"Listen up, soldiers! If you're here for glory or honor, leave now! For the task assigned is to guard the Princess, and stand with her in battle! When the time comes, you will stand your ground in front of her, and you will protect her with your life!"
The last of the General's speech faded, echoing through the overcrowded barracks. Link nodded privately to himself.
Link was a young man, tired of the farm life that had trapped him for seventeen years. He took sword and shield to find a new occupation, other than herding goats and planting pumpkins. So he came to Hyrule Castle, and signed away his life to be in the Royal Guard of Hyrule. It was a snap decision; and now, as he laid out a blanket on the cold, stone ground, he regretted it.
The food the soldiers ate was a slop, similar to what pigs ate, if not worse. Yet he had never been hungrier in his entire life.
Every morning, at unearthly hours, the soldiers would go and train. The first thing they would do was archery training, in which they fired arrows at targets, held by a shielded soldier. Every other day, Link would practice with fire arrows, burning himself each and every time. However, if he dropped an arrow or misfired, the General's voice would boom in his ear, "Having a problem, Soldier?" and he would mutter, "No sir," and continue to fire.
Next came the sword training. The soldiers would fight each other, until one was struck; they fought with wooden swords, doing little to no damage. Link was excellent at this profession-he made it all the way up the line to the General, where he met his match, considering the fact that the General wouldn't fight with wood, just with steel.
After that, the soldiers would go to obstacle courses. They would climb ropes, slick with oil. They would jump over burning objects or hurdle themselves over spiky traps, like circus animals.
Dinner was the only meal of the day. They ate quickly, and they'd bribe eachother for their food. "Hey, Hugh, I'll give ya' a yellow rupee for the rest of yer' slop," one soldier elbowed Link.
"My name's not Hugh, sorry, and I'm starving," Link would say. He wasn't comfortable around other soldiers. They were there for the glory of battle, and it frustrated Link. However much he hated it here, he would never have left. Zelda was his only priority. He would protect her as if the world revolved around her.
Soldiers were expected to sleep after dinner, which was normal. However, Link spent half the night writing and reading letters to and from his friends in Ordon.
To Link. Whats it like being a solder and all? we miss you. From Talo.
The letters were clumsily addressed and signed, but it felt good to have people talking to him. He opened the next letter, one from Malo.
To Link
Where are you? I doubt you have truly become a soldier. Can you send me proof?
Malo.
Link smiled. That kid was always so cynical, yet very intelligent. How he could read and write was beyond him. With a sad smile, he opened the letter from Ilia, his former best friend. He had left in the middle of the night, with just a note, to avoid her confrontation.
Link,
How could you leave us like this? Right before the Ordon Festival, no less! You've been shirking your responsibilities, and now you just LEAVE? And to become a soldier? Do you want Epona to be a war horse? War horses die every day, with the filthy stables they're kept in, and the diseases the other horses bring in! And you, you could be killed too! How could you do this to us? To me?
Ilia.
P.S, I'm not going to get over this one.
Link smiled a real smile, now. Her tantrum couldn't touch him, couldn't persuade him to set foot in that small village again. However, he did miss Ilia's voice; even when she was angry, she was still his best friend.
After sending off a generic response to the kids, he lingered on Ilia's. He wrote that he was sorry, and that he would come and take her to see Hyrule once he got out of training. He explained the food, and the conditions, hoping to get a sympathetic response out of her.
And then he trained.
Link had become master swordsman through hard work and extra training. Every night, he would go forth and fight the General, who had taken the challenge. Back and forth, their swords making clicks and clangs in the silent night. They fought until the sentry switched guards, meaning it was roughly one in the morning. Link woke up at three.
Of course, Link never actually got to guard the princess. That was the General's job, although the man had become fond of Link and promoted him to his second-in-command.
And that day, the last day of Link's training, was when the Twilight came.
Author's Note: This was just a passing idea as I was thinking about writing another fic. So, please do tell me what you think! Chapter two is coming soon. :)