Merry Christmas!

I'm pleasure to bring you my second fanfic. It was originaly written in Spanish and it has been translated to English by MissQuestions-LaAmazingNabo.

This story is a bit different from my previous work. Unlike 'For Hyrule's Sake', this story is not based on any game, is an original story, although I have taken some things from TP. I hope you like it.

I'm looking for a translator for my third fanfic, my current translator is very busy and can not do it anymore. If anyone is interested, please send me a PM.

The Legend of Zelda series and its characters are property of Nintendo.

Chapter 1
Tensions in the kingdom and the princess' illness

His majesty, king Gustav of Hyrule, was desperate. The tensions with the Desert People were increasing more each time. Did what he did, send whom he sent, the leader of said people did not seem to know reason. That man, whose name he didn't even want to remember, was well-known for being ruthless and for always obtaining what he wanted. Unfortunately, the king of Hyrule did not know what that man wanted from them exactly, he was beginning to suspect that he was only relishing from the pleasure of war and of the misery of others.

Small raids and assaults were more frequent each time in the west border near the desert, and the towns from that area were constantly attacked and pilfered. King Gustav frequently sent reinforcements to the place, trying to prevent those attacks, but he could not send a great number; there was a risk that the Desert People and their leader could see that move as a threat and decide to attack in an open manner.

However, that wasn't His Majesty's only problem. His daughter, the princess, had been sick for some time. It began with sporadic dizziness and small headaches, but, as the days passed by, these symptoms increased. Several doctors had visited her, they had made checkups, tests, but hadn't found the cause of her ailment. According to them, she was completely healthy.

Desperate for his daughter's health, the king had gone to Impa, the princess's nursemaid, to ask for advice. Impa was a woman of the sheikah race— broad and of hard appearance, fierce even— who had taken care of his daughter with much care and affection ever since his wife, the queen, passed away. She was also a wise woman, whose advice usually proved to be true. Impa had advised him to bring in a sheikah elder who lived in Kakariko, whose knowledge in medicine surpassed by leaps those of any doctor in the castle and Castle Town. Without wasting time, the king sent someone trustworthy to search for the elder.

In that moment, he found himself in his study, two days later, waiting impatiently for said elder to appear with his daughter's diagnostic. He was alone, taping his fingers on the table in an impatient manner, not being able to concentrate on anything else but his daughter's health.

Finally, after several hours of waiting, someone called at the door. Impa entered the room, followed by a petite, older woman of affable stare.

"Majesty," said Impa, pointing at the elder. "This is my grandmother Impaz."

The elder made a small and clumsy bow. She seemed to be very old and had certain difficulties to move.

"It's a pleasure meeting you," the king said politely. "Have you discovered what's troubling my daughter?"

"Your daughter is completely healthy, physically speaking, Majesty," Impaz said.

"If she is healthy, why is she bedridden longer each time?" the king yelled, angry.

"Your daughter's problem is not in her body," she replied in an appeasing manner. "The problem lies in her surroundings. I believe your daughter has been subjected to situations that causes her a great quantity of nervousness and stress."

"Stress? Why would my daughter have…?"

"Majesty," Impa cut in. "Zelda has always been a sensitive girl and lately there has been several tensions here in the castle. The imminent war with the Desert People, her lessons, and the constant visits of suitors, whom aren't precisely of her liking, I think have placed a pressure over her that she couldn't bare in the end."

The king meditated a few minutes. It was true that his daughter didn't have much time to rest lately. Her lessons were arduous, her tutors demanded much of her, and the number of pretentious boys that tried to court her were increasing each time. She was also a girl that worried for the kingdom, it was obvious that problems with the Desert People would affect her.

His Majesty sighed.

"And what can we do to make her recover?" the king asked.

"The best in this case is to eliminate the factors that cause this stress."

"But she can't abandon her studies," the king said, concerned in that issue. "They're vital so she can succeed me one day."

"In that case, it would be convenient to reduce them as much as possible, that she has breaks once in a while, and several days off."

The elder took a long time listing the different actions they had to take to improve the princess condition, like carrying a healthy diet, exercise, pleasant company, etc. Finally, when she gave all the necessary advice, she excused herself and left the study, leaving Impa and the king alone.

"What do you think we should do, Impa?" he asked thoughtfully.

"For starters, I think it's best to cancel all her scheduled meetings with suitors," Impa suggested. "I've been present in each and every one of those encounters, and I can assure you Majesty, that some of those suitors were really insistent, not to say, irritating." She did a face of disgust as she remembered a few of those boys. "It came to the point in which I saw the princess really distressed. I saw myself obligated to go to her aid."

The king kept silent, thinking. It was important for his daughter to find a husband soon, she was now the appropriate age for it. He would not live forever, and Hyrule needed a future king. But it was also true that it was not very urgent, his daughter's health was more important now.

"Very well, I'll contact the suitor's families. I'll tell them that my daughter is unable to receive visits."

"I think it would also be convenient to take Zelda out of the castle, take her away from the bustle and tense atmosphere that is breathed in lately."

"Do you have a specific place in mind?"

"I was thinking of the manor located in the region of Faron, the one that belonged to your late mother."

"No one has been in that manor for years," the king said after a few moments of reflection. "Wouldn't it be rundown?"

"We could send a few servants beforehand so they can have it ready," Impa suggested.

"I suppose you will go with her, correct?"

"That's right, Majesty. I and a few of her handmaidens will accompany her. I'll be in charge of continuing her lessons and studies, though in smaller measures, of course."

The king became thoughtful again. Even though he hadn't visited the manor in years, he still remembered it well. His late mother had lived there after the prior king's death. She herself had decided to move away from the bustle of the castle and live peacefully for the rest of her life. It was a precious place, he recalled, very peaceful, and located besides Faron Woods. It didn't have many neighbors, and it was approximately an hour away by horse to the nearest village, Ordon, in the region of Ordona. That place was certainly the ideal place to spend a few days peacefully and stress-free.

"Very well," the king nodded after meditation. "I'll send several servants to prepare the house for Zelda's stay. How long will you stay there?"

"For what the elder says, I think the longer the better. If it's possible, I would like to stay there three or four months at least."

His majesty sighed. It was hard to think that he had to be separated from his daughter for so long. They hadn't spent so long away ever since his wife's death. But it was for her sake, so he plucked up courage and agreed.

"Take all the time you need. But if something happens, I'll make you return immediately."

"Yes, Majesty."

As Impa was about to leave, she heard the king sigh.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No. It's just that…" Gustav paused hesitantly. "It's just that I wish he'd be alive…"

"You're referring to the princess's betrothed?"

"Yes," the king stated. "He was a precious and adorable child. If he were here I wouldn't have to make Zelda go through the ordeal of choosing a husband. They didn't even get to know each other."

"No one imagined such tragedy would happen, Majesty."

"I think his father suspected it, that's why he took him from Castle Town."

Zelda was sitting in her bed, leaning over a pile of fluffy cushions, reading. She had been bedridden for two weeks now because of those small episodes of dizziness and headaches she suffered from. Although she felt perfectly fine today, her doctors insisted that she remained in bed. Since they didn't know what she had, they decided for her to stay there, just in case.

She was bored of spending too much time inside there, she wanted to go out to the gardens and stroll and take in fresh air. But there she was, tucked in her bed, with her books as her only company. She hoped the sheikah elder that Impa brought would say she could finally go out.

She was reading one of the romantic novels she liked. Impa didn't approve this type of readings, for she said they were vulgar, insubstantial, and didn't add anything to her education. But Zelda could care less about that. Due to her status, she knew that it was unlikely for her to one day experience a romance like the ones described in those books, so she wanted to fantasize with that possibility at least. Unlike Impa, her father didn't mind her reading those novels, he said that there was nothing wrong for a fifteen-year-old to dream a bit.

She was reaching an interesting part of the book, and somewhat risqué at that, when they called at the door. She placed a bookmark over the page she was in and closed it.

"Come in," she said while setting the book at her side.

Her father, the king of Hyrule, came in, grinning. She hadn't seen much him these last days, he was very busy with recent events that were happening in the kingdom, and she was locked in her room.

"How are you feeling?" the king asked as he sat on the edge of the bed, next to his daughter.

"I'm feeling perfectly fine today, but those stupid doctors won't let me out of here," she replied with a bored face.

"What kind of speech is that, young lady?" the king scolded her. "That language is not proper of a princess."

"I'm sorry," Zelda apologized sheepishly.

"Don't worry, daughter, you will go out again soon."

The king smiled and extended his arm to pat her head. He hadn't done that in a while. It was something he used to do when she was little, however, as she grew older, Zelda began to reproach him for that, saying that she wasn't a little girl anymore. For some reason, she let him this time, and didn't say anything.

"Not only did I come to see how you were doing, I've also come to tell you something," his daughter nodded, indicating him to proceed. "Apparently, your illness is produced by all this pressure you have been subjected in lately. Impa and I have been talking and we decided for you to spend a few months outside the castle, in a peaceful place."

"But what of my duties?" she said. "There's several arranged interviews with suitors and you need my help here. The Desert People…"

"Don't worry about that, Zelda," he interrupted. "I can manage on my own, I've also canceled all those interviews already."

Zelda remained thoughtful for a moment. She didn't want to leave her father alone with all the problems with the people of the desert, but she couldn't deny that freeing herself of those tedious interviews relieved her a lot.

"Along with a couple of ladies, Impa and you shall depart in two weeks," her father said, bringing her out of her thoughts. "You will go to an estate that belonged to my later mother in Faron province, near the woods."

"Going there will help cure me?"

"The elder Impaz says that you have stress, and that the best way to get rid of it is to remove you from its cause. Since everything has been very busy here in the castle lately, Impa thinks that taking you there will make you better quickly."

Finally, Zelda nodded.

After a while of pleasant chatter, the king excused himself to his daughter, gave her a small kiss on the forehead, and left, leaving her alone again.

Zelda meditated about what her father told her for a while. If she thought about it, the idea of leaving the castle for a period of time didn't seem bad. Faron province was famous for its large and lush forests, its clear-water rivers, and its great variety of flora and fauna that lived there. She always wanted to visit there and here was the perfect opportunity.

Hours later, Impa entered her room, she had come to explain all the trip's details. She told her that there would be staying there for a minimum of four months, unless the king made them come back for some urgent issue. A few servants would accompany them, which would go ahead of them to prepare the manor, a couple of her handmaidens, and a few of her guards. They would go incognito, so that no one would know of their whereabouts, so that way she could be more in peace. Her study hours would be drastically reduced during her stay there, just a couple of days a week, and Impa herself would see to them. She could dedicate the rest of her time to whatever she wanted: to get to know the area, to explore around, read, get to know the people who lived there, go to any nearby village, whatever. Zelda smiled at this.

Despite her worries regarding the Desert People, she was becoming more excited for the trip each time as Impa told her more details. Not only was she going to be free from her arduous lessons, but also from the irritating, and sometimes unpleasant, suitors. That, joined with the possibility of being able to explore the forests, breathe in fresh air, and enjoying from its tranquility, made her start to wait anxiously to be there. She wished for those two weeks to go by as quickly as possible.

A strong light filtered through the trees in the darkness of the night. Two silhouettes found themselves one in front of the other. In the silence, a deep and solemn voice spoke up.

"Someone will arrive soon," said the voice. "It will be a person whom you will have to look after. It does not pose a threat, but it is important that they do not leave your sight."

The other silhouette didn't reply, it kept still.

"It won't be long," the voice continued. "Soon you will be free, Link."