Sera awoke in the morning, sunlight slanting through the window. She got up and stretched, surveying the breaking dawn. Sera smiled gently as she watched Spirit graze in the nearby field. The smile quickly turned into a frown. Where was Epona? Come to think of it, Link's house was eerily silent.

She quickly dressed, and walked down the stairs to the lower level, calling Link's name. She found no sign of him, only a note sitting beside a pair of leather braces on the table. She glanced at the braces, noting they were identical to the ones Link stored his knives in. She picked up the note, squinting slightly to make out Link's handwriting. It wasn't as if it was messy; Link just wrote with his left hand, smudging the ink slightly.

Dear Sera, the note read.

You've probably noticed by now that I've left. Don't worry: it had nothing to do with you. Well, maybe some. You gave me the inspiration to do what I should have done five years ago: swear my loyalty to the royal family.

I am the last Aundeii, and as such, it falls to me to uphold my people's ways. It is my sole responsibility. Please don't search for me. It's unlikely that I'll see you again.

Those braces on the table, as you've probably noticed, are the same as the ones I wear. I had to guess at your wrist size, but I made them adjustable just in case. You'll be able to find suitable knives at a military surplus shop. You'll also need someone to teach you how to use them properly.

But I digress. I'm just putting off the thing I always hate to say. Goodbye.

And thank you. Thank you for…everything, I guess. I needed someone to actually talk to. And, of course, for helping me see the error of my ways. If you hadn't thrown my motives back in my face like that, who knows how long I would have spent chasing shadows.

So, again, thank you.

And goodbye.

Link

Sera put the note down, shocked. "He left me," she muttered.

Link rode into Castle Town, moving straight toward the castle. He had taken only the bare essentials: his knives, spare clothes, an extra bridle for Epona, and the cardinal feather on the door. He rode into the castle, ignoring the guard's surprised protests.

Link sent the horse galloping through the halls of the castle, mindless of the nobility dodging out of his way. Bursting into the throne room, he pulled back on the reins, the horse rearing and whinnying in protest.

Sitting on the throne, attending to the selfish needs of some nobleman, Princess Zelda looked up in surprise. "Zelda, heir to the throne of Hyrule," Link announced, dismounting and striding toward the throne.

He knelt in front of the princess, placing a closed fist over his heart. He took a deep breath. This next action would be the most important of his young life. He stretched out his arms, his knives flashing into them. With a startled shout, the guards in the chamber lunged forward.

Before they could grab him, Link flipped the blades around, holding the hilts toward Zelda. "I am Link, the last Aundeii," he said, directing it to both princess and everyone else in the room. "I offer my loyalty to you and your house. My blades are yours to wield, through me, however you see fit."

Zelda paused for a moment, considering. This was certainly unorthodox. Who was this…Link, last of the Aundeii? Then, something flickered in the back of her head. She paused, remembering something her father had told her. Something about a warrior tribe, called the…Aundy? Ondei?

Maybe…the Aundeii?

Zelda gasped as the importance of Link's appearance occurred to her.

Does that mean…one survived?

Without further hesitation, Zelda drew her ceremonial sword, laying it on Link's shoulder. "I accept your vow of loyalty," she said, "And all responsibility that it entails."

She sheathed the sword, extending her hand towards Link. Then paused. He was still holding the hilts of the knives out.

Ohhhh, shit. Zelda thought. I fucked up the ceremony.

"Sorry," she whispered, taking the blades. She crossed them into an X, laying the tip of each knife on Link's shoulders. More loudly, she said, "I accept your loyalty as an Aundeii."

Link rose, looking her in the eye. "You're dismissed," Zelda said, motioning the nobleman away. "You too," she added, gesturing toward the guards. "Leave me and my newest vassal alone."

"Yes, mi'lady," the closest guard said. The guards bowed, and exited the chamber.

"Please excuse this," Zelda said, once they were alone. Closing her eyes, she extended her right hand, placing it on Link's breast. A strange design began to glow through her white gloves, a design of three triangles joined by their points. The bottom left triangle glowed brighter than the others.

Zelda let her hand fall, opening her eyes. "You have a confused past," she said.

Ten minutes later, Link had been appointed as Zelda's personal bodyguard, much to the chagrin of the guards. One particularly irate guard decided to take it up with link the next day after weapons practice.

It took Link all of seven seconds to disarm him. Link laid one of his knives against the trembling guard's throat. "I suggest you choose your next words very carefully," he growled.

The incident was largely ignored, as there were no injuries to either party. The guard responsible quietly resigned, without speaking another word to Link.

Three months after that, Link became the youngest person ever to be promoted to captain of the guard, after foiling an assassination attempt. A man, claiming to petition for a land settlement, had drawn a knife and charged the princess while Link was distracted. Before the man had taken two steps, he had frozen, three knives sprouting from his throat and chest.

Link glared daggers at the dying man, almost literally, two more knives ready to throw. Princess Zelda hadn't even seen Link move. One second, he was shooing away the next petitioner, and the next, he had thrown three knives at the assassin with deadly accuracy.'

Nobody protested his promotion this time.

One month later, he was placed in charge of training the Hylian guards. He increased their skills from the predictable, uncoordinated forms of farmers, to the flowing stance of near blademasers. Under his direction, the one-thousand strong military force became an army of elite commandos. A force that was to be reckoned with. He also instructed them in the honour code of the Aundeii.

Four months after that, he was promoted to the Council of Generals. The only one who protested was the general Link replaced. That probably had something to do with the bandit ambush on Princess Zelda's caravan. The guards had been outnumbered twenty to one, yet, somehow, Link had routed the bandits with zero casualties. Even Zelda didn't understand the strategy Link used.

Zelda sank back in the throne, sighing, the last petitioner finally satisfied. Link stood stoically beside her throne, as always. Zelda sighed inwardly. He was a skilled warrior, a brilliant tactician, and fiercely loyal to her. But he was so cold. It was as if he was always somewhere else. He never showed emotion, or even the slightest bit of pride. Whenever she saw him alone, he was always training. Or practicing. Or doing something to enhance skills related to combat.

For instance, once, she had walked in on him juggling razors. He said it was to "sharpen his reflexes." It looked like a crazy stunt to Zelda.

"Link," she said, looking up at him.

"Yes, mi'lady?" he replied.

Zelda groaned. "Enough with the formalities. Can't we just talk?"

Link blinked. "That would not be proper, mi'lady."

"Link, please! You're always so cold. I want to know you have just a bit of warmth in your heart."

Link sighed. "This is all I know," he replied cryptically.

"Link, I respect you. You've saved my life on more than one occasion. But that's not enough. I want to respect you as a friend, not a bodyguard."

"Emotions will get in the way and prevent me from adequately performing my duty."

Zelda suppressed a screech. "You are the most infuriatingly…infuriating man I have ever met!"

"What are you getting at?" Link's eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly.

Zelda sighed. "The nobles have been badgering me to choose a suitor. They want a King and Queen."

Link's eyes widened. Finally, a reaction. "What?"

"Link, I have been considering you."

"You WHAT?"

"I have been considering choosing you as a potential suitor, for no reason other than to get the nobles off my back."

Link threw his hands in the air. "I don't believe this. This was the least thing I expected when I bound myself to you."

"Why did you do that, though?"

"I HAD NO CHOICE!" Link roared. "It was the only way I could escape the ghosts of my past, and still fulfill my obligation."

"Did you ever consider ignoring your obligations?"

Link was floored. He gaped at Zelda dumbly, lost for words.

"That," he said softly, "is not an option."

"There has to be something your people have outside responsibility," Zelda protested, growing desterate.

"No," Link replied. He unsheathed one of his knives. "There is only this."

Zelda stared at him her eyes filling with tears. "Maybe it's for the best…"

"What is?" Link snarled.

"Maybe your people were better off destroyed. What is life when all it is…is responsibility?"

Link glared at her. "Without responsibility, I have nothing. I cannot-"

He was cut off as a guard burst into the throne room. "A thousand apologies, but this cannot wait. Mi'lady, an army approaches. They bear a strange standard, one I haven't seen before. Though I must admit, it looks strangely familiar."

"No," Link whispered, sprinting toward the battlements. He grabbed a spyglass from the closest guard and focused it toward the blot on the horizon. Through the lens, he saw a vast army: three thousand men at the very least. The standard was the worst part, though. On a white background, a sword of pure darkness thrust through a red feather. Link's hand tightened on the spyglass. The lens cracked as the casing warped under the pressure.

With a shaking hand, Link fumbled the cardinal feather from its pouch. "It's happening again," he moaned. "The slavers return."