Sheik stared, breathless, from his ledge, ears straining hard to listen in on the conversation below where Zelda was gesturing to herself, speaking hurriedly as if trying to explain some great sin, and Link was just watching her with wide, confused eyes.

Sheik heard her claim it had been her watching over Link all along.

LIES, Sheik thought, ALL LIES, but he didn't say anything, didn't even move a muscle, because if nothing else he was scared to see what Link would look at him like if he revealed himself. So instead he just settled for watching from his little perch, waiting for the happy expression that would no doubt cross Link's face upon learning that he didn't have to bear the shame of having been guided on his quest by a filthy BLOOD EYE.

It didn't come. A foreign look that Sheik had never noticed spread over over Link's features as Zelda finished, staring at him expectantly. Link looked almost... sad.

...If only that were true. Sheik knew first hand the hatred all Hylians felt towards his kind, the Sheikah. Even Princess Zelda herself displayed it, a little bit, as evidenced by how many times she had screamed at him for any small flaw he caused in her great plan, any stumble on his part that could lead to anything going wrong. She wasn't nearly as gentle as she pretended. And the hate... it was like an instinct, so deeply ingrained in the Hylian bloodlines that Sheik doubted it would ever come out, even over all the peaceful centuries sure to follow. And yet, there the legendary hero stood, his darling hero, almost looking like maybe, just maybe, he didn't completely despise Sheik and all of his kind.

That couldn't be right. It had always been obvious that Link did not like him, a fact that had made Sheik crave pain on more then one occasion. No one had even noticed the extra bandages.

Of course they hadn't, who was there to notice?

And even when Sheik had been helping Link, guiding him forward to the next temple, Link had made it QUITE clear exactly how he felt about being assisted on his journey by a BLOOD EYE. He had always acted on edge, looking anxious and like he could barely control himself, looking like he wanted something, to say something. No doubt he had wished for the red eyed abomination before him to leave as soon as possible. So Sheik always had, as soon as he could while still sticking to Zelda's plan, because seeing that look on Link's face had broken him in ways he couldn't even begin to describe. He never even looked back through the smoke, afraid to see the thankful expression appearing on his beloved face in his absence.

But even that would have been better then what he was witnessing now, what Link looked like with all this new information loaded onto him. He looked so tired, so confused, so utterly BROKEN. Sheik wanted to jump from his ledge, to run up and wrap his arms comfortingly around his hero, to kiss that heart-achy look away from Link's pretty, pretty face, even though he would no doubt scream in rage if he did.

So instead he stayed put, and watched the one he loved most of all silently break down before him. Zelda had already turned around, switching to other subjects, probably mistaking his silence for acceptance and graciously taking it upon herself to explain her great plan. She never bothered to check on the things her words could mean and their effects on a person. He wished she could be just a little bit less like her father.

She never saw tears starting.

But Sheik saw. He saw his hero's eyes become wet, his hero trying his best to cope with all the horrors he had been through, but still failing miserably for some reason he didn't know. It wasn't right, that look being on Link's face. That downward tilt of the head, those scrunched up eyebrows, those lips pressed so tight together that they turned white instead of their natural petal pink. Those increasingly wet eyes. Link was strong, he was the brave, beautiful hero of time that Sheik had grown up hearing stories about, practically worshiping, forming his first crush on. He wasn't supposed to look like he would break down sobbing any minute now. Sheik silently put his hands over his eyes and rolled over onto his back so he wouldn't see any more, hopefully not giving away his position with the movement, because Zelda didn't know he was here and would probably kill if she did.

He was supposed to have dissapeared by now.

He now wished he had, because he just couldn't watch this anymore.

Link's face, even when he could no longer see it, haunted him. The legendary warrior had looked so SAD... Sheik made a snap decision, followed by a quick vow. He would watch over Link forever, if only to prevent that look from reappearing.

And maybe learn to play the ocarina. Link was so enchanting when he played.

xXx

Link stared straight ahead in disbelief as Zelda kept speaking, explaining matters he couldn't even begin to decipher in his shell-shocked frame of mind.

Sheik... had been FAKE? FAKE? That couldn't be right. Sheik had BEEN THERE. Through it all. He had been there, Link's guide, the mere thought of him something to calm him down throughout all the nightmares and panic attacks and random screaming fits when Link saw something that scared him. And that was a lot, during the journey he had been through. The years he had missed and the horrors he had faced. He had just BEEN THERE, even if he wasn't actually always there, helping Link understand what the hell was going on around him. He had been there for Link to hold onto with his panicked mind, since he had first lain eyes on the blond Sheikah and been utterly swept away by that wonderful red gaze.

He could have melted under those shining scarlet orbs forever.

He WANTED to melt forever, to ignore the rest of the world crumbling and falling around him and just be STILL for once. To not have to deal with the fact that good people were dying, falling down all around him because of his many inadequacies. Again.

Of course, Sheik had always skittered so quickly away. Leaving Link standing alone in a cloud of scented smoke, yearning to see him again, hear his music, smell the fragrant spices the other must have bathed in, or something, because he always smelled so very SWEET. He had still been so very real, because how else would Link have been able to feel so at peace all of a sudden? So he had always pushed on, eager to get to the next temple, because he knew that if he did it right for once, he would see those beautiful red eyes again.

And now? Now he was being told that all those emotions had been FAKE. That Sheik hadn't been there, hadn't even existed, and that practically every emotion he had felt for the last YEAR, his determination, his loneliness, his satisfaction, his courage, it had actually been nonexistent too.

And now, as a result, he could feel himself breaking.

He had long since frozen up, scared of what he might do if he moved, what he might say. Zelda was still talking, unaware of of his breakdown behind her, of the absolute agony he felt upon having his heart ripped apart and then sewn back together in the wrong way. Unaware that any moment now he might snap on her as all of the stress and weight he had carried came tumbling down on him, now that the extra sustenance Sheik had provided him was gone.

He used to always think she was sweet, but now he wondered. She had just admitted to doing this to him, after all, making him feel so high in the sky and then cruelly yanking him back down to the ground. She had done this. Made him cry inside. Break inside. DIE inside.

But despite the pain and the huge sense of betrayal, an overwhelming thought now filled his mind like the noise at the Zora waterfalls did. LIVE. Push it down, suppress it all, shove it all into a bottle like a bug, and don't open it up again, ever, because if he did he's no doubt shatter. He had to SURVIVE.

Even if it would break him in the long run.

Even if he was fake, Sheik had obviously wanted him to live, at least Link thought he had. He apparently hadn't been there, so who knows how many of the things he thought about Sheik had been fake. He had to power through it all, though, even if he had to depend on a fake person who was never there, a ghost of the person he loved regardless. Even if on his own he was PATHETIC.

He wanted to be a child again, in the woods, having never heard of this mess. He wanted to be spoiled, and never cry. And instead he was stuck here, forcing himself to keep living. But on the upside, maybe he could at least cling to Sheik's fake existence. Maybe he could fantasize that this was all a joke, that Zelda was lying, and that his Sheik was out there SOMEWHERE.

And hey, maybe he could learn the lyre. He had always loved Sheik's playing.

.

So there you go. And if you couldn't tell, I kind of dislike Zelda. Or full out hate her, whatever. (Nasty bedswerver that she is, and all.)

Anyhow, have any of you ever had to go to something really boring, and while you're listening to everyone else drone on, you're like, "Oh! I have an old schedule, I have a pen, I think I'll write slash. That seems logical. Besides, even if the kid is getting baptized, he's just a baby! He won't mind." Well, that's how this happened. So I don't know if it's any good or not, but please review, because I'd love to write another chapter or two. Though you probably don't want me to, because this was no doubt a terrible experience for you. I'm so sorry I write such trash and then make you all read it. Ah well. Byeeeeee!