It didn't take long for Link to drift back to sleep; sheik, once Link had calmed, had given him another strange sedative drink while he was half-conscious and he quickly fell under it's spell, and for a few hours he managed to sleep relatively undisturbed. It wasn't until morning that Link began to stir again. Sheik hadn't bothered to sleep, or rather he couldn't. He was disturbed. Terribly disturbed. Every time Link shifted or made a sleepy noise, Sheik would jump to his side and check on him, to make sure he wasn't having another night terror, or worse; yet another seizure.

He blamed himself for it. He should have forced Link to take sedatives as soon as he woke up the second time. He completely forgot to get him to; having been focused on getting him to understand the situation (for which he wasn't sure he accomplished) and also getting him to drink and eat (which also didn't turn out very well). He hadn't expected Link to quickly get so enraged, when he had shown nothing but submissive apathy just before. Link's sudden anxiety and anger must have triggered him to have another seizure. To be honest, Sheik didn't know much about seizures either, but he knew that keeping Link on heavy sedatives from now on was a must. He couldn't bare to see Link go through that again. His tiny frame convulsing disturbingly, the gagging, pained noises that escaped his twitching mouth… It was like nothing Sheik had ever seen. He felt entirely helpless when it happened; all he could do was hold him down so Link couldn't hurt himself. It seemed like the seizures lasted for an eternity before Link would finally stop shaking and his body would gradually lax, unconscious.

Not only that, just a few hours after, Link awoke again, screaming and in hysterics, but this time from a night terror. Sheik shook his head, remembering the raw terror in Link's eyes. Sheik simply couldn't allow himself to rest after seeing Link like that. He was too disturbed, too worried, and too frightened.

Whatever that bastard demon had been doing to Link all this time, Sheik would never let it happen again. To see Link in such a condition… nobody could deserve that. Link was in so much worse shape than Sheik expected him to be in. He was aware that he was a captive of the demon lord Ghirahim for over 4 months, but he couldn't have imagined the state he would find Link in. It was somewhat of a shock, however, to even find him alive after all this time, though Link looked barely so. Sheik needed to know what Ghirahim had been doing to him, if only just to try and assess the full extent of Link's mental and physical damage. Torture, obviously, but to what extent, and why exactly? Was he getting information out of him? About Zelda? Or just keeping him a prisoner of war to toy with? He must have received some head trauma during his stay that wasn't healed properly, possibly giving him this disorder. Sheik shuddered. He couldn't simply ask Link all that happened, and he doubted Link would even tell him. For now, he just needed to get him back home, safe, where he can recover.

As he watched Link lazily turn on his other side, Sheik observed his every move intently. His eyes were red and tired, but resting was the last thing he felt like doing. They needed to move soon; to get back home safely. The longer Link was away from home, the worse he might get, and the more likely it would be for Ghirahim to find them. He stressed in remembering Link's stubbornness at wanting to go back. How would he deal with that? Sheik would force him if necessary, but Link was so terribly unstable and seems to cower at random things, he didn't want to traumatize him or something, or trigger stress that could lead to a seizure. Perhaps he would try again to convince him once he awoke. After he had taken sedatives and was calm.

Sheik waited a little while longer before the sun was fully up and making its way into the half-closed window, before deciding to try and wake Link. He must be incredibly dehydrated by now; he sweated profusely after every seizure and his night terror, and he looked like he hadn't eaten in weeks, his body must be near death despite using all his healing potions on him. Potions can heal wounds, but not emaciation, nor wounds that have already healed incorrectly or scars. His body was littered with scars that had already healed before Sheik rescued him; long thick scars adorned his back, reaching all the way from his neck to his lower back. They looked to be from a whip or something. Along with the larger scars, he had strange looking scars on and around his neck that looked almost like bite marks, and many small diamond shaped scars littered all over the rest of him. And these were wounds that already happened and healed; he couldn't even see them until his fresh wounds had healed.

Sheik's stomach lurched, and his hands trembled. He couldn't bare it anymore; thinking about how Link got all these wounds. He quickly jumped up and shook his head, trying to set himself straight before quietly walking to Link's side. Link's pale face was glowing in the morning sunlight making its way through the window and his expression was calm. If it wasn't for his shallow cheekbones and dark purple bags under his eyes, you might not be able to tell the state he was actually in. His dirty blond hair also seemed to glow in the warm sunlight, though it was overgrown and covering half his face, and it was rather dirty with crusted blood and the residue of sweat. He should really have him bathe. Sheik cleaned his wounds, but not his hair or anything too unnecessary. Perhaps Link would like a bath? He would offer it to him when he wakes, maybe it would be a good way for him to relax. After he takes his sedatives. That was priority number one.

After another moment of staring down at the sleeping boy, he realized he was probably being a bit creepy. Gently, as gently as he possibly could, Sheik brushed Link's sunken cheek.

"Link." He kept his tone soft. He would be terribly cautious this time. Link didn't respond, so he whispered his name again, this time a bit louder, leaning close and brushing his long bangs out of his eyes. This time Link twitched slightly, and made a quiet, sleepy noise, and shifted his head slightly away from the fingers touching his face.

Sheik braced himself slightly as he said his name one more time, afraid to startle him awake. To his surprise, Link didn't open his eyes, but moaned again sounding annoyed, and stretched his tired, bony arms. He let out a yawn and slumped over on his side, facing away from Sheik.

He was relieved; it was a very normal reaction. And a bit endearing… Like a cranky child being woken for school. He was still cautious though, and lightly touched his shoulder and nudged it.

"Link, how are you feeling?" He asked. Link ignored the question, letting out a tired breath before nuzzling the pillow as to go back to sleep. Sheik wished he could let him sleep as long as he wished, but he needed to make sure he drank and ate something; he had done nothing but sleep for the past 2 days, apart from having episodes of distress.

Sheik gently rubbed Link's shoulder with his wrapped up, slender fingers. "You should wake up, sleepy-head." Sheik said with a gentle sigh.

Link seemed to stir at the sentence, before shifting with a quiet moan and turning back to eye Sheik, now sitting on the edge of the bed next to him. Link cracked open his sleepy, blue eyes and looked back at Sheik with a curious expression. His face was sleepy looking, but his expression looked unusually curious. Sheik just gazed back, a bit confused by the unusual glance he was receiving.

"Uhm. Its morning, how are you feeling, Link?" Sheik asked again. Link eyed him silently for another moment, before his expression faded back to sleepy exhaustion, and he turned and flopped his head lazily against the pillow. He let out a cranky grunt. Sheik responded involuntarily with a quiet giggle, but hushed himself when he realized it. Embarrassing… but Link didn't seem to notice.

Sheik got off the bed and walked to the other side of the room where Link's sedatives were. He had several vials of stuff, surely enough to last until they returned. He poured a little bit of the purplish liquid into a small glass and walked back over to Link, this time sitting on the end that Link was facing. Link groaned and shifted away a little as he noticed the pressure on the bed as the other sat near him.

Link didn't care to wake up, he was too tired. But a strange smell made him open his eyes again, and he saw the masked man next to him with a glass of something. It looked like a healing potion but it was purple, and it smelled weird, but familiar. He eyed it for a moment before realizing it was intended for him.

"What is that?" Link asked with a sleepy, extremely hoarse voice that cracked midway through. His throught hurt terribly, almost making him cough. It didn't even sound like him. He sat up slowly and shifted away from the other and the weird smelling liquid.

"Its a sedative." Sheik said gently. "I need you to drink it." He was careful not to make it sound like a command.

"Why do I need a sedative…" Link said, eyeing it suspiciously before rubbing his tired eyes. His body felt incredibly exhausted and groggy, his arms heavy and floppy. Sedatives make you tired, don't they? How was he supposed to wake up when he is immediately given a sedative?

"It will help keep you from having seizures." Sheik noted Links apprehension. "You have already been on it since I rescued you, it will just calm you down."

"I am calm." Link said flatly. He was annoyed at hearing his own voice; it sounded absolutely pathetic with how raspy it was. He wasn't sure why though.

"You are at the moment, but this will make sure you don't work yourself up into another episode." Sheik half-meant his night terror as well as his convulsions.

"Work myself up…" Link said groggily, unsure what that was supposed to mean. He tried to reflect on his last conversation with this stranger, and he remembered their argument. Thats right, he wanted to take Link back to Zelda.

A sudden jolt of terror assaulted him as the memory of his nightmare hit him; Zelda with a large blade sticking out of her neck, blood dribbling down her neck and mouth, before flopping motionless onto the ground. His hands trembled slightly at the thought.

Sheik saw this sudden reaction. He felt himself slightly panic. "Link, it will be alright." He said quietly. He wanted to shove the sedative down Link's throat so he wouldn't be able to work himself up. Sheik couldn't bare to see the horrified look in Link's now wide eyes.

Link fell into silence, his wide eyes staring absently. Link vaguely remembered what happened after he awoke from his nightmare; he was screaming, terrorized and panicked until Sheik had to calm him, but it was all pretty hazy. He didn't remember falling back asleep.

Link halfway wanted to apologize for it. He didn't particularly care for this stranger, but he remembered his comfort after the nightmare. Perhaps this assassin was kinder than he thought. Odd… for someone who kills people for a living. Well, that's what Link thought assassins did, though he had never met one so he really wasn't sure.

"I…I'm not going to do that… again." He mumbled, referring to his terrorized failings the night before. "It was because of a nightmare… I'm awake now."He said. He really was not interested in taking this strange medicine. Frankly, despite Sheik telling him he had already been on it, it scared him. Ghirahim forced him to take many different types of drugs for entertainment, most were similar to healing potions but with strange side-effects that left Link impaired or caused him to become entirely vulnerable; unable to focus on anything, where of course Ghirahim would thoroughly enjoy himself with Link's loopy demeanor. But there were a few that gave him rather unpleasant effects such as hallucinations, physical pain, and most often ones that somehow made him unusually hot and susceptible to Ghirahim's disgusting sexual advances. He hated those the most.

Sheik, noticed Link gazing at the potion, visible apprehension in his now fully awake eyes. Shit, Sheik knew this wouldn't be easy. Link never took it voluntarily before; he was always unconscious or unaware when he gave it to him. "It won't do more than keep you calm, Link." He tried to reassure. "It's mostly to ensure you don't have any more seizures. Do you not remember having another one yesterday?"

Link tore his eyes off the glass in Sheik's hands and into his red eyes. "Yesterday?" He remembered arguing with Sheik about not wanting to go back. Was he referring to that time? He furrowed his brows and tried to remember. Link remembered feeling angry… then he felt strange… everything started to get blurry and words and noises no longer made sense. His body felt fuzzy… he remembered feeling some kind of dull pain in his whole body… and… the next thing he remembered was waking from his night terror. The way Sheik described a seizure was when the body convulses and stuff, but he didn't remember that; just everything suddenly getting distorted for a brief moment before blackness. He found it difficult to believe that he had actually had a seizure still, but this time he did know that something happened.

"I remember… something…" He mumbled. "Everything just kind of… got fuzzy… but I don't remember shaking or anything like that."

Sheik sighed in both relief and puzzlement. A part of him was grateful he couldn't remember it; it looked painful to endure. He must black out as soon as it hits him. Though now it might be harder to convince Link to take the sedatives if he didn't believe him.

"I see." Was all Sheik could say. Link still was confused and unconvinced, but he couldn't deny nothing happened.

They were both silent for a moment, both puzzling. Sheik looked down at the glass in his hands, before sighing. "I'm sorry Link, but you have to take this. I realize you don't remember, but please believe me when I tell you this will help." He sounded slightly desperate. "If you need proof…" he began, hesitant. "I will take some with you to prove it won't hurt you, but as I said, I have been giving it to you for the past 2 days." Sheik really didn't want to be impaired in anyway so he could adequately take care of Link, but if it was the only way to get him to take it…

Link was caught off-guard by this offer. How strange. Though he had to admit it made him feel a bit more assured that it wouldn't mess him up completely if the other would be willing to take it too, he still really didn't want it.

Sheik waited a moment, seeing that link was still unconvinced. Fine, he will just need to drink some coffee or something. He knew this was probably a bad idea, being that he was already exhausted after not sleeping much in the past few days, but he would have to force himself to deal with it. After all it was nothing compared to what Link was enduring.

Sheik quickly pulled his scarf-like mask down from his face a took a tiny sip of the purple juice. He couldn't afford to take more than that, but he hoped it would convince him. Quickly, after swallowing the bitter tasting drink, he offered it to Link. If he refused, Sheik would have to resort to demanding it of him or even forcing him if it came to it.

Link seemed to realize this as well, and with a reluctant sigh he took the drink with weak hands and sipped it all down. He recognized the flavor, having woken with the taste on his lips, confirming he had indeed been taking it recently. Once he finishing it he let out a violent choked cough; it felt like he was swallowing hot glass! For a second he thought it was the drink and was about ready to accuse the masked man of giving him something bad, but realized it was probably due to his throat being sore from screaming last night. It took him a minute to stop coughing.

Sheik quickly took the glass back quietly, and went to grab Link a normal cup of water for his cough. He felt guilty, but it didn't matter. Now hopefully Link would be calm and not have any episodes. As long as Sheik could keep Link calm, he could help him.

Hopefully.

I

ahh sorry I know this is so slowly paced. It'll get somewhere eventually I promise. C: