Chapter 1
Beautiful music filled the great throne room. The maestro waved the Wind Waker, and with every graceful movement the string ensemble before him produced the majestic sound. Choir notes rose up to the vaulted ceiling, echoing ethereally. The legendary conductor's baton was not put into the hands of any musician; the power that flowed through the music the Wind Waker conducted was not to be scoffed at. It was truly music fit for a king.
It fitted the king quite well, actually. Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule closed his eyes and let the music surround him. He knew how to really use the Wind Waker; it was mandated by his royal responsibilities. His use of it, however, was far different from what the maestro was currently using it for. Still, it made for wonderful conducting, and there was no denying that anything the Wind Waker produced was nothing short of spectacular.
In one final, dramatic movement, the maestro ended the sign with a flourish. But before Daphnes could respond, his daughter piped up first. She jumped up out of her smaller throne to her father's right and clapped vigorously. "Oh, that was wonderful!" she exclaimed.
His 12-year-old daughter was exuberant, and that much was certain. Daphnes stood and placed a large hand on her shoulder. "Now Zelda, remember throne room manners?"
"Oh, yes," she said. She forced her joyful face to turn grave, and she attempted to adopt a royal and dignified air. Anyone that knew Zelda well knew that her trying to act like a grown up was rather silly. "Yes, maestro, that was most lovely." She curtsied with her floor-length pink dress.
"Thank you, Princess," the maestro said. Daphnes saw him try to hide a smile as he bowed to the royal pair.
The king stepped up to conductor. "Thank you. The ensemble was amazing, as always."
"Always a pleasure, Your Majesty," the conductor replied. He handed the Wind Waker to his king.
Daphnes tucked the baton in his voluminous red cloak. It was his duty alone to keep the Wind Waker safe. As the band gathered their instruments, Zelda skipped up to the king. "So, Father, what now?"
Daphnes stroked his large white beard. He knew she would dread his answer. "You need to have the portrait worked on some more."
Zelda looked up at her father as if he had just sentenced her to death. "Oh, Father, anything but that!" she groaned.
"Come now, Zelda. This is important."
"But why?" she grumbled, no less appeased.
He lead her just outside the throne room, where they were greeted with the great hall of the castle. In the center of the center of hall, a massive statue of the Hero of Time stood proudly, the Master Sword raised over his head in triumph. Behind the statue was a fifteen-foot portrait of the king himself, hanging on the wall above and to the right of the castle's exit. "See, I had to get mine done," he told her.
Zelda pouted her lip. "That doesn't make it any more exciting. I mean, the painting is huge!"
"I know it is absolutely torture," he said just before kissing the top of her head, "but you still have to let it be finished. They're almost done."
Zelda grumbled, but she made no further protests. She followed her father down the stairs to the ground floor. Their feet dragged silently over the soft, red carpet and slapped on the stone floors of Hyrule Castle. After turning down a hall, they strode into a large, open room where Zelda's portrait was. It was equally as large as Daphnes'. The painter, an ironically small man in a paint-splashed white coat, bustled up and down a ladder to reach the area of the painting he needed to. The painting depicted six men; three massive ones in the back, and three smaller ones in the forefront. Each man carried with him massive distinctions. In between the men in the front row was Zelda herself, sitting regally on a red and gold chair. Her depiction was easily the most incomplete. There was still much coloring and shading to be captured on her, but the rest of the painting was finished.
Behind the portrait stood three of the men, Zelda's courtiers. The head of the courtiers, Gonzu, had a wide, blonde mustache and wore an emerald green shirt with a red collar. He was large and burly, and stood just behind Zelda's chair.The man standing to the left of Zelda's chair, Moka, was the record keeper. He wore large, thick glasses and was balding considerably, and the hair that was still there was white. His mustache and goatee were equally white and waxed perfectly. The third man, Zoko, who stood two spots to the right of Zelda's chair, wore armor and a black mustache like Gonzu and Moka. He had sallow and deep bags under his eyes, which made him look eternally angry.
Once the painter saw the two royals, he quickly pattered down his ladder and bowed to them. Normally the courtiers would as well, but they remained in their positions.
"Your Majesties," he said.
"Zelda needs to have her part of the portrait done," Daphnes said. "If she complains, you have my permission to straighten her out."
"Father, do I have to... Gah!"
Daphnes swept his daughter right off her feet and threw her over his broad shoulders. "Ah! What are you doing?!" she cried as she pounded her fists on her father's back.
The courtiers and the painter chuckled at the scene. Even Zoko broke a slight smile.
Daphnes laughed right along with them, his great belly rolling with the laughter. Zelda could be difficult sometimes, and even more often being the princess went to her head. He loved her all the same, but sometimes she needed to be brought down to earth. He sat her in the chair before the giant portrait and said, "Now, Zelda, you will have your portrait finished. You will sit here until the painter tells you to go. You will be still for him. The painting is almost done, and when it is you can forget about it."
Daphnes strode away without letting her get a word in edgewise. She would survive, and the painting would be finished soon. She was still young, though, and impatience was expected. He thought back to when Zelda was even younger and much more brutal to deal with than she was now. It had been difficult to mold and shape her without her mother, but he got by. She would make a fine ruler in his stead one day. He smiled at the thought. Queen Zelda. It had a nice ring to it.
Daphnes stepped outside into the blinding light of Hyrule. He stepped onto the large stone bridge that lead to the Tower of the Sages, a huge structure composed of dark blue granite. His eyes swept the landscape. He could see almost all corners of his magnificent kingdom; the regal Zora's Domain, the proud Death Mountain of the Gorons, the whimsical Kokiri Forest, the crystalline Lake Hylia, and of course the vast Hyrule Field itself. Sometimes it amazed even himself that one person could possibly control this much, but he knew his people loved him and he certainly always did the best he could.
As Daphnes turned to step back into his castle and greet Castle Town, he felt a shiver run down his spine. A fell wind blew across the kingdom. Even in the distance, he could see the grasses and trees bending to the will of the wind. Something was not right.
Something was coming.
