Hyrule field looked much different at night. During a sunny day, it looked like paradise - full of wildflowers in bloom, breezy and quiet. Now, as Zelda found her ways through the tall grass, she was just grateful that it was a clear night. Without the moon, she wouldn't be able to see a thing - and despite all of her previous courage, the further she got from Robin, the more and more it faded away. He was likely still fast asleep. If anything happened, there would be no one around her to help.
No - it's no use thinking like that, she reminded herself, I have to be more self-reliant.
It didn't help that she had no combat training, nor no weapon to defend herself with. Was it any use being 'self-reliant' with no resources? She could run, but she had never even been a particularly fast runner. As she passed Lake Kolomo and spotted a camp of sleeping Yiga nearby, she let out a sigh. What if she'd made a grave mistake? At least, seeing Hyrule Castle looming in the distance was reassuring. She wasn't that far.
She distracted herself by thinking about Robin as she walked. He had saved her once - no, twice already, from the Yiga forces. Had he been following her? He was born into the royal guard, but… from what he'd said, was no longer part of it… Zelda shook her head. What was becoming of Hyrule if someone that talented found it necessary to leave the royal guard, to leave knight training? But he was supposedly loyal if he was looking after her so well… then again, not being able to see his face was worrying. What if he really was yiga?
She pushed the thought away. No… he had what must have been the sword that seals the darkness… but what if it made a mistake? There were too many questions. And there'd be no answering them, not yet. She had to get home first.
By the time she saw the Yiga patrolling the sacred grounds, it was already too late. Their patrols had caught wind of her earlier, and even as she ducked into the grass and stayed perfectly still, it was no use. Their footsteps surrounded her, and Zelda panicked, trying to run - but ropes caught both of her wrists and dragged her backwards.
"No! Help!" she yelled as loud as she possibly could, hoping maybe, just maybe, a nearby knight patrol could hear her. Three yiga wrestled her to the ground, pinning her as her wrists and ankles until they were tied together, and finally she was flipped, laying on her back on the grass. Before she could yell again, one of them held a sickle to her throat, cold steel pressing softly against her neck.
"Ssssh," he cooed, "don't wanna wake up all of Castle Town, now. You're gonna answer some questions."
Of all the challenges she'd had as Princess, this was the toughest so far. Zelda felt like she was having an out of body experience. She couldn't process that she was being threatened - her life was being threatened - if she didn't answer. All she could do was grit her teeth, fight the tears escaping from her eyelashes, and think about home. Mom, why is this happening?
"What do you want?" she snapped, her voice shaking despite her efforts to sound angry. She was terrified, but what the yiga said next surprised her so much, she nearly snapped out of it.
"Tell us where the Chosen Hero is."
The… chosen… hero?
"We know he was traveling with you!"
"We saw his sword."
"He's Ganon's only threat."
She almost fought back then - what do you mean, Ganon's only threat? - but her thoughts were preoccupied. The Chosen Hero. She had seen Robin's sword, too. The way it glowed was just like in the texts she'd studied. And if Calamity Ganon was returning, as all these yiga made it seem… not to mention the influx of monsters lately… that would be the next natural step. But… Robin - an ex knight trainee, a man of the royal guard who was… well, probably her age, having the sword? And not telling anyone? Could he be the hero - is that why he left?
"I don't know what I am now."
His words echoed in her mind, but the feeling of sharp silver pressing against her collarbone brought her back to the present.
"Well!?"
"I don't know," she finally admitted, absently struggling against the rope tied tightly around her wrists, "I left him a few hours ago. He's probably long gone by now."
The yiga's nostrils flared.
"Well, where was he?"
"South," she answered a little too quickly, "that's all I know. I don't know outside of the castle very well."
"Useless," one of the older yiga hissed, "let's just kill her before she slips out of our grasp again."
The yiga holding a sickle to her next hummed - he was clearly thinking about it. Zelda's eyes widened.
"Master Kohga wouldn't be happy, but better you're dead than escaping… although you do make a good trap for the Chosen Hero."
"He'd just beat you again," Zelda protested, and the yiga laughed.
"Don't you remember you two running away last time? But then again, I'm impatient. I say we end it."
There was a muttered chorus of agreement from behind him. Zelda struggled against the ropes, and the yiga pressed his sickle further into her skin - she let out a muffled "mm-" as a hand covered her mouth and she felt several drops of blood trickle down her neck.
"Can't have you screaming if I can't kill you in one hit," the yiga said with a malicious tone, tilting his head at her, "with a weapon like this, it might take a few before it's over."
Zelda was sure she would have cried if fear hadn't taken over every part of her body. No, no, no, no- this can't be how it ends - this is all my fault, I never should have left him, and he's the Chosen Hero- a vision of Robin fighting Ganon alone with the sword flashed into her mind. That couldn't be it. No. She was supposed to seal away the calamity. She had yet to even awaken her power, and now she was going to die as a broken Princess… broken. Not to mention, it wouldn't even be a fast death - the princess of Hyrule, brutally stabbed to death, a mere hours trip from Hyrule Castle…
The yiga wound up, his arm lifting and the sickle glinting in the light of dawn. Zelda shut her eyes tight, but the pain never came. Metal clashed with metal, and when her eyes shot open, she finally saw it - glowing bright blue in the morning light, the sword that sealed the darkness was wielded ahead of her, by - unmistakably - Robin. He flipped it deftly in his hand, deflecting two more attacks and sending the offenders running. When he turned to her, she still couldn't make out his face, just a pair of bright eyes under his hood and messy blonde hair. He used a fallen sickle to cut her ropes, then helped her stand, and - for just a brief moment - held her close enough that she could smell his hair. It was nice.
"Reckless," he muttered in her ear, and then turned quite quickly again to face off with the yiga. The rest of the camp had come by now, surrounding them - though there were only maybe 10 or 12 of them, it was still far too many for him to take down on his own.
"I hope you have a plan," she said quietly, standing back to back with him.
"You're one to talk."
Despite his sarcastic remark, it seemed Robin did have a plan, as Zelda heard neighing from nearby. A platoon of castle knights had approached and were surrounding the yiga, who panicked immediately. Some used smoke bombs to disappear, others tried to run, and several were captured or straight-up killed by the knights.
"Princess!"
The knights ran to her. She smiled, but when she looked back at Robin, she saw them drawing their swords on him - and he was ready to fight back? Why?
"Stop- stop!" she protested, as they clashed; his bright blue sword had been knocked away, and one of the knights kicked him to the ground.
"Stop!"
Unfortunate as it was, Zelda knew her knights. Whether or not she ordered them to do something, it would always be a moment too late; too many of them were corrupt, happy with a position of power over others. She was fed up.
As the knight readied another kick, Zelda jumped in between them; hard metal hit her back, and she fell forwards into Robin, who caught her hurriedly but fell all the same. They toppled into the grass, and Zelda grimaced at the pain searing through her back from the armored boot.
"Princess!"
She could feel Robin's hands holding tight to her, even as she was dragged back upwards by the knights. She reached back for a second, and caught only a glimpse of worried bright blue eyes before Robin, too, was lifted up by the knights, his hair falling back down and covering his face.
"Princess - why-"
"He saved- my life-" she stammered, still winded somewhat from the kick to her back. "By my orders, no harm will come to him," she finally said, quite breathlessly.
"What do you have to say for yourself?" the knights asked Robin, shaking him as they held him up by his arms. He didn't look up, even as Zelda watched, desperately wanted to go to him - anything but these knights.
"I'll see you at the masquerade," was all he said. They left in two separate parties then. Zelda needed medical attention, and there would be no use fighting the guards on it. Robin, meanwhile, would surely end up in the dungeons… but she could visit him later and talk to her father about the sword, and him being the Chosen Hero… yeah. It'll be fine...
Zelda woke in the evening that day, tucked neatly into her bed with a warm compress still on her forehead. Fresh flowers had been placed on her nightstand, and as she sat up, a shuffling nearby told her she wasn't alone in her room.
"Father," she breathed with a smile, seeing the King come around the corner from her four poster bed.
"Zelda. I'm glad to see you finally awake," he sighed in relief, sitting down on the edge of her bed and taking one of her hands into his. "Now… what is this nonsense about Robin Hood?"
Zelda's expression dropped. Of course, the knights would have told him all sorts of lies before she was able to tell her side of the story… they must have thought she'd been taken.
"He saved me - twice - and helped me get back to Hyrule Castle," she explained hurriedly. "I left him because I wanted to get home faster, and that's why I was captured. He must have alerted the knights."
King Rhoam nodded solemnly.
"And… he wields the sword that seals the darkness…"
"That's the other thing," Zelda said excitedly, "we need to talk to him. He's definitely-"
"A petty thief," the King interrupted, and Zelda gasped in return.
"No, that's not it-"
"I've heard stories of this Robin Hood before," the King continued, shaking his head as he stood up from the bed and paced in Zelda's room. "While it seems he has good intentions, how does one have the funds for all this medicine? The time to help so many? He's clearly a no-gooder, stealing and disguising it as good deeds."
"That can't be true," she protested, "he saved me, he's the only reason I-"
"You were captured by yiga! He must have had a deal with them. I'm sure they're getting everything out of him right now."
"Father!"
"Get ready for the Masquerade tonight, Zelda. I know it's been a rough few days for you, but that's no reason to not be in attendance… not when there is so much uncertainty about."
So it really was no use. Zelda was left in her room alone, but she wasn't interested in crying into her sheets. Robin had saved her - now it was her turn. But cleverness would be her only way of possibly getting to him. The usual route to the dungeons wouldn't work… but she knew another way.
When she stood, she braced herself on her nightstand table; that knight's kick had done a deal on her, but she was glad at least that it hadn't hit Robin instead. It would, however, be a pain to dance with… and she had only a few hours before the masquerade started. If she wasn't there, her father would no doubt suspect something and come looking for her… so she had to be quick.
She got ready first. Hair washed and brushed, dress on, face cleaned up. She donned a silk scarf around her neck to hide the cut the sickle had given her… wouldn't be any good for anyone else to see that.
Zelda knew she'd have to go straight from the dungeons to the masquerade. For a moment, she looked at herself in the mirror before leaving; it was disappointing, being in a blue dress when she'd desperately wanted to dye one white. She met her own gaze in the mirror, thinking briefly of the comfortable smell of Robin's hair, the way he had held her close, and reached for her... a heat rose in her chest. Really, what was with all of that, and more importantly, why did it make her feel like this? She felt responsible for him, but it was more than that, now - his voice, that glimpse of blue eyes, The girl sighed, fiddled with her filigree bracelets for a moment, and then hurried out the door, heading towards the outside of the castle. All that climbing she'd done with Robin was going to come in handy, and quickly.
The outside of the castle was surprisingly free of the usual security, which she attributed to the masquerade. As she clambered downwards, dress flowing in the wind, she remembered what Robin's parting words had been: see you at the masquerade. So he was absolutely nobility. Otherwise, how would he have even known of it? But how was he planning on getting there? He'd been arrested.
When she finally found the trapdoor entrance to the dungeons outside, Zelda was careful to keep her dress lifted from the floor as she crept through. It had taken at least an hour for her to get down to the cells, and once she did, she was shocked to find the knight guards slumped against the cages… alive, but clearly defeated in some sort of battle. She bent down to the first one she found, lifted his helmet, and gently shook him until he came to. Brown eyes blinked open, surprised to see her staring down at him.
"P-princess - that knight-"
"Robin Hood?" she asked with a small smile, tilting her head.
"No," he shook his head, and Zelda looked at him quizzically.
"He used to be a knight. He was one of - no, probably was the best knight trainee we've ever had… he took us out one by one once we got in here. Said he had a-" the knight coughed- "dance to attend to. He's going to the masquerade."
"I'll find him, and send some help down for you," Zelda said with an assured nod, but before she could stand to leave, the knight's hand shot up and held her wrist.
"Princess - his name is Link."
