A/N: Finally, a longer chapter, yay! But keep in mind, I was EXTREMELY depressed when I wrote this chapter, so I'm warning you now that it is quite a bit morbid. Anyway, thank you so much for the reviews; they're just too flattering though! Feel free to complain about anything with the story; I really want to make it better.

Agony and Guilt

I squeezed my eyes shut and cradled my head in my hands as Ganondorf's voice echoed in my mind. He had finally returned to speaking to me on a regular basis.

'Why?' I thought painfully. 'Why did she leave it to me?'

My father snickered. Who else was she going to leave it to? Link? Don't make me laugh.

I stood abruptly and began pacing in front of my bed. "I can't do this." I was now speaking aloud. "Surely she wasn't in her right mind when she decided…"

It doesn't matter, Ganondorf interrupted abruptly. She obviously could foresee you becoming a great ruler. Which you will be, but you will go far beyond her wildest dreams…

, Ganondorf interrupted abruptly.

"No, no!" I cried, shaking my head furiously in denial. "I can't do this… I won't!"

A sudden spasm of pain seared through my body and I found myself sprawled on the floor, clutching my head in agony. I bit my lower lip until I drew blood, refusing to cry out for my father's satisfaction.

Yes… you will, Ganondorf muttered dangerously. I could almost see him glaring down at me, his yellow eyes piercing into my soul. I grabbed my bedpost and pulled myself up from the floor, heading for the door.

Where are you going, my boy? my father taunted me.

I had to get to Link somehow. All I could think about was finding him, and telling him what my father was doing to me.

Trembling, I reached for the door handle, only to be met with a shooting pain down my arm as I wrenched it open. I spilled out into the hallway, clutching my arm and moaning from indescribable agony. Tears sprang to my eyes as I fought to crawl down the hallway, Ganondorf's voice echoing in my mind.

You weak-minded fool. I'll teach you to obey me…

The pain was too much, and I could hardly bear it any longer.

"Link!" I shouted with all of my remaining strength. "Link…"

The Hero won't help you…

I waited for unconsciousness to claim me, but it never came. I realized that Ganondorf was purposely keeping me awake to suffer his punishment. I could do nothing but lie there as waves of pain surged through my entire body.

I could not tell how much time had passed, but after a while I could vaguely hear voices coming from above me. I felt myself being lifted and carried away, and thankfully the pain began to subside. I was set gently onto a settee in the nearest room, and I opened my eyes slowly to see two male servants leaving the room while a female servant stood over me and placed a wet cloth on my forhead.

"Your Highness, are you feeling all right now?" the lady asked me, her voice almost monotone.

"Yes, thank you," I replied softly. I knew she didn't truly care how I was feeling at the moment, and she appeared as though she desperately wanted to leave the room. "You may leave, but will you please send Sir Link here?"

"Yes, Your Highness," she answered automatically, and she exited the room, not bothering to bow or curtsy to me. I honestly couldn't blame her, though. I laid my head back down and tried to relax as I waited for Link.

He arrived rather quickly, cautiously stepping into the room, looking concerned. "Is there a problem? I was told you were found on the floor; they said you were convulsing…"

"It's my father," I cut him off. "I… I didn't want anyone to know, but I couldn't bear it anymore…"

"Bear what? What do you mean?" Link questioned.

I sighed. "I told you that… that Ganondorf speaks to me, and he orders me to do things for him sometimes. Well, sometimes… w-when I refuse to obey, he punishes me by… by somehow making me feel excruciating pain. More pain than I've ever felt before. He doesn't stop until I give in and obey or until he thinks I've had enough."

Link remained silent as he pondered the situation. "Does it hurt anymore?" he asked softly after a while.

"No," I replied. "I feel an ache, but it's nothing like it was before."

"How many times has he… hurt you like this?" he asked.

I looked up at the ceiling and thought for a moment. "He did it more often a couple years ago; he seemed to back off a bit recently. This was the first time in a while he's gotten this angry at me."

Link ran his hand through his hair as he struggled to say what was on his mind. "Kiran… did he order you to kill Zelda? Did he threaten to hurt you if you didn't?"

I shook my head furiously. "No!" I shouted, glaring at him. "If he had merely ordered me to, I would never in a million years have done it! I would have withstood all of the pain and torture he could possibly inflict, and then some!" Fuming, I stared down at my feet. "I would have died before even thinking about hurting her," I muttered.

I could sense Link shuffling uncomfortably in the silence that followed.

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

"You don't believe me, do you?" I asked him warily.

He hesitated for a long time before he replied. "I don't know what to believe," he answered honestly. "Do you know what exactly caused him to do that to you?" he asked me, changing the subject.

I tried to relax and nodded. "I was… startled at the news of Mother leaving the kingdom to me, and I was thinking I should refuse to accept the position, and that made him angry."

"So… he obviously wants you to become King because the power possessed by you would be so close to his for the taking, seeing as he has such a powerful influence on your mind."

I nodded. "Yes… all the more reason for me not to accept the position. I think we should appoint a group of representatives to meet every day and discuss affairs of the kingdom. Mother had a group that she met with once every season. We could ask that group to help vote on making laws and finding solutions to problems. They would play a larger role in ruling the kingdom and would have more power, but as long as you and I are there to regulate it, I think it could work… for the time being, at least."

Link thought for a moment. "Yes…" he muttered. "That sounds like a good idea to me. You know far more about these things than I do."

The first meeting was held merely a few days later. Afterward, my ears rang from the loud bickering that had occurred among the council men and woman. We had spent hours listening to them argue over a wide range of subjects, from the impact my mother's death had on the kingdom to how we were going to keep alliances with all of the other races of Hyrule.

Link and I crashed in the sitting room as soon as the meeting was over.

"I have a new appreciation for Zelda's line of work," Link quipped exhaustedly. I closed my eyes and began to drift off, but he spoke up again.

"I shouldn't have asked her to marry me," he said bitterly.

My eyes snapped open and I turned to face him, glaring. "How can you say that?" I asked.

He sighed. "I made the mistake of putting myself before Hyrule," he confessed. "It would have been best for the kingdom if she had married some nobleman who knew about this… stuff. This whole mess would have never occurred."

"If you're blaming yourself, you're blaming her, too," I replied angrily, standing up. "She accepted your proposal, did she not? She knew the consequences. It was just as much her fault as it was yours."

Link stared in silence, looking a bit surprised. "I… but she… she's"

"Dead?" I interjected abruptly. "Yes, she's dead. Avoiding saying it won't change the fact that it's true. And blaming yourself won't change the fact that it was my fault - my fault!" I screamed at him, my fists clenched tightly.

The silence between us was deafening. All that could be heard was my labored breathing and my heart thumping in my ears. I chose that moment to stomp out of the room, heading once again for my lonely and desolate bedchambers.

As I lay on top of my bed, I stared into space, trying desperately to get the image of my mother's accusing face out of my mind. But no matter how intensely I attempted to concentrate on something else, her face was imprinted in my brain and her voice echoed in my ears.

Stop this foolish moping, Ganondorf demanded. The woman is dead and out of the way; get used to it.

Ganondorf demanded.

"Damn you…" I muttered under my breath. How could he remain so imperturbable about everything? How could he force his own son to commit such a horrendous act as the one I had committed against my mother?

But I suddenly realized that I still didn't hate Ganondorf.

I hated myself.

I hated myself for killing my mother and for not being able to stand up to my father. I hated that I was a burden to Link, and to the rest of Hyrule. I hated the fact that I had been born unwanted - except by my father, who merely wanted to use me as a tool for his revenge.

I wanted so desperately to cry, but the tears refused to spill. I couldn't feel sorry for myself, because all of it was my own doing. I stared blankly into my own eyes, becoming lost in the infinite depths of the ocean-blue orbs.

I finally realized then that I could not live like this any longer. Feeling as if I had become detached from reality, I slowly turned my head toward the corner of my room where my Kokiri sword and shield lay dormant. The sword was in my hands before I even realized it.

My windpipe felt as if it were being squeezed and I wheezed painfully. I ignored it, wiping the sweat from my forehead and clutching my sword in my right hand. My entire arm shaking convulsively, I slid the sword's blade across my wrist and stared in awe as crimson poured from the cut. Ganondorf began screaming at me in my head.

What are you doing! You fool!

His voice barely registered within me as I hastily sliced at my other wrist, chuckling as my father panicked. I laughed harder, knowing how I was ruining all of his precious plans.

Stop this! I command you, Kiran!

Once again, he made pain shoot through my skull, but I ignored it and kept laughing madly at his pathetic attempts. I dropped the sword and laughed hysterically as it made a loud clanking sound when it hit the floor. For some reason, I found the whole situation to be quite hilarious.

You've gone mad…

I stopped laughing at my father's words. My vision was becoming blurry, and I could barely feel myself falling to my knees. Ganondorf's voice gradually faded away.

Perhaps I was wrong about you; perhaps I shall have to take matters into my own hands…

I awoke to sharp pains shooting through my arms. Groaning, I opened my eyes to find myself lying in my own bed. I looked down at my arms in disbelief; my wrists were wrapped tightly in white bandages, part of them soaked with blood. I cried out in despair, wondering why I was still alive.

Link rushed into the room immediately as if he had been waiting just outside the door, startling me. I tried to sit up, but every move I made caused me to sweat profusely and a wave of nausea to hit me.

Link closed his eyes and sighed in relief. "Oh, thank the Goddesses," he muttered, coming up beside me to lift me from under my arms and prop me up on my pillows. I quickly shifted away from him, unable to face him after what I had done.

"Kiran," he began slowly, taking a deep breath. "I… this has proved to be more serious than I could have ever imagined, and I cannot help feeling responsible…"

"What do you care?" I grumbled, still refusing to meet his gaze. I lowered my head. "You've despised me from the moment I was born, and I've proved everything you suspected about me to be true. You had every reason to want me dead, as I wanted myself dead. Everyone wants me dead." I finally lifted my head and squinted at him accusingly. "So why am I still alive? You could have left me there to die. Why didn't you, Link? It would have been for the best for everyone!"

His gaze turned stern as he turned away from my intense glare. "Leora was the one who found you," he said solemnly. My heart skipped a beat, and I was once again overcome with guilt. "She saw you there… on the ground, bleeding," he continued, turning back around to face me. "How could you think… for even a second… that a young, innocent child like her would ever want to see her own brother dead?" His voice was laced with anger, and I hung my head shamefully.

"I'm sorry," I murmured. "I… I didn't think…"

"Exactly," Link interjected quickly. "You didn't think."

The momentary silence between us was deafening, and I struggled not to squirm from discomfort. Link sat on the other side of my bed and sighed, cradling his head in his hands. I stared at him, vaguely realizing that this was the first time he had ever sat on my bed and talked to me like this.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, his eyes squeezed shut as if he were in pain. I tilted my head in confusion. What was he apologizing for?

"I'm sorry for not being there for you, Kiran, when I should have," he said. "I had a responsibility… to Hyrule, to Zelda, and to you." He lifted his head and met my eyes. "A responsibility I couldn't face up to. I couldn't get over myself; I couldn't get over the fact that you were a creation of Ganon's. I never truly comprehended that you were more than that, that you were a human being with thoughts and feelings, just like anyone else." He paused, his back hunched over in defeat. "For the first time in my life, I've failed," he said softly, "and I don't know what to do to fix it."

I just stared for the longest time, thinking deeply. I had never noticed how young-looking Link appeared; it almost seemed as if he hadn't aged a bit ever since I was a child. I vaguely wondered if it had anything to do with him possessing a third of the Triforce, for my mother had never seemed to age much either; that is, until she became ill.

"Kiran," Link spoke up suddenly. His gaze was pensive and he rested his chin on his hand. "What would you think… if I took you on as a… well, as an apprentice of sorts?"

My heart thumped in anticipation. "W-What do you mean?"

"Well," he began, "I figure that Ganondorf's technique of teaching you his ways wasn't a bad idea. I mean, he obviously influenced you that way, and I think that perhaps we can begin to reverse the process with my influence replacing his." He paused. "It's a little out there, I know, but until we figure out exactly how he holds this power over you, it's the best I can come up with."

I thought for a moment. I didn't know exactly what to make of the suggestion, but the fact that Link was offering to help me through this ordeal was rather comforting.

"Well then," he glanced at me cautiously. "What do you say?"

I paused, and then nodded. "All right. I'll try it."

And so it was. Hyrule was to be temporarily placed into the hands of my mother's trusted council of advisors so that I could concentrate fully on training with Link as his apprentice. Once Link decided that I was free of Ganondorf's hold on me (if that was ever to happen), I was to take on my responsibilities as the King of Hyrule.

Assuming, of course, that we would ever succeed in our mission to break me away from Ganondorf. We had no choice but to believe that we would, for what would happen if we did not succeed was too terrifying to even think about.