Author's Note: The warning before the first chapter has been updated to provide a better warning to those of you reading.
Chapter 16
Helpless
Malon inched away from Thomas, propping her body on the headboard as she broke eye contact. Her eyes dropped from the gravity of the developing situation, her body held still by the weight of his stare.
What should she do?
"You bitch..." a whispering breath uttered.
"...I should go..." Malon squeaked. She turned to retrieve her shirt off the top of the side table to her right.
"YOU BITCH!"
A fist full of rage slammed into the side of Malon's face. The impact sent her off the bed, where her head bounced off the side table. As her body crashed onto the floor, Thomas was already upon her. The girl retreated into the nearest corner of the room, her wide eyes filling with tears as she looked up at the man standing over her. Malon's mind went into full-panic mode - the countless obscenities Thomas hurled at her went in one ear, and out the other - her mind was instead focused on escape as she trembled beneath him.
"YOU WERE THINKING OF HIM THE WHOLE TIME?!" he screamed at her.
Malon flinched at the question, "N-No!" she told him, "I-I-"
"GET OUT!" Thomas shouted, "GET OUT!"
Malon shot up and scurried out of the room, making sure to gather her discarded clothing on the way out. She pulled the door shut as she escaped outside before losing her footing on the steps leading to Thomas's front porch, and taking a hard tumble onto the grassy ground beneath, her clothes scattering mid-fall. She cast worry of her appearance aside to calm herself as she propped herself up, seated on her calves. She wiped away her tears before gathering her clothes again, this time re-robing herself haphazardly. It wasn't until she started on her way home when her mind began to process what had happened.
Thomas was angry at her, that much was obvious. But she simply didn't know what to make of the situation.
Okay, okay, she thought, think.
She had used Link's name while with Thomas. He'd be sure to take his anger out on the boy. The thought halted Malon in her tracks.
Should...she go back and ask for his forgiveness?
No...what if he hit her again?
So, what, should she leave Link to pay for what she did?
No...going back to Thomas the way he was now wouldn't win her anything.
Wait...
Malon paused in front of the door to her home. Wasting no time, she straightened her clothes, checking for any imperfections from her rush-job at Thomas's house. The last thing she needed was to let her parents see her the way she was now.
She opened the door and shut it behind her.
"Welcome home."
Malon jumped at the sound of her mother's voice. She was seated on the couch on the far side of the living room.
"Hi, Mom." Malon greeted.
"Out for more alone time?" Catria asked her.
The girl took a deep breath. "...Yes..." she lied.
"Okay..." Catria responded after a series of nods.
"I'm going to bed." Malon continued, "Goodnight, Mom."
"Goodnight dear."
"Linkle... Hey, Linkle..."
Linkle let out a tired groan in response to the gentle nudges.
She heard Lana giggle, and opened her eyes.
"Huh?"
"You drool in your sleep."
"HUH?!"
Linkle shot upward and wiped the saliva from her mouth and the side of her face.
"I wanted to tell her," Midna said, "but Ruto wouldn't let me."
"Because you would have been such a ninny about it." Ruto responded.
"A what?"
"It's time for your training." Lana told Linkle, her voice still gentle.
Linkle groaned again. "Training". She had hoped to never hear that word again after yesterday. Her legs and butt were still sore from the "conditioning" Impa made her do.
"Are you awake yet?" Lana asked.
"M-hm..." Linkle nodded as she rubbed at her eyes.
Lana took the girl back to the Sacred Forest Meadow, where Impa was waiting. This time, Agitha remained behind with Tingle, leaving Midna, Ruto, and Darunia the only ones to accompany the two.
"You're here." she said, "Good. After yesterday it became apparent to me that something was lacking."
"What?" Linkle asked.
"Your reflexes need improving. They're slow, especially after you tire. You won't defeat any of your enemies as you are now."
The criticism cleared away any grogginess left in the girl.
"To fix that." Impa continued, "We'll be doing an exercise to start your training today that'll improve your reaction time."
At the conclusion of her sentence, four identical copies of Impa emerged from her main body. "Me and each of my copies will serve as targets. Which ever one of us gives a vocal command will be the one you fire on. Every half-second you take to react will earn you fifty push-ups and fifty sit-ups."
"Heh," Midna chuckled, "wouldn't wanna be her right now."
Darunia watched Linkle nod nervously at Impa's instructions. Then at Impa, then at Lana.
"This really takes me back." Darunia commented.
"Indeed." Ruto nodded.
"But what if I hurt you?" Linkle asked Impa.
"That's what I'm for." Lana said, "Impa and her clones'll be standing just outside the barrier I put up. All you have to do is shoot in any of their direction."
"My doubles will be surrounding you." Impa explained, "Meaning some of them will be in your blind spot. It wouldn't be wise to count on your eyes too much."
"'Doubles'?" Lana repeated, "More like quadruples! ...Wait...there's five of them."
"Leave the comedy to me, sweetie!" Midna called.
"Yeah!" Darunia said, "We only need one person to suck at it!"
"Hey Linkle!" Midna shouted, pointing at Darunia, "How about a test shot?"
"Ready?" Impa asked the girl as her clones moved into place.
Linkle nodded as she closed her eyes to help her concentrate. When they opened, she imagined her targets as Ghirahim.
"Fire!"
Malon glanced out the window as she sat up in bed. The sun had just barely began to peek over the horizon.
This is good, she felt. She was getting used to her new routine.
Malon stretched her body as she made her way to the mirror. She reached for her brush, as she sat down on a stool, and paused as she looked at herself.
Just over her left eye...was a bruise. The purple shade of the swollen area contrasted greatly to her pale complexion. And over her left cheekbone was a second, this one red. She moved her bed head away from the injured areas for closer inspection. Her hands flew to her mouth as she shot to her feet and backed away from the mirror.
"No..." she muttered, "No, no, no, no..."
How was she going to hide this? How was she going to keep her parents from finding out? If they see this, she'd have no choice but to tell them where her injuries came from...
Malon backed into her dresser, and slid down to the floor beneath as her mind began to race.
And if they found out...they would certainly confront Thomas... And then they'd find out what she had been doing with him... And then they'd never trust her again, and they'd probably ban her from leaving the ranch, and then she wouldn't be able to see Thomas which means he wouldn't be able keep him from hurting Link and then-
Malon doubled over and vomited into her hands. Her breathing grew shallower by the second as she pulled them back and watched as the chunks and fluids trickled down her palms and onto her wrists. Her hands flew into her hair as she grasped the sides of her head, tearing up and rocking forward and back in the midst of her despair.
"No...no, no, no..."
Catria took a bite of her apple as she sat back against a couch. The heavy sound of footsteps on the stairs stole her attention. As she looked, she could see her daughter speeding down the stairs, almost in a flurry. "Malon." she called.
The girl froze in place before looking over at her mother.
"Good morning, Mom."
"Good morning. That was you upstairs taking a bath, right?"
"Yes, Mom."
Catria paused before she spoke again. "Your hair..." She couldn't see it until her daughter turned to look at her, but Malon seemed to have styled some of her hair over the left side of her face.
"I thought it'd be nice to have a new look." Malon lied.
Catria whispered, "Are you trying to look nice for that boy?"
Malon felt blood rush to her face. "No..." she answered. She heard her mother chuckle.
"All right. Go ahead and give the cuccos their feed for the morning."
Malon made her way outside, and deeper into the ranch, where they kept a variety of farm animals, from cuccos and cows, to horses, and even a dog.
"Hey, Ace!" the girl greeted as she reached down to pet the family's white and black dog.
From there, she headed straight to the cucco barn. She giggled as the little creatures inside followed her as she made her way over to their bag of feed. Carefully, she poured its contents into a wide container, hoping her impaired sight wouldn't redirect her aim to the ground.
"Malon?" Talon called as she finished.
In a startled panic, the girl made sure to double check her hair to make sure it was still covering the damaged side of her face before turning towards him.
"Yes, Daddy?"
"Your mom told me you've been acting strange lately." he said, "She's real worried about you. Is everything okay?"
Malon breathed deep, "Yes, Daddy. Everything's fine."
"You sure? If anything's bothering you, I can help."
Self-preservation fixed Malon's jaw to tell yet another lie, but guilt kept her tongue still.
"Someone...help me. I just don't know what to do..."
Yes...of course...this was her father. She had always been able to tell him everything, and he'd be the first to offer assistance, no matter how big or little her troubles were.
"I'm tired of living like this... Kill me..."
No...she couldn't tell him... She could never tell him. It didn't matter if he could help her or not - she was doing all this for Link's sake, not her's.
"I'm sure." she said.
"Huh." Talon responded, "Must be puberty."
The words snatched Malon away from her thoughts. "What?"
"No, don't worry about it. It must be a girl thing. I'll have to ask your mother about it."
"Daddy! I'm sixteen! Not twelve!"
"Alright, alright. I'm about to head to the arena. Your mom wants me to get you some books while I'm in the village so look forward to that. If you need something, your mom'll be out here in a little bit."
"Okay. Bye, Daddy."
"Bye."
Malon let out a sigh of relief as her father walked away. Hiding her wounds was proving to be much too stressful for her. How much longer would she have to do this?
The day went by faster than Malon could prepare. As her day of chores began to slow, her concentration was replaced by varying thoughts of what the night would bring. She knew Thomas was more than likely still angry at her, and she was absolutely apprehensive of the idea of going back, but they had a deal. So long as she was at least willing to live up her end, she should still benefit from it...right?
Malon stopped in front of his door, pausing to give herself a moment to prepare. After gathering what little courage she could muster, she knocked.
Malon stepped away and let out a deep breath, one last effort to calm herself. Unlike the previous days, her eyes remained fixed on the door, right around where Thomas's eyes would be should he open. If she could just ascertain what sort of mood he was in, she could go from there.
Malon's body shifted in the cool night air as she waited. Why wasn't he answering? She knocked again.
"Who is it?" she heard Thomas ask.
"It's me." Malon answered.
Silence...
"...Mister Thomas?" Malon called.
No answer...
"Mister Thomas...can you let me in?"
No response...
"I'm sorry about yesterday." Malon said, "If you're still upset, we can...talk about it, or...work something out..."
Silence...
"...Mister Thomas...we had a deal, didn't we? I come here to see you, and you stop hurting Link. I'm...here, so...even if we don't do anything together, you'll keep your promise, won't you?"
Thomas still didn't answer. It was clear by now that he was still very upset with her.
"Mister Thomas," Malon spoke after a period of silence, "you're not gonna take this out on Link, are you?"
The resulting silence had begun to chip away at the brave front Malon had barely managed to patch together. She was losing what control she felt she had over Link's well-being. Not only that, but if Link gets punished, if he hadn't been already, it would be her fault.
"Kill me..."
Malon knocked on the door again, this time, harder. "Mister Thomas! It's not his fault! Please! If-...if you take this out on anyone, take it out on me! Haven't you put him through enough already?!" Her knocks continued as emerging tears began to distort her view of the door before her, desperation stealing her breath. "Please..." she sobbed, "Open the door... Please..."
Malon spent the next hour or so on the steps leading onto Thomas's porch, sobbing as her mind explored one dark possibility after another.
This was her fault, she decided, Link was about to be punished for what she did. Why did she use his name? Why?!
Malon calmed herself. Getting angry wasn't going to solve anything. Perhaps she should get home and sleep this whole thing off, and think about everything in the morning.
The girl moped the entire way home, tears still flowing down her face. She didn't even stop to make herself presentable as she walked through the front door to her home, bar a single wipe at her face to clear away her tears. She started toward the stairs, and paused. From the corner of her eye, she could see her mother seated on the couch on the far side of the living room, same as yesterday. Unlike the previous day, however, she withheld a greeting. A period of silence passed as the two watched each other. Her mother's gaze was invasive - piercing almost. Malon turned away and continued up the stairs, not even leaving a "hello" in her wake.
"Malon... Malon, wake up!"
The girl cracked her eyes open.
"C'mon." Talon continued, "It's time to get ready."
Malon propped herself off her back and onto her elbows. The absence of the sun as she glanced out the window left her in a state of confusion. "But the sun hasn't risen yet." she murmured.
Talon paused by the door to the hallway, turning to give her a confused look of his own. "You know what day it is today, right? We're headed to the Wilkshire Arena."
Malon's eyes flew open as she shot up in bed.
Talon chuckled, "It's not like you to not be up before me. I'll be downstairs."
Malon moved to sit on the edge of her bed as her father shut the door behind him, letting out a groan as she ran a hand over her face. With all that went on that week, she had forgotten that today was the day of the week she was to go with her parents to the Wilkshire Arena. She couldn't help but feel a bit of relief. Maybe leaving the ranch would help take her mind off her worries.
Malon froze as her hand ran over the swollen bruise around her left eye. Within the next second, she leapt onto her feet, and rushed over to the mirror.
How could she have forgotten?! That bruise from yesterday was still there!
Had her father seen it? Was he going to tell her mother about it?
Malon stared into the mirror, scanning her face as she breathed heavy. She knew it was there, but darkness impeded her vision, so much so that memory of her bruise would still be eluding her had she not felt it earlier. She let out a high of relief. Her father couldn't have seen her bruise. She was still in the clear for now.
Malon made the necessary preparations for the trip, and met with her parents outside to help them finish packing.
"Oh, Talon," Catria called, "you've seen Malon's new hairstyle, right?"
Talon looked over at his daughter, "'Hairstyle'? I thought you'd forgot to fix your hair for the day."
Malon felt her heart begin to beat against her chest as her father walked over to her.
"I'm surprised you can see with all that hair over your face." he said as he rose a hand to toward her, "How're you gonna read those books I got you-"
"Daddy," Malon interrupted, "aren't we running late?"
Catria turned away from the wagon to face the two, "You do not talk while your father is talking, young lady!"
"Oh, it's alright." Talon chuckled, "We are running late, after all, so it's not like she's wrong. Let's finish up so we can hurry to the arena."
Malon and her mother met eyes as Talon walked away. It was true: Malon was not allowed to speak over either of her parents. She was taught that early on, and she followed that rule ever since. Surely, Malon thought, her mother was beginning to see more and more clearly her odd behavior.
Malon sat inside the tarped wagon as the family finished packing.
"Are you gonna be sitting back here?" Malon asked her mother as she loaded the last crate.
"No." Catria answered, "There's something I want to talk to your father about on the way to the arena. Besides, I know how much you enjoy your 'alone time'."
Her mother's words were incriminating; they accused her, and rightfully called her out on all her wrongdoings. In Malon's mind, Catria's parting glance said what the woman didn't, louder than the words the woman spoke.
'Liar', it said.
Malon wrapped her arms around herself, a vain attempt to hold in the warmth this new label stole from her.
'Liar'... She certainly was one by now.
Linkle stared up into the early morning sky as she rest against a tree.
"Hey!" Darunia called to her as he approached.
"Hey." Linkle waved back. Darunia sat on the ground next to her.
"How's your training coming along?" he asked.
"I'm still sore..." Linkle admitted.
"Well, you should appreciate this chance to rest. We don't usually wait this long to head out."
"Why are we waiting?" Linkle asked.
"Today's the day of the week they release the Hyrulean Chronicle."
"What's that?"
"A newspaper. You know how everyday Lana and Midna leave to get the newspaper? Well there's another newspaper that releases once a week called the Hyrulean Chronicle. You'll have to ask them why it takes so long to get it."
"Wait, so Impa doesn't go with them?"
"No, she goes to the-"
"Gather 'round everybody!" Lana called.
"What is it?" Darunia asked the sorceress.
"We just got back with the papers. Apparently there's something in it Midna wants everyone to see."
The group gathered near the center of the campsite, where they huddled around Midna, who read from the newspaper. She layed it on the ground because her arms weren't long enough to hold it open.
"The first thing that caught my attention," Midna told everyone, "was this advertisement right here. It says it's from 'Eldin Private Security'. It explains that 'the White Sorceress's latest attack resulted in her very first casualty: Oliver Koffman, the son of Benjamin Koffman, head of Eldin Private Security, or EPS for short."
"Didn't you just get back?" Ruto asked, "How did you have time to read?"
"I read it on our way out of the village, genius. Anyway, it goes on about how the murder was 'unacceptable', and 'who knows what she'll do next', yadda yadda yadda, and here. It looks like this 'Benjamin' guy's recruiting help to hunt us down."
"So what's the big deal?" Darunia asked, "No one's ever been able to spot us before, right?"
"No," Ruto answered, "but we've never had an organized search for us executed on this level. Even Ganondorf simply offered a reward for any sighting of Lana, and left it at that. Any other search there could have been was so meager, we never even learned of it."
"And it's not just that," Midna added, "thanks to Lana killing that guy she killed, that Benjamin guy can use it to fear monger all he wants, and it'd be in his best interest, too, if he wants as many recruits as possible. The people joining would be motivated by fear, or them wanting to get famous for finding us, especially considering they'd be backed by an entire organized group." Midna shrugged, "But all that means is be more careful. It's not like anyone's gonna see through our disguise. As long as we're careful we won't have anything to worry about. And we won't even have to do it for long. Once we save Link, we wont be doing too much more roaming around. Anyway, speaking of Link, there's one more thing I wanna show you all."
Midna flipped to the next page. On it was two pictographs. The first was of a large arena, and the second, more jarring, photo was of two Humans standing in front of a large building. And in front of them was a long-eared boy standing on his knees, an enraged snarl carved into his face. Midna glanced up at her comrades for a moment. The looks on Linkle and Lana's faces held her attention. It took her a moment to put two and two together.
"I take it this is Link?" she asked.
Lana nodded, a wide-eyed shock still adorning her visage.
"I thought this might have been him based on what I read, but I wasn't sure."
"It certainly looks like it'd be him." Darunia commented, "He's looks a bit different than I remember."
"This isn't the same Link you know." Lana explained.
"Well anyway," Midna continued, "There's an event being held at today some place called the 'Wilkshire Arena'. These guys named 'Thomas Grimshaw' and 'Franklin Moore' have started this event where, basically, they beat slaves to break their spirit or something."
"How barbaric." Ruto said with a grimace, "Who can find entertainment in something such as this?"
"We need to go." Lana said as she walked away towards the storage tent, "If we get going now, maybe we can stop-"
"Lana!" Ruto called, "We don't even know where it is!"
"Well where is it?!" Lana snapped.
"W-We never completely mapped the province out!" Tingle explained.
"What?!"
"Calm down." Darunia told Lana, "You're the one who said it was too risky to try because of how many people live there."
"And we just decided that we have to be more careful." Midna said, "There's a whole group of people after us now, and who knows how far along with their search they are by now. Plus there's Ganondorf's goons to worry about."
"Did you not hear what you just said?!" Lana argued, "Link's probably out there being beaten for sport as we speak, and we're just sitting here! Don't you guys care about him?!" she turned her back towards the storage tent.
Midna's body levitated from the ground. Her hair formed into an arm and hand, which she used to reach out and grab Lana forcibly.
"LET ME GO!" the sorceress screamed as she was lifted from the ground and pulled closer to Midna and the others.
"Listen!" Midna shouted at her, "You haven't noticed what you've been doing?! You've been acting on your emotions, and look where it's gotten us!"
"What are you talking about?!"
"Like when you killed that guy? You won't even tell us why you did it! And now we've got people after us! Now you wanna rush, when we don't even know for sure where we're going!"
"I don't know why you seem so attached to Link," Ruto said, "but we need to stick to the plan! If we're not careful, we won't even be able to find out where he is!"
Midna felt Lana's body begin to still within her grasp. "Have you calmed down now?" she asked.
The sorceress nodded, "Yes..."
Midna lowered Lana to the ground. "So we're sticking to the plan then, right?"
Lana nodded again, "Yeah. I'm...sorry about all that. I guess I'm just anxious."
"I'd be anxious, too." Darunia interjected, "This is probably the longest time we've taken to get anywhere. It's gotta be uncomfortable in those crates. Good thing I can't fit in any of 'em."
"I'm gonna go pack our supplies." Lana said. The others watched as she walked away, toward their wagon.
Ruto sighed, "It's times like this when I wish Impa were here."
"Why hasn't she been here?" Linkle asked. Now that she thought about it, their ally never seemed to be around in the morning, or whenever their en route to their next campsite. She always seems to vanish after Linkle's training every morning.
"She's been going to Hyrule Castle every morning." the Zora answered.
"She's been going to the castle?" Linkle asked in amazement.
"Of course. That's how we knew Volga was waiting for us outside the forest."
"If you ask me," Midna cut in, "she should be the one leading this whole thing, not Lana."
Ruto looked over at Lana as the sorceress took down one of the tents, then back at Midna. "I agree." she said in a low voice, "If that scene she caused is any indication, she'll only cause us more grief the closer get to Link."
"But-" Linkle cut in, "what if you get into another argument?"
"Oh, please." Midna nearly laughed, "Arguing's all she'll do. It won't escalate to anything more than that."
"No, I mean...what if someone hears us...?"
"Oh, don't worry about that. Lana has some barrier in place that doesn't let sound pass though it."
"She can do that?"
"Convenient, isn't it? Anyway, back to the topic. We should wait 'till Impa gets back to bring this up."
In the time it took for she and her family to rush to the arena, Malon's mind had inevitably gravitated toward her situation with Thomas. And in doing so, she realized something...
Thomas had told her during one of their past meetings that he had reached a deal with the owner of the Wilkshire Arena, that consisted of him holding shows there weekly. He did it while bragging to her about how much more money he was going to make, and how much he was going to buy with it. It was here, she decided, where she would see the fruits of her labor; it was here where all the lying, all the secrets she kept, all the sneaking around she did...she would be reminded that it was all to accomplish something...
It had to be...
Catria manned the booth inside the arena, while Talon joined Malon in the seating areas as they began to fill. As the minutes went on before the start of the event the people were gathering to see, doubt had begun to fester in her mind.
Thomas had kicked her out of his home two nights ago, because she had used Link's name. He was clearly still upset over this, because he refused to see her the previous night. What if...
No...he wouldn't break his side of their deal. Not if he wanted to keep seeing her.
"Gooood morning, everyone!"
Malon was pulled out of her contemplation by the voice of a man approaching center stage.
"I see there's a lot more of you people then there were last week! You all looking forward to the show?"
The ensuing roar of approval from the collective audience startled Malon. As the man continued, she could feel a sense of anticipation begin to grip her. Not anticipation for the "show", but whether or not she would see Link on stage again.
He wouldn't. she thought to herself, Not after all I've done.
"Here he is!" the man announced, "The man of the hour: Thomas Grimshaw!"
Malon's body tensed as soon as she saw him; it was the first she had seen of him since the night he gave her her bruises. She saw Thomas stop by the other man.
"Hey, man," said the latter, "straighten up your face. You still look pissed."
"Not now, Franklin." Thomas told him.
Franklin sighed before turning his attention back to the audience. "We know how much you're all looking forward to this, so we're not gonna waste any more of your time! Without further adieu, bring out the first slave!"
The two large doors leading deeper into the stadium opened, and out came a girl led by two Human men. Malon recognized her to be the one from the previous week - the one who, like Link, refused to give in to Thomas.
"That's one of those Elves Thomas couldn't get to give in." one patron told another, "Let's see what Thomas does different this time around.
As Franklin went on about Thomas's time limit and other self-imposed rules, Malon could see two men pushed some sort of wheeled chest over to the latter. Thomas's hands lingered inside the container before they emerged again, donned entirely in black.
Thomas moved his fingers within the black gloves, perhaps to get a good feel for them before he used them.
The chest was wheeled out of Malon's view, toward the wall respective to the section of bleachers she was watching from as she walked aimlessly. Yet another man, who Malon recognized as the timekeeper from the previous week aimed a gun into the air. It had already been explained that Thomas was to start after it fired.
BANG!
Wasting no time, Thomas approached the girl, and swung as hard as he could.
Malon flinched. She could hear the shot loud and clear, despite her distance.
The crowd roared again as the girl's body hit the ground. She looked up at Thomas, her eyes wide in shock as blood ran freely from her nose. A reddish bruise had already begun to form between her nose and cheek bone. Thomas walked over to her and lifted her to her feet by her tunic before pulling back, and firing a blow to her belly.
Malon watched in horror, frozen in place, as Thomas's assault continued. In the midst of his relentless attacks, Malon was able to draw one glaring difference from those of the previous week: back then, Thomas would pause his assaults, allowing his victims a chance to submit to him. Today, however, he seemed to only want to hurt the slaves, or at least this one in particular.
He was obviously frustrated. And if he was frustrated, it would have to be at she and Link. And if he were mad at the two of them...
No. It wouldn't make sense - if he wanted to hurt Link, then why would he wait two days to do it? He could have just went to where Link was any time he wanted and punished him then and there.
But then...how did she know he hadn't already been doing just that? After all, it was part of the deal that she wouldn't be able to see him. How was she to verify his condition?
No...she was overthinking things... Surely her efforts thus far has earned Link some respite.
It had to...
The crowd continued to cheer on the abuse of the long-eared girl on the arena floor, though Thomas paid no attention to them; his focus was solely on the slave in front of him.
"Stop." she begged in a weak voice, climbing to her feet, "Plea-"
The next blow was straight to the mouth, knocking out three of her teeth.
That's right...his goal wasn't to make these slaves bend their will to him. He simply wanted to hurt them.
On the ground, the girl dragged her way over to Thomas's feet. "Please," she begged as tears moistened her bruised visage "Maste-"
Thomas pulled back, and kicked her on the side of her head. Her dismembered teeth flew from her mouth to join the spots of blood that peppered the dirt ground.
"Man," Franklin spoke in a low voice as he watched from inside the stadium, "That girl's got some serious balls if she hasn't given in yet."
"Of course." Williamson chuckled in response, "The less slaves give in, the better. In means more money for us."
"I dunno. Thomas has been pretty pissed these last few days."
"Why are you whispering?"
"I'm not. My throat hurts from all that yelling I did out there so they'd hear me. I don't know how you people do it."
Thomas watched his victim writhe in pain at his feet. The girl was nothing more sobbing, bloodied mess by now.
"TIME!" the time keeper announced, accompanied by a gesture for members of the audience who couldn't hear him.
"I gotta hand it to her," Malon heard a man seated near her say, "that girl's tough. Wonder how Thomas's gonna tame that one."
"Hey." Talon called to her, "Stop standing around."
Malon spun around to face him. "Sorry! I-I'll go-"
She paused, her father's shocked expression having cleared her mind of the words she scrambled to string together.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Your eye."
Malon's entire body froze stiff. When she turned, her eye must have been exposed by the movement of her hair...
Talon approached her, his hand raised to mover aside her locks.
"D-Daddy," Malon stammered as she took a step back, "we still have to-"
"Let me see."
Malon's shoulders slumped, her head hanging in defeat as she felt her hair moved to the side.
"Ouch." a nosy onlooker commented, "Now that's a zinger."
"...We'll talk about this when we get home." Talon told his daughter in a low but stern voice.
Malon looked up at her father again as he walked away.
This was bad... This was very bad...
She stilled her breathing. It was best to not dwell on this, especially when she was supposed to be working.
Of the four other slaves brought to Thomas, none of them submitted to him, resulting in the usage of the entire ten minute period he gave himself to force them to. This was, of course, because he wouldn't let them. All of them wanted to; all of them begged for the pain to stop. But Thomas was a man on a mission: to punish them all for a crime they did not commit.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen!" Franklin announced to the crowd, "I guess you could call this our 'main event'!"
Malon turned away from her task to listen to the man speak. The beating of her heart was so loud in her head that it almost drowned out the sound of his voice as he continued.
"Those of you who were here last week know of him already! He's the former slave of a preacher in Faron, who wreaked all kinds of havoc at his old home! When we brought him to town, he tried to attack three helpless girls! And last week he even attacked Thomas!"
Malon could feel her stomach plunge as Franklin's descriptions of Thomas's next victim made clearer his identity.
"His name," Franklin announced, "is LINK!"
Malon watched on, pale as a ghost, as the boy was brought out into the field, accompanied two men on either side of him, several parts of his body bound by chain and rope as if he were some kind of animal.
"Untie him." Thomas instructed as they drew close.
Link glared at the man as he watched the chains fall to the boy's feet - not even his wrists were bound together after his restraints were gone. As his eyes adjusted to the early morning sun he could see the familiar sight of a red-headed girl in the seating area. Thomas turned his head, following his gaze to where Malon was. When he turned back towards Link, a sadistic smile accompanied his gaze.
To be Continued!
Bonus Chapter
An Ill-Fated Meeting
"Who is that?" Zelda asked, referring to the infant in her husband's arms.
"I'm not sure, exactly." Irus admitted, "Ganondorf didn't tell me much, just to take care of 'em. His name's Link, though."
"Link... What an interesting name..."
The couple's conversation was brought to a halt by the mewling of their daughter, a baby girl named after her mother, as was tradition for the first born girls of any royal couple. The baby wore a face-wide smile as she watched the newborn Link from inside her crib.
"You wanna meet your new friend?" Irus asked the princess Zelda. The baby bounced excitedly as the other was brought closer.
"Be careful with him," Queen Zelda told her husband, "He's so tiny - maybe we should keep the two of them separate until he's a little bigger."
Just then, the the sudden glow of some sort of circular object appeared. As it grew, a girl in a dark hooded cloak stepped into the room from within.
"Oh!" the startled queen squeaked, "It's you!"
"Yup!" Lana nodded, "It's been a while." The sorceress chuckled as she ventured further into the room.
Zelda nodded, "The last time you were here, you told us that the princess had a piece of the Triforce within her. Does your visit have to do with this boy?"
"Uh-huh," Lana nodded, "His name is Link - he has the Triforce of Courage inside of him. He and the princess are destined to save Hyrule."
A relieved smile spread across the queen's face, "Do you hear that?" she asked Irus, "Perhaps now you can tell your father that his plan is unnecessary!"
"I mean, sure, but...I don't know if I'll be able to convince him..."
"Here," Lana said, her hands outstretched, "can I hold him?"
Irus handed Link to Lana. The sorceress smiled wide when she took him into her arms. Her attention was grabbed by Princess Zelda, who had moved over to the side of the crib closest to Lana, spouting gibberish as her eyes remained fixated on Link. Lana's smile vanished.
"Here," she said, handing Link over to Irus. "It's risky coming here," she told the king and queen of Hyrule, "so it'll be a while before I come back. I'll return once Link's old enough to use the Master Sword."