11 chapters in! Wow! Can you believe that we've made it this far?

A HUGE thanks to my reviewers: ShadowNinja1011, Soralividus, ArianandXaia, and Legendary Legend Layer! You guys rock my socks! XD

Chapter 11: Decisions (Sheik)

I watched as Link ran off in the distance. Nabooru and Ruto were shouting at first, but now they both looked a each other and then back to me. We knew that there was nothing we could do now.

"I have the branch now. Are you sure you don't want me to chase him down?" Ruto asked obviously disappointed.

Nabooru shook her head. "Nope. He's gone. Impa may not have been ready for him anyway." I was going to have to have a word with Impa after all of this.

"Why did you offer him a spot in the Triforce Protectors? Especially without Impa knowing?" I asked, feeling a little irritated that they drove my one friend from the outside world off.

"It was going to be your cover!" Nabooru shouted. "I know you're mad that we came here to spy on you, but we have things we want to do on our own too! If we could find you and see that you were just 'running errands' and 'looking for a new book', then Impa would probably just have us leave you alone. But nooo! You have to come here with some guy and whatever! Now we're probably going to have to keep a close watch on you!"

Ruto frowned and crossed her arms disapprovingly. "And here I thought I was the prettier one who would get a boyfriend first! Hmph!"

Nabooru rolled her eyes. "Pretty? Really? Not only is she completely stupid, she's blind too!" Nabooru put on the persona of a game show host and shouted to nobody in particular, "You heard her ladies and gentlemen! She's single!"

"Shut up!" Ruto yelled back, with tears in her eyes again. That overly sensitive Zora...

"Maybe I will when you get a boyfriend, Fish-Face! Oh wait! That's not gonna happen, is it?!"

"Guys!" I interrupted. They stopped bickering to look at me. "Nabooru, what were you saying about this being my cover?"

"Oh yeah!" Nabooru remembered. "Sorry, Bubble Brain so rudely interrupted me, and I got distracted."

Ruto glared daggers at Nabooru. "At least I don't-"

"GUYS!" I yelled one last time before completely giving up with this conversation.

The Gerudo woman cleared her throat. "As I was saying, I noticed that the guy you were deciding to spend all of your time with was Link, holder of the Triforce of Courage. I don't know how you guys met each other, but I could have sworn you were drawn together by those Triforces. Anyway, because I recognized him, I realized that I didn't have to report to Impa that you were abusing your time. All I had to say was that you were locating the bearer of the Triforce of Courage and were slowly persuading him to join the team. This way, it made you look good, we did our job, and neither of us have to get bothered by Impa again."

"Well, I wouldn't call what you just did, 'slowly persuading him to join the team,'" I acknowledged. In a mocking voice I added, "'Link! Come join our team! We're special just like you! Blah, blah, blah!'"

Nabooru rolled her eyes. "Well, are you going to take me up on that offer or not?"

"Fine," I replied. "I am slowly persuading him to join our team from now on. And I want to be the one to tell Impa this first."

Ruto made a strange face and interrupted. "So is he going to ever come back with us? I need to make a point that I can get a boyfriend! I think he likes me too!" I didn't point out that just minutes earlier she decided that she didn't like him anymore. There would be no point in that. Her emotions change faster than a little child's.

"Eventually he probably will come back, but for now, let's let Sheik do her job," Nabooru answered, ignoring that last part. The two of them walked out of the meadow and back to their car, which was probably in the parking lot. I picked up my harp and walked back to my car too.

I had to laugh, as I started my car, about the fact that Ruto was so sure that she could make Link her boyfriend. Why was she so interested in him anyway? She didn't even know him! Was it because she knew he had part of the Triforce? I backed out of my parking space. Sure he was attractive, but...

Wait! Why did I want to hang out with him so much? Surely I wasn't as shallow as Ruto and only liked him because he was attractive! No, we knew each other from school, so we were practically already friends. It's not like it's illegal to hang out with someone just to be their friend.

He called me pretty. No, he called me beautiful. I exhaled, feeling a bit giddy inside. He didn't even know what I looked like. He didn't even care. He just liked me for who I was. I gripped the steering wheel tighter as I started to feel guilty. He liked me for who I was, yet he doesn't even know who I really am.

This feels like an episode of Hannah Montana.

I had responsibilities. Just like I was telling Ruto earlier, I am too busy for guys. I really shouldn't let this trouble me. I had a team to be a part of, and I had to protect innocent civilians too. At least that part of my life Nabooru didn't learn about. But I did need to start keeping an even lower profile. No more coffee shop trips dressed as a Sheikah. I had to be an invisible savior to those around me if I was going to keep doing this or else Impa might find out and then...no more anything!

I relaxed and turned on the radio. I didn't recognize the song that was playing, but it was catchy and it kept my mind off of other things. I was casually driving on the road when I heard what sounded like someone screaming. I pulled off to the side of the road and parked my car. The screams were way louder and clearer without being blocked out by my car and music, and they were definitely screams of peril.

I followed my ears to a parking lot. Walmart, of course. It always happens at Walmart. I darted to the area where a woman was crying out, and a man was throwing her things around.

"Does it scare you?" He taunted, smashing a watermelon on the concrete.

"Nooo!" The woman cried out against him. "Not my watermelon! It's not in season, so it's more expensive!"

I casually walked up to them. "Can I offer any assistance?"

That question was directed to the woman, but the man replied, "Why yes! You can break these eggs!"

This "crime" was so stupid, it was amusing, and I almost laughed. I did however take the egg carton he offered me and gave it back to the woman. "You will not break her eggs on my watch!" I was losing it. I was losing my wit, my credibility, my ability to pick out good crimes to fight, and the list still went on!

The man sassily put a hand on a hip. "Are you that ninja superhero I'be been hearing about? Why can't I remember your name? Oh! Because you're irrelevant! Ha!"

If I had a dollar for every time I thought something that someone said or did was stupid, I'd be rich. "I'm irrelevant? Well that's funny because I certainly seem pretty relevant to this situation right now!"

The man shook his head, and I noticed his curly mustache jiggled when he did so. "Not really. The only thing you've done so far is make silly banter with me and give that woman her eggs back."

"Well, all you've done is smash her stuff... That's not very bad for a bad guy!"

"How do you know that I'm a bad guy? I could be her father!"

"You did smash her stuff and make her scream! Not super bad, but it's certainly not good! In any case, I'll put an end to it!"

I was tired of our "silly banter". I threw a hard punch at him in the stomach, which normally would have hurt me a little, but I backed it up with some magic so it wouldn't. It wasn't much magic, so no one should be able to sense me still. He toppled backwards and held his stomach.

"I did not pay for this," he muttered. "Jim! You told me she wouldn't touch me! That HURT like-"

"She wasn't supposed to because it was such a stupid crime!" Another man, presumably Jim, came out from behind a car and said. "She was just supposed to check it out when she heard screaming. Then you rip off her mask, I snap the picture, and BOOM! We got 'er!" He talked with a nasally northern accent as if he was a stereotypical paparazzi or something.

"This was a set up?" I realized.

"Mmm-hmm!" All three people around me agreed. Now I was the one who felt stupid. I could practically hear the cha-ching go off in my head because I just made another imaginary dollar.

I looked at all of them as they waited for me to say something else. "How did you know that I was going to be here?"

"We didn't really! I followed you around sometimes, and you often came this way so we were hoping you would come by here again. We've been smashing foods for a good hour or so!" Jim replied.

"And nobody tried to stop you?" I questioned.

"I have a camera! I told them we were filming!" He replied once more. "Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. You take off your mask right now, or you can see Howard when he's really the bad guy!"

If I revealed my identity, everything would be ruined. Everyone at school would think I'd been ditching them, my parents would be ashamed, the news would probably get so big Impa would find out, and Link... He would be the worst one to face. Then a thought stirred in the back of my mind. This disguise was made to keep the Great Powerful One from sensing me. Or to help anyway. What would happen if HE found out?!

"No," I stated. "I've been in several fights before, and I'm sure Howard isn't much different. Hit me with your best shot!"

"So be it!" Jim exclaimed. Howard came running at me, but I front flipped/leaped over him.

Howard turned around with an astonished look on his face. "Dude! She just jumped and flipped WAAAAYYY over me! She's like super human or something!"

"Keep fighting!" Jim shouted angrily.

Howard tried to charge at me again like an angry bull, but I concentrated and tried to use my levitating powers to manipulate his matter and pick him up and throw him down. Because this power was still a work in progress, I couldn't lift him up, but I did freeze his running.

"What the-?" He questioned. "I'm stuck! She froze me!"

I concentrated on holding him in place as I charged up to him and, with a single magic-charged super-kick, knocked him unconscious. I let him fall to the ground as I turned back at Jim and the other woman.

"Who's next?" I asked.

Jim frantically looked around and then looked to the woman for help. His beady little eyes screamed, "Save my sorry butt from this chick," but the woman offered no assistance. "Marie! Please!" He begged.

Marie shook her head. "I'm not getting any more involved with this scandal. Give me my money and I'll leave peacefully. If you don't, I'm going to be whopping your butt with her."

Jim's expression hardened as if he thought it made him look tougher, but Marie stared him down. "Fine here's your money. I'll get somebody else in the for any future plans..." He pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to her then turned to me. "Please keep in mind that I have a family and kids and-"

I sent a single ball of light energy at him. Not enough to kill him, but he will have a painful headache for the rest of the week. I dragged both of the unconscious bodies into a single parking space before I turned my attention to Marie, who smiled at me and started to walk away.

"Don't get involved in anything stupid again," I advised her.

"I think I'll just stick to acting on the stage," she agreed.

We continued to part ways and I sprinted back up to my car, which still remained pulled over. I should have just parked in the parking lot. Walmart was not going to be associated with happy memories... The thought occurred to me that this may not be the end of this scandal, but I would have to deal with the next issue another time. Hopefully I won't have to make any public statements though...

I drove all the way back to the facility we were living in. Impa stood outside watching me with a disapproving look on her face.

"Hi! I have to tell you something awesome!" I said, faking excitement. I had to build up "finding Link" as much as possible without overdoing it. I think with that one sentence, I overdid it.

"And I have to talk to you about- you'll see," she replied. "Let's go to my office."

I nodded and tried not to show how nervous I was as I followed her in. Impa didn't have an office, it was just her bedroom, but whenever she needed to speak with someone about a serious matter, I noticed she had a habit of calling her room her "office". After the longest one minute walk I had ever taken, we finally reached her room.

Impa opened her mouth like she was going to say something then closed it immediately after. "I have received- There's an opening-" she continually cut herself off.

"I'm sorry," I said as politely as possible. "Could you repeat that?"

"You haven't been going where you said you were, and you made Nabooru and Ruto cover for you when I sent them to watch you," she said completely dropping whatever she was going to say earlier.

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"Two reasons. Ruto's a terrible liar and when I asked if you were doing anything suspicious, her behavior suddenly became just as suspicious. Also, there is a tracking device inside you and I can learn of your whereabouts at all times," she answered. "I noticed you went to a Walmart and did not bring back any groceries."

I scrambled for where to start. I couldn't tell her anything about my superhero stunt, or she would never let me out in public again. I had to tell the lie that Nabooru and I decided on earlier. "I found Link, the second Triforce holder. Remember when I snuck into that room and looked at those files? Well, I decided that because I knew Link from school it would be easy for me to track him down and bring him here."

"So where is he?" Impa asked patiently.

"Well...I didn't bring him with me today. I've been slowly getting him used to the idea of being a Triforce Protector, so he doesn't freak out as much as I did, and eventually will bring him in," I explained. I was a much better liar than Ruto. I guess 10 years of acting experience will do that to you. Plus, it was semi-true. I was eventually slowly going to break the news to him. Or not so slowly. Who knows?

"Very well," Impa surprismgly agreed. "I would have liked it if you had not done all of this behind my back and got my permission before talking to the second Triforce holder. I do think that it is a good idea to warm him up to becoming one of us. You now officially have permission to continue your work."

I jumped up excitedly. "Oh, thank you Impa! Thank you! You will not regret your decision!"

"Not yet, anyway," she said under her breath. "You are dismissed."

I walked out of Impa's room feeling like I dodged a bullet. I had a well deserved banana waiting for me on the counter. Lying under pressure certainly took a lot out of you. The funny thing was, was that I didn't even feel the slightest bit guilty about it. Maybe that was because I knew that I eventually was going to have to explain to Link about the Triforce Protectors. Actually, that was probably what I was going to have to tell him next time I saw him. Nabooru and Ruto seemed to really have shaken him up.

When I sat down at the dining table and peeled my banana, a sweaty Saria walked into the kitchen. "Oh. Did you take that banana off the counter?" She questioned.

"Uh, yeah," I answered slowly. "I was saving it for when I got back."

"Well, that was my banana actually," Saria said. "I was saving it for after training."

I furrowed my brows. "Saria, training has been done for a long time now. Why didn't you eat it then?"

"I just got back from an intense workout. I'm really trying to stay in shape, and I need a snack...very quickly!" She answered.

I sighed. I didn't know what the rush was, but she probably did deserve it more than I did, so I handed it to her. "I haven't eaten it yet. Here you go."

She smiled and skipped away cheerily. The little Kokiri was very good about guilt-tripping people into doing things for her. But it was just a stupid banana, and there was probably something full of calories and sugar in the pantry somewhere. I shuffled through bags of chips and boxes of cereal until I finally found a box of animal crackers. It would have to do for now.

I sat back down at my table and enjoyed my snack in peace. It was eerily quiet. Most of the time Ruto and Nabooru were bickering about something stupid, Impa was scolding them for being stupid, or Darunia was dancing in his room, which was very loud and shook the whole facility. None of those things were going on today though.

I got up from the table and strolled around the hallways. They were empty and quiet. Where did everyone go? I decided to head over to Impa's room because she might know where everyone went. Just as I was about to knock I heard voices talking quietly inside.

"I told her no a little while ago, but I really feel like the goddesses are urging me to," Impa said. I had no idea what they were talking about, but I had a feeling it had to do with me. It wasn't about the Link situation though. She said yes to that.

"She's proving herself to be a very responsible person though," Darunia stated. "She did come directly to you about tracking the second Triforce holder down. And she had a very good idea about how to persuade him into our team."

Someone made an awkward coughing noise after that. "I didn't have anything to do with that," Ruto said throwing in her two cents. I held my breath and leaned in closer to the door. When Ruto speaks, everything always seemed to go downhill.

Nabooru thankfully covered for her. "Well obviously you didn't have anything to do with that because it's actually a good idea!" I let my breath out tried to listen even harder if that was possible.

"Back to the important deal at hand," Saria redirected the conversation. "How exactly are the goddesses urging you to do this?"

Impa started speaking again. "I had a vision. In it there was a clear image of Zelda sitting on a throne as a princess."

"You mean Sheik," Saria corrected. I could feel during the brief second's silence, Impa shot a glance at Saria.

"No," Impa said. "I mean Zelda. She was not in her Sheik disguise. On the throne she was wearing the garb of a Light Sage."

"Are you sure that it wasn't just a dream?" Darunia asked the same time Nabooru questioned, "How do you know this was from the goddesses?"

Impa let out a deep breath. "I am positive this was a sign from the goddesses that Zelda should be the new Sage of Light, regardless of what I told her earlier!"

My heart started racing, each beat seeming to create an earthquake within my whole body. Why should I be the new Light Sage?! And why did Impa see me as Zelda instead of Sheik?! Did this mean I was going to have to give up my identity?! Did this mean I was going to have to give up Link?!

I stopped caring about keeping quiet, and I stormed off to my room. I lied down on my bed and cried into a pillow. This was probably some huge honor that everyone was hoping to be promoted to. Yet here I was crying on my bed because I was the one who recieved the promotion.

Wasn't there anything I could do? Couldn't I just turn down the offer? I knew the answer though. There was no way I could turn down the goddesses if this is really what they wanted.

My room seemed to be flooded with my tears. My vision was blurry. Suddenly I saw an image of someone sitting on a throne. It was me! Zelda me! Just like Impa said...

I was wearing a silky white gown, which must have been a part of the Light Sage outfit based on what Impa said earlier, and a diamond tiara. My long blonde hair was done in an elegant side braid. I looked gorgeous in the regal room, but the expression on my face was an unhappy one. The vision cut out and transitioned to a woman dressed in blue with dark blue hair speaking.

"This is what Impa has seen for you," she said softly. Her voice was sweet and comforting, and it reminded me of a peacefully still lake. I recognized her to be the goddess Nayru.

"This is what you wish to see for yourself," she said as the image transitioned into a busy city. There I saw myself dressed as Sheik running next to Link protecting a child from someone trying to harm him. This was my superhero fantasy. And Link was with me!

Nayru spoke again. "You have the Triforce of Wisdom, Zelda. Both choices will lead your destiny to two completely different paths. Use the Triforce to help you make a decision. Please, choose wisely." Nayru's voice faded out, and I saw the two images as if they were on two different screens side by side.

I studied option one in further detail. Why was I on the throne as a princess if I was just the Sage of Light? Use the Triforce to help you make a decision... I watched myself sit there as those words rang through my head. Should I say something to use the Triforce?

"Triforce of Wisdom," the words poured out of my mouth. I didn't even need to think about what I was saying. Somehow my lips and tongue just knew what to do. "Show me the consequences of choosing option one."

The image of Princess Zelda zoomed in. Her, well my technically, lips started moving. I began to hear the words she was saying. (And for the record, from this point on when I am referring to myself in the vision, I will use third person.) "Goddesses above," she said. "Please direct Link that he may find the Powerful One without facing any troubles."

She was praying to the goddesses about Link for some reason. And for some reason he was on his own, trying to find the Powerful One. The walls began to shake around Zelda. She fell from the throne to her knees. I then noticed the chains around her arms and ankles. She slowly lifted her head, and I saw the silhouette of some horrible creature before her. He must have spoken to her, but I could not hear what he said. He walked out of the room, and she bowed her head and started crying. She seemed completely hopeless in this strange situation.

"If only I had known the burden that would await me as the Sage of Light," she said in between tears. I felt bad for her. I felt bad for myself really. This is not the path I wanted to take. Everything seemed too hopeless and horrible. I did not want to be chained to the throne and chained to whatever heavy burden awaited me.

She cried out to the goddesses again, this time cursing them for all that they have done to her. "I prayed to you so hard! All day! All night! And yet you let him die!" I wondered if she was talking about Link again. "TAKE THIS LIFE AWAY FROM ME! I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE!" She screamed as she was practically ripping the hairs off of her head.

"STOP!" I yelled out in reality. I couldn't bear to watch myself suffer any longer. "Triforce! Change the image to the second one! Quickly!"

The image faded into me and Link, fighting the man and protecting the child. What an epic life to live! Protecting the public citizens from danger. Fighting crime with your best friend. It was a life that I would be very content with. I watched the image again, and after the police suddenly arrived on the scene, Link knocked the man unconscious and handed him over. The police man thanked us and we gave a smile before walking away.

Well, the choice seemed pretty obvious. We seemed so happy with our life of fighting crime, opposed to the miserable one where I kept crying and Link seemed to be dead. "Nayru, using the power of my Triforce piece, I choose to keep the life of Sheik," I said firmly. Lightning flashed and another image appeared before my eyes. "Is there a third option or something? I made my choice!"

In a dark area two people were leaning against the wall, side by side. "Hey! Listen!" a familiarly annoying voice taunted me. Then Nayru spoke saying, "You did not finish the image. That was only what you wish to face. Here comes the reality. Wait until then to make your decision."

The image of the two people remained. Upon closer examination I realized that it was me and Link sitting next to each other. Why were we alone in a dark room? And why were we so unhappy? Sheik started to cry next to him and saw the air fog up from her breath. It was really cold wherever they were. Link shuddered and I noticed how sickly pale he was. He seemed to be really sick.

"I will find a way to heal you, even if it's the last thing I do," Sheik said with a shudder of her own. "We will make it through alive! I didn't mean for you to run out in the cold. This all happened because of my disguise, didn't it?"

"Another one's down!" Someone bellowed from around them. "And another!" Another one down...? As in...dead?

Sheik cried out even more and began to curse the goddesses. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?! I WAS TRYING SO HARD!" Her tears fell heavier now, and she made strange gasping noises when she cried. "We are all going to die." The way she said that last sentence was so eerie it sent chills down my spine. They looked like corpses, struggling to live. With every breath they took, you could see the life slowly draining from their eyes. They were truly suffering, and it was only a matter of time before they all really did die.

"Nayru!" I shouted, stopping the image. "Neither of these paths have very happy consequences to them! I don't want to choose either one!"

"Well, you have to choose something, my darling," Nayru said comfortingly. Except as much as I'm sure it was genuine, it really did feel more like she was mocking me. My darling...

"Fine! I choose neither! I wish to be neither Sheik nor the Sage of Light! I just want to be normal Zelda!"

Nayru appeared, smiling at me. "But Zelda is Sheik or Zelda is the Sage of Light."

I felt like crying and felt the tears build up in my eyes. I was crying in a vision after crying myself to sleep and watching other visions where I cried. Lovely. "I want to make my own path. I don't want to choose Sheik or the Light Sage."

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "It doesn't work like that. I'm afraid you will have to choose one option or the other. Those movies and books where the hero makes their own path? They're all wrong."

"Triforce!" I exclaimed. "Show me a third option!" I had no idea what would happen next. Everything turned to black. I had no idea where I was. I could feel my body, so I decided to walk around and try to figure out what I had done. A mirror appeared before me.

In the mirror, I saw my reflection. I saw plain simple Zelda with my plain blonde hair in my plain pink blouse with a plain white cardigan and a pair of plain blue jeans and plain white laced Toms. It was so plain and simple, it calmed me for a second. This was the type of outfit I would wear to school, back when my life was simple and the choices I had to make were jam or jelly? Or, should I leave my hair straight or curly? Should I practice my harp or study for my calculus exam? Simple.

The two images appeared behind me in my reflection, playing over and over. When I turned around they weren't there, but when I looked in the mirror I saw them. The mirror started cracking and shattered. Little shards floated about around me as if something froze time itself. Sad music started playing and huge letters fell from above me.

GAME OVER.

I screamed and woke up. It was implying that my third option was to lose everything I had so far and die right here, right now. But I knew that there must have been more to the third option. It couldn't just end right there. I sat on my bed contemplating the choices that lay at hand. Regardless of my future or the consequences that would come with it, I still had to make a decision...for now.

I loved being Sheik; that I did know. I loved being with Link, who has become my best friend. I loved the idea of having another identity. I didn't want to give that up for anything. Not even for being the Light Sage, which I didn't want to be to begin with. If I was going to be miserable, I would rather be miserable after doing the things I loved. I would hate to be miserable only to be burdened with more misery.

I knew which choice I made. I readjusted my Sheik mask and slipped on my slip-ons. This would have to be my choice until I could find the loophole. There had to be one. There had to be a legitimate third option.

Time to have a word with Impa.

Everything went so fast, but I think that's the way everything had to happen. I almost split the chapter in half, but because Sheik was faced with one thing after another, I thought it would only be fair to keep it that way.

PQ: What's on thing you could not live without?

My answer: The internet! XD

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