The Legend of Zelda: Everlasting (2nd book in the Timeless series)

Chapter 12

Zelda struggled against the chains around her hands and feet, ignoring the pain it brought. She pulled and fought, but the chain did not budge even slightly from it's post on the disgusting dungeon wall. She groaned and slumped back again against the wall.

They had moved her shortly before down into the dark, damp cell she was in now. The freezing air bit into her as she sat there, looking down. She could finally see again, though there was not anything she wanted to see. They had waited until she was chained to finally uncloud her vision. Before, she thought she would be extremely grateful for this privilege, but now she was aching for the numb unknown of being blind. At least then she wouldn't have to know what surrounded her.

She really preferred that she didn't.

The floor was filthy and black, infested with unknown bugs and rodents. A few feet from her layed a nearly unrecognizable heap. The torn remains of cloth that clung to the black, decaying flesh was stained and smelled. Not that the corpse it was attached to smelled any better. It was a gruesome sight to see. The rusted chains around it's neck, arms and feet made her all the more eager to escape.

The part that made her the most uncomfortable though was it's head though, which was turned, leaned against it's shoulder. It's jaw was open and almost unhinged from the rest of the skull, wide with a silent, long-unheard scream.

She gulped and turned away, before gasping.

There was a few more, all in similar conditions as the first. Two were resting close to each other, entwined with obvious love for each other, visible even this long after their death. Zelda pulled her knees to her, closing her eyes. Was she about to join them?

No. She was not. That much she was sure of.

Out of desperation, she felt her hand warm greatly. She hoped the power she was blessed with would be enough to snap the chains off her wrist.

Huge sparks and fire burst up from nowhere, hitting her in the back. The heat in her hand immediately stopped as she grit her teeth, aching to brush the burning embers off her back, but not being able to. She felt it burning into her flesh.

They knew her better than she had anticipated. They had obviously set up this reaction as a trap, knowing she would attempt to escape in that manner. It gave her a small heads-up as to what was coming her way if she couldn't escape this hell-hole. That made her stubbornness on getting out flare all the more.

The scraping of a heavy door on cement caught her attention. She looked up, keeping her eyes off of the rotting corpses around her.

The booming footsteps that were slowly approaching didn't belong to any of the demons she had met. She pressed herself against the wall, attempting to blend into the dark shadows cast against the wall. It wasn't extraordinarily difficult, considering how dark and disgusting everything was.

The space outside of the cell was pitch black. Her only hint that the being had approached was the sudden stopping of the pounding footsteps. Her breath caught as she desperately tried to make out it's figure.She heard a deep, growling chuckle, and two large, grotesque hands suddenly grasped the bars, making her flinch.

The bars slowly melted under his hands, leaving a wide hole in the cell. To her surprise, he didn't step in, but merely raised one of his hands towards her, revealing more of the beast's arm.

His skin was a sickly greenish color, with rough white patches that looked like dead skin. His shirt was stained and torn, and his sharp nails were tinted crimson towards the end.

When he raised his arm, the cuffs around her wrists and feet started to melt. Zelda cried out in pain as the burning hot metal flowed around her ankles and wrists. The demon merely laughed, a horrible booming sound that seemed to shake the cell.