Blinding Darkness - Zelda X Ganondorf

Chapter 25

One year of war.

     Aria tossed the Master Sword carelessly away at the door, slumping down in her chair and deflated, finally letting herself feel the wounds of battle littering her still-tiny body.

     And then she leapt up, then dashed to the bedroom, suddenly remembering about the toddler snoozing in his handmade crib. If anything had happened to him--

     He was still sleeping peacefully, drooling slightly as his chest rose and fell evenly.

     Sighing with relief, she forced her aching body to the kitchen to make something, anything, to eat. 

     Link would be up soon. And he would be hungry.

     Aria fought a yawn as she flipped the pan, trying to stay awake so the food didn't burn.

     She had just been to the outskirts of Hyrule Castle Town Ruins, using her sword of Light to slash through the shadows and seal them within the barrier. A year of work, and yet the shadows still determinedly uncurled its toxic reach, seeping further and further away from the Castle, subtly taking over more and more of Hyrule's untouched land.

     "Hey, little one." She called as Link waddled out of his bedroom, rubbing his tiny eyes. "You're up early today."

     "I'm hungry." He complained. "And you've been gone for so long, I was lonely."

     "Of course you were." Aria dumped her messy cooking into a plate, not commenting on the smooth, complete sentences that were spoken by a one year old, nor the way he was already familiar with more complex emotions. Link wasn't an ordinary child, she was fully aware of that fact.

     "I love omelettes." Link commented as he swung his feet on his seat. His reddish hair fell into his eyes, and Aria brushed it back. "And you're hurt." His mismatched eyes fell on the black streaks of burnt skin lining her arm.

     "I'm always hurt." Aria smiled reassuringly. "Look at you, worrying about me. I'm fine."

     "I love omelettes." He repeated, stuffing the food into his mouth. "Light and shadow don't mix. Sunlight. Gold."

     "Don't make a mess." She threw over her shoulder as she swept the floor, her muscles shrieking.

     Link was... strange at times. It was as though there were two halves of him, the half that was still a one year old baby and the half that was a god, battling for dominance in his fragile body. Already he was saying things that no toddler would ever say.

     Light and shadow don't mix.

     You're hurt.

     I was lonely.

     Aria wished that this burden didn't have to fall on him.

     He was too young.

     Yet, was she not too young?

     "Ganondorf!" Zelda threw one of the blades over to him, and he caught it, swiftly plunging it deep into the heart of the beast.

     It shrieked, and Zelda summoned up her power, feeling it flicker dimly at her fingertips. A mere ghost of its former self. 

     It was enough, however, to work for the time being. Focusing with every fibre of her being, she closed her eyes and her hands thrust out, power, a bright stream of light like the sun gushing out of her hands and slamming into the shadow beast, driving it bit by bit back into the portal.

     And with a final wrench, she dug deeper into her very soul and brought her hands slowly together, feeling resistance like magnetic force at her palms. 

     A yell tearing through her throat, she pushed, and her hands met.

     The portal spasmed, then the rip knit itself together and a fine thread of gold weaved itself around the gash, sealing it closed for one night.

     Tomorrow, they would start again.

     "Done for today." She announced to Ganondorf, her shoulders loosening. 

     "Yeah." He leaned against the wall, the black circles under his eyes somehow more pronounced in the darkness. "Done."

     Concern replaced momentary triumph. 

     "You all right?" She walked closer, almost afraid to approach him. "Was it bad today?"

     He didn't respond for a moment. 

     Ganondorf's role in this silent war was to drain the shadow beast of its power, making it possible for Zelda to drive it back into its world. Triforce of Shadows or not, he was still a light dweller. A light dweller that would be hurt absorbing all of this darkness.

     "...Kinda makes up for all those things my past selves did, huh?" He gave her a weak smile.

     Zelda blinked. Sometimes she forgot that they were destined to be enemies.

     "More than." She took his hand. "It's all right. Tell me."

     "It's not like it hurts really badly or anything." He sounded like he was trying to reassure himself. "It just makes me tired. Honestly, don't worry. There's still some fight left in me yet."

     Zelda turned away to stare at the place where the portal had vanished. "It's really been a year, huh?"

     "Yes. Time flies when you're fighting the embodiment of shadows trying to take over this world alongside your greatest historical enemy whom you have a child with." 

     "Shut up." She shoved him, enjoying the momentary peace. "I miss the sun."

     "That flimsy old thing?" Ganondorf raised an eyebrow. "You've never even seen what the sun can do. Those times you visited the desert? Imagine living in it, for your entire life. Do you still miss the sun?"

    "You know you miss it as well." Zelda smirked. "Don't pretend you don't."

    "I like to think I've seen enough sun to last the rest of my life, but yes." He relented.

    "You can never have too much sun." She declared, the way her bare arms craved the soft caress of a ray of warm light, the way it seemed to make everything look brighter, more hopeful.

     "No use wishing for something you can't have." Ganondorf raised his eyes to the domed ceiling, the chill of the shadows clinging to his warmth-starved skin. "Four more years to go, right?"

     "A fifth of the way done." Zelda looked down with a smile.

     They had made a silent agreement to never talk about their son. It just made everything so much more unbearable, to know of his existence but to never be able to hold him in their arms. 

     But they couldn't stop dreaming, separate from each other but so connected. They couldn't stop dreaming of a world where they could be free.

     Half a world away, Aria woke in a cold sweat from yet another nightmare.

A/N: THREE UPDATES IN ONE NIGHT!! The next chapters are all going to be equally short. 

Thanks for reading and enjoy!