Title: Deus ex Machina
Author: Court ( [email protected] ) as Link, Rydia ( [email protected] ) as Sheik and about everyone else
Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda is not ours. The characters are not ours. The setting is not ours. We borrowed it to have some fun. We interpreted it in our own way. We make no money off of this so you can't sue us. Neither of us have any money anyway.
Summary: In the year following Ganondorf's defeat, a tentative peace has settled over Hyrule. Now the Goddesses are demanding one more thing from the Hero of Time, but at what cost?
Warning: AU (Sheik and Zelda are different people, and Navi was killed at the end of OoT since no one likes her anyway). Shounen ai/yaoi (YES that means there are GAY PEOPLE OMG NUU :P), Link/Sheik.
Important Note: This entire fanfic has been written in role-play format. That means that there are sections. Court writes one, then Rydia writes one, and so on and so forth. Things are REPEATED. Why? Because when we started, we didn't intend for this to be a fanfic. Now that we're finishing it, we love it to pieces and want to share it with the world. So. All the Link sections were written by Court, and all the Sheik sections were written by Rydia. And Rydia made the chapter titles because she's weird.
--
Chapter 1
In which Sheik finds Link and Link finds the bottom of Lake Hylia
--
Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are
I had to find you, tell you I need you
Tell you I set you apart
Coldplay "The Scientist"
--
Don't let Link fool you, folks. As cool as he might seem in the game, there's a side of him that isn't shown on the Nintendo 64. The real Link, if you will. The part that you don't see because... well, because it might be considered incriminating. What do I mean, exactly? Well, when someone is allowed to go from ten straight to seventeen with no time for transition, well... odd things happen.
"Epona, calm /down/," he ordered, yelling up at the horse from the ground, having fallen on his backside yet again. He winced as he felt the soreness beginning to set in a bit more and rubbed at his lower back in a hope of relieving the pain. "Stupid horse," he grumbled, once again picking himself back up and brushing himself off with gauntlet'd hands. "Come on, girl, we have to work on jumps..." The boy desperately tried to get the horse to calm down, but it didn't seem to be working too well. She was rather feisty today.
He glanced over at the fences built as a sort of barricade into Lake Hylia, and he sadly remembered how the horse had refused to jump them earlier that morning. So, he had spent the entire day working both with Epona and on some of his own moves that were used in combat.
Like that spin attack thing. He could pull it off, but most of the time he fell over from the dizzy attack that accompanied it. He just wasn't used to the taller, leaner, stronger, more muscled body, even now. When Epona wouldn't listen, no matter what he did, he just sighed, gave it up, and went to go sit down on the grass, a nice big rock to lean against, and attempt to tend to his aching bones. Not much he could do but rest, however...
--
Sheik wasn't far away... he never seemed to be far away anymore. Always in the shadows, never actually showing himself... he wasn't completely sure why. He felt almost a brotherly need to watch over the Hylian whom he had mentored for so much of the past few months. Now without his fairy guide, Link just seemed more vulnerable.
He snorted quietly to himself. As though the hero of time, of Hyrule, the one destined to be the hero since his birth needed help from a rogue Sheikah. He was already in trouble with the Sacred Order for allowing the princess to be kidnapped right in front of him. The Sheikahs lived and died for the royal family. Zelda being snatched while he looked on was like abandoning the Order altogether.
That was why he had not been there to fight alongside of the young hero against Ganondorf. That was why he had been so far away while Link fought for all of Hyrule. That was why he was here now, he supposed, rather than unseen at Zelda's side, helping to rebuild the decimated city and castle. Disowned was too strong a word.. it was more like.. alienated. Eventually, they would take him back, forgive his retributions, and allow him to join them again.
He sighed, watching the other man try to calm the horse. When she didn't listen, he simply gave up, allowing her to wander freely while he sat down next to a rock. He supposed he should show himself sooner or later.. Link looked like he could use some company.
"So this is what the hero of time does in his free time...?"
--
Typical that the second he sits down Epona stops bucking and starts behaving, just trotting around all innocently and nibbling at the grass. "K'hh... you're rather two-faced, you know that?" Link asked the horse, who just gave him an indignant look and continued munching. Well, whatever. He had had enough of training, anyways, and felt more like just relaxing for the rest of the day. Leaning back farther against the rocks, he looked upwards and examined the cloudless blue sky that was there to greet him.
"Seems a lot clearer now that Ganon is gone," he mumbled to himself, having gotten into that habit having Navi around. The fairy was usually there to bother him and give him some random piece of advice whenever things got too quiet so now he had to find solace in himself and his horse. Sort of pitiful, but Link had soon gotten used to being alone.
Sometimes it almost seemed like the Hero of Time was destined for such. So many had wanted to marry him, or be with him, or supposedly loved him... and, well, he never really felt anything in return. As if he just didn't harbor any feelings that mimicked love whatsoever. As if... as if he was incapable of it. And they all ended up as a Sage or too busy with other things to pay attention to the Hero of Time after Ganon was sealed.
However, Link didn't usually let things get him down. And he didn't have any time to, a familiar voice jarring him from any worrying thoughts that might be forming. He blinked in shock, and quickly jerked his head around to see Sheik was there. "Sh.. eik...?" he squeaked, suddenly flustered as he got to his feet as quickly as possible. He felt as if he needed to be polite and well-mannered when around the Sheikah... the mysterious air that he had almost demanded it.
"What are you doing here?" he asked innocently.
--
The Sheikah simply shrugged, the motion betraying none of his thoughts or intentions, thoughts and intentions he wasn't truly sure of himself. He took a few steps closer, but still kept a good distance between the two. He wasn't sure why he still felt he needed to maintain the distance; it was almost as though Link himself was somehow unapproachable for the young Sheikah.
The thought in itself was a rather odd one. Link was friendly, good natured, and he almost seemed to draw people to him. Then again, maybe that was it. Sheik had grown up amongst those of the Order, and the Order was quite less than friendly. It was supposed to be protection, or something.. something he never quite understood but never questioned.
He wondered vaguely to himself exactly what he was hiding from, keeping several steps away and still shielding his face with his traditional scarf. He felt almost a little threatened by Link's open and kind ways, as though he wasn't sincere with them. Which of course didn't make sense either.
Brushing the thoughts away, he realized he never had answered the Hylian's question. "A friendly visit, I suppose. Thought I'd stop by and see how you were faring. You.. eh.. weren't home."
--
Link, on the other hand, was almost intimidated by how distant Sheik was. Most people flocked to him and clung to him and wouldn't let go (okay, maybe not that bad), but Sheik would hardly get near him. It was... odd. He didn't know why -- if it was something he did, something Sheik didn't like about him, maybe. Sheik was just riddled with mysteries. Link, after all, hardly knew what the Sheikahs were, what exactly they did.
But he did know that Sheik had given him so much help during his journey collecting the Six Medallions and he had never been able to properly thank him for it. He'd do it when he got the proper moment. As for finding out more about the Sheikah, Link was almost too scared to ask.
And so they both feared each other. How... quaint. A bit surprised as he neared closer, he suddenly remembered. Zelda. Sheik. They were the same person. He kept forgetting because... well, because they were so different it was hard to believe. Did that mean that he was supposed to refer to him as he would Zelda, then? Geez, this was getting confusing...
He smiled and gave a soft laugh at Sheik's explanation. Hmm, it wasn't like him, though. Sheik would just approach whenever he needed to aid Link, and then would disappear before Link could even get a word in. So why this sudden approaching? Well, he wasn't complaining. He needed the company, after all. "Yeah," he said, rubbing at the back of his green hat, "I don't really go there anymore..." It was... odd having to deal with the people he remembered from his childhood and not have them recognize him.
--
"I...can imagine," Sheik said, wondering if he really had any idea what it was like for the other. He knew it wasn't possible for him to understand everything that Link had been through and he accepted that.
He turned away slightly, not used to making eye contact with others. But the silence that followed when he did so was decidedly awkward, even for him, and he found himself turning back to glance at the other, this time noting the rigidity of Link's posture. He allowed himself a tight smile, even though he knew Link couldn't see. It seemed that they were both rather bad at dealing with each other on a friendship sort of scale.
He raised one blond eyebrow. "You don't have to be so jumpy. The war is over, I doubt any of Ganon's fiends are going to jump you here." There was amusement laced in his tone.
The idea that Link still thought of himself and Zelda as the same person had never actually occurred to him. Link's confusion was painfully apparent though, for the boy had missed a lot of growing up time, and thusly skipped right over Hiding Your Emotions 101. Sheik found he really didn't know exactly what Link was being confused about. Probably his sudden appearance without any warning, and without any discernable purpose.
Though the truth was that he couldn't really explain why he was there either..
--
"Eh, sorry," Link murmured quickly. He hadn't intended to make Sheik feel uncomfortable or anything, but was just trying to explain why he hadn't been there. Gosh, he seemed to screw things up a lot... A mental sigh. At least he had figured out that it was not advisable to sigh out-loud very often.
Feeling antsy when Sheik suddenly turned away, he just looked down at his gloved fingers and tried to pass the silence by occupying his mind with something, anything, but he couldn't bring anything forth. Great, just when he needed thoughts most they decided to go for a walk in the park. This just wasn't turning out very pretty.
Phew... relieved when Sheik spoke again, he gave a crooked smile in return. "I know, I really should stop... but, I guess after having had to worry about them for so long, it's just... hard to forget." That, and he had nothing else to do, really. What now? His whole purpose had been to seal away Ganon, and now that was over and done with. So what was a Hero to do with himself? Spend his time training for no real reason, it seemed.
Then again, now that Sheik was here, maybe he could do something just a little more interesting. And then he realized what was bothering him. A sharp growl from his stomach had him wincing. He was hungry. /Now/ does he realize he hadn't eaten a thing the entire day. "Uhh... Sheik?" he questioned meekly. "You know any good places to get some food?" Yes, random, yes, not having to do with anything, yes, possibly offensive and/or amusing to the Sheikah, but that was Link for you.
--
Sheik's first reaction was confusion at Link's apology, but he brushed it off without much further thought. He knew the other well enough to know that he wasn't very certain about his actions. If he thought he did something wrong, it was probably best to dismiss it as though it didn't matter.. because it certainly didn't if Sheik didn't even know why he was being apologized to.
He nodded appropriately to Link's further statements, knowing that the other's jumpiness was likely caused by his own presence rather than the existence (or lack thereof) of monsters. Most Hylians were rather oblivious to the Sheikahs' existence, and those who knew of them were usually rather nervous in their presence. Link's behavior was mirrored in most of the Hylians Sheik had ever met.
The Sheikah heard Link's stomach complain rather loudly and felt another smile cross his face as Link asked the question.
"There's an entire lake full of fish through the valley, you know," he reminded the other.
He wondered if the relation between them was so impersonal because of him. Most of the time it was.. he wasn't used to being very personal. But Link was. That's how he was raised. The Sheikahs, on the other hand, lived and died for the sake of the royal family. There was no need to be personal, so they weren't.
And yet, he wasn't quite certain what to do about it. He knew he wouldn't be comfortable in the slightest opening up to Link; even revealing his face was like breaking some sort of odd taboo from the ancient order. He wasn't even completely sure why he had to keep his face covered... he just knew that revealing even this would be going back on so much of what he was taught.
And so this would have to do for now.
--
It was better that they didn't continue to talk about the Kokiri. After all, it was sort of a sensitive subject, and he didn't really feel like talking about it much. He liked to avoid anything that made him feel uncomfortable and brought forth broody thoughts, mainly because he had no idea how to deal with them. So it was highly appreciated that Sheik didn't press on the matter.
Link still thought this was just a little out of the ordinary. Sheik would hardly speak to him before, and all of a sudden he was taking the initiative in a conversation. An actual one... not just the words of wisdom and the teaching of a tune. Now that he actually had the chance to say something, he had no idea where to start, what to say... and there was also the fact that he believed he was also Zelda. He was even more uncomfortable around her than he was Sheik, considering she was the princess, and possibly because of her personality. She just dumped things on him and didn't really give an explanation. Not really his favorite person to be around. Sheik, on the other hand, he didn't mind spending time with.
So the fact that they were the same person just hurt his brain. He'd just... he'd act like he had forgotten or something, and just go treating him as he treated Sheik. If 'Zelda' called him on it, he'd claim he had forgotten. Yeah, yeah, that would work. Thus goes the improvising of a confused teenager-also-ten-year-old.
The mention of fish made his stomach yell in agreement, so he gave Sheik a sheepish grin and nodded. "All right, let's go fishing, then!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet enthusiastically and dusting himself off quickly. He let out a sharp whistle and Epona trotted over (he had at least managed to teach the horse to do that), and then grabbed it by her reins and started leading her along, hoping Sheik would follow. It would be the perfect time for him to leave, after all...
Then did he realize he didn't have a fishing rod. Hmm... more improvisation might be needed.
--
The boy's enthusiasm was a bit contagious, and Sheik found himself smiling a bit at the outburst. Yet, still there, pressing at the back of his mind was one of the reasons he had come out here.. it in itself was a lousy reason to seek out the other man, but he'd use it regardless. Because there was really no other logical explanation.
He felt guilty.
Guilty that the princess had gotten kidnapped, guilty that Link had had to face Ganondorf alone, guilty that he had not been able to help more. It had been his duty, given to him by the Lady Zelda herself, to help the Hero of Time on his quest. He had failed on so many counts.
What was this, then? Retribution? As if.
Link didn't need his help now. Link needed his help a few months ago, up in that tower with the fiend who had nearly killed him. While he was being questioned and punished by the Sheikahs for "allowing" the princess to be captured.
Stifling a sigh into the scarf hiding his face, he began to follow the green clad Hylian.
--
It didn't take them very long to make their way through the valley, mostly because there weren't monsters popping out and throwing themselves at the Hero anymore. He appreciated this quite a bit, however. It was not fun having to stop every two seconds in order to properly slash some fiend in two, and it made it a lot easier to get places.
And so quickly did they reach the lake, the bright sun that was quickly unclouded when Ganon was sealed now shining strongly down upon the clear waters, so much that the piercing reflection almost hurt the boy's eyes. Still, the fish were rather visible, swimming their merry ways through the water, and his innards gave another jump at the sight of them.
Now, to solve the problem of their lack of a fishing rod. He could... try and just wade into the water and catch them with his hands, maybe. Or maybe they liked ocarina music, like the fr--no, what was he thinking? /Okay, think, Link, /think.// He stood there starkly for a moment as he tried to bring forward some brilliant plan.
...maybe he could make a fishing rod? Just get a branch and some string somehow. No, he was thinking that just using his hands was his best bet. And so he dropped down into a sitting position and started to take off his boots and then roll up his tights somewhat.
--
Sheik watched silently as Link stood at the edge of the waters, looking thoughtfully over the clear blue depths. The sun was shining brilliantly down on them, the lake glowing with the affect. It was all very beautiful, and something that he, a Sheikah, the people of the Shadows, did not get to experience much.
Perhaps it was that feeling that being around Link gave him that made him follow that day. The Sheikahs were close, very tight-knit, always in a group. His face was covered, so that he looked like the others. His name had even been derived from the name of his people. But when Link was around, he didn't feel like he was part of a larger group anymore. He felt like.. an individual.
A strange feeling for him, really. He'd never had any sense of individuality. Referring to oneself was almost always pluralized, using not "I", but "we" and "us" instead of "me". Anodd sensation for him to use these words and feel like he was really a separate person from the Order.
He thought he rather liked it.
And so he silently watched Link enter the water, hoping to catch one of the fish and wondering how he could be of any help. Well, they would need a fire to cook the fish on.
"I'll gather firewood," he explained briefly before wandering off to do just that.
--
Tights now rolled up to his knees, the young man walked far into the water and then realized that the fish were swimming farther out than he had initially thought. Well, he was going to have to get wet either way now. Having almost forgotten about the Sheikah who had remained on the shore, he jerked slightly when his soothing voice played against his pointed ears.
He looked back at him, gave a quick nod, and grinned. "All right! Thanks." He had to wonder if all of his niceness and his usually chipper attitude was wasted on Sheik and his serious manner, but at times he felt as if he got through to him... he wasn't sure how he got through to him, but that he made Sheik feel something. What that feeling was, well... Link didn't even really have the best grasp on feelings to begin with.
Once Sheik had walked off he pulled off his hat, something he hardly ever did, and with his strong left arm threw it back to the shore, then, rolling up his sleeves as well, he took a deep breath and dived underwater. If he had to get wet, may as well go the whole nine yards. Not to mention it was a rather humid day and taking a swim was rather pleasant.
After messing around for a bit, he re-surfaced and scanned the lake's waters for fish. Oddly enough, in a matter of moments one started to swim rather close to him, and with a determined look on his face, tongue out in concentration, he leapt after it, diving under and chasing it, arms outstretched in hopes of getting a hold on it.
/Come on, come on, come on... ugh, can't breath, why didn't I equip the Zora tunic--- comeoncomeonCOMEon STUPID fish!! Yes! Gotcha'!/ Grinning to himself for a moment underwater as he wrapped his fingers around the slippery fish, he quickly made his way back to the surface so that he didn't lose it again, and then headed back to the shore as quickly as he could, breathing heavily from the chase.
--
Sheik had glanced back, even smiled a bit as his sharp crimson eyes picked up Link happily waving about a captured fish, when something in the quiet day seemed to go wrong. He couldn't place exactly what had spawned the feeling of unease for a long moment, until he realized that there was a distinct rumbling sound coming from the nearby Gerudo Valley.
Before he could fully place exactly what might cause such a noise (which, he noted, was steadily getting louder), he was thrown flat on his back by a rather tremendous seismic shock.
Blinking past the accompanying dazed feeling of being rather forcibly knocked off one's feet, he took only a moment to get up on the still-trembling ground. As in any earthquake, the initial hit didn't last long, and immediately, he was on his feet, immediately scanning the damage to the land around him. The valley was far from a safe place to be situated in during an earthquake, and they should get out of there as soon as possible.
They. Himself and Link.
Crap.
He whirled around, remembering Link being in the lake, and not remembering what bodies of water do when unsettled from the ground beneath until he had completely been swallowed by water. The wave hadn't been huge, but he'd been barely onshore to start with.
Clawing away his protective face scarf, he let himself be dragged out into the lake, kicking for the surface and gasping a bit as he surfaced. Crimson eyes glanced about the lake in a demeanor that could almost be described as perfectly calm, searching for his companion.
--
Link had almost been back to shore, wrestling with the fish that was squirming to get back to the water, and he had been about waist deep when it hit. The shaking had entirely taken him off-guard, and he was thrown backwards into the water, the fish having long ago escaped and swam off somewhere else. He grumbled to himself at that until he realized that he was underwater, and that the tide was dragging him farther out into the lake.
Not to mention he had no idea where the surface was.
But he had been in such shallow water a second ago. Making a guess as to which way was to the surface and yet again cursing himself for not having the Zora tunic, he started kicking madly towards the surface, or where he believed it to be. He got just a bit more nervous when he had been kicking for a while and still hadn't reached the surface.
Wait, there it was! He took in a deep breath... of water. Seemed he had thought wrong. Struggling against the water that began to fill his lungs, he continued to fight for air, oh precious air. But he didn't get it. Nope, not at all. One eye winced closed from the intense pain in his lungs as he started to drown, all the water and the pressure of being so far under eventually got to him, and unconscious he was knocked.
And so he started to fall towards the lake's bottom.
-----
Author's Notes
Rydia: HAHAHA THIS IS GOING TO BE LIKE 5000 CHAPTERS IF I MAKE ALL THE CHAPTERS THIS SHORT! Well, I like where this one ends. So there. Oh man...I don't even remember writing this part. I can't believe this is the first Sheik I've ever written. I have such a weird perception of the Sheikahs. o_O; Oh, and just a side note, earthquakes, while they never happen like this anywhere else, happen like this in Hyrule. It is not MY fault I have never been in an earthquake. >_>; Court has, ask her. I'll upload the next chapter if I ever decide that it's fun to code again. (It's not. Fun. To. Code. ::gouges out eyes with a fork:: >O)
Court: Gosh, this was so long ago! I'm surprised that I still like what I wrote as Link here. o_o; Kind of insane; people, this was started in the summer. Isn't that crazy? CRAZY I TELL YOU okay hi no, I'm not mentally ill. Um. My first Link post was lame, though. LAMEZORZ. And I'm sure that stopped people from continuing to read through it and even get this far! Ehh, the earthquake description was good enough. I've been through tons, and I say it was fine, so if you don't find it satisfactory, bite me. No, really. Bite me. I think it's kinky. :D
--
Stay tuned for Chapter 2 : In which Sheik gets propositioned by a Goddess! (someone shoot Rydia for that..)
Author: Court ( [email protected] ) as Link, Rydia ( [email protected] ) as Sheik and about everyone else
Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda is not ours. The characters are not ours. The setting is not ours. We borrowed it to have some fun. We interpreted it in our own way. We make no money off of this so you can't sue us. Neither of us have any money anyway.
Summary: In the year following Ganondorf's defeat, a tentative peace has settled over Hyrule. Now the Goddesses are demanding one more thing from the Hero of Time, but at what cost?
Warning: AU (Sheik and Zelda are different people, and Navi was killed at the end of OoT since no one likes her anyway). Shounen ai/yaoi (YES that means there are GAY PEOPLE OMG NUU :P), Link/Sheik.
Important Note: This entire fanfic has been written in role-play format. That means that there are sections. Court writes one, then Rydia writes one, and so on and so forth. Things are REPEATED. Why? Because when we started, we didn't intend for this to be a fanfic. Now that we're finishing it, we love it to pieces and want to share it with the world. So. All the Link sections were written by Court, and all the Sheik sections were written by Rydia. And Rydia made the chapter titles because she's weird.
--
Chapter 1
In which Sheik finds Link and Link finds the bottom of Lake Hylia
--
Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are
I had to find you, tell you I need you
Tell you I set you apart
Coldplay "The Scientist"
--
Don't let Link fool you, folks. As cool as he might seem in the game, there's a side of him that isn't shown on the Nintendo 64. The real Link, if you will. The part that you don't see because... well, because it might be considered incriminating. What do I mean, exactly? Well, when someone is allowed to go from ten straight to seventeen with no time for transition, well... odd things happen.
"Epona, calm /down/," he ordered, yelling up at the horse from the ground, having fallen on his backside yet again. He winced as he felt the soreness beginning to set in a bit more and rubbed at his lower back in a hope of relieving the pain. "Stupid horse," he grumbled, once again picking himself back up and brushing himself off with gauntlet'd hands. "Come on, girl, we have to work on jumps..." The boy desperately tried to get the horse to calm down, but it didn't seem to be working too well. She was rather feisty today.
He glanced over at the fences built as a sort of barricade into Lake Hylia, and he sadly remembered how the horse had refused to jump them earlier that morning. So, he had spent the entire day working both with Epona and on some of his own moves that were used in combat.
Like that spin attack thing. He could pull it off, but most of the time he fell over from the dizzy attack that accompanied it. He just wasn't used to the taller, leaner, stronger, more muscled body, even now. When Epona wouldn't listen, no matter what he did, he just sighed, gave it up, and went to go sit down on the grass, a nice big rock to lean against, and attempt to tend to his aching bones. Not much he could do but rest, however...
--
Sheik wasn't far away... he never seemed to be far away anymore. Always in the shadows, never actually showing himself... he wasn't completely sure why. He felt almost a brotherly need to watch over the Hylian whom he had mentored for so much of the past few months. Now without his fairy guide, Link just seemed more vulnerable.
He snorted quietly to himself. As though the hero of time, of Hyrule, the one destined to be the hero since his birth needed help from a rogue Sheikah. He was already in trouble with the Sacred Order for allowing the princess to be kidnapped right in front of him. The Sheikahs lived and died for the royal family. Zelda being snatched while he looked on was like abandoning the Order altogether.
That was why he had not been there to fight alongside of the young hero against Ganondorf. That was why he had been so far away while Link fought for all of Hyrule. That was why he was here now, he supposed, rather than unseen at Zelda's side, helping to rebuild the decimated city and castle. Disowned was too strong a word.. it was more like.. alienated. Eventually, they would take him back, forgive his retributions, and allow him to join them again.
He sighed, watching the other man try to calm the horse. When she didn't listen, he simply gave up, allowing her to wander freely while he sat down next to a rock. He supposed he should show himself sooner or later.. Link looked like he could use some company.
"So this is what the hero of time does in his free time...?"
--
Typical that the second he sits down Epona stops bucking and starts behaving, just trotting around all innocently and nibbling at the grass. "K'hh... you're rather two-faced, you know that?" Link asked the horse, who just gave him an indignant look and continued munching. Well, whatever. He had had enough of training, anyways, and felt more like just relaxing for the rest of the day. Leaning back farther against the rocks, he looked upwards and examined the cloudless blue sky that was there to greet him.
"Seems a lot clearer now that Ganon is gone," he mumbled to himself, having gotten into that habit having Navi around. The fairy was usually there to bother him and give him some random piece of advice whenever things got too quiet so now he had to find solace in himself and his horse. Sort of pitiful, but Link had soon gotten used to being alone.
Sometimes it almost seemed like the Hero of Time was destined for such. So many had wanted to marry him, or be with him, or supposedly loved him... and, well, he never really felt anything in return. As if he just didn't harbor any feelings that mimicked love whatsoever. As if... as if he was incapable of it. And they all ended up as a Sage or too busy with other things to pay attention to the Hero of Time after Ganon was sealed.
However, Link didn't usually let things get him down. And he didn't have any time to, a familiar voice jarring him from any worrying thoughts that might be forming. He blinked in shock, and quickly jerked his head around to see Sheik was there. "Sh.. eik...?" he squeaked, suddenly flustered as he got to his feet as quickly as possible. He felt as if he needed to be polite and well-mannered when around the Sheikah... the mysterious air that he had almost demanded it.
"What are you doing here?" he asked innocently.
--
The Sheikah simply shrugged, the motion betraying none of his thoughts or intentions, thoughts and intentions he wasn't truly sure of himself. He took a few steps closer, but still kept a good distance between the two. He wasn't sure why he still felt he needed to maintain the distance; it was almost as though Link himself was somehow unapproachable for the young Sheikah.
The thought in itself was a rather odd one. Link was friendly, good natured, and he almost seemed to draw people to him. Then again, maybe that was it. Sheik had grown up amongst those of the Order, and the Order was quite less than friendly. It was supposed to be protection, or something.. something he never quite understood but never questioned.
He wondered vaguely to himself exactly what he was hiding from, keeping several steps away and still shielding his face with his traditional scarf. He felt almost a little threatened by Link's open and kind ways, as though he wasn't sincere with them. Which of course didn't make sense either.
Brushing the thoughts away, he realized he never had answered the Hylian's question. "A friendly visit, I suppose. Thought I'd stop by and see how you were faring. You.. eh.. weren't home."
--
Link, on the other hand, was almost intimidated by how distant Sheik was. Most people flocked to him and clung to him and wouldn't let go (okay, maybe not that bad), but Sheik would hardly get near him. It was... odd. He didn't know why -- if it was something he did, something Sheik didn't like about him, maybe. Sheik was just riddled with mysteries. Link, after all, hardly knew what the Sheikahs were, what exactly they did.
But he did know that Sheik had given him so much help during his journey collecting the Six Medallions and he had never been able to properly thank him for it. He'd do it when he got the proper moment. As for finding out more about the Sheikah, Link was almost too scared to ask.
And so they both feared each other. How... quaint. A bit surprised as he neared closer, he suddenly remembered. Zelda. Sheik. They were the same person. He kept forgetting because... well, because they were so different it was hard to believe. Did that mean that he was supposed to refer to him as he would Zelda, then? Geez, this was getting confusing...
He smiled and gave a soft laugh at Sheik's explanation. Hmm, it wasn't like him, though. Sheik would just approach whenever he needed to aid Link, and then would disappear before Link could even get a word in. So why this sudden approaching? Well, he wasn't complaining. He needed the company, after all. "Yeah," he said, rubbing at the back of his green hat, "I don't really go there anymore..." It was... odd having to deal with the people he remembered from his childhood and not have them recognize him.
--
"I...can imagine," Sheik said, wondering if he really had any idea what it was like for the other. He knew it wasn't possible for him to understand everything that Link had been through and he accepted that.
He turned away slightly, not used to making eye contact with others. But the silence that followed when he did so was decidedly awkward, even for him, and he found himself turning back to glance at the other, this time noting the rigidity of Link's posture. He allowed himself a tight smile, even though he knew Link couldn't see. It seemed that they were both rather bad at dealing with each other on a friendship sort of scale.
He raised one blond eyebrow. "You don't have to be so jumpy. The war is over, I doubt any of Ganon's fiends are going to jump you here." There was amusement laced in his tone.
The idea that Link still thought of himself and Zelda as the same person had never actually occurred to him. Link's confusion was painfully apparent though, for the boy had missed a lot of growing up time, and thusly skipped right over Hiding Your Emotions 101. Sheik found he really didn't know exactly what Link was being confused about. Probably his sudden appearance without any warning, and without any discernable purpose.
Though the truth was that he couldn't really explain why he was there either..
--
"Eh, sorry," Link murmured quickly. He hadn't intended to make Sheik feel uncomfortable or anything, but was just trying to explain why he hadn't been there. Gosh, he seemed to screw things up a lot... A mental sigh. At least he had figured out that it was not advisable to sigh out-loud very often.
Feeling antsy when Sheik suddenly turned away, he just looked down at his gloved fingers and tried to pass the silence by occupying his mind with something, anything, but he couldn't bring anything forth. Great, just when he needed thoughts most they decided to go for a walk in the park. This just wasn't turning out very pretty.
Phew... relieved when Sheik spoke again, he gave a crooked smile in return. "I know, I really should stop... but, I guess after having had to worry about them for so long, it's just... hard to forget." That, and he had nothing else to do, really. What now? His whole purpose had been to seal away Ganon, and now that was over and done with. So what was a Hero to do with himself? Spend his time training for no real reason, it seemed.
Then again, now that Sheik was here, maybe he could do something just a little more interesting. And then he realized what was bothering him. A sharp growl from his stomach had him wincing. He was hungry. /Now/ does he realize he hadn't eaten a thing the entire day. "Uhh... Sheik?" he questioned meekly. "You know any good places to get some food?" Yes, random, yes, not having to do with anything, yes, possibly offensive and/or amusing to the Sheikah, but that was Link for you.
--
Sheik's first reaction was confusion at Link's apology, but he brushed it off without much further thought. He knew the other well enough to know that he wasn't very certain about his actions. If he thought he did something wrong, it was probably best to dismiss it as though it didn't matter.. because it certainly didn't if Sheik didn't even know why he was being apologized to.
He nodded appropriately to Link's further statements, knowing that the other's jumpiness was likely caused by his own presence rather than the existence (or lack thereof) of monsters. Most Hylians were rather oblivious to the Sheikahs' existence, and those who knew of them were usually rather nervous in their presence. Link's behavior was mirrored in most of the Hylians Sheik had ever met.
The Sheikah heard Link's stomach complain rather loudly and felt another smile cross his face as Link asked the question.
"There's an entire lake full of fish through the valley, you know," he reminded the other.
He wondered if the relation between them was so impersonal because of him. Most of the time it was.. he wasn't used to being very personal. But Link was. That's how he was raised. The Sheikahs, on the other hand, lived and died for the sake of the royal family. There was no need to be personal, so they weren't.
And yet, he wasn't quite certain what to do about it. He knew he wouldn't be comfortable in the slightest opening up to Link; even revealing his face was like breaking some sort of odd taboo from the ancient order. He wasn't even completely sure why he had to keep his face covered... he just knew that revealing even this would be going back on so much of what he was taught.
And so this would have to do for now.
--
It was better that they didn't continue to talk about the Kokiri. After all, it was sort of a sensitive subject, and he didn't really feel like talking about it much. He liked to avoid anything that made him feel uncomfortable and brought forth broody thoughts, mainly because he had no idea how to deal with them. So it was highly appreciated that Sheik didn't press on the matter.
Link still thought this was just a little out of the ordinary. Sheik would hardly speak to him before, and all of a sudden he was taking the initiative in a conversation. An actual one... not just the words of wisdom and the teaching of a tune. Now that he actually had the chance to say something, he had no idea where to start, what to say... and there was also the fact that he believed he was also Zelda. He was even more uncomfortable around her than he was Sheik, considering she was the princess, and possibly because of her personality. She just dumped things on him and didn't really give an explanation. Not really his favorite person to be around. Sheik, on the other hand, he didn't mind spending time with.
So the fact that they were the same person just hurt his brain. He'd just... he'd act like he had forgotten or something, and just go treating him as he treated Sheik. If 'Zelda' called him on it, he'd claim he had forgotten. Yeah, yeah, that would work. Thus goes the improvising of a confused teenager-also-ten-year-old.
The mention of fish made his stomach yell in agreement, so he gave Sheik a sheepish grin and nodded. "All right, let's go fishing, then!" he exclaimed, jumping to his feet enthusiastically and dusting himself off quickly. He let out a sharp whistle and Epona trotted over (he had at least managed to teach the horse to do that), and then grabbed it by her reins and started leading her along, hoping Sheik would follow. It would be the perfect time for him to leave, after all...
Then did he realize he didn't have a fishing rod. Hmm... more improvisation might be needed.
--
The boy's enthusiasm was a bit contagious, and Sheik found himself smiling a bit at the outburst. Yet, still there, pressing at the back of his mind was one of the reasons he had come out here.. it in itself was a lousy reason to seek out the other man, but he'd use it regardless. Because there was really no other logical explanation.
He felt guilty.
Guilty that the princess had gotten kidnapped, guilty that Link had had to face Ganondorf alone, guilty that he had not been able to help more. It had been his duty, given to him by the Lady Zelda herself, to help the Hero of Time on his quest. He had failed on so many counts.
What was this, then? Retribution? As if.
Link didn't need his help now. Link needed his help a few months ago, up in that tower with the fiend who had nearly killed him. While he was being questioned and punished by the Sheikahs for "allowing" the princess to be captured.
Stifling a sigh into the scarf hiding his face, he began to follow the green clad Hylian.
--
It didn't take them very long to make their way through the valley, mostly because there weren't monsters popping out and throwing themselves at the Hero anymore. He appreciated this quite a bit, however. It was not fun having to stop every two seconds in order to properly slash some fiend in two, and it made it a lot easier to get places.
And so quickly did they reach the lake, the bright sun that was quickly unclouded when Ganon was sealed now shining strongly down upon the clear waters, so much that the piercing reflection almost hurt the boy's eyes. Still, the fish were rather visible, swimming their merry ways through the water, and his innards gave another jump at the sight of them.
Now, to solve the problem of their lack of a fishing rod. He could... try and just wade into the water and catch them with his hands, maybe. Or maybe they liked ocarina music, like the fr--no, what was he thinking? /Okay, think, Link, /think.// He stood there starkly for a moment as he tried to bring forward some brilliant plan.
...maybe he could make a fishing rod? Just get a branch and some string somehow. No, he was thinking that just using his hands was his best bet. And so he dropped down into a sitting position and started to take off his boots and then roll up his tights somewhat.
--
Sheik watched silently as Link stood at the edge of the waters, looking thoughtfully over the clear blue depths. The sun was shining brilliantly down on them, the lake glowing with the affect. It was all very beautiful, and something that he, a Sheikah, the people of the Shadows, did not get to experience much.
Perhaps it was that feeling that being around Link gave him that made him follow that day. The Sheikahs were close, very tight-knit, always in a group. His face was covered, so that he looked like the others. His name had even been derived from the name of his people. But when Link was around, he didn't feel like he was part of a larger group anymore. He felt like.. an individual.
A strange feeling for him, really. He'd never had any sense of individuality. Referring to oneself was almost always pluralized, using not "I", but "we" and "us" instead of "me". Anodd sensation for him to use these words and feel like he was really a separate person from the Order.
He thought he rather liked it.
And so he silently watched Link enter the water, hoping to catch one of the fish and wondering how he could be of any help. Well, they would need a fire to cook the fish on.
"I'll gather firewood," he explained briefly before wandering off to do just that.
--
Tights now rolled up to his knees, the young man walked far into the water and then realized that the fish were swimming farther out than he had initially thought. Well, he was going to have to get wet either way now. Having almost forgotten about the Sheikah who had remained on the shore, he jerked slightly when his soothing voice played against his pointed ears.
He looked back at him, gave a quick nod, and grinned. "All right! Thanks." He had to wonder if all of his niceness and his usually chipper attitude was wasted on Sheik and his serious manner, but at times he felt as if he got through to him... he wasn't sure how he got through to him, but that he made Sheik feel something. What that feeling was, well... Link didn't even really have the best grasp on feelings to begin with.
Once Sheik had walked off he pulled off his hat, something he hardly ever did, and with his strong left arm threw it back to the shore, then, rolling up his sleeves as well, he took a deep breath and dived underwater. If he had to get wet, may as well go the whole nine yards. Not to mention it was a rather humid day and taking a swim was rather pleasant.
After messing around for a bit, he re-surfaced and scanned the lake's waters for fish. Oddly enough, in a matter of moments one started to swim rather close to him, and with a determined look on his face, tongue out in concentration, he leapt after it, diving under and chasing it, arms outstretched in hopes of getting a hold on it.
/Come on, come on, come on... ugh, can't breath, why didn't I equip the Zora tunic--- comeoncomeonCOMEon STUPID fish!! Yes! Gotcha'!/ Grinning to himself for a moment underwater as he wrapped his fingers around the slippery fish, he quickly made his way back to the surface so that he didn't lose it again, and then headed back to the shore as quickly as he could, breathing heavily from the chase.
--
Sheik had glanced back, even smiled a bit as his sharp crimson eyes picked up Link happily waving about a captured fish, when something in the quiet day seemed to go wrong. He couldn't place exactly what had spawned the feeling of unease for a long moment, until he realized that there was a distinct rumbling sound coming from the nearby Gerudo Valley.
Before he could fully place exactly what might cause such a noise (which, he noted, was steadily getting louder), he was thrown flat on his back by a rather tremendous seismic shock.
Blinking past the accompanying dazed feeling of being rather forcibly knocked off one's feet, he took only a moment to get up on the still-trembling ground. As in any earthquake, the initial hit didn't last long, and immediately, he was on his feet, immediately scanning the damage to the land around him. The valley was far from a safe place to be situated in during an earthquake, and they should get out of there as soon as possible.
They. Himself and Link.
Crap.
He whirled around, remembering Link being in the lake, and not remembering what bodies of water do when unsettled from the ground beneath until he had completely been swallowed by water. The wave hadn't been huge, but he'd been barely onshore to start with.
Clawing away his protective face scarf, he let himself be dragged out into the lake, kicking for the surface and gasping a bit as he surfaced. Crimson eyes glanced about the lake in a demeanor that could almost be described as perfectly calm, searching for his companion.
--
Link had almost been back to shore, wrestling with the fish that was squirming to get back to the water, and he had been about waist deep when it hit. The shaking had entirely taken him off-guard, and he was thrown backwards into the water, the fish having long ago escaped and swam off somewhere else. He grumbled to himself at that until he realized that he was underwater, and that the tide was dragging him farther out into the lake.
Not to mention he had no idea where the surface was.
But he had been in such shallow water a second ago. Making a guess as to which way was to the surface and yet again cursing himself for not having the Zora tunic, he started kicking madly towards the surface, or where he believed it to be. He got just a bit more nervous when he had been kicking for a while and still hadn't reached the surface.
Wait, there it was! He took in a deep breath... of water. Seemed he had thought wrong. Struggling against the water that began to fill his lungs, he continued to fight for air, oh precious air. But he didn't get it. Nope, not at all. One eye winced closed from the intense pain in his lungs as he started to drown, all the water and the pressure of being so far under eventually got to him, and unconscious he was knocked.
And so he started to fall towards the lake's bottom.
-----
Author's Notes
Rydia: HAHAHA THIS IS GOING TO BE LIKE 5000 CHAPTERS IF I MAKE ALL THE CHAPTERS THIS SHORT! Well, I like where this one ends. So there. Oh man...I don't even remember writing this part. I can't believe this is the first Sheik I've ever written. I have such a weird perception of the Sheikahs. o_O; Oh, and just a side note, earthquakes, while they never happen like this anywhere else, happen like this in Hyrule. It is not MY fault I have never been in an earthquake. >_>; Court has, ask her. I'll upload the next chapter if I ever decide that it's fun to code again. (It's not. Fun. To. Code. ::gouges out eyes with a fork:: >O)
Court: Gosh, this was so long ago! I'm surprised that I still like what I wrote as Link here. o_o; Kind of insane; people, this was started in the summer. Isn't that crazy? CRAZY I TELL YOU okay hi no, I'm not mentally ill. Um. My first Link post was lame, though. LAMEZORZ. And I'm sure that stopped people from continuing to read through it and even get this far! Ehh, the earthquake description was good enough. I've been through tons, and I say it was fine, so if you don't find it satisfactory, bite me. No, really. Bite me. I think it's kinky. :D
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Stay tuned for Chapter 2 : In which Sheik gets propositioned by a Goddess! (someone shoot Rydia for that..)