Kylan wakes up in an unfamiliar bed, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling with blurry eyes. His shirt is covered in rust-colored dried blood, and his skull feels like it's being pierced by a thousand tiny needles from the inside. A cotton bandage wraps around his head, tied tightly in the back.
He peers through the lace hanging in front of his bed at the large room that seems to be all white, filled with beds and curtains meant for privacy. A stern-looking woman with rectangular spectacles paces up and down the infirmary, checking on the few patients on the opposite side of the room.
Alari slouches in an uncomfortable-looking chair next to the bed, sleeping breaths coming soft and slow. She wears the same wrinkled, dusty clothes she had on when he last saw her. Kylan smiles wryly. Knowing his sister, she hasn't left his side this whole time.
He twists to look out the window behind him, feeling his spine crack in several places as he does so, and looks out at the misty gardens and bustling crowds surrounding a fountain crowned by the Hylian Crest.
Hyrule Castle Town.
Alari must have brought him here after…after what? A sudden icy fear takes hold of him. Something drastic must have happened to make her leave and take him with her. Kylan pulls off his bloody shirt and replaces it with the clean tunic folded on the table next to his bed. His familiar hide boots are set by the table, and he tugs them on and stands up on stiff legs.
Taking a last glance at his sleeping sister, he slips out from behind the curtain and runs straight into the nurse, a middle-aged woman with a dark brown ponytail who's squinting at him skeptically.
"You aren't supposed to be out of your bed, young man," she nags, planting her hands firmly on her hips.
"I need to see the queen."
"Yeah, you and half of Hyrule. But I'm supposed to be taking care of you, not granting you audience to our ruler." She squints at him even harder, if that's even possible.
"Please. I'm the Hero and the Twilight Princess's son. That's my sister in there. I know Queen Zelda personally."
The nurse sighs and slaps her forehead, shaking her head and mumbling, "I'm not getting paid enough for this." She gestures to a younger nurse spoon-feeding a sick child and sweeps out of the room, tossing a brisk, "Come with me," behind her shoulder.
Kylan follows her through Hyrule Castle's twisting corridors and candlelit rooms, passing so many doors he knows he'll never be able to find his way back. "You're interrupting the queen in the middle of lunch, so don't expect her to be happy about it," the nurse says as she practically sprints up the stairs to the throne room. "And if I hear you whine about it later, Hero's son or not, I swear I'll spank you."
He hides a smirk and says, "Yeah, I get it."
She gives him a sharp glare. "Young man, if you're backtalking me—oh, looks like we're here. I'll wait here to escort you back to the infirmary."
Kylan bounds up the second staircase quickly, eager to see the queen, who is practically and aunt to him and Alari. She is wise and experienced, and she always knows what to do.
He pushes open the throne room doors, but Zelda is nowhere to be found.
