Sorry for the wait...this chapter is dedicated to Forestwater. :) Thanks for all that last minute encouragement. I love all you readers, don't think that I don't acknowladge you. :) enjoy.

-Chapter 10

Kitara walked across the red dirt, slowly getting further and further away from the now not visible Gerudo Valley. After meeting with Gale, he had thoroughly explained her task, pointing out to pass, she had to go to Lon Lon Ranch and steal a horse. He said it did not matter which she took but said that that horse will become her so to choose carefully. And she must return by nightfall in three days with the chosen horse broken by her hands.

Kitara sighed. She had never been allowed to handle a horse. As the king's daughter, someone always led her, and it was a gentle creature. As a Gerudo in training, Gale never showed her the horses, but Kitara knew that he rode them everyday. She huffed, for her to be successful she was going to have to choose one with spirit and speed, if necessary, one yet to be broken.

She continued to walk through the night while pondering these thoughts. How long would it take to get to Lon Lon Ranch? She wondered, At least a day…unless I ran. Kitara smiled at the thought of the air rushing through her hair and took off. She felt the wind whoosh past her ears, deafening; but she paid no mind enjoying it all too much. This feeling was exhilarating. After a few minutes of sprinting she stopped, very pleased, and at the same, rather disappointed in herself for letting her guard down to enjoy some blissful pleasure. Gerudos, she knew, were not considered friends among the Hylians.

Kitara was breathing with gasps now. Perhaps she should rest for awhile. Sure she had been training for three years, but her stamina never seemed to improve. She leaned against a tree for a moment…

Kitara raised her eyes to the dawn lit sky. She was almost there; she saw the shadows of the ranch's high walls. She cursed under her breath for taking her time to reach the ranch. She would have to make the steal in broad daylight. Kitara was now within yards of it and ran to the wall. She pushed herself against it and began to circle the wall, looking for the way to enter.

Ten minutes passed, and still she came to no entrance way. Where is it! Kitara was growing impatient, realizing just how big this ranch was. She continued to walk along, when at last she came to a large opening where the circling wall abruptly stopped.

Kitara smiled. Finally… Just as she was about to enter, the sound of footsteps invaded her ears. She stopped and franticly looked around. There seemed to be no decent place to hide. Her eyes settled on the roof. That will have to do. Kitara jumped and caught the edge. Sweat rolled off her face as the steps came closer. The person would round the corner at any second.

She strained her arms and painfully pulled herself up. Kitara huffed as she scrambled onto the top of the building; beads of sweat dotted her forehead. That was close… The girl peered down cautiously person passing by. It was a young man. He had a bow over on shoulder and two wooden pails in each hand. He went toward the building Kitara was currently hiding on and went inside, whistling away.

Kitara let out a breath of relief as she heard to door snap shut. Slowly, she stood up and gazed over the large plot of land, surrounded by the walls she had circled completely not too long ago.

There was a large field farther back where many eligible horses were grazing or running around. None of them caught her eye as anything special…but then again it didn't really have to be. Kitara ducked down again and eyed the other buildings in Lon Lon Ranch. She needed a way to look at the horses up close.

In the end, she decided to just return to the ground on the other side of the building away form the door that the man had walked in. Kitara threw herself off and landed on a pile of hay below with a quiet whoosh. Luckily, no Hylian was in sight, and she quietly approached the horses.

One of them nicked loudly. Kitara winced and whirled to face the door. When no one came out to investigate, she continued to the coral. Stealing a horse should not be that hard, she told herself for the thousandths time as she approached one of them. The creatures were much bigger than they seemed at a distance.

This one had a golden brown coat and seemed to be smaller than the other ones. Kitara slowly lifted a trembling hand, and even more slowly reached out to pet it. The animal seemed to almost smile and shoved her nose into Kitara's hand. The girl slightly jump with surprise but didn't lift her hand. She stayed this way for a few minutes, forgetting the reason she had come to the ranch.

"She likes you," a voice stated, sounding much closer than she would have liked.

Kitara whirled around, completely caught off guard, the color draining from her face. It was the same man as before and he still had that bow. This action scared the poor animal away.

When he saw what she looked like and her clothes, his face emitted anger. "Gerudo!" he yelled and took off his bow. Much to her dismay, the cry had summoned other out of the buildings, all carrying bows.

Kitara gnawed her teeth together, cursing herself for her carelessness. She ran before they could surround her. She looked around, only to find that she had again trapped herself by running into the coral, and the angry ranch keepers right behind her.

She cursed herself over and over again, but it didn't help her situation. Kitara looked over her shoulder to see that they were gradually closing in on her and had blocked the gates. Out of desperation, she grabbed the mane of the nearest horse and pulled herself on.

The animal snorted angrily, its nostril flaring. There were screams and orders being yelled out as the horse reared, pawing at the air. Kitara held on for dear life. She didn't know the first thing about riding horses and struggled to get the animal to understand that she wanted it to run. It didn't matter where or how, but it had to be now.

Kitara's chest tightened when she heard the bows tighten. Unrelated thoughts streamed through her head in rush. All my trouble, just to die like this? As a horse thief? …

"Careful! Don't hit him!" one of the men shouted, but it sounded far and faint.

You're a waste of my time…

…Common you can do it…

…Get out of my way…

You're so much stronger…

…you do not deserve to be royalty…

…You act like a princess…

Kitara…Kiva…the wind…feel the wind…

A gust of wind suddenly blew in her face as the stallion bolted forward in a frenzied state. Kitara gasped at the sudden lurch and reflexively tightened her grip on the animal's mane. A loud whinny pierced the air, followed by the collection of painful cries as the horse broke though the wall thin wall of men blocking the entrance to the coral. A smile crept to her face when one of her pursuers let out an enraged shout.

Kitara raised her head with an effort to see them attempting to shut the gates of the ranch, to lock her in. She clenched her teeth in determination and spurred the unruly stallion to go faster toward freedom.

The horse responded to her kick with and angry snort, but still none the less, started speeding up. Its brown red legs were naught but a blur to any who looked on. It raced to the ranch gates in an uncontrollable frenzy cause by this strange yet delightful taste of freedom.

The sound was a mix between a very loud BANG and CLANG as the steel gates slammed shut, completed with a wooden bolt.

Kitara squeezed the bunch of the horse's main in her hand in pure frustration as the almost-horse-thief-victims surrounded her with weapons pointed. The animal seemed to sense this and feel the same thing. It pranced uneasily and turned a complete circle, trying to find a way out.

What to do…what to do…?

I'm sorry that it is so short, but I have kept you guys waiting long enough as it is. I truly am sorry for this HORRIBLE delay. Please review and any constructive criticism is overly welcome!