Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the Legend of Zelda. All other original characters belong to me.

The Sheikah

Chapter Four - A Summons

"Link, will you quit chasing that damn cucco and help me lift these?"

Sheik looked up curiously from where he stood next to Miriam, who was buying specialty groceries which had to be purchased from a Castle Town vendor who hailed from the neighboring kingdom of Termina. What Sheik saw put a grin on his face, but also a warning in his heart.

What he saw was a face he had encouraged himself to forget; for the pain of remembering what it promised was too much for him these days. From across the square, Link—the wheaten-haired Hylian from the desert—jumped down off a crate, casting a dirty look over his shoulder at the cucco clucking smugly behind him.

He walked a few paces to where one of his brothers stood next to a cart. Sheik could not remember the brother's name, but he was the younger of Link's two elder. They both began to heave bales of hay onto a small cart. When they had finished, Link's brother climbed into the driving chair, turning the cart around towards the western thoroughfare.

Link, eyes bright and lips moving slightly as if he were talking to himself, followed merrily behind the cart. He looked… happier than the last time Sheik had seen him, which had been more than three months ago. He looked happier than the images of him Sheik kept pouring over in his mind…

"Sheik? Child!" Miriam looked at him tiredly, her arms full of a dark green, leafy vegetable. "Can you take these? We've more to get, and I can't manage it all."

Snapping out of his obsessive observations, Sheik took the greenery from her. "My apologies, Miriam." He looked down at the plants in his arms. "What—what is this?"

"Never you mind that," she snapped. "It's rare and hard to grow in Hyrule. One of the Princess's favorites." Sheik nodded, and they continued on through the market. Sheik was just fighting to ignore a jibe some Hylian man had shouted at him when Miriam spoke up again. "What were you looking at just now?"

Her question caught Sheik off guard. "Oh, uh, I just thought that I saw someone I knew, that's all."

"That boy chasing the cucco?" She asked, not even glancing up at him for the satisfaction of seeing the tint of redness on his cheeks. Miriam was an older Hylian, though still very capable. What Sheik appreciated most about her was that she did not treat him any differently for being a Sheikah, whereas all he would receive from most Hylians were sneers and hisses. She also had very observant eyes for her age. Miriam could be incredibly perceptive, it seemed. More so than Sheik would have anticipated.

"Yes, him," he answered, clearing his throat.

"You shouldn't be getting involved with anyone, boy. You are here for a purpose: to protect the princess. Not to be chasing boys who chase chickens."

Sheik did not answer, but his cheeks reddened further. Link had never been—was never—hadn't ever… let off a sign that he was that way. Had he? Sheik couldn't remember all that clearly, as the last night they had seen each other they had both consumed a considerable amount of wine. Of course, he hadn't protested when Sheik had pulled him down into his lap to save him from his father. He had almost looked bashful during that moment. He hadn't minded when Sheik had touched their foreheads together. The rest of that night may have been a drunken blur, but Sheik remembered that part. He'd held onto that memory the past three months. Sheik had always thought that his attraction to other boys was some strange anomaly unique to him. Growing up in a secluded desert village, he had never known another person to be drawn to the same gender as he was. It wasn't until he had moved into the castle and seen one or two of the Hylians act in this way that he understood. His expression must have betrayed his confusion to Miriam, because as they walked, the old woman deemed it necessary to pat him on the back.

"It's fine that you feel these things. It would be odd if you didn't at this age—how old are you anyway, boy?"

"Seventeen," Sheik sighed.

"Ah well, you understand my point then. You have a duty to the royal family, and that will always come first. Try to make a relationship work on that, and you and cucco boy will be in for a world of hurt."

"Is it hopeless?" He had to ask, and he figured Miriam had the experience necessary to give an honest answer.

"Never hopeless, but it won't be easy, and you won't be good at it. I encourage you to refrain from anything besides fulfilling your duty as the princess's protector."

"I won't." Sheik sighed. "It's been months since I even saw him last. He probably doesn't even remember me." But he has to, Sheik thought.

"Well, problem solved then, isn't it?" Miriam gave Sheik a pointed look before leaving his side to haggle with another grocer.

Sheik's brow furrowed. He couldn't make sense of his own emotions, much less discern the right thing to do. Looking at the street where Link had disappeared, Sheik tried to push it out of his head. I must at least try to enjoy the rest of my day, he told himself. Lately, he found that 'try' was the best he could manage.

Link gulped down the first breath of air he had gotten in nearly a full minute. He had been so busy not blinking and muttering 'Oh dear goddesses, oh dear goddesses,' that there had been no time or need for breathing, or so it had seemed. In fact, what had happened was he couldn't breathe because his breath had caught in his throat the very moment he had seen Sheik for the first time in months, standing there across the square.

But here he was, in Castle Town, just where he had said he was going to be. Maybe later, if Link's chores permitted, he could go down to the castle and ask to see him. Link had so much he wanted to ask his Sheikah friend. Was life working for the royal family better than he had thought? What was the princess like? Was the king tall? Did he have a beard? Link was painfully uneducated about the kingdom's monarchs… But he had Sheik to teach him about that stuff now!

"Link, will you quit daydreaming and get on? Dad told us to be quick—not that you know the meaning of the word," his brother, Jasten, fussed.

Link jogged up to the cart, hopping up on the back. "Sorry, Jas. It's just that I saw someone I know!" Link was never one to hide a smile when it really needed to be shown.

Jasten looked at Link from out of the corner of his eye as he joined him in the driving seat. "Goddesses," he groaned. "It's not that Sheikah kid you met back in the desert, is it?"

Link's smile widened. "Actually—"

"Goddesses, Link!" Jasten shouted, spurring the horse—Epona, Link had named her—on angrily.

Link frowned, reaching down to pat the mare's mane. "Hey, take it easy on her, she didn't do anything. Neither did I, come to think of it."

"Link, dad is going to be pissed! You know what he thinks about the Sheikah, and you know what he'll do to you if he ever finds out. Especially after you defied him in front of that patrol in the desert."

Link rolled his eyes, though he knew there was truth in Jasten's words. "We would have died if I hadn't done that! And besides, dad can't control my life anymore." Link looked at his brother, almost pleading with him to take his side in this. "Here we are, in this big city with enough room to finally be out from under his control, and all you want to do is exactly what he says. Sheik is my friend, and I'm going to go talk with him, because that's what friends do!"

Jasten shook his head, stubborn as ever. "Sure. But it's a bad idea."

Link laughed without humor. "Look, it's because of my job at the inn that I was able to buy Epona to get my work done, and that the three of you have a roof over your heads. If my manager wasn't pleased with my work there, he would have never rented us that apartment for so cheap. Dad can't say a word or lay a finger on me, or I'll kick him out." More than once Link had wished he was really that brave. He had courage, but there would probably never come a day when he wasn't wary of what his father might do.

Jasten shook his head again. "I just don't think it's that simple, Link."

Link rolled his eyes. "Jas, do I ever get after you for sneaking out every night to see your girlfriend?"

He snorted. "No, but my girlfriend is Hylian, and a girl. Two of dad's favorite things."

Link laughed shakily, suddenly nervous. "Sheik isn't my boyfriend, why would you say that?"

Jaste glanced at him, giving him a funny look. "I didn't," he said.

Link blushed. "I haven't even seen him since the desert."

"Yeah, but the way you sound when you talk about him—it's weird. You're not queer, are you?" Jasten looked at him from the side, brow drawn down.

Link drew in a heavy breath. "As in unusual?"

"I'm serious, Link!"

Link was quiet for a moment. How in the name of the goddesses was he supposed to know? He had never given romance a fleeting thought before, mostly because he had never felt a strong attraction to anyone. But then Sheik came along, and Link's heart beat faster every time he thought about him. "I don't know. I don't know. Goddesses, I don't know!"

"Look," Jasten huffed. "I don't really care. If you want to be queer, go be queer. Just don't let anything on to dad. Trust me; it's not a good idea."

"I trust you," Link murmured. "But trust me to know that this is a good idea."

"There's a big difference between a good idea and just doing what you want," Jasten murmured.

Link growled under his breath. "Bugger off, Jas."

"Fine!" Jasten rumbled. "This is your problem. But I'm warning you: keep it to yourself. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"What's wrong with you, Sheik?" Zelda's ice blue eyes flashed up to where he stood against the wall just inside the doorway of her study. "You haven't said a word since you came back from the market with Miriam, and you're usually talking my ear off whenever I let you go somewhere."

Sheik shifted against the wall. "My apologies, Highness. What would you like me to talk about?" He arched an eyebrow ever so slightly over a blood red eye, meeting her gaze steadily.

"Oh shut up, you," Zelda quipped. "I know you're thinking about something. That's the only reason you'd ever stay silent for so long, is if you're thinking or—dear goddesses help us—brooding."

It's Link. "Perhaps… my mind is somewhere else. Forgive me, Highness." Sheik allowed a small, apologetic smile.

Zelda pushed back from her desk and folded her hands in her lap, turning to face him. "Honestly, Sheik. What's going on inside that thick blond head of yours?"

"I could ask you the same question, Highness," Sheik replied, holding back a smirk.

Zelda fixed him with an intimidating gaze. "You're avoiding the question."

Sheik knew he had better back off. Friends as they were, Zelda was still the princess of Hyrule, and his liege lord. "I saw someone in the market today," he admitted finally. "Someone I didn't know if I'd ever see again." He swallowed roughly around the knot building in his throat.

"Ooh, and something tells me that you very much hoped you would see this someone again, am I right?" Zelda jumped up, cornering Sheik against the wall. Bless the girl, but she was short, and there was no other word for it. The top of her head barely reached Sheik's collarbone, and her attempting to intimidate him by backing him into a wall was laughable.

"A boy I met in the desert, before I was sent here. He was traveling with his family to tell the King about what happened to his village in the Ordonna Province."

Her eyes lit up as she stepped back. "Oh! I remember them!" She grew somber. "It was awful, the things they described. When they got here a few months ago, my father sent soldiers to drive out the invaders." She glanced back up at him. "Which one do you know?"

"He's the younger. Honey blonde with the huge blue eyes. Pretty. Short." Oops. Sheik had meant to say that Link was 'pretty short,' not pretty and short. His cheeks reddened. "He's a bit shy, maybe. He was probably hidden behind his father or one of his brothers."

Zelda giggled. "You sure remember a lot about him. But you know? I do remember the one." Her lips quirked up. "He was cuuute, Sheik. You have decent taste."

Sheik rolled his eyes. "Hush, Highness."

"I want to meet him," she said firmly. "Formally this time."

"You already have."

She rolled her eyes. "Sheik." She said his name like she was giving him a playful warning. "I said formally."

He shrugged in exasperation. "So summon him."

"Maybe I will!" Zelda hurried out of her study, and like the good—albeit reluctant—bodyguard he was, Sheik followed right after her.

"I didn't mean now," he muttered.

"There's no time like the present," she reminded him with a dazzling smile cast over her shoulder. She flitted down the hallway like a sprite.

Sheik followed, not knowing what to think. He knew what he wanted to think, but was that proper? Yes, please, bring him here now, every day. Let him live here at the palace, he thought. Sheik could have him there, talk to him, and not have to worry about living the life he didn't want to live, because having Link there would make it better. He could slowly ease away from his friend the pain of losing his mother and sister that had been so evident when they'd first met, and they could be together. No! Don't think that, Sheik, he mentally hissed at himself. You can't have that! You can't ever have it. You have one duty, and one duty alone. And that doesn't include you falling for a Hylian boy.

"Stay here, Sheik," Zelda instructed, stopping him outside another room. "I need to tell Paul to go and fetch the boy for us—oh, speaking of which, what's his name?"

Dare he say it? "Link."

"Excellent! Now stay here, Sheik, like a good boy, and I'll go get the Royal Messenger to fetch Link for us."

Sheik sighed, and as soon a she was gone, turned on his heel and walked back in the direction of the servant's corridor, where his room was.

If he was to be put through this embarrassing situation by the princess, he would hide until the very last moment. Maybe Link would be happy to see him. He wasn't already with someone, was he? What? Where did that thought come from? Shut it, Sheik, and just let it be.

Link was sitting at the table in the small kitchen of their apartment, next to Brock and Davin. Jasten was out late, wooing his girl; not that Link particularly cared about his absence. Jasten kept giving him weird looks, and Link was getting a bit tired of it.

"What's that you're reading?" Brock muttered from around his dinner, gesturing to the book that was taking precedence in front of Link over his meal, which had been pushed aside.

Link looked up from his borrowed tome of Hyrule's ancient histories. "Creation myths of—" A knock at the door cut him off.

Brock glanced up at it, his eyes narrowed in a deep scowl. "Davin—" he said, but Link's brother was already answering the door. Outside in the cramped hallway stood a man in fine linens with the crest of the royal family stitched into his jerkin. Seeing that this man was from the castle, Brock stood up and shouldered his way past Davin. He leaned against the door frame, crossing his arms. "Can I help you?"

Link stared wide-eyed from his chair as the page cleared his throat. "I come bearing a royal summons from the princess of Hyrule. Does a 'Link' reside here?"

Link swallowed. What in Nayru's name had he done now?

Brock glanced back at him; it was pretty obvious that he was thinking the same thing. "Boy, what did you get yourself into now?"

"I—I don't know," Link stammered, looking back and forth between the man and his father. Brock took a menacing step towards him. Link flinched back into his chair, clutching the edge of the table.

"Good sir!" the page insisted. "The boy is in no trouble! The princess merely wishes to speak with him."

"Princess Zelda?" Link asked quietly, bewildered. He got up and shuffled towards the door, shrugging on his coat. Just as he was about to step over the threshold, Brock shot a hand up, blocking his way.

"Listen," he growled at the messenger. "He's my son, and I'm not letting you take him until you tell me what is wanted with him." His glare could have killed flowers.

Ducking under his arm, Link turned back to regard him with a saddened scowl. "Since when did you start caring about what happens to me?" he challenged. When no answer came, he stalked down the hallway and out of the building, following the page towards Hyrule Castle.

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