In Nayru's Palm

“Sheik…Sheik. Sheik. Sheik, wake up.”

Something under my rib was wiggling furiously.

“Sheik. Princess, wake the hell up.”

“Don’t call me that,” I snapped, glancing up and getting a very close view of Soun’s face. I yelped and rolled away, upright before I had realized I’d moved. Soun sat up more slowly, flexing his fingers like they were asleep. I felt heat creeping into my face.

“Why in goddess’s name were you sleeping so close to me?” I fumed.

He glanced up with his eyebrows raised. “I didn’t fall asleep that way.”

“I was asleep before you were.”

“And I was several feet away from you.”

“Says you.”

“I was. You were the one asleep on my arm, not the other way around.”

As I scrambled mentally for an argument, Rue strode in between us, dropped to the ground, and exposed her belly, her underlined point to the conversation an obvious “Pet me.”

Soun shook his head. “Get yourself all wrapped up, gibdo-girl, before the world wakes up without us.”

I swatted his shoulder on my way by. He shoulder shoved me back. That continued until he shoved me a bit too hard and Rue growled warningly. I rolled my eyes and started covering my face and arms again. He glanced to me, then smirked. On his way out, he called back:

“A bit less ladylike, Sheik. You’re improving.”

Jerk.

Since the goron leader had given us such a brusque dismissal the day before, Soun and I were traveling together again before the sun had reached the peak of Death Mountain. Travelling this way horseback was something different for me, considering that most of the time I had to lean back in my saddle due to the downward slope. Not a comfortable position, I decided quickly.

“So why the Temple of Time?” Soun asked me around noon.

“You have already asked me that.”

“You didn’t answer.”

“Maybe there was a reason.”

“How did you get us off that topic, anyhow?” he asked in a more puzzled tone, reining his horse back so we were even.

“Your poor focus and decision to pursue a more irritating—”

“You’re doing it again.” When I finally turned to him, he raised his eyebrows. “Talking all proper and with really big words that don’t mean anything.”

“All words mean something.”

“That’s beside the point.” To emphasize this, he made a waving motion with his hand like he was trying to waft away some noxious odor. “Point being, it’s a habit you need to break.”

“Uh-huh.”

“So why the Temple?”

“Magical reasons beyond which your poor mortal mind can comprehend.”

He gave me a dirty look. “Ha ha, I’m laughing so hard. Seriously.”

“I have to talk to a dead guy.”

For a moment, there was blissful silence. “I said seriously.”

“That is the best answer you are going to get.”

“That’s crappy. By the way, you’re talking like a girl again. But anyway, why not tell me?” Brief pause. “Why a dead guy?”

“I thought it was the duty of the younger children to be loud and obnoxious?”

“You’re not doing your job. Don’t change the subject.”

“I am not—Din burn it!” I grabbed one of my throwing knives and flung it into a tektite making its scritch-scritch noises behind a red boulder we had just passed—the sounds they make before leaping to attack. It made a strange humming noise when the blade punched through carapace, its one red eye rolling angrily as it readied to spring again. Another dagger hit it just alongside the second, so close that they inflicted the same wound. It cried out again, and its body fell apart and burned. Sound dismounted and picked up our knives, and held mine out hilt first for me to take.

“You’re getting pretty good at throwing those,” he told me as he got back on his horse. I glanced along the path, seeing all too many more ideal hiding places for the red, mountain breed of the monsters. When I listened, I could faintly hear more of their scratching.

“It looks like they have gotten more numerous here.”

“You know, if you abbreviated your speech to something more colloquial, you could deliver your speech before something decides to pounce again.” At the look I gave him, he grinned. “I can talk all proper-like too, if I want. Takes too much time, though.” He looked at the path ahead, slightly more serious. “Don’t worry about it—we’ll deal with ‘em as they come. But you haven’t gotten out of telling me why we’re conducting a séance—we’ll be talking later.”

I grinned, though I knew he could only see it in the crinkling in my eyes. “Rain check, then.”

“You betcha.”

We got to Kakariko with very few scratches and a few bruises. Impa’s home was again open to us, and we unsaddled the horses outside. My mare had a shallow red mark across her hindquarters, but was otherwise unharmed. Soun’s mount had gotten scratched across the nose from not backing up quickly enough upon frontal attack, but was in better shape for it. I wasn’t sure it was fair that my horse got hurt for reacting better to danger.

As we entered the house and got as settled is as we dared, I wondered to myself if I trusted Soun with my mission. I didn’t know him terribly well, but he had proved himself trustworthy so far, hadn’t he? If he hadn’t, I probably would not have been alive. I knew at that point that not all of the Sheikah were as loyal to the royal family as Impa was. If anything, Soun was a friend. A confidant.

So when Soun asked for information, I nodded and sat, erecting a barrier that would keep us in a bubble within the house—nobody would hear us, and nobody would clearly see us. After getting pestered a bit by Soun for not doing so earlier instead of making excuses, I told him everything.