Hello everyone! Sorry about this chapter, it's a little boring, I know. I just don't want this story to be too fast-paced, so I'm trying to take things slower. If anybody read Tension and Time, some of the main characters from that story will be introduced in this chapter.

Some side characters from Twilight Princess will be introduced later in this story as well. I freakin' LOVE Twilight Princess, which is why the only two stories I have published on here both loosely follow that specific Zelda game. I even like it better than BOTW, although I know some Zelda fans would be in a strong disagreement with me. BOTW is just so difficult. I finally got the game a few months back on my switch, and let's just say I have been struggling HARD. Super fun, though.

Anyway, enjoy this chapter. To whoever may be seeing this, have a wonderful day and please review!

BEHIND THE BOOKSHELF

A Proper Beginning

One year later…

"Linky! Get yerself up off yer lazy arse!"

Another aggravatingly loud thud pounded against Link's barrack door. In response, Link wrapped a pillow around his head to block out the noise.

"Linky! What's takin' ya so long? We got trainin'!"

A strong surge of irritation flooded Link's veins. Letting out a rather dramatic groan, he finally gave in and jumped out of his bed, stomping loudly over to the front door.

"Open this darn door right this instant. Yer gonna be makin' us late—"

Link swung the wooden door open, interrupting the soldier standing outside from continuing his obnoxiously breathless spiel.

"Ah, thank goodness. I thought ya woulda never gotten up! Come now, trainin' starts in 'round an hour. We better get there soon, or the lieutenant gonna kick both our arses—"

"Barnes. Stop."

Barnes, Link's admittedly obnoxious friend, or rather, his only friend, immediately stopped rambling.

"Sorry there, Linky. I ain't mean to push yer buttons."

Link replied with nothing, choosing to only slam the door back in his friend's face. Barnes was a cheery young man, and was around the same age as Link. They had both joined the militia at the same time as well, and instantly became friends when they were paired up as sparring partners during training. Although his loud and cheery personality made him quite likable, Link still found him irritating from time to time. Especially when he woke him up at the crack of dawn.

Heaving out a long sigh, Link hastily put on his training gear, which consisted of a light leather breastplate, a pair of loose trousers, and heavy training boots. He also had a dusty gray cloak and an iron helmet, but he usually dressed in those later when he arrived to the training yard near the castle.

"Linky, what ya doin' in there? Puttin' on a dress?"

Link rolled his eyes, choosing to give no reply. He grabbed the wooden sword rested against the walls of the barrack and headed outside.

"Thank the goddesses," Barnes muttered under his breath as Link exited his establishment, shaking his head. "Thought ya never woulda came out."

Link scoffed. "And risk consequences from the lieutenant? I'd politely decline."

Link slung his sword on his back and began to walk from the barracks, with Barnes trailing slightly behind him. The singular thing Link hated about living in the barracks was the walk he had to take everyday to the training yard. The barracks were placed quite a distance from the castle, so it took him around twenty minutes to reach there.

However, other than the far walking distance, Link didn't dislike the barracks like the other soldiers did. He heard them constantly complaining about the foul living conditions, such as the smell, the rotten wood, and the consistent splinters they would get from walking around barefoot inside. Link always wore socks to protect his feet from the splintering wood, which was made the problem only a minor inconvenience.

What he enjoyed about the barracks was the solitude. They were far from the castle, which he had no desire to be in, and he had his own establishment all to himself. It served him an excellent opportunity to wind down at the end of an exhausting day and just be alone.

Unfortunately, his solitude was always short-lived, even with the fact that he was in the lowest ranking branch of the army.

"There's a crack in yer sword," Barnes stated, interrupting Link's train of thought. "Ya might need a new one. That one's a piece of junk anyhow."

Link took his sword off his back and inspected it. Sure enough, there was a large crack shot through the middle of it. Fortunately, the crack wasn't deep enough to make any real difference.

"It will be fine." Link strapped his sword on his back once again. "I'll request for a new one if it cracks any more significantly."

Barnes let out a huff of disapproval. "It ain't fair. We don't get nothin' good."

"That's because we're only soldiers in training. We're the lowest ranking in the militia."

"That shouldn't matter. It ain't fair."

"I suppose. But that's just how it will be."

Barnes went silent, so Link decided to focus his attention on kicking a rock down the dirt path that led to the castle grounds.

"Ya know, I'm sick of bein' a soldier in trainin,'" Barnes said after a few minutes of silence. "Startin' to feel like a cycle, ya know?"

Link stopped kicking the rock. "I know."

"Yup. I'm thinkin' ya should get yerself a promotion real soon."

Link instantly stopped in his tracks and turned towards his friend. "You know that won't happen."

"It should. Yer better with the sword than the rest of us."

"I can't gain a promotion. I come from a common background—"

"But yer the best darn trainee out there! Ya deserve a high rankin'!"

Link swallowed thickly and set his gaze to the ground. His hopes of knighthood were crushed long ago, soon after he joined the Hyrulean forces. Every training, every spar, and every exercise clearly put his high set of skills on display, but it still didn't give him a chance to become promoted. It used to affect him greatly, especially when he noticed that trainees who came from wealthy families transitioned into knighthood when he was clearly more capable. Now, he attempted to ignore it, but it still bothered him slightly, no matter how hard he tried not to care.

"And yer the hero, for the goddesses sake," Barnes went on. "Ya shoulda been promoted a long time ago."

Link felt his muscles lock at the title Barnes referred to him as. If there was one thing he hated most, it was that title. It was possibly the worst thing he could ever have tied to his name.

Nobody recognized him for what he had done. When he first arrived to the castle, which was shortly after the war, he was rewarded with a medal at the celebration ball for Hyrule's victory. But that was all there was to it. They all saw him as a commoner, as some lowly farm boy, and never truly understood all that he had done. The nobility and inhabitants of the castle moved on with their lives, and he knew that some never even believed he saved them at all. None of them wanted to believe that some commoner had gone such lengths to save their kingdom.

He knew there were stories about him, even though there weren't many. They were extremely romanticized and unrealistic, as if his journey was almost similar to a mere fairy tale. Major details and descriptions were left out, which Link thought was reasonable, because the true details of his story were often quite disturbing. He didn't want that kind of information to be released publicly to the citizens of Hyrule.

"Anyhow, I just think with all ya done for the kingdom, ya deserve some sorta promotion," Barnes continued on, oblivious to Link's discomfort. "I ain't never in my nineteen years of life seen somebody so determined like yerself—"

"It's quite alright, Barnes," Link interrupted, absolutely desperate to change the topic. "I don't care about that anymore."

Barnes's dark eyes flicked over Link's face in clear concern. He didn't believe that for one second.

"…Alright, ol' pal. Whatever floats yer boat."

Link nodded and silently thanked the goddesses Barnes stopped talking about the subject. They fell into silence for the rest of the walk there, which Link was quite thankful for, as he found the silence to be immensely comforting. He was never much of a talker, so he typically preferred a more quiet encounter with Barnes.

But the only downside of the silence was that he was left alone with his thoughts. The silence was a screaming reminder of how he truly felt, of what was buried deep inside of him, of how he was just as lost as he was prior coming to the castle. And that made the feeling of his failure so much more difficult to manage.

Link's face smashed into the ground, with his sword scattering out of his hand from the impact, and dirt caking all over his right cheek. His leg muscles burned with exhaustion, but as soon as he made impact with the ground, he quickly recovered and got right back up.

"There ya go, Linky!" Barnes cheered from the outside of the sparring ring. "Pick yerself up!"

Link hastily smeared the dirt off his face and locked eyes with his opponent in front of him. The opponent's name was Ralio, and he was the most arrogant man Link had ever met. He came from an extremely wealthy family, with his father owning a large plot of farm land just outside of Castle Town. Ralio was an extremely skilled fighter, even Link would admit, and because he came from such a high social rank, he was guaranteed knighthood in due time.

Ralio was possibly Link's most evenly matched opponent yet. They were both constantly put together for sparring matches, mostly because they both were around the same size with similar skill levels, each standing at around five feet and seven inches. The only noticeable difference was that Link was a bit thinner, but that effectively made him quicker on the battlefield. Ralio was much more sluggish than Link, due to all the extra muscle weight he carried. Other than their weight differences, they were practically equal.

Which made training for Link even more unbearable. He loathed every second he spent with that man, mostly because of his absolutely irritating and belittling trash-talk.

"You obnoxious little twit," Ralio growled, his golden-brown eyes darting across Link's face in a fury. "You'll never just simply give up, will you?"

Link attempted to hold back a snort at how furious Ralio was. He was so serious about their sparring matches, while Link particularly did not care about the outcome. He just wanted to be simply left alone, but Ralio was always there, causing trouble as always. He was like a bug that Link could not swat away, constantly buzzing in his ear without a break.

Neither of them had ever beaten one another in a sparring match. It always ended up in a draw, mostly because they would go on for hours without giving up. And although Link never wanted to go on for that long of time, he wouldn't ever let himself give Ralio the satisfaction of claiming victory over him.

"Come on, Ralio!" a man yelled from the small crowd of soldiers surrounding the sparring ring. "Kick his puny arse!"

Link simply rolled his eyes at that pathetic attempt of an insult. The soldiers he trained with were never particularly kind to him, except for Barnes, of course. He never let it get to him, however. Most of the trainees barely even knew how to wield a sword properly.

Ralio's muscles visibly tensed along his sun baked skin as he stepped menacingly towards Link. Then, in almost lightning speed, he jumped up and clashed his sword against Link's, resuming their intense match.

The crowd hooted and hollered as they continued to spar. Ralio continued to swing down at Link's head, but every time, Link blocked it quickly with his sword.

Link continued to block his swings, until he heard a particularly loud crack shudder throughout his sword. Before Ralio could give another swing, Link quickly rolled away to the other side of the sparring ring to inspect his sword.

The crack that Barnes had noticed this morning had gotten much worse. The rotten wood was noticeably splintering now, with pieces of wood sticking dangerously out of the sword. One more blow, and it would surely snap in half.

Now Link knew he was in trouble. Usually, he handled the spars well, and never got into situations where he could become physically beaten. Unfortunately, this time was quite different. No sword meant no victory, and if he lost this match, he would hear no end of it from the other men.

Goddesses, if only Ralio would just leave him be for one second of his life.

Then, as if it was some miracle, the lieutenant stepped into the sparring ring.

"Alright, at ease, soldiers," Lieutenant Adney ordered. "There's a cracked sword here. It's only fair if both sides have a weapon."

A loud chant of boos erupted from the crowd surrounding the sparring ring. Nevertheless, Link sighed quietly with relief. There was no possible way that would have ended well.

"Here, I'll take that for you," Lieutenant Adney said to Link in a lower voice, holding out his hand to retrieve the sword. "I'll bring you a new one tomorrow. There's several extras in the castle."

Link slowly placed his cracked sword in the lieutenant's hands. As Lieutenant Adney retrieved the sword, he turned back towards the rest of the men.

"Alright. It's gettin' real late. Training is over for today. Go back to your establishments and rest."

A few mumbles of protest scattered across the group, most likely at the sudden end of the sparring match, but the men quickly gathered their stuff and began walking away. At the end of the training day, two men were always chosen to spar, and unfortunately, those men were usually Link and Ralio. It was only because there had yet to be a winner between the two. They had been sparring for almost four months straight now, and there still was no sign of any victory.

Link heaved out a long sigh and began to gather his things. Thankfully the lieutenant saved him from that situation. In all honestly, Link didn't have any sort of dislike for Lieutenant Adney. He worked the men hard, but not too hard to the point where the men were completely exhausted.

There was even a point where the lieutenant had tried to get Link promoted. It was clear he had the skill to become a knight, so Adney went to the Council himself to try and convince them for a promotion. Unfortunately, despite his efforts, his idea was stomped to the ground. The councilmen were much too traditional, claiming that a commoner with a high skill set was still not worthy of knighthood.

It was all just simply unfair.

"Link. Come here for a moment."

Link turned around saw the lieutenant standing a few feet behind him, beckoning for him to come over. Holding in a sigh, Link complied and walked right over.

"Sir," Link greeted, making sure his back was completely straight. The lieutenant was a bit strict about posture.

"I need you on guard duty tonight."

Link stifled a groan. "Yes, sir."

"A particularly large event will be held in the ballroom. I need you there by seven o'clock sharp."

"Yes, sir."

The lieutenant nodded in affirmation and walked away. Only then did Link finally let out the groan he had been holding in.

"The lieutenant pushin' yer buttons, lil' guy?" said Barnes, who approached Link from behind.

Link turned towards Barnes and rolled his eyes. "I beg of you to stop calling me that name."

"Come on now. It's just a joke. Yer a lil' fella anyhow."

Link gathered the rest of his things and began heading back to the barracks, with Barnes trailing slightly behind him. In some ways, Link couldn't even believe Barnes was his friend. There were stark differences between the two, even in physical appearance. Barnes was the true definition of massive, standing almost a head taller than Link, and close to twice his body weight. He could be compared to a Goron, as some soldiers would say, which never failed to hurt Barnes' feelings. Despite his intimidating size, Barnes had a fragile heart.

"So, whatcha doin' tonight?" Barnes asked, catching up to Link's quick strides. "Me and a few of my ol' buddies from my hometown goin' out for some drinks down at Telma's bar. Ya wanna come with?"

Link almost froze at the name. Telma's bar. He hadn't been there in ages.

"No thanks," Link mumbled, growing uncomfortable at the topic. "I've been put on guard duty tonight. I couldn't come anyway."

"Ah, well that's alright. Say, ya guardin' for that fancy ball?"

"Unfortunately," Link muttered sarcastically.

Barnes snorted. "I'm wishin' ya the best of luck with that, my friend. Prepare for a real snooze fest."

"Yeah."

"Lucky for yerself, though, the princess gon' be there." Barnes winked jokingly at Link. "She's a real looker."

Link rolled his eyes at that last statement, attempting to hide his discomfort at the mention of the princess. There had always been some kind of peculiar lingering tension between the two since the war. They barely even spoke, and when they rarely did get the chance to converse, they just exchanged polite greetings as they walked past one another. In fact, Link barely saw her at all, since she was always in the castle and he was always outdoors training.

The whole situation was odd. He wouldn't say he cared much about it, per se, but it confused him as to why they rarely ever spoke. Taking down Ganondorf to end the Twilight alongside her was possibly one of the most difficult experiences he had to face, and he was sure he couldn't have done it without her aid. What was puzzling was that even though they had been through so much that day, by each other's side, they never spoke about it. He hadn't even remembered the last time he had an actual conversation with her. It was likely around the time where he had to meet her in secret, in the tower where Midna freed him…

Midna. The thought of her struck him like a cold slap to the face, even after all these months. He tried not to think of her as much as he could possibly manage.

"Ya know, I woulda taken yer place for guard duty tonight if the lieutenant had offered," Barnes went on cheerfully. "I mean, maybe I could make some conversation with the princess. Strike up some good ol' fashion small talk, crack some jokes, make her laugh…"

Everything Barnes was saying sounded like complete nonsense to Link, flowing straight through one ear and out the other. Once he let himself think of Midna, it was as if his brain completely froze, and his mind was instantly shrouded with her memories. The sadness he felt was absolutely overbearing, and once he was locked in that stage of mind, it took a lot of effort to pull him back out.

He still remembered her last words to him.

I…see you later.

Suddenly, a strong hang gripped Link's shoulder tightly, snapping him completely out of his thoughts.

"You better watch it next time," a familiar voice growled into Link's ear, with their hand still gripped tightly to his shoulder. "You won't be so lucky with the lieutenant around to save your sorry arse."

Ralio. Link stifled back the sigh he was soon to let out.

"Hey now, leave him alone," Link heard Barnes say. "He don't want no trouble—"

"Begin speaking properly, and then maybe I'll acknowledge you," Ralio interrupted.

Barnes set his jaw and took a few steps towards Ralio, who still continuously held a death grip on Link's shoulder.

"Yer got ah real mouth, ya hear me?" Barnes snapped, much louder than Link anticipated he would. "I'd be glad to kick yer arse right here—"

"Barnes," Link interrupted quietly, shaking his head. "No."

Ralio just laughed cruelly at Barnes's temper, and finally let go of Link's shoulder. However, unfortunately, Link realized his misery wasn't over just yet as Ralio leaned back into his ear.

"Just watch yourself," Ralio growled intimidatingly into his ear. "Nothing's gonna save you next time. I'll have your face smushed into the dirt."

Link couldn't possibly look more annoyed. "Really. Sounds delightful."

"Oh, believe it so. It'll be the single greatest day of my life."

With that last statement, Ralio finally backed off and began walking away, to Link's complete relief. Frankly, Link could care less about their sparring matches. He never understood why the trainees viewed them in such seriousness. Essentially, they were just another method used to train, but unfortunately, the other soldiers didn't see them that way, and made them into a cruel sport instead.

As soon as Ralio was out of sight, Barnes immediately began hurling obscenities. He as well absolutely despised the arrogant soldier. Ralio was cruel to him also.

"That bloody son of a wench," Barnes growled as he stomped down the dirt trail leading to the barracks. "Always tryin' to make fun of my accent. I ain't able to control how I be talkin'."

Link shrugged. "I know. Just ignore him."

"I ain't able to just ignore him. He's just plain mean, and there ain't nothin' I can do 'bout it."

Link sighed. In all honestly, he felt quite sorry for Barnes, at times. When Barnes had first joined the militia, his accent was so thick that he was barely comprehensible. His words sounded like such a babble that the rest of the soldiers would poke fun at him. When Link was originally his sparring partner, he tried his best understand him, and eventually became the only trainee would could properly communicate with him at that time.

Fortunately, as Barnes spent more time around the castle, his accent slowly began to die out. Instead of his words sounding like complete babble, they were actually comprehensible, even though a hint of an accent was still there.

"Just ignore his presence," Link repeated. "That's what I do. He doesn't cause me as much trouble that way."

Barnes waved him off. "Whatever. Maybe ya got better control of yer temper, but I sure don't. He really be pushin' my buttons."

"I suppose."

The pair quickly fell into another silence, which lasted all the way until Link arrived at his establishment and said his goodbyes to Barnes for the day. Everyday after training, Barnes always walked Link to his establishment first before he got to his own. He never gave an explanation as to why, he just did it one day after a training session and never stopped from that moment. Even if their training session ended late, he would still always walk Link back before, no matter how exhausted he seemed.

Link tried to understand why he did this, but after some time, he realized that maybe Barnes just needed a friend, or someone to talk to. In all honesty, he didn't have many except for his friends from his old home in Castle Town. Link was his only true friend at the castle.

And maybe Link enjoyed his company as well. Because no matter how obnoxious Barnes could be, Link needed a friend too. He didn't have much left anymore.