Author's Note: This is a story about my Legend of Zelda OC, Shai from Rainbows, Fabulous, Giggles, and a few other oneshots. This is the story of how he came to be Ghirahim's slave. This story line is continued in Busy Boy.
Trigger Warning: Child Abuse.
He loved Blessed Butterflies.
They were so beautiful. He loved the way they fluttered about, frivolously following joyful sounds and finding sweet nectar to feast on. He loved to watch them move, whether they were zig-zagging through the air or perched peacefully atop a flower and doing nothing but twitching their antennae. It made him giggle, seeing their sticky feet move from place to place. He could watch them for hours on end without getting bored, and honestly, what were chores when there were so many friends to play with?
"Hey." He turned to watch as one butterfly strayed from the bunch, bouncing up and down through the air as it moved toward the center of town. "Hey, where are you going?"
He got to his feet and ran after the small creature, giggling all the while. He didn't know where it was going, but he wanted to see it up close, and he was a little bit afraid of what might happen if it was left all alone.
"Butterfly, you're going the wrong way!" He darted between the buildings and clambered up the steps to the bazaar. "You shouldn't leave your friends behind." He followed the butterfly around the big tent and then across the bridge to the temple. "Where are you going, Butterfly?"
He came to a stop outside the courtyard where the statue of the goddess was, a nervousness settling in his stomach as he watched the butterfly float out over the edge. It was a long way down to the next platform.
"Butterfly, I can't go down there! Mama says I have to stay away from the edge." He glanced over his shoulder and then looked down at the hovering creature, who seemed to be waiting for him.
It would be awfully rude to keep such a polite butterfly waiting, and if he was very careful…
"She won't mind. I'll be real quick."
He took a few steps back to give himself a running start and then, gathering up all the strength he had in his little six-year-old body, he jumped off the edge. It wasn't half as scary as he thought it would be—it was actually kind of fun, he thought as he tumbled onto the grass below—and with another giggle, he sprang to his feet.
"Now where do you want to go?" he asked, dusting himself off.
The butterfly answered by fluttering away from the town.
"This is a silly place for a butterfly to want to go, don't'cha think?" Still, he tottered along behind it, occasionally casting a nervous glance toward the clouds beyond the ledge. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
He watched as the butterfly loop-de-looped through the air, swaying and sweeping without a care in the world, and it seemed to him the butterfly was very sure it was a good idea to keep going. So, still somewhat torn between laughing and shivering in fear, he followed the bug to whatever destination it had in its little bug mind.
"Oof… I don't like this, butterfly." He bit down on his lip, examining the very thin ledge between himself and the land his friend was hovering over. "I… I don't think this is safe."
It bounced and fluttered through the air, dancing in a figure eight.
"Butterfly…"
It refused to come back, but it didn't go any further without him, either.
"Okay, okay, but we better go back real soon. If Mama finds out I came down here, I'm gonna be in a lotta trouble."
He chewed on his lip for another moment or two, and then he carefully began to inch his way along the cliff. When he was about halfway across, the butterfly started to move again, disappearing into a shady nook between two cliff sides.
Spurred on by the sudden lack of a companion, he scurried across to the other platform and took a step toward the hideaway.
Oh, no. He froze on the spot and wrapped his arms around himself, overtaken with a sense of dread he couldn't explain. This is bad. This is really, really bad.
He heard a chuckle float out from the darkened corner, and he took a step back.
"H…Hello?" he called.
"Why, hello there, little skychild."
Whoever it was sounded nice enough, but their voice left a sick feeling in his tummy. He thought about asking who they were, but the idea made his skin crawl, and he realized that they, for whatever reason, were responsible for the icky feeling he had.
They hadn't done anything bad, they just felt wrong.
"Um… I gotta… I gotta go." He turned around immediately, intending to go back the way he had come, but then he stopped.
He didn't like the feeling he got from the stranger, but at the same time, it was a brand new feeling. He had never met someone new before, and maybe the bad feeling wasn't as bad as he thought. Maybe it was just new.
New wasn't always bad. Sort of like jumping off the ledge. It turned out to be fun, not scary, like he thought it would be. Like it felt like it would be.
The stranger laughed again. "Humans are such fickle creatures."
He turned around slowly. "Who… who are you?"
"My name is Ghirahim," the voice answered. "Lord Ghirahim, if you please."
Ghirahim stepped out from the shadows as he spoke, and the little boy was immediately enamored.
Ghirahim was tall. He was very tall, with hair as white as the clouds themselves and eyes the color of polished wood. He had clothing so tight and white and full of oddly shaped holes that it didn't really look like clothing at all. His skin was pale, and he had a crimson cape wrapped around himself, the bright fabric fluttering in the wind.
However, the most exciting thing about Ghirahim was the Blessed Butterfly perched contently on his gloved index finger. It made some of that icky feeling going away, replacing it with a sense of ease.
"I suppose Mr. Ghirahim would also suffice, given your age." Ghirahim paused for a moment, glancing upward as he considered his own words, and then he looked right at the little boy who had wandered far from home. "May I have the sweet pleasure of knowing your name?"
"Um…" That icky feeling was coming back. He was all alone with a strange man on an island where no one could get on or off. "I'm Sh-Shaika."
That icky feeling was really coming back.
"Ew." Ghirahim made a face and stuck out his tongue, shaking his head. "No, that name will never do. It's horrendous! Shorten it to Shai, and smile when you say it. For goodness' sake, I didn't ask you to jump off the island, I simply asked for your name."
"I'm—I'm sorry, Mr. Ghirahim." Shaika—or Shai, he supposed, if it made Ghirahim happy—put on a big smile and tried again. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Shai!"
Ghirahim threw his head back and laughed. "Utterly adorable! Now, Shai, I want you to tell me something: Do your parents know where you are?"
Shai shook his head slowly and pulled on the hem of his tunic. "No… I'm not actually s'pposed to be here."
"Oh?" Ghirahim tilted his head to the side curiously. "Then why did you come?"
Shai pointed shakily. "I was following the butterfly."
"Oh? You mean this butterfly?" Ghirahim crouched down and grabbed the insect by its wings, holding it up so the boy could see.
"Stop it!" Shai reached out but stopped just short of grabbing Ghirahim's wrists. "You'll hurt it!"
Ghirahim chuckled softly, his hands staying perfectly still. "Nonsense. If I were hurting it, it would struggle."
Shai stopped to take a closer look and realized Ghirahim was right. The butterfly wasn't moving at all, other than the occasional twitch of the antennae. It was perfectly content, even with its wings lodged between the smooth fingers.
Shai still didn't like it. "Please, be careful."
Ghirahim nodded and continued to smile, but Shai couldn't shake the slimy feeling he had. Something about Ghirahim scared Shai out of his mind, and he didn't know what it was or why.
I should leave. I should leave right now.
"I won't hurt the little butterfly. I promise." Ghirahim got to his feet and let the creature rest in his hair, lips curling into a wicked grin. "You, on the other hand…"
Shai started backing away, hands grasping the rocks on the cliff side, but Ghirahim followed him.
"Did you really think I couldn't sense it? You didn't trust me from the moment you laid eyes on me, and lying to your elders is a very naughty thing to do."
Shai dodged out of the way as the man tried to backhand him, but there was no way he could have seen the other one coming. It hit him full in the face and he stumbled back, not realizing where he had jumped to in his previous dodge.
His foot met air instead of land, and the rocks crumbled as he backpedaled his arms, trying to regain his balance. Ghirahim walked over and reached out to give him a push, but Shai clung to the hand and pulled himself back toward safety.
"I daresay it's rather rude to grab other peoples' arms."
"Pull me back over!" Shai screwed his eyes shut and held on tighter. "Pull me back over!"
"That's enough. Let go."
Shai shook his head and screamed when Ghirahim tried to pull him off. "Please, don't drop me!"
"Let go, you filthy little brat!"
Shai swung forward and wrapped his legs around Ghirahim's waist, pulling himself closer and closer until he was able to latch onto the man's neck. "Please, don't throw me off the edge! Please, please, please!"
Ghirahim tried to peel Shai off his chest, but Shai had never been so terrified of the edge of Skyloft as he was in that particular moment, and Ghirahim's resistance only made him hold on tighter.
"Fine!" Ghirahim turned around and used both arms to hurl the boy onto the ground. "You want to stay alive so badly? So be it. I'll make you wish you had fallen off the edge."
Shai tried to sit up, but his body was sore and he felt dizzy, the heavy impact making him ache all over. "Ow…"
Ghirahim grabbed Shai by the shirtfront and pushed him into the ground, holding him down with one hand while the other retrieved the butterfly from his hair. He lowered the creature until its sticky legs were lined up on either side of Shai's nose, the wings turning transparent and multicolored.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Shai turned his head and tried to shake the butterfly off, but it stayed put. "Stop it! Leave me alone!"
"Oh, ho, ho, I don't think so." Ghirahim licked his lips, his tongue much longer than any Shai had ever seen before, and he put both hands on the boy's shoulders. "Your eyes and hair are entirely too boring. We'll have to change you up if you're going to be my slave."
Shai whimpered softly. A slave? What was a slave? There weren't any slaves on Skyloft. There were only family and friends and knights. Slaves sounded like bad things, and Shai didn't want to be a slave.
"I-I…" Shai shook his head, losing his voice halfway through his attempt at speech.
"Aw, you're adorable." Ghirahim pushed down a little harder, and Shai whined at the pain in his shoulders.
"St-stop it!" Shai twisted, more concerned with getting away than getting the bug off his face. "Let me go!" He kicked his legs and tried to get his arms free from Ghirahim's hold. "Leave me alone!"
"If you keep struggling, I'm going to snap your neck." Ghirahim glared down at him, grip tightening until Shai thought his arms might break off.
Was that possible? Could arms break off?
"P-please, don't…"
"Oh, begging is fine. Begging, I can handle." Ghirahim licked his lips again, pale lips curling into a wicked grin. "Go on, beg me to stop."
"P-please, please stop. I—please, I just want to go home to my mama and my papa." Shai sniffled, tears springing up in his eyes. "Please stop it, Mr. Ghirahim. Please, I—I wanna go home!"
Ghirahim only laughed, and with a snap of his fingers, the butterfly changed from blue to purple and red. "Don't fuss, now. It'll be over before you know it."
Shai watched as the wings came down, the colored sheets sinking into his skin. He shut his eyes and bit his lip, trembling underneath the bigger, stronger individual. He wondered if he was still supposed to beg. He wondered if it would do any good. He wondered what the butterfly was going to do. He wondered why he hadn't just turned around when his body had tried to warn him about the danger.
Pain.
Bright, flashing light pierced his eyes, the fact that they were closed doing nothing to protect them. It burned, the sensation spreading over his face and neck to his chest and then out to the rest of his body.
"O-ow! Ow, that hurts! That hurts, Mr. Ghirahim!" Shai reached desperately for his eyes, but Ghirahim was still holding him down. "Please, make it stop!"
"I told you not to fuss."
Shai continued to squirm, heedless to the warning tone in Ghirahim's voice, and his legs started to kick again as the pain got worse. He screamed, clawing at Ghirahim's cloak and kicking at the uncovered stomach with his feet.
"I said don't fuss, skychild."
Shai grabbed at his throat, eyes opening and trying to get a look at whatever was blocking his airway. He kicked harder, fingers digging into Ghirahim's wrists.
"You are really starting to irritate me. Now, lie still and behave, or I won't let you breathe."
Shai gasped and writhed on the ground, but he tried. Goodness, he tried. He tried so hard, keeping his legs flat on the ground for at least ten seconds before kicking them out again, only to force them down flat once more. He let go of Ghirahim's wrists and grabbed the grass instead, but then he got scared and grabbed the man again.
"I swear, boy, I will choke the life out of you."
"P-please! Please M-M—" Shai dragged a lungful of air down his throat. "—ster Ghirahim, please!"
Ghirahim scowled, but the pressure let up slightly. "What was that?"
"I—I don't know. I don't know, just—just please!" Shai cried, rubbing his eyes and drawing his knees to his chest to keep himself from kicking. "Please…"
"Did you say 'mister' or 'master?'"
Shai coughed and peered up through a thick veil of tears. He almost repeated his earlier answer—because he didn't know, really he didn't, it wasn't a lie—but he tried to stop and think. If he said 'Mr. Ghirahim,' it didn't seem to do anything, so something about the other phrase must have made Ghirahim let him breathe a little.
"M-Master… why?"
He prayed Ghirahim wouldn't know he was lying.
"Hmm…" Ghirahim narrowed his eyes slightly. "Master, huh?"
Shai nodded, desperate to encourage whatever kind of mercy he had coaxed out of the horrible man. If he kept going, maybe Ghirahim would make the burning stop. Maybe Ghirahim would let him go back home to his parents.
"Master Ghirahim… what… what did I do?" Shai rasped, coughing in between his words as his throat rejected every attempt at speaking.
"Shh." Ghirahim put a finger on the boy's lips and smiled. "It'll all be over soon, my sweet."
"Wh-why can't it be over now?"
Ghirahim laughed and pulled Shai onto his lap, brushing his bangs back out of his eyes. "How like a child." He carded a hand through Shai's hair again. "Be patient. Think about good things, instead. For example, after it's done, you're coming to the Surface with me. We have a lot to talk about, and I have a lot of new things to teach you. For example, how to clean my castle, and make tea, and cook meals, and use a sword—"
"You mean—" Shai shifted in Ghirahim's grasp, wiping his eyes and looking up with a little bit of hope in his chest. "You mean like the knights do?"
Ghirahim grinned and ran his tongue over his upper lip. "Of course. You may have to wait a year or two before I give you a sharp one, but you simply can't be without."
Shai licked his lip, too, though he had a feeling it wasn't quite the same. "Will I get to do other things like the knights do?"
Ghirahim pointed towards the clouds, a long pathway made of translucent, amber diamonds forming over the cream expanse. "You will use magic, of course. Like mine, but not nearly as powerful."
"Magic…" Shai breathed, rubbing his eyes again and realizing the pain was less than before. Ghirahim hadn't lied about that, at least.
"Yes, magic." Ghirahim got to his feet and set Shai down, stepping out onto the platform he had created and turning back around to beckon the boy with a finger. "Come along. You don't belong on Skyloft anymore. You're mine."
Shai looked back at his home, and his lips started to quiver. "But… Mama… Papa… I want them. I wanna go home!"
Ghirahim glared and grabbed Shai's arm before he could so much as think about running. "I own you, boy, and you will do as I say. You don't have a mama and papa anymore. There is me and nothing but me. Are we quite clear?"
Shai trembled, shrinking back when Ghirahim took his chin in hand.
"Look at me." Ghirahim stared at him, eyes hard and cold, as if he was looking right through Shai instead of at him. "I do not take treason lightly. You will never return here unless I tell you to, and you will never disobey me. If you do, the consequences will be severe. Understood?"
Shai didn't understand—not really—but he thought he knew enough not to get himself killed, and what he did know, he didn't like at all. He looked back at his home, eyes welling up with tears, a soft whine rising in his throat. Everything he loved and knew was on Skyloft. His friends. His family. His games, and toys, and the academy, and the statue, and the plants, and the birds, and the bazaar, and everything!
Shai looked back at Ghirahim and sniffed hard, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks. "If I say no, you're gonna hurt me, aren't you?"
Ghirahim gave Shai a toothy grin. "You're not a stupid as you look."
Shai hung his head and wiped his eyes, stepping out onto the diamond walkway and stopping in front of his... future, he supposed.
Ghirahim hoisted him up and tossed him over one shoulder, walking away from the floating island and toward the never-ending clouds.
Shai clutched the velvet cape and watched the town slowly shrink, tears stinging his eyes and rolling down his cheeks as a heavy ache formed in his chest.
Would the other boys know he was gone? Would they remember him? Would Ghirahim use magic to make them all forget him? Would his parents cry? Would they try to find him? Would the knights come looking for him? What would happen when they couldn't? Would they give up? Would—
Shai's train of thought screeched to a halt, a massive hole in the cloud barrier appearing in his line of vision. Ghirahim snapped his fingers, and the diamonds began to fall from their anchorage on the land far, far away.
Shai began to squirm, terrified of being dropped, and he struggled to wrap his legs around Ghirahim's waist. "M-Master Ghirahim!"
"Oh? Are you going to be clingy again?"
Shai watched as the diamonds continued to fall, whining in fear. "Please, Master Ghirahim, I'm scared. I'm really scared!"
Ghirahim slid him down and drew him close, letting Shai bury his tear-stained face in Ghirahim's chest.
"What are you scared of?"
Nothing was left of the diamond path but the space directly beneath Ghirahim's feet.
"I don't want to fall," the boy cried. "Nothing's down there."
"Oh, my dear skychild." Ghirahim laughed, and there was something almost kind in his voice when he spoke again. "That is where you are undeniably wrong. There are worlds down there you cannot begin to imagine. There are sights you would never believe. There is so, so much more down there than there could ever be up here."
Shai stared down into the hole, heart pounding on the inside of his ribcage, body trembling against his owner's.
"Now, are you going to behave like a good little slave?"
Shai nodded—what other choice did he have?
"Are you going to do all that I ask of you?"
Shai nodded again, assuming that was what a slave did.
"And you will never betray me or make me unhappy?"
Shai stopped. "I… I can try. How do I know what makes you unhappy?"
Ghirahim's voice became a low growl. "The word 'no' makes me unhappy. Defiance makes me unhappy."
Shai gulped and nodded. "I'll make you happy."
Ghirahim laughed gleefully. "Then you have nothing to be scared of!"
"But—"
And at that moment, the crystals below gave way, and Shai was no longer a Skyloftian. He was a slave who belonged to Master Ghirahim. What that meant, Shai didn't really know. But for the moment, he was freefalling from a breathtaking height and the only thing he had to hold onto was… Master.
So he did.
