Cinderella, but it's Breath of the Wild

Courage

The mice squeaked more dramatically than before, letting Mipha know her suspicions were correct.

Before either sister knew it, the quartet of mice began scampering up the staircase, insinuating that they had to follow.

"Hey! Wait a moment!" Mipha called, following after them, and gesturing for her sister to tag along.

***

The group began hurrying up the long and winding flight of stairs that seemed to circle on forever and ever.

It didn't take long before Riju plopped down on one of the steps to catch her breath.

"Gosh, my legs are already sore! How does Zelda do this daily?" She asked, while the mice looked at her with sympathetic eyes.

Mipha looked up above them to a thankfully reassuring sight.

"Well good news, looks like her door is only another couple steps to go," she answered, earning a quick sigh from her sister, who eventually stood up.

"I really hope you're right," Riju said, straightening herself out before continuing onward, the mice in pursuit.

As they finished their climb, thoughts ran through both their heads. How had they both been so blind as to not know Zelda's conditions?

Then again, it probably wouldn't have been easy to, not with their mother hiding her away in a Rapunzel-like tower.

At long last, they reached the shabby oak door that they could only assume would lead them to their locked-up stepsister.

Their suspicions were confirmed once they heard the soft sounds of sobbing.

Zelda had always been a ray of sunshine, and this was the first time either of them had heard her cry.

It was almost unsettling.

"Do you knock, or should I?" Mipha asked, her hands beginning to tremble from some underlying feeling she couldn't recognize.

Riju shrugged her shoulders. "I'll do it then," she replied.

On the other side of the door, Zelda had rolled back in bed. It had been at least a few hours and the solitude was growing painful.

It seemed as if all was lost. That was until she heard an unexpected tapping on her door.

"Zelda? Are you in there?" A familiar voice called, whom she could immediately recognize as Riju's.

Within seconds, she'd practically tossed the blanket across the room.

"Yes! Yes, Riju, It's me!" She cried, rushing to the door and pressing her ear to it.

The birds returned to the windowsill and the mice came out of their walls. Had their owner finally been saved?

The doorknob shook a little as Mipha tried opening it, but to no avail.

"What happened? Why is this locked?" Mipha asked, trying to twist the knob again.

Zelda let out a shuddering sigh, and fear gripped her once again.