Watching Sheik work was awe inspiring. Normally he held back when we traveled, letting me take on whatever monsters we came across. Now, however, his priorities had changed, and he fought right by my side. Every single one of his movements had a purpose as his mind was five steps ahead of whatever his body was doing. His movements were so fluid he seemed as if he were dancing.

I had many opportunities to see his technique as we ran into more and more monsters the closer we got to Castletown. Between the two of us, nothing gave us too much trouble. Not until we were about half a day's ride from our destination anyway.

We had stopped to give the horses a rest. I was struggling with a basic spell Sheik had given me, and he was busy with whatever secretive work he occupied his time with. Then I heard a clinking sound that froze the blood in my veins.

I called Sheik's name, and he immediately jumped into a ready stance, each arm reached back ready to unsheathe his swords. He hadn't seen the threat, but the fear in my voice told him everything he needed to know. He surveyed the scene with a few quick glances, telling him what I already knew.

Stalfos. Four of them, approaching us from different sides. One would have gotten me nervous, two would have really made me worry, but four? It was unprecedented. Even with our combined skill, the odds of us both making it out of this situation were slim at best.

But as I keyed onto the one directly in front of me, I felt no fear. Not because I was confident we'd be successful. Not because of their appearance-the first time I saw a Stalfos I could barely hold a sword because I was trembling so severely. Their skeletal figures that mocked our human dead towered over six feet, and they wielded large blades that they swung powerfully enough to separate a man's head from his shoulders in one stroke. My lack of fear wasn't even due to the reassuring touch of Sheik's heel meeting my own as a symbol that he had my back.

No, I wasn't afraid because my anger burned every other emotion out as a picture of Navi flashed before my eyes. When I could no longer contain my fury, I clenched my jaw and, pushing off from Sheik, I charged the monster.

My sword came down with all my strength, but the Stalfos was able to get its shield up just in time. It thrust the circular shield forward, pushing me back. Trying to take advantage of the moment, the Stalfos slashed its sword, but I easily blocked the blow with my shield. After that a steady rhythm of metal against metal could be heard as our swords clashed.

Finally I made some progress when it fell for one of my feints. I spun the opposite direction and sliced through its shield arm. It was a clean stroke, sending the demon's arm to the ground with a thud.

The monster somehow managed to glare at me with its sockets but was otherwise unaffected. It was disconcerting to see a normally incapacitating blow serve as a mere inconvenience. His defense was a little weaker now, but the loss of weight also made him faster and more aggressive.

I backed up to get enough space to re-examine my strategy, but the Stalfos had different ideas. In one leap, it closed the distance between us, using the momentum of the jump to bring down its sword with all the force it possessed. I caught the blow on my shield, but it was so powerful, I couldn't keep my footing, and I fell to the ground, losing my grip on my shield in the process.

I heard the whoosh of splitting air above my head, and I rolled away a second before the Stalfos' sword came down, burying itself in the ground. As it struggled to pull its sword from the ground, I swung my own blade at the monster's legs. From my position on the ground, I didn't have much leverage, so I only managed to crack one of its legs instead of severing it like I had its arm.

I thought about trying to deliver another blow, but given my position, I'd be at a severe disadvantage if it recovered before I finished. Instead, I rolled myself back and stood into a defensive position just as the Stalfos freed its sword. As it readied itself to face me, I noticed a hitch in its step when it put weight on the leg I had slashed.

I smiled. I had my strategy now. I feinted hard towards its weak leg, and just as I suspected, the Stalfos overcompensated for its injury, allowing me to spin around it before it could react. Using two hands, I swung my sword with all my strength at its neck. My blade went through clean, sending its head to the ground followed shortly by the skeleton body.

My target taken care of, my mind cleared, and dread descended upon me as I realized what I had done. I whirled around, praying I wasn't too late to help Sheik only to see his blade pierce through the top of the final Stalfos' skull. He pulled back and a third pile of bones formed around him. His eyes met mine, and my stomach dropped. I had never seen a look of such absolute betrayal.

"Sheik," I started, trying to find the words to apologize, to try and explain.

"Don't," he said as he walked away.

"I'm so sorry."

He turned back to me. "It's done. Talking about it will only make me angry. Instead let's discuss what you did wrong in your fight."

"I left you alone with three of them."

His eyebrows curved down in anger. "I told you that was done."

My anger started to rise at his stubbornness. I was just trying to apologize. He should know how awful I felt for what I did. "I don't want this to screw up our dynamic. As partners we need to trust one another, and I violated that trust. I promise you it won't happen again."

His eyes still burned with an unspoken fury, but slowly, that fire began to dim, and he gave me a quick nod of acknowledgement. I suppose that was as much as I could hope for given my actions.

"Now," he said, his voice even, "let's discuss how I disposed of three of the creatures in the time you needed to defeat one."

"Simple," I said. "You are far more skilled than I."

He rolled his eyes. "Our disparity in skill is rapidly diminishing. The difference is in approach. You fought the Stalfos as you would a man, but Stalfos have different strengths and weaknesses. Cutting through bone is difficult, and as you discovered, losing a limb is not debilitating to these creatures. Attacking as you did is wasted energy. Stalfos have a weak point at the top of their skulls. With your superior speed, you could have gotten behind it and brought your sword down on that spot, using a fraction of the energy and time to kill it. It is essential that you approach fights like this in the future."

I shook my head in disbelief. "You really expect me to memorize the weak points of every single monster? That's impossible."

"No, that is the opposite of what I desire. I want you to take the time to analyze your opponent before attacking. Had you looked, really looked, you would have seen the thinning and slight discoloration near the top of its skull. Every monster is vulnerable in one way or another. You need to train yourself to find those weaknesses and then strategize the best way to exploit them. I assume I can expect you won't mindlessly attack like that again?"

I stared at him evenly as my body tensed at the same memory that caused my aggressive behavior. "Yes, but you're right: it's done. We don't need to talk about it."

One of Sheik's eyebrows shot up. "Maybe we do."

"You don't want to push this."

I was surprised that instead of a challenge, I saw sympathy in his eyes. It was an unfamiliar sight. Softening the edge he normally carried in his voice, he asked, "Was it because of Navi?"

I could feel a pounding in my ears as anger coursed through my body. "You dare ask me that?" I hissed. I wanted to yell, but that could have meant our death this close to Castletown. "You, Sheik, the last of the Sheikah, who won't share a single other fact about yourself? No, you don't get to hear that story."

I didn't want to even look at Sheik anymore, so I took off. Not too far because, as mad as I was, I wasn't an idiot, but far enough so I could cool down. I found a a shaded spot underneath a tree where I could seethe. I was so busy calling him names in my head that I only noticed Sheik approaching when he sat down next to me.

He wasn't looking at me, he was just staring straight ahead, and I was about to yell at him to leave when he spoke.

"The Sheikah were once a proud and mighty race. We were masters of stealth and secret; the shadows have always been our ally. But our arrogance outgrew our ability. An ill advised attempt at blackmail earned us the ire of the young but powerful resident kingdom. The Sheikah may be skilled fighters, but we were completely unprepared for the swift, ferocious answer of the Hylians.

"It was a slaughtering. Our defenses were completely inadequate because, in the past, no one would dare attack the shadows. We weren't prepared when it turned out not everyone was afraid. They used all the brutal force they possessed to stamp us out. We were meant to serve as an example of what happens when you cross the Hylian royal family. They killed without mercy, marching many of us into our own temple to meet our deaths as a show that even our gods could not save us.

"The only reason we were not completely wiped out as a people was because of the desperate actions of a small group of young Sheikah. Drawing upon every lesson they had ever been taught in infiltration and stealth, they snuck into the castle and managed to end up alone in the room with the royal family. They hoped their ease of entry would show a need for heightened security. They wanted to make a deal. If Hyrule would call off its forces, these young men would pledge not only themselves, but their entire people as devoted protectors to the royal family.

"Their plea did not impress the king, and he was ready to call for his guards. Luckily, his daughter spoke up and pointed out that the young Sheikah could have easily taken revenge for what they had done to their people, but instead they were trying to find a peaceful resolution. She pled with her father to accept the offer, saying she herself would take them as guards if nothing else.

"The princess' impassioned speech softened her father, and he agreed to call his troops back. It wasn't an easy transition for either party: our ways were unsettling to many of the Hylians, and we faced hostility from all of our new supposed allies with the exception of the royal family itself. Soldiers in particular hated us, which passed down through the generations as you might have gathered from the General's distaste of me. However, we soon became integral to the safety of the royal family. Duty has always been exceedingly important to the Sheikah, and so the royal family became everything to us. Our wants and needs became secondary.

"Unfortunately, our numbers never recovered even as we allied ourselves with Hyrule. Our culture wasn't amenable to large families, and the work we did was dangerous. Some called us the king's hidden dagger, and we took pride in the name. Stealth and foresight were our two most vaunted qualities, and though we were few in number, we were one of Hyrule's most valuable assets. That was true even until the end. We could not save the king or queen, though many of us died trying, but we could get the young princess out. Every last one of my people gave their lives to ensure the princess' escape with the exception of Impa and me. Impa was her nursemaid, and I had been chosen years previously to be her shadow, her closest protector.

"When I say I am Sheik, last of the Sheikah, it might not mean much to you, but to me, it is everything. Any shred of individuality I may have had died that day beside my fallen brothers and sisters. I am my people; I carry everything they represented on my shoulders. Their past is my past, their duty is now mine. My one desire is to honor them."

Before I could respond to anything he had just said, Sheik stood and walked back to camp to prepare the horses. Not that I would have known what to say even had he stayed. Up until now, I didn't even know who the Sheikah were, let alone the prominent role they'd played in Hyrule's history. The only one I had ever met was Impa, and I just assumed her tanned skin meant she had some Gerudo ancestry.

These days pretty much everyone had a tragic past, but I didn't realize the scale of Sheik's. To lose your entire people... I may have been Hylian, but I grew up Kokiri, and if all of them had been killed during the invasion, I can't imagine how I'd function. That kind of survivor's guilt would have been unbearable.

I stood. As much as I hated the idea, it was my turn to share.

Sheik was cleaning up our camp, and I took my place beside him. We worked in tandem without a word as I gathered the nerve to tell him a story I had never told anyone else.

"I was fifteen. I had spent three years trying to get better, trying to figure out how I was supposed to fulfill my impossible destiny. It was an awkward time for me; I had just shot up a few inches without putting on a single pound. I could hold my own about as well as most, but I certainly wasn't anything special.

"I became frustrated at my lack of progress, so I decided to see how I fared against a tougher monster than the ones I was used to. Navi warned me against it, said that I should be patient. But I was sick of being patient. I was a fool.

"I found a Stalfos, and though I had heard all the stories, I attacked. Once engaged, it was immediately obvious that I was in trouble. The creature was stronger and faster than me. I didn't land a single blow past its shield.

"After maybe a few minutes of being overwhelmed, I was knocked to the ground. The Stalfos' arm rose, preparing to strike. Had it followed through, I would be dead. But Navi, ever faithful Navi, flew in a frenzied pattern in front of its face. In the distraction, she screamed at me to run. I scrambled to my feet, but then I heard a sickening crunch as the Stalfos' hand connected with Navi's body, sending her crashing to the ground. I hurried to the spot she fell, cradled her in my hands, and then sprinted away as fast as I could.

"When I finally stopped and uncupped my hands, I was met with the sight of the light dimming from her broken body. She gasped, trying to tell me something, but the effort was too much, and her light went out. I was finally listening when all she could offer was silence. All because of my arrogance, because I tried to play hero.

"She died because I overestimated my ability." My voice was coated in disgust. "Can you think of a bigger waste?"

I finally dared looking at Sheik and saw his eyes were filled with emotion I couldn't place. Instead of expressing any of it, he gave me a curt nod before mounting his horse. For once I was grateful for his peculiar ways. Anyone else would have tried comforting me, telling me I wasn't to blame. Had I been forced to listen to false words after reliving that memory, I might have screamed.

Yet I did feel better for finally sharing that story after all those years of keeping it bottled inside. I wondered if Sheik felt similarly. Despite our mutual antagonism, we suited each other in some ways. If we had to share our pain, we didn't want questions, we didn't sympathy. Just someone who'd listen.

A/N: Link and Sheik finally bond a little. Don't worry, that'll last for a least a chapter. Next time: the Temple of Time and Master Sword.

I'd love to know any of your thoughts on Sheik's account of the history of the Sheikah. The game left a lot of room for interpretation there, so interpret wildly I did. I like thinking of them as a mysterious and tragic people, but I'd love to hear any opposing ideas.

Thanks so much for reading.