Summary: As life returns to normal for now, preparations are underway at Hyrule Castle for the twenty-fifth victory anniversary celebration. But Link suddenly realizes something about North Hyrule.

At Hyrule Castle, Queen Zelda was meeting with the group she had charged with organizing the upcoming celebration of twenty-five years since the victory over Calamity Ganon that had saved Hyrule. It was still over six months away, but an event this large took a good deal of planning. And then, of course, it took quite some time to carry out all the plans.

From the very start, Zelda had always taken a very personal interest in these anniversary events, and not only to bring recognition and honor to those who had achieved it. It was to remind people that what had happened once could, and someday most likely would happen again. At the same time, she wanted the event to be a happy occasion since it was a victory celebration after all.

"It would be nice if this one were even better than the twentieth," said Zelda. "There should be a little time for speeches by the Champions if they wish, and then I want to speak about why I think these events are important. We need to have enough food and drink for everyone, of course, and music too. And everyone enjoys fireworks. I want people to leave happy, remembering what a good time they had, but also remembering why we have it. And leave time for me to have dinner and an evening with the original Champions. That was great fun the last time!"

"Yes, Your Majesty," said the lead planner. "We have taken all that into account and are close to completing our final plans, including assignments as to exactly who is doing what and when. We can submit our plans to you for final approval within two weeks if that is acceptable."

"That would be fine," said Zelda. "Thank you. I know you have all been working hard on this and I appreciate it. Let's meet again in one week to discuss where things stand."

The group all bowed as Zelda rose and left to return to her family. As she walked back to the living quarters, she thought about the Champions. It would be good to see them all again and catch up on what they were doing with their lives. They had all mellowed a bit with age. They were no longer the brash young warriors they were back then, ready to take on anyone and anything. But they were still the same courageous, and generous people on the inside, the ones who had willingly answered her call for help, willing to die if necessary in defense of Hyrule.

Getting together with the original Champions guaranteed a night of fun and laughter. When they were all gathered together like that, the stories would roll from one to another. Then she could relive those days of her youth with them, the times she had spent traveling all over Hyrule, sometimes in the company of her loyal knight. She was smart enough to realize the passage of time had undoubtedly filtered out memories of the many hardships they had endured, the insecurities and fears. She knew her mind was unconsciously selective now, thinking only of the good times they had shared. And that was fine.

But was it coming up on twenty-five years already? The time between the twentieth and now had gone by so fast. Her daughter was the same age now that she was when she started working with Purah on ancient Sheikah technology.

She arrived back in the family living quarters.

"Did your meeting go well, Mother?" said Princess Zelda as she looked up from her Tab.

"Yes, sweetheart, everything is on schedule for the celebration," said Zelda. "I'm looking forward to seeing my old friends again. Are you done with your lessons for today?"

"Yes, Mother, I just finished my science lesson," said Princess Zelda. "Will Uncle Link bring his family to the celebration do you think? It would be nice to see my cousin again. We had a lot of fun together during his time here."

"I'm sure he will," said Zelda. "He and Aunt Mipha like to stay an extra day to shop and eat out, so you and your cousin should have time to spend with each other."

"We hardly get together with family, Mother," said Princess Zelda. "I never see Father's sister, Aunt Lara, and her family. It feels strange compared to my friends."

"I know," said Zelda."But your Aunt Lara prefers to have your father visit her at her home. She feels she has to be very formal when she comes here, and can't relax. I've tried to put her at ease, but it's just how she is."

"Would it be all right if two of my girlfriends slept over the day after tomorrow? There are no lessons the following day, and it would be fun for all of us," said Princess Zelda.

"Do I know these friends?" said Zelda.

"No," said Princess Zelda. "But I've met them several times while horseback riding and we get along quite well."

"You know the rules, sweetheart," said Zelda. "They need to be approved by the Royal Guards first."

Princess Zelda frowned.

"Give me their names, and I'll see if they can't be checked in time for your sleepover," said Zelda smiling at her. "I want you to have a good time with your friends."

"If you could, that would be wonderful Mother!" said Princess Zelda happily.

"I can't promise you, but I'll try," said Zelda. "Sit with me here for a moment, sweetheart."

They sat down next to each other.

"My dear, dear Zelda," said Queen Zelda as she gently stroked her daughter's fine blond hair. "I know how hard it can be growing up here. I've tried to give you as normal a life as I could. But it can never be fully normal. You understand that, right?"

"Yes, I do, Mother," said Princess Zelda as she rested her head against her mother. "You've told me many times that my good fortune in being born the Princess of Hyrule carries with it a special responsibility. But I don't think I will ever be called upon to do what you did."

"I hope and believe that's true darling," said Zelda. "But it will comfort me to know you could if you had to. In only a couple of years, you will be all grown up. You'll be old enough to make the pilgrimage to Mount Lanayru, completing your training. And then I can truly rest easy, knowing Hyrule will be safe even if I'm gone."

"Unless you want me to cry, please don't speak of being gone, Mother," said Princess Zelda.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," said Zelda hugging her. "I don't plan to be. What did you learn in your lesson today?"

Then they began discussing Sheikah technology until it was time for dinner.

Meanwhile, it was after school in Zora's Domain, and Lapha and young Link had gotten home a short time earlier.

"You're as bad as Mido, Link," said Lapha to her brother. "Can't you put your Tab down? I was hoping you would come out and play with us."

"Ok, Laff," said Link as he finished sending Tila a message.

Link had always been especially close to his sister Lapha. Growing up, she had looked out for him whenever they played with friends or did anything in the water for that matter. But Lapha was having trouble accepting he was more mature than her now. He did notice she had started to call him 'Link' not 'Linky' anymore. So, she must realize he was older but perhaps wasn't ready to accept what it meant. As much as he could, he went along with her requests to play together. He did it out of affection for her. He loved her and couldn't bear to see the disappointment on her face. But the games he had played with her friends as a child usually didn't hold the same appeal for him.

"That's better!" laughed Lapha. "It will be fun! Come on."

Lapha took his hand, and they went outside to meet up with some classmates. The game they were going to play was a form of reverse tag, where the one who was 'it' had to avoid being tagged by one of the others, not do the tagging. In the water, he didn't stand a chance. But if he was 'it' he could stay on land, and then they would have trouble catching him. He just needed to avoid being surrounded. You know, sometimes these games were still fun after all. Maybe he wasn't as all grown up as he thought.

Midon was sitting with his development device on the bed at East Reservoir Lake. It was comfortable here and generally quiet as well. He could work at home, of course, but enjoyed being outside. The fresh air felt good, and the lake close at hand meant he could take a break for a swim anytime he needed one. And another good thing about this location was his girlfriend, Larena, was not far away. She was busy with two other architect apprentices discussing the construction of the reservoir with a master architect. Looking up and seeing her not too far away was a nice bonus.

Midon had been busy testing a rune that had been submitted for approval that could detect if there were fish underwater. He assumed he had been given this assignment because of his unique familiarity with the subject matter. The rune seemed to work best in still water or smaller bodies of water like ponds. Waterfalls confused the rune. Of course, he knew some of the best fish congregated near waterfalls, such as the Hearty Bass. He jotted down some suggestions for how the effect of the waterfall on fish detection could be reduced with a noise reduction process and sent the rune back to the developer for further work.

He looked up, and Larena was still busy. So he moved on to begin reviewing the next rune that required his testing. This one was a game involving sliding blocks. It looked interesting, he thought. And testing it didn't require him to visit different locations.

Mila was home grading papers. She had just given her first Zora history class quiz and was eager to see how well her students did. Two students were not studying enough. They had misunderstood the nature of their ancient ancestors, the Parella, and their role in aiding the hero of that age. Admittedly this was Zora pre-history of a sort, but the class curriculum always started with that topic. She would have to speak with the two of them tomorrow. But the rest of the class had done well, which was encouraging.

Meanwhile, Mipha and Link were leaving the throne room as a late council meeting had finally come to an end.

"I'm sorry, but was that not the most boring meeting in your entire life?" said Link. "I gave my ambassador report very concisely, less than ten minutes I think. But the council member overseeing the construction at Spool Bight felt compelled to describe every single step they took. I think he spouted for well over an hour!"

"Yes, I agree that was pretty hard to get through," said Mipha. "And it's nice to see you are using more Zora expressions, like spouting. Father doesn't like to embarrass him, though, so he let him give the report the way he did. Anyway, we have no excuse now not to know the exact state of affairs at Spool Bight."

"Are you up for a swim?" said Link as they reached the plaza. "I am so stiff from sitting so long my joints feel frozen!"

"You know I'm always up for a swim, sweetheart," laughed Mipha. "Ruto Lake sounds very inviting right now."

They were both soon swimming in the lake together.

"You have changed, and it may be permanent," said Mipha. "Before you would ask if we could take a hike or a swim. Now you only think about a swim. And I see how you prefer to eat fish whenever you can now and how you cook it, not as well done as before. I thought those things would wear off over time, but they still haven't."

"Yes, I know the Zora experience changed me," said Link. "I already told you that, but I haven't told you the half of it."

"What haven't you told me?" said Mipha.

Link paused for a moment.

"When I sleep I sometimes find myself dreaming of the time we spent together at Lurelin Village," said Link. "In my dream, I'm underwater with you, and I feel completely at ease there. Porgies swim all around us, as we hold hands. I can feel the tug of the sea current pulling at us, drawing us deeper or further out from shore. Before, something like that in a dream would terrify me. I would think I was going to drown, the current pulling me further from land, and then I would probably wake up. But in my dream now I have no fear of the water. I know I'm strong enough to fight the current if I want to, but I don't need to. We can let the current take us if we want, go anywhere together. And then I wake up. But the dream feels so real, Mipha, more real than my dreams used to be. So, yes, I know I have been changed somehow. In preserving my memories when I transformed back to a Hylian, the process somehow left something Zora in my head. That's the only way I can explain it."

"Does that bother you?" said Mipha. "Do you want to see if something can be done about it?"

"No, not at all," said Link. "They're dreams, not nightmares. I feel happy having them. So, no, I would not try to cure myself of them."

"We should take that Faron vacation," said Mipha. "Faron and Lake Floria have a long history with the Zora. Our remote ancestors lived in Lake Floria under the dragon Farosh's protection, though the geography has changed a great deal since those ancient times. But ironically now Farosh is electrical, which can be harmful to Zoras. We have grown closer to Naydra now, the dragon of Nayru."

"Yes, I want to take that trip with you," said Link. "But we have the twenty-five-year celebration at Hyrule Castle soon, and I need to be there as myself. I think it would make sense to take our trip soon after that. Maybe taking that Faron vacation would make a nice twenty-fifth wedding anniversary present to each other. You challenged me to top our twentieth, and I think that might do it."

"It would indeed," laughed Mipha. "Let's hold that thought. But yes, we have the victory anniversary celebration to attend this time. We missed the twentieth, so this will be our first in a long time. We know Daruk is coming for sure. I hope the others do as well."

"I'm sure they will," said Link. "Zelda will guilt them into coming if nothing else. But I think they will all want to come. It's the only time all of us are together again, and it should be fun."

"Yes, I can enjoy that day now that we changed things and Father is alive," said Mipha. "Before, I just couldn't do it."

"And I know how stressful it was for you, becoming Zora Queen like that," said Link. "You had some tough days. Thank Hylia that never happened anymore. Like the first Great Calamity."

Link paused for a moment.

"But you know, saying that just reminded me of something and it's strange," said Link. "Ambassador Laray never asked me what happened here. Do you remember Queen Sopha? The timeline change I created never happened for them in North Hyrule. She quizzed both of us on what had happened. So, the Vera timeline change wouldn't have happened for them either. From their perspective, one day you were Queen of the Zora, and the next day you were suddenly Princess of the Zora again, and Father was back. But no one there asked about it. Isn't that strange? I wonder why?"

"Maybe because they already knew?" said Mipha.

"Maybe," said Link. "Queen Faray has always seemed completely honorable to me. I never detected any deceit in her. But you'll admit their behavior is strange."

"So, what do you want to do?" said Mipha.

"I think I should meet with Ambassador Laray and ask her," said Link. "I'll send her a message."

Princess Laray was North Hyrule's Ambassador to the rest of Hyrule. It had taken her some time to recover from the murder of her sister Tiray by Vera, but she was much better now. Her Tab indicated a message had arrived and she read it.

"Link @Laray: Can we meet? I want to discuss timeline anomaly.

She shook her head. She had told Queen Faray that sooner or later the Hyruleans would wonder about why they had never asked about what happened three years ago. Only a handful of them understood the timeline issue, namely Link, Mipha, Purah, and Zelda. But Queen Faray was still very cautious in her dealings with the Hyruleans. It was due to mistrust. But it was not mistrust borne out of a belief they had evil intent, but doubts about their level of competence. Queen Faray feared the Hyruleans would cause harm out of ignorance. So, she had commissioned her investigation to learn what had happened. But now Laray needed to meet with Queen Faray to discuss.

She was ushered into the throne room when she arrived.

"Welcome, cousin," said Faray. "You said you have an urgent need to see me about the Hyrule time travel anomaly? I have asked Langon, our Sheikah Chief Scientist, to join us. He should be here shortly. How are you feeling these days, Laray? And no need for formality between family."

"Much better Faray, thank you," said Laray. "I am still grateful for all your help."

"Ah, here is Langon," said Faray. "So, the Hyruleans, Link, in particular, have finally realized we were unaffected by their timeline change of three years ago and should have asked about it. Perhaps you can go over what you did."

"Yes, of course, Your Majesty," said Langon. "It took us almost a year to complete our report. It was not easy finding out exactly what happened. Only a very few people knew about it, and they were not the kind of people who talk indiscriminately."

"It was wise your ancestors created that shield between our lands," said Faray.

"Yes," said Langon. "My ancestors foreswore time travel long ago, and we prefer not to even speak of it. They wanted to protect us from the land to our south that they left behind. They created the barrier that shields us from their Temple of Time. Of course, that causes anomalies between our lands. Your elder sister, Queen Sopha, was quite confused when Hyrule miraculously recovered after 104 years, only the last four of which showed any signs of recovery."

"Yes, I know," said Faray. "She wanted to be their savior. But for Laray's benefit can you now summarize what you have learned and how you learned it?"

Faray paused for a moment.

"And before you summarize your report," said Faray. "What is your assessment of things in Hyrule now? Are they ready to receive the next phase of our technology?"

"I would prefer to wait a bit longer," said Langon. "The Hyruleans are entirely trustworthy in my opinion. And their lead scientist, Dr. Purah, is quite brilliant. I think she may well know more than she lets on. But she's also a bit unpredictable, too willing to take risks. Let's be cautious. The next phase of our technology includes a rune to create certain objects from pure thought. And we know how badly that can go."

"Yes, I know your early history," said Faray. "Can we not limit the kinds of objects that can be created?"

"Yes, of course," said Langon. "We already do that for our own safety. But a clever scientist may be able to find a way around those limits. And I can see someone like Dr. Purah viewing it as a challenge to do so, causing a potential disaster."

"Well, it is as much your decision as mine," said Faray. "Our treaty says both your people and mine must agree before we share advanced technology. But I don't like this continued secrecy between our land and theirs. It smacks of how my sister liked to rule, and I am not at all like her. I act only out of a desire for us all to remain safe, and I want to be a loyal subject of Queen Zelda."