Zelda had remained in the barracks until midday. She knew that Impa had probably realised she was missing but it was too risky for her to climb the tower with a hangover. When Link offered to take her home, she hushed him up, not wanting to give away the fact that she lived in the Castle.

Link had brought her some water to combat the hangover and she was grateful for it. When she finally felt well enough to climb her tower, she thanked Link for his hospitality and left.

***

She was just about to scale the last meter or so to her balcony when she heard hurried footsteps and fingernails tapping on the stone of her balcony wall.

"And just where were you last night?!" Impa spat as she grabbed Zelda hand and hauled her up.

"I went out..." Zelda shrugged Impa's hand off her shoulders and walked into her room.

"Oh that's fine then," Impa rolled her eyes, her words dripping with sarcasm.

"It's no big deal!" Zelda snapped as she went behind her dressing screen to take off her Sheikah outfit she had borrowed from Impa.

"No big deal?!" Impa roared with rage as Zelda came back round the screen, now dressed in a pink dress, "You left the Castle all night! You're blind! If anyone realises who and what you are, you could get yourself killed!"

"But I didn't!" Zelda grumbled as she rubbed her temples, her headache worsening every second with both of them shouting.

"This is not the time to go galavanting around Castle Town, Princess, your father is leaving for Rito Village next week and I am to go with him as a bodyguard! You cannot leave the castle again!" With that, Impa slammed the door to Zelda's bedroom and locked it behind her, leaving Zelda alone to her thoughts.

A few weeks with her dad and Impa gone?!

She honestly didn't know how to feel about that, weeks without her sole protectors! She felt panicked, she felt vulnerable, she felt... Happy?

A few weeks with her dad and Impa gone!!!

No, actually, this was amazing!

***

After a week of anxious anticipation, The King, Impa and a caravan of Knights (whom Zelda had found out to be Link and his buddies) were getting ready to depart.

The King and Impa had said their goodbyes in Zelda's room before making their way through the castle to the grounds. What they didn't know was that in the time it had taken them to walk through the castle, Zelda had hanged into Sheik and climbed down her tower to the grounds.

She could hear voices by the castle wall and knew that it was Link, Kyle, Simon, Luke and Ernest. By the sounds of their yawns, they were still very tired from it being at least an hour before dawn.

"Ah, Sheik, are you joining us?" Luke chuckled as he elbowed Link in the ribs to grab his attention.

"That is, if you'll have me," Sheik chuckled as she sauntered her way to the group.

"Of course he'll have you!" Simon snickered as he pushed a confused Sheik into an equally confused Link's arms.

Trying to forget that ever happened, both Link and Zelda backed away awkwardly.

"So, anyways," Link cleared his throat, "I thought you couldn't come with us on this quest?"

"Well, I'm here now, let's leave it at that..." Zelda said defensively as she found her way over to where Ernest was packing up the last of their gear for the trip.

"Quite a lot of stuff isn't it?" Zelda asked with a frown as she lifted up a pack that felt like it was full of bricks.

"Well we are travelling with the King, this venture is going to be much different from the usual camping trip. As his majesty's royal caravan escort, we not only have to protect him, but we have to make sure that he is still comfortable, meaning we have to lug this huge tent around..." Kyle sighed as he hauled one of the packs onto his back.

Typical. Her first time on a proper adventure and this was going to be nothing like the adventures she had heard about in her books. Instead, she would be stuck lugging around her father's tent for him!

"But a lady such as yourself needn't be worried with carrying a heavy pack," Ernest hummed happily, "I would be happy to carry it for such a beautiful creature."  Ernest came closer to her but Zelda merely snickered and took her pack from the ground and slung it over her back.

"Stop pestering her, Ernest." Link snapped a little too sharply than he had intended, making the rest of the group chuckle.

"Yeah, Ernest," Luke said in a mock defensive tone, "Leave my future sister-in-law alone!"

At this statement, both Link and Zelda' cheeks heated up in embarrassment. She had tried to forget the incident at the pub when Luke claimed Link wouldn't stop talking about her but she still didn't know how to react to it. She had spent most of her life locked up in her tower and now she was parting for her first adventure with someone that supposedly couldn't stop thinking about her. It was just happening so quickly.

Before she could say any more on the subject, she heard footsteps approaching near the gate and she recognised them instantly as her father and Impa. She heard Impa stop dead in her tracks meaning she had seen her.

Link, Luke, Simon, Kyle, Ernest and Sheik all dropped to their knees as the King approached, his arms open in a wide welcome.

"Ah, welcome warriors!" he exclaimed in a jolly voice.

Zelda quickly tightened the binding around her face and hoped to Hylia that the magic she used to turn her eyes a deep red was enough so as to make her own father not recognise her. No sooner had she got to her feet when the king approached her curiously.

"And...who are you?" He asked softly as he crossed his arms.

"This is Sheik, your majesty," Impa said through gritted teeth as her nose flared in anger that Zelda was in front of her, "Though why she is here is beyond me."

Zelda looked down. She may not be able to see into her father's eyes but he could certainly look into her's so she kept her eyes down. She could tell that he was examining her and she held her breath as she waited for his verdict. Zelda's golden hair was quite famous over Hyrule even if the people hadn't seen her for themselves and so she hoped she would get away with the disguise.

He could tell there was something familiar about this Sheikah woman but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Maybe it was just the fact she was a Sheikah, like Zelda's late mother who was a Sheikah herself. But he had seen Impa everyday and she was a Sheikah so it couldn't have been that.

"Welcome, Sheik..."He started, "I've heard from Knight Link that you are a skilled warrior?"

"Yes sir," Zelda sighed in relief that she had not been recognised, "And I would protect you with my life..."

"Well then...Welcome!"