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 Eleven ~*~*~
After two days of hard riding Link had yet to catch up the gypsies and the thought was both disheartening and depressing. He pushed his horses as hard as he could but he knew if he pushed them too hard he risked injuring them which would slow him down even more. The head start the gypsies had on him was proving to be troublesome, and they must have been moving at a fairly decent speed to be eluding him. He sighed as he patted Epona's neck and slipped her bridle off so she could graze. He did the same to Calibri and let the mare rest for a bit. The Gerudo Fortress was only a few more hours ride away. Link wondered if he had taken a different route than the gypsies and passed them. Maybe he would make it to the Gerudo settlement before they did. It was unlikely, but it was better than thinking he had missed them all together.
After a few hours and a meagre dinner for himself Link was on his way once again. Slowly the grass and trees melted and changed to hard sand underfoot and rocks and mountains. It wasn't long until he saw the familiar bridge leading across the river and to the Gerudo Fortress. He crossed it quickly, after a brief protest from Calibri, and continued on his way. The sun was setting as he rode into the Fortress and the news he received there was not what he was hoping to hear.
"They were here around midday today," the Gerudo girl guarding the gate informed him. "They hitched their camels up and rode out around four in the afternoon. They want to reach the base of the mountains nightfall. It's where they set their camp up. It's only a few hours ride through the wasteland."
"Where? In which direction?" Link asked as he let Calibri and Epona have a drink and rest while he got information.
"To the west, opposite of the Scared Temple - you could follow the tracks left if the shifting sands and blowing winds haven't distorted them," she suggested.
"The west?" Link asked unsurely. He had never ridden Epona through the desert, let alone to an unknown part...but if the gypsies could manage it with their camels surly his horses would be fine.
"If you climb up to the lookout tower with me I can show you where they ride to. The mountain range is very distinct. They camp around there every year."
Link followed her up the ladder and thanked her for all her help when she pointed out an area of mountains that looked like a dog's head, named Wolf Point. He thanked her again, especially when she gave him a cowl to protect his face from the blowing sands and bid him good luck. She advised that he waited till morning but he had no time. He mounted Epona and set off again at a walk through the shifting sands of the desert. Calibri, who had been born in the desert, had a much easier time walking through the sands.
He just prayed to the goddess that the gypsies were at their camp at the base of Wolf Point.
Being back in the saddle of a camel made Kahael realise how much he preferred riding horses. He quickly grew use to the long, swinging strides of the camel and let his body flow with the motion. He looked ahead and could see the wolf head formation in the mountains, and he knew they would be stopping very soon to make camp before nightfall reached them. He disliked being so close to the mountains. Wolfos roamed them in packs. They were easy defeated, but precautions had to be taken when around areas they populated. Kaylu said she had never seen one wander down from the mountains but the thought that they could made him feel uneasy. He was on watch duty tonight, but he was watching the desert. Another man named Ralf was in charge of keeping an eye on the mountain range.
When they finally reached their destination they hitched the camels to tethers; the risk of them wandering off and getting attacked by wolfos to great to chance. They built a fire to cook on, and Kahael helped where he could, chopping various roots and such to add to the soup they were having that night. Game was sparse in the desert and there hadn't been a fresh catch that day so dinner was a blend of roots and spices mixed into a soup. Kahael was used to meals like this and found he didn't mind the simpleness.
The stars were high in the sky when Kaylu approached him again. "How're you doing?"
"I wish you'd stop asking," he snapped, with a little more bite than he intended. He sighed immediately afterwards. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," she grabbed his hand and squeezed. "I understand that this must be hard for you."
"I would rather not speak of it," he replied, looking into the fire and watching the way the flames danced.
"Okay," she answered softly.
"It's late," he said. "You should be sleeping."
"The moon is barley in the sky," she protested. "But I am tired," she admitted.
"Sleep," Kahael said, giving the girl a soft smile. "I will be fine."
She rose. "If you say so. Goodnight."
After she left he was left his thoughts. He shivered; the cool air blew down from the mountains and added a frosty bite to the air.
Link was weary. He had been traveling almost nonstop for two days with brief periods of rest to let the horses rest. He had gotten little sleep, always to afraid he'd close his eyes and sleep much too long and the gypsies would slip away into the desert and he'd never catch them again. The desert was quiet that night. The wind was calm and the air was cool but not terribly so. He could easily follow the path the desert people left behind. Epona did her best in the sand, but he could tell she did not enjoy it. He pats her neck.
"Don't worry girl, we'll never ride through here again," he says, mostly to break up the silence of the night. Epona's ears flicker back to catch his voice before pointing forward again. Calibri, being born in the desert, has a much easier time navigating the sands.
The mountains loom up ahead, and he still has an hour or two ride ahead of him, but despite that he feels at ease. He is following the same path as the desert folk, he's following their path to be exact, and they have to be at the end of it. He hopes what the Gerudo guard says was true, and that he would find them at the base of Wolf Point. Riding into the mountains would be risky, but he could catch them there, as long as they didn't make it across them into the vast, unmarked desert. He didn't have the supplies or the knowledge to try and hunt them down beyond the mountain pass.
Despite his exhaustion, he keeps his eyes out for potential threats. Leevers tended to pop out of the ground every now and then, but all they needed was a good kick to stun them and send them burrowing back under ground. Epona had taken well to stomping on them when needed. He rubs Epona's neck encouragingly and keeps walking forward. Every step they take forward is one step closer to Sheik.
"Kahael," a voice calls as a hand shakes his shoulder gently. "Kahael, wake up."
He opens his eyes groggily, and peers up at the figure above him. It's Stark, the unofficial leader of the gypsies. Everybody looks to him for guidance and advice which makes Kahael wonder what the man wants with him. He was the one who relieved him of watch duty a few hours before. Kahael sits up blearily. He's exhausted, sleep did not come easily to him the night before and tonight when he closed his eyes to sleep he was dead to the world almost instantly.
"What is it?" he asks, waking up slightly.
"There is a rider, in the distance," the man says, those words wake Kahael up immediately.
"A rider, leading a grey horse," Stark says, "Coming this way."
Kahael's heart starts to race like a startled jackrabbit's as he scrambles upwards. He follows Stark to the outskirts of the camp where the man was sitting watch and he can see the rider approaching, a little ways off.
"It's him, isn't it?" the man asks as he looks at Kahael.
"It is," Kahael answers, and bites his lip in thought.
"What do you want us to do about him?" the man asks.
From what he has heard of the Link's feats during the war, nothing a band of traveling nomads could do would stop him, but the offer is valiant and Kahael is grateful for it.
"I think I owe it to him to at least speak to him," he says at last. "If he was willing to come all this way."
Stark nods. "Be careful," he says. "I will be by the fire. Shout if you need anything."
Kahael walks slowly out to meet the approaching rider. Despite his prior exhaustion he is wide awake now. He shivers in the cool air but continues to walk a little ways away from the camp. He wants to be able to talk in private to Link. He is already mortified that the gypsies know of Link's engagement...he wonders what they must think of him, the old him, fooling around with the Queen's fiancé. They probably think it's disgusting, think he's disgusting, and he wouldn't blame them. He forces the tears from his eyes and stops walking.
The rider is close now, very close. Once he's a few hundred feet away from Kahael he swings done from the horses back and runs to Kahael. The horses continue to follow the man at a much slower pace. By the time Link reaches him he's out of breath but he collides with Kahael forcefully, nearly knocking him off his feet. But the man's arms wrap around him, crushing him to his chest so he can't fall. Link buries his face in the juncture of Kahael's collarbone and neck and takes a deep, ragged sounding breath. It isn't until he feels a warm, wet sensation on his neck that he realises Link is crying. He wraps his arms around the man slowly and he can feel Link's whole body shuddering as he squeezes Kahael tight to him, like he did at Kakariko Village the day before.
"You left," he finally says, voice haggard and raw. "I lost you all over again."
Kahael feels like there is a lump in his throat, blocking his words from escaping. When Link pulls back Kahaek can see the pain etched on the man's handsome features. The grief in his eyes is so evident. It makes tears well up in his own eyes. How could this man be destined to wed another when he holds such grief in his eyes for him. It doesn't make sense. Finally, he forces words from this throat.
"You...you are to wed the queen," he says, his own voice emotional as he fights the urge to break down and weep. "We...I am just a plaything for you, I..." he trails off, unsure of what to say.
"What?" Link cries, aghast. "You mean everything to me, Kahael, you were never a plaything, I love you, can't you see that?"
"You loved Sheik," Kahael answers, holding tears at bay.
"You are Sheik - you share his smile, his laugh, his memories - you may not be the exact same but I still love you," Link says, taking Kahael's hands in his own and squeezing them.
Kahael won't meet Link's eyes. "What of your engagement?" he asks.
"It's off," Link snaps, the anger in his voice startling Kahael. "It was all a lie...everything."
He frowns and looks at Link, "A lie?" he asks. "What do you mean?"
"Zelda was confused and jealous of our relationship. After the Shadow Temple we parted so you could prepare the rituals for Zelda return and I to the Spirit Temple. When I met up with you at the Temple of Time there was something off about you, but I was too worried about fighting Ganandorf. Zelda ... I'm not exactly sure what she did to you, but she revealed herself to me as you..."
"So you thought she was me?" Kahael asks, confused.
Link wraps his arms around Kahael and holds him close. "When I saw you in the market that day..." a tear streaks down his pale face and Kahael raises his hand and wipes it away and Link gives him a watery smile, "I could barley breath."
Kahael looks at Link with a furrow on his brow. "I still don't quite understand," he admits. Link steps back and squeezes his hand.
"I love you," Link says softly. "The wedding is off – just please, come home with me?"
"Home?" Kahael questions.
"Anywhere, we can make a new home – as long as I'm with you," Link says, stepping forward and kissing him.
Calbri pushes between then and buts her head impatiently against Kahae'ls chest, and he laughs quietly and pats her neck. He takes a hold of her bridle as Link does the same with Epona. Link grabs Kahael's free hand and squeezes, holding it while they lead the horses back to the camp. Stark gives Kahael a small grin and nods in Link's direction but says nothing as they walk past him into the camp. They tether the horses up to prevent them from wandering, the threat of wolfos is too great to risk and remove their saddles and bridles before Kahael leads Link to his bedroll.
They both crawled inside. Kahael shuddered a little from the chill, but with his back pressed against Link's chest with the man's arms wrapped around him it didn't take long for him to warm up. Link was asleep within minutes, his breath deep and even. He was also exhausted, and it wasn't long before he was fast asleep as well.
It seemed like he had just fallen asleep when someone was shaking shoulder and calling his name. "Kahael, wake up."
When the blinked his bleary eyes open Kaylu was crouching down beside his bedroll. Link was still fast asleep behind him, his one arm between the gap of Kahael's neck and the bedroll, the other thrown over Kahael's waist.
"W-what?" he asked, leaning up on one elbow.
"A bad sand storm is blowing in. We can't travel today - we set up tents for the animals, you should move your horses into one. We set up a small one they would fit it, we didn't think they'd handle the camels well."
He rubs at his eyes as he sits up. "Thank-you, and I will explain everything later."
She nods and rises to leave. Kahael glances down at Link and he smiles. "Link," he says softly, stroking the man's cheek gently.
Link blinked his eyes open, and a small smile settles on his lips as he stares up at Kahael. "Morning," he says huskily, and the tone sends chills up Kahael's spine.
They rise and lead the horses to the tent. Calibri protested entering, but Kahael coaxed her in. They water and feed the horses before freshening themselves up and get breakfast. The winds were starting to get more violent, and soon they wouldn't be able to be outside without risking sand damaging their eyes. They return the tent with the horses and settle down to wait the day out. Travel was impossible with the winds so high. Kahael knew the gypsies would be getting antsy to move. If the mountain pass was covered in snow before they made it back through it would be disastrous.
They spent the day curled up together in the tent with the horses while the wind howled outside and pelted the tent with sand. Despite that, Kahael didn't think the day was a waste at all.