Once, Castle Town had been the jewel of Hyrule, vibrant and bright with life. Once, its roads had teemed with children playing games beneath the watchful eyes of their parents, flowers growing from every conceivable location and then some. Once, none of its people had known hunger or thirst.
Once, the Royal Family had ruled.
Those had been happier times, of course. Since the monster had claimed Hyrule, it had fallen, crumbled like ash, become a broken toy left to rot. Hyrule's people had been massacred, nightmares had been resurrected. Darkness and blood clung to the land, stains too dark to be washed away.
Standing motionless on the roof of an old building, Sheik struggled to compose himself. He was furious, gaze razing over the crumpled ruins of Castle Town as the screams of ReDeads surged throughout the air around him. Only a few desperate souls tried to survive here, in the heart of the Black King's kingdom, and their number was slowly-but surely-dwindling. Most of those survivors were acquaintances, informants, spies. He owed his life to a few of them, nameless people shrouded their faces from Ganondorf's soldiers, criminals with extraordinary bounties on their heads.
People like him.
He loathed his inability to do anything to help Hyrule, to even save these few people. His destiny made it clear he would not be the one to save the Goddesses' blessed country. To slay the usurper was another's destiny, as it was to save these people. With the magic of the Sages still clinging to him, there was no chance he could even try to rescue the souls hiding somewhere below him without Impa reprimanding him. Should the people remember a Sheikah rather than the Hero as their savior, disaster would fall.
Sheik forced himself to stop pacing, clenching his fists as he kept his entire body rigid, still as he tried to dispel his anger. He was jealous that it wouldn't be his blade that grew dark with Ganondorf's blood, yes. But he didn't hate the Hero. He'd never met someone so willing to help others, so compassionate and courageous, so willing to die for a stranger, for a cause he barely understood.
And the Hylian in question was missing.
A week, Sheik had been waiting in Castle Town for the Hero to free the Water Temple, for that release of powerful magic to alert everything in Hyrule that the Hero was still alive. Sheik doubted the Temple would have kept the Hero for so long-it had taken him two days to release Saria, and afterwards Sheik had wandered about in the Forest Temple, shocked at how large it was. Link should have been there by now!
"Oi! Lonely One!"
The bark surprised Sheik, as it did every time he heard the title. He'd encountered the Black King a number of times before, and the title Ganondorf had coined after Sheik had refused to tell him his name had spread. It was the only thing most of Hyrule's inhabitants knew him as, even the reclusive Zora. Every attempt to get rid of it had failed thus far, and Sheik had a feeling it was something he'd be stuck with for the rest of eternity.
The speaker, a frail, gaunt Hylian holding a notched blade covered in rust-or was it ReDead blood?-stood on a nearby roof, one hand tangled in a tendril of ivy that had enveloped most of the building as he tried to keep his balance. Faded, tattered clothing stained with dirt and blood clung to the man's body, and a tangled beard nested with various bits of debris that had gone wild ages ago covered his cheeks.
There was a thump from beneath them, and they both glanced down. A pair of ReDeads were crawling their way out of a building, black eyes fixed upon their figures.
Simultaneously, both of them cursed. Sheik pulled out a dagger and hopped over to the Hylian, hooking an arm around the man's shoulders and pulling him after him. Sheik took the man out of Castle Town-it was noon, and ReDeads refused to leave the city, so the plains were the safest location. Maybe the man would realize his best chances lay in Kakariko.
"What do you want?" He asked, voice terse as he released the man. Shaking, the Hylian dropped to the grass, raking a hand through a tangle of red hair.
"Ya don't know, do ya? Others, they all say yer workin' fer the Black King. But I seen ya with the Hero, helpin' 'im," He nodded as he spoke, taking a breath as if to continue rambling.
Sheik's eyes snapped to the Hylian's face.
"Know what?"
"…How long've ya been gone fer?"
A chill ran down Sheik's spine. He'd gone to a covenant of the Sages who had been freed-Rauru, Saria, Darunia. He had been taken to the Sacred Realm, out of the flow of Time itself. Rauru had assured him he would be placed back in the proper time upon returning…
"What's the-"
"Thought s'much. 'S the tenth o' Yrur, year o' the Zora," The Hylian said, grave eyes staring directly into his.
Yrur? The blood drained from Sheik's face. When he'd left it had been the tenth of Nierh. Rauru had missed by three months.
"What happened to Link?" His voice was barely above a whisper.
"I've seen 'im once. Ganondorf broke 'im."
Ganondorf had the Hero.
Sheik spun on his heel, mumbled something about Kakariko being the man's best bet, and sprinted through the ruins of Castle Town as quickly as he could.
He'd failed.
It wasn't as simple as the Hero of Hyrule being captured. If the account was true, the people's hope-the first hope they'd known in seven years-had not only died but had turned against them. The knights that Link so often fought off wouldn't just be left to attack the people of Hyrule-Link would be the knight. Their ultimate enemy, slave to the man who had murdered their King and Princess.
And, how had Link gotten captured in the first place? Why had the Sages not sensed it?
None of this made sense. He'd left for the Sacred Realm immediately after sending Link into the Water Temple from the Zora's Domain. He'd returned and waited a week until now, until he'd learned what he'd missed.
A week, and the Sages didn't know.
What sort of power had Ganondorf gotten his hands on?
Sheik slowed as he approached the gates guarding the only path to where the Royal Palace had once sat. The stone had blackened, stained with ash and blood, one of the towers collapsed complete. Twisted metal rusting beneath the elements lay crumpled beneath the rubble, the other half of the gate sagging against the opposite tower. Skeletal remains dressed in rusted armor were the only remnants of the valiant soldiers that had attempted to stop Ganondorf from spilling royal blood.
He paused for a second, staring at the faded corpses while he struggled to regain his breath. He checked his equipment one last time, fixing a loose piece of armor.
He'd approached Ganondorf's keep before, just as nonchalantly as he was now. But after a month's disappearance, with the Hero of Time captured? It would blow whatever shred of a 'cover' he had.
And…what else had changed? Was he even prepared for this?
A shuffle behind him snapped him out of his thoughts-too late. A wail, high pitched and grating on every nerve he possessed made his entire body freeze in place, echoing from behind the piles of rubble. Crawling, decayed fingers clawing at the fallen stones, a ReDead dragged its body towards him, a sort of haunted light flickering weakly in its eye sockets.
It was a macabre puppet, hastily sewn together by a mad toy-maker. The product of failed Sheikah magic, ReDead's themselves were usually harmless unless one they did not accept-anyone not of Sheikah blood-came close. Since Ganondorf had taken control of Hyrule, however, their magic had blackened, decayed. Now they sought flesh and blood as most animals sought sustenance, with no need for it.
Long, sharpened fingers of bone dug into his back, sinking in as the odor of decomposing corpses washed over him. He fought the urge to vomit-it wasn't as if his body could move anyway-as its rotted, jagged teeth clamped onto his shoulder. The second ReDead reached his feet-and then the paralysis vanished, and his foot crunched into its head. He jerked himself away from the first, and spun, a blade slipping out of the wrappings at his wrist. It sank halfway into the ReDead's throat, almost severing the head, before a second wail stiffened his muscles.
There was a flash of movement, and the head he had almost severed burst apart, splattering him with gore and wrenching his blade from his grip. A flash of red hair, and he heard the sound of a weapon sinking into flesh.
Seconds later he collapsed to the ground, control returning to his limbs. He scrambled to his feet, retrieving his dagger and turning to face his savior.
She was Hylian, of medium height and a matching build, red hair cut short and uneven. Sharp green eyes flicked over his face, even as she spoke. An ax-dull and almost entirely useless-dangled from one hand.
"Are you alright?"
It wasn't that her voice was devoid of kindness. It was that she asked. He kept himself in a defensive position, narrowing his eyes on her.
"Not many dare approach the gates to the Black King's keep. What do you misguidedly belief is worth incurring his wrath?" He asked.
"What a nice way to thank the woman who just saved you." She replied dryly, shouldering her weapon.
"Forgive my suspicion. I can count on one hand the number of living people who would willingly aide me." Even with his words, he didn't relax.
"Yeah, you're that Sheikah Kakariko's been hunting, aren't you?" She asked it as if it was just dawning upon her.
"That's good. I think we're looking for the same person." She continued, gesturing with one hand towards the road leading to Ganondorf's fortress.
"What is your business with him?"
"I heard a rumor he got himself caught. He's the only one with any information about my father. I've gotta find him to here it." Sheik eyed her warily, but he sheathed his blade. She was either an idiot for assuming she could take on the Bearer of Power all alone, or she was just that desperate.
As desperate as he was.
He didn't trust her as far as he could throw her-which he doubted he'd have been able to do anyway, but having an almost-ally at his back was better than nothing.
"What's your name?"
"Malon. You?" He didn't recognize the name-no surprise, really. He had the Hero's trust, not his friendship.
"Sheik." She lifted an eyebrow at him.
"Sheik…of the Sheikah? Please. Maybe later you'll answer honestly." She snorted, spinning on her heel and walking beneath the crumbled archway. Something close to distress filled his eyes, slipping past his mask. It shocked him, and he was grateful she didn't see it.
"Are you coming, Lonely One?"
"…Yes."