For a few short years, three generations of royal women live under Hyrule Castle's roof.

They are peaceful times. The kingdom's most pressing concerns are trade agreements and the arguments of merchants; fat old sparrows, quarreling over crumbs. Monsters and darkness are only distant memories.

The youngest royal woman, Princess Zelda, is a formidable presence. Though young, she conducts herself with grace and elegance. She is polite and soft-spoken, perceptive and intelligent. She is also insatiably curious. Deliberate. Fearless.

When the light of her right hand's crest wakes her on her tenth name-day, she doesn't react with fear, though it's never glowed before. Instead she does the sensible thing and seeks out her royal grandmother for advice.

The queen-mother's study is bright as Zelda pads over the threshold, hands dropping to smooth her dress as she walks. She had always liked this study, with its bright light and autumn trees.

"Goddesses keep you, Grandmother." Zelda keeps her voice quiet. She's a little uneasy breaking the silence, as though the room were a temple and not a study. "It is good to see you."

"Princess." The queen-mother's jewelled earrings clink softly as she turns, favouring the princess with a warm smile. Her eye lingers for a fleeting instant over the light leaking from the Zelda's own crest. "Good morning, my dear." She beckons to the seat next to her with a thin, white-gloved hand. "Well, come here; don't just stand there. This is an exciting day for you. I've something to give you for your name-day."

Curious, now, the princess pads the rest of the way into the room, the crest on her hand still awash in golden light. Self-consciously, she tilts her hand to hide it against her skirt, but pulls it away, along with a flash of annoyance at her own timidity. Deliberately, she offers the hand to her grandmother. "It's been like this since last night."

The old woman smiles, knowingly.

"That light on your hand, child, that is the light of the Goddess Nayru herself. The Triforce of Wisdom has awakened within you." The queen-mother reaches out and takes Zelda's hand, gently, turning it over to show her the glowing crest. "This is our divine birthright, the sacred power vested in us by Nayru herself. With this, we rule our people wisely and serve them well. We ensure Hyrule remains free of the tragedies of war. Please, sit with me, my dear."

Folding her skirts around herself, Zelda climbs onto the second chair, watching her grandmother attentively.

"Everything is as it should be." The queen-mother taps the crest on the back of her hand. "You are strong, and certainly wise, as you join Hyrule's legacy of queens. Many people will someday depend upon you and look to you for guidance and protection," she adds, patting her shoulder. "Wisdom is a lantern. We must hold it aloft, that our people may see its light, and follow where we will lead."

The words stir an emotion in her she can't name.

She knows her future is bound with Hyrule's. The enormity of the awakening doesn't frighten her, despite the sheer scale. All she can feel is peace.

Everything is as it should be.

"Your royal mother and I will be your teachers in these matters." The queen-mother pats her shoulder, comfortingly. "In time you will learn to harness this power with grace and elegance. When we are gone, you will also guide Hyrule with wisdom and compassion..."

--

An hour ago, she'd quietly told the beast at the foot of her bed she was going outside. Zelda hadn't looked to see if he was there in the shadows. When she padded out of the room, she didn't look to see if he followed. She had simply walked.

The devotion of Hyrule's royal women was noted even among the poorest of folk. Priestesses as much as princesses and queens, they prayed for blessings for the people during solemn public rituals. After all, who better to satisfy the spiritual needs of the people than the vessel of Her Grace's power?

At times, she also sought guidance from the goddesses more privately. She had never hesitated to commune with them; giving thanks, if she wasn't beseeching them for their blessings.

Stars reflected on the pool of the oasis.

She stood up to her ankles in faintly silty water, darkening the hem of her nightdress. It was a far cry from the fine silk garment she wore during formal ceremonies, but the homespun fabric felt somehow appropriate.

Her eyes were closed, face upturned to the night sky, breathing deeply and rhythmically. Drawing in one last breath, she let it go and slowly opened her eyes, unfocused.

Breathing slowly with her hands loose at her sides, she had stood in the water in silence until now.

"O She who poured forth Her essence onto Din's red earth," the princess intoned softly to the night sky, "and gave the spirit of law unto Hyrule. O She who looks after Her children justly, and with wisdom, whose blessed eyes see the truth. I beg of You, Author of Law; I pray to You and invoke Your name, as the daughter of Hylia, as one tasked to safeguard her people, to grant me Your truths.

She drew in a breath and released it in a long sigh.

"Hear the prayer of Your humble servant."

She glided one step deeper into the pool, then another; as one in a trance, until cool water lapped halfway up to her shins. Communing with the goddesses, especially Nayru and Hylia, carried away her doubts and fears. The simple, quiet act of praying for their favour lent her stillness and peace she sometimes couldn't find in any other way.

"Please..." The formality of the ancient dialect fell away. "Grant me the wisdom to find the Six Sages. Let my eyes see the truth as Your eyes do. If these Six Sages dwell beyond Hyrule's bounds, if they roam the worlds beyond Your own... please... for the sake of my people... help me to find them. Please, grant me Your blessing..."

Foreign stars glittered hard and cold in the sweep of Kaipo's night sky.

"I beg of You."

The skies didn't answer her, but she didn't expect them to.

Her voice dropped to a whisper, as though reluctant to let her pleading or her insecurities be heard.

"Help me to save my people. I cannot abide their pain. I cannot fail them any longer while they suffer so. I... I never meant for any of this to happen. I have proven I am not the leader they deserve, but You have marked me, and so..."

...So, she would have to make the best of an abysmal situation.

Which was, she supposed, the point.

Her whisper trailed off.

She opened her eyes slowly, and Kaipo's stars resolved before her. The constellations were unsettling; at once on the verge of familiarity, and yet wholly alien. They made her feel very small and alone in a vast, unfamiliar world.

A cicada buzzed in the distance as the night wind ghosted over the sands, stirring her hair and nightdress, playing over the healing scar Copen had left her.

A coyote keened in the distance.

The princess shivered.

Finally she bowed her head, chestnut hair spilling forward to hide her face, clasping her hands elegantly before her. The gesture felt strange without the ritual bracelets clinking at her wrists. Ignoring the lack, she bowed low enough that the ends of her hair brushed the water's surface; lower than she would otherwise bow, as royalty.

"Author of Law, this daughter of Hylia humbly thanks You in Your wisdom."