knowlee: Ack! Guys, I'm SO sorry about the delay in posting this chapter! I had every intention of getting it finished before the deadline, but everytime I planned on sitting down to focus on doing it, something usually came up that prevented me from doing so. And if you couple that with my short attention span, it doesn't really help at all. *sighs*

Anyway, for future reference (because I am certain that there is a possibility that this may happen again in the future) if you guys come on here looking for a new chapter on the date its supposed to be up and don't see one, I recommend going to check on my profile here, my twitter (username: knowleeraven), or my deviantART (username: knowlee) to see if perhaps I have posted about why the chapter isn't up yet. Very rarely do I plan on this to happen, but unfortunately life tends to throw you curve balls and prevents things that you plan on doing from happening as they are supposed to. (This is also another reason why I planned on keeping up with having a buffer, but unfortunately I have ran out of that.)

I also can't promise that this won't happen again, but I can say that I will try my best to not let it. Anyway, without further ado (cause honestly I've made you guys wait long enough for it), here's the latest chapter!

Also, Happy (late) Valentine's Day! :D

Please read and review!

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 5: The Green Flame

By: knowlee

Princess Zelda smoothed out the few wrinkles she found on her dress as she sat at the breakfast table waiting for her food to be placed before her. She looked up away from the article of clothing to see her father sitting directly across from her. He was leaned over the table, studying some papers that one of his advisers had brought for him to look over.

A noise caught her attention and she looked past her father to see that the doors to the kitchen were opening, letting out some waiters that were carrying their breakfast for the morning. She smiled in delight at seeing her food coming towards her. She was starting to get a bit hungry.

She watched as the waiters carefully placed the food onto the table, making sure that everything was set perfectly according to the table manners that they had learned during their training years. Once everything was done as per protocol, they removed the silver tops that were covering the food that sat out before them. After bowing before the two royals, they turned to leave the room to let them eat their meal in peace.

As she reached to grab her fork and knife to begin to cut apart her eggs, which were made in her favorite way: sunny-side up, she remembered how her father had looked at one of those representatives that came to the castle a few days prior. She didn't know why exactly it was bothering her but she just couldn't get her mind off of it. The way he looked at her was one of surprise and curiosity and it made her wonder what made him react that way.

Zelda glanced up at her father who was still engrossed in his papers and had yet to touch his food. She had meant to ask him about it shortly after that happened, but for the rest of the day, including the few days after, both of their schedules were so filled up that she never got the chance. Today, however, since they were both here now, perhaps she could try and sate her curiosity before something else came up to pull them apart again.

She grabbed a piece of the eggs she had cut with her fork and moved to put it into her mouth. After she had chewed the piece of food, she made the decision to just come out and ask her father what she had on her mind. "Father, I have a question to ask you, if you don't mind?"

At her words, she watched as the silver-haired man looked up from his important documents and at her. She saw a small smile form on his face. "And what may that be, my daughter?"

She pushed her fork into another piece of egg. "A few days ago, when the representatives for the tribes were here to present their tribute, I noticed that you paid particular attention to the one who was from Kokiri. Can I ask why?"

All Zelda heard was silence from her father's end of the table for a few moments and at first she was afraid that perhaps she said something out of turn, but as soon as that thought came to her, she heard her father's deep voice. "Ah, is that what's been on your mind the past few days?"

She saw a small smile form on his face as he spoke the words. So he had noticed her curiosity. He should know that not much could pass her sight. "Yes, I had noticed that you had looked at her like you recognized her somewhere and from what I could recall I don't remember you mentioning ever knowing someone from that far south of here. Naturally that made me wonder why you gave her that look."

Zelda watched as the smile he had on his face previously change into a frown. She then noticed his eyes had taken on a distant look. This made her slightly worried. Did she say something wrong? When he spoke next, it alleviated her worries. "Well, to be honest with you, Zelda, she reminded me of your mother."

At the word 'mother', Zelda's left hand immediately went to grab the golden locket that she had hung around her neck. That locket in question was one that her father said belonged to her mother and that inside was a picture of them that was taken before her death by assassins. She had never seen the picture before, but from what he told her, it was a one of a kind photo and wouldn't be found anywhere else.

She remembered trying to open said locket to see the photo inside, but she was unable to do so. From what she could ascertain about that was that there was a certain way she had to unlock it, but she hadn't figured out what it was yet. "She reminded you of mother? How so?"

The food sitting in front of her was now forgotten. She didn't know much about her, since she died when she was very young. Plus her father didn't like to speak of her so much due to what she could tell was his sadness about what had happened. So whenever her father offered up information about her, she was eager to listen.

"She looked nearly identical to her. Her face, eyes, hair; it seemed like I was staring at a younger version of her. I tried not to stare too intently. I didn't want to scare her off, but it was just uncanny how she looked so much like her."

Zelda thought back to how the woman looked like. As she thought about it she did begin to see why her father had been taken aback. She was certain that if the woman was compared to the official painting of her mother that sat in the hallway showcasing the previous rulers of Hyrule, the two would look nearly identical save for a few things that she was sure would set them both apart.

A chuckle came from her father's lips as he looked down at the table in deep thought. "For a moment there, I had thought that your mother came back from the dead..."

Suddenly Zelda felt upset as she realized how her father must've felt at that moment. Her fingers fell from grasping her locket and went to touch her skirt in nervousness. She was too young to remember much about how her parents interacted with one another, but from what she heard from the servants and guards who saw them, they did act kind to one another and were in love. A small frown formed on her face. She knew she missed her mother greatly and there were times that she desperately wished she were here, but for her father though…

Her frown deepened as she saw her father continue to look down at his now cold breakfast. She knew his feelings towards her mother must feel a lot worse. She was his wife and someone whom he loved deeply. She couldn't honestly begin to imagine his pain about it.

"I'm sorry for bringing up bad memories for you, father. It wasn't my intention to make you feel upset."

Zelda saw him look up from the table and at her with a small smile on his face. "It wasn't your fault my dear. I will always miss your mother, regardless of how much time passes."

She smiled back in response. She, too, felt the same.

Before either one of them could move onto different subjects to talk about, a soldier appeared at one of the entryways that led to the dining room. He coughed lowly to announce his presence to the two royals. "Your highnesses?" They both turned to face him as the man continued to speak. "I hate to disturb your morning meal, but the nobles and other people who you have appointments with, my king, have begun to arrive."

"Ah, so they have. Alright, tell them I will see them shortly." With that said, the soldier bowed and turned to deliver the message he had been given. Zelda turned her gaze back to her father and he did the same to her. He moved to stand up from the table and began to collect the papers that he had been looking at earlier. After that was done, he looked up at her with his eyes filled with reluctance. "I'm very sorry for this, Zelda, but unfortunately duty calls."

Zelda watched as her father left the table and then exited through the same entryway that the soldier had went through. She sighed and looked down at her food which, like her father's, was now too cold to finish. Her hands moved once again to her locket and she began playing with it as her thoughts turned to her mother. She wished she had more memories of her than just what her father told her about her. She wished she were here.

She let those thoughts continue to float around in her head for a few minutes more before drawing herself out of them. She motioned to a nearby servant to take the food that both her and her father had not eaten and had them take it away.

She was sure that her appetite wasn't going to come back anytime soon after that conversation.

Lin was taken aback by his comment. She knew, in the back of her mind, that it would be shocking for anyone outside of herself to see the mark, but for a Sheikah to be surprised at seeing it on her, well, this made her even more curious as to why it was there. From what she could remember reading about the mysterious race, one of the things they were known for was being extremely knowledgeable on most, if not all, of Hyrule's mysteries. So to see one react in a way that showed that even he was confused, was a surprise.

"What you do mean by that?" When those words came out of her mouth, she saw him turn his red gaze from her hand up to her face and from what she could tell, he was surprised by her question.

"Do you not know what this is?" Sheik felt incredulous to think that someone who lived in Hyrule of all places, would not at least knew what the symbol was. It was on the Royal Family's symbol for Goddesses' sake! He felt even more confused when he heard her next statement.

"I have an idea of what it is, but what I want to know is why would I have it." He raised an eyebrow at this. "You know of the legends?" He asked her while releasing her hand to allow her to support her head once more.

Lin slowly nodded at his question as she brought her hand back up to hold her head. It was still spinning a little bit. "I know about the Triforce and that those who hold pieces of it have the mark on one of their hands, but I don't know why I have it." She moved to sit on her legs and let her right arm be free from holding her up. She still held her head though with her left hand. "I thought it was just a strange birthmark all this time, but obviously with what happened just a few moments ago, I think we both can agree that that's not the case."

Sheik watched as she moved her left hand down to look at the symbol. He had to agree with her on that. It was certainly not a birthmark. But even with that fact know acknowledged, it still left a bigger question: What piece did she hold?

He figured that the biggest possibility was that she was the person that he had been searching for. That possibility would mean that she was the newest incarnation of the Hero. But with who she was, not that he was saying anything against gender as he was raised by a female warrior, it didn't seem right. All the legends and stories spoke of a male Hero, not a female one. There was also the slight possibility that she could be connected the Royal Family, but that one was highly improbable. Why would a Royal Family member be out here in the middle of the forest? The last option was a definite no in that that piece was in the Sacred Realm, sealed away with its owner.

But with all the evidence seeming to point to the first option, it seemed like the most likely candidate. How could he be for sure though? He didn't want to automatically make an assumption only to discover that it was no where near the truth. He needed to be sure of what he thought.

"What do you think it means? Am I a holder of the Triforce?" Lin heard the Sheikah sigh at her questions. She saw him look at her intensely. "I would say that it's a possibility considering with how you made that arrow of yours turn into a Light one."

"A Light Arrow?" Lin thought back to the golden light she saw swarm around the arrowhead. Was that what she made? She looked away from the symbol and towards him as she watched him nod in affirmation. "Yes, a Light Arrow is a powerful form of magic that's usually exclusive to Triforce Wielders only."

"'Usually'?"

She saw him nod again. "I say 'usually' because its the only people I've ever heard of wielding it save for perhaps the Sage of Light. Which I don't think that's you."

Lin looked back down at the symbol. Well, that was proof of being a Triforce wielder if she ever heard of one. But the question still remained: which piece did she hold? She looked back up to see the man possibly thinking the same thing as he had a pensive expression on his face. Or at least she thought he did. It was hard to tell with the scarf and hair in the way…

Sheik was thinking of a way to be able to tell for sure what she was. More than likely she was the Hero who he was supposed to guide and protect throughout the journey they were meant to take. He still wanted to be for sure on that though. Hmm…

An answer came to him. Perhaps his aunt would know… She was more well versed than he was in things that tells who someone's true form is. And she did tell him to bring the Hero back to the village when he found him… or her in this case, if the evidence held up. He looked back over to the woman again to see her looking at him with a confused look. It was decided then.

Lin watched as the Sheikah stood up before her and offered his hand to her. As she was still debating whether or not to grab his hand, he spoke. "I know of someone I can take you to who will be able to tell for sure who you are. But you're going to have to trust me."

Lin wasn't sure about whether or not she should. ...But considering that she already showed him her birthmark, she had a hunch that she could trust him. However she still wasn't entirely sure if she should go somewhere with him all on her own. She bit her lip in nervousness.

Sheik could see the mental debate going on in her head. He could understand her hesitance in wanting to go with him. For all she knew he turn around and kill her when she least expected it. He had learned the hard way himself not to completely trust people. Because of that, he couldn't blame her for feeling that way towards him. But, seeing as they really needed to figure out who she was, he knew she had no choice in the matter. "Look I understand it's not the most ideal thing to go somewhere with a stranger by yourself, but you want answers, right?" He saw her nod. "And considering that I didn't let that creature kill you back there, do you honestly think I'd turn around and do that to you after going to all that trouble?"

Lin stopped her nervous habit and considered what he was saying. He did have a point. She also knew that if she didn't go with him, she still be left wondering what the symbol on her hand meant. She had a chance standing right before her to get answers to her questions, especially about the one about why her parents told her that 'her destiny was a great one'. He could give her those answers.

She looked at his hand again and made her decision. She put her hand in his and he helped to lift her up from the ground and into a standing position. It was then that she felt the soreness in her leg muscles. 'Looks like the adrenaline wore off… Oh well, at least my head stopped spinning.' She felt him let go of her hand once she had gained good footing and then she watched as he turned around slightly to grab a harp that she didn't realize he had before.

Sheik had to smirk at her amazed reaction at seeing the harp he was holding. He quickly wiped it off of his face though for he needed to focus on the notes he needed to play for the warp song he had learned: the Nocturne of Shadow. This song would take him right to the graveyard next to Kakariko Village. He could only hope that he would be able to find a way to sneak her into the village and to where his aunt was without letting people know she was there. His village wasn't exactly kind to outsiders. 'Or to me…'

Lin watched as he closed his eye and began playing a tune on the small harp. It sounded dark and foreboding to her and yet, somehow it sounded like she had heard it somewhere before, but she couldn't quite remember where. Soon after he finished it though, she saw dark purple lights appear out of nowhere and began to fly around her and the man standing next to her.

She wasn't sure what was happening so she closed her eyes in fear. When she opened them next, she knew she wasn't in the forest anymore…

Impa studied the rows of graves as she searched for the set of stones she frequented during her many visits here. She walked deeper into the graveyard that was connected to the village. As she was walking there were a few graves she had passed that looked relatively new, but where she was headed was much further back. Not so far back to where the first Sheikah and early members of the Royal Family were buried, but it was a little ways before that area.

When she found the gravestones she was looking for she stopped before them and kneeled. She gazed at them with longing and felt a twinge of sadness at seeing the names that were etched on the hard stones. Buried below her were four of her closest family members: her brother and his wife and her husband and child.

Not very much people knew of her closeness with this particular set of graves, but for those who did, they did their best to give her enough distance when she arrived there to see them. They didn't want to intrude on her silent mourning. It was one that thing that Impa knew the most about and it was sadness. Her life wasn't all sunshine and roses like some of the people in this village believed.

She lost her parents back during the time that the village was attacked by the spirit of the evil Bongo Bongo. It was their deaths that motivated her to find a way to stop the wretched being and seal him away for good. She was upset at their deaths, but fortunately, as well as unfortunately, she wasn't alone in this mourning. Her brother shared her depression over what had happened. It took some time for them to move on past the overwhelming sadness and when that time came for the both of them, they began to move forward with their lives. She became cheiftess of the tribe due to her success at stopping the spirit and her brother found a lovely young woman who lived in the tribe and after courting her for some time, he married her.

Impa felt a smile form on her face. She remembered seeing how happy he was when he met the woman that was to become his future wife. She was glad to see that he had found someone that made him feel that way. But along with delight at seeing her brother gain that happiness, she felt jealous. She, too, wanted someone to look at her the same way that her brother looked at the woman he was with. At first she tried to deny that she was experiencing that emotion, but after some time she had come to terms with it.

Impa wanted to fall in love and have someone feel that way towards her in return.

Of course with her as the Cheiftess though, that made it quite difficult to find potential suitors. A vast majority of them only wanted to court her due to her position in the village. They didn't want to know the true her only the face that she had to put on when addressing the crowds of Sheikah. As time went on, she felt her desire to find someone begin to wane. She didn't want to keep putting herself out there, if no one wanted to reciprocate.

Then she met him.

He was different from all the other men who came up to her trying to woo her in various different ways. He actually wanted to get to know the real her, not the mask. At first she refused his advances since she had been hurt before with everyone else only pretending to want to know her. But slowly he began to work down her walls and after a while of trying, he managed to get to the true her.

Once he began to court her officially, it was only a matter of time before she fell for him and he for her. It seemed that everything was falling into place for her and that the world was beautiful. That feeling only grew when he asked for her hand in marriage. Without hesitation, she accepted his proposal.

They were only married a few months when she learned that she was with child. Both of them were joyous about the news and began preparing for the new arrival. But as with all good things, it had to come to an end.

Her husband went on a journey to gather more supplies for the village in the forest that surrounded them. It was only supposed to a short trip; only a few days tops, but it took a lot longer than was planned. She sent some of the warriors of the village into the forest to try and figure out where he and his party were. But before the warriors were able to set out, she saw that her husband's group had returned, but it was without her husband.

After her initial confusion to where he was passed, a member of the group regretfully informed her that her husband had been killed by a creature that lay deep within the forest. To say that she was upset was an understatement. She had to put on a brave face for the crowd before her when the news was brought forth, but once she crossed the threshold into their home, she fell apart. In the months after his death, Impa tried to focus on the knowledge that although he was gone, she still had a piece of him in their child. But when it came time for the child to come into the world, her sadness only grew tenfold.

The child was stillborn.

In the days before and after her child's burial, Impa remembered drowning even more in her depression. For her she could see no light at the end of the tunnel and those thoughts she kept having started to enter into her professional life and she briefly considered relinquishing the position as Cheiftess. Then a small ray of light appeared in a place she never expected it would. Her brother and his wife discovered that they were going to be parents.

When she heard the news, she had to admit that she felt jealous that her brother was getting a happier life than she was and had everything she wanted, but when she held that baby in her arms after it was born, all of those emotions went away. She wanted to do nothing but protect it from the evils of the world and have it live a happy and fulfilling life. A life that her child didn't get a chance to have.

That life started out well enough. The baby, a boy, grew up healthy and acted as normal as any other boy would. She became protective of the child and tried the best to be the best aunt that she could be to him. Then one day, something changed that threatened the happiness the boy had.

At first it was strange little things like during his training with shadow magic, he was able to easily see through illusions that his father would put up. Normally it would take quite a while of training for any Sheikah to gain the ability to see through illusions and even then it took up a lot of energy to stretch out one's senses to find them. But for the boy it was effortless. At first he was considered to be a prodigy in the shadow arts and as such he had many fans and people who admired him for his strength. That all changed though when the next thing the boy did made them all realize that he wasn't just exceptionally gifted, but in a way his abilities soon became his curse.

She found him one day after his father had trained him for a short time before he had to leave to go do his regular duties. She heard him talking to himself and believed that he was playing pretend as most children did around his age. Once she got up to him though, she found that he was staring straight ahead at something he couldn't see and was talking to the air as if a person was there. She used her senses to see if perhaps it was a Sheikah who was using an illusion ability to speak to him, but she found nothing.

She became alarmed after realizing this and that feeling only grew when her nephew turned to look at her. Once he saw her, he smiled as if he was glad to see her and the words he said next sent a chill down her spine. "Auntie, I see Uncle."

She froze in shock. She had never told him about her being married. Nor had she mentioned anything about her child. There was no reason to. Perhaps when he was older she would reveal to him that he could've had a cousin to play with, but even then she knew for a fact that no one, not even his parents, had spoken to him of that. But then how…

It took her a few moments to find her voice. When she finally did manage to regain it she asked him what he meant. His answer frightened her even more than his last statement did. He explained to her that he could see his uncle, her husband, sitting before him. He was asking how she was doing and he wanted Sheik to tell her that he still cared for her even though he was gone and that their daughter was doing fine.

To say she was surprised by what he told her was an understatement. She knew what he told him to be fact and had no doubt that he did in fact see her late husband. The question remained though as to how.

It took some time for figure out what was going on with her beloved nephew, but when they found out the answer, they were delighted to find out that Sheik was the destined Guardian of Shadows that the tribe had been waiting for ever since the Sages had told them that it would be one of their kind. However, she grimaced, what came after the reveal of who he was, made her regret ever figuring it out.

Due to the knowledge of Bongo Bongo that became more widely known after the drought, a lot of people noticed that the ability that Sheik had was also the same one that the spirit also possessed. This in turn made a lot of people believe that Sheik would more than likely go down the same dark path that the former Sheikah did. But instead of keeping an eye out and trying to make sure that the young lad didn't tread down that road, they decided to treat him as an outsider. Friends that Sheik used to have could no longer play with him, any fans he had before that praised him as being a prodigy instead deemed him a monster and shunned him, and what was the worst of them all was that there were even a few people that attempted to murder the young boy in various different ways and even at one point attempted to remove the eye that the ability was in.

After yet another attempt on his life took place, Impa then used her position as the Cheiftess of the village to put a law in place that prevented anyone from hurting her nephew. She told the people that even though the two people shared the same power, that did not mean that they were in fact the same kind of person. She also brought up the fact that the Sages themselves had said that the Guardian of Shadows needed this power to help guide the Hero on his journey and to kill him or remove his ability from him would only prevent their plan from coming to fruition. Anyone who attempted continued to try and harm him physically would be punished.

This action did help quell the people of the village to stop trying to harm him physically, but it didn't stop the words that were spoken behind his back. She, her brother and his mother tried to shield him from them as much as they could, but they couldn't keep everything from reaching his ears. The animosity towards him got so bad that no one was willing to train him to become a Sheikah warrior even though everyone knew full well that he needed this knowledge for his later journey. His father took up the mantle instead.

Sadly though this didn't last very long.

A deadly sickness spread throughout the village and many of its' inhabitants died due to it. Two of its victims were Sheik's parents. Although she, or her nephew, wasn't allowed to see them much due to them being quarantined to prevent the spread of the disease, she was told by her brother that if they didn't make it to take over Sheik's training and to protect him as much as she could until the time for his journey came.

They stayed sick for a few months before they finally succumbed to it. She remembered seeing their bodies being burned at the funeral. The disease was so rampant they couldn't risk having it spread to others. After the burning was over their ashes were then buried were they were now.

Impa placed a hand lovingly onto her brother's gravestone. She missed him. Yes, she deeply missed her husband, child and her brother's wife, but what made her sadness for his death different from theirs was that he was someone grown up with from a very young age and as such they knew everything about each other. They accepted each other without judgment and knew each other's quirks. They also had each other's backs in their times of need.

Her mouth formed into a smile. She could even see some of that in his son. Sheik was fiercely loyal to those who had earned his trust and deeply cared about others just as his father did. Her smile turned into a frown. However though, any other traits that he shared with his parents he refused to show. If it was one thing that she failed at it, it was being able to fully protect her nephew. Sure, she was able to prevent him from being killed by his peers, but with how everyone was treating him by pushing him away and saying horrible things to him, it slowly began to make him close himself off to the world and from her. He rarely smiled or showed excitement towards things and all he was focused on was either training, reading up on the history and legends of Hyrule or playing his harp. He didn't have any friends or people that he could fully trust with his feelings or thoughts and even though he knew she cared about him, he didn't really open himself up to her much. She knew he trusted her though as he wasn't constantly watching his back whenever the two were alone.

His standoffish personality also extended to his attire. He wore his armor nearly all the time and was strict about covering his face, especially that of his eye; the one that bore the mark that ultimately brought about the village's hatred towards him. She believed that this was another way he thought he could use to protect himself from people's eyes and to hide away his shame at bearing something that he referred to as a 'curse'.

She clenched the hand that sat against her leg in anger. He didn't deserve to any of the village's animosity towards him. He had not done anything to anyone to rightfully earn that scorn. He instead was a victim of fear. A fear that people held towards something that they didn't fully understand. There were many times she knew that she found herself wanting to speak her mind against the Elders and the other Sheikah about what they were doing to him was wrong. However she knew that if she were to do that, she would lose her position and that in turn would put Sheik's life in danger since she knew that whoever arose to take the position would get rid of him at first chance. And there was no possibility that if something were to happen to her that Sheik would be able to take her place. The Elders or other Sheikah wouldn't allow it.

But it wasn't just that that prevented her from doing it. Sheik himself had expressed that she didn't need to speak to them like that. Even though they had hurt him by their actions, he still didn't blame them. She felt herself smiling softly at the thought. He definitely was her brother's child.

In the corner of her eye, she saw swirling purple lights. She turned her head in the direction the lights were located to see the lights circle above a platform that stood before the Shadow Temple and behind a large fence that separated the graveyard from the sacred place.

She moved to stand up and went to walk closer to where the lights had now dissipated. It seemed that Sheik had finally returned with the Hero.

When Lin felt a short breeze brush across her face, she figured it was safe to open her eyes again. Once she did though, her eyes widened when she noticed that the scenery around them had changed. No longer were they in the forest that she was familiar with. Instead she could see that they were standing next to a small cliff that was blocked off by a fence that was to her right and his left. And to her left was a large cave-like structure that had some stairs that looked like it headed down deep into the ground. Below their feet was a strange stone platform that bore a strange, yet familiar symbol on it. Where had she seen it before?

She continued to examine the area they were standing in until she heard the man across from her clear his throat. Lin looked back over at him and saw that he had already put his harp back in the harness for it on his back and was looking at her. A few more moments passed before she saw him nod his head towards the fence. She was briefly confused until she saw him walk over to said object and began climbing over it. So he wanted her to go over it?

She walked over to the wooden barrier and grimaced as she saw a steep drop directly on the other side. She gulped. She'd end up breaking a leg if she fell that far. Lin turned her head to the Sheikah and saw that he had reached the top of the fence. With no sign of hesitation, she watched as he leapt from the barrier and landed nimbly onto the ground below and rolled forward to help prevent his legs from getting hurt from the sudden force of the ground hitting his feet. Her eyes widened. He was good.

Once he stood up, he turned around to look at her and it was then that she realized that he was expecting her to do the same thing. She gulped again. No way was she going to break her leg…

He seemed to sense her hesitation and went to walk in front of where she would land if she jumped like he did. "I'll catch you."

She debated a few more moments before ultimately deciding to go for it. He had saved her life earlier, surely he wouldn't just let her break a bone after doing that for her. Lin took her bow and slipped her upper body through the string and wooden part of it to make sure it wouldn't break or fall during her jump. Once that was secure, she gripped the wooden fence with her hands and put a food into an indentation to begin pulling herself up the object. When she reached the top of it she took a moment to quell her stomach at the view before her. Heights was never her forte…

Taking one deep breath, she quickly moved to leap off of the barrier before her mind could decide to climb back down. The moving air hit her face and blew her hair back as she began her descent to the ground. But before her feet could hit the ground, she felt a pair of arms grab her around her waist and help ease her landing. She flushed briefly as she knew who's arms those were, but instead of dwelling on it she instead pulled herself away from his grip. "Thanks."

"Your welcome." Sheik watched as the woman went to look at the graveyard that spread out before them. He didn't want to rush her as he knew that this was entirely new for her, but they needed to get to his aunt's home as quickly as they could. They couldn't afford to run into one of the villagers. It would cause more trouble than it was worth.

As he began thinking over in his mind how he was going to sneak her into the village, his eye caught someone walking over towards them. At first he inwardly cursed, thinking that it was one of the villagers he had meant to avoid. Luckily though that wasn't the case as the person who was headed their direction was the one that they needed to see. He briefly smiled underneath his scarf and bowed slightly to his aunt. Hopefully his aunt wouldn't be too upset for him bringing an outsider into the village, especially one that didn't exactly fit the description they were looking for. Hopefully she'd let him get a word in edgewise to explain. She did have a tendency to do that when she got mad. "Cheiftess Impa."

Lin followed the direction the man was looking at to see an older woman walking towards them. Based on the fact that she, too, wore the symbol of the Sheikah on her clothes she knew she could rightfully assume that she was another one. And from what she heard her companion say, she was also apparently the leader of them. Oh boy… Was she in the village of the Sheikah?

She mentally debated for a moment or two whether or not she should follow his lead and bow as well, but before she could make that decision, she heard the woman speak. And from her tone of voice and her manner of speech, she seemed to know who the man was and apparently she was none too pleased with him.

"Sheik!" 'Ah, so that's his name!', Lin mused. "You were supposed to bring back the Hero, not a random stranger."

Lin felt a little irritated at the woman's words about her, but she found herself being more interested in what she had said before. This man, Sheik, was sent to find the Hero? Did that mean that Hyrule was in danger again, like she had heard in all of her stories? Or to go even further, did he suspect her of being the Hero? They had already confirmed that she bore a piece of the Triforce, so it could've been a possibility, but even then, she still doubted it.

The woman, Impa was her name judging by what 'Sheik' called her, now stood before the two and was now giving her a look over. Lin felt slightly unnerved by her scrutinizing, but at the same time she couldn't exactly blame her. She had a feeling based on the woman's words alone, that she wasn't supposed to be here. And considering that these two people were Sheikah, which were the most secretive people known to Hyrule, and that their people had been considered extinct until she saw them, it would make sense for them to be less open to the idea of having outsiders in their village. She could only hope that they wouldn't kill her for coming here. It wasn't exactly her idea anyway.

Sheik noticed the small look of fear on the woman's face and realized that she had figured out based on his aunt's words that it was a big risk bringing her here. But he knew though once he voiced why he did to Impa, she would be more understanding. "Cheiftess Impa," his aunt's eyes looked to him now, "the reason why she is here is because I believe that she may possibly be the Hero I was sent to search for."

Impa's face immediately changed into a shocked one. Her gaze turned to look back at the woman. That couldn't be possible though! The Hero was supposed to be a man, not a woman! She returned her attention to her nephew. Although her initial reaction was to doubt his words, at the same time she knew her nephew wouldn't have come to this conclusion without some evidence. "What do you mean?"

Lin kept looking back and forth between the two as their conversation continued. At the woman's last question, she clenched her still uncovered left hand in nervousness. Looks like she would probably want to see this too. She began to move it up into the woman's view, but before she could get that far, she felt a hand grab her wrist gently. She nearly jumped a few feet off of the ground, but she quickly realized that it was Sheik's hand that was holding it. He moved her hand up to lay between the two Sheikah with the back of her hand parallel to the ground. Her birthmark was able to been seen perfectly.

Impa gasped aloud as she saw the birthmark that lay on the back of the woman's hand. It couldn't be-? She looked once more at the woman with shock. "How long have you had this?"

Impa saw the golden brunette haired woman look up at her slowly. She could tell she was nervous about the question. Nonetheless, she saw take a deep breath and her open her mouth to answer it. "I've had it since I was born. I was told by my parents to keep it a secret. They never really explained to me why I had it, just that I had a great destiny because of it."

Lin saw Impa move her eyes back onto the symbol she bore on her hand. Her gaze then moved to the man next to her. She heard his deep voice began speaking to her as he let go of her wrist. "I found her in the forest. At first I didn't think anything of it until she used a Light Arrow against a creature that was attacking us." She saw the Sheikah woman's eyes widen at the words 'light arrow'. "Once I found out she had the symbol of the Triforce on her hand I felt that its a possibility that she may be the one we're looking for. The evidence does point to it. However..." Lin watched as he turned his red gaze on her. "It may be a possibility that she possesses a different piece and not the one of Courage. A small one, but still one nonetheless."

So his train of thought was the same as hers, she realized. She heard his voice again and watched as he looked at the Sheikah woman once more. "I thought that it would be a good idea to bring her here and see if you knew of an idea of what we could do to figure exactly which piece it is that she holds."

Impa considered his words. His argument was sound for why he brought the woman here and from the evidence he spoke of, it was certain that she was a Triforce wielder. But as for which one, it was still a mystery. Power was out of the question, they both knew where that one lay, but as for Courage and Wisdom those were up in the air. Of course when it was determined which of the two she held, either one will still bring more questions. For Wisdom, it would be a question of why was a member of the Royal Family found living in the forest? And for Courage, why was the Hero a woman this time around when during the previous times of crisis for Hyrule it was a man?

Regardless of what answer they would receive, it was something that they all needed to know. She closed her eyes to think of what they could do to discern what the answer was. Many different ideas ran through her mind of what to do, but none of those were reliable enough to use and get a good positive result. One more idea came to her. Her eyes opened as she realized that this idea was a good one as it would be able to give a perfect result. She looked at the two people standing before her. "We could consult the fire. It was given to us by the Sages and I have feeling that this may be another reason why it was gifted to us."

Though she wasn't entirely sure if the Hero being a female or a Royal Family member would be hidden away was something that was included in the Sages' plan, but at this point considering the situation that was standing before her, she wouldn't throw any possibility away just yet. She turned away from the two and began to walk towards the entrance of the graveyard. Before she could get too far though, she stopped and turned to her nephew. Regardless of the fact that the woman was here for a reason, they couldn't let anyone else see her though. It was too risky. "Sheik, I recommend you cloak her. You know how people are here towards outsiders." She then turned to continue walking to the exit.

Lin watched as Impa headed towards the archway that stood before a path that she presumed led to the village of the Sheikah. She knew based on her words that she and Sheik were supposed to follow her, but what did she mean by him cloaking her? She looked over at her companion. He seemed to understand that she was a bit confused by the other Sheikah's words. "I need to use my shadow magic to make you invisible to the other villagers. That means that you need to be quiet until we reach the building that houses the fire she mentioned. Do you understand?"

She nodded as he moved into a position where she assumed he was focusing on forming a cloak around her. She was confused as to whether or not it was working until she felt a slight chill come over it. The chill wasn't so bad that she felt like she was freezing or anything, but it was enough for her to tell that the temperature had dropped around her at least a degree or two. Did that mean that his magic was working on her now?

Sheik relaxed now that he had used his shadow magic to cloak the woman. He knew that she was still next to her since he could sense her presence when he focused. He also knew that if he were to look in the direction she was standing with his left eye he would be able to see her perfectly. He supposed that was one perk about having his magical eye. It saved him from having to use some of his magic reserves.

Once he positive that she was completely hidden from sight, he motioned for her to follow behind him. "Stay as close to me as you can without bumping into me and remember to stay absolutely quiet!"

Lin watched as Sheik began walking forward, following the same direction that Impa had gone. She hesitated for a moment to follow, but once she remembered that at the end of this path, she would finally have her answers. She would finally understand why she bore this symbol and what her 'great destiny' was. Although she was excited to finally have a chance to gain those answers that she had been desperately seeking, she was also terrified to find out what those answers were. She could feel her stomach begin to feel queasy at the fear of what would come next. But before that feeling could grow anymore, she pushed it aside and began following after Sheik. Regardless of what she would find at this 'fire' that they mentioned, it would still be better than her going back to continue to wonder where her life was supposed to go.

The two began down the winding path that lead away from the graveyard. Lin followed as close as she possibly could to Sheik without running into him. As she continued to follow him, it suddenly occurred to her that she was about to see the legendary village of the Sheikah that she had read about in her stories. She had to bite her lip to prevent her from shrieking in excitement. Lin also brought her hands together and held her fingers where her mouth was to help prevent her, and serve as a physical reminder, from making a noise as they drew closer to the entrance to the village.

Once they passed under the archway that symbolized them leaving the graveyard fully, it took Lin everything she had to not gasp in amazement. Her eyes widened in excitement as they caught sight of the various buildings that were scattered throughout the small settlement, she could see other Sheikah running around doing errands, training, kids playing with other children. Her eyes then trailed to the windmill that was standing in the distance. It looked just like the pictures depicted in her book.

Her and Sheik continued their trek into the village, her having to pry her eyes away from the amazing things she kept seeing around her and force herself to pay attention lest she get them caught. They passed through a small marketplace where she could see stands of people selling fruit, vegetables and other various things that kind of reminded her of home. There was even a musician that was playing on a strange instrument for young children. The tune that came out of the horn that was spinning above his head sounded familiar (like other things she had been seeing and hearing the past few days) and it made her think of the storms that would rumble through Hyrule.

She was so focused on the musician that when she turned her head to look back at Sheik, she nearly collided with him! Luckily she was able to stop herself before that happened. She was confused as to why he stopped though. Was something going on in front of them? She stepped to the side and looked over his shoulder to see the Sheikah woman they were talking to earlier, Impa, standing before a small group of elderly people. She had no idea who they were, but from the tone Impa was talking with towards them, she obviously knew who they were and they seemed to be people of high regard considering that she was using the term 'elder' quite often.

After studying them a little bit longer, she chanced a glance over at Sheik to see that instead of his usual blank stare that she had seen on his face (at least during the little bit that she knew him), she noticed that red eye he had visible was arched down into glare. She looked back towards the elder people. Did he not get along with them? The idea made her curious, but at the same time she knew that she didn't need to pry into people's lives. Especially people that she barely knew and would probably never see again.

She heard Sheik sigh and began walking forward at a slow pace. She followed quietly, being careful to stay behind him and not get too close. Slowly but surely they grew closer to where Impa and the older Sheikah were. Once they arrived near Impa's location, Lin could see a door to their left that led into tall building. Sheik stopped by the door and placed his left hand on the knob. Before he was about to open it though, she heard one of the elders call to him.

"Sheik! What are you doing here? We're you supposed to have left to begin your duty are or are you shirking that?"

She heard the other elders chuckle at the statement that was made and Lin didn't need to look at Sheik's face to know how he was feeling towards it. She saw him go still and the hand he had on the doorknob was clenched. He radiated anger. Although Lin didn't know him for that long, she could sympathize with him being upset. Even if he did tend to shirk his duties like the elder who spoke implied, he still didn't deserve to be made fun of. Called out, yes, if it was in fact what he was doing, but not made a public spectacle. Although she knew they couldn't see her, she sent a glare in their direction.

Suddenly she felt a slight bit warmer than normal. Was the cloaking wearing off? But how-? She turned to Sheik. Was he not focused on it anymore due to his irritation at their words. She panicked at the thought of being seen by all these people. She got closer to Sheik and whispered to him. "Sheik, I think its wearing off..."

She heard him gasp suddenly as if he realized what she meant and only a few seconds later she felt the coolness cover her again. Lin also noticed that he was no longer as tense as he was before and he wasn't clenching the doorknob. Did his emotions cause the magic to weaken? She didn't have time to ponder it for long, because Sheik turned the doorknob and opened the door. He stood there for a few moments to allow her time to slip in front of him and once the two were both inside and the door closed, Lin felt the chill pull away from her and warmth came to her.

Sheik leaned against the door they just entered and breathed out a breath he had been holding after his short display of emotion. That was too close. If the woman hadn't spoken to him then, the invisibility would have worn off and she would be seen by the entire village. That led to his next thought though: how did she know his name?

"How did you know my name?" The woman turned to look at him suddenly. Apparently she was too engrossed into looking around the building they were in. He pulled himself off of the door and walked to stand across from her as she started to answer his question. "Oh, um, I heard the other Sheikah woman say it. So I assumed that was your name. Is it?"

He nodded to affirm her question. He remembered that his aunt did in fact say his name during their conversation earlier. Well, so much for first introductions. "Yours?"

She pointed one of her fingers towards herself as if to ask if he was asking for her name. He inclined his head again. "Oh, my name is Lin."

"Lin?" He saw her nod her head at him to confirm her name. He saw her begin to open her mouth to say something, but before she got a chance, he heard the door open behind them and he turned his head to see his aunt closing the door behind her with a look of irritation evident on her face. Knowing that look, she probably said some choice words to the Elders for their comment they made to him a few moments ago. Although he appreciated the effort, he knew it wouldn't completely stop them though. He would just have to learn to deal with like he always has.

Impa stepped away from the door and saw her nephew and the woman standing across from one another looking back at her. She could tell by looking at Sheik that he was still a bit hurt by the Elders' words and she wanted to apologize to him for it, but seeing as the woman was here now, it would probably be best to wait until they were alone next. Now though, it was time to get down to business.

"The fire is this way." She said more so to the woman than Sheik, since she knew that he knew where it was. She walked between the two of them and to the double doors that lay straight ahead. She opened the left one and held it open for the two as they walked through it. She could sense a little apprehension coming from the woman (which she couldn't blame her for, this was a new place and she barely knew any of them), but she was able to push it way and continued on into the room.

Once they were all inside, Impa closed the door behind them and walked towards the fire which was burning a dull orange color. She directed the two to sit on the cushions before the fire and she walked on to stand on the other side. When she got there, she heard her nephew speak. "How are going to use the fire to figure out who she is?"

She looked at the two and could tell that woman was wondering the same thing. Impa reached to grab a knife she had strapped to her right leg and pulled it out of its sheath. She decided to be blunt. "We need to put her blood in the fire."

"Wait, my what?" Impa saw the look of panic flare up on the woman's face and while she could understand why she felt that way, she also knew that it was only way to get a positive result. She nodded at the woman and explain. "It's not a lot of blood. I just need to cut your hand, the one that bares the mark to be exact, and drip it into the fire. From there it will take a few moments for it to react. Whatever piece you possess, it will glow that respective color: green for Courage, blue for Wisdom and red for Power. Although Power we know is locked away in the Sacred Realm so that's not a liable option."

She could see a bit of panic go away from the woman's face but there was still some left. She looked to Sheik briefly and then back to the woman. "Sheik will use a red potion on your cut so it will instantly heal it. You don't have to worry about that. Although I will admit that as I'm making the cut it will hurt, but I promise that it will be brief."

Impa could see the debate the woman was having etched on her face. She was patient with her. She didn't want to force her to make a choice. Soon she could see the debate over and that the woman had made a decision for she held her left hand out towards her, eager to get this over with. Impa gently held her hand and begin using her knife to make a small, shallow cut. She heard her hiss in pain as the knife began to cut through her skin, but as quickly as it started it was over. She had gotten the blood that she needed.

She stood up slowly and carefully and walked around to the opposite side of the fire. She didn't need to turn around to see her nephew grab a red potion off of a shelf behind him and begin to use it on the woman's hand. Once she reached where she needed to be, she held her blade over the fire and began to hit it enough to make a few drops of blood fall from it.

Impa pulled the knife back and waited with bated breath for the fire to react and give them the answer they desired. It was only a few moments before the fire gave any results, but to Impa, her nephew, and Lin it took forever. Then the flame grew low until suddenly it flared to life changing into a different color other than its usual dull orange.

Green. The flame was green.

The Hero had been found.