It was a peaceful morning. Wispy clouds swirled lazily in the depths of the pale blue sky as the people in Castle Town continued on with their day to day business. The southern market was bustling as vendors competed with each other, loudly advertising their wares.
Far from a normal person's view, a young woman sat in her own vantage point on a ledge facing out from a higher point in Hyrule Castle. She lazed back, her back grazing the stone of the castle behind her as she observed the town below. She liked this ledge in particular due to the fact that it gave her a perfect view of the entire town.
She sighed and closed her eyes, glad to have a rare moment of peace. The last few days had been hectic for her along with everyone in service to the Royal Family. The King had passed away a little less than a week ago after fighting illness for several months. His death was of little surprise, as every physician who had seen him had stated that he didn't have much longer to live.
It didn't stop his subjects and his daughter, Princess Zelda, from praying to the goddesses for his health. The King had been well loved, and nobody wanted to see him go. And yet, despite all of the prayers, he still went to join his Queen in the afterlife.
Naturally, the king's elected council had gathered and plans for Princess Zelda's Coronation had begun instantly, barely leaving time for the kingdom to mourn the loss of their beloved King. The paranoid old coots on the council were desperate to place someone on the throne as soon as possible. It gave them a sense of vulnerability to not have a monarch within reach.
Their fears were for naught. Zelda was as good as Queen already. In the months of her father's illness, she had been unofficially calling all of the shots. She would be an excellent ruler, as she had already been able to gain the loyalty of all of Hyrule's soldiers and the admiration of the entire kingdom. The Coronation was a mere formality.
"Ava?"
The girl, Ava, whipped her head around at the door she'd never noticed open as she'd been lost in her thoughts. She relaxed as she saw that it was only the princess she had just been thinking of.
"Shouldn't you be getting ready for your coronation, Your Grace?" Ava asked, relaxing once more.
"You can continue calling me by name, Ava," Zelda said wryly, sitting down carefully next to the dark haired girl on the narrow ledge. It was big enough for the two of them. She arranged her skirts delicately to make sure they didn't wrinkle, "We are friends, are we not?"
"Of course," Ava grinned. The smile fell off of her face though when she saw Zelda's grim look. "What's the matter?"
"It's just…" Zelda sighed, adjusting the black mourning veil she wore. "I don't know if I'm ready to have so much trust placed in me. Being Queen… I never thought it would happen so soon."
"You're ready, believe me," Ava said with no hesitation. "You're a natural ruler, Zelda. You've been Queen for a long time now. You're just getting the official title now."
A smile lit the princess's face. "That means quite a bit to me, coming from you Ava. Thank you." The two girls sat in silence after that, enjoying the faint morning breeze and watching the town below them.
"Why do you always come up here?" Zelda asked after a few moments.
Ava pondered that for a moment. "I prefer to observe instead of being observed… if that makes any sense. Up here, I can be alone… have room to think without dealing with the lot of your idiot soldiers." she let out a groan. "It still makes no sense for you to have promoted me."
As soon as the king had passed away, the head of the castle's guard had retired, as was the tradition. Every time a new king or queen was crowned, they got to appoint the new head of the guard. To everyone's great surprise and dismay, it was Ava that had been chosen. She was second in command of one of the squads, but that didn't give her the nearly the level of experience required to lead the entire guard.
The fair haired princess chuckled. "It seems as if you are the one that needs to have faith in herself. I chose you for a reason, Ava."
"And what reason is that?"
"You know your way around the soldiers." Zelda said simply. "And I need someone I trust leading the soldiers sworn to protect Hyrule."
Ava resisted the urge to snort. Most of the soldiers of Hyrule had a reputation of being lazy and cowardly. It was lucky for them that they weren't at war with any other nation.
Zelda stood up while straightening her skirts. She hesitated at the open door, leading to the inside of the west wing of the castle. "I don't know why but… I have the feeling that something evil is coming our way."
"How ominous." Ava stretched lazily. "What do you mean?"
"I do not know… it may just be my imagination…." Zelda frowned then shook her head slightly before smiling. "Forget my musings. Enjoy the rest of your morning, Ava."
Zelda then left Ava on her own. She didn't bother worrying about what Zelda said. The princess liked to be cryptic. She had known her long enough to know that the serious interior hid a dramatic flair. The petite brunette stretched her legs out once more. Her eyes were starting to feel very heavy. She decided that a quick nap really wouldn't hurt… The guard could do without her for a while.
It felt like she'd only been asleep for a few seconds when she awoke to the angry pecking of a black hawk streaked with silver. Her grogginess immediately disappeared when she realised that it was the royal family's messenger bird.
Why the bird? Why didn't she just send someone up here? Ava questioned worriedly as she fumbled to unroll the roll of parchment from the bird's leg.
She unfolded it and began to read. It took a few minutes of concentration and mouthing of letters for her to sound out what the message had said (or the general gist of it anyways), before her brow furrowed in worry. Gather your troops and come to the throne room immediately. An unknown force is approaching and there is a large chance it is hostile. Please hurry ~Zelda
Ava shot up from her seated position and entered the castle. The servants she passed by in her haste to get to the barracks looked frantic. The entire castle seemed to be in a panicked uproar at this point.
Nearly sprinting, Ava finally made it to the barracks to find many of the soldiers laughing. Some were drinking and others were playing poker with each other. Hyrule's finest, Ava thought dryly.
"LEE! CHARLES!" Ava shouted, drawing the attention of everyone in the barracks. The two men she called stepped forward. James Lee and Aiden Charles were her appointed second and third command. When put on the spot, she'd blurted out their names. While it was impulsive, she was now sure she had made the right choice. They were strong leaders and had much more experience than her. It also helped that they were of the few that she got along with.
"What in the goddess's name are you all doing?" Ava snapped. "Do none of you know that we are potentially under attack?"
She should have known that that was the wrong thing to say. It was uproar after that as some of the stupider soldiers began to panic and shout amongst each other, making it difficult for Ava to distinguish anyone's voice.
"SILENCE!" Charles barked, making his voice radiate throughout the long room. All of the soldiers shut up and eyed the middle aged man in fear. "Compose yourselves, you fools. This is a severe situation!"
"Sorry," Lee whispered to Ava. "We never got the message. We had no idea…"
"It's okay, it's okay," Ava pinched the bridge of her nose, before facing the two hundred soldiers. She stood on the chair provided for her so she could make out all their faces. "Listen up! Your top priority is to protect the princess. We don't know what we're facing…" and there is a chance some of you might not make it out alive, she added in her head. "But, we will be prepared. You're all we have and the kingdom needs you all to have the guts to face whatever we're dealing with." Ava paused, relived to see that they were all paying rapt attention to her. Maybe she could do this.
"You have ten minutes to suit up. Lee's squad will be positioned outside the city gates to delay the enemies while Charles and I take the rest of you to directly protect Princess Zelda and the castle. Is that clear?"
"YES MA'AM!" The soldiers chanted, now looking fully motivated and ready for the oncoming battle.
"I'll see you in the throne room," Ava muttered to Charles before quickly grabbing her own equipment. She attached her sword and dagger to her belt and picked up her bow, making sure that her quiver was full of arrows. Satisfied, she set off to begin the defence preparations.
The soldiers were quick and had managed to arrange themselves in the proper defensive position around their soon to-be queen with little effort. A feeling of uneasiness spread out through the grand room in anticipation of the upcoming conflict.
Ava took her place by Zelda's side, drawing her sword. The fair haired princess had her own sword and shield clutched in front of her in a cautious stance, though she was well protected with four soldiers standing in front of her.
"You saw this coming… and I doubted you." Ava said to Zelda without taking her eyes off the doors in front of her.
"I doubted myself." Zelda said gently. They were silent for a long moment before Zelda tensed suddenly. "It's time," she muttered, eyeing the large doors.
There was absolute silence in the throne room as everyone's eyes were focusing on the doors with nervous apprehension. A part of Ava couldn't help but hope that maybe Lee's squad had taken care of the enemy already…
Her hopes were crushed when the doors burst open in a flurry of black smoke, releasing the most horrifying creatures Ava had ever seen. The creatures were large, black, and covered in strange red markings, possessing incredible speed as the scurried on all fours.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that none of the soldiers stood a chance against these beasts.
They fought valiantly, but it didn't matter as they were torn apart. The soldiers that weren't killed lay broken and bleeding. The entire battle spammed less than five minutes, for that was all it took to ensure the enemy's victory. Ava clenched her teeth, giving out a silent prayer for all of the men they'd lost. It was then that the awful realisation hit her that Lee and his men were most likely dead as well, considering they hadn't shown up for backup.
She wished she had an opportunity to attempt a fight against those hideous creatures… but she couldn't leave Zelda unprotected. So she stood there, transfixed, as the men she had only given an inspirational speech to only an hour before were torn apart and killed. She swallowed hard as she tightened her grip on her sword.
At that exact moment, a man entered the chaotic throne room, walking with a stride that radiated arrogance and power with every step. He was flanked by two more of those horrific creatures.
Ava had never seen clothing so foreign before. He was wearing long robes covered in the same markings of the monsters with oversized sleeves dangling past his willowy arms. It made her uncomfortable to see his face hidden behind a protruding lizardlike mask. It left his expressions a mystery.
He continued to saunter forwards before he stopped a few metres away from where Ava and Zelda were standing. Ava couldn't help but shudder at his silent stare.
"It is time for you to choose," he said coolly, his voice smooth. "Surrender… or die." He paused, allowing those words to sink in. "Oh yes, a question for all of Hyrule."
Ava stiffened, eyeing the bodies around the room. Several of those creatures had wrung the few living soldiers by their necks, only adding to the helmeted man's threats. He was cruel, that was evident from the display he'd just put on. He wouldn't hesitate to slaughter innocent civilians and lay ruin to Hyrule.
Ava knew enough of the princess to know that she would do what she thought would be the best for her people. She would go with the option that would cause the least amount of bloodshed.
"Life or death?" He repeated once more, facing Zelda. There was a mocking undertone in his voice which served to boil Ava's blood. She turned to briefly make eye contact with the taller girl besides her. She could see the submission and pain in her face, which confirmed Ava's theory. The soldiers looked at their princess with bated breath, awaiting her verdict…
Ava gritted her teeth as a loud clang echoing throughout the throne room. The royal family's sword lay on the ground between Zelda and the masked man.
"A wise choice," he sneered. He waved a sleeve in the princess's direction, "Escort the princess to her new room where she shall reside indefinitely." Two of those beasts moved forward to where Zelda was standing.
Instead of appearing defeated, Zelda held her head up high with her face lacking any emotion.
"You and your shadow beasts have chosen the wrong kingdom to threaten, Zant… Your reign shall only be temporary." Zelda stated as she passed the man with the helmet. Zant... Ava now had a name to identify him with. This Zant stiffened and sneered at her retreating back.
"We shall see… Beasts!" he snarled. "Seize this wretched castle, and kill anyone that gets in the way, man, woman, or child." He seemed to notice Ava for the first time and froze. Ava put a hand on her sheath, giving the man a steely look, her violet eyes blazing. She wouldn't hesitate to fight for her life if it came to that.
Zant pointed at her, recovering quickly from his moment of shock. "Take this one to the dungeons. She will be of use to me."
Within moments, Ava was struggling against the hold of a shadow beast. It's fast, dammit, she thought as she attempted to break free from its iron grip. The petite brunette hissed when it slashed her cheek. Why in Hylia's name was he even bothering to capture her? Of what use could she possibly be to this guy?
"Let me go!" she snarled as she was promptly dragged out. She was led down a flight of stairs leading to the main floor of the castle. Ava noted that its grip on her right hand was slightly loose and wiggled it slightly, testing its motion. If she could only reach her sword…
Ava let out a relieved sigh as her fingers found their way around her trusty longsword. With all the strength she could muster, she ran the sword through the large black shadow beast.
It let go of her and screeched loudly in pain before beginning to thrash. Ava didn't waste this opportunity and made a run for it, abandoning her sword in the beast's body. Hopefully, it would stay put for a few moments, giving her the chance to run.
Ava didn't bother to turn around to see if the shadow beast was following her. She could hear scurried footsteps behind her.
A horse… I need a horse, she thought once she exited the castle. By some miracle, the stables happened to be close by with fully saddled horses lazily picking at the hay that was laid out for them. Wasting no time, Ava threw a leg over the closest horse she could find, a dark stallion, which whinnied in protest at the sudden intrusion, and rode him out of the castle gates and out into Hyrule field.
She made the mistake of turning back to see smoke rising from the castle. Angry tears prickled at the corner of her eyes as she turned her back on the castle and the people inside that'd been counting on her… Her soldiers… Zelda…
At that very moment, Ava decided that she was going to stop Zant… or die trying.
