That's…Not Good

More like a nightmare. He found himself in a torch-lit room in the grasp of a Yiga blademaster. His thinner counterparts teased and taunted him with their sharp scythes and laughter. Before he could croak something in retaliation, the blademaster had slashed his head clean off, causing him to jolt awake with a gasp.

His consciousness was met to being held by Link, the knight sitting with his legs crossed. This also came with the unusual feeling of his hand continuously making its way across the top of his head, meanwhile the knights who were awake and getting dressed simply watched. He blinked, looking up at his descendant, "Huh?"

Link explained, "You were having a nightmare and talking in your sleep. My mom and dad used to do this to make me feel better." His head slightly cocked in the other direction, an eyebrow rising, "Feeling better?"

'I'm feeling invaded, but…' He sighed, trying not to wear any particular expression, "Yes…more importantly, what was I saying in my sleep?"

"I dunno, something in your Old Hylian."

"Makes sense. I don't exactly speak your tongue in my head." He picked the knight's hand up off his head, "You don't..have to keep doing that."

Link put it back, "You sure?" The look in his eyes indicated that he knew he was pushing his luck.

Young Link stopped him right as his hand started to move again, " Yes I am. I'm fine." 'Does he not know that he's coming off as unexpectedly caring? I think I'd rather risk dying next time if this is what staying with him gets me.'

His descendant shrugged and scooted him out of his lap so he could get dressed, "Well, in any case," he said as he took off his pants, "The King heard about what happened yesterday."

"What'd he say?" He tried to look elsewhere without seeming like he was ignoring him, but everywhere else to look had half naked bodies as well.

"The King? Oh, I don't know, the commander was the one who said that. He also told me that I could go home for a few days, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with."

He kept in mind that he wanted to go with Zelda to meet with the historian, "When are you leaving?"

"In a few days, I still have other things to do before I can go."

"As long as you leave sometime in the afternoon, I should be able to come. Zelda wanted to show me the castle's historian on the same day. How far away is your hometown?"

He had the blue underclothes on and was putting on his chainmail, "Oh it's nearly a day's ride. I think it'll be fine, though."

"Hm, that's pretty far," Young Link hopped off the cot and put his gear on, "Well, thanks again for letting me stay the night. Honestly, I'm not scared of much, but considering I'd already taken a nap when we got back, I really thought one of them were getting ready to appear at any moment and kill me."

"Wait what?" Came one of the guards who was half-dressed, sounding concerned, "What are you talking about?" Others around him nodded, they were curious as well.

"Oh yeah, the whole reason I'm here right now is because I found one of the Yiga Clan's weapons in my bed. They must be in love with me and they're just bad at showing it." He could hear a few of them snicker at the reply.

"Holy Hylia, well thank goodness you thought to come here."

"Yeah I probably would have forgotten and died," said another.

"Pfft, of course. You're given guard duty because we can only trust you to look at doors, idiot." One jabbed back.

'I'm not gonna stay here long enough to watch a fight break out so…' He looked back to Link, "Alright, well, I'll see you."

"See ya, I'll be waiting at the south gates when I'm ready to go."

He waved, heading toward the door and sidestepping the two knights that were now wrestling on the floor. Young Link had to keep himself from giggling at the tomfoolery they created. Once outside, he enjoyed the fresh air as he went back to the castle. Before he walked in, he looked to one of the knights standing guard, "Would you know where Zelda is?"

"The Princess? No, but I can tell you she hasn't walked in or out through this door."

'Okay that was useless, I'll just go check her part of the castle myself,' "Thanks," He continued the stone path until he found the staircase that led to the bridge between her study and her room. Unlike last time, now there were Sheikah researchers studying the guardians that Zelda gushed about.

He looked for her royal blue gown, thinking she would be around to watch, but it was to no avail, even after climbing the staircase and looking from the bridge. The movement of one of the machines caught his attention. The young hero saw it move a few steps from side to side before standing still, the researcher scribbling down notes. His fingers tapped the railing, 'I don't think I like these things. They seem...' He watched another spin its head around, the Sheikah who accompanied it clapping their hands in delight, '…like bad news. Like maybe they're all messing with something they shouldn't be.'

Young Link felt a knot start to develop in his stomach as he let out a sigh. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught one of the researchers staring at him. His nerves immediately flared, 'Maybe I should go say hi to this friend I didn't know I had,' He sourly thought. Before he started to move back toward the stairs, a partially gloved hand was placed on his.

"Isn't it fascinating?" Came Zelda's gentle voice, "We still don't know much, but with the guardians on our side, we'll be a formidable force to fighting this Calamity Ganon."

He could feel his temper cooling down, whoever was looking at him either stopped or walked away, "I agree. Though how would they know what to do? Can you control them?"

"That's what the researchers are implying is possible. I'm sure we would have one of them sit at the top of the command." She looked down at him, "Also, did you need something? Sorry to have kept you waiting, young one."

He shook his head, "Trust me, I wasn't here long. There's no need to apologize. I just wanted to request a different room."

She looked troubled, "Is there something wrong with it?"

"Weellll…" His eyes slowly looked in the other direction, "It's been fine, and I don't want to worry you too much…but IfoundaYigaweaponinmybed and I don't feel safe to sleep in there anymore."

The Princess leaned down lower, "I'm sorry what was that again?"

Young Link sighed. His tone was nonchalant, "I found one of the Yiga's scythes literally underneath my blankets, and I feel pretty threatened, and would like a different room."

Zelda's eyes narrowed, "Dear Hylia! You're not hurt, are you? Of course we can find you a different room."

"Again, I don't want to worr—"

She looked into his eyes, " Please worry me. Never hesitate to tell me anything, especially when it's something like that! You didn't sleep in there did you?"

"Oh heck no," He pointed in the direction of the Guards' Chamber, "I ran and stayed in there. I figured there's no place safer than one full of people that can handle a sword."

"Is that also why you're wearing all your gear even though you're in a nightgown?"

'Huh, I'd actually forgotten I was still wearing this.' "Yeah, I can get the rest of my clothes later, but there's no way they're gonna take my weapons."

The Princess started heading back to her room, "Follow me, we'll get this sorted out immediately. I think placing guards outside your old room for a few nights to make sure nothing happens will be a good idea."

He walked with her, "I don't think putting them outside my new one would be necessary, though. Surely they would pick up on something like that."

"You're right, but the royal guard would want to do something to ensure your safety for a few days."

"Well hopefully it's nothing too significant. Speaking of which, I'm surprised the King still hasn't given them the OK to just kill the clan members." He caught her eye, "I know it wouldn't make things better, but you'd think that after that being the punishment, they would back off since they likely can't create more members than we could dispatch."

They were heading toward a large pair of doors, "However, you're unaware of the distress that would cause for innocent bystanders. There's a village of peaceful Sheikah who could get massacred if the King permitted that."

'She has a point,' "Well, to be fair, I didn't know that village existed, but you're right. It's a complicated matter."

Zelda opened the doors, revealing a medium sized room that had a large, round table in the middle, with the map of Hyrule at its center. It seems they had walked in on a meeting, as all the chairs were occupied by commanders and a few captains. Their focus had turned to them as they came through.

'Hm, I can't see Link among them despite being the captain of their elite squadron. That's weird, considering that would make him important enough to be here…at least in my opinion. However, there's no way he would have made it over here before I did. I guess he has other orders.'

The Head of Command was an older, rough looking man who was built like a bear, except it was all muscle. His expression was highly concerned as his large brows furled, "Is something wrong Princess? Did this child do something?"

He strained to keep himself from rolling his eyes, 'Oh. My. Gods. How do they always assume that I did something, even though the last thing I did was help take out a crazy dangerous monster base!'

"Hm? No, of course not. I simply came to let you know that when he came back from an expedition, he found a Yiga's scythe beneath his blankets."

They all stood at once, the room erupting into discussion.

"Why didn't he come tell us?"

"Grrr, those clan members will pay!"

"How did it get there in the first place?!"

The Head of Command knocked on the hard-wood table, the room quickly falling silent. He gestured for the young hero to speak.

"Look, I would have come to you guys, but it wasn't worth putting the castle into a frenzy so late at night. Especially considering that all they ever target is me nowadays. I stayed with the other knights and haven't been back to my room since, so there's a chance that it's still there."

"I suggest a pair of guards follow him back to his room so he can collect his things and stay posted there for the next couple of nights," Zelda commented, looking serious.

A commander spoke, "Shouldn't we have some for his new room as well?"

Young Link felt the Princess's eyes on him, "Unfortunately they're not stupid, so while that's a good idea in theory , you would be telling them exactly where my new room is."

Several of them nodded at his response.

The Head wasn't as sure, "How will we know that you'll be able to handle yourself if they ambush you? You realize that you're the first and only line of defense in the event that they appear for you, right? If they manage to kill you, they would be able to take the surrounding residents by surprise and slaughter them."

"That's fair, but what if I told you that I killed the blademaster that begged me for his life back in the Gerudo Desert in a sudden standoff? This was when I was out on my most recent expedition as we were clearing the nearby plains of monsters. My sword is far from being the sharpest in the land, but when I cut him down in one slash, I felt each rib that my sword passed through. I doubt even the strongest potion could have saved his lungs let alone his body in general." The Head Commander's eyes still looked unconvinced, "If you're curious to hear more details, you can ask Hyrule's best spearman and dual-handed swordsman, Anthony and Godric, who suggested that we all run away." He crossed his arms.

Zelda had looked in the other direction in shock with a hand over her mouth. The other commanders stared in a mix of awe and disbelief. A moment later, the Head slowly nodded, "Very well then." He looked to the Princess, "Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Your Majesty. Luckily this meeting was nearly finished, I shall send two of the captains here to go with the child." He pointed to two of them and sat back down in his chair.

He squeezed her hand, a surprised expression briefly crossing her face, "Thanks, Princess."

She smiled, happy to have been of some use, "Of course, young one. I shall see you again in a couple of days."

"Honestly, this might work out nicely since I'll be leaving with Link on the same day. He's letting me visit his hometown with him, so I might be gone long enough to maybe make them think I'd left," He shrugged.

This was news to her; they were now in the hallway to let them resume their meeting. The two captains stood a respectable distance away from them, "O-Oh, he's leaving?"

"Only for a few days. It seems like it's his reward for taking down that nasty lynel. I didn't expect him to ask me to come with. I figured he'd want to spend time with his family rather than babysit me the whole time!" He briefly chuckled at his words.

She blinked, her eyes hinting to there being more than she let on, "Well I hope the two of you have a safe trip, and yes, it's quite nice of him to invite you." Zelda almost looked uneasy, "I'll—Well I'll let you be escorted. See you soon."

He motioned for the captains to follow him as he started going in the direction of his room. 'Odd, there's something about us leaving that she's either unsure of or doesn't like.' He tried to remember the interactions the knight and her had in the past, 'She doesn't appear to, well, like him aside from him being good at his job, so it's probably not jealousy. That would be unlike her anyways. She has a lot more to worry about than having a relationship, especially now of all times.'

"Y'know, you're pretty quiet for a kid," Came one of the captains.

"Well, considering I'm thinking about something, I would hope my brain doesn't make a lot of noise when I do that." He giggled at the thought of people's heads making various different sounds as they thought about things.

That earned a laugh or two from them as well. The other spoke, "That story about the blademaster is impressive. In a way, I'm surprised they haven't knighted you or something."

"You've got a point," came the first one, "I wonder how someone who has done as much as him hasn't been made into a knight."

"I can see it being because I'm too young," He reasoned, "I'm sure there would be plenty of people across Hyrule who would side eye the royal guard if they heard some kid got knighted."

The other rubbed his chin, "Well, but then Link was knighted when he was fourteen, making him the youngest knight in history."

"Yeah, but he actually trained in the academy, whereas I came out of nowhere one day. Besides, I clearly can't follow the rule of not killing Yiga clan members, so it's probably for the best." As he finished his sentence, they finally reached the door to his room. The air began to feel tense as he walked up to it. He quickly turned the knob and pushed the door open, his hand being ready on the hilt of his sword.

'Nothing?' His eyes rapidly searched the room before hastily checking behind the door, under the bed, and in his bathroom. "Seems all clear," he said, looking back at the captains.

"One of us will stay out here, while the other will keep an eye on your room as you get your things."

"Fine by me." He got his suitcase and unpacked the drawers into it. Luckily, it didn't take too long. He opted to wear his Keaton mask since it had been a while. Unsurprisingly, the scythe was gone. Only an imprint of where it sat was left. When he turned to the captain in his room, he hopped back.

"Wh-whoa! I was not expecting you to have a mask like that." He commented, his reaction causing the one outside to look in. "I've only ever seen the kind where they cover your eyes or half of your face. Can you see out of that thing?"

"Well I'm personally surprised you don't wear the one from your waist, the one with silver hair. That one would look way cooler."

He giggled at their comments, "Well one, I can definitely see out of this, and two, trust me when I say you don't want to see me wear this mask. Thanks for finding it cool, though." Once they were all back in the hallway, he realized that he didn't know where his new room was, "Maybe I can just go up a floor and pick one? I don't want to lug my stuff around all day."

The captains shrugged, "I mean, it's more likely that there's an empty one up there anyway."

"Yeah, I'd just go for it."

Young Link nodded, "Well thanks for coming with me. Hopefully whoever left that scythe there doesn't personally come greet you guys." He went up another flight of stairs and chose a room that was on the left side of the hallway and was four rooms away from the entrance to the other staircase. Luckily it seemed unoccupied, the dust on the vanity made that pretty clear.

This room essentially looked the same as his last one. He could easily wipe the dust off the surfaces where it had collected. The bathroom looked the same as well and was somehow cleaner. The only thing that was different was that the sheets were dark green, and the curtains were royal blue. That, and the chest at the foot of the bed seemed a bit older and made a squeaking sound whenever it was opened.

Once he put everything away, he plopped on the edge of his bed and sighed. 'Was killing that blademaster out in the fields actually necessary?' He thought, looking for an explanation of the recent events, 'Yes, it was. He would have killed me if I didn't do anything. So then, what part of 'get lost or die' do they appear to not understand?' He looked out the window, 'Are they testing me? I mean, I'll kill as many of them as I need to if that's what it takes to get the message across. Or maybe they know I'm actually the Hero of Time, and that's why it doesn't matter, even if I kill a hundred of them.'

He had taken the Keaton mask off and looked at the Fierce Deity's mask, remembering why he needed to read his story in the Book of Legends in the first place, 'It doesn't matter because if they know I'm the Hero of Time, they know what this does! This is probably worth as many lives as it takes to get it from me! Thinking about it now, there's no way the book doesn't mention it, unless Termina was just a weird dream.' He frowned, 'Which I'm not ready to accept if that's actually the case.'

"Holy Goddesses, I wish they could just…I dunno, take a damn break from hunting me. It's annoying." He took his ocarina off the side of the nightstand and played Saria's Song. Naturally, it made him curious about them, 'Hm, I wonder if this universe has Kokiri. Surely it does if there's a Deku Tree or some kind of Lost Woods, but I guess I'll have to find out." As he began to play another song, his stomach reminded him he hadn't eaten yet and that he was still in his night clothes.

Throwing on his blue tunic and cap, he left for the Dining Hall, making sure to remember which stairs he was going down. After eating, he still had the rest of the day to get things done. Namely, washing his clothes that he took with him on the expedition and finding the academy's blacksmith to sharpen his blade.

"Yeah, he should be around the corner, you'll know him when you see him," One of the older trainees directed.

He nodded his thanks and found the middle-aged man hunched over a broadsword, pounding away to create the fine tip at the end. Young Link didn't even have to address him, "Need something, young man?" His voice sounded quite wise despite not technically being old.

"Oh, just my sword sharpened if you have time."

He looked over his shoulder at him, his eyes blinking at the sight of him, "Ah, I was just about to say, 'Manners? From a boy at the academy? Well I'll be!' But no, you're the youngin' that I keep hearing these little hooligans talk about."

'My goodness, I would have never expected him to talk this way about the kids, not that I blame him though.' "Um, well interesting. I didn't think I was talked about too often here. Are they rude to you or something?"

He chuckled, "No, just impatient, especially the older ones. The younger they are, the more scared of me they usually are. They think I'll put a hammer through their head if they make me mad." He put the blade to cool in a large barrel of murky water, reaching his hand out toward him.

Young Link handed him the sword, "I'm sure you can tell it wasn't made here or from another blacksmith."

He eyed it, especially the hilt where the pommel sat, "That's right…where did you get it?" He twisted it in his hands, viewing the blade, "I can tell it's been through some heavy use; however, it's held up very well."

The young hero had to think about it, 'Well it's a Kokiri sword that I obtained before I left for Termina…' "Have you heard of anything with the word Kokiri in it? Otherwise, I don't particularly remember."

The blacksmith began sharpening the blade, large sparks flying off it, "I don't believe I have. That's a shame, I would have liked to meet whoever made it. I could have learned a thing or two." Within a few moments, he handed back his sword, "Take a few swings for me."

He obliged, swiftly slicing at the air, "It doesn't feel any different." A leaf blew his way at about eye-level, his sword easily cutting through it, "But it's certainly way sharper! Thank you so much!" He started to reach for his wallet, "How much—"

He shook his head, taking the sword from the barrel and sticking it back into the embers, "That won't be necessary."

"Are you sure?"

He laughed, "I'm quite sure. Don't worry, the castle pays me handsomely for the work I do. You run along now and stay out of trouble, okay?"

"Haha! I'll try!" He left, following the same path he took to get there. As he was going to take a turn back to the castle, he spied the new group of older knights sparring. Not wanting to be seen, he simply scaled the nearby oak tree and watched from afar. 'This is nothing incredible, but it is cool to see how they train.'

They were mainly practicing more offensive sword techniques. For example, a lower class may tell you to hit in a way to open up your opponent's defenses, but in this class they tell you to do that and then take another slash at them. They also likely teach how to evade those kinds of attacks as well if you find that the same scenario has happened to you.

One of the younger trainees with auburn hair had accomplished this but went for a horizontal slash instead of a diagonal one, causing him to hit his buddy's shield rather than pretend-hit his open chest.

"Huh? Why did you do that?" He was leaning forward and squinting his eyes from the thick branch he was sitting on. "Is that not kinda obv—" Young Link stopped himself, ' No , it's not obvious yet, that's why they're learning.'

The same kid ended up making the same mistake, and when he got a better look, plenty of other pairs were having the same problem. He tried to find the face of their instructor, "There's no way he's not facepalming into the next universe over all these kids making the same mistake over and over again."

But no. There he was, docile as a flower, and encouragingly nodding from the sidelines. He almost seemed proud.

Young Link could only blink in astonishment. Fortunately for him, they moved onto the next exercise. The instructor demonstrated a sequence of slashes that offensively pushed back his partner, an older student, before stabbing forward and purposefully missing. Simple enough. As he watched them attempt to replicate the sequence, he leaned so far forward in dismay that he had to catch himself on a lower branch after he consequently fell off from losing his balance. He dropped down to the grass after he caught the teacher's eye, meeting him at the gate to the small arena they were practicing in.

"Are you okay?" He asked. His voice was gentle and soft despite the content that he taught.

"Oh, well yeah." One could say he was very nonchalant in the way he had caught himself, almost like it was second nature, "I walked all the way over here without a limp, so.." He shrugged, "Is it okay if I watch? It's fine if I can't."

He nodded, "Of course! Feel free to participate as well."

"Really? You're sure?"

"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't. Just know that the majority of them are new to being in the upper class. As you know, we very recently had new knights commemorated, meaning these guys have only spent a few days in this class after passing their tests to move up."

"So they're essentially the youngest group of the upper class?"

"Precisely. Let me know if you have any more questions." He went back to where he was originally standing only to jog over to a group moments later to stop them from wrestling each other.

The young hero couldn't keep himself from snickering, 'Ah, young teenagers…says me who looks ten and still makes semi-brash decisions. At least I'm self-aware.'

The student that the teacher had demonstrated with got his attention. He looked to be about fifteen and had dark brown hair. He had acne scarcely spotted around his forehead. "Hey."

"What's up?" He responded, looking his way.

"Weren't you the one that Link was showing how to shoot a bow?"

"Oh, he wasn't teaching me." He explained, "I had asked him for a quiver and instead of paying for it in rupees, he challenged me."

"Right, well why did he hug you?" The teen shrugged, "Unless I saw that wrong. I was standing in the back. Sorry if that's weird, it's just that us older guys are trying to understand why."

"Ah, that's where you were going with this. Well long story short, I wanted to see him fight, so I asked him to get me on an expedition with him and he did. So he didn't hug me, I hugged him because that means a lot to someone who was stuck in the hospital for five days. I'm not a hugger either, just grateful," He crossed his arms, remembering how his descendant kept his hand on his head the whole time, "Until the bastard made it awkward! Sometimes I think it's his mission to embarrass me in whatever small way possible."

"Okay dang," His eyes widened, "How can you talk about him like that though? See, I don't care that much, but some of the other guys would flip at hearing you call him that."

"A bastard? Well, first of all, I'm pretty sure he has a dad, that and it's the least offensive thing I can openly call him without getting looks. Second, I can talk about him like that because I can see right through his stoic crap! Underneath all that stern focus and emotionlessness is a smart, sassy knight who knows what he's doing!" He had that trainee stunned to his core, "Plus I'm practically with him all the time . I literally slept with him last night."

"Ppfssshhhhhhh!" He put a hand over Young Link's mouth, "Dear Hylia can you be more quiet!? And don't say it like that!"

He wiped a drop of spit from that shush off the bridge of his nose, removing the student's hand, "How else am I supposed to say that? You're the one who's weird for taking it that way."

"Wait what? How do you even know about that?"

He slowly brought his hand up into a facepalm, "I am not going to sit here and explain myself to you. Anyways, you'd be surprised at how long his hair is when he doesn't have it pulled back."

Oddly enough the student appeared to be getting flustered, "Okay okay, you can stop talking about him now! You answered my question." He gestured with his hands to stop, "This feels like too much information."

Young Link shrugged, "I guess. Wanna try what the instructor was doing? We can switch off." 'Figured I might as well do something while I'm here.'

Still looking dumbfounded from his complaining, he nodded his head, "I'll go get us the practice swords and shields."

"Thanks." He was back in the next couple of minutes with the equipment. Young Link squeezed the wooden sword in his palms, "So it was just a few slashes into a stab, right? That's not too hard. Want me to go easy on you?"

He frowned, "What? No. If anything I should go easy on you because I'm older and taller."

"Dude, I've killed monsters at least four or five times your size. Are you sure about that?"

"Whatever, I'll go first." He correctly performed the slashes, the young hero hopping back from the stab.

He thought aloud, "Hm, that's the problem.."

"What is? I just did it the right way."

He sighed, "No you performed it the right way. You're not fighting me, you're acting like you are. Bokoblins won't play along when it comes time to fight them. Try again."

Frowning, he did it again, "How about that?"

Young Link shrugged, "It's better? Let me show you the difference." He first replicated the student, him easily dodging back. "See how you expected everything right down to the timing?" Before he could nod in response, he repeated the pattern again but with different timing and no pause before stabbing at him. He actually had to hold back on the stab or else he would have hit him.

At first, he looked frustrated that he came out of nowhere at him, but in the next moment it clicked, "Oooh, now I get what you're saying. Also, you're really fast. Like I was almost worried that you were going to hit me for real because I couldn't move quick enough."

"Trust me, I wouldn't do that, and you'll get better about that over time." The both of them switched back and forth for the next fifteen minutes, the trainee beaming when he told him that he was much better than before.

His eyes showed a stroke of realization while the whole class was taking a ten-minute break, "Huh, who knew I would learn something from someone way younger than me. You weren't snotty about it either."

"If I acted my age, I wouldn't do half the things I do," He replied, standing from where they sat. "It was nice practicing. Also make sure you don't exaggerate anything I told you earlier. I don't need the others coming after me, okay?"

"I'll try my best to tell it like you did. See ya."

He strolled back to the castle, enjoying the late afternoon breeze and how the clouds laced the sky. 'I hope this is how peaceful my life can be once I eventually get back to my universe. Hardly a care in the world, much less a world to save.' He found a patch in the grass to lie on and watched the clouds. Weirdly enough, he couldn't find any that made a particular shape, not even one that looked like a rupee. "Maaan, there's usually at least one that looks like a rupee. These clouds are pretty uncreative today."

A part of him wanted to take a nap in the grass, but another part of him reminded him that the Yiga clan surely didn't mind stopping by the castle to leave him sharp, pointy gifts. He would be making it easy by lying out in the open. 'Geez, I suppose I should go back inside. I need to break in my new room a bit more anyway. Make sure the pillows don't have dust or anything like that on them.'

Once he was walking back down the hallway, he remembered that the wash maids told him they'd bring him his clothes when they dried, "Aw shoot, they probably don't know I switched rooms." He muttered to himself. Young Link didn't find them in his room, so he went back downstairs and saw two guards standing outside his room just as they discussed this morning, "Er, hi." He greeted, "Do you guys know if any of the maids dropped off any clothes?"

They looked between each other, "Not that we're aware of, but we only just got here thirty minutes ago."

"I'll check for you," The other said, opening the door and going inside.

Him and the guard stood there for what felt like too long. 'I don't think I've ever been this anxious about someone getting something as simple as clothes for me.' "A-Are you okay in there?" He called through the door.

After no immediate response, his partner opened the door and looked in, "What are you doing? Did you find them or not?"

"Sorry! I was checking the drawers to make sure."

The young hero felt relieved that he was still alive. He sighed, "Well thanks for looking, even though you nearly gave me a heart attack. If they come by, let them know to come upstairs." They nodded as he returned to the upper floor.

The next day went by in a flash and before he knew it, he was getting up to a particularly bright morning sun. He stretched beneath the covers before throwing them off his body and sitting at the edge of his bed. The Hero of Time wiped the crud from his eyes, 'Today's a big day, huh?' His eyes perused over to the drawers, 'I should probably pack before I meet Zelda, that way I can eat, come back for my stuff, and leave with Link later.'

He packed the tunics the academy gave him, finding his own green tunic appropriate to wear for the occasion that morning. 'I thought I'd be impartial to my tunics, but they've really grown on me. I think it's because it helps me fit in, even though I feel that people are already used to the way I look.' All that was left were the things he'd physically wear on him, such as his weapons. He decided he'd only carry his sword and shield to see Zelda as he put on his boots and left for the Princess's Study.

The stroll along the path to her portion of the castle was serene. It felt like life was in a good mood that morning. The air was crisp, dew shined in the grass, and best of all, the guardians he witnessed last time, weren't turned on.

Despite his dislike for them, his painful curiosity still made him walk up to one. 'Dear Goddesses, they're huge! Especially from my point of view!' Now that he had a better look, its feet easily doubled as claws and there were all sorts of engravings on it, though they didn't resemble anything significant to him. "I wonder how they know to stay here the whole time?" He murmured, "I feel like I'd have to watch them the whole time to make sure they don't go anywhere." The thought of these…well robots being sentient enough to wander around the castle ground made him shudder. They could probably knock over a tree with a light push, let alone crush anyone that came between its feet and the ground.

The young hero was getting ready to turn and head toward the stairs before he jumped back several feet at the sound of it turning on. "What the!?" The engravings on it turned orange as it gained control over its legs and properly stood, its head turning around to where its blue eye could see him. He heaved a sigh as his heart nearly pounded out of his chest, "At least it doesn't do anything unless the researchers tell it to. That scared the hell out of me…" Well, he hoped that was the case. The other ones that were nearby stayed dormant.

He should have continued to the stairs, but his courage got the better of him and he instead reached out and tried to touch it, just to see what would happen. To his surprise, it simply took a step in the other direction to avoid his hand, "Okay that makes me feel way better." He waved to it and went to wait for Zelda outside her study, but because it was still in view, he decided to watch it as well.

Several minutes later, which feels like a long time when nothing, not even from the guardian, has happened, the door that led to the Princess's room opened and out stepped Zelda in her usual royal blue gown. "Good morning, young one," she warmly greeted.

He nodded, "Mornin' Princess. How's it going?"

"Things have been fine as far as I can tell, for the kingdom at least. I haven't heard of any disturbances coming from your previous room, so I'm glad there haven't been any issues in regard to that."

"Any luck with your training?" He internally winced, 'Why did I ask that?!'

She sighed, her hands joining together, "No. At this rate it almost seems pointless, but I'll keep persisting. My effort cannot be for nothing."

The young hero felt bad, "I'm sure it will work out." He changed the topic, "So what's the historian like? Is he really old?"

"Ah that's right, we should head his way. Follow me."

They crossed through her spacious room. He didn't want to be rude, so he tried to keep his focus forward, but what he did see was that her room was surprisingly red, despite the main color throughout the castle being blue. She had dark wooden floors, with lavish, large rugs providing carpet around her bed, vanity, and fireplace. Not to mention the bookcase that made up an entire wall! It was as if she took a chunk out of the library and put it in her room. Aside from that, he could tell that she liked to keep things neat and organized, unless her maids did that for her…he wasn't sure.

When they were back in the hall, they went down a couple flights of stairs and headed in the direction of the library, only instead of entering, they continued past the doors and into the office that sat next to it.

"Whoa." It was actually quite small for an office, however the tomes that came into view were massive! Otherwise, it reminded Young Link of the Tech Lab with how papers and books littered any imaginable flat surface the room had. To his amazement, the castle's historian was an older man who looked to be in his sixties, 'Which is still rather old, but I was expecting him to be like a hundred or something.' He had white, full hair for his age, and a profound beard to be proud of. Oh, and naturally he wore small, round reading classes at the tip of his nose. His garb was also very loose and comfortable, which makes sense if your whole job is to record or look through history all the time.

He was also a part of the Sheikah tribe per their symbol being on his left eye, "Interested in my office, eh?" His gaze rose to see Zelda, "Ah, Your Majesty! It is lovely of you to grace my humble space this morning. I believe you had something you wanted to ask me?" He gestured for them to sit in the chairs before his desk. They surprisingly lacked the papery décor to match the rest of the room.

"Yes, I—actually we did."

He looked intrigued.

"You know the Book of Legends, right? The one that talks about all the different heroes and their adventures?"

He warmly smiled, "Ah yes, a classic—literally. What about it?"

Her face grew concerned, "Well, one evening I was reading it to this one here when he noticed that a story was missing."

Young Link nodded, "It looked like someone had carefully tore it out and then color-matched the page to paint over it in the index."

Now he wore a frown, "Which story was it? I can't imagine why someone would do such a thing…"

"It's the one about the Hero of Time," Zelda replied.

For some reason, his left hand felt pins and needles where the triforce was as she said that, 'Hand what are you doing? She's talking about the story, not me!'

The Historian's frown deepened, "Really?" He thought aloud, "That's very strange…what could someone get from that legend compared to the rest?"

The both of them shrugged, though the young hero started to feel a bead of sweat form in the corner of his forehead. 'What perspective is he coming from with this? Maybe he assumes that whoever took it would try to use it for something?'

He continued, "The legend of the Hero of the Sky recounts how the Master Sword was forged, meaning it could provide a possible weakness to it. The legend about the Hero of Twilight mentions a race of magic wielders that were so powerful, it could nearly rival that of the Gods, and they could still be around for all we know."

Zelda looked confused, "What are you trying to say?"

"Princess, the only people who steal from history are those who want to use that knowledge for evil or worse. Especially from one that talks about the heroes of the past," He explained.

His stomach was starting to twist into a knot, 'Goddesses above, why do I feel so awful!? I doubt the castle's own historian is from the Yiga Clan!' Maybe he'd feel better if he asked about what was in the story, "So what did the, er, legend of the Hero of Time talk about?"

The old Sheikah chuckled, moving a strand of his white hair out of his face, "Well, it's by far the longest one since it talks about both of the Hero of Time's adventures. The only things that someone could get out of that legend is the Ocarina of Time, which has had no physical record of existing here as far as I know, and all the various amounts of magical masks the hero collected in Termina, which again, do not exist outside of that legend. Even then, the only one that's worth using for something bad is…it's, er…well apparently the only name that I can't remember off the top of my head." He sat back in his chair, a hand rising toward his chest, "I am one of many historians for the Royal Family, and if those relics were around, we would have them under locks, halberds, and guards. They would be so precious that we likely wouldn't even let the family touch or see them, if I'm honest."

The Princess was perplexed to hear this, "So then, what could this mean regarding the story going missing? Is there a way we can find it and put it back?"

Sighing, he turned in his chair and grabbed a paper and pen, "If there's one thing history has taught me, it's that this could only have been done by the Yiga Clan. With how things are now, especially since we were told about the prophecy, I imagine they're going to try to do whatever they can to help bring back Calamity Ganon or make sure he succeeds in taking over Hyrule. Keeping that in mind," The Historian drew a sketchy picture of the ocarina, soon crossing it out, "something like the ocarina would only be a pretty instrument to them, only the hero could use it for its true power, but the mask…" He shook his head in frustration, "If only I could remember its blasted name!" He waved his comment away, "Either way, if they managed to get their hands on it…the nicest way I can say this is that it would be a decided battle for Ganon. It's simply that powerful." He scratched out the smiley face mask he'd drawn, grinning, "Good thing it doesn't exist!"

However, it was followed by a shrug, "I don't like saying this, but unless someone is caught with it or we bomb the wild berry pie out of their base, I don't think it's possible to get the story back. However, if you did manage to find it out on the lawn one day, simply return it to me and I could restore it." He adjusted his glasses and put the paper behind him, "Did you two have any other questions?" His eyes especially looked to the young hero, "Are you okay, lad? I didn't mean to scare you if I did."

His fists where clenched tight as he stared down into his lap, 'I..they…th-they do know who I am. They do know what the mask does...' Young Link's curiosity about what was in his story had been quenched and he no longer had a reason to read it nor find it. He tried to control his growing paranoia, looking up, "Aha, I think it's just because I haven't eaten yet. My stomach is just growling at me." Keeping his expression straight, he looked to Zelda, "Was that all we wanted to ask?"

Her eyes were trying to read his, but she looked back to the historian with a small smile, "I think that was it. Thank you so much for helping us." They both stood and headed toward the door, "Have a nice day."

"You too! It was a pleasure to see you both."

Once they were outside and sat on a bench that was near the staircase, Zelda looked concerned, "Are you okay, young one? You look anxious to say the least. It's a shame that there's little hope in returning the legend back to where it belongs."

He sniffed, feeling some of the knot in his stomach untie itself now that they were out of the room, "Yeah, I guess I was nervous to be around him. It's just because of how the Sheikah are kinda suspicious of me and I was wondering if he had heard anything." 'No, it was definitely because he was dancing around knowing and not knowing the name of the mask I told Zelda about back in the desert! Luckily, she doesn't appear to know what he's talking about both in terms of the ocarina and mask. Which is downright crazy to me considering she's kind of a scholar herself!'

"Oh that's right, I should have told you about that. I'm so sorry." Her apology was heartfelt. "I'm not sure when Link leaves, but could we possibly eat breakfast together before you go?" She shrugged, "I'm in the mood for company this morning if you don't mind."

Her offer briefly lifted him from his thoughts, "Y-yeah, I wouldn't mind. I'm not gonna get in trouble for it though, right?"

She sighed, "My guards could learn that I'm quite allowed to eat with whomever I like. I wonder if they get that from my father." They shared a giggle.

Though, as Zelda led him back to her room, he felt like he was mentally sweating bullets. His fingers twitched, his left hand had begun to sting, he even had goosebumps. 'Goddesses what is this feeling!? Nervousness? Anxiety? Fear?' He scoffed at the idea, 'No. I'm the Hero of Time! This is ridiculous! I've already killed plenty of them by now, there's no reason I should feel this way…and yet…' He caught the Princess's eye, 'Dammit!'

She stopped; they were right outside the door to her room. "Link please, I can tell you're upset. Remember what I said the other day?" Her eyes glimmered with concern.

'Oh Goddesses she said my actual name which means she's serious!' He internally groaned, trying to keep his face from showing it, "I…I just really need to think, okay?"

Zelda understood. She continued forward and opened her doors, gesturing for him to come inside, "Think wherever you'd like."

He gravitated toward her desk that had numerous stacks of papers on it, a few books, and a quill in an ink jar to complete it, "Thanks."

"No problem," she smiled.

Following a sigh, he noticed that only his left hand was still bothering him, 'Cool it will ya?! You're being annoying. Thank goodness I consistently wear these gloves too.' He mulled over all of what the historian had said, 'Y'know, how much danger am I really in? They know who I am, they want my mask because they know what it does, and the longer I'm here, the more likely they are to do more drastic things to get it.' Young Link shrugged, 'Buuuuut, on the one hand, and as I've repeated a few times, I've killed a decent amount of them, though maybe they expect it now that they know me. Do I have any weaknesses?' He squinted, 'Well my height and strength for one. I'm strong, but it's not like I have my power bracelet or gauntlets. I don't have any super close friends here except Link and somewhat Zelda, but they can hold their own. I guess it's just that they have the element of surprise and the ability to suddenly warp around.'

Zelda sat a plate next to him, "It's apple cinnamon muffins this morning with eggs. Feeling better? You're not twitching as much."

'Dang it was that noticeable?' "Yeah I'm better, and thanks for the food. I'm just getting the feeling that the Yiga are gonna be more on my tail than before."

Her eyes widened, "What makes you say that?"

"I'm just reading between the lines. They attacked me when I was with the elite squad of all people and threatened me in my own room."

She brought over her armchair and had her own plate in her lap, "You have a point. Though it's curious because normally I feel like they would have left you alone by now. It's unheard of that they would go after one person this long except for…" Zelda had a look in her eye.

'That's very mysterious and I don't think I like that.' "Except for who?" He felt like he knew what she was going to say.

"The royal family." She peered at him more closely, her hand gently lifting his chin, "Blonde hair, blue eyes, speaks Old Hylian, exceptional swordsmanship…are you related to us by chance?"

"Uhh…" Young Link was astonished and showing it, that was the last thing he thought she would say.

She got up from her chair, setting her food next to his, "I know it sounds crazy, but once you know that I had ancestors who were excellent swordsmen—" She stopped for a moment, "Well, they're dead, and my mother had one child, me, but—" The Princess continued to her bookcase, "I think you can see where I'm coming from, and it certainly doesn't hurt to check." She went up a few steps on the ladder to grab a book and hurriedly sat back down.

"Whoa," The book was huge! So huge that the possibility of it holding every royal family until the first didn't seem too far off. The cover and binding were incredibly detailed. It was royal blue with a golden trim and had plenty of triforces in various places. It was enough to get the idea that this was an important book.

He looked at the title, "The Royal Hyrulian Family Lineage," He translated, "This must be super old for the title to be in Old Hylian."

Zelda smiled, "Exactly!" She flipped to the far latter half of the book, showing her family tree, "See, there I am along with my mother and father. My father married into the family." She traced her finger up the tree, "As you can see, the majority of the time, the family usually has one daughter, however it's not always so because Ganon reincarnates nearly every century."

His eyebrow raised, 'This is news, I didn't know that's how things continued to work.'

She continued, "So my grandmother was the last to seal Ganon away, and then she had my mother, who then had me, making it my turn I suppose." Her eyes solemnly lingered on her mother's portrait. She was a beautiful woman with blonde hair like Zelda's, but instead had blue eyes and a slightly narrower face. She shook her head, realizing what she was doing, "Sorry about that."

The young hero pat her shoulder to say it was fine. He'd been eating his muffin while she was explaining.

"Anyways, if you look before my grandmother, you'll see that her mother had two brothers, both of them being fine swordsmen, and before that, there were even three girls!"

"Interesting, that must have been in a time where Ganon was taking a break or something."

"Scheming you mean? I agree. My point is that maybe you're related to one of my great grandfathers or great great grandmothers."

"Mmm if that were truly the case, it'd have to be farther back than that, Zelda. You'd have to start in an era where Old Hylian was still spoken, which doesn't seem to be at that time when they were alive. However, that's a decent guess, though I think I'd know if I were somehow related to you." 'The problem is that you think I'm from this land when I'm quite frankly not.'

She shrugged and closed the book, "You're right. It would also mean that the family would have outcast other members that weren't directly related to the prophecy and…" The Princess shook her head, "that just doesn't seem right."

'I don't know the forthcoming royal family that well, but I wouldn't be surprised. War does some crazy things to people, and there's no way the land only had one.' "Maybe I'll figure out why they're after me while I'm gone. That way simply existing at the castle can be ruled out." He acted hopeful, though Zelda was making the same uncertain face from when he last mentioned Link leaving, "Are you uneasy about him going?"

Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink at the question, "No…actually, I don't know. I'm not sure why I'm giving it more than a second thought to be honest." She looked away.

"Whoa there, it's okay. Nothing wrong with giving a crap about your knights." He smiled, "In fact, do you wanna hear about the elite squad?" Young Link remembered that it interested her before.

"Sure, I'll let you do the talking while I eat."

He told her about them nearly the same way he told Kevin and Lucas, except that he highlighted their personalities rather than the type of fighting they do. He also kept in the part where he braided Link's hair and explained what had happened after while trying to keep it neutral.

"Really?" Zelda's eyes were wide with her eyebrows raised, "I'm surprised they reacted that way."

"Yeeaah, I kinda was too, but then I remembered that these guys have worked with him for a while, so it seems unfair that he'd act differently because of some kid."

"I would agree, your friendship is quite interesting in that regard. Link otherwise would seem too focused on his duties."

"Well, before he knew me too well, I remember that he'd talk to the people he sparred with, but that was on breaks and stuff. He seems like he's in between being really serious about everything and wanting to be laid back, so he chooses to be serious for whatever reason."

"Before he knew you too well? What does that mean?" She asked.

"Huh? I think you misunderstood me. I meant like, before he knew me a bit more personally, like more than the random kid from the forest who killed someone. I didn't mean it where he knows too much about me, honestly there's not a lot to know about." 'I'm surprised she took it that way…weird..'

Zelda giggled, "Well I personally disagree, you're very intriguing as well. In some ways it's a shame there isn't more about you somewhere."

Young Link shrugged, "I couldn't tell you why that is either." He noticed where the sun was sitting through the window, "Ah, looks like I should get going. Thanks again for everything, it was nice being able to see you without it being on some serious mission or with your guards breathing down my neck."

The Princess nodded, "I certainly agree. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to come to me about them. I understand not having many people you can talk to about anything."

"Huh?" There appeared to be a sense of longing in her eyes, "Well you have Impa don't you?"

"I do, but she's different. She has royal functions like I do. Plus, sometimes I just want to indulge someone in my ideas or thoughts without being put down or told that it's not possible, you know?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I get that. See ya, Princess!"

"Farewell, young one. I hope your journey is safe." She softly waved to him as he left for his room to get his things.