~~Sorry about that crap summary. Its really hard to explain in just 255 characters or w/e, so i had to make it short. but what fun is it when you know the whole plot anyways? R&R Enjoy =3

Disclaimer~ i dont own the legend of zelda but i own dimitri (who we meet laterz)

if i did though, the bad guys would be alot hotter to look at XD

*~#~#~#Prologue#~#~#~*

Part 1 (Zelda P.O.V)

Clank. Clank. Clank. I bit my lip and sidled against the shadow-covered wall, my forehead dripping with beads of sweat and my hair damp with perspiration. Curses! What in the goddesses' names was going on? I heard heavy footfalls coming down my hallway, fast. I bit my lip harder, trying to come up with a spell to cloak me better. I was still fairly inexperienced with magic, and using it drained a lot of energy if not used wisely. After racking my brain, I came up with a suitable spell and muttered it under my breath.

"Shadows of the dark,

May I only appear visible to the goddesses' eyes,

Shadows of the dark,

Cast my disguise,"

I finished the chant just in time as the two guards chasing me ran past my hiding spot against the shade of the walls. I sighed in relief, realizing I had been holding my breath the whole time. My heart was pounding in my chest from a mix of adrenaline, fear and tiredness, and my eyes fluttered. Feeling light headed from the spell, I dropped to my knees and the mask of shadows I had cast around me collapsed too.

A few seconds after regaining my breath, I stood up again. About to step out from the safety of the walls cast, I heard the familiar clanking sounds of the soldiers armor return from the opposite direction and then stop abruptly. I breathed in, keeping myself from gasping and sauntered back against the wall.

"Dammitt! Which way did she go?" One of the soldiers asked, sounding confused. I pressed my body up against the wall harder. Closing my eyes, I tried to calm down my heart, which was beating so hard (with mostly fear now than anything else) I was afraid they would hear me. Oh, goddesses! Please, oh please don't come back this way! I hoped my prayers would be answered. I wasn't sure if I would have enough energy to recreate a shadow mask, and even if I did, it would leave me drained. Hell, I wasn't even sure if the same spell would work twice. I've learned magic can be funny like that. Think Zelda, think! I shouted at myself in my head. My right hand, that was covered by a white glove with its fingers cut off at the top, tingled with warmth and it shot through my left foot. Uncomfortably hot, I shifted my foot in my boot, and I felt it rub up against something hard that I had completely forgot about.

I remember my brother Sheik, leaving for a trip to see his best friend Dimitri, in the kingdom of Terminia. With him gone, father arranging a political banquet, and the castle staff busy with preparations, nobody had noticed me sneaking into his room, rummaging through his collection of daggers. In the weeks prior, I had gone to Sheik, asking him for a dagger as an upcoming birthday present. Smiling sadly, he had sat me down and explained to me that, as a woman of royal blood, I was not to handle a weapon. I had taken advantage of my brothers absence and had stolen a dagger with no problems months later.

It was small, but was sharp enough to go through the skin and reach through the heart. It had a steel hilt, and if I held it in my hand, the blade was about 6 inches long. I remembered slipping the leather sheathed weapon into my boot this morning, when I realized what had been going on. Ever since I had stolen it, I had practiced using it, careful to not let anyone find it. Usually, I hid it under my bed within a dress box, which also contained an outfit my father would find disagreeable if he saw me wearing under normal circumstances. But these weren't normal circumstances, so without any hesitation, I had quickly switched my white silk nightgown for white trousers, a purple shirt, and a blue vest. I'd then pulled my hair out of the knotted ponytail and refastened it into bun to sit on top of my head. The point was if it came down to it, I'm sure I'd be able to use it well enough to get me out of any small predicament.

I waited to see what course of action the two soldiers would take.

"Well, she's definitely not in this hall," The other one replied, his tone holding a higher sense of authority then the other one. I swallowed silently, holding my eyes shut so hard water seeped at my seams.

"Hmmm. Is it possible she used her magic to escape? That's how the prince escaped correct?" The other guard asked, doubtful of the other guards' assumption. Oh, for the love of Nayru! Now sweat was sliding down my eyelids, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could stand here undetected. Had my brother really left me? I mentally shook my head. Of course he had. He must have gone to my room, and thought I had been kidnapped or something. Why would he stick around to look for me and risk the heir to the throne? Still, that didn't sound like something Sheik would do. Even so, dread filled me. I suddenly missed him, and hoped he had escaped, and hopefully father was okay too. I wanted so badly to contact him, but telepathy used a lot of energy, and I had known from the beginning not to waste any, least I need it. I figured the same for Sheik.

Guard two snorted. "Please, our beloved princess is an amateur yet! There's no way she'd be able to pull anything miraculous off," He replied. I resisted the urge to walk up from behind him and snap his neck…even if it was slightly true.

"Hmph. What do we do then?" The first guard asked, gruffly. I heard the other guard sigh, as if bored. "Well, we may as well continue down this corridor here. We've spent too much time just standing here. She could be far ahead by now and if we allow her to escape, Lord Vaati will not be pleased," I could heard them scuffling around the bend, their armor clamoring and the noise ricocheting off the walls.

I twitched my ears, making sure I couldn't hear their footsteps any longer, before letting out a shuddering breath. I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand, and realized, even though I'd already been up for a while and was now wide-awake, my eyes were aching from a shortage of energy. Aside from the spell, I had been running non-stop from those guards after getting caught in one of the not-so-secret-now passages. To make matters worse, I was parched from not drinking anything. But despite my dry mouth and thick saliva, I had to keep going.

Slinking through the halls, I revised the current situation with what little I knew and made a list, which is definitely the first thing one would want to do in my position.

1)I have no idea where anyone is

2)The castle guards seem to be under a spell, or have betrayed us

3)I'm mentally exhausted, parched and panting

4)The only available weapon is a dagger, I can, but barley, use

5)Who, in the name of Din was Vaati?

Vaati. The name was vaguely familiar to me. Vaati, Vaati. I racked my brain for the name, but no faces came to mind. Frowning, I rounded a corner and quickly fell back hoping I hadn't been seen. There was a single guard pacing the corridor, occasionally looking back and down the middle halls that connected to the wall I stood against. My frown deepened. I'd have to take him out. Inhaling slowly, I reached down and slid the hilt of the dagger from my boot. Bringing it up to unsheathe it, a hand suddenly grabbed the wrist I gripped it in, but before I could scream, it was muffled by another hand clasped over my mouth. The individual pulled me back, and spun me around to look at them. If my mouth had been able to, I would have gasped. Before I knew it, the dagger was out of my hand and I looked into a familiar pair of ice blue eyes. Sheik, wearing a cloak that also covered his mouth, brought the hood down and upon seeing him I grinned. I hugged him tightly and he returned the embrace, but briefly. After, he pushed me away, and the smile that he had conjured up by seeing me faltered into a frown. His eyes were hard as they stared into mine, and he gave the dagger back to me, his look disapproving but understanding. I blushed slightly at getting caught, but remembered that was the least of my worries right now. He looked around the hall, and his eyes drifted to the bend. Standing up, he pulled his hood back on.

Stay put for a second. He whispered in to me in my mind. I nodded to him in acknowledgment, and suddenly he disappeared; magic. I sat there waiting, keeping watch of the hall I preoccupied. I turned my head around when I heard a cut off "what?" coming from the guard, and then a thud of metal hitting the floor. Out of nowhere, Sheik re-appeared, grabbing my forearm to haul me up onto my feet. Without letting go, he pulled me down the halls and there was a soft glow around us. Ah, a glamour. Show off.

Wanting to stay quiet, I sent Sheik a message.

Sheik, what's going on? No answer. Sheik? The glow around us flickered and I understood. He was using a lot of energy with this glamour and couldn't break his concentration. For a long time, we remained silent, while Sheik coordinated both of us through the castle. Nobody sensed us, and one time when we almost ran into a guard, Sheik used a little bit of extra energy to allow us to walk through him. Well, more like him through us, but whatever. We came to the throne rooms' front doors. They looked completely untouched. No one had entered the room since the king had last night. There was only one guard in this hallway, but the glamour was flickering and Sheik was faltering. I put a hand on his shoulder to try to lend him some of my energy, but he shook his head.

"Zelda," He panted. His eyes were sharp, and regretful. "Can you use that dagger?" He asked. "Hmm? Oh this?" I blushed again, still embarrassed about the incident. " A little bit yes. Why?" I saw his eyes flicker with something. My eyes widened. "Then use it on that guard. I can't keep up this glamour and if the doors magically open and shut he'll get suspicious and call someone," Sheik explained. "B-but," I stuttered. "I'm sorry Zelda, but you have no choice. I don't have the energy to do it. To take him out, or to pass through these doors using a ghost wall spell. This will be considered your punishment for taking the weapon from my room in the first place," He said, firmly. "Besides, when I found you, you looked like you were about ready to take out that other guard," I swallowed hard. It's true; I had taken the weapon, but I hadn't been planning on killing the guard. I just wanted to knock him out. But kill someone with it? Well yes smart one, that's what a weapon is used for. I scolded myself. Well Zelda, you want to prove that a woman can protect herself. Now's the time to do it. Inhaling, I focused my gaze on the guards turned back. Just slip up behind him and knock him out.

"Zelda," Sheik interrupted my strategy processing. "You can't hesitate. Understand?" He asked. Feeling nauseous, I nodded my reply, which he returned.

I returned to face the guards exposed back. He stood there, patiently, waiting to see if anyone was approaching. I could see the first crack of dawn in the east through the window. I was hesitant, despite what Sheik had said. Unsheathing my dagger, I gripped the hilt, and using stealth, walked up from behind. Shaking I brought the dagger up above my head, aiming above the soldiers head. When it reached there, I suddenly froze up, and choked back a cry. Startled, the guard turned around, his eyes wide. Panicking, I brought the hilt of the small dagger down on his head, which probably wouldn't have been very effective, but since both fists had been wrapped around it, the impact was stronger, rendering him unconscious. Before he could let out a cry he dropped to the floor with a clash and a thud.

Shaking, I wiped a tear of fright out of my eye, and re-sheathed the dagger. I walked back to Sheik, who smiled sadly. "You okay?" He asked. I glared at him for a moment, and he responded with a softer expression. He reached out his hand for the dagger. "Do you understand now?" He asked. I shook my head. "You misunderstood brother. I only wanted it for defense, not to kill," I pointed out. Sheik sighed. "Zelda, sometimes protecting yourself means killing another,"

"I- I know. It's just…" I sighed. " I'm sorry," I said, a shaky sigh escaping my lips. He grabbed my arm in a comforting way, then pulled open the throne rooms doors. It was dark, and almost impossible to see anything. But, with a flick of his fingers, Sheik lit up the torches in the room. The room was large, and alone it could occupy 243 people. So, I guess it was actually one of the smaller rooms.

"Zelda, do you think you can cast a pentacle portal?" He asked me, pulling down his hood, exposing his short, light blonde hair. He passed me a canteen, and I guzzled it down (Not completely). I wiped away the water my lips hadn't caught, and shook my head tiredly.

"N-no, my energy is exhausted and I'm not even strong enough too. Why?" He looked at me like I was stupid.

"Well obviously, to get yourself out of here," He replied. I frowned

"But you and – " He cut me off before I could mention father.

"-Will be fine, Zelda. We are noblemen! If our castle falls, we fall with it," He exclaimed with confidence. My mouth dropped open in shock.

"What? B-but you're the heir to the throne!" I exclaimed. He closed his eyes and smiled, a satchel carrying a rectangular object inside appeared in his hands, hanging from his fingers by the drawstring.

"Well, then little sister. I guess you'll take my place," He said thrusting the satchel into my arms.

"Me? But – I – wait," I stammered. Suddenly we heard marching towards the throne room. "Ah, its your time to leave now, little sister," Sheik said, as our ears twitched. He shoved a hand into his pocket and pulled an out a gold coin with a yellow star on it. A pentacle coin. You use it to open a pentacle portal that will take you to the casters desired location. He threw it at the ground near my feet, and the coin flashed, turning into a large golden symbol on the floor, with the star spinning. I was enveloped in a yellow transparent light. My heart raced like a deadly drumbeat as Sheik chanted, and the footfalls grew louder. My eyes swelled with tears, when I realized how scared I was leaving Sheik and my father behind. I tried to run out from under the symbol beneath me, but the yellow light acted as a physical barrier. I banged on it, tears of frustration burning my eyes and cheeks.

"N-no! W-wait! I'll fight, Sheik. Please, I promise I'll kill if I have to!" I tried shouting at him, but he was too busy chanting in ancient Hylian to hear me. When he finished, the light shone brighter and formed a golden rupee like shape around me. I banged on the glass again, and I could see the pentagrams design on the rupee, crested with silver.

"Please be well little sister. I love you," He said softly. Hands up against my golden prison, tears ran down my eyes, as I began to sink into the golden circle below me. I love you too! I shouted with my mind. So please, PLEASE be safe! Before I was totally enveloped in light and sunk into the portal, I remember two things. His sad smile and pained eyes…and then the door bursting open, as I disappeared into the floor.

A/C Hmmmm, how was it? I don't think it was too bad. My original copy for this though was definitely a piece of crap DX I did so much better on this one. Well, tell me what ya think. =3