Chapter 7: Link's Confinement

Nighttime had slowly crept in on the small tropical island. The daily stress Zelda had gone through was more than enough to leave the poor blonde sound asleep on her bed. Link on the other hand stood on the beach just outside the house looking out into the ocean. The cool night breeze caressed his face as he became lost on the events that took place that afternoon. Zelda had explained to him how this man named Cormag Midgar had tried to have them both killed because Link had accidently killed two of his men. It was grave mistake, for his henchmen had failed in their assassination attempt and now Link was ready to pay him back.

"Cormag Midgar," Link mumbled to himself as he placed his hands into his black jacket's pocket and walked off towards the town.

It was about midnight when the young mercenary reached the sleeping town. He recalled Zelda telling him how Cormag was the richest man in the town seeing as he owned and had total control of the fishing industry. Based on that information he suspected the guy must have a big house. He took a moment to scan his surroundings noticing how there wasn't a single soul on the streets. Some of the houses were pitch black while others were dimly lit. Link continued down the streets as silently as he could keeping an eye out for the large house Cormag surely must have had. His search led him across town where a large mansion stood in the southeast corner. It was guarded by two soldiers who stood in the front gates watching for any intruders.

"This must be it," Link thought to himself.

Deciding to avoid any direct confrontations he made his way towards the side of the mansion where he used his skills to jump the fence without any problems. He quickly scanned his surroundings again for any weird movement, deciding it was safe he continued on towards the mansion. He noticed an open window on the second floor, his ticket in.

"How to get there?" he mumbled looking at a nearby tree. Its branches served as the perfect launching spot, "there we go."

He climbed the tree effortlessly and jumped across towards the open window landing gracefully inside the dark room. Luckily the room, which seemed like a guest room, was empty. After a sigh of relief the teen continued outside the room towards a large corridor filled with many doors.

"Where to start?" he asked no one in particular as he strolled down the dark hallway.

A couple of voices coming from down the dark hall caught his attention. Moving quickly he reached a large staircase which led to a long and luxurious living room on the first floor. A group of men sat in a circle near a brightly lit fireplace discussing among themselves. Link listened in on the conversation while making sure he was out of sight.

A short haired middle aged man spoke first. "I heard your men failed to kill that blonde girl and were apprehended by the guards. It's only a matter of time before they track them back to you Midgar."

"It's all right Mayson," spoke another man who sat in the middle of the circle. He was a rather thin man in his forties with dark blue haired spiked back and dark eyes wearing a business like suit. "Their failure will not cause mine. I've decided to proceed with the plan earlier than expected."

"But Mr. Midgar! How do you plan on doing that?" another elderly man spoke up.

"I'm already the richest man on this whole goddess forsaken island, but even so that elder remains in control. His death will grant me the chance to become leader the way it was supposed to be from the beginning," Midgar smirked.

Link's eyes narrowed. "So that's Cormag Midgar," he mumbled to himself as he spied from the second floor.

"So you sent the two men to act as undercover soldiers so they could assassinate the elder," a third man concluded.

"We weren't counting on that outsider to appear and mess things up though," the man known as Mayson spat.

"No, this will prove to be quite beneficial," Midgar chuckled maliciously.

"How is this beneficial for us?" the elderly man questioned.

Meanwhile, as Link listened intently he failed to notice one of the guards which patrolled the mansion had spotted him.

"Hey you! What are you doing there?!" the guard shouted.

"Shit!" Link cursed as he turned to face the guard.

"Intruder!" the guard unsheathed his sword and rushed towards Link.

With one swift movement Link managed to dodge his thrust and took his sword before swinging him over the stairs.

The groups of men were startled as the guard fell in between all four them, dead. They turned towards Link as he jumped from the second floor and landed neatly in front of them with the guard's sword in hand. His eyes turned into that demon like golden orbs as he focused on the man named Midgar.

"Oh yes, this is just perfect," Midgar laughed before clapping his hands twice.

In response, the double doors of the living room opened as a barrage of guards stormed in and surrounded the young mercenary.

"Now, outsider, it seems you came here for revenge, no? Now let us see if you have what it takes to survive," he turned and walked off with the three other individuals. "Men, kill him."

The guards all attacked Link simultaneously, but their moves were incredibly predictable for the teen which managed to counter each attack and parry with one of his own. He would swing from one side to the other in a barrage of assaults barely giving the guards time to recover. His speed was definitely inhuman. Nevertheless, the men never ceased their attacks and continued relentlessly in hopes of landing a lethal blow to the seemingly invincible enemy. The fight lasted only minutes and in the aftermath only one guard remained blocking the exit through which Midgar had left.

"It's impossible! How could one kid defeat everyone?!" the guard shouted in utter fear.

"Get out of my way," Link hissed.

The guard stared at his fallen companions and back at Link. Deciding his life was worth more he stepped aside and allowed the teen to walk past him.

"You will be killed," the man managed to choke out with the last bit of courage he had left, "you filthy outsider."

Link glared at the man through the corner of his eyes and quickly stabbed the man through the chest silencing him for good. "You should have stayed quiet," he spoke emotionlessly as he removed the sword from the guard's body.

"You…demon," the man gasped before collapsing dead on the floor.

Ignoring the guard's last comment he continued his way out the door in search for Midgar. Along the way he would encounter a guard or two, but they were no match for the mercenary's might. Slowly but surely less and less guards would show up. He had, without a doubt, killed the majority of them.

Cormag Midgar along with his other three companions and two guards exited the mansion and were heading towards the front gate when a shadow suddenly appeared in front of them. Link's golden eyes glared directly at Midgar while the other men cowered in fear behind him.

"You're not going to live past tonight," Link threatened with an acidic tone as he pointed his sword towards him.

"I beg to differ," Midgar smirked, "guards!"

The two men rushed towards Link, but were quickly disposed of by his superior skills. Two swings from his sword and both men fell on the floor instantly.

"He's not human!" Mayson shouted in fear.

"Tell me, Link, why is it you seek my head? Is it because of that young girl, Zelda?" Midgar asked seemingly unfazed by the scene before him.

The young mercenary narrowed his eyes. "Anyone who targets me will be killed by me, no more, no less."

"I see," the dark eyed man chuckled, "pity you won't be able to see when I slowly kill that girl then."

Link's anger snapped and he raced towards the man sword at the ready.

"Stop right there!" came a voice from behind the teen.

As he turned he noticed the island's guard squadron all armed and ready with Kain and his halberd in the middle.

"Just in time lieutenant Kain," Midgar spoke, "this man broke into my mansion, slaughtered my men, and is trying to assassinate me!"

"Shit!" Link mumbled as he glared back at the man.

"Well, well, well, to think Zelda's little friend was nothing more than a killer," Kain grinned as he placed himself in attack position, "I'll make sure to take you in and protect Zelda from creeps like you."

"This is none of your business," Link said in a menacing tone, "leave now are I will make sure to kill you as well."

"I'd like to see you try," Kain challenged as he swung his halberd around.

"Lieutenant!" one of the soldiers stood forth, "allow us to take him!"

Kain shook head. "Not gonna happen. He's too strong for you and I'm not ready to lose any men."

"Then fight!" Link shouted as he jumped in the air ready to slice the young soldier down.

Kain quickly back flipped out of harm's way. Link missed the attack, but quickly advanced towards him the moment he touched the ground not wasting any time in attacking. The raven haired youth spun his halberd around deflecting Link's unceasing barrage of slices and thrusts. Nevertheless, he was being pushed back by the mercenary's superior strength.

"Not working out," Kain thought before dodging another of Link's attack and leaping over him in order to gain more ground.

"My turn!" the soldier declared as he spun the halberd above him and brought it down with full force.

Link placed his sword horizontally above him and blocked the attack, both of them engaging in a power struggle. Sweat drops fell from each of their foreheads as the rest of the spectators watched in awe as the two teens showed their might trying to push each other back.

"A guy like you doesn't deserve any mercy!" Kain spat harshly, "how can you kill people so easily? Don't you feel?!"

"There's…" Link began to take the upper hand, "nothing to feel!" he unleashed an unseen force and pushed the young soldier back quickly taking that opportunity to land a right hook on his face sending him tumbling back against the ground.

Link followed up by stabbing his sword down, but Kain quickly retaliated and rolled out of the way. He stood up and placed himself in a defensive stance once more. "Do you truly not feel?"

Link glared at him but did not speak.

"If you do not feel… then why are you here?"

The young mercenary stammered at Kain's remark but as he opened his mouth to speak a large blade swung beside him and knocked him out cold. Kain stared at Link's unconscious body as Darien stood behind him sheathing his massive sword on his back.

"Strike two, boy," the guard commander mumbled as Kain made his way towards him.

"I had it under control," he sighed.

Darien picked up Link and placed him on his shoulder. "And now it's under my control," he simply replied while walking back towards the rest of the guards.

Kain sighed once again and made his way towards Cormag Midgar. "Everything ok here?"

Midgar smiled and bowed in gratitude. "All thanks to you lieutenant."

Kain shook his head. "Just doing my job."

"I'm sure poor Ms. Harkinian will be heartbroken by this news."

"Yea," Kain spaced out for second, "I'll be sure to let her know."

"You must care quite a lot for that lady," Midgar smiled with a hint of malice.

The raven haired teen chuckled softly. "I guess I do."

"Well then, make sure to protect her always."

"I will," he nodded.

The rich business man turned towards his mansion. "I guess I have some cleaning up to do. Good night lieutenant."

"Uh, yea. Good night sir."

Kain watched the man and his companions enter the mansion where members of the guard squadron helped out by clearing out the bodies of Link's victims.

"I guess it's up to me to tell Zelda what happened," the teenager thought to himself, "what does she even see in him anyway?"

Zelda woke up the next day as the sun's rays lit up her room. She sat up and yawned while she stretched. Her little cat companion, which she named Kiro, did the same.

"Good morning Kiro," she smiled as the cat meowed back in response.

After her daily morning routines she got ready and headed downstairs expecting to see Link like usual sulking in the living room. She immediately noticed something was amiss since Link was nowhere to be seen. She called out to him a couple of times but received no answer. Suddenly she heard a knock on the door and rushed towards it.

"Link?" she asked as she opened the door but was surprised when she saw Kain standing there instead.

"Expecting someone?" he grinned.

"Kain!" Zelda blushed slightly and shook her head, "no, no. Please come in!"

She stepped aside and allowed the young soldier to enter her house. Kain took a moment to stare at his surroundings. Zelda noticed this and stared at him.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"Huh?" Kain snapped back into reality, "Oh! It's just that I haven't been here in ages. It surely hasn't changed much."

Zelda smiled. "Most things don't. You have though."

"Is that so?" Kain replied unsure of her comment.

"Oh it's nothing bad," the young blonde assured, "please, take a seat in the living room."

"Thank you."

"So what brings you here?" Zelda inquired, "I doubt you simply came to see me."

Kain smiled. "Do you think I'm THAT inconsiderate?"

"I guess I'm just used to that," Zelda shrugged playfully.

The black haired teen chuckled lightly, but his demeanor suddenly changed back to serious. "We… caught Link yesterday at Midgar's mansion."

"What?!" Zelda snapped, completely taking a back by this turn of events, "why? What was he doing there?"

"He was trying to kill Cormag Midgar. As for the reason, I do not know yet."

Zelda's eyes widened as she covered her mouth in shock. The memories from the previous night suddenly flashed through her mind. Link's interrogations, his cold attitude, his seriousness; he was planning to assassinate Midgar for what he had done that day. She stared at Kain as he waited patiently for her response.

"Link is innocent!" she suddenly blabbered out.

"I… highly doubt that Zel," he sighed, "he killed almost 40 men last night. Luckily I was there to stop him."

"You fought him?!" she shouted.

"Well, yes, before Darien showed up and took care of him," Kain replied.

"Is he ok?!" she asked eagerly.

The young soldier nodded. "He's locked up right now. This is his second offense; I don't think he'll be released this time around."

Zelda stood up and placed her arms on his shoulders. "You have to listen to me! The two men that attacked me yesterday work for Midgar! That man wants me and Link dead because Link accidently killed two of his men who were undercover as part of the guard squadron. Midgar is the bad guy, not Link!"

Kain raised an eyebrow as he stared at the blonde. "That's one hell of a story Zel."

"It's the truth!" she argued.

"Listen," he began as he took her hands in his, "I don't know for sure if that's true or not. Personally, I don't think that Link guy is capable of any kind of compassion. Regardless, I'll investigate Midgar for you, but I cannot accuse him of anything without any proof so give me some time, ok?"

Zelda's eyes brightened as she smiled with joy. "Thank you Kain!" she hugged him tightly causing him to wince a little.

Kain broke the hug but kept his hands on her shoulders. "Now make sure to stay out of trouble. Leave this to me, I'll solve everything. I promise."

He leaned in a kissed Zelda softly on her cheek causing the young blonde to stutter. "Take care Zel," he whispered softly before making his way out the door.

"You…too," the girl mumbled as she stood touching her cheek completely lost in her own shock.

Meanwhile, the poor misunderstood mercenary sat with his arms resting on his knees and his head down behind the cold walls of the prison cell. His second "offense" had earned him the largest conviction possible, to be locked up for life. Commander Darien would occasionally swing by his cell. His smug look irritated Link for the man thought he was right about the teen all along, that he was nothing but a merciless killer. On the other hand, he had killed almost 20 men that night and his goal was to kill Cormag Midgar so in the end he wasn't entirely innocent. His only concern was what Midgar was capable of doing now that he no longer was an obstacle. He worried for Zelda's safety.

"So, outsider," Darien spoke as he approached his cell yet again, "what's wrong? Sad because you didn't quench your thirst for more bloodshed?"

Link looked up at the bulky man, his demon eyes showing no signs of emotion except for maybe anger.

"It doesn't seem like Ms. Harkinian or the Elder will let you off the hook this time boy," Darien commented as he rested against the cell bars.

Once again Link said nothing.

"Hmph, I would have enjoyed killing you, but unlike you I have my morals," he concluded before walking back towards his post.

"Morals," the mercenary mumbled.

The young blonde had traveled from her home towards the prison keep in an attempt to try to liberate Link. She tried to explain the situation by retelling Darien about the attack of the two men and how they worked for Midgar. Naturally, Darien refused to believe her story saying she was making it up in order to help the outsider. Zelda, however, did not give up.

"What do you mean I can't see him?! I told you it's not his fault. Midgar is the bad guy here!" Zelda shouted.

"Zelda," Darien spoke softly as he placed his gruff hands on her shoulders, "you know I can't make that kind of decision. I know about what happened to you yesterday and I assure you that it's being investigated, but till then I can't let that guy run around free."

"What about the Elder?" she asked, "surely he must have SOME saying in the matter."

The large commander shook his head. "The Elder is busy with some important matters. It's best not to disturb him now."

"But…"

"Ms. Harkinian," he cut her off, "go home and let us handle this."

Deciding she wasn't going to be able to change his mind she nodded softly and reluctantly turned and left without another word. Darien watched with a look of sympathy as the young girl disappeared into the crowded streets of the town and wondered how a nice girl like her could have gotten involved with someone like that outsider.

"People will surely start talking again… poor girl," he mumbled to himself.

"Oh Link… why did you have to go and do something like that?" Zelda thought to herself as she walked through the forest trail towards her house, "how am I going to help you this time?"

The young girl reached her two story white house by sunset. She kept thinking about ideas she could use to help prove Link's innocence, but gave up as soon as she reached her house. Instead, she decided to rest for day and come up with more solutions the next day. Luckily for her it was Saturday and she was off work. She entered the house and began cooking up a meal for herself. The silence was overwhelming and although Link wasn't much of a talker, his presence was more than enough to make her feel content. She had gotten used to having him around and now realizing he might never be able to leave the prison was starting to take its toll on the poor girl.

"At least I have you Kiro," she smiled sadly at the black cat which lurked around the kitchen floor.

"Meow."

Zelda finished her silent dinner and headed up stairs to freshen up. She took a bath and switched to her night gown before sitting gently on her bed. She looked out the window and noticed the moon shining brightly above the ocean waves. The sight of the water always managed to soothe her. She let out a yawn and stretched her arms before deciding to call it a day and sleep.

"Good night Kiro," she whispered before pulling the soft covers on top of her.

A shadow moved around in the darkness of the night just outside Zelda's house. A man wearing black attire, holding a knife in his hand, moved towards the back of the house through the beach where Zelda's room could be seen. Setting his sights on the balcony he climbed a vine stuck in the wall that reached the roof granting him easy access just outside her room.

Zelda stirred in her sleep as Kiro hissed right next to her on the bed sensing the danger. "What's wrong Kiro?"

At that moment the glass slide door burst into many shards flying across the room. Zelda sat up abruptly noticing the shadow that stood next to her. She opened her mouth to scream but the man forcefully covered her mouth, pinning her against the bed.

"Let's not do that," the man mumbled as Zelda struggled against his grip.

His sinister smile could be seen even through the thickest of darkness. He enjoyed her putting up a fight. "I'm supposed to kill you now," his eyes trailed down her body as a lustful feeling overwhelmed him, "but I prefer to have a little fun first."

Zelda's eyes widened in horror as she heard those words. She tried with all her might to push him off, but to no avail. The man took out his knife and began to trace it down her nightgown causing her to stiffen. His sadistic smile widened as he slowly lifted the short night dress revealing her exposed thighs.

"No!" she muffled a scream but it proved useless.

Back in the prison Link looked out the barred window of his cell sensing that something was not right. He would never guess the danger that Zelda was going through at that exact moment. All he could do was sit and curse himself.

"Zelda…"

A/N: Intense huh? Sorry for the cliff hanger but it was necessary. Hope you enjoyed it. R&R plz!