Link
I was in the cell for about an hour and still Ghirahim hadn't come back. I tried everything to get out of that cell, but there were magical precautions on it. I tried using objects I found in the cell to pick the lock and it shocked me. I tried squeezing through the bars and they seemed to shrink together so I couldn't fit.
After multiple tries, I heard someone coming down the stairs. The footsteps were very heavy and I could tell it wasn't Ghirahim. So it had to be…
Demise got to the bottom of the stairs and headed for my cell. He stood there and looked at me for a few seconds. I sat on the ground and looked back at him. Eventually, after a somewhat disturbing silence, he spoke. "Link." Finally, someone addressed me by my name; now just to figure out whether that is a good thing or not….
"Demise." Cell, torch, door…do you want to keep naming things in the room? I can go all day…
"Have you enjoyed your time here in my cell?" He looked completely serious and not as angry as he was before, but the bloodlust hadn't left his eyes.
"What do you think?" It looked like his hand twitched at my comment. I chuckled to myself at his reaction. You wanna hit me, you gotta open the cage.
"I think it's time to teach you to respect your superiors." With that, he raised his hand and the cage swung open. He walked toward the room I saw earlier. I wanted to run back up the stairs and away from him, but just as I was exiting the cage and about to bolt to the exit, he turned toward me again and raised his hand.
I had no control over my body as his hand beckoned me. I unwillingly followed him to the room with the table and weapons as I felt fear drip it's was into my mind. He led me into the room and I had a better look at what was here.
The table I saw earlier also had straps on it. The straps looked as though they were meant to hold down a person's wrists, upper arms, torso, upper legs, and ankles.
The swords, knives, and brands were on one wall. There was a shelf that had bottles of many things, including what looked like potions, other liquids which I didn't have a name for, and animals… or bugs and insects would be a better guess.
The only other things in the room were a fire place that was already burning and I drawer connected to the shelf with potions. The fact that I didn't know what was in the drawer worried me.
The magic that Demise had on me forced me to lay down on the table and it didn't fade until Demise had bound me it. He began walking around the room, checking this and that. The room was larger than I gave it credit for earlier. It was rather large and comfortable fit Demise and myself without it being cramped.
He walked over to the drawer and I couldn't see what he was doing. As he walked back, he approached my head. With my hands bound, there was nothing I could do to stop him from blindfolding me. It was black; I knew that, because even if I opened my eyes, I couldn't see anything but darkness.
"Link, when we are done here, you will behave and you will like it. I want you to remember everything you feel for these next few hours, and the next time you want to fight or be defiant, remember all of the suffering you will soon endure." I heard him and he sounded like he was smiling.
His words worried me and I was slightly afraid, but I refused to show it.
"Why are you going to torture me? I thought Ghirahim supposedly owned me." I sneered the last two words. I heard Demise pick something up and I cried out from the unexpected pain as a deep cut was made in my arm, right over my bicep.
"First off, you will address your Master as such. A slave does not address his Master by his name. Secondly, you disrespected me while I was trying to enjoy my meal, and Ghirahim was too soft on you and your actions. So I took it upon myself to discipline you."
I could feel my arm bleeding all over the table and it felt like a deep cut. It hurt like hell. I wasn't used to pain, or I should say, I not used to dealing with pain. Yes, on my mission I would get injured a lot, but I would drink a heart potion and seal the wounds. I couldn't move my arm and the open air was starting to cause it to sting.
But there was no way I would give in to Demise's demands. I would not be some weak, subservient pet to Ghirahim, Demise, or anyone else for that matter. Not even for Zelda.
Zelda… I know that dream I had wasn't made up. She said she was gone permanently now and there was nothing I could do to save her. I'm a failure; I deserve anything Demise could throw at me.
Either way, anything he could do wouldn't hurt as much as the pain I feel inside, in my heart.
I momentarily forgot my pain and where I was as I was lost in thought. I was brought back as I felt a searing pain erupt from the wound in my arm.
I screamed as Demise continued to pour an unknown substance onto my arm.
"Ignoring someone of high authority will not be tolerated either." He stopped pouring, but the sting didn't go away. I grunted at the pain.
"Does it hurt, child? Do you have any idea what I put on your wound? It's a very common substance. I'm sure it was available at your sky home." Was? Why did he use past tense?
"No, I don't know what you put on my wound and why did you say 'was'?" I was slowly breathing out and trying to ignore the pain in my arm.
"I poured lemon juice in your would boy, and I used past tense because it was in the past. It has ceased to exist, or it soon will." He talked to me like he was speaking to a very young, very unknowledgeable child.
Demise
The blindfolded child looked so appealing when he was bleeding and defenseless. I now see why Ghirahim was so infatuated by the boy. The look of pain and fear on his face was delectable. However, I only see the boy as a good toy to play with, but not in the way Ghirahim does. I have no interest in the boy in that way, I see him as a rather fun torture subject.
If he was my possession, then he would have already been subjected to agony. He would be, to put it bluntly, a torture test subject. To see what causes the most pain, what a human body cannot handle, and what will eventually lead to death; that sort of thing.
He had asked me about his home. I am aware that Hylia's magic would linger and I intended to head off for the floating rock to collect the followers of Hylia before it fell out of the sky. The cloud barrier was weakening and has almost dispersed. Soon it will cease to exist as well.
I put the vile of lemon juice back on the shelf and proceeded to gather some more torture implements. I picked up one of my brands from the wall and placed it in the fire. I walked over to a table and picked up a fire red candle that was already lit.
Link
I could hear Demise moving around and shifting things within the room. It was very easy to place where he was due to his loud footsteps.
"Link, now I'll ask you one more time. Are you going to behave and follow the rules of this castle?" He was right above my head now and probably looking down at me. I kept my mouth shut tight and refused to give any answer. "Fine, if that is your final decision…"
I felt searing pain on my hand. I withheld a scream of pain as a very hot substance slowly covered my finger tips and burned the skin. When it touched my skin, it solidified there and the pain traveled in a slow stream to my palm, filled there and up my arm. When Demise was done, my whole hand, fingers and palm, were covered in the burning substance. My fore-arm and elbow had a thick line going up them, and the substance had dripped over the side of my arm before it hardened.
I heard a huff of aggravation when I stubbornly wouldn't scream. "Do you have a high pain tolerance boy or are you just being unnecessarily stubborn?"
"Is that really any of your business?" My voice didn't hold the power I wish it did.
I expected to be reprimanded and burned again after I said this. I was rather surprised when I heard a chuckle. "Is that so? Well, I guess I'll just answer my own question, because you see boy, you think you're so brave and courageous. You think that I don't know anything about you or what you can do, but guess what…" I felt him walk up to me and he put this hand around my throat, cutting off my air supply; he continued to speak as I struggled, even though there was nothing I could do to pry his hand away when I had no use of my restrained limbs.
"…I have the dead Goddesses soul inside of me. Everything she ever had is mine. All of her power, emotion, and memories that she ever had now belong to me. All of the memories from her immortal life and he mortal life. Every weakness or fear you have shown to her, I know about." He removed his hand from my throat, seeing that he had my attention.
I gasped out in surprise and lack of air. Zelda was the closest person to me and she new everything about me. All my flaws, weaknesses, fears, and so much more. I never kept a secret from her and she knew almost everything about me; if Demise meant what he said, then so did he.
"I know every single detail of that dream you had last night as well." I could hear the smugness in his voice. "And yes, she is fully gone, but it's for the best though. She was weak and worthless, not even fit to plead for mercy at my feet, much less be granted the right to live."
I knew he was trying to anger me, I knew he was just trying to get in my head. Well, he succeeded. "Shut up you fucken bastard! How dare you talk about her like that! Compared to her, you are worthless. I swear that if I ever get out of these bonds, I'll fucken kill you! Your fucken dead!" I ranted but Demise was nowhere close to me as I thrashed in my bonds and tried to break free. All I could hear was his dark chuckling at my fury, which only made it worse.
I could feel what I assumed to be candle wax that was still on my arm. The skin was raw under the wax and I could feel my thrashing causing it to become irritated; it hurt like hell, but I was in too much of a blind rage to notice.
How dare he talk about Zelda like that, especially in front of me; she was so nice, kind, and pure. He was disgusting and evil. He didn't deserve to walk the same ground as she does...did. I can't remember a time when I was this mad, with the exception of when Ghirahim attacked me and Zelda right after she woke up.
"Boy, I recall you telling the girl about your worse fear. Do you recall what the fear was?" Yes and I faced it at almost every turn in the Skyview temple. Spiders scare the living shit out of me and I nearly pissed myself when I saw the huge ones in the temple.
I was lost in thought when Demise landed a blow on my stomach and my mouth fell open to let out a pained cry. I felt Demise slip something into my mouth and force me to keep it shut.
I started to struggle and freak out as I realized that Demise hand forced me to hold a spider in my mouth! I could feel it on my tongue and it crawled toward the back of my throat. I began making pleading noises, trying to get Demise to let me spit it out.
"What's wrong hero? Have something to say?" I could tell he was holding back laughter as he asked this. What the hell is funny about this? In any way?
"Mm-hm!" I tried to make an affirmative noise and Demise accepted it, but he didn't let me open my mouth and I could still feel the spider. I was terrified that it would either go down my throat, forcing me to swallow it, or that it would bite the inner cavern of my mouth. There was also a strange taste in my mouth and I assumed it had to be the spider; it was almost enough to make me sick.
"Well, how do I know you'll agree to my demands if I let you spit it out? Guess I'll have to ask you now. If I let you spit it out, are you going to yell and or curse at me like you did a few moments ago?" I shook my head for no with his hand still on my jaw, forcing it to remain closed.
"Good boy. Will you obey your Master's and my demands?" Another nod, anything to get this damned spider away from me. I had to constantly resist my growing urge to swallow.
"Also, will you address your Master properly?" No…I couldn't. That would be giving up what little pride I had left. I was about to refuse when the spider crawled its way to the back of my throat and I had to hold back my urge to swallow and gag.
I quickly nodded and he allowed me to open my mouth. I coughed until the spider flew out of my mouth. I could still taste a strange substance on my tongue and no matter what I did, I couldn't shake the taste; I kept trying to swallow the taste away.
"That's good hero, now I'm going to hold you to that. I had coated that charming spider with very special type of magic. It must be ingested to take affect and you so willingly swallowed after that spider was taken out of your mouth. Do you want to find out what it does?" I was frozen in fear and dread. I had only agreed to those things to get the spider out of my mouth. So stupid…I should have known he would do something like this.
I could feel his smugness. It was almost tangible by the way it radiated off of his being. He walked over to me and looked straight into my eyes. "If you disobey me or your Master, if you show any form of defiance, or if you try to fight back in any way, I will show you what my little spell does. You will learn to be obedient and submissive through your actions, just like a true pet; if you behave, we will reward you, misbehave and you will be punished."
No…I can't simply obey them. But…I don't know what this spell does. Ugh…Ghirahim, I'm going to have to call him Master now.
I will never last more than an hour being completely obedient like he wants.
"Now that we have that little problem solved, it's time to move on to your punishment."
"What? Wasn't that punishment enough!" I was outraged. He cut, burned, and forced me to nearly swallow a disgusting spider, put a spell on me, and he wasn't done punishing me yet?
"No boy that was just teaching you the proper was to respect your superiors and how to behave. Specifically, that was to teach you a lesson; now it is time to punish you for your past actions. And remember, from this point on, no defiance, no rebellion, and no fighting or you will be punished."
I was blinded as he removed the blindfold and my eyes adjusted. Demise picked up some kind of tool that was flat and thin. He put it to my waxed up arm and began to roughly scrape it off of my sensitive arm. I screamed in pain as the hard wax was removed along with a layer of skin.
It was the worst when he got to my hand and took it off. When he was done, the table and my arm were dripping blood and my arm looked like I was wearing a crimson, elbow length glove.
Demise undid the straps and I squelched my urge to fight as I was flipped onto my stomach. I began to panic as Demise forcibly removed my shirt.
'No, please don't tell me he is like Ghirahim, he wouldn't do anything like that as punishment, right?' I was somewhat relived as he left my pants alone and irritated and worried as he retied the bonds. I could see now as he walked over to the fire and pulled out a metal…brand. It was bright red and almost white. He inspected it for a second before looking satisfied. I struggled again as he forced me to remain still be standing over me and placing his unoccupied hand slightly above my lower back.
I couldn't even twitch away as I felt scorching heat right above my lower back.
Demise
I got my brand out of the fire and was positioned over the boy. He looked terrified as I positioned the brand about an inch or two from his skin. I slowly brought the brand down and relished in his scream of pure agony as his flesh was seared and burned while it made a delightful sizzling sound.
This went on for about a minute as he continued to scream and tried to thrash even when he was restrained. I eventually lifted the brand and inspected my work. Right on his lower back was a small set of words. The boy was lucky that the brand wasn't very big and you would have to be very close to him to even read it, but the words would stay with him for a very long time.
I heard his cries quiet to small whimpers and sobs. I sensed a presence enter the room and looked over to see Ghirahim come in. Good, I was growing rather bored. He walked over and looked at my work.
He smirked as he read the tramp- stamp that said, in very elegant script:
Property of Lord Ghirahim