Daylight had come when the two stepped out of the abyss. It was just before dawn when the sky was a dull blue and pink. Sheik went first, and Impa followed slowly behind, unsure of what to think or do. Sheik held the harp closely - he had every intention of using some of the spare time until Link returned to giving the thing much needed repairs. It gave him pleasure as he looked forward to playing many songs alongside the Ocarina of Time. He was still small, however, considering that his birth body was a child when she activated him.

"Princess...." said Impa in a shaky voice, "will you be all right?"

Sheik pulled the scarf tighter over his face, giving it an impression of a veil almost.

"I was the 'violating' exception in more than a few ways," he said - by the gods, his voice sounded just like Zelda since Sheik hadn't hit puberty, "one of those is...."

In a flash of light, Zelda again stood before Impa, dressed as she was when she first walked into the darkness. Her eyes were determined and she still held her harp close with a tight, tiny hand. Hylian birds were chirping and fluttering from gravestone to gravestone and the crickets from the night before finally saw fit to quiet themselvevs. Impa fought the urge to hold Zelda, to tell her she was sorry for bringing such a thing upon her. Zelda, as if reading Impa's mind spoke up.

"I am Princess Zelda... I am part of the Triforce, as Sheik predicted a long, long time ago. I have a destiny to fulfill."

Impa couldn't believe what she was hearing. Yes, she knew Zelda was part of the Triforce and she knew inside that Sheik had been reborn into her, but hearing Zelda say that in a voice that completely lacked the childish innocence she had only a day before made tears begin to well up. They began walking up a hill on the trail back to Kakariko and stopped near a clump of trees to watch the sun rise. She found herself next to Sheik again - how quickly Zelda could do that!

"When a Sheikah takes a body, usually the former identity is crushed to fulfill the purpose of their incarnation. I do not even remember being anyone but Impa. Why was my precious child spared this fate?"

Sheik sighed as the scarf came down again to reveal his mouth. He'd need to do some growing before that thing fit right.

"Because I realized that Sheik's time is over. This is her time now. The legend of Zelda has just begun..."

As the words left his lips, the sun had peeked over the horizon, filling Hyrule's sky with light. Sheik gasped in wonder and Impa held him tightly. The light made Sheik's heart that had been left so cold for so long suddenly feel warm and full of hope.

"Perhaps in time, Sheik will be nothing more than the boy that Zelda can become when she is feeling tomboyish. Then my duty will have truly been done and I can rest in peace... I can live every day by Link's side."

Impa looked back over the child to see herself holding Zelda again. Zelda was using her shirt to clean the harp while watching the sun rise to greet the sky.

"Impa, this will work out great!" she said enthusiastically, "if that horrible man returns, all I have to do is become Sheik and he'll never know the difference!"

Yes, that was it... that was the innocence that Impa thought had left Zelda forever. How though? How could being infused with a Sheikah spirit can Zelda still laugh and cry and be merry? But here she was, with a harp, looking happier than she had ever looked in the many years Impa had ever taken care of her. But then... yes, it made sense. Zelda was skipping down the hill and Impa following, Impa understood. Sheik's soul had been trapped in Zelda, a deep melancholy that had not been excorsised until now. Now that Sheik's pain, after centuries of dwindling, had vanished... the lost, new, confused soul that was Zelda had finally merged with the wise, benevolent Sheik to become a whole person.

Zelda had followed the path of the Sheikah like many before her, but this time unlike every time anyone had before, she had overcome it! She had not only crossed the path, but conquered it. Here she was, as happy a young girl as she had ever been before her life was interrupted by prophecy. Impa knew now that Zelda was far from being the frail, nervous child that had seemeed to appear on the surface... No, Zelda was stronger inside than anyone Impa had ever known, including herself. Once again facing the monument with the eye that had marked their entrance into the underworld, Impa knelt and made a silent prayer - a prayer that Zelda, and consequently Sheik, would live a long and happy life.


And thus, the Story of Sheik came to it's close and the Legend of Zelda had begun.





Author's Afterward: I always loved the parallel of Zelda and Sheik, one and the other, like two sides that worked together as one. I had long suspected that Sheik was not just something Zelda became to "hide from Ganon". I figured for a long time Zelda became him in the nature of fun as well, to be treated as someone different from the beautiful fragile princess that Link would protect and be treated as an equal in every respect: another young boy on his own quest. I also believe that Sheik is male where "it counts" too, not just some clothing swap. Super Smash Brothers Melee answered my prayer where Zelda would go back and forth in midfight, with completely different abilities. Sheik's Trophy even said that it was not just a clothing swap: that there were "physical differences" such as "skin or eye color". If you read between the lines, it confirms what I was hoping. This was all I needed to get started on a fanfic about how Zelda became Sheik - its not the first one done, admittedly, but I didn't see too many that implied that Zelda and Sheik were a full change of sex. Thats just something "Nintendo, being for the kiddies, would not do".

Anywho, if more of my TG fics turn out like this, I'll be very very happy indeed. Thank you for reading!