Author's note: Last chapter! This one is my favorite, it may not have the scary horror/thrill to it, but it sure has the creepiness I would say. Well, hope you enjoy! Oh, and to just let your reviewers and readers know... YOU GUYS ARE SO-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O GREAT!!!
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Chapter 6: Bands of Insanity
Zelda's heart was pounding so hard now, she felt as if it was to burst. Slowly she turned her head around, sweat running down the sides of her face and drenching the inside of her hair. Terror struck her when she saw a silhouette in front of the window to the pouring rain from the gray sky. He held a sword in hand, prepared for attack. Once he began charging at her, Zelda leapt off her heel and ran the fastest she could toward the great doors. However, she felt a stinging pain running across her back and she fell to the ground, letting out a cry of pain.
Zelda turned over on her side, her eyes squeezed shut. Slowly the princess opened her eyes and fear struck her once again to find the shadow there and she backed away from him, blood dripping from her wound. He stepped closer to her with ominous steps, and the light eventually revealed his true face to her. Zelda was in utter shock as she saw the face of her own fiancée staring down at her, eyes narrow and cold, carrying the thirst for blood. Link... was staring down at her...
Tears filled Zelda's eyes as she got up and attempted to run, but Link had taken hold of her shoulder. Zelda longed to just fall to her knees and cry her eyes out, but she couldn't, knowing she would die, but her fate had seemed to be already sealed. Before Link had thrust the blade into her, Zelda managed to break free and grab hold of his hand holding the sword, which was already literally stained with blood.
"Link!!!" She screamed, droplets flying from her eyes.
Zelda stared into Link's eyes, which seemed to be reflecting the dim light coming from the windows. He still had his hard look of steel and a mouth so strait it seemed the muscles were stiff. Link's bangs were partially over his face, nearly shadowing his pale skin. His arm shook as he tried to force the blade downward to Zelda, but she only barely managed to prevent him.
"Link, why?!" Again she screamed, "Don't you know who..."
Before Zelda could finish, her strength gave out and the blade came swooping toward her, however, she managed to dodge the blade and fall to the ground beside Link. She cried aloud in a sorrowful and shaking voice, in a weak hope to bring Link back to her. To her surprise, the pain she expected was delayed and her weeps softened to listen to his words, but they were cold and dim words that only pulled her further into despair.
"Die..."
Zelda gasped as she looked back up at him, but instead of impaling her, Link instead kicked her in the stomach, knocking her far to the side. Zelda let out a sharp exhale when the wind was blown out of her lungs. From there Link was to go toward her, sword raised and kill her.
"I need your blood to fuel my strength..." Link began, his voice seemed to be hinting an evil power had taken over him, "I need to kill..."
As the eerie figure took each of his ominous steps toward her, Zelda stood up, her head facing toward the ground. Zelda still wept, her eyes turning a swollen red. Everything seemed so hopeless for Zelda, she couldn't fight Link back, she didn't want to hurt him even though she might be killed by him. Zelda's voice shook as she continued to pierce the ground with her gaze.
"Link...why...? What have you become...?" Zelda started, "I know... you're just..."
A weak smile crept across her face as she looked up at Link, despite the fact he had given her the bruises and wounds almost head to toe. Even though she had given him this weak, but sweet smile, he continued to walk toward her, sword in hand. Link's eyes were still glazed over with an evil, but Zelda smiled at him.
"Link... I know... this isn't your true self..." Her voice was now more solemn and calm, but it was hoarse from raising it so loud from before, "You're teasing me..." She said as if she were a naïve child, "Just..."
Now Zelda was walking toward him, holding both her hands to her chest. Closer and closer she drew to him, until she was directly face to face with Link. Link hesitated as Zelda came from the most lighted part of the room, and where he was, in the shadows. Her hands slowly drifted to his face as she took it in her hands. She drifted her lips upward toward him, now standing on the tips of her toes to reach him, sooner or later her lips were set against his, tears streaming down her cheeks and splattering on the cold marble floor.
Some of the dimmed light that was creeping through the window still shone on the back of her head, but Link had shadows engulfing him which seemed to pull him further back away from her in spirit. Zelda still was kissing him, even though the warmth of Link wasn't the same as before and his lips much colder. She parted from him when she felt a cold and sharp metal piercing through her side. Zelda groaned in pain slightly as she looked down at herself to see a sword running through her, she once again looked up at Link and saw him still with the same facial expression, but now his mouth was slightly gapped open. Zelda smiled weakly as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Link relinquished the blade from her with a bit of blood coming with it and Zelda fell to the cold ground nearly falling unconscious, but her eyes seemed to look as if they were in a daze. As if that had triggered something within Link, he dropped his sword as his hand was shaking. His eyes softened as tears filled his eyes and he dropped to his knees.
"What have I done...?!" He gasped, reaching toward Zelda, "It's as if... I was bound with something other than sorrow..."
Link crawled beside Zelda as if he was wounded and took her into his arms. He caressed her and kissed her trying to do everything he could to let her forgive him. His tears fell down onto her as he began crying aloud. Suddenly, Link heard a still and small voice coming from her.
"Link..." She said softly, as if relieved. She knew that he was no longer the man he was before.
"Zelda... I'm sorry..." He started, "I don't know how I can pay the debt to earn your forgiveness..."
Zelda smiled once again, her eyes now closing in relaxation to the warmth flowing through her coming from Link. She drifted her hand to go over his and she began to stroke his fingers with her thumb. Zelda comforted the very hands that attempted to kill her, she could not curse them with her anger.
"Link... I forgave you... the very moment I fell to the ground bathed in my blood..." She started, "It's not your doing... if you didn't realize anything."
"How can you forgive me for what I've done...?" Link began as he brought her a little closer to him, trying to warm her, "Why would you do this?"
Zelda opened her eyes once again and gazed into Link's azure eyes, now dimly glittering in the gray light now growing brighter now that the rain had almost seized and the clouds almost burst. A look of deep concern and guilt was carried on his face as he continued to hold her tightly in his arms.
"Who am I to judge another?" She said, "It wasn't your fault... but the bands of insanity... and from what I can see, they are loosened."
Link's expression changed to a smile. He no longer would hide something with his smiles as he would when he was the man before, but now he smiled at Zelda from the bottom of his heart, hiding no sadness for it all had fled. Zelda closed her eyes one last time before she fell unconscious. Link panicked a little and shook her to try to get her to wake up, but afterward, he quickly brought her to the doctor for her wounds to be treated.
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Link quickly traipsed the hallways toward Zelda's room, to know of her condition. However, as he was traveling, he noticed Zared had crossed his path and for a moment, the boy flinched, but softened his gaze when Link approached him a bit more slower. Link hesitated to speak to Zelda's little brother, but was relieved when Zared spoke frist.
"...You're...different..." He said quietly.
Link bent down to his level and was sure his expression on his face was as gentle as possible. He gave out a sigh before Link at last found the courage to speak to the young boy. It struck him that it was odd that he could fear speaking in front of a child. Link flew his arms around the boy and hugged him tightly, instead of before, when he would almost attempt to kill him. Indeed, Link was different than before.
"I'm sorry for everything, Zared..." He started, "...But we'll start over again... and I'll protect your sister and you..."
As Link placed both hands on Zared's shoulders and looked into the eyes of a rather shocked child, he smiled at him, reassuring his true presence. Slowly a smile of Zared's crept on his face and once again, the cheerful, joyous child returned. He nodded his head rather in a bouncy way as he cheerfully agreed. Link stood up and brushed the top of Zared's head in a quick motion, making it a little bit frizzy. Link walked away from him and continued down the hall and as if Zared knew where he was going, he said with a voice much brighter than before,
"She's fine..."
Link glanced back at him and smiled before he continued his rather quick traipse. Once he had at last made it to Zelda's room, he hesitantly reached for the doorknob and began to turn it and push it open. The murmuring of the servants and doctor tending to Zelda seized when they saw Link at the entrance to the quarters. It was so silent, the only thing that could be heard was Zelda's slow but assuring breathing that she still remained alive and Link's gentle steps toward her. He bent over and placed his hand on hers and clenched it tightly and stared strait into her half-open eyes and said in a gentle voice much different than before,
"I'm back for you, Zelda..."
The End...
of
The Shadow
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Author's note: What did you think of the ending? Tell me, did I do well with the horror/suspense genre, because I might write more if I get ideas, so I would like to know. Hee hee... last minute fluff there... :D Well, for those of you who read this fan fiction, and really liked it, and haven't read any of my other ones, please feel free to go to my profile to see my selection. Well, hope you enjoyed this, and PLEASE REVIEW!!!
Special thanks:
Vampiress24: For some reason... when I think of Link in this story, I think of Gollum. (Hee hee... schizo...) I guess I wanted something a bit different. I'm glad you thought this was creepy! That was my main goal in writing this! Thanks for the review!
LadyAkki45: Link is schizo... yup... he's schizophrenic, but if I mentioned that it would have taken away the whole feel of the story. Hope you thought the ending was good! Thanks for the review and continued support!
Sarah: Thanks, Epona-chan! Hey... did you think I tied up all the loose ends... so it's a really tight, all is solved, ending? If I didn't... I think I might make a sequel... Hmm... Well anyway, thanks for the review! Hope you liked the ending!