The Triforce Wars (10/15)
Feb. 1st, 2010 04:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Nowhere Man
It was a silent, melancholy Sheik who returned to the castle with Link, eschewing warping in favour for trudging through the the field. Head bowed, he didn't speak, didn't even look at Link - once, Link had rested a hand on his back, and Sheik had spun around to strike his hand away so quickly that he hadn't dared to try since.
So, in silence, they pressed on.
Reaching the town had produced the first new reaction he had seen from him since they had left Kakariko - Sheik had lifted his head slowly, gazed at the evening crowds, then flinched and moved in closer to Link. Frowning, Link gave him a curious look, then shook his head. He could ask later, when they were safe and sound back at the castle.
Their first stop was to head straight for Zelda's chambers. But, as they had found when they had pushed open the door, it was empty - bare, but for a note left on the desk.
He couldn't read it - instead, he passed it to Sheik, who glanced at it once then headed out again, pocketing the note. Link sighed, then followed after him - he supposed they'd find out what it said later. Now, though, Sheik was headed to the healer's rooms, lingering awkwardly at the door.
"Ah - they're in the far room," the healer said tiredly as he glanced up to see them, "I assume you've told no one about this?"
Link shook his head. "No, we didn't have time," he said softly, then had to hurry up to catch up with Sheik.
The far room, unlike the rest of the curtained-off beds in the main room, was small and private, a little window with the curtains drawn over a soft bed. Very little else was in the room - a single chair and a table against the far wall, and a plush rug spread out on the floor, was the extent of it.
"This is the Royal room," Naziya said softly from the chair she had pulled up beside the bed, her hand still resting on Zelda's still one. "It's not supposed to be used - normally, if one of the Royal Family is sick, they're attended to in their own rooms. This is only for really serious things."
She smiled weakly. "The healers can't work it out. They said she's... stable, but..." And she sighed softly. "They can't wake her up."
Link sighed, leaning back against the wall. "They don't know what magic Ku-- what magic was used against her?"
Beside him, Sheik stiffened, but if Naziya took note of it, she didn't say. "They think it's a time curse - it basically locks her in time. If Kula could come back and reverse it..."
Link winced even before Sheik slammed a fist against the wall. "No use," he said bitterly, "He's dead." And he turned to storm out of the room.
Naziya's eyes widened, gazing at the door that Sheik had just slammed shut. "What happened?" she asked Link hesitantly, and, slowly, Link explained. "Oh... that's terrible," she winced. "Poor Sahil."
Sighing, Link shook his head. "He said he's not Sahil any more... just Sheik," he murmured, and slowly, Naziya nodded.
"I understand. I'm glad I don't have any brothers or sisters." She sighed again, looking down at Zelda's pale face, brushing a strand of red out of her face. "Actually... I take that back. I do have a sister..."
Link nodded slowly. "What do we do now?" he whispered. "Has Eldir come back?" With the princess locked in time and the king's whereabouts unknown, Link couldn't help but be concerned.
Naziya shook her face, gazing down at Zelda's face. For a long moment, neither spoke - Link was trying to resist the near overwhelming urge to go and find Sheik, to comfort him, to tell him it'd be alright. But then, how could it be, for him? In the past few days, he had died, been brought back, learnt that his twin had cursed his closest friend, then seen his twin die.
Finally, Naziya spoke up again. "We do need him, though. He saw Kula a few days ago - maybe he knows something. But I haven't seen him since lunch today..."
Link nodded distractedly, trying to put a time line together. Five days ago, they had set out on their separate ways. Link had returned to find Sheik dead, and his funeral had been that evening. He had waited for three days - in that time, Eldir had travelled to the lake castle, and had returned on the morning of the third day.
In the evening, they had brought him back. Two days had passed - that afternoon, they had returned to the castle, found Zelda, and seen Kula die.
Somewhere over the course of the day, Eldir had disappeared, and Kula had re-emerged in the castle. When? Where? It was coming up on five hours now since Zelda had been attacked - when had Eldir last been seen?
"I'm going to go talk to some people," Link said slowly, "I'll be back later, okay?"
Naziya nodded. "And if you find Sah-- I mean, Sheik - tell him I'm sorry about his brother," she said softly, then turned her attention back to Zelda.
Link hesitated at the threshold, then nodded and headed back out.
It hadn't taken him long to reach his conclusion - the last time anyone had seen Eldir had been a little under five hours ago, at almost the precise time that Kula had attacked Zelda. Perhaps he had pursued Kula, tried to stop him? Maybe he had had something to do with the scene at the well - or perhaps he had been unable to track him down.
But surely he would have known that it was logical for a Sheikah to return to the nearest Sheikah village. And Eldir was a member of the Royal Family - he would have no trouble travelling to Kakariko.
It was a rather perplexed Link that had returned to Zelda's new place of habitation, leaning against the wall with his forehead creased. "Everyone's saying about the same thing," he told Naziya with a frown, "They last saw him right around when Kula - um, was here. And no one's seen him since."
Naziya frowned as well. "Maybe he went after him," she murmured, and Link nodded.
"I thought that too, but we didn't see him at the village..." He shrugged. "Wouldn't that be the first place he'd go?"
Silent for another long moment, Naziya finally murmured, "We need Sheik. If he's bound to Eldir through the Shadow Guardian ritual, he'd be able to find him."
"I'll find him," Link said softly, and giving the girls one last backwards glance, he started off again.
But it had to be said - he wasn't looking particularly hard. His room - empty. Eldir's chambers, where he knew Sheik used to sleep in a tiny room off to one side - nothing. The library - uninhabited. Even the kitchen had a distinct dearth of his lover (although, having not eaten since lunch, he did take the chance to make himself an open-faced cheese and beef sandwich).
It was only when he ventured in to the gardens that he began making progress - shivering slightly in the chill of the evening, his attention was caught by faint, mournful lyre music, both behind him and above him. Exhaling, he turned to return inside, jogging up several flights of stairs until he reached a balcony. And from there, it was easy enough to climb on to the roof itself, joining Sheik as they looked out over the gardens.
"'Ziya told me to tell you that she's sorry to hear about Kula," he said softly, and Sheik's hands faltered on the lyre strings for a moment.
"He always was rash," he finally said, voice choked. "I expect he told the village elders that he had killed her... they - are superstitious." Head dropping to his chest, he murmured, "It protects the village. The ritual. It just needs a - a sacrifice."
Something heavy in Link's chest dropped to his stomach at the pain in Sheik's voice. He couldn't imagine it, losing someone like a twin, no. But still, he knew that he was hurting badly - almost tentatively, he wrapped an arm around Sheik's shoulders.
Sheik stiffened, then slumped against Link's side. He was shaking again, although he stayed dry-eyed, instead, he simply gazed out at the garden and clutched the lyre to his chest. "Idiot," he whispered, and a speck of white landed on his cheek - the first snowfall of the season. "He's a - he never even listened to her. Idiot."
Privately, Link agreed, although somehow he thought it might not be the best idea to say that out loud. Instead, he said quietly, "I didn't know he knew magic. I thought he was a dancer."
Another long silence, and Link began to wonder if prompting Sheik to remember his life instead of his death was a bad idea. But, just as he was about to apologise, Sheik nodded slowly. "He was always interested in magic," he started, voice hoarse. "All Sheikah are encouraged to learn as much as possible - combat, magic, the arts. The week before our thirteenth birthdays, we're tested - they see what we're best at. For Kula, he was good with magic, but he was a better dancer." He smiled a little bitterly. "I was decent all around, and I was the right age - Prince Eldir would need a guard the next year, not just a nanny. On our thirteenth birthdays, we were assigned our new roles."
He sighed softly, head resting on Link's shoulder. "Neither of us got what we wanted - he wanted to do magic, I wanted to be a musician... instead, he became a dancer for the king's brother and I was sworn to Eldir. We were trained for a year, and then, the day we turned fourteen, we were sent away."
Link nodded, running a gentle hand up and down his back, reaching up to brush the light dusting of snow out of his hair. "What was it like, going to the castle?" he murmured curiously.
"Big," Sheik said softly, "And crowded. I was sworn to guard Eldir, but Zelda became my friend - she was only a year younger than me, and she loved to hear me play." A shuddering breath escaped his lips, fogging up in the air as he turned to bury his face against Link's shoulder. "How could he have hurt her? Why?"
Silence fell. And then, tentatively, Link suggested, "There's a way - maybe - to find out... Eldir was last seen right around when..." He paused, discomforted. "When all that happened. Naziya thinks that you'll be able to find where he is - he might know why he did that. And maybe we'll be able to reverse it and wake her up."
Sheik remained silent for another moment, then stood, keeping his balance easily on the sloping roof. "Very well," he murmured, and slid down the tiles to the balcony. Link sighed to himself, then followed a little more carefully. Gazing out at the snow drifting out over the garden, he shook his head, then followed him back inside.
Zelda's room was warm compared to the chill of the snowy air outside - Naziya had lit the fireplace, a map spread out across the table at the back. Glancing up as Link and Sheik entered, she gave them a tired smile. "Hi - I brought a map. We should be able to find him that way."
Link nodded, once again hovering against the wall. "What does he have to do?" he asked, giving Naziya a curious glance as she ushered Sheik in to the chair, giving his shoulder a squeeze.
"Just... concentrate," she murmured, taking several steps back so that Sheik could work.
Slowly, Sheik slid in to the chair, gazing at the map with a vacant expression, dropping his head in to one hand. Link swapped a worried glance with Naziya - what if he couldn't find Eldir? How could they help Zelda then?
But Sheik had lifted a hand, dropping it on the map - and suddenly, he was pale enough that Link was concerned that he might pass out. "Found him," he whispered, voice shaking.
"Where is he?" Naziya demanded, leaning over his shoulder. "He's in the desert?"
Sheik's eyes closed. "He's at the enemy's army base," he whispered, and withdrew his hand like he had been stung. "Where I - the place where I died."
Oh.
That probably wasn't good.
Sheik shoved the chair back and stumbled away, although this time he didn't go far - instead, he grabbed on to Link, clinging as he buried his face against Link's chest. Exhaling, Link wrapped his arms around him, keeping a worried eye both on him and on Naziya, now staring at the map in consternation.
"I guess we have to assume," she started slowly, "That he's been captured. We don't have an army big enough to rescue him, though..."
Link nodded, still holding Sheik to his chest. "Maybe we'll have to rethink our methods, then," he decided. "Instead of a battle, we sneak in and get him out. And if we get caught, we surrender - you can do a lot when you're in a prison block."
Of course, these weren't exactly Gerudo (or... were they? Link wasn't quite sure about their involvement) - he doubted a show of arms would impress them much. Still, it was better than nothing - if not, they would be leaving Eldir - and Hyrule - to an uncertain fate.
Naziya nodded. "I'm willing," she said softly, glancing over at the bed. "I'll do anything."
Link nodded, then glanced down at his lover. "Sheik? You know what it's like there - will you come with us?"
For a long, long moment, Sheik was silent, motionless against him. Finally, he nodded once, stepping back and gazing up at Link. For a moment, his mouth opened, then closed, then opened again, looking like he was considering saying anything - then he shook his head and sighed. "I will. I need to talk to Eldir about something important, anyway."
Again, Link nodded, a curious expression crossing his face. "It's late," he murmured, glancing between the two Sheikah. "We should sleep now, and then set out in the afternoon - it'll be easiest for us to move at night."
Nods from the two. Naziya glanced down at Zelda, then sighed - "I don't want to go back to my room... I'll ask the healer if I can stay here."
Link made an affirmative noise, then wrapped a comforting arm around Sheik's shoulders. "Okay." Voice dropping, he turned to him - "Do you mind if we go back to my room? Or do you want to go to yours?"
Sheik exhaled. "It's not mine any more," he sighed. "Yours is fine."
Once upon a time, perhaps Naziya would have laughed, shooting them a lewd comment. Instead, she barely glanced up, reaching for Zelda's hand again. "Night, boys," she murmured, and didn't say another word as they took their leave.
Now, the castle was quiet. Perhaps they had realised that their king was missing and their princess out of commission, or perhaps the Sheikah amongst them knew that two of their number were gone, or perhaps it was simply a trick of his imagination. But as Link and Sheik returned to the room Link had claimed as his own, he couldn't help but feel that a wave of melancholy had overtaken the castle.
Well, he decided firmly as he undressed, slipping beneath the covers as he held them open for Sheik, tomorrow, they'd find Eldir.
And then they'd get to the bottom of this - once and for all.
The man in the forest had exaggerated a little, Link learnt the next evening, perched on an outcrop with Sheik and Naziya. Just under a thousand resided in the enemy camps - Hylians, a cluster of Sheikah, some of the fierce Gerudo warriors - he could see a training session in process, the woman pushing the four men she was fighting to their limits and then some.
Amongst them were familiar beasts - Moblins, Lizalfos and Dinolfos, confined to their own areas, stalking the ground. A dozen Iron Knuckles stood dormant and waiting in the sun, and several thin, bony shapes that Link recognised as Stalfos stood beside them. He counted four dozen - a formidable number.
But it wasn't the army that Link was interested in. It was the barracks, sitting in the middle of the Gerudo Fortress - perhaps the Gerudo had allowed them use of their facilities, or perhaps they, too, had been the victim of a takeover.
"The prison is over there," Link whispered, gesturing to a tiny window. "Or - well, it will be in four hundred years. But there's cells all over the place."
Sheik nodded, then guided Link's hand to another building. "That was Eldir's original target," he murmured. "He had reason to believe it was where their leader was - do you see how well-guarded it is?"
Link frowned, gazing down at it. "Do you think they'd keep him there? He's an important prisoner."
"Probably." Naziya was gazing at it herself, a perplexed expression on her face. "They wouldn't execute him, would they? Not without warning..."
"No," Sheik frowned, "He's not dead. But they haven't announced anything, either." Again, he looked like he was about to say something before thinking better of it.
Giving Sheik a curious look, Link nodded. "Then should we try for the prison, or try for there?" he asked, then gazed down again. An idea was beginning to form. "Should we try stealing their uniforms? There's a lot of other Hylians and Sheikah there..."
Naziya gave a rather inelegant snort. "I hope they bathe regularly. Where would we get a couple of people to steal uniforms off of, though?"
"You could try right here," snarled a voice from behind them, and Link whirled around, sword in hand (a generic one - with a mission as risky as this, he hadn't wanted anything to happen to the Master Sword), adrenaline racing through his body like a flood. How had they missed two dozen men sneaking up behind them? "Put down your pointy, boy, and maybe we won't skewer you."
Link hesitated, then laid the sword at his feet, just in the right position to flip back in to his hand if necessary. "What are you going to do to us?" he asked evenly.
Their leader gave an exaggerated pause. "Well, I think this is the part where you say 'take me to your leader', yeah?" he suggested, grinning at Link. "Oh, and you'll be putting down all of your weapons and holding your hands out in front of you. Or our archers will turn you in to a pin cushion."
Archers - he hadn't noticed them, either. Beside him, Sheik grit his teeth, then petulantly threw down his weapons - a short sword, a dozen throwing needles. Naziya had much the same on her, although she set down her weapons with a little more care.
The rope they wrapped around their wrists was pulled tight, another rope looped between all three pairs before running back to their ringleader. "Are you going to say it?" he asked, sounding almost curious.
Link rolled his eyes. "Take me to your leader," he muttered, trying to give Sheik and Naziya reassuring looks - if the leader knew of Eldir's importance, then the young king would undoubtedly be nearby.
And then all they had to do was escape alive. (Or, well - not any more dead than Sheik was already.)
The march was hardly the pinnacle of fun. The slopes were rough, spears poking them in the back to keep them walking, the ropes around their wrists uncomfortably tight. No matter how Link wriggled, he couldn't free them - the two Sheikah seemed to be doing little better, although Naziya's hands bore red rope burn from where she was clearly trying.
And to add insult to injury, Link was busy cursing himself - how had he failed to notice the men waiting for them? How had he not noticed the archers? These were fundamental mistakes - he felt like a fool.
Eldir had been right - the chamber they were being forced in to did belong to their leader - seated on a throne before them, a heavy metal mask covering his features, gauntlets and greaves covering hands and legs. A thick black cloak covered much of his body - Link had the brief amused thought that he'd probably be uncomfortably warm in all that get up.
The man on the throne raised a hand then gestured, and the three prisoners were abruptly shoved to their knees. And then the men simply left, leaving the three of them with the leader of the army that was preparing to hold Hyrule to ransom. This was the man who owned the army who had killed Sheik, the one who had indirectly forced Zelda into a sleep lost in time - under his command, good men had died.
Link stared back fearlessly, trying not to let any of his uncertainty show. But it was Sheik who spoke first.
"Will you show yourself now? There's no point hiding any more," he said tiredly, and Link nearly gave himself whiplash turning to stare at him. The resignation in Sheik's voice - had he known this would happen? Did he know who was under the mask?
A leaden weight settled in his chest. Then... was Sheik a traitor?
The man in the mask didn't move immediately. Finally, though, a sigh rushed through the mouth piece - younger and more recognisable than Link would have anticipated, the gauntleted hands rising to lift off the mask to reveal...
Head bowed, grief and guilt written all over his face, hair disheveled, dark shadows beneath his eyes, the man beneath the mask was none other than the good King Eldir.
For just a moment, Link thought his heart stopped.
Eldir was behind the impending war. Then all of it - the raids, the deaths, Sheik dying - had he known, then? And possibly even Zelda being cursed...
It was all his fault.
"But I trusted you," he said hollowly, vaguely aware of Naziya dropping her head into her hands in his peripheral vision. Sheik... well, he couldn't even look at him, right now.
"And look where it got you," Eldir told them unsteadily, dragging off one of his gauntlets and raking a hand through his hair. "I only did what I had to do. But..."
And suddenly, Link was shouting. "What you had to do? People are dead because of you! What could possibly be so important that - and Sheik! Because of your fucking war, look at what happened to him and to Kula and to your own sister!"
Eldir laughed, and suddenly the laugh had turned into choked sobs. "You think I don't know? I only meant to get it from her - I never meant this, I never..." His hand tightened in his hair, white-knuckled and shaking. "Sheik, I release you."
For a moment, Sheik was motionless. And then he screamed - not the grief and horror he had shown at Kula's death, but fury, bright and white and burning. Tearing his hands out of the ropes, he raced for the king, drawing his fist back to strike him as hard as he could, over and over, all his anger pouring out against his target.
And Eldir took the punishment, head bowed and cringing from the blows. "I'm sorry," he finally whispered, and Sheik stumbled back as if he had been slapped, crumpling to the floor.
"'I'm sorry' won't bring Kula back to life," he hissed, trembling. "Or me. 'I'm sorry' doesn't make up for what you've done to my family!"
By now, Naziya had managed to slip her hands free, pulling a knife out of her boot and cutting Link free as well. Hesitating only briefly, he crossed the floor to where Sheik was crumpled, kneeling beside him. "Explain, Eldir," he told him darkly, "And give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you."
And Eldir dropped his head into his palm, and began to weep.
"I was greedy," he choked, "And a fool. My father - he had the Triforce. On his death bed, he told Zelda where it was. He didn't tell me! His heir, his son!" With his still-gauntleted hand, he smacked the arm of the throne - it nearly splintered beneath it. "I'd start a war. I'd pressure her in to telling me - I'd tell her that I had to have it. I would save Hyrule! I would scatter these pathetic soldiers and rule Hyrule myself for an eternity!"
Head rolling on his shoulders, he fixed his gaze on Sheik. "I told him everything, and I swore him to never breathe a word of it. Even past death - he knew everything. He knew I had sent him in to danger as a diversion. He knew that there was no one in the forest and that we'd see an army. He was supposed to learn of the army and return - but instead, he died. It was a good opportunity to make him one of them - he wasn't too damaged."
And this time, it was Sheik's turn to laugh hollowly. "And even with all your manipulations, I'll still eventually get what I want."
Eldir stared at him, then shook his head. "I did too. I knew the brother would mourn. I told him he had died on Zelda's orders. If he got the Triforce from her, we could bring him back. I never had any intention to do so."
Sheik stilled, gazing at him expressionlessly.
"Instead, she had no Triforce, and this war was on false pretenses. The fool killed her and told me what happened, and he fled, and..." His hands tightened on the throne. "My sister is dead because of my greed. How can I possibly return?!"
"She's not dead," Link said quietly, and Eldir raised his head disbelievingly. "Kula only cursed her. She's locked in time - sleeping."
Slowly, disbelievingly, he nodded. "Then... should I go back?" he asked hoarsely, "I will set things right... all this will pass..."
And Sheik rose to his feet. Slowly, he walked to Eldir - and then he reached out to strike him across the face, face expressionless. "That's for forcing me to keep secrets." Another blow. "That's for Zelda's curse." And another. "That's for killing my brother." And another, so hard that Eldir's head rolled. "And that's for killing me. It will never be right again."
And then he simply walked back, slumping down against Link.
Eldir was motionless for a moment, then nodded, eyes closing. "I will get you out," he told grimly. "But then all of Hyrule will be in danger. Because..." And he started to laugh. "Because even without their beloved leader, there are nearly a thousand angry men who want to see Hyrule burn. And if their leader betrays them... then that will magnify their hate into a mighty beast."
Slamming his hands against the throne, he leaned forward, hair tumbling in front of his face, eyes wide and mad. "No matter what we do... Hyrule... will fall!"