The next morning, Link obediently got up with the sun. He would have rather slept in, but Rusl warned him that first impressions are often the only impression.

He brushed his teeth and, with the help of Rusl, put on his uniform.

"It might seem heavy today but slowly you will get used to it," Rusl said, putting a hauberk over Link's green shirt.

"Do I need to eat breakfast in armor?" Link asked, "It seems a little excessive."

"You'll be going to training immediately after. It's best that you show up prepared. Thankfully you don't need the full uniform just yet. But a breastplate and cuisses are probably a good idea."

The two walked to Central Square where tents with tables were set up for the knights to have breakfast. Rusl pointed Link over to a table of eleven young men.

"Those are the sons of those closest to the King. You saw many of them last night. Honestly, I would recommend staying away from them," Rusl explained, "The table right next to theirs is for the sons of other high ranking officials. But they are not as close to the King. They might be easier to deal with. Let's grab some food. I'll need to sit with the other human knights but you should join the apprentices. Talk to them. Make some friends."

The two walked to a table with various foods laid out. Behind the table were many women, dressed in navy with crimson aprons. Ariadna made eye contact with Link, smiled, and walked up to him.

"Why, hello Link! How was your dinner last night?" she asked warmly.

"It was pretty good," Link shrugged, "The fish was very well made."

"Ah, that was a Sanke Carp. It is a rare fish from Kakariko Village. We were quite fortunate. The Princess Zelda's Lady-In-Waiting brought some from her last trip back home," she smiled then turned to Rusl, "Ah, Sir Rusl, what a pleasant surprise."

"Lady Ariadna," Rusl bowed, "I didn't know that you were already acquainted with Link."

"We met just last night. I figured that I should say 'hello'," Ariadna looked down at the various dishes prepared, "You both have a long day ahead of you. I recommend the vegetable sandwiches. They will fill you up with energy almost immediately!"

Rusl grabbed a heart radish sandwich and Link followed suit. The two thanked Ariadna and walked away.

"I will go and sit with the other humans. You should try to make some friends though," Rusl advised, "It will make training easier."

Link nodded uneasily. He didn't want to admit that all the talk about being raised by humans made him feel a bit inferior to the other Hylians. What if he doesn't know how to act properly? What if he embarasses himself?

He glanced again at the table that Rusl advised him to stay away from. Eleven Hylian teenagers were laughing raucously. Right behind them was a nearly empty table with a single occupant. Link walked over to the table and sat down.

"Ah!" the teenager at the table jumped up, looked at Link, then sighed, "Sorry, I thought that you were someone from the King's court."

"No. I'm actually from Ordon Village," Link said, realizing that the rambunctious laughter from the nearby table died down. One of the knights in training whispered something to the table and they all burst out in laughter again.

"What's that about?" Link frowned, putting down his breakfast plate on the table and sitting next to the loner.

"Don't tell anyone I said this but those guys are just the worst," the teen sighed, "Sorry. Maybe I should introduce myself first. The name's Leopold. You said you're from Ordon Village?"

"Yep! The name's Link!"

"Link?" Leopold asked, "That's an… interesting name, to say the least."

Why does everyone keep saying that? Link thought, but because he didn't want to look too much like an outsider, he said nothing.

"So why are those guys the worst?" he asked.

"They just think they're all that because their fathers are part of the King's closest circle: the Knights of the Triforce," Leopold whispered, "In reality, they're spoiled, snotty brats with no respect for anyone."

"'Knights of the Triforce'..." Link repeated the words, thinking back to what Rusl taught him about the different peoples of Hyrule Castle, "I thought that there were twelve knights? Did one of them not have a son?"

"No. The twelfth one is just not here. Good riddance though. All he'd do is just make this breakfast even more uncomfortable than it already is."

"Hey, Leopold!" one of the teens from the King's most esteemed table shouted out, "Who's the loser sitting with you? Finally made a friend?"

"Let me introduce them to you," Leopold said through his teeth, "That one is my half-brother. His name is Taylor. My family's pride and joy."

"I think I met him last night at dinner," Link muttered.

"Woah! You were invited to dinner with the King?!" Leopold covered his mouth, "Forgive me for speaking so bluntly, Sir Link!"

"Erm, I'm not a knight," Link said quietly.

"Don't be ridiculous! Only the best of the best can have an audience with the King in such a casual setting! That's why my brother was invited… My father is Sir Urien-"

"The Sir Urien?" Link was in awe, "The same one who single-handedly led an offense in the Hebra Mountains against the invading army?" He fondly remembered Rusl sharing stories of the Twelve Knights of the Triforce and the tremendous feats that they accomplished against the invading Kingdom of Aegea. The Hebra Mountains were known as no-man's zones due to their freezing temperatures and harsh weather. Yet Sir Urien figured out how to use the Mountains' geography to tackle the invaders.

"Yes, the Sir Urien. I know, he figured out the Hebra defense, blah blah. You said you're not from around here? Where are you from again?"

"Ordon Village."

"Who's your mentor?"

"Rusl."

Leopold gave a confused glance, "Sir Rusl? Nice guy. But isn't he human…? Ah, I guess it doesn't matter. Since you're not from around here, Link, I'm going to give you some advice. One: don't meet your heroes. My father is an amazing knight, but a terrible father and husband. The kids of the King's most decorated knights receive special schooling growing up. Even though my father is Sir Urien, I did not receive this privilege as I am my father's bastard child."

"Is that why I didn't see you at dinner last night?" Link asked softly.

"Yes. Everyone would rather forget that I exist. And Taylor obviously blames me for his family's dysfunctions. That's why he and his little clique do everything to make my life hard," Leopold said darkly, "Anyway, since Sir Rusl is such a decorated knight, it is basically guaranteed that you will quickly become a knight as well. Even if you suck at training. Do you see the guy next to Taylor? His name is Will. He's nearly twenty. You'd think that by now he'd be an expert! But he can't handle a sword even if his life depended on it. Thankfully he was still knighted since his father is Sir Morholt-"

"But if he was already knighted, why is he still at training?"

"Everyone sitting at that table is already a knight; they finished their first mandatory year of training. They're still here because they're expected to become the protectors of the Royal Family. Now, in my opinion, if the King were wiser, he'd give such privileges to those with talents rather than affiliation… But I guess the King cares more about image than anything else. Anyway, I overheard my father telling my half-brother that the Princess Zelda's esquire is deathly ill and the King is looking for a replacement. So I'm sure that that little group of eleven will do everything for that position and prestige.

"Anyway, the one with red hair sitting next to Will is Stylianos. His father is Sir Geraint and his mother is Lady Ariadna. Now, before the Queen passed away, Lady Ariadna was her closest confidant. Everyone's mother at that table was part of the Queen's court, but Lady Ariadna was especially close to her. Because of that, the King has taken a special interest in Stylianos. I really do believe that he will become The Princess's next protector…"

And Leopold continued naming the remaining members of the table and their fathers. There was Payn, the son of Sir Claudin; Morgan, son of Esclabor; Norman, son of Yder; Chrétien, son of Cligés; Thomas, son of Gaheris; Claudius, son of Iofreit; Drake, son of Tor; and Ivan, son of Yvain. Link took mental notes, connecting each name to each face.

"Taylor, Will, Stylianos, Payn, Morgan, Norman, Chrétien, Thomas, Claudius, Drake, Ivan…" Link counted off each name on his finger, "And who's the twelfth son?"

Leopold's face darkened, "The twelfth son's father wasn't a part of the King's original Knights of the Triforce. He's Prince Ashton of Aegea, son of King Stefan and Queen Beatrice, the Princess Zelda's betrothed."

"The Prince just hangs out with the knights?"

"I guess he wants to train with us," Leopold shrugged, "Supposedly there will be peace between our kingdoms after the wedding. But I still think it's suspicious that our former enemies are joining us in training…"

Link wasn't very aware of the political situation of Hyrule and so had nothing to add to the comment. He picked up his sandwich and, as he opened his mouth, he heard a fanfare.

"Come on, it's time for training!" Leopold said.

Disappointed, Link dropped the sandwich and followed Leopold out the Castle Gates to a field that was split off into different fenced areas.

"That one right there is for us hylians," Leopold pointed to the fence closest to the castle.

The two entered the enclosed area where about thirty or so other hylian teens lined up along the fence. Not wanting to stick out, Link and Leopold squeezed in between two random hylians.

After about a minute or so, two men entered the arena. One was short with blonde, greasy hair and a Van Dyke beard; he was dressed in chain mail and held a scroll. The other one was tall; Link couldn't make out any of his other features because he was dressed in full knight armor.

"Future knights of Hyrule!" the short man cleared his throat and opened up the scroll to read it, "'It is a privilege to meet all of you today. I am sure that you all will grow to be loyal and responsible knights of Hyrule. Training is no easy feat. You all will shed tears, sweat, and blood. But by the end of the year, I expect you all to be the powerful guardians of the Kingdom of Hyrule. Respectfully, King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule'," the man folded the scroll up and handed it to his taller partner.

"I am Sir Galath," the man added, then gestured to the knight next to him, "And this is Sir Medraut. We will be training you all this year. Note that I said that I'm Sir Galath. And he is Sir Medraut. None of you will become great knights without learning respect. So, let's try this together. Repeat after me. Siiiiiiiiir Galath."

Like a choir, the trainees repeated the words: "Siiiiiiir Galath."

"Right," Galath nodded his head, "And that's Siiiiiiiir Medraut."

"Siiiiiiir Medraut."

"Perfect. Don't ever say our names without our titles. We worked hard to earn them. And I hope this doesn't need to be said, but don't ever refer to the King or the Princess by just their names. It's either King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule, or just The King."

The trainees all nodded in agreement. Out of the corner of his eye, Link noticed that Stylianos yawned.

"I do apologize for coming in a bit late," Galath added, "Sir Medraut and I received terrible news. After a long battle with a cold, Sir Rudolf of Hateno, the esquire of Princess Zelda, passed away this morning. We will all take a moment of silence to pray for him," Galath lowered his head and joined his hands in front of his abdomen.

All of the young men lowered their heads. Medraut lowered his head with a grunt. Link stared at the ground, looking at the grass as the wind gently blew it away from the castle. All of a sudden, his shadow appeared to develop a light blue tint. He could have sworn that he saw two, large eyes blinking at him.

"Aaaah!" he exclaimed and jumped back, falling on the ground.

He felt all eyes shift to him. A few trainees snickered. Galath grumbled something under his breath and walked up to Link.

"Do you think that paying your respects to former heroes is a joke?" he demanded.

"N-no, sir," Link stammered.

"So who exactly do you think you are to be displaying such boisterous behavior?"

"No one! I mean… I thought I saw something but-"

"That Ordon Village fool got scared of his own shadow," someone from the crowd chortled and the rest of the cadets erupted in laughter.

"Wait, wait, wait," Galath said then shushed the crowd. After the arena became silent, he turned back to Link, "You're from Ordon Village? But there is just one knight from that area. And it's Sir Rusl. You don't mean to tell me that you're his son…?"

Link could feel his ears turn red. He looked back at the crowd. Leopold had a serious expression on his face. Payn stifled a laugh while Stylianos whispered something to him.

"I mean-" Link said but was interrupted by Galath.

"How can you be Rusl's son? You're obviously Hylian! In my fifty years of living on Great Hylia's green earth, I have never heard of a Hylian living in Ordon, much less being related to a human…"

"I'm not his son," Link quickly blurted out, "I was adopted by the Ordonians when I was a baby."

The arena fell to an uncomfortable silence. Galath sighed.

"Get up," he snapped, "You may have been raised by humans but, as far as I could tell, Sir Rusl is an amazing knight and a loyal citizen of Hyrule. I refuse to believe that he would allow anyone to be raised to act this way. Give me fifty burpees. Once you decide to stop acting like a fool, you may return to training."

Link was used to training. After all, Rusl taught him how to ride a horse, sword fight, shoot a bow and arrow… and master any other necessary skill that a knight might need. But, on the walk back to his and Rusl's cabin, he felt as if he's never trained before. Muscles that he didn't even know could be used were aching.

Galath really pushed him that day. When others had to run 20 laps around the castle, he had to do 40. When others were given swords made of steel, he was handed the heavy Zweihänder. When others stood at a distance of 3 meters, he had to shoot an arrow from 15 meters. It didn't help that a lot of the hylians made jokes about him being from Ordon. Taylor's friend group was especially malicious; whenever Galath turned around, they made demeaning comments about Rusl and Ordonians. Leopold tried to stand up for Link, but that only led to more ridicule from the group.

"Hey! How was training?" Rusl asked Link as soon as he entered the barrack.

Link walked over to the couch and plopped down next to Rusl.

"Ughhh," he groaned.

"That bad, huh? Who was the trainer?"

"Sir Galath. But he came with Sir Medraut. I guess Galath's supposed to be the main trainer and Medraut will test us once we finish a skillset."

"Hey… Galath and I go way back!"

"No kidding."

"I'm serious. Yes, I know that he's a little intimidating, but I promise he has good intentions. He actually saved my life when I was in the army."

"Really?" Link raised his eyebrow, "You never told me about this."

"It's true! I still remember it like it was yesterday. I was hiding out in the Gerudo desert. To my west was the Gerudo Town, but I couldn't hide in it because men are prohibited from entering there. To my east was the home of Molduga, a terrifying worm creature that can eat even a horse! Anyway, the enemy was nearing me and I had nowhere to hide. I cowered as the opposing knights circled around me. I was so close to surrendering! But, suddenly, I saw a large shadow above me. I looked up and it was Galath coming down using a paraglider! He quickly took out his bow and arrow and shot all the knights!"

"Wow," Link said.

"The point is that he knows me well. And if he knows that you are my mentee, he probably has high expectations. So don't let training beat you down. I'm sure that it'll go better tomorrow!"

"I hope so," Link muttered, "I'm pretty exhausted after today."

But there was something else that was bothering Link. Something that he didn't want to bring up so as to not ruin the rest of the day.

The next day, Link once again rose with the sun. He got dressed and rushed to the breakfast tables so that he could actually eat this time. He once again sat next to Leopold.

"Hey, I'm sorry that my half-brother and his friends treated you like that yesterday," Leopold said, "They're just cuccos, I guess."

"Nah, cuccos are actually helpful," Link smiled, "But don't worry about it. It's not your fault. I guess I did look pretty silly after falling."

"Well, well, well," a red-haired cadet, slightly older than Link, walked up to the two of them. He slammed his hands on the table and looked straight at Link, "If it isn't the little human-raised Hylian."

"What do you want, Stelios?" Leopold asked.

"Nothing. Just wanted to say hi to my favorite human-raised Hylian," Stylianos said innocently, "You know, today we're going to practice sword fighting. Do the humans even know the art?"

"Every being in Hylia's world knows what sword fighting is," Leopold rolled his eyes.

"Hey, let him speak for himself! Anyway, I was going to say- oops!"

Link felt a cold liquid drop onto his head. He looked behind and saw Claudius holding a plate over him.

"Oh Great Hylia! Did I just spill all of that meat stew on you?" Claudius gasped, "I am just so sorry, human! Erm… excuse me- half-human."

"I'm not half-human," Link sighed, but knew that it didn't matter what he said.

"Oh! Well, that's just so weird. I thought that you were from Ordon…?"

"Boys!" Ariadna stormed over to the group, "What are you all doing?"

"Nothing, Lady Ariadna!" Claudius said innocently, "Just striking a conversation with the new recruits."

"And wasting last nights' leftovers," Ariadna grumbled, "You know how many beings over Hyrule would love to have a warm meal right now?"

"Probably all the Ordonians…"

"I am so disappointed. Stelios, how could you think that this is okay?"

"It's funny," Stylianos folded his arms.

"Apologize to this boy right now."

"Fiiiiiine," Stylianos rolled his eyes then turned to Link and grumbled, "I am so sorry that we are trying to be friendly."

"Stelios!" Ariadna snapped.

"And that Claudius is such a klutz," Stylianos added quietly, "There, ya happy mom?"

"You're just as stubborn as your father," the woman sighed, "Be nice. Please. What if another war breaks out? Link might need to save your life. You don't want him to remember you as a brat, now do you?"

"I doubt that I'd ever need this loser's help," Stylianos sneered, "But I guess we'll see after today's training."

"Be nice," Ariadna repeated, this time more sternly, "I have to go back to the kitchen but please stop acting like this."

After Ariadna left, Stylianos mockingly repeated, "Be nice, Stelios. I have to go back to the kitchen."

"What's happening at training today?" Leopold asked.

"Tyler was right, you are such a loser," Claudius scoffed, "We're getting our pairings for sword fighting. For some reason, Sir Galath thought that your little friend was worthy enough of being paired with Stelios."

"After today's session, I'm sure that Galath will redo the pairings and have this twerp be paired with another newbie," Stylianos said with scorn, "I guess this so-called Sir Rusl must be really good if Galath thinks that a human's mentee is worthy of being anywhere near me."

"I'm sure that Link will do fine," Leopold snapped, "In fact, I bet he's going to be better than you."

Stylianos furrowed his eyes, but before he could say anything, a fanfare played.

"Link… that's an… interesting name," Stylianos said quietly, "Not surprising that the humans have so little respect for our history… Well! I guess I'll see you at the training arena. Link."

Stylianos and Claudius walked away, leaving Link feeling more confused than offended.

"What was that about?" he asked Leopold, "And why would you say that?!"

"What? That you're going to be better than him? I saw you yesterday! That's amazing that you were able to do so much and are still standing! I'm still sore and the workout that I had was so much less than what they forced you to do."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to be better than him."

"Dude, they paired you with him for a reason!"

"What?"

"I guess it's not confirmed until Galath announces it… but Stelios probably has access to training material earlier than us since this is his third year here and he's definitely the King's favorite. He's really good. But you're younger than him. And after yesterday's training session, Galath must have seen something in you to pair you both up."

"But we didn't even do anything yesterday. All we did was practice on the mannequins-"

"Yeah, and I guess you had something that the rest of us don't. Otherwise, Stelios wouldn't be feeling so threatened. We should get going though. I'm sure that Galath will explain everything at training."

The two got up from the table and started walking towards the training area. But, before entering, Link asked Leopold another question- "Look, everyone keeps making comments about my name… Why are they all so surprised?"

"Oh," Leopold answered awkwardly, "Umm… do they not teach Hylian history and legends in Ordon?"

"They do," Link grumbled, now annoyed that everyone was assuming that he was ignorant due to his upbringing.

"Well, it's just that a long time ago there was a Sir Link. He's a super famous knight and generally, Hylians don't name their sons after him. Maybe humans have different superstitions."

"Superstition?"

"Yeah. You see, in the legend, Sir Link-"

"I know the legend," Link muttered, "Just… why is everyone so shocked?"

"Because it's considered bad luck to name your son after him… wait, if you know the legend, you already know why. Come on, we have to get to training!"

All of the cadets sat in a semicircle as Galath took out another scroll to read.

"'Dearest knights-in-training'," he read the paper, "'Yesterday, you all have completed the first day of training. Well done. We will start our first block, which covers the art of sword fighting. Based off how you handled your weapon and how you went about targeting your opponent- the mannequin- you have been partnered off. In a moment, I will read the pairings' names. The both of you have been matched based on training level estimates. Help each other. Learn from each other. Become the best knights that you could be together. Now… for the pairings… Adam and Reede… Brigo and Chumin… Endai and Leopold…'"

Link waited patiently as Galath read off the name pairings. Most of the first pairs were other 17-year-olds who were just recruited for training. The next pairs were the Hylians who Link figured are older and have been in training longer. Finally, Galath read off the last pair.

"'Stylianos and Link'," Galath announced and folded up the scroll, "Please grab a chest plate and a wooden sword. Then get with your partner and practice different attack styles."

Everyone got up and walked over in a single file line to a collection of armor. Link could hear the other cadets whispering about him… wondering how he, a completely new recruitment, was paired off with someone who had so much experience.

Finally, Link got to the armory. He looked through different chest plates to find one small enough for him.

"Hey… I think this will fit you," Stylianos walked up to him with a set, "Listen. I just wanted to say, sorry about earlier. Ya know, I thought that I was being friendly but I guess I came off kind of… rude. Consider this my apology," he lifted the chest plate and helped Link put it on. The metal felt cool and… ticklish?

"See you at the arena," Stylianos smiled mischievously and walked away.

Link tried scratching his back but couldn't get to it. He jumped and shrugged and moved his arms and did everything to try to ease the itch.

"Link!" Galath snapped, "What are you doing, son? Still haven't learned your lesson from yesterday?"

"Sir!" Link exclaimed, "I just-"

"No 'justs'! You have training to get to, boy. Show 'em what Rusl taught you," to Link's surprise, Galath winked and smiled.

Link chuckled nervously. He didn't want to disappoint Galath but the itch was just too much. He walked to Stylianos awkwardly, moving his back as much as he could with the hopes of scratching it with the metal.

"What's wrong, Link?" Stylianos asked innocently, "You're never going to defeat any enemies if you can't even stand straight. Now, I'm going to do a simple slash. You think you can dodge it?"

Stylianos raised the wooden sword and swung it towards Link. Although still itching, Link gracefully rolled over to the side, dodging the move. Angry, Stylianos threw the training sword at the ground.

As Link stood up straight, he realized that the itch went away. He sighed with relief but Galath gasped in worry.

"A-a skulltula! Kill it! Kill it!" the trainer exclaimed.

Link looked at the ground and saw a foot-long spider crawling across the grass. He took the wooden sword and slammed it straight into its cephalothorax, killing the creature instantly.

"Now how in the hell did that get here…? Never mind. Are you okay, son?" Galath asked Link, who only nodded his head in response, "These can be incredibly toxic. Thankfully that one was just a baby, but still… It's amazing that you were able to kill it so quickly! Truly a sign of a great swordsman!"

But Link didn't feel so great. He furrowed his eyebrows and glanced over at Stylianos, who was pouting.

The week was the longest of Link's life. He hated training. Although most of that group backed off, Stylianos was still set on making his life difficult. Each day he had a different "prank" to play on the protagonist. Link could handle all of Stylianos's shenanigans, but he noticed that the people of Hyrule seemed to be distant to him. After finding out his origin, they would talk down to him, as if he were slow-witted or from another planet. But he didn't want to start any problems. So he ignored their talking down and stuck to his regular, polite self.

That is… he ignored it until one day that he had off. He walked around Hyrule Field, looking for a nice place to have his lunch. As he walked forward, a Hylian woman bumped into him and dropped some scrolls that she was holding.

"Ugh!" she wrinkled her nose and glared at Link, "Watch where you're going, dumbass! You made me drop all my scrolls!"

You walked into me! Link wanted to say but was too tired from training to argue.

"What, are you not going to say anything? Are you dumb and mute?" the woman frowned. She sighed and put a strand of her brown hair behind her large, Hylian ear. Acting as if she were about to perform some strenuous task, she bent down and picked up the scrolls.

Link stared at the woman and the longer he stared at her, the angrier he became. Who did she think she was?!

"What?" she snapped, "Not even going to offer to help yet you'll stand here staring at me? I ought to have you punished."

Before Link could snap back, a gleeful woman with white hair ran up to the two. The woman holding the scrolls sighed in annoyance.

"There you are!" the white-haired woman said.

"Hold these," the other woman responded an shoved the scrolls into her hands, "This idiot walked into me and-"

"Hey… I think I recognize him! He's one of the knights in training. I saw them practicing two days ago."

"If he's a knight in training, then he should know better," the brunette scoffed.

"You should be kinder to the knights," the white-haired woman said softly, "In fact, you should be kinder to everyone."

"Don't lecture me, Impa," the brunette spat, "I am kind to everyone. It's everyone who has a problem with me," and, with that, the brunette walked back to the castle. Link continued staring at her with disgust. Everyone else at Hyrule Castle annoyed him but she especially rubbed him the wrong way. Who the hell is that woman?

"Don't mind her," the one named Impa said apologetically, "She's been in these moods as of recently, that's all. I'm sure that after the wedding, she'll be back to her old self," she tapped Link's left shoulder and ran up to the brunette.

Link watched as the two women returned to the castle. They said something to the gate guardians and disappeared into Castle Town. The brunette must have snapped at the castle guards as well because, as soon as the two were gone, one of them burst out in tears.

"Phew… good thing that you didn't escalate that, huh? She would have really ruined your day," a child-like voice said.

Link turned around. He was the only one standing in this field.

"Down here!" the voice added.

He looked down and saw his shadow. The shadow slowly became blue. It then started gaining dimension, until a blue imp crawled out.

"It's you!" Link said incredulously, "I saw you at training!"

"I have a name, you know," the imp brushed dirt off her arms, "The name's Midna. Thank Hyla that I ran into you, Link!"