The Triforce Wars (3/15)

[spice_mix]

Chapter Two
A Day in the Life

It was a somber Link who returned to the castle. Eldir, who had seemed to have relaxed a little once he had confirmed that the newcomer was no thief, offered him the room he had awakened in - it was small, but still larger than most spaces he was used to, and comfortable.

And now it was there that Link sat, cross-legged on the bed as he and Zelda discussed his options.

"I'm sure there have been stories written about time travel," she was explaining, her Sheikah guardian standing watch at the door. (Eldir and Sheik had left for some official business, much to Link's relief.) "I'll have to look at the archives... or have someone look for me." She pulled a face, and Link quirked a faint smile - she was quite different to the Zelda he knew, the one he assumed was her long-distant descendant.

His Zelda would have jumped at the chance of exploring the creaking shelves of the library. This one seemed a little more... high-energy.

Even the physical resemblance was only faint, a similarity in blue eyes and perhaps a hint of the shape of their jaws. This one had a snub nose covered in a smattering of freckles, faint crinkles around her eyes even at her young age (upon asking, she had confirmed that she was eighteen, the same as him), long, straight red hair falling to mid-back with none of his Zelda's faint wave to it.

But still, he could see similarities. Their kindness, their trust, their enthusiasm.

Already, she was chatting to him like an old friend. Link couldn't help but like her.

"There might not be much," he frowned, then settled back and sighed. "The Zelda I know said that it's supposed to be really rare - that's why it was so important that I could do it with the Master Sword and the ocarina." He turned the little blue instrument over in his hands, then held it out to her. "It'll be a family treasure one day. How come the Door of Time isn't there?"

Zelda peered at him quizzically. "The what?"

"Ah - the door that protects the Master Sword. That's why I had to collect the three stones and get the ocarina - it was the only way to open it so I could get the sword."

She frowned thoughtfully, drawing up one leg to rest her chin on her knee. "I don't really know. No one can take it out of the stone, so I suppose we've never had cause to block it off... ah! How come the stones were in possession of the other races?"

The question threw Link for a loop for a moment. "Uh - why wouldn't they be? They're the Spiritual Stones of the Forest, of Fire, and of Water, aren't they?" But then, maybe these were different stones - the ones he knew weren't embedded in the altar, were they?

"I suppose I don't understand why our sacred objects would be in the hands of non-Hyruleans," Zelda said with a shrug, "Especially non-Hylians."

Non-Hyruleans? "But the Gorons, Zora, and Kokiri are from Hyrule," he frowned, "Aren't they?"

This time, it was Zelda's turn to give him an odd look. "Not exactly. The Zora are permitted to use the lake to visit that temple there, but their main territories are considered to be run by different governments, so they're in Hyrule by geography only. The only inhabitants of the official part of Hyrule are Hylians and Sheikah."

Link exhaled, then settled back on his hands. "Things have really changed," he sighed. "That'll be different by my time."

"Perhaps," Zelda said with a hint of a smile. "A union of the races in and around Hyrule... Sheik, will you fetch us a map of the surrounds?"

Link almost started at the name, but it was the girl who answered. "One map coming up," she smiled behind the mask, poking her head out the door. "Ah - he'll be a few minutes."

"Thank you, Sheik," Zelda smiled, her expression faltering when she caught sight of Link's face. "Link..."

With a sigh, she reached across to pat Link's hand. "I don't understand how it's possible for him to have been there in your time. But he doesn't know you yet... maybe you should get to know him first?" There was a faint glint in her eye. "You said you never got to talk to him that much... well, now you have a chance."

Well, he hadn't expected that sort of advice from the Princess of Hyrule. "I - do you think so?" he asked, almost startled. "He might not want to, or..."

Zelda's voice dropped - with a faint sneaky smile, she leaned forward. "He's been one of my best friends for five years, now. I'll have a word."

Link almost looked hopeful, opening his mouth to reply before the female Sheik called out, "Princess Zelda, that map arrived." Zelda leaned back, looking pleased.

"Thanks - bring it over here? And you don't have to stand at the door, you know."

The girl grinned - even with her lower face masked, Link could see the way her eyes crinkled upwards. "Well, there's not much room on the bed - maybe I can sit on your new friend's lap."

Laughing outright as Link felt his face flush to the tips of his ears, Zelda shifted over a little so the Sheikah could sit next to her. She did so cheerily enough, practically draping herself over the princess as she spread the map out one-handed.

Link found himself smiling a little - this girl was definitely not as serious as Sheik or Impa were.

"So," Zelda started, and Link snapped back to attention. "This red line here is the primary border, but the blue dotted line is the political border. Everyone in that is a Hyrulean citizen and is ruled by my brother, and everything outside has their own government or their own system of leadership."

Leaning over to study it, Link frowned to himself. The border ended at Gerudo gorge - so the Gerudo were not Hyruleans either politically or geographically, their lands partially greyed out. Death Mountain and the upper parts of Zora River were both outside of the blue dotted zone, and, curiously, so too was the entire forest.

Lake Hylia was Hyrulean through and through, it seemed - briefly, he recalled the tunnel that led from the Domain to the lake, and wondered how many Zoras visited the lake anyway. "What's this stuff?" he asked curiously, pointing to the brown colouring on the shore of the lake, spreading out in to the field.

Zelda glanced at it, then back up at Link, curiously. "Hylia Town. Doesn't that exist in your time?"

Link shook his head. "No... there's a creepy lab and a fishing place, but that's it."

Nodding, Zelda pointed to where the fishing place once sat - here, there was more dry land exposed, the lake rather smaller than he recalled. "That's the Lake Castle - my uncle lives there," she remarked. "My father's brother."

He nodded, then pointed to another part. "Okay - and why is Kakariko Village blocked off?" Because, indeed, a solid grey line separated the village from the rest of the field.

The two girls swapped a glance. "Kakariko is closed to outsiders," the Sheikah finally explained, "You can only go there if you're a Sheikah, if you're part of the Royal Family, or if you're a guest of one of the two. And besides, practically no one knows where the real entrance is!"

She grinned mischievously, but Link was still studying the map. "The stairs are there," he finally concluded, gesturing.

"Nope!" she smiled again, and Link sighed. Yet another change...

Barely anything was still recognisable. A village sat where the ranch once stood. Roads crisscrossed the land between it, Castle Town, and Hylia Town. Death Mountain was off-limits, and Link assumed that no bean seller sat at the gate at the river. Sighing, he dropped his head in to one hand.

Why couldn't he just go home?

Zelda swapped another look with the Sheikah - Link vaguely registered her getting up to leave, but didn't look up until Zelda reached for his other hand.

"I know it's hard," she told him gently, "And I know everything's really different. But it's not so bad here, and you're welcome as long as you want."

He smiled faintly. "Thanks."

And then the door opened again - the Sheikah had returned, along with another wheeling a cart that carried several trays of something that smelt terribly good. "Good, hearty food to make you feel better!" the Sheikah grinned as the trays were set on the little table in the corner, "You never know, it might help you feel like a person again. It does when my belly's empty."

Link found himself smiling a little as he slipped off the bed, offering Zelda a hand off. "Thanks," he said again as he took a seat, reaching for a bowl of stew. It did smell very good...

"We'll continue this later, okay?" Zelda murmured, and Link nodded. For now, he had a meal to focus on.



"Sheik is taking you on a tour of Hyrule today."

Link nearly dropped his spoon back in the oatmeal. "He is?" he blinked up at Zelda - who, really, was looking far too pleased with herself.

"Mm-hmm!" she smiled, settling back. "I arranged it last night. Eldir and I both have things on today, so Sheik - er, my one - will be watching both of us. So that gives your Sheik - well, Eldir's, but who's counting? - a day off, and since you'll have to get used to this place eventually..."

Giving the princess a very suspicious look, Link nodded slowly. "And he's okay with this?"

This time, Zelda paused for half a second before giving him a cheery, "Sure!"

Link almost groaned. This was going to be a long day...

Sure enough, soon after breakfast was finished, Link found himself out in the stables with a grumbling Sheikah, a woolen cloak over his new clothes. It was approaching winter, now, and the days were growing shorter and cooler - already, Link could see that the leaves that still remained on the trees were bright shades of red and yellow.

"Where are we starting?" Link asked cautiously as they saddled up - Sheik swung himself up, looking mildly bored with the whole affair.

"I expect we will explore the perimeter," he said shortly, "Bear east and follow the borders to Hylia, then follow the road back up."

Link nodded, settling in the saddle himself. Oh, it wasn't Epona - she had been stabled at the ranch before he had met with Zelda - but the horse was good enough. Dusky grey to Sheik's palomino, she moved confidently beneath him, Link automatically shifting to compensate.

Glancing up in time to see Sheik glance away, he gave him a questioning look. "You seem comfortable on a horse," the Sheikah observed lightly, and Link smiled a little - this was a nice, neutral topic.

"Yeah - I've been riding for years. I have a horse at home called Epona - she's the fastest in Hyrule."

Sheik simply raised an eyebrow - much to Link's surprise, he could see a very faint hint of mischief there. "Really," he said casually, then, with a yell, launched the palomino in to a gallop, rocketing out of the stables.

Link watched agape for half a second, then launched off himself - much to his mild irritation, it seemed that Sheik did have the fastest horse here. Faster than Epona? Well, he couldn't really tell here - but there was no denying that his was swift.

"You had a head start," Link frowned as he caught up with Sheik, now waiting nonchalantly at the gate. "That's cheating."

Was that a smile twitching beneath Sheik's mask? It might have been. "Perhaps," he shrugged, then set off again at a much more comfortable trot, making for the horse road that wrapped around Castle Town proper. Link took the chance to look around curiously - he had never seen the horse road, especially considering he had never actually ridden up to the castle before.

There wasn't much to see. Instead, Link found himself watching the rider in front of him - a puzzle he was determined to solve.

How could Sheik be here? He was positive the one he knew and the one in front of him were one and the same - the same face above the mask, the same unruly hair (although this one seemed to lack the head wraps his future self possessed and thus looked even more disheveled), the same strong build.

Oh, they were differences, certainly - but those were minor at best. A new set of earrings, thin gold hoops in each lobe - Link raised a hand to touch his own blue hoops, recalling how Impa had told him several years ago that pierced ears were a Sheikah rite of passage.

A new set of clothes - oh, Link could see similarities. At the same time, though, they weren't what he had expected - loose grey pants, a dark blue tunic bound at the wrists and upper arms, a sleeveless tunic worn over that with that strange modified Eye symbol over it. A rather minor part of him (well - a minor part he was only certain had awakened the first time due to Sheik's influence) rather missed the form-fitting outfit, admittedly.

But still - it was Sheik, and Link was utterly lost. All through his journey, Sheik had been there - and then he had vanished, and Zelda could only apologise and reassure him that he wouldn't be forgotten.

And so Link had a mystery on his hands. Perhaps Sheik would travel through time as well, perhaps he would find Zelda and learn to protect her the way he had (and how that worked, Zelda had never explained). Perhaps the Sheikah were extraordinarily long-lived, never changing their face or age - but no, then he would still be present in the world Link had returned to. Unless he had been in hiding...

It was maddening.

Dimly, Link registered the fact that they had stopped - the horse road had come to an end, emptying out at the courtyard near the gate. He glanced once at the gate house, remembering the bored guard that had been stationed there when he was young and the Poe salesman that had replaced him during the war, then back to Sheik. "Are you ready to go?" the Sheikah asked.

Link gave an affirmative nod. "Yeah, let's be off. I'm not really a town person."

Sheik gave him a mildly curious look, then nodded. "Let us be off, then." And he started off, over the moat and in to the field itself.

That was better. Link breathed in deeply, the smell of grass and trees and flowers far more welcoming to him than the smell of the market. Even the castle seemed horribly stuffy in comparison. Off in the distance was a hint of wood smoke - he could see faint streams of the stuff from the village in the center of the field, rich and sweet. He hadn't even smelt it in Castle Town, overwhelmed by... other scents.

"This way," Sheik told him, seemingly a little more relaxed himself as he and the palomino trotted towards the river. Here, the bridge was almost even narrower, close to being an all-out rickety mess. Link's dusky grey trod carefully, both horse and rider relaxing once they were on solid ground again.

Dew still coating the long grass, Link sat back comfortably as they approached the Kakariko stairs - or rather, where the stairs would be at some point in the future. Now, there was merely an expanse of blank rock - Link gazed at it in some fascination. How did people get to Kakariko, anyway?

Still, he didn't really have a chance to ask. Sheik led them by it with nary a word.

For the most part, Hyrule looked much the same. Once, Link asked a question - "How do the Gorons go to Hyrule, if they need to?"

"They don't," Sheik had answered shortly, "My people are on diplomatic terms with them, and the village borders their territory. They go through us."

The mouth of the river was the next surprise. Certainly, Link recalled the tunnel he had swum through to get to the upper river and the Domain, but this was new - instead of a tunnel, there was an almost solid wall, water escaping through a barred gap beneath the surface.

The message was clear - no one was to go in, no one was to go out.

By the time they reached the borders of the forest, Link was already in a somewhat miffed mood. It was Hyrule, but not his Hyrule - what could be accomplished with this forced isolation? He had allies amongst the Zora (and, briefly, an accidental fiancee - Zelda had had to explain to Ruto, very diplomatically, why she and Link couldn't be betrothed when she had returned the sapphire all those years ago), a Sworn Brother amongst the Gorons - this separation would do nobody any good.

Thrice - for a brief amount of time, he had been a Zora, a Goron, a Deku. Even if the masks still remained in Termina, the impact of being them had never worn off.

And here, too, the message was the same. Sheer cliffs, no paths, the tops of trees visible above but with no clear way up. That, he didn't mind so much - the Kokiri (if they existed in this different time) should have been protected from the Hylians.

And on they rode, Sheik silent but for the occasional murmured direction or commentary - "Turn right at the next fork", or perhaps, "Much of Hyrule's agriculture is from here." As the wilderness of the field gave way to paddocks and pastures, Link found himself rather missing it.

This was a vast area, then. Wheat fields and pastures for cows dominated, becoming increasingly more inhabited as they progressed - scattered buildings became clusters of houses, the fields getting smaller and more compact, and by the time they reached Hylia Town, Link could scarcely tell where it ended and the pastures began.

"We will stop here for lunch," Sheik decided, and Link nodded almost enthusiastically. Over the course of their ride, the sun had reached its apex and started to sink again - it must have been a couple of hours past midday.

"Right! Can we eat by the lake? I like it there." Oh, he wasn't about to say why - but the lake still held a special spot in his heart.

Sheik paused, then finally nodded. "That would be acceptable. I have an errand there, anyway."

Link nodded, almost asking then deciding better of it. "Okay. We should get fish - they're really good by the lake."

Was that a smile he caught beneath the mask? "We can get fish, if you like."

"Thanks!" Link grinned sunnily, trying to get a proper smile back in return. Well, if Sheik didn't remember everything that had happened during the war, he'd just have to try and rebuild what they had now. After all, surely anything they did now would carry on to the future? Perhaps Sheik would remember his friendship now, and that would lead them to new things down the line - or, perhaps, they could change time and the future would hold something more than friendship.

...Stop that, he scolded himself. His own wants were irrelevant, now - it was Sheik who held power over him at this point in time, Sheik whose decisions would drive this relationship or whatever he wanted to call it.

Link was quiet as Sheik picked up their lunches, fresh lake fish with a dash of herbs and thick, crusty bread. Settling on a dock he didn't remember being there, horses tied up in a nearby corral, his gaze inevitably slid across to the island, the tree on it small and bedecked in green.

The Triforce platform was still there. Vaguely, Link wondered if he could still warp there.

"You waited for me there," he said suddenly, gesturing to the island with his piece of bread. "After the Water Temple."

Sheik glanced at him sharply. "You should not tell me any more of the future," he told him flatly, intensity in his visible eye. "It may not come to pass."

"It already has," Link rebutted stubbornly, and continued. "You don't even have to teach me a song or anything. You don't have to tell me where to go next or tell me another story. Why do you come to see me when you don't have to? Is it because you're worried about me?"

"I don't know," the Sheikah snapped, and stood up. "It hasn't happened yet and quite possibly never will."

Link stood as well, not even noticing as his remaining fish dropped from his plate and was promptly stolen by a gull. "Well, it's going to happen! It already has happened! And I don't know if you're going to travel through time like me or if it's something else, but you seem to actually like me a bit then, so maybe you should start liking me now!"

Sheik was silent for a moment, stock still. "I have an errand to attend to," he finally said coolly, "I'll be back shortly."

And he turned and left without a word.

Link stared after him, mouth open to give him a rebuttal. Then he simply sighed, shoulders slumping.

Not only was Sheik indifferent towards him, he seemed to almost actively dislike him. Practically throwing himself back to the dock, he stared out at the water, the clouds overhead turning it slate grey. So much for Zelda's plan of them becoming friends.

What if Sheik was right - what if time did change? What if their argument here changed the future, and they failed just because Link couldn't stop pushing the issue? Stupid, stupid.

So it was much to his surprise when he felt a hand drop on his shoulder - Sheik stood there, a package and a letter in his hands, worry etched all over his face. "We have to return," he said abruptly, "Gather your things."

Briefly, Link considered arguing - but the expression on Sheik's face convinced him otherwise. Instead, he just nodded, returning his plate to the vendor and heading back to retrieve the horses.

As the two of them thundered out of town on the road back to the castle, Link couldn't help but wonder what had worried Sheik so much.


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