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                                    Chapter Three: Audience with the Queen

As morning sunlight struck the houses of Castle Town, its varied inhabitants awoke from their slumber and began shuffling about their mornings. Merchants opened shop for the day, the town musicians set up their instruments, and townsfolk donned their frilly, expensive clothing. Gossipers stood in huddled circles to exchange the gossip they would spread for the day, houses opened their shutters, and servants, who had been awake long before dawn, went about their work.

Into the morning chill and wakeful noises Link walked, his wallet jingling with rupees given to him by Jovani’s cat, Gengle. The supply wouldn’t last forever, he was aware of that, but the older man and his cat were eager to rid themselves of the riches for which Jovani sold his soul, a soul he owed Link a great debt for recovering. The only stop the hero was making before going to the castle was an out of the way stall in West Castle Town. It was constructed of rickety wood and shook a bit if it was leaned on or bumped. The hay on the ground and iron horse shoe decorations gave away its wares without advertising it as much as the other stalls. The man who sat there was an older man named Nokert. He was slightly hunchbacked, with a long white beard, and sat on a wooden stool so he could wave his cane at the help. Horis, the old man’s grandson, was a twelve-year old boy with mousy brown hair and freckles who did everything Nokert said for five rupees an hour.

“Grandpa! A customer!” Horis bounded over to the fence and leaned over it as Link approached.

“Eh? What did ya say, lad?” Nokert adjusted his glasses and peered at Link.

“Hello, good Sir,” Link said, bowing his head in respect to the old man. “I hear that you sell horses at this stall and I’ve come to purchase your best work horse.”

“Work horse, ya say? Might I ask what you’ll be usin’ her for?”

Link patted the boy on the head as he entered the gate and stood before Nokert, putting his hands on his waist. “Packing wood, hay, herding goats, that sort of thing. He’ll have good care and a lot of love, I can guarantee you that.”

Nokert chuckled and nodded his head, then waved his cane at Horis. “Boy! Go get the white Shire horse.”

“Yes’ir!” Horis ran off, and Nokert continued.

“The white Shire’s a sturdy work horse, and he’ll do ya well. He’s a young stallion yet and has a lot of energy on him, so he’ll need patience to get him focused every now and again, but you look capable of it lad.”

Link cleared his throat. “The horse is not for me, sir. My mount is a noble friend I won’t part with. It’s for the town or Ordon, and a lady named Ilia.”

“Ah, miss Ilia! A sweet one, that girl was.” The old man grinned, exposing a few missing teeth. Link chuckled. It seems like everyone in Castle Town had met Ilia while she was here. “Yep, that girl used to hang around the horses all the time. I thought she was a horse thief at first, but she’s no thief! Just crazy.”

Link laughed out loud. “You got that right!”

At the sound of hooves clopping over the cobblestone street toward them, the two turned around. The stallion in question was tall and strong, with a freshly-brushed white coat and black around his hooves and mane. Horis was riding the horse, which was five times his size, bareback using only a bridle and reigns.

Link clapped as Horis brought it to a halt and slid off the side. “Nice riding, there, kid. Not everyone has that much skill with a horse that big, especially at your age.”

Horis grinned. “Thanks, sir. Here’s the Shire, Grandpa.”

“Right then. Well, you take a look and see if this guy is what you’re lookin’ for.” He waved his cane in the air. “And you, boy! Go get a nice saddle for this one!”

Link adjusted his belt and walked over to the stallion, patting his neck and running his hands over the sides. The brute was well muscled, with a good back and strong legs. The horse moved his head to keep a brown eye on each move the warrior made, switching his tale in agitation. Link checked the ankles and hooves. With a grunt, Link stood up and moved around to the horse’s front, grabbing at the underside of his bridle and yanking his head down to look strait in his face. The horse shifted, and Link narrowed his eyes, holding the gaze and tightening his hold.

“Well,” the warrior let go of the horse and turned to Nokert. “He’s a steady one, and well built. And if a twelve year old can handle him bareback, I’m sure Ilia can. She’s stolen Epona enough to be good at handling a horse, that’s for sure.”

The old man leaned forward. “You’ll take him, then?”

“Yes. What’s your price?” Link pulled out his wallet.

Horis hurried past with a light brown saddle and threw it up onto the horse’s back, jumping around to secure it properly and getting switched in the face with the horse’s tale. Nokert narrowed his eyes. “Ten thousand rupees.”

Link snorted. “Yeah right. What do you take me for, stupid? Three thousand.”

“An old man’s gotta live, young fella, and that there is a fine horse! Eight thousand.”

“Five thousand rupees, and you can keep the saddle because I’ve got a spare one at home I can put on him.”

“Fine.” Nokert and Link shook hands, and the hero emptied the contents of his wallet into the old man’s box. “When would ya like him ready, lad?”

Link smiled, tucking the wallet back into his belt. “I’ve got something to do that might take a while, so have him ready for me tomorrow morning. I’ll come by here at daybreak.”

“Good doin’ business with ya.” The old man sat on his stool and started counting the rupees, and Horis went about taking the saddle off again. Link waved at the two as he walked away, heading toward north castle town, where Princess Zelda awaited his arrival.

                                                                ----------

“Hault! No one goes through these gates!” The two guards on either side of the castle gates crossed their spears and glared at Link through their helmets. The warrior narrowed his eyes at them. They had potbellies, the cloth on their armor hadn’t been washed in so long it was yellow, and their shields had feet so they didn’t have to hold them. He could take these two in one move and enter the castle without a fight. Disgraceful, he thought, holding out the rolled up parchment.

“The Princess has summoned me.”

The guards opened the parchment and looked at it for a long time, then peered over it at Link with narrowed eyes. “Fine.” They pounded on the door and it opened from within. “You can enter. Walk strait to the front door and you’ll be escorted to Her Majesty’s throne room from there.”

Link nodded and took the summons back. The castle grounds looked much like he remembered them, except this time they were populated by gardeners trying to repair the damaged grounds. Guards patrolled back and forth, brandishing their weapons and shouting loudly, and workmen ran around up on the castle walls repairing broken stone. Ahead, a man who seemed to be a butler held open the castle’s front door.

“Master Link,” the man bowed. “We have been awaiting your arrival. I am Forrad, the Princess’s royal advisor.”

Link cleared his throat and started to bow back, but Forrad stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. “No need for you two bow to me, sir. Princess Zelda holds you in the highest esteem.”

“Ah,” the warrior shifted and tapped the toes of his boots on the stone. “I see.”

Forrad smiled. “Follow me, please.” Link nodded and the door was shut behind them. The halls were as large as Link remembered them to be, however they seemed much livelier. Servants and workman ran in and out of doors, guards held posts at the major entrances, and the sounds of repairs could be heard from deeper within the castle. Everything seemed to gleam in a way it hadn’t before, and every person the warrior saw was immaculately dressed and tidy. Forrad himself was quite dashing for his age, wearing a blue silk tunic with gold trim, jeweled cufflinks, with frills sticking out of the sleeves. Obviously a nobleman, not a hair was out of out place and there was no speck of lint or dandruff to be seen on his dark-colored outfit.

Link brushed the patches of dirt off of his tunic as they walked and adjusted the straps that held on his beaten shield and used sword. He thought of the bathwater and hair brush that Telma had offered him that morning, with a knowing gleam in her eyes that puzzled him, and he suddenly wished that he had accepted.

“Pardon us for the mess around the castle,” Forrad said, walking at a brisk pace through sets of double doors toward a staircase that would lead them to the castle’s upper floors. “It is in quite a state of disrepair from the recent events and we are hard at work on repairs. As it is, we will be crossing over some rather crude temporary solutions, such as wooden planks on the staircase. I would advise you to take caution when you step.”

“I will. Thank you.” They crossed through a hallway full of suits of armor in various styles, passed through a large set of doors, and started up a crumbling staircase. “Forgive me,” Link cleared his throat, “but if I’m not mistaken, wouldn’t the throne room be up a different staircase?”

“You are quite right.” Forrad looked at Link from the corner of his eye. “Your knowledge of the castle’s layout surprises me. The throne room you are thinking of is only used for formal occasions and ceremonies. There is a throne room on a lower level that Her Highness uses for everyday occasions due to its smaller scale and lack of grandeur. It is more of a meeting room than a throne room, and” a smile turned the corner of his mouth, “much easier for old men like myself to reach.”

They chuckled, and Link’s shoulders relaxed. The sound of their boots clomping over stone and carpet was the only sound between them for the rest of the walk. Forrad turned so many corners that the warrior soon became completely lost, and knew that he would need someone to guide him back to the front door. The last hallway they entered was lined in royal blue carpet, with a ceiling that slopped upward in grand, temple-like arches. On the left wall was a sword display from every province under the rule of Hyrule’s royal family, and paintings of past rulers were on the right wall. A pair of chestnut doors with golden handles and carvings of the royal crest stood at the end of the hall.

Forrad and Link stopped just in front of the doors. “We have arrived.” Forrad laid his hand on the door handle and turned to Link. “Through these doors is the throne room. I will enter before you and introduce you. You are to enter through the doors, bow to Her Highness, and wait for her to greet you. Once she has greeted you, walk toward her throne until you are two meters from it, bow again, and await her to begin conversation.”

Link gulped, nodded his head, and took his cap off, running his fingers through his hair. His stomach gave a nervous ache, and Link wished that he hadn’t skipped breakfast either.

The advisor continued. “Now, to introduce you I will need to know your given name, your profession and title, your father’s name, his profession and title, and the province from which you herald.”

“Well…um, my given name is Link. I’m a goat shepherd.” He shifted from foot to foot, fingering the clasp of the pouch on his belt that held the wolf stone. “I never knew my parents, but…well Rusl and Uli took their stead in raising me, I guess. Rusl is the town swordsmith. We live in Ordona Province.”

At every statement the old advisor nodded his head in a brisk manner, as if checking items off a list. After Link finished, with no mention of a noble’s title, Forrad pursed his lips and frowned. “Very well.” With one last nod, the advisor turned on his heals to face the door. He rapped a fist against it five times and then pressed his palms to the sides of his legs. There were sounds of shuffling and muffled talk inside, and then the doors swung open. Air rushed out and blew in their faces, smelling of dusty tapestries and flowers.

Forrad walked through the doors, bowed low at the waist with a fist pressed to his chest, and then cleared his throat. “Heralding from Ordona Province, Link Shepherd, ward of Rusl the swordsmith, requests an audience with Her Highness, Zelda Nohansen Harkine, the Princess of Hyrule.”

“Thank you, Forrad. He may enter.”

The old advisor bowed again and backed out of the throne room, turning only after he had exited the doors into the hallway. Link bounced on his toes and wiped his palms on his tunic. At Forrad’s signal, Link took a deep breath and walked through the doors, the clunk of his muddy, tattered boots sounding out of place on the clean stone floor. Guards lined the walls of the room, sizing up the warrior in green as he bowed, peeking up at the princess from under dirty blond bangs that hung over his face.

Zelda smiled and leaned back in her chair. “Good hero, after all that you have done for Hyrule, you’ve no need to bow to me. Please, come closer so we can speak in comfort.”

The guards’ armored heads turned to Zelda, the unison sound of grinding metal resounding at the movement. Upon straitening, Link was able to get a better look at the room. In place of the throne he expected to see, the princess sat in a plush, throne-like chair with lions carved into the arms. The chair was positioned at a matching wooden desk carved with lions, a phoenix, and other symbols, where neat piles of parchment, a quill dipped in a bottle of ink, and a royal seal with a burning candle rested. A guard approached from the corner of the room with a chair, smaller and less decorated than the princess’s, and set it on the other side.

“Thank you, guard,” Zelda said as the man bowed and went back to his place. Link paused near the chair, bowed again despite the princess’s statement, and then took off his sword and shield. He placed it on the ground, leaned against the side of the chair, and sat down. Blowing out the candle, Zelda pushed the papers aside and folded her hands in her lap. “I am so pleased that you have come. One moment,” she held up a hand, looking past Link at guard that had come to stand behind him. The guard saluted her and stood beside the desk. “Captain, will you please dismiss all of your soldiers from the room? I am in the best of hands and wish to speak with Sir Link in privacy. Yourself and Forrad may stay, but procedures for utmost secrecy are to be observed.”

“Yes, your Highness.” The captain bowed, then turned around and pounded his spear on the floor. The soldiers in the room picked up their spears and shields and turned to him. “Guards, file out! Quickly!”

“Yes Sir Captain!” the guards answered in unison. They marched to the middle of the room, where they made two lines and exited. Forrad and the Captain closed the doors behind them and stood in front of each, trying to look as if they would not be listening to every word spoken.

“Much better,” Zelda turned her attention back to Link and sighed. “I apologize for the formalities. Again, thank you for coming so quickly. There are many things I wish to ask you, but first is anything you want to ask of me? I wish to be of as much assistance to the man who saved my country, and my life, as possible.”

Link leaned back and put his elbows on the arms of the chair. “Thank you, princess. You honor me too much.” He chewed on the inside of his lower lip and thought. “There are a few things I’m wondering. First, how’s Prince Ralis and the Zora Kingdom?”

“King Ralis, you mean,” Zelda said. “I have sent many fine men of various talents to help the Zora people rebuild their kingdom. There are repairs that need to be done everywhere, but they are a proud race and Hyrule sent aid to them first. Ralis is doing well, considering the grief he has been coping with. In a letter to me he stated that he understands that his grief is second to his duty to his people and he will honor that duty. I understand that you are to thank for the courage and honor he now displays.”

Link shrugged. “He has a strong spirit. I just encouraged him in his time of grief.”

“Indeed,” Zelda smiled, looking at her desk. “Rutela and I were friends. It grieves me to hear that she is dead.”

“I’m sorry Princess.”

Zelda waved a hand and shook her head. “Don’t be. We all made sacrifices in this war and everyone is grieving. Hyrule is free now, thanks to you, and the festivities will be grand.”

“It wasn’t me alone, Highness. I couldn’t have done it without Midna and yourself.”

Zelda looked back at Link with a serious expression. “Yes, of course. Our kingdom would not be free without her…I wish that I was able to honor her properly.” Sorrow lined the princess’s voice, her eyes seeming to look into the distance as she rubbed a portion of her dress between her thumb and forefinger.

“May I ask a personal question, Princess?” Link cleared his throat again, leaning forward slightly. Zelda nodded. “When Midna was dying and I carried her to you…what, exactly, did you do that made her well? She refused to tell me.”

Zelda’s eyes widened, and her lips pursed. She pressed a finger to them and gazed across the desk at Link, tilting her head to the side. “That is the one question I will not answer for you, Link. Just as there were events and relationships during your adventure that you will not share with me at this point in our relations with one another, so I cannot share that with you. Perhaps in the future we will feel ready to share such intimate details about our separate adventures.” Link nodded, the tips of his ears turning red as he glared at his boots. The corners of Zelda’s mouth turned up. “Is there anything else you want to ask?”

Link shook his head. “No, your Highness. Not right now.”

“All right, then. I have some questions to ask you. Very soon I will be required to approach the people of Hyrule and tell them what happened and to whom they owe their freedom –you.” Zelda folded her hands in her lap. “The problem is that not even I know all of the details. I would like to ask you a series of questions so that I can fill in the gaps in my knowledge. As thrilling as the rumors about your deeds are, I’m sure the truth is much more exciting.”

“I’ve heard some of the rumors. Not all of them are flattering. I’ll answer your questions as best as I can.”

“Thank you. Well, then, let’s start. You are a shepherd, correct?” Link nodded. “You are quite skilled with a blade for a shepherd. In fact, if what I saw of your swordsmanship is any indication of your skill, I would say that you are better with the blade and with horses than my entire army. Do you know why that is?”

“I have an idea why, yes,” Link said. “I wasn’t always good. Rusl taught me a little, but I’d never held a sword before in my life. A part of me just seemed to know…I don’t exactly know why.”

“I see. So no one but Rusl instructed you?”

Link tilted his head up and thought a moment, then intertwined his fingers. The corners of his mouth twitched. “I can’t share that with you. Perhaps in the future we’ll feel ready to share such intimate details about our separate adventures.”

Zelda’s jaw hung open for a moment, and then she threw back her head and laughed, while Link smiled a toothy grin. Near the door, the Captain and Forrad exchanged a glance. The princess’s laugher waned and she met the warrior’s eyes again, still chuckling. “Very well, good sir, that is fair.” She sighed. “So, let me be sure I have my information correct. Due to the power of the Goddesses granted to you, when Zant’s twilight covered the land the Goddesses turned you into a beast, which would be representative of your soul I assume. From the reports I have gathered from my kingdom, you, correct me if I am wrong, went to each realm of the land and defeated all the evil in Hyrule, thus restoring peace. Is that the basics?”

Link blinked and scratched his head. “Well…in a breath, yes. There’s so much more to it than that, though.”

“Indeed.” Zelda frowned, propping an elbow on the arm of her chair and looking out a window. “There is much more, but the people of Hyrule do not want the full story. They want the basics so that they can flesh the stories they have heard around it, and so that a statement of any kind from their Queen can prove to them that she is competent.” Zelda dropped her gaze, running a finger over the back of her left hand. “Link, I will confide in you something that no one in Hyrule but you will understand.” The hero nodded as her blue eyes turned toward him. She held his gaze for what seemed to him like a long time, and in those twin cerulean depths there was a timeless, ancient sadness. It was a sorrow he became more intimate with every day; a heaviness in the soul beyond tears, ineffable, uncontainable by mortal expression.

His eyes drifted to his left hand, and he clenched it into a fist as he looked back at the princess. Each word seemed to linger in the air, expressed for both of them by one. “I did not ask for it, and I would not alter the destiny that possessing it has yielded for me. It awakened very young in me, and I have never been the same… Innocence is not a gift you and I were meant to enjoy.”

Link nodded and looked past her, out the window at the cheerful daytime gardens. Lost in their own thoughts and memories, the throne room was loud with silence and the songs of birds outside rang through the stone hall like the sound of golden trumpets. The warrior had never been able to explain to himself, let alone to others, what the mark of goddesses on the back of his hand made him feel. It was a foul gift, a divine joke, a welcomed curse, an untimely blessing. He loved it and hated it; it felt more natural than anything he had known and yet it wasn’t him at all; every day he turned into someone else, someone much older and much more skilled than the shepherd boy with no parents. His soul rejoiced in it, and his heart resigned to it. It was just as the princess had spoken, and the hero was grateful for her diplomacy.

“Princess,” Link leaned toward her and placed his gauntleted hand on the desk, “at least the goddesses gave us one relief.” He took a breath and lowered his voice to a whisper so that only she could hear. “We’re not alone in our burden.”

Zelda gazed at the shepherd and then a smile softened her features. “Yes, you are right.” She inclined her head toward him. “Truly a divine blessing.”

Clearing her throat, the princess raised her voice so that the Captain and Forrad in the back of the room could hear them again. “Now, let us proceed. I have an important request that I would like to propose to you. As I said before, you are a better swordsman than every man in my army. However, because of the means by which you came about your skill, you lack specific knowledge that would be required of a general. I would like to propose that you allow me to knight you in a ceremony, as a form of gratitude from myself and the Hyrulian people for the services you gave to this Kingdom. At that time, I would like to make you a captain in my army and, if you accept, you would be tutored by a general in the arts of war. When he feels you have either equaled or surpassed him in skill, I will then give you command over all of Hyrule’s army through the entirety of the kingdom.”

The Captain and Forrad gasped and jumped, their armor clamoring and clanking. Link’s eyes widened and he sat back, gripping the arms of his chair with white knuckles. He opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again when nothing came out.

Princess Zelda held up a hand and shook her head. “You do not have to answer now,” she said. “Think about it and return when you have made your decision. I would, however, like to knight you no matter your decision.”

The stunned warrior nodded and shifted in his seat. “Yes, I’ll do that. Thank you, your Highness.”

Zelda pushed back her chair and stood up. “Please, call me Zelda.”

Link followed suit, standing up and bowing at the waist. “Okay Princess.”

“Thank you for your time today, Link. I look forward to seeing you again.” Zelda walked around the side of the desk and held out her hand, which Link grabbed and shook. Forrad scoffed in the back of the room, and the princess muffled a giggle into the back of her other hand.

The warrior’s cheeks tinted red. “Um, the pleasure is mine, your Highness. Have a good evening.” He backed away a bit, and then turned and strode toward the doors that Forrad and the Captain were holding wide open for his retreat.
Zelda smiled as she watched him go, then motioned toward the Captain to call the guards back in. She returned to her seat and located the letters and other official documents she had been going over, picking up the quill and tapping the excess ink on the edge of the bottle’s neck.

She pressed it to the paper, but paused and looked, again, at the open door. We aren’t alone, she thought. That was a new concept to her. The triforce awakened in her when she was very young and the manifestation of its powers within her had deprived her of any childhood she might have had. It forced to her to be alone in the world, separate even from her own father as the triforce’s wisdom pushed her to question his judgments and fitness to rule. But Link had been given a piece of the triforce as well, and he understood. Perhaps she wasn’t so solitary after all.

Description
                                    Chapter Three: Audience with the Queen

As morning sunlight struck the houses of Castle Town, its varied inhabitants awoke from their slumber and began shuffling about their mornings. Merchants opened shop for the day, the town musicians set up their instruments, and townsfolk donned their frilly, expensive clothing. Gossipers stood in huddled circles to exchange the gossip they would spread for the day, houses opened their shutters, and servants, who had been awake long before dawn, went about their work.

Into the morning chill and wakeful noises Link walked, his wallet jingling with rupees given to him by Jovani’s cat, Gengle. The supply wouldn’t last forever, he was aware of that, but the older man and his cat were eager to rid themselves of the riches for which Jovani sold his soul, a soul he owed Link a great debt for recovering. The only stop the hero was making before going to the castle was an out of the way stall in West Castle Town. It was constructed of rickety wood and shook a bit if it was leaned on or bumped. The hay on the ground and iron horse shoe decorations gave away its wares without advertising it as much as the other stalls. The man who sat there was an older man named Nokert. He was slightly hunchbacked, with a long white beard, and sat on a wooden stool so he could wave his cane at the help. Horis, the old man’s grandson, was a twelve-year old boy with mousy brown hair and freckles who did everything Nokert said for five rupees an hour.

“Grandpa! A customer!” Horis bounded over to the fence and leaned over it as Link approached.

“Eh? What did ya say, lad?” Nokert adjusted his glasses and peered at Link.

“Hello, good Sir,” Link said, bowing his head in respect to the old man. “I hear that you sell horses at this stall and I’ve come to purchase your best work horse.”

“Work horse, ya say? Might I ask what you’ll be usin’ her for?”

Link patted the boy on the head as he entered the gate and stood before Nokert, putting his hands on his waist. “Packing wood, hay, herding goats, that sort of thing. He’ll have good care and a lot of love, I can guarantee you that.”

Nokert chuckled and nodded his head, then waved his cane at Horis. “Boy! Go get the white Shire horse.”

“Yes’ir!” Horis ran off, and Nokert continued.

“The white Shire’s a sturdy work horse, and he’ll do ya well. He’s a young stallion yet and has a lot of energy on him, so he’ll need patience to get him focused every now and again, but you look capable of it lad.”

Link cleared his throat. “The horse is not for me, sir. My mount is a noble friend I won’t part with. It’s for the town or Ordon, and a lady named Ilia.”

“Ah, miss Ilia! A sweet one, that girl was.” The old man grinned, exposing a few missing teeth. Link chuckled. It seems like everyone in Castle Town had met Ilia while she was here. “Yep, that girl used to hang around the horses all the time. I thought she was a horse thief at first, but she’s no thief! Just crazy.”

Link laughed out loud. “You got that right!”

At the sound of hooves clopping over the cobblestone street toward them, the two turned around. The stallion in question was tall and strong, with a freshly-brushed white coat and black around his hooves and mane. Horis was riding the horse, which was five times his size, bareback using only a bridle and reigns.

Link clapped as Horis brought it to a halt and slid off the side. “Nice riding, there, kid. Not everyone has that much skill with a horse that big, especially at your age.”

Horis grinned. “Thanks, sir. Here’s the Shire, Grandpa.”

“Right then. Well, you take a look and see if this guy is what you’re lookin’ for.” He waved his cane in the air. “And you, boy! Go get a nice saddle for this one!”

Link adjusted his belt and walked over to the stallion, patting his neck and running his hands over the sides. The brute was well muscled, with a good back and strong legs. The horse moved his head to keep a brown eye on each move the warrior made, switching his tale in agitation. Link checked the ankles and hooves. With a grunt, Link stood up and moved around to the horse’s front, grabbing at the underside of his bridle and yanking his head down to look strait in his face. The horse shifted, and Link narrowed his eyes, holding the gaze and tightening his hold.

“Well,” the warrior let go of the horse and turned to Nokert. “He’s a steady one, and well built. And if a twelve year old can handle him bareback, I’m sure Ilia can. She’s stolen Epona enough to be good at handling a horse, that’s for sure.”

The old man leaned forward. “You’ll take him, then?”

“Yes. What’s your price?” Link pulled out his wallet.

Horis hurried past with a light brown saddle and threw it up onto the horse’s back, jumping around to secure it properly and getting switched in the face with the horse’s tale. Nokert narrowed his eyes. “Ten thousand rupees.”

Link snorted. “Yeah right. What do you take me for, stupid? Three thousand.”

“An old man’s gotta live, young fella, and that there is a fine horse! Eight thousand.”

“Five thousand rupees, and you can keep the saddle because I’ve got a spare one at home I can put on him.”

“Fine.” Nokert and Link shook hands, and the hero emptied the contents of his wallet into the old man’s box. “When would ya like him ready, lad?”

Link smiled, tucking the wallet back into his belt. “I’ve got something to do that might take a while, so have him ready for me tomorrow morning. I’ll come by here at daybreak.”

“Good doin’ business with ya.” The old man sat on his stool and started counting the rupees, and Horis went about taking the saddle off again. Link waved at the two as he walked away, heading toward north castle town, where Princess Zelda awaited his arrival.

                                                                ----------

“Hault! No one goes through these gates!” The two guards on either side of the castle gates crossed their spears and glared at Link through their helmets. The warrior narrowed his eyes at them. They had potbellies, the cloth on their armor hadn’t been washed in so long it was yellow, and their shields had feet so they didn’t have to hold them. He could take these two in one move and enter the castle without a fight. Disgraceful, he thought, holding out the rolled up parchment.

“The Princess has summoned me.”

The guards opened the parchment and looked at it for a long time, then peered over it at Link with narrowed eyes. “Fine.” They pounded on the door and it opened from within. “You can enter. Walk strait to the front door and you’ll be escorted to Her Majesty’s throne room from there.”

Link nodded and took the summons back. The castle grounds looked much like he remembered them, except this time they were populated by gardeners trying to repair the damaged grounds. Guards patrolled back and forth, brandishing their weapons and shouting loudly, and workmen ran around up on the castle walls repairing broken stone. Ahead, a man who seemed to be a butler held open the castle’s front door.

“Master Link,” the man bowed. “We have been awaiting your arrival. I am Forrad, the Princess’s royal advisor.”

Link cleared his throat and started to bow back, but Forrad stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. “No need for you two bow to me, sir. Princess Zelda holds you in the highest esteem.”

“Ah,” the warrior shifted and tapped the toes of his boots on the stone. “I see.”

Forrad smiled. “Follow me, please.” Link nodded and the door was shut behind them. The halls were as large as Link remembered them to be, however they seemed much livelier. Servants and workman ran in and out of doors, guards held posts at the major entrances, and the sounds of repairs could be heard from deeper within the castle. Everything seemed to gleam in a way it hadn’t before, and every person the warrior saw was immaculately dressed and tidy. Forrad himself was quite dashing for his age, wearing a blue silk tunic with gold trim, jeweled cufflinks, with frills sticking out of the sleeves. Obviously a nobleman, not a hair was out of out place and there was no speck of lint or dandruff to be seen on his dark-colored outfit.

Link brushed the patches of dirt off of his tunic as they walked and adjusted the straps that held on his beaten shield and used sword. He thought of the bathwater and hair brush that Telma had offered him that morning, with a knowing gleam in her eyes that puzzled him, and he suddenly wished that he had accepted.

“Pardon us for the mess around the castle,” Forrad said, walking at a brisk pace through sets of double doors toward a staircase that would lead them to the castle’s upper floors. “It is in quite a state of disrepair from the recent events and we are hard at work on repairs. As it is, we will be crossing over some rather crude temporary solutions, such as wooden planks on the staircase. I would advise you to take caution when you step.”

“I will. Thank you.” They crossed through a hallway full of suits of armor in various styles, passed through a large set of doors, and started up a crumbling staircase. “Forgive me,” Link cleared his throat, “but if I’m not mistaken, wouldn’t the throne room be up a different staircase?”

“You are quite right.” Forrad looked at Link from the corner of his eye. “Your knowledge of the castle’s layout surprises me. The throne room you are thinking of is only used for formal occasions and ceremonies. There is a throne room on a lower level that Her Highness uses for everyday occasions due to its smaller scale and lack of grandeur. It is more of a meeting room than a throne room, and” a smile turned the corner of his mouth, “much easier for old men like myself to reach.”

They chuckled, and Link’s shoulders relaxed. The sound of their boots clomping over stone and carpet was the only sound between them for the rest of the walk. Forrad turned so many corners that the warrior soon became completely lost, and knew that he would need someone to guide him back to the front door. The last hallway they entered was lined in royal blue carpet, with a ceiling that slopped upward in grand, temple-like arches. On the left wall was a sword display from every province under the rule of Hyrule’s royal family, and paintings of past rulers were on the right wall. A pair of chestnut doors with golden handles and carvings of the royal crest stood at the end of the hall.

Forrad and Link stopped just in front of the doors. “We have arrived.” Forrad laid his hand on the door handle and turned to Link. “Through these doors is the throne room. I will enter before you and introduce you. You are to enter through the doors, bow to Her Highness, and wait for her to greet you. Once she has greeted you, walk toward her throne until you are two meters from it, bow again, and await her to begin conversation.”

Link gulped, nodded his head, and took his cap off, running his fingers through his hair. His stomach gave a nervous ache, and Link wished that he hadn’t skipped breakfast either.

The advisor continued. “Now, to introduce you I will need to know your given name, your profession and title, your father’s name, his profession and title, and the province from which you herald.”

“Well…um, my given name is Link. I’m a goat shepherd.” He shifted from foot to foot, fingering the clasp of the pouch on his belt that held the wolf stone. “I never knew my parents, but…well Rusl and Uli took their stead in raising me, I guess. Rusl is the town swordsmith. We live in Ordona Province.”

At every statement the old advisor nodded his head in a brisk manner, as if checking items off a list. After Link finished, with no mention of a noble’s title, Forrad pursed his lips and frowned. “Very well.” With one last nod, the advisor turned on his heals to face the door. He rapped a fist against it five times and then pressed his palms to the sides of his legs. There were sounds of shuffling and muffled talk inside, and then the doors swung open. Air rushed out and blew in their faces, smelling of dusty tapestries and flowers.

Forrad walked through the doors, bowed low at the waist with a fist pressed to his chest, and then cleared his throat. “Heralding from Ordona Province, Link Shepherd, ward of Rusl the swordsmith, requests an audience with Her Highness, Zelda Nohansen Harkine, the Princess of Hyrule.”

“Thank you, Forrad. He may enter.”

The old advisor bowed again and backed out of the throne room, turning only after he had exited the doors into the hallway. Link bounced on his toes and wiped his palms on his tunic. At Forrad’s signal, Link took a deep breath and walked through the doors, the clunk of his muddy, tattered boots sounding out of place on the clean stone floor. Guards lined the walls of the room, sizing up the warrior in green as he bowed, peeking up at the princess from under dirty blond bangs that hung over his face.

Zelda smiled and leaned back in her chair. “Good hero, after all that you have done for Hyrule, you’ve no need to bow to me. Please, come closer so we can speak in comfort.”

The guards’ armored heads turned to Zelda, the unison sound of grinding metal resounding at the movement. Upon straitening, Link was able to get a better look at the room. In place of the throne he expected to see, the princess sat in a plush, throne-like chair with lions carved into the arms. The chair was positioned at a matching wooden desk carved with lions, a phoenix, and other symbols, where neat piles of parchment, a quill dipped in a bottle of ink, and a royal seal with a burning candle rested. A guard approached from the corner of the room with a chair, smaller and less decorated than the princess’s, and set it on the other side.

“Thank you, guard,” Zelda said as the man bowed and went back to his place. Link paused near the chair, bowed again despite the princess’s statement, and then took off his sword and shield. He placed it on the ground, leaned against the side of the chair, and sat down. Blowing out the candle, Zelda pushed the papers aside and folded her hands in her lap. “I am so pleased that you have come. One moment,” she held up a hand, looking past Link at guard that had come to stand behind him. The guard saluted her and stood beside the desk. “Captain, will you please dismiss all of your soldiers from the room? I am in the best of hands and wish to speak with Sir Link in privacy. Yourself and Forrad may stay, but procedures for utmost secrecy are to be observed.”

“Yes, your Highness.” The captain bowed, then turned around and pounded his spear on the floor. The soldiers in the room picked up their spears and shields and turned to him. “Guards, file out! Quickly!”

“Yes Sir Captain!” the guards answered in unison. They marched to the middle of the room, where they made two lines and exited. Forrad and the Captain closed the doors behind them and stood in front of each, trying to look as if they would not be listening to every word spoken.

“Much better,” Zelda turned her attention back to Link and sighed. “I apologize for the formalities. Again, thank you for coming so quickly. There are many things I wish to ask you, but first is anything you want to ask of me? I wish to be of as much assistance to the man who saved my country, and my life, as possible.”

Link leaned back and put his elbows on the arms of the chair. “Thank you, princess. You honor me too much.” He chewed on the inside of his lower lip and thought. “There are a few things I’m wondering. First, how’s Prince Ralis and the Zora Kingdom?”

“King Ralis, you mean,” Zelda said. “I have sent many fine men of various talents to help the Zora people rebuild their kingdom. There are repairs that need to be done everywhere, but they are a proud race and Hyrule sent aid to them first. Ralis is doing well, considering the grief he has been coping with. In a letter to me he stated that he understands that his grief is second to his duty to his people and he will honor that duty. I understand that you are to thank for the courage and honor he now displays.”

Link shrugged. “He has a strong spirit. I just encouraged him in his time of grief.”

“Indeed,” Zelda smiled, looking at her desk. “Rutela and I were friends. It grieves me to hear that she is dead.”

“I’m sorry Princess.”

Zelda waved a hand and shook her head. “Don’t be. We all made sacrifices in this war and everyone is grieving. Hyrule is free now, thanks to you, and the festivities will be grand.”

“It wasn’t me alone, Highness. I couldn’t have done it without Midna and yourself.”

Zelda looked back at Link with a serious expression. “Yes, of course. Our kingdom would not be free without her…I wish that I was able to honor her properly.” Sorrow lined the princess’s voice, her eyes seeming to look into the distance as she rubbed a portion of her dress between her thumb and forefinger.

“May I ask a personal question, Princess?” Link cleared his throat again, leaning forward slightly. Zelda nodded. “When Midna was dying and I carried her to you…what, exactly, did you do that made her well? She refused to tell me.”

Zelda’s eyes widened, and her lips pursed. She pressed a finger to them and gazed across the desk at Link, tilting her head to the side. “That is the one question I will not answer for you, Link. Just as there were events and relationships during your adventure that you will not share with me at this point in our relations with one another, so I cannot share that with you. Perhaps in the future we will feel ready to share such intimate details about our separate adventures.” Link nodded, the tips of his ears turning red as he glared at his boots. The corners of Zelda’s mouth turned up. “Is there anything else you want to ask?”

Link shook his head. “No, your Highness. Not right now.”

“All right, then. I have some questions to ask you. Very soon I will be required to approach the people of Hyrule and tell them what happened and to whom they owe their freedom –you.” Zelda folded her hands in her lap. “The problem is that not even I know all of the details. I would like to ask you a series of questions so that I can fill in the gaps in my knowledge. As thrilling as the rumors about your deeds are, I’m sure the truth is much more exciting.”

“I’ve heard some of the rumors. Not all of them are flattering. I’ll answer your questions as best as I can.”

“Thank you. Well, then, let’s start. You are a shepherd, correct?” Link nodded. “You are quite skilled with a blade for a shepherd. In fact, if what I saw of your swordsmanship is any indication of your skill, I would say that you are better with the blade and with horses than my entire army. Do you know why that is?”

“I have an idea why, yes,” Link said. “I wasn’t always good. Rusl taught me a little, but I’d never held a sword before in my life. A part of me just seemed to know…I don’t exactly know why.”

“I see. So no one but Rusl instructed you?”

Link tilted his head up and thought a moment, then intertwined his fingers. The corners of his mouth twitched. “I can’t share that with you. Perhaps in the future we’ll feel ready to share such intimate details about our separate adventures.”

Zelda’s jaw hung open for a moment, and then she threw back her head and laughed, while Link smiled a toothy grin. Near the door, the Captain and Forrad exchanged a glance. The princess’s laugher waned and she met the warrior’s eyes again, still chuckling. “Very well, good sir, that is fair.” She sighed. “So, let me be sure I have my information correct. Due to the power of the Goddesses granted to you, when Zant’s twilight covered the land the Goddesses turned you into a beast, which would be representative of your soul I assume. From the reports I have gathered from my kingdom, you, correct me if I am wrong, went to each realm of the land and defeated all the evil in Hyrule, thus restoring peace. Is that the basics?”

Link blinked and scratched his head. “Well…in a breath, yes. There’s so much more to it than that, though.”

“Indeed.” Zelda frowned, propping an elbow on the arm of her chair and looking out a window. “There is much more, but the people of Hyrule do not want the full story. They want the basics so that they can flesh the stories they have heard around it, and so that a statement of any kind from their Queen can prove to them that she is competent.” Zelda dropped her gaze, running a finger over the back of her left hand. “Link, I will confide in you something that no one in Hyrule but you will understand.” The hero nodded as her blue eyes turned toward him. She held his gaze for what seemed to him like a long time, and in those twin cerulean depths there was a timeless, ancient sadness. It was a sorrow he became more intimate with every day; a heaviness in the soul beyond tears, ineffable, uncontainable by mortal expression.

His eyes drifted to his left hand, and he clenched it into a fist as he looked back at the princess. Each word seemed to linger in the air, expressed for both of them by one. “I did not ask for it, and I would not alter the destiny that possessing it has yielded for me. It awakened very young in me, and I have never been the same… Innocence is not a gift you and I were meant to enjoy.”

Link nodded and looked past her, out the window at the cheerful daytime gardens. Lost in their own thoughts and memories, the throne room was loud with silence and the songs of birds outside rang through the stone hall like the sound of golden trumpets. The warrior had never been able to explain to himself, let alone to others, what the mark of goddesses on the back of his hand made him feel. It was a foul gift, a divine joke, a welcomed curse, an untimely blessing. He loved it and hated it; it felt more natural than anything he had known and yet it wasn’t him at all; every day he turned into someone else, someone much older and much more skilled than the shepherd boy with no parents. His soul rejoiced in it, and his heart resigned to it. It was just as the princess had spoken, and the hero was grateful for her diplomacy.

“Princess,” Link leaned toward her and placed his gauntleted hand on the desk, “at least the goddesses gave us one relief.” He took a breath and lowered his voice to a whisper so that only she could hear. “We’re not alone in our burden.”

Zelda gazed at the shepherd and then a smile softened her features. “Yes, you are right.” She inclined her head toward him. “Truly a divine blessing.”

Clearing her throat, the princess raised her voice so that the Captain and Forrad in the back of the room could hear them again. “Now, let us proceed. I have an important request that I would like to propose to you. As I said before, you are a better swordsman than every man in my army. However, because of the means by which you came about your skill, you lack specific knowledge that would be required of a general. I would like to propose that you allow me to knight you in a ceremony, as a form of gratitude from myself and the Hyrulian people for the services you gave to this Kingdom. At that time, I would like to make you a captain in my army and, if you accept, you would be tutored by a general in the arts of war. When he feels you have either equaled or surpassed him in skill, I will then give you command over all of Hyrule’s army through the entirety of the kingdom.”

The Captain and Forrad gasped and jumped, their armor clamoring and clanking. Link’s eyes widened and he sat back, gripping the arms of his chair with white knuckles. He opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again when nothing came out.

Princess Zelda held up a hand and shook her head. “You do not have to answer now,” she said. “Think about it and return when you have made your decision. I would, however, like to knight you no matter your decision.”

The stunned warrior nodded and shifted in his seat. “Yes, I’ll do that. Thank you, your Highness.”

Zelda pushed back her chair and stood up. “Please, call me Zelda.”

Link followed suit, standing up and bowing at the waist. “Okay Princess.”

“Thank you for your time today, Link. I look forward to seeing you again.” Zelda walked around the side of the desk and held out her hand, which Link grabbed and shook. Forrad scoffed in the back of the room, and the princess muffled a giggle into the back of her other hand.

The warrior’s cheeks tinted red. “Um, the pleasure is mine, your Highness. Have a good evening.” He backed away a bit, and then turned and strode toward the doors that Forrad and the Captain were holding wide open for his retreat.
Zelda smiled as she watched him go, then motioned toward the Captain to call the guards back in. She returned to her seat and located the letters and other official documents she had been going over, picking up the quill and tapping the excess ink on the edge of the bottle’s neck.

She pressed it to the paper, but paused and looked, again, at the open door. We aren’t alone, she thought. That was a new concept to her. The triforce awakened in her when she was very young and the manifestation of its powers within her had deprived her of any childhood she might have had. It forced to her to be alone in the world, separate even from her own father as the triforce’s wisdom pushed her to question his judgments and fitness to rule. But Link had been given a piece of the triforce as well, and he understood. Perhaps she wasn’t so solitary after all.