Link stared at Sheik.
Sheik stared at Link.
Link scratched his head.
Sheik scratched his own.
Link brightened, then unsheathed his sword and sliced expertly at the air.
Sheik grinned and held out his hand to produce a huge ball of fire.
The king of Hyrule sighed.
"You know, I was around to see you often enough but it's still weird to me," Link said, shaking his head at Sheik.
"I'm starting to not really look like you anymore too," Sheik replied. "No offense, but being your twin wasn't something I had an interest in." It was true of course-Sheik's eyes were no longer blue, but a stunning shade of leaf green. His hair was also now a dark brown. The caster claimed his new looks were not his doing.
"Gee, thanks," the Hero of Time said dryly. "Of course, your haircut was making me look bad anyway."
Sheik glared and was about to reply when a loud cough interrupted him.
"If you two are done, we have some work to do," Zelda said quietly. Both boys immediately straightened and stood at attention. The princess' right arm was kept hidden by a long white cloth and she moved gracefully over to their position. Link leaned down to kiss her cheek and earned a heartwarming smile.
Her arm, as she had found out, was now shriveled and practically useless. Breaking the Deku Tear had cursed it, but in her opinion it was well worth it. She had been shocked to discover the ailment, but had accepted it easily. Because after all, Link was with her again.
Pausing slightly, Zelda began to sum the situation up. "Ilia is behind everything. She poisoned you, Link. They threatened us with war, and you said that it was far too easy to retrieve the glove of Nayru, Sheik." She looked at them both.
"What concerns me is the old woman in the cell. She was far from evil and needed help. Why was she there? She seemed defenseless enough," Sheik commented thoughtfully.
"She could know something potentially useful. Any way we could break her out of there?" Link asked.
Sheik grinned slyly. "I am a master of sneaking. Just didn't get her earlier because it was too dangerous while trying to retrieve the glove."
"And you could do it safely now?" Zelda questioned, looking hopeful.
He nodded. "I'll go now, if that is your wish."
"It is," the princess replied. "At the very least we'll have rescued her..."
"So hop to it then, Mr. Shadow," Link said, quickly clapping twice to emphasize his point.
Sheik's left eye twitched as he glared at Link. He did however, do as asked, disappearing from the room and entering Delina's castle. But not before throwing a small fireball at Link's feet. He chuckled to himself as he barely caught the tail end of Link's yelp and subsequent swear.
The smile left his face as he snuck through the palace walls and found his way back to the old woman in her cell. She looked up at him immediately as he entered and his heart wrenched a little at the hope he suddenly felt eminating from her.
He kneeled down next to her, making himself corporeal. "I need you to come with me. I've gotten a little better at the whole teleport thing...no more landing in walls or halfway through floors." He smiled. "And I'm sure you don't want to stay here."
The woman gave a short nod and he gently placed his hand on her own. "Trust me?" he asked. She gave her answer by grasping his hand within her own and squeezing it desperately. Sheik held tight and helped her to her feet before quickly teleporting away.
/
Link's almost sort-of copy appeared in the middle of the throne room with the old woman still clutching his hand and leaning weakly against him. Zelda gasped and had a chair immediately brought over for the woman to sit in. She took it carefully, her unseeing eyes scanning the room in great surprise, first finding Zelda then Link and then Sheik, the last almost in reassurance. Sheik took a seat beside her on the floor.
Zelda issued a few commands before kneeling in front of the woman. "My lady...I am Princess Zelda. We only wish to help you...You are safe here." She paused. "If you'll allow me to...I will find it much easier to understand your situation if I could simply touch your forehead." Zelda realized how odd it sounded, as well as how difficult it was to word. "It's a gift of mine, my lady."
The woman breathed in and nodded, closing her eyes. Zelda gently and carefully placed her left hand on the woman's forehead. She shut her eyes as well, breathing evenly in and out. A few moments later she was gasping in surprise and drawing her hand away.
"What, what is it?" Sheik asked urgently, as Link knelt beside her in concern.
The woman opened her eyes, her expression pained.
Zelda had tears in her eyes. "This woman...is the Princess Ilia."
"What?" Link asked, his hand going to his sword. Sheik stared in utter confusion.
Zelda fervently shook her head and stood. "No, it's alright. She's the real Ilia. Her aunt has devoured her body. She switched their souls with her magic...The real soul of Princess Ilia is here...but her body has been taken."
Ilia trembled visibly. Sheik took her hand immediately and squeezed it comfortingly.
Link frowned, a bit shocked, his hand no longer on his weapon.
"I'm sure I could fix it, my lady. Do not worry..." Zelda leaned over and kissed the top of Ilia's forehead. "You will be taken care of, and all will be well." Her voice was soft and reassuring.
Ilia bowed her head. Sheik could feel her relief and he squeezed her hand once more before letting go as several servants came over.
"My servants will take good care of you...you're in good hands," Zelda told her. Ilia was helped up by one of the servants and her eyes somehow found Zelda once more despite her blindness.
And the princess of Delina smiled for the first time in a long time.
/
AN: I know, I know. It's short. But, what, like, two reviews for that last chapter? Boooo. Anyone out there? /cry.
Seems like all the zelda fic fans are afk or my story no longer interests them. Well, shame on me for not finishing earlier. Anyway! This is short, cause I'm trying to make sure people still want this story.
I DO want to ask if any of my readers are artists. I'm trying to put together a website for my original story, and I suck at drawing. I need someone to do all the artwork for the story. I'll be posting it on a nifty website that a friend is going to build for me and I want illustrations for each of the characters, along with specific scenes drawn up. Think of it as an old fashioned story book. I then hope to promote the site at an upcoming con while in the artists alley.
Once again, I can't draw to save my life. So, if anyone is interested, just message me. I'd like to see a few samples of your work, and if I like them, I'll request a character to be drawn up. That will determine how similar our visions are. I'll also post a few scenes of my story so that you can determine if it's something you'd like to draw for as well.
So yeah, please? I promise it'll be fun. Line drawings are fine, no photoshop skills necessary unless you happen to be good with the program. Otherwise, I can do all the color and what not.
The goal here is to promote both my writing and your artwork, and try to make something of it. Afterall, no better way for a story to capture attention than with pretty pictures. And a story is a good backbone for the pretty pictures as well.
Thanks all!! Review!!