Zelda was awakened by the sunbeam coming from her window, her room was perfectly oriented toward the sun so that every day she would wake up early. She rubbed her eyes and stretched herself before noticing that a certain wolf decided to join her during the night ... Link was so small in this way, she could hold him in her hand if she wanted to ... but not now, and beside he could wake up, get scared and turn back into his human form, he could control it that was a fact but could he keep his composure ?

The princess carefully moved out from her bed to get dressed, today she had to figure out something that could help her get Link as her pet ... she knew it sounded terrible to say that but she couldn't just go and tell her parents "Father Mother look ! I found this boy who can turn into a wolf can I keep it ?" Even like this it sounded like it would end up in a bad way.

When she had finished she heard a small growl and when she turned back Link was turning back into his human form again, he looked around him and seemed confused when he realised where he was. He quickly found Zelda in front of her dresser adjusting her dress.

"I guess the floor was too cold for you" she said to taunt him

"My a-apologies"

"We are gonna head out in the gardens, firsf we have to find a way to feed you"

"Oh ... it's true I didn't eat for a long time, but how ? Even if you carry me outside in your basket I'm almost sure it would be suspicious"

"I have another solution" she said looking at her bed sheets "Can you turn back into a wolf ?" Link obeyed and waited on the bed, Zelda took the bed sheet and wrapped it around Link which was shaking a little know

"Let's see ... it must be around 6 meters above the ground, hold still alright ?" Zelda took Link in her arms and dropped him on her balcony.

Oh how badly the boy wanted to become human again just to express is disapproval but it was too late he was already hanging in the air and slowly going down, he wasn't sure if he was truly sliding throught the bed sheet or if it was just his imagination. Once he was on the ground he unwrapped himself without tearing the bed sheet apart and turned back into a human.

"What should I do now ?!" He yelled at Zelda

"Not so loud !" She snapped "stay here I'm coming soon !"

Soon she said, what could possibly happen to him during this time ? His surroundings didn't look like a garden, he was stuck between two walls and he didn't pay attention to were he currently was in the castle ... he heard noises on his right, metal noises. Link knew Zelda asked him to stay were he was but ... a small look couldn't be that bad ?

Link followed the wall until he reached a corner, a bunch of people covered in metal plates were practicing with bows and sword, he was near some kind of training area for soldiers. He didn't know how much time passed while he was looking at then training, he just liked that, especially the sword duel.

"Enjoying the view ? I told you to wait for me right ?" Link was caught of guard by Zelda but now her voice didn't startled him anymore.

"I didn't disobeyed princess, after I am still under your window"

"And know you call me princess hehehe ... follow me" Zelda led link to the other direction, the gardens were right behind him in fact "It's just a big maze and my father only opens it on special occasions, one being my birthday"

"It is ?"

"No ... I mean when it comes to a party or a reception, of course I can access it whenever I want what would be the point to have one otherwise ?" Zelda brought Link to a fountain surrounded by white flowers " those are called Silent Princess, they are my favourite"

"They are amazing"

"Usualy they only survive into the wild but ... for some reason they can grow here too"

"... what about those ?" Link pointed his hand toward

"The Blue Nightshade, we mostly used then to prepare potions and soups ... it's funny you noticed this one because, along with the Silent Princess they are the only flowers we knows who can grant what who could call a "sneaky" effect it's still a msytery but under certain conditions when you consume some you seem less visible" explained Zelda

"Zelda dear ? Are you here ?" Called a voice

"Oh ... that's my mother, I completely forgot about telling you my plan"

"W-what pla-?" Tried to ask Link before Zelda start yelling to her mother

"I'm here mother ! And I found something"

"Z-Zelda what ?"

"It's gonna be alright, just turn into a wolf and let me do the rest"

"But-" Link tried to protest, Zelda had already put him throught enough troubles for today

"Please ?" She asked firmly

"I guess I can't say no to my mistress"

"Good boy" said Zelda patting Link's head "now look cute" how we he supposed to look cute? Even if people didn't recognised him a wolf yet it's not like he could smile, no he had to be natural.

"Zelda can you come here please ? I don't know the labyrinth as much as you do" said her mother which seemed to be getting close

"I'm at the fountain mother !" Once her mother had joined her she walked toward her daughter

"Zelda it's about our relations with-"

"Mother look !" She turned back and showed Link to her mother, he wasn't very comfortable with the way the princess was holding him but the gaze of the Queen really was something else.

"Oh ... Zelda ... it's ... it's a wolf ?"

"Yes ! I found him sleeping in the Blue Nightshade and then we played together for some time"

The Queen got on her knee to take a better look at the small animal, she wasn't afraid of him nor worried for Zelda's safety ... she rubbed Link chick, he actually liked this.

"Can I keep it ?" Asked Zelda, she took a confident smile

"Uh-hum well-I ... for now y-yes b-but I need to discuss this with your father ... how did it even get here ?" Asked the queen to herself looking around "oh my, I completely forgot ... Zelda ... you are a smart child right ?"

"... mother what happened" a simple question from the Queen and Zelda knew her mother wasn't really in a good mood. The Queen sighed and sat on a nearby bench

"Zelda ... you know how I met your father right ?"

"... yes, arranged marriage ... don't tell me-"

"Don't worry my dear it won't happen yet, it may not happen at all but- ... peace is a fragile thing you see ... your father wasn't here last night and our reunion didn't go as planned"

"A war ?"

"... yes ... hehe ... I can't hide any thing from you right ? The "forest incident" brought more fear than we would have expected ... some are scared, other are envious ... maybe one day, you never know when it could happen, your father will chose for you"

"I- ... I understand" Zelda had heard her mother wasn't always so happy, she didn't know much about her past but enough to know she didn't chose but ended up accepting this life.

"A council will he held in a few days, the other families might bring their child with them ... you understand what it means"

"... they will try to approach me"

"Yes ... I won't be able to help you here, you will have to make the difference between your potential friends and ... the others" Zelda was still holding Link in her arms, she looked at him to try to find some kind of comfort but then she felt her mother arms around her

"I'm sorry to tell you our lifes are gonna change in such a way ... but it's necessary"

"Don't worry mother ... It's not the first time I have face liars"

"I thank the gods for granting me such a strong daughter" Her mother kept not this embrace for a few minutes

"I have to go now ... maybe you should bring this wolf to the laundry, they might be able to give him a bath"

"I will mother" they exchanged one last glance and then the queen left. Link moved away from Zelda's arms so he could turn back into a human again

"I ... I'm sorry-"

"It's okay Link, I can deal with this ... so ... how about your bath now ?"

Suddendly Link froze, he rubbed the back of his head and forced a smile

"Is-is this really necessary ? Hehehe I-I was floating in the river like yesterday right ? I think we can skip thi-"

"No no no ... I want to give you your first bath personally" taunted Zelda

"I'm not a dog ! And if you want me to do this fine but you will have to drag me yourself" on his word Link sat on the ground leg and arm crossed

Zelda laughed and went somewhere into the labyrinth "Alright ! Stay here I'll be back"

Why would he act like an animal ? He was okay with being Zelda's friend ... even if it implied being mostly her pet, and beside he didn't hate it. When the queen rubbed is neck if was kinda great Link mentally thought.

"Alright Zelda ... I'm gonna take a ba-" But then Link felt cold water flow over him

"Oh sorry ! I ... uh ..." Link turned around to see Zelda with an empty bucket in her hands

"I-it's cold ! ... he ... hehe ... hahahaha !" They both started laughing

"At least you are not mad at me hahaha" replied Zelda

"Oh ... am I ?" Link ran toward the fountain and threw some water on Zelda " It's called a counter attack !"

"Hey ! Hahaha Link my dress !"

"You better run before the wolf catch you princess" Link let Zelda run and tried to howl like a wolf before running after her but ... he couldn't find her

"Not so easy when you don't know where you are going right ?" Yelled Zelda somewhere in the garden

"I can't say it's cheating either then ?!" Link just heard a small laugh ... but then he thought about what he just said ... cheating ... he turned himself into a wolf, maybe and just maybe he could find Zelda with his senses of Wolf, she interacted with the Silent Princess and the Blue Nightshade, it would be perfect for a first time. Link focused and after a moment be could see somekind of coloured trail. If he was right he would just have to follow if and Zelda would be at the end of it.

On her side the princess knew exactly where she would hid, usually the method to get out of a labyrinth would be to follow the wall on either the left or the right and eventually you would get out but here it want possible, sometime sections of wall would be disconnected from the rest of the labyrinth and thus making it unsolvable, if she went deep enough Link might give up and she would have win ...

But link had already found her, she was in a dead end so he took this opportunity to make a "kinda theatrical entrance" the sun was behind him, his shadow would appear before he even get into Zelda's field of view.

"I can smell you, you shouldn't have touched those flowers earlier" then he stepped into the dead end and found Zelda arms crossed waiting for him

"Oh no what am I gonna do ? Please don't eat me !" She said playing the "damsel in distress"

"You can run but you can't hide I'm gonna make you mine" Link turned into a wolf and charged toward Zelda making hitgh pitched barks on his way

"Hahaha ! I'm so scared what is the big bad wolf going to do now ?" Link jumped and turned back into a human again gently tackling Zelda again the ground

"I won" declared Link freeing Zelda from his grasp

"Good boy" Zelda patted Link on the head and stood up rubbing some dirt off her dress hopefully no one would notice "tell me ... did you think you were a shepherd before ? I'm saying that because of your wool coat, it's not the kind of things the town people would wear and it looks ... rustic"

"Maybe ... it's true actually ... I can ... I can remember that I knew people with those but- ... sorry it's still hard"

"That's okay, I'm going to the library now I'm sure you might find something too"

"Great ! I'm sure it will look as amazing the garden"

Zelda puffed at what Link said "hihihi sorry it's ... A-MAZE-ING haha-"

"Princess ? Are you here ?" Zelda didn't recognised the voice but she assumed it was guard since most of the castle's staff was composed of women

"Link" she just had to say his name and he knew what he had to do, once Link was following her Zelda headed toward the entrance of the garden, there was indeed a guard waiting for her.

"Yes what is it ?"

"Your father came back ! You have to come quick" the guard meant what he said, Zelda expected the worst, she ran toward the guard followed by Link as well. The guard didn't ask about the little animal since there were more urgent matters.

Zelda was lead in the throne room, people were running all around her, something was definitely wrong. She grabbed Link in her hand to prevent him from being hurt in this chaos.

The princess finally saw her father at the and of a great table which had been place in the room, he was talking with her mother and ... he had a bandage around his left arm, she quickly joined them.

"Father !" She yelled

"Zelda ! Thank the goddesses you are here" her father noticed she was looking at his arm "won't worry too much about this, I'm fine"

"What happened ?" She asked

"We are being invaded" the queen seemed angry because of how blunt the king was "she has to know we can't keep this as a secret any way !"

"Invaded by who ?"

"By what would be more appropriate ... follow me" the king brought her daughter at a balcony which faced toward the South of Hyrule ... the sky was weird in this direction, just like if a great wall had been erected here.

"What is this ?"

"We don't know yet Zelda ... I was at the edge of Faron Woods with the soldiers protecting me and we got attacked, we had never seen those monsters, it's just like if they were able to ... somehow get resurrected, as long as one of them stood they couldn't did. Of course we defeat them but then more and more came out from the forest, we had to retreat and then this "wall" appeared, once we were far enough I sent Gu- I mean general Gulian to scout the area, he brought two soldiers with him but ... neither of them came back. He said they couldn't cross the barrier and when they were going to come back something grabbed both of his soldiers and they were dragged on the other side"

"That's- .. that's terrifying, what kind of power can create such a thing ?"

"We don't know ... yet, for now we are establishing our defences and we are thinking about methods to take care of them without endangering the lives of our soldiers, their ability to defy death is new, we never saw that" the king directed his gaze at her daughter ... she was holding something "What is this ?" He asked pointing at Link"

"It's Link, I found him in the gardens ... I asked mother if I could keep him and she agreed"

"... hum ... " the king got on his knee to be at the same level as Link "well dear Link ... would you accept to protect my daughter in those dark times ?" The king laughed after that, he was trying to make Zelda smile and he didn't expect Link to bark as a response

"Wellhahahaa that's some appointed knight you have here my dear ! Keep him close to you"

"Thank you father"

"Don't worry too much about this situation ... we are just trying to secure our frontier, we are not in war but in a tight situation"

"You will find a solution father I know it ... I should go now, my presence isn't required and it might even be handicapping"

"I understand, you are free to go but ... don't go out of the castle alright ?"

"I will father" Zelda decided to go to the library as she planed to get away from all the noise the return of her father had resulted in

On her way Link jumped from her arms and turned back into a human

"What are you doing ?! People might see you !"

"Don't worry they won't, and it's not like they would just be able to say something right ? I mean if I am with you where is the problem ?"

"The problem ? Oh there are more than one, you could be seen as an intruder and get arrested on sight or worse, they could think you are a member of the castle staff and kick you out and again or worse and if they see you transform they will immediately think you are a monster"

" ... oh ... well there is still no one around so I guess I'm safe ?"

Zelda sighed "It's not like I can order you around"

"Oh ! I'm your uh ... appointed knight now ... right ? Can I have a sword ?"

"You are gonna hurt yourself you know ?"

"I'm not a knight if I don't have a sword"

"And how would you carry it around ? You are a wolf you know"

"... that's a good question in fact, where do my clothes go when I'm under this form ?"

"Oh ... maybe we should try that" Zelda looked around ... she never understood why there were empty armors exposed in the corridor, she was used to see this but those had literally no special use when she considered them ... but they did have "fake" swords

"Alright" Zelda grabbed a sword on the closest armor she could find and gave it to Link "try to keep it in your hand and ... do your thing"

"Just so you know I'm not really sure if I either think about changing appearance or if it's something else" Link tool the sword and turned into a wolf, it had indeed disappeared from his hand

"Magic is really something ... if it's even magic of course" she stated "any way the library is just around this corner ... I'm sure I can find something about swords since you see so excited about this"

"... hum ... I can't "read" hehe"

Zelda turned around in surprise, again she was eight years old and reading as well as writing wasn't unknown to her and she never though Link wouldn't but she forgot that he might have been a shepherd and that he probably never received any teaching about reading or writing ... or maybe he forgot ?

"Oh ... well maybe I can read for you-"

"Nonono it will be fine don't worry I'll- ... I'll just look at the guards and that should be enough also I can't disturb you, your father expect a lot and so does your mother"

"Thank you Link"


And there goes another chapter ! I'm still figuring out how to get everything into motion but I think that's going to be great !

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