Zelda launched herself through the hedge grow and was running from the moment her small foot hit the ground again. She ignored the scratches the briar thorns left on her skin and the rips then tore on her dress and continued to pelt forward. She plowed into another bush and skidded to a stop on the other side, miraculously staying on her feet despite the abrupt halt. She heaved for breath for a moment as the person she had come to find turned around. He gave her a confused look as he glanced over her tattered form.

"Ganon," she gasped, her eyes wide and frightened, "you have to run right now!"

"Zelda? What?"

"They're coming for you, Gan. They're going to kill you." She trembled as she recalled the inspiration for her flight here. She had taken a detour on her way to her lessons on a whim, choosing to walk past the informal parlor instead of her usual route. She had heard Ganon's name spat angrily and paused, wondering who was upset with her friend. Then she heard her father's voice as he called for the Gerudo's head.

"What? Why?"

"I don't know!" Her voice keened into a whine, taut with desperation. "I didn't stay to ask. I had to warn you. The soldiers are in the way here right now. We have to get out of Hyrule immediately." He gave the teen a grin look as he processed her claims, then extended a hand to her.

"Let's go."

They ran together for the stables—they had little chance of successful escape in foot. Just outside the doors stood two guards. They were nameless and practically faceless, people whom they otherwise would have forgotten within moments. But today the soldiers raided their swords at Ganon. He released Zelda's hand to draw his rapier. Zelda flinched and cried out softly at the sound of clashing metal. It rang loud in her ears as a flash of a dream flitted through her mind's eye: Ganon, coated in sweat and ash and blood, trading blows with a Hylian man against a backdrop of decimation. The Princess hid her face from the small battle before her in reality, shielding herself from glimpses of the future her dreams had warned of.

A warm hand on her shoulder jolted Zelda from her terror. Ganon smiled down at her fondly. His blade was sheathed. Zelda avoided glancing at the fallen men as they darted into the building.

They both mounted Ganon's massive black stallion. The horse had always made the Princess uneasy, but she had set her own mare loose in Hyrule Field as a girl. Ganon nudged the horse straight into a full canter. They emerged into the fields within minutes. Zelda was forced to squeeze her eyes shut again to vanish the mirage of an over large arrow protruding from Ganon's spine.

Images from her dreams haunted her throughout the days they journeyed. At night, the visions themselves worsened and became more corporeal as she and Ganon drew closer to the desert. There was blood, war, fire, terrible destruction. Amid the grim images were glimpses of the desert, and it was there the two of them pressed toward. It was in that place Ganon would be safe. It took them three days to reach the border.

"Zelda, you have to stay here in Hyrule."

She looked up at him sadly, but nodded. "I know." She bowed her head. "I will."

"Your soldiers are close behind us. They should find you before dusk today."

"I can have them take me home. They won't follow you then."

He nodded at her and then went still. Both were motionless for a moment. Without any sign before it, Ganon leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her in a ferocious hug. Zelda pressed herself against his warmth with hot tears leaking from her eyes.

"I'll miss you more than anything," she sniffled. He broke their embrace to bring his hands to her shoulders, pressing her away from him just enough to gently kiss her forehead. A twinge licked down her spine and stomach at the touch of his lips to her skin, an unfamiliar reaction. Her breath caught, but Ganon didn't seem to notice.

"I will miss you too, Zelda."

He gave her upper arms a gentle squeeze before stepping away. Neither of them said anything more. Ganon took the reins of his stallion and mounted, then kicked into motion. Zelda watched her best friend–and the man who perhaps would have been her lover one day–vanish into the sanctuary of the desert. She stood there until the cloud of dust behind him faded to naught. Only then did she put all the pieces together the way she had been intended to.

Her heart was no longer heavy. It was cold. For the desert was not what would save Ganon from the violent hell Zelda saw within her dreams. It was what started it. Zelda had just fed him to fate.