Chapter 3

She sat up with a groan, not sure just when she had fallen asleep and watched the small stream of smoke rise from the ashes of where the fire was. Daylight was breaking through the small crevices of the wooden shack and she noticed more details than she had previously in the night. The shack, despite the giant tree through the roof, was still in pretty good condition. That being that all the furniture wasn't completely ruined and she could have slept on the small bed. It definitely would have been more comfortable than the floor. She stood from her spot on the ground and pulled the blanket tighter around herself. She glanced down to her feet sighing lightly at how her favorite nightgown was torn. Looking around some more she noticed a small dresser, and she felt herself get a little excited. She hurried over, hoping for anything she could wear. Luckily for her she found some black pants and a light green top. She'd never really worn pants before so it was definitely going to be different for her, but she had clothes and she was grateful. She was also quite satisfied by the boots she found next to the dresser and even though they were a little big, they were better than nothing. Winter in Hyrule did get rather cold, and to be stuck outside in her nightgown and bare feet would not be ideal.

Zelda peeked her head out of the broken door way of the shack, looking around at the rather serene woods. She was actually surprised. She'd only been in Faron woods a few times in her life, and every time she merely visited Link in Ordon village and left. Being so deep in the woods was a first for her, and even though it was so calm and peaceful, darker thoughts had set in. She had no weapon so how could she defend herself? Yes she had magic, but her magic only did so much. She could defend herself against the smaller minor things, but what about those creatures. If one was to show up and its power was greater than hers… she'd surely be done for. At those thoughts she felt herself growing anxious as she stepped out into the open hurried over to her horse that was drinking out of a small stream. It was dangerous to stay where she was for too long. After all, Aldrich could already be searching for her, and if she were to encounter any of the guard it could get messy real quick. Knowing him though, he'd get real dramatic and make bounty flyers with her face on it. She was Hyrule's princess, but even her people could be under the spell as well and turn on her. She hated feeling like a criminal, but something strange was going on in Hyrule and she just knew those beings were behind it. She had never really been to Crimea, but it was looking like the safest place for her to go. She had always heard that Elincia was a kind hearted woman, and perhaps she could at least hear Zelda out. Zelda didn't really have any other option at the moment. It was really starting to come down to die here or die there and despite how depressing it would be to a normal person, she was determined to think positive. At least if she went to Crimea there could be hope.

Night arrived quicker than Zelda wanted making the nervousness start to stir in her gut. The sun was warm and bright which made her very at ease. The night on the other hand, made her very uneasy. After what she saw the night before, she had a good reason to be scared. Luckily for her, she had made it to the port before the sun went down. The torches and candle light were such a comforting sight, but she grimaced as she started to observe the people. Even though she was a dangerous boat ride from Crimea, she knew even here she had to be extremely cautious. Just as she had suspected, the guards were alert obviously watching for her. It seemed that Aldrich had managed to get the message out quicker than she had been able to make it there. She dismounted her horse in the woods walking towards the stables. No one was there besides the other horses and that was a good thing. She removed everything from the horse and stroked it gently. She whispered an apology to the horse knowing he was such a good horse and that she'd never see him again. It truly broke her heart to think about what she might not see again. She didn't know if she'd ever be able to come back to Hyrule and every minute that passed her hope faded more and more. Despising the thoughts that came next, she pulled a tattered old robe off a hook and pulled the hood tightly over her head to conceal her ears and face. If all of her efforts failed, she could always start a new life in Crimea. Keeping a low profile and living in a small town didn't sound so bad. Yet she hated herself more as she thought about it. She couldn't just abandon her kingdom, but she was alone and had no support. How could she do anything by herself? It was just hopeless unless she had someone backing her. However if the queen turned her away, she would have nowhere to go. Her kingdom would fall completely into the hands of Aldrich and being wanted as she was she'd never be able to go back.

Tears began pricking at her eyes as she lowered her head and walked swiftly through the alleys of town. She didn't even realize how lost she was until she spared a glance ahead of her and saw two soldiers laughing and drinking outside of a tavern. She gasped as she quickly cut into a smaller dead end alleyway and listened intently to their conversation. Had they seen her? She prayed to the goddesses they didn't. With trembling knees she pushed her body as close to the wall as she could and slowly snuck to the corner to listen, relieved as they were just continuing to talk in the most vulgar way of a girl inside the tavern that served them their drinks. She sighed in relief that they hadn't spotted her and leaned her head back against the cool stone wall. Though she didn't relax for long for she heard her name brought up. She listened even more intently than before.

"What was the plan again?" One of the drunken soldiers slurred.

"Really you idiot," The other complained. "Zelda escaped the dungeon and the council believes she's headed to Crimea. Aldrich is going to start sending troops to attack villages on the coast so she has nowhere to run and hide."

She felt her stomach drop at their words. They really weren't going to leave her alone. They were going to do everything in their power to capture her and kill her. But she couldn't understand why he would just openly attack like that. Attacking a country across the sea like was an incredibly stupid idea. Aldrich would just be sending her soldiers to the deaths! Crossing the sea was incredibly dangerous, and no ship had ever made it to Crimea before. They all sank and Zelda was unaware if Crimea had ever attempted to sail through either. Not only was the sea dangerous, they didn't know the size or abilities of Crimea's armies. It was complete suicide to try to send any men there.

She felt small and hopeless again as she placed a shaky hand over her mouth. It didn't matter if she ran or fought against the council, she was done for no matter where she went. She lowered her head in her hands, but suddenly, someone grabbed her arm roughly, yanking her deeper into the small dead end cut. She cried out in pain as she noticed it was the two soldiers from the tavern. Her eyes widened and she was completely paralyzed with fear as they ripped the hood from her head and robe. She was exposed and watched as their eyes gleam at their findings.

"Zelda, what a surprise." Both guards grinned evilly at each other before the one holding her gripped her wrist even tighter. She cried out again but louder this time as he snatched her other wrist, spinning her around and bending her arms behind her back. She couldn't help how her body bent forward from the pain and her torso was now parallel with ground. The other soldier stepped in front of her grabbing a full fist of hair and pulling her head up to look at him. He made a satisfied noise and glanced back up at the soldier holding her. An evil look in his eyes made her stomach twist into knots. She knew what they were going to do next, and she just wished she was back in that cell.

"What do you say we have some fun with her first before we turn her in?"

The guard holding her let out a low growl as he pulled her straight up and bit down on her neck making her wince and whimper at the unwanted pressure. "Why not? It's not like the council's going to care."

The guard in front of her moved his hands over her chest ripping at the collar of her tunic and revealing her silky undergarments. She closed her eyes tightly hating how his hands moved about her and tried to pull away.

She was met with a rough slap the face. "Quit squirming!" He bellowed at her and tears began streaming down her face. This wasn't at all how she wanted her first time to go, but she came to the conclusion that playing along might make them less rough with her. Yet before she had the chance to open her eyes and say something, she was knocked to the ground by a powerful force. Yet she didn't dare open her eyes as she heard fighting and yelling from the two men, she only curled up in the fetal position and hugged her exposed chest tightly. After a moment and some slicing sounds, two pairs of feet took off in the opposite direction leaving the alley silent. She heard someone's heavy exasperated sigh, but dared not move. She was petrified, fearing that the new person would just resume what the soldiers had started. However she jumped at their touch on her shoulder as she felt them wrap some material around her and lifted her from the ground. It was a warm and hefty cloth with the most pleasing scent. Its musky woodsy smelled reminded her of a peaceful forest, and almost immediately she calmed down as he continued to carry her. Timidly she spared a glance at the man carrying her and her stomach filled with butterflies. The first thing she noticed was his deep blue hair, but then she noticed the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen. She didn't get a good view, but quickly lowered her eyes and relaxed into his chest. She couldn't help that her body was still trembling, and she knew he felt it, but just the glance at him filled her chest with a warm pleasant feeling.

He walked quietly and swiftly into what looked like an abandoned building, and despite what had just happened to her, she didn't at all feel frightened. She knew through the feeling in her gut that he meant her no harm. Silently he set her down staying crouched in front of her and she finally got to see his handsome face fully. He raised his eyes to her, immediately freezing her in awe. His eyes were such a beautiful deep cerulean blue and just looking into them she knew the goddesses had planned their meeting. They were so cold and emotionless but so incredibly mesmerizing. Yet she could see that the blank, detached look was just a front. Her ability to read people's emotions told her that somewhere beyond the barrier he created was a very warm and caring person. Her heart ached knowing that whatever traumatic events he'd been though had caused such a kind soul to bear such cold eyes.

After a moment of her gawking, he cleared his throat and she felt a blush rising to her cheeks.

"Are you alright?" He asked softly. His voice was very deep and calming and all she could do was nodded in answer. However in that brief moment, his softened eyes hardened again and he stood from his squatting position, moving to a chair with a cloth bag in it. He dug for a moment, pulling multiple shirts from the bag and holding them up in front of him. Eventually he tossed a plain red shirt to her, and she caught it holding it up in front of her and grimacing. It was so big. "I won't look." He said after a moment and turned his back to her, crossing his arms across his chest and lowering his head.

She blushed harder as she stood, quickly removing the torn green tunic and slipped on the red shirt. It looked huge on her as the supposed short sleeves came down to her elbows and the rest of the shirt reach half way down her thighs. He hadn't looked the entire time and she bent down to grab the cloth he had wrapped her in realizing it was his cape. She carefully moved over to him holding the red cape tightly to her chest as she tapped on his shoulder and extended her arms to give back his cape. He turned to face her and she lowered her eyes as she carefully took it from her hands.

"Thank you," she managed in a shy voice as she raised her eyes to meet his.

He nodded his head, a small smile trying to break across his lips, but he quickly stopped it and his lips pressed into a thin line. "You're welcome," he said after a short moment.

The two of them fell silent, and Zelda couldn't look at him as the silence started to get a little awkward. She didn't know what to say or do. After all, this complete stranger saved her from what those soldiers were about to do to her and she was terrified of going back out there without protection. After a minute, she moved to the side as he walked over and set his cape down on the bag of clothes in the wooden chair. Luckily he broke the silence when he cleared his throat again and motioned to the small cot next to him.

"I'm sure you don't want to go back out there again tonight," he started as he ran a hand through his blue hair, "so if you want you can sleep here."

"But where would you sleep?" She asked as he laid his cape and bag of clothes on the floor about a foot away from the cot, obviously intent on using the bag as a pillow. "No you can't sleep-"

"I'm fine," he interrupted, "I've slept on the floor before. One night isn't going to kill me."
She bit down on her lip lightly, "are you sure?" He nodded in return and she moved to the small cot, hating that she took where he was going to sleep.

He laid down on the ground and immediately she could tell he was uncomfortable. As she moved and laid down on her back, she stared at the ceiling of the dark abandoned building. At least this building was just abandoned and not falling apart like the shack she slept in the night before. Yet, thinking of that shack brought some questions about him to mind. She wondered why he was staying in a place like this. She didn't even know his name, but she completely trusted him.

"Can I ask…" She trailed off nervous about her question even though it was so simple, but he stirred and she knew he was listening, waiting for her to continue. "What's your name?"

"Ike." He answered simply, and she was slightly surprised. Even though she waited, he never once spoke up to ask her name. She left it alone, but listened to his breathing. It was the only thing she could hear in the dark silent room. There was no noise at all from outside.

Ike… The name was so familiar to her. She knew they had never met before, but yet she felt like she knew him personally. She knew the goddesses wanted them to meet and that made her want to stay with him for as long as she could. She was determined to find out more about who he was, but she didn't bother to ask any more questions for she heard his slow even breathing turn into soft snores. She had no idea how late it even was, but she was exhausted too and she knew she was safe, so with that she rolled over onto her side. She had a good view him, and even though she didn't know Ike at all she was drawn to him. She had a feeling though that it wouldn't last long, and she closed her eyes to go to sleep not wanting to think about what that feeling meant.