Calista-Cousland: Please keep an open mind while reading this story, as well as all others.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda.

0o0

It's snowing outside.

I wonder if I'm like that? Snow, I mean. No matter how much you bundle up, you can still feel that it's cold. And if you come into it unprepared, it will become extremely harsh.

It had stuck to my window overnight. Maybe I could just touch it, once more, and the memories would come back. My mind was flooded of the times when I was young. When life was peaceful, so very, very peaceful...

Wrapped in a pink sweater was me, my short blonde hair in two pigtails. Adorable, yet unsuspecting. Exactly what Mother and Father wanted. Did they even think that their daughter, whose life was all planned out for her, would turn out this way? Did they give a thought about what I might of wanted?

No. No, they didn't. I'm sure of it.

But what is the point in feeling sorry for myself? This was how life was, and I had to except that. In some ways, I had. But I did wonder what my life would have been like if I hadn't been born like this. What if I was ditzy? Maybe then I could be happy. In a terrible way, but happy nonetheless.

I sat down on my bed. My bedroom was my favorite room in the entire castle, because no one was allowed inside of it without my consent. I could always reply with a "no" if they asked me, "Zelda are you decent?" I didn't even have to lock the door.

I still did.

But... What if I was to make something into myself? Instead of wishing for it, could I? Is it possible?

I unlocked my door, opened it, and peered down the hallway. No one. Creeping out, I kept my head cocked left or right and gazed upon every living thing, even the plants. Most of what I saw were guards, simply doing their jobs, confused as to why my face looked so studious. I had gone through almost every area in the castle. But, it was no use; I could not find her, the one I went to whenever I had a question.

As another resort, I asked around, and no guard seemed to have a clue. Figures. Why would they need to worry about a nursemaid?

Finally, I reached her chambers, a room I had never gone in before. I knocked, and with no answer, I held my ear up to the door. I could hear a slight sound of someone moving around slightly. Although, they didn't seem to hear me.

I knocked again. The person was still up and moving, faint words coming from inside, but still had not head me.

I gave up. Knocking was hopeless. It was rude, but this was my own home, yes? After only a slightly reassuring telling to myself that all was well, I freely opened the door.

"Hmm? Princess?"

And there she was, to my suspicions. Impa.

She looked surprised to see me, and I felt completely embarrassed that I had opened the door without permission. But like all of my emotions, that soon faded and I began to question her.

"What are you doing in here?"

I had failed to greet her, simply because I had searched all around, so rushing the conversation to a point was expected.

"Nothing important, Princess. What troubles you?"

I scanned her room. Clean, as always. Despite her looks, Impa was always prim. A book, I suppose taken from our library, was in her hand. The Sheikah: A Telling of the Shadow People.

Huh. Impa wasn't a big reader, and compared no where near an avid one like me. I took my comfort in reading, after all; it gave me something to do. In any case, reading wasn't an affair Impa would usually bother herself with.

"Impa, what are you reading?"

Impa looked down at her book, as if she had forgotten. "A book," she stated blatantly. "It was originally written by an ancestor of mine from long, long ago; before I was born. It tells of their current skills in magical and combative art. I... Missed hearing of them."

A hint of a sympathetic emotion came over me. It shouldn't of been a surprise to me that Impa missed the other Sheikahs, seeing as Impa had been the only one found since the Hyrulean Civil War, then the Imprisoning War, and especially after the Great Flood. Sheikah members were extremely, extremely rare. And all this time, I hadn't ever spared a thought to my loved ones; only to myself, and never to Impa or Father. I felt more horrible than usual with this knowledge.

Before I could apologize for my foolishness, Impa carried on. "I was just catching up on my ancestors' doings from the past... But I will now return to your troubles, Princess. What ails you?"

I lowered my eyes for a second. How could I concern Impa with the same problem for the billionth time? It would be much too selfish. "Nothing, Impa..."

Her sharp red eyes seemed to pierce through me, compelling me to fess up. She had seen right through my lie that I was fine. It was if she had both the Mask and Lens of Truth in her soul!

"I just thought... What if there was a way to put feeling inside of me? I wondered... Could that be possible? To break this sad, outer shell around my heart and feel like a normal person?"

Impa smiled lovingly at me, her eyes softening and giving off the look that a mother would give her child. Not even Mother had given a look so caring to me.

"Only if you break your ties, Zelda."

Impa had called me by my name, and not just 'Princess.' This meant she was no doubt serious about our conversation.

Acting unladylike, my shoulders slumped. "And how could I do that? There's no way..."

Impa bent down to my height and looked at me with impulses of encouragement. Then she spoke in a whisper.

"Escape."

o0o

Escape.

That single word was still ringing in my ears.

After Impa's suggestion, I had blanked out. Supposedly, I had walked back to my room, locked the door shut, and sat on my bed, mind afloat in an abyss.

Escape.

Could I? Without bringing anyone or anything, just simply... Leave?

That couldn't happen; the plan would surely be full of flaws. The guards around the castle made sure that no one that wasn't supposed to got in or out of the castle. Those trying to come in the castle and those trying to get out with no permission would both be overruled. If I even attempted at getting out, it would be almost inevitable that I would be seen, caught, and taken to Father for punishment. And that punishment would not be pretty; Father knows that isolation would be gladly taken by me. Although, I had never gotten into deep trouble before, so I do not know what he would do. I didn't wish to discover that, either.

But still...

Escape.

That word seemed so lovely. But if it was to happen, it would have to happen right. And how would that be done?

"Ugh," I groaned as I flew the covers over me and let my head fall down onto my pillow.

The thinking that I was doing kept me up all night, but there was a bright side to all of this.

This hopelessness, this eagerness, this searching for the perfect way to do as Impa said, this churning in the brain, this severe turmoil inside of me...

They were all emotions, and I welcomed each one.

0o0

Calista-Cousland: Bad or good, you decide. Please review with your personal thoughts.