In Nayru's Palm

“Well, this is sudden,” Soun commented dryly from the back of his horse. I made a face at him as I scrambled aboard my own freshly saddled mount. I was having problems until suddenly I moved forward quickly and was able to swing my leg over. Impa was suddenly a suspicious figure.

“He needs to get to the Temple of Time,” she informed my impromptu traveling partner. He sent another amused glance my way, then stopped when Rue put her front feet on his saddlebags and started nosing firmly at his arms in demand of attention, which he granted.

“We taking the furball?”

“Yes, we are taking the furball,” I told him brusquely. He rolled his eyes, but didn’t complain. He liked Rue almost as much as I did. His lack of prejudice was one of the reasons I was actually growing fond of him.

Before we set off, Impa put her hand on my arm and pulled me sideways, closer to her.

“Be careful,” she instructed me. “You are not to compromise your identity.”

I nodded and straightened again, ignoring my stomach’s merging with my lower abdomen. She didn’t know he already knew.

“You ready to go, Sheik?” Soun called back. His horse had already started walking. I heaved a sigh identical to the one my own horse emitted, and then we were off.

“So what was Impa being so secretive about?” He asked later, after a dinner of hard tack. We were still pretty deep in the mountains, but Kakariko would be less than a day’s ride from us. I leaned against one of many boulders, Rue stretched alongside my right leg.

“Secrets,” I replied. He rolled his eyes, then came closer and dropped to a crouch.

“Can’t be more than there are already.”

“Says you,” I said as my mouth formed a smile he couldn’t see.

He sobered. “Do you have to have all those wrappings on your face while it’s just us?”

Creepy guy. Was he thinking of the same thing? “Yes.”

“Why?” My smile faded.

“Because you know why I need them.”

“Exactly. So I’m safe.”

“And if we are found by somebody unfriendly? Or somebody, even?” I retorted, glaring him full in the face.

“Keep your hair up. You look Sheikah enough in the face that you won’t be suspicious.”

“How often have you seen my face, Soun?”

“Once.”

I shook my head. “They stay on.”

He rocked back on his heels. “You don’t trust me.”

“When you act like this? No.”

He inhaled deeply, then stood and walked to his horse. I watched him go, feeling that I had upset him, but knowing that trying to amend it would only fuel the same argument. Rue started away from me as I caught the bedroll he threw to me, untied from my horse’s pack.

“Let’s go to sleep, Sheik.”

The next day, we went to Goron City.

“Why?” I demanded as we released our horses.

“I told you,” he said, “I’m checking it out.”

“You do that,” I snapped, striding through the entrance with Rue heeling on my right. He followed me at a jog.

“What the hell’s your problem?" he asked. "You’ve been pissed ever since yesterday.”

“I need to get somewhere.”

“Impa didn’t say you were in any hurry.”

“I am in a hurry.”

“You’re acting like a girl.” I froze, turned, and glared. He smirked when he realized he’d hit a nerve.

“Am I really?” I breathed angrily. Soun glanced at something over my shoulder, and I paid no heed until a solid weight rested next to my neck. I jumped.

“You all right?” came a deep voice behind me. When I turned, I saw a bland face that looked as rough and craggy as the rocks from which the city was formed. His brown eyes flicked between Soun and I, then glanced with some surprise and distaste at our third party member.

Soun bowed. “Hello, sir. I am Soun, a delegate of the Sheikah. This is Sheik, my…companion.”

“Never woulda guessed,” the goron grunted in his gravelly voice, and I was pretty certain the tone was sarcastic. “Darunia’ll speak with you.”

“Sheik is not yet an adult. He is under my supervision, but will be making no reports.”

The goron grunted. “We’ll find ‘im a room.”

Assholes. The whole lot of them.

I sulked with Rue in a room on the bottom level; she fell asleep by the door moments after our arrival. I was well aware that I had more gorons keeping an eye on me, so I utilized some of the mannerisms I had gained from my life in Hyrule Castle and sat completely still with my spine erect, giving my absolute attention to nobody unless directly asked of me. The gorons apparently found nothing amiss with my behavior, and went about their own business until Soun showed up again.

Upon his arrival, the hosts waddled their way outside the room—giving Rue a wide berth—and the panel shut behind them. I stared at the insignia on the door—a sort of print, composed of a diamond and three diamonds above, the recognized symbol for the goron race—until Soun spoke.

“Darunia tells me there’s no great strain upon the gorons as of yet. There’ve been more monsters, but he says they’ve been able to handle them so far.”

“So you warned him?” I asked.

“Yes, and he told me they’ve already been targets of Ganondorf’s malice, and they probably won’t need our help, thanks very much.”

“Mm.” I looked around. There wasn’t much in our room, other than the carpet, a couple of tables, and a brazier. It was very warm, contrary to the mountain temperature outside the city.

He tugged one of the small tables in front of me and sat facing me. “You still mad at me?”

“You did not have to leave me in here during your discussion.”

“This is my mission, not yours.”

“I have sat among political discussions before. I am not a liability to your mission.”

“To the Sheikah, you are underage.”

“To the Hylians, I was a political figure—”

“A silent one.”

“—and still am.” I felt my body still as his words hit me. “Why do you think I am here, Soun? The one who is making your mission necessary is out to kill me. Anybody on his side could report me and get us both killed. You are the one who was desirous of compromising that, since apparently you are not aware of the danger—”

“Sheik.” He took my face between his hands, and I tried to pull away. He was stronger. “I’m not trying to kill you.” He cocked his head to the side. “You’re not mad ‘cause I left you outta the debate, are you?”

“Yes I am.” I tugged away from his hands, rubbing at my face where the bandages had chafed my face.

“No, that’s an excuse. You wanna be mad at me ‘cause of yesterday.”

I lowered my head, but maintained eye contact. “What you say makes no sense.”

His eyes narrowed at me, but it was a thoughtful gesture, instead of a suspicious one. “I thought you didn’t think you were valuable to your people.”

“I did not.” Before he could respond, I plowed forward. “But now I, too, have a job to do, and it will not be productive if you keep me locked in rooms during discussions, while I could be getting something done. I could have lessons with Kaepora, if I so desired, yet I am practically kept under guard.”

“Are you leaving without me?”

“I did not say that.”

“Who’s Kaepora?”

I stiffened. “My teacher.”

“Isn’t he at the village?”

Din burn him. He raised his eyebrows.

“Why d’you need to go to the Temple of Time, anyway? That’s a bit dangerous for Impa’s rescued princess, isn’t it?”

Belatedly, I glanced at the walls. “Can they hear us?” I whispered.

“If you keep yelling, maybe.”

“Soun,” I growled, sitting back down on my bench, not remembering when I had left it. He shrugged.

“They probably can’t hear us—it’s solid rock. This whole place is. And they won’t risk barging in unless there’s some kind of emergency; it’s not good politics.”

“I know that.”

“And even if there was a problem, they know we can escape. They trust the Sheikah not to betray them, so they tell us where the exits are—that’s something Ganondorf will never learn. So they probably won’t bust the door down anyway. We’re safe ‘til morning.”

“Fine.”

“So you can probably breathe from those bandages, Princess.”

“Would you quit?” I hissed, shoving him in the shoulders. He looked unfazed, infuriatingly. No, not unfazed—smug.

“You said you’re safe. They can’t hear us, they won’t see you. It’s probably the one time you can give yourself some air all trip.”

“You are such an ass.” I took my hat off and felt around for the end to the bandages underneath. He had the decency to be quiet as I unwrapped my head and my uneven hair unfurled around my face and ears.

“You know,” he said, as I started on my unmarked arm, “you still behave like a girl.”

“And how so?” I was feeling more and more exposed the more skin I freed—Soun had never seen my arms or my face. It felt wrong, somehow. I was supposed to be a secret, yet I was highlighting my true self right before him.

“Well, you argue like one, for starters.” I finished unwrapping my left hand, then glanced at the right. I could almost feel the goddess’ mark burning on the sin. “And you sit like one.”

“How do I sit like a girl?”

“Your legs are all together. You could be wearing a skirt.”

“I have done that before.”

“Yeah, but if you’re a guy, you haven’t, or you aren’t going to admit it.”

I looked up at him, and decided that humoring him was the best way to distract him from my right arm’s still being covered. “So how do you suggest I sit?”

“Well, never cross your legs.”

I raised an eyebrow at him—something that bugged him, since he couldn’t control his eyebrows individually. “I have never crossed my legs.”

“Well don’t—it’s feminine. For Nayru’s sake, don’t leave your hands on your lap like that!”

I glanced down. My hands were folded just before my knees. I released them.

“Cross your arms or something.”

I sighed and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

“Lean back a little.” I complied. “That’s a bit better.”

“Why do you not show me, then?” I asked him. His head flicked to the side, acknowledging my point.

He leaned forward and propped his elbows on thighs spread at a ninety-degree angle. His hands hung loose in the space between his knees. I felt myself blush.

“If you’re a man, you don’t have any problem with this, Princess.”

Goddesses, I could hear the smirk without even looking at him. I pushed my bangs out of my face and slowly leaned forward and put my elbows on my legs.

“Listen to that stiff spine crack.” I shot him a dirty look. He imitated my position, knees locked together and elbows on his legs. It looked odd, especially when he was making his eyes so wide. “You might actually be able to pull this off someday, when you’re confident in your manliness.”

“You are an ass.”

“You-speak-in-a-very-proper-manner-miss,” he quipped, ascending to falsetto and cutting off between every word. “You-sound-like-you-are-a-proper-little-snobbish-princess. Say it properly now: ‘You’re an ass.’”

I took a deep breath, attempting to gather patience. “You’re an ass.”

“You’re still pronouncing the ‘you’ in your ‘yer’. Try again.”

“You’re an ass.”

“Almost. Try again.”

Deep breaths. I swiped my bangs from my face again. “You are an ass.”

He groaned.

“I am going to bed,” I said, rising to my feet. Then I frowned. “You said that they would have sleeping accommodations for us. Do we have any blankets?”

“You can’t tell me you’re cold in here, Princess.”

I straightened my spine. “I did not.”

“Then lie down and sleep on the rug. That’s what it’s there for.”

Feeling awkward without a blanket to cover me, I sat on the rug. Rue’s ears pricked up, and she heaved herself to her feet and ambled to my side, only to drop again.

“Wake me up before anybody comes in,” I snapped at Soun, reclining until I was stretched out, then rolling to my side, facing the wolfo that had grown longer than I was tall. From just lying down, I was already drowsy.

“Sure thing, Highness.”