Orsa Minore

by Capella A. Morningside

Author's Note: Read and review please. Reviews are what I thrive on, and they are very encouraging. Thank you to Princess of Destiny for being my sole reviewer for the Prologue!


- Chapter I – Negligible Impropriety

Sangethia had sent her herald ahead of her to the castle to awaken the Royal Family and their court. Rousing the aristocrats from their slumber was always a harsh business even for someone as esteemed and respected as the Priestess of the Seal; she'd only done it once before and hoped to the Goddesses she never had to do it again. When she had arrived at the castle that time to discuss the matter at hand, they, clad in their royal robes but nonetheless looking severely disheveled, displaced and annoyed, had regarded her with the attitude of 'this had better be worth it'.

The old priestess couldn't help but think the Royal Family had grown more and more luxury-loving and careless in the with each generation. Centuries ago, royalty and the nobility were far more on their toes, as was the entire country during the Imprisoning War, but now they were indulgent, in love with pleasure and no expense was spared to make them comfortable. On the other hand, they had not become gluttonous and filled with greed, much to the relief of many, they were still generous, kind, and fair to their people.

As was custom, the High Priestess could not be seen by the commoners outside of the Temple of Time. So she lay in a rather claustrophobic litter, carried on the backs of her servants, the inside of it strewn with silken pillows that made it seem all the more suffocating to Sangethia. The golden-colored curtains were drawn, a similar-colored fan in her hand, at the ready, to hide her face should wind betray the Hylian traditions. Few townspeople were about in the town at such an hour anyway, but the old woman knew it would soon change when someone noticed she was on her way to the castle. It was strange, and almost foreboding for the Priestess to be seen leaving the temple, to make matters worse it was at the darkest hour of night, and she was heading to Hyrule Castle of all places.


Swirling waters around her feet threatened to grow and sweep her away, the cold moisture seeping into the fabric of her dress and spreading upward, chilling her to the bone. Harsh, neutral in temperature winds blew against her stiffly, never once subsiding to give her a moment to regain her balance. The blonde woman clutched at the sleeves of her clothing, shivering, unable to move in front of the large, foreboding figure towering over her.

It was like being faced with the monsters she heard about in the stories she was told as child, and what did that make her? The damsel in distress? Taking a step back, this made difficult by the weight of her soaked dress, her tense body caused another reflexive clenching of her fists. Something cold and hard pressed against her left palm, and her blue eyes diverted to it. A sword?

I'm not the damsel in distress, she thought, I'm the hero!

Moving the heavy metal object in front of her, the blonde clutched at it with both hands, lifting it into the air above her head and preparing to strike the Shadow.

Sapphire eyes widened as a wall of water came toward them both, sweeping both Shadow and woman from the ground and carrying them with its will...

Ceridwyn's muscles tensed instinctively as she was pushed abruptly out of her nightmare, fists clutching at her heart as it skipped a beat. Panting, the young woman began to regain her stamina, sitting up in her silken bed and clutching the rust-colored sheets to her breast. Not again.

Her wide eyes gave a quick inspection of her surroundings, making sure she was, indeed, still in the castle, all of her belongings were there and no intruders had entered. It was again the same dream that had been recurring to her, night after night, for a fortnight. The fire in the fireplace had long since gone out, the cinders no longer even smoking and by the angle the moonlight pierced through the rectangular window, casting its rays on her stone floor, she guessed it was still several hours until dawn.

Might as well take a walk. Can't get back to sleep now.

Dragging her fingers through her long, tangled golden hair, Ceridwyn shifted her position to let her feet hang off the edge of her bed. Bare feet touched the cold stone floor, recoiling for a split second before willpower took over and she forced herself to stand. A silk, solid emerald-colored gown cascaded to the floor as the young woman crossed the room.

Ceridwyn herself was not royalty, but she was close enough that her bloodline alone allowed her to be a highly respected noblewoman. Her lineage was traced back several generations to the younger sister of a past king, and over time, Ceridwyn's ties to the Royal Family were growing thinner, but it lost her no status. Her father and mother were taken by an illness during their daughter's youth, and it was up to her alone to carry on their lineage.

She pushed her feet into a pair of jeweled golden slippers and threw a white linen robe, hemmed with some yellow trim, over her shoulders. This was her usual routine after the recurring dream; a walk around the castle corridors and courtyards usually did her some calming good. Pulling open a drawer on her bedside, Ceridwyn removed a rather large stump of candle, lighting it with a nearby tinder-box and shoving the waxy mass onto a brass carrier. A white silk fan, adorned with brownish down feathers on the top, occupied her other hand; it was Hylian custom that if an unmarried noblewoman was not wearing her circlet, she was forbidden to let a man see her face. Ceridwyn didn't expect she'd see much of anybody around the castle, but it was just in case.

The young woman pulled the door of her room shut behind her, scanning the corridor for anyone unwelcome before going on.

It would be unfair for Ceridwyn to say she wasn't treated well in the castle. She, like all the other noblewomen, received every luxury that rupees could afford. Fine clothes, servants that attended her needs, expensive cuisine. It was the very people she had to interact with that she wasn't so sure about. She spent lot of time with the Sheikah Melek, the brother of Princess Sive's attendant, Ziphorah. In secret, Melek would teach her the sorts of things it was considered improper for a lady to know; how to read the stars, how to go anywhere you liked without being seen at all, how to fire a bow, defend yourself with a sword and ride a horse like a fighter, rather than side-saddle like a woman should.

Melek could be considered Ceridwyn's only friend, and though no one else was openly rude or mean to her, they did act as if she were diseased. They never got too close, made a point of it not to talk to her for long, and every time she turned around she could hear their whispers behind her back.

"She's so strange."

"Ceridwyn's just not... like the rest of us."

It no longer bothered her, or so she would have liked to think.

"Are you positive, Sangethia, that this is what is going on?"

Voices, from the courtyard ahead. Ceridwyn's pointed ears perked up and she approached the wall, sliding along against it until she was just at the courtyard entrance. And of course, there were the 'alert' guards, pacing along the hedge maze and chatting amongst themselves.

"You have been having dreams, have you not, your Highnesses? Do you doubt my word?"

It was the Priestess of the Seal, Sangethia, that had spoken this time, though before, Ceridwyn had heard the deep, rich voice of King Daphnes. So I am not alone, the noblewoman thought, falling to her knees and blowing out her candle. Staying low, the blonde worked up the courage to peek around the stone corner.

It was an assembly, of sorts. King Daphnes and his wife Catriona were there, as well as their child Princess Sive. Ziphorah and Melek were at their side, and Sangethia stood before them, her posture solemn and her hand gripping on her walking-stick a little tighter than usual.

"It is not that we do not believe you, Priestess," Queen Catriona was saying, "It is that we are not willing to so quickly jump to such a dark conclusion. Is the Realm not constantly putting off disturbances, simply because of the one who dwells there?"

"Yes, well," Sangethia lowered her head. "This was not an ordinary disturbance. He has found the strength to speak."

"Speak?" questioned the Queen. "Whatever do you mean?"

"He is speaking to someone of this world." The Priestess looked to the two Sheikah. "Ziphorah, Melek, I cannot believe you two. Your kind must be losing their touch. I thought you would have known by now, surely, but would one of you please retrieve our eavesdropper?" The old woman's hand signaled behind her.

Ceridwyn's heart nearly froze in her chest, and she attempted to scramble to her feet as the two Sheikah siblings rapidly approached, but only managing to slip on the smooth grass and the silk of her own sleeping-gown and fall. Once she had gotten to a stand at last, she unfolded her fan, concealing the lower half of her face, dropped her unlit candle and made a run for it.

Strong arms were around her waist in no time, and her feet left the ground. Ceridwyn's entire world flipped over and she hit the ground on her back. Blindly, she kicked at the air, and judging by the feel of her strike and the sound that followed, she guessed she had managed to hit one of them in the stomach. Rolling over, her hands propping her up against the stone, the young woman started to stand again, only to feel her arms secured behind her back, punished with a cruel twist when she tried to struggle.

Only once she was subdued did the Sheikah restraining her recognize her. Melek had come around the front to confront the supposed eavesdropper and had stared at her a good minute before inquiring, "Lady Ceridwyn?"

"Lady Ceridwyn," Ziphorah echoed, her tone flat. "We should have known, Melek."

"I didn't mean any harm," Ceridwyn whined as the elder Sheikah let her arms go.

"As little harm as you may have meant, Lady, you were still behaving in a highly inappropriate manner," Ziphorah chastised. "Let's take her to the King," she went on, obviously toward her brother, as she took one of the girl's arms roughly and led her back toward the courtyard.