A/N: Edited 28.8.2013. Minor misspellings and such fixed.

I know that Dark Link and Shadow Link are two different things but if you think about it... How does Dark Link appear into the Water Temple's room if not by being a shadow at somewhere?

Have fun!

Oh, and I own nothing else except the story and idea! Everything else, the characters and places, goes to Nintendo and who ever invented the amazing Legend of Zelda series!

This IS continuation for CaH!

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LEAFLESS MAZE

CHAPTER 1: The Maze

It had been two weeks since Dark came to the castle of Hyrule. The dark Hylian woke up early at that day. He carefully got up from the bed and went to change clothes. He took one of the red tunics along before leaving the room.

At the hallway he started to put the tunic over his black one and stuffed his black cap inside the red one to keep it along. Dark had learned at least the hallways between main hall, kitchen, stables and his and Link's shared room. That was at least a road he didn't get lost anymore but rest of the way was still unknown to him.

The dark Hylian headed out of the castle through the back door. It was very cold air and it got Dark's breath to come out in a mist. He walked deeper into the back garden of the castle deep in thoughts.

"It's been two weeks. Today's the last day..." Dark thought sadly. He glanced once back towards the castle before sighing and turning back to the road he had chosen. "If I leave, Link will be sad. But if I stay... I don't think Zelda is too happy about that..." He thought and stopped right in front of huge wall of leafless bushes.

Dark was bit startled at the scene. Feeling bit confused he walked forward and found that even though he could see through the walls, there were two different roads to be taken. Shrugging a bit the dark Hylian decided to investigate further and chose the road to right.

Dark walked forward in the maze of leafless bushes and soon he realized to have gotten lost. The walls were see-through but the more there were the harder it became to see through them. "Oh, crap..." Dark thought bit panicking. "This sure wasn't a good plan..." He muttered, sighed and continued his way forward.

Left, right, forward, dead-end, backwards, left and again left. Dark was thoroughly lost and wasn't sure anymore if he had already gone through that particular way. The dark Hylian sighed and shook his head. He looked up but the sky was filled with dark grey clouds and there were no trees or anything else useful to been seen. Even the castle was out of his sight.

Link woke up hours later after Dark had gotten lost in the maze. He yawned and sat up while stretching. The Hero opened his eyes with a small smile and looked around... And was fully shocked to see that Dark wasn't there. "Dark?" Link called but didn't get an answer.

The Hero looked around bit worriedly and noticed that the black clothes of the dark Hylian was gone. "Shit! Why didn't I notice that he woke up already?!" Link thought in panic and jumped up from the bed before already nearly falling to the floor. "Ack!" He shouted but was lucky enough to catch his balance in time.

Link had no idea why but he decided to actually check out of the window. On the snowy ground right underneath the window was three snow lanterns. One was done together and the two others were separately done. One by Dark and one by Link. The Hero sighed sadly and gazed bit further into the yard. Suddenly he grinned, left to change clothes and was soon out of the room.

Dark stopped walking and sighed. "Oh, freaking hell... Why do I always go investigate places on my own?" He mumbled sadly while looking around. He had been backtracking his way for long while so the snowy ground was filled with footprints all over it. "Okay... Calm down..." The dark Hylian told himself while closing his eyes. "Just think for a second..."

Suddenly there was sound of snapping stick. Dark turned around real fast. "Who's there?" He called and looked around. "Oh crap... What if it's one of the guards and I'm not even supposed to be here?" The dark Hylian thought in slight panic. He gulped. "Should I tell that I'm lost?" Dark wondered and listened quietly to the sounds around him.

"Why isn't anyone answering?" The dark Hylian questioned and narrowed his eyes but soon smiled bit relieved. "Maybe it was just a small animal... Rabbit or something..." Dark thought and chuckled a bit. He shook his head and took a deep breath. "Just cool it... There's nothing to worry about..." Dark told to himself as reassuringly as he could.

After having calmed down, the dark Hylian continued his way. He had no idea where he was heading to but staying on move would be better than freezing to death. Dark kicked the snow in frustration. "Link probably thinks that I left already... But if he checks the stables he knows that I'm somewhere around still... I wouldn't leave Storm if I left." He thought with bit happier mood. "Maybe he'll come after me... I just hope he'll know how to get out of here..." The dark Hylian hoped.

Suddenly Dark was startled by an another snapping stick. He turned around in a flash but saw no-one around. This time he didn't call out but started to head towards the sound. The dark Hylian wasn't fully sure where the sound had come from but after few turns and long corridors, he was even more lost.

There was no sign of broken sticks nor any other set of footprints at all. Dark sighed and shook his head. "I really gotta get out of here..." He thought while trying to hold the panic at bay. The dark Hylian stopped for a while and started to really think his situation through. "Okay... Maybe I should head to the center of the place... So, new snow and new footprints..." Dark decided and turned around.

He listened carefully to his surroundings while searching for new ways in the maze. Dark grinned a bit when he noticed a new way he hadn't yet checked. The dark Hylian started his trek forward bit happier but still slightly worried about what was actually following him.

It took about two hours from Dark to finally find the middle of the place. There had been at least three more times that he heard the sound of a snapping stick. It still freaked him out but no-one answered when he called to it. And even worse was that there was no birds around, not even crows and magpies. It started to be quite clear that someone or something was following him.

The area he came to was round and in middle or the area was a fountain but it was empty of water. There were four benches around the fountain and couple of signs. Dark sighed in relief and walked to the fountain. He leaned back first against it and closed his eyes.

"Finally. I was getting worried I'd never find the middle..." Dark thought bit happily with a sigh. He opened his eyes and looked around for a while. "It should be easier to find a way out from here... I hope..." The dark Hylian muttered and left to the closest sign. "No harm checking the signs..." He thought with a slight smile.

The first sign was no help at all with the text of "Middle of the rose garden." Dark was close to facepalm at the sign. "Thanks for the obvious..." He muttered disappointed about the info. But he soon chuckled and shook his head. "Okay... Next..." Dark whispered and looked around for next sign. "A-ha!" He shouted quietly when he noticed the second sign.

Dark walked to it and hoped for the best but ended up disappointed again. "Since you found it this far, can you find out too?" Was with the second sign. Dark growled at it. "Dam things! Can't they be even one bit of helpful?!" He shouted angrily and walked back to the fountain. The dark Hylian sat down to the cold rocks of the fountain and sighed exaggerated while crossing his arms over his chest.

Suddenly there was rustling in the close by wall of leafless bushes. Dark stood up and tried to be ready for anything. Then, out of nowhere, there came a deer jumping through the bushes. Dark screamed out of shock and tried to back off.

The deer came right at him and the dark Hylian took a fast step backwards. He remembered way too late that the fountain was right behind him. Dark fell screaming back first into the empty fountain while the deer jumped right over it.

The dark Hylian slid down to the bottom of the fountain. After catching his breath and recovering from the shock, Dark stood up. The area he was at was small and round but the way back up looked icy and slippery. He narrowed his eyes in determination and started to try and get up but he didn't get a grip from anywhere and after a short climbing he slid back down.

"Oh, crap... What now?" Dark asked quietly and sat down. He looked up to the edge of the fountain while trying to come up with a good plan of getting away from there. Suddenly a rope flew right through the air and nearly came as far as to Dark. The dark Hylian screamed a bit and backed off in shock. The rope was hanging from the edge of the fountain and came enough down so he could reach it.

"Well... This solved my problem..." Dark thought and went to take a grip on the rope. He pulled himself up with the rope's help. The dark Hylian sighed in relief once he got back to solid ground. "Hey, thanks for—" He started but once he looked around, there was no-one anywhere to be seen.

The rope was tied to close by bench's foot tightly but there was no-one to be seen. "Hey! Is here anyone?!" Dark called but no-one answered. He sighed and went to get the rope off of the bench. After that he gathered the rope and looked around again. Still no-one anywhere near the place.

"Well, someone was here... But who?" Dark thought while sitting down to the closest bench. "Oh, well... I gotta try and get out of here..." He continued and got back up. The dark Hylian turned around and started to head back towards the way he had come from but suddenly something caught his interest.

On the snow was drawn several arrows. There was no writing but only arrows. Dark crouched down to take a better look. Suddenly he grinned. "Whoever is trying to help, is doing it again..." He thought and tried to memorize the order of the arrows before going back to the maze.

It took about half an hour before he finally got out of the maze. Dark sighed in relief and walked underneath the closest tree to sit down. "There you are! I've been looking for you for the whole darn day!" Someone suddenly called and Dark nearly yelped in shock.

The dark Hylian turned around towards the sound and sighed in relief. "Link! You really don't know how happy I am to see you!" Dark called and stood up. Link frowned a little.

"Oh, how's that?" He asked carefully. Dark blushed a bit and dropped his gaze to ground.

"Well... You see..." He started nervously, took once a deep breath and tried to calm down. "I went to take a look at that place but, well, got lost..." Dark explained and nodded towards the leafless maze.

"Really?" Link asked while raising one eyebrow at him. Dark just nodded bit ashamed about the situation. "Well... That's... Um..." The Hero wasn't fully sure what to say. Dark sighed and shrugged.

"Well... There is probably something we should actually talk about..." The dark Hylian said nervously. Link sighed and nodded.

"Yeah..." He replied and started to walk back towards the way he had come from. Dark followed him quietly. In no time the duo was back to their room. Dark walked straight to the window and sat down. Link walked to the table after closing the door and looked straight at Dark.

Link sighed. "You want to know a secret?" He asked. Dark raised his gaze from the floor to the Hero and nodded slowly. "The maze is actually dead. Really few go to there in these days. It used to be really beautiful during summer but something happened and all of the flowers have withered. The gardener has no idea what happened."

Dark sighed and leaned against the cold window. "Before or after Ganondorf's death?" He asked quietly. Link shrugged. "I believe it's part of Ganondorf's works. I think he destroyed it." The dark Hylian stated.

Link frowned. "How's so?" He asked. Dark sighed again and closed his eyes.

"Because I know what kind of magic he used." He replied quietly. "And it really killed everything on its path." Dark explained quietly.

"You think there'd be a way to fix it?" Link asked bit hopefully. Dark shrugged.

"I have no idea." He replied quietly and glanced out of the window. The dark Hylian frowned. "I didn't know that we could've seen the maze from here..." Dark whispered bit confused. Suddenly his frown deepened. "But he did know..."

Link gulped once while waiting for Dark to continue. "You..." The dark Hylian eventually whispered. "It was freaking you who followed me!" He shouted in bit of anger. "Why the hell you didn't say a thing?! Did you actually enjoy of freaking the hell out of me, huh?!" Dark screamed in anger and stood up.

"Wow, hey! That's not the way things went!" Link replied nervously. Dark narrowed his eyes at him.

"Then, pray tell me, how did it go?" The dark Hylian asked coldly. Link gulped. This sure as hell wasn't what he had hoped for. In reality he had wished it to stay out of Dark's realization.

"Well... I had been meaning to come and help you but... Well..." Link started nervously. Dark stayed silent while waiting him to continue. Eventually the Hero sighed. "I don't know what went into me... I didn't mean to freak you out or anything... I'm sorry." He said quietly.

"Was that deer part of your plan?" Dark asked while crossing his arms. Link shook his head.

"No, not even one bit. It got startled about me and had no other way than through the bushes. I really didn't mean to get you to fall into the fountain." The Hero explained sadly.

"Why didn't you show up when you actually had a chance?" The dark Hylian asked confused. Link shrugged.

"I got worried. I didn't mean to get you into trouble or freaked out... I just... Lost confidence of showing up." The Hero replied quietly while dropping his gaze to the floor in shame. Dark narrowed his eyes.

"You lost confidence? Don't play with me! You got the Triforce of Courage, for goddesses sake!" Dark shouted at him. Link flinched at it and kept his gaze in the floor. The dark Hylian turned his back to the Hero and stared out of the window.

Link gulped. "I... I know it sounds like a lie but it's not that, Dark..." He started quietly. "I really don't know what went into me but..." The Hero continued and finally raised his gaze back up. "Dark, I'm sorry. I really am." Link half pleaded.

Dark shook his head while staying quiet. He didn't turn around. Instead the dark Hylian kept staring at the leafless maze in the backyard. Link dropped his gaze back to the floor and sat to the table behind him. "Please, Dark, I'm really sorry. Is there any of way I could make it up to you?" The Hero asked bit hopeful about the situation.

Dark sighed and closed his eyes. "What did the maze look like before it was destroyed?" He asked quietly. Link blinked in shock and it took him a while before he could answer.

"Well... At winter it is kinda the way it is currently but at summer... At summer it has had amazingly green leafs and eventually deep red flowers. It's quite cool. But the thorns are quite sharp." Link replied with a slight shrug.

"And it wasn't like that at last summer?" Dark asked quietly. Link sighed and shook his head.

"No... It hasn't been like that for several years..." He answered and dropped his gaze back to the floor. "Zelda has kept it there just in case. Or maybe just because of the maze part but it has been out of use for years. She really loved it while it still was actually living." Link continued with a sad smile. Dark just nodded but stayed silent.

After a while Link eventually sighed again. "Maybe we should go and try to find a way of reviving the maze." He suggested while feeling bit hopeful. Dark frowned a bit while thinking about the suggestion. Eventually he nodded slowly.

"Sounds like a plan." The dark Hylian said with a grin. "Let's do it." Dark stated while turning around but he narrowed his eyes at Link. "Yet, you're still not fully forgiven..." He half growled. Link flinched slightly and gulped while nodding.

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A/N: If you read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted!

Also, flames are accepted but those shall be for Axel's entertainment or for Demyx's practice! =P

IN CASE YOU'RE INTERESTED: I'm really wishing for pictures of my story. I don't care what your drawing skills are (you can check my DevArt page to know how crappy I am while drawing) but I really would love it if you drew a picture of your favorite part of my story. I accept from stick people pictures to works worthy of being shown in a museoum and everything in between! For everyone who tells that they'll draw a picture, I shall write a story. All I need is your fave charactes and bit of info. Also, if you don't want to come up with an idea for it but you have a picture that you have drawn and like it, I can write a story for the picture!
So, in short: Your picture of one part of my story = a story from me with your ideas.
There is no deadline for this and the more pictures you do, the more stories I'll write for you. Simple, right? I really hope for lots of pictures! =)
NOTE! Write me either a PM or by doing a review reply. DON'T tell me what part you're drawing, just that you do draw a picture. I have DevianArt account, so if you do have such too, it'll be easy to send a link once it is done and uploaded. On other time, send me link by e-mail (can be found on my profile page) and I will send you review of it by here or by e-mail if you leave me your e-mail. In DA I can fave your work, on other sites I'll put the picture to my bookmaks. THANK YOU!