My first actual one-shot... I hope it's not too messed and sorry for typos!
Warning: violence, abuse
I hope you enjoy.
One last time the Master Sword pierced straight through my core, sending me falling to my knees. I panted heavily as I clutched the wound in my chest. With some difficulty, I raised my head to look at my enemy.
"This..." I panted, "This is preposterous. Driven to my knees by a simple child of man. Laughable! No matter how many times we clash, I can't prevail. You think I can't defeat you? You think I can't win? Boy... What are you?"
I fell forward slightly, chuckling darkly, "Ah... But never mind that. Victory is still mine to savor. While we fought, the ritual I started continued... At last, it's complete! The Demon King shall devour the soul of the goddess and resurrect in his full glory!"
I burst out laughing, raising my arms to the unconscious Goddess floating in the sky.
Shortly after, my Master broke free from his imprisonment. I teleported out of the way, rematerialising at the edge of the circle. Heavy footsteps made the ground tremble. Footsteps of my Master in his 'Imprisoned' form. I just stood there, watching Hylia scream in agony as he absorbed her soul.
When he had absorbed enough of her soul to transform, a pink glowing surrounded him. That was enough of an indication to me what was about to happen.
I started laughing hysterically at the skychild, "Don't you see? It's all over! You and your kind have lost! This world and everything in it now belongs to darkness! They belong to my Master!"
That moment time seemed to stop. It was then that I realized: my mission had failed. The words I had spoken were true though. Too true, perhaps. But the mission I was talking about was not the mission of resurrecting my Master, no, quite on the contrary...
My very private mission was the one that had failed. My mission I had hoped to fulfill before I got to bringing back my Master.
Now it was too late.
I was lost.
Hopelessly lost...
My vision returned and I saw him standing there, right in front of me, his back facing me. His fiery hair was not lit yet, but that would follow soon enough, I knew.
A dark cloud of dust surrounded him and when it was cleared, his hair was on fire. That fire... Long lost memories of that fire returned to me. That very fire on his head.
I hadn't been his servant for long, but the short period in which I truly loved my Master had already passed by. He knew. He always knew everything. He could sense my very thoughts. That was the cruel connection that bound us, the connection some would call 'master and servant', but I would say it was more like 'master and puppet toy'... That's the reason I started to dislike him. And he knew about it, of course.
We were having dinner that evening, a long table in between us, like it is seen in most royal dinner chambers. My master finished eating and asked me to clean the table. I hadn't even finished eating myself, but I obeyed, dropping my spoon in irritation because I knew I wouldn't be given any more time to finish my dinner.
I arose, sighing, and picked up his platter with empty dishes. Trying to carry both his and mine, I didn't notice the small pool of water on the floor and slipped in it. I fell backwards, dropping both the platters to catch myself on my hands.
The sound of shattering dishes and glass echoed through the room. I closed my eyes in fear of what was going to happen. A long and excruciating silence followed. I held my breath, waiting for the angry words of my Master.
"Clean it up."
That were all the words he spoke, and they didn't even come out angry. I sighed in relief as I arose to go get a broom to collect the shattered pieces.
"Don't."
Confused, I turned my head to watch my Master, "Don't what, Master?" I asked.
"I want you to pick up every single piece, one by one."
"What?!" I gasped, "But... T-That's impossible!"
"Continue speaking to me like that and I have to force you to serve as a bin and eat every piece."
In shock I stared at him. Since when was he so hard on me?
"M-Master!"
"Start doing it. Now!" His fiery hair suddenly flashed, showing his fury.
I staggered back, quickly sinking to the floor to start brushing the pieces together.
In the end, when I had brought them all together on one of the platters, I noticed my hands being covered in blood. I stared at them, only now feeling the immense pain coursing through my wounded limbs.
With an expression full of anger, I glared up at my Master.
"Happy now I didn't have to force that down your throat?" he asked with a smirk.
I growled, hate evident on my face. I'd merely had the time to think about how much I hated him when he suddenly shot up from his chair to forcefully grab me and throw me to the floor. I let out a squeak as my head hit the floor.
"Was that hate I saw in your eyes?" he hissed as he pressed me to the floor. I felt the heat of his hair burning on my skin. I squinted underneath his weight in an attempt to escape, already knowing I wouldn't succeed. My struggling only fueled his anger and he leaned down on me with his full weight.
"Master! P-Please!"
He ignored my pleading words and only smirked in reaction. "Gonna beg now, hmm?" He picked up some pieces of glass in his free hand and brought them to my face.
"M-Master!" I almost started crying, fearful of whatever he was about to do, "I-I dont hate you! I... You're the best Master I could wish for! Please don't hurt me!"
"The best Master?" he asked, looking at me thoughtfully.
For one moment I was almost sure he'd release me, until his thoughful expression turned into one full of hatred.
"You're lying!" he growled.
"N-No!" I knew it was no use denying it. He knew what I thought. He knew what I felt. He would know it even before I did.
"And again you're lying! Don't you ever learn?!"
I knew there was no way back now. I knew I had to endure whatever punishment he had in mind for me.
Fear coursed through my veins as he moved his hand, in which he held the pieces of glass, to his hair. He held it there for a while, and then moved it to my face once more.
"You don't like heat very much, hmm Ghiri?"
I huffed. I didn't like when he called me like that. He only called me Ghiri when he thought I was weak, when he was laughing at me, and also, when he was going to punish me.
Suddenly, when I didn't see it coming, he opened his hand and dropped the red glowing pieces of glass on my face.
I screamed like never before, struggling in any way to make them slide off of my face. My Master didn't allow that to happen, however, pinning me to the ground, watching me suffer and waiting until the glass had burnt its way through my skin.
"Stop!" I screamed, "Stop this! Please! Master!"
To my surprise, he actually listened and threw me to my side. The burning glass no longer rested on my face, but still, the aching didn't fade.
"Now you better think twice before hating me again," my Master whispered in my ear, "I am your Master, Ghirahim, you can't hate me. No matter how many times you'd try to run away, you'll always be here, here in my hands, my property, my toy." He spit out the last word, while pushing my face to the floor.
It had taken months for my face to fully recover, but eventually, it was healed enough for the burn marks to have completely vanished. And I have to say now, I never sent him an angry glare again...
His hair now lit, my Master raised his hand, looking at it with a pleased expression. Somewhere deep inside, I could understand his pleasure, his relief to be in his humane form again after such a long time. I recognized the feeling from times when I had been in my Sword form for too long.
But seeing how he moved his hand in a clawing manner, I couldn't help but feel the hatred resurfacing. That hand that had beaten me so many times in the past...
After the incident with the glowing glass pieces, I obediently carried out my Master's every wish. We never spoke anymore and whenever he asked me a question, all I gave in reply was a simple 'yes, Master' or 'no, Master', ever avoiding to look him in the eyes. I knew he could see right through me when he looked into my eyes, reading my every emotion.
One day, maybe a year after our 'fight', I was sitting in the library, looking up some things about feeding our new demon minions called Bokoblins. My Master had recently captured a dozen of them and they were my responsability to look after.
I had found out they mainly ate raw meat. They even preferred when their food wasn't dead yet and served to them alive. I was thinking about what to feed them when the library door was opened. I sighed inwardly when I recognized those footsteps. Hesitantly, I put down the book to face him. "Master..." I greeted him as I bowed.
He walked over to me, "What are you doing?" he asked. For once he didn't sound angry or displeased. It even sounded as if he was actually interested.
"I was reading a book, Master," I replied, trying to remain calm.
"Hmm..." He picked up the book, "All about monsters of Hyrule..." he read the title aloud, "Doing research on your pet blins?"
I nodded, "Yes, Master."
"Good." He smiled and patted me on the head before turning away and walking over to a bookshelf. I just stood there, paralyzed. Did he just... I smiled to myself as I sat back down on my chair to continue my reading. It had been so long since he last had been nice to me... My smile didn't fade as I continued reading about Bokoblins and how stupid they actually were. This fact would have ruined my mood, but now I just kept on smiling.
"Ghirahim?" my Master suddenly asked.
I turned around in my chair, "Yes, Master?" I asked cheerfully.
He smirked seeing my happiness and walked closer to me. "So, my Sword... Do you think those Bokoblin creatures can be of much use to us?"
I sighed and my smile half dropped, "I'm afraid not. This book says Bokoblins are stupid creatures. They can fight though... But that's about all they can. They won't be of much use when it comes to thinking and planning. They're quite dumb."
"Hmm..." My Master leaned down on the back of my chair, his head resting almost on top of mine, "Seems like it'll forever be just the two of us... The bloody Goddess Hylia sure likes to tease us, sending those foolish creatures to our castle..."
I didn't know what to say to that and remained silent, not wanting to say anything wrong now.
"But Ghirahim..." His scaley hand slowly moved to my face, slightly caressing my cheek, "Don't you think you can make something better out of those vile creatures?" he whispered in my hair, "Won't you try that for your Master? My Ghirahim..."
I closed my eyes and smiled, "Of course I will, Master," I whispered, "Anything to please you..."
"Good." He removed himself, "If you succeed, I'll make sure to give you some kind of special treatment. Something you've never experienced before..."
He left the library room, leaving me behind. I kept on smiling all the time. How I longed for his affectionate touch now... I sighed and closed the book, deciding it was time to work on those Bokoblins.
Soon enough, I realized the task my Master had given me would not be an easy one. It took me weeks, months maybe, of working with the Blins all day long before I finally got what I wanted. Something worth to report to my Master. They understood me, carried out my orders, and some of them even spoke a few words themselves.
I walked up to my Master's room as quick as I could and eagerly knocked on the door.
"Enter." I heard coming from the inside. Quickly I opened the door, bowing immediately as I saw my Master sitting behind his desk.
"Ghirahim..." he said, "Finally made some progress?"
I nodded, "They understand our language," I started proudly, "They can carry out my orders now. And some of them..." I paused for a moment, taking in my Master's expression.
"Continue," he said. He sounded extremely bored compared to me.
My enthousiasm dropped as I finished my sentence, "Some of them are even capable of speaking a few words of their own..."
My Master waited for me to continue, "Is that all?" he asked when he noticed I had nothing more to report.
"Yes, Master. I personally think it's quite the achievement. To think they once were brainless creatures."
He sighed, "I expected more from you, Ghirahim. You can return when they are capable of conversing like we do."
My jaw dropped, "But... Master..."
"No complaining, Ghirahim. Go. And don't take too long. I'm waiting."
I spun around, anger boiling inside me. It had taken me so long to get this far. I had put so much effort into it, and he could say was that it wasn't enough?! In a quick pace I walked towards the door.
"Oh, and Ghirahim," he said before I could leave, "One week. That's what you've got. I'm tired of waiting for you. If they aren't what I want them to be by then..."
"They will be," I said before he could finish, "They will be." I left his room and returned to the Bokoblin quarters. I didn't want to think of the consequences if I didn't succeed. I simply had to succeed. I had to... But as soon as I had returned to my Bokoblins, I realized how impossible it was. Impossible... I would fail...
Exactly one week later, my Master came to check on me. But I had something planned. I would be punished, no matter what I did, so I came up with a plan he would expect the least...
The door opened and he entered the room. It was a large room, set up to look like the outside world. There were sevral tents spread across the room where the Bokoblins lived in and the floor was covered in real earth.
My Master looked around, searching for any sign of life, but he couldn't see one. I had hidden myself in one of the tents, along with the lesser demons.
"Ghirahim?" he called out.
I didn't reply and awaited the right moment in tension. If I would fail now, I would most likely be dead. But what did it matter? What kind of life did I have anyway?
He walked around, calling for me once more, this time slightly angered. When he passed the entrance of one of the other tents, one of those where I had hidden the Bokoblins, I signaled them with a slash of my sword time had come.
They jumped out of their hiding spot, drawing their swords, attempting to attack my Master. I knew their attack would not work, but it was only a matter of distraction. As he turned to defend himself against the weak demons, I ran up to him from behind.
He didn't see me coming and I stabbed him in the back.
He growled in response, an unnatural sound, more frightening than anything I had heard before.
Before I even realized it, all the Bokoblins were down on the floor and my Master turned to face me. I hadn't even had the time to free my sword. He grabbed my face. Not my throat, but my face, and picked me from the ground. My feet dangled uselessly above the ground, trying to find something solid to stand on. I struggled to breathe as his grip tightened.
"You foolish traitor..." he growled in a deep voice, "Did you truly think this would work?!"
Unexpectedly, he threw me backwards, with a lot more force than you would expect from a wounded man. My back hit the wall and the breath was knocked out of me. I slumped into the floor, my head feeling as heavy as a cannon ball.
I lay there, collapsed and unaware of the closeness of danger. Only when I felt something sharp digging into my skin, I realized the worst still had to come. He forcefully grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. The hatred was almost dripping off of his face. He slowly raised his other hand and before I could even register it, it smashed down into my face. I screamed, struggling to break free, but it was no use as I was being held in place with his right hand. Once more, his fist made hard contact with my face.
My nose felt swollen and it would almost be a miracle if it wasn't broken. I felt the blood running down my face, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. More punches followed until my head felt like it was about to explode.
My world had turned red because of the blood that had run into my eyes and I could feel the red liquid sticking all over my face. My Master finally released my head. I couldn't keep control over it and I fell forward, right onto him.
He pushed me off roughly and clenched my left ear to keep me in place. A malevolent smile spread across his lips as another sick idea crossed his mind. His fingernails dug deep into the flesh of my ear. I winced at the painful contact on my sensitive skin. It didn't stop however, and when I thought he must have cut through at least half of my ear, he gave it a yank, tearing off half of it.
I screamed in pain. Never had I thought something could hurt this much. My hands immediatley went to my mutilated ear, clutching it and trying to stop the bleeding. Tears of pain ran down my face.
My Master only smirked at me. I stared at him, unable to express my hatred. All my eyes could show at this point was the pain I felt. Never had I felt so weak, so in pain.
The next thing I saw him doing, was moving one of his hands to his face. The hand that was covered in blood. My blood. The hand that had beaten me repeatedly. The hand in which he held the torn off piece of my ear. That piece he held now in between two of his fingers. Slowly he moved it to his mouth and... ate it. I turned my head away in disgust, but I could still hear him chewing, hear the cartilage crunching, even through my mutilated ear.
When it was finally done, I felt one of those hands return to my face, gently stroking my cheek. "Now, Ghiri..." My Master whispered as he leaned in closer to me, "You should be happy I'm so forgiving at the moment... I could have easily taken your life for such an action..."
Perhaps that would've been better. Perhaps I even wished he had taken my life at that very moment, for the of worst torment still had to come...
My Master smirked as he looked at his hand. I swallowed once, trying not to let my anger become the better of me. I had to draw his attention, show him I was here and had done my work as he had asked.
I placed a hand on my broken chest and bowed for him, "Welcome back to us, Master." I said with a fake smile.
He curled his hand to a fist, smirk still evident on his face. That smirk I had seen like a thousand times before. That smirk that announced one of his evil plans. That smirk I had wished to never see again...
After my attempt to kill him, my Master had locked me up in one of his cells that were meant to be used for prisoners. But apparently he thought they served well as a prison for disobedient Sword Spirits as well.
Every day he came to visit me.
Every day his face wore that same smirk.
Every day he took me to his room for whatever wicked punishment he had in mind.
Most days it was just the whip. He threw me down on the floor, sometimes chained me up against the wall or even on his bed, and took one of his precious whips to torture me. And worst of all, he enjoyed it. He enjoyed filling his room with my screams. He enjoyed spilling my blood all over the place... And all the time I had to look upon that smirk of his. That smirk that would never fade...
Other times, he would take me to the kitchen. The first time he did this, I actually thought he'd give me some decent food, but that was a horrible mistake. He noticed my relief, and as he could read my inner thoughts, he decided to play along with me, leaving me in the illusion he'd be nice for once. He cooked dinner for me, affectionately touching me all the time. I almost forgot everything he'd done to me, almost forgave him...
But when we finished eating, he gently dragged me to the fire, where a kettle with boiling water hung above. I kept smiling all the time. So naive I was to believe he meant everything he did...
I didn't at all see it coming when he grabbed my arm and pushed it into the kettle with boiling water. As my arm was almost being cooked, all I saw was that smirk of his. That one smirk that would be burnt onto my retina forever.
When he'd drag me to the kitchen again later, I would already start pleading and screaming even before anything happened, hoping he'd be merciful and decide not to cook part of me again. But I knew perfectly well it wouldn't make any difference. Mercy was something he didn't know.
One time, he decided not to punish me. He just brought me to his room, later at night than he normally did, and dropped me on his bed. I expected him to chain me up, but he didn't. I didn't trust him however, expecting something bad would happen, but he proved me wrong. All he did was lay down beside me on the bed and hold me in his strong arms. I didn't know what to do or think, afraid anything wrong would turn out into torment. But it didn't. That one night, he was nice, cuddling and kissing me, as if to make sure I would keep on serving him, no matter what happened.
That one night had to be the best night in my life, lying in my Master's arms, feeling loved for once.
But as soon as it had come, it was over again. The next morning I woke up alone, and when my Master returned, the first thing he did was beat me up. I could see only one thing on his face, that smirk. It hit me extra hard then. After caring for me like that, he showed me what he truly thought. And I realized that night had only been a trick. A trick to make me suffer even more.
I have to say now, I was glad when the war with the Goddess broke out and he turned me into my Sword form to fight. At least, being a sword and away from the castle, I could escape the hell my life was...
His smirk slowly faded and he moved his fist closer to his head. Something bad was about to happen. He would punish me. But why?
Shouldn't he say... thank you?
Suddenly, his hand shot forward in my direction, radiating a purplish glow. As soon as his magic reached me, I was paralyzed. I couldn't move any of my limbs and was sent falling backwards. Desperately, I reached out to grab something to hold on to, but there was only air.
After I hit the ground, my Master moved his arm upwards, and simultaneously with his movement, my body was lifted from the ground. My arms were spread at my sides and he raised me higher in the air. My body radiated an orange glow. I knew what this meant. The worst of torments was about to come...
From the corner of my eyes, I looked at the sky-child. Now he would get to see what he couldn't save. What he couldn't stop. But he probably would only laugh...
My Master stopped moving me higher when I hung at least twice as high as my length. He looked up at me, smirking. I closed my eyes and let my head hang down. It was over. It was all over. I waited for it to come.
The aching started deep inside my chest and slowly spread further. The tip of the Dark Master Sword's hilt peeked out of the broken diamond crest on my chest. Slowly, and along with incredible amounts of pain, it moved further out of me. I clenched my eyes shut and gritted my teeth. This pain... it was unbearable.
I watched my Master, seeing how he enjoyed every second of watching me. I wanted it to be over already, but it would take time, I knew. At least, now I knew it would end here. When this was over, it was all over.
The whole hilt had come out of my chest by now, sending agonizing pain through me. It was too much. Just too much...
As my vision slowly started blurring, I remembered my Master's last words to me before he was sealed away by the Goddess.
"Ghirahim..." he whispered telepatically to me, "You will be there to resurrect me." He said it more as a fact than as a question, and I knew I had no choice. "You know..." he continued, "If you fail me... And you can be sure, I will break free of my own at a given moment... Fail me this time and you're dead..."
I didn't fail him. I had succesfully resurrected him. And still... He never kept his promise. He always asked more he didn't mention to me before. I knew he would think it had taken me too long, but he never told me to do it in a given time. And I had tried to be as fast as possible. I couldn't have done it quicker. I simply couldn't.
The pain in my chest intensified. The blade of my Sword was halfway. I started laughing hysterically. It was all I could do at the moment. Laugh. It had been so stupid of me to think I could escape this. It was my fate. I was born only to live this life and end here like this.
I laughed. How utterly stupid of me to think I could change Fate!
The last bits of the blade broke through me and it was sent flying towards my Master. He caught it in his hand and slashed with it once as if to test if it hadn't lost its value. He held it horizontally in front of him and it glowed orange, calling out to me. My spirit was absorbed into the Sword and in contrary with what I had expected, this wasn't the end yet. I had expected to be dead by now, but I still lived.
Fate sure liked to tease me.
My Master examined his Sword, smirking all the way. Did he know I was still alive? Was it his choice to let me live?
He turned his gaze towards the sky-child, who raised his sword in defense. My Master laughed and started talking to the boy about the Goddess, her incarnation and the humans he had known before, but I didn't pay attention. All I did was watch that boy. He who could have stopped this, who could have saved me...
But my mission had failed. It was my fault. I had failed to make him notice. I didn't try hard enough... But how could he possibly not see how I let him win all the times we fought, how I let him get away with his life time and time again? How could he not see something was wrong with me every time I teased with him, creeping him out? How could he not see I'd rather die myself than kill him? How could he not get what I truly thought about my oh so beloved Master?
Whatever. It was too late now. I should've known a simple child such as him would not get the signs and I should've told him straight away...
Now all I could do was hope. Hope he would win and succesfully defeat my Master. I knew that would mean death for me as well, but I didn't care. I didn't want to live with my Master any longer. I didn't want to be abused any longer.
My Master raised me skyward, creating a portal to another world. A world of darkness that would serve as the perfect battlefield to end the sky-child's life. Then he teleported away.
We reappeared in a new world, totally different from what I had expected. It was beautiful, and not dark at all. The sun was shining brightly, a few clouds spread across the perfectly blue sky. The ground was covered with low perfectly clear water, reflecting the sky and clouds, creating the illusion of being among the clouds yourself. Never had I seen a place as beautiful as this. It was so unlike my Master.
But as I admired the surroundings, I couldn't help but fear. Fear for punishment. We were alone now. It could take days before the sky-child turned up, if he even turned up at all. But I didn't doubt his courage. He had gotten this far, he wouldn't give up now.
As if he could hear me, the very next moment, he was there, the sky-child. He cautiously approached my Master, sword drawn and ready to taste his blood.
After my Master had finished his speech about how the world would come to an end and how he'd finally lay his hands on the Triforce, the world around us changed drastically. The blue sky turned black and the white clouds red.
And so the fight began.
At some point, when my Master had taken too much damage, a thunderstorm suddenly appeared, sending lightning towards the earth. He raised me skyward, catching a beam of lightning in me. If I wasn't a sword, I would have screamed, being electrified like this. And there I had hoped all the torture would be over... Now it seemed it had only just started. Again.
The sky-child took a lot of damage and I feared he wouldn't make it. But that couldn't happen. Right? He was the Goddess' chosen hero. He simply had to make it through.
Lost in thought, I almost didn't notice how my Master was driven to the ground. He lay there, open for the final blow. But the child was too slow to deliver it. I growled in frustration. Why? Why was he so slow?!
My Master got to his feet once again, and the fight continued. It didn't take long, however, before my Master fell once more. And this time, the sky-child saw it coming, and jumped high in the air, sword ready to finish him. A flash of lighting ignited his sword and then it struck my Master. Right through the heart. I smirked. It was over. Finally.
The chosen hero jumped back off of him and my Master tried to stand, stumbling and trying not to lose his balance.
I laughed inside at him. How weak he was now...
He raised me skyward and harshly drove my blade into the earth. It was over now. We were dead. Finally...
I awaited my moment of death, but it didn't seem to come.
And then, something I never thought would happen became reality. I was teleported away. Fate sure liked to tease me... But it wasn't me who had teleported me, it was my Master. I could still hear him through telepathy, trying to talk to me.
His voice was uneven as he spoke. "Ghirahim... You will... resurrect me... You have to..."
And then, the contact was cut. I was somewhere out in the dark, far away from him. I smirked to myself. Resurrecting him once again? That, he could only dream of. He no longer was my Master. I was free.
Link had saved me after all.
Please tell me what you think about this. It's my first attempt at writing a one-shot and it turned out a lot longer than I first expected. XD
Inspired by the 'The Ultimate Ghirahim study' by Deidara-clone on DeviantArt.
Please review! I love reviews! :D