It was foolish to send childeren to do a man's job.
Link and Zelda had worked as hard as they could, but Ganon was too strong. He easily overpowered Link in battle, and after Link was taken care of, Zelda was easy to capture. The two had failed. They were separated, Zelda was kept in a room in the highest tower where Ganon could go to her and restore his power any time he needed. But Link was kept underground in the cold dungeon.
He was Ganon's whipping boy. Whenever Ganon wanted to, he would go take his anger out on the child who hated him.
It would be a series of punishments, and Ganon wouldn't stop hitting him until he fell unconscious. After a month of being in constant pain, the boy had been told if he wanted the pain to stop, he needed to address Ganondorf as his master. At first, he objected refusing to call Ganon such a demeaning name. But as the days wore on, Link found himself screaming, "Master! Please stop!"
He hated himself for it too. He would promise himself he wouldn't call Ganondorf his master, but everyday, the beast would come in and hit Link, he would burn his skin with fire, he would whip his back with glass embedded rope, he would hurt the child until the child begged and pleaded for mercy.
There were times where Ganon's minions would come in to feed the prisoner, and the boy would fight and try to run. He wanted freedom. He wanted it so bad that he ignored the pain in his aching limbs. And just when he could smell fresh air, the moment he could see the sunlight, he was caught. Everytime he ran, Ganon teased him and made him think he was free, but he always got caught. He would be dragged back to his prison and he would be beat brutally for running. The last time he ran, he promised never to run away when Ganon tied him to a table and took a red hot iron and burned the bottoms of his feet to the point of blisters. After that pain and then having Ganon force him to walk back to his cell, he promised never to run. It hurt too much.
The days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months, he didnt know if it was night or day, all he knew was the dark. The darkness and pain.
When he could remember, he would use his own blood to draw pictures of his sister or his grandma, and then he'd cry. He wanted to go home, he wanted his grandma to hug him and tell him it was over, he was safe now, and he'd silently bawl for his grandma. And when the door would open he'd claw at the ground begging for mercy, crying and screaming for his grandmother to help him. So many times he wished the drawings on the ground would come to life and protect him.
In the harsh environment, he eventually started to forget. His mind created a realm that he would go to when he couldn't take the pain anymore. He had lost track of the difference between reality and imaginary, he couldn't tell the two apart anymore.
But in his dreams and hallucinations, he always pictured a house that he called home, he pictured a little girl who was always happy to see him, and he always pictured an older woman protecting him. He wanted that so badly. He wanted to feel protection and he wanted to feel safe for once in his life...
It was cold and dark.
Then again, it was always cold and dark why should today be any different? He couldn't remember a time when he wasn't cold, alone and scared. It was always like this right? As far as he could remember.
The young child of only 10 layed on the ground weak and terrified. His skin was frozen to the touch, his teeth were still chattering from the harsh "bath" he had just received. His master sent his minions to dump freezing water on his prisoner every so often. It was to wash the dirt and blood away just to make sure he wouldn't die from infection, he was Ganondorf's favorite toy after all.
The young boy had been beat so many times, he had forgotten his own name, he had forgotten where he had come from, he had forgotten everything. All he knew was fear.
Click.
The child whimered as the door swung open with a loud bang, fear forcing him to cover his head with his frail bruised arms. Fear forced him to curl in on himself as his master walked in so causally, like nothing was wrong.
Fresh tears slid down his cheeks as his master approached him, his body trembled, his breathing was shallow and weak, but his master didnt care. Just to prove the point, he kicked the child repeatedly forcing tortured screams from him, only then did the evil man stop.
But the boy knew it wasn't over, no, it never stopped there. He knew better than to hope.
By the time Ganondorf was done, the boy was still alive but barely breathing, praying to goddesses he really didn't believe in. He was bloody and bruised and left in the cell with nothing but pure pain running through his tiny, frail body.
He didnt know why Ganon hurt him. He couldn't remember why.
All he wanted was to be treated kindly and not to be hit anymore. He wanted food and water, and some place warm and soft to go to. He sobbed in the corner dreading the thought of tomorrow.
The next day had come, but Ganondorf didn't. The boy didn't question it, in fact, he cried tears of joy when he realized Ganon want coming today. He didn't question the wave of peace that suddenly washed over him, and he didn't dare question if thus was a dream or not. If it was, he wanted to stay and he knew right when he started to wonder, the dream would disappear.
The air grew warmer and he welcomed it sighing in miniscule relief as his frozen limbs finally felt the warm embrace he desired. He could've sworn he heard a whisper, but his mind was elsewhere.
"My child..." The voice whispered quietly. "Link, my child, the boy I love, you have suffered long enough. Please run while you can, his magic is weakened, please follow me child and I will take you to the light."
He followed the figure thay appeared before his eyes. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. She guided him up and carried him through the maze of the prison he had been living in for the past two years. He recoiled harshly when he saw the light, the sun was too bright, the smell other than blood and decay overwhelmed him, and the heat from the sun's rays made him relax in the woman's arms. He was put down into the warm water, a bubble encased him as he drifted into the sky back to the surface.
Farore watched the child reach safety far from Ganon's grasp. She smiled as she could feel how Link felt, the joy of escape, the relief, but the goddess also realized in sorrow the child believed it was a dream. She then made a silent promise to herself and Link that she would protect him. No harm was to come to that boy ever again, for he had endured too much.