Le Jack Thanks for the review:-) I'm tidying up the "Sheikora" bit in this chapter, as you'll see…

Zelda woke from an uncomfortable sleep confused. Remembering the day's trouble, she groaned. "Nayru, this cannot be happening!" she whimpered and glared at the dark sky. The bridge had opened and closed hours ago.

The princess looked wistfully up at the drain hole. It was too far a jump, and the wall was too smooth and slippery to climb. Was this the price of wanting to be a normal girl? This was boy's work!

Zelda tilted her head at the too-high drain hole. She closed her blue eyes, and leapt toward the hole, knowing what would happen, and regretted her decision. The girl hit the wall with a sharp slap and splashed loudly as she hit the water. To her annoyance, the racket attracted a guard. He blew a whistle at the miserable princess who wanted nothing more than her own bed.

"You're not allowed here, girl!" he barked.

"It's me! Princess Zelda!" she wailed as she clambered out of the water.

"And I'm the King of Hyrule," he sneered. "I'm taking you out of this castle and back to your little peasant hut!"

Furious that he insult her or "peasant huts", she delivered a sharp kick to his shin. He yelped and made a mad grab for Zelda, who wriggled out of his grasp and ran headlong into Impa.

"Princess," Impa glared down at the tired girl.

"Impa," she replied, dreading the consequences of the day's events.

"Do you realize what you have done today?" Impa asked in a dangerous voice. Zelda cleared her throat.

"Well, I kicked a guard."

"And?"

Zelda felt very uncomfortable. What was she supposed to say? "I got myself some real, down-to-earth friends," Zelda replied hotly. Impa seemed surprised.

"Have you been doing this often?"

"Maybe," the wet princess replied sweetly. Impa sighed. It was clear that the Sheikah woman didn't know how to tell her it wasn't right for the princess to havecommoner friends. She cleared her throat.

"Zelda, you do remember that you are a princess, right?" Impa started.

"As I am reminded every day," Zelda replied with a bored tone.

"If someone were to realize you were running around loose in the Town Market, anyone could take you, to kill or ransom you. Which isn't a good thing," Impa added hastily, seeing the mischievous look on Zelda's face. "I'm going to have to tell your father, you know."

Any smug look on the girl's face vanished, replaced by a look of distress. "No! Then I'll never see my friends again!" Zelda wailed. She glared at Impa with a fiery anger.

Impa frowned. "How did you do that, princess?"

"Do what?" Zelda asked angrily. Impa shook her head.

"Never mind," the warrior woman replied quietly. "Follow me."

"Who're ya?" dark-haired Betta asked nastily to Sheikora. There was something really peculiar about this proud peasant girl.

"My name's Sheikora. Can I play with ya?" the girl replied. The other girls looked stunned, holding their dolls. This group of girls were cautious about newcomers ever since that one girl came and ripped Malon's doll's head off.

"Sheikora is a fair strange name," Malon said as politely as she could. Sheikora shrugged.

"Tradition t'name all first-born girls in our family Sheikora," the girl shrugged. "Please… can I play?"

"Who're your parents?" Talla asked, pushing back her long, orange hair. "Blonde hair ain't common 'round here."

"Papa said there be some Kokiri blood in us somewheres," Sheikora said, hoping the girls didn't know the Kokiri never grew up enough to have any kids.

"That's pretty neat. All I got in me is plain ole' Kakariko," Betta complained. "That's where me an' Selena are from." Betta gestured over to the wide eyed girl, who's hair was a beautiful auburn. "Her dad be a cucco farmer, but she's allergic." Betta rolled her brown eyes at Selena, who blushed.

"This is Talla," Betta continued, nodding at the girl with orange hair, pulled into a messy ponytail. "She's lucky enough to have Gerudo in her. Poor devil is too scared to pick pockets though." This made the tan Gerudo blush.

"Here's Malon. Her daddy be somethin' like a milk man. Got cows, horses, and cuccos. She's got a damn good voice, though!" Betta said emphatically, making the poor red-head turn crimson. "Then there's me, Betta!" the girl finished off proudly.

Sheikora didn't say anything. Was this an invitation to play with them? Just as she opened her mouth to ask, a young boy came over.

"Hey, what'cha doin'?" he asked with a sneer.

"Git lost, bone-head!" Betta replied nastily.

"Oooh, that be a threat?" he grabbed the doll Malon was holding. She burst into tears. "Nyah nyah! I got yer doll, stupid girl!"

The boy didn't notice that Sheikora had cocked her fist until she delivered him a fierce punch to the head. It didn't hit him hard enough to crack his thick skull, but enough to make him wail. He threw the doll on the ground.

"Evil girl! You got's issues, you evil, evil girl!" he cried out, making a mad run away.

Everyone stared at Sheikora, but they were to frightened to make any comment on her eyes, once blue, were now blood-red.

"I can't believe this!" Zelda wailed. She threw her pillow at the stone wall of her bedroom. Impa watched in silence. "I have friends for once, and he takes them away!"

"I agree with him on one level," Impa replied after a moment. "Not being allowed to leave the castle at all for a week is the royal equivalent of a commoner 'grounding'." Bewildered, Zelda looked up. "However," Impa continued. "I think it is important for you to have friends, too."

Zelda smiled half-heartedly, and was silent for another moment. She sighed, and, changing the subject said, "Impa… that red haired man in the castle… who is he?"