in which sheik gains the leash to his beast, but at a terrible personal cost.

ships: sheikrin

warning: mentions of sexual abuse.

universe: super smash brothers, medieval au.

Normally, Sheik was a man of great patience. He could sit and wait patiently for the end of the world, if need be.

But now he was sick of waiting. Sick of staying leashed to the pathetic Queen of Hyrule while his people were killed in the streets for being suspected of practicing dark magic. 

Little did the oh-so-wise Queen Zelda know, her precious pet Sheikah was the one experimenting with the occult nature of shadow magic. Right under her nose, even. She was too blind to believe that it was him, and so the Royal Guards had begun the latest crusade against the Sheikah. 

It was funny, really. Sheik had more power than anybody could ever suspect him, a gutter-born street rat from the alleys of Kakariko, would ever possess. He'd lied and tricked his way to Zelda's side, the whole time scheming and planning for this very day. 

Because when he was that filthy street rat, the only person who'd bothered to show him the basic kindness was none other than a prince from a visiting kingdom. Sheik had tried to steal from him, but the prince had caught him. And instead of condemning him, he had given Sheik what he had tried to steal. The prince had smiled at him and said "I think you need this more than I do." 

Sheik had never forgotten the prince's kindness. He had also never forgotten the charming smile that the prince wore. It had stuck with him as he climbed his way to the top of the corrupt Hylian court, and it had certainly stuck with him during the meeting he had attended in Hoshido as Zelda's personal bodyguard. 

That meeting had been his first assignment as Zelda's bodyguard, actually. The sight of the prince all grown up and dressed in the royal robes of Hoshido had nearly rendered him useless. He'd managed to keep his wits about him and focus on his job, which ended up saving Zelda's life. An ambush as the proceedings were finishing nearly claimed her life, but Sheik's reflexes had stopped the blade just as it was about to slice through her neck. 

Later that week, Sheik had received a letter from the prince. It asked him if he would like to meet with him in private. Of course, Sheik had accepted. He hadn't gotten where he was today by ignoring private summons from royalty. Oftentimes this led to the royal or high-ranking noble using Sheik for their own twisted desires- sometimes it was an assassination mission or a request to spy on a rival, but more often than not it was a favor that was sexual in nature. After all, his Sheikah features were considered exotic. It wasn't just him that had met this kind of fate. Many of his people had been sold into slavery for their bodies. 

It made him sick. The fact that he and so many others had been treated like objects for so long was disgusting. Hyrule's nobility had long abused their power, and he was going to end it. At last, they would be held accountable for their actions. 

And unfortunately, it meant Sheik would have to take the kindness that the silver-haired prince had shown him and twist it like a knife, turning it into a weapon. 

His prince with dragon's blood. So often had Sheik seen him, always in stolen moments between assignments for Zelda or the nobles of Hyrule's court. At the thought of the spell that he would cast once the prince arrived, Sheik felt a tiny twinge of guilt. 

This wasn't a very pleasant spell. It was a possession spell, linking the victim to the caster like a puppet to its master. 

While it was unfortunate that it had come to this, Sheik knew that Corrin would never willingly use his dragon blood against another person with the intent to harm. And if Sheik was going to overthrow the Hylian court, he was going to need some strength on his side beyond his magic. He didn't want to burn himself out casting the more powerful slaying spells, after all. 

Carefully, Sheik set his hands against the unassuming tome that laid open in front of him. The writing on the page was in a variant of shadow-speak that was difficult to read, even for him. He wanted to make sure he did this right- after all, his need to be in control had only been amplified by his recent experimenting with the darker spells a shadow mage could cast. It was no secret that the kind of spells he was casting had adverse effects on the caster's mind. Truth be told, Sheik could already feel his mind twisting. 

But he didn't care. He welcomed the change, actually. It just made it easier to achieve his ultimate goal. At the thought of what he could do without common sense getting in the way, a cruel smile touched his lips. 

He would prove himself to the court. To everybody who had ever kicked him, spat at him, or dared to call him weak, worthless, or filthy Sheikah rat.

Once he had Corrin on a leash, everything would finally fall into place. Though the idea just loosing the beast sleeping inside the prince's blood was an attractive one, Sheik wanted to control him. He wanted everybody else to see that he was in control. Because he had spent far too long at the mercy of everybody else's power.

His hands curled into fists on the page. The force of his anger nearly caught him off guard, but by now he'd learned to use that anger and direct it into the page. He'd been doing this ever since he learned that anger was a powerful base for the darker spells he was performing now. The more anger that those pages held, the easier it was to cast spells. Of course, it also meant that it was that much easier for the darkness to twist his mind. 

Minor side effects, really. What did it matter if he lost his mind? As long as he achieved his revenge, his sanity was inconsequential. 

Sheik was dragged out of his thoughts by a soft knock on the door. Knowing exactly who it was before he even stood, a genuinely pleased smile spread over his face under the mask he wore. He walked over to the wooden door, the cold of the flagstones hardly bothering him even though he was barefoot.

Sure enough, Corrin stood there, dressed in a plain blue tunic and brown trousers. He smiled as he saw Sheik, then quickly stepped inside and closed the door. "It's been a while. The recent reports of Hylian Royal Guards targeting Sheikah..." 

"I'm fine. The guards wouldn't dare go after me unless the Queen had a reason to suspect me." Sheik replied, placing his hands on Corrin's shoulders reassuringly. 

Almost as if Corrin knew what he had been doing, he glanced over at Sheik's desk, where the tome was still open to the page he would need for the spell. "You seem a bit... off. Is everything okay?" 

"I'm fine. Don't worry." Sheik laughed and subtly adjusted himself so that he was blocking Corrin's view of the tome. The silver haired prince wasn't stupid. He knew a tome when he saw it, and dark magic tomes were quite distinct from regular ones. 

"Please don't lie to me. I know that there's a dark mage somewhere within Hyrule Castle. My brother's spies have said as much. Many of them are convinced that it's you, though the Queen has been refusing to even entertain that idea." Corrin whispered. "I can see it in your eyes. Something's changed. I'm not completely stupid when it comes to magic, you know." 

"Oh, Corrin. You don't even know the half of it." Sheik laughed softly and stepped away from him. "I've found a way to get my revenge against the fools in the court. I can finally control what they do to me and my people. With the new magic I've learned, I can control it all. And you're going to help me do it."

"I don't understand?" Corrin frowned and took a step forward, closing the gap that Sheik had originally opened between them. His mistake. The spell worked best if the victim was close to the caster when they initially started it. But it would be a hell of a lot more painful. "I'm not a mage. I can't possibly help you."

"Don't worry about that. It's not your magical ability I want." Sheik whispered, leaning in so that he was nearly kissing him. "It's your dragon's blood." 

Watching the realization dawn in Corrin's eyes was almost more satisfying than anything else Sheik could think of in relation to his boyfriend. And he could certainly think of plenty of satisfying things. 

"Sheik... what are you planning?"

"I think you already know that answer." Sheik murmured, tracing his hand along Corrin's jaw. 

Corrin closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, almost like a cat. "Whatever it is, it can't be too late to stop. Please. Don't do this to yourself." 

"I've never been better." Sheik laughed, a touch of madness coloring his voice. "I can bring the court to their knees with your power and my magic. And I will, regardless of whether or not you agree." 

"What happened to you?" Corrin whispered, pain evident in his red eyes. He placed his hand over the one on his jaw and smiled sadly. "What happened to the kind man I fell in love with?"

"He never existed." Sheik sneered, though his voice faltered as he spoke. "It was a lie to get close to Zelda. All of it was a lie." 

"Were we a lie?" 

For a long moment, Sheik was silent. On one hand, he truly did love Corrin. But on the other, he had a goal. And falling in love had never been part of that goal. 

Yet he'd gone and done it anyway. 

"No." 

"Is there truly no way I could convince you to stop this?" 

"You already know the answer to that." Sheik responded. 

Corrin sighed. "I can't agree to this. I won't hurt someone with this power that I have. And I won't sit by and watch you abuse your newfound power. If you do this, I will have to try my hardest to stop you." 

"So be it." Sheik sighed and held out his free hand. As if it had been grabbed by a ghost, the tome flew into his hand. 

"After you turn me into a monster, remember that I loved you." Corrin whispered, turning his head ever so slightly and kissing Sheik's hand.

An unexpected lump formed in his throat, making it really damn hard to speak. Sheik had to take a moment to recover a clearer state of mind, hating how easily Corrin could do this to him. "You're making it really difficult to do this."

"Then don't. Surely there's another way to prove those idiots in the court wrong? There must be a more peaceful way to go about this." 

"You have no idea what you're talking about." Sheik snarled. All of his previous regret vanished, and he cast his gaze down to the pages of the tome in his hand. Then he began chanting the words written there, his gaze locked on Corrin's whenever he wasn't looking back down at the spell to make sure he didn't mess it up. 

"Sheik, I-" Corrin never got to finish his sentence. He cut himself off with a horrible scream of agony as the spell began to take effect, forcing him under Sheik's control and burying his individual thought processes. 

He was being turned into a puppet, complete with sinisterly glowing purple strings tying themselves around his fingers, forearms, and neck. Agonized, he tore off the blue tunic he wore and fell to his knees. Corrin clawed at the magical strings on his neck, his screams slowly turning to pained sobs. 

"Don't fight it." Sheik whispered, a cruel smirk twisting his lips. "It only hurts more if you struggle." 

"Make... it... stop. I'll do... anything. Please." Corrin choked out. 

Sheik examined the strings tied around his own fingers for a moment, then looked back at the struggling prince. With a quick movement, he tugged the strings tight, forcing Corrin to sit upright. Another movement of his fingers and Corrin's hands were behind his back. He wouldn't meet Sheik's eyes, so he knelt, placed a hand under his chin and tilted his head up. 

"I told you. Stop fighting it." 

There was blood around where the magical strings cut into his skin, showing how hard he was fighting the spell. At the sight, Sheik shook his head in disapproval. He could certainly perform a healing spell to ease Corrin's pain, but he had to learn. Pain was an effective teacher. 

And, well, he'd be lying if he said that he didn't like seeing Corrin like this. 

"Please." Corrin was actually begging now. "It hurts." 

"Just let it the magic take control. The longer you resist, the more it'll hurt." Sheik traced his hand down from Corrin's jaw to where the glowing strings rested around his neck. "You're doing this to yourself." 

Corrin whimpered at the touch and closed his eyes. His muscles visibly tensed up, causing more blood to trickle from the cuts. Sheik set the tome aside and ran his other hand down Corrin's left arm, smiling reassuringly as he saw him relax ever so slightly. 

"Good. You're doing good. Just relax." Sheik murmured. 

Bit by bit, Corrin began falling under the spell's influence. Once he was completely under, as evidenced by the glazed look in his eyes, Sheik cast a quick healing spell. While he might like seeing him like this, the prince had clearly learned his lesson. 

"Are you ready to listen to me?" Sheik asked. 

Corrin nodded mechanically and whispered "Yes, master."

Sheik's smile turned nearly feral. With a snap of his fingers, the strings disappeared. As if he was in a dream, Corrin looked down at his arms and opened his mouth like he was going to ask a question. Of course, Sheik knew what he was going to ask, so he stopped Corrin's question in its tracks by jerking his hands upward. The silver haired prince winced as his own hands were dragged upwards by an unseen force. The strings were still there, just invisible now. 

"It's time to exact my revenge. Let's bring the court to their knees and make them watch as I cut their bitch-queen's throat."