No, I haven't forgotten about this fic....




Zelda's face darkened.

[Oh no...What happened......?]

{I.....I really don't know...} A sudden wave of emotions followed Zelda's projected thought, catching Sheik unawares as he was overcome by confusion, fear, loneliness, and grief. He saw Zelda sink to the temple floor and felt himself do the same simultaneously. He felt tears running down his face unbidden as he saw Zelda's shoulders shudder with quiet sobs.

[Zel. Zelda! Please calm down!] He hated having his emotions controlled like they were now. Zelda wasn't doing it intentionally, but if he didn't think of a way to distract her so he could regain control over himself, he might give over to her completely and cry right there on the floor for hours-until Zelda regained her composure and let him go. He tried to recall some sort of pleasant emotion to project to her, but it seemed like nothing had existed before what he was consumed by now. Then, as if by its own volition, it struck him.

The void. With leaden limbs, he crawled over to where Zelda was still in the midst of a nervous breakdown and laid a hand on her arm. She barely noticed. As a psychic, her emotions could sometimes be so strong they blotted out everything else; she was literally trapped within her own mind. Sheik pictured the front room of the house, since it was the only one the patrol hadn't ransacked, and tried to relax. After a fruitless five minutes, the pair was swallowed in nothingness.

{*gasp*} Shocked out of her trance by the sudden absence of warmth, light, matter....well, pretty much everything, Zelda started to panic. But Sheik had bought the time he needed to wrest his mind away from the bereaved princess.

[It's all right, Zel.] She loosened a bit at the reassurance. Keeping up a steady stream of pleasant emotions and memories to keep her calm, Sheik felt them materialize in the house, the first sensation being scent, as usual, followed closely by sight, sound, and lastly, touch as their feet hit the ground. Funny how he'd never noted the order of those things before. [Maybe it's because I'm traveling with Zelda...] It was certain she was very powerful, though the nature and extent of her powers was unknown by anyone, especially Zelda herself. This was apparent now, as he saw her slumped on the wooden floor, dazed, swimming in soothing memories and dreams. They were Sheik's memories and dreams, but he didn't mind sharing most of them; after all, she was in a rather pathetic state.

Gently, he lifted her shaking frame off the floor and set her in a chair near the empty fireplace. He noticed that she was shivering not only out of shock, but also out of cold; she was clad in just her white cotton nightshift. Darting into Impa's and her bedroom, he snatched the blanket off of Impa's bed, then rushed back and wrapped it around Zelda's shoulders and arms. Then, he kneeled beside her, watching her face intently for any sign of change. Gradually, he felt her reassert herself, and he was smoothly shoved from her mind.

Choosing now to speak in words, Sheik broke the uncomfortable silence. "Are you all right, Zelda?"

The princess of Hyrule gazed straight into the eyes of her protector and confidant of seven years for a few moments before answering. "Yes, Sheik. Thank you." She sighed as she curled up in the chair. She looked worn, strained. Sheik stood to find her something to eat, but she suddenly clutched at his hand and looked pleadingly up at him. She looked almost as she had when they had met: a frightened little girl with no idea under heaven what was going on. Sheik wondered what had her so scared. "You're weak, Zel; you need to at least drink some water."

She shook her head. "Not thirsty."

"Zel..."

"It can wait!" She silently apologized for sounding so sharp, then gestured for him to sit. Even in this state she was as regal as ever. Sheik pulled another chair close to hers, spun it around backwards, and sat with his arms resting on the back. After waiting a few minutes that seemed to take a lifetime to let her collect herself, he managed to whisper: "What happened?"

Zelda sighed again. "It's very embarrassing. I shouldn't be so frantic about it, but..." She was in no mood for talking about what had happened, so instead she beckoned Sheik to lean closer, then she rested her hands on Sheik's temples and closed her eyes. Sheik did the same. To a casual observer, the two were more than a little comical: one, a shivering maiden in her nightgown with her eyes shut and her hands firmly pressed against the forehead of her companion; and the companion, a scruffy-looking youth leaning forward over the back of a chair, hands held in a similar fashion, eyes closed, and with several scrapes and bruises. Precious few could have known or inferred that the impoverished villagers were in actuality Princess Zelda Harkinian and her loyal sheikan warrior, Sheik, apprentice to Impa, and that they were at that moment sharing a memory of the events that had transpired earlier in the day.

Seldom had either Sheik or Zelda projected a memory to the other with such vividness; it was really more of a flashback, with both of them reliving it together, yet unable to communicate while it lasted. Sheik softly gasped as he found himself inside the consciousness of Zelda, looking down at her arms instead of his own as the memory began, thinking the same thoughts she had in those moments, yet knowing he was separate from them, a bystander.

{This was at around four in the morning.} Zelda informed him before she too lost the ability to think outside her memory.