The Hylian Civil War: Prologue

A brand new day brought with it yesterday's troubles. There were still papers to sign, people to meet, and reconstruction to oversee. Such was the duty of a Princess. After the hero had slain the evil king, her life had certainly changed…but she was not certain if it was for the better.

Her quill pen was the only voice in the room as she scraped its point across the parchment. She hardly read the title of the papers anymore, there were simply too many of them for her to care. She looked outside the window, trying to get a sense of the time. The sun had not been awake for long, but she had risen to work when the moon was still high in the heavens. She wanted to sleep, but work still needed to be done, and there was no one else who could do it.

A knock on the door startled her. "Oh, my goodness, please, come in."

The door opened to reveal a large, busty, dark woman in the hallway. She had in her hands a hot cup of tea.

She spoke with earnest sincerity "Uh, Your Highness? How long have you been up?"

The Princess massaged around her eyes with her fingers, "I am not exactly sure. I rose early to finish the paperwork I failed to do yesterday, and I must have lost track of time. What time is it, Telma?"

"Seven o'clock," the woman replied. "I was coming to get you some tea before you leave. They're some guards downstairs waiting for you."

"That must be my escort." The Princess rose from her desk and left the room. "I appreciate the tea, Telma. However, I will need to enjoy it later."

As she began her walk down the hallway, Telma called out to her, "Princess Zelda, you sure you're alright, honey?"

The young princess turned around and faked a smile, "Of course I am."

The guards did not see Zelda when she first entered the bar. They were in the middle of a discussion about the poor state of the nation.

"I mean, do we even know what blew up the castle? Has Zelda given anyone an explanation?"

Another guard spoke, "Well maybe she doesn't know herself. Who's to say that it wasn't just an accident?"

"Ha! Yeah right! An accident that destroyed the whole castle?!?! Hardly. I think she knew about it the entire time, and is too ashamed to tell everyone she was too weak to do anything. If you ask me, none of this would've happened if the King was still here."

A third guard let out a sigh, "This again? We've been over this, the King left for Gods-know-where years ago to help some other country. We haven't heard from them since the problems here started, and how long has that been, a year and a half? If we haven't heard from the army yet, they're probably dead."

Zelda had heard enough, so she cleared her throat. The guards jumped on their feet and stood at attention.

The first guard stepped towards the Princess, "Your Highness, we are here to escort you to the city hall. An important message has been retrieved that requires your attention."

Zelda nodded, "Very well then. Let us proceed."

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Outside in the streets, the townsfolk had started their daily routine of buying, selling, and traveling. Zelda and her escort followed the current of people to the center of town. She liked to look at the different citizens, with their different ages, occupations, and sometimes even species. It saddened her that she could not truly interact with them however; the guards would not allow anyone near her, in fear of an assassin.

Looking at some of the faces in the crowd, that possibility seemed quite reasonable; every time she left Telma's home, she was greeted by glares of hatred, from people who blamed her for their misfortune. While it was true that she knew the reason why Hyrule Castle had been destroyed, she refused to give any information as to how or why it happened. An honest explanation would reveal the existence of the Twilight Realm. So instead of lying to the masses, she willingly bore their resentment.

The party passed by a man in a monk's garb preaching to the passersby, "Dark times have fallen upon us, my brethren; but fear not, for the gods have sent us an angel to lift us up from the rubble!"

Zelda smiled hearing the man's words. Not all townsfolk believed that the fall of Hyrule was a tragedy. Just as many people believed that before all hope was lost, the gods had intervened and brought them a savior; a young swordsman who wore a tunic as green as the forest, and had the eyes of a feral beast. There had been many accounts of this hero in the past year: how he had brought the Goron Patriarch back from insanity, how he saved the Zora Prince from an untimely death, and how he had protected the entire Zora clan from the feared monster of Snowpeak.

As the group entered the center of town, Zelda glanced up to where Hyrule Castle once stood. The battle to vanquish evil was a costly one, destroying the castle as well as the lives of many civilians. While a reconstruction project was stared almost immediately afterward, the inhabitants of the castle had to find willing townsfolk who would allow them to stay in their lodgings until the new palace was complete. Zelda had heard of Telma and her group's attempts to protect Hyrule, and she believed the bartender would keep her safe.

The guards opened the double doors of city hall and Zelda walked through. Inside were a mass of aristocrats, waiting to hear the important message. The Princess was lead to a private room, where a knight in armor held in his hand a letter. The man went down on one knee as Zelda entered.

"Your Highness," the knight began. "I come from General Donphes, leader of the Hylian Army, to give you this letter. It is requested that you read it here, rather than alerting the nobles just yet."

The Princess turned the envelope over on its back. In red wax was a lion holding a sword and shield, the same lion that was painted on the knight's breastplate. As she opened the letter and read through it, her heart began to beat faster. She felt lighter than the letter she held, and had trouble finding words to say. At last, she managed to squeeze out two simple words:

"Father's home."