Warnings: Yes, this is indeed a strange pairing. I really like this story too, something darker and more unique than I'm use to seeing/doing.
Will probably never be updated, this story is merely one of the many I have written on my comp that I've dusted off to allow the world to view. Check my profile for adoption data, challenge info, et cetera...who actually spells that anyway? If I do continue this, updates will be slow in coming. However, do note that I still have one more chapter of this story written.
Link was different.
It wasn't something that he was proud of, but something that was thrown in his face everyday. The Kokiri children did their bests to remind him of how different he was, with taunts and jibes, sometimes resorting to physical blows. He was the smallest, the youngest, the dumbest, and the only one without a fairy. He supposed it wasn't always so bad; Saria was nice to him and the Great Deku Tree was too, but that just made the bullying worse. Not to mention it didn't matter, because Saria was nice to everyone. And the Deku Tree refused to give him a fairy. He also never stopped the bullying.
The day was a particularly bad one, one that he would forever remember through the years to come. Saria had gotten angry at him because he'd broken her ocarina. But he didn't do it on purpose, not that she listened. It was Mido, the major root of all of his problems, the boy with the biggest crush on Saria. He'd waited until Saria had gone before pushing Link, who had fallen onto the ocarina she'd left on a chair. The distraught girl hadn't wanted to hear anything he'd had to say, rushing off to the Deku Tree in tears after saying hurtful words to him. The same taunts and jeers he heard everyday, made worse because Saria said them. Mido had been pleased with himself.
"See? Even Saria doesn't want to be friends with you!"
Later that same day, the Deku Tree had called him into his grove and scolded him for making Saria cry. He hadn't listened to him when he said it was Mido's fault, that Mido had pushed him onto her precious item. He never listened to him, refusing to believe that his innocent children were capable of cruel actions. When Link left the clearing, he felt more alone than ever before. The only two people in town that were nice to him were angry at him, and Mido was well aware of it.
That same night, he managed to rally up the more experienced kids, and Link found himself dragged from his home and tossed towards The Barrier. Mido sneered at him, his eyes mocking. "No one wants you here," he said snidely. "Even Saria and the Great Deku Tree have realized how worthless you are! So get out!" The other kids grabbed at his arms, laughing as they swung him around with no resistance; the blonde had long since learned that fighting back made things worse. Even now, with the Gate of Death before him, he didn't struggle. Even as they tossed him with a cheer, he didn't struggle. He forced himself not to cry as well.
The other side of the gate was far different than what he'd expected, even as he bitterly realized that he was still alive. Lifting himself from the hard wooden bridge, he stared behind him where the ominous void blocked out the view of the Kokiri Forest, then stared ahead where another void blocked off the view to whatever was behind it. He wondered if they'd gotten the gates wrong as he walked to the opposite side, bitterly smiling as he began to walk through it. If they had gotten the gates wrong and he came back, they'd just throw him a little further the next time. Resigned to his fate, he fully entered the void with his eyes closed, only hoping that it wouldn't hurt too badly.
The thought was blown from his head when he felt a cool breeze.
Peeking one of his eyes open, Link stared around in confusion. Green grass and trees? The night sky? He pinched himself warily and gave another bitter smile as he felt a small sting. The gate hadn't led to his death. The Kokiri lied to him. The Great Deku Tree lied to him.
Saria lied to him.
With a weary sigh, he began to walk forward, his ears prickling as new, unfamiliar sounds reached his ears. Rounding a bend in the trees, he stared, wide eyed, as even more grassy fields were revealed to him. Stunned, he numbly started forward, wondering why they were told that death awaited outside those gates. "Where to now?" The question seemed to start a reaction within the earth to his left, making his head turn to it. He shuddered in horror as a bony hand suddenly reached up through the grass, stepping back quickly. As the thing began to lift itself fully up, he ran, fear curling around every step.
By the time five days had passed, he felt as though he was going to die.
Littered with cuts and bruises, Link lay next to a flowing river, curled into himself as tight as he could be. He rethought his thoughts upon the other Kokiri, now knowing why they considered the outside world equivalent to death. By day, weird creatures attacked you from the skies, their underbellies razor sharp upon your skin. By night, skeleton children rose from the grounds, their eyes glowing with rage as they senselessly chased you, beating you relentlessly once they caught you with their clawed bones. The beautiful fields that he'd been forced to wander were haunted.
Link wondered if Mido would consider it justice.
The sanctuary he'd found for the day was a little patch of land beside a large set of stairs. As long as the sun was still up in the sky, he could sleep there, because the monsters in the sky only attacked him when he moved near their homes in the day. However, once night fell again, he knew he'd be forced to move. The skeleton creatures were everywhere, giving him no such break. He'd be forced to run again until the morning came. Lulled by the gentle sounds of water, the lost child fell asleep, his body tensed for the slightest of off noises.
The sound of a wolf's howl rose his head that night.
Link quickly stood, any sign of tiredness vanishing as he realized the sun was already set. He hadn't meant to sleep so long…His thoughts were cut as he felt a slash from behind, a scream being tore from his throat at the burning pain it brought with him. Without bothering to look, for he knew what brought that pain all too well, he began to run for the bridge. As much as he wanted to head for the water, as the evidence proved that the skeleton children died the moment they touched it, he had yet to learn how to swim. Saria never got around to those lessons. His run to the short bridge came to an abrupt end as that familiar rumbling came from directly before him, but the hand that rose from the ground was far larger than the others.
"…I'm going to die…" The thought wasn't as horrifying as he thought it'd be. The few days that he'd spent outside were nothing but torture; The thought of ending it all had a certain appeal. Despite the thoughts, as the giant creature struck his face, making him fly back and bang his head upon the stairs, he still clung on to the hope of living. Woozily, he began to crawl up the stairs, his vision swimming. As he reached the top, the creatures seemed to come to some sort of decision as they all vanished at once. Not trusting the seemingly good will, the blonde continued to crawl…stopping in confusion as he noticed the buildings before him.
But…this isn't the Kokiri Forest…?
The confusion turned to fear, and fear to anger, as he realized that he'd once more been lied to. There were different races…intelligent too, if they made and lived in homes. The anger melted back into fear as he saw lights on within the homes, wondering if these new people were as cruel as the Kokiri. With the thought in his head, he forced himself to stand and dizzily started forward, ducking away from the lights. He eyed the left, where a large set of stairs greeted him, then looked in front of him, where a smaller pair of stairs stood. To his right was another set of small stairs, he noted, as he walked forward where the least set of lights were. At the top of the stairs was a well, one that gave off an evil feeling. The blonde steered to the right, tripping over his feet as he hastily got away from it.
Could such an evil thing actually exist?
His tired wandering eventually led him to the back of the village, where he collapsed at a big stone with words carved into it. Shuddering at the cold stones beneath his feet, he stared to his left, eying a floating creature. His mind screamed at him to move, to run, anything, as it grinned menacingly and came towards him, a lantern hanging in its hands. He closed his eyes, resigned to his fate, and only hoped that it would be over soon. Just as the creature reached him there was the sound of heavy footsteps. Link turned to the sound as the creature went away in fear, wondering at what could possibly scare away the thing, and what was to happen to him now. He was treated to the sight of a man, one that was built rather strangely. Scary, he would have said normally, but there was a kindness that shone from the man's large face.
"What happened to you, kid?" His alarmed voice washed over Link as he picked him up, making the blonde give him a smile. The surprised look he gave back was the last thing he saw as he surrendered to oblivion.