Chapter 5
The sun glowed through my closed eyelids. I wanted to sleep more. The bed was so comfortable. My body ached and burned. I peaked my eyes open and was greeted with a tall, domed ceiling and a dusty chandelier looking down at me. My eyes widened. I didn't know where I was. This time it wasn't from lack of memory, but the fact that I had never been here before. I don't know what happened to me after I passed out. I looked down and my shoes were off, and I was still in my nasty, blood-stained clothes. I was grateful that my tunic is red in this instance.
I used my arm to gently push myself up and I was surprised to learn that my ribs didn't feel worse than a slight bruise. In fact, they felt significantly better. How long was I out? Who saved me from dying? I focused on the rest of the room. It was enormous; fit for royalty. The room was a large circle with the bed in the center. On my right had large wooden double doors and the left had glass double doors that led to a balcony. The tall headboard of the bed kept me from seeing what was in the half behind me. However, the half before me was split into quarters. The quarter that went towards the balcony was covered with huge windows that were framed with elegant drapes. The other quarter had a couple of large wardrobes and dressers, an easel, a desk, and walls covered in papers and art.
I scooted my butt to the foot of the bed and stood up. The cold white floor tickled my feet. Other than aches of being incredible sore, I had no pain. I pulled my tunic to check if my ribs were still torn open, but they were completely healed. I couldn't have been crazy because I still had bloodstains around where my wounds were. I started to walk and explore the rest of the bedroom.
The rest of the circular room was covered entirely with more papers and paintings. I walked towards the balcony and opened the doors. I was towering over a large basin of water. Cliffs and trees were surrounding wherever I was. I turned and walked back inside. On the desk, there were lots of crumbled papers of sketches and writing. Two thick journals sat neatly among the mess. I opened one up and skimmed through the words.
I sprinted through the house… If I didn't help now he was going to die… I begged him to just let me help, it was moments like these that I questioned why I haven't run away. However, it was moments like these that I was grateful to be around when I was.
I got bored. I closed the book and opened the other. The other book was written in a different language. It had different lettering than Hylian. I flipped through and about a good chunk of the way through, the characters flip to Hylian. The handwriting in both books was the same.
I decided I had enough of not knowing where I was. I walk towards the double doors and pull one open. My eyes widened in horror as I stared into the hallway that I was in last night. I was in one of the rooms that I ran past and got cornered. On the floor to my right was the puddle of blood that I ended up collapsing in. How was I still here? Was I dead? I started quietly running down the hall barefoot. I got to the front door and it was still locked. Even if it wasn't, I didn't have my bow or anything else. I would not survive any longer out there without a weapon than in here with a weapon. I defeatedly decide to walk back towards the room I just left. I needed to understand the rest of this house. It was dark and insane last night so I don't remember everything.
There were three small doors near the entrance. One was the kitchen and one was the supplies closet. There was the locked one that I wasn't able to go into yesterday. There were two sets of double doors on the right and two on the left. The room I was in was at the end of the right side of the hall. The other room on the right had doors that touched the tall ceiling and were more impressive than the front doors. I took a deep breath and twisted the ruby red crystal nob.
To my surprise, this door was unlocked. It was a very heavy door so I pulled with both hands to open it a crack. The first thing that greeted me was the humungous bed that was against the wall directly across from me. This bed was bigger than any I'd ever seen. It took up most of the space in this large room. It was framed with a couple of nightstands at the head. There were lots of large scattered windows that helped draw in light. Compared to the rest of the house, which was primarily white and brightly colored to reflect more light, this room had a much more of a dark-colored theme. I crept my way more into the room to see what else was around. A large grey rug spread over the floor at the foot of the bed. Towards the wall to my right, there were some big bookshelves placed between windows, there were also two dressers. They were both covered with papers and knickknacks. On the left wall, half of it was pushed back; this made a cubby for a large desk with many shelves, drawers, and cabinets to sit. There was a small table that only held a wide shallow glass dish.
"I suppose you have a right to wander around your new prison." A familiar voice made hairs stick up on my neck. I whipped around and saw the man who almost killed me last night, I reviewed him. His malicious face of enjoyment from last night flashed through my head. His face seemed a lot calmer, but I don't remember him looking so young. He appeared only a little older than me. I was about to sprint away to hide when he grabbed my wrist and held me where I was. I began to panic and tug on my captive arm. "Would you calm down?" I kept pulling. "Just listen!" He barked, but I didn't want to listen. I didn't trust him. First, he beat me to death, then healed me, and now he just said he was imprisoning me? I don't know if I could relive last night again. He let go of my wrist and I fell forward onto my face. I scrambled away from him.
"I'm only going to punish you if you keep disobeying. Now get up!" He yelled at me. I looked back at him. He defensively raised his hands to show that he didn't have any weapons. I slowly got to my feet, yet I kept my distance from him. "Now, I haven't seen a human for a very long time. I have been trapped down here for almost two decades-"
"Can I at least know who you are?!" I snapped, he was taken aback by my tone but he calmed himself down and took a deep breath.
"I suppose I'll answer your questions if you answer mine. I am the demon lord, Ghirahim. I am the ruler of the demons as well as any dark minions my master has left behind." He took pride in the words that he spoke. I thought hard for a second about what he just said and my face lit up.
"You're that guy that Link fought and conquered with Demise!" I stated. His eye twitched a little. "What happened to you? Everyone thinks you are dead, I thought you were killed with Demise?"
"It's funny that this is how my legacy is remembered." He growled, but a smirk fell on his face. "I doubt any humans were told of the time I almost killed the Goddess's little hero. Everything would be different if it weren't for-" He quickly cut himself off and looked down at the floor. He began to mumble to himself and then looked back up. "My master was vanquished by the Hero, but the only thing that died was my binding to him. After he fell, I was sent back to the surface. I still continue to rule and work in his favor to this day."
"So why are you hiding if you're basically a king?" I asked. He crossed his arms sassily.
"No, no, it's my turn to ask questions." He teased. "Who are you? Why are you on the surface? And why are you hiding things?"
"I am the daughter of Link…" I didn't want him to find out anything he wouldn't like about me so I decided to lie. It is one thing if humans in Skyloft hate me, but if he hates me that's a whole other story. "My name is Mable. I am seventeen. I am a knight so I was completing some tasks for my father. I am not hiding anything since I have nothing to hide."
"If we play the lying game then I can reverse the healing spell I casted and put you back into the pulpous bloody state that you were last night." He glared me straight in the eyes. He had a soulless gaze and I could tell he meant every word.
"I'm not lying!" I reassured.
"You are absolutely lying. You wear your lies plainly on your face as you speak." He pretended to laugh but I could tell he was annoyed. "You are the most unknightly human I have ever met so that is undeniably false, and why are you hiding your ears and hair in that hat?"
"Okay, I'm not a knight yet." I sighed. I was just grateful he bought the rest of what I told him… even though most of it was true. "And I was in a fire, my hair and ears are burned and I am embarrassed by them."
"Ew." He made a look of disgust, I was insulted by his reaction. "I can tell that you're still lying, you don't have any confidence when speaking them. But I will pretend to believe your story and respect whatever embarrassing reason you have for hiding your head."
"Now it's my turn. When can I leave? Will you let me leave? Where is my stuff?" I demanded. He rolled his eyes and grumbled,
"You're staying here until I am finished using you. I will eventually let you leave. I will reward you for your work by giving you your stuff back." My jaw dropped, I didn't know what he wanted me to do to earn it! Did he want sexual favors? Did he want a human punching bag? Did he want to experiment on me? "I want you to clean up the house." So he wanted a maid… "There are a few other things on top of that, however, after those, you can go home. I also swear to not hurt you while you perform said tasks otherwise you will be let free early." As annoyed as I was, I don't think it was as bad as I thought.
"Soooo, cleaning?" I asked to confirm. He nodded. He snapped his fingers and a broom with a dustpan appeared in his hands. He handed them to me.
"You can start here." He chuckled and walked into this bedroom, then shut the door. I looked up and down the hallway. There was an unreasonable amount of dirt, dust, and shattered furniture pieces. I couldn't believe what was happening right now. I walked my way through the hallway, pushing all the furniture into a corner and sweeping up the dust and dirt. It took hours to get everything to somewhat look clean, and yet I still had a dustpan and pile of broken furniture. I walked towards his room and knocked on the door. I heard a snap from inside and I turned to see all the garbage disappear. "Carry on!" He hollered from inside the room.
"I guess I'd rather do chores than be dead," I grumbled and decided to work my way down the other end of the hallway. I saw my puddle of blood and I shouted down the hall. "I can't sweep up blood!" I heard him snap again and then a bucket of water and a mop appeared in front of me. I begrudgingly went ahead and began to mop up my blood.
Once the hallway was finished, I had to say I did a very impressive job. No more trash, you could see yourself on the floor, it looked like a completely different place. I walked into his bedroom and he was in the little cubby-office corner. He was reading a book and pouring vials of liquids into the glass dish I had seen before.
"I'm done with the hallway," I stated to him. He kept reading his book and pouring vials.
"Oh lovely," he responded. He kept doing his own thing though as I stood there.
"So, what next?" I asked.
"Oh here," His eyes never left his book, but he put down a vial and snapped his finger. My satchel appeared in front of me. My eyes gleamed with excitement, I picked it up and opened it, it was empty.
"Where's my stuff?" I hissed.
"You haven't earned it yet." He huffed, still reading his book. I was getting annoyed now.
"Ok well, can you put down your book and tell me what to clean next? I'm hungry, tired, and gross." He put his book down on his desk. He walked up to me and looked down at me with a smug smile.
"I can do whatever I want whenever I want. You're running by my schedule, bitch. So I suggest you respect me." He kept staring me down to intimidate me but I was still annoyed. "Follow me." He walked out his door back into the hallway and guided me to one of the last doors on the left side of the hall. I hadn't been in this room yet. It was directly across from the room I woke up in. He opened the doors and we both walked in.
It was the largest room I've ever seen. The ceiling went so high, it had to be at least three stories tall. Each wall was covered with bookshelves that reached all the way up to the ceiling. There were a few tall moveable ladders that could slide along the shelves. However, shelves were broken, books were flown all about the room, piles of books as tall as me piled on the floors. Towards the front of the room, there was a living area with a large couch, a few sofa chairs, but they were knocked over and all messed up. In one of the corners was an elegant large piano with a violin on a stand next to it. It seemed completely untouched. The wall on the farthest end of the library was one giant glass window. It let in all of the sunlight into the room and shined on such a horrific mess. Also in the far right corner, there was a ladder that led to an indoor, highly placed balcony. In one of the corners was an elegant large piano with a violin on a stand next to it. It seemed completely untouched. I was dumbfounded at the massive amount of work before me.
"Have fun with this one." He teased as he began to walk out. I whipped around to face him.
"How come you can't just snap your fingers and clean it up like that?" I yapped at him.
"Oh, I can snap my fingers!" He laughed and then he did. With his snap, a whole other shelf of books came crashing down. My eye widened. I looked back and he was laughing and walking back to his room. I sigh and started by flipping the furniture for the living area back into place and making it look neat. Then I went to one of the many large piles of books and began to organize them into smaller neater piles. This was going to take days to finish.
Hours passed and the large window began to have the sunlight dim into the moonlight. I felt like I had made no progress. Instead of a few large piles of books, I now had many small piles of books. My head hurt beyond compare. I stretched out my back and arms. A huge yawn escaped me. I decided to get up and sit on the couch in the living area. Unintentionally, my eyes began to droop and relax as I sunk into the comfy sofa.
Right after I realized I had fallen asleep, I shot my eyes open. It was very dark and the moonlight was the only thing that helped me make out what was around me. I was still on the couch but in one of the chairs, Ghirahim was sitting reading a book.
"I was going to say that I didn't pay you to sleep on the job, but I must have gotten distracted." He sighed as he continued to read. "I haven't sat down and read in here in a while, I forgot how nice it was in here." My brain was still a little foggy from just waking up. I tried to focus on him and have my eyes adjust to the dark.
"You shouldn't read in the dark. It's bad for your eyes." I spoke through a yawn. He closed the book and smiled gently at me.
"I suppose you're right." He stood up and used his hand to beckon me to follow him. I stood up slowly and walked with him back out to the hallway and towards his bedroom. He had some lamps lit and his chandelier also gave off some light. He took me to the small door that was on the left half of the room. He opened it and lit another light.
"You can pick something from the left half if you would like." He told and stepped out of my way so I could walk in. It was a large closet with all sorts of clothes. On the left, there were tons of dresses, skirts, blouses, and woman clothing. On the right, there were some suits, cloaks, and some very odd tight clothing with diamonds cut-outs. I decided to quickly look away and not think too much into it. Back on the left, there was a shoe rack and a small dresser. I pulled open the dresser and there were some nightgowns. I picked up a light blue one and realized it was made from fine, soft linen. This was much nicer than anything I had ever had in Skyloft. Then before I walked out I noticed a silk hair-wrap. Since it bothered him that I was hiding my hair and ears, I decided to continue to keep them covered. So I snatched the head-wrap.
I walked out and he stood there with a towel. He looked a little unconformable. He nodded after I grabbed it and led me out of his room and to the second-to-last room I had not been in yet. In the middle of the hall, on the lefthand side, he opened the door to a large bathroom. He snapped his fingers and all the lanterns lit up inside. He walked over to the huge bathtub and pulled a lever to start the water.
"I am a generous person." He assured me. "I'm giving you clothes, a place to sleep, and a warm bath. Please be grateful."
"You're quite the host," I replied sarcastically. My stomach growled loudly. "You've done everything except feed me."
"I never said I was perfect." He hissed at me. He started to mumble to himself. "I'll have food waiting on your bed when you are done washing up. Drop your clothes outside the door and I'll get them cleaned up for you tomorrow. You will finish your work tomorrow, have a good night." He turned around to exit the bathroom.
"Wait, Ghirahim!" I spurted out.
"I didn't believe we were on a first-name basis, yet." He grumbled. "Yes, what is it, Mable?" I had forgotten that was the name I gave him.
"Why did you have so many women's clothes in your closet?" I asked. His face looked as though he didn't know how to respond, almost as he had remembered something bad. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Without a response, he walked out the door and slammed it shut behind him.
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