II

The sun was sliced by the horizon, by the time Sheik had come to Kakariko. It was near enough the same as she remembered it; walled in by the natural rock formations, the quiet breeze of the wind, and the gentle coursing of the stream that hugged the cliffs. In truth, she always thought of it as her own little piece of paradise. After all, she was under the belief that nothing could hurt her here. Technically, she was right. At least, only for a while.

Looking out onto the rest of the village from her own lodge, she leaned back against the smooth wooden surface. Her hands behind her head, her mask was down here, the rest of her face visible now. Her momentary lapse in her imagination was broken by a small tapping on her thigh.

"E-excuse me, miss?"

She looked down, seeing only a small child, holding a bouquet of flowers. A mixture of many, from lilies, to roses, to bright yellow daffodils. Evidently she was nervous; as though it had taken all of her courage just to initiate the conversation. Smiling warmly, she asked in return.

"What is it, young one?"

"Well… I kept hearing that Princess Zelda was meant to be visiting… I never had the chance to visit Hyrule Castle. And she doesn't venture outside of the main city very often. I was… I was wondering if you would give these to her."

With that, the young girl held the bouquet out to Sheik, afraid of the reaction she was going to get. Letting a small laugh slide out, she gently took the bouquet from the girls hands, holding both of them with her own.

"That is ever so kind of you. Like you said, she doesn't come out of the castle very often. But I promise you, these flowers will get to her. I hear roses are her favourites!"

She gave the girl a gentle pat on her head, before seeing her run away, a big toothy grin on her face. It was heartwarming… yet also heartbreaking. Of course, the village didn't know. Apart from Impa, that was. She was the one who looked after Sheik from a young age, and taught her the ways of their tribe. But with her aside, everyone else was completely oblivious.

"I mean, roses are my favourites… they're so lovely."

She sighed sadly, walking back indoors, placing them gently into a ceramic vase, engraved with many different patterns and designs. There were many burdens that she had to live with. Even being part of the Sheikah, was simultaneously a blessing and a curse. But there was the biggest curse of them all, and that was only known by Impa, the hero of time, and herself. Indeed, Hylian royalty definitely made her a hard person to befriend. Genuinely, that was.

Walking back outside, she saw that the moon was beginning to hang high above the cliffs. It had been a long journey from the Faron Woods to Kakariko. By horse, she'd counted three full days before she made it back home. Just like the night when she'd arrived, the bitter cold wind began to bite at her skin, the inside of her lodge looking all the more tempting now. Sitting down at her study, she reached for the one of her books that lay partially open on her desk, before brewing up some tea on her stove. Dusting the front cover of her book, she got a better look at the title:

Sheikah Secrets: Volume IV

Opening the book to where she'd left her bookmark, she began to read away in her mind. Now, just like her physical body now had its physical paradise, her mind and mentality had found its place of belonging.

"Maybe being a royal just isn't my life…"

She sighed quietly, before turning over to the next page.