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rpd-rookie · 4 years ago

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Five Stages of Fatherhood - Leon S. Kennedy x Reader

Summary: Fatherhood can be wonderful but for Leon Kennedy, fatherhood is scary and he is not ready for it at all. How is he going to process your unexpected news?

Author’s note: I wanted to release this one-shot for Father's Day but it was far from being finished. But here it is. I was mainly inspired by the recent posts I saw on Tumblr. I hope I did Leon justice and that you'll love this story as much as I loved writing it. Don’t forget to like/reblog and give me your impression.

Tags: Angst; Fatherhood ; Depression; Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism ;Anxiety; Language

Also Available on AO3

Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance.

They say those are the five stages of grief. Five stages you must overcome to be at peace with yourself. Five stages you must experience, however hard and painful they are, to find the strength to pull yourself back together and keep on living. Leon knew those five stages all too well. He had experienced them more times than he could count through all those years fighting since the Raccoon City incident. They had paved his life, making him wonder why and if he would ever see an end to it all one day. But what he didn’t know is that he was about to experience them again. But in a new unexpected way he would have never imagined.

1. Denial

I’m pregnant. Three simple words that made his simple life suddenly not so simple anymore, repeating and echoing in his head, making him feel like his whole world was suddenly crumbling around him, over him, burying him under rubbles of fear and uncertainty. I’m pregnant. He didn’t just hear that. This was a dream, a hallucination due to sleep deprivation or a silly joke. It had to be. Because it couldn’t be real. This couldn’t happen to him. There was no way he had gotten you pregnant. Yes, you were fooling him. Right? … Right? He had a brief forced laugh, anxiety eating him up slowly. “Please tell me you’re joking.” Pinned to his desk chair, he stared at you waiting for a silly answer or an amused grin. He obviously got neither of them and so he immediately froze, watching you frowning at him with a look that was way too grave and serious to his taste. “Do you really think I would joke about something like this?” Why not? Anything would be better than those three words being the truth. “How can that be so absurd to you that I might be pregnant?” Pregnant? He felt suddenly dizzy. No fucking way.

Mouth slightly opened, confused and petrified blue eyes fixed upon you, and a marble immobility. That’s all that remained of Leon as he searched for something to say, something to think, something to reassure himself with, something to tell him that this conversation, this moment, was not happening right now.

Pregnant? Really? “I didn’t get you pregnant.” You stared at him in shock as he relentlessly shook his head. “I couldn’t. It’s not possible. I…” He cut himself off when he saw you looking away, huge tears suddenly flooding your usually joyful (colour) eyes.

Clearly, that wasn’t the reaction you expected from him. But that’s all his brain could process at the moment, the only thing it could find to keep him afloat, to prevent him from drowning in panic. “There must be some sort of mistake. I can’t be a father. This is not happening.” Leon was freaking out. He couldn’t deny it. The pounding of his heart in his chest was enough evidence. But years fighting BOWs had taught him not to show any ounce of panic even in the worst situations. So, mechanically, no emotion filtered through in voice, making it almost cold. Actually, it sounded so heartless it rooted you on the spot, unaware of what was going on right now in your boyfriend’s head and unable to understand that his weird reaction was just his reason trying to calm him down and help find a quick way-out before reaching an inevitable end. That inevitable end being Fatherhood.

“What are you saying?” You dared ask, your face suddenly pale because of the terrible things he implied. “I don’t want to be a father, Y/N.” He declared looking at you right in the eye. “I don’t want whatever you think is inside your womb right now.” You slumped in your chair, feeling speechless and shocked but most of all, insulted. Did he just call your child a ‘whatever’ and insinuated it wasn’t even there? Was he really denying everything? Saying you were wrong? “Take another test. I’m sure this must be some sort of mistake.” You stared at him, bewildered and fighting to prevent your tears from falling as shock was slowly yet surely turning into sorrow and anger.

2. Anger

“There’s no mistake, Leon. A gynaecologist confirmed it. I’m three months pregnant! Fuck, do you really think I denied this pregnancy on purpose?” There was a sudden knot in your throat, strangling all your words. Leon shrugged. “Honestly, Y/N, I don’t get how someone cannot realize they’re pregnant.” “Simple. Imagine your boyfriend almost dying in a bombing attack in DC, then pushing you out when you try to help him. Then one day, after an entire month watching him falling deeper and deeper into depression despite all your efforts to bring him comfort, you realise that he left without telling you where he’s going. After asking a few people, you learn that he’s decided to take some ‘vacation’ but you know all too well that this vacation of his is just him drowning himself in alcohol in some lousy hotel.” You spouted angrily, feeling all your hormones boiling inside of you. “And I guess you can also add his four weeks of radio silence and the worry you felt when you learn that he who you loved so freaking much was almost killed again in another bio-terrorist attack, this time in New York. I guess that’s a pretty good way to make you deny a pregnancy!” “Oh, so this is my fault?!” He asked, almost shouting, thinking your were accusing him when in fact you were just accusing the horrible stress and the worry you had felt for the last ten weeks or so. “I’m the alcoholic bastard who knocked you up and you’re the poor lost innocent girl? That’s what you’re saying?” “Do you even realise how hurtful you are? Do you really think that is what I want to hear right now?” You tried to block a sob, in vain and Leon sighed in exasperation as he briefly rolled his eyes. He won’t have your crocodile tears right now. “Don’t force me on a guilt trip, Y/N. Please.” He said, frozen stoicism making his features as strong and cold as marble. “Weren’t you on the pill, by the way?” He frowned, and a tear rolled down your cheek. You wiped it quickly. “You forgot it?”

You tried to answer but you knew that the second you would talk it would unleash Leon’s anger and you were not ready to bear it. “For fuck’s sake, Y/N.” Leon gritted his teeth and glared while you instinctively braced yourselves, hands holding tightly at the armrest of your chair. “You only had one thing to think about! One!” He growled, a scolding finger pointed at your face. “Take a fucking pill!” “I may have forgotten once” You whispered almost inaudibly. “Oh, you forgot?” He scoffed before slamming his hand against the wooden desk as he brutally stood up making you jump in your chair. “And then she blames me for my depression. Fantastic.” You frowned. That’s not what you had meant. “Leon…” “You’re as responsible as I am, Y/N. You may have not realised you were pregnant because of what I did but you are the one forgot to take a fucking pill. And, how could you forget? How could you screw my life, both our lives, like that?” Leon screamed as he walked in circles in his office, like a lion in a cage, except that he was lost. He was lost in fear, panic and anger. And he had no control over them. Hard to bear for someone usually so grounded. And that what was pissed him off the most in this situation. Not the news of your pregnancy but lack of control.

“Do you really think I want to be a father at the moment? Or ever? Do you really think our lives or this world are fit to welcome a kid right now?” His voice trembled, powerful emotions finally getting the better of him. A child of his could not be born in such an unsafe dark world. A child could not be part of his messed up cataclysmic life. Family was not made for him. He couldn’t be the devoted agent he was, save the world from awful monsters and have a normal life waiting for him at home. Leon had come to that conclusion years ago. And he even had accepted it long before meeting you. “No. But it’s there now. So please, let’s figure out what to do.” You begged, understanding his fear and yet still trying to reason with him. “What do you want to figure out, Y/N? I told you I didn’t want to be a father. And I thought I made that pretty clear when we had the baby conversation at the beginning of our relationship.” Crystal clear. No living together, no marriage, no children. So were the terms of your relationship. A sacrifice he had asked you to make if you truly wanted to be with him. And you had made it out of love for him. But there was someone else, someone else you loved as deeply as you loved Leon if not more.

“So what do I do?” You asked, lost, using the pronoun ‘I’ because you truly felt on your own right now. “Fuck, I don’t know, Y/N. I don’t fucking know.”

3. Bargaining

But you eventually made a choice, one Leon never saw coming. And all he got was a letter; a simple piece of paper to explain the sacrifice you had decided to make. A letter not even truly addressed to him that made him realise that words could indeed hurt more than actions because, had he had the choice, he would have taken a thousand knives in the heart over those hundreds painful tearstained words.

��My dear baby,

As I write this to you, you’re barely the size of a peach, taking a small place in my womb but already a big one in my heart in a way I never thought humanly possible. If someone had told me that one day I would love someone that intensely, that unconditionally to a point I would sacrifice everything for them, even my own life, I would have laughed to their face. But here you are, not even born and yet making me take a decision I never believed I would take. Giving up on the man I love. Yes, it’s going to be just the two of us from now on. Mother and child building a life together. Not the perfect family portrait but it will be ours and it will be full of love and tenderness. And I hope you’ll like it despite its flaws. I wish I had given you a dad but fate decided otherwise. He decided otherwise. But please, don’t hate him for that. Your dad is an incredible man. A man I love and will always love. A man that will always be a part of me whatever I do. A man that offered me the chance to be a mother. But he is not ready to make a room for you in his heart the way I did. I guess he would have under other circumstances but you don’t need to know them just yet. What you need to know is that your dad is a hero and that heroes sacrifice themselves. Always. Remember him that way. As a selfless man who chose the safety of the world – the world you live in - over his own happiness, because he’s done too much good for you or me to hate him. But don’t worry, my baby. While Daddy is making the world a safer place, I am here to make it a loving one.

I love you,

Your mum.”

That letter stayed on his coffee table for days, lying there for him to read again and again, next to a bottle of fine old whisky Leon would empty one glass after another, one regret after another, begging God –even though he did not believed in him – to bring you back to him.

There’s nothing worse than regrets, nothing worse than sitting alone with yourself and wait for sorrow to finally drown you, nothing worse than being lost in a maze of ‘what if’ and ‘if only’ and knowing that you cannot change anything.

What if he had made an effort? What if he had reacted otherwise and not like an ass? What if he had told you he loved you? What if he had said it would be okay? What if he had simply accepted this baby? How is life would be right now?

And he imagined it. He imagined himself at home with you in his arms, hand over your belly, feeling his child kicking and rolling under his palm. He imagined your smile, your soft giggles. Your happiness. And it crushed him. It crushed him because he wasn’t able to imagine anything else. He could not imagine the dark world he knew all too well. He could not imagine the fear or the pain he always thought he would feel in this situation.

And with regrets came guilt.

If only he had made and effort. If only he had reacted otherwise and not like an ass. If only he had told you he loved you. If only he had said it would be okay. If only he had accepted your baby. His life would be so much better right now.

4. Depression

But you were gone and with you all his hopes of future happiness. You had taken everything from him, leaving him alone, in the dark and purposeless, wandering in his fancy apartment with a new bottle of liquor each evening.

Leon knew depression. But this depression, the one he was experiencing right now, was the worst he had ever experienced. Because if you were gone, it was not because of a bullet, it was not because of a bomb or a BOW. It was because of him. It was entirely his fault. And he couldn’t even change it.

You would not see him, not even talk to him, despite all the messages left on your voicemail or the letters in which he apologized and begged you to come back, telling you if was ready to change and that he was ready to welcome this baby if it meant you'd be together again. And it destroyed him.

He became a mess and he eventually did what he did best. He left, finding refuge in an isolated part of America, a lost cottage in the mountains to drink his sorrow away in peace, somewhere where no one would judge him or find him.

He was wrong about the last part. As one day, after weeks and weeks of radio silence and isolation, an old friend came to knock at his door to kick his ass back to where he belonged. Guess there was no escaping Claire Redfield.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? The Leon I know would never sit there powerlessly and accept his fate that easily.” Leon would have sent anyone packing after a sentence like that one. But Claire wasn’t just anyone. He listened to her. “You want Y/N back? Then quit your bullshit, Leon, and go find her.” “She doesn’t want to talk to me, Claire.” She scoffed, taking his glass of whisky away from him and throwing the liquid away. “So what? You’re gonna stay here for the rest of your miserable life, drinking and crying, and concede defeat? That doesn’t sound like you.” He accepted her scolding, admitting she was right but he had lost the strength to fight. “I know it’s hard, Leon. I do.” Her tone was suddenly so soft and comforting. “I know what it is to lose someone you love as deeply as you love Y/N. But you can still fix it.” “How? She pushed me out of her life. She even moved out. She doesn’t want me anymore.” Claire sighed. “How naïve you are. She loves you. She wants you back. She really does but she doesn’t want you to accept this baby just because you feel like you don’t have a choice. She wants you to want it, truly want it.”

There was a silence, a moment of introspection in which Leon felt the fear and the anxiety rushing in his veins again, knotting his stomach tightly. “I’m not ready, Claire. I’m scared.” Tears misted up his tired blue eyes. “ I know. And it’s normal. But there’s a girl in a hospital out there who’s about to give birth to your child and she needs you, now more than ever.”

5. Acceptance

His head was dizzy, his hands were clammy and his legs were trembling. As Leon was following the nurse in the neonatology wing of the maternity hospital, dressed in a hospital uniform, he wondered if it was the smell of disinfectant or the fright he was feeling growing inside of him that was making him want to puke right now. Perhaps a little bit of both. “It’s this way.” The nurse opened a door and waved him to join her by a small incubator in the middle of the room, a sweet smile on her face.

But Leon froze, completely petrified. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t think. All he could do was watching at his five pounds of fear sleeping few steps away from him. “Someone’s here to see you, little angel. It’s your daddy.” Daddy? The word made Leon tremble and small tears appear in his eyes, tears that instantly grew bigger when the small creature finally moved its tiny arms. “Many fathers are afraid when they come here. But I assure you there’s nothing to fear. Your baby is fragile but you won’t hurt her, I promise.” Leon’s blue eyes met briefly the nurse before fixing themselves upon the face of the little thing lying in the incubator. “A daughter?” He had a daughter? He was the father of a little girl? This tiny angel in a pink beanie right there? He approached her, instinctively, wanting so badly to see her from up close. She was so beautiful and yet so tiny.

“Would you like to hold her?” Leon nodded, without thinking twice about it and the nurse made him sit down and remove the top of his hospital uniform, informing him that it would be better for his daughter to feel his skin since it was warmer and more reassuring than any fabric.

That first contact felt weird but Leon was certain of one thing, he had never hold anything so minuscule, light and fragile in his entire life. It scared him for a second, afraid she would break, but the instinct to protect her was stronger than anything else. “I’ll leave you two alone. If you need anything I’m not far.” Leon didn’t notice the nurse leave, mesmerized by that piece of him nestled in his arms right against his naked chest, watching her with wonder and awe, barely believing that he had made this … that you both had made this. “You’re so perfect.” He whispered as he dared caress her soft tender rosy cheek. His skin felt so rough against hers that she grimaced slightly. “So pure.”

Her hands were so little, just like her feet. Leon touched her fingers, still impressed by their size and shivered when they suddenly grabbed his index. “Wow, how strong you are, little princess.” He grinned, looking at her weak grip until he felt a pair of eyes staring at him.

They were dark and blue, soft innocent baby eyes scrutinizing him with astonishment, discovering his face and bonding with him in ways Leon had never thought possible. He could see the world in those blue eyes just as much as his daughter was discovering the world through his. And he could feel love, strong and unconditional, a love he would never be able to feel for anyone else, he was sure of it. A fatherly love. One that would make him move mountains just for the sake of protecting his child. One that would make him give up his life for hers. How beautiful yet how scary.

And he cried tears of joy and guilt, happy to have her in his life and yet sorry that he hadn’t be there for her sorry. He had missed too much. First echography, first move, first kick, first cry. All that because of fear and stubbornness. And he felt awful because of it.

A hand pressed gently on his shoulder. Leon turned around to see you standing next to him, a tired smile on your face. “Y/N” You knelt by his side, softly caressing the head of your daughter who had fallen asleep in the strong arms of her father. “I’m sorry... I am so sorry. I should have been there for you.” “ You’re here now. And that’s all that matters.”

Yes, he was here and he would remain here, by his daughter’s side and by yours, until his last breath. For first steps, first words, first birthday, first drawing, first day at school, first love, first heartbreak. He would forever be here for her and make the world a safer place for her. He had finally found a reason to keep fighting. And it was five pounds of pure love.

Little (baby’s name) Claire Kennedy.

Making his life brighter despite five stages of fatherhood he would willingly go through again if it meant he could hold her in his arms forever.

#leon s kennedy #leon kennedy #resident evil #leon kennedy x reader #leon s kennedy x reader #one shot #fanfic

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casey-v · 4 years ago

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Part 3: “If anything happens to her...”

Ethan x Casey

Warning: angst

Word count: 1,6K

Disclaimer: all characters belong to PB

Part 1: “...ending this...” Part 2: “Talk to him!”

I had to delete the first version, tumblr was messing with me and got the order totally wrong, don’t know why. I hope this time it’s right.

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Ethan was pacing up and down his office. He had desperately tried to focus on his work, but instead he tortured himself again and again with every word Casey had said to him a few days ago.

“Working with you makes me miserable. And that’s why I’m leaving the diagnostics team.”

He had honestly thought they could make a strictly professional relationship work. After fleeing to the Amazon, he was determined to keep his distance. But there was something about her that made it impossible for him to stick to his intentions. And now he had not only lost her, but also ruined her career. All sacrifices had been in vain.

Part of him wished that he had never met her. Before she came to Edenbrook he had had a good life. He wouldn’t exactly say that he had been happy, but he had been content. He had found fulfillment in his job and his little spare time he had filled with cooking, reading historical books, the opera and mostly staying to himself. There had been a few women, but never anything serious. Never had there been anyone he wanted in his life for more than a limited time. He didn’t believe in long term relationships thank to his parents.

But now there was Casey.

She was constantly in his head, at work and at home, by day and by night, in his waking hours and in his dreams. Only a smile from her or a gentle touch made his day. He couldn’t imagine a life without her anymore. He missed her so much, it hurt. These intense feelings scared him.

Was she right? Was being afraid of his feelings the real reason for his refusal, not her job and his ethics? Way back, when they had been to Derry Roasters for the first time and she had tried to analyze him, she had said

“You’ve carried an anger in you for a long time, so long you’re used to it.”

He had denied it at the time, but she was right, of course she was. There were wounds from his childhood, that never had been healed. It was hard for him to trust anyone. Hence, he had learned to rely only on himself.

He walked over to the window and stared into the pouring rain. He hadn’t dared to go to Kyra’s funeral, although he longed to be there for Casey, to take her in his arms and console her. But she had made it perfectly clear, that those days were over.

“Don’t you dare ever touch me again!”

These words had almost killed him. Tough even worse was the way she had looked at him when she said it. There had been so much hatred in her eyes, it felt like his heart stopped beating.

He banged his fist against the window. Now the scalpel jockey was there with her, to give her comfort and support. Jealousy spread in his stomach, just as before when he saw her leaving the hospital with him. When Casey started her intern year there had been a lot of gossip about her and Lahela, there were stories about on-call rooms and supply closets. Ethan had often seen them flirting at Donahue’s. But soon the gossip had died down and when he himself got closer to her, this never seemed to be an issue.

Were there any feelings left? Would the surgeon take his place in her heart?

Ethan rubbed his neck and sighed devasted. There had to be something he could do. He couldn’t afford to lose her. He went over to his desk, sat down and grabbed his phone. Words might not be enough, but first he had to get her to at least talk to him again. He started typing a message for her, shook his head frustrated and deleted everything. He tried it again and again, but nothing seemed right.

After an hour and what felt like a hundred deleted attempts, he finally tapped ‘send’. He stared at the screen in disbelief. Never had he texted anything similar let alone spoken those words.

At that moment, the door to his office burst open and Bryce and Jackie stormed in. They were very agitated and both spoke at the same time. “Did you talk to Casey?” - “Have you heard of her” - “Was she here?” – “Did you see her?”

Ethan felt an uneasiness evolve, rose from his chair and met the two residents halfway. “What happened? Weren’t you at the funeral together?”

Both answered simultaneously again, their anxiety obvious. “Of course we were there.” – “She was there with us. But then she ran away.” – “She was about to say a few words but then she had kind of a breakdown and ran away.” - “She started to cry mid-sentence and just left.” – “When we started to look for her, she was nowhere to be found.”

Panic took over when Ethan had comprehended their words. He approached them accusingly. “Why didn’t you run after her immediately?”

Bryce turned to face Jackie who guiltily directed her gaze to the ground, both recalling the scene in the cemetery. He had tried to go after Casey, but Jackie had held him back:

“Leave her alone for a few minutes”.

Bryce was angry at Jackie and at himself for listening to her, but now he turned his anger on Ethan. He took a step forward and pushed the attending violently, so he struggled to maintain his balance. Ethan froze up, staring wide-eyed at Bryce, who started to jell at him. “How dare you, you jerk! It’s your fault she ran away. If anything happens to her…!”

Jackie pushed herself in between and gently held back Bryce. “Stop it. This doesn’t help. We have to try to find her together.” He muttered something unrecognizable but stepped back.

It was hard for Ethan to keep his self-control. He tried to ignore Bryce and turned to Jackie. “What have you done so far? Doesn’t she answer her phone?” “Her purse was still on the chair when she left. She has no phone, no keys, no money. We searched all around the cemetery. Then Sienna and Elijah went home to wait for her. They’re calling all our friends right now. Bryce and I came here.”

Ethan regained his composure. With the efficiency of the experienced doctor he gave orders. “Ok, that’s what we do: page me Dr. Trinh’s phone number. We all will report back to her. Lahela, you check out Donahue’s and Derry Roasters and search the streets around the hospital. Dr. Varma, you look for her here at the hospital, check every on-call room or supply closet and ask every nurse or doctor you can find, if they’ve seen her. I will take my car and drive around.”

He grabbed his keys and his phone and was out the door before the other doctors had the opportunity to say otherwise.

It was already getting dark and Ethan was still driving through the streets of Boston in his car. Once he had left the hospital, he had gone straight to his apartment hoping that Casey would be there waiting for him. But of course, she wasn’t. Then he had searched the entire area surrounding the cemetery and then went back to check every street near the hospital. All the time, rain kept pouring down from dark clouds. When he had run out of ideas he just drove randomly through the streets of the city.

Almost every ten minutes he called Sienna for news, but so far no one had seen her or heard from her. He had also asked Sienna to call the police and all the hospitals to check if there had been any accidents involving an unknown young woman, but thank god nothing there either. Ethan didn’t really believe in God, but he sent prayers up in the air. His fear got worse by the minute and he saw images of her in his head: Casey run over by a car, Casey dead in a park, robbed, mugged, raped, Casey jumping off a bridge, floating in the river. Suddenly, he remembered something she had said to him as they walked on the beach in Miami.

“Water always has such a soothing effect on me. Whenever I’m troubled, I try to find time to sit by the water whether it’s the ocean, a lake or a river. That makes me feel better instantly.”

That was the last straw he clung to, although it was no easy task, because in Boston water seemed to be everywhere. He concentrated his search on all roads along the river, but it seemed hopeless to recognize someone in the dark through the heavy rain. The desperation lay heavy on him when at last he saw a figure sitting on a bench in the shimmer of a streetlamp. Ethan quickly pulled over, jumped out of the car and started running. He almost tripped in his haste.

Casey sat slumped in her seat, totally soaked, the wet fabric of her dress clung to her body. Her face was pale, her lips had turned blue, shivers ran through her body. Ethan stopped next to the bench, but she didn’t seem to notice him. She stared into the water in front of her.

Apparently, she was wasn’t hurt. Ethan felt great relief, a huge weight lifted from his shoulders. But now that he had found her, he was unsure, what to do. Would she even talk to him? Over and over again he had practiced what he wanted to tell her, but at that moment his mind went blank.

He hesitated, then took a step towards her.

“Casey….”

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Part 4: “Don’t get her hopes up” (Ethan is taking care of Casey)

Tags: @queencarb @utterlyinevitable @schnitzelbutterfingers @nerdydinosaursweets @eramsey28 @mrsdrakewalkerblog @starrystarrytrouble

#ethan ramsey #ethan jonah ramsey #ethan x mc #casey valentine #playchoices #open heart

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windskull · 5 years ago

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The Heart of a Hero: Chapter 5

For links to the entir efic, check the links on my tumblr

Chapter 5: Skeletons, Masks, and other Goodies"Wait!"

But the drawbridge did not wait. As Link raced in forward in vain hopes of jumping and making it in time, he had to skid to a stop, teetering dangerously at the edge, threatening to topple over into the moat below.

Navi looped around to the front of him and gave him just the slightest of pushes to bring him back to stable ground. He fell back with a thump, and the drawbridge rumbled to a stop in front of him.

He let out a sigh, then glanced back to the sun as it slowly dipped below the horizon, the sky a blazing orange. Somewhere in the distance, he heard the sound of a wolf. Or a wolfos. It did not matter either way; it was not safe here in the open.

He climbed back to his feet and, keeping low to the ground, began to make his way around the edge of the town walls, hoping in vain that there might be some sort of way he could get in. Not even teleportation magic could help him here, even if he was skilled enough to use it - he would have had to have a clear vision of the area he was trying to warp to.

His search for an entrance was quickly proving fruitless, and as the sky turned to night, a spike of uneasiness edged in his stomach. Or maybe it was hunger, or both.

Up ahead he spotted a small tree. It wasn't the sturdiest one he'd ever seen, a dwarf in comparison to the great trunks of the trees in the Lost Woods. But never the less, it was large enough that he could climb up and rest in it for a while. He took off towards it at a trot, continuing to stay low to the ground.

As soon as he was close enough, he sprang up, grabbing hold of the lowest sturdy branch, and swung himself higher to a thicker branch that he could sit on. It was not an ideal resting spot, but it would work.

He sat with his back to the trunk and reached down into the sack he had brought along in search of food. He had not been able to pack much: a few berries for today and some nuts were all he could carry. Most of his foods would have spoiled quickly during travel. He would have to see if he could get ahold of something more filling in the town tomorrow.

Picking a particularly juicy looking berry, he tossed it into the air, popping it into his mouth with a snap. As he continued to chew on the succulent fruits, he glanced up to the rising moon. It had taken him only a day to get here, but still it already felt like he'd been gone from the forest forever. Already he was missing playing music with Skull Kid in the moonlight or playing tag with other skull kids in the dark. He even missed sneaking into the Kokiri Forest in search of abandoned rupees and knickknacks (and sometimes not-so abandoned treasures, if he was honest with himself. But hey, he can say with pride that he never attacked someone to take their valuables, so that's something!)

He glanced down and rolled around one of the berries in between his fingers, wondering if he could find the forests delicacies out here in the big open world. He did not like this "Hyrule Field." It was not like the forest, with hiding places everywhere. Instead, he felt open and exposed, visible to everyone who wanted or did not want to see him.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the sounds of dirt shuffling below him, rattling coming from within. A rattling not unlike his kind's own. Cautious, he glanced down. A skeletal hand had broken the surface, a second one widening the hole close behind. A head poked out of the ground; a skull, more specifically. The rest of the body came rolling after, reassembling itself once each part reached the surface. For the most part it was humanoid, but the creature's face jutted out far more than a human skull would, looking a bit more canine in appearance. Several other bodies seemed to be coming to the surface further out, shambling about the field. He wondered if perhaps this was part of why the town's gates were closed.

"Navi, what is that?" Link whispered to the fairy peeking out from under his cap.

"They're stallchildren," Navi explained in a hushed voice. "They're a species related to stalfos."

"Where do they come from?"

"Stalfos usually come from two places- adults lost in the woods, or people who died in battle. Stallchildren are… well… I don't know for sure. They could be anything from children to adult civilians that were killed in battle, possibly?"

Link was about to ask for more clarification, but his voice caught in his throat when he looked back down to the stallchild below them… who was staring right back up at him.

He blinked, his glowing blue orbs flickering out for just a split second, and the creature's red-orange orbs blinked back. Slowly, it raised a hand in greeting. He slowly waved back.

"I think it's friendly," Link whispered to his fairy.

"They're not known to be friendly or kind to humans, or most living species in general." she countered. And then something clicked in her mind. "But you're not really totally alive yourself, are you?"

Link tilted his head inquisitively, shrugging.

"Never mind, we'll talk about it some other time."

With his curiosity getting the better of him, Link slowly started to slide down from the tree, gripping hold of the branch until he was hanging from it so that he minimized his fall. He landed with a soft thump.

A couple more of the stallchildren had taken notice of him and had begun to hobble over curiously. As he tilted his head at the stallchild in front of him, it mirrored his movements. Once the other two had arrived, the three began to talk in hushed whispers.

"What is it? What is it?"

"Is… it is not human?"

"Is not like us? What is it?"

One of them - the largest one - hesitantly reached a bony hand out. Link took a couple steps back, but that only made it move faster. It took hold of his arm, ignoring his cry of surprise, and looked it over."

"Is wood, like tree!"

"Is tree?"

"Is a tree!"

"I'm not a tree!" Link countered, and when he spoke, the one gripping his arm recoiled suddenly.

"It spoke!"

"It speaks!"

"What is it, then?"

Navi, building up her courage, popped out from beneath Link's hat and fluttered in front of him defensively. "He is not a tree. He is a skull kid, from the Lost Woods!"

"Not tree!"

"A fairy!"

"Skull kid!"

His eyes drifted between the three of them, and he was starting to wonder if they had interacted with anyone outside of themselves.

Finally, the first one that had spotted him spoke up, finally addressing him directly. "You are skull kid from the forest… and… have fairy. Is a skull kid friendly?"

He considered the question for a moment, then nodded. "If you are friendly, I am. My name is Link."

"Link!"

"You look similar to a tree, but also similar to stallchild. Why?"

"Because he is similar to a stallchild," Navi explained. "He was lost in the forest when he was young, he became a skull kid, like you became a stallchild when you died."

"Me? I don't remember being not a stallchild!" The leader argued. The other two nodded in agreement, rattling.

"I don't remember not being a skull kid either," Link admitted. "All I remember is my name. And pain, and then being a skull kid. Everyone says I was not a skull kid before, but they don't know who I was."

The stallchildren seemed to think it over, then the leader nodded in acceptance. "Well, tonight, you are Friend!" It threw its hands up in the air, rattling its bones.

The other two threw their hands up in the air and said in unison, "Friend!" And before Link could say anything the three surrounded him, and began to walk in a circle around him, doing a funny little rattling dance.

But finally, the first one broke away from their dance.

"If friend is from the forest, why is friend so far from forest?" It asked.

Link pointed to the walls beyond the moat. "I'm trying to get inside to go see the princess."

The leader let out a tiny surprised noise, while the other two looked to each other and with whispers of "princess?"

Then the leader laughed. "Friend is funny! Humans not let monsters into town, unless monsters bring wares and good tidings for sale!"

The idea of being referred to as a monster made Link uncomfortable. He wasn't a monster, he was himself! But to a human… he would appear monstrous or as a spirit, with his wooden body and glowing eyes and pointy teeth, and the dark spirit energy that allowed his body to move.

On the topic of merchant monsters, Link could only guess that they meant the Deku Scrubs he occasionally saw peddling goods from their flowers. Sometimes, they would tell stories of great human towns if they were bored, for a few rupees of course.

"They won't let anyone in till morning," the leader continued, with agreeing echoes of "morning coming from the other two."

Link let out a sigh. He expected as much, but still, he would have liked to get in sooner. The night had just fallen, and with the stallchildren roaming the field, he felt like he'd have a hard time getting to sleep for some time.

"Would Friend like to play while he waits?"

"Friend play?"

"Can play with friend?"

Link considered the invitation for a moment. On one hand, he didn't want to tire himself out and have to sleep through part of the day. Then again, he would likely not have another chance to play with someone until he returned to the forest after this trip. Maybe it wouldn't hurt?

So finally, the skull kid nodded, earning cheers from the trio in front of him.

"Yay!"

"Come this way, this way!"

Link followed as the group of stallchildren hobbled off. Their skeletal joints, though magically animated, did not seem to give them the same speed that he had.

Hours began to whittle away as the group began to play. Hide and seek was not a possibility in the wide-open spaces. But tag seemed to be a favorite. Playing catch with rocks also seemed to amuse the stallchilderen. Even if they got hit and fell apart, their body would just reassemble itself a moment later, and it was back into the game.

What interested them more, however, was Link's flute, the odd shape in his pocket catching the attention of the lead stallchild.

"What is?" He asked, pointing to the shape.

"Oh, it's my flute," Link responded, reaching in to pull the object out.

"You can play music?"

When Link nodded, one of the other stallchildren called out, "Show us!"

So, link began to play, thoughtfully avoiding Saria's song among the tunes he picked out and made up, as something about it felt sacred and special to him, like it was a song he should only share in special cases. Before long, the group had broken into dance, three pale figures and one ashen one twisting and turning in the moonlight

Despite what he had thought would happen, the night seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Sure, he was a little drowsy at the end, but it had been worth it.

The larger stallchild was the first to notice the thin sliver of sunlight on the horrizon.

"Uh oh," he said.

Link turned his attention to the leader, then to the other two. They were all gazing to the sunrise now.

"Sun is coming."

"Time to go."

The trio began hobbling back to where they had first popped out of the ground, Link trailing after curiously.

"They are creatures of darkness, nocturnal," Navi explained as the first one reached its hole and began to disassemble. "They need to return to the soil by daybreak, both to conserve energy, and to protect themselves from travelers."

The bones began rolling back into the ground, first the legs and torso, then the head. The hands came last, pulling the dirt it had unearthed back over itself. The other two were doing similar. Before the sun could finally begin to rise above the horizon, the leader turned its head back to Link and gave a goodbye wave.

"Come back and play again sometime!" It called out. Then it too, was gone.

Link gave one last wave, then dropped his arms to his sides and found himself staring for a moment, until he heard a creaking behind him. The bridge was coming down; he remembered his quest.

Not wanting to waste another moment, he turned, and sprinted back towards the town gates.

***************

The first thing he noticed about the town was that even in the early morning hours, it was already becoming busy.

Nervous about how the humans - especially the adults, after his time speaking with the stallchildren - would react to him, Link made his way around the edge of the town square through the shadows, taking care not to let anyone lock gazes with him. Images of being surrounded by big, scary humans with fire crossed his mind, and he shivered involuntarily. That was just about the worst thing that could happen. At least, he hoped it was.

He was almost all the way across the center square when he slipped up.

He glanced towards where he could see the castle in the distance, then back towards the square to make sure he was not being followed. His eyes locked with someone.

She was a young girl, short, only about as tall as he himself was. Her skin was tanned, likely the result of being out in the sun a lot. Her clothes were rather plain, wearing work boots and a white dress that was only decorated by the blue trim at the bottom and along the sleeves. The only other article of clothing she wore was a yellow handkerchief tied around her neck in a knot. Otherwise she wore no gems or accessories, like many of the girls and women in the square were. Her hair was a bright, flaming orange, contrasting her otherwise fairly light appearance.

She let out a tiny gasp when she noticed him from across the square, and he froze. For a moment, he closed his eyes, hoping that doing so would make him appear invisible or innocent. But it made him feel exposed, unable to see if anyone was advancing. When he opened his eyes again, she was still staring, but had made no movement otherwise. He carefully began to creep forward again. Still no movement. Finally, not wanting to risk it any longer, he took off down the side of the road, making a dash to get out of the town before anyone else noticed him.

It was not long before he'd left the bulk of the town behind him. Two dirt and stone walls lead him forward as the distant castle grew closer and closer. Every few minutes, he glanced back to see if someone had spotted him and sounded some sort of alarm. Fortunately, he managed to get through without trouble for some time.

Eventually, the dirt path opened up into a clearing. At the top of the far side, he suspected there was a field, and beyond the field, the castle stood starkly against the morning sky. As he began to stalk into the open area, he heard a great flapping from a singular tree in front of him. The owl from before was back. Though this time, it did not stick around, instead electing to take off with just a single warning.

"Be careful not to be spotted by the guards!" The bird hooted, before taking off back in the direction of the town.

Link adjusted the strap of his scabbard nervously. He knew little about human culture, but he supposed that it would make sense they would guard something as grand as a castle. Mido did the same with the Deku Tree, after all. Sort of.

The boy rounded the corner, and already came to his first obstacle. Instead of a freely accessible path, the road was blocked by a huge stone gate, two bored guards staring ahead.

He slipped back around the corner, then peeked around the side again. They hadn't seemed to notice him from here. But walking forward would certainly end in being turned away at best.

As he sat down with his back to the stone and dirt wall to consider his options, Navi poked out from under his hat and began to flutter about. She flew around the corner herself first, then back down the other way.

"Link, over here!"

Link glanced up and over in the direction of the fairy's voice. She had stopped in front of a spot on the wall, hovering in place. As Link approached to get a better look, he noticed there was thick vine growth, leading all the way to the top of the wall. He could climb from here.

He took a moment to adjust his equipment, then, taking a hand hold of the vines, began to scale the plants. Just like in the Deku Tree. Just like at home. It was almost second nature, finding handholds and sturdy footing.

As he pulled himself over the top, he could finally get a better look out in front of him. As he suspected, past the gate the path continued, and across from him, a field separated him from the castle, which was also surrounded by a gate.. A path started from the top of the gate that blocked the road as well - which acted as a bridge between the side he was currently standing on, and the field.

He began to slowly creep towards the gate, but as he drew close, he realized that a guard blocked the path there too. He would continue further, but the cliff he was on came to an end where the bridge met. Perhaps he would have a better chance if he waited until night. But… that was so far away. No, he would continue his attempt, even if he did stick out in daylight like a sore thumb.

He came to a stop at the edge of the bridge. If the guard had noticed him yet, he did not react. Link glanced down the side of the path and saw, disheartened, that several other guards lined the cliff, looking down into the path below. Maybe the bird was wrong. Maybe if he just walked over to the guard, they'd let him through? He supposed it was worth a shot.

Slowly, tentatively, he approached the adult man, keeping himself low to the ground and hoping he appeared non-threatening. The man finally seemed to take notice of him as he crept closer, and moved to an offensive stance, holding his weapon, a long spear, out in front of him.

"You, monster child, what do you think you're doing here?"

Link immediately froze in place. Monster child? He had certainly been called some mean things before by frightened or angry Kokiri, or even some of the other intelligent forest dwellers like the Deku. Creepy, or an imp, mostly. But even if he had been warned, monster was just plain insulting.

"I- I was just-" He stammered, taking a step back in time as the guard stepped forward. "From… from the forest, to see the princess?"

His explanation did not cut it. The guard jabbed his spear towards the child threateningly.

"You're not welcome here. Begone, before I am forced to remove you."

"But I-"

"Link, go." Navi hissed from behind him. He took one more step back, and then not wanting to be pushed off the bridge or worse, just turned and jumped himself, falling off the side and landing with a roll. Springing back to his feet, he scampered around the corner and out of sight.

Once out of view, he leaned back against the stone and dirt wall and sank to the ground, hands over his knees. "That went well," he mumbled.

"Do you think they might move when it gets dark? Or at least later in the day?" Navi asked. "I hate to wait for so long, but maybe when they change shifts, it would give us a chance to sneak by?"

Link gave the fairy a nod and sighed, closing his eyes. Waiting could be so boring though, and it was only just barely morning! Then again, he had not slept the night before. Maybe it would not be a bad idea to get some rest.

He dug into one of his pouches, pulling out the remainder of the berries he had brought with him. That's right, he was going to look for more food, wasn't he? He glanced back to the town. He had a little money, if the rupee things that he had collected over the years were as valuable as Saria had claimed. Surely some poor shop keep would take pity on him and sell him something to eat, even if he wasn't human like them?

With something to do for the time being, he stood and began the walk back to the town square.

Link was quiet as they made the trek back to town, head turned down slightly. Navi fluttered along behind silently, for a time. But eventually, she broke the silence, concern tinting her voice.

"Link… are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he murmured, shaking his head.

"Is this about the guard?" She asked.

No answer.

"Ah… I understand," She responded.

He slowed to a stop. Navi slowly landed on his shoulder. "I know it's awful, and awfully mean, but you do have to remember that the forest dwelling races don't leave very often, the only exception being the Deku Scrubs. They can't really be blamed for not knowing what you are."

"I guess…"

"Besides," she continued. "He's a guard. It's his job to turn people away." She paused for a moment, then nuzzled up against Link's cheek. "Now come on, let's find you some food. In fact, going into town may not be a bad idea. I'm sure there will be some people there at least that are more open-minded. Hylians aren't the only race in Hyrule, after all."

Link lifted his head, slightly cheered. With just a bit more pep in his step, he continued on back towards the town.

***************

The town square was even busier by the time they returned. Merchant stalls had set up along the edges, most gathering large crowds of people out doing their morning shopping. Others milled about, some chatting, others just hurrying around. One man in particular seemed to circle about the area carrying a large bag upon his back, but never really interacted with anyone.

Link felt just a bit overwhelmed. Even in its busiest times, the Kokiri Forest wasn't nearly this crowded. He moved about in a sort of daze, trying to look over each stall in hopes of finding one he could get food from that he would not have to push past droves of adults to reach. But each one just seemed busier than the last.

Someone bumped into the small boy. He stumbled. Whoever it was did not even seem to notice. Before he caught his footing, another almost trampled him; he only just barely managed to scamper out of the way.

With an anxious cry, he retreated to the edges of the square, choosing to just watch the madness. It was too much for the small boy to handle right now. Hoping that he could return later, and it would be emptier, he turned his attention to the buildings along the edges of the square.

One particularly gaudy place caught his eye, with walls painted greed, and red and gold fabric draped along the sides. A huge, equally gaudy sign adorned the building above the entrance. With curiosity gripping him, Link approached.

"Happy… mask… shop…" Navi read slowly, as if in disbelief. "Link, please don't waste any money here, please? We don't know how expensive food and other necessities will be."

Link shrugged, then moved to open the door, stepping into the fanciful building.

The inside was even more fancy and extravagant than it had been outside. An ornate carpet greeted Link's dirt-covered boots. Above him hung stained glass orbs, torchlight shining from inside. Like outside, the inner walls were also draped with fabric.

But the real stars were the masks.

Shelves, filled with dozens of masks, line the wall on either side of Link. One was of a green monster, a blue band painted along the eyes. Another was of a horrifying human face.

"May I help you?"

Link startled, turning his attention to the counter at the end of the way. There stood a man, still as a statue, adorned in robes of royal purple and gold.

The boy slowly approached the counter, tilting his head curiously at the man. "Hiyee!" He started in far too cheerful of a tone. "Welcome to the Happy Mask Shop! We deal in masks that bring happiness to everyone!"

"Everyone?" Link asked, awed.

"Everyone?" Navi echoed skeptically.

"That's right!" The man responded. "Everyone! How would you like to be a happiness salesman?"

"Uh…"

"Allow me to explain. I'll lend you a mask. You sell the mask and bring the money back here. If you want to read the fine print, take a look at the sign right over there." He gestured to his right to a huge sign. "After you've sold all the masks, you will become happy yourself! Simple really, you see?"

"I mean-"

"Your masks will be filled with happiness, you just need to have faith… believe… believe…"

Link began to take a step back, feeling more than a bit creeped out. However, something caught the corner of his eye, and with a deep breath, he stepped forward again, hands on the counter.

"What if… What if I just wanted to purchase that one?" He pointed to the side of the man's head to a white mask, with carved holes and features similar to a skull. Not a human skull though, as it had horns that jutted out.

"Link, what did I just say outside," Navi protested.

"It's not for me," he countered. "It's for Skully. He loves masks! I know he'd just love that one."

"Ahem-" the salesman cut in. "I'm afraid I cannot sell you the mask. You see, these are for the business arrangement I mentioned. No, I cannot sell, it but I can lend it."

Link considered it for a moment. "Fine, fine, lend it to me."

"I can't do that either. First you have to sell this mask."

The man reached up to grab a different mask. This one was a bright yellow, with a brown nose, it's appearance similar to an animal. He placed the mask into Link's hands with a bit of force.

Link looked down to the mask in his hands, then to the salesman. Then to the skull mask. Back to the salesman. His grip on the mask tightened, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Link…"

Suddenly, he chucked the mask at the man's head with all the force he could muster. The man stumbled back from the surprising force of the blow and fell back, dazed.

Immediately, Link vaulted over the counter, jumping up to grab the skull mask.

"Link NO!" Navi called out.

He paused, looking at her, then paused only long enough to fish a couple of rupees - a blue and a green - and dropped them in the man's lap before vaulting back over and dashing out.

"See, I paid for it, technically not stealing!"

Navi let out a frustrated huff but followed behind anyways as he dashed out the door.

Once he had emerged out into the fresh air, Link took a moment to turn the mask over in his hands, admiring the handiwork.

Navi flew into his line of sight, buzzing close to his face. "Link," she started slowly, stressing her words out. "That was a horrible idea. Do not. Do. That. Again. Understand?"

The boy stared for a moment, then smiled and laughed, nodding. Despite his answer, Navi suspected he had not learned his lesson at all.

With a sigh, she turned her attention to the market stalls around them. They had begun to clear a little in the time Link had been gone. "Let's just hurry up and get you something to eat. And maybe a larger bag would be a good idea too… Huh?"

When she turned back to address him, Link was already gone. She whipped around, looking for any hint of ashy brown and green, finally spotting him all the way across the square.

He had stopped in front of a food stall, staring intently a bit of a ways away. Navi dashed over, bumping into him slightly to announce her presence.

"Hey!" she cried out in exasperation. "Don't just run off like that! Please!"

Link turned his head back to look at her, staring for a moment before raising an arm to point at the stand he was standing in front of. "I want some of that."

"That" happened to be a pastry stand, much of it already gone from the morning rush. But several items remained here and there.

Navi let out a sigh. She would have to give her lesson another time. "...Okay. Pick one."

"I want them all," he responded.

"Two. No more. You need money for other things too, you know."

He finally conceded, sighing with a nod. "Fiiiiine."

Navi approached the stand first, Link following close behind. The woman behind the counter had her back turned, busy wrapping more of the pastries for sale, humming a little tune.

"Excuse me," Navi said, loud enough to catch the woman's attention.

"Yes," the woman started, turning. "How may I help yooouUUUUOH MY GODDESSES!"

Link blinked at the woman, tilting his head curiously. Was… was she okay?

"My… goodness," she started, calming herself and trying to relieve some of the shock to save the encounter. "Aren't you a… unique little one. I've never seen someone like you around here."

Navi flew forward to make her presence known, before landing on Link's head. "He's with me, he saw your display and just had to get something."

"Oh…" She started, eyes on the fairy. "Of… of course! What would you like, little one?"

Link considered, beginning to look over his choices.

"Remember," Navi pointed out. "Two."

After some moments of deliberation, Link pointed first to a rectangular treat, then second to one with fruit folded into it. "These two… Please?"

"Of course!" The woman responded, reaching for a paper to wrap them in. "That will be… seven rupees, please."

Link reached into his money pouch, looking at the rupees inside quizzically. "... Navi, how much is seven?"

"You can give her a blue and two green ones, Link."

"Isn't that three?"

"The blue one is worth five."

The boy nodded enthusiastically and fished for the change, pulling them out and placing them on the counter. The woman slowly and carefully handed him his pastries in return, eyes on his rough wooden hands.

The boy flashed a toothy grin, then turned to hurry off, Navi fluttering behind. "Thank you!" She called out to the woman before turning her attention to Link.

"Okay, how many rupees do you have in there? Next, a bag."

***************

Even after all the time he spent in the village square, it was only barely after noon when the skull kid found himself wandering back towards the castle.

His new bag was filled with odd delicacies that the forest had never offered. Breads and pastries and all sorts of sweets, dried meats and loose grains all were wrapped up inside. He'd even managed to trade the small pouch he had been using to store slingshot ammo for a larger one. At least someone in this Castle Town place appreciated his slingshot skills!

But now, he still had several hours to pass. He took a seat down beside the vines he had climbed before. He and Navi agreed that jumping over the bridge and following the path during the changing of the guards would be the quickest and safest way to cross.

As he munched on a few of the fresh berries he'd exchanged the last of his rupees for, Navi came to settle on his knee. "I'm going to go scout ahead," she announced. "So I can find the best route into the castle and watch for when the guards change. Is that okay? Will you be alright for a little while?"

Link finished off the last of his fruit, and then nodded, pulling out a loaf of bread and tearing a small piece off. Satisfied, Navi took to the air again.

"Stay here, okay?" When he nodded again, she fluttered off, the quiet jingle of flight dying away as she left.

Once Link had ate his fill, he started to doze off for a while. But his sleep was fitful in the open area, nervous of someone sneaking up on him while he slept. So, after some time he sat back up and reached into his pocket for his flute, then, deciding against it, reached for the ocarina Saria had given him instead. It was the first time he was actually getting a good look at it, and as he slowly turned it over, he realized the fact that though he knew quite a bit about music in general, he had no idea how to play this particular instrument.

Slowly he brought the instrument up to his mouth, allowing his slender, wooden fingers to cover the holes, hoping he was correctly mimicking the way he had seen Saria hold hers. Not wanting to alert the guards, he blew a soft note into the instrument, playing a single, out of tune note.

Well, it was a start.

Blowing into the Ocarina was different from his flute. He had to position his mouth differently, and make sure he was properly covering each of the holes. Adjusting, he blew again, much more satisfied with the note that came out this time. He raised a single finger, comparing the sound. It was higher. Less fingers mostly meant higher.

He could not say for sure how long he spent picking notes at the ocarina, but finally, he had figured out enough to replay Saria's song. He slowly played the song, picking out the notes slowly, then faster as he memorized each note and finger placement, until finally, he could play the whole thing up to speed.

As he finally brought the instrument away from his mouth, he heard soft clapping to his side.

He immediately sprang to his feet and whipped around, raising one arm defensively while quickly stashing the ocarina away protectively, eliciting a gasp from his audience.

As he looked the person over, he realized that he recognized her. It was the girl that had spotted him that morning, that had locked eyes with him for some time, until he'd gathered the courage to leave.

The girl had taken a nervous couple steps back when he had hopped up so suddenly. But when she made no move to harm him, he relaxed, and she, in response, relaxed too. After a moment, she was smiling, hands clasped together.

"Wow, you're really good at music. Did you write that song?"

Link blinked once, his blue orbs flickering out and then back. "Oh, no, one of my friends made it up." He took a moment to fumble with and hastily stash the ocarina away, not wanting to risk the precious object becoming damaged.

The girl giggled, whether it be at his reaction or something else, he was unsure. But he couldn't help but smile sheepishly back. "Hee, hee, I've never seen anything like you before. What are you?"

His smile faltered just slightly. Not who, what. Being referred to as a thing had not bothered him as much when the stallchildren had done so; surely, they had little interaction with others living in the earth like they seemed to. But the Kokiri always referred to him as a person. And he always assumed that humans would too. In fact, most of the adults had referred to him as a person, had they not?

But she was a child like him, he had to remind himself. Perhaps she did not know. Perhaps it had just been the slip of her tongue. Still, his mind drifted back to the way the guard from before had referred to him, as a monster child.

Forcing the thought out of his mind, he finally responded honestly. "I'm a skull kid, from the forest."

She giggled again, repeating the words a couple times to get a feel for them. "Skullkid… Skull kid... Hee hee, that's a silly word. Do you have a name, skull kid?"

"Link," he responded with a nod.

The girl tilted her head from side to side, considering his name, then clasped her hands together. "Link is a funny name, it fits you! My name is Malon! Do you know any other songs, forest boy?"

Link was not sure if he should be flattered or insulted, but he chose to take it as a compliment. It was better to have friends than enemies, right? His hand reached back to grab the fairy ocarina, but instead he shifted his hand to another pocket and pulled out his more familiar flute.

He took a second to adjust his fingers, and then began to play, fingers expertly flying up and down, a merry tune coming out. He swayed from side to side, keeping his music in time. Malon clapped along to the beat, occasionally letting out a laugh or a little cheer. For moment, he forgot where he was, closing his eyes to imagine himself back on the tree stumps in the Lost Woods, playing along with his best friend in the world. It had only been two and a half days now since they had played together that morning, but already, with so many things happening in such a short time, it felt so, so far away.

When his tune came to an end and he opened his eyes again though, he was not in the noisy green forest clearing, but the quiet road on the way to the castle.

Malon clapped. "That was so cool Link! Do you know anymore songs?"

Link nodded, but before he could raise the flute up to his mouth again, Navi flew down from above, urgency in her voice.

"The guards are about to change Link, we need to go now, or it may be a while before we get another chance!"

Link looked to the side to Malon. He was having fun… but this was more important. He nodded to Navi, stuffing his flute back into his pockets, and turned to climb the vines like he had before.

"Wait!" Malon cried out, reaching an arm out to grab his shoulder.

Link paused, looking back to the red-headed girl. She pulled her arm away then hesitated.

"Are you… going to the castle?" When Link nodded in confirmation, she continued. "In that case… could you… do me a favor and look for my dad? He went to the castle this morning for a delivery, but he hasn't come back yet, and I'm getting worried… His name is Talon. He's wearing a red shirt and blue overalls - do you know what those are? Anyways, he's reaaaallllly big." She stretched her arms out wide.

Link considered it for a moment. Well… he was going to the castle anyways, he supposed. He nodded to the girl again. She started to say something, but Navi's voice cut in. "Come on Link, hurry, we won't have much time!"

With no time to spare, Link waved a final goodbye before he turned his focus back to the climb, scrambling up just as he had earlier.

#the legend of zelda #ocarina of time #oot #link #malon #navi #thoah

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whenfrasermetbeauchamp · 6 years ago

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It felt as though we had been walking for a long time. I had long since lost track of our turnings amid the towering boulders and thick dead undergrowth. I could only hope that Murtagh was somewhere behind, keeping within earshot if not within sight. The man who had come to the tavern to fetch me, a middle-aged Gypsy with no English, had flatly refused to have anyone but me accompany him, pointing emphatically first at Murtagh and then the ground, to indicate that he must stay put.

The night chill came on fast at this time of year, and my heavy cloak was barely enough protection against the sudden gusts of icy wind that met us in the open spaces of the clearings. I was torn between dismay at the thought of Jamie lying through the cold, wet nights of autumn without shelter, and excitement at the thought of seeing him again. A shiver ran up my spine that had nothing to do with the cold.

At last my guide pulled me to a halt, and with a precautionary squeeze of my shoulder, stepped off the path and disappeared. I stood, as patiently as could be managed, hands folded under my arms for warmth. I was sure my guide—or someone—would return; I hadn’t paid him, for one thing. Still, the wind rattled through the dead brambles like the passing of a deer’s ghost, still in panic-stricken flight from the hunter. And the damp was seeping through the seams of my boots; the otter-fat waterproofing had worn away, and I’d had no chance to reapply it.

My guide reappeared as suddenly as he had left, making me bite my tongue as I stifled a squeak of surprise. With a jerk of his head, he bade me follow him, and pressed aside a screen of dead alders for me to pass.

The cave entrance was narrow. There was a lantern burning on a ledge, silhouetting the tall figure that turned toward the entrance to meet me.

I flung myself forward, realizing even before I touched him that it was not Jamie. Disappointment struck me like a blow in the stomach, and I had to step back and swallow several times to choke back the heavy bile that rose in my throat.

…

“I’ve news,” he said abruptly.

I took a deep breath, bracing myself. News, and not good news, from the expression on his face. I took another breath, swallowed hard, and nodded.

“Tell me.”

“He’s alive,” he said, and the largest of the ice lumps in my stomach dissolved. Dougal cocked his head to one side, watching intently. To see whether I were going to faint? I wondered dimly. It didn’t matter; I wasn’t.

“He was taken near Kiltorlity, two weeks ago,” Dougal said, still watching me. “Not his fault; poor luck. He met six dragoons face-to-face round a turn in the path, and one recognized him.”

“Was he hurt?” My voice was still calm, but my hands were beginning to shake. I pressed them flat against my legs to still them.

Dougal shook his head. “Not as I heard.” He paused a moment. “He’s in Wentworth Prison,” he said reluctantly.

…

“He stood his trial three days ago,” Dougal said. “And was condemned to hang.”

The ice lump was back, with company. I closed my eyes.

“How long?” I asked. My voice seemed rather far-off to my own ears and I opened my eyes again, blinking to refocus them in the flickering lantern light. Dougal was shaking his head.

“I dinna ken. Not long, though.”

My breath was coming a little easier now, and I was able to unclench my fists.

“We’d better hurry, then,” I said, still calmly. “How many men are with you?”

Instead of answering, Dougal rose and came over to me. Reaching down, he took my hands and pulled me to my feet. The look of sympathy was back, and a deep grief lurking in his eyes frightened me more than anything he’d said so far. He shook his head slowly.

…

“Claire.” It was the first time he had ever used my first name, and it frightened me still further.

“Claire,” he said again, loosening his grip so that I could look up at him, “do ye not think I’d do all I could to free the lad, did I think there was the slightest chance? Damn it, he’s my own foster-son! But there is no chance—none!” He shook me slightly, to emphasize his words.

“Jamie wouldna have me throw away good men’s lives in a vain venture. Ye know that as well as I do.”

I could keep back the tears no longer. They burned down my icy cheeks as I pushed against him, seeking to free myself. He held me tighter, though, trying to force my head against his shoulder.

…

The light was poor in the cave, but I was watching carefully, and I could see indecision flicker momentarily across his face as he chose his next move. He stepped toward me, hand out, but stopped when he saw me flinch away.

“Claire. My sweet Claire.” The voice was soft now, and he ran an insinuating hand lightly down my arm. So he had decided to try seduction rather than compulsion.

“I know why ye talk so cold to me, and why ye think ill of me. You know that I burn for ye, Claire. And it’s true—I’ve wanted ye since the night of the Gathering, when I kissed your sweet lips.” He had two fingers resting lightly on my shoulder, inching toward my neck. “If I’d been a free man when Randall threatened ye, I’d ha’ wed ye myself on the spot, and sent the man to the devil for ye.” He was moving his body gradually closer, crowding me against the stone wall of the cavern. His fingertips moved to my throat, tracing the line of my cloak-fastening.

…

The deepset hazel eyes traveled slowly downward over my body, lingering on the roundness of breast and hip that showed through my open cloak. One hand moved unconsciously back and forth, stroking lightly across the muscles of his thigh as he watched me.

“Who knows?” he said, as though to himself. “I might have yet another son—legitimate, this time. True”—he tilted his head appraisingly, looking at my midsection—“it hasna happened yet wi’ Jamie. You may be barren. But I’ll take the chance. The property is worth it, at any rate.”

…

“Well, you took your bloody time about it,” I said crossly.

A look of incredulous shock spread across his features before he realized that I was looking beyond him, toward the cave mouth.

“It didna seem mannerly to interrupt,” said Murtagh, advancing into the cave behind a loaded pair of flintlock pistols. He held one trained on Dougal, using the other to gesture with.

“Unless ye mean to accept that last proposal here and now, I’d suggest ye leave. And if ye do mean to accept it, then I’ll leave.”

“Nobody’s leaving yet,” I said shortly. “Sit down,” I said to Dougal. He was still standing, staring at Murtagh as though at an apparition.

…

“Well?” Dougal inquired. “Now what?”

…

“We’ll need money,” he said promptly. “And men.” He cast an eye appraisingly over the bundles stacked against the wall. “Nay,” he said thoughtfully. “That’ll be for King James. But we’ll take what ye’ve got on your person.” The small black eyes swiveled back to Dougal and the muzzle of one pistol gestured gently in the vicinity of his sporran.

…

“As to the men, no. If you and the lass mean to commit suicide, I canna stop ye. I’ll even offer to bury ye, one on either side of Jamie. But you’ll not take my men to hell with ye, pistols or no.” He crossed his arms and leaned back against the cavern wall, calmly watching us.

Murtagh’s hands didn’t waver from his aim. His eyes flickered toward me, though. Did I wish him to shoot?

“I’ll make you a bargain,” I said.

Dougal raised one brow.

“You’re in a bit better position to bargain than I am at present,” he said. “What’s your offer?”

“Let me talk to your men,” I said. “And if they’ll come with me of their own accord, then let them. If not, we’ll go as we came—and we’ll hand back your purse, as well.”

One side of his mouth came up in a lopsided smile. He looked me over carefully, as though assessing my persuasiveness and my skills as an orator. Then he sat back, hands on his knees. He nodded once.

“Done,” he said.

— Outlander/Cross Stitch

Photos: outlander-online.com, Season One, Episode Fourteen, May 9, 2015

Gif: carrielt21.wordpress.com, (Dougal)

Gif: decider.com, (Claire)

Book: Outlander (Cross Stitch), Diana Gabaldon, 1991

Tumblr: September 22, 2018, WhenFraserMetBeauchamp 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿❤️🇬🇧

WFMB’s Tags: #Outlander #Season One Episode Fourteen #S1E14 #The Search #Outlander/Cross Stitch #Chapter Thirty-Four #He’s in Wentworth Prison #I’ll even offer to bury ye, one on either side of Jamie #Claire Fraser #Murtagh FitzGibbons Fraser #Dougal MacKenzie #66 #092218

#Outlander #Season One Episode Fourteen #S1E1 #The Search #Outlander/Cross Stitch #Chapter Thirty-Four #He's in Wentworth Prison #I’ll even offer to bury ye one on either side of Jamie #Claire Fraser #Murtagh FitzGibbons Fraser #Dougal MacKenzie #66 #092218

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super-magical-wizard · 7 years ago

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Poor Anti

I wanted to write my own version of this amazing post by @monochromemedic !!! And my amazing and wonderful and lovely friend @fandom-jumper01 wrote their own really fricken amazing version which you can find right here!!

Warnings: cut, bleeding, blood, knife, injury, wound, suicide implied, self harm implied, violence mentioned, lots of crying, lots of angst, self blame (please let me know if you need anything else tagged ^-^)

Hope you like it!!

“I- I’m here,” Anti whispered, a shaky and nervous smile on his face as he looked at the camera. “Jack’s gonna be gone for a while.”

It had taken him so long to get this far. Before this all he had managed to do to Jack was glitch him a little and make him hear static, but now- now Anti was really here. He tried to keep a smile on his face as he held the bloody knife in his hand and tried his best to tell the audience what had happened.

“He was weak,” he mumbled, the smile slipping for a second before he bit his lip and attempted to look happy for camera again, but he just couldn’t. His hands glitched a bit from his uneasiness and he winced. “Say goodbye to him for a while, okay?”

And with that he turned off the camera.

He sat there for a while, just looking at his hands, at his hands. He had been locked away for so long and as drops of blood dripped from his neck onto his hands he sighed, finally letting himself relax for the first time in this body, the ever present static in his ears quiet for the first time in years. He had been struggling so much and now- now he was here. And as he looked at his hands his vision got blurry and he tried in vain to blink away tears but he just couldn’t manage it and he started to cry, softly and quietly.

“I- I did it-” he mumbled, so relieved to be free to be real. He slipped out of the chair and onto the ground and just hugged his knees to his chest as he cried and cried. “I did it.”

After a couple hours he finally managed to rub away the tears and he got up with shaky legs and started getting the video ready for posting. He had watched Jack do it so many times and it was a little difficult, but after a while it was finished and he posted it.

For a minute he waited with held breath and anxious thoughts and he glitched a little and he hoped, he hoped so much that maybe, just maybe, they would like him? With a trembling hand he refreshed the video for the first time and started looking through the comments.

“No…” he whimpered, tears coming to his eyes as he read them. “No..”

There were so many and they were all yelling at him, screaming at him to ‘go away’, to ‘give Jack back’, to ‘leave him alone’.

“But- but-” he whispered, throat hurting as he tried not to cry, static getting louder in his ears as his body glitched more and more. “I- I just wanted to be real-”

He clutched his hands to his chest, biting his lip until it bled before he just couldn’t take it anymore and he started to wail, eyes clenched shut as he glitched and glitched and he sobbed with all the pain in his heart because it hurt it hurt it hurt-

“They hate me- they hate me-” he whimpered, breathing in gasps as warm tears trickled down his cheeks. “It’s all my fault I shouldn’t- I shouldn’t have- “

He broke off and curled into a ball and cried, trying to hold himself together as he glitched with sadness and hurt and it hurt so much and he felt so hated as he cried alone and still blood trickled from the cut on his neck.

“Wait-” he whispered suddenly, sobs stopping as he looked up with teary eyes. “What if- what if I-”

He scrambled up from his place on the floor and staggered to the bathroom, not caring how he looked as he started desperately searching for something, biting his lip in frustration as his hands glitched away from the drawers.

“I can- I can fix this,” he whispered, tears and pain forgotten as he looked at himself in the mirror, eyes pure black for a second before he focused and managed to turn them back to how they were before. Then he finally found what he was looking for and pulled out the medicine, bandages, a needle, and thread and he looked at the cut nervously for a second before he took a shaky breath and started to thread the needle. “Maybe- maybe if I'm Jack- maybe they’ll like me.”

It took him a few hours, a few hours of concentrating, healing, and practicing, before he finally got up the courage to turn the camera back on. He sat in front of it, neck completely healed, still a little red but hopefully unnoticeable, and he held his left arm in his right hand, nails digging in a little to try to distract his body from glitching and to focus on smiling and acting 'normal'.

“Anti didn’t ‘kill’ me,” Anti smiled shakily, trying his best to act like it was just a joke, like everything was happy and fine. "It was just something fun I wanted to try out, nothing more than that.”

He kept talking, even as it got harder and harder to smile, he just dug his nails in and ignored the glitching and kept on smiling. He talked about how it was fun and he was glad everyone had enjoyed the little ‘appearance’ and he thanked everyone, even though his hands glitched and static filled his ears as he tried desperately not to cry again at the thought of how much they hated him.

After a couple more minutes the video was finally over and he turned off the camera, arms trembling from exhaustion. He had used up all his energy speeding up the healing, keeping the smile on his face, and stopping the glitches as much as he could.

“I- I did okay,” Anti whispered, a small hopeful smile on his face as he slumped in his chair and, without even noticing it, fell asleep.

“And I’ll see all of you, in the next video!” Anti yelled happily, a genuine grin on his face as he did the outro that had become so familiar to him.

He had been ‘pretending’ for months now, trying so hard to act like Jack, to erase who ‘Anti’ was. And it was working. At least he thought so.

He was trying. He was trying so hard to be the person that they loved and appreciated and he was happy… for the first time in his life he felt happy and he just wanted to make sure everyone else was happy too. That’s why he kept being ‘Jack’, so he didn’t take who Jack was from the community that cared about him so much. He interacted as much as he could online, trying to give attention to everyone even though he knew it was impossible, and whenever he saw stuff for him, for Anti, he tried his best to give it attention. Even though sometimes it left him curled up in a ball under his desk, trembling as he held in tears and glitched and he tried to forget the curses that they threw his way and how all the fanart with him in it made him look so- so- so evil.

But right now he felt happy. He was doing okay, he really really was. So he smiled to himself as he turned off the camera and started getting the video ready to be posted.

After a few hours he was done and he started to look at his social media, still feeling happy and energetic as he looked at all the amazing things his- Jack’s community had made. And then he caught a glimpse of something on tumblr and his heart just kinda stuttered and the static that had grown so quiet flared up and he glitched and glitched and he tried to back away from the screen because why- why-

It was a blog. A blog dedicated to him, to Anti, but- but-

“Ow ow,” Anti whimpered, glitching so hard he was sure he would have bruises later and tears starting rolling down his cheeks. “Why- why do they hate me so much?”

Page after page of people insulting him and threatening him and screaming at him and it hurt it hurt it hurt- And he started to gasp as he sobbed and glitched and his ears were full of nothing but static as he cried and cried.

“I- I didn't do anything,” he cried, curling into a ball as he tried to hold himself together but it hurt it hurt so much and he couldn't stop the sobs or the glitches or the static and his heart hurt and it was so loud and his body hurt and all he could feel was pain and because nothing he had done was enough and they still hated him so much and- and-

“I- I can't-” he sobbed, pain too much as his body twitched and glitched and tore and it hurt so much and he just couldn't take it anymore and he tried to pull himself off the floor even as his arms jerked and bruised and glitched and he clenched his eyes until he was finally on his feet and he staggered and half fell into his chair and he reached for the drawer in his desk where he had kept the thing that had freed him so long ago and he bit his lip so hard it bled but the static was just so loud and his body wouldn't stop and he glitched and glitched and it *hurt* and he couldn't stop crying and he turned on the camera and held the knife from the drawer in his hand and he cried to the camera and he whimpered, 'Why? Why do you hate me so much? I- I just wanted to be real-'

And suddenly his neck glitched so hard he choked for a second but still he swallowed hard and tried to open his pure black eyes one more time and he cried, “I- I just wanted to be happy.”

And then with tears running down his cheeks and with shaking and twitching arms he finally, finally put the knife to his throat,

and cut.

I just wanted to be happy

But that didn't end it now did it?

After all he had started out that way.

So instead of being ‘freed’,

He trapped a part of himself instead.

“No,” Anti whimpered desperately. “No no no.”

“I'̕m ̨síc̛k of̨ pr̨et̢e͠ndi̴ng,” Anti's pain and suffering sneered, finally controlling the body.

“No,” he begged, trying to break through, trying to get back, but he was stuck again and all he could do was watch through the body's eyes at it threatened and spit and yelled at the camera, at the community.

“Mo͡cki͘ng҉ ̷m͡e,” it snarled.

“Please-,” he cried, he didn't want this, he cared about them, he didn't want this. “Please.”

“Í'͜m͜ ͘in c҉o̵n͟t̷rol,” it seethed and spit words full of venom at the camera. “S̷e͘e̴͏ ̵y̸o̕͢u̷ s̸͜͠o̡o͘n̨͘.̢́ ”

And with that it shut off the camera and posted the video and all Anti could do was sob and sob and hit the invisible walls that trapped him in the body's mind as he tried so hard to fix this because this wasn't what he wanted this wasn't what he wanted-

“Please just let me out please please,” he whimpered softly, but it didn't do anything. No one was listening. And finally he gave up and slowly crawled into a corner of his invisible prison and he hugged his knees to his chest and he cried.

“I just wanted to be happy,” he whispered brokenly as tears trickled down his face. “This- This is my fault. This is all my fault.”

“I deserve this.”

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kidolegend · 8 years ago

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Interference (PromptoXOC)

Summary: With the 10-year night upon Eos and Noctis absorbed into the crystal, the protective runes at havens are losing power rapidly, and soon there will be no place for people to take shelter from daemons. Aylin Noctua is a woman who chosen by the late Lunafreya to renew the runes at the havens through musical rituals (see the awakening of Leviathan). After a series of events that began with Prompto and Aylin teaming up to take down a Niflheim blockade, Aylin travels the continent with Prompto, Gladio, and Ignis on a pilgrimage to restore light to the dying world for their king.

Prompto/OC, this is still relatively early in the story before Prompto confesses his feelings for her :3 Uhh… please feel free to comment, reblog, or give feedback; I’d like to get a gauge if people actually want to read this or if I should just sink back into anonymity and stick to reading others’ works…

For those on mobile, you’ll have to open tumblr on your internet browser and open the ‘read more’ from there… I’m sorry for the hassle, but the post is quite long and I don’t want to bother people with all the text. If it helps, search up my blog ‘kidolegend’ and then look up the tag ‘aylin test’ and you’ll find the post pretty easily~

(also tagging @nifwrites, who is awesome and is willing to put up with this crap…)

Aylin’s voice lifted into a gentle aria and engulfed the haven in her clear, simple melody. Prompto felt the tension in his muscles ease at the sound, soothed by the way her singing weaved through the air. He looked over his shoulder to watch as Aylin’s steps glided over the shining runestone and her body swayed elegantly, completely unaware of his gaze.

“Hey, pay attention.” Gladio cuffed Prompto on the shoulder and the blonde made a small noise, not noticing how long he had been staring at the woman he was supposed to be guarding.

“S-sorry.” The gunner shook his head and trained his eyes on the forest surrounding them. He needed to focus–any daemons nearby would be enraged by the their darkness being purged from the haven. He had to made sure that Aylin was safe until the runestones reactivated. He just had to.

The ritual continued and Prompto frowned. It was abnormally quiet for a place that was supposedly ‘littered with daemons’. He exchanged glances with Gladio, who also looked bewildered by the surrounding silence. He was about ask Ignis about it, when Aylin’s singing stopped with a muted gasp and the rune’s light vanished.

He hated being right.

“H-huh?” Prompto glanced over his shoulder, freezing as he comprehended what he was seeing.

Aylin was floating horizontally in midair, her head lolling towards the ground and her entire body limp.

“What happened? Is something wrong?” Ignis had conjured his weapons, deep concern on his face.

“Aylin!” Gladio’s spotlight illuminated Aylin’s prone form and Prompto blinked in confusion as he struggled to see the dark shapes that were suspending the woman in the air. They weren’t daemons… It was almost as if… the darkness itself had claimed Aylin as a hostage.

“…The hell…?” Prompto made to climb up onto the runestone, but he was interrupted by a hauntingly familiar voice.

“Now, now… My dear Prompto, I thought after all we’d been through you’d know better than to disappoint me. And alas, you’ve even involved another person? You really haven’t learned a thing.”

Prompto felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. ‘No,’ he thought, his blood ran cold. ‘No, it can’t be…’ His gun materialized in his hand in what he knew to be a vain attempt at protecting himself.

Ignis was the first to speak, anger barely concealed beneath his ever-steady voice.

“…Chancellor Izunia.”

[where I would normally stick a cruel chapter break, but for you reading, I shall continue!!]

“Yes, it is I. The one and only,” Ardyn’s chuckle seemed to echo in the pressing darkness and Prompto shuddered, unable to tell which direction it was coming from.

“What the hell do you want?” Gladio growled out, his greatsword shimmering into view as he hefted it onto his shoulder.

“Oh, Gladio…” Ardyn’s voice was practically dripping with honey.

“Don’t talk to me like you’re an old friend.”

“My, my. What a temper… I’m here for very obvious reasons.”

“To stop the ritual.” It wasn’t a question. Ignis had turned to his right as he spoke and Prompto followed suit, trusting Ignis’ ability to pinpoint Ardyn’s location more than his own.

“Indeed. You see, I spent a tremendous amount of time engulfing these lands in darkness, and I don’t appreciate your efforts at ruining my handiwork.”

The plants nearby rustled and the three men jumped, startled to find Ardyn emerging from the opposite side of the clearing than they had expected. He had a smug grin on his face as he sauntered forward. “Simply put, I am here to put a stop to,” he gestured at the runestone, where Aylin was still suspended by shadowy tendrils. “All this.”

Prompto immediately lifted his arms, holding his gun level with Ardyn’s eyes. “Like hell you will.” Prompto stepped between the chancellor and Aylin, his normal, congenial expression hardened into a mask of unbridled hatred.

Ardyn held up a hand. “Ah ah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you… We wouldn’t want anything happening to your precious pseudo-Oracle, now would we?” His tone darkened, abruptly menacing.

Prompto’s hands jerked reflexively, betraying the terror bubbling in the gunner’s stomach.

“If you’re putting a stop to ‘all this’ anyways, why the hell should we trust you to keep her safe now?” Gladio huffed angrily, not falling for the chancellor’s ruse.

“Hmm, too true. Then, shall I end this here?” Ardyn’s grin broadened into a more sinister expression, and he curled the hand he was holding up into a fist.

A blood-chilling scream ripped into the night air and Prompto whipped around, his face drained of all color.

Aylin’s body had stiffened, her back arched and her fingers splayed out as Ardyn coaxed tormented screeches out of her mouth. Prompto could see the veins in her neck and arms standing out against her pale skin, the agony rippling through her almost palpable.

“N-no!!” Prompto vaulted onto the rock but was thrown backwards off his feet and left helpless at the shadow’s edge. There was no way to reach her. “Aylin!!”

“Son of a bitch,” Gladio’s typically fearless expression had melted into one of horror, and Ignis gritted his teeth, vainly trying to figure out some plan of escape. They wouldn’t be able to fight their way out–so he had to outwit the chancellor somehow.

Ardyn didn’t bother trying to hide the mirth on his face as Aylin’s screams continued. “Ah, such a sound… You can feel it in your bones.” He laughed merrily, raising his voice just enough to be heard. “I almost prefer it over the singing.”

“A-Aylin…” Prompto struggled to his feet, ignoring the burning sensation the shadows left on his skin. Aylin was writhing against her bonds, her cries weakening into choked gasps as the shadows tightened around her neck.

“Such beautiful noises…” Ardyn flexed his hand and Aylin was cut off with a strangled gurgle. Gladio swore when he saw a dark liquid leaking from the corner of Aylin’s mouth, dripping onto the runes below.

“No, stop…” Prompto turned back towards the chancellor. He hated having to beg, but it didn’t seem Ardyn would be pacified any other way. At the rate they were going, Aylin would be dead within minutes. “P-please let her go,” He breathed. “Please…”

Ardyn gave a low hum, locking his gaze with the blonde. Prompto felt a chill run through him and he averted his eyes, ashamed at his fear and weakness. After a few more tense moments, the chancellor gave a short wave of his hand. All the tension left Aylin’s body as her head fell back, and horribly wet-sounding coughs tore through her prone form.

Prompto’s body was shaking violently as he forced his gaze away from Aylin’s painstriken expression back to Ardyn. The chancellor had the nerve to look empathetic as he gave a melodramatic sigh, pushing his humiliating taunts even farther. “Now, are you all going to behave, or shall I continue to dole out punishment to your lovely friend?”

“What do you want?” There was a long silence before Gladio spoke up.

“I want you all to behave,” Ardyn said simply. “Traveling the lands, rampaging about and slaying my poor daemons–destroying all my arduous efforts at establishing a world that our dear Noctis can fight for… And purifying the grounds my creatures have worked so hard on defiling? Tsk, tsk…”

“You want us to sit around and let people die?” Gladio clarified, incredulous.

“Now, now, how very small-minded of you.” Ardyn waved a dismissive hand. “Whatever will the point be if Noct spends all that time in the crystal, just to come back to a cheery, hope-filled Eos? Not very motivating, if you ask me. I’m just ensuring that our dear prince’s efforts aren’t wasted on a world that will no longer need his aid upon his return.”

Ignis saw his opening and rushed to take it. “If that’s truly the case, then isn’t it in your best interest to let us continue the rituals, Chancellor?”

Ardyn seemed genuinely surprised that Ignis has spoken. “Oh? Pray tell.”

“At the rate this world is progressing, the daemons will extinguish all light and life within a matter of months. Assuming Noct doesn’t return before that,” Ignis paused, choosing his words carefully so Aylin wouldn’t be on the receiving end of any potential backlash. “If everything dies, your efforts will all be for naught.”

Ardyn–for once–didn’t reply.

“I doubt Noctis will be willing to play a part of your game if he has nothing left to fight for.” Ignis elaborated. He couldn’t see Ardyn, but he knew the chancellor was watching him and remained as still as possible. It was like being under the gaze of a predator–a sadistic, psychopathic predator who had one of his friends in his jaws.

“He’s right.” Gladio added. “Even if Noct wants to beat the shit out of you for killing everyone, he won’t do it if there’s nothing else at stake. His Highness might not be the smartest, but he’s not that stupid.”

Ardyn pursed his lips, looking thoughtful. “Hmm, you do make a fair point. Touche, my dear Ignis. I can see why you were appointed as Noct’s advisor.”

Ignis remained stone-faced, choosing to ignore the facetious compliment.

After several moments of silence that was only broken by the occasional groan from Aylin, the chancellor shrugged. With a simple flick of his wrist, the shadows dissipated and Aylin was lowered to the ground, where she curled in on herself, shuddering.

“Very well. I will step down for today and let you continue playing hero. You may continue renewing the runes and even murdering my precious pets,” Ardyn made a pained expression at his concession. “All to your heart’s content. After all, I am a generous man.”

He paused, waiting to see if there would be any reply. When there was none, he clicked his tongue.

“Well, it appears my role here has come to an unexpected close. Alas, I shall take my leave, as painful as our parting must be.” Ardyn swept his arms around and gave a low bow, holding his hat in place as he rose. “I know you have all been rendered speechless by my overwhelming show of mercy, but perhaps next time a ‘thank you’ would be in order?“

He was met with another prolonged silence. “…No? Hm, very well then. Oh, I would recommend seeing to your companion’s wounds soon,” He gestured one more time at Aylin before turning on his heel to leave, tossing his last comment flippantly over his shoulder. “The poison in her blood tends to cause lasting damage if it is not cured quickly.”

#aylin test #ffxv #final fantasy xv #ffxv fanfiction #ff15 #final fantasy 15 #prompto argentum #prompto #prompto x oc #aaaaah i did it im so nervous

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