The Ways of the Sheikah by Princess Ruto

Zelda was exhausted by the time she got home. Every muscle ached in her wiry body, and her eyelids drooped. She trudged up to her home, and Impa ran up to her, saying;

"Sheik! Oh come in, sweetie! You must be starving! Oh, you're tired, aren't you?" She fussed and clucked over Zelda, and set her down in front of a bowl of onion soup. Zelda slurped ravenously, despite her exhaution.

"Thank you, Impa!" She exclaimed, having not eaten for a day. Soon, her bowl was empty, and Zelda, yawning, cradled her head in her arms, and fell asleep at the table. Impa saw, and gently shook her shoulder to wake her. The Princess looked up, and said;

"Go to bed, Princess. Impa said. Zelda dragged herself into her room, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Zelda awoke to the dawn's light the next day. She got up, feeling refreshed, and got dressed, brushed her hair, chewed a mint leaf to get rid of morning breath, etc, and went downstairs to eat. She was still hungry, and ate more than usual. While she was eating, she saw a vision of Link, fighting some giant oysters or something. She decided she had to leave to meet him, just to see his handsome face again;

"Do you think Daria would let me borrow a horse?" Zelda asked, refering to the cucco lady.

"Probably. Bye, Zel." Impa said. Zelda leapt up, and headed towards Daria's stable, where she sat feeding her cuccos.

"Thanks, Dar." Zelda lead a white stallion from a stall, and mounted it. She clucked to him, and was off towards the lake.

Zelda stopped the horse, and let him graze behind the Lakeside Laborotory. She then ran across the bridge leading to an island, brushing off hungry Guays as she went. When she reached the island, Zelda sat in the cool shade of a tree, releif from the midday sun. She was suddenly startled by a gurgling sound. The near-empty lake was refilling!!!Link did it again. Zelda turned around to see Link decend from the heavens in a blue light. Zelda was amazed, but she didn't say anything.

"You did it Link. You defeated the monster." Zelda murmured back. She guestured towards the lake. "Look at that, Link. The Lake is once again filled with pure, clear water. All is as it was here."

"Awww.It was nothing." Link was blushing. He turned around to look at the view. Then, Zelda leapt up into a tree while she had the chance. When Link spun around again, he said;

"Wha-where'd she go?" He asked Navi, who just shrugged. Zelda then dove into the lake, swimming underwater for the other side. When she got there, gasping for breath, she got back on her horse, flying for Kakariko. She sensed something was wrong.

When Zelda got back, the village was aflame. Impa was staring into the empty well.

"There is a Shadow Creature....He's escaping....Sheik, I must go to the Shadow Temple to re-seal him...If I don't come back, don't be alarmed, for if it is defeated, I will find my powers as a Sage, and I'll be in the Chamber of the Sages until Ganondorf is resealed into the Dark World." Impa gave Zelda a hug. "Tell Link to help me.I'll come back eventually." She ran towards the graveyard, and was gone. Right then, Link stumbled into the village to find it as it was. Zelda saw him run up to her, and she yelled;

"Get back, Link!!!!!" Zelda saw the seal crack, and as it did, a bluish gas leaked out. Zelda braced herself for whatever it would do. The Shadow spirit picked her up, and flailed her through the air like a rag doll. Zelda screamed as she was thrown a great distance. As she landed, a horrible pain exploded through her. She groaned, unable to move, the breath knocked out of her.

"Never. I'll teach this guy a lesson." Link said. But the shadow caught him off guard, and picked him up, slamming him up against a house. Zelda screamed as he fell limp to the ground, a trickle of blood oozing from his forehead. She used the rest of her strength to pull herself up, and to Link's side. Lovingly, she pulled his head into her lap, and wiped the blood from his face. Suddenly, rain began to fall. The cool drops dripped down Link's face, reviving him.

"Looks like you're finally coming around." Zelda said in his ear. "The monster has gone to the Shadow Temple. Impa is trying to re-seal him in the well, but she can't do this alone. You must help her. I will teach you the song that will take you to the Temple. The song that draws you into the infinate darkness that absorbs even time....the Nocturne of Shadow." Zelda pulled out her lute, and played a sorrowful song along with Link.

"You go to the Temple. I'll stay here and help the villagers." Zelda said, even though the heavy rain had already put out most of the fire.

***

For that night, Zelda helped put out the remaining fires, and worried about Link. The Shadow Temple was, according to Impa, full of nightmarish ghouls. She hoped Link woul come out alive. In the early morning, Zelda closed her eyes for a second to rest, but saw Link fighting a ghastly monster with hands not attatched to it's body. Link was slashing away at it's red eye, and Zelda saw it disentegrate.

He made it!!!!!!!!!!

Zelda , in order to beat him to the Spirit Temple, took the white stallion from the stables again, and rode off towards Gerudo Valley.

***

When she arrived in the fortress of the Gerudo, she wasn't welcomed. The Guards ran up to her, yelling and waving scimitars at her. One stole her horse. Zelda was bound in ropes, and the red headed women debated what to do with her. One woman in a white uniform suggested;

'Why don't we leave her out in the desert for dead?" All the other Gerudo seemed to like this idea, so they picked Zelda up over their heads, and marched into the desert with her. Zelda pretended to struggle, but really liked the fact that she was getting a free ride to her destination. A blinding sandstorm scoured her skin, and she shut her eyes. Minutes later, she was thrown into the sand and untied.

"Good luck finding your way back to wherever you came from!" They laughed. Zelda opened her eyes to see the Spirit Temple nearby. Quickly racing to the Temple, Zelda hoisted herself up onto an archway in front of the Temple, waiting for Link.

***

"Hey, Sheik!" Link cried up to her. Zelda jumped. She must have dozed off. She quickly jumped down, and said;

"Past present future. Time is a river you can sail up and down, using the Master Sword as a ship. The port for this ship is in in the Temple of Time......This song will lead a child back to the desert... The Requiem of Spirit." Zelda pulled out the lute again, plucking out a sad tune, and Link followed along.

"Until we meet again, Link." Zelda pulled out another Deku seed, and willed herself to the Temple of Time as she threw it down. Zelda re-appeared in the dusty Temple. Sighing, she shook the sand out of her clothing, and hid in the shadows, waiting for Link to return with all the Sages awakened. That, Zelda decided, would be when he would tell him who she really was.

***

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