Chapter Twenty

~Link's POV~

I get up, careful not to disturb Nicky, and run over to Sheik. But I slow when I see another person with him, a girl. They laugh and hug, Sheik's scarf lies on the ground. Who is this girl?

But when I get closer I know. I recognize her airy laugh ringing throughout Lake Hylia, and the way she makes Sheik laugh. I stop in my tracks. It couldn't be her... she's trapped in Hyrule Castle, she's Ganondorf's prisoner. But here she is, laughing happily in Sheik's arms. How is this possible?

And my suspicions are enforced when she and Sheik kiss. It is her!

After a few moments she glances in my direction, she has tears in her eyes. "Link!"

"Zelda?" I ask in surprise. The Princess of Hyrule is disguised as a Sheikahn girl, but I still see her in there. Once again I'm reminded of the couple being the same person...

Sheik turns around, his eyes are a little misty too. "Yeah. Can you believe it?"

I laugh and shake my head. "No, but I'm more than relieved to see you."

She walks over to me and hugs me tightly. "So am I. I'm surprised that I made it this far." She looks at both of us. "What are you two doing here? I came because there's a shortcut to the Sheikah's Village around here, Impa wanted me to go there."

Sheik looks at me. "It's a really, really long story."

She shrugs. "I've got nothing but time.

~Normal POV~

Once again, I wake up to voices. Why am I always the last one up? But this time, I realize that it's still night out, and the boys are a little ways away. But there's another voice, a girl, it's not Navi, although I can hear her voice as well. The girl's voice is light and graceful, and her laugh is similar.

I sit up and squint over to where they stand. Is that a Sheikah girl? The girl and Sheik hug, and she laughs as he picks her up and swirls her around.

Link sees me up. "Nicky! You'll never guess who Sheik found!"

I get up and run over to them. Link smiles at me and pulls me over. "It just made our future break in to the castle about ten times easier."

The girl turns to me and smiles, her blue eyes sparkling with happiness. She holds out her hand. "You must be Nicky, is it okay if I call you that?" I blink. She looks like Sheik in Super Smash Bros.

I shake her hand and smile back. "Yes. Sorry, I don't know your name."

She laughs. "I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Zelda."

I blink again. "Zelda? Princess Zelda?"

"Yes. I'm sorry for the disguise, but without it I wouldn't have lasted a day, or get out of the castle."

"How did you get out, Zel?" Sheik asks.

"Impa. She snuck me out of the castle through the underground escape tunnel underneath the throne, it runs to the Lost Woods. I disguised myself as a Sheikah, since Sheik taught me how to fight like one. Also," She smiles at Sheik. "It seemed fitting since I'm engaged to one."

I stare at the two of them. It's so weird seeing them together, as two separate people.

Zelda laughs. "It's kind of freaky that I chose this disguise because of mine and Sheik's... relationship in your world, Nicky."

"You know about that?" I ask in surprise.

She nods. "Yes, I know everything. This must be so strange for you, being a world that you thought wasn't real."

"I'm getting used to it." I laugh. "It's got to be even more strange for you to find out that you're actually your fiancé in another world."

She shrugs. "At first, but it's not too bad. I am engaged to him after all." She takes Sheik's hand. He looks beyond happy, being with Zelda again. They both look so happy, that I can't help but smile.

"Well, anyways," Zelda continues. "I hid out in the Lost Woods for a while, until some of Ganondorf's soldiers found me. They didn't recognize me though, I told them my name was Mira, and that I was passing through the woods on my way back to the Sheikah's Village. They asked me, quite hostilely mind you, if I'd seen the princess. I told them yes, she ran through the woods about three days earlier, and that she was disguised as a peasant, and they actually believed me. Then they let me go and went on searching for me. They have no brains at all, I swear. Then I started making my way to Kakariko Village, since it was the closest. I stayed there for about a day to get supplies, and then I set off for the Sheikah's Village, where Impa instructed me to go. She told me there's a shortcut through a cavern here in Lake Hylia, so I was heading there when I saw you guys. I didn't recognize you, since Link was asleep and Sheik has on different cloths than usual, so I got scared that you were sent by Ganondorf to search for me. I knew I couldn't get past you guys when Sheik heard me, so I decided to fight." She smiles smugly at Sheik. "You and Link taught me well enough that I was able to take you out with your own moves. But I really am sorry I hit you so many times, I wouldn't have done it if I'd known it was you."

Sheik smiles and shrugs. "It didn't hurt that bad." She smiles and hugs him tight.

"So, now that we're all together again, and it's getting close to dawn," Link says, staring at the Gerudo's Desert in the distance. "Everyone ready to meet another me?"