-Kantan, Country of Zhao-

"This is her?" Dawn stared at Zelda skeptically. Zelda gazed back blankly.

Impa had done her best. She helped the girl bathe and clean up in a room overnight. Unfortunately, she could not fix years of mental, emotional, and physical abuse, filth, malnutrition, and bugs in one night. Transforming her into a proper princess would require years of training and care. Zelda had uttered nothing, and the distant stare was eerie. Impa feared for whether or not the girl was capable of being a leader of any sort.

Zelda stayed close, not moving out of arms reach since the day before. Her eyes were wary of the men and women around them. Zelda was visibly uncomfortable in the open and crowds where she was exposed.

"Yes," Impa confirmed.

"Don't look much like royalty."

"Yes, well, neither do you!" Impa snapped. Dawn had been grating at her nerves since they met. Her response earned him a well-mannered tease from his companions, and the man backed off under Impa's protective stare.

"This will do it." Midnight patted the barrels and motioned them over with an encouraging smile. "She gets into a barrel, and we ride through the checkpoints. Easy!" Despite his words, Zelda clung to Impa.

"Is it necessary?" Impa asked. "Zelda looks frightened by the idea."

Dawn grunted, "Unless you want to traverse the country and be caught by roaming war parties or bandits."

Midnight glanced down at Zelda and whispered, "We have an understanding with the guards. It's the key to our work. This is how it has to be done."

"I see." The idea begrudged Impa, but if it was necessary. She helped Zelda onto the cart, and with more encouragement, the girl climbed into a barrel. Impa promised to be beside her the whole time. The marketers checked everything one more time, and they were off.

The checkpoints the group passed would be the same ones Impa had already passed with credentials forged by Chancellor Ryo, so she wasn't nervous about being seen.

They stopped when they were in sight of the first checkpoint near midday. Twilight said, "Alright boys and girls, get comfortable and let me do the talking. Girly, you good back there?"

"Yes," Zelda said from her barrel. "It's hot... And it stinks..."

The man chuckled. "You can come out and breathe in a bit. Just be quiet and don't move. Our lives are on the line."

They approached the first checkpoint. Impa observed from the back as the soldiers performed an inspection, but it was an inadequate inspection by any standard. The guard captain and black marketer talked like old buds. The formality was a ruse.

In passing through, the second gate was immediately visible over the horizon, and before long, they had passed two checkpoints.

"This was easier than I thought. That looked completely routine." Impa observed.

"Once we persuaded the captains to our side, it's all formality," Twilight replied. He jerked the horses to a halt. They were far beyond the checkpoint. "Okay, girly, you can come out."

The men removed enough of the contraption to let Zelda out. The girl was gasping for air and sweating. Impa said, "She is suffering from heat exhaustion. We should rest now."

Midnight smiled for Zelda. His gentle nature contrasted with Dawn's gruff demeanor. "We won't reach the final checkpoint till tomorrow anyway. You can stay out. If you want a break, there is a creek south of here."

"I will take Zelda and get her cooled off, then. We'll be back." Impa clasped Zelda's hand and descended the hill.

"Don't take too long!" Midnight called.

True to his word, there was a creek down the hill. Immediately Zelda took a running start to jump in. Impa chuckled. It was an amazingly childish thing. Something she almost dreaded was beyond the damaged princess. For a moment, she seemed like an ordinary girl.

Zelda's change was rapid and immediate. Having spent a night out of her mother's care, Zelda spoke brief sentences instead of half-words. As they fled the city and were well on their way to Qin, the princess was animated. She was aware. What was hidden, and restrained was coming out.

-Zelda-

Zelda floated in the creek contently. She closed her eyes and basked in it. It drenched the girl through her rags and soothed her after being baked in a confined space. The water seemed to sap at Zelda's very mind and pulled away burdensome strands from her thoughts. In Kantan, her every thought was about surviving, about escape, hiding, and enduring the pain and hatred.

Here, in this creek, all that went away for a moment. There was no city to beat her and chase her. Her mother was not here, and after the lovely breakfast with Impa, she wasn't starved for the first time Zelda could remember. There was only the sound of birdsong, the tranquil water, and the occasional small fish to stroke her skin and tickle her under the protective gaze of the woman sent by the moon. A wave of peace and joy Zelda had never known swept over her, and all she desired was to slow time that she may extend this moment.

Something splashed next to her, and Zelda rotated her head to look at it, only to gasp in horror. She saw herself crawling out of the water with eyes infested with worms and teeth with blood flowing. The 'other' was bony, scarred, and wore torn rags revealing all of her ribs and bones. It moved toward her like a spider atop the water.

"No. No!" Zelda tried to move but couldn't. Hands reached out of the water and seized her. The water-filled with corpses cried out for vengeance and grasped to pull Zelda beneath the surface.

The 'other' crawled on top of her on all fours and stared down at the petrified princess. Worms fell from the 'other's eyes onto Zelda's face. Zelda twisted her face and closed her eyes. She instinctively turtled within herself, waiting for the blows to come. She felt the 'other's breath on her cheek. It smelled of decay and rot.

"You think you have the right to be content?" It breathed. "You think you have the right to live after what you did? If you had never been born, they wouldn't've lost their family in Chouhei. If you had never been born, your mother would be happy. You are a curse! You cursed Zhao, and if you flee to Qin, you will only curse them!"

The vision grabbed Zelda by the throat and morphed so that its face was her mother. It was at this point that Zelda found her voice and was able to thrash around.

A moment later, she found herself enveloped in a woman's arms, and the hallucination disappeared. Zelda cried. She shook. It was more than just the waking nightmare that pierced the walls around her mind the girl had built up for years. It was the hug itself. Her mother had hugged her before, but not since she could remember.

-Impa-

Neither knew how long they sat in the river. Zelda shed years' worth of tears, and Impa said nothing to encourage nor discourage them. It wasn't for a long time that Zelda was able to calm herself.

The princess asked, "What happened in Chouhei?"

Impa tensed at the word. A thousand implications came to mind of what Zhao had done to her because of Chouhei. "Why do you ask?"

"I've always been blamed for it. The people beat me calling out vengeance for whatever happened at Chouhei and that I deserve to die."

Impa sighed. She figured as much. "How old are you?"

"Twelve."

"Then you were three when it happened. Your father, the king of Qin, was visiting Zhao to seek some form of agreement. During his stay, Zhao attacked Qin. I guess Zhao's king thought that holding the other king hostage against his own country would stay our hand, but his general failed. The Zhao general was killed, and the officers below him surrendered. It is considered honorable to send the soldiers home. Or perhaps to recruit them into your army. Or enslave them. Or barter them. Rather than do any of that, even bargaining four hundred-thousand lives for the Qin king, the general executed every person in a living burial."

"Living burial?"

"Where you bury them alive," Impa explained dispassionately. Zelda gasped.

Impa continued, "By standards even towards enemies, this was monstrous. That four-hundred thousand made up members from families all across the country. There was no family in all of Zhao that did not suffer from the loss. In the weeping and chaos, Chancellor Ryo Fui was able to evacuate your father. He could not, however, get you or your mother out."

"Did you come under his wishes, then?" Zelda asked.

Impa blinked in surprise. Zelda was right, but it startled Impa how easily the princess came to this conclusion. "Yes. It was believed that everyone died, and no one knew you were born, to begin with. I didn't know. Not until Ryo gave me this mission."

"Oh..." Zelda whispered sadly.

Sensing why she was getting upset, Impa consoled her, "I would have come even without orders. Once I knew you were alive, no horse could get me here fast enough."

That seemed to appease the girl. Zelda rubbed the tears out of her eyes and straightened up. Her eyes were more clear and focused than before. "So I didn't do anything?"

"No, you didn't."

Zelda said nothing more. She seemed to accept the answer and started walking back to the cart up the hill. Impa sighed. She had a feeling the girl was becoming attached to her. Unwise for a monarch, but Impa felt it would be wrong to discourage the behavior either. If Zelda demanded it, then Impa would accept becoming whatever she needed to be.

-Impa-

"Took you long enough," Dawn grunted.

"My apologies, there were things to clear up," Impa approached with Zelda in tow.

"Of course there was..." The man would have said more, but Midnight swatted him upside the back of the head.

"Stop playing around, let's get back on track," Twilight ordered.

Impa helped Zelda climb back into the barrel, and they were back on the road for the night. The ride to the final checkpoint was leisurely. It was approximately the second hour of the morning when they saw the inspection. They were almost there.

Twilight ordered a halt and cursed. Impa felt her gut fall as his professional demeanor cracked. She asked, "What is wrong?"

"That captain- I don't recognize him." The man replied. The other merchants grew tense and discussed with each other how to proceed.

"Are we able to go around?"

"This is the only pass through the mountains. It would require several days to go around it, and then we are nearing where there is an open battle. We're having to do this the hard way."

"What do you need from me?" Impa asked.

"Talk when they talk directly to you, otherwise let us handle it. Girly, are you okay in there?"

"Yes," Zelda said.

"Great. No matter what, do not make a sound. Got it?"

"Yes."

The men shared a glance. They coordinated themselves and situated the cart to look more accessible, open, and less like it was trying to conceal something. Impa relaxed on the back while Twilight took up the reins, and one of them mounted a horse by the cart.

The captain of the guard compelled them to stop as they approached. "Get off," he ordered. "Stand to the side and present your papers while we look over this."

Impa pulled her forged papers while they discussed business. The smuggling leader smiled warmly, "You're a new face. What happened to Sou Mi?"

The guards approached the cart. Impa kept Zelda's barrel in her preferential vision.

"Sou Mi was found guilty of extortion. He restrained the wrong guy through without paying extra and..." The new officer smiled just as warmly. "Lost his head."

Dawn snorted in amusement.

"Well, I must say," Midnight put on the charm. "His loss is our mutual gain. He took a fair rupee off us unless we paid, and it seems you are a fair one. By the book. I like that in a soldier, really lets you know who you can rely on."

Out of the corner of Impa's eye, Zelda's barrel briefly shook. A guard turned his head with a frown. Impa felt her blood chill as the armed guard approached the barrel in question.

Then he pierced it with his sword to the hilt.

"What the realms?!" Midnight barked.

Impa froze in horror. Her every instinct screamed to kill the soldier, seize the princess, and run, but to do so was suicide. There were dozens of men at this post. All she could do was pray to whatever Goddess was listening that it wasn't Zelda's barrel the man pierced with his blade.

The merchants were not much better. They were extremely vocal about their 'product' being damaged. Impa followed the attempt to pretend, but it would all be moot if the soldiers saw blood.

The guard withdrew his sword from the barrel slowly. Impa's eyes were glued to its surface, waiting for the inevitable redness to appear.

Nothing.

The man withdrew his sword from the barrel and inspected it. It was unblemished. He looked to the captain, "It's clear."

The captain nodded, "Sorry for the damage, but it was necessary."

Dawn grunted, "Can we go now?"

The captain nodded and waved the gate to open. Impa climbed onto the cart along with the others, and they proceeded.

With each step, Impa felt watched. Every second from the checkpoint to the next pass was a nightmare. They couldn't go fast without drawing attention. The carriage had to roll agonizingly slow, but her heart was pounding a mile a minute. Impa felt she was on the verge of a panic attack. She wanted -no- needed to know Zelda was alright.

They were barely over the first turn before Impa was knocking barrels off the carriage to reach her. She pried the lid off and gasped. Zelda was covered in blood.

"Princess!" Impa cried.

The men rushed over, and together they lifted Zelda out. The girl helped in lifting herself, but Midnight said, "Do not lift yourself! We have you!"

Twilight, the focused of the three, pointed to Dawn, "Keep an eye on the road! Let us know if anyone comes!"

They lifted Zelda out of the barrel and placed her onto the flooring. Her rags were in tatters, so Midnight took his coat off and handed it to Impa for the girl to use. Impa peeled back her clothes to find the wound was in Zelda's side. The woman poked the gash gently and opened the injury to examine if there was pus or how deep it was. Thankfully the location of the wound wouldn't be lethal. Impa's occupational experience told her so, nor did she see the shade of death on Zelda. They took a cloth, stripped it, and after applying straight alcohol to the cut, once Midnight took a gulp, Twilight bandaged the slash.

Impa felt something was amiss as he sowed it tight. Zelda didn't make a sound the entire time. She didn't flinch away from the pain. When the heavy drink poured on, the princess didn't blink. She should have been in agony, her muscles should spasm in pain, and they should have had to seize her down and clamp her mouth shut, but Zelda was utterly relaxed, even curious.

No longer willing to subject the heir to a barrel, they made a cloth bed for her, laid her on it, and covered her with Midnight's coat. They tore a set of rags from some fabric for the girl's use. Impa threw away the bloody cloth Zelda had worn up to this time. Zelda had been covered in blood, but the sword?

"How?" Impa finally found it in her to ask. "How did the sword not have any blood on it?! We should all be dead right now!"

"It must have been a miracle of the Goddess!" Midnight proclaimed.

"It was me," Zelda said weakly. Impa looked at the girl in astonishment. She explained, "This sword went through the barrel into my side. When it started to retract, I saw the blood and realized his sword would reveal me. So I tore my clothing off and wiped the blood off as it moved back."

Impa could only stare. The men were not much better. Impa was amazed that even in such a dangerous moment, the young girl found a way to win, but something in Impa's gut screamed something deeply wrong. Zelda didn't expect the sword to pierce the vessel. She should have cried out in alarm or pain, yet the girl hadn't made a sound. Not when the sword pierced her side, not when the wound was bandaged or cleansed, and now that she thought about it, Zelda hadn't made a sound when the men in Kantan were battering her.

"Amazing..." Midnight muttered, unable to find words for it. Even Dawn was left speechless.

Twilight smirked, "Princess, you are gonna be something one day. I hope I live long enough to witness it."

They continued on their journey. With the final checkpoint passed, the group had officially crossed into Qin territory.

Unluckily, there was one more obstacle. The dust cloud following an army of horses racing down the road towards them was an obvious clue.

"We have trouble!" Dawn yelled.

"How did they catch on?!" Midnight exclaimed.

"Who cares! Impa, hold onto girly! Girly, hold on!" Twilight barked. Impa held onto Zelda and the side of the carriage, and after a glance back, the black marketer struck the horses into a full run.

The group sped down the dirt road fast as they could go. Midnight took the barrels and propelled them off the cart to lighten the load. It wasn't enough.

"They're gaining on us!" Dawn yelled.

"We have a bow under a plank! Get it!" Twilight replied.

Midnight yanked up the wooden planks and procured a bow with some arrows in a quiver. The large man positioned himself in the back of the wagon. Impa took Zelda and placed her in the front corner, while the Sheikah herself pulled out her short-sword and balanced as well as she could with the carriage speeding down the road.

The Zhao horsemen came into view and shot the first arrow at them. A volley followed the first. A swift turn prevented any from striking their mark, but Dawn was not so lucky. One stuck out of his shoulder as he rode beside them.

"How much further!?" Twilight yelled.

Impa said, "An army will be there! Trust in the Goddess!" Impa held onto Zelda tightly. Undoubtedly, the Goddesses would not send her there unless for a purpose.

The Zhao force rounded the corner after them, and Midnight discharged his initial shot. He had difficulty aiming right with the shaking, but with a road full of Zhao horsemen, it was hard not to hit at least something. Midnight launched shot after shot, but there were too many of them, and the rumbling threw off his aim. The Zhao came upon them.

An arrow hit Dawn's horse, and it went down in a tumble that would have shattered his bones to dust. The tumble took one of the Zhao with him, and the horsemen fell with his steed.

An arrow pierced Midnight's chest, and he collapsed back onto the carriage. Zelda screamed as he coughed up blood.

No more arrows flew. The Zhao captain yelled, "He wants her alive! Careful!"

The Zhao force drew near, close enough for a number of them to maneuver around the carriage. Seeing the horsemen nearing out of the corner of his eye, Twilight drove the wheels into the Zhao beside them, pulverizing them between the transport and the mountainside.

-Zelda-

Zelda gasped at the explosion of blood. A bloody hand extended up the side of the carriage and clasped on. The 'other' Zelda pulled itself up and crawled across the transport to Zelda. Zelda's legs shook, and she did what she could to step back, but she had the side of the carriage at her back.

The 'other' hissed, "Why do you run? Why do you flee? Even now your curse is at work. Look at yourself! You can't even feel pain! Gentle Midnight just died for you... would you allow them all to die? Would you allow HER to die? Turn yourself over, and she will be okay."

The 'other' Zelda continued to crawl closer. The hands of corpses extended out of the mountain walls to reach for them. The spirits of the dead pointed and judged.

The 'other' demanded, "Are you sacrificing all of them just so you can run?!"

The dead yelled out, "Monster!"

"No!" Zelda cried back. Impa did not know what Zelda was yelling at, believing it to be the situation itself.

"Not going to lie, this doesn't look good!" Twilight yelled. Zhao jumped onto his seat, wrestled with him, and the two fell face forward and tumbled under the carriage. Two Zhao jumped onto the back, and a third-placed himself at the reins so he could pull the wagon to a stop.

Desperate, Impa took a step away from Zelda to fight them. Impa stabbed the Zhao in the front and returned her attention to the other two. As if guided by the Goddess's hand, the horses did not run the carriage off the road. But instead, the opposite, the ride smoothed. At the same time, the back of Zelda's hand started to glow.

"If not a monster, if not a curse, then what are you!" The 'other' Zelda demanded. "What are you?!"

Zelda placed her hands over her ears, but she could not stop their voices. The 'other' demanded an answer from her. The spirits cried out in torment. Their hands reached out for her, and the hollowness of their eyes pulled her in. Impa fought with the men, and more Zhao prepared to leap aboard. One aimed his bow at Impa.

Zelda snapped.

Taking the bow and arrow from the carriage floor, she leveled it at her living nightmare. The nightmare quieted and looked at the arrow tip in fear. Zelda looked back in determination.

She had enough of it. She had enough of her life in Zhao, her weakness, and the nightmare and agony. Zelda decided she would do what the heir was born to do: carry the burden of the dead. If the living and dead blamed the princess for Chouhei, she would make sure the deaths were not for naught. After all, she was the firstborn to a king. The living and the dead were her burdens. Did carrying that burden make her a demon or angel? She would let history decide.

"I am a king!" She answered.

Zelda loosed the arrow. The mark on her hand lit brightly, and a shockwave of light pierced the nightmare before ripping up the road. The bright shaft completely took off half of one of Impa's adversaries in an explosion of blood, threw men and horses into the air, and destroyed the road. The back half of the wagon exploded in splinters. The cart shifted and dragged across the ground as the rear wheels disappeared.

In the aftermath was silence. Zelda breathed a sigh of relief. The 'other' was gone. The dead stopped tormenting her. The pain in her head had lessened. The girl could see now what she needed to do.

-Impa-

The other Zhao and Impa both stared at the girl in shock. Neither had expected for a large, light arrow to pass. The Zhao looked at Impa, decided it wasn't worth dying here, and jumped. In the distance, the second wave of Zhao came into view.

Impa climbed to the front, gripped the reins into her hand, slowed the horses enough for them to move, and jumped onto one of the horses bareback with Zelda in her arms. She severed the ropes holding the horse to the carriage.

They sped down the path quickly without the weight of a carriage holding it back. Impa wasn't as skilled as these Zhao, but her military training wasn't far off. She expertly urged the horse forward, held onto the princess, and swerved the paths. They descended the mountain and into the valley.

Horsemen surrounded them out of the corner of her eye. Impa lowered herself over Zelda, but no blade pierced her. Tilting her head, Impa recognized the flag of Qin on the captain's banner. Qin horsemen surrounded them in a protective shield.

The captain yelled, "My lady! The general extends his best!"

Another group of Qin horsemen came at them, only to ride past and engage the Zhao that followed.

Impa yelled back, "The princess is hurt! We need a doctor!"

"There are doctors at the camp!" The captain replied, "The army is situated just down this way! Follow me."

Without waiting for an answer, the captain escorted them southwest. Before long, Impa found herself riding into the midst of many soldiers. The army of Qin had arrived. The captain called out for a doctor, and her horse directed toward the middle of the camp.

Finally, able to stop, the adrenaline stopped pumping through her veins. The adrenaline, the stress, the death, the fear, the exhaustion, the desperation, it all pooled over, and Impa nearly wept in joy. She ran her fingers through Zelda's wild hair comfortingly. The mission was a success.

(Grammarly 8/19/2020, GradeProof, Scribens 3/12/2020, brief update 4/11/2020)