#I whistled for Peaches and then hopped onto the other horse to get two - very fun!

[totkdaily]

Day 57: Yiga in Lanayru, and Akkala

The tower I climbed in the Abandoned Lanayru Mine is a forge, and it's manned by a Steward. I think this is the first one I've seen in the Depths, and only the second I've seen outside the sky islands. 

Another Steward asks me to go to the Central Abandoned Mine - if I do that and come back here, it'll give me something. 

There's a Yiga building here with a journal.

They want to conquer the Depths, but they say they need to find every entrance to do so. The journal ends: "Glory to Master Kohga."

I hope that's just something they say. He fell into- oh. He fell into an apparently bottomless hole. Is he… is he here somewhere?? 

Surely not. But unease follows me as I gather the remains of zonaite in the mine. 

I can't see any more lightroots from here, so I head back to the Ulri Mountain Skyview Tower, thinking to head to Tarrey Town - and spy Dinraal emerging from a chasm! I chase to catch up with him, but I don't have the right gear. I only just grab a shard of his spike and a claw before the heat of his mere proximity threatens my life. 

I drop to the ground and land in the shadows of North Akkala Beach - right next to a shrine! 

I spend the early morning scaling the cliff up to the Akkala Lab. Didn't Robbie say he needed something from here? I don't think I've spoken to him in over a month. Still, I should check it out. I've always loved the Lab. 

I scale the outside first to enjoy the view from the top, but it's a grey and cloudy day. And… that's weird. There's a frog sitting in Robbie's sun lounger. And… it bears the mark of the yiga. I've got a bad feeling about this. 

I look for further clues as I head back down the lab. There's boxes of bananas at the base of the telescope. And from the front, it's obvious - frogs and banana crates everywhere. 

I summon the Sages, ready my gear, and knock. 

It's a closer match than I'd like, but I dispatch the Yiga guards. Inside, there's only a fashionista - Konba. It sounds as though he's been forced to work against his will to make the Yiga's outfits. He gives me the Yiga armor he just finished. I suppose I could use it as a disguise, though I dislike the idea of wearing it at all. Konba points out I'd need the whole set before I could pass as a Yiga member anyway. 

There's a Yiga journal here. They're interested in sourcing Zonai devices, as well as Zelda and myself. Even they haven't seen her. They say they're setting up traps to catch me, but I've only encountered the weird cucco prophecy scam, and that hardly seemed aimed at me. Don't pick up bananas on the road? I'd have hoped I would have spotted that one for a trap without the hint. 

There's a map with Yiga hideouts on it, I think. Let's see…

Here, the Colosseum, somewhere north of Death Mountain and the old hideout in the Gerudo Highlands.

There's also a travel medallion prototype, which I should probably give to Robbie. Was that what he wanted from here?

For now, I head down the hill to the East Akkala Stable, and stop at the shrine on the way. 

Penn's the first person I see at the stable. He mentions the god of horses is near here - I'd forgotten my dream about it! - and the suspicious lab, the mystery of which I think I've probably solved by clearing out the Yiga. But no news here of the Princess, so he's off! That was quick. 

I speak to a few people at the stable. Aya is preoccupied with the monsters on North Akkala beach- I must have missed them, but she'd like me to deal with them, please. Rudi says Malanya's at Bloodleaf Lake, north of here. Rudi would like a picture of Octorok Lake when the water's high and it looks like an octorok. Maybe in the rain? Atin's newspaper says that YunoboCo is restoring Goron City again - that's good. Khini points me towards the horse god, and then goes back to selling buns. I buy and eat one of his Malanya buns, and I feel filled with stamina. 

The korok at the back of the stable wants to go down the hill to meet its friend. I summon Peaches and hook up the wagon for transport. I can probably do this before bed. 

I ignore the blood moon rising behind me as we gallop down the hill. Which means it comes upon me right as I'm fighting off two bokoblins in a cart. 

When the Gloom clears, I reunite the koroks and take the knight's bow the bokoblins had. Then I take both the horses and carts back to the stables to bed.

[logan-is-noggin]

Anxious Beauty part 2

word count: 2566

warning: play fighting

the years passed and the three fairies raised Prince Virgil, who they affectionately nicknamed storm cloud, or just cloud for short, in an unassuming cottage in the nearby forest.

Now that the Prince was four, on cool nights like tonight, they left the tots bedroom window open to allow the sweet smell of the peach trees that grew outside to flow inside.

Logan's faithful raven companion croft, landed on a branch outside the open window. When his master had no use of him. Croft often found himself observing the object Logan seemed so fascinated by. But tonight he had a mission to finish. The bird hopped to the windowsill and peered inside.

Cloud rolled over in his crib and blinked his eyes open, hearing the creaking nearby. When he saw his bird friend he shaking stood on his bed and reached for him. But croft flew inside, in a loop, dropping what he carried in his beak before flying out the window and away.

Cloud looked down and saw what the bird had left. A dark old fashion key. In the handle was a purple jewel in the shape of a heart.

The next morning when Patton saw Virgil with the key, he was puzzled. He didn't recall the king giving it to his son when they departed, the others also denied giving it to the Prince. Patton reached to take it away, but once he did, the toddler let out a loud wail. Patton quickly gave it back. " okay, you can keep it." Since that day, cloud always had the key with him or else he was very upset. As he grew up he played in the woods like any child. For a time, the curse was forgotten.

"okay Roman that's all for tonight, it's getting late kiddo."

He took the bowl from the Prince and set it in the sink, he would wash it in the morning. "You can't stop there padre, I haven't even burst onto the scene yet."

"He can continue the story tomorrow Roman, we're filming with Thomas tomorrow remember? We each need to be rested for our performance, we don't need you yawning while the cameras on." Logan chided as he walked up to his room.

The next day every could see how impatient Roman was being, he groaned any time anyone messed up their lines, which made Virgil start messing up on purpose.

That night at dinner Roman are twice as fast as usual when Patton placed the dishes in the sink Logan sighed as said " I can clean up tonight Patton." Roman smiled and practically yanked Patton out of the kitchen "thanks teach!" He called.

Roman sat cross legged as Patton stood before him.

"Alright let me remember where we were..."

Twelve years passed and cloud grew into a fine young man. That morning the three seemed to be trying to get him out of the house. " why don't you go play outside, maybe go for a swim? It's a lovely warm day out." Patton encouraged. Cloud nodded as he slipped on his gray vest over his white long sleeve shirt. Leaving the top button undone. Cloud opened the Dutch door of the cottage and waved goodbye to the three. " have fun. Don't go too far, but don't come back too quickly.." The three called out over each other. Cloud stood his head as he walked off. He could tell when they were trying to hide something. And the lad was always kind enough to play along with their surprises.

The forest was empty today, only filled with the sounds of the forest animals, it was alright, Virgil had perfected how to entertain himself.

Cloud walked between trees swinging himself forward to grab the next trunk. Walking across a fallen tree with his arms out to steady himself. He unlocked his boots and walked through the river, he scooped up a smooth stone and tossed it, the rock skipping thrice before sinking to the bottom. He picked up a stick and swung it around, pretending to fight an invisible foe. His parents often were over cautious when it came to raising him, not letting him eat fruit right off the tree near his home, though he sneaked berries from bushes when he was in the woods. Only remus let him get away with things the others found dangerous, like fighting. " come on you two! He's gonna have to learn to fight eventually if he's going to be king." Remus whispered one afternoon. So they relented and let Virgil have supervised battles with remus.

Not paying attention as he swung his stick-sword, cloud had begun to sing.

" I heard there was a secret chord, that David played and it pleased the Lord, but you don't really care for music do ya?

It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift, the baffled king composing hallelujah"

Prince Roman and his hunting party were riding back after an uneventful morning, he could tell his mare rose was thirsty having not been watered since they left so he told the rest to go on without him as he slowly rode into the woods. The canopy from the treetops immediately cooled Roman from the sun. Once his eyes adjusted he led rose to the small pond they often visited when he first got her.

As she drank Roman sat on a stone to rest himself, he refilled his canteen and took a sip when he heard a noise. He shot up, hand on his sheathed sword just in case of danger. After listening he realized the sound was singing. Even from this distance Roman was spellbound. He had never heard a sweeter tenor in his life.

" hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah

he took hold of his horses bridle and walked towards the noise of the voice. He found boy alone through the trees in the clearing. He held a stick and looked like he was fencing something Roman could not see. Roman smirked and found his own falls. Branch, not wanting to scare the boy away by using his real sword.

(Vpov)

Suddenly someone burst out of the trees and stood three feet away. He called to challenge him. Usually cloud would run from the stranger but seeing that he also wielded a stick let him know he was also playing.

The two slowly circled each other, Virgil tried to remember Remus's lecture on strategies but he almost always tangent off into talking about wounds. So he decided to try and copy the man. When he advanced, Virgil tried to stay swords distance away. When He swung Virgil brought his up and they hit with a deafening whack. Virgil did the same but his opponent ducked before it could make contact. More jabs were taken and all too soon cloud was backed against a tree with the "sword" to his throat.

" Not much for training, but a decent fight anyhow." He said as he tossed his stick to the side.

" well, my um, parents don't like me fighting a lot. They're worried I could get hurt." Cloud mumbled.

Roman waved him off " nonsense. Every man should learn the art of dueling, if the need arose to save a bachelor or damsel in distress." He said proudly.

" ill make note of that."

" how rude of me. My name is Roman." He said as he brushed back his red cape.

Virgil mildly panicked at what to do. He wasn't sure if it was right to tell his name to a stranger.

" you can call me cloud. It's what my parents call me."

" intriguing." A high shinny made Virgil flinch. Roman saw his fear and placed a hand on his shoulder. " fear not. That is just rose. I almost forgot I left her in the brushes." He whistled with two gloved fingers in his mouth and suddenly a white mare with a rose gold mane leapt through the opening and trotted to her owners side. " this is my rose. The best and most beautiful mare in the entire kingdom, in my humble opinion."

"Very humble.." Cloud teased. Roman rolled his eyes. " would you like to go for a ride?" He said, holding his hand out. Cloud glanced around wondering what Patton would say if he were here. He had never ridden a horse before. " I guess so." Roman quickly mounted then reached down to help cloud onto the space behind him. " I'm not gonna fall am I?"

" just hold onto me. Ill keep you safe."

First they walked down the path, Roman making sure Virgil was feeling secure before he clicked at the horse who sped up galloping throughout the trees. Roman laughed as clouds grip around his waist tightened. She slowed to a stop at the edge of the forest in a clearing. They both dismounted and cloud wrapped his arms around him. " I suppose ill think twice about riding a strangers horse." Roman laughed again. They walked a ways until they reached a spot cloud knew well. A tree had fallen years ago but continued to grew horizontally, making the perfect sitting spot. They rested as they watched their surroundings.

" ave you ever watched the sunrise from here cloud? That is truly a magical experience."

" no, but I have a fair view from my home. We can see the village and the castle well."

Roman hopped down and tugged cloud along with him. " what are we doing now?"

" since your fighting skills are pretty dismal, I assume you don't know how to dance either. So I'm going to teach you."

Cloud rolled his eyes but took Romans hand anyway. He pulled the young man close, their chests almost touching. Romans left hand rested around his side and clasped his right hand with his own. Suddenly they seemed to be sucked up into a whirlwind. Half the time, cloud tried to mirror Romans expert steps as they turned in time. The other half he couldn't stop staring into Romans eyes. Could this be what love felt like?

They continued twirling around the forest to their silent symphony until they were both out of breath. They slowed to a stop and their hands fell to their sides but still connected.

" you're quite light on your feet cloud. A plus to both dancing a dueling. But practice makes perfect."

Cloud was still in a daze that he couldn't come up with a snarky comment. " I need to return to my father in town. But may I visit you again, possibly tomorrow?"

Cloud shook himself free " of course. My cottage is close to the field where we met. You can meet my parents."

Roman bent and kissed both of his hands. " I will spend every moment missing you until then, my cloud."

Cloud watched as Roman mounted his horse, after opting out of a ride home, he still wasn't used to riding. And stood there until he disappeared into the trees.

Cloud returned home, he stopped at the door, hearing whispers and shushing from the other side. He wondered what his three guardians had been up to in his absence. He pushed open the Dutch doors calling to the quiet house.

" hey guys I'm home. I-" he paused as he closed the door. Something was different. Laying spread out on a chair was a very fancy looking outfit. It was a pair of black trousers, a purple vest and white shirt. Hanging behind it was a deep purple cape with black stitching around the borders.

Next to it was a small cake, he could tell it was BlackBerry- his favorite.

Cloud jumped back as the three fairies all yelled surprise from their place in the kitchen. They came forward to embrace the boy. Cloud had completely forgotten about his birthday. " what have you done?" He said happily appraising the material of the clothes. Certainly the fabric was not cheap.

" it's your sixteenth birthday and we knew we needed to do something extra special." Janus said.

Patton smiled sadly as he pulled out a second chair to have him sit. " Cloud- I mean Virgil, we also did all this because there's something we need to tell you."

Now he was concerned. They usually didn't call him Virgil unless it was very serious. " alright, what is it?"

" well kiddo, what I'm about to say may come as a surprise. It's not the kind of thing one hears every day, and I suppose we should have told you a bit sooner but we wanted..."

" YOU'RE A PRINCE!" Remus blurted out from behind them. The other two whipped their heads to glare at him.

" crashed that carriage, didn't we Remus?" Janus said

" blue was rambling. Better to just rip it off like a wound dressing!" Everyone including Virgil groaned at that imagery.

" wait, so I'm a Prince." He said as if testing the words on his lips.

" yes. You are the only son and heir of his majesty, king Thomas. I know this is all a lot to take in."

Virgil looked back to the outfit. It's grand appearance suddenly making sense. He shook his head laughing to himself " I wonder how he'll take that News"

"Wonder how who'll take that news?" The fairies all asked.

Virgil rubbed the back of his neck." Oh, well, a man happened through the forest where I was, I was practicing my fighting, but only with a stick. He jumps out of the bushes and wants to duel. But he was just playing" now Virgil was rambling trying to push his innocence.

"What else did you do?" Patton asked cautiously.

" He took me on a ride through the woods on his horse, we talked a lot. He also taught me to dance. We spun so much that I'm still a little dizzy" he said with a smile. " he's coming back tomorrow."

Patton recognized the look Virgil had. He had definitely fallen in love with him. Which would make this next part of the conversation harder.

" Virgil..Unfortunately we won't be here after today. We promised to we would bring you back to the castle tonight."

Virgil was upset. " are you sure we couldn't wait until tomorrow so I could explain to him. I'm sure he mind me being a Prince." Janus stepped forward " son, I'm afraid that's not possible. you see A part of being a Prince is that when you were born, you were also betrothed to another Prince from an allied kingdom, Prince-"

Now Virgil was mad " I don't care what his name is. How could anyone force or even expect anyone, let alone a Prince to marry someone they've never met!"

Remus lightly placed his hand on his arm " now cloud-"

Virgil shook him off. " no! You don't get to call me that anymore. You keep this information from me my whole life. Then expect me to be okay with this. I don't know the first thing about being a Prince. I don't want to go." Tears streamed down his cheeks as he fled from the room. Patton Janus and Remus stood around wondering what to do to help their Prince.

PART 3: