Chapter 4

It's good long while before I stop sniffling. I lean against the cold stonewall and look up. A faint light emanates from a narrow window with bars. A seagull is plopped against a bar, crowing softly, as if life hadn't been taken from me. I let out a humorless snort. Crying isn't going to get me anywhere. I let out one last sniff before sitting up straight.

There are two girls in the cell with me. Both a quite a bit older than me; I suspect that they're teenagers. One of the girls, a blond with an exquisite silk dress and a hairpin of rupees, is napping, soft snores bubbling out of a perfect rose mouth. The other girl is dark haired with think fringe. She is literally dressed in rags and her cheeks are adorned with a mole. She is trying to stitch a rip in her frock with a small sewing set I suspect the other girl owns. I crawl over to her.

"Want some help? I'm a fairly decent sewer." She seems surprised that I'd acknowledge her existence, let alone offer to assist her. She nods shyly, and I stitch the frayed garment. Afterwards, she comes to sit by me.

"I'm Maggie."

"Aryll"

"Oh, that's a pretty name. I've never heard of it before. I'm from Windfall, by the way."

"Is that the market town with the windmill? I'm from Outset, by the way."

We giggle a few soft laughs and talk of our upbringing. Maggie's father used to be a postal worker who worked on Dragon Roost among the Rito, but he was fired and became very poor. With his last pennies, he chartered a boat to Windfall, and he attempted to start a small stationary shop. It floundered, and he became the town beggar. Apparently, many people assumed that he was also a drunkard, but Maggie insists that she has never seen him touch ale. I believe her.

In the moonlight of our window, her hair is a flattering shade of mahogany. I like her quiet, unassuming voice. She seems a pleasant girl to be around. So, I'm shocked when she tells me that she's never had any friends. Although the Windfall schoolteacher let her learn, tuition-free, the other students often taunted her well-known financial status and shabby clothes. She doesn't seem to let it get to her, though, as she loves to learn. She tells me in a hushed voice that a Moblin has been smuggling her small books in return for her teaching him how to read and write. I've never been a part of a conspiracy before, so I promise to keep it a secret.

The other girl awakens from her doze. Sharp, angular eyes and cheekbones give the girl a very demanding appearance. Despite being locked in a cage, she manages to exude an aura of grace and poise. I find it off-putting but decide to give her a chance.

She notices me, and stalks over, like a cat stalking its prey. She holds out a dainty, soft hand for me to take. I don't take it; the thought of my grubby common hands ruining her manicure keep my hands to my side. In a voice like silk she introduces herself, "Mila of Windfall, and you are?"

"Aryll… of Outset."

"Pleased to meet you." She doesn't seem pleased, but instead wearily gazes about the room. She sits down in a way that her dress isn't soiled and waves Maggie and me over. I notice that she has a constellation of freckles adorning her face and icy eyes.

She asks me pleasant small talk about Outset and ignores Maggie. I get the idea that the two know each other but don't remark.

I begin to grow tired of foolish pleasantries and snap, "What are we doing here?"

Mila and Maggie glance at each other, and Mila coyly sighs, "Why, you are still a child. You don't belong here. How old are you?"

"Seven."

Mila frowns. She still somehow looks like a princess while doing it. She continues, "We're here because we're Hylians, and Ganondorf is looking for the Hylian princess."

I am terribly confused. So, perhaps the pirate wasn't insulting me when he called me a Hylian?

Maggie must sense my distress because she adds, "Hylians are like humans, but with pointed ears." She brushes back her hair to reveal her pointy ears, and Mila does the same. "Apparently, Hylians are descended from the Royal Race of the old legends."

I poke my own pointy ears, even more confused, "But I'm not a princess. I'm a farm girl from Outset."

Mila sighs, "And I'm the daughter of the wealthiest man on Windfall. As long as you're a young girl with pointy ears, odds are you might be the lost princess without even knowing it."

Maggie and Mila continue to tell me about what they've learned from their time in the Forsaken Fortress. Apparently, Ganondorf was once a powerful warlord who was banished into some shadow realm by the Hero of Time. He somehow managed to break his seal and searching for the descendant of the Hyrulian royal family for some unknown reason. Ganon is the darkness from legend, the one who Grandma would threaten to summon if I didn't clean up after myself.

"But Hyrule's a legend!" I exclaim.

"Not anymore." The girls uttered together, and they go silent.