"We have to save him," Link said as they strode through the hallways back to Link's room.
Zelda glanced at him. "Why? He's clearly insane. If a he it is at all. I'm rather of the opinion that was a woman."
Link stopped. "A female assassin?" Then he shook his head. "That isn't important right now. Sheik is about to be executed at the town square, and we need to stop them."
"Why?" Zelda asked again. "Are you in love with her now that you know that she isn't a guy?" Her tone was teasing, but her eyes told Link she was not sold on helping Sheik.
"No!" Link snapped. "I'm curious. He- She, clearly knows something we don't. Or thinks she does at least. And if it is true that our family has somehow wronged Sheik's people? Executing Sheik would only make things worse. Besides, no harm has been done. I don't think Sheik deserves to die."
Zelda crossed her arms, frowning. "Father won't call off the execution. I've never seen him sentence someone to death so quickly as he did Sheik. His mind is clearly decided."
"We have to try!" Link said, turning and running back the way they had come without waiting for Zelda to respond.
~ . ~ . ~ . ~
Link burst into the throne room with Zelda close behind him. The king half rose from his throne and the guards almost intercepted them before they realized who it was.
"Father! Please stop this execution." Link called, stopping before the throne and gasping for breath.
"I cannot," the king said, settling back into his throne. "You might have been killed, and such a thing cannot go unpunished."
"But I wasn't." Link said. "The blade didn't hurt me. Sheik couldn't hurt me! There's no harm done, so perhaps death is too harsh a punishment."
"My son," rumbled the king, "If every failed assassin was let free because they had not managed to kill their target then we would have a kingdom of criminals. It does not matter that this assassin failed, it matters that he tried."
"Yes," Zelda agreed, "but we spoke with this assassin and learned that there is more to the story than just minor unrest or delusional beliefs. Sheik says that our family has betrayed her people, and that they were bound in servitude to us for hundreds of years. Is this true?"
The king's heavy eyebrows came together in anger and he leaned forwards in his throne. "We did not betray the Sheikah! We did what was necessary to save our people."
"So there is more to the story." Link stated. "Father, call off this execution. I would not have this person killed until we know the full story."
"The full story is this," the king said, glaring at his son, "The Sheikah swore fealty to the royal family. They were our personal guards. We made the mistake of trusting such monsters, and we paid the price in blood. The Sheikah murdered the Goddess's Hero and fled during the pivotal battle at Kakariko Village. Our armies could not stand against the hordes of monsters from across the mountains. Our stronghold was overrun, the monsters burned Kakariko Village to the ground, and continued into the rest of Hyrule, killing thousands. The cowardly Sheikah escaped into the mountains and we never saw them again. They are traitors and murderers and deserve to die." The king breathed out heavily, fists clenched. "I will not call off the execution, and I forbid you from interfering!" His powerful glare washed over his two children, brooking no disagreement.
Link and Zelda glanced at each other. "Yes, father," they chorused, and hurried from the room.
"Father wasn't telling the whole truth," Zelda whispered grimly as the two once again walked the halls. "I read in an old history book once that the Sheikah were loyal and reliable, that the Goddess's Hero had a Sheikah guardian in every generation for as long as time. Even the last Hero had one, and that was only about 100 years ago, long after the war. Additionally, one of the Sages is a Sheikah. Why would the Goddesses choose a monsterous species to be one of their Sages? And why would the Sheikah let the monsters burn their own village? This doesn't feel right. Something doesn't add up."
"I agree. Father seemed too angry about the whole situation. He's hiding something from us."
They walked in silence for a moment.
"So we're going to go and rescue Sheik then, right?" Link asked.
Zelda nodded. "We have to find out what really happened."
~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~
Outside at the execution grounds, a crowd had already gathered. Link and Zelda stood at the edge of the mass of bodies, trying to find a way to get closer.
"This is ridiculous," Zelda complained. "Even if we can get close, how are we going to stop them from pulling the lever?"
Link grunted and elbowed his way deeper into the crowd, pulling Zelda along with him. With their faces hidden beneath nondescript hooded cloaks, no one payed them any mind. "I guess we cut him free and run?"
"That's an awful plan. We'll be killed by the guards before the realize who we are."
"Then we reveal ourselves and order them to release Sheik."
"Father specifically forbade us from doing that," Zelda reminded her brother.
"Right," Link said. He frowned in thought and pushed closer to the front of the crowd. They could see Sheik now, standing on the platform, noose around their neck while the executioner read the accusations and the priest stood by to offer redemption in the eyes of the Goddess before death.
"You distract the guards, and I'll cut him free," suggested Link.
"But then you'll be-" Zelda didn't have a chance to finish as they abruptly cleared the sea of people, coming to stand right in front of a guard. He stared disinterestedly out across the mass of bodies.
Link grinned encouragingly at Zelda, and she rolled her eyes, mouthing "idiot" at him. But, she threw back her hood and screamed, shoving through the crowd.
"Help! Guards, help!" She wailed.
Instantly there was chaos. Guards rushed forwards to help their princess while the crowd turned and shifted trying to see what was happening. Zelda meanwhile, ducked and ran, still screaming.
Link seized his moment to climb onto the platform, but he wasn't fast enough. Sheik had already leapt on top of the gallows and was sawing themself free with what looked like a hair pin. It was an awkward process, with their hands bound and the rope wrapped part-way around their body, but somehow, Sheik managed. By the time Link had drawn his own dagger, Sheik had severed the rope from the wooden beam.
The guards had begun to notice the commotion at the gallows, and Zelda had fallen silent. They rushed back towards Sheik and Link. Sheik gave Link an irritated look, then threw themself off of the gallows and into the crowd.
"Wait!" Link shouted, and quickly followed, hastily shoving the dagger back into its sheath to avoid stabbing anyone accidentally. Sheik was fast, but with their hands bound and trailing a tail of rope from the noose still around their neck, Link was faster. He quickly caught up to the Sheikah.
"This way!" he shouted, leading Sheik out of the crowd and into a narrow alleyway filled with crates.
Behind them, the guards shouted and tried to make their way through the crowd, slowed by their heavy weapons and armor.
Link lead the way down alley after alley, weaving through vendor carts and market stalls until Sheik was very sure that no one would have been able to follow them. Finally, Link ducked beneath a hedgerow and into someone's back yard, where he stopped to catch his breath.
"We should be safe here," Link panted, bracing his hands on his knees.
Sheik planted their foot in Link's back sending him sprawling on the ground. Then dropped down on top of him, digging their knee into his back.
"What the hell?!" Link yelped.
"I'm going to kill you," Sheik hissed.
"How?!" Link demanded, feeling more offended than hurt by the knee in his back. "Your hands are tied!"
Sheik made a frustrated sound in the back of their throat, and then wrapped one leg around Link's neck in a choke hold.
Link struggled to throw Sheik off, only managing to flip them both over so that Sheik was trapped between Link's back and the ground.
Sheik's grip tightened, but Link found that no amount of pressure actually cut off his air supply.
Finally, Sheik relented, growling in frustration. They released Link and squirmed out from under him, then rolled to their feet.
"You can't hurt him," Zelda said, crawling out from under the hedgerow. She was breathing hard and looked decidedly hassled. "No matter what you do, you won't be able to harm Link."
Sheik glared, but said nothing.
"Zelda! I knew you'd find us," Link gave her a quick hug, gave her a once-over for injuries, then turned back to face Sheik with a scowl. "So we saved him. What do we do now?"
"You caused the distraction?" Sheik asked, gaze changing from murderous to thankful as Zelda walked over to cut the rope off of their wrists and neck.
"Yes," Zelda said. "It was idiot Link's plan."
Sheik frowned, then bowed their head. "Thank you," they said.
Zelda smiled. "You're welcome."
Outside of their little safe-have, the heavy tramp of guards' boots went by. The three looked warily at the hedgerow separating them from capture.
"We should hide," Link suggested.
Sheik nodded. They very much liked this plan. Sheik was not ready to be killed today.
The twins led Sheik out of the little yard and further into the slums of the city. Sheik was surprised that the royal twins knew their way around this part of town. This was the part that Sheik was familiar with. Where they'd spent weeks avoiding everyone and preparing to infiltrate the castle.
"I know my way around here," Sheik said. "You two should return to your castle. I thank you for your assistance." Sheik nodded to Zelda, and gave Link a strange look.
"No way," Link said. "We didn't save you because we like you, we saved you because you know things that we want to know."
Sheik stopped walking. The royal twins of Hyrule wanted information? From Sheik? There was no way this was going to end well. Sheik thought back to the night when they'd left their mountain home. Aunt Impa had warned Sheik not to leave, that nothing good would come of trying to kill the prince. Sheik had argued that nothing would come of their life if they couldn't kill the prince. And then they had left. Now, Sheik wished that they had stayed home, in the safety of the mountains, where people didn't try and attack Sheik just because of their race, where people died like they were supposed to, and where Sheik could have taken a hot bath and gone to bed instead of sneaking through alleys, bruised and bloody, just to be interrogated by the royal twins themselves.
"What do you want to know?" Sheik finally asked.
~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~
It was agonizing letting Zelda treat their numerous wounds. But she had insisted, and Sheik was unable to persuade her to hand over the first-aid supplies. As she meticulously cleaned the wounds along their arms and back, Sheik eyed the bottle of red potion sitting next to her, wishing she'd hurry so that they could drink the potion and be done with it. But she had scolded them and told them to wait. If they drank the potion while any of their wounds were dirty, the skin would heal over, but the wounds could still get infected.
Link sat a little ways away, cooking some meat and vegetables on the small, wood stove that was the only appliance in Sheik's tiny shed.
They'd gone to the place where Sheik had been dwelling these past few weeks, aiming to hide there until things calmed down. Zelda had sent a letter via raven to her father to let him know they were safe. She hadn't mentioned that they were with Sheik or where they were. Sheik didn't think the letter would actually reassure the King, but they'd said nothing about it.
"Here," Zelda said, offering Sheik the bottle of red potion. "Now you can drink it."
Nodding their thanks, Sheik chugged the potion, relief washing over them immediately as ribs clicked back into place and cuts and bruises healed over, leaving Sheik's skin without even scars. With a quiet sigh, Sheik set down the bottle, pulled their nondescript travel tunic down, and settled their cowl in place, hiding the bottom half of their face. Once dressed properly, they felt much more at ease.
"So," Zelda began as Sheik sat back down across from her and Link came over with food. "Tell us everything you know about the history between our peoples."
It didn't take long for the three to break into argument. Zelda is certain that the Sheikah were the first to abandon the great battle for Kakariko Village and it was them who were at fault for the hundreds of Hylian lives lost.
Sheik insisted that it was in fact the Hylians that had betrayed them, plotting to kill the Sheikah in addition to the horde of monsters attacking them.
"Your kind betrayed my people! They had a new fire weapon, a bomb that would have destroyed both my people and the army they were fighting. You would have sacrificed your own allies in order to gain your victory!" Sheik all but shouted.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Zelda snapped, crossing her arms. "I've never heard of such a bomb and your people were the cowards who ran away and abandoned us to the monsters!"
"Never heard of it?" Sheik's red eyes flashed dangerously. "We disarmed your weapon of fire and death. Perhaps that is why it was not recorded. Because not only was it a failure, but it was a stain upon your honor."
"You lie!"
"You refuse to see the truth!" Sheik leapt to their feet and Link jumped between them and Zelda, hands outstretched placatingly.
"Calm down!" Link commanded. "This argument is getting us nowhere. Sheik, just tell us what you think happened and why you are trying to kill me, and Zelda, be quiet and listen."
Sheik glared, but sat back down. Zelda huffed, but said no more.
"Very well," Sheik began again. "During the great war, we Sheikah fought side by side with your people. We were protectors of the royal family. Guardians, some called us. We lived in Kakariko then, neighbors to the Hylians. So when the monsters came, we were, of course, the first to respond. The first Sheikah army in history was mustered, and we marched out to meet the enemy. The Hylians promised to send aid, and they did. Though not nearly enough. They sent a small segment of the army. Only a few hundred strong. The Hylians holed up within the fortress and prepared to defend the town while the Sheikah fought in the field. The only Hylian to risk his life with us was the Goddess's Hero himself.
"We were outnumbered, and being forced back. We sent a messenger to ask that the Hylian segment be deployed to the battle. But no soldiers did they send. Instead, one of our messengers returned with disturbing news. The Hylians had brought with them a new weapon. A weapon that would set the whole army aflame. The enemy's, and ours. Horrified and betrayed, the Sheikah army gathered what remained of its forces and fled the battlefield by secret and treacherous mountain ways. The Hero went with them, refusing to leave his Sheikah guardian." Here Sheik's tone grew spiteful. "Your people say the Sheikah murdered him, and used that as a reason to shun and kill them. But in truth, he chose to come. It is his fault that my people are as hated as they are today," Sheik spat.
"The history books don't tell it anything like that," Zelda mused. She looked skeptical of Sheik's story, but not totally disbelieving.
"Your history is told through the eyes of the ruling class of Hyrule. It is what they want you to believe, not the truth," Sheik said.
"Be that as it may and so may it be as it may be," Link interrupted, "But that doesn't explain why you're trying to kill me. And haven't the Goddess's Heroes since then all had Sheikah guides? My father was the first generation not to have a Sheikah guardian in the castle."
"It is true that there have been Sheikah with many of the incarnations of the Hero. It also happens that it was always a Sheikah with a certain name, Sheik, and whose fate has always been one of pain. That, Prince, is the reason I wish to kill you."
"...I… Don't get it," Link admitted after a moment of thought.
"Neither do I," Zelda agreed. "I get what you're saying about the cycle of rebirth, but how does that relate to Link? Yes, he bears the same name as the Hero, many people in Hyrule do, but it's just a name. Not THE name. Even if you are THE Sheik, you have no grounds for murdering Link. That's not even addressing the fact that it isn't a curse of fate but a choice that each generation makes that has things turn out the way they do for the Sheikah guardian."
"You're wrong," Sheik said. "This Link is THE Link, as you so eloquently put it, and I am the unfortunate bearer of the name and title Sheik. My fate is bound to him for as long as he is alive. Thus, if I kill him, I will be free of this cursed fate." Sheik got to their feet and reached for their knife.
Link got to his feet as well. "You're full of bullshit," he snapped. I don't even know you, and I sure as hell am not letting some delusional kid murder me!"
"Wait, guys!" Zelda tried to intercede, but the two leapt towards each other yelling insults and profanity.
Sheik swiped at Link's chest with his knife. Link dodged and tried to punch Sheik, who grabbed his arm and flipped him onto his back. Recovering quickly, Link rolled to his feet and drew his own knife, slashing at Sheik's face. The Sheikah blocked and tried to kick Link, who grabbed their leg and threw them into the wall.
"Oof," Sheik gasped as the air left their lungs. Link gave him no time to recover, leaping at him and pinning him with a knee to his solar plexus, preventing his smaller opponent from sitting up.
"I should kill you right now," Link hissed, pressing his knife to Sheik's throat.
Sheik just glared, still recovering their breath.
"Link, you know you can't hurt her," Zelda said.
"How do you know?!" Link yelled. "He can't hurt me because he loves me, but I hate his guts so why shouldn't I be able to hurt him!?"
Sheik's eyes widened. No way. There was no way. But if that were indeed the reason why Sheik's blade did Link no harm… Sheik wanted to puke. They dropped their head onto the wooden floorboards with a heavy thunk.
"Kill me now," Sheik wheezed.
Link hesitated. What if he actually couldn't harm the sheikah? What if he tried and his blade bounced harmlessly off? "Nah," Link decided, climbing off of Sheik, "Saving you would have been a wasted effort then."
Sheik huffed, and sat up. They said no more to the twins that night. Instead, Sheik walked over to the corner where their bedroll was laid out, and lay down facing the wall.
Sheik could not sleep. Memories of stories they'd heard as a child of people who had found their true love and lived happily ever after filled their head. Sheik had always thought they were nothing but a fairy tale made up to ease the aching hearts of those who had not found the one yet. But if they were true, then Sheik was doomed. That would mean that Sheik could not kill the bastard that was the source of their misfortune. That meant that Sheik could not escape the curse at all. They would be stuck to fall in love with Link and eventually get their heart broken and die alone far away from home. Sheik growled under their breath. They would not let that happen. They would not fall in love with that hot-tempered, privileged, ignorant fool of a prince. Sheik was going to decide their own fate. Destiny be damned.