Caranril: I have some bad news, but first I'm gonna thank T-bone for the review (I dunno what hand Link's Triforce is in, so I picked one. I had a fifty-fifty chance. :D)
Legolas: I think I'm actually going to miss you.
Caranril: Really?! How sweet! Okay, I won't be updating Db4Dawn for TWO WHOLE WEEKS 'cause I'm going to be workin' on the Lady Washington, and they don't have computers on board. She's the tall ship that played the HMS Interceptor on Pirates of the Caribbean. So enjoy this while you can! Promise to update the day after Christmas!
The Dark Before The Dawn - Chapter 8: Setbacks
Sheik saw the drove of dead massing on a yelling form like mad hornets. His heart skipped a beat when the cries stopped. With a yell of his own, Sheik leapt into the fray and connected his left fist with the skull of a particularly repugnant dead being, smashing the bone to bits and leaving a wandering body swiping at the air. He lashed out with his feet, his head, even his dead arm, clearing Link's body of eager dead.
"Hold on!" he cried, heaving Link onto his back. With the rush of adrenaline came complete focus and balance as he fended off the advancing dead with one leg as he held his weight and Link's on the other. Sheik's eyes narrowed as he felt his legs tire. What a time to feel the fatigue of the past two years! Grunting in frustration, he kicked one last attacker and ran with all his strength.
He didn't get very far. A loud whinny sounded a few feet away, galloping towards him at top speed. Sheik began running in the same direction, Epona drawing up behind him. Sheik pushed off the ground and hefted Link onto Epona's saddle. Still running, he strapped Link on with the reins so that he wouldn't fall.
"Take him to Kakariko Village!" Sheik gasped. "Don't stop for anything!"
Epona sped up and Sheik slowed down. He turned and faced the dead, who had nearly caught up to them. Some made to take off after the horse, but Sheik stopped them in their tracks. Moving his hands in a complex signal of an ancient ritual, Sheik twisted a spell of powerful unbinding.
"If shadow magic made you, then shadow magic can make you undone," Sheik panted hoarsely, clapping his hands together above his head. He gave them a strange smile, then separated his hands and smashed them into the earth to release the magic.
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Link was swimming through a red sea of pain. He wavered between consciousness and wakefulness, but it was so hard to discern between the two. Either way, he hurt everywhere.
And then there was a sudden relief. A relief brought by a strange smell. There was still red, but it no longer battered him with fiery pain. The sedative allowed him to slip away into solid darkness that was void of the dead.
Link sat up with a jolt, much to the chagrin of his pounding head. He doubled over until the pain cleared, then carefully sat erect. He was in someone's home, and he could smell stew of some sort cooking. He could hear it too. He made for his tunic, but dropped it in exasperation as he saw right through it like bars in a jail cell. He grabbed the baggy brown sweater on the bedpost and pulled it over his head, only to find that it reached his knees. No matter. What had happened to Sheik?
He winced as the texture of the fabric caught on the bandages around his torso. He had to admit he was in much better shape than he had been before, but it didn't feel that much better. He limped out of the room and into a kitchen, where a large woman with brown hair piled on top of her head was stirring a big pot.
"Oh, my! Deary, you shouldn't be up!" she exclaimed, pulling out a chair and practically forcing him to sit in it.
"Where's Sheik?" he asked, trying to shake his head rid of a heavy fog on his brain, only to find that it hurt terribly.
"Would that be your horse?"
"My horse?" Link began to worry.
"Yes, she came into the Village with you strapped to her saddle, all bloody and quite obviously having been in a fight with the creatures out there at night, since it was last night."
"Last night?" Link stood and went to gather his weapons. "I was alone?"
"Well yes. Oh, my. Was someone else out there with you?" Her large, red-nailed hand flew to her mouth.
"Yes." Link stumbled clumsily, adjusting his belt, but decided to forget it since it hurt to wear and he didn't have a sword anyway. His quiver was empty and therefore his bow useless, so he forwent the weapons and sought the exit. He grabbed the Ocarina of Time, just in case "Where's my horse?"
"Oh she should be just right outside, deary."
Link bolted from the house and found Epona grazing in the very green front yard. To his dismay, it was sunset. He had been unconscious this entire time and Sheik was either bleeding to death or already dead out in the fields. Cursing loudly in pain and frustration, he mounted Epona and spurred her forward. Thankfully, this woman who had evidently mended him somewhat lived fairly close to the entrance to the Village. They nearly trampled two kids, but Epona simply jumped over them. He didn't glance around, but he figured that they would forever be traumatized.
When they reached the field, Link pressed Epona into a run, a pace that neither of them could really handle at the moment, but Sheik... When they reached the zenith of a fairly large hill, Link took out his ocarina. Thinking hard was too difficult at the moment, but fortunately his fingers recalled the Song of Time quite well. Zelda had once said that this song reminded her of them, and perhaps this song would withstand whatever damage Meltose had done, since Time was as old as the gods. The melody pierced the long, silent stretch of land, and the notes resounded off of every tree, rock, and wall, eventually traveling back to his own ears.
To his surprise, he saw a blue light shining not too far away. He dug his heels into Epona's side, much to her annoyance, and they headed towards the light, which was already beginning to fade. He could see a small form, lying dangerously still, the weak blue glowing surrounding it. The light disappeared altogether, revealing the bloodied body of Sheik.
Link carefully climbed off Epona, mindful of his wounds, and knelt beside the body. He was face down, but he was still breathing. Link swatted away a few flies and insects that had decided Sheik would make a tasty treat. Reaching into the packs on Epona, he fumbled around for a bottle. He grasped the glass and uncorked it over Sheik's body. The pink fairy went to work on the wounds, then faded back to its respective fountain.
Link gently prodded the motionless Sheik, then carefully turned him over. His clothing was stained red, but his flesh no longer was. His eyes twitched, then blinked open slowly.
"Link?" he managed.
"Good, you're alright," Link smiled. He helped Sheik sit upright, only to wince himself at the effort. Sheik noticed this.
"Why, you're still hurt! What are you doing out here in your condition?"
Link laughed lightly, only to wince again. "I'm fine. I've been much worse, believe me."
"I do believe you, but that's still no excuse..."
"Listen, I rather think that you're more important than I am right now. The people need a ruler more than a hero."
Sheik's red eyes blinked at him. "Okay, whatever you say."
Link stood and offered a hand, but Sheik ignored it.
"Look, I think you'd better stay in your Sheikah form until we get indoors," Link suggested. "If people knew Princess Zelda was about, we might find some trouble."
Sheik nodded, mounting Epona after Link. They rode back to Kakariko in silence. Every step was torture on Link's body, and when they pulled up to the woman's house, Link slid from the horse and landed unconsciously on the ground.
Sheik landed next to Link and lifted him in his arms. He carried him to the door and kicked with his foot. A rather fat woman opened the door, gasping.
"Oh, my. Oh, my! I told him he shouldn't have gone out in his shape!" She hustled Sheik into the house and directed him to the bed. "All I had was a fairy. I'd heard that they were supposed to heal people right up, but it only took care of him a little bit."
"That would be because you had a child, rather than a full-grown fairy," Sheik sighed. "They don't have the power to give full recovery."
"Oh, well then what are we to do?"
Sheik stood and walked toward the door. "Tend to his wounds. They have been reopened during his ride. I will return shortly with an adult fairy." He stood in the yard and watched Epona, a smile twitching on his lips as he watched her chomp eagerly on the fragile grass. He pat her velvety nose when she nudged him before he removed her saddle. He set the equipment, supplies, and Link's bag inside a small shed. He considered picketing Epona, but shook his head and walked away, whistling Epona's Song cheerfully. Link would be just fine.
He leisurely walked down the bustling street, wondering at the changes that had been made. Many merchants held items and food right up to his nose, but he declined, until he came across a particular vendor that sold supplies. The first thing he bought was a new tunic for Link, for the last one he had was utterly shredded. He chose a grey, friendlier than black, but definitely not attention-grabbing. The bundles of arrows sitting in stock caught his eye, as well as the heart-fruits. He purchased enough arrows to fill Link's quiver, plus half a dozen heart-fruits, figuring that they would once again need to cross Hyrule Field. This time they wouldn't be caught unprepared.
His own pack full, Sheik stood in front of the entrance to Kakariko Graveyard. As far as he knew, the fairy fountain under the grave was the only one within acceptable distance. He passed under the wooden arch and knelt at the tribute to the Sheikah's service to the royal family. He mentally recited a prayer to the goddesses to protect those he loved, then stood and counted the gravestones. Second from the left in the first row, he stood behind the grave and pulled it. A hole slid into view, and Sheik leapt down. Bottling a fairy from the fountain, he satisfyingly made his way back to Link.
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Startled, Link woke to a very flabby face peering into his.
"Hoooweeee! He's gonna live, hallelujah!" she screeched into his sensitive ears. Link groaned and shuddered at the noise. A deep chuckle in contrast to the lady's cheering caught his attention. Sheik was sitting on a stool opposite his bed, amused at his predicament. Link just glared and sat up.
"Are we ready to go?"
"Go? Ohhhh, no I don't think so!" the fat lady argued. "Just a minute ago you were barely holding onto life! You need a few weeks of rest, young man!"
"Do you know who I am?" Link said with quiet tensity as he stood to face the woman. With her hair, she was about a foot taller than he, but she cowered at his fierce appearance. "When I was just ten years old I opened the Doors of Time and drew the Master Sword from its pedestal. I became the Hero of Time, waiting seven years locked within the Light Temple until my time to defend my country came. I defeated a fellow bearer of the Triforce, as well as his evil minions spread throughout the land. After that, I traveled through the same three days over and over again to save the earth from the wrath of a deranged Mask of Majora. I've been shut up another ten years, being kept hidden from the feared Meltose, brother to the goddesses themselves. If I do not complete my mission, the Princess Zelda and I along with the entire world will be destroyed by him. I will not allow a sniveling simpleton like you to interfere with the fate of the earth nor the quest of the Triforce bearers of Courage and Wisdom, gifts from the goddesses themselves. Good day!"
As Link pulled on his new grey tunic and grabbed his weapons, a slow clapping sounded, and he turned to stare in exasperation at Sheik, who had a smirk of amusement on his face. Link turned and bolted out the door, with Sheik trailing behind, leaving the large woman blubbering at the wall.
"Well wasn't that amusing," Sheik commented wryly. "But don't you think you went a little too far with 'the quest of the Triforce bearers of Courage and Wisdom'?"
"No," Link said shortly. "She was too ignorant to figure it out anyway." He strapped the saddle to Epona, but kept the supplies strapped to his own back. "We'll leave her to her own will." He smacked her rump and she pranced off, eager to explore the wonders of Kakariko Village.
It was still quite light out, but Link could sense another storm brewing, so their light wouldn't last long. They entered the Graveyard, wary of any Poes that might decide to pay them a visit. There were no visitors to the graves, but Link kept an eye out while Sheik prepared to change.
He closed his eyes and muttered the words of reversal, and quickly, though it felt much longer to him, his skin melted into the female form, his hair growing and his clothes changing. Within seconds, Zelda was standing before Link. She blushed under his stare.
"What?"
Link shook his head. "It's just strange, that's all. You changing from male Sheikah to a princess. And vice versa. Is Sheik like an alter-ego or someone else entirely?"
"Well, it all started after Impa and I escaped from Ganondorf," Zelda explained as they headed for the Sheikah graves. "She took me to the Shadow Temple, where her people used to pray to the goddesses, and there she took me to a room that was filled with spirits. She begged them to help me by giving me the abilities to hold Sheikah magic. Of course, being a regular Hylian made me incompatible to the shadow magic. An ancient Sheikah hero who was among the first to venture above the caverns volunteered to submit his spirit to my will and become a part of me. I would hold his abilities, his bravery, and even his gender, but my mind would be my own."
"So, you're still a girl underneath all that muscle?"
"Yes, though I have to admit I feel much differently. Stronger, of course, more courageous. I guess I take on a few of Sheik's characteristics as well, and I even forget the problems I dealt with as a princess. A hero certainly needn't worry about the same things as a crown princess."
"Sure." Link didn't refute this point, though he knew that there were many things that he had seen and done that Zelda would never even dream of. They stopped at the place where Link had entered a grave and learned the Sun's Song. But instead of standing on the burnt spot where the Triforce had lain, Zelda stood back, against the fence. Link watched as she closed her eyes and clasped her hands together.
"By Nayru, Din, Farore..." she grunted slightly and stretched her hands towards the burnt symbol. A beam of light touched the scorch mark, and then the ground began to rumble. They held onto the fence for balance as the ground heaved beneath them. The earth groaned, then a large hole formed where the symbol had been.
"This is it?" Link asked.
"This is it," Zelda confirmed.
Link grasped her hand, and together they jumped into the black hollow.
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Caranril: Well, well, how was this chappie? Not a lot happened, I know, but I'm getting there. The going's been rather quick most of the time, so you gotta give me a break.
Legolas: Haven't you heard? Authors never get breaks.
Caranril: Watch me. (reclines with mug of coffee and turns on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)
Legolas: (rolls eyes) Not this again!
Caranril: Sh! I like this part. (quotes along with movie) "Why's the rum gone?" "One! It is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels. Two! That signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire British navy is out looking for me. Do you think there's even the slightest chance they won't see it?" "But why's the rum gone?"
Legolas: Hm, now I wonder why you have that memorized...
Caranril: Can't tell me you don't. When I watch it, you have to.
Legolas: Ah, hell...
Caranril: Hee.
Legolas: Please review...