#couragewielder

Unless Link was planning on getting himself killed- or simply scouring the place for more chests- Sheik simply doesn't entirely see a valid reason for the Hero of Time to be here. His own hero had completed this temple- and of course it's entirely plausible for the other to have somehow entered an alternate dimension into this temple, when he should be in his own.

Sheik prefers not to think on it.

Instead he reveals himself from the shadows, and frowns a little beneath his cowl. He supposes the only real way to figure out why he was here was to ask.

Several years ago, after the trial and execution of the Gerudo King, tension had risen between Hyrule and the desert dwelling Gerudo warriors. One side claimed a preventative justice while the other claimed an unfair trial and an execute that was more so a murder. Eventually diplomacies had failed and war once again broke out.

It had been months since Sheik had returned from his failed mission, but he was still shaken. It was the reason the Queen had given him this assignment, away from the battle field and the enemy. He was to take the place of two of the guards in the hospital wing. Zelda had said more than once that it was important that it was Sheik specifically that took their place. He was to watch over Link.

 They had been childhood friends. Sheik was one of the very few who recalled the time that never was. Even as they grew and departed for their respective training, Link to the Knight Academy and Sheik back to his nomadic tribe in the desert, they still remained friends. Sheik would return every summer to train with Impa and he would always make sure he saw Link at least a few times. The drifted farther apart when the war broke out. Their separate duties calling them, but Sheik still considered Link to be a friend.

Sheik was a bit ashamed that he had not know Link had been in the sick bay. He hadn't been there long, but it still bothered the Sheikah. When Zelda had come to him with the request he had been hesitant. He wasn't sure he was up to the task, but when it was revealed to him that the Queen requested him specifically because she thought it would help Link's declining health, Sheik accepted right then and there.

My muse disappears and was announced dead, after a few months. But, five years later, they appear on your doorstep. What’s your reaction? 

casually drabbles a tHING DON’T MIND MEE— it sucks i'm sorry

It was not as if Sheik had intended to be gone for so long. If he had his way, he would have returned much sooner, but, given the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, such a thing had been all but impossible. He had been imprisoned by his foes for the better portion of two years, and, once he had managed to escape, he had found that much to his dismay, he hadn’t the faintest idea of where he was.

However, after quite a long time and much wandering about, the Sheikah had finally found his way back home. It was almost a relief to find himself back in the familiar lands that he had come to know quite well during his youth; it was a nice change from the constantly unfamiliar surroundings that he had seen over the past few years. 

Who do you ship my muse with? 

A hesitation preceded his words, arms almost instinctively folding across his chest as he looked away from the grey face. "…Ridiculous," he began slowly, his words carefully selected. "The Hero and I—" He broke off, shaking his head. “The idea of it is simply… preposterous.” Sheik was, after all, nothing more than a pawn meant to play his part and nothing more. What else was he supposed to say? If he was a pawn, then Link would be a knight: it simply didn’t work like that. Pawns were meant to do their role and be sacrificed, while knights held some grander purpose.

Pawns did not get a happy ending: they played their part. Knights, however, might. They were valiant and noble, and thus they deserved their happy endings.

Still, the thought of it gave Sheik an odd feeling that he couldn’t quite put a name to. It settled in his chest, refusing to go away; it was like that little thought that might slip into his mind and settle itself into the back of his head, whispering to him sometimes when he didn’t quite want to listen to it. It was persistent, and sometimes, it wasn’t entirely bad… 

♟—

internally screaming i hAVE NO IDEA HOW TO REACT TO THIS

Send one of the following for my muse’s reaction.

Needless to say, the question caught Sheik very off-guard. He hadn’t expected to ever hear the Hero ask him something like this. To be quite honest, he’d never expected to hear this from anyone: questions like this were asked to others, but never to him.

And yet, here he stood, the Hero’s words echoing through his mind. 

"Did I ever matter?" 

An answer and instantly sprung to Sheik’s mind, but he held his tongue. It was best that he thought before he spoke, lest he say something that he shouldn’t. He always had to be in control of himself, but during times like these — he had to be extremely cautious. He couldn’t slip up or make an error; he had to select his words before he spoke, and weight them each carefully before he used them. 

It seemed slightly odd to Sheik that, despite the weight of the situation — or what he perceived as such — a tiny smile, almost sad in its nature, curved his lips. "…Of course," he stated quietly, gaze cast downwards as he began to speak. "Of course you did matter. You still matter." Almost unconsciously, slender fingers toyed with the bandages that encircled his hands. "What made you think that you didn’t…?" 

A quiet breath followed his words, a moment of hesitation coming as he tried to choose his words carefully. It was difficult to do, though, seeing as a whirlwind of emotions was storming his mind. "You… matter quite a lot," Sheik added, voice laced with something that he didn’t care to put a name too. Scarlet eyes were now fixed on familiar blue, the words carrying quite the weight to them. 

Part of the Sheikah wanted to add something that he knew he shouldn’t, say something that he knew would only end badly—

Teeth dug into his lower lip as he held his tongue, exerting self-control that he had been raised to have. 

You matter so much to me. More than you know. Don’t ever think that you do not.

"I-I’m sorry but I-" Link paused and gave a small sigh. "I wasn’t prepared. I don’t have a present for you." Not like he’d know what to get the Sheikah but turning up empty handed was definitely not something he liked.