Okay, a roundup of the last three years, concluding with something I'm sure you've all been waiting for. (Oh, and you may realize that I start calling April "Zelda" more and more. Well, if you read the last chapter, you'll know that by this point... She is. Pretty much. Of course, when you combine two personalities... Ah, well. Just don't get confused if you see both names in the same relative area. They are one and the same, at this point.)

Three years passed remarkably quick.

Zelda had never been one to think that Time passed quickly. But when it happened this way, she suddenly found herself a nearly-grown woman.

During the last three years of her seven year, forced exile, she had grown into the frame of the Princess of Destiny that so many were relying on. Her face had matured, and her eyes suddenly held more wisdom than they had at the start of the ordeal. They had gradually changed into a shade of dark blue; full of darkness and depth, but shining with an inner light, like midnight riddled with stars.

Vaiya had noted that the day after her fourteenth birthday, she had seemed more at peace with the world than she ever had in the past.

Little did the Sheikah Seer know that the Princess had finally accepted herself as not only a girl, but just that which everyone knew her as; a Princess.

Once she realized, with some help from her mystical benefactor, that she could be herself and royalty, she was much more effective in other aspects of her life as well. She advanced far beyond anyone's expectations in magic, music, and the arts of war, particularly archery.

And Time passed so quickly that she scarcely realized she was growing up.

The week of her seventeenth birthday, she had finally scrutinized herself in a mirror the way most teenagers do. And she found that she was surprised by what she saw there.

She saw someone who looked to be a strong young woman, someone who might be able to lead the Hylian people to a victory against Ganondorf.

At the time, as well, she begun to contemplate the states of her companions, who also seemed to have matured alongside her.

Impa had remained much the same as she had been when April first met her. Though, the Princess realized, she was having some difficulty being forced to be away from Hyrule for so long. But then, so was the girl, herself...

Vaiya, five years her senior, had become a fine young woman, and a figure of prominence in the Sheikah civilization. And though she had always appeared much more mature than her current age, at twenty-two, the Seer was an almost ideal example of a self-sufficient and wise woman.

Sheik, well... He had grown in much the way that Zelda, herself, had. He still remained a bit quiet, and sarcastic, but he had matured, as well. He was now taller than Zelda was, and even taller than the height Zelda took on when she was disguised as him. And the Princess probably would have found him quite nice to look at if she took the time to look. And she loved him dearly, as a friend.

However, the Princess was still saving her heart for someone else, despite how naive and stupid it may have seemed to others.

Of course, she didn't particularly care.

The night of the day after her seventeenth birthday, she had gone to bed with an inexplicable knot in her stomach. It was as if something big was going to happen the next day. And she could venture a pretty good educated guess as to what it was going to be.

Zelda looked around, realizing that she was seeing the interior of a place she recognized immediately; the Chamber of Sages.

Holy. Crumbs. she 'thought,' her voice echoing around the blackness.

She quickly realized that this was the same type of vision she had received right before Link had been taken into the Sacred Realm. So, it was easy for her to understand that what she was seeing was in the present.

A figure stood in the middle of the 'main' platform of blue... mystical... water. The girl also immediately recognized this figure.

Rauru. This thought occurred to her immediately and without hesitation, and it also echoed around the surroundings.

To her near- surprise, Rauru looked up in her general direction.

"Ah. Queen Zelda. I expected you to be arriving soon."

Had April a jaw at the moment, it would have been on the nonexistant floor.

Rauru grinned, his mustache and the lines around his eyes nearly making his eyes disappear. April discovered that she liked the expression of this old man, the Sage of Light. It was one of the few genuinely kind faces she had seen new to her in a long time.

"Perhaps you did not remember. Tonight is the night."

April knew what he meant, but continued to listen, anyway.

"Exactly seven years ago, someone was brought here under the pretenses of saving the world." A slight chuckle. "That someone, the Hero of Time, will be awakened come morning."

I understand, April thought. I'm going to meet him when he wakes up. At the Temple of Time.

"Right. Go, Zelda. Awaken. And may the Goddesses be with thee."

April couldn't help but smile as everything faded to black.

Despite the calm atmosphere of her dream, Zelda woke up with a cold sweat pouring down her back.

She could tell by the soft, gray light that it was just before dawn. It was bitter cold in her room, but her mass of blankets kept out most of that chill. And she knew that the Hero of Time would be awakening any moment.

Quickly hopping out of bed, ignoring the cold and throwing the covers into a disarray, she pulled on a simple dress and threw her hair into a hurried ponytail, knowing that it wouldn't be necessary.

"VAIYA!!" she called, running down the stairs.

She found the seer at the table, nursing a cup of tea. And though she hadn't known that Vaiya would be awake at this hour of the morning, she suspected that Vaiya had felt it, too.

Looking very tired, Vaiya glanced up from her cup with an ironic smile.

"There's no need to shout, Zelda."

"I know," the young woman sighed, looking frantically around the kitchen.

"The Harp?" Vaiya asked. And then she jerked her thumb backward, toward the door, to the table with a small bundle resting precariously on it. "In that pack. Along with several Deku Nuts. I know you'll probably be needing them."

"Thank you!" Zelda cried, throwing her arms around the woman's neck briefly, before straightening up and all but running toward the door.

"Tell Impa and Sheik where I am, okay!?" she called as she slammed the door behind here and ran toward the house of Elders.

"Like I would dream of anything else," Vaiya muttered into her tea, rolling her eyes.

She remembered the time well, when the Hero of Time had first been sealed in the Realm of Light. It had been mid-spring, though still muddy from melted snow, the year he had been taken from her. Though now, one wouldn't even guess it was spring, standing in the middle of the once-prosperous Hyrule Market. Redeads and charred remains of buildings were the only occupants of the city now. The Glamoured Princess sighed, mourning the loss of the happy people who had once occupied the space.

Zelda , however, was standing at the doorway of the Temple of Time, not daring to go any further from her only protection from the evil that Ganon had made of her home.

Turning back to the pure white stone of the Temple, she noted the morning light was pouring in through the tall, glass windows. It was quite cheerless inside the structure, however, as she paced around in waiting.

Abruptly, she felt the whole structure shake.

"Oh, Din," she said aloud, running toward the room that had once held the Master Sword.

Hehehehe... outright cackling You know, it's fun to be near a climax of a story like this. It's gone on forever. And it's time for it to be over.

Especially with the way I've neglected the poor thing. Pets 'Destiny'

Questions, comments, concerns?

SailorZelda