I toss and turn in my sleep. The dreams... they are plaguing me again. They are torturing me. Twisting me. Killing me. They invade my mind, cloud it, and then attack. And I am asleep, and have no power over them. No power to stop them. No power to save myself. And that scares me.

I am running. I am looking over my shoulder as a dark shadowy figure races behind me. My breath is ragged. And my hair... my hair is short! I turn a corner sharply as a torch flickers out. The figure continues running after me. I stop short as my hand smacks a wall. A dead-end. I spin on my heal only to come face to face with my attacker. Gannondorf! He raises his sword with a smug, twisted smile etched upon his rough Gerudo features, and the sword descends right to my throat.

I snap open my eyes and sit up sharply. I breathe harshly. Sweat and tears mingle on my porcelain face and splash onto the silken cheeks of my bed. I lower my head in silent defeat. These dreams have been plaguing me for weeks now... ever since I met Link. Ever since Gannondorf came to my castle. Ever since Link began his journey.

I wipe the tears and sweat from my face and sigh. I look out the window at the pouring rain. It's been like this for 3 days now. I hope Link is alright. He hasn't returned since he retrieved the Spiritual Stone of Fire. I am growing fearful that he is dead somewhere in either Hyrule Field or Zora's River... What if he didn't find the Spiritual Stone of Water? What shall happen then? I sigh again and lay back down. I must stop worrying. Link will pull through. He promised me he would. I close my eyes and let sleep conquer my body, hopefully I will have no more nightmares.

I don't know how much longer I had slept, but I awake from a shrill cry of agony. I open my eyes groggily. "Huh?" I murmur. I rub my eyes and blink as I adjust to the light flowing into my open door. Open door? I scan the room with wide eyes. Behind the door, I meet amber ones. A large figure hides behind my door, with an evil sneer upon his face. A glint of light catches my eye. A sword. A Gerudo sword. I lay still, still as I possibly can as the figure approaches me. His face is finally bathed in the torchlight. The figure from my dream! Gannondorf!

He is at my bedside quick as lightning. I shut my eyes as tears roll down my cheeks. His sword is raised above his head. I know what I must do. I snap my eyes open, scream, and roll out of my bed. The sword does not hit my throat or heart like he had hoped. But he does get something out of his attack. My hair. My pride and joy. My father's favorite feature about me. The reason he called me sunshine. I stare shocked and numb at the hacked tresses upon my now mangled pillow. That ASSHOLE!

I raise my eyes to meet his. He snickers and picks up one of the golden locks and sneers. "Nice hair cut... sunshine." My eyes widen in shock. I gather my courage and speak. "How... how..." He laughs. "Your father told me," He sneers again, "Well... I suppose he hadn't meant to... He just screamed "Sunshine... save my sunshine!" as I ran him through." I back up to my stained glass window, my mouth agape. "No!" I cry as tears burn their way down my cheeks. "NO! YOU... YOU DIDN'T! OH GODDESSES!" I feel my knees become weak, but force myself to stand. I refuse to bow to this worthless creature.

He raises his bloodstained sword level to his twisted face. He narrows his eyes and smiles smugly. "Time to die." He says dangerously. I hold my hand out to try to summon some form of force, power... anything to stop him. My mind searches for a spell, but draws a blank. All that comes from my quivering lips is a plea. "No... NO PLEASE!" He laughs and continues to advance. My tears stream down my face. There is no escape.

He growls suddenly and lunges. As if on instinct, I duck and roll out of the way. His massive, bloody sword plunges through my window. Glass shatters everywhere. Without looking back I rush out of my bedroom and run down the darkened halls. Breathing hard and fast, I sprint down the hall. I turn a corner and let out a loud sob. Covering my face with my hands, I run blindly down the corridor and then make another turn. Thumping, loud footsteps pursue me quickly.

I race down another hall. A pitch black one. I am afraid. "IMPA!" I scream with a hoarse voice. "IMPA HELP ME! SOMEBODY ANYBODY! PLEASE!" Tears choke my voice and my steps grow slower. Fighting for breath, I stop and gasp in the musty air of the secret passage. Suddenly the wall that I lean on bursts open and a fist comes smashing through. With a scream, I turn and sprint away. Insane laughter follows me as I run. He IS insane. I told my father this. I suppose it is true. No one listens to the small ones...

My outstretched hands hit a stone wall. OH GODDESSES NO! MY DREAM! MY NIGHTMARE! IT HAS COME TRUE! I pound madly on the wall as tears continue their never-ending journey down my face. "NO! OH GODDESSES!" I spin around only to come face to face with the bloody Gerudo blade. "THIS time, princess" he spits, "You shall not escape." I whimper slightly and try to press myself against the mossy wall. He lowers the blade to my neck slowly. Suddenly a violet wave of light flashes through the hall and knocks Gannondorf over. I shut my eyes and sink to my knees. Oh Goddesses what now?!

I feel myself being lifted as I hear the agonized cries of the Gerudo King. "MY EYES! MY EYES!" he shouts over and over. "PLEASE! DON'T HURT ME!" I cry meekly. "Princess if I were to hurt you it would be the end of me." I snap open my eyes and look up at my savior. "IMPA!" I cry. Suddenly, as a wave of security hits me, my tears flow faster. "Impa! Daddy... is he... is... is... is he..." Impa doesn't meet my eyes as we turn another corner. "Young one, we must get you to safety." I know then, Gannondorf was not bluffing. I cry hysterically. It's so unfair. If only Link were here. LINK!

"IMPA! WE CANNOT GO! LINK WE MUST MEET LINK FIRST! WE MUST!" she sighs and growls, "PRINCESS WE CANNOT WAIT! IF WE DO GANNONDORF WILL KILL YOU AND NOTHING I MEAN NOTHING WILL SAVE YOU! WE MUST LEAVE NOW!" I have never seen her this panicked before. I know better then to question her. So I shut my mouth, allow my tears to continue falling, and let her carry me to safety.

After what seems like hours, we reach the Castle Stables. Rain is pouring steadily as she saddles up her horse quickly. She mounts and grabs me. She kicks the horse into a fast gallop. I hold onto the top of the saddle tightly. When will this nightmare end? Suddenly another pounding of hoof beats come from behind us. I turn my head to see a black horse with a rider upon it. GANNONDORF! "IMPA FASTER!" I scream over the pounding thunder. She glances behind her, gasps, and kicks the horse. The castle gate lowers and out we go.

I see a figure dash out of the way. A boy, with a fairy... A FAIRY? "LINK!" I call out. His blue eyes meet my desperate ones, and I grab the Ocarina of Time from the folds of my nightgown. With as much might as I can muster, I hurl it in his direction. And then with a whispered good-bye and a final tear shed, I ride off into the night and onto safety.

"Link... You are Hyrule's final hope, good luck. The Goddesses know we shall need it."

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