The Legend of Zelda

- The Heroine -

Chapter 1

A Legend Returns

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Fifteen years later.

Mist spilled out between the trees in the thick forest. Higher up by crowns of the trees the mist was replaced by an impenetrable darkness. There was no moon and the dark night covered the forest, like the lid covering a box.

A figure emerged from the mist. It was a man, tall and athletic with handsome features. His blond hair fell in an unruly state over his head and the tousled bangs fell into the man's blood red eyes. His face was of a deep tanned color, after a life in the hard sun. Years of fighting and hard training had earned him the muscles on his slender body, over which a deep red colored linen shirt fitted loosely. On his chest he had the insignia of the Royal Family of Hyrule.

His name was Sheik.

Suddenly he came to a halt. It was too late to continue his journey and he placed the light sack he carried on the wet grass. Heaving a tired sigh he then leaned to a tree and slowly slid down to the ground.

A long time had passed now since he had last been in his homelands. Both his grandfather and his mother had passed away when he was still a child. Leaving then for Hyrule had seemed like the natural choice. The Sheikah gave off another sigh, this time a little saddened. He hadn't thought about his old home for a long time.

But this day… This day it was fifteen years to the day of the Hero's birth.

He remembered it so well; his grandfather's joy and his first encounter with the Sages. To tell the truth, Sheik had found them a little boring at first, but he soon realized that was the nature of these over-worldly beings. And for a time it had all gone along at peace. Ganondorf, a threat growing more menacing with each day passing, had not yet made his move, and the Hylian King's daughter had become old enough to rule the kingdom. She was a just ruler and Hyrule was at peace. As the Princess' adviser Sheik knew her well and knew that she was powerful enough to protect Hyrule until the Hero was old enough to defeat Ganondorf.

But now everything had changed.

Despite the Sages' efforts of keeping it a secret, Ganondorf found out about the Hero's birth. Like everyone else, he knew about the legend and therefore he saw to send out his men with one mission; to kill the Hero. It was even rumored that the Evil King himself was out hunting after the Hero.

Therefore, not long ago, the Sages had called for Sheik again.

- Two months earlier -

"My dear friend, Sheik," Caled, a priest and the sage of light, started, "I trust you are aware of the situation."

Sheik nodded, his blond bangs falling into his eyes as he did. "Ganondorf is searching for the Hero."

Caled nodded, casting a glance at the other Sages assembled on the platform where he was speaking to Sheik. The Chamber of Sages was a realm within the Sacred Realm itself. It was a black void, save for a large stone platform floating in the middle of the air. It was here the Sages resided, as guardians of the Triforce.

"I am afraid it is worse than so," Caled stated.

Sheik looked up, wordlessly urging the priest to carry on.

"The Evil King will not rest until he has killed the Hero. And that is now only a matter of time." Caled fell silent, and the Sheikah before him looked at him, slightly confused.

"I don't understand… the Hero would rise and with the blade that will banish evil he shall defeat the Evil King," Sheik argued - knowing the legend in and out, much as his grandfather had predicted many years ago.

"Yes, that is how the legend goes," Caled agreed somberly. "But I am afraid our Hero has yet no idea of his destiny."

A silence followed this statement, and Sheik looked at the priest, eyes wide in alarm. "Then he will die at the hands of Ganondorf…without having any idea why," he slowly said tonelessly.

Caled nodded. "That is why you, Sheik, must find him. Search every corner of Hyrule and do not rest until you find him and inform him of his destiny."

The Sheikah couldn't help to feel slightly helpless at the task that was handed to him. After all, Hyrule was enormous.

"You shall know the Hero by the name Link and his age is fifteen. That is all we know, I'm afraid," Caled added, smiling softly as if to reassure the Sheikah.

But suddenly one of the other Sages- who had all been silent during the conversation – looked up. It was the Forest Sage – the one who had detected the Hero's birth. She was the one with the strongest connection to the Hero's spirit, due to the strong friendship she had once shared with the former Hero. "Sheik," she said softly, and the man turned around. "Have an open mind in your search. Our Hero," she began, a mysterious smile forming on her lips, "is not the one you might expect it to be…"

- Present day -

The sun, though blocked out by thick rain clouds, had soon made its daily journey over the sky. Sheik was still out on his search, and had soon come to the very end of the forest. So far his search seemed fruitless. He had been all over Hyrule: asked the Zoras by the western sea, combed every Hylian village and even sought out the hostile Gerudo women in the south eastern part of the kingdom. No one had even as much as heard of the name Link.

Therefore, Sheik's last hope was the south… and the forest.

On this rainy day he had finally reached the very eastern end of the forest, close to Hyrule's border. How many days had now passed since he had spoken to the Sages? It felt like Sheik had traveled for an eternity.

But suddenly he was brutally brought back from his thoughts, as he suddenly found himself face to face with a bird sitting on a branch before him. It was a falcon, which was a rare creature to see so up-close. Stranger still was its appearance. His feathers were dark brown with the exception of its stomach that was a pure white. And his eyes were a piercing blue shade, reminding Sheik of ice.

A beat passed were the two looked at each other, nothing heard but the rain heaving down around them. But then the falcon flapped his wings and took off in the direction Sheik was heading. With a faint shriek he disappeared in the mist, somehow gesturing for the Sheikah to follow him.

Frowning, the Sheikah followed, and finally the forest opened up to reveal a village. Soaked to the bone, Sheik entered through the village gates, noticing a worn out sign to his right as he did.

Creel Village,

- The village of the Forest and its mysteries -

The rain reduced to a light drizzle as his thin boots softly treaded over the ground. It was a small and battered village - enclosed by two high summits and a thick wall of forest – and Sheik came to a halt to fully look upon it. There were a few cabins – that had all seen better days – and one rather large windmill, turning slowly in the soft wind. Other than that, there was nothing.

Sheik lowered his eyes and continued his careful walk into the village. It was strange; not a soul could be seen in the village. Not one villager was outside; everyone was hiding in their small huts. Again, Sheik stopped, furrowing his brow in confusion. The rain could not possibly be enough to scare the villagers enough to hide inside.

He reached out with his right hand, turning his palm upwards and letting the soft drops of rain pelt upon his skin. The water seemed to tell him something; it had a sense of sorrow to it. He let his hand drop to his side again as he looked up. Something terrible had happened in this village.

"…we are doomed…"

Sheik turned his head towards the voice so quickly that his blond hair slapped his forehead in a wet strike. An old man was sitting, leaning towards a tree with his head in his lap, talking to himself. He didn't appear to be sane, but he was the only one in the village. Therefore Sheik made his way over.

"This great disaster has torn apart our… Oh?"

The old man suddenly found himself looking at a hand stretching out to him. As he looked up he saw a young man standing in front him. He was clearly from the southern borders of the world, as his bare face was tanned, with deep red eyes and sun-bleached hair.

"W-who are you?" the old man asked, shivering from the rain that had managed to chill him into the bones.

"Do not worry," Sheik said, his hand still reached out to the man as an offer to help him to his feet, "I am not your enemy."

"But you are a stranger," the old man retorted in a sudden suspicious voice and still observed the hand as if snakes would crawl out from Sheik's sleeve any second, "And we have learned not to welcome them anymore. Now what is your business?" he snapped.

By the man's tone Sheik pulled back his hand.

"I am simply here to look for someone," Sheik said, "but this village had caught my curiosity. What disaster has troubled you?"

The old man sighed, and fell silent for such a long time that Sheik began to wonder if he had fallen asleep. Then he spoke, with a voice filled with pain.

"Not too long ago… a cruel man came to our village. He destroyed our buildings and hurt many villagers," he said and looked up, revealing a face full of scars. Then he seemed to regard Sheik for a moment, taking in his appearance. "That man, too, came in search for someone, so perhaps you understand my suspicion," he added, his tone neither friendly nor hostile.

Sheik nodded. "Your village is not the only one that has met this fate." Then he looked at the village, seeing that the village was indeed damaged. This was the work of Ganondorf; he had seen it too many times.

"You do not seem to carry the evil that man brought with him," the old man then began, surveying Sheik with old wise eyes. "Now who is it you are looking for?"

Sheik couldn't help letting a sigh escape his lips as he repeated the phrase for what seemed like the thousandth time.

"I am looking for someone, a young boy by the name Link."

The man froze, and the only sound that could be heard was the rain dripping against the leaves of the tree. After a long silent minute, the man lifted his head and his eyes were filled with a great grief.

"I know you would."

Sheik's heart instantly sped up. "You know someone by that name?"

But the man said nothing more, it seemed like it was too painful to speak of, and Sheik felt a little alarmed. What did this mean?

But after what seemed like an age, the man lifted his arm and pointed in the direction of the forest behind the village.

He nodded towards the man. "Thank you," he said softly and then started walking in the course of the man's direction.

The village was covered in silence as he passed through it, but he noticed the faces of the villagers peering at him through the windows of their cabins. They were afraid; Sheik could see it in their eyes. He wasn't surprised though. Wherever Ganondorf had been he left behind the unmistakable trail of fear.

How he wished these frightful times would be over soon. But if he did not find Link before Ganondorf did… then all hope would be lost. The old man's words however had filled Sheik with a sense of hope. He had finally come somewhere in his quest. But if Ganondorf had already been in this village…

Before Sheik could finish his thoughts he had reached the woods again and once again he found himself staring into the blue eyes of the strange falcon. He couldn't help to frown; the bird was looking at him like he recognized him too. Then he gave off a shriek and soared towards the forest, disappearing into the thick mist lingering between the trees. Once again it left Sheik with the feeling that it wanted to be followed.

Realizing that he had nothing to lose, Sheik made up his mind and gently pulled a branch aside as he treaded into the forest. Almost immediately he was swallowed by the thick fog, unable to see even a foot ahead. The raining had now completely ceased, but the mist was damp enough to soak Sheik again.

He realized the fog was making him lose his sense of direction, and just as he was about to decide that he was lost he heard a sound.

The forest had been strangely silent up until now, which was why he distinguished the sound so easily. It was the shriek from a bird, probably a falcon. The Sheikah wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't the very same blue-eyed creature he had been running into lately, which was why he decided to follow the sound.

He passed several trees, taking a right and continuing forward when he heard the shriek again and made a left, forward again, then further to the left as the bird shrieked yet again. He noticed that the fog was growing fainter, giving way for the light, and then…

"Amon, will you be quiet already? You're making enough racket to lead a legion of men to us."

Sheik stopped by a tree as the voice reached his ears. It was a woman's voice, clear and soft, no doubt speaking to the animal. Frowning slightly, Sheik carefully peeked his head around the trunk and was awed by the sight that met him.

It was a young woman, and Sheik's quick estimation evaluated her to be in her teens. From her seat upon a fallen tree trunk Sheik could make out that she was an athletic figure, with long honey-blond hair falling in straight locks down her back. She appeared to be dressed solely in green, with the exception of her knee-length thin brown boots. Other than that she was wearing a thin yet fitted moss-green vest and a skirt in a slightly darker shade of green, reaching down to somewhere above her knees to reveal slender tanned legs.

It was hard to make out the girl's face - mostly because she was sitting to far away and in profile – but the fog dimmed Sheik's sigh as well. In fact, the whole scene looked dreamlike. The crowns of the trees gave away enough for the sun's rays to shine into the glade, hitting the scalp of the girl which served to highlight the pale blond tresses of her hair. In fact – with the fog breaking the light and wood faeries hovering here and there – the woman look like a creature of the forest itself.

Sheik now noticed that the falcon was here, perched upon a branch in eye-level with the girl, his strange blue eyes fastened on her. Apparently he was the one the girl had been addressing. But just as Sheik dared to lean a little further out from the tree he was hiding behind the bird spotted him. He shot his piercing icy gaze towards the Sheikah who immediately flattened himself against the tree again. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he didn't want the girl to spot him just yet. The way she had addressed the falcon made the impression that she didn't exactly want to be found. Besides, why was she hiding in the woods in the first place?

After a moment, however, Sheik's curiosity got the overhand. He had to look at her again – which was strange, considering that the Sheikah never really did anything impulsive. But there was something when he had looked at her and now he realized what: he found her beautiful, and he had only looked upon her for a moment. He just had to look again.

But as he leaned out again he found to his surprise that there was no one sitting on the dead trunk of tree lying in the grass. For a brief moment he actually contemplated whether or not it had actually had been an illusion– the girl of the forest – when he noticed that the falcon was still perched on the branch, icy gaze fastened on him.

Sheik frowned slightly, but then made his was out from his safe spot behind the tree and looked around the glade. It was empty.

But then he snapped his gaze towards the falcon again and noted that he was no longer looked at him. He had his blue-eyed gaze steadily fastened on something behind Sheik. Frowning, he slowly turned around to see what-

Smack!

Sheik received a hard kick - which caught him completely by surprise - squarely in his chest, a blow that sent him flying backwards. He landed hard on the ground and tumbled around until he finally came to a stop – unfortunately by colliding harshly with a tree.

Ouch.

A quick estimation led him to the conclusion that he was unscathed and was about to get to his feet. But just as he got to his knees, a sharp knife was pointed to his jugular and he quickly reconsidered his decision.

"Who the hell are you?" a fierce voice asked, and Sheik realized it was the woman speaking.

He didn't respond immediately, instead he raised his crimson eyes through his bangs to finally have a clear look at her. A small part of him found it a little amusing to see the girl's angry eyes widen in wonder at his strange eyes, but a much bigger part of him realized that he found her own eyes just as fascinating. They were of the deepest of blue, a fierce gaze filled with so many emotions: anger, suspicion but also of innocence and sorrow. There was a lively fire burning behind her eyes, so intense that the Sheikah was unable to look away. Subconsciously he noted her face – sculptured into perfection it seemed, which a heart-shaped form, high cheekbones and an extremely smooth complexion. Her skin color seemed to be naturally pale, but she was tanned from the summer sun. Her lips were delicately formed - given the color of pale pink – though they were now pursed together in a fierce expression, and Sheik was reminded of the knife pointed to his throat.

"What do you want?" she barked, clearly forgetting that Sheik already had a question to answer.

"I will tell you," Sheik stated in his usual soft tone, "if you remove your knife."

She seemed to consider this for a moment, where Sheik took the opportunity to study her some more. She was sporting two thin yet rather long knives, both with hilts of white ebony, one of them in her left hand - which was the one pointed to Sheik's neck - and the other held just by her head, as if ready to attack any second.

He also noted that she had around both her forearms wrapped long straps of brown leather, winding all the way out to her palms. At first he could not understand why but then he realized that it was an effective way to protect her arms. The leather was thin but strong enough to defend against most cuts. He couldn't help to mentally raise his eyebrows in an impressed manner. Clearly this girl had had her share of fighting.

"Fair enough," she then finally said in a voice that was by no means less fierce, but slowly removed the knife from its dangerous position by Sheik's jugular. He was finally allowed to stand up to his full height, which proved to be a good several inches taller than the girl. She seemed to realize this and quickly backed a few steps. Once he was taller than her she had a better view under his pale bangs and saw his blood-red eyes.

"You're one of the Sheikah," she said in a voice that was suddenly rid of all hostility and was instead filled with wonder.

Sheik couldn't help to frown slightly. Just who was this girl? She was apparently a skilled fighter and knew about his race? After all, his race was extremely rare in Hyrule. Few had actually heard of them, much less seen anyone of them. So how was it that a girl from a poor village in the outskirts of Hyrule knew about them? However, he doubted he was going to get those answers anytime soon.

"You are very correct," he said instead, offering a small smile. "My name is Sheik."

But instead of telling her own name in a friendly manner – as Sheik had fruitlessly hoped – she regained her fierce expression and seemed very keen on raising her knife again, but she refrained from it. It was now Sheik realized that she was very scared and… sad. It reminded him of a wounded wolf cub Sheik had once helped. Before it had realized the Sheikah wanted to help him he had done his best to snarl and snap at the man, in hopes of scaring him away.

"You don't have to fear me," he continued, interpreting her feelings correctly, "I will not harm you."

She scoffed, her eyes on the knives he kept in his belt – where he also had a chain, which he often used as a weapon, wielding it much like a whip.

"Then why are you here?" she asked, in a slightly friendlier tone. "Obviously you have come a long way, by the looks of it."

One of Sheik's eyebrows went up, as if to inquire why she would make such an assumption. "You are Sheikah, and they do not live originally in Hyrule, and by your clothing I would say you were from somewhere important, if not the Royal court itself?"

He raised his eyebrows impressed. Clearly this was a very observant and alert girl, but he did not give her anything to confirm her assumptions – though they were true.

"I am here to look from someone," he instead said, leading her away from the subject of…well, himself, and catching her suspicion again.

"Who?" she barked.

"A boy, probably of your age… His name is Link."

He was surprised to see the girl's reaction to his words. Her whole body tensed; her facial expression freezing up before giving way for an expression of extreme sorrow that her fierce suspicion could not suppress. But the Sheikah was even more shocked by the words that followed her reaction.

"…You are too late," she said in a hollow voice. "My brother is dead."

If it was possible, Sheik choked on his own breath.

What?

A/N: Dun dun DUN! What happened to Link? If you review, I'll post the next chapter so you'll find out :)