Author Notes:

HEY EVERYONE! I'M BACK!

After about an entire month of being dead, I rise from my grave and come back to you with a SHORT oneshot to make you wait a bit. It's like the bread and butter that you get in a restaurant before the main meal. Don't worry you guys, Rise is almost halfway done (I think past halfway a bit). Check my profile, and as you see the completion percentage nearing 70%, you'll know the time to start posting is nearer =D

Anyway, this short fic is a songfic (second attempt, so it might not be that good) on Sonata Arctica's song, Full Moon. The story is directly related to the song, since the song tells a story in a slightly abstract way. The link to it is on my profile, under the description for this oneshot. Also, this is not specified at being a modern fic or not, so you can think what you want. It might be a small rural community in the Modern Times or a village in the old times. Your choice.

Anyway, enjoy =D

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The night was calm. The air was fresh. The breeze was nice. The crickets' song was relaxing. After a long day of hard work, everyone in the small farming community of Ordon was asleep.

Almost everyone…

Sitting in a corner, all alone, the young man clutched his head tighter. His blond hair swayed to the breeze that flew in from the open window nearby. Looking around seventeen, he was muscled and looked strong. Clad in a pair of old green knee-length shorts, bare-footed and bare-chested, he sat against the wall, knees drawn up to his face. Anguish, pain, fear and sadness swirled in his crystal azure eyes, disturbing his usually controlled spirit. Slowly lifting his head, he watched the night come in from the window, biting his lip as the stars' shine reflected off his icy depths.

It would all collapse tonight, just like it did every twenty-eight days. Every cycle. Every cycle of the Moon.

The Full Moon is here again.

Whether he liked it or not, every twenty-eight days, the full moon came out. It had been like this ever since his ancestors had been cursed by some King of Twilight. The Legend says that when the King of Twilight was finally beaten, a power was given to the Hero who defeated him. He was able to switch between a human and a wolf at will. The power soon turned into a curse, though, as the Hero was killed by hunters one day as he went out as a wolf. And with that, his descendants carried a curse. The curse of the wolf.

He growled, feeling a familiar pain race up his spine. Gripping his hair tighter, he tried not to scream as not to alert anyone nearby. Anyone like the villagers, who might hunt him down… Or his lover. How he wished to keep his lover away from this madness.

"Zelda…" he breathed, trying to cool down. Breathing heavily, he stared into open space for a moment, trying to forget the pain that came with the transformation.

Transformation…

Not able to take it anymore, he jumped out of his spot and dashed for the door of his house. As soon as he was outside, he tripped over the wooden stairs that led down to the corn fields that belonged to the entire village. As soon as his hands and knees hit the floor, he screamed.

Or… Howled would be more appropriate.

The effect was immediate. Fur crawled over him, covering every bit of skin he had. His legs shortened, as did his arms, and a long, bushy tail grew behind him. Before he knew it, he was stuck in his wolf form once again.

The wolf took over and dashed towards the village.

"NO!" the boy screamed on the inside, trying to avoid mindless bloodshed… If anyone was out at this hour…

He didn't wanna think about it. Instead, he concentrated on getting control over his body.

Unfortunately, as he had heard the Mayor discussing a few weeks ago, they'd take measures to take care of the 'beast' roaming around the village on full moon nights. They were serious.

The young man barely got the wolf to slide to a stop as he eyed the mass of villagers a few hundred feet in front of him. A lot were holding pitchforks, others were holding torches. But they all bore the same death glare, scanning around for the 'beast'.

The human side tried to turn around and run, but the wolf's instinct was still present and fought back. As a result, the blue-eyed wolf stood in the middle of the dirt path as the village men came closer. Before the boy inside could help it, he was spotted.

"THERE IT IS!"

"GET IT!"

"AYE, ATTACK!"

At the sight of the villagers running for him bearing angry and murderous glares, both the wolf and the boy agreed on one thing: run.

So he did. Turning around, the wolf dashed for the cornfields, the only haven he had right now. "I'll be safe in the cornfields…" he thought confidently.

As soon as he had made it into the fields, though, again he felt the moon rising on the sky. The transformation suddenly reversed, and the fur disappeared. The lad was back to his human form, laying on his knees and hands. He panted for a while, but the sound of running villagers and clanking weapons not far behind him reminded him he had to run.

So he got up and dashed off again toward the other side of the field. That's where they had the animals, the barns and the stables.

"I'll find a barn to sleep in, somewhere to hide until morning." He gulped down nervously as he spotted the red structures a bit further down the fields.

Fuelled by his instinct to get away from the menacing villagers, he slid to a stop next to the first barn and pushed the door open. Not many cows were here, as it was one of the oldest and most destroyed barns of the entire village. "No one will think of looking here." He finally gasped out and ran for the stall at the very end. Quickly jumping over the already worn-out door, he dropped on some hay in the corner and curled up in a ball. At least he'd be protected from the moon for a bit.

Paying close attention, he could hear the village men thundering past the barn door. He curled tighter, wondering if this curse would ever leave him alone. He wished. He prayed every night to the Goddesses to leave him alone. He prayed, he wished, he hoped for the removal of this curse that caused him such troubles.

Engrossed in his thoughts, he didn't hear when the barn door creaked open and someone strode inside quietly. Too concentrated on trying to resist the urge to transform again, he didn't hear when someone called his name softly. Once. Twice. Three times.

At last, his stall door opened. That's when his ears perked up and he shifted slightly to see the newcomer. The shining presence kneeled next to him and caressed his hair.

"Link…" she called in a soft and caring, yet hardened and worried tone.

"Don't get near me…" the boy pleaded. "I'll only hurt you…" he turned his face away.

"Link, please… Come home with me…" the girl begged.

"I can't… I have to stay here… till morning…" he whimpered.

"Why, love? Come on, I'll take you home. You worried me when I woke up and didn't find you next to me." The girl giggled and held his hand in her own.

"Zelda…" Link sighed and turned to her with teary eyes. "You don't understand. I can't, and I WON'T move from this spot until the moon comes down from the sky." He insisted.

"Why, love? Why do you keep disappearing every full moon? Tell me what's wrong." She demanded softly, caressing his hair.

"I can't… It…. It's… I just can't." the boy whispered, discouraged.

"It's alright. Just come home with me. The village mayor said that the beast is on the loose again. Please come home, I don't want you to get hurt." She got up and struggled to pull him up as well.

"The beast…" he whispered, eyes downcast as she led him out. "That beast is me…"

The walk home was silent. The villagers had either retreated, having chased off the 'beast' for another cycle, or were still searching in the cornfields and farming area.

As soon as they got home, Zelda pushed him on his side of the bed and kissed him softly. Link merely stayed silent, wondering if he'd ever achieve salvation. Trying to sleep, he closed his eyes and tried thinking of something else than the shining moon that was grinning down sadistically at him.

---

Midnight. The hour when anything can happen. It happens.

Link's eyes snapped open, and he shot up, breathing hard. No nightmares this time, just darkness. A familiar, yet displeasing pain tingled up and down his spine. Quickly jumping of bed, he landed on his knees. As soon as he touched the wooden floor, fur overcame his flesh and he transformed into a bloodthirsty wolf yet again.

The ruckus woke Zelda up.

"Link?" she yawned. "What's wrong?" she asked, putting her hand next to her and realizing that her lover was yet again missing.

"Dear Farore… No…" The wolf suddenly whipped around, its claws thumping on the wooden ground. Zelda's gaze turned in that direction. Link's gaze turned into Zelda's direction.

They stood still for a moment, looking at each other in the eyes. Time seemed to still, and only the woman and the wolf remained. The wolf suddenly shifted, a killer flame burning in its eyes. A wolf's instinct, not a man's.

She screamed. High and terrified, her scream echoed around the house, and maybe even outside the open window before it was stopped short by a certain wolf pouncing on her and pinning her down on the bed.

Instead, she lay panting and sweating profusely as the wolf growled. Tears massed in the corner of her eyes and softly rolled down her cheeks. Whimpering, she cried silently as her chest frantically moved up and down.

Their eyes met again. Zelda's crystal blue eyes with the wolf's red eyes. Red? Not anymore… Blue… The colour flashed blue and pleading eyes looked down at Zelda. The wolf made a slight movement to get off, then the red returned, and the wolf growled, tightening its 'grip' on Zelda. The latter whimpered, wondering why the sudden change.

As soon as the red came, it disappeared, replaced by blue. The wolf quickly jumped off of Zelda. She retreated to the back of her bed and pulled her sheets up to her chin, watching the wolf struggle with morbid fascination.

As for the spirit of the wolf, a huge battle was raging inside. The human fought back, and every time it overpowered the wolf instincts, the eyes became blue. Soon after, the wolf would bring the human down, and the eyes would turn red. As a result of the internal battle, the wolf's body was shaking, and occasionally, it whimpered. It suddenly kneeled and put its paws around its head, shaking and whimpering softly. In a very human-like way.

Zelda took the chance to jump out and make a run for it. The door wasn't very far away, except she had locked it for the night. Forgetting that, she ran into the door, and started struggling with the knob.

The wolf came back and lifted its head, glaring at Zelda murderously. Time seemed to slow down as it got on its feet and lunged for her.

Screaming, her survival instinct took over, and she whirled around, narrowly avoiding her own lover's fangs as they missed her chest to bite her arm. She screamed again, a scream that soon ended, and holding her arm close as she dropped on her knees, she whimpered, crying in pain. Blood slid off her right arm, and made a mess on the floor. The wolf gently splashed in that mess as it approached Zelda. The latter looked up and their eyes met for the third time. The wolf's murderous fire had disappeared, and the crystal blue eyes were looking horrified at her.

It opened its mouth, showing its bloodstained fangs, and scaring Zelda even more, but instead of ending her life like she thought it would, it sat down next to her and licked her right arm.

She shuddered in pain at the contact of the rough surface with her bleeding wound and whimpered, closing her eyes. She had no more strenght, not enough to push away, or get up, unlock the door and make a run for it. She simply laid there, back against the wall. Her left hand fell on the ground limply, splashing in her own blood. Her head leaned back, and her breath slowed. The wolf's licks started getting more urgent and it whimpered as it nuzzled against her cheek, caressing it in an oddly human way.

"Link…" Zelda finally whispered, looking down at the wolf desperately. "I love you, Link…" she called out to no one in particular, and her eyelids drooped.

That single phrase altered everything. Her voice, her love, her devotion overpowered even the Moon as the wolf transformed into a human again.

Link dropped to his knees, horrified.

"What have I done…" he whispered, touching Zelda's cheek. Not quite cold, but not quite hot either. Tears slid down his cheeks as he cupped her face for a second. Suddenly, he snapped out of his horrified trance and realized the gravity of the situation. His hands moved down from her cheeks and circled around her, gingerly lifting her up. Even if the internal battle had drained him, he took her to their bed and set her down on it. Grabbing the closest sheet, he ripped it apart and used the smallest piece to wrap it around her wound.

It was pretty big and gruesome, and it was bleeding a lot, so it took more than just a few sheets before the blossoming red spot on her arm stopped appearing through the bandages. He then cradled her in his lap and squeezed lightly, burying his face in her dark gold hair, soon wetting it with tears.

Nothing would ever break their embrace. If he had to stay like that forever, he would. If he had to defy the Goddesses, the sun and the moon, the day and the night, he would, all that to never let go ever again.

"What have I done…?"

---

No more transformations carried on with the night. To Link's uttermost relief, the sun finally rose, and he was still a man. That's when Zelda's eyelids fluttered. He was immediately upon her as her azure eyes scanned the ceiling she was facing.

"Link…" she called weakly, sounding scared and happy at the same time.

"I'm here, Zelda, I'm here… Nothing will ever hurt you again…" he whispered back. "Not until the next full moon, that is…" He sighed internally. "No. When I said nothing, I meant nothing." His glare hardened, and he gently laid Zelda down on the bed before moving up.

"Where are you going, love?" Zelda asked.

"Away. I don't know where, but away. Away from the village, away from the fields, away from the villagers… away from you…" he whispered, gathering some of his clothes in a corner.

"Link!" Zelda exclaimed as hard as she could, outraged.

"It's not like that." Link turned back to her and looked straight in her eyes. "I can't bear to see you hurt anymore. Not anymore. I'll leave, I'll run away, and make sure nothing hurts you anymore." He threw her a hardened glare and stuffed his things in a bag. Grabbing the bag, he slowly made his way to the door.

During that time, Zelda forcefully pushed herself up and made one last effort to lunge out of bed. Just as Link opened the door and set one foot outside, she grabbed his left hand, the free one, and her legs gave out.

Link looked down. Zelda looked up. For a moment, time froze as a heavy silence fell upon them. Then, slowly, very slowly, Link's bag slid from his right hand. It fell on the floor with a dull thud, followed by Link, who fell to his knees and hugged Zelda hard.

"You won't need to go…" Zelda whispered, trying hard not to cry. "We can contain it, you won't need to leave. We will find a way to seal it, I promise, but you won't need to leave." She looked up at him pleadingly. "You can't leave just because of some Full Moon." She noted.

Link stopped, realizing she knew. Slowly, very slowly, he reached out and touched her wounded arm.

"It's my fault. I'm dangerous, and you know it." He insisted. Slowly opening his mouth, he pushed out his razor sharp canines, stained with red. "You know I'm dangerous, and you still want me to stay? Even after I almost killed you?" he asked sadly.

Her hands only moved up into his hair and caressed his straw coloured strands as a response. Gently, she placed a soft kiss on his lips and smiled. "You can hold back a monster, but you can't hold back passion. You can hold back a person, but you can't hold back faith. You can hold back the sun and the moon, the stars and the comets, nature and everything that comes with it, but you can't hold back determination. You can hold back a werewolf, but you can't hold back the love I have for you." She whispered passionately and kissed him again.

"Zelda…" Link looked at her in the eyes, just to see the determination burning in her azure orbs. She wanted him to stay no matter what, and he knew it. He simply smiled at her faith in him and kissed her back. With a smile, she circled her arms around him and closed her eyes gently.

"Nothing can ever make me let you go. Not the Gods, not the Sun, not Mother Nature herself, so to break us apart, fate will need more than just a mere Full Moon."

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Author Notes:

As usual, love the trademark ending =D

Okay, some references. See if you can find these lyrics of the song in this fic ;P

Sitting in a corner all alone, staring from the bottom of his soul, watching the night come in from the window.

It'll all collapse tonight, the Full Moon is here again.

[...] Running away from it all, I'll be safe in the cornfields he thinks, hunted by his own. Again he feels the moon rising on the sky.

Find a barn he can sleep in, but can he hide anymore? Hundred moon or more, he's been howling.

[...] She should not lock the open door. Full Moon is on the sky and he's not a man anymore. Sees the change in him but can't run away. See what became out of her man. Full Moon.

[...] In the mist of the morning, he cannot fight anymore. Hundred moons of more he's been howling. Knock on the door and scream that is soon ending. Mess on the floor, again.

... Full Moon is on the sky and he's not a man anymore... See what became out of her man...

Full Moon.

(c) Sonata Arctica, I do not own this song or its lyrics whatsoever! Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo and I am not making any profit from this fic.

Please review!

~LoZ4Life