Revelation of Lies will be updated every Tuesday/Wednesday and Saturday until completed.
Disclaimer: Don't own it.
Warnings: Minor violence in later chapters and boyxboy (Link x Sheik). If you're not a fan please don't read.
~*~*~ Chapter Nine ~*~*~
Link appeared early in the morning as the gypsies were beginning to disperse into Castletown to commence their final day of trading. There had been much discussion of what still needed to be purchased as they broke their fast that morning on porridge, not exactly Kahael's favourite but edible. Kahael didn't engage in conversations of those matters; the gypsies knew what they needed and he didn't want to impose so he kept quiet and listened. It was quite fascinating to listen to them. Their way of survival was very different than those who lived in Castletown, but he didn't find it that hard to adjust himself to. When he awoke in the desert he was content with simple meals and hard work.
"Hello," Link said lowly as he led the horses over. Kahael reached for Calibri's reins as soon as they were in reach and the grey mare rubbed her head against his arm affectionately. Link watched the display with a soft smile on his face that made Kahael blush and look away.
"Hello," Kahael greeted back. "Where to today?" he asked, as he checked the cinch of his saddle to ensure it was tight before swinging easily onto the grey mare's back.
"Home," Link said simply, as he mounted Epona.
"Home?" Kahael questioned as he followed the chestnut horse as they headed down a path Kahael had never ventured down. They rode side by side, trotting, as the morning sun shined down upon them through the branches of the tress creating a dappled pattern on the ground.
"Your home," Link clarified. "Your aunt's house."
"My aunt?" Kahael asked in surprise. "I have family?"
The thought of a family made his heart swell, but saddened him at the same time. Did they not care enough to look for him?
"She's the Sage of the Shadow Temple," Link said softly, "She's no longer with us."
"Oh," Kahael said, a fierce ache present in his chest. "Aunt Impa," he said suddenly, as a flash of memory appeared before his eyes.
"This is my nephew, your Grace," the woman said as she pushed a young boy out in front of her. Her silvery hair was in tight bun at the back of her head, but her eyes were gentle. "I think it's time he learned the Sheikah duties to the Hyrule Royal Family."
The man smiled at the boy. "Zelda is in the gardens, if you'd like to go play," he said kindly. The boy looked to Impa and she nodded.
"Thank-you, your Grace," the boy said before heading out of the room towards the gardens.
"You remember her?" Link asked, surprised.
"I remember being in a large hall with her, in front of a king, something about Sheikah duties and playing with someone named Zelda," Kahael answered, trying to remember more of his aunt but coming up with nothing. He turned to Link instead. "does that sound right?"
"It does, but I could not tell you for sure," Link replied. "Your past is not clear to me. I have only known you a short while."
"Really?" Kahael asked in surprise, looking at the man.
"This surprises you?" Link asked, a soft smile on his face.
"It just seems...I feel like I've known you forever, or, the old me did at least," Kahael said softly. "You seem familiar and safe, I feel as I can trust you though I do not know you."
"I'm glad you feel at ease around me," Link said.
They were quiet after that, though the air between them was not tense. When they reached a grassy patch of open field they let the horses break from the trot and canter out. Both mares were in high spirits and picked up a smooth, fluid canter as they rode along the path through the field. Kahael was content to watch the scenery pass by as he rode. He much preferred the grass and trees to the dust and sand of the desert. They slowed the horses to a walk as the approached a river with a bridge leading over it. They let the horses have a drink before continuing on their way after a brief fuss from Calibri, chatting all the while.
They reached a stairs leading up to a large gate. A sign at the base of the stairs read Kakariko Village. Memories flashed through his mind at random, one as a small child playing by the base of an immense windmill, another of an older him sitting atop a fence post as he watched the cuccos wander around aimlessly, one of him and Link approaching the old well, and another as a small child watching Impa tack a grey horse up in the small stables at the outskirts of the village, calling out, "Hurry Sheik!" as she fastened the saddle. A hand landed on his shoulder and Kahael gasped, jerking out of this memories.
"Kahael?" Link questioned, concerned. "Are you okay, you got really quiet and pale."
He leaned against Calibri's side for a second and took a deep breath. "Memories," he said softly.
"More?" Link said, and he smiled. "This is a good thing, I had hoped bringing you here would spark a memory. We have...many memories here, together."
"I saw us walking towards a well?" he said, looking at Link when Link laughed.
"You would remember the worst thing possible about us and this village," Link says with a grin as they lead the horses into the village.
"Oh, right, you told me by the lake, the creature that attacked us by the well," Kahael says, glancing at Link. "Are you sure you didn't make it up? I can't believe I was that brave."
Link reached over and catches Kahael's free hand and squeezes it gently. "You were very brave," he says solemnly.
A few curious looks are thrown their way as they enter the village, and Kahael feels oddly exposed, but he follows Link to the stable where they put the horses in empty stalls. The whole way through the village to the stables Link never let go of his hand, and Kahael didn't mind at all. It was nice. Inside the barn Kahael gives them hay while Link fills the water troughs in their stalls. When they're done in the barn Link leads him towards a house and unlocks the door before slipping inside. The house is slightly dusty, like it hasn't been used in awhile. There are unlit candles around, and a beaded curtain hangs in a doorway, and Kahael figures it leads to the bedroom. The house is modest, but oddly enough, it feels like home.
"You're aunt left this place to you when she found out she was a sage, but it's been yours for awhile as Impa spent most of her time at the Castle with the princess," Link explains as he leads Kahael inside.
"It feels very familiar," Kahael says as he glances around.
"You grew up here for the most part," as he steps close to Kahael. Kahael can feel his heart hammering to the beat of a galloping horse. Kahael glances up to Link, and the man's eyes are focused on his face intently. Link reached his hand up gently and rests it on Kahael's cheek. "I missed you so much," he says softly.
Kahael doesn't know what to say. He thinks he should be scared off by the intimacy, but he's not. Especially not after last night. It feels right, Link feels right. He smiles shyly at the other man, unsure of what to do or say. Link tilts his head up gently, and he gazes into Kahael's eyes intensely. The passion in his eyes makes Kahael flush. Very slowly Link leans in to kiss him, giving him plenty of time to duck out of it should he chose to, but he doesn't. Instead, he leans forward and meets Link's lips gently with his own. Link's hand remains on his cheek, angling his face ever so gently into the kiss and his other rests of Kahael's hip. In a bout of bravery, Kahael wraps his arms around Link's back and pulls the man close. They break apart and Link drops his head to Kahael's shoulder and pulls him close to his body, and hugs him tight. Kahael can feel Link's warm breath against his neck and he allows himself to be held tightly, almost painfully so, against Link.
"You can't imagine the agony I felt when you were gone," Link whispers into Kahael's neck, still holding him tight.
"What happened to me?" Kahael asks, voicing the question that's been nagging at him ever since he woke in the desert.
Link pulls back and gazes at him intently, his eyes watery. "I don't know, but I promise you I'm going to find out.
He stalks across the cobblestones towards the stables leading Calibri and Epona behind him. The Castle looms in front of him with its immaculate gardens and landscaping. The castle has only been rebuilt for a little under six months but the greenery has flourished. The grooms in the stable catch onto his mood soon as he enters the stable, and scramble to take the horses from him and see to their care. Link normally sees to Epona himself, but today there is a more pressing matter he needs to attend.
Zelda.
He clenches his hands into fists as he strides through the castle. Nobody stops him or questions him; he is the Queens fiancé after all. The thought makes him clench his teeth. He knows the castle like the back of his hand, and he's outside Zelda's personal chambers within minutes. Just like he knows the castle, Link also knows Zelda's schedule. In the afternoon she likes to have tea in her sun room as a bit of a reprieve of her busy and stressful day before going back to work. As angry as he is at her, Link can't deny that she has put a tremendous amount of work and effort into rebuilding the city and strengthening the relationships with all the nations within Hyrule.
But he's still fuming.
He enters her rooms without knocking. Zelda looks up, surprised, from the book she was reading. Her face breaks into a grin when she sees him. The guard stationed by the door bows his head and takes his leave.
"Link," she says softly. "Have you come to join me?"
"We need to talk," he says stiffly, letting the doors swing shut behind him but not moving from just inside the doorway.
She frowns as she meets his eyes. "About what, love?" she asks, then takes a sip of her tea. "Can it not wait until we sit for supper? I am tired of listening to negotiations and politics, it gives me such a dreadful headache."
He's tired of her games. He needs answers, now. "Sheik," he demands, and she tilts her head at him and gives him a puzzled look.
"Yes?" she says finally, watching him closely. "I don't think I need to explain to you again who I am, silly."
He stalks closer to her and she meets his eyes, but her this time her gaze doesn't hold the same confidence as it did before.
"Drop that act," Link spits out. "What did you do to him?"
"Sheik is me," Zelda says, taking another sip of tea, but Link can see her resolve crumbling ever-so-slightly.
"He's not!" Link finally shouts at her, and she recoils back at him, shocked. "He's not and by the gods you damn well know it!"
He's trembling now, a whirlwind of emotion rippling through his body. The anger at Zelda's lies, the anguish of losing Sheik, the bewilderment of his return and the distress of his inability to recognize Link have built up inside the man to the point of bursting. He stares at Zelda, breathing heavily.
"What did you do to him?" he asks, cracking under his emotions. He can feel the burn of the tears in his eyes but he keeps the liquid at bay as he stares Zelda down. She looks back at him, wide eyed and uncertain.
"Nothing," she finally says. "You're mistaken, Link. It is me, was me the whole time. It's me who you love, as I love you," she says, abandoning her tea.
"Lies," he says, shaking his head. "He's here," he meets her eyes. "Tell me why he's here then."
Her eyes go a little wider before she regains her composure. "I told you, I took the look of a simple desert boy to hide my true self. Surly the boy is just here in a nomad group for trading supplies. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Sheik could defend himself, he was never afraid of battle but in Ganon's castle you were frightened at the sight of foes, you're terrified of Calibri while Sheik could ride that horse bareback with his hands tied, don't you think I noticed these things?" Link says and Zelda just shakes her head as he steps closer and stands in front of her.
"The magic-" she starts to say but Link slams his hand into the table, spilling her tea all over the cloth covering on the wood. Zelda jumps and stares at him.
A tear runs down his cheek. "Then why does he have Sheik's memories?"
She doesn't hide her shock this time. "W-what are you talking about?"
"He can remember bits and pieces but most of his memory is veiled," another tear runs down Link's face. "Please, Zelda, what happened to him?"
"You weren't supposed to love him!" she shouts, her persistence finally breaking. "You were supposed to love me!"
He stares at her mutely, trying to absorb her words and decipher their meaning.
"You weren't supposed to love him," Zelda repeats, her own tears running freely down his face. "I loved you Link, I needed you."
"What did you do to him?" Link says, finally shaking off his stupor. "You tried to murder him!"
"No!" she cries, appalled. "I loved Sheik as a brother – but you must understand, you were supposed to love me, Link, I had to get rid of him."
"You say you love him but you cast him aside so casually?" Link cried, glaring at her. "I am not a plaything of yours, my heart is my own and I may give it to who I choose and I chose him. There is nothing you can do about that."
He's surprised that the guard hasn't re-entered the room with all the shouting, but the doors remain shut and he and Zelda are still alone.
"But we were happy," Zelda sniffled, gazing at Link with teary eyes.
"I played your game Zelda, but I was never truly happy. You must have known this. You were never Sheik."
"I know," she said, tears renewed. "I was so stupid," she sobbed. "So selfish…"
"Please, if you loved him, as you say, help him," Link begs, as he falls to his knees in front of the chair Zelda sat in. "Help him," he repeats.
"I can't…the spells I used are too powerful for me to reverse…that he remembers anything is remarkable," Zelda whispers, and Link feels his heart shatter. "He'll never forgive me, I'm no better than Ganondorf, Goddesses, how I was so greedy…not fit to be Queen…"
Link says nothing. He doesn't know what to say. He sits by Zelda's feet, dejected and lost. Zelda cries quietly, and despite everything she's done, Link doesn't feel angry at her. She suffered through the war too. She lost her parents, had to hide away for years, rebuild an entire city, a nation. And she did it, just a child still. But couldn't the same be said about him while he saved the nation she had to rebuild? And he knew better than to toy with one's emotions.
When she speaks, her voice is small and timid. "I wiped his memories. I didn't want to hurt him, I just needed him gone…I felt horrible after I did it."
"You can't do anything for him?" Link asks, looking up at her pleadingly.
"I cannot," she says softly. "I am so sorry…"