Disclaimer: I do not own the legend of Zelda. That would be Nintendo.
Updated July 16, 2020
Escape
Time seems to have slowed for Zelda as the days counted down to her impending doom. She finds it sardonically odd how that happens at a time when Hyrule castle seems busier than ever. They are preparing for a wedding, Zelda's wedding. The staff had started preparations as soon as the engagement had been announced.
Yesterday Zelda had been asked to try on a few dresses. Most brides would be thrilled. Not Zelda. She hadn't smile a wink throughout the whole ordeal. Though each dress had been beautifully woven, and the true work of a master seamstress, she couldn't have cared less. When she looked into the mirror and saw her pale face staring back at her from above the folds of each dress, she hadn't seen a bride. She had seen a phantom, a wraith, a spectre who didn't belong in this world, who should have moved on long ago but was being held back against her will. She'd felt dead inside and probably looked it. Why else had they slapped a pound of blush and makeup on her face? To hide the lilies with fake roses.
Zelda rests on her balcony and as is her custom gazes out at the world below, wondering what it would be like to be a part of it.
Hearing the melodious ring of laughter rise in the air, she looks down from her high seat and sees a young couple walking through the gardens. Judging by their grand attire, she comes to the conclusion that they are a knight and his lady.
She watches the young couple stroll through the grass among the flowers as they whisper and laugh every now and then while holding hands.
They come to a stop amidst the roses and the knight picks a flower and hands it to his lady. She accepts it with a smile that is visible even from Zelda's high view. What happens next sends a knife through Zelda's heart, for it reminds her of the life she'll never have. The knight and lady lean towards each other until they meet, kissing each other in the garden among the roses.
Zelda looks away, unable to keep watching. As the tears well up in her eyes, she wishes that it was possible for her to experience that kind of relationship, that kind of love.
If only I lived a simpler life, then I could be free to have that love, she tells herself.
A few days later, Zelda walks through her own private garden. It is the only place where she found solitude these days. She admires the beauty of the flowers, wishing her life was as simple and free as theirs.
She kneels beside the flowers, caressing their petals with her fingers, barely brushing against them out of fear of tainting their beauty with her sorrow.
As she admires the natural beauty of the flowers, she hears a trilling song carried on the wind. It is not a human song, but the song of birds. She sees a pair of birds chasing each other in a dance of flight and singing their song of joy as the wind carries their small bodies through the open, free sky.
Zelda reaches out her hand towards them, hoping against all hope to catch them, to join them, to meet them halfway across the sky. As they disappear into the horizon, a fierce sense of jealousy thunders through her heart. She wonders how it is fair that the birds could go wherever they wanted and how they could chase the clouds and kiss the stars while she kicked the ground and rotted in a prison of stone and false life? She is a descendant of the goddess Hylia! Or so she's been told her entire life. She clenches her pristine fists, knowing she should be out in the world, not behind enclosed walls, looking down on her kingdom from a window in a high tower!
She thinks back to the young couple she had seen and covets their relationship. She thinks back to all the times she would watch the children play in the streets and covets their lifestyle. She wants that freedom, that life. She wants to be rid of the restrictions placed upon her by her status. She knows her life is a prison, and she wants out.
Looking back where the birds had disappeared, her heart stops, and her clouded head clears. A veil lifts from her eyes, and in a moment of uncharacteristic confidence, she makes up her mind. If the birds could do it, then so could she! She whirls about, hitching her gown, and breaks into a run for her chambers, knowing she will be leaving tonight!
The hoot of an owl and the flicking light of a weak candle does little to deter Zelda from her night plans. She strains her ears, listening for any unwanted footfalls in the corridor, but only hears the grumbling snores of the guard at her door. She blinks away the heaviness creeping into her lids, and by the light of a candle studies one of the many maps her tutors have loaned her for studying, planning out where she will go from the castle. She tents her brow, unsure how far anywhere was from outside the castle walls. Or what the people there are like. She does know one thing though; she has to go somewhere where her name will hold no meaning and her face will be unrecognizable. After much studious thinking and silent debate, she finally settles on a destination.
Holodrum. I will go to Holodrum.
With the great sea between the two territories, the Hyrulean monarchy holds no power over Holodrum. The only purpose Holodrum serves is as a port stop for traders on their way to and from Labrynna. She lets a daring grin tug at her lips, knowing her face should be unknown to any of its inhabitants. ...The perfect place to hide.
Rolling up her map, she stuffs it into her bodice and wraps herself into a cloak that she wears only in the winter. Drawing up the hood to conceal her face, she opens the windows leading out to her balcony to scale down the wall by using the ivy vines like a ladder.
Before she even reach the railing, she freezes, for sitting on the railing patiently-as if they were there the whole time-is Impa. Fear washes over her, and her confidence evaporates upon seeing her old nurse. Fearing she'll receive some form of punishment, Zelda closes her eyes, too afraid to face her. Instead of a rebuke or a firm hand slapping across her face, she feels a warm embrace.
Daring to meet Impa's gaze, Zelda blinks a few times when she see pride, as well as sorrow in the older woman's eyes. The smile on her face reflects both happiness and sadness.
"I always knew you would do something eventually," she says. "You were never meant for this kind of life. You have too much spirit to be contained or bonded to a lesser man." Reaching into a bag beside her, Impa hands Zelda a bundle of cloth. Unwrapping it, she reveals a set of clothes. They are simple in make and mediocre in quality, for they are peasant clothes, consisting of a white chemise, a blue kirtle, a white veil with a blue ribbon for fastening, a rope girdle, felt shoes, and a fur lined cloak with a hood. It is the bare essentials.
"If you want to travel incognito, you should change into something more common."
Accepting the clothes, Zelda quickly changes back in her room, removing all of her jewellery, makeup, and expensive silks. But when she reaches for her ring, she hesitates, knowing it is her mother's wedding band and the only memento she has of her. It's also the only thing her father ever gave her. In a flash she weighs her options, aware it could give her away, but she can't bear to part with it, so she keeps it on her finger until she decides what to do with it.
She returns transformed from her royal attire looking like a simple, young peasant woman. She isn't Princess Griselda de Hyrule. She is just Zelda, Simple ordinary Zelda; she lets out a pent up breath at the alien concept, but she found it not altogether unpleasant.
"Now come, hurry!" says Impa. "We haven't a moment to lose. I will help you get out of castle town, but the moment you are beyond its walls, you are on your own. Don't worry about getting caught. I am a Sheikah, and the shadows are our domain. As long as you do as I say, you will make it out tonight."
Zelda nods in understanding. Impa instructs her to climb on her back and wrap her arms and legs tightly around her. When Zelda is secure, Impa begins to descend the wall, using the ivy vines for support. Zelda keeps her eyes squeezed shut the whole time and only opens them when Impa sets her on the ground. Following Impa's instructions and sticking to the shadows, the two are able to avoid the guards with ease and make it outside. Skirting along the edge of the grounds, they avoid all other guards and make it to castle town. However, they know they are not out of the woods yet. While there aren't many guards patrolling castle town, the town is walled, and the draw bridge is kept up at night.
But Impa bent down and unfastened a rusted metal grate that squealed when pulled free, and Zelda allows a grimace to cross her features before determination hardens them again. No one would ever expect a princess to use the sewers.
It is dark, wet, and stinks of human filth. Zelda could have sworn she stepped in feces and was convinced she'd seen a rat scurry by. She nearly lost her dinner by the time the smell of fresh air massages her senses. Eventually they see moonlight ahead and exit outside of town and into the Zora River.
Zelda panics, knowing she can't swim, but Impa holds her close, supporting her weight with a strong arm all the way acrosss. From the start Zelda has been grateful Impa had chosen to help her, but now she is even more thankful Impa had been waiting for her or she never would have made it this far on her own. Yet now she had to say goodbye, and she didn't want to. Impa had done so much for her throughout her life. She had always been there for Zelda. She is her nurse, her friend, her role model, her mother figure, and Impa is the only person who ever cared to call her Zelda instead of Griselda.
But she also knows that if she backs down now, she will never get another opportunity to escape again. It is now or never.
Fighting back the tears, she embraces Impa one last time, and the Sheikah woman returns the hug with an equal amount of affection. Too soon the embrace ends. Impa tenderly presses a bag full of rupees into her hands, enough to last her a few days. She ties it to her belt and turns to leave down the beaten path. After going a while, she looks back, but the Sheikah is already gone.
Zelda feels heartbroken, but she feels something else, an emotion she hadn't felt before. Peace. With this peace comes joy, for she is free, free from her prison, free from her engagement, free from her soul destroying life! She is free!
The biggest smile she ever smiled cracks her face, and she laughs a hearty, fruity laugh and races across Hyrule field, skipping and prancing through the tall grass, dancing in the moonlight. Free, free, and how she loved it, this sensation that fed the dancing fire in her soul.
With her heart light as a feather, Zelda races off into the night, determined to reach the nearest port by tomorrow, to sail to Holodrum and her new life of freedom.
Well, what do you think? A bit of a bitter sweet chapter, don't you think? Don't worry, things will get happier. And for those who are wondering "Where's Link?" don't worry, we'll get to him soon, we just need some time. For now simply leave a review and stay tuned for more.
Special shout out to Lightblade1121. First person to favourite this story.