Ghosts of the Pasts

by tir-synni

 

Customary warning: Yes, I know Sheik's a girl in the game Ocarina of Time, but for the sake of the fic, I'm making Sheik a guy.  This is a yaoi story, so it does have male/male romance, one of these guys being Sheik.  Please, if you have objections to Sheik being a guy, don't read this and don't complain to me.  Thank you.

 

Chapter I: Behind Blue Eyes

 

No one knows what it's like

To be the sad man

To be the bad man

Behind blue eyes

 

      The soft strains of Epona's Song rang clearly from the shore of Lake Hylia.  An occasional neigh and the low splashing of the water accompanied the gentle melody, but otherwise the lake remained silent.  Standing at the entrance of the lake, a figure cocked his head to one side, listening to the quiet tune.  Normally cheerful, it rang sadly in his ears, almost thoughtful, and the young man frowned worriedly.  Skipping lightly forward, he hurried to the side of the lounging musician.

      Every note from the ocarina sped the young warrior's steps up even more.  Epona's Song was slowly drifting into something darker, into something he didn't recognize.  Cold and penetrating, it pierced his heart.  Fear chilling his soul, he forced his long legs into a sprint.  Never before had this trip seemed so long before.  It was like he was running through a swamp.

      Epona neighed and reared as he flew past her, her flailing hooves not even reaching his chest.  Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at her, startled to see a pony's pained eyes staring back at him.  Her playful squeals had risen into horrified screams.

      One step, two step...almost there.  A single gloved hand reached out, desperately searching.  Any resemblance to Epona's Song was gone, and in its place, an icy song wailed mournfully.  At his soft touch on the musician's shoulder, the melody stopped.  The being turned, ocarina still in his fingers, and he was greeted with blank white eyes.

~~~~~~~~

      "Link!" Sheik gasped, shooting up.  A startled squawk beside him, followed by a thump, made Sheik blink.  Before his eyes, the pale shore of Lake Hylia vanished, replaced by the comfortingly familiar wall of his bedroom.  Confused, Sheik blinked.  What...?

      "That better had been one hell of a nightmare," a dry voice commented beside him.  "Tell me about it.  Maybe that'll explain why I'm on the floor."

      Sheik blinked again and turned around.  His lover's disgruntled blue eyes, shining in the moonlight, met him for the floor.  "What are you doing lying down there?  Did you fall off?"

      Link raised a sleek eyebrow and hauled his slender body back up on the bed.  Taking advantage of the opportunity, Sheik eyed Link's naked form before the elf snuck back under the covers.

      "You had a nightmare," Link informed Sheik dryly, snuggling against the Sheikah.  "You sat up, screamed my name, and smacked me off the bed.  I'm guessing it was a bad nightmare."

      Sheik smiled wryly at his lover and pulled him close.  Despite Link's tone, he could see the concern in his lover's eyes.  Sheik couldn't blame him.  Only two weeks before Link had limped back to their little cottage hidden in Kakariko Village, returning from fighting Ganon once again.  With the power of the Master Sword, Link had again banished Ganon to the Sacred Realm, Ganon's vows of vengeance ringing in his ears.  Awakening in the middle of the night to his prophet boyfriend's nightmares probably wasn't something Link enjoyed.

      "I guess it was," Sheik shrugged, running a hand comfortingly up Link's side.  With his nimble fingers, he could feel a bandage from where Ganon's axe had gotten, in Link's words, "a little too close."  "I can't remember what it was about though."

      Link's delicate smile wavered into a frown, then returned full-force.  "Any details?" he inquired casually.  He moved with Sheik's hand, rubbing against the shadow elf like a cat.  Sheik smiled inwardly at the comparison. 

      A sleek, golden feline, Sheik thought, with claws to match.

      "None," Sheik admitted.  "Not a thing."  He frowned.  "Didn't you say I yelled your name?"

      Like the two other children of destiny living in Hyrule, Sheik was gifted with prophesies in his dreams.  While Zelda's were raw symbolism and Link's a fairly accurate show of events, Sheik's were often mixtures of the two.  The thought that the nightmare had involved Link, and had ended with him screaming his lover's name....

      "Hey, don't worry about it," Link soothed him, reading his thoughts.  Now Link's hand, callused from years of swordplay and archery, was sliding along his skin, comforted him.  "It probably had something to do with Ganon's last return.  If it was a prophesy, I would have had a dream, too, right?"

      Sheik nodded slowly.  It never failed.  The prophesies always occurred in threes.  Three goddesses, three children of destiny, three prophesies.

      "I remember no dreams from tonight," Link reassured him.  "No dreams.  And if your nightmare was so bad that you awoke yelling, then surely there would have been a response to mine, too."

      Again, Sheik nodded slowly.  True._

      Link smiled at him, kissing him gently on the lips.  "See, it was nothing.  Now go back to sleep.  Zel's expecting us early at the castle tomorrow."

      Still faintly troubled, Sheik pulled the young Hero into his arms and kissed him hard.  Even as Link complied, losing himself in the shadow elf's embrace, Sheik could distantly hear a soft, chilling melody playing in the background.  Then all he was aware of was Link's heated body pressed against his own.

~~~~

"Did Zelda tell you why she wanted us?" Sheik called, kicking his horse Aslan into a fast trot.  The black stallion's long legs ate up the rolling hills of Hyrule Field.

      "She never said," Link tossed over his shoulder.  Epona neighed and sped up slightly.  Always, Epona viewed Aslanís presence as a challenge to race.  With a light yank of his wrist, the elf slowed the fiery mare's steps.  "She's probably concerned about Ganon.  Or maybe she just wants our company.  Ganon's attack on her probably shook her up."

      Sheik shuddered and hurried Aslan to Epona's side.  The two horses neighed at each other.  "She wasn't the only one," he murmured.  "She looked as if she was sleeping, but she wouldn't wake up.  If you had not been able to break the spell...."

      Link didn't answer.  In the distance, Hyrule Castle grew, growing higher and thicker with every leap of their horses.  Strong, seemingly impenetrable, Ganon had broken in with ease after escaping the Sacred Realm.  The countless guards around the castle had been helpless against his cunning.  Against his will, Link frowned.  A mighty shell, conquered by a sly will.  That rang ominously like prophesy in Link's soul.

      Simply thinking of Sheik's dream from last night, Link scolded himself, nonetheless unable to divert his eyes from the ivory castle.  If it was a prophesy, I would have dreamed it.

      A flash of white eyes haunted Link, and the youth closed his eyes tightly.  Go away! Link snarled viciously, and it slowly faded, only its sly laughter remaining.  Link opened his eyes to meet Sheik's concerned gaze.

      "Just thinking," he reassured his lover quickly.  "Zel's waiting for us."

      As Link kicked Epona into a gallop, he found himself wondering.

      Behind my blue eyes, would white always be waiting?