Chapter Text
Link had always been a good swordsman, a skill that he had inherited from his father. He had always been expected to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a knight once he was old enough. Thirteen would usually not have been old enough, but since he had somehow managed to find and take the Blade of Evil’s Bane; the Master Sword, he had been swiftly enlisted — Hyrule would sooner or later depend on him. And so, he along with many other young men and women were brought to the military training camp north of Hyrule Castle Town to learn how to fight their enemies and defend their land. Training was never a breeze. Despite Link’s indisputable skill and youth, the instructors and generals never went easy on him, and he always went to bed exhausted and woke up sore the next day. At least time passed quickly, and before he knew it, the year of basic military training was over and he was enrolled to become a proper knight. This meant he and nine other recruits were to be trained and disciplined in a castle courtyard. They were to, among other things, learn how to apprehend intruders, how to care for armour and weapons, and how to work alongside the Guardians. The Guardians were still a mystery to most people — nobody really knew how they worked, and it took months of refining and research to get them to work as intended. Someone who Link had not expected to take such interest in the Guardians was the princess Zelda herself. She could be spotted chatting with Sheikah scientists, taking notes and studying the mechanics of the great machines whenever she wasn’t busy tending to her duties as a princess. During the inauguration of Link and his mates as proper knights, Link noticed how princess Zelda seemed to have lost some of her enthusiasm and energy that had been so very present whenever he had seen her learning about ancient Sheikah technology. He came to the conclusion that the knights of Hyrule weren’t of particular interest to her.
It was the middle of summer, and a select group of maybe fifteen knights were gathered to learn more about how the Guardians worked. The sun was bright and hot and none of the people gathered was wearing any of that heavy armour. They wouldn’t need it, nor would they need any of their weapons while they were instructed on the mechanics of a Guardian Walker. Out of the corner of his eye, Link spotted what he assumed was princess Zelda’s light blond hair swiftly disappearing around a corner.
”Feel free to join us, your Highness, if you aren’t occupied with something else,” the instructor said to someone behind the crowd of knights. Everyone’s heads turned to see who had just arrived, and it seemed Link had been right in thinking it was the princess he had spotted, because she had now snuck quietly into the courtyard to listen to the lecture. She smiled and said a quick thank you to the instructor before making her way to one of the free benches to sit down. Everyone’s attention was from here on out more focused on the princess who was diligently taking notes of whatever the Sheikah scientist told them. Everyone, except for Link’s. He had his eye on the Guardian, who’s ”eye” was spinning around, seemingly looking at each and every one present for the lesson. Out of nowhere, there was a great bang of noise that Link couldn’t place what it was or where it came from. The Guardian, as if it had a mind of it’s own spun it’s eye around wildly. The otherwise gentle blue glow emanating from the innards of the machine was now red — aggressive. Link saw how the eye of the Guardian was glowing brighter as it focused on the person sitting practically right in front of it. He knew what this meant. It was as if time had slowed down, and without as much as a thought, Link was on his feet, making a leap for a stray pot lid on the ground not far from him. At the same time as he closed his fingers around the handle, he spun around on his feet to face the direction of the Guardian. Using the momentum of the spin, he somehow managed to deflect the bright blue beam the Guardian had fired back at it. This was apparently enough to shut down the great machine. The red glow faded and the previously soft whirring of the mechanics was slowing to a stop. Behind him, Link heard the princess breathing fast. He looked over his shoulder at her, and she met his gaze with her green eyes wide open and her eyebrows drawn together.
”Wh- thank you…” she managed, although she sounded a little shaken. Link gave her a short nod in response before he remembered who had just spoken to him.
”Your Highness,” he quickly added, hoping she hadn’t taken offence.
The same evening as the Guardian malfunction, Link’s superior pulled him aside after dinner. Link couldn’t decide if he looked angry or not.
”I’ve heard what happened today, Link.”
”Am I in trouble, sir?” Link asked with his eyebrows raised.
”Quite the opposite. Not many people have such an instinct to protect someone else, much less the reflexes to actually manage it. Especially not someone so fresh out of training. As thanks for saving his daughter’s life, the king wants you to become the princess’s appointed knight.” What? This wasn’t what Link had expected at all. He thought he’d get into trouble for shutting down one of the few functioning Guardians, but apparently not. His superior gave him a pat on the back before telling him to gather his belongings. Tonight would be the last night he spent in the knights’ quarters. He was woken up early the following morning by a member of castle staff he had never seen before, which meant he wasn’t from the kitchens, nor did he clean the knights’ quarters. The boy who Link assumed was a servant helped him carry his belongings through quite a few winding castle hallways and up staircases. Link had a suspicion as to where they were headed.
”Since you’ll be appointed to the princess herself, you’re going to have the same status as the Royal Guard, sir,” the servant boy said, confirming Link’s suspicion.
”You don’t need to call me sir,” he said, feeling a little awkward. He had never been fond of being called ”sir” or anything of the like, and he’d managed to convince the kitchen staff to stop calling him that every time he came down to have a snack. The servant boy nodded, but didn’t say anything else until they reached a door at the end of a short hallway. If Link wasn’t mistaken, they had arrived. He’d never set foot in the Royal Guard’s quarters before, although he knew roughly where they were. The boy opened the door to what looked like some sort of common room, with tables and seating and a small group of people sitting around one of the tables playing some sort of game. Some of the people were wearing their uniform, while some were only wearing part of it, or just their ordinary clothes. One of them looked up as the door opened.
”This the appointed knight?” he asked. The man was maybe the same age as Link’s father, but probably a little younger. He was clean-shaven with short, auburn-coloured hair. He looked kind.
”Yes,” Link said shortly. He hoped he didn’t sound disrespectful, but he wasn’t prepared to hold a full conversation.
”Alright. You have a lot to do today, don’t let us bother you,” the man said, raising a hand before turning back to the game.
”They’re under orders to not interfere with your duties today,” the servant explained. ”Let me show you your sleeping quarters.”
Whatever Link had expected from the sleeping quarters, this had not been it. He had expected some sort of sleeping hall where every Royal Guard who lived in the castle all slept in the same room, but that was not the case. Instead he had been shown into another short hallway with many doors along the walls. The servant boy, who was named Tott, had explained that there are few enough guards that they get a room to share with just one other person. Link apparently shared his room with someone named Rynds. He hadn’t had much time to settle in, though, because he had things to tend to almost all day. He were to be formally appointed by king Rhoam himself, then he were to meet the princess and get instructions for his duties as an appointed knight, then there was apparently some sort of ceremony, and after that there was a dinner he had to attend. There was probably more that Link had missed during Tott’s quick briefing of the day’s schedule. Once he’d been left alone, he had an hour to get ready and make his way to the sanctum. As fast as he could, he washed himself and his hair in the Royal Guard’s bathroom (which was much nicer than the ordinary knights’, he might add), and put on a new tunic that had apparently been made for him. The fabric of the tunic was soft and sky blue, with details embroidered in white. It was quite a piece of handiwork, Link thought as he put it on, but he didn’t really understand why he wasn’t given a Royal Guard’s uniform to wear. Once he was ready, he was escorted to the sanctum by Tott and two uniformed guards. The meeting in the sanctum hadn’t been much different from Link’s inauguration as a knight, except for the fact that this time, he was the only one being honoured, not one of ten people. Things only really started to feel different as Link met with the king alone.
”Your highness,” Link said, bowing in front of the king.
”Appointed knight,” king Rhoam responded. ”You must realise that this is a great honour, and that this duty is to be taken seriously.”
”I do, your highness.”
”Good. I’m going to make a guess that you have some kind of idea of what it means to be the princess’s appointed knight. You accompany her wherever she goes outside of this castle. You protect her with your life, no matter what. You are also to help her and the four Champions, should Calamity Ganon return. With the Master Sword on your back, and with that tunic, you are to be the Hylian Champion. Do you understand?”
”I do, your highness.”
”Very well. You will be officially named Hylian Champion by my daughter in a ceremony this afternoon. I trust she will guide you through it.”
”Thank you, your highness.”
As the king said, there was a ceremony in the afternoon. Link had met the princess and the Champions and he had been officially made part of the team, as to speak. Afterwards, there had been a banquet with delicious food and a lot of laughter, just not from Link. He wanted to enjoy the banquet, he really did, but the words of the king had settled like a weight in his chest. This was life or death. He had known that since the moment he had been enlisted to become a knight in the first place, but it hadn’t really become real until he had actually been made Champion.
After the banquet, Link had been sent to have a walk with the princess. Despite the warm summer air, the princess’ presence felt cold. She didn’t say much until they reached the outskirts of Castle Town.
”How did you find the Master Sword?” Her voice didn’t sound friendly or curious like it did whenever she’d asked questions to the scientists. Link was a little taken aback by the sudden breaking of the silence.
”I… It, uhm-” he didn’t have time to find the right words before the princess spoke again.
”Never mind. That isn’t my business.” She spoke shortly, Link thought it sounded almost resentful. Had she been offended that he didn’t immediately call her by her title yesterday? That was the only reason he could think of as to why the princess seemed so put off by him. Part of him wanted to ask, but he figured that it was best to stay silent as to not upset her further.
They didn’t need to be friends just because they had roles to fulfil.