Chapter 19: Dark Wings That Plots in Secret

Only once every few eras is a hero, chosen by the three golden goddesses themselves, reincarnated to save Hyrule from any danger that threatens it; no matter what it is. In this era, the legendary hero was once again reincarnated to thwart the danger the kingdom was about to face. But in one individual's thirst to fulfill her own selfish desire, she had intentionally thrown off the course of the hero's fate, and is now using him to further her own ambition. This is how her plan began.

Date: February 28th, Year 983 (One day after Link was born)

Once upon a time, there was a couple from a distant lan who left home to explore a forest they had heard numerous legends about. Little did they know, however, the woods they had ventured to was the Lost Woods. They had been wandering the woods for several days before they met a young, blonde-haired girl accompanied by a tiny ball of light. She told them that they would never leave the forest alive, and that they were doomed to wander in the forest for the rest of their days. Believing the girl's words to be nothing short of a lie, and continued to search for an exit. Days later, the couple had given up on finding their way home. But instead of succumbing to the woods, they decided to build a house out of the trees. Despite being doomed to live in the forest forever, they decided to make the most out of their situation, and live out the the rest of their lives in happiness that they hoped would last forever. And it did last... until something was brought to their doorstep.

"This is the place." said a feminine voice.

The man she was with, dressed in white with diamond shaped openings in the attire, along with a red cape, looked down at the strange infant in her arms. The baby had black skin, white hair, and black eyes with red pupils. "Are you sure?" he asked, "This is the Lost Woods, after all."

"Of course I'm sure!" the woman yelled impatiently, "My Watchers would never lie to me! Besides, who else would build a house here?" One of the Watchers, who, just like the rest of them, took the appearance of a raven, landed on her shoulder before she spoke to it as one who speak to a baby, "Isn't that right, sweetie?"

The man chuckled, "It's good to see you're so sure of this. But don't you think you're being a tad too loud?"

"No, I'm not hearing things!" a man yelled from inside the house, "I know I heard someone from outside!"

The woman looked down at the baby, "Well," she spoke as the infant stared at her in wonder, "I guess this is goodbye... for now."

"I have to say," the man told her, "You appear to have grown quite fond of that child."

"Well I did technically create him. Sure, I had to kidnap that boy and use his body to do it, but sure. I'm technically his mother." The woman set the baby down on the doorstep and put a hand on the man's shoulder. With a snap of his fingers, they both vanished.

Moments later, the door opened and a man emerged and looked down at the infant, "Ugh." he sounded in disgust.

"What is it?" his wife asked.

"Come look at this."

The woman moved to stand beside the man as he pointed down at the unusual creature. She gasped, "It... looks like a baby, but... different."

The man continued to stare at the strange infant as his wife picked it up and held it out in front of her, "It's a boy." she noted, before turning to her husband, "You know, we never got to have children... even though we tried."

"Hey!" the man yelled, blushing in embarrassment, "That wasn't my fault!"

"Well, either way... I think we should keep it."

"K-keep it? I dunno..."

"He can't even take care of himself! We can't just leave him here!"

The man sighed, "Okay," he relented, "but just until he can care for himself." After this, he turned to his wife to see that she had already vanished into their house with the child. He sighed again, I just hope you know what you're doing, he thought.

The next day, the woman sat in a rocking chair, humming a tune as she knitted together several pieces of black fabric for the baby.

The man walked into the room and stood next his wife, placing a hand on her shoulder as he spoke, "I didn't know you could knit." he told her.

"Well," the woman responded in a matter of fact tone, "How else are we gonna have clothes for the baby?"

The man looked down at the pieces of cloth his wife was using. "Wait a second... are those pieces of my clothes!?"

"You're the only one with black clothes, and he just didn't look good in any other color we had."

The man gave an aggravated sigh as he turned and walked away.

In the years that followed, the "family" lived a mostly normal life. That is, until the man decided it was finally time for something to change.

Is was a warm, summer night, and the baby that had been found on the doorstep nine years ago had grown into a very polite and obedient young boy, contrasting greatly from his otherwise evil appearance. His "mother" had primarily knitted him black tunics to wear along with a matching cap. The boy, who has yet to receive a proper name for some reason, had just finished his chores for the day and was tired from it all. In truth, though, he actually liked doing chores around the house because it made him feel useful; besides, it wasn't like there was anything else to do.

"I'll see you in the morning." the boy's adoptive mother told him as she sent him off to bed.

"Goodnight, Mother." he said back as he retreated to his room, which had originally been a room for unfortunate travelers passing by. As the boy left the room, the man who could arguably be seen as his father, looked over at his wife, "I need to talk to you." he said.

"Sure," his wife answered, "what is it?"

The man's face tensed up as he spoke, "It's about that... that..."

"That boy." she finished for him, knowing by now that he was referring to the boy.

"Why do you still keep him around?" he asked, "It's clear he can take care of himself just fine."

"You know as well as I do he won't make it out there. It's just not right to make him go like that."

"He won't make it? Hell, none of the people who pass by here make it!"

"Well, this is different! He's just a boy!"

"Look at him! That thing shouldn't even be considered human! Let alone a little boy! I'm not-"

"I'm not having this discussion with you again! He's staying and that's final!"

The man rose out of his seat and stormed to the front door in frustration. He turned to look at his wife before he left out, "One of these days..." he threatened, "One of these days, you're gonna have to choise between him or me! And I promise... it will be soon."

The woman sighed and shook her head as her husband stepped outside. Meanwhile, the boy in question stood around the corner to his room. He had heard everything. The words he heard cut deep into his heart like a knife. Hot tears spilled down his cheeks as he dragged himself over to his bed.

"That thing shouldn't even be considered human! Let alone a little boy!"

The words echoed through his mind all night. He had surprisingly never thought about it before, but he was different from his foster parents; very differen. It made him feel horrible that he differed that much from the only other people he knew. The more he was reminded of this, the more it hurt him inside. And for the first time ever, he felt like he didn't belong there with his "parents". He pondered these thoughts for what seemed like forever... Until he cried himself to sleep.

The next day, the boy went outside with his mother to pull weeds from the garden that been made several years ago so the couple would be able to eat. The boy had brought out a bucket of water so his mother could ration it's contents to the many crops planted.

"Good," his mother said, "set it down so we can finish the weeds."

The boy heard his mother, but just stood there as if he didn't. He stared into the clear water in the bucket, watching as his reflection distorted in its tiny waves.

"Is something the matter, dear?" he heard his mother ask.

"Mother," he began, "why am I so... different?"

The woman looked back at him, surprised he had asked such a question, "I... I don't know..."

The boy's expression saddened, "Mother... what am I?"

"You're my son." she told him firmly.

The boy set the bucket on the ground before joining his mother.

"Here," she told him, giving him a sharp tool, "this will make it easier."

There were a lot of weeds in the garden today, and eventually, the mother went inside to fetch them both water. Meanwhile, her husband, not too far away, has been planting new crops into their garden. Eventually, the two met, and the boy, distracted by the numerous thoughts in his head, had accidentally pierced the man's hand with his tool.

The man yelled out in serious pain, grasping his hand as blood trickled down his arm.

"S-sorry!" the boy stammered, rising to assist his adoptive father, "Here let me-"

"No!" the man interrupted, "Stay away from me, you monster!"

The boy froze immediately, and his mother, who just emerged from the house, ran to stand in between them both.

"Monster!?" she repeated, "The only 'monster' here is you!"

"Do you not see what that thing did to me!?"

"I'm sure it was just an accident! He'd never do that on purpose!"

"I am absolutely sick of you defending that thing! He's not even supposed to be here!"

"I'm sick of you constantly bickering about him! He's a person just like you!"

"That-"

"And you know what? I'm not going to keep putting up with it!"

Not wanting to anger his wife any further, the man sighed, and retreated back into the house. The woman, meanwhile turned to her son, who's cheeks were damp with tears as he made a noisy attempt to hold his sobs in, and tried to consoling him; but the damage had already been done.

Inside the house, the man watched with a scowl as his wife knelt before the boy and pulled him into an embrace. That strange creature was taking away his wife, who was all he had left. After nine long years of this, he finally grew desperately tired of it. And he would put up with this no longer.

That night, after everyone else had went to sleep, the man had used a cloth to blindfold his "son", and carried him into the woods, leaving a trail so he wouldn't get lost. When he felt he was far enough away, he roughly ripped the blindfold off the boy, and shoved him to the ground, instantly arousing his slumber. The man watched as the boy gauged his surroundings, and finally fixated his vision upon him. The boy stared at him for a moment before he spoke, "Where are we?" he asked.

"Far from home." the man responded, drawing a knife, "It's just you and me."

Meanwhile, the woman quickly rose up in her bed. She heard a rather loud knock on the door, and got up to check it out. Answering the door, she found that nobody was at there, or in the house for that matter. She took a few hesitated steps outside when she noticed a trail leading deeper into the forest. Though she would counsel against following a trail into the Lost Woods, she had a feeling that it would be in her best interest to do so.

"What are you doing?" the boy asked as his "father" advanced toward him.

"I'm getting rid of you," he answered, baring his knife "for good."

Fear worming its way into his heart, the boy dragged his seated body backwards as his breathing grew shallow and shaky. "What about mother?" he asked.

"As far as she knows, you were kidnapped by a pack of monsters."

The boy's eye grew wide, "But... but..." just then, in an act of desperation, the boy took off his hat and threw it at his father. He almost jumped into a standing position, and ran toward the house, where he knew his mother was.

The boy was stopped by an aggressive tug on the back of his shirt, pulling his body back. As the man pulled the boy in front of him, he kneed the child in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Next, he swiftly punched the boy on the jaw, sending him back.

"Well, well... at least have a basic instinct to survive like the beast you are."

The boy looked up, tears of both physical and emotional pain as well as fear dripping from his chin. "Please..." he sobbed, "Please don't hurt me..."

"It's too late. You had your chance."

Just then, the man was knocked off his feet, and on to the ground. He then watched in seething rage as his wife dropped to her knees and hugged the boy tightly, letting him cry openly into her shoulder as he hastily returned her embrace. "It's okay..." she told him over his noisy, muffled sobs, "...Mommy's here."

As her husband stood, the woman looked back at him, returning his look of unbearable hatred, "What the hell's wrong with you?!" she yelled.

"Shut up!" he barked back, "I told you the time would come when you'd have to choose between me and that thing! Now which is it gonna be!?"

"Don't do this!" the woman told him as her eyes filled with tears, "We can work this out!"

"Screw that! If you so obviously place that monster above our marriage, then I'm leaving!"

"NO!" she cried, releasing her son and taking a few steps toward her husband as he disappeared into the forest, "Wait!" After she could no longer see him, the woman dropped to her knees, "Please!" she begged, "Don't leave me!"

As his mother broke down into sobs of her own, the boy walked over to his mother and placed a hand on her shoulder. "...Mother?" he called to her hesitantly.

The woman took a deep breath before turning to her son. "Don't worry about me." she said with a smile, "I'll be fine. We don't need him." She stood and took his hand as she started towards the house. "Let's go get some sleep, okay?"

For the next several weeks, though rarely, the boy would notice his mother staring thoughtfully into space, with a saddened expression, or he would hear her sobbing quietly to herself at night. There were also times where she would even do her husband's laundry, despite him obviously not being there to wear it. But despite those strange occurrences, things were slowly starting to return to normal.

The Day of the Hylian Massacre

The boy sat at a table with his mother as they both ate their breakfast.

"So what chores will we do today, mother?" the boy asked.

Much to his confusion, instead of answering, his mother only stared at the front door with a wary expression on her face. The boy followed her gaze, watching the door expectedly when he heard something. It sounded like distant footsteps. The quickened rhythm of the sounds telling him that whoever it was, or what-ever it was, was running. But the boy paid this little to no mind at all.

"Mother." he called again.

"Yes? What is it?" she finally answered.

"I asked what chores will we be doing today."

The mother chuckled, "You know, I don't really know if there's actually anything to do today. So..." She finished her statement with a shrug.

Not too far from where they were, a boy clad in green ran through the forest followed by scaly blue-eyed monsters. Time was running out.

Without a word the mother rose to her feet and walked toward her room, taking her son's hand on the way. "Stay here." she told him as she led him to her closet, where she kept her clothes. Then, as if she were answering his questioning gaze, she planted a small kiss on his forehead, "I'll be right back." she told him with an almost sad smile. She then left him there after closing the doors to the closet. After a few seconds, the repetitive sound of footsteps in the distance grew louder then, just as quick, they grew silent. The boy sat still in the small room, patiently awaiting his mother's return so his isolation would cease. But he remained in the closet for the next hour or so until he finally decided to leave and look for his mother. But when he opened the door, he saw the thing he least expected to see.

It was a tall, slender man with snow white hair, a white attire that revealed his skin in diamond shapes with a golden sash at the waist, and a red cape. The boy looked up at him with wide eyes, startled at first, but now frozen.

"Greetings, child." he said.

"U-um," the boy stammered, "a-are you a traveler?"

"Somewhat."

The two stood there in awkward silence, the smile that was formed on the man's white lips admittedly creeping him out.

"I-I'm not supposed to let you in unless my mother's here."

The strange man sighed, "Ah, yes, your mother... I saw her a while ago."

"Really?!"

"Mhm."

"Can... can you take me to her?"

"Very well... I guess I owe you that much."

The boy hesitantly traversed the woods with the man. In just a few minutes, they came across her...

Or... her body anyway...

The boy stared at the body, his breathing growing faster and deeper as his eyes teared up. The body he saw was bloody all over, and looked as if it as been chewed on viciously. He could even see the bones. "...Is this..."

"Yes." the man confirmed, "This is your mother."

The boy ran to the bloody corpse and collapsed to his knees as tears began to fall. "H-how?" he asked as the man moved to stand beside him.

"She left you." the man answered.

"W... what?"

"She left you to die while she saved herself... and she got what she deserved."

The boy hung his head as his running tears fell to the ground in front of him. "Why would she do that? I thought... I thought..."

"What? That she loved you?" The man scoffed, "Humans are incapable of such emotions. Their greed will only allow them to commit acts that will satisfy them and them alone."

The boy sniffled, "But... but she-"

"That woman only took you in so she'd feel she was doing something right. Think about it. She had been trapped in these woods, cursed to die in this forest no matter what. By 'saving' you, she felt that, at the end of her days, she could look back at that action and convince herself that she had actually done something to good for her fellow man, when the truth is, she did it to benefit herself. That's all humans are... greedy, selfish creatures."

The boy continued to stare at the ground in hopelessness as he spoke, "What... what am I gonna do...?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the man answered, "Come with me."

The boy looked up at the man, shocked at his offer.

"I can give you what your 'mother' failed to. A home, an actual family, someone who will understand you. You can have all of that if you come with me... and leave this forest." as the man finished, he extended his hand toward the heartbroken child.

The boy stared up at the man for a moment before taking his hand and being helped to his feet as the man gave a somewhat sinister smile.

"What's your name?" the boy asked after they had been walking for a while.

"My name," the man began, "is Ghirahim."

To be continued!

Author's Note: I may not be updating this story again for a while. I've been working on a Hyrule Warriors fanfic that I've been wanting to do since before the game came out (as weird as that may sound) that, in all honesty, I just happen to bemore interested in. That story will be my primary focus at least until I either finish it, or get more interested in this story than the other.