|Chapter Two|

It took a little over a week to reach the pass to the Gerudo fortress. During his travels, he worried over what he would find there considering the Gerudo culture. Would it be as different as Kakariko was now or would it be exactly the same? Would they capture him and throw him in jail? When he reached the ravine – the bridge strong and intact – he decided he would essentially wing it. He would be able to tell within the first few seconds if they were going to try and slice his head off or not. Besides, he was actually far better trained in combat this time around and remembering a few tricks from his past life didn't hurt either.

Entering the fortress and being welcomed as a weary traveler was definitely not something he had expected. The Gerudo, specifically one of the Elders, had a vision that he would come and visit. Apparently she also knew of the past timeline and recognized him as the Hero of Time. Once again, he really hadn't expected such a nice reception, but he wasn't about to complain when they showed him to a room for the night, complete with a feather bed and impressive view of the desert.

For the next few days, he lived among the Gerudo, helping with whatever they would allow him and telling him stories about their culture and that of, surprisingly, the sheikah. Apparently the sheikah were originally a desert-race, sharing a close ancestry with the Gerudo. The two races went back and forth as being enemies and allies over thousands of years. They told him there were many sheikah still living, despite common misconceptions, but none of them practiced the same disciplines as the original tribe, not to mention that many were not full-blooded sheikah. The sheikah were a highly-magical race but the mixing of blood diluted the magic and because so many were raised by Gerudos or even some hylian parents, none of the old customs were upheld.

They then told him of a sheikah in the desert that was not only full-blooded, but was raised as a sheikah. He was one of the last true sheikah. At this, Link listened so intently, his head started to hurt. They told him nineteen years ago, there was a Great Dispute between all the different races of Hyrule. The settlement in Kakariko suffered the most, however. The sheikah in the desert was born in Kakariko, apparently, and was orphaned during an attack on the village. Impa, servant to the Princess, took him in and raised him for many years, in a cottage near Kakariko. When he turned fourteen, for reasons unknown, she sent him to live in the desert. He stayed in the Gerudo fortress for many years, but for the past four years, has been living alone where the old sheikah village used to be.

"He doesn't visit us much anymore," one of the Gerudo named Kaia explained. "A few months ago, he started acting strangely, like something was bothering him. He sought council from our Elder a few times, but he never seemed at ease. After a while, we stopped seeing him. I went out there a few times, just to make sure he was okay, but he wouldn't speak to me."

"All of the time we've known him, he's been troubled, though. Sometimes he would talk about these strange feelings he would get, like he was forgetting something incredibly important," a Gerudo named Rinwa said. "He's always seemed a bit restless. Sometimes he would talk about going to the castle, because he felt like he was supposed to find someone. Something always stopped him, though."

He suddenly found himself on his feet and squinting towards the dark horizon, as if he could see this mysterious sheikah. He wasn't completely sure what he was thinking, but he knew he needed to go find this sheikah…just to be sure…

"If you want to find him, his camp is west of the Spirit Temple," Kaia said, joining him by the gate. "You seem to not be at rest as well. Maybe you'll find your voice out there and you'll both find your peace."

He left before the sun rose, leaving Epona in Kaia's care. Link could remember trudging through the wasteland in another time and he wasn't really looking forward to it again, but he hoped that what he would find would be worth it. The trip would be a long one without a horse. Because he didn't want to wander aimlessly, he followed the markers to the temple, wishing he had the Eye of Truth when he got turned around three times. It took two days to reach the temple and he rested for one day, trying to keep from getting discouraged by the shapeless landscape and endless supply of sand that always seemed to get into uncomfortable places.

At one point, he did run into some bandits, who he had to kill despite his distaste for it. As he travelled west, however, the landscape started to change drastically. The ground became hard, cracked clay and craggly mountains lined the horizon like teeth. Scrub plants dotted his path and snakes, scorpions, and lizards were becoming so common he was practically stepping on them. Three days in, he started to see a thin, almost invisible line of smoke in the sky. Anticipation filled him and he sped up his pace.

He honestly didn't know what he was going to find when he got to where the smoke was. He had his ideas about who this man might be, but he didn't let his mind venture to far. Being a mute definitely had its disadvantages and when he did stumble upon this campsite, he might just lose his head for being a speechless intruder. He remembered how stealthy and quick sheikah could be; he sincerely hoped this one wasn't jumpy.

The next day, he found the campsite. A little wooden hut was built in a small oasis, next to a tall, leafless tree. A little stream passed by the camp, coming down from the mountains, which fed into a small pond. There was a dying fire burning in front of the house, next to it several animal skins laid out to dry. By the fire was a piece of wood used as a chair and next to that were several arrows, some finished and some missing the arrowhead. One thing that captured his attention, however, was the weeping eye carved into the tree along with a phrase in the language of the sheikah. He had learned a bit of the language in his studies at the castle and translated it to the word "Forget".

As he got closer and closer to the camp, he realized that there was no one there. Drawn to the tree, he went to it, reaching out his hand to trace the weeping eye, then the word beneath it, wondering who it was that lived here and what had made them write something like.

Without any warning, a sharp pain hit his back with such force, he was knocked face-first into the tree. A knife touched his neck and a strong hand held his head to the tree. A body pinned him and a rough, accented voice in his ear said, "Who are you, hylian, and why are you here?"

The voice was agonizingly familiar, but the painful position blurred his thoughts. He knew he couldn't overpower this man. His throat closed up and he cringed as the knife dug into his throat. "Answer me. You're a royal guard. What does the princess want to take from me now?" he demanded harshly.

He tried to speak but nothing came out. Part of him thought he would die before he got to found out who this sheikah was and another part of him almost didn't mind. At least he didn't stay at the castle, wasting away and haunted by his past life. Before those thoughts went any further, his captor grabbed his arm and swung him around, his back now against the tree. He squinted in the sunlight as the sheikah gasped slightly and backed away from him like he was diseased.

Before him, now dressed in brown and grey fabric, stood Sheik. There was no way and it was completely impossible, but it was him, somehow. His skin was a little darker than he remembered, probably because he was living in the desert. He wore the same white cowl and bandages covered his arms and hands, but his wild blonde hair was free and whipping every which way in the hot breeze. The fabric clung to his body in a way very opposite of the billowing way of Gerudo clothing. Despite a few things, however, Sheik looked exactly the same as any of the days from his other life.

The shock devastated him; Sheik was real. The princess was hundreds of miles away in her castle.

For an incredibly long moment, it was silent. It seemed to take a moment to wind himself up again, but eventually Sheik said, "Why are you here?"

Link couldn't answer, no matter how hard he tried to force his teeth apart. If he could've spoken, he would've said, "Because I needed to find you, even though you aren't supposed to exist." Sheik stared at him, red eyes almost burning into his face; he had forgotten how intense the sheikah's stares could usually get. With a reaction like this, he was almost completely sure that Sheik remembered everything, especially considering what the Gerudos had told him about Sheik's behavior.

"You don't speak?" he asked, his voice changing suddenly. It wasn't quite as rough as before and it was a voice he could remember from the days that Sheik healed him after the Water Temple.

Link shook his head.

"Do…you remember?"

He nodded.

"Three months ago?" he went on, shoulders becoming rigid.

He nodded again.

"Does Zelda know you're here?" Sheik asked, looking almost…fearful?

Link shook his head quickly, hating that expression.

Sheik seemed relieved for a moment, but an unreadable expression quickly took its place. Suddenly, he turned away, going to the fire and nudging logs with a sword. His body was tense and Link could tell his mind was racing. Link's was too. He stayed leaned against the tree, watching the sheikah think and kindle the fire. He wasn't sure what to do anymore. Saria had been right; he found his answers in the desert…but now what did he do? A wave of hopelessness washed over him. He was pathetic and mute. He couldn't even talk to one of the most important people in his life and it seemed a growing trend that everything he thought was true was frequently overturned. It made him feel out-of-control.

"How many years have you been mute?" Sheik asked, glancing back at him.

Link held up seven fingers and the look in Sheik's eyes could've killed. He almost flinched, but then Sheik turned away quickly, anger rolling off of him like drops of water. Why? Why would Sheik be angry?

"I'm not supposed to exist, Link," he said, dropping the sword and sitting on the wooden stump. "Your presence here violates a contract…that existed in our other lives." He looked tired now, glancing up at Link with an expression that was both tired and somewhat disarming.

He slowly moved to the fire, his muscles aching from holding still for so long, and sat down across from the sheikah. Pulling out a scrap of paper and the piece of charcoal he always carried, he wrote, The princess lied to me. You lied to me. He didn't intend for it to seem angry and he tried to convey that in his face as he handed Sheik the note.

"I had no choice. I was locked in a blood oath. I guided you until the time you entered the Temple of Time, when she revealed herself." He sighed, pushing hair out of his eyes. The movement was never something Sheik would've done in their old lives and it captivated Link. "I wanted to tell you. The princess had an agenda, however. It happens to be an agenda that kept you alive, as well."

What happened to you after she took your place? Link wrote, afraid of the answer.

Sheik stared at what he had written for a long moment, his expression hard. "She forbid me from seeing you; she needed your trust. She sent me out here and told me to wait until she reset the timeline. But that's not what she did. She created a new timeline, almost exactly the same as the other one, and sent us there. We lost our memories in the process."

So, in a sense, we don't belong here?

"That's what I think," he replied. "Link…why did you come here?"

Ever since I started remembering, I've been losing my mind. Zelda could handle remembering, but I couldn't. I left a few months ago and visited the places from my memories. I found Saria. She told me that I might find peace in the desert. I didn't expect to find you, but I'm glad I did.

After Sheik read his note, he went quiet for a long time. He let it fall to the cracked clay and stared at the fire, his eyes matching its intensity. Link wondered if Sheik was glad he came here too, or if was just getting in the way of his solitude. Overhead, a hawk passed over, crying out into the empty desert. The sun blared down and the wood of Sheik's hut creaked against the light, dry wind. Link watched him for a while, but then strayed to watching the fire as well, trying to see if maybe there was some hidden message inside the flickering tongues. The memories of before, travelling to Kakariko side-by-side, Sheik bandaging his wounds on Lake Hylia, helping him deal with the loss of Saria, all of it, running through his mind. So many emotions.

A weird feeling that had been growing in the pit of his stomach since seeing Sheik was real, flared even more at these memories. It was like the fire was inside him instead of living on those logs. He didn't know what it was, but it made him want to fidget and walk around. He fought the urge and waited for Sheik to talk. He didn't know what would happen now that they had found each other. Did they have to go their separate ways because of the blood oath? The thought of that sent a flash of pain in his chest.

The sun was nearing the horizon by the time Sheik spoke again. He stood up, stretching slightly, and said, "It's time to hunt." He sheathed the sword in a belt at his hip and gathered a few finished arrows. After slinging an bow over his body, he motioned for Link to follow.

Link stood and followed him out of the camp and towards the mountains. It wasn't until the sun was past the horizon, however, did they reach them. It would've been darker if not for the full moon bleaching everything black and white. Goats and strange looking birds inhabited the mountain and after watching Sheik kill a few, he broke off and went after his own.

As he hunted, barely making a sound over the rocky paths – it was a skill he had picked up on from Sheik in his other life – he wondered if this meant he would be staying in Sheik's camp tonight. He didn't know what came next anymore. Even more, he didn't know if Sheik even wanted him here. Link tried to assure himself that if Sheik wanted him gone, he would've sent him away or killed him by now. Sheik seemed just as confused as him, though, Link thought. This Sheik was still the same one from long ago, but now troubled like him. Anger for Zelda swelled up in him as he shot his fifth bird. Had she even known what she was doing? All he could remember was watching her entertain nobles like it was her divine purpose, wearing fancy dresses, and signing papers with a rather gaudy white and gold quill.

She seemed fine, while him and Sheik were made to suffer.

"Link?" a voice said behind him for what he realized was the third time. He whirled around, caught off guard. Sheik stood there, several birds and two goats in tow, looking concerned. Link had been standing there for goddesses knew how long and the twinge in his feet was proof of that. He hadn't realized these thoughts had engulfed him so. "Are you alright?"

He nodded slightly, not really sure he actually was, but not wanting to worry Sheik. He knew that the sheikah didn't buy it – he never did – but he led the way back to the camp. Collectively, they had managed eleven birds and five goats. Sheik began bringing the fire back to life as Link started skinning the goats. They worked as a team, as if they had done this before…which they had. As he separated hide from muscle, Link realized how surreal this all really was. Not long again, he sat in the courtyard of Zelda's castle, patrolled the hallways, and never speaking or even wanting to speak. Now he sat in the desert next to a man that had he thought was Zelda for three months now, praying to the goddesses that he could find the strength to speak.

For a while, skinning became monotonous and Link took to stealing glances at Sheik when he thought the sheikah wasn't looking. The bandages on his arms parted way to strips of flesh here and there, and the sight kept dragging him in. He wasn't really sure exactly what the sheikah customs were, but he felt as though Sheik were breaking them. He kept pushing his hair out his eyes with the back of his hand, his fingers covered in blood, and just that movement intrigued Link endlessly. He didn't realize that Sheik was stealing glances as well until their eyes met for a moment. Everything he saw now was like finally seeing the real Sheik. In the past, he had been so rigid like a stone wall, focused on the cause and pushing Link towards it. Sheik had really been primarily a guide first, and a friend second. There was no cause now, no threat, no claws dangling over the peaceful Kingdom. Did that mean he could now really know the true Sheik?

Hours passed into darker night and meat cooked over fire, filling the air with smells Link had been without for far too long. It wasn't until he sat there eating in silence, did he realize it had been days since he had really slept or eaten. Sheik ate facing the other way and Link wished so desperately that he could make an excuse to go closer and steal a look at his face. Words that he would never say kept forming on his lips and sometimes he mouthed the words, pretending as if he were speaking even though he hadn't heard his own voice in so many years. He couldn't remember what it sounded like anymore, something that made his stomach twist into an impossible knot.

It was not long after dinner that they were attacked.

There were eight of them, all dressed in black and dark silver armor, faces covered by frightening masks. The way they fought reminded Link of Sheik's fight style, yet not as disciplined. There wasn't much warning, but Link never went unarmed and it appeared as though Sheik didn't either. At once, Link was forced to focus on five of them, all moving like smoke in a windstorm. He was quick, but with five different assailants to track, injuries were unavoidable. He wasn't sure how Sheik was doing, but he could still hear the sheikah's voice so he let that sound calm his nerves. Two masked figures hit the ground and suddenly the lack of sleep and food caught up with him. He pushed through it, however, hacking away, the clashes of steel becoming a solemn mantra in the desert air.

"Duck!" Sheik growled from behind him.

As if they had been fighting together for years – and technically they had been – he crouched down, taking out one of his assailant's legs as Sheik impaled a throwing dagger into another one's skull. Cries of pain filled the air and Link rolled away just before a long sword hit the ground, sending a puff of powder into the air. Just as he managed to round on the man and send his sword through his heart, something sharp came down on his shoulder. It was a weak strike, luckily, but it knocked him off balance long enough for the warrior to wind up for a second, more fatal hit. Sheik blocked it, pushing Link backwards with his free arm.

Taking in his surroundings again, Link realized that only two men were still standing; one was now clashing with Sheik and the other charging straight for him. Within the few seconds he had, he saw that this man was the biggest one in the group, nearly three times bigger than himself. That wasn't the problem, though; Link had battle monsters hundreds of times bigger than him. The problem happened to be that he was starting to lose his strength and this man had a very, very large broad sword. Realizing he couldn't take on the charge, he dodged it, the blade coming so close to his face, it sliced a swallow cut into his cheek.

As the man turned around, obviously dumbfounded considering the way he lumbered back around, he gathered as much strength as he could find and beheaded him. The body hit the ground a moment later and he shot his gaze to Sheik, who was pulling his sword out of his own enemy. Link shoved his own sword into the ground and leaned on it, trying to find his balance again. He was such a damned fool for not taking care of himself. He was wounded – albeit not mortally – and was also undernourished. Sometimes he wondered if he really just didn't care about whether he lived or died, though he had seemed to wonder that his whole life. Link always fought with a sort of refined, yet reckless abandon. Sheik had asked the very same thing in their other lives; he asked it now.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he demanded. Those crimson eyes assessed his condition, narrowed in anger. "You haven't been taking care of yourself, have you?"

Link gave up on looking at the sheikah. His shoulder hurt and his body was giving out on him. Taking care to avoid his wounds, Sheik wrapped an arm around his waist and helped him to the hut. The contact was warm and familiar, reminding Link that this really was Sheik. Inside, it was dark and Sheik lowered him onto a cot, setting about lighting a lantern. Shadows cast across the sheikah's face and those red eyes glowed in the din. Sheik was beautiful, Link had decided a long time ago; nothing had changed over the number of years Link was still uncertain of.

Sheik dressed his wounds, hands as gentle as they had been on Lake Hylia. His eyes slowly lost their intensity and became soft and dark in the flickering lantern light. Once he was done, he settled onto the floor, back against the wall, and watched Link the same way he had every time he was injured. Link opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out; he didn't even know what he planned to say in the first place or if he even remembered how to speak. Disgusted with himself for being such a burden, he looked away from Sheik and stared at the ceiling, bits of moonlight leaking in through the cracks.

"I am glad you're here," Sheik said quietly.

Link glanced over at him, surprised that he spoke at all. So he wasn't being a burden?

"You haven't changed, though," he went on. Link could tell he was smiling ever-so-slightly. "Still no regard for your own well-being."

Link shrugged with his good shoulder and smiled a little as well, thinking about all of the times he made stupid decisions that ended with him bandaged and Sheik telling him how much of an idiot he was. It made him happy to know that regardless of what had happened, nothing had truly changed.

Sheik stood up and crossed the room, pulling something out of a box. He moved back to Link, holding out a rough piece of parchment and some charcoal. "Tell me what happened once she sent you back," he said.

Until Link could no longer keep his eyes open, he wrote out his life on the parchment. Sheik, in a way that Link had never seen him look before, leaned an elbow on the cot near Link's arm, rested his head in his hand, and read as he wrote. The position was so…open. He had to force himself to not look or he would stop writing altogether and just stare.

Sheik stayed silent the entire time and when Link started to doze as he wrote, the sheikah simply pulled the charcoal out of his hand and said, "You should sleep."

The lantern was blown out and Sheik leaned against the cot, so close to Link that he could reach out and touch his wild, blonde hair. In the darkness, he heard Sheik's voice say, "It's hard for me to think of how things would be different if Zelda had not meddled with time." There was a resigned sigh. "The world has been crueler to you because of it. After all the trials you endured during the war, you deserve so much better than this. I'm sorry, Link."

He wanted to stay awake and try to speak, but the warmth of those words sent him straight to sleep.


This is literally the most punctual I've ever been when it comes to updating. I'll probably post the next chapter tomorrow or the next day, depending on feedback and time. Thanks for reading!