Hello everybody! Damn, I'm getting really really good at updating regularly! Woot! So, yeah, anyway, thank you all for reading so far into this story, I can't believe I'm nealr up to 150 reviews. I mean, it's insane. Those kinds of numbers usually go to good people, and I never, ever, ever thought that I would be considered good.
Thankyou, so, so, much.
Now, the review replies.
The Ninja Squirrel: Lemon? What lemon? I'm pretty sure I didn't write a lemon... Where was the lemon? I can't believe it seemed like a lemon... I don't like lemons, much see. So... huh. Oh yeah, go Saria for her revengeness! What I meant to say about Sheik's healing was that Sheik needs to do some healing of his own, since, he's kinda messed up and evil now. He was the one supplied Pravus' nightmares, if you wanted to know. Huh, I kinda thought the whole evil-ness might be attractive in Sheik, but... guess not. But he'll become good, I promise!
Lucky. My summer's at the end of the year, so i don't get a long break till Christmas. SOB!!
Meg: What I meant to say that when I was uploading chapters one to I dunno, five, sometimes the chapters took two months to update. It was pretty bad for the reputation of this fic, lol. No, I see where you're getting at with the whole, 'can make torturous backstories for characters but can't make them in present tense', thing. That's pretty much what I'm doing here, because Sheik's attitude is the result of the horrible past. Shall be explained in further chapters.
The Silverdark Knight: Thankyou for your compliment. I just thought with the whole, long friendship concerning time and the connectiosn they have with being freed from Ganondorf by Lynda, I thought the Sages would be really into saving Lynda back, kind of thing. I understand if I don't make any sense. Let's just consider the Sages anger as... repayment for Lynda's work as Hero of Time. Sheik's story will most likely be in the next chapter.
Grogert331: I hope you like this!
Herooftimes: lol, thanks for your compliment. I was going to get Lynda to translate, by saying it was a phrase Dacha had taught her but then I thought... no. I'll use it later. Yeah, I'm not much of a medic, so I can't say exactly what happens when you're in overheated water for too long, so I'm just going to cover that up by saying, Lynda is tough, so she will be okay. lol. Yeah, I thought about putting him in the Shadow Temple too, but that's Impa's territory, and since she wasn't too interested in abusing her powers... yeah. Yeah, the thing is, I don't know what happens in Holodrum and Koholint and ... somewhere. So, I was thinking, since Lynda's the honourable hero, she left everything behind in the said places because that's where they belong and it's not her right to take them anywhere she wanted. And yes, Navi's wings got stronger. I got the life-span of a Fairy idea from Batneko, I hope she doesn't mind. Thanks again for your compliment, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Louiii: Yes, men. They are cruel and must die. Well... okay, not really. Some a great, and honest and understanding... but only the very, very lucky tend to meet them. Argh. There's some cuteness in this chapter, and more in the next one, and hopefully more in the next one. Hopefully. The creation thing just pooped up in my head when I was doing the scene. I thought, since there're goddesses... why not? So there you go.
Dragongal333: GAAAAARRRRGH!! The wrath of din buuuuuurns! Must... post... before... too late... (falls to the ground unconscious, hand on mouse, having clicked the final link)
Sparda's Kitten: Thankyou, I didn't expect anybody to be so affect by the chapters. Thanks. And about Sheik, I just thought there were a lot of honourable ones, so, why not an evil one? lol.
Suethe: Damn you, lucky person! Friday off!? Shocking! Yeah, Sheik did some healing, but I was thinking about the healing he needs himself, because he is seriously messed up, no? But he will definitely be more badass. Hopefully. Actually, I was going to use the Gerudo swarm, but I decided to use them somewhere else. I thought that might be cooller, I dunno. I just wanted to demonstrate what the sages could do with their magics. Yeah, I thought Saria needed the revenging most, since like she was like Lynda's mother/sister person. Good on ya. Please tell me what sort of damage you did to him eh?
Alright! Let's start reading!
Dark Dreams
Sheik let out a sigh as he slipped through the corridors, the dark of night swathed over his shoulders. He was carefully avoiding the guards as he approached a certain room, knowing for a fact that if he was caught, he would be in deep, deep shit.
He wondered exactly why he was doing this, and again that tiny voice in his head reminded him that he needed to make sure Lynda didn't suspect his involvement in Pravus' 'accident' and that she would still make a good pawn to manipulate. Her being sick would help with the process of digging through her thoughts, and see just how much of a hold he had on her…
But. That stupid word, that hideous but had to get in there somewhere.
Was it really necessary? Wasn't the obvious trust enough? Even if Lynda suspected his involvement, wouldn't she be glad? She wouldn't tell anybody about his magic, she wouldn't see any need to it. And manipulating her… when it came to fights, maybe he could do it, but what was the point in any other field? She had no interest in politics or power or any duty that had to do with being royalty. She was almost an innocent, a victim. Surely…?
Nobody's a victim in this castle. Not even me.
Sheik reached her door and phased through, carefully stepping over the packet of marbles Lynda had pressed against the door. She was curled into the thick duvet, sweat glistening against her forehead, the damp cloth that had been placed across her brow now uselessly wetting the pillow. Tissues littered the floor, and her breathing was laboured at best. He could see that she was subconsciously breathing through her mouth to ease the strain, but that had made her lips dry and cracked.
She had never looked more vulnerable and child-like and innocent and… Sheik dared not go further than that, in case he dwelled into places he didn't want to go.
He stepped closer, and the curtain to her window fluttered. The moonlight struck her, and he was thrown back seven years, in another time altogether, when she had saved him from the Skultulas…
No! Don't dwell on that. Concentrate, concentrate…
Sheik kneeled in the land of tissues and brushed his fingertips against her eyelids, about to tap into her memories…
"Hey Sheik."
The Sheikah jolted, and Lynda moaned in her sleep, sounding pained on a low level. Sheik carefully looked around and Navi was fluttering over a cushion, the cushion he had thought to contain something along the lines of a hybrid between a wicker lantern and a crystal ball. "…You've changed."
"I have?" the fairy replied, fluttering her wings contemplatively, "Well, I guess the magic you two fed me yesterday kinda helped."
Sheik was careful to keep his voice down to a whisper. "Lynda did something to you?"
"Yeah, see those tissues? Put them in water and that's what my wings would've looked like before Lynda fixed me up with the Triforce."
"Ouch," Sheik commented, wincing,
"Yeah, you guys gave me one heck of a jump into my life… I might actually be able to hug you all in your lifetime."
"…Excuse me?"
"It's a fairy thing. Hey, listen, what're you doing here anyway?"
"Eh, um…" There was no way he was going to tell the truth. No way. "Just, checking up, really. Seeing how she's going through the fever."
Navi actually tilted to the side. "Why didn't you come during the day?"
"Because nobody would've let me in, considering I'm a guy."
"Ah, true," Navi concurred, perching on Sheik's shoulder. "Well, her temperature's lowered, her snuffles are awful and she insisted she had a horrible throat and headache, but it's kinda hard to say it's true, since she complained about it non-stop,"
If it were any other person, Sheik would've scoffed in disdain and called them a bit of a wimp. But Lynda… she was different.
Sheik frowned at himself. He was getting a bit too sentimental here…
"Is it true that fairies see things through auras?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I heard that, through them, you can guess at their dreams," Sheik admitted, because Sheikah didn't have that ability. All his people could do was See, not sense.
"You want to know what she's dreaming about." Navi asked incredulously to which Sheik hastily replied,
"In case she's experiencing mild nightmares or something. I know a spell against that."
Navi gave a resigned sound before perching on top of Lynda's temple. Her wings fluttered again before she said, "Well, dreams flit all over the place, so it's kinda hard to tell what's going on. Mostly it's… happy stuff, memories… fantasies…"
Sheik was questioning himself about why he had wanted to know about Lynda's dreams when Navi squeaked. "Sheik," she said, very, very quietly and deliberately, "You have to get out. Now."
"What…?" he leaned his face closer to the fairy's, trying to hear what she was trying to say, "What did…?"
Sheik didn't let himself finish, because movement made him look down. Movement of eyelashes. A face screwing up, a gentle moan crossing the waking lips, eyes half-mast drifting across his face, a hand gently moving up to knuckle the sleep crusted over sapphire orbs…
Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods, if she woke up now, if she saw him in her room so damn close and personal, her trust would be completely and utterly lost…
"Go Link go!" Navi suddenly screeched, "C'mon before he flashes again!"
Sheik's rising panic only accelerated when something catapulted in his stomach, smacking the air right out of his lungs. He grunted as he crashed into the floor, pain erupting in his skull as it hit the corner of a cabinet.
And those eyes, those midnight eyes were still half-mast, so close to sleep but not close enough, he had to do something before it got too sticky…
"Let go of me, Hero," Sheik gritted out, the words fuelled by panic and pain and an extreme case of dejavu.
"Nm," Lynda's muttered, gaze drifting away from his eyes as they closed, the grip she had on him loosening, rubbing her nose against his stomach, her breathing evening out, "Ngnnywh… ansrs…"
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"Let go of me, Hero!" A Sheikah spat, mask covering his nose, wild blond hair sticking out of a cap of bandages. He was trying to prize off some muscular arms from his waist without hurting the owner of the arms, but he was failing miserably due to the stubborn nature of the appendages.
In other words, the grip on his waist only tightened.
"No," the Hero of Time replied bluntly, fingers digging into Sheik's suit for good measure. "You're not going anywhere without some answers."
"Go Link go! Woooo!" Navi yelled, doing a victory pattern in the air.
"Besides," Link added playfully, "You're warm."
Sheik growled and banged the back of his head to the icy floor, muttering something unintelligible. Link giggled (yes, giggled) and buried his nose into Sheik's stomach, revelling in the small victory of capturing his guide. He didn't know how hard he was holding Sheik, but he hoped it wasn't too strong or too weak, since his hands were too numb to tell the difference. His boots were tightly wound around Sheik's left leg, and if he hadn't been a ten-year old at heart, he would've noticed how provocative the position they were in, was.
But alas, he didn't notice.
"So," Link started, trying to keep his teeth from chattering, "Why do you always disappear?"
"Considering the fact that Ganondorf wants to decorate his bedchambers with your entrails, I thought it wise to keep my distance from you."
"…What's entrails?"
"Oh my, Din."
Navi giggled.
"But I get the idea, so, you don't have to explain." Link supplied hopefully, trying to stay in Sheik's good books, "I like the sound of the word, though. Entrails. It rhymes with… um… something."
Around Link's arms, Sheik's muscles briefly tensed before relaxing, resigned to the madness of the situation. For now.
"Why do you help me?" Link hurried on, now seriously worried he had upset Sheik,
"Ganondorf's not a nice guy, is he?" Sheik sarcastically replied, and Link again, giggled, uneasily.
"Yeah, you're right. He needs to go down."
"What do you want from me, Hero?" Sheik spat, leaning over to the side to glare at the childish eyes. Link, seeing the anger, felt small and unwanted, like when he was with the Kokiri, like when he was in Kakariko, like when he looked at the destroyed Castle Town and how he could've helped but didn't, how Princess Zelda had completely disappeared…
"What I mean to say," Sheik continued more kindly, propping himself up with his arms, "What exactly is it that you want to know from me? I thought I explained clearly enough about who I am."
Link, encouraged by the kind tone continued, "Yeah, I know you're Sheikah, but, what's your favourite colour?"
Sheik's visible eye widened. "You want to know… my favourite colour."
"I was guessing blue, because you wear it so much, kinda like me with green, but you never know because Navi's blue but her favourite colour's pink."
"You didn't need to tell him that!"
"But you told me," Link lamely defended before returning his gaze to the Sheikah, "So, what's your favourite colour?"
"…Black," Sheik sighed, finally giving up.
"Favourite food?"
"I don't have one."
"Really?" Link asked incredulously, "I like pumpkin."
"…Pumpkin."
"Don't you like pumpkin?" Link asked worriedly at the flat tone.
Sheik gave one last desperate attempt at escaping, but Link wasn't the Hero of Time for nothing. He sighed and settled into the icy floor, pooling his magic into the deku-nut in his hand, the one he was going to use as soon as the cursed hero let him go.
"… I don't mind pumpkin," Sheik finally said, and Link could tell that the guide didn't enjoy the heart-to-heart conversation Link had painstakingly thought through. Link decided that he might as well let him go; he was feeling sleepy anyway…
"Fine. Why don't you just disappear…?" Link asked, hoping he didn't sound too bitter or rejected. Sheik bounded away, and lifted his arm to throw the deku-nut down… and paused. Link didn't care anymore. He just curled in on himself and settled for sleep, gently closing his eyes…
"Hero," Sheik said, keeping his eyes open forcefully, "Don't fall asleep,"
"Naugh, but-"
"Don't fall asleep. You'll die if you do."
"But it's so warm…"
"No, we're in the ice caverns inhabited by monsters that have breath that will turn you to frozen statues. The waters have been solid for almost a year, and no sunlight has ever penetrated this far. You should be cold."
"I got used to it…"
"No, you're just numb. Navi, when did his teeth stop chattering?"
"Um… a couple of minutes before you arrived, really."
Sheik said a word Link had never heard before, one that sounded really bad and started with an 'f'.
Next thing Link knew, he was being lifted, but he had a distinct feeling that he was supposed to be thrown over Sheik's shoulder, not carried in a bridal lift. Was it him, or did Sheik just get real big while he was lying down, or did Link himself get smaller? And for a fleeting moment Link wondered whether his hat had fallen off, because his head felt a lot heavier with hair, and he actually felt soft, like his muscles hadn't been moulded into bulks just for fighting or something. But it was nice, so, he guessed he didn't mind… He had a feeling that he was supposed to start talking about what he hated most to stay awake, but he closed his eyes instead, lulled by the gentle warmth of the Sheikah, cradled against his chest as if Sheik really cared about him. Her. Nargh, who cared…?
Sheik put him down on something soft and warm, real warmth unlike the numbness of the ice caverns, and it was so unfair that he had to leave, why couldn't Sheik stay…?
The mentioned Sheikah found his wrist held in a soft grip of the subconscious, the Princess giving a sigh as her fingers curled childishly around his appendage. A rather unexpected smile twitched his lips, and he let it linger before sliding her hand away, tucking it under the duvet gently.
Navi exhaled heavily, relieved out of her light. "I can't believe that worked… Nice follow up, by the way."
"I do have to say though, that maybe if you kept quiet, I may have been able to escape with some magic of mine."
Navi huffed unceremoniously. "Believe you me; she would've woken up no matter what. I saved your butt, Sheikie-pie."
"Call me something along those lines ever again and I will snap your wings in quarters, fairy." Sheik sighed and began to clear away the pile of tissues, unconsciously aware that he didn't want to leave the room just yet, "Why did you decide to say… whatever you said to egg her on?"
Navi gave an equivalent of a shrug before saying, "Her dreams were flitting through memories. I just said what came to me first."
"Huh," he said, as he tossed the tissues in the nearby bin, "And it had to involve me getting tackled in the ice caverns, didn't it."
"Oh, you remembered?"
"You think getting mauled by someone bigger than me, who happened to be quite ready to let me go before that incident, who also happened to be saving the country, who also happened to be my only chance of freedom in all senses of the word, who also happened to be very heavy, who, also, just so happened to be dieing and needed to be carried out of the ice caverns with everything he ever owned weighing him down and with you shouting my ears numb, is easy to forget? … I'm surprised I survived the trauma."
Navi giggled good-naturedly, knowing that Sheik didn't mean to sound bitter.
"She planned grabbing you since the Forest Temple. She really liked you, you know, always looking forward to seeing you when she beat a temple…"
"Why?"
Navi gave a bob that was a Hylian equivalent of a shrug. "I guess it's because you were the only one who knew that she was the Hero of Time,"
"Huh…" Sheik frowned at himself, thinking his own behaviour rather odd. Since when was he interested in trivial things like that anyway? The past was past; if it didn't hold information worthy of salvaging for the present, it was redundant. And Lynda's want to meet and talk to him was rather useless, aside form the fact that it proved she held a lot of trust towards him (whole stupid lot, really).
Sheik absently stood, brushing his hands against his shirt, giving a glance towards Lynda's way.
Something inside his chest reeled, almost hurting him.
Oh no. Oh… no.
"Do me a favour and don't tell her I was here, alright?" Sheik said before immersing himself in shadow, walking through the wall to get away.
This wasn't happening. This so wasn't happening. He couldn't. Why would he want to? She was Zelda's sister! And that made her, as far as he was concerned, evil! They had similar hair, a similar face, similar height and weight, for goddesses' sake they were twins. Lynda should look like Zelda enough so that Sheik could despise her! And yet…
No. Don't go there. He didn't care for her.
He didn't.
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Sheik couldn't believe how pathetic he was. Three weeks. Three weeks he had avoided her, kept away from her in hopes of making the stupid 'twinge' in his chest go away.
He hoped Lynda hadn't noticed. Over that time all her friends had trickled in and out of the castle to share condolences and comfort. Ruto had sat at Lynda's bedside until the Hylian got well from her fever, supplying sponges from the Zora's fountain to quicken the healing process, Nabooru had given Lynda a good workout with her blade (Lynda had needed that really badly, it seemed) and Darunia and co. had raced around the castle gardens, Lynda trying vainly to catch up with them in their fruitless game of tag. Even Garth had come back, gauntlets covering the blemish on his hand, carefully avoiding looking over his shoulder for the 'Secret Keeper'.
Don't worry, Sheik told himself, Lynda wouldn't have noticed.
But Nayru it was so pathetic! Usually it was the other way around; people avoided him because he was powerful and frightening and he conjured their nightmares just by looking them in the eye. But now, he was running from Lynda. Just because he-
Sheik turned the corner and smack! He toppled to the floor with something latched around his stomach, a happy squeal following close.
Oh no. Oh… no.
"Hi, Sheik." Lynda chuckled, grinning in childish triumph, "Gotcha."
Sheik was too busy stressing about the fact that he was stressing about Lynda's arms hugging his waist and her nose buried in his side. He should be used to this, women and men alike having dragged him through their beds more times than Sheik could possibly count, but here he was, feeling uncomfortable because Lynda was hugging him, fully clothed. He was dismayed to realise that what he said next nearly came out in a squeak. "Was that really necessary?"
"You disappeared." Lynda countered, finally letting him go to sit by his head, "And I had to talk to you."
"What?"
"First I wanted to say sorry."
"What?"
"You know, that fight we had a couple of weeks ago. Navi said she had a feeling you had a bad day, and I had a bad day, and I just made it worse by cutting you. It's good to know you've healed, by the way."
"What?"
"Oh, and the sages said you helped being Pravus down, so I wanted to say thanks for that too, and-"
"What!?"
Navi flew out from somewhere and huffed. "You're quite intelligent at this point and time, you know that?"
Sheik finally sat himself up, trying to get out of the initial shock of Lynda's hug, "I'm sorry, just… I've been having a complicated day."
"Huh," Lynda said, looking uncomfortable, "Uh, I guess I won't burden you with this…"
"You've come, you've seen, you've conquered," Sheik muttered, sighing, "What do you want?"
Lynda blushed. Lynda... BLUSHED. Sheik knew exactly what hell felt like. "I… I well, uh… I've been having this repetitive dream, and it felt kinda like those times I kept dreaming about Ganondorf, only these ones ain't so bad. Except I want them to go away."
Sheik couldn't believe that he actually felt rather happy at seeing Lynda stutter. "Uhuh."
"Do you think, you know, get rid of it with some Sheikah hocus-pocus? You just give the impression that you're really good at that kind of stuff…"
Sheik sighed and shook his head again. "Those kinds of dreams go away only if they're solved. Haven't you talked to Zelda?"
Lynda shifted uncomfortably, a shy and uneasy grin twitching her mouth. "It's just that… you're kinda easier to talk to, you know?"
Hell just got worse. A lot worse. Gods, she trusted him! More than her bloody sister for Furore's sake, her bloody sister! What was up with this woman with her trust and care and honesty and that stupid, stupid grin?! How could just one stupid woman have such a deep effect on him? He didn't know her well, he didn't know anything about her that he would consider worthy of… of what? Why the heck did she accomplish the impossible and make him feel delighted that someone had trusted him!?
Sheik held back his outburst of WHY!? And opted instead for a calm, collected, "Sheikah aren't very adept when it comes to interpreting dreams. That's more of a Hylian thing, and Zelda just happens to be a very practised prophet. It's best that you organize something with her."
"Oh… okay."
"And next time, Princess," Sheik grunted as he stood up, offering a hand to help her before he could stop himself, "Don't tackle me."
Lynda grinned, roiling the contests of his chest painfully as she did so. "And miss a chance at a small victory? Not a chance."
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Lynda inched into the room cautiously, despite the invite to come in. "Hi Zelda,"
"Hello Lynda," she replied, her nose still in her book.
"Look if you're busy, I won't bother you-"
"Oh just get in," Navi grumbled, pushing vainly at Lynda's head.
"Yes, please," Zelda said, slipping a waxed flower into the pages, "We did organize this after all."
"Alright," replied Lynda, closing the door. "It's just that, I'm thinking that maybe it's nothing to worry about now, 'cause it's not like it's harming me or anything…"
"Repetitive dreams can drive you up walls, Lynda. Both of us should know that. Please, take a seat, and we'll get started."
Lynda looked at the chair and wondered whether that was quite an accurate statement. Sure, you could sit on it, but the back of the chair was way too long and it was pretty much horizontal. More like a narrow, crooked bed rather than a chair.
Nonetheless Lynda lay down, Navi hovering over her eyes. The Princess was beginning to have doubts. "You sure this'll work?"
"Of course," Zelda said, bringing the chair she herself had been sitting on closer to her sister, "Now, whenever you're ready."
"Maybe-"
Navi began to fly in tight circles. What looked like sparkling dust fell from her, and despite the troubled look Lynda gave, she was soon down and under, sleeping and dreaming calmly.
Zelda eyed the fairy. "Are you sure that was a wise move?"
Navi shrugged. "She would've kept going on and on, believe me. She doesn't like thinking things through before doing things."
Zelda gave a small snort before weaving her magic around Lynda's eyes, thinking that personality trait very fitting for the Hero of Time. Navi settled on Lynda's forehead to make the connection easier, and soon Zelda was in.
She watched from a bird's eye view, and from Twilight a dream figure immerged, sword and shield held in hand. The figure's hair was long and unruly, the clothes torn and bloodied. The sword tip dragged on the ground, and the shield hung loosely on her side. It wore a cone hat.
Lynda. It had to be.
Zelda watched her limp through the twilight, a small star swinging at her chest, like a pendant. She was alone, and looked lost beyond return, and tired, so tired…
Two whips cracked around her, making her stumble. Like living things they yanked away her sword and shield, and just as quickly disappeared into darkness.
Lynda ran for her weapons, yelling but no sound coming out of her mouth. The weapons were part of her, part of who she was, they couldn't take it, no, it was so unfair…
They retracted back into a giant shadow, and Lynda stood in front of it, awestruck.
It was tall as three men put together, and just as wide. It pulsated like a living organ, and as far as Zelda could see, it was a giant, poisonous thorn bush.
Trying to figure out its nature, Zelda created three beings, one weak hearted, one aggressive, one sensible. She made them approach the living thing, wondering what it would do.
The sensible one looked upon it, and seeing the menace and danger, did not go too near.
The weak-hearted one looked upon it and immediately tried to hide in its power, hoping to use its greatness to advantage. But whips flashed forward and entangled upon the figure, and the essence of it was drained into the thing, and nothing was left of the weak-hearted.
The aggressive one had approached with similar intentions, but seeing the demise of the weak one, it attacked the tendril of the creature that slowed in returning, and more vines—barbed, this time—attacked back, ripping the figure to shreds, giving it the most dreadful and painful end.
The sensible one turned away in disgust, and promptly disappeared.
The figure that was Lynda stepped forward also, oblivious to the additions Zelda had created. The monster recoiled from her, its vines twisted agitatedly, obviously un-wanting of her attention. The vines made break-neck strikes towards her way but they always missed by a hair's breadth, not because Lynda was dodging but because it was deliberately missing her.
Odd, Zelda thought.
Lynda was soon right in front of it. The pulsing thorn-bush erupted in agitation before calming, almost pretending that she was not there. Both of them saw that the vines were blood-stained, carrying the mark of a dark history. Lynda placed a hand on one of the thick branches near her, and it almost purred under her touch. It produced a single flower, a white delicate thing mottled with grey, just for her.
The traitorous branch exploded into bleeding splinters, killed by its own brothers.
Lynda recoiled, and so did the thorn bush. It towered over her, and pushed her back with plain vines, the barbed ones following close. But the warrior princess wanted to know what was inside now, so she pushed forward, the branches like before striking her but never hitting her.
After some struggle, finally she reached the door. The door the Lynda in reality had complained so much about.
This was what Zelda was here for. She gently channelled some energy into the dream-Lynda as the figure pushed onto the door. And reluctantly and with much struggle, it opened.
Before her was a rack. It held all her equipment of the real world, including a simple cotton dress. Dream-Lynda looked upon it, and made to get her sword and shield. But then she seemed to remember how heavy they had been on her arms and hands, how tired she had been…
She chose and wore the cotton dress that fell down just under her knees, moving beyond the rack to see what was behind it. She could get her weapons later. They weren't lost to her, after all.
A room swallowed in half-light met her. It wasn't as dark as twilight, but then again, it wasn't much better. It was hard to believe that such a still and quiet place existed inside such a wrathful, dark, beating thing…
Lynda noticed something in the corner. A figure.
As she came near the light at her chest sparked brighter, and the figure recoiled, as if blinded for a second.
Together, the sisters saw that the figure was cloaked from head to toe, showing no skin. The hair was hidden under a traveller's turban, and the face was masked.
Lynda recognised the Fierce Deity immediately.
Lynda pushed forward to meet the god, but as soon as she took a step, the figure paced back, keeping the distance.
Pace forward, pace back. Pace forward, pace back. The figure relentlessly kept away, and Zelda worried that Lynda might wake up before they got anything worth thinking about.
But then the figure threw a knife at her, hoping to keep her away. Perhaps it was supposed to miss, just like the thorn bush from before, but the knife hit home, right in the middle of Lynda's pendant of light.
Lynda screamed and fell. The figure lunged and caught her.
Zelda shifted her perspective of sight, and saw that the figure's hands were stained black, dipped in pools of sin. He wore a light giving pendant too, only cracked and tarnished.
Lynda didn't notice. She was having a hard time breathing, her gasps coming in spasms of pain. She retched and coughed in the figure's arms, and when she calmed, Zelda manipulated her magic to see through Lynda's eyes.
The figure was not the God Lynda knew. It was just a mask, she realised, and she knew whatever was behind held answers to questions she had never thought to ask. Regaining her ability to breathe, she reached a hand out to the figure's face.
The man—what else could it be?—recoiled a little, probably startled by her persistent advances. But he could not let her go, so he could do nothing but let her touch him. He was unnaturally warm, almost burning. Lynda began to peel away at the too-pale skin with one hand, beginning to unravel the turban with the other. She was so close to finding answers, so close, so close…
They were close. The stranger's turban touched her forehead; she could feel his breath on her nose. He held her hand against his cheek, and while Lynda didn't notice, Zelda saw that their pendants had swapped. The stranger held her glowing light, while Lynda held his, a little less tarnished and shining a little brighter.
He carefully came all the closer, gently cradling her shoulders and the back of her head as he pressed his mouth against hers.
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Lynda opened her eyes with a sense of calm contentment, rest heavy on her chest, a gentle smile about to cross her lips. Then she remembered the dream.
Next thing everybody else in the room knew she was sitting bolt upright, tense as a wolfos and breathing like she'd run a mile. Her face resembled a tomato.
She blurted, "I didn't dream that."
"Uh… yes you did," Navi replied, fluttering around rather smugly.
"I didn't dream that."
"Yes you did."
"I did not."
"You did so."
"Did not."
"Did so."
"Did not."
"Did so."
"Did not."
"Did so."
"Did-"
"Lynda, please," Zelda interrupted the near hysterical squeal that would've ended up becoming one of her most hated phrases, "Calm down. Now that we know what was behind that door, I believe we should discuss it."
"No we don't." Lynda said abruptly, tumbling out of the narrow chair-bed, "There's nothing to discuss. Simply nothing. That dream ended in a way it shouldn't have, end of story I'll just go dream it properly without all the magic vibes in between, yeah, that's what I'll do bye-"
"Lynda,"
The tone Zelda had used was definitely something even the Hero of Time couldn't afford to disobey. Lynda sighed and turned around, miserably sitting back on the now hated dream-chair. "I still say it wasn't how it was supposed to be."
Zelda ignored her. "Lynda, I believe I know who this dream is about."
"Really?" she seemed a little grumpy too. "Do tell; then I can hand him over to Malon and leave it at that."
"I don't think you'll be wanting to do that," Navi sang, flying just as smugly as she was speaking.
"Oh what, just 'cause he… ugh." Lynda stuck out her tongue and scrubbed at her mouth distastefully.
"You shouldn't go near him, Lynda."
Lynda blinked at such a serious tone. "Who are you talking about anyway?"
"I don't believe it wise to tell you, Lynda. You will not believe me; much less obey me, if I told you. The monstrosity that took your weapons was his heart. The figure represents him. I made figures of my own to approach the vines, and all of them were used and destroyed violently. You do not know him well enough to love him, Lynda. In the end he will most likely destroy you."
Lynda's jaw hung on loose flesh, unable to believe what she was hearing.
"Even if you realise who he is," she continued, standing from her chair like the regal sage she was, "I will warn you here and now. Don't let him realise what you feel for him. He's powerful. He's dangerous. He will hurt you."
Their eyes met, and Lynda shivered at the sharp danger in Zelda's eyes. "He is colder than the depths of the Ice caverns. Remember that."
Okay, yeah, maybe it wasn't that cute. But you have to admit, seeing Sheik panicking is kinda funny... right? No? Maybe?
Review?