Spike didn't know what was happening. One moment, he was standing outside the gate to Hyrule Castle, absolutely flubbing talking to the guards; the next, he was being hastily escorted through the Castle hallways by them. Taken aback by the sudden change in the guards' attitude, all Spike's numb brain could think was, 'Wow, this Castle is pretty...'
After some walking through the maze-like corridors, they reached a small, undecorated door. The first guard opened it, and Spike was ushered into the room. He looked around, eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness.
It was a rather tall, circular room lined on two sides with bookshelves. In the center of the room was a circular table, covered in all sorts of ancient relics that Spike couldn't possibly identify. Across the room was a large bay window with the curtains mostly drawn. Through the gap in the curtains, Spike could tell that they were in the southeastern-most tower.
The first guard ducked out of the room and told a passing maid, "Tell the Princess that He has arrived."
The maid jumped in surprise, dropping the feather duster in her hands, then rushed off to fulfill his request. The guard nodded, coming back inside the room and shutting the door.
After two minutes, the door reopened, and in rushed a young-ish Hylian woman. Her straight golden-brown hair reached shoulder level, parted in the exact middle; her vivid green-blue eyes were filled with hope; two pointy ears, a signature trait of the Hylians, poked out on either side of her head, adorned with crystalline earrings; she wore an off-white empire dress with a magenta waistline, elbow-length gloves, an ornate tiara, and fancy red dress shoes; on the back of her right hand was the same symbol that adorned the banisters outside, except in this instance, two of the triangles were blackened out; and she was breathing heavily, no doubt from rushing over so quickly.
She looked up and began, "Is it tru–", then froze when she saw Spike.
He raised a hand and waved awkwardly. "Uh, hi?"
The two stood there, silently staring at each other for far too long. The woman's face said she was clearly taken aback by his appearance, but she didn't actively dislike it, either.
Finally, she took a deep breath and stood up straight, regaining a royal posture. "I'll admit, when I heard that the Hero had returned, this wasn't exactly what I'd expected. But nonetheless, I welcome your presence here. I am Princess Zelda."
Spike blinked. "M-my name's Spike..."
She seemed to be surprised by this, but quickly moved past it. "Well, regardless of the form and moniker you have adopted, it is nice to finally meet you."
"You've heard of me?" Spike asked, bewildered.
Zelda nodded, turning towards a bookshelf. She didn't even have to look for the book she wanted, as if she'd been here many a time before. "My grandmother used to tell me stories of the Hero in Green and his fairy, how he travelled through time to help stop Ganon from taking over."
The young drake froze, the pieces coming together in his head. 'Hero in Green'? She must think I'm someone else!
Having read a lot of books, Spike decided to avoid the 'Misunderstanding' trope. "Look, uh, Princess? Not to be rude, but I'm pretty sure I'm not who you think I am."
She stopped flipping through the book, caught off-guard.
Then she shook her head, chuckling lightly. "The Deku Sprout gifted you that hat, correct?"
"W-well, yeah, but–"
"And the guards said you came seeking information on the Triforce?"
Spike gulped. "Y-yeah..."
She nodded, "Then that settles it. Even if you don't know it, you must be Him."
He hesitated before asking, "Who, exactly, are we talking about?"
Zelda finally found the page she was looking for, and set the book on the table for Spike to see. Spread across the two pages was an illustration of the triangle symbol he'd seen several times so far. Inside each of the three exterior triangles was a character with distinct features. The lower left one contained a female, with distinctly pointy ears and a crown that vaguely matched Zelda's; the top contained a much bulkier character, lacking the pointy ears of a Hylian but making up for it with the size of his nose; and the lower right...
The lower right contained the silhouette of a boy in a phrygian cap and tunic, wielding a sword and shield, and with a fairy hovering over his shoulder.
Spike, Hamzah, and Nuha stared at the illustration, rendered speechless.
"You," Zelda stated simply, "are the new Hero, destined bearer of Courage."
Spike's jaw flexed soundlessly for a moment, before he began to think of what to say. "B-but that can't be, I'm not even from this world! I–"
Now THAT got Zelda's attention. "Wait, what?"
"It's a long story," Nuha stated.
"Something about him and his caretaker experimenting with magical portals," Hamzah added.
Zelda took a moment to comprehend. "I... I see... Perhaps I was mistaken, then..."
Disheartened, she sat down at the table. "Honestly, I don't quite know what to do now; the Hero really was our only hope..."
Spike looked on as she toyed with the artifacts on the table, lost in thought. He may have been incredibly uncomfortable with the thought of being some fabled hero incarnate, but he just couldn't stand to see anyone so sad.
So, with a sigh, Spike relented. "Alright, I'll try and help."
She looked up at this, hope re-igniting in her eyes. "You will?"
Spike nodded. Zelda, overcome by joy and relief, sprung up and threw a hug around him. "Oh, thank you! Legendary Hero or no, you certainly still have his resolve!"
Spike, locked in the grip of her hug, wondered what he'd just gotten himself into.