At first, Link wasn't too bothered by her, Sheik, the new Sheikah assassin they had picked up in the Eldin Caves. She had done her own thing and covered their flank well, so she must be a decent fighter.
But then they were stuck fighting back-to-back against Gibdos at the Great Deku Tree, and Link couldn't not notice her. Sheik didn't fight; she danced across the battlefield, throwing kunai where enemies would be, blasting them with magic channeled through her harp. Link was a little embarrassed to admit he almost lost a limb because he was distracted watching Sheik fight instead of paying attention to the Gibdo in front of him. He almost slapped himself. The Great Deku Tree was on fire! He didn't have time for this.
Talking with Lana after the battle left more questions than answers, and Impa was still stressed about not finding Princess Zelda. They had both left after everyone had agreed to march toward the Valley of the Seers in the morning, but Sheik had stayed. It confused Link. He hesitated before leaving the meeting tent.
"You were distracted in battle, Chosen One," she narrowed her red eyes as Link flinched at the title. "You will have to do better if you expect to survive this war."
She started to walk out of the tent, but Link felt the need to apologize.
"I'm sorry. I'm still new at this. I- I'll try and do better."
Sheik stopped, folded her arms, and scrutinized him.
"You are fighting on instinct, relying too much on your gut. That's not a bad thing, but you need more discipline."
"Could you train with me?" Link asked on a whim. "It'll take a week to reach the Valley of the Seers. That should be plenty of time to, uh, learn discipline."
Sheik raised a brow but nodded all the same, "We'll meet at dawn."
Training with Sheik was just the worst. She didn't go easy on Link at all, and more than once, Impa yelled at him for getting injured when they weren't even in a battle. Link had hoped these training session would help desensitize him to Sheik's fighting so he wouldn't be as distracted by her. But he was wrong.
"You're distracted!" Sheik yelled again. "Focus, Link."
"I'm trying," he grunted, throwing his weight behind his shield to force Sheik a step back.
"I've seen you fight better than this," she said as she circled him. She jumped in again, her dulled, practice kunai appearing in her hand suddenly. Link blocked with his shield again and trust with his sword.
"Not good enough," Sheik's voice suddenly sounded to his left. Link turned to try and block her attack, but was too slow. Sheik's eyes bore into his as she held her kunai steady at his neck.
"We're a day away from the Valley of the Seers," she narrowed her eyes at him. "If you fight like this tomorrow, we could lose."
"I know," Link reached up to move the kunai away from his neck, probably rougher than he needed to.
"I think it best we stick to opposite sides of the battlefield," she stated as she sheathed her weapon.
"What?" Link asked as he sheathed his own practice sword.
"It's obvious I am the cause of your distraction. I commend you for attempting to overcome the problem, but this week of training has done little to help either of us."
"Either of us?" Link's confusion grew.
"You aren't the only one who has been distracted, Link," her eyes twinkled mysteriously before she left the training grounds.
Sheik's comment stuck with him during their whole day of marching. Avoiding each other hardly seemed like a good solution, but it was really the only thing they could do. So as they approached the perpetual dusk of the Valley of the Seers, Link went along with Sheik's lead and avoided her on the battlefield. It was pretty easy. The desert land of the valley was huge, and Impa decided to split up their army to cover more ground. Link took the west side, while Sheik supported Impa along the east. The fighting even stopped Link from overthinking about Sheik being distracted by him. They were doing perfectly fine, even while fighting the Manhandla, until they had an opening to storm Cia the top of the temple.
Link couldn't help but give Sheik a once over, checking for any injuries. He also couldn't help but notice Sheik doing the same to him. But in that split second, Cia cast a spell that froze them in place. Lana was able to jump out of the way, but the rest of them weren't so lucky. Cia stole Link's Triforce and oddly enough Sheik's, since apparently she held a piece. Then more magic happened than Link thought he would ever see in his lifetime.
Lana debriefed all of them on what had happened. Cia had ripped time and space apart to bring the areas that held a part of Ganondorf's soul into their world.
"I had no idea the Triforce could do such a thing," Impa mused once Lana had finished. "The tales always spoke of unlimited power but to see it in person." She shook her head. "We will have to split up."
They spent the next two hours debating who would go where and how many companies they should bring with them. Link voiced some concern over going to the area Lana called Skyloft alone, but Impa insisted.
"I have faith in you," she nodded. "You have grown so much since I saw you on the training ground. Believe in yourself, Link."
Again Sheik hesitated while everyone else left. Their rule of avoidance flew out of Link's head, and he stayed behind with her.
"Impa doesn't trust me," Sheik said, a frown evident in her tone, though Link could not see it. "I should be going to Skyloft with you, not running around Death Mountain so Impa can babysit me."
"So you'd rather we both get distracted in battle again?" Link half-teased.
"No, I," she turned away, refusing to meet his eyes. "I want to make sure you're safe. I can't do that from Death Mountain."
"I don't know; Death Mountain is pretty tall," he smiled. "You might be able to see me on one of those floating islands."
Sheik laughed. It was a musical sound, so light and happy. Link had never heard her laugh, and he immediately decided he wanted to hear it again.
"It's also more than that," she sighed. "But now is not the time to voice insecurities. We must rest before we head out tomorrow."
"For what it's worth," Link said as Sheik was about to step out of the meeting tent. "I trust you, Sheik."
Her eyes seemed sad despite his sentiment, "Thank you, Link."
Sheik seemed much happier the next morning.
"I analyzed our respective marching routes," she smiled, or at least Link assumed she was smiling by the way her eyes beamed. "Our routes overlap for at least three days before Impa and I break off to go up Death Mountain."
"That's, uh, good," Link awkwardly held his half-eaten toast.
"So, uh," she sat down next to him, some nervousness creeping into her tone. "We could spend more time together, if you wanted."
Link sat shocked for half a second. In his wildest dreams, he never thought Sheik actually liked him. Yet, here she was wishing to spend more time with him before they had to part ways.
"I would like to, yes," he nodded. "As long as we don't train together."
Sheik laughed again, and Link's heart soared.
"I will not have you distracting him from our goal."
Link had been approaching Sheik's tent when he heard voices.
"He is the chosen hero," Impa was saying. "He has a duty to fulfill. You cannot lead him astray with your empty affections."
"All your talk yesterday about your faith in him must then be a lie," Sheik shot back, "if you think one woman can deter him from his course. Why aren't you giving Lana the same shovel talk? Anyone with eyes can see the way she looks at him."
Link swallowed roughly. He hadn't noticed the way Lana looked at him.
"Lana can tell that any action on her part will only distract Link more. Unlike you."
Sheik stormed out of the tent after that. Link thought about trying to conceal himself, but Sheik's sharp eyes caught him too quickly.
"Walk with me," she whispered. And so Link followed her until they reached a nearby river.
"I'm sorry you had to hear that," Sheik finally spoke as she sat down on the grass by the bank. "Impa is unduly stressed about the disappearance of Princess Zelda, and she felt the need to exert her command over something she could control."
"I would have thought she'd figured out she can't control you already," Link smiled as he sat down next to Sheik.
"Yes, one would have thought," she sighed. "But she wasn't entirely wrong."
Link only stared.
"It is improper of me to pursue you when we are in the midst of war," she continued. "I am being selfish and thinking only of my fears."
"If I didn't have someone like you to talk to," Link started. "I would probably go crazy. Impa expects too much of me. She wants me to keep up the façade of being super-human, even while in camp. If I didn't have you, I would have gone insane with stress and sleep-loss."
They sat in silence for a while, simply watching the stars between the clouds and trees.
"There will come a time when I take these wraps off," Sheik touched her scarf, which was pulled up over her nose like always. "And you will look at me differently. I just want you to know, that despite my appearance, I am still the same, and my intentions are true."
"No matter what, I will always trust you," Link whispered back.
Link came back from Skyloft with Fi in tow. He was still unnerved by her (It was a 'her' right? Despite being a sword?) calling him Master, but Link had faced stranger challenges during this strange war. This was nothing compared to an evil sorceress trying to destroy a whole kingdom out of some twisted version of love for him.
While his successful return was applauded, it was nothing compared to the news that Princess Zelda had returned with Impa from Death Mountain. Link was happy to hear the news, while secretly hoping Impa would lay off Sheik since the Princess was back. But he didn't see Sheik the whole day since his arrival in the morning. She wasn't with the healers in the medical tent, which was a relief, but she wasn't in her own tent either. Link simply decided to distract himself with training. Sheik would come find him soon enough, he figured.
And just like he predicted, she surprised him as he walked down to the river they had visited not too long ago.
"You didn't come to say hi to me all day," her voice was filled with a pout. "It's quite rude of you, making me come find you instead."
"I didn't even see you in camp," Link began as he turned around, but his voice caught in his throat once he saw her. It wasn't Sheik, but Princess Zelda, in front of him.
Link fell to one knee, "Your Highness."
"Oh, never to that again," the Princess motioned for him to get up. "You promised you wouldn't look at me differently and that includes when I wear a crown."
Link stood feeling extremely confused, "Sheik?"
The Princess laughed, and Link knew she and Sheik were one in the same.
"I'm sorry to have deceived you," Zelda smiled. "But it was necessary to uncover what Cia was up to. That is until it backfired when Wizzrobe impersonated me at the Water Temple." She grimaced at the memory. "Will you be able to forgive me?"
Instead of answering, Link kissed her.
"I'll take that as a yes?"
Link only kissed her again.