Fan Fiction ❯ Wishful Hallucinations ❯ Chap. 2 ( Chapter 2 )

"What business have you inside the castle?" The guard glared down at Link. His shining armor and stony face made no impression on the forest boy. He'd dealt with asshole guards before. His stubbornness far out weighed any threat a guard could pose. But now was not the time to have a problem with authority.

"Please, sir, I need to speak with Impa of the Sheikahs." The guard's expression did not change and he continued to stare at him. Damn this isn't going to be easy. If the man was going to treat him as a child, he'd have to act as one. He threw on his best innocent look.

"Sir, I have a question for Miss Impa. If you could just fetch her, I will make it quick. I promise." He sighed but left his eyes gleaming.

The guard continued to stare, Links `innocence' never fading. After what seemed twenty minutes to Link, he spoke.

"Follow me." He instructed.

The guard led Link through the gate and across the field. Once inside the castle, the familiarity escaped link. He suddenly realized he had not once stepped into the castle when not inhabited by a curropted king.

The guard led him down long corridors and up twisted staircases. They stopped in front of large wooden double doors. The guard raised an armored hand and rapped on the door.

"Come in." A voice flooded with recognition shouted. The voice sent shivers of pain down Link's back. He fought the tears back with a cough.

The guard turned, "Stay." The order came as if he were addressing a dog. He turned once more and slid through the doors, not allowing Link a glimpse inside. The boy leaned his ear to the door, but heard nothing.

That was Zelda's room. It had been her voice, no doubt in his mind. From the time that he had returned to the present, he had associated the name `Zelda' with fury. She had taken his love, the one he felt joy with. But when he heard her voice, he longed to see her, if only to confirm...what?

The door cracked open and the guard emerged, closely followed by a woman with short purple hair. She wore gauntlets, uncommon for a woman. One look at her slit eyes could assure even the stubbornness of disbelievers of her origin.

The guard stepped aside, "Impa of the Shiekahs."

Link's breath stopped in his chest. He bowed low, shaking. It was hard not to be impressed with this race of people. Their eyes looked as if they could pierce into your soul.

Impa stared with arms crossed, looking down at the boy. A stern gaze never left her face. Link continued to bow.

Finally, the Shiekah broke the silence. "Follow me." She turned and Link began to follow. "Not you." The guard looked taken aback. Impa had turned back before either Link or the guard had stepped.

She continued, her strides so long that Link had to jog to keep up. They made their way further into the castle and came upon a smaller, but still impressive door.

She strode through, Link following closely on her heels. They entered a fairly large room. A basic plain bed sat in the corner. If Link hadn't just spent twenty minutes traipsing through the castle, he would have had doubts about the whereabouts of this room.

"Yes, it is plain, but this was my request and I have found it quite to my liking." Impa's rich voice came from a corner where she had sat in a rocking chair. The Shiekah motioned for Link to sit in a chair opposite of her own, and he cautiously obeyed.

"Yes I know of the boy you have seen. Although, he is not a full blood." Impa leaned back, arms folded across her chest, face expressionless.

"How did you know?"

"A prophecy came to me that you would return with a question of the boy."

Link leaned forward with interest. Return? Could she possibly remember? No. Only Link did.

"Do you…remember?"

"No Link, I do not, in my consciousness anyhow. But my nights have been haunted with brief flashes and I believe I have pieced together the legend of the Hero of Time.

"However, this is not the reason you have come to me. You believe there is another of my kind in existence, correct?"

Link nodded and proceeded to tell her of his encounter. When he was done, Impa nodded. A slight smile pulled at the corners of Impa's mouth.

"Yes, there is a half blood still around. Although, he rarely comes to me and I've only talked with him once. He is the child of a Hylian woman and my brother. He was cast out as a boy."

"Your brother?" Confusion was rising.

"Yes. My brother and I were the last full bloods. I refused to mate, while he wanted the Shiekah line to continue. I argued that there were no other Shiekahs to continue the tribe, but he insisted that half Shiekah is better than no."

"But, then, you're not the last." Link's leg was tingling, but he dared not move, lest Impa pause.

"Shiekah? Yes I am, full anyhow. My brother died the day after his mate was impregnated. A mysterious sickness overcame him suddenly, too fast to treat, or even detect. The healers had no idea."

"I'm sorry." Link could detect a shroud of pain in her voice, although her face remained stern. "This boy…he resembled.." Link wasn't sure if Impa knew the part Zelda played in the breaking of his soul.

"The character Zelda masqueraded as? Yes, she knew this boy. Almost all her life. She still does. In the future you were in, they were lovers."

Link's face expressed his surprise, he disgust. Damnit.. So the mutual attraction he thought "Shiek" had held. Zelda wasn't obsessed with him? Hadn't Shiek..? The identities of the two were more than disconcerting. But he never knew, never would.

"Ah. I see this disappoints you." A sly smile lit Impa's face.

"I..uh.." Blush crept into Link. Pointed ears first, working down to his cheeks.

"Yes a touchy subject. Link, there's nothing wrong with having feelings for another man. No need for embarrassment. It's not your fault, nor can you help how you feel." Impa fully smiled now. And Link returned it.

"Um, what is his name?" Link's blush brightend his face.

"Shokin. " She replied, the smile now held an understanding air.