knowlee: Hey guys, here's another update for Flames of Change! As I said in the previous chapter, this one was supposed to be the first part of the next chapter but because of the sheer length of it, I ended up splitting the two. Both are essential to revealing certain aspects of the main and secondary characters so all the information was really needed.

And speaking of the next chapter, it may possibly be delayed for another two weeks. I know, I hate doing it myself, everything was on track for me to finish it on time and then add it to my buffer, and then continue on working with the next one, but then earlier this week I woke up one morning feeling like crap and found out later when I went to the doctor that I had strep. So yeah… All the time I would have spent on this chapter to finish it up ended up being spent on trying to rest and recoup from the sickness. I still am technically sick though, but since I am on medication right now, I am doing better, just still feel really tired from being out of commission for so long and from having my butt kicked by being sick. (Even typing this now is tiring my hands out! Ugh!)

So yeah the possibility of the next chapter being delayed may happen, but not for sure right now. If it does happen, I will post an update on my account here and on my devART journal saying so. For now though, just please enjoy this chapter! Thank you!

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own The Legend of Zelda nor its characters, world, etc. They belong to Nintendo. Also since this fanfic was conceived before anything huge was known about Zelda Wii U, this fanfiction shall be considered an Alternate Universe version of the game. Only one major character, one enemy, the world it takes place in and a few items are currently shared between the two versions. If there is any story, character, plot resemblances that appear between the two after more information about the game is released those are to be considered purely coincidental.

A Legend of Zelda Fanfiction

Flames of Change

Chapter 3: Lurking Shadow

By: knowlee

With the sun slowly sinking towards the horizon that was hidden behind the trees, Lin felt the drizzling rain pelt the hood that she had placed over her head a little while ago. She found it strange for rain to be falling this time of year especially since winter was right around the corner. But, she supposed, it worked out alright in the end. At least the fires were gone now because of it. But… she thought back to the creature that caused the fires in the first place. What was that thing?

She had never seen anything like it before. From her meager perspective on technology, it seemed to have some of those qualities to it. Perhaps it was from Oocca? She shook her head at that thought. No, it probably wasn't. Although Oocca was known for its technological prowess, she knew for a fact that they didn't have anything of that caliber or at least none that she had seen herself. Perhaps it was a new type of creature? She had no idea on that. Either way, the most important thing that she knew that she wanted to find out was why it was chasing her. Neither she nor Epona had given it any reason to pursue them. Even prey she hunted in the forest didn't do anything aggressive unless they were provoked or felt threatened. That then left only one possible solution and the idea of it scared her.

Someone had sent it after her.

But who would do that? She immediately thought back to the foreboding feeling she got from the king. But just after the thought popped into her head she quickly threw it back out. Regardless of what she had felt when in that throne room towards him, it wouldn't have meant that he was the reason behind the attack. He had no reason to go after her. She proved her loyalty (as well as her tribe's) to him and his family during the ceremony. Plus she had not made a move or said a remark that would've led him to wrongly think of her as an enemy. Creepy vibe or not, the king was definitely out of the lists of potential suspects.

But then that left no one. Who could it be?

She would've pondered this thought further, but her eyes caught sight of the gate that led to her home village. No matter what had happened back in the forest, she was glad to see that sight. It meant that she was nearly home. As Lin got closer to the gate though, she grimaced at who she saw was in charge of guarding it for the night shift. Mido.

'Ugh. Just lovely...' There was very few people that Lin didn't like to interact with, but with the few that she didn't, there was a good reason for it. Mido was one of those few. The reason why she didn't care to talk to him that much? He was a HUGE flirt and a womanizer. And since she herself was a woman it made her a target for him to use those particular personality traits on.

Interestingly though, she didn't recall him doing that to her when they were children. Or even during their teenage years for that matter. She had practically grown up with him and his sister, Fado, since their family had taken her in after the death of her parents, so to her it felt a little weird that he started blatantly flirting with her shortly after she was promoted to be the leader of the Hunters. She didn't wish to think ill of him though based on just that as she knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't do that to her based on just her position, but who knows. She knew that people could change, so perhaps this was what happened to Mido. Either way though it was annoying to deal with.

Sure she could simply use her status to tell him to simply stop by saying so and threatening to pull him off duty for a while or she could simply tell his sister, who had more of an ability to get him to do things, to tell him to back off. Unfortunately though she was too much of a nice person to do actually do the first option and while she had actually done the second one, it produced no results. What made it even more difficult to deal with his constant flirting was the fact that he was one of her subordinates and there were times when they had to work together because of it. She sighed. 'Oh, well, might as well get it over with…'

Against her better judgment, she led Epona towards the gate and its keeper. Once she saw Mido's self proclaimed charming smile, she knew that she had come into Mido's line of sight. "Why hello there, beautiful!"

Lin stopped Epona from walking any further and tried desperately to hide her disgusted look on her face. Even though the guy annoyed her to no end, she didn't want to offend him. Sometimes she could be too nice. "Hi, Mido. How many times have I told you to stop calling me that?"

"Why shouldn't I? If I didn't say it I'd be lying." At the same time he said this, Mido ran his right hand through his brunette bangs in an attempt to get Lin to notice. Well, she did notice, but not in the way he wanted her to.

Lin sighed. She decided to just go ahead and come out and say it. Sometimes she knew the best way to deal with things was to be direct, although she had not fully learned this skill when dealing with professional situations, quite frankly she was annoyed at him constantly bothering her with this and felt like telling him outright. "Please, don't do that. You know that I've already said I'm not interested."

Instantly after those words passed her lips, a frown appeared on Mido's face. "And why not, may I ask?"

Lin groaned quietly. She had no time for this. She wanted to hurry up and talk to Navi before it got too late. Plus she wanted to get home. She needed a bath and her bed was calling her name. "I already told you why, Mido. First off, I'm not looking to be in a relationship right now and secondly even if I was, which I'm not, personally, you would not be the type of guy that I would be interested in seeing."

Mido put his hand on his chin and rubbed it in thought. "Well, then what is your type exactly? I can become that type for you."

If Lin had the nerve to slap herself in the face right now, she would. Honestly she didn't know what 'type' of guy she preferred, but she did know that it would definitely not be Mido. Maybe later she'd figure that out, but it was not on the top of her list in terms of concerns right now. Her only concerns at the moment was getting to Navi and going home.

"No, thanks. I'd rather not." She began to urge Epona forward once more. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need to get to Navi. She's expecting me."

At those words, she saw that Mido had finally listened to her, although albeit begrudgingly. He moved to pull open the latch that held the gate doors together. Once the latch was open, he pushed the gates open just enough for Lin and Epona to walk through without trouble. After they had entered completely, he went to close the gates back. She briefly turned back to make sure that the gate had properly latched.

"Keep your eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary!" Lin was thinking of that metallic creature when she said this. She certainly hoped that no more of those things would show up. Even though she didn't prefer to be in that man's presence, she didn't want anything horrible to happen to him.

"Yeah, I'll do that." She heard Mido respond back. She could tell that he was a bit irritated with her though due to the tone of his voice. She shrugged it off though. He'd get over it. He always did.

Lin turned back around in the saddle and looked at the road straight ahead. She smiled as she saw the familiar trees and sights that she could easily recall in her mind as being signs that she was getting closer to home. She would be there soon.

He smirked under his scarf. He knew she would lead him somewhere. He watched as the woman entered a small village that was surrounded by trees and even had a few that could be found surrounding some of what he presumed were the villagers' homes and businesses. Speaking of villagers there were a few of them that were outside going about their business, trying to move items inside away from the falling rain or preparing to get home before the night set in fully. He could even see a few young children playing around outside, eager to spend as much time as they could before they had to go inside.

It was, in how he saw it to be, a cozy and homely little village. He felt a little sadness in how it made him think of home. He shook his head to rid himself of the thoughts before they went any deeper and focused on the task at hand. He needed to discreetly search this place to see if the person he had been trying to find for a while now was here. Hoping that this would be the case, he began to look around the village. He certainly didn't want to have to go and spend more of his time looking aimlessly again.

Lin pulled her hood off of her head as the rain had stopped a few moments ago, but she was too delighted to see that she was back home to bother. As she led Epona down one of the dirt roads that winded through the small village she called home, she nodded and waved to a few of the people who greeted her. She turned her attention to the house located at the end of the road that she was traveling on. That was Chieftess Navi's home.

Once she got close enough to said person's house, she dismounted from Epona and pulled her along using the reins attached to her to lead her to the post just outside. Using that, she tied her up to it ensure that she wouldn't run off. She then dug into her saddlebags to grab the bag she had received from the captain after the ceremony and turned back towards the house. Lin walked up the steps that led up to the porch that was attached to the front of the building and headed to it's door. She knocked.

She heard a low muffled voice come through the wooden door. "Come in."

Lin grabbed the knob on the door and turned to open it. Once she walked into the home, she was greeted with the smell of green tea and the sight of the Chieftess sitting at a table and holding a cup of tea over in the northeast corner of the lower room of the building. From her line of sight, she appeared to be working on something.

As Lin shut the door behind her, the noise it made caught the attention of the Chieftess and caused her to look up from her work and towards her direction. Upon realizing who it was, she smiled, put her cup of tea down on the table and stood up to walk over to her.

"Lin! Nice to see that you made it back! How did the ceremony go?"

Lin smiled to show her that the ceremony went well. She lifted up her right hand to show her the bag she received. "It went as good as expected. This is what we got."

Navi reached to grab the bag out of her hand and turned to walk over to the table. Lin followed. Once they reached the wooden piece of furniture, Navi opened up the bag and poured its contents onto the table's surface. Lin's eyes widened as she saw the amount of rupees that came out of the bag. It was a whole assortment of silver, orange, purple, red, yellow, blue and green colors; a good bit of them tended to be of the silver, orange and purple variety. Even though she didn't know exactly how much money was in the bag total, she saw enough to know that Kokiri would be able to buy enough from the surrounding villages in order to be adequately prepared for the upcoming winter.

Navi apparently thought the same for she looked to be just as surprised as she was at the amount of rupees lying on the table. "Wow, the Royal Family must have been quite impressed with what we brought to give this much! It's more than it was last year."

Lin agreed. Even though she wasn't the representative nor the leader of the Kokiri Hunters around this time last year, she knew enough to know that the reward wasn't as much as it was this year. "I'll say. Perhaps they felt being generous this year?"

"Hmmm...perhaps. Although the scientists up in Oocca have projected that the winter will be extremely bad this year so maybe they gave us enough to ensure that we'll be alright." Navi went to put the rupees back into the bag and turned to go place it in a safe that she had stored away in the desk located behind the table. "Although, with this amount of rupees in our possession, we'll have to make extra sure to return the favor by giving it our all before and after this winter. We need to produce our best and then some."

"Yeah, I'll be sure to put my all into it whenever I get back from my vacation. I'll also make sure that the same goes for the hunters." Lin nodded. She tried to keep the eagerness out of her voice, but she was really wanting to get home.

"Oh, yeah, about that..."

Lin furrowed her brows and grimaced internally. Oh, no, Navi had used that voice… Which usually meant that things weren't about to go well for her. She sighed. What happened now?

Navi stood up from the safe and turned to face her all while running her right hand through her pixie cut ice blue hair. After doing that motion, she went to rub her hand over the fairy-shaped tattoo that was etched onto her forehead. From that action, Lin could tell that Navi was annoyed by whatever she was about to say too.

"Well, turns out that while you were away, the person you had placed in charge of running the hunters while you were out, Colin, got sick about a couple of days afterward. Apparently he caught it from one of his children and even though he tried to fend it off, it ended up getting worse. I then put Talo in charge but even though he shows the initiative, I can tell that he is not fit for the role of leader, even if it is only temporary. He needs to gain some experience before he is allowed to do that again."

"Ah, I see." Lin sighed again. It seemed like she was never going to catch a break with all the stuff that had been happening to her recently. "So, what you're saying is that unfortunately I don't get a vacation anytime soon, right?"

Navi nodded. She hated to do this to her second but she had no choice. "At least until Colin is able to get back on his feet. Once he is well and able, then you'll be able to get your week's vacation as I promised before you left. After all this is over with, you'll have definitely earned it." Navi smiled at that last comment.

"Yeah, definitely." Now Lin really wanted to go home and rest up. Especially since now she knew that she more than likely had to work first thing in the morning. "So, tomorrow morning I guess I'm going to be expected to lead a hunt?"

"I would greatly appreciate it. I would go ahead and do it myself if I didn't already have enough on my plate with having to deal with making sure the storage faculties are getting prepped and filled on schedule." Navi looked over at the table where he paperwork lay. Suddenly a thought came to her of what she needed to do first thing in the morning and she walked over to the table to write it down before she forgot it. "Hmm...just remembered that I need to make sure that we have enough wood stored just in case the electric heaters go out."

Lin took this as her hint to go ahead and leave, but just as Navi had happen to her a few moments ago, she had another thought pass through her mind that she needed to mention to her. "Oh, before I forget. You know the bridge that goes over the small stream that's on the pathway leading out to Hyrule Field? Well, it needs to be repaired." Lin brought her right hand up to scratch her cheek nervously as she made a sheepish grin.

At this Navi turned away from her papers and looked back at her, confused as to why Lin would say that. "Why would it need to be repaired?"

Lin started to answer her question, but before she could say anything she stopped. How exactly was she going to explain that a strange, metallic creature attacked her on her way here? She wasn't sure how Navi would take that answer, but she knew that there was a small chance that she wouldn't believe her. She had no proof that the thing even existed since it exploded once she attacked it with the arrow she received from Oocca Town. Should she tell her?

She continued to debate with herself until she saw the look on Navi's face that demanded an answer and soon. She quickly made her decision. "Well, a huge monster attacked me on the way back home and even though I killed it, it managed to take out the bridge with it."

There, she said it. Though she didn't tell every single detail such as the fact that the monster appeared to be metallic, it still was enough of an answer that would give Navi a proper reason and would also make her feel less guilty for not telling her the full story. The only thing she was hoping right now was that her previous theory of the creature coming after her wasn't accurate otherwise she would definitely feel guilty if another one of those things tried to attack the village if it was in fact searching for her.

"A monster, eh? I've heard a few rumors that there have been a few roaming around the Lost Woods as of late. That along with a couple of sightings of the Armogohma." Navi grimaced as she moved into a thinking position with her left hand rubbing her chin in thought and her right hand underneath her left elbow supporting that arm.

At the word 'Armogohma' Lin tensed. Lin wasn't afraid of many things but for the things she was, there was a good reason behind it. And the reason for this particular fear revolved around her parents and why they were no longer with her.

Navi noticed her sudden quietness and instantly realized why. She quickly tried to ease the tension that Lin was feeling. "Although the one rumor about the Armogohma is at least a few months old. Haven't heard anything else about it since then."

Although Lin appreciated the fact that her leader had tried to ease her fear, she still felt terrified knowing that that thing was seen roaming the forest recently. Granted yes, she had to work in that same forest everyday and there was a good chance of her encountering it, but even that chance was very slim as the creature only entered their neck of the woods very seldom and when it did enter it was for only a little while.

But, a thought occurred in the back of her mind, during that short time something bad could still happen. Her heart clenched as she thought her parents. It was actually their deaths, which was during one of those rare times when Armogohma was around, that became the reason why now they had nightwatchmen such as Mido guarding certain areas of their village to protect its citizens from said creature. It was also the reason why she felt scared of it. She had hoped to never see the thing again because of her history with it, but considering her line of work, it was more than likely an inevitability, especially since it had been spotted again. She could only pray at this point that she was able to deal with it before that time came. Although her father did always say that it was best to face her fears head on.

Lin smiled in an attempt to reassure her leader that everything was alright with her. "Well, that's good. Although I have a feeling I might end up running into it sooner or later." Hopefully its later, much later… she thought to herself.

Navi nodded in response. She was glad that her subordinate was able to calm herself down. She knew that the woman had good reasons for having a healthy fear towards the monster, but she hoped that she would be able to deal with the emotions she felt towards it before she encountered the beast. She hated to think that Lin would freeze in fear and allow herself to fall victim to the same thing that had befallen her parents.

"I'll be sure to notify one of our carpenters about the broken bridge first thing in the morning." Navi went to go write a note down for this on the same sheet of paper she had written on earlier. She knew if she didn't do this she would forget it the next chance she got. "We'll need it fixed before our traders leave out here in the next couple of days."

Navi turned away from her note and looked towards Lin. "I suggest that you go ahead and get on home. You'll need to get some rest before the morning comes."

Lin nodded. "Definitely will get on that." Her bed had been calling her name for the past few hours and she was eager to get to it. She bowed to Navi and turned to walk towards the door leading outside. It was time to get back home.

Home sounded like a beautiful word to her right now.

He grimaced underneath his scarf. He had searched this entire village and there was not a single person he had seen that even remotely resembled the person he was sent to look for. He rubbed his forehead in agitation. Was he ever going to find who destiny had told him he needed to guide?

He sighed as he looked up at the sky to see that the sun had sunk even more below the treetops and that the sky was darkening to the point where everyone in the village before him was heading inside for the night. He supposed it would be best for him to do the same and call it a night and then resume his search in the morning. He would probably find who he was looking for then.

He looked to his left and saw a tree that was tall enough for him to sleep in and keep away from the prying eyes of the creatures of the forest and of the villagers. Using the skills he learned from his aunt he jumped onto one of the tree's thick branches and climbed up a few more until he found a place suitable to eat some of the food he brought with him and to safely rest without the risk of falling down.

Once he was sitting down onto the thick branch beneath him, he pulled out the bag he had been carrying and began digging inside of it to find the food he had stashed away. While doing so, his mind began drifting to thoughts of how his aunt was doing after he left and how he had gotten here in the first place.

He felt his mouth form into a small smile when he thought of his aunt. Compared to most of the people in his village, she was one of the few who actually treated him well. Although he was not one to complain, he was actually glad to finally have a chance to leave his home village and have some respite from those who detested his existence.

He focused on the straw dummy before him, imagining it as an enemy that was planning on attacking him. Then as fast as he could manage, he whipped out three of his kunai and threw all of them in quick succession towards his target. He smirked under his scarf as he saw that every single one of them hit vital targets, one of which was the heart.

He walked over to the dummy and began to pull his weapons out. He would hate to lose these especially since his aunt kept telling him that he needed to be prepared at all times. Those words were wise though. There was no telling what could happen from one minute to the next. Especially if one were raised in a tribe filled with warriors like his.

"Hey, Sheik!"

Sheik turned around to see one of the village elders standing a good distance away from him. It was one of these times that he was thankful for his scarf, for he knew that if the elder Sheikah were to see the frown that had formed on his face, he would probably punish Sheik for it. Although due to his close connection to the Chieftess of the Tribe, he knew that any punishment he would receive would probably end up null and void. Still though as much as he despised seeing the man, it was in his best interests not to anger him any more than necessary, especially since the man didn't like him to begin with and would look for any reason to take it out on him.

"Yes, Elder Kai?" Sheik answered while moving his hands to replace the kunais back into their holsters.

Sheik watched as the man gave him a glare and spoke simply to him. "The Chieftess requires your presence." The gray-haired Sheikah then quickly turned on his heel and began walking towards the tent where the Chieftess was.

With his back turned towards Sheik, the blonde-haired young man returned the man's glare and began to follow him. If it was one thing that Sheik didn't like, it was having to interact with the elders, especially with the one he spoke to a few moments ago. Unfortunately though due to his close relationship with the Chieftess, he had to face them on a near daily basis since they served as the Chieftess' advisers on tribe matters. Because of this he tried to keep things cordial, but sometimes that didn't work. It was no secret to nearly everyone in the village that the two parties didn't care for one another. The animosity was even more greatly seen between him and Elder Kai since the man was the most vocal opponent of his and seemed to make it his mission to see him suffer.

Sheik's eyes narrowed as the two individuals walked away from the training grounds and began winding through the streets that lined Kakariko Village's business district. He could see in the corner of the one eye that he had uncovered, some of the shoppers who had their children with them began pulling them away from his direction as he passed. With his trained ears he could also hear the whispers. He sighed. It was also no secret that nearly everyone in the village didn't care for him either.

It was not fair really. He had done nothing wrong, unless if one were to count his birth as what he did that was so sinful that it caused everyone to fear him. No, he was sure that even if he was born normal, then no one in the village would treat him so differently. He knew the true reason why everyone disliked him.

It was his left eye.

When he was born, his parents had seen that above his left eye he bore a strange birthmark that consisted of three small triangles that sat in between his eyelid and eyebrow. His parents thought nothing of it until one day when he was around three years of age, he began talking to things that his parents couldn't see, but he could. It was then that they began to worry and starting researching in order to figure out what it was that was wrong with him.

With the help of his aunt, who was also his father's sister, all the research they did finally came to a head. They found that he bore the mythical power of the all-seeing eye in his left eye. It was a rare ability that was thought to have died out a long time ago. This ability would give him the power to see spirits, see through illusions and figure out the weak points of monsters and other enemies. In essence it was a wonderful power to be born with, but it ended up being a curse for him.

See, although the power was a rare gift and it was known that the original Sheikah all wielded it until it become rarer over time, it also carried a certain stigma to it. And that stigma was all thanks to one Sheikah who existed a long time ago: a man named Bongo Bongo.

From what he had learned from both his parents and his aunt, more so from the latter than the former, was that Bongo Bongo was a Sheikah war criminal who lived back before the Era of the Hero of Time. Apparently a Civil War had broke out around that time and Bongo Bongo was one of the main instigators of it. During the war and apparently even before then he used his ability of the 'All-Seeing Eye', also commonly known as the 'Lens of Truth' at that time, to torture and fight against those who opposed his ideas.

Due to the crimes he had committed, he was sentenced to death by beheading. After his sentence was carried out, his soul was apparently so angry at his death that it lingered on and struck out at Hyrule. It was then that the last remaining Skeikah who survived the Civil War sealed his soul under a well that was found within their village. His soul was to remain there for all time and never be released. Until one day…

Some time before his birth a drought hit the village. It was apparently so bad that even the water from the well dried out and left it completely empty. A lot of the residents despaired over the predicament and feared that they would all die now due to not having a direct source of water. What most of the citizens didn't realize either was that they had another thing to worry about.

The water in the well apparently was one of the seals that was put into place by the Sheikah who sealed Bongo Bongo there. With it gone, the seal was weakening and within a matter of days, Bongo Bongo's spirit was free from its prison and as an act of revenge it attacked Kakariko.

From what his aunt told him the damage caused by his spirit was so great that it nearly wiped out the entire village and what made the problem worse was that no one knew how to seal him back. It wasn't until she stood up against him using the knowledge that she had learned by perusing the documents that that particular Sheikah had left behind that she was able to seal him away again. Only this time she sealed him away beneath the deepest depths of the Shadow Temple that was hidden within the graveyard.

This incident itself helped give most of the villagers a reason to fear Bongo Bongo and when more knowledge of him came to light especially in regards to what abilities he possessed when he was alive, more fear and hatred grew towards him. Which would be fine if it weren't for the fact that Sheik, too, possessed the same ability that that murderer had. And due to the stigma that the ability now carried, most people feared that Sheik would turn into another Bongo Bongo and would ravage their village. There were even those who believed that he was a reincarnation of the man who had come back to haunt them. Hence why no one wanted to associate with him and why they gave him glares when he had not yet done anything to earn them.

However though, there was also something else the eye symbolized, which a lot of the Sheikah, including the Elders, tried to ignore or forget conveniently due to the fact that they wanted to keep hanging on to their fear-centered thoughts. It meant that he was the legendary Guardian of Shadows. And the Guardian of Shadows was the Sheikah who was destined to guide and train the next incarnation of the Hero through their journey. It was a task given to that particular Sheikah by both the Royal Family and the Sages (more so the Sages as it was mainly their idea) and they specifically said that the sign for whom this person was would be that they would bare the 'Lens of Truth' as a mark. This eye would help the guardian with their task.

But even though this legend was told throughout the tribe and everyone was wondering when that person would appear, when that time did come though they treated him with such scorn. His aunt tried to glean over their hatred by stating that most of the Sheikah believed that the 'Lens of Truth' comment in the prophecy was just a reference to the guardian being born with the birthmark and nothing else. But even though she tried to see things from their perspective, she also agreed with Sheik that they had no right to treat him as they did. Yes, Bongo Bongo was a bad person, but he and Sheik were completely different people and they weren't the same.

In fact, it was her staunch position on this that helped protect him in the village. Due to her high up position, she was able to use it to protect him and specifically set in place laws that would prevent others in the village from hurting him in any way or, in the case of the Elders, banishing him. He truly regretted that it had to come to that though. If there was one wish in life he would make, it would be to have friends and people that he could trust. It would also be nice to have more people in his life that cared about him and didn't treat him like he was the spawn of Demise. Currently he had his aunt who was the only person he could trust and who cared about him. He did have his parents at one time, but sadly they passed away over a decade ago when a horrible sickness came through the village and they became two of its victims. That was how he came to be under his aunt's care. But even though he now had his aunt to help fill the void that his parents left, he still missed them.

Sheik found himself drawn out of his thoughts when he saw the building where the Chieftess could be found appear to both he and the Elder's left. They nodded to the two Sheikah warriors that stood on either side of the door and they allowed them to pass. Once he passed through the door, he entered the foyer of the room and saw before him to his left, a flight of stairs that led to the quarters of who lived there as well as some that were reserved for guests of the Chieftess. One of those quarters happened to be his and another one was his aunt's. Directly in front of him though was a set of double doors that led to a small room where the meeting room could be found. Within the meeting room was also a fire that was kept going all the time. The reason for this was because this flame was a gift from the legendary sages that was meant to give them different signs when significant events had occurred or where about to. One of those events that the flame reacted to he was told was when he was born and symbolized his place in the prophecy (although at the time they didn't know of that).

He heard Elder Kai begin to walk forward and he turned to watch him continue to walk until he stood beside the double doors. "The Chieftess is in the meeting room." He saw him grimace as he said his next words. "She wished to see you alone."

Sheik nodded once and began walking towards the doors. He could feel the Elder's stoney stare on him as he made his walk, but he elected to ignore it since he knew that no matter what he said or did to him would make him stop. He entered the next room where the flame was held and closed the door behind him. He sighed in relief. One thing he appreciated about these doors was that there were also magically sealed to prevent eavesdropping. Which meant that he didn't have to keep his opinions to himself now that he was in here.

He let go of the doorknob and began walking towards the flame which was currently glowing a dull red and bright orange. He sat down before the fire onto a sitting cushion. He didn't see anyone else in the room with him, but he knew it would only be a matter of time before she would arrive.

As soon as that thought left his mind, he heard the door that was to his right quickly open and close. He glanced over to see who had entered and he wasn't surprised to see that it was his aunt. She gave him a quick nod of acknowledgment and moved to go sit across from him on another cushion.

Sheik took this moment to speak. "You called for me, Aunt Impa?"

He watched as his aunt looked at him with a serious look in her red eyes. "Yes, Sheik, I did." She took a deep breath before saying her next words. "It's time."

Sheik's eyes widened at the implication of her words. Did she mean what he thought she meant? He barely noticed as she reached to grab something to her right that was wrapped in cloth due to his racing thoughts. She turned back around to face him again. "The flame turned green a few moments ago. You do know what that means, right?"

Sheik nodded. He remembered the words she had told him in regards to his destiny: 'When the flame turns green, it means that it is time for you to start your journey of guiding the Hero.' Ever since he had heard those words from her back during his early days of training, he wondered when that time would come. But now that it did, he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. All he knew for sure was that once he left to fulfill his destiny, his life would never be the same again.

He took a deep breath. "When do I need to leave?"

"As soon as you can. Only grab what is necessary such as food for a few days and weapons that you might need to defend yourself just in case."

He nodded. "What about the gifts though? Those do go to the Hero, correct?"

The 'gifts' he mentioned was referring to the sword and shield that was crafted by their best blacksmiths. They were made to be given to the Hero and to show that the Hero had the loyalty and respect of the Sheikah clan. Although traditionally the clan swore fealty to the Royal Family, it was also known that that loyalty extended to the Hero as well. Although for at least two centuries the clan had no contact with the Royal Family. The reason for that was by an order given to the Sheikah who had survived the last Great War that ravaged Hyrule. Many people and species were wiped out due to that war and the Royal Family insisted that the Sheikah stay out of Hyrule for the time being and allow themselves to heal from the war and to regrow their numbers. This was essential especially since the Guardian of Shadow would be a Sheikah and it was imperative that the tribe survived. Not to mention they had other duties they had to attend to that mainly consisted of protecting the Shadow Temple where inside lay an item that was essential to beating the man whom was currently sealed away within the Sacred Realm.

His aunt appeared to think on this for a few moments before answering. "No. Those items will only weigh you down. Besides it would be best to keep them here. You can bring the Hero back here where we can give him the items and explain to him what is going on." Sheik watched as she unwrapped the item she had been holding in her grasp. His eyes widened as he saw it.

It was a golden harp. And from the design of it, he could tell that it wasn't any ordinary harp either. From what he could recall in his studies it looked like the one that once belonged to first member of the Royal Family of Hyrule. "Is that-?"

His aunt nodded. "It is. This harp is the same one that you remember reading about in your history books. It was given to us by the Royal Family for the Guardian of Shadows to use." Sheik quirked an eyebrow. That was a new part of the prophecy he had never heard of. His aunt must've known what he was thinking for she grinned. "Why do you think I had you go through those harp lessons?"

She stretched out her arms over the fire, which was low enough to not burn her or harm the precious object, and went to hand the harp over to Sheik. Once it got near enough, he cradled it gently and brought it closer to him to look at the tiny details the object had on it. The harp itself had indentations located on the bottom of it that had been carved into it to look like what were wings. A small portion of these wings were blocked by a yellowed cloth that had been wrapped around it tightly. Sheik figured the reason for this was because it was hiding a blemish on the harp's surface. It made sense considering that if this harp was that old, it would've gained some imperfections.

After looking at for a few more seconds, he glanced back up at his aunt. "So, how am I supposed to use this exactly?"

"Remember all those songs I had you learn to play and memorize? Well this harp has magical properties that will allow the effects you learned that those songs make actually happen."

He looked back down at the harp. He was shocked and a little excited to hear that all those stories he heard about those songs actually were true. A smile formed on his face underneath his scarf. He couldn't wait to try them out.

"Here."

Sheik looked away from the harp to see his aunt handing him a piece of rolled up parchment. He gently placed the harp onto the ground next to him and grabbed the paper before the flame caught hold of it. He unrolled it to see what was written. It looked like a map to him. His aunt confirmed his line of though. "This is a map of Hyrule or at least how Hyrule looked a couple of centuries ago."

Sheik gave his aunt a look. "Hyrule has changed since then?"

"I'm not for certain on that, but I know that after the Great War, there was some extensive damage that was done to many places all around Hyrule, so I'm pretty sure some of the landscapes have changed. But I don't think it would be that much to where you couldn't find who you are looking for." Sheik nodded and rolled the parchment back up. He certainly hoped that Hyrule didn't look too far from how it looked on the map otherwise he anticipated running into some problems. "One thing I would recommend though," his aunt spoke again, "is buying or obtaining a map of the current Hyrule before the true journey begins otherwise having this map might end up being a great hindrance."

He nodded. "That will be one of the first things to get on my list."

Sheik grabbed the harp in his left hand and moved to stand up. "Is there anything else I need to know, Aunt Impa?"

His aunt smiled at him and stood up before him as well. "Just one thing: be careful. I'm sure Hyrule has changed much since we Sheikah have last stepped foot there so there is no telling how dangerous it is or how different it may be. Stay hidden in the shadows and only reveal yourself to the Hero. We don't need to alarm the people there with our presence. They haven't seen us for some time so it would seem frightening or alarming for some people there to suddenly see us now."

Sheik nodded. "I shall." He turned to walk back through the double doors and to his quarters, but stopped before he completely reached them to turn around and bow to her. "I will see you when I return with the Hero."

He watch her nod her acknowledgment to him and he turned back towards the doors to open them. He needed to get up to his quarters as quickly as he could so that he could prepare to leave. The sooner he could get away from here, the better.