"Don't ask me, I'm just doing my job."
There was the sound of a closing door, footsteps on stone, a crackling fire, and strong winds. Lara couldn't make out one from the other, everything sounded like an echo.
She opened her eyes to find an older girl looked down at her. The girl had a cloak on and a hood over her head, so her face was hidden in shadow.
"Ahh, you're awake," the girl sighed. "I wasn't sure if you'd come around or not."
Lara began to ask something, but found her voice was gone.
"Don't worry, your voice will come back in a few minutes. And don't try to get up, you've been hit fairly hard on the head."
'Feels more like I've been hit by a truck,' Lara thought. 'I can't move my legs...Gosh, maybe I did get hit by a truck.'
"Would you like something to drink?"
Lara nodded and the girl walked over to the small table near a fireplace. Lara took a good look around the room.
A fireplace, big oak doors, a large window and she herself was lying on a bed. It all looked familiar to her, though she couldn't remember where she'd seen this place before.
"Here you go."
Lara sat up and took a small wooden cup from the girl. She wasn't sure if it was water or wine, but she didn't care. She drank it down in one gulp, then handed the cup back.
"Where am I?" Lara managed to ask.
"Hyrule Castle." the girl replied.
"Hyrule Castle?! Then you must be Princess Zelda."
"Indeed I am. But, I yet to know your name, or where you've come from. Must be far away judging from your clothing."
Lara looked at her clothes. She was wearing a midnight blue tunic, brown leggings, a leather belt and leather boots.
"I'm Lara."
"And where are you from?" Zelda asked.
"I'm a farm girl," Lara lied. "From Ordon."
"Now what should Zant want with a farm girl?"
"Zant?"
"King of the Twilight Realm."
"What can you tell me about him?"
"Well--Oh, the guard is coming!"
Zelda turned to face the door as it opened. Three Twilight Messangers entered the room. One of them carried a plate with food, while another carried a jug full of some liquid.
"Princess Zelda," the first hissed. "King Zant wishes to speak with you."
"Yes, of course." Zelda replied.
"We've been sent to escort you. Please."
Zelda followed the first Twilight Messanger out of the room. The other two set the plate and the jug on the table.
"This is for you," one of them said to Lara. "Eat up, you'll be needing your strength."
They left, closing the door behind them. Lara pulled herself to the edge of the bed and tried to stand up. Her legs felt stiff and her knees buckled a bit, but she was able to walk.
She walked to the table and looked at what had been brought for her. In the jug was grape wine. On the plate was a few slices bread and a small block of cheese.
'And they call this a meal?' Lara thought to herself. "Oh well, I could do with something to eat anyway."
She picked up the cheese and the bread and sat down on the bed again. She quickly ate the bread and was about to eat the cheese when she noticed an odd smell.
'Weird smell for cheese...' she thought. 'It's probably aged cheese, that's why it smells weird.'
Lara stuffed the cheese into her mouth and practically sallowed it whole. A few minutes passed, Zelda had yet to return. Lara stood up and at once her knees buckled under her.
She hit the floor, knocking the breathe out of her. Her legs felt numb and the numbness was quickly taking over her whole body.
'Oh snap! That smell must've been from some sort of paralyzing herb mixed in...with...'
She couldn't think straight, she felt light-headed and only half conscious. Her vision blurred, then there was nothing but darkness.
Hours passed before Lara woke up again. She felt considerably weaker, both physically and mentally. She opened her eyes to find she was on the bed again.
She pushed herself up and found Zelda was standing next to the window.
"Princess," Lara coughed. "What happened?"
"You're awake," Zelda sighed. "I'm not sure what happened. Zant sent for me and when I returned you were gone. The guards brought you back just moments ago."
"There was something in the food. Made me black out."
"I think you might find the answer from your left arm."
Lara was puzzled at first, but then she looked down at her arm. It was tightly wrapped in white cloth, almost like she'd been hurt. She removed the cloth and found her arm was greatly discolored, almost black.
She turned her arm over so her hand was palm up. There was a long horizontal cut that ran across her wrist, looked like it'd been sewed up with a leather cord.
"I thought as much," Zelda sighed. "You've been marked as Zant's property."
"I don't care what Zant says," Lara growled. "I'm not his, or anyone else's property."
"Unless you can escape, you won't have a chance. Most likely from that cut along your wrist, somesort of potion was put in. And if they continue to get that into you, you'll most likely be under Zant's control within weeks."
"That doesn't give me much time for finding a way to escape."
"Go search now, the guard won't be back for an hour or so. And take these."
Zelda placed a brown cloak and a wooden staff on the bed. Lara stood up and wrapped the cloak around herself. She slipped the hood over her head and picked up the staff.
Lara left the room and climbed down the stairs. She came to a long hallway that led to the Throne Room and the Armory.
She ran to the end of the hall and slipped into the Armory. Inside were different suits of armor, mostly steel and iron, but there were some chain mail shirts.
She took the thinest shirt of chain mail. She also found two brown hilted knives with leather sheathes and a pair of leather guantlets, she took it all with her.
Lara walked out of the Armory and was almost to staircase when she heard a door open farther down the corridor. She bolted up the stairs and entered the small bedroom.
"Lara?" Zelda asked. "What're you-?"
"Nevermind that now, where can I hide this stuff?"
"Under the bed, quickly!"
Lara stuffed the new equipment under the bed, along with the staff and cloak. She sat on top of the bed and laid down, pretending to have just woken up.
The door opened and a Twilight Messanger entered the room.
"Are you up yet?" it asked.
"Maybe. If you hadn't put something into my food," Lara growled.
"Well, you'll find your food is fine. So, eat it."
The Twilight Messanger set a plate on the table along with a small glass of grape wine. The creature left, closing the door behind it.
Lara stood up and walked over to the table. She picked up the plate of food and the glass of wine and poured both into the fireplace.
"I'm not going to eat this stuff," she growled. "If I have to starve, then I'll starve. I'm not letting Zant take control of me."
Day after day Lara searched the castle for any possible way out. Each time she came close to escaping, she'd get caught and escorted to the dungeon.
Though everytime they reached the dungeon, Lara would black out then wake up in the small chamber with Princess Zelda.
It was six days since Lara had found herself in Hyrule Castle. She was considerably weaker than she had been before, but there was nothing she could about it.
Lara stood at the window, looking down towards the courtyard of the castle. Something caught her eye. Two Twilight Messangers were dragging something into the castle dungeon.
She could hardly make out the shape, but she knew what the Twilight Messangers had found, a wolf.
'That must be Link,' she thought to herself.
"Princess Zelda," a strange voice said. "Might I be of some assistance?"
Lara turned to see an imp floating near the door. Lara knew this imp, her name was Midna.
"Oh, you're not Princess Zelda," Midna sighed. "Where is she?"
"Zant sent for her an hour ago," Lara replied. "Maybe I can help you?"
"Well...You don't look like you're from around here. Maybe you can do something for me."
"Name it."
"No...First you have to help me get that wolf out of the dungeon."
"I was going to do that anyway."
"You seem to be quite weak. I can give you the strength to fight, but you'll have to use your own after that. Do you have anything to fight with?"
Lara walked over to the bed and pulled out the equipment she'd placed there days ago. She latched the knives onto her belt, slipped a guantlet onto her left arm and put the other into the bag on her belt.
She wrapped the cloak around herself, pulled the hood over her head and held the staff in her right hand.
"This is fine, right?" she asked.
"Yeah," Midna replied. "Come on, we can get out the long way."
It took them an hour to reach the dungeon. Midna took form as Lara's shadow to avoid suspicion. Lara appoarched the hallway to the back prison cells, where the wolf was being kept.
A guard stood at the hallway, blocking the path forward.
"Please guard," Lara said. "Please let me see the wolf."
"Sorry Princess," the guard replied. "No one allowed to see 'im, 'specially you."
"But why? I AM your leader, aren't I?"
"No, my leader is the Twilight King, not the Twilight Princess."
"Very well...and just to make it clear, I am not the Princess of Twilight."
"Shall I escort you to your room?"
"If you feel the need, but I can get there myself."
"Hey!" A voice yelled from down hallway. "Let me out!"
"Seems the wolf is awake," the guard said. He turned to looked down the hall.
"Please, I'm already here, won't you let me see him?" Lara pulled out one of her knives and raised it up, ready to strike.
"Not withou-Ahh!"
Lara stabbed the guard's back with the knife. She pulled out the knife and the guard's body crumbled to dust. She put the knife away and ran up the hall to the back room.