The Eaves of Night
Disclaimer: Hello, fellow reader! Before you begin reading my homework, there are a few things I'd like you to know. I do not own the Legend of Zelda, Hyrule, the Deku Tree, Kokiri Forest, and none of the following characters: Ganondorf, Zelda, Sheik, and Link. Also, the song you will read in the following text does not belong to me, either. It is called "My Last Breath" by Evanescence. The plot, however, belongs to me. You may proceed.
A/N: I would also like for you, reader, to help me in this crucial moment: Does this story have suspense? Please, read and review!
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The moon shed some of its light upon his body as he struggled to remain asleep. These nights were pure torture: he kept on having the same dreams as any other night. However, they were not ordinary dreams any 17 year old boy would have. In his mind, he always saw the dark lord of power laughing at him, mocking his name, calling him, painfully beating him until he awoke every time with a new pang of anger.
Link tightened his grip on his sheets until his hands were red with fury. He hammered open his crystal blue eyes, peering into the darkness of his castle room. Ever since that final fight, he couldn't get out of his mind that he hadn't defeated Ganondorf. He couldn't understand why he felt this way, but he had a suspicious alibi that it was his imagination. And, yet, he had seen Ganondorf lying there, dead, on top of his loathsome tower, soon to be sealed within the dimensions. Never again to put his greedy hands on the Triforce.
He sat up on his bed, glaring at the darkness around him. His eyes adjusted quickly to his surroundings, finding his blonde hair tousled in every direction. Life was so confusing for him; only seven years ago, he had been living in the care of the Deku Tree in the Kokiri Forest, where he had been abandoned by his mother. Though, it seemed only yesterday that this somewhat peaceful life had been snatched from him to find himself facing the fears of his life.
Link shook his head at his morose state and slowly rose from his bed to face the bright moonlight. Life was a bit better, knowing now that he was Princess Zelda's personal aide. He was given a room in her castle, next to her own; "for better protection" Zelda had said. Link smiled at the memory. He stared at the moonlight for a moment, mesmerized by it's crystal quality. It seemed an eternity before his thoughts were intruded by a sharp sound, as of a sword or dagger touching stone coming from outside his room, down the hallway.
He stared at his door for quite some time, contemplating whether or not he should ignore the distraction. Of course, it was loud enough to snap him out of his thoughts, even though it was quite a distance away from him. But there was something strange about the sound. There it was again, only a different disturbance. A dull sound, almost like a footstep, leaving the castle. Then, Link heard a muffled voice, somewhere between a scream and a strangled "Help!" A rustle of clothing. Clinking of jewelry. At long last, Link then felt he was being watched.
Terrified, he stood, frozen in his place like tree roots in soil, stiffened by the noise. His heart thudded within his rib cage, almost threatening to pop out at any moment. Who could it be? he thought to himself, utterly confused. It can't be him, can it? He stood a few moments more before his door, and then his thoughts ventured to Zelda. At last, he summoned his courage and walked back to his bed. He reached for his shirt and tunic and pulled them on, then secured his sword on his belt. He still felt eyes on the back of his head, which made him move even quicker. Running a hand through his hair, he ran to the door. Then he stopped.
What if I do not succeed? What if I fail this challenge, and Hyrule falls in the hands of evil again? Link thought, now very unsure of himself. But, the invitation was too tempting to be let astray.
He allowed a pale hand to touch the doorknob. It was smooth, and coldly metallic, almost like snow. Link twisted it and then pushed the door a bit, creaking in the darkness. He swallowed a slight sense of panic and walked out of his room.
The hallway was deserted, but a cold tinkling feeling went up his spine as he took a few steps forward, away from his room. With every step, came the sense of dread, as if he was walking into a deadly trap. He couldn't escape the feeling. Moments later, he caught a strong whiff of blood. Fresh blood. Wrinkling his nose, the blood added to his confusion, yet, he walked on. Link turned for the corner, and as he did, unsheathed his sword ever so quietly.
The silence was disturbed as he came face to face with red eyes. Horrified at their stare, he mumbled a single request, "Who're you?"
The stranger laughed. A soft, lady laugh. "I am surprised you do not recognize me," she answered, "It's me, Zelda."
Link stared at her. She had the red eyes... when she was disguised as Sheik.. but why now? he thought.
"Why are you in disguise?" he asked quickly, nearly in a whisper. Her face was almost entirely covered with a white cloth, save for the eyes and golden bangs. She had on a blue tunic, which was decorated with an eye in the middle; her tights were also the same blue, ending with a pair of dark colored boots.
The woman stood in silence for a moment. Then, she said, with a sarcastic tone of voice, "Evil has sprung about again and it threatens to force its way into the castle, too. We must not linger here any longer, for it is not a safe place to be. Come, Link, my dear friend. You must be the Hero of Time once more."
Something about the way she said the statement was not right. Yet, her voice was so thick and persuasive, even the most gullible would not follow. Upon hearing the word, 'evil,' however, Link was overthrown by a deep feeling of guilt. He had let this trouble come to the castle. He was the one who was supposed to protect Zelda and Hyrule. He had failed.
Zelda shot him a regretful glance. She looked around the hallway with a certain awe, as if she had never seen the wonders of a simple hall. Let alone the castle itself.
Link hesitated a moment. He was really stuck now. He should have just remained in bed and learned to deal with the nightmares. But he couldn't escape this calling now. Not while he was still alive.
"What must I do?" he asked, not even looking at Zelda. Link absentmindedly stared at the stone floor and in the glint of the moonlight, he saw the inescapable sight of blood. But it was only a drop, nothing more, and nothing little. One exact, round dot of crimson red blood.
His blue eyes widened in horror as he stood still. Zelda looked where his eyes were locked upon and then gasped - a false gasp. One that suggested that she was a really bad actress.
Link stared dumbfounded at the blood. It was so precise a circle, and surely should have spread out by now. Unless it was meant to be there.
He walked to the blood, his frame slightly trembling. Bending down, he saw there were more of these drops. They continued in a crooked trail, as far as he could see - which was to the castle doors.
He placed a finger on the blood and then licked his finger. He spit it out reflexively. "It's fresh," he muttered.
Then, Link remembered. Earlier that day, in the same hall, Zelda had cut her finger on a piece of parchment she had been drawing on. It was rather deep and probably would have left a scar on her hand by now.
He stood up and walked over to Zelda again. "Let me see your hand," he said to her.
Zelda raised an eyebrow. "My hand?"
"Just give me your right hand.. I need to see something," he said again, softer this time. Link didn't want to burden her with this possible solution to their problem, but it might help just to look.
Zelda hesitated a moment. Then slowly revealed her pale hand to Link. But the scar wasn't there.
Link stared at the hand, cursing his wit thoroughly. Something was wrong. "Lend me your left hand." She did, but still, there was no scar.
Link began to panic, but he didn't let it show on his face. He couldn't trust this.. 'Zelda' person. It wasn't her. But if Link let her know he was onto her, he didn't know what would happen.
"Where does.. the trail of blood lead?" Link asked slowly. Zelda glanced at him, unwilling to answer. Her red eyes portrayed deep thought. Link gave her a moment. When she didn't respond, he asked again. "Well? Where does it lead?" His voice was slightly louder, displaying his impatience at the girl.
All she said was with a deep voice, "Your time has come, Link. Follow the trail..." Moments later, the girl began to tremble with a violent quiver. He stared at her suspiciously, taking a step back. Link looked at the blood and then at the girl several times. He quickly decided it was best to check on the real Zelda.
Link ran to her room, panic striking his eyes. Who was that imposter? he thought, his subconscious voice ringing with terror. He threw open her door to find her bedroom in shambles. Zelda wasn't lying in her bed, with her eyes closed, breathing heavenly as she did when he came to check on her routinely in the night. Instead, what he saw frightened him to the bone. Her sheets were torn, laid across the stone floor. Blood droplets here and there, candle wax smudged across the mirror. He shot a glance at the pillow cases which were torn apart, feathers drenched in blood. On the oak wood of Zelda's bed frame, there was a message painted on it. In blood.
"The chronicles of your time are being laid in place, Link. If you wish to save the Princess, follow the trail of blood. I am warning you now, DO NOT WASTE TIME... She is already dying..." he read, every bit of horror shaking his voice.
He dashed out of the room, feeling the same eyes following his every move. He glanced at the girl again. But the girl was gone. It was up to him now to save the princess.
The castle doors creaked open as he saw the trail of blood stop suddenly before his feet. The moon was still shimmering above the green fields surrounding Hyrule castle. Link looked up, hoping against hope that the moon might reveal the whereabouts of a new evil. He sighed.
Cautiously, he side stepped across the field. A rustle in the nearby bushes caught his attention. He felt his heart beating much more faster than he wanted and it was almost the only thing he heard in the silent night - except for the gentle swaying of trees.
He walked forward, biting his lip. He wasn't sure about this. What if he was still dreaming? Yes, that's it! I'm still dreaming and this is just a bad dream. A nightmare, to be exact, he thought, with a false hope. Link decided that if he saved the princess - everything would be back to normal again and he'd wake up.
Link skipped over to the bushes. The rustling was gone and he was oddly happy. He bent down and pulled aside the leaves and let out a scream.
Beneath a pile of leaves was a skull. Old and ancient. He didn't know why it frightened him so much. At that moment, he took his sword and punctured the tip of his finger. It began to bleed and the pain it sent up his spine sent shivers throughout his body. It was real. Everything was a reality. He couldn't escape.
He touched the skull with trembling fingers, and it crumbled upon itself in shriveling splinters. Link blew away the dust and found a piece of parchment. He picked it up and moved it toward the moonlight.
A sliver of light came upon the paper and he read quickly. "Listen to the wind and hold this bit of parchment to the river on your left, Hero of Time. You will find your dearest there, bonded to the flow of lust. I will be waiting for you, Link. Come quickly."
Again Link wondered, who is this person? And why are these letters written in blood? Couldn't they find a suitable color than this? A quill for example, and ink? These questions flowed through his mind as he reached the river.
He dipped the paper into the river which sent ripples across it, disturbing the peace of the surface. He let the letter flow into the river, and watched silently as the pure water washed away the damned blood. Link still didn't understand any of this as he shivered in the night wind. Soon, he heard a voice in his ear, singing. He turned this way and that - but there was no one in sight.
Link then felt an emotion he hadn't felt before all of these strange occurrences. Anger. Yes, he was angry. Angry at himself, at Hyrule and at Zelda for appointing him as her personal aide. He felt like crying. But he lost track of thought as he heard the voice beside his ear.
"Link.. you've come," said the voice in a raspy, yet soft tone. He turned and surprise shook hit him like a thousand stones. It was Zelda - the real Zelda. Only, she wasn't wearing her usual attire. She was dressed in a simple white dress, which was cut in various places. The cut that called Link's attention was the deep gash at her side. He stared at her, concern flowing within his bright blue orbs.
He laid his sword on the grass beside them and he walked forward, his eyes concentrated on her face.
"What happened?" he asked softly, not daring to disturb the peace about them.
She moved towards him, her purple eyes dancing with tears. She gave him a small smile and she answered, "I'm crumbling apart, Link. You can't save me anymore. I want to die."
Link inclined his head at her, his hair swaying with the trees. "Don't scare me like that, Zelda," he said, his voice a bit shaky. He took her right hand and looked at it; the paper cut was even deeper than before.
"Zelda, tell me, what was the blood in your bed chamber? What were those letters?" he asked, quite hurriedly. He wanted answers, and fast. Link didn't want her to die.
"I did it. The blood was mine. All mine. The girl that you saw in the hall was me, the blood was mine," she laughed, gazing at his horrified features. "Why?" came his voice, barely audible.
This time, her face was dead serious, yet her voice was soft. "I wanted to tell you that my time here is over. I can't take this place anymore. I don't have the will to live on.."
Why? Link asked himself, more confused then ever before. "Why.. why do you feel that way?"
Her serene features were back as she looked at him. "All this time, I've had to hold a secret inside of myself. I couldn't tell you because father wouldn't allow me. But now - I can tell you," she said, smiling with glee.
"What? What is it? Why wouldn't your father-" his sentence was cut off when she placed her finger on his lips.
"I love you," she whispered, her eyes containing a tainted stare.
An awkward silence passed before them. It seemed an age had passed when Link suddenly picked up the courage to speak.
"Why do you love me, Zelda?" he asked, his voice quivering. Link shivered when he felt a cold hand on his cheek.
"I love you because I do. I don't know why. Don't ask me silly questions," she retorted. Her brow furrowed in anger for a moment, then her face melted into a lost smile.
"Link, my beloved, I wish you the fairest of all things in life. Take care of yourself. It is time for me to die. Don't forget me," she spoke, her voice an urgency of lost will.
His anger returned. Link's head throbbed with a massive headache. He couldn't take it anymore. Link took a strong hold of her pale hand and pulled Zelda toward him.
"Tell me everything. Why do you have to die?" he asked, quite angrily.
Zelda stared, her tears threatening to spill at any moment, but she held them back. "I want to kill myself, Link, because I don't love my father, I do not love my people, I do not love this life that I am living," she said gloomily.
"Then why do you love me?" he asked. Zelda looked at him closely. He's changing.. and he'll never be the same... she thought silently.
"I already told you once, I don't know why. All I know is that I do. Don't argue with me Link, not at a time like this," she replied quickly. Her eyes darted to his sword laying peacefully on the grass. She lunged for it. Link noticed what she was aiming for until it was too late. Zelda was too quick for him.
She untangled herself from Link's grasp and held the sword distinctly above her heart. Link stepped forward, but he was stopped by her voice.
"Link, if you take another step, I'll kill myself. Don't do it," she cried. She's gone mad... Link thought, very miserably. She won't snap out of it till it's too late...
"Please, Zelda!" he called desperately. "Give me the sword. Don't kill yourself, life will be better. You never know what fate you may step upon. You just have to keep on wandering. Zelda, please, don't kill yourself. Don't take away the only pleasure I have in this world."
Zelda wasn't listening. She looked panicked, troubled. Mad. That was the only explanation for it. She was a mad woman. Zelda had changed right before his very own eyes, from a sane child to this mocking disgrace.
"That's exactly it. You never know," she sneered at him. Then her gaze softened as she stared at him one last time. "Good bye, Link. I love you."
Zelda plunged the sword into her heart. She let out a terrible scream. Moments later, she fell to the ground and twisted the sword out with her hand. It dropped by her side, tainted with her blood.
Link's blue eyes swam with tears as he found himself sitting by her side, stroking her brow while she lay there, slowly dying.
"Why did you do it? Why did you kill yourself?" he asked in a whisper, tears already streaming down his face.
"Because.. I love you Link," she replied laboriously. Her breaths were short as she bled, her crimson blood staining the pure white of her dress.
Link's tears continued to come, but he couldn't find his voice to ask why again. "Listen.." she said.
He turned to her attentively. This was his last moment with her. But Link wanted it to last forever.
She began to sing a soft voice.
"Hold on to me love.
You know I can't stay long.
All I wanted to say was
I love you and I'm not afraid.
Can you hear me?
Can you feel me in your arms
Holding my last breath?
Safe inside myself,
Are all my thoughts of you.
Sweet rapture and life,
It ends here tonight.
I'll miss the winter
A world of fragile things
Look for me in the white forest
Hiding in a hollow tree.
I know you hear me,
I can taste it in your tears.
Holding my last breath?
Safe inside myself,
Are all my thoughts of you?
Sweet rapture and life,
It ends here tonight.
Closing your eyes
You pray your dreams will leave you here,
But still you wake and know the truth -
No one's there.
Say goodnight, don't be afraid.
Calling me, holding me, as you fade to black.
Holding my last breath
Safe inside myself
Are all my thoughts of you
Sweet rapture and life,
It ends here tonight."
Link held her tightly to his chest, not wanting her to go away like this. "Zelda.. don't go away from me. Don't leave me here like this," he whispered into her ear.
"Link, remember me..." she breathed against his ear. And then she was gone. She was gone forever from Link. He still held her in his hands, tears streaming down his face.
She was gone.