Haunting Shadow of the Past

Part 12

As he walked down to the Throne room he would get nods from fellow soldiers. "This is weird." he thought. Link wasn't one who liked standing in the spotlight but it seems inevitable especially now. When he reached the Throne room he saw guards of all different races. Then he saw 4 people stepped away from the cluster of guards. Each one had an accessory or clothing that was the same color and had a similar design as Link's shirt. Those must be the champions. Three out of four of them were unfamiliar to Link but the Zora champion was none other than Princess Mipha. Link also saw Princess Zelda who stood in front of everyone. Link crept behind and found a space between two of the champions and directly behind Zelda. In line with him was a Goron and Princess Mipha of the Zora, they were on his right, and, on his left, a Gerudo and a Rito. Link also noticed that off to the side stood Impa.

The King stood above them on a platform. Around them all were Hylian knights, gerudo, rito, zora, and gorons alike. The King lifted his arms. "Welcome, warriors! I'd like to thank you for joining me here today, and for your bravery in accepting this..." he paused for a second before continuing, "fateful task. I officially appoint you Hyrule's Champions and bestow upon you this sacred garb. That blue is a symbol of the royal family, one that had been passed down for countless generations. Those garments you now wear were all crafted by my daughter, Zelda."

Everyone turned their attention to Zelda who nodded before they turned their attention back to the king who was now talking directly to Zelda. "Zelda, I trust you with a task only a daughter of the royal family can fulfill. Lead our Champions, Princess. And together, protect our Kingdom from the threat of Calamity Ganon." After the king finished the soldiers all started applauding and Link exhaled.

Slowly people started leaving and soon it was just the Champions, Zelda, and Impa left in the room. "Well," the Gerudo woman started, breaking the silence, "I think we should go around and introduce ourselves. We all know Princess Zelda but there might be some forgein faces here. I'll go first, I am Urbosa, Chief of the Gerudo.

The Goron cleared his throat. "I'm Deruk, Chief of the Gorons. I am honored to have been chosen to help protect Hyrule."

The Rito scoffed slightly before talking. "I am Revali. I was chosen because I am the most skilled archer among the Rito. I was not surprised that the princess came to me."

Mipha looked from Revali to the rest of the group. "I'm Mipha, princess of Zora. I promise you, Princess, that I will work as hard as I can to fulfill my duty."

Everyone turned their attention to Link and Urbosa smiled. "You must be the Princess' appointed knight I have heard a lot about."

Link nodded. "Yes, I'm Link and along with protecting the Princess I also have the master sword." Link didn't fail to notice that as he spoke Revali scoffed and rolled his eyes.

Impa stepped forward. "It is a pleasure to meet all of you. I am Impa the royal adviser."

Daruk smiled. "I agree it's nice to meet all of you and I am looking forward to working with everyone."

Mipha nodded. "I as well look forward to working with you all." Her eyes flicked to Link as she said that but he tried his best to pretend he hadn't seen. Mipha then fingered the sash that she was wearing that was made of the blue fabric. "This is very well done, Princess, and it looks amazing. Thank you so much for working hard and putting effort into this."

Zelda nodded and everyone else agreed. "This is such a beautiful day, perhaps we could bring this outside." Impa offered. Everyone agreed and headed out of the castle. They found their way to a gazebo and Link breathed in the fresh air. It had warmed up from this morning and Link only wished he had been able to enjoy it with his sister.

"I'll tell ya," Daruk started doing some simple stretches, "those formal shindigs really take it out of me." Link nodded in agreement. He himself had never been the biggest fan of things like this but he understood the importance. A few steps away the rest of the Champions stood around Zelda looking at something she was holding. Impa was also here but she was standing off to the side.

Revali grabbed the thing from Zelda and held it up looking at the device. "Hmpf. This is the sheikah slate, eh?"

Zelda nodded. "It is." she glanced at Impa quickly before looking back at everyone else. "Apparently there are more uses for it than we originally thought. Sadly, we have yet to decipher all of its secrets." Revali scoffed before handing the slate to Mipha who held it gingerly.

Urbosa leaned down to get a better look at it. "The Princess showed me something strange recently. Somehow it can take true-to-life images."

"Oh, wow." Mipha looked from the slate to Zelda, "I would love to see it." She then paused for a second before continuing. "Um, Princess..." she glanced over at Link who noticed and made eye contact, "May I ask a special favor of you?"

"What is it, Mipha?"

Mipha stayed quiet for a moment while she searched for the right words. "I was wondering if we could, maybe, take a picture. All of us together I mean."

Zelda smiled. "I would love that Mipha."

Impa stepped forward. "My sister, Purah, has been learning how to use the sheikah slate. I can go and ask her if she would be willing to help take the picture." Impa left at a brisk pace and the group waiting in silence. It wasn't too long before Impa returned followed by her older sister. Link didn't really know either of them super well but he could tell that they were very different in many separate ways.

"Alright," Purah exclaimed, accepting the sheikah slate from Mipha. "Can you all stand together so that I can take your picture?" Everyone complied and grouped together and after a few minutes of arranging themselves Purah smiled. "Alright! This spot should work nicely. Keep your eyes on the Sheikah Slate, everyone!" Purah held the slate up and looked through it before she frowned slightly. "Daruk, can you crouch down a bit? You're as big as Death Mountain." Daruk nodded and crouched down a bit. "What's with the glum face, Princess? Gimme a big smile." Link looked over to see Urbosa give Zelda a reassuring pat on the back and while she did that Mipha edged closer to Link. Purah sighed, "Revali, move your tail closer to the group."

Revali groaned, "Ugh, fine." He turned his body so he was facing the group although Link saw he looked none too happy.

Purah ignored his attitude and continued, "Mipha, you look so tense. Deep breathes, okay?"

Mipha straightened and nodded. "Right!" She then started taking a few slow breaths.

Purah's smile came back as she looked through the Sheikah slate. "Stay just like that! Here we go! Smile! Click," before she finished, from behind, Daruk chuckled before forcing everyone together. This caught everyone off guard and Mipha and Revali stumbled forward while Link just tightened his arms closer to him and Zelda gasped. "Snap!" Purah exclaimed indicating she had taken the picture.