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Lake Hylia, a garden of aureate daylight.
Bands of sun dappled the frosty surface of the loch. They glittered inward like double-faced rhinestones, reflecting back into an open sky- an infinite pool of maya blue itself- and giving light to the shallow overhangs that heaved over the perimeter of the lake.
When cloudless mornings bleached out Hyrule, even the most insignificant rifts in the elderly bridges, down to the deepest swimming Zora’s where the water dropped a few in degrees, received a kiss of light. It speared each upwards spritz of water that followed the outpour from the waterfall above and warmed the skin beneath Plumm’s thickest-of-all feathers.
In the furthest corners of the land it smelt of nothing but clean rocks and patchouli, away from any reminiscent cannon smoke. Which, Link had decided, wasn’t too bad either. Bugs and birds swarmed co-equal to the damp plush of the shrubs and relaxed all the same with the rest of the living, breathing world. Nearby, the echoing roll of the waterfall aided in preventing any deafening type silence, offering just enough stimulation to be able to clock out of the sparkling land and into your own head if you so chose.
These days, even Fyer often found himself backed up against the wood of his cannon’s steps to snooze- though, still partially wary of a certain blue-eyed beast should it ever come lurking again.
Darkness seemed absent.
And it was a gorgeous sight, yes, but not Link’s favorite.
He became accustomed to the fading appearance of the lake as the sun passed into the stages of late afternoon. He loved to lounge atop the ledge that overlooked the water, his back pressed against that one certain howling stone. Several times a week he’d plant himself there closed-eyed for hours at a time while the sun’s warmth crawled up along his face, waiting for the minute it’d fallen so low behind him, behind the whole of the lake, that he couldn’t feel it all.
Sometimes, his thoughts would vary as he did this.
Maybe he was lamenting over Midna or celebrating the the way his heart would flutter alongside Zelda, or maybe he was thinking about what to cook for dinner, or if Epona needed more water back up on the bridge, or if Ilia asked for anything from the market that he needed to rush and pick up before it closed…
But, most of the time, his thoughts stuck to the same matter they were in right now.
‘... He’s watching, I can feel it ...’
And he was.
On a ledge adjacent to Link, his dark counterpart was sitting right there in the corner of where his peripheral would be, admiring everything there was to look at on him.
The way his appealingly choppy, flaxen hair splayed over his eyes and brushed down to his neck, bringing attention to the definition in his jaw- which, at the consciousness of Dark’s presence, clenched. So desirable
And, although Link now wore his garb for the cooling season, he could easily make out the fact that his arms were dressed in muscle. Hard muscle, the same kind that sculpted his broad, heavy shoulders, strict abs, and robust, toned legs that were laid crossed so lazily at the ankle.
Then, back up to his face, where his dewy lips rested somewhat parted in his half-dozed state, sharing the reddish undertones of his sun-flamed cheeks and pointed nose. ‘How could I not want to play?’
Link’s eyes opened minutes later, fed up when he realized this fiend wasn’t going to slink off and grant him his peace as did sometimes permit.
Heaving a sigh, he dropped his neck deliberately to the right and landed his gaze, calm and sharp and captivating, directly into Dark’s. It was tiresome and accusing, as if to say,
“Really? Now?”
Dark yet wore a smile. Link reminded him of a doll.
And, sinfully out of pocket, Link yet found himself noting the way the golden light of the sunset flattered Dark’s sallow complexion, twinkling in his opaque eyes. He listed it as just another beautiful thing that sun did...
Upon that thought, he felt that familiar discomfort set within his heart.
This persistent, tangible figure, blunt and evil, shouldn’t be so attracting. It seemed that the last piece of twilight-born darkness in this world stuck with him for mere play. Chasing him, mocking him, lingering in the shadows between all hours of the day whether he was in the midsts of entertaining guests, picking up meats from the market, or simply wandering the fields.
Even worse, he would take to revealing himself in the night, usually from a distance but ever so occasionally..
Well, there was a reason Link knew he was tangible.
Thinking back, it had only been a week after his final battle in Hyrule Field that their initial meeting took place. That day, he captured a glimpse of some white, quartz colored hair, bright like the moon, and those artless red eyes..
In the same breath, from that moment forward, Link had suddenly lost his ability to stop moving .
It was as if there was this ever-present threat that only his sixth sense could detect. Day by day, it willed his feet to advance from one spot to the next.
Run, walk, climb
He never wanted to stay in one place anymore. Never to chat by the tranquil pacing of the streams. Not once to browse the leathery, hand-crafted shoes in crowded shop windows. Hell, even to sit and plot out his next day’s work was too much of a do-nothing to not send his heart shooting up into his throat, begging him to flee from what was often just the confines of his own bedroom, a place where no harm had come to him before. It puzzled him to the core and drove him absolutely manic.
Then, damn near a month after the hell began, was when Link came to realize what he was running from.
It was the day he had finally chanced slowing down enough, fighting against the overdrive of alarms being set off in his nerves and in turn, his blood pressure rising to a fainting hue, to catch another look of Dark. A long, hard, angry look at whatever drove him to this mental exhaustion. Whatever forced his mind to compensate real energy and in place running on pockets of anxiety instead.
It was a true comprehension of what external, black hysteria his unconscious mind was trying to save him from meeting.
A remaining creature of twilight.
A duplicate of his appearance. A plaything of his activity. His shadow. His mind.
He remained fearful of what this meant. Why was this sunless brute the only twilight loitering in existence? Why does it choose to loiter around him ? It had to mean something.
Since then, he’s allowed Dark to watch him. To study him. At last, he’s permit him come near when he’s worn himself of running for the day and eventually came to accept the ice of Dark’s fingers, the chill of his lingering occupancy.. He felt those touches in his dreams, too, because running in his bare sleep did nothing to stop Dark from invading his space in bed. It didn’t scare him anymore, as long as he continued to tell himself that he hated every moment of the games because- well, he couldn’t possibly be Dark if he couldn't stand him. Right?
He’s managed to convince himself this wasn’t a violation either, and that he definitely consented to being surveyed by such a scheming gaze. To be touched by such a devious fingers. That his psyche definitely wouldn’t have worked itself to its theoretical bone.
So now, cast under thick silence, they sat there. Staring. Equally fixated.
‘What the hell does he want from me?’
There was a thick stillness, too, until Dark rose from the ledge and attempted to make the jump from his platform to Link’s above him. He gained some leverage from first stepping back, then jolting himself upward towards the solid dirt. A sudden move.
Link flinched sideways and fell backwards onto the stubby grass with his palms. He braced for a pounce of dark, cold weight before realizing, a few wasted moments later, that Dark didn’t actually make it onto his ledge. Pushing upwards, he saw that only his fingertips had caught purchase and were now desperately clinging to the friction of the plants.
So, before he could pull himself up, Link jabbed his foot outward and swept his hands completely over the edge. He twisted over onto his stomach and clambered up to start running.
Meanwhile, Dark was left to crash into the water, but it was barely a deterrent. He liked when Link played dirty.
_
Sprinting. Bolting. He didn’t want to do this today.
Not today. Not again.
To question himself until he was sick, feel that same ache and wonder and insanity that washed over him each time they’ve made contact. It was purely unnatural to his make. His soul, born of intention from the God’s, was never meant to cross such close paths with this natural wickedness.
He couldn’t bear the guilt of slowing down right now. Not today. Not again.
It made him feel as if he was feigning detest.
And because of this, he’s denied himself the relief of being further involved with Dark and therefore, has refused to get the most minimal of answers that he’d been dying to know. Really, that he deserved to know.
At the same time, it’s been making him absolutely delirious.
What did this creature’s voice sound like? What did his skin feel like? Was his hair soft? Did it ever grow? Did he have a home to go to? Who did he pray to at night? Did he eat? Sleep? Does his heart still beat? Did he have any other cause to life- or, whatever he was living- than to taunt him silently in the corner of his room?!
How similar are we, exactly?
Each time they’ve ever come close, Link simply shut his eyes and turned inward. Dark never spoke to him. He only laughed as he stamped his hand onto his skin and touched , and that only worsened his curiosity to hear his him speak. It’s the only sense he knew of Dark, and it comforted him somewhat to know that at least his own skin wasn’t that frigid.
Link wasn’t scared of Dark anymore, no. He was scared of his own accord. He wanted to know as badly as he didn’t...
He didn’t stop until he reached his Epona who, likewise, had been lying asleep in a heap just at the worst of times.
By now, the sun had died beneath the horizon and allowed for a world of moon and stars to resurface like shiny hooks on a black lake. He could see next to nothing amidst the dark, but he trusted well that Epona knew where to go. He forcefully nudged his palm against the bridge of her nose until she clonked up on her hind legs and swooped in weight of her spine, back onto her feet with an urgent stamp of distaste. Equally as urgent, he jumped on her and willed her back to Ordon.
Dark viewed him menacingly from behind a few human-sized stones.
_
As always, once the sun set in Ordon, time seemed to stop. He had misgivings about leading Dark back to his village when he realized he was finally given the choice to deal with him somewhere else. More specifically, where his worried loved ones didn’t reside. But what sense would it make to drive Epona out in the night to some stretch of land that he wouldn’t have the energy to return from the next morning?
He fumbled to tie Epona up and offered her disheveled coat a caress, hoping Ilia could later pacify her distress in the morning, before hurrying up his ladder and back inside his tidy home.
He felt oddly victorious that Dark hadn’t caught up to him yet. He knew he must’ve gotten a steady head start, that’s what it felt like at least.
Upon glimpsing around the entrance space, he remembered he’d left an oil lamp to burn hours earlier that was scorching at the last of its fumes.
Light. That’s what he needed.
Door now locked tight, he poured a quart of some large bottle of oil into the tin. After, he went over to the corner beside the cooking pot to light another. In the process, his quivering fingers managed to dribble a fair amount on the floor.
“Link, you blundering fool.”
Dark’s bass tone conducted a choke out of Link, who felt an instantaneous weakness drag in the legs and in the chest.
‘.. He spoke..!’
Link felt lead on somehow. The first words he heard should’ve been over something much less trivial! The hurt of running was surely worth it! He felt even more toyed with than before, as though his mental ruins were poked after for mere shock-factor, bringing nothing than a useless bout of amusement.
He inched to turn around, meeting the garnet eyes of Dark a mere four so feet away from him. They were narrowed into a sly almond shape.
Link didn’t turn away this time. As tired as he was of dealing with this man, he needed his answers lest he go unhinged.
So, what answers did he want again?
What did his skin feel like? Was his hair soft? Did heart beat..? What drove his blatant ambition to remain in this world? He wanted these answers immediately, without falter or hard work. He’d done enough hard work these past couple of months while clinging to normality..
So, what could his next move possibly be to satisfy this? An action intimate enough to be able to deduce such grueling questions in one go?
_
You cannot run from your own shadow
Link may only find peace away from Dark if he chose to grant him it. Not in a literal sense, but almost.
He was swift, sneaky, and full of other-realm surprise that Link may have only brushed with in his war against twilight. Sure, he could outrun Dark in time, but not with the weight of hurt and desperation to do so dragging so heavily on his skin, clinging like bars of iron
Acceptance is what he needed to truly to be free- if, of course, he decided thereafter that he still wanted to get rid of him.
So, Dark stood there, waiting for another reaction besides that horrid, trembly gasp, and besides that brave, open-eyed stare he was surprised to be gifted with. Finally, an appeasing look into those beautifully lit eyes. A perfect, diluted sky of watery allure. He loved it.
His ambition was simple. He wanted Link. Physically, mentally, emotionally. He wanted to swallow every bit of him and satisfy his own fascination with his being. He knew nothing else of this desire, having been born out of nowhere, besides the fact that it could only be contented by his craving for Link.
Darkness have always been a greedy force. In lore and myths, never one to stave off hunger…
He was born with this desire inside himself. Inside his every fiber.
In his eyes, who wouldn’t ache for Link? He was going to get what he wanted. The only downside to this being, he never once considered that it wouldn’t have to be by force.
Well, he was proven wrong moments later.
Link dove forward and pressed his divine lips against Dark’s.
‘’Of course, this is it..
a kiss can tell everything..'