mysticalgems: Ew. I'm glad that I'm done with all my math classes…as for Ochem I'm probably going to have to retake it, sigh.
ShadowLyrics1: Your favorite? Really? Thanks!
SaraTheAngelic: Well thank you, its always gratifying to hear readers say when you have a character's personality right.
Sorry sorry sorry that its been so long between this and the last update. I blame it solely on school…and procrastination…and illness. Its up now though so read my readers, read like the reading readers you are!
Chapter 12
A throbbing, almost akin to a heartbeat, roused the demon lord from his sleep. He lay in his ornate bed, eyes still closed, trying to pinpoint it. Groggily the realization that it was emanating from his skull came to him. Ghirahim brought a hand up to his head, searching for a reason as to why it ached. He hadn't been using magic strenuously nor had he been in any fights, recently that is, where it could have been injured. After still blanking on the cause, he slowly opened his eyes; gazing at the ornate canopy above him. Sighing, he swung his legs out over the side of the bed and stood up. An extreme bout of dizziness went through him; causing him to curse and go down to one knee. His mind raced furiously, attempting to come up with some solution to these strange symptoms. However, the only thing that seemed to fit was blood loss, which obviously wasn't the case. Carefully regaining his feet, the demon sighed, whatever this was it held next to no importance when he had a hero to turn and the spirit maiden to find. He smiled wryly; after all it wasn't as if he hadn't ever experienced pain before. Speaking of the skychild, Master would surely wish to know about his progress. Firstly, however, the demon planned to double-check on the boy; just to make sure he wasn't trying anything, of course. His smile darkened before he teleported; he rather hoped the hero was.
Soon after the demon's feet hit the cold tile, his knees and his left palm followed suit. His right hand clutched at his head which was throbbing, no, pulsating with intense agony. Hissing in pain he stood; eyes narrowing and darting towards where the boy lay; a snarl starting to form on his face as he imagined his captive's amusement. Chestnut eyes softened and a smile replaced the scowl; the blonde's eyes were closed in sleep. Crossing over, Ghirahim seated himself on the edge of the bed "Skychild?" he whispered softly, leaning towards the hero's ear imagining with some glee how the skyloftian would react to his proximity. "Skychild?" he murmured a little louder; lightly tapping the boy's cheek. Pale eyebrows drew together and he smacked the blonde's cheek "Skychild?!" Snarling, he shook the boy "Link!"
No response.
The demon felt a shot of alarm go through him and he dropped an ear to the boy's chest; sighing in relief as he was met with a heartbeat. His mouth sloped into a frown, while the heartbeat was there, the rhythm was too fast and the blonde's lungs rattled with each breath. He became aware of the elevated heat against the side of his face and knit his brow in confusion "What in Hylia's…?" Lifting his head, Ghirahim caught sight of sweat plastering down the blonde hair and licked his lips in thought. "As much as I am loath to admit, this is something far beyond my ken…" He rubbed his aching head; sighing in annoyance at it while he gazed at his captive. "At least I didn't kill him, my master would not have been pleased at the wasted time…Time... Master would know, He's been among humans far longer than have I." immediately he snapped his fingers.
A couple feet away from the sealed spike, Ghirahim landed on his back; gasping as the breath was knocked out of him. When it finally returned he inhaled only to start making the strange barking noises the skychild had made the day before. Lungs still protesting he turned on his side until it ceased. He lay there for a minute, snarling at the indignity of it all, waiting for some energy to return as he stared at the stone in the ground. Painstakingly the demon regained his feet and, ignoring the pounding in his head, made his way to the engraved pillar. When he reached it he collapsed to his knees, summoned a dagger which he then sliced his hand with, and placed it to the ground "Master?"
"Yes, my slave?"
"Master, I come with questions concerning the hero." When there was waiting silence the demon lord continued "There is something wrong with the skychild, milord. He makes strange bark-like sounds, his heartbeat is an irregular rhythm and his lungs shudder as though they were burdened. His skin burns and he seems to feel pain when swallowing. At this very moment he lies unconscious; Master," Ghirahim bowed his head to the ground "I beg your guidance in this matter." Deep, rumbling laughter caught the demon lord by surprise and he lifted his head from the grass.
"The many millennia have stolen some of your memories about humans, Ghirahim. These creatures, these pitiful beings are susceptible to many things. One of them being sickness, which the hero, Link, has fallen to… And apparently you as well, slave".
Ghirahim's body curled inward as he coughed "Sickness? As in 'sick with anger'? I thought that was just an expression Milord."
"Hmmm your memory loss in this area is proving to be a nuisance. Allow me to remind you."
Body stiffening, Ghirahim's eyes rolled back in his head as pictures and memories were shoved into his mind by Demise. Some of the memories he recognized as his own experiences, while others were foreign to him. When the Demon King retreated, the demon lord found himself lying face down on the ground, shivering, sweating and coughing. "Th-Thank you Master." he panted as he attempted to rise; glowering at the shakiness of his limbs. "Master, if I may, in my current unseemly condition I am of hardly any use to you. However, if you were to withdraw the illness from me…" he left the sentence hanging.
"No. Suffer from this as punishment for your forgetfulness."
Ghirahim bowed his head "An it please thee, milord. Curiosity question Master, when you were restoring my memories did you happen to see the more recent ones concerning the Skychild?"
"I did. Now, go see that the hero doesn't die before you are finished with him."
Ghirahim smiled and bowed deeply from where he knelt "Of course, Demon of Demons." He took a breath to steady himself then teleported away.
peterandhook
To Link it felt as though he was falling, falling down a pit with no end. He jerked in his sickness induced sleep, chains clinking together as he strived to fight off the demons in his mind.
The boy clothed in green walks hand in hand with a girl with golden hair, a emerald forest surrounding them. He is happy. She stops and looks at him before going on her toes to kiss him. He smiles into the kiss and closes his eyes. When he reopens them the girl has been replaced by a pale man with dark eyes and a menacing smile. He reels backward; the scenery around him going from the color of the forest to black. Glaring, the hero reaches back for his sword only to grasp empty air; he looks behind him to see a vacant space where his blade should have been. Quickly he spins back to face the demon, who only smiles deeper. As Link readies his hands in a fighting stance he discovers chains about them; looking up he takes in the fact that the pale man is now stalking towards him. He struggles with his bonds, which have begun to pull him to a spread eagle position, but to no avail. The demon is getting closer to him but try as he might he remains shackled. Soon the white clothed entity is in front of him and carefully pulls from his sash a whip that had, up until now, been concealed. Blue eyes shut preparing for pain.
White-clothed feet landed a couple paces away from the sick hero, their owner stumbling forward and grasping the edge of the cot. Breathing heavily, Ghirahim turned his head towards his captive. It was obvious that the boy would need to be moved out of here, it was far too cold in this room. A wry smile crossed the demon's face, in all of his huge castle there was not one guest room…well, ones that weren't used for torture anyways. The skychild would have to be moved to his own private quarters. The demon let out a small laugh "He is sure to enjoy that when he comes to." Inhaling, he leaned down and wrapped himself around the hero then clicked his fingers.
Ghirahim felt his and the boy's body land on the soft surface of his bed but couldn't do anything about it as his lungs began to protest. When it finished he groaned and lay back on the pillows. He slid his gaze to the hero and, growling as he lifted himself up and off the bed, he placed a hand to the blonde's forehead. The boy was still hot to the touch, not surprisingly. Summoning a bowl of lukewarm water and a rag, the demon shot out a hand to grab the bedpost to steady himself as he was rewarded with lightheadedness. Using magic certainly wasn't helping his own condition. He eyed the skyloftian's remaining clothes, as he dipped the cloth in the water, removing them would certainly help to lower the boy's temperature. A chuckle escaping his pale lips, he shook his head, if he stripped off those last bits of cloth, ill or not, he wouldn't be able to restrain himself, especially not with the boy on his own bed. A smile still lingering on his mouth, the demon began to wipe the wet cloth across the heated skin.
Blue eyes shut preparing for pain. When nothing comes he slowly opens them to find the demon holding the whip, still coiled, to the side. A delicate hand reaches out from behind the man and wraps around the leather, then slowly the hand's owner emerges into the hero's sight. Link gasps "Zelda!"…but she isn't smiling to see him or crying or anything. The look she gives him is that of stone, cold and uncaring. Gradually she uncoils the whip, then after gazing straight into his eyes, sends the leather sailing across his skin. His body arches and he lets out an agonized cry, when he relaxes he notices that the demon has moved to his left side. Again the whip bites into him. Ghirahim whispers into his ear "Here you stand, helpless and left for dead by those you thought cared."
Ghirahim paused as he was wiping down the hero's face when a change in the boy's marking caught his eye. The lower black triangle's point was now below the golden triangle's bottom line. A feral grin spread across his features as he took in the beautiful alteration. "So, the skychild's own mind is turning him. What a rather fortunate turn of events." He flattened his hand against the boy's forehead and satisfied that the hero's temperature was low enough, he placed the bowl and the rag on the floor. Carefully, he tucked the skyloftian under the covers then crawled under them himself. He chuckled at the irony, Link was in bed with him but he had no energy to do anything about it. He played with the hero's bangs "Already more than halfway to your other more glorious potential, skychild."
And that's where I'm going to stop for now, sorry its been soooo long but you know school and all that. I don't know when I'll update again because finals are in a couple of weeks. Hopefully around the beginning of next year. Fun fact: where Ghirahim asks his master a "curiosity question" is actually influenced by how I normally would ask my professor a question i.e Curiosity question, do all vertebrates have seizures? I guess you could say I sorta see myself as a Ghirahim and my professor as Demise…Sorta. Okay now that I've bored/scared all of you, thanks so much for reading. Remember to review, it really does motivate me to write fast. THANKS!