The Edge Of Darkness (Link x Dark)

Chapter 3: The Dark Of Night

Darkness had never been Link's friend. When he was much younger, he had woken up on a cloudy night and could not see any stars outside. He was convinced the goddesses had extinguished the sky, and he wept alone without anyone to comfort him, for he had no mother or father, and no fairy companion. In the end it was Saria who had come to his aid, telling him that the stars needed to sleep too. Though his fear had temporarily been quelled, it had only increased in the past couple of years - now, instead of just imagining the bad things that could happen in the dark, he knew all too well what could be lurking there.

It was rather silly of him, he supposed, to be walking around in the dark when the light magic he had discovered within himself could guide him through the cave easily. Still, if he were to run into something unfriendly, he would rather have the element of surprise on his side, especially since the much roomier entrance had narrowed down into a cramped tunnel as he went further in. He could not even stretch his arms out to the side, much less have room to maneuver if the light of his magic alerted a monster to his presence.

He wasn't sure how long he had been carefully walking through the hallway when he felt it start to widen. He could only assume that it was an opening to another larger space, and so, hugging the left wall, he continued to move forward. As he felt the right side of the wall get further and further away, he grew more confident, and strayed from the sides. After all, his eyes were beginning to get adjusted to the pitch black surrounding him, and he was sure there wouldn't be anything waiting to jump out at him from the shadows.

No sooner had he finished his speculation than his foot ran into something, and as the unknown object rattled at the touch he thought he heard quiet laughter coming from another part of the room. He froze, thinking through his options. The fairy bow, he decided. He grabbed hold of an arrow, and the tip glowed with pure light magic as he lifted it to his bow. One hit was all he would need to eliminate the threat.

He loosed the arrow, sending shards of pottery flying in the air, and felt his face heat up as he realized the object had only been a clay pot. Glaring at the scattered pieces, he noticed a red rupee glittering amongst the wreckage. He bent over to pick it up, examining it carefully by the small amount of light he still had left from using the arrow. It wasn't quite enough compensation to make up for his lost pride, but it would have to do.

"My first visitor, and you turn out to be a thief? What a shame." Link jumped in surprise, dropping the rupee. He stared in the direction of the voice, for the first time noticing a figure that seemed almost to blend in with the shadows.

"Sorry, I didn't know." He casually kicked the rupee in their direction, like he had meant to drop it.

The figure grunted in response. In one swift movement, they darted forward and picked up the rupee before disappearing back into the darkness. If it hadn't been for the sound of the rupee dropping again, presumably into another pot, Link could have believed he was alone in the cave once more.

Tentatively, he took a step forward, squinting into the shadows. He had a lot of questions, but he would have preferred to know he wasn't asking them in an empty room. "Are you still here?"

"What's wrong? Can't see?" Rather than conveying sympathy, the voice seemed to be mocking him. Link chose not to reply, and was eventually rewarded with a loud sigh. "There are plenty of torches in here. If you can find them, you can light them."

He crept forward, his arms in front of him. He knew he could not pass judgment on his new companion in the shadows yet, but he could not help being a little suspicious - if there were torches here, why hadn't they lit them? He chose to believe the simplest of answers: they obviously could see well in the dark.

No sooner had he thought that than his outstretched hand brushed against a metal frame, and he followed it up until he found the wick sticking up from the center. He breathed in deeply, resisting the urge to cough from the stale air around him. It must have been years since the torch had last held a flame.