The last two weeks had been rather uneventful, aside from the fact that Kass had come to the castle for a lesson. Sheik had ended up leaving Zelda and the Hero to their own devices for a little while, and when he rejoined them after the Rito's lesson was over, he was surprised to see that they were actually getting along pretty well. The Hero had been helping Zelda with an experiment of some kind and they were talking idly before they noticed him. He had then been roped into helping them out, and even more of a surprise than the fact that the other two were getting along was the fact that Sheik actually found himself willing to relax a bit around both of them.

Of course, it was back to business as usual after that day, which meant trying his hardest to one-up the Hero at every turn. Their record in sparring against each other was completely even, and by this point they were both starting to run out of surface level questions. But Sheik wasn't willing to open up any further just yet, and the Hero didn't seem willing to either. However, their conversations were slowly getting more natural. Just yesterday, they'd gotten into a whole discussion about blade maintenance. He'd learned some fascinating things about the Master Sword and how the Hero maintained it.

Despite all of this, Sheik still refused to call the Hero by his name. It was hard to explain, but he felt a bit like by addressing him as his name, he would be acknowledging that they were equals, if nothing else. And he couldn't quite bring himself to admit that. Not yet. Though, moments like these where it was quiet and Zelda wasn't around (she hadn't come out of her room to start the day yet) and Sheik could just watch the Hero without needing to worry if Zelda would notice and make some sort of comment about it... they certainly made him question what the hell he was doing in regards to the other knight.  

The Hero was staring straight ahead at the opposite wall, as he always did while they waited for Zelda to show up in the morning. And as always, he seemed to be totally lost in thought. Normally, Sheik would be watching the side of the hallway furthest away from the other knight so he didn't have to look at him. Sometimes his gaze would stray over to him anyway, but he would always look away again.

Today was different, though. Sheik couldn't really pinpoint why, but it was. And now he was staring at the Hero, trying to make sense of his jumbled thoughts but finding it maddeningly difficult to do so because he kept getting distracted by the way the faint sunlight in the hallway brought out the hidden hints of gold in his hair.

Sheik was jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of the door opening, Zelda's blonde hair appearing a second later as she stepped outside. After she closed the door and locked it behind her, she tugged a bit on the sleeves of her outfit, a little grin appearing on her face.

"Are you two all set to go?" Zelda asked brightly. She had been in a good mood all week, though it was still a bit jarring to see her so cheerful while they were still inside the castle. Then again maybe it wasn't so surprising, considering today they were finally going to be heading out to Gerudo Town to check on Urbosa's progress. Zelda had gotten a letter from the Gerudo Champion earlier this week stating that she should come out to the town for a few days to get away from her father and the oppressive atmosphere of the castle, but the trio hadn't been able to leave until today.

Both knights nodded, because speaking was overrated. Zelda usually got annoyed with this, but today it seemed like nothing could kill her bad mood. She hurried past them, starting down the path to the stables. The Hero had gone down to prepare the horses and saddlebags earlier this morning, since the journey out to the desert was fairly substantial and would likely take them a day or two just to make it out there. As such, Sheik was wearing his sword on his back, which wasn't something he normally did. Unlike the Hero, he wasn't too fond of wearing the weapon on his back all day, every day. It wasn't very subtle, and he was all about being subtle. He only wore it when he was expecting trouble, or they were going out on a mission. Besides, even if they did run across trouble that required him to fight, he was more than armed enough with just his knives and his needles. Not to mention the fact that his fists were a deadly weapon on their own. 

"It's been a long time since I properly went out to the desert." Zelda commented as they arrived at the stables. The stablemaster had all three of their horses ready to go already, so it was a relatively smooth process for all three of them to mount their respective horses and set off. Once they were properly underway, having made it out into the vast expanse of Hyrule Field, Zelda added onto her statement by saying "About three months, if I'm remembering correctly. And that doesn't really count, since it was for official business. Father thinks anything other than prayer is a waste of my time, so naturally I don't have much time for unofficial visits." She fell silent after that, the mention of the King putting a slight damper on her otherwise cheerful mood. Sheik could tell that she wanted to say more, but he suspected that she didn't want to talk about it while the Hero was listening. He was going to have to ask her about it later.

And, well, they were long overdue for an actual conversation about the King and the last ten years. He owed her several apologies and a hell of a lot of explanations.

Zelda continued to keep up a (mostly) one-sided conversation for the next hour or so, which was long past the amount of time that she usually tried this. It was a normal enough occurrence while they were outside of the castle, but she usually gave up after about thirty minutes. Her patience had limits, after all. (That patience was usually accompanied by a remarkably quick temper when it ran out. She could go from mildly irritated to flat out pissed off in the space of a few seconds, if it so suited her.) 

Once she gave up on trying to talk with the two knights, the trio rode in silence for the better part of the day. They had to pause for brief breaks every once in a while so their muscles didn't get too sore from riding non-stop. Plus, they weren't really in too much of a hurry, and they ended up reaching the stable in Gerudo Canyon just before ten that evening. Zelda was about to go take care of their rooms for the night, but the Hero stopped her.

"Take the horses. With you. We can't. Bring them into. The desert." he said, handing her the reins of his horse. "You'll have to. Uh. Board them."

"Yes, of course." Zelda laughed once out of embarrassment. "I forgot about that. Thank you, Link."

Wordlessly, Sheik handed her Nox's reins. Zelda gave him a little nod, then turned away and led all three horses up to the stable owner.

Now that Zelda was gone, a heavy silence settled over the two knights. It was far different from the silence that accompanied their steps while she was around, and Sheik was almost tempted to ask the Hero if something was wrong. But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he scoffed. Why did he care if there was something bothering the Hero?

He didn't.

Right?

Right.

"Did Urbosa say if. She's going to. Meet us outside. Of the town. Or not?" the Hero finally asked, his gaze focused on the back of Zelda's head as she talked with the owner of the stable.

"No clue." Sheik shook his head for emphasis. "Zelda was the one who got the letter. She hasn't shared many details."

"Hmm."

"Ever been out to Gerudo Town?" Sheik asked after a brief pause. He was half hoping that the Hero hadn't, just because the rule about no voe allowed would certainly lead to an entertaining afternoon.

"No. I'm from Hateno. Didn't get out much. Before being knighted. And they don't send. Men to Gerudo Town. Or just the desert. In general. Something about a generations-old. Peace treaty. Between Hyrule and the Gerudo." the Hero responded, shifting a bit on his feet and crossing his arms. "And also. The whole no men allowed in. The town limits. Thing."

Damn, so he did know about it. That was mildly disappointing. Oh well.

"What about you?"

Sheik sighed and closed his eyes briefly. How to answer this question... he could tell the truth and say yes, but he wasn't exactly going to discuss details about it, and knowing the Hero, he was going to ask. It would be easier to lie and say no, but then again, it might complicate things further down the line.

"Yes." At his side, Sheik's hand twitched like he was about to reach for his sword. "The Yiga Clan base is somewhere out here. It's not uncommon for Thirds to get sent out on scouting missions."

"Those are... Third Rank warriors, right?" the Hero asked, turning his head to look over at Sheik. "I'm not too familiar. With the Sheikah rankings system."

"Yep. Called Thirds for short. I'm a Second Rank right now. I'm working on my First Rank qualifications, but they're going to take a while." Sheik responded. He was happy to talk about the way warriors were ranked, because it was one of the few things he felt like he was doing right. Of course, Impa still wasn't satisfied, but...

"Already?"

Sheik nodded sharply. "Surprised?"

"Yes and no. I mean. From what I know. First Rank is really difficult. Most warriors don't make. It there. Correct?"

"Correct."

"You're only... seventeen?"

"Sixteen. I won't be seventeen for another three months." Sheik frowned slightly. "Could've sworn I told you that."

Shockingly, the hint of a blush appeared on the Hero's face. He laughed softly and shifted to scratch the back of his neck awkwardly. "I forgot. Not great at remembering birthdays. Um. If it helps. I used to forget my mother's birthday. Every year. And I'm still no good at it. Aryll has to remind me. Every year."

The way he spoke about his mother almost made it seem like she was dead. Sheik knew almost nothing about his family- just the fact that he had a little sister, named Aryll, who he adored. But on the subject of his parents? Nothing. It had been one of the topics the Hero requested that he didn't ask about after winning a sparring match against him. From this, Sheik was beginning to see why.

He decided not to press the issue. After all, it would be horribly hypocritical of him to do so, seeing as he knew firsthand how touchy this subject was.

"I get the feeling that your sister is a lot more on top of things than you are." Sheik remarked, though (much to his own surprise) the words held no malice behind them.

"Oh yeah. She definitely is." the Hero nodded. A little grin appeared on his face, obviously recalling a fond memory. "But. Uh. Got a little off topic. You're really young to. Be a Second Rank."

"Yeah, I am." Sheik stood up a bit taller, straightening his shoulders and bowing stiffly to the Hero. "Youngest warrior to ever pass the Third Rank, at your service."

"How old were you?"

"Twelve."

The Hero whistled lowly, an odd expression flickering across his face for a second before it was gone. "Damn. I'd ask more about it. But I have a feeling. It leads to topics. That you don't want me. Asking about."

"You're right there." Sheik hesitated for a moment, trying to decide if it was worth it to add on to his statement or not. In the end, he decided it wasn't worth it yet and changed the subject. Or, well, he was about to, when the Hero started speaking again.

"By the way. Do you mind if I. Borrow one of your. Knives. For a second? I want to take a. Closer look. At the edge."

"No problem." Sheik responded, a little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I forgot I was going to let you take a look at one the other day. Sorry about that."

"It's no big deal." the Hero shrugged.

Sheik slipped one of his knives out of the box on his leg and held it out to the Hero, the faint light of the fire by the cooking pot winking off of the razor-sharp edge. The other knight held out his hand to take it, but they both froze as Zelda's voice cut through the otherwise quiet night.

"Oh for-" Zelda sighed irritably and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I was gone for ten minutes! Would you stop going after each other's throats for a day or two? It's not that hard!"

"It's not like that-" Sheik started saying, only to be cut off by the irritated blonde in front of him.

"Like I believe that, coming from you." Zelda scoffed. A moment later, she was all business once more, saying "We're going to leave fairly early tomorrow morning, in order to get to the bazaar before the heat sets in. We'll discuss things from there."

As she spoke the last sentence, she locked eyes with Sheik, and he could have sworn he saw a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Looks like she was planning something. Knowing her, it probably involved ditching the two knights with the assistance of Gerudo Town's law against voe entering the city.

Good thing he had a few tricks of his own, even if he felt like it would do Zelda some good to get away from the Hero in particular.

-/-/-/-

Zelda didn't even try to be subtle about her plan as they approached Gerudo Town a few hours after sunrise the next day. The trio approached the gates, the two guards on either side nodding to her but eyeing the knights on either side of her with suspicion.

"Sa'vaaq, Princess. Chief Urbosa is expecting you." the guard on the left said. "Your knights will have to wait in Kara Kara Bazaar."

Beside him, the Hero cursed under his breath and ran a hand through his hair.

"Very well." Zelda bowed her head, trying to disguise the grin on her face and doing a remarkably terrible job at it. "I'll send a message if I need either of you."

Don't expect one.

The words went without saying, really. Sheik wasn't too worried about her safety- she would be surrounded by several garrisons of highly trained Gerudo warriors, who were some of the best fighters in all of Hyrule. Not to mention how Urbosa would likely be hard-pressed to let Zelda out of her sight.

Both knights turned around and started the walk back to the bazaar, the Hero obviously straining to keep his temper on a leash. His hands periodically curled into fists and then uncurled as they trudged through the sand. Sheik was extremely thankful that his boots were tall enough to prevent most of the sand that was kicked up by his steps from actually getting inside them. 

They had hardly made it back to the bazaar before the Hero's expression finally twitched and he sighed angrily.

"I can't believe this." he snapped. "I'm trying to give her. The benefit. Of the doubt. But! She makes it. Damn hard to do that. Sometimes!"

Sheik raised an eyebrow and turned to face him. "Relax. If you're worried about her safety, I can assure you that she's perfectly fine. The Gerudo guards are more than capable of keeping her safe. Not to mention that Urbosa is there as well."

"I'm not worried about that." the Hero said dismissively.

"Then what are you worried about?" 

"...I don't like her doing. This. Here. The Yiga Clan are most. Active in the desert. If something happened and the King found out. It wouldn't be pleasant."

"So you are worried about her safety." Sheik said flatly. "Look. I've met some of Urbosa's guards. I've even trained with them, for Hylia's sake. Nothing is going to happen to Zelda."

That effectively stopped the conversation dead in it's tracks. The Hero, who had previously been staring angrily at the oasis that the bazaar was built around, abruptly turned his head to look at Sheik, clearly shocked. "How have-"

"Long story." Sheik dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Look. All I'm saying is that she's going to be just fine."

Actually, it was several long stories, but that didn't matter.

"Not to mention how. I'm pretty sure. She's using this as an excuse. To get away from both of. Us."

"Oh yeah, she totally is." Sheik laughed sharply. "I don't blame her."

Instead of responding, the Hero just muttered something under his breath that sounded an awful lot like "Smug-ass bastard."

"Look. If it really bothers you that much, I know a way into the town." Sheik finally said after a long and, quite frankly, uncomfortable silence.

"Of course you do." the Hero responded, his words dripping with sarcasm. He was uncharacteristically upset about this. How odd.

"You're not going to like it." Sheik warned, despite how he barely managed to hold back his snicker and the words "But I sure will."

"What is it?"

"Let me put it this way: voe actually means "male" or "masculine," despite how it's usually translated. You should pass pretty easily, so... how familiar are you with traditional Gerudo clothing?" Sheik scanned over the other knight as he spoke, nodding his head as he finished speaking as if making the final check mark on an invisible list.

-/-/-/-

"Fuck. You." the Hero snarled, his arms crossed over his chest and an impressive scowl on his face.

"Perfect, you're already starting to sound like an average Hylian vai." Sheik snickered. "Now sit still, I'm going to poke your eye out if you don't."

He grumbled an impressive string of curse words under his breath, but he did as he was told.

"Okay, there." Sheik stepped back and put the little stick of eyeliner back in the small wooden box he'd bought from a merchant on the other end of the bazaar. He studied his handiwork for a second before nodding. It had been a while since he'd had to do something like this to another person (or even himself) and it hadn't turned out half bad. "I think the water in the oasis should be still enough for you to get a glimpse at your reflection."

"I don't care." the Hero hissed, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Can we just. Make this quick. The fewer people that. See me. Like this. The better."

Sheik shrugged. "Alright. Your loss. You don't actually look that bad."

"Shut up."

It took a considerable amount of willpower not to laugh again. He was so angry about the whole situation, Sheik was almost surprised that he'd even agreed to it in the first place. If he was being honest, he was glad that the Hero had, for more than one reason.

...and one of those reasons definitely wasn't that he could now see the majority of his bare torso. The other knight had very nice abs, but Sheik wasn't staring. Nope. Not him. He'd rather die than get caught staring at him. This guy was his rival, for Hylia's sake.

So, then, why was it this difficult to keep his eyes away from him?

"Well, look on the bright side." Sheik nudged him with one of his elbows, which only seemed to increase the Hero's bad mood. "You're not going to need to drink an elixir to prevent yourself from sweating to death this way."

"Oh yeah. Because that totally. Makes this worth. It." the Hero rolled his eyes. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

With an irritated sigh, the Hero gestured at the teal and light purple ensemble he was wearing. The veil he was wearing over the lower half of his face was just transparent enough to make reading his expression difficult, as it obscured some of the sharper, more masculine, angles of his jaw and cheekbones. However, Sheik was getting better at reading the subtleties of his expressions as time went by, and he was definitely scowling now. "Are you going to..?"

"Hah! Hell no." Sheik bit back another snicker. "For one thing, I'm not going into the town. For another, if I was going to, I wouldn't actually have to do much. Literally all I'd need to do to pass as a female warrior is styling my hair a different way. I could also ditch the mask and I wouldn't have many problems, but I'm not going to do that."

"How is that-" the Hero stopped himself and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Goddesses damn it. You've done this. Before. Haven't you?"

"Well, if you were paying attention earlier, I did say that I've trained with some of Urbosa's guards. It's kind of hard to do that without entering the town." He could see another question coming, so he cut it off by saying "And no, I didn't have to wear that outfit. The last time I was out here for training was when I was ten. According to several of my oh-so-intelligent peers, I had a very feminine face."

He chose not to mention some of the other things they'd said on that subject before he'd started wearing his mask everywhere. Which, contrary to their opinions, had been from something beyond their teasing.

The Hero looked a bit like he was unsure how to react to that information, before finally settling on being angry about it because of the perceived injustice on his part. "I'm going to. Get you back. For this. Someday."

"Oh, really?" Sheik stepped a bit closer to him and narrowed his eyes. "Is that a challenge?"

"Obviously." he growled. They stared at each other for a tense few seconds, each daring the other to look away first before the Hero dropped his gaze. He turned his back on him and started walking towards Gerudo Town, anger practically radiating off of his figure.

Sheik waited a second before following after him. At the sound of his footsteps, the Hero's shoulders visibly tensed up before relaxing slightly, a reaction which was awfully confusing. Then, suddenly, he stopped and unbuckled the belt he wore across his chest to keep the Master Sword in place.

"I can't have this. With me. If I'm going to be. Convincing." the Hero said, holding the legendary weapon out to him. "Keep an eye on it. For me. Please."

Gingerly, Sheik reached out and grabbed the sword, accepting it with two hands and bowing his head out of reflex. Then, mentally, he kicked himself for defaulting to the submissive acceptance of a weapon. They were equals, were they not?

"I swear on my honor no harm will come to the sword." Sheik said, keeping his head bowed.

"I trust you." he whispered, sounding a little bit flustered. "But you really. Didn't have to do. That."

He looked up, confirming his suspicions that the Hero was blushing slightly. Much to his own surprise, a genuine smile touched Sheik's face, any hint of teasing or lasting enmity vanishing from his expression. "This is an awfully important sword. Impa would flay me alive if I lost it."

The Hero properly laughed then. Any of his own frustration seemed to vanish in that moment,, his stoic mask that was always lying just under the surface and muffling his visible emotions falling away. "That doesn't surprise me. I don't even know. Her that well."

"Trust me, she's capable of it." Sheik's smile wavered. It was hard to joke about what his aunt could do to him because of the fact that each one was a very real possibility. Some of them had even happened before, and as much as he tried to hide it, many of the worst beatings still scared him to this day.

Instead of responding, the Hero just nodded solemnly, the moment of... well, whatever you could call what had just happened disappearing behind his mask once more.

They started walking again, staying mostly quiet. However, the tension that had previously been simmering in the air from the Hero's anger at him had all but vanished, replaced by a different kind of hesitation between the two knights.

Shortly before they arrived at the front gate of Gerudo Town for the second time today, Sheik raised a hand and patted the Hero on the back.

"Here's where we split up. I'll be right under there," Sheik gestured to the spot against the town's wall where someone had rigged a tarp, which was currently populated by several Hylian men wearing backpacks and despondent looks on their faces, "so don't worry too much. I can handle myself should any of these guys get aggressive."

"I'm not worried about you." the Hero replied, a slight teasing tone in his voice. "If anything. I'm worried about those. Poor guys. They have to. Deal with you for a. Few hours."

"Thanks for that." Sheik responded sarcastically, but for some reason he wasn't really all that upset by the comment. Normally he couldn't stand any sort of teasing from him, but today, he was alright with it. Actually, he kind of liked it-

What.

"Right. Have fun."

With that, the Hero turned and walked away, the guards letting him past without any questions asked. Sheik watched him for a little bit, definitely not staring at him. But, of course, that was exactly what he was doing.

He shook his head to clear it, his grip tightening on the Master Sword's scabbard for a second. The decorative metal casing bit into his hands, even through his gloves, which helped to clear his head and bring him back to reality. Holy Hylia herself, what was up with him today?

The other men sitting under the tarp barely spared him a second glance as he sat down in the left corner against the wall. Several of them did a double-take as they saw the distinctive hilt of the legendary sword across his lap, but they quickly looked away again as someone sprang to their feet at the sight of a Gerudo merchant approaching the town.

If he hadn't been charged with watching the Master Sword, he probably would have taken a nap to pass the time. Well, maybe not. He found it remarkably hard to relax in the desert. Knowing that the Yiga Clan were so close was both infuriating and unsettling.

Time passed both slowly and quickly at the same time. A steady, yet infrequent, stream of travelers arrived and departed from Gerudo Town. At one point, Sheik started counting the amount of people who left and entered every hour, based on the position of the sun (it was an extremely rough estimate of an hour's passing, because he had never been good at telling the time using just the sun. He usually needed a sundial to help him out.) He estimated that the net gain of travelers was two per hour, which seemed a lot higher than he would have expected it to be. Travel was getting a lot more dangerous these days. Monster populations were on the rise, and getting more aggressive to boot. But, for the most part, Hyrule was safe.

For the time being. The Calamity was getting closer, but nobody seemed to have any idea when it would actually happen. His best guess was that they had another few months, but sometimes that seemed optimistic.

It likely wasn't going to be enough time. There were still so many unknowns- what Hyrule's army would look like, the Guardians and other pieces of ancient technology, and, biggest of all, Zelda's powers.

He really needed to have an honest conversation with her soon. All he knew about her inability to unlock her powers was from secondhand sources, and they usually weren't very kind about it.

And then, of course, there was the matter of the Hero. Holding the Master Sword now, Sheik certainly didn't envy his place in all this. The sword was so much heavier than it should have been, and it seemed to hum with unspeakable power. Though he wasn't nearly as attuned to the magical energies of Hyrule as his aunt was, he could sense the magical signature of the sword almost as easily as breathing. As an experiment, Sheik moved his right hand to grip the hilt. It was warm to the touch, despite not having been held by anybody recently. Almost immediately, two intensely conflicting emotions washed over him: boundless courage and bottomless dread. He released the hilt, feeling faintly sick.

Yeah, he definitely didn't envy the Hero for having to wear this sword on his back all day, or even wield it in battle. Maybe it was different for him, being the chosen hero and all, but it had an extremely unnerving presence.

When the Hero finally emerged from the town, anger visible in the tension of his shoulders as he walked, Sheik stood up and met him a little ways away from the tarp. He handed the other knight the bag of his regular clothes, but not the Master Sword. Without a word, the Hero grabbed the bag and stalked off around the corner of the town. Shortly afterwards, he reappeared, wearing his blue tunic and regular brown boots. He carried the bag with his other clothes in his right hand, and now that he wasn't wearing the veil, Sheik could clearly see the angry scowl set into his face.

Sheik chose not to mention that he was still wearing the eyeliner. Instead, he held the Master Sword out to him, glad to be rid of the sheer weight of it.

"She wasn't there." the Hero finally said after he finished buckling the legendary blade onto his back.

"Did the guards-"

"Yes. Urbosa's captain of the guard. Said that. She went out. With the Princess. Earlier today. They should be at. Vah Naboris." His sentences were much more clipped than usual, betraying just how angry he was. "This was. A complete waste. Of time."

"Goddesses damn it.." Sheik pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Without looking, he jerked a thumb over his shoulder in the general direction of where the towering Divine Beast was. "They've been there all day, I'd bet."

"For your sake. I really hope. You didn't. Have any clue. About this. Otherwise I am. Going to murder you."

"I swear I didn't know about this. Zelda didn't mention anything about her plans beyond that the three of us would be going out to the desert." 

"It was. Kind of. Predictable. But it's. Frustrating. All the same." the Hero ran a hand through his bangs and closed his eyes. After a count of three (it was easy to recognize when someone was doing the three-count, since Sheik had done it himself countless times to manage his anger. It hardly ever worked) he opened his eyes again and started stalking forward in the direction of the Divine Beast.

They made surprisingly good time through the desert, though the Hero grumbled several times about sand getting in his boots. It only took somewhere between thirty and forty five minutes to make it to Vah Naboris. The sun was setting, painting the sky in soft pinks, yellows, and oranges. It really was quite spectacular, but Sheik didn't have long to dwell on it. There was a more pressing problem- how were they supposed to get into the Divine Beast?

"D'you think. There's. A doorbell somewhere?" the Hero asked quietly. He was obviously trying to keep his frustrations in check, as evidenced by the carefully measured tone in his voice.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Sheik shrugged and stared up at the belly of the beast.

As soon as he finished speaking, a weird weightless feeling began to tickle at his legs and fingertips. He frowned and looked down at himself, finding nothing wrong when-

Without any warning whatsoever, his body dissolved into blue strands of light.

What seemed like both seconds and an eternity later, Sheik opened his eyes to find himself completely in one piece and standing on a gently glowing circle inlaid in the floor of what he presumed was Vah Naboris. He looked to his side to check on the Hero- out of reflex, he told himself, not because he could have possibly been worried about him- and was mildly relieved to see that he was intact as well. His face looked a little green, but he appeared to be fine otherwise.

"And that would be. Why I don't. Like the ancient. Technology." the Hero muttered, putting a hand to his forehead. He looked a bit like he was going to pass out, now that Sheik took a second look at him.

"I guess we didn't have to look for the doorbell after all." Sheik responded dryly, taking a cautious step forward. His legs felt a bit wobbly, almost as if he'd just finished one of the endurance exercises that involved a hell of a lot of running or lower-body exertion.

The Hero laughed once and took a quick, calculating glance around the space they found themselves in. "Remind me to. Ask Zelda about a. Potentially less motion-sickness. Inducing way. To warp."

"Is that what it's called?"

"Yeah. Kinda surprised you don't. Know that. Purah being your aunt. And all."

"I don't exactly spend much time with her." Sheik replied, trying not to snap the words at him. "And I'm useless with the ancient technology, anyway."

"You and me both." the Hero wandered forward a few steps, still eying up their new surroundings. "I only know about warping. Because Zelda volunteered me. To be Purah's. Test subject. For one of their short distance. Tests. They were trying to. Build a warp point. Based off of some plans. They found. Or something. I wasn't paying too much. Attention."

"This was the other day when I had to help my aunt teach some of the more advanced Royal Guards a few new techniques, right?"

The Hero nodded. "You didn't miss. Much."

"Zelda probably would've gotten me involved somehow. She always does that. It's one of her ways of showing that she's fond of you." Sheik shook his head, though a little smile had crept onto his face at the memory of one of her more memorable schemes from when they were kids. "Should we go find them now?"

Before the other knight could respond, a glowing blue arrow pointing to their left appeared just above the floor. They shared a perplexed glance, then the Hero shrugged and started following it.

The arrow disappeared as they did so, and soon enough, they found themselves on an open balcony overlooking the desert. Urbosa and Zelda were sitting on a blanket in the center of the space, and Zelda had her head on Urbosa's shoulder. A lantern faintly engraved with Gerudo symbols was set on the top right corner of the blanket. The glint of metal caught Sheik's eye, and he spotted the Thunder Helm resting just within Urbosa's reach, should she need to grab it quickly. 

"I was beginning to wonder how long it would take the two of you to try and check on Zelda." Urbosa said. She didn't turn her head right away, only doing so once she had actually finished talking. "She was researching Naboris all day today. It was the most excited I've seen her in a long time. Though that energy does come at a cost. She's still as the sands now." 

Both knights stood there awkwardly. Sheik was quiet out of apprehension, because Urbosa had made him nervous ever since he had seen her again after returning to the castle. It was likely a result of what his aunt had done over the years that he was waiting for her to get angry at him, but he didn't care to look too far into it. That meant emotions, and he did not deal well with those. The Hero, on the other hand, was silent because he was always silent. Or, well, he was a vast majority of the time.

"That being said, I'm curious. How are the three of you getting along?" Urbosa asked the question casually, but there was an odd expression in her eyes that Sheik couldn't even begin to identify.

"...It's a long story." Sheik muttered after a considerable silence.

A little smile pulled at the corner of Urbosa's mouth that he could see from here. "I thought so. She said the same thing. It isn't easy for her to see that sword on your back, Link. And the two of you constantly fighting doesn't make things much better."

More silence. This time it was more out of embarrassment than anything else.

"Both of you are well on your way to fulfilling your own destinies. And Zelda is not. She takes her frustrations out on you two, but neither of you carry blame in this." Urbosa's gaze softened a little. "She has worked just as hard, and yet has nothing to show for it. Countless hours, she has stood in the frigid water of the two springs accessible to her. And yet..."

"It started after her mother's death, right?" Sheik asked softly.

Urbosa nodded. "Not even a week after."

For a brief moment, the knuckles of his right hand stung with the phantom pain of broken bones. Out of habit, he flexed them to make sure they were still intact.

Even as a six year old, he hadn't been any good at regulating his temper. Unfortunately for his knuckles, the wall always wins the fight.

She gave him a knowing look, but thankfully, she didn't actually say anything more on the subject. She sure was silently telling him that he needed to have a conversation with her, though. "All of that is why she's so focused on her research. If I were in her place- which, honestly, I wish I was, so I might spare her this burden- I would be doing the same thing." Urbosa paused to let them process this information, then continued speaking. "Zelda may not believe she needs protecting, but guarding the Princess is a great honor. No matter what form it takes. Do not forget that."

The Hero nodded stiffly. If it was possible for his expression to turn any more stone-like, it certainly did in that moment. He still hadn't said a word, and looked like he wasn't going to any time soon.

Sheik bowed his head in acknowledgement, forgoing the usual full bow that he was supposed to do in a situation like this. He vaguely remembered that Urbosa had gently teased him about the bowing when he was a kid, since she (like many other Gerudo) weren't too big on gestures of respect.

Once again, Urbosa paused a bit before speaking, her gaze subtly but quickly darting between the two knights. Finally, she looked back out over the desert, noting the way the sun had almost slipped below the horizon. "We should get her inside before it gets too cold. Once the moon rises, a freeze settles over the sands." She fell silent for a moment before an almost devilish smirk appeared on her face- Zelda had gotten her tendency for mischief from someone, after all- and she raised her right hand. Sheik realized what she was about to do a split second before the snap rang out across the small space, sounding impossibly clear before a lightning bolt struck the sand outside with a loud crash. Naboris shook a little from the impact, causing both knights to nearly lose their footing.

The movement (and noise) jolted Zelda awake, and she sat up remarkably quickly for someone who had just been fast asleep. "Urbosa! Is everything alright? What was that?!" She glanced wildly around at her surroundings, confusion plain on her face. When she looked at the knights, she frowned a little in confusion before saying "Since when were you two here? I'm so- what's going on?"

Urbosa tossed her head back and laughed. The Hero glanced over at Sheik, who met his gaze and shrugged.

"Seriously, what...?" Zelda trailed off in the middle of her sentence, stifling a yawn as she did so. "How long was I asleep?"

"Not long, little bird." Urbosa responded, still laughing slightly. "It's getting late, so you and your knights ought to get back to the bazaar."

Zelda looked like she was about to protest, but whatever issue she had with this arrangement was clearly solved in her own head. "Yes, you're right."

The Gerudo Champion stood and then helped Zelda to her feet. She followed behind her as she started walking toward the two knights, then said "Watch your footing. I'm going to have Naboris kneel so it's easier to get down, without using the warp."

At Sheik's side, the Hero let out a small breath of relief. Sheik kept his expression neutral, but he did lean over and nudge him slightly. He nudged him right back without missing a beat, though.

Just as he had straightened up again, the Divine Beast gave an otherworldly cry and started sinking downwards to lie on the desert sands. It was more than a little disorienting, but it was better than the alternative way of getting back outside of Naboris. Urbosa escorted them outside, listening to Zelda's chatter as she pointed out things that she had taken note of using the Sheikah Slate earlier. She seemed a lot happier to have someone to speak with who actually tried to engage in a conversation with her, which Sheik didn't blame her for in the slightest. Then again, he was part of the problem, but...

Ugh. There was time to think about that later.

The trio parted ways with Urbosa as they arrived at the thin, barely-present road in the sands that led to Gerudo Town one way and Kara Kara Bazaar the other way. A noticeable chill had settled into the air, rendering the elixirs that both Sheik and the Hero had needed to drink before their earlier trips across the desert completely useless. Zelda was wearing a special pair of earrings that kept the heat away (they had been a birthday present from Urbosa when she was small,) but they did nothing about the cold. As a result, they hurried back to the bazaar and their rooms in the inn there.

Before Zelda could slip away, Sheik glanced over at the Hero, then called out to her. "Hold on a moment, Zelda."

Wordlessly, she turned her head, one of her hands resting on the handle of the door she stood in front of.

"Do you mind telling either of us when you're going to leave tomorrow morning?" Sheik, rather mercifully on his part, chose not to mention that she would be better off telling the Hero in order to alleviate the other knight's worries. He also chose not to mention what he'd done for the sake of checking up on her, because, well, that was the kind of thing you just didn't tell someone else without consent from the person who did it.

"Yeah. Sure." Zelda sighed. "I'm going to be just fine no matter what, alright? There is no need to worry. Both of you."

"I'm just trying. To follow my orders." the Hero responded quietly.

Zelda's expression tightened for a second before she turned away and slipped into the room behind her. Sheik pinched the bridge of his nose and bit back an annoyed comment directed at the Hero, because they were, for the moment, united in their annoyance with the Princess.

"Good night to you too, Princess." Sheik finally muttered towards the closed door. That actually got a little laugh out of the Hero, which he hadn't actually been expecting.

"Let's just hope. She actually carries through on that. Promise." the Hero said. "Good night, Sheik."

The blonde entered his own room without waiting for a response. Which was good, because Sheik was completely and totally speechless.

Holy Hylia herself. This boy was so hard to read. He could be annoyed with their constant competitions or his snarky comments for the majority of the day, and then he turned around and did something actually nice.

Honestly, it kept Sheik awake for an embarrassing amount of time that night.