A/N: Ok, ok, I'm sorry. I couldn't write for a while. A tsp of writer's block and 2 ½ cups of lack of motivation is the recipe for my creative pause. Toward the end there was about 3 tbsps of "How do I write this right?"Sorry about that, but here I am again with a new chap. Hope ya like it!

A Princess' Destiny

Chapter 23: A Dying Soul on the Field

What did the goddesses want of her? She knew not what was to blame for her escape from the Gerudos other than the hands of the goddesses, but where was she to go next? That was the question at hand.

Now she had been journeying across the field for days, dressed in Gerudo garb, but lacking any disguise. Her energy was expended and any attempt at shadow arts would probably cause her to faint. But perhaps that was what was best. No. The Gerudos were hot in her heels. If she were to stop now, she would be caught, imprisoned, possibly worse.

There was no use for the guise of Qalura the Gerudo girl anymore. As long as the Gerudos continued to pursue a young girl in purple, they didn't care about her race. What had she done to turn the entire army on her? Did they know she was not Gerudo? How had they found out?

It was so cold. Mid-winter was no season for an exposed midriff on an open plain. The winds cut at her stomach. This was no life for a fourteen-year-old princess. It was so much warmer back in the desert, even in the imprisoning pins of Gerudo Fortress. And she would probably even get a cloak, or blanket… or a blade in the throat. No, she could not turn back. Allowing her self to be captured was the cowardly way out.

But her bare feet stung through their numbness every step through the cold, dewy grass, and her teeth chattered at every freezing gasp for air. She held her arms close about her chest, rubbing her bare shoulders. She couldn't feel much in her arms, and even less in her feet. Any moment they could give under her, and the pursuing Gerudo hunters would catch her…

She woke up on the floor of a small cave, wrapped tight in a wool blanket. Her mouth was quite dry, and her stomach empty, but her body was warm, and she felt safety and comfort surround her. She started struggling to free herself of the warm blanket, so tightly wound about her, so that she might stand.

"Awake, huh?" a calm, emotionless voice echoed in the small earthen room. Zelda couldn't see the body that owned this voice. It sounded like a boy or young man.

"Where are you?" she replied.

A figure dropped down from a ledge just above her. The figure wasn't much larger than she was. In the dim, dawning light seeping in the small entrance at the top of a slope, she could see the figure had very pale, almost white skin. Something was draping off each forearm and calf. As he turned to face her, she saw a very long, thin nose, and large, dark eyes. It was a Zora boy, not much older than she was.

"So what's your story?" the boy said with very little enthusiasm. "Escaped prisoner? Slave?"

"Something like that."

"So how'd you escape?"

"It's complicated."

"I've never seen a Zora in Gerudo clothing before," he said, somewhat carelessly. "It's not too suiting."

"Zora?" she said aloud. She looked herself over. She was a Zora. But how? Had she changed when she fainted? Or was it the work of the goddesses.

"Yeah, you're a Zora," the boy said impatiently.

"No, I just… it's been so long since I've seen another Zora," Zelda covered.

"You know, you're gonna have to tell me where you got this," the Zora boy said, holding up a boomerang. Her boomerang, or rather, Qalura's. She had received it from a friend who had supposedly spoiled it from a prisoner a while back.

"I…" she started.

"You're not keeping it, either. It's mine. My father's. He died."

"How did the Gerudos get it?" Zelda asked.

"I don't know. I gave it to a boy a long time ago. I've never seen him since, but I heard the Gerudos killed him."

"I stole it. I used it to aid my escape."

"Then I guess in a way, I saved your life," he said, with a little more emotion now.

"More than you know," she replied.

"Which is funny, because you saved mine. If I hadn't found you on the field…"

"What?" she pressed.

"I was going to go kill Ganondorf, for killing my friend. Or at least attempt to. What can a fourteen-year-old kid do to a man like that, huh?"

"Well, thank you. Where are we?"

"Nowhere anyone can ever find. It was a shelter used by Zora guerillas in the Hundred Years War. You'll never find you way to the Domain without some help. Let's go. By the way, what's your name?"

She couldn't think. What was her name? Well, of course she was Zelda, but as a Sheikah she had been Sheik, and as a Gerudo, Qalura. What of a Zora? She didn't know Zora names, except one. There had been a Zora slave in Gerudo Fortress. She died quickly of dehydration.

"Kathra," she said, stealing the name of the dead Zora. "Yours?"

"Kauyo," he replied.

As I stood in the entrance of the cave, I couldn't help but shed another tear for Kauyo. This was as much his place as it was now mine. From that moment in which we had met, his life was so incredibly entwined with mine… but now he was gone. I had to press on. I would do my task, and mourn those dead when given time.

I stepped in and stared at the shelves I had erected here so long ago. On them were several books and scrolls, among them the large, heavy Book of Mudora. I almost drew it, but pulled back my hand. I could not. Not yet. I had more to do. Aside the books were several, small, orb-like bottles. All were filled with red or green liquid. I reached for a green one, but my hand trembled and the bottle fell to the ground and crashed open, spilling green liquid across the floor.

I jumped back suddenly. Why was I so shaky?

The liquid didn't move at random, but as though it had distinct purpose. It became a very well contained puddle, shaped very much like a female head. Eyes and a mouth appeared as gaping holes in the puddle, unnaturally. The mouth began to move, as a voice began to echo through the cave.

"Princess of Destiny."

"My goddesses."

"You are at a loss as to where to go next, are you not?"

"You speak the truth."

"The reason is very simple. Your next destination is the last you would suspect."

"I do not follow."

"Long ago, you received an item from us that would aid you very much. You used it once, and then gave it up to your enemy. At our command, you retrieved this artifact of the gods once again, and used it for one purpose once more. Now, you will need to retrieve it again. This item has great purpose in the future of Hyrule."

"You speak of the Eye of Truth."

"It is so. Ahead, your journey shall once more cross with our other chosen child. Then, you shall give this item unto him. For he will need it to see things unseen, to fight enemies unknown."

"But that is impossible!" I replied. "The Eye of Truth is in the possession of Ganondorf!"

"Yes, thus have we said that you wouldn't suspect, for surely you did not suspect that your next destination was to Ganondorf."

"No, I did not. But how do you steal from the man who teaches his nation to be the best thieves and robbers?"

"You gain his confidence, princess. Thus, as we reveal this to you, you fathom it less. We do not send you to confront Ganondorf at his face, nor do we ask that you sneak upon his back. It is to his side that we send you, that you may gain it from him in the midst of his trust."

"This is suicide!"

"Do you not trust your goddesses? We are here to protect you princess. We would not send you to his presence unaided. Not as his adversary do you approach him, but as one loyal to the king of Hyrule. Now, you will go to him, and worry not for the Hero. He shall not be unguided, and he must be delayed for your purpose."

The puddle seeped outward and inward upon itself then, as the echo of the goddesses faded. I attached several green potions to my belt, and a few red potions. This was suicide. I wouldn't even get close to Ganondorf's Castle, much less to his throne room. But I would go, for my goddesses commanded me.

I drank one magic potion and felt almost immediately replenished. Then I turned to leave behind this sanctuary from the world that surrounded me, and headed north, toward Ganondorf's Castle.

I did not invoke the spell of greater speed this time. I didn't want to waste any ki along the way, in case I needed it to enter the castle. As I walked along through the night, I thought of many things. The task at hand was ever on my mind, but I also thought of Kauyo, and times past. As I brushed those thoughts from my mind, others swept in, of Link, and the Sages, the goddesses, and Hyrule. Not Hyrule as it appeared now, in its crippled, dark state, but the glorified kingdom it once was, and that it would soon be again, when this tribulation was all over.

The sun began to rise from the East Mountains. Ahead, I saw a figure collapse on the ground. A great wind arose from beyond the collapsed figure, and carried an article from it to me. A green, pointed hat. Link!

I rushed over to him and knelt down. He was laying flat on his face. I rolled him over to get a look at him. He seemed to be in poor condition. There were burns all over his body and his whole form seemed quite dried out. I pulled up one eyelid to see an eye overtaken with red. His pulse was dropping, fading.

I took a red potion and poured it between his lips. It slid down his throat and he sighed slightly. His chest collapsed. He wasn't coming. That potion can cure almost any ailment, but it wasn't working now. Where was his fairy? She should be here. She should be helping!

In that mortal sigh, he hand planned to give up his spirit to death. It couldn't happen. He was the hope of the world, the Hero of Time… my friend, Link. I spent seven years torturing myself over his death, and I wasn't about to watch him die now.

I recalled the spells I would practice in secret while training under the Gerudos. None would work. There was only one spell that would work. A Gerudo spell. The Gerudos knew only two types of shadow art. They knew much about the shadow element, but they knew very little of the other elements utilized by Sheikah. Instead, they discovered a completely different ability using the same practices. It was called the Spirit Arts. They make use of strictly ki in order to accomplish magic feats. That's not to say they only used their own ki. They would borrow from the spirit energy of others around them. The Sheikah despised this art, as it was a very selfish way to use energy.

Now I would have to utilize this technique to save Link. I pressed both hands to his chest and made separate symbols with each set of fingers. I felt energy channel through me. It wasn't like any elemental energy. It was comparable to my own ki, but still foreign. My eyes closed and I saw a completely different world around me. None of it was corporal. It was all made up of spirit, energy, magic.

I could feel Link's energy flowing outward and up, toward the heavens. I followed the sense of spirit upward. There was a consciousness as I rose, a recognition of departure. My own spirit was leaving its shell to chase Link. I rose over the two figures huddled on the ground below. Quickly, I was rising up as Link's spirit made its own journey. Above, there was a bright light, brighter than the sun. If Link reached it, he would never return.

I had to prevent that. I rushed forward, but his spirit seemed faster still. I wondered how far my consciousness could go before I would be unable to return. I hurried after him. He was so close to the light. I could no longer see (for that is the only reference that seems to compare to the spiritual sense of recognition through some form of sight) him before the bright light. I just pressed upward.

I could never reach him in time. He was too close. There was only one thing I could think to do. But could it work while I floated far above my mortal shell? I no longer had corporal hands to symbolize the spirit arts, so instead I focused on the idea associated with those symbols. I reached out with my will toward Link's spirit. As my consciousness extended to reach him, I felt an intermingling similar to the channeling of spirit energy but much more potent. But I had now touched his spirit. Now to drag him back down to our bodies, waiting far below.

As our spirits mingled, an image appeared in my mind. As we rushed down to rejoin our bodies, it appeared as though I led him toward Hyrule Castle Town, fully glorified as it was seven years ago. We were returning to life, to destiny.

Finally, we reached the earth and our huddled forms. His spirit returned to his respective coil, and I to mine. I shook the strange feeling off of me as I returned to feeling, to corporality. Link stared directly at me, his eyes wide and fearful. His eyes seemed to pierce straight through me.

I suddenly realized that without spirit energy I could not continue my guise of Sheik. My body had returned to the form of Zelda. Could Link see? Was he truly alive and awake? Did he now know? His eyes closed and he collapsed in another sigh, this one now much more forgiving and full of life.

I invoked the disguise spell, and the art of costume. I lifted Link's body, weighed down with his equipment, and carried him toward the ruins of the castle town. He could not join me. He could not go so close to Ganondorf in his current condition. He needed to be somewhere safe.

I spied Lon Lon Ranch afar off, or rather Ingo Ranch as it was now called. That is where he would now go.

When I had taken his resting body to the ranch, I was met by Malon, Ingo's stable hand. She took him from me and dragged him into the stables to hide him from the tyrannical Ingo. There had to be something Link could do here for Malon. I had felt the whole time carrying Link to the ranch that I was not wholly guiding myself.

I now turned my attention to the ruined castle town. It was time to go to the castle town, and beyond to Ganondorf's Castle, floating above the lake of fire. I had to enter his castle and become his loyal subject to obtain the Eye of Truth once more. The thought made me feel sick, but I would now go.

I took one step away from the ranch, away from Link, and one step toward the castle, and Ganondorf.