Okay. This is a Zelda one-shot that I'm kinda nervous about! In short, I really don't know how this will do with the fans out there. Oh well. No harm in trying!
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The day dawned as it had dawned for the past seven years: gloomy, overcast, and cold. Even though the light was faded, it was sufficient in waking Lania up as it climbed over her bed and rested on her cheek. Lania flinched, turned over, and opened her eyes. Her room was the same as always: dark, bare but comfortable, and as cold as outside.
Lania rose, stretched, and got dressed. Her garb was simple, with only tan breeches and a black, sleeveless tunic. Servants weren't allowed decoration. Lania wasn't an exception. The only decoration she really had was the tattoo on her left upper arm. It was of the Triforce, but only the top triangle was a golden color; the other two were black, showing that they were unimportant. This marking showed that she served the holder of the Triforce of Power: Lord Ganondorf.
Lania finished dressing quickly, left her room, and headed down the hall to the last room. The door to this room was tall, the carvings on it ornate. The former king's rooms. When Ganondorf had taken over the castle, he made sure that everyone knew that this was his suite. No one had resisted. It was easier that way.
Now that she had reached the door, Lania paused. Her master had a very violent temper, and yet insisted on being awoken every morning by her, right after she woke up. Lania always hated to do this, and yet she had to. She was his servant, and she would never be able to change that.
Steeling herself, she raised her fist and lightly knocked on the door.There was no response. An idea suddenly came to her. Maybe she could have fun with this. It had been a literal pain for a year and a half, but maybe that could change. Lania grinned. It was about time that her master learned how naturally playful she was!
Taking a deep breath, she prayed that she wasn't killed and then burst her master's door open with a bang. The figure in the bed jerked considerably, but did not rise. Lania didn't pause, however. Still hoping to get out of this alive, she ran to the curtains and threw them open. The faint light flooded into the near dark chambers. "Wake up, master!" she called brightly. "It's a wonderful day, and it's all waiting for yo-"
Lania couldn't finish her sentence, as a large hand had circled around her throat and lifted her a few inches off the floor. The grip made breathing painful, but it didn't cut off her air. She was turned very slowly until she met the face of her dreaded master.
Ganondorf was tall, but his hand around Lania's throat made her level with his red eyes. His red-orange hair was slightly out of order from sleep, but it did not destroy his dignity. His olive skin marked gleamed with sweat from the stuffiness of the rooms. For some reason, he never liked to have the windows open when he was in his chambers, which made the room several degrees hotter than the rest of the castle. Right now, however, the temperature of the room didn't really matter to her. What did matter was surviving this experience.
Ganondorf simply studied her for a few seconds before speaking. "Be quiet," he ordered in a deep, cold voice. "I'm not in much of a good mood today, worm."
"Yes, milord," Lania gasped out. Her master nodded, and then threw her across the room and against a cold stone wall. She slid to the floor, and stayed there for a minute, stunned by the blow. She then quickly left the chambers, fearing another blow. She paused at the threshold of the door, and looked back timidly. "I will be making breakfast now, sir."
Ganondorf did not turn to look at her. Without any visible movement at all, he simply said, "Very good. Now leave me."
Lania bowed, and then continued to slowly flee her master. She dared not run. Fear only made him happier. And happy for him meant sadistic and cruel.
-----
In less than an hour, both Lania and her master were seated at the table, eating. Normally, during the reign of the previous king, servants ate in a separate room apart from their masters. Ganondorf, however, was not that trusting. Lania served herself and her master with him in plain sight, and ate with him to make sure that the dishes were not poisoned in any way. It had taken Ganondorf seven long years to get as far as he had, and he did not plan on losing it all because of a little poison. The thought never crossed her mind, however. She would never do anything to anger this man. The consequences would be harsh.
During the meal, Ganondorf suddenly paused and looked at her. Lania immediately stopped eating and gave him her entire attention.
"You know, worm, your actions this morning slightly irritated me." He twirled his fork absently as he talked. "So I have decided to punish you. I think we'll go visit your parents today."
Lania was happy that she had stopped eating before he begun to speak. The little food in her stomach churned at the mention of her parents. On the inside, she screamed in protest to this proposal. In reality, she simply murmured thanks for the chance of seeing her parents. Lania was then ordered to clear the table, which she did without speaking. Only when she returned to her chambers did she allow herself to let the tears fall down her cheeks.
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A cold breeze ushered Lania off the castle grounds as she followed Ganondorf to the remains of Hyrule town. The town used to be full of people, but now it was as empty as a ghost town. Some of the buildings were nearly destroyed, and every place she looked showed the signs of a hasty leave. Lania wailed inwardly at the fate of her old hometown. Just a year and a half ago, it was different. Just a year and a half ago, she had never dreamed of ending up where she was today.
Redeads were everywhere. Most just stood in the streets, but some were sitting down. All of them were limp, waiting for someone with a soul to come close enough to feed on. Some wore clothing, but the original Redeads did not. The ones that wore clothing were created after their souls had been consumed by the first ones. Then the new Redeads attacked more townspeople as they tried to fill the void inside created by the lack of a soul. And thus the cycle never ended.
The Redeads did not try to attack Lania or her master. They feared Ganondorf as much as she did. Therefore, they wouldn't come within ten feet of him. Anything outside that limit, however, was fair game. This caused Lania to stick close to the man leading her, even if she hated him.
Ganondorf led Lania to her old house, and a pang of homesickness went through her. Even if she didn't want to come, the house always brought back memories of how it used to be. Ganondorf opened the door and entered with Lania close behind him.
The house was as still as death. Dust covered everything in a thin coat. Two Redeads stood together in the far corner of the entrance chamber. Lania approached them, making sure to stay within the zone of fear created by her master. "Mom, Dad," she said softly. "It's me, Lania."
This, of course, did not get a reply. Her parents looked at her hungrily through dark, unshining eyes. They moaned softly, and touched her, but that's all they did. They didn't dare eat her soul when she was protected by Ganondorf.
"They are thoughtless heaps of flesh now," said Ganondorf, seeming to read Lania's mind. "They know nothing but that they must eat, in order to fill the unfillable void within them. If it were not for my presence, you would be one of them right now, and you know what? They wouldn't care that you're their daughter. They only want to eat."
That was all she could take. Whirling, Lania bolted out the front door, took a few steps away from the house, and retched. The little food she had had that morning came up instantly.She finally stopped, shuddering, and wiped her mouth. The condition of the town and of her parents sickened Lania. And it was all because of one cruel man! She wanted to hurt him as he had hurt her, but how was that possible? He was omnipotent, and would kill her before she got within a foot of reaching him with a knife or any type of weapon. Brushing the thoughts away, Lania turned to return to the house, and almost ran into Ganondorf.
They stared at each other for a while. She met his eyes, and saw a strange feeling in them. Was it pity? Did he feel sorry for her? Why would he? Why should he? The look suddenly faded, and was instantly replaced by the custom cruelty.
"I think you've had enough punishment, worm," he stated. "Let's return to the castle. I am tired, and you have chores to do."
"Yes, milord," Lania replied softly. Then, without another glance back at her old house, she followed her master back to the castle.
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The dream returned that night, as it always did when Lania was reminded of her parents. The walls around the village were in flames, the drawbridge breached. Moblins, Stalfos and Poes, the creatures of nightmares, flooded through the streets of Hyrule Town. She was running home, trying to reach her parents so that all three of them could flee together. She was only a few yards from the house, however, when she was grabbed from behind. Lania struggled, but her captor was pulling her in the other direction. "Stop!" she screamed. "I need to get to my parents!"
"Your parents, eh?" The voice was deep and as cold as ice. Twisting, she looked up at a tall man with fiery red hair and dark olive skin. His red eyes shone with cruelty. "Well, we can't have you worried about your parents, now can we? Maybe my Redeads will keep them company."
The ground right in front of her house's door burst upward as two emaciated corpses pulled themselves out of the earth. They staggered through the open door of her house, and as soon as they were in, the man gestured. The door responded by closing with a snap and locking itself from the outside. Suddenly, Laniacould hear shrieks of pain and fear emanating from her home. She sobbed, tears running down her cheeks. She knew what Redeads did to the living. It was too late to save her parents. She sank to her knees and continued to weep.
Suddenly a hand rested on her shoulder. Looking up, Lania saw the man looking down at her. "Now you have nothing to hold you here," he murmured. "Come and serve me. This town is doomed, and so are you if you stay. Come and work as my servant, and you will never have to fear of dying like this."
Lania nodded dumbly. At this point,she would have agreed to anything, just as long as she could get away from here. Rising,she followed her new master as he went to attack Hyrule Castle.
Lania bolted upright, sweat running down her face in the memory of the dream. Ganondorf had ruined her life, and she loathed him for that. Her father, however, had taught her that revenge went nowhere, and that it did not lessen the pain. She took his teachings to heart. So she decided to do something different. She would melt the ice around the Dark Lord's heart, and make him a friend. Then maybe, just maybe, she could forgive him for what he did to her and her family.
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For the next three weeks, Lania worked on getting the better side of her master to come out. At the beginning, he responded to her actions by punishing her, but soon enough he began to thaw out. He smiled at her antics, and spent more time with her. Soon enough, he stopped calling her "worm" and began to use her real name. Lania knew in a corner of her mind that he was still being cruel to others while she wasn't present, but she knew that she could do nothing about that. After a few weeks of this friendship, however, she discovered that her feelings ran deeper than they should in an average friendship. She did not acknowledge these new feelings, though, as Lania knew that Ganondorf would never return them.
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One morning, as Lania entered Ganondorf's chambers in order to wake him up, she found him already awake and staring out the window into the cold, gloomy morning. This surprised her. Her master was a deep sleeper, and never woke up early, unless something was wrong.
She walked up to him and stopped at his elbow. After a moment of silence, she asked what was wrong.
"The Hero," Ganondorf replied darkly. "He has arrived to challenge me. He means to kill me."
"Do not worry, milord," Lania assured brightly. "Your wards are strong. And you have recently acquired Zelda, keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom. There is no way that this 'hero' can get into the cas-"
A blow struck her across the cheek and sent her flying to the other side of the room. She landed hard, and looked at her master in disbelief. It had been days since he had hit her like that. Was this hero really a threat?
"You do not know the implications of this matter," Ganondorf explained impatiently. "This Hero, named Link, has collected items that can break the wards. I have also not had the chance to extract the Triforce piece from Zelda. Therefore, this young man makes me nervous." He stopped talking, and then glanced at his listener with a little guilt on his face. "I apologize, Lania. My temper got the best of me."
Lania got herself off the floor and dusted herself off. "Oh, I'm okay," she said brightly. "But if you would like to make it up to me, let me meet this Link with you. I promise to stay out of the way."
Her master hesitated, then nodded. "Very well. But stay out of sight."
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Lania stood in the corner of a large chamber, watching nervously as Ganondorf fought Link. Though her master had some powerful magic, the youth's sword seemed to deflect every attack that came at him. Ganondorf was suffering from quite a few wounds, but Link only had a few scratches. She could tell that this would end badly, but her heart denied it. Ganondorf couldn't lose. He never did!
Sadly, even though she believed that it was impossible, Lania watched as her master suddenly fell, weakened. Link then drew his bow, which had a golden arrow loaded in it, and aimed it straight at his enemy. Without thought, her body moved as the arrow was released. Instead of hitting Ganondorf, it struck Lania in the back and right through her right shoulder.
She hit the ground with an undignified thud. She saw Ganondorf run towards her, and smiled slightly. "L-Lania," he asked worriedly. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," she replied dismissively. "I really am. It doesn't even hurt." The last part was true. There was no pain, but a warmth that spread from the area where the arrow entered to the rest of her body. It actually felt quite nice.
Until it touched the tattooed area on her left upper arm.
Pain lanced through Lania's body.She twitched horribly from the pain, and then continued to have spasms as wave after wave of pain hit her body. It felt like something was shredding her insides. As if to prove that point, Lania began to cough up blood caused by internal injuries. She went completely limp as she went through this torture. Why was this happening? The arrow hadn't hit anything vital. Then she remembered the warning Ganondorf had given her before he fought Link.
"Do not get shot by any of Link's light arrows," he had said. "They have the ability to vanquish any type of evil it touches, such as myself."
"Why should I worry?" she had asked. "I don't have any evil in me."
"Not in you, yes, but you do have some evil on you." He indicated the tattoo on Lania's upper left arm. "This carries some of my power. I planted this on you so that I could always sense where you were, so that you could never run away from me. Even this little amount of evil can kill you if you're hit by a light arrow. Be careful, Lania."
She belatedly realized that the arrow that had hit her was a light arrow. Somehow, as she writhed from the pain, she managed to look up at her master, her friend, her secret love.
"I'm sorry," Lania mouthed as her world went black.
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Ganondorf watched helplessly as the light arrow killed his servant. He watched asshe writhed in agony. He then finally watched her mouth an apology to him before she finally died. Her eyes were now forever staring at him with loyalty, guilt and what surprisingly looked like love.
As he looked into her staring eyes, he was startled to feel tears silently run down his cheeks. Ganondorf realized that if both of them had lived beyond this day, their friendship would have become deeper and stronger than any type could. Both of them would have loved each other deeply. He knew he cried now because of the loss of this chance.
Impatiently brushing away tears, Ganondorf looked up at the foolish youth that had destroyed what could've been between his loyal, loving servant and him. "You son of a bitch," he growled. "Now I really will kill you." Even as he said these words, he knew that he could not fulfill them. He was to die today, right here, and maybe, hopefully, he would find Lania waiting for him on the other side.
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Aw, so depressing. I even depressed myself while writing the ending. -sighs- This type of thing is always sad. T.T
I hope you enjoyed this very long one-shot! And please, please, PLEASE don't forget to review!