To See the Sun Smile - Part Three

[zeffyface]

DISCLAIMER: All of The Legend of Zelda Characters and Places belong to Nintendo, and maybe some other equally important organizations/people. They are not, nor have they ever been mine. I just write silly fics.

This. Chapter. Kicked. My. Ass.

Hope you guys are all right with it, cause I can't tell worth anything at this point. I'm not exactly happy with it. It's just...there.

Oh, watch out so the switch in point of view doesn't hit you in the face, okay?
And the story - that's my badly summarized version of Link's Awakening. Makes NO sense. I'm sorry. In my defense, the game didn't really make sense either.

You don't have to review, but it's always nice to know you guys are out there. Drop in and say hello if you like. You rock.
Really. I've had such awesome feedback so far. It's what kept me writing on this malicious bastard of a chapter.

Part Three

Legend


“Hm? What’s that?”

The resonating notes of the ocarina stilled as Link looked over to the fairy perched on his shoulder. He had been sitting cross-legged in the grass outside of Lon Lon ranch, waiting for Malon to finish checking over Epona to set out again.

“It’s the song Sheik was playing at Lake Hylia.” His lips quirked a little at nothing in particular before he glanced back and shrugged his unoccupied shoulder. “I think you were too busy drooling on my tunic to hear.”

“Hey!” A tiny fist connected with his ear, making no impact whatsoever. “I don’t drool! My wings got wet from wading around underwater, is all.”

A gauntleted hand came up to stroke the Hero’s chin in consideration, his eyes sparkling deviously. “But Navi, your wings never got wet the whole time in the water temple…” This time she rammed her whole body into the blond-covered head, making Link recoil with laughter. “Anyway,” he added after gaining back his breath, “I like the song. It reminds me of something.”

“What?” Link only shrugged again, running his thumbs over the smooth clay of the instrument in his hands. Navi put her hands on her hips. “Does it do anything?”

“I don’t think so.” He leaned back against the ranch wall, staring off into the horizon. “I don’t think he really meant to teach it to me, either. Just sort of remembered the tune from when he talked about it.” Navi watched Link pull off his hat, shaking out his choppy, chin length hair as he folded his arms behind his head.

“Know what I think?”

“Don’t need to – you always tell me anyway.”

“I think you like Sheik.” Link suddenly slipped against the stone, forcing him to unfold his arms and flail before he fell over in the dirt. Before the flustered Hero could even start a reply, however, Navi was up and over the wall to the ranch, giggling all the way.

THUNK.

Something surprisingly hard had collided with Link’s head and was now pulling his hair. “Link, WAKE UP!” Navi’s voice shoved directly into his ear canal had the Hero of Time jolting three feet in the air, coming down with his sword raised before he realized his empty room in Kakariko. Heart beating wildly from this method of awakening, he instinctively grabbed his sword belt and slung it over his tunic even as he looked to the panicking fairy in confusion.

“What’s wrong, Navi? Are there monsters in the village?”

“No, outside in the field – Sheik’s hurt!” For a fraction of a moment, Link’s mind froze halfway through putting on his boots. Then, as if to make up for the lapse in time everything suddenly skipped forward, and he was down the stairs and out the door with his equipment in hand before he even thought to move.

“Where?” Oddly, the normal questions, such as ‘how’ or ‘why’ seemed utterly irrelevant at that moment. Navi shot away, leaving a faint blue trail in her wake.

“Not far, this way!” Abandoning the thought of calling Epona Link took off at a sprint, booted feet flying down the stairs of the village to dig into the grassy field. His mind seemed to place itself in lock down, echoing the two basic thoughts that kept his legs moving fast enough to barely touch ground. Sheik’s hurt; follow Navi. He took the Zora River at a leap, not even pausing when he landed on the opposite shore with a shallow splash. At a small patch of woodlands Navi came to an abrupt halt, making him skid trenches in the dirt as blue eyes darted over the surroundings.

The corpses of three wolfos lay scattered among the trees, filling the air with the scent of blood. Lungs heaving, Link gazed through the curtain of bangs strewn over his eyes. There was no hint of Sheikah blue or white to be found amongst the battleground. Navi spiraled and bounced over the largest of the three, a white wolfos. “No! He was right here; he moved!” Link’s head snapped back from his search while his feet carried him to where the light bobbed in agitation.

“I only left for a minute; he couldn’t have gone anywhere unless he used his blinking magic-”

Next to the fallen beast lay a pair of dirks, ones that Link recognized as usually sticking out of Sheik’s boots. He would not have left his weapons uncleaned and abandoned unless forced... or desperate.

“I mean, the third wolfos just came out of nowhere! It’s like they just pop out of the ground or something-”

He carefully picked the blades up, wiping away the congealing blood in the grass and sliding them in next to his own ankles. “Navi.”

She stopped for a long moment, wings fluttering erratically, before flying directly into Link’s chest and burying herself in his tunic. The wavering of her voice was clear even muffled by the fabric. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to help – I shouldn’t have told him I was going to get you!” Her little hands twisted the green cloth tighter. “He needed someone but he didn’t want you to come and now his back’s all ripped up and his shoulder’s bleeding and…” The rest fell to incoherent little noises as the tiny body shook.

Link felt something twinge in the back of his ribcage, something that moved to prickle his lungs. A wounded Sheik, risking his welfare, perhaps his life, all to avoid him. The sensation had followed his lungs up to his throat. Some detached part of him observed Navi getting his tunic wet again. The spot in his chest couldn’t seem to decide if it was going to burn or freeze. Would Sheik rather die first –

The word, thought aloud in his head, snapped Link from his mind. He raised a hand, gently covering the fairy clinging to him. “We’ll find him, Navi.” He lifted her to his shoulder, moving to look through the tree line again.

Whether or not Sheik wanted to see him, Link could not leave his friend alone and injured. Coming to his aid was the only option.

He wondered if he would be able to walk away afterwards, should the Sheikah ask it of him.

“We’ll find him, Navi,” he repeated softly. “We have to.”

His legs were working on automatic, weaving through the undergrowth. A little voice in the back of his mind noted that if Sheik indeed used a deku nut to blink he could have warped anywhere in Hyrule, thus cutting any chance of recovery from slim to none. The rest of his head stomped said voice out in a surprisingly violent fashion.

A glint of gold caught the moonlight filtering through the branches. Curious, Link bent to pick it up and recognized it as the lyre that always seemed to appear from nowhere. A soft vibration ran through the instrument like a heartbeat – the same gentle buzz the Ocarina of Time gave off. The beat held soft power, power that only needed the right notes. He had watched the bandaged fingers glide over the strings enough to understand the basics, enough to mimic the remembered movements. Hesitantly, he plucked out a tune one string at a time. It gave him some small pride that he managed without any mistakes.

“That’s the one you were playing with the other day.” Navi’s soft tone broke his concentration as Link looked down in surprise. He hadn’t realized what song it was, although it made as much sense as any other, he supposed. Still, it was rather odd…

Something brushed up against his forearm. Link jerked, eyes snapping downward, only to find his sleeve looking back innocently. He frowned, eyebrows drawing together as he chided himself mentally. He did not have time to lose focus and play musician.

The feeling came again, this time while he was still staring directly at his arm. He froze, mouth opening slightly before closing again. It felt like a touch, someone wrapping their fingers partially around the crook of his elbow. The invisible hand began to pull, just slightly, like a suggestion for a direction, and Link experienced an instant inner battle. Every ounce of reason told him not to follow random ghost hands to unknown destinations. Any experience with Poes or shadow temple creatures could verify that. Something deeper within him, however, instantly trusted this presence to know where to go. Something in the light touch that he had felt before.

Cerulean eyes widened. That he had felt before, resting on top of his chest to keep him in place without forcing him down. Placed across his stomach while a soft tenor drifted to his ears. White cloth wrapping the fingers from view, but somehow still leaving them nimble enough to glide over harp strings. The invisible feeling gave another gentle tug.

“He’s this way.” Navi was promptly jolted off Link’s shoulder to the air when the green-clad hero bolted away across the field.

“What – HEY!” The ball of blue light flipped once before righting herself, streaking off to follow.


The feeling continued to steer, seeming to tighten its grip momentarily after a hundred yards or so. Whether it was in reassurance or warning Link could not tell. Then the presence vanished, sending the hero to a hesitant halt as he scanned his surroundings. A section of rocky formations stretched in front of them, casting shadows in the already dark night. “Navi do you-”

“I see something – over here!” Blue light swept across the ground, illuminating the carved eye of a gossip stone. And there, partially concealed between the unusual talking rock and the boulders behind it lay a very familiar figure.

“Sheik!” Link took the two final steps on a bound and landed on knees beside the fallen form. Navi hovered above, shining at her brightest. The lithe warrior had curled on his side, revealing stained, tattered fabric normally covering his left shoulder. An angry, open gash wrapped from the top of his collarbone down to the bandaged shoulder blade, sending trails of red seeping into the cloth of his tabard. At the warrior's lack of response Link hesitated, then pulled off a glove with his teeth and slipped his hand under the Sheikah emblem to rest on the warm chest.

The heartbeat came weakly; Link's hand feeling the shallow rise and fall of shuddering breaths. With a whispered curse, he stripped off his other glove and reached behind his shield on his back to find the bottle he needed. Biting and spitting out the cork, he gently peeled the shredded fabric from the shoulder wound, pouring the red potion directly into the gash. The reaction fizzed and spat as if angry at being administered in this fashion when meant to be drunk, but the bleeding ceased, flesh knitting until only a thin red line remained under bruised skin. Sheik did not stir, though his breathing seemed to even out. “Where else?”

“His back, get his back.” With one hand placed on Sheik's side, Link rolled him a little farther to move away the back section of the torn tabard. The hero's breath came out in a hiss. The bandages that normally wrapped the Sheikah's torso were drenched, to the point of appearing naturally dyed red. Carefully he traced his fingers along the wettest patches, feeling half a dozen or so deep slices in the taunt muscles. He reached back to search for another potion when Navi let out a sudden exclamation. “Oh,” Link paused, looking up to where the fairy gazed at the wounds. “Potions won't work; he said so. We need a fairy, Link.”

“What?” Link pushed his confusion out of the way, simply accepting the information as he stared at the blue orb in anxiety. “But I used the last one, I-” He stopped, staring at the eye of the gossip stone next to him. “Hang on.” It was a trick he had only tried once, when experimenting with the different functions of the four outside of the Temple of time.

Pulling the ocarina out of his tunic, he played the six notes that formed Zelda's lullaby. The carved tear beneath the eye glowed momentarily at the end of the song, and a moment later a small pink fairy appeared, sitting on the top of the stone. She looked at Link and blinked, apparently puzzled at his lack of injury. Link moved a little to the side, making Sheik more visible. “Not me, him.” The fairy nodded and flew off the stone, spiraling around the collapsed form until eventually disappearing. Beneath Link's fingers he felt the lacerations shift and close. He started to let out a sigh, but stopped when he heard a soft groan.

“Sheik? Hey, Sheik?” Navi floated closer as Link knelt on the other side, watching the covered face carefully. Sheik's eyebrows drew together in a wince, cowl moving in a way that suggested a gritted jaw as he drew his arms into himself protectively. Link looked around the surrounding area for a moment, mind reconnecting with the outside world now the immediate danger had passed. “Navi.” Wings flicked once, signaling she was listening. “Will you go to Lon Lon and see if Malon can free up the guest room? It's closest.” Navi bobbed in understanding and flew off.

Link turned back to the pained face, speaking softly. “Sheik, c'mon, you have to wake up, you can't sleep yet...” Despite the relief of healing the major wounds, he couldn't risk letting Sheik stay unconscious until he was certain it was safe. He placed a hand on his side and shook gently. Sheik's bangs moved over his eyes, and without thought he reached out to brush the strands away, tucking them back. The back of his hand brushed Sheik's forehead: too hot for laying out in the cold. The exposure had most likely caused a fever. Bleary glimmers of crimson cracked open and fixed on him, glinting in the moonlight and causing Link's breath to catch despite himself. He managed a soft “Hey.”

“Hero...” The voice was low, confused, and laced with pain and weariness, but somehow still the nicest sound to hit Link's ears in a long time. It was then he realized he was still rubbing small circles across Sheik's cheekbone with his thumb. He pulled his hand back subtly, opting instead to find his ocarina again.

“We've got to get you to Lon Lon, Sheik, just hang in there, okay?” He played for Epona, thankful at the answering whinny that she always seemed to stay nearby. The mare crested a nearby hill on a trot, shaking her mane in greeting. Link smiled gratefully at her, and then turned back to Sheik to find his eyes closed again. “Sheik?” Even a fairy could not fight the amount of exhaustion and blood loss amounted, it seemed. Link swore softly, turning to Epona. “Sorry girl, can you handle both of us?”

Epona snorted as if insulted, and did something Link had never seen before. Carefully, she bent her front legs, then her back, ending on her knees in the grass in front of him. She tilted her head back at him, and Link could practically hear the unspoken 'Well, are you getting on or not?' He couldn't help the smirk that pulled at his lips. “Right. Sorry I doubted you.” He looked back down, considering how best to move the injured Sheikah.

Stepping over him again, Link carefully slid his hand under Sheik's uninjured shoulder, rolling him backwards into a half-sitting position. He lifted the other's right arm, wrapping it around his neck. Sheik let out a hiss of protest at the strain. “I know, I know, I'm sorry. Stay awake, though.” Reaching down, he coaxed the other's legs to uncurl and ran his other arm under the crook of his knees. Shifting slightly to make sure he had a good hold on the weight, he whispered a warning and stood, Sheik's body held against his chest. Sheik tensed, his eyes opening at the sudden move and pull at his wounds. Link looked down and smiled in what he hoped was an encouraging gesture. Despite being the same height as Link, Sheik was surprisingly light, and, he noted absently, a fairly comfortable burden. Sheik blinked at him blearily. “What...”

“Sorry, but you have to ride sidesaddle so I don't press against your back.” Sheik stared blankly at some invisible spot, apparently finding great difficulty pondering this answer.

“...Oh.” Red eyes blinked slowly as Link stepped over to the less-than-patiently waiting Epona and swung his leg in the saddle. He rested Sheik partially in front of him, opting to not let go so as to lessen the shock of the ride. Epona stood and nickered, waiting.

“Lon Lon, Epona. Malon's place.” The mare shook her mane and moved off, slowed slightly by the added weight. Sheik's head lolled and dropped into the crook of Link's neck. It amazed the hero how quickly he could register the warmth of the weight, the soft brush of steady breath beneath cloth, and the faint scent of cinnamon and ashes before he realized Sheik had once again fallen unconscious. His cheeks tingled faintly. “Sheik, Hey.” He gave the other a gentle shake, realizing he could feel the tremor through both bodies from the long, muscled side pressed against him. He swallowed, casting about for something to both distract himself from the contact and keep Sheik awake. “What...” A stray thought came into his head, and he quickly snagged it. “What is the story of the Wind Fish?”

Sheik hummed and pulled back slightly, eyebrows pulled in a frown. His voice came softly, mumbling more to the air than anything. “Not a nice story.”

“But you said you'd tell, Sheik,” Link coaxed. “What happened?”

Sheik nodded at nothing, turning his head away, eyes still closed. His free arm came up weakly, pulling up the white cowl just a little higher. Link was about to try again when he began to speak, pausing often and occasionally stumbling over his words, but speaking none the less.

“The legend... there was a hero, long ago, who fell into a great storm at sea...” He sighed tiredly. “He woke up on an island... plagued with monsters. He attempted to defeat them, but they always came back. Again and again.” A weak chuckle. “He learned, the only end to the beasts was to find the eight sacred instruments and play the song.”

He stopped, apparently losing his thought path. “The Ballad of the Wind Fish?” Link prompted softly.

Sheik nodded, the sliver of visible eyes glinting in the starlight. “The Wind Fish slept; it had always slept. But in order to save the people of the island that had saved him – that he learned to care for, he needed to play - wake the dreamer.

“He found them, all eight, with help from the people of the island, and defeated the final creature holding the Wind Fish prisoner. But... the song did not work that way.”

Another long pause. “Why, what was wrong?”

“'Awake the dreamer...'” Sheik's eyebrows creased in concentration. “'Awake the dreamer, and all will vanish, much like a bubble on a needle.' (1)” He blinked from his recitation. “The monsters vanished, but so did the people, trees, the sand, the sky. The entire island was illusion...fabrication. The hero awoke again at sea, as if he had dropped asleep. But he could still hear the voice of the one who first saved him.” Sheik swallowed, sinking farther against Link's arm. “He could hear her singing, but she never came back.” He dropped to a mumble. “Not real...”

“What do you mean?” Link could see the walls of Lon Lon approaching as Epona's hooves cantered softly in the grass. Sheik cracked one eye slightly, his voice drifting like lost smoke on the wind.

“It had to be that way – or the evil would have won. I wonder if she knew; if she knew she was only a dream of the Wind Fish, if she would have let him so close. If she only knew, she could have stopped him from seeing her, from caring. It isn't fair you know, to let him attach to something not real. Something that vanishes, with nothing to stop it.”

Link blinked and raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of tense. Sheik paid no attention, simply talking at something unseen. “Stay hidden; a shadow, give enough to aid but not to start more. Just watch at a distance, and he won't be hurt.” The Sheikah swallowed heavily. “I couldn't bear that, knowing leaving would hurt him. I tried – I just couldn't watch him struggle...”

His face softened, his last words come out on a murmur as his head drifted again to Link's shoulder. “His eyes light up like the morning sky when he smiles.”

The breathing behind the cowl came slow and easy, and Link found he couldn't wake him again. He simply stared, mouth open slightly, at the Sheikah sleeping against him. Sheik....

Epona had made it through the gates of Lon Lon, held open by Malon. Gently he slid off with Sheik still in his arms and was ushered inside and upstairs where clean dressings and supplies lay waiting. It seemed Malon knew him far too well. He cleaned and bandaged Sheik's wounds with practiced care, although he could not help when his gaze lingered on the revealed expanse of back and chest while he ran the damp rag over the bruised, mottled skin. Under Navi's advice he also rewrapped an old injury to Sheik's ankle, concealed beneath the thick boots.

As Link rose from his work and stretched his back he gave a long look at the small section of tanned face he could see above the mask. He brushed the blond locks away from the sleeping eyes, noting the other still seemed slightly feverish, but not enough to cause alarm. He frowned, something unnoticed before clicking into place. “Navi?” The little fairy, who had been previously hovering silently at Link's shoulder, turned. Link looked back down at Sheik's wrapped back, one only fairies would heal. “Sheik was in the Shadow Temple, wasn't he?”

Navi visibly wilted, looking to the side. “I promised not to tell.”

Link nodded, lips curving upward slightly. “That's okay. You should get some sleep, okay?” With one last look at the prone form on the bed he turned to take his own advice. The sun was starting to rise over the hills of Hyrule.

He had wondered before if he could leave should Sheik ask him. Now he wasn't entirely sure he could.


(1) Quote from LoZ: Link's Awakening.