Fair warning: this chapter is the longest so far.

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Chapter 7
The Ties that Bind

There was a pretty big difference between Princess Zelda and Impa.

Well, actually, there were quite a few, but in this case, it was that Zelda really wasn't a fan of doing hard work...while Impa herself couldn't stand slacking off and let someone else do the hard work...and yet, somehow, both of them were doing the things they hated right now.

After their scuffled with the Octoroks earlier that day, the two of them had sought out shelter a bit further up the mountain they had just started climbing, mostly upon Zelda's insistence, though not for her own sake, but for Impa's.

The brave Sheikah scout had taken quite a beating after all, and despite claiming more than once to not need any rest or that only Zelda's well-being mattered, the princess had insisted,and insisted hard, even going so far as to pull rank and outright make it an order.

They found shelter inside a shallow cave on top of a cliff, and set up a bedroll for Impa to rest on as she recovered her strength while Zelda prepared a campfire.

"Grrrr...you can't just put in a bunch of big hard logs and expect them to burn, you need tinder and kindling as well!" Impa complained, visibly irritated by Zelda's amateur attempt at a campfire.

"I know, I know, I'm getting to that, sheesh!"

Impa rolled her eyes: she really wished she could do this herself, but Zelda wouldn't allow that. Though a moment later, Zelda did come back with a bunch of smaller sticks, dry leaves and forest duff and rearranged it in a more...effective campfire. Now all that was needed was...well, fire.

"Alright, that's...passable," was honestly the most generous compliment Impa could give without lying. "I got a pair of flints in my bag, you can use them to-"

"No need!" Zelda insisted, holding up a finger to make a point. "I got this."

At this point, Impa was quite confused...and slightly concerned. Did Zelda somehow find her own pair of flints? Did she take Impa's without Impa herself noticing somehow? Or was she going to rub two sticks together or something? Because if it was the last option, then Impa would have some choice words for the stubborn princess.

Turns out, Zelda's solution wasn't any of those options. Instead, she took a deep breath, and raised her open hand towards the firewood. "Alright, you've done this once before," she muttered silently to herself, and then...out of nowhere, a ball of fire materialised in Zelda's hand and launched itself at the wood, setting it ablaze.

The sudden burst of bright hot fire made both of them flinch, Zelda jumping back a full metre reflexively, despite that being exactly what she was going for. She just didn't expect the spell to be so sudden and bright. "Wow, I wasn't sure that was gonna work."

Slowly, she managed to calm herself down and take a seat next to the newly lit campfire across from where Impa was lying. Impa found herself a bit intrigued by that surprising show of magic, both here and now as well as with the barrier she used to protect the two of them from Octorok stones earlier that day.

People versed in magic were few and far between in Hyrule, and Impa herself had only met a few of them herself: five to be precise, or, well...six now, she supposed. The first of which was Sahasrahla, renowned as the greatest and wisest wizard in all of Hyrule, and his apprentice Osfala wasn't too bad either (even if he could use an ego check every once in a while), both of which Impa had worked with on missions before. Her own teacher, Master Ozshen, while not quite as specialised in magic as either of the former, knew how to blend what powers he had into his fighting style, and one of his students, who also happened to be the laziest and dumbest among them...that being Kohga of all people, turned out to be a magical prodigy surprisingly enough. The last one was an old witch named Syrup that Impa once bought a few potions from.

Given the rarity of spellcasters, and especially Impa's lack of encounters with most of the ones that do exist, it did not even occur to her to imagine that Princess Zelda might also be one of them...at least until she saw it with her own eyes.

"You know, I never would have guessed that you were a witch, princess," Impa remarked out loud, her voice one of genuine surprise with a hint of pride, and not one of judgment or trying to make it sound like an insult.

"The correct term in my case is 'sorceress', and honestly, until a few days ago, I didn't know I was one either."

Impa wasn't quite sure if she was really interested in the answer or not, but still, she couldn't help but ask, "What's the difference?"

That's when Zelda got into what Impa would later come to refer to as 'lecture mode'...and factually explained, "A lot of people use the terms interchangeably, that's true, and both fall under the umbrella term of 'mage'. However, a witch or wizard is someone who uses magically imbued objects or potions in order to cast magic, while sorcerers or sorceresses can call upon the power of their own internal life force to cast spells. Everyone in my bloodline has had some kind of innate magical ability, though for me, it never really manifested until the night Ganon's Tower was destroyed. Since then though, I have casted Hylia's Chains, Farore's Wind, Din's Fire and Nayru's Love."

"Hmm...okay," was all Impa had to say to that. At the end of the day, maybe she really wasn't that interested in the subject...though Zelda's magical ability could be useful later down the line.

The fire crackled and sizzled, burning the pieces of dried wood Zelda had collected into a warm and comforting aura...whenever the wind didn't blow smoke in one of their faces at least.

"This is a waste of time," Impa grumbled, though the slight wince in her voice already disproved that notion.

"No, it is not," Zelda replied with a fair bit of stubbornness in her tone. "You won't do either of us much good if you're too injured to fight. We talked about this."

Being doted and mothered on like a rebellious teenager by someone less experienced and slightly younger than herself was an odd feeling, and Impa was not sure she liked it. "I'm a Sheikah, I heal fast."

"Good, then you can spare a few hours of rest and get your special healing powers started, no problems, right?"

"Well, yes, but...ughhh...you're kinda annoying. You know that, princess?"

A small giggle slipped from Zelda's lips upon hearing that remark. "If that's the price I have to pay to keep you alive, then so be it. Now sit your stubborn Sheikah butt down and rest for goddesses' sake!"

The groan that came from Impa's side of the campfire echoed clear across the cave, but nevertheless, she did as she was told and laid down on the bedroll Zelda had prepared for her.

Her red eyes fell upon the ceiling of the cave and listened to the sounds made by the fire burning next to her. She watched as the smoke flowed out through a few openings in the ceiling, almost like a chimney, and yet all she could think about was that annoying blonde Hylian princess whom had insisted on taking care of her as if Impa, a proud Sheikah warrior, had been but a fragile little baby.

Not once in her life had Impa ever known someone who cared that much for her wellbeing...or, well, at least since her parents...stopped being around, curtsy of one deranged sociopath. Sure, there was always her sister Purah, but that bundle of mad science had her own things to worry about most of the time, projects that would revolutionise the world according to her, and were so important apparently that trivial things like sleep, food and social interaction often faded from her mind.

It had been two years ago since the two of them had a decent conversation even, and that conversation did not end well...

Two years ago...

"...therefore when at full effect, any magical attack, no matter how powerful, would be redirected straight back at the aggressor just as easy as click, SNAP!..Theoretically at least, I still need all the necessary materials, and some more funding, and a properly established lab, maybe an assistant, oh, and some tools that aren't junk..." Purah rambled, her gaze entirely focused on the pile of machine parts and magical gems that she was trying to use to build some kind of 'ultimate defence'...though to be honest, about 90% of what said project would do went straight over Impa's head.

Impa herself, about 17 years old at this point, but not looking too different than she did in present day other than her braid being slightly shorter, having fewer scars, and slightly less bulk, was standing in the corner of her sister's personal laboratory with her arms crossed and a frustrated look in her eyes, all while tapping her foot on the floor impatiently.

Purah's excuse for a lab was nothing short of a disorganised mess: various tools and machine parts lay stacked in huge piles on every shelf or table, if not the floor itself, making it very easy to trip or step on something by accident. There were also unwashed plates with leftovers of old meals here and there, and a lot of chopsticks, not to mention the smell.

"When was the last time you cleaned up in here, this place's a dump," Impa couldn't help but remark, visibly gagging at something that just assaulted her nose.

Her sister, whom have had her back to her until now, stood up straight and turned around, placed her hands on her hips and shot back, "I prefer the term 'organised chaos', thank you very much. And..." she then sniffed the same odour. "Alright, you may have a point, Imp," she conceded with a sigh.

Purah and Impa looked somewhat similar: they had the same white hair and red eyes as all Sheikahs had (albeit Purah had a streak of red dye in hers), but more than that, they also had the same dark skin tone, were about the same height and had some similar facial features.

That said, they were polar opposites in every other way. For one, despite being a proud member of the Sheikah Tribe, Purah was not nearly as big on traditional facial tattoos as her sister, though her red spectacles were designed to invoke their tribe's main symbol. As for personality, well...that was where they truly differed.

"...And I promise I will clean up as soon as I finish this baby," she informed as she turned her attention back to her project, picking up a wrench that had definitely seen better days. "Trust me, when this thing is finished, not even Ganon will be able to break through. I just need a few more tweaks and-"

"Purah!"

The amount of force in Impa's voice was enough to make Purah jump. "Geez, sis, I'm working on a very delicate piece of equipment right now, so would you please not try to startle me like that? Unless you want to blow up this whole lab, of course."

"We can only dream," Impa snidely remarked with a scoff.

Purah rolled her eyes and sighed, but still kept them focused on the project. "What do you want, Imp?" she asked with a less enthusiastic voice than was normal for someone as upbeat and manic as her, all while continuing to tinker.

"I'm leaving."

Those two words were enough to make Purah completely freeze up and stop what she was doing. She slowly turned around to look at her sister with a surprised expression. She picked up her glasses and placed them on her head, "Leaving where?"

Somewhat pleased to have gotten Purah's undivided attention, at least for the moment, Impa pushed away from the wall and took a few steps closer, albeit with her arms still crossed. "My training is done so I'm being deployed in the field. I don't know where they'll send me, but it's not anywhere near Kakariko, that I know for sure."

"Oh...Well, that's good then! My baby sister, finally a true Sheikah warrior, and to serve in his majesty's army. What an honour, huh!?"

"Sure," was all Impa had to say to that, but it was clear by the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes that her own enthusiasm was nowhere near what Purah was going for. "What an honour."

Noticing her sister's lack of cheer, Purah frowned. "Come on, Imp, would it hurt to smile just a little? Isn't this what you've been training for for years?"

Impa uncrossed her arms and gave her a glare, "I am being relegated to a scout, to spy on our enemies as far away from Hyrule as possible, and to do it all alone, isolated. It is no honour, it is my punishment...for being the worst student Master Ozshen had ever trained. I failed him...and I failed the Sheikah Tribe."

"What?!" Purah sputtered in disbelief at what she was hearing. "That can't be right. It's got to be some kind of mistake. I've seen you fight, and it makes no sense for you to be the worst at-"

"That's just it!" Impa snapped, the rage that she'd tried to suppress boiling to the surface. "You haven't seen me fight, not really, not when it mattered, because in your little bubble of a life, you're the only one who matters, right? You only care about your insane experiments, do you?! It doesn't matter that you blow up our house several times over, that you have turned into a disgusting slob who leaves dishes out to mould in your own lab, that the only one who can stand you is that madman Robbie, that your sister was left to take take care of every single chore around the house even when she was being trained to the brink of death because you couldn't be bothered to do them yourself!"

While every angry word that was spat out of Impa's mouth right was directed at Purah, and were motivated indeed by frustrations that she had with her eccentric sister...not all the anger behind them were truly meant for her. Impa was angry at a lot of people right now: she was angry at Ozshen for how disappointed he was in her and thus gave her a worse ranking than even Kohga managed to get, at the other students she trained with for not even bothering to show her the slightest bit of kindness, at her parents for dying so early, leaving her and Purah to survive on their own, but most of all...Impa was angry at herself, for not amounting to anything, for being too emotional for her own good, and yes, even for how distant she allowed her relationship with her sister to get.

Unfortunately, with no proper outlet for that rage, she ended up taking them all out on Purah.

...and those words did hurt. Purah's excitable mood and eccentric personality was nowhere to be seen after that rant. Instead, it were replaced with her responding in kind.

"Oh yeah?" she shot back, taking a few angry steps towards Impa, and met her glare with a glare of her own. "Well maybe if you had given a single fuck about my projects, then maybe I wouldn't have been forced to work all day and night on them! Projects I'm doing so we can get funding from the king and not have to live on the streets! Projects that will save lives and make Hyrule a better place! And Robbie's not a madman, he's my best friend! Unless you're saying I'm a lunatic as well, are you?!"

"Please, when have any of your projects worked? Where's the rupees from the king? How much have you actually improved Hyrule?! How could I help you when I'm dealing with problems you don't even notice or care about?!"

Purah's face turned red with anger at that accusation. "Oh, I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you with your problems WHEN YOU WON'T EVEN TELL ME ABOUT THEM! You never talk to me! You just stand there and sulk all day. Oh, and for the record, my inventions have helped plenty!"

A laugh completely devoid of any humour or joy came out of Impa's mouth, just bitter irony. "Did they help our parents?"

Now that...that was a low blow.

The look of shock and pain on Purah's face was heartbreaking, but Impa was simply too angry to show mercy, not when emotions were this heated.

"The only reason Blind the Thief came to our village, why he killed so many of our friends, why he stabbed our mother to death before my eyes, why he burned our father alive, was to steal your inventions!" Impa stepped closer and closer to her sister, and even pointing an accusatory finger in her face. "They're dead because of your projects! Because of your experiments! They're dead because of you!"

Even with all of Impa's finely tuned reflexes and ways she knew how to block incoming attacks, she was so unprepared for one to come from her sister that she did not in any way see the resulting slap to her face coming...nor for it to have been nearly as painful as it ended up being.

That slap was a wake up call for Impa, and in that moment, she realised just how deeply her words had wounded Purah's heart, how harsh and unnecessary they had been, and how much her sister didn't deserve them.

Words failed her, and all she could do was stare at Purah making a face she never wanted to see from her: the look of sorrow, rage, and betrayal all mixed into one.

"Get out of my lab."

Her voice was cold, detached, and lacking any of Purah's usual quirks. It was a voice that made it crystal clear to Impa that there was nothing she could say or do right now to make things better. So she didn't, instead, she simply turned around and left without saying another word or a look back.

Impa hadn't talked to her sister since.

In fact, she hardly talked to anyone after that. Her life as a scout was one of solitude, one where the only conversations she had were held when reporting information back to her superiors, and for most of it, that was fine by her.

After all, Master Ozshen had taught her that attachments were a weakness. Purah would be better off without her anyway, that Impa knew for certain...or at least, that was what she had told herself to not feel bad for leaving her like that. In truth, Impa had no clue whatsoever what Purah had been doing since she left, whether she gained success or not, or if she missed her younger sister at all.

Either way, she very much doubted she'd get any answers anytime soon.

For these past two years Impa had grown numb to that feeling of loss and loneliness. She knew that friends, family and love simply wasn't meant for her, and she had made peace with that...until Princess Zelda appeared, that is.

Ironically, Zelda was someone she could confidently say she disliked at first, and had felt more like an extremely heavy and cumbersome baggage she was stuck with than an ally...let alone a friend. Impa wasn't sure she would ever consider Zelda to be a friend, but at the very least, she had started to gain some amount of respect for her temporary travelling companion.

Going out of her way to save Impa's life, to find shelter, and not take no for an answer. With a small smile crossing her tired face, Impa realised that perhaps, Princess Zelda at the very least had what it took to be a leader.

One thing was for sure though, she commanded very differently than the leader Impa was most used to following...

Four years ago...

"Remember, students, that we are not soldiers fighting for glory, not knights fighting to uphold a code of chivalry. There's no honour in what we do, no recognition, no fame, no infamy. We are not to enjoy or relish our violence, but we must not hesitate either. There can be no conscience, no remorse, no humanity in us. We are Sheikah, the shadows of Hyrule, those who silently and blindly kill the enemies of Hylia, our true goddess. Is that understood!?"

Those were the words of the great Master Ozshen as he stood before the eyes of twenty young Sheikah warriors in the courtyard of Hyrule Castle, ranging in age from 15 to 21, each and every one of them dressed in the same uniform, designed for maximum movement, flexibility and stealth. Despite them being of different ages, and had different body shapes, faces and skin colour, they all had white hair, tribal tattoos, and red eyes...the mark of the Sheikah Tribe.

"Yes, master!" they all shouted in unison.

Among the trainees was a younger Impa, now only 15 years old, her braid a fair bit shorter, and she was slightly less tall and muscular. She stood in the second to last row in the back, not in any way more important or notable than the rest of them.

Ozshen himself stood on a slightly raised platform in front of them all, arms clasped behind his back and his intense red eyes scanning each and every one of them for any sign of weakness or imperfection, and once seen, he would made plans for how to get rid of. That was what he was here for, after all.

He was old, even for a Sheikah, his spiky hair being more of a grey than white, and with a constant scowl on his humourless face. Yet, even as old as he was, he was in top physical shape, with the lean musculature of a true martial artist, and with the wooden katana that was strapped to his belt, only a fool would ever assume he was anything but one of the most skilled fighters in all of Hyrule.

"As such, you will regard the darkness as your ally, your only true ally, the only thing you can ever trust. Now, let's prove it. Put on the masks that lay at your feet!"

On his order, the students reached down to pick up a mask that indeed had been placed just in front of each of them, a white mask with the Sheikah Emblem, the crying red eye, painted on it. But when they put them on, they all realised something kind of alarming...

"Wait, I can't see a thing with this on!" one of the students protested.
In response, Master Ozshen pulled up a blindfold and tied it over his own eyes with expert precision."Only a fool would be reliant on their eyes. Your enemies can blind you in an instant, possibly permanently, and then what would you do? Would you allow such a simple disability to make you weak? Would you be a worthless wretch fumbling around in the dark as your enemy has full reign to kill you over and over again without issue? No! You must learn to fight blind, to fight handicapped, so that a lack of sight will never become a weakness."

He stepped off the platform, hands still clasped behind his back, but his steps were so silent that none of the now-blinded Sheikah could tell where he was until he continued talking.

"Sight is only one of your senses, you must rely on all of them in order to be a true warrior," he said, startling many students who stood close to him. "Listen to your enemy's breaths, the clatter and cling of their metal weapons, feel their body heat, the vibrations in the ground of their steps, the smell of their sweat...and you must also make sure to hide those very same signs from them."

By the end of his speech, he had placed himself right in the middle of the assembled students, where he drew his sword, which on this day, was made of bamboo rather than sharpened steel, and laid out today's challenge. "Today, it will be all of you...against me alone. Any removal of your masks will be punished. Understood!?"

"Yes, master!" they all shouted again.

The students pulled their own weapons, all of which were of the non-lethal variety, and zeroed in on Ozshen's location, ready for battle. He was clearly outnumbered twenty to one, but that in no way whatsoever meant that he was at a disadvantage.

"Begin!" he shouted, and all at once...chaos erupted.

Those nearest to him instantly tried to strike at their lone opponent from several directions at once, but each and every one of them missed, and he managed to take out four students with quick precise strikes before even ten seconds had passed.

The rest soon got to learn that their superior numbers was less of an advantage and more of a hindrance when none of them could see who was friend and who was foe. As a result, there were a lot of friendly fire, with quite a students straight up attacking one another because they both mistook each other for their singular opponent.

As for Ozshen himself, he only really needed to dodge, and occasionally hit them with a few teasing strikes, the rest of the work was done by their own incompetence.

Above, on top of the battlements overlooking the courtyard below, a 13-year old girl with sunny blonde hair and a pink dress was watching the fight with rapt attention. It was Zelda, of course...and well, she was really only passing by on her way to one of her private classes when she found herself far more intrigued by the peculiar scene she just so happened to have stumbled onto.

Without much context for what exactly was happening right now (she had only heard about the Sheikah students training here in passing), the sight of a blindfolded Ozshen fighting against a group of masked people was quite strange, but definitely entertaining.

Only a mere minute into the fight and most of the students had already taken each other out while Ozshen himself hadn't been dealt a single hit.

That changed though when Impa came out of nowhere and rushed him, managing to strike his body three times with her bo staff. This forced him on the defensive, blocking her next round of attacks with a speed and skill well beyond hers.

Still, he had to give some credit to Impa for actually scoring a few lucky hits on him.

Impa was attacking with the wrath of a charging bull, loudly grunting and screaming with every attack. This wasn't her being stupid and giving away her position to her equally blinded enemy though, well, it actually was exactly that, but it was also a way to tell each of her remaining allies where their shared enemy was and that she herself wasn't Ozshen.

Luckily for her, Sooga, one of the bigger and older trainees, even taller and more muscular than Ozshen himself, who was wielding two huge wooden swords, used her voice to track down Ozshen's location and deliver a powerful hit on his master, so strong in fact that it actually sent him flying.

Though even flung off into the air, Ozshen reoriented himself and landed on his feet with practiced skill. Impa closed the distance almost immediately, never letting up for even a second.

Above the battle, Princess Zelda was frankly in awe of what she was seeing. While it would take her a few years until she would find out the name of who she was watching, that one female Sheikah who was fighting Ozshen like a savage beast was one she found herself completely unable to take her eyes off of.

Unlike the others, who were either fumbling around hitting either nothing or each other, or those like Sooga, who took strategic pot-shots at Ozshen whenever the female student left an opening for them, she herself was full of passion and life, showing emotion in every swing of her wooden staff, and instead of leaving others in danger for her own benefit, she chose herself to be the distraction her teammates used for their more cold and precise strategies.

It was also worth noting that though Impa's face was covered behind a mask, just like all of the students in that yard, her muscular arms were bare and moving in ways that did...things to Zelda's heart.

"So...beautiful..." she whispered under her breath.

At the time, Zelda believed what she was feeling was just admiration and awe, but in truth, while she certainly did feel those things for the masked woman she was watching, she also felt attraction...a feeling that had been mostly foreign to her until this very moment.

While she hadn't seen the face, or heard the name, of the woman who had captivated her so, Zelda knew in her heart that she would never forget the passion the woman below fought with...and that had certainly held through years later when she, by pure chance, ended up meeting that very same woman again.

However, as impressive and awe-inspiring as Impa's charge was, she was still fighting sloppily and predictable, and it did not take long for Ozshen to get the upper hand, grabbing her weapon and elbowed her straight in the mask, only to then turn her body around and throw her right into Sooga's next swing.

The wind was knocked right out of her lungs, and she spat blood out of her mouth, which, given that she was wearing a mask, made the inside of it quite bloody and uncomfortable. She fell to her knees writhing in pain, effectively defeated in a single agonising move.

Sooga, nor any of the other students, spared her even a moment of sympathy as the fight went on, now with him and two others trying to fight Ozshen with practiced strikes. Without Impa around to keep the master distracted though, he took all three down without much difficulty.

The last man standing was indeed Sooga, but not even he emerged victorious against a man with several decades more experience in this form of combat. His performance did impress Ozshen a fair bit though, and it was he who would by far get the best grades out of this exercise.

Once the battle was over, Ozshen returned to the platform he stood on at the start, only sustaining a few subtle bruises while the vast majority of his students were groaning in pain on the ground before him. "Alright, that's enough! Get back up on your feet!"

Most of the students did as they were told, ignoring the pain Ozshen inflicted on them and standing straight nonetheless, some taking a bit of extra time to do so...and then there was Impa...who was in far too much pain to do anything but lie there, chest heaving as she tried to get her bearings together.

The most she could do was to lift her mask enough for her mouth to be free and she could properly breathe. She spat out a bit more blood, this time on the ground rather than inside her own mask.

All the signs were there as plain as day that she had gotten fairly seriously injured and that she needed medical assistance sooner rather than later...and yet, that was not at all what Master Ozshen's priorities were.

"You too, Impa, get up!" he ordered, not a hint of sympathy or mercy in his stern voice.

"I...I can't..." was all she managed to get out of her mouth...besides blood.

Ozshen very clearly heard her, and though he was still wearing his blindfold, he could smell her blood from where he stood, he could hear her laboured breaths and the pain in her voice...but he simply didn't care.

In a cold tone utterly devoid of empathy, he repeated, "I said...get up. That is an order," and this time, the voice sounded closer.

Impa could only shake her head. Her body was screaming at her to stay down and rest. No, not just telling her, screaming at her to do so!

The next thing she knew, a hand grabbed her braid very firmly and dragged her head up by it, causing even more pain to sear through her body, this time through the roots of her hair. Ozshen's breath could be felt in her ear as he leaned in to repeat once more, "Get...up."

Only now, when given absolutely no other choice, did Impa reluctantly obey; forcing her limbs to push her up to her feet even with her entire body adamantly rebelling against it.

"Disobey me again and you'll be in more pain than you're in now," he threatened, and Impa knew that he fully and unironically meant it.

Once Impa was standing, albeit just barely, he returned to his position on the stage while continuing his lesson, his voice now loud enough for all to hear. "Remember, students, I am still more merciful than your enemies. If any of you allow such a simple injury to leave you defenceless on the battlefield, then you are dead! Your own individual wants, needs and comforts mean nothing compared to your duty, and if any of you-"

"Gagh!"

Impa's body gave in and she couldn't bare to remain standing any longer, falling to her knees with a whelp.

This did Ozshen not appreciate...not in the slightest. His brow furrowed and his mouth formed into a thin line. "What do you think you're doi-"

"HEY!" a voice called out from on top of the battlements behind him, a voice he knew all too well.

Ozshen removed his blindfold and turned around to look up at the one who had spoken to him. "Princess Zelda, shouldn't you be in Professor Owlan's class by now? You're a half-hour late if I got the time right."

At this point, Zelda couldn't care less about that stupid class. What she had just witnessed from her family's protector was nothing short of cruelty, and even as a mere 13-year old girl, she absolutely refused to stand for it. Her face was practically bristling with anger at this point.

"Can't you see what you're doing, Ozshen?! That girl needs medical help, not torture! Get her to the healers at once!" she nearly screamed, her voice loud enough to echo across the courtyard below.

Some of the students curiously took off their masks to see what was happening, and quite a few were baffled to see their crown princess looking down at them with rage in her eyes. Impa heard the voice as well, but she did not have the strength to look up at her.

Ozshen crossed his arms and tilted his head, his red eyes fixed on the child who had the audacity to tell him how to do his job. "Is that an order, your highness?" he asked, as he often did whenever she requested something of him which he himself did not agree with. Requests, suggestions or recommendations he could dismiss in a heartbeat, but orders he could not.

"Yes, that is very much an order!"

His glare lingered on hers for a moment more, the gaze of a psychopath finally revealed underneath the veneer of a humble servant of the Royal Family...and it was the first time Zelda saw him for what he truly was. Then, that brief glimpse of evil vanished and he smirked ever so slightly before turning back to his students, "You heard the princess, get her to the infirmary! Class dismissed!"

Impa used to think that intervention from the princess that day was little more than childish naivety on Zelda's part; just a girl stumbling upon a situation she knew nothing about and had no right to interfere with...at least that's what Master Ozshen made very clear to remind her of afterwards.

That was also ultimately the one and only time Zelda did interfere as well, so for the most part, Impa had largely put it out of her mind. It was Zelda herself who reawakened that memory for her, and in hindsight, she had gained a whole different perspective on the incident, so much so that there was now one thing that was long overdue.

"Thank you," Impa had said completely out of the blue as far as Zelda was concerned.

The two had been silent for the last hour, with Zelda tending to the fire while Impa just laid in her bedroll and rested: the one thing Ozshen had denied her that day.

Zelda met her eyes, and she could see the sincerity in them. Even now, the princess still couldn't put her finger on why she was so fascinated by Impa's crimson-coloured eyes. All she knew was that she couldn't get enough of them.

"...for saving me...both times," Impa added a moment later.

A light smile graced Zelda's lips upon hearing those words. She didn't need Impa to clarify what the first of those two times were, since she remembered that incident four years ago like it was yesterday, and it warmed her heart to hear that Impa remembered it too.

...Well, that she remembered the part where Zelda helped her, at least. If anything, Zelda wished Impa wouldn't have to remember the brutal way Ozshen had trained her.

For most of her childhood, Zelda had affectionately called that man Uncle Ozshen, as if he were a part of her family. After all, with her mother gone and her sister being...well...distant, the young princess sought familial connection in anyone she could find as she grew up.

After that day however, she had never called him 'uncle' again.

"You're quite welcome," Zelda said with a happy sigh. It was quite nice to hear something other than grumpy remarks or orders from her current travelling companion. "I suppose this makes us even then."

A small laugh escaped Impa's mouth. "Heheh, fair enough."

Once again, a silence broke out between them, the only sounds in the cave being the crackling of the fire and the wind outside. There may have been a drip of water somewhere nearby as well.

Yet, even without words, something gradually happened between them. Though it was subtle, Zelda gently scooted closer to where Impa was lying, up until she was sitting right next to her.

Impa noticed the change in proximity, but didn't do anything about it, though it did prompt her to ask something she had been wondering for a while.

"You asked me before if I had someone to come back to, someone who would miss me if I...if I died," she started, her words instantly being given the princess' rapt attention. "So...what about you, Zelda? Do you have someone back home who cares about you?"

The question seemed simple enough, and yet, Zelda did not answer it right away. Instead, she let out a sigh and closed her eyes, allowing memories of the past to come back to the forefront of her mind.

"I did not have many opportunities to make friends as I grew up," she confessed, her voice a bit melancholic and her eyes downcast. "People were always too afraid to talk to me when I constantly had armed guards following me around wherever I went. The guards themselves were no fun either. Heh, I did learn a few of their names though, and got to know a few of them somewhat well, but not enough to call them friends. The only kids my age who weren't too intimidated to talk to me were the sons and daughters of nobles, but most of the time I found them to be...rather insufferable."

Zelda's fingers began to twitch a bit, so she picked up a small rock from the cave floor and began to fidget with it, hoping that Impa wouldn't complain about that habit the way her teachers often did. Impa actually did take note of what she was doing, but didn't comment or complain about it.

"For the most part, all I had was my own sister...and even then, just barely..."

One year ago...

While Princess Zelda wasn't really taught how to survive in the wilderness on her own, or how to fight outside of controlled duels or archery contests, or even how to master her innate sorcery...there were a lot of things she were taught, that she was good at...such as how to make herself look presentable.

Yeah, a bit anticlimactic maybe, but to her credit, while many royals and nobles usually ordered servants to do it for them, Zelda preferred to doll herself up with her own two hands.

In the castle's designated 'cosmetics room', she was sitting in front of a mirror braiding her own hair into her signature style with deft fingers.

Sitting in the chair next to her was Dame Duelia, recently promoted to Knight General, which was what she preferred to be addressed as, even if she still held onto her princess title. She was meanwhile putting on lipstick while taking the time to inspect a nasty scar she received less than a week ago on her right cheek.

The two weren't alone, as Duelia's squire, essentially her apprentice and right-hand man, was standing in the corner with his arms crossed. He was a younger fellow, only a year and half older than Zelda, though with a much gloomier expression, along with long raven-black hair and a developing beard.

"I hope you don't mind me asking..." began Zelda somewhat cautiously and respectfully, though with her eyes glancing directly at Duelia's new scar through the mirror, the older of the two knew exactly what her sister wanted to ask about.

"A pack of White Wolfos ambushed me on my way down from Snowpeak," Duelia answered bluntly, not even waiting for Zelda to actually ask the question. "We defeated them easily enough, but one managed to scratch me in the face."

By now, Zelda really should have gotten used to Duelia's bluntness, but alas, she hadn't, and looked somewhat dumbfounded at being given the answer to a question she didn't even get the chance to voice.

"Yes, I can tell that's what you wanted to ask. Not nearly as dramatic as what happened to my left ear...or my chest, but it's just as permanent," she informed, not really looking Zelda in the eye, instead trying desperately to make the curly mess of red hair on her head look somewhat presentable. It was a nightmare to deal with even on the best of days, and if there was one thing she truly was envious of her sister about, then it would have to be Zelda's perfect hair.

Zelda was aware of how Duelia got the scar on her chest, that being in a duel with a Stalmaster, but not how she lost half of her left ear...and not for lack of asking. Duelia simply just didn't want to talk about it, and Zelda had no choice but to respect that.

"Still, I'm fortunate a scar was all I suffered, and some of that fortune came in the form of my very capable squire," she declared with a hint of pride, looking at her loyal apprentice through the mirror. "Isn't that right, Ashmund?"

The squire apparently named Ashmund had perhaps not the most excitable response to such praise, which was bit strange given that in most circumstances, saving a princess' life was a huge honour and most would happily gloat about doing so. In this case though, Ashmund was somewhat...well...dead inside, so all he said was a subdued "Yeah."

"Oh," Zelda turned her body around without getting out of the chair and looked at the squire with a friendly smile while holding out her hand. "I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Princess Zelda, a pleasure to meet you, Mr Ashmund!"

He looked a bit...surprised that she would greet him like that, but he knew his place, and so obediently shook the princess' extended hand. "Uh, yeah, I know who you are, your highness."

"It's the principle of the matter, good sir," she responded politely. "Introducing yourself is just proper manners when meeting someone for the first time, even if the other person might know who you are by reputation."

"Hmm...never been that big on 'proper manners'. My father raised me up in the mountains to be knight like him, and that training didn't really include etiquette, so sorry in advance if I come across as rude, yeah?"

"You're lucky!" Zelda replied with a cheeky laugh. "Trust me, etiquette lessons are a chore."

"Ashmund here is well on his way to become Sir Ashmund," Duelia informed with even more pride in her voice, and yet also, somehow without a smile. It was almost like she was forbidden from being happy, even for someone else. "He's the best archer I've ever known, and certainly earned my respect when he launched an arrow through the brain of the same Wolfos that ruined my face...before it could do any more damage than that."

A blush appeared on Ashmund's face, and he seemed a bit...uncomfortable being the centre of attention, especially by two princesses. "N-no need to make a big deal out of it! I was just doing my job, yeah?"

Zelda found the embarrassed reaction somewhat amusing, while Duelia maintained a neutral expression. "No need to be modest, my loyal squire, that killer instinct of yours will serve this kingdom greatly," she said with confidence.

After finishing the braid at the back of her blonde hair, Zelda took a moment to inspect herself for anything else she could fix. "So, Duelia, I heard you've gotten another deployment, where are you going this time?"

Somehow Duelia's perpetually sour mood got a bit sourer once that question was brought up. "Gerudo Town. I am to negotiate with them in your father's place, to maintain the fragile so-called peace we have with them."

"'So-called'?"

"Hyrule's relations with those thieves have never been great, and in the last century it's been one bad day from erupting into all out war," Duelia answered with a bit of spite in her voice. "No one is willing to forget that their former king destroyed the old Hyrule little more than a hundred years ago, and I can safely say that if it wasn't for Ganondorf's replacement officially condemning his actions then war would have started ages ago."

"But that was all in the past. What about now?"

"Pirates and bandits of their kind still raid innocent Hylians on a near-daily basis. Lives have been lost, valuables stolen, and to this day, their chief still refuses to take responsibility for them. Oh, and that's all without mentioning the reports I've been getting of them abducting Hylian men for...unsettling reasons."

It really wasn't hard to pick up on the anger in Duelia's voice as she spoke. This wasn't just her duty being imperiled, this was personal...yet Zelda couldn't quite tell how exactly. Something to think about perhaps?

"While I don't condone piracy or raids, or...well, whatever they were doing if those reports are true, the Gerudo have been forced to survive in the desert with no real allies, and they need men of other races to reproduce. Have you considered that these attacks might have been done out of desperation?" Zelda suggested, adding her oh so ever helpful input to whatever Duelia was dealing with, as she often did.

Duelia's thick red eyebrows narrowed a bit...until she got up from her chair, feeling quite finished with her appearance. "The king offered them a trade route and an official alliance with the Kingdom of Hyrule, and yet they turned him down, and so it falls to me to convince them to change their minds."

Princess Zelda wasn't exactly thrilled about the sound of that. She didn't ask, lest she risk upsetting Duelia even further (that woman did not handle criticism well, as Zelda had learned the hard way), but she could use her imagination to figure out why the Gerudo's declined her father's offer, and why forcing them to agree with it would not solve things in the long run.

King Rheadon had made it clear for quite a while that he wanted the Gerudo to be at least somewhat subservient to Hyrule, and abide by his rules, and the fiercely independent all-female Gerudo Tribe would be unlikely to accept such terms, especially if it meant being ruled by a man. Furthermore, the Gerudo were fiercely loyal to their patron deity, the Goddess of the Sands, and might be fearful of Hyrule trying to force the Hylian religion on them.

All of this was only speculation on Zelda's part though, as she'd not spoken to the Gerudo herself, but it made sense in her head at least.

Either way, speaking further on this subject would probably not lead anywhere good, so instead she asked something else...yet still somewhat related. "I assume you'll be bringing Ashmund along on this mission?"

Ashmund himself perked up at that question, but his excitement died quickly when Duelia answered it.

"Unfortunately no. The Gerudo refuse to allow any man to enter their city, and simply because of that, I will be forced to leave him behind."

Duelia didn't really take note of anything in particular as she spoke those words, but Zelda very much did. While Ashmund had seemed rather stoic for the short time that Zelda had known him up until now, she saw in the reflection of the mirror that the squire seemed very hurt by that statement. Not just slightly offended, but hurt, and it was for a reason far deeper than just not being allowed to come along on a trip.

Zelda pondered what that reason might be, what exactly it was about Duelia's words that made Ashmund react as if someone had repeatedly stabbed him through the heart with every syllable.

Then, it came to her! She couldn't be certain (at least not yet), but lately, Zelda had been questioning a lot about herself, challenging a lot of preconceived notions a lot of people had about her, and had read every book she could find on this specific subject. While Ashmund's problem wasn't exactly what she herself had, their situations came up a lot in the same books, and that gave Zelda an idea.

"Don't dismiss your squire so soon, dear sister. I think I know one way you can get her into Gerudo Town," she said with a slightly mischievous smirk on her face while standing up.

"What?!" both Ashmund and Duelia said in unison.

The confusion was to be expected. Zelda was after all going out on a limb here, and making a grand assumption of a person she barely knew, but ultimately, if she was wrong, there would be no real harm done.

She gestured towards the chair she just sat in, "Ashmund, please take a seat, and I'll show you what I mean."

The confused squire looked to Duelia for help, but she was equally as confused. Though after a moment, she just shrugged, "Go on, I suppose. I'm actually curious what this is about."

Not really having enough energy to protest, Ashmund did as he was told and took a seat where Zelda had gestured, feeling more confused but also more nervous than anything he'd had felt before.

There was also something else. While the squire had no clue what this was about, Zelda saying 'her' instead of 'him' when clearly referring to Ashmund...it felt...almost right, somehow...even if it shouldn't. "Just...don't go too crazy, yeah?"

Zelda gently laid her hands on the squire's shoulders, "Trust me, you'll love it."

For the next hour or so, Zelda began to work on Ashmund's appearance the way she did to herself just prior, starting with a shave. With nimble fingers and surprising skill with a razor, she shaved off all of Ashmund's beard, leaving the chin smooth, then she tied up the unkempt black hair into two distinctly feminine braids, giving Ashmund twintails, and once that was finished, she applied some black eyeliner and a dash of lipstick...and soon enough, the new look was complete.

"So...how does it look?" Zelda asked proudly, yet also, with a bit of nervous excitement as well. "And please, but honest with me."

Despite the question not really being meant for her, Duelia was the first to answer. "Hmm...now that is an interesting look, perhaps enough to fool the Gerudo at least."

However, fooling the Gerudos was not where Ashmund's own thoughts lingered. The squire's eyes were transfixed on the face before them, and could not look away. It was like something that had been hidden from them their whole life had been revealed, something that was always there but never put into words.

"This...this is...better. Thank you, your highness," Ashmund said with far more vulnerability and happiness in their voice than ever before, and Duelia was actually shocked to see a genuine smile cross her squire's lips...something she herself had not had in a long time.

"You're quite welcome," Zelda replied with a warm smile. "Now to complete the look, we'll need a slight change in clothing and a new name. Maybe we should try something like-"

"Ashei," the squire said with confidence in her voice. "Call me Ashei, yeah?"

"...though I think I did connect with one of her squires one time. Come to think of it, that squire's probably a full-on knight by now," Zelda finished in present day. "Good for her."

Zelda hadn't actually met Ashei since that day, only knowing that the transformation that Zelda started actually did work, and that both Duelia and her squire were allowed into Gerudo Town without much issue. The negotiations also went quite well according to her father, even if Zelda herself wasn't privy to the details of what exactly they agreed to.

"So...that's it then? No other friends?" Impa asked.

"Well actually, I do have one friend I have met on a regular basis. His name is Shad, and he's the son of the librarian of the Castle Town library. We have a lot in common. He's the only one I know who loves books as much as I do."

The genuine warmth in Zelda's voice when said that brought a cheeky little grin to Impa's face, "Heh, a match made in heaven?"

It took Zelda a moment to catch on to what Impa was implying, and when she did, blushed hard enough to essentially turn into a tomato while looking horrified, "Oh no! We're not like that! He's just a friend!"

"Why's that? Your eye on someone else?"

"No, it's not like that either, it's...umm...complicated."

Four months ago...

If there was one thing Zelda had always hated, and have never once been okay with despite how much she may pretend otherwise, it'd be the sound of a ticking clock.

That incessant tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock noise that never once ended, and that her father once insisted should have been in her bedroom of all places, that was all Princess Zelda could hear right now. In the deafening silence of everything else going on right now, the ticking reigned supreme, and was to Zelda's ears louder than a blaring pipe organ or an explosion.

She was seated in an ornate velvet chair in her father's study, nervously fiddling with her silk gloved hands while doing her best to not look the person sitting in front of her in the eye.

Across the ornate wooden desk sat a man whom every single citizen of Hyrule would recognise at a mere glance without fault. He wasn't some obscure noble, some artist that people had only seen the art of but never the artist, nor a name that kept coming up but with no face to go with it, nor was he some infamous criminal that everyone feared...he was the most well-known and most powerful man in the whole kingdom: the King of Hyrule himself.

His full name was King Daphoramous Rheadon Hyrule the Third, sovereign ruler of the Kingdom of Hyrule, Commander in Chief of the Armies of Hyrule, High Chief of the Sheikah Tribe, Sworn Brother of the Goron Tribe, Trusted Friend of the Zora Tribe, Conqueror of the Western Isles, Widowed Husband of Lady Alena of Snowpeak, Caretaker of Duelia and Father of Zelda, the Crown Princess of Hyrule.

...but mostly people just called him 'King Rheadon' or 'Your Majesty'...while Zelda mostly just called him 'father'.

As if his many titles weren't impressive enough, his appearance was quite striking as well. The golden crown his great, great, great grandmother once forged was perched on his head, an ornament only the true ruler of the kingdom is allowed to wear, and with a full beard, mostly blonde like his daughter, but with signs of greying here and there, red and gold robes that cost more to make than most households in the land could ever afford, and with intense eyes that could intimidate almost anyone into obedience.

Those eyes, as well as the giant ticking grandfather clock behind him, did not make the tense moment between him and his daughter any more comfortable for her.

The tension was only cut once the king opened his mouth to ask, "What am I to do with you?"...his voice deep, yet not inherently threatening.

Zelda still couldn't meet his eyes. It was clear that there was something she wanted to say, but didn't yet have the strength to say it.

Faced with his daughter's silence, Rheadon let out a deep sigh and leaned back in his chair. He too was dealing with a lot of difficult thoughts, primarily if what was expected of him was to be a good father or a good king, for in some cases, he simply couldn't be both no matter how much he tried.

"This is the fifth man you have declined, and he was a good man. By all accounts, he was kind, respectful, handsome and your marriage to him would have made our kingdom stronger in the long run: he was the perfect husband for you in every way that mattered."

His words only made Zelda shrink in on herself, her eyes shut closed as she tried her best not to burst into tears. Yet, she still didn't say anything or meet his intense gaze.

"I understood why you declined your first and third suitor, they both seemed like arrogant men, and I respect your decision to not want to spend your life with such people...and I also understood why you declined the fourth, given that he was, well...less than attractive, but the second and fifth...neither of them had any true faults, and you have given me no real reason why you declined them. So please, I am begging you, tell me what was wrong with them so I can finally give you the husband you deserve!"

Despite his intimidating presence, the King's voice was almost pleading, showing vulnerability and emotion he would never show to any other person besides his late wife. As strict as he could sometimes be, Rheadon really did love his daughter, and did everything in his power to make sure she was happy...as long as he could also fulfil his duties to his kingdom, of course. He was a king long before he was a father, after all.

Princess Zelda finally opened her eyes and turned her head to meet his gaze, though by now her eyes had begun to water. "Father, I..." she steadied her voice a bit. "There was nothing wrong with them. There is rather...something wrong with...me."

The king's eyebrows lowered a bit, his eyes narrowed, and he sat up a bit straighter in his chair after he heard that surprising admission. "Zelda, why would you say something like that about yourself?"

"Because it's true," was her reply, not breaking eye contact this time. "You have told me time and again that I must marry a man to continue the royal bloodline, and I do appreciate that you have gone out of your way to find a man you think I would like, but to tell you the truth...I don't..." she briefly looked away and took a deep breath...only to turn back to him and confess. "...I don't like men in that way."

If his daughter had just said the words themselves, he could have interpreted them in any number of ways, but her tone, her facial expression, her little pauses, they all made it very clear to Rheadon what Zelda meant by that.

It meant that Princess Zelda, his daughter, was a woman who preferred the company of other women in a romantic or sexual sense instead of men.

He had heard of such people; people who were attracted to the same gender they themselves were, or people who feel as though they were another gender than the one they were born with...and well, he honestly hadn't given them much thought until this very moment. For him, the topic of homosexuality was just a strange curiosity that was mentioned every once in a while in certain social circles, and that he didn't even think was real until one of the nobles on his court married another man, and yet, even then, it was just another peculiar thing an eccentric noble would do.

He had never even imagined the possibility that his own daughter was the same way...and his reaction was very apparent to her.

There was no irrational hate or anger, which was something Zelda had feared more than anything, nor any stoic disappointment either, which was almost as bad, but her father wasn't happy either. Instead, he looked as shocked as if she had suddenly backflipped out of her chair and slapped him in the face with a fish.

"You...you mean-"

"Yes, father, I am attracted to women, not to men."

After those words were said and the truth was fully out, there was nothing but the sound of that infuriating clock ticking away in the room, as neither of them knew what to say to each other at that point.

Zelda had shrunk in on herself, now deathly afraid of her father's reaction and internally beating herself up for saying anything at all, while Rheadon was going through an existential crisis in the wake of the massive bombshell she had just dropped on him.

Eventually, after a long moment of silence, he eventually asked, "Are...you sure about this?"

Zelda took in another long breath and let it out, "Yes...I am. I wasn't before, but now I know with all of my heart this to be true."

"I see," he muttered, stroking his beard a bit as he carefully picked his next few words. "I will admit, I am surprised to hear this, and it will take me some time to make sense of it, but...know that I am not disgusted, not angry, not disappointed with this revelation, and I truly wish I could fully support you as you are, that I could find you a beautiful princess, lady or duchess to marry you off to and be happy with."

A spark of hope and relief opened up in Zelda's heart...but it was squashed just as quickly by the wording her father had used for that last sentence.

"What do you mean 'you wish you could'?" Zelda questioned, now finally showing a hint of anger in her voice rather than just fear.

Rheadon internally cringed, and looked anything but happy for what he knew he was going to say next. After closing his eyes and letting out a deep dreadful sigh, he answered, "If you were any other person, and if there were any other who could take your place, I would allow you to marry whoever you want, no questions asked, but...tell me, if you were to marry a woman as I assume you desire to, then how is the royal bloodline meant to continue? Who would inherit the throne after your time is over?"

Zelda could feel her heart breaking into a million tiny pieces. Once again, it all came back to her title, her destiny, the burden of responsibility she never once asked for.

"What about Duelia?!" she protested. "Surely she-"

"She does not have the blood of the royal family in her veins, you know that!"

"So you want me to let a man stick his...his...ew, thing inside me and make me be forced to bear his children! To be forced to...for heaven's sake, father, that's how mother died!" she screamed, tears welling up at the base of her eyes.

"That won't happen again!" the king declared, his own voice rising in volume to match hers. "When it's your time to have a child, I will make sure the very best doctors in all of Hyrule will be there to make sure you and your future children survive, I promise you that!"

His declaration was no relief in the slightest, and she responded by crossing her arms and turning her head away from him, tears now forming at the base of her eyes.

"...and what about the part where I'd rather get eaten by a Dodongo than to lay with a man?!"

Rheadon felt the disgust and anger in his daughter's words, he truly did, and it broke his own heart to say the things he was saying, but just as always, he was a king before he was a father, and he had learned a long time ago that kings sometimes had to make unpleasant decisions if that was what was required of him.

"One day, my child, you will be the ruler of this kingdom, and then you will, as I have, be forced to do things you'd rather not do for the sake of our people!" His words were strong and full of conviction, but he could barely get them out of his mouth without breaking down into tears. "You need to continue the bloodline, there is no way around it, and...and if you truly wish it, you can find love outside of that, you can have a mistress who would love and support you, and, well, you only need to be intimate with a man the bare minimum of times you will need to...to..."

In the greatest form of disrespect she had ever shown to her father, to her king, to her ruler, Zelda got up from her chair, stared him in the face with eyes full of betrayal, rage, pain and sadness, a look Rheadon had never wanted to see on his daughter's face, and said, "Fine! But after I have to live through the agony of letting some man I don't love defile my body and then have to live through the pain of giving birth to a child I never asked for, if I survive that is, then you can forget about ever calling me your daughter ever again!"

...and then she left the room, slamming the ornate door shut on the way out.

Zelda cried herself to sleep that night...and many nights after that.

"I...don't wanna talk about it," was all Zelda revealed about that subject in the end, and by the genuinely pained tone of Zelda's voice, Impa knew better than to press on.

She rolled back in her bedroll to look up at the cave ceiling once again. Perhaps because of her tired state, perhaps because of what she had learned about Zelda in the short time she'd known her...and learned about herself, or maybe the pain of her injuries was making her delirious. Whatever the case, for tonight, she felt...a kind of empathy for the princess she hadn't really felt before...for anyone actually.

"I guess at the end of the day, we're both loners," Impa said, her words touched by a hint of vulnerability she hadn't shown Zelda before. Though it was hard to see, tears were starting to form at the base of her eyes as well. "...in our own way."

The words held a fair bit of truth in them, even if for Zelda, she really didn't want them to be true. "We don't have to be, you know? Can't we be friends? The two of us?"

It was such a simple and honest question, and a part of Impa's lonely heart desperately wanted to say yes. As annoying as Zelda could be, she was also the only chance of a real friend she could make in her sad excuse for a life...and Zelda cared about her, she cared about Impa.

At the end of the day though, Impa was a realist and already accepted that such optimistic thinking was for children. Forcing her voice to be hard and stoic, Impa simply answered. "Our shortcut across the Octorok field got us close to the outpost, and we'll probably reach it tomorrow. After that, we go our separate ways."

"But why?"

"Because we're different people, Zelda...and in the end, we would only end up hurting each other."

Author Notes:

Can I just note how crazy it is that I essentially predicted 'Echoes of Wisdom' with this fanfic? You know, since that game also started with Link saving Zelda from Ganon, only for Link to be taken out of the picture by some mysterious new threat so Zelda is left to be the protagonist instead, hell even having the title end with '...of Wisdom'?

Now if Impa shows up as her companion or Vaati made his grand return in that game, and especially if Linkle somehow appears, feel free to call me a prophet!