The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule's Hope

Chapter 26: The Spring of Courage, Part 1

A Hylian man walked into a pub, taking a seat at the bar. This man, of brown hair and green eyes, caught the other patrons' attention, especially because of the scars on his face. "What's it gonna be, big guy?" the bartender asked. "Give me the finest you've got," the man replied. "Say, you ain't from around this part, are you?" the bartender inquired as he prepared a drink for him. "I'm like the wind," the man answered, "I belong nowhere."

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" The man turned around to see a dark-skinned Hylian man behind him–he wore an eyepatch over his left eye. "Depends," the first man asked, "do I owe you something?"

"Don't be silly," the second man chuckled, "you were in the Royal Guard, weren't you?"

"Who's askin'?" the first man crossed his arms. "I was also in the Royal Guard 25 years ago," the second man sighed, "in fact, I was once Princess Rhiannon's knight."

"That's crazy," the first man said, "I was once her knight as well."

"Were you, now?" the second man asked, "What's your story?"

"Why do you wanna know, huh?" the first man snapped, "it's not like it matters today. Princess Rhiannon is dead."

"No, you're wrong," the first man said, "Princess Rhiannon is still alive. Last time I saw her was a few days ago at Zora's Domain."

"Now, I'm curious about your story," the first man said, "what's your deal?"

"I joined the Royal Guard because I was in love with Princess Rhiannon," the second man sighed, "also because Champion Link has always been my idol. Princess Rhiannon never reciprocated her love as I did, she never took my devotion seriously. The girl of my dreams laughed in my face and her father is the reason I lost my left eye. General Link didn't like how close I was to his daughter. I want revenge for what they both did to me."

"Let me guess," the first man said, "when the general introduced you to her, he let her fight you, didn't he?"

"It happened to you too?" the second man gasped. "You have no idea," the first man sighed, "when I was named her knight, Princess Rhiannon was not happy about it. That day she even threw a tantrum. I had heard the rumor that Princess Rhiannon had beaten her first knight to a bloody pulp to the point that he even managed to flee Hyrule. To avoid that from happening again, General Link asked me to go against Rhiannon in friendly combat, but the princess was anything but friendly."

The man stopped as flashbacks of that day played across his mind. He could hear his sword collide with the angered princess's sword. "Princess Rhiannon was relentless," he continued, "she beat me like I was a bag of sand. I was her little punching bag, I'm pretty sure she broke a few of my bones."

"Get up, you worm!" Rhiannon's voice echoed inside his head, "Face me like a man! Get up this instant!"

"I looked up to see if I could get any intervention, but I received none," the man sighed, "General Link just stood there, watching as the princess continued to throw me around like garbage. He did not show any emotion, it was as if he was not present at all. It wasn't until I was nearly dead that he stopped his daughter from doing any further damage."

"We do not speak of this to anyone outside these walls," Link's voice resonated inside his head, "whatever happens down in the chambers, stay in the chambers, now take him to the infirmary. If anyone asks, he was attacked by a Moblin."

"How were you fired?" the second man asked. "Princess Rhiannon decided to frame me for robbery," the first man sighed, "her mother's sacred necklace had gone missing that day, and it was my duty to help Princess Zelda find it. Turns out Rhiannon had it all along and managed to sneak it into my supply bag. It didn't matter how much I argued I was innocent, the princess and the general didn't believe me."