Chapter 2
The small boy ran forward through the large crowd of people that had amassed in front of a nearby stand. There was a lot of commotion coming from the place, peaking the small boy's interest. He squeezed through the people that where packed tightly together and found a man waving a bow before the crowd. But why would that cause so much fuss? The boy wondered. He was answered by the salesman’s next pitch of the item.
"That's correct ladies and gentlemen! This is the very bow that the Hero of Time himself used to save use all from the Dark King! I'll start taking offers for 100,000- no 500,000 rupees!"
The crowd slowly began to quite down as people finally saw that they were being strung along. A simply bow for 500,000 rupees? Nothing, not the bow of a hero or even the hero HIMSELF, was worth all that money. Angry looks began to spread like wildfire amongst the crowd as, one by one, they began to walk away. The seller began to lose his composure.
"No! Wait!" he shouted, trying to stop people from leaving, "Um...d-did I say 500,000?! I meant 5,000...1,000!?"
The boy turned on his heels and began walking away himself. The Hero of Time? Boring.
A faint wind carried the various sounds of the town through the window of the room. Though the castle was a good distance away, you could always here the hustle and bustle of the town in the daytime. And it was because of this and a few of the helpers around the castle that she had begun hearing about the rumors. That more and more, people were beginning to loss interest and even all together disbelieve the stories about the Hero of Time....about Link....It saddened her to no end, the thought of everything that he sacrificed being taken for granted like they were.
A faint knock drew Zelda's attention away from her thoughts of Link. "Come in." she called.
The door opened and a knight stepped in. He wore no helmet, so she knew who he was the second he came in. He was still new by the standards of the other knights, despite the fact that he had been with them for over a year now. He was still young, barley into the prime of his life. But she could always tell who he was from the sandy blonde hair that hung over in his sky blue eyes. She would note frequently that he reminded her of Link from a distance.
She smiled, "Hello Birain."
Birain bowed deeply. "Good day milady." he answered, his voice gruff. He straightened himself, his face was an iron mask bereft of any emotion. He was here for something important. "Your father wishes to see you Princess. He says that it's a matter most urgent. He had me came to get you at once."
Zelda realized that her heart had started beating a little faster. Birain was one of the only people she could talk to in the castle, and he was usually never this serious. He normally would be finding ways to left Zelda's spirits and giving her words of wisdom and encouragement. Now, however, there was nothing to suggest that this was the same person.
"What does he need? Is something wrong?" she asked.
The expression on Birain's face softened a bit. "I don't know. He only asked me to get you and bring you to him as soon as I was able. I rushed over here as fast as I could."
She nodded. Her father would have never sent Birain unless it was important. He had proven himself to be a very skilled warrior, rivaling the Hero of Time himself some said. As much as she liked Birain, however, she couldn't help but think that that was a bit of an exaggeration. Despite her thoughts thought, Birain was almost always on watch these days. The fact that he was here to get her told her that this was important.
She quickly rushed out of the room, Birain following closely behind her. Despite the castle's large size, it took her only a matter of minutes to reach her father's bedchamber. Birain automatically stood by the door as Zelda went in, closing the door carefully behind her. She looked across the room at her father, the ruler of the Kingdom of Hyrule. He sat on the edge of his bed; his face looking like it was sagging slightly. The once healthy color that had been present in his face was all but gone now, replaced by the pale overshadow of sickness.
He looked up when he heard the door close. His eyes seemed to blaze beneath his work and worry weathered brow, despite his ill condition. He stood and looked at her.
“Zelda...my wonderful daughter...I'm afraid that I must voice a very grave concern to you, as it could very well be that last thing that I can say to you.” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Zelda walked over to her father and gripped his shoulders. “Don't say such things. You'll get better soon Father, you'll see. Just lay back down and save your strength.” she said, trying fiercely to keep her voice from breaking. It didn't help anything when she pulled him down to sit and he did so without much resistance however.
He waved her hands off of his shoulders and turned to face her. “I fear that a great evil may be coming for our kingdom once again.”
Zelda could feel the blood drain from her face. “Ganondorf?”
The king shook his head. “I do not know. All I know for certain is that we are in grave danger.”
Just as the King said these words, Zelda could hear many of the knights yelling out side. She looked out the window to find that almost all of them were running toward the town.
“What’s happening?” she yelled to the soldiers. One looked back and shouted as he ran, “The town is under attack by monsters!”
The princess looked back at her father. He simply stared at the floor. “So…it begins again.”
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