* A note before we start: This is the new version of a story I'd written years ago. Some parts are similar, other parts are completely new. The timeline I'm using is by the Sage of Time. I found it on google and thought it was very good. I didn't make these places or characters.

Hyrule, yr. 2089

Ancient bricks held the stone walls that gated the area of the castle courtyard together, heavily guarded by soldiers to stop any unwanted visitors from entering. At the end of the winding path was a widened sector with a small unkempt pedestal, which would seem as though it had been built for the sole purpose of keeping the proper look befitting a grand, yet deteriorating, castle. This small sanctuary had a much more meaningful purpose, though. It was once used as the, now sacred, precinct of the Princess of Destiny, her only escape from the daily rituals that ran her life.

It was this place she would come to: this precinct where she would plot all of her insanely devious plans and spy on the servants from her small windowpane, where she would write her stories over and over again until she was certain she'd gotten them perfectly written, sing when she thought no one was listening, care about absolutely nothing...

It was here where he had met her.

And she, well...
She'd met him.

Him. He who, to those who didn't know him, seemed to be a Hylian like any other. Quiet, but normal.
But she knew better.

The young man that was now standing at the entrance to the sector felt his lips curve slightly into a semi-smile behind his covering.
So did he.

The prophecies of old...
The Hero of Time.

He'd seen it all happen.

Said prophecies had come true, though those without direct ties to the Hero wouldn't have taken notice as he completed his mission, defeating the evil being that had tried to dominate Hyrule and restoring it's peace before returning to his original state, undetected. It was all rather ironic, really.

It's no wonder why they say good things never last.

The boy known as Hyrule's savior had vanished awhile back, with no trace as to where he had gone, leaving the poor soul recalling the instance with a predicament in his hands.

The man, known as one of the Sheikah, allowed himself to roam the courtyard, gliding his hand absentmindedly for a moment along the wall as he viewed the broken pedestal, dull flowers surrounding the area. He knelt down, gently leaning on the old piece of stone as he lifted one of the dried buds off of the ground. The same smile that he'd had before graced his lips again, his eyes devoid of emotion.

It didn't take much effort to remember...

His fingers grazed over the petals of the flower, it's color a vibrant blue, contrasting with the many reds and pinks that were around it. Kneeling in the grass, he waited.

For whom?
Not even the lad knew that.

All he knew was that he was told to come to the castle courtyard, and that he was not to mention it. To anyone.
It certainly seemed important. One of the royal family members must have need of his services. The Queen maybe? Or even… the King?

Needless to say, he was nervous.
...extremely nervous.

He began to fidget, as he did when he was under pressure. Impa always told him not to let on that he was nervous, let alone show any other emotion, to anyone. Seen as how he was one of the Sheikah, and since their kind was constantly attacked, Impa had said that it was always important to be careful not to show your enemy what you're thinking. But he simply couldn't help it.

Wait… why would the King need to talk to him? At only 11 years of age, and a Sheikah boy, no less?

That answered that question. It wasn't the King who needed him.
Maybe the Queen?
Hmm...but that didn't make any sense either.

...or perhaps there was someone else inside the castle.
Like a prince!

That seemed to satisfy his question of 'whom', and he instantly began to relax a bit. At least it wasn't as serious as he's thought. What could a prince want with him? A playmate, maybe? That wouldn't be so terrible-

But Impa would NOT be pleased...

Oh the plights he got himself int-

He stiffened as he heard a soft noise coming from the entrance to the courtyard. His first instinct was to draw his knife, and Impa always said to trust your first instinct...

So, that's what he did. But as he turned…

He was caught off guard.

Standing in front of him was…

She gazed at him questioningly, eyes shifting from his knife to his outstretched arm, and then resting on his face.

"...what're you doing?"

...a princess?

Well, this certainly surprised the young boy. He blinked a few times before slowly lowering his weapon and straightening himself. Replacing the knife, he eyed the girl, looking over her thoroughly so as to not miss any detail.

No arguing. She was a princess. The crest of the Royal Family on her garb gave that much away. He wondered why he hadn't thought of this before...?

He had to admit to himself, she was pretty. Her blond hair was pushed back into a headdress, her eyes an incredibly deep blue. She began to advance, and he mentally noted that she was quite young, at least a year and a half younger than he. She walked in a way that made her look as though she was rather uncomfortable.

Of course, she had to be wearing at least five layers, and it was the middle of summer.

She walked right up to him, making him feel a little unsure of himself. What should he say?
Well, that was an easy one.

He cleared his throat.

"I...Good morning, princess." He bowed stiffly, out of respect.

She looked him over, as he had to her, and gave a slight shake of the head.
"You don't have to feel obliged to bow to me, you know."

She'd obviously caught the hint of disappointment in his words. Or maybe she'd seen it in his face. That's probably why she looked so uncomfortable before.

Standing upright, he looked at her again. There was only the slightest look of hurt in her eyes...but no denying it was there. She sighed and walked past him to a small raised platform with a window which could be used to look into the castle.

Seeing her face...
he felt ashamed.

"I-I'm sorry, I...I didn't mean-"

She held up a hand and he stopped his sentence. "It's alright..." she said quietly. "I'm rather used to it by now."

He looked away. Great. What a way to make a first impression...and she was the princess, of all people. He felt badly of himself for leading her to believe that he thought less of her because she was...

Well, a girl.

Of course, he wasn't used to this, seen as how all of the high-rankers in his village were normally male.
Save for Impa.

He suddenly had the oncoming urge to stab someone...
-maybe himself?

He pondered that possibility.

Yea,
he'd do.

"...ght-?"

He snapped back to reality and shifted his gaze back up to the princess. "Yes? I'm sorry, did you say something, princess?"

"I asked if you were alright." She looked at him suspiciously. "You seem to be somewhere else at the moment."

"Oh, I was just thinking..." he didn't want to keep referring to her as 'princess', so he decided it was best to find the right way to ask for her name without seeming any more like a jerk. "If you don't mind me asking, might I know your name? That is if it isn't too bold. I feel it is improper to simply call attention to you as princess."

She smiled a bit and nodded. "You may. My name is Zelda."
Zelda... alright.

"Forgive me then, Princess Zelda. I was out of line to judge you before I'd even spoken to you. If there's anything I can do to show you-"

"It's fine, I don't mind it at all. I know in times like these everyone expected for my parents to give birth to a boy but...well, fate had planned otherwise. I'm alright with it. And don't worry, I forgive you. It's not a sin to judge, Sheik."

Wow.

He was almost taken aback by her words. For such a young girl, she acted really mat-

His face went instantly blank. She didn't make any indication that she'd noticed, though it was rather clear the blood was draining from his face.

Now he was suspicious.

"...I...don't believe I've yet mentioned my name to you, Princess Zelda."

She smiled. It was an indescribable smile, the kind that made the young Sheikah feel like he was part of an experiment. The kind that made him feel like he was being watched. "No..." replied she, "you haven't. And please," she then added, "its Zelda."

That didn't really answer the question he was implying within his statement, so he decided to try again. "... Zelda." He felt odd and out of place saying her name so…straight-forwardly. "Could you tell me how you know my name?"

He saw her face become doubtful as she hesitated. He waited patiently while she took a deep breath and let it back out, contemplating her explanation.

"Well..." she started, wringing her hands, "You see, I..." she let out a huff before breathing out her words, "I had a dream. A vision, if you will. But," she added, noticing his eyebrow quirk. She raised a hand. "I know it sounds ridiculous, but just... hear me out. I'll make it brief." She cleared her throat. "Anyhow...it was a little blurry, but I could have sworn I'd seen the Three. They had been descending from the skies as a figure appeared centered in my vision. The Three merged, and, Triforce surrounding him, the figure held the Master Sword in his hands. The vision shifted, I could see more clearly now. I was in a village...actually, it was home to a certain clan of people whom I think you'd know very well as the Sheikah."

Sheik's head rose instantly from the part of the ground that his eyes had found so intriguing.

She continued on. "As I neared the well, another figure started to form. I could distinctly see the shape of a body, and knew it must have been a boy. He was older, 17 maybe. He turned to me, and I felt like I'd met him before. Nearly a second later, a name just appeared in my head." She looked at him and smiled. "It was yours, Sheik."

Sheik didn't quite understand. "But..." he gazed at her through crimson eyes, "how do you know it was me?"

"I wasn't sure what the word had meant at first, but... when I saw you today, I knew it was your name. I knew it had to be you." She turned to the window and her eyes dropped slightly. "I don't know what is to befall Hyrule as of yet, but... I do know that the figure I saw... he will be our savior. I'm sure of it. And," she turned around to face him again, hands clamped hopefully in front of her. "I know that you will play a very important part in fulfilling the prophecy that is bound to come. Please, Sheik."

Zelda walked off of her platform and went to stand in front of him. "You believe me...don't you-?"

Sheik blinked. Of course he believed her...
Didn't he?

"We need you."

Well, how else would you explain the situation? It wasn't as if this could be some tall-tale she'd recently made up-

-and he'd gotten the feeling that he could trust her.

Her small hand reached out to grab his and he instinctively pulled away. Her face fell.

"I need you."

He pushed past the trained boundary restrictions and held out his own palm. His eyes met pleading ones. He spoke softly, as if to make sure she knew how sincere his words were. "Of course I believe you, Zelda."

Her face lit up and, before Sheik knew what had happened, he found himself grabbing onto the small pedestal in the middle of the yard for balance as she'd flung her arms around him.

"Oh, thank you, Sheik, thank you..." She half whispered to him in relief. He couldn't help but feel that he'd grown slightly flushed by the action. It wasn't everyday that he was shown affection to by anyone, let alone been hugged much. Thankfully, his face covering hid part of his nose and cheeks, seen as it was too big for him. He thanked Din for that as Zelda pulled off.

It wasn't quite the meeting he'd been expecting to have at the castle...

...but he had no reason to complain.

Not too long after his unexpected introduction with the Princess would she be telling our savior of his task, of her second and more vital vision.

That was ten years ago, by most standards.

He had previously attempted to read the stone that he knelt before now. Futile attempts, as the characters were that of an ancient tongue that only the Northern Sheikah Tribe across the treacherous borders of Death Mountain had managed to hang onto throughout the ages. He had only been taught a few symbols known to the Sheikah that had resided in Kakariko, but with the ones he did know, he always figured this had to be a column dedicated to the Three, possibly where Zelda had once prayed for guidance.

Of course, it was decrepit now...
And by the look of it, there had formerly been a statue atop.

Sheik sighed.

It was a shame to see something this sacred let alone to decay.

He was contemplating this when he heard a noise from behind.
Freezing only momentarily to listen, he swiftly unclasped two of his knives.

He waited for another moment, listening again...

...

-Snap.-

He sent the blades spiraling, one right after the other.

They would have reached their target too...
If she'd been anyone else.

With a swift wave of the hand, she dismissed the knives and they flew into the wall beside her. The dumbfounded Sheikah gave a barely audible noise of relief.

Zelda, arms crossed, quirked a brow at him, half of a smile forming on her face. "Thanks for the welcome."

Sheik looked up at his Queen, the temptation to return her smile apparent in his eyes. And he almost returned it, too.

Almost.

She started to walk over, in an odd way that could almost be defined as a saunter.

Again, almost.

That's basically what their relationship was based on.

But these thoughts of 'almost' left his head as he subtly noticed her new garb. As always, she looked radiant. Her choice of clothing had changed drastically since he'd last seen her. They'd also gotten a bit more…

He had to stop himself from staring.
This wasn't what he was supposed to be focusing on.

How long had it been?

A few months?

Longer?

He wasn't sure anymore. He barely saw the Queen. She was so busy lately...
It seemed she forgot about her life sometimes.

He hadn't seen her much since the Hero had disappeared, so it had to have been at least three years. Since then his visits had become infrequent to say the least.
And yet here he was, as his agenda would have it.

Sheik knelt before her, bowing graciously. "My Queen."

She rolled her eyes and cleared her throat. He stood and she placed her hands on her hips.

"You know, you aren't obliged to-"
"To bow to you, yes..." he finished for her, "so I've heard."

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him into a hug. He hesitantly returned it, still not quite accustomed to this form of affection.

He just couldn't get used to this sort of thing.

She released him and backed away, looking over him in return. He hadn't changed much, he was a bit taller, but that didn't phase her, she was tall as well. His clothes were still the same, and she seemed unimpressed.

"You should take a new wardrobe into consideration," Zelda commented, flicking her eyes over him once more.

"It's the garb of the Sheikah. To change it would be shameful. But I see you've changed your look considerably," he added, nodding down to her dress, suppressing a nonexistent something in his throat.

She smiled again. "The wear of the Queen should be somewhat different than that of just a Princess, no?" It was then when she let a bit of a dry laugh escape her and the smile faded a little. "Tell me, Sheik, what brings you to my old courtyard?"

Sheik gave the overgrown garden another once-over. "Nostalgia, I suppose."

Zelda, looking around as well, gave an exasperated sigh. "Well, I'm afraid there is no nostalgia left in this place."

"I don't know," Sheik disagreed. "It doesn't take much for me to remember. But all old memories aside," his face turned serious, "I do need to speak with you."

She eyed him, her smile completely gone now. "About what?"

He didn't waste any time in getting to the point. "I need to know what you've learned about the war outside of Hyrule."

This caught her attention. She seemed mildly aggravated, but it still caught her attention.

For years, the rumors of an army building up in Olmor had been circulating, and the kingdoms outside of Hyrule had been arming themselves in response. They had just been rumors, until recently when the Olmorian race broke through the Gods' barriers around their continent and began to wreak havoc on the others.

Their destination was what concerned the Sheikah.

She crossed her arms. "Why would you have any interest in events happening outside of Hyrule?"

Sheik gave her a look. "Come on, Zelda." Did she really think he was that naive? "I know the army in Olmor has been on the move, and I know as well as you do where they are headed."

Zelda looked distraught. "What do you want to know, Sheik?" Her fuse was shortening quickly.

"I need to know if they've arrived."

Zelda, clearly not fond of the topic, gave a huff and turned away. "I don't like where this is going."

She may have not liked it, but she knew exactly where it was going.

"You know as well as I do that the Sheikah are surrounding Calatia." Sheik stated firmly. "They live in the mountains directly across from the Farral Islands. They're directly in the line of fire."

The Northern Sheikah tribe outside of Calatia was the largest, and last, Sheikah tribe of them all. They had lived amongst the mountains around the kingdom for centuries, guarding their most prized possession: a piece of the Old Triforce known as the Triforce of Magic.

Celsion, the God of Magic, along with Sefilar and Omron, created the Old Triforce to keep the order in their lands outside of Hyrule. After giving a piece to their respective races to keep safe, Omron had decided that his race should hold all of the pieces. After a brief war waged, Celsion and Sefilar set barriers along the continent of Olmor, and sealed it.

Somehow, as fate would have it, the seal was now broken. The Olmorians, or the Legion, as they'd been called before, were on their way to take the two remaining pieces of the Triforce, one of which was in Calatia.

This didn't sit well with Sheik.

"I need to know if they've advanced through those mountains."

"What does it matter?"

Sheik was a little aghast at this. What did it matter? He was getting angry. "Zelda, I'm the last Sheikah left in Hyrule. My kind is disappearing from Ambion quickly, and you ask what it matters?" He looked at her in disbelief. "It's all that matters to me." He lowered his voice. "You of all people should know that."

Zelda wasn't sure what to say. Sheik kept pushing.

"Look… You know this is important to me. Please… just tell me what's going on."

He gave her a stern look and she finally gave in. "… It's what we've expected. The horde has advanced. They are reaching the mountains soon."

Sheik cursed under his breath. "When were you going to tell me?"

"I wasn't," Zelda confessed.

Sheik was starting to lose his temper.

Zelda, sensing this, continued. "I knew that if I'd told you you'd want to go. I knew you'd try to leave, but… I can't let you. You can't."

Of course, she meant that he couldn't quite literally.

The reason that Sheik had come to speak with her was because after Ganon had been sealed in the Sacred Realm, Zelda had placed a protective seal of her own to disconnect Hyrule from the outside world. To Sheik's dismay, only she, aside from the Hero's light arrows, could pierce its walls.
It was driving him insane.

"Zelda, these people are my brethren. They are the last of my kind. How can I sit here in this... this…"
He gestured around angrily. He knew he wasn't getting through to her.

His eyes falling on her face once more, he dropped his arms. Turning away, he realized that she wasn't going to listen.
She was so stubborn sometimes.

"Never mind. I got the information I came for."

He turned to leave.

"Wait."

He had half a mind not to stop, but he suppressed that half for a moment and slowed to a halt.

"Sheik…" Zelda's voice was pleading now. "Wait. Please."

And at that slight change in her voice, he already felt his adrenaline decreasing.
He glanced over his shoulder. She looked at him through desperate eyes, and he sighed.

He was fighting a losing battle. He always was.

As he knelt beside her in the grass, picking up small talk as though the previous conversation hadn't happened. But as they started reminiscing, laughing and joking about days gone by, he couldn't help but feel disempowered. Even upon leaving the castle he felt… strange.

He didn't feel like a Sheikah.
Come to think of it, he didn't think he'd felt like a Sheikah in a long time.

It dawned on him that perhaps… he was becoming soft.

Entering the marketplace with that in mind, he bore left and swerved through the crowds of people, heading straight towards the giant stone steps that he knew so well.

Approaching the massive temple, his decision was already subconsciously made.

He respected his Queen...
But there were other battles that needed fighting.
And he was tired of being on the sidelines.