The Legend of Nate: Morgan's Awakening

Chapter 1- The Prince's Royal Guard

Chapter 1- The Prince's Royal Guard

Nate walked down the row of Guard recruits.

"Remember, men. You need three things to be part of my Guard. Wisdom. Courage. Power. Separately, they are good traits. But only together can they be truly amazing."

He pointed to a large Triforce sculpture.

"Um, your Majesty," a recruit said. "Isn't that the symbol of the hero of time?"

"It is indeed, Hunter," Nate said, nodding to his best friend.

"We haven't seen the hero of time in over a thousand years," another recruit said.

"No," Nate said. "But we can still use these traits in our own lives. These traits are not limited to only Link. Anyone can have them, and anyone can be a hero."

As Nate continued his training, a young woman watched from behind a tree. She wore a green tunic, and had her brown ponytail hidden under a green cap, with only two curly strips of hair hanging loose. As Nate turned away from the group, the girl silently ran over to the group, hoping that no one noticed her. Being a member of the Prince's Royal Guard was her dream, but sadly women being in the Guard was against the law. So, the woman took on a false persona under the name Link.

"Link," Nate said. "Nice of you to show up."

The woman nodded.

"Sorry," she said in an attempt to deepen her voice to sound male.

She smoothed down the tattered tunic.

Nate just went back to his lesson. After he was done talking about wisdom, courage, and power, he had them break up into pairs to practice hand-to-hand combat. As Morgan was practicing with Hunter, an enormous bird snatched Nate up, dropping him off the side of the floating island. Everyone froze in fear. Everyone except for the young girl, that is. She ran and jumped over the edge after the Prince. She barely caught him in one arm, then grabbed onto a tree branch. Her hand slipped, but their fall was slowed, thus they were unhurt. Aside from her hand, which was severely cut and bleeding.

"Are you okay, Link?" Nate asked, looking at the girl's hand.

He pulled out a handkerchief, wrapping it around her wounded hand, then looked up.

"It just a few scratches," the girl said, forgetting to mask her voice. "I should be asking you if you're okay."

Nate looked at her suspiciously.

"You're a girl," he said, sounding impressed. "You're a girl. You impersonated a male, and sneaked into the Guard recruitment program. Who are you?"

She sighed and knelt before him.

"I'm sorry, your majesty," she said. "My name is Morgan Want, not Link. I know what I did is against the laws of this kingdom, but it's been my dream ever since I was a mere child. I planned to reveal the truth after I proved to everyone that I had what it takes to be in your Guard, but I guess that plan has failed."

Nate took her hand and pulled her gently to her feet.

"You just risked your own life and jumped off a floating island to save my life. Courage like that is truly spectacular. And that quick thinking, grabbing the tree to break our fall."

"Would have been much easier if I had a hookshot," Morgan said.

Nate chuckled.

"And probably a lot less painful," he said.

Morgan looked around.

"How do we get back up there?" she asked.

As she said this, the King came down on a hoverboard-type device. Nate, still holding Morgan's hand, got onto the device, pulling her up with him. She looked down and blushed softly. Once they got back up to the main island, the King spoke.

"I'd like to speak with you, Miss," he said.

Morgan dropped onto one knee, keeping her head down. The King began to speak loudly.

"As everyone knows, the Guard is for men only. All of our great heroes have been men. Men are naturally stronger and better fit for combat. We have these laws to protect women like this young lady from getting injured. I mean, just look at her hand. She's already injured herself."

Morgan was terrified as she listened to the King speaking. She knew the consequences for her actions. If the King was forgiving, she would be exiled forever from the Kingdom. If he was not, however, the punishment was death.

"Your majesty," Hunter said, stepping forward. "Prince Nate says we should have courage as members of his Guard. And this girl just risked her own life for your son's life. You say I'm the best in this recruitment program, but when Nate was attacked, I froze in fear. She didn't. Thanks to her quick thinking, your son- my best friend- is alive. She has more courage than anyone I have ever met before. She belongs in the Guard. In fact, she deserves to lead the Guard. I don't know about the other men, but I would willingly follow her into any battle. I would trust putting my life into this young woman's hands. I think she's earned that."

The other men agreed with Hunter's speech. Morgan looked up for the first time and smiled. The King looked over at Nate.

"It's your Guard," he said. "You pick the verdict."

Nate stepped forward.

"I, Nathan Smith, Prince of Hyrule, hereby declare this young, brave woman, Morgan Want, head of my Royal Guard. Morgan, you shall now choose your Guard. These are the men who will follow you into battle, so choose wisely."

Morgan stood up and looked over the recruits.

"I've been watching their training," she said. "All of these men are talented individuals. They would all make a great team. So, I choose all of them. As for my second-in-command, I want Hunter."

Hunter stepped forward and bowed to Morgan.

"Hunter Hughes at your service, Miss Want," he said.

Nate looked at Morgan.

"When you're ready, meet me inside," he told her.

With this, he turned and walked into the palace.