The Light Between Us Chapter 11

Instructions

✧ The Light Between Us ✧ ☆•° Chapter 11 °•☆ Urbosa was only two years older than me, but that meant she was in college already. Our schedules refused to align for long enough for us to meet regularly, so this was a rare occasion for me. After all, who knew when we'd be able to talk again? Urbosa and I sat across from each other in a window booth at the Scout IV Cafe. It was named for its mascot, a Guardian Scout wielding a cup of coffee and a donut. Usually I found this adorable, but today, with my mind on the Calamity, it disturbed me. I stirred my coffee. "So, Urbosa," I began. "How's college treating you?" Her eyes lit up. "It's great! I've decided to major in mechanical engineering," she said, excited. "Maybe I'll send you a few pics of the junk I've slapped together." I smiled. That was one reason I was friends with Urbosa. We both adored tech. She'd build the device from scratch and I'd program it. "How about you, little bird?" Urbosa asked, leaning forward. "Anything new? I heard about the poisoning," she added. "I'm glad you're all right." "Well..." I sighed, glancing out the window to the busy intersection. It was as crowded out there as in my thoughts. There were plenty of new things; they just refused to be strung into coherent sentences. "You seem to have a lot on your mind. Why don't we play the guessing game?" Urbosa suggested. The guessing game was the way we'd get whatever we wanted to say across. One would guess broad categories, and the other would say yes or no, depending on how close it was to what they had in mind. The categories would continue to narrow down until we were at the heart of the topic. It was a painless way to communicate painful ideas. "Let's see..." She tapped her chin thoughtfully with a well-manicured nail. "Is it boys?" She was very good at this. I nodded. "Your father?" Urbosa guessed. Wow. I nodded again. "Is it about..." She pursed her lips. "Your training, maybe?" I decided to just spill it all there. "Yes, I- I tried so hard the other day and-" I would've continued but my Slate pinged, alerting me to a new text. "So sorry," I said, "this might be important." I took out my Slate and checked the notifications. ɴᴇᴡ ᴍᴇꜱꜱᴀɢᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ: ꜰᴀᴛʜᴇʀ Urbosa looked at me quizzically. "Is it?" I tapped the screen, opening the messaging app. ᴢᴇʟᴅᴀ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴏꜰꜰɪᴄɪᴀʟꜱ ɪ ꜱᴇɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ɢᴇʀᴜᴅᴏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʀᴇᴛᴜʀɴᴇᴅ. ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ʜᴏᴍᴇ ɴᴏᴡ. ᴡᴇ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴛᴀʟᴋ. I looked up at her. "I- might have to leave now," I admitted. "Father is calling." Urbosa chuckled. "Speak of the devil." I stood, clutching the table. "Actually, Urbosa, have you heard anything- suspicious- about Gerudo?" I asked. She cocked her hair. "You know, I actually have. While I was visiting some possible colleges in the city, I heard a rumor that a few soldiers spotted a patch of Malice. Over near Karusa Valley, I think." My breath quickened. Karusa Valley- the historic home of the notorious Yiga Clan. It had to be connected. "Thank you, Urbosa," I said. "Sorry I can't stay for longer. I'll text you if I have a free time slot." She nodded. "Bye, little bird. Guess I'll finish your coffee, then." I gave a small laugh. "I guess. Bye." I exited the cafe, wondering if the officials had seen Karusa Valley. # # # # # "Zelda, this is Lieutenant Teake, from Gerudo," Father introduced me. A tall woman with bright red hair pulled into a ponytail and a mask over the lower part of her face nodded curtly. "Sava'aq," she said. "Hi," I replied shyly. She was very intimidating, with her full military uniform and MK 18 rifle strapped to her back. We were sitting in the meeting room, a long, well-lit chamber with modern gray furniture and clean white walls. On Teak's left stood two men, each dressed in business suits. I assumed these were the officials. "Teake came to Hyrule to address growing issues in Gerudo," Father told me. He gestured at her. "Would you care to explain to my daughter?" "We saw Malice," Teake said shortly. "It was spawning stal monsters. We were also recently attacked. Great Skeleton Outpost. Guerilla warfare, like the Yiga would use." I gasped. It all lined up with what Urbosa told me. "How have you responded?" Father asked. "We doubled the security on the outposts and deployed a team to investigate Karusa Vally," Teake said. "These two voes-" she said voe like it was an insult- "have advised me to ask aid from the Hylian Army. That is why I am here." "And because she doesn't trust us," one of the officials cut in sullenly. "When we came to Gerudo, they almost threw us in prison." "We had to tell them everything," the other added. "And even then, Teake insisted on coming with us to make sure we had good intentions. Of course we do! Now, do you see, Teake?" (continued in Notes and Credits)