Cuccoos are little assholes.

I glared at the one in my hands, bringing it up to eye level.

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" I asked, suspicious. This little escape artist had the audacity to just cluck at me, its strangely unsettling eyes giving me goosebumps. It suddenly squawked and I panicked, chucking it back in the pen like it was a bomb. It landed in the pen in an explosion of feathers just as Anju, the cuccoo lady, returned.

"Wow, you got all of them already? Thank you!" She beamed, and the cuccoo behind her clucked loudly, giving me the death stare. I swear the thing threatened me. I fought the strong urge to flip it off in kind.

"No problem. Maybe I should build you a taller fence, now that I think about it."

Anju gasped, and showered me with a plethora of thank-yous that I habitually waved off. I was too busy looking at the cuccoo's reaction.

It bawked in horror and I grinned in satisfaction. Take that, you flying feathered rat.

I've been doing odd jobs for a few months, and this was one of the more typical ones. I'd be in Kakariko one day, Chengshi Town the next, in Lanayru on an off day, anywhere. It kept me busy, so I was too preoccupied to worry, and it kept me away from Zelda. So. You know. It worked.

/-/-/-/-/

I shaved off another grain from the wood block in my hands, then carved in a few more grooves. I thought for a moment, then I deepened the grooves in the eye. I inspected my work-in-progress, and nodded to myself. I kept carving, and soon the shape of a cowl emerged from the wood.

"Hey, kid! The group's taking off soon, are you an escort or not?"

This guy–Balder, he said his name was?-was the one who recruited me for this job, yet he was such an asshole about it. It's not like I'm getting paid very much for this trip in the first place, but I held my tongue. I tried not to let my irritation, exacerbated by my sleep deprivation, show on my face, but it was hard.

Sighing internally, I pocketed my carving and stood up, stretching. The field around us was full of green grass and bright wildflowers, with a cool breeze refreshing my tired existence. The sky was a vast blue, as boundless as Zelda's eyes, and wisps of clouds floated lazily across the sky.

I felt bad for any enemies we might meet today, because I was especially in the mood for violence. Whistling, I called Epona to me. I brushed her mane gently, and fed her a carrot; she also seemed restless, ready for carnage.

Halfway through the journey from Faron to the border of Hyrule, I got my wish.

A large group of bandits, at least 20, with scarves over their noses rode on large boars, their arrows whistling through the air and aimed at the escort (including Mr. Bastard *cough* I mean, Balder). I stayed low, arrows glancing off the shield on my back as I drew my own bow. I shot one two three arrows in quick succession, and the first two soared true, embedding themselves in the riders' necks before they toppled over. The third bandit ducked just in time, and I cursed, reloading my bow. He urged his boar faster, and if only I could draw him out into the field with Epona, but I had a whole caravan to protect and unfortunately he wasn't the only guy I had to worry about. He let loose another arrow, and I barked at the pain spreading throughout my right shoulder. Damn bastard.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Balder knock a bandit off of his boar, and downed another 2 with his bow. I begrudgingly approved. I snapped the arrow shaft off, and left the head embedded in my shoulder for now. Adrenaline made the pain thrum into a numb itch, and I threw the shaft away.

Behind me.

I ducked just in time for a club to swipe over my head, and Farore how did he catch up to me so fast? I was too distracted. The bandit rode up next to me, leering behind his mask.

Bad idea. You're too close.

I pulled out another arrow from my quiver with my good hand and, instead of drawing my bow again, just jabbed it into his knee as fast and hard as I could. He screamed, and Epona took the opportunity to ram his boar, sending it flying to the side. I smiled proudly–I needed to make sure Epona got extra apples after this.

I steeled myself, and pivoted in my saddle, letting loose more arrows, gritting my teeth against the pain in my shoulder. Though my arm shook, four five six met their marks, and I jumped off Epona, arrow in hand, and landed on the next bandit's boar. I grinned at him hollowly, and sucker punched him in the throat. He gagged, but before I could push him off, he slashed at me with a hidden dagger. There was a burning sensation on my forearm as I held my arms up to defend, and he shoved me off unceremoniously. My boot caught on the saddle straps, and I dangled helplessly off the side of this stupid boar like a ragdoll. Rocks, brambles, and other sharp shit raked gashes and cuts all over my arms and face as the boar barreled along, full speed.

I flailed, grabbing my leg and I grunted, pulling myself back up just enough to grab the bandit by the belt. I sat back, and yanked him off the saddle with my downward momentum. He let out a yell before he got trampled under another riderless boar behind him. It veered off to the left.

The boar was still running, and I was cursing so colorfully that Sheik would have been proud. I swung myself back up again, grabbing the strap with my uninjured arm. I reached behind me, the jolt and bounce of this thing making it hard to grab the arrow head stuck inside my back, but my hand scrabbled and finally was able to find purchase. I yanked and FUCK I shouldn't have done that, but I used its serrated edge to saw at the strap my boot was caught in. Blood slicked my hands and the stupid arrowhead slipped once, twice on the strap, cutting new gashes in my hand each time I missed. Then there were one, two more sawing motions and I was suddenly in free fall.

I hit the ground hard, and I choked at the impact. I rolled with the momentum as the boar continued running forward at full speed. I pushed myself up, struggling to breathe again, and found that the rest of the skirmish was over.

The rest of them, cowards I thought in disgust (and maybe a little disappointment), retreated once they saw that they were losing. The caravan soon slowed to a halt to check on the Lord and Lady, while Balder swung off his horse to check on me. Epona walked behind him, eyes full of worry for me. She had my hat in between her teeth–I must have lost it sometime in the fight.

After that, Balder wasn't as much of an asshole to me. Which was nice, I supposed.

I took a small sip of the red potion he gave me and replaced the cap on the bottle to save for later; I needed to ration what I had, since I had no idea if the next town even sold potions. I could feel the shallow cuts and gashes slowly knitting back together, and the gash on my forearm stopped bleeding for now. I released a breath at the fading ache in my head, and I wiped my face with the hem of my tunic. Blood and dirt stained it. Din dammit, I was going to have to do laundry again, huh.

Balder was talking to me, I distantly realized, something about a Zora band needing a bodyguard or something as they went on tour, and I just nodded absently, fighting back the sleepiness that made my eyelids heavy. I was yanked back into reality when he clapped me on the back, laughing, and apparently I had agreed to be a roadie for the Indigo-gos.

Eh, why not. I guessed it was about time to meet up with them again, anyways. As long as it kept me out of Castle Town.

/-/-/-/-/

"Zelda," I murmured. I could barely hear my own voice over the sound of my pulse in my ears.

"Hm?"

Instead of answering, I swung my legs idly off the edge of her balcony, looking out at the scenery below from my perch on the railing. The stars overhead were pinpricks of light in the woven blanket of darkness, and the moon gazed down gently, bathing everything in a soft glow. I had long removed my hat and my hair hung loose, tickling the back of my neck as a breeze swept through.

The question burned at the back of my throat, but in the end I said nothing. Muted footsteps came up behind me, and before I knew it, Zelda was leaning on the railing next to me, her arms folded gracefully. She tilted her head to give me a curious look, but I continued to stare straight ahead. I swallowed.

"...What do you think is next for us?"

The silence stretched on for what felt like forever, but then Zelda cleared her throat. Her smooth voice was a blend of Sheik and the persona she displayed for the world. It was soft and rich, but had that undercurrent of confidence she carried through two lifetimes.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "...If you could, would you want to know?"

I thought for a second. "No," I said finally, laughing. The wind blew my hair into my face, and I swiped at it impatiently with a hand, but it didn't work. It tickled my nose and made me want to sneeze. I wrestled with it for another few moments.

Zelda laughed when I spit hair out of my mouth, before she reached over with both hands and smoothed my bangs back from my face. The tough calluses on her hands, compared to the tender touch that currently pressed against my temples, was an experience that I would never get tired of.

She squished my cheeks with those callused, teasing hands, and I pulled away abruptly, rubbing my face in an accusatory fashion. I frowned. Did she really just squish me?

That's when I finally noticed it. The smile she gave me was enough to make me forget my own name, much less the face-squishing or the fact I was balancing precariously on a rail. I shifted without thinking, and a yell caught in my throat as I plummeted from my perch. Zelda was lightning fast as her hand shot out to catch my wrist.

I dangled between salvation and the thorn bushes below.

Before my eyes, the past began to bleed into the present, as Zelda bled into Sheik and the chilly night air turned hot and suffocating, glowing red like the volcano we were both stuck inside in another life. I could almost smell the burnt organic matter and the rotten-egg scent of sulfur.

In a blink it was all gone and I was back in the present, with one not-Sheik trying to haul me back over the edge of her balcony. Back to my senses, I grabbed onto the ledge and climbed, with her as my support and lifeline.

Zelda scolded me briefly, before gesturing to follow her back inside for a game of pick-up sticks. The curtain fell behind her, and I was left by myself outside. The quiet of the night was nice, and the wind cooled my warm cheeks.

"How touching."

Something shifted in the air as the memory seemed to pause. The wind froze, and all noises around me ceased. My hand reverently skimmed over the wrist she grabbed. I could still feel the ghost of her touch. It felt just as real now as it did three years ago.

"Why, jealous?"

From behind the curtain, a man emerged.

He was… almost an identical version of me.

However, every aspect of him seemed to be smothered in charcoal; his hair was an ashy white, and his skin and clothes were both reminiscent of dusk and shadow. His eyes were closed as he smiled, deceptively benign and friendly.

I frowned at him.

"Who wouldn't be envious of the dead?"

I reached for a blade, but there was nothing. His eyes snapped open and they were a glowing red, the inside swirling with the agonized souls of the forsaken. My movements became sluggish, and I fought to regain control of my body. His smile warped into something wrong, and he placed his hand on my chest. He leaned in to murmur,

"I'll take my time with her when you're gone."

Bile rose in my throat, and I gritted my teeth, internally thrashing with everything I had to break my invisible bonds.

Then he shoved me roughly over the railing, and I plunged into the darkness.

/-/-/-/-/

I woke in a cold sweat, the fire in the pit long having died out. The inn room was small and dimly lit, with only enough room for a bed and a little table for an oil-burning lamp. The world was quiet except for the hammering in my ears. I put my head in my hands, waiting for my heart to calm, taking deep breaths. My body groaned, aching from what I put it through today; I didn't pay it too much mind, though.

I finally got a look at the bastard.

"Celebrate while you can," I muttered. I will find a way to kill you, once and for all. I fucking swear it.

The lamp on the table was suddenly flung across the room, and I flinched despite myself, adrenaline jumping. It broke against the wall and the room was plunged into darkness. That…that was new.

I frowned, and rummaged around for my qiankun pouch. I pulled out a bottle with a cool pink poe fire in it, and held it between my knees as I fished out my unfinished carving. Half of Sheik's face, covered by a rough fringe, stared back at me. I held it close to my chest, and kept watch the rest of the night.

I needed to keep her safe.

I needed her here with me.

No, I needed to keep her the hell away from me.

I… don't know how much longer I can do this.

It had been six months since I saw a trace of Link.

Six. Damn. Months.

"Your Highness, Prince Temir of Jiansgar requests permission to enter your study."

I sighed under my breath. I didn't have the energy nor the willpower for more small talk.

"Tell him that I am unavailable–"

"Your Highness," a smooth voice called from the open door. Behind the panicked messenger stood a sleek young man in his mid-twenties, and a practiced smile adorned his face. "I hate to intrude, but I couldn't help but notice your Royal Guard's lack of a captain. Has the lazy peasant run away? Or is there something else, perhaps, that is upsetting you?"

At the jab towards Link, my blood boiled, and it took everything in me not to glare at this pretentious prick. I forced an amicable smile, and said, "Prince Temir, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Temir strolled past the shocked messenger and sat at the edge of my desk smoothly. Through my forced smile, I whispered a spell that obscured the words on the documents scattered over my desk.

"Servant, you may leave," Temir called, voice clipped, and the messenger boy hesitated. I clenched my jaw, but nodded to the poor boy. He scurried out of the room like a mouse chased by a cat.

I finally raised my eyes to meet his, and there was a light of arrogance in his gaze. There was something dark and slimy that I didn't like, either.

"You've been ignoring me."

Well. That wasn't exactly untrue. I've been too worried about Link to think of much else.

I bowed my head in acknowledgement, "I've been overly preoccupied with work, I apologize."

"That's a fucking lie, and you know it bitch," he spat.

I froze for a split second, then laughed, my fake smile replaced with a real one. He stared at me angrily as I wiped a tear from my eye and said, "You are leaving immediately."

"The fuck I am," He growled, and there it was. The power-hungry, spoiled air of a boy that was used to getting whatever he wanted as soon as he opened his mouth. Finally out in the open.

"You do not understand. It is not for my safety," I slowly stood up, the chair scraping across the floor as it was pushed backwards.

"It is for yours."

Prince Temir scoffed, and reached to grab me. In an instant, he was slammed face-down onto the desk, documents scattering onto the floor. Dammit, I'm going to have to reorganize them. Ugh.

"W-wha–?" He sputtered, but I just twisted the arm behind his back again to shut him up.

"You come into my kingdom, insult my captain, order around my people, and expect to get away with it?" I growled, and twisted his arm harder.

"I don't know how you do it in Jiansgar, your highness, but here… Do not grow comfortable." My voice lowered to a quiet murmur, and Sheik surfaced as the rage finally boiled over. Who would believe him if people heard that Princess Zelda, the delicate flower of Hyrule and morning sun of the generation, beat the absolute snot out of some spoiled prince?

I had to hold back a laugh as I wrestled my temper back under control. Unfortunately, not everything in the realm of politics could be solved with violence. At least by a mere princess.

"It is time for you to leave."

I dragged him to the door and shoved him out. The messenger boy was waiting on the other side of the door, petrified, and I jerked my chin towards the slime that had crawled into my study. "He is to depart Hyrule immediately. You are under protection of the crown. If others attempt to forcibly bar you from your duty of informing the king or carrying out my order, they are to be detained and court-martialed for treason. That is all."

I slammed the heavy oak door in both of their faces, and breathed a tired sigh. Ladies above, these suitors never learned, did they? That was the third one that had tried to intimidate me throughout this whole court-ship fiasco (not that I ever told Link about them… I didn't need him going and murdering anyone). I never spared them much thought, though, and after a while their faces all blended together and I couldn't remember a single, individual one. I didn't particularly wish to dwell on it, either, so I just… Didn't.

Settling back into my chair, I tried to calm the pent-up rage in my veins as I struggled to refocus my attention on the words laid out in front of me. Then I remembered a bunch of papers were still on the floor.

Din damn it.

/-/-/-/-/

I sat at my desk, shuffling through more reports and documents I had to sign from the never-ending pile that sat there, mocking me. The words started to blur together as I read, and I had to put down the paper, rubbing my tired eyes. The sun had long set, and I was just reading by candlelight at this point.

I don't know how much longer I can do this.

Along with my responsibilities to the crown, I was also spending almost every waking moment in the Royal Archives, looking for something that might give me a clue on how to help Link. There wasn't much to go off of, which was the problem (I held in a string of curses; I've read through so much dusty lore that I could be the next book keeper). I finally narrowed it down to the Water Temple, since it was after that when he started acting distant. But even then, there's a million things written about it that gives me a headache just thinking about it and–

I stood up abruptly, my chair flying backwards with a grating, jarring noise against the stone tiles.

I'm taking a break for today. I would tear my hair out otherwise.

With a snap of my fingers, I perched on the windowsill, looking out over the quiet Castle Grounds. My bandaged fingers hovered over the lyre. Where should I go today…?

Gerudo Valley? Nah, I knew that Nabooru was busy, and wouldn't be able to fight me today. Damn.

Kakariko? Hm. No. All that was there was the graveyard and Death Mountain.

…Lake Hylia then?

There was supposed to be a music festival there these next few days, right? I remembered Dad talking about it. There was even going to be a Zora band coming all the way from Termina.

I nodded to myself, and the Serenade of Water once more filled the air swirling in soft spirals. A soft, gentle glow surrounded me, and I opened my eyes and there I was, in the middle of Lake Hylia on the Triforce pedestal.

Lanterns of pink, blue, and yellow were strung across the treeline, illuminating the lake's field in a soft glow of colors, and a large portable stage was set up by the water's edge. There was already a crowd forming, which I was grateful for. I tucked my lyre away, and walked over the bridge to the audience area.

The music act hadn't started yet, and not many people were sparing me a second glance, which was nice. The people in the audience were too focused on the artists and workers on stage who were busy setting up, and more than a few girls giggled, faces red, whispering amongst themselves as they stole glances at the stage.

I snorted at their youth, a little envious; all they had to worry about was a crush on a musician, while–

I glanced at the stage out of curiosity, and my thoughts screeched to a sudden halt.

…You cannot be serious.

Something in me snapped with an almost audible crack, and I had to ball my hands into fists to stop them from doing something I'd regret. After the concert, we'd talk. I faded into the shadows, like a whisper of a forgotten dream.

Oh, we'd talk alright.