Before the Wild

Appointed Knight

The trip back to the castle was a mildly one-sided hostile one. Zelda, more in anger than she'll admit, was relentless in her goal to return to the castle. Once they had left the Lost Woods, it was late morning, and the princess didn't care if it would be a seven-hour trip back. She didn't care for Link's protests to let the horses rest as they came over the Thims Bridge. When he tried to ride up to her, she rode faster, nearly leaving him at one point when she feigned obedience. She made it first to the gate, only slowing down as she traversed the busy Castle Town streets with some of the guards. Link did eventually catch up, not happy about Zelda's stunt at all. She didn't care if her horse needed care and love, for if she was going to equip it with the royal gear, it must deserve it.

"Just like you must deserve your powers, and Link doesn't deserve the Master Sword? Or is it the other way around, Your Stubbornness?" Zelda quelled her thoughts as she, Link, and the guards came upon the gate leading to the castle, standing as a dark shadow against the orange evening sky. She looked upon her home, eager to give her father the news then once again be off in Hyrule. Whether it will be alone or with an escort Zelda, as long as it was not the knight behind her. While she does plan to visit the three springs, she won't spend her entire time doing so. The Springs of Courage and Power are readily accessible, but she won't be able to visit Wisdom for another year and a half, as no one under 17 years old can ascend to its peak.

That meant she could do some research around Hyrule. Surely the pilots of the Divine Beasts will need some help with their machines. Then there's the flora and fauna or the world. A lot of things to occupy her time away from the castle...if her father allows her to be by herself.

Once they came close to the royal stables, Zelda unsaddled from Gaepora and let the stablehands handle him. She had other business to attend to with her father, who wasn't at the gate due to her arrival being unannounced and unexpected. More likely than not he was in his study, his home within a home. She took after him in that regard, formatting the tower beside her quarters to a study as well.

Once she had entered the castle via a back road between the first and second gatehouse that leads to the castle's rear, she followed the short hallway down into the castle proper. Once there, she made a left, heading straight into the library and down the stairs. Her father's study was directly below her entrance, the door hiding as a part of the bookcase. As usual, the door was unguarded, most likely her father dismissing the knight(s) that could be there. He, like Zelda, hated the idea of being with the guards when they could be alone, the only exception was Sir Ordon.

It wasn't until she was opening the door that she remembered the royal guard's son. He hadn't followed her, likely left behind at the stables. Thinking of him only brought back the pain of failure, so she quickly cast that thought aside. Fully opening the door, she walked right into her father's waiting posture. A short, genuine smile graced his weary face as he stood up to greet his daughter. "Welcome home, my flower."

Zelda embraced her father back. "Hello again, father."

"It is a pleasure to see you once again, Princess Zelda."

"Where's Impa?"

"With her sister at the Royal Lab." King Rhoam chuckled to himself as he sat down in his chair. "I feel sorry for her. Impa is not the researcher her sister is, probably bored out of her mind. But now, let us not fall from our task. Zelda, what did the Great Deku speak to you?"

Zelda easily recounted what the Great Deku told her. "I must venture to the three springs around Hyrule. However, given that Lanayru states that no one under seventeen may come upon the mountain, I fear that this task will take a year to complete...time we may or may not have."