Grey skies were fairly uncommon in Hyrule around this time of year, but it was a very grim looking day that confronted the trio as they rode out of the castle, Zelda pushing the pace to an almost brutal level as soon as they made it out into the field. The grey clouds hanging over their heads didn't seem to promise rain, but that was unreliable at best. Today's destination was Deep Akkala, where the Spring of Power was located. Yesterday's scolding and this morning's follow up lecture/order combination had really done a number on Zelda. That much was obvious in basically everything she did, right down to the angry silence wrapped around her like a cloak.

Neither of the two knights had the heart (or, to be honest, the courage) to try and start a conversation with her. She would probably just snap at them, or just flat out ignore them, so it really wasn't worth it. All of this only made Sheik worry more, because usually she was a lot more willing to try and distract herself with things like her research, but-

Oh. Right. This time was different. She couldn't retreat to her research anymore, thanks to the King. Not for the first time, Sheik silently cursed the idiocy of that man. How could one person be so blind to another's needs? Especially when said person was literally their child?

All of it reminded him too much of his aunt, which made it more detestable.

They spent most of the day in eerie silence, only pausing once for an extended period of time at the South Akkala Stable. Thanks to the cloud cover, it was impossible to tell what time it was by using a sundial, so they ended up staying for a bit longer than they intended. It worked out in the end, since the horses really had needed a break from the tough pace Zelda had been pushing.

While they were at the stable, Zelda changed from her traveling outfit to her white prayer dress, and her first words of the day turned out to be an exclamation of utter indignation as she tried to mount her horse again so they could get going once more.

"Oh, honestly! You've got to be kidding me!" Zelda exclaimed. She glared down at the dress in disgust, then stepped back onto the ground. After a few tense seconds, she gave it another shot and thankfully managed to get back into the saddle. Once she was situated, she barely glanced back to check if Link and Sheik were ready before snapping the reins and setting off again.

Link glanced over at Sheik while they rode, concern for Zelda evident in his expression. Sheik just shook his head as if to say they'd talk about it later, which he had every intention of doing.

They left the horses outside of the stone tunnel into the spring, one of the workers at the quarry outside promising to keep a close eye on them for the trio. Passing through the stone gate with the crest of the Royal Family chiseled into it was a surreal experience purely because it almost felt like they were back in the halls of Hyrule Castle, just much older and ancient feeling.

The tunnel widened out into the Spring of Power itself, the Goddess Statue standing on an ancient stone pedestal with the symbol of Din engraved on it above the freezing waters of the spring. Rushing water from the multiple waterfalls lended to the serene atmosphere, though it almost felt... lacking. It was hard to put into words. Maybe if he was better at using magic, he could put his finger on what exactly was wrong here, though his best guess had something to do with the fact that Zelda hadn't awoken her powers yet.

"I have some preparations to do before I can enter the water." Zelda said softly, breaking the extra heavy silence that had settled over them upon entering the spring. "If you two could wait in the tunnel, I would appreciate that. When I'm finished, I'd like you both to wait on this platform here. Just in case."

She didn't really finish her sentence, but that was okay. Sheik had a feeling he knew what she wanted to say anyway, so he wasn't going to push it. Link seemed to get the hint as well and stayed quiet. Both knights turned and retraced their steps halfway back into the corridor, giving Zelda enough privacy to prepare herself for the ritual ahead. As it was now, the sun was beginning to slip below the horizon, so they'd be staying out in Akkala for tonight, at the least. It depended on how long Zelda wanted to stay away from the castle.

"I'm worried about her." Link whispered, casting a quick glance over his shoulder at the Princess. "She's..."

"Yeah. I know." Sheik responded, keeping his own voice low so their conversation didn't carry too far and reach her ears. "I'm worried as well, but when she gets like this, it's better to give her space to sort through all of it on her own. She'll reach out if she wants to talk. I know that much."

"I just. I wish there was something more I could do. You know?" A look of genuine pain crossed Link's face for a moment, and Sheik's own heart twinged in response.

Sheik nodded solemnly. "Believe me, I know how you feel. It's hard to watch someone you care about suffer like this and not know any way of making it at least a little better for them."

"Sometimes I wonder if I'm even. Qualified to be the Hero of Hyrule. Well, no. Not sometimes. A lot. I find myself doubting how good I really am. When I can't seem to. Help the people I care about. In ways that really matter. If I can't save them. How am I supposed to save Hyrule?" Link murmured, his voice barely even audible. His hesitancy between his words, matched with the way his hands had balled into fists at his sides, betrayed how deeply this insecurity ran.

This kind of hurt was intimately familiar to Sheik. The constant wondering if he was good enough, if he was ever going to be good enough, if he was actually worthy of being in such a prominent position. Because he knew how this felt, he also knew that no amount of words from another person would make it all okay, no matter who they were. Words can only do so much, even when it's your best friend or your lover saying them to you.

"I know how you feel." Sheik responded, turning to face him and after a moment's thought, reaching out to rest a hand on Link's shoulder. "But, if this helps at all... I see what you're already doing and, well, I can't see anybody else better suited to wield that sword. You're a genuinely good person, Link. That's why the Master Sword chose you."

"I didn't want this. I didn't want some grand destiny. I just wanted to live."

"I know."

"I just- this sounds so damn stupid considering that all I really need to do is draw the sword and wait for Calamity Ganon to show up, and I've done half of that already. Zelda has it so much worse than I do and here I am, complaining about how I didn't want to do this." Link laughed bitterly and ran his left hand through his hair. "I can't do this."

Sheik paused for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts enough to think up the appropriate response. What could he say that could ease some of his pain? That was an excellent question, and he didn't think that he had an answer. Or maybe he was just thinking of this in absolutes. Link had never really opened up to him like this, and he wasn't very experienced with this kind of thing in general, so it felt a bit like he'd just been thrown into the pond and told to swim without knowing how to in the first place.

One thing he did know, though, was that seeing Link this upset was painful. The amount of sympathy he felt for the other knight was more than a little surprising, given how determined he was to call him his rival, but a small part of him wasn't even the tiniest bit surprised. And that... frankly, it was probably the most confused he'd ever been in regards to the other knight.

"You're not stupid. Far from it, actually." Sheik whispered, leaning a little closer to him out of an instinct he didn't even know he had. "All of this is a normal reaction to so much stress. I... well, I believe in you. I'm not good at showing this kind of thing, but I consider you one of my closest friends, and I know you have what it takes to make Calamity Ganon wish he'd never even existed in the first place."

Link turned his head to look properly at him, the ghost of a smile flickering across his face. "You think so?"

"I know so."

He meant every last word. He truly did believe in Link. This boy had proven time and time again that he was more than worthy of the sword on his back, and honestly? Sheik hated the fact that he'd even doubted him in the first place. He had yet to figure out what the hell everything that he felt toward him actually was, but he knew one thing for certain: he would easily give up his life if it meant that Link (and Zelda) succeeded in their goal to seal the Calamity.

After all, he was relatively unimportant in the grand scheme of things. One more dead Sheikah in the service of the Royal Family wouldn't matter too much. He would be just like his parents, and isn't that what every kid aspires to be at some point during their lives?

"I- thank you. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to just... yeah. I've just been letting this. Get to me for too long. Without talking about it." Link finally said, taking a deep breath and reaching up to cover the hand that was still on his shoulder with one of his own. Sheik felt the contact, even through his glove, and he hated how weird it made him feel (even if it really wasn't all that bad, but argh he'd had enough of these stupid emotions for today.)

"It's alright. I understand how that feels. And I-" Sheik started saying, only to get abruptly cut off by Zelda clearing her throat behind them. A blush appeared on his face and he dropped his hand from Link's shoulder, turning too quickly to be smooth to face her.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this- trust me, I am- but I'm going to enter the spring now." Zelda sounded tired and defeated already, which was never a good sign. Concern for her helped squash his embarrassment, though, so there was that. "Um, I would appreciate it if you would stand facing away from the statue... I don't really know the proper protocol for this kind of thing, because it's never touched on in all those scrolls, but yeah."

"Of course. That's not a problem at all." Sheik responded. Thankfully, his voice contained no traces of embarrassment and overall sounded a lot steadier than he had been expecting it to.

Link merely nodded his acknowledgement. He must have still been recovering from Zelda's sudden appearance, which had effectively shattered the rare moment of vulnerability between them. Part of Sheik resented the fact that she had interrupted, but he was mostly thankful that she had showed up before he did something exceedingly stupid. Knowing him and how he was around Link when it was just the two of them, that was inevitable.

Both knights accompanied her back out to the spring proper, almost robotically turning their backs as she stepped toward the water's edge. That water had to be freezing, but Zelda didn't seem to even flinch, judging by how her footsteps remained consistent as she drew closer to the Goddess Statue. 

The first step of the ritual, now that Zelda was in the water, was entirely within her head. She was to pray silently until the moon rose and cast a silvery sheen over the water, so both Sheik and Link stayed silent in order to not be distracting. They knew what to do by now, though Link still looked a little upset from their (harshly) interrupted conversation.

For a moment, the memory of that pained expression Link had worn while he spoke flickered through Sheik's thoughts. He couldn't be sure why it hurt him so badly to see, though he had a few guesses. One of them being that Link was his friend, and seeing the kind of pain Sheik had to deal with reflected on his face struck deeper than any knife ever could. The others... well, he didn't really want to examine those feelings any further right now. Or ever. They scared him, to be honest. Too many uncertainties or big grey areas where things got even more muddled up than they had any right to be.

Like the area between rivalry, friendship, and-

No. Best not to go down that line of thought. It doesn't end well and it's useless to even consider such things. 

Eventually, the moon rose. It was hard to tell how much time had passed, but Sheik was beginning to feel like a statue from how long he'd been standing in one spot without moving an inch. Awareness of this only brought it more keenly to his attention, but he kept his limbs in place and resisted the urge to look over at Link to check up on him.

But things deviated from how they usually went once Zelda began verbally reciting the prayers she had mentally been going over for the last few hours or however long it had been.

"Goddess Hylia, I come seeking your guidance regarding the holy power passed down through my bloodline. Prayer shall unlock my power... or so I've been told." Zelda's voice wavered as she deviated from the strict prayer verse. "Grandmother heard the voices from the Spirit Realm. The whispers saved her and Grandfather's lives countless times. Since the moment of my birth, I have been told that I am the next one to develop this power. And yet... I hear nothing. I feel nothing. Not even a trace of what I should."

Sheik looked over at Link now, his mouth drawn into a concerned frown under his mask. This was the result of Zelda's insistence on keeping her emotions bottled up for so long. Months of anger and frustration were all bubbling to the surface now, and neither knight could do anything to help.

"Father always tells me I'm wasting my time with my research. That I'm merely playing at being a scholar. But he doesn't seem to understand that I'm useless without it! Because I can't unlock your power no matter what I do, I have to help in any way I can, and this is my best shot." Zelda whispered, a soft splash accompanying her words as she presumably dropped her hands into the water. "Curse you! Every day of my life has been devoted to praying! I can't go anywhere without being reminded of my failures. Time and time again I petition you and your sisters for some crumb of knowledge, yet I am turned away without so much as an acknowledgement of my efforts. Please, just- just tell me... what is it? What's wrong with me?" 

With a muffled curse, Link turned around and very nearly strode right into the water of the spring. Sheik caught his arm and held him back, shaking his head once to dissuade any further action. It was only once the tension in the other knight's shoulders disappeared that Sheik glanced at Zelda to check if she needed to be pulled out of the spring. Her head was bowed and her shoulders shook almost imperceptibly, but she didn't appear to be in danger of freezing.

Yet.

After all, it was only a matter of time before the chill of the spring became too much for her to bear, despite her stubborn insistence otherwise.

Link lingered there for a moment, a frustrated look visibly creasing his features before he turned around again and returned to his previous spot. Sheik didn't let go of his arm until he was certain that he wouldn't make a sudden move into the spring, but it was certainly possible that he had other, more selfish motives.

Those kinds of thoughts were in the minority, of course. And it's not like he gave them any more attention than they were possibly due before stuffing them back down again.

Once Zelda had presumably regained her composure, the next few hours passed in sullen silence, aside from the soothing trickle of the multiple waterfalls behind the Goddess Statue. It was probably near two in the morning once she finally climbed out of the water, no trace of the sealing power to be found and a despondent look on her face. Both knights knew better than to ask about how successful she'd been, because it was obvious that she had met with yet another failure.

"Link, did you bring the camping supplies?" Zelda asked softly, hugging her arms around herself in an attempt to retain some of her body heat.

Link nodded confirmation, and with a brief glance at Sheik, he went to retrieve the blanket that he had laid out earlier. He handed it to Zelda, who accepted it without another word.

"We're not making it back to the castle tonight. I think that much is obvious." Zelda murmured. Her grip on the edges of the blanket tightened for a second, then she relaxed her hands again.

"There's several clusters of trees along the. Shadow Pass that would. Be good camping spots." Link suggested. "And I could've sworn that there's. A village somewhere around here. Aside from the stables."

"No. The Shadow Pass is not a good camping spot." Sheik quickly cut in. "It's too close to the Shadow Hamlet. You are correct about a village being nearby, however it is not one meant for idle visiting. That village is bad luck."

Bad luck because of why there are warriors there, or bad luck because of the sealed temple?

"Even if it wasn't, it's too far away to consider staying at." Zelda said, ending the discussion there. It made sense, considering the subject of the Shadow Hamlet was a touchy one for the Royal Family as well as the Sheikah. So touchy, in fact, that regular citizens of Hyrule barely even knew the village existed. "There's a patch of trees just outside the entrance to the quarry that would be much better. Unless you'd like to see ghosts?"

Link's face paled slightly. "Ghosts?"

"It's rumored that those who stay in the Shadow Pass for too long at night see the souls of dead Sheikah warriors who were laid to rest in the graveyard that sits behind the hamlet." Sheik responded.

"Well. Forget I suggested it then." Link shuddered slightly and glanced around at the shadows around them like he was expecting a monster to jump out of them.

"...Let's just get a move on." Zelda mumbled. Her words were beginning to slur together a bit, betraying how exhausted she was.

The trio walked through the short tunnel and back out into the quarry without another word, finding their horses right where they'd left them. One short ride later and they were leading their horses through a sparse forest of the perennially red-gold trees native to the Akkala region. A few green trees were scattered throughout, along with reddish boulders that likely contained a lot of iron. Dead leaves crunched under their feet and horses' hooves, until they eventually found a suitable spot to make camp right next to a large red tree and a substantially sized boulder.

Setting up a fire and the three bedrolls strapped to each individual's saddle didn't take too long. Zelda didn't even bother to change before she seemingly fell asleep. It could be hard to tell with her, but Sheik was reasonably certain that she had actually fallen asleep.

Link made no move to settle down and rest, though. He sat on his bedroll and poked at the fire, curled up into a little ball of sorts with how tightly he had pulled his knees in toward his chest.

"I can take the first watch if you'd like." Sheik said, keeping his voice low so he didn't disturb Zelda.

"No, it's alright." Link responded. As he spoke, his gaze flicked up from the fire to study Sheik's face- or what little was visible of it, anyway. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep."

"Do you want to- er, do you want to talk about it?"

Ugh, the stumble made him cringe. As if his glaring inadequacy with feelings couldn't be any more obvious.

"I'm... not sure. Maybe?"

Sheik stayed quiet for a bit, trying to think of something to say that didn't sound completely insensitive. Obviously Link wasn't having a good time, and the last thing he wanted to do was make it worse. Finally, he sighed and decided to just speak, as he'd learned enough about the other knight's body language that he knew when he wasn't going to say anything. "How much has Zelda told you about what happened to her after her mother died?"

Link tilted his head to the side, looking an awful lot like a curious puppy. It was honestly adorable, but Sheik wasn't thinking that. Not at all. "Outside of the bare minimum? Uhh. She tends to avoid bringing the topic up. So I don't ask about it."

"Her mother was supposed to train her in unlocking her power. They were due to start the year after she was assassinated, and, well... King Rhoam pushed the timeline up after that. Zelda started training a week after the funeral." Sheik said, staring into the fire because that was easier than looking at Link or Zelda's sleeping figure.

"So she's had ten years of this."

Sheik nodded.

"That's- damn. I can't even begin to imagine what that's like." Link murmured. "And she's gotten a result like that every time?"

"Correct."

"If only her dad wasn't the. Damn King of Hyrule. I'd gladly kick his ass."

"You and me both." Sheik laughed humorlessly. "What he's doing to her, taking away the one thing that makes her happy... it's not right."

"Yeah." Link sighed. He went silent for a few minutes, so the only sound was the brisk wind whistling through the trees and the faint crackling of embers in the fire. When he finally did speak up again, there was a hesitant quality to his voice that Sheik rarely ever heard. "I don't want to. Change the topic so suddenly. But. Well. I just- I wanted to thank you for earlier. What you said helped. A lot. I didn't mean to just. Start talking about that. With no warning. Um. Yeah. I'm sorry if I've. Made you worry. Over the course of the last few days. It's just been so overwhelming lately and. I feel like I'm in over my head."

"It's been kind of a rough week for all of us, I think." Sheik remarked dryly, attempting to coax a smile out of Link and hopefully raise his spirits a bit. "In all seriousness, I get it. It's not easy to deal with all of that for so long. Talking helps, so I'd be happy to listen whenever you need it."

Of course, none of this was because he actually cared about him, right? This was just out of courtesy.

In addition to completely disregarding all those mental questions that he didn't want to answer, Sheik tactfully chose to ignore the fact that he was also being a huge hypocrite by telling someone else that they needed to talk about their feelings because it was good and healthy.

"Sheik?"

"Hm?"

Link reached over and poked him in the knee, a tiny smile on his face. "The same goes for you."

Had Sheik not known any better, he could've sworn his heart was going to just jump right out of his chest. Well, that, or just stop beating entirely. Good Golden Goddesses, why had he reacted so strongly to that? It was nothing! Link was literally his rival, and okay, sure, his friend, but that didn't change anything. It certainly didn't change the fact that the other knight was absolutely infuriating, or that the feeling in his chest was any less real-

Was this what- no, he was just hallucinating this or something. Yeah, that was it. They're friendly rivals at this point, nothing more. (Besides, what's the point of getting his hopes up? It'll just end badly anyway.)

"You don't have to do that." Sheik responded once he'd found his voice again. He didn't add any of the other thoughts that sprang to mind almost immediately afterward, likely due to being far too proud to admit that he was seriously struggling. Because he wasn't! He was fine, he had always been fine, damn it! Why did Link make him want to talk about this stuff? Why did he draw out his emotions with a simple glance?

"Why shouldn't I?" Link asked, genuine confusion crossing his face. "You're my friend. I trust you with my life. And you've offered to do it for me. So why would you not. Want the same in return? I'm more than happy to. Listen if you need it."

"You shouldn't trust me like that." Sheik replied bitterly. "I'm just going to fail you somehow. I can take the disappointment from my aunt. I don't think I'd be able to handle it from you. And if my failure came at the cost of your life..."

Link didn't respond right away, presumably thinking of something- anything- that he could say in response to that. When he did speak up again, though, he scooted a bit closer to Sheik so that he could nudge him with his left shoulder. "Maybe you're right. Maybe you'll fail me. But that doesn't bother me. I mean, I'd be a bit concerned if you didn't. Make some sort of mistake. Even if it's as simple as tripping over a rock. When you're trying to get me to duck out of harm's way. Does that mean you're worthless? No. It doesn't. You don't need to be perfect in order to be worth something. You're worth a lot to Zelda, for instance. And me. You're my friend. And I'll gladly fight your aunt for even. Making you think that you're worthless. That bitch doesn't know what she's. Talking about."

"...How did you know that it was her?" Sheik asked, his voice dangerously close to breaking.

"You don't need to say anything. For me to figure out some of what she's. Doing to you." Link answered simply. "Stuff like that... it's hard to escape. I figured that was why you were. So unpleasant to me in the beginning. I don't hold it against you."

"Why not? You should hate me. I thought I hated you for something that was completely beyond your control."

Tentatively, Link reached a hand over and brushed Sheik's bangs out of his face, tucking them behind his ear. His fingers lingered there for a second and Sheik couldn't seem to meet Link's eyes, painfully aware of the fact that they were so close and Link was looking directly at him.

"Like I said. I don't hold it against you. Remember when Zelda shouted at the two of us? It's a similar thing to that. It was a stressful time. You lashed out. I was an easy target. I've gotten to know you better and I understand why you did it." Link gave him a little reassuring smile, then dropped his hand and looked back toward the fire. It was difficult to tell in the firelight, but Sheik could've sworn that he was blushing.

Din, Nayru, and Farore.

This boy was going to be the death of him, and he didn't even understand why. No, that wasn't it. He didn't want to understand why.

"I..." Sheik trailed off, unable to form a coherent sentence. His thoughts felt like they were going too fast and too slow all at the same time. Half of him wanted to just say fuck it, pull his mask down, and- well. No. Those thoughts scared the hell out of him, so he just ended up freezing. It wasn't unlike when a Guardian locked up in the middle of an experiment and needed a reboot, except this was his brain and he didn't know what to do to "reboot" himself. "Link. You're..."

Link laughed softly and nudged him with his shoulder again. "It's alright. I'm sorry. That was a bit forward. You should get some rest. I'll take first watch and wake you. In a few hours."

Oh, how he so desperately wanted to say something- anything- to confirm that no, he really hadn't minded that at all. But as he was now, Sheik barely managed to nod in response, his mind still reeling from what had just happened. Without another word, Link returned to his previous spot and Sheik rolled himself into his bedroll.

It took him an almost embarrassing amount of time to fall asleep.