Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the Zelda series and all credit goes to the creators of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I do, however, own Melainia and any use of her as a character without my permission is illegal!! (Not that any of you fine people would use her, though—Winks ;) )

Chapter three

"The tribe of the Sheikah is an ancient, proud race that has served the Royal Family for many a time, ever since we came into existence," Sheik spoke quietly, his gaze cast out the window, fixated on something far off in the distance. "We are also know as the shadowfolk, for our involvements with shadow magic, darkness, stealth, and the preference to avoid society at all costs unless it is a matter of life and death. We stick to the shadows and barely know the meaning of light." he closed his eyes, as if this thought was saddening to him. "To be a Sheikah is to give up attachments that make one mortal, that make one know what is humanity. To have mortal attachments is to have weaknesses. Do you understand, Melainia?"

I swallowed. I didn't like that kind of idea, but it was his culture, not mine. "Yes."

Sheik took a breath before continuing. "The Sheikah are proud; they never forget a crime and many are very vindictive-- the women take their revenge in almost sadistic ways and the men often find other methods as to take their revenge. The revenge matters on the person.

"Shadowfolk avoid confrontation when possible, should this be physical, or harmful, to themselves or those that are family or close in any other manner. We kill our enemies swiftly and silently, never ones to bring attention, by striking at the arteries in the human body or using shadow magic, or even poison. If forced into combat we do not often take to the offensive, but rather defensive, searching for an opening when possible. And if we are not yet forced into combat but we must be forced to confront our enemies, we try to parlay or find a way to make peace. Avoiding actual battle is our biggest goal.

"Stealth is its own matter. It comes most naturally to Sheikahs; we can literally become one with the shadows and manipulate it to our will, or we can use the blinding flash of a Deku Nut to momentarily stun the enemy whilst we blink away. Are you memorizing what I'm saying, Melainia?" Sheik suddenly asked sharply, as my mind was beginning to wander and I found myself losing interest. I snapped back to attention, lowering my head sheepishly.

With a slight twitch of his visible eyebrow, Sheik continued. "As for the matter of why we cover ourselves so heavily in cloth and bandages and our . . . manner, of clothing," he paused, to gesture to his skin-tight outfit. I blushed a little before looking back down. "Most of our race covers their face with a cowl or some other type of covering because it is forbidden to reveal our faces to those that are not our loved ones or that we know. To have an enemy know our looks and be able to pick us out in a crowd . . . it is dangerous, and thus, a risk. We were bandages to symbolize the hard training we all go through from the time of birth, and you will notice, if you ever meet others of my race besides myself and Impa, that most younger Sheikahs do not cover themselves in bandages, for they have not yet experienced the burdens we elders have had to bare . . ." Sheik closed his eyes again, his voice saturnine as he went on. "The bandages symbolize our pain, and the memories of the years, what we've gone through, what we've felt . . . They are our only remnants and links to the past.
"The reason we wear such . . . risque clothing, I suppose you could call it, is because clunking around in boots and chain mail would make far too much noise to be stealthy," Sheik explained, his voice lined with what I suspected to be amusement, almost. "We would wear no clothing at all if we could get away with it," he admitted, "With the exception of our cowls and bandages, because clothing is just another . . . burden, another mortal attachment. However, in our society today, going without clothing is a bit too inappropriate."

I couldn't help it; I giggled at the thought of the race of shadow people walking around casually, completely naked, as though they didn't have a care in the world.

Sheik lifted his eyebrow. "Exactly. Though, in all seriousness, the Sheikah are unlike any other race you've ever met. During your training, I will teach you the culture of our people, from our music, our magic, our fighting styles, et cetera. I will teach you to think, breathe, and live as one of my own race, and I will not stop training you until that is accomplished. Do you understand that, Melainia?" he turned fully to face me, his lean arms crossed over his chest.

I nodded, a bit dumbly. "Yeah, I think so."

"Good. Since you are still . . . disoriented, from your trip out the window earlier, we'll begin your lessons tomorrow. For now, get some rest. You'll need your strength. And don't think for the simple fact that you have a broken arm I'll be any easier on you. After all, if I did not take it hard on you for your act of idiocy," Sheik went on, as he moved past me on my bed, "then you would never learn. And you are an idiot, Melainia, indubitably, but luckily that doesn't seem irrevocable. Within a year or so's time, I'll have bred a Sheikan genius." Chuckling at his own joke, Sheik left the room. I glared after him.

I was still irritated that I was going to have to do this stupid training, because it seemed impossible to avoid it. I had never thought anyone to be as stubborn as I was, but apparently I was a pushover compared to Sheik.

But that didn't necessarily mean I had to behave during my lessons.

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"So what the heck is up with your name, anyway?" I taunted the next day while we were standing in the courtyard, getting ready to begin. "Sheik, Sheikahs. Sheikahs, Sheik. How original." I sneered.

To my annoyance, Sheik completely ignored me. "Close your eyes." he said simply.

"What if I don't trust you enough to do that?" I tried again, stubbornly, to get on his nerves.

"It's hardly as if I'm going to break your other arm. Though, if you continue to test my patience, we'll see just what I will do. Now, close your eyes," Sheik said, with more calmness than I thought he would be able to contain. Most people would be ripping my head off by this point, and just yesterday Sheik had wanted to kill me. It had been pretty evident he would chop my head off with a smile on his face.

I yawned, stretching lazily though making sure not to stretch my broken arm, which was busy throbbing dully, but not badly enough that it distracted me from the task at hand: annoying Sheik. "You know, I don't really feel like it," I said simply, looking Sheik straight in the eye.

His visible ruby-red eye narrowed. "Oh, really? Do you need motivation, perhaps?"

"That depends on what kind of motivation you're talking about." I replied, unperturbed by his lone, threatening tone.

Sheik lifted one slender shoulder, let it fall. "Very well. Your misery." he stepped forward, and suddenly jabbed four fingers harshly down into the pressure point near my neck, making me gasp in pain and cringe, my eyes clenching shut. Before I could open my eyes again, though, I felt two warm fingertips slide over my eyelids, holding them down.

"Now, are you going to cooperate or should I move to more painful methods?" came Sheik's quiet question.

"Cooperation." I mumbled, because I wasn't fond of pain and I didn't want to jostle my arm by pissing Sheik off.

"That's what I thought." Sheik said, almost smugly, and I felt the fingertips move off my eyes as I relaxed in the darkness of my closed eyelids.

"Sheikahs find a connection with their environment and surroundings through the daily practice of meditation. In fact, we draw energy from our environment to cast our magic. We meditate to know the location of every hair on the bottom of a leaf, to each drop of water that hits the ground during the rain. So if we are forced into combat, we can use our surroundings to our advantage, against the enemy, turn nature against them.

"I want you to relax completely, and I want you to open your mental defenses and become one with the area around you. Only after you've done that, and you are aware of everything, will I return and begin your lessons." Sheik turned, with that, and I heard his fading footsteps as he headed away.

Okay, what? How in the world was I supposed to be aware of each 'individual hair' on a leaf if I couldn't actually get the leaf and stare at it myself? I couldn't know something like that by just sitting here!
I wasn't aware how long I stood there, feeling completely like a fool. I had no idea what to do, and soon I came to the conclusion that Sheik was insane. How in the world was I supposed to 'become one' with my surroundings? Spill my blood all over everything?

"Hi, Melainia. What are you up to?" I peeked one eye open, looking into the curious lightning-blue orbs of the Hero of Time.

"Meditating," I grumbled, closing my eye again. "What are you doing?"

"I was getting ready to come tell you that if you wanted to spar they're having competitions down in the training fields, just for fun." Link replied. "I'm going to enter. Do you want to come?"

Did I ever. Whatever I could do to get out of this. "All right. Let's go." I said immediately, opening my eyes.

Link lifted an eyebrow, though, studying me, for a moment. "You're sure that Sheik's not going to chop my head off, are you?"

"Oh yeah," I lied, smoothly. "He'll be just fine. He was going to take a break, anyway."
With that, I followed Link from the courtyard.

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I was going to kill her.

And this time, I meant it. If Zelda or Link stood in my way, I would gladly kill them too. What did it take, to make this idiot girl realize, that I was not one to be trifled with? I was not going to deal with her constant fits of childishness and let her get away with this! She was sixteen, so it was only natural that she was going to act like a brat who didn't want to listen to those above her, and for her past, I could see why, clearly. But that didn't mean I was going to tolerate it. There were going to be a few changes.

Melainia had left with Link to go watch the sparring sessions; I could see it in her mind and in his. Her mental defenses were weak, but Link's mind recognized mine and let me in, rather guiltily, I might say, for how furious I was as I searched his mind. He knew now that Melainia had lied about leaving. She was in for it now.

I forgave Link; he hadn't known and he had only been trying to befriend the stubborn teenage brat that was currently my student. She needed a friend; maybe they could teach her a little kindness and respect.

As I stormed down the corridors of the castle, I vaguely noticed people flinching as they saw my expression and felt the waves of fury roiling off me. I saw Zelda walking down the hall and she only sighed, returning to the book she was reading as I stomped past her. She didn't even have to ask to know what I was mad about.

I stopped before the doors that led to the training fields, taking a deep breath and trying to compose myself, if only slightly, just to show Melainia that even though I was pissed, I could try to keep a calm head as I dealt with her. I really didn't want to, but it would make me very hypocritical to yell and scream at her and then lecture her for being childish. I needed to set an example, as cliché as that sounded.

I pushed open the doors with one of my tanned, bandaged hands, thinking to myself, She must have really been bored to come here to watch these sessions. Girls don't normally find entertainment in two idiots swinging swords around at each other. Perhaps she knows a little swordplay . . . ?

It was just a thought. I spotted Link standing off to the side with Melainia, talking with her, the two laughing and having fun. Typical teenagers. My blood began to boil as I spotted the reason for all of this.

The sudden male urge to humiliate her in front of all these people was overpowering, but I pushed it aside(rather reluctantly)and reminded myself that as a Sheikah, I was more responsible, more honorable, than that. I would breed a fine student and I would do it with patience. After all, if I didn't have any patience, I wouldn't have bothered to come here.

I moved over to them calmly, and when Melainia spotted me, she pursed her already pouty lips and put her hands on her hips. I felt my eyes narrowing in response, but ignored her accusing, feminine stance.

"Do you have any idea how boring that was?" Melainia demanded before I could say anything. Her voice was musical, like all of the other elves, but also not completely matured.

"You left me in the courtyard to 'become one with my surroundings' ," She emphasized that point by twitching two fingers on each of her hands, "And I didn't have the slightest clue how to do that. You didn't teach me anything."

I felt my anger bubble up, but I held my temper in check. "You won't learn anything if you never try anything for yourself. Don't blame me for your own incompetence."

"Incompetence?" she nearly shrieked, not bothering to contain her own anger. She started toward me, but Link grabbed her tiny arms, restraining her. Her violet eyes blazed with anger, and her flaming red hair whipped about her face. Admittedly, it was very attractive . . .

What!?

My eye twitched. "Incompetence," I hissed. "You didn't even try to use your mind. And it was obvious, from my instruction, that that was what I was requiring you to do."

"You didn't even give a clue--"
"Melainia," came a stern, female voice from behind me. Zelda. "Sheik is right. You didn't give any effort whatsoever if you weren't responsible enough to decline from Link's offer and focus on the task at hand. You were wrong to leave the lesson, and for not even experimenting as you should have."

Melainia fell silent at Zelda's reprimanding tone, if reluctantly. She glared icy daggers at me, but I ignored her, settling for crossing my arms over my chest. This girl was so impossible!
"Now, I want you to go back to the courtyard and let Sheik explain to you thoroughly how to perform this exercise, whatever it is. And Sheik," she turned to me. "Do try to be patient with her."

"You have no idea how 'patient' I was on my way." I grumbled, but she ignored me and simply waved her hands. I followed Melainia from the room, as she backtracked her way to the courtyard.

Neither of us spoke. Melainia couldn't stand me; I could already sense that. Quite frankly, I didn't give a damn. I wasn't here to make her like or dislike me. I was here for her survival.

When we reached the courtyard, I moved in front of her and said quietly, "Like I said before, I want you to meditate, try to become one with your surroundings. And I will perform this practice with you, and try to aid you, so you will have a better idea of what you should do." And then, with a little difficulty, because I hated this, "I apologize, for the fact that my instructions were a bit vague." I waited.

She said nothing. So I decided not to push. If I wanted her trust and her respect, I was going to have to 'earn' it, I supposed. For a moment, I tried to view myself through her eyes.

She was being forced through these lessons, taken away from her life, without much of a choice in the matter. I would have been pissed, too.

However, that didn't matter anymore. What mattered was that this had to be done.

I gave up on receiving an apology in return; instead, I sat down cross-legged, waiting until she did so in return. I settled my hands on my knees, turning them palm-up, and bringing the pad of my thumb to touch the pad of my forefinger while the rest of my fingers stuck straight up. I waited until she imitated that as well, before I said softly, "Close your eyes."

She did so, after a moment, and I murmured, "Relax." She took a deep breath, exhaling it, and I couldn't help but notice the long dark sweep of her lashes against her cheeks, the curve of her lips . . .

Oh, no. I wasn't going to do that. There was no way in the world that I was going to let those thoughts have time to explore. I cut off that train of thought before it could go any farther, saying, "Now, looking into your mind right now, I can see that your mental defenses are weak and easily accessible, if I wish it. When I enter your mind now, I want you to tell me if you can sense my presence."

As I closed my own eyes, I reached my train of thought out to her, seeking . . . I discovered her own weaker strand, and grasped it, slipping through her mental defenses and allowing myself to be known to her, if she just sought me out, instead of hiding my presence, which I would do if I had been penetrating the mind of an enemy.

"I . . . I think I can sense you . . ." she said softly, sounding slightly confused, her voice uncertain. "You're dark, and . . . and . . ." I could almost feel the blush rising in her cheeks as I caught the rest of the sentence in her mind. Sensual.

Oh, Goddesses, no.

I withdrew my mind quickly from hers, saying to distract us both, "Now that you're aware of what I feel like, there isn't any use in continuing that. You could feel your mental defenses when I entered, yes?"

Her eyes opened, as well. "Yes. Well . . . uh . . . I think, anyway."

"What I want you to do is lower them, completely. Leave yourself defenseless to your surroundings, and try to reach out to everything, connect with it, make yourself one with it. Leave yourself open." I instructed.

Melainia looked a little more confident, but still worried. "Won't that be dangerous?"

I was surprised how quickly she caught on to the danger of having her mind completely open. "Yes. But I will be right here, keeping a watch over you. If anything should happen, I will be here to protect you. Trust me."

I hope I can. I heard her think, and I caught myself angrily, pulling out of her thoughts and allowing her some privacy. It was wrong to just invade her mind like that.

As she closed her eyes and began to practice my instructions, I tried to gather my own thoughts.

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