Again I thank all of you for the reviews, woot woot!!

-O-

In the royal castle of Hyrule, Princess Zelda tried to occupy her mind by busying herself with the rearranging of her huge walk-in closet. It was usually the affair of one of the servant girls, but it was something that Zelda wanted to do herself tonight; she had to have her hands doing something, otherwise she might go mad. But even as she took out the beautiful dresses, smoothed them out, and put them back in again later, it was still quite possible to think. And she did not want to think- it hurt too much.

Everyone in the castle knew that the princess was deeply bothered, but only a few of them knew why, such as some of the servants that were close to her, but especially the king. Zelda had come home from Barrack and told her father all the things that had happened to her there, saving the part about finally meeting up with Link for last. When she had finished the story, silenced followed, for her father knew of her love for Link and probably felt her pain. That is how close Zelda was with her father.

"It's my fault," Zelda had told him the night of her return. "If I would have just let him come with me when he had asked in the first place, none of this would have happened. But now we've been apart from each other for three years, and he has found someone else." Zelda had paused here before continuing on. "I have no bitterness towards the girl for it, or to Link- I only blame myself for being a fool."

"You were concerned for Link's safety, my dear. We were in great danger in those times."

The words had done nothing to comfort Zelda. Since when was danger anything to Link? He had faced it all the time, and probably still did. He had fought for Zelda many times, rescued her from terrible things. And this is how she repaid him for it.

Now, as the princess took out another long dress and laid it upon her bed, the situation seemed to be eating her mind alive. She blamed no one but herself, but refused to drown in the pity. She was a princess that had important things to do; but she could feel sorrow for the present moment, at least.

At one point she told herself that she was being ridiculous. It was not as if Link had died. But as bad as Zelda felt, it was as if he had. He had died to her, anyway, or at least mostly. The two of them had not always gotten along so well, for around when they first met, they disagreed a lot and sometimes even argued, but Zelda knew that Link was pure of heart and that things would not always be that way; and they had not. Now Zelda could not decide whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. If they had remained only friends, this would not hurt so badly now.

But what to do about it now? Obviously, there was nothing but to get over, and that would take awhile. One does not merely 'get over' someone they love, and Zelda knew this. And if Link's girl was with child, then that meant that he would probably marry her, and that would be the end of it. Zelda's stress caused her the urge to tear her hair out.

She had heard from someone that the girl had miscarried the child, but that was probably nothing but rumor. How would anyone way out here in Hyrule know of things that happened in Carrickfergus? And besides, even if the thing was true, it would probably not matter. Link seemed serious about this girl, and Zelda knew that he always stuck with things.

It pained her to know him so well and yet have him in love with someone else. She wondered if he still loved her at all, if he had any room in his heart. Zelda had been so overjoyed to meet up with him again in that one nameless city that she had not even thought of the possibility that he might have found someone else; but she had to admit that she could immediately tell that something was different when Link had hesitated when she had kissed him. Zelda felt like kicking herself for that as well. What a fool she was!

Zelda was a very stressed young woman at this point. These things concerning Link were pressing on her mind, Hyrule was on bad terms with Altea and she was unsure whether she was ready for a peace agreement yet, and now the whole castle was weighed down by her depression. If the princess was unhappy, everyone was unhappy.

Zelda sat down with a long dress in her lap, her hands twisting the fabric anxiously. She did not know how much more of this she could take. She just wanted to sleep, or cry, or scream-

The door of her dwelling opened slowly. Zelda looked up and quickly composed herself, ready to look like a proud princess for whichever servant it was, but was relieved to see that it was her father the king who entered. She pushed the dress aside and went to him, and he caught her in a hug. Their relationship was not based mostly on their royal ranks; their greetings to one another involved no bowing or groveling, for they were too close for that. They were on the terms of a normal father and daughter that were close, despite their royal blood.

"What troubles you, my dear?" the king asked with concern, his hand stroking his daughter's long hair.

Zelda's arms were still around his neck, but there were no tears on her face. She had never really been one to cry. "I am thinking of what a fool I am, Father. I have messed up things badly."

"Dear," he replied gently, pushing her back and taking her left hand, "you have the mark of the Triforce of Wisdom. How then is it that you can be foolish?"

"I feel as if I disgrace that mark, Father."

The king patted the back of her hand, where the mark of the three triangles was concealed under her glove. "You cannot disgrace destiny. It is just not possible, Zelda. Even if something happens that seems very bad to you, you must keep in mind that it may have been meant to happen." He paused. "Like perhaps you are not meant to be with Link for the rest of your life."

Zelda sucked in a long breath and held it. "That is how I always pictured it. It just seems so wrong that it can't be that way."

"I know, my dear. But it is not your fault. Even if it does not seem like it now, I strongly believe that you were meant to deny Link to come with you that day."

Zelda closed her eyes and gripped her father's arms tightly. "Father... after I left, he was in so much despair that he was fixed to drown himself. So now he must really love this other girl."

"I am sorry, my dear."

She hugged him again. "I'll be all right. I just hope that Link plans on coming to visit me sometimes."

But she did not feel all right. Later on that night when she went to the bathhouse and was settled into the scented water and deep flower petals, she wondered if her depression would eventually eat her alive. It sure did feel like it. A maidservant came over and poured a vase full of more flower petals into the water, and Zelda sank down deeper. The bath was built in the ground, to where the top of it was level with the floor around it. Zelda thought it was like being in waterhole, only it smelled much better.

"How is the princess tonight?" the girl asked, bowing slightly.

"Well enough, I suppose. Thank you."

The girl put down the vase to picked up a palm branch and began fanning slowly. Zelda leaned back to where the water and orange petals were up to her neck and forced herself to relax. She could not walk around in depression forever. Not only was she a princess that had other affairs to tend to, but just as a person she needed to stop this. It did not mean that she was going to stop feeling bad or stop loving and missing Link, but she must accept the way things were. For if she did not, she would go crazy. So right there she decided to shake off her depression and try to be positive.

The servant girl paused her fanning to pour the princess a glass of sparkling cider. Zelda thanked her and took a sip. She had to admit that it was very good- a step down from the usual customary wine. Zelda secretly hated wine, especially red. For some reason other people drank it on a regular basis, but to her it was the most awful thing she had ever tasted.

"It's good tonight," Zelda said as the girl picked up the fan again. She liked to pay compliments to her subjects, for she hated when royatly treated their servants badly. She had made a promise to herself long ago that she would never do that.

"Thank you, highness," the girl said, tossing her brown hair back. "I made it myself."

Zelda tilted the glass at her in another silent compliment and then lifted the glass to her lips. Hurried feminine footsteps sounded in the hallway, and then another servant entered the room quickly. She held something white in her hands, and she approached the princess while bowing respectfully. The girl seemed to be nervous.

"The king received this letter, and after reading, requested that you read it as well," the girl said shakily. She probably did not know what the letter said, for it was not seemly for a servant to read the king's mail, but she seemed as if she might know something about it at least. Zelda dried her hands, then took the letter from the girl. Upon glancing at the front of it, she realized with surprise that it was directly from the royal castle of Altea. The seal that her father had broken had the official printed mark of the Altean king's signet ring, which confirmed it as authentic.

Zelda had the mind to send back letter that said she was not in the mood for more peace talks, and she slipped her fingers inside the fancy envelope and removed the contents. She paused to take another drink, then opened the crisp white paper. After reading silently for a few moments, a shock suddenly went through her that nearly caused her to spew her cider. She sat up quickly, though making sure to keep most of herself in the water, and sucked in a breath.

The girl with the palm branch stopped fanning. "Bad news, princess?"

Zelda sat frozen and quickly caught herself before accidentally dropping the paper into the water. "I... I don't know. I'm not sure yet." She fell back again in surprise and just stared at the elegant inked words. She would have expected anything before expecting this.

"If it please the princess," the shaky girl said carefully, "may it be that you tell us what it is?"

Zelda blinked slowly, still in shock. "It's a... it is a marriage proposal from the prince of Altea. The king is asking for my hand on the behalf of his son."

Silence followed. Apparently the servant girls were as unsure at what to think as the princess was. Zelda breathed deeply and made herself think. She had not had any plans of getting married anytime soon, but here this was thrown up in her face so suddenly. She had only met Prince Marth once, and though he had not said much, Zelda could tell that he had a hot temper and a haughty mind. But he was nice to look at and seemed to be sure of himself, as if one day ruling an entire country would be easy. Zelda had never thought of it that way; she had been kind of afraid when she would take over the throne of Hyrule. For a moment she actually let in a thought of saying yes to this proposal- looking at the bigger picture, that would form a strong alliance and end the confrontation between their two countries. Which was probably Prince Marth's plan. Zelda knew of Altea's strong army, and had heard that Prince Marth was very good in the ways of war, despite his youth, and he could handle a battle well. That would be a good thing for Hyrule, if she was to accept this, for linking Altea and Hyrule together by royal marriage would nearly form a single country between them. How powerful Hyrule would be!

But then again she was thinking of other things, more personal things. She had had no wish or thought to be married before she saw this letter. In fact she had almost never considered it. She was a very independent person and could not imagine being subject to a man, no less a future king. She knew of all the things that came with marriage, but she decided that she could consider herself lucky. Most young princesses were usually stuck with marrying a man that was much older than she, so old he was usually grey, but Zelda knew that Prince Marth was at least nineteen.

The prince was very skilled with the sword, which secretly impressed Zelda, for she obviously liked swordsmen, and was youthful, strong, and good-looking. But she knew almost nothing of his personality or preferences. Did he have concubines? That was something that had always annoyed Zelda about royal men, including her father. But what was she supposed to do, write back a letter that said 'Do you have concubines"? That would not make any sense.

Zelda wondered what it would be like to be the princess of two countries. And when Prince Marth's father crowned his son king, that would make Zelda a queen. She liked the thought of it but was still unsure. Her head hurt and she did not feel like thinking, but her thoughts soon travelled to Link. If he had chosen this other girl for himself, Zelda could choose someone else as well.

Zelda folded the letter and slipped it back into the envelope. The servants were looking at her questioningly. "All right, then," Zelda said on a good-natured note. "Take this back to my father. Oh, and have him to write back to Altea... and tell the prince that I accept his proposal."

-O-

Jennan rode hard all day and for as long as she could take it, but by evening was tired and ready to get off. She had never known that it hurt so bad to ride like a man until now. Her legs were killing her, and the insides of her thighs felt bruised. And she had left Carrickfergus in such a rush that she was still wearing her best dress and still had her masquerade mask tied around her wrist. She pulled back on the reins and halted the horse, then gladly slid off to the ground, jerking her skirts off after her. She could have at least changed dresses before she went.

But oh well. Even if this one was ruined in the end, it would probably be worth it. She was on an eight-day journey, at the least, and it was cold and she had forgotten to bring a coat or shawl. Snow had already started falling more than once during the day, but her adrenaline had blocked it out. Now that she was tired and weary, the cold seemed to seep through to her bones.

Her destination was Hyrule. Her idea appeared to be a little perposterous, but it was worth a try. The plan was to go directly to the Hylian princess and tell her the current situation of Link. Jennan was very unsure at what the outcome could be, because the princess might be insanely jealous and could demand that Jennan be beheaded on the stop. It was a very stupid thought, but you never know. As far as what Link had told her, the princess Zelda was a very fair and generous person.

Jennan was certainly not personally going to rub it in Zelda's face, as if to say 'I have him and you don't'. That was ridiculously childish, and Jennan was prepared to go groveling if she had to- definintely not boasting. She was unsure if this was going to work or not, but she was desperate to try it. If she did not, Link might be sold to her aunt Olivia and never seen again. Of course, Jennan was not a quitter. If Link was sold over in the end, Jennan would just follow and come up with another plan later. But she did not want Link to be a slave any longer, and she remembered her promise that she had made to him a long time ago- that she would somehow free him. Of course, somehow was much easier said than done.

Link was strong and independent enough to free himself, but for some reason he had not tried. But Jennan knew the reason, and it made her feel guilty. Link did not want to raise Hades by trying to escape and kill his chances of ever seeing her again. In other words, he was basically still in slavery for her.

So that was one of the reasons why she was so fixed on freeing him. Even if he was not doing it for her, she still loved him and would want him free regardless, and she knew he wanted it to, though he never spoke of it. She knew him well and was sure that he almost never complained about anything, so she would complain for him. Someone had to fight against this unfair situation, and she was proud that it was going to be her.

She was not exactly sure how to get to Hyrule. She had gone with Dorobis to see aunt Olivia once to Barrack, but that was ten years ago and Jennan could not remember the exact way. And besides, once she reached Barrack she had another whole day and half a night to go to get to Hyrule. Well, she would find it some way, and hope that she was not acting overly bold.

Hopefully Olivia did not just take Link and leave regardless that Jennan had her horse. But one's horse was a very important thing, so a person usually did not just take off and leave without it. So Jennan had a ransom, and she was proud of herself for coming up with the idea. Maybe it would hold Olivia at bay in Carrickfergus until she got back.

But of course there was still the chance that Jennan could return home in just the way that she had left, and Link would still be a slave. Could Princess Zelda somehow free Link? Or just as importantly, would she? Maybe she was furious with the both of them and did not care what happened. But since that was unlikely, Jennan was going for it.

Now she had to decide where she was going to sleep for the night. She tied the mare's reins the low tree branch of a pine tree and decided to sleep under the tree where the branches had blocked the snow. She sat down slowly on the pine needles and situated her skirts to where they would almost make a bed for her. It was a bad thing to not have a blanket in this cold. And traveling for eight days or more was something for a man to do, not a young lady. Well, if she was going to be Link's wife one day- wait a minute, did she just say wife? Jumping to conclusions, was she! What had given her the impression that Link would ever propose to her? Just because she wanted it to happen did not mean that it would.

It would be better to stop thinking and go to sleep, so Jennan lay down. She had slept outside before, but not very often and never in the cold. She shivered and curled herself into a ball. This was very unlady-like, but it did not matter at this point. She was on her way to do something important- for she would do anything for Link.

A noise in the darkness startled her, and she sat up quickly. Earlier she had found a dagger in the saddlebag of her aunt's horse, and now she had it tucked away in her dress. If anything moved, she would grab it. But she was not as quick as she had thought, for suddenly something was beside her.

She leapt to her feet, but someone grabbed her wrist. The hand was big and rough, and Jennan heart jumped in fear. She was not doing this just to be dragged down in the woods by a strange man, again! Link had been there to save her last time, but this time she was alone and not so lucky. The horse shied away from the struggle, and Jennan braced herself on the ground and quick as a flash, kicked the figure right where it would hurt him most.

The dark silhouette went down on the snow, hunched over in pain. Now Jennan grabbed the dagger from her dress and was about to call out a warning when the figure spoke in a very deep, familiar voice.

"Jennan, don't," it croaked in pain. Jennan froze, then relaxed and nearly fainted with relief.

"Rhashidi!" She bent down beside him and quickly put away the knife. "Rhashidi, why'd you do that to me?" She put her hands on his arm, for once not bare for he was actually wearing one of Matayo's shirts. He groanded and sat up, his hands between his knees that were pressed tight together. Now Jennan felt awful. Had Rhashidi just told her it was him, this would not have happened.

"I'll be okay," he said through clenched teeth, his strange wolf-ears laid flat back across his thick hair. Jennan sighed. Pit Rhashidi against a huge mountain cat and have him come away victorious, but kick him like that and he'll be down and out.

"Oh Rhashidi, I'm sorry," Jennan said. "I didn't know it was you. You should have said something."

Rhashidi nodded quickly, his hair falling all around his eyes. He struggled to stand up, as if making an attempt to ignore the pain. Jennan felt terrible, and not to mention embarrassed.

"Did Link send you?" she asked, and Rhashidi nodded again. Jennan smiled to herself. Link seemed to always take care of her, even when he was not there.

"He would have come himself," Rhashidi said through gritted teeth, "but Dorobis has a tight hold on him, to make sure he doesn't leave."

"Well, stay close then." Jennan had been very sure of herself when she had first left Carrickfergus, and still was, but she had to admit that she did not want to be left alone. The woods were very dark and ominous, and the trip in itself was dangerous. It was not unusual for someone to be robbed along the trail while traveling, or even kidnapped or killed. She wished that it was Link who was here with her now, but she knew that she had nothing to fear of Rhashidi, for he was her friend and she trusted him. He was unusually strong and a fierce fighter, but he was also very obedient and even timid most of the time. Suddenly Jennan wondered at herself, for she had never even thought about being afraid of Rhashidi before; there had just never been any reason for it. Then again, she had not been alone with him for days, either.

She felt horrible now for kicking him, and again apologized, though he seemed to be for the most part recovered. He waved the thought away and began unbuttoning his shirt, his fingers seemingly stiff from the cold. Jennan herself felt frozen to the bone, and noticed the the sky had opened up again and it was snowing once more. Well, the tree they were under was giving them some shelter at least.

Rhashidi let the shirt drop off him and held it out to her. "You need it more than I do."

Jennan looked at the shirt and blinked slowly. "Rhashidi, I can't just take it. You need it- my dress is enough."

"Link wants me to take care of you," Rhashidi said quietly. "Take it."

Jennan sighed and took it from him slowly. "But nobody wants you to freeze. It's cold out here."

Rhashidi raised his chin and said in a low voice, "I've lived shirtless for the past seventeen years. I can do it again."

Jennan's eyes flashed over to him as she pulled the shirt on and buttoned it up. It was very much too big for her, but it would work. Rhashidi had never told his age before, and Jennan had wondered many times exactly how old he was, for it was quite hard to tell. "So," she said, "I guess you'll be all right then." She yawned deeply and sat down under the tree. Traveling by horseback was more tiring than she had ever thought it was. Poor Link, who had done it for two years straight must have been constantly exhausted. Then again, he had more endurance than she did, and he was a wrangler that pretty much lived in the saddle anyway. Still, she felt sorry for his having to do that.

The next thing Jennan knew, the sun was coming up. She awakened slowly, curled up in the brown pine needles, and shivered. It did not seem to be any warmer than it had during the night, unfortunately. She sat up and tried to brush off some dirt from her dress, and was glad to see that Rhashidi had lot slept too close to her. He was practically on the other side of the thick tree, sitting with his back against the trunk and his knees up, his arms folded over his knees, and his head resting on his arms. He looked much more peaceful when he was asleep.

Jennan stood up and straightened her dress. Her aunt's horse, which was tied up a few feet away, stamped the ground and turned its head to look at her. Jennan knew that she would have to let the horse have a long graze at some point today, or it would eventually grow weak. She went over to Rhashdi and poked his shoulder with a finger. "Rhashidi, I've got to get moving." He grunted as he woke up and lifted his head, his dark hair falling into his eyes, and very soonly they were on their way again, Jennan on horseback and Rhashidi somewhere else. He did not stay right beside the horse; in fact, Jennan never really even saw him while doing the actual traveling, for he somehow just seemed to show up whenever she halted the horse. Jennan wondered how he even kept up, but he did.

She had to keep making sure that she was going in the right direction, but the position of the sun usually kept her on the right path. It was unusual for a girl, but she knew how to use the sun as a compass, and now was quite glad for her studies with her tutor. But if she happened to go the wrong way, Rhashidi would tell her, would he not? He had probably been back and forth from Hyrule many times, and not to mention he had a sense of direction that was probably a part of his strange sixth sense.

Sometime during the early afternoon, after hours and hours of moving forward, Jennan stopped the horse and dismounted stiffly. She dropped down onto the thin covering of snow on the ground and tried to stretch her back and shoulders. She had to admit that Rhashidi's shirt --well, she felt more comfortable saying Matayo's shirt-- had kept her warmer. She just hoped that Rhashidi was not frozen.

As usual when Jennan came to a halt, Rhashidi emerged from the woods. He did not look like he was cold. He just looked like he always did, though the metal collar around his neck was frosted over. He yawned deeply, making his sharp and deadly canine teeth quite visible. Jennan wished that her teeth were as white as his, and he was the one that went around biting people and things. His jaws snapped shut as he slipped his dagger into his belt and ran the back of his free wrist over the blue tattooed markings under his left eye. "Are you hungry?"

Jennan suddenly realized that she was. "I haven't eaten since the masquerade." Before she had left, she had not even thought about what she would eat and drink, so intent on her plan she had been. Rhashidi told her that he would go find something for her, and that it might be good to let the horse graze for awhile. Jennan thought that the mare would run off and said so, but Rhashidi replied that he would make sure it did not.

After he left off into the woods, Jennan sat down on a log that did not have much snow on it and thought that it was very nice of Rhashidi to be doing all of these things for her. No doubt that it was because Link had said so, but it was still generous. Jennan shivered and again wished that it was Link who was here with her- but no offense to Rhashidi. It was just the way it was when you loved someone.

Rhashidi came back soonly after with quite a few fish. He built a fire in a dry spot and even cooked the fish for her.

"How did you get them?" she asked as he stabbed her a cooked fish with a sharp stick. "Isn't the creek frozen?"

"I broke through."

"Well how did you catch them?"

"With my hands," he replied quietly, and looked at her as if it was so obvious that anyone should have known the answer.

"Oh." Jennan blew on the fish meat gently. "Yes, Link's told me before. I guess I forgot."

She fell silent, and Rhashidi picked the bones from his fish and looked at her. "You miss him already?"

"Of course." She looked at the ground. "I just hope that I can return home with good news for him."

Rhashidi practically inhaled the fish and picked up another one. "So," he said quietly, in practically a whisper, "what exactly are you going to do?"

Jennan rolled the stick in her fingers and crinkled her eyebrows. The plan had seemed absolutely brilliant when she had first thought of it so suddenly at the masquerade, but now it seemed very scary. "Well, I'm going to Hyrule, of course. And... I'm going to the princess and requesting Link's freedom. Can she even do that? I mean, she is his princess and all..."

Rhashidi stared at her and ran his tongue over his lower lip. "It depends. Link is actually in your father's possession, or officially your aunt's right now."

Jennan scoffed angrily. "I can't believe it's actually legal to just drag someone down in the woods, and just because you claim them as your slave, they belong to you."

"It wouldn't be if this was part of Princess Zelda's kingdom. But Carrickfergus is just a land with no royal leader, like Akanea and Doluna. So I guess the people rule themselves."

"So if the princess commands that her subject be released from slavery, it wouldn't help any?"

Rhashidi bit his lip and looked away. "It might. I don't know much about rulers and legal things, but it's possible."

Jennan swallowed. So there was still a chance, and if there was a chance at all, she was pushing on. For if Link was put in her aunt's possession, there was no telling what would end up happening to him. At least Dorobis kept him on the plantation. Olivia could send him off and get him killed somehow. But Link was very well capable of taking care of himself, and Jennan knew that she was being paranoid, but it was her strong love that was doing it.

The next few days basically went the same way. Jennan travelled by herself but sometimes talked to Rhashidi when resting. He kept her on track, made sure the horse was all right, hunted for her, and kept a sharp lookout for danger. Jennan was not so pleased when he brought back something furry and dead to eat, and she hated to see him skin it with his dagger, but she knew that it had to be done. She would have to get used to skinning and cooking cute things if she would one day be... She quickly cut off those crazy thoughts of her dream future and tried to concentrate on the matters at hand.

On the fourth night, they had finally reached Hyrule, and she was dirty and exhausted. When they had passed through Barrack, Jennan had gone by her aunt Olivia's house to see if the woman had returned yet, and was relieved to see that she had not. Rhashidi pretty much vanished when she came into the Hyrule streets, so she had to find her way to the castle by herself. She asked people for directions, but some did not speak English. She had learned a few Hylian words from Link over the time that she had known him, but not enough to function properly. The main thing she had really picked up in Hylian was curses- now Link did not curse much, but when something went exceptionally wrong, he'd let one slide, but always in his own language. Jennan only knew that he was cursing by the way that he said the words.

Well, she could not curse at these people. She had to do something that would help her. Some people looked at her strangely as she passed by on her sleek mare, for she was obviously a stranger here, and she was not used to being a stranger. She would stop and ask someone, usually women, "English?" and they would either shake their heads or just look at her apologetically.

She thought it was interesting to see so many other people with the pointed ears, just like Link's. Too bad none of these ears understood English! And if Rhashidi had stayed with her, this probably would not be a problem. She would make sure to scold him for that later, but not entirely seriously.

She soon stopped asking for English, and instead requested Princess Zelda herself. 'Zelda' was obviously a very familiar word, for people would start gesturing as they talked, as if giving directions, but Jennan still did not understand them. Finally, a female voice said, "I speak English. I can help you."

Jennan turned in the saddle and saw a pretty, young girl who was wearing fairly fancy clothing and balancing a large jar on her head. She had brown hair that hung only to her jawline. When she turned to the side, Jennan saw the symbol of Hyrule on the arm of her dress, the same symbol as on Link's shield. "Thank you," Jennan said sincerely, relieved that she was finally getting help.

The girl moved gracefully and with her head held high. For a moment Jennan wondered if this might even be the princess herself, but no, Link had told her that Zelda was blonde. The girl shifted her weight to one hip and looked up at Jennan. She talked with a Hylian accent, which Jennan thought was strange; Link did not have an accent. "I hear that you've requested the princess. Can I ask why?"

Jennan swallowed nervously. "I suppose you could say that it's personal business, miss."

"I see. I can show you to the castle, but there's no promise that you will get inside."

"Thank you, very much."

So Jennan nudged the horse into a walk, and she followed the graceful girl through the streets. Her heart was pounding unusually hard, for she was going to meet royalty face-to-face, and it might be that the princess would be furious when she found out who Jennan was. Jennan could even be facing death, for all she knew, and it unnerved her. But from what Link had told her, the princess was not that kind of person at all, but you never know.

"What is your name?" the girl asked when they were in a spot that not so many other people were. "I need to know something to tell the princess."

Jennan told her. Her hands were sweating on the leather reins, in spite of the cold all around her. It would have made her feel better if Rhashidi was here, but of course he was not. She squeezed her knees against the horse's sides nervously, her silky purple skirts hanging down and covering most of the horse's back and even part of its tail. When this journey was over, it would probably no longer be her best dress.

The massive castle was suddenly in view, and Jennan was in awe. She had never seen a structure so huge, or so powerful-looking. It was dark even against the night sky, which made it look even larger, but some of the windows were lit by firelight. There seemed to be guards everywhere out here in the darkness, but they did not question the stranger, for it seemed that the girl was probably a personal servant of the princess herself.

"Stop here," the girl said, and Jennan halted the horse. "Stay here with the guards, and I will tell Princess Zelda that she has a requested visitor."

The girl disappeared into the darkness, and Jennan felt very alone, even though there were guards right beside her. She figured that Rhashidi was probably close by as well, though right now it felt like he might as well be on the moon. Jennan felt very small, as if royalty and power seeped from the castle itself and drifted off over the subjects of Hyrule. On the way to the castle, Jennan had noticed the symbols of Hyrule on almost everything, and she was sure that they were on the castle as well, they were just not visible in the dark night.

The guards did not speak at all, and Jennan figured that it was against protocol, or whatever it was called here. Jennan was sweating and felt like yelling, 'Rhashidi, get over here' but certainly did not. She looked up at the sky and hoped that it would not be the last time, though she was pretty sure that she would leave the castle in one piece. Link trusted Zelda and Jennan trusted Link, so it was worth a try.

It seemed as if an uncomfortable forever had passed before the servant girl came back. "The princess says that she will see you. But from my advice, do not take too long. Follow me."

Jennan dismounted slowly, and was unsure with what to do with the horse, but a guard came over and took the reins. Jennan nodded at him gratefully and tried to brush off some more dirt from her skirts. She could only wonder what the rest of her looked like, though she had tried to keep her hair tamed and put up as it always was over the past four days. The servant girl led her through the darkness, and suddenly they were inside without Jennan quite knowing how. It was extravagant in there, to say the least, and the ceilings were enormously high and elegant.

Jennan followed close to the girl as they passed through huge rooms and went up spiraling stairs. Jennan's legs still hurt from the four-day ride, and her muscles ached as she lifted her skirts a little and made her way up the stairs after the girl.

"The princess is in high spirits tonight, for once," the girl said. They had been uncomfortably silent until now. "She has been in a state of depression lately."

Jennan did not ask why, because for one thing it was none of her business, and she thought that she had a pretty good idea, and swallowed hard. 'Lately' probably meant right after she had met up with Link again, and Jennan felt almost guilty. Or maybe it was just her nerves.

They finished ascending the stairs, then went up more, and came to a red-carpeted hall that was lit by beautiful torches. Guards lined the walls every few doors, and at the end of the hall were two gorgeous double-doors, the obvious sign of a royal's dwelling. Jennan's knees felt weak, as if they would collapse under her and send her to the ground.

"It's by Princess Zelda's request that we come directly to her dwelling," the servant girl said to the two guards outside the door. "I am on the princess's business, so open the doors for the guest."

Jennan sucked in a deep breath and tried to compose herself, and then the doors swung open.

-O-

"So then, it is done."

Prince Marth knelt in front of his father's throne, a letter in his hands bearing the royal mark of Hyrule. "It is. The princess accepts."

The king motioned for his son to stand. "Very well done, Marth. After the war, I thought that you would never find yourself a wife."

Marth swallowed and stood, holding the letter in both hands. "It's for the good of Altea."

"Perhaps. But in the end, it will also be for the good of you. My son, you need this. You must have a queen to sit by your throne when you take my place." The king's eyes shifted to the throne beside him, empty of his queen for years now.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Marth?" Anya asked. She had come to the king earlier, and having the sceptre held out to her, had stood behind his throne to perform every request of his since then. She asked the question with kindness, but it was no secret that she did not like the idea. She had been closest to Marth over the years, and no doubt it would be strange for her when he took a wife. Marth cared for his sister deeply, but he would not stop his betrothal for her comfort.

"It's what I want, and it's already been done. No doubt we will be married by next week."

Marth had to admit to himself --but only to himself-- that he was somewhat nervous. He did not have much experience with girls in a romantic way, for he had just never really been interested, until he saw Zelda. There was just something about her that he liked, but he could not explain what it was. Always before he hated the thought of concubines and just wanted to be left alone, which aroused the suspicions of the subjects that perhaps the prince swings the other way, but it was not like that at all. They would see it when he married the beautiful princess.

"I don't want the whole kingdom at my wedding," Marth demanded. "Witnesses, yes, but no crowds."

"Anything you want, my son."

Anya blinked her sightless eyes slowly. "That will not please the subjects."

"And is that your place to say that, girl?" the king snapped, and Anya shrank back.

"It's all right, Father," Marth said. "I know it won't, Anya, but I'm here to rule them, not please them."

"Well, you see," the king said, "one thing about being is king is learning how to please your subjects. If you do not, they will reject you as king and all Hades could break loose. Learn to please them but still be in control. But if you do not want a crowd at your wedding, you will not have one."

"And I am getting married in the Altean way, with the hands tied over the fire. It should be all right with Princess Zelda."

"Should be," Anya said. Then gently, "Marth, you hardly even know this girl."

"Welcome to the world of royalty," the king snapped again. "Get out of here, girl. And do not come back tonight."

Anya bowed and quickly left, and Marth watched her go over his shoulder. When he was king, he would make sure that Anya was lifted higher than her present position, but right now he had other things to worry about. Like what kind of ring he was going to put on his bride's finger.

"You are excited," the king said suddenly. "I can feel it."

Marth sniffed and tossed his bangs. "Weren't you when you were first married?"

"Not so much. But I grew to love her."

Marth figured that that was what was going to happen to him, more than likely. There was no way that he could love Zelda yet, for just like Anya had said, he barely knew anything about her. He had met her once and had barely even conversed with her. But it was not uncommon for someone to marry without love, especially in royalty. It seemed to matter more for what it would do to the country, and in this case it would end decades of rivalry and bring the two countries together. Of course they would still be known seperately by name, but their power would be as one.

And Marth wanted power almost as much as he wanted Zelda.

-O-

You all didn't tell me if you wanted a sequel or not! I want to write one, but it would be pretty useless if no one wanted to read it. I'm going to end the story where it can be the end, or the first story of two. So you all tell me.