An Old Friend

To my relief, my father did not ask me to murder anyone else in the following months. Instead, he coached me on little things, such as the way I carried myself and the way I spoke to people.

I now strutted more confidently throughout the halls of the castle, and my voice had become noticeably deeper and more powerful. I had grown tremendously; I now stood a few inches taller than Link.

Ganondorf asked me one morning to find a place where I would have enough space for sword training, for he was planning to teach me his own methods.

Forget those useless techniques that the Hero tried to teach you. You will be well-versed in the ancient Gerudo techniques.

"Brother!" a small voice suddenly cried from behind me. I rolled my eyes and slowly turned to face my little sister Leora, who had unfortunately spotted me on my way to the courtyard.

"What?" I asked, not bothering to hide my slight irritation.

Leora paused and stared up at me with wide, smiling eyes. She suddenly giggled and hopped up and down, her golden curls bouncing playfully. "Brother!" she cried again.

I sighed impatiently. "What is it, Leora? I don't have all day."

She cocked her head, but still kept her smile. "Um… will you play with me, Brother?"

"No," I replied irately. "I'm busy. Go play with one of your little friends."

Her smile vanished, and her lower lip began to quiver. I suddenly felt guilty for being so callous with the little girl. I sighed and knelt down beside her.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "Look, I can't play right now, but I promise I will some other time, all right?" I said gently.

She nodded. "Mmkay. I'll make you a present! It'll be an extra birthday present for your sixteenth birthday, Brother!" She wrapped her arms around my neck and pecked me on the cheek. I had nearly forgotten about my upcoming birthday. I couldn't help but smile as my little sister abruptly turned and skipped away.

Little wretch.

I frowned at my father's words. I thought he was being a bit too harsh.

Don't tell me you have empathy for such a foolish little girl. She's exactly like Zelda, the worthless little whelp.

Unsure of what he meant by that, I continued down the corridor and headed for my secret escape route from the castle. I spent a while searching for a place within the market, settling for a secluded back alley between two large buildings.

Now, first of all, you're going to learn dark magic.

I frowned. I had never performed any type of magic before. I knew my mother was rather gifted with the ability to manipulate light magic, but I had never actually seen her in action.

You inherited both mine and Zelda's abilities for magic. With the knowledge I can give you, you will become ten times as powerful as she could ever become.

I shuddered involuntarily. My father's expectations for me exceeded far beyond that which I had imagined when I had first agreed to accept his teachings. Reasoning that I probably had no choice in the matter anyway, I nodded and prepared to listen closely to his instructions.

Close your eyes and imagine yourself drawing shadows out of your body. Concentrate on the darkness, and remember all the feelings of anger and hatred that you have ever felt before…

I clenched my eyes shut and concentrated, but I found it difficult to just summon feelings of anger and hatred on the spot.

Come on, my father beckoned me. Think of all those who have committed wrongs against you. Remember the stares people gave you when you were little. Remember the names they called you and how that made you feel; the names they still call you today behind your back.

Other voices began ringing in my ears:

"Filthy Gerudo!"

"Stay away from that child…"

"Hey look! It's the spawn of Ganon, the almighty pig!"

I felt heat rise to my cheeks, but instead of wanting revenge when I thought of those people, I felt embarrassment and sadness. My father interrupted my morose thoughts:

Think of… Link.

I opened my eyes. Link?

Yes… the Hero. Remember all of those times he stole your mother's attention away from you. He calls himself your step-father, but he cannot even look you in the eye. He has no trouble showing affection for his own offspring, yet when it comes to you, he cringes inside.

I lowered my head as I realized the truth in Ganondorf's words. I had never really noticed that he showed far more affection for Leora than he had for me when I had been her age; I was often too wrapped up in my studies and training to pay much attention to my own family. I clenched my fists in anger, but it wasn't enough anger for my father.

You know, they never told you that Link tried to kill you when you were born, he revealed darkly.

I gasped at the revelation, and the rage that my father had wanted me to feel finally surfaced. I felt a dark energy pulsate from within me. I held out my hands and channeled the energy toward the end of the alleyway. Dark beams shot out from my fingertips and collided into the building, causing a mini-explosion and knocking several bricks out of place.

Gasping in awe of this strange power, I stared at my hands, unable to believe that I had caused the incident. A smile began to creep upon my face, but the sound of my father's voice quickly dampened my spirits.

That was pathetic, he criticized. Even for your first time. What's wrong with you, boy?

The smile vanished more quickly than it had appeared, and I winced. As I wiped the sweat from my forehead, the voice of a knight drifted to my ears from around the corner of the building I stood beside.

"Excuse us, sir. Have you seen his Highness, Prince Kiran today?"

I took this as my cue to leave the market, but instead of heading to the castle, I stealthily escaped out of the outer walls of the town and over the drawbridge to freedom.

The vast Hyrule Field spread out before me, an open and picturesque view of endless dew-frosted grass that met at the horizon with the swirling clouds of the sky. I had no questions about where I was going; I headed for Kakariko Village, my childhood home. I was not yet ready to return to the castle and face the wrath of Link, even though each passing moment probably was fueling his anger even further.

I gazed around as I entered the boundaries of the village. Not much had changed about the place, with the exception of a few more buildings and houses here and there. My mind was flooded with childhood memories; I passed the big tree near the entrance of the village that I attempted to climb when I was younger. I had fallen off, and I remembered the look of panic on my mother's face when she ran to help me.

I was amazed at how tiny the houses were, and I couldn't imagine myself living in one now as I once had, with no privacy from family members, especially from Link. The families had to be close-knit to tolerate each other in such a small space, I imagined.

I continued to walk deeper into the village, stopping before what had once been our old home. It seemed so small to me now. The colorful array of flowers that my mother had planted in the front was still there in full bloom. I tried to remember what it had been like living here, but I had only a few memories stored in my mind, and most of them evoked remorseful emotions from within me. I remembered the tragedy of Brock's death, and I wondered what had become of his estranged father.

"Hey, stranger," I heard from behind me. I turned slowly to see a boy around my age with shaggy, light-brown hair and hazel eyes. He stood with his feet apart and his arms crossed lazily in front of his chest. Freckles peppered his cheeks, and he smiled softly. I raised an eyebrow as he finally registered in my mind.

"Arvin," I said, grinning.

"At your service, Your Highness," he said, bowing exaggeratedly.

"Oh, don't give me that," I retorted, approaching him and shaking his hand. "How have you been, Arvin?"

"Can't complain," he replied, shrugging. "I must say, the Queen's doing a great job, as expected."

I nodded, not knowing quite what to say to my old friend. I hadn't seen him since we had left Kakariko Village and moved into the castle. I hadn't thought of him for so many years. My childhood memories were suddenly rushing back to me as my former best friend stood before me.

"Are you still living with your grandmother?" I asked.

His eyes suddenly darkened, but he kept his smile as he glanced down at the ground. "Nah… she passed away a while ago, when I was about twelve."

"Oh," I said, feeling ashamed for forgetting about the poor guy for all of these years. "I'm so sorry, Arvin."

"That's all right," he replied, his face regaining the cheerfulness that I vaguely remembered he had always had. "I've been well taken care of since then, thanks to your mother. I've been living in the Kakariko Foster Home that she established a few years ago. It's pretty nice there; I get to go to the schoolhouse for lessons once a week and the workers helped me find a job as a blacksmith's apprentice. But I'm thinking about joining the army in a couple of years when I'm old enough. Ah, I'm sorry to talk your ear off like this," he apologized quickly.

I laughed. "No, that's quite all right.

"So, how's life going for the Prince? Whatcha doin' back here in Kakariko? And all alone, I might add?"

"I just had to get away from the castle for a while, you know how it is," I said, and he nodded, even though I'm quite sure he had no idea what I meant.

"Well, uh…" I began awkwardly, staring at my feet. "I'm… uh, sorry about never coming to visit and everything."

He shook his head and just smiled forgivingly. "Nah, don't worry about it. I know you've been busy."

"Still," I said, "I truly am sorry. I should have tried to keep in contact with you."

"That would have been nice," he admitted.

"I'll make up for it," I told him. "I should be getting home by now, but I'll be sure to send letters, and I'll come and visit when I can."

He brightened. "Really?"

"Sure," I replied. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you then, Arvin."

"All right. Goodbye, Kiran!"

"Bye!" I threw over my shoulder as I ran out toward Hyrule Field.

I wish you would quit wasting your time on petty relationships with old acquaintances, my father grumbled within my mind.My heart skipped a beat. Would he forever be penetrating my most private thoughts, even when I did not desire him to do so?

You'll have no secrets from me, he confirmed, reading my thoughts. And you'll become accustomed to it eventually. It will make you stronger.

I reluctantly accepted this for now and proceeded to run back to the castle. The sun was sinking beneath the horizon, and I grudgingly remembered that I had a sword lesson scheduled at five o'clock. I had most likely missed it by now, I decided, and I prepared myself to face the wrath of Link as soon as I entered the castle walls.