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!
I am very sorry for long story. I just didn't know how to put this into chapters. ^^; Don't be mad, please! T.T
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HEALING OF A BROKEN ARM
It was early morning. Link had moved from the Infirmary back to his and Dark's shared room after he had gotten bit of rest. Dark had stayed quiet but walked right beside the Hero. Link was getting bit tired of the silence between them but he couldn't come up with anything that he could say without hurting the darker Hylian.
Dark closed the door once they were inside. Link walked to the bed and sat down. He waited for the darker Hylian to come next to him but instead Dark walked to the table, took a chair and sat down. "Why is he keeping a distance between us? It wasn't his fault!" The Hero thought bit hurt about the action.
Dark sighed but didn't meet Link's gaze. "I need to do one thing, Link. I'll be back as soon as possible. Alright?" He said sadly and finally raised his gaze from the floor to Link. The Hero was slightly confused but nodded.
"I'll come with you." Link stated but Dark shook his head.
"No. I need to do this on my own." The darker Hylian replied and stood up. "Just wait here. I will come back as soon as possible." Dark stated as firmly as he could. Link sighed and slumped a bit. "I'm sorry but I need to do this alone." The dark Hylian continued slightly more desperately than would've been needed.
Link sighed once again but nodded. "Fine." He mumbled and dropped his gaze to the floor.
Dark nodded. "I'll make it up to you. Promise." He said while leaving the room. Link just nodded but he started to grin once the door was closed. The Hero jumped up from the bed and sneaked to the door. He listened for a while before quietly opening it. Link glanced out and left then to follow Dark as quietly as he could.
Dark wasn't fully sure what the right way was so he asked from few guards that he met on his way. Link showed to the guards not to tell him out and out of respect the guards did stay silent. The Hero was getting bit worried when he realized what was the darker Hylian's destination. "Why in earth is he heading towards Zelda's room?" Link thought with a slight frown.
Dark took once a deep breath before knocking on Zelda's door. "Here goes nothing... I just hope she won't bark me down too badly or throw me into jail for what happened to Link..." He thought while waiting for the princess to come to open the door.
"Dark, what the heck's going through your mind?!" Link half barked while coming out of his hiding. Dark yelped and turned around in a flash fully startled.
"Link! I told you to wait at our room!" He replied and yelped again when Zelda opened her door. There was a short quiet moment when the three Hylians looked at each other.
"Link? Dark? What are you two doing?" Zelda asked quite puzzled at the scene before nearly screaming. "Oh goddesses! What happened to you, Link?!" She asked, pushed right past Dark and came to Link. Right after that she turned around and looked quite angrily at Dark. "Explain! NOW!" The princess shouted straight off.
Dark gulped and backed off by one step. "Um... That's exactly why I'm here..." He started but didn't get further off when Link started to talk.
"It's not Dark's fault!" He half growled. "This was just an accident." Link continued and would've gladly crossed his arms over his chest if his left arm wasn't in arm sling.
Zelda sighed. "Inside. Now." She stated and walked into her room. Dark let Link go first before following and closing the door. The princess walked to her table and sat down to the chair. Link and Dark stood in middle of the room but Zelda's angry gaze was fully in Dark.
Dark gulped once and took a deep breath. "I..." He started but sighed then. "Your Highness, I was up for leaving the castle. Li— Um... The Hero was just supposed to ride with me to the bridge but Epona decided to follow me after I had already gotten to the gates to Lake Hylia. Since I hadn't gotten over the fences, Epona did a fast stop and, well... Li— Um... The Hero didn't have the saddle or the reins so he, um... Was thrown over and, well..." The dark Hylian explained, shrugged and sighed sadly. "He hit the gate and got hurt."
Zelda stared at him for a long while in silence. Link tried to come up with something to explain the situation better but before he could come up with anything Dark already continued: "It was my fault, your highness. If I hadn't decided to leave, Epona wouldn't have come after me. And if I hadn't stopped before the gates... Well, this wouldn't have happened."
Link sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah and going on that line... If I hadn't rode without saddle and reins I wouldn't have been thrown over." He stated and glanced bit angrily at Dark.
The silence fell back down over the trio. "How badly did you get hurt, Link?" Zelda eventually asked quite worried. Link sighed and shrugged.
"Couple of weeks before it fully heals. Nothing that I wouldn't have gotten used to while going through the Temples." He answered with a slight smile. "Broken bones are never fun but it'll heal. It just takes bit of time." Link continued and glanced at Dark. "And it certainly wasn't Dark's fault." The Hero stated as firmly as he could.
The princess sighed but nodded. "Alright... And where were you two for the past couple of days?" She asked while crossing her arms over her chest. She did glance at Link but mainly kept her gaze in Dark.
"Well... We were... Um..." Link started and scratched the back of his head bit nervously. "We were just having... Um... Bit of adventure..." He continued and fell silent quite soon after Zelda turned her gaze to him.
Dark sighed. "Your highness, we were up and about for saving the leafless maze. Asked for bit of advice from the royal gardener and went to handle one temple to find needed seeds to revive the maze." He explained.
"DARK!" Link screamed in shock and anger. "That... That was supposed to..." He started and dropped his gaze down while being bit hurt about the dark Hylian revealing such information. Zelda looked from Link to Dark and back.
"What are you two talking about? The maze has been dead for years and only way to revive it is to start from the very beginning." She stated confused.
"Your highness, there was a way and we'll see at summer if it worked." Dark stated but nearly flinched when Link huffed and glared at him for a short while before dropping his angry gaze down. The darker Hylian dropped his gaze down too and fell silent.
"Link?" Zelda questioned carefully. The Hero sighed angrily and raised his gaze up.
"It was supposed to be a surprise..." Link stated and turned around to face Dark. "You just had to state it out, huh?!" He shouted angrily and turned away from the dark Hylian again. Dark flinched.
"I'm sorry... I just..." He started but sighed and fell silent. He had never known that one could feel this miserable. The dark Hylian was close of crying but so far he managed to stay calm while hanging his head in shame and hurt.
Zelda looked from Link to Dark and back before sighing. "Link. Out." She commanded and startled the Hero quite badly. "Now." The princess continued sternly. Link sighed, glanced once at Dark and left the room then. He nearly slammed the door shut which only got Dark to flinch. "You truly take the blame of his misfortune?" Zelda eventually asked.
Dark sighed and nodded without daring to raise his gaze up to meet hers. "I don't doubt your words, Dark." Zelda continued and stood up. She turned her back to the dark Hylian while looking out of the window. "You do realize that Link truly cares about you?" The princess continued and glanced behind her.
Dark nodded again but still kept his gaze down while fearing where the conversation would lead into. Zelda turned around with stern look on her face. "If you do hurt him on any of way, you can be sure that I won't forgive that." She stated firmly. Dark flinched a bit but nodded.
"I know, princess." He eventually whispered. "And I could never forgive myself if I hurt him. Link's... He's done so much for me already and..." Dark continued, raised his sad gaze up to meet Zelda's eyes and continued: "Your highness, I want to make it up to him. For all he's done so far for my sake. I just feel that... No matter what I do or say, I just hurt him..." Dark dropped his gaze back down and circled his arms around himself.
Zelda watched the dark Hylian bit startled. The feelings were so genuine and yet she wasn't willing to believe in them. "Your highness, Li— The Hero wants me to stay but you don't want me anywhere near him. Either way I make a wrong choice." Dark whispered quietly and shook his head. Silence fell between the two until Zelda sighed and leaned against the table behind her.
"We both want one simple thing, Dark." She started and got the dark Hylian to raise his gaze back up. "Stay at least until Link's arm is fully healed. After that... We'll see then..." Zelda continued, pushed herself off of the table and turned around. "Now, Link is probably already waiting for you, so go. You're dismissed." The princess stated.
Dark nodded and walked out of the room. He leaned against the door once he had closed it. "Shit... She really hates me and I can't blame her at all..." The dark Hylian thought, sighed and pushed himself off of the door before heading back towards their room. "I hope he's there and not somewhere else..."
Dark opened the door and looked around. The room was empty. "Link?" The dark Hylian called while stepping inside. He didn't hear the water running so he was quite sure that the Hero wasn't at the room at all. "Oh hell... What now?" He thought, sighed and left the room. "Where in earth he can go to? Unlike him I don't know my way around the castle..." Dark thought bit grimly while starting to walk towards the stairs that lead down.
Suddenly he stopped. "There are few places I could check before starting to ask around..." He thought, changed his way and headed towards the highest tower. The dark Hylian stopped at the door to catch his breath before knocking on it. He opened the door since no-one answered. The small round room was empty. "Damn it..." Dark muttered while going inside and checking out of the windows.
The snowy landscape was still beautiful but this time the dark Hylian searched for signs of the Hero. "Well, he's not out... At least not yet..." He thought and left the room. "Next place... Kitchen and stables..." Dark decided while heading downstairs.
Dark didn't have much of luck at kitchen. He was thrown out before he had even a chance to ask if they knew where Link could be. Sighing, the dark Hylian continued forward and headed to the stables. Yet, he came empty handed again. Both Storm and Epona were there but there was no sign of Link.
The dark Hylian took a while to figure out where to head next. He was bit tired of running around the castle but he had decided to find the Hero without a second thought. "Training grounds..." Dark suddenly thought and left the stables.
He took few fast turns while being quite sure where he was heading to but soon enough he stopped and nearly groaned. "I'm lost... Freaking great..." Dark thought grimly and sighed. He closed his eyes and concentrated to remembering the way. After a short while the dark Hylian opened his eyes again with more determination and continued his way.
For Dark's own surprise he did find the right place. He knocked on the door first before entering. There was no sounds around and the room was dim. Suddenly something attacked him and pushed him against the closest wall. Dark screamed in shock and gasped when his back was hit into the wall.
"Thought you were more ready for surprise attacks, Dark." Link growled while backing off. He had his sword in his right hand and angry expression on his face. Dark sighed in relief and relaxed a bit.
"Damn it, Link... You trying to give me a heart-attack?" He asked while trying to recover from the attack. "Besides..." Dark continued and narrowed his eyes when he realized that Link had his sword out. "Shouldn't you be waiting for your arm to recover?" The dark Hylian continued bit worried.
Link laughed and shook his head. "I'm ambidextrous." He stated with a grin. "Had to learn or I would've died more often than not." The Hero continued and slashed the air few times. "Come on, practice with me." Link half commanded and looked straight at the darker Hylian.
"I'd rather not..." Dark replied bit uncertainly. Link narrowed his eyes and ran for an attack. The dark Hylian gasped in shock and avoided the attack just barely. He had to do a back jump with a somersault to avoid the next slash. "Link, what the hell?!" Dark shouted while backing away from the attacks.
"Fight back!" Link shouted in anger, tackled Dark to ground and brought his sword over the darker Hylian's throat. "I thought we were equal but guess you getting feelings and such just messed everything up, huh?" The Hero stated while getting up.
Dark stared in shock and horror at the Hero. He sat up and closed his eyes. The words had hit hard and the dark Hylian tried not to show how much it hurt him. "I thought him to be different... Maybe he was right after all..." Dark thought, grit his teeth and let the anger take over. "Fine..." He mumbled, stood up and drew out his sword. Without a warning the dark Hylian attacked.
Link grinned, backed away from the first few slashed before bringing his sword up to meet Dark's sword. The swords clanged together with force that made Link to back off. The Hero was still left handed but he didn't really have much of trouble of using his right hand to fight back. He matched the strikes easily and let Dark push him backwards.
"Come on... That's it, Dark, show what you got..." Link thought with slight grin before attacking and turning the whole situation around. He forced the darker Hylian to back away and come up with a new plan for his fight.
Dark wasn't sure what was actually going on. "Link..." He said while blocking another strong hit. "I'm sorry that I ruined your surprise. I didn't know it was supposed to be kept a secret." The dark Hylian continued while backing to a wall. "Please, Link, I'm sorry!" He shouted while diving to side while the sword came down on full force. The sword hit the wall just few seconds after Dark had dived off of the way.
Once he came back to his feet, Dark dropped his sword and shield and turned around. "If you want to kill me, Link, then do it. I'm not going to fight back." He said, closed his eyes and waited. He screamed out of shock when the Hero tackled him to the floor, came over him and brought the sword over his throat once again. Dark stared fearfully into Link's blue eyes. "Just do it if you really want to." He whispered quietly and closed his eyes while waiting for the result.
Link held Dark down to the floor for a long while. He kept the sword over the darker Hylian's throat and just watched at his friend. Eventually the Hero sighed and pulled off. "I'm not going to kill you, Dark. You know that." He stated while bit awkwardly sheathing his sword.
Dark sighed in relief and opened his eyes. Link was already leaving the room so it took a few seconds from the darker Hylian to realize the situation. He took his sword and shield up and ran after Link while sheathing them. "Link! Wait!" Dark called after him and nearly ran against the closed door that was shut just in front of him.
Dark opened the door and ran after Link. He stayed behind the Hero and just quietly followed him while trying to come up with a good enough apology to calm Link down. "This is New Year's Eve all over again..." Dark thought bit sadly. "I'm just following him and getting on his nerves... He doesn't need me to look after him. He never has..." He continued and suddenly stopped walking. "That's exactly the point... I need him. I'm the one that's hurting him."
Dark hid his face into his hands, leaned against the closest wall and slid down to the floor while crying. "All I do is hurt him. Over and over again. I should've just attacked him all over again at Water Temple when we met for the second time. I should've forced him to kill me so this wouldn't have happened. And he's right. I'm useless and pathetic the way I am currently. I can't match him and I never will. Should I force him over the edge so he'd have to kill me?... No... I can't do that to him..." The dark Hylian thought while crying.
He didn't hear Link turn around and come back. The Hero stood right next to the dark Hylian and watched him for a while before finally crouching down. "Dark?" Link called quietly.
"I'm sorry, Link! I'm so sorry! I'm nothing the way I am and I'm never going to be able to match you! I'm just wasting your time and effort!" Dark shouted, pulled his knees close to his chest while hiding his face into his arms that he circled around his legs. "You should just forget that I even exist and move forward!" He stated with trembling voice.
"Oh, Dark..." Link whispered quietly and pulled the darker Hylian into one arm hug. "I'm sorry, Dark. I really am. I didn't mean to hurt you but..." He continued and sighed then. "I needed to get some anger out and when you came to there... I just took it out on you and it certainly wasn't right. I'm sorry." The Hero stated and pulled off so he could give a short kiss to the top of the darker Hylian's head.
"You are equal with me, Dark. There is no doubt of that." Link continued with a small smile. "I just was angry and said stupid things. Things that I could never mean. I'm sorry, Dark. I really am." He continued and laid his own head over Dark's while again pulling him into a small hug.
"You're being way too harsh with yourself, Dark. Please, just please, give yourself bit of slack, okay?" Link half begged while pulling off and forcing Dark to raise his head. The Hero leaned forwards and kissed the darker Hylian's forehead. "I'm not mad at you anymore. Come on, how about we'd start your stamina training now?" He continued with a small smile.
"He's not hurting me. And he's apologizing... That's different for what he did... I knew Link was different and he keeps proving it over and over again..." Dark thought, gave a small smile and finally raised his gaze fully up. Link smiled back, stood up and offered his hand to the dark Hylian. Dark accepted it and let Link pull him up. Right after that the Hero hugged him again. This time Dark circled his arms around Link too.
"Better now?" Link asked with a smile. Dark nodded and chuckled then bit nervously.
"Sorry for breaking down like that... I wasn't trying to get you to forgive me by that thing... I just..." He started but sighed then and shrugged. "I don't know but I'm still sorry for destroying your surprise and for breaking down and... For everything." Dark continued and lowered his gaze back down.
Link chuckled, shook his head and hugged Dark once again. "Just forget it already." He whispered and pulled off before the darker Hylian had a chance to react. "So, let's start your training." The Hero stated, winked once and started to head towards the close by door that lead out of the castle. Dark just nodded and followed him.
"The castle's huge, Dark." Link started and the darker Hylian rolled his eyes with a sigh. The Hero chuckled. "Your first training is to run twice around the castle." He stated with a grin. Dark was startled and he turned to look at him. Link chuckled again grinning. "I'll wait here so start running, Dark." He stated and nodded towards the country yard.
Dark narrowed his eyes but sighed then. "Fine." He replied and left for a run. Link chuckled a bit while going to lean against the closest wall and wait for the dark Hylian to return back to him from his first round.
The castle was huge from inside but it was that from outside too. There were different roads, walls and fences on the dark Hylian's way. He either had to round them or go straight over them. Mostly Dark chose to climb over in hopes of it being actually the faster way. Few times he didn't really have other choice than round the obstacle.
By the time Dark came back to where he had started, he was thoroughly tired. "First round, Dark. Just keep going." Link called with a grin. The dark Hylian glanced at him bit angrily but held his mouth shut and continued his way.
The second round took more time and Dark rounded most of the obstacle instead of going over. He was even more tired when he came back to his starting place. The dark Hylian crashed to the ground panting heavily. Link walked calmly to him and kneeled in front of him with a smile on his face. "Good first try." He said and helped Dark back to his feet. "Come on. Dinner and bed sounds like a good idea, right?" Link continued while helping the darker Hylian inside the castle.
Dark wanted to be angry at the Hero but just a glimpse at the broken arm was enough to blow his anger away. When the doctor had told him to look after the Hero, the dark Hylian had decided to do as Link told without saying even one word against it. After a short walk Dark pulled off and with slightly shakily walked on his own towards their room. On that second he hated the fact that their shared room was actually in the third floor.
While Dark had been going around the castle, Link had had a chance to visit at the kitchen. By showing off his broken arm he had gotten the cooks to do several sandwiches for himself and Dark as well as to get those brought to his and Dark's shared room in no time. So, the Hero knew that there was going to be sandwiches waiting for them once they'd reach their room.
Once inside the room Dark leaned heavily against the door. Link chuckled slightly while walking to the table. "So, eat first and then we can wash up and head to bed. Sounds good, right?" He said while sitting down. Dark sighed, nodded and came to the table too.
"I'm not sure I'm having actually the strength to even eat..." The darker Hylian half whispered while nearly crashing to the chair. "If you don't mind I'd rather just wash up and go to sleep..." Dark mumbled quietly.
Link chuckled again and nodded. "Alright. You do that." He replied, stood up and walked to the bed. "I'll just do the—" The Hero started but stopped when he heard Dark move the chair off. Link turned around to see Dark fully and was bit startled about how beat up the dark Hylian really did look like. The Hero sighed. "Sorry for putting you through so much... I probably should've started it lot easier with you..." He said while dropping his gaze down.
Dark chuckled while coming next to Link and taking the corner of the day sheet off of Link's hands. "Nah. It's okay. Since your arm is broken, I'll handle this." He continued and started to fold the cover off of the bed. Link backed to the table and sat down. Once the dark Hylian had gotten the cover off and moved it to the closest chair, he turned around. "So... Do you want to go to wash up first? I just meant, that, well... Actually, forget it..." Dark started but shook his head and turned around again.
Link raised an eyebrow at that. "Just state it out." He replied bit puzzled. Dark shook his head but turned around none the less.
"Nah... I just I want to know if you want to go first." The dark Hylian stated with a slight shrug. Link narrowed his eyes but soon started to grin.
"You were going to ask if I'd need help in washing up." The Hero answered and grinned even wider when Dark blushed a bit and turned his face off a bit. Link chuckled. "Yet, you realized the answer fast enough by yourself. Alright. I'll go first. We'll see if I need any help at there." He continued, winked and left towards the washing room.
Dark sighed and sat down to the floor after Link had left the room. "Idiot! Why the heck you keep forgetting that he's gone through the Temples and saved Hyrule long before you returned back. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" He thought bit angrily and fought to calm down. Eventually the dark Hylian sighed and just stared at the bed right in front of him.
"Dark?" Link called bit worriedly when he found the darker Hylian sitting in front of the bed. Dark was bit startled and he turned around fast. "You okay?" The Hero asked carefully. Dark sighed again and nodded.
"Yeah... I just had lot in my mind." He replied and smiled a bit while getting up. "I just go and wash up. I'll be right back...:" Dark mumbled while heading to the washing room. Link watched bit worriedly how the darker Hylian left the room. Eventually the Hero sighed and went to sit down to the bed.
Dark did come back quite soon. He walked straight to the bed and to his own side of it. Link watched him bit worried but the darker Hylian was quite soon asleep. The Hero sighed and shook his head a bit before carefully pulling the blanket over Dark. After that he lay down too, took his own blanket and waited for sleep to take over.
The next days were tough for the dark Hylian. Link got him to wake up early. They went first into the training area for a short practice and after that the Hero put Dark to run around the castle. Once he had gotten through that they sat for a while at the close by bench.
Dark was just trying calm down and get his strength back and Link wondered how to continue from there. Once the darker Hylian had rest long enough they went to get something to eat. After the meal Link just walked around the castle and the Market place while Dark followed him like a lost puppy. Next on line was another short sword training and last was two new rounds around the castle.
Dark followed the plan without a word against it. It was tiresome and hard but he let Link decide each day's schedule. The work was always the same but Dark didn't complain at all. He just followed the plan and kept his mouth shut. The dark Hylian didn't eat much at the evening but he fell asleep very quickly once he got into the bed.
Link was worried for Dark. He would've gladly heard him say even one word against the plan but nothing. Not even one word or question of why they were doing it so hard. What worried the Hero even more was the small question: "Am I going too hard on him?"
The only reason Link put the darker Hylian through a lot during the time the Hero was healing was very simply the upcoming fight. Link never forgot that Argan was coming to face Dark in swordfight and that worried him. Dark wasn't ready for it and only way for it was by practice. And Link forced the dark Hylian to go through the practice to gain the stamina. He wasn't worried about Dark's fighting skills at all but about stamina. About how long the dark Hylian could keep up the fight before faltering and ending up either hurt or even worse... Dead.
Link shuddered at the thought and shook his head. "I'm doing this for him. I just hope he'll understand..." He thought while watching Dark run right past him. The dark Hylian was getting better with it but it still was very small victory against the time. "I just pray this is worth it and I'm not overdoing it." The Hero sighed and closed his eyes.
Link was startled when he heard a crash and a small gasp. He shot his eyes open and stared at Dark for a while before blinking couple of times. Once he realized that the dark Hylian had actually tripped and fallen to the ground, the Hero was fast to move to Dark's side. "You okay?!" He asked straight off.
Dark sighed and pushed himself to a sitting position. "Yeah..." He replied bit out of breath. "I just don't know if this is getting me anywhere..." The dark Hylian whispered with a sad sigh.
Link was slightly startled and blinked few times. "Dark?" He called worriedly.
Dark shot his eyes wide open. "Oh shit! I didn't mean to say that out loud! I'm sorry!" He straight off shouted and backed off a bit. Link stared at him for a second before starting to laugh. Dark frowned while feeling slightly fearful, confused and bit hurt.
"Finally! I was fearing that you wouldn't dare to say a word against this! I've been fearing that I'm putting you through way too much!" Link replied laughing. "Oh dear goddesses!" The Hero whispered and shook his head. "How about we'd slack off a bit and do something else for a while? It'll take about a week longer before my arm's fully healed. Then I can put things into different way. How about that?" Link suggested with a wide smile.
Dark blinked few times before sighing in relief. "I... I just..." He started but chuckled then. "Yeah, this probably has been bit harsh week but I'm still alive." The dark Hylian joked with a grin. Link laughed and nodded.
"Great! So... How about a snowball fight or few snow lanterns or such?" the Hero asked while standing up and offering his hand to the darker Hylian. Dark accepted it eagerly and let Link pull him back to his feet.
"How about one seriously huge snow lantern?" Dark asked grinning. Link matched the grin and nodded. "Underneath our room's window?" The dark Hylian suggested while feeling bit hopeful and the Hero nodded again while already taking the lead.
Link had bit of hard time of doing the snowballs but soon the duo had found a way of doing the snow lantern. Dark did the snowballs and Link handled the creation of the snow lantern. Soon Link had to stand up to get the snowballs higher. Once it was done they realized one simple problem. "How are we going to put a candle into there anymore?" Dark asked bit startled and slightly disappointed.
Link grinned. "There's a reason for the place I chose for it." He replied and started to dig into the snow. Dark watched bit worriedly how the Hero created a small tunnel into middle of the snow lantern. "There we go..." Link said while putting the candle into about middle of the snow lantern. While taking his hand out of the tunnel he also filled it with snow to keep the creation up. "Now just lighting the candle." He whispered and searched for good enough hole to use Din's Fire without fearing to melt the snow too much.
Rest of the day went in lot lighter training. Dark wasn't sure if he was happy about the change but he was glad for having time to gather his strength. Link on the other hand was grateful for not putting the dark Hylian through the same practice and he made sure that he was going to change things a bit more for the next week too.
Yet, when the next Monday started, Dark was the first one awake. He was bit sore about the whole week's training but he didn't let it bother him. At first he checked that Link wasn't sleeping on his broken arm and that everything was alright with him. Dark smiled a bit when he saw Link sleeping on his back. The dark Hylian pulled the blanket bit better over the Hero before going to change clothes.
By the time he came back Link had woken up. The Hero was sitting on the bed bit startled. "I was bit worried about where you had left." Link half whispered. Dark sighed and walked to sit next to him.
"Nah... I'm staying at least to end of this week. After that, though... Well, we'll see..." The dark Hylian replied and hugged Link. "Go change clothes so we can start the training. Okay?" He continued with slightly pleading eyes.
Link sighed but chuckled then. "I wasn't meaning about fully leaving... I meant about... Well..." He started but sighed then and shrugged. "Swords?" The Hero questioned in hopes of changing the topic while getting up.
Dark nodded while going to do his own side of the bed for start. "Yeah. And then on the same way as last week." He replied while fully ignoring Link's first comment. Link sighed but nodded before leaving to change clothes.
Dark was ready with the bed by the time Link came back. "By the way, Link..." The dark Hylian started while taking his sword and shield. "I wouldn't leave the room without doing at least my part of the bed." He stated with a grin and a wink.
Link was bit startled but chuckled then. "I have at least taught you something, huh?" He replied grinning while fetching his own sword and shield. Sure, he couldn't use the shield but it felt better to have it along.
"Sure have." Dark answered and opened the door. "And you're teaching me even more on daily basis." He continued happily and shut the door after Link. They duo took their way towards the training room lot happier than for the past week.
Dark had started to enjoy their practice. Sure, Link couldn't really fight on full force but he still put one hell of an opponent to fight against and Dark had bit of hard time to match him from time to time. The week had been hard but after his few aloud said words, he had actually realized what the practice had truly meant to both of them. And with coming to the training area from day to day and even twice a day for the past week, he had actually learned a new route in the castle.
They started the practice like with any other time. Easy with few slashed that they kept avoiding and after the start they eventually let the swords clang together. After that they hit it fully off and slowly increased the strength of the strikes. The further the fight went, the more dangerous it became if they weren't careful with their strikes.
Dark hadn't taken out his shield because it would've been bit of cheating. He wanted it to be fair and square so it was just swords. It felt a bit strange for the dark Hylian but he didn't let it bother his practice at all.
Link was happy to see Dark take the training seriously yet still having fun with it. Even with his left arm in the sling, the Hero struck as hard as he could. Dark kept on blocking and attacking whenever he had a chance. Link, even though ambidextrous, was still having bit more of trouble in the fight than Dark.
"PATHETIC!"
Dark flinched while gasping and closed his eyes. The shout had come out of nowhere and he hadn't been prepared even one bit. "DARK!" Link screamed in fear and the dark Hylian opened his eyes just to see the sword come right at him. He could see the panic in the Hero's eyes because he couldn't stop the attack he had launched just mere seconds before the cruel voice had screamed inside Dark's head.
Dark didn't think when he brought his right arm for his protection. Link watched in horror how his Master Sword cut deep into the darker Hylian's arm. Dark only flinched and gasped a bit because the voice was still screaming different kind of cruel words inside his head and it was taking nearly his full notion. He didn't even hear the sword clang to the ground when Link let go of it and rushed to the darker Hylian's side. "Oh dear goddesses! Dark, I'm so sorry!" Link shouted in fear and panic.
Dark just barely registered that the Hero had come next to him and was going to investigate the damage done. The dark Hylian took a step backwards before Link had a chance to get the sleeve up. Link sighed but nodded. He took his hat off, took a firm grip on Dark's arm and pulled it forward. Dark tried to fight back but Link didn't give in even one inch. The Hero tied the hat around the wound with difficulty because of not being able to use both hands for the work.
Right after getting the hat tied around the wound, Link started to rush Dark out of the room and towards the Infirmary. The Hero had just barely remembered to take his own sword with him before already pushing the darker Hylian out of room and nearly dragging him through the hallways.
Dark just followed without really realizing a thing around him. The voice was screaming so hard that it nearly hurt. The words were harsh and cruel. The dark Hylian did all he could to ignore them and will the voice to vanish from his head. He didn't even hear Link's words but he knew that the Hero was talking to him.
Only after Link had pushed Dark to sit on the bed, did the cruel voice finally vanish. Dark sighed in relief and relaxed but flinched when the pain in his right arm finally registered in his head. He opened his eyes and blinked few times. "I'm going to get the doctor! Just wait here!" Link nearly shouted while already rushing towards the second door.
Dark blinked few more times and turned to look at Link who was almost to the door. "Link!" The dark Hylian shouted in slight panic. The Hero stopped on that second and turned around in fear and worry. Dark sighed and smiled a bit. "It wasn't your fault, Link. We just had bit of bad luck." He said calmly.
Link sighed and nodded. "I'll be right back!" He stated and was just about to open the door to search for the doctor when Dark called his name again. The Hero turned around straight off.
"I could come along. There's no reason for putting him to rush around while I still can walk." Dark stated while walking towards him. Link was bit startled but sighed then and nodded. The darker Hylian smiled a bit, nodded back and followed the Hero through the door to find the doctor.
They found the doctor from the third room. Link was ready to explain the whole thing but Dark was bit faster. "We got bit careless on our practice and I didn't think what I was actually doing." He stated with a slight shrug and nervous chuckle.
The doctor nearly deadpanned but shook his head then. "You two really are magnets for trouble and hurt." He mumbled while going to get the needed things. Link would've gladly kept his eyes open but a promise was a promise so he closed them, yet he held tightly to Dark's left arm. The doctor took Link's hat off of the wound and the dark Hylian flinched a bit when the sleeve was moved off of the way.
Dark kept his eyes closed too because he didn't want to see the bit shocked look on the doctor's face. Even though this wasn't the doctor's first time to see this kind of thing, it still startled him. He flinched again when the doctor started to clean and disinfect the wound before bandaging it. "This kind of scars don't come from a fight... This... This is something lot worse... And I rather not say the word out loud..." The doctor thought sadly while carefully pulling the sleeve down. "You two should be lot more careful in and out of practice." He stated before leaving the room. The doctor had realized easily that Dark didn't want Link to know about the marks and his expression would've told too much out if the Hero saw it. Sure, since the dark Hylian didn't have his gauntlets on, he had bandaged his hands and arms. It concealed a lot but the doctor had had to renew some of the bandaging because of that wound.
"Can I open my eyes now?" Link asked bit fearfully. Dark chuckled and shook his head.
"Of course you can." He stated grinning. "Thanks." Dark continued once the Hero had let go of the darker Hylian's arm and sat up straight. Link narrowed his eyes at the word and turned to look at Dark.
"For what, Dark? For hurting you, huh?!" He nearly shouted in anger. Dark was bit startled and shook his head straight off.
"What?! NO! That's not what I meant!" The dark Hylian started in bit of shock. "I meant it by the fact that you didn't watch and that you acted fast." Dark continued straight off, sighed and relaxed a bit. "I'd like to continue the practice if it's okay with you." He suggested bit hopefully.
Link stared at him for a long while before sighing and nodding. "Guess it would be good idea to continue the practice... Just don't overdo it. If it gets too hard, we'll quit. Alright?" He replied while standing up. Dark nodded with a smile while following the Hero out of the room and back towards the training area.
"I doubt you have much to worry, Link. It is my right arm, not left. I can easily continue the fight." He stated grinning. Link chuckled a bit but he was still feeling bad about having hurt the dark Hylian.
"Still. And... I'm sorry, Dark. I shouldn't have gone so hard on you." He replied while opening the door to the training area. "I should've been able to stop my attacks but... I guess we both went overboard with the practice..." Link continued sadly and stared at the sword. He felt bit of disgusted and nauseous of knowing that the blood in the sword was Dark's. "This is the very second time I've cut him..." The Hero thought without being able to take his eyes off of the sword.
Dark walked to him, took the sword from Link's hands and cleaned it into his tunic. Link watched in shock and horror at his doing and just stared when the dark Hylian offered the sword back to the Hero hilt first. "Let's just say that I took my blood back." Dark said grinning widely.
Link blinked at him few times still unable to move or do anything else than just stare at Dark. "Are we going to continue the practice or are you going to keep staring at me?" The dark Hylian asked with slight frown.
Link was slightly startled. He chuckled and took the sword back. "We'll continue the practice... Sorry." The Hero said and smiled a bit. Dark grinned, stepped few times backwards while taking his sword out. "Ready?" Link questioned and the darker Hylian nodded.
They started it off easy again. Slowly they went for harsher but this time around Link kept his attacks on control. He wasn't eager to repeat the earlier scene anytime soon or rather, never again. Dark attacked hard but he too kept his attacks under control because the Hero was shaken enough from the incident and he didn't want to make things any worse than what it already was.
They spend the whole day at the training room. The only break was for short dinner time but soon after that they continued the sword fight. They kept short breaks when Dark ran out of stamina but continued right after he had rested enough.
Late at evening when they had returned to their room and washed up, Dark was still awake and sitting on the bed. He slightly rubbed the wound while trying to get the ache to go away. "Does it hurt?" Link asked quietly while watching the darker Hylian's back. He was laying on his back at the bed but his voice was sad and sorrowful.
Dark sighed and left the wound alone. "Not really." He replied. The dark Hylian heard Link move and sit up. Soon the Hero hugged him and Dark eagerly leaned backwards while closing his eyes.
"Sorry for one arm hug." Link said with a slight grin. Dark chuckled and shook his head.
"Nah. It's okay." He replied and sighed again while opening his eyes. Soon they both lay back down and Dark calmed down a bit. The dark Hylian was ready to fall asleep when the voice started to talk. It was calm and not screaming like before.
"I just gave you a chance to end your life and you didn't take it up."
Dark just sighed and opened his eyes. "And I'm sure you heard that I decided against it." He replied while staring out of the window. The voice in his head laughed cruelly which only got the dark Hylian to flinch slightly.
"It would've been great to put the Hero to kill you all over again."
Dark narrowed his eyes in slight anger. "I'm not putting him through that ever again." He nearly hissed back to the voice. "Now, leave me alone so I can actually sleep. Besides... If I'm dead, who's going to do your dirty work, huh?" The dark Hylian continued with slight grin. The voice huffed but fell silent. Dark chuckled a bit, calmed down and fell asleep soon.
Rest of the week went along with the practice. Dark didn't change a thing from it because he really wanted to get better. Link did his best to try and get the training for bit easier but the darker Hylian refused from it. He had gotten into the schedule and wasn't too eager to change it. The Hero had to give up and just hope that things would change a bit once he'd get his left arm back for working.
Eventually the two weeks were over and the duo was at the Infirmary. The doctor took the sling and other things off. "Just take it easy for several days." He stated sternly. Link nodded while stretching his arm and getting used to having it working again.
"So... How about bit of something special since you got your arm back for use?" Dark asked while they left the Infirmary. Link grinned a little.
"What do you have in mind?" He answered. Dark chuckled and took the lead.
"Oh, you'll see." The darker Hylian replied grinning. He led the Hero towards the kitchen. Link stayed silent while Dark checked the room and once he made sure it was empty, he showed to the Hero to follow. "Just sit down and let me handle few things." He said with a grin.
Link nodded and followed the darker Hylian's plan. "I just hope he won't get himself hurt with his plan..." He thought bit worriedly while Dark went around the room and gathered different things. "Though, I'm eager to know what he's planning..." The Hero continued while still moving his left arm to get in full touch with it.
After a while the dark Hylian brought two plates to the table but nothing else. Link watched bit confused about Dark's work and he was slightly startled when he heard the whistle of the boiling water. Even the darker Hylian was bit startled but he was fast to continue his work. It didn't take long before the Hero smelled the aroma of hot chocolate. Without much of notion he licked his lips with a smile on his face.
That little thing didn't go unnoticed by Dark and he grinned a bit. He turned around and leaned against the counter while waiting for the drinks to cool down a bit. "So... Um... I kinda asked few things from the cooks couple of days ago." The dark Hylian started bit nervously.
Link grinned. "One being how to make hot chocolate, huh?" He asked and chuckled slightly when Dark nodded while blushing slightly. "What's the other things?" The Hero inquired. This time Dark chuckled.
"You'll see." He replied and started to walk around the kitchen again while searching for something. "Just close your eyes for a while, please." The dark Hylian asked and glanced at Link to make sure he followed his request.
Link did as Dark asked but it worried him slightly more. Soon he heard that there was brought third plate to the table and soon after that came the two mugs of hot chocolate. "Okay, you can open your eyes now." The dark Hylian said while sitting down in front of the Hero.
Link was slightly startled when he saw the plate full of cookies. "Did you do these?" He asked slightly amazed. Dark dropped his gaze to the table slightly nervously.
"Um... No...I asked the cooks to do something good for you." He replied bit sadly. "I kinda didn't have the time since I was nearly whole time in your sight and, well, I doubt I could've actually baked them." Dark continued and shrugged. "I just hope it's worth it." The dark Hylian whispered bit worriedly.
Link chuckled. "I think this is the best celebration food so far." He stated while taking one of the cookies. Dark sighed in relief and nodded.
"Good to know. I was bit worried about how things would go." He said and took a cookie too. They were quiet for a long while and just enjoyed their little meal. Eventually Dark took once a deep breath and turned to look at Link fully. "There's one thing I need to tell you..." He whispered.
Link frowned a bit and nodded to show he was listening. The look on the dark Hylian's face got the Hero worried. "I... I've been thinking a bit, Link... And... Well..." Dark started, sighed and dropped his gaze down.
"And?" Link questioned worriedly. He didn't see the dark Hylian's grin.
"And I thought about staying at the castle until you get tired of seeing me around." Dark continued with a wide grin while raising his head up and looking straight at Link.
Link was startled but real soon he grinned widely. "AWESOME! That's the best news I could get!" He shouted, shot up from the chair and before Dark had a chance to even know what happened, the Hero already hugged him. Dark chuckled while returning the hug. "Here's one little warning, Dark... I doubt I'll ever get tired of seeing you around." Link stated with a whispered.
"Let's just say that I hope so." Dark replied grinning.
END OF 'HEALING OF A BROKEN ARM'. WILL CONTINUE IN 'SNOW CASTLE'.
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A/N: If you managed to read this far, please leave a comment! Even anonymous reviews are accepted! And I need at least three reviews until the next story will be up!
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!