Chapter 11

Freedom

Thomas stared in shock.

Was...this really happening right now?

"Er-," he stammered, "yes, of course." He stepped to the side, an inviting arm extended, gesturing toward the inside of his house. "Wanna come inside?"

Malon hesitated, "Um...o-okay..."

The girl found herself seated on a couch in the living room, with Thomas having vanished into another room. She looked around. The place was a lot cleaner than she would have expected, given that Thomas was a man. Though it didn't help that her father was her standard bearer.

"Tea?" Thomas offered as he reemerged, a small plate holding a cup in each hand.

"No thank you."

Thomas sat down on an armchair a few feet away from the edge on the couch Malon was sitting on. "So what did you want to talk about?" he asked.

Malon's gaze fell to her hands as they lay clasped in her lap.

"I've been seeing one of your slaves for the last few years."

"Which one?" Thomas asked, despite instantly deducing the answer.

"Link. We've become close friends."

"So I'm guessing this is about what happened at the arena in town?"

Malon took a deep breath, "...Yes. Even as far back as when we first met, he'd come to me hurt, and bruised. But recently, it's gotten so much worse."

By now, Thomas's mood had completely changed. He hid a scheming smirk as a new idea emerged by the second. He knew exactly where this was going, and he knew exactly how he was going to react.

Malon continued, "Yesterday, he'd asked me to kill him. He wanted to die, just so the pain would stop. At first, I thought he was crazy. I never imagined the punishment he could have been going through." Malon's voice began to tremble with emotion as she sorted through her memories, "But earlier today, I saw it for myself. He didn't even come by to visit today, probably because he was so in so much pain. I can't bear to watch him suffer any longer. And I can't imagine how much worse it is for him to go through it. That's why I'm here. I want to ask you to stop hurting him."

Thomas had to turn away to hide his demented snigger, playing it off by rising to his feet, and walking over to the blinds on the window behind his chair. "You do realize I do this for a living, don't you? I promised someome I'd make that boy into a proper slave. And now, with what I have going on, he's making me money. Why would I jeopardize that just because you asked me to?"

"I-I know it sounds selfish," Malon stammered, leaning into her plea, "but-..."

"But what?"

"Please... I-I'll even do something to compensate!"

"How'll you do that?"

"I'll do anything!" Malon shouted in desperation, "Please!"

Thomas allowed a moment of silence to pass by. "'Anything'?" he repeated.

"...Yes. As long as you promise not to hurt him anymore."

"I'll promise..." Thomas turned to face the pleading girl, revealing an almost sickening grin, "but from now on, I want you to be my woman."

Malon paused, confused. "Your...what? ...I'm sorry, but Lord Ganondorf has ordered that no one in my family can-"

"That's not what I meant. How do you young ones put it these days? 'Girlfriend'?"

All the color in Malon's face ceased. She immediately fished for a reason why this wouldn't be possible. "My father's already looking for a husband for me." she said. "It wouldn't work."

"I already gave you my terms," Thomas hammered down, "Take it or leave it."

Malon turned away. Half of her cursed the situation she was in, while the other weighed her options with weakening resolve.

She was asked whether or not she would enter a relationship with Thomas, but what she was really deciding, according to her, was whether she would place herself before Link, or vice-versa.

She had to do this. There was no other choice. Nothing that could come from being with Thomas would hurt her as much as Link had already been hurt.

But...still...

"What's it going to be, Malon?" Thomas urged, knowing full well what he was doing, "I don't have all night."

"I'll do it!" Malon blurted out, turning to him again, "I'll-...I'll-"

"Be my woman?"

The girl lowered her head, "...Yes..."

Thomas nodded, a triumphant smirk spread across his face as he moved to sit back down on his armchair. "Starting tomorrow," he began, "I want you here every night. Understood?"

"Yes..." Malon barely spoke as she began to realize what she had just done, her mind having caught up with her.

"It looks like we have a deal." Thomas said, standing back up, "Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

Malon nodded, "Yes..."

"Good. I'll see you off."

Thomas gave a farewell to Malon as he opened the door for her leave, though she failed to reciprocate. "Oh," he spoke, "and one more thing. That boy you've been seeing...Link, was it? You can't see him anymore."

Thomas shut the door just as Malon turned to him with a look of shock. He waited a few seconds before he moved to his window, and watched as the girl sat down on the wooden steps leading onto his front porch, placing her head into her palms.

Outside, Malon could only express her displeasure at the way things turned out with a sigh. There was no turning back now. But at least she could take solace in knowing that she more than likely saved Link from further harm. Her biggest gripe, though, didn't have to do with Thomas, but with his condition that she couldn't see Link anymore.

It didn't matter, she decided, though only in an attempt at keeping said condition from digging deep enough to unearth her emotions. As long as she could keep him safe, it didn't matter what she had to do. She'd avoid him; and she'd even be with Thomas so long as it protected him.

The more she thought about what she accomplished, the better she began to feel about the situation. She smiled to herself, stood, and went on her way.

Thomas watched on, his eyes wandering the confines of the girl's frame, indecent thoughts flooding through his mind like water through a failing dam. As he finally turned from the window, his self-congratulatory laugh was silent.

What a day, oh, what a day! It was as if Ganondorf himself piled blessings at his feet!

Oliver leaned forward, his face nearly pressed against the glass as his eyes searched and combed what he could see of the east portions of the garden. Instead of the girl he was looking for, however, his eyes caught sight of two horses and a large wagon lead by three men.

What was going on? From the look of it, something was about to be devilered north. But what? There was nothing north but Death Mountain. And no one was there except for workers for some of Hyrule's mining companies, and one of Ganondorf's Saints who resided there, keeping the Gorons in check. James's estate couldn't be making some kind of deals with any of them - after all, he hadn't heard any of the workers bragging about it. What could it be?

From the second floor of the west wing, Oliver made his way to the foyer, where a large number of people were gathered.

"There he is." a member of the security team said as he pointed Oliver out. Then, a tall, very muscular man aproached him.

"Hey there!" he greeted, extending a hand, "Name's John. I'm the head of the security team James had up north. Nice to meet you!"

Oliver shook his hand. "What are you doing here?" he asked, "You guys have never come inside before."

"Well, that's because usually, when our shifts end, we head back to headquarters before we go home. It's a straight shot to the east, so as long as we have our guns, we don't need to cut through here, and away from the mountain."

"John was just showing us the guns his team gets to use." one of Oliver's subordinates told him, "I didn't know they even made guns this big!"

Before the Humans came to Hyrule five-hundred years ago, they wandered the vast desert outside its southwestern-most border, beyond even the Gerudo Desert. They survived the deadly monsters inhabiting the area using their most powerful of weapons. Most of the Humans currently living in Hyrule who possessed firearms were only permitted to use handguns. Though they were nowhere near as powerful as the other variety of weapons Humankind had at their disposal, they were capable of defending the Humans from each other, as well as the monsters within Hyrule's borders such as Bokoblins or Keese. A select few Humans, however, were allowed use of the more powerful guns.

"These are the kinds of guns the border guards use." John explained, "From what I hear, the monsters from outside Hyrule make the ones here look like Chuchus. When we got permission to use these, your dad explained that sometimes monsters from the other side of Death Mountain come through these parts. I've never seen any, though. Still, who doesn't like holding big guns, right?"

Oliver pulled his focus away from the conversation to think to himself. So apparently there was going to be a delivery of some kind to the north, yet the security team in charge of keeping the area safe was sent home, away from their posts? Very odd...

"So, anyway, it's a pleasure to meet the captain's son, am I right? Your body types are a little different, but I can see the family resemblance in the face!"

Oliver's subordinate tried to hold in a laugh that escaped as a snicker, earning a stink eye from his superior. "So," he chuckled, looking to change the subject, "what brings you here?"

"My wife's still at home this time a day, so I'm gonna just chill here until the time my shift would have ended. Some of the others already left though."

Oliver turned to walk away. What could all of this mean?

"Attention!" James's voice rang out. The crowded foyer suddenly went silent as the collective employer of everyone present snatched the center of attention.

"I have an announcement to make." James began, "As I'm sure most of you are aware, things have been hectic here as of late. So we're going to take the lessons we've learned, and apply them all after we replace the crop of girls we have here today.

Oliver froze.

"And that brings me to what I want to ask all of you. If you see any of the girls around here after noon, round them up, and bring them to me."

That was what did it. Oliver was now completely suspicious of James and what he had planned. He deduced that the carriage was for the girls, but what he didn't know was why he was taking them north to Death Mountain, and apparently not coming back with them.

Oliver eased toward the west wing before silently slipping away.

Linkle was woken up by a commotion from her roommates. Sitting up in bed, she turned to look over at her friends as they engaged in what sounded like panicked chatter.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she aproached the crowd of four girls that included Aesha.

"Look at this." one girl told her, handing her a folded piece of paper.

Linkle unfolded the sheet, looked at the writing, then at the girl. "I can't read very well," she said.

"It says 'leave now'." Aesha told her, "Someone's trying to warn us of something. But the question is, what?"

"I think we should wake the others." one girl suggested, her voice trembling, "I mean, if we come to any decision, the others should have a say in it."

Following the girl's advise, all others in the room had been woken up. The girls all formed a circle in the center of the room, where their discussion began.

"All right." Aesha started, "So clearly something's happened that caused whoever wrote this to write this. Does anyone have any ideas?"

The girls all shared glances. They were all either not sure what to say, or too afraid to say what they were thinking.

"Maybe it has something to do with what happened with that girl that got shot," one girl suggested.

"Let's put that to the side for now." said Aesha, "Let's talk about who could have sent the letter."

"Epha!" Shyla blurted out, "Think about it: it would have to be someone who cares for our well-being, and can see what's going on in the places we're not alowed to go!"

A few of the girls exchanged glances again, voicing their agreement with Shyla's conclusion.

"I'd like to think it was her," Aesha responded, "but remember the letter she sent to us a few days ago?"

"What about it?"

"The hand writing's different. We can say that she learned to spell words right in the last few days, but hand-writing takes years to develop. And it's even more noticable, because all the letters in this letter are all capitalized."

"I wanted to talk about that." one girl cut in, "Whoever wrote the letter must really want us to go -look how big the letters are!"

"Right. Whatever's happened out there, it must have been urgent."

"Does it matter?" asked Shyla, "Shouldn't we be getting out of here? Like the letter says?"

"It's not that simple. Remember, we still need an escape route, and we still don't know how to get through the front gate."

"Our caregivers haven't come to the room, yet," one girl noted, "What if they wrote it?"

Just then, the door flung open.

"All of you." James said as he entered the room, "Come with me."

The girls all stared back at him in shock and confusion. None of them had any idea what to say or how to react. Though, by now, they were all acutely aware that something terrible was about to happen.

"All of you." James repeated as he unveiled a gun, "Come with me."

Aesha was the first to stand, followed by a chunk of the other girls.

Linkle and Falla glanced at each other as others stood as well.

"You stay here." James told Falla, his gun pointed at her, "I have something special planned for you."

"Um..." Linkle told her, "I'll see you later."

The girls crowded in the eastern hall of the foyer. From where they were, the girls could see into the main body of the room, where a mixture of workers and security were scattered about.

"Where are we going?" one girl worked up the nerve to ask.

James didn't answer. "Go." he said, motioning north, toward the end of the hallway, which turned west.

Just then, as James turned his back, Shyla rushed him, and kick him between his legs as hard as she could.

"GO!" she screamed before running into the main body of the foyer, and toward the door. Some of the girls wasted little time in following Shyla, whereas others, including Linkle, followed behind a step slower, their initial shock having froze them in their tracks.

In the main body of the foyer was a combination of James' workers, and members of either security team. The sheer sight, coupled with the sudden scream from James left their collective number a confused mess. The girls made their way outside, where a larger number of the security were. Shyla slowed to a near halt before running to the east building.

"HEY!" a guard called, "Stop right there!"

By the time the guard shouted, several of the girls who immediately ran after Shyla emerged from inside the mansion.

"Get them!" another guard shouted.

The girls broke into a panicked frenzy by the time the rest of their number made it outside. A number of them were captured immediately, while the rest scattered, speeding away in different directions out of panic.

Linkle didn't see where the others ran off to. Her mind was solely on escaping their pursuers. She ran into the west building and didn't slow for anything. She could hear a few girls behind her, who were followed by three guards. Linkle rushed through the decrepit building, her sprint aimless and fuelded by the hope of escape, and the fear of being caught. She turned a corner and spotted a large vase by the wall on her left-hand side. Thinking quick, yet haphazardly, she nearly jumped inside before quieting herself. Her breath came to a halt as she heard footsteps approach.

"D'you see where they went?" asked a man's voice.

"I saw one go around this corner." another replied, "She might be in one of the rooms. Keep your eyes peeled, and make sure she doesn't run past you."

"Right. I'll check the rooms, you keep watch out here."

Linkle nearly held her breath as the men walked by her every so often. The minutes passed, and the tension doubled with each.

"I don't see her." one of the voices sighed, "She come through here?"

"No."

"...The heck's going on? I wonder if this always happens here."

"Hey... Check in that vase."

"Where?"

"Over there. By the end of the hallway."

Linkle could feel her heart jump to her throat with each beat.

What should she do?

Should she run?

No. Those men would catch her in no time.

Should be fight them?

No. Why did she even think of that?

There was nothing she could do. Linkle closed her eyes tight, and-

"HEY!" another man shouted, their voice distant, "I've got two! They're running!"

"Come on!" said one of the closer voices.

Linkle listened as the sound of the men's footsteps travelled further and further away, holding in her sigh of relief all the while.

Silence ensued. Though it beckoned Linkle, she was too paranoid to dare leave her hiding place.

What should she do now? Should she leave? What if the men were still in the building? But how much longer should she stay? She'd have to leave eventually. Or at least change her hiding place.

In the end, Linkle decided to stay a little longer. After a half-hour, she poked her head out of the vase to check her surroundings.

Nothing...

Slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible, Linkle climbed out of the vase, and went on her way.

What should she do now, she asked herself yet again as she sat against a wall. Even if she were to escape, how long would she last out there, in the fields of Hyrule, by herself? Should she look for some of the others?

No. She didn't know where any of them were, other than Falla, and there was no question that she'd be caught if she went back for her.

Alright...she'll leave by herself. But how?

Well, first of all, she'd have to see what was going on outside.

A window... Where is a window?

Linkle wandered aimlessly through the old building, this time taking her time to study her surroundings. It looked as though someone had lived there some time ago.

Finally, she turned into a hall where light filtered in through a window on the left wall. She approached, and stopped just short of the glass. Slowly, she peeked her head from around the small corner leading to the window itself. There were still people out, though not nearly as many as there were before she entered the building.

Just then, she felt an arm wrap around her body, and a hand clasp over her mouth.

"Shhhh..."

Linkle stared forward, her eyes wide open as she was slowly pulled away fron the window.

"It's me." Oliver whispered into her ear. He chuckled, "I finally have you all to myself, now."

The girl's eyes grew even larger as she felt a hand move to her chest, where he groped and pinched.

"Don't worry," he whispered, "I'm not handing you over to James."

Linkle felt Oliver lean into her. He burried his face into her hair before smelling her.

"It feels like I've waited forever to do this." he told her.

She froze as she felt his lips land on her neck. What was he doing? Why was he doing this?

"I'm gonna let you go." Oliver whispered her into her ear, "Those men who were looking for you? I've sent them to watch the exit. So you understand you can't run from me, right? It's either me, or James."

Oliver released her and backed away. Linkle turned and watched as he opened a door and looked around. "Come here." he beckoned as he looked over at her.

Hesitantly, Linkle followed along, pausing at the doorway as Oliver continued into the room.

A bedroom.

Oliver sat down on the foot of the bed, facing her. "I'm not an unfair man." he told her, "I'll let you choose. You don't even have to say. If you want to go with James, leave. But I'm not sure what he has planned for you. But if you don't want James, and choose me instead, just step into the room."

Linkle could say nothing. And as far as she was concerned, she could do nothing. She knew nothing about what either man wanted to do with her. But the difference was, she had seen what James was capable of. He cut off Falla's toungue, killed one of the girls in the west wing, and even today, he had brandished a gun as he ordered she and most of her friends out of their room. Oliver, however, she knew practically nothing about, beyond Falla's description of him as a "creep". Again, she had absolutely no idea of what he wanted with her, but if he wanted to hurt her, why would he wait to do it?

With that in mind, she concluded that her chances would be better with Oliver.

Linkle stepped into the dark of the room, her heart beating apprehensively as the man stared at her like a predator would its prey. He smirked.

"Sit on my lap." he ordered.

An odd request was all Linkle thought of it. She obliged, though not without hesitation. As she sat down, she felt Oliver pull her into an embrace. As he held her tighter, she could feel something hard press against her rear.

Linkle couldn't put her finger on it... But something about this felt wrong...

She felt Oliver's hands move to her chest once again. Another hand lifted her chin upwards, giving him access to her neck.

Linkle stilled her breathing as she felt kissing and nimbling there. Her only hope at this point was to endure whatever Oliver had planned for her.

He released her chin. "Do you know why I love you so much?"

Bewilderment almost took away from Linkle's discomfort. 'Love'? He loved her? Why? He barely even knew her.

"You look just like her." Oliver told her, "A young Elf woman at the last place I worked. When I caught her trying to steal food from her owner, she had hair just like yours. She offered me anything I wanted from her in exchange for the food she stole. She was a very pretty Elf, so I had her give me her body. And she did it again, every time she wanted to take food from her owner." Oliver tightened his embrace, "I still remember her face whenever I was inside her. The sounds she'd make... The feeling of her body... But things changed...and I never saw her again."

He leaned forward, and pressed his cheek against Linkle's, "And then I saw you that day. Your hair was exactly the same as her's was. And your face...you look like you could be her daughter... You look just like her... Except your eyes...they're so much more innocent than her's..."

Linkle stared into the doorway, now more uncomfortable than she had ever been before in her life. More than anything, she wanted this to end. But she didn't want it so much that she'd risk being sent to James.

Oliver kissed the side of her neck, "When we're done here, I'm taking you home. And then I can have you whenever I want..." Still holding onto the object of his desires, Oliver rose to his feet, and tossed her onto the bed. No sooner than Linkle could gather her bearings, though, he was already upon her. With his hands on her shoulders, he held her down onto the bed as he looked into her terrified eyes. "It's okay." he said, "You're gonna want more after I'm finished."

Linkle's eyes widened as Olivers lips crashed down onto her own's. Her knee-jerk reaction was to turn away. His kisses then lowered to her neck, where he suddenly bit her. Linkle let out a startled yelp before Oliver, again, took her lips into his own. Linkle shut her eyes as she felt something wet force its way into her mouth, hoping to block out as much of this ordeal as possible.

Oliver derived a perverse enjoyment out of the feeble sounds of Linkle's muffled voice. After grabbing at her rear, he leaned to his left, one hand combing through her hair, and the other running down her body.

Linkle's eyes flew open as she felt his hand land in-between her legs. Unable to speak, she shook her head in disapproval, but it only seemed to heighten Oliver's excitement. He pulled his head away and listened to her voice before she covered her mouth with a hand.

The more time passed, the more Linkle wanted this to stop. She knew this was wrong - she felt it deep within the depths of her very soul. What made it even worse was how this feeling clashed with those she didn't undedrstand, which drove her into a conflicted, confused, state of mind. She shut her eyes, only for Oliver to knock her hand away from her mouth as his face lowered to hover over her's.

"Look at me." he told her.

She begrudgingly obliged, her eyes locking onto a grotesque simper of lust.

The girl had never truly known hate before - her mind had been trained only for fear. But now, as she looked into the eyes of this blob of a man, she knew that the feeling that was beginning to rouse from deep within her being.

She hated him for putting her in this situation. She hated him for what he was doing to her. She hated him for introducing her to feelings that contrasted so sharply with her initial distaste for this tribulation.

She wanted this to stop.

The hand placed on her nether region began to act with more vigor, the increase in movement intensifying feelings that clashed so violently with what she wanted herself to feel.

Please, please, make this stop.

Oliver watched Linkle's flushed face as it began to morph into one that illustrated what she was feeling; he listened as her breaths grew shollower, lacing with her voice. He pulled away, both hands beginning to dig beneath the lower end of her tunic.

Linkle's very blood went cold as she felt Oliver grab hold of her undergarment. The second he pulled, her own hands flew to to pull back. Oliver paused, glancing up at Linkle, who stared back with a horrified expression. She shook her head as her eyes locked onto ones that disapproved of her resistance, and silently reminded her of the alternative.

At this point, the tears finally began to fall.

Linkle released her grip. Letting Oliver have his way.

Just then, the two heard what sounded like a scream in the direction of the doorway.

Faster than either of them could react, someone entered the room, and bashed Oliver in his skull with what looked like a large wooden stick.

The blow knocked him unconscious, and the force sent his body to the floor beside the bed. Then, what appeared to be a young girl, though older than her, mounted Oliver's body, and hit him again.

And again.

And again.

Linkle watched the girl swing her weapon downward at a target she couldn't see from her angle. With each swing, it sounded as though she were striking a mass of goop.

SPLISH!

SPLISH!

SPLISH!

The attack ceased, but the girl's face looked as if she had witnessed Linkle's entire ordeal from the start to before she decided to intervene. And her glowing violet eyes... Linkle could never explain it. They were locked onto Oliver, but she wasn't looking at Oliver.

She rose to her feet. And that was when she glanced over at Linkle.

"Are you okay?" she asked, blood peppering her face.

Linkle stared at the girl, speechless. The fact that she had been saved hadn't yet sunk in.

"Straighten yourself up." the girl told her, "We're getting out of here!"

After leaving the room, the girl placed Linkle on her back, and she ran with startling speed through the building.

"What's happening?!" Linkle asked.

"We can talk about it later!" the girl answered, "All you need to know right now is that you're safe!"

The girl nearly jumped down a stairwell, and out one of the exits, past an unconscious guard...

...and through the front gate.

Linkle stared with eyes wide at the open field before her. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

No walls to keep her from the outside world.

No gates to tease her with it's presence.

This was it. This was the goal she and her friends did so much planning working towards.

This was what her family risked their lives for.

This was what her mother died for.

This was freedom.

(To be Continued!)