"That you are the heir to a throne of nothing. Nothing but failure."

Zelda didn't imagine hearing those words from her father would break her in half, but it did. The castle had been awfully crowded, too crowded for her to be in. She had lost Link during a crowd of entourage and tourists who had forcefully stopped him to ask him questions he had no interest in. She had brushed by multiple tourists, council and even Impa herself who had called out her name but to no avail.

Couldn't her father see that she was trying her best? That she was down in her knees, praying, pleading and begging the goddess statue for a blessing. She's been trying for ten years, why couldn't he see that?

She wanted to be left alone, she had tried to keep the tears from falling but they were already pouring out of her eyes. The walk to her room had been dreadfully long, and she wanted nothing more than to put her face in her pillow and scream as loud as she could.

Her bedroom had finally been visible from down the long hall she walked, she finally felt she was going to be able to cry herself to a nap before she heard a camisole voice.

"Princess!" She heard Bilo, the court poet cal out. She sighed annoyingly, of course him out of all people who be the one to stop her in her tracks. Not looking behind, she was stopped at least five feet in front of her door. So close...

Her fist tightened; this pompous, arrogant and ignorant was the last person she needed to see. She turned around to face him. "Sir Bilo,"

"I wanted to show you a new poem I wrote for you, your highness." Zelda tried to keep the urge from rolling her eyes, she just got the scolding of a lifetime and this man wants to read her a poem? She fought the instinct to scream.

"Sir Bilo, I am not fit to hear one of your poems. Now if you'll excuse me-" She went to turn but her arm was pulled back gently by the poet which had infuriated her even more.

"Princess wait, maybe this poem will help you feel better." The bard had pleaded her attention, she had tried to wriggle herself out of her grip, and she had began to thrash.

"I command you to let go of me!" She harshly spit out. Then, as quick as lighting; a dark hand has latched onto Bilo's before it had squeezed harshly. She trailed her eyes up the muscular arm, the tattoo that adorned his bicep and a broad shoulder. The hand belong to Everett.

Bilo had cried out a painful whimper as Everett guided his hand harshly off of the Princess's wrist. Bilo's mouth turned into a grimace of pain, before Everett harshly shoved his hand back into his chest. The bard had caressed his hand before looking up at the warrior who had been taller than him by a couple inches. His face then contorted into a hint of anger.

"How dare you put your filthy hands on me again?" The bard harshly asked, making Everett furrow his eyebrows.

"The Princess ordered you not to touch her." He simply said, his body posture as relaxed as one can be whilst the poet shook the pain off of his hand. "I'm ordered by the King to protect who. From anyone who I deem a threat to her."

The Poet scoffed. "And you think I pose a threat to her? You are as stupid as you look." Bilo had readjusted himself so that he was standing at his full height, he took a few steps towards Everett who had the same look in his face he did when he had shoved the hard into a bookshelf.

"Last time you talked like that, you ended up with a dozen books shoved up your ass." Everett reminded, he had been trying to hold back on pounding this insufferable man to a pulp. He saw the man's face struggle to not burst out in anger.

"That was a cheap shot brute, and you know it!" The poet scolded with a fury of anger. He stepped angrily towards towards a calm Everett, who had a nonchalant look on his face as if he was merely being bothered by a fly. "How about you face me? Face to face? No weapons, just a straight fist fight. You know, I have trained and master the combat arts of my tribe. You'll stand no chance."

Everett's face perked up in curiosity before he let a sly smile take over his expression. "You're on. Courtyard, sunset." Bilo had gritted his teeth before he snared and walked off with an annoyed tone.

Zelda watched Everett cross his arms, and glance at her from behind his broad shoulder. It was an awkward silence for a moment before he spoke up.

"Is everything alright, Princess?" He asked.

"Yes. Thank you." She said fiddling her fingers.

"You sure? You look like you just got done crying." He turned towards her fully now, standing a good 6-7 inches taller. "Did you the bard do something to you?"

"No," She was quick to shoot down at the idea of her being fondled without her consent. "It's just...my father. He scolded me again...I'm a failure." Everett had opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. "Even he thinks I'm a failure."

"I don't think so." Everett simply said. Zelda had looked at him with a shocked face. "If you are a failure, then so are we. You are not alone in saving this land, Princess. The day you fail, is the day we all fail. You have not failed yet."

Zelda was speechless, she didn't think she'd ever hear Everett compliment her. He thought he hated her, and only tolerated her for the sake of her father. But to hear that from him of all people, it had lightened her mood up.

"I appreciate it Everett. Thank you for the kind words," A simple grunt had emitted from him, he had crossed his arms again. "Link and I are planning the trip to Zora's Domain before nightfall, it'd be a huge help if you were there too. We'll be meeting here at my chambers, Impa will be present as well. We'll have to leave tomorrow morning."

"It's a plan then." Everett declared, before he began to walk away.

"And Everett?" She called out, he stopped merely glancing over his shoulder. "Thank you, once again."

"Don't mention it." He simply said walking away, she had watched him walk away from her before sharply turning a corner, disappearing behind the wall. She quickly entered her chambers before another person could stop her. She felt she didn't need to scream in her pillow anymore, but to simply take a nap. It hadn't been a good morning at all for her and her father chastising her didn't help.

Flopping herself onto the soft bed that she owned, she let out a breath of relief. She hadn't been on her bed since this morning, she shifted herself so that she was on her stomach. She had grabbed the large pillow, putting under her face in hopes she could catch some sleep.

Zelda didn't realize when she closed her eyes.

"So, Bilo challenged you to a fist fight?" Impa questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Correct." Everett shrugged.

"And you realize that your fighting a man that has won the tribe combat tournament three times, ranked among the best hand-to-hand fighter in Hyrule and is very much experienced."

Everett sipped the tiny bit of water in the little goblet that he filled with cold water. He looked down at the smaller woman. "I don't care for achievements."

"But you do know what you're going up against, right?"

"I have so far, battled against rock people who are capable of lifting tons. Monsters that can knock down stone with a single hit, rock monsters that can crush men and a man beast. What is one skilled bard?"

"If you say so," Impa muttered. Everett had forget Link had been behind the two who were bickering at each other. Impa had shot a look towards Link. "Gonna say anything about this, Link?"

The hero shrugged. "What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing," Everett interjected, crossing his muscular arms, glancing back at the hero. "You will do nothing Link, I will handle my business with Bilo. The stupid poet has been egging me on since my incident with Revali. It's time I shut him up."

The three had begun to make their way to the courtyard where the sparring contest was set to begin. He had already hear groups of people talking about the event between the bard and poet before Everett had made his way to the yard.

The sun had seeped through the windows of the castle, painting it orange due to the setting, it's orangish glow painting some of the on goers orange. He could sense the suspicious looks on Impa's face from behind him, she had still be uneasy about him. He could see she was careful around him, studied his every move he made and every word he spoke. As if she was digging for a weakness. He ignored her though, but deep down he hoped she was plotting something against him.

They finally made it to their destination in the courtyard, and it looked like a bunch of soldiers, handmaidens and shiekah members were crowded around in one gigantic circle, waiting for Everett. They all spotted him and began to mutter and murmur among themselves. He spotted Bilo, who had been talking to two other shiekah members.

"There he is," Impa muttered over his shoulder. Everett let out a devilishly grin. He had been waiting to get his hands on this asshole. He was debatably worse than Revali. The poet eyes had landed on him, and they widened deviously.

"Ha! Well, if it isn't the world's strongest idiot," Bilo called out from across the courtyard, eating a few chuckles from the watchers. "Come to get some sense knocked in your brain?"

"Enough talk. It's getting late." Everett simply said, chucking his large sword over to Link who expertly caught it with one hand. Everett walked to the center of the courtyard before he faced Bilo fully. "Let's get this over with."

The poet took a serious stance and walked towards the center as well, only stopping a few feet in front of him. A small shiekah man had came between them.

"Time will be set for three minutes. No grappling!" The man hurried away from the the two staring daggers at each other. "If someone draws blood, they lose! Begin!"

Bilo gotten into some form of martial arts stand, putting his backhand out facing Everett and a closed fist circled back. Everett simply put his hands up, balling them into fists before he sighed. Relaxing himself.

Bilo made the first move, letting his leg fly up towards Everett's face. He threw a forearm out to block it before, Bilo repositioned his leg to deliver a blow to his rib cage. Everett swatted it away before another attempt had landed cleanly on Everett's jaw.

He felt his jaw snap out of his place. He had quickly grabbed his leg and flung Bilo away from him. The bard had cleanly landed on one foot, before letting high leg stretch high above his leg earning an "ooh" from the people watching. Everett raised his hand up to his jaw, feeling it out of place.

"The new look suits you." He jested, keeping his foot high above his head. Show off.

Everett sneered, before snapped his jaw back into place, feeling a welt growing there already. "Don't get too cocky."

Bilo charged at him again, going for a high kick. Everett ducked low, dodging it. Bilo had cocked his fist back to deliver the next blow, Everett had shifted his head to the side to let the fist slide over his shoulder. Bilo quickly let his leg fly towards Everett's head again.

Everett blocked it, finally seeing an opening. Bilo was quick, but he wasn't quick enough to dodge the oncoming fist his way. Everett threw a quick hook that had landed cleanly on Bilo's jaw, earning a few gasps from the crowd. He could see the skin on Bilo's handsome face become wrinkled under his massive fist. He knew he was leaving a mark.

Finally on the offense, Everett began his assault with the bard now on the defense. Everett let a right hand fly from behind his head, being barely blocked by Bilo. Everett had let his leg fly out, landing a blow on his side.

Bilo greeted before retreating a few feet, watching Everett shuffle his feet.

"What's wrong?" Everett egged on, continuing to shuffle his feet. "Got cold feet?"

The poet sneered before he changed up his combat stance into a more aggressive one. He charged at Everett with a cocked fist, only for it to be countered and an elbow slammed into his jaw. Everett began to relentlessly attacked him.

Bilo had let a quick and hard jab land on Everett's jaw again, probably planning on putting it back out of place. Everett had blocked the incoming blows from Bilo had his hands and forearms, almost mimicking Bilo's fighting style.

Bilo had began to throw more desperate blows to land, creating easy opening for Everett. He had been adapting to the style Bilo had been using. Everett had chopped the man's side, watching him lean down before he thrusted his elbow up, smashing it into his face.

The bard growled, and before Everett could react he had been swept off his legs with a swift sweep of Bilo's leg. Bilo had jumped up high and with leg ready to strike down on Everett's face.

The stronger man had tossed himself to the side, dodging the blow before he kicked himself up to full height. He let Bilo's arm slide pad his face and over his shoulder, making sure to check him with his elbow.

"Thirty seconds!"

Bilo's blows began to become more aggressive, a few punches grazing Everett's face barely but not enough to draw blood. Everett had dodged multiple punches before he began to throw some of his own. The two had expertly traded fists and punches.

"Fifteen!"

Everett threw a punch, Bilo dodged and threw on of his own. Everett blocked.

"Ten!"

Bilo threw a punch, and Everett slid his head to the side to dodge it barely doing so in the process. He felt his reaction time slow down, as if he had slowed down time with his reflexes. He watched the poet's fist slowly slide past his face, before Everett cocked back and landed on straight dead in his face. Watching it slam into the poet's punchable face.

Stumbling back, Bilo gasped watching blood slightly leak out of his nose. The poet looked at him with a deranged look before he slowly began to walk his way...

"Time!"

Everett had crossed his arms before staring a death glare at Bilo. "You're bleeding. You lost."

Bilo had been fuming, he was muttering a barrage of insults as he touched his nose to confirm the blood that had slowly seeping it's way down towards his mouth, before he wiped it. His once tight and neat bun had turned into a mess of frizzy silver hair, barely held apart in a bun. Everett looked him up and down before he scoffed, turning away from the bard. He had grabbed his sheathed sword from Link's grasp, returning it to his back.

He wordlessly walked past both Impa and Link, the two looking at each other before following. He had heard Impa's foot steps trotting up to him before she was now walking with him.

"You handled that surprisingly well," Impa commented. Everett simply glanced at her, he remembered that the Princess had stated they meet at her room before nightfall. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"More questions?" Everett raised an eyebrow.

"I've made it clear that I do not know whether to trust you or not." Impa defended herself.

Everett scoffed. "I haven't done anything to given you a reason not to trust me."

"You're just mysterious," Impa finally blurted out. "You have no birth certificate, no family, no history or background. Like you just magically plopped here."

Kinda of what happened. Everett sighed, his silence declaring that this conversation was over. He had forgotten Link was with them as well, something he has a tendency of doing. The hero was always keeping to himself.

The trio had made it to Princess Zelda's bedroom, the two men had stepped back. Impa had stepped forward, knocking rhythmically on the metal door. A few moments had went by before they had opened and revealed Princess Zelda.

She had looked better than she did earlier, the dark circles and red eyes had faded away and her eyes were now the regular color of green. She bowed to the three.

"Good evening," She had turned around letting them walk-in behind her. There had been a table of tea set up for them, and the three of them had taken their seats. "Let's get straight to it...Sir Everett, is that a bruise on your jaw?" Zelda had squinted her eyes to make sure he assumption had been correct, and it indeed was.

"I had to shut somebody up." He said, her look had been confused for a moment before she finally nodded her head, understanding who and what he meant. Wish she could've seen it.

"Anyway, Lady Mipha has reported some strange activity happening on Ploymus Mountain, she's requested that Link and her check it out." Zelda informed looking at a small letter.

Link had looked to the floor. "I thought we already killed that lynel." He quietly said, his eyes darting to the floor. Everett had took notice. Not another damn lynel...

"It also appears that divine beast Ruta is functioning well. Still, it'd be best if I go to Zora's Domain and take a look for myself." Zelda said, putting the shiekah slate down the table. "Mipha has yet to come to decision about whether she wants to be champion or not. I've received answers from Revali, Urbosa and Daruk. I have yet to hear a clear answer we from her."

"Link you were childhood friends with her, correct?" Zelda continued.

"For some time, I went along with a group of diplomats to Zora's Domain when I was younger. She was one of the first Zora I've ever met." He informed. "She'll accept."

"Excellent. We will leave tomorrow morning for Zora's Domain." Zelda said, final. She stood up, but Impa had stopped her.

"Actually, Princess there was a reason I wanted to attend this meeting." Impa blurted out stopped Zelda in her tracks.

"Oh?" Zelda said with a confused look, before she straightened herself. "Well, what would you like to discuss?"

"After you visit Zora's Domain, and before your pilgrimage; I'd like for you to visit Kakiriko." Impa said with a eager smile.

"Would Father be opposed to that?" She questioned.

"I will talk to your father, Princess. You need not to weepy about him." Impa said, making Zelda bore a devilish smile.

"Well that settle it then. Off to Zora's Domain we go!"

What's good y'all? A little filler chapter for now, the circus starts up again next chapter. I have been writing chapters for other stories I have plans for, so sorry if the couple week wait for chapters can be a drag. We are just about halfway through this story!! Can't believe how far is has come. We'll talk soon, see you in the next chapter.