Lone Arrow in the Quiver

Prelude: Calamitous Arrival

Author's Notes: Before y'all freak out, let me explain. After finishing the Age of Calamity fic: Fall From Grace, I said that I would make the canon "prequel" to Lone Arrow in the Quiver. This, is that. It's just going to be the events directly before the story takes place and if you haven't guessed... it's the day Calamity Ganon attacks and ruins everything. 

So yeah, this is gonna be pretty dark and feature blood, violence, death, animal death, and other nasty things. If you're uncomfortable and/or triggered by any of that, please feel free to skip this. Like I said, it only covers the events of Calamity Ganon's attack and won't change any of the established events in Lone Arrow in the Quiver, it's mostly just a fun thing for me to explore and write as dark as possible. Enjoy!

The song for this chapter is: Paint It Black by Sebastian Böhm. 

NEW READERS: While this chronologically takes place first in the story. I heavily implore you to start with Chapter 1 and come back to this after you finish the fic. The difference is quality and general writing between this and Chapter 1 will be jarring, so it is better if you start there. Thank you.

Zelda felt someone tapping her hand. The princess opened her eyes, and she rubbed some of the sleep out of them. She sat up and her vision adjusted her surroundings. The princess was in her tent, and streams of sunlight were just beginning to poke through the crack in the "doorway;" if you could call it that. She turned and saw someone sitting next to her, realizing that it was none other than Link.

"Oh, hi Link. Is something going on? Did I sleep in again?" Zelda yawned.

"No, I just wanted to tell you... Happy Birthday!" Link signed, a wide grin on his face. He had something in his hands, and Zelda realized that it was a cupcake, with messy lettering written on it, reading: 17 B-Day!

She chuckled, "You're so sweet, you know that? And cake for breakfast, this really is a treat."

"I picked it up in the town we passed through yesterday, so it's a bit stale. Sorry," Link apologized, scratching the back of his head after signing.

"Oh please, it's more than I could have possibly asked for. Here—" Zelda took the cupcake from him and rummaged around in her bag. She pulled out a small wooden plate and a knife. With one chop she sliced the cupcake in half and presented it to Link.

"Come on, let's be quick before the others get up. Wouldn't want them to get jealous," Zelda continued, popping the cupcake into her mouth. Link followed soon after, and they both now had bright, blue icing on their lips.

It was admittedly a bit stale, but there was enough moisture as to not be a crumbling mess. The cake itself was vanilla, and the icing was incredibly sweet, almost overbearingly so. Compared to the rather bland food they'd been eating lately; it was a real shock to the system.

Zelda sighed, listening to birds beginning to chirp outside her tent, "Goddess, I hope this works."

"What do you mean?" Link signed.

"I hope that when we get to the Shrine of Wisdom, I'll magically awaken my powers like I'm supposed to," she explained, a hint of frustration in her voice.

"I know you'll do well. And I will be there to protect you," Link replied.

"I know that, it's just... we've been at this for so long, and it hasn't bore a single fruit," Zelda continued, sounding more frustrated.

"I may not be able to help you with this, but I know that you're smart. It'll just... come to you, when you least expect it," Link signed, wiping the last of the icing off his face.