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Looking back, the first hint that something was amiss should have been how easy Link found it to trust Sheik.
His secretive new ally kept his face entirely covered, save for a bright red eye that was almost smiling, if not the gravity of the words he spoke. When evil rules all, an awakening voice from the Sacred Realm will call…
Sheik’s voice, stern yet calm, gave Link the feeling that not only was saving Hyrule possible, it was their destiny. So it did not bother him that this stranger seemed to know exactly how to defeat the evil Ganondorf and find Princess Zelda, nor did it bother him that Sheik’s idea of goodbye was throwing down a deku nut and disappearing in the haze left behind. The first time it happened Link could only smile at the spectacle.
How like him, he thought.
Beyond providing Link with some philosophical musings, Sheik was a man of few words. Still, he was welcome company. The Hyrule to which Link had awoken had changed almost beyond recognition; crushed under the heel of its new King, the land was scoured and the people were scarce. The times that Sheik appeared to teach Link a new song on his ocarina were the only chance he actually had to speak to anyone.
“Are you feeling better today?” he asked after they had met in the raging underbelly of Death Mountain to play a bolero of fire.
“Pardon?”
“A few days ago at the Forest Temple, when you taught me the minuet. You had a cold.”
“No I didn’t.”
“You were sneezing.”
“Sneezing? I…” Sheik paused, as understanding crossed what little of his face Link could see. “I remember now. Yes, I am better. Thank you Link.”
“Well, that’s good to hear—“
Snap! Down came the deku nut and Sheik was gone.
It wasn’t exactly a conversation, but it was a start. Link next found Sheik deep in the icy caverns of Zora’s Domain — frozen thanks to Ganondorf’s meddling — but his hopes of further discussion were quickly dashed.
Sheik’s usual poise was gone. He sat on a large block of ice, slumped and clutching his golden harp to his chest. He explained that Zora’s Domain was lost, except for its princess who had gone in search of the Water Temple to destroy the monster within. He drew his harp forth, preparing with some melancholy to teach Link another song.
“Time passes, people move,” he sighed. “Like a river’s flow, it never ends, does it? A childish mind will turn to noble ambition. Y-young—“
“Young love will become deep affection,” Link murmured. “The clear water reflects growth.”
“How did you know what I was going to say?” Sheik’s red eye met his, cold as the ice of the caverns.
“I just did. I…” Link searched for the right words. “We know each other, don’t we? I mean other than meeting like this.”
Sheik withdrew, reaching yet again for a deku nut to flee with. Link surged forward, grabbing his shoulder. “Wait, answer me!”
“No. Not now. Find the Princess, Link,” Sheik instructed, pulling away. “I need time to think.”
Reluctantly, Link agreed, and allowed Sheik to teach him the song; a serenade so sweet it made him want to cry. This time, Sheik departed not with a flash but a bow.
“I’ll see you again,” he said.
To Link, it seemed like an apology.
Once the beast within the Water Temple was vanquished, and yet another friend had ascended as a Sage, Sheik met Link on the shores of Lake Hylia. The clear waters sparkled under the high sun as they sat together on the bank, eating a fish that Link had caught and roasted over a fire.
In order to eat, Sheik had dropped the cowl covering his face, unveiling it for the first time. He was younger than Link had imagined, with unblemished skin and a smattering of fine whiskers on his jaw. But most surprising was the way Sheik smiled when he talked.
“A fine carp, a good catch,” he said lightly.
“Compliments to the chef?” Link asked. At this Sheik just rolled his eyes.
“Anyway, I do not know why you feel we have met before,” he said as he picked over a few fish bones. “Perhaps in a past life, we fought a great evil together. That sort of thing leaves a mark on the soul. Trust me.”
“I do trust you."
Sheik looked at him for a long moment, and then laughed. The sound of it caught Link off-guard; it had a melodic lilt, like his harp.
“Don’t let your fiancé hear you say that,” Sheik said. I don’t have a fiancé Link was about to say, when Sheik leaned across and kissed his cheek, running a gentle hand through his hair at the same time.
“Thank you for this respite, Hero,” he whispered. Then, before Link could even think how to respond, Sheik was dousing the fire and the afternoon was over.
With no clear next destination, Link travelled in a daze from Lake Hylia to Kakariko Village, hoping to hire a room at the inn and stare at the ceiling until he understood his twin feelings of joy and confusion. Except he could do no such thing, because when he arrived the inn was on fire, along with the rest of the town.
In the midst of it all, as townsfolk scrambled for safety, Sheik stood tall and at the ready by the entrance to the town’s well.
“Get back,” he called to Link. At that moment the well cover blew clean off, and all hell (or something much worse) broke loose.
A terrible shadow swarmed overhead. It swooped, angling directly for Sheik and knocked him to the ground. Link’s legs had a mind of their own, positioning him between the shadow and Sheik. He raised his shield, but the force of its blow was so great it sucked the air from his lungs. Just as his consciousness faded he was… standing again. By the well.
“Get back, Link!” Sheik said. The well exploded. The shadow roared. This time it went straight for him, burrowing into his heart, and he felt himself fall and hit— the bricks, as the shadow slammed him into a nearby building. The shadow struck again, throwing Link backward and— into the well itself, falling and falling with no way to—
“Get back, Link, please!” Sheik cried.
What was happening? Why was he stuck at the well, at this one moment, being hit again and again and being told to—
“Get back!” Sheik shouted, angry now.
Again the shadow burst forth, knocking Link down harder than all times before. Pain welled in his chest. Then, above him, he saw Sheik take the ocarina from his bag and begin to play. In his last moments of awareness, Link realised he knew the melody: it was a lullaby, once beloved by the Princess of Hyrule.
Looking back, all that had come before now made sense, but Link needed time to be sure. He had braved the Shadow Temple and conquered the Spirit Temple before he was ready to confront Sheik.
They met once again in the Temple of Time, where it had all begun. Sheik explained to him the legends of the Triforce, saying that Ganondorf had caused it to split into three when he stole it from the Sacred Realm. All this only strengthened Link’s resolve.
“You hold the final piece,” Link said. “You are the seventh sage.”
“I—“ Sheik blinked at him. “Yes. How did you know?”
Link took a deep breath. “From the moment we met, you seemed familiar. Then I began to remember things you had forgotten, and finish your sentences.” He took the Ocarina of Time from his bag and held it between them. “Then you used this to save my life in Kakariko Village. You turned back time, more than once. There’s only one person in Hyrule who could do that.”
Sheik’s eyes welled with tears. He bowed his head.
“Zelda,” Link said, kind as he could. “I’m not angry. It is Zelda, right?”
Sheik had bowed, but it was the Princess who raised her head. “Yes, it is. You don’t know how happy it makes me to say that.”
Link handed the ocarina to her. “How many times did you use it?”
With a shrug, “I lost count after fifty.”
Fifty? “I died that many times?!”
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Zelda said, laughing. “You’re as brave as you are reckless.” Then her face fell. “This is the furthest we’ve ever made it. Each time you fall, I have to send us back to the moment you arrive in the future. At this point, I don’t even know if defeating Ganondorf is possible.”
She unravelled her long braid, shaking out her golden hair with a sigh. Her eyes seemed a little softer now, the red shade fading to green. This was who she had wanted to be all this time, Link thought.
“I’m sorry I can’t remember it all,” Link said, realising unhappily that Zelda likely could. “When I face Ganondorf, I’ll make it count.”
Zelda placed a hand on his cheek and smiled a soft, sad smile. “I know you will.”
She knelt down to kiss his cheek, but Link turned his head and caught her lips with his own; a short, whisper of a kiss, one hopeful of more to follow once peace had returned.
“I’ll see you again?” Zelda asked.
“I’ll see you again,” Link affirmed.
This time around, whether or not this was the last time around, it was nothing short of a vow.