And here is the sequel to my story "Conquer the darkness in you".
Pretty dark story again and yes, even I felt sorry for Link after I finished writing this story and read over it again.
But the third part will be much more light-hearted, I promise ;)
You can't flee from the darkness
Horse hoofs were heard, which moved quickly through Hyrule Field and wherever the mare ran along, the small inhabitants of the field quickly hid from her powerful hoofs.
Epona ran as fast as she could and at the same time she was as careful as she could to not lose her rider, who held onto her back with difficulty and who was hardly conscious.
Link looked terrible.
He had finally managed to free the water temple from its curse, but he had almost paid for it with his life. The fight with his dark counterpart had deprived him of all his strength and he had left the fight with horrible looking wounds. His fairy Navi hadn't been able to do much for him and she had been very happy when Princess Ruto had found both of them in that room, because she had helped Link, had taken care of his wounds and stopped the bleeding as good as she could. And not only that, but she had also helped him fighting the demon, who had been responsible for all the suffering in Lake Hylia and Zora's realm. Together, they had defeated him and thus broke the curse of the water temple, but since Ruto was a Sage, she couldn't help Link any longer and thus the hero was back on his own.
He had still managed to call Epona and pull himself onto her back as the last bit of his strength had vanished from his body.
And now he was sitting on her and had the greatest trouble to hold onto her white mane as she galloped as fast as she could through the field.
Link didn't know where she led him and it didn't matter to him at that moment, because he wanted only one thing: sleep...
"Link! Open your eyes! Don't fall asleep!"
Navi's voice was full of concern and he tried to keep his eyes open, but he barely managed to do so. The pain in his body was too big, just as it was the exhaustion and he just wanted to close his eyes and sleep, even if he knew that this could be a fatal mistake, for he would close his eyes now, he didn't know if he would open them ever again...
"I can't Navi..." he whispered and his head sank against the neck of his horse and the grip around her mane became looser.
He almost fell from the horse, if the mare hadn't stopped her pace.
"We're almost there. Hold on…"
Epona walked right into the direction of the Lon Lon Ranch.
It was already early evening, because the sun began to dive the country into its red light.
At this time all the inhabitants of the farm gathered in the barn and the mare ran right into the direction of it.
When she had arrived, she hit the stable door with her front hoof over and over again and whinnied to direct the attention onto herself and it wasn't long before the door opened and Malon looked up at her in astonishment.
"Epona? What are you doing here?"
"Malon! Please help us!"
Navi fluttered nervously around her head before flying back to Link and flying around his head and Malon's heart skipped a beat as she had finally discovered him. He had fainted on his horse and was no longer clinging to her mane and he was about to fall off of Epona's back and to the ground if Malon hadn't been at his side and held him up.
"FATHER! INGO! Come outside! Fast!"
When they heard Malon's excited shouts, the two men immediately stopped their work and ran outside, where Malon was already waiting for them. Fear and worry were also reflected in her eyes and when Ingo and Talon looked at Epona's back, they also knew why.
They helped her to lift Link from the horse and to put him carefully onto the ground.
The young man no longer moved nor opened his eyes and it almost looked as if he was no longer alive, but Talon took away the tension when he put his hand onto the hero's chest and felt his heart beating, telling Ingo and Malon that he was still alive.
"What happened to him?"
Malon looked at Navi and the little fairy could see tears shining in her eyes.
"I'll tell you later. Please...help him..."
"We will. Ingo. Bring me a bucket of cold water. The boy has high fever and you Malon, get me as many bandages as you can carry. We have to take care of his wounds," Talon said as he started freeing Link from his torn Zora tunic. Cautiously he loosened the straps that held his shield and sword on his back and he put both aside, before he pulled the clothes over his head to expose his upper body and the sight of his exposed upper body shocked him.
"By the gods!" the farmer said as he saw all the horrible wounds that Link had gotten in the water temple. As he turned him onto his side and saw the wounds on his back, it gave him a stab into his heart.
Link was still so young and had already experienced so much suffering.
What was wrong with the gods to impose such a heavy burden on him, which he had to carry all alone?
"Ingo, go to Malon and get the bandages. I don't want her to see this," he ordered, as Ingo stood by his side again and put the bucket of cold water next to him.
He nodded silently before he disappeared into the house.
"We will do what we can, little fairy. But in the end it's up to Link to get back onto his feet..."
When the sun had disappeared behind the horizon, Link had been taken to Malon's room and they had put him into her bed and had covered him with a warm blanket. They had put a cold cloth onto his forehead and Malon had tried to give him some water, but he had not drunk anything when she had held the glass to his lips. Talon and Ingo had done a good job, had cleansed all his wounds and they also had stopped the bleeding, but the fever was still very high. Malon had been sitting next to him for hours and watched over him. She gently stroked his sweaty hair from his face, dipped the rag into the bucket of water that was next to the bed, and put it back onto his forehead.
"Oh Link. You have done so much for us and this kingdom. Don't let it end like that now..." she whispered with tears in her eyes and she stroked her fingers lovingly over his cheek.
"He'll get well Malon. I can feel it. You, your father and Ingo have done a very good job..."
A faint smile appeared on the farm girl's face, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"You should go to sleep as well Malon. I'll take care of him."
"How can I sleep when I know that he is in such a bad condition?"
"You can't do anything more for him Malon. Your father is right: Link must make it on his own now. You did what was in your power."
"And if he dies while I sleep? I would never forgive myself!"
"He will not die. Don't you feel his powerful heartbeat? Just a few hours ago, you could barely feel his heart beat, but now it is as strong and calm as ever. He is on the road to recovery. Tomorrow morning the world will look much better for him."
Maybe Navi was right?
Maybe it would be much better the next morning and he would wake up again?
And Malon really couldn't do much in this situation, because she and her father and Ingo had already done everything they could. Link had to go the rest of this way all alone.
Still, she stood up reluctantly and one last time she stroked his cheek, bent her head down and put her forehead against his.
"Don't die fairy boy. Otherwise I will get really angry at you..." she whispered so softly that you could hardly hear it and she gave him a gentle kiss on his cheek, before she went out of the room.
Navi stayed behind and she settled down on Link's chest.
"Get well soon Link...please..."
It had become quiet in the house when the night had laid itself over Hyrule.
Malon, Talon, and Ingo slept deeply and even from the stable you couldn't hear the slightest noise. Not even from Epona, for the mare had been so exhausted that she almost fell asleep immediately when she had calmed down.
Navi also slept deeply and firmly and none of them noticed the movement in Link's body.
His eyes didn't open, but he began to twist back and forth in his bed.
His body was still sweaty and a low moan broke out of his throat, which showed that he was suffering from nightmares.
When he had the feeling that his heart would break his ribs every moment, he opened his eyes in terror and breathed heavily, trying to find the orientation again. It took him a while to realize that he was no longer in the water temple. He was lying in a soft bed, covered with a warm blanket, his wounds wrapped with bandages and on his forehead he felt a rag that was almost dry by now.
He wanted to say something, but no word left his dry throat.
His eyes were rigid with fear and his body began to tremble as he looked around the room and could only see darkness.
Just a few days ago he wouldn't have been scared by a dark room, but that was before he had met the demon who had done all of this to him...
As his eyes wandered into one of the corners of the room, he thought his heart would stop beating when he saw the pair of red glowing eyes, watching him from out of the darkness. Then a shadow broke away from the darkness and came towards him. Next to the bed he stopped and he looked mockingly down at the hero of Hyrule, who returned his gaze with fear-widened eyes.
"I told you that we'll meet again..." the Shadow said with that dark voice that made Link shiver.
He tried to get up, but he was too weak and instead, his hand reached for the Master Sword, which was leaning next to the bed at the little side table, but before his fingers could close around the sword handle, Dark Link was already over him, grabbing his hand and squeezing his wrist painfully.
"You shouldn't even think of that," the Shadow growled and his red eyes seemed to burn into Link's soul.
He raised Link's arm over his head and held it there, before letting his eyes wander over the young Hylian's body. When he spotted Navi, who still slept peacefully on Link's chest, a grin spread across Dark Link's face.
"Do you remember my words? I told you that I will let you watch how I kill your fairy right in front of your eyes."
His hand reached for Navi, who couldn't even scream as he closed his fingers tightly around her dainty body and squeezed her.
"And that's exactly what I'm going to do now. I hope you will enjoy the sight…hero..."
Link wanted to scream, wanted to save Navi from the claws of this monster, but he couldn't even free his hand. He could barely lift his still free arm, let alone hit the demon and so his fingers clawed into the black tunic of his dark counterpart and pulled half-heartedly at the fabric, which only made his Shadow laugh and his fingers closed around Navi more and more and he forced Link to watch helplessly as the light of the fairy slowly went out, as she slowly died in the grip of the demon...
A single tear ran over Link's cheek when Navi's light was completely extinguished and Dark Link dropped her dead body like a piece of garbage.
But he couldn't even mourn for her, for the demon was over him within seconds, now holding both of his hands over his head and pinning them onto the mattress with one hand. His still free hand reached behind him and he pulled out a dagger that had been stuck in his belt.
"Don't worry, you'll soon follow her into the realm of the dead..."
As the demonic blade cut into his skin, a loud scream came out of his throat and he arched his back as the pain took over his body. Blood soon wetted the sheet under him, dripping to the ground and all the time, Dark Link laughed as he tortured him and shed more of his blood.
"You can't escape the darkness Link. I will always remain a part of you. Whenever you see your own reflection, you will also be able to see me in it and one day you will be dominated by darkness. Then, when you lose control of yourself and your mind, I will take over your soul and together we will show Hyrule what fear really means..."
Link's loud screams continued to echo throughout the house, mixed with the malicious laughter of his tormentor, who enjoyed every tiny second of his suffering as if it was the sweetest honey on earth.
Even then, when it went black in front of Link's eyes…
"Link? Link! By the gods! Wake up!"
This voice…
It sounded as if it came from far away.
It sounded so familiar to him and he tried to cling to this voice, tried to find a way out of the darkness by following it and he miserably failed at it, when the demon cut a new wound into his body that made him scream once again.
What Link didn't know was that all of that what he saw and what he felt didn't correspond to reality. It were hallucinations, caused by his fever.
He tossed around in the bed wildly, screaming loudly and flailed his legs and arms around. Talon and Ingo stood next to the bed, trying to grab Link's flailing arms and legs and pin them onto the bed. Malon stood a little off the bed and tears rolled down her cheeks as she watched Link fighting for his life. Navi was sitting on her shoulder and she wrapped herself in silence, but Malon knew that she couldn't stand this sight as well.
"Calm down my boy," Talon said, as he had managed to press Link's upper body against his own and hold him tight. He pressed him tightly against his chest with one arm and gently stroked the back of his head with the other, whispering soothing words into his ear, while Ingo had managed to pin his legs onto the mattress and hold onto them.
"Shhh, calm down Link. Everything is alright. You only dreamed. Nothing you've seen is real. Open your eyes and see for yourself that everything is all right. We're with you and we will take care of you my boy..."
And indeed the young Hylian calmed down a bit.
His muscles relaxed, just as his facial features did and soon he hung limp and exhausted in Talon's arms, who gently laid him back into the pillows and finally Link opened his eyes and looked at him.
"Talon? Is that you?" he whispered softly and the farmer nodded his head, smiling softly and stroking his sweaty hair out of his face.
"Yes. Ingo, Malon and Navi are here as well. You're safe."
Navi flew from Malon's shoulder and into Link's direction and when he saw her, the boy's eyes filled with tears and he gently pressed her against his cheek as she was about to settle down on his chest, crying like a little child. He didn't matter for that in the slightest at that moment, because for him only his friend mattered and he was so glad to see that she was alive and that she was doing well.
"Oh Navi, I was so scared for you..." he sobbed heart-wrenching.
"Shhh. You don't have to be afraid. I'm fine," she whispered and she snuggled a little more to his cheek and shared her warmth with him.
"I thought I'd lost you forever..."
She shuddered as these words left his lips and she didn't even want to think about the terrible things he had seen.
"You will not lose me Link. I will stay with you."
He wiped the tears from his face, but without success, for they ran tirelessly over his cheeks as he could hardly stop crying.
"I can't do all of this anymore. It's just too much for me..."
"Shhhh, calm down. Don't think of this now."
"I can't Navi. I just can't do it anymore…"
And it was at this moment when everyone could see how heavy the burden was Link had to carry and it would become heavier and heavier and slowly the hero began to break under that load. The physical wounds were not even as bad as the mental wounds that had been inflicted on him during his long journey and no one knew how long his soul could still withstand all that pain.
What were the gods thinking of putting their hopes into this boy, who was just a kid and who had to save a whole kingdom all on his own?
In the end Link wouldn't be no more than a child who had been sent into death by the gods.
And even if he would survive all of this, he would only be a shadow of himself and sooner or later he would fall into madness...
To be continued...