Zelda stood patiently at the door, listening carefully as her father continued to rant his mind into a letter. The exchanges began as soon as the Gerudo king left and had been going on for nearly six months now. Her feet moved restlessly in place as she thought back on her dream, trying desperately to think of what Impa said it could mean. Prophecy? Yes, that was the word she had used. She had dreams of prophecy. At least, that is what Impa had claimed, and Impa was very rarely wrong, especially with things of the sort.

"It seems he is one step ahead of us. He seems to see right through each attempt of ignoring his pleads. It's almost as if he had a spy in the walls of the palace itself."

Zelda bit her lip, holding her breath momentarily, thinking back on the Gerudo king's parting words.

"Do not try to cheat me, I'll know."

It was as if he already knew they had it in mind. Everything the king had tried he had seen. Then again, it was odd for his letters to come weeks delayed.

"Papa."

The king turned, his hands clasped behind his back, tightly keeping them grasped together.

"Where's Impa? Shouldn't you be tutoring right now?" He huffed, nodding to a guard who left to search for her nursemaid.

"Papa. It's my birthday." She replied as she walked down the long hall. Not one guard flinched, each stayed perfectly still in their positions as she continued forward. Sometimes she wondered if they were actually real.

"Ah, yes! I had almost completely forgotten! What is it that you want, little one? A new toy?" He motioned for her to come closer as he sat down on his throne. His smile seemed fake as she cautiously stepped forward. She knew he disliked disruptions but it was her special day after all.

"I don't want anything. I want you to listen to me!" She stated as she stood in front of him, her eyes meeting his with such childish urgency he knew he couldn't say no this time.

"Your nightmares?" He mumbled. The little girl nodded, her eyes stinging on the verge of tears.

"He's a bad man, papa! He's going to do something terrible! I just know it! In my dream, the map burst into flames and there was laughing and then when it got to the forest it stopped. I think there's something there that will protect us! Impa says-"

"Impa is wrong. Their only nightmares!" He barked. Zelda coughed, suddenly unable to hold back her tears. The king sighed as he leaned forward.

"Little one, forgive me for being harsh...but do you ever wonder why Impa is the only Sheikah you see?" He asked softly, wiping her cheeks. Zelda nodded, she had never really noticed before nor did she care, but if she could use whatever he had to say to prove her dreams were prophecy she would.

"It is because the Sheikah lost. And do you know who stood beside them in that battle?"

Zelda shook her head.

"A very young Gerudo king and his people. He took the side of the Sheikah blindly after we offered him a position as a commander. After many, many deaths Ganondorf soon realized we would have been better allies but it was too late. Now he is paying for his decisions. The Sheikah all died off because of him and hundreds, if not thousands of those barbarian women died. Thank the goddesses Impa was on our side otherwise we would have completely lost an entire race. Now, do you know why I'm telling you this?"

The little princess sniffled, shaking her head once more.

"It is because Ganondorf has changed. That battle has changed him from a warlord to civil, peace-seeking king. But I can not trust him. Your nightmares are dreams of the past, little one. Not a prophecy."

"But-"

"No buts, now what would you like for your birthday?"

Zelda sighed, feeling defeated once more.

"Nothing."

The king nodded, taking notice of the Sheikah woman who stood impatiently behind the princess. He motioned for her to take the girl away, a command she gladly obeyed.

"Is it true, Impa? Did Ganondorf kill your people?" The little girl whispered as she was led outside. Impa frowned, her eyes fixed forward.

"Nobody killed my people. We killed ourselves when we asked for freedom."

Her voice was strange broken tone she had not known Impa was capable of. Zelda looked to her tough as nails but her eyes were haunted with ghosts of the past. The princess would not understand the hardships the Sheikah faced, not for many years and not after many conversations.

Nothing more was said that day about Ganondorf, the Sheikah, or the war. Zelda felt like she had learned too much and knew that there was something being held from her. A feeling she didn't like at all.

Ganondorf rapped his fingers wildly on the table, comparing the letters once more. It disturbed him slightly that the king had suggested a spy in his kingdom. He knew the king would blame his people but then again, the little Hylian vai-Grace, was it? Yes, Grace, he had almost forgotten, she was at risk. His only accurate supplier of Hylian news, the one person that matter in helping him achieve his desire. Not the peace, of course, something much greater, a legacy, a fairytale even.

"What do we do now?" He asked as he handed the letters back to Nabooru.

"You never ask me for guidance, this must distress you." She teased as she sat down across from him. A guard came by to begin lighting the torches in the palace. Night was approaching.

"Well?" He snapped, losing his patience with her.

"I suggest getting her out of the way of danger. You know what will happen if-"

"No. No, I can't. If she stops supplying us with valuable knowledge then we lose everything! They win!" He stated. Nabooru eyes fell.

"Then distract the king. Give him something unexpected, an idea...a new agreement perhaps? A demand!" Nabooru suggested, her eyes gleaming with new found ideas. Ganondorf stared behind her, calculating in his mind something brilliant. He would have to be cautious, executing whatever it was carefully. What could he use to barter? He had already tried military, resources, and allegiance with no success. Nothing seemed to impress the king. If only there was a way to make him see their corner of the world. They way they worked, their lifestyle...

"Thay could come to the fortress…" He mumbled. Nabooru's jaw dropped.

"What?"

"They could come to the fortress. It's foolproof! Nabooru, they would think the fortress is the town! They would get a glimpse of how we live, our power! They would become aware of our needs, frightened of our strengths, it's-excellent. It's almost like forcing them into peace. And with the information my spy has given us we could blackmail them into-"

"It's impossible! Where would they sleep? Surely he'd expect a feast in his honor! Not only that our women do not take kindly to men! You see what happens when they try to sneak in to see their lovers! Ganondorf, there are too many things that would have to come together! It's too dangerous!" She exclaimed, jumping to her feet. Ganondorf laughed.

"Dangerous, yes, but the rewards are unlimited. Either way, we advance." He explained eagerly, his mind spinning new thoughts and ways to advance himself.

Nabooru sighed. "Very well, you write an invitation. I will leave tomorrow to prepare for their arrival." She began to walk away, deflated with his childish ideals. She saw him just as foolish as the Hylian king. Perhaps all men were that way? No, her mother had fallen in love with a man and she knew it couldn't possibly be a man like him.

"Oh, Nabooru. One more thing."

She turned.

"Don't give them any luxuries. I want them to suffer through our everyday pains."

"Very well, Ganondorf."

Sharp's face dripped with sweat as he frantically wrote down that last few notes to the song he had uncovered. Flat waited anxiously as he watched his brother, clinging to the Ocarina of Time.

"We've done it, Flat. We've found a way to summon the sun! With this work maybe we can find a way to finally please the king and discover the way into the Sacred Realm!" Sharp laughed as he held up the paper. Flat smiled.

"Wait until Lady Impa sees our work! We will be free men soon!" He laughed, setting the ocarina down to grasp the paper.

"Lady Impa has already heard."

The two men turned to find the tall Sheikah woman staring in the room with gently amused eyes.

"Flat, Sharp, my congratulations." Impa stated from the doorway, taking a step into their madden research.

"Lady Impa, it is your victory too." Flat said as he bowed humbly. Impa smiled, a rare feature.

"No need for formalities. You know what our king thinks about us." Impa's smile had vanished, she had returned to her steel-like demeanor. Sharp nodded slowly.

"He lies to the world. He says you are the only on that survived and our music is written down as Hylian compositions. What would our Sheikah ancestors think of us?" Sharp hissed bitterly. Impa shot him a glance.

"We are not the last three. I received word from a friend not too long ago. A band of Sheikah are constructing a village just outside of Hyrule's borders. We live on."

"Yes, but tell me. What good is a free man if has no rights to himself? I have never been more dehumanized since the day they forced me to hide in a Hylian state. I will never be Hyrulean." Flat growled, angered not only by his past but knowing that despite the chance of walking away from the king he would only be known as another Hylian. His Sheikah heritage would be forgotten and he would never be free from the damage the Hylian king had done. It was a cruel twist of fate, a politic, a price that had to be paid to be free, and he despised it.

"Flat, Sharp, your time will come. The king will be pleased. And to our people, you will be known for your greatness." She assured as she turned to leave. "The king will see you both tomorrow."

Flat and Sharp looked at each other. Their freedom was costly but they knew that Impa had lost everything. The king made her a hero, told the world of how she had given the king Kakariko as a refuge town and many other tales of greatness to go along with it, all of which were lies. The only reason she had agreed to it was that of what the Sheikah elder had told her before she died.

She was the one to guide the princess of destiny, the one whose name was written in prophecy, Princess Zelda.

Now, the brothers had begun to watch the prophecy come true but nobody but the Sheikah knew these truths. To the rest of the world, they were fairy tales, and that was the world's greatest folly.

Grace smiled softly as she sealed the envelope. Almost a year she had been keeping her secret from the world. He would never write back, but she knew deep down it was for her safety. He had cared for her before he had left. That week held many precious memories to her. She wished it would have been long enough to quench her thirst for knowledge of the Gerudo, however. Since that time she had given up on magic studies, finding that it wasn't her talent. Her talent was in simply homeliness, something she wished desperately wasn't her fate. She had become excellent at persuasion and speeches but she doubted that would get her anywhere due to that fact that only politicians needed that practice and there was no point in fantasizing the king putting her in court. So she humbled herself and did the best she could, fighting for her right to womanhood. She knew it would come to an end soon though as she stared down at the ring on her finger. A token of love from a man she hardly knew nor cared to know. She hated him and she would do anything to get out of her marriage to him. The wedding was mere months away and she had no say. It was purely political.

Her father had found another kinder, sweeter gentleman for her to court and after deciding it was best not to throw tantrums and act like a proper young lady he had mistaken it for love. Not only had her father mistaken her submission for love but he was the chancellor of Labrynna's son.

She couldn't complain. She would be comfortable in his care but he wasn't enthralling. He didn't like that she was educated either. However, he was a huge improvement from the last suitor they had picked for her.

"Grace? Another letter to your lover?" Her father asked as she stood up. She smiled.

"No father. This one is a letter to myself."She replied as she walked towards her room. He laughed merrily.

"What on earth for?"

"To remind me of all the wonderful things life has given me." She replied, lying through her teeth. She had become increasingly more clever with her excuses to write her messages to Ganondorf.

Ganondorf. She wondered if they were to meet again if she could hope to be so informal with him? Perhaps they would become close friends. They had gotten along so nicely to begin with it seemed inevitable that he would eventually wish to be informal, right? Then again, he was cold and cunning, emotionless at times, but she saw through it. He was a man of mystery and that excited her.

"Grace? Did you hear me?"

She snapped her attention to her father. "No, I'm sorry."

"I said, life must have given you many wonderful things to write with so much paper."

Grace grinned.

"Yes, yes it has."

She waltzed into her bedroom humming a lullaby as she tidied up her pen and ink. Ganondorf would be very pleased with her report. No one had suspected her to be the spy at all. The maids gossiped on and on about which young man it could be and she would innocently play along, her secret safe with her. She reminded herself that as a woman it had its advantages, even though most if not all Hyruleans were blind to it.

"Father!" Gadrel's voice was loud and excited, something she had grown to ignore. But this time it had caught her attention.

"Gadrel! Calm down! It's late!" His father scolded. Gadrel laughed hysterically.

"No! No! Father this is good news! You must come with me! Grace too!"

"Why?"

"They're hanging the spy!"

Grace flinched. Were they going to kill an innocent man? She opened her mouth to confess but closed it tightly, words from Ganondorf echoed in her head.

"Many Innocent people will die in the name of what is right, but there is nothing we can do."

Was this man the first to die in the name of what was right? Shouldn't it be her standing there tonight and not him? How suddenly everything had started to change. It was now just like a war, just like Ganondorf had said. Did this happen often? She prayed to Hylia it didn't. She bowed her head and begged the gods for forgiveness of her weakness but knew that even if the gods heard they would not forgive her. This man's death was her doing. She felt hot tears stream down her cheeks. She wanted to scream that she was guilty, that she was the Hylian spy and not this man but she couldn't. She had to survive. She had to do what was right. This man wasn't dying in vain after all, he was dying in the name of peace. He was doing what was right. He was a stepping stone for peace.

Wasn't he?

She wiped the tears from her eyes as she turned to the doorway. She had to pretend. She had to continue her lie of a life or she would hang too. She tried to remind herself that it wasn't her fault, that she and this stranger were both martyrs for justice and peace, but the knot in her stomach declared otherwise.

She couldn't hear her father or brother invite her to rejoice in the man's death but she joined them anyway. It was that night that she realized her mortality, that war was very much real, and that people were going to die. She knew it wasn't something she could change even if she would have said something. She tried to convince herself she was right. But as she passed the hanging man's dead body she knew that somehow, she was doing something very, very wrong.