Link was fond of getting his breakfast himself. Even though the castle staff were quick to attend to his every need, he discovered that if he left his room before the staff got there with his platter of breakfast food, he could get a few hours of training in with either Impa or Milo before his father managed to locate him for their morning batch of "Prince Practice", as Link referred to it. Every morning, King Rhoam summoned Link to his study to discuss politics, diplomacy, and royal strategy for about an hour and a half before the King was called away to attend to other matters. Sometimes those meetings were attended by one of Hyrule's Royal Advisors, either the Captain Ashei of the Royal Guard, Master Mahko of the Sheikah, and Kinetic Venna from the Royal Mages-and Link really preferred these meetings. Any of his training that wasn't conducted by his father, he welcomed and sought after, which was one of the reasons he was so keen to train with his assigned Sheikah Shadow Impa.

So he snuck out every morning to get his own breakfast before anyone found him. His unseen movement seemed to be improving, he reasoned, because he managed to sneak a whole slab of bacon along with his customary toast and flagon of orange juice. Happily, Link laid his bacon on the top of his bread and took a bite as he slipped back out into the castle hallway, heading for the training grounds just south of the gatehouse.

"Link, wait!"

Link stiffened as he recognized the voice before quickening his stride. "Go away, Aryll. I need to get to the training grounds."

"I-I just wanted to ask if we were still on for afternoon tea. It is Tuesday again."

Link paused and turned to face his sister, his face carefully blank. Aryll's pale blonde hair was still mussed from sleep, but her violet eyes were earnest and pleading, and she had locked her hands behind her back.

Link ran a hand through his own sandy blond hair and sighed. "I guess. I don't have much better to do, I suppose."

Aryll's face brightened, and she bounded forward and threw her arms around Link's middle. He grunted slightly at the impact, carefully lifting his breakfast out of her reach.

"Thanks, big brother." She pulled her face back and flashed Link a grateful smile but kept her arms tight around him. "I promise the legends can stay on the shelf."

Link's mouth twitched, and he smiled a half-smile down at his sister. "I promise I won't lose it over a stupid book again."

Aryll pulled away briskly, a look of mock horror on her face. "Oh, it's still stupid, though?"

"Of course it is," Link scoffed, taking a quick swig of orange juice as he backed away from Aryll. "Those Links all had a Zelda. I don't have anyone except a sister with purple eyes and too many books."

Aryll opened her mouth to respond, but a huge flash of bright green light flared between Link and Aryll, and Link was shoved against the hard stone of the hallway. The orange juice in his hand was thrown onto his neck, and he gasped at the shock of the cold liquid.

The light seemed to swirl in front of them in a spiral, as if the light were protecting something inside. Link shoved his toast into his mouth,and his hand shot up to his shoulder to the master sword, but he caught himself as his fingers wrapped around the handle.

Not here! He thought to himself, and he forced himself to reach instead for a dagger on his belt.

Then the light started to fade, Link caught sight of a figure forming behind the sparkling cocoon. Link unsheathed his dagger and held it out in front of him, his heart pounding with adrenaline, as the light faded even more and the figure solidified.

It was a girl; she wore a thick charcoal-colored cloak over a simple blue dress, and her long auburn colored hair was caught in a simple braid over her shoulder. Her hands clasped over her heart, and she had a look of deep concentration on her face. With a sharp inhale, her eyes flew open, and her hands dropped to her sides, as if it was too hard to keep them up any longer.

"What in the-" Aryll yelped from across the hall, and Link stepped forward toward the girl, dagger held aloft.

"Aryll, get the guards! And see if you can find Kinetic Venna!"

Aryll nodded fearfully and raced down the hallway toward the training grounds.

"Oh goodness!" The girl panted, and she swayed slightly before clutching her head. "He didn't say it would be this exhausting."

Link strode forward, still holding his dagger aloft. "Miss, teleporting into Hyrule Castle is forbidden by law! What do you think you're doing?"

"Oh! Sorry!" The girl's face paled, and she wrung her hands, her shoulders hunching as she cowered before Link's knife. "I just...he told me to come here. I didn't know where to come, and it's the first time I-"

"Miss," Link cut her off, "You're going to have to-"

Link broke off as he heard light footsteps coming from behind him, and he swung to meet the surprised gaze of Impa.

"Link?" Impa blinked. "I mean, your highness. You're late, what's-why do you have your knife out?" The Sheikah immediately dropped into a crouch, her twin kodachis sliding into her palms.

"Someone just teleported into the palace," Link turned slightly so Impa could look past him, and he jerked his head toward the girl, who was now backed up against the wall of the hallway.

"I'm sorry!" The girl babbled, holding out a hand cautiously and keeping her right hand clenched over her heart. "I'm really sorry, I just was listening to the Deku Tree! He told me to come here and said teleporting would be easier!"

Impa's eyes narrowed, and she relaxed slightly. "The Great Deku Tree?"

The girl nodded hesitantly, and Link shot Impa a confused glance. "The what?"

Impa pursed her lips and lowered her blades. "Show me your hand."

"My-what?" The girl brought both hands to her sides before holding them out in front of her, as if she were going to take something from Impa. The Sheikah raised an eyebrow at the girl.

"Just the right. The back."

"Oh." The girl's face flushed, and she buried her left hand in her cloak as she twisted her right wrist so that the back of her hand faced Link and Impa. Her hand looked fairly commonplace to Link: pale, thin fingers and knuckles...except...

"The Triforce!" Impa gasped, and she quickly dropped to her knees, ducking her head. Link felt a fist clench around his heart, and he peered closer at the girl's hand. There were in fact three triangles, creating a larger, united triangle. The shape almost seemed to blend in with the girl's fair skin, and Link found himself gazing at the symbol with something akin to dread.

"Y-you're Zelda?" He croaked, suddenly feeling light-headed.

The girl's hand shot to the wall behind her, and the image of the triforce was yanked from Link's view. "Yes, I am. How did you know?" She whispered, her eyes wide with fear.

Link took a deep breath and looked down at Impa, but she was still gazing respectfully at the floor. Reluctantly, Link looked back at the girl who he knew was the most powerful mage in Hyrule. "Let me take you to my Father. It appears..." Link swallowed. "It appears that we have much to discuss."

Zelda fidgeted in her chair as she waited for the next batch of Sheikah to come and finish her interrogation. When the Deku tree had urged her to make her way to the castle, she never imagined there would be all this ceremony and pomp. Actually, she realized with a start, she didn't know what she was expecting. After living in the country all of her life, all the formality she'd experienced in her discussions at the castle the past several hours had been overwhelming to say the least-not to mention the obvious efforts everyone made to purposely avoid answering her questions in turn. The Deku Tree had promised that she would receive all the instruction and guidance she would need to master her power and fulfill her destiny, but all that had happened so far was the Sheikah warriors questioning her and ensuring she was the person she claimed to be-which was a bit of a moot point to Zelda, because she still didn't understand why it was such a big deal that golden triangles appeared on her hand. Surely there were other people with lots of magic, right?

Zelda's racing thoughts were interrupted by the door to the antechamber opening, and a single Sheikah slipped into the room. Zelda was becoming quite familiar with the wrappings and pastel leather armor of the Sheikah, even though there were a few warriors that never revealed their faces. As the warrior softly closed the door behind them, Zelda's memory cast back on the Sheikah warrior she'd encountered in the woods. She knew now that the man was in fact a Sheikah, for the red eye she'd seen imprinted in his chest was also on every other Sheikah she'd seen that day. Idly, she wondered if she'd see him here at the castle, but she was still unsure if his appearance was key in the vision she'd seen or if it was pure coincidence...which made her doubt his existence. Regardless, the icy blue eyes and decorated blue sword she'd seen on his shoulder stood engraved in her memory, and she hoped that all would be revealed in time, as the Deku Tree promised.

The Sheikah turned to her as the door clicked closed once again, and Zelda noticed something different about his uniform. Like the other Sheikah, his arms were wrapped in thick cloth, and a simple grey leather cuirass was bound about his chest, but the eye that was stamped on his armor was a deep burgundy rather than the piercing crimson of the other Sheikah. The same shade of dark red was reflected in a tight sash around his waist and the lining of a simple hood that hung down his back.

"Zelda?" The man spoke softly, his red eyes crinkling in a gentle smile. "My name is Mahko. I understand you've been asking a great deal of questions?"

"Yes, I have," Zelda replied, inching forward in her chair excitedly. "Do you have answers for me? Why is everyone so keen to keep me in the dark?"

"I assure you, that was not our intention," the Sheikah said, sitting carefully in the chair across from Zelda. "There are many people who could claim to be the Mage of the Triforce. We had to be sure you were not an imposter."

"We?"

"The Sheikah. The King." Mahko inclined his head slightly, his long white braid swishing to the side. "But enough about us. Let's talk about you, as you have requested. You're aware of the Triforce, correct?"

"Only that it marks the heroes of Hyrule. But I don't know what that means, no one has explained to me what I'm supposed to do."

"And the Great Deku Tree said nothing?"

Zelda shrugged one shoulder. "He just said that I should go to the castle and that I needed to protect the Prince from malice. What's the malice? Who's the Prince? How am I supposed to help?"

"Now now, one at a time, hero," Mahko chuckled. Carefully, he reached into his cloak and withdrew a closed fist. Zelda watched curiously as he flung his hand into the air, and a cloud of sparkling dust drifted down between them.

"Malice is a term used to describe the pockets of dark magic that exist alongside the light. When it grows strong enough, it can consume our world and our people." The Sheikah stretched out his fingers so his palm was open and rotated his wrist ninety degrees across the surface of the dust. An image appeared in the dust, as if Mahko were projecting the picture from far away. Zelda saw a grassy field with trees casting light shadows on the ground. Then darkness flitted through the image, and the shadows darkened and bubbled into huge, inky black puddles that oozed across the landscape, penetrating everything in its path with darkness. Zelda felt a cold fear settle in her chest, and she shivered.

"Malice takes thousands of years before it can begin to move against our world, thankfully, but it must be dispelled." Mahko flexed his fingers, and the picture of the landscape disappeared and was replaced with two figures, standing back to back. One held a sword and shield, and one had a hand outstretched in a magicking form that looked familiar to Zelda.

"Legends speak of two warriors that bear the mark of the goddess: a warrior who bears the sword to destroy the darkness, and a mage with not only the powers of all the magic of Hyrule, but also the sealing power of the goddess herself."

Zelda felt a chill. "That's me?"

Mahko clenched his fist, and the image disappeared as the dust dissipated into the air. "Yes, hero."

"But..." Zelda sat back in her chair, her mind reeling. "I have all three magics? And the sealing power?"

Mahko smiled gently. "We did receive confirmation of that today, Zelda. Teleportation is a function of a Kinetic Mage."

Zelda clenched one hand over her heart and reached the other to the flickering hearth in the corner of the room, seeking some of the comforting warmth of the fire. But while she could sense the energy and magic in the fire, she couldn't seem to draw any of it into her. It was like there was a wall between the magic she'd gathered externally and the energy she brought inside. "Why? What's so different about Kinetic Magic?"

Mahko pursed his lips before shaking his head ruefully, his long white beard swaying with the motion. "I'm afraid that might be a better question for Kinetic Venna. , Whom I'm sure you'll meet soon," he added reassuringly . "It will be important for you both to discover the capacity of your magic now."

"What about the sealing power? How does it work?"

Mahko spread his hands apologetically. "Again, I'm not sure. Legends tell of how the goddess's hero would simply gather the malice and seal it, but I suspect Master Venna may be helpful with that as well."

Zelda took a deep breath. "Well. Thank you for giving me some answers, I suppose. Have you decided what to do with me?"

Mahko chuckled. "Of course, hero. You must fulfill your duty here and study with the great masters here at Hyrule Castle. We will do all within our power to assist you as you prepare to battle the malice. And of course," he added, "You must protect the Prince."

"Why? What's so important about the Prince?"

Mahko stroked his short white beard thoughtfully before answering. "There is a prophecy concerning the holder of the Master Sword being corrupted by darkness and the Master Sword losing its power. The wielder of the goddess's power must protect both the sword and its holder from Malice as well."

Zelda nodded, still feeling unsure of herself. "And who is the Prince? Should I introduce myself?"

"Oh, you've already met." Mahko's eyes were twinkling. "He bears the Master Sword on his back and is rather fond of the color green. He was the first to welcome you into the palace, if I'm not mistaken."

"Oh." Zelda blinked, trying to remember the face of the man she'd stumbled across when she'd dropped into the castle. "What's his name?"

"Lincoln, but I doubt he'll ever tell you that. He prefers to go by Link."

And now we enter Hyrule Castle!

Thanks for reading. :)