Heyo. This poor story has been shelved. Do not expect me to update it, like, ever, because I'm not going to.

-TheMistyMountainsCold, formerly TheSpiritMaiden

This is an AU taking place around TP on the timeline, which I sort of slid aside (despite how much I adore the game). Critique is highly appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda.

"Don't you two act like I'm going to be alright," the old woman hissed, clenching at the sheets of the bed with a frail hand.

A much younger woman with long, blonde hair and brown eyes hung onto the other hand like a lifeline. "But Teacher, there's just one more night until the new moon!" she said. "We can't complete my initiation until then!"

"She's right, Impa," a third said, her voice hoarse. Dressed in regal but comfortable wear, she laid in a separate bed in the royal infirmary. "Would you take the chance to let the Shadow Folk die out forever?"

"Tch! My queen, you know how many were wiped out during the war! It was bound to happen sooner or later—"

"Yes, but my training," the youngest woman whispered, letting her voice trail off. She turned to the queen. "And Her Majesty said she would need someone to protect her daughter when she was gone, right? It can't go to waste!"

Impa scowled. "You're fine with royalty dying but blink at me? Child, I'm well over two hundred years and I've been dying for the past twenty. It's a wonder I was even able to pass my skills on to you."

"And you haven't passed them on before because…?" the queen asked, peering expectantly at the old woman. The old woman threw her hands in the air.

"For the love of Hylia, I am a sage! I wasn't given time to search the land for an apprentice—an heir to carry out the tribe's duties once I was gone! And must I explain how difficult it has been to find someone trustworthy and willing?" She jabbed a knobby finger at the faded paint on her cheek. "You see this painted tear below my eye? You remember what it means?"

"I would never betray the Sheikah, Impa," the woman said quickly, shaking her head. Impa squeezed her hand.

"I know you would never, child, but what if I had chosen someone who would have?"

She looked down at her feet. "I suppose terrible things would happen."

Impa sighed. "You are still far too young than I would've wished my student to be. But you are strong, and I trust that you will find a way to fix things when I am gone."

Still by her bedside, the young woman's eyes widened. "Impa—"

Impa's shaky hand drew a folded square of parchment from an inner pocket in her robe, and set it on a nearby nightstand by the pitcher of water. "My student, in the old, hidden village of our tribe lives the only other remaining descendant of the Sheikah. She is younger than I, but old just the same. She will perform the ritual with you."

The woman's throat grew tight and her eyes started to sting. "Teacher…"

"On that parchment," Impa said, pointing to the nightstand, "are the duties I meant to accomplish, but are passing on to you. Do not open that parchment until it has been a month after your initiation."

Her breathing becoming shallower, the old woman turned to the queen. "Rowena, you have outlived me. Good."

And satisfied, she let her last breath escape her.

Queen Rowena turned away, trying to block out the weeping of the younger woman. Death was an ever persistent nuisance in her own life, but she could hardly imagine what it was like for a woman of Impa's age, outliving everyone you know and loved.

"Mama, I can't find your book," a high voice called from the doorway.

The queen's eyes widened in alarm, glancing over at the student and her still teacher, and back at her half-asleep daughter standing in the doorway of the infirmary. A nurse came in and discreetly pulled the sheets over Impa's peaceful face, hiding it from the little girl.

"Where's your book, Mama?" the girl repeated.

Rowena cleared her throat and pulled a book from beneath her pillow. "That is because I have it, dear. Come, sit by me."

After studying the blonde, brown-eyed young woman and the nurse, Rowena's daughter walked over to her mother and climbed onto her lap. Rowena opened to the first page and after clearing her throat, spoke:

"This is a tale that our people have passed down through uncounted generations..."

The Sheikah student listened as the queen read to her daughter, feeling as her teacher's hand grew cool. When the queen had finished and her daughter was asleep, she offered to carry the sleeping girl to her chambers that night. It was something better to do other than watch someone who wouldn't move again.

The next morning, she learned that the ill queen had died not an hour after they had left.

CHAPTER 1

I dipped the tip of the pen into the bottle, swirling it around before pressing it against the parchment again:

As the crown princess of Hyrule it is my duty to continue the lineage for another generation. Marriage is inevitable, but I always seem to push the prospect away no matter how many noblemen's sons or foreign princes were presented before me. Do I have any desire to marry at seventeen? No. Am I afraid of committing? Perhaps.

I bit my lip, and swirled the pen in the bottle a little more. I took it out, careful not to splatter or get ink on my fingers, and continued with my work.

But the idea of commitment or marrying young isn't the most frightening; in fact, there seems to be worse consequences if I don't marry—which, now that I think about it, isn't all that surprising. It is the pressure that has been building with every suitor I reject that truly gets me nervous.

Another swirl and scratch against the surface of the parchment.

I've even heard not-so-far-off rumors of a dictatorship replacing the monarchy if I didn't marry and produce heirs. A single ruler would destroy everything political or economic, even if their heart was in the right place. The Kingdom of Hyrule would fall apart too soon with a dictator in power, which no one wants.

I ran my tongue along my lips, thirsty after the feast I had had for dinner that night.

But this isn't the only sign that things aren't going well in Hyrule. Many of our drunk noblemen have insulted foreign countries, some even Hyrule. Gossip about the rude and prideful Hyruleans had spread around the continent. Though things have been straightened out better, there is still a sort of tenseness between our countries, especially the desert nation, Gerudo.

Anyway, father is getting impatient about something, so I should probably go check on him later. I've been keeping up on my studies, too, just for you, mother, but there's not much left to do.

I miss you,

Zelda

...

With a sigh, I tore the parchment free from the binding of the journal, folded it, and held it over the flame of the candle on my desk. With my head resting in my free hand, I watched the fire eat away at the Ancient Hylian letters I had carefully scripted, and let the smoke rise for a moment. The burning letter was tossed in a pot and on top of the ashes of previously written letters. I coughed at the smoke a bit.

It was a tradition, sending letters to our deceased loved ones by burning the paper the note was written on. Our logic was that the smoke would carry the message to the Heaven in the Sacred Realm. I had taken a little alchemy to know that the paper was turned to nothing but ash, but I still did the act out of habit.

I glanced at the grandfather clock with its swinging pendulum. Reading that it was seven, I turned to the window as best I could in my position at my desk. It wasn't easy to see much outside from where I was sitting, but the sun was still a good distance in the sky; typical for a mid-fall evening. My window was open, letting the warm, sweet breeze in. The air in the rest of the castle was stuffy, stale and smelled like wax, so I spent as much time in my chambers or the courtyard as I could.

Sitting at my desk I took a look at the books before me. They were thick textbooks, some covered in a thin layer of dust. I was tired and had already studied so much earlier, so I shoved them towards the wall and pulled out an old book I had been reading. A real book, a story book; not a history book, or one on government or theology, or—

"Are you keeping up on your studies?" a firm voice said. I jumped in my seat, the book slipping through my fingers and onto the floor, and whipped around to face the one who had scared me.

"For the love of Nayru, Sheik! Why do you need to do that?" I huffed.

Sheik just smirked, her red eyes glimmering. She was the sole member of the Sheikah race and a spy for the Hyrulean military—the only woman in the military at all. Besides being a "bodyguard" to me, she was also my only friend, and I was hers, despite her being eight whole years older than me. "I do it because your reactions get more priceless every time, Zelda," she informed me.

I crossed my arms, asking, "Well, am I supposed to keep on my studies when I know every fact in every book? Those are the same ones I've used for the last three years!"

"Well, yeah!" She said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "If you don't pass the test you can't rule when your dad dies."

The test was an exam to determine whether or not the crown prince or princess was intelligent enough to rule. It was supposedly very difficult. Sheik wasn't my tutor, but she always seemed to act like one when it came to testing.

"That's not all there is to becoming queen, and my father's still rather young," I reminded her. "I know that I can pass it and I don't need to study more, but…"

"But you need to find yourself a hubby first," Sheik finished for me.

"I know!" I said, frustrated. "But courting and finding a husband is not as easy as you may think."

"What about Prince Ralis?" she said.

"He's half fish," I said, grimacing. "And I am unsure of the results of inter-racial breeding."

"True," Sheik nodded, "But don't say it like that, it sounds gross." Her crimson eyes lit up and she grinned wolfishly. "Hey, there's Prince Ralph! Remember him?"

"What are you talking about? He's eleven!" I near-shouted, but sustained from raising my voice too loud; it was not proper for a princess to yell.

Sheik gripped her side, guffawing. "I'd still like to see you on a date with him!" she laughed.

I like to call myself patient, but my patience wears thin when I'm humiliated.

"Enough," I ordered, standing. "I have a problem, and all you are doing is laughing! Will you simply help me?"

She stopped laughing and even stepped back a bit. "Chill, girl, I'll help you."

I groaned, sitting back in the chair. "Sheik, I take things too seriously. I'm sorry."

Nodding in reply, Sheik stroked her chin in a thoughtful way. Her eyes widened, and she smiled in remembrance. "You said you liked that Termanian Prince. What was his name again… Kade? Kenny?"

Sullen, I told her, "Prince Kafei got engaged a couple months after I last saw him."

"… Oh. That sucks."

I gave her a small smile. "Yes, I suppose it does. But I still have time until I need to marry, right?"

"You will be eighteen in…" Sheik counted on her fingers, "… in less than two months! That is not enough time to even start a relationship!"

"Well, I'm sure I can do it!" I insisted.

"Your dad's not happy. He won't let you destroy the monarchy," she said softly.

I stood and walked to the open window to admire the view. The courtyard was directly below, with its sweet-smelling pink flowers and grey brick paths. Over the stone castle walls was Castle Town, and even further was Hyrule Field—a vast sea of green with almost five miles in diameter—and it was my secret wish to spend a warm, sunny day frolicking in it, it was so enchanting. Just beyond the field was the forest that bordered the sky, the majestic trees starting to shed their technicolor cloaks. A cool, autumn breeze from that direction blew in through the window, ruffling the skirt of my plain blue dress. It was beautiful, but I wished I could see more. "I don't know what to do anymore."

"Oh, Zel." I felt Sheik's hand on my shoulder. Without hesitation I turned and she embraced me tight with her strong arms and even stronger heart. I wrapped my arms around her neck and rested my head on her shoulder. She rubbed circles on my back, much like my mother used to.

When I pulled away she gripped my arms in her hands. All in all, Sheik was a woman who knew how to make things happen. "Zelda," she started, serious, "you are an exemplary young woman and the only person I know who would be able to solve this. Everything will be alright in the end."

I nodded and tilted my gaze away, still feeling unsure, and she let go. I glanced out the window wistfully, and was about to turn away again when something caught my eye.

A band of people horseback entered Castle Town at a high speed. There were maybe fifteen, and several were waving banners or flags with a symbol on them. I squinted to see it better.

"How about we go down to the courtyard?" Sheik suggested. "The apples should be ripe by now."

I recognized the symbol. "No, Sheik," I said, my voice edged with panic, "we can't when Gerudo are riding towards the castle right now!"

Sheik's eyes widened and she gasped, running up to the window. "Dammit! I should've seen this coming!"

"That doesn't matter. Can you catch them?" I asked, my voice desperate. "I will inform my father."

Sheik didn't give me a straight answer. "I'll try my best, Princess." She took a wad of gauzy material and wrapped it around her scalp and face, revealing only her dangerous eyes. After wrapping her fingers in the same cloth, she bowed to me on one knee formally; she was a member of the military, after all. I gestured with my hand to the window. "You may go. I will inform the king."

"Yes, Princess."

Sheik rose, and without another word leapt out the window, her blonde braid streaming behind her. I admired her determinedness and way with people, feeling envious that I was not the same way.

I spun on my heel and walked to the door, grabbing my cloak on the way out; the air was cooling. I didn't even bother to close the door behind me as I sprinted down the corridors of the castle to my father's study, my leather boots hitting the stone floor softly at each step. My father's study could be reached quickly by passing through the formal throne room, which was used little more than coronations and show and would've been empty. But as I entered through a side door, I saw this was not the case.

My father, a big man with a white beard and small black eyes sat on his throne in his most elaborate clothing. He never wore anything like he was then unless he was expecting a very, very important guest. There were no more than five castle guards around the room, and my father's advisor, Ben, and certainly no princes or noblemen.

Unless… the Gerudo were the guests?

My father finally noticed me. His eyes widened in surprise. "Zelda! What are you doing here?"

I will not lie, I was close to fuming. "Why are there Gerudans in Hyrule, and likely walking down the corridors to this room right now?"

His mouth opened as if he was going to say something. He closed it. "Oh."

But before anyone could say anything else, the heavy double doors to the throne room burst open and a group of lean, tanned women strolled in.

I had only seen Gerudo once before and had an image of them based mainly on what I had read in books, so I stared at them for a few seconds before remembering it was rude. They—as in the women, as the race was made up almost entirely of them—were dressed for the desert heat, wearing pink stomach-baring clothing and jewels, from necklaces to bracelets to clips to hold up their long, red hair. I wondered why they hadn't dressed more for the weather in Hyrule, and decided it was a cultural habit.

They split and formed an aisle. Each sunk to the ground as tall figure slowly passed, but it was impossible to see from my view. I ran to my father's side, and sat in the throne next to him. Out of the corner of my eye he tensed up.

The figure was a tall man in dark robes. He was handsome and looked surprisingly young, to say the least, and he had the insignia of Gerudo imprinted on his robe. Biting the inside of my cheek, I realized he must be their leader. But that was before I saw the little old woman behind him appear. She had grey hair, puckered skin and a large jewel on her forehead, along with black and white clothing that was (thankfully) better-covering. I realized she must be the queen, and the man was either her prince or her king. Another woman clad in red appeared behind her.

My father stood and shook the man's hand firmly. "Welcome, Prince Ganondorf, Queen Kotake," he greeted. "It is a pleasure to see you both again."

"I could say the same for you, Daphnes!" Prince Ganondorf said heartily.

Queen Kotake walked up to Daphnes. She slapped him on the belly with the back of her hand, making him jump a little. "Lose some weight, Nohansen," she cackled. "You were skinnier the last time I saw you."

Daphnes smiled half-heartedly, but Ganondorf full-out laughed. "Don't mind her," he said, "she's growing senile."

My father nodded slowly. "...I see."

It was then that the Gerudans seemed to notice me. The new man turned towards me first. "Princess Zelda!" he exclaimed. "It is an honor to finally meet you in person. You are just as beautiful I had imagined."

I stood and went up to shake his hand, but instead he took it in a gloved hand, knelt, and kissed the back with wet lips. I wished I had worn gloves like he had, and wiped the back of my hand on my dress when he looked away.

"I apologize for not being formal," I said, looking down at my plain dress, boots and cloak. "I don't even have my crown on."

"Pretty, I think you're a disgrace to royalty," Kotake cackled. "You're in peasant clothes."

I grimaced. "It's a pleasure to meet you too."

Ganondorf smiled. "Now that we are all acquainted," he said cheerfully, "how about we go talk in the dining room? And if it would be alright, would you be able to call for a meal and arrange some rooms for my women and myself? The desert is far, and we are tired from travel."

...

After a long second dinner with the prince, his mother and the Gerudan in red—their head advisor—Ganondorf took a curiosity in my father's crown.

"May I see your crown, my friend?" he asked, gesturing to embellished crown my father had placed on a pillow by himself. After a pleading stare from the prince, my father handed him the crown. Ganondorf examined it, his gloved fingers passing over the many gems and polished gold until they rested on the Hyrulean crest. His fingers grazed the small triangle that stood for the Triforce in the crest.

"Also gold?" he said, referring to the material that made up the triangle. My father shook his head.

"A metal found only in Lanayru that is like gold, but not," he said curtly, snatching back his crown and setting it back down on the pillow. Ganondorf leaned back in his chair.

"Its similarities led me to believe it was gold," Ganondorf explained. "There is no reason to get defensive."

My father grunted, changing the subject quickly. "We have something of utmost importance to discuss, do we not?"

The Gerudan prince clapped his hands together. "Yes! And I assume your daughter is aware of the plans, correct? Otherwise she would not be here."

I glanced at my father, not having the slightest idea of what they meant. He smiled sheepishly. "I arranged a marriage with you and the prince of Gerudo," he admitted.

My mind seemed to shut down. "You're arranging a marriage… for me?" I said carefully.

"Think about it, Zelda! The tension between our countries would come to an end with your bonding. Wouldn't that be great? No more feuding between Gerudo and Hyrule. The queen has already sealed the deal, too," he added as an afterthought.

"What deal?" I asked, trying to swallow the frustration growing within me.

"We are bonding our countries by your marriage," he explained. "In the future we hope to join our countries into a New Hyrule that would open doorways to new opportunities."

"And you never told me," I said quietly. "You never even told the council, did you? You didn't because you knew they would disapprove of this decision." The council was made up of representatives from each province of Hyrule and my father. There were five other members: Queen Rutela from Lanayru; the Goron patriarch Darmani of Eldin; Peak's "Queen" Ashei; Mido, the self-proclaimed leader of Faron; and Bo, the representative of young Ordona. Together they had a word as powerful as the king's and could veto his decisions with a unanimous vote.

"The council didn't need to know, we haven't finalized decisions," my father said quietly.

"And yet you have me engaged." My nose started to prickle, and I fought hard to hold back furious tears.

My father sighed. "Zelda. Hear me out, please."

I turned to him. "What more is there to say?"

He looked at the ground. "You have rejected every suitor before and yet you say you will find a man before your birthday. You turn eighteen in just over six weeks." He took a breath. "Ganondorf is willing to marry you for the good of both our countries and to strengthen the bond torn over time. I'm sure your mother would want this."

In a slow, controlled breath I whispered, "Don't fool me into thinking Mother would think that. Her father wanted to arrange a marriage, but she loved you. She loved you! You grew up a stable boy for the royal family, and when you became king you grew up again as a selfish man. But that's hardly important now." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Her mother let her marry you because of your bond. My mother once told me love is the only key to success in a monarchy, and that she would never let me marry unless I loved the person with all my being."

"Anything else to say?" the king asked coldly.

"Excuse me, sir," Ganondorf interrupted, "but what if we wait and wed an extra month from then? Six weeks is so soon for her, and I would be willing to court with her for longer if it makes her more confident."

My father's eyes lit up unnaturally and he clapped his hands at the idea. "Brilliant idea, prince!" he cried. The Gerudo woman in red and the king's own advisor haistily noted the date changes.

My father smild, proud. "Three weeks more is nothing, it'll help him grow on you, Zelda." He turned to my seat.

"Zelda?"

I wasn't in the room.

"Maybe she went to put on some finer clothes or powder her nose," Ganondorf suggested.

"She needs it," the old queen piped up.

"Will you be quiet?!" Ganondorf said, annoyed. Kotake clamped her mouth shut.

"Maybe," sighed my father. "She's probably retreated to her chambers. "

"You know women…" Ganondorf tried to joke, but his voice faltered. My father sighed again loudly before he spoke:

"But you live with a whole race of them. I wish I understood women as well as you did, Prince Ganondorf."

...

Impatient, Sheik paced the shadows. There were no screams coming from the castle, a good sign. The castle wasn't on fire either; also good.

Just as she was about to head back she saw a rider flash across the street from the direction of the castle; a rider with a black cloak, a blue dress and the princess' white horse.

"Zelda?" Sheik whispered to herself in surprise. Was she running away?

"Zeda," she muttered again, slipping through the shadows to stalk the rider, "I used to think you were smarter than me, but now I'm rather uncertain about that."

...

It was starting to drizzle by the time I shot past the castle gate on horseback. Only a few people saw me, but my tear-streaked face was covered by the hood of my black cloak. Though I had never really explored the streets, I had always traced paths through it from my tower, which gave a near-perfect bird's-eye view. I knew the area almost as well as one of the people acfually living there, and in a matter of minutes I was passing the moat across the open drawbridge and into the vast Hyrule Field where nobody, not my father or Ganondorf or anybody except for the bugs and birds, could hear my cries.

I had cracked.

I felt truly selfish, and knew I would really need to apologize for running away from my fears like this. The strong animal beneath me ran on for quite some time before I stopped him.

Blinking my wet eyes and looking around myself, I had a sudden, frightening realization:

I was a girlish, dainty princess who didn't know anything about the world, and out of anger I had blindly run right to it. Anyone knew I wouldn't survive an hour.

Knowing this, I thanked the gods I had a castle to return to, even if it had my father and a strange prince.

The rain was coming down harder, and my cloak was getting wet, soaking to my back and shoulders. The horse—a big, beautiful male I called Alphonse—whinnied nervously.

"Don't worry, Al," I cooed, turning him around, "we'll be back real soon." I set him off at a steady gallop, less than what I had pushed him to earlier, but still enough to get both of us home quickly. Less than a minute had passed before a flash of lightning lit up the gloom.

I shrieked as Al reared up, jumping around in fright. Remembering what one of the trainers back at the castle had said about spooked horses, I bit back another scream and pulled back on the reigns. But my hands were wet with rain and sweat, and the reigns slipped away as if they had been slick with oil. As I fell, I stuck out my right arm to stop my fall.

The earth came quick and hard, and stars exploded in my vision. Pain came in waves and got worse at every little movement. My shoulder was on fire, and I screamed in pain.

The ground was cold and wet, and the rain showed no sign of stopping. Already I had curled up into a painful fetal position to keep warm, and realized that I was going to die, or at least get really sick. I thought every curse at myself for my stupidity and mumbled a couple, too. Knowing that would do nothing, I clasped my hands together and began to pray.

"Din, Farore, Nayru," I cried, "I know I wanted to be in Hyrule, but not like this! Please, please save me! I'll be a good daughter, I'll marry, I'll study! I don't want to die…" I repeated this too many times to count.

Somewhere I saw a yellow light coming from me. Lazily I looked down to see bright rays of light shining from the back of my right hand, which was hanging over my body and on the ground. I was too tired to be very curious, and I closed my eyes. It was a fairy, perhaps.

Before spots dotted my vision behind my eyelids, a warm feeling enveloped me. Either I was dying (which I later realized was very unlikely in a rainstorm), or perhaps someone up there heard one of my prayers, or saw the mysterious light from my hand. Finally covered by warmth and without a care, I drifted into relaxing unconsciousness.

The cover image is by Elenath on Deviantart. Go check out her work sometime!

Last major edit: 1 May 2013.

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