BOTW: The Lonely Knight

What Once Was

Twas a bright, sunny day. A soft gentle breeze blew through the field, the grass curling as it did. Princess Zelda sat alone in there all curled up, her face in her arms and knees as she gazed aimlessly into the open plains. She suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder.

"What is it, Link? I'm not in the mood to talk at all right now." she asked gloomily.

"We're all packed up, Princess." he told her.

"Hmm? Oh, right of course." she answered. Getting up to her feet, she began to head to her horse: a pale white mare with a golden mane. As she got onto the horse, she ordered her to go forward. The mare began to trot forward, but in exactly the opposite direction of the road.

"Hey wait! Stop, not that way!" she exclaimed, as she tugged on the reins. The tugging started to upset the horse, as she quickly bucked back, suddenly throwing the princess of her horse.

"AH!"

Upon seeing her in distress, Link quickly darted in her direction. Zelda plummeted to the ground, landing with a dull thud.

"OOF!"

Zelda opened her eyes. The fall didn't seem as hard as she had expected. Looking underneath her, she suddenly realized why. Link had dove right underneath her to break her fall.

"Ow..." he groaned.

"Oh my goodness! Link, are you alright?"

Link gave a small nod. Zelda quickly got off of him and dusted herself off.

"What happened there with your horse?" Link asked.

"I don't know. I've had some trouble getting her to obey before. But today, she just threw me off when I tried to control her." the princess explained.

"Can you show me?"

"Um... Alright."

Reluctantly, she got back onto her horse, as she tried to get her to move forward. The horse refused, grunting as it stayed in place.

"Come on... Go forward, please?" she asked.

Standing beside them, Link observed the horse carefully. That's when he noticed it. The horse's bridle was a lot tighter than usual: a mistake no doubt by the stablehands from the night before.

He quickly raised his hand, silently telling Zelda to wait as he loosened the mare's bridle. She whinnied in relief, as she felt it no longer press so hard on her head. "Try now."

The princess spurred the horse forward. She began to do as she had been commanded, trotting forward slowly.

"It worked!" Zelda exclaimed, smiling, before turning the horse and apologizing, "I'm sorry for being so rude. I didn't realize you were uncomfortable."

"Be sure to take the time to soothe your mount. That's the only way it will know how you truly feel." Link instructed her.

"Like this?" the princess questioned, as she stroked the horse's neck gently. The horse whinnied calmly, as if to say it understood her.

"That's it." her personal knight replied. Realizing he'd left his own horse behind, he quickly ran back, mounting the stallion before quickly catching back up with her. "Would you like me to show you some more tricks for riding, princess?" he asked her.

Zelda smiled a little, and answered: "Yes please."

"Well then, do as I do."

He began to show her how to properly ride a horse, her following what he did as they rode through Hyrule Field.

Later

The two came to a stop, as the sun was beginning to set. They got off their horses, Zelda petting hers as she got off.