-Zelda-

She managed to hold on right up until the doors closed behind her and the harem was shut off from her. Zelda gasped for breath and stumbled, all of her fear and terror and barely restrained hallucinations assaulting her at once. The skin around her neck flared like it was on fire, every part of her body itched like a thousand ants, her blood boiled with an icy chill, her hair felt zapped, and every muscle in her body spasmed with the will to flee of their own will. As if she was but a prisoner trapped inside her body, even the cage wanted to flee.

She would have fallen flat on her face had Shi Ketsu not stepped in and quickly roped an arm around her waist. "Your highness!" He exclaimed.

'Breathe!' Zelda reminded herself. It was a struggle. Her body seemed to have forgotten something so basic that she needed to focus all of her will on it just to stay concious as the bright sky dimmed in and out before her eyes. 'Breathe. Just breathe. You did it! Breathe!'

Outloud, Zelda managed to whisper, "W-walk... me... Get me... away..."

Shi looked around frantically for a moment. He realized what she wanted, what she needed, and, holding tightly to her shoulders, moved forward a bit. Zelda managed to put a step forward on flimsy legs, but it was slow going down the many steps past the eunuchs guarding the outdoor plaza. The caravan waited in the courtyard below. When the guards below looked up and noted them, they rushed to her, and in taking Zelda from Shi's arms, hurried her into the caravan and yelled for the driver to take her to the royal doctors. Zelda collapsed on the seat, not even having the will to sit up. Another figure leaped up, sat down, shut the door, and yelled for them to hurry away.

'Breathe.' Zelda thought. Her muscles shook frigidly, her teeth chattered, and her breaths came out in short bursts. She remembered what it was like in Zhao, how the winters were bitter and cold and numbing.

Zelda felt something and narrowly opened an eye to note Shi Ketsu was with her in the caravan along with her captain of the royal guard, and they had placed a blanket on her. Odd. She didn't feel it. She just felt cold, like she was back in Zhao again.

-Narrator-

A few days later a great event occurred in the capital as a caravan of ministers and officials made their way to the royal palace. The many heads of the Ki main house, those that Kei Ki the Beheader had not removed, the head of the Kai house, and the head of the Han house all entered the palace, and with them their faction. Wealth was gifted to the royal family and Zelda saw her power swell. The men entering her service were many and of great influence, talent, wealth, and power. The people were amazed and her Sheikah spies reported that the ministers in Ryo's faction were caught off guard by this. The good fortune didn't seem to end as Chancellor Impa returned and reported that a great weight was partially lifted from her guilt, and praised Zelda's bravery in how she handled the matter in her absence, both publicly and privately. Yet, even so, a shadow fell on Zelda as she felt there was something more at play, something more beneath the surface, and she didn't know what.

About the same time these men arrived at the palace, the answer would come elsewhere.

-Sarah, Royal Harem-

Sarah hummed to herself happily and lit a candle. The last few days had been quiet at the harem, but Sarah knew it wouldn't be at the palace. Zelda had taken a bit longer than she expected, but the princess did request Sarah's companionship again. Sarah expected she would go to service in the royal palace to find a near catanic princess, or an ice-cold angry witch with walls as high as the sky, or maybe even an emotional sobbing wreck. There was no telling which it would be, but with what had happened it wouldn't just be a normal visit. Sarah fully expected to have to help pick up the pieces of Zelda's psyche.

'Maybe I should see if Zelda will confide in my mother visiting...' Sarah immediately shook her head. As much as she wanted Zelda comforted by a proper mother figure, the last thing she needed was precisely a mother figure. If not a mother, then a gift? Sarah had found some art, but the words of Shi Ketsu returned to her and Sarah found it wise. Zelda liked literature. Zelda did not admire the beauty seen by eyes but by the mind.

Sarah turned her candle towards the harem library and entered. On the other side was a firmly locked door, and across the library were aisles and aisles of scrolls and books even more expansive than the Royal Family library. Surely here would be a treat for the princess!

Sarah placed the candle down on a table, ran a short distance into the first aisle, grabbed a handful of scrolls, and returned to peruse them. The little concubine didn't quite know what Zelda's taste was, but if her tale of the snakes had been a sign, it would have to be one that was thought-provoking. Or maybe historical? She didn't know what was in the library, so she would have to go through them one by one quickly until she found a suitable candidate. Sarah opened the first scroll, found it borish. The second scroll was more interesting, a tale of the romance between the clouds and moon. It perhaps wasn't the best choice, but Sarah still had hope that Zelda was open to romance in a literary form. Sarah put the first back and continued.

This went on for a time until she found herself going deeper into the aisles. She took her chosen scrolls and candle with her and placed them in a heap on the floor. She reached up and took a scroll. It slid on metal hinges-

Sarah froze. That wasn't the sound of a scroll sliding off the shelf! The door was opening!

Instantly, she dropped down and cupped her hands tightly around the candle, snuffing it out. The light disappeared into darkness. Sarah kept still, her skin feeling itchy and every sense on high alert. She had stayed here past curfew! She would be in so much trouble if-

The steps. One step was the lightest she had ever heard, like a faint wind gliding across grass. But the other... there was a steps of a large person, a person of weight but great confidence and patience. Followed behind was a third step of an almost military march. The third set of steps stopped at the shelves near Sarah, but the first two continued a bit further.

Sarah blinked as light burst across the room through cracks in the scrolls and shelves. Peering through, she saw a beautiful dress adorned by a dainty woman, though she could not see her face, and the large robes of a well-built albeit very wealthy man with scrolls strapped to the insides.

Sarah froze, her eyes bulging, sweat forming on her clammy skin. The hair on her neck stood and her skin crawled with horror.

Chancellor Ryo Fui.

The woman glided across the floor with grace and a newly lit lamp extending from her polished hands. "Come, this way," A light voice said.

The Queen Mother!

Sarah dropped quietly, bringing her hands to her mouth to keep her horrified voice from going past her lips, and hid in the shadows of the aisles as best as her tiny frame could allow. What was Ryo doing here?!

"I must say, you gave me quite a surprise with this," Ryo started. "I would have thought you would want to will your years away in peace and solitude."

"I am surprised as you. I thought the same for so long... but I found myself with that nagging thought. That tiny speck in me that doubted."

"And what is it that you doubt?"

There was silence a moment, and the two seemed to stop. The Queen Mother said, "I remembered long ago, when I first had them. It was us against Zhao... I shielded them, but as the years went, I learned how utterly alone I was. There was no 'us', there was only 'me'. Then one day she was gone... and I realized I didn't mind. It was easier that way. You sent men to rescue me, and I have been content with what I have and the distance between us. But in recent days I heard of the schemes you did, I heard my dear little thing was refusing to do her duty, and I felt... something."

"What did you feel?" Ryo asked quietly.

"I don't know. It brought me doubt because it was odd. So I wished to see her. I wanted to see if a hint of maternal instinct had awoken within my breast. Whether it be the child's existence or her words...

"And?"

"In my eyes I saw Zhao, in my hands I felt her flesh, and in my chest I didn't feel a single thing." The Queen Mother concluded. "I felt absolutely nothing."

Nothing?! Having come from a crazy, loud, loving home, Sarah felt her heart clench in equal pain and equal terror. She had nightmares on occasion, but now, as vomit threatened to rise, she realized the monsters in one's imagination did not compare to the monsters in people. Her nightmares would no longer bear the face of Ganon with his glowing red eyes and burning hair as he squeezed her throat, but the cold and empty void that was such a mother who's chill held her neck.

"Is that so..." Ryo murmured. "So the entire uproar of you following through and joining her then was to get my attention?"

The Queen Mother chuckled, "Well, how else was I to move that heavy waist of yours? You are such a busy man with other Chancellor's visiting and all."

Ryo Fui laughed, and the Queen Mother joined him quietly. Ryo exclaimed, "Truly, you are a vexing woman as ever! This is what you have set your mind to? The old lovers usurping the throne and smashing Zelda's faction? Are you truly prepared for what is to happen?"

Usurping...

"I couldn't care less what happens to her, Kingslayer."

Sarah felt a chill and tingle clasp her spine. This was it. She had to get out of here! They were going to kill Zelda!

Not yet. Not yet! The coast needed to be clear! Every second was agony. Finally, after seemingly years of listening in the shadows and darkness, the door opposite of her was unlocked with a key and shut firmly. Sarah waited a minute longer, equally terrified to move if they should return and terrified to not move if she loses her oppurtunity!

A guttural sound hit her ears and, at first, Sarah was unsure of it. It was so-

There it was again. Grunting.

At first it was such an odd thing, but then the repetition of it slowly dawned on her and if her hands were not already clasped tightly around her mouth she might have gasped out loud. Treason. The two were having sex! They were in an affair! But the Queen Mother was married to the deceased king!?

This was her opportunity.

Sarah burst into action, leaping and springing across the ground, but equally messed up as she forgot about the pile of scrolls she had assembled before and tripped over them. The scrolls scattered and her body collapsed. It was brief, it wasn't near as loud as the two who were reaching a level of literal screaming fuckery behind a metal door, but then she had also forgotten there was a third one. The third one's steps came quickly towards her, Sarah rose and scrambled her way forward, the third one's steps reached the shelving and Sarah felt a sharp icy pain tingle in her side followed by an impact that sent her falling. The shelving collapsed onto her, but with her tiny frame and burst of adrenaline-fueled speed she was able to avoid being under it.

The door was slightly ajar to her right and she bolted for it. Whether it be luck or divine providence, the aisle thrown onto her was long and the one to knock it over had entered to find her, so her position running out the other side gave her a short head start. Her tiny frame was again a blessing as she wasted no time opening the door further, but turned sideways and slipped between quickly. She turned, her feet sliding on the dew and wooden flooring, and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. A set of heavy steps were just behind her heels, and a brief tug on her clothing nearly sent her back. Her clothing was wide and captured the wind, being made of much material, so she unclasped the sash and shed it as her chaser grasped hold firmly.

She heard her attacker grunting as he struggled to reach her now and she smiled as she released a new burst of speed. Her side hurt like nothing she had ever known, but adrenaline helped numb it. She wasn't a normal harem girl, her assaulter would have to learn, she was normal. Her youth was spent chasing kids and roughhousing with her siblings, and this hadn't changed. Her legs knew how to run and turn. She knew how to stay ahead of reaching hands. She knew how to breathe and keep at it until the games were over.

But this was no game. The harem was closed shut for the night. There would be no escape there. She would have to improvise. There were some servant doors that led out, but accessing them would require leaving the inner walls. The kitchen had a roof high enough to let her reach without breaking her legs if she was careful. No ladders to the ramparts, as guards would catch her on noticing she was being chased by one of them.

There was a tree however. It was a part of the garden in sight. The Queen Mother had designed the royal harem to be a place where no one could get in, but she had not necessarily designed it to keep people from getting out!

Nimbly as a squirrel Sarah leaped up thorny bushes and then onto the outreaching branches of the tree. She heard the guard cursing behind her, but his hurried steps showed he wouldn't relent so easily. Sarah climbed up another two branches, reached the trunk, crawled around, and hurried on her hands and knees across to the otherside. She heard yelling in the distance and saw the guard below had alerted others on the ramparts in the distance. Not a second to lose, she leaped up onto the rampart, nearly falling. Her legs dangled. She pulled herself up, rolled onto her feet, and bolted left towards the kitchen. Her nose led her on. Guards ran at her from ahead, but the kitchen was coming into view from the right so she turned and-

A sharp pain entered her back and she felt her body spin in mid air. She landed hard onto the kitchen's roof and blacked out.