"Hold on," Sheik called, trotting down the temple steps after his fellow blonde. He needed his answers, but hadn't stopped his mind from racing. He was trying to understand, take in all of this new information at once.

Link was here. He was back.
And yet…

He wasn't Link.
There was something about him the Sheik couldn't shake.
Something dark.

All he wanted to do was get the Hylian to talk to him, maybe clear up some of the haze in his mind that he was currently fighting with.
This was already so much.

Link kept walking.

Sheik, starting to get frustrated, raised his voice. Enough was enough.
"Look, if you don't want to tell me where you've been, that's fine. I don't need to know. I don't even care what you were doing."

Link stopped. Sheik subconsciously noticed his hands flexing and idly wondered if he was thinking of attacking him again.

Sheik continued, a bit softer this time. "But you can't blame me for being confused. None of us have seen you since that night 3 years ago. A lot of things have changed. I guess I'm just wondering why it was you left in the first place."

Link stayed quiet.

"Like I said, you don't want to talk, fine," he said pointedly, "Then I will. I know you think you don't know me, but I know you. Or at least I did. And the Link I knew wouldn't have left without saying a word. The Hero of Time that I met would've given his life to protect this land."

Sheik paused a moment to determine whether he'd hit a nerve or two. When Link said nothing, he continued.

"Whether or not you still own the title, you can't pretend that this war isn't going to happen. That isn't you. This isn't just Hyrule's battle anymore. Ambion is in danger. Maybe even beyond it. I just thought that you would've maybe come back once you heard about what was going on."

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Sheik was thinking of what he should say next, but he seemed to think he'd made his thoughts pretty apparent.

After what felt like painstakingly long minutes, the Hylian turned to face him, his face livid.

He walked over to Sheik swiftly, and Sheik had to use all of his will power not to get defensive. His face stopped inches away from the Sheikah's.

His eyes burned with fury. "Do you have any idea…" his voice lowered dangerously, "any idea… what I've done for this forsaken place?"

At this, Sheik was taken aback. "Yes, I do."

"No," he snapped immediately, "you don't."

Sheik looked at him incredulously.

Link composed himself before continuing, a dry laugh escaping him. "Is that what all of you think down here?"

Sheik stayed silent.

"You think I would just disappear without doing something about it?" He shook his head. "Well I have news for you- for everyone in this hellhole that thinks I abandoned them."

He leaned in closer to Sheik, if that was even possible. "I was doing something. I was fighting."

Sheik kept his thoughts hidden, his eyes stoic.

Link didn't wait for him to react. "For a year I stood by the King's army up on the islands surrounding Olmor. And I fought. I fought to keep them out of the villages as they grew stronger. I fought any kind of enemy you could think of; moblins, keese, deku warrior babas… there were so many of them. We were pretty successful with keeping them at bay for a while…"

He paused for a moment, as though deciding whether or not to continue. Sheik supposed he saw the eager look on his face, because he decided to continue his story.

He absentmindedly started preparing a mare that had been tethered to a nearby tree. Sheik could only assume she was his. "A couple of months ago, they came to one of the larger cities outside of Calatia. You may know it," he added, watching the Sheikah's reactions closely. "Roshing."

Sheik's heart knotted up in his chest. Roshing was one of the main Sheikah settlements around the mainland. He couldn't fight against his growing eagerness, and when Link stayed quiet, he spoke. "I know it."

"The battle started off like any other. We outnumbered them for a while, killing as many as we could while pushing them out of the city. Or so we thought… As it turned out, they had nine times as many soldiers as we'd expected. We'd walked into an ambush."

He paused, and Sheik already knew where he was headed. He could see the brief look of pity in Link's eyes before he continued saddling his mare. "They were one step ahead of us. Instead of just taking the village, the plan had been to take our army down as well. And it worked."

After a moment's silence, Sheik urged him on a little more forcefully than intended. "What do you mean by worked? What happened," he asked, though he knew the answer.

Link sighed heavily. "Look," he said, "there was nothing more we could have done. I had some of the best soldiers there. It just… wasn't enough. Now, if you'll excuse me," he said, starting past Sheik, "I believe I left something of mine inside."

Sheik stood there in disbelief while Link nudged passed him.

He stared blankly into the distance while Link's words played through his head, his mind trying to decipher them.
They'd lost.
So… the Sheikah tribe.
Were they all dead?

This was too much.
He had thought…
There had to be more time…

He grasped his hair in his hands, trying to make sense of his thoughts.
The settlement was gone.
But that did not mean the Sheikah were.

He took a deep breath. Yes. There was still hope.

Gaining his composure, he realized that his comrade had disappeared.
He turned about as a satisfied Link came down the temple stairs.

"Well, Sheik," he mounted his mare, "I really should be going. I don't know about you, but I would rather steer clear of the castle guards. They'll be doing their rounds soon enough. Good luck."

And with that, he turned and started to ride away.

Sheik, baffled by this, quickly called after him. "Wait, Stop!"

To his surprise, he did.

This was his chance, his only way to leave Hyrule.
And Gods damn him if he was going to let that chance slip by.

"Take me with you."

Link raised a brow. "Come again?"
"I wish to join you on your journey. Take me to Calatia."

The Hylian sat back in his saddle. He chuckled. "I think I might've given you the wrong impression. As you can see," He gestured to the empty field around him. "I work alone now."

"And in case you'd forgotten already," Sheik started, getting heated, "You barely stood a chance against me in there." He leaned in closer. "And you know I was going easy on you."

An exaggeration?
Possibly.
Even so, Link glared down at him, and Sheik knew that he'd hit a nerve.

"And how would you know where I'm going? In fact for all you know, I might not even be headed back that way."

Sheik shrugged. "Why wouldn't you be? You spent a year trying to defend the city. I think the real question is what are you doing in Hyrule if you were planning on going back. But that really doesn't interest me."

Link let out a dry laugh. "Really? You could have fooled me. In fact, you did when you were lecturing me before. I really don't have time for this-"

Instinctively, Sheik gently grasped his arm. "Wait."
This conversation was going nowhere…
And he was desperate.

He swallowed the little bit of pride he had left.
"I'm sorry."

Link's posture loosened, and Sheik released his arm.
"Look," he said, "These are my people. Probably the last of my kind. If they are in danger, I need to help them."

It was sickening how easy it'd become for him to plead.

"I would've been out there with you had I known earlier. Had I been able to leave…"

He looked up into the face he once knew so well, praying that a fraction of Hyrule's savior still resided within him.

"Please… bring me with you. I can help. I will fight. I will fight beside you until my services are no longer needed. And even then, I will still be in your debt," he added.

Oh yes, he was desperate.

Link pondered this. "So… you really want to get out of here that badly?"

Sheik said nothing.

For what seemed like an eternity, neither of them spoke. Link seemed to be weighing the options. Sheik, glad he was even considering, stayed silent.

"Hm," Link said finally, "In my debt, huh?"

Sheik nodded.

Link looked at him hard for a moment. Then he continued, "Tell me," he said questioningly, "Why is it that you are so eager to leave this place?"

After Sheik said nothing, he tried to pry further.

"Is it because of Zelda?"

Again, Sheik said nothing.

Link, deciding to leave it alone, looked him over once more.
"I suppose you would be helpful. None of the other Sheikah seemed to have your style in combat."

Sheik's heart leapt.
He couldn't believe it… other Sheikah?
So they were still alive...

He decided to pass on that for now.
Had he actually convinced him?

Sheik guessed that Link had taken notice of his excite, as he said not a second later, "I wanted to stop in at Anju's place for the night. She always had to best ale." He motioned toward the town. "Let's continue this discussion over a pint."

"Here you are."
The young woman behind the bar set a glass down in front of Sheik. It was undoubtedly filled with some kind of alcohol. He kindly nudged it away.

"No thanks," he said, "I don't have any money."

"On the house," she slid it back over to him. "Any friend of Link's is a friend of mine."
Sheik gave her a weak smile. "'Friend' might be a bit personal." Pulling back his cowl, he took a sip.
Which he promptly wished he'd thought twice about.

As he choked on the substance, he cursed sharply, causing Anju to laugh.
"Gods, what the hell is this?"
"It's our strongest ale, Mikau Gruff, all the way from Zora's Domain. It's Link's favorite." She chuckled again at Sheik's look of disgust. "Don't worry, it'll grow on you."

Sheik couldn't remember the last time he'd had a drink. He normally chose not to engage in social situations if he could help it. Groups were always less intelligent than individuals, and for that reason he'd kept his distance.
Link, on the other hand, seemed to be right at home, currently chatting up the young barmaid.

"Hey, it's Anju, isn't it?"
"That's right," she flashed him another one of those charming smiles.
"How well would you say you know Link?"

Before she could answer, however, Link sauntered back over to his seat.
"Me and Anju here," he slurred, as he took another swig of ale, "we've come to an understanding. She keeps me under the political radar. And... well."

Anju giggled as Link flashed her a grin.
"Let's just say I room for free."

"Political radar?" Sheik questioned, hesitantly sipping from his own glass. "How do you mean?"

"She bribes the guards to steer clear of her Inn while I'm here," he said, rather nonchalantly.
'Funny,' Sheik thought to himself, 'he sounds like he's been here often.'
"I guess you really don't want Zelda to know you're here?"

Link, who'd been finishing off his second ale, turned to Sheik with a look on his face that the Sheikah couldn't quite place.
When he didn't answer, Sheik decided not to pursue the matter.

They sat for a few minutes in silence, and Sheik idly observed the social structure of the place. There were only a few men inside, most of them drunkenly trying to get the one barmaid working that night to leave with them. As she went around collecting empty glasses from the bar, Sheik noticed her glance at Link and, by her smile, knew why it was she'd been ignoring everyone else.

"I hope I'm not being forward," Sheik said as he tried to hide his distaste at Link's responsive smirk, "but exactly how often did you come to this bar before you left? It's funny. It seems as though you were just here yesterday…" Sheik pushed his glass away, disinterested in the beverage. "Why is that?"

Link ignored Sheik's question, and instead turned to him and said, "I have conditions."

Sheik looked at him, puzzled. "For what?"

"If you're going to accompany me outside of Hyrule, I have conditions."

Sheik nodded. "Of course."
He had to hide the grin that was threatening to cross his features.

Link's face was suddenly serious. "I know that the Sheikah are important to you, but if you're with me, you must put your personal feelings aside. This is a war. We must do what we have to in order to win it."

"I understand."

"Secondly, I'm in charge. The rest of Ambion isn't like Hyrule. You're unfamiliar with the territory. If I tell you to do something, you should do it."

Sheik hesitated. He wasn't eager about taking orders from others.
Still, if it was for the good of his people…
He supposed he could do that.

"Alright," He agreed.

"And lastly."
Link's voice got dangerously low, his eyes burning into Sheik's.
His face turned hard as he spoke, and Sheik couldn't help but feel a little threatened as he said,

"Don't ever ask me a question like that again."