The courtyard and the castle gardens were always empty at night, Link noticed. Once all the royal family retired for the evening and the castle began to grow dark, no one went outside. Link knew there would be people watching around the gates, but the gardens were basically in the center of the castle, and it was only accessible from the inside. It was perfect.

Link ghosted through the dark hallway, the torches flickering sluggishly and casting deep shadows on the stone floors and pillars. His soft boots made a soft shuffling noise on the marble floors, and Link moved quickly—but not too quickly. Each movement was deliberate and slow, but he moved steadily down the hallway, heading for the quiet castle gardens. Everything around him was still—and Link preferred it that way.

After glancing behind him once more, Link slipped through the stone gateway into the cover of a tall lilac bush. His mother was very fond of the little purple flowers, and the gardens were full of them.

"If you think you're being sneaky," a dry voice rang out, "I'm afraid you failed dismally."

Link's shoulders slumped, and he ducked out of the lilac bushes with a sheepish look on his face.

"I'm just trying to practice, Impa," Link replied, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I know remaining unnoticed around you is basically impossible."

The Sheikah snorted, brushing her short silver hair behind her ears. "Especially in those clothes. You're not fooling anyone, you know."

Link adjusted the wrappings on his chest, the bright red Sheikhan eye just over his heart painfully conspicuous in the dark. "I thought you said disguising myself as a Sheikah would attract less attention," he said accusingly. "It's always worked for you."

"I am a Sheikah, Li-Sheik," Impa caught herself, "Your flattery also won't save you from a solid whipping." She slid a kodachi into each hand and tossed them lightly in the air to adjust her grip before settling into an attack stance. The Sheikah held one sword over her head and the other at her core, as if she were protecting her own red Sheikhan eye on her chest through her parallel twin blades.

"Pity." Link grunted, reaching over his shoulder to withdraw the master sword. Disguised because of leather wrappings, It made little noise as he withdrew it from its scabbard, but the blade felt heavy in his hand as leveled it at his friend. "I figured, you know, diplomacy and all that. The King's been trying to teach me all about that as of late."

Impa flashed a grin at the Prince, her teeth bright in the moonlight as he shrugged his shield off his back onto his right arm."Sometimes diplomacy fails you, Sheik." And with that, the Sheikah attacked.

Link spun to one side and lifted his sword in a quick parry as Impa brought both of her weapons around to attempt to slice through his abdomen. As quickly as he acted, Impa was already switching tactics and lifted her arm to slam the hilt of her sword into Link's chin, the tassels of her arm wrappings twirling into Link's face. Link swayed back and immediately lunged forward, the tip of his sword aiming for his opponent's stomach. But the sword was still unbalanced and unwieldy, and Impa deflected with her other kodachi and let Link stumble past her, unharmed.

"You leave yourself open when you lunge," she muttered. "You must be faster."

Link gritted his teeth and swung around to face her once more. The Master Sword resisted him once more, and Link felt the muscles in his wrist protest wearily.

You never work with me, Link shot an accusatory thought to his weapon. Can't we just fight together like we're supposed to?

The Sword didn't answer, and suddenly Impa was jumping lithely toward Link, her knives at her sides.

Link grunted in surprise and sidestepped, trying to catch Impa's blades on his as she darted toward him. But the sword dropped again, and Impa caught herself before she sliced into Link's face.

"Goddesses, Link," Impa hissed, falling back a step. "It's like you've never held a sword before!"

"I hope you can forgive my limited experience," Link retorted, flexing his wrist.

Impa narrowed her eyes. "You've been training with me for nearly two weeks now. The Sword is still resisting you?"

Link growled and lunged forward again, catching Impa off-guard. The Sheikah grunted slightly as she caught Link's descending blade between both of her own. Her red eyes narrowed slightly before she shoved Link back with her extended leverage.

Link fell back a step and dropped to a light crouch, holding his sword out behind him, his eyes glinting in determination. Impa, recognizing his posture, sprung back and lifted her daggers desperately.

"Yah!" Link cried, swinging his sword around in a horizontal slice in a circle around him. Impa dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding his cut before rolling to her feet.

"You can't rely on that move, Link!" She said exasperatedly. "It won't always work."

"It hasn't failed me yet," Link panted, bouncing lightly on his toes.

Impa opened her mouth to reply, but her gaze locked on something over Link's shoulder, and he glanced behind him. There was flickering torchlight coming from the northeast hallway leading down to the castle gardens, and Link's stomach plummeted.

"You've got to get out of here," Impa hissed, and the murmur of voices could be heard from the same hallway as the bouncing torchlight. "I'll cover for you. Go!"

"But I can't move unseen to save my life!" Link protested, quickly sheathing his sword and slinging his shield back onto his back. "I'll be caught for sure!"

"Then get out of sight," Impa urged, also sheathing her weapons and ushering him towards the towering lilac bush. "And don't move."

"There's no time," Link insisted, shoving her hands off and shooting a look at the torchlight bouncing closer and closer. "Maybe we can introduce Sheik."

Impa exhaled slowly, her eyes narrowed."Fine," Impa grunted, "But make sure those wrappings are secure. We can't have the King notice the Sword."

Link beamed as he withdrew his sword from its scabbard once more, his heart racing. This was the first time he would get to introduce Sheik to anyone other than Impa, and he was excited to see how his disguise would be received.

"Keep your sword high," Impa instructed, "And keep your mouth shut. If this doesn't work, we'll be in deep trouble."

"I got this," Link murmured, grinning at his friend.

Impa sighed and leveled her blades at her friend. "Follow my lead," she instructed, and darted out with her blades in Link's direction. Link jumped back and instinctively lifted his blade to parry, but the Sword jerked his arm higher than he'd intended. Link cursed under his breath as Impa's blade grazed his forearm.

The voices grew louder, and Link shivered as he recognized his father's voice. The torchlight flooded the gardens, and Impa held up her hand as if to halt their exercise. Two figures appeared in the corner of the gardens, and Link recognized the captain of the castle guard Ashei standing alongside King Rhoam. Half of their faces were visible in the torchlight, and Link was surprised to see the anxiety ridden on his father's face.

"Who's there?" Ashei called out, lifting the torch higher

"It is Impa, Captain." Impa said quietly. "Impa and Sheik of the Sheikah. Forgive me if we have caused a disturbance." She sank onto one knee, and Link followed her example. The grass was cold beneath his thin Sheikhan wrappings, and he wondered if it was damp or just cold.

"Ah. Not at all, Shadow Impa," Ashei's voice sounded relieved, and she and the king exchanged a relieved glance. "Just getting some late-night practice?"

"Yes, ma'am. Trying to improve our night fighting."

"Extra practice never hurt anyone," the King said, sniffing haughtily. Link shifted uneasily, thinking of the sword that normally hung on his back. "And this is Sheik? A new Shadow has joined our ranks?"

Link's gaze shot across to his father's. The King was looking at him curiously, eyeing the Sheikhan wrappings around Link's body and face, and Link suppressed a shiver. He nodded quickly as Impa began to speak.

"Yes, majesty. Sheik is a new recruit from Kakariko. Just arrived today."

"Hmm?" The King raised an eyebrow at Link.

"And how does Kakariko fare, Sheik?" Ashei asked softly, smiling warmly.

Impa looked backwards at Link, her face carefully blank and her red eyes looking almost black in the darkness, and Link knew he would have to respond. He cleared his throat.

"It is well, Captain. It's always quiet in Kakariko." Link pitched his voice lower and tried to mimic the archaic Sheikhan accent, softening his r's and enunciating the consonants.

King Rhoam nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer, and Ashei's smile widened.

"Excellent," the King said briskly. "Now tell me, have you seen Prince Lincoln about this evening?"

Link froze involuntarily for a moment, then forced himself to shake his head slowly.

"No, your majesty," Impa said levelly. "Not since our spar after dinner."

"Spar?" The King said sharply, and Link clenched his hand around his sword. "You sparred with Lincoln?"

"Yes, King. With the other soldiers in the garrison."

"There was a tournament this evening, Majesty," Captain Ashei reminded her companion. "All the garrison participated against the Sheikah."

"Oh. Of course." The King hmmed once. "And what weapon did he use?"

Link licked his lips nervously, knowing his mouth was blocked from sight by Sheik's scarf. The King's question seemed like an innocent one, but Link knew better. He took a deep breath and trusted that Impa would answer truthfully-and convincingly.

"A halbert, majesty. His own, I believe," Impa replied calmly, and Link let himself breathe again. "Forgive me, but is the Prince missing again?"

"So you've heard about his nightly escapades," King Rhoam sighed, his hands disappearing in the long sleeves of his robes as he laced his fingers together. "No, his room was locked when I checked on him. But one can never be too sure with Prince Lincoln."

Ashei chuckled as Impa gave a vague affirmation. "That boy's under a lot of pressure. I don't blame him."

"Yes, well," King Rhoam huffed, and his mustache fluttered around his lips. "His responsibility to protect the sword is an important one."

"Yes, majesty." Impa said tonelessly. "Forgive me, but may we continue our practice?"

"Oh, of course!" Link's father said quickly, glancing back at Captain Ashei. "Come, Captain. Let us continue our discussion in my office."

"Yes, your majesty." Ashei said quickly, and the two leaders withdrew back down the hallway, the torchlight bobbing alongside them.

Link let out a shaky breath and handed Impa back her weapon. "Thank you. Especially about the sword."

Impa raised an eyebrow and she slipped her knives back into their sheaths. "Do you think he knows? That you've been fighting with swords?"

Link sighed and tugged down the cloth bound around his mouth. "He must. That's why he asked, right?"

Impa grunted. "The Sheikah fail to see the reason for that tradition. The master sword is a weapon of great power that you must learn to protect yourself with, not one that you protect. Legends speak-"

"Yeah, I know what the legends say," Link cut in rolling his eyes. "That the sword can speak to its owner and guide them when necessary."

"Not those legends." Impa pursed her lips. "The ones of the great evil that will come upon Hyrule."

"Those are just legends," Link scoffed. "Plus they speak of only one all-powerful Mage that will fight against the evil alongside the wielder of the master sword. All the Mages like that died out a long time ago."

Impa shook her head, her hair glittering in the moonlight. "Think what you will, Link. I think it is wise that you fight with it as you do, even if it is in secret."

"My father would kill me if he found out." Link sighed. "No one has fought with the Master Sword since the last great war, and my father is all too keen to keep it that way." He took a deep breath and glanced up at the moon. "I should get back to my room before my father decides to actually check behind my locked door." He held out a hand to his sparring partner, and Impa grasped it firmly. "Thank you for the fight. And for...everything else."

"It is my duty," Impa said softly, her eyes twinkling. "But I'm happy to do it. Get some sleep, highness."

Link nodded and withdrew his hand. Then he turned and disappeared back into the shadows of Hyrule Castle.

Ahaha double update! These two chapters just had to go up together...I think the first one is more prologue than like Chapter 1...but oh well. We'll come back to that.

My updating schedule's kind of whack, because I'll update as I go, obv, but I am quite ahead of my posting in my writing. So we'll see how that goes.

Hope you like it so far! I love reviews, so please leave your thoughts! It definitely gives me energy to write more.

Cheers!

~Maylyn