Standard warnings: language, violence, shexxx, and other mature themes of that nature.

Standard disclaimer: Don't own Legend of Zelda/Nintendo/much of anything. Just this story.

For anything more complicated, I refer you to the first chapter.

I apologize for the sucky titles. Me and titles - we don't really get along.

Also, I apologize for the lack of formatting... really has it out for Macs. ;; It's sad. Hopefully that's over, now that I'm using school computers.

Thinking in Circles

I like temples. I always have - Thaman's stark, plain, uniform ones; Hyrule's, each with its own unique soul; and of course, the otherworldly beauty of Amin-fär's, at once lush and sober.

It kind of helps that I did the restructuring and restorations of the main temple here, but hey.

I like the people in the temples. In Thaman, I only liked some - but these were the only people in that entire society I seemed to enjoy being around. Others made me wary, and made me all too aware that I was an outsider. To citizens of Thaman, my hair was too dark, my skin too light, my eyes a deep red while theirs a burnt orange - in this way I more resembled a neighboring tribe, members of which I'd occasionally see wandering the city streets.

I like the goings-on in the temples. Prayer, healing, learning - all of it. I especially enjoy the priests' philosophical conversations...like this afternoon. It was the weekend, and what better for me to do with a load of free time than talk to religious intellectuals all day? In my opinion, not much.

Right now Asho, myself, and two other priests were discussing the Break.

Discussions like these sometimes put me in a precarious position, as I have been to Hyrule and, as far as anyone (but Asho) knows, no one from this realm has ever gone back. Sometimes the other priests considered my opinions strange; then again, their view of me as somewhat of a rogue probably didn't help matters.

"Is it wrong to have left?" One started up the old debate. I swear, you think they would get tired of this, but alas - it's even a central part of any religion student's coursework.

"Of course not," a new priest (an apprentice actually, and quite young) interjected. "The goddesses gave us the power to leave...and thus the permission."

His superior looked approvingly at him, but still went on. "Or did they? How do you know we didn't go against their wishes by coming here? Abandoning the Royal Family, which was our Goddess-ordained duty for centuries beforehand?"

"Simple. We couldn't have done it on our own," was the immediate response.

This is an argument that always ends up going in circles; I study the cityscape instead.

"Aren't you going to comment, Ronhär?"

I started. "I'm sorry?"

"Well, you usually state that even with or without the Goddesses' power, it was not our position to abandon the King. That it went against the Sheikah code."

"That doesn't mean I believe it. It's just another way of looking at things." The truth was that I wasn't sure what I believed. It was nice hearing the other side, however.

"Right. You seem to argue for it an awful lot."

"No one else does," I replied cooly.

"But if the Goddesses gave us the power to...how could that be against the religion?!"

"For centuries our duty to the Royal Family was a central part of our religion. You know that."

"Perhaps the Three changed their minds - decided that the king wasn't worth protecting anymore."

"Yes. They do that a lot," I said derisively.

"Well, how else do you think we got here? Even the most powerful Sheikah would never be able to create an entire realm!"

"Perhaps not. Perhaps so."

"Oh please. You know it's not possible, Ronhär!"

The truth is, I've thought of a way it could have happened. If the ancient Sheikah had access to the Triforce...then they would have had both the power to pull it off...and the Goddesses' blessing. There wouldn't have been much that the Three could do about it. It's a long shot, but nothing else makes sense in my mind. The goddesses really don't change their minds often. They put things into motion decades, sometimes even centuries beforehand.

And then there's that. What if the Three intended this to happen? Set in motion the events that would lead to the Sheikah abandonment of the Royal Family and ultimately of Hyrule?

Then they would've changed their minds. Blessed the Sheikah and helped them create a new realm. But if they didn't change their minds...then the Sheikah are in for a really rough time in the afterlife.

I looked up from my reverie; they were all peering at me. "There are many things unknown to us," I shrugged, rather cryptically.

As if signaling the end of the debate, the clock chimes sounded, and the two other priests went back to their duties.

Which meant it was just me and Asho now. We sit in companionable silence for a few minutes, musing over the previous debate.

"What do you think...about the Triforce theory?"

He looked up at me. "From what you've told me, it's plausible...especially if they had managed to secure all three pieces."

"Well, we don't know that," I reminded him.

"Do you think the government sees discussions like this as dangerous?" I asked rather abruptly.

He chuckled. "No. Why would they?"

"They would in Thaman," I replied.

He hadn't heard much about Thaman - at least not from me. I never talked about it. It was long, long ago in my mind. He's only asked about it once, in fact.

"It seems Thaman's not a particularly nice place."

"Oh, it is, so long as you're not too much of a dissident. Or practice magic," I smirked.

"I thought you did?" He leaned towards me, grinning mischievously.

"Yeah, in secret. Mostly teleportation spells...I'm pretty sure that that's how I wound up in Hyrule. A combination of the spell I was altering at the time and Impa's spell."

He was astonished at this. "Altering? You didn't tell me about that."

I chuckled. "What? Nine years ago? I was afraid to. All that...stuff," I waved my hand, "happened, then all of a sudden I was here, in a strange place, being interrogated by people I'd never seen in my life."

"Still...you've had years to since then!" he barked.

"I didn't really think it was important," was my meek counter.

"Well, I'm sure there would be interested people - "

"Which is something that I'm not interested in," I cut him off.

He sighed at me. "So stubborn, you are!"

I just sent him a small grin - which he couldn't see, but he could tell somehow that I was.

"Well, I'd like you to tell me what you think about this...we've had some odd interference with these signals from the desert temple...I thought you might know something about it."

"You know I don't take to studying the temples' magic reverberations," I shot at him.

"Ok, ok, fine. But look at these astral charts, they're picking it up too - disturbances happening in the desert region. Weird stuff's been going on for a bit, just small things, but this is really off."

Well, he had me there. I did study stars on occasion, and I had noticed some odd movements. I studied the charts, but there really wasn't much I could do. It wasn't anything I hadn't already noted.

Except. "It seems like this area could've been disturbed by some sort of portal...or..." I squinted, thinking. "This is strange. I can't think of anything like it."

"I couldn't either, but I'm not nearly as well versed as you in these traveling magics. I was just seeing if you saw any evidence of teleportation."

I frowned down at the page. "If so, it's very well hidden."

"We both know that it's possible," he winked, hinting at the complicated spells I used to cover my tracks when I went to the ocean.

"Well...I don't know what to tell you...other than perhaps to get some advice from the teachers at Palasae."

He laughed at that. "You're far better than they are - you even got offered a job right after graduation, remember?"

I grunted. He laughed even harder.

"I should head home."

"Ah. And what book is for tonight?"

I frowned. "I don't know."

---------------------------------------- /////// -------------------------------------------

Actually, I was feeling like the harp.

I played it, as nimbly and lovingly as ever, and eventually turned to the songs I'd taught Link so long ago.

Nine years. Shit. The song turned effortlessly from minuet to a more somber one. I wondered what they all were doing - Link, Zelda, and Impa, of course, but even the others. That psychotic sage, Ruto. The Goron that tried to eat my hair wrap. Even that friggin' creepy poe dealer who tried to get me to take off my uniform for him. Ugh. What would someone like that do in a revived Hyrule?

I thought of Link. I hope he won, I really do. To be perfectly honest, I don't think he was capable of losing...just...the fire in his eyes - they were always blazing, but especially at that last meeting in the Temple of Time. What could have been, if I had stayed? Impa said that she really wasn't sure what would happen once the fusion was undone...

I idly pondered this question...if I had stayed...or had been able to. It was certainly not the first time I'd done so since arriving here.

I missed Link - I cared for him so much more than I let myself admit at the time. Which was a shame...we could've had something. Or maybe that's just inane hopefulness.

These thoughts always end up going in circles, yet I can't really help it. I chuckled - it was remarkably similar to the priests from earlier today. Maybe they can't help it either.

Still...there were times where I had to wonder about him... at least, the few times we were both able to just sit and talk, something seemed to click.

I smiled, thinking about the night we spent by the fireside on the shores of Lake Hylia. It was my full intent to just drop in and check up on him, maybe get on his case about getting to the Shadow Temple in a timely manner - and as far as I could tell, it was his full intent to eat dinner and get a good night's sleep before setting off again. At least that's what he told me. It convinced me, at any rate. We ended up staying up all night, talking, joking, threatening to torch the scarecrow if it didn't stop dancing, philosophizing. It was nice, and surprising; he managed to get me out of my shell so easily. (Or as a certain loose canon I know would say, "He really got that fuckin' stick out of your ass, eh?")

I shook my head - now where did that come from? I sighed. I really should get over it and get a life.

'You tried that already,' some part of my brain interjected, 'and look what happened.' That kind of sucked...actually, it sucked a whole lot.

I scowled under my face mask, not realizing that I had stopped playing. I'm being an idiot, I know - still fawning over Link rather than just moving on and finding some perfectly wonderful other guy out there. In fact, I could think of some perfectly wonderful guys off the top of my head. And they're Sheikah. And single. And definitely gay. And in the same dimension.

Still...if I could solve matters of the heart through logic, I'd be out there by now.

At this, I looked over towards the town. It was breathtaking anytime, but at night especially. Moonlight filtered in and reflected off the lake in the basin, as did all of the other lights in the city. In the lakeside park, fairies floated cheerfully, adding their lights to the mix.

The scene across the ravine and down two terraces was always entertaining. Whereas the same terrace on my side has your typical stores - clothiers, grocers, weapons, everyday things - along with a few restaurants and a tavern or two, the other side roars with nightlife on the weekends. I could sit all night and watch the show, if I so wanted - I had exceptionally keen vision, and it wasn't really too far away. It was far enough that it wouldn't keep me up all night, that's for sure. I once thought about living over there, near the 'gay' district of the city, but...it's not for me.

Instead I live in a neighborhood of modest homes. There are a few singles here, but mostly it's couples - young and old - and small families. I sighed, internally this time -and looked over at the partiers. At one time I was a part of that scene. It wouldn't be too weird to show up again. Maybe I should go out and get a drink, or food...or something.

Then I stifled a yawn. Or I could sleep. Right now that seemed the logical choice. Maybe a compromise; a glass of wine and then bed. Yes...now that was an idea.

NOTES:

So much build-up, gaah! If you're obsessed with Sheik, you'll probably find this entertaining; if not, you're probably screaming 'WHERE'S THE YAOI?!"

Um...it's coming? Someday? When college is not eating my soul?