The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule's Hope

Chapter 32: The Spring of Wisdom, Part 1

"It's been three days," Rhiannon sighed, "my father is still up there and I have not received any updates from Dori yet."

    Using a sledgehammer, she destroyed the Ancient armor that Joji had made. After being held back and beaten by the RhiGang, Joji was taken to an island off the coast of Hyrule known as Eventide Island by Rhiannon's royal decree. He was not to return to the kingdom unless he was willing to face a 100-year sentence for his crime: treason to the Crown of Hyrule. "I am sure it will be okay," Zya said, "you will see your father will be as good as new!"

    Rhiannon looked up at the tech lab. "I hope so," they sighed, "excuse me, I need to go clear my mind."

    Zya observed as Rhiannon put down the iron sledgehammer, then crossed the moat bridge towards the village. Zya, on the other hand, continued smashing what was left of the armor, but no matter how much she tried, she would make no damage. The Hylian princess walked towards a small pier right behind the Hateno Dye Shop, staring at their reflection in the water. "Hey!" a squeaky voice shouted, "It's the knight princess!"

    Rhiannon turned around to see Dexter, the young boy they met the second day in the village. "Oh, hey, Dex," Rhiannon sighed. "You remembered my name!" Dexter exclaimed. He then noticed Rhiannon's gloomy expression. "What's wrong?" he asked, "Why are you so sad?"

    "It's...nothing..." Rhiannon answered, "Or, well, I don't think you'd understand it."

    "You know what cheers me up when I'm sad?" Dexter asked, "I lay down on the grass and look at the sky! I like to see the clouds and the birds flying!"

    He threw himself backward, looking up at the sky. Rhiannon lifted their head, trying to do the same thing Dexter was doing. "Does your mother still think I'm delirious?" they asked. "Yeah," Dexter answered, "but I don't care! I think you're cool!"

    "Well, that's a relief," Rhiannon sighed, cracking a soft smile. "Can I wear your helmet?" Dexter asked as he sat up, pointing at Rhiannon's soldier helmet. "Go for it," Rhiannon said, detaching their helmet from their belt. "Aw, cool!" Dexter exclaimed, "I'm a big strong knight now!"

    Rhiannon chuckled as she watched Dexter play around with the helmet–he was pretending to be a brave knight facing Calamity Ganon. "When I grow up, I wanna be a knight!" Dexter said, "I'm going to be the best knight, and I'm gonna be strong and brave and I'll have a cool sword, just like you!"

    Rhiannon giggled. "Well, Dex," she smiled, "it looks to me like you're gonna give me competition."

    "You think I can be a great knight like you?!" Dexter gasped, "Can you train me, princess?!"

    "Hmm... We'll see," Rhiannon said, "Also, keep the helm. It looks good on you."

"Really?!" Dexter asked, to which Rhiannon nodded in response, "My friends won't believe it! I can't wait to show them!"

    He took Rhiannon by the hand, leading them back to the street. He ran towards a group of other Hylian children that gasped when they saw the helmet. "Who gave you that?" asked one of them. "She did!" Dexter answered, pointing at Rhiannon, "This is my new friend, Rhiannon! She's a princess and also a knight!"

    Rhiannon waved awkwardly. "Princess Rhiannon is gonna teach me how to be a knight!" Dexter said, "I can't wait to grow up and become a knight like her!"

    "Maybe now we can go stand up to those bullies!" a Hylian girl shouted. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Rhiannon giggled, "Don't overdo yourselves, kids! You might want to start with something more to your size!"

    "Let's go beat up a scarecrow!" Dexter shouted as the other kids followed him towards the fields. Rhiannon followed the group closely when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Among the villagers that flooded the street, one of them outstood from the others–a blonde man holding a cane in his right arm. "Hey, champ," he smiled. Rhiannon clapped their hands to their mouth as tears began to run down their face. "Father!" they exclaimed, running with open arms towards him. Link opened his arms to receive Rhiannon, hugging them tightly. "Thank you, Hylia..." Rhiannon whispered, looking up at the sky, "...thank you."