Valentia, secluded forest area (night)

After retreating from Valentia castle, the Duma Faithful has set up a base camp in the woods for the night. Their efforts to capture Link had been a failure and the survivors needed to rest before continuing. In one of the tents, Matias was not taking his defeat well.

"They're laughing at me in Valentia castle; giddy with excitement and victory!" Matias, holding a bottle of Ram wine, angrily declares while pacing back and forth. "That wench of a queen and her guest the most!"

"My lord, there is still time; we just have to come up with another plan." A young soldier, wearing black and grey armor adorned with the mark of the Duma Faithful, blue eyes and short black hair, tries his best to calm Matias down.

"I'm aware of that, Fallon; what I don't know is how that boy is a capable combatant! We were supposed to be able to take down the soldiers and take him away; yet he made a mockery of us!"

"I assume that we underestimated his capabilities, perhaps the witches were wrong." Fallon answers.

"Well, that is one hell of an oversight on their part, wouldn't you agree?!" Matias' tirade is cut off as a guard addresses him from outside "What is it?"

"My lord; the witches are here to see you."

"Ah, speak of the devil; send them in." Matias answers, still livid from his previous conversation. Koume and Kotake walk in, expecting to see Link in chains.

"Well? Where is the Hero of Time?" Koume asks, looking around the tent.

"Is he outside drinking with your men?" Kotake quips and Matias can take no more.

"You mock me, witches?!" Matias angrily shouts and throws his bottle on the ground, unfazing the twins. "This is completely unacceptable! You told us that he was a simple brawler, not a trained knight!"

"Ooh? Well, he was just a little boy when we saw him fight the last time. I guess he got better." Koume comments.

"Besides, aren't you the Duma Faithful? I heard that you were feared in Zofia way back when; could you truly not handle one guy? I guess you weren't as tough as we thought."

"Watch your mouth!" Matias, now furious, points a sword at the two. "You are only here because of our master's good graces, be it any other reason then I would cut you both down where you stand-"

Matias is cut off as the witches fuse into Twinrova and seize him by the throat, showing that his threat is hollow to them. "Calm yourself, Matias!"

"My lord!" Fallon shouts in alarm as he draws a sword to stop Twinrova, who holds up her other hand to stop him.

"....You'll wrinkle your face otherwise." Twinrova sets Matias down softly and the latter rubs his neck in discomfort. "Now, you'll just have to try again. We'll supply you with weaponry and provisions as per our agreement, so we're sure you'll do better."

"Fine. We'll redouble our efforts." Matias, now relaxed, clears his throat and concedes.

"Good! We're glad to hear that." Twinrova claps her hands together and smiles. "Now, where is your master? We'd like to talk to him."

"Ah, he left for the other world to oversee the situation." Fallon answers as he sheathes his sword.

Sighing, Twinrova rubs her forehead in frustration. "Did we not tell him the about the rules of traveling from world to world?"

"Relax, he said he won't be gone for too long. He'll be back before anything goes wrong." Matias cuts in. "For now, I think we should plan a better attack on the castle to get that boy; Link, was it?"

"My lord!" Another guard rushes in and kneels down in front of the three. "I have just received word from the scouts."

"You may speak."

"They've told me that the Hero hasn't been seen in the castle as of our previous attack. Also, the queen hasn't been spotted anywhere either."

"What does this mean?" Fallon asks, curious over these facts.

Matias, after pondering for a few moments, smirks after realizing the answer. "Isn't it obvious, Fallon? They're on the move."

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Valentia, wooded area a few kilometers away from Zofia castle.

The quiet night is disrupted by the sound of horse hooves thundering on the ground and the screeches of several monsters. A lizalfos climbs through the trees and attempts to jump down, only to be shot by an arrow at its head which sends it plummeting down.

"Damn, these guys just don't quit, do they?" Link, on horseback, complains while nocking another arrow. "How much further do we have to go?"

"Not much! It should be over those hills!" Celica answers before conjuring excalibur; sending a wave of wind blades around them to attack the lizalfos and clear some of the bushes. With their path mostly cleared, the two gallop faster with the lizalfos in pursuit. Celica finally sees the faint visage of Zofia castle and pulls out a horn from her saddle. "There it is!"

"At long last!" Link shouts in relief, cutting down a lizalfos in the process. Celica blows on the horn, creating a loud bellowing noise to draw the attention of anyone at the castle.

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From the walls bordering Zofia castle, a guard makes his rounds, stopping after he hears a faint sound in the distance; resembling a horn. Pulling out a spyglass, the guard looks out into the distance and to his surprise sees the queen on horseback with an unknown person beside her and a gaggle of monsters close behind.

"The queen is in danger! To arms!" The guard shouts in alarm, prompting several other soldiers to arm themselves with bows and spread out above the walls. From behind them, an older man with dark blue and brown armor with chain mail underneath, light skin, dark brown eyes and short dark blue hair walks along with his own bow. "Captain Python sir!"

"Alright boys! Looks like we've got more of those monsters to kill and the queen needs our help!" Python declares with an air of cynicism in his voice. "So, what do you say we shoot them down and then sit down for a bowl of stew afterwards?" The archers grunt in approval. "Good; take em' down!"

Finally in range, the archers begin shooting at the lizalfos with several of them dodging the arrows. After the two get close enough, a guard lowers the drawbridge to let in Celica and Link.

"Come on boys; don't give em' an inch!" Python shouts, managing to hit two lizalfos at once. "The queen and her guest are almost home free; haul ass!"

The gate begins to rise, at which point the two have their horses pick up the pace. With only three more lizalfos remaining, Python decides to personally take them down; two of them pounce behind Celica and Link moves in to strike them down, only for two arrows to zoom past both sides of Celica's head and kill them both. As the two finally reach the gate, the remaining lizalfos closes in on Link and when they both cross the gate, Python hits it square on the head and its corpse drags past the gate with the others before disintegrating. Giving the all clear, Python orders the gate closed and the bridge raised before meeting up with Celica.

"Well now, to what do we owe this surprise visit from our queen?"

"Python, it's good to see you again." Celica responds after dismounting her horse and having it and Link's horse taken to the stables. "I see your aim hasn't diminished."

"Course not; I'd be a sorry excuse for a captain of the guard if I couldn't deliver." Python replies as he slings his bow over his shoulder before finally looking at Link. "Well, look who showed up; the newcomer."

"You know about me?" Link answers in surprise.

"Yeah, Conrad told us about you; said you rallied the troops against the Duma Faithful. I wish I was there to see it." Python comments with a smirk.

"Speaking of which, where is Conrad?" Celica asks.

"I'm afraid he's not here, your majesty." An adult man with dark green armor (with matching hair) and black chainmail emerges from one of the hallways. "He set off with a brigade of troops to assess the situation in the other villages."

"I see." Celica answers with downcast eyes.

"Ah, but where are my manners? I am Forsyth, it's a pleasure to meet you." Forsyth turns to Link and offers his hand.

Link shakes his hand and thanks him and Python for the welcome. Forsyth then questions why Celica is here in the first place with all of the dangers outside and she agrees to tell them all what her plans are, but not before securing the castle to make sure there are no more monsters around. Complying, Forsyth and Python scatter the troops to seal off any door leading outside (Forsyth gives the additional order to another soldier to go and summon Lukas, with the added remark that Celica has arrived).

"Nice guys." Link comments.

"They're some of the best. They both fought alongside Alm two years ago." Celica responds with a hint of pride, before giggling.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, I'm just imagining what Python would've said back then if he saw you; 'are you kiddin' me?! Where the hell was he when The Deliverance needed every dolt who could hold up a sword?!' Celica complains in her best Python impersonation.

Smiling, Link starts laughing at this spontaneous silliness from Celica.

"Jokes aside, you said you were a carpenter; so how do you know how to fight like that?"

"Oh, that's a long story." Link answers, having calmed down from his laughing fit. In response, Celica sits down on a bench near the gate.

"We have a few minutes."

Resigning himself to it, Link sits next to Celica and regales his story.

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Hyrule Castle, 7 years ago

As before, Link had no problems sneaking into the castle courtyard, wondering how the guards never managed to spot a little boy in a bright green tunic. A few minutes later, he sees a small brigade of soldiers marching towards his direction and in a panic, Link jumps into a bush and waits for them to pass by. His relief is short lived however; as soon as they turn the corner, Link gets out of the bushes and immediately runs into another person, causing him to fall down.

"Hello there." Impa greets, with her hands on her hips and an indifferent expression.

"H-hi Impa." Link answers with some nervousness.

"To what do we owe this home visit? As if I didn't already know."

"Ah, well I need to-"

"Stop." Impa holds up her left hand to hush Link, hearing more guards coming their way. "If they spot you again, the captain will give you an earful again, and he might blacklist you from the castle. Come with me." Impa picks Link up, grabs him by the arm and disappears in a blinding flash.

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Link opens his eyes and sees that he's in Impa's room (A circular room with a large, filled bookcase, a desk with several candles for reading, a table with a porcelain tea kettle with matching cups, a dresser most likely used to hold Impa's clothes, a luxurious bed and the eye of the Sheikah tribe covering the ceiling). "Now then, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm afraid the Princess is unavailable today; she has study sessions until nightfall." Impa states before sitting down at the table and reading a book. "The knights will conclude their drills in about an hour, you can leave then so they won't see you. Until then, you're stuck here."

Link listens intently and readies himself before speaking again. "Actually Impa, I didn't come here to sneak Zelda out this time." Link states and Impa scoffs at that, knowing that the only way they can "sneak" out is because she always deviates the guards away. "I came here to find you."

Impa stops reading abruptly and turns to look at the boy. "Me?" She shuts her book, sets it down and gives Link her attention. "Well I'm flattered, but I am not a fan of the Bombchu Bowling Alley. So, I'll have to decline." Impa sarcastically comments, much to Link's frustration.

"No! I mean that I want you to train me!"

"Are...are you serious?" Impa, completely dumbfounded, asks. "Why? I've seen you fight before; while you're no knight, you can hold your own."

"I know. But, I want to be better." Link determinedly answers. "I saw a lot of things when I was alone, Impa. So, I want to get stronger."

Impa pauses, rubbing her forehead with her left hand before continuing. "Uh...Link, I can't teach you our ways. Only those born into our clan or the royal family can learn it."

"That's fine! I don't need to learn how to be a Sheikah; I just want to learn how to fight better!"

"I admire your determination, but I need a real reason for this request, little hero."

Sighing, Link continues. "I know you think I'm just some kid who wants to play at being a knight. I know that everything I said to the king sounds crazy, but I meant everything I said about what Ganondorf wanted to do. That's why I want to get stronger; I probably could've prevented that before it could happen. I want to protect my home, I want to protect the people." Link inhales deeply and continues. "I want to protect Zelda."

Impa takes in all of his words and comes to a conclusion; he's completely serious about this. "And why me? Out of all the soldiers you could ask; why me?"

"Because you care about Zelda the most and you're the strongest person I know."

Impa now takes the time to mull over all of her thoughts. After thirty minutes of thinking (much to Link's nervousness and impatience), she finally speaks up. "...I expect to see you at the entrance to Kakariko Village bright and early tomorrow. I want you to show me what you've got."

Ecstatic, Link jumps off of the bed and bear hugs Impa. "Really?! Impa, you're the best!"

"Alright, alright; calm down." Impa states in an annoyed tone, prying Link off of her waist. "Such a ball of energy..."

"Sorry, I just didn't think you'd say yes."

"Neither did I. Anyway, you should know that I will not go easy on you, should I decide to actually train you. Understand?"

"Yes, master."

Impa chuckles at Link's title for her. Eventually, the hour passes and Impa escorts Link out of the castle, avoiding all of the guards. As he leaves, Link stops Impa before she returns to the castle. "Wait; what's wrong with the Bombchu Bowling Alley?"

Exasperated, Impa closes the gate on him and walks away.

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Valentia Castle

"This Impa sounds like an amazing woman." Celica comments.

"She's the best." Link answers fondly. "She's not the Chief of the Sheikah for nothing."

"Well, don't stop now. What happened next?"

Link explains that Impa had indeed decided to train Link in combat. Just as Impa had promised, her training regiment was nothing to scoff at; yet, whenever he didn't sneak Zelda out, Link spent the other days adhering to training. Though, he would keep reaching a snag in it.

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Behind the Kakariko Village windmill, two months into the training.

"Link, I think we should stop for today." Impa says to Link, who is hyperventilating on the ground.

"No, I...can keep....going." Link retorts, trying to get back up. "I can't keep slowing down; I have to get this right!" Link gets up and immediately thrusts with his training sword. However, Impa effortlessly disarms and tosses him back down. After a few more tries, Link finally sits on the ground defeated.

"Why? Why can't I do it?"

Impa decides to sit down next to Link to converse on the subject. "Link, you're trying to rush this. That's what is stalling you."

"But I could do this before without any issues! So, why not now? Is there something I'm missing, Impa?"

"You want my opinion? It's all up here." Impa pokes the top of Link's head. "What I mean is, you think you're still an adult and that is not the case anymore. You're rushing in with the thought that you can take down someone bigger than you and that's where you fall apart. Rushing this training will do you no good."

Feeling self conscious, Link lowers his head. "Then what should I do? I don't want to give this up."

Pondering for a moment, Impa comes up with a possibility. "Well, it may take a few years before you can go head to head with a fighter. But, have you considered parrying with the sword?"

"Huh?"

"It's a technique we Sheikah use. Instead of blocking with a shield, you would use your own blade to swat away the enemy's weapon, then leave them vulnerable to an attack. Even children can learn this."

Now more enthusiastic, Link stands up and faces Impa. "Can you show me?"

Nodding, Impa gets up and shows Link the way step by step; First, allow the opponent to strike. The hard part comes next; swing your sword at it, forcing the opponent to stagger. Once disoriented, you have only a split second to perform a lethal strike on the opponent. Now with the explanation down,

Impa and Link demonstrate the movements slowly, trying to get a good feel of how the technique should be like. After about five tries, Link finally achieved the technique; sending Impa's dagger flying before tapping the left side of her waist with the training sword.

"How was that?" Link asks, trying to catch his breath.

"Not a bad swing." Impa states. "I'd say that you've got the skill down."

"Yeah!" Link happily exclaims until Impa calms him down.

"Ok, now let's do it again. We've still got plenty of light left, when we're done with it then we'll move on to the next part. Deal?"

"I'm ready." Link confidently states. Nodding, Impa readies herself to continue the training, satisfied with Link's progress.

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"From there, we kept on training for almost seven years and, well, you saw the results." Link finishes the story.

"I did; and it was impressive." Celica answers with a smile. "But you were just a boy; I bet it took a lot of convincing to get your parents to agree to this regiment."

Link's smile all but disappears at Celica's remark. "I...I never knew them, actually."

Covering her mouth for unknowingly bringing up a bad memory, Celica internally kicks herself for it. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"Ah, don't worry about it. It was a long time ago, anyway. Besides, I had my grandfather to help raise me." Link states, referring to the Deku Tree.

"Just like us..." Celica whispers.

"What?"

"Oh, I'm just reminded of myself; I remember my father, King Lima IV, a little, but I'd rather not talk about him. As for my mother, I scarcely remember her. In fact, there she is." Celica points to a large portrait of a woman with long, silvery white hair, fair skin, dark blue eyes, the same circlet that Celica is wearing on her head, golden armlets, bracelets and a choker, white gown with gold accents, a blue cape and simple black shoes sitting within a garden. "Her name was Liprica. She was one of Lima's wives, his favorite."

"What?" Link asks in shock. "How can one king have many wives?"

"It's not as common anymore. But, he wasn't the best king, to say the least." Celica answers, almost spitefully. "But, Alm helped to ease that view I have of kings. He said he only needs one queen; me."

Link takes notice of Celica's happy demeanor when she mentioned Alm. He begins to speak up, but Forsyth returns, accompanied by Lukas (A fairly young man with short, dark red hair, black chainmail and fingerless gloves, red armor, gauntlets and boots and brown leather straps holding the armor in place).

"My Lady, it's a pleasure to see you again." Lukas politely greets. "And to you as well, Sir Link. Welcome to Zofia Castle."

"Lukas, thank you for seeing us." Celica greets in return. "We were going a different direction, but the monsters cut us off."

"No thanks required, Highness. But, it is good that you arrived when you did."

"Why's that?" Link asks.

"We have just received word that Mycen Village has been besieged by monsters as of late." Lukas states.

"What?!" Celica exclaims in alarm.

"We are preparing a small garrison of troops to send there, but our resources are stretched thin with everything happening. Luckily, Lady Clair is helping to rally any able bodied person there and Gray is the one leading the assaults on the monsters."

"Excellent." Celica says with slight tranquility, before turning to Link. "One moment, please." Celica moves Link aside to discuss this matter in private.

"What's wrong?"

"Link, I'm asking a lot of you now; but, can we please make this detour to Mycen Village? It was my home for the better part of my and Alm's childhood. There are good people there, can you help me save it?"

"Celica, it's fine. I wanted to suggest the same, let's go there." Link confirms.

"Thank you...very much." Celica bows her head slightly, grateful to Link, who nods in response before turning to Lukas.

"How long will it take to get to Mycen Village?"

"It should take a few hours, we will be there by sunrise." Lukas answers.

"Alright, I'm ready when they are."

"Excellent, it should take only a few minutes to prepare the carriages; you and Her Highness can get some rest before you reach there."

"That's fine. We'll both be ready." Celica interjects. "Thank you, Lukas."

With these matters in order, Link and Celica prepare to leave for Mycen Village, Celica's old home.

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Hyrule Field, Evening

Despite their efforts to move on, Alm and Sheik fight off any number of Stalfos and Stalchildren.

"How many has it been now, Sheik?" Alm asks, grappling with a Stalfos.

"Honestly Sir, I stopped counting after thirty." Sheik answers, throwing kunai at three Stalchildren.

"Heh, any time then, I guess." Alm shoves the Stalfos away, giving him time to slam his sword down on it and destroying the monster. Engaging another pair of monsters, Alm doesn't give them the chance to

respond, ending them quickly. Just as he moves to the next ones, a voice calls out to him; he turns around and sees the ghostly apparition of a bearded man in regal armor floating above a dark forested area. Entranced, Alm drops his sword and stares on. "Is that....?"

"Sir!" Sheik runs up and destroys a Stalfos coming up behind Alm with his dagger. "What is the matter?"

Alm blinks and the apparition disappears. Picking up his sword, he recomposes himself. "Sheik, what's in that forest over there?"

"That's the Lost Woods, Sir." Sheik answers. "But, I'm afraid we have pressing matters to attend to." Pointing to a small group of monsters, Sheik readies more kunai and Alm enters a fighting pose. Just then, several arrows hit the monsters skulls, destroying them all. Shocked, the two looks to the arrows origins and spot a blue hooded figure astride a chestnut brown horse with white hair. Pulling down the hood, it is revealed to be a young woman with long red hair and blue eyes.

"Who are you?" The young lady asks, dismounting her horse.

Clearing his throat, Alm puts away his sword and straightens up. "Ah, thank you miss. I am Alm and this is Sheik."

"Nice to meet you two. My name is Malon." Malon slings her bow over her shoulder before getting closer. "Listen, you shouldn't be out here at night; those monsters will be out in droves when the sun sets. Come on to my ranch, we'll keep you safe until morning."

"Don't worry Sir; she's a good person. Link knows her." Sheik whispers to Alm.

"Alright, we'll take up your offer. Thank you Miss Malon." Alm bows slightly.

"Aw, just Malon is fine." Malon states, smiling at Alm's manners. "Come on then. Let's go, Epona."

Malon leads her horse, Epona, back to the ranch with Alm and Sheik following behind. "So....are you a prince?"

To be continued.

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Author's note: Yet another chapter that took me a while to get up off the ground, but I managed to continue. Now, I just have to keep it up. Alright, guys/girls, take care. :)