Chapter 10 -

It had been a week since I said my goodbyes. I had spent most of the time up until now alone. Ghirahim claimed that he had things that he needed to 'prepare' before we were permitted to go to the Demon realm, Zacathazan, and he hadn't come home since he went out to start said preparations. I had spent my free time roaming his manor and getting into whatever I could. Most of the doors in his house were left open so I was able to explore them at my leisure, but a select few were locked. I wondered did he lock them to prevent me from snooping, or did he always keep them locked? I honestly thought he locked them to keep me out, though I didn't know what he'd want to hide from me.

I learned a lot about the man just from studying his things. He was neat for one. Not that I wasn't, but he was unbelieably so. The books in his library were arranged on a basis of genre, color, and even size to the best that they could. His silverware and dishes were all part of one matching set. The plants in his garden were cut neatly, and precisely. Never once could I find anything that really just seemed out of place.

I had to admit I was a tad bored being alone in the big house. Well I wasn't alone, there were his servants, but they seemed to have been ordered to avoid me as if I was the plague. Ghirahim had a lot of books, and instruments, and all sorts of things to do, but whatever I tried I just couldn't get hooked enough to get addicted. I tried reading, but most of the books were in some unknown language. I wanted to try my hand at an instrument, but I couldn't even begin to grasp the concept of playing them. I spent a lot of my time just sleeping. It wasn't unbearable, more often than not I was bored at any given time in my life.

Admittedly I also ended up doing some other things… A few days in I felt myself missing the demon. Sleeping in his big bed without him just felt so wrong. I had imagined him there, his arms around me as we lay together in my bed. I ended up … over exciting… myself with the things I imagined, and frankly for the first time in my life, I masturbated. I felt a bit ashamed for doing it, but in the end the feelings outweighed my doubts. It felt good, but part of me still wished that Ghirahim had been doing it. I honestly felt like a dog whose master had left him for the day. I sat around doing nothing but eating, and sleeping with the occasional ball licking, while I waited for my masters return.

When he finally did come back, had I a tail, it would have wagged.

He came back to find me doodling on a piece of paper. I wish he had come back maybe an hour later, because in no way did I want him to see what I had been drawing… him. He had been in the forefront of my mind, and with the paper and pencil in hand, he just happened to be what ended up on the sheet. I was no artist, but I wasn't a novice either. Drawing, just like wielding a sword was something I had a natural talent for. I ended up drawing the man as I remembered him from the first time I encountered him at Skyview Temple. He held his rapier in one hand, and in the other a dagger was suspended. His long red cape draped over his shoulders, and unseen wind caused it to billow out at the bottom. I was just finishing some of the shading when hands on my shoulders nearly made me jump and mess the artwork up.

"Mmmm, I never thought that you'd have artistic abilities," he murmured.

I scoffed at his remark, "You know you can give me a bit more warning that just appearing out of thin air."

"I could, but I didn't. Who're you drawing?" I could see that he was struggling to hold back a smile.

Two could play that game, "Oh just some psychopath that I met a while back. He reminds me a lot of you."

"Really now? I see no similarities," the smile on his face was more pronounced.

"Oh no, you guys are very similar in demeanor," I countered.

"Wow, you say I am 'similar in demeanor' to someone who you just called a 'psychopath'?"

"I didn't mean it like that. I meant that you both are undeniably sexy," I knew he would love me to flatter him.

He growled at my comment, "I've been thinking about how I've missed you these last few days. I really think we need some more contact between us."

So he missed me too. That was a relief. My feelings for him weren't one sided. I stood up from the desk, and turned around to face him. I wrapped my arms around him in an embrace. He returned the gesture by pulling me closer to him.

"I see someone has been lonely without me. Really now, resorting to touching yourself? Couldn't just be patient and wait for me?" he teased.

I was at a lost for words. My cheeks were the color of the lava in the Eldin province. I looked away from him unable to meet his eyes. "You're unbelievable? Spying on people? Really? Aren't I entitled to privacy?"

"In my house, no," I glared at him. "I didn't mean to embarrass you, Sky Child. I'm sorry." An apology from him was unexpected, though I knew full on that he intended to embarrass me.

"It's alright," I grumbled in response.

His voice took on a lusty tone, "May I ask something of you, Link?"

I looked up at him skeptically, "Depends on what it is," I knew better to just agree to do something when it came with him.

He hesitated, which worried me. He generally was pretty confident in what he had to say, "I want you to get on your knees," he finally got out.

I raised an eyebrow at his request, but complied. On my knees, my face was level with his crotch. I think I was getting a general idea of what he wanted me to do. Ghirahim took off his glove by biting the tip of the index and pulling it off. He pulled off the other normally, sitting them on the table behind us. He placed his now ungloved hand on my head and ran his fingers through my hair.

"I want you to pleasure me," he murmured seductively. His words caused butterflies to flutter in my stomach and my usual embarrassed blush to creep onto my face.

I dared to take a glance at him from my position and inadvertently ended up meeting his eyes. I quickly looked away, but he grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. Still staring at him I moved my hand onto the gold sash around his waist. I wasn't sure how to remove it, but rather than asking I just awkwardly tugged at it for a few seconds. He eventually got the gist of my problem and easily removed the fabric. As I thought, his attire was in two pieces, not one. I slipped my hands around the waist of his pants and pulled down.

I was met with his sizeable member in my face. I understood why he wanted pleasure… he was rock hard. I marveled at his beautiful length, feeling slightly envious. Ghirahim made a sound in his throat as to pull me out of my trance. I had no idea how to go about doing this.

"Do it like you did it to yourself," he instructed. I wanted to run away and hide in a corner. It was a lot easier for me to be on the receiving than on the giving end. Pushing away the conscious part of my mind, I grasped his member in my hand.

What I did to myself… I slowly began to pump the base of his shaft. I picked up pace and and began to stroke more and more of his length. Ghirahim's breathing grew heavier, and the fingers that were laced in my hair gripped tighter.

His words came out in breathy tones, "Link…" He almost sounded needy. His fingers ran over my lips and he parted them. He moved his member closer to my face. Knowing what he wanted me to do, I took the tip into my mouth. The action was greeted with a pleasured sigh. I continued pumping him while swirling my tongue around the head of his dick. A hand on the back of my head urged me to take in more of his length. I opened wider to take in more of him and started bobbing my head up and down while still pumping his base. I picked up pace, Ghirahim's breathing growing quicker as he neared his release. He grabbed the back of my head and forced me to take as much of his length as I could. I nearly gagged as his dick was shoved uncomfortably far down my throat. He thrust into my mouth a few times before he came with a low moan. I tasted his hot seed on my tongue and easily swallowed the sweet substance. He removed the appendage from my mouth and pulled his pants back.

"Mmmm you didn't disappoint."

"Did you think I would?" I asked.

"I had my doubts," he admitted.

I got up from my position on the floor, "so what were you doing this last week?"

"Preparing," I rolled my eyes at his response. He loved just giving me obvious answers didn't he.

"Preparing what?"

"For a ritual that you will need to undertake," I raised an eyebrow at that.

"A ritual? What kind of ritual?"

"Well it's entirely optional in all honesty, but I assume you'd want to do it," before I could repeat my question of what the ritual was, he continued, "the ritual is similar to one that my master did on me oh so very long ago. It would essentially make you half demon."

"And why would I want to be half demon?" I could just imagine growing horns and a tail and looking something that came out of a nightmare.

"It comes with its perks, Sky Child. I for one am half demon," I was surprised by that.

"Really? What else are you?"

"I'm half sword spirit as well,"noticing me open my mouth to ask for more information, he held up a finger to stop me, "that will be a tale for another time. Some of the perks of demon blood are attractiveness, increased physical state as well as increase mental state, immortality and magic. Though the immortality may not be that which you are thinking of. You simply do not age, but you can be killed."

Tempting, "So… why do you want to make me a half demon?"

Ghirahim looked thoughtful, "time flies ever so fast, Link. I can't bear the thought of seeing you outage me. I finally have come to accept my feelings for you, and for once my feelings of affection have been returned. I want you to join me in a relationship unbroken by even the hands of time."

Everything was going by so fast. It was only last week that I was able to disregard my hatred for the demon, and now he wanted to be with me forever? Forever sure was a long time. I looked past my infatuation for him and at the actual being a half demon side of it. Immortality was definitely an incentive. I thought of approaching Zelda years from now, still young and healthy. Though it was an immature thought, it brought a smile to my face.

Ghirahim did not fail to notice the smile, "Mmm, does that smile possibly mean yes?" he asked happily. I groaned, how could I turn him down now?

"It can't hurt to try…" That was a lie, it could hurt… really bad. The repercussions of allowing him to do this could be endless, but sobeit. It was something new, something different, and I owed it to myself to try. Hopefully he didn't double cross me and sacrifice my soul in an attempt to revive Demise.

He seemed positively giddy, "When do you want to do it? Now?"

I bit my lip, "I don't know."

"I'd like to do it before we enter the demon world. It would be safer," I knew he probably wanted to do it now if it was his choice.

I went out on a whim, "I'll do it now," I muttered more to myself than him.

A toothy grin appeared on his face and it was terrifying. I decided that I prefered the smiles in which he didn't show his teeth. "Wonderful."

Ghirahim gestured for me to follow him. I trailed behind him. He led me through the hall, down the stairs and into a section of the house I hadn't explored due to most of the doors being locked. He led me to one of those locked doors. With a snap he summoned a key which I assumed would open it. The door opened to a set of stairs that led into a dark basement. I hesitated at the top of the stairs as I tried to make out something, anything in the darkness. A hand on my back urged me forward. Part of me was a tad scared because if he wanted to he could push me down, lock me up and throw away the key. I scoffed at the thought and carefully traversed the stairs into the darkness.

Behind me I heard Ghirahim snap. Candles in the room flared to life allowing me to take in the details around me. The contents of the room immediately set me on edge. A large stone circular table sat as the centerpiece in the room. A symbol was etched into the middle of the table… a 5 pointed star enclosed by a circle. Odd tools sat on another table off to the side. Bowls filled with powders, liquids and petals. Bones. Precious metals and gems.

Was this room made particularly for making people into demons or something? "So have you done this before?"

"No, I have not."

"Then why do you have a basement full of…" lacking the word to describe the objects I just gestured to the contents of the room.

"For rituals," he confirmed, "not necessarily the one we will be doing today, but other rituals nonetheless."

"So you know how to do this, right?" It made me nervous that I would be the guinea pig in this.

"Of course. I have consulted many texts on the subject," he hugged me from behind, moving his mouth to my ear, "plus, I wouldn't do it if it risked losing you."

I shuddered at the heavy tone he used in his voice. Ghirahim moved from behind me and went over to the table of objects. He began preparing something, humming very quietly. I watched him start grinding bones into fine dust, adding other dusts and mixing liquids. I noticed him grab a sharp looking knife and cut his hand with it, adding his blood to the mixture. Feeling squeamish I looked away. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed him gesture me to come over to him, and hesitantly, I complied. He reached out and took my hand, palm up in his own. He raised the knife to my own hand and knowing what he was going to do, I reflexively pulled away. His grip was firm and he quickly cut through my flesh. Feeling the knife cut into my skin I inhaled sharply and turned my face away from the scene. Seeming satisfied he tilted my hand sideways so that the blood could pour into the bowl and released my hand when he was done.

He began murmuring incantations under his breath. They were in a language foreign to me. Probably some demon language. As the incantations picked up in tempo and speed, the contents of the bowl began bubbling and changing color. This continued for a few minutes while I watched in silence. When he was done, he picked up the bowl and held it out to me. I stared at him for a few seconds before carefully reaching out and taking it.

"Drink," he instructed. I looked at him incredulously.

"How about no?" I scoffed, my voice filled with skepticism. There was no way I was drinking this. Even if I tried to I doubt I could get it down after seeing what he had put in it.

He sighed. It was resigned, as if he knew this wasn't going to be a simple matter, "it can be done willingly, or, well you can guess the alternative."

I had to admit, I was proud of his attempt not to threaten me. I sniffed the drink hoping that maybe it would smell good and convince me to drink it. Frankly it didn't. It smelled rancid beyond imagination. It took me care to not drop the drink on the floor after smelling it. I could only imagine tasting it.

"I don't think I can do it," I admitted.

He pinched the bridge of his nose between 2 gloved fingers, "I ask that you forgive me for this."

I raised an eyebrow, "for wha-" within seconds I was laying on the large stone table in the center of the room, my hands and ankles bound tightly by summoned restraints. He sat next to me, his legs hanging over the side of the surface. In his hand he held the concoction.

I looked at him wide eyed, not ready to get force fed. He place his hand that wasn't holding the bowl on my jaw, and with a firm grip that I could not fight, he opened my mouth.

I looked up at him in bewildered terror. He wouldn't be deterred. He placed the bowl to my lips.

"If you swallow, it will make this much faster and thus much easier for you and me."

I doubted the ability for a liquid to make someone into a 'half demon' as he put. But the second that the liquid hit my tongue and the burning started, I knew that this wasn't your ordinary liquid and that it was capable of much more. I wanted more than anything to cough the liquid out of my mouth, to dispel it from my system, but I found myself petrified by his eyes. They bore deep into mine. They weren't angry, but they were demanding, almost pleading.

I swallowed the my first mouthful. It burned as it went down, but after the initial taste, the rest wasn't that horrible. It still tasted terrible and burned, but I forced myself to take it. Once it was all gone we both just sat there in silence for a moment.

I felt… fine, "are we done?" I asked him, tugging at my restraints.

He smiled sadly, "not nearly."

I raised an eyebrow at him and was about to ask when we would be done when it started. It was like I was on fire. My body was burning, flaming, and I had no way to put it out. I writhed in my restraints and grit my teeth against the screams that dared to surface. My eyes clenched shut against the searing pain that traveled along my veins, through my heart and into my head.

I briefly hoped I could just die right then and there, so that maybe the pain would stop.

The fire continued to flare within me getting impossibly hotter as time went on. Time… what was time? The endless ticking of micro-seconds, seconds, minutes, hours? There was no time in the hell that I was in. It wasn't long before all the units that measured time melded into one -into this eternity that I currently indulged myself in.

I tried to think about something, anything else, but it all went back to the same thing. I lost awareness of my surroundings, of the demon I knew still sat next to me… awareness of myself.

I am - fire. No! I am - agony. My world was red, the color of flames. I was one with this hell until it decided to release me once again into the world that I longed for, that I begged for.

... After an infinite amount of time later, the burning began to slowly ebb off until it stopped.

Hesitantly I took in my surroundings. Tuning in my ears, I could hear birds outside, and the rustling of branches as they hopped from tree to tree. I listened to them talk to each other in their sing song tones.

Wait... that isn't right. My inner voice found something off with what I was hearing. I was still in the basement… right? I shouldn't be able to hear things outside. I tuned my ears in further and could hear water rustling by far off into the distance, the crunch of twigs underneath the feet of various animals. I was hyper aware of everything around me.

I opened my eyes and took a breath that I didn't realize I had been holding. Everything was so clear, like I had been looking at the world through a veil up until this point. I could see the little fibers that floated through the air.

Ghirahim still sat there in the same position I had last saw him in just staring at a wall, lost in his thoughts. I yearned to touch him. The restraints that so easily held before broke with little effort on my part. I sat up and wrapped my arms around his backside. He flinched slightly, my touch snapping him out of his trance.

"Morning," he said in a near whisper.

"Morning," I replied. I briefly noted how pleasant my voice sounded.

"I'm sorry," his voice dropped to a whisper, "I very deliberately left out a lot of details about the process."

Indeed he had. I did my best to avoid resurfacing memories of the pain. "It's okay," that wasn't really true. I wasn't mad at him, but at the same time I was a bit shaken after the whole affair.

"How about we go upstairs?" He snapped, and the restraints still on my feet vanished in the all too familiar flurry of diamonds.

I stood up, moving quickly (a little too quick for what I was used to), and bound up the stairs with him trailing behind me.

I smiled back at him… at the man that I loved. I no longer felt it. The shame, the worries, the resentment. Nothing could interfere with the passionate feelings that blazed within me.

"I love you," I said shyly. A blush painted my cheeks red.

"I love you too," his reply was genuine. Beautiful.