I am awoken the next morning by a soft knock on my door followed by the squeak of my door opening. I roll over, rubbing the sleep from my eyes to see who has entered my chamber without permission. A young girl, with short blonde hair, most likely around the same age as I am, stands at the foot of my bed, hands clasped together in front of her apron.

"Good morning your Highness. My name is Ilia. I have been assigned to be your chambermaid. Anything you want, feel free to ask."

I pull myself to a sitting position and give her a smile. "It is nice to meet you Ilia." Having another female to talk to and spend time with will be nice, but seeing her reminds me of Impa, and I immediately feel her absence in my chest.

"I've been given an itinerary for today's events. Would you like to go over it quickly?"

An itinerary? Is my whole life going to be pre-planned out for me before I even wake? "Yes, I suppose that would make sense."

Ilia smiles once before repeating the list she has memorized. First I have breakfast with the king. After breakfast, I am to have a thorough tour of the castle and afternoon tea will be served when we get to the gardens. After the tour, I am to pose for a painting for the king's chamber. Lunch will be served once the painter is done for the day. After that, I have some free time, where I'm encouraged to make myself at home, which I fully intend to do. After my free time, I am expected to do some physical training. I am to learn some self-defense and get some exercise at the same time. I'm happy that this is scheduled time, so I don't have to do it on my own time. My father had me training in self-defense since I was a child, and the thought of giving that up was not a happy thought.

"You have approximately one hour after that to bathe and make yourself presentable for dinner. Dinner will be a formal occasion any time you dine with the king, which will be up to his discretion. After dinner, the rest of the day is yours to do with as you please." Ilia takes a deep breath before continuing. "The king has also come up with a list of rules and regulations that must be followed. He will present these to you himself after breakfast." She swallows hard. "If you disobey any of the rules, the king will have you punished."

"Punished?" The word is poison on my tongue. "Does he think he is my father now?"

Ilia's head drops, "I am just relaying his message, my lady."

"Of course. I understand that. It's just, I am to be his wife, not his servant."

"Yes, your highness. But under King Ghirahim everyone has rules, even his most trusted advisor." I see fear flash in her eyes as she speaks. "You do not want to anger the King. He is quick to pass judgment and has a ferocious temper."

I meet her eyes with my own as she bites her lip. She is giving me a warning, even though she was most likely not to say anything about the king and I'm grateful she has trusted me so soon though I already have experienced Ghirahim's temper first hand. "Thank you for your advice. I will definitely keep it in mind." I want so badly to probe her for more information, to get to know more about my future husband, but I don't want to make her uncomfortable or ask her to answer questions he is not supposed to, so I try to word my curiosity as gently as possible. "Tell me about him. What is he like?"

Ilia fidgets nervously and her voice is suddenly raspy when she tries to reply. "I don't know much your highness. He has done a wonderful job keeping his people safe, and as long as you serve him well you are treated humanely, even rewarded on occasion."

Her tone of voice tells me there is more that she isn't saying and though I shouldn't I push her for answers. "And if you don't serve him well?"

Ilia shakes her head, either unwilling or unable to answer right away. Her eyes dart all around the room as if looking to see if anyone else is in the room, spying on our conversation. "If you are smart, you will serve him well."

I decide that is more than enough of an answer and I change the subject in order to calm the girl. "What can you tell me about Link?"

"Link, your highness?" Ilia looks up at me, not understanding why I'd brought up the name.

"Yes. He has been assigned as my personal guard. He isn't exactly a talkative person. Do you know him?"

Ilia blushed, "Yes my lady, almost everyone knows Link."

"Oh?" The color that suddenly appeared on her cheeks makes me wonder just how well she knows him. "Is there anything you can tell me that will make communicating with him easier?"

"Ah, well, maybe." I expect her to continue, but she doesn't.

"And what might that be?" I press.

"Well, he is a very private person. I don't feel right speaking about him."

This is a surprise. She will speak ill of her king, but she won't talk to me about the royal guard assigned to protect me. I swing my legs over the edge of my bed and stand, taking several steps to come to her side. "I only wish to know how to interact with him. Just like you, he and I will be spending a lot of time together. Ideally, I'd like those in my charge to be close, like friends. That means both you and Link. I wish neither of you any harm."

Ilia drops her head to her chest, refusing to look at me. "Yes, your highness." But she still doesn't continue.

"Do you have a relationship with him?"

Ilia blushes again. "No, nothing like that. We are friends, nothing more. Well, we used to be." Her eyes finally meet mine as she stands up straighter. "Link is a good man, loyal, honest and one of the kindest I have ever met, but…"

"But?"

"But, he has a dark side. He won't let anyone in, and he too has a fierce temper. I have tried for years to break down his walls, unsuccessfully. I have always wondered what dark place in his mind took away his voice, but he has not shared that with anyone that I know of."

"Took away his voice? He was not born this way?"

"No, my lady. Link and I grew up in the same small village as children. We were even neighbors for a short time, and our parents thought that someday we might get close." Ilia looked away, unable to meet my eyes. "Closer than just friends."

"Oh." I don't know how to reply to this.

"One-day Ghirahim's men came to our village and recruited all the young people to work for him at the castle. Most of us went willingly, including me. We were promised food and shelter, and a much nicer life than we ever had living in the village. But Link didn't want to go. He was happy with the way his life was, just living as a farmer and herding the goats was all he wanted. So he refused Ghirahim's offer." Ilia's voice grew quieter as she finished her thought. "But he is here anyway, so most believe he was forced to come. He hasn't spoken a word since we started serving Ghirahim. We were only ten years old when this happened. He is a good soldier, always follows orders and definitely excels at everything he sets his mind to, but he is not the same person he used to be."

I consider her words for several moments before speaking. "Are any of us the same once we are no longer treated as children?"

"It is more than just age and responsibility that has changed Link. It was not growing older that caused him to stop speaking nor was it increased responsibility that hardened his heart to everyone. Something dark has taken control of his soul."

I listen to everything Ilia has said, but the man she is describing does not sound like the man I know. She has known him much longer than I, even going back to when they were children. I have to at least consider what she has said, though I find it difficult. I want to question her more. Tell her about the time Link and I shared together on our way here. Is it possible he is just different with me? I suppose it is a possibility, but will bringing this to her attention hurt her, even if I explain that he was just performing his duty as well as he knew how? It is obvious that she cares deeply for my appointed knight, may have loved him at some point in her life. Nothing good could come from bringing it to her attention that we seem to have bonded already in the short time we have known each other, so I decide to just drop the subject.

Ilia helps me pick out a suitable dress for my first breakfast with the king in his own castle and she seems quite content with her new position. She happily chats about the town's people and the way of life around here, telling me over and over how much I will like living here, and how happy she is to be serving me. Apparently, my arrival has been the hot topic of discussion throughout the entire kingdom, and the townsfolk are eager to meet their future queen. It all sounds great except the part where I have to become Ghirahim's wife.

Once I am dressed and my makeup has been applied, Ilia steps back and bows her head. "Your guard… I mean Link will escort you to the breakfast room and give you the tour of the castle, but if you need me for any reason, he knows where to find me. I hope you have a wonderful day your highness."

I give her a genuine smile as she opens the door to my bedroom, transferring me to Link's watch.

AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know not a lot happened, but it was a necessary chapter to learn a little about Link's past. Make sure you follow and review if you like the story. I haven't heard much from my readers for this particular story and I need to know if it is still worth my time to continue with it. Reviews are what make me what to continue, and if my readers lose interest then so will I, so if you want more, please let me know.