The Sheikah stood silently, eyes forward. Some fidgeted, trying to put some distance between them and those accursed Hylians. If that was even possible.
The main chamber of Hyrule Castle was crowded. Perhaps an understatement. The main chamber was packed. People were pouring in through the doorways like a colony of ants. Guards had to shift and shuffle, trying not to prod the crowd with their spears. People were pushing and shoving, eager to catch a glimpse of their new king. Not to mention who he was appointing as his chief adviser.
Soon, a hush came over the crowd. A hooded figure appeared before the audience. The people moved to either side of the room. It didn't matter, as long as there was nobody in the center aisle. The guards who escorted the stranger, with their gleaming spears, made sure of that.
As the procession walked slowly up the aisle, inquisitive folk tried to catch a glimpse of the stranger's face. But one glance from a guard's face tamed the people whose curiosity had gotten the better of them.
When the hooded figure had reached the king, he turned around and faced the crowd. It turns out that he was a she. A Sheikah.
Gasps came from the audience. The Sheikah turned and looked at one another, as did the Hylians. What was the new king doing? He wasn't king for even a day and already he had caused quite a commotion.
The Hylians were appalled at this turn of events. How could their king appoint the enemy to the coveted position of chief adviser? Why not at least choose someone from their own race? For all he knows, his soon-to-be-chief adviser could thrust a dagger right into his heart then and there. Although the guards had searched her, twice, in fact, there were clever ways that the woman could conceal her weapons. The king didn't appear to be alarmed, however. That was good. As the new king, appearances meant everything.
The Sheikah were even more surprised than the Hylians. How could their leader be forced into the service of strangers? Demoted from a great leader to a lowly....... adviser. This truly was an immense blow to the morale of the Sheikah. However, they kept quiet. Those spear points didn't exactly look like they wanted to be messed with.
Another hush fell upon the crowd. The woman turned to face the King of Hyrule and kneeled before him. The king raised his arms over the woman.
"Friends," the king began.
Hisses arose from the crowd.
Perhaps I shouldn't have said that, the king thought.
"Citizens of Hyrule," he started again. A pause.
Silence.
Better, thought the king.
"We are gathered here today in ceremony for the ordination of Hyrule's newest chief adviser. I have full confidence that she will aid us greatly regarding diplomatic affairs with other nations.
"While some of you doubt my decision," the king said, with a small, almost unnoticeable grin, "I do not. If anybody objects to my appointee, speak now."
Another period of silence.
"Then, without further ado, I will administer the oath of office."
The woman stood before the king. Her face was like stone, with years of hardship chiseled into it. Her silvery hair was tied in a ragged ponytail.
"Do you, Impa, hereby swear to uphold the office of chief adviser with all your wisdom? Do you swear to hold allegiance to the present government of Hyrule? Do you accept this responsibility?" the king asked.
"I do," she replied in a voice that held authority as well as humility.
The king said, "Then I proclaim you as the new chief adviser of the kingdom of Hyrule."
Impa bowed graciously before the king. Then she turned and faced the audience. A split second before there was any applause (which wasn't going to be loud, the king knew), the king said, "Wait."
The new chief adviser turned around to face the king. Her king.
The King of Hyrule looked thoughtful for a moment, then continued,
"Do you, Impa, in the names of Din, Nayru, and Farore swear to serve Princess Zelda, with all your strength, wisdom, and heart? Do you accept this responsibility to defend her in times of danger, to advise in times of counseling, to take care when a gentle hand is needed?"
The newly appointed King of Hyrule stood over Impa, prepared to appoint her as the caretaker for his daughter, the Princess Zelda. After all, since her mother had died, she needed to be taken care of, and that was a big responsibility, as he didn't have enough of them, being king and all. As the King raised his hands over the Impa's head, he could almost hear the whispers of disapproval among the audience. He was beginning to have his doubts. I'm going to regret this, he thought to himself.
Impa was taken aback. She glanced quickly from side to side. She obviously hadn't been prepared for this. She was wise, she knew, which was why she had accepted the king's summons for an adviser. But what did she know about children? Perhaps it will be for the best. Might give me a chance to relate to people on other levels, not just soldiers and assassins, she reasoned with herself. She quickly added, But I know that I'm going to regret this.
"I do," Impa said with a voice that contained only humility.
There were no applauses. Tension thickened in the room.
Better think of something fast or you can kiss your leadership good-bye, your Highness.
The king abruptly asked Impa, "Would you like to dance?"
Just as surprised as by the king's last question, she found herself saying yes and took his hand.
As the two of them attempted to dance in the overly crowded floor, the minstrels began to play. Beautiful music they played, and soon more people were dancing on the floor. It made things kind of tight, though. And it was obvious that each race decided to avoid each other. But the tension had lessened.
Now Impa understood why the king had asked her to dance.
Impa, as she danced with the king, asked him, "Sire, why did you ask me to care for your daughter?"
The king replied, "Well, her mother has been gone for many years now. I thought it would be proper to find a...... maternal figure for her."
"But I have no experience with children."
"Nevertheless, I think you'll do a commendable job."
"Thank you."
Impa also asked another question that was burning in her mind.
"Sire, and please be perfectly honest, do you think that things will get better between the Sheikah and the Hylians? Not to mention the rest of the kingdom."
"I think that we will have to wait and see. In time, I think things will get better. In time."


Princess Zelda, now thirteen years old, ran through the long, twisting corridors of the castle, desperate to lose her pursuer. It was dark and chilly, with only the torchlight for comfort.
"Get back here or you'll regret this!" the figure shouted.
Zelda made a sharp turn around a corner, hurrying and trying to keep to the shadows. She could still hear the faint echoes, as if the shadows themselves were whispering it to her. Zelda moved along the sides of the wall, her hands running along the cold, rough texture.
"Oh, where is it?" she whispered to herself. "I know it's here somewhere."
Suddenly, she felt a large, smooth section of wall. Still cold, but smooth.
"Here it is!" she said triumphantly as she pushed the wall back to form a small alcove, perfect for hiding.
Though Zelda thought that she had lost the pursuer, she glanced back, just in case. She could neither see nor hear anything that was out of the ordinary. Regardless, Zelda decided to take refuge in the niche set in the wall and catch her breath. She peeked out of the corner slowly and held her breath as a shadowy figure came running toward her. Zelda shut her eyes tight, but to her amazement, the shadow had past her. She breathed a sigh of relief and managed to climb out of her tight hiding spot.
"I'm glad to be out of there," she muttered as she straightened out her rumpled dress.
Zelda checked one side of the dim hallway. Nothing.
A dark figure began creeping silently towards Zelda, cleverly hidden within the shadows. It was obvious that the person had experience with acquiring prey.
Zelda whispered to herself, "They'll never be able to catch me." She grinned. "I'm too- agh!"
The figure had slipped behind Zelda, and clasped a firm hand around her mouth. Zelda struggled in vain.
"Ah, princess, still as mischievous as ever, I see," the figure said quietly and lifted a hand from Zelda's mouth, allowing her to speak. The captor still held on to its captive by wrapping an arm around her, should she decide to get away again.
"Impa, don't you ever scare me like that again!" Zelda said.
"I'm just doing my job," Impa replied. "Especially after you ruined that pot of stew for the king's guests."
"Can't they take a joke?" Zelda asked sweetly.
"Obviously not. And now, you will apologize to the cook, and face whatever punishment he has to offer."
"Oh, I'm real scared," Zelda said, a look of feigned terror in her eyes.
"And," Impa continued, "after we are done with our business with the cook, we will go and have a talk with your father."
Now Zelda had a look of genuine terror in her eyes.

"But Dad, no!" Zelda pleaded.
"Zelda, you will spend the rest of the day in your room, and tomorrow, you will help the cook clean the pots and pans. And when we invite our guests again, you will personally apologize to each and every one of them. Am I understood?" the king asked sternly. Impa looked at Zelda.
Zelda nodded meekly.
"Now go to your room."
"But..."
"NOW!" the king roared.
The princess, in a huff, stormed out of the room and up the stairs to her room, high up in the tower. The king and Impa could hear the door slam. Strong girl, Zelda.
The king let out a chuckle.
"I think I overdid it there a bit, haven't I?" the king asked.
"No, sire, of course not," Impa said.
"But thank you for finding her for me."
"No trouble at all, sire."
"Impa, I have watched your progress with Zelda over the years and I must say that you have done quite a fine job. You always manage to find her hiding spots," the king said.
"Well, as a child, I have used them before," Impa said.
"Nevertheless, you have always faithfully served me. Not to mention the rest of Hyrule. Relations with other nations have improved dramatically, especially with the Sheikah. For that, I owe you a debt of gratitude."
Impa replied, "I am just doing my job, sire."
"With Ganondorf imprisoned in the Sacred Realm and no uprises by the Gerudo as of late, I feel that you have protected my daughter long enough, and I now relieve you of your duties taking care of Zelda."
"Sire, I don't know what to say, " Impa replied. She had grown quite attached to the mischievous little princess and didn't really want to leave her.
"Don't say anything. You have been every bit a mother to my daughter and I think that she should be old enough by now to take care of herself," the king said.
"Thank you, my king. But what about my duties as chief adviser?" Impa asked.
"Oh, don't you worry about that. You're still my number one adviser, so we can be expecting you to hang around the castle for quite a while," the king said with a smile.
"Thank you again, sire," she replied as she returned his smile.
"That is all. You are dismissed for the day," the king said.
Impa bowed low. "My king."


There was a knock at Zelda's door.
"Zelda, can I come in?" said the king.
No response.
The king turned the knob.
At least she left it unlocked, the king thought.
He opened the door slowly and found his daughter sitting on her bed, writing something in her diary. She always did that whenever she was mad at her father. Often, the king wondered what his daughter had wrote about him.
"Zelda, I'm sorry that I had to punish you, but it was the right thing to do," the king said apologetically.
No response.
"You know that I still love you."
Zelda just scribbled something in her diary, pressing down hard with her ink-tipped feather.
This is gonna be tougher than I thought.
"Impa will not be your caretaker anymore," the king said abruptly, hoping to get his daughter to talk.
"What?!" Zelda cried and flung her diary across the bed. She found it hard to believe that her caretaker, almost like a mother to her for thirteen years, is leaving her. Abandoning her.
"Now, now, Zelda. She's only relieved of her caretaker duties. Impa is still my chief adviser, so you'll still be seeing quite a lot of her around here," the king said as he wrapped his arms around Zelda to comfort her.
"It's not the same," Zelda said. "Oh, why did she have to leave?"
"I just thought it best for you to learn to take care of yourself now," the king replied.
Zelda rushed over to the window, hoping to see Impa before she left. She scanned the vast fields, looking for any sign of Impa. Then, Zelda heard a horse cry from below. It rushed through the gates of the castle, its rider urging the horse to go faster.
"Impa!" Zelda cried out as the horse raced towards the village of Kakariko, where Impa's home lay.
The princess lay sobbing in her bed, her face buried in a soft pillow.
The king held Zelda in his arms and stroked her hair.
"There, there. It's all right," he said.
As the king said this, he glanced to the edge of the bed and found Zelda's diary, still on the page where she last wrote.
What the king read brought tears to his eyes.
I Love You.


The village of Kakariko was bustling that day. Vendors sold their wares on the street, pushing worthless junk upon unsuspecting people. Customers balked at their prices while children played happily in the village square. Men were working hard, building a house for a newlywed couple on the east side of town. The wife brought the exhausted men a pitcher of water and gave her husband a peck on the cheek. The birds were singing, and the sun was shining. All in all, a beautiful day.
"Impa, you're home!" a stout man called out and waved as Impa rode into the village.
Impa slowed her horse to a halt and climbed off of it.
"There, boy, go take a drink," Impa whispered to her horse and led him to a trough full of cool water.
"Hello, Tyrus," Impa said coolly.
The two grasped each other's forearms
"Been a couple years now, hasn't it? And you've never dropped by in all that time?" Tyrus wore an expression of mock hurt on his face.
Impa put a hand up to her face to hide her smile. Tyrus had always made her laugh when they were kids. She felt a little guilty for not having visited him in a long time. After all, he was her brother.
"I've been busy, helping the king and everything," Impa explained.
"Oh." Tyrus looked genuinely hurt this time and Impa could see it in his eyes.
"Look, I'm sorry I haven't visited you. It's just that... well, I don't feel that I'm accepted here anymore," Impa said sadly.
"Yeah, especially after what happened last time. Don't worry now, though, the others aren't as angry with you since you last visited. In fact, you are now held in high regard by many of our people. But just in case, I've persuaded our new leader to imprison anybody who even touches you," Tyrus said.
"That's very reassuring," Impa smiled. "But who is this new leader, and why haven't I known about this immediately?" The Sheikah held a more serious tone to her voice.
"We haven't told you about him because we weren't sure how you would react," Tyrus explained. Not a very good explanation and he knew it.
"So, all this time, you've advertised a false government to the king? Don't you realize that if this is found out by the king, everything that we have built with the Sheikah will be destroyed?"
"Wait a minute, just wait! Since when did you consider yourself a Hylian? You have just counted yourself among the others rather than your own. So I ask you, where does your loyalty lie? With the king and his Hylians or your brother and the Sheikah? " Tyrus asked heatedly.
Impa looked at the ground, trying to come up with an answer.
Finally, she said coldly, "I do not hold allegiance to anyone but myself. Should I choose to serve the Hylians or the Sheikah, I will do so on my own time."
Impa called her horse with a piercing whistle and he appeared, its mouth still dripping with water. She climbed on the horse and started off.
"Good-bye, Tyrus," Impa said, not looking at her brother.
Tyrus stood there, watching as his sister rode away. "If you're wondering who our new leader is," he yelled, "his name is Dethyl."
Impa silently passed under the village gates, ignoring her brother once again. But that name.....
With a disgusted sigh, Tyrus headed back to his little shack nearby. Gray clouds began to gather in the sky. The sound of thunder reverberated across the land and it began to rain.


Flashes of lightning lit up the night sky for the briefest of moments. Rain hammered the Royal Castle, eroding the ancient stone. The towers of the castle loomed like titans, unaffected by the howling wind and rain. Guards patrolled the ramparts, grumbling about how they would catch a cold and that their armor would rust. Regardless, they kept a keen eye open, in case of any intruders. One could never be too cautious on a stormy night such as this one.
Princess Zelda paced around in her tower, trying to occupy herself. She found her diary on the bed but coudn't think of anything to write.
"How could Impa leave me like this? At least I wouldn't be bored," Zelda said to herself. A smile crept to her lips as she thought of her little fiasco in the dungeons today.
The princess walked toward the edge of the room and peeked out the window. She quickly pulled her head back in, her headdress soaking wet.
"Agh!" Zelda said as she threw her headdress on the floor, still dripping.
Good job, Princess, she berated herself.
"Wait a minute..."
A light dawned on Zelda, and she began searching for a cloak.
She found one under her bed and wrapped it around herself. Zelda slipped the headdress on and moved toward the window again. She looked down, judging to see how high it was from her window to the courtyard. She went back to her bed and ripped the blankets from her bed. She tied them together to form a long rope. Zelda threw her makeshift rope, being careful to hold on tight. The mischievous princess tied one end to her bed post. She pulled on it to make sure it would support her. It did.
"Well, here goes nothing," Zelda said as she climbed out of her window into the storm.
Inch by inch, Zelda slowly climbed down the rope, hoping that her cloak would shield her from the sight of the watchful guards. The rope swayed violently from side to side and Zelda swayed with it. She screamed as she lost her grasp. But no one could hear her.
She frantically flailed her arms, hoping to grasp something. Anything. Zelda could see the ground rushing up to meet her and closed her eyes. She hit the ground on her back with a low thud and everything turned black. Not that it was much of a difference anyway.


When Zelda came to, she could hear yelling in the background of the wind and rain. It was faint, but she heard it. She tried to move but she gasped in pain. Zelda, indifferent to the pounding rain, just lied there like a dead stone. Her eyes were open, but she could only stare out into the darkness.
Zelda could hear guards shout commands to one another. The sound of clashing swords rang in her ears. What was happening?
Vision slowly came back to Zelda. Everything was blurry at first, but she could see movement. A strange red haze also clouded her vision. Dizziness overcame the princess and she closed her eyes for what seemed to be an eternity. But she could still hear the painful screaming and the sound of flesh ripping. A heavy mass fell upon the princess and she opened her eyes. It looked like a...... Sheikah.
"Impa!" Zelda cried. She turned the body over to reveal the face but it did not belong to her beloved caretaker. Zelda heaved a sigh of relief.
"Help, someone, please..."
Zelda, with all her strength, crawled away from the body, horrified at the deep gash in the warrior's neck.
The princess continued to crawl like a wounded animal towards a small tree for shelter beneath the pelting rain. She grew exhausted, and she just lay there, waiting to be captured, waiting to be rescued, waiting to be killed, whichever came first.
Zelda looked around for any help. She spotted a guard nearby, sword drawn, and called for his aid.
"Please help me," she rasped.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" the guard answered. His fingers twitched. The guard obviously wanted to kill something.
"Down here," Zelda said as loud as she could.
The guard rushed over to Zelda. He looked across the courtyard, and then he kneeled down beside Zelda.
"Princess, is that you? What are you doing here? We've got to get you inside, fast! The Sheik-"
Before the guard could finish, a sword had pierced right through his chest. The guard made a horrible choking sound, then his eyes rolled back. The attacker ripped the sword from the soldier's back and kicked him off to the side.
The man was clad in black, with a dark cloak covering his body. His face was reminiscent of the Gerudo King, Ganondorf.
"No! No, no! It can't be!" Zelda screamed, trying to back away.
"Princess Zelda, we finally meet at last," the stranger sneered.
Zelda was surprised. We finally meet at last. What was he thinking?
"W-who are you?"
"Didn't Impa tell you?" he asked, his black eyes glinting. "I am Dethyl, Lord of the Shadows."
"What do you want?" asked Zelda, trying to muster up some courage.
"Enough, little girl! You are in no position to ask questions. Now is the time when the Sheikah will rule once again!" With that, he raised his cruel-looking sword to the sky, prepared to kill the princess.
"Hold it right there, Dethyl," said Impa as she leaped toward him daggers drawn.
"Ah, if it isn't the traitorous witch who had deserted her kinsmen, leaving them to wallow in their own dark abyss. Now, I will show you what true darkness is!"
Dethyl leaped away, his cloak whipping in the wind. Impa missed, but she rolled back onto her feet, face-to-face with the Dark Lord. Dethyl jumped in the air and kicked Impa heavily in the shoulder. Impa crashed into the ground. But she regained her composure. Impa firmly grasped her twin daggers and hacked at Dethyl. The Dark Lord swiftly parried them with his sword and then lunged for the kill.
Before Dethyl could swing his sword, Impa, with a swift slice, cut a gash deep into his face.
"Agh!" the Dark Lord screamed as he grasped his face in pain, dropping his sword with a loud clank.
Impa put away her daggers and thrust her palm forward into Dethyl's chest and he flew backwards onto the wall. The threat was over and Impa made her way to Princess Zelda.
"Princess, are you all right? Are you hurt?" Impa frantically searched the princess to see if she had any open wounds.
"I'm fine, I just can't move my legs," Zelda said weakly.
Impa wasn't satisfied. "We need to get you some help."
With that, Impa lifted the princess gently off the ground, being careful with her legs. They could hear fighting going on elsewhere, but they were thankful that they weren't there to witness it.
A moment before Zelda closed her eyes, she could see a dark mass behind Impa, blade drawn.
"Impa, watch out!" Zelda shrieked.
Too late.
Before Impa could turn, the sword had cut through her right shoulder. Zelda flew from Impa's hands and landed on her back with a loud groan. Impa dropped to her knees in agony.
"Did you really think you could get rid of me that easily?" Dethyl laughed coldly and walked in front of Impa. "Now, prepare to meet your ancestors!"
"No!" Zelda screamed at the top of her lungs.
Impa, eyes wide with fear, searched for her daggers. Before she could, Dethyl thrust his sword through Impa's chest. She looked up at him for a long, painful moment.
Slowly, he twisted his sword, clearly relishing the moment, his mouth in an evil grin. His bone-chilling laughter rang across the courtyard. He still grasped his blood-stained sword in his hand and pulled it out. Impa fell to the ground.
"Zelda...." Impa hoarsely whispered. Her pleas did not reach Zelda.
"Now, it is your turn," Dethyl said, pointing his sword at the princess.
He stalked toward Zelda, but before he could raise his sword, all three of them could hear the castle guards approaching. Dethyl, with a furious look on his face, sheathed his sword and pulled his cloak over his head.
"This isn't finished yet. I will come back and finish you off as well as the rest of those damn Hylians!"
With a scowl, Dethyl pulled a small object out of his belt, threw it on the ground, and disappeared in a blinding flash.
Zelda crawled toward Impa nearby. She was barely alive.
"Impa, please don't die," Zelda cried, holding Impa in her arms. Tears streamed down her face.
"Zelda, I'm... sorry," Impa whispered. "Please, don't worry about me. I'll be fine, I'll be...." Impa closed her eyes and she became still. Dead.
The guards came to Zelda's aid.
"Zelda, get away from her!" one of the guards yelled, pulling out his sword. The princess didn't hear him.
Zelda pounded Impa's chest, wishing that it was all a dream.
"Wake up, wake up, wake UP!" Zelda screamed.
The guards, confident that there wasn't any danger, formed a circle around Zelda and Impa. They found it difficult to keep a straight face.
"Impa, please, please wake up," Zelda sobbed.
All around, the guards found themselves misty-eyed.
"What's going on here?" the king demanded, still in his night robe. "My messenger had told me..."
The guards couldn't find their voice so they just moved out of the way, revealing the king's daughter on the ground.
"Zelda," the king called. He rushed over to his daughter and embraced her. Zelda just stared blankly into the darkness.
"Are you all right? Are you hurt?" the king asked worriedly.
"Dad, Dad, I'm fine," Zelda said, "but Impa's dead."
The king looked shocked. "Dead? How? Who did this?"
"Your highness," one of the guards stuttered, "I believe that the Sheikah have done this."
"The Sheikah? But that's impossible. Why would they do this to one of their own?" the king asked.
"We don't know, your highness," the soldier said. "But I promise you, we will get to the bottom of this."
The king looked for a long time at Impa, rain soaking his garments. There was a clap of thunder and a brief second of light.
"What is that writing on the wall?" the king asked.
Everyone turned. A nearby guard held up a torch, unquenchable by the rain, and walked toward the wall. The red and orange flames licked at the crude writing etched into the wall.
Death to all Hylians and the Sheikah who choose to be counted with them. May the death of the once-great Impa be an example to all of you. We are the Sheika Ka Um, the Shadow People, and we will reclaim what has been stolen from us.