Dinner that night was akward. It started out with me walking into the dining hall to my mother and father's smiling faces. I sat down in the chair on the left hand side of my father, and stared down at my empty plate as I waited for the servants to bring in the first course. My thoughts drifted away to earlier this evening. I had at last met the one from the Forest who had existed in my repetetive dream for weeks. Even though Link was not at all like I had expected him to be. Now that I think of it, I didn't know what I had expected Hyrule's hero to be like. I had never met anybody from the forest before. I had only seen pictures of things called skullkids, and a few Kokiri existed in the hall tapestries. Well, I knew I hadn't expected him to be so young. Wait, that didn't make sense either! I shook my head in confusion at this. The Forest people are Kokiri. Kokiri remain children forever. What had I expected? An adult Zora? I suddenly felt eyes on me, and I shifted uncomfortably.

I immediately identified the prescence I felt step into the room. Slowly looking up from my plate and Its "wonderful" designs, I met two red orbs that seemed to swirl with malice. Ganondorf's face lit up with a sadistic grin on the moment we made eye contact. I felt a shiver run down my back, and was immediately ashamed for being intimidated by the man before me. I glared right back up at him, hoping my face hid all signs of fear. He gave me a bored glance, raised his eyebrow, then continued walking towards a chair. I had to resist the urge to smash my plate in half and throw the sharper half at him. I was I not /I going to welcome him to the table like my smiling mother and father were!

"Mom, why does I he /I have to eat with us? Can't he go dine with his Gerudo friends? I mean, I hardly have an appetite as it is," I glanced down at my lap as I said this and pretended to be setting my fabric napkin onto it. I admit it, I was afraid of the death-glare my mom must have been giving me at the moment. I knew I would be receiving a lecture from my ignorant father before the night was over, but I wanted to show Mr. Gerudo-King-of-Everything that I was not going to back down. No matter what it was he ended up doing, Link would stop him! At that moment, the servers came dancing in, twirling the plates to the table surface as they went. I sighed in reluctance. This was definately going to be a long meal.

"So, Mr. Dragmire. How has your stay in Hyrule faired?" my mother questioned with friendly greeting coating her tone. I was beginning to feel sick again. How could she do this to me? Next she would probably asking if he had a daughter my age! Ugh, I felt like screaming. The plate thing was still an option, too...Ganondorf took a bite of whatever beast lay roasted in front of us. I stared at his mouth with narrowed eyes. He was chewing with his mouth open, and he was breathing sickeningly hard as he ate. Then, he lifted his head up to look my poor mother in the eye.

"It has certainly been enjoyable. Not to mention amusing," he turned to look at me, and then he gave me a slight wink. Oh dear, how heartwarming. I resumed my deathly glare in his direction until he had turned to my parent's direction. I pushed my plate forward, signaling that I did not want to eat. I continued staring at Ganondorf, disgusted by the flecks of food that rested around his mouth. I didn't see how my parents could continue eating. Well, they were parents. Parents could seemingly do anything. Well, of course there was one exception. They couldn't believe their daughter's most important dream yet. I crossed my arms and looked down at the tablecloth.

"Have you found everything to your liking?" my father asked him with a tone so polite it was disgusting. I knew the answer to this. In fact, I was positive I knew what Ganondorf was thinking from the moment he got that drifty glint in his red eyes.

"More or less," he said with a silky tone. That was it! I just couldn't endure it any longer! I jumped out of my red cushioned chair and shoved it right back into the table. I didn't even bother to look behind me at their gaping faces as I stormed from the dining hall. Flinging open the wooden doors, I stepped into the hall. A passing servant looked down at me with question in his eyes, but he didn't say anything. Not that he could. Well, the look I gave him probably would have kept him from saying anything even if he was high enough in rank to speak with me. I really didn't know how I felt about the servants. Yeah, they were nice to have. I mean, who doesn't like having things done for you? However, I would much rather prefer supporting myself out in the wilderness. Training by day, plotting the next steps of the journey by night. I guess that was the reason I felt envious of Impa. Before working at the castle, she had had the life of a Sheikah warrior.

"Princess Zelda? Aren't you supposed to be in dinner?" Impa's familiar and slightly hoarse voice broke into my angry thoughts. I sighed and nodded. However, she nodded as if she understood what had happened. Well, you never know with a Sheikah. Maybe she did. She just kept walking anyway, and I stepped past her.

I soon found myself in the doorway of my bedchambers. I looked out at my canopy bed and sighed. I stepped forward, turned around, and shut my door behind myself after checking to see that nobody was behind me. Then, I looked at my chest of drawers and blinked. I bent down and opened the bottom drawer. Inside were many gowns, as you might expect to see in the private wardrobe of a princess. I reached my hand into the back, and my finger made contact with the smooth material of the Ocarina. I sighed once again, knowing in my head that this was part of the trouble that was soon to come. I removed it from the back of my drawer and carried it to my bed where I sat down running my hands over it. I sat there on my bed for what seemed like the longest time. I felt like I was about to fall asleep. Then, I lifted the instrument to my lips and played the lullaby notes as softly as I could. Suddenly, I heard a bloodcurdling scream.

The castle fell silent and I listened intently. My heart was rushing blood around my body, and I could hear my pulse pounding in my ears. I knew my brain was dumping adrenaline into my blood system. I was feeling more confident on the inside, and my grasp tightened around my the Ocarina. However, I was having fear paralysis. I didn't know if I should run and hide, or stand up and wait for whatever. I stood up, awaiting what was coming. My stomach dropped, and I never felt it come back. I just had this feeling that this was it. This was what I had been waiting for, and this was what I had sent Link off for. It was coming, and I wasn't sure I was ready for it. Whatever it was. Well, it was Ganondorf. I was sure of that. I How /I was what I feared.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps outside in the hall and braced myself. I could try to finish Ganondorf out right now! In my dream it had shown the forest child appearing to save the Kingdom of Hyrule, though. It was not my place. So, I decided to hide in my closet.

A moment after I jumped into my closet, I heard my door swing open. I didn't hear footsteps, and I was severely startled when the closet doors parted to reveal Impa's anxious face. She grabbed my shoulder and sighed in relief, then she jerked me out into the open again.

"Princess Zelda, you were right! Ganondorf attacked your father and took your mother somewhere! He murdered any servants who got in his way! He shall be after the Ocarina of Time! Hurry!" Impa exclaimed as she shook me. Normally I would have been surprised at her manner of treating me, but this could be a life and death situation. I hadn't seen a girl from the castle in my prophetic dream. For all I knew, I might end up dying. Well, not if Impa could help it. I trusted her with my life, and so I nodded in acknowledgement.

"We have to reach the stables and escape before the filfthy Gerudo King comes for you!" Impa shouted as she signaled for me to climb onto her back. I did so without trouble. Impa had been giving me piggy-back rides around the courtyard for as long as I could remember. The difference was, those were good times. Now was a horrific time. What had that evil man done to my father! Where was he taking my mother! If he hurt either of them, I would not sleep until I saw him dying in pain. I hoped Link was okay. As soon as I climbed onto Impa's back, she dashed out the door and skidded to a halt in the corridor.

Five castle guards were advancing on us with their axes drawn. They had sad looks in their eyes, but it was clear that they were not coming towards us in means of aiding us. No, their intentions were not good.

"Forgive us, Princess. His Highness Ganondorf has instructed us to take you captive and murder you. He will kill our families if we don't!" One of them exclaimed in a tone dripping with horror. Impa maintained her steady expression, and she ran towards them. My eyes widened in horror as they brought their axes back to strike. I didn't want to die! Not if it was useless! If I was going to die, it would be to help Hyrule and to help defeat Ganondorf. As they all released their potential energy and swung, Impa ducked low to the ground. I flattened myself against her back and felt my hair raise up from the current of their blades.

"I will see to it that you are fired!" Impa cried back at them without turning to look. She kept running towards the main staircase that led down into the enterance hall. As we rounded the corner, my jaw dropped. My eyes widened in shock at the sight before me. In my field of vision lay many bodies. As we dashed past them, I saw the bodies of servants that I had known. I fought to hold back tears as I saw my own maidservant impaled on the knob at the end of the staircase. It was a horrible sight that brought a sick feeling to my gut.

"Impa!" I exclaimed with a trembling lip. I was worried about my mother and father. However, Impa kept running. Finally, we had crossed the sea of bodies that littered the ground and we reached the front doors of the castle. Impa dashed through them, because they were already open and swinging in the wind. As we ran at Sheikah speed towards the stables in the back of the castle, lightning crackled in the sky. Thunder boomed loudly. I could faintly hear the cries and screams of peasants above the howl the wind was making. Then, I realized what everyone was screaming at.

A flash of slightly purple lightning caught my eye and I looked up at the towers and sky. There, standing in the window of the tallest tower, was the man I despised. The man behind all the chaos that was flashing by me like an unreal nightmare that I should have woken up from. He was dangling my mother by the throat. I could see her hands locked around his wrists, and I began to cry like I had never cried before. I couldn't hear her, but I knew she was gasping for breath.

"MOOOOOOTHEEEERRRRRR!" I screamed up at them, even though I knew they couldn't hear me. How could he do this to us! We had never done anything to the Gerudo people! We didn't deserve any of it! Not one single bit! Then, to my utter horror, he dropped her.

Her body seemed to take an eyon to fall through the air. I heard somebody screaming, and I realized it was me. Then, with a loud THUNK, my mom hit a ledge and tumbled over the side into the moat. She was dead. No Hylian could survive a fall like that without a fairy or something for regeneration. I was beginning to wonder if I was an orphan. Impa did some sacred Sheikah thing with her hands before grabbing my ankles and running the short distance that remained between us and the stables. We reached them within ten seconds, and Impa jerked me off of her back. Then, she picked me up and tossed her onto her white horse, Poe. She jumped on behind me, holding on to my waist with her firm Sheikah grip. I felt safe, which also felt crazy under the circumstances.

A sadistic laugh errupted behind us, and I turned to see Ganondorf Dragmire jump onto his black steed. It's flaming eyes frightened me, and I pushed my weight forward. I was urging the horse forward, no matter how vain my efforts. We were galloping at top speed, and I knew that. We flew through the market like an arrow, closely pursued by the King of Evil. My thoughts turned to Link as the drawbridge fell down before us. Where was he? Was he alright? Poe jumped over the break in the bridge that had occured on impact. Then, a flash of green caught my eye. To my left was Link. His eyes were open wide in shock, and I guessed that mine probably were, too. We galloped past, and I could still hear Ganondorf's horse pawing the ground behind ours. They paused for a moment, and I heard it let out a screeching whinney. Then, I tossed the Ocarina of Time with all my strength over my shoulder. If I was going to die, Ganondorf was not going to get the Ocarina of Time. I hoped Link was okay. We continued galloping into the storm, and Poe's hoofbeats slowly put me to sleep.