Moonlight showed through the small window, high on the wall of Link's cell. When he opened his eyes, he was, at first, confused as to what had caused him to awaken. He looked over and noticed his sword lay just outside of the cell door. Furrowing his eyebrows, Link got up and walked silently to the door. Pressing the door lightly with his fingertips, he was shocked to find it unlocked. He snatched up his sword, put the strap about his body, and walked down the corridor that led to his room.

"I'm going to check on prisoner four," a voice resounded down the stone walls and Link pressed himself against the wall, just next to the corner he had been about to turn.

"Okay, I'll be with Maccus," another voice said before walking away. The other set of footsteps started toward Link and he tried to think quickly.

He could try to take this guard on - he'd obviously have the element of surprise - but then he'd be attacking a guard, and then he'd automatically lose the trust of the royal family, whom he still needed to report to. He could go back to his cell and pretend to be a good boy while the guard realized the door was, somehow, unlocked.

The footsteps were almost five feet away when, suddenly, they stopped. Link could hear the slight scuffing sound of a foot turning, then a grunt, followed by a thud. When someone walked around the corner to face Link, he was unsure whether to run, attack, or thank him. Instead, he stood there, dumbfounded.

He recognized the strange person. He had been in the square earlier, when Link was looking for help for the old man. He had a cowl about their face so only his scarlet red eyes and blonde hair showed. Bandages were wrapped about the top of his head and several parts of his body over the top of a blue body-covering outfit, a loose bit of fabric hanging below their cowl with an odd emblem like a bleeding eye with three triangles above it. Link was about to start backing away, thinking up a getaway plan when the boy jerked his head sharply toward the way he had just come, turning and walking around the corner.

Link followed the unfamiliar boy through the corridors, who paused every once in a while to listen before continuing on. He trekked after the stranger, turn after turn, seeming to take more downward slopes than up, before they finally stopped in a small room with a table against the wall. The boy climbed onto the table, threw open what had previously appeared to simply be part of the ceiling, and hoisted themself through. They jutted their hand back in, and Link glanced around one last time before climbing onto the table, taking the stranger's hand, and being pulled surprisingly easily out.

Link's apparent savior shut the trap door and began walking away. Link looked around, noticing they seemed to be in a tunnel. It was dimly lit with torches every dozen yards or so, and water flowed at about ankle-depth. On either side of the water, where they stood, were raised pathways, probably for maintenance. The strange boy turned and was about to begin walking again when Link grabbed their arm and they turned. Maybe he was imagining it, but they seemed to be scowling. Suddenly, Link realized the peculiarity of the situation - he didn't even know this person.

"Who are you?" Link asked before he realized it, and the stranger rolled his eyes.

"Sheik," he replied in a bored tone, his voice quiet and scrachy, as if rarely used, sounding completely irritated with Link for such a simple question. Link nodded slowly.

"Well. . . thank you, Sheik. Now. . . how can I get into the castle?" Link asked curiously, and Sheik's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"The castle?" Sheik asked and Link nodded.

"I'm supposed to inform the royal family of attacks from beasts in my village," Link said. Sheik blinked slowly, glanced away from Link, then back to him.

"Duly noted. They shall know. You, however, must come with me," Sheik said before turning and walking town the tunnel without another word. Link stood there for a moment, slowly becoming irate, wondering if this journey would ever begin to straighten back out, before sighing and following Sheik.

Eventually, a dim light appeared ahead, bluer than the torches, and within a few yards, Link was able to make out the shape of a large arch that opened into the slowly fading night.

Sheik jogged ahead and peered out the archway before turning back to Link, who was gazing down at the murky black water as it rushed to its escape.

"There's a slight drop right ahead, but to both sides, there are rocks you can climb. I've brought your horse to the side of the river," Sheik said shortly , giving Link a brief moment to feel relief over Epona, before disappearing out of the tunnel to climb skillfully down the rocks. Link followed after him, looking down and frowning at the messy pile of jagged rocks that glinted up at him in the moonlight. He had never been the most graceful person by any means, save for when it came to swordplay. He sighed and began ambling his way down, his only concern being to not impale himself on a particularly pointy rock.

By the time Link had made it to the bottom of the pile, Sheik was waiting, Epona's reigns in his small hand. Link held his hand out to take the reigns, but Sheik pulled back, eying Link slightly.

"Perhaps I should take the lead. You may never find where we're going if I am only telling you where to go," Sheik said carefully and Link frowned, then shrugged to show his consent. Sheik nodded slightly before getting onto Epona and Link followed. The horse whinnied slightly in protest to the extra weight, but held them up just fine. Link smirked as he imagined the disgruntled thoughts the horse might be having.

Sheik set Epona into motion and Link had to hold onto Sheik to keep himself from falling off of the foreign place near the back of his horse.

They rode for a while, Link keeping his eyes on the area around them at all times, both wary of monsters and in awe of the land. He had never even been out of his village, let alone past Hyrule Castle. By the time Epona finally began to slow, the sun was beginning to peak over the horizon. Sheik brought the horse around off of a path they had been taking through a forest and zigzagged around the trees, which gradually became thicker and more difficult to avoid.

Finally, they entered a clearing and Link had to blink to make sure he wasn't imagining things.

The clearing was full of tents and campfires, most unlit. A few women stood at a large basin, appearing to be washing clothes. Around one campfire sat several children who were intently watching the elderly man opposite them, who seemed to be exaggeratedly telling a story. People ambled around, some speaking in groups, girls giggling, men muttering in hushed tones, young men carrying supplies around the camp.

Any of this could have been completely average, but the truth of it all snapped into Link's mind as he realized what the strange emblem on Sheik's chest was, why every one of the people in that camp had scarlet eyes. These people were the Sheikah, a tribe said to have vanished hundreds of years ago.

Hey, guys. Sorry it's short, but mostly, I had to write a chapter to let you all know I might not get to post anything for a while, as our Internet connection will probably be shut off pretty soon. So, try not to hate me too much for that.

Reviews = happy me = more easily written chapters. 3

-xoxmitchiexox