When they reached Kakariko village, sunlight started to seep over the horizon. Zelda rubbed her eyes ruefully as she fought to stay awake. She and Link hadn't talked on their way to the village. She was grateful, for she wasn't sure if she could remain composed as the reality of her situation settled in. But she was also disappointed. She wanted, no she needed to know exactly what was going on. She had assumed an awful lot as she was left alone with her thoughts, and she dearly wished for assumptions to be wrong.

Link was loyal to the royal family through and through, so she couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't also grabbed her father. She worried that he had been taken prisoner before he had been able to save him, or that something worse had happened. She hoped that someone else had simply been there for the King, and that Link had collected her on her father's request. But even she knew that was unlikely.

And she wondered who would invade the castle. If not the calamity then it had to be the yiga. They were the only ones who had the motive. But why had Link told her that he didn't know who to trust? Had her own people betrayed her? She wasn't sure.

Link carefully brought Epona to a halt outside of Impa's home. Even though she was young, she was a fierce leader and one of Zelda's most staunch protectors. Link slid off the horse with ease, and helped Zelda hop off. She stifled a sigh as the two walked up the many steps to the door. Link knocked quietly, so much so that Zelda was sure that no one would hear it. But, after a few moments Impa opened the door.

"What do you-" Impa paused. She looked back and forth between Zelda and Link, taking notice of the soot on their clothes and their tired eyes. "Is everything okay?"

Zelda shook her head, and took a deep breath to steady her voice. "It's awful Impa. The castle was invaded."

Impa's eyes widened, and she pulled Zelda and Link inside before they could say anything else. She shut the door hastily and locked it before running up to her room. When she was halfway up the stairs she looked back at Link and Zelda, who were still standing by the door with muddled looks of confusion. She beckoned them to follow and then raced up the rest of the steps.

Zelda glanced at Link, whose tired face gave away more emotion than he normally showed. He yawned silently, before catching her eye. With a slight jolt he covered his mouth with his hand. His cheeks reddened, and he cleared his throat. He gestured to the stairs, his meaning clear even though he didn't speak, and Zelda nodded. "Let's go," she said.

Impa's room was as neat and orderly as Zelda expected. Impa pulled her chair away from her desk, and sat directly in front of the bed. Zelda took this as an invitation to sit, so she sank down into the mattress. Link, uncertain, remained at the top of the stairs until Zelda patted the space beside her. Impa's eyes narrowed slightly as he sat beside the princess, but she remained quiet.

"Now, tell me what happened," Impa directed to Zelda.

Zelda opened her mouth to speak but instead turned to Link. "I think it'd be best if you explain. I don't exactly know what happened either."

Link shifted uncomfortably as two pairs of eyes stared at him, waiting impatiently to hear what he had to say. He cleared his throat and began, " The castle was invaded by the yiga clan." Zelda nodded along as her guess was confirmed. "It seems as if they have managed to turn a number of Hylian guards to their side." At that piece of information, both Zelda and Impa gasped.

Imap clenched his fists and spat, "Why would they betray the royal family?"

Link glanced at Zelda and hesitated before continuing on. It made her narrow her brow. What didn't he want to say? "I'm not sure," he said. A clear lie. Zelda was certain that he knew more than he let on. She glanced at Impa and saw that she had noticed it too. "They've taken over the castle, and put out orders to capture the princess. I'm not sure what they're trying to achieve, but I'm guessing that they're trying to pave the way for Ganon to take over without opposition."

Impa and Zelda let the little knowledge he had sink in. But there were so many unanswered questions. Zelda held her hands together tightly and asked the one that was burning her up inside. "What happened to my father. Did someone else help him escape as well?"

Link swallowed hard and looked away from the princess, as if he couldn't bear to see her face. "Princess, I'm sorry. I was too late to help your father."

Zelda's throat constricted and tears sprung to her eyes. She clenched her hands together as she tried to understand what he meant. "Well then, we'll just have to help him escape capture," she said with a tinge of hope.

Hope that was dashed when Link refused to meet her eyes. "Princess, he's gone."

Zelda let out a choked sob unintentionally and stood up from the bed. Impa and Link stood up to meet her but she waved her hands. "I need a moment to myself. I," she stammered, " I know we have more to discuss but I -"

"It can wait," Impa said as she patted Zelda's shoulder. "Link and I will leave you alone for now. We can talk about things later. After you've had some rest. You've had a long night." She lightly pushed on Zelda's shoulders to guide her into sitting back on the bed.

Then she glared at Link and dragged him away from the room. Zelda could hear her scold him as they walked down the steps. "Nice way of breaking the news. How more insensitive could you be Link?"

They moved out of earshot before she could hear Link respond, if he did at all. She figured that he wouldn't have. He took criticism in stride. She would know. She thought back to how she had so unfairly criticized him in the past. She frowned. If not for Link, she would have probably ended up as father had. Gone.

With that thought, she fell back into despair. She and her father hadn't seen eye to eye, but they still had cared for each other. At least, she thought ruefully, he had been proud of her in the end. Even if that pride was misplaced. She tried to stifle another sob as she realized the last words she had spoken to her father had been lies. She had been so angry, but now that anger felt silly. Her father was gone and she was still as useless as ever.

Impa was right about rest making Zelda feel better. Well, not exactly better. That wasn't the right word for how she felt. She felt more controlled. After resting, she felt like she wouldn't burst into tears at the slightest mention of her father. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing she supposed. She only left Impa's room when it was late in the evening, and all her tears were dried. She smoothed down her hair as best as she could and put on a brave face before walking down the steps. She saw Link sitting at the bottom staring straight ahead. She cleared her throat slightly, and he jumped up from the step. He moved out of the way, and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Zelda noted that he looked as drained as she felt. She wondered if he had gotten any rest, or any time to take in what had happened. It didn't look like it.

She had half a notion to ask him, but Impa made her presence known. "Zelda, we were just planning on what steps to take next. If you're up to it, we'd like your input as well." Zelda nodded as she moved across the room to where Impa stood. At her agreeance, Impa motioned to a map that had been laid out on a table. "We don't know the state of our allies, so we thought that our first move should be to discreetly contact them. We need to know who we can trust." She glanced at Link before continuing. "We have a route planned out, but it will take a week or so to get to everyone discreetly. Link and I have agreed that you should stay here where it's safe while we gather the champions."

Zelda crossed her arms, and shook her head. She thought about the feeling she had when she waited on Link to return from castle town. Waiting for him and Impa to return would be unbearable. And she didn't want to feel so useless. She had to help too. "Absolutely not," she said briskly.

"It's not safe," Impa implored, "we have no idea if the others are in danger, or if they're even a part of this. It's much safer if you stay here and wait for us to return. We can trust the people in my village to protect you, and to hide that you're here."

"Well, I disagree," Zelda said flatly. "I trusted that the people who swore to protect the royal family would do so, and we all know how that turned out." Impa started to contest the implication that her people were not trustworthy, but Zelda held up her hand. "I'm not trying to imply anything Impa, but you said it yourself. We don't know who to trust. All it would take would be one slipped tongue for my whereabouts to be known, and what would I do if the yiga clan attacked your village? I'm much safer with you two."

Impa frowned, and tapped her foot impatiently. "Then I'll stay with you. Link can handle things on his own." She looked towards Link for confirmation, and he nodded. She turned back to Zelda, "See. He'll be fine."

Zelda sighed in frustration. "I'm not going to just sit around and let everyone else fight my battles for me. I'm going too."

"But what if the same thing has happened to them that happened to you?" Impa asked.

"How about I just stay behind as one of you scouts things out? That way I would still be there, but out of harm's way."

Impa frowned but nodded. "I guess that would work."

"Good," Zelda stated. "Then its decided."