Link, who had taken a few steps backward, stood motionless, still shrouded by his cloak. There was an odd tension in the air that Sheik was eager to disperse.

He took another step forward.
Link drew his sword again.

Sheik stopped, confused by Link's reaction.
Had he already forgotten?

"Do you not recognize me?" Sheik asked, wondering how that could be possible.

He didn't answer.

After a few minutes, Sheik wondered if he'd ever speak. Or move.
But, as his patience started to wear,
Link started walking.

… Toward him.

Sheik could feel his heart racing in anticipation, all the while keeping a straight face.
Though it was proving increasingly difficult to hide his excitement.

Moving into the light, he slowly removed his shroud.

And sure enough-
There he was.

The Hero.

They stared at each other for a brief moment, but that was plenty of time for Sheik to thoroughly study him.
As he stared into the face he'd known so well, he had a odd feeling of nostalgia inappropriately accompanied by uneasiness.
Link was… different.
He looked the same. His blonde hair and strong face exactly how Sheik had remembered, save for a few minor scars.

But…
He was different.

There was wisdom in his eyes…
an experience in his face that Sheik hadn't known in him before.

He looked so much older.
It was making Sheik uncomfortable.

Link looked at him questioningly, his blue eyes burning into Sheik's crimson ones. He looked as though he couldn't quite figure him out.

There were so many things Sheik wanted to say, that he wanted to ask him. Where had he been? Why was he here? When did he get back? What had he been doing this whole time? Why was he staring at him like a lost puppy?
Of course, he couldn't seem to get his mouth to work, so instead, he gave him an interrogative stare.
Not unlike the one he was receiving

Feeling a little sheepish, he decided to go with stating the obvious.

"You're staring," he said, and immediately felt like an idiot. He tried to cover up his general comment. "Do I really look that different?"

Link looked as though he was about to say something, but couldn't find the words.

Sheik idly wondered if he looked as surprised as Link did.

Finally, he spoke.

"I'm… well, I have to admit that I'm a bit puzzled," he said, his voice deep and mellow. "I didn't expect to see you here."

That was understandable, Sheik thought. No one had really been inside this temple for years it looked like.
But Sheik decided to get straight to business.

"I guess I could be saying the same thing. After all," Sheik mused, "it has been about three years since anyone's seen you."

Sheik could've sworn that for the slightest moment, a look of guilt crossed over Link's features.

Link cleared his throat, a sign of discomfort. "I meant to come see you. I was actually on my way over to the castle."

It was Sheik's turn to be confused. The castle?
Why would he be there?

"I figured you'd be busy with the politics and all of that... I certainly didn't expect to see you here-"
Wait… could it be that he still…

"-and especially not wearing that."
Oh.
Sheik understood.
Link thought that he was-

"Zelda?"

Sheik's excitement had dwindled down and now the only thing he felt was a little frustrated.
It hadn't been his most successful plan...

"You want me to… what?"

Sheik tried not to let his face portray his desperation, though he was having some trouble masking it in his voice.

The princess sighed, not sure how to respond to his insane idea.
He felt his hope draining quickly.

"Zelda… it's only for a little while, so the Hero can finish his task and retrieve all of the medallions. Besides, Ganondorf is still looking for you and he will stop at nothing."

"I've hidden for this long, Sheik." Zelda reassured him. "He hasn't found me yet."

"You can't hide forever. He'll find you sooner or later, unless you have an alias. You wouldn't just be helping yourself; you'd also be doing me a big favor. Please…"

Zelda surveyed him through unconvinced eyes. "I don't know, Sheik."

Sheik unintentionally gave a huff of frustration and turned to Impa. "Impa, please. You know what I'm suggesting is a good-"

"I know what you are suggesting Sheik." The older Sheikah rose. "I agree that it seems we have no other option. However…"

Sheik groaned inwardly.

"That is for the princess to decide, not I."

They stood in silence for a few seconds, and Sheik looked expectantly at Zelda. He idly wondered how they hadn't been found already with all of the time they'd spent debating.

Zelda crossed her arms. "So…" she started thoughtfully, "you want me to disguise myself… as a Sheikah."

"As myself," Sheik corrected her.

"As you. You want me to pretend to be you and help Link finish his work… while you remain… where?"

"I will go to Datmar. Rumors have circulated about an arrow that carries the light of the sun in its body. Otherwise known as light arrows," he clarified. "They, ultimately, are the only thing that can break through Ganondorf's defenses so that Ganon can be defeated."

Zelda thought about this, unable to argue. "Well…" she began hesitantly, "how will Link even know who I- … who you are? I doubt he'll take advice from a stranger."

"He knows who I am."

At this, Impa turned her head toward Sheik, eyes flickering with interest.

"I have been helping him for awhile now, though I've only really spoken to him a few times. The goddesses made it quite clear on what it was they wanted me to do," he finished, pulling out the harp he'd received years earlier.

Zelda gave a small gasp. "That harp..."

"It is one passed down from the Royal Family. I do not know exactly how it came to be in my possession..." he glanced up at her, "but I believe that the Goddesses made it happen. I know that it was given to me for a reason. And that reason was to help the Hero of Time.

"There are six sacred melodies that Hyrule's past has kept hidden...whispers of the tunes had traveled through the generations of Sheikah before mine. I did not know what the hints had meant then...but I am certain now that it had always been my job to learn the tunes and teach them to the Hero when the time came."

He looked up at Zelda, his eyes determined.

"Zelda..."

She too shared his glance.

"...That time is now."

Sheik had done what he'd set out to do; he found the light arrows. Little did he know that upon his return, Zelda had revealed herself to Link a lot sooner than Sheik would've liked, resulting in her imminent capture.

Sheik had planned on being there when Zelda unveiled their secret, but since he wasn't…
It must mean that Link still thought there was no Sheik to begin with.

"No." Sheik said flatly.

Link was confused. Again.

"How do I explain this…" Sheik started. "I'm not Zelda. She was disguised in my clothing while I was off on an… errand. I needed her to teach you the rest of the melodies in my absence."

Link stared at him blankly for a moment. "What?"

"Yes." Sheik confirmed. "It's true. I'm... the 'real' Sheik."

Link stayed quiet for a moment while he processed this oddity. "I don't..." he started, and then he thought about it.

Sheik let him think, all the while hoping that he'd just understand and accept the news so they could move forward.

"So… Zelda was disguised as you?"
Sheik nodded.

Link looked utterly bewildered. "Why?"

"It was the only way you'd find the temples while I was away."

He pointed to Sheik again. "So… you're Sheik."
Sheik nodded again.

He went silent for a moment. "So..." He started walking slowly. "Back then... if that was Zelda-"

At that moment, Sheik wasn't sure he liked where this was going. Especially when he suddenly found flames licking at his neck, the arrow now notched into the Hero's bow lit a brilliant...
Green?

"Then who, exactly, are you?" His voice was oddly cautious.

Sheik paused for just a moment before straightening his back and sheathing away any visible emotion from his face, though he could clearly feel the odd heat from the arrowhead absorbing his strength.

They stared at one another, neither of them budging. Link's expression, contrastive to Sheik's blank one, was set to be menacing, but was failing to fully mask hints of interest.

Sheik kept his composure, hiding all evidence of being uncomfortable. He was very tempted to shield himself in some way.

But instead, he calmly replied. "You already know who I am. I'm the last Sheikah in Hyrule. It was my job to help you find your way to the temples and awaken the sages."

"If it was your job, why did you give it to Zelda?" Link asked, almost immediately.

"I didn't. We met a few times before Zelda assumed my role. It wasn't until the end that she stepped in for me."

"Uh-huh." Link mulled this over for a minute. "So tell me, 'Sheik'…" He sounded mostly unconvinced, but slightly entertained as well. "Why did Zelda feel that she needed to step in for you? Were you not up to the Princess's… standards?"

Sheik was started to get very annoyed; he didn't take mocking lightly. The fact that Link wasn't really trying to hide his smirk made it that much worse.

"She didn't. It was my idea."

This peaked Link's interest, and knocked that smug look off of his face, which Sheik liked very much.

"Her Highness was only filling in for me while I was on an… errand. She wasn't supposed to get herself captured."

Link's eyes narrowed inquisitively. "What errand?"

Sheik indicated to Link's quiver. "Your light arrows. I knew you'd be facing Ganon soon and went to retrieve them."

Link eyed him for another moment, Sheik growing increasingly uncomfortable and queasy.
He finally pulled the arrow away from the Sheikah's throat, cautiously holding it away from his body before blowing out the end tenderly and tucking the arrow away.

Sheik coughed subtly. He could feel his strength returning. "… What was on that arrow?"

Link shrugged. "Some kind of poison, I think."

'Naturally,' Sheik thought sarcastically. "You know…" Sheik started, as Link gathered the rest of his affects, "I think it's my turn to ask a few questions of my own."

"Oh?" Link said idly, replacing his hookshot.

"Yes. There are some things that I think I have the right to know. First of all, after the fight with Ganon, you were supposed to return to your own time, but… you left without saying a word. And you were gone for so long. I think that that deserves an explanation."

Link looked at him incredulously. "You're kidding."

Sheik, who had pretty much been expecting him to agree, was taken aback by his reaction. No. He wasn't kidding, actually. Far from it.

"No. Second of all, what have you been doing all of this time? There's a war going on. I don't know if you know anything about it but it's been going on for a while. If you do know about it, then have you been involved? Did you fight? Whatever you were up to, you have to know that something must be done."

Link shot him a look of disbelief before scoffing, gathering up his spilled equipment, and promptly walking out of the temple, leaving the door (along with Sheik's mouth) wide open.

Was it something he'd said?