things had been going so smoothly.

most of the monsters seemed to retreat after calamity ganon's defeat— the traveling pair didn't even catch a glimpse of a mere bokoblin on their way to hateno village. it was such a stark contrast from the hectic decades she had spent alone.

it seemed almost too good to be true. it seemed as if one moment, she was bound to malice himself— and the next, she was in link's arms; safe and sound.

even with ganon gone, scars from his presence still remained. sleep was illusive for both zelda and link. zelda was often plagued with brief bouts of insomnia. she'd consistently find herself in the throes of a nightmare whenever she did sleep for too long, leaving her feeling more drained than she was to begin with.

that night, she had stayed up till late, per usual. while link usually kept her company, he had seemed particularly tired and went to bed before her. zelda was relieved to see her dear friend actually resting, although she couldn't help but feel a mild twinge of disappointment as she realized this would mean she was spending the next few hours alone.

she continued to idle, studying the books she had found within link's shelves. they weren't particularly interesting, but she enjoyed scanning through them nonetheless. finishing a page, the words seemed to ever so slightly blur as her eyes unfocused. a few moments prior she was wide awake, but now she was incredibly relieved to find the wave of weariness crashing upon her. taking one last glance at the book splayed in her lap, she gently closed it and made her way upstairs to put it away and join her companion in bed.

he had reserved the closer portion of the bed for her— thoughtful as always. zelda affectionately noted the fact he always seemed to think of her wellbeing and convenience before his own. he was earnest in his dedication to her, despite the fact he was no longer her official appointed knight. he technically could've left her to fend for herself the moment calamity ganon was vanquished, yet he took her in and kept her safe, as he always had before. most times she felt like a burden, undeserving of his care after failing him and her kingdom time and time again.

despite her guilt, she couldn't help but admit that she appreciated the consistency link offered. zelda could travel across the ends of the world and she knew link would follow no matter what the circumstance.

lost in her musings about the hero, she stared at his sleeping form for a few more lingering moments before attempting to get into the bed. her goal was to avoid waking him at all costs— she knew all too well how badly he needed this sleep.

mirroring his sleeping position, she turned to face the opposite wall and slowly drifted off.

a mere 3 hours later, zelda's eyes fluttered open. craning her neck to check, she found link was still peacefully asleep beside her. it was still nighttime. she tried relaxing her body as she closed her eyes; waiting for the lull of sleep to take mercy and bless her once more.

yet, as expected, it didn't arrive.

the minutes she laid there seemed to pass like hours and before she knew it, she gave up on returning to sleep and heaved herself out of bed.

she knew that she needed whatever rest she could take, but she just couldn't fall back asleep. it simply wouldn't work. she knew from past experience that it was a better decision to preoccupy herself until morning rather than let her wild mind run rampant throughout the night with nothing to distract her.

carefully making her way down the stairs, she took a look around— searching for some unfinished chore she could possibly take upon herself.

link's house was minimalistic one; he certainly had decorated, and furnished, better than zelda would have ever expected from him. he somehow made the lonesome house feel like a home despite the fact he was busy traveling all across hyrule, which zelda thought to be a true accomplishment.

whether it was the flowers he kept, the vintage photos adorning the walls, or even the small acorn pottery gifted by the korok, it seemed to have many personal touches. or perhaps zelda was looking far too into it.

as she examined further, she realized everything was still clean from the last, semi recently, time that they had scrubbed the floors and swept everything. unfortunately for her, there truly seemed to be nothing to do, as she had no current interest in returning to the tedious book she had already put away anyways.

discouraged, zelda hastily slipped into the pair of shoes she had bought from the local clothes shop not too long ago. the only belongings she had after calamity ganon was her simple, ivory worshipping gown and the high-laced sandals that came along with it— neither suitable for traveling. therefore she resorted to borrowing clothing from link; such as the hylian hood she was currently reaching for off of the nearby clothes hanger.

she wouldn't be gone long— just a nighttime stroll. she'd surely be back before link awoken.

after wrapping herself tightly in link's hood, she carefully ventured out the front door, shutting it behind her and following the usual pathway.

she walked across the wooden bridge and through the bolson construction homes. once she reached the bulletin board, she stopped momentarily to admire the view before her. the peaceful village homes, contained with slumbering families, surrounded her. their faint lamps illuminated her path as she made her way down towards the main entrance of hateno village. link had chosen a truly beautiful place to live. it had come so far since the humble place it once was before the calamity. thank the goddesses it was spared.

thick clouds began to quickly roll in and overtake the, formerly clear, night sky. zelda was, for the most part, sated by her nighttime stroll. she took the weather as a sign for her to return back home, and had already started on her way to the wooden bridge when a shrill, childlike wail started sounding from the woods below.

the child clearly sounded distressed, and the noise immediately made zelda uneasy. she bolted towards the trees, expecting to see one of hateno's young children that had perhaps gotten injured, or lost, while wandering too far from home in the middle of the night.

she skidded to a stop in the middle of midla and ginner woods, unable to see any hylian children on the path beyond. the moon was blocked due to the looming storm, and the nighttime made her search considerably more difficult. she resorted to pricking her ears for any further cries from the child.

zelda was able to detect was a faint rustling, along with muffled voices. that was all it took for her.

although she hadn't publicly reclaimed her throne nor gone through coronation, she still considered herself painfully responsible for all hylians. if one of her citizens was in need, she had to help them.

furiously, she ran to the source of the noise— the woods beside her, and was greeted with nothing but the usual trees and foliage.

panicked and confused, she called out the names of all the hateno children she could remember. nebb, narah, aster,, why was no one answering?!

zelda knew it was more than just a figment of her imagination. her heart began racing. it began to dawn on her that this could be more serious than a disoriented youth.

there was someone,, or something, out there.

as she caught a glimpse of who truly was hiding in the woods, her distressed face contorted into pure horror. this was all too familiar. her last brush with attempted assassination, over 100 years ago, featured the same group of dangerous, corrupted individuals.

their lanky, masked soldiers soon surrounded her, and there was only a brief moment before she felt a flash of searing pain in the back of her skull and quickly fell to her knees, unconscious.