Disclaimer: I do not own anything of the Legend of Zelda—characters, locations, plot, etc. It is all property of Nintendo. I am only writing a story based off of the game.
This story is in the romance genre because of the romance between Link and Sheik

Chapter twenty-five

Part on the Same Note You Greeted With

Link looked into the mirror, eying his reflection distastefully. After being shown the place where the "battle" would be taking place tonight, Aveil led Link back to his room, assuring she would return tonight to escort him back to the arena.

Moments after she left there had been a sharp knock on the door, and without waiting for an answer, it opened. It seemed that was a common thing in the fortress. Knocking wasn't for permission, but warning. Entering the room had been another woman dressed in red who had visited Link this morning. In her hands she carried what looked to be a dark blue, shimmering curtain, but after folding it out in front of her Link saw it was his "outfit" for tonight.

—

He turned to the side in the floor length mirror running down the bathroom door, sticking his leg out to examine his only article of clothing. The silky blue trousers were quite comfortable, yes, but not something Link would ever choose to wear. The legs were wide and billowy, coming down to the middle of his calves and wrapping snuggly around them. The top rose to above his navel in a thick gold band, hugging and defining his waist. He hadn't been given any shoes and the girl who gave him the pants told him he was strictly prohibited to wear his boots. Apparently, he was wearing a ceremonial outfit with some special meaning... he didn't really know.

Along with the trousers, the woman also gave Link something that was supposed to be used to tie his rather long and unruly hair up with.

The Hero then looked himself over. It had been a while since he looked in the mirror like this—really looked in it. The last time being his mirror back in Kokiri which had ended up broken by the time Link was done with it. The reality of actually growing up had been too much for Link.

During his journey, he'd lost a lot of weight since he first emerged from the Temple of Time, but considering that muscle had taken its place, it wasn't very noticeable. He checked his unmanageable blonde hair, making sure it would indeed stay pulled back. He dipped his head down and used his fingers to comb the bangs that were too short to reach the ponytail that rested against his neck. When looking back up, Link stared into his bright blue eyes; the only feature the hadn't changed.

"Don't worry. You look striking," drawled a voice from his bedroom.

Link spun around, hitting his arm against the mirror with a bang and grabbing it when pain shot up his elbow.

The woman sitting on the bed laughed. It was the Gerudo from the kitchens; their strongest warrior, Neema.

"Who are you, and why are you here? How do you know me?" the Hero growled.

She held up her slender hand, standing as she did so. "One question at a time, please."

Link just glared at her, and the Gerudo sighed.

"You know who I am," she put up a finger, "Why I'm here? It was incredibly easy to sneak in on you, so why wouldn't I be?" she held up a second finger, "and how do I know you? I... might know your Guide," a third and a wink.

Link opened his mouth to respond, but shut it.

"Seriously, you don't have to worry. I'm on your side!" Neema continued, rolling her eyes when Link still didn't answer. "Look, I know I don't look that trustworthy, but is the Hero of Time really going to judge a book by its cover?"

Link furrowed his eyebrows, thoroughly confused. "What are you talking about?"

Neema waved her hand. "Never mind. But really, Hero, Sheik saved my hide once and I..." she lowered her voice, looking towards the door and back before leaning towards Link, "I joined your side. Your princess' side: Sheik's side!"

Silence.

Neema groaned, running a hand through her short hair. "I just wanted to talk to you, that's all! Help you win your sword and your freedom back."

"I've got my sword," Link growled.

Neema threw her hands out to the sides, exasperated. "Yeah, well not for long if you don't listen to me! And what are you doing threatening me? I'll tell Sheik~!"

Link spluttered. Who even was this woman? How in the hell did she know Sheik? He couldn't trust her. He couldn't trust anyone in the fortress. "I don't know if I can believe you..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know I don't have proof or anything, but hmmm..." Neema crossed her arms and tapped her chin. "Maybe I can tell you something about the little Sheikah boy...?"

A few moments passed while the Gerudo thought, and in the meantime, Link mulled over a few things he knew about Sheik, and like the last time he did this, was disappointed in the little knowledge he had on the mysterious Sheikah.

"Aha! I got it," she said victoriously, clapping once and looking excited. "He lived here, in the desert, for eight years!"

The Hero raised an eyebrow.

"You know that, right?" she asked hopefully, gritting her teeth and mirroring Link eyebrow raise.

"Yeah, I did... but it was Gerudo that found him, so you could know that way," he replied, sounding smug.

"Dammit..." Neema cursed under her breath before sighing again. "Hmm... It's hard trying to think of something we both might know about him."

"How much do you know?"

Neema laughed. "Well, I have known the kid for five years, so... not that much!"

—

Neema had sat down in the one chair while Link took a seat on the bed. It took some time for the Gerudo to find something good enough about Sheik that they both knew, with some phrases like:

"He ties his long hair up in a turban? Not good enough? Damn. Okay...um... he has long, skinny fingers and toes? No? Well, uh, he's somewhat of a poet... Oh, wait, you knew that. He has a lovely singing voice when he thinks no one's listening. (He still doesn't know that I've heard him sing, so don't tell on me!) Let's see here, hmm... I think fruit is his favorite kind of food... I dunno, I'll have to ask him about that again."

As she spoke, Link just laughed. He liked this woman a lot, and he could understand why Sheik would befriend her.

"Why do you care to convince me so much?"

The Gerudo frowned in thought. "You're important to Sheik. I just want to get you through this mess safely."

Link's eyes widened, and he sat back in shock. "Oh... well, yeah, I'm convinced."

Neema huffed and her shoulders slumped dramatically. "Finally."

The Hero of Time chuckled, shaking his head.

"So..." Neema leaned forward, propping her elbow up on her crossed knees and resting her chin on her fist, "why exactly did you just come wandering in the fortress, hm?"

Link huffed a laugh. "Well, I tell you."

And tell her he did. He explained to her about the carpenters working on the bridge just inside of Gerudo Vally and the one who'd been captured. He then told her what the carpenter's boss had said to him about the woman and Neema burst out laughing. She then waved her hands and shushed Link like as if he were making the noise.

"Nobody knows I'm in here," she said, still giggling. "But, yeah! Getting the carpenter out of here should be no problem. We'll just have to do a bit of sneaking around after the party." She started to laugh again, "I really can't believe that boss told you that. Well, you certainly have charm, that's what got you this far. Now I'm here to get you the rest of the way and the hell out of here!"

"So... what should I do?" Link inquired hesitantly.

The Gerudo quickly got to her feet. "Stand up!"

Link obeyed with raised eyebrows.

Neema approached him, scratching her head. "Now I know the whole celebration thing isn't for a few more hours, but that's the thing... We've only got a few hours to practice."

"Practice?"

"Yeah, Link! You honestly think I'm just going to let you win and that's that?" She rolled her eyes around, "well, I am gonna let you win, but we've gotta make it look believable! It's just a simple routine I came up with."

Link went for his sword leaning against the nightstand but Neema clapped twice.

"Hey, hey! No swords; they'll hear it," she said, jabbing a thumb behind her at the door. "We'll just have to use our imaginations! Which, by the way, Sheik doesn't have. Literal son of a bitch."

They practiced the Gerudo's "routine" for a good two hours, and when she left the Hero actually felt a new wave of confidence wash over him.

Neema had taught him tricks that she knew would entertain the Gerudo princess, along with holding his sword with both hands—like Neema herself would be doing—and also things like how to position his arms and how to dodge properly and elegantly. She even let him wield his sword towards the end of their training session, so long as he promised not to break anything.

When she deemed him and the routine "good enough" she left to give him a bit of rest before the party. He had about an hour until had had to leave his room, so Link slumped back on the bed, going over the steps in his head.

Night had fallen over Hyrule; bringing out the stars that peeked through the clouds, also awakening the crickets to sing merrily to one another.

Zelda stood at the mouth of her tent, gazing through the trees with a worried expression. Every sign of moment made her heart leap, but it always turned out to be something like shade caused from a cloud moving in front of the moon, or a leaf falling from a tree.

"He shouldn't have been gone this long," the princess muttered. She turned around when receiving no reply from the Sheikah. "Right?"

Still nothing from the caretaker who was focused on making dinner for the two.

Zelda felt her frustration rise. "Impa, should we not be doing something about this? Sheik could be—"

"I am aware," Impa finally said.

The princess took a step in the tent, staring at the Sheikah. "Are you planning to go look for him?"

Impa looked up from the small magical fire and the pot hovering over it. "Princess, the danger I would put myself in when entering that fortress is unfathomable," she answered in a dead pan.

"Princess, as your caretaker, I would never willing put myself in harm's way unless it is to protect you."

Zelda raised her eyebrows, barely keeping back a scoff. "But Sheik is your n—"

"Sheik needs to find his own path in life. He cannot rely on others to made these decisions for him," she interrupted, returning to her task of cooking.

Zelda sat down where she stood, the dread that had slowly ebbed its way into her heart the moment Sheik left now filling her eyes. "Don't tell me this is that, 'Every Sheikah for themselves' law, is it?"

"Then I won't," Impa calmly replied, idly stirring the contents of the pot.

Zelda's mouth fell open, and she suddenly couldn't speak around the lump in her throat. She listened to the dull noise of the wooden spoon spinning and grazing the edges of the iron pot; all the while the worst for Sheik running through her head.

Impa picked up on the sound of the princess' labored breathing and looked back up. "We mustn't panic now, Princess. Sheik made this choice on his own, and there is still a chance—"

"Well, it was stupid!" Zelda cried with a shrill voice, jumping to her feet. She grabbed the nearest item in reach and flung it out the entrance of the tent where the large inkwell burst against a tree. "Why is he such an idiot!? He could be dead, and he knew Link wasn't!"

The princess grabbed handfuls of her long blonde hair while taking calming breaths. All the while, Impa sat patiently on the floor, watching Zelda's meltdown and letting it happen.

"He knows how dangerous it is there. He bloody well knows!" Zelda continued, looking quite deranged ever before she stomped her foot. She released her hands, wiping at her tears before pointing to Impa, "and you knew too! You knew, and you gave him a map pinpointing all our locations, and you act like you don't even care—!"

"They were fake," Impa cut in, standing as well. "The marks on the map were fake."

More tears started streaming down the princess' blank face. "You... so you knew Sheik would get captured?"

Impa took a step forward and placed her strong but gentle hands on Zelda's shoulders. "No, Zelda. I had to expect the worst..."

The Princess tried to wrench herself free, but Impa drew her into a hug and Zelda gave up.

"And you just l-let him go..." Zelda sobbed into her caretaker's shoulder, doing her best to calm herself down.

"I am in no position to interfere with the decisions Sheik's makes concerning his charge."

"I just c-can't lose him too..."

Impa pulled back to look in the princess' face. "It is inevitable that we all lose him in the end," she reminded, trying to make her voice as soft as possible.

"Not like this," the princess whispered, pulling away. "Gods, and not how we parted..."

The Sheikah gave a small smile that did not reach her eyes. She had been the one to teach Zelda how to always part on the same note you greeted with, because you never knew the next time you would see that someone.

"All we can do now is pray for Sheik's safety," Impa said solemnly.

Zelda walked away and flung herself onto the bed, hating the Gerudo, the war, and even herself.

Aveil smoothed down her long flowing green skirt, straightening the giant golden necklace of the Gerudo symbol resting against her chest and hitching a smile onto her face. As an important part of her calm facade, she must always keep a smile over her lips. Tonight was quickly turning out to be more stressful than she ever imagined.

Ever since Nabooru left, Aveil fought with maintaining order inside the fortress. Once Nabooru put Aveil in charge the girls slowly began to realize that she wasn't as authoritative as the exalted one, and they also did not respect Aveil in the same classification.

She kept things under control mostly, but with King Ganondorf's decision to recruit men into their armies, the girls were becoming restless. Aveil tried her best to keep everything in a calm order, but an uprising was alluded to by the women of the council in just the past few years. She knew that if that ever came to be, she would have no chance standing against them.
However, the treatment of a certain handsome archeologist had taken Aveil by surprise. When she informed the council of her wager with him, they all seemed to agree and were quite excited to see him battle with their strongest warrior. Aveil hoped against hope that maybe James can decrease some of the bitterness towards men the Gerudo of the fortress harbor, maybe even keep an uprising at bay until Nabooru returns—if she returns...

—

Aveil walked up to the archeologist's door, the golden bracelets hooked around her ankles tinkling. She knocked firmly before entering. James' jumped at the sudden intrusion, the tiny ball of light that was his fairy squeaking and flying higher towards the ceiling.

Now to say James was the roaming archeologist that wandered onto the Gerudo's doorstep was quite the understatement: Aveil had never in her life seen a man more handsome than James right now.
The blue trousers he'd been given were an exact fit. They hugged his waist perfectly, his hipbones jutting out of the gold band in a captivating manor. His broad chest was bare, and his hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, allowing his bangs alone to frame his young face. His eyes, however, were framed with black whorls in the ceremonial paint the Gerudo tribe used centuries ago.

In the time it took for Aveil to look James up and down, he turned on the spot, spreading his arms and giving her a view of his strong back. It had been painted upon as well: A large Gerudo symbol decorating the spot between his shoulder blades.

"This okay?" he asked, turning back to the Gerudo and grinning.

Aveil nodded, her smile returning. "Shall we, James?" she asked, holding out her arm for him to take.

"Sure..." he said, though sounding a bit uncertain. "Come on, Navi," he added to the tiny ball of blue light before stepping forward and taking Aveil's arm.

The change in the Gerudo's mood couldn't have been more drastic. This man on her arm would definitely convince the Gerudo princess that Aveil could provide sufficient entertainment to honor Her Highness, as well as handle controlling the fortress.

I'm sorry this took a while to post. I decided to take some time off because hopefully after the next chapter I can start getting a chapter out about once or even twice a week. I cranked this one out in about five days, so I'm sorry if there's mistakes and things like that.

I love you all, and thank you for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following. You are the best and I'll talk to you all after the next chapter!

Review replies:

MagicLyly—I can see why some readers don't like her, but once you get to know Neema like I do, she kinda grows on you.

Guest—Thank (hee hee)

Kairi Swallowdown—I love you, and I'm sorry to leave you hanging like that. No need to beg! Trust me, it'll be worth the wait ;-)

Lauren Chamberlain—While playing Ocarina of Time, I always chose to complete the temples in the order of both the Medallions, but also the warp songs. So, for this story, I've planning to complete the temples with the Shadow Temple as well.

Koopa Koot—I know... poor Sheikbby. Yes, I want the last temple Link completes to be the Shadow Temple, but have that also be the last temple Sheik guides him to.

LunarEclipses—Here is the update! I hope you enjoyed reading

Mallobie—I'm sorry about the scary Gerudo... And, I'm sorry, Mallobie, but can you tell me why that's ironic? I'm sorry that I don't get things...

Ashwood's Flame—I think you're right!