Sunrise found Sheik leaning against the wall of the massive gate that separated the fortress from the
desert, meditating.
She had told Raven she was going to the temple to pray, as the Sheikah had also once worshipped the
sand goddess. Raven had nodded absently and continued writing the report she would be sending to
Izzati via messenger hawk. Sheik wasn't sure she had heard, but that only worked in her favor, so she
slipped out of the fortress and went to the gate to wait. Nabooru arrived minutes later leading two
horses, both heavily burdened with flasks of water and a significantly smaller supply of food.
Sheik pushed herself off of the wall and greeted Nabooru with a nod. Nabooru grinned and waved.
"Mornin' Sheik!" she called. Sheik internally winced at the loud noise and instinctively checked their
surroundings for any sign that the other Gerudo had heard. No one seemed to be paying them any
attention, and Sheik frowned slightly. Someone should have at least turned to check what the sound
had been. Or maybe the other Gerudo were simply used to Nabooru's behavior.
"I brought horses," Nabooru stated unnecessarily. She handed Sheik one of their reins. The horse was
dark brown, with a white blaze running down his nose and white socks on his front legs.
"This is Sol, he's really nice," Nabooru introduced. Sheik nodded and excepted the large horse's reigns.
Nabooru turned to her horse's saddle bags and pulled out a cloak and a length of white cloth.
"This is a cloak," Nabooru said, throwing it at Sheik, "and this, is a turban." That was also thrown at
Sheik. Nabooru put on her own white cloak, then turned back to Sheik.
"I guess you've never used a turban before, since you were born in the mountains where it isn't nearly
this bare and burning, so I will show you how to tie it." She took her own turban and wound it quickly
around her head as though she had done it millions of times. Which, considering where she lived, she
probably had.
"Got it?" She placed her hands on her hips and stared at Sheik while she went over the steps in her
head. Sheik nodded slowly, then perfectly imitated what Nabooru had done and tied her own turban in
place. Nabooru glared at her and muttered something about being an overachiever and too darn good
at everything for her own good. But then the smile was back and she swung nimbly onto her horse's
back.
"Come on! The sun won't wait for us while we loiter around here, lets get a move on!" Sheik clasped
her own cloak, although she doubted she needed it, with the skin tight armor and all, then mounted
her horse. Nabooru yelled something in her own language up at the gate guard, and the gate
began to move sideways with a loud grinding noise.
Soon they were on their way. It took Sheik a few minutes to get used to the immense size of her
mount, but after a short time she was comfortably cantering across the burning stretch of sand known
as the Gerudo Desert.
Night fell, and the duo was forced to stop or risk losing their way in the dark.
"Listen," Nabooru said as they lay out their bed rolls in the basement of one of the numerous towers
that marked the Gerudo's borders and provided a sheltered place to rest for traveling Gerudo.
"If you see anyone, or anything, or something besides me and sand, anything at all, you have to stay
still. This desert is called the Haunted Wasteland for a reason, and that reason is because it shown you
your deepest regrets and fears. It will even show your loved ones sometimes, they beacon to you,
asking you to follow them. You can't leave this tower under any circumstances, you hear?" She looked
at Sheik with an entirely serious expression.
"I understand," Sheik agreed. Nabooru sighed and relaxed a bit, but she still seemed nervous.
"Good. Now lets get some rest, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." She wrapped herself into
her cloak and blankets and lay down.
"Goodnight, Sheik," She murmured from under the blankets.
"...Good night." Sheik lay down beside her and sighed quietly. She had a feeling tonight would be a
very long, very unpleasant night.
Sheik felt as though she had just closed her eyes when a voice began to invade her mind. It was a
familiar voice, and it sounded panicked. Opening her eyes, she blinked in confusion. There was nobody
there. Illusions, Nabooru had said. Sheik glanced around and realized that the entire room was filled
with a complex weave of magic that seemed to be intertwined with the wind itself. Sheik watched as
the magic surrounded her and tried to pull memories from her mind of the things she most wanted to
forget.
Sheik could vaguely hear distant voices whispering things she couldn't make out, but her eyes allowed
her to see through the magic, and the illusions themselves. Now fully aware of what was happening,
Sheik found it easy to silence the voices and ignore the magic swirling about. She was about to lay
back down to sleep when Nabooru shifted violently beside her. Her eyes were squeezed tightly closed
against the illusions, and her breathing was quick and shallow.
Sheik considered her options for a moment, then said; "Nabooru."
Golden eyes snapped open and quickly shut again.
"What?" she snapped.
"Open your eyes and face them. They are only illusions." Nabooru sat up and clutched her head like it
hurt, her breathing quickened even more as she struggled not to scream.
"Easy for you... To say. You... Can't see them..." Tears slipped from under her tightly shut eyelids and
spilled down her face.
"Curses..." she muttered.
"They are only illusions," Sheik repeated. "Open your eyes." Nabooru grit her teeth and did as she was
told.
"Good," Sheik said, "What do you see?"
"I... I can't tell you..." she growled. Sheik vaguely wondered what Nabooru saw that scared her so
much, but found a lack of real interest and ignored the curiosity.
"Focus on me. I am real, the others are not," Sheik told her. As she spoke the words, she examined the
magic surrounding Nabooru and began to work her own magic through it, dispersing it.
"Argh..." Nabooru growled.
Ten minutes passed and Sheik hissed under her breath. The magic was complicated, powerful, and
ancient. She found herself getting lost in the intricate designs and complex webs, being led around in
circles then having to force herself to focus on the ones around Nabooru.
In the end, she only managed to disperse the magic that was reading Nabooru's mind. Whatever
nightmare she was currently suffering from ended twenty minutes later, and Nabooru sat up tiredly.
Sheik stepped back and sat against the opposite wall.
"How?" Nabooru asked, "I've tried before, I couldn't do a thing..."
"Sheikah are a highly magical race, while Gerudo, are not," Sheik explained. Nabooru smiled weakly.
"Yeah... Thanks. You really helped there." Nabooru leaned back and sighed.
"Sleep," Sheik suggested, rolling back into her cloak. She heard Nabooru doing the same behind her.
"Two more hours," Nabooru said, "Then we have to leave." Sheik grunted in consent and let herself
drift off into the realm of sleep.
When Sheik next awoke, the sun was just beginning to rise, coloring the desert red like an ocean of
blood.
As they ate breakfast, Sheik felt depression settling over her. Last night's nightmares had reminded her
of what she was currently doing, and the more she thought about it, the less sense it made. She was
obeying Ganondorf because if she didn't important people would die. But why did she care? That was
the question that disturbed her the most. At one point, she was sure she would have said she was
fighting because she loved these people, because she didn't want to see them die, but now she just
felt so apathetic. It was as though she was doing these things simply because she was told to. She
had come with the Sheikah on their pilgrimage because Impa and Zelda had asked her to, not because
she wanted to, she had come here with Nabooru because Ganondorf had commanded her to. She just
didn't care. Raven knew her most potentially dangerous secret, and she found herself just accepting it
and not caring beyond what she considered to be a logical amount.
Sometime during her musings, she had mounted Sol and ridden through the perpetually swirling sands
to the sheltered grounds of the Spirit Temple.
The Goddess of Sand stood tall and imposing, taking up the entire northern side of the area and
casting a long shadow across the sand.
"Impressive, right?" Nabooru asked excitedly, a huge grin plastered across her tan face. A immense
contrast to last night. Sheik nodded distractedly, too absorbed in trying to read the webs of magic
hanging thick in the air.
"Come on! I'll give you a tour," Nabooru offered. Without waiting for an answer, she ran into the
enormous statue, leaving Sheik to follow behind.
They let the horses roam, certain that they would go no farther than the oasis in the western side of
this magically sandstorm-free area. Nabooru also had complete faith that her horse would come when
called.
The inside of the temple was incredible. With tiled floors in a pattern of brown and tan that resembled
the desert's swirling sands, high, arching ceilings supported by intricately carved pillars and large
statues of cobras poised to strike. Carved into the cobras' fronts were words written in Hylian.
"This is the entrance hall, from here you have two choices, take the elevator, or the door to your right,"
Nabooru explained, waving her arms to indicate directions. Sheik followed her as she excitedly bounced
through the temple, pointing out certain rooms like the treasury, training room, sanctuary, etcetera.
Apparently this temple had been lived in for centuries, but the Gerudo had been forced to abandon it
when the war with the Sheikah had started. Sheik made mental notes about where to place traps,
locks and other obtrusions as they walked through.
A few hours later, they returned to the main room again and Nabooru sighed dejectedly.
"So, I guess we have to fill this place with traps and monsters now, right?" she asked. Sheik nodded.
"Alright, let's get started." The two separated and began setting traps around the temple. Sheik used
some of her magic to animate objects within the temple to act as monsters in order to reduce the
corruption of the temple.
Hours passed, but eventually they returned to the temple entrance, their job complete.
Nabooru flopped onto the stone steps with a miserable sigh and dropped her head into her hands.
"I am such a horrible person," Nabooru mumbled. Sheik said nothing.
"I'm a traitor to my king, and a traitor to my people..." she continued, "Sheik, what have I done?" Sheik
pulled her eyes away from the stars above to look at her.
"The same thing as I," she whispered, looking back to the heavens, felling just a tiny bit sad. Nabooru
sighed, a sad sort of smile appearing on her face.
"I guess we can be traitors together then!" she slung an arm around Sheik's shoulders and grinned.
Her smile was infectious, and Sheik found herself smirking with amusement beneath her cowl. She
pushed away Nabooru's arm and shook her head.
"That is not something to be proud of." Nabooru gasped pretended to be hurt.
"Aw, you hurt my feelings, Sheik! I'm just making the best of it. Anyway, I'm fighting for the right
reasons," She winked, then continued in a more serious tone. "Ganondorf is a horrible person, and my
people do not deserve to suffer under his hand. Yes, I have desecrated our sacred temple, but I did it
for the greater good." Her grin came back, "At least, that's what I like to tell myself." She stood up and
stretched, signaling the end of the slightly one-sided conversation. Sheik rose as well, breathing in the
cool night air gratefully. Daytime was just so unbearably hot.
"We'd best spend the night here," Nabooru suggested, leading the way to the oasis.
"I must return. The Sheikah will arrive soon," Sheik said, "Would you be willing to take Sol back with
you?" Nabooru looked back and frowned, but nodded.
"Alright, but you be careful. You are standing on the edge of a crumbing cliff held up by a pillar of lies.
We may both be traitors to our people, fighting for "the greater good" but the difference is that you
have ties to the rest of the world, to all of the pivotal figures, and I am simply a thief. If I were to die,
the world would not even spare a second, it will keep going. If you die, there is a chance that the world
may just stop and look." She patted Sheik on the back, "All in all, you're a real important little slave,
Sheik!" The grin returned, wiping the seriousness out immediately. Sheik frowned. It was unusual for
Nabooru to say something so complicated.
"I will bear that in mind," Sheik replied as she stepped back and gathered her magic into her deku nut.
Nabooru waved and turned away.
With a blinding flash of light, Sheik was gone.
"That brat... She's always leaving me behind." Nabooru shook her head fondly and turned to the
horses.
"Looks like it's just you two and me now. I'll go get so- Ack!" Nabooru collapsed to the ground, a trickle
of blood running down the side of her head.
"Tee hee hee! That was easy, wasn't it, Koume?"
"Hee hee! Yes, I expected more from our leader, Kotake," Koume squealed. The two witches flew circles
around Nabooru as they spoke, eyeing their prey gleefully.
"Oh, Lord Ganondorf will be so happy!"
"Yes, yes! He will be very pleased." They stopped on opposite sides of Nabooru and raised their arms.
"Rise as one of our dark soldiers!"
"Yes! You will serve the mighty Ganondorf, you traitor!" The witches squealed and cackled happily as
dark magic began to surround Nabooru.
"Ugh..." Nabooru blinked, registered the witches' presence, and screamed.
"Oh, look, Kotake! She's awake!"
"You should have stayed asleep, traitor," Kotake hissed.
"But now this will be much more fun!" they chorused. Nabooru struggled, but found herself held still by
the witches magic.
"What are you doing? Let me go, you old hags!" Nabooru demanded. The witches cackled and began to
chant.
"You won't get away with this! The Hero will come and send you to the afterlife!" Nabooru yelled, still
trying desperately to escape the magic.
"It's no use, Sage of Spirit," Kotake cackled.
"You will serve our king and bring about the era of darkness!" Nabooru's eyes widened.
"Sage... of Spirit?" Suddenly, the power to change the fate of her people was in her hands, and she
couldn't do a thing with it. Nabooru sighed as the blackness invaded her senses and the world around
her vanished. Life was just so unfair.
Somewhere far away, she could hear the witches cackling evilly.
-0-0-0-
Humming softly to herself, Zelda continued her task of washing the dishes. She was in a good mood
today. A letter from Izzati had arrived saying they had safely reached the Gerudo fortress and would be
traveling into the desert within the next few days. Raven had also written, saying Sheik was fine, and
that they would both return as soon as everyone was settled in their new home. Zelda also had
reason to believe that the Hero of Time would awaken soon, and their attack on Trath had gone
exceedingly well. They now occupied it, and hadn't lost very many in the process.
All in all, Zelda thought, things were looking up.
She set the bowl she had just finished cleaning aside and began humming a Sheikah folk tune. Mid way
through the first verse of the song, Zelda stopped abruptly. A magical connection she didn't even know
she had had just snapped, leaving her with an almost painful feeling of something missing.
The plate she was washing slipped from her fingers and shattered on the hard wood floor.
"Princess! Are you alright?" Impa rushed in, her weapon drawn. Zelda blinked, closed her eyes and put
a hand over her heart.
"I think... I think someone just died..."
-0-0-0-
A/N
I tried something new with this chapter's formatting, so please tell me if there are any changes. I'm not sure if they carried over onto the Fanfiction site though.
Thank you for reading!