A/N: Yup yup, hope you like this chappie too.
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^.^ Chapter 17 ^.^ - Punishment
Link and Zelda crept through the main hall of the castle quietly. It was dark, so no-one would see them. They almost reached the door when they heard a scream.
"Wha-?" Link was startled, but in a flash, Zelda quickly found the source of the scream and had silenced it.
"Shhhhh!" Zelda whispered to the young girl whose mouth she had covered. It was Vera.
"What? How? Princess Zelda!!" Vera exclaimed in a hushed voice.
"You musn't tell anyone," Zelda told the young girl.
Vera nodded, "You're planning to leave again, aren't you?"
Zelda didn't answer, she was looking around, "The guards are going to come soon. They are going to ask you why you screamed. TELL THEM NOTHING ABOUT SEEING US. Tell them you were startled because you almost fell or something."
Vera nodded silently, afraid to speak.
"We should be going," Link said impatiently.
Zelda nodded and placed a hand on Vera's shoulder, "Before I go, I must say this; you've been more than a maid to me, you've been a friend. My best friend in fact. I must say, Malon and I were close, but after I was forbidden from seeing her, you have become the closeest friend I've ever had."
Vera tried not to cry as she embraced the princess. They quickly pulled apart at the sound of footsteps.
"What's that?" Link whispered.
"I'll check," Vera whispered bravely. Raising her voice, she looked into the darkness, "Who is there?"
"The guards. We heard noises. We came to investigate," came the reply.
Link and Zelda looked around in panic, trying to find somewhere to hide.
"In here," Vera whispered as she ushered them into a closet.
Link and Zelda nodded as they quickly climbed into the closet and closed the door.
Zelda heard a guard address Vera, "Who are you? Why are you still up?"
"I…I…I…" Vera stammered.
Zelda shut her eyes tightly, silently praying that Vera would come up with a good story the guards would believe.
"I came because I thought that I needed to tidy this area up a little," Vera said.
"Oh really?" a guard asked, his voice sarcastic, "I heard more than just one person in here."
"There… there was no-one else," Vera mumbled.
Zelda pressed her ear against the door of the closet. She heard a guard muter something to the other guards and heard footsteps. Soon, she heard footsteps again, the guards must have gone somewhere and returned.
"You were right sir, we couldn't find her. She wasn't in her room," a voice spoke.
Zelda's heart sank, they knew that they were talking about her.
"And we couldn't find him either. Maybe he had escaped and kidnapped the princess…?" another voice said.
Zelda had to stop herself from screaming. They knew that Link had left the dungeons.
"Don't be such a fool!" another guard yelled, "You KNOW that wasn't what happened. The princess freed him. They are trying to escape!"
Zelda heard Vera gasp.
"You! Girl! You knew all along, didn't you? You're trying to cover up for them!" the guard spoke again.
"That's… not true! I knew nothing of their escape!" Vera stammered.
"You lie!" the guard yelled.
Zelda heard the next few things go by very quickly. The sound of a sword being unsheathed, Vera screaming and a thud.
"Let the servant's death be a lesson to you, men. If you play around with your position in the castle and betray us, you are only making your own death sentence," the guard spoke as footsteps died away.
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A/N: Hmm… seems the guards are considering themselves to be of great power, not Zelda… they'll get taught a lesson, if you know what I mean… ^.~
You know the drill, review and read the next chappie!! ^-^