Hey there.

Remember what I said in the last chapter about once a month updates?

… Sorry.

But I have a perfectly good explanation for that.

I started fucking college…

Add that to a shitload of work I need to put up with in order to pay for it, and I barely have time to do anything these days.

As well as my older brother's passing in September, which just made me not want to do anything for a long ass time.

Life's a bitch, ain't it?

So yeah, I'm afraid I can no longer promised a consistent upload schedule, it really depends on when I'm in the mood or have the time to write.

I actually wanted to start writing again back in November/early December, and my buddy Backpack Bandit (writes Twin Blades, another BotW/Three Houses crossover, check it out if you haven't already) helped me write a portion of this chapter to get me going, but then the holidays happened, my first holidays without my brother, and I essentially felt like shit the entire month.

Anyway, in the future, authors' notes at the beginning of each chapter will really only be responding to any review the work may have gotten, unless I have something to say in that chapter.

Finally, I don't think I ever saw names being given to Lysithea's parents in the games, and nothing came up when I googled it, so I went ahead and gave them names of my own. If it turns out that I'm being schewpid, and they do have names, please let me know, I'll edit them in.

Anyway…review responses:

Guest: Well, I'm glad you enjoyed the start. As for the rest of your review…my mouth is shut. :)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. :D

Chapter 1

To say Count Richard Ordelia was… well, 'troubled' would be putting it too mildly.

To articulate he had been beside himself would be the understatement of the century. If it weren't for the fact that he had to tend to his wife (who fainted at hearing the news), he'd have gathered every able man in House Ordelia's estate to search for her. Just the thought of losing his last child…

However, as if by the grace of the goddess, a foreigner arrived at his estate carrying her, his precious Lysithea, who was thankfully unharmed.

But, this foreigner intrigued him. He wasn't from any land he'd ever seen nor heard of, and his ears were… pointy.

But what drew the most of his attention were the child's eyes. They were dull, indifferent, as if the spark of life they once held had been snuffed out. Maybe they had once been bright like frigid ice, but now they resembled a dreary day.

Count Richard von Ordelia didn't consider himself a particularly wise man. But he knew…

… Someone so young should not possess eyes like that.

[-]

Samuel, the captain of the guards stationed in House Ordelia's manor, was, of course, wary of the foreign man who suddenly appeared at their gates the night before.

Granted, he felt extremely grateful to him for rescuing the young miss, but there was something about this outsider… something that felt 'off' about him.

First, there was the fact that he seemingly took out an entire group of several dozen bandits by himself. That in of itself was astonishing, but even more so was the young miss' recounting of the events.

One of the bandits started approaching me when he just… disappeared… and blue light started appearing from where he was standing. Then, arrows began raining down from all directions at them. I asked Link if he was with anyone when he killed all those bandits, but he said he was alone…

That certainly didn't add up. No single man could unleash a volley of arrows like that. But if that were the case, where were the people who helped him? He arrived alone at the manor gates, carrying Lady Lysithea, and not a single person had approached the manor since the previous night. Samuel even sent a platoon of guards to look for any traces of any bandits having escaped, or any companion the foreigner might have. But they found nothing.

Samuel decided to trust the man, if only because of the fact he saved Lady Lysithea when no one could locate her the day before. But he certainly would keep this outsider under close watch.

[-]

Link found himself wandering the empty halls of Ordelia Manor. His movements weren't restricted, nor was he being monitored. He'd heard from a passing guard earlier about Fodlan's high distrust of foreigners, but saving the local lord's daughter seems to have earned him their favor.

He was brought back from his thoughts, however, when a maid softly called out to him, letting him know that Count Ordelia, his wife, as well as Lysithea wished to share breakfast with him.

With a little guidance from the maid, Link found himself standing in front of a wooden door. He was about to knock when the maid that brought him here did it instead.

"Your Lordship," She announced, "Master Link is here."

"Perfect." Link recognized the Count's voice from the other side. "Bring him in."

Soon, the maid opened the door and gestured for him to enter the room. When he did, he was greeted by the Count Ordelia, Lysithea, and a woman that appeared to be in her mid-thirties, whom Link presumed to be the Count's wife.

[-]

Breakfast turned out to be an… awkward affair. Link wasn't the most social of people at the best of times, even among those he considered close friends. He had always been the 'listener' of the group, after all… though that didn't really help when no one else would talk.

Of course, the fact that Lysithea's parents seemed to regard him with something along the lines of reverie made him uncomfortable. As far as Link was concerned, he was just Link, not, "Master" this and "Savior" that.

Link did not have the heart to admonish the Lord and Lady about that of course, not when he was getting free food and a warm bed.

Lysithea, at least, was acting normal, simply eating her meal while they all sat around. To be fair, the meal was delicious; Link would have to find and speak to the chef, maybe try and share recipes.

"Master Link." The Lord of the estate started, finally breaking the silence. "I must thank you once again for rescuing my daughter."

"It's not a problem, sir." He remembered how he'd spoke to King Hyrule. Any skill can be useful, I suppose. "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

"Indeed, but not any man could drive off a force of bandits by themselves. Surely, you must be a warrior of great renown."

"I… guess you could say that."

It's awkward again.

"If there's anything I can do to repay you…"

"There's no need." Link shook his head. "Room and board are more than reward enough, if you ask me."

"Ah, but surely you would accept the bounty on the bandits' heads?" His wife asked.

"I wouldn't. I may not look it, but I'm well-off enough, and have no need for money. I appreciate the offer, but I have all I need."

"Then, at least allow us to continue placing a roof over your head."

"… That will do."

"Then it's settled, though I'm not very fond of the idea of not giving you a proper reward." The Lord then turned to his daughter, "Lysithea, why don't show Master Link around the manor? Get him acquainted with the staff for however long he wishes to stay here."

"Y-Yes, of course." Lysithea probably didn't expect the conversation to shift back to her, given the nervous stutter, though Link didn't pay it any mind.

"Then, if you'll excuse us." Link stood up, Lysithea already standing at the door, when he turned around to face the Lord once more. "And, do give my compliments to the chef, the meal was quite delicious."

[-]

The tour around the manor wasn't all that better from breakfast. Link kept his usual quiet, and Lysithea really looked like she wanted to say something, but never really managed to get the words out.

"You know, if you want to say something, you can just go ahead and say it." Link decided to spare the poor girl from further awkwardness.

"No… it's just…" She fumbled for words, but took a deep breath to steady herself. "Thank you. For saving me, I mean. If you hadn't been there, then I…" The girl stopped herself, clearly remembering what that nameless bandit was going to do to her. But froze when she felt a hand start to pat her head.

"Don't worry about it, I just did what any decent person would…" He stopped himself when he noticed the girl fail to react, and then looked at the hand he unconsciously brought to her head. "Sorry… I used to do that to my sister when she was sad, I guess I kind of did it without realizing."

"Stop treating me like such a child." She whispered, but when she looked back at Link, she saw his eyes turning vacant, and noticed how he seemingly didn't hear what she said.

"Hey, are you even listening to me?"

She could've sworn he said something barely audible. It sounded like a name? Link, however, snapped out of his daze, his face showing a trace of panic, gone as soon as it came, but subtle enough for her to notice it.

"Is everything okay?"

"Y… Yes. I'm sorry." He took a deep breath, and continued. "You were saying?"

Link, however, realized this was the wrong thing to say, as Lysithea huffed her cheeks and crossed her arms in anger.

"Nothing. Come on, let's go."

[-]

"And this is the guard's training room." They stopped at their next destination, Link carefully scanning the area. He noticed, out of the corner of his eye, a group of guards leaving the outdoor area, probably to go back to their posts after some morning training. One of them, a man well beyond his prime, approached them.

"Ah, it's good to see that you weren't harmed during yesterday's incident, little lady." He said, eyes soft. "And is this the young man who saved you?"

"Yes. Link, this is Bryce, former captain of House Ordelia's guard. He's now retired, but directs training of new recruits. Bryce, this is Link, as you've probably heard already… And don't call me that!"

Bryce didn't seem at all bothered by the outburst, instead erupting into laughter.

"Correct! Rumors about you already started spreading among the servants. Not all pleasant, I'm afraid… Regardless, words aren't enough to show my gratitude for saving the little lady's-" "Hey!" "-life." He threw his head back in laughter once again at seeing Lysithea's indignance. "They say you took an entire band of brigands by yourself! Surely you must join us during training one of these days. The lads could use a beating or two!"

Link nodded. Since he's going to stay here for some time, he might as well help train newly recruited guards. Doing nothing while taking advantage of Lord and Lady Ordelia's hospitality didn't sit well with him.

The man again started laughing, clearly pleased. But he excused himself after that, saying he didn't want to interrupt their tour of the mansion.

[-]

The rest of the day around the manor wasn't too eventful. Link followed Lysithea around, meeting different servants and guards, all of which expressed their thanks to him in one way or another; the head chef baked him a small chocolate cake (which he decided to give to Lysithea, given the way she stared it before he even started eating it), among other things. Link noticed some servants tried to conceal a certain degree of wariness, and when he asked, Lysithea told him that foreigners aren't seen in a very pleasant manner in Fodlan. But Link noticed that everyone in the manor seemed to possess a certain fondness towards the white-haired girl, so he assumed that those of which were wary of him, tried to at least act cordially around him.

"Thank you for showing me around." Link noticed Lysithea starting to tire. "But I don't think your parents would be all too happy if I kept you until late at night."

"No, I don't think they'd be angry at you… But I am getting tired. My apologies."

"Don't be, I'd be more concerned if you weren't exhausted after what happened yesterday. Make sure to rest well, and don't push yourself too hard. It can be all too easy to forget to take care of such small things."

"I will." She paused. "I… I wanted to thank you again for saving me. Father and mother, they… Well, I wouldn't want them to suffer anymore, given what happened recently."

Link could notice a faint tremble in her voice, but didn't press her. It seemed like, whatever happened, it wasn't all too pleasant.

"Alright." He turned around. "Good night, Lysithea."

"Good night, Link."

Sorry for such a short chapter, like I said above, been a tough time for me these past few months. I'll try my best to make future chapters longer, but I won't promise they'll all be 10k+ word chapters.

P.S. Remember how I said that Backpack Bandit helped me write a portion of this chapter? Well, it was the breakfast scene. Fuck me, I was stuck on that for months.

You're welcome :P