Epona still came when Link called her, and it seemed like such a strange thing to Sheik. He wasn't a part of this world, but this horse had still managed to get to know Link again. He pulled his mask tighter around his face to distract himself from the fact that he was starting to be jealous of a horse.
"Dumb horse making me stay home," muttered Dark next to him, glaring at Epona.
"She would treat you better if you hadn't been so mean to her," said Link, petting Epona. "And I would make you stay here anyway. There are too many people who know me in Kakariko."
"I could wear the cloak!" cried Dark.
"No. Sorry Dark, but we can't risk it. I'll bring you something from the town."
"I hate you." whined Dark, falling back into a pool of shadows and slipping back into the house.
"It is so strange to see him walk around, acting like a childish, evil version of yourself," mused Sheik. "I'm surprised at the familiarity between you."
"A childish, evil version of me?" said Link, with a smile on his lips as he saddled Epona. "I guess you're right. But I've had stranger things happen to me. I met Oni on the moon. I should tell you all about that later. Now, we should focus on dealing with this. We've wasted enough time as it is."
Sheik noticed how Link's voice turned deeper, more serious than when he had spoken to his shadow. He started to sound like he did during the few times they had spoken back in the war. Even his back seemed straighter, his shoulders firmer.
"I should have thought of it," said Link, climbing on Epona. He held out a hand to Sheik so he would climb on her too, and Sheik took it. "You must have family that should have missed you. You couldn't simply be erased from this timeline without anyone noticing."
"Impa and I...we kept our relationship very private. Most people didn't even know she had a son while she was working at the castle," said Sheik, settling himself behind Link.
"Still...," said Link, but then said no more, and slipped back into his usual silence, the same way that Dark slipped into the shadows, as if merging into his element.
Sheik held on to him harder as Epona picked up speed. He found that Link had taken to wearing chainmail under his tunic, which Sheik wished he had been able to provide during the war.
Link's words came back to Sheik. "What did you think I was doing there? I was getting stabbed." He could almost hear the amused tone, as if Sheik was being silly for forgetting that he had been sending Link out to battle.
Link slowed down as they emerged from the woods and took the main road. Sheik noticed why a few minutes later, when they were stopped by a patrol unit. Four guards on horseback surrounded them, and Sheik found his heart racing. Everything was back to normal and this was peacetime, but the guards were bound to ask why a Hylian and a Sheikah were travelling together. And if they asked him to remove his mask, they would have many more questions to ask.
"Don't say anything, I'll deal with them," said Link, looking around his clothes for something.
"What do we have here? Why are you two together? I've never heard of Sheikahs hitching rides," said one of them as the one who looked like their commander approached them.
Link lifted his hands. "I have a royal pass," he said, and pulled out a piece of parchment.
The commander read it. Sheik sneaked a glance at it but couldn't read anything beyond princess Zelda's royal signature and seal.
"A messenger of the royal family? Why aren't you in uniform?" asked the commander, looking pointedly at Sheik, who wished he had tucked all his hair under his mask. He felt stupid for not getting it cut at Link's house back when he had the chance.
"Princess Zelda's orders," said Link with a tone of finality.
"The pass says one Hylian named Link. It says nothing about Sheikahs."
"It says I can do as I please. If you wish, we can take this to the castle, and you may explain to the Princess why you are delaying her orders."
The commander grumbled, but gave back the pass. "Go already. Fucking kids these days," he muttered.
Sheik felt Link tensing, but he didn't say anything else, and resumed their way.
"Are there many patrols among the main road?" asked Sheik to Link's ear He felt him shiver, which made him smile in mischief.
"Too many. I usually avoid them," said Link. "I asked Zelda for the pass when I got fed up with them."
Sheik sensed that Link had more to say, but the silence slipped over him again.
They reached Kakariko shortly past midday, after being stopped two more times. They had to present the pass at the entrance of the town one last time, which Sheik could see was getting on Link's nerves.
"This is why I never go out," muttered Link under his breath, putting the pass back in his pocket. "Let's hurry. Word of me going around will reach Zelda soon, so you won't have much time with Impa before the guards tell me that I'm required at the castle."
Sheik nodded. "I won't take too long. Impa...she must have an explanation for this."
They entered the cemetery as clouds started covering the sky. Sheik kicked part of a fence that had crumbled in the middle of the path. In a corner he could see a rat scampering for cover, and the whole place stank.
"What a terrible condition," he said.
"People don't get close to the temples anymore, and when they found out that the shadow temple was here they just...stopped coming I guess. I don't know. I haven't talked to Impa in a few years. Ever since I left for Termina; and she didn't talk to me at all that time."
"How long ago was that?" asked Sheik. He stood next to Link at the entrance of the temple.
"A few years, around eight or nine," said Link, pulling out his hookshot. He pulled one of his bangs behind his ear. "Uhm, you'd better hold on to me now."
A light drizzle started falling over them. Sheik looked up to the darkening sky. The storm would be on them at any moment.
"We seem to end up in this situation more and more," said Sheik with a nonchalant tone as the stepped closer to Link and held on to him, draping his arms around Link's neck.
Link blushed furiously, looking everywhere but to Sheik. "I could teach you how to use it, and-"
"Link I was joking. It's ok," said Sheik.
"Uhm, right..."
Link didn't stop blushing, but it took him less time to aim than it did back in the Spirit Temple. The very childishness of Link's crush on him made Sheik smile sadly under his mask. The poor guy must still be confusing him with Zelda.
There was a rumble as soon as they stepped into the entrance of the Shadow Temple, and all the torches lighted at the same time.
"Hero, to what do I owe your visit?" asked Impa's voice, coming at them from all corners. Beyond the light of the torches, the shadows projected shifted and moved in eerie patterns, and Sheik felt like some of them seemed to be reaching towards them.
He stepped closer to Link.
"Mother? It's me, Sheik," he said, looking around for Impa. His Sheikah eyes could see beyond illusions, and yet all he saw were shadows all around them.
The shadows crawled towards the center of the torches, and took the form of a person the same way that Dark reformed. But this time, Sheik recognized the figure all too well.
Impa had changed. Sheik knew it even before she opened her red eyes and gave him a look of confusion.
"Who are you?" she asked, and Sheik could see she couldn't recognize him.
"It's me, Sheik," he said, walking up to her so she could see him fully with the light of the torches.
"Sheik? But Sheik was her highness' disguise... During the war," she said. "is this some kind of joke?"
A despair took hold of Sheik's heart, unlike any he had felt before. If Impa, the person who had given birth to him, couldn't recognize him… Then maybe he wasn't real after all. Then maybe he could doubt his memories and his emotions. All the love he had for his mother may very well be fake. His very existence could be doubted.
"Mom it's me!" he cried, and the shrill of his voice almost scared him.
Link held him by the shoulders. "Sheik-" he started, but Sheik pushed him away.
He tore off his mask completely, letting his long golden hair fall free, and looked at Impa with both red eyes. "Mom you have to remember me, please," he begged, trying to not reach out to her in despair.
Impa recoiled from him for a moment, as if she had been struck. She stumbled backwards, but recovered her footing.
"I'm...Im very confused. How can you...? Who? I think I remember you, but how can that be...?" she said, reaching out to him.
Sheik held her hands. They felt cold and soft, with a featherlike lightness. Completely different from the rough, warm hands that had taught him to fight.
"Mom, please, try to remember...," begged Sheik, looking at her hands. There were small tendrils of darkness running across her palms and up her arms. "What is this? What happened to you?"
Impa slumped forward, her legs suddenly giving out from under her.
"Link! Help me!" called Sheik, trying to hold her up. He looked out of the circle of torches and saw Link leaning against a wall with a pained expression. "Link? Are you ok? Link!"