((To Queen of Hyrule: I'm very sorry about that! Guest reviews take a lot longer to process and show up than non-guest reviews, so by the time I'd uploaded the next chapter, I hadn't seen your review. Terribly sorry about that. But to answer your question, yes, I am uploading these as I write them. Every single one of these is fresh from Word when I upload them to ffnet.))
By the time Sheik and Ilia arrived in Solen, she wasn't sure she felt entirely Hylian anymore. She wasn't even sure if she felt alive.
Because she'd left the morning after arriving in Ecchar, Sheik hadn't had the chance to bathe after three days of travel, and then they were on the road again for three more days right after. The only thing Sheik wanted when they arrived in Solen was a bath. She could forego food, she could forego a bed—but she needed to get clean.
When they finally came to Telma's—the last few miles on foot because horses weren't welcome on the streets—Sheik could have cried with joy. But she wasn't the only one overcome with happiness. Once they came through Telma's doors, Telma and Link turned and stared. And the smiles on their faces made Sheik's exhaustion and sore muscles worth it.
It didn't take long for Link to run towards Ilia, knocking over his chair and a few empty ones along the way. There was such joy on his face that Sheik almost felt uncomfortable just seeing him—but how could she begrudge him his happiness? It had clearly been a while since they'd seen each other last, and Ilia had been in danger recently.
Still, Sheik couldn't help but wonder. Was this what it was to reunite with a loved one?
Sheik stepped to the side, giving the pair some space. Ilia was here now, and safe—that meant Sheik had plenty of time to get that bath she wanted so badly. So she slipped past them, grateful that neither seemed to notice her leaving.
"Can I get a room key?" Sheik asked Telma, only briefly drawing the woman's gaze from the scene across the tavern.
"Resting so soon, honey?" Telma asked. "I would've thought you'd stay down for a little longer, at least—"
"I'll be back later." When Telma didn't immediately hand over a room key, Sheik's irritation grew. "Room, please," Sheik said, holding her hand out and hoping she didn't look as frustrated as she felt. Her mask might have hidden her frown, but it didn't hide the slant of her brows, or the tension in her voice. Finally, Telma sighed and handed over a key, and Sheik wasted no time in hurrying up to the room and, more importantly, to the bathtub.
Sheik ended up filling and refilling that tub three times.
Once, to soak and wash her uniform so she'd have something to wear after she got out of the bath. The second time, to get the dirt off of her so she'd finally feel clean. The third, by far the warmest of all of them, was just to soak.
Her muscles were stiffer than they'd been in years. All Sheik wanted to do was lie there in the hot water forever, without anyone to disturb her. As grateful as she was that Ilia was safe, Sheik wanted no part of the noisy celebration downstairs. She'd come back in a few hours, she knew—just as she'd promised Telma—but for now, she'd take her time and allow the hot water to soothe her aching muscles.
When she finally stepped out, she felt like an entirely different person.
Of course she still looked the same. Her red eye glamour was in place, and all her scars were right where they were supposed to be. Her body was thick with muscle, enough that androgyny came easy to her. But the dirt was off, and her hair was clean, and the soreness had faded enough that she could hold herself gracefully rather than so stiffly.
For a moment, Sheik entertained the idea that she really might be a princess and not just the King's long lost daughter.
But habit was habit, and she wrinkled her nose in disgust of the very thought. Sheik used a small bit of magic to dry her Sheikah ensemble, then changed back into it. The tight fabric was wrapped around her skin once more, and she realized she hadn't quite felt whole without it.
This. This was her.
She wasn't a princess, and she wasn't a hero who went on daring missions to save kidnapped girls, either. She was simply the adopted daughter of a Sheikah who had taught her everything she knew.
All the same, though, it felt nice not to have her hair in a braid. She wrapped the head covering over the top of her hair, but left the rest out and free, relishing how light it felt when it wasn't all pulling the same way.
It wasn't like she was going anywhere tonight, anyways. Even if just for a day or two, she planned on staying in Solen. There was nowhere else she really needed to be—but after that, she knew she needed to get back on the road.
It was too dangerous to stay in one place for too long—especially when so much traffic came through Solen looking for the long lost King's daughter.
Just the thought of leaving, though, made her heart feel heavy.
If she left now, she'd be leaving Ilia behind. And Telma. And Ravio. And Link.
Was it worth it?
Sheik dwelled on the thought for a few seconds, the question weighing heavily on her mind. But there was nothing she could do to change it. She was an outlaw, and hunted by two groups for two very, very different reasons—three, if she counted the soldiers, though fortunately they were far, far away in the Gerudo Desert. She didn't have the luxury of staying.
And she certainly didn't have the luxury of making friends.
So she'd keep her hair down just for tonight, and she'd go to the bar and have a few drinks with them. She couldn't let herself get too attached beyond that.
"—It was certainly a long trip, that's for sure," she heard Ilia say just across the tavern. "But Sheik knew every shortcut here, and the best places to camp. And there were so many people all over the field, and I think I saw someone getting robbed while we were riding! Did you know Hyrule Field was so dangerous?"
"I've heard rumors," Telma replied, a smile in her voice. "It's good you went on horseback, though. I've heard carriages get the worst luck."
"I'm glad Sheik came," Link said. "I can't imagine how dangerous it would have been for you if you would have gone alone."
As Sheik descended the stairs, she saw the group sitting at the bar. Telma caught her eye, though, and smiled, gesturing for Sheik to join them.
"Speak of the devil," she said. "We were just talking about you, Sheik."
"I heard," she replied, trying to suppress the panic that came with Telma's words anyways. After years of leaving as little a trace as she could, Sheik couldn't relax when she knew people talked about her. This time she'd heard them—or at least the last bit of the conversation—and it eased her mind somewhat, but she hated not knowing what they'd said earlier.
Were they comparing stories? Tracing back everything she'd ever said? Had her glamour slipped at some point and they were talking about how her eyes were really blue, how she was the same age as the king's daughter, how she didn't seem to be a real Sheikah at all—
By the time she made it to the bar, the tension was right back in her shoulders, and she had to fight back a wince as she sat on a stool next to Ilia. Goddesses damn it, she thought the soreness had faded.
"You look like you could use a drink," Telma said, looking Sheik up and down. "Long trip?"
Sheik just shrugged. She didn't want to make Ilia feel bad, so the last thing she wanted was to make a fuss about her soreness. "I'm always up for something to drink," she said, wasting no time in ordering something infused with red potion. It certainly didn't taste the best, but it would take care of both her aches and her sobriety all at once.
Not to mention it was strong.
She pushed some money across the table, not wanting to waste Ilia's money on a tab anymore. It looked like Ilia was struggling some, and though she was sure Telma wouldn't make her pay for a room if she couldn't afford it, she certainly didn't want to use up what spending money Ilia had.
Fortunately Telma seemed to think the same, and she accepted the money. There was a smile on her face, like Telma knew more than she was letting on, and Sheik felt that tension in her spine return in full force.
Her drink couldn't come soon enough.
As Telma prepared it, Sheik leaned against the counter, trying not to listen in on what Link and Ilia were saying. As they were right next to her, though, it was difficult to avoid.
"—girls being outright threatened in Ecchar, Link, you wouldn't believe it."
"Just blondes?" he asked, concern in his voice. "Or are they starting to expand it like they have in other ones?"
"I think they're starting to figure out that if she's truly the King's daughter, then she has some old magic in her to disguise herself." Ilia sighed, shaking her head. "For all we know, though, she might have fled to an entirely different country…"
"If she is, then good on her," Link said. He turned and looked at Sheik, and she tried not to feel too exposed as his gaze lingered.
Ilia knocked a hand against his arm, though. "Stop staring."
"Sorry, sorry," Link answered, not even trying to keep his voice down. Good humor in his tone, he leaned over the bar and looked at Sheik with a bright smile. "I just—I've been wanting to ask, Sheik…"
Sheik gulped, hoping against hope that he wasn't going to ask something too invasive. But she couldn't just ignore him when he was looking right at her, so she turned her head to meet his gaze. "…I'm listening."
"Have you found any new leads on the princess?" Link sounded almost childishly hopeful, and Sheik reminded herself that she, too, was supposed to be pursuing the King's Daughter. "I haven't heard anything new for a while, but there's just so much strange stuff going on all over Hyrule… It's hard to figure out what matters to finding the princess and what doesn't."
"It all matters," Sheik said, voice as tense as she felt. And goddesses, she didn't mean to be snappish, but this was the last thing she wanted to talk about right now. Not to mention him calling the King's daughter a princess bothered her more than she knew how to say. "The missing girls, the soldiers disappearing off to the Gerudo Desert, Ardock, the King's daughter…"
"Ardock?" Ilia asked, furrowing her brow. "What happened to Ardock?"
"Last I heard it was frozen," Link said, shaking his head. "People evacuated all over the place. I think there are a few here in Solen, actually—"
"If you know who they are, tell them that they can return home," Sheik said. "I went by there just a week ago. It's perfectly fine now."
Link blinked at her, surprise on his face. "But people were saying it was cursed—"
"If it was, it's fine now," Sheik said firmly. "It was abandoned but safe when I left it. With no one guarding it, though, it puts it at risk for thieves. If they figure out they can break into peoples' homes with no one guarding it, I'm willing to bet people have already broken in and stolen things. It's in the peoples' best interest to return home as soon as they can."
And if that was the story spread to get people to return, then no one would think it was amiss that there were a few gems stolen.
"I'll pass on the message," Link said, surprise fading. "You must have been one of the first to go to Ardock after it was unfrozen, though… You're sure you didn't see anything suspicious?"
Sheik shrugged a shoulder. "It didn't even look like it had been frozen when I left," she said. The longer the conversation went on, the more she wished it would end—she was growing tired of having to explain herself without giving anything away. "Just, please. Tell the people to head back there next chance they get."
Telma finished with her drink and passed it to Sheik, who realized all too late that she'd have to lower her mask in front of both Ilia and Link in order to drink. It was nerve wracking enough to have a feminine voice, but to show her face—distinctly feminine, even without makeup—felt all the more uncomfortable.
Still, she couldn't just sit there and not drink, and Telma had already seen her face, anyways. So Sheik carefully—fingers still clumsy and sore—untied her scarf and lowered her mask. There were no cries of surprise, no gasps of horror, no interrogations, and for that she was thankful—but she wished Link and Ilia would stop looking at her.
The drink, bitter as it was, at least kept her mind off of it.
"I'll spread the word to anyone I meet and get word passed around," Ilia finally said, returning the conversation. "I don't know many people here, though, so I suppose it will mostly fall to Link and Telma…"
"And Sheik," Link said, still looking at the Sheikah. "You're staying and spreading the word too, right?"
Sheik's expression sharpened. "No. I'm leaving either tomorrow or the next day." Remembering her cover, and wanting to avoid questioning as much as she could, she added, "I'll see what leads I can find on the missing girls and the King's daughter here, but I can't afford to linger here. There are too many towns going under because of this mess—and too many people suffering from it. If I can help, I'm obligated to."
Once the words had left her mouth, though, Sheik worried that she'd said too much. Of course it was her plan, as much as her self-preservation wished it wasn't, but to phrase it like that made it sound like some kind of vigilante hero.
But it wasn't as if she could say it any other way—it was her obligation because she was the one the kidnappers were looking for, and she couldn't tell them that.
To her dismay, Link was looking at her with something like wistfulness. Sheik avoided his stare, instead drinking down some more of her drink, hoping that she'd start to feel it soon.
"If that's all you're up to," Ilia said, turning more towards her, "Then why not take Link with you? He's searching for the princess, too."
"King's daughter," Sheik corrected, the words slipping out before she could stop them. The trio looked at her for a moment, and Sheik willed her embarrassment not to show on her face. "She's just the King's daughter. It doesn't make her a princess."
Telma nodded at Sheik, much to her relief. "It's easier calling her a princess, but I suppose she isn't allowed to take the throne. Shame, really, with all the fuss being put into finding her."
"Whether or not she's ever allowed to take the throne, she shouldn't have to live in fear," Link said. "She belongs at the castle. I can't imagine what it must have been like, having to leave so young…"
Ilia looked at Link, brows furrowing in confusion. "Having to… leave? I'm sorry, but… In Ecchar, people don't talk about politics much. I'm afraid I don't know the full story…"
Link managed a bitter half-smile and shook his head, surprising Sheik. "It's not a very happy story. I'd hate to spoil your arrival with it."
"Oh, please," Ilia said, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure it can't be that bad."
Sheik hid her expression behind another sip, but her eyes still flashed in annoyance. She had to rein in her temper before her emotions got out of hand, though—or else her glamour was sure to drop.
"You'd be surprised, Ilia. Our king has more than a few skeletons in his closet, you know. In fact, I'm sure our Sheikah here knows quite a bit about them, working so closely with him." Seeing Sheik's expression, Telma added, "No offense, honey. He isn't the greatest king we've had."
"None taken," Sheik said. "He's done a few things I'm not fond of. How he handled the situation with his daughter was one of them."
"You can't choose not to tell me now, saying something like that," Ilia insisted. "I want to hear."
Sheik took another sip of her drink. Perhaps it was the bitterness she felt towards the king, or the way her drink was loosening her tongue, but she felt it was only fair to tell what had happened—especially since it seemed fairly common knowledge, at least.
"The king had a daughter before he got married," Sheik said. "A little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes who lived in the castle till she was five." This was the story she'd heard most often in the streets, and it was true enough, she supposed, though it left out how kind the king had been, and how much those around the castle doted on her. "Even though she was illegitimate, because the king wasn't married, no one paid her much mind. But shortly after the girl turned four, the king got married."
The trio were watching her closely now, and Sheik took a few more sips of her drink before continuing. There was no way she could keep talking if she didn't have something to calm her nerves.
"Well, because of the rules about monarchy, the king's firstborn daughter wasn't eligible to take the throne because she was illegitimate, and the king had a wife now. It didn't matter that the king had an illegitimate daughter, though, until the queen got pregnant."
"Couldn't they have just kept the daughter anyways? It wasn't as if she would take the throne for herself, would she?"
Sheik shrugged a shoulder, trying to seem nonchalant despite the anger burning under her skin. "Who can say? The king and queen wanted to smooth over the scandal, though, so they hid the girl away in a town not far from the castle."
"Kakariko Village, rumor has it," Telma said. "Though some have said she was moved as far away as Carron."
"The true location is classified," Sheik said, trying to guard herself from any time she might let something slip in the future. "But the girl was raised by an elderly nursemaid who agreed to look after her. And she did, quite well, I hear, before she passed away." She trailed off, uncertain how much the public knew. She certainly didn't want to contribute to any new (true) rumors about the subject. If she let on more than she ought to know according to the rumor mill, that might be cause for trouble in the future.
It seemed that others were happy enough to pick up where she left off, though.
"The King said the girl was only ten when the nursemaid passed," Link said. "There wasn't a lot of communication with the castle, so no one knew about it till it was already too late."
"There's a rumor, too, that a little girl came knocking at the castle around that time, begging to work," Telma said. "But none of the guards recognized her and they turned her away. If they'd only let her in, all of this could've been avoided…"
"The king looked for her, of course, far and wide. But no one could find her." There was something almost forlorn in Link's voice, and Sheik tried not to wonder why that might be. "There were all kinds of orphans being made around the country, though, and no one could keep track of one little girl who didn't want to be found."
Telma shook her head, pouring a drink for herself and taking a sip. "It really makes you think, you know, how so much happened all because the King wasn't willing to take a stand and keep his child with him. Frankly, I'm disappointed in him."
Ilia, despite the gaps filled in for her, seemed stuck on one question, though. "Who was the girl's mother?"
That was something even Sheik didn't know—and she tried not to look as curious as Ilia as she waited for someone—anyone—to answer. Was that common knowledge, too? Or had that information been denied to the people just as it had been denied to Sheik?
To her disappointment, though, no one had a real answer. "Some say it was just some girl from Castle Town," Link said. "Others say it was a noble, from somewhere far away. Some say she was a servant or a maid. All we really know is that she died in childbirth and the king promised to take care of her."
"And he failed," Ilia said, a frown forming on her face. "Now everyone else is suffering for it, just because he was selfish."
"I wouldn't go that far," Sheik said, remembering her disguise even as she agreed with every word Ilia was saying. "His entire family is being threatened. I'd say he's paying for it as much as anyone else-more, if anything."
Somewhat more resigned, Ilia sighed and leaned forward, arms crossed over the bar. "I suppose you're right. But it bothers me, knowing that our king is a man like that…"
"He's not as bad as you'd think," Link said.
Sheik felt irritation creeping up her spine, but she tried not to give it away, instead diverting the conversation. "One way or another," she said, "Girls are going missing to find the King's daughter. This has to stop before anyone else gets hurt."
"You know, Sheik," Link started, looking up at her with just a flicker of hope in his eyes. "You never did answer Ilia earlier. We're both searching for the princess, aren't we? Wouldn't it make more sense for me to come with you? I could always write to the king and ask if he would let us work together."
Oh, no. Sheik forced the rising bubble of panic down, shaking her head slowly. The longer someone stayed by her, the more they could piece together—and Sheik couldn't risk him putting everything together. "No. It's better to have eyes in Solen. This city sees the most traffic of anywhere."
"But I told you last time that she's probably not here," Link said. "Wouldn't it be smarter to search for another city? I hear Cythene and Umbar see a lot of traffic, too, and I hear no one's been searching in Lanayru Province."
No—not Lanayru, Sheik wanted to say. Lanayru was the one province she felt safe in. If Link was thinking of searching for the princess there, he might hear rumors of the girl who showed up eight years ago. And she hadn't been nearly as careful with her identity back then that she was now. There was no telling what he might find out if he searched there.
"I'll be searching those areas personally, same as with the other provinces," Sheik said. "If you find a lead that takes you there, by all means go. But until you hear something that will lead you there, stay put and keep your eyes open."
"I'm as much in the King's employ as you are," Link insisted. And oh, if he only knew. "I want to help find her, Sheik."
Before Sheik could say a word in protest, though, the door flung open.
"The bar is closed," Telma said, eyes sharp on the men starting to file in. "Read the sign. We're not taking customers tonight—"
"That's her. That's the girl who came here today," a man said, pointing at Ilia. And Sheik's heart skipped a beat, simultaneously grateful that it wasn't her they were after, and worried for Ilia.
Alarm bells were going off all over in her mind, though, and Sheik knew in an instant that these men were threats. There was something about their aura that made her pulse spike and her adrenaline kick in, and she wasn't one to ignore instinct.
In seconds, she'd grabbed Ilia and pushed her over the counter of the bar, leaving her in the space next to Telma. The motion seemed to disorient Ilia, but there wasn't enough time to wait for anyone else to move.
"Get her upstairs—now," she said to Telma, voice sharp when the woman didn't move immediately. "Lock the doors and windows and don't let anyone in."
Without another word to them, she turned and pulled her long knife from its sheath. Turning to face the men, she half wished she'd kept her mask on, but there was no time for that now. If they saw her face, so be it. She didn't plan on letting them live anyways. "Leave this place," she said, gratefully listening to Telma and Ilia's hurried footsteps up the stairs. "You aren't welcome here."
"A Sheikah is guarding her," one man said with a smirk. "She must be the real thing, then."
Link spoke up beside her, and Sheik realized with a start that he, too, had drawn a weapon. He held a short sword towards the men, all gentleness gone from his eyes. "I've known her since childhood. She isn't the princess—now leave."
The men started advancing, and Sheik felt a strange energy coming from them—more pronounced than just the threatening aura she'd felt before. It was similar to what she'd felt when she was in Ardock, with the ghost and its power source.
There was something strange about these men.
In fact, Sheik wasn't sure if they were men at all.
"You aren't Hylian," Sheik said, eyeing them warily as she walked towards them. When they froze at the accusation, Sheik knew she was right. "What are you?"
"None of your concern," one snapped, and Sheik swore she felt something evil in him. "Move aside, Sheikah. You're not the one we want."
There would be no reasoning with them, then, Sheik decided.
So without another word, she charged forward, Link close on her heels. If he wanted to join in the fray, she wouldn't hold him back. Any help was appreciated in a fight like this, especially when she was so outnumbered. But she wouldn't hold back for him, either.
She dove right in to fight the one closest to her, slashing away with her knife. Ilia's life depended on it, after all. To her surprise, though, after she'd cut the man only a few times, he vanished into nothing.
The sight of a person disappearing before her eyes startled her enough that one of the others took advantage of her surprise and hit her hard in the chest, knocking her back into a table. The force cracked the table in half, and Sheik didn't feel much better. But she couldn't stay down. Ilia's life was at stake—and considering she'd provoked these men, her own was at stake, too.
Sheik forced herself back up, launching herself forward to run her dagger through the one that had hit her. Once her sword was halfway inside of him, though, he vanished into nothing too, leaving Sheik running forward on the momentum she'd used to skewer him. It threw her off balance for a moment, but she recovered quickly and went after the next.
Link seemed to have a similar idea; she wasn't sure how many he'd taken out, but between the two of them, the original number had been reduced to less than half of what they'd started with.
And if they weren't even real people, there was no chance Sheik was going to let the remaining criminals escape.
"Take the left," Link said, and Sheik heard the clinking of sword against metal behind her. He must have taken on one with a weapon.
Sheik nodded, going for the ones he wasn't engaged with, keeping them off his back so he could focus on disarming the one he was fighting.
Now that they were so few in number, the last ones were more guarded, and it was harder to land a hit on them. But Sheik wouldn't allow herself to crack under the pressure. So she used the environment to her advantage, leaping onto tables and coming at them from above. With a height advantage, it was all too easy to plunge her sword into their heads and chests—though when they inevitably disappeared, Sheik was merely left falling to the ground below.
Still, it didn't take long at all for her and Link to take out the remainders, and soon the only ones in the tavern were Sheik and Link.
Sheik wiped her arm across her brow, looking at their handiwork. Between her standing on tables and the criminals' disregard for the tavern, most of the tables and chairs were knocked over—and the one Sheik had been thrown into was cracked down the middle. Sheik would be feeling that bruise tomorrow, she knew; it already ached something awful. But aside from the disarray and the minor damage done, the shop was still standing. Not bad, all considered.
But Ilia and Telma were still upstairs, and Sheik needed to make sure they were safe—that nothing had snuck in while she and Link had taken on the ones downstairs.
Link seemed to have the same idea, and they hurried up the stairs together, finding—with simultaneous sighs of relief—that Ilia and Telma were alone in that room, and fine.
"It's safe to come down," Sheik said. "The men... creatures… are gone."
"Creatures?" Telma, who'd been standing protectively in front of Ilia, furrowed her brows. "They looked like normal Hylians."
"They vanished into nothing when I knifed them," Sheik said. "They were magic of some kind—someone created them, I'll bet."
Link, to her surprise, was the next to sound confused. "What do you mean created them? How do you know they didn't just use magic to teleport away or something?"
"I can feel it," Sheik saif. "Sheikah magic, I suppose."
In truth, even she didn't know. But her instincts were strong, and she knew better than to question things that kept her alive. So, 'Sheikah magic' it was, though she'd have to pay a visit to Kakariko soon to figure out what, exactly, this strange ability was.
"Well," Telma said, stepping away from Ilia. "Whatever those creatures were, you two certainly worked some kind of magic on them." She shook her head, looking rather impressed. "Thank you—both of you."
Link smiled and shook his head, while Sheik stood stiffly beside him. "It was nothing," he said. "Just glad we could help."
The window on the side of the room was filtering less and less light into the room, though, and the bruise on Sheik's back made her feel like death warmed over. It was dark, she was tired, and sore, and the last thing she wanted to do was stay upright any longer.
"It's getting late," she finally said. Though she'd planned on drinking at least a bit more tonight, more than anything, she wanted to rest. She could have a regular red potion the next morning, perhaps, to take the edge off of the bruising on her back. After that, it would be off to Lanayru, just as she'd said earlier. "I think I'll turn in for the night. Wake me if something happens."
"Wait," Ilia said, finally speaking up. She sounded shaken—still very much worked up about what had happened. But her hand reached out to take Sheik's, holding her back. "I just… before you go, thank you."
Sheik stared down at the shorter girl, her heart beating in a panic. "It's fine. I'm—I'm just going to go to bed. Stay safe. Don't go near any windows, or go outside at all. If anything happens, just wake me, and I'll—"
She froze outright when Ilia went on her toes and kissed her on the cheek.
"Thank you," Ilia repeated, smiling up at her for a moment.
Sheik could take it no longer. She turned and left, cheeks bright red without her mask to cover them, praying that no one would follow her to her room. She didn't think she could take anymore strangeness tonight.
Still, as she laid in bed, her face was hot with shame. She'd stayed here too long, and she'd caused too much damage. It caused her a physical ache, knowing that she was responsible for Ilia's kidnapping, and yet Ilia still wanted to thank her for doing the bare minimum of protecting her.
Was her own freedom worth endangering innocent people?
But even as she questioned it, she knew she couldn't give it up. She was Sheik now—not Zelda. The person they were looking for had died long, long ago.
((I promise this is actually Sheik/Zelda X Link. Promise. And it will be. Eventually. And Ilia X Sheik isn't going to be an actual thing. If the cheek kiss bothered you and you majorly ship Link X Sheik, please just entertain yourself with the thought of Link watching jealously. Because he totally did. Because he is completely and totally starting to have a Thing for Sheik.
As always, though, please review! I appreciate reading what you all have to say, and seeing your reactions to each chapter!))