The New Chronicles of Hyrule: Shadows Joined

Elenna woke late into the afternoon that day, and turned onto her back, for some reason expecting to see Sheik staring down at her. The fact that he wasn't there surprised her, then annoyed her; why should he be there anyway? He wasn't her damned keeper, and had he been watching her sleep, she would've brought down her mighty wrath upon his bandaged head.

Still, she was curious when she stepped out of the Temple, expecting to see Sheik sitting somewhere waiting impatiently for her or something, and didn't see a trace of him. She even passed through the Graveyard to the shack he apparently claimed as his own, and knocked on the door. When there was no answer, she popped her head in and looked around. He wasn't there.

More annoyed than worried, she decided he could find her when he decided to buckle down and get to training her. For the time being, she was going to go swimming. The ride from Kakariko Village to Lake Hylia gave her a chance to ponder a few things, like why he seemed so reluctant to talk about her mother. As a person, Elenna hadn't known much about her mother, besides who she was and what she did. This fact bothered her to no end, but there wasn't much she could do about it. No one was quite willing to talk about Impa, even those who she considered closest to her; Kaepora, Zelda, Link, and Nabooru.

Melantha's abrupt halt alerted her to the fact that they'd reached the Lake, and the pristine water beckoned to her. Allowing the horse to graze at her will, Elenna made her way to that small island via the rope bridges, and after looking around to make sure no one else was there, she stepped behind the tree. Her clothes were removed and dropped to the ground, before she leapt into the water with a laugh. It was a bit chilly, and once she returned to the surface, gasping for air, she shivered. A sound from the island had her turning to look, instinctively crossing her arms over her chest. Only the tree met her eyes, though she was suspicious, and swam a bit further from the little pillar of land, completely oblivious to the crimson eyes that watched her from above.

--

Days passed, until finally a whole week had come and gone, with no sign of Sheik. Elenna's irritation reached the boiling point, and she was ready for a confrontation when she awoke on one particularly sunny morning. It promised to be a cheerful day, which just made her all the more angry. On her way into the Temple, desirous of kicking some monster ass, she was halted by the voice of the person she most wanted to yell at speaking from the shadows behind her.

"Where do you think you are going? We begin your training today."

"Oh, so after a week of keeping me on edge, no word whatsoever, suddenly you decide it's time to start my training?" Elenna whirled to face Sheik, her voice dripping with sarcasm. It matched the icy smile on her lips, though her eyes might as well have had flames in them. She was one mad girl. "Well you know what? I don't think so. You kept me waiting, so now I'm going to keep you waiting."

Though the expression went unseen, Sheik's eyebrows shot skyward as she turned away from him and stormed deeper into the recesses of the Temple. She was a spitfire, that was for sure, but her temper had to be controlled or she would never survive any true dangers that could rise up in the land. Silent as death, he slipped after her, moving with unnatural speed. Before she'd even gotten six feet, he came up behind her and grabbed her hair tightly at the base of its long braid.

Elenna stopped in her tracks, eyes wide, and screamed. As he began to drag her backwards, she clawed at his painful grip, yelling obscenities all the while. Had he not been trying to teach her a lesson, Sheik would've chuckled at the language. Who would've thought someone so beautiful could have such a foul mouth?

He turned and tossed her to the floor as they reached the antechamber, crouching down and leaning forward till his face was barely an inch from hers. His intention was to intimidate her, to try and instill a few important facts in her, but all he found himself thinking at that moment was how easy it would have been to kiss her, and how much he wanted to. But he would not, no matter how tempting; she was his pupil. "Lesson number one: Do not turn your back on an enemy if they could conceivably still attack."

"You're supposed to be helping me, not hurting me, you jerk." Elenna rubbed lightly at her tender scalp, then glared at Sheik. One balled-up fist flew towards his face, but was stopped mid-swing as a strong hand clamped around her wrist, squeezing slightly. She gasped, and tried not to wince; she could almost feel the bones shifting beneath his powerful grip.

"I am helping you, Elenna. I do not like to think all our lessons will have to be this way, but if you do not control your temper and be at least somewhat respectful, I am afraid that is how it will be." Seeing that she was fighting not to show how much pain he was causing her, he released her wrist and stood. That hand was then offered to help her up, his tone softened for her benefit. "I am sorry I hurt you. Shall we try to work this out?"

Elenna looked at his hand, then up to his mostly hidden face, her expression wary and skeptical as she rubbed gently at her throbbing wrist. She knew that she needed Sheik's help, and she couldn't afford to drive him away, but did he really have to be so damn frustrating? Sighing reluctantly, she placed her hand in his, but nearly let go again as that same jolt from before skittered across her nerve endings. He pulled her to her feet and hastily relinquished his grasp on her, moving towards the Temple's exit.

"Come. There is much daylight to be had, and we will work until it is gone."

--

Before they could truly begin, Sheik needed to know what Elenna could do. So he sat on a gravestone and told her to show him what she could do so far. Her impressive display of skill with weapons had him nodding in approval, though mentally he admitted there was more that could be done. Her magical abilities were what truly had him concerned, and he asked her to demonstrate those next.

The wolf-like magical attack completely decimated the Poe that had decided to investigate all the ruckus, and Elenna turned to look at Sheik with a beaming, if slightly tired, grin. It faded swiftly as she saw him shaking his head, turning to a frown as she placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head. "What? It's all I can do."

"It would appear I more than have my work cut out for me." Her angry growl made him arch a brow, giving her a slightly reprimanding look. Which she, of course, totally ignored. "You use far too much energy on such a simple attack. There is a great well of power inside you, but you have yet to fully tap into it. If you keep doing things the way you have been, you will kill yourself trying to draw on your strength without knowing how to do it properly."

She groaned in dismay, flopping to the ground and hanging her head in defeat. Her appearance tugged at his heart, and he wasn't able to stop himself as he moved closer and knelt before her, lifting a hand and gently grasping her chin in his fingertips, tilting her face up so he could see her eyes. He couldn't ignore the jolt that shot through him, but he tried; boosting Elenna's confidence was key at the moment. If she had no confidence, she would never be able to attain even a percentage of what she was capable of. "Do not despair. I am here to help you with these things. You will be a formidable foe to evil by the time I am done with you."

Elenna bit down on her lower lip, wondering if he could hear how fast her heart was beating. It pounded in her ears, how could he not hear it? Nodding at his words, she brought a hand up, touching her fingertips to the hair that hid the left side of his face. What did he look like under all these coverings, she wondered? Was he deformed? Unattractive? Or was it simply for a mysterious effect? "Why do you hide your face?"

Sheik jerked away from her touch, rising to his feet. No one had come that close to touching his face in centuries, and the last person to see his face uncovered had been Impa, when she was but a young girl, even younger than Elenna was now. Thinking of his current charge's mother hardened his resolve, and his voice became cold as he spoke. "You will meditate all day, every day. I want you to focus on an image; a closed flower, glowing with light, which holds your power. I want you to picture it opening, and the power flowing into you. Until you are able to do this effortlessly, we will do nothing more."

Bewildered at his terse instructions, she watched in silence as he turned and walked into the few shadows cast by the morning sun, fading into their depths. He was gone. Elenna felt like crying, though she wasn't sure why. And that bothered her. She hadn't cried since her mother's death, why would she cry over the harsh words of a man who meant nothing to her? Suddenly the daylight seemed far too bright, and she fled from it, seeking out the safety of her room and its familiar trappings.

--

A little under two weeks was spent 'meditating' as Sheik had called it. Elenna thought the man had lost his mind. Every day, she sat in her cold stone room, trying to block out all exterior sensations, and focus inward. Concentrating on that damned flower. On the twelfth day, Elenna was more than ready to give up; she felt no different, besides being able to concentrate more fully on even the most mundane of things, and she was convinced this exercise was nothing more than a tactic to annoy her. Frustrated and tired, she kicked a pillow across the room, wishing it was Sheik.

"You will get nowhere by taking your anger out on inanimate objects."

Elenna jumped and whirled to face the intruder. As she did, she instinctively threw her right hand forward, as though to hurl the dagger she usually kept strapped to her wrist, which wasn't there. Instead, she felt something well up within her, and from her palm shot a thin strand of glowing purplish energy, which wrapped with lightning speed around Sheik's neck.

She wasn't sure who was more surprised by this; the fact that Sheik was actually showing his shock was probably the deciding factor. Until Elenna realized something odd. She could see his face. The bandages were gone from the crown of his head, revealing the entirety of his shoulder-length, shaggy blond hair, and the material that was usually bunched around the lower half of his face was missing too. Only the bangs falling across his left eye remained to hide his features.

"..Impressive. Now, if you would kindly remove this, we can get on with your training." It took him a few moments, but Sheik finally schooled his face back into its usual impassive expression, gesturing at the whip-like energy strand. His heart was still beating wildly in his chest, and he fought the urge to claw at the tightness around his throat, knowing it would do no good. He hadn't expected Elenna to do this, let alone so soon; it had taken her mother months to even be able to produce a flicker of such Shadow energy.

"I.. I don't know how. But I'll try." Hesitantly, she flicked her wrist, and was relieved to see the whip dislodge itself from around his neck and fade away. She sighed, pushing her hair back from her face with shaking hands. Aware of the fact that she was being stared at, she looked up at him, and blurted out the first thing that popped in her head. "You're not hiding your face."

"Observant." Sheik rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he stared down at Elenna. She frowned, and stepped closer, reaching up to move the hair from across his left eye.

"Why are you still hiding?" Before Sheik could react, she'd moved those bangs aside, and was gazing at the upper-left portion of his face. The eye was the same crimson as its twin, save for a line of gold ringing the pupil. What was around his eye was what really caught her attention; a tattoo of the Eye of the Sheikah in thin lines of black ink, that seemed to gleam like dark water. Mesmerized, her fingertips moved to touch it.. only for her wrist to be caught in a mercilessly tight grip, that made her gasp in pain.

"..Never.. touch my face.. again." The words were snarled in the shocked Elenna's face as Sheik released her wrist and stepped back, shifting his bangs to cover the marking. It even covered his eyelid, she saw in the brief moment it lowered, before those dark blond locks were over that portion of his face again. She lowered her eyes to the floor as his gaze turned back to her, the remaining visible eye glittering angrily. She really hadn't meant to make him mad.. but unfortunately her curiosity seemed to have that effect on more serious people.. like Sheik, apparently.

"Sorry..." Sheik sighed and shook his head, sitting down on the cold stone floor and placing his hands on his knees.

"Your apologies are unnecessary. I know you will not do it again. Sit.. we will train now."

--

Elenna collapsed in bed late that night, exhausted beyond measure. Sheik had pushed her so hard she nearly cried with him sitting right there in front of her. It felt as though her mind had been stretched like a piece of warm taffy, and her body didn't feel much better. But at least it seemed she was finally able to tap into that well of strength Sheik had mentioned. Rolling tiredly onto her side, she watched with pleasure as the numerous candles in the cold stone room sprung to life with simply her wish to do so. It didn't tire her out at all!

"You are supposed to be resting, young Sage."

Eyes of dark violet whipped towards the few remaining shadows, from which that voice seemed to issue. Her suspicions were confirmed as Sheik, once again with the wrappings around his head and the material pulled around the lower half of his face, stepped forward from the darkness lurking in her doorway. His arms were folded across his chest, and the one visible eyebrow was arched; he seemed to be chastising her, albeit a bit playfully. Which was rather new. She scowled at him, sticking her tongue out before she snuggled deep into the coverings on her bed.

"I know. And I'm certainly tired enough to sleep. I just feel.."

"Restless?" Elenna nodded, and Sheik walked over to the mound of furs and pillows, sitting down next to it. "You are excited by your increasing ability to use these powers of yours. Yet you are anxious that you will not be what you think everyone expects you to become."

"..Stop reading my mind. That's not very nice, you know." His laughter made her shiver, it was such a deep, pleasant sound.

"That is what we need to focus on next. Your ability to read minds. ..As well as blocking the attempts of others to read your mind." Sheik jumped as her sharp eyes opened wide and looked at him with a piercing clarity. Caught off guard, he didn't slam up his mental walls until she had already been prodding at his mind for several moments. He glared at her, irritated by the smirk she wore.

"You're not telling me something. I want to know what you meant.. when you were thinking about helping me See."

Sheik stood, his glare intensifying. Elenna fought not to quail beneath that fearsome look, instead sitting upright and glaring back up at him. It was a battle of wills, one which she did not intend to lose. What she didn't expect was for Sheik to simply walk away from her, uttering a terse order as he went.

"Sleep. We have much to do in the morning."

Once he was out of her sight, Elenna growled and hurled a pillow after him, still glaring at where his back had been. What an infuriating man!