I wake up with the rising sun the next morning, and lie in bed for a few minutes while I run over the events of the previous day.

Anju said it'll take about half a day to reach Hyrule Castle from here, I think, so we might make it there by this afternoon! Assuming we don't get lost again… I look over at the other bed, but to my surprise Link isn't there. I quickly get up and leave, relaxing when I see Link outside, leaning against the wall of the house.

'Morning Zelda,' he greets me. 'I wasn't sure whether to wake you or not, but I decided to leave you be. After all, we don't know when you last slept. And I don't think being knocked out by that curse counts.' I nod in agreement.

'How long have you been up?'

'An hour or so. Anju is tending to the Cuccos, but she wanted to see both of us when you got up.' We go around to the back of the house, where Anju is throwing handfuls of feed into the Cucco pen. It seems as though some kindly villager helped her to round them up after all.

'Oh, there you are! I assume you still want to go to Hyrule Castle today?' she asks when she sees us, and I nod vigorously. 'Good. All you need to do is follow the river upstream to the northwest; the river's source is in the moat around Castle Town. And Hyrule Castle is just behind the town market. Someone there will be able to point you in the right direction.'

'Thanks for everything,' I tell Anju as we prepare to leave.

'I'm glad to help! And I hope you get your memories back soon!' she replies. 'Come visit me again, okay? I'll be anxious to hear how your search is going! Oh, and if you find Impa in Hyrule Castle, give her my regards!' Her last words are shouted after us as we leave the village, nodding to the guard as we go. We head back down the steps to the river, and after a few false starts we head north.

-o-

We trek along the banks of the river for a few hours, not talking much. We both know that it could be a long, hard march today, so we're saving our strength. But the prospect of reaching Hyrule Castle and maybe finding out something more about myself keeps me going. After a while a path appears under our feet, and we unconsciously follow it, even when it turns away from the stream. We only look up after another hour or so, and by this time we're far away from the river. I sigh and turn to head back to it when Link stops me.

'Look over there!' he says, pointing into the distance. I squint, and can just about make out a grey smudge on the horizon.

'Do you think that's…?' I ask, too excited to finish my sentence.

'It must be! We're getting close!' he says happily, and I smile too. Finally, the end is in sight. And to my relief, the path we're on continues in the direction of Castle Town. But as we walk along it, I realise that we're approaching something more than just the castle.

'What's that?' I ask, pointing at a massive ring of stone walls on a nearby hilltop.

'I'm not sure. Another village?' I shrug, and ignore it for now. But soon our path meets up with another, larger one, which leads to Castle Town in one direction and the stone wall on the other. I turn towards the town without thinking, but stop as I realise that the wall is much closer.

'Which way should we go?' Link asks. 'I know we're supposed to go to Hyrule Castle, but that other place is nearer. There might be someone there that you remember.'

'Mm,' I reply, thinking. We're still a long way from the town, and a detour wouldn't take long. Besides, I'm exhausted from hours of walking in the hot sun, and maybe whoever lives inside those walls will let us rest for a bit. 'Let's go,' I tell Link, setting off for the ring of walls.

-o-

As we get closer, I see an opening in one side, a wooden arch similar to the one at the entrance of Kakariko Village. We go inside cautiously, looking all around for any signs of life. However, our view is quickly eclipsed by tall buildings on either side. I pause for a moment by a door to one of them, but decide to leave it for now. Instead I follow Link down the passage between the two buildings, and out into the open space that takes up most of the area inside the walls. A broad track runs around the outside of the area, and inside the track is a pasture with many horses grazing on it.

'Remembering anything yet?' Link asks, but I shake my head. I'm not feeling even the vaguest sense of recognition, so I guess I haven't been here before. I quickly look around the area, but the only living things here are me, Link and the horses.

'We should probably check the buildings,' I tell Link, and we head back the way we came. Beautiful though the ranch is, we're not here for sightseeing. We need to find people, hopefully a person I remember, although I'm not optimistic; given that I don't remember the ranch, I doubt I'd remember anyone who lives here.

'You try the one on the left, I'll try the one on the right,' Link mutters, and I cautiously open the door to the left building. I'm immediately greeted by a wall of animal warmth – and odour. Taking a final deep breath of fresh air, I step inside and let my eyes adjust to the gloom within. I'm in a barn, with several cows in stalls, but still no people.

I turn back to the door, ready to leave, when suddenly it opens from the outside. A dark figure stands in the doorway, the light shining in from behind them so that I can't make out their face. I frown and take a step back, my fight or flight response kicking in, when the figure raises a hand. They start to speak, but I can't hear them. Another memory has surfaced, and it's not a pleasant one.

A dark figure stands in front of me, their hand raised. Suddenly a blinding flash of light erupts from their hand, and my head is filled with pain, as if it's clamped in a vice. The last thing I hear before I black out is a voice, female, desperate, and terrified. 'Zelda! No!'

'Zelda!' I blink and shake my head a few times before looking up at the figure again. To my immense relief it's Link, looking concerned. 'Are you alright? What just happened?'

'I remembered something! Seeing you there, like that, I remembered another figure.'

'Who?' Link asks, frowning.

'I don't know, I couldn't see their face. All I saw is that they raised their hand, and there was a bright light, and then suddenly my head really hurt. I think that light was the curse, and that memory was the moment they cast it!'

'Do you remember anything else?'

'No… wait, there was a voice!'

'Whose?' Link presses me, and I stop.

'I'm not sure. It was female, definitely. But I was in so much pain, and the magic was starting to take effect and mess up my brain. It sounded really distorted, and I couldn't even tell where it was coming from. It could have been Saria's or Anju's and I wouldn't have recognised it. But it was definitely someone who knew me, because they called me Zelda. They sounded scared, too. Like they knew what was happening, and they wanted to protect me from it.' Link is silent for a few moments. When he speaks, he sounds troubled.

'When I found you in the Lost Woods, you were alone. There was no sign of this mysterious figure, or anyone who might have been trying to protect you. Now, I can believe that whoever cast the curse would have run off straight away afterwards. But what happened to the person who was trying to help you? Were they cursed as well? In which case why weren't they lying next to you? Or did the person who cast the curse somehow get rid of the other person?'

I shiver at the thought. We know that whoever did this to me isn't nice, and may well have intended me to die, given that people normally turn into Stalfos if they stay in the Lost Woods for too long. I shiver again. I hadn't thought about it that way before. Someone tried to kill me. But I shake my head, and force myself to think.

So there was someone else. What happened to them? Would the curse-caster have done something awful to them too? I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised. If they tried to kill me, they might have tried the same thing with someone who was on my side. Only that time, they might have succeeded.

-o-

'What should we do?' I ask. 'It'll take too long to go back to the forest and search the Lost Woods again for this other person. Besides, we're so close to Castle Town and Hyrule Castle, we can't turn back now. Is there any way to get a message to Saria, to get her to keep an eye out for any strangers?' Link shakes his head.

'No, we can't tell her about this unless one of us goes back there in person, and I don't think splitting up is a good idea.' I agree; I need Link to stay with me. 'But don't worry. If another non-Kokiri turns up out of nowhere, Saria will probably figure out that it's either the person who cast the curse on you, or another person who was hurt by them. She'll know what to do.' I sigh, somewhat reassured by this.

Who was with me in the forest that day? Who was trying to help me? What happened to them?

'That other building was deserted too,' Link tells me, bringing me back to reality. 'Looks like there's no-one here. I guess we should probably head off to Hyrule Castle.'

'Sounds good,' I reply, and we go out the door. But just as I'm about to turn towards the entrance of the ranch, I hear someone singing. I spin round, back towards the open area with the horses, and can just make out a red-haired figure standing among the animals.

'Who's that?' Link asks, and I shake my head.

'I have no idea. Let's go find out.' I set off towards the figure, but when I'm halfway to them they catch sight of me. I stop immediately, but the figure looks decidedly angry at this invasion of their property. They march towards me and Link, pausing only to grab a pitchfork leaning against the fence. I can see now that it's a young woman, very pretty, with vibrant red hair. However, one look at her expression tells me that I have bigger things to worry about right now than the girl's appearance. I start to back away as she approaches, but stop again when she yells at me.

'Who are you? What are you doing in my ranch? You can't just wander into people's homes, you know!' I'm too stunned to speak, but fortunately Link recovers more quickly.

'Sorry, we didn't realise anyone lived here! We looked all around for signs of life, but we couldn't find anyone.'

'Oh.' The girl seems surprised to see Link, as if she didn't notice him before. But now that she has seen him, I can just make out a faint blush on her cheeks. I look from her to Link and back, wondering if these two somehow know each other, but Link looks just as expressionless as ever. To my relief, the girl slowly lowers the pitchfork, but she still comes towards us, and I move closer to Link without thinking. I chide myself for this; after all, what's one girl going to do? But still, I feel better having Link here.

'You still haven't told me who you are,' she points out, and I gasp suddenly.

'You still haven't told me who you are!' the redhead says, folding her arms. 'I'm not telling you my name until you tell me yours.' I fidget nervously.

'Father says I mustn't tell strangers my name,' I mumble, not wanting to be unfriendly but equally unwilling to disobey my father. The other girl sighs.

'Fine then, be like that. I'll just have to call you by a nickname, instead! Let's see, how about… Princess!' My brow wrinkles in confusion.

'Princess? Why would you call me that if you don't even know me? Why would you think I'm a princess?'

'Because you're a little girl who lives in a castle, and everyone knows that little girls who live in castles are princesses!' the redhead says matter-of-factly.

'A-alright. I guess you can call me Princess if you want…' I reply. 'But then what should I call you, if you won't tell me your name?'

'You can call me Horse Girl,' the girl replies. 'Because I'm a girl and I like horses. So that makes sense.' I'm about to protest that this name isn't particularly elegant, when the girl continues. 'And I live on a ranch to the south of here, and I love playing with the horses, and I sing to them, and my father's teaching me how to ride them, and did I mention that I love horses? So you can call me Horse Girl!' When the memory fades I realise that my eyes are closed.

'What's wrong with her?' the red-haired girl asks. I gasp again as I look at her. There's no doubting it: she's the Horse Girl from my memory, grown up.

'What happened? Did you remember something else?' Link asks.

'Yes, I remembered… her…' I trail off, painfully aware that 'her' is giving me a very odd look.

'Will one of you please explain to me what's going on?' she demands, and I cut in before Link has a chance to speak.

'I remember you. We met when we were kids, maybe ten years ago? I don't know exactly. All I remember is that I called you Horse Girl.' The girl frowns for a moment, staring at me. Suddenly she bursts into a smile and, dropping her pitchfork, rushes over and hugs me tightly.

'Princess! I can't believe you're here! Wow, you've grown so much! But then I guess it has been a while. Nine years, actually. But what do you mean you don't remember? Did you forget me already?' She looks so downhearted that I quickly explain the whole story to her.

'…And occasionally one of my memories will be triggered by a place or a person I remember. But my memories aren't complete, hence why I only remember you as Horse Girl.'

'Don't worry about it, I never told you my real name. We met a few times after that day; my father used to go up to the castle and deliver milk, so I used to hang around outside until you came to play with me. A couple years after we first met, you suddenly stopped coming. I never found out why. We never told each other our real names, so we were always Princess and Horse Girl. If it helps, my real name is Malon.' I ignore the slight question in Malon's statement, deciding not to reveal my name just yet, as I notice something else from the memory.

'So did I live in the castle, then? You said you nicknamed me Princess because I lived in a castle. Was that Hyrule Castle?' Malon gives me a pitying look.

'You really don't remember anything, do you? Yes, you lived in Hyrule Castle. But I don't know if you were actually a princess. You could just as easily have been the daughter of one of the servants.' I sigh in disappointment.

'But surely if I was a princess, you would have recognised me?'

'Not necessarily. Back then, no-one really knew anything about any of the Royal Family other than the King. All we knew is that there was an heir. Their name, even whether they were a prince or a princess, was always kept a mystery.' I cling onto Malon's use of the past tense.

'But things have changed now?'

'A little. The King passed away a few years ago, and the kingdom naturally wanted to know who its next ruler would be. So Princess Zelda was shoved into the spotlight, and now everyone knows her pretty well.' My mouth drops open, and so does Link's.

'Wait… Princess Zelda?' Link asks.

'Yes…' Malon says. 'Oh, you don't know, do you? She's the King's daughter. Maybe his only daughter, or maybe just his eldest one, no-one knows. The important thing is that she's now first in line to the throne. Actually, her coronation is coming up very soon: in three days! What's the matter?' she asks when neither of us moves.

'Has anyone seen Zelda in the last few days?' I ask, my voice coming out somewhat strangled. Malon thinks for a moment.

'I don't think so. But then, this close to her coronation she's probably busy with preparations and doesn't have time to appear in public.'

'Or she was cursed by some mysterious figure and is now wandering Hyrule with amnesia,' Link mutters. Malon doesn't quite catch his words, but looks from one of us to the other in confusion.

'What's wrong?' she asks again. I take a moment to work out how to phrase it, so as not to shock the girl too much.

'I'm Zelda.' Well, that clearly wasn't the right way to do it. Malon starts gasping and hyperventilating, nearly falling over in shock.

'You're joking!' she accuses me. 'There's no way! You're not the real princess! You can't be!' She looks as though she's torn between bowing and threatening me with the pitchfork again. I raise my hands in a placatory gesture, trying to calm her.

'I don't know if I'm the Zelda, but that is my name.' Malon takes a few deep breaths, and steps closer again. She examines me carefully, and nods to herself.

'You could be her, I guess,' she murmurs. 'You're definitely the same girl I knew as a child. But I don't know if the girl I knew as a child was the real princess. I haven't seen Zelda up close. She's blonde, like you, and I would say about your height. Great Din, you might actually be royalty! Which means that I was right to call you Princess all those years ago!' She looks more pleased with herself at this realisation than shocked, so I let out a long breath.

'But you can't tell anyone about this,' Link interjects. 'Not yet.'

'Why not?' Malon asks, looking puzzled. 'I assume someone will have noticed by now that Zelda's missing, they'll be overjoyed to find out she's alright!'

'Yes, but we're worried about who else will find out,' I tell her. Given that I trusted her as a child, and I've already told her so much of the story, I decide it's probably safe to tell her everything, including my main fear right now. 'Someone out there led me into the Lost Woods and cursed me, then left me there. Which means that they probably meant for me to stay there, wandering aimlessly, until I turned into a Stalfos. That's what would have happened, if it weren't for Link. And that means that someone, somewhere in Hyrule, tried to kill me. And they may well try again. Since I have no idea who that person is or why they want me dead, I think it's probably best if we keep my identity hidden for now, just until my memories return and I remember who cursed me before.' Malon nods slowly.

'You've got a point. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. But actually…' She stops abruptly and looks around us. 'You said before that you searched the ranch for people. Did you by any chance come across a small man with a big curly moustache?' Link and I share a look.

'No…'

'Oh, that's alright then. That man is Ingo. He helps me and my father run this ranch, although ever since my father started spending more and more time away from here Ingo practically runs it all by himself.'

'That's nice of him,' Link comments, but Malon shakes her head.

'I don't trust him at all. He mistreats the horses, and anyone who's cruel to animals can be cruel to people too. I promise not to tell anyone about you, Zelda, but I'm pretty sure if Ingo found out about this, he'd tell anyone who paid him enough. Fortunately it doesn't seem like he's around. Actually, I haven't seen him since…' She trails off, deep in thought.

'Is something wrong?' Link asks, and Malon half-shakes her head, then stops.

'I'm not sure. The last time I saw Ingo was earlier today. I'd just come out of the barn, and he was standing outside the house talking to a bearded man. They were whispering, so I couldn't hear what they were saying, and when they saw me they went inside quickly. But I saw the bearded man giving Ingo a small bag, and I'm certain I heard coins clinking. That man paid Ingo to do something. I just wish I knew what it was.' At the mention of the bearded man Link and I share another look.

'Do you think it's the same one?' I ask, and Link nods.

'Much though I'd like to believe otherwise, it's too much of a coincidence. The man paying Ingo must have been the spy from Kakariko Village.'

'A spy?' Malon asks, alarmed. 'That doesn't sound good. In that case, you might have a hard time getting to Castle Town. If that spy is working for whoever tried to kill Zelda, they've probably been told to slow you down, so that you can't get to Hyrule Castle and get your memories back. I dread to think what part Ingo might play in that plan. Wait here a moment.' She runs off to the house opposite the barn, while Link and I wait on the pasture. After a few moments a bay mare trots up to Link and starts nuzzling him, to which he responds by stroking her flank.

'Here we are!' Malon says, returning from the house with what looks like a pile of wood in her arms. 'I haven't used this in years, but it should still work.' On closer inspection I realise that it's a bow with a quiver full of arrows. However, when I pull one of the arrows out I notice that they don't have arrowheads; each one is simply a feathered shaft.

'It's so that I didn't hurt anyone,' Malon explains when she sees my expression. 'I used to practice archery a lot when I was younger, but Father always worried that I would hit him or Ingo or one of the animals. So I shot with these arrows. I know they're probably not that useful to you – if you shoot someone, you won't really do any damage greater than a splinter. But if someone's chasing you it should slow them down, and hopefully give you time to get to Castle Town.' At this point the bay mare juts her nose into the middle of our group, anxious for more of Link's attention, which has temporarily been taken up with the arrows.

'Oh, Epona seems to like you!' Malon says brightly. 'Actually, having a horse might be useful. One of the other horses is missing, so I assume Ingo's taken it. If he's chasing you on a horse, you need to be riding too to stay ahead of him. It would probably be a good idea if you took Epona with you, at least for now.'

'You don't mind?' I ask incredulously.

'Of course not! It's the least I can do, for an old friend and the Princess! And besides, I'm sure Epona will be happy with it.' As if in reply, the horse whinnies happily, making Link laugh.

'That's very kind of you, Malon. Zelda and I should probably get going now, if we're going to get to Castle Town before they pull the drawbridge up at sunset. But thanks for everything!' As Link leads Epona towards the entrance of the ranch, I arrange the bow and quiver on my back. I'm nearly ready to go when Malon hugs me again, taking me by surprise.

'You have to come visit again, ok Zelda? I know you don't really remember me much, and it's been years since we last saw each other, but that's all the more reason to come back and see me occasionally!' I laugh and nod. 'Oh, and make sure to bring Link with you!' Malon calls after me as I rejoin my friend. I turn back, and see that once again, Malon is blushing.

'What's with her?' Link asks. I say nothing, smiling to myself. Clearly Link has an admirer.

-o-

A/N: Hope you like it so far! Leave a review to let me know what you think.