A knock sounded at the door of Hilda's bedchambers, and the Princess opened her eyes, and saw her handmaiden, Celestia, walk in.

Celestia was a sweet, kindly middle-aged woman, who had become almost like a mother to Hilda after her actual mother passed away.

She always wore a simple black dress and white apron with the Lorulean Family Crest on it, and black flats. Her hair was brown streaked with grey and white, and was almost always pulled back into a bun, with a simple white bonnet pulled over her hair.

"Good morning, Your Highness. I'm sorry to have to wake you, but your morning lessons start in about an hour, and I must get you ready, or the King will throw a fit. Come on, let's get you out of bed." She said, and pulled the covers off Hilda, revealing her robe still drawn about her body over her sleep attire.

"Princess, were you out and about the castle late again last night? You know it is dangerous to wander around the castle alone in the dark." She said, and Hilda sighed.

"Yes, I know, but I had the dream again, about Lorule from the past, and the castle is also crumbling faster still. I can sense it with my magic." She said, and Celestia smiled grimly.

"I know, Princess. However, we cannot think on that right now. You must get ready for your lessons. Do I need to dress you like you're a child, or can you act like a princess and dress yourself?" She asked, and Hilda smiled, and got out of bed.

"I can dress myself, Celestia, but could you bring up some food while I get dressed, so we can use what time I have before lessons efficiently?" She asked, and the handmaiden nodded and bowed, before leaving the room.

Though it was morning, it was only slightly brighter outside than at night, and the thunderstorm had lessened to a slight drizzle.

The torch that illuminated the room was crackling brightly with fire, as it had just been lit for the day. When evening would roll around, the torch would almost be as bright as the last ember in a fireplace.

Hilda found her dress that she wore for lessons, a simple lilac-colored dress with short sleeves, and a white apron that had the Royal Crest pictured on the front.

Celestia had told Hilda she was to only wear that dress for lessons and during her free time, but never on the rare occasion she was to see her father. She always had to wear the traditional ceremonial dress and cape whenever she was to appear before the King.

Hilda continued to dig deeper into the wardrobe, until she found the sleek chain mail in the back, hidden by all her dresses and other clothing. She then pulled out her sheathed dagger with it, and then hurriedly put on the silver chain mail, the metal feeling cold on her skin. She then placed her dagger at her hip, and hurriedly slipped the dress on over herself.

She then laid out her adventuring clothes, which was black pants, a white shirt with a purple top that cut off at her stomach and started again at her hips, and leather boots and gloves. She hid them under her bed when Celestia returned, and noticed Hilda standing in the middle of room as if she had nothing to hide.

"Well, it's a good thing to see you are ready, Your Highness, but would you like your breakfast now while you're standing?" She asked, and Hilda laughed, and sat down at her vanity, and Celestia placed the tray down.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, Your Highness?" She asked, and Hilda shook her head.

"That will be all, Celestia. You are dismissed for now."

The handmaiden bowed once more, and left the room, and Hilda hurriedly ate her food, and then rushed off to her lessons, excited to see her new friend later that day.

~~~

Ravio awoke in his small bed in his room in the Servant's Quarters in the castle. His mother, Myra, was most likely already awake, attending to the King of Lorule.

His mother didn't particularly like or dislike the King, though she had found it particularly awkward when she saw one of her comrades sleeping in the King's bed, a different one each night.

King Aldus hadn't taken the death of his wife, Queen Tara, quite well, and had neglected his duties as monarch to the throne of Lorule, leaving his duties to his advisors, and having his daughter, Hilda, ascend to the throne when she turned eighteen.

Ravio could only imagine what kind of stress Hilda was under, especially after the conversation he had with her just last night. Not only did she lose her mother just a few years ago after an assassin had broken in and murdered her, but she was also expected to take the throne in two short years.

He was sixteen himself, and even though he and Hilda had extremely different upbringings, he knew that no one would be able to handle the extreme pressure of leading a broken kingdom at age eighteen.

He stood up from his bed, and put on his simple purple tunic and hat, and began walking around all the Servant's Quarters to straighten things up.

The leader of the servants, Jack, had said that Ravio wouldn't be required to start his actual duties until he turned eighteen, so for the time being, he was given the Servant's Quarters area to clean and do his best to maintain the area, though no one except for the Princess could sense the magic within the castle binding it together with all its might.

Ravio went into each of the servants' rooms, cleaning only a little here and there. All the servants mainly kept their living spaces clean, and barely any of them had any other belongings that weren't for basic survival.

After half an hour, he was already done, and he checked the clock on the wall in the corner of his own private room. He wasn't due to meet the Princess for another few hours, which meant he could eat and complete some of his lessons.

Despite all of Ravio's protests that it wasn't required for him to have education, his mother felt that he still needed basic reading and writing skills, and she took it upon herself to teach as much as she could with help from some of the castle's tutors, so Ravio and his mother were among the few who could read and write among the servants.

Ravio sat down at the small desk he had built, and took out the lessons one of the reading tutors had given him, which was a passage from Lorule's history about destroying the Triforce, and to write a short essay about what his opinion was on the matter.

After about an hour and a half of working, Myra walked into the room, and saw Ravio working on his lessons.

"Hello, dear. Why are you working on your lessons so early in the day? You know that the tutor won't be available until after she's done with the Princess, right?" She said, and Ravio nodded, as he put away his work.

"Yes, I know, but I was actually asked by the Princess to meet her at noon, so I must finish everything before then." He said, and Myra stopped dead in her tracks, and looked in surprise at her son.

"The Princess asked you to meet with her at noon today? That's very surprising. Have you the faintest idea why?" She asked, and he shook his head.

"No, I don't, but I thought it best not to disrespect our future monarch, so I should probably get myself ready before I present myself before her." He said, and then took off his hat, letting his black-blue hair fall, and his mother shook her head and sighed, and drew a wooden comb from her pocket, and combed through Ravio's hair.

"I hope that you weren't planning on anything more to happen with the Princess, were you, Ravio?" She asked, and Ravio laughed.

"Of course not, Mom. I only just met her, after all, and that would be very disrespectful to her, and the King. He would have my head if I dishonored his daughter in any way. Besides, I feel like she's got a lot more on her mind." He said, and Myra nodded thoughtfully.

"That's my son. Now, if you would like to be on time for your meeting with the Princess, I would suggest you get going. It's almost noon, after all." She said, and Ravio looked over at the clock, and gasped, before grabbing his belongings and stuffing them in a small pouch that he strapped to his waist, and then rushed out the door.

Myra smiled, and waved good-bye to her son as he ran out the door.

"I do hope that he knows what he's doing."