As soon as Ganondorf gave the order the Gerudo jumped on Sheik, tying her hands and ankles. One of them picked her up and threw her over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Sheik kicked and tried to bite, but after a few seconds someone whacked her over the head, dazing her. She was carried back into the castle and down into the dungeon where she was thrown into one of the cells and chained by her ankles to the stone wall.

Once the Gerudo had left, Sheik pushed herself into a sitting position and looked around. She had only been in the dungeon once before, when Zelda had asked her to explore with her and they had come across the dungeon without knowing what it was.

It was cold, dark, and made entirely of stone and iron. Not a very pleasant place. It also hadn't been used in may years.

Sheik could see no way out. She knew she could pick the locks and get to the massive wooden door that led to the rest of the castle, but after that she would have to break the door somehow, since the lock was a heavy bar on the outside of the door, then she would have to get past the guards that were no doubt swarming all over the castle. She felt her heart beat quicken, and her breathing became short and fast. Trying to remember everything Impa had told her to help calm herself, Sheik forced herself to take some deep breaths, and think everything through.

She leaned back against the wall, trying to get into a more comfortable position, and closed her eyes to block out the miserable scenery. Checking her breathing once more, she began to think, recalling all of her training and trying to find something helpful.

After some time had passed, Sheik wasn't sure how much, she heard the massive door open on it's creaky old hinges and footsteps coming down the hall. A few seconds later, a Gerudo with a lantern came into view. She stopped in front of the cell Sheik was in and opened the door. Sheik squinted, struggling to see as her eyes adjusted to the sudden light.

"So, you're Sheikah, right?" the Gerudo asked. Without waiting for an answer she continued, "Then I assume your familiar with the whole being a prisoner thing, right?" again she didn't wait for an answer. "So I'm going to ask you a few things, and you'll answer. Got it?" This time she did pause, but Sheik didn't answer, so she continued.

"First question; where is Princess Zelda?" Sheik kept her mouth firmly shut. The Gerudo took a whip from where it hung at her waist and hit Sheik with it. It hurt, but Sheik didn't react, instead she continued to stare at the Gerudo with unnerving calm.

Sheikah don't have emotions.

Sheikah don't feel pain.

Her silence didn't seem discourage the interrogator, because she simply glared at Sheik and moved on to the next question.

"Where is the Ocarina of Time?" Again, the Sheikah didn't answer. The whip cracked again.

"You answer my questions, or I will hurt you, do you understand?" the Gerudo hissed, her golden eyes narrowed. Sheik glared defiantly at her.

Show no fear.

"Fine. When king Ganondorf hears of this, he will authorize me to use more force. You are going to regret this. Your lucky I was ordered not to damage you." Whipping Sheik one more time, she left, taking the light with her.

Sheik checked the spots where the whip had gone through her armor. Thanks to the armor, there was nothing more serious than some shallow cuts and, unless they got infected, they wouldn't bother her at all. They stung though, and that was irritating. On top of her previous bruises and sore spots, she didn't need another minor pain. More importantly, why had Ganondorf ordered them not to hurt her yet? Whatever his reasoning, she had a feeling that would soon change.

Sheik sighed. She had to escape, but she had no idea how. She wondered where Zelda was, and if she and Impa had gotten away safely. Deciding that worrying would get her nowhere right now, Sheik lay down in an attempt to get some sleep, she was sure that the Gerudo wouldn't be so gentle with her next time. She knew the Gerudo king was cruel, and this could escalate very quickly to full on torture.

Sometime later, Sheik sat up abruptly. She wasn't sure what, but something had woken her up. She sat in the dark for a few second, listening to the sound of water dripping onto the stone floor, the sound of rats scurrying through the dark, and the steady sound of her own breathing and heartbeat.

Then she felt it. An incredibly large amount of very powerful magic. It wasn't near by, but Sheik could feel it. Something big had just happened, she wasn't sure what, but she knew it was something that would change the world. The dream Zelda had told her about six months ago echoed through Sheik's mind. Had the hero come? Had he gotten the Triforce? The magic calmed and vanished, and Sheik was once again left completely alone.

She wasn't sure how long she sat still, listening and trying to figure out what had happened, but slowly, Sheik pulled out of her thoughts and became aware of the Gerudo coming towards her. This time, there was no introduction. The Gerudo opened her cell and began asking questions. Different questions this time. What did she know about the Hero of Time? Where was Impa? There were some others Sheik forgot, as well. Every time Sheik didn't answer the woman whipped her. Sheik didn't answer any of her questions, and eventually the Gerudo left.

Laying back down, Sheik and let her thoughts wander to the king's murder, Zelda's escape, and the fact that Ganondorf now ruled. She controlled her emotions carefully, making sure that she didn't start crying. This was bad. When she got out, she would definitely have to find the Hero. Only he could save them now.

Sheik sat, slumped against the wall, completely exhausted. She was hungry now, and also very thirsty. She guessed about two days had passed.

It was time to try and get out. If she didn't then she would soon run out of magic and energy. She picked the lock on her ankle with a pin from her hair and then began work on her cell lock. Once she was out, she ran silently down the hall and up the spiraling stone stairs to the wooden door. Then, she tried using magic to burn through the door. But it was too thick and hard, and Sheik could only hold the magic for a few seconds. She sat down against the wall and sighed. If only they hadn't taken her equipment. She could have used a deku nut to escape. The deku nut was pretty easy to use. You put a lot of magic energy into the deku nut, then smashed the deku nut, releasing the magic, and with all that magic in one place waiting to be used, you cast Farore's Wind and teleported to wherever you wanted. If she were Impa, she could teleport without the deku nut, but holding all that magic in place without something to put it in was too difficult for Sheik. She had been proud she'd even been able to cast a spell without writing out the symbols or using a spell-stone. Here, that wasn't nearly good enough.

But this gave Sheik an idea. Deku nuts contained magic extremely well, but there were other things that could store magic too. Like diamond, for example. Sheik headed back to her cell and locked herself in, returning the pin to her hair for later use while she thought about what she could use. She wore no jewelry, so no crystals. She didn't know what else stored magic other than living things, of which she was the only one down here, so she decided to try stone .Sheik picked up a loose stone and tried to put her magic in it. Sheikah were a highly magical race, so this shouldn't take much out of her.

The rock didn't hold magic though, and Sheik only succeeded in losing her magic to the air. Dismayed, she leaned back against the wall to think.

At some point, she must have fallen asleep, because she was woken up by a whip hitting her back.

-0-0-0-

Sheik eventually figured out that the Gerudo came once a day.

The Gerudo had since come seven times, so she had been a prisoner for a week. They had started bringing her food and water, most of which was inedible, but only enough to survive. Each day a Gerudo came, and each day they asked her the same questions, which Sheik never answered. On one of the days the entire castle had started shaking, and Sheik felt magic surround the structure. From this she guessed that Ganondorf had put up a magical barrier.

Over time the punishments for not answering the questions became more severe. Several times Sheik had almost given in and told them, but she determinedly kept silent. She was a Sheikah, and she would not betray the Princess. A few times she had even wished for death, but she knew Impa would scold her and be very disappointed in her for being so weak and had pulled out of it. On the eighth week of her imprisonment, Ganondorf called to see her. The Gerudo came and chained her ankles and wrists, then dragged her up many flights of stairs to the castle's highest tower. All the windows were black, so Sheik couldn't see the state of the world, but she was sure it was bad.

When they arrived at the room Ganondorf was in, the Gerudo shoved her in and slammed the heavy oak door behind her. The King of Evil came and stood over her. Sheik looked up. He was immense. Ganondorf was dressed all in black leather armor, with a massive broadsword on his back, along with a wicked looking dagger at his hip.

Sheik vaguely remembered seeing him in the throne room months before, but her memories were jumbled and her brain felt like it was covered in a cloud.

"Hello, little Sheikah," Ganondorf said. His voice was deep and booming and echoed around the room loudly.

"You're only a kid," he said, picking Sheik up by her arm, yanking it at a painful angle. Ganondorf pulled out his dagger and made a neat cut in Sheik's arm.

"You will answer my questions." he said, looking intently at the blood dripping off of his blade.

Sheik said nothing. Ganondorf put the dagger against Sheik's cheek and pulled it down, creating a bloody line from below Sheik's right eye to her jaw. Sheik could feel the cut burning with Ganondorf's dark magic.

"That must hurt a lot," he commented. "If you don't answer, it will only get worse," he warned. When Sheik didn't reply, he continued with his questions. The dagger was inflicting more minor wounds, but the cut on her face still hurt the most. His magic was painful. Ganondorf eventually reached the end of his questions list, and frowned at the now bloody Sheikah.

"You're tougher than I expected. You could be useful." Ganondorf's cruel laughter echoed around the room, it hurt Sheik's ears, and scared her. What felt like hours later, Sheik was returned to her cell. She had nearly given in, even crying out for Impa at one point, but she hadn't told him the princess's whereabouts. Yet.

Sheik pulled herself painfully into a sitting position, tears threatening to spill from her red eyes, but she held them back. There was only so much a seven-year-old could take, Sheikah or not. If this kept up she would either die, or break.

The next day, or what Sheik assumed was the next day, she was dragged back to Ganondorf's large circular room. She tried to pay attention to her surroundings, looking for a way out, but she was too tired and she had to fight just to keep her eyes open.

Once again she was thrown at Ganondorf's feet, the heavy wood doors closing behind her with a loud thump.

"Well, my little Sheikah," Ganondorf began, walking thoughtful circles around Sheik. "I have a deal I am willing to make with you." He stopped near Sheik's head and crouched down, pulling her up to look at him.

"You do what I say, kill who I tell you to, spy on who I tell you to, the only exception being your precious princess." He stopped to let it sink in. "In return, I will let you out."

Sheik couldn't help being interested. It would be wonderful to get out.

"Well?" Ganondorf prompted. So tempting...But Sheik couldn't do that. It would be betraying everyone she cared about.

"No..." Sheik whispered, her voice weak and faint.

Ganondorf frowned. "Then I'll have to change your mind."

Sheik felt one of Ganondorf's heavy, spiked iron boots descend on her back. Sheik bit her tongue to keep from screaming, despite her effort, she still whimpered pitifully. Ganondorf kicked her again, then there were knives, whips, and other things, Sheik faded in and out of consciousness, her world full of searing pain.

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

Sheik had never been in so much pain before.

Eventually, the torture stopped. Sheik was curled into a ball on the ground at Ganondorf's feet. She was shaking and whimpering. There was blood everywhere. Sheik's blood.

"Do you want to rethink your answer now?" Ganondorf asked, he sounded amused.

Sheik barely heard him. She could hardly get her thoughts coordinated enough to remember the terms. Zelda would be spared. Sheik would not have to tell Ganondorf anything about Zelda.

Ganondorf prodded Sheik with one toe. "I'm waiting," he said. He was enjoying himself immensely.

"Y-yes.. I a-accept..." Sheik could hardly get the words out. It hurt too much.

"Very good, then."

She was yanked roughly to her feet, and a bottle of potion was poured down her throat.

"Just remember, if you disobey me, or tell anyone about our deal, I will kill you, your family, and your precious princess." He spat out the last word before calling a guard to escort Sheik out.