A/N: Hey ya'll! Sorry it took so long, but here's Chapter 3! It's a bit shorter, so have fun!
…
The castle is on fire; my father is dead. Ganondorf has taken over.
It should have been a joyous night. I had just received word from the King of the Zoras that Link had finally retrieved the Spiritual Stone of Water. After a month of waiting, we would be able to open the doors to the Sacred Realm. And after a month of waiting, Link would be back, a thought that sent my stomach into pleasant butterflies. I had barely had a wink of sleep since I had sent him off.
What-ifs and worst case scenarios haunted me even in waking. 'What will happen to Hyrule if he fails?' I found my thoughts going constantly astray. Some nights I awoke screaming, the image of his smiling blue eyes staring up lifelessly permanently burned into my mind. When I heard of his success, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.
But my relief was short-lived.
As the sun was setting, Ganondorf entered the throne room unannounced. Before the guards could even blink, the king was dead, his smile of welcome frozen to his trusting face.
"PAPA!" I screamed in grief. My vision went blurry with the tears ready to fall.
"No, no, Papa, please, don't leave me alone!"I continued to scream as Impa rushed to my side and managed to smuggle me out of the room. I choked back sobs. My father would never be there to advise, encourage, or love me again; I felt something shatter within me.
Everything remained blessedly hazy as Impa dashed through the castle, me securely on her back. As screams erupted from all over the palace, I realized the true magnitude of what was happening. Hyrule had been usurped. Guards were running frantically in all directions, shouting orders that constantly contradicted each other, while the nobles were systematically hunted down. Impa pushed on.
We managed to make it to the stables when he caught up to us.
"Silly princess, you thought you could out-smart me? You can never escape. You have only one choice, join me, or join your father… He is waiting!" he threatened with a maniacal smile. Impa did not pause and as the bright flash erupted in front of his face, he emitted an enraged howl that would scare even the most fortified person. But, in his distraction, we managed to saddle a horse and bolt from the building. Seconds later we heard hoof beats on the cobblestone behind us. "You can run princess, but I will always HUNT YOU DOWN!" Ganondorf shouted in fury.
We continued to gallop frantically through town, narrowly avoiding my terrified subjects. 'What will become of them?' I wondered in trepidation, 'How can I abandon them?' But then I would glance behind me at the demon pursuing us and knew that in order to protect them, I would have to survive. It was then that I realized with horror that the sun had already set; the gates were closed. We were trapped, and my heart froze with fear.
And just as quickly as the fear came, it went away. Knowledge hitherto untapped flowed through my veins and a tingling warmth spread from my heart to my fingertips. I raised my arms in supplication to the Goddesses. The warmth intensified and just as we neared the gate was concentrated in an aura of light that brought it crashing down.
"Well done, Zelda," praised Impa as we fled the city. But there, eyes wide in confusion, was Link.
"Princess!" he yelled as we approached. His face was rent up with concern; he seemed torn between following me and protecting me from what was chasing me.
"Link… Link, please, protect the Triforce!" I gasped as we passed, "And then, find me!" With a cry of despair I flung my ocarina into the moat, hoping against hope that we could both survive and meet again. I glanced back at him as Ganondorf emerged from the gate, and a look of resolve took over his body. He seemed to nod at me before turning to face the demon with the yellow eyes.
"NOOO!" I shouted in disbelief as he was hit with the ball of magic, "LINK!"
Just then we passed over a hill and the town was out of sight, and I knew not what had become of my hero.
"Believe Princess, we must believe in him. All of our fates now rest in that boy's hands," soothed Impa.
And so I, the refugee princess, escaped.
…
Ella awoke, tears still flowing, at her desk. Panic arose when she couldn't recognize her surroundings, still immersed in a dream she could not remember. When had this gaping hole of loneliness opened up? As though heated by an unseen fire, Ella was sweating, even though the room was comfortably breezy.
Glancing out the window, she was startled when the sky revealed to her a beautiful cloudless sky. A confused pair of eyes swam across her vision and were just as quickly gone again. She wasn't sure where it came from, but as she settled back in her chair, she found herself involuntarily whispering a name…
"Link…"