A/N: Welcome to Little Shadow! These are themed oneshots, many of which are unabashedly romantic, are generally in order but it'll be noted if they aren't, happening to the same Link and Sheik. And yes, in this story, Sheik=Zelda and retains all lady parts. I have no objections to and often enjoy other interpretations but that's just how this fic is gonna roll.
A history: This is a story that started as a oneshot and got expanded upon, and then I got challenged to turn it into a 100-theme fanfic. I tend to write along themed lines anyway so I figured hey, why the hell not? And what's the Variations part? Well, sometimes I like a theme enough to write another oneshot on it. So that's a Variation. It's a music reference, too. :)
If you follow Ordona Pumpkins, it's actually quite similar to that.
Reviews vastly appreciated! You'll even get a shoutout in the next author's note! It'll make you feel famous!
She wanted to tell him he was beautiful.
When the stale air of the Temple of Time suddenly buzzed, when the orange-tiger sun striped through the black clouds blotting the sky, when he descended like a god on a blue column of swaying light, she wanted to tell him. She wanted to rip off her mask and strip the enchantments away and throw herself at his feet, begging for forgiveness. When he was green and golden and right there in front of her, so gloriously alive and the foretold bearer of that legendary blade, she wanted to tell him. It was the most enthralling moment of her life, that odd hanging second where she first witnessed the birth of the Hero of Time, swinging from his Sacred Realm womb to her aching clock-tuned arms. He turned the war to her favor, but turned so much more within her soul.
Her heart hammered against her chest. Her stomach twisted into a billion knots. And she knew.
She didn't tell him.
When stench bloomed so thickly over Castle Town and he cut his path through Redeads and no stars shone from the suffocating sky, she followed him. She shadowed him and was so entranced by every motion, she nearly got herself killed. He destroyed seven years of Sheikah training and an entirely lifetime of royal stoicism simply by the way he moved.
She stopped and stared regardless, too enraptured by hope to tear her eyes away.
She followed him from afar, protected him. She circled him and cut down so many Stalfos, so many monsters in the night that awoke thirsting for his blood. One day soon, he would grow skilled, but for now he was new and gangling. He'd learn—she believed it with a ferocity she long thought dead—but he needed help. She'd kill herself if it saved him.
When he called for her the first time, she was there. He was sleeping and didn't realize he was screaming; already haunted by nightmares he had yet to live. She dropped from the shadows and stroked his hair until he rested easy once more. The air was chilly but he was warm; her fingers burned until they nearly boiled off her hands, her hot, sporadic breath puffing from her lungs. His fairy hovered at eye-level, flitted to Sheik's shoulder and burrowed in the wrappings, tiny dots of enchanted dust sparkling in her wake. They sat in profundity for quite some time, quiet and glowing under the bombazine sky.
The next morning, she watched him rise. And so she found her purpose, so began her vocation, to come when he called for her. So she became his little shadow. He'd never know the eye with which she watched, the feet on which she followed, silent and padded with concern.
Did something happen in the night? he asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes.
Only a shadow on the wind, the fairy replied. Sheik did not mind her answer. But how she wanted so much more.
