DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything of the Legend of Zelda—characters, locations, plot, etc. It is all property of Nintendo. I am only writing a story based off of the game

Chapter four

Minuet of Forest

Impa returned to the Forest hideout early the next morning. She looked very tired and it was obvious she didn't visit Kakariko to rest. "I presume you know that he's already headed out?" she asked Sheik.

Sheik looked up at her. "Who has?" He was quite busy having the princess talk his ear off, which he didn't mind one bit. Zelda was being very animated while retelling one of her favorite memories of Sheik when she and him were little, and they were both actually enjoying themselves.

Impa narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, yes! Of course," Sheik said hastily. His heart feeling like it had dropped. Of course he meant Link. Sheik knew this. "But it will take him a few more hours to reach Kokiri," he added hopefully.

"That may be," Impa said, in a low tone that matched her narrowed eyes. "But I'm starting to think you are not taking this as seriously as you were when you were eleven."

Sheik dropped his head. "I'm sorry, aunt. I am... not used to it yet," he said, meaning the fact that he could now track the Hero. While asleep for seven years, Link had been only a figment in Sheik's head, and it was difficult keep his grasp on the Hero now that he's awake.

"Hmph," was all Impa said.

Sheik didn't speak much after that; only listening to Impa and Zelda talk about Kakariko and the things that were happening there. It was the usual news, so he tuned them out and got lost in his own thoughts.

—

Zelda huddled close to Sheik that night around the fire and looked over at Impa, who was standing over by her pack; searching for something.

"Did you see Link while in Kakariko today, Impa?" the Princess asked.

A smile actually crossed Impa's face as she turned. "Oh, yes. He has turned into a fine young man, much like Sheik," she added, knowing what she said earlier had upset him.

Sheik, who was sitting on his bedroll, hugging his knees while watching the fire, did not acknowledge her compliment, or even look up.

"Did you talk?" Zelda asked, looking at the younger Sheikah with concern, but directing her question to the elder one.

"No. He did not see me," Impa answered.

Sheik was surprised that he felt a little disappointed.

Around five o'clock the next evening, Sheik was preparing to leave again. Just like he had predicted, it took Link two days to reach Kokiri on foot. He had spent a day in the little village of Kakariko to collect the needed item and rest, so he didn't stop on his way to the Forest.

"Minuet of Forest?" Zelda asked hopefully: that was her favorite of all the songs Sheik had written.

Sheik had gotten out his beloved harp from his pack next to his bedroll, and Zelda eyed the golden instrument happily.

For each temple, Sheik had written a song for the Hero of Time to warp there if he ever needed to leave. It wasn't exactly required, but the songs just sort of came to Sheik, so he wrote them down and charmed them with the same warping magic he used: praying that someday they would be of use to the Hero.

The Sheikah nodded. "Yes, that one."

"Will you play it before you go?" she asked, smiling right back.

"Of course, Princess." He strummed the strings on his harp and played the fifteen-note song he had written while in the Sacred Forest Meadow almost five years ago.

"I love that song," Zelda said.

"It is very nice," Impa agreed.

"Thank you..." Sheik muttered.

Zelda put an arm around him. "Are we making you blush, Sheik?" He pulled out of her grasp while she laughed.

Sheik closed his eyes briefly, holding the harp close to his chest. "I should get going..." he said while looking over at his aunt—who was dividing up food for that night's dinner.

"Do not look at me for approval!" Impa barked. "Only you know the right time to leave."

She was right. Something in Sheik's mind almost screamed at him to leave—even though Link still wasn't exactly to Kokiri Forest just yet. It was odd. He supposed he should arrive before Link anyway, just to be prepared. His nerves were getting to him again.

Sheik nodded. "You are right."

"But..." Zelda piped up, frowning slightly. "I sense that the Forest Sage is troubled. I also feel it best to arrive early... if I were you."

"I think that's the reason I feel so uneasy," Sheik replied, frowning as well.

Zelda shook her head, and when she looked back up, her smiled had returned. She threw her arms around the side of Sheik's neck and kissed his cheek; the one with the scar. "Be careful!" she sang.

He used one hand to pull his cowl up; he didn't like it when Zelda touched or kissed his scar. "I'll be back," he told both of them.

"Good luck!" Zelda said, and then he disappeared in a flash of light.

Sheik appeared in the same tree he sat in for a little over seven years. Usually while he was up here, he would wait for Saria to leave. Now, he was waiting for the Hero to arrive.

The trees were blowing in an eerie wind that hadn't been there before. A Wolfos cried a few miles away. There were no birds singing like any of the others times, but the thing that Sheik noticed was absence of the ocarina playing. It was sort of sad. He would probably never hear her play again.

Seeing as there was no melody that embodied the woods itself being played on an ocarina, he expected that Saria had already gone in the Forest Temple, but she had not. She was standing in front of the stump she always sat on, looking worried.

Zelda was right... as always, Sheik thought, unsurprised as he jumped down from his hiding spot and landed with a soft thud in the grassy area.

Saria looked up with a gasp, backing away, until she saw that it was Sheik.

"Oh, Sheik!" she cried, and without warning, she ran to him and flung her arms around his waist.

"Saria?" he said, dropping down to his knees so it was easier to hug her back. "What is wrong?"

Saria didn't answer and Sheik could feel her shaking.

"Have you not heard the voices of the Forest Temple calling for you?" he asked. He was under the impression the Sages that needed to be awakened would hear the call for help from the Temple's spirits, and the Sages would go to their aid. At least, that is what he had been taught.

He felt Saria nod and he pulled back to look at her. "Then what's wrong? They need you, Saria..."

"I... I know," she said, her voice trembling. "I'm... s-scared, Sheik."

Sympathy crossed Sheik's face and he pulled down his cowl. Saria might be the Sage of Forest, but she was still very young at heart.

"I understand. Our destinies are often frighting. But no matter how scared we are, this destiny is something that needs to be fulfilled. You will be frightened at first, but this was all planned by the goddesses," he assured her, rubbing her shoulders with his thumbs in what he hoped was a comforting way.

Saria tilted her head to the right; the gesture very similar to Link.

"Saria, do you know who you are?" Sheik asked, wiping away one of the girl's tears.

She shook her head.

"Do you remember my story of the Five Sages in each one of the Temple's across Hyrule that need to be awakened?"

"Yes, but Sheik—" Saria began, but then gasped and covered her mouth, her crystal eyes wide with astonishment.

Sheik nodded. "Saria... you must to go to the aid of the Forest Temple. Do not be afraid of them. You knew all along that they would need your help, you told me..."

She nodded, and turned away. "I spoke to Link," she said unexpectedly, "he's on his way."

Sheik stood up suddenly. "I know."

"How?" she asked, taking a few steps back to look him in the face.

Sheik smiled at her. "I have sensed it."

Confusion crossed the girl's face, but then she turned to look at the temple's dark entrance.

"Saria, it's alright to be scared, but listen," Sheik said, drawing the girl's attention back. "Link will be here. You and him will save your home."

The Forest girl took a deep breath. Even if the children of the Forest were old as time itself, they were still pure-hearted, free willed, and blindly trusting children. "Okay. I have faith in him."

The Sheikah smiled down at her and Saria smiled back. "Are you ready?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

It took her a few moments to respond. Finally, she looked back up at him and nodded bravely, "I... I truly think... I have always been."

"Alright then. I'll help you up there," he said, bending down and holding out his arms.

—

Saria let Sheik scoop her up and carry her to just in front of the large Triforce platform that he sat on while writing the Minuet of Forest. He bent his knees and sprang up nine feet to the broken entrance of the temple. Link would reach it with the item he got from Kakariko.

The Sheikah set Saria down and she giggled.

"Tee hee, that was great!"

She turned to look in the doorway and her expression changed to determination. "I suppose this is good-bye, Sheik," she said to the dark temple.

"I choose to look at it as a parting," Sheik answered.

The Forest Sage hugged him around the waist again as if he were an old friend. "I'm going to miss you. I feel like I've known you for a while."

Just then, her fairy appeared from out of her hair, gazing at the Sheikah. Sheik returned Saria's hug, but stared right back at the fairy.

"You take care of Saria," he commanded.

The fairy nodded to him, looked once more at Saria, and then flew through the temple door.

"And you take care of Link!" Saria said as she let go; her light and airy tone returning.

Sheik stood up slowly and raised an eyebrow. "That is my duty as his Guide," he answered simply.

Saria gave a strange sort of smirk and laughed.

Sheik raised his other eyebrow and she laughed again before turning back to the temple's entrance. She squared her shoulders and started to walk towards it.

"Good-bye, Sheik!" she called.

"May the goddesses guide you on your way," he said, giving her a little bow. Even though Saria thought of him as a friend, he still needed to be respectful, "O Sage of the Forest."

She didn't look alarmed that he had called her that, but she still felt uneasy to see Sheik bow to her. She gave a cheery wave—much like Link's—and then she was gone.

—

Sheik sighed and jumped down from the entrance. In the back of his mind, he said a prayer that the rest of the sages enter the others temples as easily as Saria. Maybe they wouldn't even need his help. That would make his job a bit easier.

Where is Link? he wondered as he scanned the Sacred Forest Meadow. He is close, whispered the reasonable voice in his head.

It was right. Link was very close; he had just entered the Lost Woods as a matter of fact. Sheik went over to pick up his harp that he dropped when Saria had hugged him, but stopped in his tracks. No longer was Link's presence the only one in the woods. An evil one had come into the Sheikah's range, and he froze. There had always been monsters in these woods, but Sheik just assumed that this one was a Wolfos.

Sheik could feel it in his bones. That eerie feeling he only got from creatures in the Evil King's service. He could also feel it under his feet as it walked over the ground; every thudding step the creature took reverberated through the forest floor.

He disregarded the harp and walked slowly over to the entrance of the Sacred Forest Meadow, standing on his toes and craning his neck to try and look over the misty hedges of the maze.

Not two seconds later Sheik heard a yelp of fright and knew all too well who the voice belonged to.

Without another thought, the Sheikah broke out into a full sprint down the stairs, tearing through the long maze that Saria had lead him through a few weeks ago. He found it oddly clever of the Lost Woods: Being a magical maze in and of itself—the Woods had added a little practical maze as one final test to guard its Sacred Meadow.

The wind had started to howl again through the trees, biting at Sheik's face as he ran, cutting his hands as he pushed past the hedges. While he ran, he could hear the grunts and snarls of the monster, along with more yelps from the Hero. Sheik needn't to see the monster to know its identity: It gave itself away by its extreme weight and thuds of a giant club hitting the ground as it took its ferocious swipes at the Hero of Time. It was a Moblin.

—

Rounding the last corner, Sheik couldn't suppress a gasp at the sight of the monster. It was twelve foot tall, its brown skin stretched over large muscles, and its ugly face contorted with rage; showing its pointed, greenish teeth by giving a deafening roar. It towered over the Hero and his fairy, Navi. It was obvious Link had been attempted to slip past unnoticed, but the Moblin had spotted him.

"Link! Watch out!" Navi shouted, but too late.

The Moblin swung its giant black club again, hitting the ground and the shock waves here were even worse than in the Forest Meadow. Link, being unprepared, fell flat on his back as the ground shook.

Sheik bolted, pulling out his dagger as he went as the creature began to approach Link once more. The Moblin raised its club again, aiming to take it down on the Hero, but suddenly dropped it behind its back—having lost its grip on the weapon. Something had jump on its back and stabbed it hard in the neck. It roared again, trying to throw off the thing on its back; its dark blood splattering the ground as it trashed around, but the Sheikah held on.

"Sheik!" Navi shouted, her high voice ringing over the monster's cries.

"Sheik?!" Link repeated, seeing the Sheikah at the exact same time his fairy did.

"The legs, Hero!" Sheik yelled back down over the ugly creature's shoulder.

He pulled his dagger back and stabbed the creature in the other side of its neck. It bellowed once more and finally thrashed around, finally throwing Sheik off. He fell twelve feet and landed painfully on his back with a groan. Thanking the three above that he hadn't been hurt any further than just a stabbing pain in his back, he sat bolt up-right and pulled out one of his concealed knives.

As he saw Link getting back to his feet and picking up the Master Sword, Sheik hurled the knife into the Moblin's shoulder in order to distract it. It worked.

The Moblin did not notice Link as it tried to pull the knife from the hard to reach area of its skin. The creature gave up with a loud roar of frustration and turned around, but it was too late. The Hero had already slashed it under both its kneecaps with the blade of his sword. Link ran backwards as the horrid creature fell to its knees with another earth-quaking thud and Link had the opportunity to stab it.

With one last low howl, the Moblin was defeated. It crumbled on the forest floor, and after a few moments, it disappeared; leaving behind Sheik's knife.

—

"Sheik!" Link yelled and ran over to help him up, but the Sheikah had already jumped to his feet. "Thank...you," the Hero panted, holding his heart.

Sheik nodded, still scanning the area in case there were more monsters.

"You did it!" Navi yelled, flying over both their heads and back again.

"That... thing," Link gasped. "It just... came out of nowhere. I th-think... it was waiting for me... to r-round the corner... Then it attacked... I wasn't prepared."

"Always be prepared," Sheik snapped as he picked up his knives and dagger, wiping the dark blood from them on the grass. He bit his lip, he didn't mean for his voice to sound so harsh. He softened his expression and looked at Link, who acted embarrassed.

"Are you okay?"

"I think so," Link answered while his fairy landed on his shoulder, still not looking at Sheik. His head snapped back up when he heard Sheik laugh.

"Follow me, Hero. It looks like a bodyguard would be more of use to you then a Guide," Sheik said, trying to sound like he was joking.

Link flashed him a crooked grin and sheathed his sword. "You're probably right."

They backtracked through the maze and Navi trailed along behind them, leaving a glittering trail in her wake.

"I used to know this maze like the back of my hand," Link commented as they walked through a very tall patch of grass and flowers. "But...it's difficult to remember now."

"You were gone for seven years," Sheik said. "I'm not surprised."

Link suddenly frowned and looked straight ahead. Sheik sighed, knowing he said something wrong: The Hero was still sensitive about that.

They reached a fork in the maze, and Link went to turn left.

"Right, Hero," Sheik said, grabbing Link's arm and leading him through the path between the hedges, otherwise invisible unless you were looking for it. "Left will lead you back to the start."

Surprisingly, Link smiled. "If I ever need a bodyguard, you'd be the first person I'd call."

Sheik smiled to himself. "I'm sorry, Hero. But that job is already taken for me."

"What do you mean?" Link asked, falling into step with Sheik after they had jumped over a small pond.

"The Princess," Sheik answered, simply.

"Hey! Where's Impa?" Navi squeaked; surprising them both.

"She's there as well," Sheik said to her.

"Then can't you be Link's bodyguard?" Navi asked, fluttering down to Sheik's eye level and flying backwards as he walked.

"Navi, I'm sure Zelda needs as much protection now as she can get," Link said, sounding a little annoyed at his fairy. "Right, Sheik?"

"Right, Hero," Sheik nodded.

They both gave each other a smile and continued through the path that led to the long set of stone steps.

—

Once they were in the Sacred Forest Meadow, the Hero's eyes fell upon the now empty stump that his green-haired friend always sat on.

"Saria..." he whispered and walked slowly up to it; his happy mood ebbing away. Navi flew after him and stayed close.

"She's not here anymore... is she, Sheik?" Link asked, not turning around.

Sheik was still standing at the top of the stones stairs and he sighed. What am I to do now? "No, Hero... I'm afraid... she is not."

"She's gone?"

"Yes."

Link finally turned around and Sheik was surprised that he was not crying, but smiling slightly and the Sheikah felt it safe to approach. The Hero took a deep breath and looked around at the trees, a peaceful expression on his face.

"She loved it here," he stated quietly. "But you already knew that, didn't you? She told me you came to visit her while I was... asleep." His blue eyes lowered themselves to Sheik.

Sheik never expected that the Hero of Time would be as handsome as he is... or have such pretty eyes.

"We used to come here all the time," Link went on, even though Sheik did not answer. "Saria's the one who taught me how to play the ocarina, did you know that?"

He took another deep breath and looked over his shoulder at the tree stump. "Everyone in the Forest treated me like an outcast... except Saria."

Why is he telling me this? Sheik wondered.

"It's not that I was unwelcome, or anything..." the Hero continued, turning his warm eyes back on the Sheikah. "It's just... I was treated differently my whole life... and now I'm this grown-up hero,and everything. The only person here who really liked me was her..."

Sheik watched the Hero's eyes fill with tears and he realized something. Seven years had gone by with Sheik thinking of the boy from the Forest as a tool to be used for Hyrule; the key to saving their land, when really... Link was just a boy. A boy who had feelings—who missed his friend. He may be the Hero of Time, but he was still human, and deserved to be treated like a human by Sheik. He needed a friend.

No! shouted the reasonable side of his mind. I cannot ignore my duty as his Guide just to be his friend. He is the Hero, and I cannot disrespect him by even considering that.

"And now..." Link sighed, looking down at his feet. "Now, no one here remembers me... Not anymore...not after this long."

That poor boy, Sheik thought before he could stop himself. He doesn't deserve this—

"Sheik?" Link said when the other had stayed quiet, sounding desperate.

"Y-yes?" Sheik asked, jerking away from the battles in his mind.

Link turned back away to gaze at the forest chair.

"I was listening..." Sheik said softly. He thinks Saria's the only one who liked him... and now she's left. He didn't even get the chance to see her again after seven years apart. Poor boy. Almost half his life has been taken away from him... and with time, many other things will be taken away. It isn't fair...

—

Sheik took his own deep breath. "The flow of time is always cruel... Its speed seems different to each person, but no one can change it," he said.

Link looked round and smiled bravely without a sign of tears while Navi disappeared into his hat. It was like Saria's fairy—which hid in her hair.

"You're right," he said, in little more than a whisper.

Sheik did not looking at him, choosing to gaze a little to the right of him at the spot he had first seen Saria seven years ago. Even if Link was sad... at least he had a friend before. At least they knew each other—at least he had his memories of her, and Sheik knew the Hero would treasure them for the rest of his life.

"A thing that doesn't change with time is a memory of younger days..." the Sheikah went on in a wise tone. He walked away from him and back to his harp. Now or never, he thought as he picked up the golden instrument from the ground, feeling his heart leap into his throat.

"Wow, that's beautiful," Link said when Sheik had come back. His eyes fixed on the harp.

"In order to come back here again, play the Minuet of Forest," Sheik told him:

And then he finally played it for the Hero of Time after so many years of imagining it—smiling all the while. These notes had been written with the Hero in mind, and now here he was standing in front of his Guide. This song was created to aid Link, and here Sheik was finally teaching it to him. It was a euphoric feeling, a lot like the feeling he got when he had first sensed Link's waking. He felt powerful but at peace: Filled with hope, and true happiness.

After the song ended he looked up at the Hero, who was smiling as well.

Link's eyes were closed and he looked completely relaxed, despite the fact he had been very close to tears only a few moments ago. His opened them to find that Sheik's eyebrows were raised. "What?"

"You're supposed to learn it, Hero, weren't you listening?" Sheik asked softly.

Realization dawned on Link's face. "Oh!" he said and then giggled, taking out the Ocarina of Time from his bag.

Sheik eyed it fondly; it had been a really long time since he last saw the beautiful, blue instrument.

Link raised it to his lips and Sheik adjusted his harp.

—

The Minuet of Forest was played again on the strings, and Link's ocarina playing soon followed. Saria had been correct—he is a natural. Sheik thought that maybe he would have to teach the Hero the song note, for note, but Link simply played it back by ear.

The song ended with both their instruments playing together and the two boys couldn't help but smile again. It was a really beautiful song when played like that.

"That was beautiful!" Navi squeaked. She had flown back out of Link's hat when the song had started.

"So... I just have to play it, and I can come back here?" Link asked as he put the Ocarina away.

"Correct," Sheik nodded.

"That's... absolutely brilliant!" the Hero exclaimed.

Sheik beamed. It looked like his songs were going to be of use to the Hero of Time. He was worried that he just wasted his time by writing them.

"Thanks, Sheik," Link smiled at the boy, but then his eyes widened. "I didn't even ask if you were okay! I'm so sorry! I'm such a meanie..." The Hero took a rushed step forward and rubbed Sheik's back, up and down his spine. "You took a pretty nasty fall back there."

Sheik tried to ignore the fact that he had started to blush rather badly, and backed out of Link's childish gesture. "I'm alright."

"Are you sure?" Link asked, looking worried; searching Sheik's red eyes.

The Sheikah nodded. "Yes."

"That's good! I don't want you to get hurt... just because you had to come to my rescue," Link said, acting embarrassed again.

Sheik pondered that for a few seconds. "I didn't exactly have to help you, Hero. You were handling well on your own."

Link scoffed. "No. I needed your help."

"And so I came."

Enough chat, said the voice in the back of Sheik's mind that actually reminded him a lot of Impa. Leave him now to awaken the sage.

Sheik clutched the harp to his chest and Link had looked up into the entrance of the Forest Temple; giving Sheik a chance.

"Link..." he said, backing away. "I'll see you again."

Before he threw down his teleportation magic, Sheik caught one last glimpse of Link. He looked very confused. His hand might have even been outstretched.

To be continued...

So Link enters the Forest Temple!

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