"Impa…" Zelda said weakly, lifting her head to try to take in her surroundings.
"Yes Zelda?" Impa asked, relaxing her grip on the young girl.
"Where are we going…" The princess asked, letting her head drop back into the horse's mane.
"I'm taking you to a place you can rest until morning. Then I'm taking you to the safest place I know of."
Impa's answer was enough for Zelda. She waited for whatever was coming next, only praying for rest. Her eyelids felt heavy, but she couldn't seem to close them. The only thing she could do was feel the rain streaming down her face. She sighed as she became aware of the head dress that at regally atop her head. She frowned in disgust. She was no more regal now than a frog in the castle moat. She tore it angrily from her head, letting the patterned silk fly into the wind. Impa caught it in her hand with a gasp and was quick to scold Zelda.
"We can't leave any trace of our escape…don't be so reckless…" Impa said, her tone starting out harsh but softening near the end. She simply slipped the square of silk into Zelda's bag and pressed the horse on.
Zelda sighed, loosening the pins holding back her golden hair one by one and slipping them into her pockets. As she loosened the last one, her hair tumbled down and blew back into the wind. Strangely, she'd always longed to feel the wind blowing through her hair. She'd not wanted it to be like this though. She sighed and closed her eyes, feeling the rain stream down her face.
She didn't know exactly when it happened, but the rain had stopped. She looked up, and noticed they were somewhere near the source of Zora's river. "Impa?"
"We'll be continuing on foot for a short while," Impa said comfortingly, "would you mind me handing your head-dress here?"
Zelda obliged and gasped when Impa slashed a hole in it with a dagger. Her guardian then pulled a handful of red berries out of her pocket and rubbed them into the fabric. Impa's last action was to attach the remnants of Zelda's headdress to the saddle of the horse. After that, Impa gave the horse a sharp slap. The horse took off back towards Hyrule field. Zelda whimpered slightly, and Impa put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "What now…" The young girl finally sighed, feeling defeated. Impa didn't answer, and began climbing a set of natural arches until she was face to face with a huge waterfall. Now Zelda understood. They were going to seek refuge in Zora's domain. "Honestly Impa, how safe will we be here?"
"We're not staying here. We will simply be resting here until morning then continuing our journey." Impa said as she pulled out her small instrument. The nurse maid began playing the peaceful tune of Zelda's lullaby, and soon the waterfall receded. Impa hopped across the small expanse and held her arms out to Zelda, who did the same. She stumbled behind Impa into the cool caverns of Zora's domain. They were immediately met by a swarm of Zora's. A young female Zora was the first to speak.
"Welcome. We wish your visit could have been at a more peaceful time. My name is Risu, and I will take you where you will be going."
Zelda was too tired to even question Riru as she led them up a set of stairs. In a moment they found themselves in the chamber of King Zora. Peeking around her father was the young Zora princess Ruto. Risu went up the stairs and bowed.
"They have arrived, your majesty. With your permission I will no escort them to where they need to be." Risu said quietly.
"Very well. Proceed." King Zora said. Zelda tried not to make a face at the slow rate the King scooted out of the gap in the gate behind him. Though the sounds he made were worse.
After what seemed like an eternity, the king was out of the way and Risu led them up another set of stairs. Zelda grimaced as she stepped into the chilly water. She looked up at the stars when she found herself outside again.
She continued following Ruri and Impa around the edge of the pool. "I need to warn you…" However, Zelda slipped and plunged into an area of deep water. She was quickly pulled up by Impa, but it was still enough to get her dripping wet and quite shaken up. All she wanted at that point was to get some sleep. By that time she was also very hungry.
"We're here" Said Ruri, gazing up at a solid wall. Zelda gave the wall an annoyed look of disbelief and glanced up at Impa. She was puzzled by the smile on her nurse maid's face. With that, Ruri stepped forward and straight through the wall.
Impa smiled and walked through soon after. Zelda skeptically walked through the wall right after Impa. "It's Sheikah magic princess."
That was enough of an explanation for Zelda. She was more than thrilled to see two pallets laid out on the cool floor of the cavern. Her eyes suddenly felt ridiculously heavy, and she collapsed almost immediately into the pile of blankets. Soon, she had fallen into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, Zelda awoke with a horrible headache and feeling horribly hungry. Not to mention she also felt horribly dirty. She sat up and rubbed her eyes before looking around. Impa walked up to her and knelt down to hand over a chunk of bred, a chunk of cheese, and a cup of milk. It wasn't as fine as the food she normally ate, but at that moment it was the best thing she'd ever tasted. She ate everything and then caught her reflection in the surface of the water. Her reflection wasn't at its best. There were smudges of dirt all over her face, and her usually immaculate blonde hair was matted and plastered to her face.
Impa caught Zelda studying her reflection. "There's a shallow pool in the corner you can use to wash up. You need to change your clothes too."
She was more than happy to oblige. It seemed a bit awkward to take a full bath in the cold water, especially when she didn't have a towel. On the other hand, she felt completely filthy. She eventually decided a bath would be better than looking the way she did, so she plunged into the water. The water wasn't as cool as she'd expected to be, but it still wasn't warm. Normally, she took her baths in a luxurious bathroom warmed by fires in the castle basement. She could choose any of the thousands of exotic perfumes and oils at her disposal. Needless to say this was quite a different experience, but it still got the job done. She ducked under the water and sunk to the bottom of the shallow pool of water. Her golden hair floated up to the top of the water. If she extended her arms, she could feel a current begin to pull at her fingertips. Finally, she floated up to the surface and shook out her hair. Surveying her reflection once again, she nodded her head in approval.
Turning to get out of the water, she grimaced and picked up her clothes she escaped from the castle in and used them to dry herself. She then put on a pink tunic, her riding leggings, and the boots she'd packed. So, with her hair in a damp mass around her shoulders, she walked over to where Impa was staring into the cavern ahead. For the first time, she noticed the sound of running water and saw the water started to churn at the mouth of the cave ahead.
"Impa, where are we going now?" Zelda asked quietly.
Impa only nodded toward the small boat tethered not too far away before saying "Zelda, I'll need your robes from yesterday."
"Why?" Zelda asked inquisitively.
"We must set them down them downriver. Part of my plan is to make Ganondorf believe you are dead," Impa explained as she held out her arms for Zelda's garments.
The young girl handed Impa the robes. Somehow, she felt like she was handing over the last piece of her childhood. Ruri walked through the wall at that moment and took the bundle with a nod. "They will be marked and released into the river immediately."
With that, Ruri walked back through the wall. Zelda could hear her footsteps splashing away back towards the main cavern of Zora's Domain. Impa's hand fell to the princess's shoulder and the young girl turned her blue eyes up to the red eyes of her nurse maid.
She found herself being guided over to the boat. A moment later she was being helped into the boat. Her stomach felt queasy as she looked towards the churning water ahead. Before she had a chance to prepare herself, Impa had pushed away from the bank and towards the cave ahead. Soon her eyes had passed into the darkness. A bit of wind ruffled her hair, and suddenly she felt like the ground had fallen out from under her.
Zelda was unable to restrain herself and conjured a small flame into her hands. They were in a cavern and the river they were floating on was rushing quickly downhill. "Impa, where are we…" She said nervously.
"I thought you might ask. We're in a special escape route created by the Sheikah long ago for emergencies such as this. They diverted water from the river through a cave system that runs under part of Hyrule. I can't tell you where it leads though…you'll find out soon enough. All you should know is that you should be safe there for quite some time." Impa said, as she used the oar to keep them away from the walls.
Every once in a while there would be a glimmer of light through a crack in the ceiling of the cave. Zelda would always glance up immediately to try and discover her surroundings. The only thing she ever saw was a strip of the sky or an overhanging tree branch. Occasionally the river would make another harsh drop and she would cling to the sides of the boat.
Eventually the lights streaming through the occasional cracks, turned from the bright light of day to the softer light of evening. Just as Zelda caught a glimpse of a star through one of the cracks, she spotted a torch glittering around the corner and the current began to slow. She began seeing more and more torches until they were regularly placed on either side of the cavern walls. Then they turned a corner and came into a small cove much like the one back in Zora's domain.
Impa tossed a rope around a rock and pulled them up to a small dock. Zelda staggered out of the boat and up a small slope before stopping. Impa hopped out of the boat and followed her outside. They were greeted quite quickly by a woman who appeared to be in her thirties. This woman had long white hair hanging in a single braid down her back.
"Welcome friends. We've been worried about you. My name is Mao. You will be staying with me, Princess." The woman, who appeared to be a sheikah, said with a bow.
"I am no longer a princess Mao…please do not address me as such." Zelda said, hanging her head and feeling rather dejected.
"Nonsense, my dear. Let's see if a hot meal and a hot bath will cheer you up. The entire village is waiting for you. Not that there are that many of us….though you may find a friend in our midst." Mao said with a cheerful smile.
Zelda could see no reason to resist a hot meal. She followed Mao and Impa wordlessly up a small hill. Mao pushed open the door to a simple stone building and Impa ushered her inside. Her mouth fell open at the sight on the other side. Meimi, along with several people she didn't recognize, were gathered around a large table piled high with food.
Suddenly, Zelda realized just how tired she was. Meimi gestured for her to come sit in an empty seat next to her. As soon as she sat down an older woman handed her a plate of food that had the most delicious smell she had ever encountered.
"This smells wonderful…thank you…Ms…" Zelda said, feeling silly not knowing this woman's name.
"Juni is fine with me dear. Eat up." The woman said as she took a seat down the table.
Zelda inhaled the aroma of cheese and onions, and a few other smells she couldn't identify as she ate and listened to the conversation around her. She felt relatively safe for the first time in over twenty four hours, but her thoughts couldn't help but wander back to Link. Her thoughts had been so scattered that she hadn't thought of him until now. She could only hope that he got the Ocarina and was able to stop Ganondorf, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. She tried to push it from her thoughts until dinner was over, but had little success.
After dinner, everyone bid Zelda farewell except for Mao and Impa. "You two will be living with me until things are back to normal…I seem to have had some rooms open up." Mao said, a flicker of sadness crossing her face.
Zelda opened her mouth to ask why, but Impa shook her head so the young girl contained her curiosity. "I lived here for a time when I was very young. You'll be staying in my old room, though it wasn't really mine. I'll be staying downstairs across the hall from Mao. You should be fine up here." Impa said with a soft smile as she walked up the stairs. Zelda followed behind Impa until they reached a landing that appeared to lead to the attic. "It isn't much, but here you are…"
The door swung open to reveal a small room furnished with a bed, a tiny desk, a dresser, and a small dusty mirror. The bed was covered in a faded lavender quilt that had been quite lovely at one time. She ran her hands along the old embroidery. "You're right Impa…I'll be fine. Thank you for saving me…" Zelda said with a sad smile.
"It is my duty, and my dearest wish to keep you safe Zelda. Don't lose hope, though this will be a difficult time for you. Tomorrow you will have to truly disguise your identity by creating a new one for yourself. The inhabitants of this village are masters of disguise, so you will surely be fine. Goodnight, princess." Impa said as she began to close the door.
"Impa, wait," Zelda said quickly as she crawled into bed, "could you play my lullaby?"
Impa only smiled and began to play the peaceful melody.