Chapter Two. Decline and Fall

When Princess Zelda del Hyrule was seventeen years old, her father died.

It didn't come as a surprise, he was not young and had been ill for a long time, but when she thought back over the course of her life and tried to spot the moment it all started going downhill…that was it.

She woke to a darkened bedroom, too dark to be morning. The last echoes of a dream had her swinging her feet from under the covers and pulling on a dressing gown without thought. There had been darkness…and fire…and then, sunrise, and the sound of metal on metal.

A sense of wrongness flowed from the walls, and there was the sound of running feet in the hall outside her bedroom. She followed them to her father's bedroom, stopping outside the door. She didn't want to see what was beyond it.

Someone arrived behind her; she could sense their presence before she heard them. "Your highness?"

"Is he gone?" Zelda asked softly.

"Y- your father?"

"He is, then." She stepped away from the door, smiling as best she could at the hapless maid. "It's all right. I knew it would happen soon."

She started back to her room, fighting back tears. She would have to get it all out tonight, because tomorrow there would be too much to do.

Zelda almost ran smack into her cousin as she went around the corner. He caught her by the shoulders and stared down at her, looking vaguely stunned.

"Vaati…"

"Zel…" He let go of her and rubbed his eyes. "What hap… What's going on?"

"My father… The king is dead."

Vaati bit his lip. "Are you sure?"

"As sure as I can be without poking the body. I- I didn't want to look."

"You shouldn't." Vaati patted her arm. "I'll go… check on things."

"Are you okay Vaati? You look tired."

"Well, it's the middle of the night."

"I know, but…"

He smiled wanly. "I've been having nightmares. Stress, you know. But it's fine. It's just dreams… right?"

"Right…"

zzz

Sheik had been traveling alone for three days. There had been a couple pretty believable reports that what he was looking for was located to the west, so he'd packed some supplies and started walking. He couldn't help but take the rumors with a grain of salt, but he didn't have any other leads.

These were the outlands. The spaces that had once belonged to one or other of the magic-based races that had vanished from Hyrule. In theory the royal family ruled these lands. In theory, communism worked.

In reality the area was sparsely populated at best, and there were monsters abounding. The Bulblin had set up a settlement somewhere in the plains, the forest was full of spiders and morths and things that grabbed from the shadows, the desert drove men mad, and no one who swam in the lake ever returned to shore. Sheik had been mostly unmolested so far. He'd had to fight off a few stalchildren after dark, but his spells kept most things at bay.

But there were worse things than monsters in Hyrule, and Sheik had forgotten to take those into account.

He ran into them near dusk on the third day since he'd left the last town. A trio of knights, their armor gleaming in the dying light. They were all mounted, and a fourth horse was standing with them. Sheik kept his head low and walked slowly, but not too slowly. It wasn't good to draw their attention.

The knights of Hyrule had been good decent men, once. But power had gone to their heads, and it had become a kind of "boy's club" for soldiers who were better at sucking up than protecting people. The royal family didn't know, they knighted soldiers for meritorious service, which was easy to fake. But the common people knew. And Sheik knew, now.

He'd learned the hard way, months ago when he'd first started this quest. He'd thought the Sheikah were still respected in Hyrule. He hadn't expected… the reception he got.

The knights watched him walk, their helmets creaking as they turned their heads. Sheik could hear them whispering and chuckling behind him.

"Hey! Shrimpie!"

Sheik kept walking.

"Hey! I'm talking to you fag!"

Sheik hunched his shoulders and walked faster.

He heard the sound of metal on metal and broke into a run.

There was a hill up ahead, and beyond it Sheik could see the beginnings of a forest. If Sheik could just beat the knights to the trees he could hide. But if they caught him, a beating would be the best he could hope for.

Hoofbeats behind him, and shouted slurs and racial epithets. Sheik let his cloak flow behind him, his pack bouncing painfully on his back. He was fast, but not as fast as a horse.

The first blow was, thankfully, from a thrown rock. It hit Sheik's shoulder, making him stumble. The next was a sword, but Sheik managed to duck and roll away as the horses thundered past him. He sprang to his feet and kept running, his pack lying on the ground behind him, one of the straps severed.

Something crashed. Curiosity won out over common sense, and Sheik twisted around as he ran to look behind him. One of the knights had fallen off his horse, and the other two were wheeling around. A person was standing between them. Sheik heard metal crashing again and came to a complete stop.

The new person was wearing an orange cloak that faded to pink at the bottom. He had an orange mask too, and his clothes were similar shades. He was fighting the two still-mounted knights at the same time, sword blurring as he moved. Sheik didn't know whether to move, or stay here and stare. It couldn't really be… Dawn?

Who else would wear an orange-and-pink cloak? There was no sense to it. But the man, whoever he was, did not show any mercy toward the knights. When the second one's neck burst in a spray of red, Sheik's body made the decision for him and he took of running once again.

He could hear the fighting and shouting for what felt like ages. His cloak got caught almost as soon as he hit the tree line, and he let that go too. Maybe it was cowardice, but Sheik didn't particularly care. There had been stories about Dawn for nearly four years now. Long enough that Sheik knew he really did not want to meet the man.

Even if he had saved him from those knights…

By the time Sheik ran out of breath he was far enough into the forest he could no longer see the plain he'd left. He'd lost all his supplies and it was getting colder and darker by the second. It was hardly any wonder he jumped when he heard a voice behind him.

"Hey!"

It didn't sound like the knight from before, but there were still two others, not to mention Dawn. Sheik felt justified in running away from all those options. He was tired now though, and whoever-it-was kept shouting after him as he dodged trees. It was only one person, maybe…

Sheik spun around. He was done running. With a yell he charged at the stranger, threw a kick-

And found himself hanging upside-down.

His ankle was held tightly in the grip of the person who'd been following him. Sheik peered up and saw a young man, blond, and dressed in green and brown. He didn't look like any of the knights, or Dawn.

"You're not who I thought you were," Sheik said.

"My knees are happy to hear that," the man said dryly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm upside-down."

"I know, I'm trying to figure out how to put you down."

"Just drop me."

"Are you sure?"

"I won't break."

The man dropped him obligingly and Sheik scrambled to his feet.

"Uh, sorry about that."

The man shrugged. "I saw what happened back there. You've got every reason to be jumpy."

"Yeah…" Sheik dusted off his knees. "You saw that, huh?"

"I was here, lying low. Those knights showed up a little before you did."

"Any of them follow me?"

"I…" The guy shifted uncomfortably. "I don't think any of them will be following anyone."

"Oh…"

There was an uncomfortable silence. The man brushed his hair over his ears and coughed.

"Uh so. My name's Link."

"Oh, oh! Right. I'm Sheik."

"Hey," Link stuck his hand out, smiling. "Nice to meet you."

"You too." Sheik shook his hand, noting the calluses and his leather gloves. "Are you a soldier?"

"Was," Link said. "A while ago." He gestured at his back, where Sheik saw the hilt of a sword emerging from his pack. "But everyone's gotta know how to fight these days."

"That's true."

"Where are you headed?"

"West," Sheik said. "There's… something I'm looking for."

"Oh yeah? What?"

Sheik fingered his mask. "It's none of your business."

"Sorry, sorry, you're right." Link smiled sheepishly. "I haven't talked to anyone in days, I guess I'm a little out of it."

"Why? Where are you headed?"

"Nowhere in particular. I'm just traveling for the sake of traveling."

A breeze blew through the trees and Sheik shivered.

"Oh geez, sorry!" Link exclaimed. He shrugged off his pack and handed his clock to Sheik. "You can wear that, let's go back and get your stuff."

"I'd rather not go back there. What if the knights, or Dawn…"

"Dawn's gone, I saw him go. And the knights… aren't going to be any trouble." Link frowned as he said it.

"You don't approve?"

"Not really." They started walking back toward the edge of the forest, Sheik wrapped in Link's cloak. "I know a lot of the knights are… a bit heavy-handed. But I don't like the way Dawn handles it. I guess I don't think killing people does any good."

"Odd attitude for a soldier."

"Was a soldier," Link corrected. "There's a reason I'm not one any more."

"You must admit there are some situations where you just don't have a choice."

"There's always a choice," Link countered. "But… sometimes it's the lesser of two evils. And there are people in the world who should be executed, for the safety of everyone else." Link chuckled suddenly. "I should know better then to make broad statements like that. My sister jumps all over them too."

"How old is she?"

"Sixteen. You have any siblings?"

"No. I would have liked to though."

Link shrugged. "Me and Aryll were all each other had growing up. I don't know if things would have been better or worse if one of us were on our own."

"Worse, probably," Sheik said. "When all you've got is yourself, you do things that… you never thought you could be capable of."

Link, wisely perhaps, said nothing.

They walked in silence until they reached the edge of the forest. Sheik retrieved his cloak from where it was stuck on a branch, and returned Link's to him. They both walked out onto the plain to get his torn pack, Sheik at least feeling a little uncomfortable out of the shelter of the trees. Only the strap was torn, and Sheik managed to tie the two ends together. He could do a more permanent repair job later.

"Listen…" Link said, shifting his weight. "Uh, I was wondering, since we're both headed in the same direction, we might as well travel together, right?"

Sheik narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"Safety in numbers? Plus it's getting dark. I lost my last travel companion to… reasons, and I'd rather not have to get through these woods alone."

Sheik shrugged. "Fair enough. You set up a fire pit, I'll find kindling?"

"Sounds good."

They had a campsite in less than an hour, and Link was dutifully impressed by Sheik's ability to light a fire with nothing but a gesture and a word. They settled in for the night, sitting close but not too close. After about an hour the conversation petered out, and they stared at the fire in mostly-uncomfortable silence.

"Can I ask you something?" Link said suddenly.

"As long as it's not about the mask."

Link said nothing.

"Is it about the mask?"

"Kind of?"

Sheik sighed. "Go ahead."

"What's the deal with the mask?"

Sheik threw another branch on the fire as he tried to think of how to explain. "It's… sort of a tradition. But it's more serious than most people treat those nowadays."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm on a quest. I'm looking for something. And as long as I'm on this quest… I can't be who I really am."

"Huh?"

"Sheik isn't my real name. I can't tell you, or anyone, my real name because I don't have the right to have it now. I belong to the quest, not to myself. My face, my past, my own desires. None of those are as important as what I'm trying to do."

Link stared at him for a while. "What if… you can't complete it? What if you never find this thing?"

"Then I'll be Sheik forever."

There was a long pause while they both thought about that.

"That sucks."

"A little bit, yes."