A/N hey it's me, sorry for the wait on this chapter. Luckily, I found a way to remove that annoying troll review (cowardly guest…) ahem, I would like to thank NoSignalBlueScreen for their review *passes cookie to NoSignalBlueScreen* in other news, I will be discontinuing The Curse. I'm sorry if you like that story but I've lost all interest….)

Zelda felt bad, snapping at the little fairy like that, but she didn't need to be reminded of how clumsy she used to be without Link's help. Yet at the same time a knot of worry had found its way into her stomach. What if she couldn't make it to him in time? What if she ended up getting caught too? Then they'd both be stuck without any means of sending for help or even helping themselves.
"No! I can't think like that!" Zelda mumbled, shaking her head. "I have to make it in time. I just have to."

Zelda made an abrupt stop tying her horse, Storm, to a tree. This was the place where Link had shown her the cupid statue. The last time they were here, they had been attacked and an underworld entrance appeared, and now her she was trying to find that same entrance. Wandering a little further into the meadow, she glanced left and right for any sign of the entryway.

She poked various stones, prodded suspicious lumps of grass, but nothing happened. Feelings of frustration caused her head to pound. Link could have easily found the entryway within a matter of seconds, yet here she was, ten minutes into looking with no such luck. She angrily kicked a small pebble. It collided with the base of a remaining column with a sharp clack.
Just then the ground beneath her feet rumbled, and then began rising. Zelda rolled down the side of the ascending knoll just in time to see that beneath it an entryway to the Underworld had opened.
"That's one way to get in..." She muttered to herself, taking a few cautious steps into the cavern. A little further in, and she could her Ganon's voice angrily barking orders at his minions.

"I told you, you aren't allowed to return unless you find her!"
"But master, me thinks we find her hiding spot."
Zelda stopped short just outside of the large chamber where the voices could be heard echoing from.

"You think you found it, or you KNOW you found it?" He boomed.

"W-well we're not sure if she really there-"

"Then don't waste my time!"

Something about Ganon's voice was...off. It didn't sound the same.
Zelda remained in the corridor. Should she barge in and demand Link's release? Should she try and find him herself without Ganon noticing?

Deciding it was best to leave his master be, the Moblin shuffled out, noticing the Hylian Princess.
"Intruder!" It shouted, just before Zelda blasted it with a magic arrow, and jumped out of her hiding spot aiming her bow in Ganon's direction.

"If you know what best for you, you'll release Link right this-" She paused.
"Who are you?!" She gasped.
The man that sat in Ganon's throne looked nothing like him at all. He was a tall man with tanned skin and scarlet colored hair. He wore a deep blue robe adorned with a violet trim along with a cloak draping off his shoulders. He had a dark but regal presence that filled the entire room, filling the princess with unease.

"I AM Ganon." The man replied. "and if YOU value your life, you'll drop that bow. Link is not here."

She raised a brow then shook her head.
"Liar! I know you took him, nobody else would have!" she shouted, her eyes burning with rage.

"What possible reason could I have for taking him?!" Ganon growled. "I'd have no reason to waste my time kidnapping him when I could have killed him instead!"

Zelda gritted her teeth, unable to think of anything else to say.
" If you won't admit to kidnapping him, then at least admit to killing my guards!"

"I did no such thing."

"But if you didn't then who did?!" The anger and stress was practically radiating off the princess.

"I believe that it would be the same person who stole the Triforce of Power from me; a servant of mine who's gone rogue."

Zelda was stunned. One of his own minions had stolen his Triforce?
"Which one?" Zelda asked cautiously.

Ganon's expression grew sour. "Ironically, your doppelganger."

Zelda's eyes widened in shock "...M-my doppelganger?"

He simply nodded.
"She managed to steal the Triforce of Power from me and escaped through a mirror. She could be anywhere in Hyrule, and I've been unable to locate her as of now..." He paused. "But it seems that, for once, we could be of use to each other, Princess. With our combined resources and power, there's no way she could remain hidden."

Zelda cringed.

"Oh come on, I don't like the idea either." He scoffed. "But think of it like this princess: you can take back what was stolen from you, and I can take back what was stolen from me." He explained matter-of-factly.

Zelda still didn't seem convinced, she could understand why he would need her help, but how would he be of any help to her?

"Aren't you pretty much powerless without the Triforce?"

"Powerless?! Hah!" Ganon scoffed. "I'll show you powerless!"

He stretched his hand out towards a nearby moblin, sparks dancing across his fingers. There was a quick flash of light and then that same moblin was scurrying out of the room, rubbing his now burnt rear.

"The Triforce may have enhanced my powers, but I'm still far from powerless without it." He snarled.

Zelda sighed. "All right, point taken."

"My minions are rather...incompetent at locating her, so this is where your resources will come into play. First thing, we must find where she is."

Zelda thought for a moment. "Well, If I were on the run I would probably try to get as far away as possi-."

"You think I haven't thought of that?" Ganon huffed.

"I've had my moblins search every corner of Hyrule but still no sign of her. Unless you know of somewhere that the average creature couldn't get to, my guess is as good as yours, Princess."
Zelda shrugged mumbling something under her breath.

The princess really hated the idea of working with Ganon but if she was going to save Link, there was no other option.

"When we arrive at Hyrule Castle, no one is to know who you are, understood? If my people know you are there, they might panic."

Ganon gave an annoyed snort.
"If you insist."

Zelda bit her lip in annoyance. "Oh and another thing, don't you dare try anything!"

Ganon rolled his eyes.
"If you say so."
She didn't think he was stupid enough to jeopardize this temporary alliance BEFORE he got his piece of the Triforce back, but she had to make sure.

"I'll be waiting outside."

He shook his head.
"No need. We should inspect where those murders took place immediately."
Zelda sighed waiting for him to catch up.

"It just occurred to me, you're going to need a fake name."

"If you insist." He grumbled. "Though I could just not give a name to anyone at all."

"You do realize that someone might ask for your name, right?" Zelda crossed her arms.

"Pah." He snorted. "If it pleases her majesty... Very well."

Zelda smirked to herself in triumph as she neared her stallion. Ganon summoned his own horse with a snap of his fingers. "Let's see if you can smirk like that once I get my piece of the Triforce back." Ganon thought.
The princess gave her horse a nice pat on the neck before hoisting herself into the saddle. Once atop the massive animal, she gave a soft kick to get him moving.

It was strange, walking into Castle Town like a normal person.
No one screamed, nobody fled to the nearest house, and for once, Ganon was not met with an entourage of guards jabbing their weapons at him. He simply... Walked in.

Obviously, no one behaved the way he was used to. He wasn't a pig monster with an army laying siege to the town. To them, he was just another regular man. Then again, even if the townspeople didn't like him as he was now, no one would say so. After all, he was being escorted by the Princess herself.
Soon Hyrule castle came into view, it's enormous stone walls seeming to stretch into the sky. Once closer, the two of them noticed a dark-haired woman who seemed to be having a disagreement with the guards.

"I understand, but-" the woman began, but was cut off by the guard.

"I'm sorry ma'am. Until the crime has been solved, no one is permitted to enter the castle without permission from the royal family." He solemnly shook his head. "We assure you, we're doing everything we can to figure out who did it."
She sighed sadly; giving up, she turned around, her eyes widened when she saw Zelda.

"Your highness!" She stammered, giving a hurried (and awkward) curtsy. It was now very apparent that she was pregnant.
Zelda gave a polite nod to the woman.

"What are you doing all the way up here? Shouldn't be at home, resting?"

"I know I should, but I just wanted to see if there was any more leads on...on his..." the woman wrung her hands, seeming to be unable to force the rest of the sentence. The Princess put a hand on her shoulder.

"We're doing everything we can to find out who did it, I promise. They won't get away with it."
The woman gave a silent nod, her hand subconsciously moving to her swollen stomach.
"Thank you, Princess. We're lucky to have you." she whispered before hurrying off.
Zelda's eyes followed the woman for a while before she was finally out of sight. She felt bad for her, not only was she left without a husband, but she would be forced to raise a child on her own.

Ganon cleared his throat shaking Zelda from her thoughts.
"We should get moving, your highness." Ganon said, nearly choking on 'highness'. He hated it, but he was going to have to be decent until he got his piece of the Triforce back.

"Oh, right..." Zelda motioned the guards to let them pass. The two men obediently stepped aside, allowing Zelda and Ganon to pass into the inner courtyard of Hyrule Castle, and after a brief silence and a few staircases, they made it to the site of the murders.

"Seems she made quick work of your guards." Ganon commented dryly, noting how often the castle guards crossed paths while patrolling. Dark Zelda would have had to have eliminated them fast if she was to go unnoticed.
Zelda decided not to respond to his comment.
"This way," she said gesturing down the hall.

They hadn't even stepped foot into the corridor before Ganon felt the residual energy of strong magic. Dark Zelda must have fired off at least one bolt. However, looking around the hallway, Ganon saw no scorch marks or other signs of magic use. Guess she could at least aim.
"Do you know how exactly those guards died?" He asked.

"They were stabbed,"

"Hmm. She's used magic in here. Strong magic. Obviously, it isn't the lethal sort if the guards were stabbed."
Ganon scanned the room, noticing a mirror hanging on a wall.
"There." he pointed.

Zelda looked from the walls to the direction Ganon had pointed, she raised a brow.
"what about it?" It was just a mirror what could he find so important about it?

"Dark Zelda was created using a mirror and your own reflection. Being such, she can travel through mirrors." He said simply.
"I'm not sure how she managed to get to this specific mirror, but I can almost guarantee this is how she managed to get into the castle undetected." Ganon paused. "...at least until those guards saw her and she decided to kill them."

Zelda thought it over. What he'd said actually made sense. Zelda walked over to investigate when she noticed something out of place. part of the rug leading to the sitting room had been turned over. Ganon followed her.

"Yes, this mirror is definitely large enough for her to have come through." He studied it carefully. "If this is the mirror she came through, there may be a way we could use it to find where she is, assuming she went back the way she came."

"This would probably be a task for the Triforce of Wisdom." Zelda noted.

"That could work." He mumbled, studying the mirror.

"I'll be right back, don't touch anything..." She said walking towards Link's chambers.

"I didn't need a reminder..." Ganon mumbled as she walked out of sight.

Zelda came back moments later with the glowing blue Triforce in her arms. Ganon turned towards the mirror. "Touch the Triforce to the surface of the mirror. If she really did pass through it to get here, it'll show us where she is now."

Zelda hesitated, not at all appreciating being told what to do, but having no choice, she tapped it against the mirror. The mirror rippled showing the image of Dark Zelda walking down a corridor. She was covered in blood and her hair was loose and tangled. She stopped at a door that was guarded by a Lynel. It moved out of her way opening the door for her. The mirror rippled again as the perspective shifted. Now they could see the inside of the room. It was dim, but looked surprisingly well kept. Zelda's doppelganger stopped by the bedside, where several thick coils of rope kept Link strapped down onto said bed. He immediately stopped struggling when Dark Zelda approached, and it appeared as if the two were conversing.
One sour expression from Link and she gave him a deft slap across the face before walking back out, where the Lynel shut the door behind her as the mirror returned nothing more than a reflective surface. Zelda gasped at the scene, putting a hand to her mouth. She tried to think if she had seen this place but nothing came to mind.

Ganon's eyes narrowed. From what he could see, the thief was living somewhere rather opulent. The problem here, was that the Triforce of Power was an incredibly potent source of magic, making it easily within the possessor's ability to turn even a rundown shed into a manor fit for a lord.
However, there was one detail that at least gave him a good idea of where she was: the Lynel.
Lynel are known to only roam the North-Eastern section of Hyrule, which severely narrowed down the possibilities of where Dark Zelda was hiding.

"She must be somewhere in the North East." he said.

Zelda thought for a moment, mentally running through a list of prominent locations of that particular region.
"Perhaps she is on Maze Island then?"
Ganon thought it over. Maze Island was pretty large, and known for the abandoned ruins. The more he thought about it, the more possible it became. She'd used the Triforce of Power to restore the ruins into her own fortified base.

"That must be where she is." he agreed.

"How can you be sure?" Asked Zelda

"It's large, well-fortified, and would be perfect for hiding while you bide your time."

"Hard to argue with that I suppose" She said with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Well?" Ganon folded his arms. "When are we leaving?"

"Well I did just get here, but I can't let her continue to treat Link that way..." the princess mumbled.

Ganon rolled his eyes. "Then let's go."

A/N longest chapter yet, please be fair with your reviews my lovely readers. Also thank LimeTiger711 for her amazing editing skills and ideas she contributed.