Hiya guys, Nayru here. I'm sorry if this chapter's not quite up to spec, I've been going through a bit of a hard time of late... I won't bore you with the details. But I really wanted to get this chapter out because I hate to keep you guys waiting. I do, however, apologize if it's not up to standard.

Anyway, reviewers are brilliant and should be thanked. So, lots of love goes out to Squeeb100, ButterflyBabyBlue, ShadowNinja1011, The Supreme, CreCra, TheBlueAlienRobotZombie, MasterShortPantsx3, zeldalover272, sslamajama97, Hanyoualchemist1, Franne, Naomi Fudo, TheMysteriousDude, PrincesscharmingKnight, writerluber, DarkTayl, SxDsX, Neez, Link's 2nd wife, burning book, H3R0 0f T1M3 72296, Fangirl1017, and Joyma.

FESTIVAL OF HYLIA

Chapter Twelve - Thunderstorm

Sheik's POV:

By the time I reach the traveller camp, the skies have opened and drizzle is beginning to fall over the land. It leaves little drops of cold dew on the grass that glimmers in the light that pushes through the dense white clouds. It's the kind of rain that doesn't look like a problem; you think you can sneak through it. Yet you can't seem to walk more than ten paces without getting soaked through to your very bones. A shiver runs down my spine as another icy droplet of water snakes down the back of my shirt.

I sniff heavily, trying to stop my nose from running in this cold, damp weather. It's a strange contrast to the weather over the last few weeks. Warm sunny days spent dancing around in the large tepee seem like distant memory now as I watch five big burly men pulling out the wooden poles and gathering up the fabric. Already, the camp is much less crowded than it has been previously. Family tents and campervans have been cleared – I guess the weather encouraged some people to set off early. But not us, we're not leaving until tomorrow evening.

"Hey Sheik!" comes a distinctive voice from my right. I turn my head sharply, to find a black Land Rover trundling over the already soggy soil. As it draws closer to me, the driver side window is pushed open to reveal Ardaia sat at the wheel. His muscular arm is wrapped around Rynae, who appears to be the one controlling the gears of the large vehicle. They're both grinning, with their colourful eyes sparkling.

"Are you heading off early?" I ask, burying my hands in my pockets.

"Yeah," Ardaia says, his thin lips pulled into a lopsided smile. "We've got a wine convention up in the Zora domain that we do not want to miss!"

I resist the urge to roll my eyes a little; it's so typical of them. Instead, I opt for a cheery departure. "Take care now, ok?" I say.

"Watch yourself!" Rynae grins. "Don't be a stranger now!"

"I won't," I reply. "Oh, and by the way, when you guys do finally announce your unspoken love – I expect a wedding invitation."

Rynae shakes his head a little, laughing, while Ardaia offers me a two finger goodbye. And with that, the gears are revved up and the two of them drive off towards the exit of the land, throwing up little chunks of earth as they go. I can't help but notice how I didn't hear a no! Crates of wine bottles jangle in the back of the vehicle, which I can hear as they whizz off down the road with the rain lashing at their windscreen. Ok... enough delaying; it's time to talk to Zelda.

I turn and make my way over to the tepee, almost running so that I don't give myself time to change my mind. I really need to talk to her about this because I'm honestly rather confused. She told Link that her parents picked my mum to be her chosen guardian? Neither mum nor I have ever even met Zelda's parents, let alone been close enough with them for something like that. I just don't understand why she told him that, but I intend to find out.

"Hey, Zelda," I say as soon as I duck into the tepee and out of the rain. "You got something you want to tell me?"

"Huh?" she queries, turning to shoot me a quick glance. Her indigo eyes scan over my soaked clothes, dripping hair and damp skin, though she doesn't bother to ask me what happened. She must know that it's raining because of the way the raindrops ricochet against the canvas of the tepee. She offers me a sympathetic smile, before returning to what she was doing. Slowly, carefully, she puts each one of mums healing crystals into little bags made of bubble wrap before setting them down in a small wooden box.

"Sheik, I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," she says casually, brushing her long golden hair behind her ear.

"Oh really?" I ask, making my way over to the wooden chest that sits against the back wall of the tepee. I yank open the lid and rummage through until I find a towel and a dry change of clothes for myself. I then rip off my sodden shirt and dump it into the box of clothes that mum's taking to the laundry later.

Zelda comes to a pause, one hand holding a topaz crystal that dangles from her forefinger on a string. Her other hand is resting on her hip, and her head is tilted in an inquisitive manner.

"Sheik," she says. "If you've got something to say, just come out and say it!"

I sigh as I make my way behind the privacy partition and begin to pull off my damp shorts and dry off. "Fine... I was with Link and his friends earlier. They took me ice skating and... well, Link and I got talking."

"Uh huh..." she mumbles, sounding pre occupied as I pull on my cargo trousers. I quickly yank a shirt over my head as I make my way back around the partition, pausing to lean up against its wooden edge.

"He told me something about you, something that wasn't true."

She comes to a stop, turning to meet my gaze. Her lips are slightly parted, eyes blinking slowly. "Wait..." she mumbles, putting the rose quartz into the little wooden box. "Are you saying he lied to you?"

"No," I reply, stepping a little closer. "I'm saying you lied to him."

She stares at me, unresponsive for a few seconds until she quickly snaps back to attention. She laughs nervously. "Sheik, I think you must be mistaken..."

"Oh would you cut it out, Zelda? I've lived with you for eight years. You think I don't know when you're lying?"

A look of determination sets over her face and she turns away, marching to the other side of the tepee. "I'm not talking about this."

"Oh we are having this discussion!" I insist. "Look me in the eye and tell me you didn't lie to him."

"I didn't..." she insists.

"LOOK AT ME!"

"I'M SORRY, OK?" she snaps. "I never meant to do it! I was with him and his friends... and we were talking about travelling and I said I started after I'd lost my parents..." By now she's snivelling, with little tears welling in her big indigo eyes. "And they started asking all these questions... and I just couldn't bring myself to tell them the truth!"

"Why the hell not?!" I exclaim, resisting the temptation to feel sorry for her because of her little sniffles.

"They all seemed so sophisticated and comfortable! It's like they've got it all sorted about and... I just... I didn't want them to judge me!"

"They're nice people, Zelda. They don't judge."

"My parents were screw ups, Sheik," She spits. "What if Link and the others thought I'd end up like them?"

"Then they wouldn't be worth making friends with! I just... I can't believe you of all people would do that!"

I turn to look at her again. Her face has turned bright red and her cheeks are littered with tear trails. Her shoulders are shaking from the sobs, and her hair is pushed back from her face implying that she's ran her fingers through it. I set my jaw, and let out a heavy sigh as I step right in front of her, crossing my arms.

"Tell me the lie," I say.

"What?"

"Tell me exactly what you said to Link and the others." She gives me a pleading look, but I just shake my head. "I'm waiting."

"How the hell could you think that was ok?" I ask.

We now sit together on the long grass. Rain, heavier than before, is persistently drumming on the tepee around us, but it's little distraction to what's happening here. Zelda sits in front of me, legs crossed in her brown trousers. She plays with her toes as she speaks, staring intently at them as her mouth fails to form decipherable speech. Her large indigo eyes, now dry, rarely blink as her breathing levels out. She's beginning to calm down a little.

"I never meant for it to happen, it just did. And by the time I realised what I'd done, it was too late to take it back... so I just had to run with it," she says.

I sigh, leaning back a little. I think I'm beginning to understand her motives: she didn't want to be prematurely judged by Link and his friends. But that doesn't make what she did ok. She doesn't seem to realise that people who judge you, people who jump to these pathetic conclusions aren't worth wasting time, energy, or even your breath on. And the worst part is that I have no idea how to show her that. I take another deep breath and reach out for her hand.

"Zelda," I begin. "You're like a sister to me, and as much as I've always wanted to play the protective older brother role... I can't bring myself to cover your back on this lie. What you did, whatever your motives, was wrong, and I simply can't defend it."

Slowly, her face begins to crease into a frown. "What are you saying?" she asks, dropping my hand like it's a hot coal.

I sigh. "I'm saying you need to tell Link and the others the truth."

"No I don't!" she laughs, though it almost sounds like a plea. "Link doesn't have to know the truth. We're leaving here tomorrow, and it's not like we'll see him until we come back to Kakariko. If I tell him... he might not want anything to do with me next time we visit."

"Link already knows that you lied to him!" I exclaim.

"What?" she spits, jumping to her feet. "How?"

"Because I told him!" I say bluntly.

She hesitates for a second, cocking her head in disbelief. "Why in Hyrule would you do that?"

"Because he deserves better," I reply, standing myself up so that I'm back to being head and shoulders taller than Zelda.

She narrows her eyes a little. "So you're saying honesty is the best policy?"

"Always," I say, crossing my arms.

"And... if I just withhold the truth from Link... that would be wrong, right?" she asks, stepping closer.

"Yes..." I say quietly, trying to deduce exactly what she's up to.

She begins to slowly shake her head as her lips curl back in disgust. "Oh you are such a hypocrite," she hisses, turning away from me and storming back over to the box of healing crystals. Confusion clouds in my mind as I watch her throw herself down on the ground beside the box. She starts to sort the crystals again, though she's being much less gentle this time than she was before. I watch her in silence, faltering, trying to understand her point.

"Excuse me?" I exclaim.

"You heard me: you're a hypocrite," she says defiantly.

I take a couple of steps closer to her. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh... I'm sorry," she says, mockingly. "Do big words confuse you? H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E: hypocrite. It means someone who claims to hold a standard or belief, but then breaks that in their own behaviour."

"I know what-" I begin.

She pointedly clears her throat. "Sample sentence: Sheik was a hypocrite when he told Zelda she couldn't lie to her friend, then failed to tell Zelda the truth about his girlfriend."

My heart slows as her sharp words settle over me. I know I don't have the highly attuned pointed Hylian ears, but I sure as hell heard that well enough. My mind begins whirring as I stare at her in silence, unable to come up with a response. My fingers, numbing at the tips, are desperately raking through my hair as I try my best to figure this out. Silent voices are screaming thoughts and theories in the back of my mind, but one sticks out above the rest. How does she even know? I try to vocalise my messy thoughts, but it's like my tongue has turned to dust in my mouth. My lips won't work; my voice box won't produce even a sound. Instead, I'm left shaking in my own skin as I watch Zelda carefully close the box and put it into one of Impa's bags.

"Don't look at me like that," she says quietly. "Don't play all innocent. You've been seeing Midna and not telling anyone, haven't you?" She shoots me an accusative look that makes all my shields just drop around my feet.

"I wanted to tell you..." I say. "So did Midna. But if her parents caught wind of what was happening between us... I don't even want to think about what would have happened to her."

"It hurt, Sheik," she says, her voice cracking slightly. "When I saw the two of you together on the night of the festival... I realised that you didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth... neither of you did."

"Zelda," I whisper, feeling the guilt wash over me. "That's not the reason why..."

"Then why?" she asks, wheeling around to face me.

I close my eyes and resist the urge burst into tears right here. "We didn't tell anyone, and I mean anyone. It was nothing against you, definitely nothing personal... the risks were too high to let anyone know what was going on between us. Just think of everything Midna would have had to endure if word about this got out."

She sits herself down on top of the wooden box, and says "if it was so risky, then why did you even get into the relationship in the first place?"

I make my way over to her and settle next to her. "Sometimes... you just can't fight the inevitable."

We're both silent for a moment, just sat staring at the wall off the tepee. The rain is showing no sign of holding off, in fact, thunder begins rumbling through the damp air. I hold my breath, counting in my head. I don't get higher than five before the flash of lightning glares through the canvas, silhouetting the wooden skeleton of the structure. Zelda sighs, burying her head in her hands and leaning in to me. I give her a soft smile and wrap both arms around her. She's never been a fan of thunder storms... but they always follow hot weather.

It's late at night by the time that the thunder storm calms down a little bit. It's still raining heavily, pellets of water lashing against the canvas of the tepee. It sounds a little like a small child attempting to play the bongo drums – messy, uncoordinated, and far from a rhythm. Yet, it's somehow soothing and calming, like the raindrops wash over everything and make it clean and fresh again. There's nothing nicer than the quiet, calm lull of the morning after a rainstorm.

And yet, here I am, lying in the dark of the tepee. Long shadows stretch across mum and Zelda's figures, hunched up in their bedding rolls under blankets. Zelda's long blonde hair is cascading over her pillow in a mess or curls and knots... I'm guessing she's been tossing and turning all night. I, on the other hand, have barely been able to sleep a wink. I can't get Zelda's words from earlier today out of my mine, and it just won't let me rest.

"My parents were screw ups, Sheik," she spat. "What if Link and the others thought I'd end up like them?"

I've never met Zelda's real parents, but I know what they're like. She's told me before about who they were and everything they did. I know the truth about the intricacy of their clever yet malicious schemes and plans. She told me how they played people like monopoly, gambled away her childhood just to rake in a bigger sum of money. Once, just once, she let me take a look at the newspaper that detailed the day they were arrested. Up until then, I'd never realised just how serious the things they did were.

Her father was well credited, seen as the very example of powerful business man. Not many people knew how he worked underneath his image and credibility. He found a way to blackmail, bargain, and even threaten his way to raking in hundreds of thousands of rupees. He, like a spider, created an intricate web of contract rulings and underhand tactics that welcomed people to wander absent mindedly in, then took them for everything that they had. On occasion, he even used Zelda, as an innocent child, to will people to do his bidding - A perfectly cunning, crafty, con man.

Her mother, on the other hand, was much less subtle with her tactics. She worked with technology, spending days and nights tapping away at her keyboard and hacking into peoples bank accounts – taking everything that they had. She went by a number of aliases, so she could scam people and use their credit cards, access their savings accounts, jeopardise their pensions, and keep every single rupee. She created countless websites, designed to prey on those who didn't know any better. She could scam them into laying down ridiculous sums of money to pay for antivirus software that actually introduced bugs that could take their bank account details in seconds. She was truly a technological genius, but she used it for the wrong reasons.

And Zelda, as just a child was subjected to this crime from the very day she was born. Part of the reason her parents even wanted a child was to create a family friend image to help her father con the rich men. She was dragged around from pillar to post, moving from place to place as a child so that by her parents were never convicted of anything. She moved between Hyrule, Koholint Island, Termina, Holodrum, Subrosia, and Labrynna many many times to avoid her parents ever having to face justice for their crimes. Of course... they couldn't hide forever.

And now, as I watch her soundly sleeping, I can't help but mull things over. I understand her concern and shame – her parents did an awful lot of bad things in their time, and she was dragged unwillingly into a lot of it. But that doesn't mean that she's going to end up like her parents. I know her better than anyone else right now, and I know that she's not that person. I know, without even a shadow of a doubt, that Zelda is better than that.

But to prove it to herself... she needs to tell Link the truth.