There she went, right past him. He only caught a glimpse of her, but that didn't change the way he stiffened at the sight of his princess. A strange sadness tugged at his heart when he saw the distraught expression on her face, and he ducked his head. No wonder she hadn't noticed him, she was probably angry at him anyway.
Link tried to brush off the encounter as he made his way to the training grounds, marching through the corridors with his mind set on honing his skills once more. A few scratches weren't any reason to slack off, and he couldn't let his guard down with his new position as Appointed Knight.
Eyes burned into his back when he walked into the open yard, his champion blue clashing with the dull grays of trainees and knights alike. He stuck out anywhere he went, but here, he received jealousy and hatred rather than the usual discrimination. Sometimes it seemed donning that blue meant nothing but loneliness.
"Hey, is that the Hero of Hyrule himself, boys?" A voice to his left taunted.
Link kept walking, ignoring the jeers that followed, his face a mask of indifference. He silently wondered which one of his brothers-in-arms said it, not that it really mattered. There wasn't much in the way of friends when you carried a certain sword on your back.
"How'd the quality time with the princess go?" Another mocked. "She declared her undying love for her knight in shining armor, yet?"
"A match made in the sacred realm." A hum, and then a chuckle.
Link stared at the ground as he went, the mention of Princess Zelda and their expedition striking a chord. The future queen of Hyrule wanted nothing to do with him...he couldn't say he blamed her.
"Stop it with the interrogation, guys. He's obviously too high and mighty to talk to us low-lives anyway." These words were laced with more hatred than the others, said through gritted teeth.
It stung. His silence had earned this treatment.
Link clenched his fists, and scanned the grounds for any open practice areas. Too far away. Catching the hint that he wasn't welcome here, he veered towards the fields on the other side.
This wasn't the first time he was unwanted in the official grounds. Some of the kinder soldiers insisted that it just wasn't fair to fight with him, even more so since he was chosen by the blade of evil's bane, but many just cast him aside for the sake of showing him he wasn't worthy of the sword. He didn't know why they got the idea he thought himself worthy in the first place...
He didn't choose this.
His sword ripped through air.
The decision was never his to make.
Another slice, and then a thrust.
Link let his thoughts flow freely as he wielded the Master Sword, fighting an invisible enemy with a deadly sort of grace. It felt right in his grip, just as right as the stances ingrained into his memory from years of practice, or the rush of adrenaline during a fierce battle. But amidst all the rightness, there was a lingering fear, and a voice that couldn't be heard...
He spun around and swung harder, gritting his teeth against the weakness. He had to be unbeatable. Everything he knew, everything he loved, depended on him. Hyrule depended on him.
He fought until he no longer had the energy to call himself inadequate.
A/N: First of all, thank you for reading! I will be adding to this really soon, so I hope you enjoyed the first bit enough to read more. I basically want to make this a compilation of one-shots/scenes that take place pre-Calamity. It won't exactly be chronological...more like a random slideshow of "memories" that weren't included in the game. I'll be switching between Link and Zelda's POV throughout. There will be a lot of angst (and I mean a lot), but I want to sprinkle in some *gasp* happy stuff, which...will probably consist of ZeLink fluff. I guess we'll see how that goes. Anyway, comments are welcome, so thanks in advance for any feedback!