Toan looked at Raye, giving him a nod and a smile, "I'm glad as well, but I just wonder where that mist came from, if it is no longer out in the open, it must mean that there is something controlling the mist. Perhaps the people at the castle might know more, we must hurry" he didn't bother waiting for Raito and Sakura, they had Epona so they could definitely catch up to Raye and him. He turned and jogged toward the castle town, pacing himself though they weren't very far from it, on his way toward it he ran through some long grass and saw something sparkle in the corner of his eye. He skid to a stop and walked over toward the sparkle, kneeling down and brushing through the grass for it, he found a red rupee and he picked it up quickly.

"Wow! Lucky me, I wonder if there are any more around here..." He began to brush through the grass in the hopes of finding some more, he found four blue rupees, making a total of 40 rupees. "Excellent! But... I can't hold all this money the whole way..." He was cradling the rupees in his arms, looking back in the direction of Raito and Sakura, hoping they were finally outside.

Raito watched with sparkly eyes as his two male role models ran ahead. Even after the sadness this morning, the day was bright and everyone was refreshed.

"Sakura!! Sakuraka!!" he whined "Let's go! Let's goooo~!!" He squealed excitedly, flailing his arms. All former thoughts of whining about not getting the reins draining from his mind.
Navi giggled at Raito's excitement and pet Epona's head before flying ahead of them, towards the other two boys.

She knelt at the head of the enormous bed, watching as the middle-aged man lying there breathed deeply. In, out. In, out. His eyes were closed, his face calm. He looked as if he was merely asleep, but Zelda knew better. For her father had been "merely asleep" for the last three months.

Zelda had tried her best to keep Hyrule running smoothly on her own, but it was not the easiest task. With the mist spreading seemingly everywhere--appearing near one village one day, a small farmstead the next--people were close to rebellion, expecting the Royal Family (consisting of Zelda and her father ever since her mother had died) to be able to vanquish this mysterious menace when nobody else could. Zelda and her trusted aide and bodyguard (the princess was a bit old for a nurse by now), Impa, had both agreed that it would be best to keep the King's coma a secret from Hyrule, lest the people panic all the more.

Thus had their facade begun, pretending that the King was still hale and healthy, but holed up in the castle with advisers trying desperately to figure out a way to stop the depression and coma-inducing mist. Zelda herself was now the only one to appear in public, supposedly because her father was far too busy to do so himself. The princess visited the people, delivered speeches that were meant to be heartening. Whether or not they actually were depended on what side of the bed the people had woken up on.

Sighing, Zelda bowed her head. A comatose father and a country falling victim to a seemingly unstoppable force would be almost too much for any eighteen-year-old girl to bear. But Zelda's father and Impa had raised her to be strong, and her role as Princess of Hyrule (and later Queen) had done the rest. She would not fail her country, her people. Not before she had done everything in her power to save them, first.

Leaning over the comatose man, who seemed so ordinary now that he wore no crown, Zelda kissed him on the forehead and whispered in his ear. "Father, I'm going now."

Then she stood, swirled a long, dark cloak around her so that it hid her face and form, and murmured a few words. Words of power that drew light around her, tinging it violet before it swept over her in a flash.

When at last the light dissipated, Zelda, Princess of Hyrule, had vanished.

Sakura laughed at Raito's enthusiasm, then flicked Epona's reins. She was comfortable with riding the horse; it was as if she'd ridden a horse every day of her life. It didn't quite occur to her that Link probably had.

Epona whinied delightfully, and cantered briskly to where Toan and Raye stood. Sakura noticed that Toan held something in his arms; her eyes widened. "Rupee? But where did you get so many?" She asked in awe.

"A shiny!?" His tone was the same as Sakuraka when she said 'Ruppee'.

"Gimme gimme gimme!! I want it Toan! Pleeeassse?!" He was in front of Sakura, so she scooted forward, leaning his front against Epona's neck and stretching his arms out toward the man.

"I waant iiiiit!!" The cuckoo under his hat clucked, be it in protest or agreement was up to the hearer.
Navi would've scolded him, but she was flying through the grass, trying to find more ruppees. They would be useful in the city...

Something caught her eye a few feet away and she turned sharply to look at it.
((It could be a ruppee...or it could be a monster! ^^; I figured we might wanna see one or two, since they usually appear in Hyrule field....Or at least that's what I remember. ._.))

Toan held onto the money, shaking his head at Raito, "now Raito, this money is for all of us, I have a feeling we can buy some weapons or perhaps some new clothes with it." He walked over and placed the rupees in one of Epona's saddle bags, "how strange would it be to the townsfolk to see four people walking around all in the same but different colored outfit?" Just then Toan looked curiously into the open bag, reaching into it he pulled out a large leather bag with a fake yellow rupee imprinted into it, he opened the bag and was greeted with the glitter and shining of more rupees. "Wow... there has to be a thousand rupees here!" He said, showing the others all the various colors of rupees inside it, greens, blues, reds, purples, silver and yellow ones.

"Must be Link's wallet, surely we can buy some clothes with this cash, lets keep going" Toan reached back into Epona's saddle bag, placing his newly found rupees into the wallet, he then closed the bag and carried the wallet. He gave Epona a few pats on her side and turned back toward the castle, they were practically right next to the drawbridge, so Toan wasted no time in crossing it. He gave the others one last look over his shoulder before stepping into the castle town entrance.

"Hmmm new clothing would indeed be welcome. to be conspicuous would not aid us in our quest." He walked on watching the rupee search of his companions. He saw the gates to the city coming up. The drawbridge was down and there were several guards at the gate.

"Look there, the entrance to the city and castle." He pointed and eyed the guards. he wondered if they would get any trouble from them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6kx4u0gLNw
((Here's the market theme. :P))

Toan took a look at the guards when Raye pointed them out, they glanced at everyone through their helmets, but didn't really move or try to get in their way, they stayed put. When they got into the main square, they were greeted with lots of activity, shouting people and stall owners, trying to buy and sell products, children running around laughing and wearing masks, noisy animals, etc. There was also a band playing music by the fountain in the middle of the square (the music you hear in the link) but it was almost muffled by the crowds.

"Alright, lets all split up, we'll give eachother an equal amount of all the money and buy what we can with it, preferably clothes and weapons." Toan opened up the wallet, giving everyone almost a thousand rupees each, there was more than he thought in the bag. "Save your change if you have any, Sakura, you can go with Raito, make sure he spends his money responsibly, Raye, you can come with me. We'll meet again here at the entrance of the square. Sound like a plan?" Toan awaited an answer from everyone.

((Nows the time to buy the outfits in our profile pics or a completely new customized outfit of your choice.))

Sakura looked around at the market with excitement; she may have once been part of a man, but a girl's place was always at some sort of store. So, she was a little disappointed when Toan advised them to spend their money wisely.
"Okay," Sakura said a little glumly. She glanced wistfully at a cart that held exquisite robes that looked fit for the princess of Hyrule herself... but she forced herself to turn to one that had significantly less conspicuous garments.
She hopped down from Epona, and held out her hand to Raito. "Come on," she said happily, "Time to get some new clothes!"
"We'll be back by the time the sun's at its highest," Sakura added to Toan and Raye over her shoulder.

He looked about the market with interest. He was sure he had never been here, even as part of Link before. Yet there was almost something familiar about the place. He noticed that although it seemed normal there was also quite a bit of nervous chatter and mother's kept a closer eye on their children.

He nodded to Toan at his suggestion. "That will do well. It would probably be better to change before attempting the castle. Also I'd like to see if we can get some information from the folk here. Perhaps they may know of the troubles being close to the king."

She reappeared in an alley in the marketplace; from her forays out into the marketplace as a child, she knew that it was dark and narrow and rarely used. Perfect for when you wanted to magically transport yourself someplace unseen... or at least, that was what she had thought.

"Hey! Who are you?!" She heard a shout from behind her. Turning, she saw a rough-looking man struggling to rise from where he sat against the wall, a bottle in one hand. "This here's my turf, I don't know who you think you are coming here..."

"Pardon me," she replied, lowering her voice and adding a gruff edge. Now she sounded like a young man instead of a woman. "I did not intend to intrude. I will be leaving now, and--"

"Just one minute!" The man had finally managed to rise to his feet and stood glaring at her. It was obvious that he could not see her face under the hood. "No one comes on my turf without permission, y'hear? And nobody leaves without learning a lesson from me."

Quick as a flash, a knife was in his hand. She sighed; she really would SO have preferred to avoid trouble like this. Then she positioned herself in such a way as if to guard against attack, as Impa had taught her. When the man saw this, he snorted. "Think you stand a chance against me? Well, think again!"

With a yell, he charged at her with the knife. Without a word, she easily sidestepped, struck him against the back of the head, and disarmed him while he was stunned. As he whirled back to face her, she leveled the knife with his nose.

"I would advise you against coming any closer," she murmured in a menacing tone. The man whimpered, then turned tail and ran. She shook her head before examining the knife; it was of average quality and relatively sharp, but as she had several knives of finer make upon her person, there was no need to acquire another. She dropped it before making her way out into the marketplace proper.

First things first--she needed a horse.

Raito sulked as he hopped off the horse, all the kids looked like they were having fun playing!

But nooo, he had to go buy clothes.

"What's wrong with my clothes? Can't I buy bombchus instead?" He whined, although he knew it was fruitless. He sighed and stood beside Sakuraka as she looked at girly clothes...

Some of the kids ran passed him and laughed, being chased by another kid in a mask. Raito perked up.

"Oh, Sakuraka!! Can I buy two masks?!" Why two? One for his cuckoo, of course!!

Toan gave Sakura and Raito a confirming nod and a smile before heading off to some clothes stalls that held almost exotic garbs, straight from the desert people, the Gerudo. There was one particular stall he walked toward, there was an elderly Gerudo woman dressed in blue robes behind the counter, "ahh! Greetings young child, you find interest in my clothing, yes?" Her voice was quivery, her back hunched, she also had a large nose, a blue gem on her forehead and white hair, she looked almost like a witch, it made Toan think and look at the woman suspiciously. "Hmmm... yes" Toan looked down in front of him, finding a pile of neatly folded clothes upon the counter, there was an orange poncho, with black pants underneath it, brown, thick gloves on top of the poncho and on top of the gloves was a green hat, almost like a small turban but without wrappings, attached to the back of the hat was a gray metal ring with lightly tan cloth wrapped on the bottom of the ring, hanging off of it.

"I would like to buy this outfit from you if it is no trouble" Toan said, picking up the clothes, the old woman nodded her head, she then slowly waddled over to the side of the counter, lifting up a piece of wood on a hinge to let Toan behind the counter. "We have a changing booth in the back of the stall child, please come over here, we also keep boots and accessories back here as well." She edged a single, long, bony finger at Toan, then she turned and headed into the almost dark back of the stall, Toan soon followed, feeling no fear. "Koume, we have a customer..." Said the blue witch, there was another person in red robes folding clothes, she turned her head, showing Toan her face, she looked just like the blue witch, only her clothes and the now noticeable red gem attached to her forehead were the only differences between the two.

"Kotake! I've never seen such a handsome customer, we sure are lucky aren't we?" They both giggled, but Toan looked a bit in awkwardness, "please, may I just buy some boots and perhaps a belt before I go?" The twins nodded and began to find things for Toan that would go with his outfit while he watched, they soon came back, one holding matching boots for him and the other a also matching belt with a large side bag. Toan retrieved both offerings from the witches, "thank you" there was a small little side box next to the tables that had clothes and items stacked upon them with a curtain so Toan assumed that was where he could change, he went behind the curtain to get dressed.

The witches giggled once more as Toan removed his clothes, it was truly an awkward moment, but the laughter toned down and the air grew thick with curiosity and suspicion, the twins whispered to each other. "This child is strange, isn't he sister?" Asked Koume, "yes indeed sister... his spirit is almost familiar, his energy, his life force, he must be important..." Toan soon came back out from behind the curtain carrying his old clothes and shoes, the twins panicked and paid attention to him again, he stepped toward them, "these clothes are quite nice, very comfortable, thank you, how much do I owe you both?"

The twins looked at each other, Toan looked at them, eyebrow raised in confusion, then Koume noticed the money in Toan's new pocket, she grinned greedily, "I believe this will be enough payment!" She swiped the money from his pocket and took a few steps back, enjoying the glittering beauty of the rupees, "hey!" Toan shouted, he let out a sigh though, he didn't feel like robbing from an old woman, "I'll be off now... thank you again." He left quickly, wanting to get as far from those old witches as possible. He looked around for Raye and once he noticed him, Toan ran to Raye's side swiftly, "any luck finding clothes Raye?" Toan asked him, he then placed his old clothes into his side bag, the clothes and boots seemed to shrink as he placed them inside, like magic.

"Wow... I'm lucky to have gotten this belt, but I don't have any money for weapons..." Toan looked a bit sad. But he tried to get over it and focus on something else, "do you need help Raye?" Toan asked curiously.

((wow that was quite the novel there.... I liked how you incorporated the witches though...my turn to go for some fun.))

As Toan wandered over to a stall, a bit of blue caught his own eye. He wandered over and noticed it was a stall manned by a few Zoras. the Zora man lifted a hand in greeting.

"Hey dude, here to buy some stuff? I've got lots of things from our domain. there's even a few of our famous silver scales, and of course fishing nets, spears, yadda yadda...Take a look will ya?" he was evidently laid back enough that he wasn't really pushing his sale. he wondered if that was the right thing to do when in a business but Raye shrugged it off and took a look at the items. he picked out a renaissance type shirt of a deep blue, it was shiny and looked like silk, but when he looked closer it was made of tiny scales. He also spotted a necklace with the previous mentioned silver scale.

"you know what? I feel like somehow that your more important than my usual customers so I'll let you take the scale for free..."

"Really? that would be in much aide of my sit..."

"Not so fast! First you have to win my little game. Ya see here, I have a little fish tank...If you can catch a fish with this, then you can have it." he held up what looked to be a bubble wand with a thin cloth or paper film upon it. he seemed to remember this game from faires he had gone to as a child. he had never tried it but he did remember that most had failed. But it couldn't hurt to try.

He nodded to the man and took the wand. Slowly he followed the fish with his eyes and waited for the opportune moment....a few minutes passed and the Zora tapped his fin impatiently.

"Any time dude...."

Raye didn't let his concentration lapse. he focused his intent and kept his hand smooth. At last Raye struck and managed to pull out the wriggling fish. the Zora clapped almost unenthusiastically. He handed over the necklace and gestured to the clothes He had been looking over.

"There's a whole outfit with that, of course that's not free..." He nodded and the Zora rummaged through the piles. he pulled out tight fitting tights, a belt and some hardy slippers. he payed the man and left the stall. his new items in hand he saw Toan come out from behind the booth and waved at him.

"No, I think I got what I needed, but I'll need a place to change. Perhaps there's a tavern we could trespass upon." He walked over to Epona looking for a bag to carry his stuff in.

((the zora character is from here... http://wynahiros.deviantart.com/art/...-Jobs-31008720 such a funny comic...))

Sakura had already aquired a reddish mantle with matching shoes and tights, and now she was looking at skirts and accessories. She looked down at Raito.
"Masks? Where are they?"

((I wanna write alot too!))
Raito looked toward the happy children dancing about with there masks and finally spotted it; The happy mask shop! He happily hopped toward the shop but stopped when he heard the fluttering of wings.

No, not from under his hat...It was...to the right!

He turned his head and his mouth gaped open at the sight of the booth of clothes with strange strange symbols akin to that of A Zora. The man behind the counter was not a man but a...a...what are they called?

He looked the man from his talons, to his capri white pants, his large purple tunic and his long sleeve shirt underneath....wait, or were those wings? Anyway, as he reached the mans feathered face and beak, Raito realized he'd been caught staring and smiled sheepishly.

"Wow! Gee mister, you look familiar!"

The bird man smiled and nodded. "Really? Perhaps you've met one of my brothers? The Rito clan has traveled this world many a time...It's no surprise that you think you've met me before.."

But little Raito shook his head. "Nuh-uh! That can't be! I've never met...Oh! I know!" The boy took off his hat, revealing his cuckoo friend.

"You look like Henrietta!"

The feathered man behind the counter gave a squawk of indignation.

"How dare you compare the great Rito tribe to a normal, dumb, bottom of the food chain cuckoo!" Henrietta squawked back at the Rito, as if it were insulted. Raito stepped back as well and picked the cuckoo off his head, hugging it to his chest and looking up at the man with tearful eyes.

"What?" people were beginning to look at the Rito in dissaproval

sniffle

"No..."

whimper

"Please don't-"

One tear from each eye fell down his cheeks in unison, his lower lip trembling.

"Y-you didn't have to yell at Henrietta...She didn't do nuffin'..." More dissaproving looks were being shot at the Rito, from Hylians and other races alike.

"O-of course, I'm sure! I'm sorry to have shouted...how about all of my wares are twenty percent off for you?" The Rito prattled off, attempting to appease the little kokori before it ruined his business.

Raito immidiately perked up. "Wow! Really?! Thanks a bunch Mister!"

The Rito sighed "My name is Rashti, and you're welcome."

Several minuted later Raito had bought the attire and stripped quickly in front of the store, ignoring the squawk of appall from his new 'friend' Rashti and changed into his outfit.

"Aww~" he flapped his arms but nothing happened, his long-ish sleeves were only sleeves....

"Not fair! I wanna fly too!"

Rashti laughed and shook his head. "Sorry child, the only possible way to be able to fly like a Rito is to be born one."
((^_^ I'm no good at describing clothes, just know it's something akin to this: http://pettyartist.deviantart.com/ar...-Rito-76070209 in a sort of royal purple. ^_^))

Toan had followed Raye along, pretty soon standing by Epona, waiting for everyone else to meet them back at their spot, he enjoyed his new outfit a lot, so much better and perhaps cooler than his old outfit. He enjoyed the desert attire, but he pretty soon stopped thinking about his new outfit and focused on the fact that old witch took all his money, he had nothing for a weapon. He sighed and moped, Epona turned her head and looked at Toan, nudging his shoulder, as if she was worried about him, he chuckled a little, smiling, he then pet her gently. She liked the attention, licking Toan's face and then she turned her head away, as if she was looking around the area, trying to find the others, Toan laughed a little more. As he waited, he was clueless about the two witches who sold him his clothes, his suspicions were right, they were witches, the fire and ice witches Koume and Kotake, Twinrova.

They knew Toan wasn't just a normal person, so once he left their stall, they ordered a couple of beautiful Gerudo assassins to try and kill him, pretty soon, two women were approaching Toan, he looked at them curiously. They were dressed in blue and purple, loose, almost see through velvet robes, the woman in the blue was short, yet she had beautiful eyes, the same color as her robes, her figure was that of a super model. The woman in purple was almost her exact twin, only she was taller and her eyes were brown, they giggled as they stood before Toan, almost blushing, their beauty was intoxicating, it made Toan blush and look at them shyly.

"Oh my, we haven't seen such a man like you in so long..." said the woman in blue, standing on Toan's left side, her index finger under his chin, she looked into his eyes seductively. "Perhaps you'd like to join us at the pub for a drink, handsome?" Asked the woman in purple, standing on Toan's right side, Epona didn't like this or the women, she grunted frustratingly and turned away from them. Toan began to feel strange, his eyes were soon a solid color, no pupils, as if he was hypnotized, "sure, why not?" He said monotone. the women each wrapped an arm around Toan's arms, pretty soon they were headed off to the pub.

Toan was not himself, its as if the women put him under a spell of some sort, or their beauty had turned him into a love struck zombie, it was worrisome. The women in blue had a hidden dagger in her loose sleeve, her free hand had a hold of it, ready to kill Toan once they were in a safe, dark alley. They continued to coo and giggle over Toan to try and look innocent as people were watching them walk by, soon they were behind the big shop buildings, no one around to see them. They let go of Toan, he sat upon the ground, leaning against the wall, he was as limp as a rag doll, as if the spell made his whole body numb so he couldn't move. The woman in blue pulled out the dagger (the same one in my profile picture) she held it over her head, ready to stab Toan right in his neck.

She could not explain it. Then again, there were many things that concerned her that she could not explain--all she knew was that her focus of the world seemed to sharpen, and her body tensed. Looking around from under the hood of her cloak, Zelda soon caught sight of two gorgeous women and one seemingly befuddled young man making their way into the alley she had exited not too long ago. Though the women were a distance away, she could see their every detail quite clearly.

Then, in her mind, she saw one of the women clutching a crimson dagger, and the man lying on the ground, blood pouring from his throat. Shaking her head, as if to "fix" her vision, Zelda looked up to see that the women and the man had vanished into the alley.

Well. Something was definitely up, and Zelda was nothing if not curious. And suspicious. Her nurse\bodyguard Impa had taught her to be both, and with these attributes of hers combined with her sharpened vision and "daydream," she would be the last person in the world to ignore what they all told her.

She slipped through the crowd in the market like a fish through water until she stood with her back against the building nearest to the alleyway. It allowed her a clear view of what was going on when she looked around the corner, and yet did not make her stand out, as she was conveniently hidden by a large sign emblazoned with the words "FINE HATS. FITTINGS INSIDE." Her eyes were on the entrance to the alleyway, and her entire body was preparing to take offensive action at the slightest indication of something wrong.

As if in a prelude to the daydream Zelda had just had, the blue-clad woman drew her dagger and prepared to strike the young man, who was completely unaware of the impending danger. Just as she was about to bring down the dagger, however, another dagger flew at her hand, impaled it, and pinned it to the wooden wall of the building making up one wall of the alleyway. Zelda chose this moment to approach, her every fiber on guard, and hood drawn low to cast her face in shadow.

((I'm assuming the women can be played by anyone, but since I don't know anything about them... And no, Zelda is not a ninja. In case anyone was wondering. =P))

Toan still sat upon the ground, his eyes not blinking, his body not moving, like his entire mind was in a different world as he didn't react to what was going on. The woman in blue shrieked with pain as her hand bled, she held her wrist, trying to free herself without causing any more damage already done. The woman in purple glared at Zelda, "why you....! You'll pay for that, fool!" She grabbed her robes and pulled them off, throwing them behind her, revealing her Gerudo Thief attire, in the same color as her robes, she also had her two giant swords attached to her sides, which she wielded quickly and took an attack stance, ready to fight.

"No! We must call off the plan, sister! Lets get out of here!" Said the Gerudo's partner, almost crying now because of the pain, but soon he couldn't hold back her tears anymore. The thief ended up ignoring Zelda and running back to her partner's side, she grabbed her shoulder, telling her partner to quit crying and reached into her pocket, pulling out a deku nut, she tossed it against the ground, causing a bright burst of light, when the light faded, they were both gone. In the bright burst of light, Toan twitched, he blinked a few times and soon his eyes were normal, he shook his head and held it, soon standing up, he looked around in confusion. "Where am I...?" He asked himself, but then he noticed Zelda.

He thought she was a threat, so he panicked, but then he noticed the dagger the Gerudo was going to kill him with, he quickly reached down and grabbed it, to defend himself. "Who are you? Answer me!" He asked of Zelda, her identity unknown to Toan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgzBH2ILM2I
theres a gerudo fight at 2:50 into the video if you're curious about how it would go down. :P

Zelda altered her voice to sound like a young man. Her face was still shadowed by her hood. "Now, is that any way to show your gratitude to the one who has just saved your life?" She asked in a half-casual, half-scolding manner. "You do know what would have happened to you had that dagger you're holding pierced your throat?"

She placed a hand on her hip, the edge of the cloak sweeping down to hide her attire. For a moment, she allowed herself to enjoy how mysterious and confident she appeared. It was just so... DIFFERENT from what she was used to: a demure, princessly demeanor, a face and stature that radiated elegant calm and control at all times to all who saw her. But now, out of the castle, away from her duties...

No! Stop these thoughts, Crown Princess Zelda. Remember why you are out of the castle in the first place. Remember that your duties are never far from you.

She did not drop her confident charade, but turned as if to leave. "If you will now excuse me, I have other business to attend to." Such as getting a horse. She would not forget her mission. She would not forget the stories that she had heard about the one who wielded the legendary sword, nor would she ignore the dreams she had been having ever since the country had fallen under the sway of the mist. "Please remember in the future that not all lovely young ladies are what they seem to be, hmm?"

Toan dropped his stance, his body relaxed and he soon calmed down, he felt a big guilty now, but he couldn't remember anything that happened after the women asked if he'd like to join them for a drink. When Zelda turned her back to him and almost left, he spoke out, "wait!" He spat out, he placed the dagger in a small strap attached to his belt, holding it in place so it wouldn't fall off, he then ran to Zelda's side. "Please don't go, you claim to have saved me, so I should at least repay you in any way possible, is there anything you need, anything at all?" He waited for an answer.

Zelda paused, considering the stranger's offer. He seemed like an earnest enough young man, and as it turned out she DID need something. Quite badly, in fact.

"As a matter of fact, there does happen to be something that you can aid me with," she replied, her voice still that of a man. "Would you happen to know of a place in this market where I can get a good horse for a reasonable fee?"

She would actually be able to get on well enough without one, but that would be under normal circumstances, or if she decided to take a vacation and wander, or some such thing. This did not happen to be an ordinary circumstance. It was pretty much an emergency, and by the Three Goddesses, she needed a horse and she needed one soon!

...There was something about that young man's face. The princess peered at him from under her hood. Something... familiar... from her dreams...? No, it couldn't be. This young man's face looked nothing like the face in her dreams, the face of the one wielding the sword... It must have been her imagination.

"What is your name, boy?" She asked, her male voice betraying a hint of dubiousness in spite of herself.

"My name is Toan, also, my friends and I have a horse, her name is Epona, perhaps you'd like to meet them? If I talk to them maybe they'll let you join our group, we were just about to go to the castle when we finished shopping. Surly they'll let you come along with us if you explain what you did for me, is that alright?" He offered Zelda his hand, almost in a gentlemanly fashion, Toan thought this person was strange, but he just knew that they were trustworthy and kind, or else he wouldn't have offered them anything. He didn't know that it was really Zelda he was speaking to, the very person the others and him were going to the castle to speak to. He hoped they would accept, such a gesture this stranger did for him truly must be returned, "if you don't mind me asking, what is your name by chance?" He asked curiously.

He was going to warn and tell the boy not to go off. but he left before he could protest. Toan wandered off with the two woman, if he left there would be no one to watch Epona... He could only hope the boy could handle himself. He hadn't gotten a chance to change yet so he still stood in the blue colored version of what link was wearing. It was different by far than the styles around him, but there were so many different styles he didn't think much of it.

He tapped his foot and watched the affairs of the market.

"Sheik." Zelda replied. It was the moniker that she and Impa had come up with should the princess ever have to disguise herself. Just like this. "You may call me Sheik." Not a lie. She had never said that her actual name was that... just that she could be called that. There was a difference. Although truthfully, all was fair in times of war. Or danger. Of which is was certainly the latter.

The castle? She did not know why, but she had... the instinctive feeling of being able to trust this young man. Toan. And her instincts were very rarely, if ever, wrong. Closing her eyes for a moment, she let her mind drift.

Mist. That mist.

A group of people. And herself... in the middle? Wait, there was one more figure next to her--

Her eyes shot open. She had seen Toan's face in the group, although he was not the one who had stood next to her. That one... had been shrouded in shadow. Whether for good or ill, she could not say.

"All right," she murmured to herself, before speaking gently to Toan in her own, very female voice. "I think that the time for deception has passed, at least for you." Taking a deep breath, she lowered the hood of her cloak. "I know that I am the one you seek. I have seen that I am to go with you. The goddesses," she added, a hint of a blush creeping over her cheeks in spite of herself. She knew that while half of the people of Hyrule liked her, the other half thought her "visions" and "powers" strange and not to be trusted. "The goddesses blessed my birth, and as a result, I..."

She gestured helplessly, before recovering her elegant, courtly composure and bowing slightly from the waist. "I am Zelda," she said simply. "Where are your companions?"