Keeping her back pressed against the stone she carefully moved along the low wall towards the lowered draw bridge. Bow prepped, an arrow nocked and ready to go, Zelda carefully lifted herself up until she was able to look over the low wall. Two guards stood by the gatehouse and hopefully there weren't any within said gatehouse. One had his back to her, facing his comrade as they passed the time telling each other stories of their antics from the previous night. The other one who was facing in her direction was paying more attention to his friend then to his guard duties. His gaze would occasionally flicker beyond the other guard but the times he did this were seldom, which had made it easy for Zelda to approach them. Impa and Nabooru were hiding further back having decided that it would be easiest to take out sentries with Zelda's Ice arrows.

Two guards at once though might prove problematic. Chanting softly she lifted the bow, the tip of her arrow flaring a bright blue as she took aim at the guard facing her. Releasing the bowstring the arrow soared to its target, glancing harmlessly off the guard's pauldron. If her goal had been to kill that would have been a problem but all she needed was for the arrow to make contact, the ice handled the rest. The remaining guard turned the minute his friend was encased in ice but already Zelda had another arrow lined up. This one however went a little off course. Instead of glancing off the guard's armor the arrow impaled him in the shoulder. His cry cut short as the ice surrounded him.

Her part done, she turned to Navi and with a nod the little fairy flew through the gate to scout ahead. The ice would only last so long but that had been the point. It gave Nabooru and Impa a chance to take out the guards and hide them without alerting anyone of their presence. As Impa dragged the guards off Nabooru and Zelda approached the guard house.

Flanking the door Nabooru held her scimitar angled down by her side, exchanging a silent glance with Zelda she carefully turned the door knob and pushed the door open. The door swung open silently, stepping forward she pulled back the bowstring. One guard occupied the small room, seeing the two women step inside he snapped to attention. Gripping the long spear in both hands the guard ducked just as Zelda released her arrow. Successfully dodging the arrow the guard brought the blunt end of the spear up, catching Nabooru in the stomach. As she doubled over the guard quickly flicked the spear up, bringing it back down to force Nabooru to her knees.

Flipping his grip on the wooden staff he turned the spear around to bring the more deadly end forward. Instinctively she knew there would be no time to ready another arrow. Instead Zelda darted forward with the curved wooden end of her bow thrust out to catch the spear. At the last moment she was able to throw the guard's aim off, sparing Nabooru and giving the Gerudo the necessary time she needed to regain her breath. Rolling to the side Nabooru came up behind Zelda just as the guard brought the spear around again; catching the Princess in the shoulder she was thrown off balance. Staggering forward she barely had enough time to bring the bow up to block the guard's returning swing. Unfazed he drew back, changing the angle to sweep at her feet.

She grunted in surprise as she fell back, her head smacking into the stone floor. Seeing stars she struggled to focus, her movements sluggish as she tried to block the blunt tip of the guard's spear. At the last minute Nabooru tackled the guard, the two of them rolling across the floor before coming to an abrupt halt when they collided with the wall. In the tussle Nabooru had managed to get the upper hand so when they hit the wall it was the guard that took the brunt of the hit. The man slumped over, unconscious from his head hitting the wall.

Groaning Zelda rubbed the back of her head as she sat up, her bow clattering to the ground at her side. Looking around she took in the numerous jars that littered the floor. A few were broken having been in the way of the guard's spear, it was miracle that neither of them had tripped over the jars during the scuffle.

"Are you alright?"

She looked up at Nabooru who'd knelt down by her side. "I think so, just a little sore."

With a nod Nabooru straighten and crossed back over to the unconscious guard. "What should we do with him?"

"Nothing, we'll follow our plan. Hopefully Navi will return shortly."

Leaving Nabooru to watch over the unconscious guard she went in search of Impa. Now that they had a moment to think it was odd that the Sheikah hadn't returned to help them. Poking her head out the door she looked around, trying to spot the elusive Sage. Not wanting to risk calling out and alerting anyone who might be nearby she darted across the cobble stone road that lead into castle town to the last spot where she'd seen Impa.

Stepping into the cool shadows of the alley between the curtain wall and the houses lining the outskirts of town she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim light. She spotted the unconscious guards immediately. Impa had left them propped up against the stone wall that surrounded the town but the Sheikah was nowhere to be seen. Kneeling beside the guards Zelda stuck a tentative hand out to check that the guards were not going to regain consciousness anytime soon. It worried her that there was still no sign of Impa. Checking the ground for any sign of a scuffle she half wished that the alley had been of dirt and not stone. There was a light layer of dust gathered at the edges of the alley but otherwise there was no sign that someone had even passed through here let alone stopped to ditch a couple of guards.

"What are you doing?" Nabooru whispered, coming up beside the Princess. "I thought we were going to wait at the guard house for Navi."

"We are..." Zelda answered absently, still gazing down the length of the alley. "Impa is missing though."

"I'm sure she's fine."

"But it isn't like her to wander off on her own..."

"I know, I agree with you too Princess but we should return to the guard house. I'm sure all that happened was she was spotted by another guard while trying to ditch these two here. She'll return once she is certain its safe and we won't be found out."

As much as she wanted to keep searching for Impa she knew Nabooru was right. They couldn't afford to stray too far from their plan and with any luck Navi would be back soon.

Navi still hadn't returned and Impa was still missing. Together Nabooru and Zelda continued to wait patiently in the guard house but they worried that they were running out of time. Twice Nabooru had to go and knock out the guards again. The one that was still in the guard house wasn't a problem; at the first signs that he was regaining his senses the Gerudo was quick to make sure he remained slumped against the wall. The two hidden in the alley were another story. Every half hour found Nabooru slipping outside to check on them and now almost three hours later they had another problem. At some point someone was going to come to relieve the guards, Zelda had hoped to be gone before that happened but it was beginning to look like that wouldn't be the case.

"I don't think we can stay here much longer."

"I know."

"What do you think happened to them?"

Pulling her knees to her chest Zelda rested her chin on top of her folded arms. "I don't know Nabooru." With a heavy sigh she stood up and crossed the room to the door. "We'll start making our way to the Temple; hopefully if Impa and Navi are still out there they'll do the same. It's almost time for the shift change and I would rather not be here when these guards are discovered."

Jumping to her feet Nabooru scrambled to catch up with the Princess as Zelda opened the door and slipped outside. Done wasting time waiting she ducked into the alley where the guards had been hidden. Both men were still lying against the wall, neither having regained consciousness since Nabooru had last visited them. Zelda passed by them, not even sparing them a single glance.

"Why are we going this way? It'll take us twice as long to reach the temple if we head to the West side of Castle Town."

"That's the point." Zelda replied softly.

"I don't think I follow."

"What would keep Impa and Navi away?"

"Oh Goddesses, can't you just tell me? You're as bad as Impa, making me figure it out for myself."

Nabooru's complaining made her smile. "How will you learn if I just give you the answer?"

"Ok, you spend way too much time with that Sheikah." Was Nabooru's mumbled reply. "Fine, ok I'll play along. I suppose it would be that something kept them away. Ran into some guards that they were unable to get away from?"

"Exactly. Navi had been heading directly to the Temple, if she was captured it's because there were too many for her to escape from. I'm guessing the same is for Impa. Someone caught her when she was hiding the bodies."

"There's a big hole in that theory. If she was caught while hiding those guards we would have been found too once they subdued her."

"I didn't say that was what happened, it's only a guess. Either way there are probably way more guards going the other direction because that is the direct way to the temple." Even as she said it Zelda hoped that her deduction was correct. There were too many 'ifs' in her reasoning for her liking but with their group down to just herself and Nabooru she felt it was safest to try and avoid any confrontation. It would take but one warning to alert every guard within Castle Town of their presence.

"Alright, so we're taking alleyways and back streets to circle around Castle Town until we reach the Temple? Makes sense I suppose and what of Impa and Navi?"

"Hopefully they'll find us."

"Unless they've been captured."

At that she was quiet. It was, of course, a possibility. If fact it was probably the reality of what had happened. Knowing Impa the way she did however she was certain that it was only a matter of time before Impa made her appearance again. Her nursemaid was resourceful and hard to keep in one place. She couldn't say the same for Navi, but she also had no idea what Navi was capable of either. A small part of her, the part that was unable to forgive the little fairy for abandoning Link, didn't care that the she might have been captured. It was callous but she couldn't help it.

"Lord Agahnim wants them found."

"Well that goes without saying."

"He's also not all too please that the Princess managed to get passed our guards."

Listening to the guards Zelda sidled closer to their voices, brushing away Nabooru's hand when she tried to pull the Princess back. If Impa had been captured the guards might say something about it...

"Do we know how many are with the Princess?"

"No, just that they managed to subdue three guards. It's safe to say she isn't alone so there is at least one other travelling with her."

"Probably that nursemaid of hers, Impa was it?"

Zelda released the breath she'd been holding. Obviously Impa hadn't been captured if they weren't even sure that they'd been travelling together.

"Ok we have proof Impa isn't in their custody!" Nabooru hissed, trying to get Zelda's attention. "Can we go now before they notice us?"

Nodding silently she stepped back from the mouth of the alley just as the two guards they'd been eavesdropping on passed by. Neither bothered to glance in their direction but it didn't stop Zelda's quick intake of breath and her body stilling in case they did happen to glance their way.

They were closer to the Temple, she estimated they were just a few blocks away and as she had predicted there was a definite increase in guards the closer they got. There was still no sign of Impa or Navi but at least now she knew that Impa hadn't been captured. Though it was still a mystery as to where she had gone.

Leaving the safety of the alley now that the coast was clear Zelda turned to get her bearings. Behind her Nabooru kept a wary eye on their surroundings. The Gerudo had been uncharacteristically quiet to the point that Zelda was beginning to worry. She couldn't remember a time where Nabooru wasn't making snide comments. She hoped it was just due to their situation because she equally couldn't remember a time where they were in so much danger either.

Heading off in the direction of the Temple, Zelda concentrated on keeping her steps light so that they didn't make a sound against the cobblestones. Bow and arrow held loosely in her hands she sensed rather than saw Nabooru fall in step behind her. They were so close now that it was impossible to take alleys the rest of the way. Forced to walk the streets was considerably more dangerous however with the guards milling about and now they were alert to their presence.

They moved slowly, their ears straining to hear the clunk of the armored guards' footsteps that would warn them that they needed to find cover. One thing they hadn't anticipated was that the guards that had passed them earlier might turn around and retrace their earlier route. Nabooru's sharp intake of breath was Zelda's only warning.

"There's someone up there! Halt by order of the King!"

Biting off a curse Nabooru shoved Zelda forward, hissing at her to find an alley quick. Loud footsteps echoed down the street, the guards breaking into a run when Zelda and Nabooru made no move to follow their orders. They passed blindly by houses, searching for the slight opening of an alley. Rounding a corner they nearly ran into two more guards who had been patrolling the adjacent street. Zelda felt Nabooru's hand close around her elbow as she was yanked back from the surprised guards. Nabooru steered her away and shoved her in the other direction.

"Go! I'll hold them off here!"

"But..."

"Get to the Temple!"

She watched helplessly as Nabooru turned back to the four guards that were charging at them. She wanted to stay, every fiber in her being was screaming at her to stay and help. She watched Nabooru engage the guards, the Gerudo woman was a whirlwind of blades after managing to disarm one guard to use his blade against his comrades. Fighting back tears she turned on her heel, leaving her friend to fend for herself. The Spires of the Temple could now be seen over the rooftops. She had to reach the temple, there was no other option. Wishing Impa was by her side Zelda dashed down the street.