Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda, its characters and locations are all property of Nintendo, I'm merely borrowing them. (Though Ayla, Kaiza, Anaruteir, Terra, Vorpheus and Kaura are mine)
Warning: This story contains yaoi, shounen-ai, slash, whatever you call two guys falling in love.
Soul Mates
Chapter 53
It was hopeless. No matter how many ways he looked at it, he was irreversibly, as Link would say, in deep shit. Sheik sighed and looked up. The sky was painted a fiery orange in the sunset, something that came faster and faster for each day that went. His tears had stopped hours ago, but it still felt like someone had dropped a stone in his stomach. He couldn't move, either. He had tried to stand up and, if not to return to the tent and the waiting Hero of time, then at least to get the circulation back in his legs, but his body refused to cooperate, and Sheik was left there, feeling like a fool and adulterer.
Some of the soldiers had tried to approach him, but the Sheikah had found no ability no answer them, his throat closing up and leaving him only able to make squeaking sounds. Some had laughed; some had given him worried looks and gone back to their posts. One of them had given him a flask of water which lay forgotten by his side. He appreciated the effort, he really did, but right now it felt like nothing could help.
That was probably the reason why he didn't react when soft footsteps approached him from behind. He didn't look up until a stool was placed beside his rock and Doctor Kaura, the Violet Tyrant as she was known as, sat down on it. Her hair, which was usually kept in a tight bun, hung from her head and cascaded down her back. Her hair was shorter than his, he noted with satisfaction, although his blond tresses definitely needed care these days. Water, unlike firewood and meat, was a luxury, and washing one's hair was usually lowest on the priority list.
He turned his head slightly to study Kaura more. She looked, for the lack of a better word, haggard. Her eyes had dark bags underneath them, and the eyes themselves were dull and unfocused, so unlike the piercing and fierce quality they had otherwise. Her spectacles were gone, probably left back wherever she slept. She wasn't looking at him, but staring straight ahead into the darkening woods.
Should I say something? Sheik asked himself, remembering what Malon had said about Kaura losing five patients in one day. Luckily for Sheik, she sighed and turned to look at him.
"No matter what I tell you, you just refuse to stay in your bed, don't you?" she asked, quirking her lips in an imitation of a smile. Sheik knew a fake smile when he saw one. He looked at her and nodded.
"I am not one for bed rest, no matter how bad shape I'm in," he replied. He thought about it for a split second, and gave her a smile of his own, trying to make it as genuine as possible. To his surprise, he found that he actually liked this woman despite her best attempts to be the scourge of his existence. It was…fun, to have someone like this who could verbally spar with him. Link was either too innocent or honest to engage in such activities with Sheik.
Kaura chuckled, a hollow, empty laugh. "I had heard that you Sheikah were stubborn, but I had no idea you gave such little consideration to your own health." She shook her head. "But I guess that's how you've kept yourselves in such high esteem with the royal family…never give up, never give in, am I right?"
"I suppose," answered Sheik. "I'm not really the one to ask as the only other Sheikah I have been in contact with is my aunt, and she is gone now," he said, leaving out Terra. His chest stung when the mental image of the spirit host passed by his mind's eye.
"I'm…sorry," said Kaura earnestly. "I didn't know she—"
"She's not dead," said Sheik, interrupting her. "She has merely…gone somewhere else…ascended to a higher existence," he said.
"Oh," said Kaura simply.
A silence stretched on, neither party coming up with anything to say. The sounds of the camp were increasing in volume, and torches were being lit to ward off the darkness of the night. An armoured soldier passed them by, his armour clinking as he shoved a pole with a lit torch on it into the ground.
"The Hero is up," said Kaura suddenly as the last light of the sun died behind the mountains to the west. "I half-expected you to throttle him into another coma, considering how worried you have been about him."
"I almost did," said Sheik, catching himself in the act of opening up to the doctor. But then he relaxed, thinking that even a vicious doctor like Kaura would uphold the trust and confidentiality between a doctor and a patient. "But then…"
"What?" asked Kaura, her eyes lighting up slightly, as if hearing about his misery perked her up. Sheik was about to lambast her for being an ice queen, but saw that it was not glee that had taken up residence in her eyes, but worry and…compassion? "What happened?" she repeated.
What's the harm in telling her? I am mostly recovered, and if she becomes hostile about the our…relationship, then to hell with her.
He pinner her with what he hoped was his most serious look. "Do you swear to keep this a secret?" he asked gravely.
The doctor looked surprised for a second, but then nodded, adding: "I swear."
Sheik nodded and looked back at the forest, taking a moment to gather his thoughts, wondering how best to tell Kaura of the forbidden relationship between him and Link. Settling on the most direct route, he once again looked at Kaura.
"The Hero and I are…in a relationship, as in lovers." He stopped, waiting for a reaction from Kaura.
"Yes, and?" said Kaura, urging him on.
"You have nothing to say to that?" asked Sheik, surprised. Had Hyrule suddenly become accepting of such relationships?
"Should I have something to say?" asked Kaura, raising a purple eyebrow. Her eyes seemed to have regained some of its former sparks as her eyes were now fully focused and icy like they had been when the two had first met.
"No…I just…" said Sheik, his prepared speech now useless. "Hylians usually don't accept such unions…"
"Well, I'm not from Hyrule," said Kaura, smiling slightly. "I'm from Termina, and relationships where both partners are of the same gender are…well, not exactly common, but accepted as a facet of life, just like relationships with two different genders."
Sheik blinked, not expecting such an explanation. "I…see," he said.
"But the acceptance of your coupling is hardly what is bothering you, I suspect," continued Kaura. "Your willingness to reveal this to me proves it."
"You're right," said Sheik, nodding.
"So, are you going to tell me why you're not in the tent, molesting the Hero right now?" Kaura asked, flashing him a fiendish smile.
Ignoring the last part, Sheik cleared his throat. "I will not go into details, but…someone has come between us," he said. "And…I don't know how to handle it…" Images of Speil and Link flashed across his mind's eye.
"So, you're saying that you have fallen in love with someone else?" asked Kaura.
"No," protested Sheik. "I haven't fallen in love with him…but he has fallen for me." What exactly he was denying, he didn't know.
"Then you need to tell him that you're not interested," said Kaura. "I'm sure he'll understand."
"I doubt it," said Sheik. "He and the Hero hate each other, and I'm not too sure how I feel about him myself."
"You just said you hadn't fallen for him," Kaura pointed out.
"Yes, I know," said Sheik, nodding. "But…well, I kissed the Hero when he woke up…but…I kept imagining myself kissing the other one instead…"
"Huh," said Kaura. And that was it. Another silence fell between them. "That is complicated," the doctor finally said. "You say you haven't fallen in love with this third person, yet imagine yourself kissing him instead of the Hero…" She looked at Sheik with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry to say that relationships are not my strong suit." She looked around. Night had fallen, and the temperature was dropping. "How old are you?" she asked.
"What?"
"You heard me. How. Old. Are. You?" Kaura asked, slowing down her sentence, as if talking to a child.
"Sixteen," Sheik answered, wondering just how many times he was going to answer the question the bloody hospital. It was supposed to be a secret, but four people knew of it now. Link, Malon, Zelda and Kaura.
"Ah," said Kaura and nodded, as if a great mystery had been solved. "No wonder."
"What?" asked Sheik, wondering if she had a solution.
"You're in the middle of your teens, a rather…turbulent time of one's life," she explained. "Your body is developing, and your chemical balance is thrown around from time to time, which has a tendency to cause trouble emotionally and psychologically." Kaura smiled, noticing Sheik's worried look. "Don't worry, it's quite natural. Hasn't anyone told you about this?"
Sheik silently shook his head. No one, not even his aunt, had warned him about this. He had never heard about chemical imbalances in one's body, at least not natural imbalances.
"Good grief, what do the physicians in this kingdom actually do, then?" Kaura asked, sighing in what seemed to be frustration. "No wonder the nurses have no idea what to do…" She noticed the inner turmoil currently rattling the Sheikah and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Listen, there is nothing wrong with what is happening to you. It happens to everyone. As for why you imagined yourself kissing someone else, well…sexuality is a strange thing, and the emotion known as love is not far from lust."
Sheik could feel his cheeks growing warm as blood rushed to colour them red in a blush. Happy for the cowl, he looked at Kaura. "So…it does not mean anything?" he asked.
"There is a chance that it does mean something," said Kaura and smiled. "But there's just as big a chance that it is merely…something else talking." As she said this, she gave a meaningful glance downwards, causing the Sheikah to blush even more. Suddenly, the doctor rose to her feet, picking up her stool as well. "Relationships are strange things, Sheik," she said, surprising the Sheikah by using his name, which he could not remember giving her. "If there's a problem, there can only be two possible outcomes. The issue will resolve itself sooner or later. The only thing you can do is to enjoy what you have for now, and deal with the problems as you go." She turned to walk away, but paused and looked back. "Oh, and I'm going to give the Hero a full physical in a couple of minutes…I suggest you stay away until I'm done…if you can control yourself." She winked at him and walked away, leaving Sheik blushing and cursing her name.
"Hey," Link said as Sheik entered the tent, looking at his lover calmly. He did not say anything else, not wanting to upset him now that he was back.
"Hey," replied Sheik, suddenly feeling self-conscious when he noticed that Link's gaze kept being drawn to his damaged eye. He took a step forward, and stopped, cursing himself for forgetting what he had been planning to say.
"So what's up with that doctor, eh?" asked Link, breaking into a grin. If it was for Sheik's benefit, the Sheikah didn't know, but it easily beat the awkward lull. "I was like fighting those Iron Knuckle things again, at least just as painful."
"Yes, she is quite…firm-handed," Sheik said and approached Link's bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," replied the Hero. "Walking's still no good, but talking, eating and drinking is fine."
"Like always," said Sheik and smiled.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" asked the Hero.
"Exactly what you think, Hero," replied Sheik, pulling down his cowl to flash Link a smirk.
"Hey!"
To be continued…
I am so, so, so sorry for the delay in this chapter, but I haven't felt particularly inspired for the last week and a half, and we all know what writing is like when we don't have anything to write about, right? Again, I'm sorry.
On the other hand, I have finally figured out just how many reviews I can garner on a single chapter, which is eighteen. Eighteen reviews on chapter 52! Thank you, guys. Unfortunately, though, this means I can't spend too much time on replying to each and every one of them. I hope you understand :D
Review replies: (Oh boy, here we go)
Aeri – I'm sorry, but twists and turns is what makes a story, right? Oh, and I'll take your bet. One purple rupee on Speil, got it!
Lone Keaton – Link slept for a week, and what did he get for it? Angst, I tells ya. Hee, but that's what we need sometimes, right? And your story sounds interesting, I'll check it out as soon as possible.
Gabriel (or shall I call you Gabe?) – I'm glad you liked the fight scenes, and Freebird is an awesome song! Unfortunately, the inspiration I had was winding as I wrote these chapters and I simply ran out of material, which is the reason for the shorter chapters. However, it has returned now, and I should be back up to regular updates very soon :D
13 Elemental – Sorry to keep you waiting :)
Spiritual Stone – I know I'm evil…but that's why you guys like me, right? Hee! I like Kaura too :D
Lady Linwe – Hee, puberty's pretty rough, especially on our favourite Sheikah. And thanks for clarifying that writing style-worry of mine. Oh, and tell Demi to get her ass in gear and write, damnit!
Tails doll curse – Well, he either loves or lusts for Speil…teenagers, eh? Speil's a clever guy, that's for sure.
Crystal – No worries. If I got mad for delayed reviews, I'd be a hypocrite considering my delayed update, right? Hee! And I took a look at your DA page, and I have to say that your art is very cute. I especially like "ToS Elemental Swordsman Lloyd". Now, if only I could actually get my emulator to play Tales of Symphonia properly…
Aya-Shoru – Cliffhangers are evil? Wow, this puts a new perspective on the world… ;)
Hope – Hi, I'm glad you like the story. I was worried about the Twilight Princess part not melding very well together, but I guess I pulled it off :D
I'm not too sure about the final pairing myself, hee!
Foolish Chimera – Every story needs a good scream ending a chapter here and there, methinks.
BlueIrish – A happy ending? Not on my watch, mwa ha ha ha!
Zmokachan – Thanks. It hasn't been easy, I can tell you that :D. Glad you like the story!
Icy Sapphire – Where I live? Or where Speil lives? I'm confused…
DeadLikeLatin – Hopefully everything will work out in the end :)
Minidork – Heh, a threefer, eh? Looks like I chose my timing perfectly. Oh, and get to work on that story *whipcrack*.
Rajanhi – Hehe, I don't like to keep my loyal readers waiting, which has made me feel like crap for the last week…
Oh, and school isn't any easier or harder in Norway than anywhere else, I think. It depends entirely on what you study and how good you are at that subject. I, for example, suck at maths, so I found Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics very hard.
Random non-member Anna C – Now…this is something I don't know entirely how to respond to, mostly because I couldn't figure out just what you were trying to say. You like the story, but think that's a bad thing? What? And I have no plans of abandoning this story, so it will be finished, though I'm not entirely sure of when. And are you telling me what to do with my story concerning a sex scene? I'm sorry, but that is really offensive to me, and I'm pretty sure it's offending to any other writer who gets told what to do with their story. If that's not what you meant, I'm sorry, but if you did…well, I'm not going to do what you tell me. It's as simple as that.
Thanks for the reviews, everyone! Please leave one if you like the story!
