Revelation of Lies will be updated every Saturday until completed.
AN: I took some liberties and played around with the landscaping of Hyrule by merging the OoT and TP layouts of Hyrule together. Also, I choose to have Sheik be a separate character from Zelda and for him to be male. I respect that everyone has their own opinion on Sheik's gender and thus I am entitled to mine. Please don't leave any comments telling me Sheik is a girl because in my story he isn't. Thanks!
Disclaimer: Don't own it.
Warnings: Minor violence in later chapters and boyxboy (Link x Sheik). If you're not a fan please don't read.
~*~*~ Chapter One ~*~*~
Lightning forks across the late night sky, lighting up the silhouette of mountains in the distance, far across the fields of Hyrule. He stands at the mouth of the cave, watching. A horse snorts uneasily beside him and he pats her grey neck murmuring, "Easy Cali," into the darkness of the night. Thunder follows the lightning, roaring over the sound of the wind and the pounding of the rain. The wind whips through the trees, harassing the boughs and bending the branches in its fury. He's glad they're not stuck outside, even if the cave is a little dank, it's shelter. The fire burning behind him helps veto the chill and dry the air.
A horse nudges him and he pets Epona's neck. She sighs and he leans against her side as he continues watching. His eyes are scanning the darkness, looking for a lurking foe but he sees none, yet he still feels uneasy.
A fluttering ball of blue leaves the edge of the fire and lands on his shoulder. He glances at the fairy for a moment before shifting his gaze outside, watching as the lighting lit up the fields again. He sees nothing out of the ordinary during the brief flash of light.
"Why aren't you in bed?" Navi asks, her voice right beside his ear from her spot on his shoulder.
"The thunder woke me," he says.
"And why didn't you go back to bed?" she prods and he sighs.
"I felt…uneasy," he admits, and she flutters her wings.
"You worry too much Sheik," Navi says, patronizingly.
He glances back to where Link is sleeping like one of the dead. "Maybe he doesn't worry enough," he says, "and I worry enough for the both of us."
"He worries for you," she answers and he rolls his eyes.
"I can manage myself, but he doesn't worry enough for himself," Sheik replies and she snorts. He wasn't aware such a sarcastic sound could come from a fairy.
"And he probably thinks the same of you. Self sacrificing blockheads, the pair of you…" She trails off as she flutters over to Epona's back and settles at the base of her mane.
"Blockheads?" he repeats, a slight smile on his face.
"Go to sleep, Sheik. I will keep watch so you can rest easy," the fairy says and he listens and heads back to his bed roll by the fire.
He slips in quietly, but Link wakes anyways. He throws an arm around Sheik's middle and pulls him close. He presses his face into Sheik's neck and sighs.
"Where'd you go?" he asks, kissing Sheik's neck after he's done speaking.
Sheik feels himself relax in Link's embrace. "Nowhere, Hero," he says as he presses his back against Link's chest. "The thunder woke me."
"Thunder?" he asks, and yawns.
"You're exhausted," Sheik says and kisses him softly. They both are. The Shadow Temple had been rough on the both of them. They did not rest easy in the tomb of Sheik's ancestors when the spirits there were plagued by evil. It had even made Sheik uneasy.
"So are you," Link says and pulls him in tighter. "Sleep," he commands softly. "We'll speak in the morning."
Wrapped in Link's arms he feels safe and he lets himself be lulled to sleep by the sound of the other man's deep, even breathing.
The morning brings fog and wet gloom and Sheik finds it fitting as he saddles Calibri. Link is not awake yet and he doesn't have the heart to wake him. He looks troubled in his sleep and the exhaustion is evident on his face. Instead, Sheik saddles the horses, packs and stocks up Link's supplies and sets about making something to eat.
He makes stew, not traditionally a breakfast food but the rabbit that they had snared last night needed to be used up or it would go bad. Sheik had various other supplies on hand to help make it, and the meal would be filling. Link would need something to sustain him in the Spirit Temple.
When Link wakes emerges from the cave and he wraps his arms around Sheik and holds him close.
"Be safe," he murmurs into Sheik's ear, and then kisses him. When they part Sheik is flushed and out of breath.
"You stay safe too," Sheik says as he frowns at him. "I will be fine."
"The Temple of Time is right under Ganandorf's nose," Link says frowning. "Can't you just wait for me to return? We can go together."
"Hero," Sheik says, frowning, "I need to gather the supplies for the ritual, and wait for Zelda. There is much yet that must be done before the final battle. We can't wait."
Link sighs and squeezes Sheik tightly against him again. "Just…be careful, please?"
"Will you promise me the same?" Sheik asks, gazing into Link's blue eyes.
Link nods. "I love you," he murmurs into Sheik hair.
"And I love you," Sheik steps back, breaking the embrace. "Let's eat."
Sheik leads Calibri across the broken draw bridge and slips down an alley way behind the deserted guard's station. He makes his way through the back alley maze until he reaches the field behind the Temple of Time. He leaves Calibri there and scales the fence surrounding the Temple and enters without alerting any of Ganandorf's spies.
Once inside he glances around. He hasn't been to the temple in months but it was holding up well compared to the rest of the town. He lights the candles and starts to prepare the rituals Zelda needed to cast the spells required to help Link beat was on her way. He had spoken to her through a Gossip Stone before entering the city. He chanted under his breath as he worked, preparing the ingredients for Zelda. They would provide the Hero of Time with protection and ultimately, the Light arrows he needed to defeat Ganandorf.
He finished casting the minor spells and preparing the rituals when he hears a sound. He looks up, hand slipping to the dagger at his hip when Zelda enters, looking cautious. One of her guards is slightly ahead of her, and when she catches sight of him she grins and runs to him. He's startled when she wraps her arms around him and hugs him, but he hugs her back. Zelda has always been more of a sister to him than a master. She can tell he's not an imposter by the shadow bond they share. Sheik, as part of the Sheikah, were sworn disciples ofthe Royal Family of Hyrule, and when Sheik had come of age he had been bonded to Zelda to act as her protector and her servant.
"Sheik," she whispers. "You look well."
"As do you, princess," he replies, dipping his head to her respectfully. Her guards stationed themselves at the exits of the temple.
"None of that," she says, and glances around the temple. "Have you finished?"
"Yes," he responds. "It's ready for you."
"Good, thank-you Sheik," she kisses his cheek and he drops his gaze to the floor before meeting her eyes again. "The realm has you to thank for your loyalty."
"Princess," he says, looking abashed.
"None of that I said!" she says playfully, "Zelda, say it with me."
He rolls his eyes. "Zelda," he answers and she pets his head.
"Good boy," she says, treating him like the pet he truly is, even if Zelda does not normally treat him so. "Come sit with me," she says as she sits on the red-velvet carpet of the steps. "I would like to see what has transpired while I was hidden."
He sits obediently, not that he has the choice with the bond. Zelda rarely commands him to do something, but she doesn't realize that he has no choice in the matter when she asks or requests something from him.
She brings her fine, pale hand to his exposed cheek and rests it there as Sheik feels her magic sink into his pores and light fire to his nerves. He sits quietly as Zelda flicks through various memories until she comes across one he would have rather kept buried but he has no control over what she chooses to see.
"Hero?" Sheik asks, and Link grabs his hand and pulls him close.
"You'll come with me, right?" he asks, staring at Sheik intently. "To the Shadow Temple?"
"If that is what you wish," Sheik replies.
Link dips his head and kisses the Sheikah, holding him close. Sheik relaxes into the kiss, gaining confidence with the more kisses he receives. They part and Link presses a kiss to the tip of his nose gently.
"Not what I wish, but what you wish," Link says.
Sheik nods. "I will come with you."
"Thank-you," Link says. "I cannot bear when I do not know where you are."
"I can fend for myself, Hero," Sheik says, somewhat crossly.
"I know that," he says. "But do you not feel more reassured knowing where I am? That I am well?" he asks and Sheik softens his expression.
"I do," he admits and Link grins.
"I love you," he says more serious and Sheik smiles shyly at him, not used to the affection.
"I love you too," he replies.
Zelda breaks off the magic suddenly and Sheik feels the sting of it leaving his body and he slumps and takes a deep breath to recover from it. She's staring at him and he can't decipher her expression.
"You…and Link?" she asks, and the fury in her voice is evident despite her attempt to hide it.
"I'm sorry," he answers immediately. "I didn't mean for this to happen but…he makes me so happy and I-"
"I don't care!" she cuts him of as she stands. He tries to rise to but her magic holds him in place. "Link was supposed to marry me!" she cries out angrily. The guards shift uneasily but otherwise don't move. "The princess, not the…not the slave!"
He feels agony rip through him sharply. Zelda has never treated him as such before, but he hasn't seen her in seven years, they communicated only through the gossip stones. Anything else was too much of a risk. That is enough time to alter somebody drastically, so he learns.
"I'm sorry," she says softly and the pain lessens but he is still rooted to the spot. "I'm so sorry Sheik but Link can't love you."
He tries to speak but can't manage words. He watches as Zelda walks towards him helplessly. She kneels in front of him and chants an incantation, and he shudders as her magic floods through him again. He cringes and closes his eyes against the invasiveness of the magic and when he opens them he stares back at the mirrored reflection of himself.
"No," he says, finding his voice. "Please, no, Zelda, no, no."
"Shhh," she murmurs softly, catching the tears he didn't know he shed with her thumbs…his thumbs. "This is how it must be, it'll be better this way, and better for Link, he'll be happier…"
She takes his face in her hands and he wants to struggle but can't, not against her superior magic. Not against her controlling bond over his body. Pain floods through him, more intense than any injury he has every received. He cannot stop himself when he cries out. He drops to the ground and writhes and Zelda moves with him, not letting him go.
He fights against the fire in his veins as long as he can manage but it drags him under into the darkness. He's rendered unconscious by Zelda's magic and she hovers over his body for a few minutes, gazing sadly at him.
"I'm sorry," she repeats again, before standing. She calls to her guards to come to her side and they do. "Take him to the fortress outside of the Gerudo encampment. Don't be seen. I will come to him when I can. Don't hurt him."
They protest when they realize she means to send them away but she shushes them instantly. "The Hero of Time will be here soon. He will protect me. Now, go and have haste!"
They leave uneasily and she calls out to them one last time as they go, "And do not hurt him! If he befalls any injury I will personally discipline the one who gives it to him!"
And with that she's alone to wait for the Hero of Time to arrive, her love.
TBC.
Thanks for reading!