Title: POV

Written By: Emerald Padparadscha

Author's Note: One of my older fics, written shortly after my "Dark Link" was first finished years ago. Personally, I always did like the idea that Sheik was a totally different character than Zelda.

heik's POV

You never knew me. We never knew each other as children. We were never friends. And yet, I have been one of your greatest allies on your journey. I've protected you, just as you've done your best to protect all I've ever cared for.

Link...

As you stand there, your blue eyes locked with my crimson, I wonder what you are thinking. It reminds me of the day we met, the day I first laid this gaze of mine upon your muscled frame. I had only heard of you through the Princess and Impa, but still you were everything and more. Here we are, standing together in the Temple of Time, your hand clutched around the Sword of Evil's Bane for what could be the last time... I would like to ask you how it feels to hold time itself in your hands, but I won't. I already know your answer. The Master Sword is just cold steel, and you would say so. The artifacts you hold are only for the memories they bring.

Memories seem to be the only things that keep you sane.

When you replace the sword, the shining blade will dull once more. Your precious memories will fade, as will mine. Nobody will remember, Link...

"Thanks." Link said, his gloved hand lightly rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke. He tends to do that a lot when he's nervous, I've noticed. "For seeing me off, that is."

I would have guessed there would have been one or two more here for him. After all, he is the Hero of Time. Even with that thought in mind, I wouldn't have shown myself if someone else had been here instead. Only the absence allowed my appearance. I never did do well in crowds.

"You've done so much for Hyrule, Link." I say as the green clad Hylian stepped up to the Pedestal of Time. Only a couple of feet apart now, I could smell all the sweat and soot he had accumulated during the final battle with Ganon. As far back as I can remember, this is the closest I've ever let him be. "When you replace the sword, we'll likely not remember any of this."

As soon as I say it, I nearly wished I hadn't. I felt as though I was trying to keep Link here, something I know for a fact I shouldn't even think about. Everything which had been accomplished would have been for naught! But...Link only smiled, a soft expression that curved evenly on both corners of his mouth. Some people had lop-sided smiles. Not Link. He was perfect.

"That's good." He said. "There are some things the people of Hyrule really don't need to remember."

Unselfish as always. I allowed myself the smile I felt tugging at my lips. It was something I hadn't done since the first day we had met. I hadn't had much to smile about since then.

"I don't know how the future will turn out this time, but it's guaranteed to be better." Link held up the Master Sword horizontally in front of him. "I just hope this sword sleeps for a long time."

He let his arm relax, holding the sword down by his side. I wondered vaguely how soon it would be until he would feel the weight of the blade in his hands again. He didn't seem like the type to stay down and out of an adventure for too long.

"Sheik..." He brought my attention back around to him. His expression had become one of neutrality, as though a disturbing thought had just passed through his mind. "I will see you again, right?"

It would be too easy to answer callously. My reply would be short and, while far from sweet, the word would be done. No. I wouldn't do such a thing. We'd been through far too much. "Maybe."

Link looked up from the floor to meet my gaze once more. Something new was there, something I had a hard time recognizing. "If you want to say no then just say it."

Perhaps I'm not lying as even I thought I was. I know of my lineage and duty. There is always the possibility. "While you are a child? No. After you are grown? It is possible our destinies will intersect again."

I barely realized what happened next until I was in the thick of it! Link covered the ground between us swiftly, his free arm pulling us close while is lips made contact with mine! When he had pulled down my face covering, I'll never know, but...

Words fail me. My body melted with that kiss...!

Only when he let us part did I notice he had already stabbed the Master Sword back deep into its pedestal. The soft blue glow of time engulfed him as he disappeared from my sight. Actually, everything did, blackness slowly engulfing my mind even as I thought...

Link's POV

Nobody else came to see me off. Why you, Sheik? Why in all of Hyrule would you be the one? All the Sages are together now. They'll see to each other's own safety. You and I are the only two left out. With no-one left to protect, our jobs are finished. I wish I had an idea of what would become of us now. Perhaps this is the reason that I have to return the Master Sword and regain the seven years I've lost.

It's not really lost, though. You lived it. Hyrule lived it. The only one who is ignorant of it is me!

I'm glad you're here, though, Sheik. I've actually come to like how you make me feel when you stare at me. Every time you're around, you're always looking in my direction. At first, it made me feel paranoid, yet something else was there. It still confuses me, but I don't care anymore.

I'd like to hear you play your harp one last time before I have to stick this sword back into its rock. It's a bit odd, I know, so I won't ask. I don't know how you'd react. It just felt so perfect. You on your harp and I on my ocarina...

"Thanks." I say outloud, something I meant to say in my head. I rub the back of my neck nervously, a habit I picked up as a child. "For seeing me off, that is."

"You've done so much for Hyrule, Link." Sheik says as I start to walk up to the pedestal. The cold stone is offset by his presence. This is the closest he's ever allowed me to get to him. I wonder how long it'll last? "When you replace the sword, we'll likely not remember any of this."

I suspected as much. I smiled. "That's good. There are some things the people of Hyrule really don't need to remember."

Hyrule Castle complete destroyed... Countless lives lost... The Zora people frozen in their own domain... Then there were the fires which Bongo Bongo had spread. I know Sheik was able to put out those fires, and I was able to end Bongo Bongo's existence. That still didn't set things right. It only cured them for a time. Everyone was better off forgetting it all.

But...

He said 'we'. Did he want to remember? I can only imagine the things he has been through! As far back as I can recall, not once as a child could I remember seeing him anywhere. Wherever he came from, he had lived through some of Hyrule's darkest years. I couldn't understand why he would want to remember any of them!

"I don't know how the future will turn out this time, but it's guaranteed to be better." I held up the Master Sword horizontally in front of me. The blade shimmered my reflection back for me to see. "I just hope this sword sleeps for a long time."

The longer it sleeps, the less likely it will be that I'll see Sheik of the Sheikah again... I mentally sigh, letting my arm rest back down again at my side. I would fight a thousand battles if I could see him again in my own time. "Sheik? I will see you again, right?"

Even though I was looking at the floor, it was easy for me to tell he was mulling the answer over in his head. "Maybe."

I looked up, meeting his gaze with mine. "If you want to say no then just say it."

Odd. Now he was really thinking about it. I could see it in his eyes. He was looking for a positive answer in all of this. "While you are a child? No. After you are grown? It is possible our destinities will intersect again."

That long, huh? It was getting more and more painful the longer I waited! The hilt of the Master Sword firmly in my right hand, I stabbed it hard back into the Pedestal of Time, removing Sheik's face wrapping just before I pull us together. I didn't lose a moment to hesitation, and when my lips met his I felt like I was soaring! He didn't kiss me back. That didn't matter. He wasn't fighting me, either.

I pulled away, standing next to the sword once again. I could see his face clearly for the first time. His features were smooth, his skin lightly tanned, just kissed by the sun... The warmth of the blue light, the one that would take me back to where I belonged, bathed me in its glow. The world grew dark around me. It felt like my mind was slipping, like water through parted hands...

The light faded around me, and I let go of the sword and leapt down from the pedestal. My body had returned to normal. Navi floated about my head, acting confused and lost. Before I could say anything, she flew up toward the top of the chamber ceiling, disappearing out one of the highest windows.

I was here again. To stay. The sword looked dull in its stand. It looked like it hadn't been used in ages. I could remember some of what happened, but whenever I tried to remember specific events I couldn't. People in particular. Inside, I felt like there was someone I wanted to remember, but couldn't...

Turning around, I strode out of the chamber, leaving the Master Sword behind me. The door closed just as I had found it technically just a few days before. One person I could remember was the princess. Princess Zelda.