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It had been a gambit to reveal herself to Link and Zelda had thought at the time it’d been a wise one; the Hero of Time deserved to know of her deception and her aid as he cleansed Hyrule of Ganondorf’s poison and she knew he’d be tight lipped about her whereabouts. What she did not consider, however, was that Ganondorf had eyes and ears in even the most sacred of places and the ambush at the Temple of Time hadn’t been a possibility Zelda had considered.

For a woman with a vast intellect, sometimes she could be quite dense. His laugh froze her to the very marrow of her bones, leaving her stock still and afraid to change forms lest he use the opportunity to injure Link or, worse, recover the Triforce of Wisdom for his own vile purposes. She could not let the Triforce fall to him no matter what and if that meant keeping the form she’d been born to, so be it.

The restraints were something of a bit of irony; rosy colored crystals conjured by Ganondorf himself that wouldn’t have been out of place in one of Zelda’s own spells, coupled with a vacuum inside that seemed to draw from emotion and not the air. It stifled her, but only to make her hopeless, and Zelda thought idly that perhaps that was worse. Should she die in his clutches a valiant death, railing against the dark and all he stood for, she’d die a martyr. Should she die a quiet death having given up on the world as a whole, nobody would mourn that at all. After all, Hyrule had no queen, not any longer, and had not for some time. Ganondorf was actually quite clever in that macabre little respect.

For all that he’d paralyzed her above the battleground he’d chosen to launch his final assault (her own palace, no less. Such nerve he had!), he couldn’t force her to watch. Zelda let her eyes drift shut, the magical meditation she’d perfected when in the body of Sheik flowing into something more mundane and born of exhaustion in the body of Zelda. She imagined some place far away, a vista untouched by the wicked king and his armies.

She pressed against the crystal that held her trapped, focusing all her will upon it and was pleasantly surprised when it seemed to give way and she fell to the ground. It was less than graceful, to be sure, but she was free. Of course, freedom meant very little at this juncture; she was still within the belly of the beast and there was no real way out. On a lark, she scrambled toward a forgotten door that led from the Temple back toward a graveyard long left untended. There was a path beneath one of the royal tombs that led straight to the palace, a path that Zelda hadn’t taken since she was a young girl. Pray that it is unblocked, she thought to herself, scrambling as fast as she could. If she were free, perhaps she could launch an offensive and aid Link.

Once she stepped through the door, however, she was not in the graveyard behind the Temple of Time. There were no royal tombs or broken down headstones, merely the carpeted corridor of some other building. What did this mean? How could a familiar path that she’d taken time and time again as a young girl change so much in seven years? While she’d half expected it to be blocked, she hadn’t expected it to lead somewhere else entirely!

There were people milling about these halls, seemingly going about the normal business of a day and Zelda could not comprehend that. It had been a long time since the Castle Town had actual citizens in it; much of Hyrule’s society had moved up into the hills and away from the conquered palace and Ganondorf’s influence. Zelda schooled her features into something approaching calm even though her heart still beat rapidly with the thrill of her escape.

“Excuse me,” she said, catching the attention of the closest person. “I seem to have taken a wrong turn. Can you tell me where I am, precisely? It’s a little embarrassing but sometimes when I have restless sleep, I tend to wander the halls a little.”

Hopefully it was a lie that would pass muster. Not often did Zelda fall asleep fully clothed in a gown worthy of the Hylian court but perhaps just for a moment this person could believe she had laid down for a short nap and been plagued with sleepwalking. It was a common enough affliction and one she herself had suffered as a child. It would not do to reveal just how truly disoriented she was at the moment.

The best way to sell a lie, after all, was to wrap it in the truth.

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"I was too tired and I only intended to nap." Zelda still did not know anything beyond hotel, which was a foreign word to her and fourth floor, which told her very little. She doubted she was still in Hyrule, given she had never seen a man quite like this one before, but it did not tell her precisely where she was. She sighed, exasperated.

"And what city is this hotel located in, please?"

Nick knew he could have carried this on forever, but he wasn't that cruel. Not in this form, anyway.

"You're at a hotel called the Nexus and, near as any of us can tell, it exists in its own little world. There are doors that lead to other places, but if you go outside and look up? All you'll see is black, starry space. Might be a good thing to avoid if you've got vertigo or anything."

That was not exactly what Zelda was expecting to hear but all knowledge was good knowledge, even that which was disconcerting. She nodded quickly and tried to process it. How would she have come through a door to another world?

She had read of such in old Hylian legends but it had never happened in modern history. That was something that heroes of old did, used the Master Sword to open gates into new worlds, and it was not something Zelda particularly had experience with. Was this something the goddess had done for her to keep the Triforce of Wisdom safe? She did not know.

"I guess it begs the question, then...how do I return? Do I simply go back through the same door?"

"That seems to be a really personal thing," Nick admitted. "Some people can go back and forth, some are completely stuck here, and some, like me, can go back to a version of their normal world but not the real thing. My best advice? Give it a try. But I should warn you, if you open a door that doesn't look like a hotel room, or your home world, don't go in alone. Some of the doors here lead to some freaky places."

"Freaky? I do not understand this particular term." It was a vernacular she was unfamiliar with and Zelda always had prided herself on being able to easily blend with any group of people. This particular place would take more study and practice before she would blend easily here.

"What does it mean?"

"It means strange or odd," Nick said, smug teasing gone from his tone now. He could appreciate someone bullshitting him about not knowing where, or when, they were. But this woman didn't know the word 'freaky'? That made it even stranger - even Artemis for all her quirks, knew that one.

"If you don't mind my asking, where were you before you came here?"

"I was in Hyrule." Zelda decided simply to be truthful because at this juncture, there was little served by concealing her race and origin. She was Hylian, clear to be seen, and was not of the same world as this man. That was easy enough to discern just from looking at her. As for her name, well, she did not have to give a real one if it felt too dangerous, did she?

"Have you ever heard of it?"

Hyrule? He had half a mind to go slack-jawed and ask if she was kidding. Fortunately, life had given him an impressive poker face and he was able to keep all emotion off his face even though hours of his childhood were playing through his head. He had to keep his expression blank, though. Because telling the woman how he recognized the name probably wouldn't go over well.

"Can't say that I have, but that's not saying much. There are a lot of places I've never heard of. I should probably introduce myself. I'm Nick. Nick Gautier."

"Malon," she offered, the first name that came to her that was not her own. This man would not know that Malon was a farmer's daughter, right? Her identity should remain secret for a little while longer. If the time came to reveal herself, well, they could cross that bridge later.

"It is just as I feared. I am somewhere far, far from home, aren't I?"

Okay. Not the name he was expecting, but if he'd stumbled into a strange place he'd probably not be giving out the name Malachai to everyone he passed. For now, he'd let it go without comment.

"I'm afraid to tell you that you are, Malon. If it's any comfort, most of us are so you're in good company."

"Just as I feared," she said, trying not to reveal just how off-kilter this made her feel. It would not do to be seen as weak or anything other than a simple girl - hiding in plain sight was her best course.

"Nothing to do but press on, then, is there?"

"I suppose you could curl up into a little ball and cry a lot," Nick offered with something of a smile, "but I can't say that would help much. And I doubt it would change anything."

"Crying has never been my method of choice. It is ineffectual and wasteful." Zelda had cried before, especially as a young girl, but hard times called for her to grow up much quicker than she had ever expected.

"I would much rather do something than cripple myself with emotion."

"Then I think you'll do just fine here," Nick nodded. "Might even find you like it after a little time's passed. And speaking of, I should probably get you to the front desk and get you settled?"

"That would be wonderful, thank you," Zelda said, feeling a little relieved that she had not been outed at quite so early a juncture. Perhaps later, when she knew the lay of this place, it would be safer to be herself but for now she liked the anonymity.

"Your help is much appreciated."

"It's no trouble," Nick assured her, and it wasn't. Especially if she was who he thought she was. "We were all new here at one point."

"There is nothing I hate more than feeling awkward and uncertain," Zelda admitted readily. "I would much rather have the appearance of knowing what is going on even if everything is madness under the surface. Rather like a duck, wouldn't you say?"

"Better to fake it than to have everyone know your little feet are paddling away?" Nick nodded, offering her a smile. "I don't think that's ever a bad idea."

"Essentially, yes. Be the role you want to become instead of panicking. It is how I have always dealt with stress."

It seemed to have worked well until recently but Zelda supposed allowances must be made for hostile coups.