"Hang on Link, we're getting the help soon."

The dream pulled him back under...

... Second Pre-Ganon Memory Sequence...

The night is cold, and each night after as the cages are roughly handled up onto sleds and kicked down the latter half of Hebra Mountain, Link and Medoh tumble endlessly, sometimes dropping for a few terrifying seconds before the snow caught them again. By the time their cage reaches the bottom they are bruised and frozen, the snow is packed between the bars like ice sheets. Link pulls himself to his feet and kicks in the sheets enough for air flow. Medoh lays on his side, bleeding from a wound in his side. An ice shard had broken off and pierced the fledgling's soft ribs. There was nothing Link could do but hold his friend close until the remaining cages tumble down. Some weren't so lucky. Their tiny bodies already weakened from starvation and food lay prone with their necks at sickening angles. Links hold on to Medoh's, feathers stiffening as he heard the dying coughs of the other children. A few hours later the train of soldiers come down the main path, safe and holding warm torches in their hands. One passes Link's cage and the small blond leans towards the warmth wafting from the torch. He bites back a whimper when it vanishes into the settling snow. The torches bob and weave as the royal guards check their merchandise. One comes by and spots Link trying to shelter Medoh from the snow. The soldier scoffs and keeps walking.

Two days later Link wakes up the borders of castle town. His previous fear turns to outrage as he sees the lush houses and overflowing food stalls. He takes in the bright arrogant colors of the tailors and their snotty, hustling, bustling apprentices. The crowd parts as the royal procession follows the main road to the front gates of the castle. From here, the ground goes from uneven cobblestone to fine well crafted bricks inlaid with shards of expensive jewels. There's more wealth in one stone than Link has seen in his entire life.

He hates it.

He hates it so deeply he doesn't realize he's crushing Medoh until the Rito coughs and shoved Link off him.

"Stop choking me." He snaps, then he sits up as if he'd finally noticed his surroundings.

He started a panicked chirp. "This isn't good. Oh we're not supposed to be here yet! What are we doing so close?!"

"Shush!" Link tackles Medoh effectively silencing him. Medoh shoves the hylian off him with a scowl.

"Don't touch me." He holds his side as if it's bothering him.

"Sorry." Link says right as his stomach growls, and now Medoh looked very afraid.

"Y-you won't eat me right?"

"Ew, I don't eat Rito. Just flamigos and fish, and rice, and steak, and—"

"Now who's loud?" Medoh smirked but Link was too anxious to try and smile back. He went back to clutching at the bars, watching the clouds ominously darken the higher up the procession went. The walk is so long, and the ground is so smooth each bump doesn't rattle his skull, and he's so hungry. Against Link's better judgment he falls into a shallow, fitful sleep.

Link wakes when a strong hand grabs him by the back of the collar and he's thrown to the ground. Link is about to stand but he is roughly yanked up and manhandled into a straight line with the other kids. One by one castle attendants come out and inspect each child, some sneering and make dismissive gestures while others keep a placid look and motion to the older knights to move them around until there are three groups. Link is placed into the second group, the ones that didn't get a sneer but didn't get a greedy grin either. That doesn't necessarily make Link anxious, but when a barely breathing Medoh was separated into the third group, the most sickly and broken looking children. Link felt something twist in his gut when he saw Medoh not even snap or fight back as he was kicked into line. The first group were shepherded into the castle and the third group was taken elsewhere. Medoh's eyes widened, his eyes dilated and his breathing deepened. Link wanted to shout "DON'T!" But Medoh couldn't hear his mental pleas or sense his distress. Medoh's wings shoot out to the side. His too tiny legs, weak after days of starvation and abuse, couldn't do more than give him a weak head start. His wings flapped desperately and he achieved lift off. He just cleared the frustrated leaps of the captain, fingers almost snagging on Medoh's claws, but the captain was smart. Link screamed when an arrow pierced Medoh through the eye, and the Rito dropped like a sac of stones. The children were forbidden to help the suffering Rito as he lay writhing on the ground. When the captain turns back a soldier silently unsheathes his blade and preforms a mercy-kill. Medoh goes still, and with him, Link's hope of escape dies.

...

Today was Selection Day. Two whole years of training in hopes that the princess would choose her next guide. She is smaller than the knights presented before her, but her emerald eyes hold a certain curiosity beneath all the haughtiness of a royal. She walks behind her father, the King, as her eyes scrutinize every able bodied person before her. The King tests the potential of each candidate on speed, agility, stealth and strength. There are guards positioned everywhere, in crevices, up on hills and disguised as parts of the shifting landscape. The trial was to effectively eliminate each soldier without dying. The second group, Link's group, went first. Immediately bomb arrows rained down on the small crowd and chaos ensued. The princess watched on, looking more and more bored the longer the blood bath continued. Link thanked Hylia for his quick reflexes, his instincts and his short reaction times. Link dove under the nearest rock which turned out to be a soldier in hiding, Link grabbed his chin and his hair and snapped his neck. Link stole the sword and arrows off his back, once again Link thanked Hylia, and this time his father for the skills of fighting. Being a hunter's son, Link was exceptionally good with a bow. He bolted for a higher place, knowing full well it was risky. He leapt and time seemed to slow as he fired perfect shots into ten soldiers heads before his feet hit the ground. He tucked into a roll and sprung up into a sprint. The King was clapping his hands, and the princess was looking a little less interested in her gel manicure. Link at that chosen time decided to run headfirst into a tree, he slammed into the trunk dislodging a hidden archer. He shakily got to his feet and slit the archers throat before taking shelter in the nearest bomb proof nook, breathing harder than normal. Link hides there for so long his legs start to cramp and blood on his hands start to dry, but when he emerges the silver tip of an arrow brushes the bridge of nose, giving him a new scar. It doesn't bleed, yet, and the cut isn't too deep so Link rubs his nose on his sleeve as he returned fire. A body drops, an arrow between his eyes.

From the sidelines the King's eyes are sparkling with reserved pride as his daughter holds onto his sleeve, blinking up at him with wide green eyes which he blatantly ignores.

Link is exhausted. He's never done this much movement before, and his starved, overwhelmed body isn't sure he can keep going. A bomb arrow strikes the roof of his shelter and it shudders, Link knows his hideout isn't going to last long. Whoever it is knows he's here meaning if they change their trajectory just a bit they can blast Link out of this hiding place and into the stratosphere. Link's hand clutches a tree branch, a little thin with a tiny green leaf on it. Link takes the leaf as a sign of hope before bolting from his cave like a flushed rabbit and straight into the open.

A long hissing sound followed by another explosion rocks the ground beneath Link's feet sending him sprawling as a tree comes crashing down right next to him, almost flattening his arm.

From the sidelines the princess's eyes are wide with curiosity while her father actually claps. Link only has one archer left to face, but whoever it is knows this terrain better than the king himself.

Link remembers a story his aunt used to tell him of the brave and renowned Shiekah Tribe that had blessed Hyrule with its inventions for centuries before the Great Exile. He remembers that tribe also had split into two different tribes.

The Yiga being the divergent of the Shiekah, famous assassins and greatest spies in all of Hyrule.

If Link was against one of them... his chances of survival dropped from a sixty percent chance to a ten percent chance of escaping this gauntlet. Link saw the rock walls on the far side of the depression, if he could just run fast enough, if he could dodge all the arrows, if he could just...

There were to many "ifs" for this plan to be successful. Another arrow sends him flying this time, and for a terrifying second Link's spin almost lands him on his neck before he can get his hands out and tuck into a roll that carries him half way across the clearing. During his roll he's able to drop the bead on his opponent, and is able to throw the smoldering tree branch with all his might and crack his enemy on the face.

A soldier stumbles out among the burning grass and collapses. Link waits for the flames to die down before straddling the body and quickly snapping his neck. Around him the landscape starts settling back into the flat stones of the courtyard until the mountain peaks are tiny rocks and the towering trees are shrubs. The king walks over and Link has enough sense to bow, even if it is a bit sloppy. He collapses to his knees, breathing hard and trembling as the adrenaline leaves his body.

"This one," the king says, his voice is impossibly deep and loud. "He has potential. Heal him, clean him, and dress him. He will dine by my side tonight."

Link's last waking thought is that he should've stopped Medoh when he had the chance.

...

Link wakes up in a bath. The water is hot, much too hot compared to the streams and lakes Link has been bathing in his entire life. The scented soap assaults his nose, burning a trail through his sinuses and making his eyes water. The suds kept brushing his lashes before a bucket of scalding water was dumped on top of his head washing everything loose as his body was violently scrubbed of blood by the pumice stone. A maid looks openly disgusted by the amount of filth being brushed and rinsed from Link's hair. He hadn't had time to bath before his capture, he usually did it after he was done his work for the day. Something was being shoved in his mouth and violently moving on his teeth, exfoliating his gums and making him gag when his back molars were brushed. A bowl was shoved under his chin as he puked a little. Then he was being lifted, doused in water again and forced into fancy looking clothes while someone else fused over his hair and attacked his face in a cloud of light fleshy pink dust. Link coughed and went to rub his eyes, his arms were yanked down and bent awkwardly into the sleeves of an itchy, too tight, top.

"It's time to meet the King!" A young lady squeals as she shoved Link down a vast high arched hall. She stops him in front of a set of double doors.

"Be on your best behavior." And Link is pushed through the doors and into the light.

The banquet was apparently being held in celebration of Princess Zelda's twelfth birthday. She was the star of the show, everyone bowed and scraped before her, adding presents to the growing mountains of gifts beside her smaller less ornate throne. Link was commanded to stay by her side at all times, he'd even been given a small soldiers broad sword that was chipped in several places and the blade was so dull it couldn't cut warm cheese. Link didn't like cheese, he'd been forced to try a slice by the king and had done his very best not to make a face. This made all the nobles burst into raucous humiliating laughter as Link slowly chewed the fancy slice of cheddar with extreme facial control. He swallowed, and then swallowed again as he felt his body start to reject it. The king patted Link's back nearly sending the twelve year old sprawling across the slippery smooth marble floors. Again, everyone laughed and Link got the strangest feeling they were laughing at him. Link may be young, but he is far from stupid and he knows when he's being made fun of.

After all he was a country bumpkin that had been thrust in the midst of white collared snobs that got off from the misfortune of others.

The next few months were torturous. Link was ordered to remain by Zelda's side the entire time, and he was also ordered to be at the barracks for his first sparring lesson, but when he'd tried to tell the messenger he couldn't the older man just scoffed and talked over Link until Link had punched him in the nose. Then the messenger has run off and come back with a group of guards who stripped and beat Link right then and there in the main entry. Everyone kept minding their own business, completely tuned out of the brutal smack down happening right in front of their faces. Link was then forced to follow the princess, limping very badly until he'd passed out around lunch. And then, only then, did he relieve the medical treatment he so severely needed. He later woke up to the smell of lavender and fresh rain. The sheets of the hospital bed were softer than the anything Link had ever known, and he is in so much pain he can't do much but lay there and try not to scream. A few minutes later Princess Zelda drops by, she doesn't speak to him, she just stares, watching his face and body contort from the agony. Her bright green eyes observed him as if he were a frog, or maybe a special flower she'd never seen before. He coughs into his elbow (cause he's a gentlemen) and let's his eyes slide to the princesses face.

Soft rounded flesh, plump pink lips and bright green eyes. Long luscious blond hair well conditioned and smelling of vanilla. He broke off coughing again so heavily the princess winced. He tried to sit up and to bow to her, but she stepped foreword and used her pointer finger to push him back into bed. Link's coughs are so bad he rolls onto his side to vomit into a well placed bucket. He ends up inhaling a little bit of it and his now tearing open his stitches with the force of his agonized heaves.

"Shush." She softly says over the sounds of Link's sobs in between his harsh rounds of hacking. He eventually breaks off and manages to wipe his mouth on his sleeve before rolling back to lay down on his back. His blue eyes slide to hers and she comes and sits on the edge of his bed, even taking his broken hand in hers and carefully rubbing the bruised knuckles. She watches his eyes keep loosing focus the longer he keeps his eyes on her.

"P-p-princess...?" He sucks in a rattling breath. "I-it was an h-honor serving you."

Zelda's smile is sad. "I know you don't mean that."

Maybe he's delirious, maybe he's dehydrated but Link is so out of it he doesn't know what he's saying anymore, and every sense of a filter is gone as the pain consumes him.

"Y-you're right." He coughs and blood dribbles down his shirt. Zelda looked kindly panicked now, a soft blob with long blond hair as she's calling for help. She's so far away,

No, she's right here. She's right beside him and yelling something at him but he can't hear her. And then more pain rolls through his body so fiercely, Link passes out.

...

Three days he'd been asleep.

Three. Whole. Days.

Link wakes in the same room he was in before except the bed is larger and there's someone else sitting in a chair beside him. Link's eyes slowly blink as he accustoms to the bright lights. He coughs much lighter than before, and thickly swallows. The person in the chair jolts awake and Link realizes it's the King. Immediately Link is throwing off the blankets only to hastily wrap them around his bare self as he stumbles from the bed and into a bow. The king watches all of this with mild amusement.

Of course he would.

The king bends down and picks Link back up to his feet before drawing him into a warm hug.

Link is too shocked, but all he can think of is his own da, buried in an unmarked grave down by the sea of Sako villiage.

Suddenly the hug doesn't feel so warm anymore.

Link spends the next few weeks slowly getting back onto his feet. He does short walks around the castle with a maid, they occasionally run into Zelda as she runs down the halls, clutching something to her chest. After a week of this Link realizes she's been smuggling books from her fathers' study and hiding them all over the castle. Link was walking with her (actually a few meters behind her because royalty) during one of these sneaky events and they ran into the king. Link immediately dropped to his knee in a bow while Zelda drew up short. His majesty ripped the book away and backhanded his daughter.

"You will stop this madness at once!" He boomed. "You are a princess, not a scholar so quite acting like one."

"But papa—"

He raises his hand and Zelda shrinks away in fear. Behind her Link's fist tighten into balls but he remains in his bow. Only when the king as stormed away does Link rise. He doesn't say anything as he is met with a murder is glare by Zelda herself, there, in the middle of the hall she tears into him. She pins him against the wall and almost tears off his shirt, she begins plucking as his healing skin over the holes where the stitches had been recently removed. Link's hands grabs her wrist and he tries to pull her off, she slaps his hand away and continues to pick at his skin regardless of his pained hissing and writhing. Only when he's bleeding again does she steps back. She notices that his hands are still clutching at her wrist, she blushes and tears it away before delivering a swift kick to his groin.

She may be small, but she packed a serious blow. Thoroughly nauseous he drops to the floor, he's overwhelmed with a terrible throbbing kind of pain as he slides down the wall. He can feel he's going to puke, right here and right now, with castle staff watching and guards wincing as he bites back a sob. Nothing has ever hurt this much, not even when a cow had kicked his leg and broke his femur for approaching too fast. He can see Zelda watching him with a cold a sort of fascination and in that moment Link understands.

She hates him.

And it's very personal.