Chapter Five
Link, exhausted from his nightly run, stalked across the lawn of the courtyard. It was early morning, four O'clock perhaps. The horizon was pretty much dark, and the slight shade of pink was starting to appear. Something was bothering him. It shouldn't have been this easy to come back, since Zelda knew his shame now. Bah, what did it matter now? He was tired and he couldn't care less about it. Link clambered up the vines that grew along side the castle wall and squeezed threw the small opening in the window. Grunting to himself he went to his bed and lay down, curling up on it. He would change back soon, usually when he fell asleep. The need to change into wolf form was much greater, and it happens with stimulation. However reverting to his normal self wasn't a voluntary action. It was weaker willed, took much longer.
He was beginning to shut his eyes when he heard footsteps from outside. The maids? No, there were too many, too heavy. The walking stopped outside of his door, and a knock came. They were demanding to be let in. Link stiffened, his heart pace quickening with fear. He knew then that the people out side were heavily armed soldiers out to get him. He leapt off his bed and peered out the window to see that the courtyard was filled with them. Trapped. The doors were bashed savagely, and the wood was starting to splinter. What do I do? I'm trapped, there's no where to hide…Link bristled involuntary as the door finally gave way and the first few soldiers walked inside, weapons locked in front of them.
"Don't make our job more difficult than it already is. Just cooperate with us alright?" one said. The wolf advanced towards them, his lips curled and nose twitching, a low growl rumbling deep within his chest. For once he felt pissed at these people. "Hey, you'll have to comply with us eventually." Link unsheathed his fangs and charged at them, snapping his jaws closed on their necks. He didn't want to kill any more, but they had provoked him. His will to be free and survive was too intense. He leapt over their dead bodies and ran out the room and into the hallway, where he found more soldiers.
"You cur," one sneered. Link turned tail and fled down the opposite direction from them, gliding down the plight of stairs. There must be an escape route where those damn soldiers weren't guarding, but he couldn't think straight at the moment. He dodged the assaults of some others who blocked off the main hall, and he was forced to take the path into the kitchen. The smell of death hit him full force, and he reeled from it. The chef I killed.
He hadn't meant to kill him, it just happened. He was staring at him with dark desire, as one would look at a pretty person and wanted to take things further. Harn was still laughing when he called him a 'freaking animal'. Link was vaguely hurt by that remark, and thought nothing much of it. Before he was aware of it Harn was screaming in horror. Blood was pouring out of the huge cut in his throat made by Link's teeth. The man had choked and fallen, twitching a bit before growing still. And Link was horrified at the sudden lost of control. Even more so he was scared because he really liked Hylian flesh.
Link shook his head, trying to forget that memory. It had come to pass; there was no need to be sorry over it. Focusing on his escape, he spotted a widow only a few yards from where he was. An easy way out. Link ran towards it and as he leapt, he felt a ripping pain in his chest. Yelping, he fell awkwardly on his side and smacked hard into a clutter of cooking utensils. A spear was lodged in his chest. Who did this…he wondered. Weakly he stared at the person responsible. Xanath slowly approached him, cautious. Angrily he pulled the spear out with his teeth as if it were nothing, staring hard at the man.
"Bet you're hating me right now aren't you?" Xanath said, his voice tinted with humour. Link evinced his fangs at him, half whining and half growling. "Sorry it had to come to this." The wolf lunged at him, knocking him down. He went for his throat, but his fangs went immobile. Xanath was his trusted friend no matter what he did to him. He couldn't kill him. He couldn't destroy the bond. Flattening his ears Link pulled away, pressing his back against a wall behind him, his blue eyes fixed on him.
"I don't know if you're in there, but I know that you're in constant anguish. I know you better than those men out to get you," Xanath said soothingly. "You should have came to me when this all started. Now look what it has progressed in to." The wolf lowered his head, clenching his teeth. I should have listened to him from the start. What made me think I could handle this on my own? A dozen soldiers filled the kitchen now, surrounding the two.
"We'll take it from here Xanath," one of the soldiers said. The man stepped away, regret in his eyes.