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Apologies for the formatting i think i fixed it
Link POV
Falling. That was the only thing he could feel. (Well that and the severe mind numbing pain in his arm, but Link is trying to not focus on that right now.) The last thing that happened was the floor crumbling under Link leading to him falling. He was reaching out to Zelda when a bright light surrounded him and suddenly he was falling not into the dark unknown but from the bright sky! As he plummeted he tried to get a grip on his surroundings, The wind was now whistling past his ears causing his hair to whip around making it hard to see anything. Not that there is much to see as his body is flailing about unable to get into a steady position. He can't think clearly, he’s panicking, he knows this but he is unable to calm himself enough to get a sense of the situation. It's times like this where he wishes he could even just scream in the hope that it could help him in the slightest. (But he can’t) Link is finally able to get a small amount of control and curls in on himself. Clutching his mutilated arm into his chest, closing his eyes just trying to drown everything out. After what feels like hours ( but was nothing more than seconds ) he hits something, it hurts, it's cold, he’s... floating? Opening his eyes everything is a deep blue, there's a pale light shimmering from above.
Is this death? It feels like it. The cold was comforting; it almost made the pain in his arm bearable. He doesn't know how long he was floating, drifting in and out of consciousness when two figures peered over into the blue abyss that he was in. The taller of the two jumped in quickly and gently grabbed hold of Link pulling him out of the gentle cold. He could faintly make out quiet muffled talking, he couldn’t bring himself to care. The warm hold the stranger had around him was comforting, he just wanted to sleep to make the pain go away. To wake up back in his bed… To get ready for a day in the woods… To be left alone…to be rid of all responsibility. His breathing slowly evened out, slipping into unconsciousness as the pain slowly returned.
Rauru POV
My beloved Sonia and I were relaxing with tea by the pond when an object fell into the water creating a large splash. Quickly getting up we made it to the edge of the water seeing what looked to be a body floating at the bottom, luckily the water wasn't too deep I didn't have to swim down to grab the poor person. Gently hoisting the shivering body out of the cold water we were able to get a better look at the revealed boy. He was slipping into unconsciousness clutching a burned, mutilated, and broken arm into his chest. My wife and I made our way to the infirmary with the poor boy. placing him down on a bed to get a better look, taking off his shirt we were able to see the extent of the damage. His arm was mutilated beyond repair and his young body was just littered in scars. Far too many for someone of his young age.
The strange burn on his arm slowly seemed to be spreading up trying to make its way to his body. There is no time to properly look for a way to stop it, I really don't want to amputate his arm but I don’t see any other choice. I grabbed a piece of ripped fabric and tied it off right below his shoulder. Grabbing a sharp blade, I sterilized it with alcohol. Looking once more at that young face I felt a sad guilt, taking a deep breath I brought the blade down. The boy's eyes snapped open. His mouth opened in a silent scream as his body convulsed in pain. Sonia quickly pinned him back down, trying to comfort him and get him to calm down. I had a construct keep his kicking legs pinned down, trying to keep him from hurting himself further. Grabbing a sedative I gently forced it down the boy's throat and after a few moments he was once again asleep. Sonia washed and dressed what remained of his arm, wrapping him in a clean dry robe and braiding his hair out of his face. We brought the boy to a more private room placing him in a large bed to sleep, leaving a construct with him to update them with the boy's condition. Making our way to the garden looking through the items he had with him. There wasn't much, a bag with a pad of paper and a charcoal pencil. And a half empty water skin. A strange tablet of some sorts with looks reminiscent of their own technology, an empty sword sheath. And then there was that strange arm that fell with him.
Where did this boy come from? He clearly wasn’t supposed to be on a long trip; he wasn't packed for one. I took the boy's now amputated arm with me to speak with my sister. Together we examined the arm, we discovered that it wasn't just burned but that it looked as if it was rotting or decaying at an accelerated pace. The arm had been covered in a strange red substance that was eating away at his flesh stripping it bare to the bone. It was then my sister Mineru noticed that due to the eroding flesh a source of light was now emitting from the enclosed fist. We carefully pried the fingers open and what was found had us both shocked. It was a sage stone emitting a deep forest green and golden honey glow. How had he gotten ahold of this stone where had he found it?
…
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…
Non Specific time skip
Non specific POV
It was days before the golden honey haired boy had fully woken up from his deep sleep. There had been moments where the golden haired boy had woken up but he had not been conscious. He had fallen into a deep delirious fever, it had caused restless sleep but he had never fully woken either. They were continually keeping him dosed with sleeping medication worried that he would wake and cause himself further harm. Finally almost a week after he appeared the boy had gently woken up to the rising sun shining on his face through the window. Hey lay still with his eyes closed for a while enjoying the bask of the sun and the softness of the sheets. Even when living in the castle while guardian Zelda he had never felt anything of such comfort. Slowly he opened his eyes to an unfamiliar room, it was larger than any room he had ever slept in before, a similar size to Zelda’s old room from before the calamity. The room has been decorated with a deep green as the rooms chosen colour. All the furniture had a dark stained oak frame with deep green cushioning. The bed he was in had dark oak posts with the deep green curtains and silken sheets, with two dark end tables on either side. There was a small seating area around a fireplace with plush green chairs and a dresser at the foot of the bed. On one wall with a door there was a small vanity mirror / wash basin, on the opposite end of the room there was a large inset window that had cushions placed on the ledge for sitting. The window had been cracked open allowing a gentle breeze to waft the green curtains and blow in the sweet sounds of birds. After a few minutes he decided to get up to go to the window but when he went to hoist himself up he led with his right hand only to discover that his hand was no longer there when he fell.
A moment of shock later he finally realized that what once was an arm and hand was now replaced with empty air. That’s not right. He is supposed to have a hand, how else is he supposed to swing his sword and keep Zelda safe? How else is he supposed to fight monsters that plague the land? He is supposed to be a knight, a sword. He is supposed to be able to be the hero that everyone wants him… needs him to be. And now he can’t do that. Now he can’t be Zelda guard… or Hilyia. Zelda, where was Zelda? He remembers seeing her horrified face as he fell into the deep chasm below. He couldn’t even keep her safe; she's still there in the dark of the cave while he's her in the safety of a room with everything he’s never had. Being a Knight is the only thing he knows how to do ( he can cook, yes but a soldier is what he is supposed to be, it is what he was trained for.) He needs his right arm to hold a sword; it's how everyone is taught to fight. But now he doesn't have his right arm. He’s failed again. He was only allowed on failure and that was a hundred years ago when he fell to those soulless machines. He was gifted one more chance and now? He’s blown it. He failed. ‘ you are nothing without that sword. You will do nothing but train until you become perfect’ ‘Everything else is worthless for you you only need to know how to swing that sword’ ‘ you’re better off dead or I will kill you myself for your failure' ‘ Coming back dead will be better than coming back alive’ ‘You don’t want to be useless now do you? Good now pick it up’ He is useless now. A worthless waist of a hero he wasted his second chance. He shouldn't have even been given that chance Hyrule would have been better off with a new incarnation of the hero's spirit. He’s more useless than a broken sword because at least a broken sword is still sharp. He’s a broken, dull, worthless piece of scrap metal better left to be melted and made new then sharpened again. He wasn’t seeing anything anymore; it was nothing but a blank smudge of colour.
There were no longer the sounds of birds. The words Broken, failure, useless, worthless repeating to the beat of his heart. Over(useless) and over(broken) and over(Worthless) and over(Failure)andoverandoverandover. Faster and louder no longer breathing everything blurring together onto a mass of despair weighing him down making him heavier and heavier, getting darker and dar- Something wrapped around him tight and warm… not something arms. Arms were wrapped around him, there was a soft quiet calm murmur breaking through the words drawing them out. Another seat how hands gently pried his hand out of his hair ( when did that get there?) The quiet Murmurs continued slowly putting him at ease, quieting his mind. After what felt like hours but was just minutes someone picked him up and he was gently placed back into the soft bed laying him sitting up against the headboard with the pillows stacked up. “ There we go, you're safe now, is this better?” He looked over his eyes, still a little un focused where he saw two figures. A taller dark green skinned white haired (Man?) one and a shorter sun kissed golden haired (Lady?) one. His vision finally cleared and confirmed that it was a strange man and a woman. The lady spoke in the same warm tone from before.
“Are you feeling better now?”
All he could do was nod The strange taller one spoke revealing a masculine voice to Link.
“ We are glad that you are now awake, it has been a few days since you fell into the pond”
Link was confused, he looked between the two of them. The lady took notice of his confusion.
“ Ahh apologies my husband can be a bit blunt. My Name is Sonia and he is Rauru. We do have some questions we would link to ask you if you are up for it?”
The lady now revealed to be named Sonia smiled warmly at him. Link, though still hesitant, felt as though he could trust this woman. She had an aura of calm that reminded him of a warm cup of honey’d milk reminiscent of a long forgotten past. Link agreed to answer their questions A strange mechanical being brought in a tray with cups and a tea pot setting it on the side table closest to the three. Rauru, the name he now knew, poured Link a cup of a sweet smelling tea, the warmth helping to calm him more.
“ For starters, might we ask for your name, young one?”
Link paused for a moment realizing that it might be hard to sign with just one arm. He felt his eye twitch when he realized that he would have to spell out the word one letter at a time. He slowly lifted his lone hand and began to sign out one letter at a time
[“ M-y n-a-m-e i-s L-i-n-k”]
They looked at him with confusion before Rauru spoke up.
“ I believe that is a form of sign language but is not any one that I know of… I would say it's because you speak a different language but you clearly understand what we are saying so that can't be it?”
“ Perhaps he was raised in a more remote area that has its own version… and the fact that he is now missing an arm is likely not helping his case either….”
Link clacked his teeth together to get the two's attention ( he always found that to be more polite than a sharp whistle or cough) when they looked at him he gestured to his missing right arm. Both Sonia and Rauru looked pained at this. After a moment Rauru cleared his throat speaking with a glazing guilt.
“ Yes, your arm is now gone as you can clearly see… we aren't sure what was happening to it. When we pulled you out of the pond there was a strange rotting like burn covered in a red substance that was rapidly spreading up your arm towards your main body. I made the decision to amputate as there was no proper time to look for another option. My sister and I did try to look at what was left of what I chopped off, but the arm rapidly began decaying and fast. It had stripped to the bone by sun down.”
Upon noticing Links' stressed look Sonia elbowed Rauru in his side who then muttered a pained apology. As Link was mulling it over trying to not panic again, he didn’t notice Sonia summoning another of those strange mechanical creatures placing a fancy pen and parchment in front of him. Link picked the pen up with his left hand , he realized he would have to write slowly to make it legible ( at least he now has an excuse to use his left arm to write it always felt more comfortable.) He doesn't remember much but he does know he used to use his left hand for everything when he was younger. But when he started his training after he found the sword at 10 his trainer/ (Tutor he thinks?) forced him to begin using his right hand alone. With a shaky hand he wrote.
{My name is Link}
That seemed to peak Rauru’s interest.
“ Ahh Link, that is a name I have not heard of before.”
“ I quite like It I find it Unique”
Sonia smiled
“ Now then is there anything you can tell us about what happened?”
Link for the next hour wrote as clearly as he could in quick bullet notes (trying not to keep these people here all night with his slow writing) wrote as much of what he could remember about exploring the caves, that skeletal mummified man and that strange arm, all leading to the bright flash of light and suddenly falling from the sky in an area he much did not recognize.
“ So let me see if I understand this correctly. You went under Hyrule castle with this girl named Zelda to explore once forgotten tunnels, only to find a strange skeletal being getting hit with a strange red substance which is the most likely cause for your arm, before the floor under you collapsed and you began falling deeper before a flash of light brought you falling out of the sky here?”
Link nodded he knew this must have sounded crazy to these two. He didn’t think they were going to believe him, then he suddenly remembered his bag. He quickly asked for the parchment back and Rauru gently slid it over to him.
{My bag do you have it?}
Sonia perked up a bit.
“ Ah yes I stored it in the office for now. I will have a Construct fetch it for us.”
Sonia waved over one of those strange machines ahh so that's what they were called. The Construct left and came back a few minutes later it came back and went straight for Link opening a chest cavity revealing his bag. After digging around for a moment Link pulled out his slate and hoped it still work (Because of the magic of the author is bullshitting it still works) To his joy and the intrigue of Sonia and Rauru it turned on and swiped into the camera rune and went to the most recent files showing them the pictures he took.
“ What you said.. It seems so farfetched but these images do show proof of truth”
Rauru had adopted a grim expression. Sonia was still looking through the pictures when she spoke up.
“ You said you were below Hyrule castle.. But that doesn't fully make sense as this castle where we are right now is Hyrule castle. And none of this is below the castle.”
Link was now confused, perhaps the reason he hasn’t met these two yet was because they were part of the restoration team. And this is one of the rooms that have been redone?
{ well the tunnels were only revealed when the calamity hit, perhaps you just haven’t come across them yet.}
Rauru and Sonia looked confused and a bit worried before Rauru spoke up.
“ Calamity? The only one we have heard about happened long ago. Before Sonia and I began uniting the races, founding Hyrule.”
Now it was Link’s turn to be shocked. Did Rauru just say that he and Sonia were the one to found Hyrule? But that doesn't make any sense! Hyrule was founded thousands of years after… the first… Calamity….
{ What year is this}
Link had written so fast it took the both of them a moment to decode what he had written…oops but he was beginning to panic a bit if his theory was correct…
“ It is currently CIII ATD”
…
That's not right?
{ Not XCIII ATD?}
They looked at Link with worry… oh sweet Hylia above he somehow got himself sent ten thousand years into the past…Shit. Link explained his theory to both Sonia and Rauru going into as much depth as he could to the point that his arm and wrist began to strain. Link could practically see the gears turning in their heads as though pieces of a puzzle were finally being put together. Sonia finally sighed turning to link with a small smile
“ While it is seemingly impossible there are strange things that happen in this world. And it would explain the difference in your sign language. Language does tend to evolve over time and if there really is a ten thousand year difference… I am only glad that the spoken and written language has not appeared to have changed much.”
Sonia went silent in thought for a few small but tense moments.
“ The only question now is how we would get you back to your time. As I am sure you have people who will be worried about you. And more that you miss. Including that Zelda friend of yours"
That's when Rauru spoke up
“ I can bring Link to Mineru when she gets back from her trip. But that won't be for about two weeks. And we still have that meeting with the gerudo Chief before then.”
That made Link panic some that's at least two weeks of being in a strange time. Away from his home and friends. And two weeks would be a minimum as they still need to figure out how to get him home, who knows what this Mineru person knows and what she could do with the little information they do have about how he got here in the first place. And all they have for that is that there was a bright flash of light! Sonia seemed to have noticed Link's panic as she gently shook him out of his panicked daze.
“ I promise Link. We will help you get back to your time. In the meantime you will stay with us as our guest. I will help you in learning our Sign so that you don't need to keep writing for everything. And My dear Husband will help you find a solution to your arm.”
Her voice was warm and gentle in a way that reminded him of memories from a long forgotten past. From before he even pulled the sword. But who does she remind him of? Link managed to muster a small smile at them and they smiled back.
“ Now then i bet after all that you are tired so why don’t you get some sleep we can talk more in the morning."
Link had been feeling tired the whole time and now that he has calmed he was having more of an issue staying awake. The pillows were re-adjusted to be laying flat again, almost immediately Link fell asleep once again.
…
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…
It has been a few days since Link first fell into the past, and to say it has been strange is an understatement. Rauru and Sonia had assigned a servant to help Link with tasks that were hard to do with one hand. Currently Link was just finishing getting dressed in some borrowed clothes. He does have his regular sets stored in his slate. ( Sonia and especially Rauru were fascinated by the storage system and revealed that they had been concerned with the lack of food that they initially found in his bag.)
But Sonia seemed so excited to put something together for him he decided to wear it. It was relatively simple. A white pull over with loose fitting puff sleeves ( the right arm tied off ) tucked into a pair of simple straight legged trousers, and a green half shoulder shawl covered in innate patterns that covered over his right arm hiding it from view. he put on a spare pair of his own boots Today Rauru and Sonia had an important meeting with the gerudo chief and they decided to have Link there. He was sitting at the mirror in his room waiting for Sonia to come and do his hair. Over the days he had been awake Sonia he found really enjoyed doing his hair.
‘Your hair is long but not as much as mine or my husband's which makes it much easier to do sun styles with!’
She had been very excited. His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door
“ Good morning Link! Big day today.”
He nodded in response Sonia enjoyed talking to Link despite the fact he couldn’t talk back properly. She didn’t seem to mind; she just liked having someone who listened. Link was good at listening. He was used to Zelda's info rants during dinner.
“ the chief of the Gerudo chief will be here within the next hour give or take so just something simple today no?”
Despite not being able to see her face he was always able to hear the smile in her tone. The style was simple but still elegant, she had braided his hair up and into a bun using a styled pin to keep it pinned up in the back. The front was a little different. Instead of his usual bangs and loose hair, it was brushed off to the right side of his face on the left there was another orate pin keeping his hair tucked behind his ear, on the right it was left loose partially covering the scars that were there. He didn’t mind his scars, they just reminded him of what he survived.
What he didn’t like was attention. And in this time people were not used to these types of scars. So using his hair and clothes to cover them up keeps eyes off him and that's what he wants. When she was done with his hair Sonia grabbed these shoulder and arm cuffs, designed with intricate Zonia designs, latching one around his wrist and attaching the other around his uncovered shoulder. By the time she had finished a construct came by and informed them of the Gerudo chiefs arrival. Sonia smiled at him.
“ Let's get going then shall we? You don’t need to interact with them if you do not wish, this is just a meeting to try and sort out some treatise attempts. All you need to do is stay by mine and Rauru’s side.”
It didn’t take too long to get to the throne room where Rauru already sat. Sonia joins him in a matching seat and Link on instinct stood beside and slightly behind the thrones, just as the two get settled the doors are opened and in walk five people. Four were Gerudo guards, but it was the fifth person who caught Link off guard. It was a tall muscular man with all the trademark traits of a Gerudo with being a man instead of a woman. Dressed in ornate jewels signifying a high status. The tall man kneeled in front of the thrones before speaking.
“ Allow me to offer my deepest apologies on behalf of the Gerudo, for taking so long to accept your repeated invitations. It is our desire to be accepted into the protective embrace of your kingdom to serve it faithfully.”
After a brief moment Rauru spoke in response.
“ A welcome appeal, Ganondorf.”
And that is where it cut off for Link. Ganondorf? Ganon…. Calamity Ganon . He was no longer paying attention to what was being said, only watching the tall imposing man. A man who demanded your attention without even saying anything. Link could see the dark look in the man's eyes as he looked up at Rauru and Sonia. Every time he looked at Ganondorf his instincts just screamed danger. He saw no good in that man. Only danger. A while later the meeting ended and people mingled about for a while. Link still hadn't moved from where he first stood at the beginning. He was trying to avoid Ganondorf’s gaze trying to do what he’d always done at any event and stay hidden. But luck was not on his side today (granted it hadn’t been on his side for a while now seeing as he was stuck in the past).
Ganondorf made his way toward the strange boy staying hidden in the back, as he made his way closer the boy noticed him and tensed. That made him smile slightly. He took notice of the boy almost as soon as he stepped foot into the room, the way he stood and what he was wearing was unique. “ Hello there” Despite the tensity in the boy's shoulders he provided a bow in greeting. Interesting and polite
“ What’s your name, boy?”
The boy stuttered in his movements for a moment so small you wouldn't notice if you weren't looking. When he fully stood from his bow he stared up at Ganon before making a strange movement with his open hand.
“Wha-”
It was then Rauru took notice
“ apologies Ganondorf. This is Link. He is staying with my wife and I for the time being as our guest.”
Ganon eyes squinted ever so slightly.
“ Hmmm I see… Is he unable to introduce himself?”
…
“ We have not heard him speak since he arrived days ago. We mainly communicate through writing currently.”
Ganon looked at the boy (Link) again, this time finally noticing bits of scarring hidden under his clothing and hair that was over the right side of his face.
“ Ahh I see an old injury perhaps? You seem quite young to have scarring such as that.”
Link tensed up once again before giving a slight shake of his head in response.
“Hmmm well then. My soldiers and I must be going for now. We will schedule a meeting for another date.”
Ganon decided to pat Links back harder than necessary to get a reaction out of him but to his dismay there was only a huff of air out of the boy's mouth. ( Strange there should have at least been a grunt even Rauru that worthless king seems to notice)
“ Well then I shall see you off Ganondorf”
With that Rauru led Ganon away from that strange boy and out of the castle.
Till next time Link…
Once the Gerudo left Link brought up his thoughts with Sonia Who seems worried as well.
“ I do agree there is something off with that man I will be talking with Rauru tonight.”
With that Link and Sonia made their way to the garden to practice sign language that they both could understand.
…
---
…
Sonia and Rauru were currently getting ready for bed. Rauru was sitting down on the bed while Sonia was at the Vanity removing her jewelry.
“ Can I say something about Gannondorf / Link?”
They stared at each other for a moment before they both let out a laugh. Rauru being him calmed down first.
“ You go first my dear.”
Sonia smiled at him
“ Link brought up to me something about that Chief and I can’t help but agree.”
“ Oh? What about?”
“ There is something dark about that man. Link even pointed out the similarities in his name compared to the calamity. That being Ganondorf and Calamity Ganon…”
She took in a breath as she brushed out her hair.
“ He has a look in his eyes, Deceit being the main thing I see. there’s a dark aura that surrounds him as well. I do not believe that his visit today was with how he presented and what we hoped.”
She finished her hair looking at her husband for his response. …
“ As much as I hoped for today… I have to agree with the two of you that there is something wrong with that man. I just don’t know what to do about it yet.”
Sonia got up and sat with him.
“ I'm glad you also noticed. Now what was it that you wanted to say?”
Rauru sighed.
“ Ganondorf did point something out today that I hadn’t noticed before… Link is too silent no?”
Sonia nodded where was this going?
“ I understand that there are many reasons a person would not be able to speak but Link's case is strange. Even with all the scarring he has even if it was bad enough to reach his vocal chords he should still beagle to make noises of sorts… and yet he is entirely silent, even when Ganondorf slapped him on his back which was way too hard.. Link only let out a huff of air there was no noise…”
he took a moment to breathe.
“ When we found him he was not screaming in pain either. And when I had to chop off his arm he opened his mouth in scream but once again no noise other than air.”
he finished looking at his wife. Sonia was looking at him with concern and realization dawning in her eyes.
“ you’re right…even with that scarring over his body I don’t think it would have an effect like that… sould we have the doctor give him another look over? We did only have him look over his arm last time.”
“ Yes, that sounds good. I will summon the doctor in the morning and we will bring him to Link's room.”
Rauru noticed Sonia's slight confusion.
“ I believe Link is not a fan of medical rooms. When we were in there last for his arm check he kept looking around the room uncomfortable.”
With that said Sonia smiled at her husband kissing him before they blew out the lights and turned in for the night.
…
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…
The next morning Link was in his room sitting on the cushing window ledge reading a book he had borrowed from Sonia when there was a knock on his door. He gave a slight two toned whistle letting the person know that they could come in. When the Door opened in came Rauru and Sonia with a doctor which had Link slightly tensing slightly. He can’t remember but he is not a fan of doctors at all. Sonia smiled at him.
“ Good morning Link. you remember the doctor right?”
He gave a light nod towards the trio as Rauru spoke up.
“ sorry to interrupt your reading but we were hoping you wouldn’t mind letting the doctor give you a look over?”
Link looked at the eyes shifting to the doctor every now and then with a questioning look. This time the doctor spoke up.
“ To be more precise it is an examination of your neck that we would like to do.”
That had Link nervous now as he touched his neck, Sonia coming over to sit with him and put her hand on his shoulder. Rauru sighed
“With the Injurys that you do have and the way you acted yesterday to Ganondorfs observation about it, we would like to try and see what has happened. If you’re ok with it ofcourse?”
Link stared at them all for a while still holding his neck lightly, he caught a glimpse of the doctor who noticed and gave a polite but strained smile. Link could tell that he didn't smile much and only did so in a way to try and rescue him. Link eventually nodded and the Doctor had him leave the window seat to come and sit in one of the chairs around the fireplace.
“ Now there is likely going to be some pressure around your neck as I poke around so if you start to get uncomfortable or there is pain or you even just want a break, tap my arm twice in quick succession and I will stop.”
Link gave a nod in response. Soon after, the doctor began his examination. He had Link tilt up his head using a strange light emitting device to shine down his throat. His eyes had narrowed, muttering as he wrote some things down, moving on to the outside of Links neck applying slight pressure around. It was uncomfortable but not bad, while there was a pressure the doctor's touches were light and gentle. After a few more minutes of the prodding the doctor tensed a little and froze on one part of Link's neck. He waved over Rauru who was sitting with Sonia on one of the other chairs. He pointed silently at a thin barely noticeable straight line on Link’s neck, made even harder by all the other more jagged scarring.
Rauru saw the line and then read what the doctor had written down as he was handed the note pad the doctor was using. With this the doctor allowed Link to put his head back down and everyone was now sitting. Rauru said something to Sonia that had her gasp … Link caught everyone’s attention and tilted his head in a questioning manner as if asking
“ What?”
The doctor cleared his throat.
“ As far back as you can remember, do you know when you stopped talking?”
What does that have anything to do with this? Grabbing the pen and book he had been using to write the past couple of days he wrote.
{ My memories are not all there but from what I have been told and can remember, I used to talk a lot more when I was younger. Before I started my training. As long as she has known me Zelda said I never talked and my old friend Mipha said that I slowly began talking less until about the age of 13 when I stopped all together.}
The three after reading what he wrote looked at him with barely contained horror and Link once again gave them the same questioning look from before. Eventually Rauru cleared his throat.
“ if what the doctor found is true and it correlates from what you remember and have been told…”
he took another breath.
“ Then sometime when you were in your training, possibly around when you were 13…. Your vocal chords… they were removed.”
…
What?
He didn’t have his vocal chords? He looked up at them again, the Doctor speaking.
“ The inside of your throat has some scarring but the outside it's a little harder to notice due to the rest. But there is a thin straight line going across your throat. You would not notice it if you were not looking for it. Your entire larynx was removed. That's why you can't speak. You physically can’t speak because it was taken away from you on purpose.”
No, that can’t be right. They wouldn’t do that.. Who would do that? Why a child? Who-
...
Flashes of blood stains the pain of being forcefully held down the pitched screams of a child flashing through his mind being dragged away from training, held down on a table kicking and screaming a paralyzer being forced down his throat, not even with the peace of a numbing.
The pain of the bright lights being over head, his head is forcibly yanked back. Then the sharpness of a small knife slicing through skin. It stings as they are yanking at his neck, tugging and pulling pain getting worse and worse, not being able to move away or cry out. It became too much, the light started fading as the dark took over.
He woke up with a start in his small bunk room gasping for air. His neck was on fire, why was his neck on fire? He staggered out of bed making his way over the wash basin with the mirror, stepping up onto the stool to see.
A small boy with bags too dark under his eyes. Short golden hair that is getting slightly darker at the roots going from bright gold to honey gold. His neck wrapped in a bandage, touching causes a sharp excruciating pain he wants to cry out. Why can he cry? He opens his mouth trying to call for help when nothing but scratchy air comes out. Its cutting in and out has him trying to force himself to speak, all it leads to is him choking on air which constricts his throat causing more pain. He collapsed to the ground, his tiny body curling in on itself, trying anything to get any form of comfort. His small body wracked with gasping silent sobs. He stays like this not knowing how much time has passed, a sharp loud knock at his door startling him out of his cries.
‘ Hey Hero! Sir Leon Gravely wants to see you in his off asap so hurry up!’
The small boy on the floor froze for a moment before slowly and steadily standing once again. He looked back up into the mirror wiping his eyes and schooling his expression, getting rid of any traces of emotion leaving nothing but a blank face and an empty look before exiting the room and making his way down the hall. Back straight shoulders back face forward the perfect looks of a knight at just thirteen years old. Knocking twice on the door at the end of the hall and waiting for the acknowledgment to come in he then entered the room. He stood in the center of the room perfectly still waiting for the man at the desk to finish his work. The man didn’t even bother to look up before speaking.
' Want to know why you made me remove your larynx?'
not even waiting for an attempted answer, the man continued.
' It's your own fault. I've told you time and time again that you were to not speak without permission. There was no need for you to speak. And yet you would continue to speak to that Zora girl. And your father….'
Finally looking up the man had the face of a monster.
' You have no reason to speak. You are nothing more than a sentient weapon… a weapon does not need to speak. I don’t care if you miss cooking with your mother and want to cry about it to your father, nor do I care that you like talking to that fish friend of yours. The King (has no idea this is happening) is displeased with this. You. are nothing more. Then a weapon for us to use. And a weapon. Needs. no. voice. You forced us to do this. It's your own fault. Now come here.'
The boy(weapon) walked over to the man ( Monster) who was now standing.
CRACK!
The boy(weapon) stumbled back just barely keeping himself from losing his footing and falling to the ground.
' Don’t think that I didn’t seek your eyes being blood shot. You. Do Not. Cry. You are just a Weapon, a Weapon doesn't Cry, a Weapon doesn’t Speak, and most importantly a Weapon doesn't Feel.'
…
'Understood?'
A nod
' good get back to training and hide those disgusting bandages. Keep changing them yourself, don’t bother others with it. It was your fault so it's your responsibility.'
… '
Now leave'
A nod
A bow
The door shutting.
‘Link?’
“Link?”
“LINK!?”
His head snapped up Sonia's worried eyes softened
“ Oh Link are you back with us now sweetie?”
His eyes were wide, filled with a fog and tears falling down his face, his breath was ragged and his body was shaking. Sonia was hugging him now the doctor and Rauru were talking in the background he only caught parts of the conversation.
“ Remember-”
“Must have-”
“Poor boy-”
“Horrible monsters-”
After a while Link had calmed enough to stop the violent shanking and sobbing but still hadn't stopped crying. He reached for the pen and book to tell them when Sonia held his hand back.
“ We know you must have relived the memories. If you want to talk to us about it we will talk in the morning, right now i think you need some sleep otherwise you wont be able to write anyways. So let's get you to bed”
Rauru escorted the doctor out of the room while Sonia guided Link to his bed helping him lay down. Sonia watched as the boy who look even more like his age slowly relaxed into the covers, his fogged over eyes mostly closed. She was about to leave when she felt a slight tug on her dress. When she turned around Link moved his hand pointing his thumb to his chin leaving the rest of his fingers spread open and signed.
[“ Mother S-T-A-Y”]
His eyes still had that fog over them so he wasn’t fully aware yet. But he was repeating the sign over again. He was calling out to his mother wanting her to stay. But he had no mother here. He was looking at Sonia with such certainty every time he signs “Mother”. She must remind him of his mother. Sonia waved her husband away and crawled into the bed beside the hurt and broken boy. He tucked his head close into her body slowly calming more as she weaved her fingers through his hair as he fell asleep to her tuneless hum.