Hi, all. :] I'm back with another story...I can't say much about this except for the fact that I hope it goes well and I hope it gets better as I go along. Anyway, enjoy. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda.

Runaway
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The heavy doors to the throne room swung shut with a huge bang, leaving an astonished silence as Princess Zelda huffily stomped her way down the hall. King Daphnes, who was left behind as Zelda barged through the huge doors, rubbed his forehead exasperatedly. The dark circles under his eyes and his matted gray hair showed how worn out he was. His royal duties were already weighing him down, now having to find Zelda a suitable husband that she would marry was exhausting him, as the princess wouldn't seem to agree to any suitor that he suggested.

Meanwhile, in the royal garden, the princess sat down on the edge of a fountain so hard that it made her skirts flutter as if they were as annoyed as she was. She expected her father to know by now that she didn't want to marry anytime soon. After all, every discussion they had had on every suitor that he put forth had ended somewhat like this. The king had scrambled to seek out every suitable prince from the neighboring kingdoms for her to wed as soon as she had come of age, and she was sick of having to meet endless men that she knew even before laying eyes on were not meant for her.

The king's argument was that her duty was to serve her country and that unifying two kingdoms was her best option. According to her father, this marriage wasn't supposed to be for love, anyway. Zelda, however, begged to differ. As a princess, she was already almost always confined to the palace, having to attend meetings, host balls, and learn proper royal etiquette, among countless other things. What little time to herself she had left was about to be taken away by her father's insistence on her marriage.

Zelda knew that her father was getting impatient. She knew the kingdom was depending on her to rule after her father's time. She knew that she had to serve her people and that was what she had been prepared for since before she could remember. But she also knew that she had to be happy, herself. Marrying someone she had no feelings for would make her absolutely miserable. She was aware that she was being selfish, but she was human, after all.

Zelda slid off her perch by the fountain and curled up in a ball in a very unladylike fashion in the grass, burying her face into her skirts as the hot tears that she had tried hard to keep at bay threatened to escape. The pressure that was being put on her constantly was starting to feel like too much. Her royal duties were already weighing her down, now having to put up with her father and suitors was exhausting her, as the king wouldn't seem to listen to how she felt about getting married.

As calming as the garden was to her, Zelda's room was always the place for her to be when she was sulking, and the young princess made her way to her quarters in silence, letting out the occasional sniffle and swiping at her cheeks once in a while to wipe away any stray tears. Zelda let out a deep sigh once she shut her bedroom door behind her, closing out any commotion on the other side of the wall. This would happen again, and it would probably end up the same way it had today, but she would put it off for as long as she could.

Zelda fell limply onto her bed, sending the sheets and pillows tumbling into disarray. She grabbed the nearest cushion and buried her face into it, letting the remainder of the tears on her face soak into the fabric of the cover. She was miserable, and the fact that she couldn't confide in anyone who would truly understand wasn't helping at all.

Impa stood outside the princess's bedchambers, pressing her ear to the wooden door and listening to the girl's sobs. Her heart went out to Zelda; she knew how hard it was for her, and her first thought was to barge into the room to comfort the princess, but she knew that all she could do today was let the girl settle her emotions on her own. Zelda needed some time to work things out with herself and her father, and as much as Impa hated to admit it, she wasn't a baby anymore. Impa was used to caring for the princess, having been there for her since birth, but she knew Zelda had to handle this by herself. Her heart sinking to the pit of her stomach, Impa turned slowly away from the door and paced down the hallway silently.

Everyone in the castle felt the tension. Even the servants and people who were in no way affected by the constant clashing between the king and princess were weighed down by the princess's outburst that day. The whole place seemed strangely quiet, completely devoid of the usual bustle and cheeriness that its walls held on normal days. This uneasiness had been present for quite some time now, but no one been able to get used to it. The pressure seemed even more unbearable when it came time for supper, when both the royals and Impa were all gathered together.

Zelda's puffy, red eyes were a definite sign of her sullenness. She refused to speak to anyone, not even acknowledging her father or her caretaker with a glance as she sat down at the table. The king's weariness was obvious due to his tired face and disheartened appearance, and he observed his daughter guiltily, torn between the love he had for her and the love he had for his country. Impa looked back and forth between the princess and the king, not knowing what to say. She was caught between the motherly instinct she had towards Zelda and her duty to her king. At a loss for words, she directed her gaze down at her plate and kept to herself, eating quietly.

The kitchen staff had all pitched in to prepare the best meal they could to cheer everyone at the table up, but their efforts were overlooked as Zelda stood up suddenly and pushed her chair in, seemingly done with her food. She wordlessly turned on her heel and moved towards the doorway, leaving Impa awkwardly alone with the king, not knowing how to console him.

"Your Majesty," she started.

King Daphnes put up a hand, stopping her, "It's alright, Impa. I know how hard all of this is on you and the castle staff. I promise I'll find a way to settle things." He gave her a weak, somewhat reassuring smile.

Impa nodded slightly, flashing a small smile of her own back at him and excusing herself. She was sorry for leaving the king by himself, but she felt that everyone just needed some time alone to cool down and sort things out.

.~****~.

One week after Zelda's failed meeting with the last suitor, after things had simmered down to their usual pace and the castle was calm and as normal as it could be again, King Daphnes summoned her to the throne room again, apparently having important news. He heaved a nervous, raspy sigh just before sending Impa off to fetch his daughter. The announcement that he had for her could quite possibly trigger an even bigger reaction than the one from last week.

Zelda rolled her eyes as she brushed her hair, motioning to Impa to give her a few minutes to get ready. As the door closed behind her, she looked miserably at herself in the mirror. Her father had probably chosen another suitor for her. She willed herself to keep her temper under control, even if this "potential husband" was as horrible as the last. It took all her willpower not to bury her face into her hands and tangle her fingers through her well-kept hair as she deemed herself ready to go meet her father.

The princess's heavy skirts flowed about her feet as she made her way briskly through the castle, stopping one last time outside of the closed doors of the throne room to pat down her hair and dust off her dress. She had no idea why she was trying to make a good first impression on a person she had never met, but she did it for her father's sake, as an unspoken apology for the way she had acted a week ago.

The king's head snapped up the moment he heard the double doors open, knowing his daughter was probably upset with him, thinking that he had another suitor for her. Her surprise was evident on her face; the throne room was empty. She and her father were alone.

Zelda narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"…Father? What's going on?"

King Daphnes beckoned for her to come closer, letting out a silent sigh in the process. He gestured to Zelda to sit down next to him, and she did.

"Zelda…" he began, hesitating when she glanced at him with a grim expression on her face.

"I'm listening."

"I know you've been having problems with choosing a future husband, and it hasn't been easy for me, either. However, you have to understand that you'll be taking over the throne after I pass because you're my only child, and your major duty will be to keep the kingdom safe."

"I know what you're leading up to, Father." Zelda rolled her eyes subtly, and made a waving motion with her gloved hand, wanting him to get to the point.

"Your marriage is a very important matter at the moment, and since you can't seem to make a choice…I made one for you."

So...how was it? :D Tell me with a review! I honestly don't have much planned out for the rest of the story and I'm actually a little skeptical about this fic, so if you have any suggestions or stuffs like that, click the button and let me know. :]