Okay, I know it took a while, I'm sorry! I was kinda having a case of writers block. Anyway, here it is, Chapter 11. I hope you enjoy it!
Link burst through the log leading to Kokiri forest and sprinted over to his house. He couldn't want to pack. He could hardly believe that he had a home. A real one. Yes, he loved the Great Deku Tree and he had never been without while living under him, but now he would have a normal Hylian family. Or at least, as normal as he could get. He paused, halfway to his house.
The Great Deku Sprout…
He would have to say goodbye. He turned and ran the opposite way, heading for the meadow where his long time guardian grew. He came screeching to a halt when someone grabbed him from behind and threw him forward. He coughed and turned. Mido stood above him, glaring.
"You didn't learn your lesson from before eh?" He sneered.
Link didn't have to wait to see what he was going to do. He could see it in his eyes. Before Mido even had a chance to move, Link stood and unsheathed his sword. He held it out and caught Mido just under the chin.
"Not now, Mido. I'm busy." He glared.
Mido hesitated and took a few steps back. "You-you wouldn't hurt me!"
Link moved so the sword was touching his chin. "I wouldn't if you were innocent."
Mido broke into a sweat and tried to glare. It came out looking more like a wince, though. "Yeah well…you'll…you'll be sorry!" He shouted and ran in the other direction.
Link smiled and sheathed his sword. He somehow felt stronger now. He turned and ran as fast as he could to the small meadow. He sat in front of the Great Deku Sprout and smiled.
"I have something to tell you!" He said happily.
"Oh? Well by all means, Link. Speak!" The sprout smiled.
"Well, I met this boy, and he's a friend of Zelda, and he lives in Kakariko village and he wants me to live with him so I said yes, can I please?" He said all in one breath.
The sprout chuckled. "That's wonderful Link! You were always destined to leave this forest. I'm happy for you." Then the tree turned more serious. "Did you remember to return all of the stones?"
Link held out the Kokiri Emerald and shook his head. "I just have this one left. I couldn't find Saria. But I promise I'll find her before I go."
"Hm, good. Good luck Link, Hero of Time."
Link practically giggled as he ran back to his house. He had decided; he was going to pack up his home, since he didn't have much, and then find Saria on his way out. He climbed up the ladder to his small home and smiled around the place. He walked to his desk and began shoving the small pebbles and stones into his pack. He looked at the necklace from Saria and smiled. He picked it up and wrapped it around his neck.
"We'll always be friends…" He muttered to it as he tucked it under his tunic to keep it safe.
Once all of his things were securely tucked inside his bag, Link ran from his home and practically jumped down the ladder. He paused and looked back up at his home. He sighed and smiled, glancing at the drawing he'd made at the foot of it; Himself fighting a deadly dragon; Like in his dreams. He chuckled and turned, running back through Kokiri Forest and up to the secret entrance to the Lost Woods. Little did he know that as he disappeared into the dark forest, a small dark figure was following him.
Link ran down the familiar path to the Sacred Forest Meadow. After easily dispatching a few Deku Scrubs, Link finally managed to make his way to the secret spot that Saria liked to go to. Just as Link was coming to the top of the stairs, he spotted Saria playing her ocarina on the tree stump. He smiled and waved to her before running into the clearing to meet her.
Saria smiled and stood up. "Hey Link!" She called as Link joined her by the trunk. "You've been gone for a while."
Link nodded and sat next to her on the trunk. "Yeah. I had something to do. Oh! Before I forget!" He pulled out the Kokiri Emerald and handed to her. "The Great Deku Sprout said I should give this too you for protection." He explained.
She looked down at it and nodded. "I'll protect it." She smiled at her friend. "I suppose you're leaving now."
Link's smile lessened and he nodded. "Yes. I have to."
Saria nodded. "I know. You were never meant to stay here. I know that." She looked away and watched the small fireflies dance. "Where will you go?"
Link's smile returned full force. "I'm going to live with Sheik."
Saria's eyes widened and she turned to him. "But I thought…"
Link nodded. "Me too! But he's real!"
From the shadows, Sheik's ears perked when he heard his name. He listened carefully as he watched the exchange.
Why are they talking about me? He thought.
Saria smiled. "That's wonderful, Link! I'm so glad for you!"
Link nodded and suddenly became serious. "Saria…do you think that maybe…are we still friends?"
Saria sighed. "Of course we are. I just have a more important job now."
A more important job? Shiek thought, What job?
"As the Forest Sage, I won't be able to go and visit you." Saria continued.
Link nodded. "I understand. I could come back and visit you!" He exclaimed.
Saria giggled. "I'd like that." She looked back at the fireflies and sighed. "What do you think the future will be like…now that Ganon is gone?"
Ganon? Who's Ganon? Sheik was becoming more confused by the minute.
Link leaned back and watched the fireflies too. "I don't know. Better I hope. I really don't want to wake up one morning seven years from now and find everything destroyed again."
Seven years? Destroyed? Sheik nearly gasped.
Saria giggled. "I know. That would be horrible." She turned to Link. "At least this time you'll have Sheik. Well, the real Sheik."
Sheik's eyes widened. He was about fed up with this.
Link nodded. "Yeah. That'll be great. Now I can have Zelda and Sheik. Not just one."
Sheik shook his head. He couldn't take this anymore. He turned and ran silently back down the stairs. He needed to think. Link and Saria remained behind, completely oblivious to their audience, and talked a few minutes more about the past and the "future." Finally, Link stood up and brushed himself off.
"Well, I should go. They'll be wondering where I am." He said,
Saria stood up as well and nodded. "Okay." She and Link exchanged a long look of friendship and sadness, much like the look they exchanged when Link left the forest the first time. Saria finally wrapped her arms around Link and hugged him.
"Visit all the time okay?" She said.
Link returned the embrace and nodded. "All the time."
They broke apart and Link ran back down the long steps and into the forest maze again. He was going to miss Saria, but at least he knew he could visit her a lot. That thought comforted him. Carefully making his way back through the twists and turns of the forest, Link felt genuinely happy; A feeling that he had not felt for what felt like an eternity. He was just about to make a left turn and head back into Kokiri Forest when an earth-shattering scream pierced through the tunnel to his right.
He froze and instinctually pulled his sword. He ran towards the sound and gasped when he saw two Staloffs attacking a small boy; and not just any boy – it was Sheik! Link lunged forward, slashing with his swords at the large beasts. They quickly turned their attentions to him and attacked. Having fought creatures like this before, Link knew exactly how to handle them. He held his shield up and when they pulled their arms back to swing, he lunged, attacking just under their shields. Only a few more maneuvers like this and all that remained was a pile of bones in the clearing. Link sheathed his sword and ran to Sheik's side.
The boy was shaking, but not from fear or cold. Both of his arms were cut pretty badly and blood was leaking from several places on his body. Link reached into his bag and pulled out an old rag. He swiftly ripped it to shreds and wrapped each of Sheik's wounds tightly to stop the bleeding. Sheik began to recover from his fight and he looked up at Link. He blinked a few times and then smiled.
"Link?"
Link turned to look at his face and smiled. "I'm here. Are you okay?"
Sheik nodded. "I think so." He tried to sit up but his swift intake of breath told Link that he was still in pain. Before Link could inspect his wound further, Sheik locked eyes with him. "I think you have some explaining to do."
Link froze and he suddenly realized that Sheik wouldn't be lying here suffering from Stalloff wounds if he hadn't followed him. This meant that he probably…
"How much did you hear?" Link asked.
Sheik sat up with a wince. "All of it. How can you possibly know what the future is? And what did you mean when you said you can have me and Zelda now?"
Link sighed and sat back on the grass. He was really in trouble now, how could he not say anything? This boy was his brother now; he couldn't keep a secret like this from him.
Well…I might as well. He's already heard…He thought.
Link met the dark red eyes of his friend and sighed. "Okay…but this is going to be hard to believe…" and told him the whole story, starting from when Link first left the forest and ending when he reappeared in front of Zelda in the castle courtyard. Sheik sat very still and listened intently to everything Link said, his eyes widening every time Link described battles with various creatures. Bongo Bongo seemed to scare him the most, though he wasn't sure why. When Link finally finished his story, Sheik sat in silence while his mind processed all of the new information.
"You…saved this kingdom?" He asked finally.
Link nodded. "Technically, but Zelda helped a lot. I couldn't have done it without her and the other sages."
Shiek nodded and pointed in the direction they had just walked from. "So…that girl…what was her name? Saria? She's a sage?"
Link nodded. "I grew up with Saria. But when I woke from the Temple of Time, she was awakened as the sage of the forest."
Sheik looked down and grew silent again. Link wasn't sure what to say. How do you comfort someone who just found out that he missed a whole future? He finally looked up and locked eyes with Link.
"And you said…that I helped you get into the temples?"
Link felt his stomach flip. He shook his head sadly. "Not…not really. Zelda had to go into hiding after I was locked into the Sacred Realm so…so she disguised herself as you. I thought it was a boy named Sheik helping me, but it turned out to be Zelda."
Sheik furrowed his brow. "How was she able to impersonate me? Where was I?"
Link's face fell. He frowned and sighed. "Well…you were…dead already."
Sheik's eyes widened. "…how?"
Link explained what Impa had told him about the cursed family and Sheik's determination to save them.
"…you never left the temple." Link finished.
Sheik looked down into his lap. That would be why Bongo Bongo frightened him, because in another life it killed him. He looked back to Link. "Did…did we ever meet? You know…before…"
Link shook his head. "No. You died a couple of days before I met Zelda, but no one knew yet, which is why Zelda was able to hide herself as you."
Sheik nodded and looked down again. He wasn't sure how to process all of this. First he finds out that he missed out on the "end of the world" and now he discovers that he died trying to save the family he was raised by. He looked up to Link, his face filled with determination.
"Well, that won't happen to me again. I won't be stupid enough to let some creature kill me like that. I'm going to train. I'll train hard and no one will ever beat me." He locked eyes with Link. "Will you help me?"
Link smiled and nodded. "Of course!"
Sheik made to stand and Link hurried to help him. Once Sheik was on his feet he looked at Link and offered his hand. "This is a pact. From this day forward, you and I are partners. We will always be there for each other, through thick and thin, until the end of time."
Link smiled and felt like laughing for joy. He took Sheik's hand and the shook. "Friends and partners forever." Link said with a grin that could have shamed the brightest star.
He and Sheik would be together forever and he would finally have the family he always wanted. What could possibly be better than that?
Okay, so what did you think? Good? Bad? Ugly? Woah...sorry slipped into a cowboy monolog for a second there. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it! Reveiw please?