The sun hadn't yet risen when the young man slipped out of his borrowed room in the castle and snuck through the halls, his feet barely making a sound on the worn grey stone beneath his feet.

He ought to be sleeping at this hour, but the force of habit born from years of rising with or even before the sun was hard to break. And even if he gained a brief respite from this self-imposed schedule, he would likely return to it after the ceremony anyways.

His entire life had been building up to this point, and now the day was nearly upon him.

The day he would be appointed to the Royal Guard of Hyrule, serving as Princess Zelda's personal knight.

For the last week, there had been nothing but a second round of assessments conducted by the Captain of the Guard here in Hyrule Castle. He passed these easily, as they were nowhere near as difficult as the tests his aunt had set for him. Thankfully, these assessments had made it easy for him to avoid the princess.

It wasn't like he didn't want to see her, but it had been ten years. The two years they'd spent as friends during their youth were surely outweighed by the ten he had spent pushing everybody away, learning how to forge himself into nothing more than a weapon to be used as the Royal Family saw fit. That had always been his destiny, even before his parents died. But his parents dying had certainly made it easier to embrace it.

Now, he was headed to the top of the castle. There was a little room at the very top of the highest spire, which happened to be an excellent place to get away from everybody. The young man had made it a habit to head up to the room every morning, as a substitute for climbing one of the many mountains around Kakariko Village to watch the sunrise and clear his head.

He could have taken the stairs inside the Sanctum, but that would have been too easy. Instead, going slowly so he didn't make much noise, the young man scaled the outer wall of the Sanctum. It was a relatively easy task, as the bricks provided plenty of hand and footholds. It was a lot easier than the climb he usually made, so it was only a matter of five minutes before he reached the top.

Settling himself on the floor of the small room, the young man exhaled once and then closed his eyes. Here, he would sit for thirty to forty five minutes, completely still save for the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. Gradually, the sun would rise, and his head would empty of all thought.

Being back in the castle again was unpleasant, to say the least. Somewhere far below him, deep within the castle, his parents and the queen had lost their lives. He would be lying if he said he didn't want revenge against the Yiga for taking so much from him. The first time he'd taken a life, it had been a Yiga who found themselves on the wrong end of his blade.

He had been seven years old at the time.

Many of the adults were impressed by him. Ever since he was small, he'd been at the top of his age group. By the time he turned eight, he was sparring with sixteen to seventeen year olds just so he could have a challenge.

The adults respected him, yes. The other kids his age hated him.

He didn't care what they thought. They had parents who cared about them. He no longer had that, and the only thing close to a parental figure he had was his aunt. And no matter what he did, it never really seemed to be enough for her. Then there was the matter of his other aunt, who was never really around much. She was a lot more relaxed than her younger sister, but she hadn't been the one who took him in.

Inhale, exhale. Focus on the rhythm of your breath. Don't allow petty distractions to dominate your mind.

Slowly, the young man brought his racing mind back under control once more. The fact that he'd allowed himself to think so much before doing so was shameful, even though today was bound to bring distractions.

A Sheikah did not entertain distractions.

Using today's events as an excuse for his wandering mind would not be tolerated. Excuses made people complacent. Complacent people got others or themselves killed.

While the sun rose, he did not allow himself to think about the princess, his aunt, or what today meant.

Once his mind was well and truly empty, and the sun had risen, the young man opened his eyes. He rose to his feet and looked out over Hyrule, the land of his birth and which he was honor-bound to protect.

He studied the landscape a moment longer. This was his favorite time of day- right after the sun rose, bathing Hyrule in its light once more, yet the vast majority of the country still slept. It was an excellent way to put things in perspective, which was part of the reason he liked it so much. With one last glance at the sight before him, he turned and began his descent down the outer wall of the Sanctum. This time, he was a bit quicker, as he didn't exactly want to get caught crawling on the walls like a spider. That would be hard to explain to his aunt.

When he arrived back at his temporary quarters, he discovered his aunt standing in front of his door and looking mildly irritated.

Yeah, he was in trouble.

"Sheik. Where have you been?"

"Out."

"Yes, I'm aware of that. You are aware that your ceremony is today, correct?" His aunt's tone was clipped, which would have unnerved him if he wasn't used to her being displeased with him.

"How could I forget?" Sheik muttered.

"The King wants to see you. Apparently there's been a new development."

Sudden apprehension stabbed through him, but Sheik didn't so much as flinch. "Okay. Where does he want to see me?"

"The Sanctum."

How ironic.

"Alright."

"You're late, so I suggest you get a move on." With that, Impa turned and walked away, presumably to attend to her duties that didn't include scolding her nephew for something extremely petty.

After waiting until he was certain she was out of earshot, Sheik muttered a curse under his breath and started running back to the Sanctum. It was more than a little irritating to be sent back to the Sanctum after he had literally just been there, but there was nothing he could do about it.

When Sheik arrived in the Sanctum, he was startled to see the King consulting with two knights, one of whom wasn't wearing a helmet. The helmetless knight had unkempt blonde hair held back by a simple blue tie, which was highly irregular. Knights were held to a certain standard of personal grooming, right down to their hair. 

But that wasn't what had drawn his attention, despite all appearances to the contrary. 

No, it was the gilded navy blue and gold scabbard strapped to his back. Sunlight winked off of the gold Triforce emblem inlaid on the center of the scabbard, blinding him for a second. The scabbard itself was empty at the moment, but its mere presence could only mean one thing.

The sword that seals the darkness had been drawn. Meaning that the knight without a helmet standing with his back to Sheik was the prophesied Hero who would save Hyrule from Calamity Ganon.

"Ah, Sheik. There you are." King Rhoam finally noticed him standing there and beckoned him forward. "I was beginning to wonder where you were."

"I was... otherwise occupied." Sheik replied shortly. He had a feeling he knew where this was going, and he didn't like it.

"As I'm sure you've noticed, Link here has drawn the Master Sword." King Rhoam said, nodding his head at the knight who held the legendary sword at his side.

Sheik didn't glance over at the knight or the blade he held.

"Seeing as he is the chosen hero, I believe it would be wise to appoint him as Zelda's personal knight."

There it was.

"...I see." was all Sheik could manage in response, his hands balling into fists at his sides. With some effort, he forced his hands to lie flat once more, though they were shaking slightly. "And what will you do with me?"

"You will assist the Hero in his duties, but you will not be specifically Zelda's knight."

Each word seemed to settle on Sheik's shoulders like a stone. The feeling was not unlike the time his aunt had tied two considerably-sized weights to his wrists and subsequently shoved him into the small pool of water near the Elder's House. That particular exercise had been to teach him how to swim even when encumbered with gear or weapons. It hadn't been much fun at the time, seeing as he'd nearly drowned, but even that was nothing compared to this.

"The ceremony will still commence as planned, though it will be at the Sacred Grounds instead of here in the Sanctum." King Rhoam continued.

"So I will be, in effect, the Hero's assistant?" Sheik asked, a slight edge creeping into his voice. He hadn't looked directly at the hero, because he feared that if he did, he would do something exceedingly stupid.

The King appeared to consider this for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes, you could look at it that way. You will still be made a knight of the Royal Guard, but not in the position you were initially going to claim."

"Very well." Sheik bowed his head. It was a considerable effort to appear as the very picture of perfect obedience, like he'd trained to be. After all, it would not do to let the king or the Hero know just how badly this news had shaken him. "Is that all you wanted to see me for?"

"Yes. All three of you are dismissed. Link, Sheik, take some time to go over the expected protocol for the ceremony. Captain Kiel, make sure the men don't spend too much time gossiping today. Every day counts, now that the Master Sword has been drawn. The Calamity cannot be far behind."

Sheik didn't bother waiting a second longer after being dismissed. He turned and walked out of the Sanctum, blind rage rushing through his body.

His duty was to the Royal Family, and by extension the Hero. The Goddess had tasked his people with the protection of Hyrule from the shadows.

But that didn't mean he had to like being forced into a role other than what he'd been born for. And it certainly didn't mean he had to like the Hero coming in and taking everything he'd worked for just because he'd drawn the Blade of Evil's Bane.

Sheik was a man of honor, so he would not act against the Hero. Like it or not, the Hero was Hyrule's last hope. And so Sheik would have to keep him alive.

He hardly paid attention to his surroundings, walking through the castle on autopilot. Once he reached his room, he closed the door behind him with a little more force than was necessary and grabbed the dusty book he'd been told to read from in order to prepare for the ceremony.

It was no use. His eyes skipped over the page, not comprehending any of the words written there. Which didn't actually matter, considering he'd already memorized his part. He'd debated memorizing what the princess would say just for kicks, but he ultimately hadn't gotten around to it. And he sure as hell wasn't going to do it now. This was just to give him something to do. Something to focus on, other than his anger.

His aunt would likely have a lot to say about this sudden change. It wasn't uncommon for a Hylian to be appointed as the personal knight of a member of the Royal Family, but picking one over a Sheikah who had passed each and every test thrown at them with flying colors? Impa would likely see it as a failure on Sheik's part and blame it on him.

Sheik sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He'd be getting lectured later for sure.

Funny how this day had only just started, and yet it promised to be one of the most frustrating days he'd ever had to sit through.