Nintendo created all the characters and places and stuff. I just made the story up. The cover was done by Zeliga of DeviantART.
Chapter ten - Blood and Soul
Link refused to scream as another whiplash broke his skin to bleed. The guards had had enough doing this to him, some had apologised before, while and after giving him his sentence, keeping him barely alive. Simon would be watching with a smug toothy grin that Link could only glare at. He could hear Midna crying as she got into her rushed wedding dress just upstairs. Simon had done that deliberately, he wanted Link to suffer as much as possible. Simon wanted Link to beg him to stop, ask him for food and water, plead him for forgiveness, yet the maximum contact he got out of him was the constant glare or the wolf grin that meant: 'you're not going to win'.
"Give it here; you're not doing it right!" Simon roared taking the whip from the guard's hand and slapping it across Link's shoulder blades. Link gave a short sigh and shut his eyes; his body was merely a shell, one that would endure injury far greater than the average Hylian. Simon whipped his arms, making blood splatter across his face as he leaned against the wall. "Had enough?"
Link raised an eyebrow and spat out some of his blood
"Giving up are we?" Link chuckled, in a voice unlike his own, Link's eyes flashed red, Simon nearly snapped the whip in two over his knee.
"Give me the chain." Simon snarled, staring at Link's smiling face; a guard handed him a chain whip with a solemn face, almost fighting with Simon to hand it over. The guards had respect for the young knight. He had gone through so much in the two days; Simon punishing him was more than they could take yet the man was still standing, still talking and still breathing.
"Sir, you'll kill him!" a guard yelled "He can't take much more and if you do kill him, Midna won't marry you."
"Consider this your lucky day then." Simon sighed throwing the chain whip on the floor and leaving the room, as soon as the door was shut, the guards undid Link's chains and let him collapse in their arms. They knew he was in great pain but coping well.
"Is she alright?" Link whispered trying to look up from the floor as they rested him on his stomach, his eyes had turned blue again "I can hear her crying. Is she hurt?"
The guards gave each other a worried glance
"She's getting married to Simon; Simon blackmailed her into doing so. He would kill you if she said no today." one guard said giving Link some water from a flask on the table, Link shut his eyes then opened them slowly
"Can-Can she come see me?" Link asked wincing in pain, the guards shook their heads only to hear Link gave a saddened sigh "Then I'll go see-see her." Link mumbled trying to get up off the floor, his arms shaking under his weight; his eyes squeezed shut as pain zipped up his spine forcing him back on the ground, his hands covered in his own blood. A tear trickled down his cheek. The guards had never seen Link cry or give up. But it seemed as though he had just shown them both in a matter of seconds. He gave a defeated sigh.
"Don't do this to yourself, Link." one of the guards ushered kneeling down to face the man as another crystal tear dropped onto the floor, his ears flicked up suddenly
"Can you-you give her a-a message?"
"I don't see why not." the other guard shrugged, Link smiled
"I'llpr ote ctyou, eve nif I d ie, I'l lb eyou rshin ing li ght. So,toy oublus hin gbri de,dr esse dupf oryo urb igd ay,m ayyo urd aysbe ha ppy,f orI'l lbe byyo urs ide."
Link went cold and his eyes shut, the guards looked up at each other as one wrote down, quite confused, what Link had just said.
"I feel bad about leaving him. What if he dies?" one guard spoke as they locked Link back up to the wall, this time in a seated position, trying to avoid his back.
"You have his message, the least we can do is deliver it." the other shrugged
"You think he will forgive us?" the first guard asked reading the scrawled note over and over again
"Link understood at the first lash we had no choice." the other sighed as they separated, one went upstairs to Midna, the other to the guard room; to the men eager to hear on Link's situation, especially Ralph. He was blaming himself over and over but Simon's men were watching him, he was constantly in their sight, questions flew over his head about his location, no chance of escape to free Link from his prison, he admired him for his endurance, the guards had had his blood on their hands and they felt horrible for it.
Simon however, was full of joy, or at least that's how he thought of it. The guards hated serving him but kept strong. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link and Link had shown great strength to the man and been hated for his 'rebellious' faults.
"Excuse me?" the guard holding the letter spoke opening the door to find Midna in floods of tears in a long black wedding dress; one that Midna did not suit at all.
Midna did not answer but she looked at the guard thoughtfully
"I have a message from Link. I think he was a little traumatized when he said it." the guard mumbled holding it out "I am sorry."
"I have to do this. I won't let him die." Midna sniffed reading the letter
"He'll be lucky if he lasts the week. At the rate Simon is torturing him, he'll be dead shortly. We managed to stop him from using a chain whip before. Link can't even stand." the guard shuddered as Midna put a hand to her mouth and hugged the note.
"I have to do this for my kingdom, if he's willing to die for me. I can do the same." Midna replied
"I don't think Link cares anymore. He would rather see you happy." the guard suggested "I'm surprised he is alive now."
Midna lifted her head up when the air turned cold.
"You listening to this?" Daku squeaked sitting next to Link as he came to "She's getting married to save you from death."
"Hmm." Link uttered raising his head to look at Daku, Daku placed a hand on his cheek and wiped some of the blood away
"You're brave. Much braver than me. I just followed orders in my life." Daku sighed leaning against the wall, Link looked like he was going to burst into tears but held firm
"Hmm." Link answered lowering his head again
"You're not giving up, are you?" Daku asked shuddering at the thought
"I'm too tired." Link mumbled giving a weak tug at his chains
"Are my ears deceiving me?! Why, not even two years ago were you for the hanging? You tried to free yourself from your chains with wounds everywhere!" Daku shrieked
"I make it 124 lashes since last night." Link scoffed folding his legs "I can barely move and everything hurts."
"You have me; I'm not going to let your soul leave." Daku giggled as Link smiled but shut his eyes, Daku let a small smile creep onto his lips and vanished into him; bracing himself as Link's Triforce started to flash on his hand, his teeth gritted and he let out a long, loud scream.
Loud enough for Midna to stop sobbing.
Loud enough for Ralph to stop sulking.
Loud enough for Simon to start panicking.
Link opened his eyes to reveal the golden irises and he tugged on his chains; continuing to roar and scream in pure pain, exhaustion and anger; the metal around his wrists dug into his skin but Link continued to pull against them; he felt Daku pulling with him. Link let out another scream that came out like a wolf howl as the chain around Link's wrists started to glow golden. The left chain snapped from around his wrist forcing him forward but the right chain refused to give in. Link gritted his teeth harder and pressed a foot against the wall; refusing to stop heaving the chain.
"Break!" Link shouted at the chain "Come on! Break!"
The wall gave up against his strength and the bolts of the chain holding it to the wall snapped leaving the heavy weight on Link's right arm. Link let out a sigh as his eyes returned to normal and staggered around for a moment; Daku rolled over in his soul, clapping his hands and cheering wildly as Link kicked the door down with about as much force as three men. The door skidded into the adjacent cell, breaking the locked door down while it was at it.
The wedding march!
Link dashed down the hall.
Midna quietly cried into her bouquet as she slowly walked down the aisle, all her staff and reluctant guards watched her with saddened or judging eyes, they too had heard the whip scar Link's skin, yet his reluctance to scream had made them grit their teeth. Bravery was a thing of the past, unless Link could destroy brick there was no way he was going to get there in time. Even more so with all the energy Simon had punished out of him.
Midna stood next to Simon, her tears running down her cheeks, she glanced over to the door but no such luck of the sound of pounding feet or panted breath came.
Link was not coming. She took Simon's hand.
"Do you, Councillor Simon, take Princess Midna of the Twili to be your lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?" the minister asked, fumbling with the book as his ears turned alert
"I do." Simon muttered with a scowl as he knew they were stalling.
"Do you, Princess Midna, take Councillor Simon to be your lawfully wedded husband to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?" the minister asked turning to face Midna with a solemn face, he had seen the tears
She said nothing and looked to the doorway again, silently begging.
"Come on, hurry up." Simon snarled quietly, Midna jerked forward slightly as she was certain she could feel a dagger poking into her back from Simon's hand
"I-" Midna sniffed holding her bouquet to her face as the doors crashed open, Midna turned again to see Link staring at her at the entrance, barely alive. Simon had had enough
"This marriage is legal and binding, guards!" Simon shouted pointing in Link's direction, no one moved; Midna dropped her bouquet and rushed over to him before he collapsed
"It's not legal till I say 'yes'." Midna growled keeping Link upright "And I will never marry you!"
Simon made fists and snatched a golden crown from a satin cushion to his left, Link's eyes locked with his
"I'll take that." Link's voice echoed through the room, Link's Clawshot was attached to the tip of the crown but he made no effort to pull it back.
"Get your hands off my crown!" Simon snarled as the crown zipped into Link's free hand, Link raised an eyebrow with a chuckle
"Shame on you!" Link shouted gathering strength "You care more for the crown than you do the woman you intend to steal."
"Link, you need to sit down before you collapse." Midna mumbled but Link shook his head with a smile as he knelt down
"Midna, will you marry me?" Link asked blushing bright red; Midna went a similar colour
"Yes, I will." Midna shouted wrapping her arms around Link's neck almost pushing him to the floor
Simon clenched his hands till the knuckles went white, without a moment's hesitation, he ran down the aisle taking a sheathed sword from an audience member on the way and raised it with a shriek, Link pushed Midna behind him and lifted the crown to defect the sword before tripping him up and picking the sword up with his foot as it slid away
"You insolent brat!" Simon shouted as Link pointed the sword in his direction, Midna gasped at Link's back, it was still bleeding and marking the carpet where he stood, his clothes ripped off his back, leaving him almost bare chested
Link's hand trembled on the sword, he wanted this man dead. Dead as stone. Yet, his forgiving heart stood in the way. He gave him a glare.
"I cannot kill you. It wouldn't be fair of me." Link sighed stabbing the sword into the floor in between Simon's legs making him gulp at the sheer force Link had brought the blade down on "You don't know the first thing about sword combat."
"You think you could be king? You are no more than a spoiled mongrel!" Simon screamed, staring at Link's folding arms "You don't even have the guts to fight!"
"A mongrel am I? You don't think I have the guts to fight you?" Link asked rolling his eyes, Midna stiffened at his remark, Link took the black crystal out of his pocket of his torn trousers "When a wolf is part of a pack, he or she is a member of a great family just like royalty. Unlike wolves, we don't live to their expectations or values."
Link pressed the crystal against his head and let it sink into his skull. Simon let out a cry in horror as a growling wolf stood next to Midna; one with blue eyes that shone with truth and nothing to hide. The wolf went for a leg and dug his teeth into it, reaching for the muscle and bone; Simon let out another cry as the wolf licked his lips clean with a long pink tongue and jumped onto his chest aiming for the neck
"Link, that's enough!" Midna shouted fearing what Link was going to do, Link sniffed and walked beside her like she were his owner, he was still growling, a throaty growl that hid his pain, which even through the fur was visible
"What does he mean?" Simon wailed clutching his leg, Link's transformation and growling was something he had not expected
"Wolves are not spoiled. They are expected to grow on their own within the family supporting each other." Midna muttered clicking her tongue "You hit a nerve there."
Ralph shrank in his seat in the audience. Until Link had burst in; Simon's men had been jabbing a sword into his side forcing him to keep his mouth shut and not object. This was his punishment. Link's transformation came as a shock but not as a surprise. He had seen how much fear was in his heart when he first changed, how much it had bothered him to have lost his friends and to meet the strange little imp in the cell. It also made his forgiving heart duller, he needed to kill to eat and Simon was a threat; by sinking his teeth into Simon's leg he was killing two birds with one stone.
Link gave a growling roar and shut his eyes in pain, Midna knew he could not keep standing much longer and knelt down to his side
"Take him to my room, get him some help! Right now!" Midna spoke, putting a hand to his forehead and balancing the crystal on two fingers, Link was getting cold and was physically shaking with fatigue
Link looked up at her with tired eyes; he did not have the strength to get up.
"Sorry, Midna." Link whispered as Ralph pushed his way through the audience to help his friend
"What are you sorry for?" Midna whispered bringing a hand to his chin
"Sorry I didn't get here sooner." Link said with a smile
"It's okay. I'll be along soon." Midna replied kissing him on the forehead, Ralph slipped one of Link's arms over his shoulder and walked him out of the room
"Well, you know how to make a scene." Ralph chuckled as Link leaned on him, making slow baby steps that were so unlike him
"I told you, I'm willing to fight for her." Link smiled pressing his hand against the wall
"I need some help here!" Ralph yelled as Link went down, his hand sliding down the wall in a trail of blood.