Before Twilight

Chapter 35: The Truth Revealed

Link's P.O.V

I awoke to the sound of waves crashing. I could taste the salt in the air. When I opened my eyes I found myself lying on the sand in the shade. Beside me a fire crackled with a pot boiling over it.  I slowly sat up only to feel instant pain in my arms. 

I hissed in pain as looked at my arms. They had been bandaged very carefully, tenderly even. I was shirtless and my boots were no longer on my feet. When I turned my head there they were  in a neat, folded pile. 

There was no one around besides Epona who was nibbling on some sea grass over by the sand dunes. 

"Where am I?" I thought to myself.

I managed to stand up to see the shore line. The ocean glittered against the sun. It was nothing like I had ever seen before. In the distance I saw a figure. It was Sheik. She rose out of the ocean like a Zora. Her wet dress clung to her tall form as she reached the shoreline. She was beautiful.

Her eyes widened as she saw me standing there.

"Link?!" She exclaimed as she ran forward.

I smiled at her as she approached me. 

"I am glad to see you're awake sleepy head." She laughed. 

I watched as she wrung out her wet hair.

"Thank you." I managed to get out as I looked at her in awe. 

"For what?" She asked as she walked past me and headed towards the camp.

"For taking care of me." I tried.

"It was the least I could do. You....You saved my life Link." She explained. 

"It was my pleasure Sheik." I stated.

She raised her eyebrow in amusement.

"Oh! I mean Zelda! Or should I call you princess?" I asked full of embarrassment. 

Zelda laughed in response. 

"Zelda is just fine." She answered. 

Even though we laughed in this moment, I couldn't help but feel slightly betrayed. She lied to me. She hid things from me. I thought that I had known her yet in truth I knew nothing about her yet I still felt something for her. 

"Why couldn't you tell me the truth before Zelda?" I asked. 

Zelda looked up at me in surprise. 

"I lied to you to protect you." She sighed. 

"From what?" I demanded.

"Its a long story." Zelda groaned impatiently. 

"I think I deserve the truth! Especially since I almost died back there." I snapped. 

Zelda rolled her eyes before turning to the pot that bubbled over the fire. She stirred it gently and then placed a lid over the pot to trap the heat within. 

"You can trust me Princess Zelda." I confirmed more softly this time. 

Zelda turned to face me. 

"Call me Zelda." She corrected. 

I could tell that she was annoyed.

"I apologize if I have offended you." I tried. 

"Please don't treat me any differently than before. Whether I am Sheik or Zelda I am the same person. The only difference is the name." Zelda explained. 

"Zelda." I sighed. 

"Why did you lie to me?" I asked. 

She suddenly appeared embarrassed. 

"To keep you safe." She stated.

"From what the Yiga Clan?" I asked. 

Zelda nodded her head yes.

"It's a little too late for that now!" I laughed. 

Zelda burrowed her eyebrows at me in anger. 

"You didn't have to risk your life for me!" She exclaimed in anger. 

"I didn't ask you to! I didn't ask for any of this...." She cried. 

I watched as tears welled up in her eyes and roll down her cheeks. 

"Zelda." I tried as I took a step towards her. 

She automatically took a step back. 

I sighed in disappointment. 

"You still don't trust me?" I asked. 

Zelda looked up at me, her eyes puffy from crying.

"This is all my fault." She sniffled. 

"How?" I asked. 

Zelda attempted to choke back her tears in order to explain everything to me. 

"The Yiga Clan attempted to over throw the throne, and destroy the Hyrulian Council. Their leader Byrne succeeded in taking Castle Town. All of my subjects fled to Kakarikko Village where they thought they would be safe, but they weren't. Lady Impa, the woman you met before, she sent me to Ordon under the orders of the King. I was to stay there under the protection of Rusl and remain hidden until the eradication  of the Yiga Clan. That is why I hid my identity from you Link. " She explained. 

"To protect me." I realized.

"If word had reached Byrne of my whereabouts he would have destroyed Ordon. I had to lie." She cried. 

I felt so inconsiderate all of a sudden. I had doubted her character. I thought she had lied to me out of selfishness, but in fact it was out of courage.

"I am sorry I had doubted you princess." I apologized. 

She chuckled in response. 

"You had every right to." Zelda stated as she wiped away the rest of her remaining tears. 

I smiled softly at her in response as she sat in the sand under the shade. 

I sat beside her and looked off towards the shoreline.

"You know I had never seen the sea before." I chuckled. 

Zelda lifted her head and raised her eyebrows in surprise. 

"I'd never left Ordon until now. Its more beautiful than I could have ever imagined." I sighed.

I lowered my head in disbelief as I looked down at my feet. I wiggled my toes in the sand until they were buried. 

"Are you glad you left?" Zelda asked me. 

I nodded my head yes as I smiled at her. 

We sat there in silence for a moment, just watching the waves crash onto the beach. 

"Link there's more than just my identity that I've hidden from you." Zelda stated.

I turned my head to look at her.

"What do you mean?" I asked.