Chapter Text
“It’s not a bit big for you, is it?” Nekk asked. “We have smaller sizes…”
Link shook his head, although to Nekk, there was only the slightest suggestion of his head moving underneath the folds of the scarf. Link, his voice somewhat muffled, said, “It’s not for me.”
“Oh? Is it a Solstice gift?” Nekk hummed. “In that case, a bargain price of forty rupees. The Rito are all very thankful to you for calming Vah Medoh.”
The scarf bobbed up and down as Link nodded. And arm appeared from deep within the pile of cloth and handing Nekk two red gems.
“Nice doing business, Champion descendant!” Nekk said, as Link heading out of the shop.
It took a bit of work to ease the scarf into the Sheikah Slate, which had difficulty scanning its entire length. Link had to fold it up neatly, and the snowquill feather stuffing gave the thing a tendency to unravel. But it was soft as clouds and wonderfully warm, so Link was happy with his choice.
He decided to head down to the stable to check on his horses, since equines counted as ‘mortals’ and he was definitely thankful for their part in helping him stop Ganon. And, he had a few spare apples and endura carrots as gifts.
Just as he’d stepped off the last of the rope bridges leading to Rito Village, the sky darkened. Link looked up. A fat raindrop splashed onto his face.
Link frowned.
There was a distant rumble.
Link’s eyes widened. He started walking quickly towards the stable.
The storm unleashed all its fury, pouring down sheets of rain. The world was reduced to grey walls of water. The road was turned to mud. Lightning left green and purple afterimages after every flash.
Link ran. Hopefully, he’d get to shelter before a lightning strike found his sword. He became aware of a steady sound, masked by the pounding rain. A dark shape was running alongside him.
They reached the stable together, and the warm glow of the lanterns revealed Kass, who wasn’t carrying his iconic accordion but was instead trying to shield something in his wings. When he saw Link, he smiled. “We meet again! Were you caught in the rain as well? What a sudden storm!”
“Hello, Kass.” Link tried to wring the water out of his hair, envying the way it rolled off Kass’ feathers to form a puddle around the Rito. “Wouldn’t it have been faster to fly?”
“It would,” Kass agreed, “but alas, my clothes were already wet. They become quite heavy when soaked.”
“Oh… that’s right.” Link felt his heart grow heavy. Of course. That’s why the Zora didn’t wear clothes; especially not feather-stuffed scarves. It was embarrassing to realise he’d forgotten that small detail in his haste to find a gift.
“But I’ll dry out easily enough, so don’t worry about me,” Kass said. “These, however, are perfectly safe, and that’s what’s important.”
Kass flourished some pieces of paper covered in lines and dots. Link looked at them blankly. “It’s pretty.”
Kass chuckled. “It’s sheet music. It’s what musicians read to learn new songs, or help them remember old ones.”
“Like a recipe?”
“That’s a concise way to put it! I had these made for the Solstice. Forgive me, I’m not boring you with my idle chatter, am I?”
Link shook his head.
“Thank you, friend. You truly are too kind; I’d offer you a song as a Solstice gift, but as you can see, I don’t have my instrument.”
Link pointed at the paper. “You have those songs.”
“These are not songs, but one song,” Kass explained. “One could call it five parts of a six-part arrangement.”
“You broke it!”
“…no, these parts are meant to be sung in harmony. They’re all unique, written to complement one another.”
“Where’s the last part?”
Kass tapped his chest. “Right here.”
Link opened his mouth.
“No, I didn’t eat it. I know it by heart.”
Link nodded knowingly. “Is this a song for the Solstice celebration?”
“Yes. They’re meant to celebrate something – or rather several someones – who are very close to me.”
At that point, Link sneezed.
Kass immediately knelt down. “My apologies! I shouldn’t have kept you listening to my rambling. Are you alright? I’d offer you a warm hug, except I’m a bit chilly myself so I’m not sure how effective it would be-”
“Chilli!”
“Pardon me?” Kass asked.
“I have some chilli from breakfast to warm me up, so I’ll be fine,” Link said, going to the inventory screen on the Sheikah Slate. The dish itself was a bit on the cold side, but the effect of the sautéed chilli kicked in quickly. A soothing heat spread from Link’s stomach to fill his entire body like a blanket wrapping around him from the inside. He offered the plate to Kass. “Do you want some?”
The Rito shook his head. “I’m fine. A little wet weather is nothing to a travelling musician.”
At that moment there was a commotion outside. Link thought he heard a woman crying out, and the high-pitched voices of children. Kass also turned his attention to the doorway. He stood up, frowning, and took a step towards the stable entrance, trying to peer through the grey curtain of rain-
Five shrieking Rito children barrelled into him in a flurry of colourful plumage. For a moment it was as if they had brought the storm with them; water droplets flew as they excitedly flapped their wings and ran around Kass, all of them talking over each other so none of them could be understood.
Kass stood in the middle, a centre of calm amidst rainbow chaos, smiling. His smile grew even wider when his wife stepped out of the rain. Amali shook her head in an exasperated sort of way, shaking her wings to get rid of some of the water. Her husband shrugged, then laughed. With mock sternness, Kass frowned and asked his children, “Not even the storm could keep you all from trying to get your gift early?”
“No!” Kheel answered. Her sisters giggled. “Mother said you were going to sing with us!”
“That was supposed to be a secret…” Kass said, giving his wife a knowing smile.
“I’m sorry,” Amali replied. “You know how they are when they set their mind to something. After all, they got it from their father.”
“I’ll concede to that.” Kass placed his wings on his hips and, in a more serious tone, said, “Girls, you shouldn’t run off in the storm like that. It’s dangerous.”
“We’re sorry,” they chorused.
“Very well. Don’t do it again.” Kass knelt down. This was apparently the cue his children had been waiting for; they rushed into his wings and hugged him, chirping happily. “I missed you too.”
The people in the stable sighed and cooed at the sight. Link found himself smiling as well.
Hopefully, his own gift to Sidon would be as well received. The spicy tingle of chilli still on his tongue had given him a spark of inspiration.
After handing over the carrots and apples for his horses to the stable owner, Link took the Sheikah Slate from his hip and selected a shrine. There wasn’t any need to change out of his soaked clothes – the fiery air of Death Mountain would dry them out in no time.
Link grabbed the last bottle of goron spice on the tray. The glass felt odd; it was neither hot nor cold, but still smooth and unyielding to the touch due to the fireproof elixir he’d drunk which numbed him to extreme heat. If he hadn’t, his fingers would be burned raw by now.
He placed the ingredient on the counter in front of the shop owner, Tanko, who told him, “That’s been selling like crazy lately. I can’t restock fast enough.”
“Because of the season, right?” Link said.
The Goron looked surprised. “Really? Which season is it right now?”
“Winter.” Not that it seemed to make a difference on Death Mountain, where the temperature was always extremely high. It was actually a pleasant change for Link. To him, the air was only mildly warm, like a spring afternoon.
Tanko seemed to mull the information over. “…is that the one where all the flowers come out?”
“No,” Link replied, carefully keeping his face blank. He reached for the purse and asked, “You’ve never left Death Mountain, have you?”
“Whoa! How did you know? Wait, Yunobo told me you could do telepathy. Wow. I gotta say, brother, I didn’t believe him at first, but that’s amazing.” Tanko leaned back from the counter and adopted a look of intense concentration. “Hey, can you tell what I’m thinking right now?”
Regretting the prank he’d played on Yunobo many months ago, Link looked around wildly and guessed, “That one bottle of goron spice is sixteen rupees?”
Tanko slammed his hands down on the table. “NO. WAY. That’s some super awesome power you have there! No wonder you stopped Vah Rudania! You’re in my head, brother.”
“Haha, yeah, just a… thing I can do,” Link lied, giving the shopkeeper his payment. “Uh, bye!”
Tanko said nothing. He just stared blankly at Link. Link stared back. Tanko kept staring.
Aware that his fireproof elixir was running out, Link gave the Goron a curt nod and left.
After he was certain the Hylian had gone, Tanko whispered, “He even heard my telepathy goodbye.”
Link, meanwhile, was looking for a cooking pot to use to make his spicy seafood curry. He spotted one and walked towards it, ingredients in hand. As he considered how much pepper to use – would Sidon be the type who disliked the fiery kick, or appreciated it? – someone behind him groaned.
“Ugh, you Hylians and your fireproof elixir. I feel ten times hotter just looking at you in those clothes,” Ramella said.
Link turned to her. He was still wearing his doublet, which probably contributed a bit to how stuffy he felt, but he hadn’t seen the need to change seeing as he’d be going to Zora’s Domain soon. “Do you want to take one of my elixirs? They’re third-level.”
The Gerudo shook her head. “There’s no point. First level, third level, it’s all the same for me. The stronger effects only kick in when a Hylian drinks it and I’m clearly not a Hylian. Your concern is touching, anyway. Sarqso.”
“Is that why you’re always talking about how hot it is?”
“That’s right. All I can do is rub elixir on my skin. You probably don’t realise this, but Hylians have pretty unique stomachs. You get special effects from normal food, don’t you? Mushrooms and fruit and things like that. It doesn’t work for the rest of us! It’s times like this I really wish it did, though…”
“Oh…” Link stored the peppers and other ingredients back into the Sheikah Slate; they’d already started to smoke due to exposure to the burning air. It would be best not to waste them, even if there wasn’t a point to making spicy food for Sidon. “I should find something else, then. Thanks for telling me. Sav’orq!”
“Wait, before you go!” Ramella cried out. “Do you have any rubies for sale? I’ll even take five if you have them. They’re in high demand right now because of the cold spell – not it’s any cooler in Goron City…”
“No, sorry,” Link answered as he rushed off. Rubies! The red gems held the power of fire within them, and they were used in both Gerudo and Rito armour. That had to mean that their effects worked for non-Hylians. At least, so Link hoped.
He equipped the flamebreaker armour and opened the Sheikah Slate’s map. He had a new idea of what Sidon’s gift would be, but first, he’d have to pay a rather violent series of visits to the Eldin talus, starting with the one at Darunia Lake.
Isha giggled. “Eight rubies? Are you sure you’ll be able to fit all that jewellery on you?”
“It’s not for me,” Link said. “It’s a gift for a friend.”
“How adorable!” the jeweller said. The Gerudo seemed to find Link, in his vai disguise, rather cute. It was probably due to the falsetto he adopted, which had the side effect of giving him a lilting, childish voice. Smiling, Isha leaned down and whispered, “Would I be making this for a special voe?”
Was Sidon a voe? The Rito seemed to be, but Gorons could come into Gerudo Town as they pleased, and the Zora wouldn’t be able to cross the desert and make it to the town in the first place. He probably was a voe. He had a voe’s anatomy, that much Link was certain of.
Isha, however, mistook his silence for shyness. “Oh so it is! Lucky you – and lucky him, for having such a thoughtful vai for a partner. These must have cost a fortune. Don’t worry, I’ll make a set that’ll make him fall in love all over again!”
“Sarqso,” Link said, which elicited another bout of giggles from Isha.
After naming the price for her service and taking his rupees, Isha added, “By the way, I’ll need some time to do a big job like this. I don’t mind setting aside some other jobs for you, since you helped me out when I was in a pinch, but you’ll have to wait until sunset to collect. Is that alright?”
Link nodded. It was already late into the afternoon. Luckily, he hadn’t told Mei when he expected to arrive in Zora’s Domain. Hopefully the wait was building Sidon’s anticipation, not his boredom.
He ended up buying some voltfruit and wandered around the town, peeling away the fruit’s red skin, careful to keep its sweet juices from staining his fingers. It was a bit difficult to eat while keeping the veil in place, so he found a secluded corner and lifted it slightly so he could life the fruit to his mouth-
And heavy hand clamped on his shoulder. “No voe allowed.”
Link flinched, squeezing the voltfruit so hard that it shot out of its remaining skin and landed on the floor. He spun around, to find Buliara glaring down at him.
“I know the Chief’s made an exception for you, Champion, but I cannot allow you to flaunt yourself in spite of our laws. If any other guard saw you, you’d be thrown out like any other voe,” she said.
Link nodded sadly. That voltfruit had been ripe and fragrant. He’d been looking forward to it.
Seeing his expression, which she interpreted as guilt, Buliara relented and said, “I think the chief would be happy if you paid her a visit. She’s taking a break in her room right now; the guards don’t patrol there, so you’d have a bit more… leeway.”
Judging it unwise to refuse, Link followed Buliara to the palace. She showed him up the stairs to Riju’s bedroom, where the young chief was sitting on her couch, trying to balance the Thunder Helm on her head. When Buliara announced that she had a visitor she hastily took it off. “Link! I didn’t know that you had returned to Gerudo Town. Do you wish to speak to me?”
Buliara coughed nervously. “It was my idea to bring him, chief.”
Riju laughed. “Is this what you meant when you said that it was a pity I couldn’t leave the town and travel like other Gerudo my age?”
“I have no idea what you mean, chief,” Buliara replied, staring straight ahead, her face blank and unreadable under her mask.
“Bringing a voe into my room is rather scandalous, isn’t it?”
“There are no voe in Gerudo Town, chief.”
Riju nodded. “Of course. That would no doubt be due to Captain Teake’s hard work.”
“She would be glad to hear you say so.” It was rather impressive how Buliara managed to keep her deadpan tone.
“Then I’d like you to pass on my compliments to her,” Riju said. “Which would conveniently leave me alone with Link, in my bedroom.”
With surprising speed Buliara disappeared down the stairs. Riju laughed again. She sighed, and told Link, “I haven’t the heart to tell her about you and the Zora Prince. You’re the only voe close to my age that I’ve spoken to, and you’ve impressed her with your deeds. I hope you don’t mind?”
Link shrugged. “I could tell more people to dress up as vai and come here.”
“That’s not necessary,” Riju quickly replied. “Actually, don’t do that at all.”
She looked so serious that Link decided not to divulge that at least two other voe had already made it into Gerudo Town, one of whom was a Rito musician with five children. Instead, he gestured to the Thunder Helm on the table and asked, “What were you doing with it?”
“Oh, just, you know. Checking it for… wear and tear…” Riju trailed off, blushing slightly.
“From the inside?”
Riju huffed. “You really don’t know how to talk to vai, do you?”
“Is it different from talking to voe?”
“Prince Sidon must have infinite patience.”
Link grimaced. He certainly hoped so; at this rate, he wouldn’t be in Zora’s domain before sundown.
“Don’t take it personally, I was just teasing!” Riju said quickly. “It’s just that, when I wear the Thunder Helm, I really do feel like a proper chief. Not like a child who’s just playing at being one. That time we stopped Vah Naboris together… when I put on the Helm, it’s like a bit of the bravery and purpose I felt back then comes back to me. As if I gain bit of Mother and Lady Urbosa’s strength.”
Riju ran her fingers gently over the golden metal as she said it, a distant look in her eyes.
Quietly, Link said, “Zelda once told me something: courage need not be remembered, for it is never forgotten. Right now, you’re just as brave and full of purpose. The people I speak to say you’re a great chief. Your strength is your own; you don’t need to borrow any from those before you.”
“And when did you become so eloquent?”
When Link looked embarrassed, Riju laughed again. “Thank you, Champion. I take back what I said from before: you have the silver tongue of a poet when the fancy strikes you.”
She placed the helm back on her head again. Turning to Link, Riju asked, “Nevertheless, it makes me look dashing, no?”
She struck a pose. The movement caused the Thunder Helm to wobble and tip forward. Riju pushed it back up. It fell forward again.
“You do, but it’s still a bit too big for you,” Link answered.
“Impossible!” Riju said, her voice somewhat muffled. “And I’m not saying that out of denial. It the Helm didn’t fit me, I wouldn’t have been able to use its power. We’d have both been shocked to death by Naboris.”
“What do you mean?”
Riju took the helm off again before she explained, “Armour with special effects must be made to fit the wearer. Especially things that use the power of gems like topaz to infer elemental resistances. There needs to be a very careful balance of power, achieved only by placing the gems at correct intervals to the ratio of…”
Link didn’t hear the rest of it of the sound of his heart sinking. He suddenly felt very apprehensive about sunset…
Which came all too quickly. He said farewell to Riju, readjusted his veil and went to collect Sidon’s gift.
The necklace and rings Isha had made were beautiful. Unlike the jewellery that Link had bought from Starlight Memories before, these had a distinctly rugged feel – the chains were less delicate, featuring bold isometric shapes and angular patterns. The rubies glittered like fiery eyes, their deep red contrasting nicely with the gold.
It was also much bigger. Big enough for a grown Hylian male, which meant that, although Link was loathe to admit it, it was a couple sizes too large for him.
Unfortunately, Zora males were built on an even larger scale than that. And Sidon exceeded even that.
Link stepped out into the desert. The sun was setting; already the air was growing chilly, ready to swing into the freezing temperatures that punished those who ventured into the dunes at night. Hoping against hope, Link put one of the rings on. The heavy band of gold was so large that he could have fit two through it easily. It dangled off his slender finger, the ruby catching the orange glow of the dying sun so that it shone fiercely with burning light.
But no warmth came from the gem, or at least, none that Link could feel. Riju’s words rang through his head.
Like all his previous ideas, this gift was also unsuitable for Sidon.
And Link was out of time.