Legend of Zelda: Child of Darkness

Chapter 4: Outcast

"Hey...hey! She's coming to! Hey..." A blurry mass of light and dark figures slowly focused into solid shapes as Lock opened her eyes once more. Link rushed to her side at the first sign of her stirring. "Hey, it's me, Link. You're finally awake..." Lock looked around for a moment until the room came into view.

"L...Link?" She looks up at his face. "Ugh, I feel like...I was hit by a wild boar. What's going on?" She paused for a moment before jolting up. "What's happened to the village!" She yelled before feeling a sharp pain surge up from a few broken ribs and multiple gashes and bruises over her body. Link wasn't in great shape either, though she was happy that he was still alive.

"We can worry about the village after we fix you up. Elzo's getting you a couple of potions, just stay still, okay?" Link said in a soft tone. The look of worry didn't leave his face, however. Lock looked around the room a bit, parts of it looking slghtly burned and broken, but overall sturdy as ever.

"Is this...Torani's house?" She asked. Link nodded with a worried smile.

"It was close by and still standing." He replied just as Ezlo walked back in. He looked a bit nervous and quite tired. "Hey, you're back."

"Yes. Oh, here." He handed Link a potion. "I could only find one, but it should do for the most severe injuries. You might still have a few small cuts and bruises for a while though." He said. He looked out of the window at the villages digging ditches and piling bodies up in them. "The wounded are being tended to, most of the village escaped and have moved to the northern end of the village." He turned to Link and Lock. "How are you two faring?" Lock downed the potion and laid back a bit.

"Feeling better already. Sorry I wasn't more of a help." She said. Link glanced at Ezlo only for a moment. "How did you get me out of the building? The last thing I remember was the roof collapsing."

"You...don't remember anything after that?" Link asked. Lock tilted her head a bit in confusion.

"No, of course not. I blacked out. I thought I was dead for sure." Lock replied. She looked at the two men who were shooting glances at eachother.

"Was there anything that you can remember? Anything strange that might have happened?" Ezlo prodded, sitting next to Lock near the makeshift bed of cushions.

"Well..."Lock pondered for a moment. "There was a strange dream. Probably from being knocked out by the smoke maybe? There was a mysterious man in strange robes. He had white glowing eyes, and was feeding me something about a darkness, or a sleeping darkness, I can't remember. I got mad, and he said something about my father... I couldn't even move and he disappeared right before the roof caved." She told them all she could remember. Ezlo sighed heavily and layes his head in his hands for a moment. Lock furrowed her brow. "Ezlo, what's wrong?" Link looked over with a serious look on his face.

"There's something you're not telling us, isn't there?" He aked. Ezlo sighed again.

"I...am not sure if I should...but your mother has waited long enough to tell you...let me start this way. Lock, you often rummage through my library, yes? Remember when you were young and you asked about the ancient legends?" Lock nodded silently. Ezlo continued. "The tale of the king of the western desert, the evil king that was brought down by a boy from the forest...that is the tale of the Hero of time, passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years."

"I take it this has something to do with what happened earlier?" Link interrupted, gaining glares from both Lock and Ezlo. He sat back in his seat. "I mean...continue."

"Several times since, it was said that the desert king had been resurrected or returned somehow, but always faced the same fate as before. There was always a hero to strike him down. But recently..." Ezlo paused. "...I tell you this because...these tales, they are more than simple legend. This is our history, and every bit is the truth. About twenty years ago, word got out that the evil king had returned. The moment it did, however, he disappeared, supposedly gone into hiding. It was assumed that if he was free once again, then he hid only because his powers hadn't fully returned to him, but just the mere thought of him returning threw the country into a panic. The king sent search parties to look for him, to at least confirm that the rumors were false. Link, your father was among the knights sent on the search." Link's eyes went wide.

"MY father?"

"Yes, he and I were companions in the Royal Army. Your father was the best of all of us, a war hero, if you will. He...came a little too close to finding the evil king, and in doing so, became the biggest thorn in his side. As leverage, he kidnapped your mother. Your father fought with all his might to free her but..." Ezlo sighed. "You father lost his life before he could ever find her." Link stared in shock.

"Where was Link? Where were you?" Lock asked. Ezlo raised a hand for her to wait.

"Link's father had left him in my care. I had no idea how to care for him, I never had a child of my own, but I vowed on my life that I would protect him. When I got word that he had been killed in battle, I did everything in my power to find your mother, though I didn't know whether she was alive or not. I left Link with a woman in the castle town and traveled into the desert with a rescue party of the guards' best men. By the time we were able to find the evil lord again, more than half of my men had been lost and three years gone, but we did find him. Without his full power and his thieves no longer in his service, we were able to defeat him as a group...though whether he survived or not is still uncertain. What was certain was that he kept captured women as his concubines, and your mother was among them." Ezlo looked to Lock. "When I found her, she cried to me, telling me of the things she had been made to live through. Soon after, she discovered that she was pregnant." Lock gasped a bit, holding her breath for a moment, and Link looked over to his sister.

"Y-you mean...you mean that I..." Lock stuttered.

"You are that child, Lock." Ezlo said solemnly. "Your mother was depressed. She had lost her husband, though she didn't know it until she was set free. She became...suicidal. I kept her from taking her own life and relocated her and Link to this out-of-the-way village of Toaru to help her forget the past and start a new life." Ezlo looked concerned for Lock, who was feeling an awkward mixture of emotions. Confusion, disbelief, fear, anger, sorrow...whatever it was, she was clearly unhappy. "She raised you instead of...well instead of-"

"...killing me?" Lock asked. Ezlo fell silent. "Instead of killing me, right?" Lock paused, seemingly lost in thought. "He...he was right...she always hated me..."

"She never hated you!" Link interjected. "She never hated you...If anything, she was just always afraid. Not of you, but...think about it. What if he came back? What if he came back to take you away from her?" Link watched as Lock's faced changed to a look of worry as she slumped back into her seat.

"You're right, Link. Moria, she always feared for you. She always worried. Neither of you were ever allowed to leave the village without either me or her by your side, and even then we never took you further than the edge of the Ordona province and the Faron woods." Ezlo explained.

"...But...why are you telling me this now?" Lock asked, still in shock. Ezlo turned to face her.

"This darkness that the stranger spoke of, his mentioning of your father...it can't be coincidence. This...will be a bit hard to hear, but you must know the truth." Link looked to Ezlo, his face saying 'what are you doing?', but Ezlo continued. "You have to know. We did not save you from that building. We were surrounded by the time you showed up...you...were not you. You were something else entirely. Do you not recall any of it at all?" Ezlo asked worriedly. Lock looked to him, confused and somewhat scared.

"I...I vaguely remember fighting, but it was like a waking dream..." She answered.

"It was no dream, child. You entered the fray wild as a beast. It was our brother that saved you from..." Lock stared in shock. Her dream was more than what she let on to the others. She recalled reveling in the death of everything and even almost taking joy in seeing the blood, but she didn't want to believe it was real. Link took his sister's hand.

"Lock, don't worry, that wasn't you! Whatever happened, it was that white-eyed man. It was him, not you!" He reassured her, looking to Ezlo for comfirmation. Ezlo could neither agree or disagree, however. He feared the worst but didn't want to take away their hope.

"I will...return soon. I need to meet with the survivors, see who is still accounted for. Link, care for your sister, he wounds should be mostly healed soon enough. I'll return as quick as I can." Ezlo stood up and left the building, heading toward the north end of the village to where the survivors have gathered. Link took off after him a few moments later.

"Ezlo, wait." He caught up. "What's going to happen now? Half the fighters saw what happened out there...what are they gonna do to Lock?"

"I honestly don't know. Just stay with your sister, please. I'll be back as soon as I can." Ezlo laid a hand on Link's soulder. "She needs you." He turned to walk away. Link stood there for a moment, hearing the grunts of other men aorund him hefting bodies and smelling the stench of burning flesh as some began to set the piles on fire. He turned back to return to Lock's side until Ezlo's return.

To the northern end, the surviving villagers gathered in the mayor's home. He had called a meeting to try and deal with the crisis at hand collectively, and the place with a buzz with chattering voices and muffled sobs. Ezlo entered the building as a few of the villagers and elders were arguing with the mayor himself.

"...is no other explination! Why would they suddenly come to our village other than they were looking for something, or someONE. We all know who that someone is and something needs to be done about it." One man protested.

"Oh stop beating around the bush! That Gerudo girl has been trouble from the start! I say we send her away to be chased elsewhere, where there are guards and weapons and where we can live in peace without fear of being attacked again!" A woman shouted from the audience.

"Now you're being far too harsh. I've never had an issue with her myself until now. If it had been you under a crazy hex then everyone would be clamoring to save your hide!" Another younger man stated. Ezlo pushed his way through to the Mayor's side, noticing Moria was already in attendance and looking quite uncomfortable.

"Come now people, please calm down. There is no need to get so up in arms."

"No need?" A woman cried out. She was carryin the little girl from the battle field. "That girl mudred my husband in front of our daughters eyes! And you say there is no need? I say we show her the same fate and put her to the fire!" The woman cried. The girl was silent, hiding her face in her mothers blouse and trembling. Ezlo stepped out into the center.

"Good people, please! Do you think your loved ones would enjoy seeing you like this? We can be civilized, now calm down. Look, this is all a very unfotunate event, but we can't blame one person for the crimes of another, and one cannot account for collateral casualties caused by war." He attempted to calm the crowd.

"That girl was completely mad, I saw her with my own eyes!" One man shouted, being accompanied by another two or three voices chiming in.

"It's more than likely she's the reason they came in the first place!"

"Why are you protecting her, you saw what happened!" The crowd began to riot.

"PEOPLE! I know some of us were there when the evil king reared his ugly head, but the sins of one man should not be forced to pass down to the one who just happens to have been thrown into this life this way. She didn't ask to be born under such conditions, and any one of you would look for the same sympathy if you had been in her place!" Ezle shouted. The room became quiet. "Now then, we have no idea what happened, and from what I gather, Ganon sent a magic weilder to aid his army. For all we know, any one of you could have been hexed into madness or gods forbid, far worse things could have happened! It is a tragedy, yes, I'm so very sorry for all of your losses, but turning on eachother is not going to solve anything! We need to stick together and think of a plan to prepare should something like this happen again."

"And the first thing would be to get rid of the girl to be sure they don't come looking for her!" The village bgan to chime in again as Ezlo called to calm them down. The mayor raied a hand and called out.

"Quiet! This is a delicate matter and we must be rational!" He yelled, quieting the crowd once more. "Now as mayor, I say that this isn't something for you al to decide alone." he turned to Moria. "You are her mother, you have as much or even more say than any other individual, and I've known you to be a fair woman. Under the circumstances, what would you be willing to do?" He said. Moria froze for a moment, looking across the room of angry, scared, and concerned faces. She turned to Ezlo, who was looking back with a pleading expression. She turned away solemnly and faced the people.

"I...believe...that we should..." She sighed. "I believe that for the time being, Lock will have to leave the village until we have rebuilt and things settle down." She said. Ezlo's heart fell into the pit of his stomach. Half og the villages mumbled and nodded in agreement, a few even cheered. Moria wasn't sre what to feel it seemed. A mixture of disappointment and relief crossed her mind. She looked up to Ezlo who only returned a look of disgust as he turned and left the building. Moria felt her heart sink, but told herself it was best for the village right now. Ezlo left the crowd of arguing villagers and traced his way back to Torani's house.

As Ezlo made his way back, Link was headed back from his own house, having been out to get some fresh clothing for both Lock and himself. He caught up to Ezlo on the way.

"So...?" He asked. Ezlo furrowed his brow and stopped walking.

"So...the village has decided that it's too dangerous to keep your sister around for now." He said rather abruptly. Link cluthed the cloth in his hand. "They aren't thinking straight. I do agree with one thing, those moblins came looking for something, but my gut is telling me it wasn't her. She's just an unfortunate scapegoat."

"Then let's go back, I'll talk to them myself!" Link said, but Ezlo shook his head.

"No, there's no use. Besides, you need to attend to her. I'll figure this out." He said. Link slowly nodded and took off for the house. Ezlo watched him diappear through the front door. "I have the lingering feeling that they were after you, Link."

Legend of Zelda (c) Nintendo

Child of Darkness and OCs (c) Lock of Hyrule