Prologue:
It was a beautiful afternoon in the land of Hyrule. The sun hung casually in the sky. A small picnic was being held in the courtyard of Hyrule Castle. Zelda wore a casual, light blue dress and was cradling an infant girl in her arms. Link sat next to her, wearing his usual green tunic and hat. Link’s father, Tyrain, sat on his other side. Tyrain’s brown hair had turned white at the temples. Zinc wore a white tunic with a blue cape with a silver lining, which signified him as being the Capitan of Hyrule’s army. Pike wore one of Zinc’s old tunics, as she still refused to wear a dress. Pike had cut her long blonde hair so that it hung down only just passed her shoulders.
“Hey Zinc, do you ever take that cape off?” asked Link. Five years had passed since Khimena, Scythe, and Ganondorf had been banished to the Realm of Shadows, and the kingdom of Hyrule had fallen into a time of great peace.
“Of course, I do,” said Zinc as he flipped the cape up off of his shoulders.
A Hylain soldier entered the courtyard and snapped a salute to Zinc. “Capitan, the men are ready for inspection, sir.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant,” said Zinc. “Now, return to your post.” The soldier snapped another salute and left.
“Didn’t you have an inspection last week, son?” asked Tyrain.
“Yes, we did,” said Zinc.
“Do you really think they’ve gotten that much worse in only five days?” asked Tyrain.
“Dad’s right, Zinc,” said Link. “It won’t kill you to take things a little less seriously. I mean, you didn’t even smile at your own wedding.”
“I smiled,” said Zinc.
“Really?” asked Link. “If I hadn’t known any better, I would have thought dad had died again.”
“I can’t afford not to take my job seriously,” said Zinc. “There is always the threat of an attack on Hyrule.”
“By whom?” asked Zelda. “Ganondorf and Scythe are gone.” Zelda and Link’s daughter, Alina, was fast asleep.
“I’ve just had this bad feeling lately,” said Zinc.
