Seven Years part 21, 22, and if you want 22.5

This is longer... but hey, all the schools I teach at were on fall break, and so was I...

With that, Link turned and darted off to the temple door, leaving Shiek alone. Sighing, she turned to retreat back to Gordon City.

Gordon City was relatively cool, but Shiek still would have given anything to be able to pull off her mask and hat. She wasn’t sure how exactly sure how to view the situation between Link, Malon, Toran, and herself, and it was starting to drain at her. She wanted to talk to Impa about it, but at the same time the hints Impa had dropped back at Lon Lon lead Shiek to think she wouldn’t like whatever Impa had to say about the subject. She felt isolated and alone in a way she never had. Over the past seven years Toran had always been there for her to talk to if she needed to just ramble about her doubts or concerns, but even if this had been something she could talk to him about she had sent the young swordsman away. Shiek felt depression return to haunt her as she jogged down the path to the village. It was odd; before even at the darkest time she never used to get this down, but recently everything seemed to be piling on. Toran had once told her that the night got darkest just before dawn, but this was the first time the spunky leader had felt the darkness close in so oppressively. And just thinking of the phrase only served to remind her that she would probably never hear Toran say it again.

Sighing glumly, Shiek slowed as she entered the village, wondering what her next move could be. Link had moved quickly through the Forest Temple, but the Fire Temple would require rescuing the citizens of Gordon City and the slaying of a dragon in addition to the act of waking a sage; it was unlikely this task would only take one day…

The village was dark, the sun having slipped behind the horizon about an hour ago. There were a few lights here and there, but it seemed as though most of the village was either asleep or vacant. Shiek knew the construction team was gone to Greudo Valley, and the members of the crew constituted a good three fifths of the village’s population. A stiff breeze was blowing, and the evening was actually quite cool; in a few more hours the night might even be likely to remind the people of Hyrule that spring wasn’t quite here yet. Shiek paused in the open grassy center of the village, leaning back against the tree that had served as a bed for her many times on nights so many years ago. Things had been so much simpler as the slightly rambunctious princess-in-hiding girl of her early teen years. Impa had taken care of her, Toran had been just a fun guy to play with, Scela had been her little brother, and the handsome and older Draq had been her first secret crush… well, it was before she knew him very well. Her mind flitted back over those days as she sank down to lean against the tree. Closing her eyes, Shiek felt the breeze play with her long bangs.

“I used to always find you here…”

Shiek cocked an eyebrow somewhat airily, a small soft smile pulling at her mouth.
“Well, that was some major accomplishment Impa… I only came here when I wanted you to find me. If I wanted to be scarce I’d head-”
“To the hidden top room of the windmill on the hill,” Impa finished, tone betraying a slight smirk.
Shiek slitted open her left eyes to glance up at Impa, surprise plain in her voice.
“You knew? But I always thought-”
“I know what you always thought… all teenagers seem to forget one important fact that every child knows.”
“And that is?” Shiek asked pushing herself straighter against the tree.
“Adults know everything. I suggest you relearn the lesson Shiek.”
Looking up at Impa, Shiek pulled down her mask, revealing her lopsided grin.
“You’re right of course, Impa… you’re always right. Hey, I’m not really doing anything, care to join me? It seems like it’s been forever since we talked.”
Impa seemed to be considering, then nodded and sank cross-legged next to her.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” the shiekah asked looking off towards the village entrance.
“Narue Impa,” Shiek laughed, letting her hand drift over to squeeze Impa’s, “Haven’t you ever heard of small talk? Toran’s right, you seriously need to learn to chill!”
“That’s what Toran says about me, eh?”
“Uh-huh,” Shiek nodded, still grinning broadly as she folded her across her stomach and slid down to a more lounging position against the tree.
“You know,” Impa began, an uncharacteristic hesitancy in her tone, “if you and Toran agree about so much, then maybe-”
“Impa,” Shiek sighed, rolling her eyes heavenward, “we were having a moment… did you have to start the Toran lecture now?”
“I am merely concerned about you princess… Seeing you smile and laugh like you did when thinking about Toran has become a rare thing over the past few days.”
Shiek stared down at her hands. Toran’s green headband was still wrapped around her wrist like a bracer, and the sight of it caused a slight tremor of pain. Everything was so screwed up. She really did feel more at ease around Toran then Link, and Toran had been her closest friend over the long years of exile. But Link was Link. He was the one she had always dreamed of, the one she had waited seven years for; she loved him…

Didn’t she?

Suddenly a twig snapped somewhere behind her, and she felt Impa tense. Her guardian’s head turned to identify the source of the noise, and when her body relaxed, Shiek figured the visitor was not a threat.
“Oh Impa, hey… I didn’t recognize you at first…”
Oh no, that’s Toran’s voice… please Impa, I don’t need this right now!
“Good evening Toran, how are you finding your new duties?”
He must have been coming up behind the tree on Impa’s side, because she couldn’t see him yet. He obviously didn’t know she was there either; or else he was just ignoring her presence.
“Boring as anything… Shiek’s gang may have gotten into trouble now and then, but at least we had a fun time doing it,” and then he was around the tree smiling his boyish grin down at Impa, “I guess I’m attracted to lost caus-” he faltered mid-word as his eyes caught her. A strange look came into his hazel eyes, and his arms fell from their animated waving down next to his sides.
“Uh, hey Shiek…”
“Hi Toran,” she forced a weak smile and nodded slightly.
Shiek guessed the awkward pause that followed had to have lasted at least three full minutes.
“So, um, how’s Malon?” Toran asked, instantly wincing after the question.
“She seemed fine,” Shiek replied, praying hard to every goddess that the dark was hiding her blush.
There followed another pause that Shiek figured had to be at least twice as long as the last one.
“So what exactly have you been doing?” Impa quarried; her tone did not belie that she was picking up on the two teens’ discomfort at all, but Shiek knew the woman was observant enough to see exactly what was going on.
“Oh, uh, just most of Keef’s old jobs,” Toran managed to stammer, risking a quick look up from his feet to Shiek before his eyes darted over to Impa, “nothing major, though I did find out how Gannondorf always seemed to know what our team was doing… Migrid has all our reports on file, and Keef would have had daily access to them. It seemed as though Ganny was reading our minds because in a sense he was. Kind of funny that just as we gained our first tactical edge on him the team sort of breaks up, huh?” he chuckled nervously, shifting his weight from the right foot to the left.
“Well, uh, you two look like you were having a talk or something, so I’ll just move on…” Toran said after a slight pause, gesturing vaguely in the direction of nothing.
“Must you? Please join us for a bit Toran,” Impa said patting the ground next to her.
Shiek was in shock. She wanted to send Impa a ‘why-don’t-you-die-and-rot-in-the-pit’ glare, but was able to smile and mechanically nodded at Toran. Toran clearly read her initial reaction though and shook his head, a twinge of hurt in his hazel eyes.
“I’d hate intrude where I’m clearly not wanted,” he said, a hint of bitterness in his voice, “I’ll see you guys around.” Turning he darted off into the darkness.

“Impa, I’m gonn’a frickin’ kill you, goddess damn it! What the hell was that all about?”
“You and Toran need to talk, princess, and since you will not do it yourselves, I am compelled to force the two of you together,” Impa replied dryly, “and never let me hear you curse like that again. Your father would be mortified…”
“Don’t talk to me like you’re my mother Impa; you’re only my nurse you know,” the second the words had left her mouth, Shiek would have given anything to expunge them from the history of the universe. Impa’s only response was to rise to her feet. Her face was shrouded in the darkness, so Shiek couldn’t see if her words had caused the horrible effect she feared they had. Springing to her feet, Shiek stepped in closer, holding out a hand.
“Impa, sorry,” she pleaded, a quaver in her voice, “I-I-I’m just a stupid little girl! I didn’t mean to say that!”
“Just as the arrow cannot be recalled after it is loosed, your highness, so the words one speaks have eternal repercussions,” Impa said, turning away from Shiek’s pleading hand, “are you sleeping in your humble handmaid’s house tonight?”
“Impa, I-”
“Please, majesty, I desire to sleep. Are you planning to bed in your servant’s house?”
“No, I’ll sleep in the tree…” Shiek whispered, eyes beginning to brim with tears.
“Then if you will excuse me, most Excellency, I will return to my house. If your servant can be of any use, please send for me.”

Shiek watched her turn to go, and swallowed hard to keep back a sob. She knew she had stung Impa very, very deeply with her words, and it felt worse then all the beating she had ever received at the hands of Gannondorf’s minions.
“Please Impa,” she whispered, barely audible, “I love you, ok?”

Impa’s step faltered slightly, but she continued up the path to her house without turning. Taking in a sharp breath that was actually more of a sob, Shiek sprang up into the tree, pulling herself up onto the larger branches. She carefully stretched along a branch, leaning back against the trunk of the tree. Sighing, she clasped her hands and let her eyes look heavenward.
“Naria,” she whispered, so quietly she could hardly hear herself, “you blessed me with the honor of keeping the essence of your wisdom… So why do I keep saying the stupidest possible things?”
Closing her eyes and sighing again, Shiek allowed herself to drift off into sleep.



Toran gasped in pain, hand sliding from the grip of his katana. The blade in his chest wiggled sickeningly in rhythm with his now faltering heart. Shiek wanted to scream, but the sound stuck in throat. She extended her hand out to him, but he seemed to be sinking in the ground, the room beginning to swirl around her. Toran hand flailed towards her, and his mouth worked, croaking out a strangled cry.
“Princess?”
She desperately grabbed at him, feeling a flood of panic rush over her. Somehow he slipped through her fingers as he sank through the ground. Toran gave a final cry as his face slipped beneath the stone floor.
“Princess Zelda? Are you awake?”

Shiek’s eyes snapped open. She was breathing in ragged gulps and sweat drenched her body. She was totally disoriented, and almost tumbled off of the branch she was using as a bed. A chuckle came from somewhere below her, and Shiek looked over to it as she tried to steady herself on the branch.

Impa was standing looking up at her, arms crossed and wry grin pulling at her mouth. Shiek slipped down out of the tree to land in front of her guardian. Impa watched intently as Shiek stretched her arms above her head, yawning slightly.
“I used to find you and Toran asleep together in this tree back so many years ago… I was worried that you might fall in love with him.”
“I thought you wanted that to happen,” Sheik mumbled through a yawn as she rubbed her eyes.
“Well, at the time I had hopes of seeing you with young Keef…”
“Goddess Impa,” Shiek said a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth, “just when you about had me re-convinced that you know everything…”
“I had only known Toran for about two months at that time, princess,” Impa said, cocking an eyebrow, “I had yet to witness the incredible quality that young man possesses.”
“I see… oh, and Impa, thanks for coming out here and being so easy with me. I know that after what I said last night, you would be perfectly justified in never giving me a second thought. I love you tons, and thanks for loving an arrogant, stupid little girl like me.”
Shiek stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Impa, pressing her head into Impa’s chest. As Shiek expected, Impa shifted her weight slightly uncomfortably and coughed nervously. Impa never had been very expressive physically, but Shiek knew how much her guardian secretly enjoyed receiving hugs from her ward.
“Well,” Impa said, trying her best to sound stern and hold back the smile that was shining through, “I haven’t actually forgotten it yet, however I guess since you are truly sorry we can try to put it behind us…”

“Mmmm, Din…” Shiek went on, yawning a second time, “what time is it, anyway?”
“Nearly afternoon, princess,” Impa replied, gesturing at the sun, “I did not wish to awaken you earlier; you seemed to be in need of rest.”
“Yeah, probably right… I wonder when Link will finish off the Fire Temple…”
“He entered the village on his way down from Gordon City shortly after dawn.”
“WHAT?!?”
“He struck off in the direction of Zora Fountain. I overheard him tell Navi the fairy that they would pick up a prescription for the giant Gordon’s eye drops there.”
“But, but, that means he liberated the Gordons, and killed the dragon, AND awoke the Fire sage all in one night!”
“So it would seem, princess.”
“Din, Impa… he’s moving fast… really fast… Gannondorf is surely taking notice of all this; do you think he’ll try something soon?”
“His apparent unconcern at the Hero’s progress is indeed perplexing. I have been giving thought to his motive this morning.”
“And?” Shiek asked, wondering what the veteran tactician had come up with.
“And nothing comes to mind.”

Shiek sighed, but shrugged unconcernedly.
“Well, we’ll get it soon… maybe we’re just getting lucky and he’s gong fast enough to be under Gannondorf’s notice. I’m gonna head off to see if Link needs any help around Zora Fountain.”
Impa looked slightly disappointed but nodded in agreement.
“Very well, princess… I have several tasks that need to be completed, so I will confer with you later. Please check in with me at my house tonight, if you will…”

Shiek had just left the village when she felt the telepathic pricking at the back of her mind that signaled someone was trying to get in touch with her.
“Your Highness? Are you busy, or do you have some time to chat?”
“Oh, hello Saria. I can talk now, but please, call me Zel; all my friends used to call me that.”
“Oh, well thanks! I am ever so happy to be your friend Zel… we can be like sisters! When all this is over we really should have a sleepover and talk about all kind of things.”
Just what I need, thought Shiek, careful to hide the thoughts from the Forest Sage, a friend permanently frozen at age 13 to remind me how old I’m getting…
“Anyway, Darundia is the Fire Sage, but he has not mastered the whole ‘talking with my mind’ thing, so he asked if I would send you a message for him…”
So, Shiek thought, we were right about Darundia being the Fire Sage. Well, given that he IS king of the Gordons it wasn’t THAT hard a thing to guess…
“He said to tell you that Link was going to leave off awakening sages long enough to gain the Biggeron Sword of the Gordon Tribes. Oh, and Rauru says to head to the Temple of Time because Link will probably be headed there and you need to tell him about the Master’s Sword… he said you would know what he meant.”

Shiek sighed. She had known all along Link could use the Master’s Sword to return to his original time of seven years ago, right when he had pulled the Master’s Sword from its resting spot after watching her flee from Gannondorf’s bloody takeover of Hyrule Palace. She had really been hoping it would not be necessary for Link to travel backwards through time, but it seemed as though Rauru thought differently.
“Thanks Saria… I’ll talk to you later, ok?”
“My pleasure Zel; and please do!”

Naure, that kid is so polite it’s almost annoying, Shiek though as she pulled out her harp. Pulling a few notes of the Prelude of Light, she felt the ground slip away. Temple of Time it is, she thought, somewhat resentfully.

The Temple of Time was always cool and slightly oppressive. Shiek could still remember the seemingly endless ceremonies that she had been forced to attend during her youth in the large stone cathedral. If she closed her eyes, Shiek could still see the members of the royal family filling the sanctuary, standing crowded in rows, looking blandly up at High Priest Uthraus as he chanted out the ceremonies. She walked over to the spot where she had always had to stand, in the front next to her father. She remembered her cousin’s Jillian’s 1st blessing ceremony quite vividly. The opening prayer alone had taken nearly an hour. It had been more then any eight-year-old could endure. After the stunts she had pulled that day, she hadn’t been able to sit for a week. She had heard that the Zora royal families employed whipping boys to take the punishment vicariously for their children; Hylian children had not been so lucky…

“Why are we here again?”

Shiek turned at the sound of Link’s voice just outside the temple door. Smiling, she sank back into the shadows and waited for the Hero of Time to enter.
“WE ARE HERE BECAUSE RAURU SAID SHIEK WOULD PROBABLY BE HERE WITH A MESSAGE FOR US.”
“How does he know that?”
“Because he asked me to come…” Shiek said, slipping out from the shadows behind Link.
This time, Link didn’t even jump. Turning, he let a grin spread over his face, waving his hand.
“Hey Shiek, how’s it going?”
“Not bad. I see you liberated the Gordons and awakened the Fire Sage.”
“Hey, don’t look so surprised man, I’m a hero remember? Besides, that dragon was a fruitcake, hit him with the Gordon Megaton Hammer and down he went. Wish I had had this on me though,” with that Link unsheathed the sword at his back, only instead of the legendary Master’s Sword, Shiek saw him brandish a large glittering blade literally longer then she was tall. The Biggeron.
“Check it out man! I got this puppy from the Gordons and it is a thing of beauty. It cuts a Moblin clean in two with one stroke!”
“THE BLADE IS 5 AND ONE HALF FEET IN LENGTH, FOUR BY ONE INCHES AT THE BASE. ITS CUTTING COMPASITY IS TWICE THAT OF THE MASTER’S SWORD, ACCOMPLISHED BY ITS UNIQUE GORDON DESIGN. IT WEIGHS A HEFTY-”
“Din, Navi, he gets the picture ok?”
“But it’s so big,” Shiek said, reaching out to touch the blade, “how can you even swing it?”
“Oh, it’s not as heavy as it looks,” Link said offering her the handle.

Shiek took the sword, and nearly gasped at the weight of it. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how must strength it would take to whirled a sword that heavy in the ways combat demanded. Grinning at her obvious difficulty with the massive blade, Link took it back and easily flipped it back into the sheath at his back.
“So, what’d you with the Master’s Sword?” Shiek asked, a twinge of worry in her voice. She could just see it discarded at the foot of a hill; the most sacred icon of Hylian legend rusting on Death Mountain’s peek.
“Oh, I’ve still got it… this Kohria bag has magical properties,” Link reassured her, displaying a small bag, “it can hold a virtually unlimited amount of items, regardless of size. Of, course in the heat of battle you don’t want to have to be digging through everything in this bag, so I keep about three items in addition to my primary sword out at any given time.”
“That’s good, because you will definitely need the Master’s Sword later.”
“We’ll see…” Link said, patting the handle of the Biggeron over his shoulder, “but I can’t think of single reason why I’d switch out…”
“Gannondorf can only be killed with the magic mettle that comprises the Master Sword.”
“Ah, good point…” Link laughed, a wry grin on his face.
“There’s another reason too,” Shiek went on, figuring it was time to get on with her lesson, “If you ever return the Master’s Sword to its pedestal here in the temple you can teleport back to the exact time you first pulled it seven years ago…”
“Why would I do that?” Link asked, slight confusion in his sapphire eyes as he cocked an eyebrow.
“Well, Rauru thinks that it may become necessary at times for you to completely explore some of the temples we know less about.”
“Namely?”
“Namely the Spirit Temple. We’ve never been able to penetrate very far into it.”
“Why’s that?” Link asked, a bit of skepticism in his voice.
“Well, it’s Gannondorf’s childhood home and his foster parents still live there.”
“Ganny’s got parents?”
“Yeah, two power hungry, psychotic, bitchy witches that raised him…”
“That sounds about right,” Link said, nearly doubling over with laughter.
“Anyway,” went on Shiek, smiling under her mask, “while you’re here I should teach you the Prelude of Light. It’s a warp song like the others I’ve taught you, and it will come in handy if you ever need to get back here quickly.”
“You got a gay poem for this one too?”
Shiek sighed; this was getting old.
“No, and I don’t really appreciate the way you keep insulting my poetry… I spent a lot of time working on it.”
“Yeah, and that’s the difference between you and men who are straight…”
“Hey,” Shiek growled, an angry fire starting to burn in her mind, “I sick of you implying I don’t do anything around here… who do you think was fighting off Gannondorf while you were taking your divine seven year nap?”
For the first time ever, Shiek saw Link’s sapphire eyes darken. His jaw clenched, and she noticed his hands ball into fists as he straightened slightly. She had obviously just stung him pretty badly, and frankly, she didn’t care one bit.
“Obviously no one…” his voice was a dangerous growl, low and ominous, “from the terrified Kohria, to the wasted Gordons, to the frozen Zoras, I have only found one beautiful thing left in this hell of a future, and you weren’t doing anything to save her either…”
The words smacked her like a physical blow. Link couldn’t possibly knew he was hitting at her worst insecurity, but she was just plain mad by now. And besides, he had just mentioned her. Her voice growled out a tone that matched his perfectly as she began to discreetly fall into a fighting stance.
“I lost my home, family, friends, everything, trying to help this country survive; and now you’re gonna finally wake up and tell me I have fought hard enough for you? If you don’t think I’ll kick your ass right here, hero, you’re dead wrong…”
“Bring it punk,” Link growled, eyes narrowing, “it’d be great to see you actually throw a punch for once.”

That did it. Shiek’s left hand shot out, aiming to connect the heal of her palm with Link’s diaphragm. She knew Link would block it, but the blow was mainly to set up the vicious right hook that was going to be delivered to his chin.

Link didn’t even try to block the punch.

Leaning forward into the blow, Link let his chest hit her hand before Shiek had extended enough for there to be any real power in the punch. He had grabbed her wrist with both his hands as it struck him, and he continued to drive his body forward, holding her hand against him. As the leg he was driving off of reached full extension, Link shoved off with his hands, transferring all his momentum to Shiek and sending her flying backwards. She didn’t so much feel as hear her body hit the stone wall of the temple. It was a sickening crack that left her willing to bet a few ribs were broken. Simultaneous with the crack, and before she even had time to open her eyes, Shiek heard a metallic zing that instantly crescendoed into the dull thunk of a blade imbedding into the wall next to her head. Link’s aim had been precision incarnate, and Shiek could actually feel the steel of the blade against her cheek. Breathing in ragged gulps, Shiek slitted open her eyes to look down the long blade of the Biggeron, past the outstretched left arm that held its haft, and into the pricing blue eyes that exuded complete distain.

Link stared down at her for an awful moment. Shiek was unable to hold the gaze, and her eyes fell to the floor. With a grunt of disgust, Link tugged his sword free of the wall and sheathed it at his back in one fluid motion.
“I don’t have time for this,” he growled, turning and stalking for the door, “if it’s all the same to you, I’m going to go see if there anything I can do for the Zoras frozen under the ice, and then I’ve got a real enemy to fight...”
Shiek watched leave the temple, already feeling her eyes begin to brim.

“HEY!”

Shiek looked up in shock to find Navi floating down to where she had fallen back against the wall. Sniffing hard, she tried hard to choke back her tear and sound tough.
“What do you want, stupid fairy?”
“Oh give it up…” Navi said, for the first time toning down her pricing voice, “Link might be an idiot, but that doesn’t mean I am… I knew from the moment I saw you that you were a girl, and I’m willing to bet the name ‘Shiek’ is about as real as you gender… I can only think of one person desperate enough to avoid detection that they’d stoop to becoming a member of this macho, testosterone-filled, shallow, arrogant, chauvinistic, hormone-crazed gender. Wouldn’t you agree… Princess Zelda?”
Sighing, Shiek nodded, and held out a hand. Navi accepted the gesture of peace, and sat down on Shiek’s extended fingers. Though at a glance fairies appeared to merely be balls of colored light, they had a distinct, albeit extremely small, humanoid shape under the light. The ‘ball of light’ illusion was created by glowing energy from a fairy’s rapidly flapping wings, so when Navi came to rest on Shiek’s finger the princess was able to finally get a good look at Link’s aid and friend. Shiek guessed Navi’s cute feminine figure to be about seven inches tall, and nearly weightless. Her skin was pale as death, as were all fairies, and her wings, hair, and eyes all glowed with a light blue sheen. Her wings were delicate and translucent, like a dragonfly’s and they flapped occasionally in twitchy sort of motion. Her strange, unearthly blue eyes looked back into Shiek’s and obviously read the sorrow there.

“I wanted to apologize for Link…” her voice soft, almost caring, “he’s not generally this way.”
Shiek sniffed back her returning tears and gave a sarcastic grunt.
“What, it normally takes longer for him to try to kill someone?”
“No,” Navi sighed and shook her tiny head, “he’s just under a lot of stress, your majesty. He sees the darkness all around him, and he blames himself; you have no idea how deep your comment about his seven-year absence cut him. He has always felt that if he is not the one doing something that it won’t be done right, and these dark times have only made him feel as though he has let Hyrule down for so many years. Also, your highness, it may be of some encouragement to know that you are part of his bad mood.”
“Me?” Shiek was surprised to hear this, but Navi did spend a lot more time with Link then anyone else.
“Yes you, thought Link doesn’t realize it’s you. He is worried sick about Princess Zelda; he has been ever since waking up. I think he expected to see you awaiting him at the end of the Forest Temple, or catch some sign of you about the village, but as things stand, he is beginning to fear you might be captured, or worse yet, dead. He has always kept a special place for you in his heart, my lady, and is distraught at the thought that you might be in danger.”
“Well,” Shiek said, pushing a little straighter against the wall, “he sure doesn’t care much for Shiek…”
“Oh, he likes you well enough, but recently he’s been complaining about how slow things are progressing and you must admit that he doesn’t actually get to see most of the things you do. As I said, Link, for all his qualities, really is an idiot. If he doesn’t actually see Shiek killing Gannondorf’s minions then he will probably never believe you are actually helping,” sliding off of her finger, Navi darted up to eye level and began hovering, “I need to get back to Link before he gets too far away… Epionia runs much faster then I can fly, so I have to catch up before Link gets back to the horse.”
The blue ball of light that was Navi darted towards the door, but Shiek had one last question.

“Hey, Navi, what’s between Link and Malon?”

Naïve hesitated in the door, then turned around to face Shiek.
“Fairies might not take mates per say, but even I can see what’s going on there…” she said before turning to dart out the temple door. Groaning, Shiek pulled up her knees and propped her elbows on them, cupping her aching head in her hands.

That had most certainly NOT been the answer she was looking for…