Sheik's POV

Rumor is fascinatingly useful. The speed it travels is incredible. There was little I had to do to fan the flames once Link's secret was revealed at that tournament. It helped that he had performed perfectly. I had known he would beat his opponent, no matter the size difference, but to do it by flipping the giant over himself was a stroke of genius that I could not have planned better myself. He had everyone there doubting whether he could even be human, and then I cut his glove and it all made sense. No one who had seen him that day would deny who he was.

Of course, anyone who was not in attendance had plenty of reason to doubt. False hero after false hero had emerged since the takeover and with each wave of new hope that was crushed, the more skeptical the public had become. That was fine. They could be as skeptic as they wanted as long as they kept passing along the rumor of the hero returned.

Link wasn't entirely happy with me for revealing his mark. Once the excitement died down, he took me aside and asked if I was trying to get him killed. It was a reasonable thought; Ganondorf had assured the death of many of those false heroes. However, my motives were the opposite. I was keeping him alive. Maybe in time he'd come to discover that.

Not that it mattered. However I did try to cut Link a break occasionally. In certain towns we stopped by, I let him keep his Triforce covered. I knew how overwhelming this whole situation had to be for him. There would be a time where he could never escape who he was, but during that time I let him stay incognito at about half the towns. Unfortunately for him, that time was almost over. All of my preparations were about to fall into place.

"Where are we headed next?"

I looked over at Link and the twins, coming out of my stupor. We were setting up camp for the night after a couple hours ride from the latest town. Conrad had wandered off somewhere so it was just Link and the twins looking at me expectantly. My mouth quirked as I considered the question. They weren't going to like my answer one bit.

"Kakariko."

Link's POV

"Kakariko? Have you gone mad?"

Since the invasion, I had visited a large city once. There was a reason I hadn't been back. In the six biggest towns, Ganondorf had placed a large amount of moblins to act as guards to keep the people in check. These guards had supervised as the people themselves were forced to build stone walls encircling the town, effectively imprisoning them. Getting in without raising suspicion would be hard enough, but leaving would be nearly impossible.

"Kakariko is non-negotiable. It is what we have been working towards. It is where our resistance will formally begin."

"Then we are already doomed to fail," I said shaking my head. "Have you ever seen a moblin? Twice the size of a man and incredibly ferocious. I could kill one, maybe two if the goddesses offered divine help. There are dozens in Kakariko. Is your plan for me to die?"

"Have faith. Princess Zelda would never allow that. Show courage. All my work, all those sleepless nights are nearing fruition. The time for it all is soon. We cannot dawdle."

"Sheik, I don't..."

"Hey!"

I looked over to see an unfamiliar man dressed in white approaching us.

"I have a letter for a Sheik," the man said, holding out an envelope.

Sheik took the letter and handed the man a few rupees. The man tipped his hat before racing off, running faster than I knew possible.

"That guy was weird," I said. Sheik didn't acknowledge my comment. He was too absorbed in the letter, his eyebrows slanted intensely as his eyes flitted across the page, growing more concerned with every line.

He crumpled the paper in his hand. Then he yelled in anger and with a flash of movement, one of his thin knives was buried in the trunk of a nearby tree. This display of emotion surprised me as Sheik usually hid what he was feeling unless it was disgust or disappointment. But I had never seen him lose his temper like that. It must have been bad.

He was pacing back and forth now, his eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"What happened?" I asked cautiously.

Continuing his pacing, Sheik looked so deep in thought I wasn't sure if he even heard me.

"There's been a small hitch in the plan," Sheik finally said after a couple minutes of silence.

"So no Kakariko?" Landon said hopefully.

"No, Kakariko is essential. We just..." he trailed off as his mind started whirling. "We just need to make a quick detour."

"Where?" I asked warily. I did not like the look on his face. I didn't like it at all. It gave me the impression that his new plan included attempting something desperate. And if Sheik thought it was desperate...

"The Temple of Time. There is an item which we need to retrieve."

Trenton's head whipped up. "But wait, isn't that in...?"

"Castletown? Yes."

I tried to stop the twins; I could see the look in Sheik's eyes. He was expecting and ready for a fight, and he was pissed enough already. But I was too late. They had already started screaming about what a stupid idea that was, how there was no way that we'd all follow him. Sheik's eyes narrowed dangerously, but neither backed off. They were rewarded with their noses in the dirt, arms twisted behind their backs, and a knee painfully resting on each of their backs. Based on my intimate familiarity with that position, I knew neither of them would be getting up until Sheik allowed it.

"Listen closely," he snarled, "because I have no intention of repeating myself. You would not be permitted to accompany Link and me even had you begged. In all likelihood, Link would die trying to save your incompetent, worthless lives. You can meet us in Kakariko or depart forever; I do not care either way. What I do care about is that you end your useless whining and blathering before I end the two of you."

He looked up when he felt the cold sting of metal against his neck as I stuck out my sword. "Never threaten my friends again," I said, clenching my jaw. "Now get off of them."

He turned his dangerous gaze towards me, but he released them still.

"They are not worthless, just as you are not nearly as great as you seem to believe. If you need to take your frustration out on someone, I'm right here. But I won't be if you ever lay another finger on either of them."

Just then, Conrad came drunkenly stumbling towards us. He saw the point of my sword pointed at an unarmed Sheik's neck, and he started clapping. "Finally giving the sneak what it deserves, I see. Do it. The world will be better for it."

I quickly sheathed my blade, not wanting to damage Sheik's ego any more than I already had. "Just a small misunderstanding. Sheik, can you give us a minute?" I asked. "We'll talk as soon as I finish."

He stood and walked away without a word. I knew he hated this. He had little patience in dealing with the intricacies of people. But even though he was probably furious with me, I felt like we had just made a huge step in our relationship. Because since there was still so much left unsettled, his leaving without a word showed a first tentative step towards trust.

"Thanks Link," Landon said.

"Don't." I said running a hand through my hair. "I'm going with him."

"Are you kidding me!"

"You're going into the belly of the beast?"

I waited until they finished their objections. I understood what they were saying. I thought it was crazy too, but when Sheik mentioned the Temple of Time, something inside of me felt right, like the temple was calling to me. It didn't make sense, I had passed that place a hundred times when I was little. I wasn't even allowed in because I was too dirty and ratty for a place that was supposed to be sacred. But none of that mattered now because I knew Sheik was right, even if I didn't know why.

"Guys, I get it. But I'll be fine. You know how much better I've gotten, and on top of that, Sheik will be with me. He might be a jerk, but if anyone can keep me safe, you know he can. And he says we're close to everything finally coming together. I know it's asking a lot, but I'd really like for you guys to meet us at Kakariko. Can I count on you two to be there?"

They looked at each other, deciding. "You're insane," Landon said. Then a smile started across his face. "But since you're willing to go to Castletown, and worse, spend all that time alone with Sheik, by comparison, Kakariko really doesn't seem that crazy."

I smiled big. The two of them had been my rock amidst the craziness of Sheik and the General, and I was really glad I wasn't going to lose them.

"Conrad," I said. Landon smacked him awake. Sometime during our conversation, he sat down and drifted off.

"Huh?" he said with bleary red eyes.

"Sheik and I will be gone for awhile. In the meantime, I need you to accompany the twins to Kakariko. I'm holding you personally responsible for their safety on the journey there."

He looked up at me and started laughing. "Kakariko? I wondered when death would greet me. Reporting for the suicide squad, sir!" he said with a mock salute that made him lose his balance. He laid flat on his back and laughed for a minute more before passing out.

I nodded my gratitude towards the twins once more before I left to find Sheik. I called out his name a few times until I heard the slightest sound behind me, signaling his presence. Unsurprisingly, he was right behind me, a testament to his silent movements.

"Were you listening?"

"No. I have far better ways to spend my time."

I didn't challenge him. It had been a long day already, and I just wanted to finish this conversation so I could pass out like the General had.

"I'll follow you to Castletown. The three of them will be waiting for us at Kakariko. Though it does seem like a long wait for them."

Sheik shook his head. "We will not even be a day behind them."

My eyes slanted in confusion. "How is that possible? We have to go all the way to Castletown and then back here before we can head east like the others."

"We will not come this way on our journey back. We will cut straight through to Kakariko."

Normally I would have yelled at him for being insane, but at this point, I was so tired, I took a note from the General and started laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of the idea. "Through bandit country? Remember when you said I had delusions of having the Triforce of Wisdom? Well I'd say the same about you and the Triforce of Courage. But fine, if that's what we need to do, I'll do it. Just promise me you won't tell the others. I think they'd try and tie me up and never let me alone with you again."

He nodded his consent. "Be ready to depart by tomorrow. As you can imagine by our route, time is of the utmost importance."

"Fine." I started to walk away to crash. "But Sheik," I said, stopping for a moment, "after this, you can't say anything about how stupid or dangerous my plans and decisions are."

He snorted a small laugh. "Rest up, Link. You are going to need to be at your best over the next few days."

I left feeling pretty good considering the circumstances. I still didn't like the guy much, but I did admire the way Sheik could put his feelings aside when he felt it necessary. I would have understood if he had blown up at me just now for holding my sword to his throat, but instead he distanced himself from his anger and focused on what needed to be done.

In return, I tried not to be difficult. If I thought this was just another of his training exercises, I would have gotten in his face. But I saw the look he had when he read that letter; he hated this diversion just as much as I did. Since it was necessary, the only thing to do was accept it. A funny thing happened when I accepted a goal: seeming impossibility no longer mattered. Instead I just focused on the next step in the process and any nervousness or hesitance left me.

So we were walking into a deathtrap? Bring it on.

A/N: Sorry not a lot of action in this one, but there'll a be a bunch in the next. I already have it written for once, so I'll probably post it in the next few days. Quick preview: Sheik's actually going to say something personal. I know, I could barely believe it either.

Thanks so much for reading. Let me know what you think.