Sheik awoke the next day before dawn, her sleep had been plagued by dreams of the battle that had taken place the day before, and as a result her mind was still weary and unfocused.
Quietly, Sheik removed the blanket that had been laid over her and Zelda and stretched. The house was cold and silent, and Sheik shivered. She went to the kitchen and started a fire in the stove, hoping to warm up the house and get some tea.
Once she had a cup of hot tea in her hands, she sat at the small wooden table and closed her eyes. Images of fire and blood flashed behind her eyelids, the sound Ganondorf''s evil laugh and of people screaming echoed in her ears. She snapped her eyes open.
The house was still quiet, the only fire was the one she had lit in the stove. No Ganondorf, no screams, no scorching flames.
She took a deep breath to calm herself, breathing in the smell of her herbal tea.
She was safe now. Ganondorf wasn't here anymore.
Thoughts about the other Sheikah made their way into her mind from where she had tried to hide them, and a wave of guilt washed over her. She was safe, but Amur wasn't, at least eighty people were in the hospital, and an even greater amount had died. She worried about her friend, her home, and the safety and future of her people. If there were enough Sheikah left to keep calling themselves a separate people. Ganondorf's attacks had taken many Sheikah lives, and there were already very few as it was, most had died long ago in the Civil War, when an alliance of nobles had tried to overthrow the Royal Family and eradicate the Sheikah, calling them demons and freaks of nature. The king at the time had blamed the betrayal and murder of his wife on the Sheikah and had his personal guard executed. He was then disowned by his son and other relatives and he proceeded to join the very nobles who had betrayed him.
A great number of Shiekah had died then, protecting the prince and his extended family, and more had died in the raids on the Sheikah villages. There had been one raid to Kakariko Village when it was still being built, Sheik remembered Impa telling her, when the Sheikah had still inhabited it. The rebel army had come and ordered all the Sheikah to surrender or they would burn the village to the ground. Impa, founder of the village, had decided it would save more lives if they surrendered.
She had sent the Sheikah who could not fight into the mountains to their old village, and the warriors accompanied her out into the field where the rebel army was waiting.
The army attacked the group of Sheikah immediately, and killed more than half. But they too lost a lot of soldiers. The Sheikah warriors are strong, and smart, they would not go down easily, but knew that they would ultimately lose. Impa ordered a tactical retreat, and as she expected, the soldiers followed them back, pressing their advantage. The Sheikah lured them into Kakariko Grave Yard, then into the Shadow Temple. Because of their single minded determination to kill all of the Sheikah, they followed and descended into the depths of the temple. There they died, each and every one. Some at the hands of the Sheikah, and many to the tricks and traps of the Shadow Temple, the place where Hyrule's most clandestine secrets were kept. Their bodies were consumed by the darkness and the events that took place there were never spoken of again.
Except to other Sheikah, who were the keepers of such knowledge.
After those events the temple was sealed, and the people of Kakariko never went near it. Since then it has been filled with the animosity of those souls, and evil has begun to breed inside, befouling the once sacred temple.
The war ended then, with very few of the rebel army left standing, and their best generals dead, their army dissolved. Peace ruled again, but not without a heavy price.
There were now only three Sheikah tribes left, and only 100,000 Sheikah total.
Someone sat down across from her and Sheik brought her attention back to the present.
"How are you doing?" asked Impa. The question addressed both her mental and physical state of health, and Sheik knew that the question was one meant to be answered truthfully, not with the usual "I am fine," used to answer when other people asked.
Sheik shrugged. She didn't really know. There was a sense of dread in her heart, but she wasn't sure what the end result of last night's attack was, so there was still a bit of hope. She felt sad, definitely, and was angry at Ganondorf, but she wasn't entirely sure what to feel yet. Maybe most of the people were still alive.
Unfortunately, that was a very slim maybe.
Impa nodded. She could relate to the younger Sheikah's feelings.
"We should eat, then check on the village. I will send a search party to look for those who are unaccounted for." Sheik nodded and got up to make breakfast.
-0-0-0-
"Oh my Goddesses..." Anise's voice trailed of, leaving the clearing in silence one more. Each of the five Sheikah stared in horror at what had been their village.
Nothing was left standing. Not a single object untouched by the flames.
Impa was the first to pull herself together.
"We should look for any survivors," she said softly. They all knew they wouldn't find anyone, but they all obeyed Impa anyway, as it was their only form of guidance.
When they were done, they had found three dead, but nothing else. The bodies were badly burned and unrecognizable, they would join the other nameless Sheikah who had died in the Civil war in their grave, forever watching over Hyrule, even in death. Or so those who had created the grave requested.
Impa wrapped the bodies in cloth and lay them away from the wreckage to be taken to Kakariko by the group assigned to the task.
Silently, they turned and exited the clearing, escaping back into the mountains.
Sheik followed blindly. She was numb. Everything felt unreal, the cold air that whipped at her hair and clothes, the smell of her burnt surroundings, the feeling of anguish that was making her want to cry. She felt oddly detached, like she was watching herself and her companions from behind a glass wall, she could feel nothing, think nothing, and hear nothing. Everything was quiet.
As they walked away, Sheik could see Anis trying to hide her tears, as was the Sheikah way, Impa leading the small group, back straight and muscles unusually tense, the two other Sheikah warriors, who Sheik could not put a name to right now, heads bowed and hearts heavy, and she could see herself, walking behind Impa, head down and staring at the ground, every movement jerky and ungraceful.
They spent the rest of the day searching for those who had been knocked out of the sky, and succeeded in finding one, Sharik, a Sheikah who had become a full fledged warrior only about a year ago, he was sixteen. One of the two warriors Sheik didn't recognize was a healer, and did his best to keep him alive, but he said Sharik's chance of survival was low.
Returning to Kakariko Village around dusk, the search parties gathered near the well and discussed what to do. Sheik sat in a corner and listened, still feeling detached.
Of 500 Sheikah, only 212 remained alive. Around half of that were injured, and 23 were fatally wounded, another 3 were missing.
Sheik went back to Impa's house after that, not wanting to hear anymore bad news. Visiting the village had really driven all of the horror home, forcing the survivors to face a horrible truth.
Sheik picked up her harp and climbed onto the roof. She plucked the strings carelessly and stared across the village with unseeing eyes.
"Sheik?" Zelda pulled herself onto the roof and walked over to the unresponsive Sheikah and sat down.
"Sheik...Please, talk to me." Sheik stopped playing and whispered;
"Two-hundred and eight-five dead. Twenty-three fatally wounded..." She trailed off. It was a small number compared to the Hylian's usual death count, but to the Sheikah, it was too many.
"Oh Sheik...I'm so sorry..." Zelda began to cry. Pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them tight, hiding her head. They weren't her people, but for so many to die... You had to be heartless not to feel any sorrow at all.
Zelda wiped her eyes and lifted her head to look at Sheik, who was simply staring again, unmoving and unspeaking. Zelda thought Sheik was so strong. Over half of her people were dead, her home had been burned to the ground, and she wasn't crying, wasn't complaining, and wasn't asking for anyone's comfort. Zelda stopped crying, her thoughts temporarily distracted. No, she realized, Sheik was strong, but she was only going to hurt herself if she faced such pain alone.
Zelda hiccupped and wiped at her tears again, trying to clear her vision.
"Doesn't it hurt?" Zelda asked. "Don't you want anyone to comfort you?" Sheik turned to look at her, her red eyes were blank.
"...No. I just want to be alone." She turned away again. Zelda got up, she was a bit afraid of Sheik right now. At times like these, you needed someone to comfort you, and Sheik was directly turning it away, and she spoke with such a dull voice, with eyes as blank as those of the dead. Zelda climbed down again and went to search for Impa. If anyone knew how to help her friend it would be her.
Meanwhile, Sheik continued her vigil, feeling nothing, seeing nothing, and thinking of nothing.
-0-0-0-
Three days after the attack, Sheik finally responded to Zelda.
"Sheik, the remaining Sheikah want to go into the desert and join up with the tribe that lives there," Zelda stated. Sheik lifted her head.
"Their betraying their oath?"
"No, I released them from it. Your people have to take some time to help themselves, they can't always be helping us."
"I see. When?"
"Two weeks from now." Zelda searched her friend's face for a reaction, but got none.
"Will you go too? It will be safer out there with the others. Even Ganondorf would not stray into the motherland of the Sheikah." Zelda thought for a moment. Impa had raised this idea as well. The Sheikah, like the Gerudo, had originally come from the desert. They had then spread into Hyrule, and split into three tribes. One tribe remained in the desert, and was the largest, the second lived in the Lost Woods, and had cut contact with Hyrule when word of Ganondorf's arrival had reached them. The third was the tribe that had sworn fealty to Hyrule and become the guardians of the royal family. They were the smallest group, and the only tribe known to the majority of Hyrule.
"No, I cannot hide when my people need me," Zelda decided.
Sheik nodded. She had expected as much.
"Then I will stay as well." Zelda shook her head vigorously.
"No, you won't. You need to get away from all of this for awhile." Zelda was afraid Sheik would insist on staying, but she wasn't going to let Sheik win this time. She wasn't blind, she could tell Sheik was upset. Leaving and visiting the desert seemed like the best option right now.
"It will only be temporary, and I will have Impa." she tried to appeal to the Sheikah. "You may come back as soon as your tribe is settled in the desert."
"You're trying to get rid of me." Sheik stated. She stood up, "Very well. I will go." she left the room to begin preparations for leaving.
Sheik Gathered her weapons and counted those that were missing, sharpening the remaining one's edges. Somewhere during the time since she had gone to the Zora's Domain and come back here she had lost her long knives, so that had put an end to her training with those weapons, she had replaced them with a dagger, perfectly balanced for either throwing or close combat. Laying her weapons in a neat pile, she moved over to her armor. Now it was scratched and ripped, the dark blue fabric stained with her blood. She would need new armor before she left.
"So you decided to go?" asked Impa. Sheik turned to find her standing with her arms crossed in the doorway.
"Yes. And you aren't. Who will lead the Sheikah in your place?" Impa walked forward and handed her a small bundle.
"Take this, it is new armor for your journey." Impa paused, then said, "Sheik, I cannot go, as it is my duty to protect the Princess and follow her, whatever she decides. As my apprentice, you will guide them in my place." Sheik took the armor and laid it on her bed.
"...I can't," she said. Impa raised an eyebrow and waited for her to elaborate. "I feel nothing inside. I cannot lead when I feel nothing, for my people or otherwise." Impa frowned. So what Zelda had said was true, Sheik had gone into a state of shock and hadn't come out. Impa felt a wave of anger toward Ganondorf wash over her, but forced herself to stay calm. She had already accounted for this.
"I understand. I will find someone else." Impa pulled the younger Sheikah into a quick hug. "I won't be seeing you for awhile, so take care." Impa knew "awhile" could be a very long time, possibly a year or more. Sending the person who she had practically raised away into a war covered land was heartbreaking.
Is that how a mother felt? she wondered. Not to mention Sheik was only eleven years old and had not yet completed her training. Impa brushed those thoughts aside. Sheik was a capable warrior, despite being young, and could take care of herself. She also played a pivotal role in the fate of Hyrule and would have to learn to handle such hardships. But it worried her that Sheik was still in shock. Most of the other Sheikah had managed to pull themselves together by now, or spent their time crying about it, but Sheik did neither. Sometimes you needed to vent, whether by crying or other means. She made a mental note to find someone to watch Sheik while on their journey, then returned her attention to Sheik.
"Thank you," Sheik said, turning back to her work.
-0-0-0-
On the dawn of the scheduled day, 180 Sheikah were gathered at Kakariko Village's front gates. All those who were capable of travel were there, those who could not probably wouldn't survive anyway, and were left in the Hylians care with the promise that those who survived could make the journey later.
Impa stood in front of the group with everyone looking up at her expectantly.
"Today our people once again embark on a great pilgrimage. With this we will depart from Hyrule, leaving nothing behind but vague memories of the shadows that once served Hyrule's Royal Family. In time we will be forgotten, our existence only remembered in fairy tales and legend.
We were once a great people, but now we are few. Ride to the desert and join the Sheikah tribe there. Though we will be forgotten, we will not cease to exist. I will not be accompanying you this time," At those gathered began yelling unintelligible questions and complaints.
Impa held up a hand for silence.
"But in my place Haytham and Izzati will guide you until you reach the desert or decide on a alternative. Now go! Time is short and danger is near." Impa's words were true, and hung in the cold morning air as each Sheikah prepared themselves for the journey ahead of them, unsure now that their trusted and wise leader was not with them.
Impa stepped off of the box the had been standing on and walked into the crowd of mounted people, making her way to Sheik's side with Zelda right behind her.
"Give the elder my best regards," Impa said. Sheik nodded.
"Come back safe." Zelda hugged her awkwardly from her place on the ground. Sheik fidgeted uncomfortably at her touch, then uncertainly hugged her back. Zelda stepped away and smiled.
"Here. This is the Goddess's Harp. It's for you, since your's is getting a bit worn out." Sheik carefully took the golden harp and stared at it with awe. It really was a beautifully crafted instrument, much nicer than her old one, which Impa had given her years ago.
"Thank you." Zelda grinned.
"Take good care of it!" Sheik nodded and handed her old one to Impa for her to keep until she returned.
Then, raising a hand in farewell, she touched her heels to her horse's flank and cantered away.
"You better come back in one piece! You hear me? If you don't, I will personally hunt you down and force you to attend a ball!" Zelda yelled after her. Sheik raised a hand to acknowledge that she'd heard, but the threat meant nothing to her. Once she might have cared, but now she couldn't even bring herself to dislike the idea.
Slowly, the entire group began to move, cantering into the misty field, hearts heavy and tension thick in the air.
This was the beginning of a new journey, and a chance for a different future.
A/N
Thank you all who read!
I hope this was okay, and I want to make it better, so feedback would be really helpful.
A special thanks goes out to Hasenpfeffer! Who helped me pick the new title for this story.
Thank you so much!
Also, I made a few mistakes with the timeline and Sheikah history which I will soon fix, or will fix when I finish this story. So, I'm sorry, and please bear with me.