Chapter Twelve

Link

He had not eaten in days, or at least he hoped it was only days and not weeks. They gave him only enough water to keep him alive. Still, though, for giving Telma's name, they had popped his shoulder back into place, had let him bathe, and he figured that was something. His broken wrist still throbbed, and his arms ached from the various stress positions the Gerudo kept putting him in, lately with his arms twisted behind his back.

He hated himself. He hated himself for selling out his friends, and he hated himself for having let them down, for having been defeated in the first place. It was his fault the kingdom had fallen to Ganondorf's control, and he knew it. He was reminded by it every second he sat chained up in his cell.

He had tried to attack one of the Gerudo when he had been unchained to bathe, but in his weakened state, he was easily taken back down. He wondered if the Demon King had been informed. He doubted it, though, as he had been left alone in the cold, damp room, watching the rats run past him, and some try to run onto him. The only light came from a flickering torch, one Ganondorf liked to take away from time to time just to mess with his head.

Link hated the darkness. He always had. It unsettled him, not being able to see what was going on around him, not being able to see the walls, doorways, people, enemies... A strangled noise escaped his throat when he saw the torch go out once more, but did not see who had taken it away. The Demon King had always looked him in the eye as he took the light away and left. His advisors had always smirked and laughed at his distress. Always, though, they took the torch with them. This one just blew it out.

"It's all right," he heard a soft, female voice say. He knew it from somewhere, but could not quite place it. Something told him it was friendly, though that same voice in his head that told him that was the same that assured him Amunet had been friendly, that she would really help his friends. And that had gotten Ashei and the others killed. He shook his head and backed as far away as his restraints would let him, until he hit the wall. His arms throbbed from being bent at angles they should not have been bent at. "I will not hurt you." He shook slightly, but nodded, despite knowing the woman could not see him. He knew she could not have been Gerudo. No, the accent was all wrong. By his best guess, she sounded like some highborn lady, like...

"Are you mad?" he managed to choke out. His throat still ached from where Ganondorf had nearly strangled him to death in order to retrieve Telma's name. There was no way Zelda could have gotten to him safely, not when he knew she was being watched constantly, not when he knew Ganondorf's closest allies were everywhere, that they knew everything. "You'll be caught."

"I was not seen," Zelda assured. "And you need to speak softly. We cannot risk being overheard. Not now." He nodded and made a mental note to speak in a more appropriate volume. If they were to be discovered... No. He could not think about that. Zelda was lucky she had not been put in a similar position as himself. Still, though, the Usurper's words rang in his head. 'I wanted to give you the mercy of killing you.' It had been Zelda to insist he be kept alive... If it were not from Zelda, he would not be living the hell he was living... "I never could have imagined this would happen," the Princess continued.

"Why are you here?" he finally asked, looking in the direction of the voice, hoping to see a shadow, a hint of light, anything to assure him he was not hallucinating, though the darkness revealed nothing to him.

"Telma is dead," Zelda spoke, keeping her voice calm and even. Link shut his eyes tightly and let out a shaky breath. He knew it could not have been long before their ally was discovered, but he never would have dreamed it would happen so quickly. "Auru as well."

"I know," he spoke softly, trying and failing to keep the pain from his voice, trying to spare her feelings. She was the only one Hyrule had left, the only hope of peace returning to the kingdom, of Ganondorf being sealed away once and for all. "They all are."

"No," Zelda argued. He wished he could see her, to see her facial expressions to know if her words were true or not. "Ashei, Shad, and Rusl still live, as far as I know." He started to say something, but he was cut off by her. "Whatever they told you was a lie. They are liars and you cannot believe them." Link nodded again, forgetting she could not see him either. "I will not lie to you. Things are only going to get worse for you from here on out."

"Then help me get out of here," he begged, hating himself for it. He had tried everything he could think of, but nothing had worked, at least nothing he could do on his own. But if Zelda had managed to see him, she could manage to help him escape...

"You know I cannot do that," Zelda sighed. "Not without risking everything we are working so hard to do." She was silent a long moment. "They need us to buy them time, Link, enough time to get out of his reach and build up their numbers." She sighed, and he felt a hand brush the hair from his face. "Stay strong, Link," she said softly. "They will come for you."

He shut his eyes tightly and listened as her footsteps retreated away from him, though she left him in the dark. He started to wonder how she would find her way back out, back to the light he missed so terribly, when he felt a tightness in his chest. He was never getting out, at least not in the near future, maybe not any future. Zelda had abandoned him, and his friends believed him dead. A sob caught in his throat, and the Hero broke.