Chapter Text
Hyrule. Considered by many to be a jewel among kingdoms, as was only natural for one so beloved by the goddess Hylia herself. It was a land of many splendors from the snow capped peaks of the Hebra Mountains to the arid, golden sands of the Gerudo Desert to the sparkling waterfalls of Zora's Domain.
The Breach of Demise was admittedly not the most picturesque spot in all of Hyrule, though it did possess an austere sort of beauty of its own. Harsh walls of craggy stone towered on either side of the pass, casting the trail in shadow and leaving all but the most seasoned travelers struggling to reconcile their internal sense of direction. In spite of the natural shade, the air was uncomfortably thick and warm, though blessedly not stagnant.
Fine dust, stirred up by the light breeze whistling through the breach left a layer of grit over the shining plate armor of the contingent of knights marching faithfully behind their princess. One in particular wrinkled his nose with distaste as he noticed the residue coating his not-so-shining-anymore gauntlet. Link wasn’t a fan of polishing his armor in the best of times, and the chore became even more tedious following a trek through such dusty locales.
The promise of such unpleasant tasks did not affect his sense of duty, however. His senses were on high alert as he kept watch for signs of monsters. Attacks had been on the rise and Link had no intention of letting his guard down, particularly after battling these foul beasts of darkness on Hyrule Field just the day before. It was only a matter of time before the horde regrouped and retaliated with a vengeance, even more aggressive than before.
Link’s fellow knights were not nearly as concerned as they gossiped in hushed tones.
“I thought I was a goner!” one of the two guards, a young knight named Camin, muttered to the young woman beside him. “Once that moblin showed up—did you see the size of his club?!”
“You and me both!” the other guard replied, a young woman named Brinalda who preferred to be called just Brin. In fact, she would not hesitate to punch anyone who dared call her by the fussy, pretentious name given by her fussy, pretentious mother. “I swear that club was taking down dozens of knights with every swing. It was awful! At least,” she paused, smirking in Link’s direction. “Until he showed up and slayed the beast like it was nothing more than bokoblin spawn.”
“As one often does,” Camin deadpanned.
Link snorted, rolling his eyes as he caught on that they were talking about him. The battle had been fierce, but he saw it as a team effort and it really didn’t matter who had struck the killing blow on a moblin or two.
Rather than correct them, he chose instead to scoff. “Pfft. If you’re going to tell wild tales about me, at least make them sound cooler.”
“Right. Sorry,” Camin snickered. “I forgot. It was definitely a lynel. Isn’t that right, Brin?” He glanced at his counterpart, trying not to laugh too loudly lest he draw the princess’s attention.
“Nah,” she disagreed with a chuckle. “It was an entire herd of lynels and I definitely saw Link lasso two of them together and ride them right out of Hyrule, standing with one boot on each of their backs.”
“Better.” Link shook his head in amusement.
Brin and Camin were two of Link's closest friends. The two young knights were a few years older than he, but had been in the same class of squires promoted to knighthood that year, so they’d had years of training, joking, and fighting together side by side. They were battle buddies and friends, and Link had been relieved when the three of them had been assigned to the princess’s guard detail for the day. Truly, there were few that Link fully trusted to watch his back, let alone the princess of Hyrule’s.
Even if they were dorks and a huge thorn in his side much of the time, teasing him relentlessly for being an overachiever.
The thing was, in spite of their insistence otherwise, Link was just a teenage boy like any other, at least that’s what he would tell you if you asked him.
Like many boys, he had been a reckless child, worrying his mother at every turn. He had grown up dreaming of joining the royal guard and following in his father's footsteps. Young Link had picked up a sword almost as soon as he could walk and even becoming his father’s paige at the age of seven.
Sure, Link had risen through the ranks quickly, besting many seasoned adults with his swordsmanship and archery skills, earning himself an early promotion to squire at the age of ten. And maybe he had become the youngest fully qualified knight in Hyrule’s history at the age of sixteen—
But none of that mattered. Not really.
If you asked Link, he would tell you all of those things came about because of his hard work and the support of his friends and family. Not a big deal.
It was this hard work that had earned him a temporary spot on the princess’s guard, assigned just that morning to protect the princess as she traveled to complete her necessary errands, which is what brought him to the Breach of Demise that day. He and his fellows trailed the princess and her aide as they made their way to the Royal Tech Lab located just on the other side of the breach.
Link was distracted from his musings as he realized they were lagging and the space between them and the princess had become too great. Silently chastising himself for slacking his duty, he picked up his pace a bit and moved to a respectable distance of three paces behind, his eyes scanning the cliffs for anything out of place. Thankfully, aside from the breeze, the only thing he could hear was Princess Zelda, who was completely engrossed with some piece of Sheikah technology that he wasn’t yet familiar with and chattering quite happily to her advisor.
“What was it that Purah said she needed to do to the slate?” the princess asked curiously, holding up the object and examining it closely.
“Oh, you know, a bit of this and a bit of that,” her advisor, a Sheikah woman named Impa, replied with a light shrug. “Something about a new rune discovery, though I think part of it is she just wanted to play with that toy some more until she finished building her own.”
Zelda laughed. “That—does not surprise me one bit. Though I do wonder what the new rune could possibly be? An elemental rune? Or-oh! I once found an excerpt on an old scroll that mentioned a master key rune that could unlock any door! Wouldn’t that be extraordinary?” The princess continued her excited speculations, tilting the object from one side to the other as she spoke.
Link couldn’t help but smile, her enthusiasm contagious. He didn’t know much at all about Sheikah technology and nothing at all about the object they referred to as a “Sheikah slate”, but that was ok. His job was to protect the princess, not understand her scientific pursuits. Which was a good thing, seeing as the princess was engrossed in the science enough for the whole lot of them, her gaze fixed upon the small stone tablet and the marks on its surface as she walked. Someone needed to look out for her, and Link was perfectly content to be that someone, at least for that day.
The road was clear, both before and behind, as there were no signs of monsters to be found. His eyes flicked around, constantly moving between the princess and their surroundings. So far, so good. That is, until the princess missed the stray stone in her path, her toe catching on it and launching her forward, the tablet flying from her hands.
“I’ve got you, Princess!” Link was at her side in an instant, an arm flying out and catching her about the shoulders before she could hit the ground.
“Ack!” Princess Zelda squeaked, scrambling to get her feet underneath her as Link gently set her upright, pausing as their eyes met, his breath catching in her throat. He’d never realized just how—green her eyes were. A truly remarkable color. And that shy smile—
Cheeks flushing under his piercing blue gaze, the princess tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, smiling in an embarrassed sort of way. “Th-thank you, um—Sir—Link? Was it?” Gratitude was evident in her very posture and she smiled as he simply nodded.
After an almost too long pause, someone behind him—the princess’s aide, he assumed—cleared their throat, and he flushed, taking a quick half step back. Goddess! He knew better than this! How could he behave so unprofessionally?
“Are you hurt?” His eyebrows furrowed together as he looked her up and down, checking for any sign of injury.
“I’m fine,” Princess Zelda smiled. “Truly, I am, but thank you for—oh no!” She cried out, causing Link to startle at the unexpected outburst, his hand immediately going for the pommel of his sword. “The Sheikah slate!” She darted over to where the slate lay on the ground, Link following on her heels, watching as she picked it up gingerly.
“I’m sure it’s just fine,” Impa assured the princess, leaning in to get a closer look. “Ancient Sheikah tech is built to last. See?” She poked at the object a few times, eliciting a few chirpy beeps from it.
Link moved back a respectable distance, flushing even more at the smirks of his companions before muttering instructions for them to form a three way perimeter around the princess to keep a lookout while she was distracted. It was with a bemused expression that he watched as she fretted over the small piece of ancient technology, his fingers twitching for his sword, every instinct he possessed telling him that it would be unwise to linger there on the road. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in a position to say anything. His job was to move when the princess moved and to be ready to protect her from any threat that may present itself.
The princess tested out a few of the runes. First, a huge block of ice erupted from the ground, followed by what looked like a large metal crate that smashed into the block of ice, shattering it into a million tiny pieces. It was incredible, really, that such a large powerful force could come from such a small object.
They all watched as Princess Zelda put the Sheikah slate through its paces, until a whirring, clicking sound caught Link’s attention, his attention immediately snapping to the source of it. A lump of metal that Link had recognized as an ancient, dust-covered guardian decaying on the path behind them glowed to life. The machine flickered between orange that he recognized from the experiments the Sheikah researchers worked on at the castle and a creepy red haze that he’d come to associate with the spawning of monsters. The cylindrical head spun around, a glowing blue eye pausing as it fixated on their group and began flashing red as it beeped.
Link’s head whipped around and his heart stuttered within his chest as the red light fixed on the princess’s forehead. He had to act. Now!
“Princess!” The beeping coming from the guardian had grown increasingly faster, instinct taking over as Link’s feet moved of their own accord. He dashed forward, throwing himself between the princess and the machine, crouched in a defensive stance, his shield raised just in time for a blinding white blast to erupt from the eye of the guardian, deflecting perfectly off of the shield surface and away from the group.
“What is the m—oh!” The princess had turned at the sound of his shout, her eyes going wide with surprise when the knight had leapt between her and the surprisingly active guardian just a few yards away.
But they weren’t safe yet. The beeping resumed and the targeting light from the guardian sought out the princess once more.
Without a word, Link took a hold of her hand, tugging her along as he broke into a run. Impa, Camin and Brin followed close behind.
“Run for cover!” Impa shouted, diving behind a boulder, Camin and Brin following suit.
The beam stayed locked on the princess until Link pulled her behind a cluster of boulders, pulling her between himself and the rock wall and shielding her with his body. Princess Zelda let out a little shriek, cringing into him as the white hot blast blew a chunk out of the boulder just a bit past where they crouched in hiding. Bits of crumbled stone pinged against the young knight's plate armor.
Silence ringing in his ears, Link opened his eyes only to find a pair of shining emerald orbs watching him—just inches away from his own vibrant blues. He blinked, somehow surprised by her nearness.
“Is-is everyone ok? Impa?” the princess whispered, exhaling a shaky breath and pulling away from Link, her lips pursing together as her cheeks flamed once more.
Catching himself staring, yet again, Link blinked, relaxing his defensive stance and nodding. “I-I think so,” he murmured before moving to peek around the edge of the boulder. Without any moving targets in its sights, the guardian had calmed and was now humming contentedly, its cylinder-shaped head rotating around. Thankfully this particular guardian was of the legless variety and could not follow them.
Suddenly, the guardian lit up once more, beeping as its targeting light focused on something Link couldn’t see from his vantage point. Quick footsteps from behind caused him to whirl around, reaching for his sword.
“It’s ok! It’s just me!” Impa panted, skidding to a stop in the already crowded space. She’d barely managed to get out of the sight of the guardian before it could unleash another blast. “Are you ok, your highness?”
Link relaxed as the princess exhaled a sigh of relief. “Yes. Thank you, Impa.” Forehead furrowed, she glanced over her shoulder as if she could see the rogue guardian through the boulder. “How–Why? What activated that guardian, I wonder?”
“You know Purah and Robbie are the technical experts. We’ll have to ask them. The more important question is—” she looked pointedly at Link. “How are we going to get out of here?”
Link hummed, eyes narrowing as he assessed their options. If they made a run for it, they could most likely escape the guardian’s blast fairly easily. Once they made it past the curve in the road ahead, the guardian would no longer be a threat. For them, anyways.
The trouble was, he couldn’t in good conscience just leave an active guardian on the side of the road to blast unsuspecting travelers. In his mind, it was decided.
“Leave it to me.” Squaring his shoulders, Link unsheathed his sword and shield, stepping out from behind the stony shelter.
Princess Zelda gasped. “Sir Link! What—what are you d—”
She had heard many rumors about this particular knight—wild tales about a young man taking down a fully grown hinox with nothing but a pot lid and a soup ladle. Or battling a lynel in a blizzard, armed with a torch and lassoing it with a bit of string.
In spite of the tales of his bravery and her own eye witness of his actions on the battlefield just the day before, she was taken by surprise when he slipped from their hiding place and marched off towards the guardian, calling out for his fellow guards to follow as he went.
She watched, her hands clasped over her thundering heart as he muttered instructions to the others, directing them to either side of the machine, just outside its range of vision. Once they moved into position, he launched himself into a run, drawing the guardian’s attention.
What in Hylia’s name was he doing!? He was going to get himself killed!
The red beam locked onto the young knight and Zelda tensed, her heart thundering in her throat for his safety as she wondered what in the world he was trying to do. The guardian’s beeping intensified, pulsing quicker and louder by the second.
“Sir Link!” she screamed a warning just as the blast was hurled towards him. He feinted, pivoting on one foot, luring the guardian to send the blast to where he’d been before launching himself into a dive roll in the opposite direction.
Zelda had researched the guardians extensively and knew that even one was capable of wiping out an entire platoon of seasoned warriors. How could these three knights hope to defeat such a monstrosity on their own?
She held her breath, actively willing herself not to bite her nails, knowing that her lady’s maid would scold her soundly if she showed up that evening with ragged nails. It was hard, however, to watch the young man prowling ever closer to the guardian, the targeting beam focused on his chest as the other two knights hacked away at the machine from behind.
With a grinding squeal, the ancient machine loosed yet another blast, but Link was ready, neatly deflecting the beam and moving in to slash at the armored carapace with all of his strength. Zelda gasped as his sword grazed the surface, not leaving so much as a scratch in spite of the beating it was receiving.
The beeping had resumed once more as the machine readied yet another white hot blast, and she could see that he was too close for it to hit directly, but he wasn’t completely clear of its fire either. Her mind reeled, the idea of any of her knights actually dying to protect her was an anathema to her soul. She had to think of something she could do to help. Anything! It was a machine. It had to have a weakness.
Think Zelda!
“The eye!” she shouted, a quickly formulated theory occuring to her. “Sir Link! Go for the eye!”
With a grunt, the knight nodded in acknowledgement, diving out of the way of the most recent blast and landing hard on his shoulder with a grunt before scrambling to his feet and taking a hop backwards and away from the thing. Zelda held her breath as the beam locked onto the knight once more and he took a few running steps, leaping into the air with all the grace of a Zora dancer. It was almost as if time had slowed as he seemed to float mid air for a brief moment, his sword arm drawn back before he thrust it forward, directly into the eye of the guardian. Sparks flew from the cylindrical head and a brilliant blue white glow erupted from the body before it exploded, a mess of screws and springs littering the rocky soil where the legless guardian had once been perched.
The knight landed on his feet, panting slightly. His sharp blue gaze immediately snapped to her, concern quickly overshadowing the embers of victory. “Are you ok, Princess?”
Eyebrows furrowed, Princess Zelda stared in disbelief. This knight risked himself to face certain death at the mercy of a rogue guardian and he was worried about her?! “I am quite alright, thank you. But what about you?” Her gaze flicked between the three exhausted but exhilarated knights. “You all fought quite bravely. Are any of you injured?”
Link looked to his fellow knights, a question in his eyes. They shook their heads, grinning from the afterglow of victory. Turning back to the princes, he said simply, “We are fine, your highness, thank you.”
“In that case, we really should be in our way,” Impa interjected, gesturing in the direction they had originally been headed. “I don't think it's a good idea to stay here too long in case of a monster attack.”
Zelda agreed. “You're right, of course, Impa. Let's go.” Her gaze paused longingly over the mess of parts scattered from the now useless guardian. “Though, perhaps we should collect some of these parts? I know they would be an invaluable asset to the researchers and it would be a shame to waste them.”
Impa sighed, but acquiesced. “Of course, Princess. Whatever you wish.”
Link nodded and turned to his friends, “Well? You heard the princess. Get moving!”
Camin and Brin exchanged a look but joined Link in gathering the screws and springs and other mechanical pieces they could carry.
“This is probably the strangest thing I've ever done while on duty,” Camin commented.
Brin snorted. “It could be worse, the princess is one of those science types after all. She could have asked us to gather frogspawn or something like that.”
“Ugh. Lovely,” was all Camin could say.
Link chuckled, gathering several parts and pieces he didn't recognize, to include a small metallic sphere. He approached the princess who had picked up a few items herself and was now stuffing them into her satchel. “Are these pieces what you needed, your highness?”
Zelda looked over his haul and smiled. “These are perfect, thank you, Sir Link.” At the sight of the small sphere, her eyes brightened until she was positively beaming. “And you found a memory core! Those are quite difficult to extract intact, you know, and exceptionally valuable. Well done, Sir Link!”
As the group finished collecting the gathered ancient technology pieces and left the destroyed guardian behind, Zelda couldn’t help but think that she was quite glad to have reaped some benefit from the rogue guardian’s unexpected activation. She couldn’t wait to see the look on Purah’s and Robbie’s faces when they handed over the newly acquired ancient tech pieces.