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Two figures walked along the tops of the battlements of the castle, outlined by the moon that showed bright above them. If someone had been watching from afar, one would think the two figures were close. Certainly friends, maybe even something more.
They walked side by side, so close that their arms touched every few steps. Their footsteps were made in synchronization. Heads leaning in a little too close as the other talked. This would have been out of line normally, for a princess and her knight attendant. But at night no one was around, and the two were so lost in their fun they didn’t even notice their wrongdoing.
Late fall weather brought a chill to the evening, but the laughter and joy of their evening kept the cold away. Perhaps it was because they had been sitting by the fire in the library, or because they had been laughing so much their stomachs hurt, but neither of them seemed to register the frigid night air.
The two walked towards the westernmost quarters of the castle, the Princess’s private chambers. It included a small study which was connected by another walkway to her room. They walked down and up several staircases, skirting through archways to avoid the eyesight of the guards.
The Princess told herself this was because she didn’t want her father to know she was up late doing other things besides praying. But at the back of her mind she knew there was another reason, she didn’t allow herself to expand on the thought though.
They tried to keep their voices hushed, but the hum of the crickets and roar of the many waterfalls around the castle covered their failed attempts of silence. The knight, who donned the blue tunic that marked him as one of the royal family’s champions, would lean in to whisper something into the Princess’s ear.
Whatever the champion said was lost in the night, only heard by the girl at his side. Nonetheless, it would cause the Princess to giggle. As she laughed, she brought a hand to her mouth to try to muffle the sound while nudging the knight next to her with her shoulder. This would cause him to feign a stumble, faltering a few feet away from the Princess.
The Princess, Zelda, named after many generations of royals of the same name, would walk on. Pretending to leave her knight behind as he fumbled with his footing. But he would quickly catch up, giving her a playful shove back with his shoulder. The knight attendant, Link, had proven to be a tough warrior for the Kingdom of Hyrule. At a young age he had bested even the most skilled soldiers, and was now the keeper of the most esteemed sword of the land.
But he was careful with the princess, the shove of his shoulder barely a graze against hers. Enough to make her sway the other way a bit, but never enough to make her stumble.
Soon they were at the Princess’s door. The two turned to face each other, nothing but the light of the moon had lighted their path. The light seemed to make Zelda's golden hair glow in the dark, making her look like the Goddess descendent she truly was. Link’s own blue eyes shined like stars in the moonlight, which caused the Princess to look away.
She laughed, hoping it looked like leftover giggles from the last joke Link had made, and not a sign of her nerves. Link smiled back, his face feeling warm all of the sudden.
“I am going to head to bed, I urge you to do the same. I’ll be fine under the guard’s watch.” Zelda said to her knight, lightly. Her knight would often stand guard through the night, losing important sleep protecting her.
Link raised his eyebrows, wanting to challenge her by saying she was safest under his watch. But he knew better, this was as good as an order.
“Very well. Goodnight, Princess.” Link dipped his head. But raised it again when he felt the Princess’s hand land on his upper arm.
“Goodnight, Link.” She said, her hand lingering a little too long in the gesture, but she did remove her hand eventually to turn and open her door.
Link watched as she smiled at him before closing her door, leaving him standing alone in the moonlight. The night air suddenly hit him, causing him to shiver. He hung his head, bringing his arm to rub the back of his neck. A nervous habit he had developed over the years.
If someone had been watching the two, they may have thought they were more than friends. Maybe even assumed the young man was courting the Princess. And in an honest truth, in a different world the young man probably would have been doing just that.
But several things weighed heavily on the pair, the heaviest being they were the only two that could save the kingdom they called home. Maybe if they had more time or a different destiny, things would have been different. Still, this was only the beginning. Only time could tell what was in store for the princess and her knight.