@guideoftime continued from x
This was an unexpected turn of events.
Or perhaps it shouldn’t have been unexpected. Living their lives the first time around had been challenging — the destinies they were meant to prepare for (hers never spoken of as openly as Sheik’s), having to stay one step ahead of Ganondorf, the training (hers delayed and delved deeper into once she was already in hiding), and the ultimate fight against the Gerudo King.
The second time around had been equally as challenging, though for many different reasons. They’d already fulfilled their destinies, and now they were forced to relive their lives as if none of it had happened. Their memories had remained intact — though she hadn’t been able to anticipate Sheik’s would — and they were forced to go through the motions of an average daily life, always remembering how close Hyrule was to ruin while everyone else went about their lives completely oblivious.
The princess firmly believed she had it easier between the two of them. In that first life, she’d lost almost everything that had ever been remotely familiar to her — her mother, her father, her tutors, and her home. Loss had become a normal, albeit morbid, part of her life. Once they were launched back into their past to do it over again, she’d lost Impa, which was tragic and a hard pill to swallow, but she’d regained the majority of what was once lost. And, technically speaking, Impa wasn’t gone, she just wasn’t around to fulfill the same duties she’d once sworn to.
Sheik, on the other hand, had lost two of the three constants in his life. The hero had been important to them both, but Sheik had been much more involved with him (he was the hero’s guide, after all) than she herself had. Impa had raised them both, but at least she’d still had a parent to look after her after the Sheikah tribe leader was gone; technically, Sheik had too, but that was a detail unbeknownst to him that she still hadn’t been allowed to reveal.
She also had a destiny still, a duty to one day rule Hyrule and lead them to unification. Sheik’s destiny, however, wasn’t as clearly outlined. He was to….protect her. Remain loyal to the Royal Family and continue to serve as her shadow.
All this to say the second round was hard, but they’d learned to lean on each other and find comfort in one another along the way. Even then, their relationship almost seemed to come with unspoken rules; there were certain details about their new lives that they just didn’t talk about.
Getting Sheik to open up about his emotions had always been difficult, even if they had made tremendous strides in the years that had passed. She’d known losing Impa had come with challenges (there were small clues that alluded to this), which was why she’d always attempted to find ways to support him, though she’d wanted to do so without overstepping any boundaries.
When she’d learned of Sheik’s offerings at the Shadow Temple, she’d struggled to decide if this was another aspect of Sheikah tradition that was unfamiliar to her or perhaps a sign that Impa’s absence was affecting him more than she’d realized. Regardless, she’d offered to join him in an attempt to show her support, as she’d always done, but she hadn’t anticipated this particular question when she’d awoken that morning.
But maybe it was time they talked about it. Maybe they needed to be a bit more open with one another instead of selectively choosing which topics they acknowledged.
“'Whenever I want' may be an exaggeration. There are times when the other Sages are more difficult to reach. If they fall deeper into their prayers, communicating with one another becomes less clear — similar to when a person gets so wrapped up in a task they do not realize someone has entered a room or is speaking to them,” she explained, wondering if she was making any sense. “Also, while communication between Sages is encouraged for obvious reasons, the Sages still have free will.” Perhaps referring to it as free will was a poor choice of words, but she assumed he would understand what she meant. “They can choose to not respond when called upon. It…is most common between Ruto and Nabooru.” Ruto did have a large personality that was a bit of an acquired taste for some.
The Hylian woman plucked a bit anxiously at the oversized sleep shirt that seemed to swallow her up. She’d known when she’d crawled out of bed after him that she was anything but the well-polished portrait that was expected of someone from the Royal Family. She’d had no intention of walking out of the Kakariko house in such a state, though now she was uncertain if she should be walking out at all.
“And this is me saying that I do not have to come.” She was finally putting her thoughts into words, the stare she leveled at him resolute despite how disheveled the rest of her might have looked. “I came here with you because I want to support you, Sheik. Always. But if this is more private — if visiting the Shadow Temple and leaving these offerings is something you wish to do alone — then tell me as much.”
