Royal Rebel 4 ~ The Return

Chapter 46: Closer As We Are

"And... the tent is done!" Ellet brushed his hands against each other to wipe of the dust as he looked at his finished tent, and Azu and I high fived. We noticed everyone else struggling to set up theirs, and we exchanged looks and laughed a bit. "The first of many."

"I guess that means we win!" Azu cheered, holding his arms up in the air. He ran and dove into the tent, landing on our sleeping bags that were already laid out. "Time for bed!"

"Need help, dad?" I asked as I looked over at my father and the sheikah researchers trying to help him assemble their tent, and the champions were all working on theirs. "We're already done."

"I appreciate the offer, Dali, but I'm pretty sure I know how to set up a tent." He said, and I shrugged and watched as a clip holding his nearly set up tent together broke, and caused the whole thing to fall on top of Robbie.

"AHH!" We could see the short man trip and fall inside, and Purah climbed inside to try and find him. "Help!!!"

"Or... maybe I don't as much about it as I thought. Azu!" He called, and the sheikah came flying out of the tent to come help with my father's tent, and he had it set up in no time. "You're awfully fast."

"I'm a master at what I do!" He announced proudly, and my father chuckled and patted his back. "So, now that the tents are all set up, what do we do? Isn't it still early?"

"Yeah, we have a few hours before we go to sleep." My father sat down next to the entrance of his tent, while Purah and Robbie went inside to make sure everything was in order and in their spots. "Anyone got any ideas?"

"I think," Purah pulled the tarp of their light blue tent back and stepped out, scanning the area for a moment before locking her eyes onto Terrako. "We should use this time to look further into our situation!" She rushed over and basically tackled the little guardian, and it didn't fight her to get up until she lifted it off the ground.

"I agree with Purah. If we can understamd it, perhaps we can even use it to strengthen us for the upcoming battle." Riju concured as she and the other two chiefs finished their tent. Edrys's giggling could be heard inside, and Merona peeked her head into the entrance and watched the girl happily roll around.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could take Idalia and Ellet up to the Temple of Time?" Azu asked, and my father pondered his idea. "And we can collect some sticks for a fire tonight!"

"Well, I suppose going out there for a bit couldn't hurt. Just be back before it gets too dark." He told us, and we all nodded and promised we would be. "Alright, well, have fun!"

"We will!" Azu called back as he began to run up the hill, and Ellet and I waved to the group and began to chase after him.

"So what do you want to show us at the Temple?" I asked as I jogged a bit to catch up with him, and he laughed excitedly and sped up.

"You'll see!" He continued dashing up the trail, Sheikah style running, and then after rushing up the stairs, he took a sharp turn into the Temple of Time. He slowed down and eventually stopped himself once he got inside, and we halted behind him and looked around. "Wait here for a moment. I'll be right back with something cool!"

He was off again, leaving Ellet and I alone to observe the wonder of the revived Temple. It was beautiful inside, and even more so with the light shining through the windows and illuminating certain designs that were carved into the stone floor. The goddess statue stood majestically in it's spot at the back of the Temple, a presence of power radiating from it.

"This temple truly is a wonder," I breathed, reaching out to run my hand along the carvings that adorned the doorway. "I want to study its history. I'm sure it was fascinating."