Though the bath eased some of her soreness, Sheik only felt slightly less drained when she emerged. Honestly, she wanted nothing more than to sleep for the rest of the day, but that wasn't an option. She still had her pride, and admitting that she needed to rest would be too much to bear. Besides—if they wanted to keep a low enough profile to keep searching for the missing girls, they couldn't let anyone find out that they'd saved this town.

So after her hour was up, she forced herself out of the water. Sheik had a job to do, after all, and she couldn't let her weariness hold her back.

However, as she rose from the water, she realized all too despairingly that, after she'd washed her suit, she'd have to use even more magic to dry it. She was already pushing it as it was, but they had to keep moving. She couldn't be the one to slow them down.

Once she was finished, she leaned heavily against the wall, suit still half damp, but it'd have to do. If she spent any more of her magic, she wouldn't be able to even keep up her glamour.

As she remembered her glamour, though, she realized with a start that it felt faded. One look in the bathroom's mirror confirmed it, and she looked up at herself with dread.

Her eyes were violet.

It wasn't as bad as the pure blue it had faded to, at times, but it wouldn't do. Especially with it flickering as it was—if Link noticed it shifting, he'd have to realize that it was being altered. He'd realize that her red eyes were fake—that she wasn't a real Sheikah.

Goddesses, she'd really pushed it this time.

Cleaning and drying and flash and glamour spells were taxing enough as it was—but elemental spells were the worst. But having done all five in a day? She couldn't remember having used up this magic all at once since she was a child.

But she couldn't afford Link noticing her eyes. So she summoned up the last of the day's energy to reapply her glamour—stronger, this time—and prayed that it would last.

Girls were depending on her, after all—and Sheik wasn't about to let go of the life she'd worked so hard to build for herself, either. It had to hold.

As she descended down into the house's main quarters, Sheik leaned heavily on the stairs' railing, teeth gritted as she supported herself. She couldn't be bothered whether or not Link was watching, she told herself, but when she noticed his eyes on her, Sheik instinctively straightened up.

"What're you looking at?" she snapped. Though her temper was always short, given the circumstances, she couldn't help but feel aggravated, even if Link wasn't the cause. "Get up. We have to get going."

Link got up, but before Sheik could feel any small gratitude, he headed for her instead of the door. "Sheik," he said, brows furrowed with an all-too-concerned expression. "You look terrible."

"I could say the same to you," she said. It was true enough; his clothes had been charred away in several places, and through those patches she could still see the scabbed aftermath of the fire beast. "We have to leave, though, so I don't think it matters much. We'll stop for camp in a few hours, it'll be fine."

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Link stood in front of her, blocking her path to the door. "This town is a hell of a lot better than sleeping on the road. Why can't we just call it a day for now and set out tomorrow?"

"Those girls need people finding them sooner rather than later," Sheik snapped. "And if we ever want to keep a low enough profile to find them, we can't get caught here."

"Caught?"

"We saved this town from a curse," Sheik said, anger blazing in her eyes even if she hardly felt strong enough to stand. "If people come back and we're here, what are they going to think? They're going to realize that we were the ones that broke the curse, and they'll talk about us. Whoever is setting these curses will probably come after us, and then we'll be fighting to save our own skin—there won't be a chance of finding those girls if we have to spend all our time hiding in the shadows."

"We don't even have a solid lead, Sheik. Rushing around like this is pointless," Link said. "I don't know what magic runs on, exactly, but if you're out cold when bandits strike again, we won't have a chance of getting out of there."

"And if the people come back to this town early while we're wasting time?"

"Then we pretend to be bandits, or investigators of the king—something. I don't know, Sheik—all I know is that you look awful right now." He put a hand on her shoulder, frowning when Sheik instinctively knocked it away. "I get that you don't trust me. Really, I do. But we're kind of in this together now, aren't we? We only have one horse, and we've both lost supplies, and we've got a common goal. If either of us want to find the princess and the rest of the missing girls, we have to work together. There's no need to argue like this."

"There is when we have a conflict in interests," Sheik snapped. "I'll be just fine riding for the rest of the day. It's my choice, got it? So unless you can't ride for some reason, then I suggest we head out."

Link's lips pressed in a thin line, and Sheik could see the indecision in his eyes. But after a long moment passed between them, he finally sighed and moved out of her way.

There was an uncomfortable distance between them as they made their way back to Epona, but Sheik was grateful for it. Though she felt like she could fall at any moment, she kept herself upright out of spite, and soon enough they arrived by the horse's side.

To Sheik's eternal displeasure, though, Link hopped up in the saddle before Sheik could claim it.

She opened her mouth to protest, but Link cut her off. "She had to watch as we disappeared inside a city on fire, and we've left her in the sun for hours. She's spooked, and she's more comfortable with me. I'm leading."

Sheik didn't protest, though she couldn't help but feel as though he was spiting her.

So she carefully climbed on behind him, hating that she had to touch him in order to stay on.

As the miles passed, though, and the hot sun beat down on Sheik's back, and Epona's galloping fell into a comfortable repetition, she felt her grip on consciousness fade. It was too much energy to stay awake.

As she drifted off, face finding a pillow of Link's shoulder, she couldn't help but wonder if this had been his plan all along.

When Sheik awoke, it was dark.

The sun hadn't fully set, but it was low on the horizon, its crest just barely peeking over the western mountains.

It took Sheik a moment to grasp her bearings, though, as she opened her eyes—as always, checking to make sure her glamour was in place—and looked at the world around her. The scenery had changed from the bright green of Hyrule's main fields to the slightly deeper, browner color of Ordon Province and onwards. The forest was even visible, misty and far-off in the distance, but nevertheless approaching.

Even in her just-waking state, she could estimate that it would be just under two days before they reached Ecchar.

However, as she came to, she realized that she was leaning against something—or rather, someone.

Sheik sat upright with a start, shame coloring her cheeks as she pushed away.

As she'd moved so suddenly, and her weight against Link's back had disappeared, there was no helping it when Link turned to check on her. Sheik was ashamed to realize that he seemed poised to catch her, as if he was worried she'd fall off the horse.

But when he looked at her face and realized that she was not only awake, but also looked supremely embarrassed and angry with herself, he was quick to turn back around. "We should set up camp tonight," he said, and there wasn't a trace of irritation in his voice. There wasn't placating gentleness, either, which Sheik was more grateful for—he didn't try to belittle her at all.

Goddesses, she'd half expected him to mock her for falling asleep on him.

But instead, he'd acted as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world.

Was it worse, Sheik wondered, that he almost seemed to have expected it? But if he wasn't bringing it up, that meant she didn't have to, either, and she was more than happy to ignore it and put it behind them.

Still, as much as she wanted to act ordinary, she couldn't find the words to agree with his suggestion. Sheik found herself stuck in a shameful silence, like a guilty child who couldn't admit they'd done wrong even when they'd been caught.

So when he turned around, as if asking for her approval or disapproval, it was all Sheik could manage to nod.

Link's expression was unreadable, less because of the darkness and more because of how foreign this man was to her. The longer they traveled together, the more Sheik was realizing that she didn't know the first thing about Link.

She knew about their interactions together, of course—and that Ilia's story was deeply connected with Link's, meaning that he probably had been a street-rat most of his growing-up years, too. But aside from that, and that he had enough honor and personal responsibility to help her look for the missing girls, Sheik knew nothing about him.

The thing that surprised her most, though, was that she was starting to want to.

Yet, even as she wanted to ask him about his life, about who he was, Sheik couldn't find a single word. So they came to a stop a few miles later, and it was perfectly silent between them as they each set up their bedrolls and blankets.

Before Sheik could get back to sleep, though, she heard Link's voice cut through the darkness.

"We should stock up on supplies in Ecchar," he said. "If we find some smaller bottles, we can keep red potion on us so we don't have to worry about going all the way back to Epona to get it."

As much as Sheik wanted to ignore him, wanted to curl up and go to sleep, she knew she couldn't end the day like this. So she nodded, voice stiff and formal, but present all the same. "That," she started, trying her damndest to sound pleasant. "That's probably a good idea."

Link nodded and bid her a quiet "Goodnight."

Sheik wondered, as she laid there, when the last time she'd heard that word was.

But she returned it all the same, a strange ache in her heart. She found she couldn't even be facing him as she said it, instead having to turn over away from him before she could even manage those two little syllables. "Goodnight."

The next two days passed in relative silence, but Sheik was grateful that no arguments broke out—and more importantly, that no bandits or imperiled towns hindered them.

However, as Ecchar stretched before them, Link finally spoke up.

"So now that we're here, what exactly is the plan? Look for leads?"

"The man that threatened Ilia might still be here," Sheik said. "He's my primary target. But, yes, if we find any lead, I'll be glad to take it."

"What if he's just one of those—those things we fought back at Telma's?" Link asked. "They looked human, but they turned out to just be magic."

Sheik frowned, realizing that she hadn't even considered the possibility. Though she'd sensed the magic of the creatures they'd fought at Telma's, they'd been in a large group. Individually, they hadn't given off near as much of a magical signature—and Sheik had been otherwise occupied with incapacitating him and running away at the time to think about it.

"Then I guess we'll figure it out if we find him," she said. "Till then, we split up once we get to town and find our way from there."

"Wait, wait—Split up?" Link asked. He turned to look at her, eyes wide with alarm. "Sheik, what if we can't find each other again?"

"We can rent rooms at the same inn, then," Sheik said, "And rendezvous at the end of the night."

Link bit his lip, indecision clear in his eyes. "I'm not sure about this… I mean, it's already not long till sunset, so it'll be dark by the time we do much of anything… Are you sure fighting in the dark is a good idea?"

"Dark or not, you have your sword, and I saw you take on plenty of those things back at Telma's. You'll be fine." From the look in his eye, though, Sheik could tell it wasn't himself he was worried about. A scowl came onto Sheik's face before she could stop it. "I'll be fine, too. Last time I was here I saved Ilia, or are you forgetting that?"

"I know, I know but—Sheik, you're still a girl. Anyone with eyes and ears can figure it out pretty easily. And they're looking for girls with blonde hair and blue eyes… and you already fit one of those criteria. I hear they're expanding their search, too—what's to stop them from coming after you?"

Sheik grit her teeth. "I've managed just fine up till now. I can handle myself."

Link didn't look wholly convinced, but they both knew this could turn into an argument if they didn't head it off now. So he sighed and shook his head. "We have to get supplies anyways. How about we get supplies first, and if we both find a lead, then we split up? Otherwise we search together?"

As much as Sheik wanted to argue just to force her own way, she forced that urge down deep inside. It would do no good antagonizing him just for argument's sake. "There are enough girls going missing that we'll probably find at least one lead each, if we both keep our eyes and ears open." she said. "But fine. Supplies first."

Link's expression immediately brightened, and Sheik hated that even the smallest trace of agreeableness from her could cause such a reaction.

Even if he did think she was a Sheikah—someone actually worthy of admiration—then there was still no reason for him to act like that around her. Goddesses, she didn't know what was worse: that she was so disagreeable that even this small thing could get him to smile like that, or that he wanted her approval so badly in the first place.

She decided on the latter, though not without a twinge of guilt.

Sheik wasn't sure if being kinder to him would kill her or not, but it probably wouldn't hurt to try.

"Let's just figure out which tavern to stay at and start getting supplies already," Sheik said, voice low with irritation. "Okay?"

Link nodded, that damn smile still on his face. "Okay."

"You two look like you've been through it," the innkeeper said, sympathy clear on her face. "You stayin' for long?"

"Just a night," Sheik said, sliding over money before Link could protest. "When do most of the markets close?"

"Oh, just before sunset. You two oughta head out soon, before it closes. Else you'll never make it on time to get those clothes of yours fixed," she said, looking at Link. "There's a tailor just up the road if you want to get it mended. Mind, it'll take a while before it's finished, especially since they're burned, not torn, but…"

Link—seeming to sense Sheik's hurry to be done with the transaction—just smiled at the innkeeper. "I'm sure I can just find something new at the market," he reassured her. "Thank you."

The innkeeper smiled, waving the pair off when Sheik turned and started for the door.

"I probably ought to get a new tunic, come to think of it," Link said. "You said you wanted to keep a low profile, right? Hard to do that when I'm wearing clothes that are burned through."

"So find a new tunic, then," Sheik said. "I'll get what we need."

"But—"

"It's faster this way, anyways."

"The whole point of going to the market was to stick together while we can," Link said. "If we split up, then—"

"Just go get a new one, it's not that difficult," Sheik said. "If you hurry, we can get the rest of the supplies together."

Link frowned. "But this is Ecchar, Sheik. And it's more dangerous now than ever. What if—"

"Nothing is going to happen to me," she snapped, thoroughly losing her cool. No matter how much she wanted to be kinder, Link was testing her patience, and Sheik had little enough of it as it was. "And talking about it in public and drawing attention to me will only make it worse."

Without another word, she turned on her heel, grateful when Link didn't pursue.

Still, to dissuade him further, she slipped into the crowd, nimble feet gaining her passage through even the heaviest of traffic.

It didn't take long before she was in the crowded city market, rupees in hand more than enough to pay for supplies. Bottles were expensive, after all—especially the nigh-indestructible type they so sorely needed.

Not to mention the rope they'd lost, and some of the food, and blankets. Sheik at least had her cloak still in her bag, but she wasn't sure how cold this winter would be. With all the strange happenings in Hyrule, she knew it might be best to have a few extra blankets.

But just as she was finishing paying for four warm blankets, she felt a broad hand on her shoulder.

She froze on instinct, realizing all too late that she felt a strong magical signature coming from this man—lost in the crowd before, but now all too urgent.

Sheik kept her head, clutching the blankets tight against her chest. She turned around and stared the man in the face, moving out of the way of the line. Putting on her deepest voice, she asked, "Can I help you?"

The man squinted at her, gaze hardening. "You look… feminine…"

"I get that a lot," Sheik snapped. "Now unless you have business with me, I suggest you let me go."

"Most feminine looking boys know to keep an escort with them just in case," he said. "'Specially with that blonde hair of yours…"

The man moved his hand up to run through her hair, and Sheik knocked his hand away without thinking about it. "Do not touch me," she said. "Now if you're done gawking, I suggest—"

"You a traveler, pretty boy?" the man asked, and Sheik had never once felt less like she was talking to a person. In a way, she supposed she wasn't, if this was truly just an illusion that would turn to dust once killed. And as much as she wanted to turn this creature into dust, Sheik couldn't risk it in public. Not if she wasn't fighting for her life. "'Cause most people from around here know better by now."

He leaned closer, and Sheik tensed her posture, ready to make a break for it if need be.

"They know to keep male friends close…"

The man moved closer, and Sheik backed up, only to find a wall behind her.

"Or to stay inside unless it's life and death…"

He pressed a hand against the wall by Sheik's head.

"And they certainly know," he said, moving his hand up once more to run through Sheik's long blonde hair. "To at least dye their damn hair."

The hand by her head suddenly moved, and Sheik realized with a start that he planned to knock her out. Whether or not he thought she was a boy didn't matter—she looked feminine enough to be a woman, and thus was still worth going after.

Sheik reacted instinctively, ducking out of the way of his hand and fleeing through the opening between his hand and leg. Blankets still in her arms, she ran through the market, nimble footsteps granting her passage once more.

But gracefulness could only get her so far when the man chasing her was big enough to clear a path well in advance.

If she wanted to survive, she needed to find a disguise, and fast.

Praying that the crowds were thick enough to lose the man even for a moment, Sheik ducked down at the thickest traffic and prayed that her glamour would be strong enough to draw attention away from her.

When she allowed herself to come back up, her head was covered with deep red hair, and her skin was caramel like that of the Gerudo. There wasn't much she could do with her clothes, but she changed the shades of blues to red, and prayed that it would be enough.

And, as she reached the other side of the street, where traffic wasn't so heavy, she saw that the man was still searching fruitlessly within the crowd.

Sheik turned the corner and ran as fast as her legs would carry her.

It was exhausting to hold a glamour for longer than she needed—especially when she already had her eye glamour to uphold—but if it was to save her life, Sheik found that she had more than enough energy to allow her to hold it and run at the same time.

Still, she ducked into the first tavern she saw.

A few heads turned towards her, but since it was after sunset, not many found her presence too remarkable. So she closed her eyes and headed for a spare room, thanking all three goddesses when she found it empty. She slipped inside and locked the door, dropping to the ground just as soon as she was well and truly alone.

She let her suit change back first, as outfit glamours took by far the most energy. Her skin was next, fading from warm caramel to the cool light brown of her natural skin. Her hair, the last to go, she hesitated with. It had been a dead-giveaway when she was in the crowd, so it wouldn't be wise to allow it to fade back to her natural color.

But what else could she do?

It would be too taxing to keep up a glamour of that magnitude for long, and she still needed to get back to the inn if she was going to find Link again. She supposed she'd just have to keep it up for long enough to hurry back to the inn, then let it drop before she was too tired to maintain it.

The red was too strange against her skin if she wasn't posing as a Gerudo, though, so Sheik allowed it to drop, just for a moment, before she altered it once more, a dark brown replacing the pale blonde.

With so many glamours having been applied and changed in the last few minutes, Sheik felt dizzy as she stood, but the sooner she returned to the inn, the better. Not wanting her clothes to be recognized, she carefully took one of the blankets and fashioned it as a cloak around her, never-minding the heat of the day lingering on into the night.

She could only pray that as she started off into the shadows, that the man following her wouldn't find her on her way.

It took ages of backtracking and sticking to the shadows, but finally, Sheik made it back to the inn she and Link were staying at. She could only hope he was already back as she used her key to get into their room. She hoped he hadn't gotten lost in the crowd or hurt—that would mean she'd have to go after him and find him, and she wasn't sure if she had the energy to do that.

To her pleasant surprise, though, Link was waiting on the edge of the bed, eyes trained on the window.

When he heard the door click shut behind him, he turned to face her, relief on his face for only a moment—because when she pulled the blanket off of her, his face suddenly morphed into confusion. And, if Sheik was being honest with herself, he even looked a little afraid.

Link scrambled back in an instant, back hitting the wall behind him. Even from where she stood, Sheik could practically hear his racing heart..

"H—Hil," he started, voice dying before he could even finish the word. It sounded like a name, though, and Sheik couldn't understand why he'd mistake her so easiy.

"Link," Sheik said, furrowing her brows. "It's me."

As soon as he heard her voice, the fear melted off of his face, but there was still a hesitation about him—and certainly confusion. "…Sheik?"

She didn't have time to wonder at his reaction, though, because having used up so much magic in such a short amount of time left her feeling absolutely spent. It was all she could do to drop the dark-haired glamour before she was thoroughly drained. Sheik leaned heavily against the wall, not wanting to hold herself up any longer.

As she rested there, though, Link stared at her, and she was dimly aware of his footsteps towards her.

"S…Sorry," he managed, voice nothing like its normal, smooth tone. If anything, he still sounded scared, even now that she'd removed the glamour on her hair. Still, he was brave enough to reach a hand towards her, offering a hand. "You just—I thought, with… And it's Ecchar, so I just… I thought…"

Whatever he'd thought, though, Sheik didn't find out, because Link cut himself off after that. He shook his head, then took hold of her hand whether she wanted it or not.

In an instant, he helped her up and led her to one of the room's beds, not looking as she removed her mask and scarf and let her hair down.

"Tomorrow, we get supplies and ask around town. I saw very few girls in the marketplace—they're either gone or hiding at home. Ecchar is nothing like it was when I was here a few weeks ago," she managed, shaking her head. "I think we'll find plenty of leads, though. But it'll have to be tomorrow. I can't go out again tonight. Not like this."

"Yeah," Link said, voice still lacking its usual strength. Sheik thought for a moment to ask, but before she could, he excused himself, stepping into the room's restroom and closing the door behind him.

Sheik didn't have the energy to pursue him. Whatever he was dealing with, he'd have to handle on his own—especially if he wouldn't talk to her about it.

So Sheik stripped herself of her outer armor and crawled under the sheets in her navy bodysuit. She fell asleep before she ever heard the bathroom door open again, though she supposed he must have come back eventually.

Neither of them mentioned the previous night when they went out for supplies the next day. The only remark Link made, in fact, was that Sheik ought to make her hair grey rather than blonde.

Sheik had wondered what he had against dark hair, but she'd kept her thoughts to herself, and instead focused on maintaining her glamour and finding supplies around the town. At least she had Link with her, this time. Though she wished she would have been able to purchase everything last night, it would have been unwise to continue alone after the altercation she'd had with that monster of a man.

Fortunately, Link had spared her pride. He'd simply come along, making no inquiries as to why she'd come back in such a rush last night.

In fact, it seemed to Sheik that he was all too eager to forget last night had ever happened.

But she wasn't one to pry. Link's business was his own, and from what she knew of his history (a la Ilia), she was sure he had plenty of reasons to behave the way he had. Part of her was curious, of course—especially because they'd seen plenty of dark haired people in Ecchar and he hadn't so much as flinched. But Sheik had bigger things to worry about.

Like when and where they were finally going to find a lead.

However, as luck would have it—and Sheik thanked the Three for their luck—shortly after they returned their newfound supplies to their room at the inn, they found a lead.

It had been just outside a tavern, only moments before Sheik was going to suggest splitting up.

But, sure enough, as they walked together towards the eastern side of the city, they heard hushed voices coming from the alleyway beside one of the busier taverns.

"—a good look at the people who took her?"

Sheik was quick to turn and pull Link behind her, staying far out of sight of the men, though she kept her ears trained on them. Soon they'd have to move or risk drawing attention by staying still on a street as busy as this, but for now…

"Tall. Broad. The usual, Jaggle. I just… We were so careful. I don't understand…"

"I hear they're raiding homes now. Nothing is too far for these people." There was a pause for a moment, and Sheik hardly dared to breathe, Link silent as the grave beside her. But finally, the voice picked back up. "We can put together a search party for your sister if you'd like. But I can't guarantee anything. You know that, Coro."

"Anything is better than trying to find her alone," the man said. "Thank you."

The men soon parted ways, but Sheik made no effort to follow them, instead restraining Link when he attempted to track the one that had been called 'Coro.' But she had a plan—and that plan didn't involve talking to him immediately. No, they'd follow some distance behind and see where this man lived. Then they could talk to him privately, without worrying about anyone watching a strange, secret meeting in the middle of the street.

Sheik leaned closer to Link, lips close to his ear. "I think," she whispered, "We've just found our first lead. Let's follow him, shall we?"

This took forever to finish, and I'm very sorry about that. Plus this week is Zelink week, and I've been writing and drawing several pieces for that… Sorry this took so long to make. However, as always, your reviews mean a lot to me! Shoutout to Philip Harbindinger, 11lol11, zelonk, guest, and Suz24! I appreciate you reviewing last chapter!

So, what's with Link? Why'd he panic when he saw Sheik's dark hair? Will they have success with this lead? Will Sheik ever warm up to her partner? Tell me what you think about those questions and others in the reviews—and, as always, see you next time!