Dark Side
Ch. 1; Crimson Eyes
"Epona!" Link called. He whistled after a few seconds. She would usually be trotting up the path by now. Link sighed. I guess I'll have to go get her. The kids probably distracted her in the spring, Link thought to himself as he trudged up the beaten path to the cool spring a few meters away. As he got closer, however, he did not hear the usual laughter and splashing that came with the children playing. Worried, Link hastens his pace.
When he reached the mouth of the spring, he stopped cold. He was met not by the children, but by a strange man. He was a strange sight indeed, what with his dark clothing and ashy blonde hair. He stood by Epona at the edge of the clearing.
The strange man was stroking Epona's mane, almost longingly, as if he wished to swing his leg over her back and ride away, himself. It appeared as if he hadn't noticed Link standing at the entrance to the spring, his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.
"Sir? Might I ask what you are doing with my horse?" Link called out. The strange man turned abruptly, making Link flinch, for the stranger's facial features were so familiar. The face was his own. They had the same nose, the same mouth, even the same piercings. Yet, the man had strange, somewhat luminescent red eyes, and deathly pale skin. And the smirk resting lithely upon his face… Link's own mouth had never held such a mischievous shape. It reeked of wrongdoing.
"Who are you?" Link breathed, confusion and shock lacing his expression. The man before him chuckled, obviously quite amused, and then began leisurely walking towards him, stopping about a foot away.
"Isn't it obvious?" The look-alike asked, still smirking. Suddenly, he disappeared. "I'm you." He whispered conspiratorially, directly behind Link. Link whirled around, pulling out his sword. The imposter grinned.
"No, you're not. I'm me." Link said, in stance for a fight that was sure to come, determination carved into his features.
"Oh, I assure you, I am you. But I am merely just…A shadow of you, if you will." The doppelganger explained, still grinning his awful grin. Link studied his movements—his hands, the way he walked, his expression—as the shadow began circling him.
"Put that away, would you? It's clear you don't want a fight; and neither do I . . . For now." Imposter-Link said, smirking and giving Link a side glance.
"I have faced more intimidating things than you. I am not afraid of a fight." Link replied, holding his chin up. Imposter-Link approached him slowly, getting closer to his face.
"You should be." Imposter-Link whispered, sending cold shivers down his spine.
"Why? Are we not the same?" Link asked pointedly, turning the impostors own words against him. "I am not afraid of myself."
"The same? The same? Oh, if I'd known you would be so idiotic, I wouldn't have bothered coming to meet you." Imposter-Link said incredulously, pausing in his circling. "I see I will have to explain some things to you.
"You see, we may look similar, but we are oh-so very different." He talked with his hands, so unlike Link does, as if to prove his point. In fact, Link rarely talks at all. "I am merely a shadow of you. While you are famous and known for your good deeds, I am hidden in the shadows, and no one knows me." He leans in close to Link's ear, once again behind him. "I am your dark side." Timidity flashed over Link's expression, only for slightest second, before disappearing, as though it were never there. He turned, only to find his dark counterpart was propped up against a tree a few feet away, examining his fingernails.
"I only come out every so often. You have never seen me before today, but I guess you could say we are twins. When you were born, as was I." Shadow-Link pushes off the tree and stands up straight. "But do not think that we are brothers, because we are not. We are merely different versions of the same person; you are the light, and I am the dark. While you are nice and noble, I am not so nice and I am certainly not noble. I do things you would never consider doing." Shadow-Link explains, Link listening raptly.
"So, you are my opposite." Link says, scrunching his eyebrows together in thought as Shadow-Link begins to walk back to Link, a mischievous gleam in his ruby red eyes that Link had never seen before. It made him curious.
"And you know what they say…" Shadow-Link says, stopping his advances a couple inches from Link's face. Link's thoughtful expression soon turns to one of curiosity and slight distrust, while Shadow-Link's face remains in a mischievous smirk. Link is determined to stand his ground; he remains curious about Shadow-Link's next actions. As he stares into the red eyes in front of him, he fails to realize that Shadow-Link has gotten closer than before. "Opposites attract." Shadow-Link whispers, then quickly leans in and closes the short distance between them with a lightning-quick kiss, startling his light counterpart. The last thing Link saw of Shadow-Link were his crimson eyes. Then he vanished, without a trace.
