Link was asleep when they arrived at Castle Town, and that was a blessing. The boy's head was buried in Sheik's neck, arms looped loosely around him, and he was out like a light. With all the hustle and bustle going on around them, the sudden crush of people and buildings and animals…it probably would have sent the boy into shock, if he'd been awake. Getting him used to people was going to be…difficult. Sheik didn't even like them, and there were very few dead in Castle Town.
He shifted the boy in his arms, drawing a mewl from him, and Sheik went absolutely still, going so far as to stop walking. The boy's sapphire orbs flickered open briefly, soft with sleep, and then he settled back down, fingers tightening around the back of Sheik's cowl for a moment.
He let out a sigh and tilted his head back, freeing himself of the fabric—Link's grip was going to pull it down eventually anyway—and resumed walking.
People stepped out of his way, eyes clinging to the Hylian child sleeping in his arms, whispers caged between bent fingers and strands of hair. Impa would know he was there long before Sheik made it to the castle, and Sheik sighed again, but his irritation faded as he left the town center and market behind.
The Wind Fish was located at the very edge of Castle Town, right outside the gates and walls that kept the city separated from the King's Pass, and the castle.
The castle itself was probably the smartest thing any Hylian had ever done ever. It had been built in a flat valley surrounded by miles and miles of canyons and mountains on all sides save the front, with only a single pass, the King's Pass, snaking from its grounds to Castle Town itself. Castle Town was nested right up against the wall of mountains, right in front of the pass, as if its builders had tried to shove it into the castle's valley and then decided against it. Massive defensive walls surrounded it, creating a half-moon of rings, the buildings that each contained constantly growing taller and wider and always threatening to spill out of their confines. The sort of city that fighting through would be an absolute nightmare.
The Wind Fish existed outside of that, right outside the gate that led to the entrance of the King's Pass. There were only a handful of other buildings—by law, there weren't supposed to be any—outside of the city's walls facing the castle, but the Wind Fish was an old tavern, and under the direct protection of the Royal Family.
It was an old stone and oak building, and in the years he'd been gone from Hyrule, it had grown, arching over the road like another gate, two buildings connected by a bridge now rather than a humble inn it had been. Though there were clear signs of it being busy, there were no workers or customers outside. This time of day, though, most would be busy about the city, or the castle if they had business there.
Despite that, when he entered the main hall, a number of quiet groups of people fell silent and looked up.
Word had traveled fast.
"Shei—oh, who's this cute little thing?" And before he could stop her or even wonder where she had popped up from, Telma was scooping Link out of his arms as she cooed.
Link woke up at that, letting out a whine and opening his orbs as he registered the noise and the contact.
And he panicked, when he realized Telma was holding him, eyes flashing wide and squirming, head jerking around to spot Sheik as he gasped out his name.
Sheik would not admit how much satisfaction he got from that, how Link clung tightly to him after Telma had released him and stared at her with round, frightened eyes as he waited for Sheik to reassure him that it was alright, that he was safe.
"You've gotten old, Telma." He murmured, and then she nailed him with a look she'd perfected when she was still sucking her thumb, a look that made it clear she knew exactly what he was thinking and thought him amusing for it.
"Not like you to travel with anyone. Are you returning the little dove to his parents?" Link sucked in a sharp breath, alarmed, and twisted to look at Sheik, hands fisting and tangling in Sheik's bandages and clothes.
"You're not—but Saria said—"
"Hush, Link." The boy fell silent immediately, though he was staring at Sheik with wounded, worried eyes. The sort of look that made the Duke take back whatever he had said to upset the boy in the first place.
"…No. He'll be staying with me. Is the room—"
"Is that his name? Link? How old are you, dove?" Telma asked, completely ignoring him.
She really hadn't changed at all, he mused, even if Link leaned away from her when she reached out and pinched his cheek.
"…nine." Link mumbled, glancing at Sheik.
He nodded, and the boy took that as a reassurance for everything—he melted back into Sheik, clutching him tightly as he hid his face from Telma.
"He's not used to the living, Telma." Sheik murmured, voice barely audible, and understanding lit her eyes.
Why else would he allow a child to accompany him?
She ushered them upstairs without another word, through the groups of people staring silently at his back.
He didn't think it would be a problem, the stares. Hylians were fearful of him, and his charges, and they would not ever dare to accuse him of anything or approach him. If Link went off by himself, though…
Well, the boy listened very well. He rarely did anything without Sheik's permission, and if Sheik told him to stay close, he would. He wasn't very worried about that.
"We've kept the room as you like it. Mostly. With the expansions, we made some changes. You would not believe the rupees people pay to stay here now. I'll bring up something for you and the little dove to eat soon as you're settled." She chattered as she flipped through a thick ring of keys hanging from her waist, yanking one off and unlocking a large, heavy door at the end of the hall.
Even Telma, with all her muscle, had to work to get the door to swing open enough for them to squeeze through.
The room was sparsely, but well, furnished. Large, with an alcove with a window looking out over the top of the cliff the Wind Fish was pressed back against—an escape route, if one was needed. There was a bed pressed beneath the window, fitting snugly into the alcove, and a second, larger bed, pressed against the wall to the right of the door. A table, two dressers, a chest, and a pair of chairs cluttered the rest of the room, along with a handful of paintings and two vases with small bush-like trees growing out of them.
He grinned when he saw the plants.
"Deku trees?" He asked, and Link perked up right away.
"Stunted ones, nothing like those in the Lost Woods. Thought you might like them, though."
He set Link down and the boy scrambled right up to the closest plant, busying himself with it.
He had missed the Lost Woods, when they had traveled through it. He had been asleep, it had been the and Sheik had not been willing to waste the time dealing with his Kokiri. Sheik had promised him that they would return after he made certain nothing was wrong in Hyrule, and that had pacified him. But seeing something of his birthplace was obviously a good thing.
"Why two beds?"
"It's not just your room, sweetie. Impa stays here occasionally too." Sheik winced at that, slowly pulling his blade off of his back.
"Thank you, Telma."
She turned, enveloped him in a hug before he could pull away.
"It's good to see you again, sweetheart."
And then she was gone.
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"Is he really nine? He looks so young. And he's so small. I've never seen a child that tiny before."
Sheik blinked, glanced down at the boy asleep beside him. The boy was pressed into his side, arms wrapped around Sheik's own arm, and conked out. Sheik had pushed him hard, through Hyrule Field, and it was no wonder he'd spent most of the day sleeping—they'd traveled through the night as well.
But she was right. He hadn't grown much since Sheik had first met him.
"About that. He was found by the Kokiri as a baby. Raised by one of them."
"Until you found him?"
"He followed me out of the woods. Four years ago, now? He has talent, Telma. And the dead adore him…he can sense them, see them now." Telma's eyes lit with interest, and she took another sip of her tea.
"Does he help you?"
"Do you know how it works? The…capturing of souls?" It wasn't an accurate description of what he did, but he couldn't think of any other way of asking her. She knew nothing about it, after all.
"No."
"…You pull the souls into a physical shape. Poes are rather easy. They go to the lanterns." He nodded at the mess of lanterns hanging from his blade, lighting the room in rainbow hues with their flames.
"Dead with physical shapes are harder, more difficult. They need to be…anchored. Sometimes it's impossible. But the Poes enjoy his company, and he tried. Succeeded. Not for himself, but to bring them 'home'." He tilted his head as he spoke, to the hilt and chain dangling out of the boy's pack as it lay discarded on the bed. Telma's eyes went wide.
"He did that? But I thought you said they go into lanterns?" Sheik's lips twitched upward, and he pressed a hand over Link's ear—it wasn't something he needed to hear.
"If they want to go 'home', yes. But they chose to form an anchor for him. Instead of lanterns, anything he pulls will go into the blade. Telma, I am not telling you this without reason." Sheik added, and she nodded, a small smile flickering across her lips.
"You never do, sweetheart."
"…I do not want him to come to the castle with me, and…he gets into things that he shouldn't."
And she was doe-eyed in a minute.
"Oh, of course I'll watch the little dove! Such a sweet thing, he'll have so much fun around here!"
"Do not leave him alone, unless he is in this room." Sheik said, and he stood up, picking the boy up as he did so. Telma stood as well, gathering up the dishes.
"I'm glad you came back here, sweetie."
"Don't call me that." She smirked at him, pressed a kiss to his cheek.
The last time he'd seen her, she' been young. Courting a man from Kakariko and managing the entire inn by herself. She'd said it hadn't worked out with the man…Sheik fully intended to find him, when he went to Kakariko.
And what she'd done to the inn was incredible, he mused, as he tucked the boy into the smaller bed.
It was always hard, coming back. Wasn't something he'd gotten used to, even after centuries of it.
"I'll leave early in the morning."
"I'll get him up after I've put breakfast in."
Telma dragged the door shut behind her, and Sheik let out a breath. It was late.
Tomorrow was going to suck.
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So it's one of my theories that most of the dead souls in Hyrule are static—that most of them don't pass on, if any. Most of my stories deal with that idea in some way. In this, Sheik's job is to bring restless spirits back to the Shadow Temple. And he only takes care of Ikana in Termina, unless it's requested. In Hyrule he goes everywhere, and he spends a few years at one before switching to the other.
OMG THOUGH SLEEPY LINK SERIOUSLY. SO DAMN CUTE. I just love writing this lol.