Princess of the Leaves

Chapter One

All roads led to the forest, and if you could navigate through the woods without getting lost, the forest led everywhere. Zelda followed Impa through a forest that had been called sacred nearly as often as it had been called cursed. Link had grown up in these Lost Woods, raised as a Kokiri.

She had placed the hopes of her kingdom on that boy. She still did, but he slept, and would not wake for years to come.

"There is nothing left for you here," Impa said. "Not anymore, and not for a long time."

"I know." They had visited the fountains they could reach of the Great Fairies, creatures neither divine nor demonic but powerful all the same–fae–to receive what blessings they could. They had even stopped to allow Zelda to study under the enigmatic figure known only as the Happy Mask Salesman, where she learned how a mask could change the soul as easily as the face until she no longer needed the mask at all.

But Ganondorf's power was growing, and Zelda was no longer safe within Hyrule's borders. The Triforce of Wisdom did not give her the strength to fight her enemy, but it revealed her enemy's weakness and warned her of his strength. His weakness slept in the Sacred Realm while his strength grew immeasurable. No, his strength had always been immeasurable, ever since he stole the golden treasure and had it emblazoned on his hand, but his understanding of how to use that power, that grew more and more dangerous.

"He will not look for you beyond Hyrule," Impa said. "Will he?"

Zelda shook her head, her sun-yellow hair waving past her pointed ears. "He fears the Sword of Evil's Bane and knows not when Link will awaken. He will always keep at least one eye on the Temple of Time until then." And when that happened, Zelda would return to guide the awakened hero, and if they managed to awaken the Sages, they just might have a chance.

That was the gift the Goddesses bestowed upon her. She could know strangers as well as she knew herself, and she could remember things that hadn't happened yet. Not all things, but it was enough. It had to be.

Zelda stumbled as she walked and took a breath of … something different. Neither new nor old, just … strange. Another world. That was the nature of the Lost Woods. Sometimes it spat you out, sometimes it swallowed you whole, and sometimes it took you into the unknown.

"We're here," Zelda announced.

"Are we?" Impa looked around. The trees here looked the same as the trees they had passed–twisted, gnarled, ancient–but Zelda could not deny the shifting in her gut. A different level of gravity, maybe? Or maybe something alerted her spiritual senses, as she stepped out of the world that she was born in and bound to. "I have been here only a few times before," Impa admitted. "Only once since you were born. But the Sheikah were remembered then and respected, though we have had no presence in the village for a long time."

"And what village is that?" Impa had told her little of their destination, only that it was distant and (relatively) safe.

"Konoha." A name that meant nothing to Zelda, except that she would dwell there for years to come. "It is common for them to train their children in combat and … practical magic. Most of them have started training while younger than you, but I have taught you the basics and you're a fast learner. I should be able to enroll you in their academy without much difficulty."

There was something in her voice that Zelda could sense. Pain. "You're not staying here with me."

Impa stopped walking and her shoulders sagged. "You'll be safe here. You won't need my protection as much, and Kakariko … Kakariko Village is still my responsibility."

When Ganondorf had murdered her father, declared himself the King of Evil, and reduced Castle Town to an open crypt, Kakariko had found itself flooded with refugees. Someone needed to watch over them while Zelda was hiding.

Logically it made sense, but still … when Zelda was a baby, civil war struck Hyrule when a faction of the Shadow Folk forswore their oaths and turned against the Royal Family. Impa lost everyone in that war, everyone but Zelda. And when Ganondorf rose to power, Zelda too lost everyone, everyone but Impa.

But the path that saved the most seldom cared for personal feelings. "I understand."

Impa nodded, grateful for her acceptance. "Be careful while you are here. Learn everything you can, especially how to use your … gift. But reveal it to no one except whom you are certain you can trust."

"He will not search for me here."

"Ganondorf is not the only one consumed by greed, Zelda, and you will find many within Konoha who would use divine wisdom for their own ends. Even before, you've been an excellent judge of character. Trust yourself before you trust anyone else."

Zelda nodded. That was what she always did, not that it ever did much good. She knew what Ganondorf was up to from the start, but only two people believed her until the ruler of the Gerudo stopped speaking flattering lies and subservient oaths and instead unleashed near omnipotence.

By then Zelda had already fled.

Impa dropped to her knees and stared at Zelda with her blood-red eyes. Zelda sometimes used eyes like hers, whenever she changed into her Sheikah form.

And then she hugged her. Impa had never been affectionate, she had been stern, rigid, stiff. Yes, Impa cared for her, but she expressed herself through the fulfillment of her duty. Until now. "I have served you your whole life, Princess. And should I die, I will serve you still."

Ah. That was it. They were saying goodbye. "We will meet again," Zelda whispered, tapping into the Triforce of Wisdom. "You may not recognize me, but I will recognize you."

A moment passed, and Impa stood again. Together they walked out of the forest into a village encompassed by a massive wall. Konoha. A place beyond the gaze of the King of Evil. A place where Zelda would be safe. A place that would be, for the next few years, her home.

WWW

A/n So I don't know if I dreamed this story or woke up this morning thinking about it, but it's been in my head since I got out of bed, so I decided to spend a few hours writing it. Out of all the Zelda incarnations that I've seen in games, the one in Ocarina of Time was my favorite, on account of her actually doing things.

I don't know what the Triforce of Wisdom can actually do, but I figure that it should be about equal to Ganondorf's ability to be nearly invincible and Link's ability to fit twenty hearts in his chest and save and load repeatedly.

Also, if you get the chance, check out Broken Fate by Zealswordsmen. It's also a Zelda in Konoha story, but that's where the similarity ends. There are plenty of spelling and grammar mistakes (English isn't his first language), but if you can work through that it's well written, well paced, and the characterization is spot on. No, really, Naruto isn't an overpowered angstfest (which I have seen so many times before), and Zelda's voice is exactly how I imagined it. And if enough people read that, he might write a second chapter.

By the way, the Lost Woods is a strange, strange place, and kudos to the writers who decided to start the game there. You can get to nearly anywhere on the map from there if you know which hole to crawl into (which you don't unless you've looked up a guide), and one of the theories is that you end up in Termina while traveling through the Lost Woods. And that's not even assuming that you're dead in that game. So I figured that if there was a way to get to Konoha from Hyrule, it would be through there.