Robin Hood.
Not exactly like the one from the fairy tale. At least, there had been no reports of this mysterious Hylian - rumors had it, a Castle Town native - breaking into Hyrule Castle to steal gold and give to the poor. No, his feats tended to be more along the lines of rescuing cats from trees, recovering stolen valuables, delivering medicine or food in the middle of the night. But as of yet, no one had seen his face, or heard his name.
It had been a couple years since the stories began. Whoever it was, the teenage Zelda was grateful for him. The King was stressed, she was stressed, the Sheikah were stressed; the signs of Calamity Ganon returning were clear. No one could deny it any longer. But, as 'Robin Hood' had shown everyone, it was no reason to not continue living; instead, all the more reason to continue helping where you could.
Zelda, on a particularly nice day in the summer, was on her way to Hateno for some errands. The weather was perfect for traveling, and escaping from her Princess duties was so refreshing that she'd spent probably too long wandering through the trees, enjoying the way the sun filtered through the leaves. Her guards, who she had reassured she would meet there, were no doubt worried for her, and searching. After all, evening had settled in comfortably, and Zelda soon found herself in the woods with no sense of direction.
Typically, she wasn't scared. Hyrule had always been a safe place. But monsters could still jump out and surprise her, and her only option would be to run. For whatever reason, maybe to feign confidence or just to break the silence of the encroaching nighttime, she began whistling as she wandered through the trees. This was her land, after all, and she looked after it like no others; avoiding stepping on insects or flowers, touching the trees gently as she passed, and offering her thanks for allowing her to venture within the woods safely.
But even Hyrule had never really been prepared for what Ganon would bring. The Yiga were plentiful in these woods lately, and it was they who revealed themselves to her, stepping out calmly from behind the trees as Zelda found herself in a meadow. Her whistling halted abruptly as she came to a slow stop, trying to count how many lean shadows stood around her.
When she got to five, a hand covered her mouth, and her shriek of surprise was muffled out by the Yiga's strength. The cold metal of his sickle rested at her neck, and she attempted to calm herself - she was the princess, after all, surely they knew that and wouldn't kill her outright - but then again, the yiga weren't in it for money or fame. It was a simple bloodthirsty allegiance to Ganon. Her hands grasped the Yiga's, a tight grip that loosened when he spoke.
"We won't kill you," he hissed, "not here. Master Kohga will deal with you directly, as a ritual to Ganon."
So she had some time. But not much. At least the chances of the guards finding her were higher.
"I think you'll find you won't be killing her at all," a male voice broke out through the trees - definitively not Yiga, Zelda observed, but also not one of her guards. A Hateno native? Maybe another off-duty soldier? Her eyes scanned the woods, but saw no one besides the other clan members, who had begun to creep around in attempt to find the outlier.
The next thing they heard was the unmistakeable whistle of an arrow flying through the air. Zelda barely had a moment to react as the man holding her was struck directly in the forehead; his mask cracked, revealing an aged face, and he fell backwards, knocked out. The sickle fell to the grass next to Zelda, and she stepped away from it and the Yiga hurriedly.
Dismay spread through the other members.
"Quick! Get her!"
"Who's there?"
"Show yourself!"
Whoever it was did not show themselves. More arrows were fired, each finding their mark, even as the Yiga ran at top-speed towards Zelda, hands outstretched. She dodged nimbly as their bodies fell around her, but their numbers seemed endless.
"These guys don't know when to quit," the voice sighed, suddenly much closer - in fact, right behind her. Zelda went to turn to see who it was, but was distracted by another Yiga running directly at the two of them; a hand reached around her waist, pulling her sideways and deftly sliding a rope around and under her arm. Effectively, she had been secured to her savior, but still he didn't allow her a look at his face.
They flew off to the side as he fired a grappling arrow. It propelled them into the woods - a hand reached up to withdraw the arrow from the tree branch it had struck - and a moment later they had hit the ground running.
"Keep up!" he urged, loosening the rope around them to give her more room, and she realised after a moment that the voice was not that of an adult man. He sounded young, like, her age, young.
They ran for what felt like far too long before reaching the outskirts of Hateno. Panting, hands resting on her knees, Zelda was exhausted - but also exhilarated. When she regained her composure and looked to see who had saved her, the young man - just barely her height - had covered his eyes with his hand. Tufts of blonde hair had escaped from his hood, part of a larger poncho that seemed too big on him, caught beneath the leather straps holding his bow and quiver. She cocked her head at him.
"Thank you, stranger," she said, figuring that was the most important thing to start off with. "Please - you know who I am - if you require any assistance, tell me who you are, and I can help you."
"I'm usually the one helping people," the figure replied with a soft laugh, shaking his head.
"Even better," Zelda urged, a hopeful smile on her face, but again he shook his head. The girl frowned.
"At least, tell me your name?"
"It doesn't have the same effect if everyone knows who I am," he replied, and it was then that Zelda noticed he was purposefully keeping his voice quiet. The realisation hit her all at once - good archery, mysterious persona, out at the middle of the night helping people -
"You're the Robin Hood everyone's talking about!" she exclaimed, and the man's head dipped somewhat. "Oh, please - as Princess of Hyrule, let me offer my thank-you for what you do for the people!"
"Your gratitude tonight is more than enough," he replied, and dipped down into a kneel. "I work inspired by you, Princess, and your love for Hyrule. I don't need thanks, or fame, or any other public service."
Zelda was impressed, but disappointed all the same. His hand was no longer covering his eyes, but instead rested on his knee as he stared at the ground near her feet, his face shadowed by his hood.
"If I wasn't Princess, I would join you," she admitted with a sad laugh, not noticing the man's head jerk upwards somewhat in surprise. "I have so many duties to Hyrule, but… to be able to affect people's quality of life directly in such a way, without having to awkwardly accept thank-yous and all the royal proceedings… I'm glad you're taking advantage of it."
"Princess!"
The yells came from her guards, who had been patrolling the outskirts of Hateno. Zelda turned to see them running towards her from the woods, and when she looked back, the young man was gone.
"Are you okay? Who was that? He jumped off into the woods, shall I pursue him?"
"I'm fine, thank-you," Zelda replied, unable to hide her disappointment. "No… that won't be necessary. I'm sorry to have worried you."
Sleep did not come easily for her that night, and Zelda found herself tossing and turning in Hateno's inn, dreaming of arrows and flying through the forest canopy, arm-in-arm with a complete stranger. Curiosity didn't sit well with the Princess, but in time she drifted off to sleep, unaware that Hyrule's Robin Hood would be paying extra attention to her from that moment on.