a/n: the reviews got me going again THANKS MUCHLY!
even if i was stuck on this chapter *mutters at muse*
The Sages Sheik
.chapter nine.
Stretch to fifth, hold the string to dim the tone, playing the awkward instrument had become second nature to Sheik. The tune echoed among the ruined pillars marking the entrance to the Forest Temple. The place was empty now. There was no little girl on the tree stump, playing cheerfully in spite of what was occurring outside the Kokori's forest.
He hadn't been surprised that the little girl was the Sage of the Forest. Every time he snuck out of the castle to play, and later on, to just walk through crisp leaves and moss-grown trails, she was by the Temple, always playing her tune. She was as much a part of the forest as the trees.
Sheik heard the minor shift in his music before he realized his hands had moved on the strings.
"It's not much of a forest without her," he mused. "But this is war, there are prisoners and..." Sheik sighed, fingers uncertain on the strings while he thought. He continued to play until soft boot steps were heard on the grass.
******
Sheik watched from overhanging tree branches, humming along with Link as he practiced the Minuet once again. The duet had reminded him of that day in the graveyard, a happier time with no thought of war.
Although, he reminded himself, Link was preparing for war along with Zelda before the threat was truly alive. That the threat was his caretaker tore at Sheik too many hours of the day. He determinedly turned his attention to the green figure below.
The Hero of Time had not shown any recognition back in the Temple of Time. The grown Faery boy was still curious to a fault, trying to stop him from leaving, to talk with him. Sheik felt a smile creep onto his face. He pulled a deku nut off a nearby scrub and vanished in a flash of light.
******
The Gallery was dimly lit by candles, illuminating the barren paintings and iron fences. It made him nervous. There was a similar gallery in the Gerudo's castle, a quiet out of the way hall where a few of the guards had tried to- He shook himself and focused on the spell work lacing the room.
Sheik saw the triggers for the sage's release, saw the markers for Link in the magic and stopped himself from nudging them open a crack. He peered at the gleam of defensive magic, recognizing his Caretaker's touch to the spell. He triggered it, curious to what kind of defense the Gerudo hoped to use against the Hero of Time. Sheik found himself gasping and stumbling backwards, only to thump into another solid form.
Sheik looked upwards from his ungraceful pile on the floor.
"Knowing your curiousity, the trigger spells are modified to Hylians." He shifted to sit on his heels, only now noticing the detailing on the trigger spell under his hands.
"A simulacrum? It's a useless thing, I can destroy one on my own. But you know this, you told me about the weaknesses yourself!" Sheik stared up at the Gerudo, confused thoughts trying to make sense of his plans. Ganondorf simply waited for the connections to be made, strategy to take hold in his Sheikah's thoughts.
"You're only testing him." Sheik slumped his spine against the Gerudo's legs, an unnamed tension releasing in his body.
"I will not ignore my enemies, even if they be your companions." Ganondorf reset the spell work, his simulacrum dissipating into the paintings. He looked down at his magelet, resignation clear in a simple nod against his knee.
"Come along Sheikah. He will be here soon." The boy followed him quietly through the iron gates, leaving the Gallery and the Forest Temple.
-end chapter nine.