Link let out an exhausted sigh as the doors to his rooms closed behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, watching those doors warily for any sign of movement. He had just suffered yet another excruciatingly awkward walk with the prince, neither man breaking the silence during the entire way to his chambers. The hero recalled the stiff atmosphere when the two had arrived.
"Well." Azrael deadpanned.
Link didn't say anything, he couldn't. Instead, the swordsman cleared his throat uneasily.
"This is where you will be sleeping during your stay at the castle," Azrael opened the doors with a click of the handles before stepping aside to face the hero, "The servant should wake you tomorrow morning before breakfast."
Link gave the prince a curt nod in response. He was completely drained after the journey from Ordon Village to the capital city, and he was eager to crawl into bed and sleep after it all. He walked into the room, taken aback at the sheer grandeur of the suite before Azrael's voice caught his attention. He turned back to face the prince.
"I will greet you outside of your doors tomorrow if you would have me."
Link paused for a moment. A small part of the swordsman wanted badly to turn him down. He considered it briefly.
No, declining the Prince of Hyrule's offer? How could he possibly?
Especially while he was a guest of the castle during his birthday celebrations...
Link brought his blue eyes to level with Azrael's and nodded again with a small smile. This appeared to satisfy the royal, and he smiled and nodded back happily, almost quite like a child who received what they wanted for their birthday.
"Then, I will see you here in the morning." He bid goodnight to the hero with a small bow, and Link waved back awkwardly.
The Ordonian removed the shield from his back and plopped down onto the bed. He glanced around the room again, now alone and undisturbed. He raised an eyebrow as he surveyed his surroundings.
It was exactly what you would expect from a royal castle. The huge canopy bed which had billowing lace curtains, the expensive and beautiful porcelain china, the large chandelier which dripped in crystals from the tall ceiling. Link was still so unfamiliar with such treatment.
In what felt like such a short time, a simple man such as Link, an Ordonian goat herder, was now a famed warrior who couldn't leave the castle walls without being mobbed by the adoring people.
Link unstrapped the Master Sword from his back and stared at its silent magnificence.
Though he had freed Hyrule from the clutches of evil, he honestly felt trapped.
Prince Azrael's face emerged in the hero's mind.
Yeah. That mysterious man. Link didn't understand him. He was so unalike Zelda.
He and the princess had looked so alike, the siblings could pass off as twins. But their personalities were polar opposites. Even with having known the prince for only a couple hours, Link had this impression of him immediately.
He was cunning, he could tell that much. Handsome and witty. An enigma. How did Link go this long not having known of the prince's existence? Was Zelda hiding it from him?
The hero peered around the room as he undressed. He set the Master Sword gently against a tea table, noting how strange and ironic the sight of that was. He was a swordsman, an adventurer. He was not meant for places such as this.
YOU ARE READING
Ruin: Amidst The Ashes
Fanfiction"He's the deadliest swordsman in all of Hyrule. The most skilled. He wields a blade of legend. You should be protecting me from him." By the time those words were uttered, it was already too late. The princess kept a wary eye on the half-eaten ap...
