A/N: Hello, hello! It's been so, so long since I've posted in here, and it almost feels like a breath of fresh air to be back again! A lot of us in our young adulthood have moved on from writing these past several years as life has moved on, but with current circumstances being what they are, I wanted to come back and share some work of mine!

I tried to keep things as canonical as possible/as I could assume, and I took quite a bit of inspiration out of our current situation to write this. ^^' I apologize if my writing seems a bit stale, but I hope some folks out there appreciate this! This piece has a reflective tone to it on purpose, and I made a lot of details very superficial on purpose as well. If anyone would like to provide any feedback after reading, feel more than welcome! I'd appreciate it!

Enjoy!

The Queen set the white porcelain teacup that she had been drinking from down back onto its' matching saucer. She pulled her extended hand back into her lap to rest on her other arm and sighed. Heavily. Closing her eyes and leaning her head back, she took another moment to clear her mind of the unrelenting problems she'd faced recently.

"Your Highness, the kingdom is too economically unstable."

"Your Grace, our army and related forces aren't equipped for another possible invasion. We need stability and protection."

"My Queen, the whole of Hyrule doubts you now."

Too much had happened too quickly; losing her father, the kingdom, and her peoples' trust within four years was simply wearing her thin. One problem had continued to bleed into the next without a real clear-cut conclusion, and one could only take so much.

After her father had passed, his council had tried as quickly as possible to replace his rule with that of his daughter's… Overnight, she had been given sovereign power and authority over the whole kingdom. From the Snowpeaks in the northwest to Death Mountain in the east; from the Zora lands of the north to the Gerudo lands of the west. She had been given it all with inadequate preparation, and was expected to withstand these traumas and changes with an iron facade. That had not gone as well as expected behind closed doors.

Two years later, the princess had just reached a point where she felt that she could handle the entire kingdom by herself. Every component of her rule was running smoothly, the loss of her father was no longer so fresh, and there was a peace that was finally starting to settle in her heart. It would be mere days before her twentieth birthday and coronation celebration would come to pass, and she was quietly overjoyed. Life seemed to be steadily moving along for the monarch, until another serious problem presented itself.

On a day that was just as normal as any other, a king from a kingdom she knew almost nothing about had forcefully made his way into her throne room, demanded control of her kingdom, and made her to abdicate her throne. Dropping her rapier to the ground in a show of surrender, she lost a piece of her soul and her new-found strength that day.

It had all happened so quickly from that moment on, yet at the time it seemed to take years. Strange things had become stranger, people she had never met before became the most important to her in that moment, and she discovered that she would have to use her ancient powers in ways she'd never dreamed of having to. She'd met another who had held similar powers she had also discerned the true ruler of the Twilight Realm. At this moment, things started to click easily for her and the events moved by even faster. Once she had established that they were dealing with an usurper king, little details started to make sense and she felt her sense of strength coming back.

As her direct role in this story was coming to an end, she felt something she hadn't before growing inside of her heart: passion. Having control over her newly given powers and feeling bolstered with the presence of this hero and princess, her will to fight increased dramatically. When everything had come to its' final end and the hero struck his last blow into the demon king's chest, everything became still. That certain and steady feeling came back to her, as she was certain in that moment that everything would be alright.

Unsurprisingly, healing from everything related to the invasion proved difficult and took longer than expected. Losing her fellow princess forever and her kingdom's hero for quite some time hurt deeply, but somehow she found the strength inside to push forward. How much of this was for her own good and how much was for the good of her people was blurred in her mind.

Again, ever so slowly, the kingdom started to recover and heal again, and so did she. A few months went by with steady improvement happening in every part of the country as the memory of the invasion left the peoples' minds. The now newly-coronated queen felt a sense of peace and stability return, only to somehow, again, be interrupted by the constant nitpicking and pressure of her old councilmen.

Sure, parts of the country hadn't recovered as quickly as others have. Her land's economy was still in a fragile state. The army and its' related forces were weak and ill-trained. Fortunately, Link had returned after two months away to help with that problem. Unfortunately, her public approval had also dipped to a new low as well. It had only been three months, but the people were expecting so much more, and thus began another large problem in the young monarch's life.

Zelda let out another long, deep breath again, rose from her chair, and approached the balcony outside of her room. Leaning against its' cold stone always grounded her somehow, and she found even more peace as she looked down at the castle grounds.

Individuals of all kinds were passing through, coming and going as they pleased. Many were trying their best during these times, and thoughts like these brought joy to the monarch's heart. Although many seemed disappointed in her rule, there were those that were proud of her, and continued to fight for a new life. Many new businesses were starting in the land. Children were growing up, couples were getting married, families were growing, and her people were allowed to just live once again. This thought brought peace to her as well, and a small smile crept onto her face, not unlike one she had given to the princess of Twilight not so long ago.

Closing her eyes, Zelda took a moment to reflect on these small joys as she enjoyed what remained of her mid-morning break. Problems were still plentiful in the kingdom, but that fact started to weigh her down less and less these days. She could see that quietness returning. Although all she could hope was that it would linger a bit longer this time, she was still thankful that she could sense it on the horizon at all.

With a long and deep exhale, she retreated back into her room to continue further into the castle. Her work for the day was far from done, but that break had provided her with a bit of strength and refocus, for the mind and for the soul.