"A royal hunt?" Link asked.

"Yes, it's nearly time for the fall hunt, and my sister thought it would be prudent to ask you," the prince said, "Usually participants are required to be at least 17, but all things considered…"

Link looked at his shoes. "You don't need to make any special conditions for me. There are other roles for younger people, right?"

"There are, but I can't very well let the Hero of Hyrule be a squire. Zelda wouldn't allow it either." The prince thought a moment. "It really wouldn't be too much trouble to have you take a few shots."

"I don't really know how to hunt in woods like Faron… I'd be fine to be on the sidelines," he said, and then added, "I could be with the guards, I wouldn't mind."

"A chance to have special privileges and you don't take it... " the prince stroked his chin. "Fine. you'll come as my guest... and... escort my sister. That way no one can complain of me mistreating you or treating you too well."

Link nodded, fighting the blush burning to his ears. The princess? He was to escort her? He almost wanted to ask to join the hunt instead, but he also really wanted to spend more time with the princess. She was the closest thing he had to a friend in the castle.

Remembering his manners, Link bowed.

"I'll send a letter with the details later, do you need new hunting dress?"

Link frowned and straightened. He didn't quite understand. "I have clothes I've gone hunting in…"

The prince laughed. "Oh, I'm sure you do. I will make arrangements with a tailor as well."

"Thank you."

…

The tailor trip was strange. He'd been given clothes to wear for his award ceremony, and they had fit well enough, but to have clothes made specially for him? Well, it was all very new.

He'd had clothes specially made for him when he was young, when Rauru had still been alive, but that was different as well. Making a cloak from a fur wasn't exactly the same as a fitted suit.

He stood as still as possible as the tailor's assistant pinned things in place. It was a smart uniform, from what he could see at least.

Half way through the fitting, a surprise guest made an appearance.

"Princess!" the assistant bowed, waving his pins wildly. The tailor looked up from her notebook and curtseyed.

"I'm just double checking the color of my gown," the princess announced. Paya tailed her, staying on the outskirts of the room. She then approached where Link stood, and he felt horribly self conscious. He realized her dress was on the form to his left. With a small laugh she said, "Oh, green, like last year."

"It is a hunt celebrating Farore," the tailor pointed out.

The princess smiled, and Link tried to memorize the image. Her laughter was like silver bells.

"Quite right," she said. Then turning to Link she said, "Hero, I'm surprised that you turned down a chance to go on the hunt a few years early. Most of the young men I know would jump at the chance."

Link wasn't sure how to respond. After feeling her dark eyes on him he realized he should probably say something. "Err, I don't…"

Princess Zelda once more sensed his tongue of lead and continued the conversation, "Of course you mean to keep Paya and I company. Which is very noble."

"Right," he agreed quickly.

She smiled again and turned around, leaving as quickly as she came. Paya was stoic, but from her body language, he could tell she probably hadn't wanted the princess to make such a strange joke. The tailor shook her head once the princess left.

"She's an odd one," she tutted. At Link's look of concern, she amended, "I mean that as neutrally as possibly. She's a nice girl, but it would be nice if she could be a bit more serious." The tailor thought a moment. "Though I suppose carefree is better than how she was when she first started to have those dreams."

"Oh that was a whole mess," the assistant added, letting the tailor take over. "You probably don't know much about that."

Link shook his head.

"Well, her powers became much stronger when she was about nine, the whole castle thought it was just nightmares, but after consulting a few high priests it was clear it was the blood of the Goddess reacting to the coming evil.

"Anyways, she became quite despondent after that, as expected honestly. That sort of thing shouldn't be put on a child." The assistant seemed to remember who he was talking to and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, luckily that only lasted a year and then it was like her hope returned."

"That's… good," Link said. It was hard to imagine the princess without her cheer. Her bright personality was like a beacon in a fog that was the castle. When she spoke of things, the fears he held after hearing about what fighting Ganon would entail, would temporarily go away. Link decided then, that he would do everything he could to protect that. To protect her happiness.

…

The day of the hunt was horribly rainy at first. Link wondered if it was going to be called off. He wouldn't have minded it. He liked exploring, but found he liked doing it alone. With the entire noble party, including the guards and some servants, it was like taking a parade through the woods. It was a wonder there were any animals around to hunt.

His hunting attire was far nicer than what he would normally wear. He wasn't even sure of the material it was made of… far from the wools and leathers he was used to. The ensemble he wore consisted of a short cape, a short sleeved tunic over a long sleeved shirt. His pants weren't of note and neither were his shoes besides their quality. The look was finished by a green cap that was growing on him. The outfit also was mostly shades of greens and browns. He could now see where the Princess' joke came from though; the entire party was wearing green as well. It was Farore's color he supposed.

The Princess wore a green riding dress and a head covering to hold her hair back. Paya was dressed in her same sheikah outfit, all of the other Sheikah guards also remained in uniform. He adjusted the cap on his head.

"So, then Impa insisted I try to destroy one of the machines with my magic," the princess was telling Paya and another girl Link didn't know. "I thought she'd gone mad."

"More so than she already has?" the girl asked, with a small giggle.

Paya could laugh, but she rarely did in public. In his three months at the castle, he'd seen her crack a smile a few times, but laugh only once. And that had been due to a very strange inside joke she shared with the crown prince. What was more telling was when Zelda didn't laugh.

Instead, still smiling, she said, "Well, one can only imagine what normal people seem to one so blessed by Nayru."

"Oh true!" The conversation drifted away, and Link made no move to come closer to the princess.

"Change your mind yet?" the prince asked, riding up from behind.

Link jumped. With so many people around, he'd let his guard down. Or rather he'd been forced to let his guard down or else deal with constant anxiety.

"Or are you content to listen to my sister and her silly stories?"

Wanting to defend her, but also not wanting to offend a prince, Link said, "She's a skilled storyteller."

The prince shrugged. "Fair enough." He patted him on the shoulder as he passed, moving ahead.

Soon enough the non hunters set up camp on a hill. It overlooked the valley where the hunt would take place. Dogs barked in excitement. The hunting parties didn't go all that once, and it was with interest and apprehension that Link watched the going ons. The king was in the first hunting party. The queen was also getting ready to go on one.

The prince was speaking with some of the others in his party, and Link didn't feel like trying to interrupt. He scanned the crowds. It was then that he realized the only people he'd spoken with at any length was the royal family and a few of their royal guards. What sort of life did he lead now?

"Hero," came a sweet voice, "My brother invited you on the hunt and then ditched you?"

Link turned to see the princess and Paya. The girl from earlier was gone.

"Oh right, he told you to keep me company… Can you believe it, Paya? My brother offered to bend the rules for the Hero, but not me?" Before Paya could answer her question, the princess continued, "Not that I actually could go on a hunt. I'm still too bad at archery. I wouldn't even want to try."

"That's because you convinced your parents to let you help Impa instead of physical training," Paya reminded her.

Link couldn't imagine wanting to spend more time in that lab than what was strictly required. He'd much rather practice archery.

"I don't like getting all sweaty."

"Your physical strength should help your magical strength, a strong mind and strong body often go hand in hand. Even Impa keeps up with her training."

"That's because Koshia makes her. I'm sure she wouldn't if he wasn't there." The princess glanced at Link, and said, "But you're right, I will have to carry my load equally when we go and fight Ganon."

Link, who didn't want to have to talk about that again, tried to change the subject. "Impa… I had thought all Sheikah were guards and like, ninjas, but she's…"

"She's the Royal Court Scientist, the first Sheikah to hold that position," the princess announced proudly, "she was actually supposed to be my personal guard when I was born, but she was not set up for guard duty. They let her transfer to apprentice under the previous head scientist, and I got Paya instead."

"Well, I wasn't officially assigned until I came of age five years ago," Paya noted.

"But she was good at her job even before then." Taking in his expression, the princess continued, "Oh you want to ask her a question."

Were his emotions that clear on his face?

"Go ahead! Just don't ask any state secrets."

"Can you teleport?" he asked finally.

"Teleport?" Paya repeated.

"Like with a deku nut. I heard that…"

The princess and her guard shared a sly look. In a poof of white smoke, Paya disappeared. Link looked around before hearing another poof and she appeared behind him.

"It's an ancient Sheikah art," Paya explained, "but I can't tell you more than that."

"Well, that's fine."

Paya poofed back onto her horse, startling it. Horns sounded, signalling the start of the first hunt. Link watched in fascination as the horses descended into the valley, blending into the green of the forest. It did look fun, and there were smiles all around, but Link was glad that he'd declined the prince's offer.

The most he'd ever hunted with was a dog and Rauru, and never on horseback. He'd never gone in a group as big as what they were going in now. There were surely decorum and etiquette that he would have no idea about, and then insult someone, or embarrass either the prince or princess, or–

"Paya, you should go," the princess insisted. "My mother's party has yet to leave, and I know for a fact they are one person short."

"But what about you?" she asked.

"I'm plenty well protected, not only are there many guards and hunters around, but I have the chosen Hero here with me too. Isn't that right, Hero?"

Paya seemed conflicted, and Link didn't want her to miss out on any fun. He nodded in agreement with the princess.

"Well, if you really think you'll be fine…" Paya started.

"Paya, I order you to go have some fun," the princess said firmly.

Paya cracked a small smile and nodded her head in a small bow. She went to join the queen's party.

"She really likes to eat the liver," the princess told Link, "And the one to kill the animal gets first dibs."

"And she's good?" he asked.

"She's the best."

The queen's party went soon after that, Impa in a borrowed green cloak.

"So Hero, how are you enjoying castle life so far?"

He fidgeted with his gloves, not sure how to answer truthfully. "I'm finding it…" Stifling? Lonely? He finally decided on, "New."

"Yes I can imagine," she responded, "It's very different, isn't it?"

He nodded. For instance, everyone called him "Hero." It felt wrong for some reason, especially from her. "You don't have to call me Hero…" he mumbled.

"Pardon?"

Too late, he realized he'd spoken aloud. "Er– you don't need to call me Hero. I haven't really… done anything yet."

"I would beg to differ."

More parties left and returned, though few had been successful. At the point in the day when most of the parties were out, and Paya was still gone, a rumbling could be heard. It persisted until the ground shook slightly.

"An earthquake?" the princess asked.

Link bent and pressed an ear to the ground. It wasn't an earthquake, it sounded more like–

"Foot steps," he murmured. His eyes flashed up in the direction of the steps. "Princess, get back!" he shouted.

Through the trees a roar could be heard, and footsteps suddenly turned into a run. Link ran to meet whatever it was, nearly stumbling when he saw the monster before him. It was huge, with red skin and a single eye in its head. He was just able to skirt out of the way of its massive feet. But, the princess!

He drew his bow and fired a few arrows, and others were peppering it too, but at most it slightly stunned it. It roared again, and ripped a tree from the ground to use as a club. Link was in the way of a swing when a horse ran by. He swung onto the moving horse, holding tightly to the rider. The rider turned and he saw it was the princess.

"Hinox," she said, "But that sort of thing shouldn't be out here…"

Well, it was. He drew his sword.

"Drop me off and get out of here," he insisted.

"This is our duty," she said, turning the horse in the banking turn back towards the monster. "I won't run."

She was stubborn enough he knew he wouldn't be able to change her mind. "Let me weaken it first then!"

They were close enough that it tried to swing at them again, and it was only barely that they evaded it. Close to its feet, Link jumped off the horse and slashed at its achilles tendon. He got one, and the beast stumbled. He was able to get a few more slashes in before he made the mistake of stabbing. The sword became lodged in its fat and he was unable to retrieve it.

He rolled out of the way and it swatted at him. Picking up the nearest weapon he could find, a flag with a sharp tip, Link faced down the monster. It bore down on him, and Link knew he couldn't beat it. If a sword only got stuck, Link he would need much more leverage and strength to make a sharp flagpole kill it.

A light pierced the gray sky and a gleaming arrow hit the Hinox, stunning it greatly.

"The eye!" Princess Zelda called. Link didn't turn to look. He needed to take advantage of this opportunity.

The eye was blinking rapidly, as if to clear the light from it, and Link steeled himself. He ran and jumped off of a tree to deliver a savage blow to the eye. The flag pole shattered, but the damage was still done.

The Hinox stumbled backwards and teetered for a moment, before falling down. Slowly, it started to dissolve into foul smelling, dark miasma.

Link landed his jump off of the monster, hitting the ground with a solid thud. He was breathing heavily, the situation still not seeming real. Slowly, he sat up and wiped his hands on his nice new–now stained–clothes. The Hinox blood had sprayed him well. Where the monster had once been, there were now just a few organs, body parts, and rupees.

"Link!" the princess called. She stopped just short of him, but was still very close. For a second he thought she might hug him. She also had some grime on her, but less so than him. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. Still, he could tell she still appraised him to make sure. Her hand came to feel his forearms, the touch prompting him to say something.

"Did you shoot that arrow?" he asked. Her magic, while formidable due to her intellect, lacked some force behind it. Though he wasn't sure who else present would be able produce such a holy type of magic.

Others were getting closer, and he knew once they'd gotten over their shock, the princess and him would have to put aside talking for a bit.

"It wasn't as powerful as it could've been, the fact that the Hinox wasn't vaporized instantly…"

He stopped her, maybe prudently, by pushing back a lock of hair that'd come out from her headcovering. Sincerely he told her, "It was amazing."

Her eyes shone in a special way, and it was when the smile returned to her face that Link felt he'd done something heroic.

…

The hunt was cut short. There were only a few deer, so the feast that would usually follow was a bit subdued. That, and a Hinox attacked the non-combatants.

Link was given another formal thank you, though all of the pomp and circumstance couldn't hold a candle to the pride he felt when Princess Zelda smiled at him.

They had a change of clothes as soon as they'd returned to the main camp. It also rained, which for once Link was grateful for, as it helped get the monster grime off of him.

At dinner in fresh, but admittedly more casual clothes, Link sat next to the royal family in a seat of honor. They were waiting on the first course, a concept Link was still slightly confused by. He was used to eating when he was hungry, which didn't always follow the three set meals everyone at the castle ate. He adapted quickly.

"You did well, once again," the king said, "Even though you did not participate in the hunt, would you like the first choice of the liver?"

Link slowly shook his head. He actually wasn't a huge fan of organ meats. He didn't dislike them, but it wasn't the delicacy to him as it was to others. Still it could be seen as rude to deny an honor of the king. Thinking on his feet, he said, "If I were, it'd only be right to eat the Hinox's organs."

Monster organs ranged from simply disgusting to disgusting AND poisonous. He smiled nervously. The king laughed and the princess smiled coyly. She was so cool. He was sitting next to her too! He tried to keep his excitement inside, so as to not embarrass his royal hosts, but it was difficult. He was used to keeping his sounds inside, from hunting and avalanche dangers, and the general lack of people to talk to, but his expressions didn't really matter in those situations.

"How are you nervous now?" Princess Zelda asked him.

He blinked and turned to look at her.

"You were able to face down a Hinox without batting an eye, but dinner has you giving a white knuckle grip to the napkin."

He glanced down to see she was correct. With conscious effort, he released the cloth napkin. "Well, they're pretty different."

She laughed. "You're not wrong. So mortal danger is less frightening, in your opinion?"

He nodded. "It depends on what type of danger, but generally yes."

She appraised him again. With an approving look she said, "You're well fit for your role."

The praise made him puff up slightly and he smiled.

The queen sent a knowing look their way, which Link only noticed since it caused Princess Zelda to subtly roll her eyes. Before he could ask what was going on, she said, "My mom told me it was my mission to get you to smile. She said it looks like we're holding you against your will."

"But you're not. I want to be here." More or less. He didn't really have anywhere to go and the castle was probably better than most places.

"Oh, she wasn't being serious. You can look however you want to look. I do wish you would feel more comfortable, but that's not something that can be forced. It may take some time." She shrugged. "It is sort of my job to make sure you're not completely out of your depth. We are partners in this, aren't we?"

Partners? He supposed they were with how their destiny entwined.

Right. They would work together. He was slightly less nervous now.