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 Twelve ~*~*~
When Kahael woke he was warm and comfortable and didn't want to open his eyes. He was resting against Link's chest, the man's arms were wrapped around him, holding him close. Link was leaning against a barrel of grain, his fingers idly running through Kahael's hair. Kahael took a deep breath and tilted his head upwards, smiling softly.
"Hi," he whispered.
Link grinned, and tilted his head down to kiss him.
The winds had settled, and the air outside the tent was calm but dusk had already fallen making travel impossible. Instead, the gypsies planned to spend the night again and leave early in the morning. Kahael and Link rose to water and feed the horses before they exited the tent hand in hand. Kaylu glared at Link from where she was chopping roots for the evening meal, and it makes Kahael realize that the gypsies do not know the true story behind Link's engagement.
Kahael leads Link over to the desert girl and they sit beside her in front of the bench. She ignores Link completely and looks at Kahael.
"What is he doing here?" she asks, and Kahael feels Link squeeze his hand tightly.
"There was a misunderstanding," Kahael says, turning to look at Link.
"I'm sure there was," Kaylu says sarcastically, staring back down at the roots and chopping furiously.
"Would I follow him so far out into the desert if I didn't love him?" Link cuts in suddenly, staring coldly at Kaylu and wrapping his arm around Kahael's waist. "Would I abandon my fiancée without notice and abandon my duties if he did not mean the world to me?"
She stares at Link, watching the way he clings to Kahael tightly, almost desperately, as is the thought of losing him was too much to bear. She can see the emotions in his eyes, the devotion and the love as he gazes at Kahael, and it's apparent to her that he really does love the other boy. His words are not a lie.
The rest of the evening passes quietly. They all retire early so they can rise and get an early start on the journey home. The gypsies were heading through the mountain pass while Link and Kahael would be crossing back through the wasteland to the Gerudo lands and then back to Hyrule. Where they would go from there, Link was unsure.
Link and Kahael retire to their bedroll that was moved back by the fire. Like the night before, two guards keep watch. Kahael is thankful it is neither him nor Link because all he wants to do is lie close to the man and feel his warmth beside him. Link kisses him softly and strokes his cheek as the lie face to face in the close confines of the bedroll and Kahael can feel himself blush.
"You're beautiful," he murmurs, and Kahael presses their lips together once again. They eventually settle down to sleep, Kahael's back pressed against Link's chest. Link is asleep within minutes, his deep breathing soothing in Kahael's ears and it's not long before he is asleep too.
The snort of a Bullbo wakes Sheik, and he forces his eyes open. "Kahael?" he hears murmured behind him, before Link scrambles up. A scream pierces the silence of the night and Sheik reaches for his sword but it's gone. Link is up, bow drawn and he fires at one of the various bulbins surrounding the camp. "Kahael, watch out!" Link calls as he fires another arrow and sends a bullbo stampeding off into the desert away from the camp. Sheik fumbled for one of the daggers at his hip but finds that too is missing. A quick glance down confirms that he's not in his usual leather and dragonscale battle suit.
He's confused. Last he remembered...he was gagged and bound. Was it a dream? He shakes his head. No time to think now. He was in a strange camp, under attack and weaponless. Link turns to him. He's muddled, due to the confusion. "Kahael, watch out!" he cries out, and Sheik looks around for this "Kahael" he's see's no one but himself, until a bulbin appears in the edge of his vision. He turns to move, he can see Link notch an arrow and fire - but it's too late. The club the bulbin swings hits him in the side of the face and pain blossoms but is gone instantly.
He's unconscious before he even hits the ground.
Stark's eyes are grim as he surveys the scene. He rubs a hand over his forehead wearily. Kaylu's eyes are grief ridden as she approaches.
"Shantelle is dead," she says softly, and sniffles. "Lukas is injured, but stable."
Stark nods. "It's a good thing the young lad caught up with us after all," he says. "We would have lost many more without him."
Link pays no mind to their talk. He cradles Kahael gently in his arms as he sits by the fire. He was already seen to by a healer. She said his wounds were not fatal, and that he'd wake up with a headache. Despite the assurance, Link is still panicked with worry. He had lost the Sheikah once, and almost a second time. He knew his heart couldn't handle losing him a third time. He keeps Kahael sitting up against his chest so that he can feel his steady heart beat and even breaths against his skin. Anything to reassure himself that Kahael is okay.
As he sits he observes the damage to the camp. They took the young desert girl who was on watch by surprise and silenced her with an arrow before creeping up to the camp. It was Kahael's movement that woke Link from his sleep. One camel was injured badly and had to be out down to prevent it from suffering. Link hated to see any animal suffer, but he was glad he wasn't the one who had to take its life. The young man who owned the camel did it, and from the tears on his face and the grief in his eyes Link could tell he was distressed greatly by the loss. Link could never imagine something like that happening to Epona.
Link glanced down at Kahael and stroked his cheek gently. The healer had cleaned the wound on his cheek and stopped the bleeding, but the bruising was already spreading across Kahael's high cheek bone and turning it a dark, inky colour. Link winced a little when looking at it. It looked like it hurt. He wished he had been able to protect him better. He brushed his fingers over Kahael's forehead and unmarred cheek. He was running his fingers through his hair when Kahael scrunched his face up slightly and let out a pained noise.
"Kahael?" Link asked, cupping his good cheek gently.
"Ugh," he grunted, scrunching his face up a little more before opening his eyes, squinting up at Link in the early morning light.
"Hey," Link said softly, smiling. "Kahael, how do you feel?"
"Kahael?" he questioned, frowning. "Who are you talking about?"
Link's heart started beating wildly. "Sheik?" he questioned slowly.
"Hero?" Sheik replied, and Link burst into a smile, pulling Sheik up swiftly for a kiss.
"Oh, ow, ow," Sheik hissed, which made Link want to slap himself for his stupidity. Sheik was hurt.
"Sorry, sorry," he murmured, drawing Sheik to his chest. Sheik's face was bloodless and pale, with a pinched, drawn look.
"Hero," he murmured out, and Link fought back the tears when he heard Sheik's pet name for him. "I feel like I was bludgeoned in the head," he grumbled.
Link pulled Sheik back to look into his eyes, "You were, with a bulbin's club," he says as he flutters his fingers just under the side of Sheik's face that was injured.
Sheik closes his eyes and sighs, before snapping them open again. He winces, but looks around the camp anyways, tensing in Link's hold when he sees a girl approaching.
"Where are we?" he hisses, racking his brain for information. He can't remember a thing about being in the desert.
"I will explain in a minute," Link says, just as the girl grins at him.
"Kahael!" she says, as she sits down beside him. "How're you feeling?"
Sheik stares at her, guarded. He turns to Link, "Why is everybody calling me Kahael?" he asks.
The girl's face falls, but she smiles none-the-less. "You remember," she says.
Sheik frowns. "Remember what?" he asks, and turns to Link. The ache in his head is ferocious and the confusion he was suffering wasn't helping the matter at all.
Link pulls him so Sheik is leaning against his side, and Sheik wanted to protest but he kept his mouth shut, instead he kept his gaze focused on Link intently. Link stroked Sheik's cheek gently before speaking.
"What is the last thing you remember?" he asks softly, gazing into Sheik's ruby eyes.
Sheik opens his mouth to speak, but closes it quickly. He has to think for a second before he can answer. "We camped out in the field, after the Shadow Temple. We sheltered from the storm in the little cave a way off the mountain pass into the desert…we split up, so you could go to the Spirit Temple and I to the Temple of Time to wait for Zelda-"
Sheik stops speaking mid-sentence as a horrible memory assaults him, flooding his mind with the last moments he could remember.
Almost instantly he starts to feel foggy. His body breaks into a cold sweat and he shakes violently. He crumples forward but her hands catch him before he can hit the ground. Her magic seeps into him and his nerves light on fire as she sifts through his memories disdainfully.
Another spasm of pain rips through Sheik's body and he cries out in pain, no longer able to control himself. He can hear Zelda humming to him, her lullaby, gentle and sweet in his ear.
"Sheik, take it easy," he can hear Link speaking, but his heart his hammering and his breath came out as pants as Link gathers him in his arms and pulls Sheik against his chest. Sheik shudders again as another wave of pain lances through his head.
He tries to speak but can't manage words. He watches as Zelda walks towards him helplessly. She kneels in front of him and chants an incantation, and he shudders as her magic floods through him again. He cringes and closes his eyes against the invasiveness of the magic and when he opens them he stares back at the mirrored reflection of himself.
Link is rocking him gently as he takes deep, rasping breaths. Gently he cups Sheik's face and tilts his face upwards to they are meeting each other eyes, so Sheik is looking into Link's watery blue eyes, blue eyes, Zelda's eyes…
She takes his face in her hands and he wants to struggle but can't, not against her superior magic. Pain floods through him, more intense than any injury he has every received. He cannot stop himself when he cries out. He drops to the ground and writhes and Zelda moves with him, not letting him go.
He fights against the fire in his veins as long as he can manage but it drags him under into the darkness. He's rendered unconscious by Zelda's magic and she hovers over his body for a few minutes, gazing sadly at him.
When the memories subside he's left a shaking, shuddering mess. He cringes close to Link and clings the man, holding onto him tightly as his heart gradually starts to slow from its frantic pace. His breaths come easier, but the fear is still present. He feels lost, so he clings to Link and Link holds him tight, whispering reassurances into his ear. After a while he pulls back and looks a Link.
"Zelda," he says quietly, as a tear streaks down her face. "She severed our bond, it hurt so bad…and then she was me," he says quietly, and Link presses a gentle kiss to his forehead. "Why?"
"You're safe, Sheik," Link says reassuringly. "She'll never hurt you again. I won't let her."
"Hero," Sheik murmurs, and Link squeezes him tightly. "Everything is so foggy. I feel so lost and confused…"
It's only then that he notices that the girl is gone and it's only him and Link sitting in the sand by a nearly burnt out fire. Link takes a moment before he speaks; explaining to Sheik what had transpired over the last few months of their lives. Sheik feels himself well up with so much emotion for the blond man as he speaks, an intense feeling that he has trouble holding in. Instead, he clings to the man and Link's holds him just as tight.
"She didn't mean to hurt you," Link says softly. "She's sorry, I'm not making excuses for her, I promise you, and she was lost and scared."
Sheik feels his heart swell with emotion. "But you knew, you found me," he says.
Link grins and cups Sheik's cheek gently. "Of course I did," he said softly, leaning forward to kiss Sheik gently. "I would follow you to the end of the world," he says solemnly, and Sheik smiles, before glancing around the camp once more.
"So these are the people I was traveling with?" Sheik asks, and Link nods in confirmation. "I don't remember them at all."
"They'll understand," he says. "Kaylu may be a bit sad, you were friends."
"She was the girl from before, who said I remembered?" Sheik asks and Link nods again.
They sit in silence for awhile, both lost to their thoughts. Sheik is content to sit warm embrace of Link's arms. He doesn't care about his inappropriate garb, or the fact that his face is uncovered, Sheikah code be damned, he thinks to himself. Link speaks of packing up and going home. The Gypsies will be going through the mountain pass, and they'd have to go back through the wastelands of the desert and back through the Gerudo Fortress. He doesn't like the idea of going back to Castletown. The idea sends chills down his spine but knows Link would never put him in harm's way on purpose so he is willing to follow him back.
But despite Link's protection, Sheik still feels terribly uneasy about going home.