A/N: Again, big fat thanks to alwaysingirl for her reviews! They're pretty much what keep me writing :3

So, will our heroes get to Kakariko safely? Read on to find out!

Chapter 3 - Danger

Impa was frantically kicking Maple's sides as a signal to go faster. In the distance, Zelda could see the stairway which led to Kakariko, and she judged that at the speed they were going, it would still take at least 15 more minutes to get there. A frightening thought then, as the sun was slowly setting. They were so tantalisingly close to safety, and yet it was still out of their reach.

Zelda heard a howl off in the distance, which signalled that night had finally fallen. She clung tightly to Impa's waist, for safety and to stop falling off Maple. The horse was going so fast the world around her blurred and distorted. At any other time, Zelda would have admired the horse's strength and speed.

But this wasn't any other time.

'Faster, damn you!' Impa screeched as she kicked Maple once again. Zelda was confused at this. Surely the horse was running as fast as it could already?

As if in response to her thoughts, Maple grunted and shot forward in a tremendous display of stamina, and galloped faster. Zelda was surprised at this, and let go of Impa's tunic when the horse gave a burst of speed. She screamed as she began to lose her balance, and Impa had to grab her by the dress before she fell.

'Be careful!' Impa shouted over the howling wind.

Zelda nodded quickly and clung to Impa as tight as she could, mentally slapping herself for being so careless. She looked up and noticed that the entrance had gotten slightly closer now, about 10 minutes away. But 10 minutes was unfortunately not enough.

Suddenly, about 100 metres away, Zelda saw two hands break through the soft ground. As she squinted, she found the hands belonged to a stalchild, the creature Impa wanted so desperately to avoid. Impa apparently saw it too, and she began to tug at the reins frantically, trying to get Maple to stop. Unfortunately though, Maple was going so fast it would have been impossible to stop altogether.

Impa cursed again and again, and pulled on the reins as hard as she could, but her efforts were futile. The stalchild painfully slid out of the ground, and started to crawl groggily towards them. Now they were about 50 metres apart, getting closer all the while. Zelda screamed and held on as hard as she could to Impa as she braced for impact. Closer... closer... closer.

There was a sickening crack and Zelda felt her hands leave Impa's waist as something the force of a wrecking ball struck Maple, causing her to stumble. Impa sailed through the air at a tremendous speed, until she finally met the floor with a loud thud. Zelda fell off Maple there and then, groaning loudly as her back hit the floor. It took a few seconds for her to realize that she and Impa were now in terrible danger.

She tried to stand, but her back pulsed with a pain unknown to her, and she screamed out. Impa was a good twenty metres away from where she lay, but she concluded that if she got to Impa she could take a weapon and use it to defend them. She groaned as she shimmied across the floor. Her back hurt with every movement, screaming out for her to stop, but she was determined to make it across the space. Another hand broke through to her left, and she screamed in terror and crawled as fast as she could, ignoring the pain. She made it over to Impa just as the stalchild rose fully out of the ground. Impa's face was pale, and her eyes were shut. She was still breathing, albeit weakly, so Zelda concluded she must have been unconscious.

'No, no Impa! Please wake up!' Zelda shook the limp body as hard as she could, but she couldn't get a response. The stalchild slowly but surely edged closer and closer to where they were. Zelda looked around in panic. The entrance to Kakariko was, literally, right next to them. Zelda tried to rouse Impa once more.

'Come on, Impa, wake up! The village is right there!' she frantically shouted. Impa remained still. Zelda screeched a word no princess should ever use and dug in Impa's bag for a makeshift weapon. She found a few daggers and a small sword, which was light enough for her to carry, even with her crocked back. The stalchild was only a few yards away now, and Zelda mustered up all her strength and stood up. With one swift movement she leaned forward and hacked away at the stalchild. The first slice cut off the stalchild's arm, which caused it to reel a bit. Zelda gave it no time as she sliced at it's head. The blade struck true, and the stalchild fell to pieces. Zelda didn't have much time to celebrate however, as another stalchild's hand broke through the soil about 10 metres from where she stood. She sat down and went back to Impa's side, trying to wake her once more.

It was only then that Zelda noticed the blood on her hands.

She screamed, and at that moment, her vision began to blur.

'No!' she yelled out, using all her strength to saty awake. The feeling was so intense she started to feel herself weakening rapidly. Her breath was ragged and irregular, as well as her heartbeat.

'No...' she whispered weakly. Black spots clouded her vision, and she managed to utter three last words before she lost consciousness.

'I'm... sorry, Impa.'

A/N: Really satisfied with how this came out. Thanks for the encouraging words, alwaysingirl! :3