Link woke to a dull throbbing that beat to a steady rhythm in his head. Unfortunately, as he came further into consciousness that dull throb became a roaring banging that made him wince with every stroke. Blinking his eyes blearily he tried to make the spots stop crowding his vision. After opening his eyes completely he was rewarded with an intense white light being shoved into his field of vision. Shutting his eyes tightly he tried to turn his head away from the light that was causing him pain. Only then did feeling begin to return to the rest of his body, reminding him in full of all of his injuries. Gasping slightly at the pain Link forced his eyes open once again to allow him to determine exactly where he was. After being greeted once again by the hideous light Link blinked rapidly to try and lessen the pain and indicate for whoever it was to stop doing this to him. To his great relief, the person got his message and removed the light. It was at this point that his hearing decided to join him once again.
"Link! ... Link! Can you hear me?" A voice called to him. All the sounds still sound very far away and echoey, as if they were underwater.
"Link! Blink twice if you if you understand." The voice said.
His vision still being blurry and his head not quite up to speed Link didn't fully grasp why this person was giving him this stupid task. But reluctantly he complied anyway and blinked twice. Thankfully this caused the person to stop talking to him for which he was quite grateful. It was hard enough as it was for him to try and make his body function the way it was supposed to without all this input and noise. Once he had gotten used to his body screaming at him for all of his injuries, he found that he could begin to let his reasoning skills return along with his memory functions. Images of the fight with Arnold and his 'precious' dragon came back with frightening clarity. He still couldn't believe that he had attacked them like that. By now his eyesight was back to normal, well, normal considering the circumstances, and he managed to piece together that he was in the inn back in Kakariko. How he had got there wasn't quite in his mental scope at that moment.
He grimaced as he shifted to his side to see if Auru, Shad, Ashei or Hugh were around. He found them next to the other bed accompanied by Renado and Luda. Frowning slightly, he tried to figure out what they were all staring at.
"Sheik!" He cried out suddenly as he tried to get up to rush to see if his friend was alright. He blacked out just long enough for him to fall back to the bed in immense pain but his crying out brought the attention of the others.
"Link, are you alright?"
"We thought you were going to die!"
"I know Renado said you were fine but that does mean you can jump up and start walking around idiot!"
"What on earth were you thinking taking on that thing alone!?"
The flood of comments from all the people around him made his head hurt but he opened his eyes anyway and made an attempt at calming them.
"Where is Sheik? Is he ok?" He asked finally
"He's over in the other bed; we were just about to check him over when you woke up." Ashei explained
"Wha- wait how long have we been here?" Link asked, still trying to wrap his mind around the time gap that he had missed while unconscious.
"We just got here a few minutes ago and we had to tend to you first since you were the most injured." Auru answered this time.
"Although, Sheik got beat up pretty bad too." Shad said worriedly glancing over at the other bed.
"Go take care of him I'm fine." Link insisted quickly.
"Wait." he called to Hugh before he could turn away. "I have a fairy that can help." Link looked down at himself and realized that he was covered only in bandages from his torso up. Looking around he tried to find where his clothes and gear were.
"Your clothes were still smoldering by the time we got here but I think they're over in the other room, I'll go get them." Hugh told him, reading his mind.
Stuck in the position on his side Link was able to get a good look at everyone hurrying around trying to care for the injured Sheikah. Link could only see parts of Sheik's body before someone would block his view but Link did notice a large gash on his forehead along with other injuries. His own injuries all but forgotten Link anxiously watched to see if he would be alright.
"Hold on." Ashei said sharply causing everyone to look at her. She's stared down at Sheik's limp body for a second longer then turned to face them.
"Out." She demanded suddenly
"Wha- what are you talking about Ashei?" Auru asked in complete bewilderment.
"I said get out." Ashei insisted. "All of you." She pointed at everyone. "Everyone but Luda needs to leave right now."
"We can't just leave, we need to treat Sheik's injuries!" Renado protested.
"We will deal with that in a moment but this takes precedent." She answered dangerously quiet.
Everyone stared at her a little while longer before Auru spoke.
"Alright... I trust your judgment, but don't take too long." He said, then walked out of the room and down the stairs to the area below.
The rest eventually followed after leaving Ashei, a slightly confused Luda, Sheik and Link alone in the room.
Ashei sighed and looked down at Sheik. Then as if remembering Link turned to look at him.
"Turn the other way." She commanded him.
"Uh, I can't." He told her dryly. "Injured, remember?"
Ashei rolled her eyes. "Fine then shut your eyes."
"Why?" Link asked her firmly.
"Because I told yo-"
"Tell me why." He said
Ashei glared at him but finally relented.
"I guess it can't be helped." She muttered then moved to the side so he could see Sheik. "What do you see when you look at this?" She asked him.
Link looked at Sheik. They had begun to remove his blue and white body armor revealing his torso. Link blinked a couple of times to see if he was seeing correctly. Even though his friends had clearly not begun to tend to his injuries yet, Sheik was completely covered in bandages all up his chest.
"Was he injured before?" Link guessed tentatively.
"With the way he's been moving?" She answered in disbelief. Link frowned slightly, confused by the fact that Ashei seemed to choke out the word he.
"So what are you saying then?" Link asked her in exasperation.
"These bandages," She said pointing to them. "I used a similar idea when I had to sneak into an all men's camp to get some information. Now do you get what I'm saying?"
Link thought about it for a second longer then looked back at Sheik wide-eyed.
"Wait, you think th- but that's impossi- we would've-" Link stuttered
"Look, I don't know yet, which is why I'm going to find out if you would CLOSE YOUR EYES." Ashei told him clearly trying to keep her temper.
Link frowned but closed his eyes anyway. Relying on his other senses to get any information about what is going on around him. He could hear Ashei shuffling around and occasionally asking Luda to get things for her. Then after a moment of tense silence Link heard Ashei slowly let out a long breath. A couple of seconds later he heard her say.
"Ok Link you can open your eyes."
He quickly looked around to see what the result was. He saw Sheik laying in the same position as before but now a blanket covered him. Link glanced over at Ashei and silently asked her to tell him what she found.
"Well... The findings are conclusive." She said slowly. "Our friend Sheik here... is a woman."
Link felt like all the air had been knocked out of him. 'How could he not have noticed!?' He scolded himself. 'Why does this bother me so much?' He wondered suddenly. 'He... I mean she probably wouldn't have wanted me to treat her any different anyway.' Thoughts like these continued to ricochet around his head until Ashei cleared her throat.
"You gonna be alright there?" She asked teasingly. "It's not like Sheik's changed that much, it's still Sheik."
"Yeah I know, it's just-" Link didn't finish the sentence because they heard a knock at the door.
Ashei walked over and opened it to see who it was.
"Hey, I have the things Link asked for." Link could hear Hugh saying.
Ashei nodded and let him into the room. He quickly walked over to Link's side.
"I finally found them in that bottomless pocket of yours, where do you want them?" He asked
"Give one to me then I'll take care of the other one." Link replied
Hugh complied and uncorked the bottle allowing the fairy to whizz around Link. Sighing in relief as his pain began to seep away be began to sit up. He took the other bottle from Hugh and started to stand. Ashei basically shoved Hugh out the door again telling him that she would be down soon to explain.
Link slowly made his way the few steps to the other bed. The fairy helped but he still would be sore for the next week or so. He bent down and put his hand on the bottle to remove the cork when a light caught his eye. The back of his hand began to glow faintly. Frowning he looked at it closer to see if his eyes were tricking him in some way. Nope. His Triforce was glowing that's for sure. Link looked around, normally that meant that he was around someone else that was infused with the goddesses' power. His eyes growing wider by the second he looked down at Sheik.
"No. It couldn't be." He murmured. This day was just too much for him.
He set the bottle on the ground and began to untie the bandages on his... Her hand.
"Hey what are you doing?" Ashei asked sharply.
"I have to check something." He told her
Finally unwrapping the last of the unruly bandages he saw a matching glow emanating from her hand. Letting out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding in Link turned Sheik's hand to get a better look. After another minute Link slowly got to his feet and looked at Ashei.
"What?" She asked defensively.
"Sheik is not who we thought he... She was." Link said through clenched teeth
"What in the name of the three goddesses are you talking about?" Ashei asked completely exasperated.
"Sheik." He said pointing an accusatory finger at the body. "Is Princess Zelda."
Ashei stared at him stunned
"Link... Have you lost your mind?! Where did that come from? How could you possibly know that?"
"This is how I know that." He said bringing his hand up to show her.
"What some glowing triangle makes you know that Sheik is Princess Zelda?... I'm not buying it." She said crossing her arms.
Link groaned. "I don't have the energy to explain right now ok? I'll just let you ask her yourself."
Without another word, Link uncorked the bottle and let the fairy heal Sheik.
Her eyes fluttering slightly, the girl looked around in surprise.
"Where are we? What happened?" She asked immediately.
'Hmm, her voice sounds like it did before. That's interesting... I wonder what kind of spell she used.' Link thought to himself dully.
Sheik looked between Ashei and Link for a while, obviously confused as to why no one was answering her. Frowning slightly she began to sit up; when she realized what position she was in she immediately grabbed the blanket to keep covered. Link respectfully turned around and let Ashei do the talking.
"So how much do you know exactly?" Sheik asked after a long silence.
"Umm, we are now aware of your true gender, well Link and Luda and I are." Ash explained carefully.
"Ok... Is there more?" Sheik asked
"Well Link seems to think that there is also a discrepancy involving your identity." She said haltingly as if not sure which words to use.
"He does, does he?" Sheik said is some tones of amusement. "You can turn around Link I'm clothed." She informed him.
Link turned back and looked at Sheik with as expressionless a face as he could manage.
"And what is this discrepancy?" Sheik asked with mirroring blankness.
Link scoffed slightly and answered. "I hope you're getting all your questions out of the way now because I've got plenty of my own for you, your highness." He said spitting out the last two words.
Sheik sighed and turned to Ashei.
"Please, could you give us a moment alone." She asked
"Wait, so he was right!? You're actually Zelda!?" Ashei said in her usual outspoken manner.
Zelda held her gaze for a moment longer then said. "He is correct."
Ashei stood there gaping for another minute or so, then quickly turned on her heels and marched out of the room muttering to herself. Luda followed soon after, leaving Link and Zelda alone in the room.
Zelda smirked slightly. "I thought I told you once that I wouldn't mind being called just Zelda." She said looking up at Link with a somewhat of a smug expression.
"No, Sheik told me that." Link corrected
"And what exactly is the difference? I am Sheik, and Sheik is me." Zelda answered calmly.
"It makes all the difference if you are under the impression that they are two different people." Link shot back.
Zelda didn't respond.
Link rolled his eyes. "What on earth were you thinking?" He asked getting right to the core of the problem.
Zelda was silent for a moment, just staring at her hands.
"Fine. How about starting by telling me why you thought it would be a good idea to come out on this foolhardy quest and almost get yourself killed!?" Link said, his voice getting louder with each word.
Again Zelda didn't answer for a while. When she finally did, her voice was tight.
"The dragon was stronger than either of us had suspected," she pointed out.
"That doesn't make any difference; there was the possibility of death either way." Link answered trying to calm himself down
"I am capable of taking care of myself." She said raising an eyebrow.
Link pressed his fingers to his temples trying to dampen the throb of his headache. "Zelda... That's not the point. How do think it would be if I had to go back and tell the people that their princess was dead?" He asked quietly, now feeling more tired than angry.
Link could tell his word cut deep. Zelda again looked away and looked like she was holding in tears.
"I have my reasons for being on this journey," she said finally. "And though you may not agree with me being here, it was necessary."
Link signed again. "Fine. We'll do it your way." He said in defeat. "Now tell me what exactly is the plan now?"
Zelda looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I don't think it's fair if I hide my identity any longer from everyone else, so that's somewhere we can start. After that though, I guess is up to you. Will you go after Arnold or will you let Norachre take care of it?"
Link frowned; he hadn't had time to think about that yet. Normally he would have immediately said that he was going after him, but doubt began to eat away at him. 'How will I ever beat something like that?' He wondered to himself. He had never come across a monster that had defeated him so quickly.
Sensing his indecision Zelda began to slowly make her way out of the bed. Link looked at her with a flood of different emotions. He was angry at her for coming with them, but at the same time he was happy she was there; his mind going to the different times Sheik had saved his life during the battle. He wished that he could have time to sort out his unruly emotions but was distracted as Zelda came up beside him. She looked up at him with the same calm expression that Sheik would have and Link's chest began to hurt. He wanted to have Sheik back; he hadn't realized how much he had come to enjoy his friendship. Sheik had in a small way filled the gap that had been left by Midna. Zelda looked up at him with sad eyes.
"I'm sorry I lied to you." She said softly
Link stared back at her, a hundred emotions clamoring for attention in his mind. Eventually he turned away, unable to think of a response. He walked out the door without another word, Zelda following reluctantly after.
Auru, Shad, Hugh, and Renado all sat silently, ever so often glancing toward Zelda. They had barely moved since she and Link had finished summing up what had happened. Auru and Renado had taken the news relatively calmly, only murmuring a few choice questions now and then. Shad looked very curious, albeit slightly uncomfortable, with the new developments. And Hugh just looked confused.
Link sat opposite to Zelda, leaning heavily against the bar that was on the lower level of the inn. He absently wondered if he would have a chance to visit the spring later, hopefully dampening the still present headache and stiffness. Zelda sat demurely on one of the chairs, looking every inch the princess she was, in spite of her casual clothes.
After another few minutes of conversation passing amongst the group Link feigned a yawn and informed them that he was going to sleep. They each bid him goodnight and he forced his protesting muscles to climb the stairs back to the top of the inn. Zelda was going to be moved to Renado's house along with the rest, and Link was pleased to have some time without others around. Collapsing onto the bed Link stared at the ceiling. Though he was very tired he didn't feel like he would be able to sleep for a while. His mind spun trying to make sense of the last 24 hours. The two halves of himself fought mercilessly at each other over the decision Zelda had left him with. Would he go after Arnold or not?
Throwing around reasons, both for and against, and just ending up with another stalemate. Rolling his eyes, Link forced both voices into submission and decided not to think it any further at this time, seeing as it would just end up making him frustrated. Swinging his feet around he sat on the edge of his bed. Running his fingers through his messy hair he stood and walked over to the window. Making a somewhat impulsive decision he climbed out the window onto the roof of the lower part of the building. Walking carefully, he opted for lowering himself down while holding on to the edge of the roof rather than jumping as he usually would have. Walking rather lazily through the town, Link made his way to the Eldin spring. If he wasn't going to sleep he might as well do something useful with his time.
Once reaching the spring he walked in until the better part of his boots were submerged. Standing there with his arms crossed he stared blankly at the passing fairies and the flowing water that moved calmly around him. He stayed there patiently waiting for the healing water to begin to take effect. He broke out of his dozed like state when he heard a small sound behind him. Turning slightly he caught sight of Zelda wading out to be next to him.
"Couldn't sleep?" Zelda asked calmly as she got closer.
"Too many things to think about." Link answered
Though Link couldn't completely see her, he could tell that she had nodded.
"Does this river actually have the healing powers that it's said to have?" She asked curiously
"It would seem so... Are your injuries alright?" Link asked as he turned to face her.
She looked down at herself. "The fairy healed most of it, but I'm sure there will be a few scars that stick around." She reported, then frowned slightly. "The council members won't be pleased with that." She muttered to herself.
Link shrugged. "I don't see why... It shows that you can actually defend yourself." He said
Zelda looked at him carefully, as if trying to decipher if he was joking.
"I suppose," she said finally. "But the council members feel that I should leave the fighting to my knights."
Link looked down at his feet. A fairy had gotten up the courage to come closer and was now resting on the top of his boot. Zelda looked down too and giggle slightly. Moving very slowly she knelt down and held her hands out, beckoning for the fairy to come to her. The fairy nervously complied, the glow around her quivering as she stepped into the princess's hands. Lifting the fairy Zelda stood back up slowly so as not to frighten the sprite. Link watched as she brought her cupped hands to her face so she could get a closer look. The pink glow lit Zelda's face as she smiled at the fairy. Eventually the fairy flew away to join the rest at the other end of the spring and Zelda turned her attention back to Link.
"I'm going to miss this when I go back..." She sighed. "The ability to just move around where I want, to talk to the people I want." She said wistfully
"Everyone loves you as their princess." Link replied quietly
"Yes, but people can't get close enough to actually get to know me. I'm just a figurehead." She explained. "That was one of the main reasons I was in disguise."
"Well that's not completely true, I mean we're friends aren't we?" He pointed out with a slight smile. "And I'm sure that Telma views you as a friend as well as Auru, Ashei, and Shad. Hugh doesn't know you much but I think he would like to be your friend eventually. So you're not as alone as you think."
Zelda was silent for a moment. "I suppose you're right." She said quietly. "Thank you Link. I was so focused on what I didn't have that I had forgotten what I did have. I wouldn't trade any of those friendships for anything." She said with a shy smile.
Link smiled back and nodded in response.
The two stood there contentedly, simply enjoy each other's company along with the peaceful water that lapped away both their physical pains while the evening air cleared their minds of the heavy responsibilities and questions that were not yet answered. Eventually Zelda excused herself and returned to the house. Soon after Link followed course and returned to the inn, by way of the door this time. Settling onto the bed he closed his eyes, willing himself into a peaceful sleep. Within minutes his consciousness slipped from his grasp and he fell into a deep sleep.
Blinking lazily, Link looked at the ceiling of the inn. Yawning loudly he rolled over onto his side and stared blankly at the wall. He didn't have any plans laid out for the day and was seriously considering just sleeping for the rest of the day, but he forced himself to his feet, wincing as his muscles protested the movement.
After stretching, he lazily situated his hat on his head and walked down the stairs to the sitting area below. Zelda and Ashei were seated at one table, drinking what appeared to be tea, while Shad had his numerous books laid out in front of him at another. Link nodded to them but wasn't in the mood to talk. Exiting the inn he looked around searching for something to capture his attention. He eyes landed on Epona, who was still tied to the outside of Renado's house. Smiling slightly he walked over to her and began to run his hands through her mane as she nickered a greeting to him.
"Care to stretch your legs?" He asked her
Epona bobbed her head and lowered her head to be even with his chest.
Link snickered and climbed onto her back, not bothering to go to the trouble of getting the saddle.
"So, where to?" Link asked after he got himself comfortable. Looking towards death mountain, he remembered that he had promised to visit the Goron chiefs when he returned.
"How about we drop in on the Gorons?" He suggested to Epona
Epona responded by prancing, anxious to on their way. With a "Hyah!" They were off. Expertly maneuvering around the turns, Link let himself truly smile for one of the first times since they had returned. The ride was over much too quickly for both Link and Epona's tastes, but Epona wasn't fit for climbing much farther up the rocky terrain.
Link put his hands in his pockets and walked calmly along the path up the mountain, whistling softly to himself. He had been up to see the Gorons so often that he could navigate his way there in his sleep.
He reached the first area where he and Midna had first encountered the huge lava rock that had fallen from the sky. He smirked as he remembered trying to convince her not to drop the rock on castle town as opposed to the Zora domain.
"Midna, you can't be serious." He said, as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Aww come on it would be fun!" Midna whined
"You can't drop a giant, boiling heap of magma on castle town, you'd kill everyone!" He yelled in frustration.
"I know wouldn't it be great?" She said grinning evilly
"No! It wouldn't the great!" He groaned
Midna rolled her eyes. "Fine, what if I promise to stop it just before it hits people?"
"No."
"Please?" She asked in a sickeningly sweet voice
"No. Just take it to the Zoras and then we can be finished with this whole thing." He said with a sigh
"You're no fun." She said even as she was smiling.
Zelda watched as Ashei sipped distastefully at her tea.
"Who even thought to invent tea?" She commented out loud
"If you don't like it you don't have to drink it." Zelda pointed out
"Nonsense, then what would I have to complain about?" She answered with a smirk.
They sat in silence for a few more minutes until Ashei spoke again
"Alright, so spill. What's going on with you and Link?" She asked blandly
"I beg your pardon?" Zelda retorted.
"Oh come on, isn't this what we're supposed to do? Have tea and talk about ...stuff?" She said waving her hand around as if she wasn't too pleased with the idea either but was going along with it anyway. "So answer, why are you guys so upset at each other?"
"Why do you think we're upset at each other?" Zelda returned carefully
"It's a pretty good indication when he waltzed through here and didn't say a word to you. I mean I know he barely talks as is but I can tell the difference yeah?" Ashei said with a wave of her hand.
"Well I thought we were doing ok now but I suppose he could still be angry with me." Zelda replied looked to the side.
"Oh don't get all emotional on me, just tell me what he's upset about then we can get this whole uncomfortable atmosphere over with already." She said sitting back in her chair and folding her arms.
"Seems so simple when you put it like that." Zelda muttered with a roll of her eyes. "Link is unhappy that I came along with your group on this quest." She explained.
"Well obviously." Ashei snorted. "But you told him your reasons then he was fine right?"
"Not exactly."
"What do you mean not exactly?" Ashei asked suspiciously
"I told him I had reasons," she explained defensively. "I just didn't tell him what they are."
Ashei began to hit her head on the table. "Are you serious?!" She yelled. The loud noise got a yelp from Shad's direction but both the girls ignored it.
"He wouldn't approve!" Zelda yelled back
"So what?!"
"What do you mean so what? It's an important factor!" Zelda shot back
"No it's not." Ashei said with a shrug. "Just tell him then let him be angry then be done with it."
Zelda looked at her for a moment longer trying to work this over in her mind.
"You're serious?" Zelda asked
"Yeah."
"Ashei not everyone is as blunt as you, I don't think this is going to work." Zelda told her quietly
"Sure it will. Now you sit here and stew for a few hours, which you know you'll do, then you'll come over to my side, and while you do that I'm going to go and practice my archery." Ashei said getting to her feet.
She then walked over to Hugh and grabbed his collar, causing him to almost drop his drink all over himself.
"And you're gonna come with me." She said as she pulled him out the door
Zelda just shook her head and continued to sip at her tea.
Link walked into the room that held the wrestling ring that he had fought in when he had first arrived at the Gorons'. Gor Coron and Darbus were at the far end of the room talking about something while a few other Gorons milled around accomplishing other small tasks.
"Brother!" Darbus called to him. "So you finally came to visit did you?"
"Hello Darbus." Link greeted him back. "Things have been well I trust?"
"As well as can be, all things considered." Gor Coron answered. "And how have things been fairing for you?"
"Well less than ideal, but that's not important right now." Link admitted
"Nonsense! We want to hear all about it! Come, we'll go somewhere a bit quieter." Darbus insisted as he began to push Link toward one of the side doors that Link hadn't noticed before.
The door led into a secondary room about the same size as the first, but this one looked more like a sitting room. The room had some kinds of rudimentary seats and in the middle was a blazing fire with a cage of stone surrounding it. Darbus and Gor Coron each lounged on the seats on either side of the hearth while Link took the seat facing them with his back to the door.
"So, tell us what has been going on." Gor Coron prompted him.
Link sighed and began to explain the past few days.
"Then I came to see you guys, seeing as I had promised to before." Link finished with a motion towards them.
Darbus nodded grimly
"That does seem like a complicated situation." Gor Coron conceded
"Doesn't seem complicated to me." Darbus disagreed
Link and Gor Coron looked at him confused.
"Go and crush him for what he did. Make him pay for what he has done." Darbus said pounding his fist on the seat next to him.
Gor Coron put his hand to his face with a very tired expression. "Darbus, you cannot always solve problems with such brutality, some conflicts must be approached with more delicacy." He reprimanded. "Link, you said you already tried to reason with him correct?"
"Yes, but he is beyond reason. I can't stop him that way." Link replied dully
"Well, we Gorons have a saying; 'the follower cannot walk a better path than the leader who set it.' Now this saying clearly isn't true in every situation but the basic idea holds true. A leader is often the one who needs to be addressed if the ones following him are acting incorrectly."
"But Arnold is his own leader, isn't he?" Link asked, skeptically
"Yes and no. He is following his own ideas but he is under the leadership of someone else, just as we all are."
"And you know who this person is?" Link said still not following where this was going.
"Yes, as do you. The king of Norachre." Gor Coron explained.
Link stared at him in silence for a while considering.
"So you think that Arnold still answers to the king? That the king has some way of controlling him?" Link questioned doubtfully
Gor Coron laughed. "Not a clue," he admitted cheerfully. "But there's only one way for you to find out."
Link smiled slightly, and nodded his head. "I'll consider it."
"Good! Now brother you must stay for supper!" Darbus said happily, clearly no longer upset at Gor Coron's reprimand.
"Supper? Is it already that late?" Link asked in surprise.
Darbus laughed, "Yes, so we must hurry or there may be no food left."
With that they got up and returned to the main room, where the wrestling ring had been turned into a makeshift banquet table, housing an incredibly large amount of food, though most was inedible to humans. Thankfully Gor Coron noticed and collected together a few pieces of meat and some non-poisonous vegetables. Link nodded gratefully before going to sit next to some of the other Gorons that he had spoken to at the hot spring. Engaging in happy and boisterous conversation for a couple of hours, as well as eating more than enough to fill him, Link sat back against the wall behind him and smiled.
'Why is it so much easier to get along with Gorons and Zoras than it is with humans?' He wondered thoughtfully to himself. His thoughts immediately turned to Zelda. He sighed as he remembered that he was supposed to be upset with her. Link wasn't one for holding grudges, it took too much energy and mental space to be worth it. 'I could just go tell her that I'm over it I guess.' He considered. 'I just hope that she's not planning on keeping a grudge.' He thought cringing slightly. 'But that's not really in Zelda's personality.' He reminded himself and relaxed.
After another half hour or so he excused himself and began to walk back to the village. Epona had wandered off and Link didn't see the need to call her so he just continued to walk the rest of the way.
The glowing lights through the windows greeted him as he neared the shaman's house. He quickened his pace and quietly walked through the doors. The others had clearly already eaten and were now sitting around the fire in the circular room. Ashei and Hugh were sitting next to each other and from the way Ashei was waving her arms around it was clear she was describing something, while Hugh calmly listened with a small smile resting on his face. Shad looked very relaxed and was in a discussion with Auru and Renado. Zelda sat a little ways off from Ashei and the small form of Luda was curled up next to her with her head on Zelda's lap. Link felt a warm glow as he watched Zelda shift the blanket so it covered Luda, then as she stroked the girl's hair away from her face.
"Welcome back Link." Renado called to him.
Link smiled and walked closer to the group.
"Darbus sent a message that you were visiting with them so we wouldn't become worried." Renado told him.
"That was very kind of him." Link said. "How have each of you been?"
"Not bad," Ashei spoke up. "Renado here stuffed us full of food so I can't complain. Oh and it turns out Hugh's pretty good at target practice." She said happily
"What she means by that is I make a good target, which is how things turned out." Hugh added
"Yeah it was great, he barely moved! So I didn't end up hitting him." She said with a smirk
Link was still trying to think up a response to that statement when Zelda spoke up.
"I think I'll take Luda up to bed now, she's very tired." She said, speaking quietly so as not to disturb the sleeping girl.
"I'll help." Link said quickly
Zelda murmured a thank you and allowed Link to pick up the girl from her lap. After situating Luda so she had her arms around Link's neck, he lifted her and began to walk upstairs with Zelda in tow. With a bit of instruction from Zelda, Link managed to find Luda's room easily. He set her on her bed and watched as Zelda covered her with the blanket.
"You'd make a good mother." Link commented.
Zelda blushed and looked away. "Yeah right." She answered with a snort
"You really don't know how to take a compliment." Link said with a roll of his eyes.
Zelda frowned at him before walking into the hall.
Link berated himself silently for saying that.
"Sorry." Link told her quietly.
"No it's alright," Zelda quickly assured him.
They stood there in awkward silence.
"How was visiting-"
"About earlier-"
They both started to speak at the same time before stopping
"You go first." Link said motioning with his hand.
"Oh, I was just going to ask how things went while you were visiting the Gorons." She said haltingly
"Oh! Um yeah, it was fine. Chatted some things out. So that's always good, I think I know what I'm going to do now." Link answered nervously rubbing the back of his neck.
"Really?" Zelda asked curiously
"Yeah, I think I'm going to go see the king of Norachre." He explained
Zelda frowned contemplatively. "I could see how that would be a good idea. Although I'm not sure if it will work." She said with a lopsided smile.
"Well, only one way to find out." Link said with a shrug.
Zelda nodded. "Let's go talk to the others. I'm sure they'll have an opinion or two."
They began to walk towards the stairs to lead to the lower level when Zelda a spun back around to face him.
"Wait, what were you going to say earlier?" She asked curiously
"Oh, it's nothing." Link said with a dismissive motion.
"No really, tell me." Zelda insisted
"I-" Link stopped to collect his thoughts. "I just wanted to tell you that, I'm not angry with you about before. I know you have your reasons, and I'm sorry that I snapped at you." He said finally
Zelda looked taken aback for a moment before she answered.
"I see, umm well that kind of makes what I was going to tell you harder." She said with a wince.
"Sorry?" Link said confused
"I figured that it wasn't fair that I keep my reasons from you, especially after all you've done for me." She said all in one breath
"Umm okay?" He said not sure how else to respond.
"I guess the first reason, is because I had to." Zelda said with a sigh. "I knew it wasn't possible to send a group of highly trained people to the border of Norachre, without the king getting upset, so I sent a messenger to him to explain why you would be going."
"Wait, how would he know that we were there?" Link interrupted
"Oh he has spies in my castle; it wouldn't take long to figure it out." She responded nonchalantly
Link starred as her for a minute longer. "You seem awfully calm about that."
"Hmm? Well, it's not like it's surprising, I'm sure there are lots of spies in the castle."
He raised an eyebrow. "Do you have spies in his castle?" He questioned
Zelda looked at the ceiling and put a finger to her mouth in a contemplative gesture. "Who knows? Maybe."
Link rolled his eyes with a smirk. "Continue." He said
"Ah, yes so I got a letter back saying that he was alright with it on one condition. That I go with you." She concluded.
"Seriously?"
"Yes, and when you think about it makes sense, I mean most rulers wouldn't go with a group that's planning on attacking another country. So I decided to go along with it, but I couldn't tell the council about it, so I have Telma filling in for me at the moment."
"Telma?"
"Yeah, I would send her letters what to do. I set things up so that people can't come in to see me because I'm 'sick' so I would only be communicating by note." She said with a self-satisfied smile.
"And that works?"
"Surprisingly yes."
They stood there for a bit longer while Link contemplated the information.
"Well that does fill in some gaps; but why dress up as Sheik?"
"I figured that you wouldn't let me come along otherwise, and-" she paused and looked away.
"And?"
"And because I wanted you to take me seriously." She admitted.
"I beg your pardon?"
"I didn't want everyone to constantly be fighting for me, and be running around trying to protect me." Zelda explained with a sigh. "I wanted to actually be useful, and to be able to enjoy the time away from being a princess for once."
Link looked at her with an unreadable expression.
"Ok." He said finally
"Ok? That's it? You're not mad?" She asked in surprise
"Nope. It makes sense. Just next time don't lie to me and we shouldn't have a problem." He said with a small smile.
"Sounds good." Zelda agreed.
They walked back down to the main room and seated themselves down around the fire.
"So, I've made up my mind." Link announced. "I'm going to Norachre to talk to the king."
The members of the resistance shrugged and nodded.
"Ok, we'll come with." Ashei said
"Are you sure? I don't want to impose this on anyone, you are all more than welcome to stay here. Or go back home." Link said seriously
"Well, you're not getting rid of me." Ashei said with a grin.
"I would like to come also." Shad said next.
"Myself as well." Auru said with a nod.
"I'm in." Hugh said cheerfully.
"I would also like to come if you all will have me." Zelda put in.
Link smiled gratefully at each of them.
"Leave tomorrow then?" He asked
"Whatever you say boss." Hugh responded with a grin.
A/N Hey everyone I wanted to thank you for all the really nice reviews they mean so much to me!
Other thing I wanted to mention, I'm considering making drawings of the original characters in this story, would that be something you guys would be interested in seeing? Let me know. Again thanks for reading!