Hiya~ This is a rewrite of another story that I've written, so I hope you all enjoy the changes that I've made to it. I'm still trying to figure out how to properly add detail, so tell me if you think I've done a good job so far!

Warning: This story will contain abuse, rape, and yaoi in future chapters, so if you don't like, you shouldn't read it.

I don't own the Legend of Zelda~


~Link's Age: 6~

Link's eyes fly open in excitement as he remembers what ceremony is happening later today. His body practically vibrating with energy, he jumps out of bed and throws his clothes on, racing downstairs to the kitchen. A few soft giggles escape him before he smiles happily at seeing his mother cooking breakfast. "Good morning, momma!"

Feather turns at the familiar sounds and softly smiles at her son, "Good morning, sweetheart. Are you excited for the ceremony?"

He nods his head exuberantly, his blond hair bouncing around him wildly, "Of course! It's when I get to meet my loftwing for the first time!" He says excitedly, his sky blue eyes wide in happiness.

A soft laugh escapes her at just how excited her son his, knowing that everyone is at this age during this time of year, "Right you are, sweetie. Would you go get your papa? Breakfast is almost ready."

He grins, it looking so like his father's that it causes a fond smile to pull at Feather's lips, and nods quickly, "Okay, momma!"

He thinks for a second before running outside, knowing that his papa likes carving statuettes outside early in the morning. Link runs out to the porch and he giggles happily when he sees his papa. "Papa!" He calls, his father looking up at the sound and smiling softly at the son that looks like a beautiful mix of both him and his wife. Link has his father's hair and facial structure combined with his mother's eyes and personality.

"Yes, son?" Robin asks, shaking his head as he watches his son run over to him. A soft clink sounds as he sets the carving knife on the nearby table, opening his arms wide as his son bounds into his arms.

"Momma says that breakfast is almost ready!" Link exclaims excitedly, causing his father to snort softly at his energy.

"Well then, I guess we should go set the table." Link nods at the idea of helping his parents and Robin picks him up, slinging him over his shoulder. Link laughs gleefully and his father carries him inside to the dining room. Link grabs some silverware while his father grabs the plates and glasses and they quickly set the table, making a game out of it. Link manages to get down all of his pieces first and he laughs happily at the victory, his father giving him a high five for being so fast. "Good job, son!" He says, chuckling at the expression of pure triumph on his son's face.

Feather comes in the room then with the finished breakfast and she serves the food before sitting down at the table. They all start eating, the parents a bit more slowly than Link is as he's too excited to eat properly. They have a few hours before the ceremony since it usually takes place around noon unless something happens to delay the loftwings arriving. The family talks as they eat their food, all of them enjoying getting to be close together. Feather smiles as they all finish eating before suggesting, "Link, sweetheart, why don't you go spend some time with Pipit and Zelda while you wait for the ceremony? We'll come get you when it's time."

Link grins and nods at the idea, "Okay, momma!" He runs out of the house, excited to get to hang out with his two closest friends. He heads to Pipit's house first and he knocks on the door excitedly. Pipit's mother opens the door and smiles softly when she sees Link, calling Pipit over, "Pipit! Link's here, honey!"

Pipit runs to the door and he grins when he sees his best friend. "Hey, Pipit! Wanna hang out?" Pipit looks at his mother, who nods with a soft smile, and he beams, nodding happily. He and Link walk away as Pipit's mother closes the door.

"Let's go find Zelly!" Link says and Pipit nods, both of them running to the academy where Zelda lives with her father. Gaepora just smiles when he sees them and he nudges Zelda, pointing at her friends. Her sapphire eyes light up and she runs over to them, her blond hair flapping softly behind her.

"Hey, Link! Hey, Pipit!" She says excitedly before they all head to the waterfall, as it's always been their favorite place to hang out together. Identical grins appear on their faces as they hear the familiar soft bubbling sounds signaling that they're getting closer.

When they arrive, they all slump onto the grass, Pipit grinning at the other two. "You two excited for the Loftwing Ceremony today?" He asks, his grin softening as memories of the ceremony the previous year where he got his own forest green loftwing.

They both nod their heads excitedly. "I'm super excited!" Link says, Zelda nodding her head in agreement. They're both delighted at the idea of having their own loftwing like their parents have. It's a huge deal for a young Skyloftian as it signifies that they're beginning to grow up.

They talk for a bit before the conversation dies, them getting a bit bored. Link grins at the other two, "How about we play fight for a while?" They both nod and Zelda declares that she'll be the princess that the other two are fighting for.

They grin and nod at this, Pipit and Link each finding a stick to act as swords. They start smacking the sticks against each other, pretending that they're actually fighting each other. They're both eager for the day that they'll be part of the Knight Academy and actually training to fight instead of having to pretend. The few adults who see this just chuckle softly, knowing how excitable the three children are whenever they play together.

Link's parents arrive just as Link wins the "battle" against Pipit, Link starting to bounce up and down happily. Zelda grins and walks over to him, giving him a hug congratulating him for "saving" her. Link's parents just chuckle softly at how excited the children are and they say, "Link, Zelda, it's time for the ceremony."

They both make noises of excitement and jump up, running over to them. Pipit says that he'll be there as he doesn't want to miss seeing his two friends meet their loftwings. Link and Zelda nod happily and they leave with Link's parents, heading to the place where all the children their age gather before the ceremony. Link and Zelda talk excitedly as they wait for the ceremony to begin, lining up next to each other when it's time for the ceremony to start. The ceremony begins as the air is filled with a soft, flapping sound, the sounds of at least a dozen wings in flight.

The loftwings belonging to the children start flying around the top of the statue, the children oohing and aahing at the sight of the beautifully colored birds. The eyes of everyone gathered for the ceremony widen when they see a crimson loftwing in the group, that particular breed of loftwing considered to be extinct as none have appeared in thousands of years.

The time comes for the loftwings to approach the ones that they're meant to belong to and they start landing in front of their companions. A royal blue loftwing lands in front of Zelda and nuzzles her softly, causing her to giggle in happiness. To everyone's shock, the crimson loftwing lands in front of Link before cawing softly and nuzzling him. He tilts his head, feeling a bond form with the bird instantaneously. Normally, it would take a few years for this bond to form, but for Link and his loftwing, it happened at the first meeting.

The loftwing leans down slightly and Link grins before jumping up on its back, despite everyone's protests that he doesn't know how to fly the loftwing just yet. Crimson, the name Link decides to give the bird, flies away, the boy easily able to control the bird, which would normally take at least a year.

Everyone watches on in shock, and jealousy for most of the children, wanting to have that special connection with their own loftwings. Zelda's torn in between wanting to be happy for her friend and her own feelings of jealousy. She's partly wondering why Link is so special that he gets this connection and she doesn't. After a bit of flying around lazily, Link has his bird land and he jumps off before stroking the bird's neck softly.

Everyone applauds, happy to see the boy already so acquainted with his loftwing. He walks over to his parents and Pipit, who runs up and hugs Link, spouting praise and shocked words. Link turns a bit and nods at Crimson, who flies away at the signal. Link turns back to his parents, who congratulate him for finding such a good match in his loftwing.

Zelda approaches him then, congratulating him as well, though she feels a bit of darkness settle in her heart. She smiles at him, feeling happy for her friend, but at the same time feeling a dark emotion trying to make her hate him for this seemingly innocent incident.

~Age: 7~

Screams fill Link's ears as he shoots out of bed, his eyes widening and his pulse quickening with fear. He continues to hear screams and cries of pain before all goes silent. His heart thudding against his ribcage, he crawls out of bed and pads softly over to the door, wondering if he should go check on his parents. The resounding sound of the front door closing echoes through the house and he gulps, the sound proving that everything he heard just happened. He runs into his parents' room and involuntarily takes a step back, his head reeling at the sight. "No...They can't be…"

He runs out of the house and tries to find someone to help, quickly finding Gaepora as he's nearby. Gaepora takes one look at the boy's face, a solemn expression appearing on his own, and he enters Link's house, while Zelda pulls Link into a hug to comfort him. Link sobs into the girl's shoulder and she whispers soothing words, hating to see her friend like this.

Gaepora comes back outside, guilt eating away at his heart as he pronounces, "Dead. No doubt killed by demons…" Link sobs louder at this before a look of determination appears on his face, wanting to seek vengeance for his parents' deaths, even if he has no way to do so at such a young age.

Gaepora and Zelda lead him to the academy and gives him an empty room close to his own daughter's, one that'll stay Link's until he graduates from the academy. Zelda just looks at him sadly before heading to her own room, leaving the young Skyloftian to adjust to this on his own.

He curls up in the bed that's far too big for just him and begins to cry, the weight of losing his parents crashing down around him. He feels a comforting presence curl around him and he relaxes into it involuntarily, his grief not letting him do much else. "Shh. Link, everything will be okay… I'm here." He hears a soft voice, slightly deeper and richer than his own, whisper into his ear. The voice continues to comfort him until he falls asleep, emotionally drained from the night's occurrences.

The shadow smiles softly at this, curling up against his lighter half to protect the boy. He stays awake to keep an eye out for anything that would hurt Link, not needing to sleep as he'll sleep in Link's shadow the next day. He tries to calm the dark emotions in his heart, knowing that Link won't be able to trust him if he acts like he usually would, but he'll at least be kind around Link.

Link wakes up the next morning to find that the comforting weight is still curled around him. He turns around slightly and takes in the sight of the boy with black hair and a pair of red eyes that are looking at him sympathetically. "I'm so sorry that had to happen to you, Link." He says, causing the memories to flood back into Link's mind.

He starts crying and the shadow pulls him closer, pressing him against his chest, telling him to let it all out. He rocks his lighter half comfortingly, allowing the blond to cry as much as he needs to to recover from the event. Eventually, Link's tears dry up, though he feels that he should still be crying. The shadow pulls away slightly, "Now, why don't you go eat? You need it…"

"Where will you be?" Link asks, worried that he'll have to leave this person, only to find that he's gone as well.

"I'll be right with you." The shadow says and they both stand up. The shadow smiles slightly at him before vanishing right in front of his eyes.

Link panics immediately before he hears a soft chuckle, "I'm still here. I'm just in your shadow." Link looks around confused as the shadow didn't reappear. "I can talk to you since I'm part of you. Only you can hear me when I'm in your shadow."

Link nods his head and heads down to the kitchen, where Henya immediately feeds him, professing how sorry she is for the young boy. He eats slowly and Gaepora arrives, "Link, once you finish eating, I want to speak with you in my office." He chuckles softly at the look of fear on Link's face, "Don't worry, you're not in trouble, I just have to discuss something with you."

Link nods and quickly finishes eating, heading with Gaepora to the man's office once he's done. Gaepora looks at Link sadly and invites him to sit down in front of his desk, while he sits on the other side of the desk.

"I must say, my boy, that I'm so sorry for your loss. Robin and Feather were such wonderful people." Link nods his head sadly before Gaepora continues, "The funeral shall be held at sunset tonight. Afterward, I'll take you back to your house to get any belongings that you may want before we return to the academy. Okay, Link?"

Link nods, "Okay, sir."

Gaepora chuckles softly before saying, "Now why don't you take Zelda and go find that other young friend of yours? Pipit, I believe his name was." Link nods and runs out of the room excitedly, Gaepora chuckling at his energy.

"I'm sorry that I had to do that to you, Link...But Hylia said that she'd hurt my darling daughter...I'm so, so sorry…" He says, a frown on his face before he goes back to doing the paperwork for the academy.

Link gets Zelda and they meet up with Pipit, heading to the waterfall once again, this time much more somber than before. "Link, I'm so sorry to hear about your parents." Pipit says, a sad expression on his face.

"Yeah...But at least they can't be hurt anymore where they're at…" Link says sadly, causing both Pipit and Zelda to hug him tightly.

"If you ever need anything, my mom and I are here for you." Pipit promises, Link smiling as Pipit never breaks a promise if he can help it. Zelda nods at that as well, promising it for herself, though she's growing more and more worried about the darkness she can feel in her heart. She remembers just the other night, she went to her dad out of her control and a voice that was not her own threatened to hurt his daughter if he didn't do something for the owner of the voice.

She'll never forget the fear on her dad's face at those words and she feels somehow responsible for Link's parents dying. "Thank you Pipit." Link says before looking at the other boy, "Wanna fight?"

Pipit nods and they both find sticks like they did when they were younger and they begin to play-fight again, both of them laughing and having fun. Zelda just sits and watches them, getting distracted by the thoughts and feelings of guilt swirling within her.

After about an hour, they both slump to the ground drained of energy and Zelda scoots over to Link, pulling him into her arms. "Link, are you sure you're okay?" She asks, concerned about her close friend.

He nods and leans into the embrace, feeling that he can trust her as he always has been able to. "Yeah, Zelly, I'm fine." She smiles and starts humming a soft lullaby, causing him to smile and relax further into her. She feels the darkness around her heart draw back a bit at the melody and she keeps that in mind, knowing that she might need this knowledge in the future.

After a bit, they're gathered up by Gaepora and taken to the Goddess Statue, which is where all funerals in Skyloft are held. The sun begins to set and Gaepora begins the funeral, saying a bunch of nice things about Link's parents. A few other residents of Skyloft speak as well, especially the ones who were close friends of his parents. The funeral ends with a prayer to the goddess and then they head to the graveyard to pray there as well.

Afterward, Gaepora takes Link to his old house as promised and gives him a bag that'll hold as many things as he wants to take with him. Link goes inside and heads to his room, taking his practice sword his parents bought him on his birthday and a few other items important to him. He then heads to his parents' room to see about any keepsakes he might want to keep. He finds a picture of his family all together and packs it, taking one of his mother's favorite necklaces as well. He packs his father's woodcarving set and collection of statuettes that he's made. Link gets ready to leave before seeing his mother's flute and he takes it, glad that his mother had taught him how to play moderately well before she died.

He looks around and finds nothing else that means that much to him, though he takes a look around his house, trying to make sure he'll never forget what it looks like. He feels a comforting hand on his shoulder and turns, seeing his shadow looking at him sadly. He just nods and takes a deep breath before leaving the house, his darker half merging back into his shadow.

Gaepora takes him back to the academy and tells him that dinner's in an hour, Link nodding in response. Link takes the items that he brought and spreads them out in his room, trying to make the room more his own. He places the statuettes on a shelf above his desk, one that seemed to be there just for that purpose. He places the flute and wood-carving stuff on the desk itself. The few clothes that he packed are placed into the wardrobe, the sword going in a stand close by.

He places his favorite blanket on the bed and the picture on the nightstand before smiling slightly, the room looking perfect to him. He takes his mother's necklace and puts it around his neck, slipping it under his shirt to hide it. One quick glance at the clock tells him that it's roughly time for dinner so he heads to the dining hall, sitting down beside Zelda as she's the only one he's familiar with.

They all eat together, no one really talking in memory of Link's parents. After dinner, everyone splits up and heads to their respective rooms, Zelda nodding at him before they go in their rooms.

Link picks up the flute and starts to play it softly, his shadow appearing beside him to listen to the music. He plays a few songs that his mother always loved before letting his fingers do as they wish, pouring his emotions into the music. His shadow leans against him and rests his head on the blond's shoulder, just letting him vent however he needs to. Link closes his eyes and a few tears slip down his face at the melody, though it's soothing him more than anything else could at this moment.

Eventually, the song ends and Link puts the flute away before slipping into bed, snuggling into his shadow's chest. He smiles slightly as the other wraps his arms around him, humming comfortingly into his ear. He looks at the shadow curiously before asking, "What's your name?"

The shadow stops humming for a second to think before replying, "Call me Dark." Link smiles and nods, snuggling closer to Dark, resting his face in the crook of the other's neck. Dark continues to hum, the soft, lilting melody drawing the young Link into dreamland.


Please tell me what you thought of it~ All reviews and criticisms are appreciated! :3