Chapter Seven and Eight happen simultaneously. Chapter Seven Follows Dark Link and Chapter Eight follows Link and Aural. I ran out of time and didn't finish chapter eight but it'll hopefully be up tomorrow.

Chapter Seven

Dark Link wretched violently, keeping himself upright with his right hand. He could feel his ribcage shattered and a sharp burning sensation in his right leg. The pain was overbearing as he keeled over and threw up a second time.

He gazed up, staring at the forest in the far distance. He had crashed into the open plains of dry and hard mud. He would be spotted easily from a mile away.

The bird's cries could still be heard but felt dizzy and dazed. The screeches echoed and felt disorientated. He knew he would be found if he didn't move. He tried to pull himself up from his position but his bones shot daggers of pain through his body. He collapsed onto his side once more, taking in strangled breaths. He had pushed his body to its limits.

The bird acted as his master's second pair of eyes. They had turned dark and hateful at the sight of him at the town. He had felt the wrath of Ganondorf's anger crushing into his bones. He had heard them snap under the weight. He tried once more to get up. The shrieks of the bird seemed from disorientated. The pain was brutal.

He fell to his side, taking in deep and painful breaths. It was going to find him out in the open. It wouldn't have the mercy to kill him though. It would probably carry him back to the castle. He would endure twisted torture and pain for what he had done. I closed my eyes.

"Fine. So be it. Let it all end. There's nothing left for me..." he thought to himself as he drifted into unconscious.

Dark dreamt of the day his master had returned. He was aware that the hero of winds had turned him to stone but they were both aware of a secret. Ganondorf could not truly die. The Goddesses had known about his little trick but the King of Hyrule had not. The floods were not an accident. The floods had been to stop him yet not kill him. Stone would have been his death but he had cheated death.

"Welcome back, my king," Dark had bowed to him as he entered the castle. His master did not address him as he entered his chambers. Dark followed behind him.

"Where is the boy?" Ganondorf had first asked. Dark paused at the doorway as his king sat down in his throne.

"Without servants it was difficult to track him," Dark replied, knowing full well who Ganondorf was referring to. "I know where Princess Zelda resides though."

"It was not the princess I was asking about," Ganondorf stated. His eyes had seemed glazed and his skin was darker than it had been before. Back then Dark had thought nothing of it. Aural had made him paranoid within recent months.

"I have a rough idea of where he may be. If you'll allow me to..."

"You will stay here and bring forth servants and minions," his king had spoken coldly to him. Dark had hesitated at the thought. Why had his master not want him to track the boy? Ganondorf was aware of what Dark could accomplish. He would avenge what had been done to his king.

"And once you have done that, I have a task for you," the king finished. Dark nodded as Ganondorf had motioned him to leave his presence. Dark was left bewildered. But he was his king, his words were absolute.

He awoke later. His eyes slowly opened and closed, feeling heavy. This wasn't where he had fallen. He turned his head slightly and looked upwards. Light tunnelled downwards from far above. Somehow he had managed to move into a trench in the Earth. The area he was lying in was fairly narrow. He was sure if he tried to stretch out his arms his hands would smack into the walls. He didn't attempt to though.

He smiled slightly. He was hidden. Even if by some unfortunate event the bird managed to spot him, its talons would not be able to reach down here. He frowned as he realised his death may instead be of dehydration of starvation. It was unlikely he would recover quickly without assistance. It was unlikely he'd be able to make it on his own.

"I had prayed for death at the ocean," he sighed to himself, "maybe the goddesses are only now granting it."

He turned his head slowly to stare down the narrow passage. A few feet away from him lay a small dog, barely the size of a cat. Its ears were perked, its eyes staring at Dark. He could see dust being thrown from side to side as its tail wagged. Dark closed his eyes and coughed loudly, the dust getting into his mouth.

"Scram!"He yelled at the scraggily mutt. It rose to its feet, its tail continued to wag sharply back and forth, its tongue trailed out. He grabbed a rock that was close by and threw it in its direction. It leapt back, raising its paw. Its tail never stopped wagging as it gave out a bark. It bowed its head and growled lightly, bounding from left to right. It thought he was playing.

"Stupid dog," Dark hissed, closing his eyes and sighing. It kept barking and yipping at him. He decided to play dead. Surely it'd leave him alone then.

"It can't be true," Dark spoke within a dazed flashback. He was back in the castle, tucked out of sight from prying eyes. Aural was with him as she nodded and frowned.

"You are lying!" he growled at her, unsheathing his sword and pointing the tip as her neck. She did not back away from his threat. He curled his fingers tightly around the scroll. The parchment he was supposed to have handed straight to his master. The paper scrunched and his hand trembled in both fear and hatred.

"My king is not possessed. My king has returned as he was before!" He told her. She shook her head, disagreeing with him. He felt rage building, pressing the cold blade to her neck. Droplets of blood began to stain his sword having broken her skin. A tear fell from her eye yet still she did not back off. He had brought her the scroll and all that he had extracted from her was a vicious untruth.

"You come up with some vile nonsense," he stated coldly, pulling his blade back and storming out of the room. He would confront his king about this garbage. She would be punished for her blasphemy. But as he walked briskly down the corridor, his mind began to wonder. There were things about his king that had seemed out of place. He tried to shake off the thought but they refused to leave. The more he tried to push the thoughts to one side, the more they lingered and made him paranoid.

Wasn't it his duty to protect his master?

A slobbery tongue trailed from Dark's chin and up to his forehead. He coughed and opened his eyes sharply. Its bright eyes were in line with Dark's, making soft whimpering sounds. Dark raised his hand and wiped the drool off of his face, snarling in the back of my throat.

"Get lost!" He shouted at it. It did not budge.

"You would not be so happy to be so close if I was in better health," He told it as he awkwardly rolled onto his back. "My sword would be in your chest before you knew what hit you." The dog ignored his threat, its paws on his chest. He cringed at the touch. He expected his ribs to thrust pain into every crevice of his body. It didn't.

He placed his right hand on the ground, then his left. His left hand that had once been broken now felt numb. He pulled himself up into a sitting position. Vague aches ran across his body, but not as it had been before. His bones had healed. How long had he been down this ditch?

The dog ran circles around the demon, howling as it did so. Dark got to his feet and peered up at the ledge. He would be able to climb out. He hoisted himself up and over, staring across the plains. He didn't recognise where he was. He could hear the dog whining from the ditch. He peered over and grinned. The dog kept bounding onto its hind legs, its forepaws scratching at the wall. It wanted to follow.

"Good riddance," he mocked it as he turned and left. He checked his tunic over. His sword, shield and bow were missing. He sighed and looked over his surroundings. He had no idea where he was.

The dog howled out loudly as he carried on walking away. It was at the perfect pitch to get under his skin. He shuddered, hoping it would stop soon.

"Where could Aural be?" he thought to himself. He wondered if she would be looking out for him. He wondered if she would have gone back to that town and waited for him. Perhaps she had ventured through the forest on her own to find what was needed.

He stopped in his tracks. He had no idea where to start looking. Would she head further onto the mainland, past the mountains, the forests, the towns and cities?

Dark could hear the dog still howling pitifully. Maybe he could use the mutt. He started walking back, pulling the cloak out from under his tunic. Maybe her scent would still be on the fabric. He gazed over the gouge. The dog looked up at him, barking with joy. He leant down and grabbed it by the scruff of its neck sharply. The dog yelped and snarled back at Dark, baring its teeth and snapping at thin air. He shook it slightly, bringing the cloak up to its nose. It pawed the cloak, its nose running over it. It took several sniffs before barking once, its tail wagging once more.

"Find her," Dark Link told the dog as he dropped it to the floor next to him. It landed on its stomach, its ears falling flat. It sprang onto its feet, sniffing the ground and spinning round in circles. Its nose kept twitching and its tail never stopped wagging. It then bounded off towards the left. Dark followed the dog quickly as it kept running. He needed to find her and quickly. She had to be kept away from his master at all costs.