Ok! So, here we are with a chapter that I managed to write entirely over the course of the last two days alone (I'm on spring break, so I may even get the next chapter done as well! Who knows?) But anyway, this chapter is mostly focused on Sheik, like I said last time, and I think its a great one! Sheik is so fun to write for, and her bossness totally shows in this chapter! So, I won't make it long this time around! Thanks to LooneyCat55, Ecraft14, Pandora151, amwick, Zxynwin, NoSignalBlueScreen and Dex-El of Kyrpton for following/favoriting! I have to say that I am overwhelmed by the amount of support you guys are giving me in both follows and reviews! It makes me feel so happy! :D Now onto the reviews!

YueMelHamachi-Haha! Thanks! (blushes!) ;D

Litts E. Lock-Alright, so I'll answer your review for ch. 26 first (makes things easier for me). I think I might have Majora say something along those lines... Mind you, its going to be a pretty loaded scene so... :D (i really can't wait to write it!) And yeah, Link was a totally boss in that scene (in my own humble opinion) Now for the last chapter's review: HOW DID YOU GUESS THAT WAS WHAT VERESS"S CURSE DID? (I can't remember if I told you or not, but if I didn't then, you TOTALLY read my mind somehow!) As this chapter will explain, you were RIGHT on the mark about that! I am literally in awe! :O And yeah, if I were Link, I would have been fed up with the whole "destiny" thing a long time ago as well. There's only so much you can force a person to go through after all... ;D

Vivi-ntvg-Yeah, Link's about as close to perfect as he can get, but after all of the stuff that he's been through, I think he's entitled to have a break down at least once every now and then. Most people would have had one a long time ago if they were in his boots, I'd think ;)

anon-Ahhhh! I can't say just yet! That would be a big spoiler for later on! But we'll find out how they take care of the Fused Shadow soon enough!

NoSignalBlueScreen-Thanks! :D

RandomButLoved: Yeah, I can't have the plot explode just yet (though we are getting pretty close!) I'm glad to see that I didn't spoil anything, since its such a big twist that will be revealed soon enough. And I'm actually getting a little sad that its almost over too... This story has been my writing world for the past several months now... :/

Nikrael-Well... now you have me a little curious... I wonder if you can see through my intentions already (am I really that obvious in my writing :O). But then again... we still have quite a few twists left along the way... ;)

LooneyCat55-Oh thanks! :D

ShadowNinja1101: Wow indeed... ;)

NintendoMan01-Yeah, I've really been abusing Link a lot, haven't I...? Which is a shame, since I really do love him! Well, at least this chapter isn't so bad about that! :D

Lovelygirl10: Yeah, Fi was holding her own in the last chapter, like a boss! And Link is safe for the moment... but not for too long!

TheJediAvenger: That was a pretty cute mental picture though... ;) And it does make more sense now, since I'd think that maybe, just maybe, Fi wouldn't want to see a child version of her master go through a lot of pain and suffering! And I love writing Fi with feelings, so! :D :P

Well, that's it for now, my friends! Let us start!

Chapter 30: The Eyes of Truth

"On my own, pretending he's beside me.
All alone, I walk with him till morning.
In the darkness, I feel his arms around me,
And when I lose my way I close my eyes and he has found me."

-On My Own, Les Miserables

A warm wind blew through Sheik's blonde braid and bangs as she stood on the pinnacle of the gate to Kakariko Village, gazing down upon her people as they hurried about the town, many of them recovering from the ongoing war that had been raging on the surface for the past two days. Ever since the first battle between those loyal to the goddess and those who rebelled against her the previous day, the land had not been at peace, as several smaller skirmishes had been breaking out between the opposing sides quite frequently. In them, more than half of the Interloper forces had either been captured and sent to the desert or retreated back to their fortress, but despite the clear victories of both the Sheikah and the sky folk, this war had not been without its losses. It pained the Sheikah leader to know that a quite a few of her own people had already been slain in these battles, but she took solace in the fact that there was still a good chance to that they could win in the end of it all. But even though the war was at a standstill in their favor, Sheik had a feeling that the worst of it all was still yet to come.

From her high vantage point, the Sheikah leader could see the full layout of her village and everyone in it, including the hero as he headed for the town well to get some water for himself and his wife. Sheik bit her lip as she watched him from afar, feeling several different emotions at once. The most prominent was guilt over how callously she had acted yesterday when he had been suffering from his panic attack. She was no stranger to fear and terror, and it was clear that over the course of his many struggles, Link had become well acquainted with them as well. His weaknesses, right along with his strengths, were just a few of the many reasons why Sheik admired him so much. He was vulnerable, but he was not fragile; rather, he was resilient, which was the reason why he had survived every trial he had been faced with for so long. But all the same, the Sheikah leader knew that she owed the hero an apology for more than just how she acted towards him yesterday. She also wished to reconcile with him after avoiding him whenever she could for the past several days, ever that kiss. Sheik begrudged the fact that not only had it tarnished her own honor; it had also torn a rift in her and Link's friendship, despite the fact that she dreamed of it being more. And, as the Sheikah leader realized that she only had a few days left to make amends with the hero before he was lost to corruption forever, she knew that she'd regret it for the rest of her life if she didn't.

Gracefully leaping down from the top of the gate, Sheik went down into the streets of the village, hastily brushing her way past her people with one goal in mind. She wasn't going to back down this time, no matter how nervous she was about bringing up this rather touchy subject with him. Instead, she had resolved to push all thoughts of the past out of her mind and talk to him as if nothing had ever happened. It was the only way she could ever hope to move on.

"Link!" the Sheikah leader called out to the hero as she approached him, and he immediately turned to her, an easy smile on his face that only made her more anxious. She figured that he must have been wondering why she had been treating him so coldly, which would only make their upcoming conversation all the more awkward.

"Hey, Sheik," Link greeted her, though he was admittedly surprised that she had decided to come speak to him while he was alone, something they had not done since the night he surrendered himself to the Interlopers. "How are you?"

"I… I'm good…" Sheik said rather awkwardly as she involuntarily avoided eye contact with him. "Um… So…" She bit her lip, knowing that she was stammering like a fool as she was unsure of where to start. "Uh… How are things going… for you…?"

The hero shrugged, sensing her uneasiness but deciding not to point it out just yet. "As good as they can be, I guess, considering everything," he said as his smile faded. "Um… Is there something that you wanted to talk about, Sheik?"

The Sheikah leader finally looked up at him and took in a deep breath, knowing that was now or never. "Yes… There is, actually… Link… I…" She paused for a moment as she tried to collect her thoughts and words together, but as she did so, she happened to look past him for a moment as see a sight that unnerved her greatly. Standing on the rooftop behind Link, appearing as a silhouette in clear view in the glow of the setting sun, was what Sheik recognized to be one of Veress's spies, watching the hero and the Sheikah leader as they conversed with a close eye. Sheik discreetly glared at the Interloper, wondering how they had even made it so far into the tightly guarded village and knowing that she had to be careful now that she had the upper hand over them.

"Sheik?" Link regained the Sheikah leader's attention once more, confused as to why she had stopped so suddenly. But before he could say anything else, she quickly grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to stand beside her. "Sheik, what's wrong?" the hero asked, but she was quick to silence him before he could give her knowledge away.

"Shh!" Sheik glared at him crossly, wishing that he was more cautious like she was. "Look up there," she whispered softly, nodding her head in the direction of the spy. "Slowly," she added quickly, knowing that he would want to direct his gaze there much too hurriedly, which would certainly tip the spy off.

The hero frowned and shook his head, seeing nothing but the sun glistening off the rooftops. "Sheik, I don't see anything," he said, keeping his sights set on the roof and wondering if he was supposed to wait for something to happen.

"What?" Sheik asked harshly, still watching the plainly visible Interloper spy in case they decided to try anything. "How can you not see anything? They're right-" The Sheikah leader stopped herself suddenly as she realized that for some reason, he couldn't see the spy, but she could. Glancing around at the Sheikah folk all around her, she was that none of them had picked up on their presence either, despite the fact that they stuck out like a sore thumb. She could have easily passed it off as some sort of hallucination, brought about by her pressing stress, but she had a feeling that it was something more than that. And at the moment, all she could think about was getting to the bottom of it.

"Sheik?" Link caught her attention once again, clear concern for her in his tone. "What's wrong? What is it?"

"It… It's nothing," she said firmly, knowing that she had to figure this mystery out on her own, without his help. "We'll talk later. Right now, I have to go."

"Go where?" the hero asked in protest, knowing that she was starting to avoid him once more.

"I just have to go," Sheik said in slight aggravation, not wanting to put up with his questions anymore. Before he could say anything else to stop her however, she quickly pulled out a small Deku Nut, often used by Sheikahs to make quick escapes, and threw it down, vanishing on the breath of its blinding explosion and leaving Link very confused.

The Sheikah leader bit her lip from the shadows as she watched the hero for a moment as he looked around for her but failed to find her. She hadn't wanted to leave him so abruptly, but she knew that keeping her village and her people safe was much more important than easing her own silly regrets. And so, glancing up at the spy, still looking down upon the town from the rooftops, Sheik began to devise a plan on how to deal with them. But at the same time, she was still troubled by the fact that she could see the Interloper and Link, as well as the nearby villagers, couldn't. That, and the fact that the spy was not even making an attempt to conceal themselves, only bewildered the Sheikah leader even more, but as she silently slipped up onto an adjacent rooftop, she decided to forget about the matter for now and return to the task at hand.

Positioning herself behind the spy, Sheik raised her knife and aimed it in such a way that it would pin the spy down so she would be able to interrogate them. However, before she could even let her blade fly, the Interloper somehow managed to pick up on her presence and spun around, their eyes wide with shock that she could even see them. They quickly leapt off the roof and into the shadows of the alleyways, and the Sheikah leader was quick to pursue them, knowing that the safety of the village depended on her alone now.

Racing through the tight, empty back streets of the village, Sheik chased after the spy as fast as she could, skillfully dodging both the knifes and the blasts of dark magic they were throwing at her to get her off their trail. And, much to the Sheikah leader's fortune, the Interloper eventually found themselves cornered in a dead end, something that Sheik was quick to take advantage of. Before the spy could even try to escape, the Sheikah leader finally tossed her knife their way, and it managed to pin the Interloper to the stone wall by their cloak perfectly. With a burning glare, Sheik approached the spy, whom she could now tell was a young man, only a little younger than her. Another thing she noticed was the obvious fear in his dark red eyes, knowing that he had incurred the wrath of his former leader, which he certainly had.

Sheik ripped her knife out of the wall and used her other hand to keep the Interloper pinned down, while placing the edge of her blade against his neck to keep him further restrained. For a moment, she merely kept him under a hateful gaze, remembering that Veress had sent him to Kakariko and no matter what lies he wanted to feed to her, Sheik was not going to relent until she found out why. "What are you doing here?!" she hissed fiercely, the fact that her village had been invaded by the rebels only fueling her anger more. "Why did Veress send you here?"

"S-she… she didn't!" the spy choked fearfully, his voice trembling and his forehead covered in sweat. "I swear!"

"Bad idea," Sheik said through gritted teeth as she pressed her knife against his neck tighter. "If you want to make it out of here alive, then you better tell me the truth. Don't think for a moment that I'm above killing if it's for the purpose of keeping my people safe."

"Ok! Ok!" the Interloper exclaimed nervously. The Sheikah leader raised an eyebrow at him, knowing that even though the Dark Interlopers boasted great strength, their resolve was certainly weak when under fire. "Veress did send me. But she didn't send me to spy. She sent me to deliver a message."

"A message? For who?" Sheik asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"F-for the hero," the Interloper stammered and the moment he did, the Sheikah leader's eyes widened in both anger and surprise.

"What's the message?" she asked rigidly, knowing that in light of how harshly Veress had treated Link during his captivity under her, it certainly couldn't be good.

"I-it's supposed to be for the hero only-"

"What is it?!" Sheik almost shouted in fury, tired of playing games with the spy.

"Here!" the Interloper quickly pulled a small scroll of paper out of his cloak and handed it to the Sheikah leader. "Now please, let me go! Please, oh, honorable Mistress Sheik!"

Sheik glared daggers at the spy, snatching the message out of their grasp before throwing them to the ground roughly. "How dare you even call me that," she hissed darkly. "I'm not your mistress anymore. Now get out of my village. And if I ever see you here again, I won't hesitate to kill you. Go tell that to the rest of your worthless, traitorous brethren."

The spy nodded tersely, his eyes still wide with fright as he scrambled to his feet and took off at a breakneck speed, wanting to get as far away from the terrifying Sheikah leader as quickly as possible. Once she was certain that he was gone, Sheik turned her attention back to the scroll, wondering what the Interloper leader could possibly want with the hero now. Not wasting another moment, she unrolled the parchment and read the brief message written on it by Veress herself:

To the Hero,

I could have just of easily came to you myself, but I found that this method will make things much more interesting. As we all know, your days are numbered, and the remainder of them should have been spent within the walls of our stronghold like we had originally agreed. It was only because of the intervention of your foolish little goddess that you got lucky and made it out alive. By all rights, I feel as though our arrangement is still in effect and you still should rightfully belong to us as our prisoner. I had a mind to personally come and reclaim what's mine myself, but then I realized that it would not have been very fair to you, hero. And so instead, allow me to extend another offer to you. I will give you the chance to fight for your freedom against me, one-on-one, this time without any help. If you defeat me, then I will let you walk away with your life. But if you lose, then you will return to our stronghold as our prisoner for the rest of your days, which, as I imagine, are very few. If you're brave enough, then meet me in the center of the field tonight. If you're not, then know that we will come anyway and this time, we won't just seek to capture you alone. Once again, the choice is yours, hero.

Veress

As soon as Sheik finished reading the note, she crumpled the paper up in her hand in burning rage. The fact that Veress still viewed Link as her prisoner, despite the fact that he was no longer in their custody, sickened her. The audacity that the Interloper leader was showing was unbelievable, especially now that she was threatening both the hero and the girl. And the Sheikah leader wasn't going to allow it. For too long now, she had been standing on the sidelines, helplessly watching as Veress toyed with both Link and Zelda, but no longer. Sheik didn't care what the Interloper leader planned on doing; she was going to put an end to her sadistic treachery, even if it killed her.

The sun had long since set as Sheik pushed her horse across the field as fast as she could, knowing that Veress would be waiting in middle of it. The Sheikah leader hadn't dared to even tell Link about the Interloper leader's message for him whatsoever, knowing that his first response would be to race off and face Veress alone in order to protect Zelda, rather than himself. Sheik knew that he wouldn't like her putting her own neck on the line for him like this, but she knew that it was the very least she could do for the hero after all he had been through.

Dismounting her horse right before she made it to the hill that overlooked the center of the field, Sheik glanced around carefully, trying to make sure that none of Veress's followers were lurking in the shadows of what was clearly a trap being laid out for the hero. The Sheikah leader was admittedly excited in anticipation over how shocked the Interloper leader would be to find that she had come instead of Link. She had been wanting to put Veress in her place for too long now and it seemed as though it was finally time.

As Sheik climbed up to the top of the hill and looked down, she could see Veress herself, standing alone in the bright moonlight, her back turned and her arms crossed in front of her. For a moment, the Sheikah leader simply remained still and watched her, letting memories of bright days of youth fill her mind. There had been a time when she never could have imagined that she would ever be filled with such disdain for someone who had once been her closest friend. But after all Veress had done, Sheik knew that her only choice was to oppose her, for the sake of her people, the surface, the goddess and most of all, the hero. The past was in the past and there was no going back to it; Veress had chosen her path and Sheik had chosen hers. Whatever bonds of friendship that had once been between them had been severed long ago, and nothing could ever repair them.

With a deep breath, Sheik slowly and silently headed down the hill and approached Veress, hardly even making a sound. The Interloper leader picked up on her presence however, and thinking that Link had arrived instead, she grinned smugly to herself, knowing that her plan had worked once more.

"So, hero," Veress said, not turning around to face who was really there. "I see that you've decided to come face me after all. I guess that proves that you aren't a total coward like I thought you were."

Sheik clenched her fists upon hearing the Interloper leader criticize Link in such a way and she could contain her anger no longer. "So I guess that makes you the coward then, doesn't it, Veress?" she asked bitingly.

The Interloper leader's eyes widened in shock upon hearing Sheik's voice, but she dared not let the Sheikah leader see. "Sheik…" she hissed, glaring behind her. "What an unpleasant surprise…"

"Expecting someone else?" Sheik asked with a slight grin, already drawing her staff out in preparation to fight.

"Yes, actually, I was," Veress frowned as she fully turned around. "Let me guess… Your beloved little hero was too afraid to come fight me and so he had you come instead? I would have expected nothing less from him after what we did to him…"

The Sheikah leader glared at the Interloper leader fiercely as Veress laughed callously. "How dare you accuse him of fear or weakness!" Sheik growled in fury. "He's stronger than you could ever know! That's why you weren't able to break him! I bet you tried your hardest, but he survived through it all because he held onto what's worth fighting for! The ones who really are weak are you and your followers. You don't fight because of honor or loyalty; you fight to meet your own selfish ends and that's what's ultimately going to be your downfall!"

Veress simply rolled her eyes at this bold statement, refusing to see the truth in it. "Please," she scoffed, waving her hand as if to push the subject away. "It hardly matters who is stronger and who is weaker. What matters is that you've imposed on a matter that clearly doesn't concern you, Sheik. The message I sent specifically said that the hero was supposed to come fight me alone. But obviously, neither of you know how to read since you've shown up instead of him."

"Obviously, your messengers don't know how to keep themselves well-hidden," Sheik shot back challengingly. "Link doesn't know anything about the message. I intercepted it and came here to settle this myself."

The Interloper leader raised a suspicious eyebrow at the Sheikah leader, for once showing confusion rather than cruelty. "How… How did you even find out about the messenger?" she asked, apparently unlettered. "He was to be hidden in plain sight under a concealment spell. No one could have seen through that illusion!"

Sheik frowned as well upon hearing this, knowing that her suspicions had been right. While no one else had been able to see the invisible Interloper spy, for some reason she had. However, as she pondered this, a memory suddenly surfaced in her mind and her eyes widened in shock as she recalled the words that Impa had said to her long ago: "You have the Eyes of Truth, Sheik, a quality that has not been seen in our tribe for generations. You can see things that others cannot."

"The Eyes of Truth…" Sheik muttered to herself as she finally realized what her predecessor had meant by what used to be such a vague, confusing statement. Impa had never explained to her what the Eyes of Truth really were, but according to ancient Sheikah legends, they gave whoever was born with them the innate ability to see through all types of illusions and apparitions. Quite literally, they granted one the ability to see the truth, the capacity to see what was hidden in the darkness. Sheik knew that they were quite a gift, one that had been long sought after among the Sheikah people for centuries, since those who had them were said to be more in tune with the world around them than anyone else. The Sheikah leader was awed and amazed that she had them, but even so, she knew that it was her duty to use this great gift in further service to both the goddess and the hero in any way she could.

"The Eyes of Truth?" Veress scoffed, having heard Sheik's stunned whisper. "You have the Eyes of Truth, Sheik? Don't make me laugh! The Eyes of Truth have been lost from our tribe for ages. Even Impa didn't have them. Why would someone like you be born with them, of all people?"

The Sheikah leader glared at her adversary once more, gripping her staff tighter as the two began to circle each other, the Interloper leader drawing her own duel blades. "Because," she said firmly, remembering other words of wisdom that the former matriarch of the Sheikah had passed onto her. "Impa once told me that those with the Eyes of Truth are tasked with devoting their lives to protecting this land and serving the goddess and that's exactly what I plan on doing. You know, Veress, I used to think that had been what you wanted to do with your life as well. I used to think so highly of you. I used to respect you and think you were so skilled and brave and smart. But I was wrong. You've let your greed, jealousy and hatred pervert your once noble ambitions. All you want now is power, and you'll do anything to get it, even persecute the innocent. But do you know what else Impa told me? She said that those who do not know the danger of wielding power will, before long, be ruled by it. And clearly, Veress, you've let your power rule you!"

"Enough!" The Interloper leader hissed in fury, refusing to her any such accusations. "You're a fool, Sheik! Those who do not have power, like you and your pathetic little hero are weak! And, you will be among the first to fall once we claim the Triforce and this land as our own!"

"We'll see about that," Sheik said with a confident grin, one that only helped to infuriate Veress more. Without another word, the two of them finally engaged each other in battle, the Interloper leader's knives meeting the Sheikah leader's staff squarely. Sheik pushed Veress back roughly before swinging her staff quickly, but the redhead dodged it with a graceful backflip. The two exchanged swings back and forth for quite some time, neither of them pinning each other down or landing a solid blow however. What bothered Sheik however was the fact that Veress had been refraining from using any of her dark magic, but the battle was still young, so she knew it was only a matter of time.

In terms of physical strength and fighting skill, both of the women were equally matched. They both knew each other's moves from year of training together, which made the battle drag on for what seemed like ages. But both Sheik and Veress were strong and didn't tire out easily. It quickly became clear that this fight would not end until one of them went down completely. Yet despite their otherwise equal skill, what the Sheikah leader had that the Interloper leader did not were both the Eyes of Truth and special, elite training given to her by Impa. For as Veress finally decided to start implementing magic into her techniques, she found that she was completely unable to trip Sheik up with any of her illusions, as the Sheikah leader was able to see through all of them with startling clarity. Sheik was also too fast and flexible to be hit with any of her other blasts, which frustrated the Interloper leader to no end. Sheik could tell that Veress was starting to become unlettered, and realizing that for once, the Interloper leader was not on top of her game, she quickly took the upper hand.

As Veress attempted to lash out at her with another burst of flame, Sheik narrowly dodged it and rolled around behind her, hitter her harshly in the back before she could even turn around. The Interloper leader stumbled forward a bit, but the Sheikah leader gave her no time to recover. She barreled into Veress and knocked her to the ground roughly, pinning the struggling Interloper leader down and drawing her knife out in case she attempted any more tricks.

Both of them were winded and breathless in the aftermath of the long, fierce battle, but even so, Veress grinned up at Sheik smugly, despite the fact that she had lost. "Impressive…" she mused smoothly. "You've gotten better, Sheik… Almost as good as Impa was…"

"That's because Impa was a good teacher," the Sheikah leader shrugged as she kept a close glare on the Interloper leader.

"Indeed…" Veress said as her grin deepened. "You know… It's a shame that you're wasting all of that potential in serving the goddess… You could put it to much better use if we were to… work together…"

"Are you asking me to… to join you?!" Sheik asked in complete shock, unable to believe how ridiculous this sounded.

"Think of it, Sheik," the Interloper leader said with false kindness, her blood-red eyes shining in the moonlight. It was at that moment that Sheik also noticed the soft, dark blue glow Veress's veins had apparently taken on, no doubt a side-effect of the dark magic she wielded. "Things could go back to the way they were when we were kids. We could be a team again, friends, just like we used to be. We could rule the surface together, side by side, with nothing ever getting between us again. What do you say?"

The Sheikah leader glared hotly at her, beyond enraged with her for even suggestion something so heinous. To take Veress up on her offer would be to completely betray the people she led, the goddess she vowed to serve and the hero she loved, something that she could never dream of doing in a million years. "I'd never join you," she said rigidly, with absolutely no hesitation at all. "And you're a fool for ever thinking I would." Cautiously, Sheik released Veress from her grip and stepped away from her, allowing her to rise to her feet and stand. "Now get out of here," she commanded darkly. "I'll let you fall with your cowardly followers at the hands of the goddess and her hero like you deserve."

Without sparing another word to her former best friend, Sheik turned on her heel and started to head back to the village, still silently fuming in fury over Veress's arrogance. But what she didn't see was the orb of dark magic form over the Interloper leader's hand as she walked away. "Oh, Sheik…" Veress laughed maliciously, shaking her hand as she aimed her magic at the Sheikah leader's back. "You're such a fool. For as strong and smart as you think you are, you still have one fatal flaw. And that flaw is mercy."

Before Sheik could even offer a response, the dark magic struck her squarely in the back, sending an explosive pain throughout her entire body. The Sheikah leader was unable to suppress a scream of agony as she collapsed to the ground, paralyzed by Veress's magic. The Interloper leader was quick to pin her down firmly, in the same position that Sheik had held her down in just a moment ago.

"Well, well," Veress cooed wickedly as she held both of her knives against Sheik's neck. "Look at how the tables have turned. It seems as though Impa's noble little protégé is about to meet her end at the hands of the one who was always the outcast, always the one that everyone looked down upon. You couldn't possibly have known how hard it was for me, Sheik. Always watching as everyone praised you, despite the fact that I was always better than you. Having to deal with the fact that you were destined to be our leader and I was destined to be nothing more than a nobody. But look at me now. I've defied destiny! I've made myself a somebody!" As she said this, Veress raised one of her golden knives high into the air, preparing to send it plummeting into Sheik's heart and end her life in one blow. But even despite this, the Sheikah leader continued to glare at her relentlessly, showing no signs of fear or panic. If she was going to die at the hands of the Interloper leader, she was going to face it with nothing less than dignity. "And this somebody is going to gain absolute power that one could only dream of!"

Veress let out a triumphant laugh of cruelty, but before she could land the death blow on the Sheikah leader, an arrow suddenly struck the back of her hand from out of nowhere. The Interloper leader cried out in pain as she accidentally dropped her knife, which Sheik narrowly managed to roll out of the way of. Since one of her arms was no longer restrained and the paralysis had worn off, she quickly punched Veress in the jaw roughly, sending her flying back a few feet and freeing the Sheikah leader from her grasp completely. As Sheik sat up and noticed that Veress was still recovering from the deep wound in her hand, she glanced over in the direction that the arrow had come from and gasped in both shock and dismay at who she saw.

"Link!" she shouted in warning, knowing that this was exactly what Veress had wanted. The hero, who had shot the arrow from Epona's back from his vantage point on top of the nearby hill, quickly dismounted the horse and drew the Master Sword as he hurried down to join Sheik in facing off against Veress. "What are you doing here?!" the Sheikah leader asked him harshly, having absolutely no idea how he could have found out about where she had went off to, since she had told nobody that she had left in the first place.

"There's no time to explain," Link said as both of them noticed that Veress was already starting to pick herself up off of the ground. "Are you ok?"

"I was fine," Sheik said somewhat crossly, angry with him for putting himself in danger to help her, despite the fact that he had saved her life. "And just for the record, I didn't need your help."

The hero couldn't help but grin at her good-naturedly as he rolled his eyes at her. "Sure, you didn't," he said sarcastically, much to the Sheikah leader's frustration.

"Well, look who finally showed up…" Veress said to Link as she grasped both of her knives and gave him a menacing glare. "I've been waiting for you, hero…"

The Interloper leader let out a cold laugh of triumph as the hero felt that familiar, inexplicable panic seize him again, the same kind of fear that he had felt the previous day before the entrance to the rebel's base. Inescapable terror filled him once more as his breathing began to pick up and his heart began to race. Simply looking upon Veress, the one who had brought him so much pain, both physical and emotional, over such a short amount of time, filled him with a dread that was so deep, he felt like he was going to drown in it. The Sheikah leader looked over at him with wide eyes as he collapsed to his knees weakly, realizing that he was having another panic attack.

"Link!" she cried out to him worriedly as she lowered herself to his level, putting an arm around him in an attempt to comfort him. All the while, Veress simply continued to laugh cruelly, knowing exactly what the hero was going through and why.

Sheik cast a hateful glare at Veress for mocking Link in such a callous way. Clenching her fists in fury, she rose to stand after giving the panic-stricken hero another pitied glance and faced the Interloper leader, drawing her knife and preparing to end this once and for all.

"Oh, how cute…" the Interloper leader scoffed tauntingly. "You're going to protect your broken little hero from me still, aren't you, Sheik?"

"He's not broken!" Sheik almost shouted in raw fury. "I told you; he's too strong to be broken by something as simple as torture and pain! And that's why you can't beat him! That's why you'll never be able to beat him! That's why you'll never be able to win!"

"That's where you're wrong, Sheik," Veress said with a knowing grin. "I already have beaten him…"

"What are you talking about?" the Sheikah leader asked warily as she looked back at Link, still trying to cope with the painful memories in his mind.

"It was quite simple really…" Veress began, holding her hands behind her back as she began to confidently pace in front of both of them. "All it took was a tiny little dagger, imbued with a some of our most special magic, the kind that intensifies the fear and anxiety in a person's mind tenfold upon being faced with a certain trigger, and… well, you can see the result…" She motioned to the hero, who had barely heard a word she had said due to him desperately trying to push his panic away but failing.

"You… you did this to him?!" Sheik exclaimed in absolute outrage, more infuriated than ever before. "The curse… Of course! That's what it was! Veress, how dare you! You wanted to capture him again and so you sent that message to him and did this to him so he wouldn't be able to fight you! I can't believe you!"

Unable to contain her fury any longer, the Sheikah leader raced towards the Interloper leader, having no intentions of holding back this time. Veress barely had any time to defend herself as Sheik slashed her knife out at her violently, wanting to avenge Link more than anything else. The Interloper leader had not anticipated the Sheikah leader's fierce, passionate anger, but she realized it in full force when Sheik managed to rip her knife across her chest, her thin armor being the only thing keeping it from being a fatal gash. Veress clutched the wound and groaned in pain, glancing down at her bleeding cut in disbelief for a moment before rushing back at Sheik in retaliation. While the Sheikah leader defended against her harsh strikes as much as she could, she was unable to protect herself against the all too quick swipe Veress made for her back, landing a long, painful cut across it. As Sheik recoiled in pain, the Interloper leader took advantage and gave her a harsh kick to the side, sending her to the ground roughly. Before the Sheikah leader could even think about picking herself up, her adversary skillfully threw one of her knives at her, and it embedded itself deep in her upper left arm. Sheik let out a scream of pain as the blade pierced all the way through her flesh and stuck out on the other side, the agony too much to bear. However, what neither the Interloper leader or the Sheikah leader knew was that the hero had managed to hear Sheik's cry of misery in the midst of his anxiety, and, fortunately for both of them, it somehow managed to give him just the resolve he needed to rise and fight back.

Sheik scrambled to her feet breathlessly when she saw Veress approach her, knowing that she would want to rip her knife out of her arm and only cause her more agony through it. The Sheikah leader, desperate to stop the Interloper leader in any way she could, used her good arm to haphazardly throw her knife at Veress, who avoided its path easily. With a wicked, almost insane grin, the Interloper leader cast a burst of magic and sent it flying towards the Sheikah leader, who was unable to avoid it as it knocked her to the ground brutally. However, as Veress lifted her other knife into the air to strike Sheik down, she screamed in intense pain as something tore across her exposed back.

As quickly as she could, Veress spun around to find a sight that she could have never expected. Link stood right behind her, having just cut the Master Sword across her back and he was ready to fight still, despite the fact that he was still breathing heavily, a result of the lingering panic that he was still trying to push away. The Interloper leader, infuriated that he had broken through the curse she had placed on him, let out a scream of frustration as she tossed her other knife at him. The hero was unable to dodge it completely since she was so close to him, but its tip only managed to catch his sword arm and elicit a deep cut, though nothing too serious. As Veress found that she had just discarded her last weapon, she clenched her fists at her sides, sending Link a burning glare but failing to notice as Sheik shakily rose to her feet behind her, holding onto her staff and ready to fight despite the deep wound in her arm.

"It looks like you're out of options," the Sheikah leader said confidently, knowing that the Interloper leader wouldn't be able to work her way out of this one so easily.

Veress looked between both the hero and the Sheikah leader with hatred, both of them having backed her into a corner. "So you think," she hissed bitterly, her voice dark and shaking with unhinged rage. "This isn't over yet. Both of you may think that you've won, but this war isn't over yet. You may have captured a few of my followers, but even if I'm the last one of us left at the end of it all, I promise you that I will destroy both of you with every fiber of my being! This land will be mine and the next time we meet, I will end this! I swear it!" With a loud, wild laugh, Veress threw her head back and unleashed some of her magic, disappearing out of sight in a burst of flame before Link or Sheik could even try to stop her.

For a long moment, the two of them were silent as they caught their breath in the aftermath of the battle, looking up at the skies and seeing that dark clouds had begun to move in over the course of the fight. And, as if on cue, almost as soon as Veress had vanished, a sudden downpour of rain began. Since Kakariko Village was almost an hour away from their current location, the hero and the Sheikah leader decided to take up shelter in a nearby rock overhang, where they would be dry from the rain and be able to patch up their wounds.

After building a small fire to keep warm, Link insisted on helping Sheik bandage her wounds up, including taking Veress's knife out of her arm. Ignoring protests from the Sheikah leader, the hero eventually managed to slip the blade out of her arm as painlessly as he could for her. Fortunately, before Link had set out to aid Sheik, he had anticipated that she would have gotten hurt and thought to bring some bandages along with him, and so the he used them to cover up the deep puncture wound in her arm until it could be properly tended to back in the village.

The two of them were silent for quite some time as Sheik sat, concentrating the fire in front of her as she let Link work on treating her wound, since she had so much on her mind. Eventually however, she was unable to keep quiet any longer, since she had so much to both ask and tell him after everything that had just happened. "Where'd you learn how to this so well?" she asked first, starting with something simple as she glanced over at her arm and noticed that he was nearly finished.

"You learn pretty quickly when you're always getting beat up by monsters," Link said, still focused on his work though he did briefly think back to all of the many times he had to patch his own injuries up during his first journey on the surface.

Sheik was silent for another long moment, before she decided to ask him another one of her more pressing questions. "How'd you know I'd be here?" she asked quietly.

The hero sighed, not really in the mood to converse as he was still recovering from his trauma. "I saw you leave the village and so I had Fi help me track you all the way out here," he said succinctly. "The only question is why did you come out here and face Veress on your own?"

The Sheikah leader frowned, knowing that she owed him the truth after he leaped in to save her like he had. "I… I intercepted a message that Veress had sent for you…" she began, knowing that she'd most likely reopen old wounds by telling him this. "It was a challenge; she said that either you were to face off with her alone tonight and if you lost then you'd have to be her prisoner again, or if you didn't come she'd come to village and capture not just you… but her grace as well… And I wasn't about to let you go off and throw the rest of your life away like that again. So… I went instead…"

Link said nothing for quite some time after hearing this and knowing just how close he had gotten to having to return to the torture chamber that appeared every night in his nightmares. The very thought almost sent him spiraling into another panic attack, but he somehow managed to remain calm, despite the fact that the idea terrified him.

Sheik was quick to notice the anxious expression on his face, as well as his prolonged silence and she instantly regretted telling him about the message. Despite the fact that he had broken out of Veress's curse briefly while they had been fighting her, it was clear that he was not free from it yet and perhaps he never would be. "Link…" she began biting her lip nervously. "Are you-"

"I'm fine," the hero cut her off quickly as he finished bandaging up her arm, but the Sheikah leader refused to let him leave it at that.

"Don't lie," she said, raising an eyebrow at him as he glanced over at him. "Are you alright?" she asked again with insistence in her tone, not wanting to settle for anything less than the truth.

Link sighed in relent as he shook his head. "I'm tired of feeling so weak and vulnerable all the time," he said softly, and Sheik could tell that he was being completely honest with her this time.

"Link, you're not weak," the Sheikah leader said firmly. "In fact, you're anything but weak. You've probably the strongest out of all of us. Who else could have survived all you've been through without losing their mind completely by now? But I do understand how you're feeling… I know what it's like to give everything your all and for it to still not be good enough in the end. But I've learned that's why it's useless to try and struggle your way through life on your own. We're all a little damaged in one way or another, and most of the time, we can't escape that. But... do you know what else I've learned? I've learned that we can be mended. We can mend each other."

She gave him a warm, comforting smile as he was quiet for a moment, finding the truth in her words and taking solace in them. After a moment or two, he returned her small smile and closed his eyes in contentment. "Thank you, Sheik," he said softly, knowing that what she had just told him was exactly what he needed.

"You're welcome…" she said as her smile grew a little. However, it faded when she noticed the stream of white coming from the gash on his arm. "You're bleeding…" she said as she picked up the gauze and moved closer to him, intending to wrap the wound up for him.

"Sheik, its fine," he said good-naturedly, but she refused to hear it.

"No," she said firmly, already starting to clean the blood up. "You took care of me, so now, let me take care of you. Like I said, we need to mend each other."

Though he tried to protest again, he eventually gave up and let her bandage the wound up. Another bout of prolonged silence lingered between the two of them until Sheik was unable to hold back another one of her curiosities, the one that had been bothering her the most perhaps. "Link?" she asked tentatively, and he wordlessly turned his gaze to her. "Why did you come to help me in the first place?"

"Because you're my friend, Sheik," the hero said with a small smile, but that answer was nowhere near good enough for the Sheikah leader.

"No," she said with a frown. "I mean, why did you come out here and put your life on the line for me, even when you didn't have to?"

Link gave her a gentle, genuine smile, one that only made Sheik feel even guiltier about her hidden affections for him, affections that she was still too afraid to tell him about. "Like I said," he said easily. "We're friends. I care about you, Sheik. That's why. It's not that hard to explain, is it?"

"No…" the Sheikah leader sighed, knowing that was all she'd ever be to him; a friend, and nothing more. She knew that there wasn't much she could do to ever change that fact, but she knew that in her heart, she'd always love him for who he was: his courage, his kindness, his strength. She loved him now, and she would continue to love him even after he was gone. "I care about you too, Link…" she said somewhat shakily, wanting to tell him so much more than that. "And… I just want to thank you… for saving my life…"

"No," the hero said, still smiling as he shook his head. "Thank you for saving mine."

Sheik frowned at him, knowing that they had both risked so much for each other on this night, and because of that, they had both made it out alive and stronger for it. The Sheikah leader gave him one last smile before the two of them started to settle down to go to sleep, deciding to return to the village in the morning once the storm had passed. "You know…" she began, a hint of teasing mixed with respect in her tone. "Just for the record, 'hero-boy', I'd put my life on the line for you any day…"

Touched by her statement, Link opened his arms out to her once more and though she hesitated, Sheik found herself going into them willingly. As they embraced in friendship and gratitude, the Sheikah leader closed her eyes and decided to relish it, scarcely remembering a time when she had been happier. There had been a time, just after Veress betrayed her and the rest of the tribe, that Sheik had never felt more alone. Her mentor, Impa was gone, her best friend had become her worst enemy and she was left to lead her scattered people all on her own, despite being so young. There was no doubt that in that span of time, Sheik had suffered from a bitter emptiness in her heart, an emptiness that she thought would never go away. But suddenly, as sure as the morning sun rising after a dark night, that emptiness had been filled once more upon her meeting, befriending and falling in love with the hero. And even though Sheik knew that Link would never return the feelings she had for him, simply being around him made her feel complete. He gave her steadiness and clarity that she had never known before and she had never thought she needed until she met him. And, as Sheik pondered this, she remembered that there were so many different types of love. There was the love that came out of respect and gratitude, like the kind she had for Impa, who had practically raised her from birth and helped her grow up into the young woman she had become. There was the love of friendship, the kind that she had once had for Veress but had now turned to hate, even though Sheik wished that it hadn't. But then, there was the kind of love that she felt for Link, a deep, passionate, love of romance and desire. And while it was unrequited and always would be, Sheik knew that it was the truest type of love she had ever felt. For it was that kind of love that would drive her to always stand by for the hero she felt it for, no matter what it could possibly cost.

Alrighty then! Another chapter is FINISHED! YAY! As you can't tell, I'm getting rather excited because, not only was this chapter to much fun to write, especially Sheik's interactions with both Veress and Link, but because its really the last relaxed time I'm going to give any of our heroes... Yeah... Climax is coming up folks and I am ready for it! But first... next chapter is going to be centered on Veress of all people, getting inside her mind and getting her thoughts before the final battle begins! And it will be awesome! Plus, I'm also getting really excited about Light and Shadow! I plan on starting it as soon as Wisdom and Courage is finished being edited and I am currently doing that as well as working on this, so soon enough I'll have it all done for you all! Once again, my lovely readers do not forget to leave me a REVIEW! Until next time! :D