Princess Zelda gazed out her window at the setting sun. She could smell the scent of rain on the wind. With a yawn, she walked over to her vanity to unpin her hair. Her hand paused just as she was about to pull out the first pin when she heard a knock on her door. She stood up and brushed off her skirts as she walked to the door. Turning the handle, she peaked around the door and peered up at the form of her attendant rhough her blue-violet eyes. "What is it Impa?"

"Princess, don't be alarmed, but I wouldn't advise retiring just yet. Speak of this to no one, but something is wrong. We may need to be prepared to leave in the utmost haste, without warning. Tell no one we have spoken." Impa said, giving Zelda a quick pat on the head and continuing down the hallway.

Zelda watched Impa walk out of sight. She closed her door and walked into her closet and browsed through her selection of clothes. Everything she had was far too elaborate. Eventually, she came a selection of tunics that she normally wore under her dresses. She grabbed three of them, along with a simple leather belt, the leggings she used for her equestrian lessons, and a pair of soft suede boots. She packed the things into a leather bag and walked over to her desk. She rolled back the top and pulled out her diary, along with a quill pen and a bottle of purple ink. She began to write about the events of the day.

She wrote for a while, and as she wrote she heard a distant rumble of thunder. She looked over her shoulder at the curtains, which were being blown into her room quite violently. Zelda sighed, and stood up to go latch her window. As she was walking past the door, she heard muffled male voices. The voice she heard made her blood run cold. It was the voice of Ganondorf, the man her father had been trying to start a peace treaty with. He didn't sound happy either.

At that moment she heard a creak in her room and covered her mouth to suppress a scream. She turned around to see a servant girl, Meimi, walking out of her closet. "Meimi, you startled me…" Zelda said, dropping a hand to her chest and taking in a sharp breath.

"Pardon me miss. I didn't mean to, but Mistress Impa sent me to show you something." Meimi said with a curtsy, her brown locks falling into her red eyes. Meimi was of Sheikah ancestry, though the last one in her blood line was her great grandmother. However, her eyes still retained their deep red color. The girl was around Zelda's age and had been at the castle since she was very young. They were actually rather good friends, though they were supposed to maintain the Princess-servant relationship.

"What did Impa want you to show me?" Zelda asked, closing her diary and placing it into her bag. She fastened the bag around her waist. Meimi glanced around almost nervously.

"I can't say right now Zel… miss. But I have to show you something. Follow me please." With that, Meimi ducked into Zelda's closet and pushed aside some of her dresses. She ran her hand along the wood paneling until she came to a knot in the wood. She pressed down on it, and to Zelda's surprise a panel of the wall swung open.

Zelda had always known there were many secret passages in the castle, but she'd never known there was an entrance to one in her bedroom. She curiously followed Meimi into the dark tunnel and gasped a bit as they were plunged into darkness. Meimi chuckled slightly, but her laughter seemed forced. "Don't worry miss, I've only closed the door. I'll light a candle now. Within seconds, the hall was dimly lit by the light of the candle in Meimi's hands. She followed her friend as she wound through the corridor. Eventually, the light in the hallway became a bit brighter and they took a turn down another small corridor.

They stopped and Meimi took a deep breath. Then Zelda realized something. "Meimi, what did Impa want you to show me?"

"What's behind this door miss… she wants you to take it…something very important." Meimi nudged the door open and bowed her head. Zelda walked through the door and found herself in a room of the castle treasury. This room was rather empty; the only thing in the room was a stone pedestal. On top of the pedestal was a blue velvet cushion, embroidered in gold thread. She walked up to it and gasped. There, 

nestled on the cushion, was the Ocarina of Time. She snatched it up and looked at it, before tucking within the folds of her dress.

At that very moment, there was a loud crash in the next room. A few seconds later, the door knob began rattling violently. She glared at the door for a moment before turning and dashing back into the secret corridor. She didn't notice the amethyst hair pin that fell from her hair onto the floor. She was far too concerned with the sounds she'd heard from the other side of the door. She could hardly catch her breath as she and Meimi rushed down the hallway. They ran up and down passages at a frantic rate and eventually they made it back to Zelda's room.

Zelda stumbled into her closet and looked back at Meimi. "This corridor connects with the servant's quarters, so I'll be fine. You try and look inconspicuous, o.k."

"All right Meimi…" Zelda said, taking a deep breath.

"And Zel…be careful."

"Don't worry Meimi, I will." Zelda said, giving the other girl an encouraging grin. Meimi smiled and gave a shallow bow, smiling in a worried manner.

"I'll see you later…" With that, Meimi dashed back into the corridor and latched the door behind her.

A few hours passed uneventfully, and Zelda climbed into bed. She remained in her normal clothes, only loosening her belt to give herself more room to breathe. She fell into a fitful sleep, and had the same dream she'd been having. At the moment in her dream when the light shot out of the forest, she sat straight up in bed. She had been worrying about the fairy boy. He'd come to see her after he found the spiritual stone of fire, he told her all about his adventures. They'd sat in the courtyard and talked for ages. However, he'd been taking a while getting the spiritual stone of water. At that moment, she knew he was going to be there soon. Just as she was about to lay down and go back to sleep when the door in her closet flew open and Impa came barging in. "You made preparations to leave as I requested, did you not princess?"

"Yes Impa, but…" Zelda glanced out her window and down into the courtyard at the place she and the boy had first met.

"No buts, we must leave now." Impa said, shaking her head and picking up Zelda's bag.

Zelda took the bag as Impa held it out to her. A rumble of thunder made Zelda jump and turn to the window. She opened the latch and felt a drop of rain land on the end of her nose. She turned to say something to Impa. Her thoughts were interrupted though, as her door slammed open at that very moment.

Standing in the door frame was Ganondorf, with a malevolent smile on his face. He held up his hand and began to cast some kind of a spell. The hair on the back of Zelda's neck stood on end and she held up her own hand. Impa pushed Zelda's hand back down and shook her head at the young princess.

"I don't think so Ganondorf." Impa said with a snarl. Before Zelda knew what was happening, she had been swept into Impa's arms. Then there was a bright flash. She quickly brought a hand up to shield her eyes. A few seconds later she took her hand away, and saw that Impa had leapt from the edge of the balcony. Zelda's eyes widened and she tried to scream, but nothing came out. Impa bounded across various ledges until they reached the ground near the stables. They ran in the door and found Zelda's favorite horse saddled and ready to go.

Impa hoisted Zelda onto the white mare, and climbed quickly up behind her. She barely had time to get a good grip before Impa took off. Before she knew it, they were racing down the hill towards castle town. They entered the square, scattering people left and right. People looked up at them in awe. She felt very 

confused by the sound of people's shouts and the sound of her horse's hooves on the cobblestones. However, she had the feeling that her horses hooves weren't the only ones adding to the noise. She didn't snap out of her dazed state until she heard Impa shouting "Lower the gate!"

The dashed out the door and into the field, and one more gasp reached her ears. She turned her head to see the young fairy boy. A dozen memories flashed through her head. She remembered everything in an instant; her shock at seeing him the first time to her joy at seeing the glittering ruby of the gorons in his hands to the afternoon they had spent laughing in the courtyard. In a split section that felt like an eternity she reached her decision. She reached into the folds of her dress and threw the Ocarina with all her might.

Their eyes met for a moment, and an odd feeling welled up in her chest. She didn't want to look away, but Impa nudged her into facing forward. After that, Zelda could no longer restrain her tears. So feeling very confused and tired, Zelda collapsed against the horse's neck. She felt so tired. She wanted nothing more than to wake up to find this whole horrible thing a dream. She cared nothing for the driving rain that now accompanied the storm. It served as a good method to hide her tears. Impa clutched at the young princess's form as they rode farther and farther into the night.