Sheik and Link were released from the dinner three hours later after all the politicians had left and all the political talk was over. In all honesty Zelda was fairly pleased that the assassin and hero had behaved themselves, with the minor incident of the mashed potato and pea war, all had gone over smoothly.

"That was a bore," Sheik drawled as he helped with the dishes. He may live in a castle now, but that didn't mean he was okay with or comfortable with not helping clean up.

"Yeah, it was. Neither of us are in to politics and what's the point of us learning that they're going to use tax money to fix up the roads. They do that every couple of winters any way- or at least they did, it's been eight years since I was last awake." Link said as he picked up a stack of plates and put them in a bin.

"No, you're right, they still fix the roads every couple winters," Sheik answered. "Hand me that glass will you? I'm going to take these dishes in to the kitchen and start helping with the washing." Link nodded and handed Sheik the last crystal glass that sat on the table before gathering up the rest of the dishes.

In the kitchen the two got to work on getting rid of the food that was left on the plates and starting the water for the dishes to soak in while someone washed. It wasn't too long before one of the head servants shooed the two out of the kitchen stating that they'd all get fired if the two helped anymore.

xXx

It was two days after the dinner and Link and Sheik were lounging around in the plush chairs of the library. Link was scheduled to leave in another two days, the day after Yulemas.

Sheik flipped a page of the fairy tale book he was reading and bumped the tip of his foot that was hanging over the armrest against Link's. Link smiled and nudged back as he peered over the top of his own novel.

"I feel like we should be doing something. We've been incredibly lazy this past week," Link said quietly in in the near silent library.

"Eh, we're supposed to be saving the world; it's a big job y'know? We can take a small break and be sluggish if we please," Sheik answered back looking around his book to see Link staring back. Link shrugged nonchalantly and turned back to the book in his hands.

The library returned to its silent persona and stayed calm for the next hour or so until Sheik and Link were interrupted.

Both men were still in their chairs when three noisy guards came in. The silence in the library shattered like glass on marble, making both Link and Sheik twitch with annoyance.

Link watched the three over the top of his book while Sheik tried to continue to read. The guards made their way over to a table and sat down laughing loudly at some joke. As they began to quiet Link went back to his book.

It had been twenty minutes since the three men had shown up and three minutes since the continual mantra of "hey you," had started. Link could see the anger beginning to rise in Sheik's eyes as the voices got louder. He watched the force in which Sheik began to turn pages grow and was on the verge of telling the guards to stop when one of them made the mistake of grabbing Sheik's arm and hauling him out of his chair.

"Hey, I've been calling you for like five minutes. What gives man?" The man asked as he shook Sheik's arm, jostling the assassin.

"Get your hands off of me," Sheik said in a calm voice as he looked up at the taller man.

"No," the man answered and his friends, who were still sitting at the table, began a chorus of oohs. "I'm not letting go of you until you answer my question."

"And what question would that be?" Sheik asked as he took up a fairly bored demeanor and placed his free hand on his hip.

Link began to get up to help Sheik, but he stopped with a hand gesture from the assassin. Sitting back down Link made sure he was easily able to get up and help Sheik if he needed it, which was unlikely but one never really knows.

The man that had Sheik's arm in his hand looked back and forth between Link and Sheik before focusing on Sheik and asking him his question. "Would you go out with us? In to town to get a bite to eat."

"No," Sheik said flatly. "Now let me go or I'll break your arm."

"What!?" The man asked incredulously. "Why not?" The grip on Sheik's arm tightened and he let out a small painful grunt.

"Because I said so," Sheik said through clenched teeth as the hand on his bicep became like a vise and his arm began to give painful throbs. "I don't need to give a reason for turning you down."

The second the words hit the guard's ears Sheik could see the anger light up in his eyes. He grabbed Sheik's injured hand, jamming his fingers unknowingly in to the wounds that resided there and making Sheik cry out in agony. Link didn't even have time to get up off of his seat before Sheik had the man on his back and was straddling his hips.

"Ya' know what? I'll take you up on that offer for a meal," Sheik whispered menacing as he got closer to the guard's face. "I'll even cook for you." Out of some hidden pocket Sheik produced a knife and laid the tip of it against the bottom of the man's sternum. "My mother always told me the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach and there's a recipe I've been dying to try." He drug the knife down the man's chest, pressing just hard enough to cut through clothing and leave a scratch.

"Sheik," Link said in a warning voice as he easily removed Sheik from atop the guard. "Give me the knife, you're not suppose to have this anyway." Link held out his hand and Sheik gave the knife up easily, glaring at the guards as they helped their friend up.

"Now tell me," Sheik directed his focus on to the guard that had hurt him, "are you going to take the answer you're given and walk away now?" The man nodded and ran after his friends.

Link and Sheik watched the man scurry away and when he was out of sight Link turned to Sheik. He held up the knife and raised an eyebrow waiting for Sheik to explain.

Sighing and looking like a dejected child Sheik explained that he'd swiped it while they were helping clean up the dinner they'd been forced to sit through two nights ago. Rolling his eyes and placing the knife on a nearby table Link took Sheik's hand and examined the bloodied bandages.

"He got you good, didn't he?" Link muttered to himself as he turned Sheik's hand over in his own. Sheik winced as Link accidently pressed on the area around the wound too hard. "Sorry, let's get you down to the medical bay and have your hand looked at."

Sheik made dying animal noises as he followed Link out of the library and down to the place he loathed most in the castle.

xXx

It was Yulemas morning and Link and Sheik were curled up in Sheik's bed under a thick, fluffy comforter giving each other sweet kisses. They'd both been up for a couple hours but neither wanted to leave the warmth of the bed to see if anyone else was up and about. Just as the two were getting in to a particularly heated kiss there was a knock on the door and Impa came in.

"Stop making out and get out of bed. Zelda wants us all to be in her chambers before ten. Chop chop, get up." Impa was at Sheik's bed and ripping the covers off the bed before she'd finished her sentence. She dodged a well aimed pillow from Sheik and managed to whack Sheik's thigh as another pillow came flying at her.

Sheik sat up and rubbed his thigh where his mother had smacked him, he was all out of pillows and it looked like their play battle was over before it had even started. Impa grinned at the two and chuckled when Sheik stuck his tongue out at her. "Stick your tongue back in your mouth before I cut it off," she said with no real intention behind her threat. "Ah, you act like when you were nine."

Sheik rolled his eyes and climbed out of bed, Link following. Link and Sheik got dressed quickly and then the three walked out of the room and began their journey to Zelda's chambers. On their way there they saw a few of the staff members and they exchanged greetings and wishes for a happy Yulemas.

It didn't take long to reach Zelda's rooms and the three walked up to the big, white doors and entered. Inside the doors sat the sitting room which held three large sofas, two plush armchairs, a large coffee table in between the sofas, a fire place on the opposite wall of the door, and in the corner next to the fire place sat a magnificent evergreen. It was covered in ornaments of red, gold, and white, and silver tinsel hung on the branches like fresh snow. Under the tree sat a multitude of presents in all shapes, sizes, colors, and decorations. Neither Link nor Sheik had ever seen so many wrapped gifts and they stared at them with wide unbelieving eyes.

"Oh, you're here!" Zelda chirped happily as she came through some double doors that had previously gone unnoticed. She came over to her friends and gave them each a tight hug and wished them merry Yulemas. She stepped back and clasped her hands together with a big smile on her face. "Do you want to do breakfast before or after presents?"

Link and Sheik looked at each other and then looked around Zelda in to the room she'd come out of and their mouths dropped open at what they saw. A fairly large table was set up with four chairs around it and mountains of food sitting atop silver platters. There was every comfort food the two could think of and more they couldn't, and there was a wide array of hot beverages that were just begging to be tried. Before the two boys could say anything about the food Impa stepped in and said, "Boys, pick your mouths up off of the floor, we'll have breakfast after presents." Sheik gave a longing look at the plate of meat on the table before going and perching himself on one of the couches.

Link sat down in front of Sheik and leaned back gratefully in to the hand that began playing with his hair. Zelda sat on the same couch as Sheik with a fairly large sized box in her lap. She turned her body towards Sheik and smiled at the two. Sheik stilled his hand and looked over at her with curiosity. Link cracked an eye open when Sheik had stopped messing with his hair and turned his attention towards their queen. Impa nudged Zelda from where she stood behind her and Zelda gently placed the gift in Sheik's lap.

"You get to open the first present this year, Sheik," she said.

Sheik looked down at the hefty box in his lap and carefully began to open it. He untied the ribbon and bow that sat atop the blue wrapping paper and then began to work the top of the box off. When he'd managed to remove the lid he peered in the box intrigued by the tissue paper that was wrapping a few objects. The objects were by no means heavy and as he unraveled the items he became confused. A blue collar with a tag that hadn't been engraved yet and two bowls came out of the box. Sheik looked up and around at the faces around each of them knowing.

"What would I need a collar and bowls for?" He asked setting the items aside on the

floor.

"Keep looking, there's more in the box," Impa told her son as she came to stand closer.

Sheik looked in the box again and saw a little hole in the bottom of the it. He hooked a finger in the hole and pulled up, removing the false bottom. There laying on a small cat bed was Monty, the cat Sheik thought he'd never see again. The kitten sat up with a big yawn and a languid stretch before looking up at Sheik and mewling. He tentative reached a hand out and brushed the tips of his fingers against the kitten's soft fur and smiled like a fool when the kitten nuzzled his hand before jumping out of the box and in to his arms.

"Where'd you find him?" Sheik asked in a quiet voice as he held the kitten tightly.

"He was in the saddle bag of the horse we found you on," Link answered with a small smile, rubbing Sheik's thigh lovingly. He watched as the cat nuzzled its head under Sheik's chin, fondly kneading the flesh of the assassin's upper chest and purring loudly as it did so. Link's eyes crinkled in the corners as he gave his lover a heartwarming smile as Sheik looked at him with shining eyes.

Sheik looked over at his mother and Zelda after looking away from Link, saying, "Thank you guys. This- this means a lot to me."

Zelda reached froward tentative to touch Sheik's arm, her hand moving towards and retracting a few times before she finally decided to actually touch the man in front of her. She placed her hand on Sheik's leg and gave it a squeeze accompanied by a smile showing off stark white teeth framed by pretty pink lips. Sheik's lips twitched up in returning gesture as he pet the kitten in his lap, giving it the attention it seeked. Zelda returned her hand to her own lap after a moment and said with a another happy grin, "Let's open the rest of the presents!"

Sheik slid down on to the floor next to Link and helped pass out the presents that sat under the tree. He handed off a multitude of festive boxes adorned with ribbons and bows and had to repeatedly grab Monty as he tried to crawl under the couch that Zelda and Impa occupied, or tried to stuff himself under the cushion of one of the armchairs. When all of the presents were out from under the tree they each took turns opening one from their pile. Zelda got two new dresses, a large leather bound book that contained information on spells and potions, a three pound bag of candy, and a set of bath oils and soaps. Impa acquired three new knives, a set of fingerless gloves, a pair of boots, and a book on combat moves. Sheik got a series of fantasy books about a mage names Rorek, a thick, down comforter, and a hefty bag of candy. Link also got a series of books, but his were about a knight saving a princess, a hand made scarf with the triforce symbol stitched in to the ends, and a blank journal with quills and ink.

Link was dragging a piece of ribbon across the floor and watching as Monty chased it when he felt Sheik lean in to his side. Without stopping the ribbon he looked over at Sheik and kissed his forehead and scrunched his nose up when one was placed on its tip. Sheik ran his hand over Link's back drawing patterns and scenes and just enjoying the moment they were sharing in front of the fire place.

When everyone's stomachs began to rumble with hunger they decided to go and enjoy the feast waiting for them in the other room. Zelda and Impa sat at the ends of the table and Link and Sheik sat across from each other in the middle. Soon their plates were piled high with meats and breads and pastries and any other food they could find and their cups were filled with hot drinks, sweet and frothy. The four enjoyed the meal they shared and ate till they were sure they wouldn't be able to move for the rest of the day.

After their meal the group managed to make it to the living room and on to the plush couches that sat in front of the fire place. Link and Sheik curled up under a blanket together and promptly fell asleep with Monty laying on at their feet lazily licking his fur. But just before Sheik fell asleep he snuggled his way in to Link's side and under a protective arm that rested easily on his hip, thinking the whole time This couldn't be a more perfect day.