this is just the previous chapter, retold from Sheik's point of view. and don't ask about the dream, it was just a random idea me and a friend came up with and I wanted to put it in (thank's again Troll Doll!)


Sheik was having a terrible dream. Well, not terrible exactly, but a bit… odd. And definitely a bit scary. In said dream, he and Link were walking through the forest. Sheik did have knowledge that they were near the Master Sword, but didn't really care.

He came across an odd looking stone, and bent over to pick it up. When he straightened, he found that Link had gone. Somehow knowing where he would be, Sheik took off at a dead run for the resting place of the Master Sword.

"Whatever you do," Sheik said, entering the clearing. "Don't touch that sword!"

Link looked at him, devilish grin on his face. "What? Do you mean this sword?" Link gestured at the Master Sword. Sheik nodded. "Okay then!" Link said, and then promptly put his hand on the hilt of the sword.

Link then realized why he shouldn't have touched the sword. "Oh," he muttered, before falling to the ground.

Sheik woke up, heart pounding. "Well then…" he said to himself. "I best make sure that doesn't happen." He got out of bed and got the things that would be necessary if he were to beat Link to the forest. That included: a weapon, supplies, and a horse.

The weapon and supplies were easy, it was the horse that raised problems. It was easy for him to just go to the ranch and borrow one, but doing so would mean running into Maria, and that wasn't something he really wanted to do today.

But he really didn't have a choice did he? It was either be bothered by Maria or be killed by Link's mother because something happened to her son. Sheik definitely didn't want to be responsible for that. With no other choice, he headed to the ranch.

"Has Link been by?" Sheik asked as soon as Maria came out to talk to him.

She shook her head.

"Good" Sheik said. "I need to borrow a horse."

"What for? And why is the fact that Link hasn't been here good?"

"I need to beat him somewhere. If he gets there first, the results could be deadly. For him and for me."

"Of course!" Maria laughed, rolling her eyes. "Boys, you get into the strangest things! Your racing him aren't you? I get it totally, my brothers used to do it all the time before they moved. How high are you two betting?"

Sheik started to explain to Maria that they weren't racing or betting on anything, but then paused. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea that she thought that. It would certainly be easier than trying to talk her out of the idea. Though, then he'd be lying to her and due to recent experiences Sheik wasn't too crazy about lying to anyone.

"I get all the rupees he has and a week with his sword if I win" Sheik said, pulling the idea out of thin air. "He gets fifty rupees and a look through the Sheikah training grounds if he wins."

"Wow, that is pretty high." Maria went over to a grey horse and led it out of the stable. "Here's the fastest horse we have. Do you need anything else?"

Sheik took the reins of the horse and hopped on. "Yeah, if Link asks, I was never here. Got it?"

"You bet!" Maria said happily. "I won't tell him a thing!"

"Thanks!" Sheik called as he rode out of the ranch. Now Link wouldn't be worried about why he was trying to keep him away from the Master Sword. If Link knew that Sheik was trying protect him from something that would seem completely harmless, he would start asking questions. And that was the last thing Sheik wanted at the moment.


The ride was a long one, Sheik made it to the forest late at night. Link was probably still miles behind him. He wouldn't be here until at least tomorrow afternoon. Satisfied that he had made good time, Sheik decided it would be a good idea to rest.

He awoke early the next morning. Even if he had made it to the forest in record time, he still had to get through the forest and find the location of the Master Sword so he could keep Link away from it. The latter wasn't much of a problem though. He knew where the Master Sword was, getting to it was another story.

Which was good, because maybe that would mean Link would stay away from it without Sheik's interference. Well, one could hope anyways.

Leaving his horse at a clearing with a pond and plenty of grass, Sheik went the rest of the way on his own. Even if he had brought the horse, he would have had to abandon it. There was a large pit between him and his destination, with only a fallen log as a bridge across.

More obstacles, Sheik thought smugly. Maybe this would keep him away.

It was highly doubted; a hero's interest could be sparked by just about anything. 'Dangerous obstacles' was definitely on the top three of that list. Even if Link did stay away from the Master Sword, his memories could be triggered before he even neared it. Who knew what obstacles heroes of the past had to face to get the sword.

Eventually Sheik did manage to reach the resting place of the Sword. The ruins of the old Temple of Time. It had been rebuilt after originally being destroyed, but in a different area. And even that Temple lay to waste. Eventually the Sword was just moved back to its original spot.

Sheik decided he would wait near the entrance of the Temple, so that he would know when Link was coming if he did. There was only one entrance, but a million ways to reach the Sword once past it. This would definitely be a good place to wait.

If he had to, Sheik had the provisions to wait here just over a week. Zelda would send word out when Link reached home so that Sheik wasn't just sitting around in the forest for days when Link was out of harm's way.

Surprised to find that it was already nightfall, Sheik decided it would be a good idea to sleep. The only reason Link would be around here now would be because he got lost on his way to the temple that contained the fire charm he was looking for. Even if that was extremely likely, a warrior did need his rest.


Something wasn't right. The smell of distress was thick in the air. It was his third day in the forest, and Sheik had finally run into trouble. It was expected.

The odd thing was though, it wasn't the fact something was wrong that woke him. No, it was the fact that a Skull Kid was playing his horn on a nearby rock that woke him. But it was a good thing the Skull Kid had woken him, otherwise he might have run into larger issues.

The Skull Kid noticed that Sheik had awoken, and immediately stopped his playing. "Hello!" it said happily. "I'm a friend! I won't hurt you! I'm a friend of your friend, Boy in Green."

Sheik got to his feet, extremely worried. "Link? Has he been through here?"

The Skull Kid nodded. "He asked me to wait here until you awoke so that I could tell you he went ahead to explore the Temple ruins. He also wanted to know why you were here. He shouldn't be far; you can catch him if you want!"

"Yeah, great, thanks." Sheik wasted no time talking to the Skull Kid. Link was inside the ruins, and that wasn't good. How the heck could he have not been awoken when Link went by? Link wasn't exactly great at stealth. Was he just really that deep of a sleeper?

Sheik cast these thoughts aside. It didn't matter that he hadn't noted the issue before it arose. All that mattered was that he solved it before he and Link both were in a mass of trouble.

Navigating the ruins wasn't easy though. If Sheik had thought getting here was bad, compared to what he saw now, bad was an understatement. The path getting here was just dangerous. The ruins themselves were filled with left over traps and puzzles from when the Temple was in its full glory.

That said, Sheik did manage to get to the Master Sword with about the same record time he used getting to the forest. But there was one problem.

Link was already there.

And he had just pulled the Master Sword.