Gripping the bow tightly Zelda willed her trembling arms to still. She'd thankfully spotted the guards before they'd had a chance to notice her and had been able to dive into the relative safety of a shadowy alley. Now with her back pressed to the wall she tried not to feel like a cornered rabbit hiding from the wolves. Her shoulders ached from constantly pulling the bowstring back only for it to be a false alarm when the guards passed by without even noticing her. The sounds from Nabooru's fight had eventually faded the further away she went and she'd been certain that the entire town would have been on alert now that they'd managed to flush them out into the open. But it was still incredibly easy to duck the guards whenever their patrols brought them closer to her.

Once again the pair of guards strolled by not bothering to check the alley. Stifling her groan she lowered the bow but she didn't dare slide the arrow back into her quiver. She softly ventured to the mouth of the alley and glanced out into the street. She could just make out the receding backs of the guards that had just passed her. The coast appeared to be clear but she made no move to leave the alley. Minutes passed with no sign of any other guards coming into view. Even the two that had patrolled by earlier hadn't made another appearance.

The hairs on the back of her neck rose. Something wasn't right. Where were all the guards? Sliding out from her hiding place she raised the bow, ignoring the ache in her shoulders. She swung the bow to point down the road in the direction she'd last seen the guards, finding the street empty she turned the other way. Finding that way to be equally deserted she faced forward again. Ahead were the stone steps that lead to the courtyard in front of the temple. It puzzled her that this area would be so poorly guarded. After all this was her destination. Agahnim had to know that this was why she'd returned to Castle Town.

Fearing she was walking straight into a trap but knowing it was completely unavoidable she crossed the street and climbed the few steps to the courtyard. Large flat stones made a path that cut towards the Temple nestled at the back of the courtyard surrounded by lush trees. Shallow ponds occupied with lazy fish edged the path leading to the ornate doors while brick planters of pink roses bordered the small courtyard. Straining her arms further by refusing to lower the bow Zelda slowly started to tread towards the temple, her steps lightly tapping against the stone. She used to find the gardens decorating the temple pretty but now they seemed sinister. The lush foliage was now the potential hiding place for her enemies, the trees the perfect cover for an archer to take her down before she even had a chance to defend herself.

The hairs on the back of her neck and on her arms prickled. There were figures standing on the steps to the temple. One she instantly recognized to be Agahnim, there was no mistaking those scarlet robes. The other though had her stopping in her tracks, he was equally easy to recognize. She wobbled on her feet, her confident aim dipping as her father took notice of her. Throwing back his fur lined cloak his easy stride carried him across the silent courtyard to where his daughter stood in silent disbelief.

"So Agahnim spoke the truth. My own daughter, leading the rebellion that would have me hanged so that you can take the throne."

"Father?" She struggled to make sense out of what he said, her gaze darting to Agahnim as he approached to stand behind the King.

"It pains me your majesty, truly it does. The idea of one's own flesh and blood turning traitor..."

"I am no traitor!"

Agahnim's eyes gleamed at Zelda's outrage. "You see your Majesty; even now she tries to deny it."

"Father please, you can't believe him! He..."

"That will be enough Zelda." The King snapped coldly, his angry glare freezing the words in her throat. "Agahnim has informed me of the extent of your crimes. Aiding the rebels in their plans to take the Kingdom, Zora's domain encased in ice, Lon Lon Ranch almost burnt to the ground, and I have yet to receive reports from the Gorons from whatever you did to them!"

"Father that wasn't me, that was..."

"ENOUGH!" Her Father thundered, interrupting her again. "For your part in this rebellion I disown you Zelda but for your crimes, for the suffering you have caused within my country, to my people I sentence you to a punishment befitting a traitor."

She paled at his words, her bow forgotten as it fell. Sinking to her knees she stared at her father, tears falling unchecked. "Father...no..."

"Your punishment shall be death." The King snarled, unmoved by his daughter's tears. Turning away from her he nodded to Agahnim. "I will entrust this matter to you Agahnim. I await your full report at the castle and it had better be that you have regained control from these pitiful rebels."

Her own Father was sentencing her to death for crimes that she had not committed. She watched him sweep by her without even a second glance. Guards stood at the ready behind them, four broke off to escort the King back to the castle. As the King disappeared from sight two more guards came forward dragging two figures with them. Nabooru fought her captors as they brought her forward, forcing her to her knees behind Zelda. The other guard prodded a reluctant Impa to do the same. Well at least she knew what had become of them...

Agahnim's cackling laugh brought her to look forward. "My what a delicious turn of events. Wouldn't you agree Princess? Bet you never thought you'd see the day where your own Father would see you as a traitor."

"All you've done is brainwashed him like you've done to the castle guards."

Agahnim just smiled. "Oh? Is that what you truly think Princess?

She remained silent, allowing her glare to speak for her.

"All I did was nurture the seeds of distrust that were already there. There was no need to try and control their minds." Agahnim's grin grew at her stunned look. "Yes, that's right Princess. Your Father was already questioning your loyalty when I started whispering in his ear."

"You...you're lying."

"Am I?"

"What is the point of your taunting?" Impa snarled angrily.

"Point? I suppose there isn't one. But you are correct, we shouldn't get sidetracked now should we." Grabbing her by her braid Agahnim yanked her to her feet. " My precious pets have all seemed to have abandoned me but it doesn't matter their purpose has been served and really I suppose it is my own fault for being greedy. I should have taken the triforce of courage when I had the chance but the opportunity to have the Hero of Time at my command was too sweet an opportunity to pass up. After all what use do I have for the Triforce of Courage? That power does not represent me anymore than the Triforce of Power."

Zelda blinked at him. "I don't think I understand..."

Agahnim grinned in reply. "No, perhaps you don't. Magic comes from the mind, everyone who has the gift knows this. That it takes the power of the mind and will to conjure magic...it takes wisdom."

She paled at his words and Agahnim started to laugh. "Ah figured it out have you? It's your power, your triforce that would suit my needs the best...alas; I don't exactly need you to wield it for me though do I?"

Placing a hand to her chest Agahnim started to chant, his words growing in strength as he continued. Nabooru and Impa resumed their struggles to get to her but their shouts seemed to be coming from a distance. Pain seized her, her gaze going blank as her head rolled back on her shoulders, her mouth open in a bloodcurdling scream. Her entire being was being torn apart as Agahnim forcefully tried to rip the triforce from her. She screamed at herself to fight it, to not let him do this to her but she couldn't move. Her entire body was frozen, held in place by whatever spell he was casting.

She had completely failed, her father thought she was a traitor, Link would remain in hiding forever because she had been unable to regain the Master Sword for him, the sages would be killed and Agahnim...he would gain the Triforce of Wisdom, increasing his power by goddesses only knew how much. He would be able to hunt down Link, take the triforce from him and then with two pieces he would unleash Ganon in order to obtain the third. With her final thought she decided she would try and make taking the triforce from her as difficult as possible.

She pushed the pain down as much as she could and gathered what remained of her strength to wrap around the golden light that resided deep within her. Agahnim would have to literally shred her life force in order to get to the Triforce of Wisdom. She clenched her eyes shut, her scream echoing in her ears when suddenly... the pain stopped. She felt rather then saw Agahnim stagger, his hold on her loosening. Risking a look she opened her eyes, her sight was slightly blurry but there was no mistaking what had happened.

A blade protruded from Agahnim's body, entering somewhere on his lower back to exit out the right side of his chest. Her gaze lifted to look over the sorcerer's shoulder to be met by blazing blue eyes. Mouth curled into a snarl Link yanked the blade out, blood flicking from the tip of the Master Sword.

Clutching his chest Agahnim glared at the young Hero, blood seeping through his fingers. "How..." He coughed before he could form a question, blood trickled down the corner of his mouth but he wiped it away with the back of his hand. Holding Link's gaze Agahnim refused to look away as purple smoke enveloped his body and when the smoke cleared...he was gone.

Without Agahnim to hold her up she felt herself falling. Arms shot out to catch her and she stared in wonder at Link. "I...I don't...I failed... I never..."

He hushed her, placing a finger to her lips. Her eyes fell to his throat, to where the Spiritual Stone of the Forest had been. The Jewel was gone; the skin still pink and new in its place, the area where the Jewel had been still looked bruised but already it appeared to be fading. He followed her gaze and smiled, absently rubbing the spot with his free hand.

"They...fell off when I took up the sword."

"But...how? I wasn't able to get..." She stopped midsentence as everything began to spin. Link's look of alarm was the last thing she saw before she slipped into unconsciousness.

It was dark when she woke again but she had no idea of how much time had passed. It took her a moment to recognize where she was. Sitting up she took in the rough wooden walls and the simplistic furniture...she was in Link's old tree house in Kokiri village. A strange weight lay across her lap, looking down she found Link sleeping in a chair that had been pulled to her bedside. The weight was from his head lying in her lap, her right hand clasped tightly in his left hand. With her left hand she reached out to gently brush his hair back but pulled her hand back quickly when the curtain door was pushed aside and Saria walked in carrying a tray with two bowls.

A relieved smile stretched across her tired face at the sight of her sitting up. "We were beginning to worry..."

"What happened?" She whispered back, her gaze darting to the sleeping Link where he moved restlessly before settling back down.

Setting the tray down on the table, Saria picked up one of the bowls and a wooden spoon. "Agahnim nearly killed you trying to get the Triforce of Wisdom. You've been out for a full week while you recovered."

"A week..." Her eyes widened. "Why am I here?"

"Link brought you here using the Ocarina...don't worry he managed to get Impa and Nabooru here too. He didn't abandon them but he was really freaked out...we all were."

"You...were all here?"

Spooning some of the broth up Saria held it out to her; she hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth. She still felt weak and with Link holding her hand in a death grip it wasn't like she'd be able to feed herself anyway.

"We searched for Eden, Fia and Neela but came up empty handed so we decided to wait here until we received word of how you made out getting the sword."

"We...never made it to the sword." She accepted another spoonful of broth. "I'm not even too sure how Link managed to get it..."

"Well I suppose you'll have to ask him when he wakes up." Saria replied with a twinkle in her eye.

Zelda nodded and opened her mouth when Saria held the spoon out again. As she swallowed her gaze fell on the other bowl sitting on the tray. "Is the other bowl for you Saria? I'm sorry, did you want to eat? Maybe if you set the bowl on my lap I can manage on my own?"

Saria followed her gaze to the table before chuckling. "Oh no Princess, I ate already. That bowl is for the sleeping Hero here. He hasn't left your side once this entire week. The only way to get him to eat is to bring something for him whenever we brought food for you."

She blushed, touched that he cared so much. "And...my..."

"Your Father?" Saria asked for her when she hesitated. "Right now all I will say is it is being taken care of. You should rest Princess."

The bowl empty, Saria went back to the table. Taking the other bowl she set it on the table before picking up the tray and empty bowl. "Once you've regained your strength a bit we'll discuss the matter some more."

"But Saria..."

"It'll be alright Zelda." The small girl said with a supportive smile before leaving the small tree house.

As the curtain dropped closed behind Saria's exit Link groaned at her side. Blinking the sleep from his eyes he lifted his head to look at her and jolted upright when he noticed her watching him.

"You're awake!"

Zelda didn't even get the chance to reply before she was tugged into his embrace. "You had me so worried when you passed out." He whispered into her hair as his arms tightened around her.

She allowed herself to sink into his embrace, she'd missed him so much and it was so good to see his clear blue eyes looking back at her instead of the greyish blue they had been the last time. Too soon though she found herself pulling away, there were questions that needed answers, a Kingdom to reassure and most of all, spiritual stones that needed to be found. She watched as his arms dropped to his sides and was positive that the sad look in his eyes was reflected in her own. The time for recovery would come later; it was time to find out what she had all missed while she'd slept.

"How did you know I wouldn't be able to get to the Master Sword?"

"Ah that...Navi was the one who told me what was happening."

She frowned, his answer only brought up more questions. Seeing her puzzled expression Link laughed. "Is that look supposed to mean you want more of an answer from me?"

"That would be appreciated."

A slow grin crawled across his features. "What if I said it's for another's ears?"

"Link!"

He laughed and she couldn't help but laugh with him. It was over after all, they could all relax now. "Alright, I deserved that. Now please will you continue?"

"When you sent Navi to scout ahead she saw Agahnim with your Father and was able to overhear a bit of what they had been discussing. Agahnim was convincing your Father that you were a traitor and they planned to confront you in front of the Temple of Time. Navi figured the original plan wasn't going to work, no one had accounted for the idea of Agahnim involving your Father. Luckily she knew of how I planned to travel to the Temple and had heard that Fi would be attuned with the Master Sword.

"Fi can return to the sword at will and that's exactly what she did. After hearing what was happening from Navi she returned to me to relay the same message. No one was inside the temple guarding the sword. Agahnim had all the guards outside because he had no intention of ever letting you get through those doors which worked in my best interests."

"You used the Ocarina to travel to the Temple where you were able to use the Master Sword to free yourself."

Link nodded, "I came out of there just in time...if I had been but a moment later..."

Remembering the pain she'd felt, Zelda absently placed a hand against her chest. "I know Link...he was trying to take the Triforce of Wisdom..." She stopped, unable to finish her sentence, silent tears slipping down her cheeks.

This time Link moved to sit by her side as he pulled her into his arms, his right hand soothingly running up and down her back to calm her. "It's alright, it's over now."

She nodded through her tears, content to just stay there for one more moment. "I suppose I should ask what happened to Agahnim..."

She felt him sigh and tilted her head up to look at him. "He got away didn't he? Do you think he will survive after the injuries he took?"

"There's no way to tell." Link answered bitterly a moment later. "There's also been no sign of Eden, Neela or Fia."

"Does...does my Father..."

"Ruto and Nabooru went to the castle to straighten all that out."

"Then I suppose our next order of business will be to find those three before they cause more trouble..."

Link hummed his agreement as he stood and settled her back against her pillow. "That'll be for another day Princess. It's time you rested for a bit now."

"But shouldn't we..."

She was cut off when Link softly kissed her lips. "They can wait for now. You need rest and you'll need to return to the Castle. Once things are cleared up with your Father he is going to want to see you."

She watched as he stood up and walked to the door. "We'll figure out what those three are up to later. Right now you've done enough. Agahnim has gone to lick his wounds, the people of Hyrule are safe for now and Ganon is still safely locked away within the sacred Realm. I believe you've earned some down time Princess."

"And what of you Link? Where are you going to?"

Holding the curtain back he grinned back at her. "I could stay in here when you were on your sick bed. If I stay here now that you're awake Impa will have my head. I won't be far Princess. I'll just be out here sleeping under the stars."

As the curtain fell into place after his departure Zelda settled back. A content smile on her face as her eyes slowly closed. Yes, he was right. There was still much to do but for now she could enjoy the peace and use the time to fully recover her strength. Tomorrow, if she was allowed, she would start her journey back to the castle. With her name cleared she was anxious to return home. She needed to discuss with her Father what Agahnim had said. Perhaps she would be able to find a hint as to where he had disappeared to.

Without a doubt Fia must have convinced her other two 'sisters' to start following their 'new master' and unfortunately they would have to wait for those three to resurface before they could go about breaking the magic that had transformed them.

But like Link had said. That was all for another day. Tonight she would relax; tonight she would rest easy for the first time in weeks. She had set out to find the missing Hero, the boy from her childhood, and had found him in the most unlikely of places. In fact it would probably be more accurate to say he found her. She smiled to herself as sleep finally claimed her, no...they'd found each other.

The End

Well, there you go! Hope you all enjoyed reading it :) Thank you all for your reviews and for following the story! I plan to write a second story, one that will pick up shortly after where this one leaves off so please, if you're interested, be sure to watch for the next story (still working on a title lol)