Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda

Chapter 10

Snowpeak Ruins

Sheik didn't panic. He had been trained not to panic in the face of death and in the long line of deaths that he had faced throughout his life, death had only succeeded once. Sheik would say that that was pretty good odds. However, this did nothing to detract from the direness of the situation.

Sheik was falling, along with a sheet of ice into the abyss below. His dazed body had taken too long to notice that it was slowly being pulled over the edge and now that he had realized what was happening, there were only a few moments left to actually do something about it. So Sheik did the only thing he could do and jumped.

With as much force as he could get off a piece of ice already falling into the bottomless pit below him, Sheik propelled himself back up towards the platform. He scrabbled at its sides, trying to find purchase only to find that, in its iced-over state, there was none. For the first time since this ordeal began, Sheik's heart began to thud rapidly in his chest. He was panicking.

Sheik raked his nails across the ice, breaking and bloodying them in an attempt to catch himself. But there was nothing to hold onto. The thought crossed his mind to slip a dagger from his bandages and plunge it into the ice, but he knew there wasn't time. He needed something. Now.

And then, as if his thoughts were answered, something whizzed towards him. He heard it coming but didn't see it until it had buried itself in the ice near his left ear. An arrow. Sheik grabbed for it and it held. It held long enough for the warrior to use it to pull himself back up onto the icy platform.

Sheik crawled back towards the center, mind numb as panic receded, washed away by relief. He looked around to see Link, stopped a good distance away – where the path was bigger and safer. He stood, bow and arrow still poised, as if in shock. Sheik saw a nervous grin playing at his lips and couldn't decide whether he should be furious or grateful to the other teen.

He would let Zelda kill Link, he decided, collapsing back onto the snow. It would be rude of him to kill his savior.

xXx

"What happened to you two?" asked Zelda with a raised eyebrow when the two boys finally made it to the bottom of the hill. She was already standing at the foot of the steps leading to the mansion that Sheik assumed was their intended destination. Her ice board lay abandoned at her feet.

Sheik, who had decided to ride with Link the rest of the way down the hill - not wanting to face another close encounter with the edge - disentangled his bandaged fingers from Link's jacket and stepped off the back of the sled. Link stepped off as well and hit the back edge of the ice with a booted foot at just the right angle to flip the sled up into his hand. Sheik looked away from both the Princess and the Hero. He was supposed to be mad at Link, right? He couldn't let them see that he was slightly impressed with his ice-sledding skills.

"We, uh, decided to go on a different path," offered Link vaguely.

And Zelda didn't buy it. "A different path? One that just happened to devour Sheik's sled?"

Sheik looked up at the mention of his name and regretted it immediately. Zelda's gaze was boring into him with such intensity that he felt obligated to explain. It rather reminded him of his own Princess. Which didn't help one bit.

"I ran into a little mishap with a jump," said Sheik quietly, "And then with the edge."

Zelda's eyes widened as she turned to Link. "And you let this happen? How could you?"

"It wasn't on purpose!" protested Link.

"But he's our responsibility, Link."

Sheik listened to their argument in silence, feeling too much like a little kid being talked over by two protective parents. It felt wrong on multiple levels.

"I can take care of myself," said Sheik, sounding a little more annoyed than he meant. But at least it caught their attention.

"Sure you can," said Zelda sounding like she really wanted to add 'sweetie' to the end of this statement.

Sheik wasn't sure if he was okay with that, but Link chose that moment to chime in with, "I did save his life though."

Sheik resisted the urge to grumble about it being Link's fault in the first place as this statement seemed to quiet Zelda. A wide grin broke out across her face. "Really?"

Link looked just as confused about Zelda's sudden change in attitude as Sheik. "Well, yeah…"

"Explain, now," said Zelda, sounding far more excited than angry. Sheik didn't understand her shifting emotions and didn't attempt to as Link launched into the full story. Instead he found himself trying to control his blush as Link described how he refused to get down the mountain on his own and insisted on riding on the back of Link's sled. Sheik didn't remember insisting. Link offered and who was he to refuse?

But Zelda seemed to like Link's story. Enough that her smile remained in place and she seemed placated about the whole ordeal in general. "Well, what are we waiting for?" she asked, grinning, "Let's get inside. It's freezing out here." And with that she turned and bounced up the steps to the door.

Link cast a sideways glance at Sheik before following. "Sometimes, I don't understand her," he said out of the corner of his mouth.

Sheik glanced over at Link, slightly surprised that Zelda didn't try to murder him. In fact, she seemed as far from it as possible now that she had heard the whole story. "I know exactly what you mean, Link."

xXx

The inside of the so-called Snowpeak Ruins was huge. The front doors opened up into a large, red-carpeted foyer that lived up to the destructed status its name suggested. White light washed in from a hole in the ceiling that went straight through to the roof and silvery flakes drifted through it. Patches of the floor were actually iced over due to exposure to the elements.

"Are you sure we can just walk in like this?" asked Zelda, a little tentatively as the three made their way through the entryway.

"Of course," said Link matter-of-factly, "The Yetis are my friends." Sheik couldn't help but smile into his cowl at how childishly the Hero said that.

Zelda eyed him warily before saying, "Okay… I just don't want to end up like those staircases." She gestured to smashed ones on either side of the room and Sheik was suddenly hoping that as well.

"Don't worry," said Link, "They're some of the gentlest people – uh – Yetis, I know."

"Aren't they the only Yetis you know?" asked Sheik rather quietly. But the others did not hear him for at that moment the very structure of the house began to shake. Sheik tensed to keep his balance as Zelda latched protectively onto Link's arm, both looking to the Hero for some sort of clue as to what was going on. Unfortunately, Link seemed just as clueless as them.

"WHO DARE COME INTO YETO'S HOUSE?" said a great, booming voice that seemed to echo from the walls themselves.

"Link," squeaked Zelda, ducking her head into his shoulder as Sheik leaped out of the way of a pile of snow that fell from a rafter. He loosed a dagger from the bandages on his arm, not trusting that the Yetis considered Link a friend anymore.

Sheik saw Link make to grab for his sword when, with another mini quake, the door at the far side of the room slammed open and a monstrous creature burst through. The creature, that Sheik could only assume was Yeto, bared his fangs and lifted a huge fist as if to slam it down on their heads.

And then, he laid eyes on Link. "UH! YOU!" he yelled in a growl and Sheik was very nearly ready to sink his dagger into the beast's head, right between the eyes when the creature's expression changed altogether.

He twisted his fanged mouth into what could only be considered a smile and charged at Link. Zelda squeaked and jumped back as Sheik let his dagger wielding arm fall limply to his side as the Yeti scooped Link up into what looked like a hug. Bone-crushing, but a hug nonetheless.

"Confused?" mouthed Zelda to Sheik who could only nod and watch as Link was easily lifted off his feet. "Me too," she continued as Link was finally set back down.

"Hey Yeto," said Link with a grin.

"Sorry if Yeto, uh, scare you and friends," said the giant, "Weird things happen here lately. Yeto, uh, be careful for Yeta."

"Weird things?" asked Zelda, raising an eyebrow, "What sort of things?"

Yeto looked at Zelda as if he wasn't sure if he should answer her. "Who she?"

Zelda made an indignant noise, obviously not liking the lack of respect, but Link covered it well by saying loudly, "These are my friends, Zelda and Sheik."

"AH! Friends of Hero are friends of Yeto," said the Yeti, "Come this way." And with he turned and headed back in the door he came from.

Sheik wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but it hadn't been this. There had definitely been no Yetis that he had known of back in his time.

"I think the Yetis take some getting used to no matter what time you're from," said Link quietly to Sheik before following Yeto into the other room. Sheik could only stare for a moment, wondering more how the Hero had yet again read his thoughts than how he managed to end up in the house of a snow beast. He wasn't at all sure which was more disconcerting to think about.

xXx

Before Sheik knew it, Link, Zelda, Yeto, Yeta, and he were all crowded around the hearth in a room that was barely big enough to fit two Yetis, let alone two Yetis and three guests.

"EAT SOUP!" said Yeto in a booming voice, pushing misshapen bowls into their hands. "It give you energy."

"Thanks Yeto," said Link, taking a sip from the side of his bowl before continuing, "It tastes delicious."

Sheik looked down at the sickly, yellowish concoction contained in the bowl in his hands. A chunk of something red floated up to the surface before sinking back down to the bottom. He was pretty sure he saw an eyeball in it. Sheik set the bowl on the floor, any semblance of an appetite he may have had, gone. He was very of the opinion that food shouldn't be able to look at him while he ate it.

"Mmmm, looks delectable," said Zelda half-heartedly, but Sheik noticed that she had put her bowl to the side without touching its contents as well.

"Yeto know why you come back, Hero," said the Yeti, plopping down next his wife. The room shook noticeable at this action. "The Mirror. You come back for the Mirror."

"Yeah we did," Link said, a little sheepishly.

"Good," piped Yeta. The small amount of her face visible was twisted into a contemptuous expression. "Yeta knows now, uh, Mirror make bad things happen. It in bedroom again and now we, uh, don't go in there."

Yeto let out a laugh. "Yeah, uh, Yeta says she wants bedroom back, but Yeto say we don't need bedroom. Yeto and Yeta have whole mansion to themselves. Right Yeta?" The Yeti winked and nudged his wife in the side.

Yeta blushed but didn't falter in saying, "Husband is right. We, uh, have lots of room for, uh, fun." Zelda, who had picked up her soup bowl again, snorted a laugh into it and Sheik, realizing what she found so funny, blushed deeply.

Oh… he thought, glad for his cowl, and glanced over at Link. The Hero, as always, seemed to be completely oblivious.

Link furrowed his eyebrows, obviously confused. "But you don't mind if we take the Mirror piece then?"

Zelda shook her head in disbelief. "No, Link, I don't think they'll mind."

xXx

Sheik, Link, and Zelda decided to spend the night at the mansion and take on whatever lay in wait in the bedroom for them in the morning. By the end of their conversation with the Yetis, Zelda was in such disbelief that Link didn't catch a single one of their overt innuendos that she was barely talking to either of them. She mumbled something about "having to do practically all the work for them" before laying out her bedroll near the dying fire in the hearth and going to sleep.

Link turned in early as well, eyeing Zelda dubiously before snuggling into his own bedroll and going to sleep. Sheik (unfortunately) caught each and every one of the Yetis slightly lewd comments. That and Zelda's mysterious grumblings were more than enough to keep him up half the night in thought, but the strange thing was, those were not the thoughts that kept him up at all.

What kept him up was the intense pull of being so close to such a dark object. The time he had spent close to the Mirror shard in the Forest Temple was minimal by comparison and filled with a lot more life-threatening distractions. But here, next to the warm hearth in a large, comfy sitting room, Sheik couldn't help but let his mind be filled with the dark energies emanating from a Mirror only a few rooms away.

Unconsciously, Sheik reached up a hand and placed it over his heart. Over the black spot that had formed there. Was he imagining it, or did the spot seem to pulsate on its own? A rhythm completely different from his own heart? It was hard to tell. If there was any difference at all, it was slight. Nearly unnoticeable. Nearly.

Sheik sighed and let his hand drop before worming his way down into his bedroll. There was no use in fixating on what he didn't know. Instead he closed his eyes and willed sleep to come. When it eventually did, his dreams were filled with his own shadows come to life, watching him with crimson eyes and platinum hair as he stumbled, lost, through the darkness of his own thoughts.

xXx

"You, uh, sure you want to take no more soup with you?" Yeto asked for at least the twelfth time that morning. "IT'S GOOD!" It turned out that Yetis were extremely early risers and extremely loud in the morning. Sheik was rudely pulled from his dreams as Yeto barged into the room earlier that morning shouting about breakfast soup, which was, coincidentally, the same as dinner soup. Reekfish was just as unappetizing in the morning as it was at night.

"We already have two bottles full," explained Link to the Yeti, "I don't think we could take anymore even if we wanted to. And besides were just going upstairs."

"But you, uh, don't come through house with Mirror, okay?" said Yeta. She was much quieter than her husband.

"Of course not, Yeta," said Zelda comfortingly. Everything had already been planned. Sheik, Link, and Zelda would take everything with them when they ventured up to get the Mirror. Yeta didn't want the Mirror Piece anywhere near her and, as Sheik had gleaned from Link last night, she had a good reason for it. And then, after retrieving it, they would leave out the back, going nowhere near the happy Yeti couple.

"Then I, uh, give you key," said Yeta and Sheik could see movement under her sweater that he assumed must be her arms. A few moments later a large key dropped out of its folds. Zelda stared at it, eyebrow raised, as Sheik walked over to pick it up.

"Thanks," he said quietly. It was heavy and took both hands to hold.

As he walked back over to Zelda he could have sworn he heard her grumbling something along the lines of "Where the heck do people keep all these things?" Sheik knew that she was referring more to Link than anyone else. He had no idea where he stashed those supposed bottles of soup either.

"Well, then, I guess we should be off," said Link, hooking his fingers under the straps of the pack on his shoulders. "Thanks for everything, Yeto, Yeta." He nodded at each in turn.

"NO PROBLEM HERO!" said Yeto, pulling Link into one last bone-crushing hug and Sheik decided it was probably a good thing that they were leaving so soon. He wasn't sure how many more 'hugs' Link could take before being permanently mashed into a pulp.

"Husband, uh, get a bit enthusiastic Yeto mean well, though." said Yeta, eyeing the Yeti suspiciously, before turning to Sheik and Zelda. "Anyway, uh, be careful with Mirror, uh, okay?"

Zelda answered for both of them with an off-handed, "Don't worry, we'll be careful."

"SORRY HERO!" Yeto's voice rang through the room, cutting off any more conversation as Link dropped to the ground, stumbling back a few wobbly steps.

"It's nothing really, I'm fine," said Link, rubbing his back, "Just a bit sore."

Zelda rolled her eyes and walked over to Link. "Come on," she said, "We don't need you getting injured before we face the creatures trying to hurt you." Link grinned sheepishly but said nothing as Zelda led him from the room.

"Well, bye," said Sheik quickly and then he followed Link and Zelda from the room.

xXx

"So this is it?" asked Zelda. The three stood in front of a huge door at the top of a spiraling tower. A huge heart-shaped lock hung from a chain crisscrossed across the door. "I never took the Yetis for the mushy, cutesy, heart-type."

"You should have seen them after I was here the first time," said Link, "So awkward… I had to leave without saying goodbye."

"Shall we go in," cut in Sheik. It wasn't that he didn't like listening to Link's stories. In fact, he found them, for the most part, engrossingly amusing. It was just that the dark spot over his heart was pulsating almost painfully from the proximity to the Mirror Piece and whatever darkness was supposedly possessing it. He wanted to get in there and get whatever ordeal was waiting for them over as quickly as possible.

Link turned to Sheik and grinned. "Ready, when you are." Zelda seemed to find something funny about this as she was laughing into her hand, but Sheik ignored her and reached up to attempt to put the key into the lock.

Only, he couldn't reach.

He suddenly felt a presence behind him as Link reached around and took the key from his hands. He reached up easily over Sheik's small frame, fit the key into the lock, and turned it. Both boys jumped back as the lock fell to the floor. Sheik, however, moved faster than Link and nearly ended up knocking the Hero over. "Sorry," he squeaked, turning towards Link, who was, of course, very close.

Link laughed. "It's okay Sheik. I don't think you could knock me over even if you tried." Sheik had the sudden urge to take him up on that offer, but quickly quashed all thoughts. This still wasn't his Link and he still didn't mean things like that. Sheik blushed and turned away at the inappropriate turn his thoughts had taken.

Behind both of them, Zelda was nearing hysterics.

Link turned to her with a frown. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," she managed to choke out, before straightening and leading them into the chamber. Link and Sheik shared a confused glance before following.

The room was large and circular, like, Sheik noted with a sense of nostalgia, almost every boss chamber his Link had had to battle his way through. This room, however, did not have the same cold and foreboding feel as the other rooms. A plush red carpet lined the floor and a canopied bed that Sheik was sure would not fit two Yetis, stood against a curved wall. Directly across from them, on a wrought-iron stand, sat the Mirror Shard.

And it was reflecting anything but the room around them. In its black surface Sheik could just make out the fleeting image of crimson eyes from his dreams – nightmares. Sheik ran forward. "Did you see that?" he yelled.

"See what?" asked Zelda.

"In the Mirror…" It was gone now. Whatever it was.

"It's just reflecting the room…" said Link, sounding confused. Sheik turned to look at them, pausing halfway across the room. The shard was black, completely black. It reflected nothing.

"But…" he started to say, wanting to protest, but the looks that crossed both Link and Zelda's faces stopped him mid-sentence. A chill wind blew across the room, icing over the floor, walls, and door, blocking off any and all means of escape. But it didn't come from the windows above… it came from behind him…

Sheik turned on his heel, sliding easily on the ice that had formed beneath his feet. His breath caught in his throat at what he saw. A huge, white wolfos – over a head taller than Sheik - had appeared before the Mirror. Or from the Mirror. Sheik wasn't sure which but he didn't have time to figure that out. Sheik backed up a few steps to find Link and Zelda at his sides, swords drawn.

The nostalgia hit Sheik again, as he remembered his Link facing this enemy in the Ice Cavern. The white wolf looked exactly the same, as if it had been plucked straight from his memories. Which meant that he knew how to take it down.

"Go for its back!" yelled Sheik, as the wolfos howled and reared up onto its hind legs. Its wild red eyes rolled in its head and its fangs glinted dangerously before it lowered, clawed front paws hitting the ice with a deafening crack. Ice splintered beneath the beast's feet and cracks snaked their way out all the way to the three companions. This thing was definitely stronger than Sheik remembered.

The wolfos let out a low growl before lunging for the three fighters who jumped to the sides to dodge the first offense – Zelda to one side, Sheik and Link to the other. Sheik managed to keep his balance but Link, heavier and a bit clumsier, lost his footing on the ice and slid to the ground. Across the room, Zelda seemed to be having similar trouble.

The white demon, moving on the ice with ease, spun back to its foes without even hitting the wall. It seemed to notice its advantage and immediately lunged again, this time at Link, who was still scrambling to his feet. The beast landed easily in front of him, using its claws to keep from sliding. The wolfos swung an oversized claw at the Hero, which Link easily countered with a blow from his sword, but Sheik could see the wolfos's strength in the way that the Master Sword was forced jarringly back. This wasn't going to be an easy fight.

But still, it was three on one and Sheik wasn't about to let Link do all the work. Sheik heard Link, with a grunt, lash out at the beast, but his attack was easily knocked aside with a well-placed swipe of its claw. Sheik barely noticed Link duck under another attack as he ran forward, sword high, ready to sink into the creature's back.

But the wolfos noticed him coming too soon. Sheik had barely nicked the beast's back with the tip of his sword before it turned on him, claws swinging. Sheik ducked under the first blow and stabbed upward, catching the wolf's paw. It howled in pain before leaning up on its back legs to ready for another swipe. This time, the swipe came low and Sheik had to jump into the air to dodge it.

To the Sheikah, however, this was the opportunity he needed. Sheik dropped his sword and it hit the ice with a loud clatter as he grabbed at the thick white fur on the side of the beast's neck. With a strong pull and a well-timed swing, Sheik climbed onto the creature's back, clutching with both hands into its fur as the wolf bucked wildly.

"A little help!" Sheik called, voice shaking as the wolf bucked again. Sheik didn't know where his comrades were, his eyes were shut tight – this situation reminding him a little too much of riding a horse.

"On it," he heard Link yell. Moments later the creature stopped bucking and ducked low. Sheik heard something whiz by his ear a little too close for comfort. Sheik cracked his eyes open to see Link standing before the wolf, bow out.

"Link!" Sheik yelled as the Hero began to nock another arrow. Trying to stay on a wild wolfos was hard enough without having to worry about rogue arrows.

Link grinned sheepishly as he put away his bow. "Sorry."

Fortunately, during this exchange, Zelda had the common sense to try to keep the wolf distracted as well, with methods much safer for the Sheikah. Sheik peeked around the white wolf's massive head just in time to see Zelda stabbing her sword straight downward with what looked like as much force as she could muster. The wolfos let out a piercing, pained howl as the sword went into its paw and straight through into the ice on the other side. The creature was pinned.

The beast whimpered as it pulled at its injured paw, but barely moved. Sheik's makeshift mount was steady enough that he was able to let go with one bandaged hand and loose a dagger from his sleeve. He drew back ready to stab into the creature's exposed neck when the beast decided to throw caution to the wind.

The sound of flesh tearing rang sickeningly through the air as the wolfos ripped its paw from the sword's hold. Sheik heard Zelda yell as the force knocked her back, but he didn't stop his attack. Sheik slammed his daggered fist downward, but by that point the wolf was on the move and he was slipping.

Sheik had been aiming for the neck, but the dagger missed its mark, digging into the wolf's shoulder instead. The wolfos howled as blood erupted from the wound, coating the white in sticky crimson and it was all Sheik could do to grip tightly to the dagger with both hands to keep from slipping off. Sheik was vaguely aware that Link and Zelda had backed away – the injured wolf was on rampage now. It did not take kindly to its injured paw and shoulder, and definitely did not approve of its enemy being on its back.

With a growl, the white wolf finally realized how to escape its rider. Before Sheik could process what the wolfos was doing, it threw itself hard against one of the iced-over walls. Sheik cried out in pain as his body was crushed between the beast and the wall, his head snapping back and cracking against the ice. He hoped that that was the ice cracking and not his skull, but disoriented as he was, there was no guarantee.

But Sheik was never that lucky. When the wolfos moved again Sheik was no longer attached. He slid to the floor, back to the icy wall and bloody dagger clutched in hand, dazed. The wolf had backed away, growling at its attackers. There was an obvious limp in its step and its movements had slowed greatly.

Sheik looked across the circle to see Zelda and Link rushing towards him, slipping wildly across the ice arena. That was, until Zelda (tried) to stop in her tracks. "Wait!" she yelled as she caught her balance. Link skidded to a stop a little closer as Zelda threw her arms up. A look of intense concentration crossed her features and it took Sheik's mind a few moments to realize why.

He followed her gaze to a spot above him and had to stifle a surprised gasp. The ice on the wall Sheik had hit had shattered. Above him, suspended only by Zelda's magic, were thousands of ice shards, glittering like cut-glass and deadly as a volley of spears ready to cut through his body. If Zelda had not stopped them… Sheik shuddered at the thought.

Although he might very well find out what would have happened. Link had resumed his run towards his friend as Sheik pushed himself shakily to his feet. "Are you okay?" Link asked as he reached the Sheikah and Sheik couldn't help but blush a little at the other boy's concern.

"I think so," said Sheik, fully aware that his head was still spinning and pain spiked through his body with every movement. But it could have been worse. He could have been Zelda.

The two boys had hardly taken their eyes off her and the wolf for a second, when the beast got its second wind. The wolfos pounced, claws outstretched, straight for Zelda, who was still holding up the crystal shards of ice threatening to rain down on Sheik and Link's heads. The two turned just in time to see Zelda hit by the wolf. She screamed as she was knocked into an iced-over wall, crumpling into a heap at its base. She didn't get up again.

"Zelda!" yelled Link as the scene played out, seeming to have been numbed over with shock. Only Sheik had the common sense to grab Link and pull them both out from under the icy avalanche before it fell. Link immediately took off for the fallen Princess, sliding carelessly along the ice, oblivious to the white wolf that had doubled around and was heading straight towards him.

Sheik noticed, however, and was not about to let another one of his friends get hurt. He lifted the bloody dagger still clutched in his hand and launched it with all of his strength at the beast. Sheik knew it hit from the pained howl the creature let out, but didn't stop to see as by that point he had already made a dive for his sword. It lay abandoned in the center of the ice arena.

Sheik reached it at the same time as the white wolf. Blood flowed steadily out of the new wound in its other leg. Its red eyed rolled wildly in its head. It was angry.

But so was Sheik. He had caught a glimpse of Zelda and the blood pooling around her body and he didn't know if she was okay. He only had two friends in this Goddesses forsaken new world and he wasn't about to let this beast from his past take them away.

The wolfos struck, swiping its injured claw out at Sheik, blood spraying everywhere. But Sheik, instead of backing away, he rolled forward, under the attack and under the beast. He didn't hesitate before plunging his sword upward, straight into the wolf's chest and, hopefully, its heart.

The stained white wolf sputtered, the howl caught in its throat, as it stumbled on its injured legs. Sheik dove back, rolling to his feet a safe distance away from the beast. It took another few clumsy steps forward before its feet slipped out from underneath it and it crashed to the ice. Cracks snaked their way out from its body and towards Sheik as he watched its final moments with grim satisfaction.

With one last gurgled howl the creature burst into blue flames and vanished. Along with it went the ice, as if it were being sucked back to where it came, retreating towards the center of the room. Soon only the blood pooled around its body remained and in it sat his dagger and the smooth black surface that was part of the Mirror of Twilight.

Sheik couldn't quite believe what he had just seen as he sheathed the sword and picked up his dagger. Had all of that come from the Mirror? he wondered vaguely, looking down into its unreflective surface. And for the briefest moment he could have sworn he had seen two red pinpricks breaking up the darkness.

But they were pushed from his mind as Link called in a panicky voice, "Sheik! Come here!" Sheik whirled around immediately, panic rising in his own chest, as he took in the sight of Link kneeling, next to Zelda, trying to hold her up. There was a very obvious pool of blood around the both of them.

Sheik ran over and knelt down beside them, very relieved to see that Zelda's chest was rising and falling ever so slightly. She was alive, but barely. He could also see three huge gashes ripped through her clothing and into her sides, with blood spilling out at an alarming rate.

"She needs a doctor now," said Link, voice trembling.

"The Yetis?" suggested Sheik quickly, knowing that Link was right. If the blood loss didn't stop… Sheik didn't want to think about that.

But even with those thoughts quashed, Sheik's heart fell when Link shook his head. "She needs a real doctor. The Yetis can barely take care of themselves, they could never treat a human. She needs… Renado."

That sounded like a name. "Who's that?" questioned Sheik.

"A healer," explained Link quickly, "B-but we don't have time to get to him. I-I don't know what to do."

Sheik had never seen Link so panicked before, his or this one. "Where is this healer?" Sheik didn't know how this would help – they were trapped on the far side of a very snowy mountain – but he hoped that keeping Link talking would keep him calm while Sheik thought of a plan. He would have never guessed that he'd soon be the one that needed calming.

"Kakariko," stated Link plainly.

"Kakariko Village?" said Sheik and he couldn't stop his eyes from widening. My home town…?

Link nodded and Sheik could see something click behind his eyes. "You know it?"

It was Sheik's turn to nod. "There was a Kakariko Village in my time."

A look of hope flashed across Link's face. "The Deku Nuts!" he exclaimed, "You said you can go to places you've been. You can take us there, we can save Zelda!"

It took Sheik a few moments to respond. "I-I can't," he said quietly, "Things are so different here now, there's no guarantee that I'd get us to the right place. And I've never teleported anyone other than myself, let alone two more. What if I mess up and we end up someplace even more desolate… or dangerous. I-I-" Sheik was babbling and Link knew it.

The Hylian boy reached out and placed a hand on Sheik's shoulder, effectively stopping his speech and bringing a blush to his face. "I think you can do it, Sheik," said Link solidly. Sheik met the other boy's bright blue eyes, wanting to protest. But he couldn't. He knew it was irrational, but he just couldn't let Link down. Not without trying anyway.

"Okay," said Sheik quietly, his answer surprising both himself and Link. Fortunately, Link took this surprise well and twisted his features into as much of a grin as he could manage in this situation. Sheik knew it was silly, but Link's confidence in him was a big help.

"Grab the Mirror Piece," said Link, standing and pulling Zelda into his arms. Sheik nodded and slipped off his heavy jacket to put around the shard. He didn't want to touch that eerie glass piece if he could help it.

And then it was time. Because they were out of time. Zelda let out a pained moan, as Link carried her closer and Sheik knew that he had no choice but to try. Zelda needed him to get this right. Her life depended on it. And that thought did nothing to alleviate Sheik's nerves.

"Hold on tight," Sheik muttered as he fumbled in his bandages for a Deku Nut. He took a deep breath that hitched in the middle as he felt Link's hand clamp tightly around his shoulder. Sheik felt himself blush pink, knowing full well that precious time was ticking by with each second wasted worrying over the outcome.

"I trust you, Sheik," said Link sincerely and the sentiment warmed Sheik's heart. He hoped that it would be enough of a confidence boost to get him through this. Sheik pictured his old home town in his mind - the one and only Kakariko Village - and threw the Deku Nut at the ground, hoping, with all of his might, that that was still true.

I love the Yetis, just saying. Also, there is Shink-ness to come in the next chapter! I hope that is a good incentive to come back for more...? :)

Thanks for all the reviews and faves and such so far, you guys rock!

Well, that's all I have to say for now. So, if you liked this chapter, leave a review? please?