Before the Wild

Taking a Break

Impa stood watch over the praying Princess Zelda, the little girl silently bowed in the middle of the Sacred Grounds. She hadn't moved nor spoken in an hour, worrying Impa to no end. Add in the fact it has been over a year since the princess began her training, and Zelda hadn't unlocked her power yet, and it was downright scary. Only the fact that the signs of Calamity's return have been absent quelled that fright for Impa, and even more for the king.

He was pushing his daughter so hard, making her train for hours upon hours, to the fact that she didn't spend much time for herself, but Impa could understand. Rhoam was a king before he was a father, both literally and in regards to his duty to Hyrule. No one, not even Zelda, wanted the threat of Ganon to become real. But Impa had tried to get the king to lax his task of his daughter before it doesn't go well for her, however, the king was unmoved.

If Zelda loved her father now, it will only be time before she hates him for what he's done. It'll only be time before her wants and needs clash with his. Even if they succeed in defeating Ganon, Impa cannot assure herself that the Royal Family will be happy with each other. Goddesses forbid Zelda becomes a rebellious teenager, and forbid that the swordsman is her type of guy.

Impa knew how close the princess and swordsman of the legends got. Sheikah stories held no details, except the private ones, back.

Sighing, Impa adjusted her straw hat and looked at the princess. Poor girl spent her time praying to the goddesses while kids her age-except Sir Ordon's sword-wielding son-went to school, played with their friends, and didn't have to worry about the end of the world. Zelda will never know the luxury of a carefree childhood if she ever remembers the first few years of her life before her mother's death. Maybe that is what holding the princess back. Maybe prayers won't give her power. Maybe the power will unlock on its own and Rhoam is doing it wrong. Maybe everything is being done right but the gods-no, that's crazy talk. The gods would not abandon their chosen people. Not after 10,000 years of peace.

They had warned them about the upcoming return of the Calamity, blessed them with the findings of the ancient technology, showed the location of all four Divine Beasts and the Master Sword, but Impa be damned if they do not give Zelda her power. Everything was going along smoothly except this!

Impa heard a noise that sounded like a body falling, opening her eyes and aiming them immediately at the princess. It was indeed her, the little girl collapsed in the middle of the Sacred Grounds. "Princess!" Impa ran over, picking up the young girl. She was breathing, but even Impa could see that she was exhausted. She'll have a talk with Rhoam.

It took a few minutes racing through the crowded Castle Town, but Impa finally got to the front gates of the castle, shouting for the guards to allow her entry. It took even longer for a medic to met her in Zelda's quarters, yelling at him for his tardiness. But it took not a second for her to figure out where the king was. She didn't even knock as she usually did. Disrespectful as it was, she barged into the study of the king, startling him.

"Impa?! What is the meaning-"

"Your daughter is tired. She passed out at the fountain today while praying."

Rhoam caught his breath, looking away for a moment. "I... I'm sorry to hear that."

Impa had to raise her hands to her face to keep what she wanted to say from coming out. "You're sorry? Just sorry? Your Majesty, she is your daughter. She needs rest. You cannot work a child as you have been. She's pushing herself so much that she hasn't eaten much, as I have seen, for days. She barely talks to anyone, including me. She has no friends. She prefers solitude. How do you expect her to be in court one day if she's...an outsider? The nobility will bash her."