Zelda was up all night practicing the speech, she already knew that she had it learned off perfectly, but she could not afford to make a mistake in front of him. He was so flawless, and that made her feel so useless in his presence. She was already a failure, so she could not fail at this speech. She rested her elbows on her desk and buried her face in her hands, sighing sharply. She was so exhausted after everything that had happened recently, and she was certainly not a fan of the Hero protecting her, reminding her that she isn't good enough to be independent. He was in the next room over, he'd been moved to the castle full time so he could watch over her whenever it was needed. He had seemed quite eager to move, as for why though was a mystery to her, and she had no intentions to find out. She closed the book and changed into her nightgown before laying down on the soft mattress and falling asleep.
--
Link didn't want to leave the comfort of such a warm and soft bed. It was unlike any luxury he'd ever felt. He heard birds chirping outside as the sun beamed in through the slightly parted curtains. He smiled weakly as he sat up, looking around. The room was quite spacious. He slowly got out of the bed and slipped his boots on. He'd decided to sleep in his daily clothing, he had been so tired last night after everything that occurred that he barely had his boots off before his body succumbed to the beauty that was sleep.
Link left his room not long after that and assumed his post outside the Princess's room, waiting for her to wake up. He was taking his duty of being her Appointed Knight very seriously, if anything happened to Zelda under his watch the consequences would not be good. He wasn't waiting all that long, for the door behind him soon opened and the Princess stepped out, dressed in her ceremonial royal clothing. Her long blue dress was embroidered with gold, and it was very elegant.
She glanced at Link before walking forwards, Link followed behind, leaving quite a bit of space between them. This was Link's first official day accompanying Zelda. The day prior he had been informed of what he was supposed to do to fulfill this role. However he'd done research on the role and all in all it wasn't all that different from being the Knight of a Kingdom, the only difference being that this Kingdom didn't approve of him and moved around a lot. He knew that no matter how hard she made it for him, he would fulfill this role and do his duty. They were meeting up with the other Champions who had stayed in the castle under the King's orders the last few days. They were scheduled to arrive at the Sacred Grounds for a ceremony which acknowledged the bond of Link and the Master Sword in the eyes of the Goddess Hylia.
--
The morning was positively awful. Zelda hadn't gotten half enough sleep, and to make her morning worse he was already waiting for her, dressed perfectly. She came to learn that he was quite silent and didn't express himself at all, it freaked her out how she never knew what he was thinking as he silently followed her. At least he wasn't verbally rubbing his accomplishments in her face. They were at the Sacred Grounds now, stood on a pedestal. The Champions were situated to Zelda's right and Link was knelt down in front of her. She was reciting the speech she'd been practicing countless times over the last few nights. The 'Ceremony of Legend' speech.
"Hero of Hyrule... Chosen by The Sword That Seals the Darkness. You have shown unflinching bravery and skill in the face of darkness and adversity. And have proven yourself worthy of the Blessings of The Goddess Hylia. Whether Skyward bound, adrift in time, or steeped in the glowing embers of twilight, The sacred blade is forever bound to the soul of the hero. We pray for your protection, and we hope that.." This was far too difficult. She couldn't concentrate, she was practically praising this boy, acknowledging his skill despite her being so utterly useless, she quickly continued on, urging herself to just finish this dumb speech. "We hope that the two of you will grow stronger together as one." She paused once more, lowering her hand as she stared down at Link, she felt a twinge of jealousy as she gazed upon his motionless being, with a shaky sigh she raised her hand again and continued.
"Forged in the long distant past, The Sword That Seals the Darkness. Guardian of Hyrule, ancient steel, forever bound to the hero. In the name of The Goddess Hylia, I bless you, and your Chosen Hero. Over the seas of time and distance, when we need the golden power of the Goddess, our hope rests in you, to be forever by the Hero's side. Again, we pray, that the two of you will be stronger, together, as one." She slowly stepped back from Link, glancing at the Champions, their expressions were grim. Urbosa walked over and placed a hand on Zelda's shoulder which brought some comfort to the Princess. "Let's be off.." She said quietly, turning to head back to the castle.
--
Link listened silently as Zelda recited this Ancient Tradition. He kept his eyes focused on the ground, looking at the engraved design of the Tri-Force. Zelda's voice wasn't all that enthusiastic, Link could hear the Champions speaking but he couldn't make out their words. It felt like they were there for hours until finally Zelda finished speaking. He stood up slowly, watching Urbosa reassure Zelda before the Princess announced that they should return. And with that all six of them began to head back to the Castle. Link wondered why Zelda seemed to hate him, as far as he could tell he'd done nothing wrong.
He felt a tug on his arm as he made a move to follow the Princess, he turned his head to face Mipha, seeing her hand holding the fabric she'd pulled to grab his attention. She slipped her hand down to her side before beginning to speak. "Link, during the speech the Champions were speaking and there's something I think you should know. They-" "Save it Mipha. Whatever Revali was saying about me doesn't matter, what matters right now is that I escort the Princess back safely, I'm sorry." He quickly turned away from her to catch up to the Princess, keeping his distance yet again. The Champions had stayed behind since they were scheduled to return back to their homes that morning. Link felt bad for being so blunt with Mipha, he wished he could speak to his friend but he didn't have time now. He wondered what it was that she had wanted to say, he replayed her words in her mind and realised that he'd misheard, it wasn't Revali speaking ill of him, the Champions were simply talking, however he concluded that nothing important had been said as he followed Zelda through castle town and up to the main gate.