A Crown for the Queen

By GreatAngemon

My name is Sheik. No, that's not right. My name, my true name, is Zelda. And I am the Princess of Hyrule. Or, I was. It was almost seven years ago when he came. The usurper of my throne. Ganondorf of the Gerudo.

Seven years since he gained the Triforce of Power. Seven years since the power of Hyrule failed. But it's my fault. I sent him on the errand. The boy from the forest. Link. I sent him to get the Spiritual Stones, so that we could see if the Master Sword was safe. But he drew the sword. That was never a part of my plan.

He drew the sword, and that allowed Ganondorf access the Sacred Realm. He drew the sword, and that gave Ganondorf the Triforce. Now, in my guise of Sheik, I walk the fields of Hyrule, working as Ganondorf's spy, until the Hero returns to the land.

Impa, my caretaker since I was a child, disagreed with my plan to work as a spy. She said that if Ganondorf found out, Hyrule would be lost. But I knew that the only way to protect Hyrule, and its queen, was for me to hide in his sight. So I disguised myself a banished member of the Sheikah Tribe, and I told him that I was in need of a master.

He took me in, gloating that he was truly the king of Hyrule, because he now had a Shadow of the Royal Family as his servant. And so he sent me, never questioning my allegiance, to spy, and to listen for rumors of the Hero. And this brings me here, to the village of Kakariko.

He sent me here, because he heard a rumor from one of his other spies that the Hero had been seen here by the villagers. But, I do not care. I am not one of his servants. I am his adversary.

"Mommy?"

I look around at the voice. Sitting there, leaning against a giant crate, is a little girl, no older than eight. She has bedraggled gold hair spun about her shoulders. Her clothing, though tattered and torn, was once of high quality, and the color, though faded, can still be seen.

"Hello," I say, my voice deeper than it should be. That is the one thing I cannot get accustomed to. Sheik, a Sheikah name meaning being of darkness, is a man's name, and as such, it is fitting that I am disguised as one. "Who are you?"

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," she says. "My mommy told me so."

"Well, where is your mommy?"

"She said that she was going to the bazaar," she said. "She left more than an hour ago, and I'm scared."

"Would you like it if I waited here with you?" I ask. She girl looks frightened, and I understand why. My body is wrapped tightly in a Sheikah training suit. It conceals my identity far better than any magic could. "Do not be frightened," I say. "I am not someone to fear. I seek only to help those in need."

The girl nods at the ground beside her. I sit, crossing my legs as I had been taught to do during meditation, and say, "What did your mommy need to get at the bazaar?"

"We're almost out of food. She took the rest of our money from a long time ago," the girl says. "We used to be rich, but when Lord Ganondorf took over, he took all of our money."

At the sound of his name, my whole body stiffens. The girl notices this. "Do you not like Lord Ganondorf?"

"No," I say. "I do not like him at all."

"Neither do I," she says. "But mommy says that if I don't call him Lord that people will get mad and will hurt us."

"Your mommy seems smart." I look at her face, and she smiles. "Here," I say, picking a small flower from the ground. "I want you to have this."

She takes the flower, a daisy, and looks at it. Then she smiles and puts it in her hair. She looks at the ground from which I'd pulled the daisy, and I see that it's a garden. "I planted those," she says. "Mommy bought me the seeds when I was little, and we planted them last year."

"They're beautiful," I say. She starts picking them, breaking the stems as close to the ground as she can. She starts fiddling with them.

"Where are you from?" she asks as she twists the flowers.

"I'm from Castle Town." She drops her project in surprise, and I mentally kick myself.

"You're from Castle Town?" she asks, her voice quivering. I nod. "Mr. Bazaar came from there. He said that it's filled with monsters he called Redeads."

"It is," I say. "The monsters do not attack me though." I motion to the symbol on my front. One of an eye, three triangular eyelashes and a single tear. "All monsters in Hyrule fear this symbol."

"Why?"

"It is a symbol of power," I tell her. They would not be able to hurt me, even if they did not fear it. We Sheikah are not so easily defeated by monsters."

I look at her project, which she seemed to have finished. "What are you making?"

"I made a crown," she said. She held up a loop of the daisies, and then stood up, placing it atop my head. "There you go."

She points to a small puddle of water nearby, and I lean over it, looking at my reflection. The crown, while pretty, does not belong on my head. 'How fitting," I think. "A crown for the queen."

I smile and say, "Here." I take the crown off of my head and place it on hers. "It'll look much prettier on you."

Hearing footsteps, I turn my head. The girl gets up and runs to an approaching figure. "Mommy!"

"Hello dear," she says, hugging her daughter. She looks up and sees me. "Who's your friend?"

I stand up and say, "Hello ma'am. My name is Sheik. I was passing through the village, and your daughter was kind enough to entertain me."

"Well, I'm glad she was behaving herself." The girl's mother started walking towards the door of a nearby house. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"No, I cannot stay," I tell her. "I have to be getting back to Castle Town."

She looks at me, and says, "Okay. Wendy. Say goodbye."

The little girl, Wendy, lets go of her mom and runs over to me. "Bye, Mr. Sheik." She hugs me, her head barely reaching up to my stomach. "I hope you can come back sometime."

I watch as she runs back into her house and closes the door. "I hope so too," I whisper, turning away. "And maybe next time, it'll be in better times."

Wendy, I love you, thank you for requesting!

The daisy crown was inspired by one of Leila Editer's oneshot's. Leila, if you read this, I hope you like it.

Rey, you get this shoutout for me being stupid and mixing it up and for me to say sorry.