A few hours had passed since his coronation, and the subsequent feast, yet already Link was being paraded off to meet Hyrule's royal family. He was rather excited, though not for the thrill and joy that politics always induces. This was his first time, after all. He'd probably be doing nothing more than watching and learning, if any negotiations would happen at all. This was, to his understanding, more of an introductory event. "Do you think I'll get to meet a Zora?" Link asked, curious about the aquatic people.

"More than just a Zora, Link," Chea answered, "You'll meet several different kinds of people, and you have to be on your best behavior with all of them."

"I know," he answered, remembering the hundred other times she'd told him the exact same thing.

"I mean it, no goofing off or anything. You need to make a good impression," she said, trying to reinforce the lesson as much as she can. "You might be the king, but I can still take you over my knee, you know," she reminded.

"Mom," Link groaned in embarrassment, "I'm not a little kid, I know how to behave."

"I know, I know," Chea answered her son, "I just didn't know you knew," she joked, laughing. "Come on," she said, "It's about time we meet up with the caravan."

"Caravan?" Link questioned

"Yes Link, caravan. You're not the only one with business in Hyrule. We are trading partners with them, after all. You really should know this, as king," Chea admonished.

"My bad," Link apologized, following his mother out the door of their home. As they walked to the stables, he glanced at the palace, though quickly turned away. He knew that soon he would have to move into the foreboding building, but something about it always put him off. The only time he had been in there, he had felt nauseous and couldn't make it past the first room.

Link approached his horse, rubbing her uncharacteristically white mane. His horse, Epona, was odd compared to the Gerudo stallions and mares she was housed with. Whereas they had dark hair, with black manes, Epona's hair was chestnut, with a white mane. He didn't quite know how Epona came to be his horse, but he could tell she wasn't stolen. She was far too calm around the Gerudo for any of them to have horse-napped her.

He mounted her, riding to the gates that separated his people from the harsh desert. He was soon joined by his mother, as well as Leah. "You're joining us?" He asked, his attention focused on her new necklace, made with the stone he had given her.

"My eyes are up here," she jokingly admonished, holding up her necklace between her eyes.

"Hurry up you two," Chea said, having already left them behind. "Leah, I'm also curious as to why you're joining us. Care to tell?"

"Apparently," Leah said, riding her own horse beside Link, "Since I was witness to Master Link's coronation," she winked teasingly at Link as she said this, "I'm to be one of his advisors."

"Ah, I'd forgotten all about that," Link's mother admitted.

Link spoke up, "Hey Leah, didn't one of your ancestors witness the coronation of the last king too?"

"Yep," she answered as the caravan came into sight, "that would be Nabooru. My mother says she was also a Sage, and helped the hero defeat Ganondorf."

"We should make it to Hyrule Field before nightfall," Chea switched the subject, "If we make good time, we might even make it to Kakariko.*"

"Kakariko?" Link asked.

"It's the second largest town in Hyrule," Chea answered, "Right behind Castle Town itself."

"It's also home to the Royal Family's graveyard. Maybe it's because Kakariko is right beside Death Mountain?" Leah mused

As they continued chatting, they fell in line with the caravan. Link heard hushed whispers about him, though he tried to ignore it. He was going to have to get used to it, after all. As they rode, the sun began to fall over the mountains to their west, and an unknown scent began to reach Link. "What is that?" He asked.

"That would be dinner," Chea answered, "We're going to eat before heading into Kakariko. No need to waste rupees on what we can do ourselves."

"Why does it smell different from normal food?" Leah asked, though Link wanted to know too.

"It's called preparing your palette. The Hylian people cook differently than we do," Chea explained, "It helps accustom you to the odd tastes." She sniffed the air and added, "Ooh, I think we're going to have pumpkin soup!" Link and Leah nodded, unsure even what a 'pumpkin' was. But if she was excited, they figured it couldn't be too bad.

As it turned out, Link loved pumpkin soup. After the first few spoonfuls, he practically inhaled his bowl. Chea smacked his hand before he got seconds, admonishing him for eating so quickly. He made sure that when he got seconds, he ate slowly. As he finished, they came upon Kakariko. "Wow," he said, staring at the buildings and people.

"You can gawk tomorrow morning," Chea said, leading the way as they broke off from the caravan. "We need to check in at the inn." She took them down an alley, before turning into a stable where she dismounted, followed by Leah and Link.

They checked into the inn with a lady named Anju, who gave them their keys. Saying their good nights, each one went into their own rooms. Link took a quick look around, before heading to his bed and plopping down, falling asleep almost instantly.

Link, surprisingly, was the first Gerudo awake. Discovering this, Link dashed out of the inn, running to discover what Kakariko had to offer. His first stop was at the stable, easily finding Epona, even in the near darkness of the pre dawn sky. He rubbed her mane affectionately, whispering, "I'll be back soon girl, I'm going to go look around." After slipping out, he began looking around for something to do. He happened to catch sight of a shadow, and decided to pursue it. He caught sight of a woman with average length hair, neatly tied back, except for a few long strands tied together, which lay to the side of her face. Judging by her clothing, she was a Sheikah.

He was consistently surprised that she hadn't noticed him, the Sheikah normally excelled at their stealthy nature. To be able to shadow one without them noticing was almost unknowable. She made her way into a small building, apparently a cafe of sorts. He rushed after her, but lost her inside the building, despite the few patrons up at this hour. Suddenly, he saw a strand of white hanging beside his face and he whirled around to see the Sheikah he had been tailing. "Almost, little king," she chuckled, "If I were less skilled, you might have only incited some paranoia."

"How did you? I mean, I saw you walk through the door!" Link claimed, desperately wishing to know how the Sheikah had given him the slip.

"Little king, a Sheikah knows every building they enter," she answered, "And I know all of Kakariko like the back of my own hand." Link blushed, and the Sheikah laughed, "Don't worry, everyone's a little curious about my tribe. Let's sit and talk."

The Sheikah led Link to a table, sitting across from him. He spoke first, "My name is Link, yours?"

"It's Impa, thank you," the Sheika responded. "You look awfully familiar Link... Your mother wouldn't happen to be Chea, would she?" Link nodded, and Impa grinned, and began speaking, "Ah, I thought so. Your mother and I were very good friends, you know."

"Were?" A voice called from underneath Link's tunic. He had almost forgotten the stone given to him by the Great Fairy. He reached underneath the tunic and pulled out the blue stone, which showed Chea herself staring out through it. "I thought you and I were still good friends."

"A gossip stone?" Impa asked aloud, before responding, "You know what I mean Chea. It's been some time since your last trading caravan."

"Because the last time I came home, my son had lost his eyebrows," Chea retorted, eliciting a giggle from an unseen source on the other end of the Gossip Stone, likely Leah.

Impa raised an eyebrow, casting an eye at Link, who blushed at the memory. "Come to the cafe and we can chat," implored the Sheikah, Chea nodding in agreement. Link ordered something for breakfast, as did Impa, and they ate in relative silence until both Chea and Leah showed up, the older nearly running to hug her old friend.

Impa and Chea, apparently, went way back, to when they themselves were teenagers. Link learned that, apparently, a loss of eyebrows due to an unfortunate event involving keese was genetic, and that Impa had been the one to show Chea how to cook when she learned the Gerudo was pregnant. Link would have to remember to thank her for that one. Eventually, after several embarrassing stories for mother and son, and a few for Impa, it was decided that the Sheikah would accompany them to meet the king of Hyrule.

"I actually worked as Princess Zelda's bodyguard for several years, until the king decided I should be one of his advisors," Impa said, "She's about the same age as you two, so don't worry when we sit you at the kids' table. You'll be in good company." Chea laughed at Impa's joke, and Link smiled at the joke. Leah, however, was doing her best to hide a blush. They left shortly after, their caravan short a few Gerudo who decided to stay in Kakariko for some reason or another. However, the void was filled with other groups, such as Hylians, Gorons, and Zoras. Link even saw a few Sheikah other than Impa. The group made directly for Castle Town, only stopping momentarily for lunch, some cooked fish. Link enjoyed it, though not as much as Pumpkin Soup.

When they finally made it to Castle Town, it was nearing sundown, and the last wagon made it through just as they began to close the gates. Impa lead their group, being the one to most intimately know Castle Town. With her at the helm, they quickly came to the castle itself, a guard waving them through. It wasn't long until he unmounted Epona, housing her in the royal stables near a few other horses.

He then followed Impa down an impressive hallway, lined with portraits of royalty and paintings of days long past. Many of the paintings depicted a character in green, his face never quite the same, nor his hair ever exactly the same shade. Sometimes, the boy in green was riding a bird, in others, a horse. In many more pictures though, it was battle. Battle against hordes of monsters, against demons, against dragons. The most common battle, however, was the Demon King. It was a common story, how the last Gerudo King became corrupted and turned into a monstrous beast. He looked away, the paintings pulling at his already tense nerves.

At the end of the hallway, there was a large set of double doors, made of a dark wood, bearing a picture of Hyrule's sacred relic. Impa pushed the doors apart, revealing Hyrule's court. There were Zora, Gorons, and Hylians sat around a large circular table. Many stared at the intruders, but only one man stood. "Greetings, Impa, please be seated," he said, before turning to the others, his gaze focused on Link. "You must be the King of the Gerudo I've heard about. Your coronation was just yesterday, I believe?"

"Yes," Link answered, "It was."

"I'm sorry I couldn't come to see it personally," the man said, "I would have very much enjoyed witnessing it, but alas, there were difficulties here at home. At any rate, I should introduce myself. I am Lord Mason Nohansen, King of Hyrule."