Chapter Thirteen Light and Dark
Link's sleep that night in the Water Temple was not dreamless either. He too had a visit from the Goddess Farore; who encouraged him to continue with his self induced journey and to ponder carefully on what he might learn on the way. As she left his dreamworld, Farore kissed his forehead gently and swept his hair from his face; leaving him with a loving caress. Link's sleep was dreamless after she left and restored his strengths as always; even though when he awoke, his heart felt like a lead weight which stopped him being able to get up or even move.
As his senses started to take note of his surroundings, Link realised he was not alone; instinct kept him from revealing his awakened state, as he thought hard. He remembered that the room he had found was only small, with one entrance and that had had a handle to enter so whoever was with him had to be able to use hands. Then he heard a low, rueful chuckle and a voice that sounded vaguely familiar;
"I know you are awake Hero, you cannot fool me." The tone was slightly mocking and Link turned smoothly into a rising crouch, coming face to face with the darker version of himself; who was holding his sword levelly at Link's neck. Link thought for a moment and laughed to himself. It would be an answer to his and Zelda's problems, if he were killed by this shadow. Looking the dark one in the eyes he said;
"Do it then".
"I do not fight dirty Hero, you are unarmed; you may pick up your weapon and fight me if you wish, but I will not murder you while your courage has failed." The shadow moved back to allow Link to reach his sword. "You make no reaction when I say your courage has failed Hero; are you now a coward?" By now Link had his sword and shield to hand and was watching his opponent warily. He was far too experienced to be drawn by insults; besides he felt he might have deserved that one, Link was no quitter and would not give in so easily again.
The room that they were in was not big enough for their needs and Link was invited to go to the room where he first fought the shadow. As he followed he found that he was relishing the idea of swordplay again; but then reason reared it's head and he stopped aghast. What would be the reason for this fight, Ganondorf was gone? Surely he was not looking forward to the prospect of killing, just to release his frustrations. He stopped following the dark one and sheathed his sword; much to the surprise of his counterfeit.
"I will not fight you for no reason Dark Link. I have no desire for your death, why do you wish for mine? Ganondorf was as much your enemy as mine wasn't he and what are you doing here still? What are you?" By now Link had walked up to the shadow's side and was looking at him with interest. The other boy looked straight back at him before turning and continuing on his way to his old room; Link followed intrigued.
When they reached the room Link asked the question once again; finding out about new things and beings was infinitely better than being left on his own, with thoughts he was not ready to face yet.
"Please, who are you, why can I almost see through you at times?"
"Who or what I am doesn't matter. Want to spar if you don't want to kill me?" The shadow was circling Link who was showing no signs of joining in. "Come on, Hero" he taunted and swiftly leapt in to land a stinging blow with the flat of his sword to the back of Link's thighs. Link couldn't help the yelp that left his lips and he immediately spun with his sword and started thrusts and parries with his dark doppleganger.
Dark Link seemed more intent on annoying Link however, than in serious sparring; he jumped on the end of the Master Sword and swatted Link's back and he got in a few more slaps to his thighs and bottom. Link wasn't sure what was going on, except that the blows actually hurt and were past annoyance; causing him to get angrier and therefore more dangerous. He could take actual wounds far easier than these humiliating slaps, but the angrier Link became, the more Dark Link matched him; move for move and the more solid he became until it was noticeable, he was no longer quite so easily seen through.
For Link though, he stopped seeing his shadow; nearly losing himself to the black cloud in his mind. The shadow was sneering and laughing at him, as he danced around his adversary; he had all of Link's moves and a few of his own, being much lighter than the Hero. But he went too far when he taunted Link that he was too wimpy to satisfy his wife and he knew it. He saw Link's mood deepen and go cold and he recognised the anger that had defeated him before, as Link totally upped his techniques. He was not fighting his shadow now; he was fighting Tarin and he was out to kill.
Suddenly Dark Link was on the defensive and receiving cuts that were disabling him; but it wasn't until he was down on the floor with Link ready to deliver his final blow, that the Hero stopped and dropped his sword in self disgust. The shadow slowly got to his feet and picked up the sword to hold it once again at Link's neck; only this time he pressed it into the flesh, until a thin line of blood could be seen. Link did not try to escape or remove himself from the injured creature.
"You would let me do this, wouldn't you Hero; you would let me kill you and leave you hidden down here never to be found or mourned?"
"I would be found eventually, then she would be free." Link whispered. The wave of misery that washed over the shadow creature from his nemesis, was almost too much for him to take in; but he could feel himself healing quickly. Once again he lowered the sword; but this time, he grabbed Link by his arm and almost marched him out of the wide open room to yet another smaller and cosier room. This one had the trappings of comfort in greater detail than any other that Link had seen so far, there were chairs and a table; even a carpet.
Dark Link shoved Link into one of the chairs and sat opposite him, just watching and waiting for him to speak and explain. But in the end he lost patience and asked;
"Why did you stop, you were going to finish me?" He waited once again for the answer that was not forthcoming. "Why Link, why did you stop?" This last he said quietly with no hint of mockery and Link looked up at this first use of his name by his shadow.
"I lost control, you nearly died because I forgot I was only sparring with you and not taking vengeance on someone else."
"That is why you would have given me control; because I was not the one you were angry with? I hit too close to home with some of the things I said, didn't I?" His voice had become sincere and concerned; almost seductive. "Tell me Link, what has happened; is it between you and the Princess?"
"It is not your concern shadowed one, it is between me and my wife alone."
"So, she is your wife now; it has been so long since I knew what was happening to you."
"What do you mean? You don't know me or what I do, I had never seen you before I came here."
"I am your shadow, of course you have seen me, I've been there all your life."
"Don't be ridiculous, you are something created to look like me that's all. A shadow has no life and only exists in the sun. I am not that much of an uneducated fool." Link lowered his head and the shadow studied him for a moment or two before he spoke.
"I will trade, you can tell me what has been happening to you and why you are so miserable and I will tell you who and what I am. While you think about it, I'll go and get your pack so you can have some food and drink."
"You do not have anything here?"
"Part of my story." And then he was gone; leaving Link to debate with himself, if he could confide in his 'shadow'. A trade of information; it might help him to know who this being was and whatever else, he seemed to have some honour of his own." Suddenly Link felt very tired, he didn't really know how to deal with all his thoughts and feelings himself at the moment; let alone tell a complete stranger. But the shadow claimed to have been almost part of him at one time and truth be told, he felt familiar and comfortable; which was strange considering they had both tried to kill each other and had been definite enemies at one time, even if not now.
Certainly they did not seem to be acting like enemies to Link's way of thinking; the shadow had had at least two opportunities to kill him and hadn't taken them. He also excited Link's interest, this creature who looked so like himself and he wanted to find out more. Perhaps they could become friends even, the shadow might also decide to take the King's amnesty; at the very least it should be offered.
By the time all these thoughts had crossed Link's mind, the enigmatic shadow was back and was solicitously sorting something out for Link to eat and drink. Gently declining to share with the Hero; the shadow just watched and waited while Link ate and wondering at the fact that he only took a mouthful of bread and a drink of water to break his fast. The shadow was waiting patiently but when Link just sat back and closed his eyes leaning against a wall, he took the plunge;
"So, after you defeated Ganon and banished him, you married your princess and settled down? It doesn't surprise me, you were besotted with her as I remember. What's happened since, any little Links or Zeldas arrived or on the way? Am I going to be an uncle yet?" He grinned at Link, hungry for his reaction. The wave of sorrow emanating from the fair haired boy was literally life giving; to the dark one and he felt much stronger, as he basked in the power of Link's grief.
Finally Link spoke in a quiet voice and told the shadow about his life since Ganon's fall. He told of his marriage and the loss of the baby; right down to the injury his heart had just suffered at his wife's hands. Once he started to speak, he found he couldn't stop and he let it all drain out of him like poison from a wound; he even forgot that he had an audience, the shadow was so silent.
Had it not been for a surprising move by Dark Link, he would have got lost in memories for who knows how long. But the shadow couldn't help himself, he had leaned forward and caught one of the tears that had slid from beneath Link's closed eyelids on his finger and had lifted it to his tongue to taste. Link watched amazed and a little bit revolted; he had opened his eyes when he felt the gentle touch to his face, realising for the first time that he was weeping. He stared at the dark boy and waited for him to look up.
"You are a ghoul." He stated; unable to keep the horror from his voice. "I must leave, I cannot stay here for you to consume me." He got up, prepared to leave; when he was held once again by his arm. The grip was firm but not forceful and he could easily free himself, but he waited for the shadow to speak.
"I am not a ghoul, I do not eat flesh of any sort: I cannot eat or drink. Please I am no threat to you; will you not hear my story, now that I've heard yours?" Link debated within himself, he was not tired or threatened in any way that he could not defend himself and he could leave anytime that he wanted. He nodded his assent and wiping his face dry, he sat back down to listen.
"I really am your shadow."
"Can you prove it, I find it too hard to believe. It would be more likely that you are someone who looks like me." Then Link was stunned when he saw that the shadow was doing that already; every move of his was being copied perfectly, from the obvious movement to the smallest twitch of his finger; Dark Link was his exact mirror image. At the look of startled realisation on Link's face the shadow grinned. "How?" Link asked.
"I don't know quite how Ganondorf gave me existence; but I do know he cannot create life, he can only distort it."
"You exist, but you are not alive? The creature I fought here in this very room certainly felt alive and also bled." Link stated unconvinced. The shadow nodded in affirmation.
"It is not blood as such, but it keeps me going for some time; whatever it was he used, helps me to convert negative emotions into sustenance and gives me solidity. I am nothing without you."
"Start from the beginning if you wouldn't mind; how did he capture a shadow in the first place, surely I would have seen him creeping up on me in broad daylight?" Link even sniggered at that thought. But Dark Link matched him:
"From what I understand, I was a shadow of the moonlight; from when you were a child."
"That cannot be true, Ganondorf didn't know my destiny when I was a child; why would he bother making a copy of me then?"
"I think he did know or had made an educated guess; he followed you into the chamber of the Light Temple, didn't he? Besides it wouldn't have mattered if he got it wrong; he could always do it again with someone else." Dark Link watched his original as he digested this information.
"Somehow the thought that I was watched as a child is slightly unnerving even now. How do you know all of this?"
"My created form was that of a child and I overheard them talking. I was brought to the Gerudo's by Ganondorf to be cared for. He said I was to be given the training of a warrior and spy. The girls all thought I was cute and asked who I was. Ganondorf said I was a shadow child, not a sheikah, but literally derived from another child's shadow; they all laughed when he said I was lucky to be exact in every detail. The original had been dancing around in the warm moonlight; having taken a bath in the river, he'd been prancing around naked until he had dried off." The shadow was grinning at the embarrassed Link.
"I think he made you sleep while he cast the spell, but I am not sure. Then I suppose, while you slept your seven years enchanted sleep; I was training and learning how to be a spy. I am a terrific spy, considering I only had to watch you and learn all your techniques; but as you can tell, my own abilities as a shadow meant I could copy instantly and accurately."
"So what did you mean about all that other business, how do you need me to survive?" Link's question was hard for the shadow to answer and he wondered how best to phrase it.
"I am not life really; all I am is a shadow of you, my original. You noticed that I was very faded when you saw me, if you remember." Link nodded his encouragement. "You are protected by the Goddess Farore, she shields your heart from becoming hard and bitter. I gain substance and my health from your negative emotions. Your anger, sadness and despair, cannot gain a hold over your heart; so they can be channelled to me instead. They all feed me and give me shape and my 'life' such as it is. I don't even have to be close to you for it to work; although if I am, I get such a boost of health that it is almost intoxicating. As for your tears..."
"I get the picture." Link interrupted quickly, the explanation was unsettling to the Hero; it was almost too intimate. The shadow smiled at him sadly.
"I'm sorry, it's just that I've known you all of my existence."
"Yet you tried to kill me and would do so again given the chance?"
"I did try to kill you when I was under the control of my maker; but I did not when you gave me the chance today." Link had to acknowledge the truth in that statement. "Your anger and bad feelings all made me angry and violent and as I could fight only when solid; Ganondorf often infused me with his hatred, especially when you neared here for our fight. He was the only one apart from you who could influence my being in that way."
"What about now, do you feel angry and violent now towards me, are you going to want to fight now that you are...replete?"
"No, I would need hatred from you for that and you do not hate enough. Besides, my life depends on yours. Had I succeeded in killing you before, I would have killed myself as well. I have had nothing to exist on until you came back; I have just been a shadow again since you defeated me, you have been happy for the most part of the time." The shadow sounded sad; Link picked this up and remarked upon it, to which Dark Link answered;
"You kept hold of your happier thoughts and feelings Link; my 'life' is vicariously lived through yours. Link, can I come with you when you leave here? I am so lonely on my own; I can be your shadow again if that is what it takes."