"Um...Impa? Can we...take a break?"
The spirit maiden and her guardian traveled side by side in the Lanayru Desert when the question was hesitantly uttered from the younger female. It was late in the morning, and the two had been walking nonstop for two hours, while occasionally hiding behind rocks and under shadows when enemies got within close range.
Normally, the Sheikah tribe member would have carried her charge and leaped across their obstacles, making the journey to their destination quicker. However, she noticed there were enemy spies scattered throughout the desert, and didn't want to risk the chance of being caught and encountering the monsters' master. She dared not to endanger the defenseless girl.
"Your Grace, I'm afraid doing that wouldn't be wise. To stay in one spot for too long would only increase our chances of being found. We could get exposed, and be putting ourselves in more danger. Besides, we're a little over halfway there. Our walk shouldn't take too much longer," the cautious woman answered.
Zelda groaned and hung her head. Her feet were aching terribly, and her throat was uncomfortably dry from lack of water. She also hadn't slept since yesterday. And to make it worse, the heat was beginning to get a little unbearable.
She was surprised that she hadn't passed out from exhaustion yet.
"Please, Impa? I know how urgent it is for us to get to the Temple of Time, but I'm just so...tired. Could it just be for...I don't know...ten minutes?" the youth pleaded.
The sheikah turned her head to look at the teenager. She noticed the girl had dark circles under her eyes, and her face was red as it produced several beads of sweat. She'd begun to pant heavily, while her feet constantly dragged.
The guardian then remembered that the spirit maiden's stamina wasn't in the same league as hers. Not even close.
Oh, how she felt foolish, and guilty.
Impa halted their walking. "I'm so sorry, Zelda," she said in a sad tone of voice. "I haven't noticed how tired you've been. You're right; we should find a safe place nearby and rest for awhile. I couldn't forgive myself if you were to become sick." She gave the worn-out girl an apologetic look. "Please forgive me, my Lady."
The golden-haired maiden faintly smiled. "It's alright. No need to feel sorry. In fact..." She sighed. "I'm the one who should feel sorry for being such a burden..."
"You're nothing of the sort, Your Grace. I'm happy to assist you in any way I can." Impa patted her shoulder. "Come on, let's go find a place to stay."
Zelda sighed once again, but this time in relief. "Thank you," she said gratefully.
"Of course," her protector replied kindly.
It was midday when they found a small cave to rest in. The two had to walk for half an hour before they stumbled across it. As Zelda settled in, Impa shortly left to go find food and water for them, but not before summoning a protective barrier over the entrance of the cave.
The spirit maiden basked in the shade as she lay on the ground's hard surface. As much as she loved feeling the sun's warm rays of light, the desert proved to her that even the sun's heat could be too much of a good thing.
Soon after lying down, the girl's exhaustion overwhelmed her, so she closed her eyes and started to drift off to sleep.
"Sleep..."
Having heard a whispering voice, Zelda tried to open her eyes, but found herself too drowsy to do the simple motion.
"Sleep, my dear..."
Unwillingly, the maiden did as the voice commanded.
In a blink of an eye, she fell asleep.
Silence... All she heard was silence.
Then, she felt a gentle breeze push against her, making her hair and dress dance with the wind.
Confused as to where she was, the spirit maiden opened her eyes to see a blue sky, and an endless field of grass.
"Where...am I?" she muttered to herself.
"In your dreams, silly girl."
Letting out a startled gasp, Zelda turned around to see an odd-looking man behind her sitting on a tree stump. His legs were crossed, while his elbow rested on his knee and his hand held up his head.
"Who...who are you?" the girl asked the stranger.
The slender man looked surprised. "Do you truly not know who I am, darling?"
Zelda frowned. "No... I've never seen you before."
The stranger sighed, seemingly disappointed. "So it seems that guard dog of yours failed to mention the one she's been protecting you from... How careless."
The maiden scowled at him. "Don't call her that. And what do you mean by—"
Sudden realization dawned on her.
"Wait... Are you...Ghirahim?"
The silver-haired man's face brightened greatly as he straightened his posture. "Ah, so you do know of me after all!" he exclaimed.
Fear began to build inside Zelda. Apparently, this was the demon lord that summoned the tornado that threw her out of the sky, and had been pursuing her constantly...
Ghirahim gave her an evil smile. "It is an honor to finally meet you, Your Grace." He hissed her title.
Willing herself to remain calm, the teenage girl asked him, "What you said earlier... What did you mean when you said I was in my dreams?"
"I meant what I said, Spirit Maiden. I have summoned both of our spirits into your world of dreams." He let out a small hum and examined his fingers. "And all it took was a strand of your pretty hair."
"My...hair?" the human youth questioned.
"Why, yes," the demon answered. "I happened to find a few strands in the woods, on a bush. Soon, I formed an idea to create a simple spell and use your hair to connect our auras. Unfortunately, the tresses will burst into flames when the hex wears off, meaning I can only use it once. Disappointing, really."
He turned his gaze from his fingers back to her again, smiling. "Even so, it was quite the lucky find, if I do say so myself."
Confused, Zelda asked, "What's the point in all this? Why go through the trouble of entering my dreams?"
Ghirahim gave her a curious look. "Why not?"
"...Huh?"
The lord of demons chuckled at her bewilderment. He stood up from the tree stump and began circling her.
"I admit, I was tremendously curious of what you were like. When I discovered those strands of hair, I had thought it would be a perfect opportunity to learn more about the person I've been endlessly searching for."
Halting his pace around the apprehensive teenager, he swiftly crept close behind her and firmly gripped her shoulders, earning a surprised gasp from the human. "And I must say," he said softly, "I am not disappointed."
"G-get away from me!" the girl yelled at him. She tried to pull herself away, and surprisingly, Ghirahim let her go. The spirit maiden stumbled a little before turning around and glaring daggers at the demon. He giggled at her, before licking the corner of his mouth.
Zelda was revolted. This man—creature—deeply disturbed her.
"What's wrong, sweetheart? I haven't upset you, have I?" Ghirahim purred as he took a couple steps closer to the adolescent. "Oh, how awful of me to have done such a thing."
Without warning, he grabbed her hand and brought it to his chest, holding it like a gentleman would a lady's.
"Please except my humblest apology," he requested, insincerely.
Zelda quickly snatched her hand away. "Don't touch me, monster..."
The demon lord smirked at her. "Such a rude child. Your lack of manners is quite astounding. I can't help but wonder how disappointed your guardian was when she found you. Surely she must have expected someone more...graceful."
The teenager finally had enough of the self-proclaimed lord of the Surface.
She slapped him across the face.
For a moment, Ghirahim didn't move. He remained completely still. His hair hid his expression from the spirit maiden, which unnerved her.
She began to regret her thoughtless action.
Then, the demon turned his head toward her.
"How very unwise of you..."
Out of nowhere, their surroundings drastically changed. The sky turned dark, the grass died, and shadows appeared all around them. Horror began to grip on Zelda's heart as she watched this dream turn into a nightmare. Slowly, she backed away from the angered threat.
Before she could get far however, several strands of darkness came out from the ground beneath her feet and wrapped all around her, preventing her from moving anywhere. The panicked maiden tried to wriggle out of them, but their hold on her was unyielding.
Ghirahim laughed at her struggling. He grabbed her neck tightly and forced her to look at him. "Such a foolish girl you are," he told her.
"Please... Just leave me alone... Let me be in peace," Zelda pleadingly whispered, desperate for this nightmare to end.
For a moment, the demon lord said nor did nothing. He only stared at the trapped and helpless young woman in front of him. Then, he released his hold on her neck, and instead held her chin, gently.
"Poor thing... Fate has been rather cruel to you, hasn't it?"
The girl squirmed as he leaned his face close to hers.
"If only it wasn't your soul that had to be sacrificed, hmm?"
His nose brushed passed hers.
Zelda's breathing stopped.
"I can only imagine what it would have been like...if you were mine..."
Their lips touched, pressed together, and...
"Zelda...?"
Caught by surprise, the demon jerked his head away. Zelda searched the sky, hope replacing the fear in her heart. She knew that voice. She recognized it as Impa's.
Suddenly, a small light appeared high above their heads. It gradually grew and shined brighter and brighter. The shadows slowly dispersed from it, as if fearing the strange light. Even the dark tendrils that imprisoned the human girl shriveled and disintegrated.
Ghirahim looked up and sneered, clearly annoyed by the unexpected phenomenon. He then turned his focus back to the maiden, his facial expression showing slight sadness. "It seems my time with you has come to an end. Truly a shame."
Slowly, delicately, the demon lord stroked his fingers across her cheek. "It was fun while it lasted," he murmured.
Zelda froze, unsure of how to feel.
The light had gotten rid of the shadows completely. Soon, its brightness covered all of the scenery.
Everything, including Ghirahim, began to fade from her vision...
Then, all she saw was white.
"I look forward to our next inevitable encounter, Spirit Maiden..."
"Zelda! Zelda! Your Grace, please wake up!"
Alarmed, the golden-haired girl jerked her eyes wide open and bolted upright. She looked to her left to see Impa kneeling at her side. She anxiously examined the teenager.
"Zelda, are you all right?" she asked.
"Y-yeah... I'm fine," the young maiden answered. The sheikah lowered her head and let out a relieved sigh.
"Thank goodness I arrived in time..."
Zelda eyed her curiously. "Impa, what happened?" she asked. Her guardian raised her head back up and looked at her with a serious expression on her face.
"When I came back to the cave, I found you sleeping on the ground. Normally I wouldn't have given it a second thought, considering earlier today. However, I noticed a dark aura surrounding your body. I recognized it as Ghirahim's."
The spirit maiden turned her head away and stared at her lap, remembering her dream. Her very realistic, nightmarish dream...
"Are you sure you're okay, Lady Zelda? You're not harmed, are you?"
Zelda gave the concerned woman a fake smile. "Yes, I'm alright. I just had a bad dream."
Impa stared at her a moment longer before holding her hand up toward her. It faintly glowed as she waved it across the younger woman's body. After a while, the light from her hand disappeared and she lowered it back down.
"Strange... I don't sense the demon's aura anymore," she said.
Zelda remained quiet.
The sheikah stood up on her feet and looked outside the cave they resided in. "Perhaps it would be best if we continued our journey to the Temple of Time. I'm worried that Ghirahim might have found out our location." She turned her head to Zelda and asked, "Do you feel well rested enough to walk again?"
"Sure," the girl cheerfully responded. She slowly stood up, her legs wobbling slightly. The guardian held out her hand, which the adolescent gratefully took. The slender woman then leaned down to grab a large bag and bottle that had been laying near the entrance of the cave.
"Hopefully we'll arrive at the temple soon. I've found us some food and water to take with us that should last for a day or two," Impa informed.
Zelda exhaled in relief. The sheikah smiled at her. "Ready?" she asked.
"Yep! Let's go."
Exiting the small cave, they continued their travel to the temple, which housed the Gate of Time.
Despite their peaceful walk, the spirit maiden felt uneasy. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about the demon that had invaded her dreams. She prayed it would be the last she saw of him. He truly frightened her.
What disturbed her most, were his last few actions before she woke up.
Zelda blushed as she felt the remnant sensation of Ghirahim's lips touching her own.
AN: This oneshot was written for my friend, GerudoSpirit's birthday. Hope you enjoyed!
Reviews would be dearly appreciated!