The Legend Of Zelda Fan Fiction ❯ The Desert's Rose ❯ Areo ( Chapter 9 )

The Desert's Rose

 

Warnings: Slash, violence, angst, cute little kids

Disclaimer: Zelda, Sheik, and the word Sheikah aren't mine. The ideas, plot, and Sheikah culture ARE.

 

Thanks to JohnneyAntonelli for beta-ing!

 

Chapter 9
Areo

 

Tallic screamed, but Bridae recovered quickly enough to create a magical boundary against ranged weapons at the door way. There David placed himself, sword in hand as guards rushed towards him.

Sheik was motionless where he'd crumpled. Tallic raced to his side and almost screamed again. The spear. The spear was... Her sight blurred over with tears. Oh Goddesses, he wasn't breathing... And there was blood, already so much blood. Tallic wrapped her small hands around the staff of the spear and jerked it from Sheik's body with a sickening, sucking sound. It clattered to the stone floor where she dropped it while she leaned over Sheik's body. Goddesses, now he was bleeding worse! Red pooling under him, had the blade gone all the way through? Hot, angry tears raced down her cheeks. Sheik was so strong, and good, and why? Why had he gone down so easily? Why wasn't he moving? Why wasn't he breathing!?

Sheik was dead. Like her mother. Like her father. Like everyone she ever cared about. Tallic sobbed a quiet denial, but she knew. She knew Sheik wasn't coming back from this one...

At once, Tallic felt a sudden heat in her chest. It was so much hotter than the blood on her hands, than the tears on her face, than the rage in her soul. She thought she might burn up completely as her head fell back and she uttered a high pitched howl.

Bridae whipped her head again, fearing the child had been attacked, but instead saw, to her horror, magic swirling about Tallic. It violently enveloped the girl, ripping at her hair and clothing in a tightening spiral, before it drove suddenly into her body. Bridae cried out with horror but just stared when Tallic wasn't ripped to bits. The magics centralized in Tallic's chest, condensing and becoming a solid ball of pure power. The girl jerked and screamed again as that power then emerged from her chest in the form of a perfect, violet stone.

Akasha...

Bridae didn't have time to marvel. A shout from David brought her back to the battle and left Tallic to fend for herself with the Stone's power.

In a trance, the child took the stone in one hand and pressed the other over Sheik's gaping wound. She didn't think, letting the Stone lead her as it drew power from the ethereal river, from her, from Sheik's waning life force. She saw his soul beginning to fade and ruthlessly tethered it back to his dying body. Sheik would not die. He would not...

The wound closed slowly under her fingers as the Stone pulsed unimaginable power through her, both burning her magical pathways and restoring them in a painful, pleasurable cycle. And then Sheik jerked as the Stone sent a pulse directly into his restored heart. Another, and then another, and finally, Sheik sucked in a gasped breath. The Stone continued its work, healing all his hurts, all the death damages, sealing his soul into the newly restored body.

Sheik opened his eyes. He was pale from blood loss but the Stone was taking care of that. The red staining the floor soaked back into his body slowly.

“Tallic,” he rasped, staring at her. Those familiar red eyes were glowing with power that pulsed in time with the Stone in her hand. She wasn't aware, not truly, and Sheik found himself unable to move as she worked. His body jerked when his connection to the ethereal river was restored, for only a living soul could work the river itself and direct its power.

Tallic pulled her hand away. She wavered, the glow fading from her eyes, and then began to fall. Sheik managed to catch her and lowered the exhausted girl down to the floor gently. He took the Stone from her hand and smiled softly.

“Good job,” he whispered as he leaned to kiss her forehead. Then he got up, found his swords, and stuffed the Stone into his pocket.

“Bridae! Get Tallic and keep her safe!”

Both David and Bridae stared at him, surprised to see him alive, but with another wave of enemies approaching, there was no time to flounder. Bridae grabbed Tallic, dragging the unconscious child onto her back and Sheik gave war cry as he crashed into the center of the frey, driving the guards back with swords and a wave of pure magic. David raced behind and the two of them cut a path through the huge room beyond the doorway. The leader of Orn sat on a crude throne at the other side, yelling for his guards to fight harder. The Areo Stone pulsed on a staff in his hand, answering the Stone resting in Sheik's pocket.

The two warriors fought, ignoring taunts and curses, not even bothering to reduce loss of life. There wasn't time. Sheik found himself too busy dodging Bridae's magic bolts and the guards' strikes to pay attention to the leader, but that changed when a tornado formed in the center of the room.

Bodies went flying, men screaming as the winds tore their limbs from their bodies. Sheik, David, and Bridae held back, watching the carnage. Above the roar of wind and the screams, they heard a cold laughter.

“Killing his own men!?” David growled out, gritting his teeth. There was true, fiery hate in his eyes. “That man cannot be allowed to live!”

“Wait,” Sheik ordered as he drew out the Terra Stone. It resonated with his heart beat and he could see the thin strains of magic that connected it with Areo and Akasha. The Terra Stone he pressed into Bridae's hands. “Use it, protect us as much as you can. Protect yourself first.”

Bridae nodded grimly for she understood what he'd not said: Protect Tallic first. They had all lived enough years to die in relative peace. She had far too many to go.

The ground rumbled as Bridae harnessed Terra's power. Earthen spikes jutted up through the hard floor, cracking it easily under the force of power. More screams rose as the tornado coursed through the running men. Sheik and David shot off to both sides, rounding towards the platform. There was a pull at the ethereal river and sudden fire rose around David as he let out a war cry and cleaved the men in his way. Sheik worked the same and soon neared the platform when the tornado suddenly changed course. He watched with horror as it ran right for his new companion. David whipped his head around but couldn't even cry out before the winds jerked him off the ground. No time, Sheik had to move! He dispatched the last man and raced up the platform.

"NO! No, it's not time yet! I haven't mastered it yet!" the leader snarled as he turned on Sheik. Dimly, he realized the tornado had suddenly abated, but wind shot at him instead. He felt his ribs crack under the sudden bash against his chest that sent him flying. The Akasha stone pulsed in his pocket as he flew through the air and he grabbed it just before he hit the ground. Power pulsed through him, painful and yet painless, too powerful to imagine handling for long. The pain through his chest lightened and then disappeared quickly as he got up. Sheik lifted his head and then stared as a blade ripped through the leader's chest. David stood behind him, his gaze serious and dark as blood dripped down his face. The leader jerked, uttering a last, gasped breath as David ripped the sword from him and the staff as well. Falling to his knees, the leader stared ahead blearily before David removed his head from his shoulders in a cold execution.

The remaining men scattered as Bridae moved towards the platform. Sheik rose to his feet, fighting to bite down the nausea of such a clean, needless kill. Once they had the stone, that man hadn't needed to die. He was powerless without it and his own people would have taken care of him. Slipping the Akasha stone back into his pocket, Sheik stepped up onto the platform and held out his hand.

"The Stone."

David looked at him, fire still in his eyes. In that moment, he looked like a completely different person. He said nothing, holding the Areo stone tightly in one bloodied hand as if it had some greater meaning none of them could grasp. Finally, he closed his eyes and let out a breath before he handed over the Stone. Sheik slipped it into his pocket with the other. Bridae handed him the Terra stone as well.

"We should get somewhere and rest. The child will be out for another day. Her body is fully drained from channeling the Stone's power," she murmured and there was a tension in her voice. Sheik nodded and Bridae cleaned blood from his sword before he sheathed it. They left the compound in silence, fighting a few stragglers who still had the will to fight, and then found their way back to the Inn. Bridae cleaned Tallic and laid her down on one of the beds as the men took care of themselves. Sheik channeled the Akasha stone and healed David's wounds, for which he received a quiet thank you, but little more. David seemed distracted, caught in his own thoughts, so Sheik left him to them. He settled into his own bed and took out the three Stones, watching as they resonated and pulsed. One more and then they would return to Boh and restore the Temples. And maybe then he could go home and be with his beloved, but he doubted it. Boh would not prosper just for her Temples. There was real work waiting, work he had no idea how to accomplish.

Reaching out, he brushed his fingers against the cold-hot surface of the Akasha stone and suddenly, everything went black. He sucked in a sudden breath, eyes wide as pressure suddenly enveloped him on all sides. He felt as if his chest might implode at any moment. He couldn't breathe, couldn't see, helpless..

"There is work to be done; Balance."

Dimly, he remembered the tripled sound of the Goddesses speaking but could do little than listen.

"When the Snake turns the Lion's hand. When the Blue Prince has lost his way. When the Dark Shadows are unleashed. When the Triforce chooses new masters. When Power overwhelms Wisdom and the Warrior finds Courage to fight. There is work to be done or the world will fall into Darkness."

He couldn't breathe. It burned in his chest as surely as their words burned into his mind. He wasn't finished, then. There was still need of him as the Balance and it chilled him to hear it. Ganondorf was gone, but it seemed Power might corrupt another poor soul anyway. He felt his mind starting to fade and their voices were fainter.

"When the Queen fails. When the Warrior disappears. When the King falls into Darkness. When the Mighty Empire is overthrown. You will be needed and you will be sacrificed for the Light."

The last words faded into nothing and suddenly, he was jolted into firelight as Bridae shook him hard.

"Sheik, breathe!"

He blinked, staring at her, and sucked in a sudden breath that rattled and hurt. He coughed and shook as Bridae held him to her chest. The voices still rumbled through him, powerful and otherworldly, as she held him. He could not speak of it, for when he tried to explain the words stuck in his throat. The Goddesses had given the knowledge and warning to him and him alone. It would be his duty to hold it and use it well. It chilled him to the bone. Had he truly just heard his own end..? How long did he have? Unbidden, images of his far off lover filled his mind and he shuddered with anguish. How long did he have to savor Link's touch? His love? How long...?

Sheik laid down to rest at Bridae's insistence but his sleep was restless and uneasy. She sat between both his and Tallic's bedsides, watching them as the hours passed. Eventually, she found herself nodding off but jerked awake, when the door opened.

David slipped through, but not unnoticed, for the glow of power from the Stones followed him. Frowning darkly, Bridae rose and followed him. He secreted along the streets of Orn in the darkness, careful to keep out of the moon's light. There was hurry in his steps, a great desperate hurry. Bridae knew not why, but he could not be let free with the Stones in his possession. She followed him until he left the city behind, then gripped her staff and commanded the sand to rise in a sudden wall around them. David stopped and his shoulders slumped as he turned his head and looked at her. There was a determination and sadness in them that threatened to overwhelm her, but she had a duty to her traveling mates.

"You can't stop me. Not with three Stones in my hands," David warned but Bridae knew he didn't wish her harm. She sighed softly, holding her staff as she gazed at the young man.

"When I first saw you," she started, "I wondered what a Bjorn was doing so far from home, but I thought perhaps I would give the refugee in front of me a chance."

He stiffened, lips pursed tight in the knowledge that she knew what he was. No one else had even guessed. Her dark eyes bore into him, steady and determined.

"Do you tell me now that trust was misplaced?"

"You don't understand. There isn't any more time and all other methods have failed!" David murmured quickly, hands tightening over the cloth bundle he'd wrapped the Stones in. "This is her only chance. I won't lose her!"

"A woman?" Bridae smiled faintly. "Yes, you would be the kind to face dangers and betray for the sake of a woman... But this one you hold so dearly is she really worth more than an entire species on the brink of extinction? Would she truly wish to be saved at such a high price?"

David swallowed and Bridae hated having caused the pain that flashed through his yellow eyes, but she knew if she couldn't convince him, she might have to take this dedicated man's life. He was precious in a way she didn't know but could feel deep in her bones.

"She...I...She cannot be allowed to die," David muttered, lost. His gaze slowly dropped to the bundle that felt so warm in his hands.

"Is it that she has a great purpose to fulfill, " Bridae asked gently, "or is it that you cannot bear to let her go?"

He closed his eyes as his brows knit with pain and indecision. Bridae slowly strode near him until she could rest a scaled hand upon his arm.

"You are an honorable man," she gently murmured and his eyes opened to meet her own once more. "I can feel it strongly, the honor that has bound you so. The sense of duty, of love. But you know this is not right. It isn't just. You can't sentence a whole group of people to die. And make no mistake of it, the Sheikah are dying. Their people are hungry and ill. There is a killing poverty rivaled only by the deadly storms that the Temples no longer protect them from. Perhaps a generation ago, they survived the odds, but there was not prospering and now there is no more time for them. No time to find another solution, another saving grace. They are too proud to leave their home, too proud to go to the Hylians of the East, who could not help them even if they weren't."

He sucked in a quick, harsh breath and turned his head away. His arm trembled faintly under her fingers, but she waited, trusted. And finally, her trust was rewarded as he thrust the bundle into her arms.

"Take it," he whispered with a ragged edge to his faint voice. "Take it before I betray you, but know this. There will come a day when you will return this kindness. You will forfeit something precious as I do this day. My mother's life is on your soul."

"I understand." Bridae took the bundle and felt pain when he immediately turned from him. So much hardship and grief and the winds told her there would be more for this man and the rest of their world. David disappeared into the night and Bridae returned to watch her charges.

Morning rose, as did Sheik. He noted David's absence, but other than saying he was gone, Bridae revealed nothing more. Instead, the two of them set to studying the scrolls for an answer as to why a Stone had hidden itself in the body of a young girl. There was no precedent, but then, there was less information about that Stone than all four of the rest. An absolute mystery; Akasha, the Stone of Souls.

Tallic awoke after four days of peaceful rest. She was tired and burned through in a way that even the Stones could not fully heal. The magics that had been within her were weak and almost sickly. Sheik couldn't help wondering if this was the child's real power, unaugmented by Akasha's presence within her, but the thought disturbed him. Of course it wasn't. Tallic was strong, stronger than most children he'd ever felt. She would heal and return to that strength.

Orn was left behind once Tallic was well enough for travel and they had restocked their supplies. They headed South once more and towards the West. There was rumored to be a cursed lake along the mountains where travelers disappeared and were never seen again, but nowhere else was there enough water for the last Stone to appear. Aqua would be with its like, just as the others had been.

The journey was slower. They rested long and often. As time passed, Sheik felt the weight of numbered days upon him. He would honor the Goddesses, even if he knew one day his life would be forfeit. It could be years, or mere hours. He was powerless to know, except to watch for signs he didn't fully understand. How could he hope to comprehend the words of Goddesses that saw fit to use him to their unknowable devices?

Though Bridae and Tallic noticed his bleakness, they only thought the jarring experience of death had made him so. Sheik remembered little of it, truly. He remembered being struck and then darkness where gentle hands caressed his hair and soft lips kissed his cheek as melodic voices soothed his heart. And then he'd been alive again and back to fighting once more. He didn't regret the lost serenity of the darkness, not when there was so much he had to do, so much he loved to keep near. However, even this could not bring him solace, now. Had he only been saved so that he could die for them? His mind recoiled from that notion, but its vile seeds could not be purged.

Gradually, sands gave way to hard, dry lands without growth and even less life. This quickly turned into thick marsh that stank with a putrid potency. They waded through the sickeningly dead and rotting landscape, fighting the few frightful creatures that managed to survive there. As they traveled, Sheik felt out for a pulsing power he'd become very familiar with, that which resonated with the Stones he kept close to him. It was weak but not so far, strangely muted. He wasn't surprised, for the marshes seemed to dim all things. Still, they soldiered through with determination they fought to keep in the chill, stinking landscape.

Suddenly, there was a break in the close growing trees. Tallic saw sunlight before them and raced for it, but Bridae caught her by the waist and held her back. They had seen enough dangers that caution begged they be careful even of light. Who knew what might linger where, when the dim wetness had already thrown such beasts at them? Leaving the two women behind him, Sheik snuck silently through the twisted roots and tree trunks, then peered past into the light...

Beyond the wall of trees was a vast lake of water that shone through all shades of green and blue, so full as it was of vegetation and life. He felt his heart lighten. It was almost beautiful and certainly a welcomed sight after days of ripping through the horror of the marsh. Healthy green plants popped up all the way to the water's edge and water lily leaves floated undisturbed. Sheik slowly stepped out into the light and shivered at the warmth on his skin. There were no beasts that he could see, but he kept his ear to the wind.

Sheik was about to wave the other two forward when he heard a sudden song. It sounded like nothing he'd heard before, a melodic voice that had no gender, but the purest sound he'd ever heard. Perhaps even more pure and beautiful than that of the Goddesses themselves. He felt immediately drawn and stumbled dumbly towards the water's edge, only to stop when a form rose from the murky waters. Tanned skin glistened as water ran down the muscular form, blond hair sticking to neck and back looking so soft and perfect. Sheik's voice caught in his throat as the figure turned and familiar blue eyes shone from a smiling face. A familiar hand lifted and beckoned him near. Sheik could barely believe his eyes and his voice was suddenly with him as he whispered a single name.

“Link.”