The Prince and the Peasant (Completed)

Chapter 18: The Awakening

The sun was just beginning to peek through the mountains as the pair continued toward their destination. Zelda looked ahead with a blank stare. Her thoughts were all over the place from her dream she had.

"Zelda, is something wrong?" Link asked out of no where, startling her slightly.

"N-No. I'm fine." She forced a smile in his direction.

Link gave her an unamused face and then sighed. He wasn't going to continue to question her. Zelda couldn't tell him what she had seen. She knew he'd just tell her nothing bad was going to happen.

It wasn't long before the large castle appeared in the distance. The young woman swallowed hard as her throat felt constricted from fear. She looked over at Link who stared back at her confidently.

"Let's do this." He said as he signaled for Epona to move again.

Zelda followed close behind. Once they got to the bridge they dismounted their horses. Link pulled a cloak out of the bag on Epona and handed it to her.

"Wear this, it'd be best if we don't bring attention to ourselves." Link said as he pulled out a brown cloak for himself.

She nodded and covered herself with the article of clothing. Once their identities were concealed they ventured across the bridge and into Castle Town. Zelda gasped as she looked at the people. Although they were starved before, now they were worse. Many homeless lined the streets as they sat in small alleys and near fires. The only houses seen were pathetic huts, the rest were just rubble.

"Link, if we win this.. You're going to have to become King. You can't let these people live like this." Zelda said sternly.

"... I know.." He whispered unhappily.

Link still didn't want to become King and seeing these people made him have no choice. As they neared the castle, nerves began to take over her. She knew that this wasn't going to be easy and may not end well. She snuck a glance at Link. His face was full of hate and confidence, and hers was full of fear and pain. Zelda looked back ahead as Link veered away from the bridge to the castle.

"There's a secret entrance this way." He whispered quickly.

Zelda followed behind him until they came across a small bush alongside the castle walls. Link reached under it and opened a hidden door that lead into the ground. She watched as Link slipped into it and motioned for her to follow. The door shut behind her as they made their way down the dark and eerie stairway. Once they reached the bottom, the room opened greatly and many tunnels were seen.

"These are the old waterways for Hyrule. They basically just flood all the time now so no one ever comes down here." Link told her.

Zelda followed behind him as they made their way to yet another staircase. She sighed in irritation as they continued up more steps. Bats flew from a small window causing Zelda to squeal slightly and throw herself at Link. She blushed tremendously as he laughed at her and gave her an amused expression.

"Shut up." Zelda said as she removed him from her embrace.

Link rolled his eyes playfully as he smirked at her and continued on. Finally they reached a small wooden door.

"This takes us to the hallway near my room." He said as he slowly opened it.

He looked to see if anyone was around and then jumped down. She watched as he motioned for her to follow. The young woman eased herself down but still was far from the ground.

"C'mon Princess." Link said sweetly as he held his arms out to her.

Zelda rolled her eyes and jumped down into his arms. He held her for a moment and then released her. A huge smile was spread across his face before he turned away. There were no guards to be seen as they continued on. This fact confused them both.