Sheik let the tears run down her face, struggling not to make a sound.
Kakariko Village was a home to Sheik, more than Hyrule Castle had ever been to Zelda. Impa had trained her there in the arts of war, and she had spent many years among its people. The sound of cuccos throughout the day was a familiar comfort, and the souls in the graves were more of a family to her than her father had ever been. Zelda didn't mind. Impa had told her that living among the folk would make her a better queen than her father had been king, the first time she brought her there.
Seeing it burn had been a shock to her, so much that even she, who had long since abandoned letting her emotions rule her actions, let herself cry. Kakariko was one of the few places she could find solitude, and even that had been taken away from her.
She hated Ganondorf, more than she hated anybody in all Hyrule. He destroyed wherever he went. A sob escaped her lips when she thought of all she had lost because of him.
Anju heard her then, turning around from her place in the kitchen and frowning at her in concern. The chicken herd had always been too perceptive, for all her other flaws. She walked over to Sheik quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder. The pretend sheikah's head whipped up to look at her, and Anju smiled consolingly.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked quietly, so as not to disturb the other residents. Sheik shook her head vigorously, not willing to discuss her past, even with one of those who she had shared so much of it with. There was just too much.
Anju nodded, respecting her wishes and silently sitting beside her, rubbing circles on her back. Sheik imagined that this was what having a mother might've felt like, but she couldn't have known. She had never known hers- her mother had died in childbirth. Impa was as close to a mother as she'd had.
"It'll be alright," said Anju, and Sheik almost believed her, until she thought of all that had gone wrong.
The door burst open then, Link entering the room with a victorious smile on his face, a sopping wet tunic, and a blood-covered chest. His tunic was slashed down the middle like a giant sword had cleaved it, but his chest was clean of wounds. Sheik figured that was the sages' work. He strode across the room towards where Sheik was sitting, then stopped as he took the scene before him,giving Sheik a worried look. Sheik did her best to glare back. Link got the message and took on a serious demeanor.
"The monster's defeated, so your village is safe. It's over."
The group sitting at the table put their mugs of beer down, then Raoul gave a loud cheer, raising his mug.
"Aye we knew you could do it, lad! Our Sheik always told us so, did he not?" Raoul looked at Sheik, and the girl somehow managed to get the usual blank look back on her face. Her red eyes only were telling, and she found her sadness fading at the sound of another defeat.
Link would help her. He always had.
"Well, he has done it before," she said, and Raoul laughed.
"Yes, he's famous throughout the land, isn't he? We'll have a tale, my boy! Let's hear of your good deeds!" The table let up a cheer, clashing their mugs together. Link grinned at the raucous display.
"I'll be needing a new shirt first, I believe," he said, and Anju got up with a look at Sheik, checking to see that she was okay before she would help.
"I do believe I have something that will fit you, and I can repair that tunic easily. Oh, don't give me that look, young man, I'm not only useful for losing chickens. Now, come."
Anju led him to the second floor. Raoul watched them go, then turned to Sheik.
"My laddy, that one's a keeper." Sheik blushed a bit, but ignored him. Raoul had always been a wild man. He used to think that no woman was a useful woman until she was married. Then he met Impa, and watched Zelda training. They had grown into fond friends over the years, and Sheik had even gotten the nickname 'laddy' from him. He hadn't ever been comfortable with calling a girl a boy, and decided to address her with the in-between. Soon most of the town was using it as well, in mockery of him.
"He's right, Sheik," said Gilda, smiling wickedly at her. She was Raoul's wife, and had always acted accordingly. "You better not let this fish go."
Sheik shook her head, thinking of all Link had to do, and how much time it would be before peace, and even a chance for her. "No," she said, "There is so much to do yet, I could not."
Gilda scoffed, shaking her head. "And if there's no time afterwards?" she asked accusingly, "What would you do then, hmm?"
Sheik frowned. She knew that there was a chance that that would happen, but she wasn't greedy. They would save Hyrule as fast as possible, and not risk any more lives than they had to. "Hyrule comes first," she said, "I will not jeapordize her safety by wasting time. No, Gilda," she added, seeing the growing anger on the woman's face, "I am not important enough."
Gilda stared at her for a moment, shoulders slowly slumping, and sighed, tsking. "You say you're not important- I think you forget yourself. But I suppose you have a point," She grabbed her husbands beer as she was cleaning up the table, downing it, to his dismay. He protested loudly. "Raoul, you don't want to get drunk, do you? Sheik, do me a favor, would you? Don't forget your needs just because the country's are greater. I don't want to see you wilt away, not like last time."
Sheik stared at her for a moment, then nodded. Gilda perked up immediately.
"You can start by having a bite to eat. Maybe some beer- no, I won't have your teetotaling nonsense now, you will drink a beer. Not you, Raoul- you've had quite enough, don't you think? I won't stand for you becoming a freakin' drunkard again. You- Oh, Link! Have a steak, will you? And a beer, so you can exaggerate better- you lie terribly..."
"Sheik, will you be staying to help?" was a question asked once Link was done with his gory tale, at about four in the morning. Sheik didn't know she would be staying up this late, but Link's tale was long, and fascinating, to boot. She had never been too far into the Shadow Temple herself. The rest of the house stayed up as well, making her plan of escape somewhat harder. This question didn't help much, either.
The girl looked up at Anju with confusion, and she smiled. "With construction. Those fires did a number on the houses- even the spider house needs patching up."
Sheik thought on her answer, knowing that she could hardly stay when Link was leaving. She would need to wait at the Spirit Temple to teach him a song. She had stayed too long already-
"I'll help," Link volunteered , and Sheik's head whipped around to stare at him. He grinned at her, leaning back in his chair and holding his head in his hands, the perfect figure of rougish relaxation. "It's my fault this happened in the first place, and, honestly, I need a break. You should take one, too, Sheik. It'll do you good."
Sheik looked at him, thinking it over. Staying in the same area as the hero was dangerous, she knew, but this was more her fault than the hero's, and she already felt a niggling sense of guilt for thinking about leaving. Not to mention the tiredness of constantly running. Staying in one place, even for a few days, sounded wonderful, and Ganondorf didn't tend to pay any attention to places rid of evil by Link. It might even be... safe.
Don't forget your needs... And this was the needs of the country as well, wasn't it? The Gerudo hardly needed saving...
Could she stay?
Sheik threw caution to the wind and nodded.
"Me too," she said, wondering at how her voice came out normally. At the surprised look of the entire table, she continued, "I do need a break, and its not like the Gerudo are in any danger. Ganon hasn't even attacked the areas that are peaceful because of Link."
"That's the sages' fault," Link commented sheepishly, scratching his head. Sheik figured she should've guessed.
"So I'll stay," Sheik finished, and watched the looks of surprise turn into looks of gratitude. Raoul clasped her on the shoulder, and smiled.
"That's my laddy. Cheers to you, and your hero friend! We need all the help we can get." Gilda lifted her beer bottle, and Raoul went to follow, until he found that he didn't have one. He searched for it with frustration. Sheik's smile was hidden under her cowl.
Link beamed at her, raising his own empty glass in a salute. Sheik wondered what the week would bring, and she couldn't help but worry.
Those worries accompanied her as she finally decided to sleep and said goodbye to her companions, walking with her to her bed, pinching at her surety and gnawing at her judgement until they were forgotten in the mist of sleep.
...
Sheik awoke to a strong hand shaking her, and opened her eyes to see Link looking down at her. She shuffed back in alarm, feeling for her cowl and finding it there. She sighed in relief. The princess had no reason to worry.
Link was smirking, but had a strange look in his eyes. "Scare you that much, do I?" he joked, and Sheik snorted.
"You're hardly frightening, hero," she said, confused over the strange show of friendliness companioned with that strange look.
"That's not what Bongo-Bongo said last night," Link said with an overly cheerful voice, then blushed red and snorted as he realized what he just said. He looked at Sheik to see her eyes sparkling with mirth, and said firmly, "No."
Sheik giggled, then paled as she realized how feminine it sounded. She would not do that again.
Link stared at her a moment, then shook his head as though dismissing a thought.
"Come on, breakfast."
Sheik nodded and got up, tugging at the bandages that had unwound a bit in her sleep, and following the hero. Raoul and Gilda sat the table, Raoul hung over and Gilda sleep deprived. They both glared at Link as he approached, then Sheik as they realized she was none worse for the wear, and Anju as she cheerily brought in breakfast. Sheik sat down, wondering if she should take her breakfast outside.
They ate in silence, fearing the repercussions of talking with Gilda and Raoul around. Anju spoke first.
"Now we just need Impa back, and we'll have the whole family," said she, and Sheik set her fork down, feeling a little sick. Link copied her movement.
"Yeah, about that," he said sullenly, looking around the table as though he didn't know who to direct the news at and eventually settling on Sheik herself. Sheik willed him to continue, though she knew what news was coming already.
"Impa was the sage of shadow, it seems, so we won't be seeing her again."
Zelda sat frozen for a moment, then leaned back in her chair and exhaled. She supposed she should thank the gods for at least sparing her life, but she didn't think that a life like that was worth thanking them for. Eternity as a sage had no appeal to her.
She was glad that she still had responsibilities in this world, and would be allowed to live her life out in peace. She didn't want to think about what came after.
Link looked at her worriedly, and Sheik figured she should say something, to reassure him, but couldn't think of what. "...I'm sure she will perform her duties well," she eventually said, knowing it wasn't even close to adequate for her nursemaid. Link nodded.
"She will."
Silence again. Sheik resumed her eating for a few minutes, until Gilda, suddenly lucid, sighed frustratedly and slammed her fork down.
"Sheik, you have got to stop bottling your emotions up, for Din's sake! You are still human!"
Sheik stared at her in surprise, balking at the sudden tension. Link was staring at her in confusion and what might've been a bit of understanding. Raoul stared at her as well, until he suddenly sighed.
"Pains me to admit it, but my wife's right, laddy. You spent years with her, it's not healthy to just continue on without caring."
Sheik frowned. She did care, and in a way she was bottling it up, but to release it later, and not show weakness in front of those she cared about. She had been trained by Impa on how to survive, showing her emotions now would disgrace her memory. She set her fork down, wondering why they couldn't see that.
Anju seemed to be the only one who understood. "Leave off, you two. He's hardly going to cry in front of you."
"But it's unhealthy to act so," Gilda exclaimed at Anju.
Sheik frowned deeper, glowering at Gilda. She had been doing this for years, and she was perfectly healthy.
"Impa trained me to be this way, I will not throw my training back at her when she is not here to receive it."
"No offense to Impa, but what good will witholding your emotions do? You always put on such a mask, why can't you just be open?"
"Because Ganondorf will take advantage of weakness," said Link. The whole table turned to look at him, and he looked at Sheik with understanding in his eyes. "and he won't stop hurting who he loves until Sheik's broken. You have to have a shell in this world, now, or you're easy prey."
Sheik stared at him, and realized that he had grown up too quickly, and experienced too much loss for one his age- just like her. They had both had their childhood taken away from them and had both built walls around themselves. The only difference was that Link wasn't alone and didn't have to hide. She hoped that, after this war, she wouldn't have to hide, either.
Link smiled at her, understanding, and she smiled back, though she doubted Link could see it.
Gilda and Raoul looked at the two of them, and seemed to understand. Anju quickly changed the subject.
"So, where will you two be working?" It went unsaid that after that moment the two of them would be working together. Sheik felt a bit of worry at working with the hero, but pushed it aside. He is honourable. I have nothing to worry about. Ganon cannot reach us here.
"Wherever you put us," Link said, grinning and leaning back in his chair. Raoul thought for a moment.
"Well," he said, "Gilda and I are taking the spider house, and Anju is cleaning up her chicken pen, while the other townsfolk are working on the shooting gallery and the house next to it, as they're the worst. Mind taking the bazaar? It needs some new siding, and a coat of paint, though I suppose it could go without for a time."
"That's fine," said Link, grin faltering a bit as he thought. "Though I'm not very skilled in construction. Grew up in a tree, you see. How about you, Sheik? I don't suppose you grew up in a tree as well."
Sheik frowned, "I haven't really had the opportunity to try construction," she said. Raoul threw his hands in the air.
"Then why did you two volunteer in the first place! Ah, well, we need all the help we can get. I'm sure we can find someone to help you."