Chapter 1

Princess Zelda was a busy person. Between learning to channel and control her magic, praying to the Goddesses and keeping an eye on the Champions, she still somehow manage to squeeze in some free time to study the Guardians and conducted experiments of her own.

The princess knew she had to keep herself busy: Calamity Ganon was said to rise soon, and they were going to need all the help they could get. The only problem she was having right now was that her said-Goddess-blessed light power still hadn't shown up. All the mages and even Impa were doing everything they could to help her but ever since Zelda's mother was gone, things were just not the same anymore.

Biting down her sigh of frustration, Zelda closed the book she was trying, and failing, to concentrate on, and instead turned her green eyes on a stack of perfectly organized reports lying on a table nearby.

The reports were about energy surges popping up all over Hyrule. At first, it was just harmless little shockwaves randomly erupted at a single location. But soon after that, people had been seeing strange beasts wandering across the land, some even claimed these beasts could talk, but so far, there was no real prove supporting the claim.

King Roam, Zelda's father, had strictly appointed the task of supervising and analyzing these surges to Purah and Purah alone. But of course, Zelda had managed to convince the Sheikah scientist to sneak her some of the researches to study.

The latest energy surge was located near the Great Deku Tree in the Lost Wood. It was, by far, the most powerful surge, too. In fact, the place was still now ringing with overloaded energy. The overhyped white-hair scientist had reported that whatever was causing these surges was certainly powerful, but it didn't feel like Ganon. Powerful, but not necessary evil.

A firm knock on the door pulled the Hylian out of her thoughts.

"Uh, yes! Please come in!" she called out and the door slid open, revealing a familiar tall and slender Sheikah.

"Impa!" Zelda greeted, smiling. "I didn't know you'd be visiting today?" The Sheikah in question simply shook her head, her bright reddish brown eyes fixed on the Hylian with a faintest hint of disapproval. Immediate, Zelda knew she must have done something wrong.

"No, I'm not here to visit, I'm here to remind you about your… appointment with Princess Mipha. Link and the horses are waiting for you. You're supposed to be on your way two minutes and a half ago."

Zelda's mouth formed an "oh". She had completely forgotten about her "appointment" with the Zora Princess. Though, if she was being honest, it was more of a visit than an actual appointment. The meeting was supposed to be an "exchange of information regarding the Divine Beast Vah Ruta", but all Zelda wanted was to get out of the castle and into the nature for a while.

"Right." Said Zelda, "I'll be right there."

Barely a minute later, she was nested comfortably on her Royal White Horse, Nayru, named after the Goddess who created the Triforce of Wisdom. Her father would have insisted her traveling in a carriage but she had always preferred racing down the dirt path at full speed like this, completed with the feeling of the wind blowing around her.

Link was right beside her, keeping pace on Epona, his straw color hair flew widely in the wind. His vibrant blue eyes caught her jade green ones and the boy offered her a small smile before urging his horse faster, letting out a small "hiya!" as he did so, until Epona ran pass her.

There was a time when the Princess and her Knight couldn't get along, mostly due to the Princess' attitude and stubbornness (Zelda would never admit it), but they were way pass that. Now, the two Hylians could be considered rather close friends.

The Princess felt a grin creeping to her lips as she urge Nayru forward and they were neck to neck with Link and Epona. Soon enough, the two was engaged in a heated race toward Zora's Domain and before she knew it, they had already arrived at Wetland Stable. They decided to register their horses there in favor of having them trotted on the rocky path. Zora's Domain wasn't far from here, and Zelda really wanted a walk.

Link swiftly slid off Epona and offered Zelda a hand, which she took with a playful eye roll.

"I'll secure the horses," Link offered, his voice as soft as a breeze, "I'll catch up with you later."

"Right, of course." Zelda smiled. Only a few weeks ago, they had had a small talk which she requested him not to follow her around wherever she went. It took a while, but she had finally managed to convince him. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy his company, but the princess had her own personal space, and she didn't like seeing Link went out of his way to perform his duty like that.

Zelda followed the worn path up the mountain toward the Domain. The weather was perfect for a swim: crystal blue sky with gentle breezes and occasionally a few puffs of cloud. Maybe they could go for a quick dip when she got there.

The princess quick reached the gorgeous crystalized bridge leading into the Domain. Two guards escorted her not into the Palace but toward Vah Ruta where, unsurprisingly, Mipha was hanging out with her brother, Sidon.

"Good morning Princess." The older Zora greeted kindly, her voice soft and her eyes gentle. "It's a pleasure seeing you again." Despite all Zelda's efforts to stop Mipha from calling her "princess", the Zora seemed to be too polite to do so.

"Good morning Mipha. It is great seeing you, too." The Hylian greeted back and offered the smaller Zora, who was looking at her curiously, a small smile. "Hello Sidon, I see you've gotten a bit taller."

Sidon gave her his signature toothy grin completed with the thumbs up at the praise, his sharp teeth somehow glinting adorably.

His sister smiled and knelt down to his eyes level, she patted his slightly oversized head and soothed: "Why don't you run along with your friends Sidon? I need to talk to Princess Zelda a bit, I will catch up once I'm done."

Beaming brightly, the smaller Zora gave his sister an enthusiastic nod before running off to join a small group of little Zoras near the Domain. A small moment of silence passed between the two Princesses as they watched Sidon made his way to his destination. They could hear the other kids delighted cries upon his arrival.

"Princess? May I ask if… Link is with you…?" Mipha asked timidly, her voice even smaller than before. Even though Zelda couldn't see her face clearly, she was certain the Zora was blushing.

"Yes." She answered without missing a beat, "He's securing the horses. I think he'll be here anytime soon."

"Oh" was the Zora's Princess simple responds. It was no secret that the female Zora was smitten with the Hylian Knight. Her crush on him had more than once been the subject of gossip between the Champions themselves, though no one could quite bring themselves to make fun of it. Link, however, was a different story. Whether the Hylian returned the sentiment or even aware of it was a mystery.

"How's Vah Ruta?" Zelda asked, not wanting to stretch out the uncomfortable silence. At the mention of her Divine Beast, Mipha brighten up instantly.

"She's doing wonderfully! The system was functioning smoother than ever before. It's like we were bonding."

"That's good to hear." Zelda nodded, eyeing the gigantic machine waddling in the lake. "There is no problem at all?"

"Not currently, no." Mipha confirmed, "If anything happens, I will inform you immediately."

That was good enough for the Hylian. The Princesses turned to look at Vah Ruta again, soaking in the magnificence of the Beast and the air of power and grace around it.

Suddenly, a bright flash erupted in the peaceful sky, a shockwave quickly followed causing the air around them to ripple violently.

Mipha stepped in front of Zelda, her trident in hand, her golden eyes scanned the area anxiously for Sidon. The little Zora prince was nowhere to be seen, which was either good or bad. Unlike the Zora Princess, Zelda was busy staring blankly at the sky, she could feel waves after waves of energy crashing through her. She could hear voices forming incomprehensible whispers all around her. Feeling light-headed, the blonde let out a strained yelp and staggered back, Mipha's shout of alarm seemed muffed and far away. Her vision blurred and darkened, and suddenly, she felt something heavy pressed against her lungs, making it hard to breath.

Then, as quickly as it started, everything went back to normal. Zelda stared blankly at the sky, looking as peaceful as if nothing had happened, it was very convincing, too. The Princess almost believed that it was all just some sort of stress hallucination if not for Mipha's bewildered look and Link rushing toward them, a band of Zora guards not far behind. The Knight halted a few feet away from them, his eyes full of worry.

"Your Highnesses!" One of the guards, a purple-skin female, bowed and quickly asked, concern evident in her voice, "Are you alright? What happened?"

"We are fine." Mipha answered firmly. Zelda could see Link and the guards visibly relaxed, "As for what happened, we were hoping to get some answers, too."

Zelda stared at the sky. Whatever had just happened didn't seem to last nor did it serve any lasting effects or damages. Everything seemed to be just fine, but the blonde couldn't quite shake the feeling that this was just the calm before the storm and something big was about to happen.

Right on cue, a bright flash rippled the sky and something shot out of it. Immediately, Link jumped in front of Zelda, the Master Sword drawn in its full glory. The Zora guards had also drawn their spears and positioned themselves around Mipha, whose bright amber eyes were fixed sorely on the descending projectile.

Suddenly, those eyes widened and their owner let out a startled gasp: "It's-it's a person!"

"What?" Zelda squinted her eyes at the horizon. This time, she could made out a Hylian-noid figure swallowed in golden light, hurling like a comet toward the blue lake below. Judging by the way they had their back facing the ground and their limbs flailing limply, the person was unconscious. With a sickening "BOOM", the person hit the water, sank like a rock and didn't resurface.

With a gasp, Mipha started sprinting toward the lake. She didn't make three steps before the female guard caught her arm:

"With all due respect Your Highness, what are you doing?" Mipha yanked her arm free and glared sternly at the guard:

"Whoever that was, they will die if I don't do anything. I'm helping them!" Zelda swallowed. Mipha was usually a sweet and easy-going person, but she could get quite feisty when she wanted to. The female guard, however, wasn't giving up just yet.

"What if they're dangerous?" she protested, her voice laced with worry. Clearly the female guard cared a great deal about Mipha. The red Zora's expression softened:

"Do not worry about me. Water is my domain, I can handle myself. What I need you to do is go look for my brother and bring him back to the palace immediately. Do you understand?"

By now, the purple Zora must have realized that there was no stopping her Princess. With a firm salute, she and the other guards took off. With no one in her way, Mipha resumed her dash toward the lake, this time with Zelda and Link close behind. With a graceful leap, the Zora's entire body disappeared under the crystal blue surface, barely making a splash.

The Hylian Princess and her Knight stopped short by the edge of the lake, waiting anxiously for their friend. Link didn't even bother putting away his sword, he simply let it hung loosely at his side as he stared intently at the water, his vibrant blue eyes seemed to be drilling holes at the spot where Mipha had hit the water.

To Zelda's relief, they didn't have to wait long. Barely a minute after she disappeared, Mipha broke the surface, staying afloat using one arm, the other supporting a clearly unconscious person.

"He's alive!" Mipha declared as they helped her out of the water. Zelda glanced at the person. A male, huh?

"He's not in any immediate danger nor does he have any visible wound, but I need to get him to the infirmary to make sure." The Zora informed.

Link nodded and wordlessly wrapped the stranger's arm around his shoulders, taking in all of his weight and stepped away from Mipha, who breathed out a small "thank you".

The odd group kept quite the entire way back to the palace, too occupied with their own thoughts to speak. The only noise between the silent was their footsteps and Link's quiet grunts whenever he had to haul himself and the extra weight up a slope.

When they finally managed to secure the stranger to an infirmary's bed, Mipha quickly did a quick check-over and claimed that he had no visible injury beside small cuts and bruises which she had already healed. The Zora Princess quickly excused herself to see her father, the King, and informed him of the new situation, leaving Zelda and Link with the unconscious stranger.

The person was obviously a male with healthy tan skin and messy black hair. Like Link, he was well-built but lean, not too bulky. The Princess had spent enough time studying Zora's anatomy to notice that this person was an excellent swimmer.

However, it was the stranger's clothing that caught her eyes the most. The shirt he was wearing was similar to a standard undershirt most Hylian used but she had never seen such vibrant orange on clothing before, the letters "CHB" written across the shirt didn't make any sense to Zelda either. His trousers were made out of a kind of fabric she had never seen before. Unlike most Hylian's trousers, which were mostly made from soft cotton or sometime leather, his were rough, stiff and had a dark blue in color. And how he managed to put on such complicated shoes with so many laces was beyond her.

Zelda's eyes briefly scanned over a beaded necklace sat across the stranger's neck to a strange mark on his forearm: a trident with a single line beneath it. She tried wiping the drawing away, the ink didn't budge.

"His ears." Zelda jumped at Link's voice. She immediately felt bad for completely forgotten that he was still here. Regaining her posture, the Princess asked, hoping her voice was leveled:

"What of his ears?"

"They're round." Replied Link. The Princess's eyes snapped back to the stranger's head. A strain of his black hair had fallen out of his face, revealing his ears and true enough, they were short and round.

"Well, this is certainly strange." Zelda mumbled, "Everything about him is strange: he fell out of the sky, somehow survived the impact with just a few scratches. I've never seen clothes like his before and he had round ears! None of this made any sense." She rubbed her face with her hands in defeat. There was no way of getting any answer while the stranger was still out cold, staring at him while he was sleeping definitely wouldn't bring anything to the light. With a dejected sigh, the Princess muttered:

"Guess we'll have to wait."