Part 2
(The girl in the iron mask)
Gannondorf could feel the power surging through him. The castle… his previous empire was rebuilding itself rapidly. He held in his possession the three stones that had opened the door: The Kokiri's Emerald, The Goron's Ruby, and the Zora's Saphire. He smiled, surveying the glittering gems with an expression of malicious glee.
He turned to face a minion reporting on the status of Hyrule, and when he went back to brooding over the gems he found only a brief thank you note 'With Love from Sugar'.
The two young men walked in silence. Link didn't know how to begin… and he wondered vaguely if it was a happy ending in the distance. He doubted it. Being given back the missing seven years he had lost plus three more he had come to discover puberty had taken a swerve off an unknown ledge for him. There were books about birds and bees and books about Dick and Jane. But what happened when Dick liked Joe more than Jane?
"I think you should know…" Sheik's soft voice interrupted Links disjointed musings. "…That Zelda has been covering up for me…"
"Why?" Link managed. Sheik's ruby colored eyes held him captivated and it was almost impossible to speak.
"Er… I was sorta hoping you wouldn't ask…"
"Hime-sama said it was you that was there with me the whole time… why did you want me to think it was her?"
"Because I…" A voice nagged at the back of his mind.
Tell him.
"Because…"
Tell him damn it.
"…I…"
For chrissake tell him!
"…I don't know really."
YOU IDIOT! YOU KNOW YOU ARE SUCH A THICK SKULLED IDIOT!
And the nagging little voice banged it's metaphorical head against a metaphorical wall with the occasional 'OUCH!' and violent expletive.
"Has Hime-sama told you, Link?" Sheik began again.
"Told me what?"
"She… you… well… guess not…"
"Um… some of the villagers were saying she and I should be married… if that's what you mean. But I dunno… Hime-sama is more like a sister to me."
"Exactly."
"Huh?"
"A sister. She's your sister."
Link paused.
As a brief side note and for symbolic purposes Dick meets Jane and Jane's good friend Joe. Dick likes Joe in a way that many guys like Jane. Other people seem to think Dick and Jane should get together. Joe reveals that Dick and Jane are siblings. Things get sticky.
This has nothing to do with the plot… but it does help it make sense.
WHERE? The voice thundered It echoed across the fields, and shattered the heavy silence like a crystalline glass. WHERE IS SUGAR?
Sugar frowned staring down at the sword. It weighed nothing… and if she wore her mask… the sword would show her many doors spanning into infinity. It showed her treasure beyond her wildest dreams and now three gems hung heavy in her pocket. She had taken them from a tall man dressed in black and with skin the colour of old vomit. Sugar gripped the handle. She could travel anywhere and anywhen she wanted.
She had become a thief of time.
"Ah, so you know. About time too 'nii-chan."
"Hime-sama… why have you NEVER told me?"
The princess gave a weary sigh.
"It's very complicated… I don't know where to begin quite frankly."
"The beginning would be the logical place to start." Link almost snarled.
"Quite right… quite right." Despite her young age of 21 the princess seemed to have aged a hundred years.
"You know the story of the Goddesses and the Triforce?"
Nod.
"And you know how you arrived in Kokiri forest? Your… our pregnant mother escaping a battle… your birth… and her death?"
Again, nod.
"One detail was left out deliberately. Who your mother was… she was the queen of Hyrule. Father had her flee to the forest's safety where she gave birth to my little brother. At the time I was only a year old but for some reason… I remember every detail. The flames, the carnage, and Ganondorf in the lead. Father knew your fate to become a hero of time and he wanted you as far from pampering aristocracy as possible. The forest would protect you and provide suitable training. The rest as you know is history."
Link sighed. He let this sink in and it soon made sense. Everything made sense…
Except…
"What about Sheik?"
"Ah… ahahaha… haaa….yes… that… um… yes."
"Yes?"
"Um…"
"Hime-sama…"
"Do you know what a homosexual is Link?"
"Homo: Same. Sexual: Sex. Pertaining to gender if I am not mistaken?"
*As a side note: male virgins tend to be quite immature. Link is a rare exception. His maturity gives him quite a literal mind making him rather stupid at times like all video game characters.
"Yes… Sheik is a homosexual and he…"
"So he's the same sex… as what? Men?"
"Um… your not getting this… Yes Link, he is a man otherwise I wouldn't call him a 'HIM'. He likes other guys… you know, he's attracted to … well… do you get the point?"
There was an awkward silence.
"He likes other guys?"
"Now Link, I know it's a bit hard to understand, but there's nothing to…"
"So do I. Is that something unusual?"
There was another silence slightly more awkward.
"Oh for chrissake… the whole time I was helping him hide and… so much wasted time and it would have worked…." her shoulders slouched and she rubbed her temples. She felt like banging her head repeatedly against a hard surface. The whole time Sheik had begged her to keep Link from finding out his secret and it turned out…
"Hime-sama…?"
"Ugh… no Link… it's not unusual… it's just some people think it's shameful or something and I really would like a cup of tea right about now god dammit."
Link really didn't know how to respond to this.
The princess managed to compose herself once more.
"Well, we have a bit of a lead as to where to begin. There is an old temple on the other side of Death Mountain and just north of Termina. There's a priestess there who apparently knows everything that goes on in the world and is well acquainted with the three goddesses. She is probably our best chance at locating this girl Sugar." The Princess handed Link a map marked with inns, taverns, and places to avoid. "Her name is Shyoka. Nabooru knows her pretty well so there shouldn't be trouble getting to the temple."
"Hime-sama… one more question."
"Go ahead."
"What about Zora's Domain, Kokiri Forest, and Death Mountain? I hope they are well protected…"
"They are. Gannondorf hasn't regained nearly the amount of power he had before and breaking the protective barriers the three sages of those areas have put up would be immensely draining. However… we still need the Master Sword to seal him away again. You will be setting out tomorrow accompanied by Sheik and Nabooru. You may go."
"Yes Hime-sama."
Link closed the door to the small living cell and glanced around the gigantic corridor of the Gerudo fortress. Sheik.
What did Zelda mean exactly about so much wasted time?
Sheik sat, staring at the sandstorm from the Desert Colossus. This was the last place he had been with the Hero of Time before he begged Zelda to assume his form so that the Hero of Time would never have to know of his perversion. He sighed, a faint breeze tousling his hair.
"Yo."
Sheik whirled around to come face to face with Nabooru.
"You're lucky Link is so dim, or he would have figured you out long ago." She said in her usual nonchalant tone.
Sheik looked away nervously. The Gerudo leader was very unnerving at times.
"The three of us are leaving tomorrow," said Sheik, changing the subject.
Nabooru nodded. "It'll take three days to get there though."
Sheik stared at the vast expanse of the desert. "Yes… it will."
(end of part 2)
(The girl in the iron mask)
Gannondorf could feel the power surging through him. The castle… his previous empire was rebuilding itself rapidly. He held in his possession the three stones that had opened the door: The Kokiri's Emerald, The Goron's Ruby, and the Zora's Saphire. He smiled, surveying the glittering gems with an expression of malicious glee.
He turned to face a minion reporting on the status of Hyrule, and when he went back to brooding over the gems he found only a brief thank you note 'With Love from Sugar'.
The two young men walked in silence. Link didn't know how to begin… and he wondered vaguely if it was a happy ending in the distance. He doubted it. Being given back the missing seven years he had lost plus three more he had come to discover puberty had taken a swerve off an unknown ledge for him. There were books about birds and bees and books about Dick and Jane. But what happened when Dick liked Joe more than Jane?
"I think you should know…" Sheik's soft voice interrupted Links disjointed musings. "…That Zelda has been covering up for me…"
"Why?" Link managed. Sheik's ruby colored eyes held him captivated and it was almost impossible to speak.
"Er… I was sorta hoping you wouldn't ask…"
"Hime-sama said it was you that was there with me the whole time… why did you want me to think it was her?"
"Because I…" A voice nagged at the back of his mind.
Tell him.
"Because…"
Tell him damn it.
"…I…"
For chrissake tell him!
"…I don't know really."
YOU IDIOT! YOU KNOW YOU ARE SUCH A THICK SKULLED IDIOT!
And the nagging little voice banged it's metaphorical head against a metaphorical wall with the occasional 'OUCH!' and violent expletive.
"Has Hime-sama told you, Link?" Sheik began again.
"Told me what?"
"She… you… well… guess not…"
"Um… some of the villagers were saying she and I should be married… if that's what you mean. But I dunno… Hime-sama is more like a sister to me."
"Exactly."
"Huh?"
"A sister. She's your sister."
Link paused.
As a brief side note and for symbolic purposes Dick meets Jane and Jane's good friend Joe. Dick likes Joe in a way that many guys like Jane. Other people seem to think Dick and Jane should get together. Joe reveals that Dick and Jane are siblings. Things get sticky.
This has nothing to do with the plot… but it does help it make sense.
WHERE? The voice thundered It echoed across the fields, and shattered the heavy silence like a crystalline glass. WHERE IS SUGAR?
Sugar frowned staring down at the sword. It weighed nothing… and if she wore her mask… the sword would show her many doors spanning into infinity. It showed her treasure beyond her wildest dreams and now three gems hung heavy in her pocket. She had taken them from a tall man dressed in black and with skin the colour of old vomit. Sugar gripped the handle. She could travel anywhere and anywhen she wanted.
She had become a thief of time.
"Ah, so you know. About time too 'nii-chan."
"Hime-sama… why have you NEVER told me?"
The princess gave a weary sigh.
"It's very complicated… I don't know where to begin quite frankly."
"The beginning would be the logical place to start." Link almost snarled.
"Quite right… quite right." Despite her young age of 21 the princess seemed to have aged a hundred years.
"You know the story of the Goddesses and the Triforce?"
Nod.
"And you know how you arrived in Kokiri forest? Your… our pregnant mother escaping a battle… your birth… and her death?"
Again, nod.
"One detail was left out deliberately. Who your mother was… she was the queen of Hyrule. Father had her flee to the forest's safety where she gave birth to my little brother. At the time I was only a year old but for some reason… I remember every detail. The flames, the carnage, and Ganondorf in the lead. Father knew your fate to become a hero of time and he wanted you as far from pampering aristocracy as possible. The forest would protect you and provide suitable training. The rest as you know is history."
Link sighed. He let this sink in and it soon made sense. Everything made sense…
Except…
"What about Sheik?"
"Ah… ahahaha… haaa….yes… that… um… yes."
"Yes?"
"Um…"
"Hime-sama…"
"Do you know what a homosexual is Link?"
"Homo: Same. Sexual: Sex. Pertaining to gender if I am not mistaken?"
*As a side note: male virgins tend to be quite immature. Link is a rare exception. His maturity gives him quite a literal mind making him rather stupid at times like all video game characters.
"Yes… Sheik is a homosexual and he…"
"So he's the same sex… as what? Men?"
"Um… your not getting this… Yes Link, he is a man otherwise I wouldn't call him a 'HIM'. He likes other guys… you know, he's attracted to … well… do you get the point?"
There was an awkward silence.
"He likes other guys?"
"Now Link, I know it's a bit hard to understand, but there's nothing to…"
"So do I. Is that something unusual?"
There was another silence slightly more awkward.
"Oh for chrissake… the whole time I was helping him hide and… so much wasted time and it would have worked…." her shoulders slouched and she rubbed her temples. She felt like banging her head repeatedly against a hard surface. The whole time Sheik had begged her to keep Link from finding out his secret and it turned out…
"Hime-sama…?"
"Ugh… no Link… it's not unusual… it's just some people think it's shameful or something and I really would like a cup of tea right about now god dammit."
Link really didn't know how to respond to this.
The princess managed to compose herself once more.
"Well, we have a bit of a lead as to where to begin. There is an old temple on the other side of Death Mountain and just north of Termina. There's a priestess there who apparently knows everything that goes on in the world and is well acquainted with the three goddesses. She is probably our best chance at locating this girl Sugar." The Princess handed Link a map marked with inns, taverns, and places to avoid. "Her name is Shyoka. Nabooru knows her pretty well so there shouldn't be trouble getting to the temple."
"Hime-sama… one more question."
"Go ahead."
"What about Zora's Domain, Kokiri Forest, and Death Mountain? I hope they are well protected…"
"They are. Gannondorf hasn't regained nearly the amount of power he had before and breaking the protective barriers the three sages of those areas have put up would be immensely draining. However… we still need the Master Sword to seal him away again. You will be setting out tomorrow accompanied by Sheik and Nabooru. You may go."
"Yes Hime-sama."
Link closed the door to the small living cell and glanced around the gigantic corridor of the Gerudo fortress. Sheik.
What did Zelda mean exactly about so much wasted time?
Sheik sat, staring at the sandstorm from the Desert Colossus. This was the last place he had been with the Hero of Time before he begged Zelda to assume his form so that the Hero of Time would never have to know of his perversion. He sighed, a faint breeze tousling his hair.
"Yo."
Sheik whirled around to come face to face with Nabooru.
"You're lucky Link is so dim, or he would have figured you out long ago." She said in her usual nonchalant tone.
Sheik looked away nervously. The Gerudo leader was very unnerving at times.
"The three of us are leaving tomorrow," said Sheik, changing the subject.
Nabooru nodded. "It'll take three days to get there though."
Sheik stared at the vast expanse of the desert. "Yes… it will."
(end of part 2)