Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters. They are all property of Nintendo. And I guess I've got to say that I don't own Marth either, since he is in this story.

A/N: Omg, it's been so long since I updated this story! I'm sorry! I've had tons of homework to do since it's the last weeks before the holidays now… school is keeping me busy as usual, and my teachers are evil! I'm glad it's Christmas soon, so I can get some weeks off and more time to do what I like most – write! Thank you for the reviews I received for the last chapter! Thanks for the support, everyone!

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Chapter eight: Events

Marth lay on the ground, almost unconscious. His head was aching terribly, but he did not dare to move a muscle, not even open his eyes. He realized it was very quiet around him, too quiet. How long had he been lying there? It must have been for hours, for the battle seemed to have ended.

He recollected that he had helped that little girl... Romani. She had told him about her sister, who had been captured by a Stalfos... he had tried to run to the town, but someone had hit him in the head... and then everything had gone black.

He felt as though he was aching all over and realized that he should try to move, but it was too dangerous. He didn't know if any of the soldiers were still alive, and there might be some Stalfos left. But it was so quiet... he suddenly heard heavy footsteps approaching, and nigh stopped breathing when he heard voices – muffled, hoarse voices, which surely belonged to a pair of Stalfos. They had a peculiar accent, and it was hard to catch all the words.

"Where did they go?" one of them said, obviously displeased.

"Dunno", responded the other one meekly. "They fled... inside that town, I think. Look, there's another..."

The two Stalfos approached him and Marth felt one of them poking on him with the point of a sword. Marth held his breath and prayed to the Goddesses that they would walk away and leave him alone again. He did not want to think about what they would do with him if they found out that he was still alive.

"Dead, obviously", one of the Stalfos grunted. Then Marth felt how his sword was wrenched loose from his grip, one of the Stalfos had examined the weapon and was apparently pleased.

"Look at this", he growled to the other, "he's from Hyrule."

"Yes, there's that triangle mark", the other said. "Take it, he won't need it anymore."

They let out a howling laughter that sent chills down Marth's spine. The two Stalfos eventually disappeared and he finally dared to open his eyes again. It wasn't a very pleasant sight that met his eyes.

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"Oh, I wish I knew this place", Impa sighed. She had reached a clearing in the middle of the forest, and had totally lost her way. The forest was peaceful and quiet, with birds chirping and the breeze rustling in the trees, but yet it was ominous. The Sheikah woman had never been this deep into the forest before, and felt a sudden desire to turn her horse around and leave. But she couldn't, she had to find out the truth about the Princess' disappearance.

A sudden sound on the other side of the clearing disturbed the silence. She turned towards the sound, which sounded like a quiet rustling in the leaves in one of the trees. Narrowing her eyes, she tried to see something, but whatever it was, it didn't show itself. Impa shrugged it off and continued over the clearing, but stopped as she heard the same sound again.

A little child jumped down from one of the trees and caused Impa's horse to rear. She tried to calm the horse down, and patted her old mare soothingly on the neck but kept an eye on the peculiar creature. It looked as a Hylian child, but yet it was something strange about it, like its clothes and its funny hat. The child gazed up at the woman with dark, glossy eyes, and suddenly grinned widely.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but are you looking for a little girl?" The child's voice was high-pitched and shrill. Impa looked at the child, astonished.

"Yes, I am, actually", she replied. "I am looking for the young Princess Zelda. She disappeared in the forest some days ago. How did you know...?"

"I could tell you were looking for her, because your horse has got the same triangle mark on its saddle as the young girl's dress had", the child explained. "I talked to another brave Hylian some time ago, and he was here to search for that little girl too. I told him to be careful, but he did not listen to a word that I said. But I think you will listen to me. Am I right?"

"Yes..."

"Good. I found the poor thing out here in the forest when she lost her way. She told me everything, so I decided to take her to the village. I am keeping an eye on her, although she doesn't know it. She is happy now, and she doesn't want to go back to Hyrule Castle."

"What? She... she doesn't want to return? But she has to! She's the Princess of Hyrule! She can't..."

The child raised its hand, to stop Impa from talking. "If the Princess doesn't want to return to her former home, then nobody can change her mind. Children have a strong will."

"You don't understand!" Impa yelled. "I care about Zelda! I love her... she is like a daughter to me, like the daughter I never had... I want her to be happy, yes, but still I want her to be safe! I want to be where she is, to protect her. That is what we Sheikah are supposed to do!"

"I know, I know", the child sighed. "I know how it feels to loose someone you love. I know, because I lost all of the people I knew when I got lost in this forest and became a Skull Kid. But sometimes you've got to accept your fate. You can't decide about the young Princess' life."

"You... you are a Skull Kid?" Impa frowned and looked at the strange child. Then something suddenly hit her and she shouted: "Tell me what has happened to Zelda! Is she a Skull Kid now, too?" The child slowly shook its head. "Then tell me where she is, please! I want to see her again..."

"I'm afraid I can't, ma'am", the child replied and it seemed like it was crying. "I can't. It's not my fate. And Princess Zelda is not a Hylian anymore. She is a Kokiri now... I am sorry, but I think you should leave now."

The Skull Kid disappeared out of sight. Impa let out a scream of anger, frustration and sorrow. She had lost Zelda, lost her forever, and there was nothing she could do. With one last gaze at the shadows beneath the trees, Impa turned around to leave. Not only did she leave the forest, she also gave her old life up. Without the young Princess nearby, her life flame seemed to have burned out.

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Since Zelda had come to the forest, Link noticed a change in his own behavior. He didn't know what it was – he wasn't old enough to fully understand what love meant. But he knew he liked Zelda very much, he wanted to be where she was, listen to her voice, laugh with her, play with her... they were just innocent children now, but a bond seemed to have appeared between them, a bond that would be stronger over the years.

In a few years, the two Hylian children would be closer, be something more, but they didn't know it yet, and didn't bother about their future either. They lived for the present, for today and not for tomorrow. They were way too young to understand the mysteries and problems of a teenager's life.

Right now, Link and Zelda were living in the peaceful village, and their lives were as perfect and cheerful as they possibly could be. Zelda had nearly forgotten her former life as a Princess, everything except one thing: a Sheikah woman with grey hair, blue, sparkling eyes and silver tears painted below her eyes... a Sheikah woman in armor, with a sharp dagger in her hand, a tense and strong woman who never showed her feelings for anyone, except for Zelda... a sad, unhappy woman with no family, forever destined to serve Hyrule's Royal family... a woman who was the closest thing to a mother that Zelda had ever had.

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There weren't any living souls as far as they eye could see. Marth gasped in horror at the sight that met his eyes. Dead bodies covered the ground, the grass was stained with blood and an unpleasant smell hung in the air. Marth got to his feet and looked in the direction of the town. It looked just the same, yet it was something strange about it. It looked so... deserted, like there were no people left.

The first thought that flashed through the Prince's mind was about Tael. He had no idea where the fairy could be... he realized how much he missed Tael once the fairy wasn't with him.

"Tael?" he yelled, and the echoing of his own voice gave him an uncanny feeling. "Tael? Can you hear me?" His last words were almost inaudible, as if though he didn't dare to disturb the silence. He felt so alone without Tael, the fairy had been with him every day for some time now, and he missed the fairy's company.

Cremia, Marth then thought. Oh Goddesses, I've got to find her...

The red haired ranch girl was one of the few people in this country Marth really liked, maybe he liked her as more than just a friend... when he had arrived to Termina, the two sisters from the ranch had been kind and friendly to him... he had to rescue Cremia, if it was possible. But he was injured, and without a weapon. The least thing he wanted was to take one of the swords from the corpses around him, but decided that it would be the wisest thing to do.

He headed straight for the North gate to Clock Town, trying not to notice the horrible scene that lay before him. When he reached the northern part of the town, things weren't as he had expected. The town was empty, at least he could not see anyone. When he turned a corner and came to the eastern part, he heard a sudden sound at his left, raised his sword and easily killed the Stalfos that had attacked him. His head aching terribly, he headed down some stairs and reached some sort of square. There were some shops, a milk bar and an inn. Marth had known the woman that owned it, her name was Anju, and he prayed that she was still alive, even if he doubted that.

Muffled voices from the lower part of the town reached his ears as he got closer. Two Stalfos were standing there, with spears in their hands instead of swords, their dark, glittering eyes staring at something at the ground. Marth recognized the dress and the red hair. Since there weren't so many red haired girls in Termina, Marth realized who it was. It was Cremia, and as she didn't move at all, Marth realized that she was obviously dead. He let out a cry of despair, causing the two Stalfos to turn their heads in his direction. Marth saw the spear that was sent flying against him a second too late.

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A/N: Oh my, that chapter was very short – and probably very boring, too. You see, I wasn't in a mood of writing, but I felt guilty just because I haven't updated any of my stories in ages. I'm sorry for that, it'll get better, at least I'll try do update more frequently.

I'm sorry for any spelling errors in this chapter, too. Please be gentle if you review, I didn't look at the spelling before I posted this chapter. And that was a really bad title for this chapter, I know, but it's hard deciding a title when the chapter is about a lot of things. I've got some really good ideas for the next chapter! (I think... -_-;;) It's mostly written from Link's POV, I can tell you. In case you want me to put the next chapter up, please review! I'd love to hear your opinions about this story.

..::Hylian Heroine::..