MangaMaid's Notes: Hey everyone. This took an annoyingly long time because I knew where I wanted to go, but I was having a hard time getting there. Plus I went to Texas and had a lot of other junk happen in my life... So yeah... Thank you for all your reviews! They made me very happy!! And now I give you, Chapter 1!!

Zelda felt her sweat stain her dull, dingy, and torn rags of clothes she wore as she sat with the other women that had been captured in the prison camp. They were just finishing cleaning up the floor in one of the many houses in Castle Town that had been given to a Gerudo. It was hard work and they had to make sure it was spotless. If it wasn't, they would all get a beating.

Zelda watched as their Gerudo guards circled the women, watching. She knew what they were waiting for. They were waiting for one of the women to slip up. Then, they could whip or beat the poor young woman who had made one little mistake and show to the other prisoners what would happen to anyone who dared to do the same thing.

She felt sweat pour down her face. She didn't dare stop her work, knowing that if she did, she'd be beaten for it. She continued wiping her rag in the same circular motion as she felt her hands, dry, red, and cracked from the harsh soaps and waxes they used on the floor, aching. She ignored the pain and continued on her work.

She watched as some of the women working with her tried not to let their tears fall. She bit her lip and ignored it. She had to get to work or else suffer the punishment.

Suddenly, one of the other prisoners, another Hylian girl, a dirty blonde, and a little younger than Zelda, burst into sobs. Tears fell from the girl's eyes and she couldn't stop sobbing. She tried to mop up her tears, but they were falling too fast.

Then, the Gerudo guards came out of nowhere. They stared harshly at the woman. One spoke in a simpering tone. "What's the matter, miss? Are you sad because the work is almost done?"

The girl said nothing, knowing that answering a question like that would get her in trouble. The Gerudos, annoyed now, gave her a kick in the side. She fell on the floor. The girl just picked herself up and began to work again, tears now silently falling.

Zelda looked over at the girl. The girl looked up at her, her green eyes, now red from crying met Zelda's violet ones. Zelda tried to give her a weak smile, but the girl, tears still running down her face, turned away.

Zelda turned back to her work. She scrubbed diligently at the floor, though her hands screamed at her to stop. She kept glancing at the girl, but she was focusing on the floor. Zelda felt bad, but she knew better than to go and talk to the girl.

Finally, the sound of the wheels of the caravan that would take the women back to the prison camp reached Zelda's pointed ears. She shuddered as she heard the creaking coming to a halt. Then, the Gerudos began ordering everyone to put away their cleaning supplies and to get outside.

When she was outside, Zelda sighed as she saw the caravan that carried all the women prisoners was waiting for them. Two Gerudo women waited on each side of the caravan, shoving the women prisoners into the caravan. They weren't too nice about it either. They forcibly shoved each woman into the small caravan, packing them in tightly. Once it was full, there was barely any room to breathe.

Zelda sat next to a girl who she had made friends with over the past years in prison camp. The girl had long red hair and held a red flower in her hair. She looked sadly out the small window as they rode onto the prison camp. Zelda knew the girl's name to be Marin. Marin had once told Zelda her past and Zelda felt badly for her.

Marin and her father, Tarin, had lived near the sea. It was just her and her father, since her mother had passed away when she was little. Tarin's twin brother, Talon, and his three daughters, Cremia, Malon, and Romani, lived on a ranch. Marin used to visit them often, but when Ganondorf had taken over, he swept the country capturing whomever he wanted. Marin had been taken away from her father and she knew not what had happened to any of her family.

"Hello Marin," Zelda said, quietly.

"Hello Zelda," Marin replied. "How was your day?"

"Same as ever. And yours?"

"The same." Marin looked up and stared at the sky. "I wish I was a bird. I always have since I was little, but it's stronger now than before."

"You wished you were a bird?" Zelda asked.

"Uh-huh," Marin replied looking out the small window. "Seagulls can fly around and they sing to everyone around the world. I always have wanted to travel and sing. Not this way, mind you, but still… I want to give everyone happiness."

"That's a wonderful thing to give, Marin," Zelda said, looking at her.

"I know, but I can't trapped here," Marin said. She looked at Zelda, "I want to be a bird now so I can escape and sing for everybody in this dark time…" She became quiet, then turned to Zelda and asked, "Zelda? If you could escape right now, where would you go?"

Zelda sighed and looked at the floor, pondering the answer. Where would she go? Well, she had never heard of what happened to her best friend, Link, or his younger sister, Aryll, ever since Impa and Sheik had informed her she was a princess and had to go back to Hyrule Castle. She missed them dearly.

She remembered how Link would run around with her, chasing the Cuccoos and playing in the small stream in Ordon, while Aryll climbed up to the highest point she could and looked around with her telescope. She remembered how, when Link and Sheik got into the fights that all boys do, Impa would come out and pull the boys apart by the ear.

She smiled sadly, knowing that Ordon had been raided once already. Rusl, a man from Ordon who had helped Link and Aryll since they were orphaned at a young age, was now in the prison camp she resided in. He had told her that after she had left, lots of things had happened. Jaggle and Pergie had had another son, Malo, two months after Zelda had left, Colin, Beth, and Talo were growing, but sadly, Link and Aryll had kept more to themselves. And recently, his wife was expecting another child. Then, the village was raided and most of the men were captured and separated to different prison camps. As for the women and children, he didn't know.

"Zelda?" Marin's voice finally reached her, drawing her out of her thoughts. "Did you want to answer my question?"

"Oh…" Zelda said. She was quiet, and then lied, "I don't know…"

"You don't know?" Marin asked. She smiled sadly, "That's too bad. I'm sorry." She turned away, looking sad.

Zelda bit back bile. She hated lying. But, with Marin's selfless wish, wanting to go back to Ordon didn't feel like the best thing to say. The rest of the ride was silent.

When they reached the camp, Zelda walked out, let the chains be placed on her wrists and ankles, and went off to wander. The prison camp was quite boring. There was nothing to do but sit around and chat with other prison members and listen to stories.

Rusl was the best story-teller in the camp, but he and the other men were working out in fields somewhere right now. So she wandered around aimlessly, waiting for something, anything to happen so she could entertain herself for the extended time she would inevitably spend there.

She saw another friend of hers, Anju. Anju was married to a man in the camp, Kafei, and she was expecting a baby soon. The Gerudo, being a race of all women, except for the male that was born every hundred years, had felt it unfair to force a woman to work when she was expecting, so Anju was to stay in the camp all by herself all day long every day.

"Anju!" Zelda called to her friend, waving her arms.

Anju turned, her short red hair gently bouncing. She smiled and waved. "Hello Zelda," she said. "How was work?"

"It was good, I guess… They beat another girl today," Zelda said.

"That's awful!" Anju said. "What was it for this time?"

"She started crying," Zelda answered. "I felt so… so… helpless…" She looked at her feet, both cuffed in chains.

"Zelda…" Anju said, "You know what would've happened if you had done something, and being who you are, it's best to lay low in here." Anju looked to see Zelda shaking. "Zelda?"

"I hate this!!!" Zelda screamed. Tears were leaking down her face. "This isn't how Hyrule is supposed to be!! We were supposed to be at peace! I wish that I could something!! But I can't, can I?! No! Because I'm some stupid princess of a country that has now fallen to ruin and I'm supposedly their only hope!! How can I be their hope if I'm here?! How can I help my people, Anju? How? There's no hope! We have nothing… Nothing! What can we do?! What can I do?!" She looked at her feet, tears streaming down her light cheeks.

Anju didn't answer. Instead, she tilted Zelda's face up to look at hers. She looked at Zelda, straight in the eyes and spoke one word. "Hope."

"What?" Zelda asked.

"That's all we can do, Zelda. All we can do here in the prison camps right now is hope," Anju said.

"But why? I know it would be pure madness to fight, but hope? All we can do is hope? There isn't anything else? Just hope?" Zelda asked.

"That would be a better question for Rusl," Anju said, wandering off to the cooking tent. "You should ask him when he gets back. I have to go prepare meals for when the men get back. I'll see you later."

Zelda stared after her friend. What did she mean? She walked away, confused as to why she had to ask Rusl. But, she would wait and ask him.

She walked to her tent and through the flapping cloth door. The tent was a thin piece of cloth that was only supposed to protect them from the extremes. There were no beds, just scraps of cloth barely held together by sewing that served as blankets. Her tent-mates were gone, probably doing something else. She smiled as she laid herself down on her piece of hard ground.

She thought back to life in Ordon. It seemed so peaceful, back then. Wrapped up in a little world of peace and tranquility, where war hadn't ever been spoken of. She thought back to one day where she wanted to play with Link.

8-year-old Zelda ran up a small dirt path from Ordon village, her shoulder-length blonde hair bouncing, to a house built on top of a cliff. It held a wooden ladder with a porch, a door, and a window higher up on the top of the house. Hanging above the doorway was a small little flag bearing the symbol of the Triforce.

"Link!!! Aryll!!!" she yelled up. "Are you up there?"

9-year-old Link poked his head out the window. His blonde hair was messy and everywhere. He was rubbing the sleep from his blue eyes. "Zelda?" he asked. "Is that you?"

"Of course it's me, you dum-dum!!" Zelda yelled up at him, annoyed.

"I'm not a dum-dum!!" Link yelled down. "What do you want anyway, Zel?"

"I wanted to know if you and Aryll were able to come and play or not?"

"Well, I can't. I have to go see Rusl. He said something about training me or something like that. Well, whatever, he said it's important. But I think Sis wouldn't mind hanging out with you." He looked around. "Hey, where's your shadow?"

"Sheik? Oh, Impa said something about training him to be a proper Sheikah man or something like that."

Link rolled his eyes and said, "He needs it. Hold on, I'm coming down."

Link disappeared from the window and in a few minutes he jumped from his porch, all dressed and ready to go, right in front of Zelda. Zelda took a step backward. She then noticed someone missing.

"Hey… Where's Aryll?" Zelda asked.

"Oh wait… I think she's at Sera's Sundries. She's been hanging there a lot for some reason," Link said, thinking about his little sister. "She said something about buying dinner."

"Oh…" Zelda's face fell. "Well, I guess she's busy, and you're busy, and Sheik's busy… So, maybe I'll go help Uli… I mean her dad just passed away, so now she's all alone and I guess she needs some help. So…" She began walk away, dejected.

Suddenly, Link grabbed her hand. "Hey," he said, "I still have some time before I have to go see Rusl. I could play with you until then, I think…."

"Really? Thanks Link! You're the best friend a person could have!" She threw her arms around his neck in a hug.

Link said, "Aw, I'm not that great…"

"Yes, you are Link!" Zelda said, indignant. "You are!"

Link smiled slightly and shook his head. "So, what shall we do?"

"Um… Well, we went swimming yesterday, we climbed trees the day before that, uhm… you wrestled goats day before that… and… we rode Epona the day before that!"

"Hey! We could go to the spring! You know, have a water fight… I don't think Ordona would mind…"

"LINK!!" a new voice yelled.

Link and Zelda turned to see Ilia behind them, glaring at the both of them. Her green eyes were filled with flames and her hands were on her hips, giving her the appearance of an adult who had caught children doing something naughty, though she was only a little older than Zelda herself.

"Ilia! What are you doing here?!" Link said annoyed. Link and Ilia didn't get along very well since the day Rusl had come from Hyrule Festival bringing a little filly for Link, saying her name was Epona. Ever since then, whenever Epona was injured, Ilia would yell at Link, and of course, he hated being told off by a girl younger than him.

"I was going to Ordona Springs! But then I heard you say that you were gonna go splash in it!! You know what my dad said about that! We're not supposed to! If… If you try to go do that, I'll lock you out of the spring!" She ran ahead of them on the path to the spring.

Link sighed. "Come on, Zel… Let's go see if we can get there before Ilia." He ran off after Ilia, Zelda followed right behind him.

By the time they got there, Ilia had locked the gate. She said, "There! Now you can't get in!"

"Oh, I'll get in!!" Link said, determined. "Just you wait!! Come on, Zelda."

Link led her to a small tunnel off to the side of the main path that ran through Ordon Woods that, apparently, went to the spring. When they crawled out, Link snuck up on Ilia. Then, he spooked her.

"Boo!" he said.

Ilia screamed. She quickly unlocked the gate and ran back to the village, crying about a ghost.

Link and Zelda looked at each other and laughed. Finally both sat on the shore.

"Who'd thought Ilia'd be afraid of ghosts?" Link said, looking at Zelda.

"I know!" Zelda said, smiling and hugging her knees. "I never thought that Ilia would think there are ghosts here. Sure, you hear about the ghosts in the Faron and Kokiri Woods, but not in the Ordona Province."

"LINK!!!!! ZELDA!!!" Rusl's voice called. Rusl came into the spring and said, "There you both are. Link, it's time for your training. Zelda, Impa's been looking for you. She's worried sick. I suggest you go back."

"Aw…" Link said. "Well, I guess I'll see you Zelda."

"Yeah… See you, Link…" Zelda waved running back home.

Zelda smiled a bit as she remembered the fond memory. Then, a sadder one nudged its way into her mind.

Zelda was washing laundry with Aryll, and the other village women, Pergie, Sera, and Uli by the flat bridge near Mayor Bo's house that allowed people to avoid stepping into the little brook that ran into a small lake nearby. Pergie, Sera, and Uli had all brought their children: Talo, Beth, and Colin.

Talo was Pergie and her husband, Jaggle's 5-year-old son. He had brown hair and bright green eyes. He was very rambunctious and idolized Link since Link was very good with a sword. Recently, he had found out he would have a brother or sister soon and he was very excited about it.

Beth was Sera and her husband Hanch's 4-year-old daughter. She had light brown hair and big blue eyes. She was quite intelligent for her age and she hung around Aryll and Zelda a lot. At the moment, she was chatting to Zelda and Aryll.

Colin was Rusl and Uli's little 4-year-old boy. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. He was very timid and quiet, but he was very attached to Link, seeing him and Aryll as older siblings. He looked up to Link for a role model.

Pergie, Sera, and Uli were chatting, which meant Sera was spreading the gossip of the small village around, with Talo helping his mother with her work. Aryll, Zelda, and Beth were chatting, while Colin was helping Aryll, by handing her laundry to wash.

Colin turned to see Link walking up to the little group. "Link!!" he exclaimed, running up to his hero. Talo and Beth quickly followed, running up to him as well.

The women turned to see Link, surrounded by the children.

"Hello," Link said, kneeling down to look at all the little ones surrounding him. "Can I talk to Zelda?"

Aryll pushed her with a 'Go on!' and Zelda walked up to Link. Zelda looked up at the older boy and blushed. "Hello, Link…"

"Hey, Zel," he said, grinning. Her heart fluttered. "I have something to ask you," he said. "But first could we talk in private?"

Zelda nodded and followed Link. He led her back to Ordona Spring, where they as much younger children had played often. They sat on the bank, looking at the water.

"So Link," Zelda said, looking at him. He was still facing the water.

"Yeah?"

"What did you want to ask me?"

"Well, I… uh…" He blushed, looking away.

"LIIIIIIIIIINK!!!" Fado's voice called. He came running. "There you are! I need your help."

"Fado!" Link said, turning to face him, surprised. "Um… Can it wait?"

"No! Listen, the goats are going crazy again!! I need you to calm them down!! They won't listen to me!" Fado was frantic.

Link sighed and said, "I guess I'll ask you later Zel. Will you wait for me to come back?" He looked at her, curious.

"Of course, Link," Zelda said. She smiled, "I'll be Ordon waiting."

"Really?" he said, unsure.

She chuckled at his insecurity, knowing that he always worried about her and Aryll. "Always," she answered, smiling at him.

Link grinned her favorite happy, carefree grin. Then, he followed Fado to go round up the goats.

After he left, Zelda pushed herself up and walked back to Ordon. She began thinking. What could Link want to ask her?

Aryll ran up to her. Aryll was Link's sister, only a year younger then Zelda. She was blonde, like Link, with her long hair in two waist length pigtails. She also shared his big blue eyes and his adventurous nature. "So…" Aryll said. "What did my brother talk to you about?"

"Nothing yet…" Zelda said. She then smiled at Aryll. "Though, wouldn't you already know?"

"Maaaaaaaaaaybe!" Aryll said, grinning. It was apparent she did know what Link was going to ask Zelda.

"Care to tell me?" Zelda asked her close friend.

"Nope!" Aryll said, cheerily. "It's Link's business to disclose. Not mine. You'll just have to wait!"

Zelda sighed. She knew Aryll wouldn't say anything. She frowned.

"Aw, cheer up Zelda!" Aryll said, looking at her best friend's face. "Link'll be back in no time! You'll see!" She then turned, only to spin around. "Oh, your laundry's done too. So, you have the rest of the day off. I have to go get some milk for dinner, so I'll see you later Zelda!!" She darted away, grinning while her pigtails bounced.

Zelda sighed again and walked off to find something to do. She finally settled at sitting by the river. Little did she know her mistake.

A horse, carrying two cloaked figures, darted into the town. Suddenly, one of the figures darted off the horse, seeing Zelda, grabbed her, and threw her on the horse.

"What are you doing?" she yelled. "Put me down! Put me down!!"

The horse spun around and began to run away from the village. Zelda looked for someone to help her. She saw no one. Usually Zelda would call out for Sheik or Impa to help her, but the name she screamed for wasn't either of them.

"LINK!!!!!" she screamed. "LINK!!!!!"A hand covered her mouth. She bit down hard and screamed again. "LINK!!!!!!!!!"

She kept screaming until she knew she was too far away. She felt tears well up in her eyes. Then, she began to sob.

Zelda felt tears well up in her eyes again from the memory. She quickly wiped them away.

"Zelda!" a voice called. Zelda was shaken from her thoughts and sat up. She walked out of her tent and looked around to see who it was that had called her. She smiled to see Rusl, walking up towards her waving a hand.

"Rusl!" Zelda called, waving at him. Then she saw the blonde-haired red-eyed Sheikah who had been with her since she was a baby, walking beside him. "Sheik!" she called. "You guys are back!"

Sheik nodded at Zelda. His mouth slightly turned into a half-smile. "Princess Zelda," he said, bowing as he greeted her. She smiled at him. Then, he excused himself to guard her and Rusl's conversation.

After Sheik left, Rusl spoke. "Anju said that you needed to see me. May I ask why?"

Zelda looked at Rusl, and then looked down at her feet. She said, sheepishly, "I feel I can do nothing for my people… Anju told me to hope, but I don't see how that can help… She told me to ask you…" She turned to look pleadingly at Rusl. "Rusl," she said, her voice full of sadness, "I don't understand… How can hoping help anyone?"

Rusl chuckled and said, "You know, I remember when Link asked me the same question a couple of years ago."

"He did?" Zelda asked, surprised.

"Yes… And I told him this. Hope is what keeps Ganondorf from ruling the whole of Hyrule. Right now, it is a spark in the hearts of only a few of us. But, soon, that spark will be a fire. A glorious magnificent fire that will light up this path we're on and bring down the King of Darkness."

Zelda nodded. "But, we don't have the Triforce of Courage! You know as well as I that we need two Triforce bearers to bring down another. How can I do this? I don't really think that hope will help Rusl… I can't see it working. The path we're on… It's as dark as Ganondorf's heart and I can't see… I don't think I can hope anymore."

"Zelda…" Rusl said, chiding her. "You know something? We will win. Yes, we may not see the path down to the end of this nightmare, but we should- no, we must- hope. If you cannot hope for yourself, hope for the people. The people know something is wrong. They will stop it. If they can't, then their little ones will. They will fight the Darkness. You know this. But they cannot do it without you. They believe in you. They will fight for you, if you believe in them. If you do not believe in them, they cannot believe in you."

Zelda thought about it. Then, she nodded. "Ok, Rusl. I'll try to hope."

"Atta girl, Zelda," Rusl said, clapping her on the shoulder. "I know you can. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go speak to some others in the camp about some important matters."

Zelda nodded. She watched Rusl walk away. She sighed and shook her head, knowing that it would be useless to ask Rusl what he was going to talk about. He never did discuss it with her saying it was "better if she didn't know".

She wandered off, her mind still filled with thoughts of her best friends and her old home. She sighed. What she would give to go home…

Loneliness ate at her insides. Then, she thought of how Link would tell her to cheer up and not to worry. She smiled to herself. Link always knew how to make her feel better. She missed him so much.

She walked around the perimeter of the camp, seeing the giant fence that trapped her and her people inside this horrible place. She looked up at the massive structure that was about 11 feet high.

It was a wire fence made of barbed wire that threatened to tear and destroy the skin of anyone who dared climb it. On the top was a red electric current that flowed around the top. It had been placed there by the Twinrova themselves. The current was to violently shock any magic users who dared try and climb the fence since they could climb the barbed wire without any damage.

Zelda shuddered as she remembered a cocky magic user who had decided he would climb the fence. His body had convulsed for several minutes, twitching and shaking uncontrollably until the current stopped. Then, he had dropped like a ragdoll to the ground. She remembered how deathly white and still he had been. Fortunately, he had lived, but everyone had learned the lesson: Never climb the fence.

Zelda walked away from the giant reminder that she could never leave this place. She decided to look for Marin and see if Marin would tell her a story about her life near the sea. As she passed one of the clearings in the groups of tents that were used for fires, she heard Rusl speaking.

"Men, I am telling you! If you truly love Hyrule then you will help her!" he spoke passionately. Zelda wondered who he was talking about. She leaned closer, listening in.

"And why should we?" A harsher voice asked. "I've got a wife and kids waitin' for me when I get home and I'd rather be home than be killed."

Zelda heard Sheik's quiet, but deadly voice say, "So, you'd rather live under Ganondorf's rule?" Murmuring broke out as Sheik finished his question.

"N-N-No!" the voice said. "But I don't want to leave my wife and kids all alone."

"I understand," Rusl said, gently. "I have an expecting wife and a young son at home too. But we cannot allow Ganondorf's reign to keep going on!"

"But what can we do?" a younger voice asked.

Rusl sighed. "Men, I know you all know about Darkness, but let me tell you a story I've told the children of my village for many years." He began, "Darkness. Such a fickle and small thing and yet it strikes fear into the souls of many. Some of these souls are considered pansies, weak, but in all truth, they are the wise. Only they know what danger approaches as the sun falls and the moon arises from its slumber; the darkness that sleeps, waiting to strike, in the deepest, darkest corners of evil souls.

"Darkness. It seems so harmless; it is not alive on its own but lives within others as hate, anger, sorrow, anguish, envy and pride. The wise know to fear what they cannot touch, smell or hear. Only they know the horrific power of that darkness, the darkness in a truly evil soul.

"Darkness is everywhere and will consume everything dear to us unless we fight back. Keep the fire of light burning within you; the fire of hope. The forces of light and dark fight in a never ending battle. The moon and the sun have come to an agreement, up in the universe, of time when the other reigns supreme: day and night.

"However, the battle rages on below them, on the battlefield, and within us as well. Those who have already lost to the darkness are numb; their souls are gone, vanished with the light that once resided in the dark hole that now serves as their heart. If we lose to the darkness we will lose everything; we will become numb, a mere shadow of what we once were. So fight. Do not give up the light within you."

He then stopped. Everyone was quiet. Then Rusl spoke, "So fight! Fight for our beloved country, Hyrule. Fight for your loved ones…" He fell quiet, then spoke softly, "…and the ones who have already lost."

Everyone was silent. Zelda could feel the tension in the air. Then, a voice Zelda recognized, Kafei, Anju's husband, spoke, "I may not like violence and I have done everything I can to avoid it, but… if I must fight, I will fight with honor! And if I die, then, I will die serving my country. Rusl, Sheik, I will help you in this task. I feel as if I could never be a true citizen if I didn't."

"Thank you Kafei," Rusl said, his voice grateful.

Then, many other voices began agreeing. Soon, Zelda was sure all the men had agreed to the task. She furrowed her brow. What task had Rusl asked of them, she wondered. She quietly slipped away, knowing that the men would not be leased to catch her eavesdropping on their conversation.

She walked around again, wondering about what Rusl had asked the men to do or who they were talking about. She noticed that she was passing the small clearing that was designed as the kitchen area. Anju was there, stirring a pot of stew for the men of the camp.

"Zelda!!" Anju called, smiling and motioning for her to come over. Zelda walked over and Anju pointed at a chair. "Take a seat. I need some company."

Zelda took the seat, still thinking about what Rusl had said. She remembered how as a child, she had sat with Link, Aryll, Fado, Ilia, and Sheik listening to the story of Darkness he had told the men. She wondered once more if Ordon was alright.

"All right," Anju said, looking up to see Zelda staring sadly into her lap. "What's wrong?"

"Hmm?" Zelda asked, looking up again.

"You've got that faraway look on your face? Where did you go this time?" Anju asked, going back to the pot.

"Oh… I was just thinking about my home," Zelda said.

"Castle Town?" Anju asked.

"No… I didn't grow up there…" Zelda said. "In fact, I didn't even know I was a princess until a few years ago."

"Really?" Anju said, stunned. Then she asked, "Well then, where did you grow up?"

"I grew up in a small town in Ordona Province. It's called Ordon," Zelda explained.

"You grew up in Ordon? Isn't that where Rusl is from?" Anju asked.

"Yes…" Zelda said.

"That must be nice," Anju said. "He was only captured recently, so I imagine you got information about home."

"Yes, but I worry about it," Zelda said, going back to thinking about Ordon.

Anju patted her back. Instantly, pain shot through her whole body. She cringed away. Anju stopped.

"I'm sorry. Are you injured?" Anju asked.

"It's nothing…" Zelda said through gritted teeth. Anju couldn't see her back. She would not allow it.

Suddenly, Sheik appeared out of nowhere. "Anju," he said, quietly, "May I borrow Zelda for a moment?"

"Of course…" Anju said. She smiled and nodded at Zelda. Zelda got up and walked with Sheik. When they were a little ways off, Sheik stopped.

"Sheik," Zelda asked, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Princess Zelda," Sheik said quietly. "This is a matter of great importance. You mustn't tell anyone."

"Ok…" she said, confused. "What is it?"

Sheik took a breath and said, "We are escaping."

"What? How? When?" Zelda asked, shocked.

"Tonight."

Ending Comments: Review please. Makes me happy. Plus, it gets you a chapter faster, since I actually have Chapter 2 almost done. ^^