The Celebration

At first, Zelda found the party overwhelming upon her arrival to the great hall, packed with dozens of guests loudly applauding as she entered. She smiled and waved without a word, trying to ignore the temptation to run off and escape the sea of eyes facing her. To her relief though, the party was much calmer once the guests had become accustomed to her presence. She had a few friends in attendance, as well as those of her parents, but there were primarily many nobles who attended out of formality. As the crowd dispersed into individual conversations, Zelda opted to seek out those she was most comfortable to hold small talk with. As she made her way through the guests, making way and bowing their heads slightly, she noticed that Link was following her from a short distance. She stopped and waited for him to catch up, hands at his back as he stood at ease.
"Are you alright?" She asked in concern. She could not tell on account of the helmet, but she thought he seemed somewhat uncomfortable.
"I'm fine." He answered. "Just doing my job." She nodded in understanding.
"Alright, thank you." She stated. "But don't feel you have to follow me everywhere."
"I cannot abandon my duty." Link told her dryly, drawing a few curious onlookers nearby.
"There is hardly an assassin here or anything of the sort."
"We shouldn't take that chance."
"Perhaps the cake is poisoned? Would you like a slice to check?"
"I can't tell if you're joking."
"Link, I'm grateful for your service, but you really don't have to take it this far."
"But..."Before Link could argue any further, Zelda raised her hand, silencing him.
"Don't make me command you to enjoy yourself." She warned. Although her tone and expression were stern, she could not help but find something mildly endearing about his commitment to his role.
"Of...of course, your…your grace." Link answered, bowing slightly. He reluctantly turned and walked off, glancing back as he went. Zelda felt some small measure of guilt for this dismissal but tried to ignore it. She waited eight years to have her best friend back and she wanted him to still be that friend, not a thoughtless walking shield.

"Zelda?" She turned and two friends of hers, Hilda and Paya, waving her over. She smiled and joined the two of them. Hilda was a young noblewoman whose parents were old friends of the king and queen. She had long black hair and wore a purple and black dress similar to Zelda's. Paya, on the other hand, was an aspirant of the Sheikah clan, adorned in a white robe bearing their symbol of a red eye on both sleeves. She wore red glasses, and her white hair was tied back in a bun.
"Happy birthday!" Hilda called as she and Paya laughed and hugged the princess. "It's been too long!"
"I know!" Zelda replied slightly louder than she intended. "What was it, last year's golden ball? When you snuck that flask of wine under your…"
"We need not mention that!" Hilda interrupted, splaying both her hands in a slight panic. Zelda stopped speaking, made a zipping motion with her hand across her mouth then drawing an imaginary cross over her heart.
"I should hope you haven't done that again." Paya told her. "The body is a temple of the goddess. Such acts cloud the mind and..."
"Do you ever switch off? Hilda asked, to which Paya simply shrugged.
"Well, I left the temple to come here tonight, haven't I?" For someone who was usually so timid, Paya almost seemed smug as she pointed this out.
"And I am very glad you have." Zelda said before looking around slightly. "I take it Cremia couldn't come?"
"No, not without her sister." Hilda explained. "Romani insisted on staying to keep an eye on the farm. Something about monsters from the sky stealing their cows?" The three laughed at this point.
"The same thing every year, then." Paya observed. She stepped aside as a knight walked past, patrolling the hall's perimeter. "If I may ask, Zelda, who was that knight following you earlier?"
"Oh? You saw him?" Zelda paused as she started to blush. "That's my royal protector."
"A bodyguard?" Hilda observed. "Does he have a name? Is he cute?"
"You know Link?" Zelda asked, to which they both remained silent. "I told you about him. From the forest?" At this, they both nodded.
"Ah, yes." Hilda replied. "The boy who saved you from that plant."
"Deku Baba." Zelda corrected automatically. "It was very harrowing, really. It almost cost him an arm!"
"I heard he was a knight now?" Paya asked. "He's back then?"
"Yes, he's back." Zelda confirmed, sensing something suspect about their grinning expressions. "And he's sworn to protect me from all that may do me harm. What's going on?" Rather than answer immediately, Hilda and Paya smirked at one another.
"Lucky you." Hilda commented mischievously. Zelda frowned at her.
"What are you talking about?"
"Come on now, Zelda." Hilda crossed her arms and tilted her head towards her slightly. "You have your own knight whose whole job is to look after you." She raised a hand to silence Zelda before she could even attempt to correct her. "A knight who, when you were both children, saved you at great personal risk, and will fight for you no matter who or what comes along. Are you sure he's just doing that just because it's his duty?"
"What are you…" Zelda's question trailed off as the implication hit her. Her face turned a shade of red comparable to the symbols on Paya's uniform. "He's…he's just a friend." She said quietly.
"Just a friend?" Hilda arched an eyebrow, her smirk never leaving her face.
"Well, not just a friend, but…" Zelda froze as she caught herself. "I don't mean like that! I mean…you…you know what I mean!"
"Of course, I do." Hilda replied, only to wink as she spoke.
"It's not like that!" Zelda almost growled, no longer able to look her in the eye.
"Careful." Paya warned snickering. "She could have you thrown in the dungeon for insulting a royal!"
"Well, you're not wrong." Zelda commented as the three burst into laughter.

Since separating from his charge, Link had elected to join his fellow knights in patrol. A few were posted around the castle exterior and outer positions, but the majority stayed close to the great hall. Should any threat enter Hyrule this knight, it would likely be focused on the greatest concentration of the kingdom's upper echelons, all gathered in one place. For some time, Link simply milled around the edges of the hall, watching the guest closely with the occasional polite nod. Although his helmet hid it, he absent-mindedly smiled each time. He passed the main doors, flanked by two knights, and stopped as one of them placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Going places, pipsqueak?" Groose teased, a smirk in his voice. Link stayed where he was as he looked towards him.
"How did you know it was me?" He asked, though he suspected he knew the answer.
"How many other knights are this short?" As he answered, Groose tapped the top of Link's helmet once. "I heard you're the princess' protector now. Can't say I envy you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" As he asked, Link tried to sound at least somewhat intimidating. He suspected he failed.
"Well, we're supposed to be the sword and shield of Hyrule, right?" Groose explained. "But instead of actually fighting for our homeland, you'll be stuck following little miss perfect around just in case she wanders off." Link was grateful to be wearing a helmet, or Groose would have seen his growing frustration.
"Actually, I'm honoured to be entrusted with such an appointment." He retorted. "If it were you…"
"Like I'd waste my time on something like that." Groose interrupted, crossing his arms. "I enlisted to fight monsters, not follow some royal pain around. What would I guard her from anyway? Scary flowers?" As he gloated, Link unconsciously bought his hand up to his left arm. He still had the scars.
"That 'royal pain' is your future queen!" Both knights looked around to see Pippit glaring at them, helmet tucked under his arm. He turned towards the other knight at the doors. "Thank you for maintaining your post." The knight nodded without a word before Pippit looked towards Link and Groose.
"Sorry, we were just…" Before Groose could utter any excuses, Pippit shot him a look that silenced him immediately.
"Groose, I assigned you here to keep an eye on things, not speak above your station." Pippit scolded him. He then turned to Link. "And what exactly are you doing? You're supposed to be guarding the princess!"
"She…um…" Link began to stammer, unable to look his senior in the eye. "I was temporarily dismissed, sir."
"Be that as it may," Pippit began to lecture him. "You must remain ever vigilant, regardless of how she responds to your duty. If something happened while you were chatting away…" His sentence was cut short by a knocking on the door. He prompted the silent knight to open the door, revealing Impa.

"The queen…the knight commander…" She gasped, breathing heavily as she leant against the doorway. Her face was drenched in sweat, her robes and hair were bedraggled, and her expression was one of terror and desperation. She tried to step inside, only to collapse as Pippit caught her.
"What in Farore's name?" He murmured to himself as the other three knights backed away. Link looked beyond the doors and saw Impa's horse, equally as exhausted and tended to by the castle staff. There was no sign of the king or the rest of his escort.
"Where's the king?" Groose asked, concern replacing his earlier attitude. "What happened?"
"Phantoms." Impa uttered as she struggled to stand. "Ganondorf…they…they killed them."
"What?" Pippit almost shouted in disbelief. A few guests close to the door turned and froze at the sight of the collapsed Sheikah. Pippit ignored them as he passed her to Groose. "Get her to Owlan at once! Link, take the princess to her chambers. I must find the commander!" None of the knights missed a beat as they separated to fulfil their orders. By now, Link had realised the entire hall had fallen silent, the guests staring at them. He made his way through the crowd, frozen save for those he shoved past, until he found Zelda.
"Link, what's happening?" the princess asked, visibly worried. Link had already taken her hand and began leading her to the back of the hall.
"You're not safe here." He stated as he went. "I'll explain everything later." Zelda looked back to see Hilda still staring in confusion. Paya, in contrast, was watching in fear as Groose half-carried Impa from the hall. Following her gaze, Zelda began to panic in silence. If Impa had come back alone, and in such a state, where was her father?