AUTHOR'S NOTE:

In Twilight Princess, Ilia is captured by Bulbins, and then is taken to the Hidden Village. There, she seems to have her memory, as Impaz says, "When she (Ilia) was here, she would often cheer me up by saying that you (Link) would come to help." Thus Ilia still had some, if not all, of her memory. HOWEVER, Ilia seems to have lost all of it when she is at Telma's. There is no explanation as to how Ilia lost her memory, except possibly by an injury caused during her escape, or some sort of mental breakdown and things.

So, in this story, she still has all her memory, and loses it on the way to Castle Town.

(Ilia's POV)

I shivered as I walked out into the frosty air. I was allowed to walk around the village freely, but as it was getting colder, I didn't leave the barn they used as my jail cell very often. But the times I did get so bored, and sometimes, scared, I would go visit my friend Impaz.

I had to walk with my hands in the air, to and from the barn to Impaz's. I guess they would shoot me if I didn't. Some Bulbins grunted at me as I walked by, and I eyed them out of the corner of my eye, wondering if they were going to try anything. But they didn't.

Before I knew it, I was at Impaz's. I knocked softly at the door, too frightened to knock any louder, in fear it would frighten the old woman… possibly to death. Ilia, don't be so soft! I chided myself.

She opened it, and smiled when our eyes met. "Come in, child, come in!" She said in her hoarse voice. I quickly walked inside, grateful to the heat coming from a small heater.

"Oh, Ilia, I wish you'd come earlier. How I worry they're going to do something terrible to you…" I took the little woman's hands in my own, and smiled, comfortingly.

"Don't worry, Impaz. Link will come. He will save us."

The old woman's eyes lit up when she heard Link's name. "That reminds me! Here is your horse whistle, I polished it for you." She handed it to me.

I smiled, delighted that she was keeping such good care of it. "Thank you so much."

"It's no problem, my dear. Now, sit down and get comfortable, because I have something I need to tell you." I could hear the seriousness in her voice, so I sat down on the floor, and pulled a kitten, Paws, into my lap.

Impaz took a seat on her bed, and pulled a shawl around her shoulders. She handed me one, and I pulled it on, even though I was warm enough. I had learned not to refuse the old woman. If she wanted me to entertain Hylia, Paws, and Navi, then I would have to oblige.

"Now, Ilia, they probably will never let you go. They could use you for information, and might even hurt you to get it." My heart started to race. Why was she talking about this?

"But, I don't know anything important." I state.

"Any tiny bit could be useful to them. You're the mayor's daughter, and he probably has some sort of authority, right?" I shrugged. "Now, luckily, they probably don't know whose daughter you are yet. But that won't stop them from finding out, possibly in the cruelest ways." The old woman grimaced.

"Once they find out you don't know anything, they'll leave you alone. But they won't let you go. By then they'll think you know too much. Now, these Bulbins are stupid, but their leader- Ganondorf- is a smart being. He'll put you to use here in the village, either as a servant, or he'll make a warrior out of you. We cannot let that happen."

By now, I was sure my eyes were filled with fear. My mind searched for a shred of hope, for a shred of comfort. "But… Link will save us, Impaz."

The old woman's eyes filled with grief, something I had never seen before in those eyes. I had seen anxiety, loneliness, even fear. But never grief.

"Ilia, I'm afraid your Link is too late. You've been here 2 months now. Girl, time is running out. We need to get you safely out, and to Castle Town," she stated grimly, "Now, I've been in contact with a woman-Telma- who is the owner of a tavern in the Town. She's offered to help you, but you need to get out of here and up the road a-ways yourself.

"Do you think you can do that?"

I bit my lip. "But… what about you?"

"Oh, Ilia, you know I can't go. I can't go until my orders are fulfilled."

"But… what if the Bulbins discover you helped me? They'll…" My voice faltered.

Impaz heaved herself off of the bed, and patted my shoulder. "It'll be fine, Ilia. I'll be fine, and you'll be fine. Now, before I state the plan to you, I need you to run and fetch some milk. You see Eldin there?" She pointed to one of the cats. "He's had a difficult time being a messenger cat. And I think he needs some milk."

With sudden realization that Eldin was the one who had basically been the link of communications to plan my escape, I went as fast as I could to get some milk. The stupid Bulbin finally figured out what I was pointing at, and handed some to me. I grabbed it, and ran back. I poured it carefully, and set it in a corner, and then distracted the 3 other cats while Eldin drank his fill.

I pulled the shawl back on, and sat on a crate. "Okay, Impaz. I'm ready."

But the old woman was taking her time, getting ready bread and water for us to 'snack' on. When we finally settled down with our food and drink, I imagined an irritated look had settled over my face, although I tried to hide it. Impaz sensed it, and sighed.

"I'm sorry, girl. I just don't want to lose you…" She sighed again, and put down her bread.

"Now, as you know, Bulbins have terrible eyesight, especially in the dark. Luckily, tomorrow night is their weekly meeting with the chief Bulbin. All of them will be in a barn except for the ones on the watch towers. Tomorrow afternoon, you are going to feign sickness around 4 o'clock. Now, those Bulbins won't understand if you say you don't feel well, so you'll have to make a racket. Grab your stomach, moan, anything that will convince them there really is something wrong. They'll bring you to me, and I'll keep you until 10 o'clock at night. Then, I'll come out of this house, and shout at the Bulbin on watch closest to us. If I make enough noise, he'll come down. I'll lead him to the warehouse with all the food, making it look like I need something. That's your chance, girl. You'll have to be quiet, and fast. Then you can use your horse call, call the animal, and ride her to the Town. It'll be easy to find your way-"

"But… what if Epona doesn't come? She ran off."

"You'll have to trust the horse, girl."

I sighed. This is really risky. And… what about Impaz? What if they catch her? What if they catch me? What if… My thoughts whirled around my head.

But Ilia. If you just stay here, they will probably do something to you. Something bad. And if you go through with this plan, you can find the kids, and get them back home, if they aren't already there. If Link hasn't helped Impaz by then, I'll go find him and make him help her.

My thoughts were right. I turn to Impaz, and nod.

The next day, I started the first step.

I started to moan, and I fell on my knees, clutching my stomach. I started to wail and cry, forcing tears to flow from my eyes. Sure enough, two Bulbins came, and poked me with their bows. "Oww," I moaned when they did so. I curled up into a ball and cried into the ground, clutching my head with one hand, and my stomach with the other. I watched them look at each other and shake their heads. They both proceeded to grab one of my arms each, and started dragging me towards Impaz's.

I felt the need to laugh, but instead I start to gag and cough to mask my laughter.

They banged on the door to the little house, and Impaz opened it meekly. "Oh heavens!" She faked shock.

Even though they couldn't understand, Impaz started to talk to the Bulbins in a worried tone, and started to touch my face, seemingly concerned. "How long has she been like this? What's wrong? Did you stupid creatures hurt her?!" Impaz demanded. The Bulbins just shrugged at everything. Finally, Impaz sighed, and stood aside, beckoning for them to come inside.

Instead, they dropped my arms, and pushed me into the house. Impaz shut the door behind them, and held her breath for a couple of seconds. Sure they were gone, she started to giggle.

After her giggle fit subsided, Impaz wearily sat on her bed. "Now, come here and sit next to me. I'll explain the plan."

So I did.

"Now, you already know how to get out of here. But you'll need to ride a-ways before you meet Telma at the entrance to Castle Town," she said. She pulled a map out from under her pillow, and smoothed it out. "Get me a pen. I'll write down the instructions."

Impaz pulled out a stack of paper I'd never seen in her house before. A closer look at it told me it was important paper, as it had a symbol on it. The symbol of the Sheikah, one that Impaz had drawn in the dirt with a stick for me one time. It was very dear to her, as it was the symbol of her clan.

As she wrote, she talked. "Now, once you get out of here, go left." She circled something on the piece of paper. "Ride down that path for a time, and then you'll come to a clearing." She pointed to a place on the map. "There'll be a rocky path that starts at the clearing. Take it, and it'll lead you to a bridge. Cross the bridge, and resume the path. It will lead you to the left. Follow it." She emphasized the last words, and underlined something on the paper. "Keep following it until it forks. Take the left path." Again, a circle. (Note: I'm using the map from the Gamecube's Twilight Princess, which is flipped from the Wii version)

"It will stop, but you'll be able to see the entrance by then. Cross that bridge, and Telma will be waiting for you."

She handed me the piece of paper, and I studied it for a few minutes. I tucked it into the pouch tied to my leg, and sighed. "So… now I just…wait?" I asked, a little quietly.

"Well, you'll need some stuff before you go. Here," she handed me a dark jacket to wear, "put this on."

I pulled it on, and pulled on the hood. "Hmm… you'll fit in nice in the darkness." Impaz said thoughtfully. I smiled, weakly.

"You'll need a couple of other things. Look, under the bed, there's a box. Pull it out." I did so. There was no cover, just a black piece of cloth covering the top. "Take the covering off." I did so.

The contents inside surprised me. There was an old mirror, some mittens, some silverware, a pair of boots, and a dagger. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of the dagger. Impaz pulled it out, and smiled. "This was my favorite weapon. It's a little dull now, but you should have seen it in its prime. It was beautiful, and it was my pride and joy, concerning weaponry…" She sighed, and pulled its sheath out of the box, and placed it inside with shaking hands.

She handed it to me. "There might very well be monsters along the way, Ilia. With your jacket, you can stick to the shadows, but this will probably be of use." I took it, and slid it out of the sheath. It fit perfectly in my hand. I returned it to its cover, and put it on the bed next to me.

"Try these on." I tried on the boots, and they were too big. Impaz grunted, and put her hand to her chin, thinking.

"I think…" she said slowly, "I think you should take them. They'll protect your feet. But if they keep you from running fast, take them off. Your feet seem to be tough enough, so you won't get too bruised up if it comes to that." I nodded, and kept them on, walking back and forth in the small house, trying to get used to them. I wasn't fond of shoes, but they might help me.

"I think now you've got everything you need. Now, we wait."

Ten bells. The Bulbins footsteps sounded like thunder as they ran to their meeting. "This is our chance. You've got the horse whistle?" I nodded solemnly, although she didn't know what I was planning.

I couldn't take the whistle. I could go on foot. I was just escaping. But Link… he needed it.

"Okay…" She said shakily. The tears that fell from her eyes stunned me. "Hey," I said, "Don't worry. I'll be fine. And you're going to get out of here, I guarantee it. I'm going to find Link, and I'll tell him to come visit you. He can help find the person that will get you out of here."

She smiled at me, although her smile was sad. I bent down and gave her a hug. "You're a brave girl," She said. I just smiled simply.

She went out the door. After counting 30 seconds, I set the piece of paper she gave me on her bed, and wrote quickly. I had memorized the instructions, so I used that piece of paper to write my note:

'Impaz, thank you for helping me. I've left the whistle behind for you to give to Link when he comes to help you. He will, once I find him and tell him to. Until then, keep this with you, to remember me. Goddesses of Hyrule be with you. Ilia.'

I set the whistle down next to it. I pulled on the jacket, and grabbed the dagger. I slipped out the door, and started at a fast pace.

I was okay up until the bridge. I had had to escape only one slow monster, and I hadn't had to use the dagger. But crossing the bridge, there was a monster. He tore at my face, but missed. I stabbed him, and he fell to the ground. Shaking from shock at what I had done, I kept on. And then…

It was a Bulbin. Two of them, actually. They rained arrows down on me. One of them almost hit me, so I took off the boots, and started to run. But one of their arrows caught me, in the ankle, where I had been hit before. I shrieked, and fell, hitting my head.

Everything went black, and the pain was hot.

I woke up in a strange place. Where am I?

"How are you faring there, honey?" A big woman loomed over me.

"It hurts." She giggled. Who was this?

"How did your little escape go, honey?"

"I… I don't remember."