Pale moonlight filtered in through Zelda's window. She watched from her bed as it cast shadows across the floor. With a groan, she threw her arm over her eyes. Tomorrow was the big day. She was to show her powers to the kingdom. The only problem was that she had yet to figure them out. When her father had lectured her about their importance last, he had threatened to confine her to the castle and prevent her from continuing with her research. So foolishly, she had declared that she had finally made progress. It had been nice to see her father's face transform from hard, angry lines to a surprised smile. She had relished the yell of excitement he had thrown into the air. But then he had to go and declare that she would show the whole kingdom her powers.

She hadn't corrected her mistake when she had the chance, partially because she feared the wrath her father would spew the moment he knew she was lying. And now, it was too late. She was just thankful that her chosen knight had remained silent as usual. Zelda could see the subtle surprise on his face when she lied to her father, but he was a loyal friend. Although, in private he had made the suggestion to the King, upon her request, to delay the display of power. He made up something about scheduled patrols and monster activity in order to buy her some time.

She had dedicated every waking moment to her training, and still nothing happened. She didn't know how she would dare to face her father in the morning, or her people. She withdrew her arm from where it rested, and pushed the covers off. She wouldn't be getting any sleep, no matter how hard she tried.

Deciding to take a midnight stroll, she changed out of her pajamas and into something more comfortable. The light blue tunic and brown pants that she usually wore on her travels. Part of her wondered how bad it would be if she simply went for a stroll and didn't return. Would the kingdom miss their failure of a princess? Would her father miss the daughter who had disappointed him all of her life? Would the knight who had sworn to protect her…. She let the thought trail away. Link would miss her at least. She shook the musings from her head as she walked to her bedroom door. She wouldn't run away. She could never.

But, when she made it to her door, it flew open. Link barged in, with his sword drawn as if he was expecting someone other than herself. When he only saw her standing there, and dressed in her travelling clothes, he relaxed his shoulders. Without putting away his sword, he dipped his head and said, "The castle is under attack. Princess, we need to go."

"The calamity," she whispered in disbelief. But Link shook his head no. Zelda scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion. It wasn't the calamity? Then who was responsible? Who would dare to attack the castle other than calamity Ganon? She thought back to the yiga clan's attack in Gerudo Valley. They had tried to pick her off because she was alone. Surely they weren't strong enough to take on the entire military force of Hyrule.

"I'll explain later," Link motioned for them to leave. But first, Zelda made sure to grab her Sheika slate. She attached it to her belt and followed him out of the door. Link crouched as he walked across the bridge that connected her room to the rest of the castle. He motioned for her to follow suit. She glanced over the stone wall at the ground far below. Soldiers were fighting each other, along with a group of people who were no uniforms, only mismatched pieces of armor. A stray arrow embedded itself into the side of the bridge, and she flinched. As she crouched down, she wondered why the only way to enter her room was so unprotected. Shouldn't it have been at least covered bridge? She was a princess after all.

Zelda saw guards up ahead when they finally reached the inner part of the castle. She expected Link to call out to them, to let them know that she was safe. But instead, he pulled her close, and hid behind a wall. "What are you doing?" She whispered.

"I can't be certain of who we can trust. Some of our own have turned against us," he whispered. His face was as impassive as stone, but she could tell he was upset. His mouth was set into a hard line, and he furrowed his brow slightly.

Zelda could hardly believe that Hyrule's own soldiers had turned against them, but she trusted Link. They remained hidden until the guards passed. They went on towards her room, swords drawn and ready for a fight.

The pair made their way through the castle as carefully and as quietly as possible, making sure to avoid anyone they came across. And eventually they made it down to the docks. The main gate was surely already compromised. Their only chance was to somehow get across the moat.

Link, after a moment of consideration, put his helmet on her head, and gave her a cloak he snatched from a napping guard. He winked and said, just follow my lead. He marched over to a spare boat, and Zelda followed behind, with the cloak wrapped tightly around her shoulders. The guards standing around didn't pay much attention to them until Link helped her climb in.

"Hey, where are you guys going? We're supposed to make sure no one leaves till this mess is over." The guard came closer, eyes squinted in the dim light. "Hey, you're chosen hero!"

Link cursed under his breath straightened his shoulders. Casually, he twirled the master sword in his hand. He said, "Look, I don't want any trouble here." He took a step forward, and the guard raised his hands in defense.

"You've got the wrong idea. We're on your side." The others around him nodded earnestly. "We don't want any of the traitors to make it out before our guys clear things up." Link relaxed, and the guard leaned to the side to peek at the boat. "Take care of the princess. We'll cover you."

Link smiled slightly and sheathed his sword. Then he untied the boat, and clambered in unceremoniously. He passed a paddle to Zelda, and took one in his own hands. And with that taken care of, they managed to get out safely.

When they reached the other side of the moat they ditched the boat and started climbing as fast as they could to get to Hylian fields. Out of breath, Zelda collapsed to the ground gratefully as Link doubled over to catch his breath. "What do we do now?" She asked.

He held out his hand to her, and she took it gratefully. "Let's go to Kakariko village. I don't think the sheikah would turn their backs on us."

He led Zelda away from the castle and towards castle town. Zelda was surprised to see how calm it was. The sleepy little town had no idea what was going on right beside them. She looked back to the castle with a grimace. She just hoped the invaders would let her people stay like this. She waited outside of the town, hiding in the tall grass, as Link snuck in. He left behind his armor, and Zelda did her best to hide it under a pile of leaves so the torch light wouldn't reflect off of it. She couldn't see any patrolling guards, but it was better to he safe than sorry.

Link was gone for a long time. Far too long for Zelda. Her legs ached from how she was crouched on the ground, ready to spring up and run if need be. She reasoned with herself that she would be able to tell if something went wrong for Link. Surely she'd hear signs of a fight, steel clashing against steel, or yelling if he got into trouble. But she wondered if even be able to do anything to help him. She remembered how useless she had been against the yiga clan in the desert. If Link hadn't helped her, she would have died.

She cursed herself under her breath, and decided, useless or not she would go look for Link if he wasn't back soon. The waiting was eating her up inside.

Thankfully, not much longer, Link returned with a pair of reigns in his hand and his horse trailing behind. She rose up from the ground as he approached, and stretched out her limbs. "I figured it'd be faster if we went on Epona." Link gestured to his horse. I also picked up a few supplies. Just in case. Zelda peeked in the saddlebags that were strung up. They were hastily filled with apples and potions.

"You must really like apples," she teased.

"It was what they had lying around near the barracks." Link swung himself onto the horse, and held out his hand for Zelda. She grabbed on, and pulled herself up behind him. He nudged his horse with his foot, and they galloped off into the night. She grabbed onto Link's tunic to steady herself without even thinking about it. When he flinched, she let go hastily.

"Sorry," she murmured, heat pooling in her cheeks.

"It's alright," he said quietly, "you can hold on. I wouldn't want you to fall off." Zelda didn't take hold of his tunic, mostly out of stubbornness. Her cheeks flushed as she tried her best not to bounce around as they went over hilly terrain as fast as they could. When Epona leaped over a rock though, she found her arms latching onto him again. This time, she gave in and left them there.