This was a stupid idea, really, it was.

Cresting a hill only with the intention of careening down it atop shields, ensuring our run back to camp was longer and more arduous than perhaps we anticipated, was stupid. Willingly clinging to Link as he crouched, summoning up a gust and aided by Revali, and getting fired off into the sky with only Link's paraglider to get us safely to the ground, was stupid. Going running, racing towards Hylia only knew where, with all my manner of navigation and place-finding left at camp, was stupid.

Oh, but I just couldn't help it.

Not when Link was smiling like that, and my heart was fluttering just this. I was never so sure of anything in my life than I was of this being simultaneously stupid but exactly where I wanted to be and what I wanted to be doing and who I wanted to be with.

I wanted to be with Link. Maybe forever. Though perhaps that wasn't even long enough.

I knew we'd have to hike back to camp eventually. With the slate strapped to Link's belt, he'd ensure we would be able to find our way back. We've spent several days like this, now. Since returning from the Gerudo Desert we'd settled into a comfortable, though new, kind of rhythm.

By dawn we awoke and had breakfast, and through the day we traveled, and for lunch we paused for respite. After that, we traveled a few hours more, until dinner - though often this started well before dinner too, or even as I was attempting to prepare it; Link would grab me by the hand and heft me to my feet and haul me after him even if I protested, even as I laughed, even as I said that well, maybe we should eat first.

It should be obvious that I only put up a fight for show. I never kept it up for long.

Depending on the area, sometimes we'd swim, sometimes we'd climb, sometimes we'd run, sometimes we'd do none of that and something else entirely; traipsing through the trees recklessly, chasing grasshoppers as they leapt through tall grass, exploring an abandoned set of ruins strife with glittering treasure and forgotten relics.

Sometimes we'd do any combination of them. It was all dependent, of course, on where we were. Any monsters we saw we fought, with only our most trusted weapons at our sides.

On this day in particular I only brought with me my spear and Link had a steel sword at his hip, and we carried our shields with us as well.

We traveled far from camp on this particular day, further than normal, and for a moment - only for a moment - I entertained the thought that we'd maybe need a temporary camp away from camp, so to speak, though I knew all too well that instead of swallowing his pride and doing that, that Link would carry me back to our original camp himself, each and every step of the way, if I was too exhausted to do so myself.

Revali's gale lifted us to the top of another hill and on light feet Link landed, and I let go of him once on solid ground and I ran forward a few paces, momentum guiding me there and leaving me the unwilling traveler. I wheeled around immediately, a grin on my face as I readied my shield, lifting it up as though he couldn't see it, and he was on the same page as me right away. In fact, he seemed to have been a step ahead.

Somehow not yet breathless, he jogged the few required paces to pass me and he leapt up, setting the shield beneath his feet in one fluid motion all before landing, and he took off. With less-practiced, though incredibly eager movements, I followed suit, crouching low to try to accelerate a little faster down the grassy hill.

It was a close race, to be sure. It provided me an almost sickening sense of satisfaction when Link would look over his shoulder and gradually saw me getting closer - meaning the cocky and self-assured smile on his face was gradually etched into something more worried, maybe even frantic as he tried to figure out a way to widen the gap.

Close enough to leap towards him if I so wanted, I swerved away just slightly, keeping my eyes forward, and I was glad I did. This hill was one well-frequented by travelers, so it seemed. There was a worn dirt path carved into it by regular footfall and it made a considerable dip from the natural part - the dirt was down pat and it'd make for a bumpy ride at best and would prove catastrophic at worst if the shields caught the far edge of the narrow road just so.

I did what any idiot would do. I gathered the shield beneath myself, summoned up my nerve, and leapt up as though I'd been skating like this for years. Fingers blindly, desperately grasping towards the shield below my feet as though it'd do me any good, I managed to land somehow and not just that, I managed to do it without losing my balance and without losing any limbs. I landed safely on the other side of the thin road and I looked back with a grin when I realized that Link had stumbled on his own landing and was working to catch up.

He was clever, incredibly so, that should be obvious. And it should be even more obvious that he wouldn't let anything like that get to him because he only smiled boyishly, mischievously, and I decidedly faced forward again, paying attention to where I was going.

Well, I say that, but I kept a close eye on him in my periphery and when the hell did he pick up a stick?!

He must've hatched a plan in that mind of his because he was holding that stick with clear conviction and I prepared myself for trouble. Link readied the stick for throwing and I gasped, more because I was offended and less because of the potential danger.

"That's playing dirty," I called to him, but that just made him smile. I tensed my body just as he threw the stick but it didn't go where I thought it would - he aimed it downwards, and if his aim was true it was clear that he was intending to get it between my shield and the grass and send me flying.

I dodged, obviously. The quick maneuver cost me some speed and he caught up and suddenly we were neck and neck again, and he was laughing. Laughing!

"You're such a pain," I said, unable to keep the laughter from bubbling up in my throat and escaping me. I made to say more when I realized with a start how close we were to the bottom of the hill.

Sticking my tongue out at him got a reaction out of him, and I beamed as I faced forward and crouched a little, becoming just that much more aerodynamic, just for a few moments. The air whistled past my ears and my hair was streaming behind me and this was perhaps faster than I'd ever traveled before but I didn't care because I was almost there and-

And suddenly everything went helter-skelter and I was off-balance and a scream was startled out of me. Link had jumped onto my shield, clinging to me as I had to him when we were hurtling through the air - but the added weight broke the rather rudimentary bit of gear and then we were tumbling, rolling, careening down the rest of the way, head over heel and ass over tea kettle. I instinctively reached for him as he reached for me and I felt the distinct feeling of redirecting, of being pulled against him and tucked to his chest as we continued to roll.

Eventually, as all things have to come to an end, we slowed to a stop at the bottom of the hill. The land was good and even beneath my back but I couldn't even bring myself to appreciate it as Link lifted himself up, just enough to look down at me. Most of his weight still was resting rather comfortably atop me but now his arms were on either side of my head, propping up his upper half. And I... was trying to get the world to stop spinning.

"(Y/n)," Link said as I lifted my head, "are you alright? I didn't realize we'd go so fast, I'm so sorry!" I shook my head, pressing one hand to my temple as my eyes scrunched shut. "(Y/n)?" His voice was a touch more frantic now; he must've thought I was hurt badly. "(Y/n)? Oh, please answer me..."

I opened one of my eyes, forcing the heavy lid open, and I smiled brilliantly up at him - the movement almost instinctual to do so. Just looking at him was more than enough to make me smile - the thought of seeing him alone was perhaps the lower threshold.

"I'm good," I reassured him. "Yeah. I'm good."

"You're not hurt, are you?"

"No," I answered surely. "Not at all. What about you?" I reached up with one hand, seeing a line of dirt streaked across his cheek. I brushed it away, looser soil falling away while some was unfortunately smudged into his skin (not that I thought he cared, not right this moment). "Not bruised anywhere, are you? You seemed to take the brunt of that."

Link smiled, reassured now that he knew he hadn't hurt me. "Nah, I'm good," he said. His smile turned sheepish, and he then said quietly, "You're sure you're alright? You're not just saying that, right?"

"Link," I murmured, my heart surely skipping more beats than I'm sure was healthy, "I'm perfectly fine."

He nodded, as though to assure himself, to remind himself of my words, to convince himself that I wasn't lying. "Ok," he said. "Ok. So..." He seemed to think for a moment, then his smile shifted once more - he seemed to be doing that a lot, I realized, but I found I didn't mind. He leaned down close, not bringing his face to my own but further; his lips brushed by my ear and I willed myself not to move, to not react, because doing so - allowing the shiver to run down my spine at such a simple touch - would surely reveal too much. "I think I won that one, firefly."

...?!

The nerve!

I gasped aloud, setting one hand to his chest and pushing him up and away from me so I could see his face clearly. My offense must have been more clearly etched into my features than I thought because he laughed, and in response I pushed him all the way off of me.

"Don't be a jerk," I muttered defensively as he plopped onto his side next to me, looking at me unabashedly. "You must be joking. I won, and you know it."

"I crossed the finish line first," he said confidently.

"Oh, come on," I said. "With us rolling like that, can you say that for sure?"

"You certainly seem to think you won for sure," he retorted, smiling easily because he knew he had made a good point, and he had, and so for a moment all I could do was stick my tongue out at him.

...until I remembered what he'd done.

"You leapt onto my shield," I said defensively, "which counts at cheating-"

"Who says?"

I didn't even answer him. I just kept going.

"It's cheating, which means you forfeit whatever victory you might have achieved, and-"

"Who says it was cheating?"

"I do," I pressed, addressing his words directly and sitting up. I looked down at him, and he remained there, lazed in the grass like nothing was happening and nothing was wrong. I guess, in his eyes, nothing was happening and nothing was wrong - and that in turn made me smile but I tried wiping it from my face before he could see it.

It didn't work. Obviously.

"You're smiling," he teased. "You don't care about the win, you just don't want me to be right!"

"That's not..."

He wasn't even listening. He'd just gotten to his feet in a flash and was off running again, looking over his shoulder, not daring me to go after him but daring me not to.

I wasn't stupid. I got my feet beneath me and took off running.

—

To the edge of a pond we raced, and down to its muddy bank I might have tackled him. It wasn't that I was trying to, exactly - I'd been trying to grab the back of his tunic but slipped and would have sent the both of us tumbling to the mud if I hadn't been able to redirect myself and jump over his fallen body and go running a few more steps. I wheeled around with a grin, watching him get to his knees after getting sent down to the mud and when he realized what had happened, and looked up to catch my gaze, he laughed - he laughed.

"Oh, that's it," he said, rising to his feet slowly.

"Hey, now," I said in a nearly placating manner. "Let's calm down. It was an accident..."

"Was it?" He asked, now on his feet, taking his first slow, measured step towards me. I, in turn, took a step back, holding my hands up defensively.

"It was," I pressed, pleading with my voice not to grow desperate. "I promise."

"Promises mean something to me," he said, reminding me - as though I could ever forget. He had a wry, mischievous and ultimately dangerous smile on his lips. "You shouldn't go making them just for fun, you know."

"Promises mean something to me, too," I said, eyeing the mud drenched through his tunic and trousers. "Just like this one. The one I just made. Let me apologize and then we can be on our way..."

"Oh, we'll be on our way alright," he said, his pace quickening ever so slightly, "and you'll apologize. I'm sure of that."

"Link," I said pleadingly, "please. Come on."

He beamed. His eyes were alight with delight and a sickening sense of joy as he lunged towards me, ignoring my stammered protests and flailing limbs and pinning my arms to my sides. He pulled me against him, hugging me close and immediately I was struck with a chill because the mud was so cold and -

"Link!"

"Oops," he said when he surfaced a moment later. My hair was plastered to my face and I peeled some up and away so I could glare at him. The jerk had jumped into the pond, offering me no time to prepare or anything! Link lowered himself back into the water just enough to hide his mouth, but I knew that he was smiling cheekily. I mean, come on. That's obvious. Or it should be, anyway.

"You are-"

"Ridiculous," he provided gently for me, treading water just before me, lifting his chin up and out of the water so he could speak and he looked so dopey, so adorable, that I had to look away. "Yeah. I know."

"Good," was all I could think to say, so that's exactly what I said.

We both seemed to come to the conclusion that since we were both already in the water, we may as well swim. It made sense to both of us at the time, so wordlessly we began to paddle further into the pond. I dipped below the waterline, swam forward and used both hands to draw my hair back and away from my face before surfacing and now that I was used to it, I relished the feel of the cool water on such a warm day.

Today's wasn't an oppressive dry heat of the desert, but it was still heat nonetheless, and the water was still pleasantly cool and the air deliciously aromatic. I could still feel it sometimes - the desert heat, I mean - and this was especially true in my dreams. Frequently I'd wake up thinking I'd do so caked in sweat and with sand in my hair, but this was never truly the case. Not anymore.

This pond was shaped rather oddly; it wasn't roughly circular as nature tried to form, nor was this particularly attuned to the natural formations of the area. It seemed more so that its surroundings had needed to morph to this pond, in and around it, as though it'd been placed here retroactively or without care or other thought by the goddesses of legend.

Trees perched rather precariously along its edges, their roots dipping down to the water and slipping back into the soil. Other roots traveled down further, reaching for the pond bed, and Link had great fun swimming through.

I swam lazily; the water was cool and clear, and I would drift considerable distances on my back, looking up at the overreaching branches and the squirrels darting to and fro across them, disturbing the birds and interrupting their songs. The pond was at times flanked by beds of wildflowers, and on occasion the wind would snag a few delicate petals from them and escort them gingerly across the water. Link managed to surface at jus the right moment and one of these petals landed atop his head.

I giggled at the sight and rolled over onto my stomach, redirecting to swim over to him. Curious, he allowed me to; and gentle, I drifted to a stop beside him; and delicate, the petal fluttered from my fingertips to the surface of the water.

Link and I watched it go, and watched it get swept away by the slight patterns of the wind dancing upon the water and... no, there was something more. Link and I shared a glance, then followed the petal. It was swept - maybe pulled - down under the water, swirling in indiscernible patterns and, desperate not to lose it, Link and I dove under the water, following it closely.

The water was crystal clear so after a moment I opened my eyes, peering through the murky haziness that I was faced with first. It didn't take long for the haze to clear and my eyes to make sense of what they were seeing. Murky shapes made way for fish and I could see the sun's rays diving into the water and I could see the vegetation at the bottom of the pond bed and there was the petal, easy to miss if not for it being a brilliant spot of color against the cool blue water.

Link and I continued to follow it, then began to feel it ourselves - a pull, a tug. It was slight at first, then it grew stronger. Floating there for a moment, perplexed, I straightened out and watched as my hair was tugged over my shoulder, following that unseen current. Link continued on, reaching the edge of the pond and watching the petal slip behind a rock. There were a few, stacked up like there had been a wall there or perhaps a door long ago, one that had been patched up and hidden long before the pond began to fill.

Strange, his eyes seemed to say when they met mine briefly.

Wordlessly, I agreed, and I joined him there. With a bit of work we were able to knock loose some of the rocks, then kicked away from the wall as they resettled, unsettling all the silt at the bottom of the pond. The current grew stronger, the pull less resistible - literally. Before we could even breach the surface for air or before we even got a chance to figure it out, we were swept down into it. Fighting it was useless and, though terrified, I knew better than to go and shriek or anything like that.

As children, my father had taught my brother and I how to swim and with that, he had imparted on us the importance of maintaining breath, even when frightened. Especially when frightened, perhaps. True to his training, I did not panic. I went willingly with the water, and I took Link's hand as I passed by him; he was struggling against the current, not wanting to go anywhere if it was not willing. But when I took his hand it was like a switch was flipped, and he blinked at me, then squeezed my hand.

He trusted me. And that was enough.

Together, we passed through the long tunnel, dark and long though it was; around a turn, we were faced with a thin streamer of light and that was enough for us to double down on our efforts. Legs aching, lungs burning, eyes squinting, we swam faster and faster - always faster, ever faster...

We broke out into a different pond, one much deeper and one much cooler. The air was frigid against our skin but we gulped down air greedily, sucking it into our lungs gratefully. We treaded water, providing only enough effort to stay afloat, and barely so. Our limbs were crying out for reprieve but our lungs for air, and for now the limbs could wait. Adrenaline would carry us the rest of the way, but we couldn't do a damn thing if we didn't have air.

When my eyes at last opened, they scrunched shut immediately because I was so blinded by the area's incredible brilliance, and yet somewhere in the back of my mind I registered that it was not nearly as bright as where we'd been before.

"(Y/n)," I heard Link call out to me, his voice weak and relieved, "(Y/n). Hey. You alright? We made it, right?"

"Yeah," I said, unable to think of a different word to say. "Yeah."

"Cool," he breathed out. "That's cool."

I heard him come closer just as I was opening my eyes again and I felt him loop his arm around my torso. Though I didn't ask, and I didn't exactly require it, I let him help me to shore - and I use the term shore lightly. What we found was not a bank but a wall.

It was a wall of smooth gray stonebrick, and he let go of me only to set both of his hands on my hips. With a grunt he helped heft my body - bogged down by water and gear - upwards, and I scrambled gratefully onto the platform. I dared not grow complacent, though; I twisted around, bracing myself and reaching for him. He took my hands and I pulled him up after me, falling back onto my bottom with the slight shift of balance as he crawled up beside me.

We both sat there, breathless and heaving, for several moments. I remained sitting but Link laid flat on his back, gasping in his breaths and I pressed my hand to my heart, urging it to slow. With his eyes closed and my head slumped down, neither of us were privy to the grandeur of the area we'd stumbled upon.

Not until at long last, we both looked up and around, his eyes fluttering open as he sat up and my head finally lifting - another wordless agreement we'd come to.

"(Y/n)...?"

"Yeah?"

"Holy shit."

"Yeah."

We'd seemed to stumble upon a series of underwater ruins. It was a miracle that in our rush out of that tunnel that we'd both managed somehow to maneuver through a submerged archway, and navigate around a labyrinthine set of walls, but we had. I got to my knees as though in a trance and leaned forward, peering down through the water at what was lurking within it. The stone was wearing down at the edges and corners, a testament to time's passage, but it was clear where rooms had once been.

This pond was rather sizable, but that was of its depth; it was no more than six or seven meters arcoss and it looked like sometime long, long ago this had been an outpost of some kind. The ruins went further down it seemed, and some of them poked up out of the water. One such wall had a flagpole, and there, tattered and frayed, was a banner emblazoned with the royal family's insignia.

"Wow," I said, my voice acting without needing to be instructed to. "Just... wow."

"Yeah," Link agreed once more, unable to say anything else.

We were sitting atop what might have just been a balcony or a parapet, it was hard to say for certain. Or maybe it was an unfinished room in one of the towers. It didn't matter, really. I was just happy to have a good spot to look around at what we'd found on accident.

It was a beautiful mesh of nature and structure; manmade creation reclaimed by nature, covered by it, hidden by it. The trees surrounding this pond were thick, and the underbrush making rather formidable looking walls. The branches of the trees seemed to enclose this area like a cocoon, maybe a wall.

"If I didn't know any better," Link said slowly, clearly just as in awe of this place as I was, "I'd say we were the first Hylians to set foot here in a long, long time."

"I think so too," I agreed, marvelling at hte sight of it all.

Over on the far side there was a large tree, larger than the rest; its gnarled roots seemed to have ensnared a Guardian, now lifeless. The tree's bark was whitened, peeled away and stripped in some sections. Sear marks gourged out thick tracks through it. Perhaps they'd taken each other down. Perhaps the Guardian, tripping over itself and the roots, had panicked as only a robot could.

We granted ourselves some time to rest, then we got to exploring - at times together, at times on our own. As Link pulled up some hidden treasure using Magnesis, I climbed the wall of branches like a ladder and peeked through the gaps. As Link marked this spot on his map, I picked the locks of the treasure chests. We sorted through the old gems and trinkets, pocketing what was useful for trade, then slid back into the water.

We swam around for a bit, entering some of the rooms and swimming out through the windows and at times just following each other around. When I got to drifting on my back, floating and looking up through the slight gaps in the canopy at the daytime sky, Link would swim about at random and then took to guiding me around with his hands gently beneath me.

At least, we did that for as long as I lasted before smiling too much.

I gathered up what we needed for lunch and we ate until we were full - then we napped in our secret little trove. I taught him to weave after our nap, using long grasses growing at the edges of the pond and I was acutely aware of the way that after a while his hands stilled and he took to just watching me - my face, particularly.

In our little oasis, the hours melted away. When the moon came up, we could hear Kass in the far distance playing music.

"Been a while since we've heard him," I said, smiling. Sitting on the wall's edge, my legs were swinging rhythmically back and forth to the music and my head was tilted upwards, basking in the moonlight.

"Wonder if he knows about this place," Link mused, sitting at my side. "Wonder if anyone does."

"If anyone did, they've forgotten about it," I said. "This place seems like it hasn't been touched in years. It's pretty easy to miss."

"Mm," Link agreed. "Say, since there's music, and there's no one around..."

"Oh, boy," I said, looking directly at him, finding myself face-to-face with a boyish grin - yet one good-natured and kind. "What, want to dance or something?"

"Well, since you asked," he said, chuckling as if he'd told a joke that had landed. Oh, he thought he was so clever.

He got to his feet in a hurry, as if he thought I'd change my mind and honestly, with the embarrassment now flooding through my veins, it was looking like an awfully enticing thought right about now.

Still, I couldn't help but take his hand when he offered it, and I didn't refuse when he drew me out into the center of that platform which, now that I looked closely at it, had a design etched into the rock made of concentric circles and circuitous loops and what, in a way, reminiscent of a dance floor or at least what I thought one might look like.

Here, we had music, but no audience. I had no dress, but I had a partner.

And that was good enough.

We began to dance - one of the more casual styles, I gathered, one surely meant for the allowance of conversation - and it certainly not what I was expecting of him as we began to sway together, his hands at my waist and mine looped around his shoulders.

"Link," I said with a laugh, "I was almost expecting you to bring out the belly-dancing, for some reason."

"Oh, I can," he said slyly, winking at me. "But only if you want me to."

My cheeks flared up and I rolled my eyes. "You're ridiculous," I muttered, and I didn't miss the way he mouthed the words as I said it.

"Hey," he said, "listen. I wanted to talk to you about something."

That certainly caught my interest, and I perked up a little, meeting his eyes. "Mm? Sure, Link. What is it?"

"Can I take a picture of you?"

"...?"

"I know it's a weird thing to ask," he said, and I had to agree. "I showed you the camera before, right?"

"Briefly," I told him. "You wanted me to take a picture of you at the Yiga hideout. With the bananas."

"Oh, right," he said joyfully. "Ha! I forgot that's what I asked for. So, here's the thing. Those memories I get? They're connected to the photos on the slate."

"Photos you took?"

"Maybe some," he said, "and some might have been the princess. I don't know. Doesn't really matter, though. Some I stumble upon completely by chance - and others I know are in general areas, so I go, and there they are."

"Oh," I said, "that makes a lot of sense. I had a hunch that some of the mindless wandering wasn't really all that mindless..."

"Most of it is, don't worry," he laughed. "But yes, some of it is... guided. Kinda, anyway."

"Gotcha," I said, smiling. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"The pictures, basically, connect me to my past," he said, and I was acutely aware of the way his palms flattened against my back, keeping me close. "So I was wondering, you know..."

Sensing a prompt, I said, "I'll take photos of you, sure," I provided. "As many as you like."

I thought it's what he had meant, and I was smiling, but... he shook his head.

"Actually," he said, "I want to take pictures of you," he said.

...

Huh?

"What's that?"

"I want to take pictures of you," he repeated, his smile growing. He leaned in a little closer, as though his volume was the issue. It wasn't. It was what he said. He was... he was so genuine, so honest, so wonderful...

"You do...? Why?"

"Because," he said simply, "if these photos are all I have of my past, I want to remember as much of this as possible."

His voice lowered, and he tucked one hand beneath my chin, and he smiled warmly, the warmth more than likely attributed to the flush creeping up his neck.

"I don't want to lose these memories with you," he continued. "I don't want to forget how we met, the moment we decided to travel together indefinitely..." He paused, all sheepishness fading away and being replaced by real concern, real care. "I don't want to forget anything else but if I lose those memories..."

He shook his head and I couldn't look away from him. Not even if I wanted to. But the fact of the matter is that I didn't want to. Not now, certainly. And not ever.

"I don't want to forget you either," I said softly.

"I cherish this time we have together," he admitted. "I do."

"So do I," I responded, my smile growing. "Sorry, I don't mean to just agree with everything you're saying but... but I'm stunned right now, truly. You've got me almost speechless, Link."

My admission made him chuckle and he lowered his hand from my chin, seeking out one of my hands instead.

"If I fall in battle again," he said quietly, his voice grave as he leaned in, "I don't want to forget you. I don't want to forget what you've done."

"Link, I..." I trailed off immediately, laughing a little deprecatingly because what could I possibly say after that? He granted me the time to think about it and I held him close to me, letting my cheek drop to rest against his shoulder. He hugged me tight, his arms winding around my back.

And there we remained, in our hidden trove of shimmering emerald and cerulean, the sun reaching untouched vines and gnarled roots, a perfectly unfiltered area of Hyrule that belonged to us and only us.