"Hup!"

I pinched the bridge of my nose with two fingers as one of my trainees tripped over himself. "Angus, Angus, you're forgetting your feet again," I called.

The sounds of practice swords clacking and angry men were all around us on the training grounds, and I was off to the side, overseeing it all. The area's grass was patchy and sparse from how much they used the field, and they kicked up dust wherever they moved in the fenced area. The castle walls loomed off to the side, far enough not to be too distracting, but still imposing with its height. The fresh scent of the outdoors gently blew around us, and I savored it with every fiber of my being.

As for my division… I was glad they were eager to learn, but their enthusiasm was sometimes detrimental to their practice.

"Sorry, Cap'n! I'll fix it!"

I nodded, then turned my attention back to the full field. I frowned, resisting the urge to yawn. My head burned a little from the lack of sleep I was getting, but I ignored it the best I could. I resisted the urge to press my palms against my temple.

Off to the side, Mical got knocked on his ass again, and he was huffing for breath on the ground. I slowly drifted my way over to his match, quiet in my observations. No one seemed to take notice of me.

"Heh, looks like the new kid's about to give up," his opponent teased. My frown deepened.

Mical spat to the side and tried to push himself back up, but flopped back down as soon as he saw Reuben's arrogant smirk.

"Stop."

Both of my soldiers snapped their attention to me, and hurriedly tried to straighten up. I quickly waved it off with a hand, and crouched down next to Mical.

"You doing okay there?"

Even though I'm supposed to just be a new, 17 year old captain in the eyes of these full-grown men, everyone here has seen me fight before in one form or another. They know I have more experience than my years, which was… oddly perceptive of them. (I found this out during our team bonding trip to the tavern during the holidays, when an intoxicated Angus threw an arm around me and laughed at how I acted like an old man sometimes…)

Mical nodded quickly, but I gave him a stern look. I held out a hand for him to grab so I could pull him up.

Once he was back on his feet, I bent over and picked up his wooden practice sword for him, dusting it off a little.

"Remember, you need to be willing to learn from your mistakes now if you want to survive against your enemies later. And to do that, you need to steel yourself against anything that might come your way."

I held the hilt out to Mical, and said, "A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage."

Mical's eyes shone, and I sighed internally at how cheesy I sounded. Whatever got them motivated, I guessed.

He grabbed the sword from me, and nodded once. "I'll work hard, sir!"

I nodded, and signaled for them to continue, giving them enough space to practice. They squared up, and with a yell, Mical lunged into the fight.

Wandering around the grounds, everyone was focused on their matches. This was their one day of fun a week, with the other 6 days full of conditioning and watch standing. It was satisfying to see how much they've all improved since I've met them. They're a good group.

Behind me.

"How're they doing," a rough voice asked over my shoulder, and I turned. Sheik was standing behind me with his arms crossed, his attention also focused on the field.

I shrugged. "They're getting better."

Sheik grinned, "Enough for another match?"

"Only if you can get one of them to agree to it," I chuckled. A few of my men stopped at the sound of my laugh, and saw the Sheikah next to me. Excited murmuring broke out among them.

"Hey, the menace is back!"

"Who's up to fight him this time?"

"Reuben lost a bet yesterday, it's his turn!"

"Fuck you, no it's not!" Reuben sputtered.

As they bickered, I gave Sheik a tired smile. "Done for the day, are you?"

Sheik nodded, stretching his arms over his shoulders. "And in need of a cathartic outlet," he added, a wide grin apparent even under his cowl. I laughed again. Beat-down was more like it.

I sighed, knowing there was no stopping his bloodlust. "Go crazy."

Sheik's smile turned wicked, and my heart fluttered at the unbridled wildness in his eyes.

Just last year, "Sheik" reemerged as a figure in the timeline on a whim, since Zelda seemed to remember it and the itch for a fight became increasingly strong. The memory was still fresh in my mind.

/-/-/-/-/

"Pst, hey. Hero."

I shifted underneath my blanket, my eyes squeezing shut. Shit, is this another one of those bad days?

"Hero. Yo. LINK."

I shot up, gracelessly tumbling out of bed at the whispered hiss. I reached for the dagger under my pillow, but I took one look at the figure sitting on my windowsill and I froze. I could barely breathe.

I never thought I'd see him again.

"...Sheik?"

Sheik's one visible eye squinted into a smile, excited. "You remember this too?"

I frowned, and sat at the edge of my bed, crossing my arms. I'm too tired for this. Memories suddenly triggered by his appearance flashed in my mind, one after the other, and my frown deepened, brow furrowing. The sting was still there–the fact that Zelda lied to me that entire time… "Sheik" was a stark reminder of that.

I rubbed my face tiredly.

"What do you want."

Sheik blinked in surprise at my cold tone, then slinked off of the sill. "Hey, are you… Are you okay?"

Wrong answer. "Get out."

Zelda pulled down her cowl, and I felt a pang of regret in my gut at the look on her face. But… It still hurts.

"You know why… Why I had to hide from you, right?" she asked softly. I looked away, stubborn in my anger. I know. I have known, which is why I'm also mad at myself for being petty like this. It's not even her fault.

My twin-sized bed sank in a little as she sat next to me. Her hands were clenched tightly in her lap, and I hate how I'm reacting. I hate how much I'm hurting her, but she never even apolo–

"I'm sorry."

My thoughts screeched to a halt.

What?

Zelda picked her fingers, not looking at me. "For all those years lying to you about… Well, about almost everything. I was scared, and I-I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I should have known that–"

She kept rambling, but it all became background noise as the anger clouding my head faded into nothing. All that I saw were her earnest eyes, the color of red wine.

She actually meant it.

My rigid posture relaxed, and I bumped her shoulder, interrupting her rambling. "There's nothing to forgive," I mumbled, resting my head on her shoulder. My eyes felt heavy.

Zelda stilled, then put a comforting arm around me, pulling me in close. We stayed like that for a while, and I honestly thought I was dreaming again.

Then, she came in the next day as Sheik and absolutely demolished my soldiers during practice.

Sigh.

/-/-/-/-/

Since then, Sheik's become known as the "Menace of the Ring" among my men, and surprisingly they took the ass-kicking rather well. They think he's Impa's prodigy or something, and I'm not gonna correct them anytime soon. Hell, it seemed to have lit a fire under them, if anything.

I ducked as Reuben went sailing over my head. There was a loud crash as he landed on a pile of crates, and just laid there, limp. I turned and gave Sheik a dead look, and he had the sense to look a little sheepish.

Reuben groaned, and I let out a quiet sigh of relief. I signaled to the others to bring him to the infirmary to check if he needed a healer or not.

I clapped once. "And with that, you're all dismissed. Thanks for the hard work," I said.

After that spectacle, everyone was in a hurry to leave. I waited with my arms crossed as the grounds quickly emptied out, leaving just me and Sheik.

Sheik blew out a breath. "Buzzkill."

"You know they're all still rookies, right?" I asked as I walked to the bench. I picked up the gear I left, and slung it all over my shoulder.

Sheik shrugged, but didn't say anything else. We left the training field together and Sheik peered at me from the side.

"Are you doing alright? You sound… tired."

My heart jumped in my throat, but my face stayed still. I looked at him quietly. It's a dangerous thing, being that perceptive. Did he mean today, or in general?

"...Long day," I finally answered. It was still half-true.

Sheik didn't push any further than that, and we walked in companionable silence for a while.

He decided to change the subject, which I was grateful for. "When'll be a good day to spar you?" Sheik asked suddenly. I snorted.

"When I feel like I want my ass handed to me," I said, grinning. In truth, I estimated that we were around the same level in terms of skill, so whoever won that fateful round would be just as sure as a coin toss. Maybe we could make it an event, and the guys could bet on who'd win… I laughed just thinking about it.

Sheik cleared his throat. "By the way, I heard from Impa that you had another assignment today. Where are we going this time?"

"I'm sorry, we?" Amusement bled into my voice, and Sheik let out a dramatic sigh.

"Yes, Captain, I used the royal 'we.' Why, opposed?"

"Wouldn't dream of it," I said. "Just wondering if your mightyness is avoiding more crownly responsibilities."

"Mn, you know me too well," Sheik said, not even trying to deny it.

I snorted, and gave him a look of disbelief. He even sounded a bit proud.

My face grew serious, though, as I said, "Ruto reached out to me the other day concerning the Water Temple. Apparently the water in the Zora Domain is changing strange shades, and her people traced the water back to Lake Hylia."

Sheik nodded as I briefed him on the situation, listening quietly.

"So we're going to the Water Temple?"

"Seems so."

"Alright, then," Sheik said, cracking his knuckles, and that was that.

The town was a bustling mess of people rushing back and forth, too absorbed in their own lives to notice the pair as they wandered through Castle Town.

Sheik barely dodged a small child chasing a dog, and Link laughed at the frazzled expression in his eyes. Sheik was probably mortified that he almost stepped on the little gremlin.

"I forgot to ask, are you hungry?" Link asked over his shoulder, already headed to one of the food stalls on the side of the street. Vendors all along the path were hawking their wares, their voices all blending together into a cacophony of controlled, familiar chaos. He didn't wait for Sheik to answer, and picked up a few apples, chatting with the vendor and smiling, haggling as they talked. The girl behind the cart blushed at something he said, and practically shoved a bag full of apples into his arms after he paid (a much smaller fee than usual). He was jostled and shoved around as he emerged from the crowded throng of people.

Then Link spotted him.

Sheik was far removed from the crowded area, perched on the edge of the fountain in the middle of the square. He was fiddling with one of his knives, bored.

Link grinned at a sudden idea. He hucked an apple at him.

The knife in Sheik's hand immediately came up and speared through the apple as if it was a pin puncturing paper, and Sheik finally looked up, amused. The apple was skewered on his knife like it was a kebab, and Sheik smoothly pulled it off and began cutting it into slices.

"Talk to Tara again, did you?"

Link sat down heavily next to Sheik with an oof, and pulled out another apple from his bag to bite into. Through a mouthful of apple, he said, "Mn, said her pop is doing better and his ankle's healing."

The water bubbled happily behind them both as it flowed from the spout at the top. A little bit of the water splashed onto the edge of Link's tunic, but he didn't mind all too much. The stone underneath them was uneven, as the cracks in the stone had started to deepen from time.

Tilting his head to the side, Sheik asked incredulously, "You know her dad?"

Link took another bite of the fruit in his hand, and made a so-so gesture with his hand. "I've met him a few times. Their family moves around just about as much as Malon's." He wiped his mouth absently with the back of his hand, "Why?"

"I don't know, I just thought…" The tone of Sheik's voice was strange, and Link looked over at him in surprise. He almost choked on his apple when he figured out what he meant, his ears burning hot.

He sputtered, "What did you think we talked about?"

Sheik made a face, and in an effort to change the subject, handed him an apple slice with the skin already peeled. He knew that Link didn't like the peels but was just too lazy to do it himself.

Link took the slice graciously, but still felt like teasing him a little bit. He wiggled his eyebrows, grinning as he said, "I'm such a playboy, aren't I?"

"Dear Din shut up," Sheik groaned, hiding the remainder of his face behind a hand. Link cackled at his friend's expense.

Past the boundaries of Castle Town, we found a secluded place far away from prying eyes. I scanned left and right, before I finally looked back at my companion. Sheik already had his lyre out, and was just waiting for me.

The sight brought back a powerful wave of nostalgia that I wasn't too keen on thinking about, and I pulled out my ocarina. The tan color, reminiscent of earth, reminded me of Saria and of home.

"Do you still remember the Serenade of Water?" Sheik asked, bandaged fingers poised over his lyre.

I laughed. "How could I ever forget a song you taught me?"

Sheik paused at that, eyes darting between me and his lyre. Then he came back to his senses and nodded, before he plucked out the first few notes. I made note of the behavior but didn't comment on it, the melody of my ocarina following soon after. The melody wrapped around us in visible light strands and swirled into the sky. I could envision the pedestal at Lake Hylia in my mind, and when I opened my eyes again, we were at the very same place. I looked over my shoulder, and there was that same tree I saw Sheik jump from all those years ago. The memory made me snort.

Sheik threw me a questioning glance, but I didn't enlighten him. I put my ocarina back in my qiankun pouch as I walked towards the water's edge.

I sighed, mostly to myself. I did not miss shit like this.

"Ready to swim?" Sheik asked. He seemed entertained by my suffering, and I scowled.

"Ladies first," I smiled flatly. Sheik laughed, and pushed me in.

Asshole! The water's fucking FREEZING!

/-/-/-/-/

"It's strange not seeing this place crawling with monsters anymore."

Sheik raised an eyebrow at my offhand remark, and asked, "You've been back since the 'Old' Timeline, right?"

"I mean, yeah, but… I can't really describe it. I spent about a week stuck in this shitty Temple, and now there's not even a Spike or Shell Blade to speak of. It gives an… eerily empty feeling."

Shrugging, Sheik said, "Maybe it's because Ruto's finally taking her job as a princess seriously?" I snorted, and continued walking. If my memory wasn't wrong, there should be a water level trigger somewhere in this next room.

"So… what are we checking again?"

I rounded another corner, and Sheik followed. "We're gonna check out Morpha's old room, and see if anything shady crawled inside while I was away."

"...And how come Ruto couldn't do this?"

Fuck if I know! "Maybe she thought it was something dangerous? Or she's busy?"

Sheik rolled his eyes, but refrained from commenting on anything else.

After a series of twists, turns, messing around with the water levels, jumping down GIANT holes (...How in the fuck did I used to do this without batting an eye…? I had no respect for my knees…), dragon statue switches, and other dungeon-y goodness, we rounded upon another room. This one seemed different from the outside, and there was something in the back of my memory trying to tell me something, but I couldn't quite remember what.

I slid the door open and walked through, but before Sheik could follow, it slammed shut with a bone-rattling BANG!

I nearly jumped out of my skin. I ran to the door and pounded on it with a fist.

"Hey, you still there?!" I was flooded with a sudden terror–what if Sheik was in danger? What if there was a monster that was waiting for the chance to separate us?! He could be dead, and I'd have no idea. A million different scenarios and possibilities flitted through my mind in a second, and my hands grew numb from fear.

"Link!" His voice anchored me back to the present, and relief crashed through me like a tidal wave. "The door–it won't budge!"

"Oh thank Farore," I muttered underneath my breath. I raised my voice, "Don't worry, I'll be out in a bit. I just need to find the… trigger…" I trailed off suddenly, when I finally looked at the room around me.

Gray, empty skies. And water, as far as the eye could see.

My blood ran cold.

There was a lone, dead tree in the middle of it all, its blackened limbs gnarled and twisted, exuding enough evil that it left a telltale bitter tang in the air. And I remembered.

"Been a while, hasn't it, hero?" A voice, eerily similar to my own, whispered over my shoulder. I whipped around, sword drawn, and saw no one. A chill ran up my spine. He was supposed to be standing underneath that tree. Where was he…?

"Link? Did you find the trigger yet?" Sheik called.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another flicker of shadow. He's leaning against the door, arms crossed, smug. He's just quietly staring at me, I could feel it.

"I thought you died with Ganondorf this time around," I said quietly, still not looking at him. My grip tightened on the handle of my sword.

Still, silence met me. Then he decided to shift, pushing himself up off the wall. I stayed frozen, not looking at him. He stopped next to me, and I could feel his cold breath caress my cheek.

"I am much older than that stupid oaf." There was a smile in his voice.

Startled, I turned to look at him, but he was gone.

Sheik stumbled into the room after the door suddenly gave way, and he rubbed his swollen knuckles. "What… the hell was that?"

The illusion around me had melted into nothing, leaving a cold and bare stone room. It happened so quickly that I wondered if I had imagined it. I gingerly touched my cheek, where I could still feel where his whispers struck me, and I suddenly felt a heavy sense of dread. It… It felt real.

"Nothing. Let's… let's just finish this and get the fuck out of here."

/-/-/-/-/

"Well, that was a waste of time," Sheik grumbled, swiping his soaked bangs aside with an irritated huff. I wrung out my hat before putting it back on, and snorted. The Water Temple's entrance stared at us mockingly from below the lake's surface. "There was enough dust in that boss room that we left footprints."

The room Sheik was talking about was Morpha's old room, and he was right. There wasn't anything that gave us any clues, and we wasted half the day going through all of the Temple's stupid puzzles and traps.

The sun's warm rays felt like a blessing, though, and I closed my eyes to momentarily bask in it.

"What do you think Ruto meant when she said the water could have been contaminated?" Sheik folded his hands behind his head as we walked, coming to the bridge that connected the little island to Lake Hylia's shore. I shrugged, not really in the mood to talk. My run-in with that… thing left me a bit more shaken than I'd ever like to admit.

I thought Ganondorf conjured up this creature to kill me back when I first ran through the Temple, but… that was in the "Other" time. He never became powerful enough in this life to make something like that, and there's no shot now since the Sages executed him in the Sacred Realm.

Then… What was that thing?

And why does it seem like I've seen it before… As in, recently?

"-ink. Link," Sheik snapped his fingers in front of my face. I blinked, and Sheik's brow furrowed in concern. "You alright?"

My eyes met his, as deep red as wine and blood running down his cheeks and oh Din please no and I just gave a curt nod, squeezing my eyes shut. Sheik seemed to understand, and didn't push it any further. I let out a relieved breath, and once again I was grateful that Sheik just knew when I was in one of those moods.

"If you want to talk about it, I'm always here," Sheik said, and that was that. We decided against using teleportation again, ("i need to stretch my legs," was his excuse, but I'm pretty sure he's just procrastinating another meeting. I wasn't about to hold it against him, though) so we traveled on foot.

I looked up, and squinted at the red painting the sky, and the sun's dying rays casting long shadows on the field around us.

Night was falling.