My name is Sheik. That is what I tell myself as I look in the mirror
each day, that is what I tell those very few people who know me long enough
to ask my name, that is where I hide.
But I have another name, a secret name. A name that cannot be spoken,
nor whispered, nor even thought, lest the servants of the Evil King
penetrate my disguise.

My name is... Zelda.

It seems so long ago that I last went by that name. Even now, I can
still picture in my mind's eye our desperate flight from Hyrule Castle.
Ganondorf's men had taken over, killing all the guards still loyal to
the Royal Family and taking my father, the King, prisoner. My nurse Impa
and I were the only ones to get away, and even then it was a very near thing,
despite the fact that we had been planning it for weeks.
We galloped swiftly across the town, hotly pursued by Ganondorf on his
dread black horse, Mirthless. The last few guards loyal to us lowered the
drawbridge, and we shot into Hyrule Field like a speeding arrow.
Link's face as we passed him is still fresh in my mind. He was deathly
pale and wore an expression of extreme fear, like a boy who is living out
his worst nightmare. And that was the last time I saw him. Link, the poor,
naive forest boy, the astonishing young fighter, and the one I had appointed
with the task of collecting all three spiritual stones. I hope he survived
his encounter with Ganondorf and caught the Ocarina of Time that I threw to
him, but I cannot tell. There has been no news of him. He seems to have
vanished from the face of Hyrule.
Impa and I sheltered for some time amongst the Zoras, ancient friends
to the royal family. For us they kept an ear on the voices of the river, and
it was from them that we learnt the surprising news - Ganondorf was doing
nothing!
The Gerudo armies were still in their barracks near the desert. The
seals to the Dark Realm were unbroken. The land slumbered in peace and
prosperity.
The common people were even unaware that the King had been deposed, and
they now had a Gerudo for a ruler!
Under Impa's guidance, I began assembling a disguise. I invoked
powerful magic, changing my shape, my age, even the colour of my eyes. My voice
grew harsher, my movements became strange even to me, and I cast aside my
dresses and cloaked myself in a veil of rags. Only my mind remained truly
Zelda, whilst the rest of me altered beyond all recognition, and became Sheik.
It is a peculiar and deeply disturbing thing, having everything you
recognise as yourself stripped away from you, until the face you see in
the mirror is that of a completely different person. The first time I saw
myself, I screamed. Had I not had my nurse beside me, preparing me, I
should have gone mad. Now I am used to her, to Sheik, though she never feels
entirely comfortable. She always itches, somewhere in the back of my
mind.

Discretely, Impa moved back to Kakariko Village, introducing me to the
villagers as Sheik, her goddaughter and Sheikah in training. Oh, the
enemy knew she was there, but Ganondorf stayed his hand, hoping that someday
she would lead him to me, completely unaware that I was walking about right
under his nose. For three years after we left Hyrule Castle, the land
was at peace.

And then Ganondorf struck, and from the most unexpected of quarters. I
was talking with those poor souls in the House of Skulltulas when it
happened, trying to ease a little of the pain of their curse. Then I was suddenly
struck by the most terrible feeling, as if all that was pure and good
in Hyrule had suddenly gone sour and evil. And I knew with a sickening
certainty that Ganondorf, in his mad lust for power, had entered the
Sacred Realm and laid his foul hands upon the Triforce.
And then the Triforce split, and the Triforce of Wisdom, the part that
I knew best, entered me. All that was worthy in me rejoiced and
delighted, but all that was impure, the greater part of me, began to burn slowly away.
The pain was terrible. I could see nothing for days but blinding golden
light, hear nothing but deafeningly pure sound. I collapsed instantly
to the floor of the House of Skulltullas, screaming and raving as all that was
jealous and resentful in me died.
Impa told me later the head of the Skulltulla family left his house in
broad daylight to carry the news to her, something he had not done since the
curse fell upon him. She herself carried me to bed and nursed me through many
days and nights, as I struggled in the grip of a fever the strength of which
I have never felt before. It nearly carried me to my death, but in the
last of my few lucid moments, I heard Impa cry:
"Fellow Sages! I need your help!"
And then I awoke, in a room suspended in impossible space, where the
rock ebbed and flowed like water, decorated only by a few elemental seals. I
found I was in my true form, and discovered to my horror that not even
that was my own any more. Farore help me, had I changed so much in just
three short years?
"Welcome, Princess Zelda." said a voice behind me. I turned, and saw an
old man standing alone, draped in golden robes. "I am Rauru, sage of Light.
Welcome to the Chamber of Sages, bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom!"
I felt an unearthly holiness, a pureness deep within me and knew it was
the fountain of knowledge and the source of all wisdom. I was the first
person in history to be possessed by the Triforce!
"I survived, then." I said, hearing my voice echo around the chamber.
Impa had told me about this place, but it was even grander than I had ever
imagined
"Barely." Rauru responded. "It took the will of all six sages to keep
you alive. If it's any comfort, the process will have been much worse for
Ganondorf."
"Is all his evil turned to good, then?" I asked hopefully.
Rauru frowned and shook his head. "No, alas, it is the other way
around. All that was good in him has turned to evil. He is now truly the human form
of our ancient enemy, Ganon. All that we have feared has come to pass."
"What of the bearer of the Triforce of Courage?" I asked.
"He has been spared your pain." Rauru answered evasively.
"But who is he? Where does he live?" I persisted.
Rauru sighed. "I suppose you have a right to know this, Princess. You
have met him before. He is Link."

I gazed at him in surprise for a moment, and then an enormous surge of
happiness swept through me. I practically jumped for joy. "Link! He's
still alive! Where is he, when can I see him?"
"His body is sealed in the vault below you." Rauru replied. "You will
see him in four years time."
"I don't understand." I said, puzzled and crestfallen.
"Link drew the Master Sword from its pedestal, but was not of the
proper age to use it." Rauru replied. "The sages made a decision to seal him in
this chamber for seven years, until he was the proper age to wield the sword
and save Hyrule."
I was sickened. "You can't just age someone seven years just like that!
When is he going to get those years back? You can't just force a child's
mind into an adult's body and call him a hero! Terrible things are about to
happen to Hyrule! We need him!"
"Link is simply obeying his destiny. A destiny that you are now tied
to, as is Ganon. You three are bound together as the holders of the three
pieces of the Triforce."
"Destiny!" I snorted. "Seven years is too long to wait for destiny."
"Is it too long to wait for love?" Rauru asked mildly.
I was speechless. Rauru had dug right into the heart of my deepest
secret, and spoken it aloud. I found myself, completely against my will,
wondering what he might look like when he was seven years older. Would he still
have those knobbly knees?
Rauru smiled the smile of an old man who'd seen it all before.
"Goodbye,
Princess." he grinned, and bowed. "We shall meet again."
And I found myself in my room, in my own bed, in Sheik's body. Impa was
sitting beside me, and nodded to me as I stirred, like I'd never been
away.

And that's my story. I have another four years of running, hiding and
occasionally fighting before Link arrives in this world, before I can
finally cast aside my disguise and fight Ganondorf alongside him.
There's such a lot of work to do, finding homes for the refugees of Hyrule
Castle Town, fighting the Poes in the graveyard and the Re-Deads in the Well of
Three Features, that it almost takes my mind off Link. Almost.
But Rauru was right, in the end. Seven years isn't too long to wait for
love.

THE END

This is my first Zelda Fanfic. Any comments, death threats or love
letters
can be sent to squirre11@hotmail.co.uk
Thanks for reading!

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