I'll Be Careful
(Please see end for author's notes)

The moment had come for the Hero of Time to finally face our enemy, and in the quiet and privacy of my own mind, I was terrified for him. I knew Link could handle himself, I'd seen it time and time again as we'd traversed the treacherous temples together. He was an able fighter, or better said, and exceptional fighter. What he lacked in grace he made up for in passion, drive, and strength. I supposed some might claim it was the Triforce of Courage on his hand that spurred him forth with such devotion, but I knew better. I, who had been with him from the start, who had watched him with keen eyes and a still tongue, who had trained him and taught him all that I could, knew better. Link was no cumbersome child trapped within a body far too big for him any longer. He was…a Hero. He had lived up to and surpassed the legendary title he carried. But yet that confidence in my mind betrayed the aching in my heart and the weight on my shoulders. It coiled my muscles and bunched in my stomach until I was fraught with nerves. I believed in him, no doubt, but I Saw things from all angles and I knew the perils that lay before him. I knew what lived in Ganondorf's castle, waiting to ambush him. I knew the difficulties that stretched deep into that monstrosity that the King of Evil's magic had conjured. After all, I'd seen them firsthand when I'd tried to infiltrate upon Zelda's command. Link was capable, quick, and stronger than one-hundred Men, but the truth was the same regardless.

And I was afraid.

Within the depths of Death Mountain, where myself, Impa, the Princess, and the small army of Sheikah at her command were hidden away, Zelda was outfitting herself in the privacy of her chambers. I knew this was a terrible idea, but I was not permitted to argue. The Princess wished to make her way to the Temple of Time dressed as a Sheikah in order to meet Link for the very first time. She felt it safe, and that with her magic and my magic combined, she'd be entirely invisible to Ganondorf or his spies. I heartily disagreed, but despite how I argued she soon dismissed it all and then dismissed me so that I would not speak on it further. Impa had chastised me, but I could see in her wise eyes that she, too, doubted the success of the mission. Yet I had to agree with the Princess in a small manner regarding this: there was no other way. The army couldn't very well move my Lady into the Temple of Time, and Impa could not escort her alone. Ganondorf was expecting that very move, for he knew well that wherever Impa was, Zelda would not be far away. We, the Sheikah, had come together time and time again in an attempt to formulate a plan to have Zelda and Link meet in protected secrecy and stillness, and yet all the ideas had been rejected or deemed too impractical. It was within the last year that Zelda had finally stood up, in all her regality, and announced she'd figured this out on her own. When she'd spoken of the plan, we all tried to talk her down and impress upon her the dangers it would entail, but she was having none of it. And now, we'd finally arrived on the moment.

I awaited my Lady at the mouth of our hidden lair, anxiety twisting within me, and Impa placed a hand on my shoulder. No words were spoken between us, but none were needed. She and I shared in the same emotions that neither of us would dare show. And as Zelda finally emerged, dressed in the traditional garb of all Sheikah men and striding with determination, I felt my mentor's hand tighten upon me for a brief moment before it fell away and I stepped towards the Princess. There was no fear in her crystal blue eyes, nor hesitation, nor dread. She felt with all her heart that this was the best way and we would have nothing but success. At the gates of Castle Town, far below our stronghold, was a waiting army. Upon Zelda's signal, after she met with Link and explained to him that the time was now, they would press forth into the town and up the winding road that lead to the castle where an army of Ganondorf's would surely meet them. During this distraction, Link would break into the castle with my assistance and battle his way up to the King of Evil. All was in place. The only remaining piece was the Princess, and she stood before me now with a pointed look. She was ready, and she wanted to leave this very moment, yet she would give no orders unless she had to. I was grateful for that. I was already so tightly wound as it was, and the thought of her issuing me a command and feeling my body lurch and coil to do as told might be too much for my sanity. I believed my Lady saw that. She placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, instructed the Sheikah to join the army when we vanished, and then held her bandaged hand out for the deku nut we would use to blink to the expansive grounds of the Temple. Impa handed it to her wordlessly, and then she passed it over to me. I clutched it within my hand before I turned my eyes to my kin. In softly murmured Sheikan I wished well and good fortune on the battle field, that we may see each other again. They returned the sentiment to me, and I took my Lady's hand in my own. With a whispered incantation, I threw the nut to the ground, and in a blinding flash, we were gone.

I was not permitted to reveal myself to Link during the meeting with Zelda, though he had been told by me when and where to report to her a month prior. I did not tell him the manner in which the Princess would come to him, only that he needed to be ready and waiting for her at the appointed time. As my Lady entered the Temple with unsure footing unbecoming of a Sheikah, I leapt high to the windows and slipped in silently, taking to the rafters so that I could watch. Far below me, half-hidden in the shadows of the darkened Temple, I saw the Hero surveying his surroundings warily. At the sight of him, my heart lurched in my chest and I longed to drop down beside him and gather him to me. With the distraction of my Lady and preparation of this evening, I'd momentarily set aside my fear and concern for the Hylian I held so dearly. Yet now, as I looked at him, it all came rushing back to me in a crushing wave and it stole my breath. My body curled as though to go to him, but my order held me in place as surely as though I was physically bound there. I could not drop to Link's side no matter what might happen, and so I merely watched instead. It was comforting to see him on his guard as he was.

The minutes stretched on in a tense silence before the Princess finally broke through the threshold of the door. She carefully stepped into the dimly lit Temple, the moonlight striking through the windows and bathing the floor in various blocks of light, and approached the warp stone situated in front of her. Her battle suit caught the light of the moon and glinted for a single moment, attracting the attention of the otherwise preoccupied Hero across the room. I watched as he turned sharply towards the intruder, his Master Sword at the ready, before recognition flickered through those sapphire eyes and he relaxed and sheathed the legendary blade. He seemed confused as he slowly walked over towards the Sheikah-clad Princess, and from my perch I heard him softly, questioningly, murmur my name.

I felt my heart still in my chest as a bolt of panic shot through me. Link believed the Princess to be me. That could cause problems.

With bated breath, I continued to watch the scene below me, my muscles coiled in desire to reveal myself before damage could be done. It was almost physically painful to be suspended in action as I was, Zelda's order a mantra in my mind as though reminding me that my will was not my own. My ears were sharp as I listened to the softly murmured discussion between the two beneath me. I was still able to detect confusion in Link's voice as he questioned what was going on and asked after the Princess. He didn't understand why "I" had come and Zelda was not present, though as he continued to walk over to my Lady, he promptly stopped on the opposite end of the warp stone. Something flashed in his eyes, too quickly for me to decipher, before realization dawned on him and his body relaxed. As though triggered by his understanding, my own body slowly uncurled and the pain in my muscles dissipated. Link saw the truth now. He knew who was before him.

I simply waited it out, now, somewhat impatient as Zelda began to tell her tale. She explained to Link the Legend of the Sacred Realm, the separation of the Triforce, the devastation Ganondorf had brought when he entered this place and poisoned it with his darkness. I kept my eyes, not on my Lady, but on Link as he drank in every word the Princess spoke to him. I tracked his movement, I memorized his expressions, all while keeping my senses wide open as I listened and felt for darkness that may have followed us here. The Princess had assured myself and my kin that the Temple of Time's natural holy power would drown out the power of the two dormant Triforce pieces she and Link held. I could only pray to the Three she was correct.

When the story drew to a close, I knew the moment had come. I tensed up once more as Zelda's magic began to resonate around her, and I too drew my magic close and threw heavy shadows over the Princess to help mute and smother the brief activation of her Triforce of Wisdom. The flash of Light was so blinding and strong that I hissed in pain and retreated into the darkness around me, and I felt my shadows dissipate into nothing. She had dispelled them, rendering them useless. I had feared this… When the transformation was complete, I shifted forward to watch and saw my Lady standing in her royal gowns before a furiously blinking Hero of Time. A smile quirked my lips as he rubbed his eyes, looking much like a child for a moment, before his attention snapped to the Princess. Even as she began to apologize for coming in the guise of Sheikah, Link shook his head with a smile as he bowed, murmuring her name with reverence.

And then, catastrophe struck.

I felt the presence of Evil only a breath before the Temple began to rumble and quake. I swore and attempted to drop to the ground, but even in the face of certain peril, Zelda's order still held me. I tried to cry out to her, to demand she release me so I could escape with her, but even my voice was bound to her will. My hands clenched into desperate fists as Ganondorf's loathsome voice began to bellow throughout the Temple, cursing the Princess and praising Link for his stumbles, before the rose colored crystal trapped Zelda where she stood. My body shook and twitched as I continually tried to get to her, the pain searing through my muscles, my head pounding in time to Ganondorf's triumphant laughter, as she slowly began to rise. Link's arrows flew as he tried to break the crystal, but the blasted things bounced off and fell, useless, to the ground. There was nothing to be done.

With a final taunt from Ganondorf, his voice laced with sarcasm and victory, my Lady vanished into nothing.

At once, my body lurched from the rafters and tumbled unceremoniously to the ground. I twisted mid-air to right myself and landed, instead of flat on my face, in a crouch. I was panting and trembling and swearing in a colorful string in the Sheikah tongue as Link called out my name. I straightened and turned to him, his eyes infuriated but determined, and without a word I summoned his strewn-about arrows and pushed them into his waiting hand before we left the Temple. There was no point in hiding out now or taking to the shadows to proceed unnoticed. Ganondorf knew we were coming.

It wasn't until we reached the grounds of Ganondorf's wretched castle that the fear and panic from before seized me. The plan would not carry out the way it h ad been drawn up anymore. Before, Link and I were meant to battle through the horrors inside together, to fight our way up to the King of Evil and take him on side-by-side. Link was not meant to face this alone. Yet now, a new order had fallen to me. The Princess had instructed me that, were anything to happen to her, she wanted me down with the armies to lead the Sheikah alongside her appointed Captain, and now the force of her command was beginning to pull upon my body. At the foot of the castle, standing beside the cavern it sat above, I took Link's arm to stop him.

"Hero," I murmured to him softly. His distracted eyes sharpened at my tone and he focused intently upon me. "I will not be with you as you enter the castle."

His eyes went a bit wide with surprise, and he briefly glanced back to the castle. "What? But I thought we were to go through this together, as we have the last three Temples. And with the Princess taken hostage inside…" He trailed off, confusion growing in his tone.

But I shook my head, my grip drifting down from his forearm to clasp his hands. I squeezed them comfortingly. "You've no idea how much I longto go with you. Not only to help protect you, but my duty is first and foremost to Princess Zelda. I am her appointed Guardian and it goes against my very soul to allow her to remain in danger without coming to her aid. But my orders lie elsewhere now. I will help lead my people against Ganondorf's army of minions, and it is now up to you to overthrow the Evil King and rescue the Princess." I fought to keep my fear from leaking into my voice, but I knew there was little I could do to hide it from my eyes. "Link, the horrors awaiting you inside will demand every ounce of your courage. Draw on the strength of the Triforce piece. All of the things you saw in the Temples will be here, including what still haunts you from the Shadow Temple." At this, a shudder ran through him. I drew closer and cupped his cheeks with my hands, feeling the slight tremble that betrayed my outward display of calm. "Please, use extreme caution while you're inside. Do not let the phantoms fool you. Trust your instincts, do not falter, and drive forward without hesitation. Your fate has never been fair, but you are the Chosen One, and you are the only one who can save Hyrule. But remember, you must also save yourself."

There was a long pause where Link simply looked at me, his eyes drifting back and forth as he gazed into my own. He still did not look afraid, or even hesitant. Through him I only saw steadfast resolution and an incredible amount of faith – faith in his abilities, in his victory, in his Triforce piece, and in the Three to guide him. Finally, a soft smile broke through his stoic expression and with one hand he reached up and rather boldly drew my cowl down as the other snaked around my waist. I allowed it, if only because I feared he may not have another chance to see my face he so coveted. The thought sent a bolt of icy terror through me and my grip slipped from his cheeks to his shoulders, where I held fast.

"My Shadow," Link said warmly, amusement coloring his tone. "You're afraid for me."

I fought the urge to glance away or draw my cowl over my face once more. I felt vulnerable all a sudden, his gaze scrutinizing. "You have never seen this level of battle. I have concerns sending you in alone."

He laughed softly and I tried to let the carefree sound quell my anxiety. "Then you doubt my abilities." I opened my mouth to argue with him, to try to better explain myself, but he quieted me with a kiss. At once, I melted against him, my desperate love for him overriding everything else in that moment. My arms wound about his neck as he tugged me close against his chest, somewhat grunting as the force of my emotions struck him. He should not take this mission lightly. He needed to understand the risks. Although perhaps he was more afraid than he was letting on, and it was his Triforce of Courage and his Master Sword that fueled his emotions now. If that were so, they had better get him through this nightmare with his life.

This kiss was not long lived, and all too soon we were forced to draw back from each other. My ability to remain here was fleeting, and I knew I must retreat before Zelda's order began to hurt. Already, my muscles were tensing and coiling beneath the force of my command. And Link's time was running short. The longer we stood motionless, the more Ganondorf's patience would grow thin and the threat on the Princess' life would increase. It was time. Yet Link lingered close to me for one more moment, his eyes still closed, our foreheads touching, his fingers on my cheek and tenderly threaded into my hair. He gave me one last, gentle kiss. "Don't worry," he breathed, and my eyes fluttered closed as well. "I'll be careful."

"I love you," I whispered, and then my eyes reopened, and I had already blinked with a deku nut to the frontlines. I now stood with my kin, ready for battle, but with my heart left with Link and my chest heavy and empty. The Three be with us all.

(A/N: This story has been in the work for ages, but I only just now got around to finishing it. Thankfully, all of this inspiration and motivation I'm getting to write LoZ stories finally lit a fire underneath me to get this one out into the world. I hope you all enjoy the read! Please head over to Y!Gallery and check out a drawing by the artist, Kalyan, that actually inspired this work. It is called "Don't Worry" and is in her gallery within the Zelda folder. She is absolutely incredible and she actually inspires a lot of my work. All artwork credit goes to her!

As always, thank you all again for everything, and please know that I still love each and every single one of you! You're all beautiful.)