Warnings: Angst
Disclaimer: Not mind (c) Nintendo, yada yada
Author note: Sorry it's so short but the ending was perfect here!
I'm also going to be responding to people in the story now because I'm just accustomed to doing it for my other fanfictions.
Reviews:
Code Geass Viceroy Destiny (Chapter 6):
Thanks! I apologize for the wait! I will try to update regularly!
Trolly's Bara-chan (Cahpter 6):
Ah sorry about that xD I thought that there would be some confusion! I'm glad it DID clear up. If you still have any questions about that ask away and I will try to explain the best I can. In accordance to your latter questions: I'm very certain Sheik is thinking those very same questions. They will be answered later on in the story!
BunnySenpai (Chapter 5):
Ahahahaha Don't worry it's not crazy or weird it's popped into my mind a LOT during this fanfiction! So tempted to write it but they're children dammit! lol.
We wandered for days and I worried for Zelda's safety. What would she say to Ganondorf about Cethin? How would the dark king react? Especially considering what he had thought about the last time I was in his quarters… How much did Impa know of my past – and present – life? I knew that Impa did regular checks on my mind as I slept – or that I sent her information – but were the memories still travelling even now as I remembered everything?
Link didn't share my fears or worries as he didn't [i]know[/i] (to my knowledge) and I wasn't going to let him. Not only was it unsafe to speak the condemning words but it would also put a frown on that smiling face. Apparently my hypothesis on the clothes was correct – seeing that Link wasn't as easily depressed like before. Yet the boy was determined. He wanted to get to Termina as soon as he could so he could kill Cethin so my death would be prevented. Speaking of Cethin…
The shadow was continually attempting to communicate with me. I could hear faint yet frantic fractions of words since he detected me in Lake Hylia. Each attempt had a strengthening fervour to it, and the feeling of fear just intensified – as did my guilt. No matter what Link said about Cethin, I just couldn't believe him. Even though Cethin was a creature of darkness, he was still kind, he was still [i]good.[/i] Sure, he had streaks of evil – but that was the cause of his upbringing, it was no fault of his! Cethin could still act nice, he could still be taught another way! Surely I could talk him out of it – I held a higher status than Ganondorf in Cethin's mind, I was [i]Master[/i], I was a friend – Cethin was my friend.
I hated this! I didn't want this! Not only was my childhood being ripped away, but my only friend in these dark times needed to be killed by [i]my[/i] own hands! Why could I have been born a Hylian! Why was I a motherless Sheikah sworn to protect the royal family!
"Sheik?" A small but loud voice run out in the night air but I hardly heard it. "Sheik?" The voice repeated and was followed by hoof beats that broke the constant, dulled rhythm that was the background but even that went unnoticed. It took a hand on my shoulder to break me from my darkening thoughts. "Sheik what's wrong?" The voice was now concerned, fearful, and definitely Link's.
[i]Oh Goddesses! I can't believe what I was just thinking![/i] "I-I can't… Look Link can we stop for a rest? I think this endless searching is starting to bother me." [i]I just want to run away – from Cethin, from Link, from my duties, from my future – to anywhere but here and now…[/i]
The hand on my shoulder tightened. "Don't listen to it Sheik. Ignore the forest, mute out its calls, resist its temptations. Concentrate your thoughts and your feet; find your own way lest you become lost. The woods may be pleasant but you still have a home. Remember your purpose, forget your desires. You are not the forest, nor is it you. Do not become one with it." Link's voice was soothing, it was alluring, and most of all it was distracting. I concentrated on it and my haze was fading. Clarity had returned, sensibility was renewed, and I became myself again. Yet I was still groggy and distracted from the alluring promises and the distasteful realities. I didn't know whether to keep walking to or stop and rest.
And suddenly that didn't seem to matter anymore – for both Link and I were thrown from out horses and our bodies were frisked over in out momentary stun. I heard the sound of a wind instrument followed by a giggle as I was regaining control over my body. The next sound I heard was a string vibrating in the air – my lyre! – and another impish chuckle. Adrenaline flared through my veins. Only a Sheikah had the right to play that instrument!
I pushed myself off the ground but I was quickly assaulted by fairies battering against my head. I swatted at them – and realized so was Link. The sound of rope and neighing hit my ears and caused more adrenaline to course through my body and I made a jump onto Filk's – my horse's – legs. I needed to get that lyre back! The future of Hyrule depended on it!
My eyes closed at the dirt and grass being kicked into my face, but I could hear many things – the rattling of wood and the creature flailed, the grunting of Link as he was attack by [i]something[/i], the clatter of Epona and Filk's hooves beating the ground and the fluttering of the fairies wings as they hit my face and arms. Eventually my body took enough and my arms let go even as I told them not to. So I just lay there on the grass, heaving to get breath, shaking because of the adrenaline rush and aching on every inch of my body. I wanted to move, I wanted to follow, but not even a finger would listen to me. I was too battered and too exhausted after I had pushed myself beyond my limits.
I lied there for what had seemed hours – but probably five minutes at most – before I realized that I was not alone. Another was breathing beside me. "Link?" I ask, not bothering to turn away from the hypnotic and moonlit ceiling of leaves to glance at him.
"Heh heh…" The weak laughter escaped the young hero. "Apparently I'm not as strong as I thought I was. What's your excuse?"
I couldn't help the smile that graved my lips. "Adrenaline rush – enables the body but disables logic."
Another small laugh. "So much for the Sheikah reasoning."
I didn't even [i]try[/i] to restrain the laughter that left my lips – even if it did rattle my aching ribs. "What can I say, the body always finds a way to beat the system."
When Link didn't respond, I turned my head to look at him. He was sprawled out on his back like I was but he was looking away. I thought his ears were red but he stood up and brushed off the dust on his tunic before I could make sure. "We should probably follow the Skull Kid – he took our instruments and we need them."
A little perplexed at the comment but agreeing with it, I followed suit. I looked around the meadow we were in to get my boundaries before I realized something.
"Where's Navi?" Our two voices rang out at once. Dread filled me – and the gaze that I met – before both pairs of eyes violently tore from another to frantically glance elsewhere.
"Navi?" I called out – hearing an echo both in a voice that was not my own and one that was. My feet wandered, my eyes whipped from side to side as I searched. "Navi where are you? Navi!"
After another five minutes of searching we both returned to each other's sides worry and fear replacing the earlier dread. We were lost in the Lost Woods without a fairy. While Link grew up in the forest, learned to resist its calls, he was still a Hylian. Navi may have been with him for the past waking year or so but she was [i]not[/i] attuned to him like Kokiri and their fairies were. If Navi couldn't find them and they couldn't find Navi they were stuck. Stuck in the Lost Woods and prone to its calls, unable to save Hyrule, unable to save Zelda…
[i]Lost Woods no fairy, Lost Woods no fairy…[/i]
"Sheik! Snap out of it!" Link's voice shook him. "We just need to get our instruments back! Then I can get us out of here. I know songs – ones that you taught me – and I can get us to Lake Hylia or even Kakariko Village, but I need the Ocarina of Time first and that Skull Kid has it. So com'on!"
There was a small glow emitting from Link's left hand – the Triforce Sheik realized immediately – and there was determination within the blue that was the hero's eyes. Courage, Power, Wisdom… No, it was not Power – for Ganondorf had that – and the air about Link was not that of age-old knowledge. So it had to be the trait that all heroes needed. A fearlessness – no the ability to overcome that fear. Courage, Link had the power of Courage; he was Farore's chosen; one of the forest. And suddenly things made sense. Sheik was not the guide of the Hero of Time, he was not the cryptic musician but he was the friend – the companion – of Link, and later a traitor to turn Link into Ganondorf so that his master could acquire the second piece of the Triforce. [i]Oh Goddesses. No wonder I died…[/i]
I looked up at Link with sorrow and guilt in my eyes. I became his friend and then I died in his arms… was it the only way out? I didn't know and I didn't want to find out – but I would in seven years and I dreaded that day. Not only because it marked my death, but also because it marked my betrayal of Link. Whether I liked it or not, I had already become Link's friend and I valued that friendship as much as I valued Cethin's. One day I would have to choose between the two and because of Link's interference to save my life, that day was seven years closer. Honestly, I wasn't too sure what I would decide…
