Four - mother freaking - AM...

This is the time for the sun to rise. This is the time for animals to rise. And this is the time for farmers and early workers to rise.

NOT a sleep deprived teenager who hates mornings.

I growled, arms crossed over my chest as I followed behind Damia - who I was extremely pissed off at by the way. He didn't even tell us where we were going, and it was even more confusing that he hadn't brought Mira with us. That told me we were definitely going to return to the stable, but what for? And why couldn't it have waited a couple more hours?!

Sanela yawned from her spot on my shoulder, rubbing her half lidded eyes with a cute pout "Are we there yet...?"

"Almost," Damia replied cheerfully, as if waking up at the crack of dawn didn't bother him in the slightest. I guess he'd be used to it by now, since he was a traveler. "Just be patient."

"'jUsT bE pAtIeNt.'" I mimicked, and he rolled his eyes.

I was being rude, I knew that. I had promised myself I'd have more of an open mind, and that I'd try to be nicer...

But how can I do that when I've had an idiot coo in my ear like a child to wake me up, and practically rip off my covers which had me freezing half to death?!

Am I being overdramatic? Probably.

I'm I gonna stop? Hell n—

"We're here."

Before I knew it, I had been pulled to the side and behind a tree. Damia placed a finger to his lips and poked his head around the trunk, grinning like a little kid as he gestured me to come look.

"What is it?"

"Horses." He whispered in excitement, pointing to a herd of different coloured steeds grazing a little ways away from us. I raised an eyebrow.

"You dragged us out here so you could spy on horses?"

"No. I dragged us out here so you can tame one."

I blinked "Sorry?"

"You," he poked my nose "Are going to go over there, jump on a horse, and tame it."

"Oh no! No way!" Some of the horses turned their heads in alarm, and we ducked behind the tree to not cause them any more alarm "Look, when you said we needed to get me a horse, I thought you meant rent one from the stable. Not catch one of my own! I mean, isn't that dangerous?!"

"Nah, it ain't that bad." The boy waved a hand, one eye closed with his tongue sticking out cheekily "I've done it many times, and look! I'm still fine."

Sanela and I shared a glance. 'Fine', he says....

"Well if you're so confident," I eyed him "Why don't you tame me a horse?"

"Because that ruins the whole purpose!" Damia whined "You're supposed to connect with your horse - form a bond with it. What's the point if someone does the hardest part for you? And it isn't even that hard in the first place!"

I growled and turned away, arms crossed in front of my chest with a scowl on my face. That's when I started to evaluate... the fastest way to travel around Hyrule was on horseback, and since Link had Epona he was probably pretty far off. I had to get there as soon as possible, but if the three of us took Mira the extra weight would tire her and we would have to take breaks more frequently. If I had a horse of my own, that wouldn't be an issue. Downside to that is that I might get a hoof in my face.

...

Dammit, there are more upsides to owning one!

"Okay, fiiiiine!" I groaned, turning around to face Damia "What do I do, o'mighty horse expert?"

—-

"KYAAH!"

"That's it, Y/N! Now hold onto it!"

"EASY FOR YOU TO SA- AGH!"

The horse I had captured gave one last powerful buck, which sent me flying and crashing into the grassy field. I had been attempting to catch a horse for awhile now, but so far they had only run away when hearing me coming, or bucked me off painfully when I did finally catch one. By this point my hind quarters was starting to get really sore, and I had been knocked down so many times that Hard-Knock Life had started playing in my head... great, even my own mind is mocking me. With a huff I slowly stood to my feet, brushing off any grass off my clothes before going to sneak up on the scattered herd again.

Almost...

Almost...

Al—

One nearby whinnied to alert, causing the others to run off in alarm.

"God f***ing dammit!!!"

Sanela gasped "Profanity!!"

"Y/N maybe you should—"

"Nope, don't wanna hear it Damia!" I silenced the Shiekah boy by holding up a hand over my shoulder, scowl on my face as I ranted under my breath "'Oh it isn't that hard' he says..."

I was waaay too pissed to hear him out as I jogged ahead of my temporary companions, hoping that I could still catch a horse with little experience and a sore buttocks. A gorgeous greyish teal coloured stallion stood grazing a little further away from the others, seemingly unaware of my approach as I locked onto him. My steps remained light while moving towards his rear end, hoping I could hop on without him noticing... I was so close...

And then I heard another whinny.

The stallion turned his head to look at me, his eyes wide in fear. He let out a loud frightful neigh as his hind legs lifted to kick me away.

"Y/N!"

Before the strike in my abdomen could happen I was scooped up with extreme speed and carried to a safe distance. When regaining my senses I had realised Damia was holding me, his arms under my back and knees as he panted for air. It amazed me how fast he acted to get me out of that situation.

"Okay," he sighed, releasing my legs so they landed firmly on the ground "So you've never done this before—"

"Well that's a given."

"Hey, I thought you said you had experience with horses!"

"I do! Horses, that were born in captivity! They've been around humans all their lives, so they weren't usually this paranoid!" I threw my hands up "Seriously, my unease should have been enough to tell you that this is new for me! Things like this don't come as naturally to me as they do for some people!" (*cough* Link *cough*)

Damia pursed his lips together and stepped away from me "I see your point... Okay, how about we try again,"

"Wh—"

"But, this time I'll stay by your side and walk you through it." He gave a smile "And if you get bucked again, I'll be there to catch you."

I was silent for a moment, before nodding "I guess support would help..."

"Then it's settled!" Damia took my hand and began leading me to the herd once again. Sanela fluttered between us, humming a sweet little tune as she did so. After a little bit of walking Damia's hand slipped from mine to replace itself on my shoulder, pushing me down with him until we were submerged in the tall grass.

"So, the first thing I noticed is that you just went for any horse..." He muttered, his eyes still on the equines "Which is fine, but you're probably gonna be with it for awhile so I suggest actually looking at each one individually. See if any of them in particular catches your interest."

I didn't really get it, but nodded regardless. My eyes scanned the herd and examined each creature, paying attention to some kind of spark. None of them really stood out to me in particular at first... they were all unique and probably would all have made great mounts. But I wasn't sure if any of them were the one.

Until...

My eyes widened at the sight of a peaceful looking stallion strutted around the field, his raven mane flowing in the wind slightly. His coat consisted of brown and white patches of different sizes, with white stockings on each leg as well as a white muzzle. I didn't know what drew me to him more than the others... but somehow I could feel he was special.

"That one." I declared as I nodded to the stallion. Damia followed my gaze and smiled.

"Well, ain't he a beauty." He chuckled, before squeezing my shoulder to get my attention and placing a finger to his lips "Now for the hard part. When approaching him, stay low to the ground. And I think you know this already, but stay as quiet as possible. Actually, it might be better if you leave your weapons with Sanela and I, to reduce the noise of your movement."

I bit my lip and glanced back at the Lightscale Trident. Sure, I trusted Sanela and Damia, but... It was a precious gift from a friend, which I preferred to keep as close to me as possible. But he was right... the clattering would make my attempts obvious. With that in mind I let up, unstrapping my weapon from my back as I slowly moved deeper into the grass.

"Good luck, Y/N!" I heard Sanela whisper yell, which made me smile slightly. I gave a thumbs up and continued to crawl. The stallion was still unaware by the time I was within five feet, which was a good sign. I let out the quietest breath I could muster... before jumping up and swinging myself onto his back.

He took off.

Oh God This was new! Usually the horses would panic and begin to buck, but this guy just sped forward with me clinging onto his neck to stay on. My eyes were squeezed shut as I thought about what to do, wondering how long I could hold on for.

"Soothe him, Y/N!" The distant voice of Damia reached out to me, giving me guidance. I cracked an eye open and reached up, running my hand down the horses neck soothingly.

"It's okay..." I whispered "I'm not gonna hurt you."

He seemed to slow down slightly, which gave me the opportunity to grab his mane and pull it back as if it was his reigns. He came to a halt After rearing up, and stood completely still as I patted his neck affectionately.

I... I did it!

"Y/N, that was amazing!" Damia praised, making his way over to us quickly, yet cautiously to not spook our new friend. Sanela however wasn't as weary, despite being afraid of Mira yesterday, and flew forward to hug my shoulder.

"You were so cool! I wish I could be like you!"

I blushed "O-Oh, I don't know about that... I did fail a few times..."

Damia chuckled as he pulled an apple out of his pouch and held it out to my new stallion. He sniffed it once and jerked his head back, before going in for another sniff. After a moment he took the fruit from Damia's palm, who smiled and rubbed the steed's head. "Yeah but you stuck with it, and he's the result."

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess I did!"

Honestly I was proud of myself... Taming a horse was a scary experience, but I pulled through in the end... I think that's an achievement.

Sanela giggled ang flew in front of my face "So? What are you calling him?"

"What am I calling him?" I repeated.

"Oh, of course!" Damia joined in as he handed me my trident back "You can't have a companion as fine as this guy without naming him."

I hummed, placing my weapon into its rightful place on my back "I guess I never really thought of it..."

"Well, give it a thought. Come on, I'm sure you'll think of the perfect name!"

I thought for a moment, while running my fingers through the horse's mane, trying to thing of his name. I didn't want it to just be a case of thinking of a random name and giving it to him... This horse would be by my side, taking me through the fields of Hyrule. He would help me explore the wild, and right now he would be the first step to finding... him... After thinking for a few minutes, I came up with the perfect name, and looked down at him with a smile.

"His name's Pan."

(Context: Pan was the name of the 'god of the wild and nature' in Greek mythology)

"It's perfect." Damia nodded in approval "Let's get Pan to the stable so we can register him, and then hit the road. We'll have to travel pretty fast if we want any chance of catching up to Link—" he slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Oh no, he said the L word..." Sanela muttered, which had Damia sending me an apologetic glance.

"Sorry, Y/N..."

"No it's okay." I assured with a grimace "He was bound to come up in conversation eventually... C-C'mon, as you said we need to register this big guy."

"Right," He nodded, taking my hand and lifting himself so he sat behind me. In the meantime Sanela has once again lowered herself onto my shoulder "Sorry... again."

"Damia, it's okay." I smiled over my shoulder before gently kicking Pan's sides "Besides, I'll be seeing him soon anyway."

It was okay, really. I had to stop getting depressed whenever I heard his name. He was doing just fine, I knew that. He was absolutely capable of looking after himself... And besides, it was mostly my fault we were apart. Sure, he could have been a little more logical... but as that old lady said, I had rushed into the fight without knowing a thing about fighting. How else could I have helped him, other than using myself as a human shield? I don't want that happening again- not with the next Divine Beast, or any other challenge we face. I had to do more than just jump into danger. Link didn't deserve that... I needed to learn how to stand next to him in battle. But how?

"Y/N, are you okay?"

I flinched when Damia placed a hand on my shoulder, and turned my head to look at him. Looking at him gave me an idea, but I wasn't sure whether to act on it. Might as well...

"Yeah, I'm okay.... Damia?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you... teach me how to fight?"

—-

Link POV

—-

Epona's hooves were the only thing I had been able to hear for I don't know how long. The silence was lonely, and so was the feeling of no one riding behind me... I had grown familiar to travelling with Y/N, so it was strange not having her around anymore. And I didn't like it.

"I hope she's okay..." I muttered, glancing down at my steed "You think she's mad at me?"

Epona snorted.

"You're right, she didn't even want to come on this stupid journey..." I gave a sad smile "She's probably over the moon..."

I sighed and adjusted myself on the saddle, reaching down to grab the Shiekah Slate and bringing up the photo library. More specifically the pictures Zelda had taken... I had told the Zora I would be heading straight for the next Divine Beast, but that wasn't entirely true. As important as the mission was, I wanted to put it on hold at least for a little bit, so I could find out a little more about Hyrule before the Calamity. More specifically, find more about my life before that horrible event. I wanted to learn more about me, so I began looking for the locations in the picture. I had already found a couple. One was by the Great Plateau, by a pointy rock that overlooked a lake. That was when I saw Princess Zelda for the first time... I could tell she didn't like me very much. Y/N was there too, but the princess seemed even less willing to interact with her. Plus, she was being escorted by two guards... it confused me; why would she need to be kept an eye on?

Well anyway, the next one was next to a tree by Lake Hylia, where the princess sat under cover from the rain while Y/N and I trained. The two of us seemed a little more respectful of each other than my last memory of us sparring, so it must have taken place a little while after that. Those two guards were still there, but their watch on Y/N seemed less strict. Though, there was one thing Zelda had said to her that really got me thinking...

"You fight for the kingdom, even though it has lost faith in you. It makes me wonder how you can carry on with your reputation..."

Y/N did seem a little bothered by the comment, but she had shrugged it off soon after. This had me thinking about the memory I had on the way to Zora's Domain, where I had called her a crook. Could that have been what Zelda was talking about?

I decided to dig deeper, looking around for books or researchers that knew about the champions and what they were before they were chosen. Maybe I could find out more about me, Y/N, and hopefully a better way to reclaim the other Divine Beasts... because I really don't want a repeat of what happened in Vah Ruta.

My search brought me to a woman by the name of Helen, who had been researching the history of Hyrule since she was a teenager, and was more than willing to share her knowledge with me. This included telling me about how each champion was found, including me. Though, of course she didn't know it was me she was talking about. I had asked many questions about each champion, which she answered with the best of her ability, and had even told me a lot about Zelda. Though, I noticed she hadn't mentioned one champion in particular. She hadn't mentioned Y/N, not even once. Granted I hadn't really asked about her, but each champion so far was connected to another and was at least mentioned when she was talking about each of them. So, I decided to ask.

I wish I didn't.

As soon as Y/N's name left my lips, Helen's face went from excited and fascinated, to absolutely disgusted.

"That criminal was no champion in my eyes! She was a disgrace and an insult to the royal family! She had committed so many thefts, and she had no reason to! But then she was pardoned, and for what?! Because she was the chosen one! Well, if you ask me the champions would have done better without her. She should have been locked up for life when the king had a chance! But noooo, that joke was even given a home in the castle! It's a good thing the king assigned those knights to keep an eye on her, or else who knows what she would have done with her position! She doesn't deserve the praise she's given! She shouldn't even be remembered! And you know what, that Rito champion Revali was a fool for ever trusting her! Look where he ended up! He loses some of my respect for associating with a parasite like her. At least the other champions saw sense! Y/N was nothing but trouble! She had no right to be the chosen one! What was Hylia thinking?!"

I was so angry I had stormed out before she could finish. She had no right to say what should have happened to Y/N, she never even knew her! I bet other researchers wouldn't say much differently... but... Those Zora seemed to say similar things as well. Was it true? Was she really as bad as they say? Was it smart to believe them?

No. Not yet. If I wanted to know what she was really like, I would have to dig for it myself. I knew her, after all. Well, luckily for me, Helen had given me some good information buried in all that dirt she'd thrown. If the Rito champion, Revali had put his trust in her... maybe the Rito would know more about it. Maybe they would be able to give me some closure.

It was a good thing I was already heading that way, huh?

But to say that I wasn't nervous would be a lie. I didn't want to believe Y/N was a bad person, especially after what I had seen in Ruta. How she sacrificed her life to save mine. Why would a bad person do that? I'll just have to keep digging to find the truth.

I sighed and put the slate away, leaning back and staring up at the sky. I wish Y/N was here with me... despite her attitude, I really did miss her... maybe seeing her alive and healthy would have helped with all these questions in my head. My hand reached under my arm and gripped my tunic, where her arms would be if she was with me right now.

I did the right thing by leaving her... right?

—-

Your POV

—-

Pan's registration was simple and quick. He was saddled up by the stable staff and given back to me, and we were back on the road before we knew it. But that didn't last long. Soon enough Damia had pulled us over to an open field, and gesture me to follow as he dismounted. I complied with confusion, staring at his back as we walked. But then he suddenly stopped.

"Right," he turned to me and Sanela "You wanted to learn how to fight, right? So let's start with self defence. There may be a time where you are attacked, and there won't be enough time to pull out your weapon. So we'll start with counter moves, got it?"

I nodded slowly.

"Perfect," he smirked as he slipped his arms out of his traditional clothing to reveal a tight marine blue tank that showed off his toned frame "So, you wanna get started?" He stretched, which only showed off his muscles even more.

Oh no... he's hot!!!

I turned my back to him, Sanela doing the same, our faces overheating from what we had just witnessed. Okay, I did not expect that.

"Did you see that?!"

"I could hardly look away!"

"How the heck can a guy be so well defined?!"

"If he toned down that flirt act, I'm sure he would be surrounded by girls!"

"Bish, with a bod like that, I bet even straight men would swoon over him!"

"Uhhh, guys?"

Oh sh*t.

We turned back to Damia, who had his arms crossed over his abs— I mean chest as he cocked an eyebrow at us "You okay? You're kinda red."

"No we're hot— not!" I smiled sheepishly, trying not to look down "We're fine. Yeah! Let's start flexing— training! Start training!"

What's wrong with me? What has he done?

"Ooooookay..." Damia dragged, still a bit confused as he approached "Anyway, let's start with a pretty simple combo. It'll work with pretty much everyone, if you know what you're doing. You know how to punch, right?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Great! Go ahead and throw one at me! Don't hold back, I can take it."

I gulped, wondering what he was going to do as I made a fist. My gaze hardened as I threw my arm back and swung at him, my knuckles almost coming into contact with his face.

But then he swatted my arm away, before swinging his own punch towards my gut with speed I couldn't even comprehend. His fist stopped just before coming in contact with my stomach, and I inhaled sharply when he pulled away to give me a grin "Just parry, and then counter, it's simple!"

I blinked and looked down at my fist. He blocked so easily... and he was so fast to counter. Could I hope to do that?

"Okay, Y/N," Damia took a stance, his expression darkening into an almost evil looking smirk "It's your turn. Training will commence.... Now!"