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A/N: I don't own Legend of Zelda or the picture. I only own this story.
I hope you enjoy reading this! Critiques are appreciated, so please, tell me what you have for me. Dark Link is a kid in this, by the way.
Silence. That's all Dark Link could hear. Only the silence and occasional chattering of his teeth. He was curled up in a ball, shaking, on a poorly made bed. Black clothes and a thin sheet were all the little boy had to warm up. His room was cold and bare, and the stone walls did nothing to help with it.
He hated being locked up in this room. He felt like a caged animal in here, having to suffer in here until his 'owner' let him out with nothing to play with. The only things to keep him company were the occasional spiders that crawled out of their little corners. It wasn't very fun to play with something that would be easily squished. There was the Stalfos that would bring him food, but he would usually just leave once the food was set down.
The only thing close to freedom Dark Link had was the window across from his bed. It was too high up to jump out of and it was gloomy around the castle, but he was still able to see worlds just out of his reach. It was nice to see something other than black and gray all day. Maybe he could see people and someone could take him away from this hell. Away from his 'father'.
Ganondorf was his father in a way, but he was far from being a real father that he was comfortable to be around. He was terrified to even be near him. If there was something Ganondorf didn't like, he'd scream and resort to violence until the boy would understand. It wasn't uncommon to go to bed hungry with bruises and cuts all over his body.
The boy sighed and cuddled deeper into the bed, trying to savor any warmth that invited him in. He shut his eyes, imagining a different life; a life without Ganondorf, a life where he could just be a little kid. He imagined someone would take care of him and give him any type of food he desired. He could go out and play with the other children and make an innocent mess wherever he trudged. When he came home, he'd rush up to open arms with a mother and father and they could be happy, together.
A weak smile spread across his face when he thought of family. The vision was gone and he was back to a harsh, cruel reality. His face sank and he sighed gloomily. Perhaps such daydreams were meant for those who weren't born of a devil. Maybe… Just maybe, he would one day be free.
As he was about to shut his eyes again, something bright caught his eye. Light cascaded from his window, stretching across the room. It was rare of him to see sunlight on the castle, due to the dark clouds overhead. He sat up and looked at the window, curious as to why the sunlight seemed to summon him.
Then, he saw it. A flower had climbed its way onto his windowsill. He gaped, slowly climbing out of his bed and stepping towards it. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The colors contrasted greatly with the gloomy monochromes- it was a nice contrast. Dark Link cooed, his steps slowing into a stop as he reached the window, eyes not faltering.
Something beat deep down as he stared at the magnificence. His sense tingled a faint bit and he felt a little lighter. He felt something else, something other than cold. Was it…warmth? This new feeling was almost a little scary, but the longer it lingered, the better it was. Whatever this flower was doing, he didn't want it to stop. For once in his life, he wanted to cry. Not a bad cry after a bad day, but a different type of crying. One where you were so happy, you cried. It was just a moment, but he felt like this world was a little bit better.
Attracted to that feeling, he unconsciously reached forward, but as he did, that moment ended. The flower wilted before he could touch it. Dark Link gasped and jerked his hand away, watching in horror as the elegant and graceful flower withered and turned into an ugly, brown paper. The sunlight shunned him once more and his room turned dark, as if to scorn him for killing something that it gave to the child.
He stared for a long while, waiting for it to regrow and be beautiful once more. With shaking hands, he reached forward, plucking out the dead flower. He gently prodded at a petal, which only broke at the small touch. He watched it waft down to the floor, tiny paper pieces breaking off it. It crumbled.
His hand shook as he held the dead flower. He hiccupped and tears dribbled down the sides of his face. He fell to his knees, curling up and holding the once precious thing in his hands. He screamed, cursed and wailed at himself, the warmth he felt for that moment gone. He even begged the flower to wake up and make him happy once more, but it only crumbled more. Anger and frustration rose and he threw the flower away, curling up and hugging his knees.
He wondered why; why this happened to him; why it always happened to him; why couldn't nature let him be happy, just for one moment. But no matter how hard he kicked and screamed and cried, that emptiness only grew in his fragile heart. It only broke him further, and that flower, mangled and dry, only laughed at him for his weakness to be so easily influenced.
Nature was a cruel thing. A cruel thing indeed.
