Chapter 4
Goodbye; Part 2
Not every Hylian in Hyrule is a slave. Of the three parties of free Hylians, the most notable example is the Royal Family of Hyrule, who continue to exist, even after nearly five-hundred years. Thanks to the efforts of Princess Zelda of Old Hyrule, the Royal Family was spared the the fate shared by the commonfolk. The Family was currently making moves toward liberating the native Hyrulean people. Despite this not being known by anyone outside the Family, many slaves who were knowledgeable about the happenings of the kingdom had faith in this version of the Royal Family, despite there currently only being three of them. They believed this because they thought the Family to be bitter after the Royal Massacre sixteen years ago.
During the ensuing hours of the night, the reality of their recent happenings had finally set in, especially for Linkle, who, along with her brother, now found herself without a mother. She stared into the space that was previously occupied by her mother, as tears rimmed her eyes. She sobbed silently, suppressing her voice as best she could, so as to not disturb anyone.
After work, during the night of the next day, Philip approached the siblings, asking about their mother's whereabouts.
"I don't know." Link lied, "We woke up this morning, and she was gone."
"You'd better not be lying." Philip responded.
"If we knew she was leaving, don't you think we would left with her?"
Philip slapped the boy across the face.
"Don't take that tone with me!" he shouted at the boy.
The Human stormed out of the tool shed.
"Are you okay?" Linkle asked her brother.
Link retreated to their corner, and lied down, ignoring his sister. All he wanted to do at this point was sleep, and forget the pain the last twenty-four hours brought.
The hours went by, yet sleep withheld its visit, leaving only thoughts of hatred to fester his mind. Hatred of Philip; hatred of all Humans; hatred of his own life; hatred of-
Link's thoughts were interrupted by a warmth that suddenly appeared on his back. He turned his head to look behind him, causing his sister to pause, halting her attempt to curl close to him.
"What are you doing?" he asked silently.
Linkle hesitated, "Well...I..."
Unable to find an answer, the girl retreated a few inches away, near the spot her mother used to occupy.
The effect that Link and Linkle's mother "leaving" was felt by more than just the siblings. Philip now found himself without a housekeeper, and even more than that, it would damage his pride if he were to not be able to retreive her.
The previous night, Philip sent word of his situation to Lurelin Village - the nearest major village. Because Philip was a respected figure in that region of Hyrule, his assistance would arrive near noon the next day.
A man named "Hunter" would appear at Philip's abode. With him were two large dogs.
"Thank you for coming." he told the stanger, "I've had slaves try to escape before, but they've always left a trail of some sort. I've had friends from the nearby village search for her, but they've found nothing."
"Not to worry," Hunter responded. He acentuated his next statement with an affectionate tap to the dogs standing on either side of him, "These two will find her. And when they do," Hunter reached into his pocket to expose a gun, "I'll see to it that she gets proper punishment."
"That brings me to my request: try to bring her to me alive, if you can."
"Why?"
Philip lowered his head slightly to chuckle, "Hunter, my friend...there are fates in this world much worse than death. And I plan to show some of them to her once she's found."
That afternoon, Link situated himself against a wall near the corner, his dejected gaze aimed at the door of the tool shed, hoping, in vain, that his mother would walk in from outside. As time went by, the boy lowered his head, realizing how silly this was. His mother was gone. He needed to accept that. Nothing he-
"Brother?"
Link was roused from his wallowing by the sight of his sister. She held her hands behind her back as she stood before him.
"What?" he asked.
With a smile, Linkle revealed a white flower, the same kind she had gotten her mother. "Here!" she gushed, "I just wanted to say sorry. I've been so sad lately, I haven't thought that you were sad, too! Sorry for being selfish."
Link looked at the flower, then up at his sister.
"What am I supposed to do with that?"
"W-Well...it's pretty!"
"So?"
"U-Um," Linkle stammered as her smile began to fade, "It's supposed to make you feel better."
"Well it's not going to."
Linkle lowered her outstretched hand, "Okay..." The girl turned to leave outside, to dispose of the flower. "Sorry..." she said just before vanished from view.
"There's one of them."
Linkle froze. In front of her were Philip, another Human, and two creatures she had never seen before.
They must be monsters... And if they were monsters...
Did she do anything wrong? Did Isabelle lie on her again? Were they going to hurt her again?!
"Bring your brother out here." Philip ordered.
Fear of the unknown gripped the girl's body, but not so much that it made her risk Philip's wrath. She obeyed her order, and brought Link outside, where the two were led to a bundle of trees outside of Philip's house, where Lana had carried the siblings' mother's body before she seemed to vanish.
"We followed your mother's trail here." Hunter told the two, "Where it vanishes. I'm going to ask you two some questions, and I want you to answer me with the truth. Where did your mother go?"
"We don't know." Link told him, "We woke up and she was-"
"I wasn't asking you." Hunter interrupted. He looked at Linkle, "I was asking you."
Linkle's body stiffened in that instant, her eyes widening in surprise. Hunter smirked. That was just the reaction he was looking for.
"Come with me." he directed. He looked over at Link, "And you. Stay in that spot, or your sister'll pay dearly for it."
Link frowned at the man. He didn't even slightly trust Linkle in this situation. He knew that, even though it their mother's choice to try and escape, and not their's, they would both be punished anyway.
Linkle was taken around Philip's house, and to his backyard, the same place she was taken to before she was punished for the incident with Isabelle. Hunter extended his arm, prompting Philip to pause, while Linkle continued ahead, unaware.
A single whistle stopped the girl in her tracks.
"Sick 'er."
Linkle had just barely turned to face the two with her when she saw the two dogs charge at her at full speed. With a scream, she turned, and ran away as fast as she could. In seconds, the animals caught up to her. Linkle turned her head, to look behind her, and was tackled to the ground, landing on her back after a futile struggle.
After a second whistle, Hunter ordered the would-be attack off.
Linkle panted hard. By now, she had her arms raised in defense, covering her tear-soaked face. Hunter would approach her while the two dogs stood over her menacingly.
"Get up." he ordered.
Linkle rose to her feet, inadvertently wiping dirt of her face as she wiped her tears.
"Now tell me," he started, "where did your mother go?"
Linkle sniffed, "I don't know." she told him.
"Did she say anything to you the last time you saw her?"
Linkle shook her head, "No."
Before he asked the next question, Hunter leaned forward, and whispered,
"I know you're lying."
Linkle felt her stomach drop. Who was this man? How did he know she was lying?
"And if you do it again," he told her, "I'm going to kill your brother."
Her eyes widened, and even her breath paused. This reaction wasn't one of fear, however...it was of relief.
"They may need you," she remembered Lana telling Link.
This told her that Hunter wouldn't lay so much as a finger on her brother, because Philip wouldn't let him...
...because he was needed.
Hunter was bluffing...and even a five-year old like her could see that.
"Did you help your mother escape?"
"No." Linkle answered.
Linkle was asked several more questions, and didn't give any information detrimental to she or her brother. With nothing they could do, Philip allowed Link and Linkle to return to the tool shed, while they continued the investigation into the sibling's mother's wherabouts on their own.
But, of course, they were unable to find her, or even a hint of her wherabouts. Seven years went by in a hurry, causing Philip to swallow his pride, and abandon his search, though, he still offered a reward to anyone who could find her.
Link, now fourteen, and Linkle, now twelve, sat on their calves in the mud, during a rain shower. The two, along with the rest of the slaves were taken to a trading post, as they always were once every month. During this event slaves were bought, sold, and traded to and from the Humans who owned them. Link remembered that every time he and his mother were brought here, she would make him hold her hand, while she prayed to the gods in hope of them staying together.
"Gods"...what an idiotic concept, Link had grown to think.
Link had always questioned the existence of these "gods", but after the death of his mother, he abandoned any belief in them whatsoever. If any god existed, they clearly cared nothing for him, or any of his kind.
Obviously, Link would not keep the tradition of holding hands with his sister. In fact, the two rarely spoke to one another - Link couldn't be bothered to, and Linkle would always feel guilty of disturbing her brother whenever she spoke to him, so she did so as little as possible.
Linkle's gaze dropped to the muddy ground below her. She wished she had worn pants like the male slaves got to, instead of a long tunic.
"This one."
Link and Linkle glanced to their left, at a slave seated at Linkle's left, a girl around their age. She stood as Philip joined his fellow slave owner, and began talks of pricing.
Linkle looked over at her brother, and gave him a relieved smile. Link ignored her, and faced forward.
"This one."
The siblings froze before their gaze gravitated toward two men standing over the brother and sister.
"Oh!" the second Human chuckled, "She's a cute one. Nice pick!"
Link glanced at Linkle, then at the two in front of her, disbelief restraining any form of protest he would muster otherwise.
Philip approached the Humans, looked at Linkle and laughed, "Well, I must say, I'm curious how this'll turn out! I may have to pay a visit in a few years."
"Hey!" Link called as he rose to his feet. As attention was given to him, he paused before he blurted, "Buy me too!"
One of Linkle's potential buyers burst into laughter.
"I appreciate your enthusiasm," the other said awkwardly, "but we only use female slaves right now."
"Where are you taking her?" Link asked.
The laughing Human ended his fit, "Philip, is it? Are you sure you have proper control over your slaves?"
"Of course I do!" Philip slapped Link on the back of his head, "Sit down, now!"
"NO!" Link screamed, shaking his head.
Philip turned to his customers, "If you'll excuse me, I have to deal with this one. She'll be ready for you to come and get her just after noontime."
"Well, she's the only new slave we could find, so we'll just head over to your place as soon as everything's done here, if that's okay."
"Very well."
The two hopeful buyers made their temporary leave, leaving Philip to deal with Link.
"Excuse me." called another Human as he approached.
Philip turned to face the man, and froze in his tracks upon immediately recognizing him.
"Y-You..." he stammered, "You're Thomas Grimshaw! The 'Elf Tamer'!"
Thomas chuckled, "I see my reputation precedes me."
"What are you doing here in Faron?" Philip asked, "I thought you lived in Lanayru!"
"I like to do shopping in other parts of Hyrule from time to time. I get plenty more customers that way."
This young man, Thomas Grimshaw, known across Hyrule as the 'Elf Tamer', was one who made a living "taming" slaves. On normal occasions, a customer would bring a slave to him, he would "tame" them, and then return said slave to their original owner. Not a single slave who was given to Thomas ever misbehaved again after being returned. When it came to this particular field, he was referred to as a "prodigy".
"I would like to take this one off your hands." Thomas told Philip, referring to Link.
The latter looked at Link, who shot icy daggers at him, then at Thomas. "Oh, really?" he responded.
Thomas nodded, "I was watching you two earlier, and I could tell that this one has heart like no other. He should be a great challenge for me."
"Hm...it's true that this one gives me lots of trouble. He's even layed hands on my daughter."
Thomas looked over at Link, "He must be a wild one."
"He is." Philip came closer to Thomas, and leaned toward him, "That's why I'm willing to give him to you for free."
"Free?"
"Yes. But on one condition...once you tame this little bastard, I want to see what he's like in person."
Thomas gave a half-smile, "I think I can arrange that."
The two shook hands.
"It's a deal, then." Philip told him.
The hours went by, and early morning turned into noon. Link and Linkle were brought home, and taken to a part of Philip's plantation that they had never seen before.
What appeared to be a large, wooden house was where the soon-to-be-traded slaves were taken before they set off with their new owners. The building had two rooms: the first one, which was the room one walked into upon entering the only entryway, which was where Philip and the slave owners buying from him met to finalize purchases and trades, and the other, empty, cubic room, which was accessible only through a door on the opposite side of the entryway in the first room, where purchased and traded slaves awaited their new owners. It was where Link and Linkle were taken.
Linkle stared into space as somber silence filled the room. With a glance to her immediate right, she saw her brother with his chin to his chest. She forced a smile.
"Brother?"
Link looked at her.
"It might be awhile before we see each other again... But I wanted to say thank you for taking care of me after Mom died."
Link turned away to hide the bitter tears beginning to form in his eyes. Linkle mistook this as a gesture of annoyance. She continued regardless, trying her best to make him feel better.
"Um...I know I can be annoying sometimes, but-...well...I just wanted to say that I love you, and-...I know it wasn't much, but I'll always look back at my life with you and Mom fondly. And as long as I can do that, I'll be fine. So you don't have to worry about me anymo-"
"Stop talking." Link told her, barely keeping his voice together as his tears began to fall.
Linkle blinked her own tears away, and forced one final smile.
"I'll miss you."
Just then, the two men who had purchased Linkle walked into the room.
"Come on," one said, "get up."
The other watched silently as Link restrained his emotions.
"Hey!"
He jumped.
"You coming?" the other Human asked rhetorically, as he led Linkle to the door.
"Yeah..."
Linkle followed along silently as she was led to a horse-drawn wagon outside, covered by a tarp.
"Hey," one Human called to another, "think James is gonna be pissed that we only found one?"
The other looked at Linkle, "Well...she's pretty cute, so I guess not. Besides, we aren't the only ones bringing back slaves, so it should be alright."
The two loaded Linkle onto the wagon, and situated themselves into the two seats up front.
"Hey..." one called again.
"What?"
"What you think about all this 'slave' business?"
"Uh...I dunno. I never thought about it. Why?
"...I think that boy that asked us to buy him was this one's brother."
"Heh - you mean them looking alike didn't already tell you that?"
"...He looked pretty sad."
"...So?"
"Well...I have a little sister too, back home. I couldn't imagine being a kid, and having to watch her be taken away, and never see her again. I guess I just feel bad, is all."
"Well, you'll get used to it. The money we're being paid should fill that void pretty nicely."
"...I'm starting to feel like this isn't the right thing to-"
"Hey, hey..." He looked around, "Don't let anyone hear you talking like that, man! You wanna be executed?"
"No."
"Okay, then. Let's just go, and we can talk about this later, okay?"
Linkle watched as her former home - where her brother was - move further and further away. She curled into herself, and rested her head on her forearms.
What was she going to do now? Her family was everything to her; the one thing that brought her joy, and now they're gone - stolen away by the horrid life they lived.
She lifted her head.
If there was one thing she learned over the last seven years, it was to always stay positive! It was just as she said to her brother: her memories of her family would get her by just fine! All she needed to do was hold onto them, and never, ever, forget.
Yes... And as long as she had those memories...nothing would ever bring her down.
Link was taken to a property in Lanayru, a province in eastern Hyrule. Thomas' property contained both a research facility, and a school.
As a research facility, Thomas would utilize his infamous "taming" methods on slaves hailing from different parts of Hyrule. He understood that the temperament of any given individual was determined by, not only their individuality, but by environmental influences - their owners, the slaves around them, even down to the geography of the places in which they lived; and that no two individuals reacted to the same stimuli in the same fashion. Using the different reactions of the slaves he experimented on, Thomas looked to develop a universal method of "taming" slaves; a single way of training them to be more docile that would work on any given slave.
As a school, and an expensive, top-rate one at that, Thomas would impart his concrete learnings from his experiments on Humans who had hoped to purchase slaves of their own.
Thomas' property was split into three segments: the first, smallest, segment was his research facility, which only certain individuals were allowed to enter; the second, was Thomas' school. And the third, largest, segment was a place called Lon Lon Ranch, ran by Talon, a Hylian man who was given his position thanks to the bargaining of his ancestors, who passed down knowledge of the secret recipe for Lon Lon Milk to each owner of the family-owned ranch. In exchange for making the milk, they were given back their ranch. However, sixty-percent of their profits were to go to the Human who owned the land the ranch was on, which, in this case, would be Thomas. Their bloodline was able to continue due to a law put forth by the Disciples of Dragmire, that stated that the owner of the ranch was required to procreate with a family member of one of the Regional Lords, who were four, formerly noble and currently free, Hylian families, who were originally given back their estates and riches on the condition that they would take turns offering a family member to procreate with the Hyrulean prince or princess, in order to further the royal bloodline. Talon was also forbidden from ever feeding slaves.
From north to south, the order of the segments of Thomas' land by appearance were the school, the research facility, and Lon Lon Ranch. This layout birthed a theory of Thomas' that he looked to try on Link.
"I'm sure you know this by now." Thomas told Link once the two arrived at the facility, "But my goal here is to make you docile enough for any slave owner to be able to use you handily. But before I do anything, I want to give you one chance to avoid everything that's coming to you." Thomas place one foot forward.
"Kiss my foot," he said, "and call me 'master'."
Link's gaze morphed into one that burned of defiance.
Thomas chuckled, "I warned you."
The man placed his fingers near his mouth, and whistled. In seconds, a slave, a muscular, adult male, rushed into the room...
...on all fours...
Link watched on, visibly disturbed, as the man rose to a crouched position, stuck his toungue out, and panted, like a dog.
"When I first saw this one," Thomas explained, "I could see that he was a tough nut to crack, like yourself. But I only needed a few months to turn him into this. And when I'm done with you, you'll be like this as well." Thomas looked down at his submissive slave, and pointed at Link, "Go say 'hi' to your new brother." he ordered.
Link flinched when the slave turned to face him. On all fours, he approached the boy, more than willing to follow his command.
"Stay away from me!" Link shouted as he stepped away.
Thomas chuckled again as his slave turned and looked at him.
"It's okay," he told him, "go back to your room."
The slave retreated on all fours, leaving Link to his horrified bewilderment.
"Your training will start tomorrow." Thomas told the boy.
Thomas had known all along that Link would refuse the "chance" given to him, for it was part of the theory he had hoped to exercise on Link.
First, he wanted to plant the seeds of submission; to give Link the idea that he could submit anytime he wanted, and his treatment would stop. He followed this by showing him one of his projects, a slave he had "tamed". This was to give Link a visual idea of what he was to do once he chose to submit.
Next, he would give Link free reign over both the facility, and the large field the preceded Lon Lon Ranch. Thomas had always loved the view of the field, particularly in the afternoon. Placing Link in this environment was nothing more than a mind game; a trick to manipulate his cognition of the "training" he was to receive. By being in this field, Link was expected to experience positive emotions, which was meant to sharply contrast his training, which Thomas had hoped would make Link view his training as worse than it actually was. This was expected to be magnified by the looming knowledge of what was to come. Thomas hoped that this would lead to a submission faster than the average time it usually took to tame a slave, which would serve to save time and resources once he implemented it into his teachings at his school.
And if Link were to try to escape?
Thomas knew that a successful escape would never be a possibility, because in the day, his property was a high-traffic area, due to the differing roles of the three segments of his land. Should Link try to escape during the day, someone would be sure to see and report him.
And as for the nighttime...
With the copious amount of funds Thomas revceived from Lon Lon Ranch, he was able to pay for the services of a private security company, based in the nearby Orial Village. Their task was to ensure that none of his slaves would attempt an escape from his research facility.
Before Thomas made his leave, he gave Link a tour of the research center in which he would be living. It was a good sized building that consisted of seven rooms: one was, of course, the room one walks into immediately upon entry. Thomas would use this room whenever possible in order to sort the information he gleaned from his experiments. The slaves Thomas kept were sparated into two groups: those he owned, and those he was given to "tame" by other slave owners. Each group had their assigned room. The fourth and fifth rooms, respectively, were where the slaves were brought to releive themselves, and to bathe. And the sixth, largest, room was where Thomas conducted his experiments, or "taming", otherwise.
"I'm going to give you free reign of the place." Thomas told Link.
"Why?" the boy asked. His answer was a slap to the face.
"You don't speak unless you're prompted to." Thomas told him.
Link balled his fists in silent rage.
"What?" Thomas egged him, "Are you gonna try something, boy? 'Cause we can start your 'training' right now if you want."
Silence...
"That's what I thought. Anyway, you can go anywhere, in this building, or the field outside through the back door. Wander any further than that, and you will be punished. You're to come back by sunset, and you'll be sleeping in a cage in the room with the number 'three' on it. I'll let my guys know to check and see if you're where supposed to be after the sun sets. You're cage will be in your room by then. I'll see you tomorrow, when your training begins."
And with that, Thomas made his leave of the building.
Link looked around. This "research center" was much cleaner than the tool shed he formerly called home. He explored the main room. Everything there was either locked or sealed, probably so the other slaves wouldn't mess with anything. Beyond the main room was a narrow hall, that led to four more rooms, numbered one through four. At the end of the hall was a second one that intersected the first, that had three doors. Two on either end, and one in the middle, which was the aforementioned back door. Link didn't bother to consider what the rooms beyond the fifth and sixth door looked like, as he rushed out of the back door, and was treated to the sight of an open field. It was raining, but not nearly as hard as it was back home...or...his former home.
The outside mud was soothing to Link's feet as he aimlessly wandered the field. Eventually, he came across a tree, with strange red orbs in its branches. He decided against touching them. Instead, the situated himself at the base of the tree, his back against the trunk, and began to sort through his thoughts, which inevitably gravitated toward his sister.
To say he was worried about her would be an understatement; he had no idea how the poor girl would manage by herself. And where was it she was taken? And what would she be doing there?
Link's thoughts were interrupted when the rain suddenly ceased. A glance upward revealed the sight of a girl holding a strange object (an umbrella) over his head. He immediately noticed her long ears.
"Hi there!" she greeted with a friendly wave.
Link stared, confused. If this girl wasn't a Human, why wasn't she dressed in a tunic like the other slaves were?
The girl opened her mouth to speak again, but was cut off by Link.
"Who're you?"
"Oh! My name's Malon! What's your name?"
Link looked her over, "Why are you dressed like that?"
"I'll answer if you answer my question first."
Link frowned, "It's Link."
Malon extended her hand, "It's nice to meet you, Link!"
"Why are you dressed like that?" he asked again.
"I'm not sure what you mean. My dad got me these clothes."
Link blinked, confused, "So you're not a slave?"
Malon pulled her hand away, "Well, technically, I am. But my family got to keep our home if we made Lon Lon Milk."
"What's that?"
"It's been my family's specialty for generations. Only we know how to make it, so that's why the Humans gave us our home back."
"Oh."
Just then, Link's stomach growled.
Link froze as Malon giggled.
"Hungry?" she asked.
Link looked away, "Yeah..."
"I got just the thing for that!"
"What?"
"Look up."
Link glanced upward at the strange red orbs on the branches of the tree. "What are they?" he asked.
"They're apples, silly! I came here to pick them! I'll give you some if you want!"
"...Sure."
With surprising agility, Malon climbed into the trees to gather the apples, managing to avoid getting her violet dress caught on the branches. After she was finished, the two sat together under the tree while Link ate away.
"I've never seen you here before." Malon told Link, "Are you new here?"
"Yeah."
"You must have seen so many different places!" Malon spoke excitedly, "What's it like?"
"Terrible."
"Huh?" Malon blinked, surprised, "Why do you say that?"
"I don't wanna talk about it."
"Oh..."
Malon glanced over at him after a few seconds of silence. He had eaten the entire apple, even the core.
"Uh...you want another?"
"Yeah."
"You know," she continued as she gave him more food, "I was actually running late coming here." She chuckled, "But I guess it all worked out in the end, huh?"
"How's that?"
"Well, I've never met another person with long ears my age before, so I thought maybe we could be friends!"
Link looked over at her. She definitely seemed nice. And more importantly to him, if he befriended her, she'd be sure to feed him if he was ever hungry.
"Sure." he said.
The two parted ways once the sun began to set. But not before Malon told him when she usually came by to pick from the apple tree.
As Link made his way back to his new home, he began to prepare himself mentally for what could come tomorrow. He knew he would never submit to Thomas; he knew he would never willingly cast away his dignity, no matter what went through.
His dignity was all he had left at this point. And it would take more than what Thomas was capable of for him to give it away.
Linkle was taken to a property in Eldin in northern Hyrule, to what appeared to be a broken, worn-down estate. The estate's owner was a Human man named James. James' family lost the estate, and all their riches, to a fire a few decades ago. After being forcefully relocated, his family worked the rest of their lives trying to raise enough money to reclaim their former home. James was his family's only survivor, and the one who had successfully reclaimed his family's estate.
What James needed now was more money to renovate all the buildings in his estate. That was why he decided to begin buying female slaves, and opening a brothel, in hopes of profiting from the very lucrative sex market. He went out and bought a number of employees, along with a private security team, and had some of his employees first comb Hyrule for slaves sixteen years or older that they deemed "attractive". Next, James wanted to institute a training regiment for younger slaves, in hopes of bettering their "performance", and to get the slaves to be more receptive toward what would come to be their jobs. He would hire more employees for this specifically. James renovated what was formerly his family's living quarters to serve as the brothel. Slaves already working lived in the west side of the first floor, facing the building, and the slaves in training lived in the east. James and his employees all occupied the second floor. James' goal was to earn enough money to completely renovate his estate.
The man in question stood in front of what was formerly a fountain as he stared at the main building of his estate.
"James," an employee called to him.
James turned to face him.
"Another wagon just came in through the front gate."
"Understood." James responded, "I'll be waiting when they get here."
Linkle squinted at the light that emerged from outside when the tarp was opened.
"Come on out." she was directed.
Linkle obeyed her instructions, stepping out into the golden afternoon outside the wagon. She was surrounded by Humans she didn't bother to look at, when James approached her.
"Only one?" he asked two of his employees.
"Yeah, well, not too many people in Faron had female slaves."
Linkle stared at the ground, when James reached out, and lifted her head by her chin, startling her. He watched as she nervously avoided eye contact.
"You found a good one." he told his employees, "She's pretty, too. All right, move her into the east wing."
As this was the very first group of younger slaves that would be trained into their job, a relatively small amount of them were bought. As such, there were only enough to occupy one room in the east wing.
Linkle gazed at her surroundings in awe. She had never seen these decorations before. The floor was, instead of wood or dirt, an oddly soft material (carpet and rug) that felt uncomfortable on her battered soles. In the midst of her distraction, she bumped into the Human guiding her. He looked over at her, causing her to shield herself in preparation for punishment.
But it never came.
The Human waited for Linkle to uncover herself before he began.
"This is your room." he explained, "Go on, get in."
Linkle sheepishly made her way inro a room full of other girls, around her age. The room most notably featured two rows of six beds, with a dresser situated by each.
"Pick a bed," the Human continued, "James will be by in a minute."
As the man closed the door, Linkle and her fellow slaves stared at each other awkwardly, neither side knowing how to make.
"Hey!" one called, "What's your name?"
Linkle flinched, surprised at the sudden attention, "Um, Linkle."
"Aww," one responded, "that's so cute!"
The first girl spoke again, "There's only one available bed. It's over there." The girl pointed over at the second bed from the end of the right row.
"Since everyone's here," girl continued, as Linkle moved to her bed, "We should all introduce ourselves. I'll start. My name's my name is Epha. I'm fourteen. And you all?"
"My name's Aesha." another said, "I'm thirteen."
"I'm Linkle!" Linkle forced herself to say, "I'm twelve!"
"'Twelve'?" Epha repeated.
"...Yeah?"
"Huh. I overheard the Humans say they wanted everyone here to be at least thirteen."
"I thought you looked pretty young." Aesha added.
"I'm twelve, too!" a girl blurted exitedly. She was the one closest to the right corner, seated next to Linkle.
"Are you gonna introduce yourself?" Epha asked.
"Oh, yeah! My name's Falla!'
The girls took turns introducing one another. As it turned out, Epha was the oldest, with Linkle and Falla being the youngest. After introductions were finished, the conversation was moved to what kind of work they would be doing there.
"Since no one knows," Aesha began, "Let's start by pooling our information."
"Uh...what?" Falla asked.
"Let's share what we know about this place."
"Well," Epha began, "I was taken around the place."
"What did you see?"
"Well, the area's gated, so we're probably in a place not too many people come to."
"I see. Did they say anything to you?"
"Not directly. They did make a commotion about my age."
"And you just happen to be the oldest out of all of us... What else did they say?"
"That was it, really."
"Hm...so we were brought to a gated environment...brought to a relatively luxurious room...and they made it a point for most of us to be thirteen."
"Got any ideas?" asked Falla.
"No, not yet. We'll have to wait until we see some more of the area first."
"Well either way," Epha commented, "we'll find out eventually."
Just then, the door opened.
"Everyone up," a Human ordered, "we're about to go over some house rules."
The slaves were organized into a single file line before James made his way into the room, along with three women, and an overweight man, who's gaze made some of the slaves uncomfortable.
"It's time to explain some rules." James began, "You all have free reign of the east wing, and the garden out back. But the second floor, and the entire west wing are off limits. Anyone who breaks these rules will be punished. Harshly. Let me intriduce you to these three women, here."
The three women stepped forward.
"These three are here five hours a day. They're in charge of making sure you all aren't neglecting your hygene. If you need anything, they'll be here on the first floor. And this man here..."
The large man srepped forward.
"This is Oliver. He's the head of security here. Should any of you try to escape, he and his men will be in charge of bringing you to me. What happens between when they find you, and when I see you is up to them, and out of my control. So if they decide to rough you up because of the trouble you put them through, you only have yourselves to blame."
"What'll we be doing here?" Falla asked suddenly.
"Nothing. Just don't try to leave."
James' brief explanation of the rules concluded, leaving the girls with more questions than before. Where were they? And why were they there?
The answer to these questions would change the fate of the entire estate.
Under the course of a single day, Link and Linkle's entire worlds had been changed forever, now both separate, and different. Neither sibling knew if they'd ever see each other again.
However...in the larger world of Hyrule...
Two days after Link and Linkle were sold away...
Philip sighed, having finally finished his duties for the day.
"PHILIP!" one of his workers called, running.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Lord Ganondorf is here! He's asking to see you!"
Philip rushed to his home, to see the black carriage, led by the large black horse everyone knew to be Ganondorf's. And near it...
Philip froze, "Lord Ghirahim!"
A conceited smile spread across Ghirahim's pale face.
"Ah, so you know who I am?"
"Of course! I study the Book of Dragmire for a living!"
"As good as it feels to see one so wise to my glorious deeds, Lord Ganondorf is awaiting you inside the carriage."
"He doesn't want to come inside?" he asked, referring to his house.
"Apparently not. Go on, now, you mustn't keep him waiting."
"Er-, yes, of course!"
The inside of Ganondorf's carriage was very lowly lit, resulting in a thick tension upon Philip's entry inside.
Philip had never seen Ganondorf before - he rarely left Hyrule Castle. The last recorded time he did was days after Link was born. As he saw him now, Ganondorf was a massive man, larger than any he had ever seen. All it simply did, though, was lend to his intimidating aura.
"Greetings, Lord Ganondorf! It is an honor to-"
"Sit."
"Y-Yes, sir."
"I heard you sold the boy."
"...Yes, I did."
"Why?"
"Well...he gave me trouble with his rebellious nature, and I was certain the man I sold him to would be able to make him behave."
"Who did you sell him to?"
"A-A man named 'Thomas'. He lives in central Lanayru."
"...So you sold him to make him more submissive?"
Philip nodded, "Yes."
"How do you think that happens?"
"Well-...for someone like him, he would have to be beaten into submission."
"And what do you do when you hit a slave, and he still refuses to obey?"
"Er-...hit him harder?"
"And what would happen if the beatings go too far?"
Philip had no answer.
"Do you see what you did wrong, now?"
"...Yes..."
Ganondorf watched the man's posture switch to one that reflected guilt.
"If that boy is damaged beyond repair," Ganondorf began, "You will be executed. Am I understood?"
Philip bowed on his seated position, "Yes, sir."
"Now get out."
Philip watched the large carriage drive away, with Ghirahim following on foot.
For five-hundred years, Ganondorf was regarded to as a hero; a savior for all Humans.
But to Philip...he was puzzling, along with everything else.
Days after Link was born, Ganondorf appeared on Philip's property, and took the child away, much to the protest of his parents. After two years, the child was brought back, with no explanation whatsoever. He had never known what interest Ganondorf had in Link, nor what was so special about the boy to begin with, outside of a colossal attitude problem. And if he needed him for something, why didn't he come to see Link more often?
None of it made any sense...
To be Continued!
Author's Note: That's it for the introductory chapters. As I may or may not have already said in my last author's note, the story's gonna go on break for a while, while I write up the next bunch if chapters. When will I be finished? Can't answer that. Remember, I'm trying not get burned out by forcing myself. Until next time, everyone!