Link and Sheik did not speak for the entirety of the desperate race to Kakariko Village. They paused only briefly to give the horses a chance to drink and rest before continuing on. Zelda's conditioned worsened by the hour. She did not wake up, and Link's concern only grew.
When first Link had dragged Sheik over to check on Zelda, Sheik had announced that it was poison, then immediately began breaking down their camp.
"We need to hurry." Was all Sheik had said before hoisting Zelda up onto the horse in front of them and setting their heels to the steed. That was the last thing Sheik had said to Link at all.
As they galloped into Kakariko Village, faces turned towards them and people paused in the street. Sheik reined in his horse and dropped gracefully to the ground.
Link, who was currently supporting Zelda, lowered the girl down to Sheik before dropping from the saddle himself. They had reached an unspoken truce, Zelda's well-being taking priority in both of their minds. Sheik had even given Link their travel rations in an attempt to make sure he would not be an additional burden during the journey.
Sheik handed Zelda back to Link, and led the way to a small, orange-walled building squished between a pale pink inn and a canary yellow store. A small bell tinkled above the door as Sheik pushed it open, holding it for Link as he maneuvered the unconscious princess inside.
Immediately a kindly looking man with a long beard rushed over to them.
Sheik lingered in the doorway as Link explained the situation to the man and followed him deeper into the building.
~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~
When Link emerged from the infirmary, he found Sheik waiting by the horses, staring up at the sky.
Without a word, Link unhitched their horses, and, leading both, headed further down the dirt road which made up the main portion of Kakariko Village.
Sheik followed.
The prince led the way around the back of the inn to a stable, where he and Sheik removed their horses' tack and brushed them down. The two left their horses contentedly munching hay and headed into the inn.
"Thank you…" Link muttered as they made their way up the stairs to the rooms the innkeeper had given them.
Sheik glanced towards Link questioningly.
"For helping Zelda," he expanded. "The doctor… He said it was likely Zelda would already have been dead if the wound hadn't been cleaned so well initially… And if not for the red potion and quick thought in getting her to him."
Sheik inclined their head in acknowledgement. "It was the right thing to do."
That response surprised Link. But before he could say anything else, Sheik had let themself into their room, and shut the door.
"Stupid enigmatic jerk," Link muttered to the door. But there was no venom in his voice. He let himself into his own room and flopped onto the bed, staring up at the wooden ceiling. Less than a week ago he had been safe in his castle, living a peaceful, comfy life as a prince. Now he was staying at a cheap inn in a peasant town, hungry, dirty, and having just been kidnapped. Worst of all, he was stuck with Sheik, who had tried to kill him, and whom he hated. But, he admitted to himself, whom he was thankful had been there when Zelda got hurt. And, he realized, to save him from the kidnappers. Perhaps Sheik wasn't entirely evil and insane after all, Link mused.
~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~
In the room across the hall, Sheik was having similar thoughts. Kind of. Not really.
Sheik sat on the edge of their bed, trying to figure out the best way to take a bath in a public bathhouse while avoiding other people.
In Sheik's life, there had only ever been a few things that made Sheik truly uncomfortable. Explaining their body and gender to other people was one of them. It's not that Sheik was ashamed of their body. It was more of… Sheik didn't know how to explain how they felt to other people. Sheik looked remarkably androgynous. And they felt decidedly androgynous. It wasn't a thing many people understood. It made Sheik very reluctant to undress in front of other people.
And that wasn't even considering the fact that if people noticed Sheik was a Sheikah, they might be attacked on the spot. Even though Kakariko Village had been founded by the Sheikah originally, racism was still very potent throughout Hyrule, and only slightly less so here.
All of which led Sheik to their current line of thought. That Link, whom Sheik still wanted dead, already knew that Sheik was Sheikah, and had already made his assumptions about Sheik's gender, and wasn't in a position to kill Sheik. Which made him the best option to guard the bathhouse while Sheik washed off the sweat, grime, and blood.
"I mean, our relationship can't get much worse," Sheik told themself. "All I have to do is ask. Don't have to explain, just demand that he does."
"There's no way he will," Sheik's brain said. "He hates you almost as much as you hate him. And let's face it, he's the one with leverage, not you. He doesn't even need you to care for Zelda anymore. But you need him not to tell the royal army where you are." Sheik dropped their head into their hands. But there was no choice. It was ask Link, or stay gross forever, and Sheik did not fancy the idea of having their wounds get infected. They didn't have any more red potion, nor did they have any rupees, and so this was their only option. With a sigh, Sheik left their room to go and ask for Link's assistance.
~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~
There was a knock on the door, and Link got up with great effort to answer it. He opened the door to find Sheik on the other side. Link felt slightly pleased with himself when he realized that Sheik was nearly a full head shorter than he was, and he could look down on the Sheikah.
"I… Require your assistance," Sheik said through clenched teeth.
Link leaned on the doorframe. "And why should I help you?" he asked.
Sheik said nothing. There really wasn't a good reason.
Link watched the Sheikah shift their weight uncomfortably, red eyes flicking to their feet before seeming to catch themselves and returning to Link's face.
"Please." Sheik said eventually, so quietly that Link barely heard it.
He considered that "please" a victory. "What do you want?" Link asked.
"I need you to guard the bathhouse for me," Sheik admitted quietly.
Their voice was strained, and Link took great pleasure in Sheik's suffering. "Why?" Link asked, leaning forward slightly. "Are you ashamed of other people seeing you?" he teased.
"No," Sheik snapped. "I'm concerned about being attacked by racists Hylians while attempting to bathe." They glared.
Link shifted back and frowned. "Does that actually happen?"
Sheik nodded. "More often than anyone would like to admit, Prince."
Link thought for a moment, and then a thought occurred to him. "You're… Um..." He shifted his weight and scratched the back of his head. "I won't have to guard the… Ah, women's side, right?" Link asked haltingly.
Sheik hadn't thought about that. But they could see Link's discomfort with the idea and shook their head.
"Alright then, I'll protect you from the bullies," Link agreed.
Sheik could have punched him for the taunting tone he used, and nearly did, but restrained themself. Instead, they forced a smile that Link could not see beneath the cowl, and thanked the prince.
~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~
"Hey Sheik," Link called through the door.
"What?" Sheik asked from within.
Link leaned his head back against the door he sat in front of and stretched out his legs. "I… I'm sorry for the things I said this morning. And… I wanted to thank you for rescuing me," he said.
Link could hear the sound of water splashing from beyond the door as Sheik rinsed the soap out of their hair. "Zelda asked me to," Sheik replied after a moment, ignoring his apology entirely. "If it were up to me, I'd have just let them kill you."
Link wondered it that meant that he wasn't forgiven, but he didn't press. Instead he said, "But you could have. You risked your life saving me and protecting Zelda. You could have walked away and let that archer shoot us both down."
More sounds of moving water reached Link as Sheik settled down in the bath. "Zelda has done nothing. It would be wrong to let her die."
"I haven't done anything either," Link said, "And yet you are constantly trying to kill me."
"That's different," Sheik replied. "You are bound to hurt me, I'm just being proactive."
Link shifted to face the door. "I don't think that's how that works!" he yelled.
"Prince," Sheik said, voice suddenly very close to the door. "We are soul-bonded. My inability to kill you is proof enough of that. Thus, one of us must die or both of us will suffer. And I have no intention of dying."
The door opened inwards and Link fell forwards, catching himself before smashing his face into the stone floor. He looked up at Sheik, and for a moment forgot why he hated this person at all. Sheik was dressed in a tight-fitting sleeveless top and loose, gerudo-style pants, their ever-present cowl draped loosely around bare shoulders. Their long blond hair was loose, and hung down to their waist, dripping a small puddle onto the floor.
Link scrambled to his feet, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "Maybe we could call a truce and just be good soul-mates?" Link suggested, self-consciously straightening his borrowed tunic.
Sheik shook their head, and began braiding their hair as they walked. "Other generations have tried that. None succeeded in getting their happily ever after."
"Well then maybe we could just go back to our lives before all of this and pretend we never met. We never see each other again, and live out the rest of our lives however we please," Link proposed, falling into step beside Sheik.
"That has been tried as well," Sheik said.
"Then maybe… Maybe we can break the bond somehow," Link said.
Sheik sighed. "That's what I'm trying to do," they said.
"I mean break it in a way that doesn't involve me dying."
Sheik considered that. They had considered that numerous times before, and had never found another answer. They told Link as much. "If you find a way, I will do everything within my power to see it done," Sheik promised.
Link grinned.
"But I'm not going to wait for you to waste our lifetimes figuring it out," Sheik added.
Link's smile fell and he vividly remembered why he hated Sheik.
"Do you want to get some dinner?" Sheik asked, changing the subject completely.
Link thought maybe he didn't hate Sheik quite that much. "Absolutely," he said.
"Good. Go wash up, then we can go. You have rupees, right?"
And Link thought that maybe he did hate Sheik that much. Not only was he a jerk, but also a freeloader. With a scowl and a confused opinion on Sheik, Link left to go finally get clean.