WARNING: THIS CHAPTER WILL BE DARK AND DESCRIPTIVE. IF YOU CANNOT HANDLE BLOOD AND GORE DO NOT READ. I CAN GIVE BRIEF TELLINGS OF MAJOR PLOT POINTS IN THE COMMENTS TO THOSE WHO WILL NOT BE READING THIS CHAPTER- JUST LET ME KNOW.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, guys! Glad to see that you're back from the last chapter! I really want to apologize for not uploading on Wednesday. I was unfortunately very busy that day and wasn't even able to begin typing yet. Because of that, this chapter will be extra long- I promise! I really want to wrap up Link's backstory, as I am sure you all do as well, but I don't want to rush it so we will see how this goes.
Also, I'm sorry that I didn't upload yesterday. I meant to, in fact I had everything ready to, something went wrong with actually uploading it, however. I realized this this morning and then uploaded it properly. Again, I am sorry. I hope you enjoy this chapter, though!
Without further ado, let us begin the story . . .
(I do not own The Legend of Zelda)
"No matter what, Zelda, I will always be there for you."
"You don't know what you're saying, Link . . ." Zelda shook her head sadly.
"But I do, Zelda. Just let me-"
"No, that's okay, Link. Just . . . just continue your story." She looked up at him, a slight sorrowful touch placed upon her smile.
Not knowing what was best for her, he decided to take her advice.
"Alright, Zelda."
"The knight swiftly sprinted towards my badly injured self, sword and shield at the ready. Knowing this was the only choice I soon followed his pace, sprinting headstrong into my possibly final battle."
"We met halfway in the large cave, him striking first. He was quick. Instead of his sword, his fist was implanted in my stomach, taking my air away. Falling to the ground and coughing for air, I thought that was how I was going to die. A miserable failure."
"I looked up into the man's face and saw nothing. No pity. No remorse for what he was about to do. Nothing. Not even pain. He lifted his sword with the ease of someone godly- then he spoke two simple words that changed everything."
"Get up, he said, sword slamming down towards me only a moment later. I barely managed to swivel to the side, his sword almost nicking my heel. I got to my feet soon after, shock running through my blood leaving no availability for pain."
"Why would he show you mercy?" Zelda asked plainly, it seeming much too convenient. "You murdered his friends- why wouldn't he do the same to you?"
"That's the thing, isn't it? Why wouldn't he? He clearly wanted me dead, he wouldn't have given me advice- especially because he wouldn't want to waste words on a child who would soon be dead."
"So? Why did he?"
"He didn't," Link replied nonchalantly.
"What do you mean 'he didn't'? Were you hearing things?" Her eyebrows were knit, her expression bewildered.
"No, not quite . . ." He dismissively muttered.
"Well then? What happened?" Hands on her hips Zelda demanded an answer.
"Have you ever heard of the Golden Goddesses?"
Zelda frowned. "Of course I have."
"What would you say if I told you it was them?" Link inquired.
"What are you talking about?" She had started to really think now, maybe believing there was another Golden Goddesses group that he had been referring to. It couldn't possibly be the Golden Goddesses that he heard, right? Could it? . . .
"It makes sense though, doesn't it? The voice was low, so I at first thought that it was him, but the more time I thought about it during battle it didn't add up- especially because his mouth never moved."
"Because I had come to the conclusion that it was them, I thought it was logical to assume that it was Farore, the goddess of courage. She was the real reason I could keep standing regardless of what happened to me."
"I guess that makes sense, but what happened after all of that?"
"I'm not sure."
"What do you mean?"
"What happened next is a complete blur. All of it. I know I slaughtered that man, that much is for sure. I entered the armory and grabbed a sword- this sword, in fact," Link drew the Master Sword. "They had stolen it, I assume. Then, blood, and lots of it."
"I assume that the goddess had been using me to escape with my own life, and for that, I will always be in debt to her, however, the was still the case of my father."
"I snapped back into reality outside the entrance of the cell that they had been using to keep us prisoner. The same cell that we were tortured, starved, threatened, terrified- everything. I excitedly entered the cell, practically bouncing with energy to tell my father the good news- we were free! We were going to escape with our lives, just like I had promised him."
"It was a large cell, filled with shadows. I couldn't see my father, so I yelled for him excitedly, audibly happy that we were about to escape. Running around the room and yelling for him like a madman I thought it was off that he was not responding. Then I saw him."
"Lying in the corner of the room was my collapsed father, right where I left him. Smiling in relief, knowing that he was okay, I jogged over to him. I got closer to him, all the while reassuring him that I was okay and that he would be, too. That we'd get out of there."
"As I got closer I began to see his features. Deep gashes littered his face, blood from them pooling in his wrinkles, soaking his light blond hair. His eyes had been carved out further than the skull, leaving his eye sockets looking infinitely black and abyssal. I got closer and noticed his mouth unhinged and open, revealing a halfway severed tongue that was now blue and still dripping with blood."
"As my eyes scanned more of him I began to want to vomit and cry simultaneously. His arms were unevenly severed, bone clearly visible on both of them. His legs were twisted at such an angle that you could physically see the twists done on each leg- like a string that you kept winding around a stick until you run out of string."
"His torso was surprisingly intact despite everything else that had happened to him but it still would've been considered overkill in any other normal situation. A laceration reaching from side to side slit open his stomach so that even his organs were split in two."
Zelda was silent, but the look on her face was that of pure terror. Her eyes were wide and her eyebrows were knit, seemingly imagining what he was saying to her in her own head.
"I collapsed to my knees with a thud before my father. His arms were gone, his eyes were gone, he was gone . . . everything I had fought for . . . was gone . . . I crawled limply towards my father, whimpering like a sad puppy to his side."
"I longed for him to hold me in his arms, for him to tell me he was fine, that maybe this was just a bad dream, but no- I wasn't stupid. He was dead. Brutally murdered because I left him behind. But blame would happen later- the grief was now."
"I cuddled up to his open stomach, hugging him, not minding that I was comforting myself with a corpse' open ribs. I laid there, tears falling soundlessly on his bloody rib bones as I whimpered into the soundless night."
"Knowing I was safe because I had assured that myself, I screamed a desperate and desolate cry into the silent night, shakily holding what was left of my father. I wailed and sniffled, choking on my sobs as I gasped for breath."
"Hours passed and I continued to hold tightly onto my father, fearing that if I let go for even a second he would disappear. Me being five at the time I was devastated. I mean, at any age anyone seeing that would be, right?"
"Of course they would, Link. That's truly terrible what they did to your father. I mean it sincerely when I say that I'm sorry you had to go through that." She had clearly been rehearsing what to say, but somehow it still came out genuine. Link appreciated that about Zelda, although it had been something he hardly noticed about her before.
"I know, Zelda. However, it is an old wound that has since then healed." He replied, for a second slipping into his normal knight-like behavior.
"No matter how old a wound, it can still hurt if it was once severe," Zelda countered comfortingly with a smooth voice.
"Thank you for your concern, P- Zelda, but I really am fine. You have no need to worry about me," Link stated feigning nonchalance.
"You're hiding something Link, I know you are. But there must be a good reason, and because of that I won't force you on anything."
Link nodded appreciatively, admitting he no longer wanted to talk about the subject.
"I will, however, finish my story. If I may?"
Zelda nodded.
"I mourned for two days before returning to the village, my father on my back. My own body was put under a lot of stress, but like with everything, it simmered down and became my fuel."
"When I returned, I was covered in blood and sweat and nearly collapsed at the entrance. The villagers, seeing this, rushed to my side and laid my father down, asking me what had happened while healers that were around began to patch my wounds."
"We immediately held a funeral service afterward for my father and the other brave soldiers that we had lost. The battle, however, had not been lost. Our mission had been accomplished regardless of the price that had been paid- and maybe that's why everything had happened?"
"We later went back to try and recover the goods and jewelry that they had stolen, only to find out that that was their main headquarters and that I had truly gotten revenge by killing every single last one of them."
"We stole back our stolen riches and brought them back to our village. With the gold and jewelry we recovered, we traded with nearby villages. Bit by bit our small and wrecked village became large and strong."
"Rumors had begun to spread about the boy who had taken down an entire bandit group that was filled with hundreds single-handedly. Our town then was called Blood-Soaked Cavern for it was build upon the blood of many of our family members."
"Everyone in our village had freed our people from the harsh bandits, but yet we never truly called it a victory. We both traded people, we just happened to end up with one soldier that wouldn't give up."
"However, if it hadn't had been for Farore, I myself would've even died. That day I learned something that I doubt most learn in their lives. It was something, however, that cannot be taught through words, Zelda, so do not try interpreting what I say too much. Do you understand? It is something somewhat of a lesson," He told her.
"Yes, Link, I think that I understand. Thank you for sharing your past with me- it must've been hard for you, which makes me appreciate what you did more." Zelda was slightly disappointed that he couldn't use what happened as a lesson but didn't blame him for it. It was just her always wanting to learn- even if it wasn't the right time.
ENDNOTE: Hey, guys! That's the end of Link's backstory (finally)! I hope that it didn't get too gory or anything and that it was still enjoyable. Now that I finished writing this plot point, we are now onto the next- which you guys will have to find out about in the next chapter, and I hope to see you there!
Let me know about the things that I can fix- I always enjoy a bit of constructive criticism!
Thanks again for reading, and don't forget to comment! I'll see you guys later! Bye!
