Chapter 1: Leaving Home

One Way Ticket to Catastrophe

Chapter 5: Escaping the grasps of the evil princess

Karina slipped unnoticed into the royal kitchen with a smile. No one was there because she had seen everyone leave so she made her move.

Inside, the smell of spices and sweets floated in the air and boiling pots and pans were everywhere you went. She looked into several pots and checked out most of the spices and ingredients and once or maybe twice, she let a whole bunch of additional ingredients to fall into some pots. She even came across a tank with a porcupine fish and with the scoop thing she found, she picked it up and buried it alive inside a fine smelling pie and cooked it in the oven. The other pie she took for herself; the one that was already cooked and continued along disaster lane.

" Karina, there you are. What are you doing in here?"

Karina whirled around in alarm to find the tiny fairy flying about her face.

" Nothing. I – just came here to pick up something to eat and- uh, figure some way to get Link out of the dungeon."

" Yeah, well, you shouldn't do that in the kitchen. From past rumors, I've heard that you added worms to the Koriri special spaghetti meal."

Karina giggled. " You heard about that? Well, that must be one of my most well known antics I've done so far."

" Well, aren't you leaving?"

" I'm right behind you." Tritana began flying away and Karina pretended to follow her until she was out of sight. Then, she grabbed a thing from another tank that had millions of arm things with her bare hands and covered it deep in a bowl of salad. " This is going to be good."

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" Food, I need some food," Link whined as he laid motionless on the damp ground.

Navi dangled her small legs from her seat on the window sill. Her silver eyes revealed solely preoccupation, evident that she still hadn't found the answer. She sighed and didn't answer or remarked about Link's whining because she, too, was starving just as he did.

" I thought that we were supposed to be out of here by now, Nav," Link said. " Nav, why don't you answer me?"

" Have you ever heard of the saying, 'Patience is a virtue'?"

" No."

" Then learn from it."

Link was obviously dying from boredom more than starvation itself and Karina still hadn't come to there rescue. Prior, Link and Navi tried to open the lock holding them in but to no avail. They were still trapped like a bird inside the golden cage.

" Boredom, boredom, boredom. I'm dying from boredom, boredom, and boredom. I'm from hunger. . . . hunger. . . and. . . . –"

" Would you please shut up?!"

Moments passed in silence until Link heard someone call his name." Link?" Link sat upright towards the sound of the voice that wasn't Navi's.

" Who's there?" he called out.

" Me, you silly. Can't you recognize the voice of a friend?" Karina stepped out from the shadows with the yummy pie from earlier. " I brought you something to eat."

" Smells good. But how are you planning to get it into my cell?"

" Easy. I got the key." She revealed the key from under her skirts and unlocked the cell. They ate the pie together and were soon off on they're way to get out from the castle entirely.

" Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Link asked.

" Of coarse I know what I am doing. First of all, we have to get these hot skirts off of me and then we can escape through the courtyard I saw just a little time away from my room."

" My room. Whenever did it become your room?"

" I mean the room that I am staying in. Is that better?"

" Sure. For a second, I thought that you already decided to stay in this castle."

" No way. This place is too weird and boring."

They tiptoed/ran through the abandoned hallways and dashed into the safety of the princess's room. While Link engrossed himself on how big and incredible the room was, Karina changed her skirts and put on her boots.

" Let's get out of here," Karina said with a smile.

Getting out wasn't an easy thing to do. First of all, trying to dropped down from a window that is at least twelve feet off the ground is not an effortless thing to do without getting seriously hurt. Second, Karina knew no more of the route after the courtyard which blew the entire idea of getting out here alive for sure.

" You said that everything would be fine and here we are, in a stupid courtyard with no visible exit," Link complained.

" Would you please let me finish finding the exit? I know it's here because I had seen it earlier in the daylight."

She began groping her way through the shadows in which the full moon didn't shine upon. Link waited by the stream unsure about the whole case. He kept looking at the relatively small window at the far end of the courtyard wondering if some guard would pop up any second.

Moments flowed by but Karina didn't come back. Link became rather troubled about her absence and whispered her name loudly into the darkness. " Karina? Karina, are you there?"

The dreadful silence enveloped him still.

" Karina?" he called out a little louder.

" I think you better go check on her," Navi whispered.

" That's exactly what I was going to do. She probably left without me because she's still mad at me from earlier."

He took cautious steps in the darkness and extended his hands in search of anything solid to hold and guide upon.

" I don't think Karina would do such thing."

" How do you know? You've only known her for a day."

" Well, then, according to observations, she is a kind person with a gentle heart. At least I don't think she would do it anyway."

Link snorted at the comment. " Yeah, whatever you say."

" Hello, Link."

A figure emerged from the shadows and Link smiled. It was Karina. Her face was set in stone and Karina's eyes shone a mysterious blue; nearly black. What was evidently very odd about it was that she wore the princess's clothes and he was very sure that a few minutes before she didn't.

" Karina?"

Her pale thin lips curved into a malicious smile. " You mean her?"

Two figures stepped out of the dark, one holding a struggling Karina.

" Who are you?"

" I'm no other than Princess Zelda, of coarse and he is Lord Ganondorf. I should be asking the questions here, not you."

Her voice was like ice or more like winter itself. Link shuddered. It sounded so much like Karina's cheery voice but scarier; the same with their features with the exception that Karina appeared more full of life than this 'Zelda' person.

" Why was she impersonating me? What were you going to get out of this? Don't you know the consequences if you're caught?"

" No, we didn't know anything nor wanted to do anything in the matter of fact. My friend was mistaken by you and we were trying to escape before you stopped us."

" And I am supposed to believe such story."

Karina accidentally hit the guy where it hurt the most and he let her go. " Run!" shouted Tritana as she blew some powder stuff on the princess's face.

Karina grabbed Link's hand leading him straight into the shadows.

" Guards!" Zelda shrieked. " Guards!"

Soon, they heard feet shuffling behind them and Karina was already becoming tired and slowed down. Link dragged her, jumping over small pools of water and shoving aside frightening long branches out of the way. They ended up in front of a door and found that it was lock.

" We're never going to get out of this now. I thought that Princess Zelda was supposed to help us like the Deku tree said. She's nothing but a-"

" Through here!" He pushed her through a small gap in a pool which he concluded might lead the way out.

" You got me all wet!"

" Not now, just go!"

He kept glancing back to see if they were coming and they were. Hundreds of them, it seems, raced towards them with much difficulty. Their armor impeded them to go any faster.

He heard Karina screamed and then a splash. Well, he thought, it's better than hanging around them any longer. He crawled inside the confined space and fell into the freezing water below. He swam to shore and Karina helped him out.

" Where's Tritana and Navi?"

" We mustn't worry about them. They can fly."

Some of the guards were coming from door right next to them and they dashed towards the thick woods in front of them. Suddenly the rain poured down unmercifully making it difficult to see. The branches scraped against their tender skin but they kept on going. They ran for ages until they came upon a wall in which they managed to get over. Everything was like a nightmare especially since monsters of all sorts appeared covered in mud. The first thing they came across was a ranch and it was where they headed. No beasts nor strange creatures could reach them there not even the numerous guards that pursued them, they believed.

" I'm scared, Link. I never thought that the princess would be so mean to us. She was supposed to explain what we were supposed to do and now we're more lost than ever. I miss Saria and Kino and Koriri forest."

Tears spilled from her eyes but Link didn't noticed as it mingled with the rain that poured. He hugged Karina's shoulder as she shuddered and guided her to a small cottage that had light inside. They slipped once as the wind and the rain became more severe and by the time they got to the door, they barely had the energy to even knock.

A man with an immense bald spot on top of his head and with a kind face answered. " Malon, get in here quick! We got some unexpected visitors!"

He helped them in and they both plopped down on a hay stack exhausted. Karina fell asleep immediately despite the terrible headache she experienced but Link was pestered by chickens pecking at his head. He gave up trying to wave them away and the chickens settled comfortably on his head.

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next chapter: Lon Lon Ranch

Note- Hope everyone enjoyed. School makes it almost impossible to write or leave you a little peace for that matter. Same with your parents.

-stargazer takile10