Where Heroes Unite (Rewrite)

Chapter 1: Battle Findings

It was not often that the princess was unable to sleep. If she had suffered a nightmare, she would usually stay awake and read a book or write in her diary. It was completely new to Zelda that she couldn't sleep at all. Eventually, she decided that there would be no resting tonight, and that she might as well rise.

The past few months had been hell for Hyrule. First, the changes had been subtle; something as simple as a few more monster attacks, but that was completely manageable. Then, her father had suddenly died, and she had been forced to inherit the crown. Of course, there were few who had any grievances towards this, as she had already been involved with social affairs prior to the late-king's death, so they knew that she was capable of ruling. However, this had definitely taken its toll on her.

Many nights had been spent poured over her desk, hoping that there would be less problems tomorrow. Zelda couldn't even dine at the table anymore; she would eat her meals at that wooden desk, her quill traversing paper almost involuntarily. To make matters worse, the council had already decided that she should begin her search for a suitable partner, for they needed an heir. She was seventeen; there was no way that she was going to produce a hypothetical heir on such short notice, and with some hypothetical husband. Never.

It baffled her as to why she couldn't rest; she was exhausted, after all. Perhaps it was that storm raging outside; it was what had forced her into many all-nighters. The dreadful weather had raged across the entire kingdom for a week now, even Gerudo desert receiving a steady drizzle. At this rate, the East Reservoir Lake would flood over Rutela Dam, and the entire Lanayru Region would be an ocean.

Zelda slowly pushed the duvet off of her body, moving to stand in front of her vanity. Her hair was always left tangled and loose around her in the mornings, despite stillness in slumber. She gripped her brush in her hand and ran it through her caramel locks, waiting until each stroke was smooth. Zelda grabbed the nearest ribbon and tied it on her way out the doors.

Library, she thought to herself. I'll go to the library.

Her slippered feet peeked out from the hem of her nightgown as she walked down the halls, the dove gray contrasting greatly with the red carpet. The castle was oddly serene at night, the guards on duty standing so stiffly that they could've been decorative sets of armor. The princess only strode past two or three pairs on her way to the library, all of them giving her small nods of respect.

The library was just as quiet as the rest of the castle, not a soul scouring the many bookshelves. With the comfort of the silence and solitude, she weaved through shelf after shelf, searching for any book that caught her eye. When her emerald eyes finally landed on a suitable title, she slipped the book into her hands and plopped herself down at the nearest table. It wasn't until she had gotten to about the tenth chapter before Link walked through the library door.

"Crowned Princess Zelda," he greeted, the courteousness in his voice alien to his normally bubbly attitude.

Fine; she'd humor him. "Sir Fidelis."

Link snorted, returning to his usual demeanor. Just as quickly as he had expressed his amusement, he cleared his throat in an attempt to brush it off. "Why are you reading at 1 am?"

"How did you know I was reading at this hour?"

"The walls talk."

She raised an eyebrow. "The guards talk?"

He smiled. "Yes, those too."

Zelda smirked, glancing down at her book. "I didn't get a chance to speak to you when you got back from Zora's Domain. Has the storm relented at all?"