I'm bored, it's past midnight, and I have this irritating urge to torture
Linkie all the time. Therefore, both fatigue and insanity have driven me
to write this chapter, and if I actually do get any reviews from anyone, I
might actually find time to be bored again!!!
Disclaimer: Duh, I don't own Zelda, or anything else the genius Miyamoto does. I'm just an idiot sitting in my living room typing Zelda stories!!! AAARGH!
*******
Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived
The staleness of rotting flesh tortured his senses. The darkness looming above his head, the moon's reflection in the mists that covered the damp, soggy ground; all too easily placed at the a graveyard, which had been constructed the split second a blinding flash erupted and left thousands of soldiers dead.
Why am I not dead? the young soldier wondered. His stomache churned at the smell of his surroundings, and he tightened his throat to choke the sickness that tried to overcome him. Eyes still partially blinded from the flash, he remain sprawled out on the ground, clutching his stomach in agony. Because of a shortage in armor, he was one of few soldiers who wore a simple tunic, his only protection a shield, which was now in pieces ten feet away. His head floated, and the pain around his left ear slowly faded to numbness. Groaning, he drew a leg toward himself in an effort to rise from the pile of corpses, but ceased all motion as a result of the sharp pain in his side that followed. Clenching it, he realized that his side was very warm, and very wet. Blood, he assumed.
After a long, painful inhale, the young adult gathered his courage and brought himself to his knees and elbows, very slowly. Pain ripped through his body, but he urged himself onward, just as he had always done. Head throbbing, stomach weak, and legs almost giving way, he forced himself to his feet several times until he was able to contain his balance. His vision was a dark blur. Straining his eyes to make out his surroundings, the boy limped away from the battlefield, unsure of what direction he traveled in. A mile and a half away, leaving a trail of thick blood behind him, the soldier lost all senses and grasped the ground almost welcomingly.
***
Low sounds emanated from all around him, much like the call of the redeads. However, these deep noises quickly turned to a murmur of speech, finally ending in the sweet sound of a female's voice.
"Is he going to be alright?" Her voice seemed so familiar.
"The wound in his side can be repaired, as can the broken ribs and arm," a man's voice answered. "However, the gash in his head worries me, so keep an eye out for signs of concussion." This voice seemed deeper, yet very friendly.
"Yes, surgeon. I won't leave his side." A hand placed itself gently on the boy's chest. He tried violently to open his eyes, to move, to do anything, but felt as though his entire body had gone limp. Noticing his quickening heart beat, the girl spoke as gently as her touch. "Are you awake?" No answer. She placed her hand around his. "Squeeze my hand if you are." He must have squeezed her hand, as she giggled a short moment later; however, he could feel nothing. "Oh, good! The doctor says you will recover well. But please try to stay awake." She stroked his hair. Nearly an hour had passed, and the boy's senses had begun to return, beginning with a groan.
"Whrmuh."
"What?" she asked, unable to make out the words.
"Wherumuh." The girl slid closer to him, her ear nearly touching his lips. "Where am I?" she could barely make out.
"Oh, I'm sorry. You are at the royal medicinary, Hyrule Castle. I'm Zelda." A pause.
"Why can't I see?" he asked, this time his speech becoming more clear.
"There are bandages on your forehead, silly. Can't you feel them?"
"No." Zelda slowly unwrapped the bandages from his eyes, light becoming almost excruciating for his blurred vision.
"When we found you, your eyes were heavily swollen. But they look a bit better now." She looked at the window and thought a moment. "What happened out there? How did you manage to drag yourself from it?"
"Zelda!" a woman's voice screeched. Neither the boy nor Zelda had heard her entry. "Stop nagging the boy! He's had quite enough trauma, he doesn't need to relive it!"
"Yes, Impa. I don't know what went over me." Again a silence.
"Who is he?" the older woman asked. He felt tiny prickles in his back, hopefully a sign of feeling returning to him.
"I don't know, we just found him on our sweep of the battlefield. No one else survived."
"Survived?"
"Yes, some explosion. It was assumed to be a magical attack made by something very powerful." Her voice became graver.
"I really wish you wouldn't go out there. It doesn't suit a princess." In one moment, all the feeling came back to the boy's body. He realized where he was, and who was sitting beside him. His body jumped at it's regained sense of touch, reminding him of the pain in his side and head. This made the other two women jump as well.
"Are you alright, boy?" asked the elder woman, some concern in her voice. He quickly sat up to face Zelda. He strained his eyelids to open, and very, very slowly, the cracked to let in all the light around him. Finally, after blinking obsessively, he was able to see a blurred figure before him.
"Princess Zelda?" he squeezed out, breathing almost becoming a chore for him.
"Yes."
"Don't you remember me?" In response to a silence from the girl, he reached for a pocket that did not exist in the pants he wore. "My clothes! Where are they?"
"They were almost in shreds, so I had them thrown out." She quickly continued after a short gasp from the boy. "But there is a sack of items retrieved from them!" She ran to a table across the room, then returned with a brown satchel prepared by the surgeon's nurse. The soldier grabbed it from her hold and began to dig through it feverishly, finally pulling out a dirty, worn ocarina. It's once shimmering blue sheen was now almost entire covered with years of tarnish. Zelda gasped at first sight with it, then remained transfixed to the boy in front of her.
"Link!?"
Disclaimer: Duh, I don't own Zelda, or anything else the genius Miyamoto does. I'm just an idiot sitting in my living room typing Zelda stories!!! AAARGH!
*******
Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived
The staleness of rotting flesh tortured his senses. The darkness looming above his head, the moon's reflection in the mists that covered the damp, soggy ground; all too easily placed at the a graveyard, which had been constructed the split second a blinding flash erupted and left thousands of soldiers dead.
Why am I not dead? the young soldier wondered. His stomache churned at the smell of his surroundings, and he tightened his throat to choke the sickness that tried to overcome him. Eyes still partially blinded from the flash, he remain sprawled out on the ground, clutching his stomach in agony. Because of a shortage in armor, he was one of few soldiers who wore a simple tunic, his only protection a shield, which was now in pieces ten feet away. His head floated, and the pain around his left ear slowly faded to numbness. Groaning, he drew a leg toward himself in an effort to rise from the pile of corpses, but ceased all motion as a result of the sharp pain in his side that followed. Clenching it, he realized that his side was very warm, and very wet. Blood, he assumed.
After a long, painful inhale, the young adult gathered his courage and brought himself to his knees and elbows, very slowly. Pain ripped through his body, but he urged himself onward, just as he had always done. Head throbbing, stomach weak, and legs almost giving way, he forced himself to his feet several times until he was able to contain his balance. His vision was a dark blur. Straining his eyes to make out his surroundings, the boy limped away from the battlefield, unsure of what direction he traveled in. A mile and a half away, leaving a trail of thick blood behind him, the soldier lost all senses and grasped the ground almost welcomingly.
***
Low sounds emanated from all around him, much like the call of the redeads. However, these deep noises quickly turned to a murmur of speech, finally ending in the sweet sound of a female's voice.
"Is he going to be alright?" Her voice seemed so familiar.
"The wound in his side can be repaired, as can the broken ribs and arm," a man's voice answered. "However, the gash in his head worries me, so keep an eye out for signs of concussion." This voice seemed deeper, yet very friendly.
"Yes, surgeon. I won't leave his side." A hand placed itself gently on the boy's chest. He tried violently to open his eyes, to move, to do anything, but felt as though his entire body had gone limp. Noticing his quickening heart beat, the girl spoke as gently as her touch. "Are you awake?" No answer. She placed her hand around his. "Squeeze my hand if you are." He must have squeezed her hand, as she giggled a short moment later; however, he could feel nothing. "Oh, good! The doctor says you will recover well. But please try to stay awake." She stroked his hair. Nearly an hour had passed, and the boy's senses had begun to return, beginning with a groan.
"Whrmuh."
"What?" she asked, unable to make out the words.
"Wherumuh." The girl slid closer to him, her ear nearly touching his lips. "Where am I?" she could barely make out.
"Oh, I'm sorry. You are at the royal medicinary, Hyrule Castle. I'm Zelda." A pause.
"Why can't I see?" he asked, this time his speech becoming more clear.
"There are bandages on your forehead, silly. Can't you feel them?"
"No." Zelda slowly unwrapped the bandages from his eyes, light becoming almost excruciating for his blurred vision.
"When we found you, your eyes were heavily swollen. But they look a bit better now." She looked at the window and thought a moment. "What happened out there? How did you manage to drag yourself from it?"
"Zelda!" a woman's voice screeched. Neither the boy nor Zelda had heard her entry. "Stop nagging the boy! He's had quite enough trauma, he doesn't need to relive it!"
"Yes, Impa. I don't know what went over me." Again a silence.
"Who is he?" the older woman asked. He felt tiny prickles in his back, hopefully a sign of feeling returning to him.
"I don't know, we just found him on our sweep of the battlefield. No one else survived."
"Survived?"
"Yes, some explosion. It was assumed to be a magical attack made by something very powerful." Her voice became graver.
"I really wish you wouldn't go out there. It doesn't suit a princess." In one moment, all the feeling came back to the boy's body. He realized where he was, and who was sitting beside him. His body jumped at it's regained sense of touch, reminding him of the pain in his side and head. This made the other two women jump as well.
"Are you alright, boy?" asked the elder woman, some concern in her voice. He quickly sat up to face Zelda. He strained his eyelids to open, and very, very slowly, the cracked to let in all the light around him. Finally, after blinking obsessively, he was able to see a blurred figure before him.
"Princess Zelda?" he squeezed out, breathing almost becoming a chore for him.
"Yes."
"Don't you remember me?" In response to a silence from the girl, he reached for a pocket that did not exist in the pants he wore. "My clothes! Where are they?"
"They were almost in shreds, so I had them thrown out." She quickly continued after a short gasp from the boy. "But there is a sack of items retrieved from them!" She ran to a table across the room, then returned with a brown satchel prepared by the surgeon's nurse. The soldier grabbed it from her hold and began to dig through it feverishly, finally pulling out a dirty, worn ocarina. It's once shimmering blue sheen was now almost entire covered with years of tarnish. Zelda gasped at first sight with it, then remained transfixed to the boy in front of her.
"Link!?"