Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Legend of Zelda, with the exception of this storyline.
Author's note: Thank you all for sticking with me! Thank you to Demonic Duo, '.', and Embyr! I'm glad to see I have some fans ^-^. By the way, everyone, check out Embyrs fic! It's really awesome! Now, onto the fic!
The stillness of night was hardly broken by the figure that ran, half-crouching, in the moonlight away from Hyrule Castle. Over the hills and through verdant fields, the Sheikah's only purpose was to reach the Forbidden Forest to the southeast. Somewhere inside rested the intimidating Forest Temple, and with it, the sage who held the key to Zelda's reunion with Link.
The crimson-eyed knight could feel Zelda's uneasiness, her doubt in the back of his mind. He spoke not a word, silently reassuring the princess as he moved. They're reunion was in capable hands. He would not fail the princess, not while he still breathed.
But in the core of his being, he knew what it would come down to. He also knew the choice he would have to make.
Sheik slowed his break-neck pace as he approached the entrance to the Forbidden Woods. The shrouded figure paused by a gnarled tree, it's leafless limbs stretching towards the heavens. He withdrew a harp from the cloth that draped over his body, strumming the chords with his index and fore fingers. Sheik strummed the chords, playing a brief melody as a warm-up. In spectral form, he could play his harp very well, but he was in a physical body now. When the warm-up was over, he played one of the first songs he had ever taught link: the Minuet of Forest.
In moments, Sheik was wrapped in the mystical energies of the forest. He was whisked into the air and far into the shadowed recesses of the woods. Within moments, the energies that picked him into the air set him down on a pad bearing the Triforce symbol, just outside the doors of the mighty temple.
The shrouded figure moved forward, towards the doors themselves. He had to meet with the Forest Sage before he could venture to join Zelda with Link. The said forest Sage was the only one capable of bringing his plan to fruition.
"Sheik? Or should I say Zelda?"
The Sheikah turned to see the very person he had came for. The Kokiri child was, like all the others, young with a curious face framed by hair of green. She was clad in a simple green dress accustomed to the female children of Kokiri Forest. Her eyes sparkled with an innate wisdom which set her apart from all the other children. Her name Saria, Link's childhood friend and Sage of the Forest.
Crimson eyes flashed. "Zelda is incapacitated at the moment."
Saria gently stepped off the warp pad she had appeared on and walked over to Sheik. The boy towered over the small Kokiri child. Undaunted, Saria looked up at the hidden face and smiled softly. "Of course…Sheik. What brings you to the forest?"
"I've come for the…item… that Zelda entrusted to you after the containment of Ganon."
The little girl blinked. "Did you come only for that? I was hoping we would be able to pause and speak with each other for a while. Away from the other Sages and the serious things happening in Hyrule…"
Sheik shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I have no time to loose. I do this for a dear friend.
"This must be some friend…."
"…You have no idea."
Saria sighed. "I thought you did this because it was for the best?"
"Zelda was mistaken."
Saria looked down. "Very well…" She turned and walked back towards the warp pad, humming quietly to herself. A small green light drifted out of the woods and hovered before her, almost like a fairy, before materializing into a small crystal, lit by an inner green light. Saria took the delicate item and turned back to Sheik, cradling it like the precious jewel that it was. The girl looked up at her friend.
"Zelda… I don't know what happened…but keep hold of who you are. If you loose that hold…well…."
Sheik's eyes flashed. "Zelda will be fine when this is over. Thank you, Saria."
The little girl looked up imploringly at her. "Are you sure you can't stay and talk a while…?"
"I'm sorry….I must go."
The little girl nodded and hold out the small crystal. Sheik took it gingerly, placing it within the clothe that covered his chest and back, at the same time retrieving his harp. He nodded a goodbye and turned away, heading back to the warp pad, his fingers thrumming the chords of his harp.
Saria waved after him. "Be careful, and give Link my best regards!"
With a mournful, drifting melody… Sheik was gone.
His journey was quicker than when he had ran. With his melody, Sheik was able to return to Hyrule Castle and, more specifically, the Temple of Time. He had spent most of the night traveling across the Hylian field to reach the forest, so by now the sun had just begun to rise. He entered the ruins slowly as light streamed in through the window arches. Dust hung in the air, shrouding the contents of the temple in shadowy mists. Crimson eyes were not bothered by the dust, instead focusing forward at the area where he knew would be the altar.
Sheik stood before the rubble that rested atop the three sacred stones and produced an ocarina from his clothe, setting his harp aside. He lowered the covering over his mouth and gently brought the ocarina to his lips. The Sheikah then played a song not heard in the land of Hyrule for more than year. A tune that echoed in the temple, that parted mists as it's magic swept through the rubble to enter the hearts of the stones.
The Song of Time danced through the chamber as all the motes of dust lit up in an eerie light. The glowing orbs began to twist around the lone figure, a tornado of light. All the while, the tune did not falter. The tornado spun faster and faster, the figure inside blanketed with light. The symbol of the Triforce upon the wall before him gleamed, the only interruption of whirlwind of brightness. Finally, the tune ground to a halt, the tornado roared, and the Triforce flashed. As suddenly as the storm began, it stopped.
Dust blanketed the temple and the Triforce symbol resumed it's dull shine. The temple was returned to the way it had been…but the figure was gone.