Warning: This chapter is mainly Link-torture. I didn't mean for it to take up a whole chapter, but it did. If you can't handle it, either skim through it, or skip. You can pick up with the next chapter, which won't be so dark. Promise.

...Enjoy... if you can...

Blackened Dawn

Chapter Two

Link was rudely brought back into consciousness by a piercing pain to his left hand, causing his eyes to snap open, sapphire orbs shrinking in fear as he immediately sought out the disturbance. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust, even though the room was dimly lit by the glowing red embers and coal in a large brazier that sat maybe three feet away. His attention was drawn to three dark shapes, one large figure flanked by two smaller ones. The smaller two were guards, glaring at him in the darkness with golden amber eyes, their faces hidden by their masks. His gaze then shifted to the dark shape before them, a large, hulking figure that easily towered over him. His eyes widened in fear, staring up into that cold, hateful face, those reddish-amber eyes, that wild, flaming red hair.

"…Ganondorf…"

His voice was hoarse, and it was hard to speak, considering he'd been doing six months worth of screaming. At first, he would fight and yell and do anything in his power to be as insubordinate as possible, but the first two months of torture had quickly broken his spirit. Now he was always afraid of anything that moved, especially with red hair, golden eyes, and a dark complexion. He still would not speak, would not give them one scrap of information that they desired, even though they had all but broken him by now.

The Gerudo King smirked at Link, who cringed under his gaze. "Well, boy, have you decided to be obedient today?" Link grimaced, but did not respond. He instead diverted his attention from the man to figure out where he was. He was still in that dark cell, but he had been moved again. He was now fastened to the wall, shackles on his wrists. He was suspended maybe half a foot or more from the ground, so that he was eye-level with the Evil King. His gauntlets and boots had been removed, and his shirt had been torn down the middle, exposing his torso. His legs hung as though pinned together, his arms spread out at his sides.

'Like some sick, mock crucifixion…' he thought bitterly.

There was a sharp twinge in his left hand, and he grimaced, turning his head to look. A dagger, one he recognized as the one Ganon usually kept strapped to his leg, had been driven into his hand, and embedded deeply in the wall behind him. Blood cascaded down the stone wall like a waterfall, painting it with another tortured soul at the mercy of the Evil King.

"Answer when you're spoken to!"

He was rudely brought back to reality by the back of Ganondorf's fist, which, had he not reacted in time, could easily have broken his nose. Link coughed several times, spitting blood on the ground, accidentally hitting Ganondorf's boot. One of the guards started forward, but a sharp glare from the Evil King made her step back again. Ganon grabbed Link's chin, forcing the Hero to lift his head, forcing him to stare into those cruel, red-amber eyes.

"I can see the fear in your eyes, boy. I can tell you're very much afraid of me. You can easily free yourself from this pain."

Link grimaced, closing his eyes. No… he couldn't…

"Tell me where she is… and you will be released."

"No."

"No?" Ganondorf looked mildly surprised, but he smirked. "Boy, you are merely digging your own grave in being so stubborn… Just tell me where she is, and your pain will cease."

Link's response was immediate. He spat in the Gerudo's face, on purpose this time, striking the man's cheek with a mix of blood and saliva. "I won't condemn her to a living hell… never… you hear me, Ganon?!" he growled. The Gerudo King scowled darkly, wiping his face, and immediately backhanding Link again. Link's head felt like it was spinning from the blow. The world certainly looked like it, as everything was a whirling blur of light and color. He could feel hands working to free the bonds for his right hand, which hung dead at his side when it was released. There was a sharp pain as he hung suspended from his left arm, the wound in his hand stretching as gravity pulled on his frail body. He grimaced in pain, his eyes shutting tightly. His right arm moved to claw at the shackle binding his left wrist, but his arm was grabbed roughly, forcibly extended into the darkness.

"Begin."

One simple, gruff command, and pain immediately followed. His eyes shot open as he felt his hand plunged into the brazier, into the burning embers which clung to his flesh, eating through him, burning straight to the bone. Pain shot through his arm, and he thrashed violently, a loud cry tearing from his chest. He immediately regretted the movement as he felt the knife stretching the wound in his hand. He froze, his breath catching in his chest as he fought to ignore the searing pain, his breath coming as sharp hisses through his teeth.

It ended as quickly as it had begun, his hand released, allowed to fall to his side. It was shaking violently, twitching painfully. He hung there for a moment, gasping for breath, unable to move as he felt the guards bind his right arm again. He whimpered silently as he felt the familiar heat against the flesh of his stomach. He cringed and pressed himself against the wall, trying desperately to escape it, but there was no way to evade it. The searing heat of the coal was pressed to his stomach, forcing another cry from his lips as the flesh felt as though it was about to burst into flames at the contact. Another coal pressed to his flesh, against his breast, and another loud cry followed. It seemed to drag on endlessly, his own living hell of fire and stone. While it only lasted for a few minutes, it felt like hours to the poor Hylian, his throat too sore to scream, although the pain was evident on his face.

"Give it up, Hero," the Gerudo King said with a sneer, "You can't win this one. Just tell me where she is and the pain will cease." Link opened his eyes, looking to the Gerudo in horror, the look of defiance burning ever strongly in his eyes. "I will find her, whether you cooperate or not. And I will be sure to make you watch every moment of the torture I will put her through if you don't tell me where she is now!" Something in Link snapped, and he retaliated, kicking one of the guards in the wrist, forcing her to cry out. The tongs were knocked out of her hand, and the coal was sent flying. It hit its target, striking Ganondorf on his right cheek, startling both guards as well as the Evil King. He was quick to react, and Link soon realized that his action had been a very, very bad move.

The first thing Ganondorf did was grab the brazier and hurl it at the blond. The brazier struck his right leg, nearly shattering the bone. However, what hurt worse was the shower of embers that covered the young Hylian's body. He screamed, despite the pain in his throat, feeling the red-hot embers burning into his flesh, on his torso, legs, and the area in between. The embers clung to his clothes, burning away the fabric, but not actually catching fire. The scream died soon enough, and the young Hero was aware that there were tears on his face from the pain of the embers. Because the dying embers clung to him, they would last a while. But the worst was yet to come.

He opened his eyes and looked at the Gerudo King, who was glowering at him, beside himself in his rage. There were no words to describe the look of fury on Ganondorf's face, as even his own subjects had now fled him to the dark corners farthest from him, not wanting to get between him and the foolish Hero that had retaliated and actually succeeded in striking him.

"You should not have done that…"

'I did worse when I first fought you,' Link thought, opening his mouth to speak, but the words would not come out. He felt as though his vocal cords were stretched thin, unable to work. He watched as Ganondorf crushed the coal in his hand, not reacting to its heat.

"I'll show you what happens when you really piss me off, boy…"

The Gerudo King advanced, and Link grimaced, struggling against his bonds. He saw the red glow in Ganondorf's hand, and he winced, beginning to realize just what the Gerudo King intended to do. He felt those thick fingers entwined in his hair, felt his head tipped back, and he saw the glow of the coal in Ganon's hand. He immediately shut his eyes, and a howl of pain was torn from his throat as the searing heat burned into his left eyelid. If he had thought anything else had hurt before, they were no where near as bad as what this was like. He screamed as he felt the embers burn his flesh, and it was no surprise that everyone in the castle was aware of his agony.

The instant it was over, his hair was released, and his head hung limply from his shoulders, dry sobs and whimpers escaping his throat. He coughed, blood dripping from his lips. His throat had been worn out from two month's worth of screaming. That last bout had done him in, and he had apparently torn something. His vocal cords felt like they were in shreds.

"Now, boy… Remember that the next time you decide to be insubordinate. You have one of your eyes left. Be grateful."

Link only nodded weakly, a soft whimper escaping him. He heard their footsteps moving away, the groaning of the door as it opened, flooding the room with unbearably blinding light, and then the slam as it shut, casting him in darkness once more.

He hung there in silence for quite a while, silent sobs and violent tremors wracking his frail form. He coughed again, sending a spray of blood flying past his lips, staining the remains of his frayed shirt and tunic. He winced as he lifted his head, his matted blond bangs falling on his burned, scarred eyelid. His face screwed up in a grimace of pain and he hung his head again, whimpering and sobbing softly to himself.

'Oh Goddesses… why… why…'

Why what? They weren't at all responsible for anything that had happened. In his past ten years or so of life, Link had become much more familiar with the ways of the Gods, aware of what they could and could not do, what was within their power and what was without, of what was allowed of them, and what was forbidden. He knew that there was no possible way for the Goddesses to have done anything to help. Not without negative consequences anyway.

Stupid Divine Laws.

He relaxed, feeling tears escaping his good eye. What escaped his left eye was much thicker, much more viscous.

Blood.

'Din… Farore… Nayru…'

He winced mentally. When did he start calling them by name? …Oh yeah. Kage's… Seiryu's wedding. Around that time. It always felt weird addressing the deities like they were his equals. But… Seiryu had threatened to hit Link several times if he didn't start calling them by name. It didn't take long for Link to catch on. He managed to get into the habit with only a few bruises. And a rattled skull.

But then again, what was it he had been told? Along the lines of prayers? Oh yeah. The deities couldn't actually hear them unless they were addressed by name. And they could also 'screen' out most prayers, allowing them to hear only those that were important. It helped to keep them from going insane from the number of prayers they might hear a day. In a way, Seiryu was lucky. Despite having been the Sheikain deity, few Sheikah remained that still looked to him for anything.

'Please… keep her safe… keep them all safe… Please…'

He sighed, letting his body relax, ignoring the way the blade in his hand stretched the wound. The pain in his eye had been a hell of a lot worse. He had all but forgotten about the dagger. He barely felt it now.

'That's all I ask of you… keep them safe…'

Can't ask more of them, can he? They didn't owe him anything, and he hadn't really done anything that could gain their favor. All he could ask was that they keep Ganon from getting to Them, from getting what he wanted.

He felt his body losing strength, his mind losing focus. His mind was losing control, starting to go all over the place as he slipped into unconsciousness.

'Maybe the Sages aren't strong enough to seal him away this time through…'

The thought vanished from his mind before he could really process it.

'…Goodnight…'

Darkness.

Author's Notes: Eeeeee... I hadn't meant for that to take up the whole chapter... poor Link. He's gonna kill me.

And I think that's pushing the T rating. If you guys think I should change it to M now, let me know. I'll change it. The rest of the story won't be this graphic, I don't think. So... yeah... you guys tell me what you think.

The next chapter will be nicer, I promise.

And if you're confused at this point, it means you haven't read Children of the Gods. You don't have to read it if you don't want. Just contact me, or any one of my faithful readers who read it for a quick summary.

Oh, and by the way, since I forgot to mention it earlier, CotG was finished about a year and nine days after I started it. Much love to the people who endured that wait for twenty-five chapters of almost random crap.