Prince Audrik sat at the head of the table, listening to his councilmen speak of all of the day's goings on.
"The refugee situation is being sorted out rather smoothly, many citizens have offered a place in their own homes in order to aid the unfortunate people of Kakariko." Minister Hawkwood stated, glancing over at the Prince waiting for an answer.
"Good, I'm glad that we're getting that sorted out, the last thing we need is more unfortunate souls begging on street corners." Prince Audrik replied, looking at Minister Hawkwood, who returned an unsure glance.
Minister Ryos had seemed nervous all morning, he was the Minister of Defense, a job he acquired during the war with Labrynna, he recalled how the King lamented the end of nearly three centuries of peace, but that didn't much matter now, the war with Labrynna was over, with Hyrule facing a new threat from within it's borders, the Bulblin Empire, and the mysterious Dragon Knight who led them.
Prince Audrik looked up, and noticed Minister Ryos's fidgeting, "Ryos, what is it you seem so nervous about?"
"The Bulblin attack on Kakariko, it's been repelled, Admiral Ginthorne and Captain Viscen will be returning with the rest of our forces later this morning." he said still seeming nervous.
"Minister Ryos, is it not a good thing that our forces are returning, after having repelled the largest Bulblin incursion in Hylian history?" The Prince asked dryly.
"Yes, my Lord, of course, Admiral Ginthorne's message though, he stated that almost all of Kakariko had been burned to the ground, and he was there."
"Minister, I cannot read minds, who is this he you are speaking of?" Prince Audrik asked, beginning to feel annoyed with his Minister of Defense.
"The Dragon Knight, my Lord, this marks his third appearance in battle." stated Ryos.
The Prince clenched his fists, the Dragon Knight's identity was unknown, he first appeared 5 months prior, Taking control of a Hylian outpost near the border away from the Kingdom, with a small force of Bulblins. "How did we emerge victorious then?" Audrik inquired. "The Dragon Knight, with the powers he has, could easily best even Ginthorne, how is it we defeated him?"
Ryos's nervous demeanor subsided for a moment, for once he'd be bringing good news to the Prince, "The Hero of Legend revealed himself, the Dragon Knight's powers were no match for that of the Triforce."
Audrik stood up, none of his Ministers could tell if he was pleased, or the opposite, he lowered his head, and begun massaging the bridge of his nose, something he did often. "Great, having the Hero will benefit us greatly, but the implications his emergence brings with it are undeniable."
The six Ministers looked at each other, realizing what the Prince meant, it was the Minister of Sorcery, Kain Tonbridge who stood up, he was old, but not weak, he presided over all magical training facilities, approved those who wished to use sorcery in a professional capacity, and all criminal cases in which sorcery was involved were under his jurisdiction. "Shall I begin preparing the Town's magical Defenses, my Lord?"
"Make it so." the Prince stated, "If there truly is a threat to Hyrule which would seem likely, considering the appearance of the hero, we're going to be ready for it, if the evil one of legend rises, and comes to take my castle, my home, I want to make sure he doesn't have an easy way of it." the Prince said in an aggressive manner.
"Right away my Lord." said Kain as he excused himself from the room.
"Sir I'd recommend bolstering the Castle Guard, and meeting with the hero, we must prepare for the inevitable." stated Minister Hawkwood, he was a tall, balding man, who still kept what hair he had long, but well kept, most knew who he was due to his unique appearance.
"Of course." said the Prince, "Bolster the forces as you see fit, seeing as the festival is coming up soon, I wouldn't want anything to happen...oh yes, that reminds me, the Castle has yet to be prepared for the festival, would you mind doing so, Minister Hawkood? You are after all, Minister of Royal affairs."
"My Lord, that hardly means-" Minister Hawkwood noticed the Prince raise an eyebrow, and quickly excused himself, in order to get the Castle staff in full swing for the upcoming celebration.
The Prince surveyed the remaining occupants of the room, Minister Ryos had finally stopped his incessant movements, next to him sat the Minister of Public Health, Morik Lin, and on the other side, the Minister of Education, Farin Zant, and next to him The Minister of Justice, Eltar Kendres. Minister Morik, what news have you brought us, this morning?"
"The Cucco flu is spreading rapidly due to the sudden rise in population, whoever attacked Kakariko did so in order to drive the entire population into Castle Town, they wanted disease to spread, in order to weaken us, I'm sure of this!" Minister Lin stated with conviction.
"Send word to the apothecary's to begin making an antidote for the Cuckoo Flu, and send a decent force of healers out to the local shelters, I don't want this getting out of hand." the Prince replied, "Minister Farin and Minister Eltar, do you have anything to add?"
Minister Eltar spoke first, "With the surge in population, crime has been much more difficult to keep up with, I'd like to speak with Captain Viscen, in order to allocate more Guardsmen for strictly law enforcement purposes, instead of just standing at the gates."
"I'll make it so." replied the Prince, "Minister Farin? Anything on your part?"
"Only what one could expect with the sudden rise in population, class sizes have grown exponentially, more Instructors are needed, quite desperately I may add." Minister Farin took his seat, having said what he needed to.
"Minister Farin, I grant you free reign to recruit more instructors if need be, but I must approve of the final numbers."
"Thank you, my lord responded Minister Farin, taking a seat again.
The Prince's sights settled on Minister Ryos, "Ryos, did Ginthorne's message happen to contain the hero's name. by chance?"
oOo
Link, Kallil, and Oreck walked into town, the wagons had stopped outside, forcing most of the soldiers to walk back to their quarters.
"You'd think they'd at least get us through the gate." Oreck groaned, his damaged armor clanging, making it difficult to hear him.
Link walked ahead, he had slept on the wagon after all, it beat the walk to Kakariko he had endured, after using the power of the Triforce twice during battle he was feeling quite worn out, his friends didn't know about that, nor did they know that he's the Hero of Legend. which isn't something they'd believe anyway. Ginthorne, Elgon, Impa and Viscen were keeping it quite, making sure the soldiers who witnessed his display didn't say a thing to anyone else.
"Slow down." Link heard from Kallil, as he and Oreck did their best catch up.
"Sorry." Link added, slowing down, they had finally made their way into Old Castle Town, where their quarters were located, Link recognized it instantly, it hadn't changed much since his previous life, and he knew his way around instantly, he took a sharp right turn down a narrow alleyway, with Oreck and Kallil in pursuit.
"Link! Link! Where are we going?!" Oreck shouted as they swiftly moved to catch up to their friend.
"Just taking a shortcut I know about!" Link said, smiling while reflecting on his first time having used it, in order to sneak into the Hyrule Castle grounds to see Zelda, he wondered if that was still possible, or if they had blocked off those old avenues.
"Well..alright." said Oreck, not entirely believing that his friend knew where he was going.
"We're being followed..." said Kallil as he came to a halt.
"What?" replied Link and Oreck simultaneously.
"There's someone following us" Kallil stated, while looking around.
Suddenly a man dressed in all black dropped from the roof of a nearby building, landing in front of Link, his skin a dark tan, with his hair being white, and eyes a bright red, Oreck and Kallil drew their swords, but Link held out his hand, silently warning them not to do anything.
"He doesn't mean us any harm, he's a Sheikah, a servant of the Royal family. Link stated, clearly displaying knowledge gained during a distant past life.
"This is true." the man said, glancing at the three young men, "Mr. Link? Correct?"
"Yes?" Link answered, with a curious inflection in his voice.
"Prince Audrik would like to meet with you immediately." the Sheikah man stated.
Link smiled with satisfaction, he would be going to the Castle sooner than he anticipated, he barely expected the Prince to remember him, let alone invite him to the Castle, his excitement grew, realizing he'd be reunited with Zelda. "Lead the way!" Link said with a smile, almost forgetting his friends were still behind him.
"What about us?" Oreck asked.
"The Prince did not request the presence of any other Guardsmen." the Sheikah man stated.
"We don't know the rest of the way to the quarters, you can't just leave us here." Kallil stated, looking at Link expectantly.
Link was starting to grow exasperated, the only thing standing in between the Princess and him, were Oreck and Kallil, he had many friends in his past lives, and while he hated to say it, after regaining his memories it was difficult to stay close with his current friends, knowing that eventually they will fade into his memories as people he knew in one of his past lives, never to see them again. However though, Link was a kind and caring individual, seeing Kallil's point, he turned to the Sheikah man. "Would you mind walking with us while I show my friends the way to the soldier's quarters?"
"As you wish, Mr. Link." he answered plainly.
It didn't take long to reach the Soldier's Quarter's, Oreck and Kallil had been quiet the entire time, obviously intimidated by the Sheikah man, who merely followed behind, observing. When they finally reached the soldier's quarters, Link turned to his friends.
"Think you can remember the way?" he said with a smile.
"I think so." Kallil said making his way inside.
Oreck remained outside, Kallil stopped and waited for him, Oreck spoke, "So what? You're just going to go off and have fun with the Prince while we stay here?"
Everyone was silent, Link turned to the Sheikah man, who instantly responded.
"If you wish to come as a guest of Mr. Link, I believe that could be arranged."
Link's annoyance began to grow, his friend's presence would only get in the way of him seeing the Princess again.
"No thanks." Oreck responded, "I just want "Mr. Link" to remember who his friends are." Oreck said, glaring at Link.
Kallil looked over to his friend, "After getting some rest we can go look around, maybe find a pub." He said to Oreck, attempting to defuse the situation, Oreck simply walked inside the quarters without a word, with Kallil about to follow.
"Excuse me." the Sheikah man suddenly said, "In the alleyway...how did you notice me?"
"You're shadow moved over head once when you leapt to another building, I saw you duck behind and arch as we moved too."
"Oh...I am...not used to being spotted, you have a very keen eye."
"Thank you...Sir" replied Kallil, not sure how to address the Sheikah.
"I'll catch up with you and Oreck later!" Link shouted to Kallil as he walked away with the Sheikah man. Kallil nodded in Link's direction and went inside the Soldier's quarters.
Without warning the Sheikah ran to a nearby wall and kicked off of it, propelling himself onto a ledge, from which he pulled himself up onto a nearby rooftop, he looked at Link, and beckoned for him to follow. Link imitated the act, barely being able to make the jump to the rooftop.
"In my former life I would have been able to do that easily." Link thought, as he reflected on how he wasn't in as good of shape in this life as he was in his last, he'd remedy that quickly though. He followed the Sheikah across the rooftops, down through alleyways, and though vacant buildings every now and then, when suddenly the Sheikah man came to a halt on a roof top near the Castle wall.
"What is it?" Link asked, afraid the Sheikah had spotted a threat.
"You were in attendance at the Battle of Kakariko, yes?"
"I was." Link confirmed.
"My tribe's leader, Impa...was she there...was she alright?"
Link recalled her bursting from a cellar, the surviving Kakariko Guardsmen with her. "Yeah, aside from a few cuts and bruises she seemed alright." Link answered.
The Sheikah man breathed a sigh of relief, "We've always been afraid she would meet her end in battle." admitted the Sheikah man, "There are so few of us that remain, to lose her would be a crippling blow." he said, as he cast his eyes downward.
Link remembered the first time he heard mention of the Sheikah's population dwindling, it had been three lifetimes ago. "How many Sheikah remain?" Link asked softly.
The Sheikah man closed his eyes, "Only seven of us remain."
Link was stunned, he looked upon the Sheikah man, his posture giving away the internal sadness he felt. "I'm so sorry." Link added.
"It's something we've come to terms with, that our next generation may be the Sheikah's last", the Sheikah man suddenly looked up, "Right now I must accomplish my duties to the Royal Family, though, please follow me."
Link followed the Sheikah as he jumped down from the rooftop and headed to the Castle Gate, seeing Link with the Shiekah man, the Guards let them pass without any resistance, making it into the courtyard Link found himself face to face with the Prince once again.
"Mr. Link, how nice it is to see you again!" the Prince said with a smile, "Thank you for fetching him, Oren" the Prince said as he nodded towards the Sheikah, "You are dismissed."
"It was nice to meet you, Mr. Link, the Shiekah said before he began walking back towards the Castle.
"Come with me." the Prince said as he motioned towards Link.
The two began walking through the courtyard, and towards the Castle's garden, with the Prince leading the way.
"I received word from Sir Ginthorne that you fared well in battle, I was happy to hear this...Hero of Legend." the Prince said as he turned to face Link.
"Ginthorne has already told you?" Link asked, wondering when he made it back.
"Yes, he sent a raven with a message this morning, telling us of the battle's events, imagine my surprise when I learned my friend from the training yard was the Hero of Legend, although with the way you fought, I had my suspicions. Congratulations on besting the Dragon Knight by the way, you're the first of our men to defeat him, it could only be you."
"Thank you, your grace." Link replied, "What do you mean it could only be me?"
"The Dragon Knight has proven too much for even our strongest warriors, it was obvious he could only be bested by the Hero of Legend himself." the Prince answered. "I wish for you to stay here at the Castle, that way you'll be the first to know of events, and you'll be able to intervene if he attacks."
"You mean Ganondorf?" Link asked, a tone of anger in his voice.
"Yes. the Prince replied, "We don't use his name much, it's assumed it's bad luck. The Prince continued to speak as he and Link strolled through the Castle grounds, "You see, your arrival is a bittersweet thing, you've come to save us, but there's also the fact that your appearance signifies that there is a large threat looming, gathering somewhere in our land." the Prince explained stopping near a a large bush with blue flowers adorning it.
"I understand." Link said, "I won't let Ganondorf get close this time, I'll make sure he's dead before he gets the chance.", Link's eyes narrowed in determination, his many encounters with Ganondorf, and the many forms he's taken flashing through Link's head, Link's anger growing as he remembered all the times his arch-nemesis hurt Zelda. That reminded him, Zelda! he needed to see her, but before he could ask, he noticed three servants on the ledge above him, hanging banners and lanterns from said ledge.
A tall, balding man rounded the corner shouting directions, "No! Not there you imbecile! It's too close to the other! And adjust that banner, it's crooked! Do you want me to tell the Prince what manner of fools you are?!, I would assume not, so please do as I say, or I will come up there AND SHOW YOU HOW TO DO IT!" He quickly stopped the moment he saw Link and the Prince standing before him, their faces showing they were slightly stunned by his display.
"I am...um...glad to see you're taking this so seriously Minister Hawkwood." the Prince stated as he regarded the Minister.
"My apologies for my abrasive demeanor. my lord." Minister Hawkwood said
"All is forgiven, Minister." the Prince said with a smile, "I'd like you to meet a good friend of mine, Mr. Link." the Prince said, gesturing to Link.
"It nice to meet you, Sir." Minister Hawkwood said as he addressed Link, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Minister of Royal Affairs...and apparently the impromptu event coordinator, Antholous Hawkwood."
"I am pleased to make your acquaintance." Link said as he shook the Minister's hand.
"Well, Minister Hawkwood, Mr. Link and I will be moving on, please continue preparation for the festival." the Prince said, a grin adorning his face. As Link and the Prince walked away they could hear Minister Hawkwood begin berating the servants again for "poor lantern arrangement".
"What did he mean by "Impromptu Event Coordinator?" Link asked curiously.
"While technically not his job, I knew he'd do well directing the servants." Prince Audrik laughed, "They all now how temperamental he can be, so they follow his orders to the best of their abilities." The Prince explained, still quite amused by the display.
"I've been meaning to ask, what is the festival celebrating? Link asked.
"It's the annual celebration of the Summer season coming to Hyrule." the Prince explained, "I believe the celebration became tradition about two centuries ago, it's customary for the reigning regent to personally invite the Rulers of the neighboring lands, which is why my sister is away, and I am left to attend to those boring council meetings, and entertain dreadful nobles." The Prince explained as he narrowed his eyes, "Heh, Nobles.." he said to himself, looking off into the distance.
A wave of dismay washed over Link, it had been 291 years since he last saw Zelda, and now he was forced to wait even longer as she was away, not even within Hyrule's borders. "Excuse my interruption , Prince, but...when will your sister be returning?" Link asked, the disappointment clearly evident in his voice.
The Prince spun around, looking Link straight in the eyes, "Excuse my...insensitivity, I forgot to mention my sister was away, I have studied Hyrule's history, I should have recalled sooner, in every one of your lifetimes you and the Princess are, how should I put this?...romantically inclined towards each other. My sister will return soon, I am sure!" the Prince reassured Link. Suddenly the Prince's eyes narrowed, he leaned back slightly, and cocked his head to the side, "This would mean you wish to court my sister, yes?"
Link felt uncomfortable with the way the Prince looked upon him, "I..uh...yes, in all of our lives, we found love and comfort in each other's arms, just her presence filled me with happiness, I won't lie to you, I very much look forward to seeing Zelda again..." Link trailed off, seeing that Audrik's expression had changed slightly, with one eyebrow raised, and the other one lowered.
"...Well Mr. Link, I'd just like you to know that while you court her...I shall be watching to make sure you treat her right."
Link looked at the Prince, he had never dealt with this before, he had once been forced to sneak into Hyrule Castle to see Zelda, as the King objected to her carrying on with a lowborn, even if he was "The Hero of Legend", but never before had he dealt with a protective brother. "I..um...of course." Link replied cordially.
The Prince looked at Link, a smirk formed on his lips as burst out laughing, placing his hands on his knees for a moment, he looked up, "Excuse me Hero, but the look on your face was ever so amusing!" he said as he continued laughing, Link cracked a smile and began laughing too, causing much attention to be drawn to them as they entered the Castle's main hall.
"So, Mr, Link, Hero of Legend, will you take up residence at the Castle? I shall have a servant attend to you and let you know immediately when my sister returns!"
"I would like to...but I'm just a Guardsmen, how could I stay here?" Asked Link, his expression dropping, dreading the thought of his reunion with Zelda being delayed further.
The Prince stared at him, "Sir, you do realize I am the Prince, and I can do whatever the hell it is I want, correct? Pardon me for speaking so freely."
Link stared for a moment, caught off guard by the Prince's remark. "I do realize that." he said with a laugh, "If you will have me, I do wish to stay." Link said with a smile.
"Excuse me!" Audrik shouted to a nearby servant, "Find my guest reasonable accommodations!"
"Right away, my Lord!" the servant answered as they ran off to prepare a room for Link.
"I've been wondering..." Link said to Audrik, after recalling Impa's words, telling him the Princess regained her memories, "You do know that the Princess...your sister and I retain our memories from previous lives, yes?"
"I do recall reading about it, why do you ask?" asked the Prince
"Back in Kakariko Village, Impa told me Zelda regained her memories, I would just like to confirm this." Link said, looking at Audrik.
The Prince placed his hand on his chin, pondering his friend's question. "Three years ago, when I was 15 and my sister was 17, she acted the way you'd expect most Princesses to, pardon me for saying this, but she was quite arrogant and acted quite spoiled, it was difficult to get a long with her, but on her 18th birthday her demeanor changed completely, she became kind and quite happy, she provided wisdom some might say was beyond her years, the change was drastic and easy to notice, I would say it's safe to assume she remembers now, and is quite eager to see you again, Hero." the Prince explained.
Link could remember the lifetimes in which he'd been older than Zelda, waiting for her to regain her memories was difficult, he was glad he didn't have to do so in this era. Link laughed to himself, also glad he din't have to meet her the when she was the way Audrik described her. Just then a servant ran down to the Prince.
"My Lord, a raven has arrived with a message for you!", the servant presented Audrik with the message, as he quickly thanked, and dismissed the servant as the message was transferred to his hands.
Link watched the Prince's eyes move along the letter until he refolded it, and lowered his hands. "If I may ask, what is the subject of the letter?" Link asked, quite curious.
"Good news for you my friend, my sister has made her last stop in Holodrum, and is on her way back, she eagerly awaits my reply." Prince Audrik said with a smile. "I shall tell her of your arrival!" he said enthusiastically, "That will raise her spirits, she was quite unhappy to learn of the events at Kakariko village!" Audrik looked at Link and handed him the letter, "I thought you might want to read it, Mr. Link."
Link looked it over, a smile coming to his face as her recognized her handwriting, he had always admired it, it brought him joy knowing he'd see her again soon.
"Well, shall we send a reply?" asked Audrik enthusiastically.
"I'd like that." Link said with a smile.
Link read over Audrik's shoulder as he wrote, he grew confused as Audrik had mentioned Impa, but not him, "I can't help but notice you didn't write of my arrival." Link said, concerned.
"I thought about it, but it's no mistake I didn't mention you, hero, would it not be grand to surprise her with your presence?" Prince Audrik asked.
"I quite like the idea actually." said Link, regarding the Prince's suggestion.
"Very well!" the Prince called out, he folded up the message and tied it to the raven's leg, offering his arm to it, the raven stepped onto his forearm, after making his way to the window, Audrik cast it open, allowing the raven to fly back to Holodrum, back to Zelda.
"Now Mr. Link, I am quite tired, rest is calling my name, so to speak, I will see you on the morrow." the Prince said as he gestured toward a servant, "Tamar will take you to your quarters, sleep well, my friend." the Prince said as he made his way from his office to his own quarters.
Link followed the servant down the hall, they stopped in front of a room with an ornate door, branded with the Triforce seal.
"Here you are sir, I hope you enjoy you're accommodations, Tamar said as she opened the door for Link, and began to walk away. Link walked into the room, admiring it, he had never stayed in a room so nice in his life...well in this life, he fell on the bed, now dressed in the night clothes he was provided with, he began to drift off to sleep, not having rested since the wagon ride back to Castle Town. sleep slowly took him as images of Zelda entered his mind, memories of their lives together serving as his dreams.
oOo
Here we are again! Chapter 4 this time! I hope you enjoyed it!
I'd like to thank Bookwormsrule and elf warrior knight for your reviews, thank you for your advice, it's greatly appreciated :)
Also thank you for your kind words on my characters, Bookwormsrule!
I'd just like to explain that the character ,Captain Viscen is not one of my own, he was a very obscure character in Majora's Mask, he was only found in the mayor's office, arguing with he, and Mutoh.
As for those wondering what Sir Ginthorne looks like, I imagined him to be like the Bazaar owner in OoT!
As for Elgon and other original characters, I'll trust your imagination will do them justice!
Thank you for reading!
-Prometheus17