As a soldier, Link had lived in the barracks, stationed within Hyrule Garrison. The living arrangements there were rather basic; each soldier had his or her own bed and a small storage unit underneath said bed to contain their personal belongings (weapons and such were kept in the armory.) The sleeping quarters were, quite literally, a large room lined with beds, one right after the other along each wall. The cafeteria worked similarly in that everyone was given their rations three times a day which they then sat and ate for a few minutes, chatting with one another, before going back to work, which they usually did together depending on who was assigned to what duty.

As such, Link was well-accustomed to being around lots of people all day, every day. He'd grown used to the constant background noise of other people; whether they were eating, talking, sleeping or working; and found it almost comforting in its familiarity. He'd gotten along pretty well with his comrades; even met a few people he considered as friends. While the work wasn't what he enjoyed—mostly training, training to fight, training to kill and not be killed in battle—it was made more bearable by his friends.

In the castle, Link felt alone.

He now had a large, fancy room all to himself. His bed was much larger than what he was used to; ridiculously so, in his opinion—it probably could've fit at least two of him, plus a large dog. He had more room to store things than he had things to store; a wardrobe that was mostly empty resided on the far wall next to a bookshelf (why he needed a bookshelf in his room when the castle had a library, he didn't know). His room had its own fireplace and washroom, and a simple but large rug that carpeted most of the floor. Above the fireplace mantel on the wall was a Royal Guard's sword, shield, and halberd respectively. Adorning the wall above his bed was a Hyrulean flag, and just below it sat the Master Sword in its elegant sheath of blue and gold, displayed in all its glory. The entire room was beautiful, and a part of Link felt guilty for not appreciating it more, but…

The room was huge and it was utterly silent.

This made sleeping difficult because the complete silence unnerved him; he was so used to sleeping in a room with other people—even at home in Hateno, his family did not have separate bedrooms; that was something typically reserved for the wealthy, which Link's family was not, despite his father's position in the Royal Guard. If everything was completely silent, then that meant something was wrong; either he'd overslept and been left behind, or something had happened to the people around him; neither of which were incentives to go to sleep, rather to wake up immediately.

It was his first night in the castle, and despite being exhausted from travel, meeting the Princess, and his sudden change in living arrangements, Link found himself unable to sleep. He wasn't sure how long he laid awake amidst a silence so strong he could hear his own heartbeat, but he eventually decided he'd had enough of that and got up.

Link wasn't about to wander around the castle in his nightclothes, so he changed into his new Royal Guard's uniform. Before leaving, he glanced at the Master Sword, considering taking it with him, but ultimately deciding against it. Instead, he took the Royal Guard's sword from above the fireplace.

He wasn't anticipating a need for the weapon, rather, he just felt better having one with him, in case the need should arise.

Link carefully stepped out into the hallway, closing the door to his chambers' slowly to make as little noise as possible. He might not have been able to sleep, but that didn't mean other people weren't.

The castle hallways were just as quiet as his room, save for the soft crackles of the torch flames illuminating the walls. Link was still very unfamiliar with the castle layout, given how large it was and how little time he'd spent there, but he knew how to get to the court yard, which was where he planned to go. He hoped taking a walk in the fresh air would help him relax enough to sleep.

Taking a left turn from his room, he started down the hallway. Briefly, he wondered if he was even allowed to leave his living quarters in the middle of the night like this, but dismissed the thought—he couldn't think of a reason why he wouldn't be.

The corridors of the castle seemed endless, and it wasn't until he'd made a few different turns only to end up in yet another corridor that looked exactly like the last one that he started to question his memory regarding how to get to the court yard. Link was considering turning around and heading back—at the very least, he knew how to do that—until he came upon a chamber door that was bigger than the others, and had a Royal Guard stationed in front of it.

The guard was clad in the same uniform as Link, naturally. He stood with his sword drawn, tip of the blade pointed on the floor with both hands resting on the pommel.

The guard's ear twitched—generally, Hylians had very good hearing—and he glanced over at Link, having noticed his approach. Link noticed his eyes were red—not in the sense that he was tired; whites of his eyes tinged red with stress—rather, his eyes were red in the way that Link's eyes were blue.

That was quite odd, perhaps he was a Sheikah?

The lack of white hair (it was black) under his Royal Guard's cap suggested otherwise.

Link opened his mouth to speak; then thought better of it. It was late; he didn't want to wake anyone—especially not someone important enough to warrant a Royal Guard stationed outside their chamber.

Surprisingly, the guard sheathed his sword and greeted him in what Link recognized as Hylian Sign Language,

"Hello. What are you doing?"

Link had learned Hylian Sign in basic training; it was an ideal method of communication for soldiers in that it was silent—enemies could not overhear conversations spoken in hands. Coincidently, it was also well-suited for other situations where silent communication was necessary.

Link signed back, "Looking for the courtyard."

The guard stifled a snicker, making Link feel embarrassed.

"What is your name?" He asked.

"My name is Link." Link answered him, careful to spell his name letter by letter.

"Link," the guard signed, "you could not be further away from the courtyard."

Link ignored his increasing humiliation and pressed on,

"My mistake. How do I get there?" he asked.

The guard appeared thoughtful for a moment, then answered,

"Take a left from here, then two rights. Downstairs past the dining hall, take a left. Downstairs again, then go right. Follow the corridor past the library, then go right again. The stairway there leads to the gardens, which connect to the courtyard. Got it?"

Link nodded gratefully, running the words over in his mind to commit them to memory. Link doubted he would ever develop a sense of direction that good within the castle, but he could memorize directions. He'd always done much better finding his way on the roads.

"Thank you. What is your name?" Link asked.

The guard signed his name the same way Link had, "Kodah."

Link nodded, grateful to know someone in the castle that didn't immediately hate him upon meeting him.

Before Link left, his curiosity got the best of him and he had to ask, "Who is that?" gesturing to the door behind Kodah.

Kodah answered him, "Princess Zelda. I am her nightshift guard," he explained.

Link's eyes widened in horror. If anyone found out he'd showed up at the Princess's chambers in the middle of the night, the implications could cost him his life. No one would believe him if he said he hadn't been trying to go to her room—what were the odds of him wandering around the castle in the dead of night, lost, just so happening to stumble upon Princess Zelda's private room out of literally every other room in the entire castle?

Link suddenly wished he'd stayed in bed.

Kodah quirked an eyebrow at him, and asked, "Are you okay?"

Link nodded quickly—he needed to leave, now, the sooner the better—perhaps a little too quickly because Kodah didn't seem to believe him.

After staring at Link for a bit, puzzled, Kodah seemed to realize what the problem was and reassured him,

"I will not tell anyone you were here."

Relief washed over him like a wave. Kodah smiled at him. In that moment, it occurred to Link that Kodah probably didn't know who he was; for all he knew, he was just a new recruit that got lost in the castle.

For some reason, that bit of anonymity made him feel better. With it came no expectations for him to save the world from an ancient evil, to remain steady and strong throughout each and every hardship without falter, to never lose a battle.

Feeling reassured, Link replied,

"Thank you, Kodah," and bid his new friend good night.

He didn't even need a walk after that; Link went back to his room and was finally able to sleep.