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Chapter Text

The day was nearly spent. The sun, which had spent the better part of the afternoon shrouded by heavy rain-laden clouds, at last slipped free and washed the fields in brilliant reds and oranges. Link only had minutes to appreciate the stunning view before the golden disc was chased below the horizon by the twilight that crept down the eastern mountains and rolled inexorably over the countryside. Epona slowed her pace to a snail's crawl, letting him know with the occasional snort that she did not like traveling when she couldn't see the path ahead.

"Me too, girl," Link said as he dismounted and led her over to a fishing pond that looked like a decent place to bed down for the night. After he relieved the mare of saddle and tack, Epona sniffed daintily at the muddy water and ambled off to find something better to drink. Link let her go. She knew better than to travel out of hearing range. He collected some firewood from the rotting skeleton of what had once been a canoe to make a campfire. He eyed the pond wistfully, but lacking both the gear and the energy to fish, he simply sighed and ate something from the provisions he had packed into the saddlebags.

By then, the last of the sunlight had fled the world and left him in a black void with only the feeble sphere cast by the fire to see by. Navi stirred in his hat and offered sleepily to give him more light, but Link shook his head and sent the fairy back to her nest with a murmured word. He worked meticulously to check over his gear and weapons to make sure they were in working order, and once that was done, he took out the ocarina and played some of his favorite songs to fill up the silence.

And all the while, his bedroll remained untouched. Link put the ocarina away and paced around the small confines of his camp, occasionally pausing to gaze into the darkness. His blistered feet ached, and exhaustion made his eyes itchy, but he did not cease his movements. His attention was elsewhere, listening with bated breath to the silence that told him he was the only human soul for miles around.

"Link, go to sleep," Navi said in his ear groggily. "We've got a long way to go tomorrow."

Brow furrowed, Link opened his mouth to reply...and then he finally heard it. Drifting on the night wind like a ship at sea, sailing onward until it found safe harbor in his listening ears. A song played on the haunting chords of a lyre, a gentle and poignant melody of sorrow and bereavement, yet it retained a thread of hope for better times. Or perhaps a memory of those times.

Link smiled, and only then did he kick off his boots and spread out his bedroll on the grass that was still damp from the rain. He burrowed into its confines with a heavy sigh, the fatigue of travel catching up to him. He could still hear the song as he shut his eyes and relaxed into sleep, and he whispered a response to the shadows that no longer seemed quite so oppressive.

"Goodnight, Sheik."

Chapter Text

"Remember, my princess. As long as you remain in this guise, your true self must be buried and forgotten. It is not enough to only act, you must be. Allow Zelda to be set aside so that your new self may be born into this world."

Zelda had taken the words to heart. Or at least she had tried, but it was hard to forget who and what she was when she was going through all of this for the sole purpose of regaining it. Her kingdom, her people. Her rightful place as the princess of Hyrule. Zelda thought only of this during the long hours of training and sparring with Impa, the long months of honing her body and mind into that of a warrior, the long years of hiding in exile and waiting. Waiting for her chance to set things right.

Waiting for the one who would give her that chance.

The day came all of a sudden and quite before she felt prepared enough to assume the guise that Impa had crafted for her. Zelda sensed the awakening call from the Sacred Realm and set off for the Temple of Time with all haste, convinced the whole way that she would be too late. But she had hardly set foot inside before the empty pedestal that once held the Master Sword was engulfed by a column of brilliant light.

And...and there he was. Hidden in the shadows at the edges of the chamber, Zelda caught her breath. Link was in the center of that light, hovering just above the stone with his arms outspread and his face tipped up toward the heavens, eyes shut serenely. It was almost impossible to believe. The hero had been returned to them, born anew and baptized in the power of the goddesses.

As the light faded, Link was set gently on his feet. He blinked sluggishly, took a single step and stumbled, catching himself on his hands and knees. Zelda almost went to his side, but he had already recovered. Link raised his head to look at his surroundings, and now he stood up, a bit unsteady still. His fairy said something, and he murmured a response, his deepened voice resonating through the chamber.

Zelda remembered herself just as he began to walk to the door, remembered her purpose in being here. She came forward into the weak sunlight streaming through the high window. Link paused, his shoulders growing tense. In an instant, the Master Sword was drawn and he whirled to face her, wary eyes lingering on the sheathed dagger and veiled face. And though she had expected it, Zelda felt a stab of hurt that he didn't know her at once. After all they had been through, all the promises they had made to help each other, to stand against this evil together...

The Master Sword lowered just slightly. Link had seen the symbol on her tabard, the stylized eye and teardrop that was the mark of the Sheikah. He looked into her eyes again, and there was perhaps a little less suspicion, but still no warmth or recognition. He looked on her as he would a stranger, seeing only the face that she had created and not the one Zelda wanted him to see. The one that he could never see until Ganondorf's downfall. If they lived to see the day.

Goddesses, let that day come quickly...

"Who...who are you?"

Zelda wanted to fall to her knees and weep at how much they had lost, at how unfairly the world had treated them both. But she was not Zelda anymore, and the Sheikah that she had become had no use for such pitiful sentiments. So she crossed her arms and gazed on the hero with dispassion.

"I am Sheik, survivor of the Sheikah."

And she, too, was born anew.

Chapter Text

Link seemed awfully eager to reach the next temple. And maybe that was a good thing, considering how many lives depended on how quickly her partner awakened each sage...but Navi couldn't help but wonder as she watched him descend the vertical cliff into the Death Mountain crater, clinging to the volcanic rock with sweaty palms as his feet scrambled for the next foothold below. The waves of searing heat coming off the lava pit made him perspire heavily and gasp for breath, but so far the enchanted tunic he wore seemed to be holding up well. Navi herself would have to take shelter under his red hat soon if the heat didn't let up. Fairies were tough, but not that tough.

At long last, just when her nerves were nearly frayed past the breaking point, he reached a narrow ledge and paused to rest. Link swiped at the drenched hair that clung to his forehead in sticky spirals and cast a shaky grin at his fairy. "Summer always was my favorite season," he quipped.

"You'd better rest for a minute before you keep going," Navi advised him. But Link shook his head and moved on, which forced her to flit after him quickly, wings drooping from the heat. "Hey, I'm serious! You don't look so good right now, I think the heat is going to your head. Can't you at least have a drink of water or something?"

"Eh," Link said and waved a hand to brush aside her concern. "Didn't bring any. I wanted to save the bottles for potions."

"And how many of them did you bring?"

Link paused to rifle through his back, then rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Um...one? Guess I must've forgotten to stop by the shop for more."

"There's still time to go back."

"But it's right there," Link said with a longing glance across the crater at the temple entrance. "So close..."

"The temple isn't going anywhere, Link," Navi insisted, bobbing around his head. "And if you want to live to see the rest of the temples, then you'd better start being more prepared! Come on, you're supposed to be a hero, you can't just ignore something so basic as stocking up on potions. You're not invincible, and we don't even know what's in there and...hey, are you listening to me?"

The answer appeared to be a resounding no as Link forged ahead without comment, scrambling around boulders and leaping short gaps with impunity and absolutely no regard for his own safety. Navi caught up to him at a larger gap which had Link stymied for a moment, until he spotted the ruins of a bridge and used his hookshot to traverse the distance. But his foot slipped just as he wrenched it from the wood, and the fairy cried out when he ended up dangling only a few yards above the lava, fingertips just barely clinging to the rock. Navi covered her face with her hands, unable to watch as the rock crumbled and he began to fall.

Only for both of them to gasp in surprise when a slim, bandaged hand clasped his forearm and just barely saved him. The reprieve allowed Link to regain his grip on the ledge with his other hand, safe for the moment. Well, as safe as he could be with lava nipping at his toes. Navi wondered for the first time if it had occurred to him to don fireproof boots.

"You should...be more...careful, hero," Sheik grunted, lying flat on her stomach and clearly straining with the weight, but at least her position was stable enough that she could properly reprimand him. Not that Link seemed to be getting the message. He craned his head back to look up at Sheik, his face smeared with ash and his lips curving into a brilliant and eager smile that Navi had rarely seen since his awakening in the Temple of Time. And the Sheikah returned with a slight tilt of the head, red eyes crinkling at the corners and hinting at a smile of her own.

As Sheik heaved the hero back onto the ledge and the two warriors lay side by side to catch their breath, Navi thought she had finally figured out the source of Link's earlier enthusiasm. And she couldn't help but wonder if such enthusiasm was healthy.

Chapter Text

"You seem oddly attached to the Zora's sapphire."

"Hm?" Link said, clearly not paying attention as he absently turned the Spiritual Stone of Water over in his hands. He had been fiddling with the sapphire ever since they set out this morning. He had not shown such regard toward either of the other two stones before they were returned to their appropriate areas, not even the Kokiri's emerald which contained the magic of his childhood home.

Zelda studied him a moment longer before she put his strange fixation aside and focused on the map she held. Not that it was truly necessary. She knew the way upriver to Zora's domain like the back of her hand, but her concern was for Link. He had insisted on riding Epona rather than leave her behind at Kakariko, apparently worried the mare would develop abandonment issues if they separated so soon after saving her from Ingo. Zelda would not have minded, except the path upriver consisted of many cliffs and fjords and narrow ledges slippery with river moss. In general, it was an area very ill-suited to horses, and trying to find a route to accommodate Epona while also keeping Link from breaking his neck was slowly giving her a headache.

"Hey, Sheik?" Link said, steering Epona close to her so he could peer down at the map. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yes, what is it?" Zelda said without looking up.

"How do you tell if somebody loves you?"

She blinked and stared up at him in astonishment. "Excuse me?"

To his credit, Link seemed embarrassed to have brought it up and glanced aside. "I know it sounds like a weird thing to ask," he went on awkwardly. "But Navi wouldn't give me a straight answer, and I don't really have anyone else to turn to. Well, maybe Saria, but she's a Kokiri so I don't think she'd understand. Heck, I don't even understand it. I've only really been an adult for, what, a couple of weeks? But you seem to know a lot about...uh, pretty much everything, so I thought maybe...but you don't have to answer if you don't want to! I just figured there was no harm in asking..."

"No, it's alright," Zelda assured him quickly to cut short his rambling. And once again, she felt a stab of pity for Link. It wasn't his fault that he had lost seven years of his life in the Sacred Realm. Unlike her, he would not have had time to come to terms with his adulthood and the complications that came with it. She could at least be grateful that he had not specified himself as the one who was in love.

Link looked at her expectantly, still curious despite his discomfort. "Okay, so...how do you tell? If someone loves you, I mean?"

"Ah...I suppose it depends," Zelda said, and to her own horror, she found herself blushing. She rolled up the map and moved away to stand at the shore of the river, struggling to gather her wits and face the question rationally. "I suppose the most obvious answer would be whether she has told you her feelings outright."

Link frowned as he seemed to think that over. "Well, it was a long time ago. When we were still kids, actually. I don't remember her saying it in those exact words."

She turned back to him with a raised eyebrow. "If this happened when you were a child, then I don't think any words spoken should be taken at face value. A child cannot be expected to know her own heart or make lasting decisions based on emotions that are too mature for her to comprehend."

"You think so?" Link said in relief. But his face fell, and he stared at the Spiritual Stone in his hand broodingly. "But there's more to it than that. You see, I helped her out with something back then, and she got pretty attached to me. Kept going on about how great I was, what a hero I was, and what a great match we'd be since she's a princess and has to find a husband someday anyway..."

Thankfully Link had kept his gaze averted so he didn't see her jerk of surprise at the mention of a princess. No, surely he wasn't talking about...but how many princesses could Link have possibly been acquainted with at that age? Nevertheless, Zelda was positive she had not said even half of those things. She wracked her scattered memories of that afternoon in the courtyard when she had first met the Kokiri boy named Link, and behind her veil, she began to grow hot. Perhaps she had been a little too ardent in her praise when she described the dream in which he became the savior of her kingdom.

"Link," Zelda interrupted him. "As I said, I don't think you should take it seriously. A great deal of time has passed, and I...she was fairly young at the time, as were you. It is likely she has forgotten all about it..."

Link grimaced. "To be honest, I hope so. But she can be really belligerent when she wants to be, and I do not want to end up marrying her because of a promise I made by accident seven years ago!"

Zelda sputtered a bit, torn between being embarrassed and offended. Had it really been necessary to make his aversion so obvious? Not that she cared, of course she didn't care. His heart was his own, but he might have given the idea a little thought before he so callously cast it aside. Would it be so terrible?

"Yes, it would," Link said firmly when she voiced the question out loud, unknowingly crushing what was left of her half-formed hopes and leaving her pride in tatters. "It definitely would. But if she's still set on the idea, I don't see how I can get out of it without hurting her feelings. And she's probably told her father all about it by now so I've got that to worry about on top of..."

"Her father?" Zelda said, confused. The king of Hyrule had perished in the attack on castle town, and she was sure Link knew about that. In fact, she had told him about it not long ago. Zelda stepped closer and placed a hand on the saddle beside his leg. "Link...what princess are we referring to, precisely?"

Link glanced at her oddly and held up the Spiritual Stone. "Ruto, the princess of the Zoras. Who else?"

Ruto. He was talking about Ruto. Zelda backed away, strangely deflated, and she could feel the color in her cheeks becoming much more pronounced when Link continued to stare at her. She tugged at the veil to make sure her face was hidden and quickly dashed away, vaulting to a ledge high above the path where horse and hero could not possibly follow. Link shouted after her, though Epona had been startled by her sudden movement and pranced in a restless circle while he fought to keep her still.

"Hey, wait up! Sheik, where are you...?"

"I'll...I'll go ahead of you!" Zelda called over her shoulder. "Take your time coming up the river. I'll break the news gently, but Ruto may need some time to come to terms with it."

Link's face lit up, and he pumped his fist. "You mean you'll tell her for me? Sheik, you're my hero!"

Zelda merely nodded and hurried on, not trusting herself to speak when she was so mortified. And if her face didn't stop burning by the time she reached the domain, it might be necessary to take a quick and brutal dip in the frozen fountain to cool off.

Chapter Text

The well in Kakariko had been dried up for some time, and yet somehow the sides of it still glistened wetly when Link peered into its gloomy depths. Somehow he had always known there was something off about this well. Something sinister and sickening which made him back away slowly and distrust the stagnant water which rose up from depths unknown and always left a lingering taste of rot in his mouth.

It was no better seven years later now that the water had dried up to nothing. The strong stench of decay and mold mixed unpleasantly with the much fouler reek of human waste that had been carelessly dumped into the well over the past seven years. And when the sunlight fell at just the right angle, Link thought he could make out the rusted chains hanging halfway down the well where, in olden days, traitors to the royal family had been strung up and left to die of thirst with water right below their feet. Unless it happened to rain, in which case they would at least suffer a quick death by drowning. The shackles were stained black with blood, and one of them even had a human bone clasped in the iron ring.

Link straightened and turned to Sheik. "I have to go down there?" he said plaintively.

"That is where the Lens of Truth was hidden by the Sheikah," Sheik replied without an ounce of sympathy.

"Down there?"

"Yes."

"...are you sure it's still down there?"

Red eyes narrowed dangerously, and Sheik crossed her arms. "I would not say it was if it was not. You had better get going. The haunts that reside in the well will not be so active while the sun is high."

"It's not them I'm worried about," Link muttered. He waved his hand at the well. "Sheik, have you looked down there lately? There's blood and...and bones! Who in their right minds would go down there?"

"Those who have no other choice," Sheik insisted. "You must have that artifact, Link. There is no other way to traverse the Shadow Temple without it, and I cannot leave the village long enough to guide you through the temple when that monster may yet return."

"But Sheik..."

Further argument was pointless as Sheik merely glared and pointed a stern finger at the well. Like a scolded child, Link stifled a groan and swung his legs over the edge so he could climb down the slimy ladder. But he couldn't resist a parting shot.

"You know what, Sheik? Sometimes I really hate you..."

Sheik was waiting for him at the temple entrance in the Kakariko graveyard by the time Link returned. From the Temple of Time, not the well. As it turned out a cave-in had made the passageway beneath the well impassable many years ago. The solid wall of rock had not yielded to bombs or the Megaton Hammer, and Link could not say he was displeased when he was forced to return to the surface with a shrug of failure and a feeble hope that he had seen the last of that gruesome place. But unfortunately for him, Sheik was not so easily stymied. After descending the ladder herself to inspect the obstruction, she had paced and muttered for quite some time, seeming torn between asking the Gorons to construct a bigger bomb or just sending Link back down to chip at the wall little by little.

"But that would take ages! Ages and ages, Sheik! I'd be an old man by the time I finished, and who would fight Ganondorf then?"

"You would, hero. Look at it this way...for every year you age, he will age as well until he is feeble and bedridden. Unless of course he has used the power of the Triforce to grant himself immortality, which I would not be at all surprised to learn..."

"This is pointless. We're not getting through that cave-in no matter what we do. We'd have better luck going back in time and trying to stop it from ever happening in the first place."

He had expected her to take the remark for exactly what it was, offhanded and somewhat silly. Instead Sheik had taken one look at him and proclaimed him a genius.

And so Link found himself forced to brave the well of death after all. And not as the strong and skilled and valiant hero he had become, but as a child. A boy all of eleven years old with a slingshot in place of a bow and a sword that might as well have been a dagger compared to the Master Sword. Just him and Navi versus hordes of flying skulls and keese, Wallmasters and Redeads, and one ugly Dead Hand that had come very close to giving him a firsthand demonstration of the phrase drawn and quartered.

"Sheik...I hate you."

"A shame since I've become rather fond of you," Sheik remarked blandly, not even having the grace to rise to the bait. Maybe Link just needed to learn how to glare properly. Sheik gestured to the temple entrance behind her, and Link reluctantly descended the steps into the temple antechamber, the torches all unlit and only requiring a quick cast of Din's Fire to ignite. And at last he stood in the temple proper, a dank and filthy passageway which ended at a very familiar and foreboding visage of a skull.

"Sheik..."

"The Lens, hero."

Link raised the Lens of Truth. The shroud gave way before him and revealed the chamber beyond, and for some reason his mind immediately jumped back to the dangerous deathtrap he had just left a few hours and seven years ago. He didn't know if it was the skulls or the ill-omened raven statue, the yawning abyss into oblivion or the whispers just on the edge of his hearing...yes, it was definitely the whispers that did it. Voices which murmured in his ear without pause, a litany of pleas and moans and threats like icy breath on the back of his neck. And overlaying it all the constant dull throb of a drum that made him think of a bloody beating heart.

"The Shadow Temple," Sheik murmured, her voice echoing. "Here is gathered Hyrule's bloody history of greed and hatred. The souls of those slain in violence and war, those who linger in this world because of their regrets, they are drawn here and sealed in darkness where they cannot cause harm to the living. Here, it was once the duty of the Sheikah to calm their restless souls and lay them to rest."

"Right," Link said and wished absurdly that he was still a kid. Then he would have an excuse to cling to her leg and wail that he didn't want to go down there. "But...there aren't any more Sheikah except for you and Impa. So what happens to those souls now? Who lays them to rest?"

Sheik gave him a pointed look. "The Sage of Shadow. Once she is awakened, that is."

Link gulped as he faced the den of tortured and restless souls. "Okay. So I just need to go in there and...find her."

"Indeed."

"I'll, uh...get to it then," Link said and strode forward. Actually, it was more like crept forward. Step by step. Inch by inch. He could sense Sheik scowling behind him, those red eyes burning holes in his back, and he was hard-pressed to decide which he feared more—the wrath of the spirits or the wrath of his Sheikah protector.

Link whirled around. "Are you sure Impa's down there...?"

"Link," Sheik snapped and pointed an impatient finger. "Go."

"Fine," Link retorted, hands thrown up in defeat. But as he stepped through the invisible wall, he muttered under his breath, "Worst bodyguard ever..."

Chapter Text

All around him there was cheering and celebration. Link supposed the Gorons had every right to it. The dragon that had been wreaking havoc on their home and devouring their loved ones was no more. The subterranean city was a wreck, but they could rebuild. Darunia's son would one day grow to a great leader like his father, and he would see to it that their people flourished once more.

It was a moment of victory...so why did it feel so hollow and meaningless?

Link moved away from the joyous crowd, deaf to the fervent gratitude he was receiving from all sides as families and friends were reunited. He stepped carefully around the serpentine coils of the dragon's body until he found its head, nearly severed from the rest of it by the final blow from the Master Sword. He still held it in his hand, black blood that was hotter than lava coating the blade and sizzling as it dripped to the earthen floor.

The hero gazed upon his vanquished foe, drained after the arduous battle that he had wanted no part of, and he realized with a pang that the dragon lived still, hacking out its last wheezing breath. A single faceted eye fixated on him, and there was no sign of the madness that had driven it to slaughter the Gorons without a thought. Link almost wanted to bring the others over here so they could see it with their own eyes, so he could prove beyond a doubt there was more to this dragon than a ravenous beast. He still remembered the tiny reptile with glittering red scales, no bigger than a housecat, locked in a cage in Hyrule Market with a chain around its young neck. He remembered spending all his money so he could take it away and set it free in the open fields, remembered sharp teeth nipping playfully at his fingers and inquisitive green eyes filled with innocence and a little chirping voice that only knew one word.

Link...Link...

Soft footsteps came up behind him. "It had to be done," Sheik told him gently. "There was no other way."

"That doesn't make it right," Link rasped, throat parched from the heat of the crater where the battle had started. "He didn't...he never deserved this! He wasn't always like this, but this is how everyone will remember him now, as some senseless monster. They'll never see what I saw."

Sheik said nothing. There was nothing that could be said. The dragon drew a shuddering breath and released it in a soft sigh, the life fading from its eyes at last.

"L...Li...nk..."

Link's throat closed up, and a single tear carved a path down his cheek. When he felt Sheik rest a hand on his shoulder, he reached back and clasped that hand with his own, grateful there was at least one person who understood. One who would mourn with him and know that their triumph had been dearly bought at far too high a price.

Chapter Text

He should have been here by now. Zelda watched the door of the inn from her chair in the back corner of the common room, willing it to open admit a certain drenched swordsman and his fairy, but the only people she saw were the locals coming inside for a hot meal and a drink for comfort. The rain drumming against the windows almost drowned out the din of conversation. The storm had not let up for hours, and she was sure Link wasn't fool enough to keep traveling in it. But the time passed and still he did not come.

She allowed none of her anxiety to show, in keeping with her Sheikah guise, but she could see the landlady frowning at the untouched ale by her hand, clearly not happy to let her keep the table to herself when it might be filled with paying customers. Zelda debated waiting outside instead...or better yet leave the town entirely and seek him out herself. But her concern was probably unnecessary. Link might have found another place to stay. He might have...

The landlady called over one of the serving women and spoke to her quietly, nodding in Zelda's direction. The exiled princess held herself stoic as the young woman straightened her apron and came over to the table, laying a delicate hand on her forearm with an inviting smile. "Well now, you don't look too happy with that ale. Can I get you something else, sir? Something a little warmer, maybe?"

Zelda felt a stab of annoyance when a generous bosom blocked her view of the door, leaving her in no doubt as to what that something warmer might be. She gave the woman a hard stare, gratified by the startled reaction that her crimson eyes elicited, and pointedly moved her arm out of reach. "I require nothing else. I am waiting for someone."

"And who might that be?" the woman asked in an admirable show of stubbornness. "Is it someone local?"

"No. A friend."

"A...lady friend?"

Abruptly, Zelda stood up. "I'll wait outside."

"Wait, I didn't mean to offend you—!"

She swept across the common room, hearing one of the other customers snort in amusement behind her. "Nice try, Macie, but it's not your fault. Those Sheikah folk, they're all unfeeling bastards..."

The door swung shut after her exit, cutting off the comforting hum of conversation. Zelda rubbed her arms as she stood beneath the overflowing eaves, shivering with more than the cold, and gazed out at the gray world.

Link, where are you?

A glimmer of light caught her attention, and Zelda thought at first her eyes were playing tricks until out of the mist came a blue fairy struggling to fly on bedraggled wings. "Come!" Navi shouted. "Hurry!"

Zelda dashed into the rain to follow the fairy, gasping when she was instantly soaked and chilled to the core. She sprinted down the muddy road which led out of the village and nearly ran into Link riding on a filthy and very cantankerous Epona. Giving the mare's head a wide berth, Zelda reached up to steady the fatigued rider before he fell out of the saddle. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, never better," Link spat crossly, pale beneath the mud smeared on his cheek. "Got held up by those Gerudo bandits that've been raiding the villages around here. They practically ran Epona into the ground, but I think I lost them a few miles back..."

As he spoke, Link swung himself out of the saddle and dropped down, only to have his leg buckle and send him sprawling to the ground. Zelda dropped to her knees and helped him sit up, horrified when she saw why he had fallen. There was a single arrow embedded in the flesh of his thigh, the barbed head buried deep into muscle, and every move he made caused fresh blood to well up in a steady flow that had left his breeches saturated.

Zelda tore open the cloth to get a better look at the wound, glad at least that it didn't look infected yet. "What were you thinking?" she snapped. "Why didn't you take this out rather than let it bleed?"

Link stared at the arrow sticking out of him mutely, and he touched a shaking hand to the shaft as if to make sure it was real. His frightened words cut her more deeply than any arrow or blade ever could.

"I...I didn't even feel it..."

Every single patron gawked when Zelda came stumbling back inside the common room with Link half draped across her shoulders, hobbling on his injured leg and dripping blood everywhere. She barked sharp commands at the terrified servers, shoved past the sputtering landlady without a care, and dragged Link upstairs to the promise of warm beds on the floor above. In moments they had claimed a very small room to themselves and Link had sprawled on the mattress with his back braced to the headboard, visibly cringing as Zelda examined the arrow and tried to work out how to remove it without further damage. Which proved difficult as each time she touched it—and many times when she hadn't touched it at all—Link would yelp and jerk his leg away. Once he even swatted her fingers when she dared to wiggle the shaft to try and loosen the head.

"Ow, ow! Owwww!"

"Oh, do be silent!" Zelda snapped, her patience and sympathy worn so thin that she could no longer take his whimpering seriously. "We need to get this out, and sooner rather than later!"

"But it hurts!" Link groaned and half twisted away from her to clutch at his thigh, the blankets all tangled up about his calves and bare feet. "And you're not making it any better! In fact, I think you made it worse. Did you have to yank it around so much? Just look, now I'm bleeding!"

"Of course you're bleeding, you have an arrow in your leg!" Zelda said in exasperation. "This would go much quicker if you would just bite down on something and let me—"

"Goddesses, is that your idea of curing somebody? Just strap them down, tell them to bite something and torture them into good health?"

"Do you want to fall ill from an infection? Do you want to become a cripple before you're even halfway through your quest?"

Link gritted his teeth and looked aside, but before he could retort in kind, the door opened and Macie stepped timidly inside with her arms full of bandages and potion bottles. She looked uncertainly from Zelda to Link, though most of her attention seemed centered on the latter. "Ah...here are the things you asked for. Do you need anything else?"

"No, that will be all, thank you," Zelda said curtly. She stood to take the supplies and set them on the nightstand, inwardly irked when the woman did not leave right away. Instead Macie took a step toward the bed, her eyes locked onto the arrow in morbid fascination. She gulped audibly.

"Oh...that must hurt terribly! I've never seen anyone with such a horrid injury!"

"...nah, it's nothing too bad," Link said after a moment. Zelda snapped her head around, dumbfounded to see Link no longer whining and curled up in misery, but sitting upright and casually cradling his wounded thigh as if he endured such every day. He leaned his head back with a sigh and affected a tired, yet tragically heroic smile. "I've faced much worse than a couple of second-rate bandits. Once I've had some potions, I'll be up and about again in no time."

"You're so brave," Macie murmured with teary eyes. Link grinned, but the expression faltered and turned meek when he noticed Zelda glowering at him in displeasure. But the princess checked herself, eyes flicking from Link to the serving girl, and her scowl beneath the veil became a wicked smirk. She picked up the bandages and moved to kneel on the bed with her hand firmly clasped around the arrow shaft. Link tensed, eyes bugging out slightly, but it seemed he didn't dare to stop her with Macie right there watching his every move.

"Are you ready then, hero?" Zelda said, drawling the title. She braced her other hand on his thigh and gave just the very slightest tug. "One swift pull should do the trick."

"Y-Yeah," Link squeaked, then coughed and deepened his voice. "Yeah. Go ahead and do it, Sheik. I'm ready."

"Please hold him steady," Zelda told Macie, who instantly obeyed and moved to grip his shoulders tightly. Link glanced back, then quickly forward again as Zelda yanked on the arrow hard. It came free with a rather unpleasant squick and dropped to the floor as Zelda seized a bandage and pressed it hard to the wound, now pumping out blood in a rather horrifying display. Macie turned green and jumped back with her hands clapped over her mouth. Link swayed without the support, utterly white in the face with his lips pressed together. Somehow he managed to breathe and dredge up a shaky smile.

"N-No problem. Didn't even f-feel it..."

"Some soup would not be amiss," Zelda advised to the serving girl. Macie either took it as a hint or an excuse, nodding once and darting from the room. For a moment there was silence.

"S-Sheik?"

"Yes?"

"Hold my hand," Link croaked. Zelda offered her bloodied palm, and he clasped her fingers with his own muddy ones and keeled over on the mattress, breathing hard and dry heaving and uttering foul oaths under his breath that she was sure he had not learned anywhere in the Kokiri forest. It was several long moments before he was coherent enough to gulp down a bottle of red potion, not one complaint passing his lips as she bandaged him up and helped him settle down to rest.

But when she would have left the room, Link reached out and took her hand again, compelling her to remain beside him on the edge of the bed. And though her fingers were nearly numb from his unyielding grip, Zelda gave no thought to letting go.

Chapter Text

"The Water Temple is that way, hero."

"I know."

"Then why are you continuing to walk in the wrong direction?"

Link waved a dismissive hand over his shoulder. "I'll get to it in a minute."

"Ruto may not have a minute," Sheik reminded him in clear disapproval.

"She can take care of herself," Link said, ignoring his own little twinge of guilt. "It's her own fault for going on ahead without waiting for us. And this won't take long."

"Let's hope not."

Link grinned slyly and turned so he was walking backward. "Aw, don't be like that, Sheik. Come on, you know you want to come too."

Sheik merely looked at him, her exasperation evident, but her gaze kept flicking over his shoulder to the wrecked skeleton of a ship beached on the exposed lakebed of Lake Hylia. It wasn't an entire ship, merely a chunk of the hull with a single mast spearing up into the sky, tattered sails fluttering in the wind. But still it was massive and made Link wonder just how big the rest of it had been. He passed a hand over the desiccated wood bleached by the sun, visions of pirates and treasure flashing before his eyes. Of course there might be nothing inside now, but his inner child would not be satisfied until he looked for himself.

"Link, be careful," Sheik warned him. She hovered back fretfully while he knelt in the muck and peered under the jagged edge of the deck, that narrow gap the only thing separating him from the tantalizing darkness within. "Things are probably falling apart in there!"

Link threw a grin over his shoulder. "So get over here and protect me," he teased and lay down to belly-crawl through the space barely wide enough for an adult. The broken wood caught on his shield, which forced him to wiggle and squirm until it came free and he could stand up inside. He breathed the musty air and cautiously walked up the slanted floor, ogling the row of rusted cannons lined up at the portholes. The floorboards beneath him creaked as they took his weight, a reminder to go carefully.

"Link!"

"It's fine, Sheik, there's nothing here," Link called.

"Link, I heard something on the upper deck," Sheik said, ever the worrywart. He heard a scraping noise, and a shadow passed across a porthole as the Sheikah scurried up the outside of the hull. "I'm going to check on it. Stay put, you hear me? Don't do anything reckless!"

"Yes, mother," Link said with a roll of his eyes and set off to explore. The canons had been interesting at first, but otherwise there was really nothing to be found. But to his delight, he found a rotting stairway leading up to a second level which turned out to be the captain's quarters, a great cabin that contained mostly mildew and rotting furniture...and the captain himself. Link froze and did a double take at the chair behind the dusty writing desk, transfixed by the skull grinning at him grotesquely. The rotting skeleton still wore the raiment of a captain, a jaunty triangular hat perched on its head, its posture perfectly at ease. As if the captain had simply taken a seat and allowed death to take him without a fight.

"Ah...hi there," Link said feebly. The skeleton gave no answer, obviously, though its empty stare still made Link uneasy. As if some lingering presence watched him from those dark sockets and dared him to trespass further. To combat the feeling, he tiptoed around the desk until he could reach over and swipe the hat. "Mind if I borrow this?"

The skull lolled to the side a bit. Link retreated quickly, brushing some dirt from the hat before he donned it for himself with a flourish, his green cap tucked into his belt. He really needed to wear more hats, he decided. Or at least different hats. He went to the nearest window hoping to see his reflection, but the glass had long since shattered. Disappointed, Link nearly turned away until he peered outside and caught sight of Sheik. For some reason she had shimmied up the mast and now stood perched at the highest point, inspecting some kind of stone in the crow's nest. He squinted. It resembled a Gossip Stone, but it seemed different from the others he had seen...

He was about to call to her when a strange noise thrummed through the air, somewhere between a deep bell and a peal of thunder. Blue light bloomed outward from where Sheik stood and spread across the ship, and Link watched in awe as everywhere the light touched, the ravages of time were erased. Splintered, rotting wood became polished and smooth, the broken glass pieced back together as sails billowed out from the mast. Even the air became less stale and took on a salty tang.

"Wow...that's amazing," Link whispered. He reached out to touch the glass in disbelief...and jerked back in shock when he saw movement behind his reflection. The dead captain, no longer quite so dead, raised his head and met his gaze with glowing eyes and an unnerving skull grin. What Link had thought were bones had actually been rusted metal, and when the captain rose to his feet, every motion was accompanied by the mechanical clicking of clockwork gears. It was a machine.

"Ah," Link said in a strangled voice. He stepped back, highly aware of the battered but sharp-looking sword which the captain wore at his belt. His hand flew up to his head and the stolen hat. "Sorry. Did you want this back?"

The captain drew his sword and launched himself over the desk between them. Link drew his sword just in time to save his head from being cleaved in two, their blades clashing with enough force to make his arm numb. For a rusted old machine, the captain was strong and so swift with his swordplay that it was all he could do to keep from being cut to ribbons. Their blades met again, but this time the captain's sword crackled with electricity, and a painful jolt rushed up his arm and made Link retreat with a shout of pain. He ducked another swing at his head and danced away from that dangerous sword, quickly bursting through the nearest door and found himself outside on the deck.

"Link!" Sheik shouted. When Link looked up, he realized she was engaged in a duel of her own with another mechanized sailor, her balance precarious on the yard as she was slowly pushed back toward open air. Her foe had two electrified swords while she had only her dagger and no way to escape. "I need help!"

"Little busy!" Link bellowed and raised his shield as the captain also charged into the open, a gargling war cry emerging from its throat. "Sheik, what did you do?"

"Nothing!" Sheik cried. "I...the stone...I only touched it, that's all!"

"Well, untouch it!" Link retorted. He blocked another strike, grateful that the Hylian shield conducted no electricity. He had learned that in the fight with Barinade and the jellyfish swarm of death. Link allowed the captain to push him close to the edge of the deck, focused only on defending himself while he shifted his battle strategy. Every creature had a vulnerable spot, every adversary had a weakness...and for these sailors, it was that weird time stone thing which had brought them to life. He waited until the right moment came, the opening he needed, and quickly struck with the Master Sword. The solid blow made the captain stagger, and Link gave him no chance to recover before he disarmed him and kicked him over the edge into the air. And outside the aura of the time stone. Shiny metal returned to rust, clothing returned to threads, and what was left of the captain struck the muddy lakebed with a muffled thwump, the sword spearing the earth beside it.

"Sheik!" Link called, whirling around, and his gut clenched. Sheik was even closer to the edge now, barely a step away from it. There was nowhere else for her to jump to and no way for her to get around her looming opponent. Link rushed over to the mast and the ladder. "Hold on, I'm coming up!"

"There's no time!" Sheik shouted and crouched low to avoid being skewered. "Link, strike the stone!"

"From way down here? If I have to climb up anyway, then I might as well—"

"Need I remind you that you have a bow?"

"Oh...right!" Link said and cursed himself for not remembering sooner. In an instant he had the bow out and the arrow nocked, though he forced himself to take a steadying breath and make sure of his aim. A single true shot was what he needed most right now. He let the arrow fly, expecting it to hit the stone dead on and bounce off, but instead the stone completely shattered on impact and rained blue shards on the deck below. The blue aura instantly shrank inward until it vanished entirely and the ship was again in its ruined state. The mechanized sailor teetered on the yard, arms fallen to its sides as the swords slipped from nerveless hands, and one little nudge from Sheik sent it tumbling down to crash upon the deck.

Link was in the middle of inspecting it by the time Sheik had climbed down, and she joined him, but waved off his concerned look. "I am not hurt. And you, hero?"

He shook his head and returned his attention to the sailor, fascinated by the components he could see in the shattered ribcage, wires and gears and other things he couldn't begin to understand. "I've never seen anything like these things. Who could build something like this? What are they even?"

"Automatons," Sheik corrected him. "I...believe that is what they are called. There are myths of such things from long ago before Hyrule was founded, but the art of creating them was lost many centuries ago. As magic became more common, I suppose there was little need of them."

"It's pretty cool though," Link remarked. Sheik stared at him in disbelief, and he shrugged. "Just saying...a whole ship controlled by robots. I wonder what they used them for. Or did these auto-whatever things have a mind of their own? Did they decide to become pirates and take this ship for themselves?"

"I suppose we will never know," Sheik said with a note of sadness. She picked up a piece of the time stone and turned it over in her hands, the glass-like substance catching the sunlight. "So much knowledge has been lost from those ages, the founding years of Hyrule. Even the most ancient histories only grant us a narrow window into events which took place back then. And one day, it will be the same for us. I wonder if, many generations from now, our war against Ganondorf will be but a footnote in an ancient tome and the title 'Hero of Time' reduced to mere legend and folklore."

"That's...not exactly comforting," Link said slowly. In fact, it was downright depressing, the thought that their titanic struggles would one day seem so small and inconsequential, the damage only made real by a few pages in history and whatever scars still littered the land. It made everything seem so pointless...except it wasn't, not really. Maybe future generations wouldn't know his name and what he had accomplished, but in the here and now, there were still plenty of people suffering under Ganondorf's reign. People who would gladly give their last breath to see the day when he was toppled, whether by Link's hand or the much slower and heavier hand of time. And there was something infinitely comforting about that. Everything came to an end, even tyrant kings. Even heroes and their shadows.

"Link...what on earth are you wearing?"

Link grinned and struck a pose, gladly seizing on the distraction from more gloomy thoughts. "Oh, like it? Just trying it on for size. I was thinking of being a pirate in my next life."

Sheik stared at him blankly. "You wish to be reborn as a lawless criminal who steals from the innocent, murders without a care and leaves nothing but devastation and tragedy in their wake?"

"I...well...no," Link said, deflated. "I didn't mean that kind of pirate..."

"I was not aware there was any other kind."

"Of course there is!" Link said with enthusiasm. "You're forgetting about the noble pirates, the ones who sail the high seas looking for adventure! The ones who steal from other pirates and make sure the loot gets returned to whoever it was taken from."

"I have never heard of pirates like that," Sheik said, arms crossed as if she dared him to dispute it.

"Then you've never heard of Tetra and her band of righteous rogues," Link said, making up the name on the spot. "She's the best noble pirate there is, and she's got an entire crew behind her to make sure the job gets done. She may be just a kid, small and scrawny, but don't you get on her bad side! She's been known to shoot her enemies out of a canon and make them go splat on the nearest island!"

Sheik chuckled, her eyes dancing with amusement. "Oh dear, she sounds like quite the spitfire. But much as I would like to hear more, we must be on our way. There will be time for tales after you finish the Water Temple."

"What, you don't want to hear about the time she got kidnapped by a giant bird and had to fight her way out of a haunted fortress full of phantoms and moblins and keese and Like Likes and Octoroks and—"

"Very well, tell me on the way to the temple."

Chapter Text

There were many things that came as a culture shock to him when he first left the forest, but none more so than Hyrule Castle. Link had never seen such opulence in his life, and it threatened to overwhelm him. The throne room alone was bigger than his entire village, and every single doorway revealed new wonders from the portraits of past kings and heroes to the riches gathered over a course of centuries.

But though it was all magnificent, Link was and always would be a child of the forest, and it disturbed him how very cold the castle was with its thick stone walls and vast empty chambers. All the gold in the world could not make up for the utter lack of life and warmth and magic. Even the people seemed faded somehow, a forgotten part of the background and as lifeless as if they were made of stone themselves. Only Navi's delicate wing brushing against his cheek gave him the courage not to flee from that dead place.

And then he met Zelda. She was the only soft thing in that castle. Link was drawn to her from the moment they met, to her bright and vivacious nature and the way she seemed to radiate the same vibrant magic of the forest. He kept getting tripped up when he tried to talk to her, wanting to reach out and touch her pale cheek just to know that she was real and not a figment of his own imagining.

His time with her was fleeting, but he never forgot her, not even seven years later when the entire world had become as dead as the castle and he was tasked with the duty of putting it right somehow. He longed to see Zelda again, hungered for the reunion with a ferocity he had never known, but the companion he had now was almost as good. If she was a little reserved and distant, he didn't mind because at least Sheik was real and willing to fight and bleed alongside him. And she was not quite so heartless as most Sheikah were rumored to be. When she came to rescue him from his cell in the Gerudo fortress, her voice was tight with emotion, and her eyes studied his face with such intensity that Link knew it was because she had feared they would never meet again.

The escape from the fortress was desperate and frantic and fraught with close calls. Link didn't know how many Gerudo warriors he had to cut down, but judging by all the shallow and stinging cuts left by their swords, it was too many. A blast of magic from one of the sorceresses caught Sheik in the back, and when she collapsed at his side, Link scooped her up in his arms and fled into the desert. A timely sandstorm helped him lose pursuit, but it came at the cost of losing his own sense of direction, and he was forced to take the only shelter he could find in an abandoned Gerudo outpost.

He carried Sheik into the structure and regretfully lay her down on a flat slab that was all he could find by way of a bed, once again learning to despise the cold touch of stone. There were no obvious wounds to care for so Link was left standing there uselessly while he waited for Sheik to wake up or for Navi to return with a healing fairy, whichever came first. He clumsily brushed off some of the sand that clung to her clothes, noticing for the first time how very slender his companion was beneath the armor. Thin and lithe as a cat, all wiry muscle and hidden energy. Link had seen her spring straight up into the air and grab the top of a wall nearly twice her height. It seemed like she was always doing things like that just for the sake of doing something. Always on the move, always restless.

In fact, it occurred to him now that this was the first time he had seen her so still. But it didn't bother him because it was not the stillness that marked the absence of life. It was hard to describe to someone who was not of the forest, but Link could sense the life in her, even if he were to look away. But he didn't want to look away. He sat on the edge of the slab and gazed hungrily at the only part of her face he had been allowed to see, transfixed by the delicate fan of eyelashes against pale skin turned pink from the sun. Without conscious thought, his hand moved as if to pull down the veil, but he stopped himself and let his palm cradle her cheek instead, his thumb tracing the elegant arch of an eyebrow.

And he smiled.

Soft.

Turning away, Link hunkered down on the floor with his back against the slab and his sword close at hand, watching the tunnel that led outside where the howling wind could still be heard. If he couldn't be with his princess, he would at the very least protect the closest thing he had to her.

Chapter Text

It was his mistake that got them into this, and it was a mistake that nearly killed them both.

"Link, move! Get off the ice!"

He should have obeyed Sheik that instant without question. He should have reacted when he saw the ice beneath him begin to break, little spider web cracks branching out in all directions. He should have done anything other than stand there stupidly and force Sheik to run toward him, their combined weight fracturing the thin layer further until the entire thing gave way with a tremendous splash and dropped them both into the frozen waters of Zora's domain.

Link gasped and ended up losing half his air in those first crucial seconds, barely retaining what was left. It was so cold. The word alone didn't do justice to the agony he was in, simultaneously burning and freezing, every thought and motion ten times more sluggish than before. Numb fingers scrabbled frantically at the flat and frozen barrier over his head. The curse on the domain was so powerful that the broken ice had been reformed in a matter of seconds. With them on the wrong side of it.

A tiny chink chink noise caught his attention. The blur of blue and gray on his left was Sheik, hacking at the ice layer with her dagger. Link tried to help by banging his fists on it, and the effort was almost too much for his half-drowned self to take. He struggled valiantly against the stabbing pains in his chest and the blanket of nothingness trying to drape over his mind. It hurt so much, every part of him hurt, he would give anything to end it...

Sheik was weakening, her strikes becoming halfhearted. Seeing this only made Link fight harder, trying to encourage her, but she had gone limp at his side, the dagger slipping from her grasp and tumbling slowly into the depths. Fear spiked in him, allowing for a single instant of clarity. Link seized her in desperation, tore off the veil and gave the last of his breath to her. Sheik jerked in his arms and tried to pry their lips apart, but Link wouldn't let her, and in the end she had to allow it or let his sacrifice be wasted.

When his lungs were empty, Link pulled away, unable to stop himself from giving in to his base instinct to just breathe. The frigid waters rushed into his lungs, and he was at once choking, convulsing. The agony was inside him now, and there was no escaping it. He clung to Sheik as he died, for what little comfort that brought, and his last violent spasm let him punch a fist through the ice to open a way for her.

Link didn't feel it when she savagely tore the hole open further so she could drag herself and him out of the water. He was still encased in the suffocating cold, trapped in a halfway state and beyond caring about his own fate. His vacant eyes stared unseeing at the roof of the cavern, beholding instead the warmth of the Sacred Realm and the golden figures of the goddesses. Link cried out to them, begging to be freed from the duties that bound him to earth and taken into their care. If he could just reach them, touch them...he would never have to feel the cold again.

Link! Link, please...

That voice...it was the only thing in the world capable of calling him back. The voice begged him to breathe, and he wanted to, only he couldn't remember how. Then she showed him how by bringing their lips together and breathing for him. Sensation returned in tiny increments, starting in his chest and slowly spreading outward to his fingers and toes, and all at once he jerked like a puppet on strings and started coughing up all the water he had taken in. The feeble light reflecting off the ice and snow stabbed at his eyes like knives, chasing back the chill of death with wonderful, blessed pain.

"Link! Oh goddesses, thank you...Link, can you hear me? Are you alright?"

Link nodded before he understood the question, shivering uncontrollably, his jaw clenched so hard that his teeth felt like they would shatter. Freezing hands touched his face, and he shuddered and pulled away. His eyelids fluttered open, letting him glimpse the blurred face above him with a halo of golden hair.

"Zel...da...?"

The other person started, and a gray cloth was drawn across the pale face. "N-No Link, it's Sheik. You're...you're confused by the cold..."

"S-Sheik?" Link rasped and squinted a little harder to be sure. "I thought...you looked s-so much like..."

"We have t-to go," Sheik said, and he realized that her teeth were chattering. She hooked an arm behind his shoulders and urged him to sit up, which took far too much effort. "We have t-to g-get upstairs. The throne room, there are torches...we have to s-stay warm..."

Again, Link nodded and tried a little harder to move since it was clear neither of them would make it up those stairs without help. They struggled to their feet and staggered in the right direction, arms wrapped around each other for support. They had hardly gone a few steps before Link blacked out for a split second and woke up somehow still on his feet and leaning back against a rock wall with Sheik pressed up against him. The cold was affecting her far worse than him. Bandaged fingers fisted into his tunic as thin shoulders trembled, her eyes glassy with the same pain that had paralyzed him earlier.

Link drew her closer, running his hands in soothing circles over her back, her arms. It did very little to help since they were both soaked and chilled to the core, but Sheik still nestled further into his embrace, tucking her head beneath his chin. He realized he was forgetting something. And when he remembered what it was, Link ducked his head and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"T-Thank you, Sheik...thank you."

Sheik choked out a feeble laugh. "I...w-was about t-to...say the s-same..."

Chapter Text

"Are those...keese?"

"Yep," Link said ingenuously as he plucked the roasting sticks out of the campfire. He offered her one of the skewered bats, the flesh still crackling and charred all over. "Try one! They're good!"

Her stomach churned with hunger, but also with revulsion when the smell of the scorched and severely overcooked meat wafted over. Zelda shook her head and turned away queasily. "No, thank you. I have already eaten."

"You have not, I heard your stomach growling earlier," Link informed her. He scooted closer and stuck it in her face. "Go on, take it. Not even a Sheikah can survive without food, you know."

She made the mistake of glancing down at the bat. Link hadn't bothered to take out its eyes when he skinned them, and while one was still intact, the other had burst open upon being subjected to the hot flames and left the socket oozing nastily. It reminded Zelda of the banquets at the castle when the kitchen staff would cart out great platters of ducks with the heads still on them, beady eyes glittering in the light of the chandeliers, seeming to observe the diners even though the birds were quite dead.

Her gorge rose, and she swallowed hard and pushed the bat away. "You should eat it yourself. You need your strength, hero."

Link scrutinized her for a moment longer before he shrugged and took a large and unnecessarily savage bite out of the wing. The fat dribbling down his chin and stringy flesh dangling from his teeth was almost too much. Zelda looked away completely, which did little to help since she could still hear him gnawing on the dead animal without an ounce of etiquette. But she could hardly fault him for bad manners when he was in the middle of the wilderness and in the company of what he believed to be a fellow comrade-in-arms.

"Are you okay, Sheik?"

"Yes, fine," Zelda said, still trying to keep her gaze averted.

"You don't look fine. You look like you're going to be sick."

Long habit made her brush a hand to the side of her face to make sure it was properly masked. She could never figure out how he managed to read her so well when her expression was hidden. When Zelda risked a glance in his direction, Link was looking from her to his unfinished meal with that same damnable perception.

"Sheik, are you a...vegetarian or something?"

"Certainly not," Zelda said, attempting feebly to hang onto her cool demeanor. "I simply do not see the appeal in consuming a keese, of all things. It seems a very effective way of making yourself ill."

Link tilted his head, his lips quirking. "So in other words, you're a picky eater."

"I-I am not!"

"You are!" Link exclaimed, and he burst out laughing, throwing his head back. "I can't believe it! All this time you act so tough, and you won't even take a little bite of keese!"

"I dare say there are many who would agree with me," Zelda told him.

"Come on, I was only teasing you," Link cajoled. "But I guess I can't blame you. Being a Sheikah, you must've spent a lot of time around royalty, right? All those nobles, even Zelda, they're all so spoiled they'd probably turn their noses up at a meal like this even if they were starving to death..."

She stiffened. "Excuse me, spoiled?"

Link seemed to realize what he had said and retracted quickly. "Well, I don't mean spoiled. I just meant...they've never had to do for themselves like the Kokiri, you know? I was always taught to keep an open mind about food because we didn't always know where ours would come from. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, I'm just saying I don't think they don't have the right perspective."

"In other words," Zelda said frostily, "you believe that they and myself are spoiled."

"N-No, I wasn't talking about you at all!" Link protested. He held out a beseeching hand. "Oh man, you're not mad at me, are you? I didn't mean to upset you or anything. It doesn't matter, you don't have to eat the keese if you don't want to..."

"I should hope not," Zelda retorted and stood abruptly to stalk away from the campfire. She heard Link call out and begin to give chase, but she was not feeling charitable and quickly flung a Deku nut at the grass. The blinding flash allowed her to slip away into the darkness of the night, and once she had gained some reasonable distance, Zelda ensconced herself in the shadow of an oak tree. Her idle hands automatically took out her lyre, but didn't play it yet, her mind too filled with conflicting feelings to focus on music. Link's words had bothered her more than she cared to admit, although it was not really him she was upset with.

If anything, Zelda was more disappointed in herself. She had never considered herself to be spoiled. If anything, the castle servants and her tutors had been more likely to accuse her of never acting like their idea of a proper princess. Zelda credited much of that to Impa's wisdom in raising her, in teaching her to always be thankful for what she had and never begrudge what she didn't. That lesson had been put to the test in the most brutal way seven years ago when she lost her home and family in a single night and became a fugitive in her own kingdom. It had been an adjustment, certainly, but gradually Zelda had learned to do without all the little comforts she had once taken for granted.

And she had discovered there was a kind of freedom to it. Living day to day by the strength of her body and mind, depending on few and beholden to none but herself. It was a freedom she had never known as a cosseted princess with everything she could ever want at her beck and call.

A freedom that had allowed her to stand on the field of battle rather than observe it from afar.

"Sheik! Sheik, where are you?"

Not here, Zelda thought stubbornly as she listened to him trample through a row of shrubs in his quest to find her. But the night was dark and moonless and would render the hero even more blind than the bats he had devoured.

"I know you're out here somewhere!" Link yelled with equal stubbornness. "You never go very far!"

"And yet you can't seem to find me, can you?" Zelda muttered under her breath.

"Fine, stay out there and sulk!" Link snapped. "But just so you know, the other bat is mine now! Have fun eating grass or whatever it is you...whoa, whoa! AHHH!"

Zelda tensed at the fearful cry, which was followed by thrashing shrubs and a splash of water, and leapt to her feet. "Link!" she shouted as she raced toward his voice, cursing herself for leaving him, envisioning all manner of horrible things that could have befallen the hero. An ambush by a pack of wolfos, or maybe he had stumbled upon a sleeping Peahat, or even...

Link grinned brightly at her speedy arrival, safely seated on a log while he poured water from one of his boots, clothing and hair both soaked from the pond nearby. "Sorry, I tripped. But it's nice to know you care."

Zelda turned on her heel to stalk away. "Goodbye, hero."

"Wait, Sheik," Link said quickly and managed to snag her wrist. "I really am sorry about what I said. It was stupid to say, and I'm sorry. I'm just...not used to having someone to talk to like this. And I guess that's not really a good excuse, but..."

"No, don't keep apologizing," Zelda said, and perhaps she sounded too brusque because he winced and opened his mouth again. She quickly touched her fingers to his lips. "You did nothing wrong. I was being...overly sensitive."

Link adopted an attitude of mock amazement. "You? Overly sensitive? Not possible! Next you'll tell me the Gorons have grown wings and started flying circles around Death Mountain!"

"That would indeed be a sight," Zelda replied, smiling beneath her veil. Somehow Link saw it anyway and smiled in return as they started back toward the circle of firelight. "I should tell you that...I, too, am not accustomed to being in the company of another. For many years I had only Impa, and I'm afraid her training left me woefully unprepared for polite conversation."

"You say that, and yet you still use words like woefully and accustomed," Link snickered.

Zelda looked at him askance. "And now you mock my vocabulary," she said flatly.

"No, no I'm not, I swear!" Link insisted. He shook his head ruefully. "You're just so hard to read sometimes, you know that? I never know what might set you off, and with the way you like to disappear...I guess I get paranoid sometimes you'll just up and leave and not come back. If that happened, I really don't know what I'd do without you."

"What do you mean?" Zelda said slowly. "You are the hero of Hyrule, not I. You have far less need of me than I of you. Goddesses know if anything ever happened to you, I'd..."

Link paused when she did, looking at her curiously. "What? If anything ever happened to me, you'd...what?"

Zelda hesitated, not liking to even consider the possibility. "I suppose...I would simply go on as best I could. It would be my duty to search for another to wield the Master Sword. Though I do not relish the thought of another taking your place, no matter how worthy they might be."

"Neither do I," Link said, some darker emotion flitting through his eyes. He almost seemed distressed at the idea that he could be replaced, if the need ever arose, and his expression hardened in resolve. "Well then," remarked, "I'd better make sure you never have to do without me, huh?"

"Yes," Zelda murmured without voicing the rest. You are the one thing I could never do without.

Chapter Text

The last rays of the sun faded from existence, and as nightfall descended on Kakariko village, the stars winked into being one by one with no moon to obscure them with its milky light. Her eyes scanned the faces of the villagers from her perch atop Impa's house. Refugees, most of them, who had come here for lack of anywhere else to go. In the short span of years since the fall of Hyrule Castle, she had come to know them well, although they could not say the same of her. There was one of the guardsmen from Castle Town, who had lost an eye in the battle and still had a tendency to stare off vacantly as if reliving the horrors of the past. There, the elderly couple who had seen their farm burned to the ground by the king's men within the first few years of tyranny. There, the woman who was newly come to the village with not a rupee to her name and her belly swollen with a child, the shroud of sorrow and bereavement that surrounded her telling everyone what likely fate had befallen the father.

Zelda knew of their pain, knew it intimately. She felt it as a part of her, an extension of her own loss and grief from all that had happened that night. It was her burden to bear, and not merely because she was their rightful ruler. There was no denying the fact that ultimately she was the reason their lives had been ruined. She had caused it through childish ignorance filled with good intentions, and because of her, there was not a single person in this kingdom who had not lost something precious to them. Now it was all her people could do to put their heads down and survive as best they could in this cruel and hopeless world.

She drew her knees close to her chest and craned her head back to look up at the stars. Six years...had it truly been that long? She had come of age earlier this year on her seventeenth birthday, now a woman and no longer the frightened girl who had fled the castle with only her attendant to protect her. In this world, she was known simply as Sheik, the last of the Sheikah and one of the few who dared to speak out against the Gerudo king.

But lately, even the villagers who welcomed her had begun to scoff when she spoke of the hero that would one day save them. Each day that went by with Ganondorf still on the throne gave them new reasons to doubt and deride and continuously demand when. When would the hero come and free them from their suffering? When would the goddesses hear their prayers? When, when...?

"When?" Zelda whispered to the stars in a choked voice. Tears flooded her eyes and spilled over, the veil over her face soaking them up greedily. "How much longer must we wait? Isn't six years enough?"

"It is not for us to question the will of the goddesses."

"Why not?" Zelda said harshly as Impa climbed onto the roof to sit just behind her. "I've prayed to them every day since we were driven into exile, but I have yet to hear an answer. Don't they see everything that's happening here? Or have they turned a blind eye to what my people are going through?"

"They have not," Impa said with some vehemence. "But they see things on a far grander scale than we ever could. And if we do not always understand their reasons, we must trust in them to guide us down the surest road. They will not turn their backs on us, so long as we do not turn our backs on them."

Zelda shook her head miserably and swiped at her tears with the heel of her hand. "Lately, I've begun to wonder if this extended wait isn't some kind of punishment," she muttered.

"Punishment?" Impa inquired, her brow furrowed. "How so?"

"For thinking Link and I could seize the Triforce and use it for ourselves," Zelda said bitterly. "I can't believe how...how arrogant I was. All those visions I kept having, they went right to my head and made me think I was the one fated to attain the power of the gods. But I was wrong. That power doesn't belong in anyone's hands. The things he's done with it...how can I know for sure I wouldn't have caused the same suffering? Perhaps not willfully, but I've seen now that ignorance can be just as bad as ill intent, if not worse."

Impa was silent for a long while, and Zelda's throat grew tight at the thought that perhaps her mentor agreed with her theory. Zelda glanced back, but there was none of the disappointment she had expected. Rather, the look in Impa's eyes was one of pride. The older woman reached over to tuck a stray tendril of hair behind her ear.

"My lady, you will never be like him. Especially now that you have seen what becomes of a kingdom when its ruler cares only for himself and his own gain. But you...you have always been selfless. You have always sought to better yourself only for the sake of your people. That is what separates you from him, and the mark on your hand is the proof of that distinction."

Zelda cradled her right hand protectively. She and Impa had crafted many spells and enchantments to shield the aura of the Triforce of Wisdom from any who might be able to sense it within her. It was the only way to keep it from Ganondorf's grasp, but in doing so, she had condemned herself to live in the shadows where she could no longer stand as a solid ray of hope for her people. Most of them believed their princess to be dead, if not worse. Without her, they had no one else to give them heart. To guide them, to inspire them, to remind them of what they should fight for.

This was why they needed Link more than ever. It was why she needed him. Zelda knew from the depths of her soul that, if nothing else, Link would never fail her. Even if the goddesses themselves turned against her, he would stand by her. She could still remember the look on his face when he promised to help her protect Hyrule. True, he had had his own personal grudge against the Gerudo king, but Zelda had liked to think that he was also fighting for her.

...oh, how arrogant she had become.

"If he comes back," Zelda said, then corrected herself, "when he comes back...I'm going to do everything I can to help him, even if it means keeping my face masked forever. I know now...it was always meant to be him. Link will be the one remembered as the hero who tore the tyrant from his throne. He is the third Triforce bearer, I know he is, and there is no man in the world more worthy of that power."

"I believe you are right," Impa said, standing up again. "But I hope you learn to extend that faith to yourself as well. You were entrusted with that power too, and I sincerely doubt it was by accident."

"I hope you're right," Zelda murmured. "I truly do. Otherwise it means I have nothing left to believe in."

Impa smiled at her wryly. "Believe in yourself and the wisdom you have gained. Believe in your people and their will to endure the dark times. And believe in him. Believe in the hero like you asked me to believe in the boy all those years ago."

Zelda nodded absently as Impa climbed back down into the house, turning her attention back to her survey of the villagers down below. She watched as the pregnant woman struggled to carry her laundry back from the well, and she watched the one-eyed guardsman blink and rouse himself from his waking nightmares to go help her. She watched the elderly couple, who had expected to go hungry that night, look up in surprise when a plump woman opened her door and cheerfully invited them in for supper. She watched the children of Kakariko scamper back to their homes, still smiling and laughing and enjoying their games despite the pall of darkness and despair that pervaded the kingdom.

She watched all this and felt her heart begin to grow calm, her conflicted feelings and doubts fading like a dying storm. Believe in herself, believe in her people...and believe in him. Yes, Zelda thought as she looked back to the sky, those were certainly things she could believe in.

Chapter Text

When I finally regain consciousness, the first thing I am aware of is you. My memories of how we got to be like this are mercifully hazy, but I still remember the sickening plunge below the ice, the frantic fear as we searched for a way out, the cold and lack of oxygen slowly killing us. I remember you holding onto me desperately as the water claimed me first, like you thought the closeness would prevent me from slipping away in death's grasp.

I shudder and pull your lithe body closer, burying my nose in the back of your neck to inhale your scent and forget the sensation of ice water flooding my throat and lungs. It's over now. We're both alive, both safe. We found plenty of blankets upstairs in the throne room, along with two small braziers that we somehow managed to ignite. The flames crackle cheerfully on either side of us and chase back the chill of Zora's domain, but I can still feel how frigid the air is outside our nest, numbing fingers and toes.

And I'm more grateful than ever to have you here with me. It's only because of you that I survived, and I don't know how else to repay you except to draw the blankets more snugly around us and twine our legs together to hold in the heat. I keep my arms wrapped around your waist because you haven't stopped shivering since we escaped the ice. I wonder if I should rearrange the blankets so we're not separated by them and can more easily share the heat, skin to skin. But since earlier necessity dictated that we strip off our wet clothes and leave on only the bare basics for dignity's sake, I don't think you would like that. You wouldn't even take off that little scrap of cloth that covers your face, which is kind of pointless now. After all, I saw your face earlier.

...and now I'm kicking myself for being too addled from almost drowning to look at you properly. All I remember is a blur, and your flaxen hair freed from the restrictive bindings tricked me into thinking I was looking at Zelda. I think I may have even said her name before I realized who I was looking at, and by then you had already covered your face again. I couldn't help it though. Even just looking at you now, you look so much like how I think she would look if I met her again. With your eyes closed and your skin bleached pale by the cold, I can almost pretend that you are her.

But...why would I ever want to pretend something like that? You are nothing like her. Or at least, you are nothing like the Zelda in my memory. The truth is that I don't know what she's like now. She could be an entirely different person from the girl I remember, someone I wouldn't even recognize at first glance.

All I know is, you're not her. You're...you. And, I admit to myself with a small smile, I've kind of started to like you.

I feel you shudder in my arms, muscles growing tense from an uneasy dream. You told me earlier that we shouldn't fall asleep, which it seems we both failed at miserably. I shake your shoulder until you jerk awake, eyelids fluttering.

"Sorry."

You shake your head to say it's alright and curl up a little tighter.

"Are you still cold?"

A tiny nod, but you still say nothing. Your eyes are so dull and lifeless, gazing at the opposite wall in a stupor. I free an arm from the confines of the blankets and drag one of the braziers closer, and I hear you murmur your gratitude. A few minutes pass in which you stare at the wall and I stare at you, and soon a little more life comes to your eyes, the warmth seeping back into your skin. I can feel you becoming aware of me, aware of our proximity, fidgeting and no longer relaxed in my arms.

Eventually, you speak. "Are they dry?"

"Hm?"

You nod in the direction of our gear carelessly piled to the side. "The clothes. If they are, we should...get dressed."

I can't hold back a roguish grin at the reluctance in your tone, and my reply is husky. "Do we really have to? I'm comfy here, aren't you?"

You turn your head to look back at me, eyes narrow, and you pointedly pull away and sit upright, careful to keep the blanket firmly wrapped around your shoulders. "The movement will help us warm up."

"I was warm enough the way we were."

"In case you have forgotten, we still have another sage to awaken," you remind me. "We can't afford to waste any more time here."

My blithe mood vanishes with your words. Clinging to my own blanket, I get to my feet and hobble over to claim my clothes. "Wasted time...is that all it was to you? You only saved me because it was your duty? If that's the way it is, then come right out and say it. Don't give me reason to think there's more to it."

You seem a little startled by my sharp tone, and before you can answer, I move around the corner and out of your sight so I can get dressed in peace. My clothes are dry, but they might as well not be for all the warmth their feeble layers grant me. I breathe into my hands and stamp my feet to try to get the blood flowing again after lying still for so long, and once some time has passed, I come back into the open, expecting you to be equally dressed and ready to go.

But you are still sitting where I left you, huddled in your blankets close to the fire with your back to me. Your face has that distant and brooding expression, heavy and haunted like you're harboring some secret regret you haven't told me about. It's enough to make me wish I hadn't been so harsh with you.

"I'm...I'm sorry," you say haltingly, and I'm not quite sure what you're apologizing for at first. You tug your blanket tighter like a protective shield. "I'm sorry if I...led you on in any way. It is my duty to help you, to guide you. And...I do not want to become a hindrance or a source of resentment. So as you wish, I'll be honest and say...I value you as a trusted ally and friend. Nothing more."

I stare for a long moment. And I don't mean to, but I end up laughing anyway. "You're lying."

Your eyes snap up, indignation flaring, but it peters out when I slump down beside you and let my arm fall across your shoulders. "It's okay, Sheik. You can keep being all secretive and mysterious like always, if you really want. But just so you know, I'll never consider it a hindrance if you decide to 'lead me on' every now and then."

You don't say anything, trying your best to stay stiff and unresponsive, but you end up leaning closer to rest more fully against me, betraying your words with your actions. I turn to press a kiss to your forehead, and even though I want more and I'm sure you do too, I know better than to ask for it. For now, I'll have to be content with this much. I still can't figure out if it's some kind of Sheikah propriety or your own reticent nature that's holding you back, but I guess it doesn't matter. I'm beginning to accept that's just the way you are.

And it just might be the part of you that I like the most.

Chapter Text

It was rare for him to see Sheik on any given day, and rarer still for Link to be the one to find her rather than the other way around. But when he came to Kakariko for a few days of rest and to have his equipment repaired, he followed the sound of a lyre being played up to the hill where the windmill stood and found the elusive Sheikah strumming the strings with her eyes closed in contentment. Even though Sheik was probably aware of his presence, they both pretended she wasn't and waited until the song was over and the instrument laid aside. Only then did Link flop down in the grass, frowning at the enigma beside him.

"I'm confused."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sheik remarked.

Links scratched his head, still scrutinizing her. "You know, I met Impa at Hyrule Castle seven years ago, back when I was still a kid. It was the first time I'd ever met a Sheikah, and everyone told me that she was the last of her kind. There were no others."

Sheik nodded. "They spoke the truth."

"No, they didn't," Link retorted and pointed at her. "You said to me in the Temple of Time that you were the last of the Sheikah."

"Also true."

"They can't both be true! Now you're confusing me even more!"

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Sheik!" Link said in exasperation. "Seriously...where did you come from? You must have been around back when I first met Impa. So how come I never met you at the castle?"

Sheik seemed to think about it a moment before answering. "When you first met Impa seven years ago, I was not yet under her tutelage. So naming her as the last of the Sheikah at that time was not a lie."

"But still kind of misleading," Link pointed out. "I mean...you have the red eyes so you've got to be related to her in some way, right? Why wouldn't Impa mention if she had any other family?"

He broke off when Sheik shook her head. "Impa and I are not related by blood. She adopted me as one of her kin after the fall of Hyrule Castle. I...had no other family, no other purpose to fulfill."

"Oh," Link said, knowing better than to ask what had become of her real family. A lot of people had lost everything in the turmoil seven years ago. "But that still doesn't explain why your eyes are red..."

"If they were not, it would be too easy for others to doubt my claim," Sheik said, looking at him sidelong. "Fortunately for me, the average man or woman will only see the surface of something and lack the skill or inclination to see the truth beneath it."

Puzzled, Link opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but stopped when he noticed the sly glint in her eyes. A glint that was not merely due to her current amused state. He leaned closer, and only then did he see the strange way the light played off her crimson irises so they seemed to glow with their own radiance, a telltale sign of magic at work.

"No way!" Link gasped. "It's an illusion?"

"Technically, it's a glamor," Sheik told him, still chuckling at his reaction. "An alteration of the natural coloring rather than the creation of a false image. I can maintain it even while I'm sleeping."

"I can't believe it! The color looks so real!"

"I'll take that as a compliment," Sheik said with a hint of smugness.

"So...so wait a minute," Link said suddenly, confused once again. "Then what's your real eye color?"

Sheik picked up her instrument again and started to play it.

"Oh, come on, now you're not going to tell me? That's just mean!"

"I have answered your questions about my past," Sheik said without an ounce of sympathy. "I fail to see why you should remain so fixated over something as mundane as my eye color."

"Because now you've got me curious," Link said, waving his hands a little to illustrate his point. He shifted so he was crouched in front of Sheik. "If I guess the color, will you tell me if I'm right?"

"No."

Ignoring this, Link ventured a guess. "Are they...brown?"

Sheik gave him a vexed look and pointedly turned away. Link plucked the lyre out of her hands and leaned into her personal space, trying to see a hint of any other shade behind the red.

"Maybe...blue?"

"Link," Sheik began in warning.

"Green!" Link said in triumph and pumped his fist. "I bet they're green! I'm right, aren't I?"

Sheik held up her hand an inch from his nose, and Link went cross-eyed when a spark of magic flared to life on her fingertips. "Did you know, Link, that I can cast a glamor on other people too? I wonder what you would look like with bright pink hair?"

Link jerked away and scrambled backward until he bumped into the side of the windmill. He laughed nervously, trying to edge away when Sheik stood up and prowled closer. "You, ah...you wouldn't really do that, would you? I-It was just a joke, Sheik..."

"But now you've got me curious," Sheik said impishly. She knelt in front of him, her hand planted on the wall beside his head to keep him from going anywhere as she tauntingly trailed her fingers against his temple. Link gulped and squeezed his eyes shut when he felt a warm and prickling sensation like a candle flame held too close to the skin, but he didn't dare make any sudden moves.

"Link, open your eyes."

Link squinted one eye open cautiously, relieved that her fingers were no longer glowing. He had an instant of panic when he thought the glamor had been cast, but when he reached up to grab bits of his hair and move the short strands into his line of sight, they were still the same golden hue as always. "You...you didn't do anything?"

"I wouldn't say that," Sheik said as she took back her lyre and started to walk away. "But don't worry, it's not permanent."

"H-Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Link demanded after her retreating figure. "Sheik, that's not funny! What did you do?"

She laughed lightly as she descended the hill out of sight, leaving him to stew in his own anxiety. Link didn't think of himself as a vain person, but he didn't fancy taking a stroll through the village with a warty nose or whatever other hideous feature Sheik might have given him. Looking around quickly to make sure there was no one in sight, Link hurried around the windmill until he found one of the small circular windows, struggling to make out his reflection in glass that was warped and permanently clouded from age.

He sighed in relief. It was still his own face looking back at him. Sheik had only been messing with him after all. Link was about to turn away, but something made him stop and take a closer look. Just to make sure all was as it should be. His lips parted in surprise, and Link raised one hand to touch the corner of his eye, stunned by what he was seeing.

Red eyes. Exactly like hers.

Chapter Text

Zelda coughed harshly as the last of the violent rumbling faded and the air began to clear of the choking sand that had been kicked up by the falling rock. She dared to raise her head, still hunkered down close to the wall in case more of the ceiling should cave in. She was lucky. The corridor to her right had been completely blocked off. She had only narrowly escaped being buried in the rubble.

"Link?" Zelda rasped, staggering up and nursing her arm where a chunk of rock had bruised it badly. "Are you alright?"

"That you, Sheik?"

The reply was faint and muffled, but at least Link didn't sound like he was hurt. And she could see his fairy perched calmly on a rock nearby, a second indicator of his continued well-being. Zelda stumbled in the direction of his voice, half blind and dazed by the silence now that it was over. She braced her hands on the pile of rubble blocking her way, realizing only now that the scraping and shuffling noises of Link's movements were coming from the other side of it.

"Link?"

"Damn," Link muttered. "I think we're separated. Can you see any way to get through on that side?"

"No," Zelda said bleakly, eying the cracked ceiling. "And I don't believe we should try. This section of the temple is too unstable. We should find our separate ways back to the central chamber and choose another path."

"Backtracking again," Link grumbled. "I swear we've tried every single path in this place, and we're still no closer to the silver gauntlets those tablets were talking about."

Zelda cleared her throat pointedly. "There is one path we haven't tried..."

"I told you, I'm not going back in time again!" Link said, almost whining. "We're having a hard enough time now with all these traps and monsters, can you imagine what a nightmare this place would be as a kid? We'll find another way, we have to."

"If you insist," Zelda said with a roll of her eyes, and she wondered just how long they would have to traipse through this temple before he finally surrendered to the inevitable. There was a reason his title was Hero of Time, after all. "Let us move quickly then."

"Wait a minute," Link said, an edge of worry in his voice. "Navi...is she over there with you? I just noticed she's not in my hat."

"Yes, she's...right here," Zelda said, but broke off uncertainly, wondering why the fairy hadn't moved when she was usually so animated. Zelda crouched down and carefully brushed away the sand that had settled around the little creature. Navi stirred a little, but still didn't speak or try to fly, and Zelda grew cold inside when she touched one of the gossamer wings and her fingertips came away wet with silvery blood.

"Sheik?" Link called in apprehension. "Navi? Are you two okay?"

"It's your fairy," Zelda answered in concern. "I think she was hurt in the rock fall."

"What?" Link cried, the sudden fear in his voice making him sound so much younger. "Navi! Navi, can you hear me? How bad is she?"

"Just her wing, I think," Zelda said even though she really couldn't be sure. But Link seemed so stricken that she didn't want to make the situation more dire than it already was. "I'm not sure if she can fly."

"What about her light? Is she still glowing?"

"Yes," Zelda assured him, although she worried the blue light might be a little duller than usual. She hoped that wasn't a bad sign. Her hands hovered uncertainly over the fairy. "Link, I don't...I'm not sure what I should do for her. Can you tell me?"

"Just...just take care of her," Link pleaded, which Zelda found both touching and entirely unhelpful. "And get her back to me as fast as you can! If it's bad, I'll take her to the Great Fairy's fountain outside."

"Very well," Zelda said and carefully nudged the fairy toward her open palm. Navi roused herself just long enough to crawl into the cradle of her fingers, tiny hands clinging to her wrappings, and she thought the fairy might have looked up at her. At least she didn't seem particularly afraid, or so Zelda hoped. Navi may have been Link's closest companion and friend, but she was also shy in the way of fairies and often remained hidden in his hat. Zelda rarely saw her on any given day, let alone interacted with her.

"Sheik," Link said in a pained voice. "Please...please just keep her safe. I-I know you probably don't understand, nobody outside the forest does, but...but I'm a Kokiri, and to us, our fairies are everything. I'm only half a person without her. So please...don't let anything happen to her. And tell her I'll be with her soon!"

"I will," Zelda promised, and they parted reluctantly, Link retracing his steps while she moved deeper into the meandering corridors of the Spirit Temple in search of a way back. She kept one hand on her dagger at all times, though she wasn't sure how she would defend herself from an attack while also carrying the fairy. Navi may have been small and scarcely a burden, but Zelda was constantly aware of her fragility and how easy it would be to crush her or drop her by accident.

And she had a terrible feeling Link would never forgive her if that happened. Zelda knew little to nothing about the Kokiri and their fairies, but given that the forest children spent their days in eternal youth, she had to suspect the bond was somewhat magical in nature and made the two partners utterly dependent on one another. The death of one might very well mean the death of the other, a thought which made her heart grow tight with renewed anxiety.

But, Zelda contemplated once she had a moment to really think about it, that wasn't strictly true for Link, was it? He was, after all, a Hylian and not a Kokiri. So it should not be possible for him to share a similar bond with the blue fairy no matter how much they both might wish it. Link had even mentioned once with a hint of remembered pain that there had been no fairy for him until the day he left the forest.

It made her wonder...was the concern he felt for Navi based on real affection? Or was it a reflex born out of the years he spent lacking the one thing that would make him equal among his peers? A reaction that was conditioned rather than what his heart truly felt?

Either way, it was a question for another time. There was a doorway ahead, and Zelda paused on the threshold, puzzled on how to proceed through the chamber. There was no true floor, only a series of crisscrossing bridges hardly big enough to put one foot in front of the other. Balance would be an issue. If she should slip, she would have only one free hand to catch herself and prevent a fall into the unknown depths below.

"That door over there...I believe there might be a stairway behind it," Zelda murmured to the fairy. To fill up the silence more than anything else since Navi didn't seem inclined to converse. She recalled once asking Link why Navi never spoke, to which he had laughed and explained that Navi talked all the time and Zelda simply hadn't learned to listen. "Unless I've mistaken my direction, it should take us to the second floor of the central chamber, the one with the statue of the goddess of the sand. That's where Link will be also."

Navi peeked out from the shelter of her fingers. Zelda glanced down in surprise when she heard the fairy say something, but her chiming words were so faint that they were incomprehensible to her Hylian ears.

"What was that?"

Navi spoke a little louder, yet it still wasn't enough. Zelda lifted her hands until the fairy was right beside her ear. "I'm sorry, I can't understand—oh!"

Navi had latched onto her pointed ear and now proceeded to burrow into the hair just behind it. Zelda had seen her treat Link's hair in a similar manner as a place of refuge, but she had thought the privilege reserved solely for him. Although she had to admit the trick came in handy now.

"Are you alright there?" Zelda inquired and received a barely audible assent. "Very well, then let's move on."

Steeling her nerves, Zelda began to traverse the bridges, grateful for Impa's rigorous training that had ensured she could handle such obstacles. She was so focused on her path that she was halfway across the room before Navi's sharp tug on her hair warned her of the danger. Zelda halted and looked up, startled by the strange creature that had floated up from the dark abyss and now hovered before her, silent as a shadow. It resembled most closely a Redead that had been swathed in cloth wrappings, fixing it in an unnaturally straight pose with arms crossed over its chest, and the unnatural ease with which it moved through the air sent a chill up her spine. She backed away, and it followed. She leapt to a parallel path, and it swooped to mirror her movements.

No choice but to confront it then. Zelda drew her dagger from its sheath, glowering into the black pits that passed for the thing's eyes. "Move aside," she commanded.

Navi tugged on her hair as the creature backed away ever so slowly. "Fire," she whispered.

"Fire?" Zelda said, perplexed. An instant later she understood perfectly when a great gust of fire materialized from nowhere and blasted right for her. She threw herself sideways onto another span just in time to avoid it, feeling the heat at her back as she made a frenzied leapfrog across the room until she reached a more reasonable place to stand her ground, a narrow ledge against the far wall. She had a split second of panic upon remembering the fairy, and her hand shot to her hair to make sure Navi was still with her and hadn't been lost in the mad rush to escape.

A rush of air to her left warned her that the creature had caught up to her faster than she thought possible. But no, Zelda realized upon turning around, there were actually two of the monsters now. She danced aside to avoid another of the fire attacks and yanked a throwing dagger from her boot to hurl at the second creature, which buried itself in its mummified chest and had no apparent effect.

"Fire!" Navi repeated more urgently.

"I'm perfectly aware of their abilities now," Zelda said tersely, keeping her focus on the monsters and not on the fairy that insisted on distracting her.

"No!" Navi said with belligerence. "Use fire!"

"Use it?" Zelda repeated, comprehension dawning. She eyed the bandaged figures speculatively. It made sense, in any case. The reanimated corpses of the Redeads possessed a similar weakness to flames and other magic. But the only fire spell she knew was quite powerful and would fatigue her greatly to use it. But perhaps there was another way...

"Hold tight, Navi," Zelda warned as she sheathed her dagger. As she had hoped, the creatures did not attack at once and waited for her to jump forward onto one of the slender bridges. Only then did they move to flank her, one to her left and the other her right, blocking her avenues of escape and close enough that a direct attack would certainly obliterate her. Navi moaned in fright, and it almost sounded like she said Link's name, whether a final prayer for him to save her or to simply see him again.

This time Zelda sensed the attack coming, her instincts warning her a split second before both of the monsters unleashed their fiery assaults. At the same time, she took a single step back and dropped off the ledge, catching the edge with her fingertips and hanging there as the fireballs whooshed past her head in opposite directions and blistered her fingers with their heat. The two creatures were each caught in the other's inferno and were scorched to nothing within seconds, the charred remains falling into the endless pit.

Zelda heaved herself back up onto the bridge. "Are you well?" she asked the fairy.

"Too hot," Navi complained, and Zelda chuckled before she moved on. The door on the other side of the chamber did indeed take them up a short flight of stairs and out onto a balcony looking down on the central chamber of the Spirit Temple. Link was already there on the lower level, brow furrowed in worry as he paced before the great statue. Zelda called out, and Link's head snapped up, his relief a palpable thing when he caught sight of her. He jogged over and craned his head back to look at her heightened perch in consternation.

"How am I supposed to get up there?"

Zelda looked around and shoved a heavy Armos sculpture to the edge of the balcony, which acted as a target for Link's hookshot so he could hoist himself up. Even as he was climbing, she could tell he was searching for any sign of Navi, and his expression brightened when he spotted the fairy's hiding place. He cupped his hands beneath her ear so Navi could climb in, and Zelda watched him bow his head low over her, murmuring reassurances as he examined every inch of his small companion. The sight made her heart ache, and anxiety rose in her when he let out a slow breath.

"Will she be alright?"

"Yeah, it's nothing too serious," Link said, and his smile turned wry at the aggravated chiming coming from his hands. "Oh, don't give me that look, Navi. I know it probably hurts, but you'll be fine once we get you to the Great Fairy. Be glad it was only your wing that got smashed!"

The fairy was only a little mollified by his chiding, and there was a definite note of mischief in whatever she said next. Link seemed surprised at first, and then he glanced at Zelda with a wounded look. "She says your hair smells nicer than mine," he said, sounding peeved.

Zelda's eyebrows flew up at that declaration, and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud and completely abandoning her detached Sheikah pretense. "That's hardly my fault, hero. Perhaps you should bathe more often."

Navi giggled, and Link scrutinized the two of them like he suspected a conspiracy. But he shrugged it off and tucked his fairy safely under the rim of his hat, carefully like he was holding some rare and delicate flower. And it occurred to Zelda that she had rarely seen his hands so gentle. Most often she saw them on the hilt of a sword or deftly playing notes on the ocarina. And she wondered how she could have ever doubted that his affection for Navi was genuine. The little fairy must be the closest thing he had to family, a point of stability in a life that was anything but ordinary. Much like Impa had become to Zelda, and the exiled princess couldn't imagine what she would do without her mentor.

Since the quickest way out of the temple was the door on the lower level, Link hung from the edge of the balcony so he could drop down before holding out his hand to her. Zelda almost ignored the offer, perfectly capable of handling a short drop like this. But something changed her mind, and she reached down to clasp his hand, allowing him to steady her as she slid off the edge and dropped. His grip was strong and firm during the transition, but he took his time letting go once she had found her feet, brushing her hand with the same care he had shown toward his fairy earlier. He flashed a grin when she gave him a look and dropped her hand quickly as if to say, Look, I'm not touching you, see?

"So" Link said casually, "what kind of trouble did you and Navi get up to while I was gone?"

"Why do you assume we were in trouble?"

"Well, I assume those blisters didn't just burn themselves onto your fingers..."

"I'm fine," Zelda assured him, and she added, "It's thanks to your fairy that I can say as much. She warned me of the danger before I was aware."

Link's lips curved up slyly, and he looked at his fairy sidelong like he was enjoying a private joke. "Oh really..."

Zelda stopped. "And may I inquire what that smirk is for?" she said acidly.

Link laughed and waved his hand. "Nothing, nothing. It's just...back when we first met, Navi didn't really like you at first. Well, there are a lot of people she doesn't like. I guess I'm impressed you managed to change her mind without having to bribe her or something."

"Hey!" Navi protested, and she burrowed deeper into Link's hair like she was trying to hide.

"So what did you do?" Link inquired, and he sounded honestly curious. "To change her mind, I mean?"

Zelda glanced in the fairy's direction, and even though she couldn't see the expression on Navi's face, she thought that a bolt of shared understanding passed between them. "I suppose you could say that our affections lie in the same place."

Link frowned in puzzlement. "And that means...what, exactly?"

Zelda allowed a smirk of her own behind her veil. "It means we should be on our way, hero. Before this temple decides it would like to try and make this our tomb again."

Chapter Text

If there was one thing the Kokiri loved, it was dancing. Which might come as a surprise to outsiders, but after all, the Kokiri were children and far less inclined to be self-conscious. It was something they threw themselves into like any other game with the rules only half formed and the goal of having as much fun as possible. Now, with the forest finally free of the lingering shadow of Phantom Ganon and a new Deku Tree sprouting, Link's tribe seemed more determined than ever to make this a night of celebration and fun. He would wager nearly half of them had already forgotten the past seven years of fear and misery.

And for awhile...he found that he could forget too. His friends might not recognize him as he was now, but they had still taken a strong liking to the "outsider" that helped them and refused to let him stand on the sidelines. And so, laughing, Link let himself be drawn into the revelry. They started with a huge circle dance that soon split up into smaller groups and pairs or the occasional lone dancer, all of them willing prisoners to the piping tune played on flutes and drums. Link found he had no lack for partners, mainly because most of the Kokiri girls were smitten with his Hylian features, and also because he was the only boy strong enough to actually pick the girls up and spin them around until they were too dizzy to stand and ended up collapsing in the springy grass, still giggling.

But even when Link himself was dizzy and out of breath, he didn't stop. Their joy was a balm for him, a reminder of what kind of life awaited him at the end of this road he had committed himself to from the moment he took up his sword.

When he had the chance—or rather while most of his dancing partners were still trying to recover their balance—Link wandered out of the village and into the shadows of the surrounding trees. The wild fairies were having their own gatherings high up in the branches and made the forest almost as bright as day, which helped him tremendously in locating the lone Sheikah reclined on a high branch, a precarious perch that allowed her to observe the Kokiri village in relative comfort.

"You know, there's a party going on," Link remarked casually, leaning against the trunk. "I think the boys are annoyed that I'm hogging all the girls. I bet they'd love a dance with you. Or hey, I'll dance with you, if you want. Just come down and join us!"

Sheik stirred a little. "Thank you, but I'm not one for dancing. You should go back before they miss you. Enjoy this time you have with your tribe."

Link frowned a little. "Maybe you don't know this about the Kokiri, but it bothers us when somebody gets left out. Come on, what can one dance hurt?"

"I'm fine here, Link," Sheik assured him. And she did look fine. For the first time since Link had met her, she seemed relaxed, no longer with that edgy and hunted look he was so accustomed to seeing. She glanced down, her usually hard eyes softened somewhat by fairy light. "I know you can't see it, but I am smiling under this mask. With the first sage now awakened, I feel as though a great burden has been lifted from my shoulders."

"And dropped squarely onto mine," Link snorted, but he grinned quickly to show he didn't mind. And he didn't, not at all. Not if it meant he could put a smile on Sheik's face. He observed her for a moment longer, pondering how to get his shadow out of that tree, but in the end he gave up and started back toward the village. "Fine, you win. But once I've got all the sages awakened, you'd better let me see that smile!"

The reply was barely audible, but it still brought little wings of joy to Link's heart.

"Yes...I do believe I will."

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

"And all I wanted was a decent lunch," Link snarled as he drove the Master Sword into the Lizalfos' gut, which caused the armored reptile to shriek and crumple to the dusty ground. He brandished his sword at a second Lizalfos that had taken the place of its partner, railing at it uselessly. "Was that really too much to ask?"

The Lizalfos gave him a bloodthirsty grin and laughed in his face. At least he thought it was laughter behind all the hissing and teeth-gnashing. Link bit back more angry words and resigned himself to missing that much-needed meal, knowing the inhabitants of this tiny village could not possibly handle the Lizalfos themselves. The villagers had their hands full just trying to drive off the hordes of keese and wolfos that had joined the attack. If Link hadn't been here to deal with the overgrown reptiles, it would have been a slaughter.

But at least it's not one against an army, Link thought with gratitude and fierce pride. The people here must have suffered raids like this in the past. Rather than hide behind locked doors, they had rushed into the open armed with kitchen knives and farming tools and a few hunting bows, their courage and desire to defend their homes almost making up for their lack of skill. Even the elderly and the very young were doing their part, whacking keese out of the air and thrusting anything sharp through fragile wings to keep them from taking flight.

His back hit the wall of a shop, and Link ducked under a swinging sword which lodged itself in the weathered wood rather than his neck. He cleaved the Lizalfos in its side, leaving it with a gushing wound that caused it to hiss and fall back. Seizing the chance, Link darted past the reptile and retreated to the open square at the center of the village where many of his fellow fighters had been herded, still grimly facing the monsters with weapons in hand. But Link could see the bodies of several villagers sprawled on the ground, broken and bleeding, and his hatred for Ganondorf and all who served him blazed hotter than ever.

"Stay together, stay close!" Link shouted at the people around him. He scanned the horde and noted that the wounded Lizalfos had chosen to remain at a distance, screeching furiously at the other monsters as if to urge them on. It was as good a chance as he could hope for, and quickly Link sheathed his sword. "Hold them off for just a minute! I'm going to cast a spell that should take out the rest of them!"

"That would have been helpful a lot sooner!" a man said snidely as he brought his meat cleaver down on the head of a wolfos. Link didn't answer, though he wanted to retort that he couldn't have used it earlier with the monsters all spread out instead of gathered in one place. And besides, magic wasn't exactly his strong suit. He preferred weapons that he could hold in his hand, not some intangible and fickle force that might work or not depending on how well he could concentrate in the heat of battle. Even now as Link held his hands at his sides and focused, a fiery sphere blossoming between his palms, he kept being distracted by the shouts and screams all around him, the knowledge that people were dying because he was just standing there instead of helping. Then a keese raked the side of his head and the power slipped from his fingers for good. He cursed in frustration and reached back to draw his sword, ready to flay that stupid keese alive...

...until that same keese was speared by an arrow midflight and landed at his feet with a squeak of agony. Link could have cheered when he spotted the owner of that arrow leaping down from the nearest roof, a familiar figure garbed in gray and blue. Sheik met his eyes briefly before she drew a dagger in each hand and threw herself into the battle, effortlessly dispatching one monster after another, swift and fluid like shadow made substance. Link could hear some of the villagers crying out in surprise and confusion at the appearance of a second warrior, but for him it was far from a distraction. Her presence gave him a moment's respite, a chance to leave the battle in her hands while he focused again on summoning that elusive magic. With a final shouted word, he slammed his fist into the ground and a dome of fire blazed to life all around him. It spread outward, charring the earth and engulfing the wolves and bats until their flesh sizzled and their eyes popped, but the villagers remained untouched, the flames passing over them harmless as a warm breeze.

In the silence that followed his spell, Link raised his head and grinned at the Lizalfos, who now stood alone against a multitude of angry Hylians and one Sheikah. The reptile chittered nervously and stepped back even as the villagers began to move forward, slowly at first, but soon they charged with vengeful shouts and weapons raised high. The Lizalfos shrieked fearfully and attempted to flee, still limping from the pain of its wound. It didn't make it very far before it was swarmed by the mob and brought down, its cries cutting off.

A hand appeared in his line of sight, and Link glanced up to find Sheik standing over him. "That was perfect timing," he remarked.

"And that was impressive spell-work," Sheik acknowledged and heaved him to his feet. "Although..."

"I know, I know," Link huffed. "Raw power can't make up for speed and precision, I need to learn how to clear my head and keep my composure, blah, blah...I've got your whole lecture memorized by now."

"And you've taken it to heart, I see," Sheik said dryly. She glanced around. "We should lend them our assistance."

Link nodded in agreement, following her gaze to the damaged homes and shops, the bodies of the wounded and the dead. Now that the action had died down some of the villagers had dropped their weapons to care for those who had been hurt, but many others simply stood around in various states of shock or mourning, seeking out friends and family. Link quickly moved to the nearest people he saw, a young man cradling a broken arm and trying not to wince as his friend inspected a gash on the side of his head.

"Are you alright? I've got some red potion, if you need it."

The friend turned to him gratefully, still pale and obviously shaken from the battle. But when he caught sight of Sheik standing close at hand, his lips twisted into a scowl and he turned away. "Get lost," he spat.

"Huh?" Link said, so taken aback that all he could do was blink in surprise. "I...we just want to help..."

"You've helped enough," another man interjected, the same man that Link had seen fighting with a meat cleaver. He approached Link and Sheik along with several of the other villagers. And unlike the others, they still had weapons in hand, their faces hardened in hostility. "Now it's time for you to leave. Before you bring any more hardship down on us."

"But...I don't understand," Link said, hopelessly confused. "What did we do other than help protect you?"

"Not you," the man said and pointedly glared over his shoulder. "You can stay...but he leaves."

"You mean Sheik?" Link said in surprise. He turned to Sheik, expecting her to be just as offended and hurt as he felt. But she only stood there, back stiff and head bowed slightly, as if it were no more than what she had expected. "But why...?"

A middle-aged woman spoke up, accusing. "Are you blind, boy? Do you see what he is?"

"A Sheikah, so what?" Link retorted. "What's wrong with that?"

"He brought those monsters down on us!" someone else cried, but Link didn't see who. "It was all his fault! Just by being here, he puts us all in danger!"

This statement was so ridiculous that Link couldn't find the words to counter it. But the other villagers were nodding in agreement. It was like they hadn't even seen Sheik put her life at risk for their sake, and he was beginning to regret having done the same. He opened his mouth to say just that, to tell them all exactly what ungrateful morons they were, but Sheik gripped his arm and shot him a look that plainly said, Be silent. She stepped forward to face the muttering crowd and bowed stiffly. "I apologize for the suffering you have endured. I will leave at once and never return."

The man with the meat cleaver made a derisive noise. "See that you don't, Sheikah. The last thing we need is for you to bring the king's wrath down on us."

"Wait just a minute!" Link said furiously, and when Sheik would have turned to walk away, he seized her arm and kept her in place. "Sheik saved you, she saved this whole village from those monsters! It's Ganondorf's fault that those monsters attacked you, not hers!"

"That's exactly the point, boy!"

"What's exactly the point?"

"Link, enough," Sheik hissed. "Please don't say another word. I do not require their validation or gratitude..."

A young woman wailed and threw a rock that narrowly missed. "What should we be grateful for? My husband is lying there dead! We weren't even married for a season!"

"My little boy, he nearly got his leg torn off!"

"Look at my cat! Those wolves howling just about scared the nine lives out of her!"

"No one cares about your cat, Jovani!"

"My parents—!"

"My brother—!"

With every accusation the villagers became more and more riled, crowding close around the two of them, the shouts progressing to vile slurs and demands that the Sheikah be driven away or just killed outright. A few people made a grab for Sheik, and Link shoved her back from their reaching hands, but there was nowhere to retreat to. They ended up cornered against the wall of a stable with nowhere else to go. And the horde was only growing in size, even the children joining in the madness without blinking an eye.

"Stay back!" Link bellowed. He struggled to make his voice heard, but no one seemed willing to listen until he put a hand on his sword. "I'm warning you—!"

"She's bewitched him!" a woman shrieked. "She's bewitched the swordsman to fight for her!"

These people are idiots! Link thought in vexation. Just as he began to fear that he might have to kill someone, Sheik shoved him aside and flung something at the ground. The Deku nut exploded in a dazzling white flash that caused everyone to cry out and shield their eyes, including Link. By the time he blinked the spots from his retinas, there was no sign of Sheik anywhere.

"W-Where'd she go? How did she just disappear? What kind of sorcery...?"

The man with the meat cleaver snorted. "No sorcery, just some shadow trick," he growled. His hand gripped Link tight on the arm. "You'd better warn your friend, next time you see her. No Sheikah will ever welcome here. And you'd do well to avoid her kind from now on."

"Yeah, you made that clear," Link snapped and jerked his arm away. He glared around to see if anyone else had a warning for him, but the villagers seemed to have lost their bloodlust now that Sheik was out of sight. They drifted away in ones and twos, still muttering and shooting him angry, ungrateful looks as they returned to their homes bearing their wounded and dead. The monster corpses they left to rot.

Link waited until he was absolutely sure the street was empty before he peeked around the stable behind him. The vanishing trick had been very convincing the first time he saw it, but in a kingdom where magic was so common, it occurred to no one that there was no real magic behind it, only a bit of Sheikah subterfuge. He spied a tiny window high above the ground and pushed a crate against the wall so he could climb up to it and slip inside. And there was Sheik, hunkered down in a small loft and hidden from sight by piles of hay. She didn't look up when he crawled over to sit beside her, gazing listlessly at her feet.

"I thought you stopped here for a meal."

"I lost my appetite," Link growled, seething. "I can't believe they tried to attack you like that! They should have been lining up to shake your hand after what you did for them! If you and I hadn't been here..."

"Then many more would have died," Sheik finished, but she sounded more defeated than anything else. "Or perhaps they are right. Monsters such as those don't often attack such a poor village except on orders from their master. Ganondorf may have sent them to hunt down the last survivor of the Sheikah, and they may very well have tracked me here. In that respect...it is my fault."

Link gaped at her. "You're justifying this? You're actually defending what they did?"

Sheik shook her head. "I am not saying it was right. Only that I understand their reasoning."

"But you...they...those people wanted to kill you!" Link insisted. "There's no reasoning behind that! And...and how can they live in Hyrule and think it's alright to hurt a Sheikah? Isn't that treason or something?"

"Once, it may have been," Sheik said with sadness in her voice. "Long ago when the royal family still held the throne..."

"Not that long ago," Link said stubbornly.

"But it is Ganondorf who holds the throne now," Sheik reminded him. "And you must realize, Link...these people do not have the luxury of opposing him. And they have tried. Time and again in the past seven years, entire militias of rebels and loyalists have mustered to march on Castle Town to relieve the usurper of his throne. Can you guess their fate?"

Link didn't answer, but there was no need. The fact that Ganondorf still held the throne after all these years was answer enough.

"They fear him," Sheik went on. "He has absolute power over their lives, and he may end those lives whenever he chooses. To protect their friends, to protect their children, they have no choice but to bow their heads and accept his rule...and above all, shun those like us who openly oppose him. For if Ganondorf believes them to be in league with Zelda, they will meet the same fate as the Gorons and the Zoras. Do you understand their reactions now?"

"...no, I don't," Link said when he had taken a moment to think about it. "Being afraid is no excuse to hurt someone who helped them. And besides...if all they cared about was avoiding those who serve the royal family, then they should have shunned me right along with you."

"They don't know who you are—"

"But I made it pretty clear I was on your side, didn't I?" Link pointed out. He shifted so he was facing her, though Sheik tried to avoid his eyes at all costs. "But they didn't care about me at all. It was you they wanted gone, only you. Why is that?"

"I am...a Sheikah, Link," Sheik said slowly, as if that should be all the explanation required. When Link only frowned, she sighed. "The Sheikah are...have always been...a race apart. It would take some time to delve into the entire history, but suffice to say that our secretive traditions, our beliefs and even our magic, can at times seem completely outlandish and opposed to the ways of Hylians. Some say that we are not truly living at all, that we are creatures born from a shadow world with powers both dark and dangerous. And now that the Sheikah are so few in number, it becomes easier to believe the dark tales rather than what their own eyes tell them."

"But that's stupid," Link said and wished he could express himself more eloquently. For the first time since learning of his origins, he was ashamed to call himself a Hylian. He knew firsthand what it was like to be treated as an outcast, to be looked down on just for being a little different. It was harrowing and painful, and so many nights as a child he had gone to sleep with tears on his face from the endless teasing by the other Kokiri. He had never known mature and rational adults were capable of that sort of unthinking cruelty.

And what bothered him most of all was Sheik's stoic acceptance of it. Knowing that no matter what good she accomplished, she would have to suffer being despised by the same people she was trying to save.

"It is the nature of people to fear what they cannot comprehend," Sheik murmured. She let her gaze drift outside to the street and the churned earth where the battle had taken place. "Though the Sheikah have been sworn to the royal family for many thousands of years, that does not erase our differences. This is not the first time I have been treated with such scorn, and it will not be the last."

Link took her hand. "Yes, it will," he said resolutely. "You don't deserve to be treated like that. I've never seen you use any of these dark and terrible Sheikah powers. You've never tried to bewitch me or enchant me or anything...er, you haven't, right?"

Sheik eyed him sidelong. "Why yes, Link," she said matter-of-factly. "I often make a habit of bewitching young virginal heroes with my otherworldly powers."

"That's what I thou...wait, virginal?" Link blurted out in affront.

"Oh, so you deny it?" Sheik said with an impish tilt of her head.

"That's...uh...that's besides the point!" Link blustered loudly, earning a chuckle from the Sheikah, and he cleared his throat to dispel his flustered reaction. "What I'm saying is...that's all going to change. You're my friend now, and in case I didn't make it clear, I don't let anyone look down on my friends. And if I ever hear somebody try to bring up the whole Evil Sheikah thing, then I won't let them off the hook that easily!"

"That is...very kind of you, Link," Sheik said after a moment. "But I knew from the moment I donned this mask that I would be confined to the shadows and that my role in your destiny would remain unsung. And I have come to accept that."

"Well, I don't accept it," Link said stubbornly. "Just you wait, Sheik. When they write the history books on the Hero of Time, I'll make sure there's an entire chapter devoted to the Sheikah who protected him."

Sheik arched an eyebrow. "A single chapter? How very generous..."

"Ten chapters!" Link exclaimed. "A book, ten books! No, a library! An entire town stocked with libraries stocked with books about the Sheikah and how much they've done to protect Hyrule! I'll make them write songs about you and put your face on a stained glass window—"

"That will not be necessary, hero," Sheik said with a chuckle. "The Sheikah have never sought fame or glory for our deeds. It is enough to know that Hyrule prospers. I have no need of libraries or songs to immortalize my deeds."

"Fine, fine," Link scoffed. "But your face is still going on that stained glass window."

Chapter Text

He hadn't left this bed for days. Over a week, if he counted the time he spent unconscious and barely clinging to life. This was the first morning he had woken up and found himself alone. It seemed Navi had finally gotten sick of watching him lie here and stare torpidly at the wall, their conversations limited to her nagging and his silence with the occasional sullen grunt. If Saria could see him now, she would probably scold him for being rude and selfish and eventually bully him out of bed.

But she wasn't here. And Link could care less what she thought anyway, or anyone else. He was perfectly aware of how he was acting, and he didn't care to change it. He just didn't care.

Through the ear pressed to the pillow, Link heard light footsteps on the stairs and counted them until they reached the top and crossed the hall to his room. He tugged the heavy blanket more firmly around his shoulders, letting it cover most of his face so he could pretend to be sleeping. The door squeaked open behind him, and the tray of food clinked as it was set down on a hard surface nearby.

A pause. Then an irritated sigh.

"If you're going to feign sleep, at least do it convincingly."

A week ago, Link might have faked a snore just for the sake of getting a laugh out of Sheik. Now he wasn't sure he even remembered what laughter was. He held his silence, sensing those red eyes on his back. "Are you going to eat?" she inquired.

"Later," Link muttered into his blankets. "Just leave it. I want to be alone right now."

"So you can pretend to eat and throw it out the window after I leave the room?" Sheik said acidly, and Link flinched a little. Damn, so she had seen through that already. He had only done it once, and only because she had threatened to force it down his throat if he wouldn't eat it willingly. Could he help it that food had no taste anymore?

"You need to eat," Sheik said, and her words had a hard edge from the number of times she had been forced to repeat them. "Your body will become deconditioned if you don't take care of it. You have to regain your strength, which you will not do by lazing around in bed."

Link sneered, though he doubted she could see it. "You know, most people wouldn't call it lazing around when someone is recovering from a life-threatening injury. Would it kill you to show a little sympathy?"

"I've given you more than enough of that," Sheik reproached him. "I have been far more patient and considerate than you deserve. I have given you time to recover physically and to come to terms with this."

"Come to terms?" Link said incredulously. He twisted his head around and met her angry glare with a scowl of his own. "You think I can come to terms with something like this?"

"If you have not yet, then you had better soon!" Sheik snapped. "In case you have forgotten, hero, there is a kingdom out there suffering under the hands of a tyrant. Are you going to leave those people to their fate so you can stay in this room and wallow in your misfortune?"

Link took a shuddering breath. "Don't call me that," he hissed through gritted teeth. "We both know I can't be that. Not anymore."

Her initial fury faded into a kind of hollow confusion. "Link..."

"No, look at me, Sheik!" Link shouted and flung off the blanket to reveal his bare torso swathed in bandages...and the stump where his left arm used to be. His remaining hand gripped the severed limb with a renewed sense of horror and shame. "Just look! There's no point in pretending I can do any good like this! I'm not a hero, I'm a cripple!"

Sheik didn't say anything at first, but her eyes flicked over to the missing arm like she didn't want to look and yet couldn't stop herself. Even though Link couldn't see the expression on her face, her pity was so obvious that it made disgust coil like a burning snake in his gut. He looked away and stared fixedly at his lap, biting his tongue against a string of hateful words that he longed to fling at her if only she would leave and stop looking at him like that.

One minute he demanded her sympathy, and then he despised her for showing just that. He truly had no idea what he wanted, did he?

"You can learn to fight with your right hand," Sheik said at last, very softly.

Link snorted. "It took me long enough to learn with the left," he muttered. "Are you willing to wait another seven years for me to relearn?"

"Yes, I am," Sheik said, surprising him. "But only as long as I know you will spend those years in training. You still have a great task ahead, and it does not matter how long it takes you to complete it. Armless or not, you are the only one who stands a chance against Ganondorf."

"I can't even pick up my sword!"

"No one can pick up that sword except for you!" Sheik retorted. "Believe me, I tried several times when it became apparent you would not leave this bed, but it won't allow me to draw it from the sheath."

Link gaped at her and then at the Master Sword leaning against the wall. "You...you did what?"

Sheik gave him an exasperated look. "Oh, so first you say that you will not be the hero that Hyrule needs, and then you balk at the thought of another taking up your sword? What did you think I would do? Sit around and play nursemaid to a self-proclaimed cripple?"

Even though he had used the exact same word earlier, it sounded so much more degrading coming from Sheik. She looked at him for a moment longer and then stalked over to the sword, picking it up. Link watched her listlessly. "What are you doing now?"

"My duty," Sheik said flatly, unforgiving. "If you refuse to shoulder this burden, then I must find another who will."

Something in him snarled like a beast whose territory had been encroached upon, and Link leaned over awkwardly to grab the strap on the sheath and stop her from heading for the door. "You're not taking my sword!"

"Your sword?" Sheik drawled like she was addressing a stranger. "How presumptuous. This sword belongs to the Hero of Time, and I see no such hero in this room."

"Damn it, Sheik!" Link snapped and yanked the sword out of her grip. "I know what you're trying to do. You think if you push me hard enough, I'll fly out of this bed and go rushing off to awaken the last sage, right? Well, it doesn't work that way! This isn't something I can get over after I swallow some potions! This arm is never coming back!"

"I am aware of that, Link! In case you've forgotten, I was there when you lost it! I'm the reason you escaped with your life!"

"Then maybe you should have let me die!"

A shocked silence descended on the room. Link hung his head, ashamed of the words, but knowing in his heart that there was more truth in them than he cared to admit. He couldn't even look at his own reflection anymore, at the gaunt face and maimed body that both belonged to a veteran of fifty years, not a young man of seventeen. Or a child of ten, for that matter. He fully expected Sheik to start yelling at him again, or even slap him, and so he wasn't prepared when she sank down on the edge of the bed, shaking, hands convulsively gripping the sheets.

"Sheik..."

"Do you know what you said to me after it happened?" Sheik said suddenly and looked him right in the eye. "When you were lying at my feet and bleeding your life out...do you remember what you said?"

Numbly, Link shook his head. How could he possibly remember? The battle itself was already a haze in his memory, the Iron Knuckle that had ambushed them only a menacing figure of shining armor and soulless expression. The only detail that had really stuck with him was that split second when he made the wrong choice, dodged in the wrong direction, and he saw the axe coming down, felt the agony of the blade slicing into him.

After that, his memory was in pieces, little flashes where every detail was crystal clear. He remembered falling to the mosaic floor of the Spirit Temple and trying in vain to reach for his sword. He remembered the sick horror of looking over and seeing a vast ocean of blood, seeing the Master Sword lying across the room with his severed arm beside it. He had screamed Sheik's name, he remembered that. And when she had come to see what happened, the terror in her eyes had told him all he needed, and he had succumbed to shock and unconsciousness with the icy certainty that her face would be the last thing he ever saw...

"Don't let me die," Sheik whispered, and when Link looked up, her eyes were glossy with unshed tears. "That was what you said. That was all I heard, over and over, as I staunched the bleeding and carried you out of that desert. You begged me to save you, Link, and I don't believe it was so you could spend the rest of your days bemoaning your fate. Even in that moment, you knew there was still something left for you here in this world. A purpose you needed to fulfill."

Link shut his eyes, understanding better than Sheik knew. It was a secret fear that he usually kept locked away in the back of his mind, except for that unguarded moment when he was dying. The fear of failing before he ever got a chance to try. The fear that he would die in some pointless conflict and leave all his friends at the mercy of the Gerudo king, all the people he loved the most.

He looked down at his arm again, and that same fear seized his heart in its icy claws and made his throat grow tight. "But how am I supposed to fulfill that purpose with my body in this state?" he rasped. "Even before this, I was having doubts about my chances against him. A kid from the forest against a Gerudo warrior with decades of fighting experience...does that sound like a fair fight to you? If I walk into that tower like this..."

"Then he will underestimate you," Sheik said fervently. She put her hands on either side of his face and pressed their foreheads together, combing her fingers through his hair. "He has already made a fatal mistake in allowing you to awaken the sages and come into your own strength. When you enter that tower, he will see a flawed and broken boy, not the warrior that will be his downfall."

Link smirked feebly. "So you think I can catch him by surprise with a knife in his back while he's still laughing at the one-armed cripple that came to challenge him? That's not very honorable."

"In certain situations, honor may be set aside in favor of expediency," Sheik said wryly. "In ages to come, the people will only remember the victory and not how it was achieved. They will remember your sword and your courage and the trials you overcame. They will remember the hero who saved them. And believe me when I say that I still see that hero in you."

Link exhaled slowly, reaching his hand up to place it over hers. He didn't know why it was such a relief to hear that. Maybe because earlier it had seemed like Sheik was only pushing him to take up his sword again because neither of them had a choice. But even given the choice to walk away and seek out another to save Hyrule, Sheik refused to let him give up. It had been like that ever since the day they met in the Temple of Time, and Link had never realized how comforting it was to have someone who was just there all the time. Always there at his side, come hell or high water or axe-wielding Iron Knuckles.

"What would I do without you, Sheik?"

Sheik didn't say anything, but her veil twitched and the corners of her eyes crinkled in a way that told him she was smiling. She pulled back a little as Link looked down at his right hand speculatively. "Do you really think I can learn to fight with one arm?"

"I believe you have already overcome the most difficult stage by rejecting the idea that you can't," Sheik told him. She gestured at the Master Sword. "All that's left now is to prove that you can."

"Guess we'd better get started then," Link said with the air of someone who was only doing something because he had to. But a thought occurred to him as he was reaching for his sword, and he gave her a sheepish look. "Uh, but first do you think you could...you know, help me get dressed?"

"If I must," Sheik sighed, imitating his earlier tone, but she got up at once and started collecting his clothes and gear. With her help, Link clumsily donned his undershirt, then sat up and swung his legs to the floor so she could slide his boots on his feet and tie the laces for him.

Next, Sheik prompted him to stand so she could put on his chainmail hauberk and the green tunic over it, taking her time to make sure it was all properly assembled, and after she put on his right gauntlet—tossing the left one aside—she tied the empty sleeve of his tunic out of the way without Link having to ask. Part of Link was embarrassed at needing help for such a simple task, but there was also something very intimate about having Sheik do this for him. It reminded Link of the old stories about knights going to war for Hyrule, and how on the day they left for the battlefield, their wives would help them don every piece of armor, every weapon. As if doing so would somehow imbue it with a layer of added protection that would shield them from danger.

The Master Sword came last of all. Sheik reached around him to buckle the strap across his chest, and it felt very strange to have the hilt against right shoulder instead of his left. Link shrugged a little to get accustomed to it and reached back to draw it from the sheath. Even though he was using the wrong hand, there was a feeling of rightness about simply holding it again. A feeling that told him he had made the right choice in finally getting out of that bed.

"Are you ready?"

Taking a deep breath, Link faced the open door. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Chapter Text

Her name was Freda.

Link remembered her from his childhood, the only Kokiri in his entire tribe who was actually younger than him. He remembered the day Saria had returned from the Great Tree's meadow, hand in hand with the newest member of their tribe, a toddler with inquisitive hazel eyes and her sun-bright hair bound in braided pigtails. Most of his tribe had adored their baby sister at first sight, and Link had been no different. At six years old, he had been determined to impress Saria with his maturity and often volunteered to look after Freda, teaching her about the forest, about the Kokiri and their games. Link remembered how everyone used to call her Freddie until she turned five and told them quite belligerently that she was not a boy no matter how much she liked to climb trees and play at mud wars with the other boys.

Link took a few faltering steps and sank to his knees in the sodden earth. Her dress was stained with mud now, ragged where the wolfos had torn it, revealing deep scratches all over her arms and legs. With shaking hands, Link lifted the girl from the mud and laid her head and shoulders in his lap, holding her protectively, his eyes averted from the gash in her neck. She had been lying here for hours, all the heat leached from her skin and leaving it a startling white in the gloom of the forest. Her face wasn't in pain, but that told him nothing. No one could have suffered such wounds and not been in pain.

Link looked around in vain for her fairy, but there was no sign of it. If the fairy hadn't died with her, then there was little chance of finding her now. She would have gone to rejoin the wild fairies, although the little creature would never be the same, having been robbed of her purpose. Her only reason for living.

Freda...

Link shuddered, blinded by a rush of tears, and he bowed his head to bury his face in her disheveled hair. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. The Kokiri weren't supposed to die. Just like their eternal childhood, just like their fairies, it was a simple and irrevocable fact that the Kokiri would never die. But Freda had, and Link felt numb with the knowledge that he had borne witness to her entire life, from birth to death. Such a short span of years, and Link wished he could give her some of his own years somehow. He would give her decades, if he could.

If only he could...

"I'm so sorry, Link," Sheik murmured behind him. Link couldn't even muster up the energy to marvel at how swiftly and silently she could sneak up on him. "I'm sorry."

Link shook his head, stricken as he looked at Freda's peaceful face. "I should've come sooner. When you told me the forest was overrun by monsters, I should have believed you. But I didn't think...I-I didn't know..."

"This place...it's your childhood home, isn't it?" Sheik asked him. "I cannot fault you for believing no harm could ever come to it. I can remember a time when I had the same naïve certainty."

"How did you do it?" Link said, desperate for an answer. "How did you keep going?"

Sheik came to his side and knelt. "The only way I knew how," she said softly. "There were others counting on me, and I could not let myself succumb to grief. I had to keep holding on...no matter how tempted I was to let go. That is what you must do, Link. There are still members of your tribe who are alive and in need of your help. You must go."

"W-What about...?"

His throat closed up, and Link jerked his head at Freda, unable to say anything more. Sheik put her hands over his and slowly eased the Kokiri girl out of his arms. "I will see to her burial. I promise to be respectful."

"Look for her fairy too," Link choked as he got to his feet. "If her fairy is somewhere nearby...they should be together."

Sheik nodded. "I will do all I can. Go, Link."

Link left, taking the faded trail toward his village at a dead run, never looking back at the somber Sheikah holding the corpse of his baby sister.

Chapter Text

"He's undefeated."

Link snorted. "Says who?"

"He really is quite skilled," Sheik remarked and leaned on the balcony railing the better to observe the swordsmen dueling on the packed earth below, surrounded by excited villagers eagerly betting on the outcome. "I've been watching him for some time, and I have yet to see him make a mistake. A significant one, anyway."

"He's too flashy," Link insisted, scornful. "Did you see that twirling move right there? Completely pointless."

"He's putting on a show for the crowd," Sheik said, but there was no derision behind her words, which bugged Link to no end. "And can you blame him when doing so will earn him a larger share of the winnings? But you cannot deny the natural talent behind the charade. He is one who was born for the blade."

Link looked from her to the bout below, his brow furrowed in consternation. She sounded impressed. Too impressed, and Link decided then and there that he didn't like this so-called undefeated swordsman. He couldn't think highly of anyone who flaunted skills they didn't have. A sword should only be used as a means of self-defense, not to get attention and money.

But apparently he was the only one who felt that way. As the swordsman disarmed his challenger and forced him to yield, Link could hear the villagers below raving about his endurance even after beating five opponents in a row. The swordsman stepped to the edge of the arena to gulp down water from an offered flask, and Link ground his teeth when the man tugged off his sweaty shirt to bare a well-muscled torso and caused at least three women to swoon. Link glanced at Sheik, glad that at least she wasn't swooning, but he still didn't care for the way she was looking at the swordsman. Correction, he didn't care for the way she was ogling him.

"Eh, he's only average," Link said loudly enough for a few others to overhear. "It's only because that other guy was so lousy that it made him look good. If he had a real challenge, we would see what he's made of."

Sheik shot him an irritated look. But before she could say anything, the swordsman below laughed heartily and glanced in their direction with a haughty grin. "Oh, was that a challenge I heard? I've got time for one more thrashing, boy, if you'd like to see what you're made of."

The taunt riled up the crowd, all of them chanting for another duel, and Link only hesitated a moment before his lips curved into a smirk. "Fine, you're on!"

"Link," Sheik said in warning and reached out as if to hold him back. "What are you doing?"

"Giving them a good show," Link said smugly, and he swung himself over the railing to drop down. The crowd gave way for him as he sauntered into the makeshift arena confidently. He had faced down phantoms and dragons and all kinds of monsters, he had bested opponents with far more capacity for destruction than this one measly swordsman. This would be no challenge at all.

The swordsman took one last drink of water, a few drops trickling into his beard, and he came into the arena with his sword draped across his shoulders, a double-edged monstrosity that required both hands to wield. Link readied his sword and shield and stood in a ready stance, studying his opponent. Brute strength seemed to be his forte, but as long as Link avoided getting drawn in too close, he could use his light build to his advantage and maybe get in a quick strike under his guard.

"First blood wins?" the swordsman asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Link nodded curtly. "I'm ready."

The swordsman grinned. "Hope so, kid," he retorted and rushed in for the first attack. Link let it glance off his shield and danced back a few steps, wishing the arena was just a little larger so he had room to maneuver. He and the swordsman traded a few meaningless blows, feinting and testing, slowly getting the measure of each other. The roar of the crowd was nothing more than a distant hum in Link's ears, all his concentration bent on the duel. Damn, Sheik had been right. The swordsman was good. Not only was he strong, he was also smart. He countered every attack that came his way with the ease of someone who had seen it all before. It was wisdom that only came with experience.

Link shook off the first niggling thread of doubt. It just meant he had to try harder, that was all. Link started to be more aggressive, chasing the swordsman around the arena, and at a few strategic moments he deliberately lifted his shield too high to leave his right side unguarded. The swordsman didn't take advantage of those openings, but Link could see in his eyes that he was taking note, preparing to act on the supposed weakness.

Finally, the moment came. Link raised his shield and saw the swordsman shift his weight as if to strike. Right where Link wanted him to. Link dodged to avoid it and darted forward, sword thrusting out...but the swordsman had already moved back and out of his reach. Link's astonished gaze met the swordsman's wry one, and the cold truth hit him. The man had seen his bluff and called it. Link retreated and frantically deflected a string of ruthless attacks, strung out in a combination so complex that it made him realize he had been outmatched from the very beginning.

One last powerful strike knocked the Master Sword from his numb hand, and a fist sank into his gut, knocking the breath from his lungs. Link slipped to his knees, gasping, blinking spots from his vision. When he looked up, there was a sword point at his throat. The swordsman met his gaze steadily, waiting.

Link swallowed hard and ducked his head. "Yield," he muttered, disgusted that he had let himself be defeated so easily.

The swordsman accepted that with a nod and left Link in the arena, retrieving his shirt and striding off with several admirers in tow. The crowd cheered for him as money changed hands, and a few lighthearted jokes were thrown Link's way, something about better luck next time and come back when you can grow a beard.

When Link looked up at the balcony, Sheik was gone.

Later that night, unable to sleep, Link took his sword and stalked through the empty streets until he found an open field where he could practice away from prying eyes. He ran through the exercises that Impa and Sheik had managed to teach him, the basic attacks and parries, starting slow and gradually picking up the pace until he was out of breath and soaked with sweat. Link envisioned the swordsman across from him and imitated the same combinations that had been used against him, bullying his muscles to work through the unfamiliar moves until they started to feel less alien.

Not that it would help him any. He knew why he had lost, and he didn't need Sheik giving him the silent treatment to tell him that he had been a fool to enter that arena. Link had killed monsters by the hundreds, but when it came to fighting actual people, he was a novice. He had never had the benefit of a real, human teacher. Trial and error was his teacher, and anytime he made a mistake, the pain of his bruises and scars would make sure he never did it again.

Until now, that had always been enough. But he couldn't keep fooling himself any longer. At the end of it all, Link still had to face Ganondorf. A powerful sorcerer, and even worse, a Gerudo warrior well-versed in all manner of weapons and combat. True, it had been seven years since anyone had the gall to challenge him one-on-one, but Link sincerely doubted his proficiency had suffered for it.

And here he was. A boy in a man's body, playing at being a master swordsman when the last real "duel" he had fought was against Mido with "swords" made of wood and nothing more vital on the line than Saria's admiration.

Link twisted around with a snarl and viciously hacked at the nearest tree. The Master Sword quivered as it stuck to the bark, and he stared at it helplessly. The Master Sword, the blade of evil's bane. The sages claimed this sword was the key to Ganondorf's downfall, but in the end, it was only a sword. It wouldn't win that fight for him. No one could do that, not Zelda, not the sages, not even Sheik. He had to do it himself.

It was the one fight where defeat was not an option.

Heavy footsteps approached and stopped at the edge of the field. "Heh...and I thought I had anger issues."

Link glanced back, grimacing when he saw the swordsman standing there with a towel draped over his shoulder, apparently having just returned from bathing in the river. He wrenched his sword out of the tree, still mulling over his troubling thoughts. But he thought about Sheik and how she had looked so disappointed in him, and it was that more than anything that made him meet the swordsman's gaze, speaking the words that crushed what little was left of his pride.

"Can you teach me?"

The swordsman arched an eyebrow. "I don't hear that very often," he remarked, but he sounded pleased. "Especially not from the young ones."

"Let's say I don't really have a choice," Link said with a weak smirk.

The swordsman considered him thoughtfully, then nodded and started to stride away. "Wait there. I'll get my sword."

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

The forest was black, a blackness that pressed on his eyes and played tricks with his vision. The moon had yet to rise, the stars veiled by a thin sheet of cloud. Link listened to the absolute stillness of his surroundings, his ears habitually tuning out the ordinary night sounds. A cracked twig from a fox on the hunt. The minute whistles and chirps of insects. The whisper of grass against his ankles as he stalked through the trees, placing each step with care.

A game of cat and mouse was in motion, and tonight he didn't plan on being the mouse.

The warning was hardly any warning at all. A rustle of cloth, a breath of wind where there was none. Link pivoted as the shadowed figure dropped from a high branch and landed exactly where he had been a split second ago, and he tackled his assailant at once. It had taken him long enough to pinpoint their location, and he was not about to let them get away now. Their grappling was oddly silent, broken up by muted grunts and the crunch of leaves and twigs underfoot. Link tried for a chokehold, but an elbow to the gut made him wheeze and double over. Caught off guard, he was shoved back until his spine collided with the nearest tree, his head rudely slammed to the bark. He blocked the strike toward his temple that might have knocked him senseless and twisted them around so it was his assailant against the tree, arm twisted behind their back.

Or it should have been that way. His assailant had other ideas in mind. As soon as Link spun them around, they lifted both feet off the ground and kicked off the trunk, neatly flipping over his head. The slender arm slipped free of his grasp, and while Link was still trying to get his bearings, his legs were swept from beneath him, and he went down flat on his back. In an instant, he was straddled, arms pinned to his sides by his assailant's knees, head wrenched back by his hair and the cool point of a knife pressed to his jugular.

"Better...but with room for improvement," Sheik murmured in his ear, and the slight breathiness to her words sent a thrill up his spine. She's not wearing the mask.

Link grinned, even though she couldn't see it. Her face was all but invisible to him in the darkness. "At least I lasted longer this time. That's something, isn't it?"

"Perhaps," Sheik said, her lips curving against his skin. "But I'm beginning to suspect you enjoy being at my mercy."

"What can I say, I'm masochistic that way," Link retorted, still trying to worm his arms free. But her legs were clamped so tightly that there was little hope of that, and her weight was settled in such a way that he couldn't get the leverage to buck her off. "You seem like you're in a good mood tonight," he remarked.

The knife stayed where it was, but Sheik pulled back a little. "I suppose I am," she said with rare warmth. "Two sages awakened. The Kokiri forest purged of Ganondorf's influence. Death Mountain quelled and no longer threatening eruption. You've done so much good in so little time."

"What, you expected less?"

"No," Sheik said, thoughtful. "Only that...after seven years of waiting, I wasn't prepared for how quickly things would change. But believe me when I say I welcome the change."

"So do I," Link said softly, letting out a sigh. "But I've still got a lot of work to do..."

"And that should in no way diminish the considerable work you have already accomplished," Sheik said with conviction. There was a slight shift in her mood, her tone, which made his heart thump faster as she leaned close to him. "I've been thinking lately, after all you've done, that you deserve...something of a reward."

Link licked his lips, mouth dry. "What did you have in mind?" he asked boldly.

The knife pricked his skin, not enough to draw blood, only to warn him. Link winced, then he gasped when Sheik replaced the knife with her lips, tongue flicking out to soothe the stinging mark. She showered his neck with wet, open-mouthed kisses, working her way up toward his jaw. His breathing hitched when she nipped lightly at his racing pulse, and if having his arms trapped had been annoying before, now it was infuriating. To have her this close, this brazen and so damn enticing, and still unable to touch her like he wanted...

Link writhed, panting like a dog, and when he turned his head, she took advantage of that and started playing with his ear, teasing the very tip with her tongue. The slight shift in weight gave him a chance to start working his right arm free. He had to go slowly so Sheik wouldn't notice, but it was so hard to concentrate when everything she was doing threatened to derail any rational thought that managed to penetrate the haze of want. Link turned toward her, head tipped up in a silent plea that Sheik rewarded with a real kiss, lips meeting, tongues dueling much like they had done earlier.

But his arm was almost free. And now that he had her distracted, maybe, just maybe...

Sheik broke off the kiss and shifted her knee to squash his wrist. "Oh no, you don't," she said shrewdly. "Did I say you could move yet?"

"You tease!" Link accused, tugging at his wrist futilely.

"Who says I'm teasing?"

Her hips moved down and ground against him maddeningly. An involuntary groan escaped Link's throat, lips parting and eyes growing wide. Gods, how far was she planning to go? In their position, there was no way she could fail to notice what this was doing to him.

"S-Sheik..."

He heard her stab the knife into the dirt by his neck, and her hand slid down and loosened the collar of his shirt, slowly baring more skin to the cool night air. Too slowly for his liking. Impatient, Link jerked his wrist free and seized her around the waist so he could flip them around. Sheik grunted when he settled on top of her and pinned her arms by her head, their faces inches apart so he could just make out her eyes, pupils dilated hugely in the dark.

"Gotcha," Link breathed and kissed her hungrily. Sheik arched her back, moaning into his mouth, and her strong legs wrapped around his hips and cinched their heated bodies closer. That alone caused Link to give up any semblance of self-control. He risked releasing one of her arms so his palm could skim up her ribs, loosening the bindings around her chest, seeking out the soft curve of a breast.

And suddenly the knife was at his throat again. Link groaned, but this time in disappointment. "I thought the game was over," he mumbled against her neck.

"You were foolish to let your guard down," Sheik informed him. She leaned up and sucked on his earlobe, and he felt her fingers slide beneath his belt, curving around the buckle. "On your back, hero. That is, if you want that reward I mentioned..."

The command was so full of promise that his frustration all but evaporated, and Link obeyed so quickly that it probably should have embarrassed him. But he couldn't bring himself to care. Sheik resumed her place of dominance, but this time she let him have his hands, which couldn't seem to stay still, eagerly exploring every part of her he could reach. Her legs, her hips, her back. Sheik slipped her fingers beneath his shirt and pushed it up to bare his torso, stray strands of hair tickling him as she leaned down and left a trail of searing kisses down his chest, her other hand working to loosen his belt. It was torture of the most exquisite kind to let her have all the control, and yet for some reason, Link reveled in his own helplessness. He lay back on the bed of leaves, eyes fluttering shut, a willing prisoner to the fire she was stoking inside him.

When a distant and faint voice started calling his name, it didn't even penetrate at first. Link only took notice when Sheik abruptly stopped what she was doing, and when he tried to speak, she put her fingers on his lips. "Shh!"

"Link? Link, where are you?"

"Oh hell, that's Navi," Link muttered, mentally cursing the fairy's timing. "If we stay quiet, maybe she won't find us..."

"Link, I know you're here somewhere! I heard you talking just a minute ago!"

"She's coming!" Sheik hissed when a blue glow began to approach through the trees, and she hastily redid Link's belt.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Link protested, trying to stop her. "No, come on, don't go now—!"

"She might be upset if she finds us like this."

"Not as upset as I'll be if you stop!"

Sheik cupped his jaw in both hands and kissed him deeply, but regretfully. "Another time," she whispered, and her voice was just as breathless and needy as his own. "Another time, I promise!"

She snatched up her knife and left him at a sprint, melting into the night like she always did, and Link swore violently, curled up in a miserable huddle on the ground. The problem with having a shadow as a lover was that he never knew when he would see her again. It could be a day, or it could be months as their duties took them separate ways, and the animal in him keened at the missed opportunity.

"Link, there you are!" Navi exclaimed and came to hover right above him, her light dazzling to eyes left too long in the dark. She gasped, no doubt confused by his disheveled appearance. "Oh goddesses, what happened to you? You look terrible! Did you fall down or something? Come on, talk to me! Are you in pain?"

You have no idea, Link thought caustically, sorely tempted to stick the nosy fairy in a bottle and chuck said bottle in the nearest river. He grunted as he pushed himself upright and made an effort at nonchalance, dusting dirt off his shirt. "I'm fine, Navi. I just...got in a fight."

"A fight," Navi sniffed, disbelieving. "With what?"

"Um...skulltula?"

"Oh, those," Navi said with a shudder. "Wait, you ended up like this because of one skulltula? Jeez, you really are helpless without the Master Sword, aren't you?"

"I was caught by surprise," Link said, smirking a little at the truth in his words. He got to his feet and started to totter back in the general direction of Kakariko, waving off her concern. "I'll be more careful next time, I promise."

"You'd better me!" Navi scolded him like a belligerent nanny. "You see, this is why I told you not to leave the village without a weapon! And at night, too! Just look at you, you're a complete mess! Did you know you've got bruises all over your neck? It looks like someone tried to strangle you! That skulltula must have really been a handful...hey, why are you laughing? There's nothing funny about almost getting killed, Link! Hey Link, are you listening to me? Hey!"

Chapter Text

"A hundred men at once!"

"Sure, whatever you say, old man..."

"I'm telling you, it's true!" the old man ground out, slamming his ale down on the table. "I saw Ganondorf kill a hundred men at once!"

His tablemate snorted and waved a dismissive hand. "And when did this happen?"

"'Bout a month after he sat his ass down in that throne, I'd say," the old man said promptly. "When a bunch of hooligans got it into their head to slap on some armor and march on castle town. Well, he met them right at the gates, see? And he just waved his hand, and the earth rose up like it was alive and swallowed 'em whole! They say if you get close enough to castle town, you can still hear the screams..."

"Who says?" a third man spoke up from the other side of the inn's small common room. "Come on, you'll have to do better than that. The only way you could've seen something like that is if you'd been one of those hooligans, and then I don't think you'd be here talking to us. You'd be six feet under with the rest of 'em!"

The old man grumbled as he settled back in his seat, nursing his ale. "It's all true, I'm telling you!"

"I'd believe it," a hard-bitten woman muttered further down the bar. "I saw him once when he went marching through my village with a couple of those Gerudo warrior women. He can read minds. Looked right in my eye, he did, and said he was terribly sorry for killing my father and grandfather in the siege at castle town. Smiling when he said it, too. That man is a beast in human skin."

A sympathetic murmur swept through those patrons who were listening, which by now was nearly everyone in the common room. Some listened with rapt fascination to the stories, but most had seen enough atrocities in the past seven years that they just shook their heads or huddled down and stared blankly at the floor, reliving past horrors of their own. And still others had even more stories to tell, each one more fearsome than the last.

"I talked to a Goron who came through Kakariko the other day. Said most of his race had been wiped out by a dragon. A dragon! And he reckoned Ol' Ganny revived the thing himself with his desert sorcery!"

"That don't surprise me. I heard our dear king was raised by witches out in that godforsaken desert. Two old hags even more powerful than he is..."

"He's immortal, I'm telling you! I was over at Lon Lon Ranch when Ganondorf came to see the manager about getting a steed trained, and one of the stable hands tried to get him from behind with a pitchfork. Didn't even scratch him, and he weren't wearing armor or nothing! I never did find out what happened to the poor lad after the guards hauled him off..."

"He can summon demons, did you know that? My cousin's entire village got wiped out by Stalfos after they refused to let their oldest boys be conscripted into the army..."

The plump innkeeper scowled at the discussion that was only getting louder. "Stop it, all of you!" she barked with a meaningful nod at her two young sons, who were helping her serve the patrons. "You're scaring them, and yourselves."

"Yeah well, it's a scary time to live in," the old man said with a wink at the children. "Let this be a lesson. Don't get on Ol' Ganny's bad side! He'll squash you like a bug as soon as look at you, and there ain't nothing and no one who can stop him."

"That's not true!" the younger of the boys piped up. Under his mother's stern gaze, he ducked his head. "Right Momma? He's gonna come soon, right? He's gonna save us from the bad king."

"Who is, dear?"

"The...the Hero of Time, Momma."

Half the patrons roared in laughter. The old man slapped his knee, wiping a tear from his eye. "Oh boy, you're not telling your boys those stories, are you?"

"No, I'm certainly not," the innkeeper said with a frown at her son. "Where did you hear that?"

"From the lady that came in earlier..."

"Well, you can just forget what she said because the Hero of Time is a fairytale," the innkeeper said firmly. "No amount of wishing in the world is going to change that. Now go in the back and wash up."

"Probably best you nipped that one in the bud before they really started to believe it," the old man said sagely as the dejected children vanished through the kitchen door. "You've gotta figure, even if there was a hero strong enough to take on our king, he's got better things to do than risk his neck for the likes of us..."

The chatter in the common room settled back to a normal level. Unseen by most of the patrons, a green-clad swordsman in the corner abandoned his half eaten meal and stole away up the stairs to his room on the second floor. Link bolted the door behind him and then turned to brace himself against the wood, sliding slowly to the floor. Out of sight of the other patrons, he fought to master himself, breathing deeply against the tremors that threatened to overtake him. Link let his head thump back against the door, his gaze darting around the darkened room as if he would find some means of escape that didn't exist. He looked at the Master Sword lying near the bed with the rest of his gear, and then he couldn't take his eyes off it, captivated as if the hallowed weapon was a poisonous snake that had mesmerized him with its stare and would soon close in for the kill.

A hundred men at once! I'm telling you, it's true!

He's a beast in human skin...

Didn't even scratch him, and he weren't wearing armor or nothing!

The Hero of Time is a fairytale...

"Stop it," Link hissed into the unbearable silence. He drew his legs close to his chest, hands gripping his knees until the knuckles were white, and he clamped down on the vicious urge to strike someone or break something or sprint out the door and just keep running. Anything that would keep him from thinking about that inevitable confrontation with the Gerudo king. Because if he let his guard down, if he let his mind to wander in that direction, there was despair rearing its ugly head and carving an empty void in his chest that threatened to swallow him up. It was like being in a river that ended at a waterfall, swept along by a current he couldn't control, helpless to turn back or take another path.

Knowing that as soon as he went over the edge, he would die. Unless by some miracle he could sprout wings and fly.

Link buried his face in his hands, knuckles pressing on his eyelids until he saw spots. I have to face him. I HAVE to, I'm the only one who can. So there's no point in being a coward about it! Just...just stop thinking about it. Just STOP it.

He heard a tap on his window, and Link didn't bother to look up when the pane swung inward and his visitor slipped into the room with hardly a sound. He just sighed. "The door was locked, you know."

"The window was not," Sheik pointed out in typical glib fashion. Without bothering to ask for permission, she searched his gear until she found matches and lit the two candles in the room, one on the nightstand and another on the bureau. Their golden warmth was so much stronger than the pallid moonlight coming in the window, and despite himself, Link felt a little better for it. Sheik came to sit beside him on the floor, shoulder to shoulder, a questioning look in her red eyes.

"Link..."

"Have you been telling people about me?" Link interrupted. "Did you tell that kid downstairs about the Hero of Time?"

Sheik hesitated. "Yes. I have, and I did. It was Zelda's wish that her people have something to hope for."

"Something to laugh at, you mean," Link muttered, a bitter smirk tugging at his lips. "Not that I blame them. If half the things they said about Ganondorf are true, I might as well throw down my sword now and go beg him for mercy."

"Fear often leads to exaggeration," Sheik said firmly. "You cannot let what those people said cloud your judgment. Ganondorf is not immortal, nor is he all-powerful."

"He has the Triforce," Link whispered, and Sheik fell silent. "A holy relic that was created by the goddesses and infused with their power, and he has it in his hands. I'd say that's pretty damn powerful. And what have I got? A magic sword?"

"A magic sword that can kill him."

Link snorted. "That's assuming I can get close enough to take the strike before he calls down lightning to fry me where I stand."

Sheik gripped his arm tight. "Link, what's wrong?" she asked in concern. "It isn't like you to be so cynical. If...if you're afraid of his power, it's alright to say it..."

"I'm not afraid," Link said forcefully. He looked at the Master Sword again and swallowed hard. "More like...overwhelmed. It was hard enough waking up in the Temple of Time and seeing all the damage he caused in seven years. And now suddenly I'm the one who has to fix it. Me. Sheik, the last time I faced him, he swatted me aside like it was nothing! I only lived because he let me!"

"You were only a child then," Sheik said gently. "You've become much stronger."

"Oh, and he hasn't?" Link demanded harshly. "If anything, the gap between us has only gotten bigger. He might as well be a god himself now. And I just...I don't understand it. Why do I have to do this all alone? Can't I at least take an army with me?"

"Believe me, if it were possible, I would raise that army for you," Sheik said with genuine conviction. "But you must see that we walk a very thin line right now. We cannot give Ganondorf any reason to think he should fear for his life and throne, or else he could leave his tower and unleash all his might before we are ready. It is through his own arrogance that we have been allowed to move freely about Hyrule and cleanse the land of his influence. If that should change..."

"He would slaughter us," Link said bleakly, and if anything, his heart quailed even more. "You, me, the sages...everyone. It really is like trying to take on a god, isn't it? Sheik, what are we thinking? How can we pull this off?"

Sheik only looked at him with sorrow in her eyes, telling him without words that she didn't have an answer for that. They sat in silence for a long moment, trapped in the mire of their own grim thoughts, and Link scrubbed a tired hand over his face. "You'll probably hate me for telling you this. But sometimes...I think about running away. I've seen refugees heading across the desert or over the eastern mountains, heading for the kingdoms beyond Hyrule. Sometimes with just the clothes on their back. Like they don't care if they die as long as they die trying to get away."

"...yes, I've seen them too," Sheik murmured, and Link was grateful there was nothing reproachful in her tone. As if she understood perfectly why they had chosen to flee rather than fight.

"Sometimes I wonder if it's just that easy," Link went on, daring to give voice to his doubts and his secret longing. "To just up and leave and start a new life somewhere else. Somewhere far away. I think I could make my own way if I found an apprenticeship in a small village. Or hell, I could even be a mercenary. Travel around and live off the land, help people out if there's bandits or something..."

"Is that really the life you want?" Sheik asked quietly.

"No, but it might be my only chance to live at all," Link snapped. He waved his hand. "And what about you? Is this the life you would ask for, if you had the choice?"

"No, it's not," Sheik said at once. She wrapped her arms around her knees and fixed her gaze on the floor. "My one greatest wish was to ensure that Hyrule prospered, and it's a duty I have been failing for the past seven years. I've had to watch people that I know and care about suffer under the hands of a tyrant and be powerless to stop it. And sometimes...it's just too much. There are days when I wish I could dust off my regrets and turn my back on this kingdom, but there has always been something to hold me back."

"Like what?"

"You," Sheik said wryly, and he could tell she was smiling under the veil. "And Impa, and every other person in Hyrule. I've spent so long living for others that I don't think I remember how to live solely for myself, for my own happiness."

"So because you have to protect me, you can't run away," Link said slowly, and it only made him resent the situation even more. As he sat there and pondered their shared doomed fates, he felt as though he was becoming more and more detached from the world around him. Reality warped and narrowed until his entire existence revolved around him and the Sheikah at his side. All that mattered was them, their two beating hearts that he wanted to keep beating for a long, long time.

And in that instant it all became so clear.

"What if we go together?"

Sheik raised her head sluggishly, not seeming to comprehend at first. "What...?"

"We could do it," Link said, breathless all of a sudden. He moved to crouch in front of her, taking both her hands and letting her see his growing fervor as the idea took hold. "We could. You and I, we could leave Hyrule and never come back."

"But...but we can't," Sheik said, but her protest was feeble. "Link, we can't just..."

"Just think about it for a minute!" Link cut her off. "Who would come after us? Once we were over the border, no one would know who we are. We could take different names, erase our trail and make it so Ganondorf would never find us."

"But what about all the people here?" Sheik demanded. "The ones who can't run away from him?"

Link faltered, guilt flaring as he thought of Saria and Malon and Zelda and everyone else who was counting on him and believed in him. But he shook the thought of them from his mind, reminded himself of what was important. "They'd be no worse off than they are now. As long as they don't draw his attention, they could learn to survive and protect each other. Just like we will. Sheik...come with me, please. We won't have to live for anyone but ourselves. We could be free."

Sheik squeezed his hands, and he could see she was starting to crumble. Her gaze wandered over to the window, unfocused and distant, and Link wondered what her red eyes saw out there. Was she looking at Hyrule, or beyond it to the escape that he had offered? He waited and waited for her to decide, the tension tearing him to pieces until Link couldn't even look at her anymore and bowed his head to look at their joined hands instead. "Say you'll come with me," he implored again. "Please..."

She seemed to come back to herself, drawing a choked breath. "Y-You're going to leave no matter what I say...aren't you?"

In her broken words, Link heard her refusal, and he shuddered. "Yes, I am," he said, clinging to a frail hope that maybe that would change her mind. Gods, please don't say no. I don't want to go without you, I don't want to see you die here...

But Sheik pulled her hands away. "I can't leave," she said with pained finality. "I won't leave. I still have a duty to the people of Hyrule. I refuse to save myself when I could still save others."

"He'll kill you," Link said, stricken.

"Then let him do it with a knife to my heart and not an arrow to my back," Sheik said fiercely, but the words still trembled and gave away her own despair. Link reached for her helplessly, wanting to comfort her, but he knew from experience there was little he could say or do to quell her fears.

"Sheik, I..."

"Damn you, Link!" Sheik burst out and jumped to her feet, glaring down at him in hot rage. "If you're going to go, then just go!"

She crossed the room in two strides and swung herself out the window into the night, and she might as well have vanished into thin air, a slight breeze the only sign of her passing which made the candles gutter and blow out. Link didn't light them again.

Not long after dawn the next day, Link ate what little breakfast he could stomach, paid for his room and left the inn, trudging along the dusty road as slowly as his feet could take him until he reached the crossroads just outside the village. He looked at his choices. East toward the mountains, west toward the desert, or southeast to Lake Hylia and the next sage. Link dithered for a long time, repeatedly glancing back at the village as if waiting for someone, but there was no one else about this early in the morning.

He looked down at the Master Sword, held sheathed in his hands rather than strapped across his back. If he left Hyrule, he couldn't take it with him. He had to leave it for the next hero to take it up in his stead, but now that the moment of decision was at hand, he clung to it like a dear friend, reluctant to part with something so precious to him. But Link made himself walk over to the oak tree at the crossroads and lean it against the trunk, taking one more look at the grassy hills around him, anywhere there was a shadow. He stepped back from the sword with a sharp pang in his heart, but even then there was no one to stop him, not a single word of protest.

Was she really going to let him just walk away?

If you're going to go, then just go!

Link started down the eastern path with his head bowed, every step an agony as if there was an invisible tether between his heart and the sword. It shouldn't be so hard to turn his back on a hopeless cause. Only last night he had been downright eager to abandon the mantle of the hero that had been unfairly thrust on his shoulders. But now that he had convinced himself to go...all he could think about was how many reasons he had to stay.

"Link! Link!"

Link spun around, a strangled cry catching in his throat when a blur of blue and grey darted out from behind the tree and sprinted toward him. He met Sheik halfway and swept her up in his arms, clinging tight and burying his face in her shoulder, and he wanted to weep when he finally figured out what she was babbling, her voice muffled by his shirt.

"Don't go," Sheik begged, over and over, fisting her hands in his shirt desperately. "Don't go, don't leave! I-I can't do it, I can't stop him by myself. Please don't go..."

"I won't, I'm not!" Link promised, over and over, inhaling her scent and holding her close to him until she gradually stopped trembling. "I'm staying, I'm not going anywhere, and I don't care howmany demons Ganondorf can summon. I won't leave you to face him alone, not ever."

Sheik drew a shuddering breath and nodded jerkily. "Then neither will I," she murmured. "I'm sorry for what I said."

"So am I," Link said, and they reluctantly broke the crushing embrace, their hands shaking as they brushed the tears from each other's eyes. He smiled at her weakly and went to pick up his sword again, offering his hand. "So I hear Lake Hylia's got good fishing..."

Sheik choked out a laugh at the silly statement and played along by taking his hand. As if last night had never happened and they had both been planning to continue on this impossible quest all along. But the tightness in her grip told him that she hadn't forgotten their moment of weakness any more than he had, and Link gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze. They were only human. They were allowed to be weak and resent their burden sometimes.

But as long as there was two of them, the burden didn't seem quite so heavy.

Chapter Text

Tap. Tap. Tap.

With supreme difficulty, Zelda resisted the urge to grind her teeth in irritation. She was going to have to throw her dagger at him if he didn't cut that out. She bent her head low over the threadbare shirt she was attempting to repair, striving to ignore it, but even the rain drumming on the roof of Impa's house couldn't drown out the sound of Link's fingers tapping the table. It was driving her crazy, and worse breaking her concentration. She just couldn't seem to get these stitches as straight as they needed to be, and she kept pricking her fingers with the needle.

Don't kill him, don't kill him, Zelda reminded herself when the incessant tapping kicked up a notch. He's the savior of your kingdom, after all. You might regret it if you kill him...

Finally, miraculously, the tapping ceased. Zelda paused in her work, waiting with bated breath to see if it would start up again, but all that remained was silence. Sweet, blessed silence! Her lips twitched under the veil, and she brought her attention back to the shirt laid across her folded legs so she could keep stitching.

"Bored!" Link whined, unnecessarily loud, and flung up his arms dramatically. "I'm so bored!"

Zelda almost cursed out loud and had to take a deep breath to master herself. As a princess, it was insufferably rude to lose her temper, and as a Sheikah, it was simply unprofessional. But she allowed herself a single glower at the swordsman across the room, which Link didn't seem to notice. "Perhaps you should find a way to occupy yourself then," she said through gritted teeth.

"But there's nothing to do," Link complained. He pouted at the rain outside and leaned forward to bury his head in his folded arms. "I hate the rain," he moaned. "It's so depressing. Don't you think so, Sheik?"

"No, I don't find it depressing at all," Zelda replied and thoughtfully glanced outside at the gray world. "It might be inconvenient at times, but it is necessary. And I find the world is much more pure and vibrant after it has been and gone."

"You sound like Saria," Link muttered, and he made it sound like an accusation. "I just hate being cooped up inside because all I can think about is how much I want to go outside. And there's nothing I can do except sit here and wait for it to end..."

"As I said," Zelda told him, "perhaps you would not find the wait so unbearable if you had something productive to do. Repairing your gear, for example..."

"I already did that."

"You could go check on Epona..."

"She was fine an hour ago."

"Very well, then sit there and sulk," Zelda snapped. "But have the courtesy to be silent about it."

Link crossed his arms and slumped in his chair. "Fine, then I will," he said grumpily.

"Thank you," Zelda said and pointedly turned away, viciously stabbing the needle into the fabric. For a few long moments, the only sound she heard was the gentle and soothing patter of rainfall, and she dared to hope the peace would reign.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Link, my lyre is in the guest room in my bags," Zelda said on impulse. "If you would like, you can go get it and teach yourself to play it."

"Really?" Link said, perking up like an eager child being offered a new toy. He cast her a suspicious look. "Wait a minute, you've never let me touch that lyre. The one time I asked, you threatened to eviscerate me if I even looked at it funny. Why now, all of a sudden...?"

"I suppose I was simply being protective," Zelda conceded. "It's a very old instrument. But if you promise to be careful, I won't mind if you borrow it..."

Link hardly waited for her to finish before he tore out of his chair and into the guest room, emerging only seconds later with her precious lyre in his hands. He sat back down in his chair with the lyre balanced in one hand awkwardly, fingers splayed over the strings, and he grinned at the melodious sounds they produced. Zelda almost chuckled at his enthusiasm and shook her head as she went back to her work, feeling the tension in her shoulders start to ease. Even though the random, plucking notes were choppy and tuneless, it was infinitely better than that irksome tapping. And once Link worked out what string created what note, it started to sound more and more like music.

At least until...

Twang!

Zelda's head shot up, and Link froze under her horrified look, his hand hovering over the two broken strings. "Oops..."

"You broke it!" Zelda cried. She dropped the shirt and jumped to her feet so she could stride over and snatch the instrument out of his hands, touching the frayed ends of the strings in disbelief mixed with fury. "I thought I told you to be careful!"

"I didn't think they'd break that easily!" Link said and also stood. "I'm sorry, Sheik, I really am. But you can just get some more strings, can't you?"

"I don't have any replacements!" Zelda railed at him. "Nor do I know where to find some of this quality!"

"W-Well...I'll buy you new lyre!"

"A new lyre?" Zelda said acidly, hugging the instrument close. "This was Impa's gift to me! I promised her I would take care of it, and now it's ruined because of you!"

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Link protested, his remorse flaring into anger. "Maybe you should have told me how important it was before you let me play around with it!"

"I did tell you! Maybe if you had been paying attention and not griping about the weather—!"

"Children, enough!"

Even though she and Link were both fully grown adults, Impa's sharp voice still made them both flinch and step away from each other guiltily. Impa stood in the doorway of her private study with a thoroughly vexed look, her perceptive eyes going from their faces flushed in anger to the broken strings on the lyre and most likely grasping the entire situation in the blink of an eye. Zelda avoided her mentor's gaze, not wanting to see her reaction to the wrecked heirloom, and with one last venomous look at Link, she turned on her heel and stalked into the guest room, slamming the door behind her. Her emotions were in such turmoil that in another instant she would have either been screaming or crying, and she hadn't wanted to chance it being the latter. Not in front of Link.

Zelda stood by the window and watched the rain tumble down the glass, willing herself to be calm. Her fingers touched the broken strings again, and a hard and bitter lump formed in her throat, the threatened tears rushing to her eyes. This was ridiculous. Why was she so distraught over a little thing like this? It was only a few broken strings, and she acted like Link had dealt her some personal offense. He hadn't deserved that, and yet Zelda couldn't seem to let go of those feelings of hurt and resentment.

And the rain wasn't helping either. Maybe Link had been on to something when he called this weather depressing.

Movement just outside the window made her blink her vision clear, and Zelda was puzzled when she saw Link stepping out of Impa's house into the pouring rain. He yanked up the hood of the cloak he wore and bolted toward the village, his form vanishing in the gray mist. At the same time the door behind Zelda opened, and Impa came to stand by the window with her.

"Where is he going?"

"I told him of a man on the other side of Kakariko who might be able to sell him replacement strings," Impa informed her, smiling at her surprise. "You remember the man who ran the bazaar in Castle Town? He set up shop here not long ago, and even I'm amazed at the odds and ends he's managed to get his hands on. Especially in these times."

"Oh," Zelda said awkwardly, torn between relief that Impa wasn't angry about the lyre and a surge of warmth toward Link. "He...he went out in the rain? Even though he hates it?"

"I tried to convince him to wait until it ended," Impa said with a sigh and a shake of her head. "But I think it distresses him that he upset you. He's grown quite fond of you."

Zelda bit her lip. "Of Sheik, you mean," she murmured.

"Is she not you?" Impa said simply. "And you, her? Either way, his heart grows fond. Now come and help me put something together for lunch. We can have it ready by the time he gets back."

Zelda nodded and made herself put the lyre down to follow Impa, knowing from experience that if she chose to brood, her mentor would rectify that by finding a chore for her that was both tedious and highly unpleasant. As a child, it had been incentive to never let herself be caught with idle hands. But now the simple task of making lunch distracted her from a more unpleasant frame of mind, and by the time Link returned—drenched from head to toe, but triumphant with the new strings wrapped in oilcloth to keep them dry—both he and Zelda were ready to make amends, which they did under Impa's stern observation. And after lunch, when Link asked diffidently if she would show him how to use the lyre properly, Zelda readily agreed and sat beside him on the floor to guide his hand on the strings, this time showing him how to strike the right balance between precision and gentleness, absorbed in the teaching just as Link was absorbed in the learning.

None of them noticed when the rain finally stopped.

Chapter Text

Zelda saw it everywhere he went. Every time Link saved someone or defeated something, every time he told stories of his deeds and spoke to her people of hope and courage and standing strong in the face of evil, she saw it. Especially now. Not a day after the demise of Volvagia, Zelda watched from the shadows as Link described his battle against the dragon to a group of fascinated young Gorons, including Darunia's son, who gazed upon his namesake in fathomless hero-worship. Link told them of the ruined fortress beneath the mountain and the pit where Volvagia had made his lair and let them touch the legendary hammer with slack jaws and wide eyes. A mere fairytale brought to life right before their eyes.

She wondered idly if he knew what he was doing right at this moment. As he went forward with the task of purging Hyrule of Ganondorf's dark influence, she wondered if he realized what effect he was having on these people, her people. Link told them such wondrous things that might have been dismissed as pure fantasy coming from anyone else. But her people knew the evil had been real, and that just made Link all the more real to them. Not a figure in shining white from a minstrel's tale, but a living, breathing man who had chosen to pick up his sword and never let that evil touch him or those he loved.

It made them believe that they could do the same.

No, surely he didn't see it yet. He had no idea that with every story he told and every life he saved, Link left behind a batch of new heroes eager to follow in his footsteps. Once Link departed from the city, these young Gorons would probably carve their own wooden mallets and reenact his battle with the dragon, pretending that they were the hero. And the adults would look at their smiling faces and quietly forge their own, very real hammers to drive off any monsters Ganondorf might send against them. They would fearlessly defend their mountain, even as the Kokiri were defending their forest, both races refusing to be subjugated ever again. Link showed them the way, taught them to stand on their own feet, but the resolve stayed even long after he was gone.

Inch by inch, Ganondorf was losing his hold on Hyrule. Not the land itself, but the people within it. It was a war that waged ever on in their hearts and souls, one that the King of Evil had never expected to face. A war against the fear and despair he sought to instill in them. A war against war itself.

This was the power of the Triforce of Courage. Link didn't know it, but once the time came for him to turn his feet north and march on Castle Town, he would not go alone. He would go with an entire army at his back, if only in spirit. Their resolve gave him resolve. Their strength gave him strength. Each time Zelda saw him again, the aura of his Triforce was so bright that it threatened to blind her magical senses. Out of necessity, she kept their meetings brief for fear that her pitiful illusion would simply evaporate because of his presence alone. Soon, Impa had cautioned her, it might be necessary to stay far away from him so as to protect herself and her third of the holy relic.

But Zelda knew she couldn't do that. Link needed her, and that was not an exaggeration. Just as her people looked to him, he looked higher still to the princess that he hadn't seen since he was a boy. The princess that all of Hyrule seemed to have forgotten about, except for him. Link looked to her even when she was nowhere in sight. It had been the first question out of his mouth when he awoke in the Temple of Time, and it was always the first question in his eyes each time they met again.

Is she safe? Is Zelda safe?

In the guise of Sheik, she always answered with a look of understanding and a single nod. Yes, she is safe.

And Link would continue on his journey, his doubts erased. He held the princess in such high regard that he didn't even question why he could not see her, why she sent a Sheikah messenger in her place. He trusted her, worshiped her just as Darunia's young son worshiped him. In a way, it was flattering...but it was so, so dangerous for him to place such reverence in her alone. No, not even her, really. In the memory of her from his childhood, a memory that Zelda was trying so hard to preserve by hiding her face and keeping her distance.

And wasn't that the bitter irony of it all? The Gorons got to see and touch their hero, but in order for Link to keep moving forward, Zelda had to stay beyond his reach. He must not falter, he must not weaken. Courage was hard to gain, but so very easy to lose.

During a break in his story, Link glanced over the heads of the chattering Gorons and caught sight of her in the shadowed doorway. Surprise and something like happiness flitted across his face, but the smile that had begun to grace his features faltered, his head tipping to the side in a silent question. Zelda made the mistake of hesitating, and what had only been a wavering uncertainty morphed into something much more fearful and desperate, his usual steadfast resolve gone in the blink of an eye. Zelda's heart thumped in panic when the powerful aura in him started to flicker and fade like a dying candle, and she quickly nodded in reassurance.

At once, Link relaxed. He tossed her a disarming grin before he turned back to the Gorons, who didn't seem to have noticed the interaction or his instant of misgiving. Zelda exhaled softly, allowed herself a few more seconds of observation and finally left, knowing Link would wonder at her sudden disappearance, but also knowing it couldn't be helped.

She had given him what he needed. For his sake, she dared not give more.

Chapter Text

The princess seemed to be taking a long time to return, though Impa could see by the position of the sun that it had hardly been any time at all. The Sheikah waited impatiently, crouched on the outer wall of Castle Town in the shadow of one of the old guard towers and observing the shambling Redeads in the deserted market. She couldn't see the Temple of Time from here except for the highest of its spires, and the lack of knowledge on what exactly was happening made Impa anxious. Oh, she knew perfectly well that Zelda could protect herself. She had, after all, taught the girl a thing or two in the past seven years. But this close to Ganondorf, it was wise to be cautious and not take risks. Which was exactly what Zelda was doing now.

But the princess had been adamant. She wanted to be the one to meet with Link upon his awakening. Alone.

Impa sighed beneath the hood that was shielding her face. She had told Zelda several times that it would be better if the two of them went to the temple together. Link had been gone for seven years, and it was very doubtful he knew what had occurred in all that time. Someone would have to explain Ganondorf's ascension and Hyrule's downfall and tell him of the duty that now rested on his shoulders. It was a great deal to take in all at once, never mind the shock of waking up to find that his body had aged from boy to man in the blink of an eye. The poor child would be confused, disoriented, wary of this new world he found himself in. It would be best if the first thing he saw was a familiar face. And Link knew Impa. He knew she was someone who could be trusted.

But he didn't know Sheik. And now Impa feared that first crucial meeting was even now going very badly. Link might demand proof that Sheik was someone he could trust, proof that Zelda simply didn't have and couldn't offer in her current state. Or worse, Link might even draw his sword against the stranger that confronted him out of the shadows. How would Zelda react to being attacked by the very hero she was depending on to save her kingdom?

Quietly, Impa cursed herself. She should have demanded to accompany the princess into the temple. Or better yet, simply ignored her orders and followed Zelda against her will. This moment was too delicate, too important, and she feared now that Zelda didn't understand how important. Did she expect nothing would have changed? Did she really think Link would be exactly the same as he had always been, guileless and trusting?

Silly question. Impa should know the answer to that better than anyone. She had seen the signs even when those children really were children. Zelda had loved the boy back then, had damn near idolized him for his courage and daring in going where she could not, carrying out her will like a white knight. Innocent puppy love at such a young age, but with those precious memories as Zelda's only memories of Link, it was of no surprise to Impa when the crush blossomed into infatuation. And if Zelda could feel so strongly for Link, then the princess had no doubt reached the hopelessly juvenile conclusion that Link must feel equally strongly for her. There was simply no other explanation for why they had found themselves in these roles, the hero and the princess out to save a kingdom from the hands of a tyrant.

Zelda had not confided any of this in her mentor, of course. But Impa was many years her senior and had seen situations like this played out a dozen times in her life. Hell, she had been in this situation a time or two in her youth. It never turned out well, especially for those most directly involved. The trouble was this romantic notion that somehow the goddesses actually cared about who fell in love with whom and spent all their time and energy shifting the strings of fate so that two people could find each other. But why should the gods care about a little thing like love when the world itself was at stake?

The two children were bonded, certainly, drawn to each other by a divine connection. Link served the princess because it was his destiny to do so, and because in his own way, he did care for her deeply. But it was not the love Zelda thought it to be. It was the love of a vassal for his lord, or that of a Sheikah for the Hylian they protected. It was the bonding of souls, not hearts.

For her sake, Impa hoped Zelda kept her head on straight and wouldn't be too disappointed when Link didn't immediately sweep her into his arms for a passionate kiss.

At last, a sign of movement down below. Impa kept her eyes on the green-clad figure darting through the alleys and side streets, making his slow way toward the drawbridge that would take him to the fields. She had to smile at just how much Link had grown since she last saw him. No longer quite so clumsy and unsure of himself, he carried the sword and shield on his back like he knew exactly what he was doing. Having successfully avoided the Redeads, he passed through the gates, almost right beneath her, and Impa caught a glimpse of his face and that same determined look that he had worn so many years ago. Without hesitation, Link turned to the east and set off for Kakariko as Zelda must have instructed him.

Good. Then it had gone well.

Hearing a slight whisper of movement, Impa glanced over expectantly as bandaged hands appeared over the edge of the wall and Zelda vaulted up over the balustrade gracefully. Red eyes met red eyes, and Impa arched an eyebrow as the princess joined her. "Well?"

Zelda hesitated a moment, turning her attention past Impa to the young man striding down the road away from them. "He's...he's everything we hoped for," she murmured.

Only because Impa had served and protected Zelda since she was an infant did she catch the secret pain hidden beneath a mask of Sheikah indifference. Impa kept her sigh strictly internal, knowing she had better say something to comfort the forlorn girl. But before she could, Zelda looked at her with such profound sadness and anguish that it could not have possibly stemmed from a mere broken heart.

Gods...she understood.

Mutely, Impa held out her arms, and Zelda stepped into them and embraced her like she was a child again, fighting the shuddering sobs that wracked her frame. But her eyes shed no tears. They remained dry, fixated on Link's distant figure and humbled by what they saw. The roles had reversed now. Zelda was the vassal, the one who served. She was the Sheikah, and Link was the Hylian she protected. Zelda understood now the love that Link held for the princess because she had finally seen it from the other side. And it wasn't what she hoped it would be.

"I love him," Zelda whispered under her breath.

"I know you do, child," Impa replied.

Zelda shook her head. "No, y-you don't understand..."

"Yes, I do," Impa said with a gentle smile, tucking a strand of hair behind the girl's ear. "You see what a great man he has become, and you marvel that such a man could exist. You want to serve him...no, you would be proud to serve him because you know he is more than worthy of such devotion. He may not be a king or a lord, but he is still yours. Yours to protect."

"My light," Zelda said with a small laugh. "I'd better go after him then. I don't want him to run off without his shadow."

"Then go," Impa told her, and Zelda was gone almost before she finished speaking, gone over the wall to pursue Link. And as much as the elder Sheikah longed to follow and protect her own light, she held herself back. They would be fine, the two of them. They would look after each other, and the gods would look after them both. They had no need of a second shadow.

Brushing a single tear from her eye, Impa held her head high and proudly watched her children go toward their destiny.

Chapter Text

"Link...?"

"No."

"Link, come on..."

"No, Navi."

"Would you please just...?"

"Navi," Link ground out, halting. "I'm not lost, and I don't need directions!"

"Stop being such an idiot!" Navi demanded and bobbed around his head like a belligerent butterfly. "We've been wandering all over this mountain for days looking for the Goron city!"

"One day! Only one day! We were in Kakariko this morning!"

"I can't believe you already forgot the way," Navi griped like it was all his fault. Which it wasn't. He didn't hear her offering anything in the way of directions. "I mean, really! Just how bad is your memory? We were only there a little while ago!"

"Seven years ago," Link said jadedly. He shaded his eyes from the glaring sun and peered up at the switchback path they were traversing up the mountainside, his feet already aching at the sight of how much distance they had yet to cover. "Maybe the road that led to the city back then leads somewhere else now. Or maybe the city isn't even there anymore."

"Castle Town was still there," Navi reminded him. "Even if it was...changed a bit."

Link gusted out a sigh and hitched his pack a little higher so the strap wouldn't cut into his shoulder. He was exhausted from walking uphill all day, his temper short, and he hated hearing Navi scold him because it made him feel like a boy again. She was only one of two people who could do that now, Saria being the other. When he rescued Saria from the haunted manor in the forest, she had actually patted his head as thanks for saving her. And it wasn't like Link could tell her not to do it anymore. Then she would cry because he had hurt her feelings, not understanding she was slowly killing his manhood by treating him like a wayward younger brother.

"Look, there's someone you can get directions from," Navi announced when another traveler came in sight just ahead, going in the opposite direction. "He could probably tell us if we're heading the right way."

"Fine, fine," Link muttered, too exasperated to argue. But when he took a proper look at the man with cropped red hair and a massive rucksack slung across a stooped frame, he balked. "Oh dear gods, no..."

"What's wrong?"

Link backed up a few steps and frantically searched for a place to hide, any place to hide. Even a rock or tree would do, but the narrow path was completely devoid of such handy hiding spots. And it wasn't like he could just step off the path. To his left was a wall, and to the right a sheer drop into a ravine below. Link briefly considered suicide, but since all of Hyrule was counting on him to stay alive, he decided that might not be the best idea. Steeling himself, he put his head down and walked quickly, hoping he could get past the man without being recognized...

But no such luck. The Happy Mask Salesman had very sharp eyes. "Oh my...is that really you, my dear apprentice?"

Link winced. "Um, yeah," he said reluctantly. "Been awhile, hasn't it?"

"Too long, far too long!" the mask salesman exclaimed. He grasped both of Link's shoulders with a joyful laugh and shook him hard enough to make his teeth rattle. "I feared I had seen the last of you seven years ago! Chaotic times, those were, yes indeed. But let me have a look at you. How you've grown since we've last met!"

"Everyone says that," Link muttered, his eyes once again drawn to the multitude of masks peeking out of the rucksack and dangling from straps all over the frame. Even now, all those faces gave him the creeps. There was no getting around how alive they looked. "So, uh...still selling those things?"

A zealous gleam entered the mask salesman's eyes that made Link's blood run cold. "Oh, yes. It is my calling, after all, spreading happiness to those who need it. And in these times, there are manywho need it! Would you like to see all the masks I've obtained since we last met?"

"No, thanks!" Link said hastily, knowing from experience the mask salesman could go on for hours without pause. "Look, I'm in kind of a hurry..."

"Traveling, are you?" the mask salesman said eagerly. He took Link's arm in a vice-like grip that kept him from escaping. "Going all over Hyrule, are you? On another quest for the princess, are you? Marvelous! You can help me sell my masks again! Oh, it would be just like old times! How I've missed you, my young salesman!"

"N-No, I really don't think I have time for that now..."

"I made such a profit back when the two of us were working together," the mask salesman went on, perfectly oblivious of his panicked expression. "But of course, it's not about the profit as I told you all those times you managed to sell a perfectly good mask for less than what it was worth. It's about the happiness! It's about the fulfillment! That perfect moment when you find just the right mask for just the right soul...that kind of feeling just stays with you forever. Am I right? Yes, of course I am!"

"I can't be your apprentice!" Link blurted out. And he knew it was the wrong thing to say when the mask salesman froze, still smiling, the gleam in his squinted eyes surpassing zeal and becoming manic. Link had always suspected the salesman was insane, but he usually hid it so well that it was frightening to see that madness come to the surface. And the worst part about it was not quite knowing what the strange man was capable of. It was like facing an enemy with no obvious weakness that first played dead to lure him in close until it was too late to run...

A shadow detached itself from the path above and dropped to their level. "Unhand the Hero of Time," Sheik said stonily.

Link could have fainted from relief. The mask salesman slowly turned his head in her direction, his smile not shifting one iota. "Why, hello there. What a rarity to meet a Sheikah in a place like this. Have you sought me out to purchase a mask? I have several you might find quite suited to your people's unique taste..."

"I doubt it," Sheik said in a clipped tone. "And if you do not unhand Link in the next ten seconds, you will soon find yourself out of business as I will throw both you and those masks into the ravine."

The mask salesman's eyes flashed. Sheik returned him glare for glare. Link gulped, caught between two deadly red gazes and wondering if it was possible to be skewered with someone's eyes alone. If so, he would soon be the only living thing left standing on this path. The seconds passed, Link slowly counting them in his head.

Six...seven...eight...

The mask salesman released him. Link massaged his bicep as he retreated a few steps, barely resisting the urge to hide behind Sheik. He was certainly more of a man than that.

"Well...I must be on my way," the mask salesman said, and thankfully his smile became more amiable and less psychotic. "I hope to see you again, my apprentice. And do give my regards to the royal family, Sheikah."

The mask salesmen continued on his way. Neither Link nor Sheik dared to turn their backs until he was well out of sight. Link let out the breath he was holding and leaned against the mountainside, his legs like jelly. Seeing Sheik looking at him, he gave her a shaky grin. "Thanks. But I could have handled that."

"I'm sure," Sheik said without inflection. "Forgive me for intervening. But protecting the Hero of Time is, after all, my calling. Do you require directions to the Goron city?"

"Nope, I think I'm good," Link said, ignoring Navi when she scoffed in disbelief. "So I'll just, ah, get going then..."

Sheik waited until he was a good ten paces away before she spoke again. "Very well. I'll await your arrival at the city when you finally realize you passed it two hours ago."

Chapter Text

The Kakariko graveyard was just as Link remembered it. Rows and rows of identical headstones marking the graves of fallen Sheikah warriors and Hylian knights who had, in generations past, given their lives in service to the royal family. But the graves were unkempt now, weeds overflowing the cobbled path, and no flowers had been left to honor the dead. The deformed, but kind gravekeeper had passed away years before, and none of the villagers had stepped up to take his place. Even in daylight, they feared the graveyard and the restless spirits beneath the earth.

Link glanced up at the sky. The late afternoon sunlight was insipid and weak and offered absolutely no warmth to combat the chill of the wind. Less than a day had passed since his awakening, and he was still reeling from all that had happened, all he had learned in the Chamber of the Sages. Link had told Rauru he understood his destiny, but that was before he saw the ruins of Castle Town, before he saw how much Hyrule had changed in those seven years. All the light seemed to have gone out of the kingdom along with the exiled princess. All that was left were shadows. Dark, twisting shadows that snaked across the ground and reached for him with clutching hands, beckoning him into their embrace.

Swallowing his uncertainty, Link moved further into the graveyard. A shadow with red eyes had told him to come here, and while he wouldn't normally put his faith in such a furtive individual, this shadow claimed to serve the light he sought so desperately. And the advice, while vague and cryptic, was at least a place to start.

"Link, this is a bad idea," Navi said fretfully as Link moved from headstone to headstone. "I'm serious, I don't think you should listen to that Sheik guy!"

"Girl," Link said shortly. He still wasn't used to his deep voice. "Er, woman. I think Sheik is a woman."

"How can you tell?"

Link shrugged.

"Exactly! We don't know anything about him. Or her. Or whatever! Sheik could be working for Ganondorf for all we know!"

"A Sheikah working for a Gerudo?" Link said doubtfully.

"She could be lying about being a Sheikah!" Navi persisted. "Impa never said anything about having relatives, and I didn't hear Sheik mention her or Zelda during that whole speech about the sages. So you tell me, what proof do we have that Sheik is on our side?"

The answer was none. None at all. Only a desperate and pitiful hope that Sheik could somehow lead him to Zelda. The princess was out there somewhere, waiting for him, depending on him. Link could sense it. It was that feeling which made him stay his hand in the Temple of Time and listen to the words of the strange warrior with eyes of blood.

One sage is waiting for the time of awakening in the Forest Temple. Unfortunately, equipped as you currently are, you cannot even enter the temple. If you believe my words, you will find what you need in Kakariko buried within the tomb of the gravekeeper, Dampé...

Link found the grave, the name Dampé engraved in the weathered stone, and he stared at it a moment before he braced his hands against the headstone and shoved it back. Beneath it was a hole that would let him drop straight into the crypt. The pit was utterly black, the sunlight falling at the wrong angle and preventing him from seeing what lay inside. The smell of damp earth and rot swamped him, and not for the first time Link felt a thread of misgiving. Sheik might have deceived him. This could so easily be a trap. A plan to lure him into the crypt only to seal him inside and leave him to die in the dark and decay, the Master Sword buried with him so that none could ever take it up again.

But why bother to set such an elaborate trap? If Sheik had been sent by Ganondorf to kill the chosen hero, why not simply slaughter Link in the Temple of Time and then dispose of the sword? Sheik had certainly had the opportunity, in that moment when Link had been sure he was alone and foolishly turned his back, offering a perfect target for an assassin.

Link smirked a little at his own carelessness. He had sworn he would be more vigilant after that, and yet here he was again, baring his throat to a drawn knife and praying it wouldn't be slit while he slept. He took one last look at the open sky. If he was wrong, this could very well be the last time he ever saw the sun.

Are you on my side, Sheik? Are you my ally...or my enemy?

"Link, please don't do this," Navi begged one more time. "We can't trust Sheik, you know we can't."

"Then who else are we going to trust?" Link asked desolately.

His fairy didn't answer. Taking a deep breath, Link turned and plunged into the blackness.

Chapter Text

He had never been more exhausted in his life. Not even that time as a kid when he got stuck out in the fields one night and had to fend off hordes of Stalchildren until the sun rose. In a way, Link almost missed the Stalchildren. At least those adversaries had been mindless in their roaming and their assaults laughably easy to repel. The Gerudo scouts that harried him now were nowhere near as stupid. Even in the rough and barren terrain of these canyons, they somehow picked up on the tiniest signs of his passing and unfailingly followed the trail to his camp. Four times Link had been ambushed and forced to flee on Epona before they could haul him away to their fortress for interrogation and most likely death by torture.

Or worse. From what the locals in this region had told him, the Gerudo women had "other uses" for the young men they caught encroaching on their territory.

Finally, about two hours before morning, Link gave up on a proper camp and simply climbed the canyon walls to the first ledge big enough for him to lie down comfortably, his pack under his head and cloak wrapped around his shoulders to keep off the night chill. Epona was further down the canyon inside a little cleft where she would be out of the wind. He couldn't risk staying down there with her. If the Gerudo came this way, that cave would be the first place they'd search for him. Link wished he could do better to protect his faithful mare, but the callous truth was the Gerudo treated their horses better than their prisoners. If Epona was taken, she would at least be safe and cared for until he got the chance to come back for her.

Link rubbed his aching eyes with his knuckles, scrubbing off the sand that still clung to his eyelashes, and gazed unseeing at the black sky and veil of stars. He had to sleep. He had to, even if it was just a few minutes. He would need all the energy he could muster to get across the haunted wasteland tomorrow, and he wouldn't get that by lying here awake until the sun rose. But rest just wouldn't come. Link was still too keyed up, too stressed from being hunted. Tension locked up his muscles and made his jaw clench until a migraine formed. Every shifting pebble was a masked Gerudo scout stalking toward him, every whisper of wind was their horses passing on the path below.

Slowly, Link rolled onto his side, facing the ledge so he would instantly see if anyone was climbing toward him, his hand on the hilt of the Master Sword. The sky was already starting to lighten, but his ledge faced west and south. With any luck, he would have shade until the late afternoon and be able to catch up on the sleep he had missed. Of course, that was assuming he could sleep any better during the day than the night. By then, those Gerudo scouts would no doubt have gone back to the fortress and reported his presence in their territory, which would mean more scouts Link had to dodge, more hours of sneaking and tiptoeing until he found his way through these canyons and reached the open desert. Just the thought made him so tired that Link actually wanted to cry because of it.

He shut his eyes. Sleep. He wanted sleep so badly.

Epona snorted in agitation and stamped her hoof. Link heard her and knew somewhere in the back of his mind he should heed the warning, but he was in too much of a torpid stupor to react. His weary body felt dead, numb to his surroundings, his mind lost in a halfway state between dreaming and waking. He didn't see his danger until a shadow fell across him and blocked the starlight. Link jerked, eyes snapping open, icy fear flooding his veins at the sight of a masked figure crouched on the ledge right beside him. He bolted upright and tackled the stealthy scout, nearly taking them both over the edge, but he managed to get her pinned beneath him with a hand on her neck, the Master Sword raised high and ready to impale his attacker...

"Link!"

The familiar voice spoke sharply, urgently, his name echoing through the canyons. In the silence, Epona whickered nervously. Link blinked away the haze of fatigue and realized in numb horror that it was Sheik beneath the point of his sword. He scrambled back until he bumped into the cliff, his heart racing from the scare. "I-I'm sorry! I thought you were a Gerudo..."

Sheik shook her head as she sat upright. "N-No, the fault was mine. I should not have come upon you like that, knowing you would be on your guard."

Link let the Master Sword slip from his grasp and pressed a shaking hand over his eyes. "I almost killed you," he whispered.

"They've been hunting you," Sheik stated, and Link nodded morosely. She touched his arm in an effort to still his trembling. "Sleep, Link. I will watch over you for as long as you need."

Link stared at her, incredulous and daring to hope that he just might get that much longed for sleep. "But aren't you tired too?"

"When you awaken, it will be your turn to watch me," Sheik said gently. "We will only get a few hours each, but that is preferable to no sleep at all."

"I'll say," Link said with a weak laugh. He sheathed his sword again and rearranged himself the way he had been before. Already he could feel the tension leaving him, the reflexive need to be alert for danger no longer keeping him on edge. But even as he lost track of the waking world and slipped into shallow dreams, he remained aware of the Sheikah holding vigil on the other side of the ledge, sharp eyes fixed unwavering on the canyon below. And he took comfort from it.

Chapter Text

Before the chaos began, Link took a moment to compose himself. The muscles in his left arm and shoulder ached fiercely, throbbing in time with his pulse, and he flexed his cramped fingers before hooking them around the string of his bow. He breathed in once and let it go slowly, then again, willing his body into that beautiful state of relaxed tension where his instincts kicked in and gave him the focus he needed to shoot both quickly and accurately. Sweat drenched his tunic and trickled down his temples as he braced his feet apart and drew back the bowstring in one smooth motion, sighting the spot where his target would appear. His aim was shakier than he would have liked, but that couldn't be helped. The moment was at hand, and he refused to back down.

Link drew a steadying breath. "Now," he murmured.

"Good luck, sir!" the man behind the counter called as a whistle sounded and music filled the Kakariko Shooting Gallery. The first rupee target popped into sight, and Link fired before he had even registered it was there. His arrow pierced the green rupee neatly and shattered it into a thousand sparkling shards, a glorious display meant to distract him from the red rupees now gliding into sight along tracks near the ceiling. Link chewed on his lip as he led the targets and nailed them both in quick succession, although his fingers slipped on the bowstring and nearly made his shots go wide.

Biting back a curse, Link yanked more arrows from his quiver and fired them one after another with lightning swiftness. Not daring to slow down or second guess his aim, not daring to think lest he become overconfident and make a fatal mistake. Two blue rupees and another green were felled by his arrows, and his heart began to pound with desperate hope. He might actually win this time!

The whistle announced the second to last round. Eyes fixed on his targets, Link reached back for another arrow, but the one he grabbed got stuck in the quiver, and he had to yank on it hard to get it out. Precious seconds were wasted that might make the difference between winning and losing. His next two shots were hasty and reckless, and it was only through sheerest luck that he shattered the blue rupees one after another. Only one round left, but his earlier poise had evaporated. His arms were leaden and trembling, his body tense as the last two rupees appeared before him, gleaming red in the bright lights of the shooting gallery.

Come on, just two left! Don't lose it now!

He missed once, twice. Link uttered an oath and fired off all his arrows wildly, only managing to shatter a single rupee while the second one moved out of sight, still whole and mocking him with its glittering crimson.

"That's it, you're done!"

Link stomped over to the counter and planted his palms on the wood. "One more time! I know I can get it this time!"

The man rubbed the back of his neck. "Son, you've been here for three hours already. I appreciate your business, I really do, but I honestly feel like I'd be robbing you. And besides, it's almost closing time..."

"Just one more!"

"Fine, fine," the man sighed and held out a meaty palm. "That's another thirty rupees then, if you're sure you want to keep wasting them."

Link stuffed his hand in the pouch on his belt, shocked when his fingers at first came in contact with nothing. No, surely he couldn't be out of money already! He checked every single one of his pockets, and even his shoes and his hat, but he only managed to scrounge up a single red rupee. Link offered the gem with a pleading expression, but the gallery owner shook his head. "Not enough, lad. Right, I'm closing up for the night then. You'd better get along home."

"Can I come back tomorrow?"

The man nodded. "If you come back with more than twenty rupees."

Dejected, Link left the Shooting Gallery and trudged down the steps to the street in a foul mood. He started to head for the nearest inn, only to stop and slap a hand to his forehead. "Idiot," he grumbled. Twenty rupees was nowhere near enough to get a room for the night. It wasn't even enough to buy a decent dinner.

With nowhere else to go, Link braced his back against the nearest building and sank to the ground, flipping the red rupee over in his hand and despising how it reminded him of that last target he had failed to strike. He knew he should have gone to the inn first before he checked out the new Shooting Gallery, but the colorful sign with an arrow piercing a target had been so tempting. Link hadn't been able to resist the challenge, the chance to cut loose with his newly acquired weapon that was fast becoming one of his favorites. And the game had looked so deceptively simple! Just shoot the targets and claim the prize of two hundred rupees and a new quiver.

Cockiness had gotten him in the door and frustration had kept him there until all his money was spent. Now not only was he a loser, he was a broke loser. Stupid, stupid.

Link let his head thump against the wall and listened wistfully to the sounds of laughter and clanking silverware coming from the window to his left as a family enjoyed a meal. The people of Kakariko were a kind lot and usually generous toward strangers, but in these dangerous times, Link doubted he could convince any of the villagers to invite him into their homes for the night. Normally, he wouldn't mind. Link was used to sleeping under the stars while traveling, but right now he was hungry and tired and in no mood to make up a camp somewhere outside the village, especially with that chill wind blowing off Zora's river.

He heard footsteps approaching, and a pair of slender legs paused in his line of sight. "What do we have here? A vagrant swordsman with no place to stay?"

Link glanced up at Sheik and offered a feeble smirk. "I look that pathetic, huh?"

"You're straying dangerously close to 'kicked puppy' territory," Sheik said with a chuckle. She tossed him a small wrapped bundle, which turned out to contain a cold meat pie from one of the inns, and Link tore into it ravenously, his muffled "Thanks!" barely audible over his chewing. Sheik leaned against the wall beside him with her arms crossed, and his eyes were drawn to the full pouch hanging from her belt that clinked with rupees. Link glanced back up the street toward the Shooting Gallery, his frustration blazing into renewed fervor at the thought of how many rounds that would buy him. Maybe there was still time to go back for another try? He had been so close...

"Hey, Sheik," Link said slowly after the meat pie had been reduced to crumbs. "Do you mind if I borrow some money? Say...ten rupees?"

"For a room for the night, I presume?" Sheik inquired, casting him an unreadable look.

"Uh...yeah, that's exactly what I need it for!" Link said and mentally added, After I beat the damn game, that is.

Sheik untied the pouch from her belt, and Link tried not to look too eager as she opened it and let two blue rupees drop into her palm. But as he reached out to take them, Sheik closed her fingers around the gems. "A word of advice, hero. Obsession is one step up from determination and one step down from addiction. The former might make you a strong and noble man...but when it is not tempered by discipline and self-restraint, it will impede you in your goals."

"What does that mean?" Link asked, too blinded by visions of exploding rupees to work out what she was getting at.

Sheik pocketed the gems. "It means you were foolish to waste all of your money in such a way, and I feel no remorse in letting you reap the consequences."

"What?" Link cried as she began to walk away, and he jumped to his feet. "Y-You can't just leave me here!"

"It's a relatively warm night, and there have been fewer monster sightings recently," Sheik said loftily. "You'll be safe enough until the sun rises."

"Sheik..."

Sheik glanced back, and her eyes narrowed. "That's not going to work on me," she said in warning.

Link only pouted even more woefully, his eyes big and his bottom lip quivering, trying to make himself look as pitiful as possible. Sheik glanced aside and kept walking, but Link grabbed her hand and went to his knees in true beggar fashion. "I know I made a mistake, but it won't happen again, I swear. Please...please help me, Sheik. You're the only one who can!"

Sheik wavered, her eyes becoming a little more sympathetic. She heaved a sigh and reluctantly took the blue rupees out of her pocket. "Do you promise to spend this on a room and not that silly game?"

"Absolutely," Link said solemnly. But as soon as the money was in his hands, he grinned wickedly. "Sorry, I lied!"

"Link!" Sheik cried in outrage as he sprinted back toward the shooting gallery. "You—you—!"

"I'll pay you back once I win!" Link called over his shoulder. He took the stairs up to the Shooting Gallery two at a time and seized the door handle...only to find it already locked. Link tried it again in disbelief, then pounded on the door, but there was no answer from within. The Shooting Gallery was closed.

His face grew hot when he heard Sheik pace slowly up the stairs and stop right behind him, practically radiating her fury. He turned around with a shaky laugh and what he hoped was a winning smile. "Well, uh...looks like I'll have to get that room after all."

Sheik snatched her money out of his hands.

Chapter Text

"Stop it!"

The whip came down once again and carved another bloody furrow in Sheik's back. She screamed, throwing her head back, and sagged against the chains that hung her from the ceiling by her wrists, her toes barely touching the floor. Her pain and the sight of her blood splattered on the stone made Link struggle wildly against the multiple hands that held him on his knees, a forced witness to her suffering. The masked Gerudo inflicting the torture looked in his eyes callously and raised the whip again.

"Damn you, I said stop!" Link shouted, his voice strained and raw. "You're killing her! Can't you see that?"

"That's enough," a voice said behind him, and the woman wielding the whip stepped back at once. Aveil, the Gerudo leader second only to Nabooru, paced over to stand in front of Link. "No, boy, you're the one killing her. Until you give us what we want, this will not end. It's time you dropped the feigned ignorance. I will only ask one more time! Where is Princess Zelda?"

"I told you, I don't know!" Link bellowed at her. "I'm telling you the truth!"

"Clearly not, or else this tedious conversation would have been over long ago!" Aveil retorted. She studied him with a deep scowl and turned away dismissively. "I always thought that men were worthless, and now it looks like I've been proven right. What kind of a man won't even lift a finger while a woman is tortured before his eyes?"

Link snarled and fought to throw off his captors, furious at the insinuation that he didn't even care when anyone could see he did. Aveil raised her hand, and someone gripped Link's hair and made him watch as Sheik was struck three more times. She cried out each time, but weakly, her voice nearly gone. She had already endured this for nearly an hour. Her back, arms and legs were a ruin of lash marks, crisscrossing one another and bleeding freely, her clothes tattered and barely shielding her mutilated skin. The sight of her so exposed and defenseless enraged Link. If he hadn't been a prisoner himself, he knew he would have killed every Gerudo in that room with his bare hands.

At another signal from Aveil, the masked Gerudo set the whip aside and reached up to unlock the chains from the ceiling. Sheik's legs crumpled, and she hit the stone in a painful heap. Slowly, she began to rise, but the woman standing above her swooped and punched her in the jaw to send her back to the floor. "Stay on your knees, dog!"

"Don't touch her!" Link roared. Sheik stayed where she had fallen, sprawled out, her wrists still in chains. Link couldn't tell if she was saving her strength or if she just didn't have any left. They hadn't taken off her cowl, and her sweaty hair fell across her eyes in a flaxen curtain, hiding her face.

"Last chance, boy," Aveil said as she crouched before him and drew a curved dagger from her belt. Link snapped his eyes to her, seething, his hatred boiling to the surface. It was so savage and all-consuming that he felt absolutely no fear when the dagger point traced along his throat.

"You can tell me what I want to know and earn a swift death for you both," Aveil told him, "or you can rot in a cell while we use the Sheikah dog as our whipping post. If you think the latter is more honorable, I suppose I can't beat that stupidity out of you, but I don't see the honor in withholding mercy from your ally. An ally who risked her life to come after you! I'll bet she wishes now she had just left you in our loving hands."

Link flinched and shut his eyes, unable to face the truth in those words. He had become their prisoner through his own stupid carelessness, and he had been prepared to reap the consequences. They had only interrogated him at first, but Link had known the torture was coming. He had expected it and prepared himself to face it. Link would have held out against anything they threw at him, held onto his courage and his duty until he found a way to escape.

But all of his courage had fallen to pieces at the moment they walked in with Sheik in chains. She hadn't spoken, had barely even looked at him, but Link had seen her remorse, her silent apology for letting herself be thrown into this along with him. It still hurt to think about it. He had never asked her to try and save him, but he hadn't needed to. In her place, he would have done the same. Link made himself look down at Sheik, throat tight, chest aching with grief and guilt. She was right there, and yet he couldn't reach her or even touch her to offer his comfort and protection. It made him loathe their enemies and his weakness all the more.

Sheik stirred, eyelids fluttering, and she turned her head just enough so their gazes could meet. Past the fear and pain, Link saw a spark of strength, rebellion, a core of fury just as hot as his own. She hadn't yet uttered a word to the Gerudo, had shown them nothing but disdainful silence. She hadn't given up yet. Link held her gaze so she would see his own conviction and take heart from it. They were in this together. As long as Sheik was fighting, so was he.

Aveil backhanded him, contemptuous. "Words are wasted on someone like you," she muttered. "You know in the old days, we used to castrate the young men we caught in our territory. A brutal practice, but very effective. What do you think? Would that loosen your tongue, brat?"

Link swallowed the blood in his mouth. "Why don't you try it and find out, bitch," he rasped.

Aveil froze. An appalled silence descended on the cell, and even Sheik jerked in surprise. In Gerudo society, that was the most demeaning insult one could use against another, and to have a man say it only made the slur that much more vile. Link didn't care. He didn't give a damn what they did to punish him. After the brutality they had shown Sheik, all that was left in him was anger and the desire to see them hurt in any way he could.

Shaking, Aveil straightened and turned to one of the guards at the door. "Summon him."

"A-Aveil...?"

"You heard me."

The guard nodded jerkily and jogged down the corridor. Aveil looked down on Link with flashing eyes. "You brought this on yourself," she said coldly. "I am returning you both to your separate cells now. In less than an hour, Lord Ganondorf will come to the fortress. I'm sure he will be...most pleased to become acquainted with your Sheikah friend. Our paltry methods are nothing compared to what he learned from those hags at the colossus."

Oh gods, Link thought in horror, his heart battering against his ribs. But his reaction was nothing compared to Sheik. What little of her face he could see drained of all color. Wide, terrified eyes stared at nothing as the words sank in, the indomitable spirit within starting to withdraw behind a cloud of despair. It was like Aveil had read her death sentence. Frightened by her reaction, Link willed her to look at him again and see the promise in his eyes.

I won't let it happen! I'll save you, Sheik! Just give me time, just hold on as long as you can. Don't give up, I need to know you're still fighting!

At a sharp word from Aveil, the guards holding Link hauled him to his feet. He resisted with all his might as they dragged him backward toward the door. "Sheik!" he shouted in desperation. "Sheik!"

Sheik never looked up. "...goodbye, Link," she whispered.

"NO!" Link howled as they hauled him away. He screamed and cursed and forced the six guards escorting him through the fortress to fight for every inch. When they reached his own cell and tried to shove him through the door, Link managed to seize one of their glaives and nearly decapitated its owner. But with six to one odds, he was quickly disarmed and beaten as his punishment. When they grew bored and left him alone, slamming the heavy door behind them, Link threw himself at the barrier like a wild thing and pounded his fists on the metal. He would not submit, he would not lie down and accept that this was the end for him and Sheik.

But the memory of her farewell to him was enough to make him sink to his knees with his head in his hands. He shuddered at the thought of Sheik in Ganondorf's hands, anguish threatening to overwhelm him. As a child, Link had seen with his own eyes what the Gerudo king was capable of even without the Triforce. Ganondorf stopped at nothing to take what he wanted from others. What would he do to Sheik? How far would he go?

How long could Sheik hold out against him? Would she even try?

"Damn it!" Link hissed and viciously punched the floor. He pushed back the misery and the bitter taste of tears, cast aside all thoughts of Zelda and his duty to Hyrule. Instead, he held onto that image of Sheik's battered body and allowed it to feed his rage, let it fester and smolder and stoke higher and higher. It gave him focus, gave him strength and clarity, erased his doubts and fears. Nothing, nothing would stop him from reaching her and slaughtering anyone who got in his way, including Ganondorf.

With a low growl of defiance, Link shoved himself to his feet and began to search his cell for a way out.

Chapter Text

"Betrothed?"

The word caught in his throat, and he made it sound like something awful and unwanted, a curse from which she couldn't break free. Except it was a curse of her own making. His eyes shot up to hers, disbelieving, and Zelda could tell Link wanted it to be a lie. For the first time, she wanted it to be a lie as well. But with her guards and servants around them, attending to her even though it should have been a private audience, she stayed silent as Link swallowed hard and forced a pained smile.

"C-Congratulations, Princess."

Zelda accepted that as graciously as she could and invited him to sit and take tea with her. The next few hours were spent catching up on the past twelve years, he telling of his adventures and travels, and she telling of Hyrule's prosperity and of the man who would be her husband. Link seemed oddly interested in hearing about her fiancé...and disappointed to learn that he actually was a good man, the son of a prominent duke who was one of her father's oldest friends. A dependable and kindhearted man with little interest in kingship and court politics, content to merely take his place as husband and prince regent alongside her. Really, Link should have known better than to question her decision in that regard. He was still such a boy on the inside...

The thought made Zelda bite her lip. The last she had seen of Link, he had only been a boy. Bereaved of his fairy companion, burdened by the memories of a future that never happened, Link had set off on a journey in search of his purpose, in search of himself. Now he was back. He had gained nothing in his aimless wandering and come back in the frail hope that he could still gain somethingfrom her. At least, that was what Zelda read in his stiff posture and stilted words.

For a brief moment, Zelda wanted to throw aside royal decorum and scream at him and demand to know why he had left her all those years ago. Hadn't he known that the same memories which tormented him had been ripping her to pieces as well? Those seven nonexistent years spent in exile with only Impa to rely on, learning to hide her face behind a mask and swallow the pain as her people were tormented by a tyrant. Then the weeks spent in his company, praying for his safety even as she sent him headlong into volcanoes and deserts and the bowels of hell itself. And then, the battle against Ganondorf. Watching him duel the Gerudo king with her heart in her throat, knowing the world itself was at stake, and yet her thoughts and fear had only been for him. Always for him.

Had Link even once thought of how she would deal with that once they turned back time and became children again? Alone, without even the one person who remembered and understood as she did? Zelda didn't have the luxury of riding off to nowhere in the hopes of escaping those memories. She still had all of Hyrule counting on her to be its princess and queen. She had to attend diplomatic dinners with the Gorons and Zoras and try not to cry when she saw a face that had been dead in the other timeline. She had to swallow her hatred when she visited the Gerudo lands with her father and remembered how those red-haired women had beaten the adult Link while he was in their captivity.

And in Kakariko...well, Zelda tried not to visit Kakariko. The sight of the well still made her sick with terror, but it also warmed her with the memory of Link standing above her with his sword drawn, defending her from the shadow spirit, and later carrying her injured body to Impa's house, despite being hurt himself. Zelda remembered...she remembered the two of them sitting on the floor and caring for each other's wounds, cleaning and bandaging, the intimacy of the moment making them clumsy and awkward. His eyes moving to hers, their faces close, and Zelda could still hear his stumbling words as he tried to explain that he had grown to care for her, how he longed for her in a way he didn't yet understand...

Sheik, please...let me see your face...

"Princess? Are you alright?"

Zelda came back to herself and saw Link reaching for her. He looked down at the same time she did and realized it was her left hand he was about to take, the one with her engagement ring. It was a jarring reminder for them both. Link sat back in his chair quickly, and Zelda checked to be sure her guards were out of earshot and her servants otherwise engaged. She dropped her gaze and voice.

"Did you really think I would wait?"

It was supposed to be harsh, words meant to hurt, but her voice trembled and she ended up sounding shaken, fragile. Link's expression became stricken, his fist clenching on the armchair. "Forgive me," he whispered, and he sounded as empty as she felt.

"I would invite you to attend the ceremony," Zelda said more loudly, "but I...I would understand if you could not come. If you had other obligations or..."

Or couldn't stand the pain...

Link cleared his throat. "No, there's nothing else. I will be there."

"Link," Zelda began, her heart aching.

"I will be there," Link said firmly. He rose from his chair and knelt before her, the motion neither clumsy nor self-conscious. He must have practiced. "If you'll let me, Zelda—I mean, Princess—I want to become a knight of Hyrule. I want to protect you, and this kingdom, forever. Or at least for as long as I can. I might as well start now, right?"

"Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Of course I'm sure!"

Zelda knew it was cruel, but it would have been crueler still to let him tender his oath utterly blind. She shut her eyes and touched her temple, concentrating, the simple glamor coming to her so easily. When she opened her eyes, the radiant azure had been replaced by the deep and intense crimson of the Sheikah. They weren't her real eyes, but they were the eyes she had possessed when he first began to love her. A pained noise caught in Link's throat, lips parting, and his expression flooded with that same yearning he had shown in Impa's house.

"I ask again, Hero of Time...is this what you want?" Zelda said in a hushed voice. Can you really stand to live that way? The way we did back then, only so much worse? It isn't only a mask between us now, it's our whole lives.

Link gazed upon her a moment longer, intently. Zelda thought at first he had changed his mind, and it took her a moment to understand he was studying her for an entirely different reason, committing Sheik's face to his memory. The face of the woman he loved, not the princess he had sworn to serve and never touch.

Link bowed his head and breathed deeply. "I will always protect you," he murmured.

And Zelda couldn't bring herself to steal that last shred of purpose away from him. She banished the illusion on her eyes and rose from her chair, drawing his sword from the sheath on his back so she could knight him then and there. A servant was sent to find those who would put it down on paper and make it official, and there would, of course, be a more public knighting arranged for all the nobles of her court to witness.

But that would, unfortunately, have to wait until after the wedding.

Chapter Text

"Three thousand rupees."

Zelda narrowed her eyes and gave the constable her best Sheikah glower. "You're joking."

"Three thousand rupees to post bail," the constable repeated flatly, his smug look telling her that he knew it was an outrageous amount she could never afford. "Pretty reasonable sum, if you consider the crime. Your friend started a brawl in the tavern and viciously attacked a couple of the local boys..."

"After which, they pinned him down and beat him unconscious," Zelda said, her tone glacial. "And yet I don't see any of those animals occupying cells of their own."

"Pretty boy goaded them into it," the constable persisted. "They were right sorry about it too. I've known all those boys since they were lads, and they wouldn't hurt a fly. They only knocked him around a bit, they didn't mean no harm."

"According to the five witnesses I spoke with, they meant a great deal of harm. Tell me, are you purposely incompetent or were you simply born without a shred of decency?"

The constable turned purple and stood up so fast that his chair was knocked over. He planted his hands on the desk between them, and Zelda was grateful for the veil that protected her face from spittle. "Now listen to me, you scrawny little—!"

"I will pay five hundred rupees to post his bail," Zelda said curtly and dropped a fat sack on the desk. The constable blinked down at the money like he couldn't figure out what it was. "That is the standard sum that would be demanded for a crime of aggravated assault in a town of this size...as I'm sure your predecessors must have taught you before they made the unfortunate mistake of assigning you to your current position."

Remarkably, the constable seemed on the verge of agreeing and even went so far as to reach for the money. But he looked back up at her with a greedy light in his eyes. "Tell you what, Sheikah. Since you and your friend are newcomers to town and all, I might be willing to lower the price to two thousand rupees..."

"Five hundred."

"One thousand!"

"Five hundred," Zelda repeated, fingering the dagger at her belt. "Either we agree on five hundred or you will be the one beaten and locked inside a cell."

The constable threw his head back and roared in laughter. "Beaten by who? By you?"

"That is not an idle threat."

"Right, right," the constable chuckled and waved a dismissive hand. "What'll you do if I don't take it? Drag me before Her Highness and make me blubber an apology? Last I checked, it was a Gerudo on the throne and not your precious Hylian bluebloods. So tell you what? Why don't you take your measly five hundred and shove it up your—"

Zelda jumped onto the desk and gave him a roundhouse kick straight in the head. The constable spun around and made such a racket as he tumbled to the floor that she winced, positive someone outside must have heard it. But no one came into the jailhouse to investigate, and after a moment, Zelda hopped down and took the keys from the constable's belt. And even though he didn't deserve it, she laid on him a spell that would heal his concussion, but she let him keep the splitting headache and chipped tooth. Let that be a reminder not to disrespect the Sheikah or the royal family.

The locked door just behind the desk led to the cells. Zelda sorted through the keys until she found the right one and let herself in, wrinkling her nose at the stench of urine and human waste. Cleanliness did not seem to be a priority here. There were only six cells, three on each side, and Zelda could see Link straining to peer out of the furthest cell down on the right. He whistled when he spotted the constable's prone form. "Damn, you couldn't have at least let me see that? I've wanted to do that ever since I walked in here!"

"I hadn't planned on going so far," Zelda replied. There was only one other convict in the cell across from Link, and as she approached, the filthy man came to the bars and leered at her, letting his eyes roam over her body. She shot him a distasteful look. How was it that the lechers were always the first to see through her male disguise? Turning her back on the second convict, Zelda stood before Link's cell with her hands on her hips while he gripped the rusty bars between them and looked just about as hangdog as a man could manage.

"So, um...are you going to let me out?"

"Actually, I'm considering letting you rot there for awhile longer."

Link drooped. "Aw, come on, Sheik..."

"Don't even try it," Zelda said sternly. She let her attention be drawn to the mottled bruises still on his face, only now begun to heal, and sighed. "Why did you start that fight? Whatever dispute you had with those men, surely it could have been settled with words alone?"

Link grimaced as he leaned against the bars, refusing to look her in the eye. "I just lost my temper, that's all. It's not like I wanted to hurt them or anything. I didn't even draw my sword."

"That doesn't excuse your actions," Zelda said, irritated that he was avoiding her question. "It does not change the fact that you threw the first punch. I know you, Link. You don't get involved in meaningless conflicts. What could they have possibly said to make this time different?"

Link turned his head away. "I don't want to talk about it," he said shortly.

"Hey, sweetheart," the convict cajoled behind her, "I'll talk to ya if blondie there don't want to..."

"Look, it's not a big deal," Link went on, facing her at last. "So can we just forget it ever happened? It's not like I'm planning to do it again."

"How do I know that for sure?" Zelda demanded. "It's my duty to make sure you do not stray from your path, and if you're going to keep 'losing your temper' and getting thrown behind bars at every other town and waypoint..."

"But I said I wouldn't do it again!" Link protested. He reached through the bars and held out an entreating hand. "Come on, you're not really going to leave me here, are you?"

Zelda stepped back out of his reach, arms crossed. "Perhaps I will, if another night spent in that cell will loosen your tongue."

"Here's an idea, honey, why don't ya stay the night in my cell? I'd show you how loose my tongue can get..."

Link slammed his hand on the bars. "You shut your mouth!" he shouted at the convict. "Or do I have to come over there and shut it for you?"

The convict slunk back with a sneer. "Ooh lookit, the wolf has got some teeth! You'd better put a collar on him, love."

Link scowled at the unrepentant convict while Zelda stared at him, puzzled by his outburst. And it occurred to her that the only times she had seen Link truly angry had been when someone he cared about was threatened. Then his wrath rivaled the most volatile of men. "Link," she said slowly, "what did those men say to set you off?"

Meeting her unwavering gaze, Link let his shoulders slump in defeat. "At first, it wasn't a big deal. Just the same things I always hear about...about what happened seven years ago. People wondering what happened to Zelda and why it's taking so long for her chosen champion to show up..."

Zelda nodded wordlessly. She had heard similar things since she was driven into exile.

"I was just going to ignore it and walk out, but you should have heard what they were saying," Link muttered and ground his teeth, his voice rising. "They called Zelda a coward for going into hiding instead of staying to fight Ganondorf, making it out like she should have done something about it. But she was only a kid then, and she did try to stop it! It wasn't her fault it all went wrong at the last minute. I couldn't just sit there and let those guys go on like they knew better. They weren't even there that night!"

"No, they weren't," Zelda said, only just keeping her voice level. She still carried tremendous guilt for what had happened that night and the price Link had paid for it, along with the rest of her kingdom. It made her heart ache to know Link had defended her in spite of what he had lost. "But was it necessary to punish their ignorance with violence?"

"Well, at first, all I did was yell at them," Link said, still brooding. "I told them if they spent more time resisting Ganondorf instead of drinking, maybe they wouldn't have had to put up with him for seven years. And I told them maybe Zelda hadn't come back yet because she had better things to do than look after a kingdom full of idiots."

Zelda suppressed a groan, imagining full well how a couple of hot-headed young men might have reacted to such taunting. "Oh, I see...and I suppose that's when you punched one of them and provoked the rest into attacking you?"

"Yeah, basically," Link grumbled. "Now will you let me out of here?"

Zelda stared at him in silence, just long enough for Link to start fidgeting, and only then did she step forward to unlock the cell door. "I suppose since I went to the effort to get this far, I should not waste the opportunity. I only ask that from now on you learn to walk away from such remarks."

Link stepped out of the cell quickly like he thought she might change her mind about setting him free. He met her gaze in disbelief. "Even if they're about Zelda?"

"Yes, even then," Zelda said in a firm tone. "You do her no service by letting your anger get the best of you. They are only words, Link. They do no harm simply by being spoken. If Hyrule is to be saved, you cannot afford to become distracted from your ultimate goal."

"But...but they disrespected her!" Link said, clearly struggling to grasp the concept of turning the other cheek. "And shouldn't you be on my side about this, Sheik? Isn't it your duty to protect Zelda too?"

"To protect her life," Zelda emphasized, and she arched an eyebrow. "Unless you're suggesting those men posed a viable threat to her safety...?"

Link laughed and held up his hands like he was placating a guard dog with raised hackles. "Whoa, down girl! Now who's the one about to lose their temper?"

Zelda drew herself up aloofly and reiterated one of Impa's most frequent lessons. "We shadows who protect the royal family pride ourselves on being calm and composed and in control of our emotions at all times."

A faint groan came from the constable down the hall. Link flicked his eyes in that direction. "Really, that's calm and composed?"

Zelda faltered, perfectly aware that she had only attacked the constable because she had run out of patience trying to reason with him. It was an awfully glaring contradiction to the lesson she was trying to teach Link. "He was...an obstacle. One I had no choice but to remove in order to set you free. After all, your freedom is tied to my ultimate goal of ending Ganondorf's reign. If I were truly going to give in to my temper, the convict behind me would no longer be in possession of his tongue."

"Oh, thanks the gods, she said tongue!" the convict exclaimed. He guffawed nervously when they looked at him. "For a second there, sweetheart, I thought you meant you'd hack off my—"

"Excuse me," Link said tersely, and he casually walked up to the convict's cell and punched him through the bars. The convict tottered back with a dazed look, massaging his jaw, and he spat a bloody tooth into his palm.

Link beamed at Zelda. "Sorry. I guess I just can't help myself."

Zelda shook her head, glad for the veil to hide her secret smile. "Come, hero. Let's see if we can't find a more appropriate target for your excessive anger."

Chapter Text

Deep within the Kokiri forest, two silent warriors faced off in the meadow of the Great Deku Tree.

Link breathed deeply and steadily as he circled Sheik with his sword drawn, the withered grass whispering against his calves. Red eyes flicked sideways, and Link twisted away just in time to deflect the dagger stabbing for his kidney. Undeterred, Sheik drove him back with a flurry of strikes almost too quick to follow, herding him toward the Great Tree. Seeing his danger—he knew better than to give the nimble Sheikah something to climb—Link caught her wrist as Sheik lunged and twisted the dagger out of her grasp. The weapon fell at their feet and disappeared somewhere in the grass.

Her eyes smiled at him as she retreated from his charge, easily evading the Master Sword and trying to come up under his guard to attack with fists and feet. Link couldn't help but admire the way Sheik fought, graceful and brutal all at once. Not a single motion was wasted, and her hidden strength only became apparent when she actually landed a blow in a tender place and put enough force behind it to break bones. Sheik was unlike any other opponent he had ever faced, pushing him to the limits of his endurance, and Link relished the chance to cut loose. Had it been anyone but her, he wouldn't have dared to spar with live steel, but Link knew he could trust Sheik to stay out of the path of his sword, just as she trusted him to pull his strikes at the last moment so he wouldn't cut her.

It gave these bouts an added thrill Link rarely felt when he was fighting. Even as fatigue drained him and sweat prickled at his forehead, Link was grinning in reckless battle fury. There was nothing riding on the outcome, and they had nothing to prove to each other. It was just a game they played.

Neither of them ever brought up the necessity of this training for the greater battle they would face one day. It was easier to pretend it was all for fun. The only fun either of them ever had these days.

An elbow jabbed him in the ribs, and Link winced and doubled over. Damn, that was what he got for letting his mind wander. He backed away until he had caught his breath and then looked up to scan the meadow. Sheik had vanished. Link narrowed his eyes in suspicion. She couldn't have gone far. She must be close by and lying in wait until he lowered his guard. Link started to stalk back toward where her dagger had fallen, thinking to make sure his adversary stayed weaponless.

He was too late. The dagger was already gone.

Sheik dropped down behind him from one of the Great Tree's branches and kicked his shield off his arm. Link spun around, their blades meeting with a crash. He grasped the hilt in both hands and bore down, trying to force her to the ground, but Sheik stubbornly resisted and then kicked his leg out from beneath him. Brought to one knee, Link quickly reversed his sword and drove the hilt into her solar plexus. Sheik wheezed and fell back, and Link pursued the advantage, ruthlessly pushing her back as she scrambled to defend herself. Their blades flew so fast that Link lost track of the individual strikes and blocks. It was all one blur of flashing metal overlaying the greens and browns of the forest. The battle was about to be decided. Link could sense it, and his soul sang in triumph as his pulse thundered in his ears, caught up in the savage glory of combat.

It all happened in the space of a few seconds. Link caught one of Sheik's thrusts with the hilt of his sword and sent her dagger flying. He brought the Master Sword up over his head like he was chopping wood, an attack that was powerful, but very slow. Sheik would see it coming a mile away and be forced to dodge, and she would be off balance after dodging it, which would give Link a chance to move in for the "kill" and win the duel. But the unthinkable happened. Sheik stumbled, catching her foot on an exposed root, and the motion was so jarring that it hit Link like a slap in the face. By the time Sheik recovered, it was far too late for her to move aside or for Link to abort his attack. He saw her eyes widen in that split second, her arm coming up in an instinctive and futile attempt to block his downward swing.

By some miracle of reflexes, Link turned his sword just enough so it was the flat of the blade that came down and struck her collarbone, snapping it clean in half with a sickening crack. Sheik gasped, all the color leeched from her face in an instant. He thought she would scream, but the choked moan that caught in her throat was even worse because it sounded like the keen of a dying animal, too far gone to even give voice to its pain. Link dropped his sword and caught her as she sagged, both of them sinking to their knees in the grass.

"Sheik—oh gods, I'm sorry! How bad is it?"

Sheik only sobbed, her other hand clutching her shoulder protectively. Without thinking, Link drew her closer and accidentally jostled the broken bone. Her eyes rolled up, and she slumped against him in a dead faint. Maybe that was a blessing. Link probed her shoulder gently, wincing at the damage, and he felt even worse when he noticed the blood staining the veil over her face. She must have bitten her lip until it bled. Link looked around quickly, and seeing Navi already flitting off in search of a healing fairy, he sighed and settled down to wait, inwardly cursing. How could they have let this happen? How could they be so careless?

Link lifted his eyes from the sickly pallor of Sheik's face to gaze up at the Great Deku Tree. Or rather, what was left of him. Even seven years after the death of the spirit within, the dead tree remained standing. Fixed, immovable. A permanent reminder of his first steps on the hero's path...and his first failure. The first life to be lost in that greater battle he and Sheik had been trying so hard to forget.

Looking back down at Sheik, Link brushed the sweaty hair from her forehead. "This stopped being a game a long time ago," he murmured.

From that day forward, he and Sheik never sparred again.

Chapter Text

"Come on, just a few minutes."

"We don't have time. We need to get on the road. If we delay any longer, we'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Then we'll wait until tomorrow! You know it won't make a difference."

"Every day counts, Link. Now that you've awakened the third sage and restored Lake Hylia, we should head back to Kakariko village and search for leads on the remaining sages."

"But if we leave now, then we might not get the chance to come back here again. Sheik...please?"

And there was that look again. The one Zelda both hated and loved because she could never seem to say no when Link turned to her with those wide, imploring eyes and that not-quite-daring-to-hope smile. It never failed to remind her of the young boy standing in the castle courtyard, shyly asking if she could skip out on her etiquette lessons and play music with him on their ocarinas. Of course back then, it had been much easier to neglect duty for him. The consequences of skipped etiquette lessons were hardly on par with failing to awaken all the sages.

Zelda turned to gaze out at the restored Lake Hylia, sparkling in the morning sunlight. "Link...we both have our duties," she said regretfully.

"I know, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun once in awhile, right?" Link said, and he took her hand to pull her down to the water's edge. "Just give it a chance. I promise you'll love it!"

Zelda sighed, but she didn't pull away. He had a point. When would they ever get the chance again? After they awakened the next two sages, they still had that inevitable confrontation with Ganondorf to worry about. A confrontation it was unlikely they would both survive, even if they succeeded in toppling him. She and Link might have precious little time left in this world. And Link had already had seven years stolen from him. Why should she deny him a single day?

Water splashed in her face, startling Zelda from her thoughts. "Link!"

"What?" Link asked innocently. "You were daydreaming. Now come on, get in here!"

Zelda glanced down at the shallows separating them, the crystalline water tinted a rich azure that perfectly matched the Zora tunic Link wore. He hadn't gone more than a few steps, but he was already up to his thighs, indicating the steep slope of the lakebed. Gingerly, Zelda slipped off her slim boots and stuck her foot in the water, biting back an oath. "It's freezing!"

"You'll get used to it," Link coaxed her. He turned to wade in further and cast a half lidded gaze over his shoulder. "Heh, and I thought the Sheikah were supposed to be tough..."

Zelda bristled at the goad and dearly wished she could smack the smirk off his face. Unfortunately, that would require following him. The princess braced herself and strode into the water without flinching, even though the temperature raised goosebumps on her legs and arms. Link paused and waited for her to catch up, and once they both stood up to their waists, he smiled. "See? Not so bad, is it?"

"I suppose it's pleasant enough," Zelda said through clenched teeth. "But how is this going to work? We only have one Zora tunic, and we can hardly share it."

"I've already thought of that," Link told her, and he took off the blue hat that had come with the tunic. "Here, tie this around your mouth and nose. It's made of the same material, although the lake professor said the water-breathing spell on the tunic is more powerful so I don't need a mask."

"Are you sure that will work?" Zelda asked doubtfully. She turned the hat over in her hands, noting the miniscule Zora scales stitched into the fabric which made it shimmer in the sunlight. Perhaps it would work.

"Only one way to find out, right?" Link pointed out. "So are you coming?"

She was sorely tempted. It was a chance to see something hardly any humans were privileged to see—a chance to see Lake Hylia as only a Zora could. Zelda couldn't deny a growing curiosity of what they might find in those mysterious depths. Looking back up at Link, she nodded once. "Very well, but only for a few minutes. Turn around."

Link gave her a baffled look. "Why?"

Zelda only stared at him. He knew perfectly well why she had asked, and after a moment, Link dropped the feigned innocence with a sigh and turned his back on her. "You know you can trust me, Sheik," he said wistfully.

"I know," Zelda said quietly and chose to leave it at that. With a quick glance around to be sure no one else was nearby, she swiftly removed the familiar gray cowl and tied the hat snugly around her head. It would not do for the fabric to slip while they were swimming. "I'm ready."

"Then let's go!" Link said and took her hand again, hauling her along like a delighted child eager to show off a secret. They waded until the water level had risen above their shoulders, and when Link suddenly dove beneath the surface, Zelda had little choice but to follow. Instinct made her shut her eyes and hold her breath until Link tapped her shoulder to get her attention. He couldn't speak underwater, but he gestured at his own chest meaningfully. The moment of truth at hand, Zelda nervously opened her mouth and took a cautious breath, expecting the water to rush into her throat and choke her. But it didn't happen. She could still feel the water against her face, but the enchanted cloth around her mouth and nose transformed it into air the moment she breathed in. It was the strangest thing Zelda had ever experienced.

Link beamed at her astonishment, but he didn't give her a chance to get used to it before he was pulling her further away from the shore. They followed the lakebed until the muddy bottom turned into rock and plunged almost straight down into a bottomless black abyss. Zelda shuddered at the chill of the water that leeched heat from her skin, and she peeked over her shoulder to watch the sunlit surface grow further and further away like they were falling into a deep well. Had Zelda been by herself, she would have turned back, frightened by the pressing silence and the constant threat of the water. She couldn't fathom how Link had braved this to reach the temple at the deepest part of the lake. As they descended into the growing darkness, Zelda kept a tight hold of his hand and took comfort from his calm demeanor.

But after several minutes of diving, Zelda noticed a light below them. It was faint and diffuse, and at first she thought it was just her imagination wishing for light. But when they at last reached the bottom of Lake Hylia, her eyes grew wide with wonder. It was coming from a vast field of coral growing all along the lakebed. The light emitted by the coral was a ghostly blue-green and gave the entire area the appearance of some kind of spirit world. There were many creatures down here that gave off the same light from their fins. Spiny fish and undulating eels with bulging eyes, and swift stingrays that hid in the sand until they came too close and then glided away, silent flyers in the water.

Eagerly, Link guided her through this alien world to some crumbling ruins of white stone that must have stood here for centuries before the lake was formed. Zelda was amazed at the discovery. She had never known these ruins existed. As they explored, they crossed paths with a few Zoras, who looked at the humans oddly, but seemed more amused than bothered by their presence. Zelda couldn't help but stare at the spiraling patterns on the edges of their fins, which gave off the same luminosity as the coral. The language the Zoras used to communicate underwater was gorgeous, almost like singing. Zelda could have stayed and listened to it for hours, but Link was already leading her off to yet another marvel. It was a place not far from the ruins where the lakebed was covered in hundreds of clam shells, and Link pried one open to show her the perfect white pearl within. Zelda took the clam and admired the precious stone, but when she would have put it back, Link mimed at her to keep it.

Frowning, Zelda pointed back at the Zoras. Won't they mind?

Link scratched his head and shrugged. I dunno, I didn't think about that.

Zelda rolled her eyes, but she discreetly slipped the clam and pearl into her belt pouch. As long as she only took one, it was unlikely the Zoras would notice. She and Link amused themselves for awhile longer, unearthing colorful shells and rocks from the sand and chasing the quick stingrays that always stayed just out of reach. Zelda couldn't have said how long they spent down there, but she was soon exhausted. It was hard to swim for so long, especially when every inch of her was numb from the cold.

By silent consent, she and Link wearily started to make their way to the surface. The ascent seemed to take even longer than the journey down, and the sense of disconnect was worse since they were swimming almost straight up and lost sight of the lakebed long before they could see the surface. Zelda entertained the brief fantasy that they were soaring through a starless night sky high above Hyrule, searching for the edge of time itself. The water around them gradually lightened from deep indigo to vivid turquoise, and finally she saw the surface as a flat plane of brilliant sky blue. They broke the surface with twin gasps, and the sudden blinding sunlight dazzled Zelda after all that time in the dark.

She followed Link as he paddled over to an island with a single lone tree. After the weightless sensation of swimming, Zelda's body felt too heavy and cumbersome walking on land, and she lay down in the grass to rest as soon as it was reasonable to do so. It took ages for the sun to dry her clothes and penetrate her frozen skin, slowly restoring feeling to her fingers and toes. Beside her, Link had also flopped down on his back with his arms thrown out and eyes closed. Zelda studied his relaxed face, watching the color gradually leech back into his pale cheeks and lips. Droplets of water clung to his eyelashes as he blinked and turned to her with a lazy grin that brought the heat back to her core far more quickly than the sun every could.

"So? How was it?"

Zelda slowly rolled toward him and propped herself on her elbow. She wanted to tell him how much she had enjoyed the experience, but no word seemed adequate to describe it. Her sheer awe at the world beneath the lake and the joy of having him share it with her...how did one define that feeling? Amazing? Splendid? Breathtaking?

"It was..."

Link sat up, his brow creasing. "It was...?"

"Thank you so much," Zelda said at last. She took the clam out of her pocket and removed the pearl from its center so she could see it in the full light of day. "I never knew Hyrule had such wonders, and all of it right below our feet...I'll never forget this, Link. And I'll never again doubt you."

Link grinned and reached over to tuck a strand of damp hair behind her ear. "Good. Because next time, I'm taking you inside the volcano beneath Death Mountain!"

Chapter Text

Zelda and Link sat across the table from each other in Impa's house, a mute contest of wills raging between them. Unlike most other people, Link was no longer intimidated by the fierce red eyes of the Sheikah, and he stood his ground with his mouth set in a firm line. Without breaking eye contact, Zelda reached across the table and nudged a clear glass bottle across the wood. Link's gaze flicked down to the sloshing red liquid inside, disgust warring with need. He drummed his fingers on the table as he considered the potion between them and set his chin stubbornly.

"I don't want it."

"Whether you want it or not is irrelevant," Zelda said tersely. "You need to take it."

"I said I don't want it," Link repeated and sat back in his chair. He tried to cross his arms and winced when the arm in a sling refused to cooperate. He must be hurting again. Nearly a week after having his shoulder badly dislocated and then forcibly reinserted by Impa and Zelda, he still had a hard time moving the joint properly. Even a few passes with the Master Sword were beyond him. It would heal on its own, given enough time and bedrest, but that was time they could not afford to spend idly.

Hence, the potion that was the source of their ongoing argument.

"I don't see why you're being such a child about this," Zelda said, ignoring the scowl Link threw at her. "You're in constant pain, and you can hardly move without making it worse. The longer you remain in this state, the more likely it is you will overextend yourself and cause more damage that can't be repaired. But if you take at least one potion every morning and night, you could be fully healed within a day or two as opposed to enduring several weeks of discomfort."

"Look, I don't care how long it takes," Link said edgily. "I already said I'm not drinking that stuff. I only use potions if it's life or death, and this hardly counts."

"For you, perhaps, but there are others in this kingdom who may die while you sit there and continue this foolishness," Zelda retorted. "I should think they would be your priority."

"Don't try to guilt me into it, Sheik," Link snapped. "I don't like potions. They taste weird, they make me sleepy, and half the time they don't even work because the quacks that made them just threw some water and herbs together and called it a potion. I call it a waste of money for what might as well be mushroom soup!"

Zelda stiffened. "Impa and I made this potion ourselves," she said in a lethal tone. "We infused it with our own magic."

"Oh," Link said, momentarily abashed. But the brat resurfaced almost at once. "Well, you already knew how I felt about potions so maybe you shouldn't have bothered. Besides, real men don't take shortcuts. They take the pain like...like men!"

Zelda very nearly tore her hair out. Men, and their endless need to prove something! Who was he trying to impress? Her? In all the time they had known each other, Zelda had never been more unimpressed with him. "Link, I am out of patience. One way or another, that potion is going down your throat. If you still refuse..."

"What, you'll make me?" Link snickered, confident she was bluffing. "You wouldn't attack me when I'm injured like this. Then I could hurt my shoulder again, and it would take even longer for me to recover."

"You've pushed me far enough that it's a risk I might be willing to take," Zelda warned him as she stood up. Link straightened a little, suspicious, but he made no move to defend himself as Zelda rested her hand on the table and leaned close to him. "This is your last chance to surrender before I resort to violence."

Link donned a smirk that was all rebel. "You'll never take me alive."

The door to the small kitchen off the main room opened. Impa came out and regarded them with an unreadable expression, and Link perked up when the smell of cooking meat wafted into the room. "Hey, is that cucco I smell?"

"It is," Impa said with a slight nod. "Sheik, if you're hungry, you may come and join me for lunch."

Zelda glowered at Link before she obediently went to her mentor. Link started to rise from his chair so he could follow, but Impa turned a stern eye on him. "I see you haven't taken that potion yet, Link," she remarked.

Link paused and glanced at the abandoned bottle uncertainly. "Um, no...?"

Impa smiled thinly and crossed her arms, conveniently blocking the kitchen door. "Well? Are you going to take it?"

Zelda looked at Link. Link looked from Impa to the potion with a grimace that reflected an internal struggle. And to Zelda's astonishment, he snatched up the bottle and gulped it all down within a few seconds, his face screwed up in revulsion. When Link had swallowed it all and presented the empty bottle to Impa, she nodded in satisfaction and stepped aside so he could go into the kitchen and eat. Zelda gaped at Impa. The elder Sheikah had practically raised her so of course Zelda was accustomed to doing as Impa told her, but she hadn't realized her mentor had a similar effect on Link.

"H-How did you...?"

Looking after Link, Impa made thoughtful noise in her throat. "Interesting...for someone who was raised without a mother, he is surprisingly submissive to female authority."

"But then why couldn't I...?"

"Don't take it personally," Impa said with a chuckle. "When you have children of your own, you'll understand."

Zelda frowned a bit behind her veil. "But you don't have any children."

Impa's smile only widened. "Oh yes, I do. Two of them. One is a boy, and the other only thinks she's a boy."

Impa grasped her shoulder briefly and then followed Link into the kitchen. Zelda didn't follow right away, rooted to the spot as Impa's warm words slowly washed over her. For though they had been spoken in the gruff and roundabout manner of the Sheikah, it was the first time Impa had ever called her daughter.

Chapter Text

The trouble all started in Kakariko. And Link had no one to blame but himself. It was his own fault for spending so much time there. But the little village tucked away in the eastern mountains had become something of a haven, the only place where he could relax among ordinary people and sleep in a real bed without fear of being ambushed. When the time came for a rest from battle, Link always found his feet taking him there first, and as a result he got to know the people of Kakariko very well. He even got discounts at the bazaar and the potion shop for being a frequent customer.

As word began to spread of his accomplishments, the reception became even warmer. Long evenings were spent at the local tavern where he enjoyed a hearty meal and regaled the eager villagers with tales of his adventures. Not everyone believed him, but there were plenty who did, and Link was both surprised and pleased when he noticed quite a few young, attractive women among the latter crowd. Aside from the children, they made the best audience. They never tired of hearing the same stories, and their open admiration made him feel like the hero they believed him to be. Link started to look forward to seeing that particular group whenever he came back to Kakariko.

Of course, that was before the women started following him outside the tavern. Every time he returned to Kakariko, he couldn't go two steps without being spotted by one of them, and then it wasn't long before the rest were trailing in his wake. They were always there. If he sat down for a meal, they joined him at his table. If he went to an open space to practice with the Master Sword, they gathered nearby to watch. Even if he was doing nothing more exciting than walking around aimlessly, they insisted on coming with him. The women asked him for little favors like carrying water from the well, and since Link couldn't figure out a polite way to refuse, he ended up spending even more time with these tiresome women who never stopped talking.

At first, all the attention was flattering, but now their less-than-subtle flirtations and frequent attempts to get him alone were starting to alarm Link. His mind was still very young for the body he now possessed. He enjoyed their company, but not that much.

In the end, Link decided the solution was to stop being so friendly with them. He started staying at Impa's house instead of the inn and only went on his errands at odd hours when he was less likely to run across the women. And if he did happen to cross paths with one of them, Link tried to act like he was busy and kept the conversation brusque, almost to the point of being surly.

But to his astonishment, his aloofness had the exact opposite effect he intended. The women continued to stalk him, but furtively, trying to sneak up on him when he least expected. It never worked since Link always heard them giggling and shushing each other long before he actually saw them, but it was irritating because now he never dared to lower his guard. It made his stays in Kakariko more of an ordeal than a respite. But it wasn't like he could just tell them to stop. If Link so much as frowned at them, they got all distraught and weepy, and yet he had seen these same women screaming and clawing each other like feral cats when they thought he wasn't watching. It was a paradox how they could be so fragile one minute and so scary the next.

Link decided to take drastic measures. He would leave Kakariko and not come back for a long, long time. Years, if he was lucky. Maybe they would forget about him and find someone else to fixate on. But only half a day after setting out, Epona cast a shoe and forced Link to retrace his steps back to the village for a more extended stay. Frustrated by the delay, Link left his mare at Impa's house and borrowed a bar of soap so he could go bathe in the river, having been covered in mud when Epona stumbled and dumped him out of the saddle. He didn't expect any problems from those women. The sun had set some time ago, and even if they had seen him return, Link couldn't imagine they would try to follow him in the dark forest when they could twist an ankle on the uneven path. He would at least have one evening free of their pestering.

He had only just stripped down and begun to put the soap to good use when he heard the giggling.

"Gods!" Link hissed and dropped the soap. He scrambled for a place to hide and quickly ducked behind a large boulder resting right on the riverbank, still waist deep in the water. His worst fears were confirmed when he peeked around the boulder and spotted three of those women hiding behind some trees only two steps away from his clothes. They hadn't seen him yet, but judging from their hushed conversation, they planned to stay right where they were until he showed up for the clothes. Link wanted to bang his head against the boulder. Couldn't they even let him have this last shred of privacy? Link was fairly sure that if the situation was reversed, he would get called an animal and chased out of the village by an angry mob, so what gave them the right to do this to him?

Link looked out again and bit his tongue against an indignant yelp. Now were taking his clothes! One of the women had snuck out of hiding to snatch up the bundle of garments, her head swiveling back and forth like a jumpy rabbit. Link silently raged at the indignity and decided this had to end. Naked or not, he was going over there and confronting them.

But before he could do just that, the silence of the night was broken by the strident howl of a wolf very close at hand. In fact, it sounded like the beast was right next to those women. They all began shrieking and fled in the direction of the village, and Link abandoned his hiding spot and splashed over to the shore as fast as he could. It wasn't often that wolves came near Kakariko, and those that did were usually starving and desperate enough to attack humans. Those women would stand no chance if the beast went after them. He came stumbling out of the shallows, cursing his weaponless state, and burst through the underbrush where he had heard wolf.

Only to find that the source of the howling was Sheik. Link froze right behind her, suddenly very aware of his nudity and the fact that his clothing was now tucked under Sheik's arm. Her other hand was cupped around her mouth as she gave off another very convincing howl, which ended with an amused snort as the distant screams finally faded away.

Then she turned around and came face to face with him.

Sheik started violently, and whatever she was going to say came out as a feeble croak. Link's face grew unbearably hot when he realized just where her eyes were looking, and he couldn't decide whether to flee or cover himself with his hands. Sheik seemed equally paralyzed with indecision, and even though she tried several times to look either at his face or the ground, her eyes kept straying back to his body in a kind of illicit fascination. Link had a feeling she was just as red as him under the mask. The thought was just funny enough to lessen his own discomfort. Sheik was embarrassed. And she never got embarrassed. Absolutely nothing surprised her or caught her off guard, and some tiny part of Link was intrigued by the effect he was having on her.

Boldly, he took a step forward. Sheik jerked in alarm. "I-I saw them...following you," she stammered. "I..."

Link stopped right in front of her, close enough to reach out and touch. When Sheik finally managed to wrench her eyes up and look him in the face, he smiled and took his clothes from her slack hands. "Thanks for getting rid of them! Do you mind staying for awhile longer and keeping a lookout? You know, to make sure they don't come back?"

Mutely, Sheik shook her head. Link beamed and went back to his bath with a spring in his step.

He wasn't particularly surprised that it was several weeks before he saw Sheik again.

Chapter Text

As grateful as Zelda was for the chance to take an active role in the salvation of Hyrule, there were days when being Link's shadow was just plain exhausting. Scaling the sheer rock face of Death Mountain in the early hours of the morning, enduring the chill wind and always alert for falling boulders that sought to knock her clean off, was not her idea of a pleasure jaunt.

Her foot slipped, and Zelda scrambled to catch herself, biting off a cry when her blistered hands throbbed beneath the bandages. She held on through sheer force of will and made herself keep going. If she faltered now, Zelda would fall nearly a quarter of a mile to her death. At last, her hands found the top, and she hauled herself up onto somewhat flatter ground where it was safe to rest and catch her breath. When she cared to lift her head and see how much farther it was to the summit, Zelda was startled to find herself already there. The summit was right in front of her, although this flattened shelf protruding out of the mountainside was the highest a human or Goron could safely climb before the air became too thin to breathe.

Zelda tottered to her feet and explored the small shelf. He had to be here somewhere. The only other place to go from here was down into the volcanic crater, and she was reasonably sure Link would have no reason to return there. Besides, she was not equipped to follow him into that intense heat. Zelda scanned the area one more time and finally spotted the tiny tent ensconced in a rocky niche where it was somewhat protected from the wind.

"Link?"

Movement came from within the tent, and Link poked his head out. He blinked drowsily in the dawn light, and aside from his hair being a little mussed from sleep, he seemed well. This both relieved and aggravated her. After spending the past two weeks searching for him and agonizing over his fate, Zelda had expected Link to be dead or near enough that it would make her trek up here worthwhile.

"Oh, Sheik!" Link said, brightening when he recognized her. He withdrew back inside the tent. "One second! I'll be right out!"

Zelda waited, impatient for an explanation. Link took far more time than necessary to get dressed and crawl back into the open, and the smile he greeted her with did nothing to ease her irritation. "Where have you been?" she snapped.

His smile faltered. "Um...here?"

"You spent the past two weeks camping in a tent on the summit of Death Mountain?"

"Oh, no," Link corrected her hastily. "I've only been up here for three days. You see, I had to—"

"And where were you for the other eleven days?" Zelda demanded. "I've been looking for you ever since you left Kakariko village!"

"You have?" Link said, his eyes innocently wide. "I had no idea...but I guess I did kind of take off without really..."

"Where were you?" Zelda ground out, punctuating each word with a menacing step toward him.

"One second," Link said and brushed past her like she wasn't even there. Zelda was baffled when he went to the edge of the cliff and cupped his hands around his mouth. "HEY, BIGGORON! Is it ready yet?"

Zelda was dangerously close to shoving him off the ledge when a voice answered that shook the mountain. "Nearly, little brotherrrrr. Be patient a bit longerrrrr!"

Link sighed. "Well, I guess I've still got some time to kill," he said, turning back to her. "Anyway, what were you asking?"

"Who...who was that?" Zelda asked slowly, her anger momentarily forgotten.

"Who, Biggoron?" Link inquired and jerked his thumb in the direction of the voice. "He and his brother are the best sword smiths in the world! Or at least that's what everyone keeps telling me. Coming to them was the only way to get the sword repaired, but since he said it might take a few days, I thought it'd be easier to just camp out here instead of climbing the mountain every—"

"Wait, wait!" Zelda said, aghast. "Are you telling me the Master Sword is broken?"

"No, of course it isn't!" Link said hastily. "It's in my tent. I'm talking about this other broken sword that I got from those carpenters in Gerudo Valley..."

"Since when do the Gerudo have carpenters?"

"No, not Gerudo carpenters. They were Hylian, although the head guy said half his workers ran off a month ago to join the Gerudo. Can you believe that? And because they weren't around to fix the bridge, I had to jump Epona over the gorge just to reach the carpenter and give him back his saw..."

"Link, do you realize how little sense you're making right now?" Zelda said, worried all of a sudden. She put a hand to his forehead to check for a temperature. "If you've been up here for three days, you could have altitude sickness...are you feeling dizzy or ill?"

Link laughed off her concern. "Sheik, I'm fine. I've just been...okay, it all started with Cojiro..."

"Is that the carpenter's name?"

"No, no, that's the cucco's name," Link explained. Seeing her bewildered look, he laughed again. "You know that lady in Kakariko who has all the cuccos? Well, she managed to breed this rare blue one named Cojiro, and she gave it to me because it used to belong to her brother, but since he's gone missing, there was no one else to take care of it. I feel kind of bad for her, I think her brother was the only family she had. I actually remember meeting him as a kid. He seemed a little...off."

"And what does any of that have to do with carpenters and broken swords?" Zelda asked, still lost.

"I'm getting there," Link said, and he seemed to enjoy keeping her on the edge of her seat. "So anyway, I asked around Kakariko, and it turns out Anju's brother disappeared into the Kokiri forest, and no one's seen him since. It was the old hag at the potion shop who told me that, and when I told her I was from the forest, she asked me to find him and take him some medicine. Something for his head, I guess? He must have really needed it because she wouldn't let me walk out of that shop without it."

"So you went to look for him?" Zelda pressed, drawn into the story in spite of herself.

"Well, I was the only one who could," Link said like it was obvious. "It's not like normal Hylians can go wandering in the forest. It's too dangerous. Besides, I wanted to make sure he wasn't bothering the Kokiri. But when I got there, they said he already left a long time ago. He only left behind this old saw that didn't even belong to him."

Zelda's brow furrowed. "How did you know that?"

"Because I recognized it. It was the same saw those carpenters were using back when the Shooting Gallery in Kakariko was being built. So I figured I should return it to them, and it took me more than a week to find out where those guys had gone. The Gerudo hired them to fix the broken bridge in their valley. So I went there, found the head carpenter and traded the saw for this old, beat up sword hilt with a broken blade."

"That doesn't sound like much of a trade..."

Link grinned sneakily. "Oh, yes it was. Best trade I ever made! The guy let slip that the hilt was made by Gorons, and I figured if I brought it to Biggoron, he could reforge it for me."

"And you've been camping up here ever since waiting for him to reforge it?"

"Well, not quite," Link explained, again relishing her confusion. "Biggoron hasn't been able to get back into forging since Death Mountain's last eruption. All that ash got in his eyes and almost blinded him. He said if I got him some eye drops from King Zora, he'd reforge the sword for free."

"You seem to spend a great deal of your time doing favors for others," Zelda pointed out. "Has it occurred to you that some might use that to their advantage?"

Link only shrugged. "Anyway...Biggoron sent me to King Zora for the ingredients, then he sent me to Lake Hylia so the professor in the lake laboratory could brew them into eye drops. It took awhile to get all that done, but once I gave the drops to Biggoron, he was almost completely cured. That was three days ago. And since then, I've been waiting for him to finish up that sword. He's really taking his time about it..."

From behind him came a low chuckle that boomed like thunder. Zelda gaped over Link's shoulder dumbly as a massive head rose into sight beyond the Death Mountain summit. The titan of a Goron beamed down at them with a mouth that could have swallowed Castle Town. "You cannot rush perrrrfection, brotherrrrr. But do not despairrrr, it is rrrrready!"

"Finally!" Link exclaimed, practically brimming with excitement. "Come on, let me see, let me see!"

"It's my finest worrrrrk," Biggoron rumbled. Very slowly, he lifted his huge arm into sight and delicately laid a long, wooden box at their feet. Link knelt before it, his lips stretched in a huge grin of anticipation. Curiosity compelled Zelda to step closer as he raised the lid and revealed the newly reforged sword within. It was a beautiful weapon, clearly crafted with care and devotion, but it was enormous. The hilt had been made to fit Goron hands, and rather than scale it down for Link, Biggoron seemed to have made it as it originally was with no regard for a human's meager strength.

Link stared at the sword for a very long moment, jaw agape and eyes wider than ever. Zelda expected him to be disappointed that he had been given a sword he could not possibly wield, but instead Link let out a whoop. "Wow, it's HUGE!"

"You arrrrre pleased with the work?" Biggoron inquired, still smiling.

Link grasped the giant hilt and heaved the sword out of the box, staggering a little under the weight. Zelda stepped back in alarm, not wanting to be too close in case he lost control of the monstrosity. Link made a few slashes that were bizarrely slow compared to his usual agility, the strain in his face showing plainly in the sweat beading on his forehead, but he was still grinning from ear to ear. "Biggoron, you are a genius! I'm telling everyone I know to get their swords from you! I can't wait to try this out on something dangerous!"

"Try it out?" Zelda croaked. "You can barely lift it!"

"Then I'll keep practicing with it until it gets easier," Link said, still marveling at the blade that was quite possibly taller than he was. "Sheik, just look at it! Look at how big it is! Can you imagine what I could do with this? I'll never have to use the Master Sword again!"

Zelda shot him a slightly affronted look. "The Master Sword is a holy relic, blessed by the three goddesses and infused with the power to repel evil. You are one of very few of the chosen heroes given the privilege to wield it in defense of Hyrule. What on earth was lacking about it that you would set it aside for another, let alone one without such sacred power?"

"Well, I'm not saying there was anything wrong with the Master Sword," Link said slowly. "It's still a good sword...this one's just better. And bigger!"

Zelda threw up her hands and scoffed. "I've never heard anything more ludicrous in my life! Is size alone truly the most important attribute to have in a sword?"

Link and Biggoron exchanged identical pitying looks and shook their heads in a way that said, She doesn't understand. Zelda gave up and went to crawl inside Link's abandoned tent, intending to catch up on the sleep she had lost in the past two weeks. And if Link ended up toppling off the cliff because he couldn't properly handle that oversized toothpick, then that was his problem.

Chapter Text

If there was one thing Link had learned about his elusive Sheikah friend, it was this. Sheik was a pessimist. He didn't know if it was because she had seen more evil than he had in the years since Ganondorf's ascension, but it was like Sheik always had a dark cloud hanging over her head. When she taught him the songs that gained him access to the temples or warned him of the plight of the sages, she expressed no outrage or sorrow over the suffering of Hyrule. It was like those emotions had already been spent long ago, and all that was left was a kind of grim melancholy. He got the feeling that Sheik no longer held any real hope of things getting better. This was the way of things, and there was nothing that could be done to stop it.

Link didn't accept this. He was still too much of a child at heart.

So he took up the Master Sword, not only for Zelda and the sages, but for Sheik as well. And gradually, as more of the sages were awakened, he began to see a change in Sheik. As time passed and their meetings grew more frequent, he began to catch glimpses of the person behind the mask. He could surprise a laugh out of her every once in awhile and get her to speak of something other than doom and duty. Sometimes, he could even convince her to forget their obligations for a day and let themselves be distracted with some juvenile and pointless excursion just to lighten their spirits. Sheik always had to be talked into these, but Link never let her unwillingness deter him. He could tell she was grateful for the diversion.

So even though the future weighed heavily on them both, Link did what he could to preserve what little bit of carefree silliness was left in their lives. Even if it meant resorting to drastic measures.

"Fishing?" Sheik said as she took in the tiny pond surrounded by a high fence. She cast Link a look of disbelief. "You brought me here so we could go fishing?"

"Unless you want to go swimming instead," Link offered and waved an inviting hand at the murky water.

"No swimming in my pond!" the pond owner said at once. From behind the counter, he passed Link two identical fishing rods, a tackle box and a pail of bait. "You want to swim, you go to the lake outside. Otherwise, you two enjoy yourselves and good luck trying to shatter that old record. And be sure to come back! You're the first customers I've had in years."

"Thanks a lot," Link said and set off around the pond in search of a good spot. Sheik followed reluctantly, and Link considered it a good sign that she hadn't yet thrown down a Deku nut and vanished in a flash of light. He took a seat on a small rock near the deeper part of the pond, beckoning for Sheik to join him. When he passed her one of the fishing rods, she held the thin pole awkwardly.

"It seems...flimsy."

"That's how it's supposed to be," Link said with a quiet snicker. "Come on, you act like you've never held a fishing rod before..."

"I haven't."

Link gaped at her, flabbergasted, and he thought he heard the pond owner faint from horror. Sheik glared at him. "It was not a skill Impa considered critical to my Sheikah training."

"Yeah, but...not even when you were a kid?" Link said slowly, at a loss.

Sheik only shrugged and looked the other way in discomfort. She never spoke of her past before her training with Impa, and Link had learned not to ask. Questions like that were quickest way to make her disappear. Resisting the urge to press for details, Link flipped open the tackle box with a cheerful air. "Well, that's fine. Now I can teach you how to fish! This was one of my favorite things to do as a kid, and I got pretty good at it. You know the record that guy mentioned? I set that seven years ago. Ten pounds!"

"That's quite a feat for a child," Sheik remarked.

Link grinned at the praise. "I almost caught another fish even bigger than that one. It had to be at least twenty pounds! I had him on my line, but he was so heavy that I got pulled into the water and lost my rod. I bet we could catch that one today and set a new record!"

"I suppose," Sheik said, dubious. "If we felt so inclined to waste our time and rupees on such a useless endeavor."

"Such a pessimist," Link snorted, rolling his eyes, and he took up his own fishing rod. "Here, take the line and thread it along the rod like this. Then tie on one of these lures. Make a good knot, or else the fish will snatch it right off and that guy will make you pay for it."

With some coaching, Sheik managed to prepare her fishing rod with little fumbling. Now that they had come this far, she seemed intrigued enough by the concept to see it through. Only when it came time to put the bait on the hooks did she balk. When Link took the lid off the pail and showed her the mass of pale worms inside, slimy and squirming, Sheik gave him an appalled look.

"Those? We have to touch those?"

"The fish think they taste good," Link remarked, barely able to contain the laughter that wanted to burst out. "Would you feel better if I said they're baby Like Likes, newly hatched? I consider this payback for all the times their parents stole my shield!"

"But...but...must I?" Sheik said plaintively. She held out her unbaited lure. "Can't you just do it for me?"

Link shook his head, grinning wickedly. "Oh, no. I want you to get the full experience."

Sheik looked from his face down to the miniature monsters, visibly steeling herself before she shut her eyes and reached into the pail. A deep shudder wracked her the moment her fingers made contact, and she lifted one worm away from its brethren, barely pinched between her fingers so as to have as little contact as possible. This was, of course, a big mistake. The struggling worm slipped right out of her weak grasp and plopped into her lap. Sheik yelped and scrambled backward until it tumbled off her leg and hit the earth. This time Link couldn't stop himself and he laughed so hard that he fell right off the boulder and banged his fist on the ground.

"And what precisely is so funny?" Sheik demanded, sounding more peeved than anything else.

"Y-You!" Link choked, tears springing to his eyes. He threw up his hands and imitated her squeal, only at a much higher pitch. "You do have a weakness! The great Sheik is afraid of a tiny little worm! I've never seen you act like such a...such a girl!"

"I-I'm not afraid of it!" Sheik retorted. "I just dislike it! There's a difference!"

"Uh huh," Link snickered and plucked up the worm in question. He held it close to her face, taunting, and Sheik retreated further, eyes wide in revulsion.

"Link, don't you dare—!"

"What?" Link asked innocently, shaking with repressed laughter. "I'm just giving it back to you. You won't catch any fish with an unbaited hook."

Sheik cringed away from the worm, grumbling something under her breath that sounded like a curse. She grabbed her fishing rod in one hand, then snatched the worm away from him, viciously spearing it on the hook and causing the tiny thing to writhe in pain. "Satisfied?" she snapped.

"Very," Link said, nodding in all seriousness. He smirked at her disgruntlement. "I don't see what the big deal is anyway. I've seen you kill a fully grown Like Like before, and you didn't panic at all. You shot it full of arrows like it was nothing."

"I didn't have to touch it," Sheik muttered. "So now what? We throw them in?"

"Yep, just like this," Link said and cast his lure into the deep part of the pond with a flick of his wrist. He propped his fishing rod upright between two rocks and lay on his back with his arms pillowed beneath his head. "And then we wait."

"So we go through all this effort, and now we must wait on the fish to grace us with their presence," Sheik said drably. "They think very highly of themselves, don't they?"

Link just smiled as he watched Sheik follow his example and toss her own lure into the water. "Ah, just think of it as a test of wills. Sooner or later they won't be able to resist those worms, and then they'll be ours. We've just got to be patient."

Sheik only sighed. "Some things are not worth waiting for. I can think of half a dozen things I'd rather be doing instead of wasting time on this."

Link propped himself on his elbows. "Hanging out with me is a waste of time?" he asked wistfully.

Sheik looked at him, immediately contrite. "Oh, no...Link, I didn't mean it like that..."

"I know you didn't," Link assured her, holding her gaze until her guilt faded and a comfortable silence fell, broken only by the frogs and crickets. The peace of the moment was beguiling. He noticed Sheik shift positions more than once like she was trying to keep from dozing off, and Link had the strangest impulse to put his arm around her shoulders and pull her down next to him so they could lay side by side.

He glanced away quickly, seeking something else to fix his eyes on lest he give in to that impulse. It wasn't that he thought Sheik would mind if he did something like that. But...yes, he concluded that she probably would mind. She was always so careful to keep a distance between them, whether physical or emotional, shrouding her feelings much like she shrouded her face. And although they had eventually come to trust each other as close friends—at least, Link liked to think they had—there was once a time when Sheik would hardly speak two words to him.

And to think, Link had actually spent their initial meetings under the impression she was a man! That still embarrassed him to this day. It seemed like something that should have been obvious from the beginning, but Sheik had to go and make it difficult by deliberately keeping it a secret and never correcting him even when they were alone. But when Link had finally stopped being oblivious and figured out the truth...that had been the first time he really heard her laugh. And even if it had been at his expense, it was still beautiful.

Funny...I used to think Zelda's laugh was beautiful. And because of Impa, I used to think red eyes were scary too. Funny how a person's mind can change.

"What is it?" Sheik inquired when she noticed him watching her again.

Link hesitated, gauging her seemingly relaxed mood and wondering if he should risk saying what was really on his mind. "I was thinking about what you look like under that mask," he said slowly. "Is there a reason you never show me?"

Sheik lifted a self-conscious hand to the veil. "Yes...it is mainly for Zelda's protection. There is no doubt in my mind that Ganondorf is watching you, and therefore he will know you have been receiving aid from a Sheikah who serves the princess. But as long as my identity remains unknown, he cannot find me or take me prisoner to discover her whereabouts."

"I don't care why you hide your face from him," Link told her. "I want to know why you hide your face from me."

"That's...the reasons are the same. If you were to be captured and interrogated, anything you knew about me would be compromised, and therefore so would Zelda's safety..."

"I wouldn't tell him anything! Not a thing!"

"Perhaps not of your own free will," Sheik said and fixed him with a bleak look. "But anyone can be broken in time, Link. Even you."

"Not me," Link said firmly, refusing to even entertain the thought. He would die before he betrayed Zelda or Sheik. "Not ever. Besides, it's not like he'd have the time to break me. You'd come after me and save me long before that. Right?"

The tense silence after his question almost made his heart stop. Sheik drew a shaky breath and looked him in the eye. "Yes, I would. Even if it meant my death and yours, I would come for you."

Link gave an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Whew! That makes me feel so much better! Seriously, Sheik? Even if it meant my death and yours? That's not exactly optimistic."

Sheik wrapped her arms around her knees broodingly. "I haven't had much reason for optimism in the past seven years. Not until you..."

"Until I came back?" Link asked and received an affirming nod. He pushed himself back upright, pensive. "Can I ask you something? I guess I can understand why you kept your distance at first and never answered my questions. The less I knew, the safer Zelda would be. But why did you stop? I mean, don't get me wrong! I'm glad we can actually hold a conversation without you going 'poof' when I'm in the middle of a sentence. But doesn't that make it harder to keep me in the dark when you spend more time with me?"

"When you insist on prying, yes," Sheik said candidly. She did not look at him as she spoke the next words, but Link could hear the pain in them. "But I...I could not keep myself at a distance as I had meant to. As I watched you, it became so apparent what a burden you had been given, and with no one to help you carry it. I could not bear to watch you struggle on alone. It wasn't fair, but more than that, it wasn't right. You needed far more than a shadow, and in spite of the risks, I do not regret becoming your friend."

Touched by this, Link gave in to his earlier impulse and caught her up in a one-armed hug, giving her a light squeeze. "Thank you. But you know...I could have used a little more help once in awhile. Like getting that hookshot in Kakariko! I know you could have run that race yourself and given me the hookshot in the Temple of Time."

"Ah, but then you would not have gotten the full experience," Sheik said slyly, waggling her eyebrows in merriment.

"There were Redeads down there!"

"If I can survive baby Like Likes, then you can survive Redeads."

"You're evil," Link said flatly, but he was smiling over her head where she couldn't see it. He was starting to like this side of Sheik, the side that screamed at worms and put up with his childish whims simply by getting back at him. No, he would never regret befriending the Sheikah, not for as long as he lived. Even if she was the pessimist to his optimist.

Letting his gaze wander over to check on their fishing lines, Link was surprised when he could only find one lure and the ripples where one should have been. "Sheik...I think you should check on that."

"Mm?" Sheik said, uninterested as she took up her fishing rod and started to reel it in. Almost at once, the line snapped taut and nearly jerked it out of her hands. Sheik barely held onto it as the line sawed back and forth in the water. "What on earth...?"

"You've got one!" Link cried in excitement. "Keep going, reel it in!"

Sheik struggled with the line, fierce concentration carving deep lines in her forehead. Link alternated between watching her and watching the spot where her line entered the water, and he whooped when the fish made an appearance by leaping out of the water, contorting every which way as it tried to throw off the hook in its mouth. "It's huge! That's got to be the one I almost caught as a kid!"

"How in the name of the goddesses can it be so strong?" Sheik demanded. Link reached over to help her hang onto the rod, hearing the tension in the fishing line. It could be seconds away from snapping, but the fish was almost within reach!

"Hey, we need a net!" Link bellowed at the pond owner.

"Coming up!" the pond owner called and came running around the pond, net in hand. He seemed just as excited at the prospect of seeing the record broken as Link. Maybe he thought it would improve his business.

Link took the net from him and held it at the ready in his left hand, his right hand still occupied with helping Sheik hang onto the rod. The fish jumped out of the water again, and this time it stayed hanging in the air. The fishing rod was nearly bent double with its weight. Link quickly maneuvered the net under it and admired the giant fish that was almost too big for it. "Alright! Let's go weigh this sucker—"

The fish flopped mightily and somehow managed to spit out the hook, which lashed out like a whip and might have taken out Link's eye had he not ducked at the last second. Startled by the close call, Link dropped the net and allowed the prize twenty-pounder to plunge back into the pond.

"No!" Link bellowed and kicked at the water in frustration. "Come on, it was right there! That still counts, right? It was in the net so it still counts as a new record! Am I right, Sheik? Am I...?"

Link turned back to make sure Sheik agreed with him and blinked in surprise. Sheik still held the fishing rod, but she was staring mutely at the dangling hook, which had latched onto another kind of catch. The pond owner's white sailor hat. As one, Link and Sheik looked at the now hatless pond owner, who had both hands clasped over his bare head in mortification. And the child in Link just couldn't help but ask the obvious.

"Hey, what happened to all your hair? Didn't you used to have more than that?"

The pond owner wailed and fled for his tiny hut, still trying to hide the sparse hairs on his balding head. Link and Sheik took one look at each other and burst out laughing, and they didn't stop for a long, long time.

Chapter Text

"Link, my boy! Welcome back!"

Link jumped a mile at the hearty greeting, and even more so when Ingo enveloped him in a strong hug, pounding his back until it hurt to breathe. "H-Hi, Ingo," he wheezed. "You seem...different."

Ingo pulled back, eyes bright and cheeks ruddy, beaming so hard that it looked painful. It was such a turnaround from his usual surliness that it was almost frightening to behold. "Do I? Must be the nice weather we've been having. I'd wager that would put a spring in anyone's step. But listen to me ramble! You're probably here to see Malon, right? She's just been babbling on and on about how you saved the ranch and found Talon in Kakariko and haven't come to visit for the longest time. She'll be thrilled to see you, I'm sure, absolutely thrilled..."

Ingo chattered on as he took Epona's reins from Link and led her off to the stables to be fed and watered, oblivious to the fact that the mare still didn't quite trust her former master and tried to shy away more than once. Link had to suppress the urge to go after her and make sure she wouldn't come to harm. He had at least anticipated some bitterness over the theft of Epona months before, but Ingo didn't even look twice at the mare he had once coveted.

"So," Sheik said, dubious as she stepped up behind him, "that was the man who cheated you out of your money and then imprisoned you within the ranch?"

Link pulled a face. "He was, um...meaner last time."

"I'll have to take your word for it," Sheik said with a dismissive shrug. She moved ahead to lean on the fence where the rest of the horses were corralled, appraising them. "I like the look of them, but I can't imagine I have the rupees to afford such a fine mount."

"I could lend you some," Link offered and held up his hand when Sheik would have argued. "Hey, don't make a big deal out of it, okay? I don't need the money, but you do need the horse. How else can you get across the broken bridge at Gerudo Valley...?"

"Fairy boy!"

Someone slammed into Link from behind and nearly knocked him clean off his feet. Malon squeezed the life out of him, laughing all the while. "Oh, you're back, you're back! I was wondering how long it would take you to come and visit us!"

"Hi...Malon," Link grunted, chagrined to find he couldn't break her iron grip on his ribs. Lifelong work on a ranch had made her inhumanly strong. He caught Sheik's eye in a silent plea for help, but Sheik merely arched an amused eyebrow and pretended to look elsewhere. Link resolved to give her a bone-crushing hug as soon as possible.

"So how come it took you so long?" Malon demanded. She released him at last and glared with her hands on her hips. "You said you'd bring Epona around and visit for a week or two, but then you go and vanish for almost a month, and the next thing I know the people in Kakariko are talking about some mysterious hero who restored Lake Hylia and chased off a demon-shadow-thing that terrorized their well! What is a demon-shadow-thing anyway? Don't tell me you've been throwing yourself into danger again and dragging Epona with you!"

"N-No, not at all!" Link blurted out, the stutter giving away his lie. "It's, um...a long story. We can talk about it later. Hey, have you met my friend Sheik?"

"Don't try to change the subject!" Malon said bossily. She cast a cursory glance at Sheik, but then did a double take. Her eyes bugged out in fascination, very similar to how she had looked when Link first met her in the market at Castle Town. "Oh! H-Hello, there..."

Sheik nodded a cordial greeting, regressing back to the aloof warrior she always pretended to be around strangers. "Link tells me that I may purchase a horse from you and your father. I confess I know little of horses, but I'm told the very best are bred here..."

"Did he say your name is Sheik?" Malon interrupted her. She whipped her head between Link and Sheik, and her face lit up. "So you're...you're that Sheik! You're the one who always helps him, the one who teaches him all those magic songs! It's you, the last of the Sheikah! Fairy boy has told me so much about you!"

"He...has?" Sheik said slowly. Her eyes flicked to Link in slight annoyance, to which he hid a smile behind his hand.

Malon seized Link by the arm. "You didn't say he was handsome," she hissed in his ear.

"Huh?" Link said, but had no time to react further as Malon walked right up to Sheik for a closer look, fingers laced behind her back as she rocked up on her tiptoes, ignoring all politeness or regard for personal space.

"Wow, you've even got the red eyes! My mother told me all kinds of stories about your people. The good ones though, not the scary ones everyone else tells. Is it true you that you never, ever leave the side of the one your devoted to? Can you really turn invisible and walk through walls and see into people's hearts?"

Sheik jerked back a little, barely concealing her discomfort with the ranch girl's forwardness. "We...we walk among shadows, which allows us to remain unnoticed. As for the other...there are some Sheikah who are able to discern another's intentions when eye contact is made..."

"That's amazing!" Malon exclaimed. "I want to try it! Here, try to tell what I'm thinking right now!"

She stuck her face so close to Sheik that their noses nearly touched, brow furrowed and eyes unblinking. Link hastily turned his snicker into a cough. There was no stopping Malon when she was determined to know everything about you, as Sheik must be learning to her dismay. But she managed to turn her flustered reaction into haughty disdain. "Those who see the truth do not speak of it lightly. There are some things which are better left unsaid."

Malon let out a slow breath, overly awed like Sheik had said something incredibly clever. "Wow..."

Link looked from the dreamy expression on Malon's face to the apprehension in Sheik's eyes, and a sneaky grin touched his lips. Of all the dangers and horrors this world held, the one thing that could make Sheik run the other way was a woman who thought the lithe, red-eyed warrior was a man and reacted accordingly. There was just something about the mystery surrounding the Sheikah clan which drew them like moths to a flame, and Link never failed to get a kick out of it.

Link put his hands on Malon's shoulders, his smile turning innocent. "Say Malon, why don't the two of you head out into the fields and find a horse for Sheik? We need a good strong horse that can keep up with Epona. Since, you know, he has to stay by my side and protect me and everything."

Sheik shot him a look of outrage and betrayal at the deliberate use of the male pronoun. Link let her know with a smirk and a wink that he really didn't care if she slit his throat later as long as he got to have his fun now. Malon didn't even notice the exchange. She squealed and twined Sheik's arm with hers. "You definitely came to the right place, Mister Sheik! We own the finest horses in Hyrule! Even the royal family used to buy their steeds from us..."

Link was still laughing quietly to himself as Sheik was hauled off into the corral, her protests and feeble attempts to escape completely ignored. Then he heard a haallooo behind him and felt a meaty hand slap him on the back in greeting.

"Well, I'll be...look who's finally decided to show up!"

Link coughed a little, wondering if he would ever catch his breath again, and turned to greet a cheerful Talon. "I wanted to see how things were going. The ranch seems a lot better now that you've taken over again."

"Ain't that the truth!" Talon said with a guffaw. "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw what Ingo had been up to. What with charging such outrageous prices just to ride our horses, and then robbing folk blind with those races. Let me tell you, I gave him a good talking to on what's what, and he completely turned over a new leaf. I dunno what I said to get that reaction, but I should've said it years ago!"

"So he's not mistreating the horses anymore?"

"Nope, not at all," Talon said, scratching his head. "I tell you, he's gotten downright jolly about his work here on the ranch. I even hear him talking to the horses sometimes, doting on 'em like Malon does. It's strange, but I ain't complaining, that's for darn sure!"

"I'm glad to hear things are back to normal," Link said, deciding to follow Talon's lead about Ingo and not look a gift horse in the mouth. So to speak. "I really love this ranch, and so does Epona. I'd hate to see anything like that happen again."

Talon's mustache bristled as he smiled. "It lifts a man's spirits to hear an upright young lad like you thinks so highly of us ranch folk. You should come more often. You're always welcome here no matter what. And Malon misses you something fierce whenever you're off and away."

Link sighed, watching in the distance as Sheik pulled herself astride a dun gelding while Malon held the horse's head and stroked its nose. "I miss her too, sometimes. I miss all my friends, but I've got something important I need to do."

"I see, I see," Talon said, nodding amiably. "Young as you are, you're probably in no hurry to settle down. Am I right? But just tell me, my boy...have you thought about where you'll end up whenever you get that bad case of wanderlust out of your system?"

"I...I guess not," Link said, uncomfortable with touching on a subject he had thought little about. "I mean...I know I can't go back to the forest with my Kokiri tribe. Not like I am now. I know now that I'm a Hylian. I was always meant to leave the forest and come back to Hyrule."

"So you'll build a life here then?" Talon said, and he sounded pleased. "Good, good! I think a nice, quiet life in the countryside would suit you well. A house built with your own hands, and some land to go with it. A few animals to look after. Maybe even a wife and children..."

"C-Children?" Link said in alarm.

"Woops, did I skip too far ahead?" Talon chuckled with a knowing gleam in his eye. "Okay, we'll take one big step back. Come now, you can be honest with me. Any special ladies in your life? Any you might like to build that house for?"

"I-I don't think so," Link said nervously. While there were quite a few women he cared deeply about—Saria, Zelda, Malon—he wasn't sure that was what Talon meant by someone special. "I mean there's...no, there's no one like that! Why are you asking?"

Talon seemed satisfied with that answer. Too satisfied, and that ominous gleam had yet to leave his eyes. He clapped Link on the shoulder and spoke in a voice that was loud enough to carry over the fields. "Oh, no reason! I just thought if you still fancied the idea, you might like to marry Malon and inherit the ranch after me—"

"WHAT?" Link bellowed, heat slamming into his face at the casual proposal. At the same time, he heard Malon cry out and a very loud thump as Sheik fell right off her horse in the middle of a jump. In an instant, Link vaulted over the fence and sprinted to her side. "Sheik, are you alright?"

He grasped her shoulders and helped her sit up, worried by how she was clutching her midriff. "Ribs," Sheik gasped and leaned heavily on his shoulder. "Landed...on them..."

"You're lucky you didn't land on your neck!" Link said as he nudged aside her hands and passed his own palm over her ribs. The tightly wound bandages were getting in his way, and with her help he managed to remove the layers of cloth and slip his hand beneath her blue tunic to probe for broken bones. "I don't think it's bad...just some bruises. Can you still breathe alright?"

Sheik nodded, very slowly getting her wind back. She looked past his shoulder and stiffened. "Um, Link...could you move your hand?"

Link followed her gaze, realizing only then that both Talon and Malon were standing close by. And both were staring at Sheik, Talon in puzzlement while Malon turned bright red and seemed on the verge of fainting. It took Link a moment to work out why. Without the restrictive bindings, the blue tunic clearly outlined the two rounded swells on Sheik's chest. There was absolutely no hiding what they truly were...or that Link's hand was two inches from touching the nearest one. Link snatched his hand away, too mortified to even stammer an apology, and he pointlessly tried to hide Sheik's body behind his own.

"I, uh...can explain?"

Malon made an odd choked noise and started to dash away, then paused and half bowed in their direction. "S-Sorry, Miss Sheik!" she squeaked and fled for the ranch house. Talon sighed and went after her at a slower jog, but not before casting Link and Sheik one last baffled look. Before long the only sounds left in the pastures were the nickering horses and Ingo's jaunty whistling as he went about his chores.

Sheik cleared her throat and took the cloth bindings from his slack hands, carefully not looking at him. "Why don't I just ride with you on Epona?" she suggested.

Link nodded, a weak and hysterical laugh bubbling up in his throat. "Why...why do half the girls in Hyrule want to marry me? Why, Sheik?"

"Believe me, if I had that answer, I would tell you," Sheik said frankly, and Link hoped he was imagining the hint of a blush creeping up her pointed ears. She started to rearrange the bandages around her breasts, and Link automatically moved to help, but her red eyes snapped to him with an almost physical force.

"By the way, if you ever trick another person into believing I am a male, then I will do all I can to convince them that you are a female. Up to and including mutilation of your manhood with blunted knives. Am I understood, hero?"

Link cringed and backed off swiftly. Yep, he had definitely imagined it.

Chapter Text

Sheik was crying. She had been at it for some time now, long enough for the wails of grief to subside into weak sobs and feeble hiccups that were muffled by his tunic. She held onto to him as if she might die in the next instant without the contact, slender fingers clutching at the green fabric, and Link could feel every tremor and convulsion in her shoulders, every choked and heaving breath. He was almost glad he couldn't see her face, stricken with grief and heartache, because that would have killed him even worse than this.

Link lifted his gaze from the back of her head, blinking hard and choking back the lump in his throat. He tried to keep it together, tried to focus on something mundane as a distraction. The drab gray sky above, the brown weeds and muddy puddles left by the rain. The rows of tombstones bearing names that meant nothing to him.

He shut his eyes. He should probably take her away from the Kakariko graveyard, away from the entrance to the Shadow Temple where they had crumpled to the earth together. Neither of them needed the awful reminder, yet Link couldn't stop his eyes from staring into the dark maw that he had emerged from only a short while ago, battle-weary and disturbed by the horrors he had witnessed beneath the earth. Sheik had been waiting for him, anxious and dreading and hopeful all had once.

But she had known as soon as their eyes met. She saw his defeat even before he numbly held out the medallion gifted to him by the Sage of Shadow. Proof of Impa's awakening...and proof that she was never coming back.

Tears welled up in his eyes. Link battled them back stubbornly, but hearing Sheik whimper her mentor's name caused a few to slip free and course down his face. Gods, he hadn't known. Link had spent all this time in ignorance, and it was only when he stood before Impa in the Chamber of the Sages that the truth came crashing down all at once. Only the elder Sheikah had dared to speak it so plainly, but Link still felt as if he should have guessed long ago.

The sages had to die in order to be awakened. It was the only way. Their spirits could not touch the Sacred Realm while they were in possession of their mortal bodies. Only the Triforce made it possible to traverse the two worlds without sacrifice. Thus, the sages were each called to their respective temples, and there they met their end so that their spirits could await his coming with the Master Sword and ascend to their new existence.

Link hadn't known...but they had. From the moment they sensed the awakening call, every sage had known what was being asked of them, and not one of them had refused. They hadn't even thought twice. Their faith in Link was so strong that they had chosen to give up their lives so they could aid him in that final battle against Ganondorf.

A pained noise caught in his chest as Link barely repressed the agonized howl that longed to break free. He buried his face in Sheik's shoulder and wept in earnest while all those familiar faces flashed through his mind. Saria's sad eyes and regretful smile, Darunia's warm and rueful chuckle, Ruto's gentle sigh of acceptance. Again, he heard their words of farewell to him, which he hadn't even understood at the time because he hadn't known, and they had decided it was for the best if he went on not knowing.

No...you don't have to explain. Because it is destiny that you and I can't live in the same world...

To think that I, the wild Darunia, turned out to be the Sage of Fire. Isn't that funny, Brother...?

I grant my eternal love to you...well, that's what I would LIKE to say, but I don't think I can offer that now...

Somewhere in his anguish, Link felt Sheik stroking his back and combing her fingers through his hair. He couldn't understand at first why she was trying to comfort him, why she was still holding onto him so hard. He had failed her. He had failed all of the sages. They shouldn't be forced to make such a sacrifice, not for him. Not even Sheik had been prepared for it. She had sent him into the Shadow Temple to save Impa. After the sudden attack on Kakariko, Sheik had turned to him with such fear and desperation, and it was only now when it was too late that he understood why...

Impa is one of the six sages! She has gone alone to the Shadow Temple! Please, you must find her!

"I'm sorry," Link rasped. "I should have tried harder to reach her before..."

Sheik shook her head, her shaky breaths caressing on the side of his neck. "She...she knew it was the right thing. And s-she knew I would react this way once I knew the truth. That's why...that's why she didn't tell me. If I'd known...I-I would have been selfish and tried to stop her. I was selfish. Gods, Link...you've lost so much more than I have!"

Link didn't refute her. He honestly couldn't decide which of them had suffered more. Sheik had lost her mentor, but Link had lost Saria, the girl who had raised him from infancy and always accepted him no matter that he was the boy without a fairy. She was the only mother he had ever known, even if Link had never actually used the word. He would have sooner thrust the Master Sword through his own heart than let Saria come to harm. Losing Darunia and Ruto was painful too. Darunia had been like a brother to him, the first person outside the forest to see him as an adult and an equal. And Ruto...while Link may have never returned her infatuation, he had still cared for the Zora princess in his own way. None of them had been ready to die, nor had Link been ready to lose them.

But still...did that even compare to Sheik losing the only surviving member of her clan? With Impa's death, Sheik had become the last of the Sheikah in truth. Link couldn't imagine losing every single member of his Kokiri tribe, all at once, including Saria. Just the thought tore him to pieces and made him feel like a rudderless ship set adrift on a stormy sea. Was that how Sheik felt now? Was she trying to imagine a world without the only family she had left?

Knowing that comforting words of any kind was probably worthless, Link simply held her closer, tighter, letting her grasp at him like he was her last hope, the only anchor she had left. In a sense, that was what they had become to each other. And Link wasn't about to let go anytime soon.

You still have me, Sheik. You still have me.

Chapter Text

"Do you ever wonder what lies beyond the sky?"

"Mm?" Link mumbled and cracked his eyes open. He had nearly been asleep, but the question made him sit up in his bedroll and look across the dying campfire to the Sheikah. "Where did that question come from?"

Sheik shrugged, rubbing her arms absently as the breeze picked up and made their fire gutter. They had made camp halfway up Death Mountain on the way to the Goron city, and the air was much thinner and chillier up here than it was down in the fields. It made the night sky even darker and the stars even brighter like diamonds on black velvet, not a wisp of cloud to obscure them. Sheik tipped her head back to gaze at them, seated at the edge off the cliff with her legs dangling in open air. "I've always been curious about such things. Questions that no one tries to answer, or even bothers to ask in the first place simply because they cannot be answered. I was often told as a child that I asked too many questions about things I had no business knowing.

She shot him a look as if daring him to say the same thing. Link just shrugged. "I don't see anything wrong with that. But then, I grew up with a whole bunch of kids who never stopped asking questions. The Kokiri are the nosiest people you'll ever meet, they have to know everything about everybody. My tribe even had these three boys who called themselves the Know-It-All Brothers."

"Indeed? And did they truly know it all?"

"They liked to think so," Link said, grinning at the memory of how they had constantly lectured him while he was practicing with the Kokiri sword. He had been tempted to give all three of them black eyes for that.

Sheik chuckled. "In that respect, the Kokiri are not all that different from Hylians. How do you think those brothers would answer my question?"

Link screwed up his face. "Knowing them? They'd make something up off the top of their heads. Something really weird like a parallel universe or just a big empty space with nothing in it."

"Hm...and what of you, Link? What do you believe is there?"

Link thought it over for a moment, watching the stars even as Sheik was. It wasn't something he had ever really thought about, but now the answer seemed obvious. "I think it's the Sacred Realm. All the stories I hear about the three goddesses say they 'departed for the heavens' after they created Hyrule. It's not like they just vanished. The Triforce is proof of that. And besides..."

"...besides what?"

Link shook his head ruefully. "Nothing. Never mind. You probably won't believe me."

"You have never given me reason to doubt you, hero," Sheik reminded him softly.

Link sighed deeply and lay on his back again. "When I took the Master Sword in the Temple of Time," he began, "I was lying when I said I remembered nothing after that. I remember a single moment, just a split second where it felt like...I was flying. I felt these great big wings taking me higher and higher until I was past the clouds. I was so close to the sun and stars. And I...saw things."

"What things?" Sheik said in a hushed voice. He looked over and saw that her attention was riveted on him. "Link, you've never spoken of this."

"I guess I thought it was all a dream at the time," Link said with an apologetic smile. "But...now I know there's no way I could have dreamed up something like that."

"What did you see?"

Link let his gaze wander to the blackness between the stars, heart thudding as flashes of memory came back to him, bits and pieces of knowledge that no mortal was ever meant to have. "The future. Or maybe it was the past. I saw this huge war being fought again and again, but it was always the same people who started it. I saw the Master Sword and the Triforce a couple of times, but always in different places with different guardians protecting them. I saw a world flooded by an ocean, and another one made entirely of shadows, and then there was another world that hung in the sky like a floating island. And...this is when you'll really laugh..."

"Link," Sheik said in warning, and he could tell she was in no mood to be teased and kept on the edge of her seat.

"I saw one of the goddesses," Link said, and he grinned at her utterly poleaxed look. "Really, I did! I can't remember which one, but she was...so beautiful. I can't even describe it. All in white with hair like the sun, so bright I couldn't even look at it. And her eyes...I looked in her eyes, and all I saw was a sky that went on forever."

"Like the sky," Sheik said quietly. "I wonder then...perhaps it was Nayru you saw since it was she who made the sky. Did she speak to you? Did you speak to her?"

"No," Link said sheepishly. "I was kind of, um...speechless? But she reached out to me. Her fingers touched my eyes and...and the next thing I know, it's seven years later and I'm waking up in the Temple of Time."

"Extraordinary," Sheik breathed, deep in thought as she gazed up at the stars with new wonder. "I knew the resting place of the Master Sword acted as a sort of door between this realm and that one, but to hear of it from a firsthand account...I wonder if Ganondorf saw something similar when he took the Triforce."

Link frowned a little, not liking the turn of the conversation. "You know what I wonder? If it was Nayru I saw, then why didn't she just strike Ganondorf down then and there? Why didn't any of the goddesses stop him once he got to the Sacred Realm?"

"Perhaps they could not," Sheik said sadly. "If you remember the old legends, it is said they left this world in our hands when they departed. That goes for the Triforce as well. It was our duty to stop Ganondorf and protect this world, not theirs. Otherwise, how would we ever be worthy of it?"

"So they won't help us even now when we need it the most," Link said with some bitterness.

"They already have helped us," Sheik said and climbed slowly to her feet, hardly visible silhouetted against the night sky. "They sent you in their stead."

"I...I guess so," Link said, still not quite convinced. He didn't like the idea of being entrusted with a task that not even the goddesses could accomplish. He had always gone forward with the comforting assumption that they were on his side and would step in if he got in over his head. If he fell, they would somehow catch him and put him back on his feet. The sudden absence of that safety net was unsettling. Almost as unsettling as seeing Sheik standing that close to the edge of the cliff.

"Would you mind moving back from there? You're making me nervous."

Sheik glanced over her shoulder, and she really had no right to look so amused at his agitation. "Link, there's another ledge right below this one. Even if I fell, I would not die."

"Yeah, but I might! From a heart attack!"

Sheik laughed again. She came over and leaned down to touch his eyes, nudging them closed. "Rest well, hero. I will find you again in the morning."

I will find you...

I will find you...

Zelda...

He dreamed again of that place. The world above the clouds. Standing on the edge of it was like being on the edge of the highest cliff in existence. There was absolutely nothing below but a solid bank of cloud. The wind was even colder than the breeze on Death Mountain and whipped his clothing around. Strange clothing made of heavy canvas and insulated with down, which kept him warm and also made him smell strongly of feathers. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the glaring sun, and he noticed for the first time there was someone standing beside him. She wore a pink dress with a white wrap around her shoulders, and her long golden hair was bound at the end by colored ribbons.

Zelda, his mind said even though he felt no real spark of recognition. Not his Zelda. But he forgot that as she walked forward, right to the edge of the world. Bits of rock and dirt broke apart beneath her feet and fell into the endless sky. He held his breath, afraid suddenly.

No wait, don't jump! Link thought with no clear idea why he thought that was her intention. There's nothing to catch you down there! I can't sense our Loft—!

She faced him, smiling so brightly and in a way that was so familiar. "Do you ever wonder what lies beneath the clouds?"

Still smiling, she turned her back on him, took a single step and plummeted out of sight. He screamed in silent panic and blindly flung himself off the edge, falling after her, the sky and clouds whipping by at a speed too quick to follow. But it still wasn't fast enough, and he heard a shrill scream as the clouds parted like a curtain and the ground beneath them cracked open, the gaping black maw swallowing her up and cutting off her voice...

Link woke up still thinking he was falling. The bottom dropped out of his stomach as he thrashed around and accidentally kicked the ashes of the fire. Crying out when the hot coals burned his ankle, he rolled the other way and ended up tumbling right off the cliff into open space. A mortal scream locked in his throat as he began to fall, arms still flailing in vain for something to catch him, eyes squeezed shut—

Thud!

Link gasped, all the wind knocked out of him from the impact. He had been saved by a second ledge right below his camp. Had he rolled any farther to the right or left, he would have had a very long half a mile fall to think about the stupidity of dying from accidental suicide.

"Link! Link!"

Link groaned as he slowly disentangled himself from his bedroll. When he craned his head up, Sheik was peering down at him, fear turning to relief. "Are you alright?"

"Ow," Link whined and rubbed his sore back. "That was not the best way to wake up..."

"And you think mine was better?" Sheik said scathingly. She reached down to offer him a hand. "I heard you yell out like you needed help. I thought you were being attacked by something."

"Do dreams count?" Link quipped as he took her hand and scrambled back up onto solid ground.

"What were you dreaming about that frightened you so?"

Link hesitated, looking back warily at the drop and the pale blue sky above. His heart was still hammering from the close call, but even that was nothing compared to a deeper fear that had settled in his gut. The fear born of seeing the Zelda in his dream cast all caution to the winds and simply throw herself off the edge. He couldn't understand it. Why had he dreamed something like that? Was it only a dream, or was it some kind of warning?

The last time he had a dream like that and failed to do something about it, the Great Deku Tree had died. And Link was always left to wonder, if he had just gone to the Great Tree when those dreams first began to trouble him instead of waiting months and months...

"Link?"

Pushing back the sense of dire foreboding, Link steered Sheik away, taking great care to keep himself between her and the edge. "It was nothing. At least...nothing worth mentioning."

Chapter Text

The thing that struck Link the most about the cavern of ice was the sheer silence of the place. The utter stillness of the air that made every breath and beat of his heart an audible thing. Snow crunched so loudly beneath every footfall that it was like stepping on broken glass. Link tried to be slow and noiseless, having already once attracted the attention of the frozen gargoyles. He hated those things. The way they slid across the ice in eerie silence and tried to immobilize him with their breath that was like the wind howling across glaciers. Link was uninjured from the encounter, but what little heat he had built up from the fight had long since abandoned him. The bottle of magical blue fire he had picked up had proven completely useless as a source of heat and hung from his belt until it could be used for its real purpose in unfreezing the Zora king.

He paused at a place where the winding tunnel split off in two directions, unsure of which one to take. Link had thought it would be easy to remember the way out, but he had clearly overestimated his navigation skills. He exhaled heavily, watching his breath rush out of him in a cloud of white, and he shivered as he stamped his numb feet. He couldn't stop moving. The beauty of this place had long since worn off on him. The glistening icicles hanging from the ceiling, the crystal hoarfrost forming delicate patterns on the rock, the dusting of snow that shimmered like stardust—it was all a deathtrap. If Link stopped for even a moment, he risked becoming a permanent part of it. Just like the Zoras.

With a violent shudder, Link picked a way at random and followed the meandering tunnel. Since the ground was sloping up, he dared to hope he had gone the right way after all. A few ice keese watched him balefully from their roosts among the icicles, but they did not attack as he slipped through a vertical crevasse and found himself in a much larger chamber. There, Link gasped and forgot to breathe. It seemed this place still had a few wonders left to show him. Before him lay a garden of ice. Stalactites and stalagmites covered nearly every square inch of the chamber, save for a patch of snow in the center. The entire cave shimmered like diamonds, and every sound he made was multiplied a hundred-fold. If he held absolutely still, the very movement of the air across the ice made a hushed and musical sound like windchimes.

It was stunning. And it was also a dead end. He had gone the wrong way after all. Link cursed to himself, hearing his voice echo back in a low rumble. Then he realized not all of those echoes were his own. Link stiffened and turned his head very slowly as the white wolfos stalked into the open and prowled in a slow circle, snarling. It was a huge beast, its humped back nearly level with his collarbone, and its paws slapped the snow heavily, black claws clicking on the ice. Link gazed into feral red eyes and understood only one of them was walking away alive.

Strangely, the thought didn't scare him. He was calm as he reached back and eased the Master Sword from its scabbard, the scrape of metal ringing in the cave. The white wolfos followed the motion, and its growling kicked up a notch until Link felt the vibration deep in his own chest.

"Come for me, then," Link whispered.

The wolfos rushed him with a roar that the cave turned into a shrill cacophony, grating on his ears and making him grind his teeth. Link jumped aside to avoid the snapping teeth. His foot slipped on the ice as he swung at the beast's neck, causing his blade to veer off course and only leave a shallow scratch in its shoulder. The wolfos yelped, and a massive paw backhanded him and sent him tumbling across the floor, end over end. Link scrambled back up, face and tunic crusted with snowflakes. He spat out a mouthful of blood that stained the pure white powder with a splatter of crimson.

As the wolfos whirled around and charged again, Link held his sword in both hands and let the beast skewer itself on the sharp metal. Its claws scratched at his shoulders as it threw its head back, keening, and then the wolfos slumped and collapsed on top of him. The weight was so heavy that it took a few tries for Link to shove it off and pull his sword free. The blood—his own and the wolfos'—was hot against his chilled skin, and Link was trembling in the aftermath of a battle that had ended so quickly after it began.

The slightest flicker of movement in the corner of his eye. Link drew a sharp breath, whirling in a half crouch, expecting a second wolfos or something worse. But this predator walked on two legs. Link sighed in relief at the sight of the blue and gray garbed figure who stood before him.

"Sheik..."

The name escaped his lips in a ragged whisper and hung in the air, two soft syllables that had become synonymous with friend. Without a single word, Sheik took his arm and led him away from the wolfos until they could sit down where he wouldn't have to look at it. Link allowed her to take the Master Sword from his hands, then she gently tugged off his tunic so she could tend to the scratches. His trembling only got worse with the cold air caressing his torso and making the gashes sting. Link fisted his hands in his breeches to hide sweaty palms, swallowing hard as a clammy and sick feeling started to overwhelm him. Deeper breaths only made it worse.

Sheik finally noticed as she finished patching him up and touched his shoulder, eliciting a flinch. "If you require it, I can leave for a moment."

Link shook his head stubbornly, lips drawn tight as he pulled his tunic back on. Sheik looked at him a moment before she prudently turned her back and started cleaning the Master Sword. The sight of the blood still coating the blade was too much. Abruptly, Link stood and tottered behind the nearest wall of stalagmites to be sick in private, even though he knew full well Sheik could hear the retching and wet splatters. When he was done, he washed his mouth out with snow and returned, no longer shaking and faint, but his face burned with shame. Even though he had done this before. Even though she had witnessed it before. He watched Sheik cleaning the sword, pondering if he should pretend it never happened like they usually did, but in the end he spoke in a low voice.

"You must think I'm pathetic."

Sheik glanced up. Red eyes gazed into his own, but not with the same burning intensity as the wolfos. Hers were of a deeper shade that warmed the depths of his heart, and they held a wellspring of understanding and compassion. "No. Never."

Link propped his head in his hands, brooding. "I don't get it. When I'm actually fighting, when I'm right in the thick of it, I'm fine. I'm so focused that I don't even feel afraid. I don't feel anything, really. But after...I fall apart. Not all the time, but...it doesn't make sense! How can I be so strong one minute and so weak the next?"

"It has nothing to do with strength or weakness," Sheik assured him. "At least, not in a physical sense. A true monster would continue to feel nothing even after the moment of battle is done. But you are no monster. You do feel pain and fear like any other man. For your survival, your body represses those feelings so that you are not hindered while you fight. However, it comes at a price. When the battle has ended..."

"It all comes back at once," Link concluded. "All those things you tried not to feel before because you didn't want to feel them."

"It takes more courage to live after the battle than to survive during it," Sheik murmured. "I've heard Impa say that many times. Things like bloodshed and killing...it breaks people. It breaks something inside that perhaps can never be healed."

Link said nothing at first. Her words had left a hollow ache inside him, and also the vaguely panicky sensation of standing on a high ledge and gazing into an abyss. If killing one wolfos could trouble him this much, then what would killing Ganondorf do to him...?

"Link."

Link shook the thought from his mind, letting Sheik's voice call him back from that dark place. He gave her a wan smile. "I'm not broken yet, Sheik. And I was hoping I'd find you here. What happened to Zora's domain while I was gone? All this ice and snow..."

Sheik's eyes clouded over with sorrow. Very quietly, she told him of the plight of the Zora people and Ruto's plan to help them by breaking the curse of ice. A curse that originated from an unknown entity that made its lair in their most holy place, the water temple at Lake Hylia.

"So she's there now?" Link asked, and he received an affirming nod. He returned the Master Sword to its scabbard and started to rise. "Then that's where I need to go..."

"Wait," Sheik said and waved him to sit back down. She reached behind her and unslung the golden lyre from a strap around her shoulders. "It is a long journey to the lake. Let me teach you a song that will take you there."

Link brightened. "Like the ones for the forest and mountain?"

Sheik nodded, and his heart lifted. Link took out Zelda's ocarina and listened intently as bandaged fingers plucked at the lyre and evoked a gentle melody. This song didn't have the same spritely joy as the forest song, nor the powerful and earth-deep tones of the mountain. Each note fell from the strings like drops of water on a still pool, the music rippling outward and building on itself. It was a song of...change. A song that brought to mind the endless flow of a river. The river of time, always changing, always moving. Always repeating. It was a song that told him no matter how adrift he felt, all would one day right itself. He only had to let time take its course.

Link raised the ocarina to his lips. The two instruments joined voices, harmonizing as the cavern of ice echoed back the serenade and made it sound like a symphony. The last notes were still audible even long after they had stopped playing. Link lowered the ocarina, smiling. Playing music with Sheik always made him feel better.

"Thank you."

Sheik put the lyre away and stood up with a nod. "Of course."

"No," Link said quickly before she could turn away. "I mean...really, thank you. For being there when I woke up, for...well, for everything. I don't think I could have made it this far without you. I guess I'm trying to say...I'm glad I don't have to do this alone."

Sheik seemed almost taken aback by his gratitude, and Link couldn't figure out the reason why. After all, she deserved his thanks. Sheik bowed her head graciously. "So am I," she said softly. And in the flash of a Deku nut, she was gone. But her voice lingered on, resonating through the cavern, soothing him with her unseen presence.

Chapter Text

His feet pounded hard on the stone, echoing up the stairwell, and every breath came short in the hot, stifling air inside the Gerudo fortress. He could hear the thieves pursuing him, but none had yet reached the stairs, so Link took a moment to pause after he had reached the top and burst out into blinding daylight. He flung a hand in front of his face. It was so bright. The sky, the sand, everything seemed to reflect the sun's rays with the same burning intensity. The sentries below spotted him at once and began to shout the alarm. A bell began to ring insistently, and more Gerudo came boiling out of the fortress, armed to the teeth like they were after a hundred escaped prisoners rather than just one.

Knowing he had little time, Link scaled the balcony railing and dropped to the packed earth below. He made a desperate break for the open desert, but spotted the woman standing guard above the gates just in time and ducked behind a stack of crates as an arrow whizzed over his head. He couldn't escape that way. The only other way was back into the canyon with the river, but even as Link turned, he found his path blocked by a wall of bristling steel.

He raised his sword and shield, which he had just managed to retrieve from his captors, and threw himself at the red-haired thieves with a shouted battle cry. The next few moments were a whirlwind as he tried to fend them all off, sometimes fighting three or four at a time. He hardly saw the individual fighters, only the slashing scimitars and thrusting javelins, the occasional slim dagger. He saw flashes of red hair and female faces twisted in anger or sometimes pain when his sword sliced an arm or leg. But though the Gerudo were his enemies, though they stood between him and freedom, Link tried to avoid inflicting mortal wounds. He had slain many monsters, beings that were evil to the core and beyond redemption, but he wasn't ready to take a human life yet. But that just made it twice as hard since they had no reason to hold back. And for every woman Link cut down or pushed aside, there was another to take her place. If things kept going this way, he might have no choice but to kill.

He swatted aside a javelin and sliced a thin gash in its owner's belly, hearing a shriek as the Gerudo fell back into the supporting arms of her comrades. Link smashed his shield into the face of another, and after she dropped, he leapt over her to dash for freedom. Only two left. One charged him with a feral cry, clashing their swords together, and Link managed to hamstring her, spinning to deal with the second one...

...and he found himself impaled on a javelin.

Link gasped, winded by the blow that at first felt only like a strong punch. The Master Sword slipped from slack fingers and hit the sand, along with a huge splash of blood. It took him precious seconds to work out that the blood was his. Time itself seemed to grind to a halt, and even the thieves who had been attacking him stopped in their tracks. Link stared in disbelief at the curved blade that had torn through tunic and flesh, torn through him, trying to make sense of it.

A cold and rational part of him said the wound was fatal. A terrified part of him screamed that it couldn't be so. He couldn't die, he would not die. Not from this.

Wrenching his gaze away from the massive wound, Link looked up at the woman who held the javelin. Girl, really. Gods, she couldn't be older than twelve or fourteen. She was frozen even as he was, her amber eyes showing equal astonishment and horror and a degree of fearful anger that said, You fool, how could you let this happen? How could you fail to stop me? Link was wondering the exact same thing.

Then the pain hit him, and he was no longer capable of thinking. He could feel the metal biting into his abdomen, still scorching hot from the sun. Link clawed at the shaft, retching when blood bubbled up in his throat and spilled out of his mouth. The girl gasped and pulled away, jerking the javelin free in a way that just cleaved him open further. Link sank to his knees with a weak cry, then fell sideways onto the sand, eyes streaming tears and both hands clutching at his stomach. The sheer amount of red flowing out of him was dizzying to watch, and his heart thudded in feeble panic as he tried to deny what he was seeing and feeling, what was happening to him right at this moment. His entire being screamed against the truth.

No! Oh goddesses, please...don't let this happen, don't let this be real...

All around him, Gerudo voices laughed and whooped in triumph. The girl with the javelin stood mute as her sisters showered her in praise and congratulations on her first kill, though her eyes above the veil said she took no satisfaction from it. She simply stared down at him, as if struggling to understand, even as Link struggled against the pain and the dire knowledge that it was hopeless. He was fading fast, he could feel the steady drain on his strength that heralded death. He had felt it before, but never this close, never this coldly certain.

Another Gerudo approached, nursing a wounded arm, and she pressed a dagger into the girl's palm, saying something in her ear. The girl started and raised her head in renewed panic. The second Gerudo only smirked and waved a careless hand at Link. "Unless you'd prefer to let him bleed? That could take some time, but it might be fun to watch. Why don't you ask him what he'd prefer?"

Link hacked up more blood, his breathing labored. Part of him pathetically cried out for a swift end, but he refrained from showing it. He gritted his teeth and kept his face stoic so he appeared brave, even though inside his heart was bleeding anguish and bitter regret. For himself, for Hyrule and Zelda, and for everyone he was about to leave behind. For every deed left undone, every word left unsaid...

Sheik, he thought in despair, and he couldn't even put together a coherent thought or prayer. Just the name. Sheik...

"Finish it. Remember, he's only a man. He's worthless. Killing him is nothing."

The girl moved as if the words themselves were dragging her forward. She knelt as his side, blinking furiously, but her hand was steady as she pressed the dagger to his throat. Through hazy vision he tried to look her in the eye, but the girl refused to do the same, denying him even that last little comfort in his final moments. Link wondered, suddenly and for no real reason, what her name was. Or if she even knew his name. Or if it even mattered anymore. He closed his eyes, squeezing out a few more tears to fall and evaporate on the sand.

His last thought was that he should hate her. But he didn't.

Something small clattered across the sand and bumped into his hip, then exploded in a stinging cloud of yellow smoke. The thieves all cried out, and everything devolved into chaos and confusion as they ran around in search of each other, in search of him. The girl above him coughed and flung an arm over her face, and so she failed to notice the menacing shadow that loomed behind her. A swift kick to her head knocked the girl aside. Link didn't even have a chance to be surprised before the shadow crouched above him and swiftly strummed a melody on the lyre they held. The song he heard being played wasn't familiar to him, but the swirling orange light that surrounded them both was. And he realized dimly that the shadow clinging to him in the midst of the warp spell was actually his shadow. It was Sheik.

Mere seconds passed before the disorienting sensation of warping vanished and the magic around them disintegrated and blew away on the wind. At first, Link thought that nothing had changed. There was the same sand beneath him, the same blue sky above. His head drifted sideways on its own, listlessly taking in the dunes of sand and a colossal statue of a woman sitting in a pose of meditation with cobras draped over her shoulders and arms.

Sheik cut away his green tunic with her dagger and wrapped it around his midsection, using his belt and some of her own cloth bandages to cinch it tight. The sudden pressure on the wound was almost as bad as being impaled in the first place, and Link grunted and blacked out. For how long he couldn't say, but when he came back to himself, he hadn't moved and Sheik was shaking him and slapping him and yelling in his ear.

"—et up, you have to get up! Link! Damn you, look at me! It's not over yet, you can still make it! Link, come on!"

He heard her, but he couldn't fathom how she expected him to get back on his feet and play the hero now. Couldn't she see the condition he was in?

"Link," Sheik rasped, and he felt warm droplets fall on his face, his lips. They tasted like salt, and the significance of that startled him just enough to make his eyes flutter open. Her face was right above him, and sure enough, there were tears brimming in her eyes and clinging precariously to her eyelashes, a mimicry of the symbol on her tabard. Sheik cupped his face in her hands, begging.

"You can't do this...Link, you can't give up now. You have to try. It's just a little farther, you can make it if you try! Please, I can't carry you by myself..."

He didn't know how, but her tears and her broken words somehow brought his spiraling world back into something like focus. He was still hurt and he was still dying, but Link wouldn't give up yet. He would try to live. He wanted to try, even if it was hopeless. Link reached up a wavering hand to grasp one of hers. "H-Help me up," he whispered.

Even with her help and his newfound resolve, it still took ages for him to actually get off the ground. His body simply didn't want to respond to the demands of his will. Sheik pulled him to his hands and knees, and Link stayed there for long moments as he sucked in heaving breaths and tried not to pass out again. If that happened, he would never wake up again.

Once he had pushed the dark curtain of unconsciousness back, he started the painful process of getting first one foot and then the other planted beneath him. He ended up half draped across Sheik anyway, too weak to stay upright on his own. Link could tell it was a struggle for Sheik to keep her own legs from buckling, but she persevered and began to carry him one faltering step at a time. Each jarring motion sent stabbing pains through his wound, and the one time Link dared to look down, he could see his tunic slowly being soaked through and a trail of red droplets being left in their wake. He pressed a hand over his gut and didn't look again.

"Almost there," Sheik panted, assuring him over and over, even though minutes had gone by without them getting anywhere. "We're almost...we're getting there, Link. Just keep walking, keep...keep breathing. Just keep breathing."

Keep breathing. She made it sound so easy. Link let his head loll against her sweaty shoulder, groggy like he had been deprived of sleep. It was so hard to keep his eyes open. Even harder to keep his feet shuffling forward on the soft sand. It hurt so much.

"I don't care how much it hurts! You have to hold on! Do you hear me, Link? You have to!"

"I am," Link mumbled. I'm holding on to you...

The dune they were crossing began to slope downward, which only made it even harder on them both. Link was so lost in a haze of pain and sick fatigue that he didn't notice when he lost the battle with gravity and crumpled, dragging Sheik down with him so they both ended up sliding to the bottom of the slope. Link lay sprawled out on his stomach with his mouth and ears full of sand, but he couldn't find it in him to do something about it. What little strength he had earlier was spent. A horrible numbness had started to spread outward from the wound like a slow poison, creeping down his arms and legs, turning his blood to sludge and closing icy claws around his heart.

Now it was surely over, he thought. Now this was where it ended for him...but then he was moving again, being dragged across the sand by his wrists. Sheik was either stronger than either of them had thought or she was desperate enough to go beyond her limits.

Sheik...it's okay, you don't have to try so hard...

The sunlight beating down on him was cut off suddenly, and the sand scraping his skin was replaced by a smooth marble floor. His sight was unreliable in the dimness, but he could hear Sheik more clearly now with her sobs echoing in the small cavern. As she dragged him up a set of three steps and laid him down, Link finally put together the combination of trickling water and chiming fairy wings...a fairy fountain in the desert?

"Great Fairy," Sheik croaked. Link forced heavy eyelids open as Sheik grasped his left hand and pressed their bloodied palms to the symbol of a golden Triforce inlaid on the white tiles. Bright red smeared the holy symbol, desecrating it. Link tried to pull his hand away, but Sheik kept his hand where it was.

"Great Fairy!" Sheik called in a stronger voice. "Please, hear me! I am a servant of the royal family of Hyrule. I bring you one in need of healing! Please...will you help? Look into his soul, and you will see he is one worthy of your aid!"

The inlaid Triforce glowed briefly, brightly. But there was no answer beyond that. An anguished moan was wrenched from Sheik's throat, and Link knew then his last hope was truly gone. As if waiting for just that moment, his dying body relaxed as his lungs eased out their last breath, hardly more than a sigh. He could feel his pulse gradually beginning to weaken until he could count the seconds between the beats of his heart. Once...twice...

But then...

Light and warmth and powerful magic rushed into his veins, inundating him, and his heart pounded stronger than ever like it wanted to leap right out of his chest. The healing energy bore him upward until he was floating on a cloud of it. Link breathed deeply, taking it into himself, finding solace in the familiar touch of fairy magic. A woman's laugh reached his ears, too unearthly to be Sheik, and gentle arms encircled him in a motherly embrace.

"Do not fear, Sheikah. Your hero is in my hands now. I shall not let him die."

Link had no idea how long the healing took. His memory of it was sketchy and unreliable, except for a gradual easing of his pain, and when it was gone completely he found himself being deposited back on his feet on the white floor. Sheik leapt up to catch him just before he keeled over, exhausted and invigorated from the healing magic, and he passed out. His last sight of Sheik, still covered in his blood, made for uneasy and restless dreams, and Link was glad to leave them behind when he finally awoke some time later. He bolted upright, his hands darting to his bare stomach. Smooth, unblemished skin met his inspection with not even a scar left to show how close it had been.

"Your tunic is ruined."

Sheik sounded so hesitant and unsure of his reaction that Link couldn't help laughing when she presented him with the tattered and bloody green cloth. "I think I was more worried about waking up to a gaping hole in my gut. Sheik, you...you saved me."

Sheik only shrugged and nodded at something behind him. "It was the Great Fairy who saved you, hero. I merely brought you to her care."

"Great Fairy?" Link inquired, looking back, and having just awoken up from a healing sleep seemed like no excuse for failing to notice the nearly nude woman lounging in the fountain, her magenta hair fluttering in an invisible wind. "Oh. Um, hi."

The Great Fairy blew him a kiss and dissipated into wisps of pink light, which in turn vanished in the waters of the fountain. "Be welcome in my domain, Hero of Time and Hero's Shadow. Rest for as long as you need."

Deciding to take the Great Fairy at her word, Link scooted over to the nearest wall and leaned back against it, his legs sprawled out before him. Sheik moved to sit beside him, seeming just as drained as he was by the whole ordeal that Link was still trying to convince himself had actually happened. He kept passing a hand over his gut where the wound had been, and if not for the blood-spattered Sheikah beside him and a bright red smear across the tiles showing where he had been dragged, he could have convinced himself it was all a dream.

Shaking off the memory, Link took his first real look at their surroundings. Most of the fairy fountains he had been to were natural underground springs where the pink healing fairies could be found in abundance. This one could actually be called a fountain with a raised pool of white stone and decorative mosaics on the walls.

"Where...where are we? We're not still in the desert, are we?"

Sheik nodded once. "We are. We're near the ruins of the colossus where the Gerudo come to worship. The last song I intended to teach you, the Requiem of Spirit, is what brought us here. It was the only course of action I could take. I had to get you away from the Gerudo, and no one but the Great Fairy could have healed you."

Link glanced at her, his lips quirking. "You really do have a knack for showing up at just the right time. How did you even know where to find me?"

"I actually found Epona where you left her at the carpenter's camp," Sheik explained. "Their boss told me you had gone to the fortress, though why you chose to go there of all places still escapes me..."

"I was looking for the last sage," Link said, peeved by her tone. "You said one of them was inside a goddess of the sand. I thought that meant I should talk to the Gerudo, but they threw me in a dungeon before I even opened my mouth!"

"I could have told you they would do so," Sheik informed him. "When I said 'goddess of the sand', I mean that literally. The Spirit Temple where the last sage will be awakened is inside a giant statue of their patron deity."

An image of the statue that Link had seen flashed through his mind, the meditating woman with dozens of snakes surrounding her. He immediately felt stupid for not realizing it before. "Oh...well, you couldn't have just told me that in the first place? Instead of being all vague, you couldn't have said, Go to the colossus, and by the way don't get caught by the Gerudo?"

Sheik looked at him sidelong. "I assumed you were wise enough to not expect a warm welcome from Ganondorf's own clan," she said in a way that made him feel twice as stupid. "When you did not return for your mare after a reasonable amount of time, I infiltrated the fortress intending to rescue you. I was nearly to the prisoner cells when I heard the alarm and realized you had already escaped. It rather ruined my elaborate plan to smuggle you out unnoticed."

"I got impatient," Link said with a smirk, even though in truth it hadn't even entered his mind to expect a rescue. And besides, the guards of his cell had been eyeing him in a way that made him feel violated, which was incentive enough to find a way out quickly and get far away from them. "Okay, okay, lesson learned. Next time I get thrown in a dungeon, I'll sit around and wait like a good hero instead of going and getting myself skewered on a javelin."

He felt her flinch where their shoulders touched. Apparently, it was too soon to joke about it. He could still see traces of tears just below her eyes and trailing out of sight beneath her veil. It made Link feel wretched because he was supposed to be able to look after himself. He shouldn't need her to come rushing to his rescue, but that was exactly what had happened.

"I'm alright, Sheik," Link murmured. "You saved me. I'm okay now."

Sheik wrapped her arms around her knees, staring off with a haunted look. "This time, perhaps...but I won't always be there at just the right moment. Link, please act with more care from now on! We are so close to the end, Hyrule cannot afford to lose you now. No matter what, no matter the cost, you must stay alive."

"Believe me, I plan to stay alive for as long as possible," Link assured her, though he couldn't help an inward wince. Because he could have tried harder, much harder. He could have resorted to actually killing those Gerudo instead of wounding them, he could have pulled out every weapon in his arsenal and left a trail of broken bodies behind him. It would have made him sick at heart, but surely it would have been worth it? For the good of Hyrule, for Zelda and everyone that he had thought about in his last moments...

...but then he thought of the girl who had nearly killed him. He thought of her eyes, her stricken reaction to the blood she had spilled in the name of her people, innocence shattered in the blink of an eye. He wondered if she still thought he was dead, if she was lying in her bed somewhere dwelling on the memory of his face and wishing she had not taken that fatal javelin thrust. Link knew that if the situation was reversed, he would have been doing just that. The burden would have been too much. It just seemed so selfish and callous to consider her life less important than his own.

"Sheik...have you ever killed anyone? A real person, I mean, not a monster."

Sheik, who had let her head rest briefly on his shoulder, started and pulled back slightly. "What? N-No, I haven't. Though I have prepared myself for the possibility that I may have to one day."

"Hm," Link mumbled.

"Why do you ask this, Link?"

He shook his head and knuckled his eyes wearily. "Don't know. Just tired, I guess."

"You should sleep, then," Sheik urged him.

Link nudged her gently. "Only if you do too."

Sheik made as if to argue, but didn't resist when Link tugged her closer and let her lean against him again, their heads nestled together. He peeked at her once or twice, and it was only minutes before she was deeply asleep, which Link attributed to the restful nature of the fairy fountains. It wasn't very long before his own eyes began to get heavy again. He leaned his head back against the earthen wall and followed Sheik into the world of dreams, grateful that this time there was no blood in them.

Chapter Text

He was on his way back to Castle Town, though Zelda couldn't fathom the reason why. There was nothing left there, and she had given him clear instructions on where to seek out the next sage after the forest. Intense curiosity compelled her to tail him even more closely than usual, keeping him always in her sights after he left his mare at Lon Lon Ranch and continued on foot.

Once Zelda was certain he really was going to Castle Town, she detoured around and ahead so that by the time he reached his destination, she was crouched on the parapet above the broken drawbridge and could observe him as he approached the moat. Link picked his way across what was left of the bridge, passing right beneath her, and he hesitated for the briefest moment before he entered the town. Zelda ducked out of sight when he looked back the way he had come. He didn't seem to be searching for anything in particular, but his expression had been wary and uncertain. As if he suspected he had a shadow.

When Zelda looked again, Link had picked up his pace to a jog and was heading for the deserted market. Zelda pursued, leaping from rooftop to rooftop above the derelict shops, striving to ignore the tears pricking at her eyes. This place had been her childhood home. Just the sight of these ruins evoked painful memories of Ganondorf's coup. That night when she and Impa had been forced into exile marked only the beginning of a harrowing coming-of-age that Zelda had barely survived. Other young noblewomen of seventeen got husbands and children and estates to manage. Zelda got a mask and a dead father and a kingdom in anarchy.

Link's real destination soon became apparent once he had passed through the town market and made his way to the northeast district where the temples and wealthy estates were located. From the shadows of the dead trees in the gardens, Zelda watched him slow his pace as he trekked up the steps to the Temple of Time. The creak of the double doors being shoved apart was noisy in the silence of the ruins, and she was relieved that he left them open so she could slip in after him without making her presence known. Her heart was pounding as she entered the temple and hid herself behind the nearest pillar, still observing. Now that she was this close, she could see the weary slump to his shoulders and the deep shadows beneath his eyes. But his wan face was peaceful as he passed through the outer sanctum of the temple, bypassing the altar with the Spiritual Stones so he could enter the shadowed corridor that led to the chamber of the Master Sword.

Zelda only barely hesitated before she followed. She needed to know his purpose in being here. Surely, Link could not intend to return the Master Sword to its resting place before his task was done? She crept into the corridor that divided the two chambers, a mere five paces behind his unguarded back, but he never noticed. His attention was focused ahead. Link stepped into the inner sanctum, and Zelda hung back in the doorway as he ascended the raised hexagonal dais and stared down at the empty pedestal. From this angle, it took her a moment to see that he was looking at the space beside it. The place where she had stood when they first met upon his awakening.

Link raised his head, scanning right and left, still with that same guarded look in his eye. "Sheik?" he murmured to the empty air.

Zelda started, thinking he had noticed her in spite of her caution. She could just imagine how Impa would scold her for being so careless. But Link had not seen her. He was looking for her. He had come here in search of Sheik.

She debated with herself for a split second, unsure if she should step into the open or remain hidden. Impa had given her strict instructions to have as little contact with Link as possible, both to protect her own identity and to make sure he would not become reliant on her. The Hero of Time must come into his own strength, alone. And Zelda was not entirely sure how well she could keep her distance if she and Link spent more time than necessary face to face. It would be too easy to forget her caution and let something slip...

...but those reasons simply were not enough. Not when every part of her ached to be with him, to help him. Zelda took a single step that was just loud enough to echo through the chamber and announce her presence. Link stiffened. She saw his hands twitch as if to reach for his sword, but he mastered the reflex, fingers slowly uncurling from their fists. The tiny display of trust heartened her, but Zelda knew it was too soon to celebrate when Link turned to face her, taking in her form yet again with apprehensive eyes, lingering on sheathed daggers and veiled face.

Zelda approached and stood at the base of the dais, easily assuming the relaxed and yet battle-ready stance Impa had taught her. The perfect Sheikah was vigilant, yet dispassionate. Alert, yet aloof. Aware of her surroundings, but not affected by them. The mask was a blessing since without it Zelda would have had a hard time keeping her emotions from showing. In this guise and with her aura shrouded in spells of deception and concealment, not even Link recognized her.

Link spoke first. "I hoped I'd find you here."

"It was me you sought?" Zelda inquired, pitching her voice just the slightest bit lower than usual. She still didn't quite sound masculine, but any deeper and it would have been obvious she was faking. Impa had assured her that an androgynous voice worked far better for her current appearance anyway. Zelda could tell it was working when Link's brow furrowed the tiniest bit and his puzzled eyes flicked to...certain places, attempting to figure out her true gender. She was ten times more grateful for the veil to hide her blush and instinctively crossed her arms over her chest, bound flat by the cloth bindings beneath her tabard.

Seeming to realize what he was doing, Link cleared his throat awkwardly. "I, uh...I found that item you wanted me to get. And I...awakened the Forest Sage. It was Saria."

"Yes," Zelda said, but cautiously, wondering why he seemed so sad about a clear victory. "In doing so, you have also saved the Kokiri from the phantoms that plagued them. But your work is not yet done. There are still other sages who need your help."

"One on a mountain, one under a lake, one inside a house of the dead, one inside a goddess of the sand...I remember," Link recited with gentle warmth and a flicker of a smile that made her stomach flutter. It would be so much easier to remain stoic if he wasn't so ridiculously handsome. And so achingly familiar. His body might be older, but his face still held so much of the boy that Zelda had met in the castle courtyard.

His face grew serious, the moment of familiarity passing. Once more, they were strangers. "These others I need to awaken. Are they...will they also be people I know? People I care about?"

Zelda hesitated. "It is said that the sages will each share a connection to the Hero of Time, one that existed long before their awakening. So yes, the other sages will likely be those you are acquainted with."

A deep sadness darkened his eyes for a split second. "So I'm going to lose more friends...you didn't tell me it would be like this. You didn't tell me Saria would have to stay in the Sacred Realm and I'd never be able to see her again."

There was a thread of accusation in that sentence. Zelda did her best to ignore it, but her heart throbbed in guilt. She had known Link and the forest girl had been close, and now Zelda wished she had said something earlier, to ease the pain of parting. "When each sage is called to be awakened, they are fully aware of the responsibilities as well as the consequences. Saria understood what was being asked of her by the goddesses, and she has chosen to accept her destiny and lend you her aid. You need not mourn her absence from this world for she is now a vital part of protecting it."

Link only shook his head in desolation, glancing down at the pedestal again. "Destiny...I have a hard time believing in something like that anymore."

"What do you mean?" Zelda said, taken aback. "You are the Hero of Time, chosen by the Master Sword and fated to save Hyrule..."

"But I'm the reason Hyrule needs to be saved in the first place," Link retorted and gestured at the pedestal to emphasize. "I caused this to happen! If I had never taken the sword, if I had never come to Hyrule in the first place...maybe there would have been no need for a hero, and then maybe Saria wouldn't have had to become a sage. How can I be fated to fix something that never should have happened in the first place?"

Zelda remained silent, at once surprised by this bitter outburst and also troubled by it. How could Link even think to blame himself for something that was clearly her doing? It was she who set things in motion and allowed Ganondorf to reach the Sacred Realm and the Triforce. Link had only been an instrument of her will. But as much as Zelda longed to tell him this, she could think of no way to convey it without giving herself away.

Eventually, she settled with a very pitiful platitude. "It is not for us to question the will of the goddesses."

"Should've known you'd say something like that," Link snorted and cast her a brief, annoyed look.

"What else would you have me say?" Zelda asked more sharply than she intended. But she couldn't help it. Maybe it was selfish of her, but she didn't want to see this angry and uncertain side of Link. She needed him to be the hero of her kingdom, infallible and unstoppable. He was her last hope! If Link failed...she couldn't even bear to think it.

"I didn't come here for riddles, Sheik," Link said with equal rancor. "I came here for answers. I want to know why it had to be Saria. The other Kokiri still need her. I still need her!"

"And Hyrule needs you both!"

"She's the only family I had!" Link said, and his voice broke on the words. He turned away abruptly, and Zelda was stunned to see his shoulders tremble the tiniest bit like he was repressing the urge to break down and weep. Her first instinct was to rush up to him and throw her arms around him, comfort him, let him cry, and she had to remind herself that she was not Zelda right now. She was Sheik of the Sheikah, and...and how exactly was her other persona supposed to react to this? In all her training and preparation, Zelda had never once considered a situation when Link would show such weakness to what he thought was a mere guide.

Gradually, Link regained his composure, but he still didn't look back at her. "She was all I had," he repeated. "She raised me all by herself, the only one in my tribe who didn't care that I was different. I spent my whole life trying to be like her, like them, or at least trying to pretend. But Saria knew all along I'd have to come back to Hyrule one day...because I'm not a Kokiri. I never was to begin with, but I didn't understand that until I went back to the forest and saw them all again. They're still children even after all this time. And I'm not. Because I'm..."

"...because you are a Hylian," Zelda said slowly, finally putting the pieces together for herself. It was said among the Kokiri that to step outside the protective magic of the forest meant death, and there was some truth in that. A Kokiri who left the forest for too long would lose their perpetual childhood and begin to age to adulthood. Zelda had thought that was what happened to Link, and now she felt foolish for not seeing it earlier. He even looked Hylian. His long, pointed ears and vivid blond hair, a face that was slender and angular instead of round and cherubic…even his eyes, which had a distinct slant and seemed faintly elven. It all screamed of a Hylian lineage nearly as pure as her royal bloodline.

Had he grown up in Hyrule, such noble features would have been a point of pride for his parents. But growing up among the Kokiri...Zelda hadn't seen a real Kokiri until very recently, and it only now became glaringly obvious how different Link looked from those he considered his family, and how it must have ostracized him. And now to find out he had never belonged there in the first place...

"I...I don't know what to say, Link," Zelda murmured. And it was true. She couldn't imagine what he must be going through.

Despite his clear torment, Link glanced back at her in puzzlement. It made Zelda uncomfortable to be scrutinized so, and she found her posture becoming defensive.

"What is it?"

"No, nothing," Link said hastily, and the corners of his mouth quirked up. "It's just...no words of wisdom? No inspiring prose? I was starting to think you had a quote for every occasion. No sermons about how I should get over myself and act like a man?"

Zelda arched an eyebrow. "Sermons?"

"...or some other word that sounds less boring," Link amended with a weak chuckle. But the wretched unhappiness had yet to leave him, and there was a painful sort of yearning there as well. Looking at him, it occurred to Zelda that the Hero of Time, the savior of her kingdom...was lonely. And was it such a surprise? He had lost any chance of returning to his family and childhood home, everything that was familiar to him. Zelda felt an almost overwhelming sympathy when she realized Link was going through the same thing she had seven years ago. Now it was harder than ever not to reach out to him.

But why couldn't she do that? Sheik didn't only have to be a guide, did she? If the hero found himself faltering and in need of a confidant or...or even a friend...

Zelda began to close some of the distance between them, ascending the steps of the dais so they could be eye to eye. "In this case, I don't feel there are any words I can offer you, hero. You have had a great burden thrust upon you, and you alone must find a way to carry it."

"I know that," Link said, sighing deeply. He sank down to seat himself on the steps, head bowed and gazing at his feet. "Believe me, I know. And...I don't know why I decided to dump all this on you. Sorry about that."

"There is no need to apologize," Zelda said and reached down to touch his shoulder. "You need not hesitate to unburden yourself in my presence. A listening ear is the very least I can offer for the one who will save Hyrule."

Oddly, Link didn't seem reassured by this. His profile became uneasy, and he abruptly stood and moved away from her. "That means a lot to me. Really, it does. But..."

"But...?"

"But can I trust you?" Link said sharply and faced her with a piercing look.

"What kind of a question is that?" Zelda said, affronted, snapping out of the paralysis that had briefly gripped her at his declaration.

"A reasonable one, I think," Link said, crossing his arms. "And I was stupid and ignorant not to ask it before. I don't know anything about you, not even your real name, and you expect me to put my faith in you without any kind of proof that you're on my side? I mean don't get me wrong, you've done nothing but help me so far..."

"And I plan to keep helping you," Zelda said vehemently. "I am a Sheikah, sworn to the service of Hyrule and the royal family! Do you truly question my loyalty? My dedication to seeing an end to Ganondorf's reign?"

"How do I know you're not working for him and following me on his orders?" Link shot back, and he seemed to take satisfaction from her astonishment. "Yeah, I know you've been following me. If you were really sent to help me, why don't you just travel with me instead of skulking around like a spy?"

Zelda caught her breath. "A spy...?"

"I need to know, Sheik!" Link said, his desperation evident. "Don't you see that? I can't afford to take chances anymore, not after everything that's happened. I just can't. Please...you must have some way to prove you're telling the truth so I don't have to worry about getting stabbed in my sleep."

"Believe me, if I truly desired it, I could have killed you a hundred times over!" Zelda spat, and it was entirely the wrong thing to say because Link settled into a subtle fighting stance, expression grim. But his eyes were fearful and child-like and begged her not to break the fragile trust between them. Zelda breathed deeply to get her fury under control. Link had every right to mistrust her and question her intentions. Even Impa had warned her to expect it, but it still hurt.

"Very well. What proof would you ask of me, hero?"

"Tell me where Zelda is," Link said at once.

Zelda winced and looked aside. She had been afraid of that question. "I cannot."

"Why?"

"For her own protection. The less who know of her whereabouts, the safer she will be from Ganondorf. I can only tell you that she is alive and well."

Link seemed to consider that, and he eventually conceded her point and nodded. He stepped closer to her. "Then...then tell me who you really are. Are you really a Sheikah? Let me see your face."

Zelda stepped back quickly when his hand made a half-hearted reach for her cowl. "I cannot!"

"Damn it, Sheik!" Link snapped and threw up his hands. "Then how can you expect me to believe a word you say?"

"Perhaps by letting my actions speak for themselves," Zelda said acidly. "As you said, I have done nothing to harm you. And if my 'skulking around' makes me appear as a spy, then rest assured I am Zelda's spy and no other!"

His demeanor shifted, becoming less hostile. "Wait, so...you've been watching me because Zelda asked you to?"

"Of course," Zelda said and hoped Link would forgive her someday for these partial truths and white lies. "It was her wish that you have...someone trustworthy to watch over you on your journey."

"Oh," Link faltered. His earlier enmity seemed to peter out all at once, and he smiled. "Well, that's okay then. I don't mind if it's her."

Zelda raised her eyebrows in surprise. One minute he was accusing her of being a traitor, and the next he was back to trusting her like nothing had ever happened. Perhaps he was too gullible for his own good. She resolved to watch him even more closely from now on and do what she could to nurture the bond between him and 'Sheik'. Her presence might save his life one day.

"So," Link said slowly, taking a tiny step in her direction with a soft smile that was boyish and shy. "So if you're Zelda's spy and you report to her about what I'm doing...that means you see her sometimes, right? You talk to her?"

"Y-Yes, I suppose," Zelda said, suddenly nervous and tongue-tied.

Link glanced away and scratched his head self-consciously, no more immune than she to the strange feeling that hung between them. "I haven't seen her in seven years. I really want to see her, but I understand she has to stay safe in hiding. But has she...you know, said anything about me?"

This was dangerous, Zelda reminded herself. She never should have touched on this subject. Even in the sanctuary of the temple, she could not be positive they weren't being overheard by one of Ganondorf's minions. But Link was watching her with such earnest need that she could not deny him. Telling herself it was simply out of precaution, Zelda stepped close to him and leaned up to speak in his ear, careful not to actually touch him though they were inches apart.

"She misses you dearly, Link. She never stopped believing you would return. And she gives her word that one day soon, you will see her again."

A choked sigh caught in his throat. All at once, Link seized her and hugged her mightily. "Thank you so much," he whispered.

Zelda shut her eyes against tears and slowly returned his embrace, savoring his warmth and the feel of his strong arms surrounding her and pulling her close. Her hands skimmed over a muscled back and broad shoulders, once again in awe of the man he had become. Seven years of waiting, even if those years had been filled with grief and blood and death, had been worth it. More than worth it. Zelda would gladly wait a thousand years for this.

But she couldn't have it quite yet. Zelda reluctantly stirred, and Link took the hint and released her so she could step back. "I must go. But we shall meet again, Link."

"Right," Link murmured with a sad smile. "I think I'll be heading to Death Mountain next so maybe I'll see you there?"

"Perhaps," Zelda said, nodding.

"One question though," Link said quickly before she could turn to leave. "It's just, um..."

"Yes?"

"Are you a man or a woman?" Link blurted out, and he seemed mortified to have actually said it because he snapped his mouth shut and turned faintly red. Zelda blinked and couldn't hold back a small chuckle. She reached into her pocket and fingered a Deku nut, knowing she was being deliberately wicked, but deciding she had to at least retain some shred of Sheikah mystery.

"That...is for me to know."

Link's mouth dropped open. "Oh, come on, Shei—!"

Zelda flung the Deku nut down and, to all appearances, vanished into thin air. In truth, while Link was still rubbing his eyes to get rid of the temporary blindness, Zelda simply circled behind him and backed into a shadowed corner. Link blinked and spun a full circle, searching every corner of the chamber without success, and he heaved a gusty sigh that made his exasperation known to the world at large. He put his hands on his hips, casting the pedestal one last look, and a secretive smirk touched his lips.

"Woman. Definitely a woman."

Chapter Text

It was the night of the harvest moon—the last full moon before winter's coming when the great orb hung low in the sky and darkened to a deep orange-tinged gold. There wasn't much of a harvest to rake in, but even so, the people of Kakariko were more than eager to have a little holiday and forget about the troubles of the kingdom. Great bonfires were lit in the open square where the villagers could gather to eat and drink and dance and cavort like capricious fairies. The moon itself seemed to cast a spell on the land. It was a night for the carefree whims of youth, when children played pranks and made a general nuisance of themselves, and young lovers slipped away from watchful eyes and surrendered to wanton desire. As the flask of spirits was passed around yet again, one such couple left the bonfires and crowds and made their way into the darkened village.

The ranch girl tugged her chosen along by his wrist, her red hair cascading down her back in a rippling curtain, radiant in the moonlight. She was breathless and anxious, no doubt concerned about her father catching them, but her lover was reckless and impatient, and as soon as they rounded the nearest building, he spun her around and slammed her up against the wall. The ranch girl squeaked and was silenced by an insistent and hungry kiss. She groaned and clung to him, encouraging him when on any other night she might have pushed him back. Hands explored in a feverish frenzy, catching on clothes and hair. The man finally got fed up with her scarf and tore it off, nearly wrenching open her blouse and eliciting a gasp of surprise. He crushed their bodies together, lips moving down to caress milky flesh. The ranch girl all but swooned in his arms, head tilted up to the night sky.

"L-Link..."

Zelda watched it all from the shadowed alley across the road, trembling, overtaken by waves of hot and cold and feeling as if someone was twisting a dull knife in her gut. The longer she stood there, the worse it got until she was sick and dizzy and had to brace her hand on the wall just to stay upright. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the brazen display, even though logic told her watching would only bring more distress. But logic had nothing to do with this. Logic had no say in what she was feeling. This unthinking and murderous fury was pure gut reaction. She wanted to scream and vent her rage for all the world to hear, and then she wanted to tear the world apart and bring the ruins down on Link's head.

How dare he? How DARE he?

Stop it, the cold and rational part of her ordered. Zelda turned away and leaned her back against the wall, arms wrapped around her aching stomach. For awhile she simply tried to breathe through the stabbing agony that was ripping her chest apart, destroying her from the inside out. It was lust, only lust. It was only because she had denied herself such youthful luxuries for so long, had not permitted her heart and body their free reign while her kingdom was still in peril. It was only because Link was the first young man Zelda shared an honest connection with, as if their childhood friendship somehow made her more worthy of his attention.

But it didn't. She had no excuse, no right to feel so spurned and betrayed. She had no claim to Link whatsoever, and nor could she judge him for his actions. What else had she expected? He was simply...learning the nature of his adult body. Testing, experimenting, exploring the boundaries with a dear friend. A friend that Zelda wouldn't have minded killing in cold blood at the moment...

...no, that wasn't fair. Zelda swallowed against the bitter lump in her throat, biting her lip as she peeked back at the couple. Things were progressing quickly. The ranch girl had her blouse completely open now, and Link had hiked her skirts up and gotten her to wrap her legs around his waist. But they had paused there. The ranch girl trembled the tiniest bit with her arms twined around his neck, their sweaty foreheads pressed together and heated gazes locked. She was red-cheeked and nervous, and it was almost sweet how Link was kissing her so chastely, trying to soothe her, maybe with a promise to be gentle. It was easy to see why he wanted her. Malon was kind and virtuous, free of heart and spirit. Link never smiled so much as when he was in her presence. And not even the ill-fitting peasant dress could hide a voluptuous figure that would be the envy of any woman. Full, rounded breasts and wide hips, toned arms and legs made strong by ranch work, big eyes and gorgeous hair that still looked perfect no matter how many times Link ran his fingers through it.

Zelda hugged herself tightly, hot tears welling in her eyes. The princess of Hyrule had always been petite and somewhat boyish with a face that was slender and regal, but certainly not beautiful in the conventional sense. When she first decided to masquerade as a male Sheikah, she had thought her lithe frame a blessing. Smaller breasts were easier to bind flat, and her body was not curvaceous enough to give away her true gender. Zelda had gone to great lengths to ensure no man would see her as an object of desire.

If anything, this was proof that she had succeeded.

Zelda whirled around and punched the wall viciously, relishing the pain that almost blinded her. But the pulse thundering in her ears did nothing to drown out Link's voice moaning a name that wasn't hers. Whether it was lust or something more didn't matter. Her shattered heart and pining body didn't know the difference. She wanted to be the one he kissed with such passion and held with such urgency. It was pathetic, but it was the truth, and Zelda couldn't fathom how she would face Link tomorrow after knowing he had spent this night with another...

"Malon! Malon!"

Zelda dared to breathe again and fervently thanked the goddesses for overprotective fathers. The animalistic noises in the other alley were cut off, the two lovers frozen as footsteps began to approach, and they scrambled untangle their bodies. Luckily, they hadn't gotten so far that they couldn't manage to get themselves sorted out quickly. The ranch girl yanked down her skirts, and Link helped her button the blouse, fumbling in his haste. She leaned up to kiss him one more time, whispering something against his lips. A hasty farewell, or a promise to meet again later? Zelda would never know.

Link flattened back against the wall while the ranch girl went into the open to intercept her tipsy father, laughing off his inquiries about why her hair was in such disarray. Only after they had returned to the bonfires did Link pick up the abandoned scarf and saunter casually into the open, seemingly intent on rejoining the revelry. Zelda almost stayed in hiding. She was in no state of mind for a confrontation, but as Link passed close by, her anger spiked anew. He looked so smug, so pleased with himself, the color high in his cheeks and a rakish grin touching his bruised and thoroughly kissed lips. It disgusted her, and it was the absolute last straw.

She stepped into the open right behind him. "Enjoying yourself?"

Link yelped and jumped out of his skin. When he realized who had snuck up on him, he huffed out a weak laugh. "Sheik, you scared me! How come you're hiding back there?"

Zelda did not share his laugh. In fact, she barely resisted the urge to kick him in a location that would permanently cripple his ability to please any woman ever again. "I had hoped to seek some peace and quiet away from the drunken fools, but it seems I didn't go far enough."

His eyebrows flew up at the pointed look she gave him, and Link didn't even have the decency to look guilty. Rather, he chuckled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Oh, you...you saw that, huh?"

"I dare say I saw far more than I ever wanted," Zelda said through gritted teeth. "And nor can I say I approve when your actions with that girl were in no way befitting of a hero."

Link stared at her, his smile fading. "Wait a minute. You're mad about what we were doing? Why?"

Why indeed, you spiteful harpy? Zelda scolded herself. But she couldn't hold back now, not when he was standing there and just begging her to lash out at him. "I'm beyond mad, Link, I'm furious! You have a duty to uphold! You cannot afford to be distracted by such foolishness!"

"What, you mean the party?" Link said and jerked his thumb at the bonfires. "It's not a big deal though. I'll set out for the next temple tomorrow. I just...I don't get to come here often, and I wanted a night to myself before I started traveling again. I'm allowed that much, aren't I?"

"A night to yourself," Zelda said tartly and earned a sharp look from him. "You words belie your actions, hero. From the way that girl was throwing herself at you, I don't think either of you intended to spend the night alone."

If he was flustered, he recovered from it masterfully. Link drew himself up. "And if we didn't?" he said in a low voice. "What's wrong with that?"

Just walk away. Walk away before you say something you'll regret...

Zelda turned away, arms crossed. "I suppose you'd better be getting back to her then. Before she tires of waiting for you and decides to hike up her skirts for the next young man to wink in her direction..."

"Don't talk about her like that!" Link snarled, his expression turning stormy. "She's my friend! She didn't do anything wrong, and neither did I!"

"Her father might see it differently!"

Link toyed with the scarf and smirked just slightly. "I don't know about that. He and I get along pretty well. He even asked me when I was a kid if I'd like to marry Malon someday. At the time I can't say I liked the idea, but...things might be different now."

Zelda paled beneath her veil and had to fight to keep her voice steady. "And I'm sure he thought you would have the decency to come to him first before you decided to lay indecent hands on his daughter. But I wouldn't expect a mere boy in a man's body to understand such adult matters!"

It was a low blow, and they both knew it. Link flinched back with a flash of hurt, but then his anger was redoubled, and he sneered. "Well, maybe I should go talk to him right now then! He's in a good mood, I doubt he'd even think twice before he gives me permission. But what do you care if I marry her or not? Does that make you jealous, Sheik? That maybe I'd rather be here with her than out saving Hyrule with you?"

All the breath left her like a physical blow. Zelda recoiled, stricken, unable to get past that single, vile word. Jealous. Of all the things he could have said, it had to be the one she had been striving to ignore and pretend didn't exist, the source of her emotional turmoil dragged into the open and laid bare. The cut was so deep that not even the almost instant shame and regret on Link's face could soften the blow. He shook his head wretchedly, an apology already on his lips.

"That...that was out of line. I shouldn't have said it. I'm sorry—"

Zelda struck him with her open palm, the resounding slap so audible that she was sure the revelers must have heard it. Link staggered back, having not expected such violence, and the ranch girl's scarf slipped from his fingers and fluttered to the earth. He touched his reddened cheek gingerly, gaping at her. Zelda stepped back, eyes burning and chest heaving with repressed sobs, and she could see the comprehension slowly dawning in his eyes. Now he knew. Now he understood how he had hurt her, however unintentionally. And if there was one thing Link despised, it was causing pain to someone he cared for.

Link reached for her helplessly. "Sheik..."

She fled into the shadows. Link gave chase, calling for her urgently, but he was the last person Zelda wanted to see right now. As soon as she was out of his sight, Zelda leapt onto a crate by a small shop and vaulted to the roof. Link was left to wander the unlit streets and alleys, still calling out and as usual looking in every direction except up.

Zelda crouched by a chimney and nursed her throbbing hand while right below her Link did the same with his cheek. But he wasn't upset anymore. Half a dozen emotions flitted across his features, but the most prominent was a lingering remorse. He wandered off into the darkness, deep in thought, and returning to the celebration was clearly the last thing on his mind. Two streets over the ranch girl had returned, confused to find her scarf lying in the dirt and her lover nowhere in sight. Zelda curled up miserably on the slanted roof to let her tears fall in solitude, bathed in the light of the harvest moon, and the knowledge that Link's bed would be just as cold as hers brought little comfort.

Chapter Text

The two young adventurers had traveled far and overcome many trials to get this far, and now their goal lay in sight. The heroes peeked out from their hiding place and beheld the "keep" where the "maiden" was being held against her will by a "fearsome dragon". But now that they were here at last, the younger sibling was faltering in her courage.

"W-W-What if we can't beat it?" Abby whimpered. "Nobody has ever beaten the dragon in a million, billion years!"

"We're heroes, Abby!" Clem said stoutly. He held his sword aloft. "We can do it as long as we have our magical guide!"

The adventurers simultaneously looked up at the fairy who had been their guiding light since they first set out on their quest. Navi bobbed her agreement. "That's right! As long as we're together we can overcome anything. And don't worry, I know the dragon's weakness! But first we should lure it out of its lair."

"Right," Clem said and dug some magical seeds from his pocket that were really just marbles. He tossed them in front of the keep, the glass spheres tapping loudly and making a great deal of noise. "Come out, dragon!"

A low, rumbling snarl caused Abby to squeak and cower behind her brother. The fearsome dragon came lumbering into sight, three times their size and green all over as dragons should be. It rose on its hind legs and roared mightily, clawing at the air in challenge.

"Quick, what's its weakness!" Clem said desperately, and Navi darted down to whisper in his ear. The boy grinned and leaned over to share the secret with Abby. Galvanized, the courageous siblings charged the dragon with shrill battle cries. In what seemed a suicidal strategy, they tossed their swords aside and tackled the beast to the ground. The dragon's formidable growls turned into surprised yelps.

"Ack—no, no tickling!" Link cried out. He tried in vain to crawl away, but with the weight of two children on his back, he didn't get very far. Small fingers found the points of weakness along his ribs, and in no time he was laughing helplessly and pounding his fists on the wooden floor. "No—oh gods, I can't take it! Sheik, help me! Sheik!"

Seated cross-legged on the hearth across the room, the Sheikah shook her head sadly and went back to idly strumming her lyre. "I'm afraid your fate is sealed."

"Yeah, your fate is sealed!" Clem bellowed. He seized his abandoned sword and mimed thrusting it through Link's heart. "Die, dragon!"

Link gasped and went into dramatic death throes on the floor of the farmhouse. "No, I'm slain! Curse you, heroes! I was no match for you!"

"We slayed the dragon!" Clem roared.

"Slayed the dragon!" Abby echoed.

"Slew," Navi murmured to herself, but they were being so adorable that she wasn't about to ruin their fun. It was a balm for her soul to be around children again. It reminded her of when Link was that age, a rambunctious little lad always on the lookout for the next adventure. Although he wasn't looking so lively at the moment, having been reduced to groaning heap on the floor. Navi fluttered down to check on him.

"Are you alright?"

Link rolled onto his back with a weak grunt. "You told them," he whined with tears in his eyes. "I can't believe you turned your back on me like that!"

"So much for the fearsome dragon," Navi teased him.

Heedless of their conquered nemesis sprawled out behind them, Clem and Abby stormed the couch and showered their baby sister in kisses, which made the toddler giggle madly and clap her hands. Clem jumped up and down. "We saved the maiden!"

"Saved the maiden!" Abby screeched.

"And I think it's time both the heroes and the maiden went to bed for the night," a woman's voice intruded. As one, Clem and Abby groaned when their mother walked into the room. Or at least the children called her mother, but on first glance, both Daphne and her husband, Olaf, looked old enough to be their grandparents with graying hair and finely lined faces. But Daphne's eyes were bright and shrewd as she planted her hands on her hips and heard out Clem and Abby's pleas.

"But Mama, we're not tired..."

"Yeah, we're still playing..."

"There will be other dragons to slay, not to worry," Daphne assured them firmly and sent the brother and sister into the kitchen to wash up. Once they had trudged away, she went to the couch to scoop up the baby and raised an eyebrow at her husband, who was relaxed in a massive armchair by the fire and stroking his scraggly beard in amusement. "And I believe I asked you not to let them get riled up at this hour. Now how will they ever fall asleep?"

Olaf smiled innocently and tapped his chest. "Alas, this dastardly ogre went and got slain early on, and I was powerless to stop their rampage."

Daphne sighed in good humor. "Well, you can at least help me get this little one settled," she said and plopped the baby girl in his lap, heedless of his grunt and wince when the heavy weight landed on his left thigh.

"Ouch! Watch it! Old war wound and all that!"

"War wound?" Link said curiously as he finally pushed himself upright and relocated to the couch. "You were in a war?"

Olaf didn't answer at first, bouncing the excited toddler in his lap and giving her a bit of his beard to chew on. "Long before any of you young'uns were born," he said eventually. "Before the royal family and the Zoras had their truce, the fish people made a beef about too many humans settling around Lake Hylia and picked a fight neither side would soon forget. Trust me, you do not want to fight an angry Zora. Those fins may look flimsy, but their more'n sharp enough to cut through bone. Almost lost my whole leg. Here, I'll even show you the scar."

Link leaned closer and cringed when Olaf raised the hem of his pantleg and showed the massive line of scar tissue which marred the outside of his leg from calf to thigh. The muscle beneath the skin must have been damaged irreparably, which explained the cane leaning on the side of the armchair. Navi could understand her partner's reaction. Link had more than a few scars of his own, but most were mere flesh wounds and in no way debilitating, except perhaps a few burn scars from Volvagia.

"Does it still hurt?" Link asked in a kind of morbid fascination.

"Eh, it's not that bad," Olaf said and waved at the darkened window where they could hear an icy autumn rain drumming against the glass. "Only in weather like this. But I could've just as easily ended up dead so I've got no right to complain. Serves me right for running off to the royal guard back when I was too young and stupid to know better."

"The royal guard?" Sheik inquired, glancing up in interest. "Were you ever stationed in Castle Town?"

"As a matter of fact, I was," Olaf said with a nostalgic air. "Once I hurt my leg, it wasn't like I'd be any good for riding all over the kingdom. So Castle Town it was. I spent some of the best years of my life patrolling those streets and standing guard at the castle gates, practically within spitting distance of the royal family. Heh, and I remember this one time some fifteen, sixteen years ago..."

"Oh, this again," Daphne said, rolling her eyes. "I don't know why you're so adamant on repeating something that never happened."

"It did happen, I'm telling you!" Olaf insisted in what seemed to be a long-standing debate. "I met the princess of Hyrule!"

"Yes, yes, you told me that story a number of times back when we were still courting," Daphne informed him. "It didn't impress me then, and it still doesn't now."

"What story?" Clem piped in as he and his sister trudged back into the room. Daphne tsked at the smudges still on their faces and pulled a rag out of her apron to finish the job herself.

"Clem, you really should remember to get behind your ears. Before you know it, you'll have tubers growing out of them."

"Ew, tubers!" Abby exclaimed and stuck her tongue out.

"What story?" Clem repeated, face screwed up as Daphne scrubbed his ears.

Olaf beamed and launched into his tale to a delighted audience. Navi nestled down in Link's hair, but he didn't seem to notice, too enthralled with the story.

"Well...like I said, it was around fifteen years ago. There was a big hoopla ball going on up at the castle, all the nobles and diplomats getting together for some ball or other. The usual guards that always got assigned that sort of thing were ill, and I got hauled up there as a last resort to stand in a corner and look imposing. Me, a commoner, standing in the same room as all those bluebloods! I think I gave some poor count a stroke..."

"What was the ball like?" Abby said, her eyes shining. "Did the ladies all wear pretty dresses and crowns and jewels?"

"Oh, I suppose they were lovely enough," Olaf said with a shrug. "But the real gem didn't show up until well into the night. I was all set to fall asleep where I was standing when I saw her come in. Couldn't have been more than two or three years old, dressed in a frilly nightgown with more lace than some of the lady's dresses. And you could tell she was royal, the way she marched down those stairs with her head held high. The little princess took one look at all the nobles twirling around the ballroom, then she marched right up to me and demanded I ask her for a dance. So being the gentleman that I am..."

Sheik's fingers stilled on the lyre. "You danced with her," she said in a strange voice.

Olaf tapped the baby's nose affectionately. "I could hardly refuse a royal command, now could I?" he chuckled. "And let me tell you, that Zelda had more poise than half the ladies in the room that night. Heh, at least until her nanny turned up, then she squalled fit to bring the heavens crashing down!"

"I could see her doing that," Link said to himself with a fond smile.

"Did Papa really meet Zelda?" Abby asked her mother doubtfully. "I don't think princesses have nannies..."

"In his dreams, perhaps," Daphne said with a shake of her head. "Maybe it was some other noble's daughter..."

"No, it was Zelda," Sheik spoke up, catching their attention. "My mentor is Impa of the Sheikah, and she was also Zelda's attendant before the fall of Castle Town. I heard that story from her. It all happened exactly as he said."

Silence reigned for a moment. Olaf let out a triumphant shout and pointed at his wife. "Hah! There, you see? Crazy, am I? Making stuff up, am I? Now I've got my proof!"

Daphne looked from Sheik to her husband, still skeptical. "Hmm..."

"I wanna hear more about Zelda!" Abby said and tugged at her father's sleeve. "Was she as pretty as me?"

"Darling, nobody is as pretty as you."

"Bleh, who cares about some crummy princess?" Clem said crossly, and Navi giggled both at the statement and at Link's flummoxed reaction to it. "I wanna hear about the knights! Were there knights at the castle, Papa?"

"No, not for a long time now," Olaf said with a heavy sigh. "The last of them were slain in battle some time ago. But I met a few in my younger years. They were the best swordsmen in all of Hyrule and some of the most honorable men you've ever met. I tell you, if we had even one of those knights now, that Gerudo pretender would've never gotten near that throne."

An almost instinctive chill settled on the room at the mention of Ganondorf. Navi shivered and burrowed further into Link's hair, and she felt his fingers stroke her wings in comfort.

"D-Did you ever meet him, Papa?" Abby stammered.

Olaf shook his head. "Nah, by then your mother and I had long since left Castle Town. But if I'd been there when the coup started, you can bet I would've given him a piece of my mind! In fact, I don't know anybody who was there when it happened..."

"...I was," Link said softly. He raised his head, catching Sheik's eye briefly before he went back to staring at his hands. "I was there when Castle Town fell, and I saw Ganondorf chasing Zelda as she tried to escape. I was only a kid, but I remember it all perfectly."

There was a mad scrambling, and then both Clem and Abby were crouched at his feet and hanging onto every word, a slew of questions spilling from their mouths.

"What did he look like? Does he really have fangs and horns?"

"Is he really a sorcerer? Can he throw fireballs and make it rain acid?"

"Clem, Abby," Daphne scolded, but her eyes were full of sympathy. "That must have been a terrible thing for him to go through. You'll only upset our guest with your questions."

"No, it's alright," Link assured her, looking down at the eager children. "I don't mind talking about it now."

Daphne was still frowning faintly and looked on the verge of intervening, but Olaf took her hand and a secret look passed between them. She eased herself down in the chair beside him and let him wrap his arm around her waist, his other arm still cradling the baby, who was remarkably quiet now, only occasionally cooing. Even Sheik watched Link with rapt attention.

"I was coming back to Castle Town from an errand when the attack was going on," Link murmured. "I could hear the fighting out in the fields, and when I got to the drawbridge, Zelda was already riding out into the fields on a horse with Impa. Ganondorf was right behind them, but he lost track of them just outside the gates. It was just me and him then. He looked right at me and told me to tell him which way Zelda went."

"Did you tell him?" Clem said in a hushed voice.

"Of course not!" Link said right away, eyes blazing. "I didn't say a word, and that really made him mad."

"Were you s-scared?" Abby asked fearfully. "I would be..."

"Yeah, I was," Link told her solemnly. "Probably more scared than I've ever been in my life. The worst part was knowing I couldn't get away from him even if I tried. He could have used his magic to crush me anytime he wanted. I only lived because...he decided it wasn't worth his time to kill me."

The children shivered. Navi untangled herself from his hair and flew down to sit in the cradle of his palm. Link cast his fairy a faint smile, but his eyes were dark with the memories that still tormented them both. Navi had come so close to seeing him die that night and been helpless to stop it. That was when they both resolved to get stronger so they would never have to face that again.

"So what did he look like, then?" Clem asked impatiently.

Link paused, perhaps sensing the grip he had on his audience. "Well...he definitely didn't have fangs or horns. He looked like any Gerudo, the same red hair and dark skin, but he had on all this black armor and a huge sword at his hip. Even his horse looked evil. I'm pretty sure its eyes were glowing. But you know what was even worse than that?"

The brother and sister shook their heads, clutching at each other. Link looked from one to the other, letting the suspense build, and he pitched his voice lower for dramatic effect.

"The worst thing...was hearing him laugh. He doesn't do it often. Only when he thinks everything is going his way, and even then he waits until he's alone. And now I know why. It's because Ganondorf's laugh..."

A breathless pause. And then Link grinned hugely.

"...is the stupidest laugh you've ever heard!"

"Huh?" Clem said, voicing the confusion of the entire room.

"I'm not kidding!" Link said, snickering so hard that he had to wipe a tear from his eye. "If you ever hear him laugh for real, you'll see what I mean! It starts out real low and kind of croaky like a frog with a cold, but when he's really happy, he gets so loud you could hear him all the way across the kingdom! Kind of like this..."

Link sucked in a deep breath. "Mwa hahaha! Ha HA, hahaha!"

Navi giggled to herself. She had to admit, it was a passable imitation, if greatly exaggerated. Even Sheik chortled a little and hastily cleared her throat. "I'm sure he does not sound like that," she deadpanned.

"Have you ever heard him?" Link said slyly.

"Er, no..."

"Then you don't get a say! That's how he sounds!"

"I wanna try!" Abby announced and climbed up on the couch, throwing up her arms like she was calling on the world to worship her. "MWA HA HA HA!"

Link and Clem both collapsed into peals of laughter, and Navi had to take to the air again for fear she would get struck by a flailing limb. Then Clem tried his hand at mocking the evil king, and his version was so ridiculous that even their parents allowed themselves a smile or two. It was hard to hold onto their fear in the face of such silliness. The cackling trio kept up their antics until they were all out of breath, but it wasn't until the baby in Olaf's arms screwed up her face and started wailing at the noise that they finally stopped. Both Link and the other children looked abashed that they had frightened her so much.

"Shh, it's alright," Daphne said, taking the baby from Olaf to rock her against her chest. But the toddler would not be consoled, still sobbing and hiccupping unhappily.

"Link," Sheik said quietly, and when Link looked over, she nodded at him meaningfully. "The ocarina."

Under Clem and Abby's curious gazes, Link fished the instrument out of his tunic and held it up to his lips. "Which song?"

In answer, Sheik plucked the strings and played the first soothing notes of a familiar lullaby. The song of the royal family filled the room, and only Navi could sense the faintest traces of magic emanating from the instruments, bringing a gentle wave of calm and peace. The baby's cries quieted within moments, and she blinked her eyes very slowly like she couldn't keep them open. When Daphne kissed her cheek, the baby finally yawned and fell asleep.

Link lowered the ocarina, visibly relieved, and he seemed faintly surprised when he looked down and saw both Clem and Abby curled up at his feet, snoozing. He caught himself yawning as well and looked up at Sheik. "What is it about that song?" he asked.

"Whatever it was, it did the trick," Olaf said, sounding impressed. "Gotta remember that the next time they're too rowdy to fall asleep."

"I'm going to put her down for the night," Daphne said with a nod at the baby. She paused at the bottom of the stairs with a glance back at Sheik and Link. "I'll bring some blankets down for you two as well."

"That would be deeply appreciated," Sheik said. After Daphne had gone upstairs, she rose from her place on the hearth and turned to Olaf. "I must thank you again for your hospitality in allowing us to stay the night. We are indebted to you."

Olaf snorted. "Bah. Least we could do for a couple of weary travelers, and one of them a Sheikah to boot! Retired I might be, but I know where my loyalties lie. Makes me wonder just what kind of hospitality you got on your way here. You show up on our door, soaked to the bone and fairly dropping where you stand, and you have the gall to ask if you can sleep in the barn like a couple of vagrants?"

"Well...usually that is where we end up," Link said sheepishly like he was afraid of offending the ex-guard even more.

"Then you've been knocking on the wrong doors!" Olaf said staunchly. His irritation was short-lived however, and he stared into the dying fire and rubbed his scar absently. "Eh, or maybe we're just too charitable for our own good. Can't find it in our hearts to turn away a hungry mouth. It's how we ended up with these boisterous strays who are the reason I can't get a good night's sleep anymore..."

Despite his words, he spoke with a degree of warmth. Link looked from Olaf to the sleeping children in confusion. "Wait. You mean they're not yours?"

Olaf shook his head with a mournful look. "Orphans," he grunted. "Clem and Abby, they came stumbling to our door about a half a year ago. She was a little waif of a thing, starving and sick, and one more night out in the open might've killed her if her brother hadn't brought her to us. We haven't gotten rid of them since. And the little one, we found her just last month abandoned in the next village over."

"Abandoned?" Link said and seemed to be struggling with the concept of three perfectly wonderful children being abandoned. "But what about their real parents?"

"In the past seven years, many have lost their homes and livelihoods through Ganondorf's cruelty," Sheik murmured with a sad glance at the brother and sister. "It's possible their parents are dead...or else they saw the children as a burden and forsook them."

"What kind of parent would do that?" Link demanded.

"Someone who is desperate and selfish," Sheik said definitively. She nodded at Olaf. "It is heartening to know there are still people like yourself and your wife left in Hyrule, who shelter those in need and ask nothing in return."

Olaf only grunted, his face tinged red from the praise, and he grabbed his cane and heaved himself to his feet. "Right well...I'd best be getting those other two upstairs. I'd offer to see you off tomorrow, but it's late and my leg hurts and I'll probably sleep right through it."

Coming down the stairs behind him with an armful of blankets, Daphne laughed indulgently and patted his arm. "What my dear husband means is the night is getting on and we'd all best turn in. Clem, Abby, come along, you're too big now to be carried..."

She went over to rouse the brother and sister, who blinked drowsily and mumbled token protests as they were herded up the stairs, stumbling over their feet in their lethargy. Sheik and Link bade goodnight to their hosts and set about arranging the blankets Daphne had brought them into makeshift beds, Link deferring the couch to Sheik and choosing to claim a section of floor close to the fire. The dying flames offered plenty of warmth to combat the chill of the night, which was a vast improvement from camping out in the open elements like last night. Navi in particular always felt the cold a little more than the humans, and she despised the rain because it got her wings wet, but at least she had the luxury of taking shelter under Link's hat if necessary. Poor Link and Sheik had spent that night shivering in their drenched clothes and barely got a wink of sleep. Tonight would give them a good chance to recuperate.

Or it would if Link could ever get to sleep. For some reason, he kept tossing and turning and just wouldn't settle down. Navi gave up using his hair as a nest and instead curled up on the pillow beside him. But even then his constant fidgeting kept bouncing her up and down and keeping her awake. It worried Navi. Link loved sleep. He loved it so much that the hard part was waking him up. But it had been two hours now, and his eyes were still open, glittering as he gazed into the ashes of the fire. He seemed pensive, which was also unlike him. Navi had never known her partner to brood, except for a few rare nights when he was a boy and still getting accustomed to being outside the forest.

"Link?" Navi said quietly, deciding to voice her concern. She balanced on the tip of his ear, watching his profile worriedly. "What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?"

Link shrugged minutely. "I'm fine. Just thinking."

"About?"

"...things."

"What kinds of things?" Navi persisted. She knew from experience that Link wouldn't open up until she poked and prodded and dragged it out of him inch by inch. She thought for a moment before settling on the most likely source of his unhappiness. "Are you thinking about...that night at Castle Town?"

Link shook his head. "No."

"Then...is it about the forest? Are you feeling homesick?"

"No, Navi. It's...Clem and Abby."

"Oh, I see," Navi said in gentle understanding. "You're wondering why their parents left them?"

Link nodded, brow furrowed. "I just don't understand it. I can't imagine the Great Deku Tree doing that to one of the Kokiri. Why would a Hylian parent do it?"

"They're only human too, Link," Navi said, knowing it wasn't really the best explanation. "And humans get overwhelmed sometimes. But not all Hylians are like that. Daphne and Olaf aren't..."

"...and neither were my parents," Link murmured, and Navi grew very still. "My real parents, I mean. When you think about it, I'm basically an orphan too. The only difference is I know they would have kept me if they could have. I know it wasn't their fault, and I don't blame them for what happened. But sometimes I wonder...what it would have been like to be with them. To be raised by them here in Hyrule..."

Then we never would have met, Navi thought to herself forlornly. She toyed with an errant lock of blond hair, saddened to think she had come so close to never being a part of his life. And she wouldn't be part of it forever. She had known when the Great Tree sent her to Link that their partnership was only for as long as he needed her. One day, Navi would have to leave him for good, let him live his own life, and it would be best if he was ready for it before it happened. But she just hadn't yet found the right time to tell him. He had been so happy when she came to him, had spent weeks constantly looking over his shoulder and anxiously checking that she was still by his side.

Navi longed for those days again. She had grown so fond of her little Kokiri. She depended on him too, she needed him to need her, and it scared her to think of that far off day when they would finally be forced to say goodbye...

"Navi?" Link said in barely a whisper. "Can I ask you something?"

The fairy shook off her troubled thoughts with difficulty. "Yes?"

"Do you think I'd...make a good father?"

"What?" Navi said, taken aback, and she had to quickly lower her voice so as not to bother the sleeping Sheikah across the room. "W-Where did that question come from?"

His lips quirked into a secretive smile, eyes bright. "Nowhere, really. I was...just wondering. I'm not a kid anymore. I know I can never go back to being one again, and I spent a lot of time wishing I could have back the time I lost. But something about being here, seeing Olaf and his family...I realized I could be like him one day and have a home and a life just like this. I could have children, Navi, and I could tell them stories about the forest and meeting Zelda and fighting a real dragon. I don't know if I'd be any good at it, but...but just knowing that I could have it if I ever wanted..."

He trailed off, an ache of longing in his voice, and Navi didn't trust herself to speak. It was happening. Link was already looking ahead to his future as an adult, and not even realizing that Navi could never be part of that picture. She wanted with all her heart to cling to him and beg him to come back to the forest with her. Surely, he could be happy there too? Saria and the others would still accept him and let him stay among them. And they would be together...

But that would never do. Link would continue to grow and change while all his friends stayed exactly as they were, and he would be even more isolated and shunned. Now that Link knew what lay beyond the forest, he could never be content with that kind of existence. And he would resent Navi for trying to force it on him, for stopping him from coming into his own as a man. As much as it hurt Navi to admit it, he would be happiest and most fulfilled by making a life for himself in Hyrule. He would be happiest...when she was no longer there to hold him back.

But not yet. Today, he was still hers.

"Navi? You haven't answered me yet."

"Because the answer should be obvious," Navi said and tried not to let her voice tremble. "You would make a wonderful father, Link. But I think you're forgetting something. You can't start a family all by yourself. Who would be the mother of those children you want to have?"

Link stayed silent for a moment. But then he turned his head ever so slightly, his eyes sliding over to the couch where Sheik was fast asleep with her back to them. Navi almost fell off his ear in shock. "Are you serious? Link, how do you even know she would...?"

"It's just an idea, Navi," Link said, sniggering at her reaction. He burrowed deeper into the blankets, still with that speculative glint in his eye. "There's no harm in asking, right? Once all this is over, I mean."

"I...I...I really think you should go to sleep now, Link," Navi said faintly. "You're obviously tired, not thinking straight..."

"Sure, whatever you say," Link said loftily and shut his eyes. Navi was just starting to relax, thinking the conversation was over, when he whispered one last question. "Do you think they'd have blue eyes or red?"

"...blue," Navi said after a moment. "Definitely blue."

"Mm," Link mumbled, and in almost the next instant he was snoring. Navi sighed in mixed exasperation and affection, then she flew over to the couch just to make sure Sheik had been asleep for the duration of that chat. Sheik didn't even twitch when the fairy's light fell on her, eyes closed and breathing evenly, though Navi found it strange that she had kept her cowl on even in sleep. From the beginning, Navi simply hadn't known what to make of the Sheikah. She had half expected the masked warrior to stab Link in the back at some critical moment, but soon Navi couldn't help but be grateful for Sheik's firm guidance to keep Link on track. Link always looked forward to seeing her again, and Navi looked forward to the joy on his face whenever he laid eyes on his mysterious friend.

Maybe...maybe Link would be alright after all.

"Take care of him for me," Navi whispered sadly, her wings drooping. "Take care of him, Sheik."

To her surprise, the Sheikah opened her eyes and looked up at the fairy solemnly.

"Always."

Chapter Text

"What do you mean there's no doctor?" Link said frantically, his voice breaking with exhaustion and panic.

The tavern keeper barring the doorway scowled in bad temper and had to raise his voice to shout over the icy wind whipping through the tiny village. "Just what I said! The last doctor we had left two years ago! You'll have to go to Kakariko!"

Link shook his head and looked down helplessly at the unconscious and badly wounded Sheikah in his arms. He could feel warm blood soaking through his sleeves even as he stood there. "But that's miles away! He'll never make it!"

The tavern keeper rubbed the stubble on his chin, looking from Sheik to the dark sky and the towering storm clouds illuminated by distant lightning. Drops of rain were already starting to fall on their heads. The man sighed and stepped aside, waving Link into the tavern quickly. "I've got a spare room upstairs. You can stay the night, patch him up and head for Kakariko tomorrow."

"Thank you so much," Link said gratefully and hurried across the threshold. The tavern was completely empty, no doubt because of the late hour and the oncoming storm, but a fire burned cheerfully on the hearth, and the heat slowly penetrated his numb skin. Link had run here all the way from Castle Town, forcing his weary legs to carry him even when he felt on the verge of collapsing. He was tempted to just pass out cold on the floor, but he had to look after Sheik first. Unlike him, Link hadn't even gotten a scratch.

Link followed the tavern keeper as the man picked up a lantern and traipsed up the stairs, showing him to a small room with little more than a rickety table and a pallet low to the floor that smelled like straw. Link knelt and laid Sheik down on the pallet, leaning over to check on him. Sheik's eyes were shut tight, and he was shuddering minutely, his breathing shallow. Dozens of wounds were visible through various rips in his clothes, and blood loss had made what little of his face was visible pale and cold to the touch. It frightened Link to see the Sheikah like this. They had met only three or four times since his awakening, brief encounters with only a few words exchanged, but Sheik had always projected an aura of hidden strength and competence. Like he was aware of all that happened around him and could never be caught by surprise. Link often found himself the uneasy subject of that fierce scrutiny, pinned in place by a piercing red gaze, his every action weighed and judged.

"What happened to him?" the tavern keeper asked as he set the lantern on the table, peering at Sheik. "Looks like he got attacked by something rabid."

"Redeads," Link said listlessly, and the man blanched and made a sign to ward off evil. Link didn't blame him. Those shambling corpses were just plain horrifying. Link had rarely been forced to fight more than one or two at a time, and he thanked the goddesses for that. But Sheik had been ambushed by five of the monsters only moments after they parted outside the Temple of Time. Link felt sick when he remembered how Sheik had been screaming desperately for help, screaming in terror and agony as the creatures swarmed him and brought him to the ground, grabbing, scratching, biting...

Link turned to the tavern keeper. "Do you have any red potion?"

"Does it look like I can afford red potion?" the tavern keeper said, waving his hand at the ramshackle walls. He watched Sheik a moment longer and turned for the door. "Sit tight. I'll go boil some rags, and I'll get some thread too. Some of those look like they should be stitched."

"But," Link said, turning quickly, but the man was already halfway down the stairs. "But I don't know how to do that!"

"I'll walk you through it," Navi assured him, slipping out of his hat. She hovered just above Sheik and inspected his bloodied and battered appearance. "It looks like a lot of these have stopped bleeding already. You just have to clean and bandage them. Wounds from a Redead sometimes get infected with dark magic and won't heal at all if they're left untreated so there's no time to waste!"

Link scrubbed a hand over his face, frustrated at his own uselessness. "But there's so much! Where do I even start?"

"Just go one step at a time," Navi told him. "First, let's look at the damage and make sure there aren't any serious wounds or broken bones."

Her calm words helped turn Link's panic into purpose. He hadn't even thought about the possibility of broken bones, but if there were any, it would be best to treat them while Sheik was still dead to the world. He started first by taking off Sheik's boots and unwinding the many layers of cloth bindings wrapped around his head and both his forearms—somehow not surprised to find two throwing knives in hidden sheathes strapped to his wrists, a third in his boot, and even a tiny tool in his hair that looked like a lockpick. Setting the weapons aside, Link combed his fingers through the blond tresses to makes sure there was nothing else, his eyebrows flying up when he realized how long Sheik's hair was. Definitely way longer than it needed to be.

Maybe it's a Sheikah custom, Link thought with a mental shrug. He made a cursory inspection of Sheik's head, but aside from a slight lump at his hairline and a livid bruise forming over his eye, there was no injury there and no need to remove the cowl. Sheik had at least managed to protect his face and neck, but that just meant his arms had taken the brunt of the assault. Link pushed up his sleeve and winced at the ugly collection of bite marks and bloody scratches trailing all the way up the limb, and even more bruises in the shape of fingers.

Getting more worried by the minute, Link pushed aside the gray tabard to check his torso, alarmed to find a great gash in the blue shirt beneath it and a slowly spreading stain over the center of Sheik's chest. That was definitely the place to start. It looked much more serious than the other injuries. Since the tattered garment was probably a lost cause anyway and since Link didn't want to go through the trouble of manhandling clothes off a lifeless body, he took one of Sheik's daggers and slit open the shirt vertically until it was all but torn in half, mentally promising to replace it.

But Link paused just before he would have pushed aside the ragged edges of the shirt. He had expected to see skin right away, but there were even more of those cloth bindings underneath the shirt, wrapped around Sheik's chest. They were badly frayed, almost shredded to pieces, and Link wondered at their presence in the first place. He could understand the ones on his forearms to conceal the knives, but what was Sheik hiding here? Curious, Link set the knife aside and slipped his hand beneath the bloodied fabric, carefully in case there turned out to be yet another hidden weapon or...or...

Round. Soft. Squishy.

Link let out a strangled yelp and yanked his hand away like he had been burned, scrambling back wildly until he bumped into the table and nearly overset the lantern.

"What, what happened?" Navi said anxiously. "Link, what's the matter? Why are you turning red? Do you have a fever?"

Link pointed at Sheik, mouth gaping open, but he was too mortified to put a proper sentence together. All that came out was a choked garble. "Sheik! He's...I mean, s-she's...that..."

"Link, tell me what's wrong!"

"Woman!" Link blurted out at last, his voice jumping much higher than it was ever meant to go. "Sheik's a woman!"

Navi stilled, following his accusing finger to the Sheikah lying innocently on the pallet. The fairy turned back to Link. "So?"

"W-What do you mean so?" Link said, indignant that he was the only one acting properly shocked. "I thought he was a man! I mean, I thought she was a—"

"That doesn't change anything!" Navi insisted. "Sheik is still hurt, and you still have to help him—I mean, her. You can worry about what she is later."

"But she's hurt," Link said and paused, gulping hard as he gestured feebly at his own chest, "there."

"And I trust you'll do whatever you must to heal her wounds and preserve her dignity," Navi said with a stern note in her voice. When Link only balked and stared at her in open panic, the fairy scoffed. "Oh, for goodness' sake, Link! She's a woman, not a leper!"

A knock on the door startled Link. Still shaking, he pushed himself to his feet and opened it, and at once his arms were laden down with a pot of steaming water, clean rags and strips of cloth, and of all things a bottle of whiskey.

"For when he wakes up," the tavern keeper said gruffly and shrugged off Link's perplexed look. "Getting mauled by monsters like that could give any hardened man nightmares. If you need anything, just holler. I'm right down the hallway."

"Thanks," Link said faintly, trying to adjust his burden so he wouldn't drop anything. Realizing the tavern keeper hadn't left, he glanced up. The man was looking over Link's shoulder, blinking and squinting like he couldn't figure out what he was looking at. Link followed his gaze to Sheik. Even though she was still mostly covered in the shredded remains of her shirt, her unbound hair lying spread across the pallet made it fairly obvious what her true gender was.

Link stepped into his line of sight, glowering fiercely. The tavern keeper stared at him and eventually snorted and walked away. "I won't even ask..."

Link shut the door firmly and leaned against it, breathing heavily, unable to explain his sudden protective streak even to himself. He was grateful that Navi chose not to comment as he returned to Sheik's side and laid out everything in easy reach. Steeling himself, he nudged aside the edges of the ripped shirt, trying to get a look at the damage and still keep the Sheikah decently covered. At least one Redead had gotten close enough for its claws to leave four deep slashes from the inside of her collarbone all the way down the center of her chest before raking sideways across her ribs beneath her right breast. The gashes gaped wider with every breath she took, blood welling up in them. It looked so painful that it cleared Link's head of any sort of unwelcome and indecent thoughts and let him concentrate on the task at hand.

Link soaked a rag in the water and washed away the congealed blood under Navi's direction. Once the bleeding had nearly stopped, he found the thread and needle wrapped up in another rag, still warm from being sterilized in boiling water. Navi helped him thread the needle, but it took Link at least a minute to work up the courage to bring it near Sheik. Saria had taught him how to mend rips in his clothes, and this seemed like much the same thing, except it was skin he would be sewing. There was something fundamentally not right about that.

Still, it had to be done.

Breathing shakily, Link steadied his hand and made the first stitch. He almost jumped out of his skin when Sheik flinched, but a quick look up told him she was still unconscious, brow furrowed in uneasy dreams. He returned his attention to his hands and kept working, fearing any moment Sheik would wake up right in the middle of it.

"Sorry, Sheik, I'm really sorry. I'm doing the best I can, I don't mean for it to hurt..."

Somehow, his voice seemed to lull her and she stopped flinching. Link kept muttering other useless and nonsensical things all the way up until he had finished the last stitch, then he sat back with a sigh of relief. It wasn't perfect, and it certainly wasn't pretty, but at least it was done.

"You need to bandage those next," Navi reminded him. "To keep the stitches clean."

Link looked from the fairy to the stitched wound, flummoxed. "But how am I supposed to do that without...seeing her?"

Navi's silence was answer enough, and Link almost fainted on the spot. After some more arguing and futile pleading, he got it together long enough to do what was needed. The worst part was there was no preserving Sheik's dignity this time. Link had to remove what was left of her shirt completely and sit her up against him so he could loop the bandages over her left shoulder and diagonally down to her right side, trying very hard not to look at the soft white skin that was just begging to be stared at. The whole situation made him flustered and clumsy, and in his blundering ineptitude, he just couldn't help brushing against certain places that he was sure Sheik would never want a man to touch...at least not without her permission.

He was immensely relieved when the whole affair was done so Link could lay her back down, cover her with a blanket and move on to the more neutral territory of her arms, shoulders and back, cleaning and bandaging with as much care and gentleness as he could muster. It was good that the tedium of the task kept him completely absorbed because otherwise Link didn't think he could have kept his eyes to himself. Sheik really was attractive under all these shrouding layers. Athletic and lithe like a cat, all sinewy muscle and hidden strength, completely unlike any woman he had ever met. Well, that wasn't quite true. Impa was built along much the same lines, but she was...much scarier. Sheik could be intimidating too, but it was more because of the mystery surrounding her, the enigmatic mask she displayed for the world. It fascinated him to see a glimpse of what was behind all the secrecy.

Link lifted his eyes to her veiled face, overtaken by the urge to simply brush it aside and see everything. See the face she had been hiding all this time. But he curbed the impulse and finished bandaging the last bite on her wrist, feeling vaguely ashamed. Sheik would be mad enough he had seen as much as he had. He would not violate her trust any further for the sake of curiosity.

He laid her wrist back down on the pallet and moved to wash off the blood crusting on his hands. "Finally, all done!"

"Um...not quite," Navi said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Link demanded, and Navi showed him, bobbing above Sheik's left leg urgently. Link caught his breath when he saw the fabric was saturated with blood until it was nearly black. How had he not noticed? A closer inspection revealed another deep gash even worse than the one on her chest. It began just above her knee and curved up the inside of her thigh, dangerously close to yet another forbidden area, and Link cursed those Redeads for their uncanny ability to place such dire wounds in such strategic places. He still had plenty of thread for stitches, thankfully, but Link was stymied on how to go about this. He couldn't get at the wound without cutting her pants to ribbons, and he really didn't want to do that. It was bad enough he had destroyed her shirt.

The only solution then was to take them off completely.

"Please don't hate me, Sheik," Link whispered and gingerly unfastened her belt. He glimpsed her undergarments and turned his head away quickly, feeling like a complete monster. "And please don't wake up until after I'm done..."

But unfortunately, Sheik didn't seem intent on listening to him. As he slowly shimmied her pants down over her hips, she flinched and hissed when the fabric slid over the gash on her thigh. The flesh around it was reddened and hot to the touch, and Link remembered Navi's warning about infection and dark magic with a thrill of fear. If he didn't do this right the first time, Sheik could lose her leg.

Grabbing the last clean rag, Link started to cleanse the wound. He tried to be careful, but even the lightest touch seemed to bring more pain. When he inadvertently pressed too hard, Sheik uttered a cry and bolted upright, clutching her leg. Link dropped the rag and seized her shoulders as she blindly thrashed and struck out at him, kicking and punching and groping for daggers that weren't there.

"Sheik, Sheik it's alright! You're safe now! It's okay, it's only me...it's only me..."

Sheik grew still, breathing so fast she was almost hyperventilating. She looked up into his face as reason gradually returned to her eyes. "T-The Redeads?" she gasped.

"Dead...again," Link said with a faint smile. "I killed them and got you out of there as fast as I could."

Her eyes slipped shut in relief. Sheik sagged against him weakly and allowed him to hold her until she stopped trembling. It was the first time Link had ever been so close to her and...he kind of liked it. The way she fit so perfectly against his body, the way she leaned into him like there was no question he could protect her from anything in this world. They stayed like that for a little while, and Link was just starting to wonder if she had fallen asleep when Sheik stiffened.

"Link...where are my weapons, and why am I naked under this blanket?"

Her sharp and suspicious tone made him freeze. His silence seemed to be the wrong answer because Sheik pushed away from him, the blanket clutched to her chest in one hand, red eyes scorching and livid and demanding an explanation. Link cleared his throat and tried not to squirm, but it made him uneasy that she had asked for her knives first rather than her clothes.

"Why, uh...why do you need your weapons?"

"That depends on how you answer my other question," Sheik said in a low voice, and Link could have sworn the room took on a slight chill.

"He had to dress your wounds, Sheik," Navi explained, to Link's relief. "You were hurt pretty badly, and there was no doctor close enough to help."

Sheik glanced at the fairy and dropped her gaze to the bandages on her arm. "I see," she said, her tone neutral.

"I'm not quite done yet," Link said and earned a sharp look from her. He picked up the needle and remaining thread, nodding at her leg. "I think that one's infected with dark magic. It needs to be stitched shut, otherwise it'll just keep bleeding..."

"I'll do it," Sheik said at once and plucked both thread and needle from his hands.

"What?" Link said, taken aback. "But...are you sure?"

"You've done more than enough, hero," Sheik murmured, but her voice hitched as she tried to turn away from him and accidentally jostled the wound. Sweat beaded on her forehead, which she wiped away quickly before she started trying to put the thread through the needle. Link reached over and seized her shaking wrists, worried she would stab herself.

"Sheik, you can't possibly do this in your condition! Just let me—"

"I said I can do it myself!"

"You would have died if you'd been by yourself!" Link said and finally pulled the needle out of her grasp. He put his hand on her shoulder and made her look him in the eye. "Please, I'm just trying to help."

Sheik glanced aside like she wanted to argue but couldn't think of what to say. It was hard to tell with only her eyes to go on, but she almost seemed embarrassed. Did it really bother her that much to ask for help?

"Very well," Sheik said eventually, shoulders slumped in defeat. She noticed the bottle of whiskey sitting off to the side and nodded at it. "You should pour that on the wound first. The alcohol will sterilize it better than water."

Link nodded, wondering why he hadn't thought of that. He did as Sheik asked and carefully poured some of the amber liquid over the wound. Sheik winced as it splashed on her skin and pinkish liquid dripped down her leg onto the pallet. Link set the bottle aside, resisting the temptation to take a swig of the alcoholic draught like he had seen other adults do when they needed to steady their nerves. He had a feeling Sheik and Navi would not approve. He had to ask Navi to thread the needle for him again, and Link noticed how Sheik was eyeing the sharp point warily.

"Maybe you should look away."

Without a word, Sheik eased herself down on her back and stared fixedly at the wall. Link held the needle in one hand and put his other hand beside her knee, feeling a slight quiver in response to his touch. He could see her hand toying with the edge of the blanket draped over her upper body, and her edgy tension made Link even more apprehensive. This would have been so much easier if she was still unconscious. Sheik drew a sharp breath when the needle pierced her skin, and when Link raised his head, her eyes were squeezed shut and her hand fisted in the blanket.

"Are you okay?"

"Nngh," Sheik groaned and drew an unsteady breath. "Just...hurts."

"Sorry," Link apologized, glad at least that she wasn't screaming or anything like that. In fact, he was impressed she was able to stay so calm and stoic. Link wasn't sure he could have stayed quiet if someone was poking him with a needle. He made the first stitch, working twice as slow this time, mindful of Sheik being able to feel every little tug of the thread. He slid the needle through her skin again and winced when a little whimper caught in Sheik's throat.

"S-Sorry—!"

"You d-don't need to apologize for every single one, hero," Sheik croaked. "Please, just finish it."

"Okay," Link said, and nothing more was spoken as he gradually stitched up the gash and tried his best to ignore Sheik's distress. The muscles in her leg were rigid, and it wasn't only from the pain judging by the little goosebumps that rose on her flesh wherever he was touching her. He could practically feel her eyes boring into the back of his head as he slowly worked his way up her thigh. Link looked up again only to see Sheik quickly turn her head aside, her profile unreadable, but he could see her pointed ear slowly growing redder. The color started to rise in his own face as well, especially when he hit a conundrum and had to break the silence.

"Sorry, but...can you lift your leg up a bit?"

Sheik bent her leg ever so slightly, her foot resting flat on the pallet to prop it up. But the angle was still too awkward for Link to finish stitching the last inch or two on the inside of her thigh. Before he could talk himself out of it, Link curled his fingers under her knee and hooked her leg over his shoulder. Sheik started so violently that he thought she might kick him or otherwise lash out at him. He wouldn't have blamed her. The position was unnecessarily suggestive, and Link didn't want to be accused of taking liberties—although it was a little late for that. The best thing he could do was finish stitching the gash as quickly as possible and then swathe her thigh in bandages.

As soon as it was done, he disentangled himself from her and made a point to scoot back and give her space. "Okay, I'm done."

"Thank you," Sheik said a little hoarsely. She sat up at little to examine his work, tugging at the edge of the bandages to check the stitches. Link started to get more anxious from her silence.

"Is it okay? Did I do anything wrong?"

"N-No, it's fine," Sheik assured him, and Link was sure he must have imagined the slight tremble in her voice. "You did well, Link. You were...tender..."

Link stared. "Tender?"

Her eyes widened, and Sheik went back to glaring at the wall. "Er, perhaps that was not the proper word," she faltered. "I meant—"

"I-I know, you don't have to say it!" Link said quickly to save them both the embarrassment. He noticed Sheik was subtly trying to fold her bare legs under the blanket, but it wasn't quite big enough to cover her.

"May I have my clothes back?" Sheik asked, almost diffidently.

"They're, um," Link said and waved at the bloodstained and threadbare pile of garments on the floor. Acting on impulse, he gripped the edge of his green tunic and tugged it over his head to offer it to her, leaving him in his white undershirt. "Here," he mumbled.

Sheik nodded her thanks, and she gave him a look that made him hastily turn his back and busy himself with picking up the soiled rags and in general cleaning up the mess he had made. He picked up the pot of water and carried it to the window to dump it out since the water inside was now an opaque crimson and starting to stink. A curtain of cold rain smacked him in the face as he shoved the shutters open, and when he leaned out and upended the bucket, the high wind almost made the grisly cascade splatter into the outside wall of the tavern. That could have been hard to explain to the owner.

Link closed the shutters and set the empty pot on the table. Since he could still hear the rustle of fabric behind him, he kept facing the wall. "So how come you hide it?" he said slowly.

There was no need to clarify what he was referring to. "For varying reasons," Sheik murmured. "I suppose you could say...it's easier this way. There are some in Hyrule who find female warriors to be outlandish, unnatural. And as an agent of the royal family, I must do what I can to stay unnoticed by Ganondorf's forces. A lone Sheikah man garners less attention on the road than a woman."

"You still could have told me," Link said softly, a little hurt by the deception now that he knew it was intentional. "I don't care that you're a woman. And I can keep a secret."

Sheik didn't answer. "You may turn around now."

Link turned, unprepared for the rather appealing sight of Sheik wearing his tunic, almost swallowed up by all that green. She had covered her legs with the blanket and was in the middle of trying to get her masses of blond hair under control. She seemed to be braiding it and coiling the braids close to her head using the cloth bindings he had painstakingly removed at the beginning.

"Why don't you leave it down?" Link asked before he could stop himself.

"It gets in the way," Sheik said shortly without looking at him.

"Yeah, but...I like it better when it's down..."

He regretted saying that almost at once when Sheik snapped her eyes to him. "Are you flirting with me, Hero of Time?" she demanded. "Rather forward considering you found out my true gender only moments ago."

"N-No, I wasn't flirting!" Link stammered. "It was...a compliment!"

"It sounded like flirting to me," Navi muttered under her breath, and a vicious glare from Link made the fairy squeak and hide under his hat. He looked back at Sheik, who tied off the last of the bindings with a sharp jerk of defiance. She seemed annoyed with his comment, and Link couldn't quite figure out why. It wasn't like he insulted her...was it?

"I...Sheik, I didn't meant to upset you..."

"You didn't," Sheik said, interrupting him, and she sounded a little remorseful. "It's only...it is not appropriate for you to say such things to me. I am your guide, and I must remain as such. Nothing more."

"But...why?" Link asked, confused. He knelt down beside her and tried to meet her averted gaze. "I only said that because...because I like you, Sheik. You never give me a chance to just talk to you, even though we're both working for the same goal. Now you're saying we can't even be friends?"

"No, we cannot," Sheik said firmly, either not noticing or not caring about his disappointment. "Forgive me, Link. I am grateful to you for saving my life, and for...caring for my wounds. But we must part ways again. It is for the best."

"Well, we can't 'part ways' just yet," Link snorted and grinned when she arched an eyebrow. "In case you hadn't noticed, there's a storm outside, and it's probably better that we stay the night here. And you still need a doctor to look at your leg and get rid of the infection, and the closest one is in Kakariko village. You can't exactly walk all that way on your own. You need my help."

"I think you underestimate me, hero," Sheik said, sounding vexed. "There is nothing wrong with my legs. I will travel there tomorrow morning. Alone."

"And what if while you're walking, you split open those stitches and collapse in the middle of nowhere?" Link said drably, and he was rewarded with a dirty look. "Hey, I just want to make sure all my hard work fixing you up didn't go to waste! At least let me travel with you to Kakariko."

"And if I refuse?"

"I'll throw you over my shoulder and carry you," Link said, mostly joking, but the threat alone seemed to appall her. "What? Can I help it that I'm a hero and you're a—"

"If you say damsel, I will slit your throat!"

"...friend in need?" Link suggested meekly.

Sheik sighed in disgust, though it was unclear who exactly she was disgusted with. "Very well," she said tersely. "If you do not object, then your company would be...appreciated."

"Good," Link said, gratified. And he honestly was looking forward to spending more than a few minutes in Sheik's company. "Then maybe we can get to know each other on the way there."

"I think there's been more than enough of that tonight," Sheik muttered with a pointed look.

Link flushed brilliantly and held up his hands in feeble defense. "I-I didn't mean to look!" he said lamely. "Really, I tried not to, but I didn't have a choice—"

"Link," Sheik said gently, halting his rambling. "I am not angry. Mortified that the situation occurred in the first place, perhaps, but not angry. You did only what was necessary. And I meant to say earlier...you were very respectful and courteous and honorable enough not to take advantage of the circumstances, which I am grateful for."

"Uh...thanks, I guess," Link said, his face still burning. He stood up abruptly. "I'll go find some blankets. The guy who owns this place said this was the only spare room, but I can go sleep by the fire downstairs if you'd rather...be alone..."

He trailed off when Sheik shook her head, not quite looking at him. "No, I don't mind if you stay. There's room enough on the pallet if we sleep back to back."

Link hesitated, wondering if it would go completely against what she said about his honor if he agreed. But he didn't think Sheik would have suggested it if she truly wanted him gone. So he just nodded and sat down to take off his boots, trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing and not think about the fact that Sheik was still technically half naked under that blanket. But as long as they were back to back as she said, it shouldn't be a problem. Link blew out the lantern and had to fumble his way back to the pallet in the pitch dark—Navi choosing at that moment to be a complete brat and stay hidden beneath his hat—and he almost tripped and ended up sprawled on top of her, which he was sure Sheik would have not forgiven.

Eventually, they got themselves arranged so their backs were pressed together, Sheik facing the wall while Link faced the door. The only sounds left then were the booming thunder and the rattling shutters. Without the weak flame of the lantern, the dark room almost at once felt drafty and cold. The shared blanket did little to help. Link lay awake for a long time, alternately dozing off and staring unseeing into the blackness only occasionally illuminated by bursts of lightning through the shutters. He could feel Sheik shivering against his back, but it took him awhile to hear the sobs she was trying to muffle. It didn't surprise him though, far from it. Link vividly remembered the first time he had been attacked by Redeads as a child. He had reacted in much the same way afterward, crying hysterically in the Kakariko graveyard, except he'd had no one but Navi to console him then.

Turning over, Link draped his arm around Sheik and pulled her back against him. Sheik resisted for a moment, but didn't try very hard to escape his hold. She grasped his hand in the dark, squeezing tight. "I'm not normally like this," she choked, defensive.

"I never thought you were," Link whispered against the back of her neck. "Shh, it's okay..."

Minutes passed by. Maybe it was Link's imagination, but he thought the storm outside was starting to abate. It wasn't long before the thunder stopped altogether and left only the soothing sound of the rain.

"...thank you, Link."

"That's what friends are for."

Chapter Text

She didn't realize how hard it would be. To wait and watch from a distance, to put all her faith in another and pray that he would not fail her. To see him stumbling from exhaustion on the road and not lend him a shoulder to lean on or a bed to rest in. To see him battered and bleeding after a fight and not offer him a potion or a bit of her healing magic. But most of all, it was so hard to walk away from him time and again and not look back no matter how many times he chased her or called for her, yearning for more than whatever worthless words she deigned to give him.

Link...we shall meet again...

Wait, don't go yet! Sheik, come back!

Somehow...Zelda found the strength to stay apart from him. But it was getting more painful each time. It physically hurt to see him struggle on, alone and discouraged, when she knew that one glimpse of her face would be more than enough to spur him on again. But Impa's warning was always in the back of her mind. All it would take was one careless slip, one unguarded moment, and Ganondorf's spies would find her. Then it would all have been for nothing. Ganondorf would take her and steal her Triforce piece, and then Link would face him at a disadvantage. The sages would not be at full power without her, and therefore Link would not be either, and he would die at the evil king's hands and Hyrule would fall because of her folly.

Zelda could not allow that to happen. She had already caused more than enough damage, and every day she spent shadowing Link all over her ravaged kingdom only bolstered the crushing guilt that weighed on her soul.

Lake Hylia was the worst. Standing on the tiny isle with a single lone tree at its center and gazing out at the dusty and barren valley, Zelda felt her knees go weak. This was her doing. Ganondorf had attained the Triforce because she had failed to stop him, and this was what had come of it. She could still see the skeletons of Zoras half buried in the desiccated earth, trapped here when the water level receded, gasping out their last breath as they were baked alive under the scorching sun. In a way, the Zoras who had been sealed beneath a sheet of ice in their domain had been the lucky ones. They didn't even know they were dead.

Zelda swayed where she sat, her gorge rising, and she wanted nothing more than to stand up and flee over the horizon. But she could not. Link had yet to emerge from the temple beneath the lake. An entire night had passed since he entered it. The eastern horizon was gradually growing lighter with the rising sun, and a growing sense of anxiety had caused her to relocate just above the entrance to await him rather than staying safely out of sight. Zelda paced fretfully around the island, then made herself sit down and play every song she knew on her lyre, and she even lay down and tried to catch up on lost sleep. But it was no use. Her thoughts refused to stray from him, brooding over all the terrible things that could have happened to delay the Hero of Time. At one point she even began to unlace her boots with the intent to dive in after him, but she stopped herself.

Wait for him. Just wait awhile longer. Trust him as you can no longer trust yourself.

The sun crested the horizon and warmed her with the first rays of dawn. A light breeze toyed with her hair and made the loose ends of her cloth bindings flap around. A crow cawed somewhere. Just as Zelda was starting to lose faith again, she heard it. The sudden rush of water that she had been waiting for all along. She went to the edge of the island and watched in mingled wonder and elation as the water level began to rise. It took nearly an hour for the lake to be fully restored, but the time passed so quickly that Zelda felt as if she might blink and miss it. Lake Hylia sparkled in the sunlight, its surface rippling in the wind, and she wanted to weep at the glorious sight.

"Link...you did it..."

As if saying his name had summoned him, Zelda sensed a rush of magic behind her and heard a familiar voice laugh and call out. "Sheik! I didn't know you'd be here!"

"We meet again, hero," Zelda said as she turned to face him, schooling her tone into something more harsh and impassive. But it was hardly necessary since Link walked right past her, jaws agape as he stared out at the azure waters.

"Whoa...the lake..."

"It is all your doing," Zelda said, and he stared at her in amazement. "Now that you and Ruto have banished the evil from the temple, Lake Hylia is once more filled with pure, clean water. All is as it was here."

"I did this?" Link said, teetering slightly as if he might faint, but at last he seemed to overcome his shock and let out a whoop. "Wow, this is great! I was afraid it would be dried up forever! I really missed this place..."

He fell silent, his eyes roving over the entire valley, drinking it all in. Zelda stole a look at his jubilant profile, wanting more than anything to share in his triumph. Her resolve to stay at a distance was almost nonexistent now that he was standing only a step away from her. A step, that was all it would take. She imagined taking that single step, imagined taking his arm, turning him around, removing the cloth from her face. Imagined the embrace they would share, the tears and joy at finding each other again, the words of relief and deep affection they might exchange...

Her hand was already ahead of her, reaching for him, before Zelda remembered herself and snatched it back. It was a good thing she did because Link turned to her again. "Ruto said to thank you, by the way. For saving her at the domain. And I want to thank you for that too."

"I see," Zelda said unsteadily, caught up in the stormy sapphire of his eyes. "We must save Hyrule for her sake as well. Her, and all the sages."

Link cast her a puzzled look, and then he grinned broadly. "You said we. I think that's the first time you've said that! And here I was starting to think you didn't like me at all!"

Zelda faltered and made a noncommittal noise in her throat, glancing aside. This was precisely what Impa had warned her about. She had already stayed in his presence for too long. If she did not go now, there was no telling what might happen. After he turned his back on her again, Zelda dredged up her voice from somewhere and prepared to bid him farewell, but what Link said next made her freeze.

"Ruto said that Zelda is still alive," Link said very quietly. His eyes showed relief, but his brow was creased with sadness and longing. "Not that I didn't believe you, Sheik, but it's good to hear it from someone else too. It's just...so hard to be apart from her. The only memory I have of her is when we met as kids, and sometimes it feels like I'm chasing a ghost, the way she always stays just beyond my reach. Sometimes...I can't even remember what she looks like."

He bowed his head, a deep sigh escaping him. "I wonder if...if she's forgotten me too. I wonder if that's why she won't see me..."

Zelda squeezed her eyes closed, her chest aching. Now more than ever she wanted to tell him, to show him that she had been with him all along and would remain steadfast at his side no matter what. But it was not yet time. Choking back the pitiful apology that wanted to burst forth, she backed slowly away from him, unable to even utter the usual parting phrase and the promise to meet again. She could not even give him that much for fear of what her traitorous mouth might decide to reveal.

Don't lose faith, Link. Your princess is closer than you know.

Link noticed her silence, but it took him a moment longer to notice her absence. "Sheik...?"

She was already hiding up in the tree by the time he turned, his expression stressed and frantic like he had lost something precious. Zelda only hesitated for a few brief seconds, unable to withhold her tears as Link gave up on searching for her and simply stared at his feet, lost and bewildered and deeply wounded by her sudden abandonment. "Why...?"

Zelda threw herself into the lake and swam away underwater in case he had heard the splash, glad for the icy water to wash away the lingering evidence of her tears.

Forgive me...but this is the way it must be. No matter how much it hurts us both.

Chapter Text

"A carnival?" Link said in interest as he watched the feverish bustle taking place all over Kakariko. The villagers were in a frenzy as they hastened to string up festive streamers between the buildings and set up tables and chairs for feasting and stalls and booths for games. He could even see the owner of the Shooting Gallery getting together some sort of archery game on the outskirts of the village with targets stuffed with straw. Link's fingers were already itching to try it out.

"It appears so," Sheik said slowly and with great confusion. "But...the only carnivals I know of are celebrated on the solstices and equinoxes. What could this one be for?"

"Does it matter?" Link said with a laugh. He strode through the central square, taking in the preparations with eager eyes and nimbly dodging a pair of carpenters as they hauled a log toward some kind of scaffold erected hastily near the well. "It's a carnival, Sheik! Since when does anyone need a reason to have one?"

"Ah, my thoughts exactly!"

Link paused in his tracks when he spotted a familiar face wending his way toward them through the chaos. The huge rucksack strapped to his rather puny frame was hard to miss even in this crowd. "So you're the one behind this?"

The Happy Mask Salesman bobbed his head, his grin wide enough to swallow the moon. "Oh, I might have let something slip about this little tradition from my homeland...it is an event I have dearly missed observing each year, and now at last I have a chance to pay homage to my gods with the help of these good people! I am simply overjoyed they took to the idea with such keen fervor! Welcome, apprentice! Welcome to the Carnival of Time!"

"Carnival of Time?" Sheik repeated. "I've never heard of such a carnival in any of the surrounding kingdoms. Where did you say you were from?"

"Come, you simply must be part of the celebration!" the Mask Salesman said and threw an arm over Link's shoulders, steering him deeper into the village. Sheik seemed miffed at being ignored, and Link shrugged at her helplessly as he listened to the rapid explanation.

"Each year in the capital of my home, all the peoples gather together for a festival that lasts three days, ending at midnight on the first day of the new year. There's all kinds of fun to be had! Games, performances, contests, dancing, food and drink, all that which is only proper for a carnival! And on the final night, everyone dons a mask created with their own hands, one which represents all the sorrows and grief accumulated in the past year. And once the clock strikes midnight, we all shed our masks, shed our sorrows, so that we can look to the new year with lighter hearts!"

"So it's like a masquerade?" Link said, getting more excited by the moment. "That sounds neat! Doesn't it, Sheik?"

"More like a poorly disguised attempt to increase his business," Sheik said skeptically. "You are a mask salesman, are you not?"

"Heh heh," the Mask Salesman said, but his benign smile was a little strained at the accusation.

Link frowned at Sheik. "Yeah, but he said that everyone also makes their own masks. How come you're being so cynical about this?"

"It's a waste of time," Sheik said with a small huff. "The villagers have only taken to this idea so quickly because it is an excuse to cast off their responsibilities and forget about the troubles plaguing them. But one night of tomfoolery will not magically solve all the problems in this kingdom."

"It's not about solving anything," Link said slowly. He waved his hand at the village. "Come on, Sheik, just look around. Have you ever seen Kakariko so lively since Ganondorf took the throne? I think they need this. It's like a...a reminder that things weren't always as bad as they are now."

"Yes, you have it exactly right, apprentice!" the Mask Salesman said in jubilation. When he noticed Sheik's cold glare, the salesman cleared his throat. "I suppose I'll go, ah...aid in the preparations..."

Link watched the Mask Salesman go, then turned his attention to the village at large, smiling at how vibrant and cheerful everyone seemed. The atmosphere was infectious, and the carnival hadn't even properly started yet. He grinned at Sheik. "Technically, I'm still a kid on the inside. Can I help it that I like stuff like this? I don't know about you, but I'm going to be a part of it!"

Sheik gave him a look that clearly expressed what she thought of that idea. "You're not serious..."

"Of course I am," Link said firmly. "And I think you should come too. We could have so much fun! What can one night hurt?"

Sheik shifted her weight, arms crossed, but he could see her resolve starting to crumple. "I...I hardly think Impa would approve," she said in weak protest.

"Then let's go ask her!"

"No. Absolutely not."

"What?" Link cried, stunned by the blatant refusal. "But why not? Why can't Sheik go to the carnival with me?"

Impa merely ignored him as she leaned against the outside wall of her house, studiously picking at her fingernails with a small knife. "I will not have my only protégé gallivanting about and partaking in such juvenile games. The Sheikah are, above all, highly disciplined and must show mediation and self-restraint in all things. This whole business with the masquerade is clearly meant to encourage exactly the sort of indulgent and hedonistic behavior that completely undermines my clan's teachings. At worst, it can even be described as an act of false idolatry since this carnival does in no way pay homage to the goddesses of Hyrule."

"But...but it's just a carnival," Link pleaded, already knowing the battle was lost but unwilling to give up for Sheik's sake. "And Sheik wants to go, I know she does!"

"Link," Sheik said in a tone that made him close his mouth and duck his head in defeat. She showed nothing of disappointment, standing straight-backed before her mentor, but the flatness of her voice gave away how she really felt. "I understand, Impa. I have no wish to participate, in any case. I'm sure Link only extended the invitation out of friendship."

"And I am certainly not admonishing him for doing so," Impa said, her expression softening. "Nor do I have any right to stop him from joining in the festivities himself as I am neither his mother nor his caretaker. But as my apprentice you are not permitted to set foot anywhere near this foolishness. Have I made myself clear, Sheik?"

Sheik raised her head, locking eyes with Impa briefly, and some sort of wordless exchange passed between them before the younger Sheikah looked aside and nodded. "Yes, you have."

"Very well," Impa said as she straightened and pocketed her knife. "Then I'm off to hibernate in my house until it's all over. Thank the goddesses this...carnival is only for one night since tomorrow is supposedly the new year in whatever kingdom that odd man is from. If you plan to take part in that masquerade, Link, you'd better get a move on with making your mask."

"It's tonight?" Link said in surprise after Impa had stomped into her house, and he wondered if he even had the time in the scant hours left to get a proper mask together. Then he turned to Sheik with a guilty pang. "I-I'm sorry, Sheik. If you can't go, then I probably shouldn't either..."

"No Link, it's alright," Sheik assured him. "Please don't feel that you must hold back on my account."

"But it won't be any fun without you," Link protested. "I don't want you to be left out."

Sheik shook her head, looking him in the eye. "I can watch the festivities from afar. Go and enjoy yourself, hero. I shall be close by, as always."

"Okay, if you're sure," Link said reluctantly, still torn between excitement about the carnival and disappointment that Sheik wouldn't get a chance to enjoy any of it. Besides, he would have liked the chance to see her face when it came time for the unmasking...

They parted ways, Sheik following Impa into her house while Link retraced his steps back into the village and headed for the bazaar and the shops there. Most of them were closed right now since everyone was so busy getting ready for the carnival, all except for one little tailoring shop that Link recalled had been on the verge of closing down its business a month ago.

Until now, it seemed. The owners of the tailoring shop seemed to have recruited nearly every woman in the village to help sew the elaborate costumes that would match the masks everyone would be wearing. Link was blown away by the sheer noise level as he crept through the door and beheld the army of seamstresses, chatting and stitching away. He had hoped to buy some fabric and whatnot so he could create his mask, and now he feared such simple materials would be ridiculously overpriced. Maybe Impa had a point about this carnival.

Link approached the nearest seamstress who seemed about his age and was bent so low over the decorative tabard she was embroidering that she didn't even notice him. He cleared his throat. "Excuse me?"

A tiny and studious wrinkle appeared in her forehead like his interruption had annoyed her. "Yes, what do you need?" she said as she straightened up, blowing an errant lock of hair out of her eyes. But then she caught sight of his face and seemed to get momentarily tongue-tied, the color rising in her cheeks. "Oh, ah...h-hello, sir..."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to distract you—"

"No, not at all!" the seamstress said, jumping up from the little table and nearly knocking over the box of needles and thread sitting on its surface. She straightened her apron and ran a self-conscious hand through her hair, which was wrapped under a handkerchief. "M-My name is Penni. How can I assist you, sir? Are you here to pick up a costume?"

Why does she keep calling me sir? Link thought in bewilderment. He had a feeling somehow that he was younger than her, though not by much. He suddenly became aware of several other seamstresses pausing in their work and stealing glances at the exchange, and the extra attention confused him even more. He rubbed the back of his neck and tried to smile in a friendly way, but that just made Penni turn even redder while the other seamstresses giggled in that maddening way only women seemed capable of.

"No, I'm not here for a costume," Link explained. "You see, I just got to Kakariko and heard about this carnival thing. I was hoping I could get some help with making a mask...?"

"Oh, of course, yes!" Penni blurted out and beckoned him further into the shop to a long wooden table, on which a dizzying array of supplies was laid out. Spools of thread and yards of fabric in every color he could think of, thousands of buttons and brooches and other ornaments, and needles and scissors that gleamed like weapons in the light. "What type of mask are you hoping to create? We have some plain wooden frames that you can use to start from scratch, or if you'd rather, we also have some generic masks that you can embellish..."

"Well, that's the thing, I don't really know what I want the mask to look like," Link admitted, feeling slightly overwhelmed. "And...do I have to get a costume to go with it?"

"That's really up to you, but I think most everyone is going to have a costume," Penni said and smiled shyly at his dismayed look. "I'm afraid we don't have time to make you a custom fit one, what with all the costumes we're rushing to finish, but I'm sure we can whip something up from the scraps!"

"Absolutely, we can!" another seamstress piped in, appearing at his shoulder so suddenly that Link jumped. "Would you like some suggestions, sir? I think we have an extra cape somewhere that would work wonderfully as part of a knight costume. And you've already got that sword and shield to go with it!"

"A...a knight?" Link said uncertainly. "I don't know..."

"No, no, he's too rugged for that," a third seamstress declared boldly. She swooped in on his other side, and without even asking for permission, began to take his measurements with a bit of string. "I'd go with something a little less...tame. I'm thinking a pirate captain!"

"No way, that's too trendy! There are going to be at least three pirates at the carnival..."

"Hey, I've got an idea! Get some blue pants and some silver and green body paint, and we'll make him look like a Zora!"

"Do I get any say in this?" Link called in growing panic over the chorus of squeals. Their eager and almost frenzied proposals were starting to make him feel like a dress up doll. "Can we go back to the knight thing? That doesn't involve body paint, right?"

"Not at all!" Penni said in a chipper tone and abandoned him to the swarming seamstresses. "I'm sure we have some faux armor somewhere. And I'll go see if I can find that cape!"

"But I don't want a cape—"

"Can you take off your sword and shield, sir? I just need to get this measurement around your waist..."

With a sense of foreboding, Link unbuckled his weapons and allowed them to be taken away, his uneasy sigh barely audible over the heated discussion going on above his head. This was clearly going to take awhile.

Two hectic and uncomfortable hours later, Link finally escaped the tailoring shop with a heavy bundle under his arm and a silent vow to never, ever trust women again. Despite his pleas that the costume be simple and comfortable, the seamstresses had insisted on making him try on several different tunics and capes with so much fancy stitching that it made him itchy just to think about it. Thankfully, he had talked them out of the ridiculous cape, but the faux armor they had pressed on him was little better. It was supposed to resemble a chest plate washed with gold, but in reality it was a shapeless shell hammered from cheap metal and covered with a glittery silk-like fabric that had been dyed a horrible tawdry yellow. Link had only taken it at their insistence and because he would rather look like a pathetic excuse for a knight than walk around with Zora scales painted on his torso.

With the sun descending quickly, Link retreated to Impa's house and banged on the door several times, but there was no answer. Apparently, this safe haven was off limits to him now. As a second resort, went to the nearest inn and thankfully managed to secure the only room left available for himself. It was cramped, but it was enough to work with, and Link started the difficult and frustrating process of creating his mask.

Once all the materials were set out on the table, Link sat back in his chair heavily, brow furrowed as he stared down at the mask. It was one of the generic ones and resembled a Hylian man with strands of platinum-blond hair glued to its forehead. The mask had been made to fit snugly over his face with holes for his eyes and mouth and a thick leather band to secure it around his head. But even with half the work done for him, Link found himself stumped on what exactly he wanted to add to it. The Mask Salesman had said it was supposed to represent the sorrows of the past year, but Link had seven years of sorrows to make up for.

His biggest regret was failing to stop Ganondorf in the Temple of Time, and coupled with that was the failure to keep his promise to Zelda. He also had his regrets about leaving the forest and his Kokiri tribe, and returning to find his childhood home infested with monsters. And even though Link was working so hard to undo all those mistakes and help his friends, he couldn't help feeling saddened that he had ever allowed those things to happen in the first place.

He couldn't possibly encompass all of that into one mask...

Link cast his eyes over to his costume and pulled a face at the faux armor leaning against the wall. But then something caught his eye. The gold silk covering the armor was fraying at one corner, allowing a glimpse of the metallic surface underneath. He picked up the armor up and tore off the silk to reveal the chest plate's true appearance of a gleaming stormy gray. The metal caught the light in a strange way to produce an almost coppery sheen. It looked more...battered and worn out like it had seen a thousand battles. And that somehow fit.

Reaching for the paintbrush he had gotten from the seamstresses, Link dipped it in the gold paint and carefully daubed two symbols on the breastplate. A triangle on the left, to represent the Triforce he had failed to protect. And a crescent moon on the right—the Gerudo symbol—to represent the enemy he had failed to defeat. That done, he left the armor to dry and turned to the mask, deciding to paint tribal symbols on the cheek and forehead like his Kokiri friends would do when they had impromptu parties for no reason. He would have liked to use green paint, but the only colors he had were red and blue, and in the end Link actually preferred the way those bright colors stood out so starkly.

He waited impatiently for all the paint to dry, one eye always on the window and the sun. He had little time. He could already hear people making their way toward the central square. Link started to get his costume on, glad he had demanded simplicity. He donned a pair of dark blue leggings, and a white tunic not all that different from his usual attire save for the embroidery along the sleeves and hem stitched with green and blue thread. One of the seamstresses had even rapidly sewn him a white hat to go with it. The battered armor went over it all, and he liked how...fierce it made him look, especially with the Master Sword strapped to his back. The Hylian shield, he decided to leave behind after deciding it would only get in his way.

The only problem was the mask. It had seemed convincing enough while lying on the table, but once Link put it on his face and glanced at his reflection in the window, he frowned at how silly it looked with those simple red and blue marks. It looked like a child had made it. He took it off his face, puzzling over how it could look so much more grim and austere just holding it in his hands.

Then it hit him. The eyes. It was his eyes that made it look different. When the eyeholes were empty, the mask somehow seemed more threatening.

Link bit his lip, scanning what was left of his materials, and in a stroke of pure inspiration, he picked up scraps of white silk that were nearly transparent when held against his eyes. He cut out two circular pieces and glued them on the back of the mask to cover the eyeholes. The next time Link put the mask on and considered his reflection, he grinned. Now that was scary. It was almost impossible to tell what he was thinking with his eyes nothing but a flat white, and when he smiled just so, baring all his teeth, he looked positively insane.

Not a knight or a hero...but a warrior all the same. A slayer of evil with his own internal demons. A fierce deity.

A bell began to toll, signaling the start of the masquerade, and Link heard rising cheers from the central square as a lively song was struck up on guitars and drums. With one last satisfied look at his reflection, Link strode out of the inn and went to join them. The party was already in full swing by the time he reached the square. A huge bonfire had been lit along with hundreds of paper lanterns, making the village as bright as day, and there was already a huge circle dance going on. Laughter and loud conversation filled the air, the anonymity of the masks allowing everyone the freedom to speak and act as they chose with little consequence.

Link stared at the multitude of people, and even a few Gorons who had come down from their city to see the carnival, his eyes wide as he took in all the masks and costumes. It seemed hardly anyone had followed the tradition of making the mask represent their sorrows and had simply dressed up as whatever they fancied. Animals seemed to be a popular choice, everything from long-eared rabbits and snarling boars to bland-faced cows and frogs with bulging eyes. Link even caught sight of the lady who was allergic to her own cuccos flaunting a feathered mask that resembled her birds. He spotted at least two other knights, their faux armor and replica weapons almost too flimsy to be taken seriously. But they still received plenty of compliments from several young women who had donned Gerudo masks and dressed even more scantily than the desert women. Link almost wanted to tell them that a real Gerudo would never simper and fawn over a Hylian man like that—they preferred a more aggressive approach to such things—but he decided it wasn't his business.

Everywhere he went, his own costume garnered looks of interest, and even open fright when Link turned his vacant eyes on them. The younger children seemed especially affected. A pair of rambunctious boys, sporting the masks of a Deku and a Stalchild respectively, nearly collided with him as they played tag, and they gaped up at him with expressions of nervous fear behind their masks. Link grinned, and the Deku squeaked and ran away. But the Stalchild stayed for a moment and then grinned before he hurried off.

"Cool mask, mister!"

Link nodded in return and went to find something more interesting to do. The archery game didn't seem to be set up yet so he wandered over to where a huge banquet table had been laid out and helped himself to the mulled cider they were serving. It had a strong alcoholic taste that he hadn't been expecting, but the spiced liquid was so addicting that he gulped it all down fast enough to make his head spin. So this was why adults drank this stuff. He readily filled up a second goblet—to the laughing amusement of the jovial Goron who was serving it—and went to lean against the nearest building to observe the revelry, drinking occasionally and smiling to himself. So far this carnival was looking like a great idea. It had been awhile since Link had seen the people of Hyrule so excited and carefree. Glancing up at the scaffolding, his smile only widened when he spotted the crates of fireworks that would be set off at midnight. He was looking forward to that immensely as he had never seen fireworks before.

He had just finished with his cider and was thinking about going to get another when he saw her. She was out of sight of the main party, hidden in the shadow of a building across the way and scanning the crowd like she was looking for someone. Link turned his head and regarded her curiously because she didn't look like one of the villagers. Her dress was simple and comely, but still very pretty with flared sleeves and skirts that fluttered with every motion. A cloak was worn over her shoulders that reached down to her ankles, and the many shades of russet and dark green in both the cloak and dress reminded him of the forest. Most of her head was covered by a transparent veil of very pale green with a subtle leaf pattern at the edges, but he could see that her hair reached past her shoulders and might have been of light flaxen coloring.

The woman took a tentative step into the open, and he saw her mask for the first time, which was really just an extension of the veil to fall across her face, barely long enough to touch her collarbone. Link caught his breath when his eyes fell on the brooch that secured the cloak around her shoulders. The fist-sized emerald was obviously not real, but it was the leaf-shaped setting that caught his attention. It looked almost exactly like the Kokiri's emerald, the Spiritual Stone of the Forest. But how could anyone outside the forest know about that? It was a closely guarded secret of the Great Deku Tree. The only people outside the forest who knew of the Spiritual Stone were Impa and Sheik and...

...and the royal family of Hyrule. Of which there was only one member left.

Link dropped the goblet to the grass, his lips parted as a dizzying sense of unreality gripped him. He wanted his legs to carry him over there or his voice to call out, but he could make himself do neither. Hope and fear surged equally through his veins and kept him rooted to the spot. It was with a sudden start that he recognized the familiar way that woman was peeking out of her hiding place. Exactly like she had done while spying on a certain Gerudo king in the castle courtyard...

It can't be...there's no way she could be...

The woman turned in his direction, noticing him at last, and she jerked just the tiniest bit. He could feel her gaze through that veil, although Link couldn't have a hope of reading her expression across the distance. Finally, his shaking legs obeyed him and he started to walk, one hand held out in a silent plea for her to stay put. But the woman spun on her heel and fled, vanishing at a run into the darkened alley. Link sprinted after her, the sounds of the masquerade fading as he rounded the corner. He tore off his mask so it wouldn't impede his vision, wincing when the still drying glue ripped out part of his eyebrow, and he spotted the woman only ten steps away and about to run up the stairs toward Impa's house.

"Wait! Zelda!"

The woman froze with her back to him, her head bowed and clutching at her skirts so hard that her fingers left wrinkles in the fabric. The trembling in her shoulders made him think of a spooked horse about to bolt. Link approached with his heart pounding painfully against his ribs, afraid she would run before he could speak to her, touch her, know for sure if he was hallucinating this whole thing or not.

"It...it is you, isn't it?" Link whispered, his throat tight and making him sound hoarse. He stood right behind her now and couldn't bring himself to come any closer. "Zelda...?"

Slowly, she turned around. Link could just barely make out her tremulous smile hidden beneath the veil...and her eyes, which were exactly as he remembered with a faintly elven slant and the irises a shade of blue so intense they rivaled the summer sky.

Zelda drew a shaky breath, her voice hitched. "Link..."

Link didn't give her a chance to say anything else. He stepped forward, and she mirrored him so they came into each other's arms and embraced tightly. That was when he knew it was real. Her warmth, her scent, the sound of her voice, even if it was a little older and not quite what he remembered...it was all, irrefutably, Zelda. Link felt unashamed tears pricking at his eyes and blinked them back, trying so hard to just absorb this moment, take it into himself so he would remember it forever.

At last...at last, he had found her. His princess.

Zelda...

A sob wracked Zelda's slim frame. He could feel her hands clinging to the back of his tunic desperately, and Link huffed a laugh. "You're...you're shaking."

"S-So are you," Zelda said with a feeble chuckle. "It must be contagious."

Link gripped her shoulders and held her at arm's length, torn between laughing and weeping. "I can't believe it," he rasped. "I can't believe it! You're here! But how did you...I thought Sheik said you had to stay in hiding...?"

"I did—I mean, I do," Zelda said, her voice hardly rising above a whisper like she was afraid of talking too loudly and ruining the moment. "I can't stay long, I shouldn't even be here in the first place. But I just...I wanted to see you, Link. I missed you so much."

"Then how come you ran away?"

Zelda ducked her head with a demure smile. "I-I don't really know," she admitted. "I saw you standing there, and I...got so nervous all of a sudden! I didn't know how you would react..."

"How could I react with anything but happiness?" Link said honestly, and Zelda beamed at him. They hugged again, and this time it was with the familiarity born of friendship. It was like they had never been parted seven years ago. He took another look at her costume after they separated. "What are you dressed as anyway? I know brides wear veils, but aren't they also supposed to wear white?"

Zelda laughed and touched her brooch. "I thought you would guess right away because of this. I'm Farore, Link."

"Oh...now it makes sense!" Link exclaimed, and his chest swelled in pride. "She's the goddess of my home, you know," he added loftily.

"She's the goddess of many things," Zelda told him and clasped her hands over the brooch. "But the forest best represents what she truly watches over, which is all the living things in this world. She governs the cycle of life. Growth and maturity, birth and death...and ultimately, rebirth."

Link tilted his head as déjà vu hit him hard. That was strange. For a moment, her judicious and philosophic tone had almost reminded him of Sheik when she was in a mood to lecture...

"And what are you dressed as?" Zelda retorted and reached down to snatch at his mask, which was dangling from his hand by the strap. She held it up in both hands and took a closer look at the face of the deity. "I like the armor and all that, but this mask...those eyes are so unsettling. Why did you make them like that?"

Link scratched the back of his head self-consciously. "I, uh...thought it looked cool?"

Zelda shook her head hopelessly like she was wondering just what do to with him. She gave him the mask back, and Link donned it again, smiling when he heard the band at the masquerade begin a new song that was one of his favorites. He took her hand. "Come on!" he said and dragged her back to the carnival while she laughed and went along with him.

The rest of the night was a haze for Link, but when he looked back on it later, he could remember every precious moment. Zelda was afraid of being recognized and tried to stay on the outskirts at first, but it didn't take long for Link to coax her into joining the dancing. Neither of them knew the steps so they stumbled through it together until they were panting and out of breath, all the while making a sincere effort not to step on too many toes. And even though it was the wrong time of year for it, someone eventually got the bright idea to set up a maypole for a ribbon dance that Zelda took part in along with most of the young women in the village and quite a few of the children.

During the maypole dance, Link noticed the other villagers stealing curious glances at 'Farore' and possibly wondering who she was. One of the knights that Link had seen earlier even went up to Zelda after the dance and tried to strike up a conversation. Zelda nodded and smiled politely to what might have been a compliment and expertly brushed past him to return to Link's side. The knight took one look at the ferocious warrior with impassive eyes and wisely withdrew, but he seemed disappointed.

Link wondered if it was a bad thing that he reveled in the reaction. Let them be jealous, let them watch and pine from afar. Tonight, the goddess was his.

They took a break from the dancing and headed for the banquet tables where the main course had finally been set out, a huge boar cooked on a spit over the bonfire. Link ate heartily and had at least two more goblets of that amazing cider before Zelda took the goblet from his hands and ordered him to slow down. He wanted to argue, but his head was already buzzing pleasantly so he supposed Zelda had a point.

Just as they were wondering what to do next, Link noticed the archery contest was set up and hauled Zelda over to watch him compete against nearly a dozen others. They were all older than him and perhaps more experienced, but half of them were far more intoxicated than he and couldn't even hit the target. Soon, it was down to Link and two others who were quite good marksmen, but he was willing to bet neither of them had ever shot down Poes from the back of a galloping horse. Link outshot them easily, even with his accuracy a little off because of the cider, and claimed the prize of a new bow and a quiver full of arrows fletched with swan feathers. He held up his prizes for the benefit of all the cheering spectators, and the sight of Zelda clapping along with them made his stomach give a giddy flip.

"I don't know how you managed that when you can barely stay on your feet right now," Zelda remarked. Her arm was twined loosely with his as they walked, and Link refused to acknowledge that he needed the help with his balance.

"What're you talking about?" Link said with an easy grin. "I'm walking just fine. A little cider won't slow me down. I'll bet I could climb up Death Mountain right now and take on Volvagia again without getting a scratch!"

"You've already killed Volvagia, Link," Zelda reminded him, and she giggled when he drooped in disappointment.

"Aw, but it would've been fun...hey, maybe Ganondorf will revive it again!"

"Shh, you'll upset the Gorons," Zelda said, nodding at a group of mixed Gorons and humans gathered in a tight circle and cheering wildly.

"What's going on over there?" Link asked. He squinted through bleary eyes and gasped when he finally discerned the two grappling Gorons in the center of the ring. "Whoa, sumo wrestling!"

Zelda took one look at his feral grin and hauled him the other way. "No, absolutely not!"

"But...but I want to," Link whined and resisted her insistent tugging on his arm. "It looks like fun!"

"It would only be fun until those Gorons accidentally snapped you like a twig," Zelda told him seriously. "They wouldn't even have to wrestle you. One punch would send you flying!"

"Bah, all I've gotta do is put on the Iron Boots and I wouldn't budge an inch! Come on, let me try..."

"Link...if you promise to just watch the wrestling and not participate, I'll let you have some more cider."

"Mm...okay."

After a quick detour to get more cider, they returned to watch the wrestling, Zelda cringing every so often while Link whooped and roared encouragement along with the rest. Funnily enough, one human did have the nerve to challenge the Gorons at their specialty, the robust and thickset man who owned the Shooting Gallery. It was a very close match, but in the end he was heaved out of the ring by the second largest Goron of the whole pack. But the Gorons had been impressed by his strength and welcomed the man to their city any time to challenge them again.

By then, it was nearly midnight. And Link was starting to think that last goblet had been a bad idea. The noise around him had meshed into one continuous hum, and his head felt so heavy that he was sorely tempted to find the nearest flat surface and fall asleep on it. Seeing his tottering state, Zelda guided him away from the carnival toward quieter surroundings, and they soon found themselves up on the high hill where the windmill stood. Most of the villagers had remained in the square below closer to the fireworks, which suited Link just fine as the last thing he desired now was unwanted company. Only one other couple had taken advantage of the quiet and seclusion to sneak away as well, but they remained in the shadows on the other side of the windmill and well out of earshot, their Cucco and Keaton masks lying abandoned in the moonlit grass.

Link sighed as he lay sprawled on his back in the grass, secretly savoring the touch of cool fingers on his brow. He kept his eyes shut so he wouldn't have to watch the world spin and tried very hard not to throw up because not only would that be embarrassing, but he would also soil Zelda's dress. She had been nice enough to let him lay his head in her lap while they waited for the fireworks to start, her back resting against the windmill as she watched the dark sky with quiet anticipation, and he wasn't about to ruin this moment for anything. Link just dared the world to try and take this away from him...although a part of him knew he couldn't stop the minutes from slipping through his fingers. Because once the fireworks started, it would mark the end of the carnival and the end of their time together. Zelda would have to go back into hiding, and Link might not see her again until after Ganondorf's defeat. This might even be the last time Link ever saw her if he ended up dying in that final confrontation...

He felt Zelda shift a little, and his heart lurched. "Don't go yet," he mumbled.

"I'm not," Zelda assured him. "I'm just getting more comfortable."

"'Kay," Link said under his breath, relaxing again. He opened his eyes to gaze up at her, wishing she could take off that veil for just a moment. His mask already lay abandoned in the grass nearby since it had started to feel claustrophobic and he had been slightly paranoid about the glue making it stick to his face. "You haven't told me yet," he added.

"Told you what?"

"Why you came to the carnival as Farore. I thought the masks were supposed to signify regrets..."

Zelda didn't answer right away. As the first firework arced into the sky and exploded in a burst of blue, she looked down at him with a deep sadness. "I thought you would have figured it out by now," she said softly. "It's...for you, Link."

"For...me?" Link repeated, unsure if he had heard right.

"Because it's my fault you became a part of all this," Zelda explained. She bit her lip and glanced aside. "I never meant for any of this to happen. I only wanted to stop Ganondorf, but I didn't know what I was doing, what kind of forces I was playing with...and I dragged you into it. It's because of me you lost seven years of your life, and...and now I'm asking even more of you when you've already been through so much!"

Link was silent at first, wanting to comfort her, but he was having trouble coming up with the right words. It seemed like his thoughts were ten times more sluggish now, and he just couldn't understand why Zelda was blaming herself for something that wasn't her fault.

"Zelda...it's okay..."

"No, it's not," Zelda said wretchedly, and now her voice choked with tears. "I just keep thinking...you would have been so much better off if you'd never met me. If you'd hadn't come to Hyrule, if you never left your forest home..."

"You're wrong!" Link said and sat up so fast that the world gave a dizzy waltz. He groaned and clutched his head as Zelda steadied him and made him lay down again. "You're...you're wrong," he repeated. "I was...always meant to leave the forest. 'M still a Hylian, Zelda. I'd have gotten bigger...er, older and had to leave anyway. And it's lucky I did because otherwise...he might've caught you that night. Outside the castle, if I hadn't distracted him, he might've...then you wouldn't even be here anymore! But we're both here together now, and...and that's better, right?"

He wasn't sure quite how well he got his point across since his tongue felt so thick and Zelda was looking at him like he had started spouting a foreign language. Frustrated, Link sat up again—carefully, this time—and pulled her into a clumsy hug. "I don't regret meeting you. Not ever. Okay?"

Zelda nodded and sniffed, which was muffled in his shoulder. Link pulled back so he could rest his forehead against hers, still with that damnable veil between them and keeping him from looking at her properly. A reckless impulse overcame him. For some reason, he just wanted to...

"L-Link?" Zelda stammered when his fingers reached up and toyed with the edge of the veil. "What are you...?"

Very slowly, aware of how tense she had become in his arms, Link lifted the veil just enough to uncover her lower face, her lips, and he kissed her. At any other time he would never have been so bold, would have feared her reaction or some other silly thing like that...but right then he had no thoughts in his head except for how good this tasted, how warm and happy it made him feel, how badly he had been wanting this all along. Zelda was only frozen for a split second before she returned the kiss with sudden and growing need, a tight and husky sound catching in her throat, her fingers threading through his hair.

Two more bright flashes lit up the hill, and the echoing booms thrummed in Link's chest as they parted, letting the veil fall between them again. But they shared a smile and a secret look that spoke volumes about how they felt. Link lay his head in her lap again, rapidly losing the battle with sleep even as he struggled futilely to keep his eyes open. They watched the fireworks together, and in the silence between, they whispered the same words over and over.

"Don't go yet...don't go..."

"I must...but not yet..."

Link didn't realize he had lost the battle with sleep until Impa roused him roughly by shaking his shoulder. He grumbled tired complaints as she bullied him onto his feet and made him shuffle down the hill back to her house, only staying alert long enough to reach the guest bedroom and collapse onto the mattress, asleep again within seconds. But his sleep was nowhere near restful, interrupted frequently by the loud antics of those villagers who refused to believe the carnival was over and insisted on partying all night. When Link did finally manage to catch a few peaceful hours near sunrise, his dreams were plagued by warped and disturbing images, most of which involved all those masks and the tolling of a bell and the mask salesman laughing wickedly and telling him about his terrible fate...

A loud bang jerked Link from his slumber. He found himself abruptly aware of the bed beneath his prone body and the spot of drool on the pillow. He rolled onto his side and whimpered when his head and gut both violently rebelled, the one throbbing and the other heaving. Link focused on a spot on the opposite wall until the sick feeling passed, but just as he was about to make a stab at getting up, he heard another bang and loud footsteps in the corridor that made him wince and cover his ears.

Without warning, the door barged open with far more noise than strictly necessary. Impa strode over to the window and snapped the curtains open, and Link howled when the glaring sunlight all but gouged his eyes out. He buried his face in the pillow, curling up like a wounded animal and wishing the sheets did not smell so much like cucco. It was making him even more nauseous.

"And how are we feeling this morning?" Impa inquired, and he despised how amused she sounded.

Link moaned. "Tell the sun to go awaaay..."

"I will certainly not," Impa told him and slapped him on the back. "I've allowed you most of the morning to recuperate, which I'm sure is far more than you needed. The best cure for a hangover is to get up and moving. And lots of water. Which you will have to fetch from the well yourself as I am not running an inn here."

"The water from the well tastes like dead bodies," Link said flatly, and he deeply regretted saying it when his stomach convulsed and bile rose in his throat. "Oh...goddesses..."

Impa seized him by the scruff of his neck and forced his head to hang over the side of the bed, thus ensuring the vomit landed neatly in a chamber pot rather than all over the pillow. Link wiped his mouth in disgust and made himself sit upright on the edge of the bed, surprised to find that it did make him feel better. His headache increased tenfold, but at least his stomach seemed to be done acting up.

He rubbed his eyes and cradled his head in his hands, taking slow, deep breaths. "Never again," he swore under his breath. "Never drinking again..."

"I'm sure you're not the only one to say that this morning," Impa said kindly. She wrinkled her nose as she poured the chamber pot out the window, after first checking that no one was walking beneath it. "And I'm sure you, and all those others, will change your minds the next time an event like this comes up."

Link only grunted as he unbuckled the faux armor he had slept in—uncomfortably, he might add. He looked around in vain for the deity mask and had to conclude that he had left it up on the hill. Or had he lost it sometime before that? It was hard to remember. His memory of the fireworks and the moments after was mostly in pieces, but he clearly remembered he hadn't had it while he and Zelda were talking. Or when they...

"Did she leave?" Link murmured, gazing at the floor without seeing it. The sting of disappointment became a full blown ache when he heard Impa sigh.

"Not long after the fireworks. You had fallen asleep...and she thought it kinder not to wake you."

Link shut his eyes, accepting that with a nod. "Just wanted to...say goodbye, if I could," he muttered.

Impa didn't answer right away, but Link's eyes flew open when the elder Sheikah leaned down and pulled him into a loose, motherly embrace. It only lasted for a few seconds, and Impa was smiling softly when she finally released him. Link stared at her. "What was that for?" he asked.

"For her," Impa said simply. "For allowing her to leave the shadows, if only for one night."

With that, Impa left the room. Link went back to staring at the floor, stewing in his own bafflement, until a quiet knock interrupted his musings. He raised his head and smiled when he saw Sheik standing in the doorway. She had brought his clothes from his room at the inn, and now set them on the mattress beside him. Crossing her arms, she regarded him in that unreadable way she was so good at. "So...how did you enjoy the carnival?" she asked.

"It was great," Link said and shrugged an apology at his inadequate description. "I wish you could've been there though..."

Sheik rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I was, hero. I was."

Link shut his eyes briefly, breathing in. Strange. She almost smells like...Zelda...

He felt Sheik's hand leave him and opened his eyes again. She was halfway to the door before Link bolted to his feet. "Wait!"

Sheik halted. "Yes?" she said with a thread of misgiving.

"If you were there the whole time," Link said, having finally grasped what she said and what it meant, "then does that mean you saw...uh, everything?"

Sheik glanced back with an amused glint in her red eyes. "That depends on what you mean by...everything," she said slyly.

Link blushed heavily. "Uh...I-I didn't, uh..."

"Stop stuttering, hero," Sheik said with a chuckle. After he had gotten his tongue under control, her tone turned more serious. "What I saw was two good friends enjoying a carnival together. For the safety of all involved, I saw nothing more. The true identities of the goddess and the warrior shall remain entirely unknown. Perhaps it may even become a local legend."

"Huh...that'd be kind of neat," Link said to himself after Sheik had walked out the door, taking to the idea as he reached for his clothes.

Chapter Text

Zelda had to give credit where it was due. Where other races used locks and keys to guard their most precious relics, the Zoras took it one step further. Given that their patron goddess was Nayru, the goddess of wisdom, it only made sense that they would forego such primitive security measures in favor of clever puzzles whose very purpose seemed meant to confuse and frustrate any would-be intruders into their temples and sacred dwellings. The blue flame ensconced deep in the ice cavern behind Zora's fountain was protected by just such a system, and while some might scoff at a mere puzzle as a safeguard, Zelda knew for a fact that no one had ever robbed the Zoras of anything. Keys could be stolen or locks and doors smashed, but a puzzle had to be solved honestly. And there were very few people who could match the Zoras in their shrewd ingenuity.

The Hero of Time, it seemed, was not one of them.

"Damn this stupid block puzzle!" Link shouted, his voice ringing throughout the ice cavern. He shoved the block across the sheet of ice and into a pit, cursing under his breath as he waited for the puzzle to reset so he could begin again. Zelda couldn't quite hear him from her perch high on a ledge, but she caught several fish-related insults that would have scandalized the proud piscine race had they heard them. Or maybe amused them. After all, Link had been working on this particular puzzle for nearly an hour, and yet he kept making the same mistakes over and over again.

Even as Zelda watched, Link strode over to the new ice block and moved it in entirely the wrong direction. Once he had it where he wanted it, Link began to circle the block only to slip on a slick patch of ice and fall ungracefully on his rump. For the eighth time in a row.

"Ow, my butt!"

Zelda covered her smiling mouth with her hand, tears springing to her eyes. Really, Link was making this much harder than it needed to be. All he had to do was move the block from one end of the room to the other. Only the ice made it tricky. The block was so heavy and the footing so unstable that he could only push it, not pull it, and once the block got going, it was impossible to stop unless it hit a wall or one of the various stalagmites scattered strategically throughout the room. One was meant to move the block in a specific sequence to solve the puzzle. From her high vantage point, Zelda had seen the solution almost at once. It was so very simple!

Now if only Link would get his head on straight and stop trying all those complicated and convoluted methods, maybe he would actually get somewhere.

"No, no, no!" Link bellowed when the innocent ice block drifted into a corner. "That is not where I wanted you to go! If you do that again, I'll freaking melt you!"

Zelda bit into the cloth bindings on her wrist to muffle her laughter. She had never really noticed before, but Link had an adorable habit of talking to inanimate objects when he was angry. She had once witnessed him punch a tree and then apologize to it for chipping the bark. It was a sign that he was losing the last shreds of his patience. The next step would be to take out the Master Sword and start smashing things.

But even so, Zelda stayed up on her ledge and observed as Link started the puzzle over, grumbling all the while. She really should have gone down to help him once it became apparent he would not solve it after the first few tries. Her reasons for forcing him to endure such vexation were entirely selfish, and perhaps a little indecent. There was just something about the way he was shoving that block, the muscles in his back bunching and flexing, the strain in his arms and legs and the sweat dampening his hair, the low growl that built up in his throat every so often...

Enough of that, Zelda scolded herself. You're making the savior of your kingdom toil away unnecessarily, and for what purpose? So you can molest him with your eyes. Naughty, Zelda, very naughty. What would Impa say if she knew about this?

"That's it! These icicles are going down!"

And that was her cue. Zelda almost leapt down from the ledge, but changed her mind when she remembered all the ice down there. Instead she carefully climbed down and approached Link. "That would not be wise, hero."

"Huh?" Link said and attempted to turn around even though he was in the middle of casting Din's Fire. The two opposing actions resulted in his feet sliding out from beneath him, which sent him crashing down on his backside. Again.

"Damn it!"

Biting her tongue, Zelda grabbed his hand and heaved him to his feet, glad she had thought to purchase cleated boots made specifically for trekking on ice and snow. Without them, she might be taking her own embarrassing tumble right now. Link winced as he leaned against a stalagmite and shot her a peeved look.

"You...you were here all along! I knew I heard someone! You were watching and...and laughing at me!"

"I did no such thing," Zelda said and hoped nothing of her guilt showed. Now she had thoroughly humiliated him if the splash of red on his cheeks was anything to go by. But hopefully, she could make it up to him. "You may be interested to know that I have been studying the puzzle, and I may have found its solution."

"Well, let hear it then!" Link said and waved his hands emphatically. "I've tried just about everything I can think of, and I can't solve it! I'm starting to think the Zoras made it impossible."

"Why would they make it impossible to reach the same blue flame they are responsible for protecting?" Zelda asked rhetorically. "Just start the puzzle over and follow my instructions, Link."

"Fine," Link muttered and did as she asked, sending the block careening into the abyss and tottering over to where it would reappear. Trying very hard not to fall down again, Zelda noted with an inner chuckle. Poor Link. He was probably black and blue all over under those cream-colored breeches...

"Sheik? Instructions?"

Zelda cleared her throat, banishing such unseemly thoughts with difficulty. Naughty, naughty...

"Move it to the right first. No, my right, Link. Push it up to that stalagmite, then to the one over there..."

"I already tried this way," Link complained as he moved the block as ordered. "I tried it five times!"

"What do you have to lose by trying again?" Zelda inquired. "Now move it to the left. No, your left."

Link straightened up with an annoyed look and pointed at all the walls in sequence. "North, south, east, west," he said definitively. "Let's do it that way."

"Very well. Push the block west, then south..."

Link threw his weight against the block and sent it sliding into the next stalagmite. He paused to survey their progress, and his eyes widened in sudden clarity. "Ohhh..."

"Do you see it now?" Zelda asked him.

"Yeah, I think I do!" Link said and went about the last few steps with renewed vigor. "So it goes this way, and then this way..."

The block slid neatly into place against the north wall and provided a stepping stone up to the door they needed to reach. Link let out a whoop and tossed his floppy hat in the air. "We did it! Ha, and Ruto said I wasn't clever enough for stuff like this! Just wait until I tell her—whoa, whoa!"

Link wobbled dangerously, his arms flailing. Zelda hurried over and wrapped her arms around him from behind to keep him steady. Link swayed a little and gradually recovered his balance, standing on shaky legs with his arms held out at ridiculous angles. He laughed weakly and glanced over his shoulder. "T-Thanks, Sheik."

Zelda nodded and carefully eased her hold, but kept a cautionary hand on his lower back. She refused to admit it was an excuse to feel those firm muscles. "I suggest you move with caution if you want to keep your neck intact," she told him.

"Uh huh," Link said uncertainly. Before she could move away, he grabbed her hand and secured her arm around his waist. He gave her a sheepish look. "Can you, uh...help me? It's just that you have such good balance, and my butt really hurts..."

Yes, I can imagine, Zelda thought, amusing herself all over again with the mental image of Link continuously falling down. She tightened her arm around his waist and helped him hobble over to the door, all the while unable to decide whether she should be laughing or blushing.

Chapter Text

In less than an hour, Lord Ganondorf will come to the fortress. I'm sure he will be...most pleased to become acquainted with your Sheikah friend...

Aveil's words echoed endlessly in Zelda's ears even long after she had been left alone in her cell, curled up in a pathetic heap on the floor, her wrists manacled. They had not done the same to her ankles, nor chained her to one of the iron rings in the wall, seeing no need when it was obvious she had no strength left to stand, let alone escape. The Gerudo torturers had seen to that. Even as cold as the stone was beneath her, Zelda still preferred it to the white-hot pain of the lacerations left by the whip. Her arms, her legs, her back, they were everywhere, throbbing in tandem with her pulse, the agony spiking every time she shivered.

It hurts...it hurts...

A distant door creaked opened. Zelda tensed, then relaxed when she recognized the light and quick steps of the guard. Twelve steps to the door of her cell, then a scraping noise as a tiny window was opened so her guard could look in and check on her. Then the guard took ten steps to the other end of the corridor and out another door that was slammed shut. In a few minutes, the circuit would be repeated in reverse.

Creak. Ten steps. Scrape. Twelve steps. Slam.

Learn the patterns, Impa had said in her gruff, but gentle voice. Years had passed since that solemn conversation when her mentor taught Zelda what to do in the event of capture and interrogation, yet her words were still as clear as if they stood right next to each other. Learn the patterns, and then look for the opportunities they grant you. Don't look at the doors or locks, look at your guards, your interrogators. Locks require a key, but humans require only a little effort to be worked around.

It would have been sound advice...but it was all meaningless now. Zelda thought she had been prepared for this. For the pain, the degradation, the toll it would take on her mind and body. But far worse than any of those things had been the look on Link's face. The horror and desperate fear, the anger as he watched the Gerudo women brutalize her. The shameful knowledge that she was nothing more than a means to break him. Zelda had infiltrated the fortress intending to save him, and now because of her failure, here they were. Both captured, both helpless.

Both about to face their worst nightmare and lose far more than their freedom.

Her throat constricted, locked around the terrified scream that longed to break free. Zelda buried her face in her hands as her breathing came short and fast, panic reducing her thoughts to a meaningless babble. It was a fear she had known only once before, on the night she and Impa escaped from Castle Town and barely eluded Ganondorf's clutches. It was a fear she had pushed to the back of her mind for seven long years, telling herself it would never happen again as long as she was careful. If she learned to defend herself, learned to walk among the shadows and stay beyond his reach...she would be safe.

For Zelda knew that if Ganondorf ever got his hands on her, no amount of training or courage would protect her or the Triforce of Wisdom. All Ganondorf needed was one glimpse of her face under the veil, and that would be it. There was simply no hiding her royal lineage. And then, once he knew the one he had captured was the princess of Hyrule...

He'll kill me, Zelda thought, her heart quailing. But as much as the thought of death frightened her, she knew logically that a swift end was the best she could hope for. Impa had seen no reason to spare her the truth and had dutifully and bluntly informed Zelda of all the terrible things that might befall her at the hands of the usurper. Ganondorf might just as easily keep her alive, flaunt her as his prisoner to the people of Hyrule, stealing the last shreds of their hope and dignity with the sight of their princess in chains. She might spend the rest of her life rotting in a cell, or if he so desired, Ganondorf could make her serve him, reduce her to the level of a slave in his castle. Or...or goddesses forbid, he could marry her to validate his claim to the throne, force her to bear his children and heirs, violate her in the worst possible way...

This time Zelda broke down and wept openly, fingers raking through her hair and almost ripping it out. Goddesses, no! Anything but that! She would rather die!

The guard outside approached the door, and the little window was opened. The Gerudo chuckled lowly, amused to see the 'Sheikah dog' reduced to tears. Zelda swallowed hard as the guard walked away, shuddering in misery and sick to her stomach, hot tears spilling onto the stone beneath her cheek. It might truly come to that. To protect her piece of the Triforce, if nothing else. Ganondorf could not steal the Triforce of Wisdom from its chosen bearer. Zelda could only part with it of her own free will, and she had little doubt Ganondorf had...ways to persuade her.

But...but if she died first...if she died now, by her own hand, before Ganondorf came for her...

The legends told that if a bearer of the Triforce died, the piece they carried would seek out a new soul to merge with. And with two other bearers walking the land, her Triforce would most likely seek safe harbor with one of them. There was a chance it would go to Ganondorf...but there was a better chance it would go to Link. Her connection to him was much stronger, made so by friendship and shared destiny. The sacred power would surely follow that fateful thread to him.

That was surely preferable to letting Ganondorf walk into this cell and claim it without a fight...wasn't it? It would be worth the gamble, worth the sacrifice...wouldn't it?

A true Sheikah, Impa said in her mind, knows when the battle is already lost.

A cold and hollow feeling settled deep in her chest. Zelda stared emptily at her right hand, wrapped in bandages to hide the mark of the Triforce. Was she actually contemplating such a cowardly act? Was she really brought so low that she was considering doing Ganondorf's dirty work for him? How would she even do it? Zelda had been stripped of her weapons, and the cell was bare. Except for those iron rings on the wall...could she somehow hang herself with the chain of her manacles? Or the bandages on her forearms might work too. She wouldn't even have to make a noose. She could simply stuff the scraps of cloth down her throat until she suffocated. She could wait until the next time the guard checked on her, then take action in those precious few minutes afterward...

Zelda bit back another pitiful sob. No, I can't do it! Not even for you, Link. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...

Her resolve lost, Zelda sank even further into her despair, anguished at the thought that she was condemning not only herself, but Link as well. She didn't know what horrors Ganondorf would subject him to, but it would surely be far worse than anything Zelda had to endure. After the number of times Link had thwarted him...and all because he had been trying to help her. That was the only reason he was involved in all this. Because of her.

And yet he never gave up. Zelda would never have strength like that, strength which kept her going at all costs. Even as the Gerudo had dragged him away to take him back to his cell, he never stopped fighting, never stopped trying to reach her...

The bottom dropped out of her stomach, and her head spun with the dizzy sensation of falling. Then a jolt brought her back to her body, still lying on the floor of her cell, only now with every muscle pulled taut and her heart hammering in her throat. Her eyes widened when she sensed it. A potent magical aura bearing down on her, crushing her, very near at hand and approaching quickly. There was no mistaking the sacred power of the Triforce...nor the turbulent emotions of its bearer, the hatred, the bloodlust, the rage.

He was here.

"No," Zelda whispered, choking on the word, panicked at the realization that she had no time left. Her eyes turned to the door in dread, already envisioning Ganondorf standing there, walking in, turning those piercing amber eyes on her...

Zelda realized what she was doing, shrinking back against the far wall, and she at once despised herself for it. Ganondorf had taken everything from her. Her home, her kingdom, her family...was she going to let him take her spirit as well? She thought of Link, and her ire only grew. Link would never cower in a corner while his most hated enemy stood before him. Zelda pushed herself up on her knees, then stood on trembling legs, the chain of her manacles held fast in her hands. Earlier she had contemplated wrapping it around her own neck...let Ganondorf have a taste of the torment he had put her through!

A distant door opened. Heavy footsteps pounded toward her cell, too heavy to be the guard. Zelda pressed herself against the wall behind the door, her breathing ragged, counting the steps until they stopped just outside. A jangle of keys, the click of the lock, and the door swung inward. Zelda waited until Ganondorf had taken three steps inside before she kicked the door closed and threw herself at the evil king with a feral scream. He grunted, thrown off his feet, and landed hard on his stomach with Zelda on his back. The chain was around his neck in an instant, and she planted her knee on the back of his head and pulled. He choked, clawing at the chain, but Zelda seized his hair and smashed his head to the floor, stunning him. She drew the chain tighter until the metal cut into her wrists, consumed by the savagery of the act, rejoicing in his suffering. The sounds he was making became more desperate, more feeble. Why didn't he fight harder? Why didn't he use his magic to throw her off? Why...?

...because it wasn't Ganondorf. The hair she was gripping was blond, not red.

"Link!" Zelda gasped and let him go in shock. Link coughed hard, massaging his throat where the chain had left a reddened mark. She held his shoulders steady as he pushed himself up on his knees, noticing for the first time the golden glow on his left hand, which was only now beginning to fade away. Link had been harnessing the power of his Triforce. But Zelda had been positive that he hadn't even known he possessed it.

Link coughed one last time and drew a slow, wheezing breath through a broken nose. Unbelievably, he wiped off the blood with his sleeve and turned to her with a shaky smile. "Ow," he rasped.

"I...thought you were Ganondorf," Zelda whispered and could have kicked herself for saying something so ridiculous when she should rightly be apologizing.

Link chuckled as he unlocked her manacles with one of the keys on the ring he carried. "I'm not that ugly, am I?"

Zelda stared at him, slowly grasping the reality that Link was here and his presence was not a figment of her own imagining. He had come for her. He had come for her. She didn't realize she was crying again until Link tossed the manacles to the far corner of her cell and drew her into a tight embrace.

"It's alright. Sheik, it's alright..."

She clutched at his tunic, pressing close, taking in his warmth and solidity. "I thought...I thought it was over," Zelda choked. "I even said goodbye to you because I thought..."

"I know," Link said roughly, and he turned his head to kiss her brow. "And don't you ever say those words to me again! Do you hear me? Promise me."

Zelda nodded dumbly, too distracted by the gentleness of that kiss. He had never shown such affection toward her. Before she could ask him about it, an alarm began to ring insistently somewhere within the fortress. Link was on alert in an instant and heaved Zelda up by her wrists, taking her hand and towing her through the door. "Sounds like they found my empty cell," he said shortly.

Realizing the urgency of the situation, Zelda hastened to follow him, but her legs stumbled, her battered body unable to keep up with the pace he set. But then Zelda felt a golden warmth rushing into her from their joined hands, giving her strength and endurance, and she looked to see that the Triforce of Courage was shimmering again. She glanced at Link's profile. He didn't even seem aware of the one-sided exchange.

They ran and kept running. Zelda had no idea where they were going and followed Link blindly through the dim, twisting corridors of the Gerudo fortress. More than once Link made her pause and hunker down while they waited for the search parties to hurry by. The Gerudo seemed agitated, worried Ganondorf would punish them when he arrived and they had no prisoners to present to him. Zelda couldn't bring herself to feel sorry for them. Not after what she and Link had been through.

At one point, they rounded a corner and came face to face with four Gerudo who had clearly not been expecting to see them. The two groups stared at one another for a split second before the desert women drew their scimitars and dirks and charged the prisoners with fierce battle cries. Link shoved her against the wall and drew the Master Sword, the only possession he had been able to reclaim from the thieves. The battle was swift and ruthless, the blades gleaming lewdly in the torchlight. When Zelda dared to look again, Link alone was still standing, bathed in the blood of his enemy. He was breathing heavily, and when he turned to her, his stormy eyes were almost that of a beast. Wordlessly, Link took her hand again and led her on, his sword still unsheathed and ready to kill again.

"Someone is going to find those bodies," Zelda said, glancing back worriedly. "They'll know which way we went..."

"By then, we'll be long gone," Link assured her. He sped up when they reached a set of stairs leading up to an open archway, beyond which the night sky strewn with stars was visible. "Almost there..."

Suddenly, Zelda cried out and doubled over, clutching her head when a massive force strained her magical senses almost to its limit. It was worse, far worse than what she had felt when Link used his Triforce. It was still the sacred power of the goddesses, but heavily tainted by malevolence and blood-magic. It felt like Death itself bearing down on them.

"Sheik! What is it, what's wrong?"

"He's...here," Zelda gasped. "Ganondorf! He's here!"

"How can you tell?" Link asked, but the words had hardly left his mouth when he suddenly swayed and clutched his head, eyes wide. "Never mind. I can feel it too."

"Then that means he can probably feel us as well," Zelda said and locked eyes with him fearfully. "We have to run! Now, Link! We cannot let him find us!"

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Link snapped. He looked back the way they had come, his jaw set. "Even if he finds us, we'll fight him—"

"No, you don't understand!" Zelda shouted, wanting to shake him for being so foolish. Somehow, without giving herself away, she had to make him realize that standing their ground was not an option. "I...I cannot fall into his hands, Link. I cannot! If I do...then it's all lost..."

"What's lost?"

"Everything! He will know everything! The plans we've laid out, the s-secrets I've been keeping...he'll find out..."

Link blanched. "He'll find out where Zelda is," he whispered in growing horror.

She nodded hopelessly, terror overtaking her once again. "I'm not strong enough to resist him. If he takes me...he'll b-break me. He'll break us both..."

"I won't let it happen!" Link roared, his voice echoing. He grabbed her hand and led her up the stairs as fast as they could manage without tripping, and then they were outside. The fortress was swarming with Gerudo sentries, all bearing torches and on the hunt for them. Zelda heard a shout from above and knew they had been spotted. Abandoning subtlety, she and Link fled at a dead run. Across the road, down a set of worn steps, and Link took her east through a ravine with steep walls. Behind them, Zelda could hear dozens of pursuers giving chase, their steps amplified by the rock walls and making it sound like an entire army on their heels. And she could also feel that malicious aura growing stronger and stronger. There was a sense of anticipation behind it, a certain thrill of the hunt like a cat playing with a mouse, and Zelda knew Ganondorf could sense their fear and was savoring it.

"We...can...make...it!" Link panted, his determined gaze fixed straight ahead. "Just...get to...the bridge...left...Epona...on other...side..."

The ravine opened up, and the canyon was before them, the great waterfall tumbling down the rocks to feed the river over half a mile below. Zelda felt her heart leap...but then it plummeted when they reached the cliff and skidded to a halt at the very edge. The bridge was gone. All that was left of it were a few posts on either side of the huge canyon. Link kept looking right and left as if just searching hard enough would make it appear before them.

"No...no, the bridge! Where's the bridge?"

"They destroyed it," Zelda said dully. It was odd how calm she sounded when on the inside she was a screaming, raving mess. Her legs finally gave out, and she fell to her knees, eyes vacant as she stared at the canyon. The only escape now was to jump, and at this height, they would not survive the impact with the water. There was nowhere else to go, no other options they could take. It seemed impossibly cruel that they could come so far, so close, only to fail at the very last...

Link abandoned the cliff edge and started to scan their surroundings frantically, but his face was stricken, slowly being overtaken by despair. "There's got to be a way," he muttered to himself. "There's got to be! Come on, help me! I know there's a way out of this—!"

"There isn't, Link!" Zelda snapped, angry all of a sudden, hating him for trying to nurture a nonexistent hope. "Look around us! He's trapped us like rats! Once he catches up to us..."

"Then we'll fight! I'll end his miserable life right here, right now!"

"The sages haven't all been awakened yet! Without their power, you won't even scratch him!"

"At least I'll actually be trying!" Link retorted. Dropping his sword, he went to his knees at her side, shaking her until Zelda finally looked at him. "The one thing I won't do is sit here and make it easy on him! Now get up! Get up and fight with me!"

"How is it any better to die on our feet than on our knees?" Zelda demanded, almost screaming. "We're still lost either way! Hyrule will still be lost! Nothing we do now will change that! So why do you insist on prolonging it? Why won't you just give up?"

"Because I love you!"

For a moment, the entire world ceased to exist. Zelda locked eyes with him, stunned, positive Link must have misspoken. He must have meant something else entirely, and soon he would turn away, retract the words...except he did neither. Link only seemed a little surprised at himself, and then he watched her steadily, waiting for a reaction, his eyes showing nothing but open honesty.

"Link..."

"Do you get it now?" Link repeated in a hushed voice. He pressed their foreheads together, holding her gaze. "I love you. That's why I can't give up. Because if giving up means losing you...then that's the one thing I can never do. I'll never let him have you, Sheik!"

Sheik. Hearing that name instead of her real name utterly shattered the warm cocoon that his words had wrapped around her heart, the feelings of longing and joy and completion. Link wasn't saying these words to her, Zelda. He meant them for his Sheikah guide, who she was only pretending to be. That distinction brought tears to her eyes and a bitter taste to her throat, shame and selfish guilt rearing their ugly heads. Zelda ducked her head and tried again to speak, one trembling hand already reaching for her veil. This lie had gone on long enough. It had to end. Link deserved to know the truth about who he was pledging his heart to...even if he decided the betrayal made her unworthy of his love.

"Link, I..."

Misinterpreting her gesture, Link took her hand and pressed her palm to his cheek, squeezing her fingers. He gave her a sad little smile that shattered her heart to see. "I know. You don't feel the same, right? It's okay, you don't have to explain..."

"No, that's not it," Zelda said, frustrated at her own ineptitude. How was it that no matter how hard she tried, her every action only made him suffer more? "I'm...I'm not who you think I am..."

But then there was no time left. A shroud of darkness descended on the entire canyon, dimming the stars above and making them clutch at each other like frightened children. Zelda buried her face in Link's chest, somehow knowing that if she were to look over his shoulder, she would see Ganondorf standing not twenty paces away along with a small retinue of Gerudo warriors. The women fanned out, forming a loose semi-circle with their javelins ready, but they did not approach the escaped prisoners. Instead, they awaited the orders of their king.

A low, satisfied chuckle filled the canyon. "So...we meet again, forest boy. Or do you prefer 'Hero of Time' now? That's quite a big title for you...though who am I to talk of titles? They call me 'King of Evil' these days. They tell me my death will be at your hands, but you don't seem so eager to make it so, showing me your back like that. Come, boy! Face me. Show me what a hero you are."

Link had become rigid at the first word, and he remained so throughout the declaration. Zelda felt him breathe deeply, then press a fleeting kiss into her hair. When she lifted her head to look in his eyes, there was no fear, no regrets or sorrow. He had told her how he felt, and now he was at peace. His fingers closed around the hilt of his sword, and Link rose to his feet and turned around, defiance written in every motion. Zelda looked past him and beheld Ganondorf for the first time in seven years. Back then he had been fearsome, but even then the Gerudo king had possessed a certain sophistication and self-restraint. Now there was none of that. He had powers that no man should have, and he saw no reason to hide it. There was a wildness to him now, an untamed ferocity that plainly showed the rules no longer applied to him. His aura was oppressive and foul and made her skin crawl just to be in his presence.

Zelda froze when Ganondorf's eyes moved to her, thinking he had seen through her disguise. But Ganondorf hardly spared her a glance, seeing only her red eyes and the symbol on her tabard, and his slow grin sent a chill up her spine. "Heh...when Aveil told me they had captured a Sheikah, I was expecting that old bitch, Impa. To think there are others left in this world after all. Rest assured, Sheikah, you and I will become more acquainted very shortly."

The slight on her mentor snapped Zelda out of her momentary paralysis, her anger rushing back like fire in her veins. She carefully stood on her feet again, trying not to sway. Her injuries were taking their toll. To keep herself grounded, Zelda reached out and took Link's free hand in hers. His profile remained valiant and dogged, but she felt him squeeze back in silent reassurance.

"You're not going near her," Link snarled, raising his sword meaningfully. "You'll have to go through me first!"

Ganondorf took notice of their clasped hands, his smirk widening. "Bold words, kid. Very bold. I have to wonder why the great hero would show such attachment to a mere dog of the royal family. Such devotion. Could it be...is the Sheikah your lover, boy?"

Link faltered when the Gerudo around them started to chuckle knowingly, joining in the amusement of their king. But he ground his teeth and lifted his chin, eyes flashing. "You're damn right she is!"

If it was possible for a heart to rejoice and cringe at the same time, then Zelda's heart was doing it now. She had never realized how much having Link's love would mean to her...but surely he realized this was not the time to say such things? Ganondorf would only use it against them. Zelda could see the schemes flitting through his head, his expression calculating as he considered how best to turn this to his advantage. And she could tell from the cruel glint in his eye that Ganondorf had decided on something.

"Sheikah," Ganondorf said, addressing her directly. "It seems the boy intends to sacrifice his life for yours. Do you really intend to let that happen when he is supposedly the savior of Hyrule? I was under the impression it was part of your oath to protect Hyrule and its princess no matter the cost. Or has the dog decided to turn on the mistress it serves?"

"Make your point, usurper," Zelda said as harshly as she could manage. She was afraid her voice would tremble if she spoke any further.

"My point," Ganondorf said with a trace of venom, "is that as a lowly servant, you should be the one to make the sacrifice. I care nothing for the boy, but you on the other hand...you have valuable information I need. So here is my offer. You can fight and watch the boy die, and then become my prisoner...or if you so choose, I will allow you to surrender yourself right now in exchange for his freedom and his life. I can't promise not to kill him at a later date...but for tonight I would be content with only one victory instead of two."

Zelda drew a sharp breath. Oh goddesses...

"What kind of an offer is that?" Link spat and yanked her closer. "That's no choice at all!"

"The question was for your lover, not you," Ganondorf said coolly. "I grow impatient, Sheikah. What is your decision?"

"The answer is no!" Link shouted, taking a step forward. "Damn you, playing games with us...why don't you just get over here and fight me yourself? Are you such a weakling that you can't stand your ground against a kid like me?"

For the first time, Ganondorf scowled. He waved a careless hand at the Gerudo women. "Slaughter the boy," he ordered. "Bring me the Sheikah."

As one, the Gerudo lowered their javelins and advanced. The ring of steel began to close in, and even though Link refused to back down, he was horribly outnumbered. The desert women would skewer him long before they ever came in range of his sword. A grisly image invaded her mind of Link lying broken and bleeding at her feet, and Zelda spoke before she could stop herself.

"Wait!"

The Gerudo warriors paused. Link looked back at her in surprise and growing fear. "Sheik..."

Zelda met Ganondorf's gaze squarely. "Will you let him live? Will you let him walk from this valley unharmed?"

Ganondorf smiled and gave a courteous bow. "I am a man of my word, dear lady."

Liar, Zelda thought viciously. This was the same man who had stabbed her father in the back after swearing an oath to become his ally. But she believed Ganondorf when he said he didn't care if Link lived or died. He had always underestimated the young swordsman clad in green, and that was why Link would be his downfall. That was why the Master Sword had chosen him. For Hyrule, not for her. The kingdom had survived for seven years without its princess, but it would not survive a day without its hero.

For the first time since she began her training, Zelda felt that she at last understood the sense of duty and sacrifice Impa had been trying to instill in her all this time. Only now at the end did she finally grasp what it meant to be a Sheikah.

"Sheik!" Link said, his voice breaking in desperation. He turned to her fully and gripped her arms, standing so that Ganondorf could not see her. "You...you can't. I won't let you!"

"What other choice do we have?" Zelda asked him. She tried to keep her voice strong and emotionless, but she wasn't sure how well she succeeded. "If there's even a chance one of us can survive...then we should take it, no matter the consequences."

"But I can beat them," Link said helplessly, his tone pleading. "I can protect you from him! Don't you believe me?"

Zelda cupped his face in her hands, biting her lip when she saw the tears welling up in his eyes. "But I can't let you take that risk for my sake. Don't you see that you have to stay alive? Hyrule needs you far more than it will ever need me. You have always been more important, Link."

Link stared at her hollowly. "Is that why you can't love me?" he whispered. "Because you think you're worthless compared to me?"

She squeezed her eyes shut. "No...that's why I can't let myself love you."

Link gave a choked sob and pulled her into a crushing embrace, heedless of the jeers and catcalls the Gerudo were giving them. Knowing she would in moments hand herself over to her enemy, Zelda wished fervently for time itself to halt so she would never forget the feeling of his arms surrounding her, of his heart beating against hers. Her senses seemed ten times sharpened, picking up so many little details for the first time that only endeared him to her further, like the coarseness of his tunic between her fingers and the sharp prickle of stubble against her cheek. The cold wind toyed with his hair and made a strand tickle her ear. An owl cried mournfully in the distance just before Ganondorf's callous voice cut through her like a knife.

"If you want me to keep my word, Sheikah, then now is the time to keep yours. Say your farewells and come surrender yourself to me. If the boy does nothing reckless, then neither myself nor my clanswomen will lay a hand on him."

Steeling herself, Zelda looked up at Link's face one last time. But Link was gazing elsewhere, his eyes fixed on a distant point in the sky, silent tears coursing down his cheeks. She wanted more than anything to kiss him right then, but there was no sense in showing Ganondorf her face sooner than necessary. And...she wanted Link to remember her this way, as Sheik of the Sheikah.

"Link...goodbye."

Link smiled faintly and glanced down at her. "Didn't I tell you not to say that to me?"

Without waiting for an answer, Link sheathed his sword, seized her around the middle and threw them both over the edge of the cliff. Zelda cried out, then snapped her mouth shut as they plunged straight down headfirst, ears roaring and eyes streaming, vertigo making her stomach swoop. She clung to Link as the wind sought to tear him from her arms, and Zelda expected at any moment to feel the fatal impact with the water...

But then she heard it again. The cry of an owl, along with a pair of mighty wings beating the air in a frenzy. She opened her eyes. The full moon was obscured by the wingspan of a gargantuan bird of prey, far bigger than any bird had a right to be. The owl dove right for them and flared its wings, brown feathers scattering, and Zelda expected those huge talons to rip them apart. But she and Link were delicately plucked out of the air only a few yards above the river, cradled like fledglings in those formidable talons, and then they were rising up and up and up. The river shrank to a thread, the Gerudo on the cliff becoming ants. Ganondorf hurled a bolt of magic into the air, but the owl dodged the crackling orb deftly and gained more altitude until they were too far away to be attacked, setting a course to the east toward the green fields of Hyrule.

"Hoot hoot!" the owl exclaimed in a deeply masculine voice, ruffling its feathers. It turned its head halfway around to peer at them with wise golden eyes. "That was a close one! You ought to be more careful, Link! I cannot always be around to swoop in at the last possible moment...no matter how thrilling I might find it."

"I know!" Link called over the wind, one arm wrapped around a talon while the other was still clinging to Zelda. "I'll never forget this, Kaepora! Thank you so much!"

"Hmph!" the owl snorted and turned its head the right way up. But it didn't seem truly angry, only a little miffed. "Just keep that in mind for the future. It's against the rules for me to interfere like this. The goddesses frown on it most strongly, and I just might get a few feathers singed for my mischief! I am meant to be a mere guide."

Link laughed, a sound that was wild and free. He nudged Zelda and shifted them around so they were settled more comfortably in Kaepora's talons, tangled up in each other. He stroked the side of Zelda's face with such an adoring look that she couldn't help a little shiver of happiness. "You'll never be a mere guide to me," he murmured. "Neither of you."

Zelda grasped his hand tightly, only now beginning to absorb the miraculous fact that they were safe. Both of them. Against all odds, they had evaded Ganondorf's clutches. Zelda wanted more than anything to share this moment with him, but her body had finally decided it had had enough of this day. The physical trauma, the emotional turmoil...it was all too much, and now she was rapidly losing the battle against her own fatigue. The protective cage of claws had somehow grown very comfortable and cozy, and there was absolutely no accounting for why the smell of feathers gave her such a sense of refuge.

"Link," Zelda whispered in his ear, "I'm so sorry. If I hadn't gotten captured alongside you, none of this would have..."

"Shh, don't talk right now," Link urged her. "It's over, we got away. Just try to rest. Don't worry, Kaepora won't let anything happen to us, if that's what you're worried about."

Zelda shook her head, her thoughts already turning sluggish. "No, I...it's not that. What you said earlier..."

Link laid his fingers over the veil where her lips were, silencing her. He tucked her head under his chin and held her close. "Don't, Sheik," he said softly, imploring. "Don't mention that yet. Just...just let me have this much. Please?"

"But," Zelda breathed, blinking hard as she tried to focus on his face. Link needed to know the truth. He deserved to know...but she was too drained to get the words out, at least in a way that he would understand. Promising herself that would be the first thing she told him once they got wherever they were going, Zelda allowed her eyes to slip shut, lulled by the rush of cold air and Link's solid proximity. Just before she dozed off, Kaepora pulled up his talons and tucked them close to the downy feathers against his belly, sheltering both her and Link from the worst of the wind as they soared onward among the stars.

Chapter Text

"A wolf?"

The goatherd nodded grimly, taking a moment to gulp his ale and wave at the tavern keeper for another before he went on. "Aye. Saw it myself not two days ago. And I'm not the only one. Anybody that goes near the forest this past week could tell you. I wager you would see it too if you're foolish enough to try."

"How can you be sure it's the witch's familiar?" Zelda questioned him. The tavern keeper came over with the goatherd's next round, and Zelda waved off the offer for a drink of her own. The plump woman frowned a tiny bit before striding away to serve the customers more willing to part with their rupees. The tavern was decently packed for a winter's evening, but the mood seemed subdued, and Zelda had a feeling it wasn't merely due to the presence of a Sheikah among them. Her entrance had garnered a few hostile looks, but the emblem of the weeping eye on her tabard and the daggers she carried with obvious familiarity had so far kept anything worse at bay.

"You've never seen a wolf that big," the goatherd said with a hard edge to his words, but his knuckles on the table were white. "Like a bear, it was, and silent as a shadow...eh, no offense, yeah? And those markings...if those were natural, I'll swallow one of my goats whole! It's out for revenge, I'm telling you. Its mistress might be dead, but she's left us one last curse in the form of that beast..."

"Has it attacked anyone in the village?"

"It's only a matter of time," the goatherd said with a bleak sigh. "I can't take my herd to the pastures near those woods anymore. They can smell its hide a mile away, and they go into a panic. At night I've had to pack 'em into Jerome's barn with his cows, and goddesses know how long he'll hold that favor over my head..."

"What has it done aside from lurk around and frighten a few goats?" Zelda said, her impatience getting the better of her, and she flatly ignored the goatherd's offended look. She had no time to listen to raving stories about something that was more than likely an ordinary wolf searching for easy prey among the farm animals.

"Pretty much nothing," a man at the next table put in. A fur trapper, by the look of his rough clothing and general scruffy appearance. But he had a kind smile, and he raised his mug to Zelda politely. "Pardon me for intruding, sir Sheikah. But if you and the geezer would let me join you, I think I could be of some help. You're looking for that boy, aren't you? Blond swordsman wearing green?"

Zelda considered the trapper warily before she gave a careful nod of assent. "What can you tell me?" she asked, carefully masking her apprehension. She had found Epona wandering the snowy fields days ago, still wearing her saddle and tack and badly in need of grooming and a warm blanket. Link would never leave his beloved mare in such a state, not willingly. Something had happened to him. This was the third village Zelda had stopped in to search for Link, or at least some sign of him, and now finally she might be getting somewhere.

The trapper dragged a stool over and took a seat with a grunt. Unlike the goatherd, he looked straight in her eyes, unfazed. "I gather from your conversation that Gordon here has already told you about our little witch friend," he said, jerking a thumb at the goatherd, who scowled deeply and gulped his ale.

"Actually," Zelda said blandly, "he felt it prudent to inquire if I was a witch, and then proceeded to warn me that the last witch to grace this village ended up dead. I find it hard to believe that is the whole story."

The trapper threw his head back, laughing. Gordon glared at him and slumped down in his chair. "Red eyes," he mumbled sullenly. "It ain't natural."

"I'll go with the short version then" the trapper said, regaining his composure. "About a month ago, a witch came to our village and built herself a little cottage out in the woods to the south. Nobody saw her much except when she came for market days. Kept to herself mostly, but she sold us herbs and potions, did a few minor charms here and there. Seemed like your harmless white witch at first. But..."

"But she was not all she seemed," Zelda concluded, already having guessed where this was going. "What happened?"

"A week ago, the mayor's little boy went missing," the trapper said somberly. "We searched all day and well into the evening, and it never crossed anybody's mind to think the witch might have something to do with it. Not until your swordsman friend came riding into the village that night with the boy in his arms. The kid was in a bad way, cut up all over. Ritual-like, you know? That swordsman..."

"Link," Zelda said helpfully.

"Right, well everybody thought he was responsible at first," the trapper went on. He held up his hand when Zelda's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't worry, the kid told his father the whole story. It was the witch who lured him away. Your friend, Link, he heard the boy hollering in her cottage and got him away from her. But after he brought the boy here, he turned his horse right back around and went galloping into the woods, saying the witch wasn't dead yet and he had to finish it."

"And he has not returned?" Zelda said, anxiety twisting in her gut.

"The witch and her beast killed him," Gordon said with grim certainty, staring into his empty mug. "And we're all next..."

"Oh, go buy yourself another," the trapper scoffed and slapped a blue rupee on the table. Gordon glowered and snatched up the rupee, making his tottering way over to the bar. When Zelda looked at the trapper, he grinned. "He ain't my neighbor. I only spend the winters here, and I stay with a friend. Anyway...sorry to say that nobody's seen your friend since then. But I've got a feeling that won't stop you from taking a look for yourself."

"Is there some compelling reason I should not?" Zelda said acidly, snapping her eyes to him. "Has anyone here bothered to search for the man who saved one of their children? Or has the wolf's appearance made them meek?"

"I looked for him," the trapper said, waving off her apology before she could voice it. "Don't hold it against them. These people don't walk the woods every day like I do. They couldn't do any good blundering around in there, and they know it. So anyway...I didn't find much. I went to the witch's cottage and found her corpse inside. After I buried her, I spent a few hours searching for your swordsman before a snowstorm forced me back here. Whatever trail there might have been, it's completely wiped out now."

Zelda said nothing, feeling as though a tight band was squeezing around her heart. He's stronger than that, she reminded herself, but that didn't stop her mind from envisioning what might have happened at that cottage. If Link had been wounded in the encounter and couldn't reach the village, then that storm might have finished him off. His corpse could be somewhere out there right now, buried under a snowdrift where it wouldn't be uncovered until spring...

"I will say this," the trapper said, shattering her dark thoughts. "That witch...she got what she deserved. She was lying in a pool of blood with the mark of a sword all over her. But there was something else too. On her arms and neck, I saw scratches and bites that looked like they were made by a beast."

Zelda stared at him. "The wolf?" she said in surprise.

"Or some other scavenger that got to her before I came along and scared it off," the trapper said with a shrug. "I could be reading into it."

"But you don't think you are. Tell me...what do you believe this wolf is, exactly?"

The trapper sighed and took a sip of his ale, nose wrinkled. "I hate this stuff. Don't know why I drink it. And I really couldn't tell you what I think, sir Sheikah. It falls to me to hunt down any predators that come near the village, and I'll tell you right now, this wolf has been testing me to my limits. I have yet to catch even a glimpse. Since the others always run away the second they see it, I don't know anything about it except it's big and it likes to stare at you. Could be that it's just curious about humans..."

"Or it could also be more than it seems," Zelda finished, intrigued. She stood up. "I thank you for your help. Now I must see what I can find with my own eyes."

The trapper sighed in a thoroughly patronizing way like he ought to be stopping her. But all he said as she walked away was, "Mind your footing out there. I've laid steel traps."

The tavern door swung shut behind her. The frigid air at once cut through the seams in her clothing, and Zelda drew her cloak tighter around her shoulders, thankful her Sheikah disguise required her to cover her face. Her nose and mouth were the only parts of her that stayed warm as she strode through the center of the village. A thin layer of snow crunched underfoot, hardened into ice in some places and making a simple task like walking treacherous. Before the fall of Hyrule Castle, Zelda had once thought of snow as beautiful and picturesque. Not until she began to roam the kingdom as Sheik did she realize how badly villagers like these struggled when the seasons turned and the cold veil of winter descended, huddling around tiny hearths and rationing every scrap of food, risking frostbite and worse to care for their herds in the harsh conditions. Zelda wished with all her heart she could take these people into a great, warm castle and fill their bellies with all the food they could ever want.

She was nearing the inn where she had rented a room, which was on the outskirts of the village at the top of a hill with a good view of the surrounding land. The forest was a dark line on the horizon to the south, the shadows growing long in the descending twilight. The hike up the hill warmed her up, and Zelda paused at the top and slipped off the path to hide behind a dead pear tree, waiting. It wasn't long before the young child pursuing her came in sight, huffing a bit as he crested the hill. The boy almost ran right past her before Zelda's arm shot out and caught his sleeve.

"It's dangerous to stalk a shadow. What do you want?"

The boy gulped at her low voice, eyes huge underneath his knitted cap. Zelda repressed a gasp at the sight of the healing cuts all over his face, which must have been smarting in the cold. The worst was on the center of his forehead, an oddly symmetrical pattern, carved so deeply that it was almost a certainty the lacerations would scar.

The kid was in a bad way, cut up all over. Ritual-like, you know...?

"I h-heard you and the trapper talking," the boy stammered, teeth chattering. "I w-was by the w-window..."

"And no one ever told you eavesdropping was impolite?"

The boy flushed at the scolding and yanked his sleeve out of her hold. "You're...you're his friend, right? The guy who saved me?"

"Yes. I've come in search of him."

"Glad someone's looking," the boy muttered unhappily. He ducked his head, his expression fearful and haunted, filled with remembered pain. "I thought nobody would find me. I w-was yelling for help, but the village was too far...but then he showed up. Just busted in and stabbed her, and he took me home. He was so strong, he wasn't afraid of anything! He was like my dad..."

Zelda put a comforting hand on his shoulder and knelt down to his level, regarding the boy sadly. To endure such trauma at his age and at the hands of someone his own father had probably thought was trustworthy...it made her sick. The goddesses must have guided Link's feet to those woods that day. He could never ignore a cry for help, especially that of a child.

The boy took a deep breath and looked at her again, nervous all of a sudden. "I want to ask you...something. If you're going into the woods..."

"Yes?"

"Please don't hurt the wolf!" the boy blurted out, and he looked around quickly like he thought someone might hear him. "Please...just leave him alone! He's not a bad wolf! He's nice!"

Zelda tilted her head, taken aback. That was a very odd description for a wolf to be labeled as. "You've seen it?"

"Last night," the boy said, nodding. "I went outside cause I heard something...he was behind our house. He was big, but he didn't growl or anything! He was just hungry. I gave him some of our food. I was this close to petting him, but my dad came outside and chased him away."

"He may have been right to do so," Zelda cautioned him. "A true wolf would never have submitted to your hand so tamely. It might have been trying to gain your trust like the witch."

"He wasn't," the boy said with confidence. "He's just...lonely, I think. He just wants a friend. But nobody believes me! They all say he's the witch's pet, but I didn't even see him at the cottage when I was...w-with her..."

He cut himself off, shivering with more than the cold. Zelda squeezed his shoulder before she straightened back up. "I won't hunt the wolf," she promised him. "But if it attacks me, I must defend myself."

"He won't," the boy assured her, smiling brightly. "I told you, he's nice!"

I hope so, Zelda thought as she watched the boy head back down into the village at a trot. All these conflicting stories about the wolf were difficult to reconcile. It could not be a fluke that its appearance almost perfectly coincided with the death of the witch. But she couldn't begin to guess its origins or intentions...if indeed, it was anything out of the ordinary. And the wolf was not her concern, in any case. It was unlikely she would see it for herself. She was here for Link. Her tracking skills were not quite up to Impa's standards, but Zelda was confident she would find somethingwhen she set out into the woods tomorrow. She would not leave until she learned of his fate.

She crossed the inn's small courtyard to the door. Her hand was resting on the handle when Zelda stopped, struck by the feeling that she was being watched. A twig snapped in the overgrown blackberry thicket across the road. Zelda looked back cautiously, cold fear rising in her soul. A pair of eyes watched her from the dense brambles, luminous in the light shining from the windows of the inn, possessed with a degree of intelligence that no beast could possibly grasp. Had it been right there the entire time, not five paces from the tree where she and the boy had conversed? How had she not noticed?

The door of the inn opened suddenly, and one of the serving girls almost walked headlong into Zelda. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, sir! I thought I heard something, and I just came out to check..."

"T-That's perfectly alright," Zelda said absently. When she looked at the blackberry thicket, the eyes were gone. Disturbed, Zelda herded the serving girl back inside and shut the door. "I think it would be best if you and everyone here remained indoors until the sun rises..."

Zelda stared down at the wolf tracks at her feet, clear and deep, charting an unerring path through the woods. A fresh dusting of snow had fallen in the night and blanketed everything in sight. Even the game tracks were all but invisible now. All except for this one, which could not have been more than an hour old judging by how undisturbed it was. She was strangely tempted to follow it...but that would accomplish nothing. And there was something very strange about her just happening to find a perfect trail only a short distance from the village when the fur trapper—more experienced than her by far—had been unable to locate a single sign of his quarry. Yes, it was decidedly odd. Almost like the beast was trying to be found now...

Abandoning the wolf tracks, Zelda forged ahead, following the directions she had gleaned from the villagers. It took her several hours of hiking to reach the witch's cottage since she didn't know these woods and she was being very careful of her footing. Twice, she narrowly avoided stepping right into those hidden steel traps, and the close calls made her vigilant. The sun was past its noonday mark when she finally found the tiny two-room cottage. A snow-covered mound nearby showed where the trapper had buried the witch, and Zelda took a moment to circle the grave and murmur a prayer for peace and rest, ensuring the woman's vengeful spirit would not rise again.

A search of the cottage revealed nothing she had not expected. The door was wide open, allowing in the elements, and shattered potions and smashed furniture showed evidence of a struggle. There was a large pentagram painted on the floor surrounded by half melted candles and mostly obscured by a pool of dried blood. The sight made her stomach churn. Zelda didn't know enough about dark magic to translate the runes, but any ritual requiring a human sacrifice or catalyst was abhorrent. She could so clearly imagine that boy lying here, helpless and terrified, and then Link bursting in to interrupt the ritual and save him...

But then where was Link now? The fight had taken place here, but it was impossible to tell if any of the blood was his. Zelda left the cottage, thinking, and in the silence her ears picked up a distant trickle of running water. A river. If Link had been injured and needed to take shelter, he would not have strayed far from water. Zelda followed the sound until she reached a vast river that was almost completely iced over, a great expanse of clean white with a small cascade frozen in motion, icicles overhanging the rock. Her heart fell. Link could be anywhere along these banks. She would have to search for miles in either direction, which would mean many nights camped out in the open, and Zelda simply wasn't equipped for that. She had to go back to the village and get more supplies, and it would be best to speak with the fur trapper again to find out where he had already searched. There was no sense in covering the same ground twice.

Discouraged, Zelda began to turn back, and she almost jumped out of her skin when a resounding woof stopped her. She spun, eyes wide at the sight of the wolf perched at the top of the frozen cascade. The goatherd had not been exaggerating. It was enormous. Its shoulders would be on level with her hip if they stood side by side, its thick and shaggy pelt only enhancing its hugeness. Its face and sides were patterned with strange spiraling marks of light tan, blending seamlessly with the dark grays and browns of its coat. And those eyes...stormy blue, not brown or gold like a normal wolf, and penetrating even across that distance.

Zelda slowly took her bow out of the holder on her back, but she didn't nock an arrow yet, waiting to see what the wolf would do. It regarded her calmly, woofed again and vanished beyond the rocks, flicking its tail in what might have been invitation. The action both intrigued and unnerved her. The wolf had stalked her all the way here without her being any the wiser, and yet now it deliberately revealed its presence? For what purpose?

A desperate hope bloomed in her heart. Maybe it knew where Link was! Link was of the forest, he had a way with animals that some would find supernatural. If he could tame a wild and unbroken mare like Epona with nothing more than a song, then Zelda wouldn't put it past him to befriend a wolf.

Zelda followed the wolf. It was difficult to climb up to the rocks where she had seen it, and she resorted to scrambling on her hands and knees more than once. Her spirits began to sink. Link couldn't possibly climb this if he was injured. At the top of the cascade, she paused to catch her breath. The wolf wasn't there, but its tracks were. Zelda followed them nearly two miles upriver, deeper and deeper into the woods, until they led her up a slope and to a huge formation of rocks. What looked like a shallow alcove from a distance turned out to be more than that. After a moment's hesitation, Zelda squeezed through the narrow opening and found herself in a spacious cave at least eight paces wide. The ceiling was quite high above her head, allowing her to stand comfortably, and a natural crack in the rock allowed in a shaft of pale sunlight. It would have been perfectly comfortable if it were not clearly a predator's lair, strewn with dirt and small animal bones. The rank stench of damp fur and raw meat made her gorge rise.

But then she noticed something that made her forget that. Zelda dashed over to the Hylian Shield and the sheathed Master Sword resting against the far wall, passing her hands over the two very familiar weapons. Beside them were Link's belt pouches and several other of his possessions. His hookshot and the Ocarina of Time winked at her in the dim light, as did the small glass bottles hanging from the belt pouches. Both were filled with red potion and still sealed tight. It looked like no one had touched these items for some time. She made a frustrated noise. A solid lead at last, and yet Zelda was still no closer to him...

Her attention was caught by something else. Something that gave her nothing in the way of hope or relief. Link's clothes were piled up nearby, ripped all to pieces and stained with old blood. Zelda picked up the green fabric of his tunic with trembling hands, feeling faint as though the rock was closing in around her. Part of her babbled childishly that she hadn't found a body yet, that she couldn't give up until she was sure, absolutely sure...there couldn't be nothing left of him!

But how much more evidence did she need? The very air in here tasted of death, thick and cloying. She couldn't breathe without choking on it, and a scream started to rise in her throat.

Oh goddesses...those bones...

Paws padded into the cave behind her. Zelda twisted around with the tunic still in her hands, seeing the wolf standing in the entrance. It lowered its head until its muzzle nearly touched the dirt, almost submissive as it took a tentative step forward, whining softly. Its mournful gaze held hers, and had Zelda not been holding Link's bloodied clothing, she would have believed it was truly harmless.

It's out for revenge, I'm telling you. Its mistress might be dead, but she's left us one last curse in the form of that beast...

Rage consumed her, eclipsing the horror and flooding her veins with fire. Flinging the tunic aside, Zelda whipped an arrow from her quiver and nocked it to the bowstring, taking aim right at the wolf's heart.

"You monster!"

The wolf darted aside, yelping when the arrow smashed into the rock just over its shoulder. It fled from the cave, and Zelda cursed viciously. Did it really think it could run from her? She pursued it back into the open. The wolf had only gone a short distance before it stopped and faced her again, barking loudly, almost agitated as it pawed at the snow. Zelda didn't hesitate for a moment. She let a second arrow fly, which fell just short of the mark when the wolf leapt backward and darted into the underbrush, its coat melding with the forest. Zelda readied a third arrow and went after it, scanning her surroundings, her senses sharpened by hatred and bloodlust, the need for retribution. If it was the last thing she did, that beast would die!

A bark came from her left, nearly at her elbow. Zelda turned quickly and cried out when a heavy weight slammed into her and bowled her over. She rolled with the motion to shove the beast off her, but it had clamped its teeth on her bow and refused to let go. She and the wolf grappled for the weapon, caught in a ferocious tug of war that was eerily silent except for their grunts and harsh panting, the crunch of snow underfoot. It was much stronger than Zelda thought it would be.

She risked taking one hand off the bow to draw a long dagger from the sheath on her back. The wolf howled when she slashed it across its muzzle, staggering back, and for the first time it snarled. It attacked again, and this time the wolf was able to wrench the bow from her hands, tossing it aside with a jerk of its head. Zelda backed up several steps, keeping her dagger ready in a reverse grip. The wolf prowled in a slow circle, hackles raised and chest rumbling. The blood dribbling down its muzzle and coating its teeth made it look like the monster it actually was.

Zelda transferred her dagger to her right hand and yanked out a throwing knife. But the wolf dodged the flying blade with ease, and when the knife hit the ground, it kicked out its back leg and sent the weapon skittering away across the snow, out of reach. Her eyes widened, and for the first time she felt afraid. It was systematically disarming her. Animals simply did not do that.

What else did I expect? If this thing was strong enough, cunning enough to kill Link, then what chance do I stand?

Her eyes darted to her bow, lying across the roots of a tree. She had to get that back. She couldn't risk getting close enough to the wolf to use her dagger. Zelda and the wolf moved at the same time, she lunging for the bow while the beast lunged for her, and the resulting collision sent them both crashing through a bush and tumbling down the slope toward the frozen river. She reached the bottom first and skidded across the ice for a short distance, dizzy and freezing and tangled up in her cloak, her quiver lost as well. Looking around wildly, Zelda realized the wolf had collided with a tree halfway down the slope and become stunned. Now was her chance!

She clambered to her feet, throwing off her encumbering cloak, and slogged through the ankle-deep snow toward the wolf. She reached the bank of the river, took one step onto solid ground...

...and her foot landed squarely in a steel trap. The serrated teeth snapped shut around her ankle, gouging her so deeply that Zelda was positive her foot had been severed. She screamed, instinctively jumping back, and the short chain tripped her and sent her crashing down. Her forehead cracked against the ice, and her screams were cut off when the world spun sickeningly. Zelda whimpered at the twin agonies in her head and ankle, her ears roaring. Hot blood flooded her mouth and trickled into her eyes, even more soaking her calf and slowly filling up her boot. So much blood...

Seeing movement in the corner of her eye, Zelda froze and raised her head. The wolf had risen again and was looking down at her. It seemed like it was in no hurry to reach her, and why would it be? She was wounded and ensnared, an easy target. The frightening realization kick started her survival instincts, adrenaline surging through her veins. Zelda forced herself to look down at her ankle, caked in blood and badly twisted. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed the jaws of the steel trap and started to pry them apart, her arms straining with the effort.

The wolf started to lope toward her, swiftly closing the distance. Zelda pulled harder, almost sobbing when the jagged teeth slipped out of her skin, glistening red. As soon as her ankle was free, she let the trap snap shut again and clutched her leg. Her vision swam, but Zelda resisted unconsciousness with everything she had, knowing it would mean her death. Her numb fingers groped through the frozen powder for her dagger. It had fallen somewhere nearby, but where...?

The wolf seized her uninjured foot in its jaws and started to drag her backward, the tough leather boot protecting her skin from its teeth. Zelda jolted from her stupor when she realized what was happening. Her hands clawed at the ground, but there was nothing to grab onto, nothing in reach. Zelda caught her breath in panic and kicked at the wolf weakly.

"No...no, let go! Let me go!"

The wolf growled once and kept dragging her. Zelda's fingers finally found a rock, and she rolled on her back and hurled it at the wolf. The beast yelped when it was struck on the shoulder, releasing her, but it pounced again almost at once and clamped its jaws on her wounded ankle. Excruciating pain shot up her leg, and she swooned, eyes rolling up. Through tunneling vision, Zelda watched gray sky and the bare tree branches pass by slowly overhead, and yet it didn't feel like she was moving at all. She floated on the knife's edge of unconsciousness, her thoughts disjointed and hazy. The wolf's panting seemed so much louder now, the only sound she could hear.

The ground beneath her changed, becoming rocky and earthen and painful to be dragged across. Her eyes snapped open. She was back inside the cave, the very last place she wanted to be. She twisted around, brought her uninjured foot back and slammed it into the wolf's head. The blow knocked the beast off its feet and sent it crashing into the wall of the cave. Zelda didn't look back to see if she had killed it, keeping her gaze fixed on the forest outside. She tried to stand, but her ankle would not hold her weight, so she crawled instead, desperate to get away.

With a furious roar, the wolf leapt over her head and planted itself squarely between her and freedom, teeth bared and ears laid back. Zelda cried out and threw herself backward, scattering the bones on the floor. The wolf advanced on her, still growling so loudly that the cave amplified it tenfold and made it seem like an entire pack bearing down on her. She fumbled for a weapon, finding only empty sheathes where her knives had been...no, there was one left! The wolf saw her yank out her last throwing knife and reacted faster than she would have thought possible, springing forward to close its jaws on her wrist. Zelda gave a strangled scream, trying with all her might to move her hand those last two inches it would take to drive the blade into its eye. The wolf bit down harder, slowly overpowering her until she was pushed back against the far wall of the cave.

Zelda turned away from its savage gaze, terrified. Fighting a human could never compare to the sick horror she felt now. A human could be reasoned with. A beast followed only its nature, its instincts. In its eyes, she was nothing but prey, cornered and vulnerable. She looked at the Master Sword, tears rushing to her eyes. Had Link felt like this in his dying moments? Zelda could normally never imagine him, so strong and steadfast, at the mercy of anyone or anything. But now it was so easy to envision his face, the despair in his eyes, the screams for help that no one had heard...

The knife clattered to the ground, her fingers unable to hold onto it. The wolf released her just long enough to sweep the knife out of her reach with its paw. When it came for her again, Zelda did something she once thought herself too strong to do. She cowered, shrinking back against the wall, arms thrown over her head. A frightened sob escaped her when she felt its fetid breath on the side of her face, expecting at any moment to feel those teeth ripping into her neck.

But the wolf didn't kill her. Long seconds passed, and the low growls above her head gradually diminished. Zelda froze, bewildered when the beast nuzzled her with all the gentleness of a puppy. The wolf regarded her quivering, wide-eyed form, and she must surely have imagined the distress in its eyes. Almost like it wanted to apologize for hurting her.

The wolf stepped back and padded over to Link's belt pouches, picking them up in its teeth. Zelda tensed when the wolf approached her again, and it must have sensed her unease because it stopped at a careful distance and set the pouches down. Her eyes darted to the red potions. The wolf nudged the pouches with its nose meaningfully, but Zelda made no move to take them, not daring to believe it was that easy. This beast had been viciously attacking her only moments before, and she had no idea what seemingly harmless act might set it off again.

But...she needed those potions. Zelda reached for the pouches with a shaking hand, timid and skittish as a rabbit. If only the beast wasn't standing so close to them.

The wolf barked, and even though it sounded more impatient than threatening, Zelda jumped anyway. She grabbed the belt pouches and scuttled back to her corner, her eyes still on the wolf as it rumbled in quiet satisfaction and moved to the opposite side of the cave. Deciding it did not mean to kill her yet, Zelda wrenched the lid off one of the bottles and gulped half the potion without stopping, not caring if the wolf saw her face without the veil. Even if it was a minion of Ganondorf—which she doubted—it was unlikely to recognize her, especially in the gloom of the cave.

Zelda turned her attention to her ankle, which was a mangled mess. The steel trap had cut her to the bone in over a dozen places, and the wolf's teeth had only done more damage on top of that. Just looking at it made the pain spike to almost unbearable levels. She dug through the belt pouches until she found a spare shirt that didn't look too dirty. Just to be safe, Zelda soaked the white fabric in red potion and then ripped it in two halves to wrap up her ankle and her wrist. She would just have to pray it would be enough to stave off infection until she healed.

...if she was allowed to live that long.

Apprehensively, Zelda looked at the wolf again. It had lain down near the entrance, head resting on its paws. It glanced in her direction, unsettling her with its blue-eyed gaze once again. She looked the other way and sipped at the remaining potion in the bottle. The taste of herbs was stale. It had been made some time ago, and its magical properties were not up to full strength. Zelda debated drinking the second potion as well, but her stomach was already churning queasily from the few mouthfuls she had imbibed. The potion would do her no good if she ended up vomiting it all up.

When the glass bottle was empty, Zelda set it aside and wrapped an arm around her stomach, her other hand going to her head and prodding the laceration at her hairline where she had hit the ice. Even that tiny caress made her head ache fiercely, throbbing in time with her pulse. She leaned against the wall behind her, eyes growing heavy, oblivion beckoning. But no, she could not fall asleep. Sleep would only make the concussion worse. And besides...she did not trust the wolf to remain so docile. She had to be ready to defend herself if it attacked again.

But if it truly meant to kill her...why had it not done so already? Why had it stolen her weapons, dragged her to its lair, and then allowed her to live, even going so far as to care for her injuries? Why go from hurting her to helping her? She didn't understand any of it, not at all.

"What...are you?" Zelda croaked, causing the wolf to look at her, ears perked up. "What do you want with me?"

The wolf only whined. And Zelda remembered the words of the boy that Link had saved.

He just wants a friend.

The deepening cold woke her first, and the dull sting of her wounds kept her from nodding off again. Zelda blinked, staring at the rock ceiling above with bleary eyes, and despair was a tight fist around her heart. It hadn't been a nightmare after all. She looked around, wincing when her stiff neck creaked. The wolf was gone. She was alone in the cave. Part of her screamed that now was the time to escape, but one look outside changed her mind. Night was coming on fast, and she could see flurries of snowflakes raining down gently.

She shivered and rubbed her arms. Light. She needed light. Zelda felt around in the murky darkness until she located the belt pouches and dug out the flint and steel, and to her relief there was also the small lantern she had made Link start carrying with him. He had complained it was clunky and took up too much space, but he had seen reason when she pointed out there would not always be a Deku stick handy for a torch. Zelda struck the flint and steel together and managed to light the wick, and she tutted at the tiny dribble of oil that was left in the bottom. So he had been using it after all, even despite his reluctance. She would have a few choice words with him the next time they met...

Zelda stilled when she realized what she had just thought. No, there would be no words, there would be no next time. Link was dead. The wolf had killed him.

The sound of rustling branches outside jolted her from her thoughts. Zelda hastily wiped the tears from her eyes and drew her veil across her face, feeling at once safer behind its anonymous shelter. She breathed deeply, swallowing back the lump in her throat. There was no time to grieve now, not while she was still in danger of following Link to the grave. Looking up, Zelda beheld the cave for the first time in the lantern light, and her eyes widened. The wolf had been busy. Most of the bones had been cleared out, leaving the floor bare, and it had also retrieved her cloak from the river and left it near at hand. A tidy pile of wood had appeared near the cave entrance. It took her a long moment to puzzle out its purpose.

Firewood. The wolf was collecting firewood for her. A chill crawled up her spine at this display of utterly un-wolf-like behavior. Why would it go to such trouble for someone who was not its mistress? Making sure she not only stayed alive, but also stayed comfortable and warm?

Another chill followed on the heels of the first. It's planning to keep me here for a long time.

The wolf appeared in the mouth of the cave so suddenly and silently that Zelda jumped, heart leaping to her throat. Just the sight of it made her instinctively recoil, and the dead rabbit dangling from its mouth did nothing to put her at ease. The wolf paused when it noticed her awake, then gave a muffled woof and trotted closer. The dead rabbit was dumped unceremoniously at her feet. Zelda eyed the scrawny thing in distaste. It seemed she need not worry about starving, but it was difficult to be grateful when she was constantly wondering when the wolf would decide to gorge on herflesh.

When it's done digesting Link, I suppose, she thought morosely, and her appetite vanished. Clamping down on the gruesome and appalling thought, Zelda made herself pick up the rabbit. She was stymied on how to prepare it without a blade of some kind, but a quick search of the belt pouches produced a tiny hunting knife—regrettably, too dull to make a proper weapon. The wolf helped her by dragging over some of the wood it had collected, which Zelda arranged to her satisfaction, aware of the wolf constantly watching her with its head cocked, far too close for her peace of mind.

Finally, Zelda snapped and glared at it. "What are you waiting for? A pat on the head?"

To her surprised, the wolf cringed and backed away with a wounded look that made her squirm. Had she actually hurt its feelings? The wolf retreated to the opposite side of the cave where it lay down again, dejected. Zelda ignored it as she coaxed a fire into being and cooked the rabbit over the flames. The smoky smell made her mouth water. She didn't even wait for the partially charred meat to cool before she bolted down as much as she could stomach. The meal revitalized her more than the potions ever could. Even the pain in her ankle and head was a little more bearable with a full stomach.

The whole time she ate, the wolf continued to watch her. Its head was resting flat on the ground, but its eyes were alight and fixated on the half of the rabbit that she hadn't eaten, the tip of its tail thumping the earth. It didn't look quite so fearsome now, more like a pet pleading for table scraps. Zelda noticed for the first time how lean it was under the fur. It couldn't be easy to find food in the winter, and yet it had given her the fruits of its labors...

Part of her cruelly wanted to hoard the food and let it go hungry. But no matter how she tried to harden her heart, she couldn't stand to see it like that. She had always had a soft spot for animals. Zelda pushed the rabbit to the other side of the fire and retreated against the wall, arms wrapped around her knees. "Take it," she muttered without looking at the wolf. "I don't want it."

The wolf raised its head eagerly, tail wagging. She thought it would pounce on the meat at once, but it took the time to pick it up from the dirt and take it to the other side of the cave where it snapped up the meal in a few mouthfuls. It heaved a great sigh afterward and sprawled out on the ground with its belly toward the fire, resembling nothing more than a shaggy rug. Zelda pulled up her veil again to hide her twitching mouth that wanted to smile. She would not become fond of this beast. It had attacked her, mauled her, brought her here against her will. Goddesses, Link was dead because of it!

She turned away abruptly, lying down with her back to the fire. Its heat didn't seem to reach her so she grabbed her cloak and pull it over her shoulders. But her fingers also closed around the tattered green tunic that had somehow wound up on her side of the cave. Zelda caressed the rough fabric, remembering in a rush of memories the one who had once worn it. Meeting him inside the Temple of Time after his awakening, confused at his sudden growth and the gap in his memories. Treading a delicate line as she tried to answer his barrage of questions, tried to gain his trust without giving herself away. Watching from afar as he conquered forests and mountains, meeting him for only a short while between each new task, seeing his mistrust slowly diminish until he began to smile each time his Sheikah guide stood before him. Reminding her of the carefree boy he had once been and in some ways would always be.

How is it that you always appear one step ahead of me?

Who knows, hero? Perhaps the place we want to go is the same.

If you say so. But if that's the case, we might as well just travel together. I...I could use the company sometimes...

Tears trickled down her face, the warmth of memories unable to banish the cold and hollow feeling inside, the crushing bereavement that made her chest feel like it was caving in. He was Hyrule's last hope, the chosen hero of the goddesses, and yet it was she who made him feel less lost, less alone. She should have followed him more closely, she should have been there when Link confronted the witch. That was the whole reason Zelda had become Sheik. So she could guide Link on his journey and intervene when he needed her.

But she had failed. And for the first time she understood why those Sheikah who failed in their duty had been known to take their own lives in atonement. Unable to hold in the pain anymore, Zelda began to weep in earnest, biting into the cloth on her forearm to stifle her sobs, chest heaving. She could see his face so clearly in her mind, relaxed and open in her presence, and she wanted so badly to see him again, hear his voice. Maybe another hero could be found to wield the Master Sword, but no other could ever heal her shattered heart, cleaved in two by his loss.

I'm sorry...oh goddesses, Link...I'm so sorry...I'm sorry...

Behind her, the wolf began to whine softly. Zelda paid it no heed at first, too steeped sorrow to care what was wrong with it. She heard a quiet shuffling as it approached her, still making that absurd sound when she knew full well that was not its true nature. Anger thawed some of her frozen grief. Zelda curled into a tighter ball, clutching at her cloak like a shield. "Don't come near me," she hissed.

The wolf seemed to pause. Another whimper reached her ears, along with the tentative touch of a cold nose on her elbow. Zelda shouted in fury and flung her arm out, catching a glancing blow on its ear.

"Beast! Stay away!"

The wolf jumped back and hunkered down on its belly, and Zelda hated the way it was looking at her with such misery. It had no right to look at her like that. Or was it all an act? Was it trying to gain her trust for some purpose she didn't understand? Nothing the wolf had done made any sense, and that infuriated her all the more.

"Why don't you just kill me?" Zelda shouted, lashing out in her frustration. She gestured at the Master Sword leaning against the far wall. "You've already killed the one I'm supposed to protect! Why not me? What purpose could it possibly serve to keep me alive?"

Looking from her to the sword, the wolf rose and used its nose to knock the weapon over, then rested its paw on the hilt, barking urgently. But its actions only mystified her. And Zelda also found it extremely strange that the sword was not repelling the monster touching it. The blade was supposed to ward against evil...which only meant the wolf was not inherently evil. There were plenty of humans and creatures that had done evil deeds out of ignorance or good intentions.

"I don't understand you," Zelda said quietly, and the wolf drooped its head. "But...you are trying to tell me something."

The wolf perked up again almost at once. Picking up the sword in its jaws, it dragged the weapon over to Zelda and practically dumped it in her lap, woofing again. Zelda slowly picked up the sword, her heart giving a pang. She had never been this close to it, never touched it. She had never dared. The Master Sword had been known to kill those who presumed to wield it without the blessing of the goddesses, incinerating them with sacred power.

"He's...alive?" Zelda said with cautious hope. "Is that what you want me to know?"

The wolf yipped in excitement, nearly hopping up and down. Zelda took that to be a very resounding yes! But even though part of her was shouting for joy, she kept those feelings firmly in check.

"Why should I believe you? You know I've come for him so why have you not brought me to him? Or better yet, brought him to me?"

The resulting barrage of barks and yaps was not the answer she was looking for. Bitter disappointment welled up in her throat, bringing a fresh wave of tears. The wolf grew quiet and whimpered again, moving close enough to touch its nose to her damp cheek. Zelda shoved it away and slowly climbed to her feet with one hand braced on the wall. Her ankle gave a painful twinge, and she winced. It felt like she had sprained a muscle when she fell. It would be hard to walk on, let alone anything more strenuous. Like running for her life in deep snow.

Seeing her intent, the wolf at once moved between her and the cave entrance. It wasn't growling yet, but its upper lip curled just slightly to show one white fang. A warning.

Zelda glared at it. "I will not be held against my will. If you have no useful information, then I have no reason to stay here. I don't care how many rabbits you bring me, you've threatened my life, and I have every reason to believe you will kill me if you get the chance!"

The wolf leapt at her so suddenly that Zelda was taken completely off guard. Its front paws rammed into her shoulders and made her stumble back until her ankle crumpled and she slid to the floor limply. Clearly, the wolf didn't care if she trusted it or not...just as long as she stayed right here. With one last scowl, Zelda pulled her cloak tight around her shoulders and hunkered close to the fire. The wolf tried a few times to get her attention, but when it became clear she would not look up from the dancing flames, it returned to its own spot across the fire and flopped down on its belly with a discouraged oof. In only moments, its breathing evened out in sleep. Zelda eyed it speculatively. She doubted she could sneak past it, not when it was so near the entrance.

But she had the Master Sword...

Her hand closed around the hilt, almost without her noticing. But magical energies flared beneath her fingers, frighteningly powerful, and she knew that just drawing it from the scabbard would be dangerous. It only recognized one master, and she was not him. Sighing in defeat, Zelda tried to make herself comfortable on the dirt and followed the wolf into slumber. She was not yet desperate enough to take the risk, not when she had a duty yet to her kingdom.

But if she had no other choice...if she could not escape this bizarre captivity and eventually reached a point when killing the wolf would be worth losing her own life in retribution...

Link...I will avenge you. I swear your death will not be in vain. And mine may yet be worth something.

Zelda awoke the next morning feeling like she had not slept at all. She had only dozed off in short and uneasy intervals, troubled by disturbing dreams of Link imprisoned in the cave alongside her. He had been chained to the far wall, mouth gagged and face slashed in a dozen places, his anguished eyes searing into her in a silent plea for help...

She opened her eyes. The cave was empty, and somehow that was far worse. At least in the nightmare he had still been alive. Zelda slowly pushed herself upright and made her chilled hands pile wood on the glowing embers of the fire, then she checked her wounds. The bite on her wrist was beginning to heal, but a few deep punctures on her ankle were still open and oozing blood. At least the red potion seemed to be staving off infection. Zelda took out the second potion and drank it down, hoping that would help speed the healing and dull the pain. She also found some stale bread and a mushy apple in the belt pouches that made a filling breakfast, if not particularly appetizing.

Once her hunger had been sated, she leaned against the wall, head tipped up to watch the wisps of smoke drift up through the crack in the roof. Perhaps the fur trapper would see it when he came to check his traps. That might be the only hope she had of a rescue...provided the wolf didn't kill the poor man first.

Zelda cradled her head in her hands, praying for the strength and wisdom to escape this on her own. The prospect of spending another night out here was almost unbearable. She was a complete mess, her clothes and hair filthy and matted with blood and grime. Every muscle was stiff from the cold, slow to respond, and she couldn't feel some of her toes. The fire and her cloak were just not enough to protect her from the elements. If a blizzard should blow in, she would freeze to death. She briefly entertained the giddy thought of killing the wolf just for its fur, but Zelda doubted she would be a match for it now. Escape didn't seem very likely either with her ankle in this condition. Should she try reasoning with the wolf again?

All this thinking was giving her a headache. And she also became aware of another pressing bodily need that had to be taken care of. Using the Master Sword as a crutch, Zelda stood and hobbled to the entrance of the cave. When she poked her head into the open, she had to squint and throw up a hand to block the snow glare. The sun was out in full force today, but its heat could not penetrate this frozen world.

A menacing snarl from above almost made her heart stop in its tracks. Zelda spun around as the wolf vaulted down from the top of the rock formation and landed beside her. It herded her back toward the cave, teeth bared in clear warning.

Zelda swallowed nervously, but she stood her ground. "I need to use the latrine. Is that permitted or must I make do in there?"

All signs of aggression abruptly ceased, and the wolf tilted its head with a perplexed look that almost made her laugh. Clearly, it had not considered this particular issue. But just because the wolf could lift its leg at the nearest tree did not mean she had the same luxury.

It must be so convenient to be a man, Zelda thought with only the tiniest shred of envy. The wolf turned around, barked once and headed into the woods at an easy jog. Taking that as invitation, Zelda limped after it at a pace more suited to an old hag and not a Sheikah warrior. The wolf led her down to the bank of the river where a dense half circle of brambles offered a suggestion of privacy, even though it wasn't really necessary when there was not a human soul for miles around.

"This will do, I suppose," Zelda muttered and leaned the Master Sword against the nearest tree. She looked back at the wolf, astonished when it simply sat down where it was. True, the beast had stayed at a respectable distance and was not blatantly watching her, but it was still right there. "What do you think you're doing?"

She could have sworn the wolf arched a quizzical eyebrow. It pointedly turned its back, but Zelda only crossed her arms, not impressed in the least. "I would prefer if you went elsewhere until I am finished. I won't run away. Where would I go?"

The wolf snorted with such human-like disbelief that Zelda flushed. "This is not acceptable," she said, fuming. "I may be your prisoner, but I am still female and you are still male, and you must possess enough reasoning to understand why that would make me uncomfortable!"

The wolf turned to stare at her, blinking once. Twice. Now it looked even more perplexed than ever. Zelda held very still as the wolf sidled up to her and prowled in a slow circle, scrutinizing her from all angles, occasionally sniffing the air like it was looking for something.

"What?" Zelda said, irritated when she realized its intent gaze was directed most prominently at her flattened chest. "Is it so hard to believe?"

The wolf studied her for a moment longer. Then of all things, it grinned at her, every sharp tooth on display. With a cheerful yip, the wolf left the brambles and trotted off into the woods until she could no longer hear it nearby. Zelda stared after it. The wolf had almost seemed...dare she say it...amused.

Putting its odd reaction from her mind, Zelda dealt with the call of nature—quickly, since it was very cold. This would not be a pleasant routine to repeat each day if she remained in the wolf's captivity. And there was no use pretending it was anything but captivity. When she was being meek and compliant, the wolf seemed harmless, but Zelda could not forget that she was under constant threat. And...as much as she wanted to pretend otherwise, Link had been killed by that wolf after taking the life of its mistress. Zelda didn't know much about witches and how they tamed their familiars, but she knew that such creatures tended to be loyal until death.

Zelda went very still after she finished her business and went to pick up the Master Sword again, her heart thumping. Goddesses, what if the wolf was looking for a new mistress? Was that why it was so determined not to let her out of its sight? No, surely not...but that would explain most of its actions until now, especially its attempts to take care of her needs. Her heart started to ache for the poor beast. It had been deprived of its purpose, and rather than return to the wilds, it sought a new focus for its allegiance. Now Zelda knew she had to get away from it as soon as she could manage. She could not allow the wolf to believe it belonged to her in any sense of the word...or worse, that she belonged to it.

Warily, Zelda peeked out of the brambles. There was no sign of the wolf nearby, but she doubted it would have gone very far. And its senses were sharper than hers. It would know if she made a run for it and easily catch up. But she was near the place where she had lost her dagger. If she could get it back and hide it on her person...that would be something, at least.

Deciding to take the risk, Zelda darted for the riverbank as quietly as she could manage when every step made the snow crunch beneath her. Ten steps and she was there, digging frantically through the fresh powder. A glint of steel caught her eye, and Zelda dove for it only to slice her finger on the steel trap, still lying where she had left it yesterday. Zelda swallowed hard as she pried the jaws apart and laid it out on the snow, the jagged teeth stained a rusty red. She could use this.

Somewhere behind her came a roar of fury. Making a snap decision, Zelda piled a double fistful of snow over the steel trap and started to run straight across the river. She looked back only once to see the wolf burst out of the underbrush and come barreling right for her, heedless of the danger as it made a running leap onto the frozen river and...

Snap!

The wolf emitted a high-pitched cry that made her cringe, almost flipping over completely when the chain pulled taut and brought the beast to ground in a spray of snow. The wolf stared at its bloodied front paw, whimpering a little as it nosed the steel trap and tried futilely to pry it open with its teeth. Then the wolf looked at her, and it was a look that cut straight through her. So shaken, so betrayed. Like she had crossed a line and done something unforgiveable.

"I'm sorry," Zelda whispered, and she couldn't even explain to herself why she was apologizing. The wolf had tormented her, not the other way around. "I'm sorry...I had no choice."

She fled, ignoring the stabbing pain in her ankle and the desperate baying from the wolf as it grappled with the steel trap and only hurt itself more. She ran all the way back up the slope to the cave and gathered up Link's shield and the rest of his possessions in a frenzy, paranoid the beast would somehow break free and come after her. But her fears were needless. Nothing stopped her as she sprinted back out of the cave and bolted into the forest, heading for the village as fast as she could.

Far in the distance behind her, an anguished howl rose from the river and carried into the sky, desolate and despairing. Zelda blinked back hot tears as the cry went on and on, ringing in her ears even long after she was too far away to hear it.

Zelda finally stumbled back into the village late in the morning, exhausted with her ankle close to giving out. The villagers stared at her passing and did not offer to help her. She must have looked quite frightening, she imagined. She made her own way to the inn where at least she found some common sense from the innkeeper and her serving girls, who brought her a hearty meal and clean bandages and a washbasin which was soon filled with steaming water. Zelda bathed her aching body gratefully, but she didn't take the time to properly enjoy it.

After dressing in a spare shirt and breeches—her Sheikah attire having been carted off for cleaning—Zelda numbly began to pack. All the while trying to convince herself to move faster, focus on her duty. Link was gone. She had to return to Kakariko and inform Impa so they could search for someone to wield the Master Sword, a task which could easily take years, decades. There was no time to waste.

But her progress slowed to a snail's pace when she began to integrate Link's possessions with hers. He hadn't carried much, and most of it functional, but here and there she found small trinkets that seemed worthless or frivolous at first glance, but must hold some sentimental value for him. At the bottom of one of the belt pouches, Zelda uncovered a small notebook and was amazed to find it filled with rough sketches. She rifled through the pages and took in one sketch after another, each depicting different scenes, different places, gradually growing more detailed and skilled over time. The windmill in Kakariko, the Great Deku Tree, Lake Hylia and the isle with a lone tree, a random one of Epona grazing...

And there was one of her too. Of her as Sheik. She only recognized herself because of the Sheikah emblem and the lyre in her hands, the uncertain lines and imperfect anatomy showing a lack of experience in drawing people. He had spent more time on this one than some of the others. Her hands on the lyre looked to have been erased and redrawn half a dozen times judging by the smudges in the charcoal...

Zelda snapped the sketchbook closed, torn between screaming and sobbing. Yet another side of him she would never know. She shoved it into the pack that held her lyre and picked up the last item, the Ocarina of Time. She let her fingertips trace over the holes, imagining his larger and rougher ones in their place. A hard knot tightened in her chest at the thought of handing it to someone else and teaching them the songs meant for Link. But no matter how much she hated it, she had no choice. For Hyrule, she had to swallow her heartache and aid the new hero no matter how dead it made her feel inside.

But no matter how worthy the next Hero of Time might be, no matter how dutifully she shadowed them, Zelda knew she could never look at another with the same dedication, the same warm regard. The same love.

A knock came at the door. "Sir Sheikah? I have your clothes. Shall I leave them here for you?"

Zelda struggled to master herself as she tucked the instrument out of sight. "No...please bring them in," she called.

The maid hesitated before opening the door and stepping inside timidly, keeping her eyes fixed on the floor. Zelda sighed. "I'm decent. I would not have let you in if I was not."

"Oh," the maid said, flushing, and she quickly set the bundle of clothes on the bed by her packs. "I couldn't get all the stains out, I'm afraid..."

"At least I won't smell like I slept in a cave," Zelda said with a sigh. As she picked up the bundle, she noticed the maid staring at her, eyes wide. And no wonder. While her hair and face were still hidden, she hadn't bothered to rewrap her chest yet, and the loose white shirt left little to the imagination.

Zelda gave the startled girl a slight smile and a wink. "Shall we keep this between us?"

"Oh yes, of course!" the maid said right away, and her expression was one of awe as she curtsied. "Forgive me, but...why do you...?"

"I spend a great deal of time traveling," Zelda said, shrugging. "How else would I avoid unwanted attention?"

"Ah," the maid said in comprehension, nodding. "Yes, I understand perfectly. I've seen so many ruffians come and go just working here at the inn! I can only imagine what kind of animals you must run across out there on the road..."

Animals...

Zelda turned away quickly and busied herself with some meaningless task, striving to forget the wolf and all the times it had behaved utterly unlike an animal toward her. She should hate it for killing Link, but in the end all she felt was sadness and a weary relief to be away from it. Eventually, the fur trapper would check his traps and find the wolf neatly ensnared, and that would be the end of it. She need never think of it again.

So why was it so hard to forget the pain in its eyes?

"My lady? Begging your pardon, but...did you find that swordsman? The one who saved the mayor's boy?"

"No," Zelda said quietly without looking back. "He's...dead. The wolf killed him."

The maid gasped. "I'm so sorry! I...we...a lot of us here still held out some hope. The mayor was even talking about organizing a search party, but there just weren't enough volunteers."

Cowards, Zelda thought viciously. But knowing Link wouldn't want her to blame the villagers, she simply gestured at her packs. "Would you please take these down to the stables and have Link's...I mean, my horse saddled? She's the chestnut mare with the white blaze. I'll be down shortly."

"Yes, my lady," the maid said and reached for the packs. She smiled at Zelda. "That mare...that's the one he was riding, wasn't it? I remember when he came into the village that night. Like a hero out of legend, he was! He even looked like those Hylian knights in the old stories, blond hair and blue eyes, his sword in one hand and that poor boy in the other..."

"Blue eyes," Zelda murmured, barely even acknowledging what the maid was babbling about. But then she grew very still, memories overlapping, and it was not Link's face that came to her mind, but the wolf and its somber gaze. And she gasped, stricken as everything came crashing down all at once. "Blue eyes..."

"...and he's all my sister can talk about now since she got a closer look than me that night. She's convinced he's the love of her life, and I've had my hands full trying to talk some sense into the girl. Oh, but listen to me prattle on! Let me get these packs downstairs..."

"Leave them!" Zelda snapped.

The maid stared at her. "My lady...?"

Zelda snatched the packs out of her hands and tossed them back on the bed. "I said leave them! But go get my horse saddled, and hurry!"

"I...ah...if you insist?" the maid said, still confused as she quickly curtsied and hurried away. Zelda didn't even wait for her to shut the door before she tore off her shirt and breeches and donned the Sheikah clothes and her cloak as fast as her shaking hands would allow. Without a backward glance, she charged out of the room and down the stairs, startling the other guests and serving girls she passed in her rush.

How could I be so  stupid?

The wolf had blue eyes. Link had blue eyes. The wolf had not appeared until after Link went missing, after the death of the witch. And goddesses, hadn't that fur trapper said the witch had marks on her that were caused by a beast? She had allowed that vital detail to slip her mind, but it could not be a coincidence. That should have been her first clue. And since then the wolf had remained so close to the village, so close to those who had been the last to see Link alive...

Not seeking revenge...seeking help! He was trying to show them what the witch had done to him! Link wasn't killed by the wolf, he IS the wolf! They are one and the same!

Zelda hurtled out of the inn, and her weak ankle at once slipped on the snow, causing her to fall hard on her side and bruise her hip. Ignoring it, she scrambled up again and went into the stables. The maid was there with the stable boy, both trying to coax the temperamental mare to let them put a saddle on her. But Epona was having none of it and kept chasing them out of her stall with angry snorts and whinnies. She only calmed when Zelda whistled the notes of the song Link had taught her, and even then Epona shifted uneasily when Zelda grabbed the saddle from the bemused stable boy and finished the job herself.

"Please bear me for a little while," Zelda whispered. She stroked the white blaze and looked into one brown eye. "If I'm right...then you'll see your master very soon. Even if you don't recognize him."

Epona still tossed her head uneasily, but allowed Zelda to climb into the saddle. She breathed out a sigh of relief. Walking would have wasted precious hours in which any number of terrible things might happen. Or might have already happened. The fur trapper might have returned and already killed the wolf or another predator in the forest might take advantage of the easy meat tethered by the steel trap...

"Ha!" Zelda shouted and sent Epona into a fast canter that carried her out of the stables and straight through the center of the village, heading due south for the woods. Once they left the road, Zelda had to reluctantly let the mare set her own pace in the deep snow and thick underbrush. No matter how urgent the situation, Link would not forgive her for pushing Epona too hard and laming her with a careless misstep.

Link, Zelda thought, tears rushing to her eyes that were whipped away by the wind. How could she fail so utterly in putting the pieces together? He had tried so many times to tell her! That was why he had kept her in that cave, why he had taken her weapons. She had left him no choice but to defend himself, even if it meant wounding her in the process. That was why he had constantly turned her attention to the Master Sword. He had even put his paw on the hilt...his left paw! Link was left-handed, a trait she had never seen in a swordsman.

He must have been so relieved to see her in the village, and later in the woods searching for him. He had approached her so carefully and tried so hard to make her understand what had happened. Because she had been his only hope, the one person most likely to recognize him and help him. But instead she tried to slaughter him!

Oh Link, can you ever forgive me?

Zelda lost track of time as the sun climbed toward its zenith. They seemed to be going so slowly, but soon enough they passed the witch's cottage and reached the river. Zelda leaned low over Epona's neck to urge the mare to greater speed. Within moments she sighted the rock formation where the cave was. But that was when Epona whinnied in alarm and halted in her tracks, nostrils flaring at the scent of a predator nearby. Zelda threw herself out of the saddle and covered the last of the distance on foot, stumbling in her haste, seized by a terrible foreboding that every moment, every second counted. She burst out of the underbrush onto the frozen river. The wolf was still there, caught in the steel trap, crouched low and snarling at the fur trapper not five steps away. The man eyed the beast solemnly before nocking an arrow to his bow, slowly raising it...

"Stop!" Zelda screamed and threw herself at the trapper. She rammed his shoulder and knocked him over, her heart jolting when she heard the bowstring twang and the wolf bellow in pain. Zelda dashed over and went to her knees by the wolf, and she thanked all the goddesses it hadn't gone deep. Only the arrowhead had pierced its shoulder and lodged in bone. The wolf shuddered in pain as it sank down on its haunches and laid its head in her lap, whimpering when Zelda closed her hand around the shaft.

"Hold still," Zelda said, and she ripped the arrow free. The wolf jerked once, its cry muffled against her leg, panting from the ordeal. After tossing the shaft aside, she wrenched open the steel trap and cradled the wolf's limp and bleeding paw in one hand, her other hand resting hesitantly on its brow. She traced the strange markings in the fur, realizing for the first time how perfectly they matched the cuts on that boy's face. Why hadn't she noticed that before?

The fur trapper grunted as he clambered back to his feet, eyebrows flying up when he noticed her and the wolf so close together. "Wondered what happened to you," he said, nodding to Zelda. "I saw the smoke this morning and followed it to that cave up the slope...and I found your weapons too. I have to say, I made some assumptions."

The wolf snapped fierce eyes over to the trapper at the unspoken accusation, rumbling lowly.

"Link," Zelda murmured, his name coming to her so easily. The wolf stilled and turned its gaze to her, blue eyes so fragile like a beast that had seen years of abuse and yearned with all its heart for a single affectionate touch. But rather than convincing her, it only gave her more cause for doubt. No matter how hard Zelda looked, all she saw was an animal. The notion that this wolf might actually be Link was ludicrous. Did she truly believe it? Or did she only want to believe it because it hurt far less than accepting he was dead? She didn't even know if the witch had possessed such power. A spell to transform a man to a beast took a great deal of magical knowledge. It took such precision, such preparation...

"...the ritual," Zelda whispered, the last missing pieces falling into place at long last.

"What's that?" the fur trapper inquired, still holding back at a safe distance. He didn't seem afraid of the wolf, only wary, and some of that suspicion was beginning to be directed at her.

"That witch...she was going to use that ritual to create her familiar," Zelda said, her words choked. "That's why she wanted the child. She planned to use him, to change him and make him into something she could command. But Link stopped her. And when he went back to finish her once and for all...she used him instead."

"Gods," the fur trapper breathed, eyes widening. "But...are you sure that beast is your swordsman friend? Cause I tell you, you'd better be damn sure before we let it walk free. I've got the people in the village to think of."

There was only one way to be sure. And Zelda didn't know whether to be overjoyed or dismayed when she examined the wolf's left paw and found a fainter patch of fur on the back. A symbol of three triangles. The Triforce of Courage had not left its bearer. Shaking, Zelda put her hands on either side of the wolf's face so she could look it in the eye, seeing so clearly the shame and torment there. It...he...Link whined and pressed closer, and her heart broke when he nuzzled her hand, swiping a rough tongue against the inside of her wrist. Expressing his pain in the only way he was capable now that both words and tears were beyond him. But she didn't need either to understand what he was trying to say.

Help me. Help me.

"You need not worry about the village," Zelda said decisively. She almost stroked Link's head, but stopped herself. She could not degrade him like that. No matter how he looked now, he was human inside. "I'm taking Link with me to see my mentor. If a witch made him this way...then maybe we can find a way to undo it. I know we'll find a way. I won't stop searching until we do."

Link stared at her for a long moment. Then he sighed deeply, eyes slipping shut in relief. He shuffled closer, curling up with his head in her lap. The fur trapper approached and crouched nearby, seeming at once amazed and flummoxed at the sight of a wild beast behaving like the gentlest lamb. Zelda looked at him, smiling for the first time in days. "If it's not too much trouble, would you please go get his mare and take her back to the village? I left her somewhere near the cave. I'll return shortly to get her, and then we'll leave. You can assure the villagers that the wolf will not trouble them again."

The fur trapper nodded, a rueful smile gracing his rough features. "Can't say they'll be sad to see him go. But...I may let that boy know his hero is still alive. He should know what he was saved from."

"So he knows not to go befriending every wolf he sees," Zelda said with a tiny laugh that felt so wonderful after days of endless searching and fretting. The fur trapper returned her bow and daggers to her and set off to find Epona, leaving her and Link alone on the frozen river. Zelda carefully unwound some of the cloth bindings from her arm and bandaged his wounded paw, then wrapped her arms around him protectively as he dozed. She didn't care that the snow was cold beneath her or that the glaring sun hurt her eyes or that the weight across her legs was making them go numb.

The only thing that mattered was that she had found Link. She had found him.

All of a sudden, the winter was beautiful again.

Chapter Text

"Arrows are how much?"

The merchant flashed him a grin full of yellow teeth that stood out starkly against his dusky skin. "Seventy-five rupees for a bundle of thirty. For two bundles, I'll give you a discount at one hundred and thirty rupees."

"That's a rip off!" Link objected. "I paid half that in Hyrule! Less than half!"

"Well then, you're more than welcome to stroll right back into Hyrule and look for a better bargain. In the meanwhile, I've got customers to serve."

"...fine, I'll take one bundle," Link said with a defeated sigh. This was the third merchant in a row who had sold him goods at ridiculously exorbitant prices, and he didn't have the energy to haggle anymore. Link stuffed the arrows into his quiver and reluctantly left the shelter of the canvas awning that had given him a brief respite from the scorching sun. Any shade provided by the market stalls was reserved for shoppers in the middle of bartering, which Link suspected was another ploy to increase business.

Stepping quickly across the hot sands that roasted his feet even through his boots, Link sank down on the edge of a stone fountain in the center of the market, splashing a handful of cool water on his pink face. At least the water was free, and thank the goddesses for that or he would have been broke by now. Unwilling to leave the fountain, Link relaxed where he was for a moment and watched the throngs of people bustling back and forth, most of them natives to this rocky mesa at the border of Hyrule and the Gerudo desert. Although both nations had a long history of war and bloodshed, there were many villages just like this one which identified with neither kingdom and thrived on the trade from both. A lot of the people even seemed to be of a mixed Gerudo and Hylian ancestry, dusky skin paired with pointed ears, or red hair and amber eyes with lighter skin.

In fact with his pale complexion and blond hair and strongly elven features, Link found that he was the odd one out here. He had gotten a few strange looks from the natives, as if they were wondering what a full-blooded Hylian was doing this far west. But overall they were very friendly and welcoming, not at all like the proud people of Castle Town, who would probably sneer and spit on any Gerudo who dared to walk among them.

"I should travel more," Link said to himself, and he was too addled from the heat to notice the weird looks he got for talking to thin air. "I should see the places outside Hyrule. There's probably all kinds of people to meet. It would be a lot of fun..."

He trailed off, eyes slipping shut, and he lazily wiped his sleeve across his sweaty brow. He twisted back around and leaned over to cup some more water in his hands, only to have someone abruptly bump into him from behind. There wasn't much force behind it, leading him to believe it was accidental, but his position was just precarious enough that he ended up losing his balance and toppling headfirst into the fountain. The shock of cold and wet made him bolt upright with a startled oath, water slopping everywhere. He shook sopping bangs from his eyes, finding himself sitting up to his waist in the water with half the market street guffawing at his clumsiness. The only one who wasn't laughing was the mortified young woman who had bumped into him. She quickly set down the heavy clay jug she was carrying and took his arm to heave him to his feet.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I can't believe I just blundered into you like that! Are you alright, sir? I'm terribly sorry, I should have watched where I was going—"

"I-It's fine, don't worry about it," Link assured her. He wrung the water from the edge of his tunic, huffing out a laugh. "That felt great actually. I should be thanking you!"

The woman gave him an odd look, but at length she smiled. "In that case, you're welcome, sir!" she chirped.

"Do you need some help with that?" Link asked when the woman bent to pick up the jug again. Even though it was empty, she still struggled with its unwieldy bulk and barely got it over the lip of the fountain to fill it.

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly impose!" the woman insisted. "Really, I can handle it. I carry this here every day to fill it up."

"Then how come no one else has bothered to help you?" Link said and shot a critical look at the people around them, who had begun to return to their business now that the spectacle was over. In fact, there seemed to be an invisible bubble around the two of them like everyone was trying to keep their distance, though he couldn't imagine why. Link looked at the woman again curiously. Maybe it was because she was obviously a true Gerudo rather than a descendent of one, which seemed just as rare in these parts as a Hylian. But she seemed much more friendly and sociable than her warrior kin, and Link had never in his life seen a Gerudo wearing a dress. The wraps of pale lavender silk softened her strong features and actually made her somewhat pretty.

Seeing the woman was struggling with the filled jug, Link took it from her hands, grunting in surprise at how very heavy it was. Even he would find this hard to carry for very long. He couldn't fathom how she had managed. Once he had the jug balanced on his hip, Link smiled in triumph. "Here, just let me carry it for you. I don't mind, really."

"You're too kind, sir," the woman said in visible relief. "Even after I got you all wet and everything..."

"It's Link, actually," Link corrected her. He still wasn't used to having people call him sir like they were addressing an adult. "What's your name?"

"Oh...I'm Amé!" the woman stammered, turning away quickly like she was embarrassed to have been asked. Her shy smile almost reminded him of Malon, and Link decided that while he might not get along with the rest of the Gerudo, he could make an exception for this one. Amé beckoned him to follow her down the street, beaming in a way that made his heart flip.

"My, you do make that look easy! If only I had someone as strong as you to carry it all the time."

"Yeah, it's no problem," Link said and tried to pretend the weight wasn't making his arm go numb. He hefted the jug a little higher and was about to ask her how much further they had to go was when Amé suddenly grabbed his arm and made him duck into a side street. It was a relief to be out of the crowds, but she kept taking so many turns that he was quickly turned around.

"Where are we going?"

"It's not too much further now!" Amé promised. True to her word, they rounded one last corner and came into a small courtyard with a few gnarled trees and a large tent that he presumed was their destination. Link braced himself when she opened the flap, expecting it to be stifling inside the thick canvas, but instead the air was pleasantly cool with a hint of moisture that beaded on his skin. Link set the jug down and peered at the source of the coolness, a chunk of pale blue crystal hanging from a hook in the center of the peaked roof and giving off wisps of fog. When he held his hand near it, the tips of his fingers turned blue.

"Careful not to touch it or you'll be an ice block for a week," Amé warned him, and Link snatched his hand back.

"Is it magic?"

"Uh huh, I'm quite good at simple enchantments like that," Amé said with a delighted air. She sat down cross-legged on a pile of cushions gathered around a low table, taking the time to light a bowl of incense. "Might you shut the flap? It keeps the heat out."

Link tugged the flap closed, gazing around in interest at the rather cozy space. Richly-colored drapes and rugs hid the drab walls and floor and gave it the illusion of a real room. One curtain kept part of the tent hidden from view, which he guessed served as her personal quarters. On the low table aside from the bowl of incense, there was also a deck of cards and a few ivory sticks that resembled tiny animal bones. It might have been a gruesome display had he not recognized it as the kind of thing a fortune teller would chant over and cast onto a flat surface to read the future in the way the bones fell.

A Gerudo fortune teller? I guess you learn something new every day...

"Please, sit," Amé said, and she giggled when he hurriedly plopped onto a cushion across from her. She reached up to untie her hair from its high ponytail, letting the thick crimson tresses tumble around her shoulders. She caught his eye, and Link stared intently at the incense and tried to pretend he hadn't been staring. He shivered a little in the chill given off by the crystal. His tunic and shirt were still soaked from the impromptu dunking and uncomfortable now that he was no longer outside.

"You can take that off, if you'd like."

"Huh?" Link said, taken aback.

"Your tunic," Amé said, indicating the garment with a wave of her hand. "It's still wet, isn't it? You can stay until it dries."

"Oh...yeah," Link said, flustered for some unfathomable reason. He set aside his sword and shield and tugged off the green tunic, laying it aside, but left on his white undershirt since it seemed like it would be rude to sit here only half clothed in front of a woman he barely knew. And he was aware very suddenly of how alone they were since the tent was far removed from the market and the heavy canvas muffled any outside noises. It made him a little nervous since Link had always been told the Gerudo couldn't be trusted. Sheik, in particular, had been adamant that he watch his back around the red-haired thieves. But it was hard to apply that prejudice to this Gerudo, who seemed no different from any Hylian woman. She wasn't even looking at his wallet or his weapons, the most valuable things he carried, but only at his face with that same sweet smile.

"So...you live here in this tent?" Link asked, curious enough to break the silence. "I thought all the Gerudo lived out in the desert. I've never met one who lived outside it."

"For now, this is my home," Amé said and gave him a kind smile. "I'm guessing you don't know about the Gerudo rites of womanhood, then?"

"Rites of...what?" Link said in confusion. "I've heard of some places having rites like that for men, but..."

"But the Gerudo are a race consisting entirely of women so what would be the point of holding rites of manhood?" Amé said, laughing lightly. She picked up the deck of cards from the table and began to shuffle them idly. "It's something each Gerudo goes through on her seventeenth birthday. A great ceremony and feast to celebrate her passage into adulthood, and then for one year she must leave the desert and live among outsiders with no support from the clan. As a way to gain life experience and...mature in both mind and body, you see?"

"Oh, I think I get it," Link said, fascinated by this glimpse of Gerudo society. In their own way, the clan of thieves was just as secretive as the Sheikah. "But that must be hard to be away from your clan. They don't they give you any money or...anything?"

Amé shook her head with a sigh. "Each of us must make do however we can with whatever skills our goddess has seen fit to grant us. Mine is divination, but I often wish I had the talent to be a musician or a dancer, even a mercenary. Those are things the Gerudo are well-known for, but as it is, I'm barely scraping by. I've had so few customers, even after I lowered my prices down to nothing. And it's so lonely without all my sisters..."

Link swallowed hard with a feeling of empathy. "Don't worry, I'm sure it'll get better! I know how you feel though. I left my home when I was just a kid. I've only been back once since then, but I always think about my...my village. There's a girl there, Saria, who's like a sister to me..."

"Oh, then you understand perfectly!" Amé said, cheering up at once. "That must have been so hard for you, leaving your family at such a young age."

"It's not that bad," Link said, attempting to shrug it off when he felt her hand come to rest gently on his arm. He looked in her eyes and found himself caught and held by that amber gaze, almost mesmerized. Most of her girlish shyness seemed to have evaporated while he wasn't watching, and Link couldn't make any sense of the look she was giving him. The tent felt too narrow and stifling all of a sudden, the air thick and heady from the burning incense. He blinked and tried to shake off the weird feeling.

"I...I don't...feel right..."

"It must be heatstroke," Amé remarked. She stroked the side of his face, and for some reason her proximity didn't bother him as much as it should have. It was chilly in here anyway, and her hands were warm. "You poor thing...this mesa can be dangerous for those from Hyrule who aren't used to the sun. You should stay awhile longer. Why don't you let me read your fortune before you go?"

Link shook his head. "Sorry, but I spent most of my money earlier..."

"Don't worry about it," Amé said in a tone that brooked no argument. She moved back a little and picked up the deck of cards again. Link looked on as she laid out three cards one by one, intrigued by the pictures they each bore, though for some reason he was having trouble focusing on the details and only saw them as blurs of color.

"My...you have had an arduous road," Amé murmured. She tapped each of the cards in turn. "See here? This card shows me your past, which takes the form of the Life-Giving Tree, withered and dead though the season is early spring. Your childhood ended far too early before you were prepared. I believe...you lost someone dear at that time."

The Great Deku Tree died in the spring, Link thought. The memory usually stung like a knife in the heart, but all he felt now was a dull sadness that refused to linger. Like his heart had become a still, deep pool that could not be moved by any strong emotion.

"And here is your present," Amé went on, showing him the second card. "Power, a very potent and dangerous card. You have come very far, despite your rough beginnings. You have overcome much, grown very strong...so strong that you cannot fathom the danger of being consumed by the very same power you seek."

"What do you mean...consumed?" Link said nervously and took a closer look at this card. It wasn't hard to interpret. A fierce lion lunging at a maiden clothed in white, claws extended. And yet the maiden stood fast before it, one delicate hand laid on its brow, holding it back with some divine influence.

"Your fortitude, your unbreakable spirit is to be admired," Amé said, lifting her gaze to him again. "But for what purpose will it be turned? Great men have led entire civilizations to destruction because they refused to let themselves be chained by any law or god. Will this be you, Link?"

Link shook his head with a slight shiver. No, that sounded more like Ganondorf to him. Someone who liked to cause suffering just because there was no one strong enough to stop him. But Link was different from that. He was determined to be. He looked Amé with a thread of misgiving. "How can you know these things?"

"I only speak what the cards show me," Amé said, eyes half lidded and inscrutable. "Only you understand the full meaning. Would you like me to continue?"

Link licked his lips with a tongue that felt thick and clumsy. He really didn't like that incense. He wanted fresh air badly, but he felt oddly lethargic and disinclined to move from this spot. He nodded, nearly missing the fleeting smirk on her face before Amé turned back to the cards.

"I've seen your past and your present, and now the last card will let me gaze into your future. And I see that it is the Chalice Queen, the culmination of all your efforts. If is for her that you abandoned your innocence and gained the strength of a warrior. You seek her. You have sought this person for so long..."

His heart thumped against his ribs. "Will I find her?" Link rasped. "How soon? What do I have to do?"

Amé leaned close to him until their faces were inches apart. "That's the oddest thing, Link. The cards tell me...that you already have."

Link blinked drowsily, trying to make sense of that. And somehow when he forced his eyes open again, it was not Amé before him. Instead his eyes saw a beautiful Hylian woman with flaxen hair and the most radiant blue eyes he had ever seen.

"Zel...da?" Link said in bafflement, but he didn't get a chance to question the complete unlikelihood of Zelda being here before the woman kissed him, her passion completely at odds with his tranquility. It didn't even occur to Link to resist when she pushed him back until he was fully lying on the cushions and started to unlace his collar with feverish motions. It was too much of a bother to move his heavy limbs, or even to keep his eyes open. Besides...he could trust Zelda. Whatever she was doing, it couldn't be anything too bad.

But Link had his doubts when he felt something coarse encircle his wrists and bind them somewhere above his head. The burn of rope against his skin made him struggle in faint alarm. "Wait, what're you...?"

"Shh," a soothing voice murmured in his ear. "Don't worry about that. You don't have to worry about a thing, Link. I'll take care of you, I promise."

Gradually, Link stilled and let her voice calm him, finding that he hardly even noticed the ropes once he stopped fighting them. If Zelda said it was okay, then it must be okay. He sighed, relaxing further, rapidly slipping into a blissful and dream-like state where he felt like he was floating, insensible to his surroundings. He remained so even when the sound of tearing canvas interrupted the trance and two raised voices filled the tent.

"...wasn't even going to hurt him! Look, do you see a weapon in my hands? I'm only giving him what he paid for!"

"Oh yes, I'm sure he paid you handsomely to tie him up like a sacrificial offering. Do save your lies for those who believe them, thief. Unless you want this knife to go through your eye, you will release him!"

"Oh, come on! He's the first good-looking one I've bagged in months! Can't you just leave for five minutes and then come get him? I think we both know he won't last that long."

"...I'll pretend I didn't hear that. I understand you require a man to complete your rite of passage, but this man is off limits. He is not yours to have, but he is mine to protect. Do not make me repeat my warning."

"Ugh, fine! You can take him. But you'd better watch your back if you ever come near the desert, Sheikah!"

Someone sliced the ropes around his wrists, and one of the voices moved closer. "I expected no less. Now hero, are you still awake enough to walk?"

"Unh?" Link mumbled, uncomprehending as he found himself heaved to his feet with a considerable lack of sympathy. Through foggy vision, he briefly glimpsed a pair of red eyes before he was bullied into walking out of the comfortable coolness and into the oppressive heat. He was dumped unceremoniously against a wall, and Link slumped to the ground limply with his back braced to the warm stone, eyes shut and head hanging down so his chin bumped his chest. Seconds later his head and shoulders were deluged by cold water that hit him like a slap in the face. He gasped and sputtered, suddenly wide awake, and his head whipped back and forth wildly, bewildered to find himself outside the tent in the courtyard with no clear recollection of how he got there.

"W-What? What, who...what?"

"You're awake, I see," Sheik said tartly, unapologetic as she handed the empty clay jug back to Amé. The Gerudo glared at them both, then turned with a haughty air and stalked back into the tent. Link stared after her, wondering what she was so mad about. He wiped some water off his dripping face, and he yelped when he happened to glance down and realized why he felt so bare.

"Hey, where's my shirt?" Link demanded. His belt buckle was also undone, and he hastened to refasten it, noticing as he did so that something else was conspicuously missing. "Where's my wallet?"

"In the tent, I would imagine," Sheik told him. She passed him his tunic and shirt, as well as his weapons. "And if you expect me to go in there and retrieve it, you had best forget it. As far as I'm concerned, you deserved to lose it."

"Why's that?" Link asked, peeved, trying to get himself fully dressed and sorted out. He frowned and rubbed his face, unsure of why he felt so tired like he had just awoken from a nap. "What...what happened to me?"

"That's what I was going to ask you," Sheik snapped. "I saw that whole sorry affair at the fountain, but when I tried to follow you two, she managed to lose me in the side streets. Would you care to explain just what was about to transpire in that tent? How could you let her get you into that state?"

"I...get into what state?" Link said with the beginnings of alarm. His memories were oddly muddled, and he frantically tried to put the scattered pieces together. "I just...I was only carrying her water for her. Since it was so heavy, I thought she needed help, and then we talked for a bit and she said she would read my fortune..."

"And after that? Do you remember?"

"I, uh...um..."

"As I thought," Sheik said with a disgusted look at the tent. "No doubt her offer to tell your fortune was a ploy to keep you in there until the drugs in the incense took effect. It's clever, actually, since it clearly only works on men or else both she and I would have been affected."

"She...drugged me?" Link said, incredulous. It explained what had happened, and he had no reason to doubt Sheik, but it was hard to believe Amé would be capable of that. She had seemed so nice...for a Gerudo, at least. He looked back at his belt where the missing wallet should have been. "Wait a minute, are you saying she was trying to rob me?"

"That's one way of looking at it," Sheik muttered, and she shot him a dubious look. "Link...you are aware that part of the Gerudo rite of passage is to find and bed the man who will be the father of her first child, right?"

Link gaped at Sheik, and it took him an embarrassingly long time to put the pieces together. He was fairly sure his face went through seven shades of red in under five seconds. "Oh," he croaked.

"Indeed," Sheik deadpanned and thankfully saved him the embarrassment by not commenting further. She grasped his hand and helped him to his feet, and they meandered back in the direction of the market in a tense silence. Link stared fixedly at the cobblestones beneath their feet, still mortified that he had fallen into the trap so easily, even after Sheik had warned him not to trust the Gerudo. He couldn't imagine what she must think of him. And he couldn't for the life of him make his stupid blush go away. With any luck, he could blame it on a sunburn.

"Thanks," Link said awkwardly. "You know...for stopping her."

Sheik glanced at him sidelong and nodded. "Of course. It is my duty."

Nothing more was said for a moment.

"...hey, Sheik? What did she mean by 'I won't last five minutes'?"

"...if you don't know the answer to that, then I don't feel it is my place to tell you."

Chapter Text

Epona's hooves thundered against the earth in a frenzied staccato, kicking up clods of dirt in their wake until they reached the stone steps in the cliff and Link spurred her straight up at a gallop. At the top he threw himself out of the saddle so fast that he had to change the tumble into a clumsy roll to save his neck from being broken. Epona stamped her hoof irritably when he left her there, still sweating and carrying all her tack, and Link mentally winced at the well-deserved kick he would get for that later. But he didn't look back or even slow down from his sprint.

She was going to have to wait her turn. There was smoke billowing from Kakariko.

Link dashed around the corner and almost ran headlong into a screaming bunch of villagers running for their lives, holding fast to the hands of relatives or struggling to carry a few meager possessions. A floating skull wreathed in blue flames cackled madly as it chased the stragglers of the group, and Link shoved one of the villagers aside roughly so he could nock an arrow to his bow and fire it straight into the creature's empty eye socket. The skull shattered like it was made of glass, the blue fires petering out.

"Go!" Link shouted at the frightened people before he charged headlong into the village. There were even more of those fiery skulls all over the place, leaping over the rooftops and setting the dry thatch alight. It seemed like the entire village was burning, though most of the homes and shops were thankfully still standing. Most of the people had fled already, but a few brave souls were valiantly trying to contain the fires, even using the buckets of water to douse any skulls that came too close.

Link threw himself into the fray, shooting down skulls right and left, all the while wondering where they could possibly have come from. After Hyrule Castle had fallen seven years ago, Kakariko had become something of a safe haven for the refugees who had lost homes and families. The peaceful village had never had to deal with anything worse than a few keese or wolfos, and it enraged Link to see it like this. It was almost as bad as when he had returned to the Kokiri forest and found it infested with monsters.

A tremor made the ground shake beneath his feet. Link paused for a split second and automatically looked up at Death Mountain, but the volcano seemed quiescent. He heard a roof cave in somewhere and turned to see that the Shooting Gallery had nearly become a husk. And beyond the plumes of acrid smoke, Link spotted a group of people gathered around the well before the windmill. Impa was shouting herself hoarse as she directed the carpenters to hammer wooden boards over the well to seal it up. Sheik was there too, standing guard nearby and keeping any of the monsters from getting too close.

Link started to jog toward them. "Impa, Sheik! Hey, what's going on?"

He wasn't sure if they heard him at first because at that moment some unseen force caused the half-finished barrier over the well to explode upward, splintered wood flying in all directions. The carpenters all bellowed in alarm and fled, but Link was positive he saw one of the stout men get pulled directly into the well. Impa positioned herself before it in a battle-ready stance. Sheik hesitated when Impa said something to her, but a second barked command made her spin around and start to run toward him.

"Get back, Link!"

"What's happening?" Link said, bewildered when Sheik pushed him away. "Wait, what about Impa? She needs help—"

"We can do nothing!" Sheik said urgently. "Nothing except get ourselves killed trying to fight that thing. Let Impa take care of it!"

"Take care of what?"

Another tremor rocked the earth. Impa cried out suddenly and collapsed, struck down while they weren't watching and bleeding from a gash on the side of her head.

"Impa!" Sheik cried with such fear that it scared Link even more than seeing the elder Sheikah fall. Sheik took a single step toward her mentor...and both her feet left the ground. Link gaped in shock at the sight of her hovering high in the air above him, grappling with some invisible force that made the air around her shimmer. He backed up and raised his bow, but didn't dare to shoot in case he hit Sheik. He could only watch as the unseen monster jerked her back and forth until suddenly Sheik was hurled away and crashed into the ground with a pained cry.

"Sheik, no!" Link shouted and ran to her crumpled form. She groaned when he carefully turned her over, eyes glassy and unfocused, clutching her right arm which was bent at an unnatural angle. A shadow passed over them, and Link looked up quickly, following the shapeless blotch of darkness as it raced across the grass and paused near the entrance of the village. Was it going after the fleeing people?

"Hey, over here!" Link shouted and hurried into the center of the wide road. He shot his arrow wildly, and the shaft miraculously managed to pierce the monster, appearing to simply stop in midair and float there. Link sensed the monster turn toward him and dropped his bow to take out his sword and shield. "If it's a fight you want, then I'll give you one!"

"Link...no!" Sheik gasped behind him, stretching out a shaky hand. "You can't see it! You have to run! Link!"

Link braced himself as the shadow began to approach, shield raised to catch whatever attack was coming. He kept his eyes fixed on the embedded arrow as a point of reference, but then out of nowhere something else slammed into his left side and made him crash into the side of a house. But his eyes saw nothing, except for a second shadow on the ground swallowing up his own.

There are two of them!

Link swung his sword wildly at the space above the other shadow, but the thing had moved above him and now dropped onto his shoulders and shoved him to the ground. Link clawed at the grass futilely when what felt like a giant hand seized his calf and heaved him up, then began to smash him into the ground again and again, flinging him around like a rag doll. Each painful collision knocked the wind from him and piled bruises on top of bruises. Blood trickled from his mouth as he was lifted upside down in the air and simply dangled there like the monster was pondering what to do with him next. Link hung limp in its grasp, groaning and halfway beaten to death, his weapons slipping from slack fingers.

Without warning the monster tossed him away. He hit the ground and skidded painfully for several yards until his back collided with the lone tree standing before the village entrance. One of the invisible hands pinned him there, fat fingers enclosing his upper body and the trunk alike and squeezing until both the bark and his ribs cracked. Link gasped and struggled to free his trapped arms, searching wildly for his sword...

...which was suspended in the air before him. Link froze, nearly going cross-eyed at the sight of the blade pointing straight at his face. The Master Sword's hilt was glowing brightly, throwing off furious sparks like a firecracker, but even its evil-repelling aura could not force the monster to release it. Link flinched when the sword point trailed almost lovingly down the side of his face and then pressed to the hollow of his throat in a clear taunt, cold and sharp against his skin. A gruesome image flooded his mind of himself impaled and pinioned to the tree by his own weapon, and he couldn't be sure if that was his own imagination or something this monster was showing him.

The sword began to draw back slowly, poised like an arrow about to be released from a taut bowstring. Link swallowed hard, staring fixedly at the blade that he had wielded for so long, that had chosen him. "Don't do this," he whispered. "Don't...don't let yourself be used like this!"

The hilt flared brighter, audibly humming. Beyond the floating sword, Link could see Sheik staggering to her feet, but she was too far away and in too much pain to help. He squeezed his eyes shut when the Master Sword shot forth, aiming to take his heart. Excruciating pain cleaved his chest in two, and the last thing he heard before an explosion of blue and white drowned out everything was Sheik screaming his name.

Breathing was a torturous experience, and yet Link knew he should be glad to wake up still knowing how to breathe. It had certainly felt like he never would again. His lips pulled tight in a grimace as he passed a hand down his aching torso, feeling the rigid bandages holding together shattered ribs. Link raised his head to get a better look, morbidly admiring the massive bruise spreading outward from his sternum like a black and purple flower. But there was no blade sticking out of his chest, no gaping wound. Aside from his ribs and various other scrapes and bruises, he was perfectly fine. Perfectly alive.

Link turned his head wearily, his gaze falling on the Master Sword leaning against the side of the bed in its scabbard, and he gave it a wan smile. "Thanks for not killing me," he breathed.

A blue light pulsed once in the hilt, which he liked to think had been a wordless, You're welcome. Blinking, Link shifted his attention to the nightstand by the bed, which was covered in more bandages and empty potion bottles. A bitter taste in his mouth told him those vile concoctions had been forced down his throat as he slept. He didn't even have to guess as to who had done it. Too many times he had woken up in this exact same room in Impa's house, in much this same state and with two exasperated Sheikah as his nursemaids...

He drew a sharp breath before he could think better of it, causing the agony in his chest to spike. That was right...Sheik had been hurt, and so had Impa! Link propped his elbows beneath him and managed to raise himself up a little, but he paused when he heard voices beyond the closed door of the bedroom. The conversation had been muffled before, but the volume had now been raised to the point where it was hard to ignore. Link frowned. Sheik and Impa arguing? He would have sooner believed the moon was falling. Sheik never spoke of her mentor with anything but great respect, but she didn't sound so respectful now, more like torn between raging and pleading. But Impa's voice remained stern, and soon a slamming door brought an end to the dispute.

"Sheik?" Link called, and he was at once answered by hurried footsteps. The door of the bedroom opened, revealing Sheik, who had her arm strapped across her chest in a sling. "Are you okay?" he asked in concern.

"This is nothing," Sheik said, brushing off a broken arm like normal people would a papercut. "I should be asking you that! You almost took a sword to the chest!"

"Oh really, I didn't notice," Link snorted, but he stopped quickly when he was reminded of how much laughing hurt with broken ribs. He let his humor fade and turned to Sheik soberly. "What was that thing? Where did it come from? And how could it be strong enough to take us all down so fast?"

"If Impa had not been knocked out early on, we might have stood a better chance," Sheik said dourly. "She has been trained from childhood to see past such petty illusions as you and I cannot. I would guess that is why it attacked her first."

"And what is 'it' exactly?"

Sheik glanced aside with a troubled look in her eyes, sinking down to sit on the edge of the mattress. "It is a dark and disturbed spirit that was sealed beneath the well many generations ago. A monstrous being that feeds on suffering and pain. With so few Sheikah left now to maintain the seal, it seems to have gained the strength to break free. Thankfully, your sword's aura wounded it and forced it to retreat and hide itself, or else it might have gone on to attack other villages."

"So where is it now?" Link demanded, pushing himself upright with much wincing and teeth gritting. "If it's...ugh, oww...if it's not dead, then we have to finish it!"

"I know," Sheik said, and something in her bleak tone gave him pause. "It has taken up residence in the Sheikah temple beneath the Kakariko graveyard. Impa has gone alone to seal it again."

"Alone?" Link said in alarm. "She can't face that thing by herself! We need to go after her!"

"We cannot."

"But Sheik—"

"We cannot, Link!" Sheik snapped. A small tremor ran through her shoulders, and her hand resting on the mattress balled into a tight fist. "We are both injured...and as Impa was forced to remind me, we would stand even less chance than her without being able to see it."

Link stared at her, unable to process that Sheik was actually voting for the path of inaction for once. "But we can't just sit here..."

Sheik took a deep breath. "That is exactly what we must do. What we have been ordered to do, rather. We must stay here and recover, and also watch over the village in case of further attacks. Impa plans to hold vigil in the temple and keep the spirit contained for as long as it takes until you can join her there and slay it with the Master Sword."

Link stilled when he realized how familiar this was beginning to sound. A temple, and an evil being that could only be defeated with the Master Sword. A being that had been summoned by Ganondorf for the sole purpose of hunting down and killing those who were fated to save Hyrule, those who Link was tasked with seeking out and awakening.

"Impa...is she the next sage?"

Sheik nodded once. Link stared down at his hands lying in his lap, cursing inwardly. If he hadn't gone rushing in so recklessly and distracted them back at the well...but there was nothing he could do to fix that now. There was nothing he could do, period. Even with potions and healing fairies to speed his recovery, it would be weeks or even a month before he could follow Impa into the temple. And as long as he was in this state, Sheik would be forced to stay as well and take care of him instead of being by the side of her mentor.

"...she will be fine," Sheik said with a sureness that sounded forced. "She has been trained all her life for just this sort of battle. She knows the secrets of the temple better than anyone alive. She will be perfectly alright."

"Yeah," Link said, attempting to dispel his own worries. "Yeah, Impa's tough. She won't let some evil spirit thing take her down."

"That's right."

"Exactly."

They looked at each other, equally tense and uneasy. Link sighed hopelessly. "We're not very good at this," he muttered.

Sheik stood abruptly and started prowling anxious circles around the room, holding her wounded arm in what seemed an involuntary gesture. "I should have gone with her," she said fretfully. "I can still do some good with one arm! I could have helped her!"

"I'm sure she knows that," Link assured her, but he doubted she heard. "Impa probably just wants to make sure you're safe..."

Sheik rounded on him furiously. "If I wanted to be safe, I would not have endured years of training and hardship to become a Sheikah! I did not become her apprentice only to be cast aside like a helpless child!"

"We both kind of were helpless against that spirit."

"Speak for yourself, hero!"

"Hey, I hit it once," Link said in a peeved tone. He caught hold her hand to stop her pacing out of real concern she would start chucking knives at innocent walls soon. "Sheik, would you settle down already? Look, just go get me every potion you can get your hands on, and I'll chug 'em all down right this minute! Maybe I can set a record and get these bones healed in a couple days. Then we can go help Impa that much sooner."

Sheik only shook her head miserably. "That's not how it works, Link. You know that your body can only heal so fast."

"Yeah, but...it's all we can do right now," Link said, and he hated how inadequate his words felt. He wasn't used to this. Sheik was supposed to be the composed and rational one, not him.

Sheik looked out the window in the direction at the graveyard, then at him. "No, it isn't," she said shortly and strode out of the room. "I'm going after Impa. You stay here, Link! I'll get the local healer to look in on you while I'm gone."

"You're...hey, wait a minute!" Link said in sudden agitation. He shoved off the blankets and carefully swung his legs to the floor, biting his lip against a pathetic whimper when his ribs throbbed. "You're not going anywhere without me!"

"I'll be fine," Sheik called from the other room. "And you can't even walk in that state! You'll only get yourself killed!"

"Damn it, you're the one who said that only I can destroy that thing!" Link yelled back. He could still hear Sheik rummaging around in the main part of the house, probably gathering together weapons and supplies. At least she was going prepared, but the memory of her getting tossed around in the air spurred him to hurry. He couldn't exactly run after her, but he figured limping was good enough. Seizing the Master Sword as a temporary crutch, Link hobbled across the room one agonizing step at a time, his breaths coming short and wheezing. He reached the doorway after what seemed like years and leaned heavily on the frame, watching through spotty vision as Sheik dashed out the front door without looking back.

"W...Wait!" Link rasped and tried to go after her, but he gasped and clutched his chest when the pain suddenly increased tenfold, like having his lungs skewered by dozens of spikes. He crumpled to the floor, tasting blood in his mouth and struggling not to black out. "Sheik," he whispered.

"Goddesses, Link!"

His eyelids fluttered open, and Link smiled when Sheik's face swam into view leaning over him. "Oh good, you're back," he said in a feeble croak.

"Because I heard you fall down!" Sheik said crossly and ran her hand over his bandaged chest to check his ribs. "You can't move in this condition, you fool! You'll only cause yourself more damage!"

Link clutched her shoulder and managed to sit up and brace himself against the doorframe. "If that's...what it takes," he panted, fixing her with a look of resolution. "What...what makes you think I can...stay here when you're both in there? I won't do it, Sheik! If you go...then I have to follow. Even if I was tied up, I'd..."

"But you can't fight like this!"

"I could say the same of you!" Link said in frustration, waving at her arm. "Sheik, please. Impa wouldn't have left you here unless she really thought it was for the best. And...you know just like I do, we'd only get in the way like this. Is that what you want? To slow her down?"

He thought she would argue with him heatedly on that sore point, just as Link would if he were in her place. But Sheik faltered and looked at the door in longing. "But...she needs me," she said in an anguished voice. "I can't...what if something happens to her? She's all I have now! Link, she's all I..."

"It'll be okay," Link promised and pulled her into a tight embrace, despite how it pained him to have her cling to his midsection right now. "It'll be fine," he repeated softly in her ear. "Don't worry, we'll find her together. Just...just don't go without me. What would I do if you didn't come back? Promise you won't go until I can follow."

"Link..."

"Promise me!"

Sheik shuddered in his arms, and he could tell she was trying to think of a way around making that promise. "I'm supposed to shadow you, not the other way around," she muttered.

"Then stop trying so hard to be the hero," Link retorted and earned a weak chuckle from her. "And I still haven't heard that promise!"

Sheik fidgeted. Link touched her cheek and made her look him in the eye, unyielding. At last she sighed and bowed her head in defeat, eyes hollow. "Very well...it would serve no purpose for me to be there when that spirit cannot be defeated without the Master Sword. Impa would only scold me for abandoning my duty."

"And she would scold me for letting you do it," Link said with a relieved smile. He hugged her more strongly, trying as best he could to calm her shaking, and in silence he prayed for Impa to stay alive and not let herself be taken down. For Sheik's sake, if nothing else. If she was already in such a state of panic now, then he didn't want to think of how she would react if they got to the temple only to find they were too late to save her mentor...

No, we WON'T be too late, Link swore to himself and set his jaw stubbornly. He had to keep believing that. For now, no matter how bad he was at it, he had to be the resilient one and keep them both from falling apart.

Chapter Text

The sole blacksmith who resided in Kakariko carefully looked the weapon over, studying most closely the shattered handle and the misshapen lump of gray that had once been the head of a massive hammer. Link fidgeted as the seconds crawled by while Zelda merely gaped at the sight, aghast. She rounded on the hero. "You broke it?"

"Not...on purpose," Link said evasively.

"You broke the legendary hammer of the Gorons!"

"Not on purpose!" Link repeated. "I was only...okay, there's a really good story behind this..."

"You were smashing rocks with it again, weren't you?" Zelda accused.

"...I wanted to see what was under them," Link said in a small voice. He gave her a winning smile, which quickly wilted beneath her glare. "Why does it matter so much what I use my weapons for? The other day I used the Master Sword to cut my hair..."

Zelda was sorely tempted to throw up her hands. And he was supposed to be the Hero of Time! Turning away from the grown-up child, she addressed the blacksmith. "Can it be repaired?"

The blacksmith scratched at his tangled beard. "Well, I'll give it a shot...but I can tell just from a glance this is Goron craftsmanship. The way they work metal is completely different from us Hylians, and I doubt I can copy it exactly. If you want this hammer fully restored, you oughta take it up the mountain to Biggoron..."

"No, not the Gorons!" Link blurted out. "They can't know about this! Darunia said the Megaton Hammer is some kind of heirloom for his family. He told me to take care of it! He'll rip my arms off if he finds out I wrecked it!"

"Surely not," Zelda said, but even she was doubtful. The Gorons were a highly patriarchal society and placed great value in the passing on of traditions from father and son. Link had been adopted into the clan as Darunia's sworn brother, which allowed him to walk among the Gorons and be welcomed as a long-lost comrade. While they might not dismember him, they might very well disown him.

The blacksmith sighed and wrapped up the pieces of the hammer in the blanket it was laid out on. "Come back in a week," he told them and retreated into the back room where the forge was. "I'll see what I can do."

"A week?" Link whined as they turned for the door. "I can't believe I got myself stuck here for a whole week. I've got to get to the next temple! Ruto already went ahead of me, and I'm worried she might do something reckless..."

Zelda opened her mouth, planning to encourage him to use the time productively by resting and training with the Master Sword. But the words died in her throat when she stepped out of the blacksmith shop and nearly ran headlong into something very large and solid that was blocking her way. She couldn't tell exactly what it was at first, only that it was much bigger than her with a hide the color of deep chestnut, and it was very, very bad-tempered. Much like a certain dragon that Link had lately fought. The monster snorted its hot breath in her face and shrilled angrily, lunging forward and nearly head-butting Zelda in its quest to bite off her nose. Zelda cried out in fear and jumped back, ramming into the wall of the shop behind her, and she had a throwing dagger halfway out of its sheath by the time Link came between her and the monster. But rather than fighting it himself, he was laughing and reaching out his hands to embrace it.

"Epona, you bad girl, how did you get out of that corral? You know you're not allowed to walk around the village like this!"

Zelda gulped, taking another look at the scene before her and finally recognizing the creature for what it was. "That's...your horse?" she said weakly, her heart gradually slowing from its frantic rhythm.

"Yeah, this is Epona!" Link said and slung his arm over the mare like he was introducing a dear friend. "I got her from Lon Lon Ranch! Isn't she beautiful? I haven't ridden her that much yet since the trails up to Death Mountain and Zora's Domain are too rough for horses, but I've been thinking of taking her with me when I go to Lake Hylia. You know, since the journey is so long..."

"...oh, I see," Zelda said, several thoughts flitting through her head at once. The foremost being annoyance. With that mare at his disposal, Link would now be able to travel at a much quicker pace. She would have to purchase a horse herself or borrow one from Impa in order to keep up with him. And as to the second...Zelda nervously stepped away from the wall, but even though the mare seemed to have ceased its aggression and was currently nuzzling Link's hand like a kitten, she couldn't bring herself to move any nearer.

"Do you want to pet her, Sheik?"

"W-What?" Zelda said and was mortified when her voice came out as a squeak. Her trepidation was not in the least bit lessened when the mare peered past an oblivious Link and actually bared its teeth at her, ears laid back in a clear warning.

"I said you can pet her if you want to," Link said and tilted his head curiously at her ashen complexion. "What's wrong? Are you afraid of horses or something?"

That's not a horse, that's a guard dog! Zelda thought absurdly. She cleared her throat and made an effort to compose herself. "I...am merely more accustomed to being around tame horses."

"Epona is tame," Link said ingenuously, and he stifled a yelp when the mare in question nipped at his fingertips. He wrapped the bleeding digits up with the edge of his tunic and gave Zelda a sheepish look. "Well...sort of. But she's getting better! She used to be so wild that she'd try to trample anyone who came near her. I think I've gotten her past that, but she still gets antsy around strangers. I've got to keep a close eye on her to make sure she doesn't go around trying to attack random people."

Zelda's eyes widened at this very casual description of the mare's ferocity. And indeed, she could see other scars on his wrists and hands from previous bites that she had assumed were wounds gained in battle. "Why on earth did you buy her then, if she's such a hazard? It might be only a matter of time before she turns on you! You had much better sell her and get a different one..."

"No way!" Link said with surprising vehemence. Even the mare made a distressed little whicker, and Link wrapped his arms around her possessively. "It's...I didn't just buy her, I saved her. The manager at the ranch was having her trained so he could present her to Ganondorf. I couldn't let that happen! I've known Epona since she was a foal, ever since I first came to Hyrule as a kid. So I got him to lose a bet, and when he tried to weasel out of it, I took Epona and ran for it. I can't just give her to someone else! No one else would understand what she's been through!"

"What she's been through?" Zelda repeated, and she caught her breath when Link pointed mutely at the faded whip scars marring the beautiful chestnut coat. "I...I'm sorry, Link, I didn't realize..."

Link shook his head. "It's alright, don't worry about it. But come on, let's go back to Impa's house and I can tell you the whole story! I need to get this girl back into the corral anyway before she starts terrorizing the whole village."

A notion not entirely implausible, Zelda thought as she followed both hero and mare at a safe distance. Watching the two of them, Zelda was torn further between compassion and dread. It would have been one thing if Link merely felt responsible for the mare, but she could see so clearly the affection in his face, a warmth that softened his eyes and brought a gentle smile to his lips. He cared for that horse, and there was nothing Zelda could do to sever that bond. Nor did she want to, not when it made Link so happy.

But it still presented her with a dilemma. Just as Link was protective of his steed, Epona seemed equally jealous of her savior, even seeing Zelda as a threat that must be warned off. But Zelda could not afford to let this mare intimidate her. She had to stay close to Link, to guide and protect him, but performing her duty as a Sheikah would become a hassle if she had to constantly watch her back for those powerful hooves and sharp teeth.

There was only one thing for it then. Somehow in the week that was given to her, she also had to befriend this demon masquerading as a horse.

It was difficult at first to find the right opportunity. Link spent a great deal of time with Epona, grooming her, talking to her, even playing music for her. Basically doting on the mare in a way that would make any woman envious. Except for Zelda. She refused to acknowledge ever feeling such a petty emotion over a horse. She simply...did not approve of how the hero lavished his attention on his steed when he could spend his spare time on more practical pursuits. At least that was what she kept telling herself.

Her chance came early the next morning while most of the village was still asleep, including Link. Zelda stole quietly from Impa's house and made her way to the small corral that Epona was sharing with Anju's cuccos. The mare was dozing beneath the slanted roof attached to the wall of the house, covered with a warm blanket that Link had draped over her the night before. Zelda carefully stepped over the fence, taking a moment to just admire the mare. Epona's build was very different from the thoroughbreds she had learned to ride as a girl, being a bit stockier and more muscular. Bred for endurance and strength rather than speed and sleekness. If Zelda could have picked any horse for Link, it would have been one like her, who could follow him anywhere and not bat an eye at the difficult and perilous road he walked.

Now if only her personality did not so perfectly align with that tough exterior...

Nervously, Zelda turned the shiny red apple over in her hand, and when she had finally worked up the grit, she clicked her tongue. "Epona," she cajoled. "Look what I have for you..."

The mare flicked an ear in her direction, but that was it. At least Zelda had her attention. She crept forward with the peace offering held out and tried not to let her hands shake when one suspicious brown eye alighted on her. Her mind scrambled to remember all that Impa had said about how to approach strange horses. Do not corner them, do not speak sharply or act with haste. Meekness and patience did not come easily to a princess-turned-Sheikah, but still Zelda forced herself to stay at a respectful distance and only lure the mare to her with her voice and the promise of the apple.

For a moment, it seemed to be working. Epona gave a sleepy whinny and ambled into the open, circling the far side of the corral at a leisurely pace before facing Zelda head on. The mare snorted and stamped her front hoof in the grass. Zelda almost didn't realize her intention until it was too late. She gasped and ran for safety just as Epona charged, a massive wall of muscle and teeth coming right for her. Zelda threw herself headfirst over the corral fence and landed hard in the grass, hearing Epona skid to a halt behind her and trumpet in victory. With a final stomp of her hoof, Epona turned her back and marched proudly away.

"Exactly like a guard dog," Zelda muttered. She looked down at the useless apple in her hand, and in a fit of temper she hurled it at Epona. The apple thumped against her flank harmlessly and rolled away, but the mare still gave an indignant snort and whirled around. Zelda's blood ran cold at the intelligence and pure killing intent in those eyes. And looking at the flimsy fence between them, she suddenly remembered what Link had said about how easily Epona seemed to leap over any obstacle in her path...

"Oh gods!" Zelda exclaimed and scrambled up to flee at a dead sprint. Hooves pounded the earth, leaving the ground for a split second before they landed heavily, and then the mare was after her with a furious bray. Epona didn't stop chasing her all the way up until Zelda had reached the sanctuary of Impa's house and slammed the door behind her.

The second time, she tried a carrot. Perhaps the apple had been a poor choice, but Zelda didn't know a single horse alive that didn't like carrots. Having learned her lesson the first time, she stayed outside the corral and let the mare have her space. Epona hardly deigned to glance at her, but those sharp ears pricked up when Zelda snapped the carrot in half and offered one to her. The mare shifted her weight coyly, looking aside like she could care less.

Zelda sighed. "I suppose I'll have to eat it myself then," she said in unconcern and proceeded to do just that, taking a large bite and chomping down loudly. Epona made a deprived noise and ever so slowly began to sidle closer. Holding her breath, Zelda held out the carrot over the fence, and she cheered inside when Epona daintily plucked it from her hand and munched greedily. That half of the carrot was devoured in seconds, and Zelda showed the eager mare the other half, but kept it just out of her reach.

"Only if you promise not to bite me!"

Epona hung back, her attention fixated on the remaining carrot in longing, but reaching it would require putting her head over the fence and within range of Zelda. She bleated and stamped her hoof, but Zelda held her ground, and soon the temptation of the carrot became too great. Epona cautiously stretched out her long neck, straining for the treat. Zelda let her have it, heart thumping in excitement when she laid a tentative hand on the mare's brow. It was much harder to be afraid of her now that she was close enough to feel the warmth and softness of that chestnut hide.

"I think I've begun to see why Link cares for you," Zelda murmured and raised her eyes to the window in the upper floor of Impa's house where the hero in question should be sleeping. She frowned under her veil. Had the curtain just twitched?

Epona nosed her palm, and finding no more carrots, the mare rudely clamped her teeth on the cloth bindings that kept Zelda's hair wrapped up, snagging quite a few of the flaxen strands in the process. Zelda shrieked at the pain in her scalp, tears springing to her eyes. Quickly, she drew her dagger and sliced off the bandages along with a fistful of her hair, leaving them at the mercy of Epona's teeth while Zelda retreated and prodded at the damage. The missing chunk of hair would grow back eventually, but what was left was badly frayed, and she shuddered at the sensation of horse saliva and bits of mushy carrot all over her scalp.

"What have I done to deserve this treatment from you?" Zelda snapped, railing at the horse that was now giving her a perfectly bland stare like a cow. "What kind of pointless grudge do you have against me? Or did you try to eat Link's hair too when you first met him? He must have the patience of a saint to put up with you!"

Epona moved closer to the fence so that her nose was only inches from Zelda's face, eyeing her closely. Zelda stayed utterly still, refusing to be daunted, but nothing could have prepared her for the sudden sneeze or the glob of horse snot that splattered all over her face.

"Eugh!" Zelda cried in disgust and tried in vain to scrub her eyes clean of mucus. She didn't even want to think of how much worse it would have been if she hadn't been wearing a mask over her mouth and nose. With as much dignity as she could muster, Zelda turned and stalked away to seek the nearest bath, muttering vile things under her breath.

"Like it or not, horse, you and I are going to learn how to get along!"

A flippant snort from the corral told her that Epona seriously doubted this.

Zelda was not defeated yet. She still had one last trick up her sleeve to win the mare's favor, which she set into motion the very next morning. When Epona stepped out of her shelter, she seemed very puzzled to see no Sheikah waiting for her. Or rather no Sheikah in sight. Zelda had perched herself on top of the slanting roof above the corral where Epona would not immediately notice her. The mare swiveled her head from side to side, searching the immediate surroundings, and her head seemed to droop a tiny bit in disappointment.

But then Epona spotted the bucket full of oats left incongruously at the base of the fence and forgot all about her absent visitor. The mare sniffed the bucket over and must have caught Zelda's scent because she backed up an uncertain step, took one last look around and only then plunged her nose into the bucket. The mare munched her way steadily through the oats, her head slowly disappearing deeper into the bucket until only her ears were visible.

Nearly there, Zelda thought, and she chuckled when Epona's head jerked up. The mare made an inquiring noise, nostrils flaring, and stuck her head back into the bucket, even going so far as to lick the bottom and sides when the oats were gone. Not finding what she was seeking, Epona knocked it over and started snuffling at the ground.

"Like what you taste?" Zelda said smugly. Epona raised her head, and her ears went back when Zelda held out a second lump of sugar in her palm where the mare plainly could not reach it. "I doubt Link has given you anything like this. If you want more, I can come down and give you another...but only if we lay down some ground rules first."

Her words may not have been understandable, but her tone was. Epona gave an irritable grumble, and Zelda snorted. "You are more than intelligent enough to understand what I'm getting at. I am not Link, and I will not stand for being kicked, bitten, trampled on, spit on or any other number of creative ways you can come up with to torment me!"

Epona scuffed her hoof on the grass. From her body language, she seemed to understand that she had been behaving badly, but it was hard to tell if she was actually repentant or just really wanted the sugar. Cautiously, Zelda slid to the edge of the roof and dropped down, but kept the sugar lump firmly clenched in her fist behind her back. The mare whinnied impatiently and bumped Zelda with her forehead hard enough to make her stagger.

"Oh no, you don't!" Zelda said, neatly sidestepping when Epona tried to go around her to get the treat. "Not until you show me we can have a civil interaction! We can either continue on as we always have, dancing around each other...or we can learn to accept one another, and you can have all the sugar you want. Either way, just remember that I'm not going anywhere no matter what you do about it. I will not have you chasing me off every time I am in Link's presence!"

They studied one another, locked in a silent contest of wills. But gradually Epona's ears rose so they were no longer pressed flat against her skull.

"We both want the same thing," Zelda said quietly, bringing the sugar into the open. "We both want to protect him, to be by his side. Can we not learn to share?"

One brown eye blinked at her thoughtfully. It was difficult to tell if that was agreement or not, but when she touched a hand to the mare's head, Epona leaned into it like she did with Link. Satisfied, Zelda gave her the second lump of sugar, still stroking her fingers through the silken white mane. And this time Epona permitted the treatment even after the treat was gone. Perhaps there was hope after all.

"Hey, you guys are getting along now!"

Epona perked her ears up at Link's voice and bustled past Zelda roughly, welcoming the hero into the corral with much prancing and simpering. Link gave her a loving pat, beaming as he looked from the mare to Zelda. "This is great, I'm so glad you two got to be friends! I was kind of worried Epona would keep trying to bite your nose off like that first time."

"I suppose she has just taken a liking to me," Zelda said and furtively dusted the traces of sugar off her hand. She was going to need a lot more of those treats.

Link shot her a sidelong look, his smile becoming a smirk. "Taken a liking, huh?"

"Yes," Zelda said, wary at his tone. "And what exactly is that look for?"

"No reason," Link said and passed her a curry comb over Epona's back, keeping a second one for himself. Zelda took it in silence, surprised and touched that he was including her in this morning ritual ordinarily reserved for just him and Epona. The mare sighed in contentment when two sets of hands started to groom her on either side, her brown eyes becoming hazy and blissful. Zelda smiled under her veil and reminded herself to keep a comb on her as well as the sugar lumps.

"By the way," Link remarked loftily, "I could have told you she doesn't like apples. Just the red ones though. She'll eat the green ones if there's nothing else around."

Zelda dropped her comb. "What?" she sputtered. "You knew I was...?"

Link snickered. "Well, it's not like I would leave a red apple in the corral! I thought at first somebody was trying to steal her from me so I got up early yesterday and watched out the window when you came with the carrot. How's your hair, by the way? Epona didn't mess it up too badly, did she?"

"You...saw that?" Zelda said, mortified when she realized that curtain twitch had not been her imagination after all.

"Sheik," Link said, reaching over the horse between them to touch her arm. "I'm not mad. I'm...I'm happy. Epona means a lot to me so it makes me happy that you tried so hard."

"W-Well, I only," Zelda stammered, and found herself completely unable to speak coherently when he was looking at her like that. With that same gentle smile and soft eyes that made her heart melt into a puddle. What had happened to the dignified self-assurance she normally possessed in the guise of Sheik?

But the moment passed when that smile split into a huge grin. "But, oh gods! When Epona sneezed in your face! I've never laughed so hard in my life!"

Flushing deeply, Zelda drew herself up. "Oh, and I suppose you would have been perfectly composed were you in my place?"

"Been there, done that," Link said with a wave of his hand. "When we were camping out in the fields this one time, Epona didn't like that I was sleeping in and decided to wake me up by slobbering all over my head and then dragging me to the nearest stream by my tunic. It took two weeks to get the smell out of my clothes."

"Duly noted," Zelda said sourly. She had already despaired of ever having her hair smell completely clean again. "Remind me again why we are treating her so nicely when she treats us so poorly?"

Link cast the mare a fond smile. "Just...because."

Epona turned her head to look back at her master, nipping at his elbow to remind him that he was supposed to be grooming her. Zelda picked up her own comb and returned to the task as well, finding a sort of peace in the simple act of caring for another living being. Just because, she thought and supposed that was just as good a reason as any.

"So do you want to try riding her next?" Link inquired with a playful gleam in his eye.

"Gods, no!" Zelda yelped, and Epona tossed her head in emphatic agreement.

Chapter Text

It had been a long time since Impa had been forced to deal with this kind of stress. Decades, in fact. The years of peace had made her weak. Reflexes once swift and unfailing had become sluggish, honed muscles deteriorating, her body slowing down in its advanced age. If her eyes and ears had been just a little bit sharper, if she had been paying just a little more attention, perhaps she would have seen it coming. She would have noticed how many of the castle guards had been bribed to stay out of the way, to do nothing when the Gerudo assassins drew their knives. If Impa had just been a little faster, she could have gotten between them and her king and perhaps saved him from being stabbed a dozen times over, dead before he hit the floor of the banquet hall, all the guests and diplomats caught by surprise before they, too, became victims to the slaughter.

At the very least she could have shielded Zelda's eyes from the death of her father. But that had been the very last thing on her mind when Impa seized the screaming princess and fled through a hidden door behind a tapestry. Ganondorf anticipated that and placed Gerudo warriors at every single window and door that could have conceivably offered an escape route from the castle. But not for nothing were the Sheikah known as the shadow folk. Those Gerudo she could not elude, Impa eliminated, slitting throats and snapping necks from behind, their dying moments so quick that many times they never had time to draw a final breath.

Zelda did not protest their deaths, but she looked away from every one. She had never met this brutal and callous side of her beloved guardian, and it frightened her. But even though she flinched when Impa carried her with arms steeped to the elbows in blood, she did not scream again. Her young face was pale, eyes haunted, but Impa could tell she was trying to harden her heart to the horrors all around her.

And Impa swore to the depths of her soul that Ganondorf would pay for what he had done to this child.

Impa heaved a sigh and leaned her head back on the grungy wall, arms wrapped loosely around her knees and still holding a dagger in a slack grip. Zelda lay beside her, swaddled up in blankets against the dirt and the chill of the dungeon, her dress smudged and blood-stained. Impa had worried she would not sleep after such a traumatizing experience, but after a long, long night spent on the back of a galloping horse, Zelda had been too tired even for tears. Impa longed to collapse as well, but knew it would be no use when her instincts were still keyed up and expecting an attack.

But that was unlikely. Ganondorf would not find them here. Although Impa had made no secret of having a house in Kakariko, there were very few who knew of the forgotten dungeon beneath the well, which was an extension of the Shadow Temple under the graveyard. The dark and obscure rooms would serve as a temporary safe house until Impa could decide on their next course of action.

Her cynical side chuckled. You know very well there is only one course of action. Flee. Take her over the mountains or beyond the forest to the outside kingdoms. Change your names and find new lives. Keep her and the Triforce she carries safe at all costs.

It was the only logical choice, but her Sheikah blood still burned hot and furious at the thought of running away. If only...no, that was not an option. No matter how attractive she found the notion, attempting to sneak back into the castle and assassinate Ganondorf would only end in disaster. She was not the skilled cutthroat she had been in her youth. And she could not leave Zelda alone, not even for a moment. Not now. Not when Impa had come so close to losing her.

My child. Those words were the first to cross Impa's mind as she looked down on the sleeping girl. A tightness came to her throat, an instinctive need to curl up around that small form and hold her close and safe. Zelda was entirely her responsibility now as she had not been before. She was all alone in this world. Impa was almost dismayed by the task before her, the duty of somehow being not only a protector but a mother as well. What on earth was she meant to do? How could she possibly see Zelda through this without letting her compassionate heart become full of bitterness and hatred?

"I'm not leaving."

The rasping whisper faintly echoed from the dank walls. Impa looked down at Zelda, seeing azure eyes now open and staring at nothing. Not completely vacant as Impa had feared, but still shuttered and rooted in deep shock.

"We have no choice, child," Impa murmured. "You are a princess no more. This kingdom belongs to Ganondorf. We have no hope of reclaiming it, nor can we stay when you know he will be hunting you for as long as he lives. Which could very well be forever now."

Zelda shuddered, biting her lip. Her left hand rubbed the back of her right almost compulsively. "But we have..."

"You know it will take years before you can fully grasp the power you have been granted," Impa reminded her. "And his power will only grow with time as well. You are strong in mind and spirit, but that is not enough. You and I alone cannot have a hope of standing against him."

"But...but my people," Zelda said in a feeble voice, her tears spilling over. "I can't just leave them. I'm their princess! I'm supposed to protect them, aren't I?"

Impa rested her hand on the crown of her head. Just as she had so many times when Zelda had nightmares of Hyrule burning and her people suffering. If only they had known. "They will survive. They will endure and protect each other, and those that can will flee. We will have enough on our hands only trying to keep ourselves hidden until we are out of the kingdom."

Zelda shot upright, glaring in fury. "I won't go without Link!"

"He is dead!" Impa said harshly, and she immediately regretted it when Zelda recoiled with a stricken look. "Ganondorf chose to strike only after we received word that Link had claimed the last Spiritual Stone, and he ceased to pursue us almost immediately after we rode past Link outside of Castle Town. Somehow, he knew Link had the keys to the Sacred Realm and was thus the true target. Do you honestly believe he would have allowed that boy to live once he had all he needed? And even if Link has escaped...what difference could it make? He is only a child even as you are."

Zelda shrank back against the wall, clutching the blankets close, weeping in silence. And for the first time, Impa had no idea what words could possibly comfort her. Always Zelda had trusted in the goddesses and the visions they granted her, but now those visions had failed to manifest as reality. The future was grim, and if Impa herself was having trouble accepting it, then she could only imagine how Zelda was faring.

Unable to stand the feeling of uselessness, Impa stood and dusted off the dirt on her clothes. "Stay here and wait for me. I must retrieve a few things, and then we will leave this place."

Zelda opened her mouth and shut it again quickly, her lips pressed tight and saying nothing. Impa hesitated at the door, understanding that look in her eyes. She had only lately seen her father and her kingdom stolen away before her eyes. She feared to lose the last thing she had left.

"I won't be long," Impa promised and shut the door firmly behind her. The corridors were flooded at ankle height, and her steps sloshed in the foul water. The pitch darkness and deadly traps and illusions yielded to her red eyes, the monsters that guarded Sheikah secrets at once retreating to their lairs, acknowledging her heritage and her right to be here. At the edge of a deep pool, Impa took a deep breath and plunged into its depths, swimming through a hidden tunnel that took her to a secret room. The barren chamber was nearly pitch black, the torches extinguished, but Impa could just make out the pallid hands spaced in a large circle, their spindly arms appearing to grow straight out of the floor.

Holding her head high, Impa walked into the circle without fear. Two of the hands jerked spasmodically and lunged for her...then halted inches from her face. Respectfully, the hands withdrew and were sucked back into the earthen floor in a spray of dirt. All that remained was an unadorned chest in the very center, which contained the two most ancient artifacts of the Sheikah passed down for generation upon generation since the dawn of their race.

Impa raised the lid, rusted hinges and rotting wood protesting noisily. The two objects inside were still pristine despite the state of their container. The Lens of Truth, which bestowed on its wielder the Sheikah skill of seeing the truth, and the golden lyre that was said to have been a gift from the goddesses themselves. Neither of these objects belonged solely to her, and yet Impa considered them the most valuable things in her possession. There was nothing in her house that could not be replaced, but these Impa would not leave behind. Even if there was no one else to pass them on to.

She stowed the Lens in a pouch on her belt, and taking the lyre in hand, she left the chamber. But Impa froze at the edge of the pool, astonished to see that the water had mysteriously vanished. The sides and bottom of the pool were still damp. Impa dropped down and hurried through the tunnel as quickly as she could, fearing for Zelda if there should be an intruder. Once back in the main corridors, Impa located the source of the disturbance by a distant and pained cry that sounded like a child. Her aging heart almost gave out. Zelda could not have tried to follow her, could she? She should have known better than to leave the girl alone.

But it soon became apparent by the metallic scrape of a sword being drawn that it wasn't Zelda. A clicking sound like nails across the stone reached her ears, followed by a heavy thump, and Impa darted around the corner only to see the corpse of a Wallmaster lying on its back in the empty canal, fingers curled around itself like a dead spider. And beyond the Wallmaster was a young boy with a drawn sword in his hand, leaning hard against the wall and currently being violently sick all over the floor. The pallid light of a fairy illuminated his face clearly, and Impa caught her breath.

He's alive!

Link wiped his mouth with a shaking hand, shuddering when he glanced back at the severed hand that must have come close to crushing him in its grip. His green tunic was stained with dark splotches of monster blood. Pushing away from the wall, the boy staggered down the corridor. He didn't seem to be injured, but his slim shoulders were tense, every little sound making him flinch and shrink away from the shadows. Impa had never seen him so timid and lacking in the courage that had carried him through so many obstacles. What had happened to put him in this state?

"Danger...below?" Link whispered, uncomprehending as he stared at the grisly visage on the wall and the runes beside them. A barefaced warning that Impa's ancestors must have found quite humorous and mocking as—to the ordinary eye—there was nothing to be seen but a perfectly solid floor. But Link could not see the deep pit that he was only a step from falling into. Impa rushed forward.

"Stop, Link!"

Link jumped at her echoing words, half turning, and his foot slipped off the edge. His sword clattered to the floor as he clawed wildly at the stone, only just snatching his legs back from the yawning darkness. He raised his head, eyes straining to see in the darkness, but they at once honed in on Impa and the instrument she carried. He gasped.

"Sheik!" Link cried in relief, and to her surprise he threw his arms around her waist and squeezed tight. "Sheik, you're here, you followed me! I'm so glad to see you! How did you get here? I thought you said only I could use the sword to return to this timeline—"

"Child, what are you talking about?" Impa said over his babbling.

Link finally craned his head back to look up at her with perfectly childlike confusion. "Oh...Impa? What are you doing here?"

"I would very much like to ask you that," Impa said and gripped his shoulder to hold him at arm's length. The last she had seen of him, Link had been just outside of Castle Town as she and Zelda made their escape. She had feared the worst, and yet here he was right in front of her. "How did you escape from Ganondorf? And how in the name of the goddesses did you find this place? Only my people know where the entrance is."

"Oh, you mean that fake wall I had to walk through?" Link said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder, and he smiled at her stunned reaction. "That was easy, Sheik told me all about it! That's a pretty cool trick! If she hadn't warned me, I never would have guessed it was there. I just wish she'd told me about that giant hand too. That was gross, the way it started walking around by itself..."

"Who is Sheik?" Impa demanded, her ire rising at the brazenness of this person for taking a name that so resembled Sheikah. She scanned the corridor up and down feverishly, paranoid as she had not been in years, half expecting the mysterious individual to appear before her eyes. "Are you alone here? You were not followed or led here by anyone?"

"No, I came by myself," Link said in puzzlement. "And what do you mean who's Sheik? You know who she is. She's your apprentice!"

"I do not have an apprentice, Link!" Impa said hotly. "I know no one by that name, and I would never tell a soul outside my bloodline of this place! Whoever it is you speak of, they cannot be trusted!"

Contrary to the shock and fear she expected this to inspire, Link only continued to look stumped by her reaction. But then he chuckled and slapped a palm to his forehead. "Oh, that's right...I forgot it's seven years ago now. You probably haven't met her yet!"

Seeing that her frown was more bewildered than ever, Link took her hand like a parent would a child and had her sit down on the cold stone while he seated himself cross-legged across from her. And he began to tell her. At first his story made perfect sense. After finding the ocarina that Zelda had thrown to him, Link had gone at once to the Temple of Time in the hopes of claiming the Triforce before Ganondorf. But as Impa had already surmised, Ganondorf had guessed his intentions and followed him there.

"I thought it was all over," Link said in a bleak voice, his gaze now fallen to his hands as he recounted how he had seen Ganondorf take the Triforce. "I was sure he would kill me right there, and all I could think about was how useless I'd been. How I played right into his hands all along. I wanted so badly to just have one more chance to make things right. And I think the goddesses heard me because the next thing I knew..."

And here his story took a turn for the impossible. Impa listened with growing incredulity as he described awakening seven years in the future, fully grown to adulthood and faced with the task of freeing a dying kingdom from Ganondorf's clutches. The Hyrule he described to an intent Impa was dreadfully close to her own half-formed fears, a realm beset with misfortune and calamity. Castle Town decimated, Death Mountain erupting, Lake Hylia desiccated, and her own Kakariko village swollen with refugees.

"...and I'm so glad Sheik was there because otherwise I wouldn't have even known where to start! But once she explained what I had to do, it wasn't all that hard. I just had to find these certain people who could become sages and use their power to help me make everything the way it was. My best friend, Saria, is one of them, and so are Darunia and Ruto..."

"But how did this Sheik know to tell you of all this?" Impa said, eyes narrowed. "The legend of the sages is a secret just as closely guarded as the keys to the Sacred Realm. It was meant as a safeguard should the Triforce fall into evil hands, as only the goddesses themselves or their chosen hero could decree who would fulfill those roles."

"Oh, well I just assumed you and Zelda told her about the sages," Link said, waving this aside. Impa scowled further as she listened to the rest of the story, of his travels and accomplishments, and it did not escape her attention that every other word out of the boy's mouth was Sheik. Sheik had told him this, Sheik had helped him in this way. She was his guide and protector, and supposedly Impa's apprentice in this distance future. Although Impa could not imagine herself ever taking on an apprentice under any circumstances. Aside from the fact that there simply were no Sheikah left to train, she had Zelda to consider. She could never afford to have her attention so divided. Unless...unless Zelda simply wasn't there for her to look after, a thought which terrified the normally unshakeable Sheikah.

"Link," Impa interrupted sharply, "in this future you speak of, do you know what has become of the princess?"

"I don't know," Link said sadly, and Impa almost couldn't breathe, cold with horror. "You and Sheik won't tell me anything about her. You both say it's to keep her safe...but don't worry, I know she's okay! It's hard to describe, but it's like I can sense it. I just know she's close and safe. Sometimes it almost feels like she's watching me from wherever she is..."

"I see," Impa said without inflection. Her eyes slid past Link to the young girl peering around the corner, who had been there almost from the start of the conversation. She could tell from the look of joy and yearning on Zelda's face that she wanted to rush out and greet Link and perhaps ask some questions of her own. But Impa held her gaze and made sure Zelda understood that she must stay out of sight. As thrilled as the two children would be to see one another, Impa doubted Link would be very interested in answering her questions after that, and she needed all the answers she could get.

"You do believe me, don't you Impa?" Link asked her finally.

Impa thought carefully before she answered. "My heart wants to. As desolate as that future seems, at least there seems to be some hope for restoring the balance to this world. But without any further proof than your word, I have a difficult time truly believing all of this will come to be."

Link bit his lip, thinking for a moment, and Impa was struck by the maturity of that. He was normally such an excitable and earnest child, rarely considering the consequences before he acted on what his heart felt. It was the level-headed reasoning of an adult and not something one could simply gain overnight. Then an idea seemed to come, and Link reached up to tug his green tunic over his head. Impa's eyes widened, and Zelda's gasp was swallowed up in the rustle of cloth.

Scars. So many scars marring his chest and back. There was hardly an inch of skin that was unblemished. Impa hardly knew where to look first as Link calmly pointed at each one and described how he had obtained them. Great swathes of flesh that had been burned by Volvagia's fire, scratches from the blades of Lizalfos and Iron Knuckles, punctures from the fangs of wolfos and Deku babas. He showed her his hands, which were callused like a warrior's, and in the center of his right palm was a star-shaped blotch of reddened skin that was only newly healed, showing where a knife had gone straight through his hand.

"Sheik was aiming for the monster behind me," Link said ruefully, tracing that one with a fond quirk to his lips. "I just put my hand in the way at the wrong time. She felt really bad about it and kept acting like it was all her fault, but it's not like she knew it would happen. Nobody knew that thing was going to come out of the well in Kakariko. It all happened so fast..."

"And you could not see the creature at all?" Impa said slowly, holding his small hand in both of her own, thumbs tracing the scar.

"No, all I saw was the shadow," Link said, his hand twitching like she was tickling him. "Do you know what it is, Impa?"

Impa shut her eyes with a leaden feeling in her gut. "A monstrosity from a forgotten time," she murmured and shook her head when Link would have asked her more. "I cannot tell you more because even I do not fully understand it or its origins. I must look through the tomes left by my ancestors and see if I can uncover...but tell me, was this monster defeated?"

"Not yet," Link said as he pulled his tunic back on. "I got knocked out during the attack, and when I came around it was already gone. Sheik said you chased it back to the temple in the graveyard, but she wouldn't let me go after you yet. She said I needed something called the Lens of Truth. Oh yeah, that's why I'm here, Impa! Sheik said the Lens was stolen from the well years ago...or it will be stolen soon, and I had to use the Master Sword to return to a time before it was stolen and see if I could find it. Or something like that. It was kind of confusing the way she explained it."

"Yes, I can imagine," Impa said with a bit of disgruntlement and dearly wished she could go to this nebulous future and shake some more definite answers out of her older self. It was exceedingly frustrating to have this secondhand glimpse of the future and no notion as to the reasons behind her own actions. Such as why she would trust a complete stranger with so many Sheikah secrets. And it had occurred to Impa that now that she knew of all this, she would certainly be on the lookout for this woman who would become her apprentice, so that she could train her and eventually send her to protect Link, and then Sheik in turn would send him to the past to start the sequence of events all over again...was this what they meant by time being an endless loop? Where did the sequence begin? Or was there even a beginning?

Deciding that pondering it would only give her a migraine, Impa took the Lens out of the pouch on her belt and held it out to the boy. "Since the future has clearly been decided, I suppose I must trust you to take care of it. Be very careful not to misplace it! It is an important artifact of my people!"

"I will be careful!" Link promised and took the Lens in reverent hands. He examined every inch of it with triumphant eyes, but then his smile faltered. "Wait a minute...if I take it now, then that means in seven years the Lens won't be in the well because I already took it. So does that mean it's basically my own fault that I had to go back in time for it?"

"It would seem that way," Impa said, amused by his dismayed look. "But at least my mind can rest easy knowing it was not stolen after all."

Link pursed his lips in annoyance. "Maybe I should just leave it here, and then I wouldn't have to come back in time at all. Maybe I can just come here again as an adult and get it!"

"No," Impa said firmly. "The fact that the Lens was already gone in the future means you have already claimed it from the past, and trying to alter the course of events could have dangerous repercussions. And in any case, I do not feel comfortable with leaving it here for the next seven years when it can just as easily be in your hands."

"I guess," Link said as he tucked the Lens safely into his tunic, but he still did not seem entirely satisfied. "I just...I really don't like being a kid again. I was really strong as an adult. I had the Master Sword, and I could actually do things like ride a horse and fight a dragon and all the stuff that heroes can do! I don't feel anything like a hero right now. And...I really miss Sheik too. I got so used to having her there all the time, and it's kind of scary to know she won't jump in and help me if I mess up."

"Is that why you were so glad to see me earlier? Because you thought I was her?"

Link nodded. "It was because of the lyre, I think. She always carries that around with her. It's actually weird to see you carrying it for once."

"Hmm," Impa mused and unconsciously held the lyre a little closer. The instrument was precious to her people even more so than the Lens, rarely played except at certain rituals and only by the most gifted Sheikah musicians. She herself had fond childhood memories of listening to its music. Impa had had vague thoughts of giving the instrument to Zelda to replace the ocarina, and she could not fathom anyone else earning that privilege and superseding the princess who would always be first in her heart.

Zelda...

I just know she's close and safe. Sometimes it almost feels like she's watching me from wherever she is...

I'm so glad Sheik was there or I wouldn't have known where to start!

But how did this Sheik know to tell you of all this?

Oh, well I just assumed you and Zelda told her about the sages...

"Child," Impa said carefully, controlling her voice so as to not give away the sudden and breathtaking suspicion. "Can you tell me what Sheik looks like?"

Link seemed taken aback by the question, and a bashful smile graced his features along with a hint of a blush. "Um...well, she's got blond hair like Zelda and red eyes like you, but that's all I know. She always wears a mask so I've never seen her face. I don't know how you'll meet her or where she comes from or...anything really."

"And yet you trust her?"

"With my life," Link said with not a trace of hesitation, and it made Impa smile. He and Zelda had just as easily and effortlessly put their faith in each other only moments after meeting face to face. And she had an inexplicable feeling that it could not be a coincidence. She rested a palm on the crown of his head briefly and stood up again.

"You had better be returning to your own time then. Now that I know of my future, I must do all I can to prepare for it. And...I suppose if all goes well, I will see you again in seven years."

"Right," Link said and also rose. From his tunic he pulled out the Ocarina of Time, beaming at Impa's curiosity. "Sheik taught me a song that will take me right back to the Temple of Time. So I won't have to walk all that way!"

"Ah," Impa said and made a mental note to see if she could uncover any songs like that in her ancestors' tomes.

Link shifted his weight from foot to foot, fingering the ocarina but not playing quite yet. "Um...Impa?" he said and fixed her with a hopeful and pleading look that would have melted the hardest of hearts. "Is it alright if I see Zelda before I go? Please? I really miss her, and I want to tell her about all this!"

Impa almost relented. Almost. But when she glanced past Link at the princess in question, Zelda ducked back until the wall fully hid her from view. It was strange to see her so reluctant now when earlier she had been so willing to come into the open, but Impa respected her wish and regretfully shook her head. "I'm afraid I have already taken her away from here. But you can be assured she is safe and well."

Link drooped. "That's what you always say," he said in disappointment.

Impa chuckled. "I can't speak for my future self, but I'm sure she has her reasons just as I do."

"Yeah," Link said without enthusiasm, but when he raised his head he managed to dredge up a smile from somewhere. "Yeah, I know you do. And don't worry, I'm going to save you from that monster as soon as I get back!"

"Just don't act recklessly," Impa cautioned him, but Link had already lifted the ocarina and played a brief and enchanting tune that sounded almost like a hymn. In a flash of golden light, he was gone. Impa sighed inwardly at his haste. If he had waited a moment longer, she could have told him exactly what route to take through the temple and how to avoid the traps set by her ancestors. But she supposed he would figure it out. He had the Lens, after all.

Zelda was sitting against the wall when Impa came around the corner, arms wrapped around her knees. A myriad of emotions was evident on her face, but the foremost seemed to be a cautious relief, which was worlds better than the numbness that had gripped the girl earlier.

"It seems we won't be leaving Hyrule after all," Impa said softly. "Although we have many years of waiting ahead of us."

"It will be worth the wait," Zelda said with a tiny smile. But her eyes darkened just slightly when she looked at the lyre in Impa's hands. "So you're going to get an apprentice. That's...wonderful, Impa. I'm happy for you."

You don't look it, child, Impa thought to herself. To anyone else it would not have been obvious, but Impa had known her since infancy and could very easily see the envy and loneliness Zelda was trying so hard to mask.

"Zelda..."

"He really seems to like her, doesn't he?" Zelda went on in a faltering voice. She turned her head away to hide welling tears. "I-I guess that's a good thing, right? He has so much on his shoulders...he should have someone with him who understands and can do something to help. I wonder when we'll get to meet her..."

"I believe we already have," Impa said, and she leaned over and placed the lyre in her small hands. Zelda touched the strings, puzzled at first, but then she gasped and looked at Impa quickly.

"But...no, I couldn't possibly be!"

"You already are," Impa told her. "At least in Link's eyes, you are."

"But that Sheik he talked about was someone completely different!" Zelda said miserably, clutching the harp and appearing far younger than her true age. "She was...so strong and so brave. I'm nothing like that, Impa. How could I become that person?"

"We have seven years to figure that out," Impa said with conviction. "It will not be an easy road. But if you truly desire it, you can become that person, just as Link was able to become a hero. But know that if you choose this, then I will expect you to become my apprentice in truth and not merely name. I will not tolerate excuses or complaints, and I will expect you to work hard every single day no matter how tired or discouraged you feel. And...I ask you to give me your absolute trust, as student to teacher, and obey as well as learn. Can you do all of this, child?"

Zelda didn't answer at first, seeming torn by the difficult decision before her. A life in exile, knowing she had left her kingdom in the hands of a tyrant, or a life of secrecy and arduous training, preparing for the distant day when she would aid Link in taking that kingdom back. Even Impa had her doubts that Zelda could truly become the Sheikah that Link had described. But still, the girl had always had a way of surprising her and exceeding her expectations. And Zelda did just that now. Her eyes became fierce and determined, her chin set stubbornly, and Zelda rose to her feet, then knelt before Impa in humble deference.

"Yes teacher, I can. I will not fail you!"

Impa smiled tenderly at her young charge, a feeling of absolute rightness overtaking her. A feeling of duty, of purpose. And quite suddenly, Impa realized she now had the answer to the prayers she had not thought to voice. As long as she and Zelda had each other, as long as they had this goal, they could blaze forward into the murky future without faltering. And Impa no longer needed to worry for the state of Zelda's heart, now that they had a way to fight back against the one who had caused so much pain. Now that they had something to wait for, something to strive for. Now that they had hope.

Thank you, Link, Impa thought and hoped that somewhere seven years from now, her future self was showing proper gratitude to the boy who would save them all.

Chapter Text

It was one thing to watch and pray for him from afar. It was one thing to send him into a volcano ready to erupt and only know he had succeeded in his task when the earthquakes lessened and the clouds of ash receded. It was one thing to know, only through the faint sting in her hand, the bond between their Triforce pieces, that the dragon's lava-laden claws had marked him. Because at least then she could tell herself that it couldn't have been so bad, that his wounds couldn't be so dire if he was still able to vanquish his foe and return on his own two feet.

It was another thing entirely to see it up close. To see the evidence of his struggle daubed on his body like a canvas, to see the great slashes as wide as her hand that had laid open his back nearly to the bone, the skin around the edges so blackened and blistered that it resembled overcooked meat. And smelled just the same. It was nearly enough to make her faint like a maiden right from the outset, but somehow Zelda repressed the part of her that was screaming and pushed her way into the infirmary, snapping orders at the Goron healers who had been milling and fussing and yet doing very little to actually help Link. The Gorons were a race of rock. They never got burned, and hence did not know how to treat burns. They were more than happy to let the strange Sheikah take over once they had brought her all she needed.

And Link couldn't care less either way. He was practically blacking out where he stood, clammy and swaying, his tightened lips the only sign of the unbearable agony he must be in. He instantly obeyed her command to drop his weapons and lie on his stomach on the nearest bed, hands fisted in the sheets and biting hard on the pillow while Zelda carefully cut away his tunic and began to spread clean rags soaked in cool water over the burns. It was a necessary treatment to draw the heat from his skin, but terribly painful as well, and Zelda didn't dare give him a potion to make him sleep when he was already clearly in shock. And try as he might, Link couldn't stop himself from gasping and flinching from even the lightest touch, burying his face in the pillow and trying so hard to stifle his weak sobs and hide the tears he was shedding.

Zelda wanted to weep as well, wracked with guilt, hating herself for sending him into such peril. She could say all she wanted about the necessity of it, about fate and the will of the goddesses, but Link had never done a thing to deserve this. He was the kindest and most determined man she had ever met, and he deserved a peaceful life where he would never need to carry a sword. A life with a person who would not require such things of him, who would make him smile every single day. Someone whose touch would bring him joy rather than pain.

His back shuddered beneath her hands, a low moan escaping him like a suffering animal. Zelda furiously wiped away her tears before they could fall and pressed her palm to the open gashes oozing clear fluid, calling upon her Triforce of Wisdom. She couldn't use much of its power, or else Ganondorf would sense it and at once hunt her down...but she could at least do this much. For him. A warm, golden glow spread outward from her fingertips and sank into the gashes. His spine had been spared from damage, thankfully, and Zelda directed the sacred power to knit together muscle and sinew and eradicate the traces of infection that had just begun to take hold. The gashes sealed themselves closed within moments, the charred skin gradually replaced by new skin that was still raw and reddened. Link drew a sharp breath.

"Does it hurt still?"

"It's...a little better," Link said hoarsely, licking cracked lips. "What did you do?"

"I used a healing spell to take care of the worst of it," Zelda explained, not daring to let her voice rise above a gruff whisper in case he heard her remorse. "The rest...I'm afraid will have to heal on its own. I can do little about the scars."

Link laid his head back down, staring fixedly at the wall, and she could see him swallow convulsively. "Can I still fight?"

"I believe so."

Link exhaled heavily, nodding. "Good. That's all I care about."

"I'm sorry," Zelda said, and when Link twisted his head to look at her, she cursed herself for letting it slip out. "I meant I'm sorry I could not accompany you. If I had been there, perhaps this would not have happened."

"But that's not your fault," Link said, and he managed feeble smile even though his eyes were still tight with pain. "It's not like we could both wear this tunic."

"That is little excuse," Zelda said bitterly. "I could have asked the Gorons to create another for myself. And in the forest, I could have gone with you to search for Saria. I could have..."

But that would be the purest folly to put yourself in danger and risk losing two pieces of the Triforce, and so you place your own life above his and wait in safety like a good little princess and let him suffer in your stead...

"No, don't say that, Sheik," Link said and broke through her musings by placing his hand over hers on his shoulder. His blistered fingers squeezed her bandaged ones. "I'm actually glad that you don't come with me into the temples. It's only knowing you're still out here and keeping an eye on things that I can keep going. Sure, it's hard to be alone, but...it gives me peace of mind, you know? Because I know if something happens to me, you'll still be around to protect Hyrule. So it's better this way."

"But so much harder on you," Zelda said, her gaze straying to his burned back.

Link made an attempt at a smirk. "I'm a hero. I can handle it."

I can only hope so, Zelda thought wretchedly. She couldn't bring herself to say anything more so she simply reached for the clean bandages the Gorons had left and tenderly laid them over the remaining burns. But even then she was reluctant to separate herself from him, stroking the unscathed skin of his shoulders, trailing her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. If Link noticed, he chose not to remark on it. He had shut his eyes, his forehead etched with deep lines. There was so much tension in his body still, no doubt caused by the pain. Caused by the pain that she had caused him.

Before she could talk herself out of it, Zelda moved to straddle his lower back, careful not to put any of her weight on his injuries. Link started at the sudden proximity, his shoulders hunching in an automatic defensive reaction. "W-What...Sheik...?"

"Don't speak," Zelda ordered and tentatively began to knead at the taut muscles in his shoulders and neck. She bit her lip, embarrassed to be doing this for him completely unasked for, but Link said nothing to stop her. She could see the surprise in his profile, the barest hint of a blush, but his eyes fluttered closed once more as he submitted himself to the massage. And as the minutes passed in silence, Zelda could feel him begin to relax beneath her, his breathing growing steady and even, his face serene as he eased into a deep sleep without the aid of any potion or magic. Link didn't stir when Zelda covered him with a thin blanket and slipped out of the room, leaving the hero to recover from his battle.

Much as she longed to stay and see with her own eyes that he healed fully, Zelda reluctantly entrusted that task to the Gorons and left the city. The Sage of Water was next, and Link would have a hard time awakening her if she was still frozen in the ice.

If she couldn't walk the road with him, Zelda would at least do what she could to make the journey less arduous.

Chapter Text

Zelda paused in the middle of the forest clearing, setting her lantern on a half rotted stump as she consulted the compass in her hand. She craned her head back to check the position of the moon and stars, then looked back at the compass, which was now pointing in an entirely different direction than before. She tapped the glass, and when that only resulted in the magnetic needle spinning in a lazy circle, she huffed and put it away in her pocket.

"Unbelievable," Zelda muttered to no one in particular. She was lost. Lost in the Lost Woods, interestingly enough. She was positive that someone, somewhere, was having a good laugh at her expense. Since there was no sense in continuing to wander aimlessly, Zelda transferred the lantern to the ground and sat on the stump herself, dropping her pack of supplies at her feet. But she took her bow out of the holder on her back and kept it close at hand. The woods might be quiet now, but with Ganondorf's influence still pervading them, there was no telling what could be lurking in their depths.

Zelda wasn't overly concerned for her own safety though. She had confidence in herself and the training Impa had put her through. Any danger she could not face, she could easily evade. Nor did she fear being trapped here forever. She had the lyre, which could teleport her back to the Temple of Time in an instant, or even to the Sacred Forest Meadow.

No, the real issue was that neither of those places had been her destination. Zelda had been trying to reach the Kokiri village, wanting to check on the forest children while Link was making his way to the temple. She had thought for sure it couldn't be such a difficult trek, but she had made the mistake of assuming mundane forms of navigation, like the compass, would be sufficient to guide her. Zelda supposed it served her right for underestimating the magic of the forest. The Lost Woods were constantly shifting, constantly changing on the whims of the spirits that lived here. A Hylian—even one well versed in magic like her—had no chance of finding her way.

With a sigh, Zelda took the lyre from her pack and strummed the minuet that would take her to the Sacred Forest Meadow. She was sure Link would check on the Kokiri anyway so there was no need to concern herself. She would meet him at the temple as originally planned. The minuet came to a flourishing conclusion, and Zelda waited for the green light to engulf her and whisk her away...which it failed to do. She was left sitting rather foolishly on the stump and blinking at the lyre in confusion.

No need to panic, she told herself. Perhaps she had misplayed a note. Zelda played through the minuet twice more, and then in quiet desperation tried the prelude that should have taken her to the Temple of Time. But no luck. It was like all the magic had gone from her instrument. Zelda glared suspiciously at the shadowed forest around her, the gnarled trees barely made visible by the glimmering lights of the fairies hiding in the leaves and underbrush. The forest was a place of intense supernatural energy and known to have strange effects on people and objects from the outside. Zelda didn't give much credence to the rumors of children turning into Stalfos, but something like this was apparently not beyond the realm of possibility.

"Well," Zelda said and stopped there because she wasn't quite sure how to finish that sentence. If she could not teleport, then she had to walk out of here, but she already had a fair idea of how that would end. She could spend the entire night stomping through these woods, exhausting herself and possibly walking into the den of a hungry wolfos while she was at it. All she could really do was wait for the sun to rise and hope that by then her lyre would have regained its ability to teleport her.

Stubbornly ignoring the fretful voice in her head asking what would happen if the lyre never regained that ability, Zelda relocated from the stump to the roots of a nearby tree with a comfortable carpet of moss to recline against. She considered starting a fire, but even though it was a cool night, she decided against it. The spirits of the forest would likely not appreciate an open flame. But Zelda compromised by leaving her lantern lit since she had an extra bottle of oil and need not worry about running out.

She idly strummed her lyre for comfort, gazing at the dark forest around her. Zelda had never feared this place as others in Hyrule did. The forest had always seemed a place of mystery and excitement to her, and even more so when she had met Link as a child and he had told her the many wonderful things about his home. But now in the dead of night, Zelda could easily see how some might be perturbed by the silence, the lack of ambient sounds that would normally be present in a forest, and the fairy lights that could easily be mistaken as ghosts or the eyes of fell beasts from a distance. And of course if one was lost, one was sure to be doubly on guard and fearful of every little thing...

A hooting owl above her head made Zelda yelp and bang the back of her head against the tree. She rubbed the sore spot and bit back a curse. Very well, she could admit to being a little apprehensive. But only because she had not expected to hit such a snag so early in Link's journey. Impa would surely be disappointed in her student. After all how hard could it be to follow one man, especially when she already knew where he was going?

Link...

Zelda wrapped her arms around her knees, no longer in the mood to create music. Where was he now? Had he already reached the Sacred Forest Meadow ahead of her? If she missed the chance to meet him before he entered the temple, Zelda would be very irritated with herself. She had had vague thoughts of wishing him luck in addition to teaching him the minuet, just so he would know someone was waiting for him...

I wonder if he will remember he must go to Death Mountain next, or if he's forgotten what I said already, she thought with a smile and a touch of sympathy. Link had been so very confused in the Temple of Time, so turned around by the passage of seven years. Zelda would not have blamed him at all for failing to absorb her instructions. She remembered watching from a distance as he had seated himself in the grassy fields just outside of Castle Town and talked for long minutes with Navi about what Rauru had said and what she, as Sheik, had told him. The fairy had seemed skeptical of trusting a stranger, but Link had merely looked over the verdant hills with an expression that was distant and thoughtful.

I don't know, Navi. There's something about him...

Something very small and light landed on her shoulder. Thinking it was a leaf, Zelda made to brush it off, but she halted in mid motion when she realized it was a fairy. The little creature fluttered her wings and hovered for a moment, and when Zelda lowered her hand, the fairy settled back on her shoulder and regarded the human as curiously as Zelda was regarding her. The light she emitted was a pure and dazzling white, which made the lantern seem dull by comparison, and Zelda could barely make out the form of a tiny woman at its center. The fairy leaned over to get a better look at her veiled face, her gossamer wings tickling Zelda's ear.

"Ah...hello?" Zelda said uncertainly, amazed at the boldness of this fairy when they were normally such shy creatures. Even Navi tended to hide in Link's hat around strangers.

The fairy giggled and took to the air again, flying before her nose. "Tee hee, hi!"

"Hi!"

"Hello!"

"Oh!" Zelda said in surprise when three more fairies appeared from nowhere. The pink and gold fairies tugged inquisitively at the bandages covering her hair, their chiming conversation unintelligible to anyone but others of their kind, and the green fairy balanced on her lyre and plucked at one of the strings playfully. Zelda hardly dared to breathe, afraid of making a sudden movement and accidentally hurting one. They seemed so delicate.

"What are all your names?" Zelda inquired, thinking it was only polite.

"Wren!"

"Lily!"

"Vi!"

"Gnat!"

"Tee hee, cause she's loud like a gnat!"

"Hey!"

Zelda, who had rapidly lost track of which fairy was which, laughed to herself quietly as she listened to their chatter. And as she looked around, she could see even more of the little creatures beginning to emerge from their hiding places. Staying at a safe distance, but no longer so afraid to show themselves. They were so beautiful to look upon, especially all together like this. They lit up the forest clearing until the very air shimmered, the many hues of green and pink and gold and white and the occasional deep violet blending and overlapping. It was like sitting in the center of an iridescent rainbow.

"Can you play again?" the green fairy asked and tugged on Zelda's fingers, trying to guide them to the lyre. "Please play again! We liked it!"

"Yeah, we liked it!"

"Yeah, please?"

"If you insist," Zelda said, charmed by their childlike eagerness. Thinking they might enjoy a more lively song, she placed her fingers on the strings and started in on the Bolero of Fire. At once the fairies quickened their flights, zipping here and there, dancing upon the air as if the music had infected them and they couldn't help it. Their antics made her dizzy, and Zelda had to lower her head and focus on her fingers or else lose track of the music. When she had run through the bolero, she slowed the tempo and began the Serenade of Water. The fairies also slowed down in turn, some coming to rest on her arms and head, sighing in appreciation of the ballad. Even Zelda could admit the song had a lulling effect on her, putting her in mind of vast lakes and seas and flowing rivers, the blue waters so clear and deep...

A flicker of blue in the corner of her eye caught her attention, causing her hands to fall still on the lyre. Zelda looked up at Navi as she flew among the fairies, then let her attention fall to the man standing only a few paces away, one hand resting against a tree and with dozens of fairies gathered close about him, completely unafraid though he was a Hylian. His handsome features were almost enchanting to behold in the radiant fairy light and rendered Zelda momentarily without words, helpless to do anything but stare.

Link gave her a boyish smile, head tipped to the side. "Hi," he murmured.

"...hello," Zelda said belatedly and chided herself for having such silly thoughts. She was a princess and a Sheikah warrior, and she was not in any way smitten with the Hero of Time. That would be the height of absurdity since, for all they were tied by fate, they hardly knew each other at all. She stood up as Link approached, and his smile widened into something like a smirk, eyes alight with merriment.

"Are you, uh...lost, Sheik?"

"Certainly not," Zelda said and tried to pretend she wasn't blushing sheepishly under the veil. "I was merely resting."

"Uh huh, whatever you say," Link said with a chuckle. "But just so you know, you really shouldn't walk in these woods without a fairy to guide you. It can be dangerous."

Ah, so THAT'S the trick, Zelda thought to herself with a glance at the fairies. "Thank you, I shall remember next time."

Link pointed a triumphant finger. "Ah ha, so you were lost!"

"I did not say that, hero."

"...but you were lost," Link said, grinning in a thoroughly infuriating way.

"...very well, I was lost," Zelda said, exasperated. "Anything else you would like to know?"

"Can you teach me those songs you were playing?" Link said, almost imploring. "Please? I really liked them."

All the fairies chimed their agreement. Zelda smiled to herself as she put away her lyre and picked up her belongings, touching Link briefly on the shoulder. "In time, I will. But only after you show me the way out of this maddening labyrinth you call a forest."

Chapter Text

Link gazed solemnly upon the ruins of the desert colossus. The face of the sand goddess was scoured and beginning to crumble under the harsh winds that gusted through the valley, but her expression remained poised and regal, watching over her domain with pitiless eyes. The last time he had stood before her, Link had regarded the Gerudo deity with a mixture of curiosity and the tiniest bit of disquiet since it had felt almost like sacrilege to enter a temple not devoted to the golden goddesses of Hyrule. But Navi had assured him there was nothing to worry about since he had been chosen by the goddesses for a task that required him to enter this place. If nothing else, the fairy had encouraged Link to see it as a test of his faith.

He smiled wryly to himself, dropping his gaze to his left shoulder and the unsightly stump of his arm, hidden presently by the dun-colored cloak he wore to keep off the sand. He had been tested, alright. Now it was time to see if he could still fly with these shattered wings.

Sand crunched to his left, and Link looked up as Sheik came to his side, her bow in one hand and the Mirror Shield slung across her back. He couldn't wield both a sword and shield any longer—not for lack of trying though, and Link would have gladly forgotten the disastrous practice sessions where he had attempted to wield both on the same arm and ended up falling flat on his face from the lopsided weight. But for now, they still needed the shield to solve the puzzles in the temple. Sheik also looked up at the statue, but her glance was only cursory, most of her attention on him. She did not ask Link if he was ready. She had learned not to say those words, to let him carry on in his own time rather than urging him to make haste. They both knew he would never turn back after coming so far.

Link breathed deeply. "Let's go!"

"Yes," Sheik agreed and followed on his heel as he strode into the temple. Having been here once before, they made their way very quickly through the confusing warren of shrines and prayers chambers, all of it deserted and derelict like the ancient priestesses had simply abandoned the temple to be swallowed by the sands.

Only once were they accosted by enemies, a pair of Lizalfos in a stairway. Link dodged back from the scimitar brandished at his face and drew the Master Sword in his right hand, only a split second slower than he would have with his left. The next time the Lizalfos attacked, he let their blades clash, focusing hard on the pattern of attack and counterattack. Fighting had once been so natural and effortless for him, but if Link lost his concentration for even a moment, he would forget that he was missing a limb and revert back to his old habits of blocking with the right and striking with the left. Now he had to do both with only one arm, which meant it took his reflexes that much longer to react to his enemy, and his endurance flagged twice as quickly.

Luckily, Sheik had followed his wishes and shown him no mercy during their sessions of training and sparring. Link had spent a solid month getting beaten half to death by the Sheikah, and the result was that he could finally hold his own in battle again. And Sheik had given him some good advice as well, which apparently originated from Impa. Since it was unlikely Link would ever regain his previous skill, he had to compensate by working harder than ever. His best defense lay in winning his battles as quickly as possible...or in some cases, fighting dirty. Link grinned when he heard the Beamos awaken behind him and dodged sideways to let the Lizalfos take the laser to the face. While the reptile was still shrieking and reeling from the pain, Link brought the Master Sword down to cleave its head in two. He moved out of range of the Beamos and looked around for Sheik, eventually locating her at the top of the stairs beside the corpse of the second Lizalfos.

Link sheathed his sword. "Piece of cake," he said easily.

Sheik nodded, lowering her bow. There was an arrow nocked to the string, but even though she had been in a position to shoot his opponent from behind, she hadn't interfered. And Link was secretly grateful for that. There had been a time not long ago when she had not possessed such restraint. Link had actually resented her at first for trying to jump in and do every little thing for him, from fighting monsters to everyday tasks like eating and dressing and caring for his weapons and Epona. True, there were some things that still gave Link trouble—shoelaces, for example—but he couldn't rely on Sheik to be his crutch forever. He had to learn how to do things for himself.

Eventually, after many simmering silent treatments and at least two explosive arguments, he had extracted a promise from Sheik that she wouldn't try to help him with something unless he specifically asked for it. And Link had likewise agreed that if he truly did need help, then he would ask for it and not try to blunder through on his own to preserve his pride. It wasn't a perfect arrangement, but at least it was progress.

"Here we go again," Link muttered when they stood once more on the circular platform, both sweating in the sunlight shining down on them from the mirror. Sheik did the honors of shooting the eye switch, and chains lowered the platform until it hung in a great chamber before another statue of the sand goddess. Only this statue was missing its face. The stone had been melted away by the Mirror Shield, revealing the hidden door behind it. Link waited for Sheik to wrap her arms around him before he aimed the hookshot and deployed it, which pulled them both across the distance and into the recess before the very familiar door. Link didn't let himself hesitate, but entered at once. As the door boomed shut behind him and Sheik, locking them inside, Link couldn't stop his eyes from darting to the right.

His insides grew cold. The blood was still there, dried up until it was almost black, staining the mosaic floor beside one of the pillars. He tore his gaze away and instead focused on the Iron Knuckle standing stock-still at the other end of the chamber. The great axe in its armored hands gleamed in the fire from the braziers, a trick of the light making it appear to be in motion, reminding him of how it had swung down and sliced into him like a paper doll...

He heard Sheik breathe in sharply. "Link," she said in an odd voice, "don't look to the left."

Link smirked darkly, already feeling a little ashen. "It's still there, isn't it?" he said, but didn't need an answer. The putrid reek of decaying flesh hung in the windowless chamber like a miasma. He could practically taste it.

"I'll try to strike its head with an arrow," Sheik said as she began to raise her bow. "That might slow it down enough that we can get in close and..."

"No," Link said, determined, and he put a hand on her bow to lower it. "I want you to stay out of this, no matter what happens."

Sheik looked at him sharply. "But—no, I can't let you—!"

"Sheik," Link cut her off. He gave her a look that was half entreating, half resolute. "Please...I need to do this for myself. You understand that, don't you?"

The fear in her eyes was so strong that Link thought at first she would revert back to motherhen mode and refuse to let him take another step toward that monstrosity. Sheik ducked her head, knuckles white on her bow.

"Tell you what," Link said, making a stab at morbid humor. "If I lose my other arm, then you can help me."

"I'm more concerned about you losing your head this time!" Sheik snapped. "Link, please don't..."

Link squeezed her shoulder. "Trust me," he murmured, and before he could lose his nerve, he drew his sword and started for the Iron Knuckle. But then he paused. "Navi..."

"Oh, fine," Navi muttered unhappily and slipped out of his hat to join Sheik near the door. Link approached the armored suit alone, unable to suppress a flinch when the Iron Knuckle shuddered and straightened from its hunched stance, steel plates clinking as it trudged toward him with a measured and purposeful gait. Link circled at a distance, sword raised, his attention always on the axe. That weapon had a huge range which had caught him off guard last time, and the Iron Knuckle could swing it at almost inhuman speed. He had to time his attacks and only move in to strike at precisely the right time.

Of course that would be a lot easier if the Iron Knuckle didn't insist on charging right at him. Link threw himself into a sideways roll, hearing the axe whistle through the air and smash into the pillar behind him. Stone and mortar was demolished like so many building blocks and filled the air with choking grit. Link rolled to his feet, a little off-balance without an arm free to steady himself, and he sprang forward, trying to thrust his sword through a gap in the steel plating. But the Iron Knuckle twisted around too quickly, and the Master Sword skittered harmlessly off the armor. Link backed up fast and had to suck in his stomach to avoid the arc of the axe as it swung for him horizontally and nearly cleaved him in half.

"Link!"

"Stay back!" Link shouted at Sheik, but he winced when he felt a sharp sting at his midsection and looked down to see a thin line of blood staining his tunic. No wonder she had cried out. The wound was shallow, but the pain was distracting and made his entire body go rigid with tension. Suddenly the reality of the situation was upon him, his senses heightened, heart pounding. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead and ran into his eyes, but Link couldn't wipe it away without dropping his sword. He blinked until his vision cleared and blanched when he saw the axe being raised again. Pure gut reaction made him sidestep just in time, and the great curved blade embedded itself in the floor with a crash like thunder, chips of stone flying.

Now was his chance. He was close enough to strike at its arms, maybe even sever one completely if he aimed just right, which would render the Iron Knuckle defenseless and bring the fight to an end. But Link balked, paralyzed by his own terror, remembering himself laid out helplessly on the floor in a pool of his own blood...

Sheik yelled his name again as the Iron Knuckle jerked its axe free. Link snapped out of his memories and attacked wildly, thrusting his sword beneath the pauldron and into the flesh beneath. The Iron Knuckle groaned, but just as quickly recovered and struck him full in the chest with one gauntlet-covered fist. Link was knocked clean off his feet and flew halfway across the room to slam into the remains of the destroyed pillar. He dropped his sword and put his shaking hand on his cracked ribs, wincing when they throbbed.

"Gods, Link!" Sheik shouted, and he heard her running in his direction. Link slammed his fist on the floor.

"I told you to stay back!"

Sheik halted a few steps away. Link grabbed his fallen sword and used it to lever himself to his feet. He coughed and saw droplets of blood splatter on the floor. Ignoring this, Link raised his head and fixed Sheik with a glare. "This is my fight, not yours. Don't you dare interfere!"

"I'm not going to stand by and watch you get killed!" Sheik said angrily, indecision keeping her rooted to the spot.

"Who says I'm going to be killed?" Link retorted. Seeing that the Iron Knuckle was coming again, Link shoved past her and stood before it unflinching. "I asked you to trust me, Sheik. If I can't do this now, then how do you expect me to hold my own against Ganondorf?"

Sheik had no answer to that. And Link didn't wait to hear one anyway, but threw himself back into the battle recklessly, feinting and dodging until he saw his chance again. Ducking under the Iron Knuckle's guard, Link struck low and sliced deep into its leg, hamstringing it. The Iron Knuckle staggered, groaning again, and limped after him doggedly as Link retreated. He almost admired its tenacity...but not so much when it swung the axe again and nearly took his head off like Sheik had predicted, leaving a gash across his cheek.

Hearing the creak of a drawn bowstring, Link glanced over at Sheik. She was half hidden behind a pillar, keeping an arrow trained on the Iron Knuckle, but at his look she visibly steeled herself and lowered the bow. Link flashed a quick, reassuring smile before he turned back to his advancing foe. As he backed up, rapidly brainstorming another strategy, he almost tripped over a brazier from one of the annihilated pillars. Half the coals had been spilled onto the stone floor, but a small flame still burned stubbornly at its center.

Inspiration striking, Link hit the brazier with his sword to send it rolling into the path of the Iron Knuckle. He had only hoped to distract it, but the Iron Knuckle blundered right into the brazier and sank its boot into the burning coals. Link rushed forward while it was still looking down in confusion, and seeing the opportunity, he leapt onto one of the broken pillars and vaulted over the Iron Knuckle's head, somersaulting in midair and striking the back of its helm with his sword. By the time he landed in a neat crouch, the Iron Knuckle had collapsed to the floor where it lay unmoving.

Link beamed, twirling his sword with a flourish. "I call that one, the Helm Splitter!"

"Showoff!" Navi accused him, but the fairy flew celebratory circles around his head anyway. Link put his sword away, straightening up, waiting a little uncertainly as Sheik approached. He half expected her to berate him for putting himself at unnecessary risk when the both of them together probably could have finished it much faster. But Sheik just stared at him...and out of nowhere, she threw her arms around him and hugged him hard.

Bemused, Link hugged her back, realizing only now how badly she was shaking. "I take it you're glad I'm alive," he chuckled.

"I don't know whether to call you a hero or a reckless idiot!" Sheik retorted, but emotion made her voice tight. "But...yes. Gods, yes I'm so glad you're alive..."

"You're not the only one who's still alive!" Navi called, bobbing above the fallen Iron Knuckle. Both Link and Sheik separated and were at once on their guard, but as they cautiously approached the Iron Knuckle, Link realized its helm had been knocked completely off by his attack. At first he didn't recognize the Gerudo woman revealed to be the wearer of the armor, but once he had a moment to think about it, he started.

"Nabooru!"

"Who?" Sheik asked in confusion, and Link explained quickly as they moved Nabooru to a sitting position against one of the pillars and started to remove the rest of the cursed armor. Luckily, none of the wounds Link had given her were mortal, but the blow to the back of her head had left a nasty gash and her hair was matted with blood. Link hovered anxiously as Sheik tried to rouse her, and it took several seconds before Nabooru moaned and her eyes fluttered open dazedly. Her gaze slid over Sheik without recognition before coming to rest on Link. Nabooru blinked sluggishly, squinting at his face and his tunic, as well as the sword hilt peeking over his right shoulder and the empty sleeve on the left. But she didn't linger on the last one, instead looking once more in his eyes.

And she smiled with nothing short of admiration. "Heh...well would you look at what the kid grew up to be," Nabooru croaked.

Link grinned, crouching down. "Sorry it took me so long to save you."

"Seven years long," Nabooru muttered in aggravation. But she smirked feebly and waved at his missing arm. "Eh...call it even?"

Sheik narrowed her eyes. "You consider the loss of a limb equivalent to a mere seven years of enslavement?" she said lethally.

"Sheik," Link said in warning, and he clasped Nabooru's hand. "Yeah, we're even."

"Good," Nabooru said and allowed Link to heave her upright, tottering slightly, but her eyes blazed with a fierce light. "Now, let's go teach those witches the meaning of the phrase getting even..."

Chapter Text

Link heard it as he was standing just outside of Castle Town, having paused to let Epona rest from their evening ride and drink some water from the moat. He thought it was his imagination, but when he left Epona and meandered closer to the wrecked bridge, the faint mewling reached his ears again.

"Did you hear that, Navi?"

Navi chimed an affirmative and flitted out of his hat to help him search for the source. Link stepped onto the bridge and raised one of the broken boards, only then spotting a flash of bright yellow fur hiding underneath it. Whatever it was fled before he could catch more than a glimpse and hid inside a hollow where a few bricks had come loose from the base of the castle wall. Link dropped off the bridge into the knee-high water and waded closer so he could put his face to the gap in the stone. He thought it was a cat at first until he noticed the oddly long ears and the fox-like face peeking out from behind a bushy tail.

"Aww, it's a Keaton!" Link said with a broad smile. He didn't make a habit of cooing over cute things, but for once he couldn't help himself. "I've never seen one before. Look, it's even got three tails!"

"But what's a Keaton doing here?" Navi wondered, and the fairy didn't sound at all enamored by the sight of the yellow fox. "They usually live deep in the forest where not even the Kokiri go. I've never known one to come this close to Hyrule."

"Maybe it's lost or something?" Link suggested. He held out his hand to the fox, which shrank back and curled into an even tighter ball. "Are you lost, little guy? How'd you end up here?"

Fragile black eyes stared at him woefully, and the fox gave a little mew as it crept forward and licked his fingers. The fur on one of its front paws was stained red, and Link drew a sharp breath. "Are you hurt? Come on, let's get you out of there..."

"Wait, Link!" Navi scolded him. "Don't touch it! Don't you remember the legends about the Keatons? They're tricksters! It could be trying to gain your trust so it can do terrible things to you!"

Link frowned at his fairy and indicated the fox's quivering and bedraggled state. "But it needs our help. I'm not just going to leave it! And even if it is trying to trick me, what kinds of 'terrible things' could it possibly do? It's tiny and helpless."

"That's exactly what it wants you to think!"

Link rolled his eyes and very carefully stuck his hands into the hollow. The fox struggled at first, but soon gave up and let itself be eased into the open. Link tucked the fox into the crook of his elbow and waded back onto solid land, murmuring reassurances and stroking the amazingly soft fur. He couldn't resist caressing one of its luxuriant tails, which earned a growl of annoyance from the fox. It bit his fingers, but gently, gnawing with baby teeth that weren't quite sharp enough to do any real damage.

So cute, Link thought to himself, his heart melting. Keeping the fox nestled close to his chest, he climbed into Epona's saddle and set off for Lon Lon Ranch, ignoring Navi's continuous pleas to leave the Keaton behind. Link wasn't about to abandon something that was clearly in need of a warm bed and a roof over its head. And he knew of at least one person in Hyrule who would share his opinion.

"So CUTE!" Malon squealed once Link had left Epona in the stable and presented himself at the door of the ranch house. Malon leaned close to get a better look at the fox, practically rubbing noses with it, and she seemed to be repressing the urge to snatch it out of his arms and hug its furry heart out. "Where did you find it? What did you name it? Are you going to keep it?"

Link inched his way past Malon so he could get into the house. "I found it in the moat outside Castle Town," he explained. "Do you have some towels and bandages? I don't know how long he was stuck in that moat, and I think his paw was bleeding..."

"Oh no, the poor little guy!" Malon fussed. She hurried into the next room. "I'll be right back. Daddy and Mr. Ingo are already asleep, and I was just heating some water for a bath. I'll fill a washbasin so we can clean him up."

"Thanks, Malon," Link called as he deposited his diminutive burden on the table. After pulling up a chair, he took the injured paw in his hand to check the damage, carefully in case the fox was in pain. But the fox didn't recoil at all, and Link realized why upon closer inspection. There was no injury, no blood. The paw was unharmed. Link checked the other paw, and then the back two as well, flummoxed when that yielded the same result. But he had been sure there was blood...

The Keaton seated itself in the center of the table, all of its tails curled neatly on the wood, regarding him with an inquisitive tilt of its head. Link looked into its crafty black eyes and felt the first stirrings of unease. It didn't seem at all afraid anymore, not like the trembling and whimpering creature he had coaxed from its hiding place. Could this be one of the tricks Navi had warned him about? He almost wanted to ask the fairy, but she was sulking in his hat now and had made it quite plain the fox was his problem, not hers.

The fox stood up and trotted closer. Link pulled back so quickly that he nearly toppled off his chair. But the fox only stretched up to lick his nose, friendly and affectionate as a puppy. Link chuckled at his own jumpiness and rubbed its ears, earning a purr. Who was he kidding? There was no reason to be afraid of this harmless creature. He had probably just seen a bit of dirt smudged in its fur, that was all.

"Here we go," Malon said with a cheery air when she returned, toting a bar of soap and a washbasin filled with steaming water. The fox bounded up to the basin as soon as she set it down and playfully splashed the water with its paw. The ranch girl laughed. "It looks like we don't have to worry about him being afraid of water. Here, fairy boy, help me clean him up."

Link accepted the washcloth that Malon handed him and watched in amusement as she lifted the fox up and plunked it in the basin. The fox squalled in protest, perhaps having not understood that it was going in the water. But the growls subsided back into purrs when Link and Malon together started lathering its fur with soapsuds. The Keaton kept them both laughing with its rambunctious antics, sniffing at the bubbles until it sneezed and constantly shaking its head and flicking drops of water all over them. It wasn't long before the little fox was squeaky clean, and Malon bundled it up in a towel and scrubbed it dry until it resembled a ball of yellow fuzz.

"So you still haven't told me," Malon pestered him as she absently petted the Keaton. "Are you going to keep it?"

"I don't think I can," Link said with a regretful sigh. He had found himself contemplating that very idea, but had to conclude there was no way he could care for a pet while he was traveling. He was more than likely to lose it somewhere and never find it again. "It's wild anyway so I'll probably take it to the forest and set it loose."

"Can I keep him?" Malon blurted out and gave him an imploring look. "Oh please, can I? The ranch would be a perfect place for him. I think he and the rest of the animals would get along just fine. And he's so cute! I just can't let him out of my sight!"

"Okay, but...are you sure you want him on your hands?" Link asked in apprehension. Bringing trouble on himself was one thing, but if something bad happened to Malon because of the Keaton, he wouldn't forgive himself. "Like I said, he's wild..."

"So was Epona, and I handled her just fine," Malon pointed out with a smug air. She cuddled the fox close to her chest and tucked its head under her chin. "Just look at him, fairy boy. How could this sweet little guy be any worse than an untamed horse?"

"I guess you're right," Link said and tried to avoid looking directly at the Keaton. Those black eyes now had a roguish glint that was making him even more uneasy. "But maybe I should stick around for a day or two. Just to make sure he gets settled in..."

He trailed off because Malon was already skipping toward the stairs with the fox in her arms, babbling something about finding a handsome collar for the newest member of the Lon Lon family. Link sighed and started to clean up the mess they had made bathing the Keaton, all the while trying to convince himself that there was no reason to fret. The fox had probably just wanted a home and with any luck had nothing malicious in mind. And Malon could always kick it out if it became too much to handle.

There was nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.

"This won't end well," Navi predicted with dire foreboding.

The sound of crashing and shattering glass awoke Link with a start. Across the hall, he could hear an oblivious Talon still snoring, but Ingo was awake and grumbling sleepily as he passed the guest room heading for the stairs, most likely going to investigate the disturbance. Link untangled himself from the heaps of blankets on his bed and went to open his window. It was the middle of the night and he couldn't see very much, but the horses sounded restless, stamping and snorting at some unseen threat.

"An intruder?" Link murmured to himself, squinting in the darkness and one hand already reaching for the Master Sword. But a soft rap on the door made him pause and cross the room to open it. Malon stood on the threshold, clad in a thin nightgown, and Link jerked a thumb at the window. "Did you hear that too? You'd better stay inside, I'll go see what it is—"

"No," Malon said softly and stepped forward so that Link had to move back and let her inside. She gave the door a gentle push to make it shut behind her, regarding him with an unearthly gleam in her eye and a slow, hungry smile that was not at all like her. "Please...stay, Link. And I'll stay too."

"Are you okay, Malon?" Link inquired, feeling the hairs rise on the back of his neck. She never called him anything but fairy boy. Seeing that her cheeks were flushed, he touched the back of his hand to her forehead. "You kind of feel like you have a fever..."

Malon grasped his hand in both of hers, giggling impishly, but her searing gaze remained fixated on him. "Oh, there's nothing at all wrong with me. I only want...exactly what you can give me. I want your warmth, your scent...your hands..."

"Malon!" Link exclaimed in alarm when she guided his hand down to the neckline of her gown, and she would have guided it lower still had he not jerked it back. He tried to retreat, but Malon came closer until she was pressed right up against him, arms twined around his neck. "W-Wait a minute, Malon, what's wrong with you? What are you thinking?"

"Is it so hard to guess?" Malon murmured, lips brushing his neck, and her low and sensuous tone left him sputtering and blushing hotly. Just in case he had any further doubts, Malon tilted her head up and sought to kiss him, but Link seized her by the shoulders and held her at a more respectful distance.

"B-But wait a second! We can't...I mean, you know it's not like that between us! We're only friends!"

"Not tonight," Malon said and shoved him back with sudden aggression so his legs hit the bed and he fell backward on it. Link scrambled away and ended up cornered against the headboard, eyes wide when Malon clambered on top of him, trailing her hands over his bare chest and kissing her way up the side of his neck. Her shameless behavior was genuinely frightening him now. Link was beginning to think she was either under a spell or sleepwalking, and he hoped desperately it was the former because he didn't want to think about what sort of dream would make her act like this.

Either way he had better stop this before she did something she regretted. He was on the verge of pushing her back and fleeing out the door, but then he felt something warm and fluffy curl around his leg and tickle the back of his knee. Startled, Link strained to peer over Malon's shoulder, stunned by the sight of an enormous yellow tail with a black tuft, one of three peeking out from beneath the hem of her nightgown.

"What the HECK?" Link bellowed and heaved the three-tailed Malon off the bed. Halfway to the floor she transformed, skin rippling into fur, transitioning from woman to fox in the blink of an eye and leaving the empty nightgown strewn on the floor. The Keaton hopped onto the windowsill and looked back at him deviously, uttering an odd kukuku that resembled laughter. Then with a flick of its tails, the fox leapt away and vanished into the night.

"What just...how did...?" Link stammered to no one, furious and baffled and completely mortified. He barely had time to absorb what had happened when he heard footsteps pounding down the hallway and the door of his room barged open.

"Fairy boy!" Malon cried, gasping for breath and clutching a shawl she had thrown hastily over her shoulders. "You've got to come help, all the horses somehow got out of the stable! They're roaming all over and keep bolting away from me and Mr. Ingo, and someone also smashed the jugs of milk we had downstairs and...why is my other nightgown in here?"

"Uh," Link faltered, frozen for a split second. In the end he pretended he hadn't heard and scrambled to his feet, snatching up his tunic to tug over his head. "What were you saying about the horses and the milk?"

Malon seized his hand and dragged him down the stairs and out the door of the ranch house. And Link realized she had not been exaggerating. The stable doors were wide open and dozens of horses were milling in the open field, huddled together in tight groups and inclined to be skittish whenever Ingo tried to approach. Even Epona refused to be calmed, hooves planted in the grass stubbornly as she tossed her head and bleated a challenge. Link looked in the direction the mare was facing and spotted a flash of yellow vanishing into the stable.

"The Keaton," Link growled, and he nudged Malon in the direction of the horses. "Stay here and help Ingo. I'll catch that damn fox."

"You mean the Keaton did all this?" Malon said, incredulous, and when Link dashed away she called after him. "Don't be too mean to him, fairy boy! I'm sure he didn't mean to!"

Yeah, right, Link thought to himself. He had half a mind to skewer that ball of fur on the end of his sword. If it really had the power to impersonate Malon like that, then what else was it capable of? The inside of the stable was pitch black, and Link fumbled for the lantern and matches hanging on the wall, blindly lighting the wick. He held the lantern high as he scoured every nook and cranny by its feeble light, but at first there was no sign of the Keaton in the empty stalls.

"Where are you?" Link muttered. When he heard a faint chittering up in the loft, he spun around and started to climb the ladder. "I know you're here! Quit causing trouble and come out already!"

The fox chittered again, and Link looked up when he heard something big being shifted around. A heavy bag fell open at the edge of the loft, dumping its entire contents on his head. Link cried out when his hands slipped and he tumbled painfully back to the floor of the stable, the lantern clattering after him, covered head to toe in birdseed. Link cursed when some of the granules got into his eyes, and he staggered upright and climbed the ladder as fast as he could, but the Keaton stayed one step ahead of him and jumped out the window onto the roof of the cucco shack nearby.

Link hesitated, eyeing the distance. It didn't look so far. Just to be safe he stepped back and took it at a run, easily clearing the gap to land on the shack beside the fox. But what should have been a graceful touchdown became a terrifying plummet when the flimsy roof collapsed beneath his weight, and Link found himself dumped unceremoniously into the dark building that stank of bird droppings. And the cuccos did not appreciate the intrusion. The interior of the shack exploded into a storm of feathers and shrill cawing as the birds flew around in a panic. Many even attacked him directly, scratching and pecking every inch of his body they could find.

Link flailed around wildly, trying to beat them back, but he had his hands full just trying to protect his face and eyes as he groped along the wall in search of the door. When he finally found it, he was dismayed to find it barred from the outside. Pounding on it and screaming for help only agitated the cuccos even more and caused all the rest to swarm him, if not to attack then simply to get at the birdseed that had wormed its way into every crease and fold of his clothes. For a moment Link fully believed the bloodthirsty birds would devour him along with the seeds, but by some grace of the goddesses the door finally opened, and then Malon and Ingo were there to scatter the cuccos with a broom and rake respectively. Link coughed up a mouthful of feathers and cringed when he looked down at his tattered tunic and the equally lacerated skin underneath. And all that from mere cuccos. He had come out of the fight with Volvagia looking better than this.

"Ho, the stable!" Ingo hollered, and Link gasped when he saw the smoke billowing from the stable, remembering with a stab of horror the lantern he had dropped. How could he have been so careless? That place was chock full of things that could catch on fire!

"We have to put it out before the house catches!" Malon cried, wringing her hands. "We need water! The well—"

"No time!" Ingo barked. "Get blankets from the house and we'll smother it!"

"Gods, what have I done?" Link whispered as Malon rushed for the ranch house, and he quickly shed his own tunic, intending to help put the fire out. But the blaze had grown too quickly, the smoke thick and suffocating, and he and Ingo couldn't even get in the doorway.

Somehow even over the roar of the flames and the chaos all around him, Link heard the commanding yip at his feet. His lips twisted into an angry snarl when he saw the Keaton sitting there innocuously. "This is all your fault—!"

The fox yipped again, more urgently, and then lifted its tails to reveal the Ocarina of Time lying in the grass beneath them. How the fox had retrieved it, how it had known to retrieve it, Link couldn't begin to guess, but there was no time to question it. Link grabbed the ocarina and trilled the Song of Storms, almost missing notes in his haste. A breathless moment passed in which he feared the faithful instrument would for once fail him. Considering how badly everything else was going wrong tonight, he almost expected it. But then a boom of thunder and a flash of forked lightning gave him new reason to believe in higher powers. The rain didn't just fall, it came crashing down in icy sheets that left him soaked in seconds, the grass beneath his feet churned into mud.

Malon came out of the house with blankets and a bucket in each hand, her jaw slack at the suddenness of the storm. Ingo wasted no time grabbing one of the buckets and holding it under an overflowing gutter, filled to the brim in seconds. Link grabbed the other bucket, and between the two of them running back and forth they managed to fight the spreading flames and soon had them completely doused. The damage was not as bad as Link had initially feared, nothing that couldn't be fixed or replaced. Ingo gusted a sigh of relief and collapsed against the ranch house while Malon hastily threw a blanket over his shoulders, a useless endeavor since it was soon drenched by the rain anyway.

Panting, Link looked down at the Keaton. The fox was looking quite smug with itself as it mewled and coiled around his ankle, black eyes wide and blameless. But then it yowled when Link lunged and trapped it under his bucket, even sitting on it for good measure. He could hear the fox thrashing and scratching at the metal, but he breathed easy knowing it couldn't escape.

The door of the ranch house opened, and a bleary-eyed Talon came lumbering out, yawning hugely. His torpor soon morphed into bemusement as he looked from the thundering sky to Malon and Ingo sitting huddled against the wall, sodden and shivering, and finally to Link with his shirt missing and the bucket beneath him emitting noisy growls.

"...did I miss something?"

"Tell me why I can't just dump it in the river again?" Link whined and jerked a thumb at his saddlebag, from which he could faintly hear the muffled caterwauling of the Keaton.

"Because even though it played some mean tricks on you, it's not evil," Navi said, making the distinction for perhaps the tenth time. "It's like the Skull Kid in the Lost Woods. Its idea of fun is very different from yours, and it probably doesn't comprehend the damage it caused."

"It almost burned down the entire ranch!"

"To be fair, that was your fault. You didn't have to chase the Keaton."

"Maybe if you had been awake to help me catch it, I wouldn't have had to," Link muttered under his breath, but he didn't elaborate further, not eager to enlighten his fairy on certain embarrassing events that had occurred the night before. He had spent the rest of the night helping Malon and her father and Ingo round up the panicked horses and clean up the mess that had been made by the spilled milk jugs. Link would have stayed to help repair the stable too, but he hadn't felt safe keeping the fox at the ranch any longer. Luckily, Malon seemed to forgive him for bringing so much trouble on her home and still invited Link to come back anytime...provided he never, ever brought another stray animal with him.

"This should be good enough," Link said and pulled Epona up short. They were in the southeast part of the fields that bordered the forest, hopefully far enough away that the fox wouldn't return to the ranch. Link slid down from Epona's back and untied the saddlebag, carrying it to the threshold of the forest just beneath the trees, and only then did he set the bag down on the grass. The squirming had stopped as the bag was moved, and Link very slowly undid the many ties keeping it shut, fully expecting the fox to launch into a ferocious whirlwind of claws and teeth. But when the Keaton pounced into the open, it immediately dashed away, frazzled and clearly miffed at being stuffed in there like a piece of baggage. It paused at the edge of the trees to look back, and Link shouted when he realized the little terror had his hookshot dangling from its mouth.

"Hey, give that back, you little thief!"

The Keaton chortled and vanished into the underbrush, its small paws padding noiselessly on the forest floor. Link started to give chase, intending to tie those three tails in a knot once he caught it. But then he heard the fox yelp and begin to snarl and hiss like a feral cat. A familiar figure garbed in blue and gray emerged from the underbrush, holding the hookshot loosely in one hand and carrying the Keaton by the scruff of its neck in the other.

"I assume these are yours?" Sheik inquired, holding up both tool and fox.

"One of them is, at least," Link grumbled and took his hookshot back. He leveled an accusing finger at the fox. "That...thing is not mine! It's caused me nothing but trouble since I found it yesterday!"

"I'm not surprised," Sheik said with an arched eyebrow. She lifted the fox higher to examine it for herself, not at all fazed when it tried to scratch her. "You are aware of the legends, aren't you? Once a human has claimed a Keaton, they generally cannot be rid of them. It is seen as a sort of reverse ownership, like being possessed by a spirit. Most people in Hyrule are fully aware of this and would rather run the other way than pick one up willingly."

"Whaaat?" Link exclaimed, wanting to tear his hair out. "You mean I'm stuck with it for the rest of my life? But...that's not fair! I didn't even know what I was getting into when I pulled it out of that moat!"

"Even when I warned you," Navi muttered pointedly.

"You could try being more specific next time!"

"Don't blame this on me! Just because you're too gullible for your own good and would probably take in a Like Like if it looked cute enough..."

"Enough, both of you," Sheik cut in. "There is no need to argue over something like this. I will take care of the Keaton."

"You will?" Link said in surprise. Remembering how quickly he had seen Sheik whip out her daggers to spear a bat in mid flight, he forgot his intense dislike of the yellow furball and started to worry for its safety. "How are you going to...?"

"Just sit over there, hero," Sheik instructed and pointed him in the direction of a tree. Once Link had done as she instructed, Sheik seated herself cross-legged on a fallen log nearby, carefully depositing the fox beside her. The fox shook out all its tails and groomed each of them diligently, ignoring the Sheikah who was watching it most intently. But the Keaton seemed to change its mind and sat down to take part in the staring contest, tilting its head from side to side, ears perked up like it was listening to something, and yet Sheik had not said a word.

They remained like that for so long that Link started to get bored and settled himself more comfortably against the tree. Soon he slipped into a light doze, only waking after several long minutes when he felt a paw brush his leg. He blinked and recoiled a little when he noticed the Keaton standing right in front of him. The fox mewled and nosed his hand once, then turned and loped into the forest, gone almost before he could blink.

Link gaped at Sheik. "How did you...?"

"I told it that you were on an important mission for the good of Hyrule and had little time for games," Sheik explained. "I asked it to leave you be until you had completed your task."

"You asked it?" Link said skeptically. "You just...asked it?"

"Very politely," Sheik added.

"And," Link said, waving his hand, "just like that?"

"Just like that," Sheik said, chuckling. "Did such a simple solution not occur to you?"

"No, actually," Link admitted and rubbed his eyes. "I feel really stupid now..."

"Consider yourself lucky that this Keaton was so benign," Sheik told him. She held up her hand when Link would have protested very vehemently. "A truly malevolent spirit might have caused you much greater harm by now, perhaps even led you to your death. But that one seemed to like you a great deal."

"Yeah, it had a great way of showing it," Link grumbled. All the cuts and scrapes he had gotten from the cuccos were still smarting even so long after the fact.

"Just think of it this way, hero," Sheik insisted as she rose from the log. "Keatons, like most spirits, have the ability to see through to a person's true nature, and so they will often attach themselves to someone they have a particular fondness for. I have heard tales of Keatons being used by the goddesses as a way of testing the virtue of the mortals they choose to carry out their will."

Link's eyebrows flew up at that. "It was testing me? What for?"

Sheik shrugged. "Who knows? I suppose it may have been testing your compassion, whether you would take the time to aid a defenseless creature. And by causing you trouble, as you claim, it may have been testing your tolerance, your mercy..."

Was that why it transformed into Malon and...did those things? Link wondered, flushing the tiniest bit at the memory. Had that been some kind of test of...what? His honor? His integrity? If so, he didn't see why a test like that was necessary. Hadn't he already proven what kind of person he was when he took up the Master Sword? He would never take advantage of one of his friends in that way.

Deciding he would probably never understand the will of the goddesses, Link sighed and stood up. "Well anyway, thanks for getting rid of it for me. I'd better get going. Are you coming?"

"In time," Sheik said, vague as always. "I have some other matters to attend first."

"Oh, okay," Link said, disappointed that he wouldn't get a chance to just talk with Sheik. It seemed like they were always heading in opposite directions, and so he knew next to nothing about his elusive guide. "I'll see you later then?"

Sheik only nodded, remaining silent as Link left the trees and mounted Epona, steering his mare north toward Kakariko where he planned to spend at least a week recuperating from this ridiculous ordeal.

Zelda stayed exactly where she was until long after Link had been lost to sight, smiling shrewdly beneath her veil. When she felt something bushy twine itself lovingly around her ankle, she crouched and stroked the Keaton's ears just where the fox liked it best. "Well done, my clever friend. Now you're sure he harbors no feelings for the ranch girl?"

Her partner in crime purred noisily and nuzzled her hand with a cold nose, flicking its tails in a way that she had learned signified high approval. Zelda laughed quietly to herself as she scooped the fox in her arms, thoroughly satisfied with the outcome of this mission. It was times like this when she was very, very glad she had taken the Keaton into the castle as a girl, having found it in much the same circumstances as Link and thus unable to be rid of it. But seven years ago when she found herself banished from her kingdom and living a solitary and dangerous existence as Impa's apprentice, the Keaton had proven to be the most invaluable friend Zelda could ever ask for.

"I must check on the state of Zora's domain," Zelda told the fox. She pressed her cheek to the soft fur like she had done so many times when she felt lonely or afraid. "I'm sure he will follow me soon when he hears of their plight. Will you watch him for me?"

The Keaton licked her ear once, mewling softly, then it climbed out of her arms and vaulted off her shoulder, determinedly taking off across the fields after the hero. In the blink of an eye, it was gone.

Chapter Text

"Link...I will see you again..."

"Wait!"

His voice resounded in the ice cavern, disturbing the stillness of the air, and Zelda froze. She couldn't help it. He had never said that before, and an instant later his hand clamped firmly around her slender wrist, effectively keeping her in place. She did not dare to look at him, tense at his proximity and paranoid he had seen through her Sheikah guise at last, already scrambling for some plea or excuse that would allow her to make her escape. But when Link shoved a crumpled envelope into her hand, Zelda was so taken aback that she couldn't properly react at first.

"What is this?"

"It's a...letter," Link faltered like he had not expected to be questioned on something so obvious.

Her brow furrowed. "For what purpose? If you wish to tell me something, why can you not simply say it?"

"No, it's not for you!" Link said hurriedly, and he colored a bit and ducked his head, eyes fixed on the envelope. "It's for Zelda."

Zelda blinked in surprise, glancing down at the envelope, and sure enough when she turned it over there was her name written in his stilted and rather cramped handwriting. "A letter from yourself?" she asked just to be sure.

"Yeah," Link said and sighed like he had feared a more volatile reaction. "You go to see her sometimes, right? To...to give reports and things like that? So I just figured...if you wouldn't mind, the next time you see her..."

"You wish for me to give this to her?" Zelda inquired, once again finding it very strange to speak of herself in the third person.

"Only if you get the chance!" Link blurted out, shifting his weight, behaving very much like the shy young boy he truly was on the inside. "I know you probably have other things you need to do so you don't have to if you don't want to. If you're too busy, or if you don't think Zelda would...you know what, never mind! It's not that important, it can wait until I see her again..."

He made a wild grab for the letter, but Zelda stepped out of his reach and stuck the letter behind her back, determined not to let it out of her sight. When she spoke, she had to strive to keep the tremble of excitement from her words. "On the contrary, Link, I believe the princess would be...very pleased to have a letter from you. I will see it safely delivered to her hands."

"But...are you sure you don't mind?" Link pressed, his anxiety so very endearing. "I can take it back," he added feebly, and he rather sounded as if he would like to take it back.

"I do not mind in the least," Zelda said, secretly amused at the whole notion of delivering a letter to herself. "It is in no way a hindrance for me. I am curious though...if you have a message you wish delivered, can you not simply tell me what it is verbally? The message will reach her regardless, and there is not the risk of the letter being lost."

"Well, I had a lot I wanted to say," Link said with a flicker of a smile. "I don't think I could have remembered it all unless I wrote it down. And some of it is kind of...personal."

"Personal?" Zelda repeated, her intense curiosity blossoming into a burning need to know what was in his letter. It was all she could do not to tear it open at once.

Link must have caught something in her tone because he blanched. "N-Not that kind of personal!" he sputtered. "It's only, you know, friend stuff! Things that are just between me and her! So don't you go reading it! I expect you to give it straight to Zelda, got it? You've got to promise me, Sheik!"

"Do not fear, Link," Zelda assured him, backing up, already in the act of taking out a Deku nut. "I give you my word that Zelda shall receive your letter."

"Hey, that's not a promise not to read it!" Link cried and made as if to catch her before she vanished. "Sheik, don't you dare—!"

Zelda threw down the Deku nut and let the flash cover her escape into the depths of the cavern, torn between guilt and glee when his despairing wail echoed after her. Forgive me, Link, she thought as she slipped the envelope into a pouch on her leg and kept running. But that is one promise I cannot make.

Why was it so hard to open a simple letter? Zelda had waited so impatiently for the first opportunity after Link left Zora's domain, then seated herself on a small and somewhat dry boulder near the frozen waterfall, envelope in hand, alone save for a few stray ice keese taking shelter overhead. But each time she made to break the seal, she hesitated, nerves causing her stomach to churn queasily and her hands to shake with more than the cold. It was a ridiculous and baseless fear, but...

...but what if Link had only written to say how much he resented her for involving him in all of this? Though Zelda had told herself many times that Link could never feel such bitterness for her, she could never truly believe it. Not when she had seen him at his worst moments, on the days when he would grow so melancholy and spend hours in solitude and rumination, on the nights when he awoke in a cold sweat from a nightmare that he only shared with his fairy in hushed whispers. He never showed such weakness when she came before him as Sheik, but Zelda knew behind his confidence and courage lurked a darkness. He had doubts, he had fears and sorrows...and that meant he was certainly capable of anger, of hatred.

But no, Zelda was not giving him enough credit. She had never seen anything in Link to show he harbored such feelings, and surely he could not hide it forever if he did. And he wasn't so petty as to express it through an impersonal letter. At least, she prayed not. It was more likely the letter was of a business nature and he only wanted to know something about the sages or his destiny...

But he told you outright that it WAS personal, Zelda reminded herself and became agitated all over again. Tentatively, she slipped her thumb beneath the seal to break it and withdrew the folded paper inside. Another moment was required to collect herself before Zelda unfolded it, briefly scanning the lines of sentences, some of which were scribbled over or crossed out in haste. She forced her eyes up to the first line, her heart fluttering at the sight of her name written again in his hand.

Zelda,

I really hope this letter reaches you. I'm planning to give it to Sheik the next time I see him, but I've got a weird feeling he might try to read it before you do. He seems nosy like that...

"Nosy?" Zelda said under her breath and couldn't decide if she was offended or not.

By the way, is Sheik a man or a woman? It feels weird to write 'he' when I don't really know for sure, and I think Sheik is keeping it a secret on purpose...

Oh dear, was it truly bothering him that much? Zelda hadn't been keeping it a secret, per se. Her disguise was meant to fool Ganondorf's spies so they would not guess her true gender at first glance, but she could not deny she had enjoyed watching Link try to figure it out for himself.

But never mind, I didn't mean to talk about Sheik so much! I'm writing because—scribble—I miss you, Zelda. I haven't seen you in so long, but it's probably been even longer for you. At least I didn't have to live through those seven years...

"Then consider yourself lucky," Zelda murmured, heart aching at the mention that he had missed her. She hunched over the letter, savoring each sentence, imagining perfectly how Link must have looked as he wrote them, how his hands had formed the words so carefully.

...but I'm trying my best to get it all fixed. I guess you know that already, don't you? It was you who predicted that I would come from the forest and do something to save Hyrule. I just didn't realize Hyrule had to fall first before I could save it. I never meant—scribble—I thought if—scribble—I'm sorry, Zelda.

"No, why are you apologizing?" Zelda whispered to no one, the paper crinkling in her fingers. "It was my fault..."

It was all my fault. I should have been more careful with the ocarina and the Spiritual Stones. I'm the reason Ganondork (sorry, misspelled) got the Triforce. Ha, that should be his new name! I'll bet he was a dork as a kid just like Mido!

A surprised laugh burst from her throat and reverberated through the domain. A very small part of Zelda was scandalized. Even if Ganondorf was the one man she hated and feared more than anything, his power and ruthlessness were still to be respected. Zelda mouthed the nickname to herself again, imagined saying it to his face and collapsed into helpless giggles again, hiccupping as she tried to pull herself together and read the rest of the letter.

I wish I could see your face when you read that. I can imagine you laughing over it just like I am. I remember I used to be able to do that. Make you laugh, I mean. Even when we were kids, I felt like you never laughed enough. You were always worried about stuff you shouldn't be worried about, and the entire kingdom expected so much of you. I'm starting to understand a little of what that feels like. It seems like everywhere I turn there are people talking about the Hero of Time, but I don't dare tell them it's me because I know how they would react. I don't exactly look the part of the hero, do I? (Stupid question, we haven't seen each other yet)

Zelda bit her lip and raised her eyes from the paper, swallowing back tears. That was where he was wrong. Link was a hero, both inside and out. One day, all of Hyrule would see it too.

But you know what, Zelda? Even if no one else believes in the prophecy, I think I'm starting to believe it myself. And I know why. It's because of you. I know everyone says the Master Sword chooses the hero, but you're the reason I was there to be chosen in the first place. You never doubted me, not even once, not even when we were kids, and you've never given me a reason to doubt you either. So I'm going to keep trusting you, Zelda. I'm going to trust in the choice you made, and I'll do everything I can to prove you picked the right man for the job. I'm not going to give up, ever, as long as I know you're out there waiting for me to succeed. I want to make sure you know all of that.

Zelda gave up on holding back her tears and allowed them fall on the paper and muddle the ink. He still trusted her. Still, even after all he had been through...

There's more I want to say, but I'm almost out of room. I wish I could talk to you face to face, but I know you've got to stay where Ganondorf can't reach you so I guess I'll trust Sheik to get this to you. I just want—scribble—just stay safe, okay? I promise it won't be for much longer, and then you can finally come out of hiding. I can't wait to see you again—here Zelda could faintly make out the words 'I can't wait to see what you look like', which Link had made a heroic effort to cross out of existence—and I hope you feel the same way. Because otherwise it makes this whole letter look kind of stupid.

I hope this letter finds you safe. I hope you write back. And even if you don't or can't, then I hope this letter makes you happy anyway, even for just a short while.

Link

Zelda drew a shuddering breath that caught in her throat, smiling and weeping, hardly able to make out his name through blurred vision. She read the letter a second time, then a third, longing to have Link standing in front of her so she could embrace him and tell him how much his words meant to her. How much he meant to her. What was she without him? Only a foolish girl fiddling around with fate like she had any right to.

But...

He didn't hate her. He didn't blame her. He still trusted her. Zelda hadn't realized how badly she feared losing that trust until now, and it was like seeing a stormy sky become clear and bright, turbulent seas falling gentle and placid, the terrible threat abated.

I hope this letter makes you happy...

"It does, Link," Zelda whispered, tucking the precious letter back in the envelope and holding them both close to her heart. "More than you know."

She waited for him on the island in the center of Lake Hylia, pacing endlessly after the water had risen, a certain sealed envelope burning a hole in her pocket. In a bizarre reversal, Zelda now knew how Link must have felt just before he handed off his own letter. Of course he had not been there to see her reaction to it, which made this entire thing ten times worse. Was this too much of a risk? What if he picked up on something and realized she was closer to him than he imagined? What if he guessed who was shrouded behind all these bandages? Zelda had chosen her words very carefully, trying to convey her own message in a way that was not too impersonal, and yet not too intimate in case Link turned out to be shrewder than she anticipated...

She had no more time to brood on it. The next time Zelda turned around, the dais with the symbol of the Sage of Water had become engulfed in blue light, and she waited breathlessly for him to appear. Link seemed a little disoriented at first, exclaiming to Navi over the lake being filled, but at last he turned and noticed her standing near the tree. He froze for a split second, pleasant surprise quickly exchanged for apprehension as if he had just remembered the events of their last meeting. Zelda slipped a sweaty hand into her pocket as Link closed the distance between them with quick steps.

"Sheik, did you...?"

"I did," Zelda said, speaking more brusquely than she had intended, and she quickly thrust out her letter before she could lose her resolve. "This is her reply."

"She wrote back?" Link gasped and very nearly tore the envelope in half trying to claim it. He turned it over, beaming at the sight of his name written in her slanted cursive, and he looked up as she brushed past him and began to walk away. "Wait a minute, Sheik, what did she say? When you gave her my letter, what did she say?"

"...it is not my place to say," Zelda told him, unable to form a more coherent reply and hoping he could not see the blush beneath her veil. "Perhaps you should read her letter."

"Hold it!" Link demanded and managed to catch her arm. He seemed even more anxious now, his smile faltering. "You've got to at least tell me how she reacted! Was she...was she happy? Was she smiling?"

Oh goddesses, how could she deny him? Zelda met his eyes and nodded once. "Yes, she was. You made her very happy Link."

Link gusted a sigh, his joy restored, and he turned his attention back to the letter like it was some priceless treasure. He went to sit against the tree while Zelda stood at the edge of the island and pretended to be gazing out at the lake, but in reality she watched him from the corner of her eye. He also dithered before he opened the letter, but not for as long as she had, steeling himself and ripping into the envelope. His fairy hovered by his temple to read alongside him, but Link kept swatting her away until she went to sulk in his hat and left him to read the letter alone.

Zelda tried not to quiver as his eyes scanned back and forth, heart in her throat, absorbing every little twitch and change in his face. It was rather easy to guess what part of the letter he was on. There was a fond little quirk to his lips as he read the first sentences, her gratitude for his message and her hope that he was doing well with Sheik as his guide. His eyes flicked to her, showing the briefest annoyance that there was no clarification on her gender, and Zelda allowed herself a hidden smile.

Link continued to read, and she could tell by the growing solemnity that he had reached the part where she expressed her remorse for involving him in everything, explaining that the fault had always been hers and he should not blame himself. Zelda had even forced herself to write an apology for what had happened to the Great Deku Tree, knowing how much that had broken Link's heart and knowing it might have been prevented if she had done something and not simply allowed Ganondorf to do as he pleased.

Link bit his lip, the look in his eyes pained, and Zelda thought he might have mouthed the words, Not your fault. She looked aside and instead watched the morning sun climb into the sky, fighting back tears. There was not much else beyond that anyway. She had not spent the entire letter on apologies and self-pity, not wishing him to see her as selfish, but Zelda had made a point of telling him that she had faith in him, and that if there was anything he needed or desired, Link need only send word. If there was any way she could help him, be it through Sheik or by some other means, she would do all she could.

She had ended the letter with a prayer for his continued safety, advice on where to search for the last two sages, her own wish to see him again and catch up on the years they had spent apart. And she hadn't been able to resist adding a postscript approving of Ganondorf's new nickname, only with the suggestion they refer to him as Sir Ganondork, the self-appointed leader of all dorks. Link laughed outright at that, head thrown back as he wiped a tear from his eye. He turned so he could lie on his back in the grass, one hand pillowed beneath his head while the other held up the letter so he could read it once more, still smiling broadly.

"So what does it say?" Navi said eagerly, making another try at reading the letter. "Come on, show me!"

Link folded the letter against his chest, oblivious to her disappointed moan. "She has faith in me," he whispered.

"I must go," Zelda said, forcing the words out as she turned to him. "Do you...have a message you wish conveyed?"

Link pushed himself upright. "Not yet. But next time, I will. I need to think about what I want to write back."

Zelda inclined her head. "Very well."

"Hey!" Link called after her. He waved the letter in the air. "Thanks for doing this, Sheik."

"Not at all," Zelda said, smiling cat-like under her veil, and decided she couldn't resist teasing him. "I look forward to hearing what new and creative names you come up with for the evil king."

Link paled. "You READ it?" he roared, but Zelda had already tossed down a Deku nut and disappeared from his sight.

Chapter Text

Evidently, Ruto had not quite forgiven him for breaking off their engagement. Saria and Darunia had been nice enough to teleport him to perfectly safe places just outside their temples, but Ruto chose to drop him straight into the icy waters of Lake Hylia and let him swim out on his own. Link treaded the black water, even blacker than the night sky above, teeth chattering as he paddled toward the silhouette of the island with a single tree. It seemed like ages passed before his feet found the muddy bottom, and Link rose from the water with a grunt and staggered onto dry land, breathing deeply of the open air. The stale atmosphere within the temple had made him feel ill more than once, and the water had been worse, stagnated and infested with algae and disgusting to swim in. He badly wanted a change of clothes, but he had left his Kokiri tunic with Epona, and Link was too weary to even think about going to find wherever the mare had wandered.

His boots squelched as he ambled closer to the tree, and Link knelt to unlace them, but some sixth sense made him freeze, realizing he was not alone. He snapped his head up and gasped when he noticed the dark silhouette crouched at the base of the tree, a scenario that was far too parallel to recent events. He scrambled back and reached for his sword wildly, but his boots slipped on the grass and he went sprawling on his back. Link expected his shadow twin to attack immediately and drive a blackened sword into his throat, but when that failed to happen, he narrowed his eyes and looked again, heart pounding.

Then he sighed, relieved and embarrassed by his reaction. This was one shadow he didn't need to fear. Link clambered to his feet and approached, tiptoeing when he realized Sheik was fast asleep, curled up against the trunk with her head resting on a root and a cloak thrown over her shoulders. Nearby was a pack of supplies as well as her lyre, which looked awfully lonely to Link without her slender fingers plucking the strings. Link paused above the Sheikah, smiling a little. He had never seen her like this, unguarded and utterly relaxed. He was almost jealous. Link couldn't remember the last time he had been able to sleep so deeply without waking at every little noise expecting an ambush. It occurred to him that this isle might be the safest place in Hyrule now with the deep waters on all sides and that rickety bridge as the only way to reach it, which nothing truly dangerous could cross without breaking.

Link stretched his arms over his head and yawned, sorely tempted to lay down and join Sheik in slumber, but he changed his mind when he looked to the east and noticed the golden glow spreading along the horizon. He was a late sleeper and had never in his life gotten a chance to watch the sunrise. Circling around Sheik, he set his sword and shield against the tree and seated himself in the grass with his back against the trunk, arms wrapped loosely around his knees. The whole valley was incredibly peaceful this early in the morning. The only sounds to be heard were the lapping water and a few larks calling mournfully, and gradually as the sky lightened from deep indigo to brilliant azure, the stars winking out one by one, he heard more and more birds join in with their songs. Nearly an hour passed before the fiery disc peeked over the mountains, and Link shut his eyes and tipped his head back to savor its warmth on his skin. His tunic was completely dry within minutes.

Beside him, Sheik stirred as the light fell across her closed eyes, brow furrowed. Link glanced down, wanting to wake her up so she could see it too, but now in the growing light of day he could see just how tired she was. There were puffy rings under her eyes, and her complexion seemed wan like she had been pushing herself without rest. His face fell. Was that his fault? He knew Sheik followed him on Zelda's orders, but Link had never considered that by rushing from one sage to the next he must make it harder on her to keep up with him. He couldn't count the number of nights he had simply gone without sleep, his worry for his friends driving him to keep moving.

He had to do better from now on. Sheik was his friend too. More than that, even.

A drowsy moan escaped her, and Link smiled again as her eyes slowly blinked open, disoriented, looking from the sun to the restored lake in bewilderment. "Morning, sleepyhead," he greeted.

"Link?" Sheik mumbled and turned her head to focus on him. Then her eyes widened and she shot upright, her gaze sweeping over the valley. "Oh, the lake!"

"Yeah, it's back to normal," Link said, waving his hand. "I think Ruto did it with her power as a sage, but she said the curse on the domain would take a little longer to undo."

"I see," Sheik said, subdued, but her eyes crinkled with a hidden smile. "But at least the Zoras will be saved eventually. I had not dared to hope for so much."

"Me either," Link said, and they both fell silent for a moment, watching the lake. A few fish jumped, their splashes audible even from so far away. Link grinned and gave Sheik a sideways look. "So do you always wait for me outside the temples?"

Sheik started. "Ah," she stammered. "Well, what I mean to say is...not all of them..."

"Uh huh, sure Sheik," Link said with a knowing grin, and Sheik slumped her shoulders in defeat. He nudged her arm. "So how come you never say hello? Why don't you let me see you?"

"It is...not necessary," Sheik said, avoiding his gaze, and she tugged her cloak more firmly around her when the breeze picked up. "My duty is only to see you safely to the temples. Beyond that, I am not permitted to aid or to interfere. The task of awakening the sages must be accomplished by the hero and no other."

"Then why did you save my life at the Fire Temple, if you're not allowed to help me?" Link asked frankly and earned a shocked blink from the Sheikah.

"You...you remember that?"

Link nodded. He hadn't realized exactly what was happening at the time, not until much later. The battle with the dragon beneath the earth had left him mortally wounded, covered in burns and deep gashes, and he had collapsed from pain and exhaustion just after Darunia teleported him to the base of the crater, spiraling into a numb darkness from which he had thought he would never awaken. At least until Link had sensed someone turn him over and heave him upright, then press the rim of a bottle to his lips. The potion that had trickled down his parched throat had been near to boiling from the heat of the crater, but it had been the moisture he craved more than anything. His savior had only stayed long enough to make sure he drank, then left him, and Link had woken minutes later and somehow found the strength to limp up to the Goron city alone.

He remembered almost nothing of the one who had helped him. Nothing except their hands, slender and bandaged, and the gentle, melodic voice urging him not to give in just yet. It wasn't until he met Sheik again in the frozen domain that Link had realized those hands and that voice belonged to his Sheikah guide...but then she had disappeared before he had a chance to ask her about it. And he had been left to wonder whether it was really only duty that drove her to protect him, or if it was something more than that.

"I meant to thank you for that," Link added softly. "Even if you think it was interference, I never would have survived if it hadn't been for you."

Sheik made a noncommittal noise in her throat. "Technically, you were outside the temple," she said in halfhearted defense. "Therefore I was not precisely overstepping my bounds..."

Link chuckled at her oblique reasoning. "So there are loopholes?"

"...in a manner of speaking," Sheik conceded, but her eyes softened when she looked at him. "I do not regret intervening, in any case."

"Good," Link said, hesitating a moment, then he put his arm around her and drew her close to rest against him. Sheik stiffened in his hold.

"Link..."

"What?" Link said in feigned innocence, but secretly worried if he was now the one overstepping his bounds. "You're cold, I can tell."

"No, I am not," Sheik retorted, but she didn't try to pull away. Soon she leaned more fully against him and spread her cloak over them both, head resting on his shoulder. "Not anymore," she amended in a whisper.

"Let's watch the sunrise," Link suggested, even though the sun had plainly risen already, but Sheik didn't contradict him. By the time the sun had come fully into view and begun to climb in the sky, she was sleeping again, snuggled up to his chest like he was nothing but a giant pillow. After making sure his sword was within reach, Link made himself comfortable against the tree and closed his eyes as well, not planning to budge an inch until well past noon.

Chapter Text

"Excuse me, might you tell me where I can find the Hero of Time?"

"Mm?" the Goron inquired and raised his head from the lump of rock he was munching on. His teeth crunched down, and a chip of stone flew from his lips and struck Zelda just below her eye. "Oh, sorry about that, Mr. Sheikah!" he apologized.

"It's quite alright," Zelda said and flicked a few more stone bits off her shoulder. She would never understand the Gorons and their strange dietary needs. "The hero?"

"Oh, you mean Brother Link?" the Goron said with a broad smile and waved his hand at the higher tiers of the Goron city. "He's just up there where the hot springs are. I saw him heading in that direction a little while ago."

"Thank you," Zelda said politely and set off to locate the nearest set of stairs, wondering just what Link thought he was up to. The last time she had been here, he had still been recovering from his battle with Volvagia and hardly able to lift a finger, let alone leave his bed. Only a week had passed since then, and while Zelda was relieved to hear he was well enough to stand and walk, she worried Link might be overexerting himself out of a sense of duty. He needed to heal fully before he set out again, and Zelda intended to make sure he did just that if she had to drag him back to the infirmary and force-feed him potions by the spoonful.

By the time Zelda found the hot springs and the hero, she was fully prepared to carry out her mental threat. But all her lecturing words went right out the window when she stepped into the sweltering caverns, having not expected to find Link in the hot spring along with half a dozen lounging Gorons. And she especially had not expected to find him naked in the hot spring.

Oh...my...

Zelda halted in her tracks, tongue tied on a knot, mesmerized by the sight of his bare shoulders beaded with moisture. He had his back to her, arms stretched languidly along the rocky rim of the pool, and the expression on his flushed face was one of absolute bliss. He seemed so relaxed, so untroubled...so unconcerned with precisely how captivating he looked.

What on earth am I thinking? Zelda thought in a panic, her face flaming. She tried to convince herself to avert her eyes, for Link's privacy if nothing else, but found that for once she completely lacked anything resembling willpower. Of course she had always found Link handsome, his features pleasing to look upon, but never had Zelda taken the time to really look at him and appreciate all that was there. But there was nothing to stop her from appreciating it now, taking in everything at once. Every defined muscle, every strand of damp hair clinging to the nape of his neck...

One of the Gorons noticed her standing there dumbstruck and broke off his jovial conversation with the others. "Hm? Can we help you, Mr. Sheikah?"

"Sheikah?" Link repeated, starting from his doze, and he half turned to look at her, smiling brightly. "Oh, Sheik! Hey, you guys, this is Sheik. I told you about him, right? He's the one Zelda sent to help me."

"It's, ah...a pleasure to meet you all," Zelda said faintly as the Gorons each called out lazy greetings, though the heat made them too slothful for much else. She counted herself lucky they took Link at his word that she was a man as well and thought nothing of her being here. Zelda came forward another step to disguise her timidity, feeling a trickle of nervous sweat slide down the back of her neck. The cloth bindings around her head were suddenly too hot, too constricting.

Pretend there's nothing wrong, pretend there's nothing wrong...

"So what are you doing here, Sheik?" Link asked, oblivious to the very illicit thoughts that had been running through her head. He straightened, his expression becoming more serious. "Did you need me for something?"

Zelda cleared her throat, struggling to breathe the moisture-laden air, and forced herself to look only at his face and not at the bubbling water that was barring her from seeing anything below his chest. "I...no, it is nothing. I merely came to make sure you were convalescing from your battle, hero."

"Oh yeah, I feel a lot better," Link assured her, and to her dismay he rose up to show her, the water lapping dangerously low around his hips and only just shielding his lower regions. He tapped his chest, which was smattered with burn scars and healing scratches where the dragon had clawed him. "These hot springs are amazing. I didn't really believe these guys when they said soaking would be good for my wounds, but it's like I'm sitting in a fairy fountain. You guys should bottle this stuff and sell it!"

One of the Gorons chuckled richly. "If only we could! But the healing properties only stay in the spring water while it's hot. Put it in a bottle and it becomes nothing but plain water once it's cooled."

"Aw, that's too bad," Link lamented. "I would've filled up ten bottles of it to bring with me..."

"Y-Yes, it is a shame," Zelda stammered and turned her head aside, giddy in a way that had nothing to do with the temperature. She had to leave at once. Nothing good could come of her remaining, no matter how badly she wanted to stay and ogle the hero of her kingdom. "I hope you will continue to recuperate. Now I must be going..."

"You're leaving already?" Link called in disappointment when he noticed her backing away. "No, hang on, Sheik! Why don't you join us?"

"Join...you?" Zelda squeaked, eyes wide, her imagination flooding with various scenarios involving her and the hot spring and Link...

"Yes, join us," Link laughed and pointed at the pool in a playfully bossy manner. "As in get your butt in here and relax for once. I hardly ever get a chance to talk to you. Why can't you hang out for awhile?"

"I-I have duties!" Zelda insisted and could not for the life of her make her voice return to less shrill tones.

"Duties that can wait," Link countered. He lowered himself back into the water and swirled the surface invitingly with his hand. "Come on, you know you want to..."

Oh hero, why must you tempt me? Zelda thought and averted her gaze entirely. "No! I-I thank you, but I really shouldn't...I mean I do not find such things to be..."

Link studied her for a moment, then his grin became teasing. "Oh, I get it...you're shy, right? There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Sheik. We're all guys here! Er...we are, aren't we? I still have trouble telling you Gorons apart sometimes..."

The Gorons all gave booming laughs at his circumspect look, and Zelda took the opportunity while his back was turned to flee from the cavern. At the first empty corridor she found, Zelda leaned against the wall and hid her face in her hands, desperately trying not to envision how heavenly it would have felt to discard her clothes and slip into the steamy water alongside Link, those strong arms encircling her, holding her in ways she could only dream about...

No, enough of that! Zelda breathed deeply of the cooler air to recover her composure. How could she think of him in such a way? The goddesses had blessed Link with that flawless body so he could fulfill his destiny as a hero, not for her own personal fantasies. And if Link were to somehow find out...she could never bear to face him again.

"Sheik?"

Zelda stiffened, then made herself calm down. She could overcome this, she had to. Or at least she had to try. She was not about to let herself be distracted by something as wanton and juvenile as physical lust. Zelda raised her head as Link approached, holding fast to the towel around his waist and still dripping wet from the hot spring. He rested a hand on the wall beside her with a look of concern.

"You didn't have to leave so quickly like that. I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable..."

"No, you didn't," Zelda said quickly and scrambled for an excuse, no matter how pitiful it was. "It was...it was only the heat, the fumes. They made me feel ill."

"Are you sure that was all?" Link asked, peering at her closely. Zelda nodded and tried to sidle along the wall and put some distance between them, but froze when Link touched the back of his fingers to her forehead. "You do look kind of red. Maybe you should go see the Goron healers."

"No, I'm...perfectly fine," Zelda said, almost quivering from his proximity. He was so close and so warm...his clean and masculine scent was almost overwhelming, and she couldn't stop her eyes from straying to his bare chest and lingering for much longer than was appropriate. And unfortunately, Link noticed. He glanced down at his mostly unclothed state, then back at her, comprehension dawning. Zelda looked aside quickly, and her gut turned to lead when Link sighed and rested a hand on her shoulder in a consoling gesture. Now she had done it. She could not have made her true gender more obvious if she tried, and Zelda braced herself for his reaction.

"I'm sorry, Sheik, I didn't even realize," Link said with a maturity he rarely displayed. "I had no idea you felt that way about me. I'm really sorry, I don't know how else to say this...but I don't look at other men like that."

Zelda stared at him. "You...don't...what?"

"Don't worry, I won't make fun of you for it," Link assured her, smiling and giving her shoulder a friendly pat. "It's kind of flattering, actually. But is that why you're always disappearing without a word? Did you think I wouldn't want to be around you anymore?"

Her mouth fell open, but nothing came out except a croak. So Link still thought she was a man...and attracted to him. That was nearly as mortifying as the entire truth, perhaps even more so. And now faced with the dilemma of whether to correct him or not, Zelda realized it was probably best to let him go on believing this humiliating falsehood if only to preserve her own identity. She ducked her head, swallowing it as best she could. "I...hope you will not allow this to hinder our future interactions," she mumbled. "It is still my duty to guide you. And I am sure it is only a fleeting thing, merely a..."

"A crush?" Link suggested slyly. Seeing her glare, he waved his hand in apology and pulled her into a one-armed hug. "Sorry, I promised I wouldn't make fun...don't worry about it, Sheik. We're still friends, okay? Nothing will ever change that. And if it's just a crush, I'm sure it won't last very long, and then we can forget all about it and go back to the way things were."

Zelda licked her lips, tentatively letting her arms wrap around him, fingers splayed on his back. Oh goddesses, why did he have to be so kind? Her feelings would have been so much easier to set aside had he been angry and condemning instead, and now Zelda feared that unless she abstained from all contact with Link from now on—which was not an option—then her desire would only become stronger over time.

But...perhaps there was another way...

"Link...thank you for understanding. But can you do me one favor? To make this easier?"

"Okay, what...?"

"Shut your eyes. And don't open them no matter what."

Link pulled back a bit, perplexed, but seeing she was being serious, he did as asked and closed his eyes. Zelda tugged down her veil with a shaking hand, trusting the dimness of the corridor to hide her identity. She knew this was a terrible idea. There were a hundred different reasons why she shouldn't give in to this impulse that could only lead to further complications between the two of them. But if this was what it took to rid herself of this ill-timed infatuation, then Zelda was more than willing to take the risk.

"Uh, Sheik?" Link said uneasily and started to crack one eye open. "Why did you want me to...?"

Zelda grabbed the sides of his face and wrenched him down to smash their lips together. Link made a muffled cry, but Zelda didn't give him a chance to protest, twining her arms around his neck and shoving him against the wall, pouring all her longing into the kiss. It was unpracticed and a little sloppy, but that mattered so little compared to the taste of him, the way it made her pulse thud hard and fast in her ears. Zelda savored it, expecting Link to push her back at any moment, and so she was entirely unprepared when he seized her in sudden passion and returned the kiss just as ardently. Their lips parted and allowed their tongues to meet, a sensation of heat and wetness that made her shiver and think of the hot springs.

Link moaned, his eyelids fluttering against her cheek. When they finally broke apart to gasp for breath, he pressed his forehead to hers, blinking dazedly like he couldn't figure out what had happened. "Wow," he breathed. "T-That...was...wow..."

He kissed her again, softer this time, tightening his arms to draw her right up against him. Zelda sighed and melted into it, completely forgetting herself and what she was doing...but only until she felt something cloth-like flutter against her leg and crumple at their feet. She froze at the same time as Link, and Zelda buried her face in his shoulder. "That was the towel, wasn't it?" she said in a small voice.

"I...hope not?" Link said, clearing his throat, and she felt him peer over her shoulder. "Yes, it was," he admitted.

Zelda shoved him away and turned her back, tugging her veil back over her burning face. "Forgive me, I...this was highly inappropriate. I should leave now."

"No, wait," Link said, his voice ragged and rife with confusion. He made a grab for her, fingertips grazing her elbow, but Zelda was already sprinting away as fast as she could, leaving Link to give chase only belatedly. "Sheik...wait, we can talk about this! Come back—oh crap, the towel!"

By the time Link retraced his steps to retrieve the forgotten towel, Zelda had turned a corner and ducked into a shadowed alcove where she waited breathlessly until he had gone past without seeing her. Zelda raked her fingers through her hair, biting back a whimper. Now she had done it. Now she had thoroughly embarrassed herself and thoroughly baffled him as well. And to add insult to injury, she still found herself attracted to him. That kiss had only caused her desire to blaze stronger than ever, not dampened it as she had fleetingly hoped.

"You may be the savior of my kingdom," Zelda muttered, frustrated with herself for having no self-control and frustrated with him for stealing what little she had. "But you, hero, just might be my undoing."

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Navi was being awfully talkative for so early in the morning. Her voice was a constant buzz in his ear as his dreams receded, and Link ignored it as he rolled onto his back and sluggishly draped an arm over his eyes. It couldn't possibly be time to get up yet. He was still so tired, completely sapped of strength. He groaned when Navi's shrill cries kicked up a notch, practically screeching in his ear as she tried to wake him up, and he thought he could even hear Epona snorting and stamping her hooves with impatience.

"'M fine, Navi," Link said hoarsely, which was an outright lie. He felt horrible. Dizzy and nauseous, his head pounding, and each breath was a slow, rasping thing that made his throat burn. That must be why he couldn't move...he was ill. Link honestly wasn't surprised after spending so many nights camped out in the open fields with only a thin bedroll for protection.

He let his arm flop back to his side, and it took him another few seconds to force his eyelids open, the effort nearly too taxing to bother with. But he managed it at length and stared listlessly at the overcast sky. A few gray flakes drifted down and alighted on his shoulders and head. There were even more scattered across the fields—or what little of the fields he could see through the dense fog shrouding everything. Link shut his eyes again, grateful that Navi had stopped her pestering. To be fair it was probably best that he rise and begin the day's travels before the snow buried him. But he was so warm and comfortable here. If she would just give him another minute...

Realization jolted him out of his daze. But it's summer...how can there be snow? And if there is snow, then how can I be warm?

"Navi?" Link croaked. He was answered by a shrill whinny right above his head, which was then accompanied by a swift kick in his side. Link wheezed, inhaling sharply, and right away he began to cough so hard that he thought a lung would come up. He kicked away the blanket and rolled to his hands and knees, eyes streaming as he covered his mouth with his sleeve. A sharp and acrid taste coated his tongue like poison, and it only became worse each time he breathed in the thick smoke around him. Smoke, not snow. Link crawled toward the campfire, thinking that was the culprit, and he ended up staring stupidly at the pile of coals that had gone cold hours ago. But the heat had to be coming from somewhere. He could feel it hitting him in waves, wafting up from the south and east just like the smoke.

Slowly, Link turned to look over his shoulder. His vision was blurry and unreliable, but he blinked a few times and squinted into the distance. Something wasn't right. He knew the grassy fields should stretch on for as far as he could see, but less than a mile away he could see a broad orange barrier that was the source of those billowing smoke clouds. And beyond all that flickering orange was great swathes of blackened earth scraped bare of any greenery.

"Fire?" Link muttered, struggling to grasp what he was seeing. But even though his mind saw and understood the danger, part of him was still numb and uncaring and sluggish to respond. There was no need to rush, was there? The wildfire was way over there and would take ages to reach him. He might as well go back to sleep again. Almost without his noticing, he began to lay his tired body back down...

Epona brayed in open panic and clamped her teeth on his sleeve hard enough to nick his skin. The sharp pain snapped him back out of his stupor, and Link gasped and staggered to his feet. No, he couldn't stay here. He had to run. Link took a few wobbly steps in the right direction, then cursed silently and went back for Navi where she had collapsed beside his bedroll, tiny lungs succumbing to the smoke. Lacking any other way to carry her, Link dug an empty bottle from his saddlebags and stuffed her inside.

The last items he grabbed her his sword and shield, and his belt pouches with the Ocarina of Time and other precious items. The rest of the supplies in his saddlebags could be replaced, including his boots. He didn't even bother to saddle Epona and merely leapt onto her bare back, fingers twined in her mane. The terrified mare was more than ready to be gone from the camp and began galloping so fast that Link had to hold on for dear life. He glanced back again, and fear clawed up his throat when he realized how much distance the fire had already eaten up. It was voracious and unstoppable and so huge that he could see no end in either direction. Everything in its path was sure to be devoured.

He shouted suddenly and yanked on Epona's mane, heart pounding in sick realization. "Sheik!" he bellowed, only now remembering the Sheikah was camped somewhere nearby. He had fallen asleep last night listening to the sound of her lyre drifting across the fields. Epona resisted when he tried to turn her around, tossing her head and rolling her eyes, but thankfully she trusted him enough to ignore her natural instincts and turn back in the direction he wanted, back toward the inferno.

"You're getting a bucket of carrots once this is over!" Link promised over the pounding hooves and crackling flames. When they reached the place he thought he had heard the lyre last night, he frantically scanned their murky surroundings, but could see no sign of a second camp. Not about to give up, he urged Epona toward a high mound of rocks not far away, thinking he might see something from up there. It turned out to be the best thing he could have done because as they closed the distance Link made out a familiar blue and gray figure perched high on the rocks.

Epona refused to slow down as they raced by, but Sheik didn't hesitate and threw herself off the rocks to land on the mare right behind him. Link reached back to grab her before she slipped off, helping to keep her in place until Sheik could wrap her arms around him. Epona never even buckled under the added weight, tireless as she ran on.

"I tried to find you!" Sheik shouted, and her voice sounded just as raw and scratchy as his own. "I tried, but I couldn't breathe. The smoke—"

"Don't worry!" Link said, lungs aching too much for further words. He tried to take a deeper breath, but that just made his head swim even more. Desperate now, he made Epona halt at the top of a rise so he could look around, and the sight that greeted him when he looked back was like a punch in the gut. In a few short minutes his camp had been completely engulfed and the fire just kept coming, inexorable as an ocean wave. The flames hemmed them in from all sides and left nowhere to run.

"Oh goddesses," Link whispered. "Which way to we even...?"

"The river!" Sheik cried, pointing ahead to a thin stream of blue in the distance. "If we can cross it, we might escape!"

"The fire's coming too fast!" Link said even as he steered Epona toward the promise of safety.

"We must try!"

"C'mon, girl!" Link shouted at Epona. The mare gladly obliged and hurtled down the slope...only to stumble and scream as she went down hard. Link was pitched headfirst from her back and hit the grass painfully, skidding for a short distance. He spat out a mouthful of dirt as he crawled back to where Sheik had dropped beside Epona, though thankfully the mare hadn't landed on her. Epona struggled to rise from her knees, but floundered again with a cry of pain and sprawled onto her side. Link knelt by her head, horrified by the sight of her right foreleg which had twisted so badly that it turned his stomach to look at it. Sheik passed her hands along the mangled limb, and the dire look she shot him told Link all he needed. Epona couldn't even stand up, let alone run for safety. Link looked around, desperately seeking a way out that didn't exist, and all the while he could hear the roar of the flames coming closer.

A scrape of metal brought his attention back. The sight of the dagger in Sheik's hand made his breath catch, and he seized her wrist before she could bring it near the injured mare. "No! No, you can't—!"

"It's this or the fire!" Sheik snapped, but her eyes showed her own distress at the impossible choice. "I'm sorry...we cannot save her."

Link tried to shake his head in denial, but Sheik held his gaze until his throat grew tight. He knew she was right. There was no other way, no time to even think of another way. And one quick stab had to be better than being burned alive. For any other creature he might have been able to deliver the mercy blow himself. But...this was Epona. She had borne him through so much and never abandoned him, not even now. It wasn't right that the one time Epona needed him, Link couldn't do a single thing to save her. He couldn't carry her the way she carried him.

"Link..."

"I'll do it," Link choked and blindly fumbled for the dagger. He owed her that much at least. But Sheik pushed his hand away, shaking her head, and Link had no strength in his heart to argue. He held her gaze for a second longer, wanting to ask her to be swift and cause as little pain as possible, except the words wouldn't come. But they weren't needed anyway, and Sheik nodded in silent reassurance. Link took comfort from that as he turned back to Epona. He stroked her lathered neck, hating himself for the suffering in her glassy eyes. And the trust. Even now the mare grew calmer with him so close, though she still writhed and bleated weakly, hooves pawing at the earth.

"Shh, it's okay, girl," Link said shakily and tried to keep his eyes on Epona and not on Sheik putting the point of the dagger to her chest. He leaned down to press his cheek to her neck, speaking into her ear as if the lie would drown out the fire and the danger and the trust that he was about to betray. "I'm right here, it's okay. It's...it's not going to hurt much longer. You'll be fine. I promise, you'll be fine...you'll be fine..."

Epona flicked her ear toward him, still breathing laboriously, but for now completely focused on him. Sheik took that chance to slide the dagger between her ribs and into her heart. Epona made an awful high-pitched squeal, jerking once beneath him, but then all the fight drained from her at once and his mare died with barely a sigh. Link took one look at her lifeless eyes and broke apart, unable to hold back the tears or the racking sobs that tore him up inside. He ignored Sheik when she tried to pull him up, clutched at the soft white mane and refused to be moved. He couldn't leave, he couldn't. Epona deserved to be mourned first before he abandoned her to the fire. It took Sheik jerking him up by the collar and slapping him before Link finally released his horse and followed after her, stumbling blindly down the slope. He tried to look back, but Sheik dragged him onward with one slender hand on his wrist, the other still clutching the bloody dagger.

"Epona..."

"She's gone, Link!" Sheik screamed at him. Link blinked away tears, glimpsing the fire cresting the hill behind them and consuming the grass at a speed that was terrifying to behold. The air around them had reached a sweltering temperature, he could feel the heat singeing the hairs on the back of his neck. Link almost resigned himself to being overtaken by it, thinking that at least Epona wouldn't be alone in the afterlife.

But then his feet splashed into water that was shockingly cold, and Link was soon swimming in earnest as his will to survive overcame his grief. Sheik reached the other shore first with Link right behind her, dragging themselves onto land like a pair of drowned casts. Link collapsed in the grass to catch his breath, ready to fall unconscious then and there, but Sheik was already hauling him up and urging him to keep moving.

"But...we made it," Link mumbled in dazed confusion. "We're at the river..."

"The smoke won't be stopped by water," Sheik told him. "And the ashes could drift to this side and ignite more fires. We've bought time, but we're still in danger here. We must keep going!"

"How far?"

"As far as we can! Link, move!"

Link dragged himself up, exhausted and bereaved and silently wishing all of this would just end. But he ran along with Sheik, for minutes or hours he couldn't have told, always aware of the wildfire at his back and feeling as though he was suffocating on the scorched air. And still he ran even after darkness had blotted out the world and the fire only chased him in his dreams.

Waking up was a strange experience. Part of Link had never expected to have the pleasure of waking up again. He opened his eyes onto a low, rocky ceiling and lay there for a full minute trying to work out what it was. A blue fairy darted over his head, making him wince at her bright light, and Navi immediately burrowed beneath his hat and stayed there quivering.

"Glad you're okay too," Link murmured and barely recognized his own voice. His throat was so sore that even swallowing brought tears to his eyes. He moved stiffly, pushing himself upright an inch at a time, and grimaced when he looked down at his green tunic that was now streaked black from the ash. His breeches were somewhat tattered, the skin on his calves reddened and smarting, and he was at a loss to remember how the burns had happened. Even his face felt tight and prickly like a bad sunburn.

"It's passed us now."

Link glanced up toward the mouth of the shallow cave, only now noticing Sheik seated at the entrance with her arms around her knees. Beyond her was a blackened wasteland that stretched on out of sight, and Link could still see a red haze on the horizon where the fields were still burning. The cave was high enough that the fire hadn't reached them, and Link could vaguely remember scaling a steep cliff to reach it. It had been close though. So close that he shuddered to think of it. They nearly hadn't made it.

One of us didn't, Link reminded himself. He pushed himself back against the cave wall, staring at the earthen ground but instead seeing a pair of frightened brown eyes silently begging him for help. Begging him to take the pain away. Link shut his eyes against another rush of tears, wanting to scream and weep hysterically like he had when Epona first died, but too shattered to do either.

"Are you alright?" Sheik asked him in gentle concern.

"I'm," Link began and held himself back from saying fine. He wasn't even close to being fine. That word was completely inadequate to describe what he was feeling. Grateful to be alive and hating his own gratitude. Distraught over losing Epona and hating that feeling too because he had no right to grieve when it was his fault she had been in danger. He even hated Sheik a little bit for killing his mare, but that was pointless because she had only being doing what had to be done. It was more than he had been willing to do.

He heard a rustle as Sheik approached him, easing herself down to sit beside him. Like she was afraid any sudden movements would break him. Link couldn't bring himself to look at her and stared at both their feet. It was odd to see Sheik with bare feet instead of the slim boots she normally wore. She must have left her own camp in a hurry just like him.

"I'm so sorry, Link," Sheik said, the words halting but heartfelt. "I'm sorry for what happened to Epona. If there had been another way..."

Link nodded and tried not to show how much it hurt to even hear her name. It reminded him of that day so long ago when Malon had first introduced him to the spirited filly whose name meant divine mare. Epona hadn't liked him very much at first and only tolerated him because he fed her carrots. But then, seven years later when he had returned to the ranch, Epona had recognized him. Link liked to think she had remembered the sound of his ocarina and known he was a friend that could be trusted. She had never left his side after that thrilling escape from the ranch, always coming at a fast gallop whenever he played her favorite song...

Link stiffened. "The Song of Storms," he breathed.

"What?" Sheik said in confusion.

"I could have saved her with that," Link said, and that stupidly obvious truth was like a knife twisting deep into his own heart. "I had the ocarina with me, I could have summoned rain to stop the fire. It would've saved us a lot of running. And Epona would still be..."

Sheik held her silence for a moment, and if she noticed his tears then she pretended not to. Link buried his face in his hands and wished he could go back in time and kick his younger self in the head for not thinking of that. She might have been saved if only he had put some more thought into it...but it had all happened too fast. He was still struggling to accept that it hadn't been a bad dream and that Epona was really gone. She would never eat another carrot from his hand, never steal his favorite hat or chase off another cucco for daring to peck him. She wouldn't be there to carry him when he was tired and keep him warm when the nights grew cold. Each precious memory evoked another and another, cascading in his mind and bringing fresh waves of sorrow and guilt.

"I've seen you play that song before," Sheik said after a long moment. "But the storms you summoned were always brief, there and gone in the blink of an eye. A wildfire like that with the wind backing it wouldn't have even slowed down."

"You don't know that," Link said stubbornly, preferring to wallow in regret than accept his own powerlessness.

"Yes, I do," Sheik said with an edge of frustration. "I know how much she meant to you, and I know you want to believe she could have been saved. But there was nothing you or I could have done, and trying to convince yourself otherwise will only torture you more. The best thing you can do now is move on."

"Move on," Link said with an angry shake of his head. "Do you even know how much it hurts to think of that? What am I supposed to do? Just find a new horse and pretend it's the same thing? It isn't, Sheik, it never will be! She wasn't...she wasn't just a horse to me, she was my friend. I saved her from Ingo and Ganondorf, I tamed her when she was so wild that even Malon couldn't go near her. She trusted me, and I let her die!"

"You spared her from a far worse death," Sheik said, earnest as she moved to crouch before him. "No one forced Epona to remain by your side and bear you through that fire. She did that herself because she wanted to save you, the master she loved. Any true friend would have done the same. Instead of blaming yourself, you should honor her courage and her sacrifice...and take solace that you were with her during her final moments. It was of some comfort to her, I'm certain."

Link only stared at her hollowly, the words lost on him. Sheik could console him all she wanted, but right now he was convinced that Epona's death had been all his fault. He should have left the mare with Malon or set her free in the wild, but never kept her for himself, knowing the perilous road he walked as a hero. He should have known it would come to this. It seemed that all his closest friends somehow ended up in danger because of their connection to him. Next time it might be Sheik dying at his feet while he stood by uselessly and offered futile words of comfort.

"We should move on," Sheik said and straightened up, oblivious to the horrific images flashing before his eyes and the foreboding in his heart. "I'm not even sure where exactly we are. We need to find a road and see if we can follow it to a town or village."

"How do you know they're not all burned down?" Link said morosely. He let Sheik help him up and limped over to the cave entrance, gazing out at the stark, barren earth for miles in all directions, an awful and distressing sight to his inner Kokiri.

"If they saw the smoke soon enough, the villagers would have had time to dig a trench or create up some kind of barrier," Sheik assured him. "Some of the larger towns may already have such defenses in place. The people of Hyrule are prepared for natural disasters like this."

"Natural," Link muttered. "Why does nature have to be so cruel sometimes?"

Sheik offered him no answer, which part of Link was grateful for. But she ducked her head, and Link glanced over when he noticed she was fiddling with a small item in her hands. Before Link could ask what it was, Sheik took his hand and set a lock of braided hair in his palm, white and silken and as familiar to his fingers as his own hair. Link gave her a quick, astonished look before returning his attention to the salvaged piece of Epona's mane, bound at the ends with the same strips of cloth that Sheik used on her forearms.

"What is...when did you...?"

"Just...afterward," Sheik said and seemed nervous all of a sudden. She hugged herself and peeked up at him fretfully as if to gauge his reaction. "I-I realize it was presumptuous of me. I had no time to consider your feelings or ask your permission. But I thought...you might want something to remember her by. Or at least some part of her to bury with your own hands."

Link swallowed hard, speechless and wondering how he could have been angry with Sheik or think she could never understand his loss. Even in the midst of the danger and chaos, she had thought ahead to the pain he would face and sought a way to help him find peace. If that wasn't the act of a true friend, then he didn't know what was. Link held the braid close to his heart and wrapped his other arm around Sheik in a tight hug, which must have bemused her to no end since he had never tried to hug her before. Judging from her stiff posture and muted sputtering, it had been a long time since anyone tried to hug her.

"Thank you, Sheik," Link said and leaned back to give her a feeble smile. "You're right. She deserves to be remembered. I think...I want to hang onto it for awhile. And if I find a good place, then I can say goodbye to her properly."

Sheik nodded. "Then I'm glad," she said, even though the sadness was still heavy in her eyes. Link carefully tucked the braid into his tunic as she turned for the cave entrance, and after a moment he followed her out into the ravaged fields.

Chapter Text

Impa crossed her arms and appraised him from across the distance, her pose an exact mimicry of the first time Link had met her as a boy. When she spoke, her voice seemed to echo on for eternity, resonating across the rivers that flowed endlessly in the Chamber of the Sages. "Well, now...the last time I laid eyes on you, you were just a lad. But just look at you now. In seven short years you have grown and matured into a fine hero."

Link beamed. "And you became a sage," he said and nodded at the dais she stood upon. "The Sage of Shadow."

"Indeed," Impa said, chuckling to herself. "And what must this world be coming to when the gods must rely on an old and weathered attendant like myself to lead Hyrule from the darkness?"

"Oh, come on, you're not that old!" Link insisted with a quick grin. "I know some of the Kokiri who have been around since way before you were born. Although you wouldn't know that from looking at them since they still look like kids and you, uh...don't...you know what, never mind! Forget I said anything!"

Impa shook her head, eyes alight with humor. "Seven years and you still don't know how to address a woman properly? For shame, Hero of Time!"

Link hung his head sheepishly, but underneath their banter he could sense the sadness they were both trying to conceal. He had been through this with the other sages, but that didn't make it any easier to accept that soon Impa would take her place among them. Her spirit would ascend to the Sacred Realm, and though Link would carry her power with him, she could never return to Hyrule as she was now. He would never see her again. This meeting was a final farewell for them both.

"Link," Impa said in that gentle and mothering tone that he knew so well. "No, do not give me that expression. Truly, I am honored and humbled to perform this duty for my kingdom, no matter the personal sacrifice to myself. I know you understand my feelings well."

"I do," Link said, aware once more of the weight of the Master Sword slung across his back. He shouldered his fate so easily most of the time, but it was moments like these when he realized just how heavy the burden was. "But Impa...I'm still going to miss you..."

Impa smiled, regarding him with eyes that now seemed a thousand years old and held all the wisdom and suffering of ages past. "Then I ask you not to waste your tears on me. I shall be with you, lad. Every step you take toward Ganondorf, I will be at your side, along with the rest of the sages. Now, Link...accept my power as the Sage of Shadow and let it be added to your own!"

Impa raised her arms as a soundless humming filled the chamber that made the back of his neck prickle. Link couldn't explain the feeling to himself, only that he got the impression of an impossible amount of energy gathering between Impa's palms, condensing and compressing until there was a flash of light and all that was left was a small medallion in a shade of violet so intense that it seemed to suck up the light around it. Link cupped his hands so the medallion could float over and plunk down into the cradle of his fingers. It was much heavier than it looked, burdened as it was with shadow magic, and Link tucked it away with the other four inside his tunic.

"So are you sages ever going to tell me what these medallions are for?"

"In time," Impa promised him. "I will send you back now. One more sage awaits your coming. I wish you luck, Link."

"Wait!" Link blurted out, and he licked his lips nervously when Impa paused with a puzzled look. No backing down now, he told himself sternly. "Before I go, there's...something I need to talk to you about. Well actually, it's more of a question..."

"Is that so?" Impa said and lowered her hands to give him her undivided attention. "And what might that be? If it is something to do with your destiny, remember that I am...limited in what I can tell you."

"N-No, it's something else," Link said and silently cursed himself for stuttering. "It's about...about Sheik."

Impa narrowed her eyes just slightly. "Has something happened to her?" she said sharply.

"Oh no, it's nothing like that!" Link assured her. "She's fine, really."

"Then what is it?" Impa said with a trace of exasperation, which made her sound far less sagely and more like her usual blunt self. "Whatever this question of yours is, I would prefer that you ask it straight out rather than beating around the bush and forcing me to guess a thousand terrible things."

Link nodded, more to himself than to Impa, and wished he could start over. Navi had insisted he go through with this formality and make a good impression while he was at it, and here he was already botching it up. But this was his last chance, his only chance. Steeling himself, Link made an effort to stand a little straighter. "What I'm trying to say is, I'm really grateful you sent her to be my guide. I know you would both say you're only doing your duty, but I'm still grateful. Sheik and I...we've spent so much time together, both fighting for the same cause, and we've...gotten really close. I-I mean, as friends! We've gotten close as friends!"

Now he knew he was botching it up. Impa's expression was becoming more grave by the moment and held an edge of fierce protectiveness, neither of which boded well for the request he was about to put forth.

"We've gotten close," Link went on, keeping his sweaty hands fisted at his sides. "And I care about her. I think I always have, ever since we met in the Temple of Time, and I think...I know she cares about me to. And I don't know if it goes against some kind of code or rule for the Sheikah, but since she's your apprentice, I thought you would be the one to ask..."

"Link," Impa said in a neutral tone, "what exactly are you asking of me?"

He hesitated as he tried to think of a more respectful or decorous way to word it, but since he had never been good with that sort of thing, Link settled for broaching it plainly. "I'm asking for your permission," he said all in a rush. "To court Sheik."

He held his breath as silence fell between them, his entire body strung tight with anticipation. There it was, out in the open, the words he hadn't even dared to speak aloud to Sheik. Link hadn't even recognized the change in his feelings until very recently after Ruto's awakening. It had become something of a routine for Sheik to meet him just outside of each temple, ready and waiting with bandages and potions, and this time he had badly needed both. And this time, as Link had reclined against the tree on the isle above the temple entrance, as he had watched Sheik carefully wrap up his wounds, all he had been able to think about was tugging her veil down so he could lean in and claim her lips with his own. The impulse had been so sudden and so foreign, and yet so very thrillingto consider. He might have done it if he hadn't been worried about how she would react. Sheik had never given any real indication that she felt the same way.

But sometimes, there were moments. Moments when her hands would linger, caressing him with such tenderness, and she would linger as well and delay their farewell for as long as possible. Those were the moments when Sheik would look at him, and there would be something in her eyes. Some flicker of emotion, some yearning. Something to give him cause for hope. She had a way of looking at him as if she already knew everything about him. His strengths and weaknesses, his mind and heart, and Link couldn't help but want to know her too. And he hoped that if he came back this time and told Sheik they had Impa's blessing, then maybe...

But his hope began to fade as the seconds ticked by in agonizing slowness. Long before Impa gave her answer, Link knew what she would say. He could tell by the genuine regret in her red eyes and the way she shook her head slowly, but firmly.

"No. I am sorry, but I cannot give you my permission. In fact, I must forbid it."

Even though he had seen it coming, the word no still slammed into him like a tidal wave and left him stunned. It had occurred to him that Impa might refuse at first or not take him seriously, and Link had been prepared to talk it out and convince her that he was sincere. But to be turned away so irrevocably shocked him almost to the point of feeling betrayed.

"But...why?" Link whispered almost inaudibly. "I thought you would understand..."

"Yes, I do understand," Impa said, but her tone remained stern. "I don't doubt for a moment you were speaking from your heart and with complete honesty. And were it not for the circumstances as they stand, I would have gladly given you both my blessing."

"Then why?" Link said and couldn't keep the tremble of anger from his voice. "Circumstances as they stand...what does that mean? What else is keeping us from...?"

"Have you told Sheik of this yet?"

Link faltered and ducked his head. "No," he said softly. "Not yet, anyway."

"Then I think it would be best for you to remain silent on this matter," Impa said, holding up her hand when Link would have opened his mouth to disagree loudly and vehemently. "Be angry at me if you must, Link, but what you ask for is impossible."

"But all I'm asking for is a chance!" Link said, hands held out beseechingly, his initial disbelief giving way to panic. He couldn't bear the thought of keeping his desire locked away. To never have that bond with Sheik, to never hold her or kiss her like he had wanted to that day...it would be too hard. "Impa, just tell me what I can do. What can I say to change your mind? There's got to be something!"

"There isn't, I'm afraid."

"But I can't—"

"Just think, lad," Impa cut him off. "There is a reason why it must be this way. There is a reason I have told Sheik to have as little contact with you as possible, and you should know very well what that reason is after all this time. What is the one thing that we, as Sheikah, are sworn to protect at all costs?"

Link stilled and looked aside, hollow all of a sudden. "The royal family of Hyrule," he murmured. "Zelda. What does she have to do with any of this?"

"Everything, Link," Impa said with a deep sigh. "In order to protect the princess, I have instilled in Sheik the necessity of absolute secrecy. Ganondorf is watching you at all times, waiting for the moment when you might meet with the princess or have contact with her, and so far your ignorance on her exact whereabouts has kept Zelda safe. But if you tell Sheik everything you have told me...then whether she reciprocates your feelings or not, she will feel compelled to tell you more than you are ready to know. About Zelda, about herself...about everything."

"But she doesn't have to tell me anything!" Link protested. "I...I know Zelda needs to be safe, and I wouldn't ask that of her..."

"I know her far better than you, and I can say in no uncertain terms that she would not be capable of withholding that information from you," Impa told him. "And then everything we have worked for would be compromised, and Zelda would be in the gravest danger. I cannot allow that, no matter what."

Link turned away, hands on his hips, glaring off into the misty void around the dais and struggling to master the bitterness and anger that had flared within him suddenly. "So because of Zelda, I can't be with Sheik," he muttered.

"Link, do not say such a thing," Impa said with a frown. "You know that Zelda is not to blame for the way everything has turned out."

"Well, why shouldn't I blame her?" Link snapped and threw up his hands, his voice resounding harshly in the chamber. "I've already pledged myself to save Hyrule. I've given her my sword, my shield, I've risked my life for her, and Sheik has risked just as much! But what risks has Zelda been taking? Or does she think it's up to us to make all the sacrifices?"

"Link!"

Link faltered at the sharp reprimand in Impa's tone and dropped his gaze to his palms. "I...I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from," he whispered. "It's just...Zelda has already asked so much of me. Why does she have to take this too? Can't I at least keep my heart for myself?"

Impa shut her eyes with a pained expression. "Oh, Link," she murmured.

"What?" Link asked and raised his head in confusion. "What is it?"

But Impa merely looked at him, blinking back tears. She lifted her hands again, and a blue light began to swirl around his form and prevented him from seeing the chamber. "Very soon, you will meet with Zelda face to face. She will explain everything, and that is when my reasons will become clear to you. Until then, Link..."

"Until then, what?" Link called over the roar of magic in his ears. His vision turned completely white as a sensation of warmth and weightlessness overtook him, and Link was forced to give up the fight and let the spell whisk him away. But not before he heard Impa's last words.

"Please watch over the princess in my stead. Tell Sheik to be strong in my absence...and tell her that I'm proud of her."

The light around him faded, and there was suddenly a solid ground beneath his feet and a cool wind caressing his face. A rumble of thunder overhead made Link crane his head back, blinking as a few scattered drops struck his face and trickled down his jaw. The storm from earlier had finally ceased, and a scent of fresh grass and fertile earth filled the graveyard. Link exhaled heavily and bowed his head, disappointed with the outcome of that encounter and wishing he had put up more of a fight. But somehow, Link didn't think it would have made a difference, and he couldn't criticize Impa when she had only been doing what she thought was right.

But Zelda was another matter.

Link grimaced and moved to sit against the wooden barrier that blocked the temple from the rest of the village, heedless of the mud that squelched beneath him. His outburst earlier had come from nowhere. It wasn't often that he let himself think about the princess, and Link hadn't realized he was harboring such resentful feelings. For just a split second, he had hated Zelda, and now Link couldn't forgive himself for feeling that way if only for a moment. Zelda was his friend, and he was hers. That joyful and spirited girl from his childhood had been the first to believe in him, the first to call him a hero, and he still missed her so much.

But Zelda didn't seem to feel the same way. She had made no effort to see him, to send him a message, nothing at all. It made him feel like a fool for believing she had ever cared at all—for believing he was ever anything other than a means to save her kingdom. Maybe that was why lately his thoughts of the princess had been eclipsed by thoughts of another. It wasn't Zelda who had appeared before him in the Temple of Time, it wasn't Zelda who waited for him outside every temple to make sure he emerged alive and victorious.

Speaking of whom...

"Sheik?" Link called and scanned his surroundings. He glanced over his shoulder at the empty graveyard, then stood and approached the temple entrance cautiously, peeking into the gloomy stairwell. "Sheik?"

There was no answer, but something compelled Link to descend the stairs anyway, one hand trailing the wall. The torches in the antechamber were still burning, and Sheik was seated cross-legged on the circular altar in the center, eyes shut and fingers loosely wrapped around her ankles. Link circled around the altar, not wanting to startle her in case she was sleeping, although this seemed like an odd place to take a nap. But Sheik stirred at the sound of his footsteps and opened her eyes, watching the stone door carved with the symbol of the Sheikah in meditative silence.

"She has ascended. I sensed it."

Link nodded, his throat constricting at how empty and exhausted she sounded, as if she no longer had the strength to mourn the loss of her mentor. He sat beside her on the edge of the altar and rested his hand on hers, telling himself that he wasn't going against Impa's wishes by offering comfort as a friend. Sheik looked down and interlaced their fingers, squeezing gently.

"Did she...say anything?" Sheik asked in a halting voice. "Did she have any words for me?"

"She said that she's proud of you," Link said, and when Sheik choked back a sob, he impulsively wrapped his arms around her and tucked her head under his chin. Sheik leaned into him and buried her face in his tunic, trembling all over, but when she attempted to hug him back, Link couldn't repress a wince at the pressure on his midsection. Sheik pulled back, startled as she passed a hand over his chest.

"Are you hurt?"

"I'm...okay," Link hissed between his teeth. "It's just a few bruises. Nowhere near as bad as the Water Temple."

Sheik poked him harder, and a sharp stab of pain made him yelp and clutch at his chest with a pathetic whimper. Her glare was no less reproachful for being full of tears. "And that is most certainly a broken rib!"

"I'm fine," Link griped and tried not to cringe even more when Sheik kept probing his ribs to assess the damage. Looking down at the top of her head, he chewed on his lip indecisively as that same longing arose in him again. I could tell her right now, he thought in sudden excitement. Just a few words, a single kiss, that was all it would take to get it out in the open. And it wasn't like Impa was in a position to stop him now.

His hand was halfway to her veil before he stopped himself, but Sheik noticed the motion and paused, her eyes rising to meet his in a silent question. "What's wrong?"

"...no, it's nothing," Link said, letting his hand drop and pretending not to notice the furrow of her brow. But Sheik put her hand on the side of his face and made him turn back to her.

"Link...you can tell me. You can tell me anything."

Link stared at her, entranced once again by the compassion and sorrow in those red eyes, and he wanted nothing more than to open his heart and tell her everything. But the confession caught in his throat before it could be voiced, his resolve wavering.

Will this really put Zelda in danger? Why do I even care about that? Why do I still care?

"Link?"

"I'll tell you if you let me see your face," Link said at last, and as he had expected, Sheik withdrew her hand and pulled back from him with a guarded look. That was all the answer he needed. Even if he was willing to disregard Impa's orders, Sheik never would, not for any reason. And he refused to make her choose between her duty and him. Link stood without another word and left the antechamber with a hand pressed to his chest, pretending to nurse his ribs when in reality it was his heart that was in torment. But he swallowed back his misery and swore to himself that this wasn't the end. Maybe one day, when the sages were all awakened and Ganondorf defeated and Zelda no longer in danger, then maybe he and Sheik would be free and he could find out if she shared his feelings or not.

But until then, that was one question which would have to remain unasked.

Chapter Text

Sand crunched under his boots as Link picked his way through the wreckage of the Gate of Time, still holding the Goddess Sword in his right hand and cradling Zelda's golden harp in the left. One of the strings twanged sadly, and the sound made his heart sink to his gut, distraught and frustrated with himself for letting this happen. Yes, he had succeeded in protecting Zelda from the demon that was hunting her, and Link was privately proud of the fact that he had not emerged from the confrontation battered and bleeding as per usual. But the victory was bittersweet because he had once again failed to find his best friend before she moved beyond his reach. Zelda was caught up in something dangerous, and Link was still no closer to understanding what exactly the goddess was asking of them...or why he and Zelda had no choice but to tread separate paths in order to fulfill their destinies.

His sword pulsed in his hand, and the spirit within spoke to him in a lilting voice that reminded him of wind chimes. "Master, Zelda's aura has vanished from my readings. She has used this Gate to travel elsewhere, and as we can make no move to follow, I conclude nothing more can be gained here. I recommend we leave the desert and return to the Sealed Grounds as Zelda's protector instructed."

"Is there any way to rebuild it?" Link asked, struggling to tear his eyes from the heaps of stone rubble and the dozens of azure cubes scattered around like children's blocks.

"That is a highly illogical suggestion, Master," Fi informed him. "This ancient structure was constructed by the goddess herself, and the knowledge and skill of its making has been lost to your people. The likelihood of reconstructing it to a working fashion in a timely manner is less than two percent."

Link sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I guess it was a stupid idea."

"A lack of logic does not necessarily equate to a lack of intelligence," Fi replied. "Rather, your willingness to attempt such an arduous endeavor for the purpose of aiding the spirit maiden might be praised as a sign of your devotion to her."

"Thanks...I guess," Link said, unsure of how to take a compliment from Fi. Most of the time he got the impression that she thought he was an idiot, usually when he failed to follow her convoluted explanations and had to make her repeat things more slowly. But that wasn't his fault. Fi just had a strange way of talking and tended to use very complicated and archaic terms. Link was still a little fuzzy on what exactly a battery was, despite Fi patiently explaining it to him at least fifty times inside the Lanayru Mining Facility.

"Master, I recommend we leave at once."

"I know, I'm going," Link said jadedly. He kicked one of the azure cubes without any real enthusiasm, glowering at the destroyed Gate one last time before he turned to leave. But an odd whirring noise stopped him in his tracks, similar to the sound that the Timeshift Stones made. His eyes widened when he realized the cube was no longer dark and lifeless, but shining with the same brilliant blue energy as the Gate had possessed.

"It's...still alive," Link said in wonder. He set the harp down on a boulder nearby and approached the humming cube so he could prod it with his sword. "Fi, look! It's still..."

Sparks exploded from the cube when his sword touched it, and Link jumped back, transfixed by the electricity coursing across its surface. Before he could investigate closer, Fi materialized from his sword and blocked his way, spreading the wings of her cloak wide.

"Master, do not approach this relic. Do not touch it or interact with it in any way."

"Why not?" Link demanded, taken aback to be given a direct order by the sword spirit and not merely a strong suggestion. "Is it dangerous?"

"Very much," Fi explained, but without any inflection to her voice, it was hard to tell how serious she was being. "The temporal vortex within is unstable and erratic. It is no longer calibrated to follow only specified coordinates, nor does it have the capacity to control the exact radius of its energy field. You must remove yourself from the vicinity at once."

"But it's still working!" Link insisted. He tried to get a peek at the cube around the sword spirit, ignoring his gut instinct telling him to back up and run. If there was even a chance that cube could take him to Zelda...

"Master, I detect a significant alteration in this relic's aura, which I believe is in response to your presence," Fi warned him. "If you do not remove yourself immediately, there is a seventy-nine percent chance you will be caught in its energy field."

"And if that happens?"

"Then there is an eighty-three percent chance you will be transported to another region or time period with no definite way to return to your present location. There is also a forty-one percent chance you will encounter a dangerous entity or environment and come to serious bodily harm or death."

"And what are the chances of that cube taking me to where Zelda is?" Link said in excitement. When Fi hesitated, he pressed her. "Well? Tell me what the odds are!"

"Seven percent, Master," Fi admitted. "However, I would not recommend..."

"Good enough!" Link declared and dove past her, hitting the sand on his stomach and wrapping his left arm around the cube. He acted just in time as the hum increased to a roar and the cube radiated a dazzling light that left him momentarily blind. It was the strangest sensation when the energy field swallowed him, like diving off the edge of Skyloft in the middle of a thunderstorm, the proximity of the lightning causing his hair to stand on end and filling his mouth with the taste of metal. The sensation of flying only lasted for a few brief seconds, and then his feet slammed into the ground with a jolt that made his knees buckle. He blinked hard as he waited for his head to stop spinning, and Link was disappointed at first to see only the blazing sun and the endless dunes of sand, thinking he hadn't gone anywhere at all.

"What the...?"

Link spun around, sword still in hand and the cube tucked under his arm. He gasped at the sight of a ruined temple guarded by a colossal statue that had definitely not been there before. He thought it was a statue of the goddess at first, except he had never seen her without her wings or wearing such...revealing garments. But even more shocking were the two people standing before him. The shorter one was dressed in clothing similar to Zelda's protector, right down to the weeping eye symbol on his tabard, and Link wasn't sure if he was glad or not to meet yet another of these peculiar red-eyed folk. The second man was more easily identified, as he also wore the standard tunic and hat of the Skyloftian Knights, though for some reason his were also green. Link had thought that color was his alone to wear as the only student to graduate from the academy this year.

But then Link looked at his face—his very familiar face—and all thoughts of academies and tunics flew from his head. His mouth fell open, and the other knight mimicked the motion, staring at him with startled blue eyes identical to his own. Silence reigned for so long that Link began to wonder if he had been knocked unconscious and was dreaming this whole thing.

Eventually, the other knight shut his mouth with a weak chuckle. "Wow, how did you do that?" he said in amazement. "You just kind of zapped and you were there! Sheik, did you teach him that? Is he a friend of yours?"

The one called Sheik shook his head. "I was about to ask you the same thing," he said in a low voice. "Who are you? And why do you look like...why do you resemble Link so closely?"

"Hey, it's not that much of a resemblance," the knight said, though he didn't sound very convinced. "It's...I mean, if you don't count the...but look, he is shorter than me. And he's right-handed too."

"I don't care about the differences, I care about the similarities," Sheik said impatiently, and he fixed Link with a distrustful look. "And you have not yet answered my question. Who are you?"

"I, uh," Link stammered, at a loss on how to answer without sounding completely insane. As if things weren't confusing enough now that he had met his long lost twin, who also happened to be named Link. "I came from...somewhere else. This might sound weird, but can you tell me where I am?"

Sheik and the knight shared an incredulous look, and it was the knight who answered cautiously. "We're...in the desert?"

"I know that, but...is it still Lanayru Desert?"

"Lanayru?" Sheik said, eyebrows flying up. "No one has called this desert by that name since Hyrule's founding years. How could you know that word?"

"I...heard it from a friend," Link said, which was technically true, but he could tell Sheik wasn't buying it when his eyes narrowed dangerously. But then he did a double take when he noticed the instrument Sheik was carrying. "Hey, that belongs to Zelda! How did you get that? I left it behind before I came here!"

Sheik jerked. "W-What? " he faltered, but his reaction at the mention of Zelda's name was incriminating enough.

"What did you say?" the knight demanded, stepping forward. "How do you know Zelda?"

"She's my friend," Link retorted. "How do you know her?"

The knight opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, the Goddess Sword thrummed in Link's hand and began to emit a pulsating light. Link stared at the glowing blade, his heart leaping when he recognized the dowsing ability that Fi used to track Zelda. The sword spirit materialized an instant later just as gracefully as she always did, and Sheik and the knight both flinched back from her sudden appearance, watching the floating woman with varying degrees of alarm and curiosity.

"I detect Zelda's aura again, Master," Fi announced in serene tones. "My readings are at their strongest around the individual known as Sheik. I surmise this person has come into contact with her very recently."

Link looked at Sheik, seeing the growing apprehension in those red eyes, and the other knight also turned to his friend with a blink of surprise. "Is that true, Sheik? But...you've been traveling with me for the past two days! When did you have time to see Zelda?"

"I have not," Sheik insisted with a trace of desperation. "Link, they are clearly trying to confuse us...we can't believe a word they say! For all we know, they could be servants of Ganondorf! Don't you remember the creature beneath Lake Hylia that assumed your exact likeness in order to catch you off guard?"

"Lake Hylia?" Link muttered in bewilderment, and it must have meant something to the knight because he looked at Link in dawning realization and reached back to grip the hilt of a sword that was peeking over his shoulder. Link stepped back, instinctively raising his own sword. "Hold on, I didn't come here to pick a fight! Just tell me where Zelda went! If you saw her pass through here..."

"Why do you want to find Zelda so badly?" the knight challenged him. "Unless...you really are an enemy! Tell us where you came from!"

"I told you, I was in Lanayru..."

"This is Lanayru!" Sheik snapped.

"Well, it's not the same Lanayru that I know!"

"Master," Fi interrupted. "I detect another significant alteration in the aura of the relic you are holding. I highly recommend you—"

"Oh crap!" Link yelped and tossed the humming cube away, unintentionally hurtling it directly at Sheik, who dropped the harp in order to catch it out of reflex. Before the instrument hit the ground, Sheik and the cube had both vanished in a flash of light, leaving nothing behind save for a wisp of smoke and a scorched patch of sand. The other knight cried out and ran to the place where he had been standing, turning on the spot as if that might make his friend reappear.

"Sheik! Sheik, where did you go?"

"Master," Fi said slowly, and Link turned to her in a daze. "I was about to suggest that you retain possession of the relic, as there was a twenty percent chance it would have returned you to your previous location. Now that it has transported itself elsewhere, I'm afraid the likelihood of your returning is now considerably less."

"You mean...I got us stuck here?" Link said, aghast that he could have made such a careless mistake. Before he could decide how to rectify it, he heard a sword being drawn from its sheath and abruptly found himself shoved against rock arch behind him. The knight gripped the front of his tunic to keep him pinned and leveled a sword at his throat, and Link cringed way from his livid expression, eyes stormy and teeth bared. He hadn't known his face could be so menacing.

"Where did that thing take her?" the knight snarled. "You tell me where she went right now!"

"I don't know," Link said, and he balked when his expression became even more lethal. "I'm telling you the truth! I don't know how it works! She could be anywhere...wait, she? That was a woman?"

"How can you not know how it works?" the knight shouted. "Are you telling me you don't have a clue where she is or how to get her back?"

"Master, if I may interject..."

"Not now, Fi," Link said as he shoved the knight back, his own ire rising. "Look, yelling at me isn't going to fix anything! I didn't plan for this to happen!"

"You threw it right at her!" the knight said scathingly. "Do you really expect me to believe that was an accident?"

"It was an accident!"

"Master, I have important information that you may find relevant. I have completed my analysis of our surroundings and..."

"Fi, I said not now!"

"HEY, LISTEN!"

Link and the knight both shut their mouths at the high-pitched screech, and the knight put a hand to his ear with a wince. "Jeez Navi, did you have to be so loud that time? I don't think I'll ever hear out of this side again."

A blue fairy flitted out of his hat, and Link gaped at the rare and fragile creature, fingers itching with the need to take out his bug net. "Well, if you two weren't bickering like children, maybe I wouldn't have had to yell. Haven't either of you figured it out yet? Look at your swords!"

Link and the knight both looked at each other, then as one dropped their gazes to their swords. And that was when Link finally noticed, and he couldn't believe that he had failed to see it before. Even though the knight's sword was longer with a silvery sheen to the blade and the hilt was shaped differently, the two weapons seemed akin to each other as if they had been forged from the same fire. Much like Link seemed to be a younger reflection of the knight, the Goddess Sword had an imperfect and half-finished feel compared to the masterpiece that the other man wielded.

"As stated, I have completed a more thorough analysis of our surroundings," Fi explained while he and the knight were both preoccupied with their swords. "Although we have not moved from our previous coordinates, the radical shift in our environment suggests we have traveled several centuries into the future of your world. This hypothesis is further supported by the fact that the sword this man carries is a more complete version of the Goddess Sword that you carry now. Taking this and the similarity in your physical features into account, I must conclude that he is a direct descendant of your bloodline and the future wielder of the blade."

"We're...in the future?" Link said, dumbfounded as he looked again at the ruined temple and the desert valley. None of it looked familiar, and yet he had no reason to doubt Fi. "Did you say centuries?"

"Correct, Master. It is likely the relic of the Gate of Time, in an effort to stabilize itself, honed in on your aura and purposely sought a moment in time when a similar aura was present at this exact location."

"Oh, okay," Link said feebly, his standard response when Fi said something that only made partial sense to him. Then he spun around and gaped at the sword spirit while the knight watched them both in confusion. "Wait a minute...that other sword is you? Then shouldn't there be another Fi inside it? Like a future you or something?"

Fi was silent for a moment, her face blank as she looked at the other sword. The knight took half a step back as if trying to protect his blade from her scrutiny, but Fi was already turning back to Link. "The spirit of that sword is dormant. I am unable to commune with it. I would surmise this is the reason I failed to detect its true nature."

"Dormant?" Link said in alarm. "What does that mean?"

"So you're really from the past?" the knight interrupted before Fi could explain further. He stepped closer until he was in Link's personal space, peering at him in fascination, and he went so far as to poke his cheek with his finger. "And that's why we look so alike? Because you're...what, my ancestor?"

"I guess so," Link said slowly, and he wondered as he looked at his descendant if this was what Groose meant when he talked about his mind imploding. "I can't think of any other reason why the cube would have brought me here..."

He didn't get a chance to speak further before the knight swept him into a bear hug and hoisted him completely off the ground, laughing. "You're my ancestor! You're...wow, you're like my great-great-great grandfather or something! I never knew any of my family, not even my parents! This is so cool! It's even better than the day I got a fairy!"

"Hey!"

"Sorry Navi, but look at him!" the knight said in glee as he dropped a winded Link back on his feet. "Look, he looks just like me! He's got the same clothes, the same sword, and he's...wait a minute though! If you're my ancestor, then how come you're looking for Zelda?"

"Now that we have arrived at this conclusion," Fi rationalized, "I calculate a sixty-eight percent chance that the aura I detected earlier belonged to that of Zelda's descendant, rather than Zelda herself. However, I recommend we make a thorough search of the area before we accept this supposition as fact."

"Her descendant?" Link said to himself, the implications dawning on him gradually. Two descendants from his and Zelda's bloodlines...his and Zelda's separate bloodlines. If this future Link and Zelda had shared the same blood, the same ancestors...surely Fi would have been able to sense that no matter how many centuries had passed? Link swallowed hard and stared down at the sand beneath his boots, bitterly disappointed and wishing he had never come here. So he and the Zelda from his time would never be together as he had half-imagined in his dreams. They would never court, never marry or have children, and Link couldn't imagine doing all those things with anyone else.

"Hey, what's wrong?" the knight asked him, oblivious to Link's grief over the loss of something he never had. "How come you look so sad now? Aren't you...glad to meet me?"

"Yeah, sure I am," Link said, inwardly amused at knight's childlike anxiety. He shook his head, not wanting to admit the real source of his sadness. "I guess I just hoped I'd find Zelda...my Zelda...here. That's the whole reason I grabbed that cube. Fi said there was a seven percent chance it would take me to her."

"Wait," the knight said dubiously, "you grabbed that cube on a seven percent chance it would take you where you wanted it to?"

Link shrugged with a weak smile. "I would have done it even if the odds were only one percent."

The knight blinked, and he grinned right back. "I know the feeling," he declared. "You're braver than you look—"

Bzzrrt!

Someone collided with Link from behind and knocked him into the knight, bringing all of them to the ground in a tangled heap. Link wheezed when he hit the sand on his stomach with Sheik sprawled halfway on top of him, still clasping the cube in slack hands. The knight gasped and quickly rolled her on her back, and Link drew a sharp breath when he realized she was injured. The sleeve of her upper arm had been reduced to tatters and the skin beneath blistered like she had only narrowly escaped being burned by fire.

"What happened to her?" the knight whispered. He touched her charred sleeve, looking from the burns to Link. "What did this?"

"I-I don't know," Link said and wondered how many times he would have to repeat himself. He reached for the veil over her face, intending to check if she was still breathing, but the knight slapped his hand aside. When Link looked up, he found himself once again pinned beneath that glare, the one that made his face resemble an angry wolf. He pulled away in surrender, not wanting to aggravate his descendant any further, but Link hated just sitting there helplessly while the knight hovered over his friend.

"Sheik? Can you hear me?"

Sheik stirred after a moment, her eyes fluttering open and focusing on them. She made a surprised noise and shot upright, only to twist around and stare at the temple behind them. "I'm...back," she said slowly.

"Back from where?" Link asked. "And what happened to your arm?"

"I was attacked," Sheik said and touched her arm with a faint hiss. "By the Gerudo witches who watch over this temple. But I was...in the past. I was at this exact place seven years in the past. Link, you were there! I saw you as a child up on the hand of the statue!"

"I...think you're talking to the wrong Link," Link said, pointing at his descendant, and her head swiveled between the two of them.

"Your name is Link too?" the knight inquired in surprise, then shook his head. "But wait...what did you say about me being here seven years ago? I never came here as a kid! I was too busy getting the Spiritual Stones."

"But you must have come here because otherwise how could I have seen you?" Sheik pointed out. She looked back down at the cube, and then focused on Link, her gaze speculative. "This cube...it took me to another time period entirely. Does that mean you're from another time as well?"

"Oh yeah, he is!" the knight said in renewed enthusiasm. "We just figured that out. He's my—"

"Look out!" Navi cried. The fairy dashed high into the air, putting distance between herself and the crackling cube. "It's doing that thing again!"

"Give it to me!" Link demanded and dropped his sword to grab the cube from Sheik. "I need to get back!"

"Master—!"

"Sheik, let go of it—!"

The cube blazed, the entire world falling away, but Link could still feel a slender hand touching the surface of the cube and brushing against his own. It only lasted for the briefest instant, and when the world returned, their surroundings were exactly the same as before, except the other knight was gone. A distant shout reached them from the ruined temple, and both Link and Sheik looked up to see a child waving at them from the hand of the statue, his green hat flapping in the wind.

"Hey, you're back! Listen Sheik, I forgot to tell you to tell me to come here! I mean tell the older me to come here! It's the only way to get the Silver Gauntlets those runes were talking about, and I won't know to do it unless you tell me first. And remind me to get bombs before I come! I'm going to need them!"

"What could you need bombs for?" Sheik called back, her voice rife with confusion. "The temple is deserted aside from the witches, isn't it?"

The child only laughed. "Two words...Iron Knuckle!"

"Oh gods!" Sheik said in alarm, and that was as far as the conversation went before the cube zapped and sparked and swept them away again. Link held his breath, eyes shut against the swirling energies encasing them for seconds that seemed like ages. Then the energies subsided, and he almost panicked when absolute darkness pressed in from all sides, even from beneath, leaving him floating helplessly in icy nothingness. Link thrashed around in search of something to hang onto and made the mistake of trying to breathe, which flooded his mouth with a brackish liquid and made bubbles stream from his nose.

Water! I'm underwater!

Link snapped his mouth shut and opened his eyes, ignoring the sting of salt as he searched desperately for the surface. His arm bumped into Sheik, and they instinctively clung to each other with the cube squashed between them. She tugged him toward a dim light straight above their heads, which Link could only pray was the sun. But it was so far away. They never seemed to get any closer, and his lungs were beginning to burn and ache with the need to breathe. Sheik urged him to move faster, and Link tried his best, but he was hardly a good swimmer to begin with and his strokes were clumsy.

Movement to the side caught his eye. Link squinted, barely able to make out a long vertical chain descending into the depths. But what really caught his attention was the fact that the chain was slowly rising as if something on the surface was retracting it. He yanked on Sheik's hand and pulled them both closer to the chain, hooking his numb fingers in one of the links, and at once they were hauled upward at a much faster rate than they could have managed by themselves. But it still took many agonizing seconds before the light above their heads began to brighten and resemble sunlight. Link kept his eyes fixed skyward and clung to memories of Zelda and Skyloft to keep himself from giving up.

And then, unexpectedly, his head broke the surface. Link coughed hard and sucked in a huge gulp of air as the chain lifted him from the water completely. He reached up to grab the wooden balustrade that the chain was being drawn over and flopped gracelessly onto the deck of a vessel that reminded him of Beedle's flying shop, except it seemed to be floating on the water. He heard a heavy thump as Sheik landed beside him, shoulders heaving, and Link glanced in her direction to make sure she was okay. Sheik met his eyes with dazed relief before she also took in the vessel.

"Where...where are we?"

"Not sure...maybe Fi knows," Link said, but trailed off with a thrill of horror when he reached over his shoulder and found only an empty scabbard. "No...no, I left her behind! She's still back in that desert!"

"Maybe we can find a way to reverse it," Sheik said, suppressing a cough. Her gaze dropped to the cube in her hands, which had gone dull and lifeless without even a spark of the energy that had fueled it. "Oh no..."

"Is it broken?" Link asked anxiously. He put a hand on one side of the cube, willing it to work and take them back to the desert, but nothing happened.

"It doesn't look damaged from the outside," Sheik said uncertainly. "Exposure to the water, perhaps..."

"Ho, what's this?"

Link and Sheik both raised their heads, only now noticing the two men nearby who had paused in the middle of retracting the anchor chain, pondering their new passengers in bewilderment. Their bodies were heavily muscled and deeply tanned from years spent working in the sun, and a third man of much the same build paced across the deck toward them. He planted his hands on his hips, and Link gaped at his weathered face, which he barely recognized without the welding mask and easy grin.

"Gondo?"

The man frowned unpleasantly. "That's Gonzo," he said in a graveling voice which was so unlike the Scrap Shop owner's usual exuberance that Link realized he must be looking at another stranger with a familiar face. Another descendant. Or ancestor. Or whichever. Gonzo put his fingers to his lips, letting out a shrill whistle that carried across the deck.

"Oi, Miss Tetra! You'd better come see this! We've got stowaways!"

"Stowaways?" Link said, sharing a bemused look with Sheik. "Is he talking about us?"

"Of course I'm talking about you, bilge rats!" Gonzo barked and seized Link's tunic to haul him to his feet roughly.

"Hey, let go of me—!"

"Miss Tetra!" Gonzo bellowed again, easily wrapping his massive arms around Link to keep him restrained. Sheik rose quickly, maybe to come to his aid, but the other two men abandoned the chain and moved to grip her arms. A fourth crew member, a young boy, swung down on a rope from the rigging above and landed on the deck beside the cube, which he then picked up and examined in unabashed curiosity.

"Hey, don't touch that!" Link called, his heart sinking when the boy only stuck his tongue out. "I'm serious, it's dangerous! You could—"

"What are you going on about, Gonzo?" a high, clear voice called from the upper deck, and all the crew members stood at attention, even the boy. Peering over the balustrade was a girl who could have been anywhere from twelve to sixteen, her tanned arms and shoulders left bare by a frayed vest and her sun-streaked hair tied back in a messy bun. The girl named Tetra took one look at the two new faces and scowled.

"Zuko, drop that thing and go find the kid!" Tetra snapped, and the boy reluctantly set the cube on the deck before he scuttled through a door nearby. Once he was gone, she leapt gracefully down to their level, eyes flashing. "Unbelievable...I try to be nice, I let him tag along, and what does he do? He brings the whole bloody island with him! You must be his cousin or something, right? I can see the resemblance all over that girly face."

"I don't...you...girly?" Link sputtered in outrage. It was one thing when Groose called him that, but to hear it from some bossy girl half his size was a little more than he could bear.

"If you came looking for adventure, you won't find it here," Tetra went on. "As soon as we raise the sails, I'm turning this ship right around and dumping you back on that rock you call home. And be grateful I'm doing that much! You're lucky I don't chuck all three of you overboard and feed you to the fish!"

"All three of us?" Sheik said in confusion. She attempted to stand straighter despite the men keeping her arms imprisoned. "Whoever you believe us to be associated with, you are mistaken. The two of us have only just come to be here by pure chance."

"Oh, you came to be stranded in the middle of the ocean by pure chance?" Tetra said snidely, and she jerked a thumb at Link. "Not to mention he just happens to be dressed in the same clothes as our latest passenger? You islanders with your weird fashion sense...and what's with your getup anyway? Is that how you think those of us on the high seas dress? We're not ninjas, we're pirates!"

"If you're quite done with insulting my attire," Sheik said with such tart disdain that Tetra blinked and both Gonzo and the other men recoiled in dismay at her lack of respect. "As I said, the two of us did not intend to be here, and we will take our leave at the first opportunity."

"Well, good then!" Tetra retorted once she had recovered from her surprise. "I have better things to do than babysit a couple of island brats..."

"She's calling us brats?" Link muttered with a quirk of his lips. He had spoken quietly and thought only Sheik would hear him, but was proven wrong when Tetra spun around and landed a strong kick squarely between his legs with her sandaled foot. He wheezed, and Gonzo let him drop to his hands and knees with a pathetic whimper. By the time Link had recovered enough to raise his head, Tetra had drawn a rusty cutlass from her belt and had the blade resting on his neck. He stared incredulously at this mere child threatening a knight of Skyloft, and oddly he felt more afraid of her wicked smile than her sword.

"Oh, look at that, I have you at my mercy," Tetra said loftily. "Would you like the chance to take back that little comment?"

"Let him up," Sheik ordered, trying in vain to wrench her arms free.

"Not until he apologizes for insulting me! I am the captain of this ship, and I will not stand for disrespect!"

"You insulted me first!" Link retorted, having no intention of apologizing until he noticed Sheik giving him a meaningful look. "What? No way, you can't expect me to—!"

"Just apologize and be done with it," Sheik said, and for some reason the glare she fixed him with was just as effective as Zelda's most commanding pointed finger.

"I...I...okay, I'm sorry," Link muttered in sullen defeat. "I shouldn't have called you a brat."

"Mm...not quite sincere, but good enough," Tetra declared. She addressed her crew. "Now take them below and lock them up! And take that cube to my quarters. I want a closer look at it."

"Lock him up where, Miss?" Gonzo inquired as he squatted to pick up the cube. "We don't have a brig..."

"Oh, right," Tetra said, pursing her lips in faint annoyance. "Fine, then just use one of the empty rooms down in the hold."

"But...wait a minute!" Link said, watching helplessly as the other two men began to drag a struggling Sheik away. "You can't just lock us up when we didn't do anything! And we need that cube! It's the only way we have to get back!"

"Then maybe you should have thought of that before you came onto my ship without permission," Tetra said, which made absolutely no sense to Link. "As far as I'm concerned, it's payment for letting you go free."

"Trust a thief to think along such lines," Sheik said acidly. She kicked one of the men in the side of the knee and caused him to stumble with a cry of pain. Once she had wrenched her arm free of his hold, she took a small seed from her pocket and threw it down. The white flash blinded Link for a split second, and when he looked back, Sheik had vanished. He was just as surprised as Tetra and her pirate crew, all of them staring at the place where she had been only seconds ago.

"Search for him!" Tetra barked at the men. "He can't have disappeared, he's hiding somewhere!"

The men instantly moved at her command, and Link took the chance while everyone was distracted and lunged, seizing her wrist and wrenching the cutlass from her hand. Tetra cried out when he shoved her down and stood above her with the sword point at her throat. He had no intention of killing her, but the threat alone seemed to suffice for her crew, who all froze in their steps.

"Miss Tetra—!"

"I've got your captain," Link said to them. "Now you'll do what I say. Sheik, if you're hiding somewhere, you can come out!"

"Don't listen to him!" Tetra called and smirked when Link met her eyes. "Sorry, but your threat is useless. You can't hurt me with that sword."

"Why not?" Link said, taking a closer look at the cutlass, and his mouth dropped open when he ran his thumb along the edge. "What the...it's not even sharp! Who in their right mind carries a dull sword?"

"Obviously someone who has no intention of killing with it," Tetra said bluntly. "Now is someone going to get him locked up like I ordered?"

The crew closed in on him, one drawing a sword of his own while another grabbed a sturdy wooden mallet. Gonzo seemed content with only his fists. Link backed up rapidly and parried the sword as it swung for his head, trying to think of a way out of this. But he was outnumbered and armed with a sword that couldn't cut. It would only be a matter of time before the pirates overwhelmed him. He searched the deck in the desperate hope that Sheik would pop out from somewhere and help him. They were in this together after all. But he could see no sign of her, and the sudden desertion angered him. Could she really intend to let him be killed?

A cold feeling gripped his heart. If I die now, then what happens to that knight I met in the desert? If he's supposed to be my descendant...

The door that Tetra had sent Zuko through opened just behind Link. He spun around, ready to face whoever was coming, and the man wielding the mallet took the chance to club him over the head. Link crumpled to the deck, groaning as the world spun dizzy circles, his vision flickering in and out of focus. The voices above him were muffled and faraway, only snippets of conversation reaching him.

"It's about time! What were you and Niko...down there for so long...?"

"S-Sorry, Miss Tetra! We got kind of..."

"...playing some stupid game, right? Well, the games are over! Got that, island boy? I'm taking you and your cousin here back to Granny where you belong..."

"But...but what about my sister? And that's not my cousin, I don't even have a cousin..."

"Then why does he look just like you?"

Someone wrenched at his hair and made him lift his head. Link swallowed the blood in his mouth, only catching a glimpse of a blond and green blob in front of him before Tetra let him fall again. The world tilted as someone picked him up and threw him over their shoulder, and thereafter Link could only see the back of Gonzo's legs and the planks moving beneath him. They were taking him somewhere, but the blow to his head had addled him so badly that Link couldn't find the strength to fight back. He couldn't even tell which way was up. Even when he was dumped on an unforgiving wooden bench and left alone in the dim light of an oil lamp, the ground still seemed to be moving. It bobbed up and down and swayed from side to side, and every so often there was an unexpected lurch when the bigger waves sloshed against the side of the vessel. Link longed to sink into unconsciousness and give his aching head a chance to recover, but he couldn't ignore the sick churning in his gut that was only getting worse and worse as time went on.

At last, he couldn't take it anymore. He cracked his eyes open and crawled off the bench to hit the floor on his knees. His fumbling hand bumped into a bucket stowed under the bench, and Link dragged it over so he could empty his stomach into it, retching miserably. He hadn't been ill like this since he was a child, and then it had only been a cold from being out on his Loftwing on a chilly day with no scarf. Zelda still brought that up every so often as an excuse to scold him for being reckless.

Setting the bucket aside, Link wiped his mouth and made an effort to stand. He only made it halfway before he had to brace his hands on the wall, legs wobbling. The constant rocking motion of the vessel completely skewed his sense of balance and made his gait weave like he had guzzled a cauldron of Pumm's strongest ale. He barely survived the five steps to the door, which turned out to be locked. Link shoved it with his shoulder a few times to be sure, then braced his back against it and scrubbed his face in frustration. The room was sparse with only a few crates and the bench, most likely a storage room. There was no other way out that he could see, not even a window.

Link peeked through a crack in the wall and saw nothing but open water that shimmered orange beneath the lowering sun. It had been morning in Lanayru, but that meant nothing when the cube could travel in time. He hadn't checked the position of the sun when he and Sheik first ended up in this ocean. An hour might have passed since then, or ten for all he knew.

Had Sheik been captured too? Or had she gotten the cube back and used it to return to her own timeline? He wanted to believe she would try to find him first, but she certainly hadn't made much of an effort to help him back on the deck...

Link muttered a curse under his breath and pushed off the wall to make his way to the crates, thinking there might be a weapon inside. He had to focus. His first priority should be to escape and find that cube himself, and then look for Sheik if he had a chance. As tempted as he was to forget about her and save himself, he couldn't bring himself to when it was his fault she was here in the first place. Link wrenched the lid off one of the crates, disappointed to find only smaller parcels containing food. The next crate yielded various ropes and metal hooks and rings and folded blankets made of the same material as his sailcloth, but nothing that would help him break the door down.

"Hey, why are you making so much noise in there? Quit snooping through our stuff!"

Link dropped the crate lid and returned to the door where the voice had come from, only now noticing the eye peeking through the lock. He bent over to meet that eye, which caused whoever was on the other side to jerk back.

"Who's out there?"

"Your guard, that's who!" the voice said smugly. He sounded young and very full of himself. "I'm Niko, and Miss Tetra assigned me as your guard to make sure you don't get up to no good!"

"Not like I could do much anyway," Link said to himself. "Where's Sheik?"

"You mean that ninja friend of yours?" Niko sniffed in disdain. "Why should I tell you?"

"Because," Link faltered and decided there was no harm in the truth. "Because I'm worried. So just tell me."

Niko was silent for a moment. "Well...that's too bad because I'm still not telling!"

"Brat," Link muttered under his breath. He leaned against the door with his arms crossed, lips quirked slyly. "So sentinel duty, huh? Where I come from, that's the worst job you can get. It's right down there with scrubbing Loftwing feces off the roofs and clearing out Chu infestations. So that makes you the lowest ranking pirate on this ship, right?"

"Am not!" Niko screeched. "That island kid, Link, is the swabbie! Ever since he came on board, I've been promoted to real pirate status!"

"So why isn't he guarding me?" Link asked, curious to meet this other Link and see if he was yet another descendant. Or ancestor. Or whichever.

"What, do you think I'm stupid?" Niko retorted. "Miss Tetra says he's probably the one who snuck you on board so there's no way he'd be trusted with guarding you."

Link sighed. It had been worth a try, he supposed. He brainstormed quickly, knowing Niko might be his only chance of escape. "So...am I allowed to have food?"

"Nope!"

"How about the bathroom? Can you let me out and take me there?"

"Miss Tetra said not to open this door for anything."

"Not even the fifty rupees I have in my pocket?"

Another long silence. "What's a stowaway doing with fifty rupees?" Niko asked, and Link thought he sounded cautiously interested.

"I travel a lot, and I've picked up some things," Link said and slid a hand into his wallet so the rupees chimed against one another. "I've also got a really cool beetle that can fly wherever I want it to and bring things back to me."

"Yeah, right!" Niko scoffed. "If you really had that, Gonzo would've looted it off you by now!"

"Take a look," Link invited him, and when Niko reluctantly put his eye to the keyhole, he took out the little flying gadget and showed it to him.

"No way! What the heck is that?"

"It's yours if you let me out," Link told him, though he had no intention of holding to that promise, and he mentally apologized to his teachers for ignoring the Skyloftian knight's code of chivalry and resorting to deception and bribery. It made him feel horribly guilty, but he didn't see what other choice he had.

"I...I don't know," Niko dithered, but the longing was plain in his voice. "Miss Tetra would be so mad...but the rest of the crew never let me have any of the loot..."

He would never know what Niko's decision would have been because the next thing Link heard was a heavy thunk and what sounded like smashing pottery. He backed up at the sound of jangling keys, searching for something he could use as a weapon, and he settled for grabbing the bucket he had been sick in and holding it ready to fling at whoever was coming inside. But when the lock clicked and the door swung inward, Link hesitated and gaped at a much shorter version of himself. His hair was blonder, and a spray of freckles across his nose and cheeks gave him a very young appearance, but there was no mistaking his lineage. The freckled boy paused on the threshold, still clutching a ring of keys, and stared at Link with equal fascination. Blue eyes shifted to the bucket in his hands, and his nose wrinkled.

"What is that smell?"

Link lowered the bucket and set it on the bench, still cautious. The sword and shield carried by the boy had not escaped his attention. "I got sick," he muttered.

"Not much of a sailor, huh?" the freckled boy said with a sympathetic smile. "There are people back in my home village like that too. You can't get my grandma on a boat to save her life."

What's a boat? Link thought to himself and reminded himself to ask Fi later...if he ever saw her again. Just the thought depressed him. He had never thought he would actually miss having Fi there to explain pointless and mundane things he only half understood, but now he would have given his left arm to hear her tell him that he only had an eight percent chance of surviving this with all his limbs intact.

The freckled boy turned to the door and beckoned him to follow, which Link was hesitant to do at first. But since the only other choice was remaining in his prison, he followed the boy into the narrow corridor just outside, bypassing Niko who was slumped against the wall with a lump on his head and the shattered remains of a ceramic pot scattered around. The freckled boy glanced at Niko with a wince of guilt, but didn't slow his pace, taking Link around two corners and down another hallway into a second storage room. He shut the door as soon as they were inside, and Link jumped when a figure emerged from the shadows, but it was only Sheik. His initial relief at seeing her unharmed was dampened when he remembered why he was unhappy with her.

"Are you alright?" Sheik asked him in very convincing concern. "Did they hurt you at all?"

"Oh, you mean aside from almost taking my head off with a mallet?" Link said sourly and crossed his arms. "Sure, I'm just fine. No thanks to you though! You could have given me a hand up there!"

Sheik pulled back, eyes widening as if his reaction surprised her. "I had no choice. They would have defeated us regardless of whether I had come to your aid. I only did what was necessary."

"Since when is it necessary to hide like a coward and let someone else do the fighting?"

"Would you have preferred if we had both been imprisoned?" Sheik said heatedly. "That girl never once ordered her men to kill us, or to do anything aside from capture us. As long as I remained free, there was a chance I could rescue you and we could escape together. It was a risk I had to take!"

"And what if it had been your friend here instead of me?" Link retorted, which silenced her. "Would you have left him on his own like that?"

Sheik said nothing, which was answer enough. The freckled boy, who had been watching the argument, stepped up to her side in defense. "Hey, you don't have to be so hard on her. She tried her best, and she's had to hide from Tetra's crew all this time. It's not like she just sat around and didn't do anything!"

Link looked between the two of them, feeling unfairly ganged up on, but they both had a point. And Sheik had come back for him. He gusted out a sigh, leaning against the wall as his stomach began to churn again. "Okay, I'm sorry. Just...having a bad day, I guess."

"You're not the only one," Sheik muttered, but her tone held no anger anymore. "Are you sure you're well? You seem very pale..."

"Don't worry, he's just seasick," the freckled boy assured her. He dug a bottle out of his belt pouch and offered it to Link, who was dubious as he pondered the sloshing broth inside. "Here, this is my grandma's best soup. Whenever I'm sick, it's the only thing I can eat."

"Thanks," Link said as he pulled out the cork and took a cautious sip. Even though it was stone cold and the vegetables were soggy, it was very hearty and settled his stomach somewhat. Still, he would have given anything for a steaming bowl of Pumpkin Soup. "So how come you're helping us? Aren't you with the pirates?"

The freckled boy shook his head, beaming. "Nope, I'm a passenger like you. And I wasn't sure if I should help you guys at first, but don't worry, Sheik explained everything! You're the Hero of Time, right?"

Link stared. "Hero of what?"

"He doesn't know of that title yet," Sheik said to the boy. "In our era, he has yet to become the hero."

"Oh, woops," the freckled boy said and clapped a hand over his mouth guiltily. "Should I not have said anything?"

"Hero of what?" Link repeated with a doubtful glare at Sheik.

"We should not waste time here," Sheik said without answering his question. "We need to retrieve the cube before it activates again."

"I think it's in Tetra's quarters," the freckled boy said as he peeked out the door. He waved at them to remain in the room. "Wait here. I'll check and make sure there's no one around."

As soon as the door was closed, Link rounded on Sheik. "Hero of...?"

"The Link from my era is known as the Hero of Time," Sheik explained in an undertone. She drew him away from the door to a corner where they wouldn't easily be overheard. "When I saw that boy, I thought he might be a potential ally, so I told him of the cube's abilities. As soon as I mentioned the word Hyrule, he made the connection with stories told to him by his grandmother. Apparently, his family is descended from the hero. It is even customary for the boys in his village to wear green when they come of age."

"So that makes him my descendant too," Link said slowly. "How far into the future are we?"

"Several hundred years forward from my time," Sheik said, watching him thoughtfully. "And it's even further for you, is it not? That's how you knew the desert was once called Lanayru."

Link nodded, his head spinning. He sat down on a crate heavily and pressed his face in his hands, the soup set aside. "I can't believe this...how are we ever going to get back?"

"After we have the cube, we can concern ourselves with that," Sheik said definitively. She gazed out of a circular window at the endless sea. "But it is so strange...that boy said that in this era, the entire world is covered in water, except for scattered islands. Can this really be the future of my kingdom? Nothing but oceans?"

"Oceans and pirates," Link snorted. "I can't say I'm enjoying the future so far. If that cube could have taken me anywhere, I think I would've rather seen the past. I'd want to meet the first hero and fight alongside him in battle against the demon hordes. That would have been worth it..."

"First hero?" Sheik said in surprise. "You are not the first to wield the Master Sword?"

"No way," Link said with a rueful chuckle. "That was the Ancient Hero who was chosen by the goddess, Hylia, to stop the war between my people and the demons. The land below was nearly destroyed, but we were saved and sent to live in the sky. I've been told all my life that I look just like him, but it's not like anyone has actually met him...and why are you looking at me like I'm crazy? You're from my future, you must know about all this..."

He trailed off when Sheik only shook her head. "All of our legends say that time began when the kingdom of Hyrule was created. The goddesses made this land from a world of chaos into a world of paradise, and the Hylians were among the blessed races permitted to live there. But I have never heard of the goddess named Hylia, nor of our people once living in the sky. How could anyone live in the sky?"

"But...we do live in the sky," Link insisted. "My home is a floating island above the clouds called Skyloft. No one even knew there was a world below until just recently when Zelda got swept beneath the clouds. I came down to the surface to find her."

"...you went in search of her," Sheik said after a moment. "This Zelda you speak of...what is she to you?"

"I told you, she's my friend," Link said, puzzled by the turn of the conversation. "We grew up together."

"You grew up alongside royalty?"

"Royalty?" Link snickered. "I wouldn't exactly call her royal. She's the headmaster's daughter, but you wouldn't know it from how immature she acts. She's the biggest tease you'll ever meet. I can't count the number of times she's snuck up behind me just to test my reflexes. And that one time during the Wing Ceremony..."

The door opened, startling them both, but it was only his descendant returning. "Come on, the coast is clear!" he hissed.

Link stood up quickly, the conversation forgotten in favor of the urgency of their mission. They crept through the narrow corridors with the boy in the lead, moving as silently as possible, but they never met any of Tetra's crew. Link thought he could hear voices and movement on the deck above and concluded they must all be outside. When the three of them reached an open area, they darted across it to a staircase and only halted at a door that seemed ordinary at first glance. The freckled boy was breathless as he sorted through the keys he carried and slid one into the lock, grinning at them.

"Tetra's room. Never been in here, no one's allowed. I can't wait to see what's inside!"

"Just hurry," Sheik urged, her eyes darting around.

The lock finally clicked and allowed them to enter Tetra's room, which was much larger than it needed to be but not as opulent as Link had expected. The furniture and rugs were a mishmash as if they had all come from different places, and various paintings and sea charts were tacked on the walls. The cube was sitting on a writing desk opposite the bed, and he and Sheik instantly converged on it. Link let his hand hover over the top, relieved when a faint light shimmered across the azure surface.

"I think it might be working again!"

"But will it take us where we need it to?" Sheik asked worriedly. "I would rather not end up in the middle of a volcano this time..."

"Huh, that's weird..."

Link glanced over, seeing that his descendant was examining one of the sea charts on the wall. It didn't look like anything special at first until the boy took off his shield and compared the triangular symbol painted on the wood to the coordinates marked on the sea chart.

"That triangle...how come Tetra has it here?"

"Is it important?" Link asked with a curious glance at the triangle, but he was much more interested in the symbol of white wings beneath it. It was so similar to the crest of his people, and yet Sheik had confessed to knowing nothing of Skyloft.

"It's from the stories that Granny used to tell me," the freckled boy explained. "Don't you know about it? The Golden Power was guarded by the knights of Hyrule, but one day someone evil stole it for himself and the Hero of Time had to get it back. Or...I guess you will have to get it back one day, right?"

"The Triforce," Sheik murmured, and both Link and his descendant looked at her uncomprehending. "The Golden Power...it is called the Triforce."

"And how would you know that?"

The three of them spun around, and the freckled boy gave a strange sort of yelp as if they had been caught in an act of mischief. Tetra stood in the doorway with her arms crossed and feet planted apart, but she didn't seem surprised to see them, only annoyed. And most of that annoyance was directed at Link's descendant.

"I might have known you would pull something like this. I believe I told you when we began this journey that certain rules need to be observed, and one of those is obey the captain. I never once gave you permission to set that prisoner free, and on top of that you've broken into my private quarters! Are you trying to make me throw you overboard?"

"But I had to help them," the freckled boy protested, and he pointed at Link. "Tetra, just look at him. He's the Hero of Time! He and Sheik came from the past, and they need the cube to get back there again. That's all they want so why shouldn't we help them?"

"You gullible idiot!" Tetra snapped. "They would have told you any story to get you on their side! For all you know, they're in league with the ones who took your sister! Did you think of that before you put my crew in danger by aiding them?"

"Is it so difficult to believe?" Sheik murmured, but her grave tone commanded the attention of the young captain. "It is said that the hero traveled in time to fulfill his destiny. Who is to say we are not telling the truth?"

"Nice try, but you won't find me so easy to convince," Tetra sneered. "Besides, people can say whatever they want about a fairytale and no one could prove them wrong."

"A fairytale," Sheik said in skepticism. "If you truly believe the hero to be a story, then why do you have a picture of him in your bedroom?"

Tetra scowled when this was pointed out to her, and even Link was taken aback by the picture he hadn't noticed above the bed. It looked like an illustration taken from a storybook, but there was no mistaking the sword and the Triforce and the green clothing worn by the hero. He touched his own green tunic. That couldn't possibly have started with him...could it?

"What, I can't enjoy a story once in awhile?" Tetra said defensively. She marched up to Link and poked him in the stomach. "And if you really are him, then where were you in my great grandmother's time? During the last war for the Golden Power, the people were praying for the hero to appear again, but nobody ever showed up! The gods left them on their own, and now Hyrule and the Triforce are both gone."

"Gone, but not lost," Sheik said, regarding the girl sadly. She approached Tetra and knelt in front of her. "Tetra...may I ask about that pendant you wear?"

Tetra started, her hand darting to the golden charm hanging around her neck. "W-Why?" she demanded. "It's only a cheap trinket..."

"But it was given to you by someone, wasn't it?" Sheik pressed, her voice trembling. "Someone in your family, perhaps your mother or grandmother. And they told you to keep it safe, always. Did they never tell you why such a cheap trinket was so important?"

"What would you know about my family?" Tetra shouted, but she blinked furiously and looked away. "They...they all died when I was a little girl. The crew is my family, they always have been."

"Your crew," Sheik said softly. "Men who obey you so willingly without a second thought, as if it were in their very nature to serve."

"So what?" Tetra retorted. "You ask a lot of questions for a stowaway."

Link felt a tug on his sleeve and tore his eyes away from the conversation with difficulty. His descendant nodded at the cube on the desk, which now emitted a steady glow instead of the faint pulsing. "Sheik, I think it's almost ready," he warned.

"Ready for what?" Tetra said in suspicion as Sheik rose to her feet and moved to the desk. "What do you think you're...?"

"Miss Tetra!" Gonzo's voice roared from somewhere within the ship. "Miss Tetra, he's escaped!"

Link glanced at the door nervously, hearing loud footsteps thundering toward the room. Tetra hesitated and seemed on the verge of calling for her crew, but the freckled boy touched her arm. "Let them go," he implored. "Please, Tetra? I won't tell anyone you did. Just let them go."

Tetra avoided his eyes, expression pained. She yanked her arm away and marched purposely to the door, poking her head outside. "Well, what are you waiting for then, Gonzo? Go and find him! And until you do, don't come in here and bother me! I want some peace and quiet right now, got it?"

"Aye, Miss Tetra. But are you sure you wouldn't like someone to guard the door...?"

"I think I can handle a couple of stowaways," Tetra scoffed and slammed the door shut, leaning against it with her arms crossed. She scowled at all three of them and blew a strand of hair from her face. "It's not because he asked me to, alright? I just don't feel like playing host to you anymore. You can consider yourselves officially kicked off my ship."

The freckled boy gave an uneasy start. "Wait...you're not talking about me too, are you?"

"Don't be stupid," Tetra said, and Link could have sworn she winked at his descendant. She nodded at Link and Sheik. "Get going before I change my mind."

Link nodded with a glance at Sheik. "Are you ready?" he asked, and at her nod, they both placed their hands on the surface of the cube.

"Hold on!" the freckled boy said, stepping forward. He smiled at Link broadly. "I just want to...it was really great to meet you. Granny used to tell me those stories, but I never really believed them until now. It's cool that I'm descended from you!"

"Thanks," Link said, touched by his words no matter how strange the circumstances, and he grinned back. "It was great to meet you too."

"Take care of each other," Sheik added with a nod at Tetra, who rolled her eyes and muttered something about being able to take care of herself just fine. She turned back to Link uneasily as the cube began to hum beneath their fingers. "How are we meant to control it this time? I can't sense any magic within it, but how does it work if not by magic?"

"Maybe it runs on batteries," Link joked, but the humor was lost on Sheik. He cleared his throat to disguise his own nerves. "Fi said it was trying to stabilize itself so maybe we just need to give it a few more tries. She said...oh..."

It is likely the relic of the Gate of Time honed in on your aura and purposely sought a moment in time when a similar aura was present at this exact location...

"What is it?" Sheik asked.

"Well," Link said slowly, mouth dry, "she said that the cube only moved to a different place in time, but still stayed in the same location. That's why I ended up in a future version of Lanayru instead of some random place like Eldin. But when we got here, we were underwater and had to swim up for a long ways. So if the next place we end up in doesn't have an ocean..."

Bzzrrt!

Seconds later when the world reappeared, Link only had a split second glimpse of the night sky and the moonlit desert hundreds of feet below them before he and Sheik plunged straight down. But Link had been trained all his life for this. Instincts kicked in and made him twist around and spread his arms and legs in a skydiving X to slow his fall. Sheik was still flailing in the empty air and beginning to drift away from him, and Link tilted sideways and stretched out to grab her hand. She needed no prompting to wrap her arms around him, a choked scream catching in her throat as the dunes of sand rushed toward them.

"Hold onto me, hold on!" Link bellowed above the wind, knowing he had only seconds to act before they hit the ground. He yanked Zelda's sailcloth out from under his tunic and let it unfurl above their heads, catching the air so quickly that it nearly jerked his shoulders from their sockets. Sheik slipped down until her arms were around his waist, but managed to cling on for their more gradual descent.

Link whooped in relief. "Now this is more like it!"

Sheik buried her face in his chest. "I'm going to be sick," she moaned.

"Get ready to land," Link warned her when they had drifted low enough for her toes to scrape the dunes. Sheik released him to drop down, and Link did the same, unprepared for the soft sand to give way beneath his feet and send him tumbling down the dune into a shallow ravine. He only halted when his back hit a boulder, and he hissed, wondering how big of a bruise that would leave.

"Are you alright?" Sheik called.

"Yeah, fine," Link said as he tried to dig himself out of the sand. It wasn't as coarse as the sand in Lanayru or in that other desert where Sheik had come from, which was enough to tell him they weren't home yet. Already the fine grit had worked its way into every gap in his chainmail and made the armor squeal when he tried to move. He stuffed the sailcloth back under his tunic and looked up, squinting in the darkness, but he couldn't see Sheik from here even with the moon shining so brightly.

Link was about to call out when a low growl from his right made him freeze. He jerked back with a gasp, staring into two luminous eyes that seemed to simply appear from the shadow of the dune, followed by a lupine head with a long muzzle and a shaggy pelt. Link had only seen wolves once on the surface, and then only from a distance, and he had thought their haunting songs beautiful. He hadn't realized how big they were up close. Or how many teeth they had.

"N-Nice wolf," Link stammered, shrinking back when that only made the growling kick up a notch. "Nice boy...nice wolf..."

The wolf barked, its eyes fierce and angry. Just as Link had resigned himself to being torn apart by those teeth, another strange creature poked her head out from behind the wolf. The imp looked him up and down curiously, her single eye scrutinizing him from beneath an onyx helm.

"What do you mean he looks like you? Did that last dung heap you sniffed make you a little loopy?"

The wolf snarled, tossing its head, and it took Link a moment to understand the imp and wolf were somehow conversing with each other. He started to edge away, thinking he might escape unnoticed, but the wolf snapped its teeth inches from his face in a clear warning to stay put.

The imp giggled and shrugged. "Sure, whatever you say. Of course Zant is clever enough to create a shadow replica of you, who doesn't resemble you in the slightest and on top of that is also scared of dogs. That makes so much sense."

The wolf rumbled low in its chest, and the imp scoffed. "I'm telling you, he doesn't! At least you've got somewhat good looks going for you, unlike this poor guy. Just look at those pouty lips! He's practically a girl!"

Link snapped his mouth shut, his priorities shifted from preserving his life to preserving his pride. "Why does everyone keep saying that?" he demanded. "I'm not a girl!"

"You said it, not me," the imp snickered. Link grumbled under his breath and forced himself to let it go. He had more important things to do than argue about his masculinity with an imp whose own gender was equally dubious. He shoved himself to his feet and dusted off the sand, deliberately ignoring the wolf when it growled again.

"If you're going to attack, then get it over with. Otherwise, I'm going to find my friend and then I'm leaving!"

The growls lessened as the wolf cocked its head, watching with distrustful eyes as Link began to walk away, groping along the steep walls of the ravine in search of a way back up. He could have climbed up, but he didn't want to get halfway out only to have the loose sand give way beneath his feet again. Hearing a call from above, Link paused to cup his hands around his mouth.

"I'm down here, Sheik! Just wait a minute and I'll come up!"

"Is that the friend you were talking about?" a voice said in his ear, close enough to make his skin prickle. Link yelped and jumped away with his heart in his throat, expecting to see Ghirahim standing behind him. The imp howled in laughter. "How about that? You've got personal space issues too! If you're trying to impersonate a certain someone, then so far your acting is spot on. That expression is a little iffy though..."

"Will you just get away from me?" Link snapped, embarrassed by his reaction. "I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't want anything to do with you! I've had enough problems today as is!"

"Oh, that's much better!" the imp praised and patted his head like he was being deliberately cute. "Now that's the grumpy face we all know and love. I got that a lot at the beginning. Didn't I, wolf boy?"

The wolf made no visible response, still lurking in the shadows and stalking along in their wake. Link hoped it couldn't sense how nervous that made him. Even in the cold night, he was sweating under his chainmail, and he couldn't hold back a shiver every time he caught sight of its unsettling eyes. He heard sand shifting and raised his head in time to see Sheik sliding down the slope toward him. Link reached up and caught her arm as she reached the bottom, helping to steady her landing.

"I told you I was on my way up."

"And then I heard you yell and assumed you needed help," Sheik replied as she brushed the sand from her legs. Her hands stopped in mid motion when she noticed the imp floating at the height of their shoulders. "Er...hello?"

"Hi there," the imp said, flashing a smirk that was all fang. "Like my wolf?"

"Pardon?" Sheik inquired, and when the imp pointed at the beast in question, she blanched beneath her veil. "Oh...my..."

"It's okay, I don't think it's going to hurt us," Link reassured her. "At least it hasn't tried to yet."

"Yet?" Sheik said in a strained voice.

"Exactly," the imp said wickedly as she drifted over to the wolf and straddled its back like she was riding a Loftwing. The wolf tolerated this patiently, even when the imp propped her elbows on its head and set her chin in her palms. "So as long as we're all chatting, where'd you two come from? You've got me all curious with that flying entrance you pulled, and I just know this shaggy rug under me won't stop following you until he sniffs out every detail."

Link and Sheik looked at each other, passing a silent question between them. Tell the farfetched truth or take a chance at making something up? It might not matter either way, but the reminder of how they had ended up here made him glance at Sheik's empty hands. "Is the cube still up there?" he asked, and his gut plummeted at her hesitation. "Please tell me you know where it is..."

"I had hoped that you would know," Sheik said quietly. "I had it when we first arrived, but it slipped from my hands, and I didn't see exactly where it..."

"You dropped it?" Link bellowed and kicked viciously at a rock. "Great...two seconds after we get it back, we manage to lose it again! Why didn't you hang onto it?"

"It was hardly the first thing on my mind!" Sheik retorted. "I thought for sure we were falling to our deaths!"

"Well, we need to find it! That cube is the only way for us to get back!"

"I'm well aware of that! I certainly did not intend to prevent us from returning to our respective timelines!"

"Timelines?" the imp interrupted with a thread of glee. "Ooh, are we talking about time travel? This is getting more interesting by the minute!"

"Come, we do no good by simply standing here," Sheik said definitively, and she turned to the imp and the wolf. "Since you seem intent on remaining, we would appreciate your help in finding the item which brought us here. It shouldn't be difficult to locate with three of us."

"Hmm...thanks, but no thanks," the imp said, surprising them both. She looked the other way in haughty indifference. "Sorry, but I've got better things to do."

"But...you just said you were interested!" Link said with indignation.

"That was before you asked for my help, which I don't feel like wasting my time giving," the imp said frankly. She nudged the wolf's flanks with her heels. "Let's go, that mirror won't find itself. And try not to throw me into a dune this time, will you? I know you like to do your running thing, but there is such thing as a leisurely run."

But the wolf didn't budge. It pondered Link and Sheik for a moment, then gazed back at its mistress, woofing softly.

"What?" the imp exclaimed, and she reached forward to yank on its ear. "You've got to be kidding...you want to help them after I just said no? Why do you feel the need to get involved in every single pointless problem these light dwellers have? Let them sort their own problems out and focus on the bigger picture! I'm sure that's what those sparkly light spirits of yours would encourage you to do..."

The wolf sat down abruptly, which caused the imp to squeak and topple backwards off its spine. The beast grinned at her graceless tumble, tongue lolling, then it stood up and trotted closer to Link, all signs of hostility vanished. He was almost tempted to pet it now.

"Ugh, you ridiculous mutt," the imp grunted as she took to the air again. "Fine, do whatever you want! Just don't expect me to have any part of this, and that includes acting as a translator!"

The wolf snorted in a way that sounded almost human and bounded forward, tossing a bark over its shoulder. Link glanced at Sheik with a raised eyebrow. "Are we really about to let an animal lead us out of here?" he said skeptically.

"Can you think of a better recourse?" Sheik challenged him, and when Link had no answer, she forged through the ravine after the wolf. Link made himself take a deep breath before he followed, trying to cram down the frustration simmering deep inside. He wasn't normally one to let his temper get the better of him, and while their bizarre circumstances might have justified his tetchy mood, it didn't excuse him from lashing out at Sheik for no real reason. He was a knight, he was supposed to be better than that.

And he knew it was all because of that damn cube. It was as if the more he used it, the more sapped and...stretched he felt. Like each time he jumped to a new timeline, he left a piece of himself behind. Link couldn't begin to guess how many eras must now be separating him from Zelda. A thousand? Ten thousand? He could almost feel the weight of that time on his shoulders, dragging him down.

Link felt someone breathing on the back of his neck again and resisted the urge to jump out of his skin again. He glowered at the imp out the corner of his eye. "What do you want now?"

"Mmm...nope, he's definitely manlier than you are," the imp concluded as if this deduction were of utmost importance. "No matter how hard you try, you just can't pull off the rugged hero look."

"What are you talking about?"

The imp flicked her hand. "Your clothes, obviously. Whoever gave them to you must have been blind if they thought you deserved to inherit them. By the way, did you notice there's no sword in your scabbard? It's really not helping with your image."

"I earned this tunic," Link said through gritted teeth. "And I know I don't have a sword. I...left it behind."

"Well, that was stupid," the imp pointed out in that aggravating and snooty tone he was beginning to hate with a passion. "Do you have a death wish? Who in their right mind comes to a haunted wasteland completely unarmed?"

"What did you call this place?" Sheik asked, looking back, and she slipped on something and hit the ground hard, hissing when her palms scraped the sand. Link jogged closer and offered his hand, but she only shook her head. "I'm fine," she muttered.

"If you say so," Link said and crouched down to pick up the thing she had stepped on. It was a black arrow with the head broken off so only the shaft and fletching were left. Link turned it over in his hands, noting grimly how crude it was compared to the sleek arrows he had seen for sale in the Bazaar. It was the kind of arrow that Bokoblins used. The wolf seemed to share his sentiments when it loped back to his side and nosed the arrow for itself, rumbling deep in its throat.

"We'd better keep moving," Link murmured and tossed the arrow aside.

"Agreed," the imp said and plopped herself back on the wolf again. The wolf grunted at her weight and glared at its mistress. "What? I'm tired, and you're comfy. Now if you're still bent on helping these people, then quit thinking like a human and get the scent of whatever they're looking for off them. I'm not trekking all over this desert when using your senses would get this over with in about ten seconds flat."

The wolf blinked, then turned to Link expectantly.

"You...need a scent to track?" Link guessed and tried not to let it freak him out when the wolf nodded. He held out his hands, figuring that since he had just been holding the cube, there might be a scent on them. The wolf sniffed his fingers thoroughly, its wet nose tickling his skin. Link wasn't expecting much success, and so was entirely unprepared when the wolf barked suddenly and threw itself at him in a frenzy, knocking him flat on his back.

"Ow...get off!" Link yelled, straining to shove the wolf off his ribs, but it was too heavy. The imp also shouted and yanked on its fur, which the wolf seemed indifferent to as it shoved its nose inside his tunic and wrestled the sailcloth into the open. Link made a grab for it and seized one of the corners, which brought the wolf up short, and they engaged in a vicious tug of war over the white cloth.

"Let him have it!" Sheik said and grabbed his arm to pull him away.

"But," Link protested, alarmed when he heard the fabric begin to rip. He pondered Zelda's wrath if he lost the sailcloth versus her wrath if he let himself be killed by a rabid wolf, and reluctantly released the sailcloth and ran with Sheik through the ravine. He looked back only once to see the wolf sniffing over the crumpled cloth obsessively and felt a pang of regret for letting it go so easily. That sailcloth had saved him so many times, and it always reminded him of Zelda, the one who had sewn it for him. It even smelled like her a little bit.

Moments later, he and Sheik emerged from the ravine into the open desert, both panting. Link turned in a full circle, his hopes dying when he saw no sign of that azure cube. All he could see for miles was sand and rocks, and far in the distance a coliseum-like structure.

"It can't have disappeared already, can it?" Sheik said, also scanning the dunes.

"Let's hope not," Link replied. He heard a horn blowing and peered through the darkness at the silhouettes on a distant hill. When he realized they were Bokoblins, he ducked down and pulled Sheik with him. The squat creatures spoke among themselves in their guttural language, wielding stunted swords and bows, and Link cursed under his breath when he spotted a shimmer of blue tucked under one of their arms. The Bokoblin stuffed the cube in a satchel, and all four turned and set out for the coliseum.

"Come on!" Link said and started to run for them, but he heard Sheik stagger behind him and barely caught her arm before she would have slumped to the sand. She gripped her ankle, which looked twisted and wobbled dangerously when she tried to put weight on it.

"They're getting away," Sheik said urgently, nodding at the Bokoblins. "Hurry, go after them. I'll catch up when I can."

"I'm not leaving you alone in a place like this. Come on, let me help you."

"I can walk on my own!"

"You're not doing a very good job of it so far," Link retorted, which made Sheik glance aside, eyes hard. He slung her arm around his shoulders before she could protest, and they made their hobbling way down the side of the dune.

"If we lose that cube, then we both lose our only chance of returning home," Sheik said, still not looking at him. "You would really take that risk?"

"We're in this together," Link told her. "You didn't leave me behind so I'm not leaving you either."

"I almost did leave you," Sheik admitted softly. "On the ship...I considered it while you were imprisoned in the hold. I thought about the Link from my time and what may befall him if I am unable to return. I can't abandon him, not yet. Not when he is so close to facing his destiny."

"So what made you change your mind?"

Sheik peeked at him out of the corner of her eye. "You are his ancestor. If you are not saved, then how can he come into being?"

Link smirked a little. "Good point. And just so you know, I considered leaving you too, so I guess there's no point in making a grudge out of it. But look, even if we can't get the cube back, I'm sure we'll still make it home. There's got to be more than one way to time travel. And maybe the Link from your time will find a way to bring us back."

"I fail to see how he could accomplish such a feat..."

Link laughed. "Come on, with a title like Hero of Time? There's probably nothing he can't do!"

"But he is limited in where and when he can travel to," Sheik said quietly. "And that aside, how would he know what era to find us in? I don't believe we can rely on him to reach us here."

"Such a pessimist," Link snorted, rolling his eyes. He noticed Sheik give him an odd look. "What?"

Sheik only blinked and looked aside. "Nothing. I just...you keep reminding me of him. You and he are a great deal alike."

"We are?" Link asked, but Sheik didn't answer, and he let the subject drop as they pressed on. Luckily, the Bokoblins seemed in no hurry and kept to their own leisurely pace, occasionally squabbling over who got to carry the cube and never once noticing their pursuers. It wasn't long before the Bokoblins reached the ruins of what might have been a town once and vanished among the crumbling buildings, greeted by the sentries perched on high wooden towers. Link and Sheik ducked behind a slab of stone not far from the towers, hidden in the shadows and able to observe just how many Bokoblins had made their home here. There had to be at least twenty or thirty scattered throughout the ruins.

"This could be difficult," Sheik said, which was stating the obvious as far as Link was concerned. "We can't risk alerting them to our presence. They would overwhelm us easily."

"Maybe we can sneak in?" Link suggested. He nodded at the Bokoblins up on the towers. "Look, they're not even paying attention. We could walk right past them."

"We have no idea what we could encounter once within the ruins," Sheik pointed out. "And you're unarmed."

"I'll find a weapon once we're inside," Link replied, once again missing the familiar weight of the Goddess Sword on his back and the level-headed guidance of the spirit within. He was positive Fi would not approve of this plan.

Sheik gave him a sideways glance. "You act as if you've done this sort of thing before."

Link shrugged with a weak grin. "Not unless sneaking out of the academy in the middle of the night to go star-chasing counts. Uh, never mind you probably don't know what that is..."

"I believe I had a taste of it earlier," Sheik said, and he thought from the gleam in her eyes that she might be smiling at him. She moved first, leaning out from behind the stone and making a quick dash for the ruins with Link right behind her. He watched her carefully in case her ankle should give out again, but if it was giving her any trouble, then she wasn't letting it show.

They slipped into a narrow passage between two buildings and crouched their briefly, looking out on a dusty street and a campfire with four Bokoblins surrounding it, two of them fighting over the scraps of meat they were cooking on sticks. Sheik acted quickly and hurried across the street right behind the backs of the oblivious goblins, her steps noiseless. She hid behind a stack of crates and waved at him to follow, and Link was about to when the squabbling Bokoblins began to fight for real and their grappling bodies rolled into his path. Link pulled back into hiding and waved at Sheik to keep moving. She shook her head at first, but when a Bokoblin sauntered over to the crates to get a drink from the water barrel, she was forced to retreat and disappear deeper into the ruins.

Great, this is going well already, Link thought to himself caustically. The two Bokoblins finally ended their tussle, and the less hurt one stomped back to the fire victorious. The second recovered more slowly, dazed and sprawled out on the sand, and before it could move Link threw himself at the goblin and hauled it back into the shadows. It didn't have a chance to call out before he kicked it in the head and knocked it out cold. None of its friends by the campfire even glanced back. He looted its sword and climbed through the window in the building beside him. The door on the other side led to another street that was thankfully empty, but Link stuck close to the sides of the buildings. He could see the towers where the sentries were and had no desire to be caught.

But then he froze when he heard a horn blowing from somewhere in the distance. And right after came the battle shouts of the Bokoblins as they charged toward its source. Sheik, Link thought in sudden fear and picked up his pace to a run. As he reached a corner, a Bokoblin came charging into his path and skidded to a stop, waving its sword at him with a throaty shout. Link drew the sword he had stolen and parried the goblin's clumsy strike, easily cutting it down and leaving it gasping and gurgling in the sand. There was a horn hanging from its belt, which Link snatched it up and blew into as hard as he could. It was a suicidal idea, announcing himself like this, but with any luck he could make some of the Bokoblins come for him and give Sheik a better chance.

And it worked far better than he hoped. The sentries on the towers were the first to spot him, and Link only narrowly avoided the fiery arrows they shot for his head. He sprinted through the ruins with no clear idea of where he was going, desperately fending off the Bokoblins as they came for him in twos and threes. If he stayed in one place for more than a moment, they would box him in. He had no choice but to keep outrunning them.

The horns blew again, and Link paused at a four-way intersection, spinning on the spot and dismayed by the labyrinth of alleyways he had to choose from. "Sheik!" he bellowed. "Where are you?"

"Here!" Sheik shouted, but her voice could have come from anywhere. Link was on the verge of picking a direction at random, but his eyes caught sight of something strange. Leaning against one of the buildings nearby was a great slab of stone that might once have stood higher than his head, but had been broken in half at some point, the top part lost. He stepped closer, staring at the pair of wings engraved into the stone beneath the faded hieroglyphs. It was the second time he had seen the symbol of his people in another timeline, and he might have written it off as coincidence.

The blocky Skyloftian letters carved just beneath the wings, however, were definitely not a coincidence.

THIS WAY, SLEEPYHEAD

"Zelda?" Link whispered and traced the arrow just beneath the words. He turned his head in the direction the arrow was pointing and forgot to breathe when he spotted another campfire in a courtyard not thirty steps away. And seated at the campfire was the same group of Bokoblins that he and Sheik had seen in the desert. He could even see the satchel with the cube sitting right there in the sand. Link charged for them, knowing he was being reckless but not caring when his goal was in sight. The Bokoblins heard him coming and scrambled up to meet him halfway, swords drawn. They blocked his way, and Link braced himself for a fight, hearing footsteps coming from behind as the other three goblins that had been chasing him finally caught up.

Then he heard the cube humming and let that single sound fuel his determination. Roaring a battle cry, Link threw himself at the Bokoblins, his sword like lightning as he plowed through their amateur defense and left a trail of dead goblins behind him. His ferocity frightened them enough that they kept well back and allowed him the chance to sprint into the courtyard. Link snatched up the satchel and put his back to the wall as the last three Bokoblins came for him. He killed one and wounded another, ducking out of the circle they were trying to enclose him in. The sole Bokoblin left considered his bloody sword and wisely turned tail and ran the other way.

Link eased out a breath in relief, wincing when he noticed the shallow cut along his thigh, which was miraculously the only injury he had taken. Dropping his sword, he opened the satchel and took the cube out. "I've got it! Sheik, I've got it! Hurry up, it's activat—!"

Pain exploded in his back, his vision flashing white as he screamed and arched his spine. Link dropped the cube, clutching at his midsection, and he swallowed hard when his fingers found the cold steel sticking out of his gut, slick with his blood. Stupid, he thought dizzily. I'm so stupid. Let my guard down...

The Bokoblin—the one he had wounded and failed to finish off—hooked its forearm around his neck and dragged him back from the cube, keeping him firmly impaled. Link struggled feebly, but the sword twisted inside him, and he gave a hoarse cry as agony spiked from his core in waves of fire and ice. If not for the Bokoblin holding him up, his legs would have crumpled. Someone cried his name, and Link tore his eyes from his blood-soaked front to see Sheik standing directly across the courtyard. She met his gaze, horrified and already moving toward him, dagger in hand. But the cube between them glowed brightly, and he saw her steps falter as she looked in its direction.

"G...Go," Link coughed, remembering what she had said about her Link, about her fear of what would happen if she didn't return to her era. If they couldn't both get back, then he would at least make sure she did. "Sheik, go!"

Sheik began to run again, tossing her dagger aside so she could grab the cube in both hands. But she didn't stop there and kept running for him even as the cube blazed and began to crackle. Link held out a shaking hand with a wordless prayer as Sheik closed the distance and reached for him...

But her fingers passed through his. She vanished in the barest instant before they would have touched. Link let his hand fall, his last hope snatched away. Through dimming eyes he could see the two Bokoblins that had been chasing her now closing in on him, cackling at his defenseless state, hefting their swords. They weren't about to let him die so quickly. They were going to make him suffer. Link set his jaw, steeling himself, perversely grateful that it wasn't Ghirahim who got the satisfaction of finishing him off.

Somewhere beyond the pain, beyond the grim knowledge of his own demise, Link heard the mournful cry of a wolf. The Bokoblins muttered to themselves nervously, looking around, and then they began shrieking. Paws padding the sand morphed into two feet running, the scrape of a sword being drawn, and then Link felt the blade being ripped out of him as the Bokoblin thrust him aside. He bumped into a wall and leaned on it heavily, bloodied hands smearing the stone, and he wasn't sure why he was trying so hard to stay on his feet. He felt so cold, his body heavy, even the fear beginning to fade in exchange for numbing apathy. Link pressed a hand to the gaping wound and shuddered, finally slipping to his knees.

Dying...am I dying...?

The clash of swords had ceased, the Bokoblins either dead or fleeing. Link began to fall forward, but he was caught by a pair of strong arms around his shoulders, which laid him down gently. "I've got you," a voice spoke in his ear, rough from disuse but entirely human. "Don't worry, I've got you."

"Not for long, you don't," another voice said bleakly, and Link dimly recognized it as the imp. "He's done for."

"You don't know that," the first voice growled.

"Pray all you want, but you know it's true! He's bleeding out, and you used your last potion when you got attacked by those Leevers. So what else do you want me to say? Oh sure, he'll bounce back before you know it?"

"W...Who?" Link rasped and had to stop when he coughed again. Someone wrapped him up in something warm and soft, and he clung to the sailcloth as the familiar scent washed over him. His eyes fluttered open, looking up into sapphire eyes that seemed so ancient and worn, like they belonged to a veteran of war. And his heart skipped a beat, not because the man looked like him, but because Link had seen that face somewhere else. Sketched into the pages of his history book, the man who had led armies against the demon hordes. The man that Hylia had cradled in her arms in his last moments...

"Who are you?" the hero said, studying Link intently even as he was studied in return. "Where did you get this blanket? Who had it before you?"

Link only stared, his lips parted, and he wanted to laugh at the bitter irony of it all. A man who had been dead for hundreds of years before he was born, and now he was dying in that man's arms. True, he had harbored a desire to meet the Ancient Hero, but he hadn't thought the goddess would take him at his word so literally.

The goddess...Zelda...

"I know what you're thinking," the imp said to the hero softly, hovering back with an expression of discomfort and what could have been pity. "But we...we saw her disappear, remember? There's no way that blanket can have her scent. There's just no way..."

The hero said nothing, still watching Link and silently demanding an answer. Link swallowed and shut his eyes, his breaths coming shallower. He wished the sword had taken him through the heart instead because this slow and excruciating descent into death was only giving him more time to regret his mistakes. To think of the last time he had seen Zelda outside the Gate of Time. She had looked so beautiful in that white dress and sounded so angelic when she sang. There had been something pristine and untouchable about her, no longer the best friend he had grown up with. And now...Link would never touch her again. He wouldn't be there to protect her or to help her fulfill the destiny set before them by Hylia.

"I...f-failed..."

"What are you talking about?" the hero asked in confusion. "Just tell me who you are."

Link choked on a wretched laugh. "Y-You," he whispered. "Your...ngh, your descendant. I'm the next...the next one..."

He didn't need to say anything more because the hero's eyes widened and he glanced over his shoulder at the hilt of the sword resting there. He looked back at Link with new understanding and countless questions, but they went unspoken as a flicker of anguish crossed his face.

"I can't save you," the hero murmured. He looked at the part of the sailcloth covering the wound, already drenched with blood. "I...I'm so sorry. I don't have any potions, and there's no one close enough to help. I can't...there's nothing I can do. I'm sorry."

Link wanted to tell him that it was alright, that it wasn't his fault and he didn't need to apologize, but he couldn't force any more words out. A dark veil had draped across his vision and prevented him from seeing the hero anymore. He thought of Zelda again, and this time he focused wholly on her face and the echo of her voice in his memory. Maybe Link couldn't be by her side...but at the very least he wanted to say goodbye to her.

And maybe he could. Ever since they were children, he and Zelda had shared a connection. It wasn't something they had ever spoken of, but they both knew it existed. On the day his parents passed away, it was that connection which had helped Zelda find him grieving on his secret island far from Skyloft, even though he had never told her about that place. It was that connection which had told him Zelda was still alive, even though he had been told all his life that those taken beneath the clouds could never return. If he tried it now, if he thought hard enough, prayed hard enough...could he somehow reach her across the eons separating them?

He had nothing to lose by trying. Link concentrated, reaching out with his mind and heart, and he called for her out of the endless black.

Zelda...

Zelda...

Images swam across his vision, hazy and dream-like, and Link couldn't have said how or where they came from or even if they were real. He saw a ship sailing across the ocean beneath the starlight, its young captain seated cross-legged at the bow and toying with the pendant around her neck. The green-clothed boy came to her shoulder, and Tetra tucked it out of sight quickly, snapping something in answer to his question...

Zelda...

He saw the colossus where the cube had taken him first, and he saw the knight slumped against the stairs before the temple, miserable and lonely, staring off at nothing as his fingers idly strummed the harp left behind by Sheik. Laid out at his side was the Goddess Sword, above which hovered Fi, who was gazing up at the stars and waiting with such patience that it hurt his heart to see...

Zelda...

He caught a glimpse of the Sealed Temple and a girl in white kneeling on the stone in prayer. But she raised her head, lips parted in surprise, and Zelda rose quickly and went to the Gate of Time, grazing her fingers along its azure surface...

Link...?

Zelda...

He didn't recognize the swamp that was shown to him next, the trees cloaked in eternal twilight, the bogs murky and filled with black water. Sheik was mired up to her chest in one of those bogs, clinging to an exposed root and straining to reach the cube as it slowly sank out of sight. Realizing it was beyond her grasp, Sheik abandoned the cube and lunged for higher ground. But the root she was holding onto snapped and she sank even further, immobilized by the sticky mud, swiftly losing the strength to keep her head above the surface. He saw her close her eyes, giving up the struggle, and he wished he could reach for her, take her hand...

But someone else got there first. A hand seized her by the wrist, and Sheik looked up in astonishment at the adolescent swordsman who had come to her aid, his other hand holding fast to a vine so he wouldn't be dragged in. He shook a lock of strawberry blond hair out of his face and locked determined eyes with her.

I've got you! Don't worry, I've got you!

The swamp faded out of existence before he could see what happened next. On the fringes of his consciousness, Link felt the pain of his dying body, the cold creeping up his limbs. But he clung on for just a little longer. He had to know if Sheik would be alright. It was his fault she was caught up in this...

He heard a gentle laugh in his mind. And even here, suspended somewhere between life and death, the sound of her voice brought him comfort.

Zelda...

I heard you, Zelda said, and he could hear the tremble of excitement in her words. I heard you, Link! It's okay, I know what to do. I've awakened Hylia's memories, and she showed me how to fix this. Don't worry, I'll make everything right again...

Link sighed. That had been exactly what he hoped to hear.

It took long minutes of effort, but eventually Link managed to heave the woman out of the swamp water and onto dry land. At least he thought she was a woman, but it was hard to tell underneath all that mud. Her outlandish clothes seemed to indicate that she was a foreigner, but once they had moved away from the mire and taken a seat on a rotted log to catch their breath, Link could see that her ears were long and pointed like his own. She was of Hylian lineage just like him. How very odd.

"What...is this place?"

"Huh?" Link asked, snapped out of his musings and taken aback by the question. "You mean this swamp? I don't think it has a name...but if it does, it's probably got the word evil in it."

The woman shot him a peculiar look, which made Link feel a little discomfited. He had never been very good at talking to girls, always nervous and blurting out the first stupid thing that came into his head. He had done the same thing around Zelda too, constantly cracking lame jokes as they snuck out of the castle dungeons because he hadn't known how to comfort her after she had watched Agahnim murder her father. The princess hadn't seemed to mind and had even laughed once or twice, but this woman just sat there and looked at him until he blushed and stared at his boots.

"My name is Sheik," the woman offered after a moment. "May I ask yours?"

"Oh...it's Link," Link said with a friendly smile, and it confused him even more when the woman put her head in her hands and muttered something that sounded like, Of course, what else? He heard a snapping twig behind them and stiffened, eyes darting to the shrubs and the trees where he could see shining eyes watching them from the gloom, the hidden monsters waiting for a chance to attack the hapless travelers.

Link carefully unbuckled the Master Sword from his back and leaned it against the log in easy reach, letting those hidden creatures see the distinctive hilt and the three Pendants of Virtue, which he had strung along a chain and tied to the cross guard. Many of the monsters retreated at the sight of it, and those that remained made no move to attack, fearful of the sword. Fearful of him.

His lips twitched in satisfaction, and he turned back to the woman he had rescued, noticing only now that Sheik also had her eyes on the sword. As if she also recognized it.

"This is a dangerous place," Link said by way of explanation, though her scrutiny unnerved him. Things were not always as they seemed in the Dark World. She might be an enemy who had cast a spell of illusion, playing the part of a helpless maiden in order to lure him close and gain his trust...

"I can see as much," Sheik said, also looking to the monsters. She fiddled with the bandages on her wrist, and his eyes widened at the sight of a throwing knife that he hadn't noticed before. He scooted a little further away discreetly. Maybe she wasn't so helpless after all.

"So how did you get here?" Link asked, waving at their surroundings. "It's not a very easy place to end up in. Are you...looking for something?"

Sheik hesitated, staring into the bog, her eyes bleak above the veil masking her face. "It doesn't matter now. The item which brought me here is gone. It sank down there, and I cannot get it back."

"Oh," Link said, chewing on his lip as he looked from her to the bog. He had a rash impulse to dive in and see if he could fish it out for her, but he doubted he would have any better luck. "Well, don't worry, I'm sure you'll find another way! I've seen some portals around that you could probably get to work with your magic..."

Sheik looked at him sharply. "How would you know that I have magical power?"

"Well...you're still human," Link faltered. "Most people who come to the Dark World end up transformed into monsters, unless they're protected by something. Not because of anything they did, it just kind of happens."

"...but not to you?" Sheik asked once she had thought that over. "You don't look like a monster to me."

Link grinned and showed her the Moon's Pearl hanging on a chain around his neck. "Because I have this. Without it, I'd probably be a bun...er, werewolf or something! So how about you? Do you have one too?"

Sheik dropped her gaze, covering her right hand with her left. "Yes," she said slowly. "Something like it, I suppose."

Link frowned, puzzled by her evasiveness, but he shrugged it off. It wasn't often that he met a person in the Dark World, let alone one who wanted to have a conversation instead of a fight, and he wasn't about to say anything to scare her off. "Anyway, since you're stuck here, maybe you should stick with me for now. I'm not heading back to the real world any time soon, I've got someone I need to find first. But until then maybe we can...I don't know, protect each other."

"You are very quick to offer your aid to someone you have never met," Sheik remarked, but she didn't sound displeased.

"It's a hobby," Link said and inwardly kicked himself for yet another lame joke. "So do you want to come? It's probably going to be dangerous..."

"I am not unaccustomed to defending myself from danger," Sheik informed him. She cast an apprehensive look at the swamp. "But it would help if I knew more about this place. Will you tell me, Link? Will you tell me of this...Dark World and how it came into being?"

"That's...a long story," Link said in mild dismay. He used to make his uncle tell him that story at bedtime precisely because it was so long and boring.

"I am in no hurry," Sheik said with a sidelong look at him. "Are you?"

In a way, he really was in a hurry. The maiden trapped in this swamp might be getting impatient to be rescued, not to mention all the others he had yet to locate and free from their crystal prisons. But...Link had been traveling for so long on his own. It was nice to talk to someone again, and he also wanted to make sure Sheik escaped from the Dark World unharmed. He hadn't gone through all that trouble to save her only to see her wander right back into the bog.

Link took a deep breath and leaned back on the log, trying to recall how his uncle's stories had begun. "Let's see...I don't remember the details very well, but I think it all started with the kingdom of Hyrule and the war for the Golden Power..."

"...so then what happened?" Link asked in captivation. "After the war ended and the people of the surface went to the sky, what happened to the Hero?"

"The Hero's final act in this world was to ensure the salvation of the human race as well as to lay the Goddess Sword to rest," Fi explained in that same tranquil way she said everything. "However, his wounds were grievous and he was unable to join his people. The Hero perished on the surface, and it is said that the goddess, in honor of his sacrifice, chose to abandon her existence as a celestial being so as to walk the earth with her people. It is said...that they will find each other in another lifetime, the Hero and his goddess."

"Hylia," Link whispered and let his gaze drop to the lyre in his lap, gaining a whole new reverence for the instrument. Neither of them said anything more for a time, the only sound being the gentle whisper of the desert wind. Link raised his head to look up at the night sky, wondering if the floating city called Skyloft was still up their somewhere. Maybe those Loftwings that Fi had mentioned were still flying around above the clouds, wild and free. It was a nice thought. He didn't like to consider that maybe they had gone extinct long ago.

A crunch of sand somewhere out in the darkness made Link jerk and bolt to his feet. "Sheik?" he called.

"My readings indicate the only life forms within the vicinity belong to that of the local wildlife," Fi told him, crushing his brief hope. "The auras of my master and your companion remain beyond the range of my sensors. I must conclude they have not returned."

Link sighed and plopped back onto the steps, scrubbing his tired face. "Three days," he said to himself. "They've been gone for three days. Sheik would never let that happen if she could help it. What's taking them so long?"

"Time is relative," Fi replied, which caused Link to stare at her uncomprehending. "Perhaps it has been days from our perspective, but she and my master might return at this moment and from their perspective only been absent for a few moments. Or conversely, they might spend years in an alternate era and yet return to discover that mere days have passed in this timeline."

"Years?" Link said, stricken as he thought of Sheik trapped in another world with no way to return. "Don't tell me stuff like that! I can't think that way! They've got to be coming back any minute, and I'm going to wait right here until they do!"

Navi flitted out of his hat. "But Link, you can't afford to wait forever," she reminded him. "You've got the last sage to awaken and Ganondorf to defeat. Zelda is waiting for us, Link! Sheik would want you to keep going, with or without her."

"But...I can't," Link said and clutched the lyre to his chest like a lifeline. Hot tears pricked at his eyes, which he blinked back, clamping down on the grief eating away at his heart. Seeing Sheik vanish before his eyes like that, it was almost worse than if she had actually died. At least then he could have mourned her and found the strength to go on. But not knowing where she was or what had befallen her, whether she was dead or suffering a fate worse than death, it killed him inside. Link couldn't make himself leave this spot, afraid Sheik would reappear the moment he walked away and wonder why he wasn't there to greet her.

"It is not my intention to inspire false hope," Fi said, and Link turned to her listlessly, though she had her gaze fixed on the night sky instead of him. "But I believe it is very likely your companion is alive and well, wherever she may be."

"What makes you say that?" Link asked, curious by this declaration. He had spent enough time with Fi to learn that she wasn't one for optimism.

"She is with my master," Fi said simply. "As long as it is within his power, he shall not be parted from her or allow any harm to befall her. He was chosen as the Ancient Hero's successor because he is compassionate as well as courageous. It is not merely his duty, but also his nature to aid those in need."

Link mused on that for a moment. That made him feel a little better. He had only spent a few minutes with his ancestor, but that had been enough to see they were a great deal alike. If Sheik had to be stuck with anyone, then he was glad it was that other Link. Just imagine if it had been Ganondorf's ancestor who showed up carrying that cube...

"Link," Fi said without interrupting her contemplation of the stars above. "As I have gleaned from previous conversations, you have a great task set before you. One which has required you to take up the mantle as the chosen hero. I have no desire to delay you in this task, and indeed I would be remiss in my duty if I did. Therefore, I ask that you leave the Goddess Sword here so that I may await the return of my master. It shall not come to harm from the elements, nor will I allow any other to remove it from this place."

"Are you sure?" Link asked, stunned by the offer and loath to take her up on it. "But I couldn't do that. You would be all alone!"

"Solitude does not trouble me," Fi said calmly. "I have not the capacity to feel loneliness or the want for company. My only purpose is to aid my master, and without his hand on my hilt, I am bereft of that purpose until he returns."

Link couldn't think of any response for that. Her loyalty to his ancestor was humbling, but it made his heart ache. He reached back to touch the hilt of his own sword, thinking of when he had first come upon it in the inner sanctum of the Temple of Time. Waiting all that time for another to come and take it up...

"I'll come back to check on you," Link promised as he slowly got to his feet and tried to get the kinks out of his muscles. He leaned over to pick up the Goddess Sword. "But I'm going to leave the sword inside the temple. That should be a little safer. No one comes here except the Gerudo anyway."

"You have my gratitude," Fi said and returned to the blade. Link sighed as he stepped into the temple and surveyed the antechamber. He thought of stashing it inside one of the pots, but he didn't want to make it too hard for his ancestor to find. In the end he leaned it against one of the stone slabs with the hieroglyphs about the Silver Gauntlets. After setting the sword down, Link traced his fingers over the runes sadly. He couldn't understand a word of it. He had needed Sheik to translate, and even her expertise in the Gerudo language had been limited. They had agreed to leave until they could figure out how to enter the temple proper, but they hadn't gotten that far. Sheik hadn't even had a chance to teach him the teleportation song which would bring him back to the desert...

Link sighed as he slung Sheik's lyre on his back beneath his shield and took out the Ocarina of Time, composing himself to play the Prelude of Light. He had hardly played the first few notes, letting the pure sound of the instrument fill the antechamber, when Fi emerged from the Goddess Sword yet again. She said nothing and just hovered there in absolute stillness, her impassive eyes watching him.

"What's wrong?" Link asked, lowering the ocarina. "Are they back? Did you sense something?"

"I have not," Fi said, and he slumped in disappointment. "However...the sound of your instrument has awakened something in my memory. A message from the goddess which I must deliver upon hearing this instrument."

"Really?" Link said, breathless all of a sudden. "Who do you have to deliver it to?"

Fi regarded him, and he could have sworn that for just a moment, she smiled. "I must deliver it to you, Hero of Time and descendant of my master. The goddess intended this message for you. Will you listen to her words?"

His spine tingled as a strange and thrilling sort of déjà vu overtook him. He had heard those words before. Somehow...he had heard them many times, and not once had he ever said no. Link nodded, watching in awe as Fi swept out her arms and began to dance...

"What in the world?" Sheik gasped, interrupting his story just as Link had been telling her about Agahnim stealing Zelda away to the Dark World. He followed her gaze to the bog, which had begun to bubble and froth, and he jumped to his feet with a startled oath that would have once earned him a smack from his uncle. He stepped in front of Sheik protectively and drew his sword, startled when one of the Pendants of Virtue pulsed with a bright blue light. It had never done that before. An answering light shone from beneath the water, and a small cube burst above the surface and hovered before them, dripping mud and giving off a bizarre whirring noise.

"Goddesses," Sheik breathed and moved around him, setting a hand on his shoulder. She seemed entranced by the cube rather than suspicious of it, which Link didn't think was an appropriate reaction at all. In his experience items that glowed and made noise usually meant danger and run.

Which was exactly what all the monsters hiding in the shadows did, fleeing as fast as their paws and wings could take them, baying their fright. Link stared after them in bafflement and cautiously lowered his sword, observing along with Sheik as the cube flashed once and then returned to a steady glow, still hovering just before them. His ears pricked when the whirring decreased in volume and became a steady vibration, almost like a song that was just beyond the range of his hearing...

"Is that what you used to come here?" Link guessed, turning to Sheik for confirmation.

Sheik nodded, her eyes still fixed on the cube. "I recognize that song," she whispered to herself. "I think...I must use it again. I do not know where it will take me, but I must try regardless."

"You're going already?" Link said, and his disappointment must have been obvious from the way Sheik looked at him. "I-I mean...you're going! That's good, I guess. You'll be safer in the real world anyway. There's no telling what could happen if you stay here."

"Oh?" Sheik said with an arched eyebrow. "I thought you said you would protect me?"

Link flushed, not realizing at first that she was teasing. "Of course I would! But...but you never know, there are all kinds of weird things around here. For all I know we could run into something that's got two mouths instead of just one, and then it might be a little harder for me to..."

He didn't get a chance to finish because Sheik chose at that moment to lean over and hug him, which made Link shut his mouth with a bemused blink. It took him a moment to react and hug her back, which was awkward since she was a head taller than him and he could only use one arm, his other hand being occupied with gripping his sword. But still...he didn't mind it as much as he thought he would, and Link decided not to tell her that the mud encrusted on her clothes made her smell really bad.

"I wish you luck on your journey," Sheik murmured in his ear. "I hope that you find your Zelda."

"Thanks," Link said with a bashful grin. Then it hit him what she had actually said, and he balked. "S-She's not my Zelda! We're just friends, and I barely know her! I only met her that one time when I saved her and...and she only called for me that night because there was nobody else..."

"Nevertheless," Sheik said, straightening up with a smile in her eyes, "I think she will be very happy to see you. Don't you?"

"I...maybe, I guess," Link said uncertainly, not wanting to admit that was exactly what he hoped for. He stood back as Sheik approached the cube and laid her hand on it. The instant she touched it, she was gone in a flash of light, leaving no trace except for her footprints in the earth. Link blinked, having not expected it to happen that fast, and his hand which had been in the middle of waving goodbye fell back to his side. But he was smiling as he turned away from the spot and moved on, feeling like the encounter had raised his spirits and made him more hopeful. Like he had unburdened himself to someone he could trust.

Looks like I made a friend, Link thought, smiling even wider as he wondered what Zelda would think when he told her the story of the strange woman he had met in the swamp...

Link jogged back to the Spirit Temple as fast as he could, dodging Leevers right and left and kicking aside the few worms that got in his way. Any other time he might have stopped to laugh as their fat little bodies went rolling down the dunes, but right now he had no thoughts in his head except for getting Sheik back. And maybe with this he finally could. Link hurtled up the steps and back into the antechamber where Fi awaited him, and he presented the sword spirit with the item clutched in his hand, a translucent crystal with a tiny blue pearl encased at its core.

"Is this it?" Link asked, impatient as he waited for Fi to analyze the crystal. He hoped desperately it was since it had taken him ages to find the damn thing. Not even Navi had known there was a Great Fairy's fountain this deep in the desert.

"Yes," Fi said, and Link almost jumped at the terse response. "After analyzing its structure and aura, there is a ninety-seven percent chance this pendant is a shard of the Gate of Time, similar to the relic used by my master and your companion."

"So then...this really is it?" Link said, cautiously hopeful. Her message had not been as detailed as he would have liked, only making a brief mention of three gifts he had obtained during his journey, one of which he would need to bring Sheik back. Link had thought she meant the Spiritual Stones at first until Fi explained that these gifts had been left in the keeping of spiritual beings. Link had spent half an hour racking his brains until he finally remembered Din's Fire and Farore's Wind, the two spells granted to him by the Great Fairies. The moment he had shown Fi the green and red crystals, she had insisted there must be a third which could be found somewhere in the desert.

"As I have said, the probability is very high that these are the sacred gifts left to the Hero of Time by my creator," Fi explained. "Although according to my records, it is her mortal self who shall leave these gifts for you. I can only surmise she will know to do this once myself and my master have returned to our timeline and informed Her Grace of these events."

"Uh...okay, that sort of makes sense," Link said even though he was still having a hard time wrapping his head around it. "But that still doesn't explain why you were carrying a message for me when you didn't know I existed until now. Or...you didn't know I would exist...ah, this is giving me a headache!"

"The messages hidden within my memory were placed there by my creator just before she gave up her divine form," Fi went on. "I believe Hylia prophesied these events and prepared for them just as she prepared for the coming of my master. It is because of such foresight that she was once known as the Goddess of Time in the era of the Ancient Hero."

"Goddess of Time?" Link said, mystified. "Wait a minute, I've heard that title before...I always thought it meant Nayru."

"No, she's the Goddess of Wisdom, Link," Navi told him. "Didn't you pay any attention when Zelda told you that story? Where did you get the idea that Nayru controls time?"

"I don't know, I just kind of assumed..."

"As the daughter of Nayru, it is understandable how this title might be mistakenly applied to the archgoddess rather than to Hylia," Fi said with a faint nod. "Although I find it a shame that all knowledge of my creator seems to have been lost in this era. But it seems that is how Her Grace willed it."

"Wait, Nayru's daughter?" Link blurted out. "What...just...what?"

"Although your keen interest in this subject is venerable," Fi said almost brusquely, "I recommend we accomplish the task which we have been entrusted with."

"Oh, right," Link said and gave himself a little shake. He laid Nayru's Love flat in his palm. "So how is this supposed to work? I asked the Great Fairy, but she said all it does is create a shield to protect me in battle."

"It is not a shield," Fi told him. "It is a temporal field which reverts the time within its boundaries back to the moment it was first cast. You cannot be wounded within it because you were not wounded at the moment you entered it. Is this explanation sufficient?"

"Uh..."

"Your full comprehension is not necessary," Fi said without waiting for him to answer. "Now you must cast the temporal field around yourself, and while within it you must use the Ocarina of Time to enhance its capabilities. If all goes well, then this shard of the Gate of Time shall resonate with the instrument and hone in on its missing piece, forming a rift between the timelines through which travel will be possible."

"So basically...cast the spell and play a song?"

"Correct," Fi deadpanned, and Link tried not to smile at how impatient she was underneath that emotionless exterior. She must really miss his ancestor. Link covered the crystal with his other hand, focusing within himself, drawing upon the magical power granted to him by the first Great Fairy. It was the work of seconds to activate the crystal, and a blue barrier flickered into being all around him. Link didn't take the time to admire it before he stuffed the crystal away and took out the ocarina. The Song of Time was the first to come to his fingers, and he let the notes resonate inside the barrier, reaching such intensity that it made his chest thrum and his bones vibrate.

And then, just as he reached the crescendo, there was a bright flash of light right in front of him, and suddenly Link was sharing the barrier with Sheik. He cried out in relief and threw his arms around her as the barrier dissipated and the cube that Sheik had been holding dropped to the floor.

"Sheik, you're back! Are you okay? What happened, where were you all this time? And...why do you smell so bad?"

"I nearly drowned in a swamp," Sheik said, her voice muffled against his shoulder, and she had to push against his chest a few times before he got the drift and released her. But he ended up hugging her again out of sheer relief that she was alive. Link was sorely tempted to pick up that cube and chuck it into a sand pit to vent his frustration for all the waiting he had endured. If only he had played the ocarina sooner...

"I'm alright, Link," Sheik said more quietly and pulled back to look up at him. She cupped the side of his face with her hand, a gesture that was much more intimate than their usual interactions.

"Is something wrong?"

Sheik shook her head. "No," she said slowly. "It is only...I feel as though I am seeing you for the first time."

"Where were you?" Link repeated, gripping her by the shoulders, but he had to let go when Sheik winced. The burn on her upper arm hadn't healed at all in the time they had been separated, and on top of that her ankle was suspiciously wobbly. "It's been three days since you disappeared! What took you so long to get back?"

"Three days?" Sheik said, sounding appalled. She turned to look at the temple entrance and the sliver of night sky. "No, that can't possibly...I swear it wasn't more than a few hours!"

"Time is relative," Link muttered, and he shook his head when Sheik gave him a look of inquiry. "Nothing. Just something that Fi said."

"Fi?" Sheik inquired, and Link nodded at the sword spirit who had been watching their interaction. He felt Sheik become rigid beside him, and then it was his turn to look confused.

"Sheik, what...?"

"My master has not returned with you," Fi said, and Link wondered how such a flat tone could carry so much unhappiness and incomprehension. As if the sword spirit was not merely asking, but also trying to explain it to herself.

"No," Sheik said in hardly a whisper.

"Where is he then?" Link asked, looking from one to the other. "Did he go back to his time? Is he coming back for her?"

Sheik only looked at him, and Link was alarmed by the tears welling in her eyes. "No, he isn't," she said, choking as she took his hand in both of hers. "He's...Link, I'm so sorry. But he..."

It took ages for him to die. By the grace of the gods, he was unconscious for most of it, but it was so hard for Link to sit there and listen to his rattling breaths and watch the blood seep into the sands and turn it black. It was even harder to look at his face, taut with pain, his glassy eyes staring without seeing. He could understand now why Midna insisted this kid looked nothing like him. Even though they wore the same clothes and were about the same age, his eyes seemed so young. So innocent and untried, like he hadn't seen half the things that Link had. Kid really was an appropriate term for him. A kid who had come out of the sky like a bird on the wing...

At last his breathing changed, hitching once before a soft sigh escaped him. Link touched two fingers to his neck and exhaled slowly, relieved to find no pulse, relieved this agonizing ordeal of watching someone die was over. Then he felt guilty for feeling that way. This...skychild was his successor, the next one to inherit the Master Sword. They were related, if not by blood then by their shared destinies. So why couldn't he grieve properly?

Behind him, Midna echoed his sigh, though hers was more subdued. "That took awhile," she muttered.

Link didn't answer. He had been with Midna long enough to know she didn't always mean every insensitive thing she said. Even if she pretended otherwise, she was just as affected by this as he was. He had never known the Twili to remain silent for so long, and not the kind of silence where she was trying to make a point or hold a grudge. Carefully, Link laid the skychild down on the sand and shut his eyes, only now feeling a pang of distress. He had seen death before. He had seen people in his village die of sickness or old age, but at least they had been surrounded by loved ones. This kid had no one now that his friend had disappeared. Alone and far from home, he had died in agony and in the belief that he had failed his mission, whatever it was. It was the kind of death that Link feared the most.

"I didn't even know his name," Link said hoarsely as he cupped the skychild's face with his palm. "I don't know anything about him. He said he was my descendant, but...does that mean he's my son? Or my grandson? How closely were we related?"

Midna uncrossed her legs and rose from the sand where she had been sitting. "I wouldn't think on it too hard on it. Your legends say the Master Sword only gets taken up every couple of hundred years. And it's not always by the same bloodline every time so..."

"Look at him, Midna," Link said, jaw tight. "He knew who I was, he knew as soon as he saw my face. Look at him very carefully and tell me he's not related to me in some way!"

"I'm trying very hard not to look, if you don't mind!" Midna snapped, turning her back and floating a short distance away. "Maybe you can handle the weirdness of holding what might as well be your dead body, but it's a little much for me to take right now!"

"Midna," Link murmured, unsure of what else to say.

Midna hugged herself tightly and glowered over her shoulder as if daring him to ridicule her. "You know something, Link? Your life sucks. I mean...I know it did before when you still lived in that squalid little backwater village, but now it's even worse. It's just one bad thing after another, and I can't fathom why it's always you who ends up being the scapegoat. Can't your gods ever give their chosen hero a break?"

Link only sighed, letting his eyes drift back to his descendant. He had long since learned that railing at his fate would do nothing to change it. There was nothing for it but to gather what strength he had and soldier on. He braced his hands on his knees and stood up, taking a quick look around. The Bokoblins seemed to have fled the ruins, frightened away by the fall of their comrades and too dim-witted to realize they could have brought him down by superior numbers alone.

"Help me find a shovel or something," Link said and started toward the crates across the courtyard. "We need to bury him before they come back."

"No!" Midna said and darted in front of his face to block his way. "You are not going through all the trouble of burying him! It's a waste of time!"

"What are you talking about?" Link barked, his temper spiking. "You want me to just walk away and leave him like that? Is that how your people treat their dead? He deserves a proper burial—"

"You're not even listening to me!" Midna snapped. "Sure, you could bury him here, but what happens when all those Bokoblins come back? They'll just dig him up, loot everything he has and leave his body for the vultures! Is that how you light dwellers treat your dead?"

Link hesitated. "I didn't think of that," he admitted.

"Which is why I end up doing the thinking for both of us," Midna scoffed, arms crossed. "Now what you're going to do is go gather up as much wood as you can for a pyre. And I don't care if you think it's disrespectful, and I don't want to hear any of those ridiculous superstitions about his spirit not finding proper rest. We're burning him, and that's that!"

"Okay," Link said, smiling at her bemusement when he agreed so readily. "I don't believe in those superstitions. And if this saves him from vultures, then it's better this way."

"Right," Midna said halfheartedly, eyes narrow like she still expected some shred of rebellion. She stuck close to him as Link changed directions and moved around a stone wall where the Bokoblins had piled the wood for their campfires. They must have carted it in themselves since there wasn't much wood to be found in the desert. Link started to gather up the logs in his arms, keeping one eye on his surroundings in case the Bokoblins returned. He didn't know how much time he had to finish this.

"I'm sorry," Link said, unable to take the silence. "For what I said about your people."

"Don't be," Midna said after a moment. He thought she would leave it at that, but she floated closer and propped her chin on his shoulder, a sneaky grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. "And just so you know, I did get a good look earlier. And I think...just maybe...that kid looks a tiny bit like Ilia."

"Shut up, Midna," Link muttered out of habit, but he was smiling too. If she was already back to teasing him about Ilia, then it was a sign that all was right between them. He started to circle back around the wall, but froze at the edge of the courtyard, startled to find his path blocked by a very familiar and mysterious entity. The Golden Wolf surveyed him with its singular red eye and rose to all fours, its snarls echoing strangely as if the aura of the spirit had warped the sound.

Link dropped the armful of wood and threw up his hands. "Wait, not now!" he shouted. "I need to—"

The Golden Wolf attacked, and since Link hadn't bothered to brace himself for it, the collision caught him full in the chest and flung him backward. His vision darkened as he spiraled into oblivion, insensible to his surroundings until the darkness receded and Link found himself lying prone on a ground that was cold and smooth like marble, surrounded by the swirling mists of the spiritual realm where he had learned to use his sword. He groaned, already aching and bruised as if he had been fighting for hours. A boot dug into his shoulder and pushed him onto his back, the sharp point of a blade touching his throat.

"Pitiful," the Hero's Shade said in contempt, his voice rough and guttural. "You've neglected your training."

"No...I haven't," Link protested and tried to rise, but the sword pressed against his skin more firmly and held him down.

"You failed to sense my presence before I was directly before your eyes. You failed to guard yourself from a head-on attack or to evade that same attack. Clearly, you take what little I have taught you for granted and have no ambition to better yourself."

Link bit back the objections he wanted to voice. The Shade only listened to actions, not words. He shoved the sword away and tucked his legs so he could backflip to his feet, drawing the Master Sword and striking for his unprotected back. The Shade reacted with inhuman reflexes and spun to parry, but Link used the opportunity while he was open to bash him with his shield and leapt up to execute a Helm Splitter, his blade ringing off the rusted helmet. Link landed lightly and began to turn, intending to keep on the offensive, but he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye that made him stop. As such he wasn't prepared to the Shade to clout him in the side of the head with the flat of his blade. He reeled and hit the ground again, dizzy from the blow, and yet still he stared.

"Who is that?"

The Shade paused as well, both of them looking on in silence. The young maiden hesitated, seeming unnerved to have their undivided attention, but she steeled herself and came forward. She was dressed plainly in a simple white dress, her golden hair falling in a loose curtain down her back, and the crystal bracelets on her wrists were the only adornments she wore. And yet when she gave them a quick, nervous bow, Link had the strangest feeling that they should be bowing before her.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," the maiden said shyly, her hands clasped before her. "But I hoped you might help me. You see, I'm searching for someone. I know he's here, but I can't...there isn't a Gate for me to travel through. I can only come this far in spirit form. But I was told that...one of you would have something for me? Something to help me get him back?"

The skychild's face flashed in his mind, and Link staggered to his feet. "You're looking for him...that kid who looked like me?"

"Yes," the maiden said in relief. "Have you seen him? Is he okay?"

Link faltered, his heart contracting painfully at the shining hope on her face. She didn't know...and he had no idea how to tell her. The maiden must have caught some sign in his expression because her smile faded. Her gaze flicked to the blood on his hands and tunic, then back to his face, lips parted to say something. But her attention moved beyond him, and she gasped and rushed past him. Link caught a trace of her scent when her long hair brushed his shoulder, warm and familiar, and it was his turn to catch his breath, the part of him that was still a beast instantly making the connection between her and the white blanket carried by his descendant.

Zelda...

"Link!"

Link turned when the maiden cried his name, but she wasn't addressing him. Standing about ten steps away, half obscured by the mists, was the skychild. He had his back to them with the white blanket wrapped around his shoulders like a cloak, and the maiden was staring at the great splotches of red on fabric in open horror, hands clapped over her mouth. The skychild turned slowly, the wound in his gut mercifully hidden by the blanket, but his face was so pale as to be translucent. A spirit, even as she was. His dazed eyes slid over Link before focusing on the maiden, his movements lethargic as if he thought he was dreaming.

"How did...I get here?" the skychild whispered. "I thought...I was in the desert. And I was...dying, wasn't I? Is this where people go when they die?"

The maiden sobbed, her small frame trembling. She raked her fingers through her hair. "H-How can this be? You s-said I could save him, you promised...you said if I did all that you asked, then he would be saved! So why is he dead? Answer me, Hylia!"

"I'm sorry," Link said haltingly, but the maiden was so steeped in grief that he doubted she heard him. He started toward her, thinking to comfort her somehow. But the Shade put a hand on his shoulder to hold him back, his singular red eye brightening as he sheathed his sword and approached the maiden in measured steps. She jerked in surprise at his sudden proximity, her tearful face growing pale at the sight of the half rotted skull inside the helm. But when the Shade knelt before her and held out his hand, she gasped at the sight of a crystal cradled in his fingers, emitting a dim blue light.

"I've kept it safe," the Shade murmured. "Along with the other gifts you gave me."

The maiden took the crystal with shaking hands, then threw her arms around the Shade and hugged him tight, heedless of the fact that he was little more than a walking corpse. "Thank you," she wept. "This is...yes, it has just a little bit of power left! It's not much, but enough for me to save him! Thank you so much."

"It is my honor...Your Grace," the Shade said, and his words were full of warmth, which was a bizarre contrast to how stern he usually sounded. The maiden gave the Shade a dazzling smile and whirled around so she could run to the skychild, who hadn't moved or reacted to much of anything. But when the maiden came before him, he seemed to see her for the first time. His already lifeless eyes dimmed, his face becoming distraught.

"Zelda...are you dead too?"

"No Link, I'm not," the maiden assured him, cupping his face in her hand. "And neither are you. I'm sending you back now like I promised. Back to our own time."

"Our time," the skychild breathed. But the relieved smile that had begun to form slipped away, and he seized her arm. "Wait...Fi. I left her behind. I have to go back for her!"

"She is safe," the Shade said, and both the maiden and the skychild looked at him while Link watched all three of them in hopeless bafflement. "She is in my time. Let the pendant guide you. It will know where and when."

The maiden looked down at the crystal in her hands, determined. She raised it above her head, and a crystalline barrier shimmered into being around the skychild, similar to the magical barricade around Hyrule Castle. It became so bright that Link had to fling an arm across his eyes, and when he looked again, his descendant was gone. The maiden lowered her hands and returned the blue crystal to the Shade, smiling at him one last time as she dried her tears and began to walk away. Link took half a step after her, but the mists swallowed her up before he could say anything. So he turned to the Shade instead, unable to hold in his questions any longer.

"What...what's going on? Where did she come from? What was that pendant you gave her?"

"It is none of your concern," the Shade said firmly as he stood up, looking after the maiden. "It is only...a debt repaid. And a promise fulfilled."

"A promise?"

But the Shade turned and began to stride away. "You are not prepared to learn the next sword technique. When you have brushed up on the basics, I will seek you out again."

"Wait!" Link called, angry for the first time, his normally slow to rise temper near its breaking point. But it was useless. Once the Shade decided he wasn't ready for something, it was impossible to change his mind. The mists all around him began to ebb, the silence of the spirit realm replaced by the wind gusting across the dunes and the chill of night. Link opened his eyes, finding himself sprawled out in the sand with Midna planted squarely on his stomach and tapping his face lightly.

"Wow, that was quick! Usually you're off in fairyland for a lot longer than that."

Link propped himself on his elbows, annoyed when Midna refused to budge. "It was...different this time," he said slowly.

"Well, it's a good thing it didn't take long," Midna said as she shifted to float at his side. "I thought you should know that something weird happened with the dead kid. This blue barrier appeared around his body, and then it just kind of poofed and disappeared. So I guess we can't do that pyre like we were planning. Looks like it's someone else's problem now..."

"What?" Link exclaimed and scrambled up so he could look across the courtyard. True to Midna's word, the skychild was gone. Even the blood on the sand and on his own tunic had disappeared like it had never been. Link went over to the spot and leaned down to touch the sand just to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Midna...did you see anyone else here? Was there...a woman wearing white?"

"A woman?" Midna repeated, and she pulled a face, hands planted on her hips. "Wait a minute, your teacher in sword fighting is a woman? Is that why you always look so happy whenever you wake up from one of those trances? What the heck actually goes on in that fantasy world of yours? Do I want to know or am I better off assuming the worst?"

Link quirked an eyebrow at her reaction. "I never said she was my teacher."

"And that's supposed to reassure me?" Midna said, sounding miffed. "Typical man. Just typical..."

"No need to sound so jealous," Link snickered, a tiny smile finding its way to his lips. He had only meant it as a joke and expected a scathing retort in return, but instead Midna flew into his face in a seething rage.

"Who said anything about jealous? Don't even think that word, you sorry excuse for a hero! Who would be jealous over a lazy, immature farmboy who always smells like goats and would probably sleep right through a battle if I wasn't there to wake him up? Not me! I'll have you know that I used to have men falling at my feet by the dozens and begging for my hand in marriage! I was once the most desirable woman in the entire realm of Twilight!"

"Was?" Link said, caught off guard by her outburst. Midna froze and turned away from him, hunching her shoulders defensively. "You mean...Midna, did you not always look like that?"

"And what is wrong with how I look now?" Midna demanded, throwing a cocky smirk over her shoulder. "Admit it, not even your Princess of Light can hold a candle to me."

"No, she can't," Link said since that seemed to be the appropriate response, and Midna's smirk widened. But the mention of the princess made him look back down at the sand, thinking of the skychild and of that maiden who had come for him...that other Zelda who might or might not be a descendant of the Zelda he knew now. And yet he found it strange that the two of them were as different as night and day. Where the maiden had shown her emotions openly and without reserve, the Princess of Light was solemn and regal like a porcelain statue, cold and completely untouchable. Link had once thought of her as proud and patronizing and wondered if perhaps it rankled her to ask for help from someone lowly like him.

But on the night she had saved Midna, when she had sacrificed her life energy to do it...then he had realized there was far more to the princess than met the eye. Zelda had smiled as she faded away, a radiant and peaceful smile that made Link realize he had judged her all wrong. And then she had disappeared before he had a chance to apologize.

That was why when he caught her scent on that blanket...he had hoped for just a moment...

He sighed and stood up, dusting the sand from his legs. "Come on, let's get going. That mirror won't find itself, right?"

Midna shot him a skeptical look. "What, just like that? You're not even going to try and find that kid?"

Link shrugged. "Like you said...it's someone else's problem," he said, knowing Midna would only accuse him of being crazy if he tried to explain what had happened in the spirit realm. But there was no need to bring it up. The other Zelda had promised to take his descendant back to his timeline, and there was no reason to distrust her. Link didn't know what those two were to each other, and odds were he never would. But there had been something about the way they had stood so close to one another, their eyes holding such care, such devotion...

A Bokoblin horn sounded in the distance. Link paused, deciding he had to move faster than this. "Change me," he said to Midna.

"Say pretty please," Midna said smugly, dangling the Twilight shard above his head.

There was only one possible answer to that. Link reached out swiftly and took her diminutive hand in his, bowing his head to kiss the back in true courtly fashion. He grinned at her flustered and sputtering reaction, eyes wide and mouth flapping, the faintest splash of color in her pale cheeks. "Pretty please?" he murmured.

"You...cur!" Midna spat and bonked his head with the Twilight shard. The transformation was sudden and excruciating, leaving him hunched over until he lost his balance and dropped to all fours, once more a beast of the Twilight. Midna threw herself onto his back more violently than necessary. "You should know better than to kiss a lady's hand without her permission!" she added.

Well, excuse ME, princess, Link thought, but he kept the words strictly to himself instead of sharing them telepathically. He had a feeling Midna would not take being referred to as a princess very well...

"Sheik, look!"

"Oh, gods! Is he...?"

Ow, Link thought and that was the most coherent concept he could manage at the moment. He couldn't quite remember how he had come to be lying on a stone floor with his head spinning and every part of him tingling and smarting like he had downed ten stamina potions, but Link was fairly sure that however it happened, he never wanted to go through it again. He heard footsteps running toward him and cracked his eyes open as two people crouched over him. It took several seconds for his blurred vision to sharpen, and he thought he saw a flicker of blue magic fading from around him.

"Link?" Sheik said and touched a tentative hand to the side of his face as if she didn't dare to believe her eyes. "You're...you're alright..."

"See, I told you he would be!" the knight said, but his grin seemed shaken despite his ecstasy. "Goddesses, you had me going there for a second. When you said he died, I thought I would just...just evaporate out of existence or something!"

Died. Link pondered that word for a moment and tried to figure out why it seemed so important. Had someone died? Odd that he couldn't remember who...

He gasped and bolted upright, causing both Sheik and the knight to jerk back in alarm. Link pressed a hand to his chest, confirming that his heart was beating and his lungs were breathing. His eyes darted around the room as he registered the solid feel of the stone beneath him, the stale taste of the air, the sound of the desert wind blowing outside this chamber. It was no dream, nor was he some kind of ghost or spirit. He untangled himself from the sailcloth and flung it aside so he could clutch at his stomach, which no longer bleeding or even hurting. Even his chainmail and tunic were completely mended, and not a speck of blood marred the white sailcloth. As if time itself had been reversed and made it so he was never stabbed by that Bokoblin.

"I'm...alive," Link whispered, and he had to resist the urge to tug up the edge of his tunic and make sure there was no gaping wound in his gut. He raised his head to look at Sheik and turned it into a question. "I'm alive?"

"Yes, but how?" Sheik demanded. "The last time I laid eyes on you, you were..."

Link nodded as the jumbled memories came back to him. "I don't know what happened," he said, frowning as he fiddled with the edge of the sailcloth. One moment he had been bleeding out on the sand, and the next he was here and perfectly fine. But something must have happened to bring him here. He knew something had happened. He had...seen things after he had slipped into unconsciousness, but couldn't be sure if those had been dreams or actual visions like he used to have before the day of the Wing Ceremony.

The only thing that truly stuck with him was the echo of Zelda's voice.

Don't worry, I'll make everything right again...

"...I think Zelda saved me," Link said at last. "Somehow. I don't know how, but she found me and saved me."

"But...how is that possible?" Sheik said in disbelief.

The knight laughed and gripped Link's hand to haul him to his feet. "Who cares how it was possible? It happened, and that's all that matters. Now come on! Before Sheik decides to interrogate you, there's someone else who wants to say hi."

Link almost asked who, but it should have been obvious even before the knight pointed across the antechamber to the Goddess Sword and the sword spirit poised before it. Relief and joy flooded him as he moved to that side of the room in quick steps. "Fi! Oh goddess, I thought I would never see you again!"

"Master Link," Fi said with a rare, fleeting smile. "It pleases me to see you unharmed."

There was once a time when her unenthusiastic monotone might have annoyed him, but Link merely snorted in good humor. "Well, it 'pleases me to see you unharmed' too. And you won't believewhere Sheik and I ended up..."

He trailed off as he leaned down to pick up the Goddess Sword, only now noticing the slab of stone it was leaning against. The familiar hieroglyphs caught his eye first, and then just below them the symbol of a pair of wings so faded that he might not have seen if he hadn't been looking for it. Link traced his fingers over the wings, his mind flashing back to that desert and the ruins and the message that had led him to find those Bokoblins and the cube. But the stone slab was intact now and not shattered like he had seen it.

"That was...the future?" Link whispered to himself and at once felt cheated because it meant the man he had thought was the Ancient Hero had only been another descendant.

"Master, is there something amiss?"

"No, not really," Link said, making an effort to push back his disappointment. It seemed like the future held nothing but disappointment so far. But...he supposed there were good things about it too, Link thought as he glanced back at Sheik and the knight, who had retreated across the chamber for what seemed their own private reunion. Link couldn't hear their conversation, but he smiled when the knight reached behind his back and proudly presented Sheik with the harp she had left behind. Sheik accepted it, brushing her fingers against the strings and letting a few beautiful chords resound in the chamber. The entire scene reminded him of all the times he and Zelda had spent together, not as a hero and a spirit maiden, but as childhood friends in Skyloft...

The stone beneath his hand grew warm. Link jerked his hand back, gaping at the symbol of wings, which had begun to glow with a golden light. The Goddess Sword thrummed in his hand, and Link looked from the blade to the wall in dawning comprehension.

So get a load of this, bud! Apparently there are certain walls and statues that respond to beautiful tones! I know, I know! It sounds crazy, but just keep your eyes peeled while you're poking around in those temples looking for your friend, alright?

"Fi, can I try something?"

"Certainly, Master," Fi said, and Link gave into the instinctive urge to raise the sword skyward. Sacred power spilled down the blade until his sword was glowing with it, but instead of releasing it in a deadly arc, Link gripped the hilt in both hands and directed the tip against the stone. The empowered blade easily cut into the rock with a scorching hiss, sparks flying as he carefully carved three words, along with that nifty little arrow he remembered. Once he was finished, Link let the energy fade from his sword and looked at the letters in satisfaction, which continued to shine for a brief moment before the light faded and all that was left was the inscription itself.

THIS WAY, SLEEPYHEAD

"Yeah, that should do," Link said, smirking ironically to himself. So the mysterious message hadn't been from Zelda after all. He was tempted to leave his own name as a signature, but ultimately Link supposed he was more likely to heed a fake message from Zelda than a real one from himself.

"Master, may I ask the purpose of this?"

"Because I'm going to need it," Link said, then amended. "Or I did need it back in the future. Or forward in the future...or something like that. Just trust me, okay? It's necessary."

"Very well, Master," Fi said and floated over to where the cube had been left abandoned on the floor. "I highly recommend we return to our era now. The relic of the Gate of Time appears to have stabilized, and I am now able to adjust its coordinates to the exact location and time period we require."

"Really, it's that easy?" Link said in surprise as he followed her. At first glance it did seem much less volatile than before, no longer emitting any sparks or crackling noises. When Link bent to pick it up, its only response was a gentle purr.

"Master, are you prepared?" Fi inquired. "Shall I activate the relic now?"

"Wait a second," Link said, wanting to say goodbye to his descendant and Sheik first. But when he looked in their direction, it was to see that their heartfelt moment had dissolved into an intense discussion.

"So let me get this straight," the knight demanded. "You went jumping around in time and saw two different futures...and Hyrule was doomed in both of them?"

"Not doomed, precisely," Sheik said, but her eyes were troubled over the veil. "Only...not quite at peace yet. In one of them, you did succeed in sealing Ganondorf away in the Sacred Realm, and I gather it wasn't until several centuries had passed that the seal began to erode and incite further war. And no one seems to know how that war ended because there are no longer any kingdoms, only oceans."

"And the other future? What happens in that one? Do I seal Ganondorf away or kill him or what?"

Sheik faltered. "I am not quite certain. I did not have a chance to..."

"Don't give me that, Sheik," the knight accused and gripped her arm. "You know or else you wouldn't have brought it up. What happens to Ganondorf? What...what happens to me, Sheik? To all of us?"

"Ganondorf is still sealed away for a time," Sheik said carefully, avoiding his eyes. "But...there is no mention of the Hero of Time being the one to create that seal."

The knight clenched his jaw tight. "So basically...I fail," he said flatly.

"But we don't know that!" Sheik said hastily. "Link, the mere fact that I saw two outcomes means the future is not set in stone yet. But now that we know what is to come, perhaps we can seek a third path. Perhaps we can find a way to stop Ganondorf and ensure Hyrule will be protected in the coming days."

The knight snorted. "Or maybe in trying to do that, we end up making everything turn out worse than it would have been. There's no way to know for sure, is there?"

Link cleared his throat, reluctant to intrude. "Um, I'm going back to my time now if anyone cares..."

"I will not allow either of those futures come to be for this kingdom," Sheik said resolutely, hands fisted at her sides. "I will find a way to change it. I must."

The knight watched her for a moment and breathed out heavily. "Alright, I guess that's your choice. But listen, no matter what future ends up happening, I want you to know that I'll definitely make sure there's someone to take up the Master Sword after me. I'll train them myself if I have to. I can't imagine any reason important enough to make me leave Hyrule completely undefended."

"Hey!" Navi said, flitting out of his hat and flying over to Link. "He's going now, if anyone cares!"

The two of them looked at Link as if only noticing now that he was still there. And when the knight spotted the cube in his hands, he stepped forward quickly. "But...already? But you just got back! Don't you want to stay and hang out for awhile?"

"Zelda's still waiting for me to find her," Link said, knowing it was true, but the knight gave him such a piteous and pleading look that it was like telling a toddler they couldn't have candy. "Look, it's not that I don't want to stay, but I've already wasted so much time..."

"Time is relative!" the knight countered. "Come on, when does anybody have a chance to meet their great-great-great grandfather who looks just like them? I just want to...see how alike we are!"

Sheik gusted out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Link, I swear to all the goddesses, if you're planning on challenging your ancestor to a duel just to see which of you is the strongest..."

"...it would be a friendly duel," the knight muttered, but the competitive glint in his eye told Link it would be a little more spirited than that. And given his recent and very literal run-in with a blade earlier, he was not eager to throw himself back into a swordfight, however friendly it might be.

"Maybe some other time," Link said hastily. "I mean, who knows? Once I'm done with...everything, maybe I can come back for a visit."

"That is a highly illogical suggestion, Master," Fi interrupted. "The goddess granted mortals the ability to travel through time in only the most dire of circumstances and only by her sanction. I would discourage you from attempting to do so merely for the sake of frivolity."

Link sighed and gave the knight a half shrug. "So says my all-knowing, all-seeing guide."

"Although I am possessed with vast reserves of knowledge granted to me by my creator, I am neither omniscient nor omnipotent," Fi informed him. "Furthermore..."

"Okay Fi, I get it," Link said with a slight roll of his eyes. He tucked the cube under his arm and held out his hand to his descendant. "It was great to meet you both though. Just knowing there's a future where me and Zelda live long enough to have descendants...it makes me feel a lot better."

The knight beamed and clasped his hand, only to yank Link into a fierce hug. "Great to meet you too," he said, then added in a conspiring whisper, "But no matter what Fi says, you'll still try to come visit, right?"

Link chuckled. "I'll try," he said in an undertone before they pulled away. He turned to Sheik next and smiled even wider as he held out his hand. "Thanks for all your help."

Sheik took his hand, but regret still shadowed her eyes. "I hardly did anything to deserve your thanks."

"Yes, you did," Link said firmly. "Who was it who talked down that crazy Tetra girl so she wouldn't throw us overboard?"

"And then it was you who caught me as we were falling," Sheik pointed out.

"Which makes us even," Link shot back. They hung back for a moment longer before they both gave in with weak laughs and embraced tightly. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the knight watching them with a strange little twist to his mouth, and Link recognized the slightly covetous look in his eye because it was the same expression he wore whenever Groose formulated yet another scheme to make Zelda go out with him. Jealous and struggling not to show it, still insecure of how his affections would be received. Link wished he could tell his descendant to just get on with it and say something. Because there was no telling when the chance might be snatched away by a black tornado on a clear, sunny day.

"Master, are you prepared?"

"Yes, I am," Link said and stepped back from Sheik and the knight.

"Very well," Fi said and fixed the cube in his hands with a piercing gaze. "Then I shall synchronize with the relic and adjust its coordinates for Lanayru Desert in your era."

"Okay...no, wait!" Link blurted out. He hefted the cube, heart pounding as an idea came to him. A notion so incredible and thrilling and yet so insane that it made him tremble just to consider it. "Fi, you said that you can use it to take me anywhere, right? To any place and...any time?"

"Correct, Master," Fi said, but she spoke slowly as if she had guessed where he was going with this. "However, if it is your intention to travel anywhere save your own era, then I must inform you of the dangers of interfering with other timelines and the possibility of altering events in a way which could lead to a paradox..."

"No, I don't want to change anything!" Link assured her, nearly babbling in his excitement. "I just want to...to see something. Just a quick thing, it wouldn't even take five minutes. And...could Sheik and Link come too? We could bring them right back when we're done!"

"Yeah, we want to come!" the knight said at once, deliberately ignoring Sheik's incensed look. "Oh come on, Sheik, it's not fair that you get to have all the fun."

"Master, I must again caution against this," Fi said more urgently. "Though your intentions may be benign, the probabilities of inflicting irreversible damage..."

"Fi, please!" Link entreated. "I promise if you let me do this one thing, then there is a one hundred percent chance I'll be twice as motivated to complete my mission!"

Fi considered that for several seconds, which was the most agonizing wait of Link's life. But finally the sword spirit came to a decision, and Link was both surprised and overjoyed when for once she chose to give in. "Very well, Master. However, I request that you inform me of your intention beforehand so that I may analyze the risks of this endeavor and best evaluate how to avoid those risks."

"Done," Link said, and he held out the cube so that the knight and Sheik could both put their hands on it. The knight didn't hesitate, even gripping with both hands like he was afraid of being left behind, but Sheik held back and eyed the cube in distaste as though it had personally offended her. But one look at both of their imploring faces made her shoulders slump in defeat, and she gingerly rested a hand on its azure surface, catching Link's eye in apprehension.

"Where exactly are we going this time? I am in no mood for surprises."

Link grinned and tipped his head at the knight. "Well, since he got to meet his ancestor...I think it's only fair that I get to meet mine."

The crowd waited restlessly, and the three of them waited among them, shivering beneath the heavy cloaks that Fi had insisted they borrow from a handy clothesline to shroud their faces and conspicuous attire. The season in this era was spring, but it didn't feel like it, not even close. The sun was distant and pale, none of its warmth reaching the earth, and Link would have paced if not for the press of humanity on all sides. Hundreds had gathered in the courtyard before the castle, their desperation almost a tangible thing. They had the look of a people who had spent their entire lives at war. Fighting, struggling each and every day, clinging to a frail thread of hope for things to get better. Link heard many prayers to the goddess being voiced and found himself wanting to pray along with them.

But he didn't. He already knew their prayers were only moments from being answered.

High up on the ramparts of the castle, the doors to the interior were flung open and the knights of Hylia filed out two and three at a time. Link held his breath, knowing he wasn't the only one searching for one man in particular, but so far he didn't see any blond hair among all the brown and black. But one of the knights came to the edge of the ramparts and looked down at the people before thrusting his fist in the air.

"The Hero fights for us!"

Those five words were all it took. The courtyard exploded into cheers and claps and joyful cries, some laughing and some weeping as they embraced their loved ones. But the initial furor was nothing compared to the cacophony that erupted when the Hero himself stepped into the sunlight, donned in armor and the familiar dark green tunic, the cerise cape billowing in the high wind. That first split second of recognition was shocking for Link, his breath catching and his entire being frozen. There had plainly been some embellishing in his history books. Four years in prison had left his face pale and haggard, the armor hanging off a gaunt frame and his hair unkempt and grimy and in desperate need of a cut.

But when the Hero came to the edge and rested his hands on the stone wall, gazing down at the people who had come to welcome him, his sapphire eyes blazed in an unquenched fire. A gentle smile played at the corners of his mouth, one of contentment and joy and so much fortitude that Link was positive every single person in the courtyard stood a little straighter beneath it. The Hero raised his hand in greeting, and there was nothing of arrogance or vanity in the motion. It was simply an acknowledgement of them and the love they had for him. And suddenly time moved again and the reality of this moment slammed into Link all at once. No longer an illustration in a book, no longer in the distant past, but happening right now, right in front of him. And he was here to see it.

"It's him...oh goddess, it's really him!" Link breathed, his knees gone suddenly weak as he gawked at Hylia's chosen with something very akin to worship. He barely resisted the urge to leap up and down like an overexcited child. "I can't believe it, he's right there! It's him, it's him!"

Hidden beneath his cloak, the Goddess Sword chimed very faintly. "Master, I am detecting a significant elevation in your pulse and breathing rate. As I can determine no physical cause, I must conclude you are experiencing an intense emotional reaction."

"You think?" Link said in a strained voice.

The knight chuckled behind him and braced his hands on Link's shoulders. "So what are you waiting for? Go up to him! Shake his hand, tell him how great he is!"

"Are you CRAZY?" Link blurted out, his words drowned out by all the shouts and applause. "No way, I-I can't just...I'd look like such an idiot!"

"But you said you wanted to meet him," the knight said and nudged him forward, grinning evilly at the panicked look Link threw over his shoulder. "Now's your chance!"

But Sheik put her hand on their arms to separate them. "I doubt all those men would allow us to come so close," she said, nodding at the other knights. But she had yet to take her eyes off the Hero either, and Link felt a slight quiver in her hand the longer she stared at him.

"Are you alright?"

It took her a moment to answer, shaking her head slowly. "No. It is only...I don't know. For some reason when I look at him, I feel...strange."

"Good strange or bad strange?" the knight said, sounding vaguely alarmed.

"Just...strange," Sheik said with another shiver when the Hero's gaze swept in their direction. Her grip on the cube, which she had insisted on keeping possession of, became so rigid that it made her knuckles white. "I feel sad, I think. So sad and...no, it's worse than that. I feel grief. And guilt. Goddesses, I can't..."

Link and his descendant shared identical anxious looks and moved to either side of her. The knight eased the cube from her hands, and Sheik wrapped her arms around herself instead and looked at Link desperately, her voice quavering. "I didn't feel this way around you or the others I met. Why him? Why only him?"

"Maybe because we already know what happens to him," Link said, his throat grown tight as he was overtaken by a shadow of melancholy. "If he was just released from the dungeons today, then that means in a few more days he and the other knights will ride out to fight against the demons hordes. The battle will go on for seven days straight, and by the end of it the demons will be routed and the people safe in the sky...but he won't be with them. He's going to die in battle on the seventh day."

And he has no idea. The rest of the statement didn't need to be spoken as the three of them raised their eyes to the Hero and the other knights, who now stood shoulder to shoulder with their hands stacked together in a show of comradeship. Link felt tears prick at his eyes, remembering all the times he and Pipit and Fledge had done that whenever they teamed up against Groose and his cronies in their games. But war was no game. Any desire Link might have felt to take part in a real war had been lost long ago. He had an inkling now of what Ghirahim referred to when he spoke of the master he wanted to resurrect, and it frightened Link to know that the further he went with his own mission, the closer he came to embroiling himself and everyone he cared about in an ongoing crusade that not even the Ancient Hero had been able to end. The Hero had suffered and died trying to end it.

His gut gave a painful lurch, remembering the agony of the sword cutting into him. Turning stiffly, Link started to weave through the crowd, hardly aware of Sheik and the knight following in his steps. It was too much, all of it. Link felt like he was suffocating beneath the weight of the knowledge he carried. Knowledge about these people and about the future that awaited them. It took far too long to shove his way past them all and finally reach open air, drawing in deep, shuddering breaths as he slipped into the narrow alley where the three of them had first materialized and sank down to the cobblestones with his back to the wall. Link didn't look up when the other two joined him, but when his descendant knelt at his side and gripped his shoulder in wordless reassurance, he leaned into the support gratefully, swallowing back the pathetic sobs he wanted to voice.

"Maybe we can warn him," the knight said in feeble consolation, but he didn't sound like he believed his own words. "I...I don't know if it would save him, but at least he would know..."

"Would you wish to have foreknowledge of your own death and yet no way of avoiding it?" Sheik asked, and the knight fell silent. She crouched before them. "I understand this may not be of much consolation, but he did not...will not die in vain. He succeeds in saving his people, which I have no doubt is all he could have asked for. I know that because...I've seen him in you. In both of you. You each carry his sword and his legacy, and I don't believe that to be a coincidence."

She put one hand on each of their shoulders, holding their gazes steadily. "As long as others remain to fight in his stead, then the Hero will never fall. Ever."

Link sensed the Goddess Sword pulse once in agreement and felt a rush of sympathy for the spirit within. "Fi," he said hoarsely. "I'm sorry, I didn't think about how hard this must be for you. He was the first before either of us..."

"On the contrary, Master," Fi said in gentle tones. "Although the man known as the Ancient Hero was indeed my first master, his soul has since passed from this world and into the care of my creator. He fulfilled his duty and faced his death with honor, as your people would see it. You are my master now. Had I the capacity to mourn his loss, then I would be reluctant to accept the hand of another and therefore be impeded in my duty to assist you."

Link gave a pitiful laugh even though his heart wasn't really in it. "So you're saying if I died tomorrow, you wouldn't miss me? Just like you don't miss him?"

Fi was silent, which was strange because she never lacked an answer for any question he put forth. Even Sheik and the knight seemed curious to hear what the sword spirit would say.

"Master, the relic of the Gate of Time appears to be low of energy. I recommend we utilize it to transport your descendant and his companion to their proper era, and then immediately return to Lanayru Desert."

The knight snickered. "Wow, she's even better at dodging the question than you are," he said with a pointed look at Sheik.

"I have no notion of what you refer to, hero," Sheik said drolly, her flaxen eyebrows arched. "And I think we should do as she says. It isn't wise to linger for too long."

The knight sighed forlornly, casting a wistful glance at their surroundings, but whatever enthusiasm he had possessed for seeing a new era seemed to have left him now that this brief trip had turned out to be so dismal. The three of them discarded the cloaks they had borrowed, and the knight held out the cube so that Sheik and Link could put their hands on it, waiting in an awkward little circle for Fi to synchronize with it and give it the right coordinates.

While she was occupied with that, the knight nudged Link's shoulder and caught his eye with a faint smile. "She did miss you, you know. While you and Sheik were off jumping around in time, she waited for you. She never thought for a second that you weren't coming back."

Link smiled, secretly touched to hear that Fi had missed him in her own way. Maybe she had a heart of steel, but a heart was still a heart even buried under a mountain of logistics and data. One of these days he hoped to make the sword spirit finally show it.

As the cube gradually began to glow again, he heard the Goddess Sword chime again and expected to hear a helpful, but unnecessary warning for all of them to not let go of the cube in transit. But instead of her cool, analytical voice, Link heard Fi speak to him in that beautiful and melodic way she only ever used when she danced in the waters of the springs and translated messages from the goddess. And he couldn't know for sure...but he didn't think he imagined the reverence and near-exultation when she whispered the words for his ears alone.

"Master...she comes."

A gust of wind swept through the alley as startled cries rose from the courtyard. Link snapped his head up when a shadow passed across the sun and the unique cry of a Loftwing rent the air, his chest swelling and his heart beating wildly with an inexplicable ecstasy and longing. He only caught the briefest glimpse of crimson feathers against the blue sky before the cube activated and the three of them vanished in a wisp of smoke.

Link came back to the waking world only little by little, gradually becoming aware that he was lying down on the cold sand instead of his own bed at the academy. He sifted his fingers through it, and once he had determined it was real, he rolled over on his back and cracked his eyes open to behold the star-strewn sky above his head, his memories oddly scattered and hazy. The last thing he remembered was taking Sheik and his descendant back to their timeline and saying his final farewells, but after that...

"Master," Fi said from somewhere nearby. Link rolled his head sideways, only now noticing that he was back in Lanayru Desert, back in the ruins of the Temple of Time. The azure cube was lying beside his hand, now gone dark and unresponsive, while Fi floated just above it. He answered her with an uninspired grunt and pushed himself upright, wincing at all the little aches and bruises he didn't remember gaining.

"What...what happened?"

"You experienced a brief period of syncope, which I believe was triggered through a combination of physical fatigue as well as a degree of emotional and mental trauma due to the events that have recently occurred," Fi told him. She paused, and when he failed to answer, she must have decided a more simplified explanation was needed. "You fainted, Master."

Link grimaced, thankful that no one had been around to see it except her. Then he drew a sharp breath and twisted around. "Wait! Are you telling me...that whole thing wasn't just a dream, was it? With the time travel and the other deserts and the Hero and...did all of that really happen?"

"Yes, those events did occur," Fi said and showed no reaction to his gusting sigh of relief. Link had feared for a devastating moment that he had imagined the entire thing. He gave himself a little shake and made a try at standing up. His legs wobbled, but he managed to stay upright long enough to hobble over to a boulder and sit down. Leaning forward, he cradled his head in his hands in an effort to stave off the severe migraine that made his skull feel like it wanted to explode.

"Ow, my head...why does it hurt so much? Did I hit it when I fell down?"

"You may be suffering from the side effects of temporal displacement," Fi informed him. "This may also explain your sudden collapse upon our arrival. Other symptoms can include disorientation, vertigo, excitability, and in rare cases unexplained cravings of unusual intensity."

"Cravings?"

"I recommend you take a moment to reorient yourself to your present time and place," Fi concluded.

Link nodded and hissed when that made his head throb worse. He rubbed his eyes and looked up again until he could pick out the bank of clouds to the northeast where Skyloft was hidden. Just the sight was like a great weight being lifted from his shoulders. He hadn't realized how much he feared never seeing his home again until this moment. But as Link took in their surroundings again with more attention, several discrepancies caught his attention and made him jump to his feet with wide eyes.

The Gate of Time was whole. Not smashed to rubble, not destroyed beyond repair. The wall that Ghirahim had demolished to enter the ruins was still intact, and the spot where he had left Zelda's harp was empty.

"Fi," Link said slowly. "Are we...back? I mean really back?"

Fi inclined her head slightly. "We are. Although I regret to inform you that I was unable to synchronize our arrival precisely for the moment of our departure. By my best calculations, we have arrived an estimated thirteen hours and twenty-six minutes before that moment. It is now the night before we will encounter Zelda and her guardian here at the Gate of Time."

Link had to brood over that for a full thirty seconds before the implications hit him. He nodded at the archway across the chasm which led to the Lanayru Mining Facility. "So we're...in there now? We're down there, and at the same time we're here?"

"Precisely," Fi told him.

Link rubbed his face again. "Ow, my head..."

"I highly recommend we return to Skyloft now," Fi said and turned so she was facing the bird statue near the front of the temple. "As we have arrived at the onset of night, I believe you should use this opportunity to rest yourself fully so that we may return tomorrow morning at the appropriate time and retrieve Zelda's harp, and then depart for the Sealed Grounds."

"So basically pick up where we left off," Link said as he stood up, and he smirked ironically to himself. "I guess it's better to arrive too early instead of too late, right?"

"That is an admirable way of viewing the situation, Master," Fi commended him.

"What should we do with this though?" Link asked and bent to pick up the cube.

Fi considered the cube in silence. "What little energy remains appears to have become dormant. I believe there is no longer any danger in continuing to retain it or discard it as you see fit."

Link frowned. So that meant even if he wanted to use it again, he couldn't. It was only a block now. He sighed with a twinge of regret and tucked it under his arm. "Eh, let's give it to Gorko the next time we see him. I'll bet he'd go nuts over it."

"I fail to see how this relic would cause the Goron's mental faculties to deteriorate."

Link only shook his head as he began to cross the stone bridge spanning the chasm. But he paused halfway across, struck by déjà vu of the last time he had stood here between Zelda and Ghirahim with his sword drawn. The memories plagued him, and all the more so for the fact that in a way, they hadn't happened yet. It had been hard enough the first time when he hadn't known what was going on and couldn't have done anything else. But to walk away from here now that he knew...

"Fi," Link murmured without looking up at her. "I know you said it would be dangerous to change time. But if there's any way that we could change what happened here...if we could follow Zelda or head off Ghirahim before he gets here..."

Fi said nothing at first, and Link dared to peek at her. She wasn't saying no right away. She was considering it. He could tell from the way she was looking at the Gate of Time with unseeing eyes, doing her calculations and weighing the risks. The sword spirit met his hopeful eyes with her dispassionate ones.

"It is...understandable that you would be so tempted, Master. And I find myself in a rare moment of indecision. Certainly we should do all in our power to protect the spirit maiden. However...it is my purpose to guide you down the path intended by Hylia which has the most likely chance of safeguarding the future of your people and of this world."

"So...which would you pick?" Link asked with bated breath.

"It is not for the servant to rule the choices of the master," Fi said evenly. "The decision is entirely yours."

Link drew a deep breath as the desire, the need to protect Zelda overwhelmed every other thought in his head. He could just imagine what he would do if he could experience that moment all over again. Maybe Hylia had even intended for him and Fi to arrive early so that they could change everything and create a different outcome.

But...

A pair of striking red eyes flashed across his vision. I will not allow either of those futures come to be for this kingdom. I will find a way to change it. I must.

"But if I change what happens now," Link murmured, "then what happens to the future we saw? Will Sheik and that other Link still be there?"

"I am afraid it is impossible to know," Fi said unhelpfully.

Link faced her fully. "What are the odds, Fi? What are the odds that in changing our future, we destroy their future?"

She didn't say anything, but she didn't have to. Link already knew by the sinking feeling in his gut what the answer would be. He shut his eyes and made an effort to push back the regret and the reckless longing to just forge ahead and damn the consequences. Attitude like that had nearly gotten him killed and Zelda captured by Ghirahim. Link wasn't about to let another person pay for his mistakes, especially not his and Zelda's descendants.

He passed a hand over the surface of the cube and stuck it in his belt pouch. "You know what? I think we should hang onto this for now. Just in case."

"I believe that would be wise, Master," Fi said, which was something he rarely heard from her. "In fact...I calculate a ninety-eight percent chance that this relic of the Gate of Time will become an item of great importance in the future. I recommend you deposit it with your other possessions in Item Check."

"Item Check?" Link griped as he crossed the bridge to the bird statue. "But then I'd have to talk to Peatrice again! She always takes everything I say the wrong way!"

"Then it is my recommendation that you say as little as possible, Master."

Link blew out a puff of air in annoyance. But as he took out Zelda's sailcloth and unfurled it, he smiled wistfully. "Did I mention how much I missed you, Fi? Remind me to never, ever leave you behind again."

Fi never had the chance to answer as the bird statue activated and a rush of air filled the sailcloth, carrying them both to the sky.

The rush of light and magic faded as golden sparks cascaded around them, the last fading notes of the Prelude of Light ringing off the marble walls of the Temple of Time. Link tucked the ocarina back inside his tunic and sighed as he turned to face the altar with the Spiritual Stones laid out in all their sparkling glory.

"Well...here we are."

"Yes," Sheik said and offered nothing more. Link grimaced slightly as he began to pace across the chamber, listening to the hollow echo of his footsteps and moving as slowly as humanly possible. But when he glimpsed the inner sanctum and the pedestal within, he whirled around.

"Do I have to...?"

"It is the only way, Link," Sheik said impatiently. "And in a way, it is already done since I have seen you in the past. You have no choice."

"But I hated being a kid again!" Link whined and waved his hands to emphasize his point. "It was bad enough the first time, I don't want to go through that again!"

"And what, exactly, was so horrible about it?"

"All the monsters were bigger than me, for one," Link insisted. "Do you know what it's like to be so tall and strong and pretty much invincible, and then suddenly be short again? I was a pipsqueak then, I couldn't even see over the Bazaar counter! And my voice was all high and squeaky, and people wouldn't stop calling me cute and telling me swords are for grown-ups..."

"Ah, the many trials of a hero," Sheik lamented, though from her dry tone Link thought she might secretly be mocking him.

"That's not helping, Sheik."

"You managed well enough when you retrieved the Lens of Truth," Sheik said, one hand planted on her hip while the other still held her lyre. "This should be no different. Only do not forget to restock on bombs before you go to the Spirit Temple. Believe me when I say you will have need of them."

"And you still won't tell me why I'll need them," Link muttered, but he didn't bother asking her again. She had only spouted some mumbo jumbo about him finding out for himself and the need to preserve the timeline as it was and not mess with anything. He considered pointing out that Sheik herself seemed to have no problem with changing the future of Hyrule and yet wouldn't let Link do the same for his own future. But since that would only result in a lecture, Link let it go with reluctance and circled around the altar, entering the inner sanctum where the pedestal stood. He carefully drew the Master Sword from its scabbard, and for a moment he gazed at his own reflection in the silvery metal. It startled him at first because, having so recently seen his ancestor, he could now appreciate the resemblance even more. Even Fi had remarked on it when they first noticed how similar their swords were.

Fi...

Link cast a circumspect look over his shoulder to make sure Sheik was still in the outer sanctum and out of hearing range. He didn't have to worry about Navi. She was tucked away in his hat and had seen him do far more embarrassing things than talk to his weapons. The fairy wouldn't say anything.

Slowly, Link settled down on the floor with his legs crossed and the sword laid across his lap. "Hello, Fi," he whispered.

The sword didn't answer, but Link was undaunted as he smiled and brushed his fingers along the hilt and the golden beryl set into the cross guard. "You're in there, aren't you? At least I think so. You...I mean, the other you said the spirit of my sword was dormant, but that doesn't mean dead. I guess it means...you're sleeping right?"

His hand continued tracing down the blade itself, and Link lifted his gaze to the window set high in the wall. "Sorry I've never said hello before now," he added. "I always knew this sword was special, but I guess it never occurred to me it had its own mind and soul. I never thought there might be someone living inside it. Never thought that my sword might be a woman either. Sorry for that again."

His words resonated very faintly in the chamber despite his effort to keep them quiet. He didn't notice when Sheik came to the doorway and listened without interrupting, watching the communion in silence.

"Come to think of it," Link said and brought his gaze back to the blade in confusion. "How come you've never shown yourself to me? I would have liked to meet you before now. Actually, it would have been nice to have a second opinion on some things. Navi doesn't know everything no matter how hard she pretends."

"Hey!" Navi exclaimed.

"Volvagia," Link said flatly, leaving it at that, and the fairy subsided with a sullen mutter. "So anyway...is there a reason you won't wake up? You can, you know. I wouldn't mind. You could have at least come out to say hello to my ancestor. I'm sure he would have liked that."

He tilted the blade in his hands and blinked when his reflection briefly morphed into that of his ancestor, younger than him by a year or two and still untried, but graced with an optimism that even Link sometimes had trouble holding onto now that he was nearing the end of his own journey.

"Oh...I think I know now," Link said with a smile of sadness. "It's because of him, isn't it? He was special to you, wasn't he? Even more than the Ancient Hero you told me about. But now he's dead...well, he's been dead for centuries. After all that time, I can see why it would hurt too much to see him again."

His reflection misted as if someone had breathed upon the blade and fogged it up. Link shut his eyes, remembering with a tightness in his throat what Sheik had said about a possible future in which he was not there to seal away Ganondorf. A future in which Hyrule was ravaged by war and no one remembered the Hero of Time. Link had meant to ask Sheik what had become of the Master Sword in that future, but now he wasn't sure if he dared. Maybe its existence had faded from all knowledge and memory. Forgotten, lost...

"It must be so hard for you," Link murmured, opening his eyes again. "I know you said you don't feel loneliness, but I don't believe you. I...I'd like to say I know you too well to believe it, but the truth is I'll probably never know you as well as he did."

His grip tightened on the hilt. "But I promise you, Fi. Even if you find yourself alone again after me, I promise it won't be for long. There will always be someone there to take you up again. You just have to wait long enough, and they'll come. And they'll probably need your help just as much as I do. Maybe even more than he did."

He paused, letting silence fill the chamber as the blade gleamed and his hand prickled when warmth pulsed in the hilt. Link couldn't work out if that was an acknowledgement of his vow or annoyance that he was talking so much. He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed by how sentimental he was acting. He rose to his feet and held the sword raised before him point down, prepared to thrust into the pedestal.

"I need to leave you here for a little while, but I'll come back as soon as I can. Then we'll go awaken the last sage and finish what we started with Ganondorf."

He smirked a little. "That battle is still before us. So let's make sure it goes our way, huh?"

He thrust the sword down, and in an instant the pedestal was engulfed in a cyclone of dazzling blue light. An unseen gale swept through the temple, causing Sheik to stagger and brace her hand on the wall, and the very air sang with power as time distorted and carried the hero away into the past. The hushed stillness that fell on the temple in his absence was almost unbearable. The Sheikah turned to leave...but in the end she changed her mind and moved closer to take a seat on the steps near the sword, strumming the golden lyre to fill up the silence.

And together, they waited.

Chapter Text

"Sheik?" Link called as he poked his head out of the bedroom. When there were no sounds from any of the other rooms in Impa's house, he frowned and opened the door wider. "Sheik? Are you there?"

The only answer he received was a distant roll of thunder from outside. Rain again today. It had been raining nonstop in Kakariko ever since he had slain Volvagia and finally cleared Death Mountain of the clouds of ash which had dulled the skies and kept the temperature sweltering in this part of the kingdom. And while Link supposed the change was a good thing, he still couldn't seem to shake his childish dislike of the rain, which could keep a rambunctious Kokiri trapped indoors for hours going stir-crazy.

Not that he wasn't doing that already. Link stepped into the hallway, hobbling on a heavily splinted leg that had been badly broken in the battle with the dragon and only now could bear to tolerate some weight. And that only after very liberal imbibing of the potions that Sheik dutifully brought him. She had given up on trying to make him stay put long enough to heal normally and now seemed to hope an overdose of magic and herbs would keep Link from hurting himself when he inevitably tried to walk again.

In retrospect, maybe he would have been better off listening to her and staying in bed. By the time Link made the short walk down the hall, he was panting and shaking, his upper lip beaded with sweat. He licked it away and leaned on the wall as little spikes of pain shot up his leg and made a whimper catch in his throat. Just the thought of tackling the stairs made him want to cry.

"Sheik?" Link called weakly and wished he didn't sound so pitiful. A broken leg shouldn't be this much of an obstacle for the Hero of Time. Hearing no answer from below, he took a moment to gather his nerves and began a shambling limp down the stairs, balancing on his good leg and gripping the railing in two hands. He had an instant of panic when his foot slipped and he nearly went careening down headfirst, but Link managed to throw himself backward onto the previous step and plopped ungracefully on his butt. Abandoning dignity, he slid the rest of the way down in that manner and finally arrived at the main floor no worse for wear.

But all his efforts seemed to be in vain when he scanned the larger room and found it utterly devoid of Sheikah. The front door was locked, and there was no sign of life anywhere in the house. Even the kitchen was empty, the hearth cold. His stomach rumbled, and Link rubbed it miserably. He just didn't understand it. Sheik didn't usually wait this long to at least bring him breakfast...

Link frowned at little at that last thought. Not that he expected her to make him breakfast or anything like that. It was just that between the two of them, Sheik was the early riser and tended to take that chore upon herself. Every day for the past week and a half, Link had woken to the smell of something cooking and knew it wouldn't be long before Sheik came upstairs to prod him awake and head off any attempt to leave his bed without assistance. The break in that routine, and of Sheik herself this late in the morning, was unusual and somewhat alarming. He hoped nothing was wrong.

Don't worry so much, she probably went to get more potions, Link told himself. The thought didn't do much to fill his empty stomach, but it soothed his anxiety somewhat. Link slumped on the stairs, but then brightened. Maybe if he hurried, then he could have breakfast ready for them both by the time Sheik came back. That would surprise her, and just maybe make her a little less strict about keeping him bedbound like an invalid.

He hauled himself upright again and limped for the kitchen, wincing every so often when his leg throbbed. The pantry door was cracked open, and Link nudged it further and stepped inside to behold the dizzying amount of food cluttering the shelves. He didn't even know where to start. It wasn't like he had cooked much as a child, and now as an adult most of his diet was limited to paid meals at an inn or charred meat roasted over a campfire. But Link was determined not to let something as simple as food daunt him.

He started to rummage through the shelves, but paused when something odd caught his eye. The shelf against the back wall of the pantry looked a little...crooked. One side of it was pulled toward him slightly, leaving a gap between the wall and the shelf, and when Link moved to investigate he realized there was not a wall behind it at all. He grabbed that side of the shelf and tugged, surprised when it swung open on oiled hinges and left him facing an archway and a corridor he had never seen before.

There were many places where he might expect to find a secret passageway concealed behind a shelf, but Impa's house was not one of them.

"Sheik?" Link said as he stepped inside. It was a tiny passage, barely taller than his head, and it only extended for a few steps before he turned a corner and found himself in a much bigger room with stone walls and floor like a dungeon. But rather than chains and torture implements, it was packed full of furniture and storage trunks and many other odds and ends, which made it difficult to move around. Illumination came from glass orbs affixed to the walls in brackets that emitted a soft golden light, brightening when he neared and dimming as he passed. Link stared, mouth open as he took in all the clutter and chaos when the rest of Impa's house was so spartan in nature. And most of it were things he could never imagine Impa owning. There were intricate tapestries rolled up and piled on top of a bureau, and a small chest with the lid askew revealed it was full of jewelry and other baubles that looked both opulent and very costly.

Link paused at the sight of an enormous portrait leaning against a wall, which showed the first King of Hyrule who had united the kingdom a century ago. He had seen that portrait before. Seven years ago when he snuck into Hyrule Castle, it had been proudly displayed within those grand halls. Link had assumed the castle and everything in it had fallen victim to the coup seven years ago and ended up pillaged or destroyed, but it seemed Impa had managed to save some things. Quite a number of things, in fact. He still couldn't see the other side of the cellar room, and the sea of salvaged possessions seemed to go on without end.

He squeezed between two bookcases crammed with dusty history tomes, jumping when he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye, which turned out to be his own reflection in an ornate mirror. But his wasn't the only one. He could see Sheik's reflection as well, standing about five steps behind him. Link turned around, realizing she hadn't noticed him yet. She stood in silence before an open wardrobe, entirely preoccupied with what she held in her hands, and his eyebrows flew up at the sight of it.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing!" Sheik cried, her voice jumping as if he had startled her, and she hastily stuffed the article into the wardrobe and slammed the doors closed, turning to brace her back against it. Her reaction surprised him even more than what he had seen her poring over. Link stepped closer, his eyes flicking to the wardrobe curiously. Sheik scooted sideways as if to fend him off, her eyes wide and soon filled with ire.

"What are you doing in here? You're meant to be resting!"

"I was looking for you," Link said and wondered why that was such a crime. He waved his hand at their surroundings. "What is all this stuff?"

"It's...none of your concern," Sheik stammered, standing a little straighter, but her hands remained behind her back and kept the wardrobe firmly shut. "Go back into the house, Link. I'll be there shortly."

"How come you're standing like that?" Link pressed. He gripped the bookcase beside him for support as he stepped closer, making a sincere effort not to snicker at her ill-disguised panic. "Are you hiding something?"

"I said it's none of your concern!" Sheik snapped. He was right in front of her now, and she raised her chin defiantly as if daring him to try and force his way past her. But Link didn't bother, letting his twitching lips widen into a grin.

"Sheik...I saw the dress."

Shock flooded her eyes, and he thought Sheik would deny it flat out or yell at him for having seen anything at all. But instead she ducked her head as a defeated slump came to her shoulders. Sheik stepped away from the wardrobe and allowed the doors to open, reaching in and bringing the dress back into the open. The long skirts undulated until the hem trailed along the floor, and Link couldn't refrain from reaching out to touch the silken fabric, which was dyed a very light blue with embroidered designs in deep navy and indigo. There were even tiny freshwater pearls sewn into the neckline, perfectly round and lustrous in the light.

"So are you going to tell me what this is?" Link asked her.

"It's...mine," Sheik said, which Link had not expected to hear, and he gaped at her as she amended. "Well, I suppose it belonged to my mother first. Impa had it tailored so I could wear it for my seventeenth birthday a few months ago."

"You wore this?" Link said, looking from her to the dress. He carefully plucked it out of her hands and held it up in front of her with a puzzled twist to his mouth.

"What are you doing?"

"I can't picture it," Link said slowly. He chuckled in apology when Sheik shot him an incensed look. "Sorry, but it's true! I never thought you'd be one for dresses, Sheik. You're not exactly, uh..."

"What?" Sheik challenged when he trailed off. She snatched the dress from his hands, crumpling the fabric in her fingers. "Not exactly what?"

"Um," Link faltered, scrambling for a word that wouldn't make her stab him, which meant ladylike was out of the question. He cleared his throat and indicated her current attire. "I just meant...I've never seen you wear anything else except for those Sheikah clothes. And besides, I only found out you were a woman a little while ago! Cut me some slack!"

"It's been two weeks, you should be accustomed to the idea by now," Sheik said acidly. She returned her gaze to the dress, and her annoyance seemed to trickle away as she moved to sink down on a trunk, tracing the embroidery. "But I suppose you have a point. Impa and I felt it...necessary to hide my gender so that I could more easily evade Ganondorf's spies. If I'm to make a convincing man, I could hardly don a dress and makeup on a regular basis."

"You wear makeup too?"

"Link," Sheik said with forced patience, and Link shut his mouth, though he wasn't sure how many more revelations he could take before his head exploded. "I was only a young girl when this charade began. I've spent the past seven years, not only learning to be a Sheikah, but also suppressing any lingering habits that would give my gender away. I lost myself so completely in the act that oftentimes...I forget."

"Forget what?" Link inquired. He took a seat beside her, grateful for the chance to take the weight off his aching leg.

"What it's like to be a woman," Sheik said quietly. "To have the world see me as I truly am, to wear a dress and be among other women as one of them. So I suppose...wearing this on my birthday was a way to remind myself of the truth beneath this mask. Even if only Impa was there to acknowledge it."

She peeked at him out of the corner of her eye, and when he didn't answer, she exhaled softly. "I don't expect you to understand. I suppose it must seem very silly to you."

"No, it doesn't, not at all!" Link said hastily. He had never heard his Sheikah guide speak so many words at once, let alone bare her feelings so openly, and he didn't want her to think he didn't care. "I think get it, kind of. Seven years is a long time to pretend to be someone else. It must have been really hard. I mean...just imagine if I had to dress up like a girl for seven years!"

Sheik arched an eyebrow, and before he could react, she held up the dress in front of his tunic. "Hmm...no, I'm afraid you're not one for dresses, hero," she said loftily.

"Stop it!" Link laughed, shoving her away. Sheik laughed as well and seemed less self-conscious as she went back to admiring the dress. Link watched her for a moment or two before a sneaky grin found its way to his face. "I was telling the truth earlier, you know. I can't quite wrap my head around it. I think my imagination needs some help."

Sheik glanced at him. "How so?" she said guardedly.

"I think you need to put it on," Link said with an utterly straight face.

Sheik started and looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "Excuse me?"

"I said put it on," Link repeated, unable to curb his gleeful enthusiasm. "Go ahead, wear the dress."

"Here? Now?"

"Why not?" Link said with a shrug. "It's not like we're planning on going anywhere or meeting anyone. And you told me yourself that Impa won't be back from checking on Zora's domain until tomorrow, so it's just the two of us. You should wear whatever you want."

Sheik stood up quickly and moved away. "This...this is hardly the occasion for such finery," she said in feeble protest.

"What, were you planning to wait until Ganondorf is overthrown before you wear it again?"

"If my eighteenth birthday doesn't come first," Sheik murmured, and even though she probably hadn't meant anything by it, the words still angered Link. He slammed his fist on the trunk, which made her jump and spin around to face him.

"Just how little faith do you have in me?" Link demanded. "He'll be dead before winter! I'd make it sooner if I could!"

Sheik stared at him. "I...forgive me, Link. I never meant to imply..."

"I know you didn't," Link said, taking a deep breath to calm down from his outburst. "I just hate how he always has to ruin everything. All these bad things that have happened are all because of him, and it's like...everybody is so afraid of what he'll do next that they won't even try to be happy anymore. I don't want to see that happen to you. You shouldn't let everything he's done change you into something you never wanted to be."

"It's a bit late for that," Sheik said with a shake of her head.

"Well, it's not too late to change back, is it?" Link retorted, his smile returning as he nodded at the dress. "You can start right now. If you hate him as much as I do, then you should take every chance you can to spite him."

"By wearing a dress?" Sheik said in flat skepticism.

"Hey, whatever works," Link encouraged, and he leaned closer and put his hand by his mouth like he was sharing a secret. "Want to know what I do? I secretly call him Ganondork."

Her eyes widened. "You do not," she said in a hushed voice, sounding at once appalled and awestruck at his daring.

"Ganondork with his dorky cape and his dorky big nose!" Link said brazenly, and he was rewarded when she blinked and turned away like she was trying not to laugh. "And I tell every kid in every single village I travel through to call him that too!"

"You do not!" Sheik choked out. "Link, if Ganondorf ever heard about that...can you imagine what he would do to those people?"

Link scoffed. "Hey, if King Beaky Nose can't handle a little name-calling, then he's a wimp on top of being a dork."

Her eyebrow twitched. "Beaky...nose...?"

He flashed a roguish grin and held out an inviting hand. "Go ahead. Laugh. I dare you."

Sheik hesitated, but Link could see a mischievous spark alighting in her eyes. "Do you suppose," she said slowly, "with that rather impressive snout of his...that he has ever been mistaken for a pig?"

Link chortled and threw his head back. "Wouldn't surprise me if he has! That's got a nice ring to it, actually. Ganonhog, Lord of the Swine!"

Sheik broke down and began to laugh, and Link couldn't help joining in, their combined mirth causing the entire room to ring with laughter. Even if the joke wasn't terribly clever, it felt good to let loose where no one could hear them, and it took them both much longer than necessary to rein in their mirth and quiet down. Sheik toyed with the dress in her hands, touching the pearls in thought.

"I suppose since Impa isn't here to rebuke me...there is no harm in putting it on for just a few minutes."

"A few minutes?" Link said in disappointment. "That's all? After all that convincing I did?"

Sheik arched a slender eyebrow in his direction. "You are being quite obstinate. Is there some particular reason you want to see me wear this?"

The veiled accusation behind her words made a tiny bit of heat creep into his face, but Link stood his ground. "Is there some particular reason you don't want me to see?" he shot back.

Sheik continued to eye him for a moment, and Link refused to squirm under her scrutiny, waiting until she had nodded and retreated behind the bookcase to change before he let the blush fully take over. She made it sound like he had ulterior motives or something, but it wasn't like that at all. Sheik was his friend, his good friend, and he didn't see her in any other way but as a friend. He was only...curious, that was all. He wanted to see what she looked like in something other than her Sheikah garb.

"Give me a moment," Sheik called, and Link made a noise of acknowledgement, settling back on the trunk to wait. But his eyes happened to drift over to the mirror nearby, and he stiffened when he realized it was resting at an angle which allowed him a perfect view of Sheik behind the bookcase. She carefully unfolded the dress and draped it over a chair, considering the garment in unreadable silence, then hooked her arms beneath the hem of her own shirt and began to slide it up...

Link tore his eyes away and fixed his attention on an interesting crack in the floor. "S-So you never told me what this room is for," he remarked in what he hoped was a casual voice. "I saw a painting by the door that I think I remember in Hyrule Castle. Is that where all this came from?"

"Most of it, yes," Sheik replied over the muted rustle of cloth. "When Ganondorf took the throne, he allowed the Gerudo to pillage both the castle and the estates of those nobles who refused to acknowledge him as their new sovereign. It was all meant to be transported to the desert as war loot. But...Impa knew how much it would hurt the princess to see everything lost, and she gathered what few castle guardsmen were left and led several raids against their caravans."

"Heh, I'll bet that was fun," Link said wistfully. He scuffed the floor with his boot. "I wish I could've been there..."

"They managed well enough," Sheik said, sounding amused at his eagerness. "There is nothing here that holds much value in terms of wealth, but Zelda was grateful to see even this much retrieved from enemy hands. Especially the portraits and pictographs. Everything else could be replaced, but not those."

"What's a pictograph?"

"Impa has some inside the wardrobe, if you look," Sheik suggested, and Link gladly seized the distraction. He stood and limped closer to the wardrobe and had to dig around a little before he found a small wooden box tucked behind the musty dresses. Beside it was an odd little device with a large lens on one side that made him think of a telescope. Intrigued, Link picked up the device and brought the lens close to his face so he could gaze into it, completely unprepared when his finger pressed a small switch and a dazzling burst of light erupted from the device. He reeled back with a yelp and clapped a hand over his eyes, which throbbed like he had stared into the sun for too long.

"What happened?"

"Ow," Link whimpered, blinking back tears as his vision swam with hazy blotches of green and purple. Sheik's head poking out from behind the bookcase was nothing more than a peach blob. "Too bright..."

"Don't look directly into the lens," Sheik advised and disappeared behind the bookcase again.

"Little late for that," Link grumbled and rubbed his eyes until his sight gradually returned. The device in his hands made a whirring noise and popped out a perfectly square piece of paper, which Link took and flipped over, amazed when he saw a sepia image of his own face looking back at him with a perplexed and inquisitive expression. It was like looking in a mirror, only his reflection was frozen in time.

"Whoa, neat," Link whispered as he set the device back in the wardrobe and opened the wooden box beside it. There was a whole stack of pictographs inside, and he began to sort through them one by one, his mouth falling open when he recognized Impa in quite a few of them. They must have been taken years ago because she looked very young, only in her early twenties and not yet the hardened warrior that he knew. One showed her posing with several other Sheikah in Kakariko, which must have been her friends and family. Another showed her inside a barracks with a bunch of castle guardsmen gathered around a table for a card game. They all looked relaxed and carefree in the company of their comrades, and Impa even had a grin on her face as she and a blond guardsman posed shoulder to shoulder for the pictograph.

Wow, she DOES know how to smile, Link thought and sorted through the other pictographs eagerly. Mostly they showed people he didn't know, but who must have been important to Impa in some way. Link spotted the blond guardsman quite a few times, gradually becoming older with each pictograph he appeared in. It was almost possible to track the passage of years by the growth of his beard. Link paused at one pictograph in particular which showed the guardsman kneeling before a throne and being knighted by Zelda's father, the king. He checked the date scribbled on the back and found that one had been taken only twenty years ago.

Link hobbled closer to the bookcase and held out the picture around it so Sheik could see it. "Is that a friend of Impa's? I keep seeing him in all these pictographs."

The sounds of her movements paused as Sheik took the pictograph. "Oh...him," she said pensively. "Yes, he was a very good friend of hers."

"Was?"

"He died many years ago," Sheik explained, and he heard cloth rustling again. "Impa had known him from the time they were children, growing up in Kakariko, and they both spent much of their youth in service to the royal family. She rarely speaks of him now. I can't quite recall what his name was..."

"Uh huh," Link said, having stopped paying attention several seconds ago. He had happened to look at the next pictograph in the stack and now found his attention riveted. He leaned against the bookcase and gripped one of the shelves so he wouldn't sway on his feet. The blond man was in this pictograph as well, which had been taken inside some kind of manor, and he stood just behind a wing-backed chair where a woman in a gown was seated. She was the one Link couldn't tear his gaze from, the shock of recognition slamming into him.

One day, to escape the fires of war, a Hylian mother and her baby boy entered this forbidden forest. The mother was gravely injured, and her only choice was to entrust her son to the Great Deku Tree...

"Lake Hylia," Sheik said suddenly, and Link jumped. "That's right, Impa told me they had an estate on the southern shores of Lake Hylia, not far from the Kokiri forest."

"Who did?"

"He and his wife," Sheik told him. "I believe her name was Gwendoline. Impa said they made a peculiar couple since he was nearly a decade her senior and she was high above his station in terms of nobility. But they were happy, she said. They were in love from the moment they saw one another. There should be a pictograph of the two of them somewhere in with the others."

"Yeah, I...found it," Link faltered. He squeezed his eyes shut, gave himself a little shake and looked again. The woman smiled up at him ingenuously, her dark eyes sparkling with joy. She had light brown hair that cascaded around her face in ringlets, and her frame was very slight and seemed almost fragile compared to her husband. But she was beautiful, and it was clear from the way his hand rested across her delicate shoulder that he thought so too and would gladly challenge anyone who thought otherwise.

And all Link could think of when he looked at her face was how similar it was to hers. When he had asked the Deku Tree Sprout about his Hylian parents, there had been very little information to share. All he could offer were memories from the Great Deku Tree, memories of the night when a woman had come stumbling into the grove and collapsed with a wailing baby in her arms, her dress torn and bloodied and her face smeared with grime and tears. That misty image, conveyed telepathically into his mind, was all Link had left of his mother, and he had fully believed that was all he would ever have. Not even the Great Tree had learned her name before she passed away, only the name of her baby that she had whispered over and over.

Link...

"What...what ever happened to her?" Link asked in a hoarse voice. "I-I mean to them. You said that he died, but what about her? Did Impa ever tell you?"

Sheik didn't answer for a moment, and when she did, she sounded sad. "Impa was reluctant to speak of it...but there was a brief civil war in Hyrule a little under two decades ago. The Gerudo refused to be annexed, and they retaliated by striking at our southern borders. Many villages were ransacked, the people in them slaughtered. Their estate was attacked one night, and he was killed trying to defend his home, but his wife was never found."

The tightness in his throat abated somewhat. The timing and location were eerily right, but there was still no solid proof that it was the same woman. Link only had this pictograph to go on and a memory which had been given to him secondhand and was lacking in so many details that he might as well have made it up. And besides, surely he would know if he was looking at his dead parents? Didn't parents and children have some kind of special bond? Not that Link would know if they did or not, but it didn't seem possible that he could be looking at their faces right now and not have any clue...

"They had a child," Sheik murmured, and his gut swooped sickeningly. "I remember now...she had just given birth when the estate was attacked. That was why they couldn't flee."

Link swallowed hard, and it was sheer willpower that kept him from crumpling the pictograph in his hands. "And did they...I mean, did anyone ever find...?"

"If the Gerudo found the child, they most likely sold it into slavery," Sheik said darkly. "I truly hope that is not the case. Perhaps Gwendoline's husband found a way to take them to safety, but...it is unlikely."

It can't be her, Link thought in desperation. He tried to come up with some other excuse that would prove beyond a doubt he had no connection to these people, but all he could think was that the whole notion of his parents being a knight and a highborn lady was ludicrous. Him, a noble? Sheik would laugh if he dared to bring up the possibility. Link began to stuff the pictograph into the stack, but at the last moment he changed his mind and tucked it inside his tunic. He wasn't sure why exactly. Only that...this was more than he'd had before. Maybe if he looked at it long enough, he could figure it out one way or another. And if not, then maybe it would give him the courage to ask Impa for more details when he had the chance.

He heard Sheik mutter in irritation and turned back to the bookcase. "Are you almost done back there?"

"It's these ridiculous laces!" Sheik snapped. "I can't reach them to tie them closed. I need you to do it for me."

"You need me to what?" Link yelped, the pictographs forgotten in favor of apprehension. "But aren't you...kind of...not dressed?"

"I'm decent enough," Sheik said, and she sounded just as flustered with the situation as he. "You can...come around to this side, if you wish."

He gulped, nervous all of a sudden as he limped around the bookcase. Sheik was waiting for him, holding up the dress as well as she could, and she glanced back as Link halted. He had thought the sight of Sheik in a dress would be strange and maybe a little comical, but now that he was faced with the scenario, Link found absolutely nothing to laugh about. She looked...different, but it was a good kind of different. The dress itself was pretty without being overly lavish. The long, gauzy sleeves sheathed her arms completely, and the way the sleek fabric hugged her waist before flaring out into the flowing skirts made Link highly away of the fact that she really was a woman underneath it all. Only the veil over her face and the cloth bindings keeping her hair bound reminded him that it was still his Sheikah friend standing before him.

Sheik turned her head away. "Close your mouth, hero," she said tersely.

Link shut his mouth, mortified that he had been gawking. "Sorry. You're just...wow, you look...it's really nice. I mean you look really...uh, nice."

"I can see you have little experience with this sort of thing," Sheik said over his inelegant words, her tone wry as she looked back with a twinkle in her eyes. She tilted her head to the back of the dress, which was hanging partly open and exposed the pale skin of her back nearly to her waist. "If you would be so kind?"

Nodding, Link set the pictographs on a shelf and moved closer to draw the fabric together so she was covered again. But that left him staring at the complicated jumble of laces and cords that were meant to hold it all together. "How do I...?"

"Start at the bottom and move upward," Sheik suggested. "Think of it as tying a shoe."

The comparison helped only a little as Link tugged at the laces clumsily and began knotting them shut. He was positive he was going about it all wrong, but at least they wouldn't be coming undone anytime soon. Still, it didn't help that he kept getting distracted with just looking at Sheik. There was something almost mesmerizing about seeing her like this. It softened her somehow, made her more approachable. His eyes wandered from the flaxen hairs at the nape of her neck down the curve of her shoulder, which had both been left bare, and even though the neckline of the dress was a sensible cut and not truly meant to entice, it was still more skin than Link had ever seen her display. For some reason he found the shape of her collarbone utterly fascinating.

"You're blushing."

The blunt accusation made him start. "N-No, I'm not!" he objected.

"I can see you in the mirror," Sheik said softly, and Link let his attention drift sideways to the incriminating mirror that showed both Sheik in her dress and himself with his face stained red. He bit the inside of his cheek and resolutely ducked his head to finish tying the laces so he could step back.

"Okay, done."

"Thank you," Sheik said, luckily choosing not to remark on his reaction. She took the skirts in one hand, her boots peeking out from the hem as she turned to the mirror fully, surveying herself from head to toe. "It feels odd. Not uncomfortable, only...I am not accustomed to it anymore."

"Maybe that's a sign you should wear it more often," Link said with a fleeting smile at the narrow-eyed look she shot him.

"It reminds me of the first time I donned my Sheikah clothing," Sheik went on with a nod at the blue and gray clothes folded up on the chair. "I had worn skirts all my life and truly could not fathom how men could function while wearing pants. They felt so constricting."

"Well, we'd be laughed at if we tried to wear skirts," Link said matter-of-factly, which earned a tiny chuckle from her. He plucked at the swishing fabric around her legs. "What I can't understand is how anyone could move around in something like this. Wouldn't you trip or something?"

"That is part of why women are taught to walk in a certain way," Sheik said, and she demonstrated by picking up her skirts and walking a few paces, holding her head high with her spine straight and shoulders pulled back. The contrast between her stately march now and the more casual and assertive stride with which she usually walked was immediately obvious and made Link felt like an unwashed peasant next to her. Again and again, Sheik surprised him with the things she knew.

But it seemed old habits were not so easy to pick up again. As Sheik turned to walk back, her boot became tangled up in the skirts and she stumbled. Link lunged to seize her arm as she fell, failing to remember that his leg was broken and he was not up for catching anything. His other hand made a wild grab for the bookcase, but he only ended up scattering all the pictographs which accompanied them both down to the floor. Sheik hit the stone on her hands and knees while Link slumped against the bookcase and clutched his splinted leg, biting his tongue to keep from voicing how much pain the tumble had caused him.

Sheik inspected the splint for damage. "Are you hurt?" she asked in concern.

"I'll survive," Link said, teeth clenched as he tried to smile in reassurance.

"We need to get you back upstairs," Sheik said and took his arm to try and pull him upright.

"No, I'm fine, really!" Link insisted, yanking his arm away. He doubted he could make it a single step without keeling over in a dead faint. "Just...just let me sit here for a minute..."

"I should at least bring you a potion," Sheik said and began to rise, but the skirts encumbered her once again and made her topple forward. Her knee landed directly on his shin, her full weight pressing down on the splint, and Link howled and clutched his leg, which felt like it had been broken all over again.

"Sheik!"

"I'm sorry!" Sheik cried, though he could barely hear her over the roaring in his ears. "Oh goddesses, are you alright? How bad is it?"

"I think you killed me," Link croaked, only half joking as he curled up on the floor and tried to breathe through the pain. "Goddesses, who knew putting you in a dress would make you such a klutz..."

"It was your idea to make me wear this!" Sheik said crossly.

"So I have no one to blame but myself?" Link said, huffing out a laugh that felt more like a death rattle. Long seconds passed before the agony ebbed to a dull throb and he could open his eyes without having to blink back tears. He sucked in a few deep breaths, causing the pictograph pinned beneath his cheek to flutter at the corners. Link pulled his head back so he could get a better look at it. Impa was in this one too, standing at the side of an austere woman with an infant in her arms and a bejeweled circlet in her masses of golden hair.

"Who's this?"

Sheik leaned over to see what he was looking at. The moment she saw the pictograph, she gasped and snatched it up, raking her eyes over it hungrily. "Oh my...I had no idea Impa still had this," she breathed.

"But who is it?" Link asked, pushing himself upright with a grunt.

Sheik hesitated, her eyes flicking between him and the pictograph, and she spoke in a more subdued voice. "That woman is Zelda's mother, the queen of Hyrule. This was taken not long after Zelda was born and Impa was assigned as her attendant."

"Wait...that baby is Zelda?" Link demanded and took the other side of the picture to get a better look at the chubby little infant. "It doesn't look like her..."

"It is her, Link," Sheik said in mild exasperation. "Their names are written on the back."

"Huh," Link said, still frowning. Zelda had mentioned losing her mother to illness when she was too young to remember, but Link hadn't really put much thought into what the queen had been like. Looking at her now, there was a definite likeness to the young girl that Link had met in the castle courtyard. But there was something else bothering him about the picture. Something he couldn't quite pin down...

"What are you doing?" Sheik asked when Link held up the pictograph next to her. "Link...?"

"That's the same dress!" Link exclaimed. He pointed at the queen. "That dress she's wearing, it looks just like yours!"

Sheik gave a jerk of surprise and quickly snatched the pictograph out of his hands. "Don't be ridiculous, Link!"

"I'm telling you, they're exactly the same!" Link retorted as he snatched the pictograph back. He stared at Sheik in bafflement. "You...you said it belonged to your mother, but that's Zelda's mother wearing it..."

"I," Sheik stammered, her eyes wide and suddenly fearful like she had been caught in a very big lie. "I didn't...what I meant was..."

It took another two seconds for him to put the clues together, and once he had, Link shouted and flung up his hands, pointing at her in accusation. "You! You're...no way! Are you telling me you're really...?"

"I can explain!" Sheik cried, sounding desperate. She rested both hands on his arms in entreaty. "Link, please don't be angry—"

"But you are though!" Link said, torn between astonishment and outright glee at having put the pieces together. "You are, right? I can't believe I didn't figure it out!"

Sheik shut her eyes. "Yes," she said in a broken voice. "Yes, I'm..."

"You're Zelda's sister!"

Sheik gave no reaction to his declaration at first, keeping her head bowed low. He thought he saw a slight tremor in her shoulders before she gathered herself and was able to meet his eyes again. "You...aren't upset with me, are you? For keeping this from you?"

"No, of course not," Link assured her. "But is that the big secret you've been hiding all this time? That's not such a big deal. Why didn't you just tell me?"

"There was no reason to," Sheik answered and looked aside again. "While it's true that I am...related to Zelda, the details are very complicated. I would rather not discuss them."

"What do you mean, complicated?" Link demanded. "And how come Zelda never mentioned having a sister when I met her at the castle? She must have known about you..."

Sheik collected her skirts and stood up again, being very careful not to lose her balance this time. "Actually, Zelda was unaware of my existence until after she and Impa escaped from Ganondorf seven years ago."

"She what?" Link said in disbelief. "But how could that...?"

"Complicated, as I said," Sheik replied, and he could tell from the finality in her tone that she would say no more on the subject. Link sighed, once again frustrated with having such a secretive friend, and he let Sheik grip his hand to pull him upright. His leg wobbled beneath him, but Sheik moved quickly to put his arm around her shoulders and support him.

Link chewed on his lip as they made their way back toward the house, partly to keep from whimpering whenever he put weight on his broken leg, stealing glances every now and then at the top of Sheik's head. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but putting forth the wrong one might make her clam up even more. Why hadn't Zelda known about her sister? Why hadn't her parents or even Impa, told her? Was it something to do with the fact that Sheik had been raised as a Sheikah? And yet...Sheik had mentioned once that her training with Impa had begun only afterGanondorf's coup, so what had she been doing before that?

"So," Link ventured at last once they had entered the passageway which would take them into the house. "So if you and Zelda are related...does that make you a princess too?"

"Neither Zelda or I could truly be considered a princess now," Sheik said without looking at him. "Not as long as Ganondorf holds the throne..."

"That doesn't answer my question," Link said and took her arm to pull her up short. "Are you or aren't you?"

Sheik fixed him with a penetrating gaze. "Would it make a difference if I was?"

"N-No, not really," Link said quickly, though even he wasn't sure how true his words were. Standing there with her, seeing her in a dress that had once belonged to the queen of Hyrule, it was difficult to reconcile that image with the Sheikah friend that had been shadowing him all this time. It had been bad enough knowing Zelda was in some ways beyond his reach, knowing that if not for their circumstances, then the princess would never have deigned to look at someone like him. Someone who had been raised an orphan in a world far removed from the glamor of the castle...

Unless I can find out for sure who my parents are, Link reminded himself, thinking of the pictograph in his tunic. Maybe it was only wishful thinking on his part...or maybe his and Zelda's worlds were closer than he ever dared to imagine.

"I guess I just wonder sometimes," Link said to Sheik, who was still watching him and waiting for a more precise answer. "If none of this had ever happened...if Ganondorf had never come to Hyrule...do you think we would have ever met? Would we still be friends?"

Sheik stared at him, her eyes first showing surprise before they became saddened and a little distressed. "I hope so," she said softly. "I cannot imagine a world in which we never knew one another."

"Me either," Link admitted with a pleased smile. They came to the end of the passage and stepped back inside the pantry, and it was only then that he remembered the original reason he had been searching for Sheik. "So want to get some breakfast? I can make it this time, if you want."

"You can cook?" Sheik said, sounding honestly impressed.

Link snorted and rolled his eyes. "How hard can it be...?"

From the main room of the house came the click of a lock and the creak of a door opening. "Sheik? Link?"

Sheik drew a sharp breath at Impa's voice, and before Link knew it, she yanked him back inside the passage, nearly causing him to fall over. "Wha—Sheik, what are you doing?"

Sheik pressed her fingers over his lips, listening intently to Impa's movements. "No, why is she here already?" she groaned. "She said tomorrow!"

Link pushed her hand aside, keeping his voice lowered. "So she's back a day early. What's the big deal?"

"She cannot see me like this!" Sheik said, more agitated than Link had ever seen her. "Especially not with you here! I haven't yet told her that you are aware of my gender! If she finds out...oh gods, I'll never hear the end of it! After all her warnings about having absolute discretion at all times..."

"But she has to find out sometime," Link insisted. "Look, I'll tell her that it wasn't your fault. If we just explain it to her..."

"And how will we explain this, Link?" Sheik demanded, motioning at the dress. "Bad enough I let you find out the truth, but if she knows you saw me wearing this...she might make assumptions."

"What kind of assumptions?" Link asked, and the meaningful glower Sheik shot him was not at all difficult to interpret. Oh, those kind of assumptions.

"Sheik?" Impa called, her voice much nearer at hand, and both of them jumped. She seemed to be coming for the kitchen at first, but her footsteps faded up the stairs to the second floor. Still, it wouldn't be long before she came back. Not enough time to make it to the front door, and even so Sheik didn't look like she dared to step outside as she was now. Link's mind raced as it normally only did during a battle, seeking an escape route, and he pointed back toward the cellar room.

"Is there another way out?"

"I believe so," Sheik said, nodding. "But she'll be suspicious if she finds neither of us here..."

"Then I'll go distract her while you get changed," Link told her. He tried to be noiseless as he stepped back into the pantry and turned to face her. "I'll tell her you went to get potions or something, and you can come around to the front door."

"I suppose that will have to do," Sheik said, breathless as she gripped the shelf to pull it back in place across the archway. "Thank you, Link. I don't know how to repay you."

Link hesitated to answer at first, but in the end he couldn't resist and winked at her through the crack between the shelf and the wall. "Wear the dress again sometime," he said boldly and pushed the shelf back in place before he had time to fully appreciate the blush that went all the way to the tips of her ears.

He began to limp to the door, trying to move as quietly as possible. But his caution was for nothing when he ended up tripping over a basket of onions in the darkness. Link yelped as he went sprawling to the floor and sent the onions rolling in all directions so they bumped the door and the other shelves with loud thumps. He was still attempting to pick himself up when Impa's footsteps came hastening down the stairs and into the kitchen where she yanked open the pantry door. The sudden rush of light nearly blinded Link, and he momentarily froze beneath Impa's bemused look, his embarrassment hopefully enough to disguise his anxiety as he stammered out a half lie.

"Um...Sheik went to get potions. I got hungry."

Impa sighed and leaned over to heave him to his feet, supporting him so easily that her strength caught him off guard. "Come on, then. I'll make something. And you take a seat before you do yourself any further damage. You should not be on your feet yet, not until you've healed up a bit more."

"But I am healing," Link whined, though he couldn't make much of an argument since Impa was practically carrying him. "And I'm sick of staying in bed all the time. How do you and Sheik expect me to get better if all I do is lie around? She wouldn't let me walk anywhere except the bathroom!"

"Precisely as I instructed," Impa said in approval. "But if you make a habit of secretly leaving your bed without supervision, I may ask the hag at the potion shop to infuse a sleeping draught in with your usual remedies. You'll have a hard time walking if you're too lethargic to even form a sentence."

Link jerked his head up in mild horror. "You wouldn't..."

Impa gave him a thin smile that held entirely too much wicked intent. "I do what I must," she said simply. "Did Sheik mention when she would return?"

Link blinked at the subject change. "Uh...no, she didn't. She was already gone when I woke up..."

"Very well," Impa said curtly, her tone becoming harsh. "Then you have ample time to explain why you have three times referred to my apprentice as a she and failed to contradict me when I did the same."

Link almost didn't catch what she was getting at, but then he blanched, only now realizing the rather obvious slips in his wording. Somehow, even after Sheik's warning, it hadn't crossed his mind to censor himself in Impa's presence. His face heated up as the uncomfortable silence stretched, and briefly he considered clutching his leg in fake agony and passing out dramatically at her feet. But Link had a dire feeling even that wouldn't save him now.

"Uh..."

Impa dumped him into a chair roughly and circled to stand across the table from him, palms planted firmly on the wood. He shrank back from her reproving gaze until he felt more miniscule than an ant and mere seconds from being squished beneath her thumb. It was almost enough to make him wish he was fighting the dragon again.

"Explain," Impa said in a voice so low it was nearly a growl. "Now."

"It...was an accident," Link croaked out and cringed when red eyes flashed dangerously. "Really, it was! It wasn't her fault so you don't have to be angry at Sheik..."

"I am not," Impa said, which relieved him somewhat. "But rest assured I will be lecturing her most strongly when she returns. Until then, hero, you shall have to bear the brunt of my displeasure. Now explain."

Gulping, Link gripped the arms of the chair and braced himself for a very awkward and painful interrogation. And it seemed any questions he had about the pictograph in his pocket would have to wait...at least until Impa looked less ready to eviscerate something.

Chapter Text

Navi hadn't been exaggerating about the bitter wind blowing from upper Zora's river. Within hours of leaving Kakariko and beginning their trek further east, Link was colder than he had ever been in his life, doubled over and shivering despite the constant uphill climb. His numb fingers could barely keep hold of his cloak, and his hood kept blowing off. And things only became worse once night fell and heavy snowflakes began to drift down and pelted his face until his cheeks smarted. He was soon slogging through ankle-high powder that left his calves sodden.

Link halted at the crest of a hill, breathless as he squinted ahead in a futile effort to find the road. Hearing the crunch of snow behind him, he turned and reached back to lend Sheik a hand. She must have been tired since she grasped it without hesitation and let him haul her up the last few steps. They paused to rest, and Sheik crossed her arms beneath her cloak and surveyed the landscape with worried eyes. She called over the wind with a suggestion to seek shelter, which Link heartily agreed with. He looked ahead, blinking when he spotted a yellow-orange glow off in the distance like a lantern. But it remained fixed rather than bobbing around, and Link grinned when he realized it was coming from the window of a building. There were several buildings, in fact, an entire village nestled at the fork in the river.

With an eager wave of his hand, he forged straight for the village as fast as his aching legs would carry him. Sheik seemed reluctant to follow, muttering something that Link didn't catch over the wind, and he merely grabbed her hand again and tugged her onward. She resisted, her pleas becoming more insistent as they walked among the quaint houses on the river shore. This village was not a haven for refugees like Kakariko, and therefore it was not filled to the brim with people who had a reason to hate Ganondorf. There could be spies or mercenaries or plain thugs who had no qualms about taking their heads to the Gerudo king for a reward. Link supposed her worries were not unfounded, but the fear of what might happen was not enough to make him pass up a warm place to sleep.

Besides, he knew this village. He had spent the night here as a child on the way to Zora's domain for the third Spiritual Stone. And if it was anything like it had been seven years ago, then he and Sheik had nothing to worry about.

He pounded on the door of the common house, a long and sturdy building more than big enough to house the entire population of the village. Link suspected that was the case tonight when the door flung open and they were bombarded by a rush of light and warmth and cheerful voices laughing and talking, even singing. The bright-cheeked woman who had answered the door looked from Link's friendly and hopeful smile to Sheik's guarded stare, and she invited them in at once, informing them with a smile that they were just in time for a share of the communal dinner. Link gasped in relief once they were inside, flinging his hood back and dusting the snowflakes from his hair. Sheik kept her own hood up, but allowed her cloak to fall open, which made Link wonder if she was doing it just for comfort or to openly show the daggers she carried.

He was tempted to roll his eyes since there was nothing dangerous here and no need to put on a tough act. The common house was packed to the brim, a single great room with four long tables and benches where the villagers had gathered to eat and enjoy one another's company. A great hearth along the back wall held an enormous crackling fire, and Link could smell the roasting boar even from here. He turned his head toward the sprightly music, smiling when he recognized the curly-haired vocalist standing on a tiny stage in the corner near the fire. She was seven years older now, but still singing as beautifully as she had when Link was a child, accompanied by two others playing a fiddle and a small drum.

I came by a house last night,
And told the woman, "I am staying,"

I said to her, "The moon is bright,
And my fiddle's tuned for playing..."

The woman who had let them inside—and who Link learned was called Nisha—invited them to find seats somewhere in the chaos and left with the assurance that they would get plates and drinks just as soon as she had a spare moment. Sheik cautiously inquired after payment, which Nisha brushed off with a wave of her hand and left the Sheikah perplexed. Link shrugged, remarking on her kindness, which only seemed to leave Sheik more on edge, tense at the proximity of so many people. Link frowned as it dawned on him that he had never seen Sheik in the company of anyone except himself and Impa. He hadn't realized she was so antisocial.

Thinking to help her relax, Link nudged her and made a comment on the beauty of the music. Sheik agreed, but without much enthusiasm, both of them looking to the singer.

Don't go out into the cold,
Where the rain and wind are blowing,

For the fire is flaming gold,
And in here the music's flowing...

The curly-haired woman glanced in their direction at a break in the lyrics, and recognition lit up her eyes at the sight of Link, which surprised him since it had been so long since their first meeting. The singer waved and blew him a kiss, to the snickering and roaring approval of half the patrons who witnessed it. Sheik cast him a sideways glance as Link blushed and sank down in his chair and tried to vanish on the spot. He was eternally grateful when Nisha returned with their laden plates and two tall flagons of cider that instantly warmed Link's belly when he drank it down.

Sheik hesitated a moment, but the food proved too much temptation and she lowered her veil to eat, though she still refused to drop her hood and what little anonymity it offered. Link continued his own meal and tried to pretend his furtive glances were out of concern for her wellbeing and not a covert attempt to see her face around the hood's edge. Regrettably, Sheik was a quick eater and had the veil back up within moments. Link hid a sigh behind his flagon. Maybe some other time.

Tell me that the night is long,
Tell me that the moon is gleaming,

Fill my glass, I'll sing a song,
And we'll start the music streaming,

Until all the songs are sung!

The applause began even before the last verse was finished and continued on for some time. The winded singer curtsied once and pleaded for a short break. She hopped down from the stage and strode over to take a seat beside Link, not seeming to mind the Sheikah's cold stare as she badgered Link and asked if he remembered her at all. Link assured her that he did, but hesitated when the singer demanded to know where he had been for the past seven years. He had promised to come and visit, after all, and the reminder made Link wince because he had made similar promises to nearly all of his friends before his seven-year sleep.

Sheik swooped in to save him with an ambiguous traveling and mentioned that they had lately come from Kakariko. That had the unexpected boon of changing the singer's focus as she quickly asked after a cousin who lived there, citing the rumors of a dragon inside the mountain. Realizing the news had yet to spread, Link blurted out that there was no dragon anymore. The dragon had been killed.

The singer gaped at him in disbelief, then in growing awe as Link explained a little further, eventually convincing her that the disappearance of the ash cloud three weeks ago had signified the death of the dragon. And before he knew it she had jumped onto the table and announced the news to the entire common house at the top of her lungs. And barely half a minute later, Link found himself hauled up to the stage by dozens of incredulous and avid villagers, who seemed determined to have the story from him one way or another. He stood before them nervously, his tongue tied in a knot and feeling very exposed under all their eager stares, including Sheik.

But once he began the story, the words seemed to come all on their own. The villagers butted in with questions sometimes, but for the most part they were silent and rapt, and Link found even himself drawn into the narrative, his voice and actions becoming more animated as he wove the incredible tale for his audience. They gasped when he described the fierce battle between dragon and the hero, then cheered when the hero overcame his adversary with the legendary hammer, and not a few tears were shed when he told of the captured Gorons being reunited with their families, except for Darunia, who now watched over his people only in spirit.

The applause that broke out when Link finished was entirely spontaneous and left him blinking and smiling modestly. He stepped down while everyone was still reiterating the more exciting portions of the story, grateful to be free of the spotlight as he sought out Sheik again and took a very long drink to sooth his aching throat.

Sheik murmured to him quietly. She wondered why he had not told them that he was the one who had slain the dragon, instead referring to the hero as a separate person from himself. Link only shook his head, looking all around at the joyous faces of the villagers. Someone called a toast for the unknown hero, and Nisha declared it was time to break out the good ale, and within moments the occasion went from merely a gathering to an all-out celebration. Link turned back to Sheik with an easy grin. Why should he tell them? Why try to convince them of something like that? It was enough that they believed it in the first place. And besides, he teased, hadn't Sheik been the one to warn him about being careful with strangers?

Sheik gazed at him with a strange look in her eyes that made Link fidget and ask her what was the matter. She shook her head, brushing off the question, but Link noticed she seemed a little more relaxed now, her shoulders no longer hunched defensively. Still, she seemed perfectly content to just sit there and keep her distance from everyone and not speak a single word for the rest of the night. Link did not approve. So the next time someone requested more music, he loudly proclaimed that Sheik had an instrument and would be delighted to play for them all.

Sheik started and gave him a look of absolute horror and outrage, which Link responded to with a double thumbs-up, beaming. Her dire threat to mutilate his favorite hat as he slept was lost in the crowd as Sheik was herded from her seat and hauled to the front of the crowd much like Link had been earlier. The Sheikah unslung her lyre from the strap across her back, a slight tremble in her fingers, and she hesitated for a long moment as if unsure what to play.

But then she straightened and move her fingers across the strings decisively. Link thought she would play one of the temple melodies, but instead it was an entirely different song that he had never heard before. It was mellower than the music from earlier, but still with a whimsical and carefree feel to it. Some of the villagers seemed to recognize it too. The fiddler snatched up his instrument and added his part while others joined in with their own voices or simply shut their eyes and listened.

I don't know if you can see,
The changes that have come over me,
These last few days, I've been afraid,
That I might drift away...

I've been telling old stories, singing songs,
That make me think about where I come from,
That's the reason why I seem,
So far away today...

Link felt a touch on his arm and turned to the curly-haired singer, who seemed to take pity on him for not knowing the lyrics. As an orphan who had grown up in the forest, he hadn't learned any of the traditional ballads that Hylian children were expected to know. But Ganondorf had banished such songs when he came to the throne. Most in Hyrule were afraid to sing them now, for fear of his retribution. The singer expressed her wonder at Sheik's courage in choosing such a song.

Link let his attention move back to Sheik, a fond smile spreading across his face. Yes, he agreed. She was nothing if not brave. He drummed his fingers on the table, swaying in his seat. It was a beautiful song and left his heart caught halfway between happiness and longing. Without conscious thought, he took out the Ocarina of Time and began to follow along. The ocarina by itself might have been too mournful, but alongside Sheik's lyre, it added a poignancy that had been missing before. Sheik caught his eye as the singing voices around them swelled in strength until Link thought the entire kingdom could hear them. He couldn't even hear the storm outside anymore.

Let me tell you that I love you,
That I think about you all the time,
My golden Hyrule, you're calling me,
Now I'm going home...

The villagers began to clap and cheer even before the last notes had faded from Sheik's lyre. She held the instrument to her chest and bowed, thanking them in a soft voice. But where she would have stepped down, everyone begged her to remain and play another. Sheik faltered, her eyes flicking to Link a little desperately, but he only gave her a wicked grin and waved his hand in encouragement. Her shoulders slumped in resignation, but another song readily came to her fingers, and then another after that. The villagers listened eagerly to each and every one, regardless of whether they recognized the song or not, and Link wondered just how long it had been since this village had seen any travelers, let alone ones who had new songs and stories to share.

He leaned back in his chair, soaking up the utterly relaxed mood of the common house. It wasn't all that long before a full stomach and the warmth of the fire began to work their magic and he found himself slowly nodding off. Everyone else was beginning to wane as well, including Sheik who finally demanded a rest after the eighth song and stepped down from stage. Nisha began to clear plates from the tables, announcing to the room at large that whoever remained was welcome to help her clean up, and that was incentive enough to send nearly everyone trundling out the door and back to their own homes.

The curly-haired singer laid a hand on Link's shoulder and inquired softly if he and his friend wanted a place to stay for the night. Link jumped and stared at her blankly, having been startled from his doze, and he was grateful when Sheik appeared on his other side and explained politely that they would be staying in the common house. The singer and Sheik traded some kind of silent look that Link was too sleepy to decipher, and the singer eventually smiled and wished them goodnight before taking up her own cloak and braving the snow outside.

Link yawned and began to settle down in his chair again, and he grumbled a complaint when Sheik poked him awake and made him move closer to the fire. Nisha had already left them a pile of thick wool blankets, which they gratefully bundled into after removing their boots and extra layers of clothing. The fire was slow to burn down and kept their little corner perfectly cozy. Link drifted off almost at once, lulled by the crackling embers and the faint gusting of the wind outside. He wasn't sure how long he slept for, but knew the sun could not have risen yet when he was roused by the gentle strumming of a lyre. He turned his head until he could see Sheik leaning against one of the benches with a blanket around her shoulders and the lyre in her lap, contemplating the glowing coals in silence. Link remained silent, not wanting to disturb her, and also fascinated by the way the light glinted off her hair and softened her red eyes. It was always a mystery to him how her gaze could appear so intent and focused, and yet so far away at the same time.

Without looking, Sheik inquired if she had woken him. Link shook his head, slowly propping himself on his elbow. He wanted to ask what was wrong and why she couldn't sleep, but the question died before it could be spoken. He doubted she would answer, except to tell him that he shouldn't concern himself with such things.

Instead Link asked her about the song she was playing, but the neutral subject turned out to be less than neutral. Sheik quickly stilled her fingers and mumbled something about it being a song of her own creation and that it wasn't ready for listening ears yet. She refused to acknowledge his suddenly very curious gaze, and Link smiled craftily as he crawled closer and leaned against the bench at her shoulder, readjusting the blankets so his toes would stay warm. Sheik looked at him with daggers in her eyes and stubbornly asserted that no amount of pleading would make her perform the song. Link held up his hands in perfect innocence, feigning hurt that she would think him so sneaky and underhanded. He had only moved closer in the first place because he thought she could use some company. And it was warmer this way too.

Her gaze only narrowed further, and Sheik wondered aloud if he had consumed a little too much mead earlier. Link pouted since she knew perfectly well that he hadn't touched a drop of mead, only the cider. But he let the jab drop, content to just sit beside her and let his thoughts wander. And Link realized for the first time how much better it was to have someone here with him instead of traveling on his own. Navi could be good company sometimes, but her random bursts of chatter in his ear weren't the same as hearing a human voice. And when the fairy was asleep in his hat like now, it was easy to forget she was even there. Sheik's presence was a discreet, but constant comfort. It made Link wish she would travel with him more often and not only when he actually needed help finding his way.

Link shifted his position, pondering if he should ask her to stick around once they reached Zora's domain, but he wasn't sure how to word it without sounding needy. But Sheik ended up breaking the silence herself, murmuring a faint thank you that he almost didn't catch. He barely had a chance to be surprised as she elaborated. She had spent the past seven years watching Hyrule deteriorate. She had watched the lives of the people grow more difficult and dangerous with each day until they fought over the simplest things like food or money. Selfish and fearful, she had seen entire villages turn on one another, families torn and friends divided. It was painful for Sheik to see that...but so much worse because she had been exactly like them. To the point that she had trusted no one except Impa, not even him.

Sheik finally looked into his eyes with an emotion that he couldn't name. She was glad now that Link had brought her here. Even if she had been reluctant at first, the night had opened her eyes to the fact that Hyrule was not lost yet. Even if the land was ravaged, the people in it were far more resilient and generous of spirit than she had believed possible. And it was thanks to Link that she had learned as much. It was a lesson she would not forget, and from now on she intended to trust him more fully and not fall back into her solitary ways.

Link wasn't sure what to say at first, but a smile flitted across his face, and he asked if her decision to trust him meant they would spend more time together from now on. Sheik seemed taken aback by the query, but gave him a cautious nod. Yes, she supposed it did. It was all Link could do not to tackle her in a childish hug. But he restrained himself since Sheik was eyeing him warily like she suspected just what he had in mind and was deliberating whether to flee or not, arms protectively tight around the lyre.

An idea sprang to mind, and Link fished around in his pocket for the ocarina. He chewed on his lip, the last sign of hesitance before offering up his proposal. Since he and Sheik had decided to trust each other...then could he count on Sheik to keep a secret for him? She tilted her head, curiosity alighting in her eyes, and nodded. Link traced his fingers over the ocarina, explaining in a conspiring whisper that he had also written a song. It was nothing fancy or clever, but he hoped Sheik would listen anyway and tell him if it was any good.

More specifically...if it was good enough for the princess it had been written for.

Red eyes widened, but before she could speak one way or another, Link held up a warning finger. He would only play his song if she promised to play the one that she had written. Sheik faltered and looked from lyre to ocarina, visibly torn. Her agreement did not come easily, but Link pried it from her at length and delighted in her impatience as he raised the ocarina and began to play his secret song. It was very short, but full of affection and sincerity, and a little playful at times. It gave him the feeling of two friends meeting after a long time, but still recognizing each other, still remembering every game they played and every promise they vowed. It was how he hoped Zelda would feel once they stood face to face again, even though they had only met that one time.

Sheik listened, utterly still, her gaze never once leaving his face. When Link had finished the song, she leaned back and said nothing, her shoulders giving an odd quiver. Link fiddled with the ocarina, suddenly nervous, and he began to wonder if the song was so horrible that he had rendered her incapable of speech. Then he feared maybe Sheik was annoyed for a different reason. Maybe she was mad at him because he had written a song for Zelda and not one for her. He started babbling. It was the first song he had ever created, and it had come about more from boredom than anything else, but he planned to write plenty more in the future, at least one for each of his friends. And he would definitely write one for Sheik too, just as soon as he came up with something, but it might take him a little while because he wanted to make sure it was perfect, and...

Sheik halted his rambling with a hand on his arm, and Link froze. But he relaxed when she praised him for the song and called it one of the most magnificent she had ever heard. Zelda was sure to love it. Link smiled humbly and hoped his face wasn't too red in the light of the fire. He glanced pointedly at the lyre, and Sheik chuckled as her fingers moved to the strings, quick to disclaim that her song was far from flawless and she hoped his ears weren't bleeding by the time she was done. Link teased that it couldn't possibly be worse than his singing voice, which had been known to make fairies drop dead in midflight. Navi was only alive because she had gone deaf from her own screeching long ago.

Sheik snorted, controlling her laughter, and began to play. Link decided within two seconds that he liked it and within ten that he loved it. It was a peaceful sort of song, not quite a lullaby, but enough to make him lean on her shoulder and listen with his eyelids lowered. And it only got ten times better when Sheik began to sing.

In a world so far away,
At the end of a closing day,

A little child was born and raised,
Deep in the forest on a hidden place,

Mother never saw his face...

Link grinned and commented that this was beginning to sound familiar. Sheik peeked at him in apprehension, but he nudged her with encouragement to keep going. The tautness in her shoulders eased, and Sheik continued one, singing of the child and his life among the woods, befriended by the forest spirits and never wanting for anything. Never lonely, never hungry, never knowing sadness or pain. It was the kind of life Link had always longed for whenever he wished for a fairy to come to him. And while he cherished Navi's companionship, she still hadn't been quite enough to fill up his heart. That had only come later when he ventured beyond the forest and came to Hyrule and met the princess in the castle courtyard.

Link sighed to himself and shut his eyes. He was a different person now, nothing at all like the boy in the song.

A thousand seasons, they passed him by,
So many times, have said goodbye,

And when the Spirits called out his name,
To join forever, forever to stay,

A forest spirit, he became...

The song came to an end. She didn't speak for a long moment, and he realized too late she was waiting for his verdict. And that his eyes were still closed. Sheik jerked away roughly, depriving his cheek of its resting place, and demanded to know why he was sleeping while she was performing a song she had written for him. Link barely managed to catch himself from toppling over and hastily tried to explain he had only been resting his eyes, though the massive yawn he failed to contain did little to help his case. Sheik narrowed her eyes and looked the other way in disgust.

Fearing she had changed her mind about spending more time with him, Link resorted to begging. Just give him the chance to make it up to her. If she played him another song, then this time Link would stay wide awake and keep his eyes open for the entire duration. And if he didn't, then she could follow through on her earlier threat to maim his hat, no matter how much the thought made him cringe. He loved that hat, and so did Navi. The fairy's inevitable fury over its loss would be punishment enough.

Sheik seemed to mull over his peace offering and eventually agreed to one more song, inquiring neutrally which one he would like to hear. Link didn't even need to mull over his answer. Sheik met his gaze in mild surprise, and a bit of warmth returned to her eyes. Link leaned on her again, his lips twitching into a smile, watching her fingers move across the strings so slowly like she was coaxing a wild fairy to her hand. He hummed along, satisfied to let her do the singing. And he inwardly added one more 'friend' to that mental list of songs he planned to write someday.

My golden Hyrule, you're calling me,
Now I'm going home...

Chapter Text

The tower was a curious contradiction of itself. The lower levels gave one a sense of entrapment, dank and cramped and confusing to navigate. And while the emptiness of the dungeons might have been a good sign, it merely meant prisoners were executed too quickly to make themselves at home. One might have expected the upper levels of the tower to be much the same, but the contrast was almost startling. There was not a single window that was not crafted of the finest stained glass, not an inch of wall or floor that was not draped in richly-hued tapestries and thick rugs woven by Gerudo hands. Powerful magic imbued into the stone kept the temperature absolutely perfect, despite the lake of magma surrounding the entire keep. It was all very tasteful in its extravagance, if lacking the antiquated charm of Hyrule Castle.

Zelda despised it with every fiber of her being.

And yet, she continued on, ascending the spiraling stairway until she reached the highest level of the tower. Two heavy and gilded doors barred her way, and Zelda paused before she entered. She breathed once, relaxing her muscles, clearing her mind of all stray thoughts and emotions until she was stoic. Until she had reached a state of mind when she could suspend her humanity and view the world around her with utter detachment. Nothing could touch her. She was ice.

The doors opened to her touch, and Zelda strode into the majestic throne room, calmly meeting the eyes of the man who had killed her father. He stood by the eastern windows and only turned his head enough to acknowledge her presence, then returned to his contemplation of Death Mountain, hands clasped behind his back. He had forgone the resplendent cape he normally favored, and the sight of his broad shoulders and a sliver of bare neck above his collar nearly shattered her illusory armor. How easy it would be, how satisfying, to draw her dagger and slash it across his throat and see his lifeblood splattered all over the window...

...but instead she swallowed back the hatred, the crazed thirst for vengeance, and knelt to the floor with both palms resting on the stone, head bowed in a show of perfect subservience.

"My lord, Ganondorf."

The respectful words came so easily, but even though it was a false allegiance, it still left the taste of bile in her throat. Ganondorf said nothing, but made a motion with his hand, permitting her to rise. Zelda straightened and watched as he crossed the room and lowered himself onto the throne, his amber eyes fixated on her with an intensity that made her shake inside. She could remember being a little girl and being so terrified of that gaze, visions of a terrible future always flashing before her eyes. Very little had changed in seven years. Ganondorf had always been imposing, had always carried the kind of presence that made even the most courageous of men feel miniscule. And now with the aura of the Triforce surrounding him, imbued into his very flesh, it was like standing before a god.

It was a harsh reminder of why she could never act on such a savage impulse. She could train under Impa every day for the rest of her life and still never be a match for Ganondorf, either in magic or strength of arms. The only way Zelda could triumph would be to strike swiftly at a moment when he could not fight back, but Ganondorf was never so unguarded even around his servants. She would have to possess either extraordinary patience or extraordinary luck to succeed, and Zelda was not confident she had either.

"I expected your report a week ago," Ganondorf said, not bothering to hide his displeasure, but he sounded subdued like he had much more on his mind than her presence. "You are not typically so overdue, Sheik."

"Delay could not be avoided," Zelda said and left it at that. "The hero—"

"Do not call him that in my presence."

Zelda swallowed at the frosty reminder. "Link and I briefly crossed paths in Zora's domain, but now he travels south with great haste. I believe his destination is Lake Hylia."

"Lake Hylia," Ganondorf muttered, his hand tightening into a fist on the arm of the throne. "That persistent little...he must have learned the source of the curse. But how could he...? No, never mind that now. Report. Tell me exactly what occurred at the domain."

Zelda nodded once, sensing his impatience, and carefully began to speak. Picking up where her last report had ended, she described how she had followed Link as he journeyed to Zora's domain in search of the Sage of Water, only altering the details as necessary. She let Ganondorf believe that Link had been the one to set Ruto free through methods unknown, and now it was presumed the two would rendezvous at Lake Hylia and work together to dispel the curse on the Zora people.

When asked why she had not killed the Zora princess while she had the chance, Zelda simply said that Ruto had already left the domain by the time she arrived, and so she had missed the opportunity. Ganondorf scowled deeply at that, regarding her in a mixture of disgust and frustration. This was hardly the first time she had conveniently failed to eliminate one of the sages, thus allowing Link to continue his journey unhindered, and inside Zelda began to fear how this encounter would end. Ganondorf may have been a man blinded by his ambition, but he was no fool. With each passing day, the risk of her true intentions being discovered only increased. She could not conceal it forever.

But she had come too far now, become too entangled in the web. It was through her own carelessness that events had played out this way. She had certainly not intended to be captured by Ganondorf's minions on the very day Link was to awaken in the Temple of Time. The horde of Stalfos had caught her by surprise at the gates of Castle Town, quickly overpowering her and then dragging her up to the tower. At that moment, battered from the skirmish and forced to her knees before Ganondorf, Zelda had known with a terrifying certainty that all was lost. Her kingdom, her life, all of it. In the end, those seven long years of preparation would amount to nothing.

But the goddesses had been with her that day. Ganondorf had looked at her and seen only a Sheikah warrior, not a princess in disguise. And that had been her last hope.

When Ganondorf harshly demanded to know her identity, Zelda had looked him in the eye and lied as she never had in her life. She told him a tale of a nonexistent Sheikah family whose members had chosen to forsake the ways of their people, not wanting to chain themselves to the royal family as so many generations before. Such a decision was as good as treason, or it had been several centuries ago, long before Impa's time. But Ganondorf was the ruler of a hard people, steeped in tradition and rigid in their hierarchy, and it was not at all farfetched for him to believe the Sheikah were the same. That they would slaughter their own kin rather than accept such dishonor. Zelda had allowed her voice to tremble when she spoke of her father being murdered and herself becoming an exile, let the rage and grief burn hot in her eyes, and she knew it had been that more than anything which convinced Ganondorf of her sincerity.

But that had not been the end of the interrogation. Ganondorf had still wished to know why an exiled Sheikah lurked so close to his domain, dressed in the traditional garb of an assassin even when it was clear the royal family was gone, along with her chance for retribution. Zelda had thought frantically, knowing that everything depended on what she said next, but in the end there had only been one way to both protect Link and to save herself.

Not all the royal family is gone. You still seek the princess, Zelda. And so do I. She is the reason for my presence.

Do not test my patience, Sheikah. You cannot expect me to believe the princess is here. That is sheer lunacy.

I do not speak of her, but the one who will lead me to her. Listen well...the Hero of Time returns, on this day in the Temple of Time. This I have seen, for it is in the blood of my people to know the truth. I intend to seek him out, to present myself as an ally. I will gain his trust, and when the day comes that Zelda reveals herself to him...then I will have my revenge on the last of the royal family.

That particular gamble had nearly been her undoing. Ganondorf had dismissed her words completely and had her taken down to the dungeons. But less than an hour later, he had come to her cell in a much more receptive state of mind. And without any prompting on Zelda's part, Ganondorf had offered her exactly what she wanted. He would set her free and permit her to do as she originally intended, lending her aid to Link. But when the princess showed herself, Ganondorf had made it clear that she was to instead kill the hero and capture the princess to bring before him. And he had given his word that Zelda would suffer enough to satisfy them both.

Unsettled by both his threat and his abrupt change of heart, Zelda had agreed to the bargain. And in doing so had become an agent of the most dangerous man in the world.

"Very well," Ganondorf said once she had finished her report and fallen silent. He leaned forward and studied her over his steepled fingers. "And have you nothing further to report? Have you learned naught of the princess? Her whereabouts, her plans? Has that boy so much as breathed her name in the time you've spent with him?"

"He...speaks of her," Zelda faltered. "But only in the manner of a concerned and loyal vassal. If he knows her location, he keeps it close to his heart, but I do not believe he has had any form of contact with the princess. All of his actions thus far have been of his own volition."

Ganondorf gave a skeptical snort. "Let's not give the boy too much credit. Eager he might be, but for he alone to have located the first two sages so quickly and defeated the guardians I placed on those temples? No, he is far too daft to have orchestrated all this without assistance. Zelda is aiding him, she must be."

Zelda bit her tongue to hold back the impulsive retort that Link was more than resourceful enough to have accomplished so much on his own. She had purposely given the impression in previous reports that Link was ignorant and a little bumbling so that Ganondorf would not see him as a threat. It helped that the last Ganondorf had seen of Link, he had only been a boy and barely able to hold the sword he wielded. But that harmless image had become much harder to preserve as time went on, particularly after the death of Volvagia. And that in turn made these encounters more difficult as Zelda tried to hand over enough information to satisfy Ganondorf without jeopardizing Link's life or his quest.

"But that still leaves the question of how," Ganondorf said, rising again. He paced back and forth before the throne, rubbing his jaw in deep thought. "How does he keep in such close contact with the princess if not face to face? If we can intercept their messages, then it may give us a clue as to where she is hiding. You have spent more than enough time in his company. You must have seen something."

"I truly do not know," Zelda said, heart pounding since it was a hazardous answer to give. "He writes no letters that I have seen, nor receives any. And he travels almost constantly, either on foot or horseback, but always alone. He is never in the same place more than a few days in a row."

"What about a human messenger?" Ganondorf snapped. "Could he be meeting with spies of the princess in the towns he passes through?"

"That would be difficult with the sheer quantity of spies that you have bribed among the populace," Zelda said and cursed herself for allowing a thread of antipathy to slip through. "In any case...Link is very sociable by nature and speaks with a great number of people, both friends and perfect strangers. It would be difficult to ascertain which might be spies."

"Hmm," Ganondorf murmured in thought. "And if the princess does not entrust her precious hero with her location, then it is doubtful she would bestow that information on any of the common rabble. They must be communicating in some other way."

"Perhaps through magical means," Zelda suggested halfheartedly.

Ganondorf shot her an impatient look. "You told me yourself that he has no magic, other than that which the Great Fairies have granted him," he spat. But then he halted his pacing, expression clearing. "No, of course. Why did I not think of it before? That little fairy of his..."

Zelda blanched beneath her veil. Oh goddesses...please no...

"She is small and insignificant enough to flit about unnoticed," Ganondorf said, a cruel smile playing across his features, and Zelda dearly wanted to strike him. "Yes, that must be it...the sprite is acting as their messenger. Bring her to me, Sheik. Fragile as those creatures are, I doubt it will take very long to pry the truth out of her..."

"I cannot!" Zelda blurted out, and Ganondorf snapped his gaze to her in displeasure. She forced herself to calm down and keep her voice steady. "I highly doubt Navi is acting as their messenger. She never leaves his side, not even for an instant. And for that same reason, I do not believe I could lay my hands on her. Even if Link did not catch me in the act, he would notice her absence at once."

"All the better then," Ganondorf said without sympathy. "Perhaps the boy will be so distracted that he will abandon Ruto to search for his beloved fairy. A hero, indeed."

"He would suspect me of taking her," Zelda said, desperate now, but struggling not to seem as if she was pleading. "It would destroy everything I have done to build his trust. And...and furthermore, should the fairy be their messenger, then her disappearance may also put Zelda on guard and cause her to take further precautions. It should be a last resort."

"So you propose that I take no action whatsoever and entrust the task of finding the princess to you," Ganondof said in derision. "You, who have failed to bring me even a scrap of useful information. You, who have squandered the past two months 'building his trust' when in the same amount of time I could have been rid of him and only had the princess to worry about, not these sages who now lend him their power. Do you fully understand what will happen if that boy continues his astounding streak of good fortune and manages to awaken them all?"

"Yes," Zelda said, understanding even better than he knew and inwardly praying for that day with all her heart. "But that is only if all are awakened. There is still time for me to complete my task. But until then I must continue on as I am. If...when Link is summoned by the princess, I must be in a position where he will take me into his confidence and allow me to accompany him."

"Take you into his confidence," Ganondorf muttered with a trace of a smirk. Zelda narrowed her eyes, not understanding what was so comical, but she decided it was in her best interest not to ask and kept her voice firm.

"I need more time."

"It is not your place to make such demands," Ganondorf said, the humor draining from him. He crossed his arms, frighteningly impassive as he continued to watch her. "I once had such faith in you, Sheik of the Sheikah. When I first saw the fire of vengeance burning in your eyes, I felt a kinship with you. I felt your outrage and sorrow as though it were my own. But with each passing day, I sense that fire growing colder, and I find myself more and more doubtful of your motivation. I find myself wondering...are you still the same person as you were on that day you came before me?"

He knows, Zelda thought in a blind panic before she came to her senses. If he knew who she truly was, then he wouldn't bother to toy with her like this. But that didn't mean she was any safer. The delicate line she had been treading all this time was about to snap, and she had a terrible feeling that it had been fraying all along without her notice.

Breathing deeply, Zelda made herself match Ganondorf stare for stare. "I assure you, my motivation has in no way diminished..."

"You have assured me of many things," Ganondorf said sourly. "But you have consistently failed to deliver on your promises. You told me that you could find Zelda, and yet you cannot even accomplish the simplest task of extracting information from a boy. Your Sheikah ancestors would surely be offended if they could see what a failure their descendant is as a spy and a cutthroat."

"I have no interest in what my ancestors might think of myself or my actions," Zelda retorted with all the bitterness she could manage. "I have turned my back on their ways."

"And you find it so easy to also turn your back on the royal family?" Ganondorf challenged her. He stepped away from the throne and began to approach her in measured steps. "Even if betraying the princess also means betraying him?"

"Of course," Zelda said, barely masking her apprehension as the distance between them diminished until he stood right beside her, shoulder to shoulder. She held absolutely still, knowing that if her hands so much as twitched for her daggers, then she would be struck down in an instant. All she could do was wait while he deliberately let the silence stretch, the tension humming along her nerves until she felt like she was suffocating.

"Your words say one thing, but your eyes say otherwise," Ganondorf murmured. "I think you're lying to me. And you've been lying for quite some time."

"...I do not know what you mean," Zelda said quietly, her gaze fixed straight ahead, but her gut churned with dread until she thought it would make her physically sick. Her eyes flicked down to his right hand which carried the symbol of the Triforce, radiant in the light spilling through the windows, and her foreboding only intensified.

"I'm going to ask you one question, and you have only one chance to answer honestly," Ganondorf said, and she stiffened when he leaned closer to speak directly into her ear. "That boy...do you care about him?"

Zelda flinched and turned her head sharply. "What?"

"It's a simple question," Ganondorf said, still deathly calm, a contrast to his usual explosive bursts of temper. "I believed you when we first met, that your only interest was for the princess and he was merely an obstacle. A fool to be exploited and then cast aside. But that's no longer true, is it? I can see you've grown fond of him, and do not think you can convince me otherwise. I have spent my entire life in the company of the opposite gender. I know the look of a woman in love."

He knows I'm a woman? Zelda thought in shock. The revelation put her off balance, as he had likely intended, and it took far too much time to overcome her agitation and realize she had yet to defend herself against the other accusation. One which held far more truth than Zelda was willing to admit. Her first instinct was to vehemently deny it, but she feared such a strong reaction would only work in his favor. She could not let Ganondorf believe that she had any feelings for Link whatsoever, or else he would surely use those feelings in any way he could, to manipulate them both. She would not grant him any more power over them than he already possessed.

Zelda turned away, striving to appear completely indifferent. "Ridiculous," she said coldly.

Ganondorf chuckled, and to her relief, he stepped back. "Very well. Deny it, if you will. Ordinarily, I would not involve myself in such a personal affair...but it does concern me. How can your dagger find its mark in his heart if that is the very part of him you treasure most?"

"You are mistaken," Zelda said and wished she had spoken with more conviction. "He is nothing to me. Only a means to an end."

"Then treat him as one!" Ganondorf snapped, suddenly harsh. "If you have truly gained his friendship, as you claim, then it should be no effort at all to learn from his own mouth how he communes with the princess. And it occurs to me now that you have yet to use the very simplest means of extracting information. One which would not involve pain or coercion and might well encourage him to place even more faith in you."

Zelda arched her eyebrow, unsure of what he was insinuating. "And that would be...?"

Ganondorf heaved out a deep sigh like she was being deliberately dense. "You are a young woman, he is a young man," he said bluntly. "Perhaps you are not much to look at...far too skinny and not in the least bit feminine in your appearance or actions. But still, given his gullible nature, I doubt he would turn down your advances if you offered them so readily."

Her eyes widened before she could help it, her mouth dropping open, and Zelda was so stunned that she couldn't form the words to respond. She honestly didn't know whether to be offended or repulsed by the suggestion that she use her body in such a way. But, Zelda supposed as her face burned beneath the veil, embarrassment swiftly replaced by fury, she supposed it was not so surprising that Ganondorf would propose such a thing. The Gerudo were not known for their virtue in such matters. It was nothing for him to consider, and he assumed it would be nothing to her either.

Zelda drew herself up, glowering at the usurper king. "The Sheikah are above such base methods," she hissed. "I will thank you to remember that, while I have forsaken the usual traditions, I still retain my honor as an individual and a warrior of the shadows. I will not disgrace myself in such a way!"

She turned sharply and began to stride across the throne room, intending to leave much more quickly than she had come. She was bristling with so much anger that Zelda didn't realize the danger she had put herself in, the grave sin she had committed by allowing herself to behave like a princess instead of a meek servant. Not until Ganondorf spoke again, so softly that she nearly missed it, but it was impossible to mistake the wrath that made his voice rumble like an oncoming storm.

"I did not dismiss you yet."

Zelda froze when she sensed a rush of magic behind her, powerful magic that made the air crackle and brought a metallic taste to her mouth. Looking back, she glimpsed a dazzling orb hurtling straight for her and tried to twist aside, but the orb clipped her in the shoulder, and she screamed as electricity coursed through her body and made her crumple to her hands and knees. The orb shattered the window behind her, and Zelda threw her arms over her head as shards of glass rained down, though most of them were mercifully blasted outward. The temperature in the room rose dramatically as a scorching wind howled through the gap, bringing with it the heat of the volcanic crater.

Glass crunched nearby, warning her of Ganondorf's approach. Zelda struggled to rise, her limbs aching and stinging where the glass had cut her. She could feel blood trickling down her cheek. One hand went for the dagger on her belt while the other went for a throwing knife, and horror gripped her when both weapons refused to leave their sheaths, both hilts imbued with a faint blue glow. That attack had done far more than simply knock her down. Ganondorf had cursed her so she couldn't draw her weapons. She braced her feet apart, prepared to defend herself with her hands alone, but she lost her footing on the broken glass and began to topple backwards toward the open window. She might have fallen had Ganondorf not lunged and seized her by the throat, not to save her but to merely let her dangle above the sheer drop, effortlessly holding her up with one arm. Zelda gripped his wrist, choking and unable to draw breath, but terrified of being released only to fall to her death either in the lava or on one of the terraces below.

"You won't?" Ganondorf snarled and tightened his grip until her vision wavered and she let her arms fall to her sides. "I give you a direct order as your lord and master, and you say you won't?Because of your honor? Let me make one thing very clear to you, Sheikah dog. As long as you work for me, as long as you are mine to command, you have no honor!"

He drew her closer and lessened his grip just enough so she could open her eyes and see his murderous fury. "You will get me the information I need," he growled. "And you will use any means possible to do it. If asking doesn't work, then seduce him. If that yields nothing, then torture him. Kill his friends, pluck the wings from his fairy, burn his precious forest to the ground. Whatever it takes, you will succeed and be grateful I don't make you suffer in his place! Do you understand?"

She wanted to refuse. Even fearing for her life, Zelda longed to spit in his face and tell him that she would not obey. She would rather die than bow her head to this monster. She would rather live in agony than harm someone else in his name. But she couldn't...because that was what Zelda would do. And she was not Zelda at this moment, but Sheik, the one who guided the Hero of Time. And for his sake, she had to stay alive at all costs.

She coughed, eyes streaming, giddy from the fumes that she was forced to breathe. "Y-Yes..."

"Speak louder!"

"Yes!" Zelda gasped, and she nearly sobbed in relief when Ganondorf pulled her back inside and let her drop to the floor. Her breaths were wheezing and painful, and she nursed her neck with one hand, which was still tender and most likely bruised. She didn't dare to raise her head yet, badly shaken from the narrow escape and fearing that he might change his mind about ending her there and then.

"You speak of honor," Ganondorf murmured above her head. "Your honor as a warrior...but what about your honor as your father's daughter? You saw him killed before your eyes, slaughtered by your kin, leaving you to fend for yourself. To seek justice for his murder should be honor enough, the sole purpose worth clinging to. Have you so quickly forgotten how you were wronged by the royal family? Have you forgotten the very reason you returned to Hyrule?"

Zelda shuddered, knowing exactly the reaction Ganondorf hoped to inspire. Memories crashed upon her, vivid memories of her castle burning and her father sprawled dead on the ground with a Gerudo scimitar driven through his heart. She let them stoke the grief inside her, the ire that she had kept bottled up ever since she was a child, and Zelda snapped her head up, letting all that anguish show in her eyes and the tears now streaming down her face.

"I haven't forgotten! I'll never forget what was done to my father! If it's the very last thing I do, my final act in this world, I will avenge him! I swear it!"

Ganondorf said nothing to her shouted oath, his expression like stone. Zelda never once averted her gaze, trembling and barely restraining herself from lashing out. I'll kill you, she thought viciously. One day I will see you dead. By my own hand, if I must.

And at last, Ganondorf seemed satisfied for he smiled and turned away. "Hatred suits you far better than love. Now, leave. And do not return until you have something worthwhile to report."

Ordinarily, Zelda would have bowed once and departed with her head high, retaining her composure until long after she had left the tower. But this time she fled at a dead run, her tears still falling as she burst through the doors and tore down the staircase, hearing his laughter echo after her.

There was a definite autumn chill in the air tonight, crisp and cool, causing her fingers and the tips of her ears to feel numb. The inn had never looked more inviting, quaint and sturdy with warm candlelight flickering in several of the windows. Standing in the shelter of a tree that had not yet lost its leaves, Zelda breathed into her hands and watched the darkened window which belonged to the room Link had taken for the night. It wasn't hard to guess that was the one. It was the only window with a horse standing guard below it. The mare flicked an ear in her direction as Zelda stepped from the shadows, nostrils flaring to take in her scent, and Epona whickered softly and went back to dozing.

"Shouldn't you be in the stables?" Zelda murmured as she stroked the mare's white mane. Epona only tossed her head as if to flaunt the broken rope trailing from her halter. Zelda smiled to herself, then tensed when she heard the strident caw of a guay close by. She turned her head ever so slightly, spotting the crow's silhouette perched in the tree she had been hiding beneath. Harmless beasts that were seen as little more than nuisances, but Zelda knew and loathed their true purpose. Their beady eyes acted as Ganondorf's eyes. He was watching her right at this moment, had been watching her from the moment she left his tower days before.

Zelda turned away from the crow. She supposed it was time to show what a faithful servant she was. She scaled the outer wall of the inn, finding handholds in the decorative woodwork and the vines creeping up the sides. In only a moment she had reached Link's window, which she found already cracked open to let in the fresh air. Zelda listened closely and only moved when she heard his deep and steady breathing, carefully easing her legs inside until they touched the floor and she could duck in the rest of the way. Noiselessly, she shut the window behind her and drew the curtains across it, holding still in the darkness to get her bearings. The shadows were chased back when Navi poked her head out of Link's hat on the nightstand, the fairy watching her even as Zelda watched Link. A bitter and wretched feeling swelled in her throat. He looked so peaceful, lost to the world, tangled up in the blanket with one arm hanging off the side of the bed. He hadn't even heard her enter, though she might just as easily have been an enemy, a dagger in the dark come to cause him harm.

She wanted for a moment to approach him, to readjust the blanket so he wouldn't be cold, to just sit there and watch him sleep. But instead Zelda moved to the far corner of the room and sank down against the wall heavily, arms around her knees. She had come far enough. As long as she left before the sun rose, then Link would never be aware of her presence. And Ganondorf could assume what he liked about what had occurred this night.

As for what she would tell Ganondorf when next she reported...Zelda pushed that thought aside. She had no idea what she would do. Returning to the tower without any further information would be dangerous. But then, so was refusing to return at all. If Ganondorf thought he had lost his Sheikah servant, then he would send someone to hunt her down and retrieve her by force. And whomever he sent would know exactly where to find her, in the company of the Hero of Time.

"Then what am I to do?" Zelda whispered, helpless tears brimming in her eyes. She hugged her knees tighter, determined not to make a sound and awaken Link. If it came to it, the only real way to protect herself from Ganondorf would be to hide. To enter a true exile and have no contact with Link, or with anyone at all. And Zelda despised that notion so much because it was little more than abandonment. It was running away rather than fighting, and if there was one thing Link had taught her, it was that fleeing was as good as admitting defeat.

Link...what would he do if Sheik suddenly failed to appear before him? How would he react if his guide simply disappeared? Swiping away one of her tears, Zelda peeked at his sleeping form across the room. He might think that something terrible had happened. Or he might think she had deserted him, left him to face this battle alone. She couldn't possibly do that to him, not after everything he had gone through. But Zelda could think of no way to explain it to him, except to tell the entire truth about herself, and that would only put him in unnecessary danger to carry that knowledge with him. When it came right down to it, Link was safer in his ignorance.

Zelda squeezed her eyes shut, biting her lip against strangled sobs. If it came to that, to leaving him on his own...then she would simply have to trust him to understand. Her heart ached, not because she didn't trust him, but because she did. It hadn't always been that way. Months ago, when she had first appeared before Link inside the Temple of Time, Zelda had despaired when she looked upon him, a boy in a man's body who was far more dependent on her than she on him. He cannot possibly defeat my enemy, she had thought back then. But with the Master Sword in his hands, Zelda had found her own hands tied. He had been chosen by destiny. He would be the one to kill Ganondorf, not her. It had frightened her as much as it galled her, to place everything in his hands. It had felt like surrender in the beginning.

But he had proven himself. Time and again, he had proven himself and grown in strength and confidence, but never lost the gentleness that Zelda had always admired. The boy was becoming a hero right before her eyes, and even though she had come to believe in him, it only made her hate herself more. Link had never asked for this. He had been innocent and far removed from the conflict, but he had been dragged into it anyway, and all because she wasn't strong enough to do what needed to be done.

Whether as a child or an adult, a princess or a Sheikah, it seemed she was fated to always be powerless.

She heard a chime of gossamer wings as Navi flew to her side and hovered there in silence. Zelda ignored the fairy, keeping her face hidden in her folded arms, and Navi soon left her alone and returned to the bed. Link stirred and mumbled something, and Zelda thought he had only spoken in his sleep until she heard the blankets shifting further as he sat upright.

"Sheik?"

Zelda became rigid and couldn't find it in her to answer at first. But she unfolded her arms and raised her head, keeping her face turned away. "Go back to sleep, hero," she whispered.

"Sheik, what's wrong?" Link asked, no doubt hearing the thickness in her voice, the way her words had hitched. His own voice was filled with concern and confusion, which was to be expected. She had gone to great lengths to keep her emotions to herself, and especially to keep him from ever seeing her tears. Dismay filled her when she heard him slide from the bed and cross the room in bare feet to kneel before her, one hand reaching out. Zelda turned away further, knowing that if she saw his face, his eyes, it would break her completely.

"What's wrong?" Link repeated, sounding more urgent. "Sheik, why...did something happen? Are you hurt?"

"No. Go back to sleep."

"You're shaking," Link said, and Zelda might have denied it had he not chosen to rest his hand over hers at that moment, his touch derailing her thoughts. She tried to reassure him that she was fine and nothing was wrong, but she made the mistake of looking at him first. His face anxious and his eyes distressed as he sought a way to comfort his guide when there had never been a need before. It had always been her aiding him, not the other way around. Her chest tightened and her throat locked up until she couldn't speak at all.

He reached for her again, and Zelda almost shrank away, except there was nowhere to retreat to. Her breath faltered in panic when his fingers brushed the edge of her veil, but he only tugged it down enough to see the shallow gash just beneath her eye. It wasn't the only place where the broken glass had cut her, but it was the worst. A potion hadn't been quite enough to erase the scar. His gaze darkened with anger until he appeared almost predatory.

"What did this to you?"

"...nothing," Zelda said and brushed his fingers aside to cover it again. "It's always been there."

"You expect me to believe that?" Link snapped, frustration creeping into his words. "Sheik, I've never seen you like this before! You've never been...scared like this. Why won't you tell me what happened? Why can't you...?"

"Link," Zelda interrupted, and he fell silent. She looked at him in torment. "Is it so hard to believe that even I would lose hope sometimes?"

And that seemed to be all she needed to say. Link's expression softened, lips parting, the creases on his forehead smoothing out. His compassion was too much for her to take. Zelda couldn't stand lying to him as well. She began to rise. "I should not have come here. I will leave now..."

"Wait," Link said, touching her arm to keep her in place. He rose and went to the bed, retrieving the blanket which he then brought back to her and draped around her shoulders. He fussed with it, ensuring it covered her as much as possible, like he thought shielding her from the cold would also keep her safe from her sorrows.

"You don't have to go. You can stay, if you want. I...I don't need to know what happened, you don't have to tell me. Just stay here. Just stay..."

And slowly, Zelda realized that was exactly what she wanted too. To stay and just be near him, to know beyond a doubt that they were both safe, if only for a single night. She clutched at the blanket, still carrying his warmth, and began to weep even harder than before. Link almost seemed to panic at her reaction, and especially when she leaned forward and clung to him with all her strength, crying uncontrollably into his shoulder. But he recovered from his surprise and wrapped his arms around her, hushing her softly, promising again and again that nothing could harm her here. Even if Ganondorf himself should come to the door, he would protect her.

And Zelda believed him. She believed him so ardently that her tears dried up sooner than she expected and she simply listened to his heartbeat with her eyes closed, savoring his warmth and his scent. She felt Link press his lips into her hair, stroking her back and arms, and it lulled her until she felt herself drifting off. But when she would have resisted, Link whispered to her, reminding her of his promise to let her stay. She felt herself being lifted in his arms, then laid down on a much softer surface, and that was the last thing Zelda knew of that night. She awoke to the sound of birds outside the window and a sliver of dawn peeking through the curtains. Her eyes snapped open, and she threw back the blanket, alarmed to find herself lying on the bed, but memory returned when she located Link asleep on the floor, arms crossed and head resting on his pack of supplies in what seemed to her a very uncomfortable position. He would certainly wake with a sore neck.

Zelda stared down at her hands, feeling guilty and somewhat embarrassed that Link had tucked her in like a child. She hadn't wanted to make him feel obliged to give up his comfort for her. He rarely had the chance to sleep in a real bed, even on the coldest of nights. But gratitude outweighed those feelings. Quietly, taking care not to make noise, Zelda eased herself out of the bed. And since she had no more need of the blanket, she crouched down and laid it over Link, letting her fingers ghost over his cheek.

"Thank you," Zelda whispered. She heard Navi flit by her ear as she stood up again, and Zelda turned her attention to the fairy. Holding out her hand, she was both surprised and pleased when the fairy alighted in her palm, perfectly trusting.

"Stay very close to him from now on. Ganondorf is beginning to see the threat he poses. He will try to harm Link however he can, including by hurting those he loves. And he knows of you. He knows of the bond between Kokiri and their fairies."

Navi shuddered in her hand and immediately darted down to hide behind Link's ear, which even Zelda had to agree was the safest place for her. Link's face twitched like he had felt the small creature burrowing in his hair, and Zelda knew it was best to take her leave. She had avoided his questions the night before, but she was no more ready to face them in the light of day. But as she made for the door, Navi suddenly flew in front of her.

"What about you?"

Zelda stared at the fairy, taken aback to hear her tiny voice. "What do you mean?"

Navi flicked her wings. "Link loves you too," she said.

He loves me? Zelda thought, stunned and feeling a surge of happiness and tender warmth. She peeked back at the hero and strove to contain herself. Navi most likely only meant as a friend and nothing more. But still, even that was cause for gladness. She smiled beneath her veil and reached for the doorknob.

"I will keep myself safe. You need not worry. I will see you both again."

"Soon?"

Zelda nodded. "Yes, soon," she promised and shut the door behind her. The other inhabitants of the inn were still abed, and she descended the stairs and left through the front doors unquestioned and unhindered. She had only taken a step out into the sunlight when she heard a loud caw and looked up to see the guay take wing and fly north for the ruins of castle town. Zelda pondered its trajectory, fingering the throwing knife in its hidden sheath, but it was only a fleeting fantasy. It was best to let it continue on its way so that Ganondorf could see she was doing exactly as he had ordered. Perhaps it would buy both her and Link a little more time before she was summoned again.

Dread turned her heart to ice, and Zelda let her gaze fall to the ground, touching the hidden gash on her cheek. She would not flee into hiding. That, she had decided. But nor would she return, Zelda thought in defiance. She would never again set foot in that tower. Let Ganondorf come for her, if he chose. Her place was, and always would be, at the side of her hero.

"Hey, Sheik!"

Zelda dropped her hand and craned her head up, and her heart skipped a beat at the sight of Link leaning on his window ledge with the blanket still thrown around his shoulders. He didn't call her back, only grinned and waved in farewell. Zelda raised her hand as well, then just for fun she used a Deku nut to vanish from his sight. His laughter rang out in the sunlit morning, and he withdrew back inside, accepting her sudden abandonment like one must accept the direction of the blowing wind. But Zelda kept his smile with her as she hid among the trees, letting it remind her that there was far more purpose to her life than simple vengeance. There would come a day when Ganondorf's reign would end and her future would hold only freedom and Link.

"I won't forget," Zelda murmured. With the promise of better days ahead, she knew she had the strength to endure anything.

Chapter Text

"What's going on over there?"

Several steps ahead of him, Sheik paused and turned around while Link stood on his toes and strained to see over the heads of the crowd. He was jostled more than once as the current of people parted around them both, each man and woman intent on finishing their errands so they could escape the teeming market. It was hotter than it should have been for a spring day, the wind blowing from the west and bringing far too much sand with it. They were still miles from the actual desert, they hadn't even properly left the kingdom yet, and Link already missed Hyrule with a vengeance.

"Link," Sheik called over the din, and Link glanced toward her, but found his attention drawn back to the commotion somewhere across the market. He started to weave his way in that direction, hearing Sheik call out to him more urgently, which only made Link more determined to find out what was happening. The street soon opened onto a plaza with a huge stage at its center and a multitude of people surrounding it and observing. A thin man behind a podium called out prices and accepted bids from the crowd, but there was no sign of whatever goods were being auctioned. Link could see a small group of people standing behind the podium, their clothes ragged and dirty, huddled together in a way that made it hard to see them clearly.

Curious, Link tried to move closer, but Sheik seized him by the wrist and held him back. "Don't watch it, Link," she ordered.

"Why not?" Link asked, resisting her tugging. "What's this all about?"

"Just come with me," Sheik said and pulled harder so he had to follow or be dragged, and all the while refusing to look at the auction or anywhere near it. Link heard someone cry out from the stage, either in pain or fear, and when he turned to look back, he planted his feet and jerked out of Sheik's grip.

"Wait—wait, stop! Those people on the stage are tied up!"

"I know, Link," Sheik said tersely. "It's a slave auction."

"Slaves?" Link said, incredulous. "What are you talking about? Hyrule doesn't have..."

The cries became louder, and Link trailed off when the auctioneer gestured at two men with cudgels on their belts, who immediately hauled one of the slaves away from the group and made him stand at the front. The slave man stared out at the mass of people with his jaw clenched, both hands bound before him with thick rope, and Link winced at the livid bruises all over his face. Behind him among the other slaves, a woman wept openly as she tried to reach him, fighting the hands holding her back, begging not to be separated from her husband.

"A fighter if I ever saw one!" the auctioneer chuckled and held out his hands. "Now this man, just look at the muscles on him! He's good for any heavy labor you need done, but make sure you've got a firm hand to keep him under control. And, if there are any Gerudo ladies out there, I give my word he's younger than he looks! You and your sisters will get years of use out of this one, if you know what I mean..."

Some of the crowd snickered and jeered at the coarse insinuation, completely ignoring both the futile rage that flitted across the slave man's face and the pleading sobs of his wife. But Link saw it, and as he overcame his disbelief and understood this was real and happening right in front of him, his blood began to boil with fury. He was already stepping forward, prepared to draw his sword and leap on that stage before Sheik grabbed him and forcibly put his hand down.

"Stop! That won't help them. You cannot interfere."

"Don't tell me what I can't do!" Link snarled, his eyes still on the stage, counting the number of men with cudgels. "There aren't so many guards, I could take them..."

"Then you would have those men to deal with," Sheik said and directed his attention to the other guards lined up in front of the stage, at least four of them armed with swords, and a fifth near the auctioneer. "And after that would be the rest of the crowd. It will only cause more harm than good to incite a riot."

"But we can't just do nothing!" Link retorted. He pointed at the stage, ears pounding so much that he could hardly hear the voices around them shouting bids. "Don't you see what's happening up there? Those people are being treated like...how can you see this and just walk the other way? Don't you want to do something about it?"

"Of course I do!" Sheik snapped, and finally he saw a spark of anger in her red eyes, but it faded to nothing almost as quickly. She shook her head and lowered her voice. "But you must understand, there are hundreds of auctions just like this. The practice has been spreading in Hyrule ever since Ganondorf's ascension. Those people you see? All of them are Hylians who crossed him in some fashion, or else tried to flee the kingdom for a better life. This is how he chose to deal with them."

"All the more reason to stop it!"

"Stopping one auction won't stop them all," Sheik said with bleak certainty. "The only way to end the practice is to bring down Ganondorf, and that won't happen if you throw away your life in such a reckless manner."

"But," Link said, furiously scrambling for another argument, but her logic was difficult to refute. He looked at the stage helplessly as the bidding for the slave man went on, the price climbing higher and higher. The auctioneer jested that if the bid reached over six hundred rupees, then he would throw in the wife for free, just to shut up her wailing. The laughter of the crowd rang in his ears, mocking, and Link couldn't fathom why he was the only one who thought this was wrong, why everyone acted like it was completely normal to treat their own countrymen like cattle.

"I know how you feel," Sheik murmured. She took his hand and stroked the taut muscles in his arm. "Believe me, I understand. But you can't save them yet. Their salvation will come with Ganondorf's defeat."

That's not soon enough, Link thought, but he didn't voice the thought out loud. He had a feeling that Sheik felt the same way, even if she wouldn't let it change her mind. His unwilling eyes were drawn back to the stage as the bidding ended at five hundred and eighty rupees and the slave man was taken away, his wife left behind with the others. Another slave was brought forth, and Link's gut twisted with nausea when he realized she was only a child, maybe seven or eight years old with strawberry blond hair that had been hacked off to just below her chin. Distantly, he felt Sheik pulling him away, and Link made himself follow. Knowing that if he kept looking into her eyes, big and frightened and on the verge of crying, he wouldn't be able to stop himself.

Under his hat, Navi yanked sharply on his hair. "Look!" she squeaked, barely audible over the crowd. "Look, look!"

"What?" Link hissed as he turned his head, not understanding why Navi wanted him to look at the slaves again. He had seen enough. But then he looked at the girl, really looked at her, and when he finally understood what Navi was telling him, he almost had a heart attack.

"Oh gods...that girl..."

"We can do nothing," Sheik repeated, though he could hear the pain in her words. Seeing that he was paying more attention to the auction than her, she circled in front of him. "Link, listen to me..."

"No, you don't—Sheik, look at her!" Link said, his voice cracking in panic. "She's not Hylian, she's a Kokiri!"

"What?" Sheik said, aghast as she quickly followed his gaze to the girl. "But...how can you be sure? Is she part of your tribe?"

Link shook his head. He had never seen her before, but that meant nothing. His was not the only tribe in the forest. And now that he knew what to look for, it was so obvious that she wasn't like those around her. Her ears were more rounded than the other slaves, and she had the same cherubic features, the same green clothing. And the way she was standing there, shrinking away from everyone else, even her fellow slaves. Distrusting of every adult in sight. The only ones the Kokiri trusted were their tribe mates and their fairies, but that girl had neither with her. She was all alone, and Link knew that feeling so intimately that it made his heart ache.

"Now, this one may not be much to look at," the auctioneer said in a wheedling tone like he could sense the disinterest of his audience. "But the youngest always have the most potential. She's quick to learn, and best of all, hardly speaks a word! Just think, gentlemen, the perfect little serving girl for your lady. Can we start the bidding please...?"

Someone put up their hand, bidding one hundred rupees, but someone else called just as quickly and raised the bid to two hundred. Link glowered at the man who had made the second bid, who stood only a short distance from them with his own throng of servants surrounding him. He had the look of a man who was accustomed to having others wait on him hand and foot, his enormous girth barely contained by the expensive silks he was layered in. What some fat slob of a noble wanted with a child slave, Link couldn't begin to guess, but his gut was telling him to draw his sword and run the man through before he got his hands on her.

"Link..."

"I'm not leaving her," Link growled and locked eyes with Sheik so she would know he meant it. "Maybe I could leave the others, but not her! And don't you ask me to! If it was your family up there, I'd never do that to you!"

Sheik said nothing, her attention flicking past him to the stage. And Link could see her willpower beginning to crumble, her eyes reflecting the same anger that he felt. He heard the fat noble behind him call out in a lazy voice, raising the bid to three hundred and fifty rupees, and Link turned with a frenzied snarl, ready to charge every one of those guards and raise all hell, if it meant saving a fellow Kokiri.

"And do we have any further bids?" the auctioneer called, making no effort to hide his disappointment with the low price. "Are we settled at three hundred and fifty? Going once, twice..."

"Five hundred rupees!" Sheik shouted so loudly that even Link was taken aback. Heads swiveled in their direction, a few curious whispers passed around, and the fat noble gaped at them with his mouth dropped open, indignant. When Link stared at her, Sheik tipped her head and winked discreetly, and he gave her a shaky smile, more grateful than he could ever put into words.

"And we have five hundred!" the auctioneer bellowed, perking up, his enthusiasm restored all at once. "The stakes are raising now! Can I interest anyone in five hundred and fifty rupees? Come now, I know someone out there recognizes a treasure when they see it!"

The fat noble shut his mouth and cleared his throat. "Five hundred and fifty!"

"Seven hundred!" Link roared, waving his hands wildly to make sure he was acknowledged. He looked at the fat noble, their glowers equally smoldering, which caused some of the people standing nearby to inch backward as if they could sense the hostility brewing between the two men.

"Seven hundred, seven hundred!" the auctioneer said in delight. He rubbed his hands together gleefully. "My, my! This young lady is proving to be quite popular. Are you sure the rest of you folks don't want in on the excitement? It doesn't have to be a large bid. Perhaps seven fifteen or seven twenty-five..."

"Link," Sheik breathed in his ear. "I only have seven hundred rupees. We won't be allowed to take her if we cannot pay."

"We're not leaving her," Link repeated in a whisper, though worry had begun to eat at him. He only had about two hundred rupees himself, and between them it would clean them out if the bidding went much higher. He glared at the fat noble, mutely daring him to make another bid. The noble hesitated, teeth gritted, fingering the wallet on his belt. But then he sneered and thrust his hand into the air again, and Link understood with a sinking feeling that the contest was far from over.

"One thousand rupees."

An audible groan swept through the crowd, and someone whistled impressively at the hefty amount. Link gulped, panicking once again, and he despised how the fat noble was smirking at them now, basking in his triumph.

Sheik gripped his arm again when he would have resorted to his initial plan of spilling blood and provoking chaos. "Let him buy her. We'll follow him once he leaves and wait for a better opportunity to get her back."

"But what if...?"

"It's the best we can do right now," Sheik cut him off, and Link hesitated, everything in him rebelling against the thought. He looked at the Kokiri girl, her legs trembling and cropped hair falling across her face. But she peeked out at him from behind her bangs, and beneath her fright was the barest trace of hope and childlike curiosity that made his chest tighten. He could practically hear her voice, begging him to save her. She knew that he could help her. And he couldn't bear to see her face if it ended up being that noble who took her away.

"Now then, no more bids?" the auctioneer called out. "Not a peep? Not that I blame any of you, that's quite a sum this gentleman put forth! One thousand rupees, going once..."

Link raised his hand, paying no heed to Sheik's alarmed look as he bellowed the first number which came to mind.

"Five thousand rupees!"

The crowd went utterly silent, except for the sputtering noble who flapped his jaw open several times, his face flushing bright as a cherry. Link could feel the gaze of every single person lingering on him and Sheik, especially the guards who all eyed him in deep suspicion, hands on their swords. The auctioneer blinked several times, consulted in hushed tones with the guard at his back, and finally nodded and brought down his fist on the podium.

"S-Sold. Sold, for five thousand rupees! Great goddesses, that young man must have a wealthy grandmother tucked away somewhere..."

"This way," Sheik murmured, and Link followed her quickly as they circled around the stage to a smaller tent where he guessed the actual transaction would take place. He kept his eyes on the girl as much as he could until she was led her down from the stage and out of his sight. Then he and Sheik were stepping through the flap into the tent that stank strongly of sweat and dirt. Two men waited in the tent, one seated at a tiny desk with an open ledger before him and chest of rupees at his feet, and Link's focus immediately shifted to the guard he had with him. The guard noticed and appraised him likewise while Sheik begun a muted discussion with the man at the desk. Link swiftly lost interest in what they were saying when the second tent flap opened and the Kokiri girl came shuffling inside along with another guard who had a cudgel instead of a sword. Link took two running steps and dropped to his knees in front of her, wasting no time breaking off the thin ropes around her wrists, which had left livid marks on her skin.

"Did they hurt you?" Link asked, anxious. The girl only looked at him morosely, but she winced when Link held her hands, and he gently tried to rub some feeling back into them. Noticing a thick leather band around her neck like a collar, he reached up to unbuckle it and used the opportunity to lean closer. "Where's your fairy?" he breathed.

The girl jumped and stared at him, eyes huge. Link let the collar fall to the ground and cupped her cheek. "It's alright, I'm from the forest too. Look in my hat."

She hesitated, but tentatively raised the rim of his hat and gasped at the sight of Navi nestled in his hair. Tears spilled down her cheeks, all signs of distrust cast aside as she flung her arms around his neck. "They t-took m-me. Those people, they...they came into the f-forest and took me away. I want to go home!"

"I'll take you there," Link promised as a fresh surge of anger washed over him. If slavers had dared to invade his forest and take this one Kokiri, then he dreaded to think how many more might be out there, lost in a strange land with no one to save them. "What's your name? And what about your fairy? Where is she?"

A sniff was muffled in his tunic. "R-Rosie," she mumbled. "I'm Rosie."

"No, no that is not acceptable!" the man at the desk said, and Link glanced back to see him fuming at Sheik. "With a fee that substantial, we require payment upfront in full. These slaves are valuable commodities!"

"You will be paid when we are able," Sheik said firmly. "We obviously do not have that exact amount of rupees on our person, but..."

"Then I'm afraid the transaction is postponed," the man at the desk interrupted. He waved at guard behind his desk, who stepped forward. "The girl will remain here, and if you do not return with the proper amount by nightfall, then she goes to the next highest bidder."

The guard began to approach Link and the Kokiri girl, one hand resting casually on the sword at his belt. Rosie shuddered, her breaths suddenly quick and shallow with panic. "No, n-not him," she whimpered. "Not him, I don't want to go with him!"

"Why?" Link whispered, keeping one eye on the guard as he instinctively held her tighter. "What did he do to you?"

Rosie looked up, her expression crumpling. "...he killed my fairy."

And with those four words, everything that Link had been feeling, all the horror and rage was washed away. A terrifying emptiness settled upon him, the kind of absolute calm that only came when his enemy had committed some unforgivable act and now no amount of compassion or mercy would stop Link from delivering the final blow. He rose to his feet, expression stony as he turned to face the guard, pushing Rosie further behind him. The guard hesitated when Link reached over his left shoulder and gripped the hilt of his sword, but when he failed to draw it right away, the man relaxed and whipped out his own blade, charging forward. Link let him come, feet braced and stance purposely unguarded. Of all the people in the tent, only Sheik understood what was about to happen, and she reacted far too slowly.

"Link, no—!"

As the guard swung his sword, Link twisted out of its path. The Master Sword flew from its scabbard and cleaved downward, and the guard went down in a spray of blood, a single deep slice hewn into his chest and gut. Only the padded leather armor beneath his shirt had saved him from being cut in half, but it hardly mattered. Link was grimly satisfied that the man who had murdered Rosie's fairy would not rise again. He raised his eyes from the maimed guard to see the second one cowering back, pallid and gripping his cudgel with sweaty hands. The man at the desk lunged to his feet, nearly upsetting the chest of rupees, horrified as he looked on the grisly display. Before he could cry out, Sheik flicked a throwing knife from its hidden sheath and pressed it to his throat, the metal gleaming in the dimness.

"Do not speak," Sheik hissed, low and deadly, and only the faintest tremble in her hand betrayed her reaction to what Link had done. "Do not call for the other guards. We are taking the child with us, and unless you would like to join that man in his grave, you will not under any circumstances attempt to hinder us."

A weak gurgle from the dying guard seemed to drain what little courage the man possessed, and he nodded jerkily and flopped back down on his stool. The remaining guard seemed of the same mind, flinching when Sheik looked at him and instantly dropping his cudgel. It wasn't so easy for Link to do the same. He shuddered, the deadly calm leaving him and letting his anger come flooding back. He wanted to fight more, to leave a trail of slavers bleeding in his wake, even knowing it would change nothing.

The tense silence was broken by raised voices drifting from outside the tent. One of them sounded like the auctioneer, but there was a louder one drowning him out, cross and officious. "No, you listen to me! I want that slave I bid on! Don't think I can't guess what you're up to, planting your own people among the crowd to drive the price up. Oldest trick in the book, eh? Well, you can't dupe me, you filthy swindlers—!"

"Link, your ocarina," Sheik said, and ignored the flummoxed looks of the other two men as she put away her knife and unslung her lyre from her back. "The Nocturne of Shadow, quickly!"

Link nodded, understanding her intention, and put his sword away. There was no way to make a clean getaway now, except with magic. And it was the quickest way to take the girl to safety. He turned to Rosie, somehow relieved that she had her eyes shut tight. Navi had left his hat just before he struck the guard and now hovered by Rosie's ear, whispering reassurances and stern reminders not to look at the carnage. Link took out his ocarina as he knelt down and had Rosie wrap her arms around him again. He could hear the fat noble and the auctioneer both right outside the tent, and he hastily played the nocturne along with Sheik. Violet light swirled around them just as the tent flap was swept aside, and Link never had the chance to see their reactions before the three of them were swept away to Kakariko village.

Sheik understood, once he had a chance to explain. After they had brought Rosie to Impa's house and seen her fed and bathed and settled down to sleep with Navi nestled in her hair, Link had no choice but to explain why he had slain the guard when normally he despised taking human life. For any Kokiri to lose their fairy was unthinkable, but for it to happen in such a brutal and irrevocable way was even worse. To the Kokiri, there was no such thing as death. They and their fairies were bound forever and always would be. Link couldn't imagine the anguish it would cause him to lose Navi, but at least he was an adult and possessed the reasoning to accept her loss and move on, no matter how much it might hurt inside. It would take Rosie much longer to reach that point than it would take him.

But that wasn't the worst of it.

"She can't go back to the forest," Link said hollowly. He leaned on the table and put his head in his hands, his heart already breaking for the girl sleeping in the next room. "She can't. She's been away for too long. If her fairy was still with her, then maybe she would have been fine. Her fairy's magic would have protected her. But now..."

"Any Kokiri who leave the forest are doomed to never return," Sheik said quietly as she poured warm water from a kettle into a bowl, repeating the words that Link had once told her. She set the bowl in front of him and held out a soaked rag, but when Link made no move to clean off the blood, she took the chair beside him and began clean his hands herself. "It means she will lose her perpetual childhood and begin to age just as any Hylian would, right? But Link...surely she would still like to return to her village? It is her home, and she must miss her friends..."

Link shook his head, shrinking from the thought. "I know what it's like to be the only Kokiri without a fairy. She'll never be the same to them. And...I've heard stories about other Kokiri who lost their fairies. They became so lonely that they turned into Skull Kids, nothing more than spirits, wandering forever. I don't want that to happen to her."

"No...that would be a terrible fate," Sheik murmured. She rinsed the rag in the water, and Link averted his gaze from the red liquid, gazing at his hands without seeing them. Remembering a time when he had been like Rosie, pure and untouched by the evil in this world. His journey to adulthood had not been easy, especially learning that he had always been fated to leave the forest when as a child he would have given anything to be counted as just another Kokiri. But Link had dealt with it, learned not to dwell on the bad things he had gone through, the lives he had been forced to take. And in some ways he was glad because he wanted to stay in Hyrule now. It had become his home, and it was worth losing his innocence if he could protect the friends he had made here.

But Rosie...she didn't belong in Hyrule. She had to leave everything behind, everything she had ever known, and try to make her way in a world so different from the forest that it might as well have been the moon. And her first experience of that world had been at the cruel hands of slavers.

"I know someone," Sheik suggested, peering at his face as if to gauge his reaction. "A woman here in Kakariko. She used to work in Castle Town as a dog breeder, but when she came here with the other refugees, she adopted several orphans to raise as her own. She and her husband are kind people. Perhaps if we speak to her, explain the circumstances..."

Link remained silent at first, swallowing back his misgivings and his guilt. "How are we supposed to tell Rosie? I told her I would take her back to the forest, but now I have to break that promise. And I don't know how to...what do I say to her, Sheik? How can anything I say possibly make it better?"

"Nothing will make it better," Sheik said sadly. "Just explain it exactly as you have explained it to me. And understand that she will not accept her circumstances right away. She will need time, possibly years to come to terms with it. But as long as she is with those who will care for her, then she has a better chance of taking to her new life."

"And forgetting about her old one," Link whispered, feeling a rush of sympathy for the girl without a fairy.

Sheik took his hands in hers. "Perhaps that is for the best," she murmured.

Once the choice was made, there seemed no reason to postpone the inevitable. Link went to rouse Rosie, who showed little interest in staying awake and dozed in Link's arms as Sheik led him through the village to another house near the windmill. Sheik knocked, and a barrage of delighted shrieking from within told Link that many children lived here. Happy children. Two of them threw open the door, a boy and girl with identical impish grins, but they were quickly shooed away by a large and matronly woman who seemed vaguely familiar to Link, although he couldn't place where he had seen her before.

"Mamamu Yan," Sheik said with a slight bow. "I believe we've met before. I am Impa's student, Sheik."

The woman squinted at Sheik nearsightedly before her expression lightened. "Oh...oh yes, of course! You're that polite young Sheikah lad. Yes, I remember you. Will you come inside?"

"Thank you," Sheik said with a glance at Link as they stepped inside. "This is Link, and the child is Rosie."

"Oh, the darling looks so thin," Mamamu Yan fussed when she had a chance to see Rosie more closely. She waved her hand in invitation. "Go and help yourself to some leftovers, won't you? We've just finished eating lunch."

And so they had. Link was taken aback by the sight of the kitchen table, covered end to end in the leavings of a very messy feast. Three children, all very young, were still munching on their sandwiches while four more of varying ages ran amok elsewhere. They all looked very content and well cared for, lost in their games. The more Link saw of this place, the more his uncertainty began to lessen. Maybe this would work after all. At least here Rosie would have brothers and sisters to help replace what she had lost.

"Where are we?" Rosie mumbled drowsily, yawning and blinking at their surroundings.

"A safe place," Link said as he set her down in one of the chairs, and he was obliged to stay put when Rosie clung to his hand, shy of the other children staring at her in blatant curiosity. The youngest boy across the table practically climbed on top of it to get a better look, and when Rosie peeked at him, he beamed and held out the remaining part of his jam sandwich.

"Here, it's strawberry!"

"Go ahead," Link encouraged. Rosie reached out tentatively to take the sandwich, casting one last wary look at the boy before she bit into it. Her expression turned thoughtful, then a little more happy, and she finally released Link's hand. He edged around the table to join the conversation between Sheik and Mamamu Yan, which seemed to be going well from a distance.

"...I know it is a great deal to ask of you," Sheik said, apparently wrapping up her explanation. "And you are by no means obliged. If you cannot take her, then perhaps you know of someone else who would..."

"No, don't be absurd," Mamamu Yan said, casting an affectionate look in Rosie's direction. "How could I turn away an angel like that? Don't you worry, there is plenty of room for her here. My husband and I will just have to buck up and work a little bit harder."

"You'll really take her?" Link asked, torn between gratitude and anxiety. "Even though she's...not Hylian?"

"A child is a child," Mamamu Yan said pragmatically. "And after all my experience with this gaggle, you can trust me to know exactly what I'm doing."

"We cannot thank you enough," Sheik said in relief that Link could not quite find it in him to share. He felt a tug on the hem of his tunic and looked down to see Rosie standing there, sandwich still in hand, puzzled and expectant.

"When are we going to the forest? Are you going to take me?"

The time had come. Link shared a look with Sheik, dreading, but he knew it was useless to expect her to help him with this. He had once been a Kokiri. It was best if he explained it. Kneeling before Rosie, Link made himself meet her gaze, fumbling for the words.

"No, Rosie. I can't take you back there."

Rosie furrowed her brow in confusion. "Then who's going to take me?"

"No one is," Link said, trying desperately to ignore her growing distress. "I'm sorry...you can't go back to the forest. You have to stay here with Mamamu Yan. This is her home, and now it's yours too. She's going to take care of you."

"For how long?"

Link faltered and had to stop himself from saying forever because that wasn't quite true. "Until...until you're grown up."

"Grown up?" Rosie said with a tilt of her head. She looked from one adult to another. "What does that mean?"

Oh gods, he hadn't thought it would be this hard. Link racked his mind, but couldn't think of a good way to explain it. There was no good way. While he was still struggling, Navi saved him by flitting out of his hat to address the girl. "He means when you become an adult. Like Link and Sheik and Mamamu Yan. It will take a very long time, and you might not like it at first...but it's nothing to be scared of. All the children in Hyrule grow up too, and you can grow up with them."

Rosie blinked in frightened understanding. "But...I don't want to! Why can't you just take me home? Then I won't have to grow up."

"It's too late for that now," Link said, forcing the words out. He tried to put his hand on her shoulder, but Rosie jerked away, stepping back with a betrayed look that seared him to the core. "You know the stories, right? About Kokiri who leave the forest? Even if you go back now...it's not going to stop you from growing up. You'll be the only Kokiri who does, and you don't want that. It's better for you to stay here."

"No, it's not!" Rosie yelled, stamping her foot. "I don't care what you say! I'm going back, and you can't stop me!"

"Rosie, please don't say things like that," Navi pleaded. "If you try to go into the forest, you won't be able to find your way. It's not safe for you anymore. Not without your fairy."

A stricken look came to her face, and Rosie blinked harder. She bowed her head, sniffing minutely, but then she turned to Navi in desperation. "B-But...but you're a fairy. Couldn't you be my fairy? Couldn't you?"

Navi drew back, just as distraught as Link at the suggestion. "No, I can't...Link is my partner! I couldn't just leave him like that."

"But he doesn't need you!" Rosie protested and jabbed a finger at Link. "He's not a Kokiri! He's not supposed to have a fairy anyway!"

The blood drained from his face, the familiar and hated words ringing in his ears. Not a Kokiri. Link thought he had gotten past those feelings, the resentment and solitude they had caused him, but time did nothing to dull the sting of being an outcast from his own tribe. And in a moment of sudden and sick clarity, Link saw the parallel. A Hylian living among the Kokiri. A Kokiri living among Hylians. He saw what kind of future Rosie would face, never quite fitting in, and wondered at his own heartlessness for condemning her to that.

Who was he to tell a Kokiri that she couldn't have a fairy?

Slender hands touched his shoulders, startling him. Sheik wasn't looking at him, but her voice was subdued. "Perhaps it's time we left."

"Yes, go on," Mamamu Yan said with ushering motions. She put her arm around Rosie, which the girl was unable to shake off no matter how much she fidgeted. "I'll look after her, don't you worry. She'll calm down better once you've gone."

"Link," Sheik said, and Link got to his feet slowly. Navi hesitated a little longer, and Link held his breath, some tiny and terrified part of him now screaming at the thought that maybe she would choose to stay with Rosie after all. He used to have that fear in the beginning, that Navi would leave him for some trivial reason, and the thought was no less petrifying now that he was an adult.

But then Navi flew to him and tucked herself behind his ear, and Link almost sagged in relief, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. But the relief was drowned out by guilt at the devastation in Rosie's face, and it was no use telling himself that he had done all he could because she was looking at him exactly as she had on the slave block, pleading and accusing at the same time, making him feel like a complete monster for simply turning his back and walking away. The door slammed shut behind him and Sheik with harsh finality, neither of them looking back as they began the trek back across the village to Impa's house.

"You did all you could," Sheik reassured him, echoing his thoughts. "You saved her and gave her a chance at a new life. You did the right thing."

"She'll never see it that way," Link rasped.

Sheik looked at him with regretful eyes. "That is the burden of being an adult."

The door of the house burst open, and they both looked back to see Rosie dash outside and try to chase them. She hadn't gone three steps before Mamamu Yan caught her and knelt down to wrap her arms around the girl, more than strong enough to hold her in place. But Rosie fought her anyway, kicking and squirming and shrieking at the top of her lungs, inconsolable.

"It's not fair! Why him? Why does he get a fairy and I don't? IT'S NOT FAIR!"

Mamamu Yan shushed her, loudly at first and then more tenderly when the girl gave up on her tantrum and went limp in defeat. For lack of anyone else to turn to, Rosie twisted around and clung to the woman, sobbing hysterically, and her cries tore at Link until he couldn't bear to hear it anymore. He ran the other way as fast as he could, paying no attention to where his feet were taking him until he found himself at the base of the stairs to Impa's house and slumped onto the bottom step, head in his hands and choking back the miserable sobs that wanted to escape. Sheik caught up to him and slowly sank down beside him, saying nothing. But after a moment she wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight. And for just a little while, Link let himself be a child again, crying in vain at the unfairness of the world.

Chapter Text

If there was one thing Zelda despised more than anything, it was being ill. Well, she supposed no one liked being ill. It was a miserable and exhausting and oftentimes disgusting state to be in. Winter had always been a dismal experience when she was a child because it seemed every other week she caught some sort of sniffle or stomach bug. She was under the weather so often that it caused the royal doctors and herbalists to deem her "delicate" and confine Zelda to her bed whenever she so much as sneezed, refusing to even give her a book for fear she would strain herself and spoon feeding her all manner of potions that the princess was convinced only made her queasier.

In many ways, Zelda had almost been grateful the first time she became ill while in exile because it finally meant an end to all of that nonsense. Impa knew perfectly well the difference between a slight cold and a deathly ailment, and more often than not would simply order her student to rise from bed anyway and continue her training, drippy nose or not. As far as Impa was concerned, sickness was no excuse for laziness, and Zelda heartily agreed. By the time she reached adulthood, she had firmly adopted Impa's outlook on the whole affair and considered being bedridden with disease an utter waste of time. An illness would have to kill her before it brought her so low.

But such was the nature of illness. It never had the decency to warn her before creeping up and striking when she least expected it. Zelda had taken so many precautions before coming to Zora's domain, had taken great care to dress in sensible layers beneath her Sheikah gear and even used a breath of magic on her hands and feet to prevent frostbite. She had been in a state of perfect health, well rested and well fed, more than prepared to take on the ice and snow.

But it hadn't been enough, and now here she was, curled up and shivering beneath a pile of musty blankets, still frozen to the bone despite taking refuge inside the driest and most sheltered grotto in the whole domain. Zelda cracked her eyes open and quickly shut them, groaning at the light that lanced off the icicles outside the window and caused her headache to spike. She had never in her life known it could be like this. Every motion, every twitch of a finger made her muscles ache unbearably, and it was beyond her to even walk a few steps without becoming horribly dizzy and collapsing. Food was impossible. She had vomited so many times in the past two days that she was shocked she had anything left in her to feel nauseous. She felt utterly helpless, feeble as a kitten, and deeply ashamed of the condition she was in. As if there should have been some obvious way to prevent it that she had foolishly overlooked.

But the worst thing...oh, the absolute worst and most humiliating thing...

A steady pounding began in her head, each thud bringing a fresh wave of vertigo, and it was a long moment before she determined the source as heavy footsteps treading up the stairs. A knock on the doorframe announced the presence of her self-appointed caretaker, and Zelda reluctantly poked her nose out from under the blankets. Link smiled gingerly when he noticed her awake, holding up the crude breakfast tray and jug of water like a peace offering.

"Morning, Sheik. Feeling better today?"

Zelda swallowed and licked her lips, considering the continuous hammering in her head and the foul and slimy taste in her mouth. "Erm...marginally, I suppose," she rasped.

"Hey, even your vocabulary is better!" Link said cheerfully, his voice climbing to levels that were far too jarring for her frail senses. Zelda winced and held her ears.

"Please, not so loud..."

"Oh, sorry!" Link whispered. He moved about on tiptoes, setting the breakfast tray near her head and checking the small brazier at her feet to ensure it was still burning well. Zelda burrowed further beneath the blankets, wincing again when a metallic clanking announced that Link was dealing with the buckets—one for vomit and one for waste, and both very much in need of emptying. Link was polite enough not to make any sort of comment, but Zelda's cheeks burned anyway at the repugnant necessity of it. One thing for it to be a servant, another for it to be her teacher. But for Link, not only her childhood friend but also the Hero of Time, to clean up after her like this...

"I'll be right back," Link told her, and Zelda barely mustered an acknowledgement as he carted the buckets out. His steps going back down the stairs were much quieter this time, and she sighed in gratitude at the lessening of her headache. Zelda rolled onto her back, tugging down the blanket so she could stare at the monotonous ceiling. Admittedly, she was very lucky that Link was here. She had begun to feel unwell not long before his arrival, but had hoped she could still perform her duty and send him on his way, and then see to her own welfare after he was gone. But even Link had sensed something was wrong. While trudging their way through the Ice Cavern, he had constantly asked if she was alright and offered to let her rest, which Zelda had refused, insisting she was perfectly fine and not at all tired.

Her lies had become blatantly obvious later when, right in the middle of teaching him the Serenade of Water, her body had simply shut down and caused her to pass out dramatically at his feet.

"Goddesses," Zelda moaned, once again reliving the mortification of waking up to find herself being carried out of the Ice Cavern by a panicking Link, who seemed convinced that his Sheikah guide was dying in his arms. But thankfully, once she had explained the truth of her condition, Link had proven both attentive and very resourceful in providing her with what she needed. Namely, warmth and food and a place to rest, three things she would have been hard-pressed to supply herself had she been alone. Link had also offered her his own potions, and even his spare clothing once hers had been soiled in the first round of vomiting. Zelda absently fingered the buttons on the white undershirt she wore, several sizes too big but much warmer because of it. He had been so accommodating, jumping to do every little task and never once acting like it burdened him or was beneath him. Of course she knew he was a kind person by nature, but Zelda had never known he could be so...domestic.

"I don't hear eating up there!" Link called up the stairs. Her mouth twitched at the mock sternness in his voice, and with effort Zelda stretched out her arm and tugged the tray closer to her pallet. The water first, she decided and managed to tilt the pitcher enough to fill up the glass, despite spilling some. She brought it to her lips, teeth aching at how cold it was, but it soothed her throat and made her mouth taste a little less putrid. Link returned just as she was contemplating the bowl of sliced meat in a watery broth, and Zelda cast him a forlorn look.

"Is this...?"

"Yeah, it's fish again," Link said with an apologetic shrug. He set the empty buckets down and knelt beside the pallet to help her sit up, arranging the tray on her lap. "But at least it's not more of that salted fish from the storerooms. I caught this one fresh out of the fountain!"

"How did you manage that?" Zelda asked, keeping her eyes lowered to the tray, nervously fiddling with the silverware. Link hadn't seemed to recognize her yet, but she still felt very exposed with her hair unraveled into a loose braid and absolutely nothing covering her face.

"That was easy, I went swimming after it," Link said with no regard for her startled reaction.

"In this weather? You could have frozen to death!"

"I had a fire going on the shore," Link assured her. "But you should have seen it, Sheik! You were right about those Iron Boots, they let me sink right down to the bottom where all the big fish are. I just had to take a net down with me, and I caught that one in about ten seconds flat. It looked weird too, nothing like the fish I usually catch. It had all these spines on its back and a really flat face..."

Zelda, who had been about to take her first bite, blanched and dropped the spoon. "Was the fish blue or green?"

Link paused, his grin slipping. "Uh, I'm not sure. Maybe...green? Does it matter?"

"The green ones are poisonous, Link!" Zelda said, suddenly fearful. "Did you eat any of it?"

Link went ashen, which she took to mean that he had already eaten his share. He frantically waved his hands. "B-But I'm not positive if it was green or not! It was hard to tell underwater! It could have been blue or purple for all I know. And...and if it was poisonous, then I would have dropped dead by now, right?"

"Perhaps," Zelda said, studying the agitated hero carefully. He did seem paler than usual, his cheeks splashed with a hint of fever red...but that could have come from his reckless dip in the fountain. His eyes were still clear and sharp, and he wasn't doubled over in pain or nausea. Breathing deeply, she picked up the spoon again. "But I'm sure it's fine. I trust you, Link."

"O...kay?" Link said, still appearing very uneasy as she brought the spoon to her lips. The taste was bland and slightly rubbery and made her insides churn, and her dislike must have shown clearly in her face. "Oh no," he groaned. "It is poisonous, isn't it?"

Zelda shook her head. "I just don't have much of an appetite, I think."

"Should I bring you something else?" Link asked at once. "Hang on, I'll go grab the boots..."

"No, there's no need for that!" Zelda said quickly, not wanting him to go plunging into the icy fountain twice in the same morning. "Link, I've been ill. Any food is bound to not go down easily. And you already went to so much trouble for this..."

"Trouble?" Link said with a quirk of his lips, and he chuckled at the nonplussed look she threw him. "All I did was catch a fish, Sheik. The fountain is right outside, and it was actually kind of fun to use the boots. Now trouble would be if you asked me to bring you some exotic fruit from the Gerudo desert, or if you wanted the purest spring water from the very peak of Death Mountain."

Zelda blinked as she swallowed her second mouthful of fish. "Why in the world would I demand something so ridiculous?"

"Well, you wouldn't," Link amended. "But my point is that you hardly ask me for anything. And even when you do, you act like it's something unreasonable, even when all you want is a warmer blanket. I mean...I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but you're not going to get better through sheer willpower alone. I wish you'd let me do more."

"I...I suppose I'm more accustomed to looking after of myself," Zelda said, discomfited. From her perspective, he had already gone above and beyond, and yet he insisted that he wasn't doing enough? The Hero of Time would never cease to baffle her.

Link snorted. "Yeah, and just look at how that worked out. I know you like to put on this tough warrior front, but what if I hadn't been here when you collapsed in the Ice Cavern? You could have been an ice block by the time anyone found you."

His reasoning was impossible to refute, especially since Zelda had been thinking along those same lines earlier. She sighed in defeat, listlessly toying with her soup. "You're right. And I am grateful for everything you've done, how you've...taken care of me. I only..."

"Only...what?"

Giving up on the soup, Zelda pushed the tray away and made a frustrated noise. "This should not have happened. How could I become ill at a time like this? For every day I stay in this bed, I'm only causing further delay for you! You, the one fated to save Hyrule!"

Now it was his turn to blink. "Wait a minute," Link demanded. "You've spent the past two days throwing up your guts, and all you're worried about is slowing me down?"

"You would be well on your way to Lake Hylia, if you weren't dealing with all of this," Zelda muttered and gestured irritably at the breakfast tray and the dreaded buckets.

"Has anyone ever told you that you worry too much?" Link remarked, and he shook his head hopelessly when she transferred her vexed glower to him. He moved the tray off her lap and scooted closer. "Sheik...you're not slowing me down. You've done nothing but help me ever since we met. I had no clue where to even find the sages until you showed up. I'm actually glad for the chance to take care of you for a change. The way I see it, it's like I can finally pay you back for everything you've done for me."

"But there is no need to pay me back," Zelda said, confused as to why he seemed to think so. "It is my duty to guide you, to aid you on your journey..."

"Well then," Link said, still smiling, "just consider this my duty to you, as my faithful shadow. I want you to get better, Sheik. And if there's anything you need, anything at all, then just say so. Like...is there anything you need right now? Come on, I know there's got to be something."

Zelda hesitated. "Well..."

Link pumped his fist in victory. "I knew it! Go on, I'm listening. My wish is your command."

Zelda picked at a stray thread in the blankets, suddenly finding it much more difficult to meet his gaze, which was an absurd way to react. She could send him to fight dragons and slay demons without batting an eyelash, but when it came to requesting the simplest things for herself, she balked. She cleared her throat shyly. "I...I wouldn't mind a bath. But there's no running water in the domain. You'd have to carry it in from fountain a bucket at a time and find some way to heat it..."

"No problem, I can do that," Link said instantly, and his ready agreement only made her insides twist with further guilt.

"Link, you don't need to..."

"Too bad because I'm going to anyway," Link said, taking entirely too much delight in her embarrassment.

Zelda crossed her arms, scowling. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" she accused.

"Now why would I enjoy seeing you in this state?" Link inquired, perfectly innocent, and he made a great fuss about fluffing her pillow and arranging the blankets while she silently fumed. "Alright, one bath coming right up. But it's going to take me awhile to get it ready, so is there anything else you need before I leave?"

"Yes," Zelda said, smiling in all sweetness. "The finest vintage from Ganondorf's banquet table. And the goblet he drinks it from."

Link froze, his mouth dropping open so comically that Zelda burst out giggling. He stared at her, and then slumped over ruefully. "Oh...oh, you're kidding," he said with a shaky laugh. "Thank the goddesses, you're only kidding..."

Zelda chortled, hiccupping. But her humor faded when her stomach roiled in a very familiar and unpleasant way. She drew a sharp breath and clutched her stomach, the color draining from her face until she was clammy.

"L-Link..."

"What?" Link said, and when he caught sight of her face, his eyes widened in alarm. "What, what is it? Sheik, what do you need?"

Zelda clapped a hand over her mouth, and thankfully that was all the signal Link required. He made a lunging dive for the bucket, and Zelda toppled off the pallet to meet him halfway as the few pitiful bites she had eaten came spewing back out and splashed into the bucket. Distantly, she felt Link holding back her braid and keeping her head steady throughout the ordeal. It was over in seconds, but it took a number of minutes for Zelda to recover, occasionally shuddering with more dry heaves that produced nothing but spittle. She retched hard one last time, throat burning, and finally subsided into weak panting.

"...wow, maybe that was a green one," Link said in sympathy above her head.

Hot tears flooded her eyes, and Zelda blinked them back furiously, though a few rebellious ones escaped. "I'm sorry," she croaked, unable to fathom how he wasn't revolted by the sight of her.

"Don't apologize," Link said gently. "You can't help it that you're sick. Come on, let's get you lying down..."

Zelda nodded, relinquishing the bucket and letting him blindly lead her back to the pallet on her hands and knees. Link pressed the water glass into her hands and made her drink several gulps before he laid her down. Zelda rested her aching head on the pillow and curled into a miserable ball, eyes shut and wishing the entire world would just go away. She heard cloth rustling as Link draped the blankets over her shivering form again, one hand rubbing her back in soothing circles. But his hand soon moved up to her head, stroking her hair and then tracing her jawline with the back of his fingers. Zelda opened her eyes and gazed up into his, the stormy sapphire never failing to catch her and hold her spellbound. His expression was rife with concern, but there was something else there as well. A lingering curiosity, almost reminiscent, as if he was struggling to remember something from long ago.

"What is it?"

Link shook off a trance and pulled his hand back. "No, nothing. I just keep thinking...you look so familiar. But this is the first time I've seen you without your mask, so I don't know why I would feel that way..."

Her heart pounded direly, and Zelda tugged the blanket up to her chin, hunching her shoulders as if that would fend off his scrutiny. "Perhaps it's because you're not accustomed to seeing my face. It is unfamiliar to you, even though we have been acquainted for some time."

"That could be," Link said, thoughtful. He watched her for a moment and then reached over to pull the blanket away from her face. "So why do you hide your face anyway, even when it's just the two of us?"

So you don't feel the need to stare and stare until you recognize me, Zelda thought in exasperation. "I suppose it's purely out of habit. But around others, I still need to preserve the illusion of being a man. I've already explained to you my reasons for that."

"Yeah, which I still don't get," Link informed her. "And it doesn't work very well anyway. I knew you were a woman almost from the first time we met."

"You did?" Zelda blurted out, taken aback and a little peeved by the confession. "Why...how...was it truly that obvious?"

Link nodded, snickering at her chagrin. "Sorry, but...yeah, it was. There's nothing wrong with your disguise, but you just don't act like a man. And there's your voice too. There are times when I can tell you're trying to sound all gruff and manly, and it just doesn't work. So I figured you either had to be a woman or...uh..."

"A very effeminate man?" Zelda guessed in dry amusement.

Finally, it was Link's turn to blush. "N-Not that that's what I thought you were or anything!" he stammered. "I just didn't want to make any assumptions until I was completely sure. And either way, it didn't matter to me. You're still Sheik no matter what, right?"

Zelda held her silence. That wasn't quite true, even if she was in no position to admit it. Avoiding his gaze, she nodded at the brazier. "Could you please move that closer?"

"Oh, sure," Link said, moving at once to scoot the flame closer. He took the soiled bucket in one hand and the rejected breakfast tray in the other, rising. "I'll go get started on that bath. You just rest, okay? Call me if you need something."

"Link?" Zelda said, and he paused in the doorway. She dredged up a weak smile. "Thank you."

"No problem," Link said, returning her smile before he stepped out. Zelda closed her eyes, tugging the blanket more firmly around her and feeling somewhat contented for the first time in days. She dared to hope that she might sleep peacefully without being woken every few minutes by either her stomach or her head. But the restful feeling was lost when Zelda heard a crashing sound just outside as if Link had dropped the breakfast tray at the top of the stairs. She bolted upright, ignoring the spike of wooziness as the crash was followed by the sound of violent heaving and wet splatters.

"Link?"

The only answer she received was a low and unhappy moan from the hero in question. "I'm...I'm fine," he groaned. "Just, um...dropped some things."

A sinking feeling began to take hold. "Link," Zelda said cautiously, "are you getting sick?"

"No!" Link protested, but she distinctly heard him retch again. "Urk...maybe a little?"

Zelda moaned under her breath and flopped back down on the pallet. Link had most likely caught it from her, and all the work he had been doing washing buckets and catching fish in subzero temperatures would only have worsened his condition. "Come back inside, right now. Going out into the cold will only make you even more unwell."

"But I can't be sick!" Link said, despairing. "I'm the Hero of Time! What'll happen to Hyrule if I get sick? And besides, you said you wanted a bath..."

"The bath can wait," Zelda insisted, touched that he still wanted to fulfill her demands and remorseful because it was those exact demands which had put him in this state. "At least come and sit by the fire for a little while," she pleaded.

He didn't answer in words, but at length Link managed to rise and drag himself into the room like a defeated soldier trudging back from the battlefield. He plunked down in front of the brazier, shivering hard and much more pallid than he had been earlier, sweat beading at his hairline. Zelda pushed her glass of water toward him, and Link gratefully took it and gulped the rest down until it was empty, sharing a desolate look with her.

"We look pathetic, don't we?"

Zelda smiled sadly at his forlorn words. She crawled over to him so she could throw one of her blankets around his shoulders. "Don't despair, hero. With any luck, I'll begin to feel better as the day goes on, and then it will be my turn to take care of you."

"Mm," Link mumbled without enthusiasm. "I'll bet it was the stupid fish that made me sick..."

"You should sleep for awhile," Zelda said and nudged him toward the pallet. "It's probably better for me to be up and about anyway."

"Yeah, up until you faint again," Link said, but his teasing was halfhearted, and he slunk over to the pallet and collapsed on his stomach as if he lacked the strength to do anything else. Zelda hunkered by the brazier and waited until he seemed to be dozing before she galvanized her weak body to action, tugging on her boots and bundling in as many layers as she could find. Although catching another fish was a hopeless delusion, Zelda wondered if she might find some winterberries along the bank of the river, and there could be a hare or some other small animal that she could strike with her throwing knife. Whatever she could find would help, especially if it kept Link from having to go outside for some time.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Zelda paused under Link's suspicious look, caught in the act of reaching across the pallet to retrieve her cloak. "We need food. I thought since you were resting, I should..."

"Oh no, you don't," Link said, making a feeble grab for her, but Zelda managed to withdraw out of his reach. "Hey, get back here. You're just as sick as I am. You need to stay where I can keep an eye on you!"

"You'll keep an eye on me even when both of them are closed?" Zelda said with a raised eyebrow. "You are a man of many talents, Link."

"Sheik, I'm serious," Link insisted. He propped himself on his elbow, but was unable to rise further, one hand going to his temple with a grimace. "Whoa, dizzy...spinning, everything spinning..."

"Lay back down," Zelda ordered and pushed him down effortlessly with one hand. She threw the cloak about her shoulders and drew her veil across her face, paying no heed to his disapproving scowl. "If you're already lightheaded, then by tonight you'll be in the same state that I was a few days ago. You won't even be able to rise from bed. I need to gather more supplies so that I can stay by your side."

"But you're still sick," Link said stubbornly.

"I'll endure it," Zelda said, her expression softening when she noticed how glazed his eyes had become. "After everything you've done for me, I can tolerate a little time out in the cold."

Link muttered under his breath, but suffered to let himself be tucked in. But he took off his green hat and thrust it out. "Here," he said hoarsely. "To keep your head warm. And to help me find you if you collapse somewhere and turn into an ice block."

"I shall strive not to," Zelda vowed as she donned the hat, if only to appease him. It was big enough to cover her ears completely and retained a surprising amount of warmth, but the edge was in danger of falling over her eyes if she wasn't careful about how she turned her head. And it had other drawbacks, as she learned when Link stared at her oddly.

"Is something the matter?"

His eyebrow twitched. "No, it's just," he began, helpless laughter bubbling in his throat. "I can't believe I'm saying this...but you look so cute like that!"

Zelda gaped at him, then looked down at herself, garbed in a combination of both hers and Link's clothing, the latter of which were so large that she was practically swimming in them. Lacking most of her weapons as well as anything that would mark her as a Sheikah, she appeared quite impractical, if not downright ridiculous. Heat flooded her face, thankfully shrouded by her veil, and Zelda decided she had suffered enough humiliation in the past two days. It was Link's turn now. She leaned closer to press her hand to his forehead, silencing him, and Zelda spoke in mock worry.

"Oh dear, your temperature is very high. You must be having delusions."

"Aw, don't be like that, Sheik," Link beseeched as she stood up. "Come on, I meant it in a good way! Cute is good!"

"Perhaps I should send word to Princess Ruto at Lake Hylia," Zelda wondered aloud and savored the horror that flitted across his face. "She was very impatient to break the curse on her people, but I'm sure once she hears of your condition, she won't mind returning to help care for her dear fiancé..."

"I take it back!" Link cried. "You're not cute, you're just mean! You know I'm scared to be alone with her! She might...might do something...you're teasing me again, aren't you?"

"Of course I am, hero," Zelda said, chuckling warmly.

Link sighed and sank back down on the pallet with an arm thrown over his eyes, like the effort of being terrified had worn him out. "I don't like your sense of humor. I can't tell if you're being serious or not."

"I'll return by noon to check on you," Zelda promised. She made her tottering way to the door, one hand planted firmly on the wall, still unsteady on her feet. The danger of collapsing somewhere outside the domain and freezing to death was a very real one.

"Sheik," Link called, and Zelda turned back, struck by the sudden reversal of their roles. He gave her a drained smile. "I won't forget that I owe you a bath. Just as soon as I'm better, okay?"

"Hero, I think we shall both need baths once this ordeal is over," Zelda said frankly, stepping out of the room. "But thank you," she added more softly.

"And I will come after you if you're not back by noon!"

"And I will send word to Ruto if you even think of trying," Zelda shot back and smirked at his despairing wail. Oh, how she would enjoy this. Perhaps being ill had its merits after all.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Was it meant to take this long? For what seemed the thousandth time, Zelda shifted her position on the high tree branch, folding one leg close to her body and letting the other dangle below, gazing upon the Sacred Forest Meadow in brooding silence. Her head craned back to check the sun, but it had drifted behind the trees long ago. Twilight was descending fast, as it always seemed to now with such evil festering within the temple. Zelda could sense the spirits of the Poe sisters, ancient and malicious, and she prayed Link was close to victory. She prayed that he would soon exorcise the phantoms and find Saria and that he had not been wounded or led astray...

Shaking off such thoughts, Zelda glanced at her right hand and her Triforce. Surely, if he was in such peril, it would have reacted in some way...but then, his own Triforce was still dormant so perhaps she wouldn't sense anything at all. It was infuriating to not know. All Zelda had was speculation and uncertainty and a feeble hope that the goddesses had chosen well and she had not placed her trust in the wrong boy. Or man, as the case was now. But his eyes had seemed so young when she looked into them, so shaken by the changes in the forest and the monsters plaguing his Kokiri tribe...so suspicious of her and the cryptic advice she offered. Zelda hadn't needed any sort of mystical connection with the hero to know what he was thinking just before he entered the temple. Ducking beneath the curtain of vines at the entrance, glancing back once with a flicker of confusion, distrust, wondering why she did not offer to come with him. It would have been sorely appreciated, she knew. A comrade, an extra set of eyes at his back...

Oh, if only I could, Zelda thought, still fretting. A fairy flitted by her ear, the chiming of her wings distracting, and she waved an absent hand to shoo it away. It was not strictly forbidden for her to enter the temples—and she had, in fact, gone into several of them as the final stage of her training, testing herself against Ganondorf's more powerful servants. But Impa had been very clear. Once Link had awakened and set out to cleanse the temples, Zelda was not to interfere. He must come into his own as a hero without reliance on anything but his own strength and wits. For when he faced Ganondorf, he would be alone. And he must be prepared.

But even though it was logical, it didn't seem fair. Zelda rested her cheek on her knee, deeply unhappy with how their roles had played out. Seven years of waiting expectantly, convinced that Link would swoop in like a seraph and right everything that had gone wrong...and only now did it occur to her just how much she was asking of him. There was no reason to make him face such horrors alone. Not when he had never asked for this fate.

A second fairy darted before her eyes, looping once around her head before tugging at the wrappings in her hair. Zelda sighed, her musings interrupted once more. The wild fairies were wary of humans, but they often couldn't resist curiosity, especially when it meant they could snag some hair to weave into their nests. She attempted to ignore them, but the first two were joined by another and another until she had a dozen sprites buzzing around her head, persistent as birds. She shook her head roughly to dislodge them, irritated.

"Please leave me be! I prefer my hair where it is, thank you."

A green fairy flew right in her face and flicked her nose sharply. Zelda jerked back in surprise and rubbed the reddened skin, glaring. But she stilled when she finally understood what they were saying in their tiny voices.

"Ko...kiri?" Zelda said and sat upright in alarm. "Wait...you're all fairies from the village! What is it? Has something happened?"

The fairies all bobbed in agreement. A few burrowed into her hair and the folds of her clothing, quivering in panic, and the rest continued to tug at her wrappings until Zelda gripped the branch and swung to the ground. She landed in a crouch and hesitated with a glance at the temple, worried about abandoning her post in case Link should need her. But he was far from helpless. And if these fairies were frightened enough to seek aid from an outsider, then something must truly be wrong. She took off at a swift lope into the maze, bounding past the moblins that Link had slain and letting the fairies guide her through the Lost Woods. But even with their help, it took a long time to reach the village. The sky had darkened to full night by the time Zelda burst out of the trees onto the high ledge and gazed down at the village.

And at first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The little houses were all silent and dark, and even the Deku Babas and Mad Scrubs were quiescent. It wasn't until Zelda climbed down from the ledge and cautiously crept up the path that she understood why. The houses were empty. She searched them all systematically, braced for the worst, but there was no blood or any sign that the children had been hurt. They were simply gone...no, they had been taken. Everywhere Zelda looked there were signs of a struggle, from smashed furniture and pottery to bent and cracked doorframes which told her something very large had shoved itself into the houses in search of every last Kokiri. Zelda reached up to touch the chafed wood and recoiled when her hands came in contact with a sticky substance that glistened like silk in the moonlight.

"Spider?" Zelda whispered, her skin crawling. Oh, Link had told her of this. In the castle courtyard when they first met as children, he had told her of the curse laid upon the Great Deku Tree and the beast he had been forced to slay in order to break that curse, a monstrous three-legged parasite known as Gohma. His account of the battle had given Zelda nightmares for days. She loathed insects, anything that crawled or slithered or skulked in dark corners, even the harmless ones like garden snails. It made no matter that they were small and could not hurt her, and the thought that Ganondorf could create such brutes on a much grander scale had petrified her.

She shuddered violently and flung the spider silk away, rushing from the house to breathe deeply of the night air. Gohma may have been exterminated seven years ago, but Zelda knew with dire certainty that it was not beyond Ganondorf's power to create another, or even to revive the first. But what use would such a monster have for the Kokiri? It made no sense to simply abduct them...unless it sought to use them as bait, to lure the Hero of Time into a trap. The thought sickened her and was sure to infuriate Link when he found out.

...except that Link wasn't here. He had a greater task to accomplish, and Zelda could not risk waiting for him and leaving the Kokiri at the hands of such a creature. If any of the forest children were still alive, if there was a chance she could save even one...then Zelda must do whatever she could. Even if it meant walking into the trap herself.

Fighting to keep her composure, she looked to the fairies above her head. "Which way?"

The fairies all rushed off at once, and Zelda sprinted after the iridescent cloud. And cold dread gripped her when she understood where they were taking her, through the winding tunnel to the grove of the Great Deku Tree. Zelda paused before the gray husk, breathing hard as she gazed into the black maw at the base of the trunk, and at last she made herself crouch low and enter the tunnel. The hollow trunk was exactly as Link had described once she had straightened and taken her first look around. Zelda craned her head back to gaze at the spiraling path heading up, tense at the familiar slithering of Skulltulas. The stench of fungus and rotting wood so thick that it made her eyes water, but far worse was the sense of wrongness that hung in the air like a miasma. Traces of the dark curse that had killed the Great Deku Tree still lingered, eating away at the remains of the forest guardian, poisoning the very earth so that no new life could take root.

Something chittered high above, and she twisted around, frantically scanning the darkness for any sign of a singular yellow eyeball glaring downward. As a result she nearly walked right into the pit in the center of the room, the edges rimmed with thick ropes of spider silk. Zelda crouched to peer into the vast cavern beneath the roots. The blackness of the pit was absolute, but she could barely make out the specks of light that must be the fairies.

She needed to follow them. She knew it was true, understood that she had no choice, and yet her trembling body refused to obey. She couldn't even see what awaited her down there, which only made this whole situation worse. It was no use telling herself not to be afraid. Zelda had long since accepted this ridiculous phobia, and she had never given any credence to Impa's belief that if one did not overcome their fears, then fate would unfold in a way so as to make them overcome it. Now Zelda wished she had listened at a time when there was not so much at stake.

Goddesses, if I survive this, I will never doubt her again, Zelda thought as she stood up and heaved one of the silken ropes over. The thread was thin, but seemed strong in her hands, and when she tossed it into the pit, she heard the other end hit the ground with a wet slap. Swinging herself over the edge, Zelda descended hand over hand, her apprehension mounting as the gloom of the cavern swallowed her up and left her climbing blind. It was only a small relief when her feet splashed into water that was barely half an inch deep, and Zelda released the thread and crouched low, waiting in vain for her eyes to adjust. Her hand brushed a piece of damp wood, and she dragged the stick closer, calling on her magic to light a flame at the end for a torch. The dancing light chased back the shadows and revealed her surroundings, a massive lair with great curtains of web draped across the earthen walls and the exposed roots of the Great Deku Tree. The fairies were each hovering over about a dozen silk cocoons scattered throughout the cavern, which wiggled and gave muffled cries when the light fell across them. Her heart leapt. They were alive!

She started forward, but stiffened in terror when her ears picked up faint squelches and pops coming from the other side of the cavern. She raised the torch higher, expecting to see the gravid body of a parasite queen prowling toward her. But what she actually saw was far worse, like something straight out of her own nightmares. There, stretched against the wall between two immense roots, was a huge egg sac, slimy and pulsating in the firelight. Her gorge rose at the sight of the...things moving within the filmy sacs. Very much alive, and very close to hatching. And there were hundreds of them.

Oh yeah, and the larvae were the worst! Link's child voice said in her mind. They weren't that much bigger than me, but they were fast, like REALLY fast. And you wouldn't believe how hungry they are when they first hatch! I had three attacking me all at once and almost got my arm bitten off when Navi didn't warn me in time...

Wood groaned above her, and Zelda recoiled and looked up again. She couldn't see anything in the heights of the tree, but it wasn't difficult to guess what was making that awful scraping noise, as if something very bulky and cumbersome was ambling about. She turned back to the egg sac and the cocoons, her hand flying to her mouth in dawning horror. Not a trap...but an offering. The queen, the layer of these eggs, had gathered a feast for her brood, and for all Zelda knew, she had only minutes before the larvae hatched and devoured the helpless Kokiri. No time for fear, no time for planning or subtlety. She must act now.

Zelda darted for the nearest cocoon with a green fairy bobbing over it, keeping one nervous eye on the egg sac and flinching each time she heard the tiniest sound that made her think they might be hatching. Her hands proved useless in tearing apart the tough webbing, so she set down the torch and drew her dagger to slash it open. The Kokiri boy toppled right into her arms, gasping for air, his face pallid beneath his freckles. Fearing he would scream out and call the attention of the queen, Zelda seized him and clapped her hand over his mouth. The boy thrashed and fought her, but froze when he saw the dagger, whimpering.

"Don't be afraid," Zelda whispered. Thinking it might reassure him, she tugged down her mask to show her face. "I've come to help. I'm going to release you now, but you must not run, and you must not make a sound. Not unless you want those things to hear us."

His eyes became huge at the sight of the egg sac, and he nodded at her fervently, perhaps deciding on the lesser of two evils. Zelda removed her hand, but kept a cautionary finger on his lips.

"Remember, quietly."

He nodded again more slowly. His fairy fluttered by his ear, and he seemed to grow calmer with her presence. "Who...who are you, lady?" he whispered hoarsely.

"I am Sheik of the Sheikah..."

"The ninja people?" the boy yelped, leaping to his feet in excitement, and Zelda hastily covered his mouth again, rigid as she waited for the echoes to die. One of the egg sacs gurgled. She glared at the boy, who had the grace to look contrite, but he still gawked at her, his fear partially eclipsed by awe. "The ninja people?"

"Yes, the...ninja people," Zelda said through clenched teeth, mentally envisioning Impa's vexation at having her clan referred to in such a way. "But the proper word is Sheikah, or shadow-folk. Now...what is your name?"

"M-Mido. But why isn't...?"

"Help me free the others," Zelda said and picked up the torch so she could move on to a cocoon with a yellow fairy bobbing over it. But she paused and blinked down at the boy. "Wait, did you say...Mido?"

"Uh huh, why?" Mido asked, tilting his head. But then he seemed to understand and puffed out his chest. "Oh, I get it...you've heard of me! Yeah, I'm the boss of all the Kokiri, the toughest kid in the forest!"

"Oh yes...I've heard of you," Zelda said slowly. So this was the Kokiri who had bullied Link incessantly about not having a fairy. She had a sudden urge to give the brat a sharp swat on the behind. But sadly, she had other priorities. She made her way to the next cocoon stiffly with Mido trotting along at her heels, cringing at their surroundings and practically tripping her as he tried to stay as close as possible. Zelda hurriedly sliced open the second cocoon, discovering a blond Kokiri within its folds. She had no qualms about trusting an outsider and threw herself into Zelda's arms, frightened sobs racking her. Zelda murmured soothing words, anxious at how much time this was taking. How was she meant to save them all if she had to waste precious seconds comforting each hysterical child?

"I need to set the others free," Zelda said, trying to gently untangle her arms, but the girl only cried harder and renewed her death grip. Left with no choice, Zelda turned to Mido. "Could you calm her down for me?"

Mido nodded, mouth set in a determined line as he tapped the girl's arm. "Don't worry, Fado. Me and Sheik are gonna save everybody! And if that big ugly spider comes back, then I'll just...just...beat him to a pulp! Yeah, that's what I'll do!"

They were boastful words, but effective as Fado gave him a weak smile and released Zelda in order to clutch his hand. Zelda waved at them to follow her and hurried on, freeing each Kokiri one by one and passing them on to Mido, reluctantly trusting him to keep them from panicking or wandering off. But she soon had to give up on reminding them to stay silent. The gaggle of children, some still crying, constantly whispered amongst themselves about how scary this place was and how glad they were to be rescued and loudly shushed each other at random intervals. It made it difficult to hear whether the eggs were hatching, but each time Zelda looked in that direction, the sacs bulged as if the unborn parasites knew the time had come.

Her hands were sweating as Zelda freed the last Kokiri and frantically herded them toward the silk thread dangling in the center of the cavern. She squinted upward and hoped those moving shadows in the chamber above were just a trick of the light and not the queen lying in wait for them. "One at a time, quickly! The swiftest climbers go first, and help each other. Don't go anywhere once you reach the top. Wait for me so I can lead you outside."

"But what happens if they...h-hatch?" Mido said and pointed at the egg sac, striving to appear fearless, but his knees were quaking. Zelda wished she dared to show her own fright.

"Don't worry about that. I'm better equipped to fight them than you are."

"F-Fight them? But you're a girl!"

"What difference does that make?" Zelda said, exasperated. She nudged him toward the thread along with the others, watching in relief as the first Kokiri began to climb. But then she felt a sharp pinch on her ear and turned her head to see a pink fairy was the culprit. The fairy soared across the lair, and Zelda gasped when she spied one last cocoon in the shadow of a root where she had missed it...and the sac nearest was beginning to writhe and thrash.

She sprinted for the cocoon, channeling every ounce of energy she had into speed, but she was still too far away when the sac suddenly burst open with a revolting squick and deposited the shrieking larva on the ground. Zelda cried out when the parasite clumsily scrambled up and leapt upon the cocoon, and in desperation she threw away her torch and whipped out a throwing knife. It was sheer good fortune that the blade buried itself in the body of the larva and not the cocoon, and the parasite dropped onto its back with a howl. That was all the opportunity Zelda needed to rush in and hack open the cocoon, relieved to find the Kokiri within only scratched a little on his arms.

"Run!" Zelda ordered, shoving him in the direction of his tribe mates, and the boy obeyed at once, feet slipping on the webs as he tore across the cavern. At least four of the Kokiri were already climbing the thread, so accustomed to scaling trees that it presented no challenge. But screams rose from those still waiting on the ground, many small hands pointing upward. Zelda raised her head and gasped, all her courage fled at the sight of the queen peering through the hole in the roof. Link had described its girth, but her imagination did little justice to the reality. Each of its legs had the same thickness as the roots around her, more than large enough to crush her if she was foolish enough to stand beneath them, and at the end of its massive body was a thick segmented tail with a wicked black stinger.

And it was looking at the children, watching them with that bulbous yellow eye, its pincers clacking together. If it should attack...

"Over here!" Zelda bellowed, and once she was sure that eye was watching her, she strode up to the larva and tore out her throwing knife, then brutally crushed the smaller parasite with her boot. The carapace crunched, ichor soaking into her boot, and its feeble cries tapered into nothing. Gohma's eye flashed a lethal red, and the queen wailed to the heavens, so deafening that it made the Great Tree tremble to its roots.

And so I've sealed my fate, Zelda thought morosely and hurried to take cover behind a root, the damp wood at her back as Gohma climbed along the ceiling, all its murderous fury centered on her. With any luck, Zelda could hold its attention long enough for the Kokiri to escape. Whether she could actually defeat it or not was up for debate, and she cursed herself for not bringing a bow with her into the forest. All she had now were her dagger, two throwing knives, some Deku nuts and what little magic she dared to use against a minion of Ganondorf.

But Link had once defeated this very monster with nothing but a small sword and a wooden shield. Zelda tightened her grip on the dagger, heart in her throat as she tracked the movement of Gohma. Even though she had never battled anything of this scale, she could not let despair overtake her. If Link could do this when he was a boy of eleven, then she could do this now.

A claw whipped around the root and plunged into the wood above her head, cracking it deeply and bringing a rain of splinters down on her shoulders. Zelda ducked out of hiding and let fly her first throwing knife, aiming for the eye, but she only just missed and clattered harmlessly off its eyelid. She threw herself backward to avoid a lunging leg, staggering from its impact, and the next weapon she utilized was the Deku nut. Gohma squealed and recoiled from the bright flash, both its front legs rising up protectively. Zelda ducked beneath its belly and slit open the vulnerable skin with her dagger, though it was barely a flesh wound. Still, it infuriated the parasite, and Zelda had to quickly roll out from beneath its thrashing legs.

"Hey, lady! Here!"

Mido raced toward her with the torch in his hands, which he tossed to her. Zelda caught it in her free hand and gestured at him furiously. "Escape with the others! Go!"

"We're going, we're going!" Mido cried, hastily backpedaling, staring past her in fear. "Whoa, it's coming! Look out!"

Zelda turned around and swung the torch in a wide arc, and the bright flame proved just as effective as a Deku nut when Gohma aborted its charge and hovered back at a distance, hissing in frustration. She kept the flame between her and the parasite queen, sneaking a glance over her shoulder. Half of the Kokiri had ascended the silk thread out of the pit, but the remainder were making painstakingly slow progress. Mido was bellowing at them for all he was worth, having either bravely or foolishly chosen to climb last, but he kept looking back as if he couldn't take his eyes off the unfolding battle.

Further popping noises alerted her to the fact that more egg sacs were hatching, which as far as Zelda was concerned was added stress that she didn't need. She faced the queen again, unprepared when Gohma suddenly charged and barreled right into her. She lost her grip on the torch as she tumbled backward, and Zelda cried out when its pincers clamped around her ankle. Pain spread from the wound, and then numbness as she was lifted into the air and dangled above the egg sacs. Zelda could see three more of the larvae below her, eagerly awaiting the food just out of reach.

"Oh...no...you...don't," Zelda grunted, and in a motion that made her abdominals scream, she reached up and stabbed her dagger into the hairy flesh of the queen's neck. Gohma screeched and attempted to shake her off, but Zelda fisted her hands in the fur as she was tossed around wildly, finally managing to cling to its armored back. She stabbed again and again, grimly satisfied with each cry of pain. But then Gohma stilled, and movement in the corner of her eye made Zelda's head snap up as the tail rose into sight, the stinger gleaming sharply. And she saw an opportunity that could either turn out very well or very badly for her.

"Come on, come on," Zelda whispered, her eyes always on the stinger, trying to hold completely still and provide a tempting target. At last the stinger stabbed downward, and Zelda threw herself aside, but not quite fast enough. The stinger thrust through her left forearm, sliding right between the two bones, and she screamed at the blinding agony that all but incapacitated her. But the stinger had also gouged deeply into the back of Gohma's neck, and the wound bled ichor so profusely that Zelda knew it must have punctured its own spine. The parasite queen quivered, groaning as its legs collapsed and left it sprawled on the ground, the stinger slowly withdrawing as its tail fell limp.

Zelda toppled off the queen to the ground, ensuring with a quick glance that its eye was glazed and it was truly dead, but she had no presence of mind to savor her victory. Several of the hatching larvae fell upon the great carcass, too ravenous to recognize it as their lifeless mother, but some of the others were approaching her on their gangly legs, chittering as if they could sense her weakness. Zelda braced her back against the dead queen, holding her dagger ready, quailing at the horde closing in on her. Of all the ways she had thought her end would come, being eaten alive by parasites in the bowels of the earth had never occurred to her as a possibility. It certainly ranked among the more gruesome and unpleasant ways to die.

But at least she had saved the Kokiri from this fate. That was all the victory she required.

"Remember me, Link," Zelda said under her breath and put her hands together, chanting in her mind, prepared to call upon Din's Fire and ignite a whirlwind that would incinerate her and the larvae all at once.

"CHARGE!"

Her concentration shattered, and Zelda gaped in shock as Mido along with three other Kokiri boys came stampeding around the queen with piercing war cries, each of them armed with their own stick weapons. They attacked the parasites, laying into them with astonishing ferocity until every larva in the immediate vicinity lay dead or badly wounded. The Kokiri boys cheered and clacked their torches together in victory, heedless of the scrapes and cuts they had sustained.

"Woo hoo! The Know-It-All Brothers strike again!"

"That's what you get for messing with us!"

"Yes!" Mido said in jubilation. He slung Zelda's torch over his shoulder and all but struck a pose, grinning ear to ear. "So how awesome was that, huh? We totally beat them down!"

"Not all of them," Zelda said bleakly, nodding behind them, and one by one the boys lost their grins as dozens more of the egg sacs burst open and unleashed the larvae within. She seized Mido and another boy by the arms and urged them ahead of her, the five of them tumbling over themselves to circle around Gohma's corpse before the newly-born parasites could notice them. The Know-It-All brothers reached the thread first and scurried up like monkeys. Mido went after them, and only then did Zelda attempt to climb the thread herself. And attempt was a strong word. Her left arm throbbed unbearably, blood seeping from her wound and soaking her sleeve. It was excruciating to support her weight with that limb, but she forced it to anyway, her ears ringing with the shrieks of the parasite larvae.

Fixing her eyes upward, Zelda focused only on climbing, though she made pitiful progress compared to the Kokiri boys. By the time they reached the top, she had only made it halfway up. Feeling tension in the thread, Zelda dared to look down and fear clawed up her throat when she saw four of the larvae climbing up after her. They were equally as slow as her, often resorting to attacking each other in their endeavor to be first, but their weight caused the thread to stretch and thin beneath their hands. She wondered how much weight it could take before it snapped.

"Come on, Sheik, climb faster!" Mido bellowed, and he was echoed by a chorus of other young voices. She looked up again, seeing the rest of the Kokiri poking their heads over the edge and hollering down at her, urging her on. Several of their fairies flew down to her level and offered their own encouragement in tiny voices. Zelda flexed her left hand, reaching up, but her cramped fingers refused to grip the thread. She couldn't pull herself up any further, and so she just hung there, her treacherous arms on fire, only the thought of what awaited below keeping her from giving up and dropping.

"Quick, we've gotta help!"

"No," Zelda rasped, wanting to tell them to save themselves and not put their lives in danger needlessly. A rock whizzed past her head and struck one of the parasites, sending it tumbling back down into the pit. Several more rocks followed the first, the majority of them missing, and one of them even struck Zelda in the eye. She slipped down several inches, stars exploding in her vision.

"Mido, you jerk! You hit her!"

"I didn't mean to! It was your fault anyway, you distracted me!"

"What should we do? She's gonna fall down and get eaten!"

"I wish Link was here..."

"Yeah, well he's not! And that wimp couldn't do anything anyway!"

Zelda shook her head dizzily, finding that her swollen eye refused to open. Mido had quite a strong arm. Knowing she had only one last resort, Zelda took a firmer grip on the thread with her right hand and drew her dagger with her left, laboriously sawing the thread below her. It took long seconds for the blade to eat through the thread, and the dagger was slippery from ichor, which only made it more difficult. She nearly dropped it once, but just as the first larva was nipping at her ankles, the thread below her broke and sent them all plummeting down.

Drawing a shaky breath of relief, Zelda sheathed her dagger and gripped the frayed thread again, grateful for the reprieve. It took a moment for her to notice dully that she was ascending, despite the fact that she was exerting no effort to do it. She listened to the Kokiri straining above her, their voices chanting one-two-three before they all heaved on the thread and pulled her up a little bit more, and Zelda wanted to smile at their determination to help her. When she finally reached the hole, there were many small hands reaching down to haul her up until she could collapse on her hands and knees.

"T-Thank you," Zelda said faintly, coughing, and she nursed her sore palms as fading adrenaline left her swaying. "Thank you, all of you..."

"You saved us, lady," one of the Know-It-All brothers said with a laugh. "We should be saying thank you!"

"Are you okay, lady?" Fado asked, hovering anxiously. "That's...oh, that's a lot of blood..."

"Hey, give her some room!" Mido commanded and shoved some of his tribe mates back. He faltered at the sight of her wounds, his face turning slightly green, but he made an effort to mask it. "What...what should we do, Sheik? Do you need anything?"

Zelda shook her head, resting a hand on his shoulder so she could pull herself to her feet, wobbling on her ankle. "I must see you all safely back to the village. I don't know if those parasites can climb out of there, but we can't risk remaining here if they can."

"They're not even trying to climb out," one of the Kokiri girls announced from the edge of the pit. She peered down with an expression of disgusted fascination. "They're...eww, they're eating each other! Why are they doing that? Aren't they all brothers and sisters?"

Several of the Kokiri rushed over to see for themselves, making similar noises of revulsion. Mido wrinkled his pudgy nose as if he wanted to look, but he seemed to rethink it, instead marching up to the others and loudly distracting them from the macabre spectacle in the pit.

"Alright, come on, everybody! Sheik said she wants us to leave, so let's go already! Let those things eat each other, if they want to. I don't care, they deserve it!"

"This way," Zelda said, limping around the pit with two children grasping her hands and the rest clustered in a tight circle around her. She couldn't work out whether they were guarding her or expected her to guard them, but their presence made her feel stronger for the short journey to the tunnel and then out into the open grove. The moon had risen above the trees, and its light lent a silvery glow to the grass and leaves and shimmered off the wings of the many fairies. Zelda might have appreciated the beauty better had she not felt so much like a broken and abused doll that had been trampled on by a herd of angry horses.

"Hey lady, are you okay?"

"Just...tired," Zelda mumbled, sinking down against one of the huge roots of the Great Deku Tree. The Kokiri clustered around her, their concerned voices all morphing into a continuous hum of chatter. They seemed to be debating whether to douse her with water to wake her up or find a blanket to make her more comfortable. She shut her eyes, fingers sifting through the grass beneath her and wondering why it felt so different. It seemed softer somehow, the earth richer and the air cleaner. Even the light from the moon and stars was much more vibrant than it had been before, and the heady atmosphere seemed to dull the pain of her wounds until Zelda could hardly feel them.

"Whoa...guys, look at this! There's a baby Deku Tree!"

The Kokiri all cried out at once and abandoned the wounded Sheikah to gather about a tiny sapling, hardly taller than their ankles and which Zelda was positive had not been there when she first entered the Great Tree. They touched the verdant leaves in reverence, their laughter infectious as they babbled excitedly amongst themselves. Even Zelda could sense the magic surrounding that sapling, almost visible as an aura of light.

Link, Zelda thought in mute astonishment. He has succeeded...the Sage of the Forest has awakened!

Mido crouched down at her side, arms wrapped around his knees. Zelda glanced at him, and he looked aside quickly, worrying at his bottom lip. "You, um...you were kind of...cool in there. I guess. For a girl, I mean!"

"...thank you," Zelda said slowly, highly aware that it was the most halfhearted and grudging compliment she had ever received. She contemplated the freckled boy, part of her feeling slightly traitorous for having a civil conversation with Link's former bully. But she did owe Mido her life. A braggart he may have been, but he had earned a second chance in her eyes.

"So...think you could teach me some of those moves?" Mido said with such childlike enthusiasm that it made her want to hug him. "I mean, you can wait until you're better, but I'd love to throw knives like that! And the Deku nuts were an awesome idea! We just use them for games, but I didn't know they could be used in a fight!"

"It takes a great deal of training," Zelda warned him. "It took me seven years to master those skills, and even I am not considered an expert in the ways of the Sheikah."

"Seven years?" Mido whined. But he overcame his dismay and shrugged like it was nothing. "Well...if it was you teaching me, then I guess I wouldn't mind it taking that long."

"Me?" Zelda said, bemused. She took another look at the so-called boss of the Kokiri, who was now gazing upon her with worshipful and positively love-struck eyes. And inside, she cringed. Oh dear, Link is going to be very upset with me...

A thunderous crash in the underbrush startled Zelda and the rest of the Kokiri. The children retreated closer to her, their faces frightened as whatever it was stampeded through the woods and approached the grove at speed. Zelda braced her hand against the root and tried to rise, but failed when her leg crumpled beneath her. Whatever was coming, be it another Gohma or something even more dangerous and terrifying, she was ill prepared to face it. She was on the verge of screaming at the Kokiri to flee when their attacker suddenly burst through the thick shrubs. Link halted from his headlong sprint, bare sword in hand, chest heaving as if he had run here at full speed all the way from the Sacred Forest Meadow. Zelda took in the torn and bloodied state of his tunic, the visible trembling in his limbs and singed hair by his ear, all clear signs of recent battle. But his own welfare seemed to be the last thing on his mind. His eyes were wild and frantic, tinged with despair, and she couldn't tell from that distance if the glimmering wetness on his cheeks was caused by sweat or tears.

But whatever had brought him there, whatever he had so feared to find, it vanished at the sight of them all. His lips parted mutely, the Master Sword slowly lowering until its tip touched the earth, and his desperation faded until all she could see was relief, and then joy. He came forward, so winded that his voice was only a weak rasp.

"You're...you're all okay..."

"Of course we're okay, mister!" Fado giggled, and the other Kokiri voiced similar assurances. But they suffered to let Link walk among them, gazing into their young faces, reaching out to touch each shorter head as if to count them and make sure none were missing. And Zelda was glad, so very glad that none of the Kokiri had been lost because now she could see exactly how much each of their lives meant to him. Link tugged on one of Fado's pigtails playfully and exchanged a high five with one of the younger boys, smiling as they all clamored for his attention at once, the Hylian swordsman who dressed like them and talked like them and knew all their games and secrets without ever having to be told.

And then he finally saw her. Zelda only belatedly remembered to tug her veil up when his attention moved beyond his tribe, and she met his gaze with as much composure as she could manage when she was covered in blood and flat-out exhausted. Link simply looked at her for a moment, lingering over her wounds, eyes darkened with some unnamed emotion. He dropped his sword to the grass, rushing right past Mido and taking Zelda by surprise when he fell to his knees and threw his arms around her, embracing her so tightly that she could scarcely draw breath.

"You saved them," Link breathed. "You...you saved them...oh gods, I thought I'd be too late! Ganondorf, he...I heard his voice when I killed the phantom. He told me about Gohma, about the eggs, and...and he said no matter how fast I ran, I wouldn't...that I'd never reach them before..."

"So it was Ganondorf's doing," Zelda said darkly. To taunt Link in such a despicable way, baiting him with the lives of the innocent Kokiri...his cruelty knew no bounds. "The fairies warned me that something was amiss, but even then I was only just in time. A few more minutes and I might not have saved them all."

"I was hoping I'd be in time to save just one," Link confessed, choking, his words muffled in her shoulder. "I was praying so hard, just praying for some kind of miracle. But you...Sheik, I can neverrepay you for this. Nothing will ever be enough, nothing."

Zelda didn't realize he was crying until she suddenly felt his tears on the side of her face, burning hot against her skin. She became rigid, alarm and embarrassment overtaking her at the realization that the Hero of Time was having an emotional breakdown in her arms. She clumsily patted his back. "H-Hero please, there is no need for this! I appreciate your gratitude, but I was only acting as my duty required."

Link chuckled, finally pulling back and smiling as he blinked away the remaining tears. "No...you think I don't know this wasn't part of your duty? You didn't have to save them, but you did anyway. And even after I doubted you, kept asking you all those questions when I should've trusted you from the beginning. I won't make that mistake again."

"I could not simply leave them to die," Zelda said softly. She glanced over his shoulder at the multitude of inquisitive eyes watching them, envisioning all too clearly what would have happened if she hadn't been here. Link would have arrived far too late and come upon a scene of massacre inside the Great Tree. She couldn't imagine how badly that would have broken him. Zelda shut her eyes, striving to banish that image from her mind. "Enough evil has already been done here. I had to stop it from taking further root."

"And it looks like you took a beating for it," Link remarked and with a nod at her swollen eye.

"Mido did that," Fado spoke up, pointing at the boy in question with a single reproachful finger. "He threw a rock at her."

"By accident!" Mido protested. When he noticed Link staring at him, he crossed his arms and looked the other way, one foot tapping the ground. "H-Hey, I was trying to hit the bugs, okay? And it's not like I was the only one throwing rocks! It could've been anybody else!"

"Yeah, but it was you," Fado said. "And you didn't even say you were sorry!"

"Yeah, Mido!" one of the Know-It-All brothers put in. "Say you're sorry! She's a lady, so you've gotta be chivalrous!"

"Fine, I'm sorry!" Mido snapped, throwing up his hands. "I...I'm sorry. So can we drop it now?"

"It's alright, I accept your apology," Zelda said at once, hoping to spare the boy further shame.

"Well...as long as Sheik forgives you," Link said after a moment. But he peeked at her with a raised eyebrow and silently mouthed lady? Zelda winced and only offered a feeble shrug and nod. So much for her male disguise. She supposed he would have learned the truth eventually, but it was rather aggravating to have her secret divulged so soon. And by a bunch of blabber-mouthed children, no less. Link didn't seem particularly bothered by the revelation though, and after a surprised blink he merely smiled and ducked his head ruefully like he should have guessed from the beginning.

A distant screech drifted out of the Great Tree, causing Link to grow tense, although Zelda recognized it as another death cry from one of the larva. "I didn't quite...finish them off," she admitted. "The queen is dead, but her offspring are still trapped beneath the roots."

"Eating each other," one of the Kokiri said, wrinkling her nose.

"Guess I'd better take care of it then," Link said, jaw set as he reached for his sword. Zelda began to rise, but he put a hand on her shoulder. "No, just wait here. I think I've got enough bombs that I can drop down there. It shouldn't take long."

"Very well," Zelda said reluctantly, still feeling useless as he strode into the Great Deku Tree. Several of the Kokiri followed after him, apparently fascinated by the notion of exploding insects, but most of the tribe remained in the grove either grouped around the new Deku Tree Sprout or lounging on the grass beneath the stars, the horrors of the night already put behind them. Only Mido seemed to be in a grouchy mood, his expression miffed as he scoffed and jerked a thumb after Link.

"Sheesh, what's with that guy anyway? Getting all touchy-feely with you...I should've punched him!"

"Are you sure that would be wise?" Zelda asked, though some wicked part of her dearly wanted to see him try it. "He's quite a bit bigger than you."

"I don't care, I'll clobber him anyway!" Mido declared. "Maybe if he'd gotten his lazy butt here sooner, then you wouldn't have gotten hurt so bad! You shouldn't be hanging around with a jerk like that no matter how much he likes you!"

Fado poked her head between them. "Aww, Mido...do you like Sheik?"

"W-W-What?" Mido squawked and jumped back so fast that he nearly fell over. "No, no way, I don't like her! Just 'cause I think she's a good fighter doesn't mean—!"

Fado clapped her hands in delight. "Mido likes Sheik, Mido likes Sheik!" she squealed. "Hey everybody, Mido likes—!"

"Shut up!" Mido roared, his face flushing deep purple when the rest of the Kokiri took up the good-humored chant. Zelda actually felt rather sorry for him. He clearly wasn't accustomed to being teased. "Hey, I said shut up! I'm still the boss of all of you! You can't ignore me like this!"

"Mido and Sheik, sitting in a tree," Fado sang mockingly. "K-I-S-S..."

"He's coming back!" one of the girls said, and all the Kokiri instantly fell silent, snickering behind their hands as Link stepped out of the Great Tree, stuffing the remainder of his bombs into his belt pouches and glancing around in confusion.

"Who was making all that noise?"

"Nobody," Fado said, smiling sweetly, rocking on the balls of her feet.

Zelda cleared her throat. "Is it done?"

A series of powerful explosions came from within the Great Tree, followed by the excited whoops of those Kokiri who had gone inside to watch. Link pulled a face. "Now it is," he muttered and came to her side, oblivious to Mido's disgruntled glare. "It's weird though. That queen Gohma in there...I don't think it's the same one from seven years ago. It's way too small."

"Too...small?" Zelda said, incredulous. When it became clear that Link was being perfectly serious, she flushed beneath her veil. "Ah, perhaps you are not remembering right? You were much younger then and maybe it only seems smaller now that you have grown...?"

"Nope, that one is definitely smaller," Link said firmly, and only then did he seem to understand her indignant silence. "I-I mean...I'm sure it was still a really tough fight! Just because something is big doesn't make it a challenge. Uh, not that I'm saying it wasn't a challenge, I'm just..."

"Thank you, hero, that will do," Zelda snapped. But she turned back to him in discomfiture. "Was it really smaller than the one you defeated?"

"By at least half," Link said with an apologetic smile, and Zelda drooped her shoulders, any pride she might have had now thoroughly squashed. Link knelt down and took her hands in his. "But it doesn't matter, I'm still so grateful you were here to stop it. I meant what I said earlier, Sheik. I don't know how I'll ever thank you for this..."

"You could kiss her!" Fado suggested with entirely too much enthusiasm. When Zelda and Link both stared at her, she only beamed. "That's what's supposed to happen, right? After the bad guys are all beaten, the hero saves the lady and gives her a kiss!"

"No way, that's not how it works!" Mido hollered, waving his arms madly. "And what are you calling him a hero for anyway? He didn't do anything! It was Sheik who saved us, not him!"

"Then are you gonna kiss her?" Fado challenged, and Mido balked. "That's what I thought! So go ahead, mister! Kiss her!"

"Yeah, do it, mister!"

"And make it a good one! On the lips!"

The Kokiri all piped in with their agreement, some much louder than others, and even the fairies joined in by flying circles above the two adults and raining iridescent sparks around them. Zelda and Link traded awkward looks, and she was quietly relieved that he seemed just as uncomfortable as her. Not that the thought of kissing him completely repulsed her...but it seemed awfully presumptuous. She had only just earned his trust as a friend. Zelda tugged at her veil to make sure her face was completely covered, hoping he couldn't see the color splashed across her cheeks.

"I don't think they're going to let us get out of it," Link remarked in a low voice.

"Then they will be sorely disappointed," Zelda muttered, but she had barely gotten the words out of her mouth when Link leaned over and swiftly kissed her forehead, possibly the only part of her face that he could safely reach. The unexpected affection left her speechless, eyes wide as she gaped at him, but Link resolutely looked the other way, his face slightly reddened.

"And that's all you're getting!"

"Awww," Fado lamented, which was echoed by many of the other girls who must have hoped for something more romantic.

"Come on," Link muttered to her, carefully slinging her arm over his shoulders. "I'll take you to the village and find a healing fairy for your wounds. Can you stand up?"

"I can try," Zelda grunted, attempting to put as little weight on her ankle as possible. Her left arm dangled uselessly at her side, her fingers still dripping blood, although being in the presence of the newly sprouted Deku Tree seemed to have already begun the healing process.

"Wait a minute!" Mido blurted out. He marched up to them, shooting Link an irritated look before he turned his attention to Zelda. She watched in confusion as he shuffled his feet and mumbled under his breath, refusing to meet her gaze. She pushed away from Link and leaned down to hear him better.

"What is it...?"

Seizing her by the shoulders, Mido stretched up on his toes and planted a clumsy kiss on her cheek. And for the second time Zelda was left without words, blinking rapidly as he stomped in the other direction while his tribe mates either cheered or giggled or remained in stunned silence. Only once he had put a safe distance between them did Mido spin around and point at her bossily.

"So there! I'm a hero too!"

Behind her, Link spluttered. "What...the...heck? Since when did he start wanting to be a hero?"

"I'm not sure," Zelda said, one hand rising to her cheek, touched by the chaste gesture. She smiled warmly. "Maybe when he saw his friends in danger, it awoke the hero in his heart. He acted with great courage inside the Great Deku Tree. I don't believe I could have prevailed without his help."

Link's mouth dropped open, and he stared at her as if she had just claimed that Ganondorf was cuddly as a puppy. He seemed to have difficulty wrapping his head around the idea as they hobbled back in the direction of the village, Zelda leaning on him heavily. They had nearly reached the edge of the grove when she noticed the look on his face, teeth grinding and eyebrow twitching, as if he was suppressing some instinctive urge. For a moment it seemed his newfound maturity as a hero might win out. But at last Link halted and whirled around, the child in him unable to take it anymore.

"I kissed her first!"

"She liked mine better!" Mido retorted without skipping a beat and blew a raspberry for good measure.

Zelda sighed and had to physically restraint an apoplectic Link from rushing back to beat the living snot out of his former nemesis. "Link, I risked my life to save him along with the others. Please do not let my efforts be in vain."

Chapter Text

Zelda was at a loss. She stared at the object of her consternation, and when she could take it no more, she leaned down to snatch it up from where it had been carelessly dropped in the grass. And she was forced to concede that there was nothing wrong with her vision and that the object was, in fact, a boot. One of the Iron Boots to be exact, lacking both its left counterpart and the hero who was meant to be in possession of them. Zelda could not for the life of her imagine how it had come to be here, abandoned at the entrance to the valley of Lake Hylia.

But as she moved further into the valley and approached the desiccated lake, she realized with a sinking feeling that the boot was only the beginning. Link's possessions were scattered all over the place, as if he had flung them in all directions with no care for where they landed. Zelda located the second Iron Boot inside a bush along with the Fairy Bow, then picked up the Megaton Hammer next, but she had to leave the Hylian Shield and the hookshot where she spotted them stuck in a tree, only able to carry so much. The strangeness continued when Zelda jogged down to the lakeshore, and she was appalled to see the Biggoron Sword stuck fast into the earth with the Goron Tunic draped across its handle, apparently in imitation of the lopsided scarecrow beside it.

"Link?" Zelda called warily, her paranoia running rampant. Something terrible had happened. That was the only explanation. She could not imagine Link treating his gear and weapons in such a childish manner, which meant he must have been robbed. And by a thief with a very bizarre sense of humor. Zelda continued her search, following the trail of lost items to the remains of a campsite, and she was relieved to find the Master Sword still in its scabbard with Link's belt pouches piled beside it. At least the thief had not made off with the sacred blade.

The bushes nearby rustled, and Zelda dropped the items she was carrying and whirled around, one hand flying to her dagger. But she was distracted when her foot bumped into a cluster of empty bottles on the ground. She knelt to pick one up, finding a few drops of green potion still in the bottom. Or she thought it was green potion until an overwhelming stench hit her. Most potions had a strong taste of herbs or mushrooms, but this one reminded her of syrup or the juices of some sweet fruit.

"Sheik, Sheik!"

The miniscule voice caught her attention, and Zelda gasped and dove for the only bottle that was still sealed tight—and which had a familiar blue fairy trapped within. She wrenched the bottle open, and Navi darted out, but immediately collapsed onto the grass as if her wings simply had not the strength to carry her. Zelda scooped the fairy up, fear making her heart contract.

"Navi, what happened? How did you end up in there? Where is Link?"

"P-Please," Navi whimpered, and she wrapped tiny arms around Zelda's thumb. "Please...please help..."

"I will if you tell me where—"

The bushes to her left exploded, and Zelda yelped when she was tackled with bruising force and brought to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

"HI SHEIK!"

"L-Link?" Zelda sputtered when she recognized the delighted laughter in her ear.

"Ha ha, I got you!" Link whooped. He pushed himself upright, though most of his weight remained firmly planted on her stomach, and beamed in triumph. "Look at that, I snuck up on you for once! You're not the only one who can be all silent and shadowy! So did I surprise you, Sheik? Huh? Did I?"

"Get off me!" Zelda demanded and managed to shove him aside so she could sit up and nurse her ribs. "And what do you mean did you surprise me? You scared the living daylights out of me! That was the most immature thing I've ever seen you do! What in the name of the goddesses possessed you to behave like that?"

His expression became crestfallen. "Aww Sheik, you don't gotta yell at me. I was just having fun..."

"Fun?" Zelda snapped, furious. She seized the front of his tunic, intending to shake an apology out of him, but the action brought them close enough for her to see his eyes, and her ire rapidly shifted to concern. His pupils were almost fully dilated, even in the light of day, and his gaze seemed unfocused, distracted. His attention kept flitting around with restless energy, barely able to concentrate on her presence.

"Link, are you feeling well?"

"Uh huh, why?" Link said, speaking more rapidly than usual. His focus only sharpened a bit when he noticed the fairy hovering beside them. "Oh, hey Navi! Where have you been all this time? I kept trying to find you!"

"She was trapped inside one of the bottles," Zelda said, startled when Link's eyes widened and he adopted a shifty manner. "Link, you didn't..."

"Um, woops?" Link said with a rueful chuckle. "I kind of forgot she was in there...but it's not like I was being mean or anything! We were playing tag, but she's really good at that game, and it was the only way to keep her from catching me. It's really not fair that she can fly and I can't because that just makes her the fastest automatically, and then it's not any fun when I'm it all the time..."

"You were playing tag?" Zelda repeated in bewilderment. "But I still don't understand. Why were you...?"

"Why is it called tag anyway?" Link asked with no regard for her real question. "It's kind of a weird word, don't you think? Tag, tag, tag...you say it enough times and it starts to make your tongue feel all funny. A lot of words do that. You know what's another weird word? Dragonfly! I can't figure that one out! I mean it's not a dragon or a fly, and they don't even look like dragons, except for maybe the bug eyes because Volvagia had those too..."

"Why...are you talking about dragonflies?" Zelda said cautiously, now beginning to fear for his sanity.

"I dunno, why are you talking about them?"

Navi chimed urgently, drawing her attention to the empty potion bottles. And then the dots finally connected. Zelda grabbed Link's arm and shoved the bottle in his face. "Link, I need to know something. This is very important. What was in these bottles before you drank them?"

"Oh, that!" Link said, excitement lighting up his face. He crawled over to his belt pouches and produced a full bottle of the unnamed green liquid. "That's right, Sheik! I was going to tell you about this stuff. The lake professor invented it and asked me to try it out for him. It's called Stamina Potion, and it's supposed to give you a whole lot of energy so you can fight for hours and hours and hours, which is great for me since I spend so much time inside the temples and I get tired a lot, and with this stuff it stops your wounds from hurting and you don't get hungry or thirsty, and you don't even have to sleep if you just keep drinking it, and the professor really wanted to see how long I could go with just—"

"Link, breathe!"

He ceased his tirade and sucked in a huge breath on her command, cheeks puffed out and eyes watering as he struggled to hold it in.

"Now out."

Link gasped, all the air leaving him at once. He swayed and toppled onto his back in the grass, arms outspread. "Wow, that felt good!" he declared. "I should do that more often!"

"Stamina Potion?" Zelda repeated. She picked up the potion bottle from where Link had dropped it, suspicious as she examined the frothy and bubbling liquid inside. "I've never heard of such a thing. And it was the lake professor who asked you to test it?"

"That cloud looks kinda like King Zora, don't you think?" Link remarked, pointing straight upward, once again expounding on a random tangent. He rolled over on his stomach and pillowed his chin on his arms. "Nah, looking at the clouds is boring. You wanna do something else, Sheik? I know, we can go fishing! Yeah, let's do that! Do you like fishing?"

Deciding it was best not to encourage his behavior, Zelda shook her head. "No, I do not."

"You're weird," Link said, pouting. But he perked up again with a gleam in his eye. "Heeey, you know what else we can do? Tickle fight!"

"No!" Zelda said and barely evaded a second flying tackle. Fearing he might attack again, she grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back, one foot planted between his shoulder blades to keep him on his knees.

"Ow, ow!" Link howled and looked back at her with tear-filled eyes. "Why are you being so mean to me? What did I ever do to you?"

"You're not listening to me, for one!" Zelda retorted. She cautiously let him go, but kept herself at a safe distance. "Now stop with the games! There is something wrong with you, and it has to do with those potions. Exactly how many of them have you consumed?"