The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule's Hope

Chapter 24: Divine Beast Vah Naboris, Part 2

Rhiannon rode her horse through the Hyrule Field in the direction of the castle, hoping not to be spotted by a Guardian. Dori trailed behind, trying to catch up. She would nervously look at the Stalker Guardians in the distance. "Jeez, Rhia!" she called, "Slow down!"

Rhiannon pulled the reins of her horse to make it come to an abrupt stop. She then jumped off her horse and headed towards a stone platform surrounded by stone columns. She looked down to see the Triforce symbol beneath her feet, then looked back up at the castle as she began to remember.

25 years ago

"A knight?!" Rhiannon gasped. "That's right," Link sighed, "your mother wants me to appoint a knight for your guard."

"Father!" Rhiannon exclaimed, "There's a reason I don't need a knight: I can take care of myself! Isn't that why you've been training me?"

"And that's exactly why your mother wants to appoint a knight," Link answered, "she fears you're going to get too cocky and will get heavily injured, or worse, killed."

"I'm almost 18," Rhiannon crossed her arms, "my mother treats me like I'm a child!"

"She cares about you, champ," Link said sternly, "just give it a chance. If this knight does not do his job, I'll let you fire him, deal?"

"Ugh, fine," Rhiannon rolled her eyes, "I can't wait to meet the loser."

They then headed towards the sanctum, where Zelda awaited next to a knight. He was a young Hylian man slightly taller and older than Rhiannon, with black hair and brown eyes. Rhiannon stared at the knight with rage, wanting to destroy him with a single glance. "Rhiannon, meet the captain of your guard," Zelda smiled, "this is Kendrick."

Rhiannon looked at him in disgust. "Princess Rhiannon," Kendrick bowed, "it is my greatest honor to serve you."

"I hope you die," Rhiannon whispered coldly at him as she bowed back, forcing a quick smile. That afternoon, Rhiannon walked out of the gates of the castle town and headed towards the Sacred Grounds. She stood in the middle and took a deep sigh. "Power, Courage, Wisdom," she said as she looked down at the Triforce, "my mother represents Wisdom, my father represents Courage, but who do I represent? Could it be that it is me who represents Power? I mean, who else could it be? Ganon?"

"Hey, Rhia!" Dori said, "Hope I'm not interrupting!"

"You're fine," Rhiannon sighed, "guess what happened today."

She pointed at Kendrick in the distance. "Who the heck is that?" Dori asked. "My knight," Rhiannon sighed, "my mother decided it would be fun to baby me..." she then pulled Dori closer, "...do you know how embarrassing it would be for me if the folks at the Underworld heard I have someone looking over me, the four-time champion? My entire reputation would be in shambles!"

"I mean, it already kind of is," Dori said. "Oh, big deal!" Rhiannon rolled her eyes, "Just because I'm not the traditional princess! That's dumb! I'm not a renegade, I just like to think outside the box! By the by, a little birdie told me you applied for the Guardian Restoration Program, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Dori asked. "I don't understand how you can be so comfortable around those things," Rhiannon said, "I don't trust them. Whatever, let's go--"

Before she could head back to the castle, she and Dori heard loud screaming that came from the Hyrule Field. "Did you hear that?" Dori asked. "Someone's in danger!" Rhiannon said, "Come on, Dori! I came prepared!"

"Your Majesty! Wait!" Kendrick ran behind them. Rhiannon and Dori followed the noise, they noticed a pair of Gerudo travelers being attacked by blue Bokoblins. "You take the right, I take the left," Rhiannon commanded. "Roger!" Dori obeyed. They both charged towards the monsters at the same time. "Stay back, ladies!" Rhiannon said, "This is going to get nasty!"