The past two month and a half were very miserable and boring for Zelda. Impa had gone back to Castle Town to find Sheik, but had come back without her, instead Impa brought a bunch of refugees, and the news of Ganondorf's rule. He had gotten the Triforce.
Link had gotten the three spiritual stones, opened the Door of Time, and pulled the Master Sword out of it's pedestal, but, being only twelve Link had been to young to be the Hero of Time and the Goddesses had put him to sleep until he reached a suitable age.
While he had been visiting with the Goddesses, Ganondorf had gotten into the Sacred Realm and taken the Triforce, plunging the world into darkness.
Zelda spent the time after that being trained as a Sheikah by Impa and helping the refugees that came to Kakariko.
"Princess." Impa said, interrupting Zelda's meditation. She opened her eyes and looked up at her caretaker and closest friend.
"Yes?"
"We have to go, now. Ganondorf's forces have been spotted coming toward Kakariko. Pack your belongings, we leave for the Sheikah tribe's camp in three hours." Zelda stood up quickly. Non-Sheikah people never visited the Sheikah camps. There were only a few remaining, and one of those tribes lived on Death Mountain. It was where both Impa and Sheik had been born.
"Will that be okay?" Zelda asked. Impa nodded.
"They will not harm you if I am there." Zelda nodded. Impa was a powerful figure among both Sheikah and Hylians. She had founded Kakariko Village so that Hylians and Sheikah could live in peace together, but most Sheikah only came down the mountain if they didn't want to be Sheikah, if they were training abroad, for trading, or if they had completed their training and were going to the castle or other places to make lives for themselves.
Zelda climbed the flight of stairs to her room quickly to pack her small amount of belongings. She had stopped living like a princess a month ago. Stopped wearing dresses, finding Sheikah clothing much more practical, and stopped relying on everybody around her to help her. A Sheikah's non-armor clothing was very much like a Gerudo's, except the pants were a bit less puffy, and they wore actual shirts. Zelda had been shocked to discover that most Sheikah did not wear armor constantly, although to Zelda it seemed like Impa was always wearing armor. But now that she thought about it, when they went shopping the day the Gerudo had come to sign the peace treaty Sheik had not worn armor in order to seem less threatening. Although how a six year old kid could seem threatening, Zelda didn't know. She thought Sheik was actually very cute. But she would never tell Sheik that, of course.

-0-0-0-

Three hours later, Zelda was packed and ready to go.
She had to leave her horse, Maple, behind because she couldn't climb the mountain, but the stable boy who looked after her promised to take good care of her.
"Ready Princess?" Impa asked, materializing out of nowhere, as she tended to do. Zelda nodded and Impa led the way to the gate that led up death mountain, now unmanned and always open.

The hike was long and treacherous, but Zelda didn't complain. Too many people had died and gone through much worse than she was, and she was going to recapture her kingdom one day and rule them all, so she definitely wasn't going to let something like this stop her.
Impa had them stop for the night about half way up. Zelda guessed they were level with the Gorons, but they had gone off the Gorons' road a long time ago and were almost on the other side of the mountain. Zelda had always believed the Gorons to own the whole mountain, but it turned out there was more mountain, and the Gorons only owned half of it.
After building a small fire, Impa left to go hunting, leaving a frightened Zelda alone in the semi-darkness.
Zelda sat next to the fire and hugged her knees, watching the dancing flames quietly. Around her small animals scuttled through the darkness just outside the ring of firelight, and Zelda nervously clutched the short sword Impa had given her.
She wondered if this was how Sheik felt right now, alone, somewhere in Ganondorf's castle, and frightened of everything.
No, she decided. This was not how Sheik felt. Sheik must be much more frightened, she had Impa and a entire village willing to protect her with their lives. Sheik had no one. Even she and Impa had abandoned her.
Hopelessness suddenly swamped Zelda. The Hero was asleep, Sheik was gone, she may even be dead, and here she was, running from the threat again. Like she had done when her father had died. Maybe Kakariko would be wiped off the map, and Zelda would have let it happen.
Zelda buried her head in her hands, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. What could she do? She was a ten year old kid, trying to survive in a soon to be entirely dark world.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and yelped, spinning around with her sword in her hand.
"Hush Princess, it's only me." Impa sat down next to her beside the fire and began to cook the dead bird she had brought. Zelda looked away, she didn't like to see dead things, although they tasted pretty good once they were cooked.
"Impa?" Zelda asked, still looking into the darkness a couple feet out.
"Yes?" Impa responded, placing a few more logs into the fire.
"Do you think all of the people in Kakariko will be okay?" Impa sat still for a moment, considering, weighing probabilities.
"Yes. The guards at Kakariko will be able to keep it safe until I can bring word to the Sheikah. Messages have been sent to the Gorons and the Zora alerting them of our situation, but I don't know if they will be answered." Zelda nodded.
There was silence for a few moments in which Impa tended to the dead bird.
"Impa, we are going to build an army and take back Hyrule. We don't know when the Hero will awaken, and we cannot afford to sit idly while we wait. My people are fighting, and I will fight with them." Impa was shocked by Zelda's sudden resolve and the determination in her voice. A small smile crept onto Impa's face and she nodded.
"Yes, Princess. But first we must get word to the Sheikah, they will surely help us." Zelda agreed.
"But I must ask, where did that come from?"
Zelda smiled, "Just a thought I had, it seemed like a good one." Impa nodded thoughtfully, someday Zelda would make a great ruler, but for now she was still a child and children needed their sleep.
"Now sleep. We have many miles to cover come dawn." Impa handed Zelda a bedroll from one of their bags and Zelda laid it on a somewhat flat spot.
"Okay. Goodnight Impa." Zelda said. Yes, Impa thought, she was going to be a wonderful queen someday.
But first, they had to re-capture her kingdom.
Impa leaned back against a nearby rock, preparing to keep watch throughout the night.
Tomorrow they would reach the Sheikah camp. Impa could only hope they would be welcomed. Even she could not fight a dozen angry Sheikah, and Sheikah really were loyal to tradition, and would most likely not appreciate a Hylian among them.
But times were changing, and the Sheikah would have to adapt. If Zelda died, Hyrule would die with her, and that would be a devastating blow to all of their neighboring countries.
Impa sighed and let her carefully marshaled thoughts wander to Sheik.
Sheik. The girl she had pretty much adopted. Sheik was an orphan, her parents had been killed by the monster imprisoned in the well when they had gone to assist Impa in sealing it. Sheik didn't remember Impa, she didn't know Impa had sealed the monster at the same time they had been killed.
Impa sighed again. If Sheik died she would never forgive herself. She had been the one to let her go then, if she had said no then Sheik wouldn't have gotten captured.
Impa felt guilt begin to form, but smothered it before it could become anything. She would not feel guilty for what she had done. She already felt bad enough for being useless when Sheik's parents had been killed, and guilt was something that made people weak.
Impa was not weak. Hadn't it been Impa who had told Sheik so many times not to make decisions she would regret?
Impa shoved away thoughts of Sheik, resolving to find her when she was sure Zelda was safe. For now she had to focus.
Impa took deep breaths, letting her senses branch out and noticed everything. The sound of Zelda's gently breathing from her left, the scuttling feet of dozens of small night creatures, the beating of keese's wings in the dark.
Three hours passed uneventfully, and Impa still sat silently keeping watch. Something was off. A strange sound had caught her attention. The sound of footsteps. Quiet, almost imperceptible.
Impa's wakizashi slid out of it's sheath. How had they gotten so close? Only just outside the circle of light.
Impa moved back into the light and to Zelda's side.
"Come out." Impa ordered. Her voice was level, calm, and commanding. There was a sound of light footsteps and a figure dressed in grey and blue stepped into the circle of light.
"Impa!" the Sheikah yelled, a big grin on his face. Impa relaxed and watched with amusement as another Sheikah emerged from the dark and playfully punched her companion.
"What brings you and your friend to our side of the mountain?" asked the first one. Impa recognized them as the twins from the Sheikah tribe, Amur, and Anis.
"My friend is Princess Zelda, and you will address her as such." Impa said, frowning. "We come seeking refuge and assistance." Impa admitted. The twins grinned.
"Sure! I'm sure Emir will agree to help." one of the twins, Impa wasn't sure which one it was, said cheerfully.
Impa opened her mouth to thank them when Zelda sat up, rubbing her eyes.
"Impa? What's going on?" she caught sight of the other two, "Who are they?" The twins leaned around Impa to see Zelda better.
"Good morning Princess!" they chorused.
"Good morning..." she said uncertainly.
"Princess, meet Amur, and Anis." Impa introduced.
"Nice to meet you!" the twins said at the same time, extending their hands in greeting. Zelda tentatively shook them, trying to figure out which one was which.
After introductions and explanations were complete Zelda asked if they were going back to the village.
The twins nodded enthusiastically. Zelda smiled.
"That's good." she yawned. "What time is it?" three pairs of crimson eyes looked toward the sky.
"Three." answered Impa. The other two nodded in agreement.
"You three get some sleep." Impa said.
"We actually were sent to check on Kakariko, our look-outs spotted what looks like an army of monsters advancing on it." Amur said.
"So we should probably keep going." Anis finished. Zelda sat back up.
"How did you get here so quickly? Our look-outs only noticed them two days ago and only confirmed their destination this morning."
"Secret passages." said Impa. "But we would have gotten killed as soon as they saw you if we came up in the village without warning." Zelda nodded and lay back down.
"We can stay 'till the sun rises." Anis said, laying down near Zelda.
Amur shrugged and lay down as well. "I guess."
Impa went back to her rock to keep watch for the rest of the night, rubbing her head. Those twins gave her a headache. She had no idea how those two had become Sheikah warriors. They talked too much.
But Impa couldn't help the smile that came onto her face. It was good to be home.

-0-0-0-

A/N

Thank you to all who read, reveiwed, followed, or favorited!
You all make me so happy.
I hope this chapter was acceptable, but as always, there is no way it's perfect, so reviews are greatly appreciated, especially constructive criticism.

Also, a special thank you to Hasenpheffer! (I hope I spelled your name correctly.) Who helped me fix up the previous chapter. It still isn't as good as it could be, but I will not be re-writing it at this time.
I hope this one is better.

Thank you all so much!