Hullo there, I'm a newbie here (though an old-hand at fanfiction - you may have seen me as 'canihavea-soda' on fanfiction.net, or on my homepage). For those of you who I haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet, I thought I would offer a short snippet of the sort of stuff I scribble out every now and then :)
This is a story based on one of the many 'Sheik theories' for Ocarina of Time. Here, I'm going on Sheik being a person seperate from Zelda and a bloke. Just so you know!
Title: Ephemeral
Rating: PG
Characters: Link, Navi, Sheik, Dragmire (mentioned)
Synopsis: Link enters the Temple of Time, having defeated all the Temples and received the Sage's Medallions. He plans to meet Sheik, his mysterious helper, before the altar. However, on entering the Temple, he finds that everything is not as he expected it to be...
Ephemeral
Link crept into the Temple of Time, wary of the darkness of the holy building. Never before had he entered to find the candles un-lit, and the cavernous ceilings so full of shadow. The lack of the flickering, warm light that he was used to spooked the Hylian, and he held the Master Sword tightly in his left hand as he made his way up the central aisle.
Silence clung to him oppressively; without the slight hiss of fire in the air, he could now fully appreciate just how dead the Castle town now was, after Dragmire’s forces had razed it of all life. At least he knew that he would find Sheik here waiting for him, and that thought comforted the young Hero. Of course, as the Sheikah moved silently, it would be difficult for the Hylian to guess when he’d make himself known…
Just as he stepped onto the marble slab before the grand altar, where the three spiritual stones hung suspended in the air, the large candles to either side fizzled into life. He blinked rapidly in order to get rid of the spots in his vision, and then narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure out exactly what had caused the sudden flare. “Nav’,” he murmured, changing the grip of his sword so that he was ready to parry any sudden attacks, “what can you sense?”
The small fairy quivered slightly on his shoulder, and he could feel the vibrations through his neck; “Just Sheik,” she answered, though she sounded unsure. “Though…”
“What is it?”
“It’s like he’s far away…but he must be in here, so…” she trailed off, and placed a small, cool palm on the side of his throat. “I don’t like this Link.”
“Neither do I…come on, let’s see if we can find him. He’ll know what’s going on.” Heart rate quickening, the Hero ascended the wide steps towards the slightly ajar door of time. He paused on the thresh-hold, and peered into the room beyond. On seeing a splash of indigo against the grey and white of the inner-sanctum, he smiled, and hurried to greet his old friend…
Only to stop short as he realised that Sheik’s clothing was spattered with more red than it should be. “Sheik?” he called, voice strangled. He let the Master Sword fall to the floor with a clatter of steel on stone, and rushed forwards to his injured friend. The other man stirred slightly, and managed to crack open his eyes, which were riddled with delirious pain.
“Link?” he rasped, as the Hylian’s hand tenderly brushed across his cheek, which was covered in a layer of sickly, cool perspiration.
“What happened?” the Hero demanded breathlessly, quickly checking the wounds, and nearly losing the contents of his stomach when he saw white bone peeping out of the flesh on the other’s chest. Sheik inhaled sharply when Navi gently touched the wound, trying to ascertain if she could heal it. Link’s eyes grew wet with tears when the small fairy shook her head; there was nothing she could do. And the Hero had used the last of his fairies in the battle against the twin witches in the desert.
“Sheik, please, what can I do?” he asked, voice thick with unshed tears.
The Sheikah shook his head, “Don’t worry Link,” he whispered, eyes closing as a spasm of pain ran through him. “I don’t think there’s anything…just…” He managed to reach up his right arm, which was still relatively intact, and laid his hand over that of the Hylian’s on his cheek. “Just promise me that you’ll finish him.” It was obvious by the tone exactly whom the Sheikah was speaking of. Link’s mouth fell open in an astonished ‘o’ at the other’s touch, and a few startled tears fell before he regained control of himself. “Promise me,” Sheik pressed, weakly squeezing the Hero’s gauntleted fingers.
“I…I promise…but, hold on, you’ll be all right…you just need to-” Sheik’s eyes closed, and Link panicked, “Sheik!” The eyes opened again, glittering just like the blood that had pooled on the virgin white of the steps. “Don’t, please…there must be something…” The Sheikah’s eyes softened, and he fumbled clumsily with the edge of his facemask. When it fell away, it revealed a smooth young face, identifying Link’s friend as no older than himself…quivering, Sheik reached up to touch the tear-stained face of the Hero – his Hero.
Not quite knowing why, Link leant down, and pressed his lips against those of the other, tears now flowing freely. Sheik’s lips were cool, but still tasted sweet and he felt true contentment for the first time in his life.
…back in the main annex of the Temple of Time, the two grand candles were silently snuffed out…
When Link pulled back, he saw that Sheik’s eyes were closed. His chest no longer rose and fell, and the peaceful look of his face told the Hero that his friend was dead. Silently, he rose to his feet, neglecting to even bother trying to wipe the blood from his clothes. Then, a little unsteadily, he hurried out of the room, collecting his weapon on the way, and then fled the Temple entirely. But one thought filled his head…
He would end this now.
And he would make Dragmire pay.
End
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it :)
