Ghirahim showed Link to his room and left the boy to get comfortable. They were set to meet for breakfast at eight o'clock, and it was already late so he wanted to make sure he got his beauty sleep. He laid in his bed, thinking to himself about the events of the day, and how happy he was to finally have a companion. Ghirahim was still confused by his feelings, wondering what they meant or why they were present. Could he really be falling for this seventeen year old human? The thought made him want to vomit rainbows. Humans were worthless, weak creatures who were meant to be exterminated, not cherished and loved.
Well...technically he isn't a human...anymore. He thought to himself, smiling. He rolled over on his side, hoping that someday his Skychild would be laying asleep next to him. He closed his eyes and imagined his slender, yet deliciously muscular, frame laying in bed next to him, peacefully sleeping. The thought gave him butterflies, but at the same time made him uneasy. This was nothing like him. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this way...
Actually, he could. He had a lover taken from him, almost in the same fashion he stole Zelda from Link. It was over a thousand years ago, when Ghirahim was a young human farmer in his twenty-second year.
They were laying in a field relaxing after tending to their heard of cows. Ghirahim moved a lock of his brown hair out of his eyes, sweat gathering on his brow. He turned his head, looking at the beautiful woman lying next to him. Her long blonde hair fell around her elbows, which were digging into the soft grass as she propped her head up to look at the love of her life.
"Claudia..." He said softly, "Have I told you today how much I love you?" She smiled at him, her cheeks going pink.
"Ghirahim...how did I ever get so fortunate to become involved with such a respectable and loving man like you?" He rolled over and put his arms around her, kissing her cheek softly. She giggled into his mouth, a sensation that sent shivers down his spine.
"You look like you got a little burnt today out in the fields." She pointed out, brushing her hand down his dark skin. He shrugged.
"It will all just be tan tomorrow. I don't really feel it." He sat up, wrapping Claudia in his arms. She laid her head on his chest and they both sat quietly, watching the sunset, holding each other. The night seemed perfect, and Ghirahim knew just the thing to make the night completely perfect.
"Claudia, How long have we been together?" He said, his face buried in her hair. She looked up at him, puzzled.
"Well...I reckon its been about...three years? Give or take a few months. Why my love?" Ghirahim quietly laughed to himself and adjusted so they were sitting and facing each other.
"Because," He started, beginning to feel nervous, "I want three more years...and three more after that." She looked at him, confusion written all over her face. He fidgeted, nervous to continue. "Look...what I'm trying to say is.." He stopped again, reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small box and held it in his palm, "Claudia, Will you marry me?" He opened the box to reveal a beautiful ring, with one large diamond between two smaller ones. Her mouth opened in surprise and tears began to form in her eyes. She looked at Ghirahim, his expression looking hopeful. She smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"Oh Ghirahim! Yes! I will marry you!" He slipped the ring on her finger and pulled her in for a kiss. He could feel her sobbing in joy, his own throat growing a lump in it as tears began to form in his eyes as well.
"I love you, Claudia. I will always love you, from now until beyond the grave." She tucked her head under his chin and stared at her ring.
"I love you too Ghirahim, until death do us part." They held each other until the sun was gone and the moon was up, relishing in the affection, their undying love for each other.
"Ghirahim, we have a problem." One of his fellow farm hands said to him as they were stacking hay. Ghirahim wiped his brow and looked at his comrade. He stuck his pitch fork in the ground and leaned on it, taking a breath.
"What's the problem Kane?" He asked, worried. Kane leaned on his fork as well, looking the young man in the eyes.
"The Demon King Demise is coming to our land tonight." Ghirahim's eyes widened, he couldn't believe what he had just heard.
"The demon king? Why would he come here? What do we have to offer?" Kane took a drink of water from his water pack and exhaled.
"Souls. I guess he is coming to claim the soul of the most pure person here, something about keeping him going since he is growing weak."
"But Kane...why would he come to our village? We are just a small farming community." Ghirahim felt his heart beating out of his chest.
"Well, legend has it that every thousand years he grows weak, and needs the soul of the purest person to replenish his strength. They somehow traced the purest person in the world to be in this village, so he's coming here." Ghirahim looked down, his stomach doing flips.
"We need to stop him, we can't just let him take one of our own! It's insane that anyone would just let him walk in here and..." he stopped for a second, his hands trembling, "MURDER one of us! We can't let it happen Kane...we just cant!" Kane put his hand on Ghirahim's shoulder.
"Look, Ghirahim. I've basically raised you since you were a kid. I know it's hard to grasp now, but there's nothing we can do. It's either one of us, or the whole community could be wiped out, there's no way we could overpower a demon king and his minions, even if he is weakened. It's unfair, but that's how life at the bottom is, and the sooner you accept that, the better off you will be." He picked his fork back up and began stacking, "Now let's finish this up so we can get to the town square and get this sacrifice over with." Ghirahim silently nodded, his anger still boiling inside him.
"Ghirahim, there you are. I'm so worried I hope this is over quick." Claudia said, linking arms with her fiance. He silently nodded, pulling her in closer to him. The town was gathered in the square waiting for Demise to show up. Ghirahim, being on the taller side of the village, noticed a large, dark approaching the square, presumably Demise. He stood up straight to get a better view.
"Someone seriously needs to stop this monster. It's not okay that he can just walk in here and kill someone...King or not." Ghirahim put his hand in his pocket, gripping the small dagger he had concealed. Claudia moved in closer. Demise approached the crowd silently, observing all the people standing there. Him and his minions combed the crowd, looking into the eyes of every person. They came up to Ghirahim and looked into him; he felt as if his mind was being invaded by a dark force, and he couldn't move from his spot. Demise moved on, approaching Claudia. A dark smile formed on his evil lips.
"I have found her, the one i need." He turned to walk away as his minions began to grab on and drag Claudia away from Ghirahim. She screamed.
"Get your hands off her you bastards!" Ghirahim yelled, thrusting his knife in Demise's back. He whirled around, fire in his eyes.
"You insignificant little maggot." He growled, picking up Ghirahim by his throat. "I should snap your neck in half right now." Ghirahim's face began to turn purple and his vision spotty. "But...I have a better idea." Demise threw Ghirahim to the ground. He looked at his minions with a sinister smile. "Bring him to the front." The minions took no time in grabbing on to him and dragging him up to the front of the crowd along with Claudia.
"She must really mean something to you, seeing as you were stupid enough to use your little toy to stab me." He looked at the defiant boy in front of him. "You need to learn your place, at the bottom of the barrel where you belong." He picked up Claudia and stared into her eyes. A white fog seemed to be coming from her head and she looked to be getting tired. She slowly turned her head to look at the love of her life one last time.
"I...love you Ghirahim...I wish we could have had the life we planned together...we'll meet again...goodbye..." She took a deep breath, and her body fell lifeless. Ghirahim yelled, feeling his world shatter around him. Demise, with his new found power, approached him, a sickening smile on his lips.
"Learn your place, retched human." He lifted his hand and let his giant fist knock into Ghirahim's head, knocking him unconscious.
Ghirahim stayed behind after the funeral, just staring at her headstone. His heart was shattered, and he couldn't bring himself to leave just yet. He hated those who let her die. He caught a sob in his throat as tears rolled down his dark cheeks. He just couldn't grasp that she was gone. He held the diamond ring he bought her in his hand, tears falling on it. The sun was gone, and the moon and stars were all that illuminated the sky. He put his hand on the tombstone, looking down at the ground.
"I'm so sorry Claudia...I failed you..." Just then he heard something approach behind him, but he ignored it. Then it spoke.
"No, your village failed her." The dark voice said. Ghirahim jumped to his feet and turned around, facing King Demise himself.
"You got what you wanted, why the hell are you still here?" He snapped, trying to suppress the sob that was growing in his throat. Demise laughed to himself, finding humor in the weak human standing in front of him.
"I'm here, because I have an offer to make you." He paused for a second, staring at the young man. "You're angry that your village stood by while I killed your lover, aren't you?" Ghirahim clenched his fist, wanting to strike the demon. He held back, and instead answered angrily,
"Obviously I'm mad. Why is that any of your business?" Demise sat on a stump, making himself at home.
"Well, wouldn't you want revenge?" He asked, his eyes piercing through Ghirahim. He hadn't really thought about it, but revenge sounded like bliss.
"What are you getting at demon?" He snapped, not making sense of what the King was hinting at.
"What is your name human?" He asked. Ghirahim hesitated, still not understanding why the Demon King was showing interest in him.
"Ghirahim."
"Ok, Ghirahim, I want to make you an offer. I want you to be my servant. You have inner strength I had never seen in any human in my many years." Ghirahim's eyes widened in horror.
"Why would I join you after you just took everything away from me? You truly are insane!" He yelled, backing up. Demise approached him, speaking calmly.
"Think about it, Ghirahim. You could be on top. All I would have to do is inject you with my blood, and you would become a demon Lord. You could destroy this village without breaking a sweat. You could do whatever you wanted." Ghirahim went silent, thinking to himself. Maybe this is what his destiny was all along. Maybe he was destined to become a demon and serve Demise. Maybe that's the true reason he was here. Ghirahim looked up at the demon and a dark smile spread across his mouth.
"I'll do it." He said. Demise laughed and injected his blood into Ghirahim, who made a terrifying transformation. His tanned skin turned white, his hair turned white, and when he was finished, he didn't even look like himself. The surge of power running through his veins was almost too much to handle. He looked at Demise, an evil grin forming on his face.
"What shall we attend to first, King Demise?
"And then I murdered everyone in the village and left with Demise for good." He said to himself, laying down. He started to realize how similar himself and the skychild really were. They even said the exact same phrase after transformation. Ghirahim rolled back over on his back and stared at the ceiling. He now realized why he felt for Link; he looked like a male version of Claudia. He shook his head in disbelief, it just couldn't be. He closed his eyes, and as he was drifting to sleep, thought to himself,
I've lost one important person to me...I won't make the same mistake a second time. Link...he will be mine, forever.
