My journey to the entrance of Hyrule Castle is uneventful. The next shift doesn't turn up, and there are no other guards around. But when I reach the large double doors at the front of the castle, I hesitate. I'm not allowed to be here, so I'm going to have to avoid any guards or other people inside long enough to find Zelda, which means that going in the front door probably isn't the best idea.

Instead I go around the castle, until I find a shallower part of the moat with a small gap at the base of the castle wall. I squeeze myself through, emerging in what looks like the inner garden. I stride through the hedges, keeping an eye out for any guards. But like before, the garden is deserted. I spot a stone arch on one side of the garden and head towards it, entering a small paved courtyard. There's a window on the far side of it, and the room inside is brightly lit.

I head over to it cautiously, aware that there's a good chance of anyone inside spotting me. But if I'm very lucky, the Princess will be in there. I peer in, letting my eyes adjust to the sudden brightness, and look around. There's a long table inside, lined with old men and women; this must be the Royal Council. I can't see Impa, though. They seem to be deep in debate about something, and I listen carefully.

'We've searched everywhere,' one old woman is saying. 'No-one has found any trace of her. At this point, I think we need to assume the worst.'

'There is still hope,' an ancient-looking man with a trailing beard says. 'It has only been a few days. Perhaps she is wandering Hyrule somewhere, with no way of getting back here. Perhaps she is injured and cannot travel, but is still alive. We cannot give up hope! The people expect us to find her, and we cannot disappoint them.' There's an expectant pause, and all heads turn to the person sitting at one end of the table. I can't quite see them from where I'm standing, but if I lean right to one side I can just make out a glimpse of blonde hair.

Zelda! I think excitedly. I've found her! But there's no way to speak to her with all those people there. How am I going to get her alone? As I think, I realise that the Princess is speaking.

'While I don't think we should abandon hope completely, I do think that the chances of her still being alive are slim. At this point, we should focus on my coronation, since it's only three days from now, and with luck that celebration will distract the kingdom from the loss of my sister.' I gasp at her words.

Zelda has a sister? No-one mentioned that… But it seems as though my gasp was louder than I realise. The old woman who spoke before looks up at the window, and her eyes widen as she sees me. I step back, panicking, then turn and run. Behind me I can hear movement, but I don't look back, focussing on not tripping over anything in the dark garden. The gap in the wall is within sight when suddenly a row of guards emerges from the castle, blocking my path.

I skid to a halt, looking for another way out, but more guards form a ring behind me, and I realise that there's no escape. As I prepare to be carted off to the dungeons, the circle of guards parts and the old woman from before comes forward, along with some of the other Council members. I gulp, starting to feel very nervous.

Now I wish I hadn't broken my promise to Link, I think fervently. But as I stand frozen to the spot, the woman suddenly bows deeply, and the guards follow suit. When the woman straightens up, her face splits into a broad smile.

'Your Majesty!' she says joyfully. 'Welcome home!'

-o-

Before I can react, the guards surround me once again and hustle me off through the castle. The old woman is by my side, but I can barely keep up with her rapid chatter.

'We're taking you straight to your sister. She'll be overjoyed to see you back safely!' she says, beaming at me. My head is spinning, and it's taking all my concentration just to walk in a straight line.

Your Majesty? My sister? What's going on? Are they taking me to see Zelda? Why doesn't anyone ever explain anything to me? But at least one of my questions is answered as we hurry through a pair of double doors and into the room I saw from the window before. The Council members who stayed behind quickly rise from their seats, but I ignore them. At the far end of the table, staring at me as if she's seen a ghost, is Princess Zelda. The guards respectfully back out of the room, and I'm suddenly left feeling very alone in a very big room. But just as suddenly, Zelda smiles and rushes across the room to me. She hugs me tightly, and I'm too stunned to react.

'I can't believe it! You're alive! And you're not hurt!' she says, her words slightly muffled. 'We thought something terrible had happened to you! I was starting to give up hope of ever seeing you again! But you're here!' She hugs me again, and this time I hesitantly hug her back. I have no idea why the Princess is being so friendly, but I'm in no mood to complain. But finally Zelda steps back and takes a long look at me, frowning.

'What's the matter? You don't seem very happy to see me,' she says, looking sad.

'I-it's not that,' I say hurriedly, feeling very out of my depth. 'It's just… I've lost my memory. I know you're the Princess, but I don't know how you know me or why you're so glad to see me back. I don't even remember my own name.' A murmur ripples around the Council at this, but I ignore them. 'I'd really appreciate it if someone would explain things to me,' I finish hopefully, and to my relief Zelda smiles.

'Of course! Come with me. I think it would be better if we did this privately.' She turns back to the Council, some of whom start to protest, but a raised hand from Zelda silences them. 'I think it would be best if I talked to my sister on my own. This meeting is adjourned for the night. We will meet again in the morning.'

Her sister? I think, shocked. Zelda is… my sister? But I don't have time to wonder about this, because the Princess takes my hand and leads me from the room. I follow her up a long flight of stairs to a large bedroom, where she motions for me to sit down on a comfortable couch while she closes the door behind us. As she comes to sit next to me, I instinctively straighten up, and she laughs slightly.

'There's no need to be so formal! I know you don't remember me, but I'm your sister! You don't have to behave yourself just because I'm a princess. You're a princess too, you know!' I sit there in silence, trying to process this.

I'm a princess. Right. Well, I would be, wouldn't I, if I'm Zelda's sister? Holy Din, I'm royalty. Ok, deep breaths.

'So where do you want to start?' Zelda asks. 'Do you really not remember anything?'

'No,' I reply, 'so I'd like to start at the beginning. First things first: what's my name?' Zelda laughs again at my desperation but I hold my breath, waiting. I've wanted to know this for so long, and now I'm finally going to find out the truth.

'Your name is Sheik,' Zelda tells me, and I let out a long sigh of release.

Sheik. That… that sounds familiar. Yes, I remember it now! That's my name! I'm Sheik! I start laughing from the sheer joy of regaining my identity, and Zelda smiles kindly at me.

'It must have been so hard for you,' she says, looking sad. 'I'm only ashamed that you had to travel all the way back to me. I should have done more to try to find you. I've been looking, you know. Ever since you disappeared, Impa and I have been out looking for you.'

So that's where they were coming back from this evening, I think, the pieces falling into place.

'Where have you been all this time?' Zelda asks.

'A lot of places. When I woke up I was in the Kokiri Forest. Then I went to Kakariko Village, and a ranch to the south, and finally I made it here.'

'The forest, huh? We didn't look there…' Zelda muses, but shrugs. 'Well, the important thing is that you're home now!'

'Yeah, about that… I'm still hazy on the details. So my name's Sheik, and I'm your sister, right?'

'Yes. My younger sister, actually. We're a year apart,' Zelda supplies.

'Ok. And we're both princesses. But you're first in line, because you're older.'

'Yes, and my coronation is in three days,' she tells me, and I smile.

'I'm glad I'm going to be here for that. But I have another question: I met a couple of people on my travels who remembered me from when I was younger, but neither of them knew that I was a princess. Everyone seems to know who you are, so why didn't they recognise me?'

'Because you were never out in public much – at least, not outside Castle Town. Our father, the last king, always wanted to keep us as far away from the public eye as he could. He thought it would be better for us that way. But when he died, the kingdom wanted to know who its next ruler would be. So I had to go out in public, and make speeches, and travel all over Hyrule. It was hard at first, but I'm getting used to it now. But you were never out in public, because as the second in line you didn't need to be. You stayed in the castle mostly, only occasionally leaving it to go into the town.'

Did I? That sounds strange, I think, frowning. I would have thought I'd have loved to go out and meet people. But I guess my personality may have changed with the curse as well.

'Ok. But then what changed? How did I wake up in the Lost Woods with no memories? What happened to me?' Zelda shakes her head.

'I'm sorry Sheik, I have no idea. All I know is that I said goodnight to you the night before last, and then in the morning you were gone. As I said, we searched for you, but we couldn't find any trace of you. We were beginning to resign ourselves to the possibility that you weren't coming back.' Tears gather at the corners of her eyes as she thinks about it, and I reach out to pat her gently on the shoulder. I know that as her sister I should probably do more to comfort her, but I don't remember her as my sister yet. I guess that will come with time.

'So what happens now?' I ask, trying to distract her from the painful memories.

'Now? Not much. I'm going to be very busy with preparations for the coronation, so I'm afraid you won't be seeing much of me. This room is yours, even if you don't remember it, and I think it would be best if you stayed here as much as possible. After all, whoever cursed you before may well still be around, and we don't want anything else happening to you!' Something in my mind shifts very slightly, but I ignore it. Instead I nod eagerly, glad that Zelda understands the situation.

'Since it's still the middle of the night, I think we should both get some rest,' Zelda continues. 'I'm only still up because the Council wanted an urgent meeting about you. But now that you're home, I'm going to bed, and you should too. I'll see you in the morning, alright?' I nod again, and Zelda gets up to leave. 'Oh, one thing. I'm going to lock you in, if that's alright? Just so that you'll be safe while you sleep. We don't want anyone coming in here and cursing you again!' she says, and I smile.

'That's a good idea.'

'Great! Sleep well Sheik,' she says, hugging me one last time. I hug her back, and watch as she leaves, locking the door after her. For a moment I pause, a strange feeling inside of me. But it quickly passes and I shrug, deciding that it probably wasn't important. After all, I'm finally back home, with my true identity, and my beloved sister. What could possibly be wrong? It's only after I've collapsed on the bed, utterly exhausted, that I remember Link.

-o-

I wake up the next morning when the rays of the rising sun land straight on my face, blinding me.

'Ugh...' I mutter, not ready to leave my warm bed. But eventually thoughts of Link and Zelda stir me awake. Last night I decided that there wasn't a lot I could do about Link, given that Zelda had already locked me in here and left, but this morning I plan to go back into the town and find him. I feel terrible for breaking my promise, and for not being back in time to explain things to him when he woke up, but at least I've found out everything we wanted to know. That should help my case, and hopefully he'll forgive me.

Satisfied with my plan, I sit up in bed and look around the bedroom. Zelda told me that this is my room, so I should have plenty of memories of it from before I went missing. I focus, and it slowly comes back to me. I glance at the table by my bed, nodding to myself as I see a large book lying there.

That's right, I always like to read before I go to sleep. But at this point more pressing matters present themselves to me, and I start trying to remember where the nearest bathroom is. A few minutes of trial and error leads me to a door on one side of my room, and I gratefully go in. When I emerge, I'm startled by a clicking sound, but sigh in relief when I realise that it's only the key in the lock. Zelda opens the door, smiling as she sees me.

'Did you sleep well?' she asks, and I nod. 'That's good. I guess it was a late night for both of us! One of the maids will bring you up some breakfast soon. Normally you'd eat with me downstairs, but given the situation it's been decided that you'll stay in here, and you won't leave unless you absolutely have to.' My face falls slightly at this news; now that I'm finally home, I'm a virtual prisoner? That doesn't seem fair, somehow. And does this mean I won't be able to see Link? I bring my attention back to the room as Zelda sits down on the couch.

'But we've got more important things to discuss. I want to hear everything!' she says, motioning for me to sit next to her. 'Right from the beginning! As much as you remember! And maybe we'll find something that gives us some clue as to who cursed you.' I nod, and start from the beginning. Zelda frowns when I tell her about the mysterious figure I remember, and the female voice I heard with it, but she doesn't have any suggestions about the identity of either person.

'All I can say for sure is that neither of those people was me,' she says sadly. 'I wish I had been there to protect you, but it wasn't my voice you heard.' I shrug, disappointed but not really expecting anything else. I continue my story, and Zelda looks up with interest when I tell her about Link.

'Wow! He really carried you all the way back to his village by himself? He must be really strong!' I smile, nodding. 'What's he like?' Zelda asks, her eyes wide. 'What does he look like, and act like?' I'm surprised she wants so much detail, but I happily provide it. She stays silent for the remainder of my story, even when I mention Anju and the trip I made with my – our – father to Kakariko Village.

'I guess you weren't there for that?' I ask, and she shakes her head.

'I don't think so, I don't remember it. Ironic, huh?' I have to laugh at this. Finally I finish my story at the previous night, when I left Link and came to the castle.

'So you broke your promise to Link just so that you could come see me?' Zelda asks, and I nod slowly, wondering if she'll disapprove. But to my relief she just smiles. 'Seeing me must have meant a lot to you, then,' she replies. When she doesn't say anything else, I decide that now is my chance to ask about seeing Link.

'I'd really like to go back to the town and explain things to him,' I tell my sister. 'I've found out so much, and after all we've been through together I feel like he has a right to know as well. And I'd also like to ask him to forgive me for breaking that promise.' Zelda looks thoughtful.

'I don't think it's a good idea for you to wander around the town, not with your would-be murderer still at large,' she says, and my heart sinks. But before I can protest she continues. 'But if you like, I can send word to Link that you're here and ask him to come see you. That would be much safer, if he'll agree to it.' I not eagerly at this, certain that Link will happily come when he hears what's happened. 'Great! Then I'll go send a message to him. See you later, Sheik!' she says, before she leaves me alone again, locking me in.

-o-

As Zelda promised, a maid brings my breakfast up shortly after. When I ask how she got a key, she tells me that, as my personal maid, she's one of the few people with a key to my room. She turns to leave, but I'm so desperate for company that I practically beg her to stay. She looks conflicted for a moment, as if unsure if she's allowed to take time off from her duties, but eventually she seems to decide that a request from a princess is probably more important than whatever other orders she has.

'What's your name?' I ask as I devour my toast.

'Ciela, your Majesty,' she says, curtseying.

'There's no need for that,' I tell her, gesturing for her to sit down at the other end of the couch. Again, she hesitates for a moment before obeying. 'It feels weird for me being treated like royalty,' I tell Ciela. 'I don't remember having special treatment before. Then again, I don't remember anything really.' But Ciela quickly shakes her head.

'You weren't treated specially. You didn't want us to curtsey or call you "Your Majesty" or anything like that.' I nod to myself. That seems more like the kind of thing I'd do, but then what do I even know about my personality? According to my sister, I'm a complete recluse, which doesn't sound like the me I think I know. Clearly things have changed.

'So what did you call me before?' I ask Ciela, interested.

'Just Sheik. You knew all of our names, so you thought it was only right that we called you by yours.'

'Oh. Sorry, but I don't remember many names right now. It'll take me a little while to get back up to speed.' Ciela smiles sweetly, shaking her head again.

'Don't worry about it, Sheik. I mean, your Majesty.'

'I think Sheik will do fine,' I tell her, finishing off my breakfast. 'So Ciela, how do you feel about letting me out of this room? It's a bit strange that my maid has a key and I don't.'

'I know, it is strange,' Ciela agrees. 'You used to have a key, but I don't know what happened to that one. And I'm sorry, but I can't let you out.' When I frown, she continues, 'It's Princess Zelda's orders. She specifically told me that your life is danger right now and that for your own safety you have to stay in here. She said that you might ask me to let you out, but I wasn't allowed to do it.' I sigh, wondering if I can persuade Ciela, and how much trouble she'll get into if she disobeys my sister. As if she's reading my mind, she says,

'I can't disobey Her Majesty. I know you wouldn't be very harsh if I disobeyed an order, but Zelda is different. I might even lose my job! And besides…' She looks around, checking that no-one can hear her, before leaning in conspiratorially. 'You inspire loyalty in your servants and in your people, because everyone likes you,' she whispers. 'But people obey Zelda, because everyone's scared of her.' As soon as she finishes speaking she quickly leans back, then grabs my tray and leaves the room, locking it behind her and leaving me perplexed.

Why would anyone be afraid of Zelda? She seems so lovely. And why is she so insistent that I stay in this room? I know I'm in danger, but still… I sigh, and try to think about something else. I know Zelda is only trying to protect me. And right now, given that her coronation is the day after tomorrow, she has enough to worry about without me causing problems as well. I pick up a book and start to read, trying to take my mind off it. But no matter how hard I try, I can't get rid of the uneasy feeling in my gut.