Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda, its characters and locations are all property of Nintendo, I'm merely borrowing them.
Warning. Yaoi, shounen-ai, slash, whatever you call it will be in this story.
Soul Mates
Chapter 4
In the darkness of the room, the Hero slept deeply, unaware of the events outside. The medicine had put him in such deep sleep that even dreams did not come to him.
Something glinted in the dark. The blade of a knife. A deep chuckle emanated from a dark corner.
"You'll pay for humiliating me like that, kid. Thanks to you, I have to work for that fool Talon again," Ingo whispered, letting the blade dance lightly across the Hero's face, as if unsure where to cut first. Ingo looked out the window and saw that the blaze had already been put out, but he was certain he had enough time. Just to be sure, however, he looked closer at the figures standing in front of the ruined storage room. One fat one, one slim one with long hair…and that was it. His eyes widened. "Oh, no…"
He raised the knife quickly, intending to plunge it deep into the Hero's throat, a wound no one could possibly survive from. He never had the time. The door slammed open, and something thudded into Ingo's side.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
It was like being hit by carrots, Ingo thought. Then he looked down to where the impacts had come from. Three daggers jutted out from his side, blood pouring down and staining his white trousers and forming little puddles on the floor. He looked back to the door. A foot collided with his face, knocking him away from the bed. He crashed into the dining table in the middle of the room, falling head over heels over on the other side.
Sheik was on him like a furious cat, pulling him up from the floor and giving him a vicious kick in the stomach and another in his chest, which sent him flying out the window. The only sound confirming what had just happened was the splintering of the crate that stood directly under the window.
Immediately, Sheik went to the Hero's side, checking him for wounds. There were none. Ingo hadn't made a single mark on him. Sheik sighed in relief and went over to the window, looking out. Ingo's body had completely annihilated the crate, his arms and legs sticking out at awkward angles. Talon and Malon had run over and were looking at the mangled mess that had once been a farmhand. Malon gasped and buried her face in Talon's shoulder. Her father patted her on the back and led her back into the main house. He settled her back in the guest room and then came up the stairs with a lantern in his hand.
"Is he okay?" asked the plump man, looking worried. "I'm so sorry; I should've known Ingo would try something like this." He spat the name out like it was poison, making his dislike of the gangly farmhand quite evident.
"The Hero is fine, Mr. Talon," said Sheik evenly. "I got to him before anything happened."
Talon looked down at the body in the crate. "I didn't want to take him back, you know, after what he did," he said. "I was going to throw him out on his ass like he did with me when Ganondorf gave him the ranch, but Malon…sweet, sweet Malon wanted me to give him another chance."
Sheik wasn't surprised. He would probably have done the same if he had been betrayed in the same manner.
"He never liked going back to being a farmhand, though," continued Talon. "He said he was grateful for being allowed to work here again, but I saw the looks he gave me when he thought I wasn't looking." He spat at the body. "Good riddance."
"I will get rid of the body," said Sheik and went to jump out the window, but Talon's hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"No, I will do it. He's caused you two enough trouble as it is, first the Epona business and now this…" Talon nodded again and went outside, his lantern bobbing as he started on his grim task.
Sheik went back to checking on the Hero. He was surprised at Talon's demeanour. All the times he had seen him previously, the ranch owner seemed to be an incredibly lazy man, sleeping day and night, leaving most of the work to his daughter and former worker apart from when deliveries had to be made. But after Sheik arrived with the wounded Hero, he had changed his personality completely.
He knows he owes everything he has today to L…the Hero, he thought, hearing faint shovelling sounds…and ignoring the slip-up. And he's completely right.
He looked down at the oblivious Hero, who had no idea that his life had almost ended that night. "That's three times, Hero, that I have saved your life in the past two days. How many more will it be?" he whispered.
Talon had returned and went to bed at around four in the morning, first checking up on the Hero and Sheik and returning Sheik's daggers, which Sheik cleaned right away. Talon had buried Ingo in the far corner of the field, not even putting up a marker. "He didn't deserve one," he had gruffly told Sheik before retiring.
Sheik kept watch until the sun rose and the cucco signalled the beginning of the day. It was no wonder the Hero waited the animals, the way they made such a racked in the morning. Many were the times Sheik had watched in exasperation as the Hero picked a fight with one too many of the birds and had almost been eaten alive.
And the worst part of it all was that the Hero never learned from the small mistakes he did. It was the same with enemies he encountered. If he failed to kill it by a direct charge the first time, he wouldn't figure out how to kill it until his sixth try, at which point his fairy would shout for him to get his act together. The Hero was lucky his natural charisma and good looks covered him in social interaction, or he would never have been able to survive in Hyrule.
Malon had been quite shaken by the night's events and stayed in bed, and Talon checked up on them again before getting started on the things that needed to be done on the ranch, such as milking the cows and collecting the eggs from the cucco perches.
Sheik was prepared for a day of waiting and protecting the Hero until a sharp cry pierced the air. The Sheikah quickly ran to the window and looked up to the sky. A small dot was rapidly growing larger over the main building. Sheik jumped out, being careful to avoid the ruined crate. He barely had time to hold out his arm before Kaiza, the princess' personal messenger falcon perched on it. Her claws dug into Sheik's exoskeleton, nearly scratching his skin, although in Kaiza's case it would be more tearing than scratching. She expectantly held out her leg, on which a roll of paper was tied. Sheik took it off and, when Kaiza didn't move, realised this was a message that needed to be replied too.
He went inside, making sure that neither Talon nor Malon saw him. They were allies and loyal to the princess, but no one but Sheik was supposed to know about Kaiza. He could no longer rely on the gossip stones to deliver messages to the princess as Ganondorf had figured out how to use them to his own advantage. Sheik's standing orders at the moment were to destroy the stones wherever he found them.
He unrolled the paper on the dining table, immediately recognising the neat, curved handwriting as the princess'.
S,
Three days have passed since you reported that L had gone inside the Water Temple, and not one word has arrived from you since. Write back as soon as this message finds you!
P.
Sheik shook his head at the terse message. Always straight to the point, he thought. When she is worried, she writes even less than I do.
He found no paper to reply on, and used the back of the original message instead. He pulled out a piece of coal from the hearth and sharpened it with a knife. Then he wrote his reply.
P,
L has been gravely injured, and their companion is dead. Condition is stable as of now, but I fear that L will need more time to recuperate. There is also the matter of L's companion. Without the companion, L has no one to guide him. I will stay and protect L until rejuvenation, awaiting your answer.
S.
It was hard to keep the individuals involved completely anonymous and write cohesive sentences, but Sheik was satisfied with it and confident he had summed up the situation well enough. He tied the little roll of paper back on Kaiza's leg. She looked at him with what passed for a worried expression for a falcon. Sheik smiled under his cowl and gently stroked her head.
"I will be fine, do not worry," he said and carried her to the window. She took off and disappeared quickly. She was the fastest of the royal falcons, and it was for this precise reason she was used exclusively for flying messages between the princess and Sheik. She was smart too, as well as mischievous. Once, at one of the few occasions Sheik slept at the hideout, she had dropped a dead mouse on his chest just as he woke up. He had, of course, brushed it off calmly, but when he had seen the clearly amused look she gave him, he had glared at her. The mirth in her eyes had been close to insufferable.
The day passed endlessly slow. The Hero kept sleeping, and Sheik had little else to do but wait. After a couple of hours, he decided to bury the fairy, not knowing whether or not the body would start to decompose. He didn't want to take any chances, though, and having another possible source of infection so close to the Hero was not favourable.
He asked Talon where he could do so, and the corpulent man had pointed him to the solitary tree close to the house. Sheik buried Navi underneath it, cutting—with permission from Talon—her name into the trunk. At least the tree wouldn't forgot who was buried among its roots.
He regularly checked the Hero's wounds, daring any of them to get infected again. They didn't, and several of them had already closed thanks to the potion and ointment. The Hero's consciousness, however, did not return. Every now and then, he would mumble, which Sheik took as a good sign. His fever was almost gone as well.
The sun was setting again before the familiar cry pierced the air again, and Kaiza flew in the window, settling on the table. Sheik unrolled the paper and stroked her head while he read.
S,
It's good to know that L is okay. I'm sorry for the loss of their companion, please inform them of this when they wake up.
This loss sets us back somewhat. Without a companion and guide, L will struggle with their tasks. S, I need you to back them up when in trouble. You are hereby ordered to assist L in whatever way you can.
Also, I has informed me of an old enemy in Kakariko that has woken up due to Ganondorf's evil influence. They have gone there to seal it up, but has left a package for you in their old house in case they are unsuccessful. There is something in it L needs if they are to challenge the house of the dead.
Good luck, to both of you.
P.
Sheik nodded to himself. Just as I suspected. He was now to assume the role of the fairy, albeit in a bigger scale, he supposed.
He frowned. The monster beneath the well has awoken? Impa was barely able to seal up the first time, and now she's older, weaker… He had to mentally slap himself for what he had just thought about his aunt. She could break me in half if she wished…and she would if she heard me implying she's aging.
But still…he was worried. He felt that he should be in Kakariko, assisting his only living relative. She may have been strict and harsh with him, but only because it was necessary so he would be capable of protecting the princess and helping the Hero in the coming years. She was his aunt…
Sheik looked at the sleeping form in the bed. Please wake up soon, Hero. Your presence is needed!
To be continued…
Will Link ever wake up? Will Sheik be able to help him like Navi did? Will Kaiza drop another dead mouse on Sheik?
Thanks to SilverMoon Wolf and Meg for leaving reviews!
Also, the reason I described Sheik to such a degree was…well, I don't feel right if I don't describe the main character somewhat thoroughly. No worries, though ;-D
Please leave a review if you like the story!