Finally A Quiver
The bright sun made him squint his eyes as he closed the door he came from. Heading to the railing, he was able to see to the edge of Castle Town, "Whoooaa! Imagine having this view every day!" He smiled.
After checking the walkway, it would appear that Link wouldn't be on this level since all the guards up here wore fancier uniforms instead of clanky armor. A finger went up to his chin, him muttering, "Hm, I wonder if Link would wear that after he pulls the sword…" He could imagine him wearing it and he wouldn't look half bad, but at the same time it wouldn't fit his role. 'Meh, probably not,' He shrugged and continued toward one of the towers that were nearby.
The guards eyed him as he strolled along, but even as he reached the tower, he hadn't been stopped. Once inside, the floor had crates full of scrolls. In fact, all of them were covered in a blanket of dust. Young Link peered at them from afar, getting too close would make him sneeze, 'Maybe they're old battle plans back from that war Link was talking about.' Another caught his eye, 'Or maps.' Astonishingly there were no guards on that floor. He continued up to the top to avoid possibly getting in trouble. Snooping isn't a good look.
The three guards up there wore confused expressions as he jogged to the ledge, 'You can see Death Mountain from here!' The volcano covered any of the other possible landscapes that could be seen simply due to its sheer size. Though, the majority of the east side of Hyrule Field was visible. 'Alright, time to go to the ne—' he felt a rough hand on his shoulder, his eyes flicking to its owner. 'Oh it's just one of the guards,' his hard stare softened.
The guard look momentarily perplexed, "Uh, kid, I get exploring the castle, but you shouldn't be up here."
"My bad, I didn't think there was anything dangerous up here." The guy's stark reaction made him quickly scan the general tower area. He was so intent on viewing the scenery, he didn't see the cannons, ropes, and cannon balls that were organized around the walls of the tower, "Oohh, yeah I take that back."
He sighed, "C'mon, let's go."
He was escorted back down to the level he walked in from, a group of knights walking by as they exited the building. The young hero did a double take after catching one of the knight's eyes. It wasn't Link it was… "Ethan?" He cocked his head.
The ornery knight who had tried to take a hit at Link after their duel and consequently got kicked by the Hero of Time for it stepped out of the formation and faced him, "Would you look at that, it's the brat who got in my way. At least you can actually speak rather than that mumbly crap from before."
The guard who escorted him looked annoyed, "Ethan, you're holding up your group. Instead of being riled up by a kid , how about you focus on your job ."
"Besides," Young Link crossed his arms, "Respectable knights don't try to stab their brothers in the back simply because they lost a sparring match." He was unimpressed that Ethan still had an awful temper about it despite that being so long ago.
The dark-haired knight started to take a step toward him, stopping midway as he realized he was causing a scene, "Grrr, fine…" He got back in formation and stubbornly kept pace.
"Sheesh, what did you ever do to him?" The guard asked, curious.
"I had kept him from trying to get to Link after their match. He lost and tried to slash at him while he was looking the other way. Basically a sore loser."
He chuckled, "Well, I'm not sure how you did that, but it's apparent that it pissed him off." He gave him a small push, "Go on, you can keep exploring, just stay out of the towers."
"Can do," Even though he didn't want to. He continued walking along the brick path until he found himself heading toward Zelda's Study. He vaguely remembered the way there from the one time he went looking for her and ran into her father. This time the door was slightly ajar.
Trying his luck, he gently pushed open the door, finding Zelda asleep on her desk. The sound of the door nudging a box on the floor startled her awake. Young Link hopped back at her looking around, "S-orry Princess!"
Her tired, green eyes relaxed after seeing it was him, she yawned, "It's okay, little one. I probably wouldn't have woken up until dark if you hadn't come along."
He joined her, peering at her work before looking up at her, "What did you do at Death Mountain? It's good to see you back."
"Ah, I was helping Daruk with his Divine Beast. Afterward, we went for a walk and I found out he was afraid of dogs." She giggled at the memory.
"Well, I haven't seen him, but I never would have thought that a strong Goron would be scared of that!" It was nice seeing her be happy, knowing about her depressing power situation. He looked back to the papers on her desk, "What have you been working on?"
"Just theories about the Divine Beasts and Guardians, things we could possibly test."
"Guar-dians?" 'I've never heard of that before.' She showed him a picture of a six-legged machine that had orange markings and a single eye. He squinted at the eye part, 'That uncomfortably reminds me of beamos, I hope they don't shoot lasers..' "Interesting form they've got. What do they do?"
"That's just the thing, we don't know yet. Clearly they walk on all those legs but their capabilities? That's where my theories come in!" She grabbed a few of her notes.
'Wait hold on, I already didn't understand the word that had "ability" in it—'
"My first idea is that the coloring might mean they possess elemental properties. Since this one is orange, maybe it expends fire somehow. Oh, and it's eye being blue might mean its shortcoming is water or ice!" The Princess rattled off other ideas, but her tendency to speak academically was the young hero's weak spot in their language.
He stopped her after she took a break to breathe, "Haha, hold on there, Your Highness. Your ideas sound really cool, but I can't tell half of what you're saying." Young Link scratched his head, it was a little embarrassing for him to admit, "I only know so many words in your language. Heck, even your book of legends was hard to read!"
"Oh!" Zelda's cheeks reddened, "I'm terribly sorry, sometimes I get too wrapped up in what I'm saying." She moved a strand of hair out of her face and set down her papers, "You said you were reading about legends? Did you find one that you liked?"
"Well, actually, I have a bit of a problem."
He could see her eyes glisten with curiosity, "Really? What's wrong?"
'How do I tell her one of the stories is missing without making it sound like I did something to it?' "Uhh, really quick, I remember there being different heroes of stuff. How many were there—or actually—what were they all called?"
The princess sat back in her chair, resting her head in her hand, "Well, I believe I remember a Hero of the Sky, Time, Twilight, and Winds. Am I missing one?"
"The book is missing one."
She was appalled, her eyes narrowing as she sat up straight at hearing the news, "Are you sure? Where did you get the book from?"
"Your tutor gave it to me, and yes, I'm completely sure. When I went to check the table of contents, the texture of the page was different where the title of the story should've been. I think someone painted over it." He could see she was starting to be suspicious of her teacher, "But I don't think he would do that kind of thing. He seems to really really like books, and I saw that whoever did this did a near perfect job of tearing out the pages. Your tutor would never do that."
"You're right," Zelda sounded convinced, "He wouldn't. I know you don't have the book on you right now, but if you don't mind me picking it up later, I would like to do some investigating."
"Sure thing, but if you end up going to the Tech Lab about it, take me with you."
The Princess looked confused, "That might be the last thing I'll do, but yes, if it comes to that I'll take you. I'll do my best to let you know of anything I've found as well."
"Great!" He looked outside for a moment to check how long he'd been away from the hospital, "Man, I should probably head back to the recovery room. Also, if you write to me about what you've found, try to make it not fancy . If it's anything like the title to the legend book, I'll have to have Link read it for me."
She nodded, "Why are you in recovery, young one? You seem fine to me, it also looks like the castle outfitted you with proper sleepwear as well."
He wearily smiled, 'Ah, so she doesn't know..' "Well..um, let's just say that maybe I got eaten by a Hinox and I cut my way out. I'm, uh, recovering from possible stomach acid burns...or something." Young Link looked away.
Her voice said it all, "What!? How did that happen!?" She shook her head, "N-Never mind that, at least you're alive!" Zelda sighed, her tone more controlled and calmer, "You know, I'm happy that the knights have some use with you, but you really must be careful. You have strength and it shows, but don't throw yourself into things you're not sure how to get out of."
"Will do, Zelda." He turned toward the door, "Good luck with the book. Maybe you could read one of the legends about the heroes to me."
Her serious expression turned into a delighted one, "If I have the time I'd love to!" She noticed the ocarina he had with him, "Before you go, would you mind playing that song I heard when we first met?"
He faced her, "Your lullaby?"
She nodded.
"Sure," he brought the instrument to his face and warmly played it. When he was done, the Princess was smiling.
"That song sounds amazing when you play it," she praised, "It brings me back to the time when my mother was alive. She would sing that song to me whenever I went to bed."
Hearing about her mom made him think of his and how she carried him to the Great Deku Tree when she was fleeing, "I understand what that's like."
Zelda realized what he meant, "If you don't mind me asking..do you know what happened to her?"
"The most I could tell you is that I was just a baby when she died. The rest of it wouldn't make sense. I have no memory of what she looked like."
The sentiment brought a tear to her eye, "My mother died from a sudden illness. In fact, we still have no idea how it happened or why. I was only six at the time too." She weakly smiled, "Perhaps that's why I put so much effort into my research. Maybe, along with my powers, I might find what caused it."
'Her story reminds me of countless others I encountered in Termina.' He took her hand, his eyes full of determination, "I think you'll find your powers soon. I don't know how, but it can't be far off."
"Thank you, young one. I don't want to praise you for getting tangled up with a Hinox, but that was incredibly courageous of you, now that I think about it."
He smirked, "Well, speaking of which, I should probably head back."
"Goodbye then, I hope you recover soon."
He made sure to close the door behind him as he left, heading back to where he came from. Once he was back inside the castle, the new knight-thing that was going on was clearly over, as there weren't a pair of guards stationed at nearly every doorway. 'Thank goodness for that. I got the feeling I'd get questioned for even going to the Dining Hall with all of them here.'
Luckily for him, he was released from the hospital wing two days later. His chest wounds were completely healed with no scars, just like his arms and legs. The doctor warned him with a medical bill if he showed up in his wing again. Young Link still couldn't figure out if he was joking or not… 'A better reason to not go back! I don't wanna find out!'
When he got back to his room, the first thing he did was an aerial into his bed. His feet briefly touched the covers before he intentionally landed on his back, "Aahhh, this is nice." He got the sense that there was someone staring at him so he sat up and, lo and behold, a maid was standing in his doorway with her mouth wide open in shock. "Oh! Uh, hi there! Did you need something, ma'am?"
She shook herself out of her daze. In fact, she looked quite young and was possibly in her twenties, "Sorry about that!" She set some folded clothes down on the seat to his vanity, "I've just never seen a child do that before, and I must say I'm very impressed!" She gestured to the clothes, "These are a couple of tunics from the knight academy. Their message was that they heard about what happened to your last one and thought they would show you some kindness."
Young Link scooted to the edge of his bed, "Well thank you very much! I appreciate both you taking it here and them giving it to you."
She quickly curtsied and left, closing the door.
Curious about how they looked, he walked to the seat and examined them. They gave him a cream colored, long sleeved, undershirt that had small, pale designs along the neckline, a pair of white pants, 2 tunics, and a pair of brown fingerless gloves. The first tunic was blue-gray and the second was light green. They fit the simplicity of the other tunics that could be seen around the castle, unlike his other more saturated ones.
He checked through what they gave him again, 'Huh...well I suppose caps aren't the current fashion trend here, so it would make sense that they didn't make them,' Young Link still felt his heart sigh about it though. He set the clothes down and turned to his window, 'It's midday, seems like a good time to practice with this bow.'
The Hero of Time chose to wear the blue-gray tunic, though he ditched the pants and opted for shorts instead. He put on his boots, "Yeah I think I'll save the pants for when it's cold. If I looked as old as I actually am, I'd wear them." He murmured to himself. Making sure he had his equipment, he left for the Guards' Chambers, 'Time to see if Link got that quiver for me!'
As he walked there, he noticed he kept getting looks from the people he passed. They weren't particularly hostile, but they weren't necessarily friendly either, 'Weird. Why are they looking at me like that? Did news get around that I killed a Hinox? Even then, I can't tell if they're just surprised or what.' He shrugged, turning the corner and heading toward the entrance. After opening the door, he saw around ten guards. They were all either napping, getting dressed, or simply sitting in their beds. Young Link walked to where his descendant normally slept and found him nearly drooling on the floor.
"Hey," one that was nearby said, "I'd carefully consider trying to wake him up."
He turned, "How come?"
"Let's just say a guy got punched in the gut trying to, and he was feeling it the rest of the day. Hate to see what that would do to a kid." He squinted, "Wait, actually what do you need? Why are you here?"
'Oh right, I guess it's odd to randomly come in here unless you're a captain or another guard.' "He promised to get me a quiver and I was just coming to see if he did." Young Link looked back to him, 'That and even if he did try to get me, I'm sure my reflexes would save me.' He crouched down, blocking out what the other guy was saying. He moved his shoulder, "Hey, Link. Long guarding shift?"
He murmured groggy gibberish.
"Oh yeah, good news, I'm finally out of the hospital. I even got a new tunic!"
"H...hospital..? I'm fine...zzz."
Young Link couldn't help but smile, 'You're quite the bastard to wake, and I thought I was bad!' He nudged his shoulder again, giving it a few shakes, "Link c'mon, I wanna go practice with my bow! I need to buy arrows too.."
His brows suddenly furrowed, his face looking struck with a mix of emotions, "N-no…"
'Ah, he's having a nightmare. Maybe I should still try to wake him?' He started to nudge his shoulder again, when Link quickly sat up with a gasp. His chest quickly rose and fell with each breath he took. "You okay there? Didn't seem like a good dream."
To the young hero's surprise, he actually looked relieved to see him. He sighed, "Thank Hylia.."
"What happened?" 'Must have been pretty bad. I could be wrong, but he almost looks upset.'
"I dreamed that you died to a vicious lynel, and that I was too late to save you, but of course right on time to see you get torn to pieces." He shook his head and sat on his cot.
Young Link was speechless, 'Uhhhh, you better not have a dream like that again! I would be dumb to sit here and think that the hero's dreams aren't tied to fate!' "That's um, very worrying. I'm glad you shared, though?" His tone was apologetic but flat.
Link understood, "Ah my bad, I guess that's like telling the King to his face that you dreamed about him dying. Trust me, I don't think you have anything to worry about." He slouched a little, "So what are you doing here? Have you been released already or are they letting you wander around?"
"I'm all better! No scars or anything! And the academy gave me a couple of tunics since I lost my other one." 'Is it me or did the room get quieter?'
The knight had a small smile, "That's good to hear, though you're missing your pants aren't ya?"
He sassily raised his skirt to show his shorts, "I think you should know by now that I don't like wearing pants unless it's cold." He saw that Link went to partially cover his eyes, it made his cheeks warm out of embarrassment, "Hey! Don't react like that! I wouldn't do that if I wasn't wearing anything!"
Link couldn't stop himself from chuckling, "Sorry sorry, it just made me think back to when I was training at the academy. I've been flashed too many times by overzealous kids who genuinely forgot."
Young Link fanned his face, 'It's getting stuffy in here,' "Anyways, did you get that quiver? I wanted to practice today."
"Oh yeah, I did. I think you'll like it too." He reached under his cot and pulled out a medium sized quiver. Despite being patterned, it was mainly brown with a hint of green in a few places, "They were surprised I was trying to get a quiver made for a kid when I could ask for one from the academy, but I told them that it was more for a younger knight so it would need to be more durable. Sorry if it's not too big, I figured you didn't want to put on a lot of weight."
He blinked in astonishment as he was handed the equipment, "I—I think this is prettiest quiver I've ever seen! How much did you pay for this?"
"I think about five bullseyes in a row and splitting an arrow in half."
They smirked at the same time, "That's a decently high price. Good thing I'm willing to pay."
"Let's go then. I think the academy would be a better place than the arena for once. There's not a lot going on today in the archery unit, so that practice area should be free." He got up and put on his own gear.
"You're not putting on your armor?"
"I'm off today, so there's no need. That's also why I was asleep. C'mon." He gestured for him to follow.
As they walked to the door, Young Link noticed that all the other knights were staring, agape at their conversation. 'Y'know, when Link does talk, it makes me forget that it's weird for him to do so. At least he's not awkward...well..most of the time anyway.'
When they got to the archery portion of the academy, Link helped him attach the quiver to the back of his belt and grabbed forty or so arrows from the storage shed. He gestured to the targets, "Warm up a little and take a few shots."
Young Link didn't need to be taught how to use a bow, he's used several for a long time. As he drew back the first shot, it made him think of when he got the fairy bow back in his Hyrule. He steadied his aim, 'Man I remember practicing with that thing for at least a few days. I couldn't shoot straight to save my life! Ugh and then wasting my last arrow on a switch I didn't hit.' He smiled, hitting his first bullseye, 'Good times.'
"Ah right," The knight turned to face him, "I nearly forgot you shot a moblin right between the eyes, so obviously this isn't the first time you've used a bow. Who taught you?"
"Oh I taught myself. Just me, my bow, some money, and a tree."
He scratched his head, "When was that?"
The young hero made a face.
"Ah, another one of those 'this won't make sense if I tell you' type of thing."
"Precisely," He sank another bullseye, taking less time to aim, "And it feels good to finally get back to using one. I've been lacking the range I'm used to."
Link looked interested, "Huh, you make it sound like you can do more."
"Well yeah, I can use slingshots, boomerangs, bombs—"
"Whoa whoa, what? Bombs?" Link slightly frowned, "I feel like you're just pulling my leg now. There's no way."
He shot two more bullseyes, "It's up to you to believe me, but don't be surprised if I ever get one in my hands and manage to not kill myself."
It was clear he didn't know how to feel about that, "See, when you say things like that it reminds me that despite you being young, you're somehow more complex than you let on."
Young Link brought the focus back to archery, "Bet I can't sink this bullseye and split the arrow in half?"
"I'm starting to think this is normally how you would warm up considering you haven't missed a single shot."
He didn't. It took only a bit more concentration to make sure the arrow didn't skew in a different direction when it went to split the other. "Cool, that was a neat challenge. That Rito gave me a good bow, so some credit goes to him as well."
His descendant looked perplexed, "Honestly I thought we'd come here and I'd have something to teach you, but I'm starting to think I don't. I'm somewhat impressed."
"Oh I'm sure there's something I don't know how to do. My rapid-fire skills are probably pretty weak and it's been awhile since I've shot from horseback."
Link chuckled, "Yeah, only by weak you mean you're still better than the majority of the knights that train in that area at both of those things. You're probably better than me."
"Yeeaah, don't push your luck. There are some things I can't do simply because I'm not that tall and etc." 'Though, when I think about it, I bet we're roughly on the same level.' "Oh, how's me getting on an expedition with you coming along? It's not a big deal if it can't happen. I don't want you to stretch what you're allowed to ask for."
He tilted his head, taking a seat on a standing target, "I asked the commander about it and he said that if I deemed you fit enough when you got out of the hospital, you could go. It would turn out that killing that Hinox helped you in this case."
Young Link cheekily smiled, "Sooooo is that a yes? Will a 'pretty please' sway you?"
The knight had a small smile, "It might be pretty soon considering you were just released, but with how things are currently working out, how's tomorrow morning sound? I figured you wanted to go on something more significant than a patrol and tomorrow we're heading out to the East Post to make sure things are in order and to potentially get rid of a monster base."
The young hero jumped up and down with excitement, "Yeesss! That sounds awesome!" He ran over to him and gave him a hug, 'I'm not a hugger, but this means a lot!' "I promise I'll try to let you guys handle things and stay out of trouble!" He felt his descendant lightly wrap an arm around him and pat his head in response.
"Haha, I think you're smart enough to know when to hang back and when to help. I doubt you'll be a problem." A brief moment passed, the two of them hearing chattering they hadn't noticed before. "Oh hey, do you guys need this area for target practice?"
Young Link looked over his shoulder, to his dismay he saw a bewildered crowd of trainees behind an equally shocked instructor, 'Heh!? How long have they been standing there?! Dammit, now this hug is weird!' He tried to smoothly let go of the knight, but he still felt his hand on his head. 'Link what the hell are you doing!? Get your hand off of me! You're making the kids jealous I can feel it!'
"If, uh, the two of you are done here, we'll gladly take this area thank you," The instructor replied, not hiding the surprise in his voice.
"Great! We actually just finished, feel free to get situated." They walked out of the area to let them use it, the young hero swiping the descendant's hand off his head once they were around the corner.
"You didn't have to do that for so long, you're making me a prime target for those kids!" He hissed.
Link's eyebrows raised, "Oh sorry, I didn't think it was a big deal."
He put his hands on his hips, "It's only a big deal because you never do that kind of stuff and you're an idol to them."
The knight shrugged, "Hm, well I'd think they're the odd ones if they think a hug is out of the ordinary. Heck, the captains usually do that before they go off to be stationed in a different part of Hyrule."
Young Link facepalmed and shook his head, "Dear Goddesses, you're misunderstanding me. Think about it, when was the last time you hugged someone?"
"Earliest memory I have is a few years ago until now, why?" He cocked his head, "You don't seem like a jealous type."
"What!? No! Ugh, what I'm trying to say is that people see that and think it's not like you to do that kind of thing because you don't do it often, if at all." He sighed, but it turned into a chuckle, "I'm not mad, I'm just confused that you kept your dumb hand on my head after I let go. That's kinda weird and you know that."
Link's once oblivious eyes appeared to smirk back at him, "C'mon I can't mess with you a little? Plus, this is one of the first times since we went to the Gerudo Desert that I've seen you without your cap on, it's cute."
He crossed his arms and looked the other way, "You kill me sometimes, you know that? Well since you clearly know what you're doing, don't be surprised when people are giving you odd looks."
"I still don't think I'm acting any different, but I'll consider what you're saying." His descendant nudged him, "Anyways, I'm glad you like the quiver. For tomorrow, I'm sure we'll meet on the east side of town before we leave." He paused, "I also realized I should probably get my sword sharpened," his figure slumped a little, "Then I think I'll go back to sleep."
Young Link smiled, 'Of course you want to go back to bed, not that I can blame you, though.' "Sounds like a solid plan. I think I'll go check in on Grace. See ya tomorrow!" They waved and went their separate ways. Despite having used it already, his heart still felt giddy about having the new item and learning that Link could get him on an expedition.
'It feels like I just found a new thing in a chest! With way less effort and puzzles of course.' Which reminded him, 'Speaking of puzzles, I know it's because I'm not in a dungeon or temple, but it feels odd to not be looking for said dungeons and temples or puzzles in general.' He glanced at an apple hanging from a nearby tree, 'Like if I randomly went to shoot that apple, something wouldn't magically appear just because I knocked it down. Maybe this universe works differently like that…or…' His gaze shifted to the castle, 'Hm.'
He waved the thought away and continued to the stables. When he arrived, Grace was eagerly waiting at the gate of her pen, "Someone's missed me," he pet her nose and let her out of the gate. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the shocked expression of a stablehand, he pretended he didn't notice it until he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Excuse me," came the sour tone, "I would think this is common sense, but you can't just let a horse out all willy-nilly!"
He faced the young boy who looked to be at least thirteen. He wore the typical Hyrulian stable gear, but his most noticeable feature was the excessive amount of freckles that covered his face, "I didn't just 'let a horse out', kid. This is my horse and she does as she's told."
"And how am I supposed to believe that's to be true? Also you're younger than me, so who are you calling a kid!?" He crossed his arms, "Just put a halter on her and we won't have a problem."
"Not gonna happen."
The stableboy squinted his eyes, "Why?"
"Call me crazy, but there's no point in putting on a halter when she stands still for me already. Plus, once everything is on, I'd just have to take it back off. How about you leave me and my horse alone? I'm sure you could be doing plenty of other things that include not bothering me."
He sharply inhaled before turning around and stomping away, "The stablemaster will hear about this!"
'Pfft, like he cares. You just wanted to cause trouble.' Grace obediently stayed by his side as he grabbed the horse gear, only stepping away from him and waiting patiently for him to put it on when they reached the same patch of grass they normally went to.
"Heh, I don't even have to tell you what to do. You're a natural. Though, now that I've got something to hold my arrows, I couldn't just ride you out tomorrow and then expect you to be perfectly calm while I shoot like a mad man or something, so I figured I'd at least get you used to it first." He knew she couldn't understand him, but like Epona, he could tell she was listening.
He rode around the outdoor arena, shooting from horseback until she didn't flinch as much. To save money, he also took the time to go back and collect the arrows that didn't break. "Okay girl," He was readying his aim, "I think this will be the last one for today. It's starting to get dark," the night breeze confirmed it.
Young Link spied an acorn that was perfectly hanging from a twig, 'Would be a good target but…' he thought of where the arrow would go after it hit, 'That would go straight into the air and might land on someone or something.' He continued in a canter past the tree and caught a glimpse of jiggly blob that appeared from the ground about fifty feet away, "Seems we've got a monster, looks easy enough." The young hero swiftly shot at the small chuchu. It promptly slumped and started to liquefy and dissipate back into the ground, leaving behind a slimy chunk.
Slowing Grace to a halt, he hopped down and carefully collected the drop, only he dropped it as soon as he felt it ooze in his hands, "Ew!" It irked him that it was lukewarm. Still curious, he gripped it tighter this time, 'I'm only bothering with this because I feel like Zelda would want to study it. Let's go see if I can find her.' He turned back to Grace, pointing toward the stables, "Go home, Grace! I'll see you bright and early tomorrow!"
With that, he jogged back to the castle, now cupping the goop in his hands. He was starting to enter the staircase that led him to Zelda's part of the castle when he collided with one of the guards, "Hey! What was that for?! I'm trying to talk to Zelda!"
"No one but Zelda's personal staff and the King are permitted to this portion of the castle at this time of day. Sorry kid, but you and your—" He raised an eyebrow, a frown following after it, "…hand full of snot can wait until tomorrow."
Young Link was appalled at the comparison, "What!? No this is chuchu jelly, I just killed one back at the stables and I thought she'd like to study it. Plus, I'm sure she'd have a jar for it whereas I don't."
He rolled his eyes, "Excuses, excuses. Now get out of here before I make you. The Princess doesn't have time for that crap anyways, she should be focused on the prophecy."
'Ugh, how dare he speak of it so plainly! Not to mention that's none of his business!' "You better watch your tongue. You have no right to speak about her Highness and the prophecy like that!" His tone was stern.
"And you have no right to speak to the royal guard like that either! Now scram!" The guard tried to grab him, but he hopped onto the stone railing, continuing to run up it until he dropped back onto the stairs.
'I didn't think I'd have to do this, but I don't want to keep holding this goop. It feels weird!' The next thing he knew, he found Zelda's study with the lights still on, but the guard's footsteps weren't far behind, "Princess! I've got something to show you!"
The door opened with Zelda peeking out of it. Right as the young hero was beginning to slow down, he felt his foot suddenly disappear out from under him and the slime went flying onto Zelda's chest. Both Young Link and the guard audibly gasped.
"Ah!" Though she quickly realized it wasn't an insect of some sort as it continued to slide down. She soon had it in her hands.
The Hero of Time was back on his feet, "Sorry about that! If it weren't for your pesky gu—" The guard lifted him by the front of his tunic.
"Your Highness, did this kid frighten you!? I'll make sure he pays for it!"
Zelda shook her head, "You're being too rough, let him go and let him speak." He did as he was told.
'Damn guard!' "Phew! Again sorry. I killed a chuchu when I was out riding and thought you maybe wanted to study it, or, y'know, keep it in a jar." He shrugged.
She eyeballed it, "Well, to be fair, only the Sheikah for some reason have been able to get their hands on it, so I'm actually quite glad you brought this to me. Thank you, young one. Guard, you're dismissed."
He was flabbergasted, "B-but, Princess! The rules!"
Her voice was firm, "Everyone knows there are exceptions, and I thought it was known that he's one of them. Now I would appreciate it if you gave us some space, thank you." When he was out of earshot, she turned back to him with a warm smile, gesturing with her head to return to her study, "Now that I think about it, this must mean you're completely healed? I'm glad your injuries weren't too serious."
'Dammit, am I blushing?' "Oh, well sorry if I made you worry. Did you find anything out about the missing story?"
She deposited the chuchu jelly into an empty glass and set it to the side, "Between praying and keeping an ear out for news about the Divine Beasts, I'm afraid I haven't. I plan on conferring with Impa about it tomorrow if that makes you feel any better."
He felt his expression shift, "Actually, if you could act like you had noticed it yourself, that might be better. You could say you were rereading them to see if they said anything about how the others had gained their powers."
Zelda looked concerned, "Any reason why? I don't recall Impa thinking negatively of you."
"I dunno, I just don't want her to find me suspicious. Especially since some of the people from the clan think I'm some Ganon follower because I can speak the old language."
She was surprised to hear this, "Ah, well I'll certainly keep that in mind then. Hm," a thought was coming to mind, "I think I owe you something."
'Zelda you're the last person I would suspect to owe me anything .' "What do you mean?" He asked.
"Well you've really only been helpful to me, but here I am coming up short when it comes to being helpful to you. I'll try to make this missing legend a priority for the next few days to make up for it."
Young Link shook his head, "Oh you don't have to do that! Besides, I get to stay here in the castle for free. It can't get any better than that, Your Highness." Despite what he said, she still looked determined, 'Ah, what can you do?' "Well, in any case, I think I should head off to bed. I finally get to go on an expedition with Link tomorrow."
That caught her attention, "Link and the elite squadron? Just promise me you'll let them handle things, okay? I'd hate to hear that you got hurt again."
"Trust me, I promised that to him too. Goodnight, Princess."
"Goodnight, young one."