April: WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!?
SailorZelda: I love you, too! -_-`
April: You BETTER make this chapter longer than the last one, OR ELSE!!!!!
SailorZelda: Don't worry, my precious creation. I've got this sucker all planed out!
April: THE WHOLE THING!? YEEEEEEEEEEEEAH! NOOOOOW I love you! ^.^
SailorZelda: Well, then next four chapters and the last chapter.
April: *stops* You suck.
SailorZelda: Yep. Okay, all you readers! Just to let you know, my threat still holds, and I BETTER get at least one more review! (Keep in mind that I am writing this before I have gotten 14 reviews, because then as soon as I do, I can post this up!) IF I DON'T, I SWEAR TO THE HYLIAN GODDESSES THAT I WILL NOT FINISH THIS STORY!!!!!! Enjoy this chapter, or die! *JK!*
* * *
April found that, when she tried, it wasn't so hard to get adjusted to castle life. Sure, Impa was constantly waking her up at six in the morning, and she constantly had to attend dinner parties and meet with snobby courtiers and all that. But the time she did get to herself could be spent doing at least semi-interesting stuff.
Not her favorite things, but it was okay. She kept finding herself absently searching for an N64, but when she caught herself doing that, she immediately pushed the thoughts out of her mind and did something else.
One of her favorite things to do in the castle was visit the library, which was luckily just down the hall from her room. No, not necessarily to read.....which she did on occasion. But, the library was also the equal to a museum. There were artifacts that she assumed to be from all throughout Hyrule and from the lands around it. There were so many things to look at, she found herself always needing to come back and look at the rest.
When in the library for the first time since seeing that strange lady, April had considered moving that book again. She desperately wanted to know what was down that corridor. But, then she thought about the woman's words, that she would know when the 'time was right', whatever that meant. So, she decided she would leave it alone until she was sure she needed it.
Also when in the library, April hoped that she would meet her again, so she could ask her what she was talking about the first time she had meet her. She was starting to get scared that she would never get to ask her, though, because it she had a feeling that she would be making her escape from the castle very soon.
On that subject, April tried to stay as far away from Ganondorf as she could. She'd already seen him about four times since she'd woken up here, and that was enough for anyone. She also had a feeling that he knew partly what she was going to do, and she tried to never be in the same room alone with him.
It had been about four days since Link had left, and April started having thoughts about what she was sure would happen in a few nights. She thought about the game, and how Zelda giving the Ocarina of Time to Link turned out in Ganondorf getting the Triforce. She started to wonder if she should follow that plan. Well, why not? She knew the future of this, so to speak, and she thought it might be best to use it in this case.
But she also had another thought, and that was how she was going to keep the Ocarina hidden if she did take it with her from the castle. What was she going to do? Open the Door of Time by herself? No. And also, what if Ganondorf found Link when he was supposed to be hidden in the Sacred Realm? What if......he killed him?
When that thought came to her mind, April immediately abandoned her plan to alter the course of events.
* * *
April awoke one midnight to find a loud storm going on outside. She saw a flash of thunder that illuminated her whole room, and then after a moment she heard a loud crash of thunder that made her jump slightly. She had never really been very comfortable with thunder and lightning storms, they always made her nervous for some reason.
April listened hard for the sound of any other person awake. The castle seemed quiet. Oddly quiet.
Then, suddenly, April heard what seemed to be the beginning of a scream, before it was quickly cut short. April, after a second, started to doubt she had really heard it in the first place, and blamed it to her jumpy nerves.
As she was starting to lay down again, she heard several pairs of feet rush down the hall right outside her door. That sound, she couldn't deny.
Another sudden flash of lightning alerted her to a shadow dangerously close to her bed. Right when she was going to scream, she felt a hand clamp down over her mouth. She grabbed it, in hopes of pulling it away. Before she made any efforts, though, she heard Impa's voice saying, "Zelda, it's me."
April relaxed considerably. Impa took her hand away, and just when April was going to ask what was going on, Impa said, "The castle is under attack. It seems you were right about Ganondorf and his Gerudo. The castle is now full of them, and we need to find a way out."
"What about-" April was going to saw 'what about the King and Queen', but Impa cut her off.
"I'm afraid that your mother and father were the first ones attacked," she said with sympathy.
April sighed. She had only known the two for a bit more than a week, but she had found them to be very nice.
But there wasn't time to worry about that, now. April reminded herself of what she was sure was going to happen that night, and so she quickly slid out of the bed and pulled on a dress, before remembering something fairly important.
"Impa!" she said, still in a whisper but fairly urgently. "Where's the Ocarina?"
"What?"
"The Ocarina of Time! I need it!"
Impa seemed unsure, but she pointed to a chest to April's right. April threw it open and dug for a second, before pulling out the precious blue instrument. She tucked it safely in the front of her shirt, and turned back to Impa.
"I think I have an idea of where we need to go."
* * *
(***SailorZelda: THAT'S IT!
April: WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!????????????
SailorZelda: Joke, joke! You really can't take a joke, neh?)
* * *
Impa, with April close in tow, went down the hallway to the library. April had said that she thought it was the best place to go, and that there really wasn't any time to explain. She had noticed that they had to stop and hide constantly, because there were Gerudo everywhere.
'No wonder,' April thought. '...that lady told me I'd have somewhere to go. Otherwise, I don't think we would be able to get out of here at all!'
Her mind still raced, nonetheless. She nearly had a heart attack when one of the Gerudo woman almost saw them. But, after a lot of dodging, waiting, and hiding, April and Impa finally made it to the library.
When they got there, Impa searched intently from the doorway for any sign of Gerudo woman. She gave April the okay, and April crept into the dark room. She didn't need any help finding the bookcase where the book she needed was. She felt her way alone the shelf where the book was until she felt the rough spine of the book called 'The Legend'.
Her hand shifted across the spine, and the she felt for both ends and gave it a tug. It slid out fairly easily this time, maybe with the help of April fully adrenaline-filled body. She heard the groaning creek of the wall opening, and then waved to Impa to follow her. The older woman followed hesitantly, partly wondering what in all of Hyrule the Princess was doing.
April put both her hands of the small crack in the wall and pushed it, resulting in it sliding to make the opening bigger. April dashed through it, followed closely by Impa.
April, without really even thinking, held onto the book. In the dull light of the torches, April glanced down at it's dark green cover. In golden letters on the spine, it read, "The Legend" in fancy lettering. But what April found odd was that it looked like something like dust was underneath the letters. April, while still running, absently brushed it away, to reveal the words, "of Zelda".
April stopped in mid step. She felt Impa bump into her, nearly sending them both to the floor. But April was too busy looking at the book. She turned it over to the cover, and dusted it off completely. Sure enough, she found the full title read, "The Legend of Zelda". April's mouth hung open.
Before any thoughts could register, April felt Impa pushing her further down the corridor. "Come on, we've got to go!" she heard her say. She quickly resumed her running pace.
From behind them, in the library, an old woman gazed first at an empty part of the shelf, then to the open corridor. Quietly, she said, "Be safe, little one. We shall meet again."
* * *
As the corridor ended, April found herself in a place she didn't recognize, at all. It was outside the castle for sure, because when April looked back, she could see its tall spires. When April turned her head back, she found herself almost crashing headlong into a white horse. She steadied herself, and then turned back to Impa.
"Wha....?" she asked, for lack of anything else to say. The horse was saddled and tied loosely to part of a fence.
"It seems as if it was waiting for us," Impa said.
Before hesitating any further, Impa jumped up onto the saddle and helped April up, too. They quickly untied the horse and made a break for the gates of the Castle Grounds.
April didn't even dare look back, because she knew almost for sure what she would see if she did.
As they made their way closer to the Hyrule Market, April tried hard not to think that they might get caught, or that she wouldn't end up seeing Link. She tried to occupy herself with the scenery that was flying past her. A dusty trail lead from the castle to the market, and April noticed that it was well worn from wagons and travelers of all kinds. Of course, there was nobody present on the midnight, which made April feel a little bit better.
They entered the market, and April noticed that it was much more like a city than a market, although her mind was not at all set for thinking ironically at the moment. There was a main center, where there were shops lining all sides, and many twisting alleys leading away from it. Streets, carts, and stray dogs caught her eye. But, nothing got her attention more than what she saw of the very tip top of the Temple of Time. She could feel an odd feeling radiating from what she could see of it, a nervous feeling that almost matched her own.
They rapidly approached the drawbridge leading out onto Hyrule Field. Of course, it was closed at night. April wondered if it would be down in time for them to go out.
She heard Impa suddenly shout, "Open the bridge, in the name of the Princess of Hyrule!"
April saw a soldier sleepily stick his head over the bridge at the top of the gate, and then quickly turn behind him. Within a second, she saw the bridge slowly begin to lower down. April slowly released the breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding.
She dared a look over her shoulder, at first not seeing anything. She was about to look back over her shoulder, when she saw a black horse slowly gaining on them from the other side of the market. April let out a small squeak, then looked forward just as they were about to go over the drawbridge.
* * *
Link made his way to the closed bridge of Hyrule Market, all three Spiritual Stones safe in his possession. He figured he would have to wait until morning to take them to Princess Zelda...in the rain, of course. Why do these things always happen to me? he asked himself. Though the storm seemed normal enough, he still couldn't shake this odd feeling of something wrong going on within the market. That's when he saw the bridge start to lower.
April, when having turned her head forward again, noticed Link out of the corner of her eye. She looked at him desperately. There wasn't any time for her to give him the Ocarina herself. She knew that, were she to throw it to him, it would most likely break because of her adrenaline altered aim. She couldn't count on it landing safely in the water outside the market like in the game. But she couldn't keep it with her, either, with the thought of her earlier decision not to alter the order of events.
These thoughts quickly worked their way into and through her head in a matter of a second. As Link quickly went past her, she realized her only option was to try for a lucky toss. Before Ganondorf had come out of the drawbridge, April gathered all the courage she had and threw that small blue woodwind toward the moat bordering the market.
Things seemed to go in slow motion as the object hurled in Link's direction. April held her breath as is began its decent toward the ground. Just when she thought it was going to crash into the ground and shatter, along with her hope, it broke the surface of the water. She cried out in happiness, and called to Link, wildly waving her arms toward the slowly sinking instrument.
"Link! That Ocarina! GET IT!" she called out to a confused Link.
Just as he turned back toward the drawbridge, and Impa and the Princess were safely hidden in the darkness of night from any eyes who would see them, Ganondorf came galloping on his horse out of the gates.
April looked back for as long as she could, thanking whatever force that had helped her to throw it safely. Also, she thanked it for preventing Ganondorf from seeing the Ocarina land. As she caught her last glimpse of Link in what she was sure was to be at least seven years, she turned her head to the path that lay ahead of her, the future.
Although all this occupied her mind, nothing was more urgent, she told herself, than finding a safe spot to evade Ganondorf pursuit. She knew that Link would keep him occupied for a minute with his attempt to protect them, but she also knew that he would come after them. And on that mater, April was completely clue less. From this moment, she had no idea what to do. She had left her game at home at a very unfortunate point, she realized. She had no clue in all the world what happened to Zelda at this point. All she knew was that she was supposedly safe, and she was supposed to meet Link in the Temple of Time when he finished all the five temples of Hyrule. She had no idea what Zelda did for seven years, and how she managed to keep herself from Ganondorf.
She had no clue how she was going to stay safe for seven minutes at that moment. She realized that they were heading in the direction of Gerudo Valley, but she knew that Impa wouldn't be stupid enough to take them there. She was simply trying to get them as far away from Ganondorf as she could. There wouldn't be anywhere for them to go or hide if they didn't think of something fast.
She suddenly realized that Lon Lon Ranch was also in the path that they were heading. She remembered a certain friend she had meet earlier in the week, and suddenly a place to hide.
She knew they would be safe enough in the darkness of the night from Ganondorf for a moment while they entered the ranch. So, April turned her head back to Impa and said, "The ranch! We could hide in there!"
"It's as good of an idea as any," Impa figured, as they turned their horse toward the ranch. They slipped inside, and the horse stopped short inside the gates. Impa slowly lead the horse inside the stable that was close to the gates, and they entered it quietly.
Not to far away, a certain Gerudo king gave up his search for the Princess for the time being. Instead, he turned his attention toward following a certain young boy to what he was sure would be the beginning of his conquest over Hyrule.
* * *
***April: Hm........not so bad!
SailorZelda: I told you I would make it longer! ;P
April: Well, author lady! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW!??
SailorZelda: :: in a whisper :: You see, readers, she never got to the point in the game where you find out Sheik is Zelda.
April: WHO am I, now??
SailorZelda: Ah, oops! :: takes out her magical author character mind eraser machine from the ropes that tie her to the chair :: *ZAAAAAAP!!!!!* :: April's last seven seconds of memory are erased ::
April: :: blinks :: What was I doing, now?
SailorZelda: You were just about to let me out of these ropes!
April: I was? Well, oka.........HEY, WAIT!!!!! DON'T COUNT ON IT, YOU MORONIC AUTHOR! YOU ERASED MY MEMORY AGAIN, DIIIIIIIIDN'T YOU!!!!?????????????????////
SailorZelda: Uhhhhh..........
April: Gimme that machine!
SailorZelda: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! :: it gets taken :: WUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
Well, people! SailorZelda is still tied up, and you BETTER keep those reviews coming!
Signing off! April*
as SailorZelda~