Turns out I hadn't updated this is what, almost four years? Wow. Just, wow.

And there was a chapter, all written out, just waiting to be posted for at least two. Hmmm...

So here it is, apologies for the delay, but I do warn you: this IS on Hiatus, so I generally doubt that there'll be many updates after this, if at all.

Sorry folks!

BUT THANK YOU FOR YOU SUPPORT ANYWAY.

Enjoy!

Next chapter

The ride to the capital was hell.

The way the carriage juddered and jittered and rumbled and clattered was beyond what Link's body could take. It made his spine feel like jelly, it ground the fibres of his skull to agony and his stomach rebel like peasants in a civil war. He tried staying in the carriage, he really did, but the mode of transport was so different from home (which was smooth and fast and empowering while this was slow, lumbering and cumbersome) his very existence seemed to reject it. And he refused to experience that awful, disgusting, human thing he did before collapsing in the infirmary. So he walked, clinging to the side of the carriage for guidance.

It was more like jogging but it was exercise he revelled in, and it helped with getting to know his surroundings. The clump of the shoes against the crusted ground, the strange rustling the surrounding vegetation made. The creatures, horses, didn't like his new tool. It hurt their ears. The wind was surprisingly comforting, in the empty silence without the sound of the ocean. It reminded him of the tides. But by gods his body felt heavy. He was tiring like he hadn't done in years upon years, but at least this would be good practice; he'd spent most of his time with the smith sitting down.

Another thing that he'd begun to get used to was the noise. It was sharper above the water, digging into the very core of his ears. There were no subtle sounds, like the swish of tails, the grumble of gyorgs, the silent roar of fish traveling in the biggest schools. No chuckling of dolphins, nor the echo of the mythical windfish's dreams. Everything here was like a solid mallet, no matter how small the sound was. There was art in it, Link supposed, as they stopped for a break and he listened to the chirping birds and the sighing trees, not to mention Wolf's constant barking. Now that was like a wall of sound. How he managed to produce it Link would never know.

"How are you?" Sheik's voice asked him, her body settling next to him, perching haphazardly onto his boulder. Link shifted his weight so she could sit more comfortably, tapping his tool against the rock. He detected the other carriages (abominations in his mind) and the horses and oxen that pulled them. They were being fed, and the men and women were also having a quick meal. Link was offered a piece of jerky, but he quietly declined with a smile. Sheik chewed next to him, and as Link kept tapping the tool, noting the movement of men and women, he noticed that they slightly slowed when they got closer to Sheik, but quickened when they got a little further away. As if they were… watching. Listening in.

Link smiled. "They don't like me."

He felt her shrug. "You could put it that way."

"They think I'm strange."

"I think you're strange."

"You still like me." Then he paused, noting how presumptuous that was. "I think."

That made her laugh, which let him relax a bit.

"I'm interested in you, I admit that," she replied cheerily, "You're a complete anomaly. A puzzle, if you will, in this world that follows certain rules that I've learnt to accept and understand. You follow none of said rules."

"Like what?"

"You act like you can see when you're blind."

"I sense. Seeing is exaggerating."

"You exaggerate well, then."

He snorted. He continued tapping, flexing muscles in his legs so they wouldn't stiffen, ready to leave when the others were.

"Do you need to tap that thing to see?"

"Sense," he corrected, "And yes."

"But you were just swinging it when you walk."

"The air makes the metal move." He explained, tracing the empty space between the two blades, "Metal moves, sound comes out."

"I don't hear anything."

Link grinned. "Watch this."

He gave the thing a swing and the air gave a silent shriek of agony, making Wolf bound over like a maddened creature. Unseen by Link, Sheik's jaw dropped. She remembered to jump off the boulder to catch the bullet of a dog, trying to calm him down when he expected a treat or a game or a good long run. When she finally subdued him she huffed, and stared at Link. "Don't tell me it's like a dog-whistle. That, that flute that makes no sound when I blow it, but, Wolf always comes when I use it. Is it like that? Don't tell me it's like that."

"I think it is."

There was a pause, until her teasing voice crowed: "You have the hearing of a dog."

"Thanks." Link muttered, somehow aware that that was an insult.

He kept still as Sheik calmed her dog down, having learnt that if he pretended to be a statue he would be left alone. She made strange noises when she was dealing with the creature, babying it, almost belittling it. He supposed there was no harm done if the dog enjoyed it, but somehow he could never understand the idea of not treating a companion as an equal.

So, human need for dominance over other creatures wasn't so much a myth…?

"So, does this new tool of yours have a name?"

"Hm?"

"Well, it's not exactly a tuner or a sword or a knife, is it? Actually, I just thought of a brilliantly pretentious name. Gods, thinking about it makes me want to roll my eyes, actually."

Well. Link had been calling it thing and tool since he'd gotten it, and he had to admit it was getting a little old. "Let's hear it."

"Windwaker. Just one word. Windwaker."

"Huh." He pondered on it for a bit, and as she was about to laugh it off and call herself stupid, he handed her the tool with a smile. "Let's make it official, Princess."

She laughed, and having received the tool and cleared her throat she proclaimed, "I dub this exquisite item the Windwaker, and I name it yours and yours only, for in my eyes there is no finer owner than thyself."

"Yay."

"You're such a fruit." She chuckled dryly, standing up. "I'm going to go see what needs to be done before we go; I hope you get enough rest before we leave."

"I'll have enough." He assured her, tapping the newly named Windwaker against his seat. Even without it, he could feel the cold regard that surrounded him sink to icy levels.

^~v~^~v~^~v~^~v~^~v

It took them a week of travel to get to their destination and Sheik was exhausted. Then she wondered how tired Link must be, having walked along the carriage most of the way. Admittedly, he really had looked horrendous each time he'd been forced to rest inside the carriage as it moved, and his utter stubbornness in refusing to get on the vehicle was borderline admirable, if highly foolish.

Ah, speaking of foolish…

"Are you serious, my Lady?" Auru's voice rang deep and booming as Sheik collapsed onto her modest thrown with a heaving sigh. His face was redder than usual, making his beard look snowier than ever. "Or have you gone mad?"

"Well clearly you think I'm the latter, so I'll happily deny it."

"What possessed you to make such a decision?" Impa implored, disbelief and worry written all over her face, "I just cannot believe you've given one of the most important duties to a blind stranger."

"A blind stranger," Sheik warned, "Who I consider a friend and an excellent asset."

"Does it not worry you that he acts as if he can see?" Shad sighed, rubbing his temples as if holding back a headache. "For all we know he's an utter fraud."

"I don't see how this matters," Sheik told them frankly, leaning back into the glorified chair, "He wanted to protect me, so I'm letting him. Is that so bad? Really?"

"There were many candidates looking forward to that duty, my Lady," Impa gritted out, "Most of them more qualified than that man you've taken under your wing."

"Let them protect me as well, then. Look, Link has nowhere to go. If he's not working, he's willing to pay for his stay. I find that noble, not to mention honest and unassuming. I find no real reason for him to hurt me, so I thought it'd be sensible to keep him close by."

"But Lady-"

"And have you noticed," Sheik drawled, "That ever since that storm, ever since I've been named Sheik, you've all been very distant? Either that or you've been treating me like a dumb, delicate little Princess. Look at you! Either telling me what to do or admonishing what I do. Do you know how tiring it gets after a month of that constant nagging?"

They all looked horrified at her audacity.

"I need a friend who who'll talk to me and share jokes as well as impart advice. You used to be those friends, but now that you're too professional to have fun with me, I'll have Link cover those duties. Now," she continued, stonily, "If you're so concerned about my protection, shall we go see these candidates you speak of? And how are we to judge their skills? Where are they now, exactly?"

They took a while to recover, and it was Impa that bowed and spoke first, "They are waiting in the training grounds, preparing to display their skills."

"Thank you. Let's go, shall we?"

^~v~^~v~^~v~^~v~^~v

The hostility was a lot worse here.

Link tapped the windwaker against the doorframe and that simple ting caught everyone's attention. They stopped their training, and their stances shifted. Link tapped the windwaker again, to confirm that yes, they were staring at him, and yes, he was in trouble.

"Hello."

Silence. Link took in a deep breath, exhaled, and cautiously stepped into the room. It was like being surrounded by the Zora again. Only this time he had even less of a means to fight back.

"Is this the training grounds?"

"It is, blind man. Why?"

Link shrugged. "I want to train."

There were snorts and snide chuckles all round. "You must be the one the Lady's taken in."

Link shrugged again, more sheepishly. "She's kind."

"You fancy yourself her protector, then?"

"I want to."

"And so do we." There was a grumble of approval for the man who'd been talking to Link, and he stepped forward, not threateningly, perhaps, but definitely with force. "We take this seriously. We've been training for years for this honour and we're not about to let some blind man put our Lady in danger. Especially after that storm."

"No offense to you being blind," one of the soldiers added, making Link laugh.

"Thanks. None taken."

"We'd appreciate it if you'd let this nonsense go. If you wish to stay as a servant or a helper, the staff—and us—will welcome you into this court with open arms. What say you?"

"I want to stay close to Sheik." Link grinned at the silence he earned, cocking his head to the side. "That privilege lies with her protectors."

"By the gods, man!" one of the men snapped, "You're blind! I doubt you could protect yourself from one of us, much less the Lady!"

"Care to bet?"

There was a pause, and then one of the soldiers at the back laughed. "You jest."

"I don't." Another pause. Link tapped his Windwaker against an object and nodded. "Who am I to go against?"

There was a small discussion, and one of them moved forward, weapon in hand. Link was given a wooden sword, and once he thanked them and the area was cleared, the fight was on.

He hadn't ever realised how slow humans really were. Sure, he'd observed their movements in the water and how generally poor swimmers they were, but on ground, he'd thought that they would be in their element, superior to him in battle.

He didn't have to know their styles of movement; the mechanics of the hands (with a notable lack of webs) was similar between those of the Sheikah and the Hylian, so disarming them was simple enough. All he had to do was hear them coming, and react. It was that easy. Too easy.

After a few simple jousts Link sighed. "Really?"

The designated soldier moved faster; they had underestimated him, or were going easy on him and he would have none of that. Link smiled and flicked the Windwaker and it sung, and he moved, experimenting with the way the ground shifted under his feet, how gravity centred him constantly, how the way he moved affected the two new concepts in his life. Gods this was interesting, and refreshing and wonderful. He couldn't help but laugh as more soldiers joined in, trying to trip him, disarm him of his baton, but he found himself dodging them all, using every body-part available to him, getting to know it better in the most quickest and effective method imaginable.

He was fighting, and loving it.

"What is going on here!?"

Link yelped and collapsed from the odd handstand he'd flown into and fell awkwardly on someone's plated shoulder. The Windwaker escaped his grasp and he cried out, cutting his hand on its razor-sharp edge in a fumbling effort to keep hold of it. It fell to the grass, without a sound.

The soldiers were making excuses as he finally rolled off the groaning man, patting the grass around him carefully as he crawled over the ground, looking for the thing. He thought he heard someone step on it as the muffled weapon whined. Then it whispered and the sound rose, and Link knew someone had picked it up.

"Thank you," he grunted, picking himself up, "That's mine."

"You're not blind, are you." The soldier's voice was new. He was waving the Windwaker around and Link was finding it difficult to sense it. It was like listening to a whale that was singing right next to your ear, not letting you listen to the vibrations bouncing back. He could vaguely hear where the wand was being waved, but it was ridiculously hard to see whether anything was blocking his path to get at it.

"I'm blind." Link muttered with confirmation, extending his hand, "Without that."

"Oh? Interesting." The wand shrieked and Link barely reacted in time, retracting his hand as fast as an eel to avoid being cut by his own tool. "You seemed to see that."

"I heard it. Give it back."

"I suggest you do as he says, sir," Sheik's voice was irritated and tired. "Or I myself will pluck it from your grasp."

There was a sheepish murmur as Link received his baton and he sighed as he gave it a few flicks, re-imagining the sound-waves into a scenario in his mind. "Thank you. It was a fun match."

"You really are an anomaly, Link," Sheik chuckled, patting his shoulder, "You flee like nothing I've seen before."

The Hylian scowled. "I was fighting."

"Yet you didn't land a single blow." Sheik teased, as the sounds of wooden blades and shields clashing began to pick up around them. "You would make an interesting companion, for sure."

"Oh?" A hopeful smile pulled at his face, despite himself.

"A poor protector, maybe, but an excellent companion. If you want that honour you will have to train with these men." He sensed her moving an arm, taking in the grounds full of fighting men, and Link nodded in response.

"Done."

"What say you, captain?"

This voice was new, gruff, and a little awed. "I would say he would be an interesting one to train."

"I can react quickly." Link offered, flicking his Windwaker, "I can be her shield."

"Shield? Shield… hmm…" The Captain's low rumble of a voice hummed like an earthquake as he contemplated it, and then it abruptly stopped. "I agree. I may train you with that in mind."

Sheik sounded confused. "Pardon?"

"Now young man, before I start training you in this suicidal idea of yours, let's clarify what you mean."

Link flicked the Windwaker, grinning, seeing a huge bulk of a man before him, heavy with muscles, encased in armour. He exuded reliability. "I take whatever tries to get her."

"Your definition of 'whatever'?"

"All weapons."

"Good."

"What?" Sheik cried out, horror in her voice, "You mean like a human shield? Am I the only one that finds that a little barbaric?"

"I am blind." Link pointed out, shrugging, "I can't initiate fights."

"He is right, my lady." He turned, bowing to the petite woman, "I will personally pick the best men here, under you and your advisor's supervision, to be the six that would protect you, and another three to take their place in the instance that the men are injured. They will be your swords, if someone would attack you. But a sword is nothing without a shield."

"But-"

"If an assassin sees your protectors, and shoots from a building they have not noticed, you will need a shield. He is the best man in this whole training field."

"Expendable, too," Link chuckled, earning a decent punch from the Princess. "Ow!"

"My Lady," the guard hastily added as Link rubbed his arm, "This man would be the best because he would survive being your shield. We can provide him the best armour against arrows, most of which would be manoeuvrable, given his fighting style."

"And what about a weapon for him too? Or is he to be a defenceless meat-shield?"

"Something small, thin, easily concealable." Judging by his voice he was probably thinking about it as he went. Link couldn't help but be amused. "Would that please you, my Lady?"

Link heard her huff, shuffle, sigh, and concede, "It seems like a doable arrangement. I don't like the idea of a human meat-shield, but I suppose it's for the best. Thank you, Captain."

"Feel free to gander your way through, your Highness," The Captain waved an arm the size of trees and Sheik bid them farewell.

Link bowed to the Captain and Introduced himself, and the Captain replied in turn, "I'm Darbus. Now I don't like you shaming my men like that, but you're quicker than a sparrow and nimbler than a snake. As long as you don't act like either of them we'll get along fine, you and I."

"Um… what…?"

"A coward and a sneak. Just don't be those."

"Ah. Right. I understand."

"You got yourself cut, then, didn't you, in that match. Get yourself patched up with this," Link was given a roll of bandages which he gratefully used immediately to staunch the blood from his palm, "and I'll see you in a few minutes. I need to supervise their choices of my men."

"Why?" Link had caught the suspicion in Darbus's tone.

"They may choose by family rather than ability. I doubt the Lady would do that, but some of her advisors can be pushy. Stay here. Stay out of trouble. And from now on, if you bleed, keep it out of sight."

More nervously, this time. "…Why?"

"Your blood's black, boy. Black as squid's ink."

^~v~^~v~^~v~^~v~^~v

Link could only assume that Vaati wanted him very, very dead if he'd even messed with the colour of his blood. By Gods. Black blood? It screamed cursed like nothing else.

He was safe in his room, which was still the infirmary, considering he still hadn't earned a proper place in the castle and he knew the area well anyway.

But he'd gotten the job, which was one step closer to his goal. Now he just had to avoid getting hated by so many of the Sheikah, and maybe earn their trust, or at the very least hint Sheik on who he was. It was amazing how careful he had to be; human emotion was volatile compared to that of his people. Sometimes the frustration was a physical force eating him alive. And that was just frustration, for Three's sake, he didn't want to think how being angry would be like…

He shuddered.

He promised himself that he would not, under any circumstances, be angry. That would be suicide. It would consume him like fire, he just knew. As a Hylian, he'd done stupidly rash things because he'd become emotionally involved. As a Sheikah…

He shuddered again.

-o-o-o-o-o-o

Aaaand, yeah. That's it.

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Thanks for reading!

S.S.