to the tree. "Link," you hissed, "don't. It might activate."

"Then get ready for a fight," he said back.

You let out a shaky breath and returned your gaze to the Guardian. Link took a step closer to it, and you bit your bottom lip to keep yourself from telling him to be careful. Link took another step... and another one.

One more step, and the Guardian came to life. Its single eye lit up and a wave of color wound through its body's grooves. Its head swiveled this way and that, searching. It found Link, and he sprang into action. He took out his Master Sword with a wicked scraping sound against its scabbard, and began swiftly dancing around its still body, striking at its body and loose wiring as he did. You jumped up as well, your fear dissipating for the moment being and your desire to assist Link taking over.

The Guardian seemed overwhelmed. It looked this way and that, its faulty wiring sparking and causing it to short-circuit. It shot off lasers in several directions, the condensed and powerful beams of light slicing clean through trees.

One more swing from Link was all it took, now. Your combined, focused efforts made quick work of the disabled Guardian and it, like the first one, looked ready to combust. You dove behind a rock and Link ducked back into the underbrush just as the machine exploded, sending fiery springs and gears everywhere.

"Are you alright?" You heard him call as he stood up. You came out from around the rock to see him holding his head as he looked at you. Concerned, you rushed over and swatted his hand away from his head and began searching for yourself for any bumps or cuts.

"I'm fine," you huffed, "but what did you do?"

Link laughed. "I kind of hit my head when I jumped back there," he said. "I'm alright, don't worry."

"You better be," you said, stepping away from him. You glanced back at where the Guardian just was and wrapped your arms around your middle. "I hate fighting those things."

"When we get closer to Hyrule Castle they'll be everywhere," he reminded you. Looking into his eyes, you could see that he hated fighting them just as much as you did. "We'll get better at it, don't worry."

"I hope you're right," you said, smiling briefly as he pressed a kiss to your temple.

---

Robbie was, you found, a very odd man. He was very eccentric, which was weird for someone his age but it certainly wasn't unwelcome. He greeted the two of you with open arms and, after a few errands, was more than happy to sell you some gear that looked as ancient as he was.

Link was happy to buy nothing but weapons, but you made him buy at least a chest plate. You bought one as well, and were surprised at how lightweight it was. It allowed for relative freedom of movement as well, which you were grateful.

The two of you also invested in a few weapons, much to Link's happiness. He bought a large Guardian axe, similar to the ones you noticed he would bring up from Shrines sometimes, but larger and, according to Robbie, more durable. He bought a Guardian sword as well, and a large shield. You bought for yourself a bow and a few arrows, and a spear. Robbie had told you that the arrows were specially designed for the soldiers who were to keep an eye on the Guardians and disable them, should they go rogue. But because they worked so well when they were first built, the arrows were in short demand and it took Robbie years to find remains of arrows themselves and instructions on building them to even begin reproducing them.

Nowadays, he produced them in large quantities in the event that a warrior should try and take them out. Robbie was concerned about the number of Guardians left wandering Hyrule and the extreme lack of soldiers necessary to take one out, much less learn to control one. He hoped that, once Calamity Ganon was killed, perhaps the Guardians would respond once again to Hylians and the Sheikah race.

You and Link sat for a while, just listening to Robbie tell stories of the research he and Purah used to do. After the Calamity hit, though, their research came all but to a halt and Robbie had for a time become inconsolable and unmotivated, until he took up teaching. A family friend had suggested that he spread his wisdom, and had even invited Purah to, as well. She had declined, opting to remain in Hateno, so close to the historical ruins of one of the final major battles of the war and continue her research. As the hundred years wore on, Robbie continued teaching and recording all of his past research, while Purah remained working as well.

You hoped one day they could reunite.

Right now, though, you and Link were camped out by a cliff for the night, but you were on an evening ride on Nayru. Not because you wanted to, no; Link apparently really needed something for tonight, a cute new dessert cake that he had heard about that was sold at the stable, and so he had asked you to head there and grab one. When you asked him why he hadn't bought one at the time, or why he couldn't, he just flashed you that irritatingly cute smile of his. And that had worked on you like a charm.

You were on your way back, the small roll in a bag hanging from your shoulder. At least the night was calm and refreshingly cool. You looked forward to curling up by the fire later, but right now, the cool air felt nice.

As you approached the camp, a strong gust of wind blew through the trees, bringing towards you the calming scents of pine, of the sea, and... Stew. Wait.

Nayru's ears perked up and she turned her head slightly to look back at you. You shrugged at her, and kicked into her sides. She picked right up into a trot and soon, you entered the campsite and the scene you came upon was probably the least one you were expecting.

Link had made dinner, all by himself.

When he heard Nayru enter the clearing he turned his head and grinned up at you. He stood up and approached you, his smile never wavering. "Do you like it?"

You looked around the campsite. He had cut down a tree and carved down a small flat area into the bark for a nice, even surface. Two plates were set out with cutlery and cups. Over the fire was a bubbling stew and skewed over the pot were different meats. Epona was tethered by a tree with a generous pile of vegetables and fruits by her. You met Link's eyes again who waited patiently for your answer. "I love it," you said truthfully, with a smile.

His grin grew bigger somehow and he held out a hand for you. You took it and he helped you off of Nayru. When you were on the ground, he led Nayru over to Epona and tethered her for you before returning to your side. He held his arm out to you and you looped your arm around his with a slight bow of your head.

He led you around the log and when you were by the carved-off "table", Link looked around quickly. He evidently couldn't find something, because he left your side and ran to where the saddlebags were. He grabbed a small quilt – one used only on the bitterest nights – and folded it into a square. He set it down as a form of seat, and helped you down onto it. He grabbed one for himself and set it down.

He went to sit, but in looking over his shoulder you couldn't help but see that the stew was bubbling over. You alerted him of that, and he was off to the fire to take the stew away from the flames. Only a few more minutes passed before he distributed the stew into two wooden bowls he had carved out. He took a loaf of bread out of his pack and cut it, and (after almost dropping the loaf), set down for each of you one slice to start. He set out some salad, an assortment of roasted vegetables, and some meat for each of you and filled each of your cups with fresh water and finally, it was time to eat.

Link settled down across from you and looked down at the food. "How does it look?" He asked, eyes glancing up to meet yours briefly.

"It..." Your pause, brief as it was, seemed to discourage Link, but you looked up at him with a smile that was as bright as the sun. "It looks amazing!"

Link's eyes widened. "Does it really?"

"It does," you assured him. "You didn't get any help, did you?"

He shook his head and began cutting the meat. "I made it all from scratch, the way you do every night."

"Well, I think I ought to hang up my apron," you joked, taking a bite of bread. "This is a meal fit for royalty."

Link looked up at you, then, a charming smile spread across his lips. "It's a good thing, then, that you're my queen."

You threw your piece of bread at him.

---

"Open your eyes..."

He couldn't.

"Open your eyes..."

He lacked the strength to. Who was talking to him, anyway?

"Open your eyes."

He tried. All he saw was this bright light. It was intense, a beautiful golden yellow. But it seemed to call out to him.

"Wake up, Link."

He mustered up the strength to finally open them. Was he... in a pond? He couldn't even move his fingers but he could feel this... liquid start to drain around him, leaving the exposed skin cold. And boy, did he have a lot of exposed skin.

The room he was in was bathed in a deep blue. He blinked. Where was he? Well, there was only one way to find out. He sat up; quickly at first, then slower, because his head hurt. Dear Hylia, why did his head hurt so much?

He looked around the room. Above him was an odd array of lights in a strange structure. He was sitting in some kind of pool, and the same patterning that he saw above him he also saw along the edges of the pool and on the far walls of the room. He stood up, surprised to find that he was sore. How long had he been asleep?

Climbing out of the small pool, he took in the size of the room and the odd way the blue light from the ceiling seemed to ebb and pulse. There was an odd pedestal, he saw, just on the other side of the room. He walked to it, still a bit too sore to run. Reaching the pedestal, he remarked that the blue lining it grew in intensity, and he winced slightly. The center of the pedestal rose, and a small, rectangular tablet flipped up from it.

"That is a Sheikah Slate."

He looked around for the source of the voice, but... no one was in the room with him. He looked back to the slate. It was small, and on one side had a black surface while on the backside there was an odd symbol in the shape of an eye.

"Take it. It will help guide you after your long slumber."

He didn't know what else to do, so he took it. The black surface of its front suddenly lit up with that odd eye symbol. It seemed to familiar to him, but... He couldn't place where he knew it from. He couldn't even place... who he was. What his name was. Was it Link? That's what the voice said, anyway. Where was he? How long was this 'long slumber'?

He rushed through the next room, accumulating a few basic articles of clothing but no further knowledge from the voice other than basic instructions. A large door opened, and golden sunlight flowed in.

"Link... You are the light – our light – that must shine upon Hyrule once again."

Well, that certainly sounded nice, but what did that mean?

"Now, go...

How helpful.

The boy ran outside as quickly as he could, and into the outside world. It was beautiful... There were rolling fields beneath him, mountain ranges spanning the horizon, a large volcano whose glow could be seen from where he stood, leagues away, rushing rivers, everything. And in the distance, a castle.

He stood there for a moment, transfixed by the view. Was this really the world he lived in? If so, why was he in there? Why would he waste his time when he could see a view like this?

He didn't notice someone approach him from behind until they spoke. "Link," a voice called, happily. It wasn't the same voice as before, no. Link turned around to face the girl, but he didn't recognize her. But why did she know his name, then?

Link said nothing as he looked at her. Her smile wavered. "Link," she repeated. "Can you hear me?" He nodded, but that was all. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Are you alright?" He saw no need to lie. He nodded again. "Please, Link, speak to me." No – he couldn't – he had to be the silent hero the land needed. He was Hyrule's light, after all. "Don't you remember me? Please, Link, say something!"

Link shook his head. He did not remember her. The girl approached him. "Link, why? Oh please, tell me this is a joke! I... I thought we went over this. You don't need to hide your burdens anymore, Link!"

She grasped his arms. Tears brimmed up in her eyes. "We were so happy," she said between sobs. She pressed a kiss to his lips, but her lips were met with still ones. He did not smile into her kisses like he once had. He did not kiss back with the same love she poured into hers. This... was not her Link.

She pulled away from him. She took a step away, and then another. She composed herself, and then ran from him. He watched her go, unsure of what had just happened.

Link woke up in a cold sweat, his body racking with a series of sobs. He took his hand from yours as you stirred, woken up by his movements. "Link," you said sleepily, "are you alright?"

Link whipped his head around and looked at you as you sat up. You wiped your eye with the heel of your hand and stifled a yawn. He latched onto you, burrowing himself into you as a child would his mother. Your eyes widened and you didn't know what caused this, but you wrapped your arms around him. "Don't leave me," he repeated quietly.

"Never," you said. "Never in a million years."

And there, in the calm night, you consoled him, calming him until he fell back asleep in your arms. You decided you'd wait until morning to ask what this was all about. For now, you closed your eyes and relaxed into his embrace, letting yourself fall into a peaceful slumber.

Author's Note: I am so very sorry it took this long to come out with another update. 

I hate giving excuses, believe me. But still, they should be given as explanation: the end of junior year was hectic, and the beginning of senior year especially so. As for the summer, well, there was a whole lot of nothing happening motivation-wise. And that goes for everything, not just writing.

I am so, so sorry. I know some of you love this story and I feel so bad. But don't worry, I've had the biggest resurgence in LoZ love recently. It will forever and always be my favorite game series, but for the past few months life just got in the way.

In other news: for my eighteenth birthday that's coming up in December I know what I'm doing - either getting a matching Star Wars tattoo with my father, or getting a LoZ one for myself. 

Regardless, once December passes, updates should really start picking up again. I'll update when I can but this college admissions process is stressful. Sometime in December I'll receive either my acceptance letter into Boston University (I did it on early decision) or my denial. If I'm accepted, then my college application process will be over and my focus can return to what I actually enjoy doing in this life. If not, then by January when all applications are sent in (hopefully they'll be in before that, if my college counselor is on top of things), then updates will begin again then.

Once again, I am so sorry, and hope this chapter has been worth the wait. The next one won't take nearly as long, I promise. Thank you, as always, for your patience and for reading!