Chapter 6
Nearly three hours after Link left, Zelda arrived at Lon Lon Ranch. She dismounted and approached the farmhouse, about to knock, when a voice behind her halted her actions.
"What can I do for you, Highness?" Malon said, shutting the stable door behind her.
"Ahh, Malon if I am correct?" Malon curtseyed as best she could.
"Yes, your Highness. What may I do for you?" Malon couldn't keep out the bitterness in her voice, Zelda hadn't needed to place them all under house arrest.
Zelda noticed the bitter tone and gave it back with equal fervor.
"I'm sure you are all fine here, and until I get Link, I will not withdraw the orders that have been placed upon this ranch."
"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, your Highness, but Link has left. I assumed he was going to the palace." Zelda stared at her in complete shock.
"You let him leave? How could you allow such a thing when I've placed you all under house arrest?"
"I would have gone after him, Highness, if it were not for the conditions of our estate," Malon shot back. It apparently had the desired affect. Zelda looked at her with rage before collecting herself. She was the Princess of Hyrule, of Destiny, she was the Sage of Time for Goddess's sake. It would not be fitting for her to bicker with one of her people, though she wanted to badly. She knew she would never be able to consider Malon her friend.
"Very well, Malon. Tell your father that I have withdrawn the charges against you and your family, and that you are no longer under house arrest. If Link were to come back at any time, I would fully expect you to contact the Royal House. Is that clear?"
"Yes, your Highness." Zelda looked at Malon with fire in her eyes and moved closer.
She was mere inches from Malon's face before she whispered softly, "From this day on, because of the severity of your betrayal to me and to your people, I will never be able to recognize you with kindness." Malon said nothing, understanding what this meant for her.
Without another word, Princess Zelda got back onto her steed, the four guards behind her letting her pass before following her out of the ranch. The guards dared not say a word about what they had just witnessed.
With a sigh, Malon went back into the stables. It would be a very long time before she encountered the princess again.
*************************
Link ran for the rest of that day and through the night, and for most of the next day and evening. The adrenaline as well as Dark Link gave him enough stamina to continue without need for rest. Link realized for the first time as he was climbing the stairs to the village that he had not eaten since he had been captured. He didn't seem to need it.
He approached the house behind that of the once cursed house (which, in this time, was not inhabited) and knocked on the door. A tall woman with short red hair answered the door and smiled when she saw Link.
"Link! You've come back! Come in, please," she said excitedly, practically yanking Link inside. She led him upstairs to a small loft and he plopped down on the bed, weariness finally catching up to him.
"It's good to see you again Miranórë."
"Please Link, after.." she hesitated, "after all we've been through, call me Mira." Link smiled at her, which was unusual for him. He had almost called her Anju when she opened the door, with that warm smile on her face and gentle eyes. They were practically the same anyway, except in character.
Link remembered back to when he was the Hero of Time and had helped Miranórë catch her cuccos because, oddly enough, she was allergic to them. She obviously didn't remember that, though.
"Can I get you some herbal juice, or milk, or-"
"No thanks, Mira. I just need a little rest."
"Oh, ok." Mira smiled at him and sat down next to him on the bed. Link smirked at her.
"No, I mean real rest Mira." She pouted at him and he felt a different kind of stirring at the look. Unable to resist, he pulled her down on top of him and kissed her. He could feel Dark Link surging through him excitedly with the prospect of what was to come. ((Calm down in there, remember that I get to do the driving,)) he said mentally to his evil counterpart.
Mira latched onto his lips with her own and pulled the covers up over them. Tonight was going to be a good night, they both thought.
The next morning, Link woke up to the heavy weight of Mira's naked body sprawled across his own, and he couldn't help but think that he'd like to wake up like that every morning. His thoughts momentarily wandered to Malon, but he didn't feel guilty. Mira was a willing body, and that's all Link cared about for now. ((I'm such a bastard.)) Mira unconsciously squeezed her thighs around Link's waist, and he instantly got aroused. Turning them over, he plunged into her without warning and she awoke to his body moving over hers. Moaning softly, Mira arched her back as Link quickly found his release.
It would never be about making love with Link, it *could* never be. That sort of passion was something Dark Link would not allow, and though Link didn't accept it, he knew it well. Rolling off of Mira, Link sighed and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. Mira silently stood and put her clothes back on, going downstairs to make breakfast. Link had found this routine similar to that of when he was here last. Morning and night, morning and night, they would do the same thing, over and over.
It had been nearly seven weeks ago when Link had come to Mira, seeking escape. He had been at Lon Lon Ranch, in bed all day and night, with Malon watching over him. She ran to his room almost every night when they started, those memories. She'd hold him and whisper to him, and hum her mother's lullaby. He himself didn't even know how much he appreciated that.
After one especially vivid night of remembering, Link decided he would end his misery the best way he knew how. Silently he began to plan his attack, going over every little detail in his mind with precision. Oh how Dark Link loved this.
Not wanting Malon or anyone else to find out what he was planning, he fled. He ran for two days to Kakariko, the closest place to Zelda he could think of without actually being too close. Subconsciously he ran away in hopes to stop himself of what he was planning, but his tattered brain didn't know what to make of it. So he went into a stupor, still on the ground while his thoughts raced through his head in a mass of entangled confusion. He felt like it nearly killed him.
That's how Mira found him, jerking convulsively on the ground. She willingly took him in and so began their nightly ritual. For Link it was a means of escape and release for a time from all the confusing thoughts running around in his brain. For Mira, it was a warm body to keep her company at night. Neither spoke about it much or asked questions, each just accepted it and continued with it.
Link had stayed with Mira for nearly a month when he decided he was going to go through with what he had planned. He left without a word to Mira and she didn't go looking for him. She knew he would come back. And he did.
He had left all of his belongings at Kafei's house in Termina, and the night he went for Zelda, he realized that he didn't have a sword. Why did he need one anyway? He could just strangle her or something...but Link wanted to mark her. He wanted her to feel it with the tip of the blade that had caused this mess in the first place.
So off he went, to the Temple of Time, pulling the sword from its stone dais and running like the wind to the castle. Link was the only one who could pull the sword anyway, so the sages had decided to leave the Door open for people to enter the sanctuary. It had an air of peace, and people liked praying in there. It posed no real threat to leave the Door open, they assumed at the time.
Returning his thoughts to the present, Link decided that he wasn't going to stay here for long, in fact, he was going to leave that day. He did not want to delay anything any further. He needed to get to Zelda and tell her what was happening. Maybe...maybe not all of it, but enough to explain his actions.
Link reached for his shirt and pants on put them on quickly. He fastened his boots and went downstairs. He heard a rustling in the indoor-out house and realized Mira was in there. Not wanting to leave without saying goodbye, but not wanting a confrontation, Link quickly decided and stepped out through door. ((Goodbye once more, Mira.))
Sighing, Mira came into the front room and headed upstairs.
"Link, there's something I need to tell....you.." She trailed off as she realized he was gone. A lone tear fell onto her cheek and she shivered. "I think I am with child," she said to no one, refusing to let any more than one tear fall.
*********
Link climbed up the castle wall as quickly as he could (which wasn't very quick), wishing desperately he had his hookshot. None of the guards seemed to have noticed him, which was a good thing. Maybe he wasn't losing his touch after all.
He came to window and heaved himself up onto the ledge. He didn't know how, but by some chance he had managed to reach the window of Zelda's bed chambers. And she was in there.
Zelda took off the outer layer of her gown and hung it on a hook near the door. Laying down on her bed, she sighed, feeling weary from the past few days. Reaching under her bed, she drew out a scabbard brightly colored in blue and gold markings, not unlike Link's own. Unaware of the spying Link, she drew out the Master Sword and gazed at it.
Link's eyes gleamed as he watched the princess, his mouth almost watering and the memory of the sword. He wanted to feel it again so badly.
Zelda sheathed the sword and sighed. The night Link attacked, he had dropped the sword when the guards came for him and she had kept it hidden in her chambers. She knew she should put it back, but the truth was, it made her feel connected to Link. It made her feel connected to the good Link she knew back in another lifetime, and the feeling was good. Another part of it was that if she tried to put the sword back in its place, it would hurt. The dais would not recognize her as a rightful wielder of the sword and it would burn.
Deciding that now was as good a time as any, Link knocked on the window, shocking Zelda so much she almost fell off her bed. With a dazed look she hurried over to the window, opened it and pulled Link in so forcefully he fell to the ground at her feet. Getting up, he dusted himself off nonchalantly and stared at Zelda.
"You have some nerve," Zelda said, trying to act confident but wavering just slightly.
"It's alright Zelda, I won't hurt you." ((At least I'll try not to.)) "Before you say anything, I'm going to tell you my story and you're going to listen without interrupting. Understand?" Link walked toward Zelda, who only walked backward until she hit her bed, and plopped down onto it.
Link told her about the water temple and his encounter with Dark Link. What he didn't tell her, however, was that he had inhabited Link's body. Link left her to believe that Dark Link was still within the Master Sword. Zelda put her hands to her mouth.
"You mean, it's...it's still in there? Why did you go back and get it then?!" Link moved closer, an eerie look on his face.
"It called to me," he said matter-of-factly, thought he was lying. "My original intention was to destroy the sword and leave, but, it told me what it wanted done and I obliged." Zelda made a mental note of that statement.
She stared at him with a look on her features that told him she wasn't believing a word he said. No matter, as long as he made absolute *sure* she was aware of Dark Link's presence, whether it was inside him or the sword. A picture of himself impaled on the sword flashed through his mind briefly..
....don't even think about it....
Link ignored the voice in his head and smirked at Zelda.
"Stop looking at me like that, Link. You're scaring me." Link just shook his head and sat down in a chair across from her bed.
"So what are you going to do with me Zelda? What about the sword?" Link noticed Zelda was in her thinking mode, and waited.
"I do not believe your story, Link. I cannot believe that the sword would have allowed such a thing. I have no choice but to serve you the consequences necessary for your actions." This was hard for Zelda to say, but she had no other choice as Princess of Hyrule. She realized now that Impa was correct, no matter what Zelda wanted to believe. It was her duty, and she understood this now.
"I agree with what you're saying, but I will find a way to escape if I feel it necessary," he said. Zelda would not be so heedless this time about the amount of security she would need concerning Link.
Before the princess could reply, a beam of light shot through her window and Rauru instantly appeared before her.
"Princess, something terrible has happened!"
Nearly three hours after Link left, Zelda arrived at Lon Lon Ranch. She dismounted and approached the farmhouse, about to knock, when a voice behind her halted her actions.
"What can I do for you, Highness?" Malon said, shutting the stable door behind her.
"Ahh, Malon if I am correct?" Malon curtseyed as best she could.
"Yes, your Highness. What may I do for you?" Malon couldn't keep out the bitterness in her voice, Zelda hadn't needed to place them all under house arrest.
Zelda noticed the bitter tone and gave it back with equal fervor.
"I'm sure you are all fine here, and until I get Link, I will not withdraw the orders that have been placed upon this ranch."
"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, your Highness, but Link has left. I assumed he was going to the palace." Zelda stared at her in complete shock.
"You let him leave? How could you allow such a thing when I've placed you all under house arrest?"
"I would have gone after him, Highness, if it were not for the conditions of our estate," Malon shot back. It apparently had the desired affect. Zelda looked at her with rage before collecting herself. She was the Princess of Hyrule, of Destiny, she was the Sage of Time for Goddess's sake. It would not be fitting for her to bicker with one of her people, though she wanted to badly. She knew she would never be able to consider Malon her friend.
"Very well, Malon. Tell your father that I have withdrawn the charges against you and your family, and that you are no longer under house arrest. If Link were to come back at any time, I would fully expect you to contact the Royal House. Is that clear?"
"Yes, your Highness." Zelda looked at Malon with fire in her eyes and moved closer.
She was mere inches from Malon's face before she whispered softly, "From this day on, because of the severity of your betrayal to me and to your people, I will never be able to recognize you with kindness." Malon said nothing, understanding what this meant for her.
Without another word, Princess Zelda got back onto her steed, the four guards behind her letting her pass before following her out of the ranch. The guards dared not say a word about what they had just witnessed.
With a sigh, Malon went back into the stables. It would be a very long time before she encountered the princess again.
*************************
Link ran for the rest of that day and through the night, and for most of the next day and evening. The adrenaline as well as Dark Link gave him enough stamina to continue without need for rest. Link realized for the first time as he was climbing the stairs to the village that he had not eaten since he had been captured. He didn't seem to need it.
He approached the house behind that of the once cursed house (which, in this time, was not inhabited) and knocked on the door. A tall woman with short red hair answered the door and smiled when she saw Link.
"Link! You've come back! Come in, please," she said excitedly, practically yanking Link inside. She led him upstairs to a small loft and he plopped down on the bed, weariness finally catching up to him.
"It's good to see you again Miranórë."
"Please Link, after.." she hesitated, "after all we've been through, call me Mira." Link smiled at her, which was unusual for him. He had almost called her Anju when she opened the door, with that warm smile on her face and gentle eyes. They were practically the same anyway, except in character.
Link remembered back to when he was the Hero of Time and had helped Miranórë catch her cuccos because, oddly enough, she was allergic to them. She obviously didn't remember that, though.
"Can I get you some herbal juice, or milk, or-"
"No thanks, Mira. I just need a little rest."
"Oh, ok." Mira smiled at him and sat down next to him on the bed. Link smirked at her.
"No, I mean real rest Mira." She pouted at him and he felt a different kind of stirring at the look. Unable to resist, he pulled her down on top of him and kissed her. He could feel Dark Link surging through him excitedly with the prospect of what was to come. ((Calm down in there, remember that I get to do the driving,)) he said mentally to his evil counterpart.
Mira latched onto his lips with her own and pulled the covers up over them. Tonight was going to be a good night, they both thought.
The next morning, Link woke up to the heavy weight of Mira's naked body sprawled across his own, and he couldn't help but think that he'd like to wake up like that every morning. His thoughts momentarily wandered to Malon, but he didn't feel guilty. Mira was a willing body, and that's all Link cared about for now. ((I'm such a bastard.)) Mira unconsciously squeezed her thighs around Link's waist, and he instantly got aroused. Turning them over, he plunged into her without warning and she awoke to his body moving over hers. Moaning softly, Mira arched her back as Link quickly found his release.
It would never be about making love with Link, it *could* never be. That sort of passion was something Dark Link would not allow, and though Link didn't accept it, he knew it well. Rolling off of Mira, Link sighed and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. Mira silently stood and put her clothes back on, going downstairs to make breakfast. Link had found this routine similar to that of when he was here last. Morning and night, morning and night, they would do the same thing, over and over.
It had been nearly seven weeks ago when Link had come to Mira, seeking escape. He had been at Lon Lon Ranch, in bed all day and night, with Malon watching over him. She ran to his room almost every night when they started, those memories. She'd hold him and whisper to him, and hum her mother's lullaby. He himself didn't even know how much he appreciated that.
After one especially vivid night of remembering, Link decided he would end his misery the best way he knew how. Silently he began to plan his attack, going over every little detail in his mind with precision. Oh how Dark Link loved this.
Not wanting Malon or anyone else to find out what he was planning, he fled. He ran for two days to Kakariko, the closest place to Zelda he could think of without actually being too close. Subconsciously he ran away in hopes to stop himself of what he was planning, but his tattered brain didn't know what to make of it. So he went into a stupor, still on the ground while his thoughts raced through his head in a mass of entangled confusion. He felt like it nearly killed him.
That's how Mira found him, jerking convulsively on the ground. She willingly took him in and so began their nightly ritual. For Link it was a means of escape and release for a time from all the confusing thoughts running around in his brain. For Mira, it was a warm body to keep her company at night. Neither spoke about it much or asked questions, each just accepted it and continued with it.
Link had stayed with Mira for nearly a month when he decided he was going to go through with what he had planned. He left without a word to Mira and she didn't go looking for him. She knew he would come back. And he did.
He had left all of his belongings at Kafei's house in Termina, and the night he went for Zelda, he realized that he didn't have a sword. Why did he need one anyway? He could just strangle her or something...but Link wanted to mark her. He wanted her to feel it with the tip of the blade that had caused this mess in the first place.
So off he went, to the Temple of Time, pulling the sword from its stone dais and running like the wind to the castle. Link was the only one who could pull the sword anyway, so the sages had decided to leave the Door open for people to enter the sanctuary. It had an air of peace, and people liked praying in there. It posed no real threat to leave the Door open, they assumed at the time.
Returning his thoughts to the present, Link decided that he wasn't going to stay here for long, in fact, he was going to leave that day. He did not want to delay anything any further. He needed to get to Zelda and tell her what was happening. Maybe...maybe not all of it, but enough to explain his actions.
Link reached for his shirt and pants on put them on quickly. He fastened his boots and went downstairs. He heard a rustling in the indoor-out house and realized Mira was in there. Not wanting to leave without saying goodbye, but not wanting a confrontation, Link quickly decided and stepped out through door. ((Goodbye once more, Mira.))
Sighing, Mira came into the front room and headed upstairs.
"Link, there's something I need to tell....you.." She trailed off as she realized he was gone. A lone tear fell onto her cheek and she shivered. "I think I am with child," she said to no one, refusing to let any more than one tear fall.
*********
Link climbed up the castle wall as quickly as he could (which wasn't very quick), wishing desperately he had his hookshot. None of the guards seemed to have noticed him, which was a good thing. Maybe he wasn't losing his touch after all.
He came to window and heaved himself up onto the ledge. He didn't know how, but by some chance he had managed to reach the window of Zelda's bed chambers. And she was in there.
Zelda took off the outer layer of her gown and hung it on a hook near the door. Laying down on her bed, she sighed, feeling weary from the past few days. Reaching under her bed, she drew out a scabbard brightly colored in blue and gold markings, not unlike Link's own. Unaware of the spying Link, she drew out the Master Sword and gazed at it.
Link's eyes gleamed as he watched the princess, his mouth almost watering and the memory of the sword. He wanted to feel it again so badly.
Zelda sheathed the sword and sighed. The night Link attacked, he had dropped the sword when the guards came for him and she had kept it hidden in her chambers. She knew she should put it back, but the truth was, it made her feel connected to Link. It made her feel connected to the good Link she knew back in another lifetime, and the feeling was good. Another part of it was that if she tried to put the sword back in its place, it would hurt. The dais would not recognize her as a rightful wielder of the sword and it would burn.
Deciding that now was as good a time as any, Link knocked on the window, shocking Zelda so much she almost fell off her bed. With a dazed look she hurried over to the window, opened it and pulled Link in so forcefully he fell to the ground at her feet. Getting up, he dusted himself off nonchalantly and stared at Zelda.
"You have some nerve," Zelda said, trying to act confident but wavering just slightly.
"It's alright Zelda, I won't hurt you." ((At least I'll try not to.)) "Before you say anything, I'm going to tell you my story and you're going to listen without interrupting. Understand?" Link walked toward Zelda, who only walked backward until she hit her bed, and plopped down onto it.
Link told her about the water temple and his encounter with Dark Link. What he didn't tell her, however, was that he had inhabited Link's body. Link left her to believe that Dark Link was still within the Master Sword. Zelda put her hands to her mouth.
"You mean, it's...it's still in there? Why did you go back and get it then?!" Link moved closer, an eerie look on his face.
"It called to me," he said matter-of-factly, thought he was lying. "My original intention was to destroy the sword and leave, but, it told me what it wanted done and I obliged." Zelda made a mental note of that statement.
She stared at him with a look on her features that told him she wasn't believing a word he said. No matter, as long as he made absolute *sure* she was aware of Dark Link's presence, whether it was inside him or the sword. A picture of himself impaled on the sword flashed through his mind briefly..
....don't even think about it....
Link ignored the voice in his head and smirked at Zelda.
"Stop looking at me like that, Link. You're scaring me." Link just shook his head and sat down in a chair across from her bed.
"So what are you going to do with me Zelda? What about the sword?" Link noticed Zelda was in her thinking mode, and waited.
"I do not believe your story, Link. I cannot believe that the sword would have allowed such a thing. I have no choice but to serve you the consequences necessary for your actions." This was hard for Zelda to say, but she had no other choice as Princess of Hyrule. She realized now that Impa was correct, no matter what Zelda wanted to believe. It was her duty, and she understood this now.
"I agree with what you're saying, but I will find a way to escape if I feel it necessary," he said. Zelda would not be so heedless this time about the amount of security she would need concerning Link.
Before the princess could reply, a beam of light shot through her window and Rauru instantly appeared before her.
"Princess, something terrible has happened!"