Dark cringed at her fury. She said nothing, she just peered at the two who held close to one another in the darkness. In a slow, drawling tone, she asked a simple question. But beneath the simple words were a nearly muderous intent. "...Who is that?" She asked, and Dark looked over to the female Sheik he held in his arms. Sheik began to pull away from his arms.
"Stay right there, filth." Julane demanded, drawing her short sword from the scabbard at her side. "Hey, calm the hell down." Dark demanded, aghast at this random show of violence. "What the hell's your problem, Julane?" He asked and she advanced while Sheik took steps back, drawing a short katana from a sheath on the back of her slim waist.
Dark's eyes darted between the two, watching them draw blades and take fighting stances in the darkness. The silence of the night provided the perfect soundtrack for the two, engaged in a battle of hate. Dark though, didn't understand that there was an animosity between the two races who stood before him.
The Sheikah were the Royal Family's guards, ever since the ancient times. The Gerudo, were the thieves who were always trying to rob the Family. The Sheikah had always gotten in the way of this though. But this was only the surface story. The tale went deeper.
"How dare you, Requaem. To embrace, let alone kiss trash like this... I'll kill her quickly, and we'll forget this ever happened. This filthy moment will never have existed, and our family won't be disgraced." Julane said and Dark looked at her. "What the hell do you mean? I want an explanation! How is she trash? She's saved my life at least twice before!" He exclaimed, and his Gerudo half sister scowled at him. "That's how they always do things. Always conniving, conspiring to steal from you behind your back. They just need to make you trust them first." She said, and Sheik laughed harshly in the darkness.
"Still bitter about the past, Gerudo?" She said, bitterly. Julane became ugly with anger. "Bitter!? Your kind condemned us to the thievery and desert life we have now!" She exclaimed, her hands bursting with flames. Sheik whispered something in another tongue, and her arms began swirling with black clouds of dark energy.
Dark began to get frustrated. He wasn't going to choose between what he believed to be his love, and his family. "Explain yourselves, now." He growled, the darkness carrying his voice to both sets of ears. "The Gerudo is angry at our kind. Our forefathers, according to legends past down in ancient lore and word of mouth tells of the Royal Family's beginning. A single man was powerful enough to unite and control all of Hyrule. He was the forebearer of the Royal Family. He created a kind empire and my forefather and hers were both friends at once, part of the trials to prove who was best for the role of the Ancient King's body guard." Sheik began explaining.
"They worked together throughout the entire trial, which was a sprawling dungeon filled with dangerous monsters. Many had fallen to their doom in that dungeon, and the final two had been my forefather, and hers. Rumor has it he's still alive. His name was Gale, and he tricked my forefather. He gained his trust, and up til the very end fought besides him. At the very end, he betrayed him. He struck him while in mid-battle against the final enemy and took the beast single-handedly, taking the glory for himself!" Julane shouted.
Dark was baffled. What did this matter now? This was hundreds, if not, thousands of years into the past! "What's this have to do with you two?" Dark shouted. Sheik grinned grimly. "Her forefather didn't take well to the theory that he was weak enough to have been taken down unawares and became dark-hearted. He declared a secret war against the Royal Family. He retreated far enough to where the newly forming Royal Armies couldn't reach. He recruited women to join him, trained them to be powerful fighters and skilled thieves." Sheik said, frowning at the past.
"They pillaged and robbed trade caravans, crippling the trade between the other races and the Hylians. Once they had enough money and arms, they declared true war against the Royal Family. Many Hylians and Sheikah were killed. The Gerudos barely suffered losses, but my kind fought hard, and the Hylians proved to be born warriors. The Hylians, defended by the Sheikah, gained the Royal Family time they needed to amass a powerful army. We eventually retreated, and hid... our people nearly entirely slaughtered from such a long war in the open, a war our people were never suited for. The Hylians crushed them and pushed them back to their desert." Sheik said, and Julane growled.
"Where we've been imprisoned since. That unsuccessful war cost us freedom of choice. I'm born into a life where I have to thieve and pillage. It's your fault! It's your damned forefather's fault!" She shouted, face twisted with hate. Dark hated seeing that face on his sister's visage. He knew what the feeling was like. He shouted at his reflection in hate for who he resembled, the man who had indirectly imprisoned. The tone of her voice mingled with the frenzied shouting from his past, a face contorted with unimaginable hatred.
"And it hasn't cost us either? We can't leave our village, or your damned headhunters will be down upon us in mere hours. Because of your race's pathetic inability to let go of an old fued..." She said, her voice becoming quiet and trembling. She then spoke once more, voice strong, and her eyes alight with an anger to match the face of hate Julane wore. "...My mother and father would still be with me, if it weren't for your damned stubborness." She said, her voice full of an anger that was as focused as an archer's aim. She had been lying to herself, that they had just abandoned her, because the truth was far more painful... they had been murdered by headhunters while on a mission from the Elders.
"Then stand still... I'll reunite you with them." Julane snarled as she threw her fist forward, throwing a plume of bright fire at Sheik. She returned the volley of magical energy with the swirling cloud of darkness, and the brightness of the fire clashed with the darkness of the shadow, flaring and dimming as the two elements vied for dominance. Through the elements, the two females charged at one another, clashing blades with such force that the two raging clouds of magic were forced apart and dissipated.
Volleys of strong and swift blows were exchanged, dodged and blocked, blasts of magic being flung at one another as well. Dark looked on, feeling unable to do anything. He couldn't strike either of them, both meant to much to him. As the fight raged on, he felt their will to kill the other intensify. If he left them to their fight long enough, one of the two would be direly wounded. He needed to do something, and quick. As they rushed at one another another time, Dark took a single step and burst into dark particles, reforming in the blink of an eye in the path of both their swings.
Thud, thunk. Their blades met flesh and sunk in with the sickening slosh of blood. But the target wasn't who either intended. Sheik had driven her blade into Dark's collar, and Julane's blade found it's place in his stomach. Dark smiled twistedly, blood flowing freely from his mortal wounds. "Stop fighting like children..." He said, grabbing the blades that had wounded him, and wrenching them from his body, cutting his hands as he did so.
He fell to his knees, pain driving him there. His blood soaked the sand black like the night around them. "I don't care what..." He began, grimacing in pain. "...pasts you've shared. But as parts of my life, this pointless anger is unacceptable." He said, clenching the deep wound that was in his stomach. His arm on the cleaved side of his collarbone dangled uselessly. "...Kill me before you continue, or put your... stupidity aside." He said, as he fell to all fours, offering himself up to either be removed from this world. He felt their magic coursing through his veins, burning as if he had drank acid. They had been pumping their magic through their blade, in attempt to finish the other off in a single blow if they struck. And suffering this sort of subtle attack was killing Dark slowly.
Julane looked to the Sheikah on the opposite side of Dark. "Have you really saved his life?" She asked, trying to keep the venom in her voice deep within her and out of sight. "Are you really his sister?" Sheik asked. They stood staring at each other, barely able to make out the other in the thick darkness. "Yes." They spoke in unison. "He means a lot to you, huh?" Sheik asked and Julane nodded. Julane peered at her. "He really likes you... after all, he kissed you, didn't he?" She asked, seeming hurt. Sheik nodded slowly. "Yes..." She said.
Dark groaned. "Nice to know that we're coming to terms that you both matter to me..." He moaned, and coughed in a wretched way. "...but I'm dying, would you mind helping me out?" He asked, and they both dropped to their knees, remembering that they had badly wounded him. Rolling him over, they removed his tunic and began working on patching him up. "Do you know any healing arts?" Sheik asked Julane without a twinge of emotion. Julane had begun to pant heavily, seeing what she had done.
"Relax. If you lose your concentration, he will die. If you focus, he'll live." She said, and Julane nodded. "Uh, yeah... I know a certain spell my mother taught me in case of emergencies." She said, and Sheik nodded. "Excellent, because I've been trained primarily to fight, along with a few support spells. But I've never been taught to heal. What's the spell called?" Sheik asked. Julane seemed to forget for a moment, but then recalled.
"It was called Din's Reawakening." She said, and Sheik's eyes widened. "Have you used it before?" She asked, and Julane shook her head. "Well, not outside of the practice I had undergone to know how to use it. I never actually used it on a person though." She said, and Sheik nodded. "Well, that's by far one of the most powerful healing spells known. It's said only descendants of Din herself can use it, as it rekindles and even relights the fire that Din lit in humankind. That you can even practice it is surprising enough. Does anyone else know?" She asked, and Dark's voice became labored. He was nearing his end.
"No, my mother told me to never reveal that I knew it unless it was utterly necessary." Julane said, and Sheik looked at her oddly. "Well, it might be she wanted to keep it a secret, because Ganondorf would most likely take you as his personal Sorceror. You probably have amazing innate ability as a mage." Dark's groans quickly changed the topic though. "... But now Dark is nearing the end of his life. Use it." Sheik said, and Julane nodded.
She held her hands out over Dark's chest, and began whispering incantations to herself, and magic energy began weaving around her and dark, and a light erupted forth from both her and his chest. Dark looked up, seeing the rivets of magic flowing through the air, as his vision narrowed and his body numbed. This was it, he supposed. They weren't able to heal him before he died. How sad, his tale would end here... soon his vision became entirely dark and he felt nothing any longer. Thought, sound and every single of his senses subsided.
The silence overwhelmed him. The voices, the heat in his chest... it was all gone. Quiet, lonely... yet it was infinitely soothing. The silence he had always known was roaring with voices and screams of terror. It was entirely silent now.
Is this death? Dark thought to himself. He questioned the fact of whether he would be able to think while dead. "Yes, you're dead." A soft voice said. Who is that? Dark asked to the darkness. "The Keeper." A voice said, and the man's voice chuckled. "And you're dead." The bodyless voice stated. Dead? Figures. Dark thought, somewhat disappointed. "I like the keen disapproval in your voice, son. You're not going to stay dead." The Keeper said, and Dark felt an explosion from within his chest, and the light brought forth the shadow of his body.
The fire didn't burn, but began a twinge of feeling in his body. "What the hell?" Dark asked, running his shadow-like hands through the fire. "It's called Din's Reawakening. It appears your friends are close to the Goddesses. They seem to have taken a liking to you. I'll see you later, boy. Your meeting with me isn't until a little while longer." The Keeper said, as Dark erupted into complete fire.
Dark felt his entire body burning, and was thrust back into the realm of sensation. Every sensation possible flooded his senses, and it sent his body flailing in throes of pain. Julane had finished the incantation for the spell, and Dark had erupted into flame. Sheik had jumped back, because the intensity of the flame was far beyond her ability to withstand. Dark was flailing and shouting in what seemed to be agony, but the roaring flames consumed any sound nearby. The entire valley besides the desert collosus had been illuminated, and it felt as if the sand itself was shaking from the small inferno that Julane had ignited.
How she was able to use magic of this calibur was unknown to Sheik. Squinting into the flames that had consumed the two, she recalled the quality of magic that had been used moments ago, which was of average skill. This was far beyond that... this was easily only magic Gale would be able to use.
But eventually the inferno subsided, and Dark lay there panting heavily, Julane besides him on all four, panting for breath. Dark fell asleep almost immediately after he calmed down. Julane struggled to her feet. "All done... saved him." She said, with a quirky smile on her face. Sheik walked up to her and pat her on the shoulder. "You're tired, and he's out cold..." Sheik said, dragging Dark towards the wall of the desert collosus, where she leaned him up against.
Julane sat besides her brother she managed to claim from the clutches of death. She was worried about something though, as she sat besides him. She had once used this same spell in secret on a pet that she had lost to illness in distraught sadness. Once her pet cat had been brought back to life, he had no knowledge of who she was, and ran off as if she was a stranger. Whether Dark would awake realizing who they were was a terrible possibility. She refused to fall asleep though, still weary of the Sheikah.
She felt herself nodding asleep as the time flowed as slow as sand trickled over the dunes. "You can sleep, you should be tired from such a powerful spell." Sheik said cooly, looking straight into the darkness. Julane was silent. She was tired, but she was afraid to sleep with a person who had betrayed her kind before. "Nothing will happen to you, don't worry. Harming you means harming Dark's opinion of me. If you want to look at it from the worst possible angle, you can assume I'll leave you be for my own selfish purposes, because I know you won't believe I won't harm you out of the kindness of my heart." She said, and Julane thought about it. It was true. If she wanted to stay in good graces with Dark she wouldn't dare attack.
Although it wasn't the best reasoning, it was reasoning nonetheless. She felt herself drifting off to sleep, and the darkness of slumber overcame her. Sheik looked at the two. Things were becoming more and more difficult. She watched the Gerudo drift off to sleep and cling to Dark as if he would disappear. Sheik thought back to her own agenda. She wasn't sent after Dark for her own feelings of emotion... that was actually her first action.
She thought back to the kiss in the darkness and felt her face heat up. But her real reason for coming to get him was to bring him back to the Sheikah settlement. Gale wanted to speak with him. Gale's exact words were; "The eyes of others can only say so much about this young shadow. I need to hear and understand this one to know if he's truly right for our cause."
Those words caused Sheik worry. Specially seeing as plans involving Dark had been set into motion far before Gale had sanctioned Dark's worth. Sheik lowered her mask and bit her thumb. The Goddesses had their stakes in Hyrule now. Not only did they have the two bearers of the Triforce on their side... but they had a contingency plan in mind in case all else failed.
Only recently had Sheik revealed the Goddesses back-up plan to Gale. In a dream, the three Goddesses stood before her and gave her a simple mission. To deliver a necklace to Dark Link. When she had awoken from the dream, she had found a black triangle on a thin silver chain in her hand. She inspected it herself, fearing something from this simple charm. True to her own fears, the necklace embodied some form of deeper, slumbering power. He considered destroying it, but realized doing so would probably provoke a heavenly wrath.
So she obeyed, delivering it quietly to Dark as she watched over him, ensuring the Goddesses' plan would succeed. They wanted him to bear that necklace for some peculiar reason. Having spoken to Gale, he became deathly grave about the subject and demanded that she bring him to her as soon as possible.
Now she sat before him, brother and sister close together while they slept off fatigue stronger than their spirits could withstand. She grew fearful for what her love could become the vessel of... what she was even more fearful of was of what Gale would decide of Dark and the burden he was secretly bearing.
She nodded off as well, feeling envious of Julane. Sheik wanted to hold Dark while she fell asleep. For too many nights she had been accustomed to being alone every dark night.
A/N: Sorry about not posting new chapters every now and then. Honestly, I know you guys love this story, and I've been neglecting it. I'll try and keep up on it, and you guys keep on showing your love through favorites, alerts and my personal favorite; reviews. Stay tuned for another chapter tomorrow. ;D