The Princess Bride, but it's Tears of The Kingdom

Prologue

A lightly chilling, yet refreshing breeze drifted through the open walls of the Chief Elder, Teba's, home.

The calming sound of the wind and the faint chirping of birds were interrupted every now and then by the noises of hacking and coughing.

Tulin sat on the floor of his room, a quilt loosely clinging to his shoulders. In his hands were little figurines of toy soldiers.

"On garde you-!" He paused to sneeze into his wing, "You filthy scoundrel! I hereby challenge you to a duel!"

His voice was noticeably raspier and weighted than usual. Likely a result of the pesky fever he'd caught in the last few days.

"Muahahaha!" Tulin laughed, raising the soldier he held in the opposite hand. "You cannot defeat me! My blade has scoured the scales of dragons!"

The little rito burst into another fit of heavy coughing, just as his mother Saki wandered into his room, carrying a tray.

"Tulin, what are you doing out of bed? The doctor specifically told you to stay out of the cold!" She sighed, setting down the little tray on her son's bedside table.

Tulin let out an exasperated sigh, setting his toys back down on the floor.

"Oh, come on, Mom, it's fine, see! I have a blanket to keep me-" the rito let out yet another cough, followed by another annoyed sigh. "How does a rito catch a cold! We live in it for Hylia's sake!"

His mother knelt down on the floor, pressing a large pink wing to her son's forehead and releasing a perplexed hum.

"Good gracious, this fever won't let you go," she said, clicking her tongue. "Back into bed with you, mister."

Before Tulin could protest, she scooped him up and set him down in his nest before proceeding to drown him in blankets and quilts.

"Mom, trust me, I'm alright. I'll be able to join Dad and the other warriors soon; I'm sure of it!" He replied, slumping back into his comfy jumble of pillows and sheets.

Saki let out a sigh, making sure he was completely tucked in.

"I hope so too, dear, but for now you must rest," she replied, her tone gentle yet obviously tired of his rambunctious antics.

"Speaking of your father, I believe he'll be done with his work right about now. He knows you've been under the weather, and he wanted to see you," Saki said, grabbing the little porcelain teapot on the tray and pouring some of its scalding hot contents into the matching teacup.

"He better not pinch my cheeks," Tulin huffed, stifling yet another fit of coughing. "I hate it when he does that."

As if on cue, there came a knock at the door, followed by none other than Teba.

He strode on in. His tall stature causing the feathers on his head to brush the top of the doorframe.

"Oh, hello, darling. I wasn't expecting you this soon," Saki told her husband, who headed over to her and embraced her.

"Well, lucky for me, I finished my duties fairly early today, so now I'm here," the rito elder answered, hurrying over to his son's bedside.

"Hey there, kiddo. Doin' okay?" He asked, pinching Tulin's cheek between his fingers.

The little rito shot Saki a side eye.

"I'm alright," Tulin replied, somewhat curtly, smoothing out the blankets in front of him.

"Good to hear. I'm so sorry that you had to miss the archery tournaments," his father said, gently rubbing Tulin's head.

Tulin was quick to rearrange the little tuft his father had flattened.

"It's fine, I'll just enter next month's," he answered, coughing into his wing again. "No big deal."

Teba could quite easily tell by the tone of his son's voice that to him it was a big deal.

Once Saki finished pouring Tulin's tea, she left the bedroom to continue on with her own daily tasks, leaving her husband and Tulin alone.

"Say, it's not much, but I brought a book to read to you. Figured that might lift your spirits," the rito elder said, withdrawing the book he had tucked under his wing.

The young rito repressed a sigh. He loved his father dearly, but he wasn't exactly looking forward to trying not to impolitely fall asleep for the next hour.

"Really?" Tulin asked, trying to sound at least mildly interested. "What sort of book?"

Teba flipped the book over so his son could see the cover. On it, the title was inscribed in a swirly, gold font.

"The... Princess Bride..." Tulin read it aloud, fighting back the urge to sigh.

"It's a story your grandfather read to me, and a story his father read to him. And now, I'm reading it to you," Teba smiled, as he pulled up a stool and sat himself down.

The young rito forced himself to grin back, nodding his head and attempting to get himself comfortable.

"Alright then," Tulin replied, sniffling a little. "Take it away."

Teba nodded his head, flipping open the book to the very first page.

"Okay then," he began. "The Princess Bride...chapter one..."