The shadow's head slammed backwards against the stone wall of his prison. He could taste the blood filling his mouth after that last hit and he spat it out. The moblin guard that had punched him snorted with disgust at the shadow. "Is that all you got?" He asked angrily. The shadow had been beaten around by these guards and occasionally his creator himself since the day he'd been created. He knew why, he was the very shadow image of his creator's greatest adversary. This had been explained to him by his creator after he had been created. It had also been explained that he must have the ability to feel pain beaten out of him. It was his duty to kill and replace the man he'd been copied after, then his creator would reward him greatly. The moblin punched him again, this time in the stomach. Unfortunately, he groaned when the fist met his stomach, still feeling pain. The guard left him on his knees panting. "Come back here," He yelled, fighting against his chains "You're not done with me yet." His commands were of course ignored.
He couldn't tell from his dark cell how long he had been down there, but he knew it had been a few days since he'd seen his creator. He missed the sound of his voice, the only voice he'd ever heard. It had even been hours since the guard had left him alone and he missed even that. He curled up on the stone floor and, convincing himself he wasn't lonely, he went to sleep.
He heard his cell door open. He didn't know how long he'd been asleep. A large hand grabbed him by his hair and pulled him upright. "Creator." He felt a wash of relief come over him. Ganondorf looked him in the eyes as though he was searching for something. Then he dropped him to the floor again.
A sword dropped in front of him. "Pick it up." The blade was dark and evil looking. "You're ready to learn." Dark Link couldn't contain his smile. He had waited for this for a long time. He felt the swift kick to his gut but didn't give any signs that he noticed besides a slight exhalation. "Your happiness is an emotion."
Her bare feet touched the cold barn floor. The early autumn air made her shiver slightly and she groped for her boots in the dark. One of the horses gave a soft snort in his sleep but the morning was otherwise so quiet she could almost swear she could hear the dust falling on various surfaces. She hummed her mother's song quietly to herself, it was against the rules, but it comforted her. She stepped out into the foggy morning and took a deep breath of the fresh, cool air. Her first task was gathering the morning eggs from the cuckoos. As she walked across the field the hem of her skirt became wet with dew and it slapped against her legs, making an unpleasant cold, itchy feeling.
These quiet moments were the best part of her day, because her uncle Ingo was still asleep. He'd become very unstable within the last few years and she was never sure when he'd have another violent outburst. He'd chased her father off the ranch only a year after King Ganondorf had usurped the Hylian throne. He'd been gamboling away any profits the ranch had been making ever since and had left Malon to care for all of the chores. He used to be very hardworking and even kind but it seemed something dark had twisted his heart.
She'd promised her father she'd take care of the ranch for him while he was gone. He might be dead now for all she knew, but she just couldn't let the ranch go. She'd thought of running herself, but the horses... no, she couldn't bring herself to leave them behind.
He was learning quickly, his creator said he'd known he would. After a few short hours, Ganondorf was sure he was competent. "Good. You're technique copied flawlessly. You're as learned as your opponent with one advantage, he feels pain." Ganondorf pointed to the shadow's arm, he hadn't even noticed it'd been bleeding. The sleeve of his tunic was soaked through and the blood stood out against his grey skin. "You're ready."
"What's taking you so long, girl?" Uncle Ingo was impatient for his breakfast. "I'm a busy man with a business to manage. I can't be expected to do it on an empty stomach." She hung her head and bit her lip as she slid the eggs from her frying pan onto his plate. She didn't expect the hard slap that met her cheek. "And wipe that sour expression off your face. You think you work harder than me? You're wrong." She was denied breakfast and ordered to go milk the cows and let the horses out to the corral.