"So," Link said, leaning forward and crossing his arms over the table. "What brings you back to Solen so soon?"

Link, stranger though he was, had brought her to a tavern near the outskirts of town—far away from where those men might look for him. It was hardly a nice tavern, but after spending over a week in Ecchar, any tavern was better than an Eccharn tavern. So Sheik bore it, though the drunken men all around the tavern made it difficult for her to relax.

"I'm just passing through," Sheik said, keeping her voice at the same pitch she'd used when she met him—deep enough to make even her voice androgynous. "Stopped to refill my supplies before I moved on. Why are you still here?"

Link cracked a smile, shaking his head. "I'm still working on my mission. Not going to pack up and leave just because some soldiers gave me trouble—or some townspeople. Thank you, by the way." Sheik waved his thanks away and, to her pleasant surprise, Link didn't insist on her accepting his gratitude. "The guards haven't tried anything since you left, thank the goddesses. They'd be stupid to, all considered, but there was still a chance that they wouldn't get the picture."

Sheik raised a brow, eyes narrowing just slightly as she tried to perceive his meaning. Fortunately, Link continued before Sheik had to ask what he meant—it was always better, after all, to pretend to understand unless it was absolutely necessary to ask for clarification. Pretending to hold all the cards was one of the only way Sheik had ever succeeded at heists, after all.

But goddesses, this conversation was making her uncomfortable.

"You're a Sheikah, after all," Link continued, a wry smile on his face as he went on, oblivious to Sheik's turmoil. "If they'd tried to keep fighting me, then they'd be going against someone working directly for the Royal Family. Give the King my thanks, by the way, for sending you to help. I really appreciate it."

Of all the times Sheik had been glad to wear a mask, she was more grateful now than ever before. Her lips settled into a grimace before she could stop them, but Link didn't seem to notice at all. He seemed to be under the impression that she worked for the Royal Family, and Sheik didn't want to give herself away. So she just nodded, trying to appear less disgusted with the mix-up than she felt. "I will."

Link smiled a little, relaxing as he leaned back into his chair. "And… tell the King, if you're headed back to Castle Town soon, that I don't think she's here."

Sheik pretended to know who 'she' was. "Of course," she said, nodding her head solemnly. But her insides were screaming at her to leave, and to leave quickly. Sheik had learned over the years to trust her gut, and this was no time to second-guess it. If this meeting continued on much longer, Sheik wasn't sure how much she could take.

But Sheik could grudgingly admit—just to herself—that it wasn't just a gut feeling that had her in a rush to leave. There was history, here; the last thing she wanted was to hear a lapdog of the king thanking her for her service.

And it dawned on her, as she watched him, that he genuinely believed that the King had sent a Sheikah to rescue him—twice!

Who did he think he was? Though as far as Sheik knew she wasn't Sheikah by blood, she had been raised by Impa as one of her own—thus, a Sheikah—and through years of practice, she could even tap into some of their magic. And yet, here this boy was, assuming that she was in service of the King. Worse than that, he seemed completely unaware of what the Sheikah were truly used for.

Even though she'd never worked as a true Sheikah a day in her life, Sheik felt offended on Impa's behalf. Being asked to deliver messages to the king—being sent to rescue some child on a mission. As if the King wouldn't have sent this very Sheikah to do the job, if it was so terribly important.

Had she been safe to speak her mind, she would have dug into him right then and there. But, as Sheik seethed in her seat, eyes hard and mouth set into a grimace, she knew she couldn't. It wasn't worth it if this conversation would lead to a delay in her travels.

Sheik still didn't regret saving this boy's life, but goddesses be damned, she was really starting to regret coming with him to the tavern.

Desperate to change the topic's course, Sheik tried to focus on the 'she' in Link's message. While Sheik had no idea who 'she' was supposed to be, she was starting to wonder. Ilia had said it wasn't safe for women to go out at night any more, and Link had been accused of kidnapping a young woman, and just now, he'd as good as admitted to looking for a particular woman at the King's request.

Something was all very fishy, and Sheik wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"The man in the alley said his daughter had gone missing," Sheik said, keeping her voice as neutral as she could. "Do you have any information on where she might be?"

To her dismay, Link shook his head. "If I knew, I'd be looking for her. There are too many girls going missing around here… I'm hoping that they're all being taken to the same place, but I doubt it."

Sheik let out a sigh of disappointment. "Do you have any leads on who's taking them, at least?"

Once more, Link shook his head. "I take it you haven't had any luck, either?"

"No," Sheik said—and she supposed it wasn't a lie. "I managed to keep a young girl from being taken a few towns away—but it was a common thug that had tried to take her." She furrowed her brows, trying to think it over. "It's possible that the kidnappers aren't anyone special."

"They probably aren't all working for the man responsible, no," Link said. "But I'm willing to bet that at least some of them are, and that's who the common criminals are taking them to."

Sheik hummed, digesting that bit of information as best she could. If only she could ask what he meant without giving away her own lack of knowledge. But it would be far too risky, and the last thing Sheik wanted to do was blow her cover after learning so much.

Despite her lingering irritation with this boy, the safety of girls all over Hyrule was at stake. The more she could learn about what was going on, the better she could be at defending them. If it meant saving more girls like Ilia, Sheik was prepared to do anything.

But when Link leaned back further into his chair, voice so distraught that Sheik could only imagine he was referring to his mission, she couldn't help the ice that formed in her veins.

"I'm praying every night that she hasn't been found, but… it's possible that the King's daughter is among them already…"

Sheik's heart stopped in her chest.

The King's daughter.

"Well, if that's all you have to report," Sheik said, standing suddenly on legs that no longer felt sturdy beneath her, "Then I'll be on my way."

"Wait—what?" Link furrowed his brows, eyes wide and confused as he watched her stand. "You're leaving already?"

Sheik looked away, unwilling to stare at such a concerned face. "I have to restock my supplies as soon as possible. I'm heading up north, to Ardock." –Goddesses damn it, she hadn't meant to tell him that. "I have to be on my way."

"Ardock?" Link stood, following her as she walked, but all Sheik wanted to do was to lunge out the door, to vault over the rooftops and get far, far away. "Why are you heading to Ardock?"

"Classified," Sheik said, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice. Try as she might, though, Link's expression fell, and Sheik felt almost bad for snapping at him. So she stopped just outside the tavern, fighting to keep her expression neutral. "Don't get yourself killed looking for her, Link. I'll be away for a while, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to protect you next time."

"But—"

"That's an order," she said, and found all too late that her voice had returned to her normal vocal range. Deciding to give up the ghost, she placed a hand on his shoulder, not bothering to speak lower even when she spoke again. "All the girls who've gone missing are important. Don't waste your life looking for just one—and be smarter about how you search, for goddesses' sake. There's nothing you can do if you die looking for her."

"Wait!"

Link caught hold of her hand before she could leave, and it was with practiced grace that Sheik twisted his hand around and pushed him back. "I need to leave, I already told you."

"These roads aren't safe at night anymore," Link said, bouncing back as soon as she pushed him. "At least stay at an inn for the night—just so you can rest before you head to Ardock!"

Sheik whirled around, fire in her eyes as she took a few threatening steps towards him. "Don't assume that I need your protection—or your advice. We're strangers, nothing more."

She didn't have time for his antics—and her mind was still spinning over the phrase 'the King's daughter.'

But she couldn't dwell on it here. Her reaction would give her away; after all, as the king's supposed attendant, Sheik should have known who he was searching for—not to mention, it seemed to be Link's mission to find the king's daughter. The pieces were falling into place one by one, and Sheik wasn't sure if she liked the picture it was creating.

Innocent girls were being kidnapped because of this.

Link had been hired by the King to find the true King's daughter.

When Sheik had saved him that day, the Royal Guards must have thought the same as the townsmen—that Link was the one responsible for kidnapping those girls because of how he'd been asking around for blonde-haired blue-eyed girls.

And when Sheik had saved him, both the Royal Guards and the townsmen must have thought the same as Link—that Sheik was a Sheikah in the service of the King. Stepping in to save him must have signaled that he wasn't a criminal after all, and was telling the truth about his intentions—

Hence why the guards hadn't pursued that day.

Sheik's mind was spinning as she turned and ran, vaulting onto rooftops so she could make her getaway as smooth as possible.

To her immense gratitude, Link didn't follow, though when she (briefly, ever so briefly) turned her head to look at him, he stood outside the tavern looking confused and upset. But Sheik had no plans on going back and explaining herself—and she knew she wouldn't be visiting Solen again anytime soon.

She had come back to see if the injured man was still alive, and he was. She could rest easy now, and leave things as they were. There was no need to check up on him again.

So Sheik took a deep breath and tried to calm her spinning mind. Her escape would do her no good if she was caught now, so she stayed on the rooftops with practiced ease: out of sight, out of mind, and out of most citizens' line of sight.

And with the way her emotions were twisting around inside of her, it was good to keep away from anyone who might see her. Just as the few times it had failed her before, Sheik's red-eyed glamour had never fared well with highly strung emotions.

And with the way the town was now, the last thing she wanted was to be identified as a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl.

The last thing she wanted was be identified as the King's long-lost daughter.

But why—Sheik wondered, finally stopping to catch her breath on the outskirts of town, chest heaving as she took her horse's reins—why had they only started looking for her now?

Panic was the only thing fueling Sheik as she rode north to Ardock.

Later, when she'd been miles and miles outside Solen's borders, she'd checked her face in a compact mirror and found that her glamour had indeed slipped in the chaos. It would be too taxing to reapply it now that she was hungry and tired and jittery—not to mention it was nearly impossible to do on horseback.

But when she finally made camp for the night, she couldn't bring herself to reapply it just yet.

It felt like punishment, in a way, to keep her glamour off—and punishment was just what she deserved.

It had been far too close of a call today. She'd entertained Link's mistaken identity for far too long, and it had nearly cost her the most precious secret she'd come to own. It had nearly cost her her very identity.

And that was something Sheik wasn't prepared to lose.

Not for her birthright, not for feeling at ease in her own skin, not for all of Hyrule—and certainly not for the King's blessing.

Sometimes, she wondered if she'd even give it up for Impa.

This life, as tumultuous as it was, was her own. She was Sheik now. If the King hadn't wanted her as Zelda, he certainly couldn't have her now.

She wasn't going to entertain his search parties for an instant, and now that she knew he was looking for her, the spiteful side of Sheik wished to make the search as difficult as possible for him. He deserved a bit of stress, she decided—especially when he was hunting her like some kind of exotic animal.

But it boiled her blood to know that there were innocent young women being stolen in an attempt to find her. Had the King truly turned into a tyrant?

It made no sense, no matter how she looked at it. Though she was the eldest daughter of the King, and it was her birthright to inherit the crown once he was too old to rule, the King was hardly old enough to give up the crown. And as far as she knew, he wasn't ill—and she was hardly his only child if he was.

She had a half-sister, she knew, and two half-brothers.

If it were truly necessary to pass on the crown, then one of them could take it once they were old enough, and the King's wife could rule till then.

But the King was healthy, so it didn't even matter that she had step-siblings and a step-mother. There was no reason for him to be looking for her at all!

After all these years, was he so adamant on finding her now?

As Sheik closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep, she tried to remind herself—over, and over, and over again—of the truth.

No matter what the King wanted with her, Sheik wouldn't play his game. He'd abandoned her when she was a child. Sheik wasn't going to forget that.

So as long as he looked for her, Sheik would hide.

And no lapdog of the King, she decided, untying her hair and letting it fall around her as she slept, would be getting any help from her again.

Hopefully some of your questions were answered! This chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but it seemed like a good stopping point. Things have been a bit hectic for me today, so sorry this is a bit late today—but tomorrow, the next should be right on schedule. As always, thank you so much for the amazing reviews! They kept me motivated as I wrote this, and I look forward to seeing what you all think of this chapter—and whether or not you've pieced together other plot elements so far.