Two weeks of harsh training had passed, and Sheik had fallen into a steady pattern. Each morning she
would wake up at sunrise, eat a quick breakfast, then go to the training ground to meet Emril. They
would spend the next few hours practicing, then eat lunch, help with chores around the camp and
other mundane activities for about two hours before spending the remaining daylight hours studying
history, literature, and other scholarly subjects in Emril's tent.
Later that night, sore and exhausted, Sheik would return to the tent she shared with Raven to eat and
then sleep, repeating the pattern the next morning. Sometimes Raven joined them in their training, but
lately she had been spending a lot of time talking to the elders or just riding around in the desert. She
had been exceptionally quiet lately, and Sheik had found the idea that something might be wrong with
Raven passing through her head on multiple occasions. Each time, she brushed it off with the
justification that it had nothing to do with her and that Raven could take care of herself, and continued
on with her training. She and Emril hardly talked besides his instructions, but Sheik still felt herself
growing close to Emril, until he was very close to a fatherly figure.
As the days dragged on, Sheik found herself growing uneasy, the peace and normality that had
descended upon her life felt out of place after six years spent struggling to survive. She also worried
about Zelda. The princess sent letters from time to time, but most were to inform the Sheikah of the
growing chaos and discord in Hyrule. Sheik got the feeling that Zelda was getting desperate, her
kingdom had fallen apart, and her armies were being slaughtered one by one. Lon Lon Ranch had been
attacked again, and this time it had been captured. Their supplies were running low, Zelda's soldiers
were dispirited and growing weary. Hopelessness had covered Hyrule and Zelda was powerless
against it. Sheik was considering returning to Hyrule soon, and Emril was rushing to teach her all that
he could, but with the threat of winter coming and making crossing Hyrule field nearly impossible, it was
looking as though they would soon run out of time.
-0-0-0-
Zelda sighed, watching as her breath created little white clouds in the cold autumn air. Kakariko was
busy, full of people running around buying food for winter, men chopping firewood, and soldiers
hurrying about buying the necessary items to adjust their gear for winter. But despite the hustle and
bustle expected of a prosperous town, there was an almost palpable sense of depression. People's
faces were set into hard frowns, their foreheads lined with worry. So much had changed in only a few
weeks, and it broke Zelda's heart. As their ruler, it was her responsibility to make sure the people were
content, but now she was powerless. There was nothing she could do. Supplies were running low, and
the people were struggling to make ends meet, they couldn't afford to fight a war as well. Even as
royalty, Zelda barely had enough food for herself. She was beginning to realize that title meant nothing
when you didn't have the people behind you. You could call yourself king and rule the lands by force,
but if the people didn't want to obey you, if they didn't have enough food for their own families, you
had no kingdom. You had nothing. In the end, king was just a title, the rulers were the same as
everyone else, only with a lot of influence. But, Zelda thought, even if you had a lot of influence or
power, you still needed to eat, just like everyone else. If there was no food, you couldn't eat either.
The princess sighed again and pulled her thick wool cloak further around her body. If this kept up,
Ganondorf would have no opposition, Zelda would have to go into hiding, and the last remaining safe
spot in all of Hyrule would be lost.
She hoped the hero would awaken soon.
-0-0-0-
It was like watching shadows dace across a lake on a moonless night. You knew they were there, but
you couldn't really see them. Amidst the swirling sands the creatures appeared, then disappeared so
quickly, you thought you were seeing things. Had they not been watching carefully for them, the
Sheikah never would have seen them coming.
About half an hour earlier, Raven had come to the training ground, looking anxious and excited at the
same time, and told Sheik and Emril that there would be guests from beyond the desert arriving shortly
and to go meet the elders at the edge of camp. Now they were standing in an uneven line, watching
the fast moving creatures approach them with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. The figures stopped,
and stood a few feet away from the line of Sheikah, watching them with their strange glowing eyes.
They were the Garo.
"Welcome." The Sheikah leader's voice rang across the strangely quiet sands, sounding rather
intimidating as she stepped forward from the otherwise still group. Her name was Karei. She was the
only one of the desert Sheikah to have beaten Emril, the previous leader, in combat. Thus making her
the new commander.
"We thank you for meeting with us," one of the Garo said. Sheik couldn't pinpoint the voice. It sounded
as though it came from everywhere at once, and perhaps it had. Their faces were completely obscured
by the deep shadows cast by their hoods, making it impossible to see who had spoken.
"It is our pleasure. Many years have passed since we last had contact with your people. This is a great
honor," Karei replied. The Garo may have nodded. It was hard to tell. Sheik found herself wary of them,
with their dusty brown cloaks and deep hoods hiding nearly their entire body. All that was visible were
their thin legs and glowing eyes.
"If you would follow me, we can get out of this heat and discuss the matters you have approached us
with," Karei suggested. Sheik saw that she was slightly uncertain who to address. They all looked the
same, no one stood out more than another, and it was impossible to tell who had spoken. One of the
Garo stepped forwards from the group and looked directly at Karei, the glowing orbs that were
assumed to be their eyes boring into Karei's red irises.
"First, would you allow us to replenish our water supplies at the oasis?" it asked. Sheik found that she
could easily follow the voice now, and distinguish it from the mass, even though the person had hardly
moved. It was strange.
"Or course. My apologies, I forgot my manners, please take as much time as you need to rest and
replenish your supplies." Sheik thought that Karei was putting too much trust in these people, but she
kept silent. Karei motioned for some of the Sheikah to show them around. Perhaps to observe them as
well.
"Before you go, may I ask your name?" Karei asked.
"...You may call me Aratay," he -or at least Sheik assumed it was a he- said.
-0-0-0-
That night, Sheik left the central tent with a sense of foreboding. The Garo had come to ask for the
Sheikah's help. Armies were rising up across their land again, and the Garo were trying to end a war
before it began. Or so they said. Sheik got the impression they were trying to conquer the other
kingdoms in an attempt to unite all of the countrie's people under one ruler. Sheik was not sure
whether this was good, or bad. Karei had refused to send help, saying that the Sheikah had fought
their fair share of wars, and that the only thing war brought was death and sorrow. They would not be
part of another war, even if it was what was best for Termina. Which Karei had seemed to doubt. The
Garo had not argued, simply acknowledged the wisdom in her words and asked to stay for a few days
to rest.
Sheik pushed the meeting from her mind and wandered aimlessly through the darkening desert, the
fires from the Sheikah camp visible for miles on the flat land. It was a surprisingly calm night. The sands
were still, the malevolent spirits dormant beneath the sand. The cold wind pulled at her clothes and
hair making her shiver. It was strange, how during the day the desert was so hot, and as soon as the
sun set it became frigid. She unwrapped the bindings around her head that served as the Sheikah's
version of a turban and let her shoulder length hair whip around in the wind. Looking up, Sheik could
pick out all of the constellations, dim in comparison to the brilliant moon. She breathed deeply and
closed her eyes, taking the moment of peace to calm herself.
"Enjoying the darkness?" Sheik whipped around, drawing her tanto in one swift movement, her other
hand gripping her throwing knives tightly. How could someone have sneaked up on her like that? She
mentally berated herself, red eyes scanning the darkness for the other person.
"Scared of the darkness?" Sheik's eyes widened, and she whipped around towards the voice, but was
greeted with empty air. Why couldn't she sense this person's presence? There was no magic involved,
she could see through that, so what was it? Where was it?
"Hehe, awfully skittish aren't you?" Sheik's eyes narrowed.
"Where are you?"
"Right here!" Sheik leapt backwards as a poe appeared in front of her. That explains why she couldn't
sense it's presence, it was a ghost. Sheik frowned beneath her scarf. Poes usually don't talk, though.
So what was it doing?
"I suppose I've had my fun," the poe said, "I'm here on the orders of Lord Ganondorf." Sheik put away
the throwing knives, but kept her tanto drawn. She waited for the ghost to elaborate.
"He wants you to kill that old man, Emril." The ghost bobbed in what may have been a shrug. Sheik
was careful to keep her emotions off of her face, but inside she frowned. How did Ganondorf know
about Emril? He seemed to know everything. Sheik felt her old fear rising again. Ganondorf was so
powerful... She curtailed that train of thought abruptly.
"I understand," she said. The poe laughed and spun away, waving it's lamp in farewell.
"Good Sheik! Soon darkness will cover all of Hyrule!" The poe laughed maniacally, then it's own flames
consumed it, leaving it's soul to float down onto the sand, glowing softly. Sheik frowned and scanned
the surrounding area.
"It self destructed..." Sheik thought. That was highly unusual, and all of it's speech, that couldn't have
been made up all by the poe itself. The creatures lack the intelligence for such a thing. It must have
been ordered to say those things, then killed by magic once the message was complete. Sheik sighed
and brushed her dirty blonde bangs out of her eyes before re-tying the turban. Things were getting
worse. It seems Ganondorf was moving now, and the world would soon be plunged into complete
darkness.
-0-0-0-
Sheik met Emril at the training ground the next day, and was surprised to find Raven and two Garo
there as well.
"Sheik, today you will learn about the Garo," Emril told her. Sheik turned to the two Garo and analyzed
them. They each had two long, single edged blades sticking out of the bottoms of their cloaks,
presumably attached to their hands, their hoods were pulled up, completely obscuring their faces in
shadow. What Sheik found strange though, was that each had some sort of spell wrapped around it,
so deeply intertwined with it's body that Sheik barely noticed it. Raven stood beside them, her own
dual swords held loosely in each had, black hood pulled up, also obscuring most of her face. It struck
Sheik then how much she looked like the Garo. All she needed were the glowing eyes and long cloak
and she would look just like them.
Sheik shifted her gaze back to Emril, waiting for instructions. He gave them, and the lessons began.
By the end of the day, Sheik had learned all about the Garo's history, what they were, their combat
techniques, magic, and traditions.
Thousands of years ago, the Garo had been allied with the Sheikah, they protected the goddess's
sacred treasures for many millennia and had also been guards chosen by the goddesses at that time.
Then, one day, the Garo suffered a great drought, which left their lands dry and over half of their
population dead. They blamed the Goddesses for abandoning them, and left Hyrule and it's deities
behind. They crossed the border into a land called Termina, and were never heard from again.
Until now. The Garo had crossed the entire Gerudo desert to reach this camp, the only people to do
that in many years. The magic she had seen surrounding them was a spell that would destroy their
bodies when they died.
"To die without leaving a corpse... That is the way of us Garo." That was what the two Garo, whose
names Sheik still did not know, had told her. A true assassin left no trace of his existence.
They taught Sheik their magic, and then taught her their fighting style. Raven fought in almost the
exact same way, so Sheik learned quickly, using what she knew from sparring with Raven and picking
up the new things they taught extremely quickly. The next three days were spent training with them,
and Sheik had very little time to contemplate killing Emril. Raven had become all but silent, not speaking
a word to anyone.
On the fourth day, the Garo disappeared. Sheik had woken up, and they had been gone. Raven was
gone as well.
There was a letter in Sheik's tent where Raven had slept before. Sheik picked it up and read it, already
having an idea of what it would say.
I apologize for leaving so suddenly, but I want to see what Termina looks like.
I have not had the opportunity to tell you, but I am actually part Garo. My father, a Garo, died in a skirmish
at the beginning of the war that now consumes all of Termina, and my mother brought me here, back to her
home, to the Sheikah.
Despite having grown up with the Sheikah and having trained with them all of my life, I feel obligated to try
and help the Garo as well.
I will return one day, but until then, farewell, Sheik.
Sheik crumpled the paper up and threw it into the nearest fire as she walked past. She wasn't sure
why, but she didn't want Raven to leave. She smiled wryly, it was ironic how the world always takes
away whatever you care about. Sheik was beginning to agree with the Garo. The goddesses were
cruel. Or perhaps they weren't really all powerful. Maybe there were rules to how much they could
interfere with the mortal realm. Sheik pushed the thoughts aside as she approached the training
ground. She didn't need friends, she was a traitor and a murderer. The less people she interacted with
the better. A true assassin leaves no trace of his presence.
That day, Sheik slipped poison into Emril's food.
The next day he died.
The day after, Sheik began the journey back to Kakariko village.
A/N
I want to clear up the bit with the Garo quickly.
So, I said they had been allied with the Sheikah and acted as protectors of the Triforce etc. alongside them. I am assuming that everyone started out in the same place, so after the drought, which turned the place they were living in into part of the Gerudo desert, they went to Termina, and the Sheikah remained in the desert until Hyrule castle was established and a few years later the Sheikah left the desert and swore fealty to Hyrule's royal family.
I may just have created more contradictions and inconsistencies, but I tried.
Beside all of that, this chapter felt a bit rushed, but I am unsure how to correct that. Sorry.
There are probably history errors and inconsistencies, please tell me if you find some. I know this has dragged on for a long time, but soon Link will wake up and then everyone will be happy, right?
Also, I will be re-writing everything once I finish this story, so if I don't fix the aforementioned errors right away, they will be fixed after I finish.
I'm really sorry for all the errors and my generally bad writing, but thank you very much for reading it anyway!
Thank you!