Chapter Text
“Zelda, stop fidgeting.”
“But, father, my dress is itchy and-“
Mother kneels before me, eyebrows furrowed above her green eyes, “Where does it itch, my little bird?”
“Come now, a mere itch shouldn’t phase a daughter of Hylia,” father says quietly as the three of us stand preparing to enter the throne room.
Today we will have an audience. I don’t know what that means, but I have to wear my nicest dress.
“Here,” I point at the hem at my waist.
“Hmm, turn around,” mother murmurs, “perhaps a bit too tight, these laces.”
I obey. Mother is gentle with the laces. Mother is always gentle.
“Zelda, don’t touch your hair,” father sounds frustrated.
“Hush, Rhoam, a hair out of place shan’t make a difference,” mother says softly before spinning me about, “There. Does that feel better?”
I nod, it does feel a little better.
Mother stands, “Well, we shouldn’t leave our guests waiting?”
Father and mother stare at one another for a bit, they seem worried and I don’t know why.
Finally, father nods, “No, I suppose not.”
A servant opens the door and we walk to the thrones. I have been told to sit in the small one beside mother. I’ve never sat in the throne room before.
As I walk in, I can’t help but look around, my nanny has only taken me here a couple of times before. Then the court was in session and the room had many people. Today it is almost empty: some guards are around the doorways, a scribe sits at a small table with pen and paper. And then three people are kneeling before our thrones. I don’t know who they are.
“Little bird, you should sit,” mother says softly and I remember myself, quickly moving to the seat beside her.
“Sir Beren, my esteemed knight,” father says, “It warms my heart to see you well.”
“Your Majesty,” the man before our thrones answers, his head bowed. He’s wearing a Royal Guard’s uniform. There is a woman kneeling next to him and a boy on his other side. I think the woman is pretty, her hair is like wheat. The boy’s hair is like wheat too. But his head is bowed and I can’t see his face.
“I see you have brought your wife, as well. It is a pleasure to be in your company again, Lady Willa.”
“The honor of Your Majesties’ presence is a blessing upon our family,” the woman dips her head. Her green dress looks more comfortable than mine. I shift a little bit in my seat.
There’s a pause before mother speaks, I like her voice: it soothes me at night. “Sir Beren, is this Link?”
The knight nudges the boy, who turns his head to look up at the man. The knight smiles down at him and nods, “Go on, introduce yourself.” Sir Beren must be his father.
The boy turns to look at us, his eyes are wide and blue. He sits up straighter and says clearly, “I’m Link, it is honor to meet you, Her Majesty the Queen, His Majesty the King, and Her Highness the Princess.” He lets out a breath, and he looks between mother and father a couple times. Then he looks at me and I stare back. He blinks a couple times and then drops his head again quickly. His hands, flat on his thighs, clench into fists and his shoulders rise.
“Link, I hear you are quite talented with a sword,” father says, his voice sounds interested.
Link looks up at father, swallows, “Yes, Your Majesty.” His eyes dart back to me before he looks back down at his lap. I don’t know why.
“Link,” my mother speaks and the boy looks at her, “I’ve heard tell of your talent. I have a strange request for you: would you be willing to demonstrate your skill for us today?”
At hearing this request, Link changes. He smiles and his eyes seem to sparkle, his hands unclench, “Oh yes, Your Majesty!”
I like his smile.
I have not really been around other families except my own. As we walk to the training grounds near the barracks, their family follows ours.
I sneak a glance. I think Lady Willa is small for an adult, Sir Beren towers over her.
She’s holding Link’s hand and that’s when I catch his eye. Embarrassed, I face forward and jog slightly before taking mother’s hand.
I have never been to the training grounds. There are a dozen men and women when we arrive. As we enter, they all stop what they’re doing and stand stiffly.
“At ease,” father says and the people relax.
Four knights step forward, and one speaks “Your Majesty, we are ready.”
Father nods, “Link, come forward.”
I turn to watch as Lady Willa whispers something to the boy. He nods and lets go of her hand. As he moves to walk past us, his eyes catch mine before they dart away.
“Link, do you know any of these knights?” mother asks.
It’s quiet as Link looks at them, “No, Your Majesty.”
“Knights of Hyrule, do you know this boy?” mother asks.
One knight responds, “Yes, Your Majesty. I know him, but he’s grown since Sir Beren was assigned to Zora’s Domain. Last time I saw him, I think he was barely out of diapers.”
“I see,” mother pauses a moment, “I ask then for you to refrain from this exercise. I’d like to… reduce bias, if possible.”
The knight bows and heads to the edge of the yard.
“The three of you who remain,” mother says, “You’ve already been briefed: you understand you are to fight, one on one, with this boy. Do not hold back, this is a test of his ability. This is an order, do you understand?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the three knights say. I am confused, he’s little like me, why must he fight them?
“You will all fight with wooden swords. We do not wish to draw blood. We merely wish to test his prowess with a sword,” mother says.
A page boy brings out wooden swords and shields. Link’s father kneels before him and speaks with him quietly. Link is holding his sword while he listens, he nods. I can’t hear what Sir Beren is saying. Sir Beren stands and pats Link’s head before he walks back to us.
One of the knights is armed and ready. Link looks so small. I don’t understand what is happening. Link crouches a little and waits.
“You may begin,” father says.
There’s stillness, despite what father says. But soon, Link rushes forward and the swords make a loud clacking noise. Clack, whack, clack.
Link and the knight spring apart and they stare at one another. Link speaks, “Don’t hold back. I promise you, I can handle it.”
The knight frowns and then rushes forward. Link jumps up and away from the knight’s attack and then… and then he moves faster than I can see. While he’s still in the air, his sword jabs out at the knight. I hear six rapid thwacking sounds and when Link lands, the knight stumbles backward, holding his stomach and side.
“Whoa, kid, you really dish it out,” the knight grimaces before turning to us, “Your Majesties, I believe I have been beaten. Those would have been killing blows.”
“I would agree, Sir Nils,” mother says, she sounds amused. I look at her face, her eyebrows are high. “You are dismissed. Next up, please.”
The second knight approaches and Link crouches again, shield in front of him, sword held out at his side.
“Begin,” mother commands.
Quickly the two exchange blows, the sounds are loud and they make me wince. The knight swipes at Link. Link side steps, avoiding the swipe, and the air seems to freeze as he lands another rapid set of blows that I can’t really see. The knight falls to the ground with a groan, holding his side.
Link drops his sword and holds out his hand towards the man. The knight blinks for a second before chuckling and taking Link’s hand.
“Thank you, little one,” the knight says. He grunts as he stands and then turns to us, “He’s as strong as an ox, this one.” He looks back down at Link, “How did you get that strong?”
“A lot of practice, sir,” Link grins.
“Practice, huh?” the knight says. Somehow I think he doesn’t believe what he’s saying.
Turning back to us, the man bows slightly, “I have been bested, Your Majesties.”
“So it would seem,” mother says, her voice has a funny tone to it. But, the tone is gone when she says, “You are dismissed.”
The third and final knight approaches. He’s so tall, he towers above Link. I shiver.
“Begin,” father commands.
Link drops into his stance and again it is quiet. This time, the last knight begins to circle and Link copies his movement. The knight steps on something, maybe a small rock, and it makes a crunching noise. Link leaps forward and the two begin to fight.
The knight smacks down, but Link raises his shield. The loud noise surprises me and I jump. Link backs away with his shield raised. Why is he grinning?
The knight rolls his shoulders as he walks in a circle again as he stares at Link, it looks like Link is a puzzle he’s trying to solve. Link also moves in a circle at the same pace.
This time, the knight rushes toward the boy and their swords meet: it’s fast and loud. I have a hard time following it and I squeeze mother’s hand.
Winding up for a big swing, the knight lunges and Link back flips away, landing far out of the knight’s reach. Link crouches again, shield in front of him and sword held out to his side. Suddenly, the air feels thick, like before a thunderstorm. I get goosebumps.
The knight gets closer and Link cries out “Hyah!” and suddenly he spins, his sword hits its target and the man goes flying.
Mother gasps and father murmurs, “By the goddess.”
The knight lands a few feet away with a thud. Link stops spinning and drops back into his crouch for a few seconds before he realizes the knight must be done.
The man sits up and groggily shakes his head. He sighs and turns to us, “Well, I would say I’m beaten, Your Majesties.”
“I’d quite agree,” father says, “you may go.”
Mother lets go of my hand and take a couple of steps towards the boy, “Link, would you please come here, to me.”
Link approaches as mother lowers herself down to his level. She is tall and beautiful.
He stands quietly, his big blue eyes staring at her. Mother just studies him and I wonder what she is thinking.
“Tell me, little one, how does a six year old learn to fight like you do?” Mother asks softly.
“Practice, Your Majesty,” Link responds.
Father laughs aloud and I don’t understand why. Mother tilts her head and after a moment says, “For someone like you, perhaps that’s true.”
Link looks confused and his eyes flick to mine.
“Link, may I touch you?” Mother asks.
He nods and mother’s hand reaches out, her fingers gently touching his chin. She turns his head from side to side, like she’s looking for something. She lets go of his chin and her hand lifts up to brush his bangs aside. She rests two fingers on his forehead and closes her eyes, her head bowed.
Link blinks, remains still. Again his eyes flick to me and I see that his cheeks are red. I don’t know why mother is doing what she’s doing.
After a minute, she opens her eyes and withdraws her hand. She stares at Link for another moment before she says, “You may just have Hylia’s blessing. Now what do you think of that?”
Link frowns and looks at the ground. When he looks back up I can tell he’s confused and he says as much, “Your Majesty, I don’t understand.”
Mother nods, “No, I suppose you wouldn’t, not yet that is.” She pats his shoulder and then rises.
She turns to face Link’s parents, who I’d forgotten are standing behind us. I turn around too. Lady Willa looks worried, her hands are clasped in front of her heart. Sir Beren’s face is blank, but he’s staring intently at mother.
“We have much to discuss,” mother sounds sad.
I am alone with Link, in the courtyard off of my parents’ meeting room. I’ve never been alone with another child.
Mother said, “Your father and I have much to discuss with Link’s parents, play out here while we talk.”
I don’t have much choice: there’s no other way out of the courtyard except to go back into the meeting room where they are talking.
So, I’m sitting on the grass, pulling at my dress. It’s still itchy.
Link is walking around, looking at the two trees in the courtyard. There’s one in each far corner. There’s also a small pond between them and he gets on his hands and knees to look into it. I know there are fish in there. He pokes the water. I’ve done that before, too.
He stands up and walks to me. He stands quietly, looks around before he blurts out, “What do you like more, fish or bugs?”
Now he’s looking at me intently. For the first time, his eyes do not dart away.
I blink and open my mouth, before I close it again. I think for a moment and then say, “Fish, I think.”
He nods seriously, “Hmm.” He sits down and then says, “Me too.”
I don’t know how to play with another child and so I just watch him. He picks at the grass, pulls out a blade, and plays with it.
Without looking at me, he says, “I think I must have done something wrong.”
I’m confused, “Huh?”
He looks up and frowns, “Why do our parents need to talk?”
“Oh,” I think for a moment, “I… I don’t know.”
He nods and then takes a deep breath, “Me neither.”
After a moment he flops down onto his back, a frown on his face. His eyes are darting back and forth, he blinks rapidly. For a moment, it looks like he may cry. I think about the time I tripped last week and scuffed my knee, it hurt a lot.
But, he closes his eyes, takes another deep breath, and when he opens them he seems better. He stares up at the sky for a moment before he smiles and says, “Look, an octorok!”
I look around frantically, “Where?!”
Link points, “That cloud! It looks like an octorok.”
I follow his outstretched arm and squint, “I don’t see it.”
“Look, there’s the leaves up top. The round body, you can see it’s silly mouth, and then that part looks like the tentacles,” Link explains. He pauses and looks at me, “my mother says you see shapes in the clouds better if you lay down.”
So, I do. And I do see the octorok cloud. I’ve never seen a real one, I’ve only ever seen a picture of one in a book. I see the shape of a darner in the clouds and I tell Link. He agrees, "Yep, that one looks like a darner." And then a real one flies by and we both giggle. Maybe this is playing?
By the time our parents come out, I have almost fallen asleep lying in the warm sun. Link doesn’t seem tired, but when he goes to hug his mother, I see him rub his eyes against her skirt.
“Well, what do you say, son, back home to Zora’s Domain?” Sir Beren asks.
Link nods, but doesn’t say anything.
“Sir Beren, will you promise to give our warmest regards to King Dorephan, Princess Mipha, and the little Prince Sidon?” father asks.
“Your Majesty, I’d be honored to pass along your message,” Sir Beren bows his head.
Mother’s voice is warm and fond, “And do tell him we still plan to visit the Domain next spring.”
Little do we know, that particular visit will never happen.
It’s now evening and I am dining with my parents: recently they decided I am old enough to eat with them.
They speak in hushed tones, though, like I’m not there.
“Link is a common name, we can’t take that itself as an omen,” father says.
“Come now, Rhoam. Most of the heroes of legend bear that name,” mother looks upset.
“I’m just saying: the prophesy wasn’t very specific. We don’t even know if it’ll come to pass during our reign.”
Mother is quiet, she pushes at her food. It reminds me of when I don’t want to eat my greens.
She sighs and then looks at father, “Rhoam, I’m telling you, he has been touched by the goddess.”
Father leans back in his chair, “He doesn’t have the mark though, now that would be irrefutable.”
“Mmm.” Mother keeps pushing her food around. It’s quiet.
She looks up and stares at me. I stare back, she looks sad.
“Oh Rhoam… I hope you’re right.”