Ok, well I know its sorta been a long time coming, but here it is! The first actual chapter of Hyrule Warriors! Yay! For our first one, we have mostly character development, introductions, plot building and some foreshadowing, plus fleshing out the intro of the game a whole lot cause I needed to. But before we begin I would just like to say how AMAZED I am by all of the support you guys have given me. 29 FOLLOWERS FOR 1 CHAPTER!? DANG! I can't even begin to express how stupefied I am by that, and so I promise to make this as awesome as I can! And so, I would like to take the time to thank everyone who has followed/favorited so far: BluBlazeDragon, Burning Light and Crystal, Calmia Mind, Darknight48, DarthBane15, Delicate Strawberry Sama, Elemental-Aura, Farli30519, Flameshield, GerudoSpirit, JazalGoldmane, Larsmen, Lovely girl 10, Marasia, MeIIonCoIIie, Nintendoman01, RandomButLoved, Silver2350, WAM-Hope, Zelda the Wise, bobolobo, carlosraruto, erico637, gamer55551, jridge, kittykruger, whitworth5274, x102reddragon, .tsubasa19, CupcakePride101, GO ZeldaXLink, Legendoffun, Legionary Prime, ToxicChey13, espeonlover, and kittykruger! I seriously cannot say it enough, but THANK YOU! And, thank you also to all 16 of you who reviewed so far!

MeIIonCoIIie: That face... its intrigued, is it not? ;D

Lovely girl 10: Thanks! I plan on diverting from the gave in some places, but I do intend on sticking with the basic storyline, just so you'll know what to expect.

Legionary Prime: I love love LOVE the designs for Link and Zelda in HW! I agree in saying they are my favorite depictions of them ever! :D

Zelda the Wise: Thanks! And I'm sure you can catch up before I get towards the end, since it will probably be quite a while! And yes, I do plan on giving the plot a great deal more attention and beefing it up quite a bit... ;)

WAM-Hope: Yeah, that's exactly why I want to write a novelization of it! And oh believe me; while the main ship here will be Zelink, I do plan on finding ways to throw in some snippets of Link/Cia (because that's one of my new OTPs personally!) and some Link/Lana as well... ;)

RandomButLoved: I liked that there was a narrator in the game; thought it was a nice change of pace and I hope it opens up more doors for voice acting in future Zelda games. And yeah, basically I plan on combining stuff from the game with my own original ideas, so I hope you like it. And as far as Cia goes, imagine how I depicted Veress or Veran and just up the crazy levels like 100% and throw in a stalker crush for Link while you're at it (just kidding! I do plan on making Cia's character deep and interesting though!) And yes! I have read Heartbreaker and absolutely loved it!

Catnip101: So am I! :D

Marasia: I think so too! I hope you'll enjoy!

Valkyrie Elysia: Well, here you go! :D

Nintendoman01: Oh yes it certainly is wonderful! :D I could pretty much play it forever (or at least until I finish Adventure mode, which I still haven't done!)

GO ZeldaXLink: Yeah, I loved Hyrule Warriors from the moment I saw that first trailer months ago! Haha! And as far as W&C goes, I plan on working on it after I post this, then L&S, and then another chapter for this, sorta in that order, or depending on whatever I really feel like writing.

CupcakePride101: Yeah, I was careful not to spoil the game for myself until I played it, and so I was quite surprised in several parts! But thanks! Hope you enjoy!

silverhawk88: If I could think of a way to add it after L&S, that would be totally awesome. Possibly writing a sequel set in the aftermath of HW as a fourth entry into the trilogy could be interesting, but as this stands, its pretty much just a novelization and unconnected to the trilogy... :P

GerudoSpirit: Thanks! You kinda can't help but feel bad for Cia... :(

Legendoffun: So do I! XD

DarthPhoenixFire: I love HW too! Hope you enjoy! :D

Wooo, that took a while, but it was worth it for you guys! Again, thank you all so much! I know that you will love this story just as much as I already love writing it (seriously this first chapter was a BLAST to write!). And so, before we begin, I'd like to say that the very beginning of this chapter is set like ten years before HW, with adorable little kid Zelda because I thought that would be a cute intro. And so, without any further ado, LET'S GET STARTED!

Chapter 1: Armies of Ruin

The little princess of Hyrule patiently sat in bed as she awaited her guardian to come tuck her in as she did every night. No more than eight, the young royal kept her eyes trained on the door of her room as she folded her hands above her soft, downy covers and hummed her lullaby to herself to pass the time. Her Sheikah guardian always seemed to like to keep her waiting on the nights that she had promised to tell her a story, but the princess didn't mind. After all, she knew that it would be worth the wait.

Soon enough, the princess's most devoted attendant soon arrived, much to her uncontainable delight. The Sheikah woman gave the princess a warm smile in greeting before striding over to her bedside and taking a seat as she usually did. "Good evening, princess," she said, noticing how the royal had begun shifting anxiously in her sheets. "Are you ready for bed?"

"Impa!" the princess huffed impatiently, pouting at the mere suggesting of sleep. "You promised you'd tell me a story first!"

Impa grinned and nodded, knowing that there was no getting out of any sort of promise she made to the princess. "Yes, I did," the Sheikah woman, who was only in her early twenties, replied. "What story would you like to hear, Zelda? A tale from the Gorons? Perhaps an old Zora fable? Maybe an ancient Kokiri rhyme?"

"No, no!" Zelda shook her head, her bright blue eyes alight with excitement, as she had already thought this through. "Tell me a story passed down by the Sheikah!"

"A Sheikah tale, hm?" Impa grinned slightly, knowing that stories handed down through her race were quite popular with the young princess. "Well, I might be able to remember one that we pass down every hundred years or so… If you'd like to hear it."

"Yes!" the princess exclaimed with a huge smile, clasping her hands together with excitement, for she knew that her guardian always told the best stories. "Please, Impa, tell it to me!"

"Very well then," the Sheikah guardian said as she prepared to tell her tale. "There are many tales passed down by the Sheikah tribe, but this is one of our most treasured and ancient," she began somewhat dramatically, appealing to the young princess's wide imagination. "It is foretold that there is a constant cycle that repeats throughout Hyrule's history, one that binds two souls together to untie against another. It all began when this land was besieged by a vicious attack from a great evil, centuries ago. Darkness covered all, but when it seemed as though hope had died and the hour of doom was at hand, a great hero arose and restored peace and light to the frightened people. Wielding the blade of evil's bane, he pushed the dark one away, and, with the aid of the princess of Hyrule, sealed its dark power. However, the dark one was indignant; it refused to give up its claim to power so easily. And so, it cursed the souls of the hero and the princess, vowing that it would constantly be reborn alongside them, until it could wipe them both out of existence. And indeed, the hero and the princess were born again, many times throughout Hyrule's history, along with the evil one. And yet in every age, they managed to defeat the evil one and give peace to Hyrule once more, never failing in their shared destiny of keeping the land safe. And would you like to know how?"

"Yes!" Zelda said with wide eyes, completely engrossed in Impa's tale.

"Because they had each other," she concluded with a small smile. "Through the deep bond that they shared, they were able to triumph over any and all darkness they faced. And because of that, they were able to bring hope to Hyrule in each and every age."

The princess smiled contently upon hearing such lovely, romantic notions, though she understood that the story was over and it was time for bed as Impa rose to stand. "Goodnight, your highness," the Sheikah guardian said with a soft smile as she tucked the princess securely into bed.

However, as Impa dimmed the candlelight on the nightstand and turned to leave the room, Zelda called out to her with one last question. "Impa?"

"Yes, princess?"

"Do you think I'll meet a hero someday and restore peace to Hyrule with him?" she asked a bit drowsily, though the thought of being involved in something so romantic and heroic enticed her innocent excitement.

Impa frowned slightly, knowing what else came along with such things, things that she had not told Zelda for she was too young to hear them now. "Perhaps someday…" she said ambiguously as she closed the door, leaving the princess to sleep for the night before she let out a long sigh and muttered her last statement to herself. "But I pray that you will never have to face such a cruel fate, child…"

Ten Years Later…

The grassy meadow was filled with both warm, luscious sunlight and the light, lofty sounds of harp strings trilling through the area. The princess of Hyrule smiled contentedly to herself as she gently played her lullaby upon her beloved golden instrument, cherishing the rich sound that it produced as she looked around her, seeing all of the beauty she was surrounded with. Her kingdom was truly a sight to behold, with its rolling green hills, distant, high-peaked mountains, pure blue streams, and the shining silhouette of the castle's pristine towers rising high several miles away. With a sigh of satisfaction, Zelda closed her eyes and breathed it all in, wishing that she could freeze this beautiful scene of her peaceful, prosperous land in time forever, since this was the sort of Hyrule she had always known throughout all her eighteen years.

However, as the princess had her eyes closed, she failed to see the brilliant blue skies suddenly blacken and a vile presence begin to overtake the land. She didn't notice these things until the sounds of nature singing along her harp's song suddenly silenced all at once, and that the ground beneath her feet began to rumble subtly. Troubled by this drastic change, Zelda ceased her song and opened her eyes, seeing the shadows that had covered the land all around her, filling her heart with an unspeakable fear. For some reason, her gaze was directed away from her harp and instead guided to the fields stretched out before her, where she was greeted with a horrifying sight.

A great expanse of pitch-black shadows covered the land for as far as the eye could see, banishing all forms of light and instead bringing with it a cloud of darkness and evil. Zelda gasped as she noticed that this cloud of malevolence was not stationary; with each passing second, it was growing closer and closer to her position, threatening to swallow her up as well, along with the rest of her kingdom.

The princess's flight instinct immediately kicked in, even though she had no idea what this darkness was or where it had come from. Her harp slipped out of her grasp as she began to back away from it warily, and the moment she realized that the shadows had no intentions of stopping, she turned on her heel and began to run away from it for the sake of her life, not even seeing as the darkness ate up her treasured harp as it lay on the ground behind her.

Her heart pounding with adrenaline, Zelda raced away from the inky blackness, glancing behind her every now and then to measure the distance that separated her from it. Fear and dread coursed through her veins as she ran as fast as her legs could carry her, but it was quickly becoming apparent that would not be fast enough to escape this encroaching darkness. All too soon, the shadows swelled menacingly above her, before they began to crash down upon her like an ocean wave. The princess let out a scream of terror as she felt the cold tendrils of darkness pull her down, until they finally consumed her and her kingdom entirely.

Zelda's frightened scream carried over from the world of her nightmare into the waking world as she awakened with a start, springing upright into a sitting position upon her bed. Her breathing was still small and shallow as she looked around her bedroom with wide eyes, looking for any signs of the despicable darkness that haunted her dreams, but finding only the soft morning light streaming in through her balcony window.

Before the princess could even collect her thoughts, her door burst open, startling her even more.

"Princess! What's wrong?! Are you alright?!" her concerned guardian asked, looking around the room as she tightly gripped the small knife that she always kept on hand in place of her giant blade and glanced around for any signs of possible danger.

Zelda let out a sigh as she relaxed, running a hand through her long blonde locks. "Yes, Impa, I am alright…" she said, trying to convince herself more than Impa. "But… I have to admit that I am worried… That same nightmare that I told you about keeps haunting me…"

Impa nodded solemnly, understanding the princess's concern. "I see…" she said, taking a step closer to the Zelda's bedside. "And you say that these shadows that chase you in your dream, they get faster and faster each time, yes?"

Zelda nodded. "Yes, every time," she said, biting her lip anxiously. "And this time, they even caught up with me! I wish I knew what they meant…"

"Hm…" the Sheikah guardian mused thoughtfully, before coming to a conclusion that she hoped was false. "An omen, perhaps, of dark times ahead for Hyrule…"

"Dark times?" the princess wondered with a frown, praying that her kingdom would not have to face any such hardships or troubles. If there was one thing that Zelda absolutely hated, it was having to see her kingdom or her people under any sort of threat. It was for that reason that she had asked Impa to train her in the ways of battle several years ago, so that she would not sit idly by while Hyrule was under siege. The princess wanted to be prepared in case she ever had to fight for her beloved kingdom's safety.

Impa also frowned upon noticing Zelda's worried expression. "Do not fret, your highness," she said consolingly, placing a hand on the young royal's shoulder. "Whatever is about to befall Hyrule, remember that there is hope for this land, no matter what…"

The princess smiled slightly upon hearing this, though her fears were still not set to ease, as the Sheikah guardian could tell. Ever since she was appointed to the position as Zelda's caretaker and advisor years ago, Impa's highest priority was keeping the princess both safe and happy, two things that were not difficult tasks considering the fact that Zelda had always been kind, intelligent and well-mannered since her childhood. And yet, she had always hoped that the princess would never have to face the same darkness that her ancestors had battled against across the ages, knowing that it was an incredibly dangerous and daunting task indeed. But fortunately, Impa knew that if Zelda was going to be one of the fated ones, at the very least she would not be alone in counteracting this darkness.

"However," the Sheikah guardian continued after a beat of silence. "If your premonitions are indeed true, perhaps it is finally time…"

"Oh, Impa, you don't mean…?" Zelda trailed off, already understanding from the countless stories that her guardian had told her throughout her childhood.

"Yes," Impa said gravely, already glancing towards the princess's desk across the room, where a set of rather iconic clothing rested, folded neatly. Zelda also directed her gaze there, looking upon the clothes that had been passed down protected by the royal family for generation. "Perhaps it is time that we locate… him…"

The princess kept her gaze locked on the clothes as she slowly and silently slipped out of bed and came to stand near the desk along with her guardian. Both of them said nothing for what seemed like ages as they looked upon the clothes and thought about how important they were and exactly what they symbolized. However, before too long, Impa finally took notice of the piece of blue fabric peeking out from underneath the green tunic on top, something that aroused her curiosity, though Zelda already knew well what it was.

In confusion, the Sheikah guardian gently pulled the long strip of blue out of the pile, holding the fabric in her hands and noting how it was newly-sown compared to the rest of the ancient clothes. "Zelda…" she began with a hint of exasperation, raising an eyebrow at the princess. "What is this?"

A small smile played upon Zelda's light pink lips as she looked upon her creation, admittedly proud of the gold and red stitch work of the royal crest she had labored many hours over towards the bottom of the blue stretch of cloth. "A scarf…" she said somewhat sheepishly, noting the unamused look that Impa was giving her, for the Sheikah guardian always hated breaking tradition. "Oh, come on, Impa!" she protested, not even needing Impa to say anything to know that she didn't approve. "I worked so hard on it! I just thought it might be a nice change, you know? A way to differentiate him from the ones of the past, maybe even a sort of tribute in a way. What harm could it possibly do?"

The Sheikah guardian sighed and shook her head, though she could not hide her growing grin. "I suppose you're right," she said as she folded the scarf neatly and tucked it under the tunic with care. "After all, it matters little what he wears as long as he bears the right qualities. Hyrule will need his strength if it is to be threatened by darkness once more…" Solemnly, Impa turned towards the stained glass windows lining the walls and looked at the colored light streaming in through them. Zelda followed her gaze and let out a soft sigh, hoping that the shadows that haunted her dream would not destroy the light that her kingdom needed to survive.

"Which is exactly why we must make haste and find him…" Impa continued with finality, confirming Zelda's thoughts and fears all at once. "The reborn Spirit of the Hero…"

Impa sighed inaudibly as she glanced ahead towards Zelda, who walked a few steps before her. She had been opposed to this suggestion ever since the princess had mentioned it, but she knew that there would be no arguing with the headstrong royal. The Sheikah guardian couldn't fathom why the princess took so much pride in the Hylian army; after all, most of the soldiers that composed it were little more than spineless cowards, far too afraid to get into any kind of fray for the sake of the kingdom and its royal family. Only the highest ranking officers, those who directly served under Impa, were actually considered to be of any worth, since they had years of experience behind them, and they had been trained to leap into battle without a moment's doubt.

And yet, the elite forces were not the group that Zelda had proposed looking for the next chosen hero amongst. She had asked Impa if they could go out among the new recruits, the freshest faces of the army, many of whom still did not properly know how to even wield a sword yet. The Sheikah guardian had not questioned the princess's judgment quite yet, but she knew that if trouble was indeed about to befall Hyrule, then it would be better if they found the chosen hero sooner than later, and certainly he wouldn't be among the lackluster newest of the new.

Glancing down over the side of the wall of the upper walkway they were striding along, Impa silently observed the new recruits along with Zelda, trying to figure out what she might have seen in any of them. She could tell from the princess's thoughtful expression that she was seeing something that she wasn't amongst the ranks of relatively young men as they trained within the lower courtyard. And yet Zelda's light blue eyes were hopeful and full of examination, watching with careful interest as the practiced their sword play and skills, as un-honed and basic as they were.

"Princess, are you quite certain about this?" Impa finally spoke up, her doubt clearly showing in her tone. "They're only new recruits, barely even enlisted. I doubt that we will find any fully-fledged heroes here."

"Maybe not," Zelda said, keeping her eyes trained on the soldiers as she spoke. "But what can it hurt to look?"

The Sheikah guardian sighed with a frown, casting another gaze upon the constantly training troops. "Forgive me for saying so, princess, but I believe we would be wiser looking elsewhere," she said dismissively, shaking her head as she turned her red-eyed gaze away from the recruits.

The princess frowned to herself upon hearing her guardian's doubts, knowing that they were founded and yet she wanted to believe that they would find someone of worth amongst the group of stalwart soldiers she saw before her. Something inside of her, be it instinct or something else, had told her that this was the right place to look, even if she had not found a sign of any sort of chosen hero yet. Perhaps her instincts had been wrong, but she could have sworn by the feeling that she had gotten earlier that she was exactly on the mark.

However, no more than a second later, both Zelda and Impa were broken out of their respective thoughts as a sudden clatter sounding out from nearby caught their attention. Intrigued by this interruption from the humdrum of the usual sounds of the training yard, the princess ran ahead of Impa, who was still following behind her and thinking little of the commotion. With wondering eyes, Zelda leaned over the stone wall of the walkway and looked down, watching with interest at the scene playing out before her.

A group of recruits was gathered near the eastern wall of the courtyard, crowded together in a wide circle as they appeared to be spectating on a sparring match. Two figures stood apace from one another, baring practice weapons and prepared to duel under the supervision of a training captain. Such a scene normally would have not peaked the princess's attention so much, but she found two things that specifically prompted her to continue watching: the fact that the other soldiers were making such a commotion over this spar for some reason, and the fact that one of the two soldiers who were about to fight caught her eye for a number of reasons.

Even from far away, Zelda could see that he was a young man, about her age. What struck her from a first glance though was not only the fact that, unlike his peers, he chose not to wear the traditional soldier's helmet along with his uniform, but also his confident posture and certain stance; the way he held his wooden sword and shield was perfect, as if he had years of practice, and before the skirmish even began, the princess could already tell that he would emerge the victor.

With keen interest, Zelda kept her eyes trained on this young man and nothing else, to the point that she did not even hear the shouts of encouragement from the other soldiers cheering from the sidelines. Instead, she merely watched as the other soldier rushed towards him with adequate speed, though the focus in the young man's pose was clearly evident. In a movement so fast the princess barely saw it, he raised his shield and firmly blocked the other soldier's spear, the tip of it colliding with the wooden surface squarely. With solid strength, the young man pushed the spear back with his shield and, as the other soldier swung broadly towards him, he leapt high into the air, with an agility and skill that surprised even the princess, who had years of fighting experience herself. And finally, with a crisp, powerful shout, the young man pounced down upon his opponent, his wooden sword meeting squarely with the other soldier's metal helmet with enough force to knock him unconscious instantly.

Zelda's jaw dropped in amazement as she watched the young man skillfully back flip away from his now-defeated opponent, having never seen such raw talent in one of her soldiers before. She was completely bewildered by this young man, who certainly had to be a fresh recruit, and yet he wielded a blade as though he was a master. As the young man sheathed his practice sword and put away his shield, the princess continued to watch him carefully, only now hearing some of the calls of congratulations that the other soldiers were sending towards him. "Great job, Link!" one of the soldiers called out, finally giving Zelda a name to place with this intriguing young man.

"Link…" she whispered thoughtfully to herself, realizing that his name sounded familiar, though she could not place exactly where.

However, it was in that moment that Link just so happened to glance up at Zelda's direction and see that the princess had been staring at him. For what seemed like ages, their eyes met, and both of their minds went completely blank.

Now that she could see him directly, the princess realized that not only was this new recruit exceedingly skilled, but she had to admit that he was very handsome as well. He had strikingly light blue eyes, sharp and very intense to match the rest of his good-looking features. His golden hair, uncovered by any sort of helmet, was naturally windblown mostly to one side and slightly disheveled thanks to the brief skirmish he had just won. As Zelda had previously noted, he had a strong, yet lean, solid frame, and from what she could guess from looking down at him from above, he was most likely taller than her. But nonetheless, the princess was fascinated with him for some reason, and a part of her wanted to rush down into the courtyard immediately and ask him where he had learned to fight so well, even though she knew that Impa most likely wouldn't let her get her hopes too high.

Despite the fact that he had only been within the ranks of the Hylian army for about a month or so, Link, like all loyal Hylians, instantly knew who Princess Zelda was the moment he saw her, and he was completely amazed that she was staring directly at him. The young recruit did not take a large amount of pride in his abilities, but he did have some fighting experience from before joining the army and it had served him well so far, though he never thought that he would have even been skilled enough to catch the eye of Hyrule's princess. And though he knew that it was most likely an offence against her royal highness to stare at her directly, he found that he was unable to remove his gaze from her as she looked upon him. Word of Princess Zelda's beauty spread far and wide across the kingdom, but no rumors could compare to how lovely she was truly was in the flesh. Her light azure eyes were gentle, yet captivating, and the rest of her features were soft against her flawless pale complexion. Her long, sunshine blonde hair flowed down her back and glistened in the morning sun, its ends tied up into a neat braid behind her and her golden tiara resting upon her head, signifying her position. She was clad in clothes that were suited for both battle and for royalty, though the only parts of it that Link could really see because of the wall she was peering at him over from where her golden shoulder plates and sturdy chest armor.

At the moment, both of them expressed the same look of awe and interest; Zelda's came from the fight she had just witnessed and the skill that she had just seen Link display, and Link's came from the fact that Princess Zelda herself was for some reason paying attention to an inexperienced recruit like him.

However, their tight gaze was soon broken apart as the sound of fast approaching footsteps sounded across the walkway that Zelda and Impa were on. Both women turned to see one of the captains rushing towards them breathlessly, falling to the ground before the princess and bowing low, as was customary.

"Your highness!" the captain began between heavy breaths, his voice frazzled and nervous. "A horde of monsters is approaching Hyrule Castle!"

"What?!" Impa exclaimed, exchanging a disbelieving glance with Zelda, whose look of awe had changed to one of immediate horror, before instantly switching to one of resolve.

"It looks as though the time has come sooner than we expected," she said to her guardian gravely, though she refused to let darkness consume her kingdom. She was going to nip this threat in the bud, before any innocent lives were lost and before any part of her kingdom could see disaster. "Impa, prepare the troops for battle immediately!"

"Yes, princess," the Sheikah guardian nodded solemnly, turning to the captain and giving him a signal nod to spread the warning to the rest of the soldiers. The captain scrambled to his feet and raced off, and Impa followed not too far behind him.

Zelda's expression hardened as she thought of the potential danger her kingdom was facing at this very moment, but she knew that it could be stopped. There was always hope for Hyrule, not matter what evil it may face, a fact that the princess knew well. However, before she left to go prepare for the oncoming battle herself, she cast one more small glance towards the training yard, noticing how the rest of the soldiers had caught sight of her standing upon the battlement and observing them, a sight that was rare for recruits to see indeed.

Link continued to look up at the princess, this time noticing the worry hidden in her expression though, like the rest of the trainees, he had no idea what was about to befall Hyrule yet. "Whoa, isn't that the princess?" one of the other recruits nearby asked, finally causing Link to look away from Zelda for the first time in a while. All of the other soldiers seemed equally as amazed as he was that the princess of Hyrule herself had come to observe them, though of course, none of them could even begin to guess why.

"What's she wasting her time here with us for?" another trainee wondered, though by now Link had turned his attention back to Zelda, who looked directly at him once more and gave him what looked like a brief, small, yet confident smile before turning and walking away, a smile that she had hoped would convey a message that the young recruit had not managed to catch. A message that simply said: "You might be the one."

The elite forces of Hyrule's army stood at attention before the Castle's outer gates, but Zelda and Impa standing before them as they gazed out onto the field, immediately catching sight of the approaching threat. The skies surrounding the dark army that was heading straight towards the castle had turned grey and cloudy, most likely due to the aura of evil that was put off from it. The horde itself was composed of innumerable monsters, from bokoblins, stalchildren, lizalfos, poes, and more. The princess strained her eyes to see through the thick cloud of shadows that surrounded their bloodthirsty legion, but she could just barely make out the shapes of two mysterious figures rising above the creatures, most likely the leaders of this sudden attack. Zelda gripped her polished rapier tightly, but all the same, she refused to let this horde do any damage to her kingdom. With a grave expression, she turned to face her own army behind her, hoping to boost their morale and determination before the battle began.

"Go bravely into battle, my loyal knights," she said, speaking with benevolent authority. "Fight with valiance and with honor, and no matter what happens, do not give up until your final breath if that is what it takes to keep Hyrule safe!"

The soldiers cheered in response to her brief, encouraging speech, and, upon Impa's command, they rushed forth into the field, racing towards the enemy troops with their swords and spears raised high. Zelda and Impa lingered behind for a moment, watching before the two armies clashed and the battle began.

"What if they are not enough to combat this threat alone?" the Sheikah guardian asked the princess, referring to the army.

Zelda simply shook her head, her thoughts starting to drift back to the recruit she had watched earlier, Link, and wondering if he would be ready to fight until his last breath like the rest of her elite soldiers. "If that is the case and Hyrule truly does need a hero..." she said with confidence, poising her rapier before heading off into the fray herself. "Then one will certainly appear."

A feeling of both dread and fear filled the training yard of the new recruits, who had all made sure to barricade themselves safely within its sturdy walls as to avoid the threat that they had just been warned about. For most of the young men who made up the trainee ranks, they had never seen the heat of battle before, and most were too inexperienced and afraid to even want to at this point. Save for only one among them.

Link paced anxiously around the courtyard, his sword and shield already strapped to his back and ready for battle, as he awaited for one of their commanding officers to arrive and give the recruits further orders. Though the young trainee had never actually been in a real battle before, for some reason he felt strangely ready to go into this fray, even with the limited proper training he had received. Of course, he had been taught how to use a sword from the time he was very young thanks to his uncle, who had once been a high-ranking captain in the Hylian army himself and had been the young man's inspiration for enlisting when he was old enough. Link aspired to be just as good of a soldier as his now-deceased uncle had been, but like everyone else, he knew that he had to start at the bottom and work his way up.

However, even despite Link's own willingness to fight, it was quite apparent that the rest of his peers were not as enthusiastic as they stood around the training yard, all of them engaged in confused, nervous conversation with one another. The young recruit was able to hear some of their hushed questions, and the amount of doubt and fear in them made him seriously wonder if he was the only one among them ready to fight.

"Those monsters won't be able to get in here, right?!"

"I'm sure we'll be fine! The elite troops will be able to handle them easily!"

"So… I guess we just stay here and wait to hear what happened, then?"

Upon hearing such inactive questions like these, Link began to realize that there was a large chance that he might just have to go out onto the battlefield alone, without his fellow trainees or even a commanding officer, who were taking their sweet time in coming to give them any sort of orders about what to do next. As far as he could see, none of the other soldiers were even armed whatsoever, making him wonder even more what the recruit captain was waiting for. But nonetheless, Link knew that he could not simply wait around for further orders forever; if he didn't act quickly, the battle would soon be over, and there would be no way of knowing if the Hylian forces had won it or not. He couldn't help but think back to his encounter with the princess earlier, and how she had looked at not only him, but all of the recruits with both confidence and assurance, a look that said she believed that they would serve Hyrule greatly someday. Princess Zelda herself believed in them, she believed in him, and the young recruit was not about to let her down.

With resolve and purpose in his step, Link began to head towards the exit of the courtyard, knowing there was no more time to waste. However, before he left, a group of his fellow recruits happened to notice him, and they didn't hesitate to question him on it. "Hey, Link!" one of the trainees called out rather loudly, breaking up the rest of the conversation in the courtyard and drawing everyone's attention towards the young recruit. "What do you think you're doing with that sword and shield?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Link turned to face his fellow recruits, seeing the confusion well on their expressions. "I'm going to fight," he said firmly, drawing his blade in one swift movement.

The trainees all exchanged sided glances as they frowned at him. It was no secret that Link was among the youngest of the newest batch of recruits, most of whom were only about eighteen or nineteen. And so, in reaction to his bold statement, most of the other recruits simply laughed in mocking, knowing that the young man had no idea what he was getting himself into.

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" another recruit asked with a teasing grin. "They say some of those monsters can rough a guy up pretty good."

"I don't care!" Link exclaimed insistently, not even acknowledging that his courage might have been overtaking his sense of better judgment. "We have to do something! We can't just sit here and wait for them to break into the castle!"

"What did you say, soldier?" the deep, unamused voice of the recruit captain sounded as he finally emerged from the other side of the courtyard. The other trainees all hushed their conversations and stood at attention, though they all watched with interest from the corners of their eyes as the captain slowly approached the young recruit, all of them knowing that he was about to be in some serious trouble.

"I said, we can't just sit here and do nothing," Link replied with the slightest hint of defiance in his tone, even though he knew he was treading on uneven ground. Even despite the fact that he fought levels ahead of most of his peers, he often came across as somewhat disrespectful to his superiors, a testament to his independent nature. "Hyrule is under attack, and its our job to protect it."

"Absolutely not!" the captain commanded firmly, crossing his arms as he frowned at the young man. "Lady Impa has commanded that no one except for the elite forces are permitted to go into this battle! And besides, none of you men are experienced enough to last one minute out there. We're staying put until further notice. That's an order."

"You can't be serious!" Link protested, knowing that simply waiting around was both cowardly and ineffective. "What if they need help out there!?"

"Then it's not our place to intervene," the captain said gruffly, sending the young recruit a warning glare. "The elite forces have been through worse battles than this. I'd watch myself if I were you, soldier. Otherwise, that attitude will get you in more trouble than you'd know how to handle. Now, go put that sword away and wait with everyone else."

Link glanced down for a moment, a part of him inclined to listen to his commanding officer, but another, larger part of him refusing to. He wanted to fight, and not just for the sake of fighting; he wanted to go out into the battle raging just outside the castle walls because it was the right thing to do. A sense of unknown justice was burning within him, and he knew better than to just ignore it because someone told him to. "No," he said quietly, glaring up towards the captain defiantly.

"What was that, boy?" the captain asked with obvious anger for the young recruit's continued display of insubordination.

"I said no," Link repeated louder, so all of his fellow recruits could hear him. They all looked to one another with wide eyes, knowing that no one disobeyed the direct command of an officer. "I won't just sit around while Hyrule is in danger. I'm going out there to fight, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

The captain's glare deepened as he watched the young recruit grip his sword ever tighter in his hand. "If you take one more step towards that battlefield, then consider yourself out of this army for good!" he threatened loudly, unable to contain his impatience and fury any longer.

Link said nothing for a moment as he took another glance towards the rest of the recruits, who were all staring at him with wide eyes of awe. He knew that the captain was not bluffing. Insubordination was something that was not tolerated within the Hylian army whatsoever, but at that moment, Link didn't care. He knew that, even despite his dreams of following in his uncle's footsteps, he could not just sit idly by while both Hyrule and its princess were in danger. We was determined to fight, even if it was blatantly against orders and even if he lost his life in the process. "Then I guess I'm out," he said with finality, succinctly turning on his heel and walking away with sword in hand, not even bothering to look back on what he had just left behind.

*passes out because Link is a sexy boss who ain't got time for no one's crap* But seriously folks, you have no idea how fun that last part was to write! I'd like to think (due to the Dark Link cutscene in the palace of souls) that HW Link is the slightest bit overconfident and stubborn, but still heroic and courageous like we love him being, and that unique combination will totally be fun for me to write! And as for Zelda and Impa, I freaking LOVE the interactions between them! They're like besties and I love it! Anyway, as you can guess, the next chapter will be mostly action, though there will be some slight ship teases cause I need to get that Zelink ball rolling do I not? Hahahaha anyway, that's all for now. If you liked, follow/favorite and REVIEW PLEASE! Thanks a ton! Until next time! :D