Hero by Heart

Chapter 34

When the dark blue night skies slowly started to grow lighter, a big company left Gerudo Town through the main gate.
Riju stopped to turn towards Link, a thankful smile on her face. 'I am incredibly grateful to you, Link, for doing this. I wish you good luck and safe travels.'
Link nodded, glancing in the direction of the mountains. 'Thank you, Riju.'
The Gerudo Chief then turned towards Zelda, grasping her hands in hers. 'And you too, of course, Princess. May you walk a safe path and find what you're looking for.'
Zelda smiled back. 'Thank you. With your warriors I'm sure I will be fine.'
While the Gerudo were busy preparing sand seals and Riju turned to Buliara for a private word, Zelda pulled Link aside.
'Please be careful out there,' she said softly, looking at him pleadingly.
'I will,' he said, pulling her closer to place a kiss on her hair. 'You too.'
He looked at Zelda, dressed in her traveling gear and with a Gerudo Scimitar dangling at her hip, just as a precaution. She seemed prepared, fully ready to set out, but he did not want to see her go.
'I'll see you in a few days then,' she whispered to her feet, not meeting his eyes.
Link smiled fondly, gently pulling her chin up to look at him. 'I'll see you soon. Don't worry so much.' He leaned in and softly kissed her, his hand in her neck.
When he pulled back Zelda had flushed bright red and her eyes nervously darted towards the Gerudo behind him, but Link didn't care. He was going to say goodbye properly, no matter what they would think.
To his surprise she then chuckled, turning a bright smile at him. 'Goodbye, Link. Stay safe.'
He smiled back and squeezed her hand, before dropping it and turning to head towards Buliara, who was waiting with his sand seal.
Everything inside him wanted to turn and look at his princess one more time, but he didn't, feeling like it would shatter his heart.
'She is in good company,' Buliara said kindly, handing him the reins.
Link smiled up at her in thanks, before nodding and pulling out his shield. With a last deep breath he spurred on the seal and they sped off, towards the high mountains on their left.

The sand seals were capable of making incredible speed, as they swam through the desert sand. In no time they were close to the great cliffs, where they had to manoeuver between some vertical pillars, which was no challenge for their seals.
They now reached a dead end, where a vertical rock wall signified the end of the desert and the start of the Gerudo Highlands.
Buliara took care of their sand seals and sent them back to town, while Link climbed up the cliff and secured a rope for the Gerudo to help her up.
As soon as she was standing next to him, she secured her bags and started walking, following the slope upwards.
Link fell into step beside her, a comfortable silence hanging over them as they walked.
     Eventually they came into view of a deep abyss, seemingly bottomless from here. It looked strange to Link, knowing that there had been a Sheikah Tower here before.
It was empty now, even more deserted than it had already been.
Before he started to feel utterly alone and depressed in these bare surroundings, Buliara suddenly broke the silence.
'It's been a long time since we last saw each other,' she stated, as if they hadn't been quietly walking together for hours already.
'So tell me, Link, how are you?' she asked, barely panting despite the steep climb.
Link looked up at her in surprise, not being used to having such a question directed towards him.
'I'm fine,' he said, a little unsure of what more to tell her.
Luckily the Gerudo didn't seem to expect more, as she continued talking. 'Princess Zelda has told us some of your journey so far, but I was more curious of something Merina mentioned.' She glanced over at Link, who was just looking down to avoid stepping on a loose rock.
'She said you had an encounter with a Hinox on your way to the Canyon.'
Link nodded, a frown on his face as he tried to figure out where she was going with this.
'Why did you decide to fight it alone, before telling anyone what you were planning to do?' Buliara then asked, sounding more curious than anything.
'If I have learned anything about your relationship with the princess, it is that she would have been worried sick at your actions.' This time she did sound slightly accusatory, and she closely studied Link's face.
Link shrugged slightly, looking down at the ground in shame. 'To be honest, it didn't occur to me.' He fiddled with his sword hilt, not knowing what to do.
'I wanted to protect the others from getting hurt. On my travels I have been alone for so long...' He trailed off, as they had to manoeuvre around a big boulder lying on the path, momentarily interrupting their conversation.
He sighed as soon as they were both on the other side. 'I have fought more monsters than I can count, but I always had to do it alone. I was the only one who could save myself.'
Link looked up at Buliara, seeing a compassionate look in her eyes as she gestured for him to continue.
'I have taught myself the easiest and safest way to defeat these kind of creatures, so I knew exactly what to do. I never saw it as putting myself in danger. To me it was simply making sure that we could cross safely.'
'When I walked back and saw her standing there...' Link's voice trailed off as he saw the image in his mind again. She had looked so scared and helpless, yet still prepared to fight anything that hurt him. It had suddenly made him realize that he really wasn't alone in this anymore. She was there for him, just like he was there for her.
'I never meant to make anyone worry,' he eventually continued. 'I'm just not used to having people around to discuss my plans with.' He chuckled dryly, hearing how incredibly sad that sounded.
Without missing a step, Buliara came closer and placed a hand on his shoulder. 'I understand. I have dedicated my life to protecting our chief, so I am usually the one doing the fighting, much like you. It is hard to accept that others might feel the need to protect us.' She smiled. 'But if you can accept that, then it's a wonderful thing. To have such mutual trust.'
Link smiled back, nodding as he let the words sink in.
'What did you think?' He then asked curiously. 'That I had gone suicidal or something? That my destiny was fulfilled and I would just throw away my life?' He laughed, to clarify that he was only joking.
Buliara chuckled in response, shaking her head. 'I don't know. Maybe that you wanted to be the gallant knight that saves the princess.' She now winked at him teasingly.
Link scoffed. 'I have done my fair share of saving the princess. I do not feel the need to prove my worth to anyone anymore.' He chuckled, but then turned serious. 'And by the way, she has saved me more than once as well. I would never think that she is defenceless.'
The Gerudo nodded, an approving smile on her face. 'It seems like you are growing up after all. I must say I had pretty much lost hope after you tried to ride a sand seal into town and ended up slamming yourself into the wall.' She tried to hold back, but burst out laughing as she noticed the shameful look on his face.
After another second of pretend hurt, Link laughed with her, thinking back of that day and how foolish he had been. Almost the entire town had seen him get catapulted through the air and they sure liked to remind him of it whenever they saw the silly Hylian vai.
A new silence settled over them, as they both found their way over the steep road, a staggering depth next to it. Luckily it was broad enough to comfortably walk side by side, without getting near the edge.

Not too much later they reached a couple of wooden platforms built against the side of the mountain, with ingenious constructions to lift heavy crates up.
Buliara knew exactly how to handle them and with some climbing and lifting they were soon standing on top of the cliffs.
'We can set up camp up there,' Link said, pointing to a rockformation nearby. It meant they had to climb a little, but it would also be a good vantage point for looking at their surroundings.
Buliara never questioned him and simply followed his lead, past a very old deserted campfire that looked completely out of place here.
'Maybe that's where Birida set up camp,' Link reasoned. 'It must be called Birida Lookout for a reason, right?'
Buliara nodded, thoughtfully looking over the little remains. 'I wonder why anyone would post a lookout here.'
Link shrugged, as he prepared to climb the wall ahead. Luckily it was rough stone, with plenty of holds to get up.
He had only just reached the top, when Buliara came scrambling over the edge as well. Both of them being in good condition certainly paid off today.
After walking to the edge to look around, Link stood gaping at the massive desert and mountains surrounding it.
'Maybe this was the real lookout,' he suggested, chuckling when he noticed the awe on the Gerudo's face.
'This view is incredible!' She called out. 'I can't believe I have never been here before.'
Link had in the meantime noticed the mountains to their left, where he knew Zelda would be climbing right now.
He took out his Sheikah Slate and used the scope to follow the path he thought he could make out along the mountainside.
'I think I can see the others!' He called out to Buliara, when he noticed a couple of specks on the rocks.
They were standing on a lone pillar, connected to the road with two wooden bridges.
Their group hadn't gained as much altitude as they had, but he and Buliara had taken up a good pace throughout the day and the road was steep but clearly cut out.
He imagined the others had had much more difficulties climbing up the almost vertical cliffside, and he had to admit that Zelda's shape wasn't exactly the best right now.
As he watched, the little group seemed to move across the bridge one by one, before continuing up the road.
Link imagined they would soon set up camp as well, close as they were to dinnertime, and he was proven right when the group halted in the first corner, sheltered by the mountainsides.
The rocks cast large shadows over the path, making it hard to distinguish their small shapes, but within no time a fire was lit, perfectly signalling their position.
Link put down the Slate and turned around, finding that Buliara had already built the foundation of their own fire.
He quickly jumped in to help so that soon they were sitting quietly waiting for their dinner to be ready.
Exposed as they were to the elements, with the first snowy peaks not far from them, it turned cold pretty fast.
Link searched in his bags until he found his warmer gear, keeping him much more comfortable in the icy wind.
Buliara too put on more clothing and huddled closer to the fire. 'You just had to pick a spot on top of a bare peak, didn't you?' She chuckled, only half joking.
Link sent her a beaming smile as he nodded. 'Tell me it isn't worth it,' he said, making a wide gesture in the direction of the desert.
It was a clear day, and now that it was turning dark they could see lights coming on in Gerudo Town and the Bazaar.
Buliara looked at it and smiled, slowly nodding. 'You're right. That view is priceless.'

In the end they spent the entire evening looking out over the desert, recalling memories they shared or telling stories of other adventures they had been in.
When the sun set, they fell silent, too deeply impressed to put it into words. From up here it was simply magical, seeing the colours of the sky shift so fast.
Link remembered the night he spent outside with Zelda, only the day before but seemingly ages ago already.
Even though that had been amazing and he had felt so happy, he found himself wishing that she was here with him right now.
Was she looking at the sunset as well? What did she think about? Was everything going alright? He was simply dying to know.
When the last colours on the horizon had disappeared completely, Buliara spoke again, startling Link as he had almost forgotten she was there at all.
'I'm going to turn in. Goodnight, Link.'
He smiled and nodded, watching her walk a little further from the edge to lie down comfortably.
After a little while he too got up and found a comfortable spot to lie down, his head turned towards the Divine Beast that was faintly visible as a black spot against the dark blue sky.
The fire of the others was much brighter now, standing out in the dark.
Link smiled as he imagined Zelda lying there, maybe even looking in his direction. No matter what, they were under the same stars.