II: An Appointed Knight

Before the Calamity

The wind blew relentlessly in Hyrule that night, and Zelda awoke to a faint knock on her door. She peered at the clock on her wall and noticed it was very late at night. What could anybody want at this hour? She wondered. Zelda slipped out of bed and covered her white nightgown with a royal robe. Her feet wandered across the cold floor as she reached for the door handle. 

"Can I help y-" Zelda froze. It was Link standing at the door. She had never interacted with him like this before. 

Link suddenly handed her her own diary with the Triforce sign on it. She gasped when she realized how personal of a belonging he had in his possession. She abruptly snatched it from his hand and her fingers brushed against his. She involuntarily blushed but turned angrily as not to show him her reaction. A man's touch was foreign to her, and she did not know how to respond. Link, however, seemed unfazed by their interaction.

Zelda calmed down and her face grew serious. But how did he get it? she pondered. This is so embarrassing, he must know it is mine because he read it! How rude! He invaded my privacy, and-

Link interrupted her thought process by peeking around her to see what her room was like. He looked until he was satisfied and gave a slight nod to Zelda, then turned around without saying anything. He walked down the long hallway, most likely to return to the guard's chambers. He left Zelda standing in her doorway staring at the diary in her hands. Before he left her view, he turned around to see if she was still there. He met her eyes, then turned the corner.

Zelda immediately got flushed- an angry flushed. She was embarrassed and mad that she actually liked when he was there, though she wouldn't admit it to herself. The unnerving feeling arose in her stomach again and she walked around her room before opening the door to the bridge. She left her study door open.

Oh, she thought. It must have blown out in the wind. What a fool... how did I forget to close the door? 

She returned to her bed with her diary still wrapped in her arms. 

♦

Zelda's POV:

I woke to the sound of birds and faint clanking outside of my window. Of course, I knew exactly who was making the noise. It was him, no one else would be up so early. As I walked to my window, the image of him outside immediately jogged my memory of what happened last night. I remember looking into his blue eyes, I remember being confused. If one thing was for certain, it was that he was there strictly for business. But even though he bothers me, for some reason I wish he had stayed a little longer...

I returned my diary to the study and enjoyed the sunlight warming my skin as I walked outside. I looked down and realized Link was wearing his royal guard uniform.

Oh no, I thought. The accolade ceremony! I can't be late!

I honestly couldn't believe that today my father was going to appoint me a knight. Out of all of the options, I get Link. His silence is so bothersome! And every time I see him I get that sick feeling! But there is something about him... I just can't figure it out, but secretly I am curious.

I got dressed in my normal attire: my royal blue dress. I combed through my long blonde hair and proceeded to braid the top of it. Then, I clipped two blue barrettes in my hair and put on my shoes. Reluctantly, I scurried on to the sanctum where I knew my father would be waiting for me.

When I arrived, Link was standing in the middle of the room. He watched me as I walked up the stairs to the thrown where my father sat. 

"Zelda," my father scolded. "I almost had to sent someone for you! You must be more professional and precise as a royal member of this family!"

I bowed my head in shame, as I turned to face the crowd standing below us.

"All rise," the king said as knights and other castle employees rose from their chairs surrounding the room. "Today, the royal family officially dubs Link, a knight of Hyrule castle, to be my daughter Zelda, the princess of Hyrule's, appointed knight." 

I watched my father make his way down the stairs as he took a royal claymore from a knight of high rank. Then, he placed the sword on both sides of Link's shoulders as he knelt on the ground.

"You will accompany Zelda on her many research and training journeys across Hyrule. Do you swear, to indefinitely protect Zelda with your own life?"

Link nodded and said, "I do." I do. I thought. I do... For some reason it was really nice to hear those words.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the castle," my father began. "Link, the princess's knight." The people surrounding the sanctum applauded as Link rose to his feet and looked up at me. I quickly looked away, hoping he didn't notice the eye contact.

My father walked back up the stairs. "Zelda," he said, "you must learn to get along. You and Link must stay very close." I nodded, and left to go down the stairs. I noticed Link had already left by the time I reached the bottom.

I bet I know exactly where he is. 

As the day passed by, I thought about how my life would change now that I was to travel among Hyrule with a boy my age. I won't have freedom anymore, I guess. My every move will be monitored by Link.

I decided that night I was going to sneak out of my window and go for one last adventure before I was forced into someone else's watch. I made sure that I didn't make a lot of noise because if the guards down the hallway got suspicious, my adventure would cease to a painful halt. Night fell, and after making no noise for seemingly 30 minutes, I crept out of my bed and quietly opened the door to the bridge connecting to my study. From there, I crept along the walkway to a spot on my study's outer wall where I could climb down. A while ago, I studied the wall during the day for stones sticking out where I could climb down without getting hurt. Over time, I picked out a perfect pathway that led me down the side of the wall with ease. 

I climbed over the barrier of the bridge and swung my legs over. From there, I grabbed a stone on the wall and began to descend. I got a nervous feeling in my stomach, but I continued to slowly climb down. As I neared halfway, I began to lose track of my path down, as it was very dark at this time. I immediately got very scared, I must have still been at least 30 feet above the ground. As panic quickly escalated inside me, I gasped for air and lost my grip on the wall. I fell through the air, clenching all my muscles as I prepared for impact. A split second before I reached the ground, a pair of strong arms reached out and grabbed me. I toppled on top of a body- someone broke my fall. 

As I grunted and looked down, I realize that Link had saved me from a very dangerous, maybe even fatal fall.

"Link!" I whispered in shock. "Are you hurt? Get up!"

He pushed himself up off the ground, noticeably injured. Ignoring my question, he looked at me worried. He seemed to ask me if I was okay with his eyes. I hated being treated like the princess.  

This began to irritate me. Is he ever just... not there to save the day? Does he even make mistakes? He must be so self-absorbed, knowing that he is the epitome of perfection and precision. Something... my mind trailed off. Something I will never be...

"Thank you Link, for saving me. But it seems I must return to my chambers." I tried to sound very sure of myself so he wouldn't think of stepping in. Once he was gone, I would try to climb down the wall again so I could go adventure alone. 

I should have known better than to try to make a decision of my own in front of my "appointed knight," because Link put his arm in front of me and stopped my movement. He wouldn't let me climb back up. He shook his head slightly at me.

"Haven't you done enough?" I snapped at him. "I mean, thank you for saving me. But all I wanted was a simple adventure once more before I have to be bossed around by YOU all the time! Please, Link, leave me alone tonight!" 

He looked confused by my anger considering he had just saved my life. However, as usual, he didn't respond to me. Truly, I was just frustrated because I knew that if I re-entered the castle any other way I would be caught and punished by my father.

He lightly grabbed my arm and began to lead me back to the entrance of the castle, but I resisted.

"Link, I can't go back in there! I can't be caught," I insisted. "Please... please don't tell my father." He must have sensed the vulnerability and sorrow in my voice because he let go of my arm and looked around. 

"Can I just climb up without you stopping me?" I hissed. He looked at me disapprovingly. "Okay fine," I muttered.

Link walked over to the garden and sat under a tree that was not visible from any castle windows. I noticed that he had a slight limp as he made his way over there. He took flint from his pocket and gathered fallen tree branches to make a fire. A small gust of wind blew and I quickly got very cold. I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered. Link saw me out of the corner of his eye as he kindled the fire. He stood up to give me his tunic, but I refused.

"I can handle myself, thank you." I wanted him to realize that I am in fact very independent and do not need his help with everything. He looked at me and said nothing as he pulled his arm back and sat next to the fire. 

Maybe this could be fun, sleeping outside?  Very adventurous! Not like I have many other options...

I walked over to the fire and sat a good distance away from Link. As sleep tugged at my eyes, I lied down on my arm where I tried to fall asleep. It was very cold that night, but I remember the wind stopped beating at me at some point.

♦

Zelda woke the next morning covered in Link's tunic. As she sat up and wiped the sleep from her eyes, she saw Link in his white undershirt cooking an apple over the fire. He turned around and offered Zelda the apple, realizing that she had awakened. Zelda reached out and gently took the apple from him, and she noticed dark bags underneath Link's eyes. He hadn't slept all night. Zelda didn't realize, but if anyone had seen them, Link could have gotten in grave trouble.